Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh nor their original characters nor do I own Steven Universe and any of its original characters, cause if I did, Pink would've found a way to be able to exist at the same time with Steven and she would've come clean about everything with her identity! But, hey, a girl can dream.

Now for the review replies:

foxchick1: Glad to know your enjoying this story, again, I'm shocked no one's ever considered this before as I'm sure I'm not the only fan of both the original Yu-Gi-Oh and Steven Universe, and as for Pegasus' past, we'll get to that when we get to that and that's all I'm gonna say.

MissGemma: May I say that's a rather nice nickname, I really like it. Second off, I'm really glad your enjoying this story and I'm flattered that you find it so enjoyable and don't worry this story has a much more consistent schelude compared to my other stories and should you have any comments, suggestions, etc, please don't hesisate to put them in a review or send them to me via PM, just don't get upset if I don't respond to the PM right away.

Now on with the story!

The sun was beginning to set on Duelist Kingdom and Yugi, Tristan, Joey, Itzel and Jazmin were running through the trees searching for Mokuba as Tea, Liliya, Akira, Stephanie and Leon remained by the arena, the two disguised females doing their best to console the hybrid, who was still upset with Mokuba being kidnapped right under her nose. Leon never liked seeing girls cry and was trying to help, which resulted in Stephanie hugging him tight to her, as if afraid he'd get snatched too if she let go.

"Mokuba!" Yugi called, "Mokuba!"

"This is no time to be playin' hide 'n' seek Mokuba!" Joey called out looking behind a tree. "Mokuba answer us!" Tristan called as well. "For the love of the stars above and beyond," Jazmin sighed really wanting to punch something, "Pebble if you can hear us, answer!" A hand on her shoulder made her look back at Itzel, who had a grim look on her face as she shook her head.

"Kemo must have taken him back to Pegasus' castle," The rainbow-haired veteran said as she turned to look where she could see the building over the treetops. Jazmin turned to look as well, face fixed into what was becoming her signature sneer as she added, "All the more reason to hurry up with those Star Chips."

"Yeah," Joey agreed as he started to walk over but paused when he noticed some Duel Monster cards on the ground, he bent down and picked them up, admiring them, "Wow, someone dropped their cards."

"Hands off, those are mine!" Tristan said once he saw the cards, much to Joey and the two women's surprises. "You duel?" Itzel asked in surprise. "Well, I'm no expert like Yugi," Tristan said bashfully, "But he started teaching me, Tea and Joey, and since Joey seems to think he's good enough for the tournament, maybe next time I'd give it a go!"

"Oh hardy-har-har," Joey rolled his eyes, "Give me a break Tristan, I haven't even dueled yet," He blinked when he noticed a particular card, "I know that monster..."

As Joey reached back for his deck, Yugi questioned, "Haven't I seen that card in your deck Joey?"

"Nah, but I know I have one similar tah it," Joey replied looking for through his cards, stopping when he found one with a monster similar to Tristan's save for color scheme, "Bingo, Swamp Battleguard," He then held out the cards for Jazmin and Itzel to see, "Well, will ya look at that, these two look like they could be long-lost brothers," He then smirked at Tristan, "Of course, that doesn't mean yours packs the same wallop mine does."

Tristan glared in response, clenching his teeth, "His 'wallop' is just fine..." He breathed through his nose to calm himself down before he did or said something he knew he was going to regret, "My Lava Battleguard has never let me down before, try him out, you'll see."

"Thanks," Joey smiled appreciatively, "It does say they work best together."

"You know," Jazmin suddenly spoke up, smirking, "I can almost see a resemble between you two twigs and those dunderheads," Yugi and Itzel chuckled as the other two pouted, "Now, c'mon, we need to get back before some other member of Pegasus' pathetic thugs tries to take a swing at Miss Diamonde." That said, she led them back towards the others as Joey placed Tristan's card in his deck and put it away.

Meanwhile, at a different arena, Mai was in the middle of dueling, but didn't enthused or all that into it as her opponent stuttered nervously, "Y-Y-Your mo-move Mai."

"Oh harpies give that monster our kind of makeover, attack," Mai said bored, not even looking at the field as her Harpie Lady Sisters came together in a triangular form, conjuring an electrical attack that destroyed their Mistress' opponent's monster and winning the duel, but Mai wasn't the least bit impressed or into the fact she had won, "Wow, that was a real challenge, its right up there with doing my nails."

"But I was ranked four in my division finals!" Her opponent whined. "Yeah, yeah, that's great hun," Mai said not paying any attention with a bored sigh neither of them noticing her three harpies sharing a very concerned look before disappearing, not used to type of attitude from their Mistress.

Not long after getting her awarded Star Chips, Mai sat leisurely atop a hill with a rather nice view of the ocean, half admiring the view as the water shimmered under the different colored lights of the setting sun and half pondering over her new lack of enthusiasm over winning her duel. 'I just don't get it, trashing hot shot duelists used to be as fun as a fall clearance sale,' Mai thought to herself looking up at the slightly cloudy sky, 'Why can't I enjoy it anymore?' As if to answer her own question, Mai's mind conjured an image of Stephanie's face in the sky, her words from their duel resonating in the blonde's head.

Instantly, Mai growled and then began to rant, "Its all that annoying little spoiled pink princess' fault! I still can't believe such an amateur brat like her managed to beat me!" The image smirked and blew a childish raspberry at her, which only added fuel to the fire, "I have to find a way to get back at that-that-that...gem-loving, sickly, over-muscled weirdo! And who is she to say I can't be a champion if I'm only dueling for myself? I don't need anyone and-!"

