AN/ Excuse my ad-libbing.
The group of four walked over to the dock where Mokuba said he had last seen Téa. The sky was blue and the ocean murmured contentedly. It seemed so different from the dangerous task the group now found themselves in.
A figure stood at the far end of the dock. The dock was unusual, shaped like an giant square that was opened in the middle. Above this gap dangled a large anchor. The figure watched as they approached. Those who could see recognized him instantly.
"Joe!" exclaimed Yu-Gi as he raced forward.
"Joe's not here," said Joe in a voice that wasn't his own.
"Oh, no!" gasped Mokuba.
"This is so not good," moaned Shayla.
"Joe, snap out of it!" called Yu-Gi. "It's me!"
"Joe isn't here any more," repeated Joe. "Your friend is gone forever."
"Let his go, Marik!" demanded Yu-Gi. "Joe, come on! Fight him!"
"He isn't coming back. Now come, we have a duel to fight. Of course, you won't win. Then, I will claim your god card and your Millennial Puzzle."
/There has to be a way we can reach him!/
/We'll find Aibou, don't worry. But for now, it seems that we have to play Marik's game./
"What are you waiting for, pharaoh?" asked Joe. "Step onto the playing field."
"Not more of this garbage," muttered Kaiba. Everyone else ignored him.
Joe walked to one end of the pier. There, he picked up two manacles. "Here, try these on for size." He tossed one across the gap to Yu-Gi, and fastened the other to his ankle. Yu-Gi watched, then did the same.
"What are they doing?" asked Shayla, nervously.
"Joe just had them put on some kind of chain. I don't like it," answered Mokuba.
"This is going to get so much worse before it gets better," moaned Shayla, still shaken up from her ordeal with the rare hunters.
"Greetings, pharaoh," said a feminine voice from behind them. She walked onto a nearby dock and faced the two duelists.
"Téa!" gasped Yu-Gi.
"Not her too," muttered Mokuba, sadly. Shayla simply moaned. She was beginning to feel nauseous again.
"This duel will have some special rules that I think you need to know," continued Téa. "First, look above you to where the chain you wear is connected." All eyes did. The chains were connected to the anchor. "Your life point counters are wired to a bomb. Once one of your life points hit 0 the winner's counter will open up, revealing a key that will free them from the shackles. Then, 30 seconds later, the bomb will detonate and the loser will be drug to the bottom of the sea."
"This is insane!" exclaimed Shayla. "It's....I'm mean....." She just shook her head as she trailed off.
"There is also another timer," said Téa. "This duel will only last for forty minutes. If a winner is not determined by that time, the bomb will go off and both will be taken to a watery grave."
With that said Téa sat down in a large chair on the opposite dock. Chains came out of the chair, tying her to it.
"Now, is there anything I've forgotten?" she asked. "Oh, yes. We wouldn't want Téa to miss this." With that Marik released his hold on her. The timer started.
"Huh? What happened?" asked the real Téa. "Where am I?"
"Téa!" exclaimed Shayla, realizing her friend was free. She started to step forward to where she heard her voice. Then she felt a strong hand lock around her wrist.
"You don't want to do that," said Kaiba, the one who had stopped her. "You are about to walk into the ocean."
"I want to help. Téa is my friend too," said Shayla, anxiously.
"We have to do something to stop this," agreed Mokuba. "This has gotten way out of hand."
"Right," agreed Seto. Then, in a louder voice he said, "As official head of the battle City tournament, I order this duel to be stopped!"
"I figured you'd try to interfere," said Joe. "So I planned for it." He pointed to Téa. A crane had drive over by one rare hunter. The crane was holding a large crate. "If anyone tries to stop this duel, that crate drops, crushing little Téa." He actually laughed at this. The rare hunter smiled and held the remote to the crane.
"Téa!" exclaimed Shayla and Mokuba.
"Grrrrr," growled Seto.
"There has to be something we can do," insisted Shayla.
"I don't see how," admitted Kaiba. He looked down at her and saw how distraught she was. "Don't worry. We're not going anywhere. We'll find a way to end this." Then, he added silently, "With Joe working for the rare hunters now, he may have the last god card."
"How can I not worry?" asked Shayla. "You might be used to death threats, but I'm definitely not!"
"Death threats?" asked Kaiba. "How did you know what Pegasus was planning?"
"I overheard some guards talking on the Duelist Kingdom," answered Shayla. "They were planning murder.....your murder."
"They never would have succeeded," said Kaiba, with a strange calm in his voice.
Shayla didn't reply. She went to transfer her walking stick from one hand to another, because her hands were sweating badly. That was when she realized that Seto was still holding her hand.
"Um....." she started to say.
"What?"
"Hand."
"Oh, sorry," said Kaiba as he let go of her wrist.
"And Yu-Gi," continued Joe. "Take Slifer out of your deck."
