Chapter Five-Let the Duels Begin

"Look at that….the match board!" Espa followed the herd of duelists to the board.

"Looks like I'm going against Kaiba first…" Joey sputtered in disbelief.

"What? You don't stand a chance against him!" Rex put in. "This is bogus. I'll tell you what. Let's just ditch this tourney, and rescue our relatives."

"I don't know about that, Rex. That House of Mirrors is heavily guarded. " Joey pointed out.

"Wheeler's right. We can't get in there. Besides,I'd rather spend our escape plan trying to find out who's behind this." Espa agreed.

"But I have to duel, or it will look suspicious. Maybe I can alert Kaiba to what you're doing." Joey nodded. "I'll head over there now. "

"Be careful,Joey." Espa looked at Rex, worriedly. "Where do we start looking?"

"How should I know?" Rex replied, a bit sourly.

Espa was about to reply, when a familiar hum started in his ear. His brothers had been separated. A few minutes later, the distinct voice of Christien was heard.

"Big Brother….can you hear me?" Christien's voice wavered a little.

"Chris. I can hear you. Are you guys alright?" Espa moved out of the crowd slowly.

"We've been split up,Espa. Little E's with Jonathan, and I've got Andy. We're supposed to solve this maze, and it seems to be very difficult."

"Are any of our friends' sisters or brothers with you?" Espa spoke softly into the microphone, looking around cautiously.

"Yeah. Monica Raptor's with us."

Espa looked at Rex. "Your sister is safe with my brother Chris."

"Good."

"Espa, Mokuba Kaiba's in our group too. I think Kendra Underwood is with Jon's group. I haven't heard anything from them yet."

"Okay. Well, keep tabs with them, and be careful." Espa instructed. "I want my brothers back in one piece."

"Understood, Espa. Christien out."

Espa looked at Rex. "It's not just us who have to be challenged. They're being forced to work through a maze. Chris says Monica and Mokuba Kaiba are in his group. "

"Well, that's a good thing then. Monica really likes your brother Andy. "

"I noticed that." Espa smiled a little. Then it turned into a frown, when he heard the first duel announced. "Oh no! Wheeler! If he loses, we've one less shot at rescuing our siblings!" He raced towards the dueling arena. "Come on, Rex!"

"Hold on, Roba! What about Weevil? Aren't we supposed to try and talk to him?"

"Forget it, Rex! He's too stubborn to listen to us anyway!" Espa made his way to the dueling field, just as Joey and Kaiba were stepping up to their respective spots. "Wait! Stop!"

The spectators booed Espa's plea, and shouted insults at the young boy. "We want a duel! We didn't pay for interference!"

"Joey,Kaiba! You have to listen to me. Our siblings are in trouble!"

"Shut your mouth, Roba! No one wants to hear you!" Kaiba sneered. "We all know what a phony you are already. At least Wheeler loses legitimately!"

"That's enough, Kaiba!" Joey scowled at the CEO. "I may very well be a loser, but I defend my friends! Roba isn't kiddin' around!"

Kaiba chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You're even dumber than the last time I dueled you, Joey."

"ARGH! Will stop you runnin' your mouth and listen for once?! These clowns have tricked us into being a side show!" Joey glared at him. "C' mon, Kaiba. Admit it. Why would they insist on you handing Mokuba over to them if you were just here to duel?"

"Wheeler's right, Kaiba." Rex spoke up now. "We wouldn't have been allowed to duel if our siblings had stayed home. All of our siblings are trapped in a very dangerous maze."

"Enough of this! If you're too chicken to rematch me, Joey, why not just forfeit?" Kaiba challenged in aggravation.

"Not a chance, Kaiba! I'm through being called a dog!" Joey retorted.

"All spectators to the stands immediately." A security guard grabbed Espa by the arm roughly.

"Hey! Get your hands off him!" Rex glared at the guard, as he pulled Espa free. "He can take himself to the stands, alright?"

Espa smiled in gratification at Rex. "Thanks."

"No problem. Come on." Rex led the way to the stands. "We'll wait until he's distracted, then sneak off. For right now, all we can do is watch, and hope Wheeler's beefed up his deck."

Espa nodded, beginning to feel frustrated. "This is going to be a long weekend."

"We'll make it, Roba. Don't worry." Rex consoled. "I have to make it. Nothing's more important to me than Monnie."

Espa nodded again, fixing his gaze on Kaiba and Joey. Come on,Joey. Beat him down. You've got to win, for all of us.