This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown
WARNING: Again, this story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.
Opening up at one of Brendam docks' piers, Spencer was atop the middle head of his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
"N-No!" screamed Marik's voice from Emily's mouth. "She's my mind slave!"
"Not for long!" shouted Spencer. "Finish off Serapheem with Neutron Blast attack!"
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon obeyed, charging a blast with its three mouths.
"No!" ranted Marik's voice from Emily's mouth. "Call off your attack!"
Too late, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon finally fired off its signature attack. Before long, the Neutron Blast attack finally collided and destroyed Serapheem.
"How could I...?" Marik's voice whispered from Emily's mouth.
Finally, unable to take it any long, Emily (possessed) screamed in horror as she lost the rest of her life points (LP: 0). When the amount of light faded away, Emily was standing again! ...but her eyes were normal.
"W-What happened?" she asked...in her regular voice.
"Emily's alright!" cried Skiff.
The dark green-haired girl looked around for a moment in pure confusion.
"What have I been doing?"
"With the use of my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon-" narrated Spencer. "-I was able to defeat Emily and release Marik's hold on her."
Back at the other pier, Thomas was trying to think of a way out of his situation.
"Now how am I going to get Percy to snap out of it?" he thought.
"Unfortunately, Marik's hold on Percy was much greater, and Billinton's Red-Eyes Black Dragon was also greatly weakened from the use of a dangerous combo attack." Spencer narrated some more.
"Alright, Pot of Greed should be able to help me." Thomas thought to himself, looking at his drawn card. "But... I have to make sure that those cards I draw are absolute. Because with only ten minutes left, this could be my last chance to save us both."
Title: Countdown to Destruction, Part 4
Back at the second pier, Thomas was still looking at his drawn Pot of Greed card.
"Hurry up and play something!" snapped Percy (possessed). "Not unless you want you and your best friend to both be fish food!"
After giving it a few more seconds, the blue-haired boy made a play.
"I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." announced Thomas, slotting his card into his Duel Disk.
The two cards added to his hand were Mystical Refpanel (Trap card) and Beta The Magnet Warrior (Monster card).
"Beta The Magnet Warrior." Thomas thought to himself. "I could use it to attack Percy directly... but I can't risk his life points hitting zero."
Thinking up a plan, the blue-haired boy slotted a card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk.
"I place one card facedown and summon Beta The Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" Thomas announced, as a facedown card materialized on the field.
The yellow gadget-looking warrior appeared in a defensive stance (Level: 4/DEF: 1600).
"Heh, not planning on attacking are we?" taunted Percy (possessed). "Very well."
Nearby, Emily and Mavis both watched the death trap duel continue.
"We have to get them out of there!" said Emily, worried for her friends' safety.
"Unfortunately, Marik made his hold on Percy much stronger than his hold on you." Mavis pointed out.
"Can't we at least try to free them from those shackles?"
Emily started to approach when...
"Stay back!" warned Thomas. He had overheard the dark green-haired girl speak. "I think I'm starting to get Percy to come around."
"You have not!" Percy (possessed) responded back, drawing his card. "Percy is gone, and there is only Marik, now!"
Turn Ten: Percy Avonside (LP: 2600)
Deck: (30)
Current Hand (3): Flame Swordsman, Card Destruction, and Panther Warrior
Seeing what he drew, Percy gave an evil smile while an image of Marik showed himself.
"Panther Warrior..." he whispered, chuckling evilly. "Powerful enough to destroy Thomas's Red-Eyes and wipe out his life points!"
But then Marik looked up at the clock, which had about nine minutes left.
"On the other hand, I could let the timer run out... Oh, I'll just humor the boy for a while longer!"
Percy (possessed) placed the monster card onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk.
"I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!" The possessed green-haired boy announced.
The armed panther-like warrior appeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1600).
"Don't forget that you need to sacrifice another monster for it to even attack." Thomas reminded. "And you certainly don't want to give up Rocket Warrior right now, do you?"
Percy (possessed) scowled. "You're right... I end my turn."
With that said...
"My turn!" declared Thomas, drawing a card.
Turn Eleven: Thomas Billinton (LP: 1000)
Deck: (28)
Current Hand (3): Archfiend of Gilfer, Gamble, and Card of Sanctity
"I activate Card of Sanctity!" he announced, as the card materialized face-up. "Now, we both draw from our decks until we hold six cards!"
