Yes, we took a long time with this chapter. Please forgive us, we're trying our best and do intend to finish this fic.

Mako Tsunami here once more

But not for much longer at this rate…

Of all the times to get thrown into a surprise tag-team match with the one duelist who's company I least enjoy, it had to be the time that I'd have to bet my life.

Sometimes it feels like I'm not even the one stuck doing this crazy stuff, like someone else is.

And then they stick me with something like this.

Well, if I have no choice, then I suppose we'll just have to see how this plays out.

Time to duel…

Steam Burns

A metal pathway hung in pitch-blackness. Absolutely nothing hung around it, or even beneath it. Aside from the two platforms hovering over this empty abyss, the method by which the path remained suspended was unclear.

And only adding to Mako's confusion was the fact that the fact that the path he was on would only continue if Tim ever found the switch on his own platform some twenty feet away. The same scenario had been playing itself out for sometime now, with the two of them alternating between hunting down switches and travelling across platforms.

"Why would they even design something like this?" Mako wondered aloud.

"Like I'd know? I'm just the coffee monkey at the office, remember?" Tim pointed out as he stomped around on the metalwork beneath him, finally feeling something shift under his foot. "Finally!"

Mako braced himself as the iron square he stood on gave a sudden lurch and began to slowly move forward, the destination unclear. Narrowing his eyes, the ocean duelist could see a point of light in the darkness ahead. Slowly, the light grew as he drew closer, revealing it to be some form of emergency lamp, its red illumination highlighting a larger platform with a door on it.

"I think I found the way out!" Mako shouted back to Tim as he stepped onto the new stage.

"Great, then a find a way for me to get over!" Tim called out.

Mako looked around, noting a lever set into the floor next to the door. He reached out and grasped it, pausing for a moment to consider just passing through the door himself, but shook his head.

"The door probably doesn't even open unless we're both here anyway," Mako reasoned as he yanked the switch.

A comedic sproing sounded in the distance, while simultaneously the door swooshed open. Mako was vaguely aware of the sound of Tim's scream growing closer right before the red head barreled through the now-open portal and crashed to the ground just beyond the doorframe.

"That's an interesting way to do it," Mako commented as he walked through, not bothering to hide his chuckle.

"Is Kaiba making a compilation video out of this or something…" Tim wondered as he picked himself up and shook his head to clear it. "Where are we now?"

That indeed was the question. The empty space from before was gone now, the pair had seemed to have wandered into an industrial plant of some sort. Huge vats containing glowing, molten metals of some sort sat stationary beneath the wide catwalk Tim and Mako now occupied. The catwalk and walls were both made of the same metal, which seemed to be covered in patches of rust but remained smooth to the touch in spite of that.

"I don't really care much where this is as long as there's another way out," Mako commented, brushing past Tim as he started down the catwalk. "Try not to fall behind."

"Fall behind?" Tim grunted as he started after Mako. "You aren't still trying to blame me for this are you? I beat you at one game and…"

"This has nothing to do with our duel," Mako interrupted, spinning to face the younger Hokage. "I lost that fairly, I'll admit…You're the one that feels the need to keep rubbing it in!"

As Mako turned back around and started off again, Tim let out a low whistle and muttered, "Sensing a little hostility here…"

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

High above the two, a pair of piercing red optics viewed down upon Tim and Mako. Numbers whirred across the vision of the one who was watching, and he reached out one metal hand to a screen that formed next to him.

Tim's portrait appeared on the screen, followed by a blur of images and words as a list of his cards displayed next to him. The image remained for a brief moment before fading out, and being replaced by Mako's picture, for which the show repeated itself.

"Download….complete. Subjects analyzed," the Robotic Knight droned as he waved away the screen. "Conclusion: Victory…imminent."

Looking down at Tim and Mako as they moved below him, the robot nodded slowly.

"Tsunami body: Stronger, faster, better…Obviously the superior model," He decided. "If nothing else, that one is the target."

With a gesture of one hand, the robotic member of the Big Five vanished.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Tim and Mako both stopped short as lines of red energy suddenly descended around them.

"Now what?" Both of them shouted at once as the sections of the catwalk they were standing on were carved loose by the lasers.

Tim fell to his knees as the metal grating he stood on gave a sudden lurch upward, whilst Mako managed to maintain his footing thanks to years of ocean travel experience. The two pieces of catwalk floated away from their original positions toward one of the more distant vats. As they came into view above it, it was obvious this one was filled with something more volatile than melted steel.

"You alright?" Mako asked, looking over to Tim.

"I'd feel much better if I wasn't hanging over a vat of battery acid," Tim responded.

"Actually, that's highly caustic radioactive waste down there," A voice chimed in.

"Yeah, that makes me feel much…" Tim sarcastically responded before looking around in a start. "Wait, who said that?"

In answer to Tim's question, a third platform began to lower at the far side of the vat. On this one stood a red robot, its body shaped as though it were the mechanical version of a Napoleonic soldier, complete with a rapier-shaped lightsaber weapon grasped in one hand.

"That would be me," The robot explained. "Introduction: I am Nesbit, head of weapons research and development for the Big Five. Current goal: To escape from this virtual hell-hole Seto Kaiba saw fit to trap me in."

"So where do Tim and I come in exactly?" Mako wondered, looking confused.

"Explanation: by defeating the two of you in fair contest, I may claim a body to download my mind into. Therefore: we will duel now, I claim the body of either of you that I defeat." Nesbit lined out, sheathing his weapon and raising one arm.

A flat panel sprang out from the side of his arm, quickly expanding into a duel disk tray, while a card holder, with the deck already loaded, rose from the top of his arm. His chest opened, revealing an LCD panel with the number 8000 in glowing green letters.

"Select which of you will go first, I have no preferences. But keep in mind that we're still under the deckmaster system," Nesbit warned.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Come one, pick up Joey…" Tea muttered, nervously shifting the phone from ear to the other.

The party at the Kami Game Shop had turned sour in the brief time since Yugi had won the finals. Starting with the images from the reward ceremony suddenly cutting out, followed eventually by the sound. Unfortunately for the PR offices at Kaiba Corp, people all over the world who had tuned in had still been able to hear the first few moments of chaos as the big Five had made their entrance.

"Just what was that anyway?" Grandpa Mutou wondered as he flipped through the channels for the fourth time. "Is another crazy duelist after Yugi?"

"You're probably not far off," Duke winced, "Did he ever mention what happened during the Battle City Tournament right before the final four?"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact…Oh…I see," Grandpa nodded solemnly.

"Joey?" Tea suddenly spoke into the phone, before frowning. "Oh wait, Serenity is that you? What happened, where are Yugi and Joey?"

"Serenity! Is she okay?" Tristan gasped, trying to grab the phone only for Duke to knock him aside as he tried to do the same.

As the two young men began a silent scuffle in the background, Tea wass listening intently to Serenity's story, her face going white as she did.

"The Big Five? Oh…I thought those voices sounded familiar…" Tea moaned as she sat down. "And what do you mean that's not the worst part?"

At Kaiba Land, Serenity was running a worried hand along the top of one of the pods, looking at the spiky-headed teen inside. Mai was keeping watch at the door for guards, and occasionally looking toward the only two occupied pods left in the room.

"Yugi and Mako haven't woken up yet." Serenity stammered out. "I think they're still trapped inside. Along with the Elemental Duelists."

