DGG: Hey, everyone! Here we are with the next story in the countdown to Christmas! This one's weird, but whatever. This one's actually the longest one shot so far, and it's about Rex and Weevil, which is even weirder for me since I have never written anything about them before. But it was interesting delving into their lives since it's definitely something I never do.

Sorry I didn't didn't say anything in last night's one shot. I hung out with some friends last night, and got home at around 11, so I had to hurry and put the finishing touches on my Pegasus and Cecelia story (also...it was really weird calling him Max instead of Pegasus the whole time. Like...super weird to me). So yeah. I probably posted last night's story 15 seconds before midnight. I'm not even kidding. I was literally racing to get that one posted, so I didn't have time to say anything. Then again, that could have always been a good thing. Haha.

Anyway, on with the story. Thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews so far!


"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's that time of year again!" cried the over enthusiastic talk-show host. "That's right! It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas time is here again!"

"The most wonderful time of the year? What a bunch of bull!" the blue-haired Weevil Underwood frowned from his spot on the couch.

"Yeah. Every day used to be the most wonderful time of year for us," agreed his companion and roommate, Rex Raptor. "But nothing's been wonderful since before we competed in Duelist Kingdom."

"I'm Haskle Abrahms," continued the TV host, "along with my partner in crime, Deitrick Wyse."

"Hey, everybody," the other male waved to the cameras. "Welcome to the show. As Haskle said, it's Christmas time once again, and with that comes those special duels. That's right, folks. The duelists participating in this year's Christmas Duels have officially been revealed."

"Surprise, surprise. Just as everyone and their brother guessed. Yugi Moto, Joey Wheeler, and Seto Kaiba are set to duel their respective opponents starting December 23rd live from the Kaiba Dome. The first up to duel will be Luck-Duelist, Joey Wheeler!"

"Luck. That's all that pretty-boy has is luck. That's how he beat me in the first place," Rex groused while clenching his fists in aggravation. "No skill whatsoever."

"The coveted Christmas Eve duel will feature Seto Kaiba," Haskle continued, "leaving Yugi for the finale during the Christmas Day duel. These three are known powerhouses. I'm betting all my money on these guys."

"Oh please," Weevil rolled his eyes.

"Duel Monsters has become such a cutthroat game, though, don't you think?" Deitrick asked his partner. "I mean, it just keeps growing and growing. I remember when just the nerdy kids were playing it at recess. But soon other kids started picking it up. Local tournaments were held, and those tournaments started getting bigger and bigger, gaining sponsors, and now you have world-famous duelists. It's been a crazy ride for this little card game, that's for sure."

"Definitely. I hear they're creating an actual pro circuit for it. Duelists will have their own agents and managers. It's crazy."

"Pro circuit?" Weevil spat incredulously. "I haven't heard anything about a pro circuit."

"Me neither. I tell ya Weevil, this bites."

"Exactly! If anyone deserves a spot in a professional dueling ring it's us! We were at the top of the dueling food chain, after all! I think that should automatically reserve us a spot in this gig!"

"Yeah, but now we're lower than the bottom of the barrel. No one even looks our way anymore. We may as well not even exist," Rex spoke bitterly.

"Wow. A whole pro circuit. That's crazy. Remember when dueling first started, Haskle? The game's definitely come a long way in a short amount of time."

"You got that right, Dee. I remember back when the Christmas Duels were just on Christmas Eve, too."

"Yeah! We used to just get one duel. Crazy. That was just a few short years ago."

"Sheesh. Change it already!" barked Rex. "I can't take anymore of this!"

"Yeah, all right," Weevil conceded as he grabbed the remote on the arm beside him.

"Hey, do you remember the year we didn't get a Christmas Duel?" Deitrick asked.

"Oh, yeah. That was upsetting. Didn't the duelists pull out suddenly for some reason?"

"They didn't pull out willingly. They were forced not to duel due to low approval ratings by then. Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, remember?"

"Holy crap! There's two names I haven't heard in awhile. They used to be the big shots around here, right?"

The pair on the couch froze in shock as they stared at the screen.

"Yeah. I remember their heyday well. I was a huge fan of those two," admitted Deitrick.

"Were you really?" Haskle gawked.

"Yeah. I'll be the first to admit it. Maybe I'll be the only one to admit it, actually. It seems rather taboo to speak about them now on serious terms, but you have to admit that when they were actively out there competing in tournaments, they were pretty ruthless duelists. I was super stoked that they were going to be competing against each other again during that Christmas Eve Duel. I couldn't wait to see if Rex could get the better of Weevil this time, but then they were kicked out of the Battle City tournament fairly early on, and after that their fan base dissipated."

"I don't doubt it. They were the big guys on campus, and they didn't even make it to the finals in Duelist Kingdom or Battle City. I'm surprised they weren't replaced sooner that year. Actually, I'm surprised they weren't replaced by anybody. That duel was just flat-out cancelled that year."

"Yeah. I thought that duel could probably redeem their images in the fans' eyes, but the producers and networks thought otherwise. Rex and Weevil were yesterday's news by then. I was super bummed that they were dumped like that."

"I remember that. It was three years ago now," Weevil spat venomously. "They wanted Yugi instead."

"Yeah," Rex nodded. "Didn't they want him to duel against Joey?"

"Either him or Kaiba."

"They cancelled the Christmas Duel all together just because Yugi said no. I guess it was Yugi or nothing."

"It still is," Weevil spoke darkly as he fiddled with his large glasses.

"Yeah. They weren't my favorites, but that's definitely a slap in the face," Haskle agreed. "Have they done anything recently?"

"Not that I know of," Deitrick shook his head. "The last time I heard anything from them was when they tried to crash that one tournament of Kaiba's. Which one was it? The um…uh…The KC Grand Prix!"