Thomas drew four cards, showing them to be Magic Jammer, Mirror Force, Dark Magician, and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. Suddenly, the Duel Spirit version of Dark Magician appeared beside the blue-haired boy.
"Dark Magician!" Thomas exclaimed in surprise. "Do you want me to summon you?"
To Thomas's surprise, the Duel Spirit of Dark Magician declined and shook his head.
"No." The purple-haired, male spellcaster said calmly.
"Why not?" asked Thomas.
"Keep the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field."
Thomas was surprised. "But...Red-Eyes is very weak right now!"
Nearby, Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a sickly roar.
"It may be weak-" said Dark Magician wisely. "-but it wants to keep fighting to free its master from Marik's control."
Thomas nodded. "I understand."
Dark Magician faded away while Thomas took two cards from his hand and slotted them into his Duel Disk, causing two facedown cards to materialize behind the two monsters.
"I place two cards facedown and end my turn!" The blue-haired boy simply said.
(elsewhere...)
Somewhere in the middle of town, Carlie and Lady were both running in search for their friends.
"Where could they be?" asked Lady.
Suddenly, Carlie felt the marking on her hand glowing.
"This way!" She pointed to a nearby street and running off.
"Alright!" nodded Lady, following her friend.
The two girls ran across the road to the other side...and nearly got run over by a limo driving by.
"H-Hey! Watch where you two kids are going!" scolded the driver, just before he recognized Carlie. "M-Mistress Carlie, it's you!"
"Carlie?" asked Ben, poking his head out of the ceiling window.
"Ben!"
Once the word was given, it was a nice reunion for the friends and siblings.
"Thank heaven you're safe." Discord said, nearly bursting into tears.
"I am too, Dad..." Carlie whispered.
"And nice of you to join us, Lady." Edward said to the beautiful blonde-haired girl.
"Likewise." nodded Lady. "But I must ask this; where are Percy, Emily, and Mavis?"
No one had an answer... Well, at least until Carlie spoke up.
"I know where they are."
Everyone looked at her, hoping she wasn't making anything up.
"They're at Brendam Docks." said Carlie quietly.
"Then we have no time to waste." Matt took charge immediately. "We have to get over there before it's too late!"
The limo drove on its way.
"Hang on, guys, we're on our way!" thought the dirty blonde-haired boy, looking out the window.
(elsewhere...)
Back at one of the pier's at Brendam Docks, the duel was still on...with seven minutes remaining.
Turn Twelve: Percy Avonside (LP: 2600)
Deck: (25)
Current Hand (7): Flame Swordsman, Card Destruction, Graceful Dice, Skull Dice, Swordsman of Landstar, Monster Reborn, and Crush Card Virus
"Thanks to your Card of Sanctity card, I now have many more options to destroy you!" mocked Percy (possessed), taking a card from his hand and placing it onto a monster field slot on his Duel Disk. "Meet the Swordsman of Landstar!"
The small warrior appeared (Level: 3/ATK: 500/DEF: 1200).
"Now, I'll transform Rocket Warrior back into its invincible mode!"
Rocket Warrior transformd itself back into a rocket. An image of Marik appeared, and he looked very pleased with what was about to happen.
"This is all over for you, Thomas Billinton." The Rare Hunter leader sneered. "Now I'll have my mind slave use Panther Warrior to destroy Red-Eyes and..."
Unfortunately...
"And I'll attack...with Rocket Warrior!" Percy (possessed) declared.
Marik was shocked. "What?!"
"And I'll have it target your Beta The Magnet Warrior!"
"No!" shouted Marik. "I wanted you to attack Red-Eyes with Panther Warrior!"
But it was too late; Rocket Warrior had already charged towards Beta The Magnet Warrior.
"Reveal facedown card!" Thomas shouted, as one of his three facedown cards flipped up and revealed itself. "Mirror Force!"
"No! Not that card!" exclaimed Percy (possessed).
Rocket Warrior hit the mirror-like force field and caused all of Percy's monsters to be destroyed. Spencer kept a neutral expression on his face from watching what had happened.
"A good play by Billinton." he thought to himself.
Back at the pier, two facedown cards materialized on the field.
"I place two cards facedown!" Percy (possessed) grumbled, before holding out another card. "And activate Monster Reborn!"
