After they reached the level where the rooms were and followed the crowd along the corridor, they reached a big room that was full of other duelists all arranging their decks, talking and trading.

Joey looked around him, not believing he was on a luxury cruiser and having to share a room with almost all the duelists in the tournament. "They expect us to stay here?" Joey said to Yugi, annoyance in his voice.

"I guess so." Yugi shrugged, beginning to walk around the room in search of a place to sit down. He didn't really care where he stayed, as long as it meant getting to the island and claiming back is grandpa's soul.

But Yugi stopped as he heard Joey shouting to one of the guards that had restrained him earlier that night.

"Hey! Is this a joke or what? This is a luxury cruiser! I know you got better rooms somewhere!" Another guard immediately ran from the corridor outside, and the two men grabbed Joey once more. "You again? We cut you a break and now you're causing more trouble? Do you want to get thrown out of here?"

Yugi looked on in despair as Joey struggled against the guards, willing him to drop it and stay cool. Yugi was concentrating so much on Joey, he didn't notice two people appear in the doorway behind him.

"Hey aren't you that kid, Yugi?" Yugi turned his head to see the two behind him. He did recognise them, but he didn't know them personally. "Yeah! And you're-"

"Weevil!" Joey stopped struggling and the guards loosened their grip on him as they all turned to see the winner of the last competition, the bug monster enthusiast, Weevil Underwood. Joey and Yugi had seen him duelling Rex Raptor just a couple of nights before on TV. Joey looked across and saw Rex standing just next to Weevil. "And Rex, the Dino-duelist!"

"You're wasting your time with those guys. The private rooms only go to finalists from the last championship...like us." Rex smirked.

Yugi stepped forward a little more. "Congratulations on winning the regionals, Weevil!" Yugi always found himself in awe of duelists who did well in tournaments or championships.

"It was nothing." Weevil said, smugly.

"Yeah, I went easy on him...that time." Rex grinned.

Joey then shook off the guards and moved forward too. "Yeah? Well this time, Yugi and I are gonna take the tournament, right Yugi?" Joey said, causing everyone to look at him.

"To tell you the truth, winning the last championship didn't feel like that much of an achievement." Weevil said in an annoying way, causing Rex to glare at him. But Weevil didn't take his eyes off Yugi. "I guess I can't really call myself the champion until I defeat the duelist that beat Kaiba. But I'm sure I'll end up battling you in the big tournament, Yugi. Frankly, I look forward to it." Weevil said, adjusting his glasses as he spoke in a very challenging manner.

"I look forward to it too!" Yugi smiled.

"I'm looking forward...to some dino demolition." Rex said, grinning to himself, grinning mischievously.

"Let me tell you a little secret." Weevil stepped forward and spoke as quietly as he could. "It's something none of the other players know about the games yet."

"Oh...isn't that cheating?" Yugi looked shocked. He could never dream of cheating in anything.

"The other duelists will find out soon enough. But there are new rules on the island that require more...strategy." Weevil smiled to himself.

"Ah, rules are for wimps." Rex spoke up. "In duelling you either smash your opponent, or get smashed yourself. It's one or the other."

"Strength is good, but you also need to combine them with other types of cards." Joey said, Rex's words reminding him of something that Grandpa had taught him.

"Who asked you? Stay out of my way." Rex said, turning his back to Joey and everyone else and starting to walk away. "Or I'll stomp you...like everyone else."

"We'll see who stomps who when we get to the island." Joey said through gritted teeth. He could feel the anger boiling inside him. He hated obnoxious would-be champions like Rex.

"Ignore him." Weevil said, not even turning to watch Rex leave. "Let's scope out the competition."

"Whaddya mean?" Joey asked.

"Check out those chumps." Weevil said, pointing to an area on the other side of the room. Joey and Yugi turned their heads to see duelists sitting down in little groups, cards laid out in front of them and in their hands. "They're already trading over there. Players here are swapping cards and strengthening their decks, getting ready for the big tournament. It's also a good chance to get a feel for your opponent's cards."

"Whoa! Strong cards?" Joey had made his way over to the other duelists and was now looking over their shoulders, holding out his cards and trying to make trades, dashing between all the different people. "Hey, wanna trade? How about you? Anybody? Help me out here!"

"Guess Joey's trading..." Yugi said.