"Don't worry Serenity, if Yugi's still in there he'll find a way to get everyone out okay," Tea voiced assured her.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Nesbit was tapping one metal foot impatiently as he watched Tim and Mako continue to throw round after round of 'Rock-paper-sissors.' Any investigator of psychic phenomena would probably have taken this game as a sure sign of the existence of ESP, given the unlikely number of times the two of them had managed to tie so far.

"Why not just give it up Mako, I wanted to take this guy down anyway," Tim pointed out. "Besides, we both know which of us is the better…"

"Don't. Even. Think about it," Mako interrupted, emphasizing every word of the sentence.

"Observation: This is taking entirely too long," Nesbit chimed in. "Proposition: I shall take both of you on at once."

Tim and Mako both stopped their never-ending game and looked at each other.

"How would that even work?" Mako wondered.

"I've dueled tag-team a few times," Tim explained. "But never against just one opponent."

"Rules: No sharing of strategies or cards in hand, each of us will have a separate life point score. Since I face two opponents though, I'll be granted double the usual amount of life points," Nesbit explained, the counter on his chest jumping to a whopping 16000. "You two may share cards on the field, however. Is that acceptable?"

"Works for me," Tim nodded. "What do you say, fish guy?"

"Fine, whatever gets us out of here faster," Mako sighed, lifting his disk.

"Very well then, one last rule though," Nesbit said with a wave of his hand. "Your deckmasters shall be chosen randomly."

A single card appeared in front of both Tim and Mako, causing the Hokage to throw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Oh come the hell on! I've only really picked my own deckmaster like, twice today!" Tim protested.

"I assume no responsibility for your ineptitude," Nesbit countered.

Grumbling, Tim snatched the card and turned it around. It was a blank white, which quickly began to fill in…

With a clatter of wood against metal, a pile of logs landed behind Tim on his platform, and ignited. The burning wood stacked itself into a humanoid shape, and slammed its fists together as it formed the Blazing Inpachi.

"Controlled burn, right?" Tim double checked. "I say spell, trap or monster before I draw and ditch cards from my deck till I find one that matches?"

The wood golem nodded, and Tim shrugged.

"Better than most of the ones I got stuck with," He pointed out.

A rumbling suddenly sounded from far below as Mako brandished his card overhead. With a loud, echoing cry, the massive form of his Fortress Whale suddenly smashed through the floor far below and 'swam' through the air to hover behind Mako.

"You have got to be kidding me," Tim grumbled, shaking his head. "How come he gets his best deckmaster?"

"I'm wondering that myself," Nesbit droned in response.

"Don't blame me, you're the one that said it was random," Mako shrugged, a smile finally coming across his face at the prospect of a duel. "Now, shall we begin?"

Nesbit: 16000

Tim: 8000

Mako: 8000

"Since it's two on one, it only seems fair if I go first," Nesbit announced as he pulled six cards from his deck. "To open, I activate my deckmaster ability. By discarding machine-type monsters from my hand to the grave, I can deal my opponent 500 points of damage for each one."

Two cards were stuffed into Nesbit's grave slot before either of his opponents could speak up. Holographic images of a robotic bird and wolf materialized next to the Robotic Knight, and they swiftly charged forward, each one tackling one of the opposing duelists and knocking them to the ground.

"Uh, and I thought I was good at cheap shots," Tim grunted as he got up.

"Guess he can split the damage between the both of us," Mako pointed out as the holograms vanished."

"Indeed, but that's enough for now. Continuing: I summon Cyber Valley (0/0) in attack mode," Nesbit went on, placing down another card.

From the tank below burst a steel-colored streak, which wound its way around Nesbit before settling to hover in the air in front of him. Once standing still, the creature was revealed to be a serpent crafted entirely from metal, with sharp spikes coming from its sides and two rows red-lights running along its underside.

"That will end my turn," Nesbit completed.

Nesbit: 16000

Tim: 7500

Mako: 7500

Tim and Mako both gave each other confused looks. It was clear neither of them thought much about this new monster.

"You're sure about that?" Mako wondered.

"Do I question your moves?" Nesbit challenged.

"We didn't make any yet," Tim pointed out as he drew his own sixth card. "But if you insist…Let's light this candle with my Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)!"

A second serpent burst from the molten waste below, but this one was red in color rather than metallic. It spun high into the air as Blazing Inpachi launched a blast of flames at it, igniting the beast as it soared back down and hovered in front of its duelist. The nigh-infamous Pyro-type hissed comfortably as its flaming mane fully ignited.

"Then one facedown card, and let's see how you like a direct hit!" Tim called out, one hidden card appearing behind his dragon.

"Error! Since this is two on one, you may not attack until everyone has had a draw phase," Nesbit interrupted.

"Who said anything about attacking?" Tim nodded, still grinning. "I've tag-teamed before. I was talking about my dragon's effect though. The one that burns off 500 of your life points each time I end my turn."

"Oh," Was all Nesbit had time to say before catching a blast of fire with his face.

Nesbit: 15500

Tim: 7500

Mako: 7500

"I love the smell of napalm in the morning!" Tim called out.

Tim chuckled a bit before noticing that the flames hadn't hurt Nesbit much. The robot merely brushed a bit of ash off his face as his chest readout ticked down.

"Normally that's supposed to hurt," Tim pointed out.

"I am a machine, and a Fire-attribute one in case you were unaware," Nesbit reminded his young foe.

"Well, it's a start," Mako mused as he drew his card. "Leave the heavy hitting to me! I activate A Legendary Ocean, let flow the seas!"

There was a creaking sound far above, and then the clatter of falling pipes followed by a deafening roar of rushing water. All three braced themselves, tucking their cards close to their bodies in an attempt to keep them dry. Eventually, the downpour stopped, leaving the entire factory flooded with crystal blue water. Regrettably (or not, depending on how one looked at it) the water level was just below the mouth of the vat the duel was over, meaning the toxic goo inside was undisturbed and undiluted.

"Good thing I'm rust proof," Nesbit told himself as the remaining water rolled off his body.

Tim indignantly spat out a mouthful of water as he turned to Mako.

"How about a little warning next time?" Tim requested, both of his monsters growling and grumbling in response as they attempted to keep their now sputtering flames alight. "You have no clue how much hair gel it takes to keep this 'do!"

"You wouldn't last five minutes on the high-seas," Mako responded, his own deckmaster raising from the waters below with a mighty below. "Ignoring my partner's attitude, this field grants me the advantage. First, all Water monsters lose one star-level, and they gain 200 attack and defense points."

"Not that it helped much against me," Tim muttered under his breath.

If Mako had heard him, he chose to ignore the comment and set one card onto his disk.

"Now I summon my Terrorking Salmon (2600/1200)!" Mako announced, his deckmaster opening its mouth wide.

From the belly of the beast swam a gigantic fish, easily the size of a dolphin. It splashed about in the water, swimming in circles behind the point where Mako's platform hovered.

"Bet you wish you summoned something stronger now, eh?" Mako grinned, pointing directly at the Cyber Valley. "Salmon, attack with ocean king's fury!"

The mighty fish leapt from the water in a single great thrust, aimed directly at the weak machine…

"Cyber Valley, activate emergency escape maneuvers!" Nesbit ordered.

The lights running along the serpent's underside immediately flashed, and in a pulse of blue energy, the creature vanished. Terrorking Salmon continued its flight path undisturbed and splash-landed on the far side of the tank, from where it quickly swam back to its starting point.

