Chapter 12

Trial By Red-Eyes

"Your horned freaks may have won control of the field, but now it's time to see if you can hold it. I play Trakodon in defense mode!" Rex said as he played his next monster in defense mode. "Lava Battleguard, give that dino a caveman-style bashing!" Joey commands before the mighty behemoth destroys the dino, a level three, Earth attribute dino with 1300 attack points and 800 defense points. "Oh, I just LOVE the way those two are glowing after destroying that monster!" Rarity said with a smile. "Same here, those guys are some kind of tag team!" Tristan concurred. "You're right about that! The attack point increase they get from being on the field at the same time makes them a tough duo to beat!" Yugi added. "No joke. And since Joey took out Rex's two best monsters, Two-Headed King Rex and Serpent Night Dragon, the rest should be a cake walk!" Pinkie pointed out. "Finish him off!" she shouted. But Rex just scoffed. "Who said that Two-Headed King Rex and Serpent Night Dragon were my best monsters?" he asked as he drew his next card. He then smirked after looking at what he drew. "My supreme monster is a dragon, but of a different sort! The Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" he added, shocking everyone, particularly Spike. "A WHAT Dragon?!" Mai asked in shock as the mighty beast, a level seven, Dark attribute dragon with 2400 attack points and 2000 defense points, appeared. "Your pair of primates can power up till they're green in the face, greener in the face in the case of your Swamp Battleguard, they're still no match for the thrashing power of this beast!" Rex boasted.

"So there are more just like it." Spike said in awe. "You have that card in your deck, right, Spike?" Twilight asked. "I do. Solomon told me about that creature when he gave it to me. Its powers are said to rival those of a single Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Spike answered. "Wait, that thing is nearly as strong as just a single Blue-Eyes?!" Rainbow asked in shock. "It's about time Rex played a card that'll put Joey in his place." Mai said. "And if you think those brain-dead brutes of yours can rescue each other from this dragon's rampage, think again! With Dragon Nails, my Red-Eyes gets a power boost strong enough to clobber an army of your battleguards!" Rex said as he equipped the Dragon Nails to Red-Eyes, boosting its power to 3000. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Inferno Fire Blast!" he commanded as the mighty dragon, now as strong as a Blue-Eyes, launches the attack and destroys BOTH Battleguards in one shot, shocking Joey and Tristan. "How could he torch them both in one shot?" Joey asked. "Those who defend together are destroyed together. Don't tell me you thought their little clubs would be enough to save them from my dragon's wrath." Rex answered. "That's why it's better to have that dragon on your side in a duel, rather than staring it down." Spike said as Joey's life points dropped to 235. "That's a good boy, Rex. Nice work." Mai said, pleased. "Do you smell that odor in the air, Joey? It's the stench of your defeated battleguards. Who's up next for the roast?" Rex spoke before laughing. "Gotta stay calm." Joey said to himself as everyone urged him on from the sidelines. "Spike, tell me that dragon isn't as tough as it looks. I mean, there must be something Joey can do to stop it." Tea said. "I can't answer that, Tea. I'm barred from giving advice, just like Yugi and my friends." Spike responded. 'Though there is one last move that I can think of, but Joey's gonna have to find it out for himself.' he thought.

