The Cyberse Tournament's second round had come to an end. From it, Smolder, Spike, Flash and Yona had come out victorious.

But despite their victories, they had yet to make it to the Semi-Finals. For another obstacle stood in their way. Legendary Duelists from the past, who would stop at nothing to defeat the modern day players of the game.

In North Academy, Smolder was facing off against Chazz Princeton. The Thundering Duelist was really giving the girl a run for her money, pulling out multiple Fusion and Xyz Summons whilst using his Ojama Monsters in ways Smolder never would have considers. Meanwhile, Spike was Dueling against Joey Wheeler in Battle City. The Underdog Duelist refused to go down, no matter what Spike threw at him.

And in the fabled Duelist Kingdom, Flash Sentry now faced Maximillion Pegasus. The creator of Duel Monsters, now stood between Flash and his next opponent.

"Now, what will you do? Face me like a man, or run and hide like a child?"

Flash smirked. "The chance to beat the creator of Duel Monsters. How could I say no? Bring it on!" Pegasus smiled, clearly excited to get this Duel underway. No matter what, Flash would win this Duel and continue to progress. When this was over, he would be one of the few people who could claim they ever defeated Pegasus. "This is gonna be fun."

"Then build your deck," Pegasus stated. "I look forward to seeing what kind of strategies have evolved from the game since my day. Please don't bore me with something I've seen a hundred times."

"I'll see what I can do," Flash announced as the walls of cards appeared and he started selecting a deck from them. 'He's right. He created the game. If I want to keep him guessing, I have to use moves that didn't exist in his day. Luckily, my deck's built with tons of card types that weren't in his day. This is gonna be good.'

At the same time, Smolder was in a tight spot.

With her opponent's Ojama Queen monster, she felt herself being backed into a corner. If she didn't get rid of it quickly, she was gonna find herself losing to a filler opponent.

"It's my turn." She reached for her deck, "I draw!" She saw what she had gotten and smiled. "Perfect. I summon, Dark Dragon Brawler!" A burst of shadows appeared and took shape, forming the purple clothed warrior that prepared for battle. (A2000/D100/L4)

Aria: "Amazing! Smolder got just the monster she needed to fight against Chazz. By halving the damage he'd take, Dark Dragon Brawler can attack Chazz directly. That means that in two turns, Chazz will be beaten."

"Go!" Smolder cried, as the warrior charged forward. "Shadow Street Strike!" The monster morphed into a shadow and flew along the ground, preparing to deal Chazz the damage.

But at the last moment, Chazz's Xyz monster slammed its fan into one of the Overlay Units. "I activate my Ojama Queen's ability!" He drew three cards and looked them over before smiling. "By removing an Overlay Unit, I can summon an Ojama Monster from amongst these three cards. And force you to attack that instead of me!"

"What?" Smolder asked, as a red Ojama monster suddenly appeared in DEF mode. (A0/D1000/L2) She frowned, as Dark Dragon Brawler was forced to leap out of the shadows and slam a fist into it instead of Chazz. The little mutant cried out, as it was destroyed and Chazz was left unharmed.

"Seriously?" Silverstream cried, "that's just not fair."

"There is a plus side," Sandbar pointed out. "With one less Overlay Unit, Ojama Queen loses five hundred ATK points. (A1500/D1000/R2)

"Ojama Queen might be weaker," Sunset pointed out. "But if Chazz has enough Ojama Monsters, he can keep summoning them to take all the attacks for him."

Smolder frowned and called an end to her turn, allowing Chazz to draw his card.

When he saw what it was, he smiled before turning to Smolder. "Well, this has been fun. But I think it's time for this Duel to end. Shame you're getting knocked out by an exhibition Duel. But I'm not considered a Legendary Duelist for nothing."

"What?" Smolder asked, "what are you talking about?"

"Let me show you!" Chazz played his card. "Say hello, to my Shield and Sword Spell!" Smolder's eyes widened, as Dark Dragon Brawler and Ojama Queen glowed.

Aria: "This isn't good. The Shield and Sword Card, causes both monsters to switch their ATK with their DEF. That means Ojama Queen's ATK will become one thousand. Whilst Dark Dragon Brawler's..."

"Will become one hundred," Smolder gulped. (A100/D2000/L4) (A1000/D1500/R2) Smolder could only watch in horror, as Chazz pointed at her monster.

"Ojama Queen. Take out Dark Dragon Brawler and end this Duel!" The Xyz monster flew forward and closed its fan, ready to destroy the Dragon Brawler and wipe out Smolder's life points. But as she swung it towards the monster, Smolder smiled.

"Trap Card, Activate!"

"What?" Chazz cried, as a Trap suddenly appeared. "But you don't have any Trap cards."

"Maybe not on my field. But you sent one to my Graveyard. Dragon Guardian. On the field, it negates an attack on one Dragon-type monster. But by banishing it from my Grave, I can switch one Dragon on my field to DEF Mode!" Chazz gasped, as Dark Dragon Brawler suddenly knelt down.

Ojama Queen swung her fan down and slammed into his arms, only for it to break on its armor and have the end slap it in the face. "Augh!" Chazz cried, as he took a thousand points of damage.

Chazz: 800
Smolder: 800

Aria: "Wow! Smolder looked like she was in trouble, but she managed to protect herself and even up the score. I bet Chazz won't be happy about that."

