"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the final match of this year's regional Duel Monsters championship! Tonight, only one duelist will win the grand prize and take home the champion title!"
The massive stadium roars with applause. At the center of the dueling arena, the suited commentator directs his hand to the front of the stands.
"And here to show his support is none other than the king of games himself!"
The cameras turn as everyone screams - displayed on the huge screen is the bashfully smiling Yugi, Tea seated beside him. Tristan lunges over Yugi and waves at the cameras when Duke shoves him aside.
"Is this live TV?! I'm famous-!"
"-Hey! Be sure to check out my game! That's Dungeon Dice Monst- !"
"-Knock it off!" Tea snaps.
"Oh, yeah, we mean-" Tristan stammers, "Go, Joey! We're so proud of you, buddy!"
The lights dim - the commentator steps aside as a section of the arena floor opens-
"Let the match begin! Everyone, please welcome miss Melba Garey!"
Rising up through the floor on a platform is a young, dark haired and confident woman. The stadium gives a hearty cheer.
"And her opponent, mister Joseph Wheeler!"
To a much wilder applause, the tall, grinning blonde rises on his platform at the opposite end of the arena. Girls scream and cry. Joey breaks his cool demeanor to wave eagerly at the cameras.
"Hey, sis! Lookit me! I'm on TV!"
He gives his friends in the front row a goofy thumbs up before drawing his hand, starting the game.
"I'll go first... Alright, I place one card face down; and I'll summon my good ol' buddy Panther Warrior in attack mode!"
The holographic beast materializes before the crowd. Tea cheers.
"Joey's got this duel in the bag! There's nothing in her deck that could stop him."
Melba pulls from her hand-
"My turn! I also place one card face down and summon MY good friend, Harpie Lady!"
"Y- wh-" Joey falters. Did he hear correctly? "You summon what now?"
The all-too familiar clawed and winged hologram appears before him. The guys' excited faces suddenly drop, falling through the floor. They groan. Well, shit.
"Nothing… except maybe that," Tea anxiously corrects herself. Yugi is confused.
"Guys, he has a stronger monster-?"
"Yeah, but look at him." Tristan points:
Caught in a whirlwind of memories and emotion, Joey chokes. He stares into the Harpie Lady's eyes in a love-struck daze, the shadow of someone else's smile looming just beneath hers-
"Hey!" Melba snaps impatiently. "Are you gonna go, or what?!"
Shuddering back to reality, Joey drops some cards and scrambles to pick them up.
"Alright, alright! I, uhh- I gotta-?" He looks to his hand but can't focus on his cards; his head spins, the Harpie's fixed glare on him not making it any easier. He sweats, helplessly throwing down a card without even looking at it.
His duel disk blinks and lets off a shrill alarm. The crowd breaks out into confused chatter.
"It appears Wheeler is trying to play a magic card as a monster card," the commentator announces.
"Aw, man-!" Joey panics, fumbling his cards around. Melba stares at him in utter disbelief. The guys in the stadium have a meltdown.
"What is he doing out there?!" Tristan moans, despaired.
"C'mon, Joey, focus!" Yugi calls out.
"Anyway… if that was your turn…" Melba draws a new card - "Ha! I play the magic card Elegant Egotist, allowing me to bring forth my Harpie Lady Sisters!"
Joey whimpers. Tristan throws his arms up in defeat.
"Oh, GREAT!"
The two other Harpies appear, looming over poor Joey, unable to handle the pressure. Duke leans out and waves from the stadium.
"Hey, you can beat 'em, Joey! Just don't look at them!"
Joey cowers, pressing his cards over his eyes. The crowd murmurs, now very confused. The cameramen glance at each other. What the hell?
"Okay, okay, don't look at 'em, just don't look at 'em… don't... look..." Joey tells himself as he sneaks a peak:
Three Mai Valentines-as-Harpie Ladies coyly smile and wink back at him. If that wasn't enough, a familiar but concerned voice calls-
"Joey? What's wrong?"
