Usually, I put my notes in at the end, but I'm going to preface this by apologizing for how rough his chapter is. I did a lot of edits to it, but I couldn't get it how I wanted. I hope you all enjoy it anyway!

Somehow, Yuugi had won ten Star Chips.

That was the requirement to the finals, and somehow, Yuugi did it. I knew that he'd been determined, but I had only seen him in the little Duels at school, outside of class. I didn't think he would power through to the top, and win every Duel he was a part of. He truly had a talent for the game, but uncannily so. For this being the first tournament he'd ever entered, it seemed impossible for him to go undefeated. And yet, he did.

If that wasn't shocking enough, Jonouchi managed to earn ten Star Chips too. For him, though, it was luck, literally. His deck seemed based around luck cards. It wasn't the most solid strategy, but hey, if it worked for him, who was I to judge?

Right out the gate, Yuugi beat Insector Haga first, a snotty, bowl-hair-cut kid with an Insect-Type deck. The jerk was also responsible for Yuugi's lack of Exodia cards for this tournament. Regardless, as I perhaps said too much, what goes around comes around, and Haga got his karma. Yuugi knocked him out of the tournament.

That same day, a blonde woman named Mai Kujaku challenged Jonouchi. Yuugi and Jonouchi had met her on the ship here, but Anzu, Honda, and I hadn't met her until then. She had an incredible strategy, as well as a trick that she used in an attempt to psych out her opponents. She sprayed a different perfume on to each card, but told her opponents that she could guess her cards without looking. Jonouchi literally caught scent of the lie, though, and out of the pure luck of his Time Wizard card working, Jonouchi managed to win.

After Yuugi won another Duel against a strange man with an ocean-themed deck named Ryota Kajiki, we ran into Mokuba, Seto Kaiba's little brother. He'd been kidnapped by Pegasus as part of a scheme for Pegasus to take over KaibaCorp. There were all these little details that were revealing how much of a problem Pegasus really was. He wasn't just the power-hungry creator of Duel Monsters, but apparently did some really shady things as well. Around this time, I started to be concerned about the safety of my friends and myself.

Despite our best efforts, Mokuba was captured by Pegasus again, and all we could do was keep working to get Yuugi the Star Chips for us to get into the castle. That would be the only way of getting him out of there.

Jonouchi managed to beat Dinosaur Ryuzaki that day, as well, and he got a Red-Eyes Black Dragon card out of it. Ryuzaki had been recruited by Mai in a poor attempt to get revenge after her loss to Jonouchi. Instead, he won with his Time Wizard card, just like before.

That night, we ran into Mai again. Even though she'd caused us a bit of trouble, I liked her. She was tough as nails, and didn't sugarcoat her words. I'd admit that Mai was a bit scary, as well. She was a few years older than us, and could flip from joking to saying something almost too serious. Still, she was kind, and shared the food that she'd brought for the tournament with us. She even had a makeshift shower that she let Anzu and I use. She stood watch for each of us, too. I found myself looking up to her a little.

Even though we all seemed to be getting along, she went off on her own for a while, leaving us all to finish our food without her.

As it was just the five of us sitting around a campfire, we were joined by our classmate, Bakura.

—

"...In this island, everyone put our hearts in our cards," Jonouchi says, feigning drama. His serious expression is quickly replaced with a goofy grin. "Just joking..."

"What's the card you like the most, Jonouchi?" Bakura asks, his tone quiet as it always seems to be.

"Eh? Of course, it's this one." He holds up the card. "From now on, I am the Flame Swordsman!" He stands and pretends to swing a sword, complete with a loud, "Ha!"

Honda joins in. "Then I'm this one, Commander!"

I give a little laugh as Anzu says, "Really, they're like kids..."

"But what Jonouchi said was true," Yuugi chirps. "You too, Anzu. What's your favourite card?"

"For me, it's this one." She holds up a Saint Magician card, then looks to me. "Mara, too!" I blink in surprise, but sift through my deck until I find it. "This one. Black Magician Girl." I hold up the card. "She's one of my strongest cards."

"And what's your favourite, Yuugi?" Bakura quizzes, and Yuugi's expression lit up.

"Mine is Black Magician, easy! But what's your favourite, Bakura?"

"I like this one." Bakura held up a magic card.

"Change of Heart?" My eyebrows rise. "You're the only one whose favourite is a magic card."

"You like a weird card," Jonouchi states matter-of-factly, and I frown at him. Jonouchi doesn't seem to mind that his words are rude.

Bakura doesn't react to Jonouchi's comment, turning his attention back to Yuugi. "Oh, yeah, Yuugi, why don't we have a Duel? We don't need to bet any Star Chips."

"Okay! It'll be nice to have a Duel without any pressure."

Bakura looks at everyone else. "How about you put your favourite cards in Yuugi's deck? So it's like we're all Dueling."

