Chapter Six: Journey to Duelist Kingdom
After the initial shock of everything subsided, the group of friends quickly rushed Mr. Mouto's body to the nearest hospital. After Yugi, with a little help from Amelia, managed to come up with a decent explanation of why the elderly man was suddenly in a coma, they were told to wait in the waiting room while the Doctors ran some tests.
Knowing it would be pointless, but also not wanting to make a scene, the teenagers obediently followed instructions and sat in the waiting area. Soon though, Tea, Tristan, and Joey all had to bid Amelia and Yugi goodbye, as they had to get back home to their families. Before leaving though, the three made the other two promise to explain everything to them at school the next day. Once the two begrudgingly agreed, they left.
Once it was just Yugi and Amelia alone, both Yugi and Amelia felt their defensive shields crack, and looking to each other, they shared a mutual look of understanding and just overall tiredness. Yugi then asked Amelia, "How come you're not leaving as well Amelia?" Amelia shrugged and replied tiredly, "Because my home and family company is currently being overrun by a bunch of greedy, slimy, lowlifes." With that, Amelia finally cracked, and told Yugi everything that happened earlier in the day and how it tied in to what happened at his house.
Giving out a low whistle, Yugi leaned back in his chair and said quietly for only Amelia to hear, "Well, seems like Pegasus has it out for both of us. I wonder why though?" Moving to sit next to her friend, so that they could hold their conversation more between themselves, and to not be overheard, Amelia replied just as quietly, "It seems it is all because of these interesting Egyptian artifacts that both you and I have come to be the possessors of." At that, Yugi looked down thoughtfully at his Millennium Puzzle around his neck, while Amelia once again pulled out her hidden Millennium Jewel to look it over once more.
Pretty soon, they were both interrupted from their thoughts, when the Doctor came out to speak with them. At first, he was confused about there being no adult present, but one stern look from the rich female Kaiba Twin, was all it took to get the Doctor to ignore that little slip up and inform the two teens that, other than the Coma, Mr. Mouto seemed as healthy as could be. Which did not surprise the two; Thanking the doctor, the two friends then left the hospital to head back to Yugi's place.
As they walked back towards Yugi's home, Yugi suddenly asked, "Amelia? If you are not able to get in to your home, where were you planning on spending the night?"
Brows furrowing in thought, Amelia replied, "Well, I was going to see if my friend and Secretary, Isabel, would let me stay with her until things all get sorted out." Then glancing sideways at her shorter friend, she asked, "Why do you ask Yugi?" Looking down at the sidewalk, and blushing slightly in embarrassment, Yugi replied, "Well… My parents are away on an Archeological Dig in India, so for a while it has just been me and Grandpa. But, now that Grandpa is, well, you know… I was wondering if you would like to… Stay over?"
Amelia paused in her walking to contemplate Yugi's offer, making Yugi pause as well. Glancing down at her friend standing next to her, Amelia couldn't help but smile fondly at how nervous and embarrassed he looked to be asking if a girl would like to spend the night at his place.
Suddenly a slight flicker slightly to the right of Yugi caught Amelia's eye, and turning her gaze that way, Amelia's eyes widened a fraction as she caught a quick glimpse of the mysterious 'other Yugi!' Before she could voice or do anything though, the transparent figure silently held up a finger to his lips with a wink, and then vanished away as quickly as he had come.
Quite intrigued by this strange presence that seemed to reside in Yugi's Puzzle, and also not wanting to leave Yugi on his own, Amelia gave Yugi a warm smile and replied to his question, "Sure Yugi, I would like that. I have actually never had a sleepover before."
Immediately Yugi's face lit up in happiness and excitement, and as the two began walking again, he began rambling excitedly about different games that they could play, and food that they could make to eat, and where they could set Amelia up to sleep.
Once they reached the Game shop, Yugi noticed something sticking out from the door and asked in confusion, "What's this?" Grabbing and pulling, Amelia pulled out two separate white envelopes. Seeing her's and Yugi's names on each of them, she handed Yugi his and together, they opened them to reveal two invitations to a Tournament at Duelist Kingdom.
Amelia felt herself visibly pale, making Yugi look at her in concern, "What's wrong Amelia?" Swallowing to get moisture down her now dry throat, Amelia replied, "Well, this means… This means that I now have to duel… In front of people…" Furrowing his brow in confusion as he unlocked the door to let them both in, Yugi asked, "What do you mean?"
