Last Time: The pressure of Friday's duel is getting to Yugi and Kaiba. Bakura offered Yugi the Change of Heart card, but Yugi turned it down, believing he could win with his own deck. And Kaiba is getting pressured by the stockholders of Kaibacorp, who won't tolerate another loss to Yugi. And Joey's plan is revealed. He plans to profit off the duel by creating a monster merchandising campaign with help from Tristan…and Mai?


Tiebreaker: Part 3


Yami Yugi wiped the sweat from his brow. One of the first things he learned as King of Games is that he had to keep a confident exterior, even if he really wasn't feeling that way on the inside. Showing fear or anxiety was a sure way to give the opponent a psychological advantage.

Yami had come out an hour ago to engage in a practice duel before Friday at the park. There weren't any virtual projectors, so he was dueling simply with cards on a bench. But with the coverage of the modern media looming, Yami was feeling nervous. In fact, he was already down to 1200 Life Points.

Closing his eyes, Yami drew a card from the deck…and gave off his ever-familiar smirk. "Your luck has finally run out. I draw the Dark Magician!"

Dark Magician 2500/2100

Yami played the Dark Magician and attacked, destroying the monster on the field and bringing his opponent all the way down to 500 Life Points. His opponent couldn't believe it. Although Yami's opponent still had another monster on the field, it couldn't possibly last against the Dark Magician.

The monster was Shining Friendship.

Yami smiled. "You know, you're getting better at this…Téa."

Téa grinned. "Thanks, Yami."

"It's your move. But I don't think you have anything in your deck that could beat my Dark Magician."

Téa drew one card and looked very satisfied. "I play the Magician of Faith in Attack Mode."

Magician of Faith 300/400

Yami was feeling more confident. "I know that's your favorite card, Téa, but your Magician of Faith can't possibly help you against my Dark Magician."

"One of them can't," Téa shot back. "But I combine her with this Multiply card to create an army to defend my Shining Friendship."

"What?!"

Téa had taken a page out of Yami's book. He was the one who implemented that strategy to defend against the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon in his second duel with Kaiba. And because the Magician of Faith only had 300 Attack Points, the move was perfectly legal. Yami couldn't get past them and thus couldn't reach Shining Friendship. But Yami had one move left.

Yami knew that if he could draw Catapult Turtle, he could launch the Dark Magician over the Magicians of Faith and wipe out Shining Friendship. It would be the perfect strategy to outmaneuver the effect of the Multiply Card. Even if Téa destroyed Catapult Turtle on her next turn, it would mean her next card would have to leave the safety of the Magicians of Faith and Yami could destroy it with another certain card in his hand: the Summoned Skull.

Yami was about to draw his next card, but…

"Hey! It's Yugi Moto!"

A member of the press had found Yami. The reporter rushed over and immediately took a picture. There was a lot that Yami didn't understand about the 20th century and the vexatious nature of the media was one of them. Things were never this way in ancient Egypt.

Yami's concentration had been thrown off. He couldn't think anymore. That's when he started to hear Yugi.

/ Yami, are you ok? /

// He's just…watching me. Observing me like I'm some animal. I can't think like this, Yugi! //

/ Concentrate, Yami! Just draw one more card. I know we'll get Catapult Turtle. Just focus! /

Yami sighed and drew one card, but he didn't have that same level of concentration and confidence that he always had. But luckily, he still drew the card he needed.

"I play Catapult Turtle in Attack Mode!"

Catapult Turtle 1000/2000

Téa gasped. "Catapult Turtle?"

"That's right. I also play the Magic Card, Yami, to change the field and boost my Dark Magician to 2700 Attack Points while dropping your Shining Friendship to 1100 Attack Points. And I use Catapult Turtle to launch my Dark Magician and destroy Shining Friendship!"

Dark Magician 2500/2100 == 2700/2300

Shining Friendship 1300/1100 == 1100/900

Although the Dark Magician was ultimately sacrificed, the move dropped Téa to 250 Life Points. Yami had found the counter to the strategy he had once created.

Téa couldn't think of another move. "I play Fairy's Gift in Attack Mode."

Fairy's Gift 1400/1000 == 1200/800

Yami knew victory was imminent. The Yami card was still in play, dropping Fairy's Gift's Attacks points to 1200. Téa had no way to fight back. So he played the card that would win this duel.

"I play the Summoned Skull in Attack Mode!"

Summoned Skull 2500/1200

With the powerful Summoned Skull in play, Yami started getting cocky. "Because you're my friend, Téa, I won't attack just yet. I'll give you one chance to try and pull a victory out of your hat. So come on. Give me your best shot."

/ Yami…are you sure this is a good idea? /

// Trust me, Aibou. There's no way she can win. She has nothing in her deck that can help her. And this could give that annoying reporter a little message to deliver to Kaiba. I'm not playing this time around. //

/ I sure hope you know what you're doing. /

But Téa pulled a shocker. "I play the Change of Heart card to take control of your Summoned Skull and destroy your Catapult Turtle."

