A/N: Greetings friends, a rare late-night update for me. You know the kind that you do when you're trying to go to sleep, you want to go to sleep, but you just stay up and occupy yourself until you sleep. Never mind that….here are some thank yous:

LeighC and Shylyinthedark: Thanks to both of you for reading my fics, I'm glad you like them. And an apology to Shy…the Angry People update is taking longer than I expected. I should have it updated by the end of the week…hopefully.

Snow Weaver: I owe you an apology as well, my friend. Don't worry, as soon as I get all my updates finished, I'll see if I can help you out with Unnoticed Help…so don't can it just yet ok? And thanks for your review.

The Broken Bow: I read your review, and I don't really know what to say, but I'm going to say something anyway. (Ok, that doesn't make any sense) Two things, thanks so much for your rave review, and thanks again for sharing your story with me. I was touched. And another thing…should I meet you up there in the wild blue yonder, I'll gladly do some jumping jacks with you!

Well…that's all for the mailbag section. Now, I have a question for all four of my great reviewers...do you think some people online take YGO fan fiction TOO seriously? Really? All of these debates about keeping people in character are a little annoying to me. I got an e-mail…I think it was for Heart of the Hoops, this girl lectured me on the ways that a Seto/Serenity couple would NEVER work in either the mangas or the anime. I respectfully answered her email, but I left out one very glaring point…IT'S A FREAKIN FANFIC! Isn't it the author's prerogative to sculpt the characters however he or she chooses? I'm not usually one to rant like this, but that's just something that I had on the backburner for a while, and I want to see how you good people felt about it. ( I should say good ladies, if I'm not mistaken all of my reviewers for this fic are female) Well, that's that. On with the fanfic, Full Speed Ahead!

Chapter 5: Invites, Exams and…Beer?

My goodness…I still wonder how Kat survived that deal with the arrow, even to this day. I myself suffered a broken arm out of the whole damn thing, but I thought it was worth it to stand up for the girl. She just seemed so out of place in a military-style camp like this, I kinda felt sorry for her I guess.

Alex walked into the infirmary, looking for his friends. After some of the things they had gone through together, he felt it was a safe bet to consider them friends.

"Kat…good to see you! How are you feeling?" Alex sat down in a chair next to Kat's hospital bed.

"I'm fine; Bo's been here to keep me company. Haven't you?" The tall, muscular boy nodded his head and got up from his seat. "Yeah…Look, I've got some training to do. I'll leave you two alone for a bit."

With that, he sauntered off into the main building, presumably into the weight room.

"Alex…Bo told me what you said to Rika. Did you mean it?" Kat's life seemed to hinge upon his answer; she sat herself up as she anxiously awaited his answer.

"About what?"

"About…you know…that you would die to save one of us if we were in trouble?"

Alex looked out of the window into the jungle for a moment, as if he was looking for the answer out there.

"Yeah…I meant it."

Alex didn't turn to face her, but as far as Kat was concerned he didn't have to. She had gotten the response she wanted.

I already know what you're going to ask, and the answer is NO. Kat and I don't become a couple. Sorry. As you'll read however, things have a funny way of working out, but that's for another time. About a week after the incident with Rika, Kat was ready to leave the infirmary, so we now prepared for our "final exam". As this time passed, more of those personalized invites were being handed out…

Mai Valentine sat in her apartment bedroom, watching a DVD that had arrived in the mail for her. The events of Battle City had taken their toll on her, and Mai had been laying low for quite a while.

Now I don't know what exactly happened to you at the Battle City tournament, but I wish you nothing but the best. As I said earlier, the prize is five million dollars. I really, really hope you decide to attend. This tournament won't quite be right if the world's best female duelist isn't present. Good day…

Mai stopped the DVD with her remote, and inhaled a deep breath.

It's been a while since I've had some fun…I guess this tournament is the closest thing to a vacation that I could ask for. All expenses paid? Who does this girl think she is, Paris Hilton? Oh well…maybe I'll see Yugi there. And if I'm really lucky…maybe I'll run into Joseph…

Mai smiled to herself as she thought of all the ways that she could tease Joey, maybe even goad him into a date. And there was also the rematch factor. She had always wanted to duel him straight-up after Duelist Kingdom, but hadn't gotten the chance yet.

As Kat, Bo and I trained for our "final exam"; more people got invited to this whole tournament thing. Including this guy….

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

A young man around the age of 18 sat in his family's living room, watching the DVD that had arrived at his home that morning. He was wearing some khaki pants, and a red shirt that had "Roll Tide!" on the front of it.

I don't know why I'm watching this thing again, hell, maybe I'm just bored. I saw it earlier, then I thought about it, drank a beer, ate some eggs, some grits, a sausage, an enchilada, then I drank two more beers. Then I threw all up like some dog. I don't know, maybe I should stop drinking beer so damn early in the day. Oh well…I guess I could go to this Tournament. It's probably gonna draw a lot of big names, I reckon. Five million dollars ain't anything to sneeze at either. I win that money I could get me and my daddy out of this crappy little town.