Following Yugi to the back and up the stairs to his home, Amelia stayed quiet till they reached his dining room and she sat in one of the dining chairs. Hugging her arms to herself, Amelia explained, "I have very bad stage fright. I love to duel and am really good, proven by how, unknown to anyone outside of my family, I used to be the only one able to beat my brother in a duel. But I just have never liked crowds and have never had the courage to stand in front of hundreds and be able to concentrate on dueling."
Yugi, who had been in the kitchen preparing some tea for the both of them, came out with two mugs and handing her one of them, he gave her a reassuring smile and stated, "You'll do great Amelia, trust me. And you won't be alone, I will be there to support you, and you now have a purpose to duel that can keep you focused. You're dueling for your family." Amelia smiled in gratitude and the two then fell into companionable silence as they enjoyed their warm mugs of tea.
After finishing their drinks, Amelia called Isabel to bring over an overnight bag for her, and Yugi went to get the guest room ready for Amelia. Fifteen minutes later, Isabel dropped off a suitcase filled with several outfits for Amelia as well as her school uniform, a small toiletry bag, and some pajamas for her. After giving Isabel a hug in thanks and telling her that her and Yugi would be fine, she walked Isabel out, locked the door, and then headed back upstairs to find where Yugi went.
Just as she reached the living room, she found Yugi coming back down the hall looking for her. Smiling he said, "Great you got your stuff. I have the guest room all set up for you, and if you would like, before heading to bed, we could do a quick duel?" Raising an eyebrow, Amelia looked at him and asked, "After what happened today, I would think you would want to take a small break from dueling?"
Yugi simply shook his head and replied, "A duel is still a game, even if Pegasus has warped it with his twisted stakes. I still love games, so I still love to duel." Amelia could not help but smile at Yugi's way of thinking and nodding in agreement, she set her bag on the couch and pulled out her own deck and the two then sat down and proceeded to test each other's skills in a fun duel.
The next morning found Amelia dressed in her school uniform and yawning as she stood making breakfast in the Kitchen. Her and Yugi's duel last night lasted for almost four hours! It turned out that both were extremely skilled at the game, and it was very hard for either of them to stay in the lead for long. The game did not even end with a decisive victor, as Amelia triggered a trap card that brought both her and Yugi's life points down to zero at the same time, making the game a tie!
Amelia had to smile at that. It was fun to find another challenging opponent, other than Seto. As she moved the eggs she was making from the stove to the two plates she had set out, she called down the hall, "Yugi! Time to get up! I made breakfast!" Silence followed her call, making Amelia slightly frown. Sighing, she set the pan she was holding back on the, now turned off stove, and headed down the hall to see what was taking Yugi so long.
Knocking on Yugi's door, she called out, "Yugi? Are you awake yet?" Still getting no response, Amelia closed her eyes and sighed out loud in exasperation, "Boys…" Then gently, she opened the door and peeked in to Yugi's room.
Yugi's room was pretty simple for a Teenage boy. He had a slanted ceiling, with a nice big rectangle shaped window. The walls were a faded turquoise color, and he had navy carpet on his floor. He had a simple work desk with a lamp, and a bookshelf that was stuffed with different books about archeology and puzzles, and then a small closet where she guessed his clothes were located. Surprisingly, he also had a full length mirror that she guessed he used when getting dressed. And then, of course, was the twin sized bed, where, as she suspected, Yugi lay soundlessly sleeping away, having not heard her call for him at all.
Smirking, Amelia quietly made her way into the room, and was about to approach Yugi's bed, when a sudden gleam of gold caught her eye. Turning her head, Amelia stared curiously at the Millennium Puzzle sitting innocently on Yugi's desk with the morning sun shining on it. Tilting her head, Amelia wondered silently why she did not notice the Puzzle on her initial glance at the room.
Her attention now solely on the Puzzle, Amelia's mind started to wonder about the mysterious Spirit that resided inside the Puzzle. Who was he? Why did he not want Yugi to know he was there? Her curiosity caused her to walk towards the Puzzle, and slowly, she reached out and, gently, caressed the surface of the Puzzle.
Immediately the Puzzle, and her Jewel, started to glow a soft golden color, and the Puzzle felt warm to her touch, almost as if someone's fingers were gently pressing against her own. Giving the Puzzle a small smile, she quietly whispered, "Who are you Mr. Shadow?" The moment those words left her mouth, Amelia's Jewel surged with energy, and another vision, or as she was coming to realize, a memory, overcame her.
