//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: The Gauntlet Is Thrown/The Man With The Golden Eye 
// Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! EG: Duelist Kingdom Saga 
// by Solar Force 
//------------------------------//

It had been several days since Yugi’s big defeat of Kaiba, and life had pretty much carried on as normal. 

On this day, Sunset Shimmer was on her way to her new School, Domino High, deep in thought about everything that had happened on her first day at her new school. What a crazy day that had been. Of all the things to happen, she certainly did not expect what had happened, and all of it revolved around an odd but seemingly popular card game called Duel Monsters. Her new friends seemed to enjoy it a lot, especially the boy called Yugi. She shook her head at everything else that had happened that day. It was just so strange and crazy, and for her, that’s saying a lot.      

“Hey, Sunset, wait up!” She was then snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Téa’s voice from behind her.

“Hey, Téa,” She said, stopping for her friend to catch up with her.

Once Téa caught up with Sunset, she smiled. “Hey, did you hear the good news?” She asked.

“Hear what?” Sunset asked.

“Yugi’s Grandpa is getting discharged from the hospital today,” Tea explained happily. 

Sunset smiled with happiness and relief at this news. “That's great! I bet Yugi is so happy to hear about this!” She declared.

“Yep, he said he wants to go straight to the hospital after school,” Téa went on.

“Hey, we should go visit Grandpa together with him,” Sunset suggested.

Téa heartily agreed, and the two girls continued their conversion as they walked to school.





Sunset and Téa made it to class before the first bell and waited for the boys to arrive.

The boys soon arrived to class themselves. As they walked in, Yugi saw the girls and waved to them. “Morning Sunset. Morning Téa,” He said cheerfully.

“Hey Yugi,” Sunset said back.

“Hi Yugi. I heard your Grandpa's getting out of the Hospital today,” Téá said in greeting her friend.

“Yep, and I’m going to see him after school,” Yugi told the girls with a big smile.

“Oh yeah, and we’re going with him to say hi to Grandpa,” Joey said with a grin as he wrapped his arm around Yugi’s neck.

“And afterwards, we’re going to have a party at Yugi’s house,” Tristan said, playfully ruffling Yugi’s hair.

Yugi struggled to escape from the boys. “Ahh, come on, guys cut it out,” He said, trying to escape.

Sunset and Téa just laughed at the boys’ silly antics. In that moment, Sunset couldn’t help but remember the times she laughed with the girls back at CHS, and felt tears running gently from her eyes.

Téa noticed Sunset crying a little. “Sunset, what’s wrong, why are you crying?” She asked in concern, giving her a tissue.

Sunset took the tissue and wiped away her tears. “Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself,” She replied, “it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Wow, Sunset, you're a cry baby,” Tristan teased. Téa frowned and stomped on Tristan’s foot. “Ow ow ow, what was that for!?” He yelled at her in pain and annoyance.

“Because you deserved it, jerk,” Téa replied with an angry glare, her hands on her hips.

“She’s got you there, Tristan,” Joey said, laughing and grinning at Tristan’s pain.

“Very funny, Joey,” Tristan muttered sarcastically.

Yugi then finally pulled himself free from Joey. “Hey guy’s, what do you think happened to Kaiba?” He asked as he looked around the classroom.

“Ahh, who cares?” Asked Tristan rhetorically with a shrug.

“Knowing Rich Boy, he’s probably crying with his Billions of dollars,'' said Joey dismissively. 

“It's just ever since our Duel he hasn’t been in school,” said Yugi.

“Never mind that,” Téa said. “Just think about visiting your Grandpa after school.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Téa,” Yugi said, and the 5 friends chatted casually about seeing Yugi’s Grandpa until the teacher came in to start the class.  





The day went by like any other. Once school was over, Sunset and the others headed to Yugi’s home to get everything ready for Grandpa’s welcome home party. There was a spread of food and drinks. Once everything was ready, Sunset looked out of the window and saw a car pull up by the house.

“Hey guys, they're here, take your places,” She said quickly. Everyone took their places to surprise Yugi’s Grandpa.

As Yugi and his Grandpa entered, the lights were turned on and everyone yelled, “Welcome home Grandpa!”

Grandpa laughed heartily from the great surprise. “Ohh ho, it’s so good to be home!”

Soon the party was in full swing and everyone was having a great time, welcoming back Yugi’s Grandpa.

Sunset felt a sense of great happiness as she was enjoying the party. “This party isn’t up to Pinkie’s standards but it’s going great,” She thought to herself with a warm smile.





Later that night, Sunset returned back to her apartment, feeling tired but happy. 