Reappearing in attack mode was Swordsman of Landstar.
"My turn!" announced Thomas, drawing his card.
Turn Thirteen: Thomas Billinton (LP: 1000)
Deck: (23)
Current Hand (5): Archfiend of Gilfer, Gamble, Dark Magician, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and Magic Formula
"I sacrifice my Beta The Magnet Warrior to summon the mighty Archfiend of Gilfer!"
Beta The Magnet Warrior vanished as Archfiend of Gilfer took to the field (Level: 6/ATK: 2200/DEF: 2500).
"Please, Percy, I know you can hear me! I know you have what it takes to break free of Marik's control!" Thomas called out.
Percy (possessed) closed his eyes and groaned a bit.
"No! You'll obey me and only me!" snapped Marik, making his Millennium Rod glow.
Percy raised his head back up...showing he was still possessed.
"Nice try!"
Thomas scowled. "I guess I'm left with no choice! ...attack the Swordsman of Landstar, my Archfiend of Gilfer! Scorching Flame Attack!"
Archfiend of Gilfer obeyed, charging a blast of fire.
"I activate both of my facedown cards!" announced Percy (possessed), poking two buttons on his Duel Disk. "Graceful Dice and Skull Dice!"
Both facedown cards flipped up and revealed themselves... but Thomas was ready for one of them.
"Counter Trap card!" Thomas announced right back, as another facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Magic Jammer! By discarding a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can negate the activation of Graceful Dice and destroy it!"
The blue-haired boy discarded a card from his hand to the graveyard...and Graceful Dice was destroyed.
"I still have Skull Dice!" snapped Percy (possessed). "Go Dice Roll!"
The devil carrying the red dice tossed the die into the air...and landed on a lousy one.
"A one?!"
Because of a one, nothing in the attack power of Archfiend of Gilfer had changed. The flame attack was launched and destroyed Swordsman of Landstar in a single attack and causing Percy (possessed) to cry out from the heat of the attack (LP: 900).
"They're about even now!" Skiff announced.
"All Thomas has to do is attack with Red-Eyes and he's won." added Mavis.
"But if he does that-" Emily reminded. "-then Percy will..."
"That's why he WON'T attack." said Spencer seriously.
Percy (possessed) recovered and chuckled darkly. "Go ahead... attack me, now. I'm wide open for Red-Eyes to strike me down."
Thomas knew that Marik WANTED him to attack Percy.
"No." he refused, shaking his head. "I end my turn."
Nearby, the screeching sound of tires could be heard from nearby.
"What?!" came from Emily.
Suddenly, a limo drove into the harbor area.
"It's a limo!" exclaimed Skiff.
Scrambling out of the limo was the rest of the group's friends.
"Guys!" cried Mavis. "You're safe!"
"Of course!" Toby replied, as he and the blonde-haired girl embraced.
"What about you, Emily? Are you hurt?" Edward asked anxiously.
"I'm fine..." The dark green-haired girl sighed, before pointing to nearby. "But take a good look over there!"
The rest of the gang looked over and saw Thomas and Percy's duel.
"Get those shackles off of them before that timer goes off!" ordered Discord.
"We can't." Spencer pointed out. "Those shackles are not gonna come off unless one of those two loses to the other."
"You mean...someone's gonna drown?" Molly asked in dismay.
"Not unless Billinton finds a way to save himself and Percy."
"He won't." retorted Percy (possessed), overhearing the conversation and drawing a card. "It's my turn!"
Turn Fourteen: Percy Avonside (LP: 900)
Deck: (24)
Current Hand (4): Flame Swordsman, Card Destruction, Crush Card Virus, and Meteor of Destruction
The card that the green-haired boy had drawn was shown to be...
"Meteor of Destruction!"
Percy looked at the card emotionlessly while an image of Marik smiling wickedly appeared beside him.
"Play the card, my mind slave-" he dared. "-and then Thomas Billinton's death will be certain!"
"The card I hold will be the key to finishing you off, Thomas Billinton!" Percy (possessed) taunted.
Thomas stood firm. Percy (possessed) began to slot the card into a Spell/Trap slot on his Duel Disk when suddenly...
"N-No." Percy said weakly in his original voice.
"What are you doing?!" demanded Marik. "Play the card!"