Amelia found she was now standing once again in Ancient Egypt as her counterpart. Her Egyptian self, was standing protectively with her arms crossed in front of a small group of young children, who she recognized to be some of her Egyptian self's family.
Standing opposite her and the children, was a young man who seemed to be a year older than her. He had on a simple cream tunic outfit and plain brown sandals. His head and most of his face was covered and hidden by a well wrapped brown cloak. The only thing she could make out was the young man's eyes, which were a beautiful intense violet color, and a little bit of his cheeks, which currently seemed to be red in some sort of embarrassment.
Eyes narrowing suspiciously, Amelia's Egyptian self demanded from the stranger, "Who are you, and why have you been spying on us?" The stranger held up his hands in a surrendering gesture, and his eyes showed his apology, as he replied earnestly, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to intrude! I just… I heard a beautiful voice singing and I just… I just HAD to find out where and who it was. Ever since I first heard your voice, I couldn't help but to keep coming to listen. I didn't mean to startle you!"
During the whole time he spoke, his hands waved around as he frantically tried to explain why he was there. It took all of Amelia's Egyptian self's control to not blush and focus on the stranger's words and not his voice. His voice was a deep baritone that for some reason made her heart flutter, especially because during his entire explanation, his intense eyes never once left her own hard gaze.
Seeing and hearing his honesty, Amelia's Egyptian self sighed, then turned to look at the children behind her and asked, "Well children, what do you think? Should Mr. Shadow here join us?" She smirked when she noticed the strange man do a double take at the name she granted him, but he had no time to argue it, as he was soon floored by excited children cheering and surrounding him, leading him back to where they had previously been sitting and talking up a storm to him…
Amelia was pulled back to the present just as suddenly as she had been pulled into the vision. Glancing at the clock, she noticed that only a few minutes had gone by. Sighing in relief, Amelia glanced down and noticed, with a light blush, that she had kept her fingers pressed against the Puzzle and that the warmth of the Puzzle was still present, as if the Spirit liked feeling her touch.
With a sigh, she slowly removed her fingers from the Puzzle, which stopped glowing the moment her fingers left it, then turned her attention back to the current problem at hand. Walking over to Yugi's bed, she smirked, took a deep breath, and then shouted at the top of her lungs, "YUGI TIME TO GET UP!"
The shouting worked like a charm! Yugi shot up about two feet in the air from being shocked awake. Looking around frantically, fully alert, his eyes finally landed on an innocently grinning Amelia, who had her hands clasped behind her back. "Good Morning sleepyhead!" She grinned a little to cheerily at him. Then smirking, as she saw his star patterned pjs, she stated, "Nice pajamas." Yugi's face erupted into red flames as he dove under his covers to hide himself.
Peeking his head out from under the covers, he found his female friend bent over laughing at his reaction. Glaring at her, Yugi protested, "That's not funny Amelia!" Straightening up and wiping the reflex tears from her eyes, Amelia gave Yugi a friendlier smile and replied, "Your right, sorry Yugi." Then turning to leave his room, she stated over her shoulder, "Hurry up and get ready though, because breakfast is going to be cold for you otherwise."
With that Amelia headed back downstairs and started eating her share of the eggs she had made, thankful that they were still warm enough to enjoy. As she ate and waited for Yugi, her mind went back to the vision she had, and why it was triggered. It seemed to trigger when she called the Spirit, "Mr. Shadow." She also reflected that this was not the first time a vision had been triggered because of him. As she drank her morning tea, Amelia frowned and wondered, was her past somehow connected with the Spirit?
Suddenly Yugi ran into the dining room, panting but fully dressed, including having the mysterious Puzzle around his neck. Amelia gave him another smile, and motioned for him to take a seat at the table, as she stood up to bring her own dishes into the kitchen. After Yugi inhaled his breakfast, the two grabbed their schoolbags and the invitations they received last night, and headed out to walk to school.
Once they reached the school, they were greeted by their friends and together, they all walked to homeroom to wait for first bell to ring. As they walked, Amelia noticed that Joey seemed more subdue than his usual self. Walking in the back of their group, his eyes looked deep in thought and he was frowning, as if quietly upset about something. Slowing her pace to match his, Amelia gently touched his shoulder to get his attention, causing Joey to startle from wherever his mind had been. "Penny for your thoughts?" She asked quietly, so as to not draw the other's attention to them.
