//------------------------------//
// Moths, Darts, and Raving Fans Part 1 
// Story: Duel Monsters Are Magic: The Original King of Games 
// by snivygamer97 
//------------------------------//

It is now morning, with the ship just about ready to dock at Duelist Kingdom.
“Man, this Duelist Kingdom looks like a pretty big place, huh Yugi?” Joey asked.
“Finding your grandpa's not going to be easy,” Tea agreed.
“And then there’s the matter of finding our friends…,” Rainbow noted with worry.
“And Twilight…,” Spike noted sadly.
“Uh…are you guys okay?” Tristan asked.
“Of course not, Tristan. Just like we have to worry about Yugi’s Grandpa and Joey’s sister, they have their own friends to worry about,” Tea scolded the tactlessness of her friend.
“Oh…sorry,” Tristan apologized.
“It’s okay! It’s just a matter of talking to that Pegasus man and asking him to give everyone back!” Pinkie said optimistically.
“Maybe a bit too optimistic there, Pinks,” Rainbow noted.
“Yeah…but maybe this Pegasus can be reasoned with. After all, if I’m remembering correctly, Celestia did trust him, so he can’t be all bad,” Rarity agreed.
“We’ll see…,” Spike grumbled.
“What do you think, Yugi?” Tea asked.
“Well…I don’t fully know what to think, but we should still try and look for everyone once we dock. After all, we gotta start somewhere,” Yugi said as the ship continued on with the island in sight. ____________________________________________________________________________
As soon as the ship arrived at port and the anchor dropped, the group began to walk on over to the bridge that was being set up, seeing the guards nearby.
“Whoa. Check out the suits,” Joey noted as the bridge was finishing being set up.
“I know. One false move and we could be in for some trouble,” Rarity noted as Tristan looked worried. 
“So…I guess fighting them is not an option then?” Rainbow questioned.
“I’d say so,” Rarity whispered. “Right, Spike?” Rarity turned to see that Spike looked mad and in thought.
“Just you wait, Twilight. I’ll rescue you and your friends in no time,” Spike thought with clenched fists.
“Uh…you okay, Spike?” Tea asked.
“Just thinking,” Spike cryptically answered.
“It’s about Twilight isn’t it? Either that or jewels,” Pinkie guessed as some of the others comically fell.
“Maybe not something that simple, Pinks,” Rainbow noted.
At this point, the P.A. turned on. “Attention, all duelists. Please disembark in an orderly fashion.”
“Hey, Téa, I’m kinda worried about what Rarity said earlier. What if one of those security guys finds out we're both stowaways? We oughta just play it safe and swim back,” Tristan suggested as he tried to leave only for Tea to grab him by the collar.
“We're in the middle of nowhere, lamebrain! If you can just try and act normal, We'll be ok,” Tea said as the group began to walk down the bridge and onto the port.
While everyone walked by the guards, Tristan thought, “Just act cool. Act cool. Cool as a cucumber. Keep it cool–.”
“Hey, you!” The guard said as Tristan looked worried. Thankfully, the guard just responded, “Don't look so nervous. You guys are our guests here.”
“That's right! I'm your guest,” Tristan said, hiding his worry as he turned back to the group, panting heavily. “I think I just had a heart attack.”
“Way to play it cool, Tristan. That wasn't suspicious at all,” Tea snarked.
“Yeah…maybe we should be less transparent about whether or not we belong here before they find out something’s up,” Spike noted.
“Hey!” Tristan yelled, offended.
“To be fair, he has a point,” Tea agreed as Tristan looked down sadly.
“Soon, however, it won’t matter as I doubt that those gentlemen will be super strict for long. After all, if they really did want us gone, they would have checked for identification just now,” Rarity noted.
“Maybe…but we should still be careful…at least until we can save everyone,” Spike said.
“Okay…but for now, things are lookin’ good! Every single one of us made it here Safe and– Ah-choo!” Joey was interrupted as he sneezed on Tea, who reacted with disgust.
“Eww! I’m not mad, because I know you couldn’t help it, but can you please keep your sneezing away from us?!” Rarity demanded with some disgust.
“Yeah…because that is totally what is important right now and not the fact that our friend is likely sick,” Rainbow snarked as Rarity looked at Rainbow annoyed.