Chazz growled. "You got lucky," he told her. "But that luck will run out. Next turn, you're mine." He ended his turn and the monster's points returned to normal. (A2000/D100/L4) (A1500/D1000/R2)

At the same time, Yona was making her way through a long tunnel.

Having defeated Scootaloo, she found herself heading down this path and eventually arriving at the very end of it. And when she stepped through the light, the first thing she heard was the sound of waves that were crashing against a cliff.

Blinking, the light faded away and she looked around. Doing so allowed her to see she was standing on the edge of a cliff. And when she looked around, she found a large building off to the side. Said building was a long stone building that was painted yellow with a red roof. It was two stories and each story had four doors, with a smaller building on the side that seemed to be some kind of utilities room and cafeteria.

Yona began to investigate the building, but saw no sign of another opponent. She scratched her head and spotted a path leading away from it, making her wonder if maybe her opponent was waiting down it.

"Only one way find out." She began to head down the path, away from the shabby looking building. But something about it seemed familiar.

Back in Battle City, Spike and Joey's Duel continued.

Spike currently led the Duel with his Dragonic Blazelord behind him, whilst Joey appeared to be in serious trouble. But Spike knew not to underestimate Joey, who had a history of coming back from near impossible odds.

"My turn," Joey drew his card and smiled when he saw what it was. "Perfect. I'll start by summoning my Black Stone of Legend!" The stone erupted out of the ground again, but quickly started cracking. "And once again, I'll sacrifice it to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The stone exploded and from out of the flames, the giant black dragon appeared with a great roar. (A2400/D2000/L7)

Spike frowned. 'Red-Eyes might be strong, but it's not strong enough to beat my Blazelord. What's he up to?'

Joey smiled as he looked up at Red-Eyes. "You know, there's a reason I love this dragon so much. Not just because of how rare it is. It's strong, but it's still weaker than other legendary monsters. Blue-Eye, Dark Magician, Summon Skull and Barrel Dragon. They're all more powerful than him on his own." He sighed, "just like me."

"Like you?" Spike asked.

"Yeah. I never was the top dog, as you'd call it. My friend Yugi was the King of Games. And then there was Kaiba. He was a jerk, but I never managed to beat him. But even so, I kept pushing on. Because I knew that even though I wasn't as strong as other Duelists, or had some mystical destiny, I still had a million potential futures. And the same is true for my dragon."

"Yeah," Spike realised what he meant. Spike had always been behind Flash, Twilight and the others. He never played more than a supporting role most of the time. But he never let that stop him. And his Dragonic monsters were just as versatile as he wanted to be. "I'm the same way."

"Then you'd better show me your limitless possibilities," Joey took a card and played it. "Just like my dragon. Go, Polymerization!" Spike's eyes widened, as a portal appeared behind Red-Eyes and Flame Swordsman. "With this, I fuse my two monsters into one super monster!" The pair were sucked inside and the portal exploded, as Joey yelled for all the world to hear. "I FUSION SUMMON!"

The light faded to reveal a larger version of Red-Eyes, which was covered in black metal with white trim and red orbs at the joints. On each of its front legs, was a long dorsal fin-like blade that looked like it could cut through anything. And its long tail was tipped with a scythe blade. "Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!" (A2800/D2400/L7)

Sonata: "Joey has summoned a powerful Red-Eyes Fusion Monster. But despite how powerful it is, it's still not strong enough to defeat Spike's Blazelord."

"Maybe not," Fizzlepop stated. "But ATK points aren't all that's important."

"I think I've read about this card," Ocellus stated. "It was actually created specifically for Joey Wheeler." That was a surprise. "In the old days, Archetypes didn't really exist. And if they did, they were few and far between. So even though Joey's best card was Red-Eyes, he used a bunch of different monsters along with it."

"Now that you mention it..." Sandbar stared at the monster. "That thing does look kind of familiar."

"It's wearing the armor of another monster," Sunset replied. "Gearfried, the Iron Knight."

Ocellus nodded. "It was one of Joey's signature cards. That Fusion Monster was later made for him, so he could combine two of his best cards together." This amazed those that heard it, many not knowing the history behind said card.

Joey quickly activated another card. But this time, it wasn't a Spell. It was a monster, that appeared within the Spell and Trap Zone.

"Next, I activate the effect of my Black Metal Dragon." The dragon in question appeared and flew up to attack itself to Slash Dragon. "I can equip it to any Red-Eyes monster I want and power it up by an extra six hundred points." The dragon roared, as its power rose. (A3400/D2400/L7) "Now, Red-Eyes, attack Blazelord!"

Spike watched as the dragon took to the air and flew towards him. "Not good."

"It's gonna get worse!" Joey announced, as the ghostly image of Flame Swordsman appeared before flying into Slash Dragon's arm blades. "Whenever a Red-Eyes monster attacks, I can equip a Warrior in my Graveyard to this card. And that powers him up by another two hundred points. (A3600/D2400/L7) Slash Dragon flew down and with a single swing of its bladed tail, destroyed Dragonic Blazelord.

Joey: 1200
Spike: 1800

"I'll end my turn there," Joey announced.

