Author's Note: Well….last time I tried a different point of view. Hopefully it turned out ok. And also…it was the duel between Sarah, Joey, and Yugi. So far, Sarah and Joey have both lost some life points but now they realized that Yugi was still standing with all of his points in tact. So this time….the two will try a different approach to try and win.

Again, I'm really sorry it took me forever to put that last part up. If you read that chapter, it'll explain at the end why I was so late in updating. I'm really sorry. =(

Disclaimer of Yu-Gi-Oh!. Fan fiction, and I am getting NO money out of it either. Thanks. ^^

Duelist Kingdom-The Beginning of a New Story Part/Chapter 21

CURRENT LP: Yugi: 2000/Joey: 1500/Sarah: 1000

"La la la…." I stalled my time just to tick Joey off for no good apparent reason. It felt to me like we were dueling like we were before the tournament; for fun.

"Stop keeping us in suspense!" The blond boy said in exasperation. He was holding his head in his hands like me taking my time was killing him. "Just make your move already."

"Jeez you need to calm down boy." I said nonchalantly but, nonetheless, I played a card. "I play one card face down. Then I summon my Red Dragon (1800ATK/1200DEF)!" An elegant dragon silhouette appeared onto the field in front of me and the boys. It was a normal, averaged size dragon with small spikes coming down its tail and flaring red scales. The card I set face down appeared beside it. "My move's done."

"Very well." Yugi said simply. He drew his card and decided to attack Joey's Baby Dragon and to rid the field of it once and for all.

LP: Yugi: 2000/Joey: 0400/Sarah: 1000

"Yikes…" I heard Tristan mutter from above us. "That must've been hard."

Joey stared dumbfounded at his life point meter. "You're kidding….right?" he asked disbelievingly.

I shot him a glare at his stupidity. "We have a strategy Joey." I added a wink which he caught and understood me. "We can hurt his life points too. It's just because of his knight, we weren't able to touch them….but now we can if you CATCH MY DRIFT."

The blond held his hands up, "I got it. I got it." He turned toward Yugi who was blinking. "My move right?" After Yugi nodded, Joey happily drew from his deck and smiled at his card.

"I summon the Flame Swordsman in attack mode!" His monster appeared onto the field right in front of my dragon as if they were going to start battling right then and there….but we had other plans.

"I activate my magic card!" I suddenly stepped in. The card that was faced down turned upright and revealed what I had hidden.

"Polymerization!" There was a swirl of colours encasing the two monsters on both our fields as I cried out the rest of our move: "Fuse the Flame Swordsman and Red Dragon to form the--

Joey and I both shouted the last couple of words for dramatic effect. "Flame Rider (2900ATK/1500DEF)!" Since my dragon was red and Flame Swordsman had a fire element, the combo went great together and Yugi looked up at it astonished.

"Attack!"

The dragon rode straight at Gaia and Flame Swordsman swung his sword swiftly at him. The knight shredded to pieces and Yugi's life points finally took a plunge.

LP: Yugi: 1300/Joey: 0400/Sarah: 1000

"How's that for a thrill ride!" I exclaimed punching the air alongside Joey.

Yugi put on a small smile and said, "That was a very well figured plan Sarah and Joey." We sheepishly smiled.

"I take it Joey's turn is done. So all I would like to do is place one card face down and hand it over to Yugi." I turned my attention toward the said boy and waited patiently for his turn. We were all going down slowly but the farther we went, the more it looked like Yugi was getting sadder. He probably had a plan or strategy to throw us off and he didn't want to play it. Or…he was hating. Hating how Pegasus was using three friends going against each other for entertainment. I know I felt that way right then. But after this duel is done, and the winner goes against him, I silently hoped for the best for the three of us.

"I....can't do this." I heard Yugi say and I looked toward him with an arched brow. His face was sunken, like how I was so used to seeing in Egypt when he was in some sort of distress. He frowned on the card he just drew and then he nervously brought his gaze up to lock with Joey's and mine.

"....I can't play it...."

I shrugged. "You know Yugi....if there's one thing I've learned is that every duel you play makes you a bit stronger than how you were before. And the bond we've grown into also teaches us the same concept.