“You okay? Did you get the sniffles from being in the cold ocean?” Pinkie asked, trying to be serious.
“I’m fine! I can still Duel just fine. Don’t worry about me,” Joey reassured.
“Well…okay. If you need some cheerin’ up, I have plenty of sweets and confetti I was saving for later!” Pinkie cheered.
“I don’t think that will be necessary, Pinkie. Still…Joey would never have caught that cold If it wasn't for Weevil,” Yugi said sadly.
“Speaking of our wormy friend, looks like he just slithered his way off the boat and is already looking to start some trouble,” Joey grumbled as the group looked over at the lying cheat.
“Want me to punch him?” Rainbow asked only to get looks from her friends. “Fine! But what do you suggest?”
“We could just tell the guards of what Weevil did,” Pinkie suggested.
“Though, considering that they work for Pegasus, that may not be the best move,” Rarity reminded.
“Guess a Duel will do then?” Tea suggested.
“Maybe…Either way, that slimeball. I'd love to wipe that smirk off his face,” Joey grumbled.
“I would, too, but we don't have time for Weevil right now,” Yugi thought to himself.
“Well, well, well. Here we are again you rainbow-haired freak. So, you still haven’t run away to mommy before the tournament started? I thought you would have known well enough to surrender while you still can,” Sylvio gloated as he laughed.
Rainbow grumbled as some of the others tried to hold her back from attacking Sylvio.
“Remember, if we wanna find the others, we can’t get kicked out!” Spike warned.
“Fine! So, Sylvs, I was kinda wondering how good of a Duelist you are. I mean, you did manage to get into this tournament after all. Or did you use money to buy your way in?” Rainbow taunted.
“Grr! You unrefined freak! For your information, I managed to get into the top eight in the regionals without Extra Deck summoning, so I’d say I did great!” Sylvio seethed with overconfidence. “What about you? You think you’ll stand a chance in this tournament with your one star chip? Please! I won’t have to worry for a second about losing to you, like I even could!”
“Well, we’ll see about that! You know, I did manage to get some training ever since I helped take down Kaiba. I’d say my chances of winning are very good if we’re being honest…Sylvinope!” Rainbow yelled back, angering Sylvio.
“Wanna Duel right now, Skittles? I’d like to stop your mouth from running sooner rather than later!” Sylvio challenged.
“And it looks like Sylvio doesn’t know when to quit antagonizing the weaker competition,” Dipper said aside to Julia and Kit.
“Neither does that girl. Doesn’t she know that she’ll lose?” Kit shook his head.
“Apparently not. She thinks that because of a few lucky moves that she’s a hotshot? Well…one of us should go warn Sylvio once more,” Julia said as Dipper and Kit looked aside and whistled to themselves. “Fine! I’ll do it. Again!” Julia groaned as she walked over to the pair. “Apparently, I guess once wasn’t enough to stop you two. There are plenty of guards here that I’m sure would be more than happy to kick you out and send you home, you know!”
“You know, the girl has a point,” Tea agreed.
“The last thing we need is to be unable to compete, Rainbow,” Spike said.
“But…this guy…!” Rainbow groaned.
“Can be dealt with later. We need to find the others first!” Rarity reminded.
“Well, Sylvio, you’re lucky that we have places to go otherwise we’d settle this Duel right here and now! See you after the tournament starts!” Rainbow begrudgingly said as she turned away.
“Very well then. We’ll see if your lame Synchros can best the top-eight’s Dueling deck in due time!” Sylvio said as he walked away from the group.
“He’s such a jerk,” Rainbow grumbled. “You sure we can’t just have a non-tournament Duel with him?”
“Look, I understand yer beef with him. After all, he seems to be rude and arrogant. Not as bad as that cheat Weevil, but still unpleasant,” Joey agreed.
“But?” Rainbow asked.
“But we can’t waste any time right now! Twilight could have her soul in a card for all we know!” Spike reminded.
“So please put the focus on us saving them, please! You can worry about your ego later!” Rarity said.
Rainbow’s annoyance faded after hearing this. “You’re right. I’m sorry, you guys. We’ll put our focus on saving the others first. Then we’ll play this Pegasus guys’s game for a while.”
“If at all,” Tea reminded.