“That party went great and I’m happy for Yugi and his Grandpa,” she said to herself as she entered her bedroom and sat down on her bed.  

“Everything’s been going alright since I got here,” She said to herself with a smile. “You know I think this might work out for me.” Her smile then faded as she remembered the moment when she shed tears from remembering her old friends. “Maybe… maybe I could just see how they are doing.” She got out her phone and searched for the social media of her old friends. Her eyes widened in shock at what she found.   

“They got the band back together?” Sunset said, putting her hands to her face in shock. “I should have seen this coming,” She said quietly to herself. As she looked further, she got an even bigger shock. There was a video of her Ex boyfriend, Flash Sentry, as he stood on stage to a cheering crowd. 

“I have a very special song to play for you tonight,” He said with a big smile as he held up his guitar. “And I dedicate this song to a very special someone. This is for you, Twilight!” As soon as he began playing, Sunset dropped her phone as her hands flew to her mouth, and tears welled up in her eyes.    

“That’s…Shining Dawn…” she almost sobbed. “That’s…the song…he wrote…for me…” The floodgates opened as tears streamed down her face, and she flung herself onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow, her body quaking with heartbroken sobs. “I just didn’t think… they hated… me… so much… to do… something… like this,” she said through her tears.

At that moment, outside the apartment, Téa approached Sunset’s door and knocked. “Hello? Sunset? It’s me, Téa!” She called. She was left waiting for what felt like an age, when the door finally opened, and she was greeted by a despondent and red eyed Sunset. “Hi Sunset. I’ve unfortunately missed the last train home, and my parents are away for a while,” Téa explained. “Would it be okay if I stay here for the night?” 

“Uh yeah, sure Téa,” Sunset said with a forced smile. “You can sleep in my room while I take the couch.” 

“Thank you,” Téa said gratefully as she walked past Sunset and entered the apartment. She paused and looked back at Sunset, looking closely at the dried tears on her face. “Sunset, have you been crying?” She asked with concern. “Did something happen?” 

Sunset looked away from Téa. “It’s nothing,” she said in a small voice. 

“Are you ok?” Téa asked, getting closer to Sunset.

“It’s complicated,” Sunset replied, avoiding eye contact.

“Sunset, I’m your friend, you can talk to me you know,” Téa offered gently.

Sunset hesitated, until she gave in and told Téa about what she’d discovered about what happened with her friends and her old boyfriend.

“Wow, I had no idea you were going through all that,” Téa said as she came closer to Sunset and hugged her comfortingly.

“Thanks, Téa,” Sunset said thankfully, “please don’t tell the boys about this?” 

“I won’t, I promise,” Téa agreed. For the rest of the night, she kept Sunset company, who was very grateful to her new friend. 

H/R

The next day, Sunset awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. Groaning sleepily, she reached out and turned it off. She got up and went to find Téa.

“Hey Sunset, how are you feeling today?” Téa asked Sunset.

Sunset looked at Téa fondly, feeling grateful to her for being her first friend since coming to Japan. “I’m feeling better now. Thanks Téa,” She said, and hugged Téa tightly.

Téa smiled warmly and returned the hug. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Sunset,” The two girls finished their hug and got ready for school. Then the two of them had some breakfast before heading off to school.





Later that day, Sunset and her new friends were gathered around one of the desks in their classroom, as they watched Joey and Téa having a game of Duel Monsters. Unlike the Duel Sunset had observed between Yugi and Kaiba, this one was much more what she expected of a tabletop Card Game. It was simply the two of them facing each other, with a Duel Mat laid out on the desk with the relevant spaces for placing the cards. 

“Joey, make a move, already,” Tristan said impatiently.

“K’, here ya go, tough guy,” Joey said, playing a monster card, “My Rock Ogre’s gonna knock ya block off!” The Monster Card he’d played depicted a stone golem-like creature with spikes on its head.  

“Hmm,” Téa said as she flipped over her face down monster card. It depicted a cute little fairy creature with 4 small wings and a pink heart on its forehead. 

“Yeah, Téa,” Chuckled Joey confidently. “Like that wimpy card has a chance against my giant rock guy. Give it up!” Despite his smugness, Sunset could see that Téa was not worried, and most likely had a plan to turn things in her favour. A moment later, she was proved right. 

“Guess I don’t stand a chance,” Téa said, “unless maybe I use,” she put down a Spell Card depicting a cloud of blue mist that resembled a woman's face, as she blew a strong breath of wind. “The Breath Of Light Card.”

“Huh,” Joey uttered in confusion. “Can she do that?” 