"Percy, please!" Thomas called out. "You can do it! Fight back against Marik!"
"Do it, Percy!" smirked Marik. "You'll finally be your own man. All you have to do is kill your best friend with the Spell card you've drawn!"
"I won't do it!" cried Percy. "I won't kill my best friend!"
"Hmph! In that case, just wait out... and die with him!"
Thomas could notice that Percy was fighting with himself more than ever. With only three minutes left, he had to make this count.
"You can do it, Percy!" cried Thomas.
"Get out of my mind, Marik!" snapped Percy, putting a hand to his head. "Get out of my mind!"
"You'll never get rid of me!" Marik laughed scornfully. "I'll be in control for your whole life!"
"Hey, Marik!" called Thomas suddenly, catching his enemy's attention. "That's right, I'm talking to part of you inside of Percy!"
The image of Marik frowned, but said nothing. He just continued to listen on...
"I've finally figured out who the real loser of this duel is..." The blue-haired boy pointed forth. "It's you, Marik!"
The image of Marik's face twitched in shock and anger.
"You can implant evil thoughts in Percy using the Millennium Rod... but Percy will never give in to you! Percy has beaten you! Sure, there's still three minutes left on the clock, but in that time I will have Percy back to himself! And when I do, even if we both sink into the ocean and lose our lives, the fact you lost will be branded into your memories forever!"
The image of Marik seethed in great anger. Nearby, Spencer was curious to what Thomas was up to.
"What are you up to, Billinton?" The silver-haired boy thought to himself.
"Marik, there's no time left... so give it your best shot! Try to defeat me and get your revenge! ATTACK ME, MARIK!" Thomas dared.
By this point, Marik's anger with the blue-haired boy had reached its absolute breaking point.
"Very well!" The Rare Hunter leader snarled, as his Millennium Rod glowed at maximum power. "I'll blast you out of this world with this Spell card!"
"No... I won't... play it!" Percy struggled to resist.
"SHUT UP!" roared Marik. "YOU WILL PLAY THAT CARD, NOW!"
Percy screamed in agony...and once again fell under the possession of Marik.
"It's over, Thomas Billinton!" The possessed green-haired boy cackled madly, holding up a card. "I activate Meteor of Destruction!"
The sky darkened as a huge fireball started to appear in the sky.
"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! This is the price you pay for defiance, Percy Avonside!" Marik laughed savagely. "Now, you'll forever retain the memory of how you killed your best friend!"
"Percy!" cried Thomas in desperation.
At that point, the green-haired boy started to realize what he had done.
"What have I done...?"
All of this had become too much for Percy to bear, and he let out a monstrous scream.
"THOMAS!" The Millennium Eye symbol then shattered from the green-haired boy's forehead. "HELP ME!"
(elsewhere...)
Inside the barge, Marik was horrified that Percy's will broke him free of control.
"No..." he whispered. "Percy's will IS too strong to be controlled!"
The Rare Hunter leader gave a loud scream as everything around him faded to white.
(elsewhere...)
Back at the pier, the fireball was fast approaching Thomas.
"Thomas, you have to stop that meteor, now!" called James.
Thomas didn't answer at first. He smiled as tears streamed down his eyes; for the blue-haired boy had managed to bring his best friend back.
"I knew you could do it, Percy." thought Thomas. "Now to take care of the meteor!" The blue-haired boy spoke aloud. "I reveal my Trap card - Mystical Refpanel!"
Thomas's set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. A purple fairy wearing a dress and carrying a large mirror appeared and stopped the meteor.
"This lets me redirect your activated Spell card to whomever I choose!"
Percy, meanwhile, finally regained his senses, and his eyes were normal once more.
"W-Where am I?" The green-haired boy asked aloud. "And...why are we both shackled to that anchor? What's been going on?"
"Marik had mind controlled you into dueling me with our lives on the line-" explained Thomas. "-but our duel is over..."
As he said that, the blue-haired boy started to remove the Duel Disk from his left arm.
"Actually, when you think about it, we weren't actually fighting. YOU were fighting the piece of Marik implanted inside of you. As for me, I wanted to make sure that we stayed friends no matter what happened."
"Thomas..." whispered Percy.
"And we've both won in the end!" Thomas continued, going on with his speech.
Nearby with the gang, Spencer was thinking of what Thomas was going to do thanks to Mystical Refpanel.