What I'm trying to say is.....is that--even though we're fighting against each other, we know we're friends, right? And no matter who beats who, we'll always stay like that."

"You're right Sarah." Joey smiled solemnly. "I mean, I know I'd want the best person capable for the last duel of this tournament to win, even if it isn't me. But this duel will determine who's ready for Pegasus. And if there's a card in your hand right now, that you think will beat us, play it. You should definitely play it."

"....So....we'll stay friends right?" Yugi asked, some hope filling into his voice now.

I nodded my head, "'Till the end buddy. We're here for ya." I could understand why Yami had a hard time with that. His mind was trapped in darkness for a while. His heart needs a little time to thaw out the hurt that's been causing him pain for the last few millennia. He needs what I thought he needed in the show, 'the light of friendship'. I'm pretty sure that's what it was. Or something along those lines.... ^^'

"So...you gonna play?" I smirked. He looked back to the card in his hand and put it back in his hand after nodding with a small smile on his face.

"I'll play the spell card Double Summon. As the name states, it will allow me to summon two monsters this turn. And I summon Kuriboh and Celtic Guardian. To end my move, I'll play one card face down." He brought his face up to look at us and sighed. "Ok....I'll find the strength in me to keep fighting."

"That's the spirit!" I smiled and Joey cheered along with me. He drew his card and played his move. He summoned Giltia the Knight (1850ATK/1500DEF) and decided attacking Yugi's Kuriboh, but Yugi played his face down card.

"Not so fast Joey!" he cried and the card rose to reveal itself. "Multiply! Create an army of Kuribohs!"

The Kuriboh began multiplying rapidly, and just in time to neutralize Joey's attack.

I gritted my teeth. He played a good combo. Yugi used the same strategy on Kaiba in their duel before coming into the castle. Now he was using it here, and from what I saw last time, it was really hard to get rid of. He has one more card face down, I wonder if this was the thing that he didn't want to do...or if it's the face down card.

"Excellent!" I said straining myself to be happy. "Just....awesome! Now...how do we get rid of them?"

Yugi chuckled and crossed his arms amused. "Why would I tell you? I thought you liked this combination."

I pouted. "It's a really good move if I'm not the one getting hit by it!"

"Good lord Sarah," Joey sighed. "You let him activate the card!"

I glared at the blond as he sheepishly grinned back at me. "I'm not the one who attacked..."

"Boys and girls!" Tristan said in aggravation as he held his head. "Just hop over them or something!"

I hung my head. 'If only I had wings on my feet....yeah sure....' Tea and Bakura gave Tristan a weird look.

"...multiply...make sure not to get caught next time..." I muttered under my breath before drawing. "Flame Rider, attack his Celtic Guardian!" The dragon blew out a stream of fire at the knight and turned it into ashes. But since it was in defence mode, Yugi didn't lose any lifepoints, which means he didn't lose the match.

LP: Yugi: 1300/Joey: 0400/Sarah: 1000

"I activate my trap card!" Yugi exclaimed and he flipped over his card. "Removed Decreasion!" The card appeared onto the field and I stared at it incredulously. I did NOT like the way it was named.

"I'm actually glad you played your spell card Dimensional Fissure, Sarah." Yugi said impressively, but I swore he was straining himself from another emotion. "That card is the reason I can play my trap card.

"Because with every monster removed from play, you will lose 300 lifepoints, the both of you."

There was sharp intake of breath as I figured what he meant. He used my spell card against me and now that emotion he was holding in before let lose, and he closed his eyes, letting the tears trickle slowly down his cheeks.

"You've both fought a valiant duel and this is the hardest move I've ever had to make....but it ends now.

"Removed Decreasion! Activate!"

I let my tears fall down too. "So it's over...." I said in a whisper. Then I stood straight up and blinked and wiped away the tears. Joey began rubbing his eyes furiously, and when he looked up to me, I nodded.

"Go ahead Yugi!" I cheered.

"It's cool!" Joey said next. There was a bright light encasing the whole arena and when it died down, there was complete silence except for the heavy breathing from the three of us.

Yugi hunched over on his side of the platform just as the holograms began disappearing and our lifepoints hit rock bottom. I said to him, "Aww....come on Yugi."