"Play every monster you've got, my dragon has enough firepower to turn your whole deck into a smoldering pile of ash!" Rex said. 'Rex is right. No creature I have can out-muscle that thing. Man, I guess this is where I get my butt handed to me.' Joey thought to himself. "Yo, Joey! You may not have the monster to beat that dragon, but you've got the smarts!" Tristan shouted. "We're not giving up on you, Joey!" Fluttershy added. "Remember what Solomon taught you; dueling is more about heart than strength!" put in Pinkie. "Now show that overgrown, winged lizard what you're made of!" finished Rainbow. Joey nodded and drew his next card. "Yeah, that's it, Joey. Slap down another card for my Red-Eyes to fry up." Rex taunted before remembering something. 'I almost forgot, Joey might still have that Time Wizard in his hand from a few turns ago. That's the card he fused with Baby Dragon to clobber Mai and her Harpie Sisters. With Yugi's help, that is. Shame Joey's too much of an amateur to know how to use it himself, and without fusing it with Baby Dragon.' he thought. "Hey! Are you gonna nab me the victory you promised or are you gonna sit there with that dumb look on your face?!" Mai shouted. 'Again with the insults? I can't wait to wreck that arrogant attitude of hers in our duel... Wait a minute. If I could snag Joey's Time Wizard, it would be the perfect way to shut her up! She can't win against the powers of that card.' Rex thought to himself. "Oh, Joey! I have an idea, let's make this duel more exciting and each put a card or two up for grabs with our star chips. And just so it's fair, we'll both put up any card that we see as our most valuable or most rare. Sound good?" he offered. "Huh? I don't think I have any rare... Oh, yeah! My Time Wizard! I forgot about him!" Joey responded. "And for him, I'll give you my rarest card, the supreme Red-Eyes Black Dragon! And I'll also throw in my Dragon Nails card for good measure." Rex added, surprising Joey and angering Mai. "Just what do you think you're doing, you dim-witted, disobedient dolt?! You're here to take Joey out of this tournament, not to improve your deck!" Mai shouted.

"Stay out of this!" Rex retorted. "Rex, you double-crossing snake, I know what you're scheming!" Mai shouted back, knowing full well what he was up too. "You blonde goof! Snakes are related to dinosaurs, you know that!" Rex corrected. As the two fought, Joey had time to think. 'That Red-Eyes Black Dragon could really help my chances at winning this tournament and getting its prize money for my sister. But I'd hate to risk this Time Wizard Yugi gave me like it was a bargaining chip. Wait a minute, what am I talking about? Maybe I don't have to!' Joey thought to himself. "You got a deal, Rex! You're Red-Eyes Black Dragon and that Dragon Nails and my Time Wizard, winner takes all!" he announced at last. "WHAT?!" Mai declared as Rex celebrated the fact that Joey fell for his upping the ante. "It's a gutsy move." Yugi pointed out. "Hey, if I know Joey, and I do, he's got plenty of guts behind this wager." Rainbow pointed out. "But while I'm at it, Rex, I'm making him my weapon of choice, too! Go, Time Wizard!" Joey added as he summoned Time Wizard. "What are you doing?!" Rex asked with a shout. "Looks like Joey just figured out the best possible move for this situation." Yugi said with a smile. "This wouldn't be happening if you only obeyed my commands, Rex!" Mai shouted as the Time Wizard appeared. "I hope you packed your bags, Rex, cause if the spin arrow on my Time Wizard's staff lands on a time warp, you'll be short two star chips, putting you closer to catching the next boat off this island!" Joey said. "Do you really want to leave this entire duel up to a single spin?! You do know what'll happen if that arrow lands on a skull, don't you?" Rex asked. "It's a risk I gotta take! Time Roulette, go!" Joey answered as the arrow started spinning around and around like the minute hand of a clock. "What happens if the arrow lands on a skull?" Tea asks. "The Time Wizard will self-destruct and take a chunk out of Joey's life points." Yugi answered. "All he's got left is a chunk!" Tristan said. "With four skulls and two time warps, I think it's a 1-in-2 chance of successfully getting the Time Roulette right." Twilight pointed out.

