FSE

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Jack and Spencer stared at each other for the longest time, surrounded by everyone else who were there for emotional support or had already lost in the finals. Neither one of them had activated their duel disks yet, but seemed to have a telepathic staring contest. They shook paws and shuffled their decks as the storm hit the yacht, making it seem like this was the biggest match in history. A live-feed camera was watching them, sending the feed to everyone who had local, cable, and satellite coverage. Both of them knew that duelists, young and old, green and experienced, were watching this.

Jack saw three furs out of the corner of his eye, his two lovers, Fran and Brad, and the one who had tried to recruit him, the male white tiger, Flamewarrior. Spencer saw Beatrice, the young wolfess with red markings on her body out of the corner of his eye. Both played well, and both were already down the path of recruitment for Flamewarrior's group, since they both passed the 'test' they were given. Both of them denied it, only playing to see if they could get as far as their decks allowed and wanting to test the other's true rival.

"It seems the storm is perfect for this final match," Spencer spoke, breaking the long silence.

"So it seems, but we both have similar reasons for being here."

The panther just nodded, accepting the final match and the rematch from back at the local card shop. The fox didn't like losing, but took every match, win or lose, as something to learn from. He hoped that the cards he was given by the feline would be his rival's downfall. The panther finished shuffling his deck and activated his duel disk. The vulpine soon followed suit.

"Let's finish this!" Spencer roared as he started off the final match of the tournament with drawing his first card. He summoned Crystal Beast Pegasus, then used it's special ability to play a Crystal Beast in his spell/trap card zone, which he placed Amber in, then set two cards, ending his turn. Jack drew his first card and looked at his hand, seeing opportunity to deal first blood open up as he played Snatch Steal, taking Pegasus under his control. He then tried to play Divine Dragon Ragnarok, but that was taken out by a Trap Hole that the feline had played, and decided to play it safe by activating his Swords of Revealing Light before attacking for 1800 points of damage.

The panther drew a card and gained 1000 points from Snatch Steal. He set a creature in defense and ended his turn. The vulpine drew his next card and looked at the field, feeling an eerie sense wash over him as the storm seemed to worsen. His Swords wouldn't last long and he summoned Exiled Force to the field, then sent Pegasus to attack the facedown, only to find out that it was Emerald Tortoise, and losing 200 Life Points in the progress. Seeing as how it would be pointless to continue anything, Jack ended his turn.

Spencer drew his next card and set a card in his spell/trap card zone and a monster facedown, quickly ending his turn. The fox drew his next card, hoping to get something to help him. He set a monster facedown and sent Pegasus to attack the facedown, only to find out that it was Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, no one losing lifepoints or creatures. While Jack was a good player, the panther across from him seemed to have a deck that was built specifically to crush him. The feline at 10200 Life Points while the vulpine had 7800 at this time.

Spencer special summone Amethyst Cat in facedown defense mode and set another card before ending. Jack seemed to realize just how much the panther's deck was built around the Crystal Beasts, save for a Gravi-Crush Dragon or two and drew his next card, watching as his Swords of Revealing Light fizzled out. He flip summoned his Armed Ninja and picked the farthest card from the feline's left, only to find out it was a Bottomless Trap Hole. Wanting to see if he'd used it yet, the fox summoned Spear Dragon to the field, only to have it removed by the very same trap card.

The fox looked at his hand and saw a card that could potentially help reduce the number of defensive monsters. He played his Riryokou spell, taking half of the Hamster's attack and giving it to Pegasus, increasing it by 550 attack points, and then used Exiled Force's ability to destroy the Hamster before sending Pegasus at the Tortoise. He watched as another slot in the spell/trap zone was taken by the Crystal Beast and ended his turn.

Spencer drew his next card and summoned Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger, who gained 400 when he attacked a monster. The Tiger was sent after the Pegasus, bringing the fox's Life Points down to 7600 and the feline ended his turn. Jack drew his next card and set a monster before switching Armed Ninja in defense mode to protect himself and ended his turn.

The panther drew his card and wasted no time in destroying the Ninja before ending, allowing the fox to go. He drew his card and sighed in dismay as the storm continued on before ending his turn, his only hope in his facedown monster. The feline drew his next card and attacked the facedown, only to find out that it was Dragon Dwelling within in the Cave, who's defense matched the Tiger's increased attack. In his second main phase, the panther equipped his Tiger with Crystal Release, bringing the Tiger's attack power up to 2400, allowing it to destroy most of the creature's in the game.

