WARNING: THE FOLLOWING FANFIC CONTAINS SEMI-NUDITY, SORT-OF-VIOLENCE AND PSEUDO-FALSE LANGUAGE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
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Fanfic Chapter 11: An Unlikely Friend, A Hidden Foe
Episode Basis: Trial By Red-Eyes
Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!: Mai recruited Rex Raptor, the runner up at the National Championships, to eliminate Joey from the tournament. She also fixed the rules so that any help from Yugi would result in a disqualification for Joey. Tristan left after a fight with Joey but Yugi followed him and explained why they had to let Joey duel by himself. Meanwhile, Joey was pinned down by Rex's dinosaur monsters as well as his special Serpent Night Dragon. But when Joey drew the card Tristan lent him, the Lava Battleguard, he realized that nobody was babying him, but were behaving like true friends. Playing it along with his Swamp Battleguard raised their attack points and beat Rex's dragon. Looks like Joey's got this duel in the bag... doesn't he?
"Your horned freaks may have gotten control of the field," Rex said as he laid a monster in defense mode. "But now it's time to see if they can hold it."
"Battleguard, give that card a bashing!" Joey ordered. The red Lava Battleguard swung his club and smashed Rex's dino defense monster.
Tristan was amazed at the two ogre monsters. "Look at them; they sure make some sort of tag team."
"That's because they're on the field together," Harold commented. "The Battleguards gain strength from each other."
"No kidding," Yugi agreed. "And since they already took out Rex's best monster, the rest will be cake."
"Hah!" Rex laughed. "Who said that Serpent Night Dragon Joey destroyed two turns ago was my best monster?" Rex drew a card and smirked. "My supreme monster is a card but of a different sort... the Red-Eyes Black Dragon(1)!" The monster's name fit its description: it had scaly black claws and a thin body that hid its massive power. Everybody was bewildered, including Mai.
"Your ogres can power up until they're green in the face, they still wouldn't be able to stand up to this ferocious beast!"
"So it does exist," Yugi muttered. "My Grandpa told me about this card. He said that it's almost as rare as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"It's about time Rex drew a card that would put Joey in his place," Mai complained.
"And if you think those primates will save each other from this dragon's rampage, think again." Rex threw down a magic card. "With my handy Dragon Nails card, my Red-Eyes gets enough power to clobber an army of Battleguards!"
(REBD: 2400---3000)
"Red-Eyes, attack! Inferno Fire Blast!" The dragon let out a fireball that destroyed both Battleguards.
"How could he torch them both with just one shot?" Joey wondered.
"Those who defend together are destroyed together. Don't tell me you thought their little clubs would be able to save them from my dragon's wraith."
I wonder how Joey's going to get out of this one, Harold thought. How can he stand up to a dragon with almost as much attack power as Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon?
(J: 235)
(R: 840)
Mai congratulated Rex like he was her pet.
Rex continued to goad Joey about the strength of his dragon over Joey's Battleguards.
"Yugi, please tell me that dragon isn't as tough as it looks," Tea whispered to Yugi. "I mean there must be something he can do to stop it."
I wish I could answer you, Tea, Yugi thought. Because there is one card that could save him from that Red-Eyes. But unfortunately, I'm barred from giving him advice.
Joey was beginning to wonder if Rex was right until Tristan called out, "Joey, don't give up man! You may not have the cards but you have the smarts."
"We're not giving up on you, Joey, so you shouldn't either!" Yugi cheered
"Remember, dueling's more about heart than about strength."
"So show him what you're made out of." Joey nodded and drew a card.
"Go ahead and slap another monster for my Red-Eyes to munch on... huh?" Rex looked down at Joey's duel table and noticed that there was a card face down. I almost forgot, Joey still has his Time Wizard out from a few turns ago. That's the card he used to beat Mai and her Harpies... with Yugi's help that is. Too bad he's too much of an amateur to figure out how to use that Time Wizard properly.
"Hey, are you going to nab me that victory you promised me or are you going to stand there with that dumb look on your face?"
Again with the insults? Who does she think she is? I can't wait to wreck that arrogant attitude of hers in our duel. Wait a minute, if I snag Joey's Time Wizard from him, it would be the perfect way to shut her up for good. "Oh Joey, I have an idea. Let's make this duel more exciting and each put one card up for grabs with our star chips. And just so it's fair, we'll each stake whatever card we have on the field."