Footsteps made her pause in her ranting and blink before turning to see a short teenage boy about Yugi's height with tanned skin, long(ish), wild brown hair and grayish-purple bangs under a red beanie hat and dark brown, almost black-colored eyes that were glaring at her. He wore a black shirt under a buttoned up green jacket underneath an opened whitish-cream vest with tawny pants and navy blue shoes with white soles and laces. He carried a dark gray dufflebag and a deck holster on his matching belt.

"There you are, I've been searching the whole island for you!" He frowned at her, one hand gripping the string of his bag and the other was a fist on his hip, "I think its high time we finish what we started back on the boat."

Mai rolled her eyes, before tapping her chin in mock-thought, "Funny, I recall already knocking you on your jurassic butt."

"Everyone knows about your little perfume trick!" He huffed, "So don't think you're going to psyche me out again!"

"Look, Rex Raptor, right?" Mai said dropping her act and he nodded, "I have nothing to prove by dueling you again and don't think I don't have better things to do."

"Eh, I was the runner up at the Regional Championships, would've won too if Underwood would stop pulling all those underminded tricks!" Rex rebutted stubbornly, before holding up his Duelist Glove, "Plus I've already won five Star Chips, so I'm halfway to the castle!"

Mai smirked as she held up her own glove, twisting it so he could she the only two empty slots left, "I have eight," Rex growled at her, "So I'm just two away from getting into the castle," Mai then frowned, "And it'll be well worth it once I get back at that pink brat for the humiliating defeat she handed me."

"Pink..." Rex muttered with a furrowed brow, wondering who she meant, before it clicked, "Wait, you mean Pinkamena Diamodne? She beat you?" His confused turned into a thoughtful one, "She must be better than I thought."

Mai frowned in response, "She caught me off guard, alright? I'd like to see you face her or any of them for that-" She stopped herself as an idea popped into her head, then she smirked as she stood and turned fully, "Alright Rex, I'll duel you, if you one little thing for me first."

Rex arched a brow incredulously for a moment before thinking it over and eventually said, "I'm listening..." Mai smirked in response.

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"Are you sure you don't want to stick by us for a little bit Leon?" Stephanie asked the redhead after managing to calm down.

Leon nodded, "I really appreciate everything you guys have done for me, Miss Diamonde," Stephanie inwardly cringed at the title, "But...I made myself a promise when I accepted the invitation to compete hear; that I'd make it into the finals on my own terms, I only accepted that deck from my brother because he kept insisting," He gave her a pleading look, "Please understand Miss Diamonde, this is something I need to do."

Stephanie couldn't help cracking a little smile at Leon's determination, his drive reminding her oddly of herself when she was younger, trying to prove desperately to the Crystal Gems that she wasn't helpless. She gave a little nod which made Leon smile.

"You take care of yourself Little Pebble, ya hear?" Liliya said as they waved their new friend off. "I will!" Leon assured as he walked off to find a new challenge and earn more Star Chips. "And don't forget to call if you run into any more nasty cheaters!" Akira added waving Stephanie's cellphone, which now had Leon's number in it on so the boy could contact them if someone tried to unfairly boot him off the island again. "I will!" Leon replied before disappearing from sight.

Not a moment later, the boys, Jazmin and Itzel returned. Stephanie instantly asked, "Any sign of them?"

They all sighed and shook their heads as Yugi answered, "None." Which made Stephanie's heart sink.

"Kemo must've taken him back to the castle," Itzel informed. "Guess that just adds to the importance to getting into the finals then," Akira sighed making everyone else nod in agreement.

They started walking and found themselves over looking an area of different arenas and several other duelists. "You know, after all the weirdos," Tea spoke up, "Its nice to see some normal duelists for a change."

Akira and Liliya nodded in agreement, but Itzel shrugged, "Normalcy's overrated."

"So who are you going to duel first Joey?" Stephanie asked the blonde curiously as he looked around at the other duelists. "Maybe we should be looking for some three-year-olds for you to duel," Tristan joked smirking making Joey glare at him as the disguised Gems shared a confused glance whilst Stephanie looked stunned at the degrading remark.

"Or maybe a dueling monkey," Tea suggested giggling as Tristan outright laughed. "Now that's a very nice thing to say about a friend," Stephanie commented with a stern frown.

"Yeah," Joey agreed hotly with an angrily glare, "So the both of ya shut it!" He then stomped off, "OK who wants tah duel?" They all froze at hearing a familiar laugh and a few of them groaned and turning confirmed their suspicions as a certain blonde female walked towards them, "Oh, its you Mai."

"Hello to you too," Mai chuckled, "How you've been? Still haven't won any Star Chips yet?"

"I'm good 'n' no, not yet," Joey answered, "I see ya got eight of yer own now, how many of 'em did ya win with yer cheap perfume trick?"

"I haven't used that trick since your pink friend beat me," Mai answered honestly, something that Stephanie could sense for some odd reason, "But now, I want you to duel, but against an opponent of my choosing."

"So, I have tah duel someone else besides you?" Joey clarified which was when Rex appeared from behind a tree. "Hey, isn't that Rex Raptor?" Stephanie asked in surprise, recognizing the runner up from the Japanese Regional Finals. "Yeah, I think it is," Yugi answered.

"Isn't he the guy who came in second aftah that weasel Underwood?" Joey asked, "If he lost to that cheatin' slimeball, he can't be that tough."