Everyone seems in agreement, and we each hand our favourite cards to Yuugi. We all settle around a tree stump for the Duel. Everything seems fine at first, but an odd silence falls over the clearing. The air seems to shimmer, and there's a sound like wind chimes all around us.

"What is that...?" I murmur, but looking to everyone else, they seem just as confused. Everyone but Bakura. I watch an item of jewelry that matches Yuugi's in material and style appear through his shirt and after that, it's nearly unexplainable. I feel as though I'm being ripped from my body, and my vision goes double for a split second before I'm unconscious.

Then, I'm opening my eyes, and at first, all I can see is sparkling light. All around me, it's like millions and millions of little stars, and when they fall, I'm not in space, like I expected, but instead, standing in front of my friends. My eyebrows furrow.

Why is everyone cosplaying?

"Uhm, guys? Am I missing something?"

Jonouchi and Honda are staring, and Yuugi's doing his best not to even glance at me. Anzu looks at her like she feels bad for me.

Don't tell me... I look down at myself. Yep. Black Magician Girl.

My first reaction is to glare at Jonouchi and Honda. "Would you two stop staring? You're not dogs!" The two of them immediately look embarrassed and turn away.

Giving a sigh, I fold my arms over my stomach and look at Anzu. "What's going on?"

"It's a little hard to explain. We're in something called a 'Dark Game.' Our souls were put into our favourite cards."

Okay, so it's a dream. "Oh. Where's..." I begin to look around for Bakura, and instead of finding what I expect, across the playing field, there's a giant Bakura, watching us as if we're ants.

The shock causes me to let out a shriek and fall back on my rear. The situation becomes somewhat clear to me. We're literally on the playing field, and the size of Duel Monsters. But if we were all there, who was Dueling Bakura?

I turn, and decide it's time to give up. There's a giant Yuugi sitting there. I look back at my friends hopelessly, and the Yuugi there decides to speak.

"It's a little hard to explain..."

I interrupt him. "Why are there two of you?"

"It... has something to do with my Millennium Puzzle. That's the spirit the sleeps within the Puzzle. It's the other me."

I am left speechless for a moment. This was definitely a dream. I'd play along for now, though. "So... what now, then?"

Giant Yuugi speaks this time, his voice deeper than I expected. "I played your card this turn, so you have to attack."

I glance up at him, then across the field as I push myself to stand. There's a face-down monster there. "Any idea what it is?"

"So far, there have been two Metamorph Pots, and an Electrical Lizard."

My eyes widen. "I can't imagine an Electrical Lizard would be good news..." Still, I take a deep breath, step forward, and point my staff toward the card. "Black Magic...?"

To my shock, just like in the hologram Duels, everything went negative for a moment, and the card reveals itself before shattering. I jump in surprise, but thankfully, it's another Metamorph Pot. Everyone sighs in relief, and I hurry back over to the group.

Giant Yuugi and Giant Bakura discard their hands and draw new ones, but before anyone can relax, Giant Bakura speaks.

"I'll tell you that this card," he sets a monster card face-down, "is Man-Eater Bug."

I gulp. I may not know the rules of this dream Duel Monsters scenario, but I know that card can't be good news for any of us.

"Yuugi, what's that card?" Jonouchi asks.

"When it's activated, one monster card on the field is destroyed."

I fold my arms over my stomach tightly. "Do we... actually go to the Graveyard...?"

From Honda's reaction, the answer is yes.

"Can't we just defeat it in the next turn?" Jonouchi looks back at the card.

"We can't. It activates if it's attacked. We can prevent it if we use the Trap Card." Yuugi looks to the card face-down behind us. "Hunting Horn of Death. But to activate it, it requires a sacrifice."

"We can't do that!" Anzu protests.

"What else can we do, though?" I lift a hand so I can chew on my thumbnail.

"Honda just came back from the Graveyard. Now it's my turn to go." Jonouchi decides, and before anyone can stop him, he charges toward the card. Before he can attack it, the Man-Eater Bug appears and stands up, taking Jonouchi with it. The blond clings to the creatures head, yelling, "Other Yuugi! Use the Trap! Now's your chance!"

Giant Yuugi hesitates, but nods. "I activate the trap card, Hunting Horn of Death." Across the field, a blinding light covers the Man-Eater Bug's form, and blinks both it and Jonouchi off the field.

Silence follows. No one knows what to do, or what to say. I can hear Anzu's quickened breath behind me.

Unsurprisingly, it is Bakura that breaks the silence. "Don't worry, you'll all go to the same place. Now, it's my turn."

Before Bakura can continue, I notice my shadow in front of me growing more prominent as something lights up behind me. I turn around, and see Anzu, all covered in white light. "Anzu!"

Giant Yuugi speaks. "When Saint Magicians effect is activated, I can recover one magic card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose Resurrection of the Dead!" He plays the card, and appearing on top of it is Jonouchi.

