Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*Rated M for Mature


Chapter 12 – Thursday

Joey groaned slightly, placing a hand to his aching head. Just what the hell happened to him?

"You're awake!"

The blond opened his eyes, his gaze fixating on Seto's concerned expression. Soon, the memory of what had happened came flooding back.

"Jaden!" Joey gasped, bolting upright.

Seto pushed him back down. "Jaden's fine. He's in his room playing."

"His room?" Joey was confused. Jaden had been sharing their room. He didn't have a room of his own yet.

"Puppy…you've been unconscious since yesterday morning," Seto stated awkwardly.

"Yesterday? What…time is it now?" asked Joey slowly.

"About three in the afternoon."

"I've been out that long?" Joey shook his head as if to clear it. "Jaden's all right?"

"He's fine. Yesterday, Jaden's furniture came in, so his room was set up. He's right next to ours."

"I want to see him," Joey pleaded.

Seto was reluctant to let the blond get up, but he knew that if he didn't, Joey would just do it anyway.

"Okay," the brunet replied, helping Joey up. They walked down the hall—very slowly—and into Jaden's room.

"Daddy!" the small boy cried, racing over to the blond. "You're awake! You slept more than me!"

Joey chuckled lightly. "So everything's okay?"

Jaden nodded. "Papa's here, so the monster can't get me anymore."

Seto felt Joey stiffen—but only slightly—when Jaden said those words. And to the brunet, everything that had happened yesterday seemed like a dream.

"Yugi and the others are stopping by in a bit. They wanted to see how you were doing…and a package came in for you today," said Seto, trying to make Joey think of other things.

"A package? From who?"

"Pegasus."

"Hey, Jaden. Do you want to come with me and Papa? You can help me open the package," offered Joey.

"Okay," Jaden replied happily.

Seto led the two of them back into their room, and when Joey and Jaden had settled themselves on the bed, the brunet gave his Puppy a medium-sized box.

"It can't be the cards, can it?" Joey inquired as he started tearing off the packaging tape.

"Knowing Pegasus, it might be. He even sent this express. Who knows what he paid to have it here by today. He started production of the cards not even two days ago," responded the brunet.

When Joey had finally gotten the tape off, he opened the box, only to find four smaller boxes buried inside the Styrofoam peanuts; they were the size of a card deck.

Opening the first box, Joey discovered that it was the Cyber Dragon Deck. "This is for you," Joey said, handing Seto the deck.

"Is there one for me?" asked Jaden, looking eagerly at the other two boxes.

"There should be," replied the blond.

The next box contained the Vehicroid Deck, which was for Yugi. The third, however, held the Elemental Hero Deck he'd created; this was for Jaden.

"This is going to be your deck," announced Joey as he handed Jaden the Elemental Hero Deck. "We'll teach you how to duel, too."

Jaden took the deck and happily looked through all the cards.

"What's that one?" Seto inquired, noticing for the first time that there was a fourth box.

The blond didn't answer, and as he opened it, he gasped. "He found it!"

"Who found what?" Seto frowned at Joey's stunned expression.

"Pegasus cracked my encryption! I had a deck that I created for myself encrypted in code in the other three decks! He found it! I…hadn't wanted anyone to know about it yet. I completely forgot about it when I gave you the files," answered Joey.

"What kind of a deck do you have?" Seto was really curious. Just what kind of a deck had his Puppy created for himself.

"It's a Red-Eyes Deck. I created some new cards that would allow me to revolve my deck around my Red-Eyes."

"May I see it?"

"Sure." Joey handed him the new deck.

The Red-Eyes Deck consisted of:

Normal Monsters – Hunter Dragon and Red-Eyes B. Dragon x 2

Effect Monsters – Attachment Dragon, Cave Dragon, Mirage Dragon, Red-Eyes B. Chick, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Red-Eyes Wyvern, Spear Dragon, and Troop Dragon x 2

Spells – A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon, Dark Factory of Mass Production, Dragon's Gunfire, Dragon Heart, Inferno Fire Blast, Mystical Space Typhoon, Super Rejuvenation, and Swing of Memories

Traps – Burst Breath, Call of the Haunted, Magic Reflector Armor – Metal Plus, Negate Attack, Offensive Guard, Red-Eyes Burn, and Red-Eyes Spirit

"These are amazing," said Seto. The artwork was truly something to behold.

"It's not a complete deck, but I'll add them to some of my other cards," replied Joey proudly.

"Papa! Look at mine!" exclaimed Jaden, so the brunet took the small boy's deck and started going through the cards.