"Thinking like that can get ya squashed later in life blondie," Rex rebutted rather calmly, surprising Mai, "So are we gonna duel or what?"

"Fine by me," Joey shrugged much to his friends shock and the Gems gave him points for pluck for deciding to duel someone of such high caliber so quickly. "Are you nuts?" Tea asked in disbelief, "He won second place in the Regional Championships, what are you trying to prove?"

"I'm not tryin' tah prove anythin'," Joey replied, "He challenged me 'n' its obvious Mai wants me tah chicken out tah make Pink 'n' Yugi look bad by association, so ain't gonna give 'er the satisfaction of seein' me back down."

"This is crazy, you might be willing to throw away your only Star Chip, but I won't let you!" Tristan said grabbing Joey's shoulder, but Joey turned and shoved Tristan away, shocking him, Tea and Yugi as the Gems arched a surprised brow. "If you don't think I can win this on mah own then maybe ya shouldn't have come 'ere at all!" Joey snapped not noticing the hurt that flashed across the brunette's face, "I'll beat Rex on mah own!"

"But Joey we're your friends!" Yugi protested, "We want to help you!" Joey huffed, unconvinced.

"Forget it Yug," Tristan said with gritted teeth, "If he wants to throw away the chance to help his sister than its his choice!" With that said, he stormed off in frustration.

"Tristan!" Itzel and Yugi shouted after him.

"Let him go," Joey huffed, "And you guys should probably go with him, that way, Mai can't say you guys helped me our or somethin'." He then stalked off for one of the arenas as Rex walked along as well.

"But Joey," Liliya protested. "You guys stay with Joey," Stephanie told her, "We'll talk to Tristan." They all nodded and split off, the majority of the group going after Tristan and Liliya being the only one to go after Joey.

"Sounds like trouble in paradise to me," Rex commented as he stood in the red platform. "Ah hush up, at least I ain't doin' a chick's biddin', what Mai promised ya if ya beat me anyways?" Joey retorted, "A kiss? A signed picture? What?"

Rex's eye twitched before he almost shouted, "She promised to duel me!"

"Wow, yer that desperate tah talk tah a girl ya offer tah let 'er boss ya around," Joey commented with a smirk making Rex growl. "Your gonna pay for that!" Rex huffed, "Since you only got one Star Chip, that's all I'll wager," He set down one of his Star Chips, "That way when I pummel you into dust you'll be off the island for good." Joey nodded in acknowledgement before setting his only Star Chip down, he then glanced down as their life points were set to see only Liliya, who gave him an encouraging smile, which he returned, albeit, a bit strained.

'Seems they left, even Pink,' Joey thought, 'Just wait when they learn I beat Rex Raptor all by myself,' He couldn't keep the smile off his face, 'Liliya will be so impressed!'

"Oi!" Rex shouted at him, "Wipe that dumb smile off your face, its time to duel!"

Joey LPs: 2000

Rex LPs: 2000

After they drew their starting hand, Joey looked at his cards and saw his opinions. 'Alright, Time Wizard in my first hand. plus Dark Blade and Pitch Dark Dragon can be combined if I have polymerization,' He thought with elation, out loud, he said, "I'll summon Pitch-Dark Dragon in defense mode." His dragon stood on its hind-legs much like the Blue Eyes White Dragon with small claws and large wings with a plated tail, only, as its name suggested, it was black as night and the edges of it whisped like smoke and it hand horns on its head.

Pitch-Dark Dragon. Attribute: DARK. Tribe: DRAGON/UNION. Lv: 3. ATK/DEF: 900/600

"You really should know better than to play defense on your first turn!" Rex commented with a smirk-like smile, "Two Headed King Rex!" He too summoned a monster, only his was a bipedal reptile that stood on its hind legs and was purple in color with three-digit claws and talons, a single tail, a pair of wings and had two heads with three yellow horns and matching jaws full of teeth.

Two Headed King Rex. Attribute: EARTH. Tribe: DINOSAUR. Lv: 4. ATK/DEF: 1600/1200

"Since when do creatures of any kind have two heads?" Liliya gaped in shock before remembering she was by herself and sighed, "Oh yeah, they went after Tristan..." She then noticed the two-headed beast's power increasing and gulped upon remembering the field power bonus and got worried for Joey, "Oh no..."

Two Headed King Rex. ATK/DEF: 2080/1580

"Aw man!" Joey panicked. "Foot stomp!" Rex ordered and his monster responded in kind, charging Joey's dragon and stomping it into destruction. "It's okay Joey!" Liliya called up encouragingly, "Everyone's allowed to make mistakes, even Miss Diamonde made them, remember?" Mai laughed earning a pointed glare from the bluenette, "What's so funny?"

"He already made the biggest mistake that'll cost him this duel," The blonde answered, "He accepted it in the first place." Liliya glared venomously.

"I might've made a mistake," Joey muttered, "But I think I have on card that can destroy Rex's monster," He then summoned a new monster, shouting, "Go Dark Blade!" His monster was clad head-to-toe in black, samurai-like armor with a black and red cape and held a pair of dual swords.

Dark Blade. Attribute: DARK. Tribe: WARRIOR. Lv: 4. ATK/DEF: 1800/1500

"Yes!" Liliya cheered as the monster got its own field power bonus.

Dark Blade. ATK/DEF: 2310/1895

"Yes, he got the field power bonus!" Joey cheered as well, "Now show that overgrown lizard why dinosaurs went extinct!"