"Huh?" The blond looked around, then breaks out in a smile "Guys!"

"None of them being in the graveyard is weird..." Bakura grumbles from the other side of the field. He doesn't give us time to celebrate Jonouchi's return. The male places a monster card that I don't recognize face-up on the field, then says, "And also this..." He holds up the Change of Heart card. "I'll use this on Black Magician. Yuugi, you will fight your friends!"

He slaps the card on the field, and from it appears... Bakura? The normal-sized Bakura floats over to the monster card the giant Bakura had played, taking over its form. "Yuugi, attack me! Hurry up! You have to defeat the Duelist of Darkness!"

I'm too baffled to figure out what's really going on.

Yuugi shook his head. "But if I do that... Your soul will..."

"I don't care! It's better than having an evil being controlling me! Now!"

"Bastard!" Giant Bakura snarls, but before he can do anything, something happens.

The battlefield lights up, and before I know what is happening, the Bakuras switched. Our classmate is now the Giant Bakura.

"It's my turn!" Giant Yuugi speaks. "Black Magician Yuugi, attack the High Priest!"

"Understood! Black Magic!" The field goes negative for a second, and the High Priest Bakura shatters.

—

That's all I could remember. After that, I'd woken up on the ground in the forest.

For a while, I continued to try to convince myself that it'd been a dream, but I wasn't sure. It'd felt so real, and everyone seemed to recall the same thing after we'd woken up, not to mention that no one had remembered going to sleep.

We quickly put the whole thing behind us, however, as mere minutes after we'd woken up, we heard Mai scream from the forest. We all chased after the sound, and found Mai, her Dueling Glove emptied of Star Chips. She'd been defeated by a 'Player Killer,' someone hired by Pegasus to weed Duelists out of the tournament. Yuugi challenged him to win back Mai's Star Chips, and he won. Mai refused the Chips at first, but after some convincing, decided to accept them on the condition that she'd pay him back for them.

Afterward, we found a different place to camp, near a cliff over hanging the ocean. Since everyone was exhausted, it seemed that everyone but me fell asleep right away. I had a lot on my mind, however, and it kept me awake.

There wouldn't have been much time to sleep then, anyway.

—

Since there was limited space in the tent Mai had offered us, Anzu slept in there. Whenever I would go to sleep, there would be enough room for me to sleep in there as well. All the boys slept outside, though Yuugi and Bakura were up talking about something. I didn't want to intrude, so I had sprawled out on the grass out of hearing range.

As I stare up at the stars, I try to sort everything out in my head. So much had happened. When we left for Duelist Kingdom, I felt like a regular high school student. Now, I feel like there's something larger going on. Souls taken, Millennium Items, kidnappings. This was all ramping up to more than a Duel Monsters tournament.

In the distance, there's the sound of a helicopter. I ignore it at first, assuming there's one flying overhead somewhere, but eventually, it got loud enough to concern me, and I sat up just in time to see the helicopter pop up from around the cliff.

The noise and light wakes everyone up, and Anzu pokes her head out of the tent as the helicopter lands, right in front of us.

I hesitate at first, but seeing that all my friends are approaching the helicopter, I sit up and push myself up from the cool grass, hurrying to stand beside Anzu. The last person I expected to see hopping down onto the grass was Seto Kaiba.

My heart skips a beat. Was he always that tall, or did his serious expression make him look more intimidating? I notice he's not wearing the familiar school uniform, and instead wears a blue trench coat, and looks like he's on a mission. If he needed to walk in my direction, I knew I'd be stepping way out of the way in a heartbeat.

I assume everyone else feels the same, but despite his demeanor, it's a bit of a relief to see him. Our last run-in with him personally hadn't gone so well, but last we'd heard of him, Yuugi was Dueling a Kaiba doppelganger, preaching about Seto Kaiba's death, saying he was his ghost. In the end, we'd learned he wasn't really dead, but we hadn't seen him until now. I feel glad to see that he really is still alive.

"Kaiba!" Yuugi is the first to move, hurrying over to the taller male.

"It's been a while, Yuugi."

Yuugi nods, digging into his pockets. "Here... Your deck. I saved it for you."

I had nearly forgotten that Yuugi had that. When Yuugi defeated the fake Kaiba—who somehow had Kaiba's deck—he'd taken the deck back to give it to Kaiba when he next saw him.

Kaiba takes the cards from Yuugi, and says, "For now, I'll thank you." It seems like there's more he could have said, but instead, he turns to walk away.

"Kaiba, you understand the heart of the cards now, right?" Yuugi calls after him hopefully.

There's a short pause as Kaiba stops walking, but remains silent, so Yuugi asks, "What is it?"

"Right now, I don't have the answer for that. To protect Mokuba and Kaiba Corporation, I will defeat Pegasus." As he speaks, he turns back to Yuugi. "By any means necessary."