"What just happened?" Mako asked.

"I'd say…You missed," Tim pointed out.

"Duel Monsters don't just miss," Mako responded.

"They do when they attack Cyber Valley," Nesbit explained, holding up the card. "By removing it from play when it's targeted for an attack, I can stop the attack and draw one card."

The card vanished from Nesbit's fingers, and the robot pulled a new one to take its place. Mako just grumbled something under his breath before waving one hand to end his turn.

"Very well then, now let's see…" Nesbit droned as he took another new card. "Well, how fortunate."

Turning the card around, he revealed it to be a rather familiar spell.

"Polymerization?" Tim and Mako both wondered aloud.

"That's right, now do either of you recognize this card?" Nesbit wondered, turning around a second card.

The image on the card was similar to Cyber Valley, but the serpent on this one had no spikes or excess lights. It was simply a metal snake, though one got the impression it was a rather large snake.

"Oh no," Tim grumbled, hanging his head. "Of course he'd have a Cyber Dragon. I haven't seen a single Cyber Dragon since the start of the tournament. I should have known better."

"Oh please, even you summon that overblown can opener it's not strong enough…" Mako began.

"Summon it? Illogical," Nesbit agreed, sliding the Polymerization into his disk. "Fuse two together? Significantly more advantageous."

With twin roars, a pair of the giant cyber-snakes appeared in front of Nesbit before they were yanked quite harshly into a swirling vortex of energy. The energy exploded outward, revealing an entirely new beast, this one a giant metal snake featuring two heads.

Neither of the human duelists made a sound. Mako looked to Tim and cleared his throat.

"What?" Tim wondered, turning to Mako again.

"No jokes about two heads?" Mako pointed out.

"I thought I covered this before with you, I don't like abusing the easy material," Tim responded. "That's why I don't usually make fun of Yugi's hair."

"In this case, though, two heads are better than one," Nesbit interrupted.

"He said it, I didn't," Tim assured himself.

"In this case, it's because each head has its own attack! Attack the Solar Flare Dragon with strident blast!" Nesbit commanded, his monstrous machine sending forth a gout of flames.

"Denied!" Tim called out, his facedown card flipping up. "Negate attack!"

The flames collided with an invisible force field in front of Tim's monster and spiraled out of existence. Nesbit nodded in response, non-plussed by the turn of events.

"Negate Attack lasts one turn, that's not much time," He rationalized, taking his last card and setting it behind the dragon. "I complete this round with one facedown card."

Tim frowned as he looked over his hand, before jerking a thumb to his deckmaster.

"Alright, I'm using my deckmaster's power; Controlled burn," Tim decided. "And I'll say monster, so now I discard from the top of my deck until I find a monster card to add to my hand instead of drawing."

Blazing Inpachi nodded once, and Tim's cards were immediately consumed in orange flames. The top two burned to ash and vanished to the graveyard before the fire was extinguished, and Tim took the new top card to his hand.

"Figures, I don't have another Solar Flare Dragon…" Tim lamented as he tucked Flame Ruler into his hand. "But with this guy and my Mirror Force…"

Tim grinned at the Infernal Flame Emperor that sat right in the center of his hand.

"Well, since the party seems to be winding down a little, let's have Flame Ruler (1500/1600) pick things up a bit," Tim announced, a spark of flames flying from his deckmaster.

The flames swiftly grew into a bonfire, from which emerged the Jamaican-accented Pyro. He stumbled for a moment as he realized that there was no ground beneath him, conjuring up a plate of flames to keep him aloft. Solar Flare Dragon growled appreciatively to Tim before taking up a new position directly behind the new monster.

"Next, I set this card facedown," Tim went on, his Mirror Force settling behind his creatures. "And then we get to the best part of having Flame Ruler on the field. Since he's a Pyro-type, you aren't allowed to attack Solar Flare Dragon until you get rid of him. So next, I'll switch my dragon to defense mode, then let him keep doing what he's so good at."

Nesbit didn't seem any more impressed by the second fireball then he did with the first. This time though, the dragon curled up into a circle behind its new partner on the field.

Nesbit: 15000

Tim: 7500

Mako: 7500

"Really? Nothing?" Tim asked as Nesbit just glared at him. "Huh, tough crowd."

"It's going to take forever to take him down like that," Mako finally chimed in, having been silent through Tim's entire turn.

"Yeah, but it's working," Tim agreed with a smile.

Mako drew and slapped another card to his disk saying, "This works faster. I summon Star Boy (550/500) in attack mode!"

"Star Boy…Wait a minute!" Tim protested.

Too late however. From the waters below sprang a red starfish trailing rainbow tentacles, with a single eye and a mouthful of sharp teeth. The monster let out a high-pitched giggle as a cool mist began to fill the room, drastically increasing the humidity.

Star Boy (1250/700) and Terrorking Salmon (3100/1200) both seemed to enjoy the plentiful moisture. Tim's monsters seemed much less amused. Solar Flare Dragon (1100/1000) let out a pathetic whimper as its fire almost completely died, and Flame Ruler's (1100/1600) clothes became soaked through, its burning disk threatening to go out and drop him into the (still somehow undiluted) toxic waste.

"Mako! My monsters are fire creatures remember?" Tim shouted.

"Oh right, Star Boy would weaken them…" Mako recalled. "But all you've been doing is using burn effects."

"Eh…Well, the fish is strong enough to beat the dragon now…" Tim thought.

"Now then, let's try this again! Terrorking Salmon, smash his dragon!" Mako roared.

Once more, the huge fish sprang from the water, and once more Nesbit gestured to one of his cards.

"Defense systems activated. Dimensional Prison shall remove your attacking monster from the game." Nesbit announced, a swirling vortex of black appearing right in the salmon's flight path.

The fish flew right into the portal, which slammed shut just as its tail went through. Mako mentally slapped himself, while Tim began wishing he was close enough to do the same.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn here…" Mako grumbled, sliding the piece of cardstock into place.

As the card materialized behind Starboy, Nesbit drew his own card.

"Analyzing threats…" Nesbit announced, looking between each of his opponent's monsters. "Target selected: I attack Flame Ruler with the Cyber Twin Dragon!"

The first of the two-headed machine's mouths opened wide, and a blast of flames rushed forth. Unhindered by the moisture in the air, the attack cause Flame Ruler to cower with his arms over his head.

"And here comes Mirror Force!" Tim smiled, the shimmering barrier of blue energy appearing around him and his monsters.

"Counter: Activate My Body as a Shield from my hand," Nesbit responded, turning around his lone card to reveal a quickplay spell. "Effect: I give up 1500 life points to negate any card that would destroy my monsters."

Nesbit's life points quickly adjusted, followed by Tim's as his most powerful trap card shattered apart, followed by Flame Ruler. Tim grunted as he braced himself against the shockwave from his monster's destruction, whilst the second head of Cyber Twin Dragon reared back.

"Next target: Solar Flare Dragon. Double strident blast!" Nesbit ordered, pointing directly at the flaming serpent.

"Crud…" Tim grunted as his second monster went the way of the first, leaving nothing but ashes floating to the waste below.

"Looks like he's well prepared for us," Mako observed, wincing a bit at his partner's plight.

"No, you think?" Tim responded sarcastically. "He's only countered almost every move we've tried to make."