“Oh yeah,” Said a smiling Yugi, “The Breath Of Light wears down Rock Monsters. Reduces them to rubble.”  

“Ehhh!” Joey groaned in shock at what this meant for him.

“That brings your Life Points down to 0, Joey. Once again you lose and I rock,” Téa said victoriously.        

“You stink at this game,” Tristan teased. 

“Aughh!” Joey groaned despondently as he slammed his head down on the desk.

“Hey, cheer up, Joey,” Sunset said. “You’ve been playing this game for a little while, but I’ve never played at all, so I’d probably do worse than you.”  

“Oh yeah, like that makes me feel so much better,” Joey mumbled in a muffled voice. 





Later that day, after school, Sunset went to meet the gang at Yugi’s home. On the way there, Sunset encountered Joey, also making his way to Yugi’s home.

“Hi, Joey!” She called out to him.

“Yo, Sunset, how’s it going?” He asked her.

“Fine so far, so got anything planned for the rest of today?” She asked.

“Yep, I’m going to head over to Yugi’s place to ask him to teach me how to play Duel Monsters,” Joey replied.

Sunset was confused. “Wait, I thought you already played Duel Monsters?” She asked.

“True, I have played the game, but I’m not really good at it. So I’m going to ask Yugi to teach me some of his moves, and maybe then I’ll be good enough to beat Kaiba,” He explained to Sunset with a confident smile.

“Hmm,” Sunset said as she remembered the Duel between Yugi and Seto Kaiba. It was after this moment that she decided that she wanted to learn to play the game. “You know what, I think I’ll ask him to teach me as well,” She said to Joey.

“Yeah, we’ll learn together. It’ll be more fun if someone else is doing it with me,” Joey said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah, it’s always more fun to have a friend with you,” Sunset said with a smile, and the two of them continued the journey to Yugi’s home.





Sunset and Joey arrived at Yugi’s home, entered the shop, and Grandpa was the first to see them, who was on top of a ladder as he put up a poster depicting two Duel Monsters, a warrior and a dragon, battling each other. 

“Well, hello, Sunset, and you too Joey,” He said with a welcoming smile.

“Hi Grandpa,” Sunset waved to Grandpa.

“Yo Gramps,” Joey said casually.

Sunset and Joey approached Yugi. “Hey, Yugi, we have a favour to ask you,” Sunset said.

“Okay, what do you guys need?” Yugi asked.

“We were hoping you would teach us how to Duel like you?” Joey asked Yugi.

Yugi pondered Sunset’s and Joey’s request. “Well, guys, I’m good at playing the game, but I don’t think I’ll be any good at teaching it,” He replied with a shake of his head. 

“Ohh,” The two of them said together in disappointment. Sunset then looked up hopefully at Grandpa. “Hey, you know a lot about the game, do you think you can teach us?” She asked with a smile.

“If Yugi can’t teach us, surely you can, please Gramps?” Joey asked.

“Yeah guys, you should ask my Grandpa,” Yugi suggested to his friends. “He’s the real gaming expert in the family, he did teach me everything I know about the game.” Everyone looked expectantly at Grandpa. “Well what do you say Grandpa? Think you can handle 2 new students?” Asked Yugi.

Grandpa rubbed his chin. “Hmm I don’t know, these youngsters don’t look like they know how to shuffle a deck,” He said, thinking about teaching Sunset and Joey.

“Oh come on Grandpa, we really want to learn how to play Duel Monsters,” Joey said, trying to put on his most convincing look.

“Please Grandpa?” Sunset said with the puppy dog pout.

Grandpa simply couldn't look away from Sunset, her pout taking hold of his elderly heart. “Oh no, I can’t look away. Fine, I'll teach you all I know,” He said with a smile.

“Yes/Aw Yeah!” Sunset and Joey cheered and hi fived each other. 

“But only if you two are both willing to spend endless days and sleepless nights filled with rigorous training?” He asked seriously.

Sunset and Joey were surprised by Grandpa’s sudden question but nodded firmly. 

“Yeah, I can take anything you have!” Joey said with determination

“Me too!” Sunset said, equally determined.

“Alright children, we’ll begin your instruction immediately ,” Grandpa said, cracking his knuckles, and believe me, under my tutelage you will learn. Now can you name the most powerful Duel Monster?” 

All Sunset and Joey could do was gaze at their teacher in a stunned stupor as Grandpa fired question after question at them.   





It had been two weeks since Sunset and Joey began their training with Yugi’s Grandpa.