There's no response, so Kaiba turns back around and resumes walking. Out of the courner of her eye, I see Jonouchi moving, and I grumble in warning, "Jonouchi..." Whenever Jonouchi takes action, it always seems to end up bad.

He doesn't listen to me, of course, and runs forward to cut off Kaiba, grabbing him by the shirt collar to stop him, yelling, "Wait a minute, Kaiba!"

Kaiba is unfazed.

"All the people in Duelist Kingdom have to work hard to win ten Star Chips in order to fight that same Pegasus! It doesn't matter what your reason are, I won't forgive you if you pass over us!"

I clench my jaw. That's why Jonouchi was so angry? I could see where he spoke from, but what Kaiba did really wasn't any of our business.

Instead of responding, Kaiba grips one of Jonouchi's hands with his own and literally throws him aside, causing him to tumble to the ground. Yuugi hurries to Jonouchi's side. I'm too shocked to respond.

"Are you alright, Jonouchi?"

"Damn..." Jonouchi grumbles, beginning to push himself to his feet.

I almost feel guilty for thinking he deserved it.

Kaiba turns to face him. "Jonouchi, it can't be that you're participating in this too, can it?" Even with such a smooth insult, Kaiba's face isn't even a sneer. I actually begin to wonder if it was an honest question instead of an insult.

"Don't underestimate me! I may not look like much, but I was in the best eight of a tournament!" Jonouchi yells. It seems that's his only way of speaking.

"The... Regional Championship Tournament." I mention, though don't say anything more.

"If even someone like you is a Duelist here, this island's level must be pretty low," Kaiba continues, infuriating Jonouchi further.

"What?!"

"Stop it, Jonouchi!" Honda speaks up, which surprises me. I assumed Honda would be onboard with Jonouchi's behaviour, but it seems even Honda has a more rational head on his shoulders.

The courners of Kaiba's lips tug up in a subtle smirk, but without another word, he turns to continue walking away.

"Wait, Kaiba! I'm not the same person as before. Fight me! If you want to battle Pegasus, first you'll have to face me off!"

Oh brother... I roll my eyes, but remain silent. Jonouchi really manages to get on my nerves. He makes everything personal, doesn't he?

Honda, Anzu, and Bakura hurry over and attempt to discourage him from Dueling Kaiba, but I remain where I am. Maybe it would be good for him to get beat by Kaiba in a Duel. It would remind him that he's not the top Duelist around just because he defeated a few strong Duelists. Jonouchi wasn't a weak Duelist, but he had no chance against Kaiba.

"What's the problem, Kaiba? Here and now, Duel me!" Jonouchi continues to instigate.

To my shock, Kaiba turns around, smirking. "Interesting. I will shatter that glass confidence you have, until there's nothing left."

My eyebrows raise. Perhaps I should have had a different reaction, but Kaiba's arrogance didn't make me dislike him.

I chew on the inside of my cheek. Is it bad that I feel excited? This is obviously a different Kaiba than the one Yuugi Dueled a month before.

"Kaiba..." Yuugi begins to protest.

"Don't worry, this battle won't put your Star Chips at stake. I will only use Jonouchi's energy to test my new Duel Disk system." Kaiba kneels and sets his briefcase on the ground to open it.

I look around to see if anyone else knows what Kaiba means by 'Duel Disk,' but since everyone looks confused, I don't ask.

Kaiba lifts a flat, round device from the briefcase and tosses it to Jonouchi, who catches it. "Put that on your left arm."

"What is it?"

"A Duel Disk. The new card battle machine I've created. Even without a Duel Ring, it can create a field using a virtual simulation system. First, fix the Deck Holder on your left arm."

I try to inch closer so I can see the Duel Disk as Jonouch does what Kaiba instructed.

"What next?"

"Just watch."

I turn my attention to Kaiba, watching him put his deck into the Deck Holder. "Set your cards in the Deck Holder to activate it." The machine lights up, displaying the number 2000 on a little screen there. A Life Point counter. "You'll set the card you will use in the middle of the Duel Disk. Then you throw the Duel Disk in the field." Without hesitation, Kaiba demonstrated, marking the start of the Duel. Launched into the field like a frisbee, the Duel Disk spins and hovers above the ground, a burst of glittering light manifesting above it. From the light emerges the hologram of the card Minotaur, looking more real than in a Duel Ring.

I stare. Incredible. The Duel Rings are impressive enough, but this is like having one on your arm. Solid Vision Duels could happen anywhere, and I can only begin to wonder about where it could take the future of Duel Monsters.

"Interesting! I'll battle with this card!" Jonouchi places one on the Duel Disk and flings it on to the field. "Armored Lizard!"

For a moment, I pause, doing the math in my head. I think maybe I missed something, but as Kaiba orders his monster to attack, I realize it's just as I see it. Jonouchi played a weaker monster without hesitation.

Minotaur slices through the Lizard's neck, and the card is ejected from Jonouchi's Duel Disk.