Joey shook his head and gave her a forced smile, Amelia could tell it was forced because the smile did not reach her friend's brown eyes. "Nah, I'm good Lia. I was just thinking that's all." Tilting her head, Amelia gently teased, "Yes, but you thinking is a cause for any of us to worry." She gave him a smile to show she didn't mean it, and thankfully this time, she got a genuine smile from him as he gave her a playful shove. By this time they had reached the classroom and the others had already entered. Before Joey entered though, Amelia grabbed his arm to make him look at her, and giving him a concerned, but caring look, she said, "If you don't want to talk about whatever is bothering you Joey, that's fine. Just know that me and the others are all here for you." Feeling touched, Joey gave his friend a warm smile, that thankfully, reached his eyes this time, and replied, "Thank you Amelia, that means a lot." And with that they both entered the classroom.
At lunchtime, the group huddled around Yugi's desk, as both he and Amelia explained that they had both been invited to a Duel Tournament that Pegasus was hosting. "A Tournament at Duelist Kingdom? Isn't that an island?" Tea questioned as she read the invitation that Amelia had received. Amelia nodded, and Joey asked Yugi, "So that's where Pegasus is keeping your Grandpa, right Yugi?"
Yugi stared intently at his invitation and replied, "Maybe. The only way to know for sure is to become a contestant." Tristan then looked up at Amelia and asked in confusion, "But why were you also given an invite Amelia?" Amelia looked down to the floor with a thoughtful frown on her face. After a few moments, she looked up and replied, "I think it's because Pegasus is curious about the Egyptian item that I have in my possession."
Tea, Joey, and Tristan each gave her a questioning look. Then looking around, to make sure no one was watching or eavesdropping on them, she pulled out her Millennium Jewel. Tea gasped in awe, while Joey and Tristan's eyes widened in surprise. Leaning closer to look at it, Tea breathed, "It's beautiful… And look! It has the same symbol as Yugi's Puzzle!" Nodding her head in agreement, Amelia explained, "Yes, this is called the Millennium Jewel. Apparently there is some sort of connection between it and the Millennium Puzzle and seems to have certain powers. It prevented me from becoming frozen like the rest of you, when Yugi dueled Pegasus. And, according to Yugi, it helped me block Pegasus from reading his mind somehow."
The group all stared at the interesting Jewel for a few more moments, before Amelia tucked it back under her shirt and then stated with determination, "I'm also going because, like Yugi, I have a score to settle. Pegasus has my little brother captive, and threatened to do the same thing to him that he did to Yugi's Grandfather if I don't come and duel as well."
Everyone nodded in understanding and anger at the situation. Yugi then said, "The boat to reach the island is going to be leaving in two days. It gives both Amelia and I enough time to get ready and prepare our decks." Tea looked at both of them in worry and said, "But you can't go! It could be dangerous." Amelia gave her friend a sad smile. Walking over she gave Tea a side hug and replied, "We know, but we have to go. It is the only clue we have to rescuing both Yugi's grandpa and my little brother." Tea nodded sadly. She understood, but she still did not have to like it.
Tristan shook his head in anger, "I still can't believe it! Pegasus used some sort of weird spell to take your Grandpa's soul away Yugi, and now he's toying with both you and Amelia, forcing you guy's to compete in his Tournament!" Joey nodded his head in agreement with Tristan and added, "Right, and without invitations, we can't go there with you. I wish we could help you guys…"
Giving her friends an encouraging smile, Amelia replied, "It's ok. Knowing we have your guy's support is already helping us enormously! Right Yugi?" Looking to her short friend, Yugi gave an answering smile and thumbs up.
Suddenly, Tristan called out, "Hey, guys, check this out!" Holding up one of the cards that had remained in the envelope, Tristan read out, "According to this card, the Tournament winner takes the grand prize of three million dollars!"
Amelia frowned, but before she could say anything, she suddenly heard Joey breathe out in amazement next to her, "Three million?" Glancing in his direction, her frown turned to worried concern as she saw Joey's eyes once again have that far away look from earlier in them. Although this time, there was a spark of hope instead of the despair he had been exuding earlier.
The other's had not seemed to notice Joey's change in behavior, as Yugi gave Tristan a wry smile and asked, "So what Tristan? Who cares about money at a time like this?" Their attention was soon turned to Joey though, when he suddenly grabbed the card from Tristan, suddenly examining it as if to make sure it was actually true or not. Everyone gave Joey varying looks of confusion, but before they could ask him why he was so interested in the money, the bell rang to signal that lunch period was over.
