"All right, Tori." Teá said. "Truth or dare?"

"Hmm... truth," Torina replied. The two girls had been playing Truth or Dare since they arrived at Teá's house about two hours before- both were having a blast.

"Ok then..." Tea thought for a moment. "Oh, I can't think of anymore good questions... Uh... Who do you like?" Tori bit her lip for a moment.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Torina asked. Teá crossed her heart.

"Promise." Tori hesitated a bit, but then spilled her guts.

"Joey." Teá's eyes widened- Tori was sure she was gonna get laughed at.

"Really?" said Teá. Tori nodded. "Cool! You and Joey are so much alike, it's a perfect match!" There was a pause. "Torina, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Torina shook her head.

"No, I don't mind," she replied. "Go ahead." It was Teá's turn for lip biting.

"Did Pegasus always treat you like that?" she asked hesitantly. Torina's eyes got a far off look as she replied as she remembered a time, so long ago.

"No," she said. "Actually, we were pretty close before Aunt Cecelia died, which was not long before my own parents passed away. But before that, he was always really nice- he always came back with presents for me when he went on trips. He was never the same after she died, and it just got worse after he got the Eye... I loved him very much back then... a part of me still does." There was silence for a moment, and Teá thought it best to change the subject.

"Want to watch the movies now?" she asked.

"Yeah," Torina replied, excitedly. "Which ones did you get?"

"Dracula, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," said Teá "And, well the last one isn't a movie really. My dad has a lot of episodes of the A-Team taped, and he thought we might want to watch them."

"Cool!" Torina grinned. "Let the movie/rerun fest begin!" Two bowls of popcorn, several cans of pop, two movies, and five tapes of the A-Team later, both girls were asleep.

Tori found herself standing outside her warehouse, in the pouring rain. She was confused- scared a bit, but mostly confused.

"What the devil?" she thought. "I was at Teá's... why am I here?" Suddenly, the house burst into flames, knocking Torina off her feet. She watched in horror as her warehouse, her new home, became engulfed in flames, her eyes widening. "NO!"

"Tori!" cried Teá. "Tori, wake up!" Teá had awoken after hearing Torina's cries, only to find her friend covered in a cold sweat, crying. "Torina, come on!"

Torina shot up off the bed, a look of complete fear expressed on her face. She looked at Teá, who became scared as well- Tori's eyes had a hollow look to them and it was creeping her out. Torina jumped up off the bed and started to put her shoes on.

"What are you doing?" asked Teá. "Torina, it's three o'clock in the morning- what's going on?" Torina looked back at her friend and shook her head.

"Something's wrong," she said. "I have to go find out what it is." Without another word, Torina rushed out the door and towards her house. As Teá watched her from the window, she began to shake her head.

"That's it, I'm calling Yugi!"

"She what?" Yugi cried into the phone. He had been completely out of it moments ago, but when he got Teá's call, he awakened instantly.

"She's on her way to her place," Teá said urgently. "I don't know what to do, Yugi- it could be real trouble! She was in such a hurry, she left the Millennia Diamond here!" When he heard that, Yugi became more worried.

"Get a hold of Tristen and Joey. I'm going to Torina's now!" Yugi hung up the phone, changed quickly, grabbed the puzzle, and ran out the door. As se sprinted down the street, Yami appeared at his side and ran along his side.

"What's going on, aibou?" he asked. "Where are we going?" Yugi shook his head.

"Torina had some weird dream at Teá's house," he explained. "And now she's headed home in some sort of panic." Yami nodded.

"Let's hurry then."

Torina couldn't believe what she was seeing- the warehouse, her home, was engulfed in flames. There was a crowd gathered around the building, watching in awe... instead of getting help.

"Someone call 911!" Tori yelled, just before heading inside- there was one object still in there she could not let get burned. Dodging debris and flames, she reached her room and pulled something out of a trunk near her desk- a magician's staff her uncle had given her when she was little- back in the days when he loved her... She sighed when she saw it-thankfully, it was unharmed. Unfortunately, while she wasn't paying attention, a large piece of ceiling fell, hitting her hard on the back of her head. Tori collapsed on the floor , the staff still in her hand.