"I can't believe this entire duel's come down to one spin! It's almost too nerve-wracking to watch!" Rarity said, worried about Joey's 1-in-2 chance. "All we can do now is hope that arrow doesn't land on one of those four skulls." Yugi responded. "Then cross your fingers, everyone." AJ added as the arrow spun round and round, with both players hoping for either a time warp, or a skull. "It's slowing down." Fluttershy said, with a hint of worry. The arrow soon stopped, right on a time warp! "Alright, Joey! You won the roulette!" Rainbow shouted as Rex looked on in horror. "No!" he shouted. "Alright! Time Warp, go!" Joey commanded as the Time Wizard tapped into its power to speed up time faster than previous when Joey battled Mai. "You jerk! Look what you've done! The entire space-time continuum is speeding out of control! Eons are passing like seconds!" Rex shouted as time sped up faster and faster. "Causing a millennium to pass, this is not! If an eon is a billion years, that means creatures are coming into power and going extinct, A HUNDRED TIMES OVER!" Twilight shouted. The light show soon fades as Rex looks upon his dragon. "What happened, to the Red-Eyes?" Fluttershy asked. "It can't be! That time Wizard did more than make it old and grey! It's been completely fossilized!" Mai shouted. "My... My dragon. Fossilized like the dinosaurs." Rex said meekly as his dragon crumbled into dust. "No, NO, NO!" he shouted. "The billions of years Joey's Time Wizard made pass turned Rex's dragon into a brittle shell of dust!" Yugi pointed out. "Guess you won my star chips, huh?" Rex asked as his life points hit 0, taking damage equal to half of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack points. "Not only did I win your star chips, but I won your Red-Eyes and Dragon Nails cards, too! Fair and square!" Joey answered. Everyone on the sidelines cheered, save for Mai. "And you did it all by yourself, too!" Fluttershy added. "I did it, guys! I did it!" Joey shouted once he was back on solid ground. "You're the man, Joey!" Tristan shouted back. The two ran towards each other, with Joey expecting a high five, but instead, Tristan gave him a punch as payback. "You...you punched me! After everything I just went through, you go and punch me?!" Joey said in shock. "Yeah, well, tough tamale. Now we're even for when you punched me." Tristan responded, prompting Joey back to his feet, fighting mad. "Boys, there's no need to fight over this!" Fluttershy pleaded as the two boys started to go at it. "Maybe we should stay out of this one. I think this is their bizarre way of showing each other they care." Tea advised. "Oh, okay. I just hope they don't care about me or even Spike that much." Yugi responded.

Later, night had fallen. "Boy, it sure got dark in a hurry." Yugi said. "Yeah, maybe we oughta set up camp somewhere." Tea added. "Don't tell me you're afraid, Tea. You got us protecting you. Especially Fluttershy." Tristan responded. "Oh, there's not much to worry about. The forest just looks the same as it did this morning. Only, darker." Fluttershy said. "You two have a point, but who's protecting you guys?" Tea asked. "Uh, good point. Let's set up camp." Tristan answered. "Relax, guys. There's nothing in these woods but crickets and squirrels." Joey said, trying to calm everyone down a bit. But little did they know, someone, or something, was stalking from the shadows and the bushes. Later, the group had stopped for the night, and Tristan was failing miserably to try and scare the others with a ghost story. "Tristan, leave the scary stories to the pros, like myself." Rainbow said, remembering the time she took AJ, Rarity and the CMC camping and told scary stories to them. "If I don't get some food in my stomach, I'm gonna turn into a ghost!" Joey shouted at the moon. "Those two and their stomachs, huh, guys?" Tea asked. "Hey, that could be my meal ticket!" Joey shouted as he tried to eat a mushroom, but AJ and Tristan thankfully held him back. "What in tarnation do you think you're doing? Don't you know that wild mushrooms are poisonous?" AJ asked. "So do us all a favor, and let him eat it." a familiar voice said with a chuckle. "Not you again!" Rainbow said in annoyance. "Now what do you want, Mai?" Joey asked, equally annoyed before she took a bite out of a candy bar. "That's it! You can duel me, you can insult me, but you're not eating in front of me!" he shouted. "You're that hungry, are you? Okay, then. Give me your star chips and I'll give you some food." Mai responded. "Forget it! Potato chips, I mean, star chips, are priceless!" Joey retorted. "I was just kidding, Joseph. I'll be more than happy to share if you can manage to ask politely like a gentleman." Mai said. "Right. So then you can go and make fun of me for that, too?" Joey asked. "Look, but tomorrow, I'll have won entrance to the castle, so there's no point in me keeping an entire knapsack full of food." Mai answered. "Sure would be nice to not have to duel tomorrow on an empty stomach." Yugi said. "How do we know this isn't another trick?" Rainbow asked suspiciously. "Rainbow's right. Give us just one good reason to trust you." Joey added. "Cause it's either me or that poisonous mushroom." Mai answered. "No question from us, I'd rather eat whatever food Mai has than anything out here in these woods, anyway." Rarity admitted.