He brought his gaze up to mine and our eyes locked. "It was a good duel. The strategy when you used my spell card, Dimensional Fissure, to play that trap card, I was shocked. That was an excellent move. And you deserve to win. Congratulations."

"Sarah's right." Joey smiled. "I liked that duel. It taught us to fight with our hearts and I for one am really glad you won the duel."

"Thank you." Yugi said and a small smile unfolded on his lips. "Thank you for telling me that....we're still friends."

"It's not a problem." I said smiling back. Now that I mentioned his smile, I kinda missed it. ^///^ (Damn....I had a good sentence for Yugi's part and my computer glitched. BAKA TECHNOLOGY! -_- xD)

"I really appreciate the understanding." He said and stood back straight.

"Hey." I shrugged and smirked. "What are FRIENDS for?" The three of us kept smiling a little at each other, but then the annoying clapping of Pegasus from his 'throne' up in the balcony ruined the moment, and we were forced to look back up.

"That was a marvellous duel! Simply splendid!" He said in his fake cheerfulness. I clenched my fists. This guy bugged me. Not just because of his Millennium Eye, but also because of his attitude. It seemed to me he knew he'll win in everything.

Well that's gonna change in his duel against Yugi.

"So I suppose it's time for the duel against me and Yugi? Hmm?" He stood from his chair and turned to leave, chuckling to himself.

"The final duel will commence after 3 minutes." Croquet announced just before he retreated as well. The three of us on the arena went back out through the doors and up onto the balcony. It was then Joey decided to throw his arms around both of our shoulders in a friendly gesture.

"So! We're cool right?" He asked grinning.

I smiled. "Of course we are. Right....Yugi?"

There was a flicker of light in his eyes as he looked toward me. Then he nodded, "Of course."

"Now hey." I called to get everyone's attention as Tristan, Tea, and Bakura ran over to meet us. "We're all rooting for you in this last duel." I held his shoulder as I said this, "Make your grandfather proud." Then I quickly removed my hand just as he smiled. I'm still a little shy around him, ok?

"Right." He nodded. The three minutes ended then and Yugi turned to go back down to the arena. The platform changed back into a one-on-one platform and Yugi stood on one side, holding his ground.

"This is it." I breathed. It was finally the last duel for the tournament. The last chance to get back Yugi's grandfather and the Kaiba brothers. It was going to be a tough duel. Especially it being against Pegasus and because it was the final duel. All we could do was root for him.

Maybe not for long.

"Get ready Pegasus!" Yugi exclaimed as his opponent finally made his appearance onto his side of the field. "Now is the time for you to feel my wrath, and let my friends go!"

Pegasus flicked his wrist in an annoyed motion. "Come now Yugi-boy. You know you can only reclaim their souls when you've shown us that special card!"

Yugi fished out The King's Opposite Hand from out of his pockets and showed it to the man's face. "There. Are you pleased now?" He said this with such venom, I might have thought he was going to poison someone with his voice. Of course. He finally had what he wanted. A place in the finals to beat Pegasus and get back his grandfather and Kaiba and Mokuba. This was happening NOW. And I finally realized why the card might be blank.

If Yugi loses, his soul will be trapped like everyone else's.

'No.' I said strongly into my mind. 'That can't happen. Not with the Pharaoh.' Of course we'll have to see. And now the duel was starting.

Two of Pegasus' suits walked across the platform, each one holding a pillow to hold the decks for both duelists. Yugi picked up Pegasus' deck and shuffled it while Pegasus merely touched the top of Yugi's deck and leaned back saying, "It's good as it is." Both suits returned the decks and walked back off the platform.

LP: Yugi: 2000/Pegasus: 2000

Both duelists gave each other glares before Yugi drew his first card. "I summon a monster in defence mode." he said and his card played onto the field upside down. "Then I place another card face down and end my turn." Immediately Pegasus began chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Joey asked from my right. I looked down in curiosity and saw the light flicker of light fade away from behind the silver man's hair. I knew instantly that he used his Millennium Eye to look into Yugi's mind. I clenched my fists and teeth.

"That bastard." I cursed. "He's using his Millennium Eye to see Yugi's cards. He knows what's in his hand!"