"TORINA!" Yugi yelled, panic evident as he reached the warehouse. The crowd was still there, buzzing about the young girl who had run in, but hadn't come out. He ran in, reaching the back in record time. Carefully, he pulled her out from beneath the ceiling pieces and grabbed the staff. They were almost out when the fire engines pulled up, followed by an ambulance.

"Yugi!" The boy looked up to see Joey, Tristen and Teá running towards them, as panicked as he was.

"Help me!" cried Yugi. Joey wasted no time in helping Yugi pull Torina out of the flames. "Let's get her into the ambulance."

Three Days Later...

The cause of the fire had been declared as arson, probably some street kids who thought the place was deserted. Yugi didn't think so, though- something told him that Tori's "loving uncle" was somehow behind it. Unfortunately for him, but luckily for Torina, she hadn't been home when the place was torched... or was that the real plan?

Torina was still out of it- the bump on the head along with the smoke she breathed in made sure of that. Yugi was considered a hero for getting her out alive, but insisted he only did what any friend would do in that situation. Joey, on the other hand, was grief stricken. He was worried as could be about Torina and refused to leave her side.

"Tori?" he said one day, after they had been left alone. "Tori-girl, can you hear me? Aw, man- what I'd give to hear your voice right now." There was a pause. "Tori, I never knew how to say this, but I... gosh, Tori I've been in love with you since the day we met. I love your smile, your laugh... I love you." He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Tori, when I got the call from Teá and saw Yugi pulling you out of the warehouse... I'd never been so scared in my entire life. I'm just sorry I wasn't there for you." He held her hand tighter. "And I don't care how long it takes- I'm gonna wait right here, by your side, for you to wake up."

"Well, you won't have to wait much longer," she replied groggily. Joey looked at her, total disbelief expressed on his face. Tori, on the other hand, was just smiling

"How long have you been awake?" he asked, a slight stutter in his voice.

"Long enough," Tori replied. "Do you really feel that way, Joey?" He nodded.

"Tori-girl, everything I said was true... but if you don't feel the same... I'll understand." Tori shook her head, then grabbed Joey's shirt collar and pulled him close.

"Wheeler," she said. "Shut up and kiss me." Joey smiled and leaned in closer.

"Yes, ma'am." And he kissed her- and as he kissed her, Tori felt as though her heart skipped a beat... forget a beat, she thought it had stopped. This was love- this was what she had been missing.

"It's a Kodak moment." Tori and Joey stopped their kiss to see Teá, Tristen and Yugi standing in the doorway. Teá's face was a bright shade of red.

"It's nice to see you up and about," she said to her friend. "Although, I didn't quite expect this!" Tori smiled at her friend.

"Well, you were the first one I told." There was a pause. "Oh my gosh, my staff! Is it all right?"

"It's fine, Tori," said Yugi. "It's at my place, along with your Millennia Diamond."

"The Diamond... oh, Hikaru must be worried sick... you guys must have been worried sick, I'm so sorry. But what happened?" Tori's friends wasted no time in telling her what had happened. When she heard that Yugi had pulled her out of the fire, she shook her head. "That's twice now you've saved my life, Yugi. Will I ever be able to return the favor?"

"With all due respect, Torina," he replied with a smile. "I hope not." Tori giggled, then looked back at Joey.

"Now, where were we?" Joey put up a hand.

"One question, Tori-girl," he said. "The staff- what is so important about it that you would risk your life to save it." Tori gave a half hearted smile.

"My uncle gave it to me, Joey," she said after a moment. "I know you wouldn't think I'd want something he gave me... but as I told Teá, he wasn't always the he is. He gave me the staff back when he used to love me... and now- it's the only reminder I have of those times."

Tori smiled as she thought of the day Pegasus gave her the neon green staff. It resembled the one belonging to the Dark Magician, except for the difference in color, and being that she was only four-years-old at the time, it was twice her size.

"Well, Torina," he had said. "I do believe you'll grow into it. Who knows, maybe someday you'll pull off your own Dark Magic Attack." Torina's eyes shone brightly as she held the staff as best she could.

"You really think so, Uncle Max?" Her uncle scooped her up in his arms and gave her a tight hug.

"I know so."

Tori looked at her friends and smiled. She was beginning to define friendship for herself- it meant no matter what, you have people who are always there for you. She looked at her friends and smiled.

"So when do I go home?" There was a pause. "Furthermore- where's that?"