“Yeah…,” Yugi agreed.
“Well, now that that’s settled, why don’t we enjoy some of my delicious cupcakes!” Pinkie asked as she held out a plate of cupcakes.
“Um, where did you get them?” Yugi asked.
“Don’t question it,” Rainbow responded.
At this point, one of the guards with standout hair yelled out, “Welcome, all duelists! Please, follow the stairs to meet your host.” The guard motioned to a set of stone stairs that led to a yellow castle at the top of it.
____________________________________________________________________________
As the group was walking up the stairs, most of the group was looking and feeling determined…except for Rarity.
“Are they seriously expecting for us to walk up all these stairs?! There really isn't an elevator or something?! Well…at least the castle is gorgeous…” Rarity complained.
“Don’t worry, most beautiful one. We’ll be at the top soon,” Spike lovingly sighed.
“What was that?” Tristan asked.
“Nothing!” Spike denied.
“Yeah…that looks like nothing…,” Rainbow snarked.
“Speaking of that castle, thats gotta belong to Pegasus,” Yugi said.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s finish going up these stairs and confront the big dolt!” Joey yelled.
At this point, Tea looked towards the forest and saw a familiar face nearby once more. “Huh? What's that?”
“Huh? What do ya see, Téa?” Joey asked.
“Is it that Mai lady that also acted arrogant?” Spike suggested.
“It’s not her. It looked like...Bakura,” Tea answered.
“Bakura from school?” Yugi asked.
“Uh huh. I guess he must have gotten into the tournament or something,” Tea confirmed.
“Again with this Bakura stuff?” Tristan asked with annoyance. 
“Hey! I can’t help that I’ve seen him acting like he was here in secret!” Tea grumbled.
“Don’t worry, Tea. I believe that he’s here. Still, wonder why he’s here,” Rarity wondered.
“Better yet, what does he look like?” Rainbow asked.
“He has spiky white hair and some sort of necklace,” Yugi answered. “I haven’t gotten a good look at it seeing as he has it on under his shirt.”
“I don’t see anyone matching that description. You sure you saw this Bakura guy?” Spike asked.
“Maybe he can turn invisible!” Pinkie suggested.
“Uh…,” Rarity looked flabbergasted for a moment before responding, “Yeah…so maybe we should narrow down the search as to where this Bakura person is?”
“Agreed. So, where is he, Téa?” Joey asked.
“He’s down there, hiding in the trees of the forest,” Tea pointed to where Bakura was…only to see he was now gone. 
“Wow! He must be playing hide and seek! And he’s good at it!” Pinkie cheered.
“Looks like you might have been seeing things there, Tea,” Tristan noted.
“B-But…I did see him a moment ago,” Tea responded.
“But he's not there anymore,” Joey noted.
“Don’t worry, Tea. He probably just left for now,” Yugi reassured as Tea smiled for a moment before noting.
“It’s strange, though.” Téa then said, “That's two times that I've seen him now. Maybe it's all in my head.”
“Possibly. If he was indeed there, then he likely wants to remain hidden for some reason,” Rainbow pointed out.
“But…why come here if not to be in the competition?” Rarity wondered.
“Maybe he just wants to watch it in person?” Pinkie suggested.
“Seems like an unlikely reason to be there…Look, we need to get going up to the castle. We need to find Twilight and the others asap. We can’t afford to play around or wonder about this Bakura stuff at the moment!” Spike snapped before continuing up the stairs.
“He has a point…We should go,” Yugi agreed as most of the group began walking up the stairs.
“But…why is he here?” Tea wondered.
“Maybe we should wonder later like Spike said. Come on. We're on a rescue mission, remember?” Tristan snipped as he continued up the stairs and after a moment of consideration, Tea followed along.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“But daddy!” Jaden yelled out to her adoptive father. “Can’t we go and watch the Duels in person? We really wanna meet some of the famous Duelists that you brought to our summer home!”
“Yeah! Weevil, Rex, Julia. Sylvio, Dipper, and even Yugi are here! Sadly no Kaiba, though…,” Jesse agreed.
“Wonder why he’s not here…,” Jaden wondered.
“Not sure…but it would be fun to own so many famous autographs! They’d be as treasurable as my Crystal Beast cards!” Jesse cheered.
