A Few Replies:
Eternity's Angel: Hey pal! Lol. Thanks for the review, I really appreciate it!
Galux Kitty: xD hello! haha you saw my stupid posts, huh? lol. I thought if I brought Varon back (I refuse to say Valon.. I don't go by the dub w/ HIS name. Lol.) it would be better. XP Omg the dub messed him up BIG TIME. His past is sooo gunna get butchered. Hell yeah, who WOULDN'T know that Joey and Mai were meant to be?! Lol.
Yamiko Yakou: Wait know longer the next chapter is here! (wink)
Serene Goddess: Haha me? good? God those words don't mix. Lol. But thanks anyway! Joey is very determined. (nod) I know how the fight is gunna turn out.... And iv'e got A LOT of plans and ideas for this fic so know worries! I have plans for up to about chapter....9. (sweat drops) This will keep me busy for a while. Lol.
Tabious the Great: I have an idea w/ Joey and Kaiba.... You'll just have to wait and see in the future chapters! (wink) Thanks for the review!
Flame Swordswomen: Yeah I saw 224! All we see is her dueling w/ Vivian... --' Oh well. Maybe they will hit it off in GX. You never know... Mai DID say she would come back. Yep she said it in ep. 184. Huzzah! They have 7 GX eps so far in Japan... I saw them all. Lol.
Shelly-Chan: Bleh, I hope so. xD I have to review your fics!
Luthien-Anwaman: Yo Lu! Wassup? Lol. I like Varon but he is bad for the Jou/Mai pairing --' He almost ruins it, but in a way.... helps... he sorta gets Mai in the end to admit she loves Joey. Lol. Jou DOES rock!
Varon's Girlfriend: Nope nope, you aren't the only one. I happen to like Varon, but I can't go easy on him in this fic. It's Joey/Mai, so Varon will just have to be the bad guy. Lol. But I have plans for the fic... In time you'll see what happens. Hmmm... yeah I think Varon needs someone too...
thefutureMrs.Kaiba: OMG I KNOW! That accent drives me wild. Lol. I'm never gunna make Varon talk w/ that accent. xD I'm sorta getting use to it by now... But Mai's.... NO! She is now...Southren.
StarWolf4: Bahahahaha...!!! (ahem) Lol. You'll see who wins. There may not even be a winner, yet... (COUGHCOUGHHINTHINTNUDGENUDGE)
Everyone Else: Thanks for the reviews! You guys all kick ass!!!
And now... CHAPTER 5!!!!
Warnings: Eh... some violence, but nothing too bad.
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Chapter 5: Rematch Of A Different Kind: Part One
It was cold. The night had grown incredibly dark, and weary. The wind blew so rapidly, it sent shivers up and down Mai's spine. However, she ignored it. All she tried to concentrate on, were the two men in front of her. The intense situation seemed like it had gotten worse. Will one of them die? A brutal battle was indeed promised.
Joey stared down his rival coldly. "Ya know, Varon? Ya use ta be an okay guy. I had accepted your good will.... But now... dis has gotten out of hand.... I can't believe you would sink so low."
"Hush up, Wheeler! All I want is Mai! Don't go and give me a pointless lecture!"
"Da lecture wasn't pointless...."
"Whatever! It's time to fight now! Drop your feelings for Mai and fight me!" Varon gave Joey the nastiest glare alive. However, Joey knew deep down inside... Varon was a good man. He even showed it last time they dueled. A heart of stone could not love any being as much as Varon loved Mai.
"Alright, man. Whateva ya say." With that said, Joey lunged foward to give Varon a good kick in the side. "DIS ONE'S FOR YOU!"
Varon shook his head. "Amachor ... You can't win a street fight with just running at me and trying to kick me." He dodged the kick and retaliated with one of his own, right to Joey's back.
Joey however, was not as lucky as Varon, and got hit with fierce kick that sent him flying.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Nice try Wheeler. I told you I had become stronger!"