"Oh yeah. Isn't that the time they were one-turn-killed by one of the competitors?"

"It sure was!"

"Oh great. Something else I didn't want to remember," Rex muttered bitterly.

"That was one of the most humiliating defeats I've ever experienced!" Weevil practically shook with anger.

"So why is it do you think they never truly made a comeback? After Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Tournament, they just faded out of the limelight. I vaguely recall them trying to reclaim their former glory, but they always fell short," said Haskle.

"Yeah. All because of Yugi and Joey," hissed Weevil.

"Yeah, those two no-name nobodies showed up one day and beat us with sheer luck. And now everyone loves them. I can't wait for the day they fall from their pedestals."

"Definitely."

"Well, fame is a fickle thing," Deitrick started. "Weevil was the national champ with Rex being the runner-up. Not to mention they were pretty well known before that duel. I just feel like their fans were a little disappointed, and unfortunately decided to move on. I mean, their fans followed them throughout their short-lived careers, and the fact that they didn't even make it into the finals of either Duelist Kingdom or Battle City was a really big letdown. Like, Rex and Weevil were big name duelists at the time, and they were knocked out early on in two huge tournaments. I knew people who were outraged by their defeats in Duelist Kingdom. People were certain they'd make a big comeback, but after they were kicked out of Battle City, Rex and Weevil just faded away, and not by choice either. I mean, people just lost faith in them and moved on."

"Seems a little harsh there, Dee, but I do say I have to agree. After Battle City, all anyone ever talks about is Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba."

Rex and Weevil rolled their eyes.

"Overrated hacks," the blue-haired male muttered.

"It's true. Those three are definitely powerhouses. But seriously though, I've thought about Rex and Weevil's fall from fame a lot, actually."

"Do you really have nothing better to do with your life when you're not on camera, Dee?" Haskle joked.

"No! Just hear me out, man! I've re-watched their old duels and such from when they first started out all the way up to their last recorded duel, and something dawned on me."

"Do tell," Haskle feigned interested.

"They kinda just…gave up."

"WHAT?" both duelists shrieked at the screen.

"What does this guy know?" demanded Weevil in offense.

"We did our best to regain our positions in the dueling world!" cried Rex.

"I mean, in a way, they gave up," Deitrick continued. "I understand them wanting to take revenge on Joey and Yugi for bumping them off their high horses, but I don't truly think it's all Yugi's or Joey's fault. I mean, they definitely faltered after their defeats to Yugi and Joey, but that's just it. After that, they seemed to just focus all their energies into revenge instead of learning from the experience. They focused too much on trying to regain their former glory that they forgot to actually play the game, you know? Like their heads and hearts weren't as into it as before. Their new strategies were lackluster at best, probably because their heads were clouded with their goals of retribution. That's why they fell so far. That's why no one talks about them anymore. That's why they became the butt of everyone's jokes. They turned themselves into the jokes because they're too focused on becoming what they once were instead of swallowing their pride and putting their efforts into actually playing."

"Wow. That was deep, Dee."

"You know, that's just what I got from it," he shrugged. "If they could put the past behind them, I bet you we could see them participating in a Christmas Duel yet."

"Yeah…" Haskle spoke skeptically. "I don't know, Dee. I think their time in the sun has run out."

"Hey! You don't know that! Anyone's capable of making a comeback, even those two."

"No one can take them seriously anymore!"

"I didn't say they wouldn't have to work at it. I said it was possible."

"Can we get back to talking about this year's featured duelists rather than ones from yesteryear? Nobody wants to hear about Rex or Weevil now."

"Fine. Have it your way," Deitrick sighed. "So any guesses on who'll face our featured duelists this year?"

Weevil quickly turned off the television after that. He was so livid that his face was turning red.

"Who does that guy think he is? We're not at the top because we're holding grudges? We didn't create good, new strategies? He obviously has no idea what he's talking about. We're laughingstocks thanks to Yugi and Joey! They took everything we had! Now we're nobodies while those two are living the freaking highlife! End of discussion! The most wonderful time of year? Pff. Yeah right. Christmas Duels. Who needs 'em? I know what I won't be watching this year. Gave up! The nerve of that jerk!" the blue-haired duelist suddenly stormed from the room while still muttering under his breath.

Rex, however, stayed sitting on the couch for a moment, thinking about what the TV host had theorized. Unlike his companion, he wasn't angry about Deitrick's words. Rather than taking them derogatively he found them rather eye-opening. Rex actually hadn't thought about it that way before. Life was good before Joey defeated him, sure, but he supposed he didn't have to let that defeat consume his very being. Thinking back on it, he and Weevil did do some pretty ridiculous things in an attempt to come back out on top only to fail miserably. Maybe he and Weevil really did turn themselves into dueling's biggest jokes ever.

The dinosaur duelist sighed as Weevil continued to rant from the next room. Maybe that Deitrick guy was right. Maybe they did think about the past too much when they should be thinking about paving a new way for the future. And maybe if they did that they really could come back with better decks and killer strategies. Then, maybe it would be possible to finally take part in the Christmas Duel they were denied three years ago.

A new sense of hope and determination washed over the male. Maybe it was time to stop blaming his current predicament all on Joey, and start focusing on the future. It wouldn't be easy, but he felt he could do it. A true duelist faces his challenges head on and doesn't let a failure or twenty, beat him down. He could rise up again and reclaim his spot as the number one dino duelist, he just had to focus on bettering himself.

Now if only he could convince Weevil to see it the same way…


DGG: I have this random head canon that Weevil just can't let his grudge against Yugi go while Rex eventually puts himself back together and becomes a semi-respectable duelist again. I don't know why. It just feels right in my mind.

Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow night!