By the end of the day, Amelia had been kept so busy with her studies, that she completely forgot to seek out Joey to figure out what was going on with him. After school, Yugi gave Amelia the key to his house, and told her to head back without him. Taking it with confusion, Amelia opened her mouth to ask why, but Yugi had already disappeared back into the school. Shrugging her shoulders, Amelia headed to the lockers. It was going to be a four day weekend, a perfect opportunity to be gone for the Tournament, so Amelia decided to take some of her schoolwork with her as something to do when she had some down time.
When she reached the lockers and started organizing her schoolbag, she failed to notice that she was being watched rather intently from afar, by a pair of russet colored eyes. This person watched as Amelia fumbled with some of her textbooks and ended up dropping a couple. Cursing to herself, she quickly crouched down to gather them up again. Her fast downward movement, caused her Millennium Jewel to come swinging out from it's hiding spot.
The mysterious person's russet eyes widened in shock at seeing the Jewel, then they narrowed in focus as a predatory smirk overcame the stranger's face. "So, the little bird has decided to appear… this will make things quite, interesting…" The stranger, now identified as a male, drawled quietly to himself.
Two days later found both Amelia and Yugi arriving at Domino City's docks ready to head to the Tournament. Roland was kind enough to drive them, which both thanked him for his kindness. Roland simply waved it off and replied, "I'm just doing my duty." Amelia, dressed in sneakers, a blue denim jeans, a maroon sleeveless turtle-necked shirt, and a long sleeved blue denim jacket, rolled her eyes at Roland's comment and replied, "I'm not your boss at the moment Roland, you'll get in trouble."
Shaking his head, Roland stated,"I have sworn to serve the Jacobs-Kaiba family. And I intend to only serve your family Miss Amelia." Yugi, deciding to stick with wearing his school uniform, watched this exchange in slight amazement. It was interesting to see how loyal Roland, and that other girl Isabel, were to his friend and her brothers. Amelia for her part, simply gave Roland an affectionate hug in return and muttered, "Goofball," breaking apart, Roland then gave both teens a serious look and said, "Be careful, both of you." Returning his serious look, both Teens nodded in reply, then turned and headed to the line forming to get on the boat.
As they waited to get on the boat, Amelia shifted her leather backpack on her shoulders and turned to Yugi asking, "You ready for this?" Yugi gave the giant boat a quick nervous glance, before sighing, straightening his shoulders, and stating, "I am." Suddenly they heard a sound of commotion coming from the loading area of the ship.
"Hey you! Get back here! Only official contestants are allowed on board!" Amelia, Yugi, and a few others leaned over to try to see what was going on. A moment later though, Amelia straightened back up and face-palmed with a sigh of exasperation, as an all to familiar male voice asked, "How do you know I'm not official?" Yugi couldn't help but chuckle, especially when he heard Amelia mutter from behind her hand several times, "I do not know him…" Patting her arm, Yugi said reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'll handle it. Save us a spot in line," and with that he headed over to calm the situation down.
A few minutes later, Yugi returned, with Joey by his side to Amelia's slight surprise. Glancing in quiet curiosity at Yugi, he subtly shook his head, his eyes glancing around at all the other people around them, and Amelia nodded her head in understanding that he did not want to discuss what he did with so many people around.
Instead she turned unamused eyes to a grinning Joey and stated with a deadpan look, "You, are a troublemaker. Did you know that?" Continuing to grin, Joey replied cheekily, "Ya know ya love me!" Amelia rolled her eyes at that and turning away from him she stated, "Debatable," Joey pouted at her statement, and began whining at her to take back what she said, but she kept her head turned away from him and continued to ignore him, trying to hide her smile of amusement, as she thought to herself that he sounded almost like a sad puppy. Yugi simply laughed at his two friend's antics, unaware that in the back recesses of his mind, someone else was watching the interaction as well, but was not amused at all.
Soon everyone was aboard and the boat set sail for its final destination, Duelist Kingdom! Once they were on, Joey and Yugi quietly explained to Amelia what Yugi had done to get Joey on with them. At first she wasn't happy with either of them, because now both of them were at a disadvantage, but she soon admitted to them that it would be nice to have another friend with them.
A few minutes later, Amelia left her two friends to go use the restroom. When she returned, her eyes widened in shock when she saw them about to talk with a very familiar person. "Mai? Mai Valentine?"
Standing in front of Joey and Yugi, with her back to Amelia, was a beautiful long blond haired woman. She wore a tight fitting purple skirt with purple ankle boots, a tight fitting white corset tank, with a purple quarter-sleeved jacket over the top.