"And there shall be plenty more to come on my next turn," Nesbit promised, flashing his empty hands to his foes. "Until then, I can make no other moves. End of turn."

Nesbit: 13500

Tim: 5800

Mako: 7500

"Time for my deckmaster again," Tim decided, holding over his disk. "I say trap this time, so here's hoping…"

Tim watched as the top three cards burned away and reformed in his graveyard. One eyebrow raised at the sight of the last card before the fire around his deck extinguished. Drawing it, Tim nodded and slid the card into his disk, followed by slapping down a facedown monster.

"These two will do for now. Take it away Fish Boy," Tim smirked.

"Don't push your luck," Mako cautioned as he drew his own card. "Uh…I move Starboy to defense mode."

At its master's orders, the red starfish curled its tentacles around itself and closed its eye and mouth. It was soon accompanied by another monster as Mako set a facedown creature next to it.

"That's all I can do this turn," Mako admitted, glancing over to Tim as though hoping the fire duelist had something better.

"Unimpressive, I draw." Nesbit admonished, pulling another card from his deck and turning around. "Activate: Pot of Greed."

Unlike previous plays of the card elsewhere, no sign of the grinning jar or its spectral inhabitant appeared. Nesbit simply drew two new cards and looked them over, before gesturing to Tim's facedown monster.

"Cyber Twin Dragon, destroy the facedown," Nesbit commanded.

In what was becoming a familiar sight to Tim and Mako, another of their monster was consumed by the machine's flame throwers. This time though, a shell of silvery metal flew out from the scorched remains and shone a red light onto Tim's field.

"And that one was my UFO Turtle, meaning that I get to search for a low powered Fire monster now," Tim declared, pulling a card from his deck and playing it. "So here comes another Flame Ruler (1100/1600)!"

The twin of the humanoid pyro-type that had been destroyed earlier phased into sight as the UFO shell final lost power and plummeted to the burning mess below. The new Flame Ruler immediately began to sway on his feet in the overly-humid room as Starboy's power took its toll on him.

"If you're that desperate to lose life points, then by all means," Nesbit shrugged. "Attack that Flame Ruler!"

The Cyber Twin Dragon roared as it released its second attack, but Tim just laughed as his facedown card turned over and absorbed the fire streak.

"Why do they always fall for this?" Tim asked as the flames shot back at Nesbit.

"Your Magic Cylinder trap, huh?" Mako guessed, smiling a bit as he watched Nesbit's life points go up in smoke.

"Got it in one," Tim nodded. "And the best part is now he's out of attacks."

"Status: Unamused." Nesbit droned out as the flames died around him. "Assumption of safety: Incorrect. Quickplay spell card: Depolymerization! Send Cyber Twin Dragon to fusion deck: Special summon the first two Cyber Dragons (2100/1000) from graveyard!

A single red laser suddenly lanced down from the ceiling, striking directly between the machine's two heads! It slowly carved the giant serpent in half, sealing up the damage along the way as one two-headed Cyber Dragon became two regular Cyber Dragons.

"Battle phase continues: Attack Flame Ruler!" Nesbit declared.

"Oh, HELL no!" Tim lamented as the first of the newly summoned monsters launched its flaming breath.

In yet another puff of ash, Tim's monster was unceremoniously dismissed from the field, along with a piece of his life points.

Nesbit went on, pointing to Mako's facedown card. "Attack: facedown monster! Strident blast!"

Mako stood his ground as his facedown Torpedo Fish was sent to the graveyard.

Nesbit: 10700

Tim: 4800

Mako: 7500

"Any bright ideas, Fish Boy?" Tim wondered, looking over to Mako

"First off, stop calling me that," Mako scolded. "Secondly, just wait for my next turn, I'll handle him."

"If we last that long," Tim muttered.

"If you two are finished with your compelling conversation, I ended my turn some time ago," Nesbit chimed in, impatiently drumming his fingers across his arm.

Tim drew his new card, adding it to the two already in his hand.

"Ugh, Mako's had that facedown card for a while. Why hasn't he used it?" Tim wondered as he looked over his choices. "Plus summoning that Starboy on me. If this keeps up…"

Noticing the spell he had just drawn though, Tim's mood immediately uplifted.

"Well alright, I drew my Premature Burial card," Tim declared, playing the spell. "I think I'll use it to revive Flame Ruler!"

A blast of red flames managed to conjure itself from thin air and materialize into the Pyro-type. The well-tanned monster frowned as the excess humidity began to drain his power again, but the smirked as he clapped his hands.

Next to Flame Ruler, another fire appeared, this one quickly taking the shape of its creator. Both the monster and his clone vanished as quickly as they had appeared as Tim removed the card from his disk in favor of another one.

"Then, since he counts as two monsters when I tribute him for a fire monster, I use him to summon the one, the only, the Infernal Flame Emperor (2700/1600)!" Tim cried out.

A blast of flame rose from the waters gathered below, followed by a massive cloud of steam as the liquid began to evaporate. Mako and Tim both covered their eyes against the scalding blasts of vaporized water as the flames took shape into a massive centaur with the head of a lion, formed completely of fire. Despite the fact that Starboy was still weakening it (2300/1600), it showed no signs of its lowered attack score other than a constant cloud of steam to rise from its shoulders and head.

"Attack score: unimpressive." Nesbit stated, waving one hand. "It won't take much to overpower…."

"But he's the strongest one right now," Tim grinned, turning around another spell from his hand. "Oh, and I'm about to equip him with Salamandra, making him even stronger!"

The flaming monolith that now towered over the field roared as the steam faded from around its body and it began to glow white hot with increased heat (3000/1600).

"Get that first Cyber Dragon with Dante's Inferno!" Tim ordered.

Infernal Flame Emperor responded by opening its maw and spraying a blast of orange and red flames that swiftly took the shape of a dragon. The flaming dragon wreathed itself around its metal counterpart, causing the machine-type to release a high pitched whine before it exploded into red-hot shards.

Nesbit: 9800

Tim: 4000

Mako: 7500

"What was that you were saying a second ago, Mako?" Tim grinned to his partner.

"I'll grant that was a good move," Mako nodded. "But you used up all your cards. Guess it's my turn now."

Drawing his own card, Mako let out a cheer and slapped it onto his disk without a second thought.

"Time for my own big guns! Meet the Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600)!" Mako announced.

From next to the Fortress Whale rose a mighty shark, on the back of which was mounted the card that many saw as Mako's doppelganger. Twisting his spear in his hands, Legendary Fisherman laughed as the power of Starboy boosted his score to (2350/1600).

"He may not get a bonus from my field spell thanks to his ability, but he's more than enough to handle your dragon! Starboy goes back to attack mode now, and my Fisherman attacks!" Mako declared.

With the order given, Mako's avatar hurled his spear right through the center of the second Cyber Dragon's head. It exploded, predictably enough, and sent the weapon flying back to its owner.

"Analysis: field empty. Course of action: prepare for direct attack," Nesbit fretted, his robotic drone becoming more apparent.

Mako gestured, and Star Boy lunged forward and chomped on Nesbit's arm with its sharp teeth. Nesbit quickly shook the little monster off, and his chest counter whirred as the life points readjusted themselves.

Nesbit: 8300

Tim: 4000

Mako: 7500

"That ends my turn," Mako announced.

"You're not too shabby after all," Tim admitted.