"Agreed," said Yu-Gi. He picked up the case he kept his rare cards in and threw it a few feet away from himself.
"Let's begin," said Joe.
"We have to stop this!" repeated Mokuba.
"We can't, not without hurting Téa," said Kaiba.
"What is going on?" yelled Téa to the group of three. Mokuba started to explain the death duel rules to her as Yu-Gi started the duel.
"I play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in defense mode," he announced, cautiously. His beast appeared in front of him. It was a scrawny looking animal that was sheer muscle. It looked like a cross between a dark wolf and a gazelle. It stats were XXXX and XXXX.
"Alligator Sword in attack mode," announced Joe. His monster appeared with 1500 attack. "Attack his deer!" The beast-warrior charged forward and cut the gazelle king in half.
"Now for a magic card, Hitonama!" announced Joe. "This card directly attacks your life points for 500 damage!" The duel had just started and already Yu-Gi had 3500 life points.
"Your puny monsters will never stand up to mine," said Joe. "And I am using your greatest weakness against you, your loyalty to your friends. You will never win and then your god card and Millennial Item are mine!"
"There has to be a way to reach him! I need to draw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. That may be the only way to reach the real Joe through Marik's mind control," thought Yu-Gi.
"I don't like this at all," grumbled Shayla. "I wish there was something I could do." Her hand tightened around her backpack.
"We'll find a way," said Kaiba, coldly.
"We'd better," agreed Mokuba. He looked up at his brother. "They might try to do something like that to us."
"Quit stalling!" yelled Joe to Yu-Gi.
Shayla felt a surge of power, which she guessed came from the Millennial Puzzle. Following this she could almost feel anger radiating from what she assumed had to be the Millennial Rod.
"No!" yelled Joe. "I want to destroy the pharaoh, not this little runt!"
"What happened?" asked Mokuba.
"Yu-Gi swapped places," answered Shayla. "He is dueling himself, without the pharaoh."
"Enough of that," snapped Kaiba.
"Yu-Gi knows that he has a better chance of reaching Joe," continued Shayla. "Yu-Gi is going to try to save him through their friendship."
"Huff," snorted Kaiba.
Shayla shook her head. "Who betrayed you?"
"What?" asked Kaiba.
"Who betrayed you?" she repeated. "People don't carelessly dismiss friendship, even if it is someone else's. Especially after seeing how serious they are. Something happened to make you not trust people......So, who betrayed you?" Kaiba didn't answer, he just started at her. "I understand, you don't want to tell me. That's fine." And she meant it.
"No, wait," continued Joe. "I can crush you easier! Then, your god card and puzzle will be mine! Your plans have failed Yu-Gi. Joe is still under my power."
"Joe, stop it! You are stronger than he is!" yelled Téa.
"I keep telling you fools, Joe isn't here," sneered Joe.
"I play the magic card Card Exchange," announced Yu-Gi, who was really Yu- Gi.
"A very foolish move," said Joe. "That lets me take any one card from your hand."
"I know," sighed Yu-Gi. Joe walked around, the chain having just that much length. Yu-Gi held up his hand and cringed.
"That's.....my......Red-Eyes," stammered Joe.
Shayla could sense a surge in the magic. She could feel Joe fighting from within his own mind.
"Yu-Gi is a fool," muttered Kaiba.
"There is no shame in trying to save his friend," replied Shayla, half focusing on the magic forces she was feeling. "Friendship is worth risks like that." She paused. "You don't know too much about friendship, do you?"
"And you do?" he retorted.
Shayla gave a thin smile. "I'm learning......I had forgotten. I did have a friend I was very close to......" She trailed off, unable to say more.
"What happened?" asked Mokuba.
"He was killed in a hit and run accident," answered Shayla, swallowing a lump that had former in her throat.
"He?" thought Seto.
Meanwhile, in the duel, Joe had returned to his place without touching the Red-Eyes he had given Yu-Gi. He instead took Card Destruction.
To further help Joe fight Marik, Yu-Gi had played the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in attack mode and eliminated the Alligator Sword. Joe was forced to counter with the Rocket Warrior, who weakened the Red-Eyes down to 400 attack points.
"I'm sorry," said Mokuba to Shayla.
"It's in the past," she said, trying her best to shrug it off. But she was failing miserably. "It's kinda interesting. I always thought I had to be tough, that I had to be strong. The kids at the Group Home were always mean to me. I thought I do better off without anyone. Then I met Luther, and I realized how great it was to be myself, and to have someone care about me because of it......"
"I guess I forgot that when he died," she continued. "I came to the Duelist Kingdom thinking I had to be strong to prove myself, that that was the only way I'd survive." She paused to take a deep breath. "It's kinda hard to be strong when you find you self caught up in murder plots and ancient magic. But what surprised me is that everyone was ready there to help. I found out what it was like to be friends again.... It was like rediscovering myself."