The gang was currently gathered at Yugi’s home to watch the Duel Monsters Regional Championship on TV and it was the Regional Championship Finals. The final round was between two Duelists, Weevil Underwood, and Rex Raptor.

“Bug Boy vs Dinosaur Breath? What kind of match is that?! That should have been me out there!” Joey moaned.

“I know you and Sunset have been training for weeks,” Téa spoke up, “but those guys are in a whole other league, you’re just not ready yet.”

Sunset looked at the two Duelist’s on the TV with interest. “Hey, Yugi, what do you know about these guys?” She asked.

“Well, Weevil specialises in Insect Cards and he’s a great strategist. Then you’ve got Rex Raptor and his Dinosaur Cards. He uses their power to overwhelm his opponents, ” Yugi told Sunset.

Joey smirked. “Itsy bitsy bugs vs Dueling Dinosaurs? Raptor has got this one in the bag.” 

“I wouldn't be so sure,” Yugi added.  

“Of course, with my new deck, I can take them both on, thanks to Grandpa’s training,” Joey bragged as he opened a can of soda.

“So tell me, how was Mr Moto’s training?” Téa asked.

Sunset and Joey's faces turned blue, and the next moment, the two of them were crouched into the nearest corner. “FIRST RULE OF GRANDPA’S TRAINING DON'T TALK ABOUT GRANDPA’S TRAINING!” The two chanted in unison.

Everyone was taken aback by this. “Are you guys crying?” Asked Tristan.

“SECOND RULE OF GRANDPA’S TRAINING!”

“What did that sweet old man do to them?” Téa asked in fear.

Meanwhile, on the TV, the Championship had just ended with Weevil Underwood as the winner, and the announcer then presented the creator of Duel Monsters himself, Maximillion Pegasus, who presented the championship trophy to Weevil. He then proceeded to announce that he was hosting a new Duel Monsters tournament at a location called Duelist Kingdom, to which he personally gave Weevil an invitation to compete in the tournament.

“Hmm, a new tournament?” Sunset wondered.

“And it’s being held by Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters?” Yugi said.

“Oh man, I would kill to join that tournament!” Joey said excitedly.

“No way man, you wouldn’t last 10 minutes in that tournament,” Tristan said jokingly.

“Say’s you, Tristan,” Joey shot back. 

Just then, Grandpa entered the room holding a package. “Oh by the way, Yugi, this package came for you,” He said, showing the package to his grandson.

“A package?” Yugi asked. “What is it Grandpa?” 

“I don’t know,” Grandpa replied, “It just came in the mail.”

Yugi took the package and looked closely at it. ”It’s from Industrial Illusions,” He said in surprise.

“Industrial Illusions,” Joey put in. “That’s the company that makes the Duel Monsters game.”

“The company that makes the game?” Sunset asked. “Why would they be sending a package to you out of the blue like this, Yugi?”

“I have no idea,” Yugi said. “Could it be possible they heard I beat the world champion?”  

“You mean Kaiba?” said Téa.

Sunset scowled at the mention of Kaiba’s name. “That jerk, I’ll never forgive him for what he did,” she muttered darkly.

“Well anyway, why don’t you go ahead and open your package, Yugi,” Grandpa said.

“What could it be?” Yugi said as everyone gathered around, and he opened the Package. Inside was a VHS tape, a deep red fingerless glove with a thick white cuff, and two little golden stars. “Hmm what’s this?” He wondered.

“Maybe the answer is on the tape, Yugi,” Sunset said, pointing at the tape.

“Yeah, pop it in and check it out,” said Joey, 

Yugi took the tape from the box and put it in the player. The video started and for a moment there was only static, but then a man appeared on the screen. Sunset, along with everyone else was taken aback by who it was. 

“Greetings, little Yugi. I am Maximilion Pegasus,” he introduced himself. 

“Pegasus?” Asked Joey.

“We just saw him on tv,” Téa said.

“The famous Maximillion Pegasus sends greetings to my Yugi?” Grandpa said with intrigue. 

“I have heard some terribly interesting things about you Yugi,” Pegasus went on, and something about his voice made Sunset feel uneasy.

“Huh?” Yugi uttered.

“Your impressive defeat of Seto Kaiba intrigued me so much, I decided to investigate your amazing Dueling skills personally,” Pegasus explained in that same tone which Sunset couldn’t help but find eerie. She felt that something was strange about this Pegasus. “Right here, right now. We shall hold a special Duel. We’ll play with a strict time limit of 15 minutes, and when times up, the player with the highest life points will be the winner. Are you ready?” Everyone gasped in disbelief. 

“He can’t seriously expect you to fight a Duel against a video tape!” Joey exclaimed.