"Because of Mystical Refpanel, Billinton has a tough choice to make." The silver-haired boy thought to himself. "He could aim the attack at Percy...or target himself, instead!"
Skiff noticed that his Big Brother looked worried. "What's wrong, Spencer?" The younger boy asked.
"No matter what Billinton does now-" said Spencer quietly. "-one of the duelists will drown. The question is, who will it be."
"But he can't!" Emily protested.
Back at the nearby pier...
"I've played Mystical Refpanel so I can buy a little bit of time... so I can say everything I wanted to say to you at the end, Percy." Thomas said slowly.
Back with the gang...
"'At the end'?" quizzed Michael. "What's he talking about?"
"He must be planning to sacrifice himself." said Matt quietly.
"What?!" Emily didn't like hearing that one bit.
"He can't!" added Molly. "He can't die!"
Back with both Thomas and Percy at the pier...
"Percy, you're my best friend." said Thomas, who had started crying. "And...I'm afraid this is the end for me. Please, take care of our friends. I know you'll become a great duelist."
Percy also began to cry. "No... don't do it!"
It was too late...
"Mystical Refpanel, redirect Meteor of Destruction at me!" commanded Thomas.
The fairy was surprised, but reluctantly obeyed and fired the blast directly at Thomas. As the meteor approached, the Duel Spirits of Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both appeared and watched in horror.
"MY PHARAOH!" They both screamed at once.
"NNNNOOOO!" screamed Percy through his tears.
It was too late, Meteor of Destruction had slammed dead-on into Thomas, causing him to scream in agony (LP: 0).
"THOMAS!" cried out the rest of the gang in horror.
"This can't be happening!" Spencer, with bloodshot eyes, thought to himself in horror.
The fiery ball of fire had knocked Thomas unconscious. The timer, meanwhile, had ticked to thirty seconds...and opened the box at Percy's feet.
"The key!" cried Percy. "But I can't let my best friend drown. What am I going to do?!" Suddenly, he remembered something about his Spell card. "Wait! Meteor of Destruction has a second effect; Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon lifted its head up and weakly looked at Percy.
"Attack me directly!" Percy begged tearfully. "Please! Attack me directly with Inferno Fire Blast... DO IT!"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon surprisingly obeyed, charging a small fireball and firing it at Percy, striking him and making him yell a little (LP: 0).
DUEL RESULTS: This duel is a draw!
The box beside Thomas opened up and revealed his key.
"Thank you, Red-Eyes..." thought Percy.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon growled softly as the holograms finally vanished. Percy then removed and tossed his Duel Disk aside.
"I have to make this right..."
"Percy! Get your key!" called James R.. "You only have ten seconds left!"
But Percy didn't care about his own, key right now. He grabbed his chain and swung over to Thomas's side.
"I'll save you, Thomas!" The green-haired boy cried out.
"Hurry!" called out both Gordon and Henry.
Five...
Percy slowly swung over...
Four...
He was inches away from reaching the key...
Three...
"I have to make!" thought Percy.
Two...
Almost there...
One...
Percy reached out...and grabbed the key!
"Got it!" thought Percy triumphantly.
But...
*BOOM!*
The box exploded and the giant anchor fell into the sea.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Percy cried out in alarm, starting to be pulled away by his chain.
Thomas, still unconscious, also started to be pulled up into the air by his chain.
"THOMAS!" screamed Percy as he was pulled into the ocean first.
Finally, the blue-haired boy was pulled into the water also, just as the rest of the gang ran over to the pier.
"NOOOO! THOMAS! PERCY!" cried Emily and Lady both at once.
(elsewhere...)
Under the water, Percy still had Thomas's key, and thus he went over and unlocked the blue-haired boy's shackle. Thomas slowly floated upward towards the surface.
"Thomas, I'm so sorry for all of this..." thought Percy sadly. "Goodbye forever, my best friend..."
(elsewhere...)
When Thomas reached the surface, he was conscious and gasping for air.
"THOMAS!" screamed Emily, nearly bursting into tears.
"Hold on!" Gordon dove into the water, and managed to bring his younger friend onto dry land.
"Percy's... still down there." said Thomas, coughing and trying to catch his breath.
"He didn't even get his key!" exclaimed Mavis.