"My turn," Spike reached for his deck and drew a card. And as soon as he did, he discarded it. "And I'll activate the effect of my Repulser Dracokid. By discarding my Lava Fang Dragon, I can draw cards equal to its level." He quickly drew four more cards and smiled, as the portal began to form above his head. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"

The portal opened and two fireballs flew out of it, slamming into the ground and exploding to reveal Spike's monsters. "Dragonic Blazelord!" (A3000/D2000/L8/P4)

"And Drag-Blader!" (A1800/D1200/L4) "Blazelord's skill!" The ghostly images of his destroyed dragon monsters, appeared before bursting into flames and being sucked into Blazelord's mouth. (A3800/D2000/L8/P4) "Blazelord, attack and destroy Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!"

Joey watched as Blazelord took to the air and raised its flaming sword, then dived down and swung it around to cut into his Fusion Monster. The beast roared, as it was cut in half and completely destroyed. "Augh!"

Joey: 1000
Spike: 1800

"So much for the specially made Fusion Monster," Scootaloo pointed out.

"Maybe," Wallflower nodded. "But I'm sure it won't just let itself be destroyed so easily." And sure enough, as the smoke cleared, they saw a portal open up in front of Joey. And from out of it, two monsters appeared. Flame Swordsman and Black Metal Dragon, the dragon lifting the warrior out and dropping him in front of Joey before landing itself.

"What?" Gallus asked. "How?"

"Slash Dragon's skill!" Joey told Spike. "Since these two monsters were equipped to him, I can summon them both to the field." Flame Swordsman was in ATK mode and Black Metal Dragon was in DEF mode.

"Fine. Drag-Blader!" The swordsman charged forward and swung his blade through Black Metal, destroying it.

Joey smirked as he reached for his deck. "Whenever Black Metal Dragon is destroyed, I can add a Red-Eyes monster from my deck to my hand." A card slotted out that he took and placed in his hand, whilst Spike placed a card face down.

"I end my turn." Blazelord's ATK returned to normal. (A3000/D2000/L8/P4)

Sonata: "Despite Joey's powerful monsters, Spike is constantly pushing him back. With only a Thousand Life Points left, how much longer can Joey hold out."

Back with Flash and Pegasus, Flash had finally finished completing his Deck.

Both player's Duel Disks appeared, with Pegasus' being red. "Here we go." Pegasus suddenly snapped his fingers and before Flash knew what was happening, the bridge split in two between them and retracted backwards.

"Wow!" Flash almost fell into the pit, but managed to keep his balance until the bridge stopped with only a few feet of it left. "Was that really necessary!?" Pegasus chuckled at that.

"I guess not. But now you really do need to defeat me. If you lose, the bridge you're standing on will completely retract." Flash looked down and couldn't see the bottom of the pit. He looked back and saw there wasn't enough room between the bridge and the door to stand on. And he guessed that the door wouldn't open again.

"So I either win or fall to my digital demise?"

"Exactly," Pegasus chuckled. "Now, let us Duel." Flash nodded, as they activated their Duel Disk. Pegasus' blade was silver in colour, the pair's Decks shuffling before they drew their cards.

"DUEL!"

Flash: 4000
Pegasus: 4000

Adagio: "Here were go, folks. Flash Sentry, one of his generation's greatest Duelists, will face off against the creator of Duel Monsters. The Champion versus The Creator. This can only end up being a good Duel."

Pegasus took the first move and drew a card, smiling as he turned to Flash. "Look at you. The first turn and already, you're a nervous wreck." Flash frowned. "Here, this should make you feel better. I summon Toon Alligator in DEF Mode!" In a flash of light, a small cartoon alligator appeared with a single bladed axe in its hand. (A800/D1600/L4) "I'll then play two cards face down and end my turn."

"My draw!" Flash did so and smiled when he saw what he had. "Check this out!" He quickly slapped two cards down on the Duel Disk. "I set the Pendulum Scale, with Scale one Magna Caster Solaris and Scale eight Lustrous Feather, Magna Leghorn!" The pillars of light appeared, with the two monsters flying up into them. Once they were high enough, the portal began to form. "Cut through space time and carve the arc of victory!" The portal opened, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"

From out of the portal, a single light flew out and smashed into the ground, exploding in order to reveal Flash's monster. A giant robotic dinosaur. "Spino-Gear, Magna-Saur!" (A2100/D1500/L5) The mechanical spinosaurus roared, as Flash pointed at Pegasus' monster. "Crush that overgrown iguana!"

Pegasus watched, as the dinobot charged before slamming its foot down on his little toon. "Oh," he feigned horror, "how could you? To destroy such an innocent little toon."

"That's not all I'm gonna do!" Flash held up his deck. "Spino-Gear's skill! Since he destroyed a monster, I can banish the top two cards of my deck and have him attack once again." Said cards flew off his deck and disintegrated, as the gear on the robot's back started spinning.

It then charged and looked ready to deal serious damage to Pegasus, but the man didn't look at all worried. "Please. As if I didn't see that coming." Flash frowned, as one of his face downs flipped up. "Go, Birthright!" In a flash of light, Toon Alligator appeared in ATK mode.

Adagio: "Why would he summon that? Its ATK points aren't enough to stop Flash's attack. It'll barely put a dent in the Life Points Pegasus will lose."

"Next, I'll activate my other face down." The card flipped up, "Ego Boost!" Toon Alligator laughed, as he suddenly started growing. (A1800/D1600/L4) Despite this, Spino-Gear slammed into it and destroyed the cartoon once again.

Flash: 4000
Pegasus: 3700

Pegasus flinched, but the attack barely looked like it did anything. "Is that really the best you've got? Honestly, I'm disappointed. I'd heard such amazing things."