At hearing her name being called out by a familiar voice to her, Mai froze and slowly turned around in surprise. When she saw Amelia standing there and looking at her with the same surprised expression, Mai's face morphed into a smile as she stated.
"Well, well, if it isn't Amelia Kaiba! What are you doing here hun? I heard that your brother dropped out from competing in this Tournament." Smiling as well, Amelia walked forward and gave the young woman a brief hug in greeting, before stepping back and saying, "It's nice to see you as well Mai, and for your information," Here Amelia gave her a smirk and jerked her thumb at herself, "I have decided to enter instead of my brother."
Mai's eyes widened for a moment in shock, then her entire face lit up, and grinning she exclaimed happily, "It's about time! I kept telling you that you were meant to compete, and it seems that you are finally taking my advice! Finally, another female duelist!" Amelia gave her a small smile in reply, not bothering to explain the real reason to why she was competing.
The two girls talked about a few more things, briefly catching up with each other, before Joey interrupted them by saying, "Hey Amelia, could you introduce me?" Amelia could not help but giggle at the lovestruck look on poor Joey's face, and how Yugi was standing there looking a little lost. Turning to her with a raised eyebrow, Mai asked her, "You know them?"
Smiling and nodding, Amelia replied, "Yes, they are my friends from school. We came to the Tournament together, guys this is Mai, a really good childhood friend of mine, and Mai, this is Yugi and…" Mai cut Amelia off before she could introduce Joey,"I don't need to know his name hun. You should cut this guy loose, he's fashion challenged and deserves to be crushed in the games." Amelia frowned at her female friend's attitude and ignoring her, she finished saying, "And this is Joey." Rolling her eyes, Mai then zeroed her focus on Yugi and said, "So you're the Yugi kid everyone is talking about huh?"
Yugi blushed in embarrassment at hearing that people were talking about him. Mai smirked at his blush, then a thought came to her and looking between him and Amelia she leaned closer to Yugi and continued saying, "I'm amazed that a squirt like you could beat Kaiba, you're famous you know." Yugi's blush deepened, and he subtly tried to back away as he muttered in a flustered tone, "Thanks very much, I think?" Amelia rolled her eyes and pulled Mai away from him saying, "Come on Mai, stop trying to seduce the poor boy." Unknown to her, Mai blinked in confusion, having expected a different reaction out of her female friend.
Mentally shrugging, she straightened and turning to look at Amelia, she stated, "Well I am going to go explore this rust bucket. Care to join me Lia?" Both boys watched, waiting to see if Amelia was going to choose to go with her old childhood friend. Amelia gave Mai a smile and replied, "Thank you for the offer Mai, but I'm going to stay and relax with the boys here. Have fun, and I'll see you on the island?" Mai nodded, hiding the slight hurt she felt at Amelia's decline, by turning and walking away with a wave of her hand.
Amelia knew that she probably hurt Mai's feelings a bit with declining to go with her, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Yugi and Joey since the three of them were in this together to save Yugi's Grandpa and Mokuba. Turning to look at her two male friends, Amelia couldn't help but roll her eyes in fond exasperation as she saw Joey had a slightly dreamy look and blush on his face as he watched Mai walk away, and Yugi's eyes were wide and he was slightly blushing as well. Grabbing Joey by the ear, she began pulling him towards the doors that led inside. Ignoring his pained yelps for her to let go, she called out to Yugi, "Come on Yugi, let's go see if we can find somewhere to sit."
Once they were inside, Amelia released her hold on Joey, who rapidly began massaging feeling back into his earlobe as he glared at her for the mistreatment. Then huffing, he muttered about going to find out where they were going to be sleeping, and walked off. Yugi, finally catching up, tilted his head at Amelia and asked, "Was that really necessary?" Amelia shrugged, and was about to reply, when she was suddenly cut off by Joey's angry shouts. Shaking her head, Amelia groaned, "Not again!"
The two hurried into the next room to find Joey once again arguing with the security guards about the sleeping arrangements. Huffing in irritation, Amelia marched over to deal with their blonde friend while Yugi stood and watched in slight exasperated amusement at his friend's antics. Not noticing that there were two well known Duelists approaching him from behind.
Amelia made her way over to Joey and the two guards. Tapping the one guard's arm to get his attention, she asked, "Excuse me, is my friend giving you trouble?" The scuffle between the three stopped and the two guards both nodded, with the one replying, "Yes mam'e. If this happens again, he will be sent home." Amelia nodded and replied, "I understand, I will handle him from here." And with that, she once again grabbed Joey by the ear, none to gently, and yanked him back over to where she had left Yugi standing, the guards watching in wry amusement.