"When the monster is destroyed, pull back the Duel Disk. Until you have played a monster, I'll pass my turn," Kaiba explains confidently. His gaze never wavers, and though it wasn't focused anywhere near me, I still feel intimidated.

"Don't look down on me!" Jonouchi grumbles, drawing a new card. "Just watch! Flame Swordsman!" He places the card on Duel Disk, and back on the field it goes. "If it's about Attack Points, he's got more! Fighting Spirit Flame Sword!"

"Jonouchi, Minotaur is strong against Flame attacks!" Yuugi calls, but the attack is already in motion. Unsurprisingly, Minotaur defeats Flame Swordsman, and Jonouchi's Life Points drop again.

"I knew it. You've gotta be the worst Duelist in existence," Kaiba scoffs. "Fusion and Centaur cards." He sets us on the Duel Disk and sends it back out, and an even strong monster than before appears. A fusion of Minotaur and Centaur.

"Stop looking down at me like that!" Jonouchi growls, then sends out a new card. "Barbarian #2!"

That card started a cascade of weak monsters that Jonouchi summoned. Axe Raider, Bull Devil, Garoozis, Cavern Genie, Ogre Rock, and finally, Rude Kaiser, all defeated by Kaiba's fusion. Jonouchi slumps to his knees, looking defeated.

Kaiba chuckles. "What happened to the confidence you had before, Jonouchi? Gone already?"

Jonouchi didn't respond at first, so Anzu called, "Don't give up! Stand up, Jonouchi!"

Jonouchi grits his teeth, but stands. "I get it. I still won't give up. The battle begins now. Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

Despite the card being stronger than Kaiba's, Kaiba still had a confident expression. This one victory wasn't going to faze him. When Red-Eyes appears on the field, it attacks, destroying Kaiba's monster.

"All right!" Jonouchi cheers, mostly to himself.

"Getting excited because you succeeded getting through one turn... That's why I said you're the worst Duelist in existence," Kaiba says almost casually, setting another monster on his Duel Disk. When he launches it into the field, he announces what it is. "Appear, Blue-Eyes!"

I hold my breath as the dragon materializes, just as excited to see it as the first time. I absolutely love it. If it meant getting to see the card played over and over, I could watch Kaiba Duel all day, just for that.

Kaiba declares the attack, and the Blue-Eyes opens its mouth, a beam of light blasting toward Red-Eyes. As it is destroyed, Jonouchi's Life Points drop to zero as he drops to his knees.

The holograms fade away, and the Duel Disks deactivate.

I probably should have felt bad for Jonouchi, but I'm really just disappointed to watch the Blue-Eyes fade from sight.

Slipping a hand in his pocket, Kaiba speaks. "Did you learn your lesson after Dueling me? With your incompetence, I don't know how you made it this far. It suits you to be on your knees, like a loser dog unable to stand up after a single loss."

Ouch.

"What? What do you think you know?" Anzu speaks up, her tone defiant. "You don't know why Jonouchi is fighting... Don't say anything if you know nothing of it!"

"Even the weakest Duelist on this island has a reason to fight, right?" Kaiba responds without hesitation, and his words strike a chord with me. "The most important thing is if you can protect that reason. Jonouchi, it was a huge mistake to fight me. Now you've got the eyes of a loser dog. You cannot stand up as a Duelist anymore."

"Kaiba, why are you—?" Yuugi started, but Kaiba cut him off.

"Pegasus' castle. That's where he waits. Pegasus J. Crawford. The creator of Duel Monsters; a man with a terrifying power. His mind created the rules. In his hands, all the cards were created. On this island, to get in that castle, all Duelists are collecting stars. But, that's only what the god of the card kingdoms wants us to do. Yuugi, even with your skills, defeating Pegasus is impossible. I've seen him in the past once, in a Duel."

Kaiba looks away. "No, I can't call that a Duel. "It was in the New York Duel Stadium, with the fight of the King of Duelists. I was invited as a special guest to that battle. Pegasus' opponent was America's number one card professor, Keith Howard. Because he was always pursuing big prizes in money, he was known as 'Bandit Keith.'"

I had no idea what relevance this story had, but I found myself being drawn in anyway, leaning slightly forward as I listened.

"Pegasus just looked down on Keith and wrote on a piece of paper, then called a kid that was seated behind me to play in his place. Somehow, Pegasus had known what card Keith was going to play. He used some kind of trick." As he spoke, Yuugi brought the second Duel Disk back to Kaiba, who put them away neatly in his briefcase. "I don't know if the Duel Disks will be enough to win over this trick. I'm going to Pegasus' place to defeat him, and to take back what is mine."

"Kaiba! Just like you, we have things that are precious and we don't want to lose, too," Yuugi said. "Pegasus will be defeated by me."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Then, I'll say it in a different way. I'm going to Pegasus' castle before anyone else."