"Enough!" Nesbit roared as he drew a card, his glowing optics indicating he was not pleased. "Your victory: an illusion! My strategy: Incomparable! Unbeatable! Perfect!"

"Face facts, it was mistake fighting us both at once," Mako pointed out.

"Silence! Activating: Chop Shop," Nesbit called out, playing one of his cards. "Remove one machine from the grave: Draw two cards plus one for every two star levels it had. Cyber Dragon: begone!"

A whir of machinery being dismantled could be heard from within the larger version of the spell that had appeared on Nesbit's field (This one had a rather depressing image of a Decoyroid with its wheels and door laying on the floor of a rather dirty garage). Four cards flew from the image and added themselves to Nesbit's hand, two of which he shoved into his graveyard immediately.

"Discard Proto Cyber Dragon and Perfect Machine King: Activate deckmaster ability!" Nesbit went on.

Two more ghostly machines appeared next to him, though these were considerably more threatening than the first. One was a massive red and white robot, covered from head to toe in powerful armor and high tech weapons. The other looked like a metal snake, and indeed seemed to be a prototype for the Cyber Dragons that had just left the field.

"Here we go again," Tim grunted as each of the spirits fired a bolt of energy, each striking one of Nesbit's opponents to the ground.

"If that's all he's got, I'm not too worried," Mako grunted, shrugging off the attack.

"My field: Zero monsters," Nesbit pointed out, holding up another card.

"You had to say something," Tim sighed.

Nesbit tossed the card into play, and a third Cyber Dragon (2100/1000) roared into existence. It was quickly followed by a platform surrounded with glowing red lights descending from the ceiling and submerging itself into the waters summoned by Mako's field spell.

"Premature Burial: revive Perfect Machine King (2700/1500)!" The smile was obvious in Nesbit's voice now.

The platform emerged from the water, carrying the massive robot that had just been used for Nesbit's deckmaster power. The water didn't seem to have hurt it at all, it just seemed very shiny and clean.

"You're forgetting one thing," Mako interrupted, holding up a finger to emphasize his point. "My Legendary Ocean means that Legendary Fisherman can't be attacked. The only target you can aim at is my Star Boy."

"And if you destroy that, then my Infernal Flame Emperor will just get stronger again," Tim caught on. "And he's already stronger than either one of your monsters."

"Two logical fallacies. First: Perfect Machine King gains five-hundred attack points for every other machine present (3200/1500)," Nesbit announced, his monster clanging its fists together as it drew strength from Cyber Dragon. "Two: I activate Clockwork Night!"

A new spell appeared on the field, this one showing a grouping of gears, behind which a few street lamps were visible. The gears in the picture began to turn, and strange energy pulsed out from the card.

"You ever heard of this one?" Tim asked, turning to Mako.

"Sad to say, no," Mako answered.

"Explanation: All non-machines lose 500 attack and become machines," Nesbit elaborated. "All monsters that start as machines: gain 500 attack!"

Tim and Mako both cringed as their monsters transformed. Starboy's single eye became a red optic, and its body turned to metal causing it to look like a gaudy Christmas ornament (750/700). Down in the water, Legendary Fisherman's skin turned to steel and his spear merged with his arm into a harpoon gun(1850/1600). The shark he stood on changed shape until it more closely resembled a torpedo with fins planted on the sides.

Infernal Flame Emperor suffered the worst of it. The flames were quickly caged and covered by metal armor, which vented itself out though the grill that covered the monster's mouth. It let out a mechanized roar of anger before the finality of its type set in, draining its emotions (2500/1600).

Cyber Dragon (2600/1000) in the meantime was covered with a new chrome plating. Perfect Machine King opened wide its chest plate, revealing a glowing sphere of pulsating energy as its score was boosted by both the spell and all the new machines (5200/1500)!

"No way…." Tim gasped out.

"Attack: Perfect Machine King takes Infernal Flame Emperor!" Nesbit ordered, waving one hand to Tim's monster. "PLASMA BOMB!"

The orb of energy launched from Perfect Machine King's chest cavity and landed with a splat on the mechanized Infernal Flame Emperor. It flashed blue for a moment, before exploding into a massive blast of white-blue energy that left no trace of Tim's monster or the 2700 life points that got shaved off with it. Tim screamed as he fell backward from the force of the blow, digging his fingers into the grate he stood on to avoid being from his platform. His deckmaster was having a much time of it, being of made of nothing but half-burnt wood it was already dangling over the edge of the platform.

"Cyber Dragon, destroy Star Boy!" Nesbit went on.

The serpentine machine released its fire blast, and Mako's Star Boy was no more. However, the flames that carried though were suddenly stopped as a cage of water spouts surrounded Mako and dispersed the incoming damage from the attack.

"Error: How did…" Nesbit griped before noticing the Tornado Wall Mako had just activated. "Oh."

"You had that facedown all this time?" Tim shouted to his partner. "Why didn't you use it before?"

"What? Tornado Wall can't protect your partner from damage," Mako retorted.

"Yes it can!" Tim shouted back.

"You ever seen it used in any of those tag teams you've been in?" Mako challenged.

"Well…no, not really," Tim responded, pointing angrily at Mako. "But still! You could have at least tried using it! You've barely done anything to help me!"

"Now that's just not fair," Mako argued. "I'm not used to dueling with a partner, you take a hit, and then blame me for not knowing whether I could help you or not?"

"You're a professional! You should know anyway!" Tim called back.

"Professional solo duelist! Singular. One. Better off working alone from sound of this," Mako grumbled.

"THAT'S BECAUSE NO ONE WILL TEAM WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU SUCK AT THIS!" Tim screamed at the top of his lungs.

Silence reigned for a moment.

"That's circular logic," Mako said calmly. "But if you're so certain that I'm no good at this then don't bother wasting any cards trying to protect me. I'll handle Nesbit myself."

Tim slapped his forehead with a growl.

"Fine, be selfish. See if I care!" Tim shouted back.

"As for whether or not Tornado Wall would protect your partner," Nesbit began.

"You stay out of this!" Tim and Mako both shouted together.

"Proposal: I attack the fire player directly on next turn." Nesbit went on, ignoring the interruption. "Then we'll know for sure, won't we?"

Nesbit: 7500

Tim: 1300

Mako: 7500

Tim and Mako continued to stare daggers at one another. Nesbit looked from one to the other before loudly clanging his hands together, forcing their attention back onto him.

"My turn: over. Continue please." Nesbit ordered, waving a hand to Tim.

"Fine then, I'm using my deckmaster's power again." Tim announced, Blazing Inpachi igniting his aura as Tim's deck was consumed in fire. "Let's go for a trap this time!"

"Hopefully something good…" Tim prayed as the top three of his deck burned away, leaving one for him to draw. "Sakuretsu Armor? Damn, I was hoping for Dimension Wall, but I guess it'll have to do…"

Setting the trap face down, Tim huffed in Mako's direction, indicating the ocean duelist's turn could begin. Mako remained silent as he drew his fourth card and thought over his hand.

"Fine then, one card facedown, and a monster in defense mode," Mako finally decided as he shifted cards around his disk, the backs of two appearing before him as his Legendary Fisherman crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll also move my Legendary Fisherman to defense mode. Do your worst."

"Challenge: Accepted," Nesbit intoned, drawing his own card and immediately turning it to his foes. "Activating: Emergency Provisions. Send Premature Burial to Graveyard: Gain 1000 life points. Since Premature Burial is not destroyed: Perfect Machine King remains in play."