"You always have to be careful when someone offers help," retorted Kaiba. "They always have their own hidden motives. You can't trust people."
"Why do you think that?" asked Shayla. "Yu-Gi helped save you from the Shadow Realm, without asking for anything in return."
"Excuse me?" asked Seto, surprised. "I don't remember him doing anything. He was too focused on saving his grandpa. Then only one I remember helping me when I was Pegasus's prisoner was you."
"Me?!" gasped Shayla.
"When you came with Bakura, Yu-Gi, and Pegasus, those three were too focused with their own issues. You were the only one who attempted to get me out of those chains," he said. "Even if you did do a really poor job at it."
"Yu-Gi's the one who won the duel. That was part of his agreement with Pegasus to free all the prisoners," explained Shayla. "Gosh, when this started in the Duelist Kingdom I never would have imagined it would have gotten this far."
"What do you mean?" asked Mokuba.
"I mean then I was, literally, a no name orphan," she said, without the slightest hint of regret. There was some nerves, though. "Now I'm stuck in this web of magic that I can't escape from if I tried. Also, I mean, I never would have imagined at the Seto Kaiba would actually know my name."
"Huff......"
"What is he doing?" asked Mokuba. His commented turned them back to the duel at hand.
Yu-Gi was walking around the pier, looking very exhausted. He had put all his energy into freeing Joe, and fatigue was showing. In his hand was the chain to his Millennial Puzzle. He walked up to Joe.
"Joe, you gave me your Red-Eyes so you will always be a part of me, so a piece of you will always be in my deck," he said. The Red-Eyes, though, didn't look so good. It's hologram was collapsed on the dock, gasping for air. "I want to give you something of mine so I will always be a part of you. Take it, it is my most prized possession, the Millennial Puzzle. It's yours now." Joe seemed stunned. Yu-Gi walked back and took his place on the right side of the dueling field.
Shayla shuddered as if she had been hit by a blast of cold air.
"Are you okay?" asked Mokuba.
"It's all this magic," she said. "I can feel it...... And I don't like it."
"How can you feel it?" asked Mokuba.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But it is so strong I am surprised you can't. It feels like a storm...... We need to do something to end this."
"I'll handle that," said Seto, calmly. He turned out his jacket collar and started to whisper into a hidden microphone.
"Yu-Gi, how many times do I have to tell you? Your friend is not here. You cannot save him," said Joe. With that he broke off a piece of the Millennial Puzzle and held it over the ocean.
Shayla felt a break in the magic radiating from Joe. He was fighting it again. The air got tenser. She could also sense Marik's distant rage.
"No," said Joe, at length. With great effort he put the piece back into the puzzle.
"We have to hurry!" said Mokuba. "There isn't much time left." He glanced up at the timer nervously.
"I play Panther Warrior in attack mode," announced Joe. "With it I can attack your weakened Red-Eyes and crush your life points."
Shayla sensed another struggle. "He is fighting as hard as he can. I hope he can break free in time."
"Is there anything you can do with your scales?" asked Mokuba.
"I don't know how to use them," she admitted. "They just sort of act on their own." She was sure she could her Kaiba snort with disdain.
"Go, Rocket Warrior," announced Joe. "Attack Yu-Gi's Big Shield Gardna!"
"Marik isn't happy about that," thought Shayla as she could feel his anger radiating like a heat wave.
"That activates my trap card!" announced Yu-Gi.. "It reflects your Rocket Warrior back to your own Panther Warrior!" Now they both had precious little life points left. They also had little time left.
"It doesn't matter what happens to me!" yelled Téa to Kaiba. "You have to stop this before they get hurt! Forget about me!"
"Just a little longer," said Kaiba through gritted teeth. His eyes kept checking the sky.
"We don't have much longer," said Mokuba.
Then there was the sound of a car fast approaching them.
"Thank goodness we found you!" exclaimed Mai as she killed the ignition.
"Is Joe around here?" asked a young girl who Shayla assumed was his little sister.
"What is going on here?!" demanded a voice she had only heard on TV, Duke Deblin.
"Téa! Joe! Yu-Gi!" called Tristan. "What is this?"
"The rare hunters are controlling Joe," said Mokuba, sadly. "They are making him duel Yu-Gi for his god card."
"And what's with the big anklets?" asked Mai.
"If one of them loses, he is drug into the ocean by the anchor," said Mokuba.
"What?!"
"We have to stop this!" with that they started to walk forward.
"No!" yelled Shayla and Mokuba.
"If you try to stop this, they'll kill Téa!" warned Mokuba.
"It doesn't matter!" yelled Téa. "Save them!"
"Who the heck is that sick minded to do something like this?!" demanded Duke.
"Marik," answered Kaiba, simply.