Once they reached Yugi, Amelia released her hold on Joey and he once again stood up rubbing his ear. "Geez Lia, did you have to pull so hard? I feel like my ear is going to fall off!" Scowling, Amelia crossed her arms and growled, "Well maybe if you get your act together and behave, I won't need to keep doing it!" Yugi chuckled as he watched his friends, then suddenly all three heard a nasally voice speak up behind them asking, "Hey, aren't you that kid Yugi?"
All three turned around, and while Yugi and Joey's eyes widened in shock, Amelia grimaced. For standing behind the trio, was none other than the two Regional Champion finalists, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood. Rex had long messy brown hair stuffed into a red beanie hat and wore an outfit that made him look like a safari explorer. Weevil Underwood had short light blue colored hair. He wore really big bug framed glasses that covered his face, and in Amelia's opinion, wore an atrocious green colored outfit that made him look like an over nerdy school boy. Both boys were short. Weevil was surprisingly the same height as Yugi, while Rex stood a few inches taller than both of them.
Yugi then answered Weevil by saying, "Yeah, and you're…" He didn't get to finish his sentence because Joey did it for him by stating in excitement, "Weevil! And Rex the Dino Duelist!" Rex smirked at that and said smugly, "You're wasting your time with those guys. The private rooms only go to finalists from the last championship, like us."
Yugi walked up to the two with excitement written on his face at talking with Pro's, Joey close behind him. Amelia, on the other hand, stayed as far back as she could. She had a feeling that the two would most likely recognize her, and she did not want that. Turning to observe other Duelists, Amelia kept an ear on the conversation as she heard Yugi say, "Congratulations on winning the Regionals Weevil!" Sticking his hand in his pockets, Weevil replied simply, "It was nothing." Rex then scoffed, "Yeah, I went easy on him, that time." Amelia took a glance towards the group, and couldn't help but smirk as she watched Weevil glare at Rex. If she had to pick between the two, she preferred Rex over Weevil.
Joey then spoke up and said with confidence, "Well this time, Yugi, Amelia and I will take the Tournament, right guys!" Yugi grinned, but then not seeing Amelia in their group, he looked around and spotted her standing a few feet away. Joey, noticing as well, got a mischievous grin and grabbed her by the arm and yanked her over to them. "OW! Joey, I swear I am going to kill you one of these days." She growled at him, as she was forced into the conversation.
When she came into view, both Weevil and Rex's eyes widened in surprise and recognition. Then Rex smirked and said, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Amelia Kaiba! What are you doing here? We all know for a fact that your brother ain't here since Yugi here beat him." Weevil remained silent, but Amelia could tell that he was thinking the same thing. Straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin with confidence, Amelia glared at the two and stated, "For your information, boys, I am here to compete." Both the Pro Duelist's eyebrows rose in surprise at this news. It was common knowledge in the higher dueling circuits that the female Kaiba did not like to duel professionally, but that if she did, she could give even her former champion of a brother a run for his money.
Deciding to change the subject, Weevil looked to Yugi and said, "To tell you the truth, Yugi, winning the last championship did not feel like that much of an achievement. I guess I can't really call myself a Champion until I defeat the Duelist who beat Seto Kaiba." Yugi stared at Weevil in surprise, while Amelia's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the calculating gleam she could make out in the bug duelist's eyes.
Suddenly her eyes caught site of Mai wandering around a few feet away. Deciding that she had had enough of being surrounded by males for a while, she tapped Yugi and said, "Hey Yugi, I'll be back ok? I'm just going to go explore for a bit." Yugi nodded in understanding, and then went back to his conversation with Rex, Joey and Weevil.
Turning away from the boys, Amelia hurried across the room and tapped Mai on her shoulder. Startled, Mai whirled around to find Amelia standing with a cheeky smile as she asked, "Miss me?" Rolling her eyes, but not suppressing a smile of her own, Mai replied, "Hardly hun, I knew you would join me eventually." As the two young women fell into step next to each other, Amelia asked, "What makes you say that?" Smirking, Mai replied, "Because a girl can only handle so much testosterone for so long."