—

I barely slept that night. So much had happened in the one day, I could hardly wrap my brain around it. I caught a few hours rest, but at eight in the morning, Jonouchi was up and yelling, as always.

Even upon waking up, Kaiba's words would pop into my mind every so often. The most important thing is if you can protect that reason. It didn't matter if we thought our reasons here were important. Everyone had a reason to be here. What mattered was having the strength to get through everything else. I didn't know what part of it ressonated with me, but I couldn't shake it.

That day, Jonouchi won another Duel, and he and Yuugi ended up in a tag team Duel against two more Player Killers, which they also won. We spent most of the day inside caverns, and since that last Duel got them both up to ten Star Chips, we headed up to the castle, and I was glad to see the sun. The mood among us was light and hopeful. Since we were really heading up to the castle, everyone couldn't help but have their hopes up.

Instead of getting straight into the castle like we expected, at the top of the steps, we ran into Kaiba again. It wasn't a coincidental run-in, either. He was there to challenge Yuugi to another Duel.

Everyone headed up to the roof, though I found myself stuck in the back of the spectator group. I could still see, though, so I didn't say anything. Instead, I watched, my perspective slowly changing over the course of the Duel. Yuugi fought for his grandfather, and Kaiba fought for his brother. Pegasus still had him.

I watched my friends cheer for Kaiba's losses. Of course I wanted Yuugi to save his grandfather, but if Yuugi lost this Duel, he could still have time to get more Star Chips, right? The tournament wasn't over. But Kaiba wasn't a part of this tournament. This was his one chance.

No matter how obvious the fact was to me, it never clicked with my friends. No, they blindly cheered for Yuugi.

—

Yuugi's deck is essentially incapacitated. Kaiba played a combo that made any strong monsters in Yuugi's deck unplayable.

Yuugi had only a Griffor on the field, equipped with Horn of the Unicorn. The latter had put Yuugi in a position to defeat the last monster Kaiba had on the field, but Kaiba still seemed unfazed. Everyone knew that Kaiba had a Blue-Eyes in his hand, but it was only now that he summoned it, and it launches itself into the air, shooting a beam of light down on Griffor and blasting it off of the field.

Now, with only a Giant Solider of Stone defending him, Yuugi ends his turn, and Kaiba draws his next card.

"Yuugi, since the first Duel we had, I knew the pain of defeat. Now I'll let you feel that pain!" Kaiba flings his Duel Disk on to the field and three cards flip around. A Blue-Eyes card, Fusion, and another Blue-Eyes. They each light up, along with the summoned Blue-Eyes, washing out the field in a yellow light.

When the colour fades, the last thing I expect is on the field. A three-headed Blue-Eyes. I suck in a sharp breath.

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba announces. "This is the strongest killing machine! The ultimate form of monster!"

From the sidelines, I stare in awe. I could never have imagined this, but there is was, standing in front of me. 4500 attack points. Kaiba had this Duel won.

Unsurprisingly, Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon defeats Yuugi's monster without much effort. The new turn the Duel has taken seems to have shaken Yuugi, as he struggles to draw the next card.

I glance between the two sides of the field as my friends cheer Yuugi on. I don't expect Yuugi to give up, but I don't expect that he can win. I know for a fact that Yuugi can't beat Kaiba with sheer attack power at this point. If he has some kind of miracle strategy, he'd need to use it now.

Yuugi draws his card, and seems surprised.

"Kaiba, I just drew the ultimate card into my hand!"

"What?"

Yuugi places the card on to the center of the Duel Disk and flings it back out, and from it appears... Kuriboh.

"Kuriboh?" Kaiba looks irritated at first, but then chuckles. "Yuugi, it's your right to forfeit the match. If you intend on using this card to make a joke out of our battle, I'll never forgive you."

"Kaiba, you're wrong. This is my trump card! It will defeat Ultimate Dragon!"

I furrow my eyebrows as I watch Yuugi. There weren't enough card slots on a regular game mat for all the cards Kuriboh would need to be equipped with to defeat even a single Blue-Eyes.

"What did you say? Impossible." Kaiba scoffs, but Yuugi continues.

"I play Multiplier! This card multiplies a monster with 500 attack points or less." Kuribohs begin appearing all over Yuugi's side of the field, until there's at least one hundred. And still, they keep multiplying. "Indeed, this monster is a low level monster, but don't look down on it. It has hidden powers that can over take the strongest of monsters!"

"No, this trash in front of my Ultimate Dragon will only make more corpses! Attack!"

The three Blue-Eyes heads lean together to form one burst of light aimed straight at the Kuribohs, and I truly expect Yuugi's Life Points to drop to zero right there. Instead, the Kuribohs continue multiplying to make up for the ones hit by the attack.

"The moment an enemy makes contact with Kuriboh, it explodes. Your attacks won't get through," Yuugi explains. "Unless all of them are destroyed, Kuriboh will continue to multiply. In other words, unless you defeat every Kuriboh, you will never take my Life Points to zero. But before that, I play my second trump combo. Mammoth Graveyard, Fusion, and the Arrow of Magical Effects."