Joey leaps out of his skin - he's no longer dueling Melba, but Mai herself!
Her worried gaze melts into a friendly smile that fixes him to the spot. The game and crowd vanish from his hazy vision as Joey stares hopelessly back at her, mesmerized.
"Mai?"
Slowly, he returns the smile, the dreamy warmth making him dizzy. For once, there is nothing standing between them.
"Wheeler, what is WRONG with you?!"
POP - fantasy gone - Mai is replaced by Melba, screaming at him from across the arena.
Joey crashes back into this universe with unease, the anxiety peaking once again. He struggles to keep his head but feels the weight of all eyes and cameras on him.
"Ahh- forget it, forget it!"
With reckless abandon, he leaps off his platform and tears from the arena for the exit doors-
"Joey?! Wait!" Yugi calls as they get to their feet.
Hysterical, Joey dodges the commentator trying to stop him, causing him to run headlong into a live-filming camera- WHAM!
The crowd OOHS from the shock - Joey scrambles to his feet and disappears out an emergency exit door.
People crane their necks to see as the guys get there first. Tristan throws open the door - the hall empty, Joey nowhere to be found.
"Get back here, man! Where the heck are you?!"
The commentator approaches - nervous, Yugi steps up to bail him out;
"Uh, I-I think he must've eaten something, he's really sick-"
"Oh yeah," Duke quickly shuts the door, "he's puking and everything out there. It's bad."
The commentator considers this and turns back to the audience.
"Due to unfavorable circumstances, the match will be rescheduled for tomorrow morning!"
The crowd moans and boos. Melba scoffs, ditching the arena.
At a dingy 24 hour donut shop, Joey drifts up to the counter, hiding beneath a jacket and sunglasses.
"Gimme every single donut you have, please."
"...Aren't you that guy?"
The baker points up to the TV screen hanging on the wall: a news channel features Joey's run-and-tumble directly into the camera, on loop with play by play action. The baker howls with laughter each time Joey smashes into the screen.
Steaming, Joey marches to the TV and changes the channel: another news station replaying the same footage. With growing rage, he smashes the buttons but every channel appears to be covering the duel-
SCREECH- A long, black limo swerves into the parking lot. The doors fly open and Yugi, Tea, Tristan and Duke pour out of it into the shop.
"Called it! Knew he'd be here-"
"Aw, c'mon, the limo?!" Joey groans, "Those are for finalists only, how did-?!"
Tristan squeezes Yugi - "'Cause we got the king of games fast-pass, baby! Who also just saved your butt from being disqualified!"
"Joey, I've never seen you run from a fight! What happened?" Yugi asks..
"Well, you wasted your time comin' here, 'cause I'm not sayin' nothing 'til I eat every last one of these," snaps Joey, just as he's handed a massive box of donuts from the baker. He makes for a table when Duke snatches the box away from him-
"Championship losers don't deserve donuts!"
Big mistake; Enraged, Joey lunges at him for the food-
"Hey! I didn't lose!"
"Yeah but you're gonna if you don't shape up, dude!" Tristan swipes the box and fends off Joey with his foot. Boiling, Tea intervenes, tearing them apart.
"I didn't come all the way from New York to watch you guys kill each other in a donut shop!"
"And I'm not gonna watch my buddy lose the title over a girl!" Tristan blurts.
Joey gives up the fight, ashamed. He miserably slumps into a nearby chair, hiding his face. Cooling down, the guys watch him with sorrow. Yugi softly speaks up.
"We miss her too, Joey."
Joey shrugs, irate. "Yeah, I… whatever."
"Hey, look," Duke sits beside him, consoling, "We can find you a new girl. There were plenty in that arena tonight crying over you."
The baker continues to chortle, slapping his knee as TV-Joey tumbles off-screen, over and over.
"Not sure they still will after that…" Tea mutters.
Voice low, Joey hesitantly speaks his mind.