"What?" Tea gasped. "He can see Yugi's cards?"

I nodded my head. "Its just like that video he sent from the very beginning of this mess. He used his magic to win that game."

Tristan banged the railing with his fists. "Damn! Yugi can't go down like this!"

"He won't!" I assured him. "I know him-WE know him. He'll come through." I turned back to the duel with a dark stare directed to Pegasus. I almost gave that away. Jeez.

The brunette turned on his heel and looked both ways down the hall.

"Eh....Tristan? What are you doin'? Joey asked hesitantly as he watched his pal walk down the hall.

"I'm going to see if I can get Mokuba's body." he said. "If Pegasus can really steal souls, the least we can do is bring back his body once Pegasus releases his soul."

I nodded in his direction. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Ok then....good luck man."

"You too. Keep cheering Yugi on for me. I'll be back as soon as possible." He turned again and darted out the hall, but not before Bakura shouted good luck.

"Now then." Pegasus said smugly toward Yugi. "Let's continue on. Shall we?

"I play one card face down and summon Red Archery Girl (1500DEF) in defence mode. Your move again...Yugi-boy."

Yugi drew his next card and looked through his hand then he glanced between his cards and Pegasus. He figured that his cards were no longer a secret because of the man's Millennium Eye. But he wouldn't give him a chance to enjoy the triumph. He saw the smug look on the man's face, and figured it out.

"I wonder why he would do that..." I wondered aloud. Tea blinked next to me. "I mean its a weak monster and it's in defence mode. Is he TRYING to get Yugi to attack?"

Yugi's next move didn't surprise Pegasus. He switched his face down monster into attack mode and activated his face down card. It was Beaver Warrior (1200ATK) and Horn of the Unicorn. The magic card raised his monster's attack points by 700 points, making it 1900, enough to bring down his Red Archery Girl. But when he ordered Beaver Warrior to attack, Pegasus played this next move without hesitation.

"I play my trap card, Tears of a Mermaid!" he activated the card which automatically destroyed Horn of the Unicorn, bringing Beaver Warrior's attack points back to its original state. "Now I switch Red Archery Girl into attack mode and make her attack your Beaver Warrior!" The mermaid held up her bow and arrow and sent a streaming light through Yugi's monster. His lifepoints were of course affected.

LP: Yugi: 1800/Pegasus: 2000

"Hey! Yugi had that round completely won!" Tea exclaimed confused. I shook my head.

"You're right Tea. He did. But because of Pegasus' Millennium Eye, he read Yugi's move." I let out a sigh and leaned against the railing hanging my head. "This is NOT good. If this keeps up, Yugi might not have a chance at winning at all."

"But we have to keep faith in him." Bakura said to me, holding my shoulder.

I sighed again, "You're right Bakura." I turned my attention back to the duel and thought only in my head, 'But I wish we could do something to help, instead of just standing here watching helplessly...if this were Egypt, I wouldn't have let this happen...' I frowned at what I just said into my mind. I wasn't helping the situation by crying over what I couldn't do. 'What-ifs' weren't allowed here.

So...Yugi plays a monster upside down in defence mode again and ends his turn. Then its Pegasus' turn and he summons a monster in defence mode too, Ryu-Ran (2600DEF) and changes Red Archery Girl into the same position. When its' Yugi's turn to draw again, Pegasus reads his mind and found he drew Summoned Skull. Then he recited all the cards in Yugi's hand, saying that Summoned Skull will go great with them. This drove me off the wall. It wasn't fair! We all know Yugi can beat anyone in a fair duel, but with that Millennium Eye put up against him....it was almost impossible. But we told him not to give up. He'll find a way...I knew because the Pharaoh always did.

More and more of the moves go through and it felt like the whole thing was planned out just for Pegasus' advantages. Every time Yugi pulled on a good strategy, Pegasus always countered with a much mightier attack. His Toons left Yugi on the ropes. He couldn't attack them while they hid themselves in their book and Pegasus' Gorgon's Eye (see episode 36 for WAY more details. xD) made every defence monster Yugi put up into a stone sculpture. I almost felt like crying.....we've come so far....this couldn't be the end....could it?