"Huh? But I don't have..." Joey looked down and noticed his Time Wizard. Oh yeah, my Time Wizard, I forgot about it.
"And for him, I'll give you my rarest card: the supreme Red-Eyes Black Dragon."
Obviously, this didn't set well with Mai. "Just what do you think you're doing, you disobedient dolt, your here to take Joey out of this tournament, not improve your deck!"
"Stay out of this!" Rex snapped.
As Rex and Mai continued arguing, Joey stared at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. That Red-Eyes Black Dragon could really help my chances of winning the tournament and earning the prize money for my sister. But I'd hate to risk this Time Wizard Yugi gave me like its a bargaining chip... wait a minute, maybe I don't have to! "You got a deal, Rex, your Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Time Wizard, winner take all!"
Mai gasped and Rex cheered, certain that it was in the bag.
"But while I'm at it, I'm making him my weapon of choice too!" Joey flipped over his Time Wizard. "Go, Time Wizard!"
"What are you doing?" Rex asked.
"I think Joey just realized the best possible move for this situation."
"But Yugi, what can the Time Wizard do by itself?" Harold asked.
"Watch and see," Yugi replied.
"I hope you packed your bags, Rex," Joey said as his mechanical clock monster appeared. "Because if my Time Wizard's spin arrow lands on a time machine symbol, you'll going to be on the next boat off this island!"
"Do you really want to leave this duel up to a single spin?" Rex couldn't believe that Joey was going to risk everything on a simple game of roulette. "You do know what'll happen if that arrow lands on a skull, do you?"
"What happens if the arrow lands on a skull?" Tea asked.
"It'll self-destruct and take a chunk out of Joey's life points as well."
"Man, all he's got is a chunk," Tristan commented.
The wheel on the Time Wizards's staff had six slots, two had the symbols for the time warp and the other four had skulls. The arrow started to spin around and around as all eyes gazed to it. The arrow started to slow down, until it landed...
On the top slot, the symbol of the time machine!
Yugi and the others cheered. Rex despaired.
"Time Warp, go!" Everything was covered in blue and white beams of light as the time-space continuum on the field spun out of control, eons passing like seconds. When it was over, the Time Wizard had vanished and left a stone Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field.
"He's... been fossilized!" Tea figured out.
"No, he hasn't," Mai tried to deny. "He's still standing. Sure, he's graying a little but that's natural." Not even Joey believed that. "Go on and have him attack, Rex."
Still bewildered at what had happened Rex complied. "Uh... yeah. Red-Eyes, go on and..." Suddenly the stone Red-Eyes Black Dragon fell to pieces.
"The millions of years that Joey's Time Wizard had may passed has turned Rex's dragon into a brittle shell of dust," Yugi explained to the others, who were shocked at what just happened.
(J: 235)
(R: 0)
"So I guess you won my star chips, huh?"
Joey breathed a sigh of relief, but then realized something. "Not only did I win your star chips, but I won your Red-Eyes too, fair and square!" Rex broke down in tears.
"The winner is Joey Wheeler!" Harold announced. "Joey gets four star chips and a Red-Eyes Black Dragon card too."
Even before the platform made its full descent, Joey leapt down and ran towards his friends. Tristan ran up to him...
And slugged him right in the kisser knocking him on the ground.
"What was that for?" Joey asked.
"That was for when you punched me, now we're even."
"You idiot! Don't you know two wrongs don't make a right?"
"Then how about I make it three wrongs!"
"Bring it on!"
Yugi tried to break it up but Tea stopped him. "I think... this is their way of showing they care."
"Oh... okay..." Yugi, Tea, and Harold watched as Joey and Tristan grabbed tried to beat each other up. "I just hope they don't care about me as much."
Harold held his hand over the bruise that was quickly turning to a black eye. "Is everyone on this island crazy or is it just me?" He asked.
The only one to stay around after the duel was Mai. She couldn't believe that once again, that pretty-boy snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, a victory which rightfully belonged to her.
I should've known that stupid Raptor wouldn't have what it takes. I can't believe the runner-up at the National Championship was beaten by a no-name rookie. What is it? How does he manage to win against all odds? Nobody can be this lucky...
"You only duel for things, but for some of us, we duel for the people we love."
"You'll show her, Joey!" Yugi encouraged. "Show her what it's like to duel from the heart!"
