Jaden POV

"Well," I said in shock, "this was not what I was expecting at all."

I was waiting in the stands of the entire crowd, looking at the hundreds and thousands of people in the stadium. I think the estimated amount of people in the stadium right now was little over half a million citizens. At least, that's what Yugi said. I was thinking it was way more than that. Then again, I'm not good counting big crowds.

Even the rest of the gang were thinking the same thing. Chazz was just looking at the scene with an open mouth. Syrus was looking very faint, and looking close to passing out. Atticus was pale white as snow. And as for Alexis, her eyes were just wide in amazement as she gazed at the audience.

"Now that's what I call an eye opener," she said. "I mean, I knew I signed myself up for a tournament duel, but I didn't know it was in front of this many people."

Chazz quickly shook his head, like he had a sugar high or something. He then pumped the air with his right fist. "Alright! Half a million people watching me duel! Now that's something to look forward to! Bring it on!"

"Someone's eager."

I froze at that voice. I turned around and to my shock, I was face to face with the guy behind this whole tournament: Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp and wielder of the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon. He looked down on all of us, regarding us with almost emotionless eyes, but I could see the fire in his eyes.

"So, this is the group that Yugi has told me so much about," he mused, looking sideways at me and Yusei. "And you must be Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo, I believe?"

We both nodded at his statement. "Yes sir."

"Hmm. I heard all about your methods of summoning, though I have not heard of such a thing called Synchro Summoning. And to hear that a nineteen year old kid such as yourself can wield such skill of Fusion Summoning is hard to believe. Though I would have to see these skills with my own eyes in order to see if this is real or not. Try not to disappoint me. After all, you wouldn't want to prove Yugi wrong in his beliefs, would you?"

He just walked away before we even had the chance to say something back.

"Yep," Chazz modded. "Same old Kaiba alright."

"Jeez, what a jerk," Alexis said, a frown on her face. "He's overly confident in his duelling abilities if he can talk to us like that, don't you think?"

"Yeah well, what can we do about it?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders. "Nothing at all."

"I'd say we get to duelling," Atticus said, getting everyone's attention. "But I wonder who we're pitted up against?"

"It should say on the screen in a second," Syrus said, looking up at the giant screen above the stadium.

"So how does this work?" Chazz asked.

"From what Yugi said, there's over thirty two duellists competing in this tournament," Alexis said. "But this is also an Ante Duel: you've got to put up your rarest card, and if either duellist wins, they win also win that card. The first part involves the first quarter so we have to make sure we're in the twelve that makes it to the next round of duelling. Meaning we've got to battle like never before."

At that point of her explanation, I brought out my deck where Neos's card lay on top. "Well, you can be sure that me and Neos are gonna bring it. From this point on until it ends, we're all rivals."

We all nodded, just before the announcer presented himself over the speaker and everyone started cheering.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the World Championship Duelling Tournament!" he shouted, getting a loud round of applause from the crowd. "We have a lot of action here for you today, and we look forward to seeing all these amazing duellists showing us what they're made of! Before we get this show underway, let's have a look on the matchups for our eager duellists!"

All of us turned our attention to the big screen, just as all twenty four duellists appeared on t and were shuffled around. It lasted for about five seconds before they were finally decided. When I saw who my opponent was going to be, my jaw dropped.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," I mumbled in annoyance.

"Oh boy, you're facing off against the D," Syrus said worriedly. "And that guy was evil to begin with before the Light of Destruction took control over him."

"I still can't believe he did that to Aster's father, all for the sake of a card," Alexis said in a disgusted voice. "Jaden, you've got to be careful out there. This guy is not going to be easy."

"I know," I mumbled. "Especially since he's got Destiny HERO Plasma on his side. That card is a menace as it is."

I brought out my deck and quickly checked through. Once I found the cards I needed the most, I quickly shuffled my deck and placed it in my deck case. "Hopefully, I can bring him down. Otherwise all of us are in danger."
============
Yusei POV

Thirty minutes of preparing later, all of us were ready. I sat in my space in the waiting area while the TV was on, showing the first duel of the tournament. The first two duellists were really good, however one of them proved to be far too strong and won the duel. Next up was Syrus against another duellists who was using a Machine based deck. Syrus got off to a shaky start, especially when it came down to using Power Bond, but he surprisingly shook it off when he used some of the new cards he got from Mr Muto's store and won the duel.

He came back to the waiting room, relief on his face. "I thought that was it for me. Thank god I made it."

I patted him on the back. "Good for you, Syrus. Now let's see how well Alexis does in her battle."

We all turned to the screen to see Alexis go up to start her duel against another duellist. At first she was a little shaken up by the prospect of facing numerous Fusion monsters that her opponent used, but I was amazed at how quickly she turned it around. Her opponent had three Fusion monsters on his side, and yet she still managed to beat him. It went like this...

"I activate the spell known as Machine Angel Ritual!" she announced. "By using my Etoile Cyber and Cyber Prima as tribute, I can perform a Ritual Summon! You may have got three Fusion monsters on your side, but I've just unleashed something truly primordial: Cyber Angel Vrash!"