"Yugi, you can't give up!" I shouted over to him when I saw him hang his head, about ready to give up, or just thinking about it. He forced himself to bring his eyes up to mine and I could see all the emotions running through him like a crash of waves, but not very bright ones.

I hadn't seen so much pain in my life before, before my mother and father had to leave of course but...still....it was strong.

I wanted to use my own Millennium Item to throw Pegasus away....but I knew it wouldn't be a match for him. He's had so much experience with his in the modern world, and plus, all my powers are still locked. They would be free for me to access once I get to know the Pharaoh more....or when he remembers something from his past. Either way...I'm helpless right now.

But not for long.

During the current turn, Yugi has hidden his Dark Magician inside his Magical Hats, thinking it would buy him some time to figure out how to beat the wannabe in front of him. But Pegasus merely chuckles all over again and says that the hat hiding his Magician will no longer be known only to Yugi, but to him in a matter of seconds. So he uses his Millennium Eye again, but during that time, I felt something like a pinch in my chest. I held the hem of my shirt and looked down wide-eyed. It gave me a feeling that....they were talking....

Yugi and Yami were talking.

I couldn't feel anything. Both Millennium Puzzle holders are now talking to each other. So Yugi found out about Yami? I think so. Because they're in their minds right now, talking about something....a strategy? Could be.

I felt like smiling my ass off, but the moment Pegasus began chuckling relentlessly again threw me off my thought.

"I know which hat is concealing your Magician now Yugi!" He said slyly. "Now I can destroy him! And have you beaten!"

I gasped as I saw Pegasus order his monster to attack the hat on the far left. I held my breath....wishing Yugi and Yami had thought of something.....

And they did. The hat turned out to be empty and I jumped up and down.

"Too bad Pegasus!" Yugi said. And it literally was Yugi. Yami had gone back into the Puzzle and had let Yugi take over.

Wait a minute.....are they doing....

"What? I thought for sure your Dark Magician was hiding under that hat! How could I be wrong?" Pegasus asked horrified.

"Simple." Yugi stated and he sounded so much more confident. "We're just going to keep switching minds during our turns."

Pegasus' eyes turned to slits. "Mind Shuffle?" He asked, not believing what was going on.

"Yes." Yugi said triumphantly. "Now no matter how you try to probe my mind again, we'll just use mind shuffle to switch minds and give you the wrong information. Just like how we did now."

"No!" Pegasus cried. "You found a way around my power! You will pay for this!"

"Pay with your lifepoints!" I challenged. "Because he just owned you!"

"Tch." The silver haired man scoffed and batted some of his hair away from his eyes. "Don't you worry little Sarah; he won't beat me."

"What the hell am I worrying for?" I protested, nearly falling off the railing. "Yugi's going all the way and he's going to win!"

There was a split silence when suddenly the man we all loathed started chuckling immensely.

"Do you think you will win?" He asked with venom dripping from his voice. "Not with a Shadow Game you won't!"

"PEGASUS!" I shouted, my eyes became a bit hazy when he said 'Shadow Game'. He wasn't really going to put Yugi through that was he?

But of course....Yugi wasn't experienced at all with this magic...it would kill him!

"Say hello to the darkness Yugi-boy!" Pegasus said as he raised his arms around him. A sheet of black and purple cloud began forming on top of the dueling arena and my heart nearly stopped.

"Pegasus you bastard!" I shouted at my fullest. I felt my eyes begin to sting. "Why Yugi? He doesn't have what it takes!"

"Precisely my point my dear!" He said completely amused. There was a final chuckle until the darkness completely covered the platform.

Suddenly my heart became cold and I fell to my knees beside the railing and everyone else. My heart almost began ripping in two.

This couldn't be happening. Yugi just started learning how to harness the power of his Millennium Puzzle, and now, he's going up against the creator of Duel Monsters in a Shadow Game, which he has no experience about.

A tear trickled down my cheek and landed on my clenched hand.

Author's Note: I really hope you liked that part! I'm really sorry it's so long and that it took me a while, but I'm beginning to think that I won't be able to update the way I can....only about once a week but I'm trying! Thanks again for reading! Reviews are appreciated! ^^ Thank you! :)