With that the two continued walking around the ship, exploring and continuing to catch up with each other. When they finally made it back outside and took a break from walking to enjoy the scenery of the ocean at night, Mai finally asked, "So why are you really here Lia? Normally you never come to events like this unless you were here solely to cheer your brother on." Amelia stayed silent for a few moments leaning against the railing of the ship and staring out into the night. Finally, when Mai opened her mouth to ask her again, Amelia took a deep sigh and replied, "I'm here Mai… To protect my family, and get some answers. Pegasus wants something. I don't know what he wants, or why he wants it, but he has basically forced Seto into hiding, and he kidnapped Mokuba right from under my nose! He threatened me that if I do not compete in this little tournament of his, then he will do something awful to Mokuba and I refuse to let him do anything to my little brother…"
Mai's eyes widened in shock at hearing this, then hardened in anger and determination. Turning to look at her friend, Amelia then asked, "What about you Mai? Why are you here to compete?" Before Mai could reply, they both suddenly heard someone shout, "SAY GOODBYE TO EXODIA!" Followed by the very familiar sound of Yugi's voice yelling, "NO!"
The two women shared a look and Amelia gave her friend an apologetic look, "Sorry Mai, but I have to go see whats going on." Mai nodded and replied, "I'm going to go score a room. Sounds like you and your new friends may need it." With that, the two quickly parted ways.
Once Amelia reached the spot where she had heard the shouting, she gasped in surprise when she found Tristan and Tea hovering near a rope ladder. Running over to them she quickly asked, "What happened? How are you guys here? Where are Joey and Yugi?" Instead of answering, she watched as Tristan helped both Yugi and Joey up and onto the ship, both soaking wet!
Slinging her backpack off and crouching down next to the two, Amelia quickly pulled out a towel, which she handed to Yugi, and a woolen blanket, which she handed to Joey. Both panted a quiet thank you to her as they both tried to get their breathing under control again. Staying crouched, Amelia looked straight into Yugi's eyes and asked, "What happened Yugi? I was only gone for thirty minutes, and here I find both you and Joey being rescued from being overboard!"
Wrapping the towel around himself, Yugi ignored Amelia's question and said instead, "Yeah, that was close. I'm sure glad that the three of you showed up when you did, really glad." Tea, who was also crouched next to the wet boys, nodded her head and replied, "We're a team, we all stick together." Tristan added on, "We'll always watch your back."
Getting annoyed, Amelia interrupted Yugi's thanks to say, "Look, that is all well and good, but I want to know what possessed the two of you to go on a late night swim!" Tea, Tristan and Yugi turned to look at Amelia with wide eyes, surprised by her outburst. Her questions were semi answered, when Joey, with his head hung in shame, said,
"I'm sorry Yugi, I failed. I could only find two of your cards." Amelia's eyes widened in shock as she watched Joey hold up two water-logged Exodia cards! "It's ok Joey," Yugi began to say, but Joey cut him off, "It's not ok! It's always this way with me. I'm not able to help anybody, not even my own sister, Serenity." Now Amelia's eyes were not the only ones widened in shock at this revelation. "Serenity?" Yugi breathed out in surprise and Tea asked, "Really, you have a sister Joey?"
Joey kept his eyes closed in sadness and explained, "Our parents divorced years ago. She lives far away with my mother. My sister has had really bad eyes since she was born, eventually she'll go blind! She sent me a message right before all this happened… The doctor's told her that the time is approaching. If she doesn't have the surgery in a month's time with some specialists, she will go blind!"
Amelia opened her mouth to ask why his sister was not going to have the surgery, but then Joey continued saying, "But the surgery is so expensive, there is no way for either my mom or me to be able to pay for her to have it. See, that's why I have to compete." He then looked up at his friends, and Amelia could see a deep fire of determination burning in his eyes. "I have to win for her! Winning in Duelist Kingdom, and getting the prize money, is the only way I can help Serenity!" With that, Joey began to cry a little, and Amelia's motherly instincts took over. Leaning over, Amelia wrapped her arms around Joey in a comforting hug and said softly, "We understand Joey."
The rest of their friends soon joined in the impromptu group hug. Then breaking away, Yugi gave his friends a determined smile and stated, "We'll all do our best Joey; you for your sister, Amelia for her brother, and me for my Grandpa." Joey stayed silent but gave a determined nod as well. But the effect was ruined when he suddenly gave a massive sneeze. Chuckling, Amelia stood up and said, "Come on you lot, Mai has a room that we can share to get some much needed sleep for the Tournament ahead."
With that the group of friends headed inside to warm themselves. Confident that together, they could face anything that Pegasus's Tournament could throw at them.