"Oh, Hell no! That has to break the rules, I call shenanigans on that one!" Tim protested.

"Actually, it's a legal move," Mako cut in. "If the card doesn't say 'destroy' on it when it gets rid of Premature Burial, then the monster doesn't go down with it."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Tim growled.

Sadly, it seemed Mako was not. Perfect Machine King showed no outward changes after being freed from its ties to the graveyard. Only the increase in Nesbit's life points were evidence of the spell's success.

"Perfect Machine King: Destroy the opponent! Plasma bomb!" Nesbit commanded, pointing directly at Tim.

As the chest plate of the lord of machines opened up, however, Tim's facedown card suddenly swung upward.

"Sorry, you've just attempted an illegal operation," Tim sniped as the black armor of his trap jumped forward. "Perfect Machine King must now go to the graveyard, courtesy of my Sakuretsu Armor!"

The black armor slammed its fist into the energy core inside Perfect Machine King's chest, only for it to begin to dissolve. All three duelists stared as the armor's entire arm vanished into the core, which began to pulse wildly and flash orange.

KA-BOOOOOOOOM!

Perfect Machine King was blown into spare parts by the force of its own bomb, taking the armor with it and causing Cyber Dragon to shriek in fear. Nesbit's optics focused on Tim, who pumped one fist in victory.

"No reason to celebrate: Cyber Dragon: Attack!" Nesbit commanded, the dragon machine firing off its blast of fire.

Tim's temporary feeling of elation from wrecking the stronger monster quickly faded as he saw his destruction come blazing toward him. He braced himself for the pain…

Which never came. A water spout sprang up in front of him, blocking the fire and sending a column of steam rising into the air. Mako could only stare in stunned silence as his Tornado Wall trap finished negating the damage of the attack, and the water spout collapsed.

"So it does protect partners," Mako managed to sputter out.

In spite of a massive feeling of relief, Tim couldn't do much but grind his teeth as he recalled just how long Mako had kept Tornado Wall facedown on the field.

"Very well. Your defeat: postponed. Turn: over." Nesbit admitted, clenching and unclenching a fist, the robotic dialect asserting itself further.

"Mako, if we get out of this..." Tim gasped out, finally finding his voice as he drew his card.

Nesbit: 8500

Tim: 1300

Mako: 7500

He stopped talking, once more unable to find the words to express his frustration. Stalling for time, he looked at the card he had drawn.

"I set this monster facedown. And for the record, my partner is a moron!" Tim finally shouted. "End turn!"

"Moron, huh?" Mako grunted as he began his own turn. "Fine then, maybe you'd like to try handling Nesbit here yourself. Of course the only reason you're still here is thanks to my card."

"Which would be a lot more appreciated about three turns ago!" Tim snapped back. "I'd be better off with a monkey for a partner!"

"Fine then. I won't help you, you don't help me," Mako suggested.

"Fine!" Tim agreed.

"Fine," Mako nodded.

"Better than expected." Nesbit told himself as he watched the spat. "Expected: Some degree of animosity and incompatibility of strategies. This goes: beyond calculations."

"And since I'm not going to try and help you anymore, I'm not going to let you use my Tornado Wall for protection, either," Mako declared, pointing down to his two monsters swimming below.

The Fortress Whale let out a low moan and opened its mouth. Mako's facedown monster (A strange Fish called Ocean's Keeper) was drawn into the mouth of the beast, and the water began to froth and bubbled wildly below as Mako raised his arms over his head.

"Rise from your slumber: Levia Dragon Daedelus!" Mako commanded, the head of the gigantic, blue sea-serpent breaching from the water and pulling level with its master's platform. "But he won't stay long. I tribute him for his full power evolution…."

Swapping the cards on his disk, Daedelus let out a ferocious bellow as a second head suddenly rose from below. The entire beast (what of it was visible anyway) seemed to grow longer, towering over the flooded field and causing the below to be churned into a mess of sea foam.

"Ocean Dragon Lord Neo-Daedalus (2900/1600 3100/1800)!" Mako called out.

"You wouldn't…." Tim shouted to Mako.

"Not before activating Treasure of the Deep. Now if my Legendary Ocean hits the graveyard this turn, I get to draw three new cards at the end of it." Mako smirked.

"Error: No other cards in hand. How shall Legendary Ocean leave the field?" Nesbit queried.

"I was hoping you'd ask," Mako grinned. "Daedalus, unleash your power! I remove my ocean from the field to purge it of all other cards and empty our hands!"

Tim merely curled into a ball and prepared for the worst.

"Fury of Poseidon!" Mako shouted.

In one, unmeasurable, blast, the entire simulated ocean suddenly crashed upward from the floor, flying back toward the ceiling. Tim's lone monster (Revealed to be Hand of Nephthys), Nesbit's Cyber Dragon, and all the cards remaining in any of the player's hands were yanked up with the water, which hung in the air for a moment around them before plummeting back to the factory floor below.

Rather than filling the field again, the water splashed in every direction, draining away as though through unseen grates. Only Daedalus (2900/1600) was left on the field, aside from both of the human player's deckmasters. Tim and Blazing Inpachi both seemed surprised that neither of them were wet this time, and Fortress Whale was somehow miraculously hovering in mid-air now.

Nesbit was also dry, but much less impressed with the situation.

"And the best part? I still have his attack to use on you," Mako grinned as he pointed directly at Nesbit. "Attack! Maelstrom surge!"

Both heads of the sea-serpent reared back, before snapping forward. Unlike their metallic, Cyber Dragon cousins, torrents of water shot forth, slamming into Nesbit's robotic body and sending him skidding backward toward the edge of his platform.

Nesbit: 5600

Tim: 1300

Mako: 7500

"Defeat: An impossibility." Nesbit droned out as the water let up and he stumbled back to the center of his stage.

"Let's hear you say that next turn," Mako challenged, crossing his arms. "Until then, I end my move, and my Treasures of the Deep card goes to work."

Mako's deck shone with golden light as he pulled the top three cards from it. Nesbit drew his own card, and plugged it into his disk without a second thought.

"Card of Sanctity: Activate." Nesbit intoned, the arena blazing with golden light as all three players refreshed their hands. "Your loss: Inevitable. Prepare for: Destruction!"

Nesbit slammed a card into play, and the machinery around the field began to whir to life once again. A pair of conveyor belts rolled out, each one carrying a mass of broken machinery.

"Junk Dealer: Activated. Can summon two Machine monsters from the grave: By cutting their attack score in half." Nesbit explained as his choices slowly rose from the discarded parts.

Proto Cyber Dragon (550/600) fell onto the field, its body limp and dented. It was closely followed by Gigatech Wolf (600/1400), which let out a mechanical whimper as its four limb collapsed beneath it.

"So your plan to beat fish boy's big monster is to summon two monsters that can't even stand up?" Tim guessed, looking at the pathetic machines.

"No. My plan: Use Inferno Reckless Summon on Proto-cyber Dragon," Nesbit elaborated as two more conveyor belts appeared. "I can now summon any monsters that share a name with mine. Proto-cyber Dragon's ability: It counts as Cyber Dragon…"

"Oh no…" Mako and Tim both realized.

From the new conveyer belts, two new Cyber Dragons (2100/1000) rolled into play, glaring down at their opponents. Mako just scoffed though as he pointed up at his own monster, which was still lording over the field.