Flash frowned, as he placed a card face down. "I end my turn."

Adagio: "Flash seemed to have a huge advantage, but Pegasus was able to protect himself. But if he doesn't start playing seriously, he's gonna be in serious trouble."

Those watching in the loser's room frowned.

Trixie said what they were all thinking. "For the creator of Duel Monsters, he's not really doing all that great. I was expecting some super hard to use monster, not something you'd see on a toothpaste box."

"I'm with Trixie," Gallus nodded. "If the real guy was any good, the guys who programmed him didn't do a very good job. Flash is gonna wipe the floor with this guy."

"Don't be so sure," Sunset told him. "Twilight knows what she's doing. No doubt, this guy's programmed with all the skills of the real Pegasus. And he wasn't an easy guy to beat. Seto Kaiba couldn't even beat him."

"But that was a long time ago," Silverstream pointed out. "Maybe the game's just evolved to a point someone like him can't keep up?"

"Maybe," Fizzlepop nodded. "We'll just have to watch and see."

Pegasus drew his card and hummed, then played the card. "I'll use this. Hand Destruction." Flash frowned. "Now we both have to discard two cards and replace them with two new cards." They did so, with Pegasus looking very happy with the card he had received. "Perfect."

"What now?" Flash asked, as Pegasus took two of the cards and slapped them on his Duel Disk.

"You're not the only one who can set the Pendulum Scale!" The pillars of light appeared. "Arise, scale two Toon Cat!" A black cartoon cat appeared, with a mace in its white gloved hand. "And scale eight Toon Mouse!" A blue cartoon mouse appeared, wearing an orange shirt and carrying an axe. They both flew up, as the portal formed between them. "Now I can summon monsters, Levelled three through seven, all at the same time." The portal began to open. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"

A single light appeared from out of the hole and slammed into the ground, exploding to reveal what appeared to be a giant egg. That egg cracked and two legs broke out the bottom, whilst a pair of wings broke out the top. The front cracked open and revealed a pair of monstrous eyes. "Ryu-Ran!" (A2200/D2600/L7)

Flash frowned, as the DEF position monster acted like a wall between him and Pegasus. "Your monster might be tough, but I've faced tougher."

"We'll see about that," Pegasus smiled. "I'll end my turn there. Feel free to try and destroy my monster. It'll leave me open to an attack."

Flash frowned as he looked down at his cards. Nothing he had could help destroy that monster, so he would need to draw a game changer. "My draw!" He pulled a card and quickly summoned it. "Come on out, Magna Fighter Gun Runner!" The laser carrying steampunk warrior appeared in DEF mode. (A1600/D1400/L4) "I'll switch my Spino-Gear Magna-Saur to DEF mode, then end my turn."

Adagio: "Looks like Flash is having a few issues. Will Pegasus capitalise on this?"

"My turn," Pegasus drew and smiled before activating the card. "I'll start by playing Toon Present! Now I can banish a Monster with Toon in its name from my Graveyard, to draw cards equal to its Level." A portal opened and Toon Alligator appeared before disintegrating, whilst Pegasus drew four cards. "Then, I'll activate my Mystical Space Typhoon!" A powerful tornado suddenly swept along the field, sucking up Flash's Face Down.

The card was a Trap, called Security Orb, which was thrown into the air before exploding. Despite being defenceless, Flash didn't look worried. "Since Security Orb was destroyed by a card effect, I can now draw one card." He did so, as Pegasus reached for his dragon.

"Now, I'll switch Ryu-Ran into ATK mode!" The top of the egg began to crack before it burst open, revealing the red dragon monster. "Ryu-Ran! Melt that pile of scrap!" The dragon took a deep breath before unleashing a blast of fire, which slammed into Spino-Gear and caused the robot to melt into nothing. "I'll place two cards face down and end my turn."

Flash was still feeling the heat from his destroyed monster, but a smile appearing on his lips. "Gotcha now." Pegasus raised an eyebrow, as Flash reached for his deck. "My turn. I draw. And I summon Shining Fang, Magna Wolf!" In a flash of light, the armored wolf appeared with a howl. (A1500/D1200/L4) "Next, I activate my Reverse Polarity Spell Card!"

Adagio: "Nice. That card will let Flash swap the ATK of one monster, with the ATK of another. That's sure to bring down Ryu-Ran's power."

"This card was useless when your monster was in DEF mode. But now that you've switched it to ATK, it's a whole other story. I now power up Gun Runner and have your monster powered down to match his." Ryu-Ran glowed, the light flowing into Gun Runner and powering him up. (A2200/D1400/L) (A1600/D2600/L7) "ATTACK!" Gun Runner pointed its weapon at the dragon and fired, but Pegasus simply smiled.

"Nice try, Flash Boy. But I am ready to handle anything you throw at me." His face down flipped up, "Shields Up. This Trap lets me switch any monster on my field to DEF Mode." Flash's eyes went wide, as Ryu-Ran suddenly curled up as the egg shell reappeared around it.

Gun Runner's attack struck the shell and bounced off it, flying back towards Flash and slamming into him. "GYAH!" He was thrown backwards, as Pegasus laughed.

Flash: 3600
Pegasus: 3700

"I can't help but enjoy seeing someone's hard work fall apart. I hope that doesn't seem too mean."