Mai gasped as she recalled the stuff Joey and Yugi said when she dueled him. Could... could he... no, I refuse to believe it! I refuse to believe that there are actually people like that. In all my years of dueling, I've encountered nobody who dueled for someone other than themselves. It's just too... PBS. Still... Mai looked down. What's this feeling in my stomach? I feel... guilty? Guilty of what? What do I have to be guilty for? But Mai knew the answer to that. And she also knew there was one way to erase this pang of guilt from her. She got up and left the Dueling Ring.
Nighttime descended quickly on the island. Yugi and the others were trying to find a place to set up camp for the night.
"How's your bruise, Harold?" Yugi asked.
"I'll live," the dark-haired boy replied. "I just feel stupid about not being able to see that coming. Who knew Mai had such a mean left hook?"
"Is something wrong?" Yugi asked. "You see kind of down about something."
"I'm just wondering... why I'm here?"
"Harold, you're not..."
"Oh no, no, I'm not going back to that again. But... why was I chosen to become a Watcher. I can't even cheer you and Joey on like Tristan and Tea. And anyway, with all the people like Mai and Rex around setting their own rules, what's the point?"
"Well I, for one, am glad you're here, Harold. I couldn't be able to concentrate on the duel if you and the others weren't there."
"But Yugi, you're a dynamo when it comes to dueling."
"Only because I know my friends are there to back me up. If we left you back in Domino like I originally thought, I would worry about you and not be able to concentrate on the duel."
"Thanks, Yugi, you don't know how much that means to me."
The gang settled down under a tree and started to tell ghost stories.
(5 minutes later)
"And when they pulled over to see what was in the back seat," Tristan was saying, "It was... over twenty pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese and meatballs!"
"Tristan, that's the fourth time you brought up food in a ghost story!" Harold complained. "You even got me hungry and I don't eat much."
"If I don't get something to eat soon, I'm going to be turning into a ghost," Joey complained.
"Those three and their stomachs, huh, Yugi?" Tea asked.
Yugi stomach grumbled a little. "I... guess we're all at least a little bit hungry," he said sheepishly.
"Jackpot!" Joey cried standing over a mushroom. "Come to papa!"
"NO!" The others shouted. Tristan and Harold held Joey back.
"Wild mushrooms are poisonous, Joey," Yugi explained.
"So do us all a favor and let him eat it," a new voice said. It was Mai.
"This girl's harder to get rid of than head lice," Harold complained.
"Now what do you want, Mai?" Joey asked, really getting tired of her nagging attitude.
Mai just took a bite of the candy bar she had.
"H... how she'd get that?" Harold asked, his hunger overpowering his anger at what she did.
Joey was infuriated. "You can duel me, you can insult me, but you darn well better not eat in front of me!"
"Does she really have to kick us when we're down and hungry?" Tristan complained.
"You're hungry, aren't you?" Mai taunted. "Okay, give me your star chips and I'll give you some food."
Joey was almost tempted. "Forget it. Potato chips... I mean star chips are priceless!"
"I was just kidding, Joseph," Mai said, enjoying this little game. "I'll be more than happy to give you some food if you ask politely like a gentleman."
"Right, so you can go and make fun of me for that too?"
"Look, by tomorrow, I'd have won enough star chips to enter the castle so there really is no point in letting all of this food go to waste."
"It sure would be nice not to have to duel tomorrow on an empty stomach," Yugi said.
"How do we know this isn't a trick?" Joey asked.
"Look, I realized that sicking Rex on you wasn't exactly the most lady-like thing for me to do. So I thought I'd make up for it, unless you WANT to take your chances with the poisonous mushroom."
Mai's backpack was a kid's dream come true. It had everything from candy bars to potato chips to marshmallows to canned fruit
(A/N: Well I didn't say it was perfect.)
to soda. But Mai suddenly turned into a mother hen and said nobody gets anything until "their chores were done." Chores in this case, meaning Yugi getting firewood, Harold gathering rocks to make a fire pit and Joey and Tristan getting water.
Tea watched as the guys split up to do their various tasks.
"Your name's Tea, right?" Mai checked. She pointed to the distance. "There's a makeshift shower over there if you want to freshen up."
"Thanks, Mai."
"Hanging around those losers doesn't mean you have to smell like them. Don't worry; I'll keep a watch so nobody thinks about trying anything."