I stare, trying to put together what those cards could do together. I can see the premise. Arrow of Magical Effects lets Yuugi play his Magic Cards with Kaiba's monsters. But what would fusing Mammoth Graveyard with the Ultimate Dragon do?

The cards appear of the field, and the Mammoth shapes into an arrow, firing at the Ultimate Dragon. Blue-Eyes cringes, and the Mammoth's head appears in its chest.

"What the hell? You just...!" Kaiba doesn't finish his sentence.

"Blue-Eyes is a living Light Monster. When Ultimate Dragon is fused with a Dark, Undead type monster, its body will decompose. The Attack Points of Mammoth Graveyard are at 1200, so each turn, Ultimate Dragon will lose that many Attack Points."

As he speaks, Ultimate Dragon's Attack drops to 3300.

I watch my friends cheer, but I can't join in. An awful feeling starts growing in my stomach, and I can't help but worry. It feels like something bad is going to happen.

Kaiba glowers at Yuugi, his hands clenched in fists. "Not yet. This match is not over yet! Attack, Ultimate Dragon!"

Same as before, the burst of light is stopped by the Kuriboh.

"I'll draw a card and end my turn," Yuugi states simply, doing just that.

Ultimate Dragon's Life Points drop to 2100.

Kaiba's expression says furious, but his eyes tell me desperate. He grits his teeth, and still approaches the same strategy. "Attack! Ultimate Burst!"

The same result as before.

The pit in my stomach grows heavier.

Again, Yuugi skips his turn, and Ultimate Dragon's attack drops, now to 900.

Kaiba's arms lower to his sides, limp, his gaze vacantly staring at the melting Dragon in front of him.

I watch, hands clenching in fists over my stomach. It looked like he wasn't seeing what we were seeing. This apparently invincible CEO looked so... broken.

As I watch, his head tilts down, so he's staring at the ground. What else can he do? He's losing his grip on his only chance to rescue his brother.

Because he doesn't make a move, it's assumed he skips his turn, and Yuugi draws, reeling the Duel Disk back in to play a new card. "My turn! I'll play another card! Elf Swordsman!" Throwing the Disk back on to the field, the monster appears. "Attack Ultimate Dragon!"

The sword of the Elf Swordsman slices off one of the Dragon's heads, but it remains standing. Kaiba's Life Points drop, and he still doesn't react. His expression makes my heart clench. Still, I hear my friends cheering at Yuugi's apparent victory. I begin to wonder if they're all really as kind as I thought, or if they're instead unwaveringly biased.

My attention remains on Kaiba's side of the field, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. Yuugi may have been my friend, but I couldn't bring myself to root for his victory when I couldn't see justification in it.

Then, Kaiba seemed to wake up. "Yuugi... The game has just started." His tone is subdued and serious, emotionless, and somehow, it terrifies me. "During the last attack, I lost five hundred Life Points. If one of these squares on the ground is equal to one hundred of my Life Points, then I will move backwards for each point I lost. Five hundred points. In other words, five squares."

My heart leaps into my throat as I watch Kaiba walk backwards, nausea stirring in my stomach. I can only remain silent until Kaiba steps up on to the raised block at the edge. The words bubble past my lips. "Kaiba, stop!"

My words go unanswered, but it's the last square for him. Kaiba remains standing up there. Behind him is nothing but air. I know at the base of the part of the castle he stood at, there is nothing but a rocky cliff beneath him. One more step back, and he'd be dead.

It takes every bit of my will power not to run over there and yank him down. Seeing someone stand at the edge of a cliff like that, ready to step off, is not something I'm prepared to stand and watch.

"I'm at the edge," Kaiba continues calmly, though the look in his eyes is anything but rational. "If you attack next turn, you'll be taking my real life, and I will die. I'll glady die for a Duel."

"That bastard..." Jonouchi grumbles, then shouts at him, "Kaiba! That's playing cheap! Are you gonna bluff like this to keep Yuugi from going all out?"

Fury grabs hold of me, and I glare at Jonouchi. "Great Jonouchi, let's assume that the man ready to kill himself is bluffing about it." I am mere moments from telling him to pull his head out of his ass, but somehow, I rein myself back in. My blood boils. Someone that assumes a suicide attempt is a bluff before taking it seriously is not someone I will call my friend.

Kaiba doesn't respond at all. A small, empty smirk pulls at his lips, and he looks down.

A long silence passes between everyone before Kaiba speaks. "Yuugi, on your next turn, your worth as a Duelist will be tested. A game is like two mirrors held against each other. How would you counter your own moves? You must place yourself into the mind of the opponent in order to obtain victory. If I was you in this Duel, I'd push myself over the edge without a moment's hesitation. But this Duel is not over yet. I'll draw a card." With eerie calmness, Kaiba draws a card from his deck, and plays it. "My card is Resurrection of the Dead. I will use this card to resurrect the killed Blue-Eyes head.