His warrior burst forward and with a graceful spin, sliced Rex's dinosaur into pieces, which burst into data. "Yeah!" Liliya cheered again and Mai scowled as Rex's life points dropped.

Rex LPs: 1770

"Don't let that one victory go to your head," Rex remarked as he drew, "I summon Sword Arm of Dragon!" He summoned a stegosaurus that was beige in color with brown splotches and blue plates down its back and the end of its tail was shaped similarly to a blade.

Sword Arm of Dragon. Attribute: EARTH. Tribe: DINOSAUR. Lv: 6. ATK/DEF: 1750/2030

Liliya's expression became a dry deadpan as she commented in a similar tone, "I'm starting to notice a theme with this guy's monsters..." As she said this, the bladed-tailed lizard's power increased from the power bonus.

Sword Arm of Dragon. ATK/DEF: 2275/2639

"And I'll add this magic card," Rex added as he held up his chosen card for Joey to see, "Raise Body Heat!" His monster began to glow red and literally steam as its points grew even higher.

Sword Arm of Dragon. ATK/DEF: 2575/2939

"Ah crap..." Joey cringed as Rex's monster charged his Dark Blade. "Sword Tail Slash!" Rex ordered, his monster turned and swung its tail at Joey's warrior, destroying it and depleting a bit of Joey's life points.

Joey LPs: 1735

"Don't give up Joey!" Liliya called up encouraging, "We're all here for you!" Joey's face pinched slightly as he glanced down at her.

'Yeah, that's why Yugi, Pink and the rest left,' He thought sarcastically, but sighed as he took a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose, 'Then again , I guess I had a part to play with how they did.'

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Meanwhile, Tristan was kneeling by a little pond, where he was splashing his face, grumbling, "What a nimrod, he's gonna get himself creamed by that Freak-a-saurus." He turned to see Jazmin, Itzel, Akira, Stephanie, Yugi and Tea looking at him.

"He did make it pretty clear that he didn't want our help," Tea pointed out softly. "Only because he didn't want to take how you two were babying him," Jazmin snorted earning a pointed look from Tea and Tristan, "What? It's true, you were treating him like he didn't know what he was doing."

"Because he doesn't!" Tristan retorted despite the slight guilt in his eyes. "Don't you have any faith in him? I mean, you knew I didn't have any experience before dueling Mai, but you didn't try to stop me," Stephanie pointed out making the two wince, "Tristan, I might not know him as well as you do, but I think if your positions were switched, Joey wouldn't have tried to stop you." Tristan looked down, unable to deny she was a hundred-percent on the nose with that one.

"You got lucky with Mai, Pink," Tristan finally said, "He's not an expert like Yugi is, he isn't ready for an opponent like Rex!"

"You know, there was someone I used to have so much confidence and faith in, someone I honestly thought could do no wrong," Itzel said suddenly grabbing everyone's attention and Stephanie looked to the side, putting her shades on to hide her guilty expression, guessing who she was talking about, "She was the most experienced fighter I knew and I thought she trusted me to do the right thing and that we could talk things out if we ever got into a disagreement, but..." Itzel placed a hand over her stomach, grimacing at a memory, "She...wasn't what I thought..."

Tea, Tristan, Yugi and Akira all looked at her sympathetically as Jazmin looked away with a distant expression on her face. "Wh-what happened...?" Tea dared to ask, earning a pointed look from both Akira and, surprisingly, Stephanie. But Itzel answered, "She tried to kill me..." The teens all gasped and Jazmin looked over in surprise.

"I-I'm sorry..." Yugi said with wide eyes. "Don't be, it was a really long time ago," Itzel shook her head with a bittersweet smile, "What I'm trying to say is, don't let something this small get in the way of something more important." Tristan nodded in understanding, a contemplating look on his face, but there was a twinge of uncertainty, the memory of Liliya's transformation and admission to Leon she wasn't exactly human left him unsure what to say to her.

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Back at the dueling arena, Joey was looking at the cards in his hands as he thought wearily, 'Nothing in my hand can beat his monster; maybe Mai was right, maybe this duel was a mistake,' Joey then shook his head, 'No, if I begin doubting myself now, how will Serenity be able to reply on me...and how can I look Liliya in the eye again...' He looked at his cards again, 'I still have Time Wizard, but I haven't drawn Baby Dragon yet, but...it can't hurt to put the card on the field,' Mind made up, he set his monster face-down, "Time Wizard."

'The Time Wizard, huh?' Mai thought, 'That's basically a monster version of the card Diamonde used to beat me with; I should warn Rex,' With that thought, she called up to her co-conspirator, "Raptor, watch that Time Wizard, its a lot like Daimonde's Crystal Heat Chronometer! The card she used to beat me!"

"Just because their a like doesn't mean they're both dangerous," Rex pointed out, he then got thinking, 'Plus, this ain't Diamonde, I know Wheeler's type, he'll play another monster in defense mode and when he does, he'll be in for a prehistoric smack-down,' And he smirked as Joey did just as he predicted and played a monster in defense mode, "Ya see, I knew the rookie wouldn't know what to do!" He then summoned a light orange triceratops that had spines similar to its horns on its back.

Megazowler. Attribute: EARTH. Tribe: DINOSAUR. Lv: 6. ATK/DEF: 1800/2000

"This is not good," Liliya commented once again with a little shake of the head, watching the new lizard rack its hind feet in the dirt, clearly getting ready to charge as its power rose thanks to the field power bonus, "Nope."