"What is going on?" asked Serenity as she raised a hand to take the bandages off of her eyes.
"No!" warned Téa. "Don't take them off!"
"She can't see her brother possessed," muttered Tristan, quiet enough so she wouldn't hear.
"Enough distractions," said Joe as he looked over. But he stuttered when he spoke, proof that Marik was losing his control over him. He drew his next card. There was another surge of power as Marik used all the strength he had to control Joe.
Shayla could sense Marik was trying to order Joe to stall, but it simply wasn't working.
"I play the magic card that will be the end of you," said Joe. (AN/ I forgot the name of this card.) "Now watch, Yu-Gi, as you lose this duel. This card will take out 1500life points, which is more than enough to finish you. Now, go!"
"Stop it!" protested the onlookers.
Joe turned his attention on them and his stopped on his little sister. Shayla could feel the magic around him break. While he did, Yu-Gi activated Fairy's Hand Mirror, stopping the attack.
"I remember......" he stammered. "Yu-Gi helped me in the Duelist Kingdom...... for Serenity....." He clutched his hands to his head and screamed as the last magic around him dissolved.
"He's back!" exclaimed Tristan.
"What's that sound?" asked Shayla.
"It's a helicopter," said Mai.
"That's one of ours!" exclaimed Mokuba as he spotted it in the sky.
"It's on autopilot," said Kaiba. He raised the arm with his duel disk on it and fingered the top card.
"What is going on?!" demanded the rare hunter. He watched as the helicopter hovered closer to him. "No funny business!" he reached for the remote.
"Feel the wrath of my Blue-Eyes!" snapped Kaiba. With that he threw the card he had been holding. It slicing across the rare hunter's hand, causing him to drop the remote.
"Ouch!"
The helicopter intercepted the crate and both sunk into the ocean with a loud crash.
Seto raced over to the rare hunter and landed a few punches before he picked up the dropped remote and crushed it under his heel. Mokuba raced over.
"This should do it," he said. He pushed a button on the side of the chair and the cords holding Téa filed off.
"Thanks," she said.
The rest was cheering, although Shayla had to sit down. The explosion was a complete shock for her.
"Yu-Gi! I remember!" exclaimed the real Joe, happily.
"Thanks Joe, I knew you would," said Yu-Gi, smiling. "Thanks for being such a good friend."
"Yu-Gi, what are you doing?" asked Joe. "And why am I wearing your puzzle?"
"Take care of it for me," said Yu-Gi. "I have to order the Fairy's Hand Mirror to attack one of us. Good-bye."
"No, don't do it!"
But it was too late. Yu-Gi's magic card attacked him, taking him down to 0 life points. "Take the key, and save yourself." With that he completely collapsed.
"I feel sick," moaned Shayla.
"He's nuts!" exclaimed Duke.
"We have to stop this!" insisted Tristan.
"But what about Téa?" asked Mokuba.
"Come on! You only have 30 seconds!" yelled Téa.
"I'm not leaving you, Yug," said Joe. "Red-Eyes, attack me!" His dragon complied, taking him down to 0 life points also. The key box opened beneath his feet. "I'm coming."
"What is going on?" asked Serenity, quietly. She shut her eyes tight, mustered up her courage, and pulled off her bandages. She slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she focused on was Joe, grabbing his chain and swing over to Yu-Gi. He grabbed the key. Then the timer hit 0 and there was an explosion.
"AHHHH!" screamed someone. Joe and Yu-Gi both disappeared beneath the waves.
"Yu-Gi!"
"Joe!"
"I'm going in!" yelled Tristan. He threw his jacket off, raced down the pier, and dove in.
"But what about Joe's key?" asked Mai.
A minute later Tristan resurfaced, carrying Yu-Gi. He swam over and with the help of Duke, hauled Yu-Gi onto the dock.
"Give me Joe's key!" he ordered.
"Sure," agreed Mai.
There was a flash of movement. Serenity was diving into the water, holding the key to her brother's chain.
"Serenity!" With a splash she was gone beneath the waves.
"This is getting way too out of control," said Shayla. She was the only one, save the Kaibas, who hadn't walked out onto the dock. She didn't trust herself.
It was calm and silent for a few moments. Tristan was about to dive back in when the Wheelers surfaced.
"Yay!" everyone cheered.
They helped pull them up and happily started celebrating their escape. Wet hugs were exchanged.
"Fool," Shayla heard Kaiba mutter as he walked by. "Didn't even remember his own key." Louder he said, "Come on, Mokuba. We have finals to prepare for."
"Coming!" said Mokuba. The two Kaiba brothers walked off.
"He has issues....."muttered Shayla.
"Come on!" exclaimed Mai, walking out to her. The walked back onto the dock together and everyone started swapping stories.
Through it all, Shayla couldn't shake the cloud she was feeling. This was far from over, the storm had yet to begin.