In no time, all the contents of the knapsack were on the ground, among them paper cups, paper plates, candy bars, bags of potato chips, rice, Pepsi soda and canned fruit. "Listen everyone, no dibs on anything yet, at least not until some chores are completed. I want Yugi and Spike to go look for some firewood." Mai spoke. "Sure thing, Mai." Spike said with a salute. "And you two boys can go and fetch us some water." Mai said to Tristan and Joey. "You bet." Tristan said as he gave Joey a bucket and headed for the nearest body of water. "If she's not slinging insults, she's barking orders." Joey said. "I'm willing to swallow my pride if it means swallowing some food." Tristan responded. "We'll be back with that firewood." Yugi said as he and Spike took off. "What are your names, ladies?" Mai asked. "Well, I'm Twilight, and these are my friends Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity." Twilight answered. "And your name is Tea, is it? Well, ladies, if you want to freshen up a bit, there's a makeshift shower just over there." Mai said. "Thank you, Miss Valentine. I speak for all of us when I say we could use a shower after all the excitement today." Rarity responded. "Hanging out with those boys is no reason to have to smell like them." Mai pointed out. Later, Twilight and her friends had just gotten their showers, save for Fluttershy. But as she was about to have hers, the boys had returned and started to set up the campfire and started cooking the rice. "Careful, everyone, this rice is boiling hot." Joey said as he prepared it. 'Mai sure is a hard gal to read. One minute she's causing trouble for us, and the next, we're sharing a campfire with her.' AJ thought to herself. "Look at you go, Joey, all that's missing is a chef's hat." Mai said to Joey. "I agree, but I think it's called a toque." Rarity pointed out. "Jeez, Rarity, enough, you're embarrassing me." Joey responded. "Keep that rice boiling!" Mai ordered. All the while, Fluttershy heard everything from behind the curtain. "You're pretty tough, Mai." she spoke. "I'm sure you and your friends know this already, but we girls have to look out for each other. Especially with a bunch of bozos and young'uns like them around. Spike, I understand, but I don't understand why you bother hanging out with Joey and Tristan." Mai responded. "That's easy, Mai. They're my friends, just like the other girls." Fluttershy pointed out. "Again, I understand Spike and Yugi, but those other two goofballs? In my experience, their type is only good for moving furniture or fixing cars." Mai responded in surprise. "Well, Mai..." Fluttershy began to say, but then she heard something moving around outside, prompting her to shriek. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked. "I..I think I heard something outside the curtain." Fluttershy answered, a bit spooked as she clutched her towel tight. Mai and the other girls looked around back but found nothing. "Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. Must've been an animal." AJ said.

Later, dinner was just about ready. "Man, this sure looks and smells delicious delicious." Rainbow said with a smile. And in moments, they all made like shovels and dug in. "Rice and curry is always the best!" Tristan said with a smile. "Thank you very much." Joey added. "Not bad. How about yours, Spike?" Yugi spoke. "I give it four stars out of five." Spike responded. "Speaking of stars, I heard that you won a few earlier today, Mai. How many does that leave you with? Eight or nine?" Yugi pondered. "However many she has, she sure sounds like she's in the zone." Rainbow added. "Listen, Yugi, I can see you're a nice guy off the battlefield, but it's only a matter of time before..." Mai began to say before Tea interrupted. "No offense, Mai, but can't we just not think about the tournament just for tonight?" she asked. "I agree, besides, there's something fishy about the whole thing that I just can't put my finger on." Twilight added. "Okay, just as long as everyone is crystal clear about one little thing; any duelist in my way is going down." Mai responded, to the surprise of everyone. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going for a walk." she added as she got up and walked away. "Man, she can really ruin a meal." Joey said. Meanwhile, Mai was contemplating and sort of regretting what had transpired. 'I should've never sat down with those losers! Even if they do seem kind of nice, especially Twilight and her friends. And they all seem friendly, and... No! I can't afford to go soft now! I'm a Duelist first, and that means everyone is a potential opponent.' she thought to herself. "So no friends for me. I want to win, and I'll do it alone" she continued aloud, completely unaware that someone was right behind her. A really big someone that snuck up, grabbed and dragged her off.