As Tea stepped inside the outdoor shower, the guys started the fire and started to cook the candy bars and marshmallows. Mai sure is a hard gal to read, Tea thought as took off her pink vest. One minute she's starting trouble with us and the next, we're sharing a campfire. She listened as Mai critiqued Joey on his cooking "skills" and started barking instructions again. "You're tough, Mai."
"Where I come from, you have to be. Besides, we gals have to stick together, especially with a bunch of bozos like them around. I don't even see why you bother hanging out with them."
Tea, in the middle of taking her bra off, turned towards Mai's general direction. "That's easy, they're my best friends."
"Those goofballs? I mean I can see why you might want to hang around with Yugi, with his skill and all, but the three stooges over there?"
"They may seem a little... odd, but there's nobody I'd rather have at my side than them. I..." A rustle of the bushes interrupted Tea and she screamed.
"What's wrong?" Mai asked coming inside.
"I heard something in the bushes," Tea complained, draping herself with a towel. Mai peeked out. "Ah-ha." She went out the other end. Tea heard the sound of skin hitting on skin and Joey and Tristan moan in anguish. Mai poked her head inside the shower. "Nobody you'd rather have at your side, huh?"
"I never said they were perfect."
After Tea finished her shower, the gang sat down to eat.
"Hey Mai, did I hear you right, did you say that by tomorrow, you'll gain enough star chips to enter the castle?"
"That's right; I have only a little bit to go. And after that, watch out, 'cause I'm going straight for the top. And don't think you five..." Mai looked around and realized that only Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan were there. "Hey, where's what's-his-name?"
"Oh, Harold?" The others looked around. "Don't know, he must've snuck off somewhere."
Harold sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean. His stomach was growling so loud, he was starting to wonder if Pegasus could hear it. "Oh be quiet," he told his stomach. He dropped onto his back.
Suddenly something cold hit his stomach. Harold looked up (or is it down?) at his stomach and saw an ice pack resting on his chest.
"Here," Mai said.
"Oh... thanks," Harold said and placed it on his bruise.
Mai just looked out at the ocean. "By the way... sorry about hitting you."
"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have called you a... I shouldn't have been calling you names."
"By the way, I'm just wondering, but... who's this Serenity I keep hearing Joey talk about, his girlfriend?" If Harold had been a more careful listener, he would've heard the small touch of jealousy in Mai's voice.
Harold shook his head. "It's his sister. From what I understand, she's going blind and the only way to save her is an expensive surgery. That's why Joey's dueling so hard in this tournament, so he can get the prize money for his sister."
"So, that's Joey's reason," Mai muttered. "I wouldn't have imagined it, but there's actually someone who's like that."
"Like what?"
"Someone who would actually do anything for those he loves."
"All of us are like that; we treasure our friendship almost as much as we treasure our lives."
"So why aren't you with the other cheerleaders?"
"I'm not... like them."
"'Not like them?'"
"Yugi and the others... they all have families, I... don't."
"But don't you attend school..."
"I do, but only because I've received permission from the school. Other than that, I live on my own."
I know how he feels, Mai thought. When I was casino dealer, I only had myself to rely on. It was there that I learned that people only care about themselves and that I must do the same. But these guys... I don't know... can they really care about each other that much? Would they care about me that much if I was their friend?
Why'd I tell her that? Harold asked himself. Why would she be interested in my story? Harold accidentally knocked his backpack over. A package spilled out. Huh? Where'd that come from? I don't remember that being in there before. He held it. I've never seen this before. It looks really old. The package was bound in brittle brown paper tied with string.
Both Harold and Mai were caught up in their own thoughts so neither of them noticed as a presence snuck up behind them.
"Mai has sure been gone an awfully long time," Yugi said. They were finished with dinner and were now sitting around the campfire. "Harold too."
"Harold can handle himself," Joey assured them. "He's done it before."
"Yeah and don't you remember what happened last time he went off by himself?"
"Yeah, he tried to... I see your point," Joey said.
Suddenly the bushes behind Tea rustled and she screamed.
"Who's there?" Tristan called out. From the bushes stepped a boy with long white hair and brown eyes wearing a white sweater and blue jeans.
"Bakura!"
"See, I told you I saw him," Tea said.
"What are you doing sneaking around in the bushes like that, Bakura?" Joey asked. "For that matter, what are you doing here in the first place?"
