Title: As Duelist Turns

Authors: Ribbon of Melody & Karrissarella

Pairings: JoeyxOC

Genre: Adventure/Romance/Drama

Rating: PG13

WARNINGS: This story has a lot of original characters that were originally created in some of our role plays over the years. If you do not like original characters, please do not read this story. This story also takes place starting before the finals of Duelist Kingdom.

Summary: They were on their way to finally defeat Pegasus and regain the Kaiba brothers, and Grandpa's souls back, but Joey sees this mysterious girl in one of the castle windows. Who is she? And why can't Joey seem to get her out of his head? JoeyxOC, eventual other pairings as well.


Chapter 1:

Duelist Kingdom. A privately owned island by the owner of the famous game company, Industrial Illusions, Maximillion Pegasus. The island was active with duelist of all types of ages. Though with this special tournament being played on Duelist Kingdom, it was a very special event for all duelist that played Duel Monsters. This tournament was being hosted by the creator of Duel Monsters. Pegasus was rather famous among the players of the game and to have such an honor to duel in his own tournament, every duelist here on the island had their own reason for being here today.

Yugi Motou was one who took this tournament personally. He sighed heavily, glancing towards the inner part of the island as he stood in the courtyard of Pegasus' castle. He was lost in his gaze, not believing what just had previously happened. The duel between his self and Seto Kaiba had not ended the way he wanted to. He did not know now whether or not to trust the Spirit within the Millennium Puzzle. He almost lost all faith in his Puzzle, not knowing if he could control it. The Spirit overstepped his boundaries in that game. He almost took the life of Kaiba, just for the sake of winning a game. He stood there, tears still formed in the corner of his eyes. He did not know if he could even continue to play Duel Monsters after that game. He could not risk harming anyone else, even if it may have been his rival. He had to find some way to control the Spirit that was within him, knowing that he had to continue this tournament some how to save not only his grandfather's soul – but also the soul of the young Mokuba Kaiba.

Standing near Yugi, was his best friend; Joey Wheeler. He did not realize how hard the last battle had messed up Yugi's head. He knew the boy was struggling in his own to dealing with the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Though, Joey was in this tournament for a whole different reason. He was the only hope for his younger sister to be able to see again. She was losing her eyesight rather quickly and right now, the doctors could operate on her to help save her eyesight; the Wheeler family just did not have the money to be able to help her. The prize money in the tournament would be enough to cover it. He would do anything for his younger sister. He was the only one in the family that had any chance to help her. He had to save her. He had to win this tournament for the prize. He only knew though that this was just the beginning. They had to get through the finals in order to have a chance to duel Pegasus. And that was not going to be a walk in the park, especially after Yugi's defeat.

Joey knew he had to help Yugi get over this inner battle he was having between his self and the Spirit. He frowned in reply, before he gripped the smaller boy's shoulder. "Hey Yug, we aren't going to get anywhere if we keep remorse over what happened in the past," he lectured the boy. "Mai was grateful enough to return the favor of regaining your star chips back so you can enter the castle to be able to enter the finales of this tournament. Tea helped gained those chips back for you. We all are standing here together to cheer you on so you can free your Grandfather's soul, Yugi."

The smaller boy blinked slightly, before he looked down into his hands. He held the star chips that Tea had won from Mai. He knew that all of his friends were trying to cheer him up. He knew that he had almost given up too soon. He gripped tightly onto those chips, before he looked up into Joey's eyes. He knew the blond was right. "Right! The sooner we get in the castle, the sooner we can help find Pegasus!" he said, smirking in reply. He was going to stop Pegasus no matter what. He would not allow anyone so evil to continue his bidding, not while he had the power of the Millennium Puzzle and his friends at his side.

Within the group of Yugi's friends, Tristan Honda, Tea Gardner, Mai Valentine and Ryou Bakura stood on the grounds with the two. Tea smiled softly, looking over at the small boy. "We are all here for you Yugi, so let's get going! We'll help you save your grandfather no matter what!" The others began to head to the castle. Yugi had soon followed after Tea's statement.