"It does," Flash placed a card face down. "I end my turn." Gun Runner and Ryu-Ran's ATKs returned to their normal states. (A1600/D1400/L4) (A2200/D2600/L7)

Adagio: "Pegasus sure is showing off his skills as a Duelist. No matter what Flash throws at him, the creator of the game manages to overpower it. Things are only going to get harder from here, I'm sure."

"Okay," Gallus gulped. "I may have spoken too soon about this guy."

"Tell me about it," Trixie frowned. "Twilight upgraded his Deck, just so it could compete with the likes of Flash. What do you guys think he'll do next?"

"I have an idea," Fizzlepop stated. "Pegasus was known for using a particular breed of card. My bet is Flash will end up facing that. And if he does, he'll be in serious trouble.

Flash friends frowned at this, whilst the others had their focus on another Duel. Smolder's Duel was coming to an end. And if she couldn't find a way to win soon, she would be in serious trouble.

Smolder reached for her deck. She knew Chazz was right and this might very well be her last turn. She had to find a way to end this, here and now.

"I draw!" She drew her card and looked it over, then quickly played it. "I activate, Dragon Brawler's Brigade!" The Spell appeared. "Now, for every Dragon Brawler on my field or in my Graveyard, that's Level four or lower, I can draw a card." Dark Dragon Brawler glowed, whilst Sea and Spark Dragon Brawler appeared in ghostly forms.

Chazz smirked. "Draw all the cards you want. It won't help you."

"We'll see about that." She reached for her deck. "Here goes!" She drew her cards and looked the three over, gasping at the sight of them. "Yes!" Chazz raised an eyebrow, as she played her first card. "Go, Monster Reborn!" A flash of light occurred and from out of it, Spark Dragon Brawler appeared. (A1000/D1000/L3)

"You had Monster Reborn and you decided to summon one of your cards? Why not summon one of my stronger monsters? Dragon Cannon, Armed Dragon. Even Ojama King. Why pick him?"

Smolder smiled. "It's like you said. Any Duelist can win with a strong monster." She played another card. "But only the best Duelists, can win using weaker ones!" A portal opened up and both Dark and Spark Dragon Brawler were sucked inside. "I play, Polymerization. To fuse my two monsters together!" As the portal swirled, Smolder chanted. "The brutal forces of light and shadow, will now merge to become an even greater force." A figure appeared in the light before it exploded, "I FUSION SUMMON!"

The light faded, revealing a bulky looking Dragon Brawler monster. His armor was purple, but it had yellow lightning bolt patterns on it and the dragon heads covering him were yellow. As he stood tall, black and yellow lightning was surging around his body. "TACHYON DRAGON BRAWLER!" (A0/D2500/L7)

Aria: "Wow! What a move! But that monster has zero ATK points. How can it possibly help Smolder win?"

"I activate my Tachyon Brawler's Special Ability!" She discarded a card and Tachyon Brawler slammed its fists together and punched them at Ojama Queen, sending out a wave of energy that flew towards her. "With this, your Ojama Queen will be sent into the future!" The wave morphed into a portal of some kind, which Ojama Queen tried to escape but was unable to.

Chazz watched, as the portal slammed into her and she was sucked inside. "No way!" He checked his Duel Disk and discovered she had been banished.

"Oh yeah!" Smolder cheered. "You'll see her again, since she'll be returned during your next Standby Phase. Only this time, her Overlay Units will be gone."

Chazz smirked. "Not bad. But your monster's got zero ATK points. It can't hurt me." His eyes then went wide, "so why'd she put it in ATK mode?"

"Because he's about to finish you off!" Smolder cheered, as Tachyon Dragon Brawler slammed his fists together. "Whenever he attacks, he gets seven hundred ATK points for every monster that's removed from play. And the last I checked, we've both got quite a few banished monsters."

Chazz watched, as a portal opened up between them. From out of it, Flame and Air Dragon Brawler appeared, along with Ojama Queen, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank. They all glowed, their energy flowing into Tachyon Brawler. (A4200/D2500/L7)

"No way!" Chazz cried, as the street fighter pulled his fist back. He then smirked at Smolder, "not bad kid. Looks like the future of Dueling's in safe hands." With that, the Dragon Brawler thrust its fist forward and unleashed a sphere of energy. Said sphere was sparking with black and yellow energy and it quickly flew towards Chazz. And with nothing to protect himself with, Chazz was defenceless as it smashed into him. "GYAAAAAH!"

Chazz: 0
Smolder: 800 (Winner)

Chazz slammed into the ground, moaning as he lay there whilst Smolder sighed in relief. She had won.

Chazz began to pick himself up and as he did, he smirked. "Not bad kid." Smolder turned to him. "You've got skill, I'll give you that. Glad to see kids these days still have some fight in them." He moved over to her and held out a hand, Smolder holding out her own. "You've got guts. Never forget that. Keep pushing forward and nothing will get in your way. The Chazz has spoken."

"Thanks," Smolder told him. "I'll remember that." Chazz nodded as he turned to walk away, heading back up the stone steps into the large building. As he did, Smolder saw something floating beside him. A ghostly image of Ojama Yellow, who turned back to Smolder and waved before they disappeared.

Smolder tilted her head, wondering what that was all about. But then, a bright light appeared beside her. The way out of his frozen heck hole. And hopefully, her next actual opponent.