Megazowler. ATK/DEF: 2340/2600

"Megazowler smash his monster to pieces!" Rex ordered and his monster charged, causing Joey's monster to reveal itself to be slightly similar to Yugi's Giant Soldier of Stone, if on a smaller scale with no form of stone weaponry.

Rock Ogre 1#. Attribute: EARTH. Tribe: ROCK. Lv: 3. ATK/DEF: 800/1200

Joey's ogre tried to hold Rex's triceratops back, but was eventually overwhelmed and reduced to rumble.

'Okay Joey, you can do this,' Joey assured himself before drawing his next card and instantly got a big grin on his face, "Alright! Go Flame Swordsman, carve those dinosaurs up like they were big turkeys!" The monster Joey summoned was an organic male with tanned skin with dark eyes wearing a blue warrior's outfit with a flame orange clothe belt and a matching helmet, holding a magnificent orange-bladed, two-handed sword.

Flame Swordsman. Attribute: FIRE. Tribe: WARRIOR/FUSION. Lv: 5. ATK/DEF: 1800/1600

All Liliya could say was, "Wow..." Her eyes were wide with awe as the new warrior gained his own field power bonus.

Flame Swordsman. ATK/DEF: 2340/2080

"Didn't you see what my dinosaur did to your Rock Ogre?" Rex demanded skeptically, "Or do you really want to lose?" Without really giving it thought, Rex ordered his next attack, "Megazowler charge!"

But Mai actually did think and shouted in an attempt to warn him, "Rex, you big dummy!"

"Flaming Sword of Battle!" Joey ordered in kind and his Flame Swordsman tilted his sword a little and it lit to life with fire, which he then swung in a forward arch, creating a funnel of flames, destroying Rex's monster, much to his shock and Liliya's joyed-awe.

"He did it!" Liliya cheered. "How did...how did you know dinosaurs are vulnerable to fire?" Rex asked in shock once he realized what happened, being a fire attribute monster, Flame Swordsman mere presence cancelled out the field power bonus his dinosaurs had gained, leaving them open to the warrior's attack.

Joey looked just as surprised with the results himself, before shrugging bashfully, "Er...would you believe it was a lucky guess?" Rex and Mai both fell over anime-style in disbelief, which made Liliya giggle and Flame Swordsman himself shook his shoulders with mirth as he tried to remain quiet, snorting softly to himself in his efforts.

"Impossible!" Mai shouted in disbelief, "How can someone be that lucky?" Liliya shot Joey a thumbs up, which he returned as Rex's life points fell.

Rex LPs: 1230

"Looks like I just found out the weakness tah yer dinosaurs," Joey said with a growing smirk, "Hope your not too...saur...about it!" Flame Swordsman clamped a hand over his mouth in effort to keep himself from outright bursting into laughter at the pun, which Liliya didn't both and held her stomach with mirth, "Get it? Sore, saur, dino; dinosaur."

Righting himself, Rex replied, "I got the joke," He then switched the position of his remaining dinosaur, "I'm putting my Sword Arm of Dragon into defense mode." His stegosaurus crouched and curled its tail around itself.

"Can't say he doesn't have sense," Liliya admitted. "Flame Swordsman attack!" Joey ordered and his warrior attacked, destroying Rex's Sword Arm of Dragon and for the next two turns, both of the monsters Rex had summoned in defense were destroyed by Joey's Swordsman.

"Woo!" Liliya cheered enthusiastically, "Go Joey!" Joey blushed a little at her cheering.

"Now I summon Swamp Battleguard," Joey said as he summoned a new monster that looked a bit trollish with green skin, wearing a black loincloth and carried a spiked club.

Swamp Battleguard. Attribute: EARTH. Tribe: WARRIOR/EFFECT. Lv: 5. ATK/DEF: 1800/1500

"Now there's a monster that represents Wheeler rather well," Mai commented dryly. "Your just mad because your partner's not winning any-more," Liliya called her out making the blonde huff as Joey's Battleguard's power rose with the field power bonus.

Swamp Battleguard. ATK/DEF: 2340/1950

"Big deal," Rex said unimpressed, "I have a beast that'll wipe both of your monsters out in one shot," He drew and smirked, "I summon Serpent Night Dragon!" His monster was a blue serpentine dragon with a bird-like face and smallish wings and two pairs of sharp talons.

Serpent Night Dragon. Attribute: DARK. Tribe: DRAGON. Lv: 7. ATK/DEF: 2350/2400

"This rare card is reward to all who make it into the finals of the Regional Championships," Rex said with a confident smile, "But for a loser like you, it should be an honor to be trashed by it," He then ordered, "Nightmare Sonic Blast!" His dragon launched wisps of black energy, destroying Flame Swordsman.

"Oh man...this ain't good," Joey whispered with wide eyes. "Joey..." Liliya whispered in concern as the blonde's life points dropped, though thankfully by not that much.

Joey LPs: 1725

Joey drew his next card and his eyes widened when he saw what it was, 'Tristan's card...he always shows up somehow to help me out...' He couldn't help cracking a smile as the memory played in his mind, despite the fact they had both ended badly bruised with slit lips to boot and Tristan didn't even have to be there to begin with, it was a memory Joey was always going to cherish and it also served to reinforce the hurt of Tristan's apparent lack of faith in him and his skills as a duelist that bore into him.

"Hey Joey!" A voice shouted snapping out him out of his thoughts and he turned to see Tristan and the others had come back, standing around Liliya, and it was Tristan who had called out to him, adding with a playful grin, "So you going to use my card or what?"