Jack drew his next card, hoping he'd get lucky and saw his luck had paid off, and set the monster, ending his turn. Spencer drew his next card and flipped his Amethyst Cat and used it's special ability to attack directly, only causing 600 damage. Then he sent his tiger to attack the vulpine's facedown monster, which turned out to be Masked Dragon, allowing the fox to grin as he special summoned Red-Eyes B. Chick. His favorite combo summon was nearing it's peak as the turn switched to his.

The fox drew, then special summoned Red-Eyes B. Dragon, then sacrificed it to special summon Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, who's attack power was increased by 1200, due to four dragons being in the graveyard. He stared at Spencer's eyes, seeing a mental defense behind them. He allowed himself to relax slightly and pop his neck.

"This dragon is going to help me win this match Spencer, I hope you realize that. As much as I'd like to take out your Cat, I'd much rather take out the larger predator of yours. RED-EYES DARKNESS DRAGON, ATTACK AND DESTROY CRYSTAL BEAST TOPAZ TIGER!!!" Jack yelled as the dragon prepared it's massive firebreath attack.

"I'm afraid it's in vain, for I activate my trap card, Mirror Force, which destroys your only monster in attack position on the field, your Darkness Dragon," the panther replied as the trap was sprung, the breath attack being forced back unto the pitch black, ruby encrested beast, destroying it and the fox's greatest monster.

The vulpine felt both rage and sorrow upon seeing his victory card crushed and ended his turn, knowing this won't go well. Spencer drew his next card and summoned his sixth Crystal Beast, Cobalt Eagle, and sent his Tiger to destroy his last defense in play before attacking with a combined amount of 2600, leaving the fox at 5400 Life Points before ending. Jack drew his next card and set it in his spell/trap card zone, just hoping for him to summon a monster or another Crystal Beast, then his Rainbow Dragon.

Spencer drew his next card and set a monster facedown before attacking with a combined total of 5000, leaving the near defeated vulpine at 400 Life Points before ending his turn. The fox knew that if he didn't get a card that could help provoke the panther into summoning a monster, he'd be done for and drew his next card, seeing his old ally, Mirage Dragon. He summoned it and equipped it with Dragon's Treasure, increasing his attack power to 1900 and targetted Amethyst Cat, knowing full well that Spencer couldn't activate any traps during the battle phase with Mirage Dragon out.

"It's over, for I activate my Mirage Tube Quickplay Spell! When you attack with a monster, this turns around and deals 1000 points of damage to you, and since your Life Points are at 400, you attacked and ran into your own defeat," Spencer explained as he activated his spell, Jack sighing heavily in his own defeat. The storm still raged as the duel disks deactivated and the people watching from home saw in awe that someone new had been crowned the title of King of Card Games.

As the camera switched the viewing to a commercial to give time for Drake to set up the crowning, Jack placed his deck into his deck box and walked over to his two lovers, holding them close with a warm smile. Fran and Brad stood stunned, hoping for the fox to win and be crowned instead of the panther. When the vulpine pulled back, showing tears of joy instead of defeat, the cougars were even more shocked.

"I said I joined to see how far I could get, I never said I wanted to win the tournament," he explained.

"But, you were so close!" Fran exclaimed as Brad sighed heavily beside her.

"It doesn't matter, only thing that matters now is being with you two, that is what is important."

At that, he turned to see Beatrice at Spencer's side as Drake droned on in a monotone voice about accepting the panther as the new champion, although it was reluctant, and crowned the feline just before the wolfess pulled the panther into a deep, loving kiss. After it was all over, the yacht plotted a course back to the docks as the storm started to lighten up. Jack couldn't be any happier, even though he lost. He had two mates to satisfy upon getting home, and he knew no one would be getting any sleep.

---

Ten years later, Jack saw Spencer in a super market, eyeing the prices of the gallons of milk, obviously trying to decide which one to get. He kept his eye on the panther's progress over the years after that tournament, in which he put his deck away for good. The feline obviously was doing well, having won tournament after tournament and gaining wealth and fame along the way. Grinning, the vulpine decided to catch up with his old rival and walked over to the panther.