Mai screamed out Joey's name, which caught Varon's attention. 'Does she want HIM to win?'
Joey reclaimed his balance before hitting the ground. "I KNOW HOW TO FIGHT! I've told ya dis before. AND I'M GUNNA WIN!"
"You don't understand, Wheeler. After I recovered in that house, it wasn't all fun and games for me."
::Flashback::
There were about ten of them, lounging around the abandoned skate park. Several of them were smoking, and the ground was littered with beer bottles. Varon gulped quietly, as he walked through the park.
"Varon, you've come back. You dirty punk." One of the men said.
There was no way this was going to be easy. But it was too late to back out now, they'd already spotted him aproaching and were climbing to their feet.
"Shut up you bastard! I'll show you!" Varon cried out as he lunged to punch the man right in his face.
"You'll never learn, Varon." The man dodged the punch, and gave Varon one of his own.
Varon was sent flying to the ground, holding his cheek in pain.
"If you want to learn how to fight, then you better start toughening up! No holding your cheek, or crying out in pain! NO TEARS AT ALL"
::End Flashback::
"I spent my days training! Do you know how hard I trained just for this very day!? These guys were NO pushovers! I was in the hospital about 15 times! SO YOU BETTER GIVE ME THE FIGHT I DESERVE! NO HOLDING BACK!"
Mai looked at him in shock. She knew Varon was tough, but in the hospital 15 times? Those men he trained with must have been strong. She knew this battle would end in death. She just hoped to god it wasn't Joey's.
Joey on the other hand, knew what Varon felt like. He too had trained and was in many street fights back in the old days. Sure it had been a long time since his old gang days, but one little fight here and there never hurt.
"I undastand, Varon. But I have no intention of losing... I'm sorry. But in honor of Mai, and all those people you killed, I will defeat you!"
"Honor doesn't exist around here, or in me, anymore."
Both Joey and Mai looked startled to hear this. Varon had even given up honor to learn how to fight better? Boy he had changed. He's become a monster!
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On the other side of the park, the rest of the gang were still in search of Joey. They ran throughout the entire area about 10 times, but still no luck. Serenity was now officially worried sick She wanted to find her brother so badly. They kept looking, until they heard a scream in the near distance. Without any second thought, they raced to it, to see what it was.
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"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Joey screamed in pain, as Varon delivered a painful punch right to Joey's face.
Mai watched in horror, trying to hold back the tears that were now falling freely down her cheeks. Was Joey gunna lose on purpose? Or was he just toying with Varon? Or... was Varon really that strong?
Joey took the punch, though. Varon looked pretty impressed so far with Joey's fighting skills and abilities to take hard blows.
"I'll be damned if you dink I'll let you win!" Joey hollered over to Varon.
"You won't win. I've been training, and you have no idea what I have been through. I HAVE to win. It's my priority in life."
Joey growled at the man's arrogance. "We'll see." He said, clenching his fists and dropping into a fighting stance. Smirking, his opponent did the same. "So Wheeler, ready to get beat? Let's stop this pointless chatting and fight!"
Before Mai could answer, and before Varon could get ready, Joey ran forward and delivered a solid punch to the man's chin, jumping back before Varon could retaliate.
"Mutt." Varon spat, wiping a trickle of blood off his lip.
'Geez... what is it with me and dogs?!' Joey wondered. 'If people say I'm a dog, then I better be a cute dog....'
"Now that hurt!" Varon leaped foward, swinging a fist at Joey. The blond ducked it, and repaid in like.
Mai could only watch helplessly, as she watched the two men destroy each other.
"Oh Joey..." Mai moaned. "How could you be so stupid? And Varon... How could you be so selfish?"
Joey continued to punch Varon with all his might, sending hard blows to the brunette's face. He was moving so fast, Varon was caught of guard most of the time, and couldn't block. Joey then delivered the final, blow hard punch to his face that sent him flying to the ground.