Back in Battle City, Spike and Joey's Duel continued to wage. And despite how hard Joey was Dueling, Spike's power was proving too much for him.

Sonata: "With his powerful Blazelord on the field, I doubt Joey has anything strong enough to overpower it. This might be it, unless he can suddenly pull something out of thin air."

Spike stared at Joey, as he looked down at his Deck. 'He's strong, but my Blazelord can handle anything he throws at me. I'm ready to take on whatever monster he throws at me. So what's it gonna be? Another Red-Eyes Monster? Gilford? What have you got?'

"My turn!" Joey drew his card and smiled before summoning another one. "Go, Time Wizard!" In a flash of light, what appeared to be a large red cloak appeared. Said clock had arms and legs, along with gears for its shoulders and knees. A gear crown was on its head and in its hand was a staff with a particular face on it. (A500/D500/L2)

Spike tilted his head, "that's it?" But then, he remembered what that card could do. It had defeated Rainbow in a Duel once and with it, Joey could easily defeat him. "Not good."

Joey smirked. "I'm guessing you know about how my little friend here works."

Spike nodded. "Time Roulette. You basically have a fifty fifty shot at destroying all my monsters. But if the spin comes out wrong, all your monsters will be destroyed and you'll take damage. Enough damage to take you out of this Duel."

"That's right," Joey nodded. "And I'm betting it all on this spin."

"Why?" Spike asked. "Why take such a risk!?"

"My whole life has been nothing but taking risks!" Joey cheered. "I took a risk when I tried to sneak into Duelist Kingdom. I took a risk when I faced Marik. I took a risk when I faced off against Dartz and many other villains, hoping to destroy our world. Life is all about taking risks. If all you ever do is play it safe, what hope do you have of winning?"

Spike realised he was right. Flash was just like that, taking risks to accomplish what he wanted. They didn't always work, but he kept making those risks.

"Now you'll see it," Joey cried. "The true power, of my gambler's soul!" He pointed towards his monster, "Time Roulette!" With that, Time Wizard began to spin the arrow on his sceptre dial, which had two red spaces with a time machine on it and two black spaces with a skull.

Everyone watched as the arrow spun around and around, eventually beginning to slow as they waited with baited breath.

The arrow slowed to a point they could follow it with their eyes, as it hit black section. It then moved to the red section, then black, red, black, red...black...red...black.

Either eyes widened as they saw the arrow come to a stop on the black skull section, thinking Joey had just defeated himself. But before they could gasp, the arrow made one final surge of movement and landed on the red area. "No way!" Spike cried, as Joey let out a cheer.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Time Wizard's sceptre glowed. "Now go, Time Warp!"

"Time magic!" The monster cried, as the world around them started whizzing by. The sun and moon rose and set several hundred times, as Spike's monsters began to age more and more.

Drag-Blader's sword began to rust and he gained a beard that grew longer and longer, Blazelord's sword doing the same thing. Soon enough, Drag-Blader's body turned to dust whilst Spike's dragon was fossilised. The dragon statue eventually broke apart and crumbled to dust in the wind, leaving Spike without a single monster to protect himself.

"My monsters!" Spike cried, as Flame Swordsman raised his sword.

"Now there's nothing protecting you from my monster's direct attack!" The Fusion Monster raised his sword, as it burst into flames and he swung it around. Spike gasped, as the flames headed straight for him.

"I don't think so!" Spike suddenly yelled out, as his face down flipped up. "Go, Trap Summon!" The monster in question appeared out of it. "Mega-Hide Dragon, Shieldranoid!" The shield winged monster stood protectively in front of Spike, blocking it from Flame Swordsman's attack.

Joey frowned as he stopped his monster from completing his attack. "Not bad, kid. But it'll take more than that for you to stop me." He put a card face down. "I end my turn."

Sonata: "Spike was able to keep himself in the Duel. And with his Pendulum Monsters still ready to let him summon whatever he wants, this next turn could be the Duel's last."

"It's my turn," Spike reached for his deck. "I draw!" As he did that, the portal above his head began to form. "Now, I PENDULUM SUMMON!"

The portal opened and a fireball flew out of it, exploding as it struck the ground and revealing his previous dusted monster. "Dragonic Blazelord!" (A3000/D2000/L8/P4)

Joey smirked. "Seriously, kid. You really think I'd use my Time Wizard's effect, if I didn't have a way to stop your little dragon from coming back?" Spike's eyes widened, as Joey's face down flipped up. "Go, Bottomless Trap Hole!" A portal opened up below Blazelord. "Whenever a monster with at least fifteen hundred ATK is summoned, this Trap banishes it."

"NO!" Spike cried, seeing his monster be pulled into the hole by a powerful force. It tried to grab the side of the hole, but its claws couldn't dig in fast enough to stop his monster from being pulled inside. "Blazelord!"

"Bye, bye, Blazelord!" Spike growled at Joey, who only smirked as the portal closed.

Sonata: "Oh! Spike was looking ready to end this Duel, but Joey managed to stop his attack cold. It's a good thing Spike still has his Mega-Hide Dragon. But how long will it be able to protect him?"

"I place one card face down and end my turn." Spike didn't let himself be overwhelmed. This wasn't the first time in the contest, he didn't have Blazelord to save him. "I've gotta find another way to win."