"I just thought… It's been awhile since she… well… and maybe soon, she might be ready to… y'know…"
"I don't think she's coming back, buddy."
Everyone looks at Tristan. It stings, but his words settle. He's probably right.
"And the faster you get over her, the better chance you have at winning that championship. C'mon! It's what you always dreamed of!"
Losing the blues, Joey musters up his courage and stands.
"Yeah! I gotta win this thing! Forget her! Who am I kidding? I'm the greatest duelist there ever was!"
"Well," Duke gestures to a sheepish Yugi but Tristan enthusiastically pushes them out the door-
"Alright, that's my Joey! Now let's go and get you ready for tomorrow!"
Pumped up, Joey rushes out the door with them. They pile into the limo when Tea snags him.
"Wait, hold on-"
"Nonono, c'mon, Tea-!"
"Please, don't listen to Tristan. I think you should to listen to-"
"What? My dumb heart? Well I ain't got time for feelings and sappy stuff like you. I've got places to go an' games to win, so lay off, alright?"
Tea glares a thousand daggers at him, utterly offended. Joey immediately regrets it - she snatches up the box of donuts-
"Fine! I won't watch you ruin your life! You are the worst, Joseph-!"
-And dumps them over his head. The guys are too scared to speak or move as Tea stomps into the limo and yells at the driver-
"Step on it!"
The vehicle speeds away, leaving a horrified Joey alone in the lot. He sighs, covered in sugar and glaze.
Through the shop window, the TV catches his eye. He ignores his embarrassing antics in the foreground to gaze upon the Harpie Ladies again. His low spirits set back in as he watches through the glass.
'Forget her!' But how on earth could he forget her?
Weighed down, he sits on the curb. As he thinks, he picks a donut from the ground and takes a bite. He shrugs. Still good.
"Alright folks, it's time to present our finalists, again, for the championship title match!"
The commentator urges the crowd: the stadium cheers, albeit markedly less enthusiastic than the day before. The guys squirm in their seats, fingers crossed, praying for a better game from their friend.
"Once again, please welcome miss Melba Garey!"
The floor opens and the platform rises; Cross-armed and highly annoyed, Melba appears before the arena.
"And her opponent, mister Joseph Wheeler!"
"Come on, Joey!" utters Yugi as the guys hold their breath.
The opposite platform rises from the floor - but Joey's not there?! The audience erupts in shock - the guys collapse in defeat - he blew it.
"Are - you - kidding - me!" Melba shouts, hurling her duel disk to the ground.
"Calm down, now, everyone calm down!" the commentator cries.
"Wait, wait, look!"
Spotting something, Yugi rushes out of the wild crowd into the arena toward the empty platform - but it's not empty:
He plucks a small envelope from the platform floor. The commentator and a fleet of cameras flock, noisily surrounding him. They shove a mic in his face-
"What does it say? Read it! King of games, save us!"
"Alright, alright… sheesh…"
Shrinking, Yugi opens the letter. The crowd goes quiet.
"It says: 'catching a train. Sorry. I have to find her.'"
Tea gasps, shocked and overjoyed. The crowd murmurs in confusion when suddenly, someone HOWLS- Tristan sobs uncontrollably, crying a waterfall.
"That's - s-so beautiful! I'm so proud of you, b-buddy!"
The commentator shrugs and addresses the crowd.
"Then it looks like our regional champion by default is Melba Garey!"
Amid scattered, confused applause, Melba glares with disbelief as she is handed the giant trophy, cameras flashing all around her.
Just then, the nearest audience door flings open-
Out of breath and exasperated, actual real Mai Valentine flies into the stadium! She rushes to the railing, searching, and turns to see the guys - eyes bugging from their heads and jaws dropped at her arrival.
She staggers, regaining her cool composure, and flashes a smile.
"So, uhhh… where is he?"
Duke sighs as the others lose their absolute minds.
"...That really seems about right."
(That was silly wasn't it. I was having too much fun :)