**************************************************************************** ****
The group of four walked over to the dock where Mokuba said he had last seen Téa. The sky was blue and the ocean murmured contentedly. It seemed so different from the dangerous task the group now found themselves in.
A figure stood at the far end of the dock. The dock was unusual, shaped like an giant square that was opened in the middle. Above this gap dangled a large anchor. The figure watched as they approached. Those who could see recognized him instantly.
"Joe!" exclaimed Yu-Gi as he raced forward.
"Joe's not here," said Joe in a voice that wasn't his own.
"Oh, no!" gasped Mokuba.
"This is so not good," moaned Shayla.
"Joe, snap out of it!" called Yu-Gi. "It's me!"
"Joe isn't here any more," repeated Joe. "Your friend is gone forever."
"Let his go, Marik!" demanded Yu-Gi. "Joe, come on! Fight him!"
"He isn't coming back. Now come, we have a duel to fight. Of course, you won't win. Then, I will claim your god card and your Millennial Puzzle."
/There has to be a way we can reach him!/
/We'll find Aibou, don't worry. But for now, it seems that we have to play Marik's game./
"What are you waiting for, pharaoh?" asked Joe. "Step onto the playing field."
"Not more of this garbage," muttered Kaiba. Everyone else ignored him.
Joe walked to one end of the pier. There, he picked up two manacles. "Here, try these on for size." He tossed one across the gap to Yu-Gi, and fastened the other to his ankle. Yu-Gi watched, then did the same.
"What are they doing?" asked Shayla, nervously.
"Joe just had them put on some kind of chain. I don't like it," answered Mokuba.
"This is going to get so much worse before it gets better," moaned Shayla, still shaken up from her ordeal with the rare hunters.
"Greetings, pharaoh," said a feminine voice from behind them. She walked onto a nearby dock and faced the two duelists.
"Téa!" gasped Yu-Gi.
"Not her too," muttered Mokuba, sadly. Shayla simply moaned. She was beginning to feel nauseous again.
"This duel will have some special rules that I think you need to know," continued Téa. "First, look above you to where the chain you wear is connected." All eyes did. The chains were connected to the anchor. "Your life point counters are wired to a bomb. Once one of your life points hit 0 the winner's counter will open up, revealing a key that will free them from the shackles. Then, 30 seconds later, the bomb will detonate and the loser will be drug to the bottom of the sea."
"This is insane!" exclaimed Shayla. "It's....I'm mean....." She just shook her head as she trailed off.
"There is also another timer," said Téa. "This duel will only last for forty minutes. If a winner is not determined by that time, the bomb will go off and both will be taken to a watery grave."
With that said Téa sat down in a large chair on the opposite dock. Chains came out of the chair, tying her to it.
"Now, is there anything I've forgotten?" she asked. "Oh, yes. We wouldn't want Téa to miss this." With that Marik released his hold on her. The timer started.
"Huh? What happened?" asked the real Téa. "Where am I?"
"Téa!" exclaimed Shayla, realizing her friend was free. She started to step forward to where she heard her voice. Then she felt a strong hand lock around her wrist.
"You don't want to do that," said Kaiba, the one who had stopped her. "You are about to walk into the ocean."
"I want to help. Téa is my friend too," said Shayla, anxiously.
"We have to do something to stop this," agreed Mokuba. "This has gotten way out of hand."
"Right," agreed Seto. Then, in a louder voice he said, "As official head of the battle City tournament, I order this duel to be stopped!"
"I figured you'd try to interfere," said Joe. "So I planned for it." He pointed to Téa. A crane had drive over by one rare hunter. The crane was holding a large crate. "If anyone tries to stop this duel, that crate drops, crushing little Téa." He actually laughed at this. The rare hunter smiled and held the remote to the crane.
"Téa!" exclaimed Shayla and Mokuba.
"Grrrrr," growled Seto.
"There has to be something we can do," insisted Shayla.
"I don't see how," admitted Kaiba. He looked down at her and saw how distraught she was. "Don't worry. We're not going anywhere. We'll find a way to end this." Then, he added silently, "With Joe working for the rare hunters now, he may have the last god card."
"How can I not worry?" asked Shayla. "You might be used to death threats, but I'm definitely not!"
"Death threats?" asked Kaiba. "How did you know what Pegasus was planning?"
"I overheard some guards talking on the Duelist Kingdom," answered Shayla. "They were planning murder.....your murder."
"They never would have succeeded," said Kaiba, with a strange calm in his voice.
Shayla didn't reply. She went to transfer her walking stick from one hand to another, because her hands were sweating badly. That was when she realized that Seto was still holding her hand.
"Um....." she started to say.
"What?"
"Hand."
"Oh, sorry," said Kaiba as he let go of her wrist.
"And Yu-Gi," continued Joe. "Take Slifer out of your deck."