I had to admit, I wasn't into Ritual monsters so much, but when she summoned her Ritual monster, even I was gobsmacked.

(Cyber Angel Vrash - 3000/2000)

In the end, she won because her monster destroyed every single one of her opponent to Fusion monsters and wiped him out with one attack, making her the winner. The audience cheered loudly for Alexis, as she exited the stage to meet us in the back.

"I was getting a little worried there," she admitted. "Man this tournament is tougher than I thought."

"Well, no wonder," I said. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jaden getting his newly acquired duel disk ready and set for his duel against the D. "Why don't we cheer Jaden up, because he looks nervous."

"No kidding there. I mean, he's going up against the guy who raised Aster and he's got the strongest Destiny HERO card ever. I just hope Jaden has what he's got because this is gonna be a tough duel for him."

"And you do know I've got ears here, right?" Jaden asked from afar, not even looking at them and concentrating on his deck, looking through it quickly.

Alexis came over, instantly talking to him. "Sorry. We didn't mean to get you stressed out."

"I'm not stressed," Jaden told her. "I'm just trying to figure something out."

He nodded to the players screen. "The list stated that Aster is here and participating in this tournament, but ever since we came here in the waiting barracks, I haven't seen him one bit. Now, is it me or doesn't that strike you as a bit odd?"

I looked around and saw that he was right. No sign of Phoenix anywhere, like he wasn't around at all. "Yeah, you're right on that one. Perhaps he's waiting in the audience seats?"

"Or maybe talking to the D," Syrus commented.

"Or maybe perhaps I was just waiting for you guys to stop talking about me behind my back?"

We all froze at that voice. We all turned around to see to our shock that it was Aster Phoenix. Just the way that Yusei remember, he still wore that silver suit of his and his hair was just as silver. Even though he looked much younger than the Aster Phoenix I knew, it still was him.

"So," he said, turning his attention to Jaden, "you're the guy that the D is going up against? Well, good luck to you, though I have to admit that your odds of winning against him ain't gonna be good."

"Hey, in case you've forgotten," Alexis snapped at him for that comment, "Jaden is the one who can tie off against Yugi Muto, the King of Games himself! What makes you think that he would lose to the D?"

Aster looked at Alexis. "The D has never lost a single match in his career. That's why."

"Well then, I have a feeling that his winning streak is gonna end tonight," Atticus said. "Don't underestimate Jaden that much: he's really good."

"We'll see," Aster said, about to turn around and leave right there and then.

"Aster, wait," Jaden suddenly said, getting the Destiny HERO duellists attention.

Aster raised his eyebrow at Jaden. "Yes, Jaden? What is it that you want? I'm rather busy at the moment trying to cheer the D on, you know."

Jaden hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "What ever happens out there, no hard feelings. I will win against the D, no matter what it takes."

Jus then, the intercom rung out. "Will Jaden Yuki please take his place at the duelling arena. Repeat: will Jaden Yuki please take his place at the duelling arena."

Jaden nodded, giving his deck one last shuffle before sliding it into his deck case and turning towards me and Alexis. "Well, here goes. Wish me luck."

Alexis gave him a kiss on the cheek in response. "You're gonna need it. Now get out there and get your game on."

I patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck out there man. You're gonna need it."

Jaden nodded with a small smile, before turning towards the exit. He breathed a small sigh, before rushing out and into the duelling arena, where instantly we turned to the monitor and saw Jaden entering the duel arena with the audience applauding loudly.

"Should we go to the stands and watch him?" Syrus asked.

"We could be able to hear him better instead of listening to a screen the entire time," I admitted. "But at the same time, it would be impossible since there's so many people here today. We're gonna have to do with what we've got right now."

Just then, the announcer came on the screen. "And here they are, folks! Returning to the duel field to defend his duelling title is the one and only: the legendary D!"

The audience roared in approval as the D came into the field, waving their arms in excitement when I thought they couldn't get anymore excited.

"And the opponent he's duelling against: the young lad who has surprised everyone in Domino City by tying off against Yugi Muto, the legendary King of Games! Please welcome to the duel field, Jaden Yuki!"

Jaden ran out onto the field, the crowd whistling and cheering for him as well as he took his place on the other side.

"Alright duellists, this duel is about to start!" the referee announced in the centre of the field. "Each of you know the rules: both of you will start with eight thousand Life Points each. The first to get either sides Life Points to zero wins the match."

The D raised his duelling arm, getting ready and even though it was on a screen, I could clearly see a smirk on his face like this was going to be an easy duel. "I hope you're ready kid, because this is one duel that I'm not going easy on you in."

Jaden raised his duelling arm too. "Cut the chitchat and let's get to duelling!"

Jaden: 8000 LP
D: 8000 LP

I sure hope you know what you're doing, Jaden, I thought to myself. I hope you can win against the D, because we're depending on you. Beat this guy, and show everyone the truth.

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I've had a minor case of Writers Block, but no need to worry because that's all in the past now. This writer won't be taken down that easily, and I'm gonna be back in business as soon as I possibly can. And I promise the next chapter won't be so late.

Once again, thank you for you're patience!