"Trying to survive, same as you guys. Sorry if I gave you a scare."
"Well, for a moment there, I thought we had something to worry about," Tristan said.
Soon, Bakura had taken Mai's spot around the campfire. Tristan noticed that Joey had been staring at one of his cards.
"Joey, you've been staring at that card for almost an hour now. What's up?"
"I'll tell 'ya, just don't laugh. Sometimes, when I duel, I imagine that it's me out there exchanging blows with whatever monster my opponent has on the field." He smiled goofily. "Isn't that dumb?"
"Well, if you were a monster, what kind of monster would you be, Joey?" Bakura asked.
"Well... this one." He held out his Flame Swordsman card. "The Flame Swordsman kicks everyone's butt!"
"Not my guy," Tristan argued as he showed them one of his cards. "The Cyber Commander (2)!"
"You boys and your cards are hilarious," Tea cracked seeing Joey and Tristan act like their respective cards.
"I think everyone has a card they can identify with," Yugi said. "You should see what card you associate with, Tea."
Tea searched through her deck until she came upon a card. "I pick this one, Magician of Faith (3)."
"Looks more like the Magician of Freaks if you ask me," Joey cracked.
"Shut up!"
"What about you, Yugi?" Bakura asked.
"Oh, that's easy, the Dark Magician hands down."
"Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but isn't it a little silly to be comparing ourselves to playing cards?" Tea questioned.
"Maybe a little," Yugi agreed. "But it's like my Grandpa always says, it's not about the playing cards, it's about putting a little bit of your heart into anything that you care about. So what card do you care about the most, Bakura?"
Bakura held out a magic card. "This one." It had a picture of a girl but one half was cherubic with angel wings and the other had a dark bat-like wing. Even the tone was different, one being light, the other dark.
"Isn't that the Change of Heart?"
"Kind of a weird-looking picture, don't ya' think?" Joey asked.
"If you want to see how it works, we can have a duel right now," Bakura suggested. "Not for star chips, just for a little bit of fun."
"Sure, I'm down with that," Joey agreed. "After all this star chip stuff, it'll be nice to have a duel with no strings attached."
"I agree," Yugi threw in. "A regular old duel sounds like a good idea."
"Why don't you guys each put your favorite card into Yugi's deck. That way, it'll be like we're all playing."
"Sounds good to me," Tristan agreed.
"I should warn you," Yugi said playfully. "With this all-star deck, we'll be tough to beat." Tea, Tristan, and Joey put their cards on top of Yugi's deck and Yugi shuffled it. He and Bakura then set up game mats on a stump.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Bakura?" Tea checked. "Dueling alone, I mean."
"I'm sure."
"All right then, let's get this show on the road!" Joey called.
"Before we get started, there's something I'd like to share with you all," Bakura said. Tristan noticed that his tone had changed, it almost sounded... sinister.
"I don't like the looks of this," Joey said as Bakura closed his eyes. A strange necklace appeared. It had a pyramid shape at the center with an eye similar to Yugi's puzzle. But a gold ring encircled it with five spikes towards the bottom.
"It can't be!" Yugi gasped. "A Millennium Item!"
"Correct," Bakura said, his voice now different. "And the magic of my Millennium Ring will take us to the Shadow Realm!" As Bakura spoke, the area around them was shrouded in darkness.
"Why are you doing this, Bakura?"
"You have something I want and I aim to take it." The Millennium Ring flashed and Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan all fell down.
"That wasn't too difficult," 'Bakura' commented as he went up to Yugi's fallen form. "Now, after countless centuries, the legendary Millennium Puzzle will be all mine!" As he bent down to remove it from around Yugi's neck, it started to glow and Yugi opened his eyes.
"No, it can't be!" "Bakura" gasped.
"You want my Millennium Puzzle, then you're going to have to duel me for it. But if I win, you promise to release my friends and send us all back."
"I agree to your ridiculous terms, Yugi," "Bakura" said. "But I warn you, there is more at stake here than you could possibly comprehend."
Monster Glossary
(1)
Name: Red-Eyes Black Dragon
Level: 7
Type: Dragon
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2000
(2)
Name: Cyber Commander
Level: 3
Type: Machine
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 750
DEF: 750
(3)
Name: Magician of Faith
Level: 1
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Light
ATK: 300
DEF: 400