"Then give it to me, and I'll dive down after him!" Zack suggested, taking his glasses off.
But when Mavis went over to Percy's opened box... the key wasn't in there.
"It's not there!" she cried out.
Suddenly, Spencer was shown to be standing right next to the blonde-haired girl.
"W-What...?"
The silver-haired boy gave a small smile while holding...the key...up.
"Hmm... I wonder how long a fish like Percy can hold his breath?" Spencer asked in a teasing tone. "Only one way to find out..."
He then went and dropped the key into the water.
(elsewhere...)
Underwater, Percy was far down and felt like his lungs were gonna explode from the lack of air.
"I don't know how much longer I can last." The green-haired boy thought to himself. Suddenly, he spotted the key to his shackles floating down to him. "The key!"
(elsewhere...)
Back up on the surface, everyone waited and waited and waited.
"Percy's not coming up..." James sighed.
"Do you think he's...?" Henry started to say, but didn't finish.
Everyone began to grieve over their friend drowning. Suddenly, breaking through the surface gasping for air...was Percy!
"PERCY!" Everyone (except Spencer) cried out in surprise.
Quickly, James and Henry both pulled their friend out.
"Phew... m-made it..." Percy groaned wearily, before he was met upon by Emily, Mavis, Carlie, Molly, and Lady, nearly crushing him in their hugs.
"Thank heaven you're alright!" sobbed Lady.
"You nearly scared us to death!" added Molly.
Thomas was also happy that his best friend was alive. Skiff then spoke up to the green-haired boy.
"My Big Brother here was the one who saved you." The young boy said cheerfully.
Percy was shocked while looking over to Spencer. "What?! YOU?! Out of all the people who decided to rescue me, it was you?!"
"And what might be wrong with that?" teased Spencer. "It was the right thing for me to do, you know."
"Great... I guess I owe you one, now." fumed Percy.
(ten minutes later...)
After a few minutes of the reunion and sundown began to happen, Percy immediately spoke to Thomas.
"Thomas... I..." The green-haired boy said in shame. "I'm so sorry!"
"It wasn't your fault, Percy." assured Thomas. "This was Marik's fault! HE made this happen!"
"But I should done something to prevent myself from falling under his control!" insisted Percy sadly. "He made me almost kill you... I-I can't forgive myself for it!"
"Percy..." said Thomas gently. "You weren't to blame. Besides, it was thanks to Red-Eyes that you were able to break free."
Percy looked away shamefully. "That still doesn't change what I tried to do to you!"
"Okay, that is enough!" snapped a voice (female).
Percy looked up and was met by a slap to the face...by Lady.
"Lady?!" gasped much of the group.
"Why'd you do that?" Percy asked, sounding hurt.
"Look, I'm sorry if I had to hurt you-" said Lady with guilt in her tone. "-but it was the only way I could get some sense into you and get you to stop blaming yourself for this incident."
"A True Duelist doesn't whine like that." agreed Thomas.
Matt started to speak up and add to that. "Thomas is right; you have to get back up and keep fighting to prove yourself."
"Just learn from your mistake and move on." Michael added.
"It's one of the few ways to become a True Duelist." James R. finished.
Percy thought about what his friends had said before nodding.
"You're right." The green-haired boy said at long last.
James raised both his arms up. "Looks like the gang's all together again!"
"You said it." nodded Gordon.
"I think we would've been in less trouble if we didn't split up a lot." said Toby jokingly.
As everyone chattered, nearby was Spencer and Skiff. the silver-haired boy turned to leave.
"Wait up!" called Skiff, following his Big Brother.
"Spencer, wait!" Thomas yelled out, causing the silver-haired boy to stop. "I want to thank you for everything you've done to help us out with dealing with Marik's Rare Hunters and rescuing my friends from him... I'll never forget your selfless assistance!"
"Don't mention it." said Spencer coolly, resuming walking away. "But now that this is all taken care of, I think it's time we all got back to the Battle City tournament."
The silver-haired boy and his younger brother walked away, leaving everyone else behind to remember about the tournament.
"Spencer's right; we've been so caught up in this Marik situation that we forgot about the tournament finals!" commented Edward.
Thomas nodded. "No doubt that's where 'he'll' strike next."
Yup. The friends would be ready for Marik if he should strike at the finals. But would it be as simple as they think? That's for you all to figure out.