Yami's eyes widened. "NO!"

The Change of Heart card had done him in. Yami's Summoned Skull wiped out Catapult Turtle and with that attack, his Life Points were knocked all the way down to zero.

Yami had lost.

The reporter wrote it all down. "Amazing! 'Yugi Moto loses warm-up match'! What a scoop!"

The reporter got up and started dashing away like there was no tomorrow. Yami got furious.

"I didn't lose! I beat myself! I got cocky! You hear me?! COCKY!!"

Téa sweatdropped. "Yami…it's ok. You know you could have beaten me if you had attacked. Don't let that reporter get to you."

"Téa, I'm the King of Games! I don't lose! Not even in a casual warm-up duel. I can't believe I was so careless and STUPID! How could I be so careless and arrogant?!"

"I just got lucky, that's all," Téa said soothingly. Then she thought about what happened and smiled. "Hey, maybe I AM becoming a better duelist! I've got to find some new cards. Will you be alright, Yami?"

Feeling ashamed of himself and the foolish way he lost that duel, Yami headed back into the Millennium Puzzle.



Yugi looked around and noticed that Yami had gone back into the puzzle. It was just him and Téa now.

"I think Yami needs some time alone," Yugi said. "But I agree, Téa. You're becoming a much better duelist. That was a great move you pulled at the end with the Change of Heart card."

"Thanks, Yugi."

"But now I wonder if Kaiba could pull a similar move in OUR duel this Friday? He has just about every card there is. I wouldn't be surprised if he had one waiting in the wings. Maybe I SHOULD have accepted Bakura's offer."

"Bakura's offer?"

"He offered to let me borrow HIS Change of Heart card. But…"

"If we're talking about borrowing cards, borrow one of mine!" Téa offered. "I'll loan you the Magician of Faith!"

"What would I need the Magician of Faith for?" Yugi asked curiously. "I really don't see any use for it in my deck."

"NO USE FOR IT?!?!" Téa snapped, making Yugi flinch. "Yugi, I've seen you use that trick with the Multiply card and the Kuriboh plenty of times. But you'd be a lot better off using the Magician of Faith with the Multiply card instead. You know the effect it has. You can use it to get a Magic Card out of your Graveyard. And then you can use your Multiply card on it."

Yugi wasn't about to argue with that logic. Téa was more familiar with the Magician of Faith than anybody. And the offer certainly sounded tempting. Yugi pictured himself getting back a crucial Magic Card like Monster Reborn if he played the Magician of Faith.

But Yugi refused. "I truly believe I can win with my own deck, Téa. I appreciate the offer…"

"Say no more, Yugi. If you believe you can win, then so do I."

Yugi smiled. "Thanks, Téa. I can always count on your support."

"Hey, is that a smudge on the Millennium Puzzle?"

Yugi looked down and started looking for that smudge, but he didn't see anything. He also failed to notice Téa slipping a card into Yugi's deck.

"Where? I don't see anything."

"Never mind. It's gone now. But tell me something. What do you think Kaiba has in store for your duel this Friday?"

Yugi sighed. "Like I said, Kaiba has just about every card there is. By the time we duel, there's a good chance he may have restructured his deck or added new cards. His deck may be completely different. The only thing I know for sure is that he'll have three Blue Eyes White Dragons waiting."

Yugi was starting to believe that maybe it was a good idea for him to start reshuffling HIS deck, also. But he quickly dismissed that thought. He had always stuck with his own deck through thick and thin and this time, things would be no different. Yugi would always believe in his deck…

…even if he did have his doubts.

The day went on as any normal day would. Joey had spent the whole day trying to continue his merchandising campaign himself. But Tristan finally managed to coax him into checking out the warehouse on the other side of town. Joey really didn't want Mai's help, especially knowing that she wanted half the profits. But a part of him was curious about what she had planned.

When they arrived, Mai was waiting for them out front. Like any other woman who had ever been left waiting, Mai had her arms crossed with an impatient look on her face.

"And just what took you so long, little Joey? Still stubbornly trying to do all this yourself?"

"What do you have, Mai?" Joey asked dryly.

Mai walked over to the front door of the warehouse and opened it slightly before turning around to smirk. "Why don't you come in and see?"

Joey and Tristan exchanged glances and shrugged before following Mai into the warehouse. Inside the warehouse were dozens upon dozens of workers. Many people were working on countless amounts of merchandise. Joey reached over towards one of the boxes and pulled out a T-shirt. It had a perfect image of Yugi and Kaiba, dramatically posing with their backs to one another. It was better than anything Joey could have created.

"This is really cool, Mai!" Tristan exclaimed.