"You got it!" Joey grinned and then shouted, "Go Lava Battleguard!" The monster was a red-skinned version of Swamp Battleguard, also carrying a spiked club.

Lava Battleguard. Attribute: EARTH. Tribe: WARRIOR/EFFECT. Lv: 5. ATK/DEF: 1550/1800

"Cool my card's on the field!" Tristan said with a smile as the field power bonus kicked in for the second Battleguard.

Lava Battleguard. ATK/DEF:2015/2340

Joey smiled at his friend when noticed something odd, both of his monsters suddenly gained an increased of attack points by five hundred each.

Swamp Battleguard. ATK/DEF: 2840/1950

Lava Battleguard. ATK/DEF: 2515/2340

But Rex didn't seem to notice as he said with a slight sarcastic them lacked any actual bite, "What a touching reunion," He then ordered, "Serpent Night Dragon, attack the green one!" His dragon did as ordered but before its attack could hit, Lava Battleguard swung its club and knocked the attack right back at Rex's monster, much to everyone's shock, "What's going on? My attack's been deflected!" His monster was destroyed by its own dark rings, making him stammer, "But...but how? There weren't any trap cards..."

"Its simple," Surprisingly, it was Joey who explained, "Lava Battleguard deflected yer attack." Rex blinked in shock.

"Of course, those monsters are like best friends and when they're both on the field they help each other out by giving each other a power boost," Stephanie said as it came to her. "Kinda like how you and Joey are in real life, Tristan," Yugi added making Tristan smile and look up at Joey, who nodded.

"Thanks for the help Tristan," Joey told him and the brunette gave him a thumb up in support. "What a team," Akira said having run the scenario in her head a few times over from a strategic stand point, "Not only did they destroy Raptor's monster, but they took out a hefty chuck of his life points at the same time!" Sure enough, Rex's life points dropped to a semi-low level.

Rex LPs: 740

"And with those two on the field..." Itzel said in realization. "There's not a card in Rex's deck that can stop us," Tristan stated but Rex smirked.

'Enjoy your victory while it lasts, because I'm about to use a monster that will wipe you out,' He thought with a chuckle, aloud he said, "You might have gained a small lead thanks to your Battleguards, but lets see if you can keep it." He then set a monster face down in defense mode.

"Lava Battleguard," Joey ordered, "Turn that dinosaur into a fossil!" His red Battleguard roared and jumped up, slamming its club down on Rex's monster, destroying it.

"Look at those two go," Tristan said with a smile that even Jazmin shared, able to admire the the teamwork between the two monsters, "They're a great tag-team."

"You're right about that," Yugi agreed, "The power bonus they get from not just the field but from each other at the same time makes them a tough duo to beat."

"No joke," Liliya agreed as well, "And since Rex's best card was already destroyed, the rest of this will be simple." Akira and Stephanie both nodded in agreement, though Stephanie was a bit more hesitant, not liking the look in Rex's eyes, it was one that hinted at a secret.

"Finish him Blondie!" Jazmin called and Joey nodded slightly irked by the nickname. Rex sneered until he drew and calmed with a chuckle.

"Who said the Serpent Night Dragon was my best card?" Rex questioned, "Oh, my supreme monster is a dragon, just a different one," He then played the card he was referring to with a confident declaration of its name, "Come forth, Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Everyone gasped in shock.

Mai was the one to ask, "A what dragon?"

Her questioned was answered when a pillar of green light shot out of Rex's field and the dragon appeared. It was large, easily matching the Blue Eyes White Dragon in height, grith and mass, only it was sharper looking, less rounded and was also plated looking, but was, as its name said, black in color with an equally large wingspan and blood red eyes. Its talons and claws were sharp and dark in color, gleaming in the setting sun, and its tail was long and deadly.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Attribute: DARK. Tribe: DRAGON/NORMAL. Lv: 7. ATK/DEF: 2400/2000

The dragon tilted its serpentine head back and released a roar that shook the arena and area around it, before glaring down the two Battleguards, which tensed as it hissed at them. Call the Gems crazy, but they could swear it actually twitched its head side-to-side as if working out cricks out of its neck.

"So it does exist, my-my grandpa told me about that card," Yugi said as everyone stared up at the dragon in awe, "Its said under the right conditions, its power can rival that of the Blues-Eyes White Dragon."

"My friend Buck told me about it too," Stephanie added, "Its the White Dragon's opposite in every possible way...he used to joke if the two were ever real creatures, they could level the landscape and leave nothing but pure destruction in their wake." The Gems and teens all shivered at the image, so did Mai.

But Mai shook it off and smirked, "It was about time Rex played a card that would put one of these wannabees in their place, I can't wait for him to duel Diamonde next."

"And if you think those two brain-dead brutes are gonna save each other from this dragon's rampage, you better think again," Rex stated holding up a new magic card, the picture looking like a large set of claws, "With this spell card 'Dragon Nails' my dragon's attack points climb to three thousand, more than enough to wipe out a whole army of your Battleguards." Gauntlets shaped like claws formed over the Red-Eyes' real claws before it flew into the air.

Liliya gasped, "Oh no!" Sure enough, the dragon's attack increased.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon. ATK/DEF: 3000/2000

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack!" Rex ordered as his dragon flung its head back, "With Inferno Fire Blast!" It conjured a large sphere of fire and launched it down at Joey's Lava and Swamp Battleguard, destroying them both.