Joey had began to ran towards the castle as well, before he stopped in his track. Something had caught his eye. Up in the tower window of Pegasus' castle, he had swore he saw a girl. A beautiful girl at that. She had platinum blond hair, violet eyes. Her beauty was stunning. He blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes. As he looked back up at the window again, she was not there. How could that be though? He knew his eyes were not playing tricks on him. What would be a girl be doing up in Pegasus' castle anyways?

Yugi had turned back, seeing that Joey had stopped following them. "Joey...? What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He stopped following the others, concerned about his friend.

The taller male had looked over at his best friend, raising an eyebrow. "Did you just see a girl up in that window?" he asked, pointing to the window in the tower.

The tri-colored haired male shook his head, biting on the bottom of his lip. "No, no I didn't..." he responded. "Are you sure you saw her, Joey?"

Joey gripped his hand into a fist, glaring up at the window. "I know I saw her, Yug!" he replied. He did not know why anyone would be up there to begin with, but she was beautiful. He wanted to find out who she was. "I am not making this up!"

Yugi moved back down the stairs to Joey, raising an eyebrow. He looked up into the window again, not seeing anyone. "But why would a duelist be up there to begin with?" he asked, still trying to figure out what Joey had seen.

The taller male scratched his head in frustration. "Argh!" he grew annoyed with this. "I don't know..." he replied. Joey glanced back up at the window, frowning in reply. He wanted to see her again. "Maybe... she's not a duelist," he frowned. He did not want to think about the reason why she was here on the island.

The smaller boy blinked absently, looking over at him. "What do you mean, Joey?" he asked. He knew this was bothering his friend, but he still wished he would of seen the girl that he had supposedly seen.

Joey tapped his toes on the stone floor, crisscrossing his arms. "I am not exactly sure... but I would like to know my self..." he replied.

Yugi laughed weakly, looking up at him. "You know there are more important things right now then finding out who the mysterious girl is..."

The taller blond's cheeks turned bright red. Yugi saw right through his thoughts. "You're right! Besides we need to go save your grandfather and Mokuba!" He grinned, before he began to ran towards the castle doors once again.

Yugi just shook his head, before he glanced up towards the window. He frowned in reply, wishing he knew what Joey had seen. He began to question why a girl would be up in that tower. He blinked in reply, before seeing Joey had ran in front of him. "Ah! Wait for me!" he yelled after him. He gulped in reply, before he attempted to catch up with the others. Once inside that castle, everything was at steak. He had to save his grandfather and Mokuba. He had to stop Pegasus.

* * * *

After heading down the long corridor to the dinning hall, the young woman appeared in front of the CEO of Industrial Illusions; Maximillion Pegasus. She bowed before the man, before she spoke "Yugi Motou is currently entering the castle."

Maximillion had glanced up from reading his favorite manga, smirking in reply. "Good, very good..." he replied. He was happy with the report. He knew soon enough, he would be able to battle the young male. There was more then just his evil ways at steak here. Yugi had something he had been seeking for years. The Millennium Puzzle. He knew that this was his only chance to obtain the Puzzle from the boy. "I presume the others are with him?"

The girl stood up, looking over at him. "Yes, sir..." she replied.

Pegasus reached over to sip his wine. "Everything is going perfectly according to my plan..." he grinned, looking up at her through his silver bangs. "Soon enough they'll get a preview between a match of Kaiba-boy and I to show them the true power of my Millennium Eye..."

The girl gulped in her throat, forming a fist at her side. She stepped back slightly, afraid of him when he got like this. "Sir... are you sure we are doing the right thing?" she asked, before continuing. "I mean, holding the young Kaiba captive... is illegal!"

The silver haired man sat his wine glass down. He glared up at the girl, before he stood up. He frowned in reply, before he walked up to her, only several feet away. His arm was raised, before he smacked her hard across the cheek. The slap had echo the hall.

She was rather stunned that he had did this. Her cheek stung in pain where he had hit her. She reached up to touch her cheek, tears threatened in her eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry!" she responded. Her body was in complete shock.