"If you can," Joey reached for his deck and drew his card. As soon as he did, his two monsters burst into flames. "I now sacrifice Flame Swordsman and Time Wizard, in order to Tribute Summon!" The flames spiralled together and created a tornado. And as that tornado exploded, revealing a copy of Red-Eyes that had red streaks covering its body. The membrane of its wings were red and it had a second pair of wings coming off its legs. Parts of its wings were aflame and so was the end of its tail. "Red-Eyes, BLACK FLARE DRAGON!"

Spike stared at the monster in shock, unable to believe he had to face such a powerful beast. He was in trouble.

Back with Flash and Pegasus' Duel, Flash watched as the Creator of Duel Monsters reached for his deck. So far, he hand't done much to write home about. But Flash had a feeling that was about to change."

"It's my turn, Flash Boy." Pegasus drew his card and when he saw it, his eyes went wide before a devilish smirk appeared. "Tell me, Flash. Did you enjoy watching cartoons in your youth?"

Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "I guess. Can't say I was the biggest fan. Preferred anime to cartoons."

"Oh, how modern of you. Turning your back on the innocent carnage, just so you can watch silly robots battle against one another. Well, maybe I can show you just how powerful cartoons can be."

"What?"

"First, I activate the Toon Table of Contents." His deck slotted out a card. "Next, I summon Dark Rabbit!" In a flash of light, a large purple humanoid rabbit appeared. It was wearing blue and yellow armor, had a small sword and the dumbest look Flash had ever seen. (A1100/D1500/L4) "And now, for the card that will unleash your utter defeat." He slotted the card into his Field Spell Zone. "Welcome, my friend, to TOON EMPIRE!"

A bright flash of light, appeared above the two of them. Flash was blinded, as the light took shape and began to float down towards them. And when the light faded, Flash was greeted with the sight of a large green book.

"What is that?"

"My ultimate Toon Card," Pegasus announced before the book burst open. And as it did, an entire city of cartoon builds appeared, around a large cartoon castle. "Behold the power of Toon Empire. So long as I have this card, every monster on my side of the field will be transformed."

"Transformed into what?" Flash asked, as both Dark Rabbit and Ryu-Ran were suddenly sucked into the book. He watched, as the book slammed shut and spun around.

"What else? Into an almighty Toon Monster!" The book burst open again, causing a cloud of smoke to fly out and split into two. Then, they exploded away and revealed Pegasus' monsters. Dark Rabbit and Ryu-Ran were both completely different monsters. Now, they were cartoon versions of themselves. Dark Rabbit was almost unchanged, though he appeared short, whilst Ryu-Ran was a more vibrant orange, smaller and had a roundish cartoon face.

Flash could hardly believe what he was seeing. "You've got to be kidding me."

Pegasus smirked. "Don't let their appearances fool you. Though they may look all cute and cuddly, they're quite the vicious little blighters."

"Maybe," Flash looked at the monster's stats. "But it doesn't seem like your Field Spell did much aside from make them look dumber."

"Dumber!?" Pegasus looked outraged, "you'll pay for that remark." He changed Ryu-Ran to ATK mode, the dragon laughing as he floated into the air. "Now go! Nasty Nostril Flame Attack!" The dragon blasted a stream of fire towards Gun Runner, the warrior crying out as he was burned to nothing.

The flames then slammed into Flash, making him cry out as he staggered back.

Flash: 3000
Pegasus: 3700

Adagio: "Wow! Talk about power. Flash is in serious trouble now. What secrets do these Toon Monsters hold?"

"I think I'll end my turn there," Pegasus smiled. "I'm sure you've had more than you can handle for now, so I'll let you rest up and give you more of a thumping later."

Flash growled as he stepped forward. "I'll show you a thumping." He reached for his deck and drew his card, as the portal began to form above his head. "Get ready. Because I PENDULUM SUMMON!"

The portal opened and a single light flew out, hitting the ground and exploding to reveal Flash's monster. A robotic minotaur, with pipes covering its body that unleashed bursts of steam. "Stampede, Charge Horn Magna Bull!" (A2100/D2200/L6/P4)

"Oh my," Pegasus mocked. "What a scary looking monster."

Flash frowned, "laugh it up. But you made a mistake when you summoned your Dark Rabbit. Your Ryu-Ran might be too strong to defeat, but that overgrown furball's a different story!" Magna Bull's pipes unleashed a blast of steam, "GO!" The robot charged forward and pulled its fist back. But as it threw a punch towards the rabbit, the creature's body turned to rubber and it somehow stretched out of the way. "WHAT?"

Pegasus chuckled. "Clearly, all that anime has made you lose your imagination." Magna Bull tried to punch Toon Rabbit again, with the same result. "In a cartoon, anything is possible. Including being completely indestructible."

"So that's what Toon Empire does," Flash realised.

"Oh no," Pegasus shook his head. "Not Toon Empire. Well, not Toon Empire exactly." Flash raised an eyebrow, only to then notice something. The face down Pegasus had on the field, had flipped up to reveal a Trap. "Say hello to Car-Toon Logic. So long as Toon Empire is on my field, this Trap will remain on the field as well. And as long as I have it, any Toon Monster on my field is untouchable. They can't be destroyed by battle, nor by Spell, Trap or Monster effect. Plus, any battle damage I would take is cancelled out."

"Seriously?" Flash could hardly believe it. "So they're practically indestructible?"

"Not practically," Pegasus smiled. "They are indestructible. Nothing you use, will be able to destroy them."