"In case you forgot, my two-headed serpent is much stronger than that metallic one you summoned earlier," He taunted.

"That's why I'm not summoning Cyber Twin Dragon," Nesbit declared, holding up his Polymerization card. "I fuse two Cyber Dragons and one Proto-Cyber Dragon to make…Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800)!"

"You had to say something," Tim grumbled.

"You already said that," Mako pointed out.

"It bears repeating," Tim retorted.

All three dragons were yanked higher into the air, away from their stands as they were smashed against one another by a vortex of energy. Electricity crackled at the point where all three collided, and exploded out in a blinding flash…

In place of the three dragons, a towering, three-headed dragon now stood. It spread a pair of metal wings behind it, glaring down upon Neo Daedalus, which visible trembled in fear.

"Then, I tribute Gigatech Wolf for Machine King (2200/2000)," Nesbit went on, the robotic wolf fading away.

In its place rose a monster Tim recognized from his match with Bandit Keith much earlier: A human-sized robot that almost looked like a giant action figure if not for the sinister red optics that gazed over the field. Tim winced as he recalled the monster's ability, and watched as its score rose to (2400/2000).

"Cyber End Dragon…Super strident blast!" Nesbit commanded, a trio of flames flying from his monster directly at Mako's field. "Destroy Neo Daedalus!"

Mako braced himself, and as he did he noted just how little his deckmaster's ability had helped him in this duel so far. Neo Daedalus didn't even have time to roar in anguish as it was immolated by Nesbit's ultimate machine. Both Tim and Mako cried out in surprise as the shockwaves from the attack nearly knocked them off their feet.

"Machine King, direct attack…" Nesbit ordered.

Tim noticed his life points and fought the urge to cringe.

"One shot from that thing and I'm toast…" He realized, clenching his fist nervously.

"Strike the water duelist!" Nesbit ordered. "Jet rocket punch!"

Tim's eyes went wide as Nesbit's monster fired its fists at Mako rather than him. Mako grunted as he took the rocket-powered fist to the chest and fell to his back, his life points dipping. As he got up, Mako was chuckling and glanced over to Tim.

"Well now, isn't this a surprise?" Mako grunted, rubbing his fresh bruise. "Here I'd thought he'd attack you."

"Yeah, me to," Tim admitted.

"Error: Mako is the more dangerous opponent. He's the one that destroyed most of my monsters," Nesbit corrected. "Neutralization required to further plans…"

"But you would have beat Tim if he'd taken that direct attack," Mako pointed out.

Nesbit's face, being robotic, couldn't change. It was quite clear though that he was angry. Tim held up his disk, showing LP 1300, while Mako's read LP 4000.

"Guess even I can get lucky, my opponent's as dumb as you are Ma…" Tim began.

"Don't start that," Mako warned. "You do realize that this idiot is the one we fighting over earlier, right?"

"Oh yeah, you speared him, I tried to flambé him…" Tim grinned, the frowned. "Wait, you mean we actually fought over this guy? Suddenly having my monsters solder my name to his chest doesn't seem worth it."

"You….." Nesbit growled, sparks flying from around his eyes. "Defeat order…Unimportant….Victory…Imminent…"

"That's what you think, Tin man," Tim taunted, "Don't forget, you just gave me a full hand, and my turn is next."

"Your loss: Imminent." Nesbit repeated. "End turn."

Nesbit: 5600

Tim: 1300

Mako: 4000

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Unnoticed by any of the duelists, the shockwaves from Cyber End Dragon's attack had pushed open a door leading to the catwalk.

And as Tim and Mako shouted from the damage Nesbit had dealt, four figures came rushing through.

"Tim, Mako!" Brian shouted, looking around frantically as Celeste did her best to support him (his ribs were still sore where Gold had pounded him).

"Ooooooh, what's that?" Zeffie gasped, pointing over the edge of the catwalk.

The three older duelists looked to where the girl pointed, and drew back. Cyber End Dragon was just about eye level with them, and did not seem appreciative of the intruders.

"I've got a funny feeling Mako and Tim are close by," Celeste said, gulping nervously.

"If there's one thing marriage taught me, it's never argue with a woman's intuition," Gold agreed, looking down through the metal grate that made up the catwalk. "I think I can see 'em down there too…"

"How did things get so bad that a Cyber End Dragon got on the field?" Celeste asked as she and Brian slowly moved to the edge of their view point and looked down on the dueling field.

Noticing that Tim and Mako both had active Duel Disks and were standing side-by-side across from Nesbit, Brian let out a groan.

"Question answered…" He pointed out. "Tim, Mako! Up here!"

The pair back down on the field were getting back to their feet when they heard Brian's voice. Turning around and looking up, Tim's smile grew wider at the sight of his older brother.

"About time you came, you're just in time for the show!" Tim shouted back.

"Goody!" Zeffie cheered, hopping from Gold's shoulder and running over to kneel next to Brian and Celeste. "You and Makie gonna beat the big dragon?"

"In a word, yes," Mako nodded. "Now then, continuing, I'd wager it's almost Tim's turn…"

Nesbit looked over his two remaining cards (His last Polymerization and a Morphing Jar he kept handy for hand refreshing) before waving one hand to Tim, who drew his seventh card and plugged one into his disk. A light appeared in his graveyard as he discarded two more of his cards.

"Guess I can get lucky twice when the chips are down. Activate Magic Stone Excavation!" Tim called out, holding his hand in front of the graveyard slot. "Since I discarded two cards, I can get a spell back from my graveyard. I choose Premature Burial, and use it to resurrect my Sacred Phoenix of Nepthys (2400/1600)!"

A ring of flames burst into life in front of Tim, and a familiar bird song began. From the flames burst Tim's giant golden phoenix, which sang out its melody as it rose on its own waves of heat to the ceiling

"I knew it would be handy when my deckmaster sent it there," Tim explained to the stunned Nesbit as he played one last card. "And this Salamandra card is pretty handy too!"

The flames around the golden bird (3100/1600) shone brighter, changing to orange. At the edge of the flames, the head of a dragon seemed to form temporarily before fading down.

"Hey, Mako, if I take Machine King can you handle that six-eyed eye-sore?" Tim called to the water duelist.

Mako took a moment to appraise the Cyber End Dragon before nodding.

"Yeah, I think I can manage that…" He said confidently.

"Alright then, Phoenix, sacred dragon fire!" Tim cried out, flame rushing from his side of the field to Nesbit's. "Time for that Machine King to suffer a fatal meltdown!"

Nesbit was still silent as his monster was struck by the flames and quickly melted into a useless pool of red-hot metal. Cheers erupted from the four by-standers above, prompting Nesbit to point up at them, his Cyber End Dragon let out a furious roar at the audience, sending them stumbling backward.

"Rude." Tim commented at Nesbit's behavior as he placed two more cards into his disk. "I'll set these two facedowns and hand it off to Mako."

Nesbit: 4900

Tim: 500

Mako: 4000

Drawing his card, Mako paused for a moment…

"I activate Spiritual Fire Art: Kurenai!" Tim shouted.

"What!" Nesbit snapped out.

Tim's phoenix let out one final, melodious cry before collapsing into a wave of golden fire that flew directly at the robotic duelist. The heat finally seemed to be getting to Nesbit, causing his legs to collapse under him and sending the Robotic Knight to a kneeling position.