The Elemental Hero Deck consisted of:

Normal Monsters – Elemental Hero Avian, Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, Elemental Hero Clayman, Elemental Hero Sparkman

Effect Monsters – Dark Catapulter, Elemental Hero Bladedge, Elemental Hero Bubbleman, Elemental Hero Necroshade, Elemental Hero Wildheart, Hero Kid x 3, and Wroughtweiler

Fusion Monsters – Elemental Hero Electrum, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, Elemental Hero Mariner, Elemental Hero Mudballman, Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster, Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman, Elemental Hero Steam Healer, Elemental Hero Tempest, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant, and Elemental Hero Wildedge

Spells – Battle Fusion, Bubble Blaster, Bubble Illusion, Bubble Shuffle, Burst Impact, Burst Return, Clay Wrap, Courageous Charge!, De-Fusion x 2, Double Spell, E – Emergency Call, Emergency Provisions, Fairy of the Spring, Feather Shot, Fusion Gate, Fusion Recovery, Fusion Sage, H – Heated Heart, HERO Flash!, Hero Heart, Miracle Fusion, Monster Reborn, Monster Reincarnation, Mud Max, O – Oversoul, Polymerization x 2, Pot of Greed, R – Righteous Justice, Skyscraper, Spark Blaster, Special Hurricane, Spy Hero, The Warrior Returning Alive, and Wild Half

Traps – A Hero Emerges, Clay Charge, Cross Heart, Draining Shield, Edge Hammer, Elemental Burst, Feather Wind, Final Fusion, Hero Barrier, Hero Ring, Hero Signal, Hero Spirit, Miracle Kids, Mirror Force, Mirror Gate, Negate Attack, Solemn Judgment, and Soul Union

"These are great, but…there don't really seem to be enough monsters in this deck," commented Seto. "It's loaded with spells and traps."

"That's what you think," Joey replied mysteriously. "The duel isn't over until the last card is played."

"Okay! I think I know how to duel now!" Jaden said suddenly. Both Seto and Joey looked down at him.

"Huh?" Seto and Joey responded in unison.

"Yubel told me. It sounds like fun! Can I duel Uncle Yami when he gets here? Please?" Jaden begged.

"Um…okay," the blond answered.

Jaden threw himself at Joey and hugged him. "Thank you! And thanks for the cards, too! I'm gonna go prepare for my duel with Yami!" he said before running out of the room.

"Seto?"

"Yes, Puppy?"

"If Jaden somehow manages to beat Yami in a duel…what do you think will happen?"

"If we're lucky, he'll keel over and die," Seto grumbled.

Joey whacked him with a pillow. "Be nice!" he scolded. "Well, what do you think will happen?"

"For starters, I'll be fucking pissed. I've made a career out of facing Yami and losing. And if Jaden beats him the first time he duels…I'll have the best blackmail ever," Seto replied suddenly, just coming to realize this new piece of information. His grin grew lecherous.

The blond sighed. It was going to be a very interesting afternoon.


"They're here! They're here! They're here!" Jaden shouted, jumping up and down in the foyer as Seto answered the door.

The brunet opened the door and was immediately accosted by Yugi.

"Is Joey okay? Has he woken up yet? How is he?"

"Yugi, I'm fine," Joey called from within the mansion.

"Oh, Joey! I was so worried!" Yugi exclaimed, latching himself onto the blond.

Joey smiled and pulled something from his pocket. "I have something for you."

"What is it?" asked Yugi, trying to peer at what the blond held in his hand, but Joey kept it out of his reach. "Come on! Let me see! Are those new cards?"

"Stop teasing him. You're setting a bad example for Jaden," mocked Seto. Messing with Yugi was more a hobby than anything else…for everyone.

"Now, Yugi," said Joey, prolonging the inevitable, "these cards have only been seen by me, Seto, and Pegasus."

Yugi's eyes widened.

"I created these cards myself."

Yugi's eyes widened even more.

"And I created them for you."

You couldn't even see Yugi's face, his eyes were so big!

Joey then handed Yugi the cards. He took them enthusiastically and started looking through them. Yugi almost looked like he'd just gotten everything he wanted for his birthday and Christmas at the same time.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Yugi gasped, hugging Joey again.

"You can let go now, Yugi," Joey said as calmly as he could. It was getting hard to breathe. Who knew the guy was that strong? "Can someone help me over here?"

Yami soon came to Joey's rescue, prying his lover from Joey.

"These cards are so cool, Yami!" Yugi looked like he was going to pounce on him next.

"Don't we get anything?" announced Bakura.

Seto stifled a groan. Of course, everyone else they knew had to show up at their doorstep. Ryou was looking wearily at Bakura, Malik and Marik seemed like they were scoping out the place, Duke and Tristan were arguing with each other about…something, and Tea just stood there waiting to break up a fight if need be.

