Dark Aura: An Unfriendly Duel

Battle City: Day One

"Come on, you little punk.  Is that all you've got?"

Yugi Mutou stopped on his way past the makeshift dueling arena created at an intersection by a pair of KaibaCorp's Duel Disks.  Unless he was much mistaken, the voice of the creep taunting his opponent belonged to none other than Seto Kaiba himself.

Sure enough, as Yugi squeezed his way to the front of the small crowd that had formed around the competitors, he saw KaibaCorp's president locked in battle with...an ordinary teenage girl.

The violet-haired duelist had to blink twice and shake his head a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.  Why on earth would Seto Kaiba engage in a duel with a normal duelist, unless...?

"Give it up, Felix.  I'm going to win that rare card you have, whatever it is—if you really do have it."  Kaiba smirked.  "And right now, that's seeming like a big 'if.'"

Bingo, thought Yugi.  Kaiba doesn't duel for fun; from what I've seen, he only duels if he can get something out of it.  The high school freshman further thought that there had to be some seedy reason for Kaiba's holding this Battle City Tournament in the first place; he just hadn't quite figured it out yet.

//Yugi.//  The boy jumped.  He'd been so concentrated on his own thoughts, he'd nearly forgotten about the other person who shared his mind.  Yugi Mutou had a Yami—a spirit, contained within a Millennium Item, of his past self—who was a valuable ally, partner, and practically big brother.  At the same time, they were also one and the same person: they shared the same mind, the same skills, the same fiery determination—and often the same thoughts and emotions.  Other times, their thoughts turned to entirely different things.

//Yugi,// Yami asked his partner, //who is the girl that Kaiba is dueling?//

Yugi looked; she seemed to be just any other girl.  But for two thin bangs framing her face, her jet-black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing a dice-cube dangling from her left earlobe.  The violent green of her eyes was locked in a determined glare on the dueling field.  She had a Kuriboh [Fiend/Effect Type. Level 1. 300ATK / 200DEF.], a Panther Warrior [Earth/Beast Warrior Type. Level 4. 2000ATK / 1600DEF.], and three facedown cards on the field. [LP: 1500.]  Kaiba, on the other hand, already had a Blue Eyes White Dragon in play [Light/Dragon Type. Level 8. 3000ATK / 2500DEF.], guarded by one facedown card. [Kaiba’s LP: 2500.]

I've got no idea, Pharaoh, Yugi replied within the confines of their mind.  By calling his counterpart Pharaoh, he was referring to the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle's reign as King of Egypt 5000 years in the past.  Due to circumstances still unknown to the pair of them, Yami's mind and spirit had been sealed away within the Millennium Puzzle—a pyramid-shaped pendant Yugi kept on a chain around his neck.  It had taken Yugi eight years to complete the Puzzle, and now that it was solved, the Pharaoh had access to Yugi's mind and body, able to take control when need be.  He did so only with Yugi's permission, of course; most of the Pharaoh's free time was spent exploring the inner halls of the Puzzle, attempting to unlock the doors to its many chambers.  Each chamber contained a memory, hidden away from the Pharaoh's reach.  The more memories he unlocked, the closer he was to remembering how and why he had been sealed in the Puzzle in the first place.  But now was not the time to be exploring.  There was a tournament to win, and at the moment a most fascinating battle to watch.  I think I heard Kaiba call her Felix, Yugi continued.  Probably a nickname.

//Or a surname,// his Yami added.  //Although I’m surprised it isn't Devlin.//

I know what you mean.  She looks a lot like Duke, especially with the earring.

//At any rate, let us watch the remainder of the match.  She must have some skill to have held up against Kaiba and his Blue Eyes for so long.//

Yugi agreed, and the two of them returned their attention to the duel.

"Come on, Felix," Kaiba taunted.  "Why don’t you just call it quits?  Tell ya what.  If you give in now, I'll let you keep your Locator Card."

Felix growled, and her Duel Disk shook a little as she clenched her left fist.  "There's no way, Kaiba.  You'll see me win and you'll see me lose, but the one thing you won’t ever see me do is give up!"  She drew, and only then did Yugi realize that, except for this new card, she had no hand to play from.  Felix glanced at this new card and smirked.  "I'll place this card face-down, and end my turn."

//Well, she has spirit,// Yami commented.

That's the one thing she does have.  Without a dueling hand, I don't know how she's stayed in the game this long.

//You and I have been in worse situations, Yugi.//

That's true.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

"Is that all you've got?" Kaiba asked for the second time since Yugi had been watching.  "This is pathetic.  A few trap cards and no hand are all that's keeping me from annihilating your overgrown cat and its most recent hairball.  I’ve been more challenged playing tic-tac-toe."

Ouch, thought Yugi.  That's harsh even for Kaiba.

//I think she has him worried.//

What?

//Think, Yugi.  If Kaiba was so confident as he seems, he would have attacked by now.  But, he's spending all of his time taunting Felix and none of it attacking her.  He hasn't even drawn yet.  I think Felix's facedown cards have Kaiba worried.//

Felix seemed to think the same thing.  "Look, stop talking big and start playing big, Kaiba.  Or are you scared?"  There was a definite sneer to Felix's voice on that final word.

Her opponent answered with a glare and drew.  "The great Seto Kaiba fears no one.  I'll—"

"Oh gods, stop talking in the third person, will ya?  It makes it sound like there're two of you, and from what I've seen, that's the last thing that this world needs."

Variations on muffled snorts and 'ouch' noises accompanied that statement.  Felix's determined smirk was back, as was Kaiba's familiar look of suppressed rage.

"I'll get you for that, you little brat.  I summon Lord of Dragons in Defense Mode! [Spellcaster/Effect Type. Level 4. 1200ATK / 1100DEF.] And, I'll add to him a Dragon Flute! [Flute of Summoning Dragon. Equipment Magic Card.]"  The holograms reflected his orders.

Felix's Duel Disk wavered.  "You won’t..."

It was Kaiba’s turn to smirk.  "I will.  I Special Summon two more Blue Eyes White Dragons to the field!"

"No!" Felix gasped as another pair of Blue Eyes holograms rose before Kaiba.

"Yes, Felix.  And that's not all."  Yami and Yugi knew where this was going.  Sure enough, "And with my Polymerization card, I combine all three of them into the ultimate fusion monster, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"  The three dragon holograms roared with a mixture of pain and triumph as they were fused into the three-headed monstrosity that Kaiba so loved to wield. [Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Light/Dragon Type. Level 12. 4500ATK / 3800DEF.]

"Since this is a Fusion monster, I'd have to use a magic card to allow him to attack this turn...and that's what I have Quick Attack for."  He pulled the named magic card from his hand and played it as he spoke.  "And now, my Blue Eyes—attack!"