Nesbit: 2500

Tim: 500

Mako: 4000

"Was that: truly necessary?" Nesbit glared at Tim.

"Fire is always necessary!" Tim taunted.

"Well that works! I was worried I didn't have enough fire power for a moment," Mako laughed as he opened his field spell zone. "Time to call back the waters! I play my second Legendary Ocean!"

This time, no waters fell from above. The floor far below merely flooded over once more, and soon the artificial ocean was back as though it had never left. A single spot of red light appeared in the water as Mako played another spell from his hand.

"Next comes my Premature Burial, and I'm using it to revive Torpedo Fish (1200/1200)," Mako continued.

From the patch of glowing water swam a mechanical fish, a small propeller shaped like a set of fins spinning behind it as it moved in idle circles around its summoning point.

"Then next, thanks to my field spell, I call forth my Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness (2300/1400)!"

At this latest prompting from Mako, a killer whale breached from below the water and landed with a mighty splash, sending a spray of water high into the air. As it resurfaced, a battery of artillery not uncommon on a battleship became visible on its back.

"Cyber End Dragon: Superior to water creatures," Nesbit stated with confidence.

"Attack power wise, sure," Mako confirmed as he removed Torpedo Fish from his disk and watched as the smaller monster entered his Orca's mouth. "But thanks to my monster's effect, I can tribute Torpedo Fish to instantly destroy any monster on the field!"

Before any protest could rise from Nesbit, the military-grade killer whale fired one of its many cannons directly at the point where the three heads of the Cyber End Dragon met. All three let out a shrill of surprise as a massive explosion tore them asunder and sent pieces of machinery tumbling into the acid vat and water.

"Error…Error…" Nesbit droned out, waving his hands in denial. "My life points: Higher than…"

"I've learned my lessons," Mako interrupted, waving dramatically toward the field. "I'm moving my deckmaster onto the field! For the second time today, come forth Fortress Whale (2550/2350)!"

With a single moan, the Fortress Whale's own battery of cannons, missile launchers, and torpedo tubes all took aim at one target.

"Impossible: Victory: Assured…" Nesbit contined to drone on.

"Double direct attack! Massive artillery strike!" Mako called out as both of his floating fortresses fired every cannon available to them.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Nesbit cried out as massive explosions rocked his side of the field. "ERROR: ERRORERRORERRORERROR 1001001101010010101010010010101……."

Nesbit: 0

Tim: 500

Mako: 3200

All six Elemental Duelists stared at Nesbit, who had suddenly fallen silent.

Finally, one word seemed to squeak out, "Two…."

Nesbit's optics flashed wildly as steam whistled from every joint on his body.

"TTTTTTWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Nesbit screamed as his platform finally fell away.

Gold had one hand over Zeffie's eyes, the others (except for Brian) all winced as they heard the sizzle of Nesbit hitting the acid and melting away into nothing.

After a moment to gather their thoughts had passed, Brian leaned back over the railing.

"You two alright down there?" He asked.

"Never better, bro!" Tim confirmed.

"Same here, any clues on how we can get home now?" Mako wondered. "For once, I think I've dueled enough today."

"Maybe if Zeffie clicks her heels together three times and whishes to go home, we will!" Zeffie suggested, hopping up and down in excitement.

The child's idea drew no response other than silence from the five older duelists, before Gold gave her a reassuring pat on the head.

"Alright, Zefs, you give it a try," Gold nodded with a smile.

Cheering, Zeffie got up on her toes and began to click the heels of her sandals together as Gold looked to the others.

"So, what's the other…." He started to ask.

Before another word could leave his mouth, Zeffie clicked her heels for the third time, and all three vanished.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

"The final six are confirmed, we've got 'em!" Rei cheered.

"Well, let's get them home then," Mokuba ordered. "Preferably before anything else goes wrong."

"At least Noah was able to find Yugi and Victor," Sota commented. "And it gave us more time to find the hostages."

"How're those two doing anyway?" Jackson wondered, suddenly falling out of his chair as Noah's face appeared on every screen in the command center.

"Alright, Yugi and Victor are confirmed," Stated the green-haired youth. "I'm broadcasting images to you now, Mokuba."

"Actually, extend the broadcast range," Mokuba suggested.

"What? I'm not sure Seto would be fond with...Oh…" Noah realized, catching on to Mokuba's thought process. "If Yugi can't succeed you mean then…"

"Then the whole world has to know what's about to happen," Mokuba nodded.

"This is gonna be a PR nightmare," Noah commented as he began extending his influence beyond the control room. "But who are we kidding? After this fiasco, it's not the like the Virtual World will be able to go public for a while."

"Maybe there's a jinx on it," Sota suggested as the image on the screen changed.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

In Los Angeles Kaibaland, Zeffie yawned groggily as she sat up in her pod. Blinking, she looked around the Virtual World pod center and smiled as she saw Gold and Celeste both rising from their pods.

"It worked!" Zeffie cheered as she pounced out and landed on her guardian's back. "Zeffie knew TV wouldn't lie to her!"

Gold and Celeste merely shared confused shrugs.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

At Washington Kaibaland, the Hokage Brothers sat back-to-back, recovering from the latest ordeal. Tim took a deep breath as though to say something.

"Sooo, we call shenanigans on that, right?" Tim suggested.

"Shenanigans," Brian confirmed with a nod.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Simultaneously, Mako was being assisted from his pod by Serenity in Domino City's Kaibaland.

"Much appreciated…" He grunted as the girl steadied him on his feet. "Joey and the others?"

"Waiting for us outside," Mai confirmed before the door suddenly flew open heralding the entrance of Joey Wheeler. "Or maybe not…"

"Good, there you three are!" Joey shouted, gesturing frantically toward the door. "You all gotta get outside, now!"

"Joey, what's wrong?" Serenity asked, looking worried at her brother.

"It's Yug, he's up on the…Just come, not enough time to explain!"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

All around the world, people stared in awe as the channel that had been playing highlight reels of the Virtual Tournament suddenly switched to a new image.

Yugi was standing near the edge of a small arena.

In the center of which stood Victor, staring up at a massive monster.

Said monster, seemed to be taking commands from a familiar youth…

And in the control center, Mokuba's fist shook with rage as he saw the duelist facing Victor looked exactly like himself…

To the world at large, it seemed Victor was dueling Mokuba Kaiba.

Victor dueling Mokuba. While Mokuba is outside the Virtual World.

Most of you are probably curious about how this came around.

So am I.

Sorry to say, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out the whole story.

It's titled

Survival of the Fittest

We're playing for keeps next time around.

000

Original Deckmaster

000

Robotic Knight

Machine

FIRE

Four star

1600 attack

1800 defense

Back up Blaster: Once per turn, you may discard Machine-type monsters from your hand to the graveyard. Deal 500 damage to your opponent for each card discarded in this way.

000

Original Cards

000

Chop Shop

Spell

Image: A Decoyroid that's been dismantled

Remove one Machine-type monster in your graveyard from the game. Draw two cards, plus one for every two star levels the removed monster had.

000

Clockwork Night

Continuous Spell

Image: A factory visible through a mesh of gears.

All monsters on the field change to Machine-type. Any monsters whose original type was Machine gain 500 attack points. Any monster that is not originally a machine loses 500 attack points.

Clockwork Night was originally used by Nesbit in the anime. All credit goes to the writers of Yu-Gi-Oh