It always made me wonder why Valon fell in love with Mai in the first place. Did he fall for her because she was pretty? Because he thinks they are alike, or is it because it was something more?

This takes place during Mai's third night in Doom and after she beats Pegasus, so this would be a pre-canon story.

Valon was walking through the hallways at eleven at night. He really couldn't sleep for some reason, and he always sleep like a log during this time.

So he decided to get up and walk around until he felt sleepy.

Valon grabbed a fist full of his star shaped spiked hair and sighed. Even he was having trouble figuring out why he couldn't sleep. He groaned.

"If I don' get any shut eye I'm gonna look just as ugly as Gurimo in the morning." Valon said to himself "Why can't I sleep?"

This was not normal for the Australian. Valon would always be sleeping, he would be full of energy and would be annoying Alister (much to the redheads dismay).

But lately he was more calmer than usual, he started to act more serious about things and he even stopped fighting with Alister, and that scared him the most. He didn't know why though and that was causing his distress.

He suddenly saw long locks of curly blonde hair being blown in the wind outside on the balcony.

His heart stopped when he saw who the woman was.

"Mai"

Mai was standing out in the balcony alone. Her arms folded and resting at the edge as she bend over on it, she was looking out at the ocean with the moon light shinning on her.

Valon felt his stomach turn for some reason. His heart started to race faster than usual, he couldn't breath and his hands were starting to feel sweaty.

"I'm..I'm stiff!" Valon exclaimed in his head "Tha's never 'appen to me before! When I saw Mai the first time I didn't feel a thing!"

Valon stopped as he remembered when he and Mai met. He held out his hand as he offered her a chance to change her life, she was such as mess that Valon, the most obnoxious guy alive, took pity on her he had to. Then he remembered her touching his hand.

He looked at the hand that Mai touched. He was in deep thought ( which would surprise Alister)

"When she took me hand" Valon said softly, he remembered now. He even had that weird feeling when she touched him.

The question is, why is he feeling like this with Mai around?

Valon looks at the blonde again and he went wide eyed. Mai had her hands on her face and she was sobbing silently, she took her hands away to reveal her violet eyes as they released more tears.

Valon was confused, today she took down Maximillion Pegasus. Though she told Valon that she really wanted to take down that one guy.

Joey Wheeler.

"Why is she crying?" Valon asked to himself, he saw Mai continue to cry and she can't seem to stop herself. He looks down and he saw his hand again, then he realized what he had. His ring with the Orichalcos stone attached to it.

"I don' want to be in anyone's business..." Valon said "I don' know why, but I want to know" He put his other hand over the stone and chanted.

"Stone of the Orichalcos, show me what's inside her heart" The stone glowed and before he knew it. He began to see images.

He saw Mai as a little girl all alone in a big house with no one else in it. Then he saw her again except now she's older and she saw guys lusting after Mai, making marriage proposals to her but only wanted sex. The he saw her in some kind of hour glass with sand in it.

She was banging on the glass and was panicking.

"Let me out! Let me out!" Mai was screaming, Valon saw the desperation in her eyes. Then he saw a blonde boy about sixteen years old, he looks at Mai...then he walked away.

"Joey! Come back! Joey!" Mai shouted again, Valon began to shake a bit as he saw the sand about to suffocate her.

Joey! Save me!" Mai shouted once more. Valon suddenly began to run to Mai. As the sand buried her he ran as fast as he could to it.

Everything went black. Valon panicked, he couldn't fin Mai any where.

"Mai!" Valon called out, he looked in all directions. "Mai answer me!" Valon breathed heavily and clenched his fist. He couldn't save her.

"MAI!" Valon shouted and it echoed through the bottomless and endless darkness.

Valon snapped back into reality and his ring stopped glowing. He felt clammy and was sweaty, he felt a cold sweat on his brow and was breathing shallowly.

He looks at the balcony and saw Mai again. He had never been so relieved in his life to see she was safe.

Then he felt angry as he remembered that boy in his mind.

"So tha's the Joey Wheeler Mai looks up to ey?" Valon said to himself, he clenched his fists to the point his knuckles turned white.

"'e just left! Mai was in tha' dark 'orrible place and 'e just walked away! 'e left 'er there to die! an' I was the only one trying ta save 'er!" Valon had an epiphany. As he saw Mai's memories and saw her in that terrible hell, along with Joey Wheeler abandoning her he realized what he was feeling now.

"Oh my god" Valon said quietly but shocked, he looks at Mai as she stopped crying and was now looking into the horizon.

"I'm in love with Mai"

Now he understood the weird feelings, his stomach twisting, heart pounding and his change of attitude. He was in love with the woman, he had never felt like this before. And now that he saw the torture and the forlorn expression, he began to realize why.

She was just like him. Seeing her cry like that reminded him of himself when he was four years old when he was abandoned, he was all alone and had to fight to survive. No one was there to protect him from the harshness and cruelty of the world, he had to use his fists.

It was him against the world.

Mai was alone just like he was. She had no one to turn to either, and when she was begging her friend to save her he left. No one was there to protect her.

Valon was the only one who tried to save her.

Mai was more than a pretty face to Valon, he saw her as a free spirit as well. Now that he saw she had a lonely life to, he wanted more than anything to protect her.

And now he has a reason to fight for Dartz, and he knows who his target is now.

Joey Wheeler left her to suffer. He reminded the Australian of the people who walked away from him when he was badly hurt and didn't help him, and he did exactly the same thing to the girl who was supposed to be his friend.

That night Valon found his purpose.

Raphael wants to destroy the Pharoah because of his evil ways, Alister wants to destroy Kaiba for murdering his brother and ruining his life.

Valon wants to destroy Joey for hurting the woman he loves, and for being no better than the people who harmed them.

I feel like people are too harsh on Valon, hoped you liked it:)