"Agreed," said Yu-Gi. He picked up the case he kept his rare cards in and threw it a few feet away from himself.
"Let's begin," said Joe.
"We have to stop this!" repeated Mokuba.
"We can't, not without hurting Téa," said Kaiba.
"What is going on?" yelled Téa to the group of three. Mokuba started to explain the death duel rules to her as Yu-Gi started the duel.
"I play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in defense mode," he announced, cautiously. His beast appeared in front of him. It was a scrawny looking animal that was sheer muscle. It looked like a cross between a dark wolf and a gazelle. It stats were XXXX and XXXX.
"Alligator Sword in attack mode," announced Joe. His monster appeared with 1500 attack. "Attack his deer!" The beast-warrior charged forward and cut the gazelle king in half.
"Now for a magic card, Hitonama!" announced Joe. "This card directly attacks your life points for 500 damage!" The duel had just started and already Yu-Gi had 3500 life points.
"Your puny monsters will never stand up to mine," said Joe. "And I am using your greatest weakness against you, your loyalty to your friends. You will never win and then your god card and Millennial Item are mine!"
"There has to be a way to reach him! I need to draw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. That may be the only way to reach the real Joe through Marik's mind control," thought Yu-Gi.
"I don't like this at all," grumbled Shayla. "I wish there was something I could do." Her hand tightened around her backpack.
"We'll find a way," said Kaiba, coldly.
"We'd better," agreed Mokuba. He looked up at his brother. "They might try to do something like that to us."
"Quit stalling!" yelled Joe to Yu-Gi.
Shayla felt a surge of power, which she guessed came from the Millennial Puzzle. Following this she could almost feel anger radiating from what she assumed had to be the Millennial Rod.
"No!" yelled Joe. "I want to destroy the pharaoh, not this little runt!"
"What happened?" asked Mokuba.
"Yu-Gi swapped places," answered Shayla. "He is dueling himself, without the pharaoh."
"Enough of that," snapped Kaiba.
"Yu-Gi knows that he has a better chance of reaching Joe," continued Shayla. "Yu-Gi is going to try to save him through their friendship."
"Huff," snorted Kaiba.
Shayla shook her head. "Who betrayed you?"
"What?" asked Kaiba.
"Who betrayed you?" she repeated. "People don't carelessly dismiss friendship, even if it is someone else's. Especially after seeing how serious they are. Something happened to make you not trust people......So, who betrayed you?" Kaiba didn't answer, he just started at her. "I understand, you don't want to tell me. That's fine." And she meant it.
"No, wait," continued Joe. "I can crush you easier! Then, your god card and puzzle will be mine! Your plans have failed Yu-Gi. Joe is still under my power."
"Joe, stop it! You are stronger than he is!" yelled Téa.
"I keep telling you fools, Joe isn't here," sneered Joe.
"I play the magic card Card Exchange," announced Yu-Gi, who was really Yu- Gi.
"A very foolish move," said Joe. "That lets me take any one card from your hand."
"I know," sighed Yu-Gi. Joe walked around, the chain having just that much length. Yu-Gi held up his hand and cringed.
"That's.....my......Red-Eyes," stammered Joe.
Shayla could sense a surge in the magic. She could feel Joe fighting from within his own mind.
"Yu-Gi is a fool," muttered Kaiba.
"There is no shame in trying to save his friend," replied Shayla, half focusing on the magic forces she was feeling. "Friendship is worth risks like that." She paused. "You don't know too much about friendship, do you?"
"And you do?" he retorted.
Shayla gave a thin smile. "I'm learning......I had forgotten. I did have a friend I was very close to......" She trailed off, unable to say more.
"What happened?" asked Mokuba.
"He was killed in a hit and run accident," answered Shayla, swallowing a lump that had former in her throat.
"He?" thought Seto.
Meanwhile, in the duel, Joe had returned to his place without touching the Red-Eyes he had given Yu-Gi. He instead took Card Destruction.
To further help Joe fight Marik, Yu-Gi had played the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in attack mode and eliminated the Alligator Sword. Joe was forced to counter with the Rocket Warrior, who weakened the Red-Eyes down to 400 attack points.
"I'm sorry," said Mokuba to Shayla.
"It's in the past," she said, trying her best to shrug it off. But she was failing miserably. "It's kinda interesting. I always thought I had to be tough, that I had to be strong. The kids at the Group Home were always mean to me. I thought I do better off without anyone. Then I met Luther, and I realized how great it was to be myself, and to have someone care about me because of it......"
"I guess I forgot that when he died," she continued. "I came to the Duelist Kingdom thinking I had to be strong to prove myself, that that was the only way I'd survive." She paused to take a deep breath. "It's kinda hard to be strong when you find you self caught up in murder plots and ancient magic. But what surprised me is that everyone was ready there to help. I found out what it was like to be friends again.... It was like rediscovering myself."