“I know, right! Please let us go on down, daddy! You know you want to see these amazing Duelists with us!” Jaden pleaded.
“Look, I’m sorry my darling angels, but the answer is no,” Pegasus declined.
“But why?” Jesse asked.
“For starters, I have far more important work to attend to. Keeping this tournament running properly is very difficult work, believe it or not,” Pegasus answered.
“Well…maybe we can just go on down and meet the Duelists on our own then!” Jaden suggested.
“Yeah! We can take care of ourselves easily! After all, we’ve been around this island on our own many times before! We know it better than anyone!” Jesse reminded.
“I’m afraid not. The last thing we need is you being too overconfident and getting lost or hurt,” Pegasus declined.
“Then…maybe with some bodyguards then?” Jesse suggested.
“Yeah! Like some of those celebrities have!” Jaden agreed.
“They’re all busy televising parts of this tournament  and making sure no one cheats or stuff like that,” Pegasus shot that idea down.
“But…,” Jaden sadly began.
“I’m sorry, but the final answer is no. Now…go to your room for now. I need to greet our honored guests in a few minutes,” Pegasus pointed to the two young kids to go for now.
As soon as the duo left, Pegasus turned on a screen, with Twilight appearing on the other side of it. “Aw, Twilight! You’re in your position, I presume?”
“I guess…I’m not sure why we need to be some of the eliminators in this tournament. Haven't we already boosted our Dueling skills?” Twilight asked confused.
“Simple, Twily. We need to build up our Dueling might in order to keep our world safe from the coming threats. This tournament will help us check and see who is worthy to help us out when the time comes,” Pegasus reminded.
“Uh…sure?” Twilight was still a bit uncertain but decided to not say anything.
Suddenly, another person wanted to talk to Pegasus on the screen.
“Hold on. I have another call,” Pegasus answered, seeing Fluttershy on the other end. “What is it, my dear?”
“Um, well…I just wanted to know if I could maybe…get a different job…please?” Fluttershy asked.
“What do you mean?” Pegasus asked, looking annoyed.
“Well…I may have gotten used to Dueling my friends…but I don’t know about doing so in front of strangers…especially since the cameras may or may not be on for me…,” Fluttershy meekly squeaked.
“Look, squeaky. Your position is important. I don’t have the time to look for replacements right now, so you have to take on this important position. End of discussion, got it?” Pegasus coldly and forcefully demanded.
“Um…o-o-kay,” Fluttershy meekly whispered.
“Good. Now, get your deck ready to Duel. You have a little over an hour,” Pegasus said calmly as he hung up. “So, everything has fallen into place. Soon, everything will be fine and we can mostly all live happily ever after…”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Aw man! I can’t believe we’re not going to be able to watch all these amazing matches!” Jaden groaned as she walked back and forth across their bedroom.
“Yeah! This is the biggest Dueling event of the year, taking place right outside our window and our dad doesn’t want us to even watch it! Can you believe it?!” Jesse was mad.
“Yeah…I know he just wants us to be safe, but it’s a Dueling tournament with guards at a lot of places. How dangerous can it be?” Jaden asked.
“I don’t know…but it looks like we won’t be seeing these people Duel their decks out…,” Jesse said sadly.
“Maybe…unless…,” Jaden began.
“Unless what? “ Jesse asked.
“We could sneak out and see some Duels real quick,” Jaden suggested.
“But…won’t dad be mad if we disobey him, though?” Jesse asked.
“That’s the best part. Since he’s busy, as he said, we can simply just sneak out and watch a few Duels, then return before he’s any the wiser! What do you think?” Jaden asked.
“Not bad…but how do we sneak out? There are guards near the entrance after all,” Jesse reminded.
Jaden stood there thinking for a second before looking at the bed sheets and window. “I think I have another brilliant idea!”
“Wow. Two in one day? That’s kinda rare, sis,” Jesse teased.
“Hey!” Jaden playfully yelled in faux annoyance.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, outside of the castle at the top of the stairs…
“Wow, look! That's Weevil Underwood! He's the regional champion,” One contestant said as they saw the champ smugly smile.
“And that's the runner-up--Rex Raptor,” A second guy said as Rex smiled, still annoyed he was kicked out of his room earlier.