Back at the campsite, everyone had finished their curry and rice. "That was a great meal, but I'm fading fast over here." Rainbow said with a yawn. "Don't you think we should check on Mai?" Fluttershy asked. "Good idea." Yugi answered. "She's been gone for a while, longer than a walk normally would take." Twilight added. "She's probably just setting up some trap for us if we do." Joey pointed out. Suddenly, Fluttershy and Tea shriek when they hear something moving in the bushes behind them. "What was that?" Twilight asked. "I bet that's just Mai, probably been waiting there this whole time!" Rainbow answered. "Okay, come on out, Mai!" Joey called. But instead of Mai, out came Bakura Ryou. "My word! It's Bakura!" Rarity said with a smile, indicating she had a sort of crush on him. "See? I told you! I haven't just been seeing things!" Tea said as she remembered the last two times she saw him. "What're you doing way out here, Bakura?" Joey asked. "Same as you guys, I guess." he answered. "You gave us a scare sneaking around in those bushes like that." Tristan said. "For a minute there, I thought we actually had something to worry about." Joey added, admitting that that was a pretty silly suspicion. Later, Bakura joined the group by the fire, when Tristan noticed something. "Uh, AJ, you've been staring at that card for about an hour. What gives?" Rainbow asked. "I'll tell you, just don't laugh. Whenever I duel, sometimes I imagine it's me on the field trading blows with whatever monster my opponent throws at me. Though I will admit, it does sound kinda silly." AJ answered. "Well, if any of you were doing as AJ described, which card would you be?" Bakura asked. "Here's my pick, this one; the Flame Swordsman, the one guy that can kick a dinosaur's butt!" Joey answered as he held up said card. "Here's mine, guys; the Cyber Commander!" Tristan said as he held up his card of choice, a level two, Dark attribute Machine monster with 750 attack points and 700 defense points. "Joey pick a guy with a flaming sword, and Tristan picks a cyborg soldier? Well, mine's a different sort of warrior; the Amazoness Paladin!" AJ responded as she held up her card, a level four, Earth attribute Warrior with 1700 attack points and 300 defense points. "Here's the card that's my favorite; Dunames Dark Witch." Fluttershy said as she held up her card, a level four, Light attribute Fairy with 1800 attack points and 1050 defense points. "Oooh! Here's my personal favorite; Sauropod Brachion!" Pinkie shouted as she showed off her card, a level 8, Earth attribute dinosaur with 1500 attack points and 3000 defense points. "I think everyone has a card they can identify with. You should see if you can pick one for yourself, Tea." Yugi suggested. "Okay. I pick this one, Magician of Faith." she said as she held up her card, a level one, Light attribute Spellcaster with 300 attack points and 400 defense points. "Oh, I think I have that card in my deck!" Twilight said with a smile. "Isn't it supposed to have a special ability, Spike?" she asked. "It sure does, Twilight. If you used her in a duel, you'd know." Spike answered. "Which card do you identify with, Yugi?" Bakura asked. "Oh, that's easy. The Dark Magician, hands down" Yugi answered as he held up his favorite card. "Same here!" Twilight added as she held up her own Dark Magician. "I'm all about soaring across the battlefield, so here's my pick; Swift Birdman Joe!" Rainbow declared as she revealed her card of choice, a level six, Wind attribute Winged Beast with 2300 attack points and 1400 defense points. "I have three of this card, but it's still my favorite; the Thunder Dragon!" Rarity said with pride as she showed one of her said cards; a level five, Light attribute Thunder monster with 1600 attack points and 1500 defense points. "My obvious choice is also a dragon; Luster Dragon number 2!" Spike shouted as he held up his card; a level six, Wind attribute dragon with 2400 attack points and 1400 defense points. "Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but don't you guys think it's a little silly to be comparing ourselves to playing cards?" Tea asked, knowing that AJ admitted it was silly. "Maybe a little, but it's like grandpa says; it's not about the cards, it's about putting a little bit of your heart into anything that you care about, you know what I mean?" Yugi responded. Everyone agreed. "Which card do you care about most, Bakura?" Rarity asked. "This one is my favorite." Bakura answered as he held up his card of choice; a spell card that Twilight knew she had, known as Change of Heart. "Hey, I have that card! Isn't that called Change of Heart?" Twilight said immediately. "Kind of a weird looking picture, don't you think?" Joey asked as he looked at the artwork of the card, which depicted a woman with an angel wing on one side, and a monstrous wing on the other. "If you want to see how it works, we could have a duel right now. Not for star chips, just for a little fun." Bakura answered. "Sure, I'm down with that." Joey answered. "Me, too. After all this star chip business, it'll be a nice change of pace to have a duel with no strings attached." Rainbow added. "I agree. Just a regular old duel can lighten things up around here, just like back home in Domino City." AJ added. "Why don't you all put your favorite cards into Yugi's deck? Then it'll be like we're all playing together." Bakura suggested. "That idea is just brilliant, Bakura!" Rarity said, enthusiastically. "Deal, but I should warn you, with this all-star team of cards, we'll be tough to beat." Yugi said. "True, but maybe I'll surprise you." Bakura responded. "This oughta be fun!" Pinkie said with a smile.