So, Gabe…I'm hoping you decide to attend. A former U.S. champion like you has earned this invite. War Eagle! (1) Just kidding. I hope you attend. See ya!

Domino City, Japan

"Hey Yug, why are we all here again?"

Joey wasn't the only one looking for answers, so was the entire "Dweeb Patrol", as a certain CEO once dubbed them. Joey, Tristan, Tea, Duke, and even Ryou had all been summoned by phone to meet at the Game Shop by a certain duelist.

"I got this DVD in the mail, from Starlight City in America." Yugi said. He peered at the address of the sender. "It's from a Scrap Brain Mechanics, Inc."

"You're talking about the weapons company? What on Earth would they want with us?" Tea asked, a bit perplexed by the whole thing.

"It does seem a bit odd, a weapons company sending mail to a Duelist." Ryou put in quietly.

"I'm out if it has anything to do with testing weapons!" Tristan bellowed as he stretched out on the couch in Yugi's living room.

"Maybe we should put it in and see what all the hoopla is about." Duke chimed in.

Everyone else agreed, and Yugi popped in the DVD. What came on the screen was a young girl, around his age, speaking.

Ahh…Yugi Mutou…King of Games…Master of the Egyptian Gods…greatest duelist in the world. Hello, my name is Karin Bautista, daughter of Ivan Bautista, owner and CEO of Scrap Brain Mechanics, Inc. I'll be celebrating my sixteenth birthday pretty soon, and I need a way to celebrate in style. So…I decided to have Duel Monsters tournament! And guess what, you, little Yugi, are invited to compete. All of your friends as well! And all of your expenses are on me! No travel fees, no hotel fees, everything is on me. The prize? Five million dollars! Cash…No checks here! I do hope you decide to attend…this tournament will really suck if you, your friends and Seto Kaiba don't show. It's in three months…see you there!

Yugi and his friends stared at the television, each with something in particular on his or her mind.

Yugi: This is going to be pretty big…But what if Kaiba tries to take the God Cards again?

Tristan: It pays to know cool people! All expenses paid? This is the life…

Tea: Who does her hair? I'd die for hair that curly and long!

Duke: Five million dollars? Dungeon Dice Monsters could use that money as a launching pad…

Joey: Yeah! Not only do I get a chance to Duel for five million big ones, but I get a chance ta see Serenity. I wanna pack my bags already!

Ryou: She's…kind of…cute.

Yugi decided to speak up. "So…are we..." They didn't even let him finish.

"YES!"

Cairo, Egypt

Marik and Ishizu sat in their living room, looking over a package that had arrived for the both of them in the mail.

"It looks like some DVD, sister. Want me to pop it in?"

Ishizu nodded, and gave the package to him. It had been a few months since the end of Battle City, and Malik was still having trouble forgiving himself for what had happened at the tournament.

Poor boy…he walks around blaming himself for what happened. He's got to put this behind him, as painful as it may be, and try to move on with his life.

The DVD came on, and Brother and Sister watched it intently.

I've decided to invite the both of you, despite the rumors that I've heard that have Marik in retirement from Duel Monsters. I think you both are great players and would love for you to compete here in Starlight City. Good day…

"So, are you going Ishizu?" Lavender eyes met sapphire.

"…Yes. It's been so long since I've had a chance to not defend against a crisis of some kind. What about you, Marik."

The Egyptian lowered his head. "I don't know, if I go…The Pharaoh will probably be there. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble."

"The Pharaoh and his friends have probably already forgiven you, Marik. It may be awkward, but they will get to know the REAL you. The you I knew all along, even at the darkest hour, was still in your heart."

Well, I've been babbling about this "final exam" for a while now, I think it's about time to start telling you about our ordeal…

Bo, Alex, and Kat were all sitting outside, in their usual gear, waiting for Rika to show up. When she did, she tossed a bag at each one's foot.

"Listen to me carefully. Survival training is the final part of your training to become a member of the Phoenix Foundation. Tomorrow morning, you will leave the compound and head into the jungle, and you will look for the giant waterfall that you saw when you first landed. There is a hidden cave there. Once you've found it, you will be tested. I won't tell you how, being as that would spoil all the fun you will have. All you have to complete this mission are the tools I have given you. If you should all survive…you will all become members of the Phoenix Foundation. Good Luck.

With that, she left us. The next morning, we headed into the dense jungle, our fate to be determined.

(1) That was just a joke about Auburn University and the University of Alabama, who hate each other. Auburn's Battle Cry is War Eagle (even though thier nickname is the tigers) and Alabama's is Roll Tide (they are called the Crimson Tide).

Well that's it, that's all people. Sleep is FINALLY starting to take hold, and I embrace it openly. See you next time.

BigLos…out.