Out of the melted stump of neck left over from Yuugi's last attack, and brand new, vibrant Blue-Eyes head appeared, vicious as ever.

"A normal Blue-Eyes with its normal 3000 Attack Points. Because it was destroyed while it was fused, I'll have to wait another turn to attack. Now, Yuugi, it's your turn."

For me, this decision seemed obvious. Yuugi couldn't attack Kaiba. There was no question about it. So why did I still feel so sick?

After a short silence, Yuugi's voice rose over the quiet. "Fine, Kaiba! Elf Swordsman, attack!"

My stomach clenches, sickened, but I don't hesitate, bursting through my friends to sprint at Yuugi full speed. "Yuugi, stop! You can't kill him! Call off the attack, please!"

Realization flashes across his face, and he drops to his knees. I skid to a stop and whip around, seeing the Elf Swordsman slow to a halt in front of Ultimate Dragon.

Speaking quietly, Kaiba says, "I win. Burst Stream."

The Blue-Eyes head takes out Elf Swordsman, dropping Yuugi's Life Points to zero. Kaiba steps down from the ledge, and behind me, I can hear that Yuugi is crying.

As I turn back to face him, our friends run over. I can't bring myself to get any closer. I'm still nauseated, and I feel ready to cry as well. I keep the tears in, though, my fingers clutching the fabric on my thighs.

"I couldn't do it...! If I continued the game, Kaiba might have died! I'm scared... of this game... and of the other-..." Yuugi sputters, unable to finish his sentence.

Anzu crouches in front of him, tears streaking down her face. "I'm sorry... But Yuugi, you did the right thing."

"You showed weakness in the end. So I've won, Yuugi," Kaiba's voice speaks from behind us, and I turn to him. "If you had the cold-heartedness to push me of the ravine, you'd have won."

"No, you're wrong!" Anzu stands, facing Kaiba with a glare. "The one who lost the game is you, Kaiba! You bet your chip of life as if it were nothing!"

"Anzu..." I protest quietly, but the brunette continues.

"You lost to yourself! When you realize you would lose to Yuugi, you couldn't live anymore!"

"Anzu." I lift my voice, and still, I'm ignored.

"Real courage is protecting that chip in your hands no matter what. The moment you give that up, you lose! Yugi protected your chip instead of winning!"

"Anzu!" I finally shout at full volume, miraculously catching Anzu's attention.

It's all the time Kaiba needs to turn and leave, silently. He doesn't defend himself. He doesn't need anyone to understand his reasons. He just knows what he needs to do. I admire the strength it takes to do that.

Everyone watches him leave, and I speak up again. "Has everyone here forgotten about Mokuba already?" I look specifically at Anzu, but receive no response. It seems I've angered everyone. I couldn't really bring myself to care. Kaiba didn't bet his life because he was going to lose a Duel. He bet his life because he was going to lose his brother.

—

After that, everything else seemed mediocre. Mai returned with enough Star Chips for her and Yuugi both, making up for the Duel with the Player Killer. Because of what had happened with Kaiba, however, Yuugi was in no state to take them. It seemed he wasn't sure about moving forward and Dueling Pegasus anymore.

His behaviour irritated Mai, and she decided instead, she wanted Yuugi to Duel her for them. It was likely a ploy to get him back on his feet, but Yuugi still refused to respond, and Anzu decided to Duel Mai in Yuugi's place.

Anzu wouldn't have managed on her own, but Mai surrendered under the guise of her only strategy being ruined.

The Duel had snapped Yuugi out of his trance, and he accepted the Star Chips from Anzu.

I barely paid attention to the actual Duel, though. I was still too pissed.

There wasn't much to tell after that. Now, we were walking through Pegasus' castle, upstairs, through halls, where ever we were directed. The walls were all the same sickly pastel pink, while the tile we walked on was a light blue colour. It seemed with all of Pegasus' boasting, he didn't have much taste. All I could think was "kitschy-gone-wrong."

I had decided to not say much as we wandered through the halls of Pegasus' castle. No one necessarily seemed angry with me, but I knew I'd been the only one that had disagreed about the Kaiba situation. I didn't want it to come up again yet.

The point of this chapter was essentially to skip through the 'boring' parts of DK. It would have gotten TERRIBLY tedious to write each Duel, because a majority of them would literally have consisted of Mara standing on the sidelines, watching. I don't want her to fall into a "passive character in her own story" rut, and after this chapter, she definitely shuns that role.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are mega appreciated, including any constructive criticism you may have.

Lastly, I know I said I'd be uploading more often, but I... kinda forgot for a while. BUT, I'm here now, and I have up to chapter 10 done and edited, ready to be uploaded! And uploaded they shall be, very soon.