Varon was struggling to get up because of all the punches he had received to his face and the back of the head. Blood trickled and leaked all around and down the sides of his mouth. However, this would NOT stop him from getting revenge on Joey.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Varon exploded with anger, and finally was able to hit Joey back for all the times he had hit him. But this time, Varon was in control, and not exactly playing soft. No, not soft at all. He was hitting Joey with 10 times the strength Joey used on him.
"YOU HAVE TO STOP!!!!!!!!!" Mai screamed out at them. But the two men had refused to pay attention to her, and were infused with each other's burning inspirations. She bit her bottom lip, and winced as she watched Joey get pelted in the stomach. She fell quiet, as she watched the fight. It was now that she realized, it was her own fault why they were fighting in the first place. They were both after her, and wanted to win her. But she was no prize to be won. "They both don't deserve this... It's my fault this happened... all mine... If I didn't exist... this never would have happened..."
"Don't say dat, Mai...."
Mai looked at the blond on the ground. He was in pain, and struggling to reclaim his advantage over Varon. His face was just as bloody and dirty as Varon's was, but he had a smirk on his lips. She shook her head as more tears fell down her cheeks and hit the ground.
Joey gave her a comforting smile. "He won't get away wit dis.... I promise you dat... And I won't lose. I'll keep fighting until I win. Even if I don't win, which I swear I will... I have to die trying."
Mai didn't looked reassured. This only made her cry harder. She didn't want him to die. She would never be able to forgive herself if anything happened to him. "Joey..." She sniffled. "Please... Just stop... I can't take this anymore... I use to be like this too... Not fighting wise, mind you. But tough like this. I was so stubborn-"
"You still are stubborn."
Joey and Mai looked to see Varon smirking at the scene. "You'll always be stubborn. That's what I liked about you. You are a tough and independent women. I always loved how you could stand up for yourself, and you were never afraid to speak your mind. I admired you in many ways, Mai. I wanted you to be my women. But you loved Wheeler instead."
Joey immediately looked to a blushing Mai. She was so red that she looked like someone had slapped her about 10 times.
The young blond boy blinked numerous times before even realizing what Varon said, might have be true all along. "You loved me?" He questioned her.
Mai stayed speechless, and still blushing rather hard. 'What is it with you, Mai!? Just tell him how you feel....' She didn't say anything.
"You know the truth, Wheeler! Now lets continue the fight!" Varon came close and tried knocking Joey out with a kick to the back. However, he quickly dodged it. Joey found to his own surprise, that he was enjoying the fight. It had been awhile since he went all out like this. There was just something about the undisciplined feeling of swinging your fists that set Joey free in a way the strict orders of martial arts never could. He laughed as he got a good grip around Varon's neck and choked him. The brunette grunted, as he let himself fall backwards, sending Joey right into the pavement.
He stayed on the ground for a bit, however got back up before Varon had the chance to pin him down for good.
'If I could only get Varon unconscious without actually hurting him.....'
Then Varon had, had enough. Joey had him in a headlock, and there was only one thing he could do to get out of it....
All of a sudden... blood was splattered everywhere. Joey was in pain as he held his hand over his slashed shirt. It was indeed a deep wound, but that wasn't the worst part. Varon had drawn a weapon on him. A switchblade no less.
"JOEY!!!!!!!!" Mai cried out for him, but he tried to ignore her. And he knew that he was at a BIG disadvantage now. He was unarmed and Varon was using a weapon of his own choice.
"YOU BASTARD! YOU DIRTY ROTTEN CHEATER!"
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Darkhope: Bleh, that sucked. Lol. Sorry I left it there, I just had to stop cause I wanna continue the fight in the next chapter. I know what's gunna happen, and I have plans up to about chapter 9.And I'm sorry it was shorter then my other chapters, but like I said don't worry!Hehe. I'll be working on this fic. I promise this will be updated again soon! That is... if you review and inspire me to write! (wink)