"He torched them both with one shot!" Joey exclaimed as he and the others stared in utter shock now really glad the Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes weren't real creatures. "Those who defend together are destroyed together," Rex stated with an amused chuckle as Joey's life points dropped lower then his own to a dangerous level.

Joey LPs: 365

"That creep," Tristan growled. "Tristan..." Yugi warned.

"That's a good boy Rex," Mai cooed making the brunette blush in embarrassment, having almost forgotten about her and was a little uncomfortable with antics, "Now finish him off."

Now it was Liliya's turn to growl, "That bitch..." Stephanie looked at her in shock, "What?" She pouted and crossed her arms, glaring at the female blonde.

'What can I do? I can't think of any card in my deck that's strong enough to defeat Rex's dragon,' Joey thought as he looked at his hand, 'My best warrior would be destroyed and if I manage to draw Baby Dragon and transform it into Thousand Dragon, it still won't be enough.'

"We're here for you Joey!" Tristan shouted in support, "Just because that dragon's strong doesn't mean it can't be beat; they said the same thing about the Blue Eyes and Yugi beat all three!"

"We're here for you Joey!" Tea added, "Dueling is about more heart then strength!" Joey nodded and drew his next card.

"Draw any card ya want," Rex shrugged humorously, "It'll just be destroyed the next turn you play it," He then remembered Joey's face-down monster, 'Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Wheeler's Time Wizard, apparently its a lot like the magic card Diamonde used to beat Mai just in monster form and more risk.'

"Are you going to actually win this duel today?" Mai asked him, "Or are you going to stand there with that dumb look on your face?" Mai continued to shout at him, but he easily tuned her out and ignored her, her voice starting to irritate his ears.

'Again with the insults, does she ever shut up?' Rex thought to himself unaware most of Joey's friends were having similar thoughts about the blonde female, 'God I can't wait to put her in her place,' His popped open as an idea hit him, 'Wait a minute, this actually gives me an idea,' He then glanced upward in thought, 'And as underhanded as it maybe and maybe a little too Underwood for my taste, but I'm getting the idea if our places were switched Mai would probably do the same thing,' Making up his mind with a shrug, he called out, "Hey Wheeler!"

"What is it Rex?" Joey asked curiously. "What do you say we make things just a little more interesting?" Rex offered, "We each put up a card for grabs along with our Star Chips, and to make it fair, we'll put up all the cards we have on the field," He then took off another of his Star Chips, "In fact, to sweeten the deal, I'll even throw in another Star Chip, just cause I'm feeling generous," He set it down next to the other one, but kept his hand near it should Joey refuse, "What do you say?"

"Cards on the field?" Joey blinked before remembering, "Oh yeah, the Time Wizard."

"And for him, I'll offer my supreme Red-Eyes Black Dragon," Rex said shocking everyone at the rather generous deal he was offering, even Mai was stunned at the unusual attitude, "And the extra Star Chip, its really a deal you can't refuse."

"Just what do you think you're doing you disobedient dolt?" Mai shouted at Rex, much to the others' amusements, especially Liliya's, "You're supposed to win this duel for me, not improve your own deck!"

Rex just rolled his eyes, "Like you wouldn't do the exact same thing!"

"That's not the point you double-crossing snake!" Mai shouted making Rex huff at her blatant admittance, turning away from her, furthering her ire, "Don't you turn your back to me!" During this, Joey was staring at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, who was staring right back at him with a rather somber expression.

'That Red Eyes sure could help my chances in winning this tournament, but...can I really ante up the card Yugi gave me?' Joey wondered before seeing the dragon nod at him with a soft growl, 'Okay, am I going crazy or did that dragon just nod at me? Like it was okay with the idea of me using him.' He glanced back down at his Time Wizard card.

"Do you think he'll take the offer?" Tea asked. "If I were him, I'd do it," Jazmin stated without hesitance, "That dragon would be a boon in anyone's deck regardless of the basis, just like the Blue-Eyes that pig used against the Pipsqueak."

Yugi was nodding in agreement when the nickname registered and he pouted at her, "Will you please stop calling me that?"

"Its either that," Jazmin stated simply with an amused smile, "Or Star-Head, your pick." Yugi huffed at that, making Stephanie pat his shoulder comfortingly, which made him blush as a result of the contact.

"Alright Rex, your Red Eyes Black Dragon against my Time Wizard," Joey accepted the offer, "Winner take all," Rex smirked and Mai glared at both duelists, "But while I'm at it, I'm making him my weapon of choice," He flip-summoned his monster, "Go Time Wizard!"

The Time Wizard was a little cartoonish apperance-wise being an animated red clock with thin arms and white magician's gloves with yellow gears on his shoulders and ankles and the brim of his top hat was a matching gear, but was otherwise red. He wore a purple cape and making curl-toed shoes. The top half of his 'face' was blue and the bottom half was yellow, the clock hands were green attached to a red 'nose' and he held a blue staff with a small red clock at the top with a blue face and yellow arrow with four white skulls and four red symbols the Gems' couldn't identify.

Time Wizard. Attribute: LIGHT. Tribe: SPELLCASTER/EFFECT. Lv: 2. ATK/DEF: 500/400

"Time Wizard?" Itzel commented. "Huh, that card kinda remains me of your Crystal Heat Chronometer, Ste-Miss Diamonde," Akira commented as well.