The fox tapped the feline's shoulder and heard a sigh, "If it's Beatrice, I'm sure our daughter is just checking out the candy aisle, as usual. If it's a fan, I'm not signing autographs right now. If it's an employee, I don't require assistance in finding out which milk to buy for my newborn cub."

"What if it's an old friend and rival who's deck is gathering dust in his basement for ten years and just wishes to know how you are doing?"

The panther whirled around and stared wide-eyed at the fox, instead of wearing his usual black leather attire, he wore a black pin-stripped suit and small, wire-framed glasses. Jack studdied Spencer more and saw that the tips of his ears, tail, and chin were graying, showing that he'd gotten older over the past decade. They both just stood there, playing that mental staring contest again, just like they did ten years ago.

"I'll be beaten with a stick like an old canine! JACK!!!"

"The one and only. How's life Spencer?"

"Oh... thinking about letting my deck gather dust as well. I got enough money in the bank to help Beatrice and I put our cubs through college. My personal life is conflicting with my status as repeated champion more and more, since my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps."

"That's good. I'm glad to see you and Beatrice are still together. I'm just working as a designer for the card company, so I'm not entirely through with the game, just more of a behind-the-scenes guy now. Brad and Fran are ok... I just hope that they both rest well while I struggle to raise my own daughter."

"That's sad to hear, come, I'll let Beatrice know that I'm gonna walk with you and catch up," the feline nodded as he saw a fox/cougar hybrid run up and cling to Jack's leg, her fluffy tail swaying happily.

The fox laughed softly as he scritched his daughter's ears, "Yes, Jane, you can come with us."

Spencer smiled at the hybrid, seeing that she wore her father's belt and deck box with her short-sleeve shirt and capris. He led the two to the wolfess and the cub hybrids, Beatrice obviously trying to handle three things at once and was already showing signs that she was pregnant with a third cub. He looked at his daughter, Starfire, and scritched her ears.

"Hey Bea, is it ok if I take Star off of your paws for awhile? I'm gonna walk with Jack and catch up with him."

She turned her muzzle around and nodded to Jack before looking in Spencer's eyes, "Yeah, it's fine. Did you get the milk?"

Jack held up a gallon of WIC approved milk, grinning slyly at the feline as he placed it in the wolfess's basket, then noticed that Spencer's daughter shared the same red markings as Beatrice. The wolfess smiled and nodded in approval, so the four of them walked out, the cubs clinging to their respective father's leg.

"How's the pay at your designing job?" Spencer asked out of the blue.

"Well... it gets us by. We still have the same place over off of Washington and Twelfth, since the mortgage was paid off. But I had to sell Fran's car after she passed, easier to walk or take the bus."

The panther nodded as they neared the park and let the kids go play, realizing that Starfire had his belt and deck box attached to her dress. Although it wasn't fashionable, it was convenient, since both girls had backpacks. He turned to Jack and took in the vulpine's features. He obviously didn't get much sleep, considering the bag's under his eyes, and the white around his eartips, tail, and chin had progressed since they last met. By comparison, the fox looked older than the panther.

"How did your cub take the loss of her mother and uncle?"

"Hard... spent about three months holding her close to me cuz she couldn't sleep in her bed. The bed sheets still have their scent on it, which helped her sleep."

"Sometime's loss is hard. I read it in the obituaries... a hit and run?"

The fox only nodded, obviously thinking back to when he heard the news. Spencer nudged him and brought him back to reality and pointed to their girls, duel disks activated, and playing with their old decks. Even though the rivalry between the two old friends had ended, it seemed to have drifted down to the next generation.

"Well, I guess they'll teach each other about the game," Jack said as he watched Jane bring out, both, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv.8.

"Yep... and it's going to be interesting as to see how this plays out," Spencer replied as he watched Starfire smiling at Rainbow Dragon and Rainbow Darkness Dragon. They watched their daughters duel over and over again until Beatrice came up in the minivan, groceries in the back and the little cub in a carseat. The panther called out to the wolf/panther hybrid and they ended the last duel on a draw as she ran up. As the feline's family disappeared from view, Jack smiled at his eight-year old daughter, seeing Fran and Brad in her eyes as they walked home together.