By the time Joey decided that the Urodelas needed a break, Serenity was developing a leg cramp. She happily hopped out of the carriage to stretch, Bakura right behind her. They had stopped at a rest area, by the looks of it, with a trodden dirt lot outlining enough space for a row of troughs for draft beasts and food stalls for their riders.

Serenity and Bakura joined the other pair at the front of the wagon in time to watch them tie the Urodelas to a post and stretch.

"You guys hungry?" Joey asked, already turning to scan the food stalls.

"Sure," Bakura said. "I could eat a whole whatever that thing is." He nodded to one of the Urodelas, who gave him an odd look in return.

"I don't really eat," Marik admitted. This, of course, begged their new companion's curiosity, so they briefly explained what Marik was and how they met, all while following Joey to a promising stall just outside of a wooden hut.

Having already tried some of this world's food, Serenity was content to let Joey place an order for her, but Bakura was eagerly selecting half the menu. "We're paying separately," Joey muttered to the server as he handed over a fistful of coins.

The four watched the cook prepare their orders from scratch on the other side of the stall, Marik and Serenity more fascinated than the others. The smell told Serenity when it was done, and she reached out to take her plate just as a door slammed open.

All four travelers (and the stall workers) whipped their heads to look at the commotion. Two burly men were half carrying, half dragging a smaller man out of the hut. When they were far enough from the entrance, they dropped him on the ground, and the man let out a muffled "Oof," into the cloud of dirt.

"And stay out!" one of them shouted. "And just so you know, we're sending someone by tonight to collect what you owe on your tab."

The man on the ground turned over so he was on his back and propped himself up on his elbows weakly. "Tell them I'll be at your sister's place," he said with a wry smile.

Serenity's eyes widened at the crass joke, while Bakura and Joey snickered. (Marik didn't understand the implications.) The men from the hut obviously didn't find it as funny, and they charged at the man and started kicking him.

Now, Joey didn't like to see anyone kicked while they were down (especially literally), and Marik thought it unfair to pose two against one, so the two jumped into action.

"That's enough!" Joey shouted as he shoved the men away. "He's learned his lesson by now, don't ya think?"

"We'll get him out of here," Marik said as he helped the guy up.

The man, meanwhile, kept chuckling to himself, convinced he was the height of comedy, Serenity supposed. At first, his hair reminded her of the Black Magician King, but he was so out of it that she couldn't see any resemblance between the two at all. The men from the hut hesitated but eventually let them go. The man leaned on Marik all the way to a bench, with the other three not far behind.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked the man as Marik eased him down onto the seat. He scanned the other's body for signs of serious injury.

"'m fine," he said with a casual wave. "And I'll be all the better 's soon's I get those coins together for Halpert." He stood to leave, swayed on his feet, and clutched the end of the table.

"Maybe you ought to stay put until you can stand," Bakura suggested. He was halfway between unimpressed and amused by this guy. "Who are you, anyway?"

The man thought for a bit. "I don't remember," he said resolutely. "A'though people call me Yami now."

"Well, do you at least know where you live? We could help take you there," Marik said.

Yami looked around, as though realizing where he was for the first time that encounter. "I live nowhere," he replied finally. "I've been traveling the Betwixt ever since...for some time now."

Serenity felt something stir in her, though by then even she could admit it was a pattern. Before she could even voice the feeling, Joey cut her off. "Group meeting," he whispered sharply to the companions. They stepped away from Yami, who didn't seem to mind or even notice.

"What d'ya make of this guy?" Joey asked quietly.

"He's off," Bakura supplied immediately, "and that's not just the ale I'm talking."

"He seems like he needs help," Marik countered, to which Serenity nodded. The two exchanged a small smile.

"Yeah," Joey said slowly. "I think you're both right, that's the problem. But we can't just..." His voice trailed off into a sigh. He swallowed back his hesitation, knowing he'd just feel guilty later if he didn't invite Yami to travel with them. "Hey, man, why don't you come with us? We can help you get through the Betwixt, at least."

"No, that's okay."

Joey blinked; well, that was a first. "No, I think you should. At least until you sober up."

"Or I could stay here and do the same." Yami shrugged.

Joey's face flushed at the prospect of practically begging this foolish man to accompany them when earlier he had wanted only to be rid of the other two. He ignored the snickers behind him and cleared his throat. "If you don't get in the wagon now," Joey began with a tone that reminded himself of Solomon, "I will go get those men from the tavern to finish what they started earlier."

Yami paled, and Joey smirked at the reaction. "Fine, fine, I'm going." He threw up his hands and marched over to the parking lot.

"Does he even know which one's ours?" Marik asked.

Joey sighed. "Probably not." He picked up his food (which was now cold) from the bench and trotted over to direct Yami to the wagon. The others piled in after them, with Serenity up front this time. (Joey wanted Yami to sleep off whatever he was under the influence of, Bakura refused to be parted from his loot, and Marik was more fascinated by the latest addition to their team than he was by the monotonous fields of the Betwixt.)

And just like that, Joey thought to himself as he untied the Urodelas, the quest of two turned into an adventure of five.