"That's because there both based off clocks and both can fast forward time," Stephanie replied, "The differences are that mines a magic card and only works depending on how many Crystal Geodes I have on the field, Time Wizard's a monster and his powers come with a gamble, so it could work for Joey or against him."

"That's right, Time Roulette," Yugi agreed, "If the hand on Time Wizard's staff lands on a time machine, it fast forwards time and works in Joey's favor, but if it lands on a skull, it'll destroy all of Joey's monsters, including itself and Joey takes damage."

"Damage!" Liliya gasped horrified, "But he can't take anymore damage!" She then blinked rememebering what Rex had said about Mai agreeing to duel him if he won against Joey and suddenly, realized what Rex was aiming for, "That clever little lizard, that's why he wants Time Wizard."

"Huh?" The others asked confused, looking at her. "What do ya mean?" Tristan asked.

"Its just like Miss Diamonde's Chronometer, she said it herself, the only difference it the type of card and the overall effect, but it does basically the same thing and Miss Diamonde used one to defeat Mai," Liliya explained gesturing at the frustrated blonde, "Who promised Rex a duel if he won against Joey."

"What are you doing?" Rex shouted at him, "Are you seriously going to leave the outcome of this duel up to a single spin? Do you know what happens if the hand lands on a skull?"

"It'll self-destruct and take out a chunk of my life points," Joey replied shrugging, "But its a risk I'm gonna take, go Time Roulette!" The hand on Time Wizard's staff began to spin.

"All Joey's got is a chunk of life points," Tristan said worried. "Then let's start praying that thing doesn't land on a skull," Stephanie said putting her hands together, which the others, even Jazmin did as well, hoping with all their might it would land on the red time machine.

"This wouldn't be happening if you just listened to me Rex!" Mai reminded everyone of her presence as she shouted at the brunette duelist.

"Ya know ya can't always boss people around Mai," Joey told her, "Sooner or later they're gonna have enough 'n' that's exactly what happened," Everyone watched with baited breath as the arrow started to slow down, "Only it just might cost him his best card." And sure enough, the arrow landed on a time machine, making Joey and his friends cheer, Liliya being the loudest.

"No!" Rex shouted in horrified-shock. "Go Time Warp!" Joey ordered his spellcaster. Time Wizard raised his staff and shouted in a robotic voice, "Time Magic!"

A vortex opened above the field as eons began to pass on the field in mere seconds, creating large bursts of wind that forced everyone to shield their faces. Soon, the wind died down as the time warp came to a stop, everyone looked up and gasped to see Rex's dragon had been turned to solid stone.

"He-He's been fossilized..." Tea whispered. "So that's a fossil..." Akira whispered as well in amazement.

"No he hasn't, he may be a bit pale but that's natural!" Mai shouted at them, then turned on Rex, who was still stunned by what just happened, "Go and ordered him to attack Rex, go on!"

"Err...right...Red Eyes...um...attack..." Rex stuttered unsurely only for his dragon to start falling apart at the joints and turn to rubble, "No!"

"The millions of years that Joey's Time Wizard made pass reduced Rex's dragon into a brittle, fragile shell of dust," Yugi said as Rex's life points dropped for the final time.

Rex LPs: 0

"So you won my Star Chips huh?" Rex asked as Joey sighed in relief. "And your Red Eyes Black Dragon and the Dragon Nails card," Joey replied with a smirk, "Since it was on the field too when ya made that bet." Rex sighed in response in begrudging defeat as the platforms lowered them back to the ground.

As soon as he jumped off the arena, Joey rushed to Liliya, much to his friends surprises. Imagine everyone else's surprises when she hugged him, praising, "I knew you could do it Joey!" She shrieked in surprise when he grabbed her around the waist and spun her around in his elation, the sight made Akira starry-eyed, instantly reminding her of the romantic scenes in Camp Pining Hearts, while Stephanie and Itzel smiled, the shorter of the two giggling, Jazmin couldn't help the amused smirk as she watched as well.

"I did it!" Joey whooped as he spun her around, "I really won!"

Liliya giggled once she was back on her feet, "You were great!" They smiled at each other, blushing at their closeness as the elation wore off.

"You did do great Joey," Tristan said breaking the sudden silence. "I think I owe ya guys an apology, mostly you Tristan," Joey said as he let go of Liliya, "I really am sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it, ya had every right to be angry, I would've been too had I been in your place," Tristan said remembering what Stephanie and Itzel had told him, "I should've had more faith in you," Suddenly, he walked over and grabbed Joey, easily putting him in a headlock and began giving him a noogie, much to Liliya's shock, "Now c'mere you!"

"Hey!" Joey whined as he struggled to escape his headlock and noogie, "Tristan! Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go!" The others all watched with sweat-drops, save Jazmin who was trying not to laugh.

"Glad I'm not Joey right now," Stephanie commented with a shake of her head, "Nope." The others all nodded in agreement.

And that'll be that, it was certainly a hoot to write and its about time I finally gave Joey a duel, I was starting to worry myself for a second.

Anyways, looks like its gonna be Rex, Leon and Mako as our extra three finalists in the Semi Finals, as there are eight in this version instead of the original four in the Anime. Poor Stephanie and Mai, they're the only girls! Lol!

Anyways, I'm still looking for song suggestions as well as shipping names outside Yugi X Stephanie, who I am affectionately naming Starcrossed, thank you again foxchick1, and Joey X Lapis Lazuli, which I am naming SeaPuppy, which I came up with myself. So let me know if any ideas come your way.

Other than all that, all I can say is:

Until next time everyone, bye for now!