Pegasus turned his back to her, lowering her head. "You have absolutely no right to say such to me. My plan is working perfectly..." he replied. "After all I've done for you, you still can not back me up when I need you the most. If you can not support me in this, then I have no need for you to be here during the finales..."

He moved back over to the table, sitting down to finish his meal. He glanced over at his handler who was standing near the door. "Kemo, please remove Ms. Kori from my sight..." he said in anger.

Kemo moved forward, bowing before him. "Yes, sir..." He moved over to grab the girl's arm before he began to lead her out.

Kori's eyes widen, fearing of what only may happen to her, but to Mokuba's sake too. The boy did not deserve this and she did not either. "Please, I am sorry! I will do whatever you want! Please!" she begged, trying to stall the man from dragging her out of the room.

Pegasus picked up his manga, ignoring the girl. He was rather upset with her. "Kemo..." he said, looking up at his handler.

The man raised an eyebrow, looking over at his boss. "Yes, sir?"

The CEO smirked in reply, eyes not moving off of Kori. "Make sure you escort her to her room. Make sure she doesn't escape," he ordered.

Kori's eyes widen, not believing this. "I'm sorry!" she cried out, knowing if she's locked in her room during the finales, then there was no chance to save Mokuba.

Kemo had dragged her out of the dinning hall. He chuckled softly, glancing over at the girl. "You are rather lucky that Mr. Pegasus did not take your soul..."

The girl's eyes were rather watery. She felt like this was mostly her fault for Pegasus' actions. She could not do anything though with Kemo right here. He was too strong to get away from. She had stayed silent the way to her room, knowing she had to come up with a plan.

"After all... Ms. Kori, you're not needed in Mr. Pegasus' plan anyways. You've been troublesome ever since you've came to live on this island..." he smirked, teasing the girl. He opened the bedroom door, before he threw her in. "Have fun..." he replied. He locked the door before leaving to attend to his duties.

Kori winced in reply before she was thrown on her bedroom floor. She frowned in reply, hating this so much. I have to do something.... she thought. I can't just sit around to let something else bad happen to anyone else. I have to find some way to save Mokuba... he's my only friend. She stood up, before wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her arm. She was not going to let Pegasus stop her. She was going to help save Mokuba's soul some how.

She had walked over to her bedroom window, glancing down at the castle doors. If she was not up three stories in this tower, she would find a way out through the window. Her eyes widen before she saw the group of duelist that she had seen earlier. Yugi Motou was among them, along with him. The blond she had seen. She blushed weakly in her cheeks, looking down at the group. They had no idea what they were getting their selfs into. She knew that they were the only chance of help that she was going to get to help free Mokuba's soul and to free her self from this island dungeon.

She was determined to let nothing stop her. She had to warn them about Pegasus. Even if it meant risking loosing her own soul, she knew that she had to do the right thing. She opened up her window, knowing this was risky but she had to seek out help. She did not know how she was going to exactly get down from her window without breaking a leg or two, but she knew that if she was going to be stuck up in this tower; there would be no help for Mokuba.

Kori began to climb down carefully, using the stones of the walls as support. She winced in reply before she took her next step. It was more difficult then she could imagine. The wind got rather gusty, before her hands lost grip of the wall. Her eyes widen, before she had fallen from the tower. She screamed out, closing her eyes as she was almost too scared to figure out how she was going to land.

Before everyone knew it, Joey's eyes widen. Could it be? He could not believe it. What the hell was she doing falling out of a window now? This girl was weird, but no matter what, he had to do something since everyone else was standing there in shock. He dodged over to her as he stepped onto the large boulder to use as a leverage to leap into the air to catch her. His eyes widen, not thinking that he would reach her but he caught her in his arms. His eyes widen, before they tumbled down the cliff, not realizing it was there.

Yugi's eyes widen, before he ran over to the castle wall. "Joey!" he called out, not believing this. He knew that he could be hurt. They had to get help some how. The only question that still remained in Yugi's head, who is she?