"Every card has a weakness," Flash told him. "And I'll find your Toons'." He looked over his cards, but nothing could help him. "I switch Magna Wolf to DEF mode and end my turn."

"My turn then!" Pegasus drew his card. As he did, Toon Empire glowed. "And now, to keep Toon Empire on the field, I have to pay three hundred Life Points." Flash smiled, happy to know that card had a weakness. "But I don't think I'll do that."

"What?" Flash raised an eyebrow, only to then hear Toon Mouse laugh.

Looking up at the cartoon, he saw the rodent's axe glowing. "You see, Toon Mouse's Pendulum Ability is quite amazing. Whenever I need to pay Life Points, I can instead put a cut counter on my monster and all the points I pay are sent to zero."

"Seriously?" Flash hadn't realised how much of a perfect defence Pegasus had put up. Toon Empire turned his monsters into Toons. Car-Toon Logic made those Toons unstoppable and Toon Mouse, meant that Pegasus didn't have to pay to keep up his ultimate defence. "It's an unbreakable wall."

"Indeed," Pegasus then looked at his new card and placed it on the field. "Come forth, Red Archery Girl!" Toon Empire began spinning. "Cross the threshold and awaken as your ultimate form. Toon Mermaid!" The book burst open and unleashed the smoke, which took shape before disappearing to reveal a giant cartoon clam with eyes and arms. It then opened up and revealed a mermaid, with green hair, a blue tail and a bow and arrow. (A1400/D1500/L4)

"Not good." Flash needed to find a way to counter Pegasus' growing army of indestructible beasts. If they couldn't be destroyed, Flash needed to find another way to slow them down.

"Manga Ryu-Ran!" Pegasus announced. "Destroy Magna Bull, with Nasty Nostril Flame Attack!" The toon dragon laughed before shooting fire from its nose, which struck Flash's Pendulum Monster and burned it to a crisp. The fire then slammed into Flash and made him flinch.

Flash: 2900
Pegasus: 3700

"Now, Toon Mermaid. Teach that mutt to play dead." The clam opened up and the mermaid drew her bow, aiming at Magna Wolf before firing. The arrow suddenly gained a face, which laughed as it flew towards the canine and impaled him. "Toon Rabbit. Attack him directly!"

Flash watched, as the cartoon hare's midsection stretched. As it flew towards Flash, its fist suddenly changed into a boxing glove. But Flash wasn't about to let it hit him. "I activate my Trap!" His face down flipped up, "Defence Draw!" A barrier appeared and Toon Rabbit punched it, Flash drawing his card.

Pegasus smiled, "your defences won't last forever. Eventually, they'll crumble and you'll be open to attack."

Adagio: "Pegasus' growing army of Toons look set to destroy Flash. Hopefully, that Defence Draw card gave him something that can help turn the tables."

Flash glared at Pegasus. Toon Empire would be tricky to deal with, but not impossible. He could win. Because so long as he had his monsters by his side, nothing could stop him.

Back with Yona, she had followed the path through a forested area.

Eventually, she arrived at a large yellow building that looked like a much better place to live than the first building. But before she could take a look around it, Yona noticed something located behind it and a bunch of trees. A much larger building.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Yona followed the path towards that building. And it didn't take her long to arrive and a paved walkway, leading towards an absolutely massive building. Nestled in the curved inside of a mountain, she found a building that was made out of stone and metal.

The bottom part was stone, with several pillars sticking out of the sides, whilst the rest was made of metal and had several domes situated on top of it.

Seeing it made Yona finally realise where she was. "Duel Academy." She had seen images of this place, located on a tropical island with several different coloured dorms for students to live in. It was once a place where all the best Duelists went, but eventually shut down when Dueling became part of regular studies in schools.

As Yona drew closer to the building, she noticed someone was standing at the entryway.

Whoever they were stood taller than her, wearing a dark blue coat and black pants. As she got closer, she noticed his hair was light blue and he was wearing small glasses on his face. Yona felt like she knew him from somewhere.

"Hey," he smiled when she approached. "Nice to meet you?"

"Who you?" She asked.

"Name's Truesdale. Syrus Truesdale. It's okay if you don't know me. I never really made it big, back in the day. But I guess I impressed someone, since I'm here now."

Yona let the name swirl in her mind and suddenly remembered him. "Truesdale. Cyberoid Duelist?"

"That's me," Syrus nodded. "Guess I am known. That's nice." He suddenly got serious. "Get ready, Yona. I'm here to stop you from going any further. If you want to keep Dueling in this tournament, you're gonna have to beat me." Yona realised what this was and smiled, excited to test her strength against a legendary Duelist like this.

"Yona crush you."

Author's Note

Woo! Smolder beat Chazz with a pretty impressive Fusion Monster. Now she's through to the next round. And Spike once again has his signature card taken from him. How will he cope with that? Flash faces off against Pegasus and his Toons, whilst Yona meets her opponent. Sorry those that wanted 5Ds characters. I decided to go with two characters from the first two series each. Still, I'm sure Syrus will be an interesting opponent.

What did you think of Pegasus' Toon Empire card. Think of it kind of like DNA Surgery, acting as a way to do what the original Toon World could do in the anime. It basically means you can run a Toon Deck using any monsters without making them Toons. And Car-Toon Logic allows them to have their traditions Toon Monster protections with less of a cost. I like how it works. What about you?