“And there's Mako Tsunami. He was ranked third,” A female Duelist cheered.
“Better yet, look over there! Julia Crystal and Sylvio Sawatari! They ranked high as well. And…some other two guys,” A fourth girl said the last part dismissively.
“Some other two guys?! We’re Kit Blade and Dipper O’Rein!” Kit yelled.
“Yeah! My Constellar Deck is going to make quick work of all of you chumps entered in this tournament!” Dipper agreed.
“Yeah…whatever,” The third girl dismissed as the two looked mad with Julia giving the two of them a look to not mess things up for them.
“Wow, these are all the best duelists in the world. But where's the world champion Kaiba?” The second Duelist asked.
“Didn't you hear? Some kid beat him. On his own turf, too,” The first guy revealed.
“Are you serious? I thought Kaiba was the best. He owns the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” The second guy yelled.
“He was, but not anymore. Yugi's supposed to be the kid to beat now,” The first guy said.
“Look! There he is now!” The third girl cheered as she saw Yugi and the others finally make it to the top of the stairs.
Many of the other Duelists looked at Yugi, some in admiration while others looked dismissive.
“Wow, Yugi! Did you hear them? You’re famous!” Pinkie cheered.
“Maybe…but it was nothing!” Yugi nervously blushed, trying to hide the awkwardness.
“Come on! We managed to beat Kaiba in a Duel and you were almost able to beat Pegasus too! Even though he cheated!” Rainbow boasted. “You wanna see if we can get autograph offers?”
“Now, Rainbow Dash! Remember, we have more important reasons to be here than to pump up your ego!” Rarity scolded.
“Yeah…the last thing we need is to waste our time when we should focus it into saving everyone,” Tea agreed, looking over to see that Yugi and Spike were looking more determined now.
“Sorry about that…just wanted Yugi to feel proud of his accomplishment. But yeah…we need to find some way to confront Pegasus,” Rainbow said.
“The only question is where we should start?” Tristan said.
“Attention! Please gather around. Your benevolent host is anxious to greet you all,” The man with the impressive hair said as Pegasus walked down the hallway in his castle to the balcony above the challengers of the tournament.
“Hmm,” Pegasus smiled upon seeing that Yugi was present in the crowd.
“Boy, would I like to get just minutes alone with that guy,” Joey growled.
“I know! I wish I could fly and get us all up there to that snake!” Rainbow grumbled as well.
Meanwhile, Yugi gave a glare over to the man who was responsible for his grandfather’s soul being stolen, remembering what had happened.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“As for you, Yugi, you presume I'm giving you a choice in the matter. But…,” He lifts hair aside to reveal the Millennium Eye. “I'm not, for I too possess one of the seven Millennium Items- the all-powerful Millennium Eye!”
	“A Millennium Eye?” Yugi was shocked.
	“So that’s how you know so much about the Millenium Items!” Pinkie realized.
	“That's right, Yugi-boy and Pinkamina. And now I'll show you the true extent of its magic. You see, I have found that- given the proper incentive, anyone can be made to play my game.” The Millennium Eye glows and pulls Yugi's grandfather's soul into the television screen.
	Huh?” Yugi and the spirit are shocked by what occurred.
	Solomon, from the television screen, cries out, “Yugi!”
	Yugi becomes himself again and runs toward the TV. “Grandpa!”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I'm not leaving this island until I save my grandpa. No matter what Pegasus has planned for me,” Yugi thought to himself as he looked at Pegasus.
“Greetings, duelists! I am Maximillion Pegasus! It is my great honor and pleasure to welcome you all to the Duelist Kingdom. You stand before me, the world's greatest duelists! But come tournament's end, only one shall be crowned King of Games! I implore you all to assemble your dueling decks with care, with creativity, and with cunning, for this competition will test your skills like never before! To track your progress in the tournament, you've each been given a dueling glove. You've also been given precious star chips. You must wager these star chips on each duel you compete in. To advance to the final level of competition for a chance at the $one million dollar prize, you must win star chips! Star chips will admit you into my castle, where you'll face me in one final duel!” Pegasus explained to the excited tournament goers.