"You always have to be careful when someone offers help," retorted Kaiba. "They always have their own hidden motives. You can't trust people."
"Why do you think that?" asked Shayla. "Yu-Gi helped save you from the Shadow Realm, without asking for anything in return."
"Excuse me?" asked Seto, surprised. "I don't remember him doing anything. He was too focused on saving his grandpa. Then only one I remember helping me when I was Pegasus's prisoner was you."
"Me?!" gasped Shayla.
"When you came with Bakura, Yu-Gi, and Pegasus, those three were too focused with their own issues. You were the only one who attempted to get me out of those chains," he said. "Even if you did do a really poor job at it."
"Yu-Gi's the one who won the duel. That was part of his agreement with Pegasus to free all the prisoners," explained Shayla. "Gosh, when this started in the Duelist Kingdom I never would have imagined it would have gotten this far."
"What do you mean?" asked Mokuba.
"I mean then I was, literally, a no name orphan," she said, without the slightest hint of regret. There was some nerves, though. "Now I'm stuck in this web of magic that I can't escape from if I tried. Also, I mean, I never would have imagined at the Seto Kaiba would actually know my name."
"Huff......"
"What is he doing?" asked Mokuba. His commented turned them back to the duel at hand.
Yu-Gi was walking around the pier, looking very exhausted. He had put all his energy into freeing Joe, and fatigue was showing. In his hand was the chain to his Millennial Puzzle. He walked up to Joe.
"Joe, you gave me your Red-Eyes so you will always be a part of me, so a piece of you will always be in my deck," he said. The Red-Eyes, though, didn't look so good. It's hologram was collapsed on the dock, gasping for air. "I want to give you something of mine so I will always be a part of you. Take it, it is my most prized possession, the Millennial Puzzle. It's yours now." Joe seemed stunned. Yu-Gi walked back and took his place on the right side of the dueling field.
Shayla shuddered as if she had been hit by a blast of cold air.
"Are you okay?" asked Mokuba.
"It's all this magic," she said. "I can feel it...... And I don't like it."
"How can you feel it?" asked Mokuba.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But it is so strong I am surprised you can't. It feels like a storm...... We need to do something to end this."
"I'll handle that," said Seto, calmly. He turned out his jacket collar and started to whisper into a hidden microphone.
"Yu-Gi, how many times do I have to tell you? Your friend is not here. You cannot save him," said Joe. With that he broke off a piece of the Millennial Puzzle and held it over the ocean.
Shayla felt a break in the magic radiating from Joe. He was fighting it again. The air got tenser. She could also sense Marik's distant rage.
"No," said Joe, at length. With great effort he put the piece back into the puzzle.
"We have to hurry!" said Mokuba. "There isn't much time left." He glanced up at the timer nervously.
"I play Panther Warrior in attack mode," announced Joe. "With it I can attack your weakened Red-Eyes and crush your life points."
Shayla sensed another struggle. "He is fighting as hard as he can. I hope he can break free in time."
"Is there anything you can do with your scales?" asked Mokuba.
"I don't know how to use them," she admitted. "They just sort of act on their own." She was sure she could her Kaiba snort with disdain.
"Go, Rocket Warrior," announced Joe. "Attack Yu-Gi's Big Shield Gardna!"
"Marik isn't happy about that," thought Shayla as she could feel his anger radiating like a heat wave.
"That activates my trap card!" announced Yu-Gi.. "It reflects your Rocket Warrior back to your own Panther Warrior!" Now they both had precious little life points left. They also had little time left.
"It doesn't matter what happens to me!" yelled Téa to Kaiba. "You have to stop this before they get hurt! Forget about me!"
"Just a little longer," said Kaiba through gritted teeth. His eyes kept checking the sky.
"We don't have much longer," said Mokuba.
Then there was the sound of a car fast approaching them.
"Thank goodness we found you!" exclaimed Mai as she killed the ignition.
"Is Joe around here?" asked a young girl who Shayla assumed was his little sister.
"What is going on here?!" demanded a voice she had only heard on TV, Duke Deblin.
"Téa! Joe! Yu-Gi!" called Tristan. "What is this?"
"The rare hunters are controlling Joe," said Mokuba, sadly. "They are making him duel Yu-Gi for his god card."
"And what's with the big anklets?" asked Mai.
"If one of them loses, he is drug into the ocean by the anchor," said Mokuba.
"What?!"
"We have to stop this!" with that they started to walk forward.
"No!" yelled Shayla and Mokuba.
"If you try to stop this, they'll kill Téa!" warned Mokuba.
"It doesn't matter!" yelled Téa. "Save them!"
"Who the heck is that sick minded to do something like this?!" demanded Duke.
"Marik," answered Kaiba, simply.