Soon, both players were ready. "Alright, I'm all shuffled." Yugi said. "Are you sure you don't mind playing alone?" Rarity asked. "Don't worry, Bakura. We'll go easy on you." Rainbow added. "Thanks." Bakura responded as, unbeknownst to anyone, something in his face changed. "Then let's get this duel on the road!" Joey shouted. "Before we get started, there's something I'd like to share with you all. Especially with you, Yugi." Bakura said, puzzling everyone. "What is it?" Twilight asked. "You'll see." Bakura answered before humming. "What's he doing?" Tea wondered. "This is getting kinda freaky." Joey said with worry as, to the shock of everyone, especially Twilight and Yugi, a Millennium Item appeared around Bakura's neck. "No! It can't be! It's a Millennium Item!" Twilight shouted. "Yes, and the magic of my Millennium Ring will take us to the Shadow Realm!" Bakura responded as they arrived in said place. "Man, I hate this kind of magic!" Joey said with worry. "Why are you doing this, Bakura?" Rarity asked. "Your friend, Yugi, has something I want. And I aim to take it!" Bakura responded as he used the magic of the Millennium Ring to separate the souls of the whole group from their bodies, sending and locking them in Yugi's deck as Bakura chuckled and stood up. "That wasn't too difficult. Their souls have been locked away, and now, after waiting for countless centuries, the legendary Millennium Puzzle is mine!" he said in triumph as he reached for the puzzle. However, it started to glow, so, too, did the hands of Twilight and her friends as their souls seemingly returned to their bodies. "No! It can't be!" Bakura shouted. "What just happened?" Rainbow asked. "I think our souls got put back in our bodies, same with Yugi!" Twilight answered before realizing what happened. 'I think it was our own magic that reunited our souls with our bodies.' she thought as she looked at her hand, still glowing. "You want my Millennium Puzzle? Then you're going to have to duel me for it. But if I win, you'll release my friends and send us all back!" Yugi said as he stood up.

"I agree to your ridiculous terms, Yugi. But I promise you, there is more at stake here than you comprehend, and this is one Shadow Game that you CANNOT win!" Bakura responded with a laugh as the two players faced each other, ready to begin their Shadow Game.