Rex Raptor had a Black Tyranno on the field at 2600 ATK. It had just defeated Hassleberry's Giant Rex, knocking his life points down to 1000. Rex still stood at a respectable 3000 life points. Not only that, but Rex was the only one with a monster on the field. Hassleberry had only one card to his name: a face down spell card.

Syrus felt a little bit of panic. This duel wasn't turning out in Hassleberry's favor anymore. He hadn't been the same since his losing streak, and losing to Rex Raptor, of all people, would absolutely destroy him.

He would never admit it openly, but he wanted Hassleberry to win this duel. Really bad. Another thing on the list of things he'd never admit to was the fact he missed their constant quips. With the energy drained out of him, it felt like he was just slogging through the day. Something about not waking up to whatever wisecrack or challenge he had for him was upsetting somehow, though he couldn't place his finger on why.

He never showed these emotions openly. He cheered on Hassleberry's name once or twice alongside Jaden, but left most of the cheerleading up to their mutual friends. For the most part, he just sat on the sidelines, watching the duel unfold.

All the while, he was secretly waiting for Hassleberry to draw the card he snuck into his deck. He'd really wanted to give it to him for a while now, but he knew he would be too proud to accept it. As a result, he waited until both his roommates were fast asleep the night prior, and slipped the card in without a single soul knowing. It wasn't anything personal, it was for his friend's own good. At least, that's what he told himself.

Hassleberry seemed more confident than he had been the past couple days, but he was still a bit shaky. He grabbed a card.

"I draw…"

Although Syrus had no idea what his hand looked like, he could tell he drew the card. The confused face he made said it all: he didn't recognize the new card in his hand. He seemed to mouth the word "what," and resisted the urge to flip through the deck of cards lying beside him. Instead, he looked at the rest of his hand to ensure it was the right deck. It appeared to be.

He observed the cards in his hand curiously for a moment, then smirked.

"Hurry up and move already," Rex groaned. "Stalling isn't gonna stop the Jurassic period from ending!"

Hassleberry just laughed in response.

"I'll 'ave you know I've survived the end of the Jurassic period before," he chuckled, placing down a monster. "So I can survive anything you've got at me!"

The said monster he placed down was Black Stego, a monster with 1200 ATK points. He made sure it stayed in ATK position.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT'S HE DOING?!" Jaden and Syrus yelled that question simultaneously.

"Don't you know Black Tyranno's effect," Alexis asked. Jaden looked at her inquisitively while Syrus huffed down, beside himself. "If the only cards the opposing player controls are monsters in defense position, it can attack them directly!"

"But…" Jaden still had pause. "Why…? He has a face down card, if it was in defense position, then he wouldn't take any damage in the attack!"

"Yeah!" Syrus was quick to agree, causing Alexis to turn her head. "There has to be a better card he could play right now!"

He was still waiting impatiently for Hassleberry to play that one elusive spell card. He didn't.

"I end my turn," is what he said instead.

It made Syrus feel almost… upset? He'd given him a card to help him, was he still not going to use it? Was it because he was too proud to use a card he didn't recognize? Or was it something else? Wondering if his effort to help was wasted, he looked down at the bleachers, feeling almost rejected in a way.

Alexis perked her head up, worried.

"He's not going to play anything else? And he didn't use the card on the field? He's opening himself up for some serious damage!"

Jaden nodded.

"What's he planning…?"

Syrus frowned.

Rex grinned.

"Good. This'll be quick. Black Tyranno, attack!"

"Not so fast! I reveal my face down card!"

The face down card Hassleberry had put on the field was Amber Pitfall, a trap card.

"With this card," he said, "your dino's not attackin' my monster! Or any monster again!"

This was part of Amber Pitfall's infinite effect. Black Tyranno could no longer attack, but it was still at 1800 DEF.

"Lucky move," Rex chuckled. "I end my turn. It doesn't matter, though. There's no way your Black Stego could defeat my Black Tyranno, even in defense position!"

Hassleberry drew a card, then smiled.

"Who said Black Stego was gonna be the one to attack him, soldier?"

Rex panicked for a second when he saw a second monster come onto the field. It was Sabersaurus, a dinosaur card with 1900 ATK. It wasn't much, but just enough to defeat Black Tyranno.

"Sabersaurus, finish his Black Tyranno! Then Black Stego, attack his life points directly!"

After the big hit was done, Rex was down from 3000 life points to 1800. He looked concerned, but still smiled.

"That doesn't matter! I still have almost twice the amount of life points you do! I'm not even close to done yet!"

"You sure about that, sunshine?"

He placed a new card down onto the field.

"I activate the field spell Remove Bomb! I get to remove the top five cards of my deck from play! For every monster I draw, you lose 300 life points!"

This shocked everyone watching, but most of all, Hassleberry's friends watching from the distance.

"I didn't know he had that card," Alexis commented. "Did you?"

Jaden shrugged.

"I had no idea! But it looks like it really saved him this time!"

Syrus couldn't help but smile, at least a little. At first, he assumed it was a smugness, an example of his superiority. But it wasn't that entirely. He knew that he'd helped his friend, and that's all he needed to know. To see that Hassleberry was this happy and confident now, all thanks to him, was incredibly uplifting.

Somewhere amidst their discussion, the five cards were banished. Four were monsters, bringing Rex's life points down to 600. Hassleberry had the upper hand by 400 life points. Things were really turning around.

Syrus was beginning to have an internal monologue with himself.

I'm glad, he thought. I haven't seen him this happy in days! I don't… I don't think I've ever seen him duel like this. I didn't know he could be this brave, taking risks like that. His thoughts were cut short when Hassleberry turned around to face his friends. He hadn't noticed it, but Jaden was now going into a frenzy cheering him on. His face turned towards them to show the biggest smile he'd seen in days. He waved to his friends, and Syrus couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his own face. He's so beautiful… wait. NO. NONONONONONONONONONO-

"Sy?"

Jaden waved a hand in front of his face and he flinched. He didn't realize it, but his face was beet red. He shook his head to try and rid his thoughts. He slowly gazed back at his friend, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"…yeah," he asked.

"Are you okay? You suddenly look… out of it."

Syrus bolted up immediately, standing awkwardly straight. He momentarily blocked Chazz's view of the duel, making him growl until he took an unnaturally large step away.

"Yup. I'm fine. Justgonnagoforawalknow!"

Jaden grew worried.

"Are you sure? Want me to come with-"

"NO. I'LL BE FINE ALL BY MYSELF."

He did a speed walk away, leaving Jaden worried. He wanted to follow him, but there was no way he was gonna leave Hassleberry alone; he needed the support. So he sat in his seat, focused back on the duel in front of him.