"What do you think, Joey?" Mai grinned.

"I like it! I like it a lot! But how'd you get all these people to work here?"

"That's none of your business," Mai replied. "Just be glad I decided to help."

"You decided to help because you're getting half the profits," Joey pointed out.

"Joey Wheeler, if that's how you feel, then…"

Before an argument could erupt between the two, somebody else knocked on the door. Joey, Tristan, and Mai all turned their heads to see a snickering kid in a green shirt, brown vest and pants, and a red skiers cap on his head.

"Look what we have here. I was wondering what was going on in this old warehouse and seeing Joey Wheeler, of all people, walk in here just peaked my curiosity."

Joey recognized this joker. "What do you want, Rex?"

Rex Raptor walked in and looked around as he maintained his smug look. "Well, I'm impressed. I knew SOMEBODY had to cash in on this duel between Yugi and Kaiba. I just didn't think it'd be you. I'll give you credit, Joey. I guess you DON'T have the brain of a stegosaurus, after all."

"What do you want, Rex?" Joey muttered again.

"I just wanted to see if you'd be willing to let me in on this," Rex grinned. "I'll lend a hand and we can watch the money roll in faster than a dino stampede. What do you guys say?"

"We have enough help!" Mai huffed. "Look around, Rex! We've got all the workers we need, so buzz off!"

"In other words, SCRAM!" Joey added.

"I'll give you a chance to reconsider," Rex warned. "My services are available and highly coveted. You can either have me with you or against you. It's your call."

"We don't need you, Rex," Tristan growled.

"I'm sorry to hear you say that," Rex scoffed. "I guess I'll have to stay with my current business venture."

"Current business venture?" Joey repeated.

"He means OUR current business venture," another voice called out.

Someone else was standing by the door. It was a guy in a green lab coat, glasses, and a bowl haircut. Like Rex, he also had a smug look on his face. Joey recognized him as Weevil Underwood.

"Just what exactly are you doing here, Rex?" Weevil demanded.

"Trying to see if I could get these guys to play ball," Rex answered. "But apparently, they prefer to get stomped."

"I see through you, Rex," Weevil smirked. "You were trying to see if you could get into THEIR endeavor and try and collect a second paycheck!" He chuckled. "That's underhanded! Sounds like something *I* would do!"

"Yeah, but they're refusing!" Rex growled. "I guess we'll have to show them who the REAL businessmen are!"

"Ok, time out!" Joey cut in. "Just what are you two babbling about?"

"You're not the only one looking to cash in on this Friday's duel!" Weevil explained. "Rex and I have set up a money-making scheme of our own! And it'll outdo anything you have planned, Joey Wheeler."

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?"

Weevil chuckled. "I thought you'd never ask."

Joey blinked. "Come again?"

"I'd like to make a little wager with you, Joey," Weevil clarified. "I'll bet you that we'll make more profit than you! And I'm SO confident, we'll go as far as to put all of our profits on the line. If you can make more money than us, Rex and I will give you every cent we make!"

"What's the catch?" Joey asked cautiously.

"You've got something that belongs to me and I want it back!" Rex grumbled. "If we win the bet, I want my Red Eyes Black Dragon back!"

"You're asking me to put my Red Eyes on the line?" Joey smirked.

"But wait, there's more," Weevil added. "You have something in your deck I could use. I want the Time Wizard!"

"The Time Wizard? What do you want with my Time Wizard?"

"I'm very familiar with the power of the Time Wizard. It has the power to advance time by eons! Once I have that card in my deck, I can use its Time Magic to move time forward and evolve the primitive bugs in my deck into extremely powerful SUPERBUGS! I must have it!"

"Keep dreaming," Joey scoffed. "Whatever meager profits you make aren't worth me putting up my Red Eyes AND my Time Wizard up for grabs. Not interested."

"What's the matter, Joey?" Weevil mocked. "Scared? No faith in your merchandising campaign?"

"I'm not surprised," Rex scoffed. "I'd expect no backbone from that dueling monkey."

Joey snarled. He hated being called a dueling monkey. "I'll show you two who's got backbone! You're on!"

Tristan's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

Weevil laughed. "That's all I needed to hear. Kiss your cards goodbye, Joey. Let's go, Rex."

Weevil and Rex, feeling satisfied with themselves, walked out of the warehouse. Tristan and Mai were shaking their heads in disbelief. And ever-impulsive Joey Wheeler just grinned…until he saw the looks on Tristan and Mai's faces.

Joey sweatdropped. "What are you two looking at?"


Next Time: We reach a long Thursday as Yugi tries to prepare once again for his final duel with Kaiba. Téa wants to help Yugi and Yami relax, but what does an ancient spirit do to unwind? Meanwhile, Joey's putting the finishing touches to his merchandising campaign. But will the pressure of having his best cards on the line get to him?


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