"Would everyone just can it!" roared the brunet. He couldn't take their little jabbering anymore.

"Papa!" Jaden whined, tugging on Seto's sleeve. "Daddy promised I could duel Uncle Yami! I wanna duel!"

That shut everyone up!

"Ooh! This I gotta see!" Bakura said, a giddy expression on his face.

But Yami's reactions was the one to behold. His eyes had widened slightly, but only for a moment, before narrowing to slits. He stared at Jaden for a moment or two. "You're on!"

"But…Yami! You don't have your deck with you!" declared Yugi.

Yami's competitive aura vanished. He looked utterly defeated.

"Wait! You can use the deck Joey gave me!" Yugi exclaimed as if struck by sudden inspiration. He handed the Vehicroid Deck to him.

Looking through the cards, Yami felt a lot better about dueling Jaden. This was a fairly strong deck and he could already make out some very useful strategies.

"All right, Jaden. It looks like we can have our duel. But I must warn you, I'm not the King of Games for nothing," Yami stated.

"I take it Checkers isn't a game then?" taunted Bakura.

"Why you—" Yami launched himself at Bakura, tackling him to the ground. "Take that back!"

"If you don't stop this nonsense at once, I'm going to blast you all with a fire extinguisher!" bellowed Seto.

"Pfft…that stuff doesn't work," said Marik.

"It does if I hit you with it!" the brunet retorted.

Everyone ceased fighting at that point.


They had finally proceeded to the gaming room. A table had been set up in the middle of the room where Jaden and Yami were preparing to duel. Everyone else had grabbed chairs and surrounded them so they could watch.

"We'll start out with 4000 Life Points each," began Yami. "Yugi will keep track of mine and Joey will keep track of yours. You may go first."

"All right, Uncle Yami! Get your game on!" said Jaden as he drew a card.

"That was absolutely adorable," commented Ryou.

"Okay! I'm gonna summon Elemental Hero Avian (ATK 1000 / DEF 1000) in attack mode and set one card," said Jaden.

Yami smirked. "I summon Patroid (ATK 1200 / 1200) in attack position and I attack your Elemental Hero Avian!"

"I activate my trap card! Negate Attack! Your battle phase is over now, Uncle Yami!"

Crossing his arms, Yami averted his eyes. Perhaps he had rushed things a bit.

"Hey, this kid is pretty good!" said Marik. "How long has he been playing?"

"Today," answered Seto quietly. The only one who didn't seemed to be shocked…was Joey.

"Now I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK 1600 / DEF 1400) in attack mode and he's gonna attack your Patroid," said Jaden. Yami's Life Points dropped to 3600. "And now Avian is gonna attack your Life Points directly!" When Yami's Life Points hit 2600, Jaden set a card.

"I activate the spell card Pot of Greed. This allows me to draw two cards. I now activate another spell card! Polymerization! To fuse Gyroid and Steamroid to Fusion Summon Steam Gyroid (ATK 2200 / DEF 1600) in attack position! Steam Gyroid will now attack your Avian!"

Jaden's Life Points dropped to 2800. "I'm sorry, Avian," he apologized.

"It's you move, Jaden." Let's see how you'll respond to that, thought Yami.

Jaden drew his next card…then looked at Joey. When the blond nodded, Jaden smiled.

"I activate Polymerization to fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Sparkman to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (ATK 2400 / DEF 1500) in attack mode! Now I activate his effect to destroy Steam Gyroid! Next, I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode. Elemental Hero Thunder Giant and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix are gonna attack your Life Points directly! That's game, Uncle Yami!"

The cards fell from Yami's hands and fluttered to the floor as he started to hyperventilate. His Life Points had just hit 0. "Th-This…can't be!"

"I did it, Daddy!" exclaimed Jaden as he hugged Joey.

"I saw," the blond replied, smiling.

"Did you see me, Papa? I beat Uncle Yami!"

"I know," started Seto. "You did a really great job."

However, something was still bothering him. What had been that moment been about when Joey and Jaden had looked at each other? Something strange seemed to be going on between the two.

He was extremely proud of Jaden for winning, but…this had been his first duel ever. How had he known how to duel? And now that he thought about it…could Jaden even read the cards?

"Stop thinking so much," whispered Joey, drawing Seto from his thoughts. "He instinctually knows how to duel. The reason he looked to me was because…he wanted to make sure that it was okay for him to win the duel. Jaden's…special…and we'll leave it at that…for now."

Seto frowned. If that was all there was to it, then why was weird shit happening all over again? And this Yubel person. Was she actually someone who could be trusted? Joey seemed to think so, but the brunet wasn't sure that he did.


End Chapter