“That’s crazy,” Tristan added.

“Uh guys,” Sunset said nervously as she looked at the silver haired man on the screen as he looked out at them with a suddenly sinister smirk. “I don’t know how, but I think he’s serious.”

“What do you mean, Sunset?” Yugi asked as he looked back at her.

“Mm hm hm hm hm,” Pegasus gave a dark chuckle, as something beneath the locks of his silver which covered his left eye glowed. Suddenly, the room turned dark and shadowy, and everyone except for Yugi became frozen like lifeless statues. 

“What’s going on?!” Sunset thought in fright, before she knew no more.





Next thing Sunset knew, everything had gone back to normal, except for Grandpa who fell seemingly lifeless to the floor. In front of her was Yugi, who was knelt down in front of the TV, grasping the sides of the screen as he cried and yelled desperately.  

“Grandpa?! Grandpa?!!! GRANDPA?!!!!!

“Hey what happened?” Asked Téa, before seeing the limp body of Grampa. “Hey, Mr Moto are you alright?”

“Call the Hospital, NOW!” Sunset yelled at the others. Everyone panicked and rushed to call for help for Yugi’s Grandpa.





A little while later, the gang was gathered around Yugi’s Grandpa’s hospital bed, as Yugi, looking distraught, tried his best to explain what had happened between him and Pegasus after they blacked out. 

“WHAT?!” Yelled Joey. “You can’t be serious, Yugi!”

“I’m telling you guys, it’s the truth!” Yugi said, on the verge of tears.

“You seriously expect us to believe that a recording of Pegasus used a freaky magic eye to take your Grandpa’s soul after you lost to him in a Duel where the monsters were real after he took you to another dimension?” Tristan said sceptically. “Sounds pretty far fetched to me.”

“Yugi, are you sure you didn’t just imagine the whole thing?” Téa said softly. 

“Just look at him!” Yugi cried, pointing at the perfectly still form of his Grandpa. “Does this look like I imagined it?!”

During the explanation, Sunset had been listening intently to every word Yugi had said, especially the parts where he started talking about magic. She knew very well that magic was indeed very real, but it shocked her to learn that this world, which she always thought had no magic, actually had its own brand of magic after all. Very dangerous magic. If it could be used to steal a person's very soul, then it was beyond anything she had studied or encountered before. 

Sunset then stepped forward and looked directly into Yugi’s eyes. “I believe you, Yugi,” she stated firmly.  

“You…you do Sunset?” Yugi asked.

“Yes, Yugi, I do,” She replied, before looking back at the others. “I know Yugi’s story may sound far fetched, but what’s also far fetched is Yugi’s Grandpa needing to go to hospital after Yugi played that tape from Pegasus. And you all heard what Pegasus said, he said he wanted to Duel against Yugi just as he started to play the tape, and does anyone remember what happened next?” When no one answered, she went on. “I didn’t think so, because I don’t remember either. The only one of us who could tell us what happened after that was Yugi.” 

The others stared at her in silence for a moment, before Joey spoke in a subdued tone. 

“She’s right guys. This whole thing is pretty out there, but Yugi’s our best friend. How can we just go ahead and not believe what he’s saying?”   

“Yeah, you're right, Joey,” Tristan said with a look of guilt. “If there’s anyone we know we can trust, it’s Yugi.”  

“We’re so sorry for doubting you, Yugi,” Téa said sadly.

“Thanks guys,” Yugi said, wiping tears from his eyes, “I forgive you.” He then looked up and Sunset. “Thanks for believing me,” He said thankfully.  

Sunset nodded. “You’re welcome.”

“Hey, listen, it’s late you guys,” Said Téa. “I think we should all be getting home.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Tristan said. “Visiting hours will be over soon anyway.”

“Yeah, come on guys, lets get outta here,” Joey added as he led the others out of the room. 

As Sunset walked to the door, she looked back to see Yugi still standing by his Grandpa’s bed. “Coming Yugi?” she asked gently.

“I don’t want to go home alone tonight, Sunset,” Yugi whispered. “I’ll miss Grandpa too much.”

Sunset felt her heart break just a little for the poor boy. “Then how about I come over and spend the night with you, Yugi?” She offered without hesitation.

“Really?” Yugi asked hopefully.

“Really,” Sunset said with a small smile. “But first, lets stop at my place so I can get my stuff.”

“Thank you, Sunset,” Yugi said, before looking back at his Grandpa. “I promise you, Grandpa,” he thought with fierce determination. “I swear I will rescue your soul from Pegasus! No matter what it takes!”                

To Be Continued…