"What is going on?" asked Serenity as she raised a hand to take the bandages off of her eyes.
"No!" warned Téa. "Don't take them off!"
"She can't see her brother possessed," muttered Tristan, quiet enough so she wouldn't hear.
"Enough distractions," said Joe as he looked over. But he stuttered when he spoke, proof that Marik was losing his control over him. He drew his next card. There was another surge of power as Marik used all the strength he had to control Joe.
Shayla could sense Marik was trying to order Joe to stall, but it simply wasn't working.
"I play the magic card that will be the end of you," said Joe. (AN/ I forgot the name of this card.) "Now watch, Yu-Gi, as you lose this duel. This card will take out 1500life points, which is more than enough to finish you. Now, go!"
"Stop it!" protested the onlookers.
Joe turned his attention on them and his stopped on his little sister. Shayla could feel the magic around him break. While he did, Yu-Gi activated Fairy's Hand Mirror, stopping the attack.
"I remember......" he stammered. "Yu-Gi helped me in the Duelist Kingdom...... for Serenity....." He clutched his hands to his head and screamed as the last magic around him dissolved.
"He's back!" exclaimed Tristan.
"What's that sound?" asked Shayla.
"It's a helicopter," said Mai.
"That's one of ours!" exclaimed Mokuba as he spotted it in the sky.
"It's on autopilot," said Kaiba. He raised the arm with his duel disk on it and fingered the top card.
"What is going on?!" demanded the rare hunter. He watched as the helicopter hovered closer to him. "No funny business!" he reached for the remote.
"Feel the wrath of my Blue-Eyes!" snapped Kaiba. With that he threw the card he had been holding. It slicing across the rare hunter's hand, causing him to drop the remote.
"Ouch!"
The helicopter intercepted the crate and both sunk into the ocean with a loud crash.
Seto raced over to the rare hunter and landed a few punches before he picked up the dropped remote and crushed it under his heel. Mokuba raced over.
"This should do it," he said. He pushed a button on the side of the chair and the cords holding Téa filed off.
"Thanks," she said.
The rest was cheering, although Shayla had to sit down. The explosion was a complete shock for her.
"Yu-Gi! I remember!" exclaimed the real Joe, happily.
"Thanks Joe, I knew you would," said Yu-Gi, smiling. "Thanks for being such a good friend."
"Yu-Gi, what are you doing?" asked Joe. "And why am I wearing your puzzle?"
"Take care of it for me," said Yu-Gi. "I have to order the Fairy's Hand Mirror to attack one of us. Good-bye."
"No, don't do it!"
But it was too late. Yu-Gi's magic card attacked him, taking him down to 0 life points. "Take the key, and save yourself." With that he completely collapsed.
"I feel sick," moaned Shayla.
"He's nuts!" exclaimed Duke.
"We have to stop this!" insisted Tristan.
"But what about Téa?" asked Mokuba.
"Come on! You only have 30 seconds!" yelled Téa.
"I'm not leaving you, Yug," said Joe. "Red-Eyes, attack me!" His dragon complied, taking him down to 0 life points also. The key box opened beneath his feet. "I'm coming."
"What is going on?" asked Serenity, quietly. She shut her eyes tight, mustered up her courage, and pulled off her bandages. She slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she focused on was Joe, grabbing his chain and swing over to Yu-Gi. He grabbed the key. Then the timer hit 0 and there was an explosion.
"AHHHH!" screamed someone. Joe and Yu-Gi both disappeared beneath the waves.
"Yu-Gi!"
"Joe!"
"I'm going in!" yelled Tristan. He threw his jacket off, raced down the pier, and dove in.
"But what about Joe's key?" asked Mai.
A minute later Tristan resurfaced, carrying Yu-Gi. He swam over and with the help of Duke, hauled Yu-Gi onto the dock.
"Give me Joe's key!" he ordered.
"Sure," agreed Mai.
There was a flash of movement. Serenity was diving into the water, holding the key to her brother's chain.
"Serenity!" With a splash she was gone beneath the waves.
"This is getting way too out of control," said Shayla. She was the only one, save the Kaibas, who hadn't walked out onto the dock. She didn't trust herself.
It was calm and silent for a few moments. Tristan was about to dive back in when the Wheelers surfaced.
"Yay!" everyone cheered.
They helped pull them up and happily started celebrating their escape. Wet hugs were exchanged.
"Fool," Shayla heard Kaiba mutter as he walked by. "Didn't even remember his own key." Louder he said, "Come on, Mokuba. We have finals to prepare for."
"Coming!" said Mokuba. The two Kaiba brothers walked off.
"He has issues....."muttered Shayla.
"Come on!" exclaimed Mai, walking out to her. The walked back onto the dock together and everyone started swapping stories.
Through it all, Shayla couldn't shake the cloud she was feeling. This was far from over, the storm had yet to begin.
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