“If grandpa's here, I'd bet my dueling glove he's hidden away
in that castle. But I'll never be able to get in there with all the guards around. We're just gonna have to win enough star chips to get inside,” Yugi thought to himself.
“Soon…I’ll save you and our friends, Twilight. Don’t you worry!” Spike thought with determination.
“This will be a tournament unlike anything you have ever experienced. State-of-the-art dueling arenas cover this entire island, and intriguing new dueling rules will be in effect. I could tell you what these new rules are, but what fun would that be? You'll discover them as you compete, or you won't last very long. Remember, play boldly, think strategically, and duel mercilessly! You have one full hour to prepare, both your cards and yourselves. When the skies light up with fireworks, The duels will begin!” Pegasus finished his speech to the crowd.
As the speech was finished, the entire crowd cheered loudly and excitedly.
“The duelists have arrived, Yugi has taken the bait, and the games are about to begin! Everything goes according to plan.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I gotta win my way into that castle. I just gotta!” Yugi thought with determination as he sat on a rock in the woods, with the others thinking over the situation.
“Yugi, I don't know if I can win this thing. Maybe it'd be best for you to take your star chip back,” Joey uncertainly suggested.
“But…you’ve improved so much with me…and your sister!” Rainbow was shocked.
“Knowing how much of a noob I still am, I bet I’d just mess it up. Besides, Yuge needs all the chances he can get to save his grandpa. So, just…take it back Yugi,” Joey sadly held out the chip.
“Joey…,” Pinkie and Rarity looked sad.
Almost immediately, Yugi answered, “Nah, you keep it. Your little sister's counting on you to win the tournament's prize money for her.”
“Thanks, man,” Joey said, touched. 
“You can do it. You just gotta steer clear of the more experienced duelists at first,” Tea reassured.
“Yeah, it's just a matter of working your way up,” Tristan agreed.
“Thanks, you guys. Well, Yugi, Between your grandpa, their friends, and my sister, we don't have any room for mistakes,” Joey reminded.
“Right!” Yugi nodded in agreement.
“And Rainbow…don’t get too overconfident and lose your star chip out of the gate…,” Tristan teased.
“B-But! Hey! I improved as well! I can beat just about anyone here!” Rainbow countered.
“You’ve improved, but you’re not invincible. Remember, we’re facing many pros here. We can’t make mistakes,” Spike pointed out.
“You only have one chance. Blow it, and we can’t save the others,” Rarity warned carefully.
“O-Okay…,” Rainbow nodded with determination.
Suddenly, a bunch of lights exploded into the sky.
“Whoa! Pretty! You think this is the fireworks that Pegasus mentioned?” Pinkie asked.
“I’d say so! It's starting!” Tea agreed. 
“Let's do it! The team that will make a clean sweep is in action!” Rainbow cheered as the group got up and began to look for opponents.
“Now, if I were Sylvio, where would I be?” Rainbow wondered.
“Um…Is it really worth challenging him right now? I mean, we should probably stick together,” Spike reminded.
“Agreed! We may have difficulty finding each other again if we split up now,” Tea said.
“But…what about proving myself to him?” Rainbow asked.
“What about staying in the tournament?” Rarity asked.
“F-Fine. But I plan on challenging him soon enough!” Rainbow yelled.
“So what's your plan, Yugi?” Joey asked.
“Well, I might as well stick with Weevil. After all, we do have a score to settle,” Yugi decided.
“I was hoping you'd say that,” A voice said, which, upon the group looking, saw that it belonged to Weevil.
“Isn't that him?” Pinkie pointed towards the manipulative snake, who was near a forest. “Hey, you big old meanie! Apologize for ruining Yugi’s cards! Now!” Pinkie yelled.
“Like I’ll ever do that! Let that situation be a lesson to not trust everyone you meet!” Weevil laughed.
“Weevil. Weevil, I challenge you to a duel!” Yugi yelled out. However, instead of agreeing, Weevil laughed and ran off into the forest.
“Hey, wait–!” Tristan yelled as the group started to run off after Weevil.
“Do we really have to be running after this guy?” Rarity asked, not liking the intense exercise very much.
“I can't believe it! Weevil's running away!” Joey yelled.
“Hey, wait up!” We want to challenge you!” Pinkie yelled out. “Isn’t the whole point of the tournament to challenge each other?”