No additions to disclaimers yet. Probably won't need anymore. This chapter is entitled 'Breakdown' for the ending. But for the ending to happen the beginning has to go through. You'll figure it out. As for the happenings, Téa and Brian are on fire. Not literally. They are desperate for some alone time but people keep interrupting. It had to be this way to prevent the rating from going to M, if you know what I mean. There's a few moments where it seems like something my friend, Lizzie, would think up. I think there's a duel in there somewhere, too. Oh well, here's chapter 7.

Chapter 7: Breakdown

"Off to the finals!" Yugi had said that an hour ago. We had been wandering around looking for the meeting place for the finals. Of course, it was probably no surprise we were lost. We were following Joey after all.

"I know it's around here somewhere," Joey said as he walked in front of us.

"Joey, let someone else lead. All you've done is take us around in a circle," Téa said. She sounded pretty annoyed.

"A circle? What makes you think that?" Joey responded.

"Well, for one, there's Mai's car," Téa answered.

That started a big argument about who should lead. Yugi tried to break it up, Mai just stood there and laughed, and I smiled. The smile quickly faded and I silently slipped away from the group. I walked to the end of the block and sat on the curb. I had suddenly felt like a stranger, as if I didn't belong there. It was like I didn't know who I was anymore. Maybe it was a side effect of that crazy ritual that Skarra and I did. I felt a hand on my shoulder, but I ignored it at first, thinking it was Téa.

"Are you okay?" a voice said. To my surprise, it wasn't Téa. I looked over and saw Serenity standing over me.

"Uh…yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about which way we should have gone," I answered quickly. I added a nervous laugh at the end.

Instead of saying "alright" and walking away she sat down next to me. "I want to thank you for helping my brother out today and yesterday."

"It was nothing, really," I replied. "I was just helping a friend."

"Well, it means a lot to me," she said and scooted closer to me. "There is something else that you can do that would mean a lot to me."

I could see where she was going with this and I wasn't going to buy into it. "I'm sorry, Serenity. I love Téa," I informed her. I felt kinda bad about rejecting her, though. "Look, you're a nice girl and I'm sure that you'll find someone that loves you someday."

"Oh…I understand," she said sadly. "I just thought…"

Before she could finish the thought, Téa sat down on my other side, which made me feel more awkward than I already felt. "Something wrong, sweetie?" she asked me. She had started calling me that a lot since a few days ago.

I looked at Serenity out of the corner of my left eye and turned to Téa and smiled. "No, nothing at all!" I said. "Serenity was just thanking me for helping out Joey."

"I think we've decided that you're best person to lead us to the location of the finals," Téa told me. "I suggested you could use your…unique tracking skills."

I stood up and noticed that everyone had gathered around me. "Okay, no pressure," I said under my breath. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and set my powers to work. The city appeared in my mind like a satellite photograph. I could sense everyone in the city, but I was looking for one person in particular. Seto Kaiba. I located him a mile away and I relayed the address to the others. Yugi knew exactly where it was, so he led us down the street. I hung back a few feet and trudged slowly behind them. Téa slowed her pace little by little until she was back with me. She pretended that she wasn't trying to hold my hand and it was an accident that our hands kept touching. After a few times, she simply took my hand in hers.

"Okay, Brian, you can't hide it from me. I know you too well," Téa said.

I looked into her face and sighed. "You're right, Téa. There is something bothering me. But I don't want to talk about it here. We'll talk later, when we're alone."

Téa gave me a sad nod and a kiss. Soon everyone stopped and looked up at a huge stadium. "Boy, when Kaiba throws a tournament, he really throws it," Mai said in astonishment. We casually wandered in and found the two Kaibas standing in the middle of the arena. I looked around at what appeared to be seats, the strange thing was, they were completely empty.

"It's about time you guys showed up," Mokuba said with a grin.

"They're late probably because they followed Wheeler the Bloodhound," Kaiba laughed.

Duke and Tristan held back an infuriated Joey, telling him that had been the reason they were late. As we approached the CEO and his brother, another figure appeared from a second entrance.

"Hey, isn't that Bakura?" Téa asked. "Isn't he supposed to be in the hospital?"

"Hi, everyone!" Bakura said with a slight English accent.

"Bakura! What are you doing here?" Yugi asked. "And why are you wearing a duel disk?"

"Well, I'm in the finals," came the nervous reply. Then he pulled out his six locater cards. "See? I won all of them at once from a kid named Bonz."

We all stared at him in surprise. Then I felt an almost overwhelming wave of darkness. I sensed Yugi and Yami switch out at the same time. They must have felt it as well.

"Marik…" both of us said at the same time.

"Marik? This is the guy that took over my body?" Joey started. "I'm gonna mess him up!"

"Cool it, Wheeler," Kaiba commanded. "I finally meet you face to face, Marik. After we duel, your Winged Dragon of Ra will be mine. So let's start the finals."

"Shouldn't we wait for the eighth duelist, Seto?" Mokuba asked. Kaiba responded with a no. "Okay, then. Kaiba Craft Three, you are clear for landing."

"Landing? What's going on here?" I asked.

"This is only the meeting place for the finals," Mokuba replied. "Our dueling site is up there." He pointed into the sky where a huge blimp was descending into the stadium. The craft touched down lightly and lowered a boarding ramp. "Alright, all aboard!" Mokuba instructed us. We were each given a key card marked with a number. I figured it was for something on the blimp. Kaiba was the first to board followed by Marik and the rest of the finalists. I was last up the ramp.

"Hold it right there!" someone shouted. I turned to look and saw that the non-duelists were being held from getting on. "Only finalists can board."

"Can't you bend the rules, Mokuba? Just this once?" I asked him. I really wanted Téa with me for this.

"Let them aboard, Kimo," Mokuba ordered.

"But, sir, they don't have a key card-" the guard started to say but Mokuba cut him off.

"Hey, I don't even have a card and I'm allowed on," he said. "There's no other problems, right Kimo?" Kimo shook his head after the threat and stepped aside. Then Tristan thanked Mokuba and they trotted up the stairs on the ramp.

Inside the blimp was bigger than I had expected it to be. Then Mokuba got our attention to make an announcement. "The cards you hold in your hands is your room number as well as your duelist number. We will be lifting off in a few minutes, so go ahead and get settled in," he explained. "Shortly after take off, there will be a buffet and, an hour after that, the first two duelists will be chosen, followed immediately by their duel."

After Mokuba's speech, we all turned to find our rooms. I found mine easily and went in. Taking a brief survey, I realized that it looked like a hotel room. A slight twinge revealed to me that someone else had boarded the aircraft. I passed it off as the eighth finalist just as a metallic knock resounded through the room. I went over and opened the door and saw Téa.

"Hi, is this a good time to talk?" she asked. I nodded and sat down on the bed that was installed in the room. Téa pulled a chair over and sat in it directly in front of me. "Okay, tell me what's wrong."

"It's kinda hard to explain," I began. "Remember when I was knocked out while those Rare Hunters locked us up? Well, Skarra took me to the Shadow Realm for awhile." I looked at Téa. Her face had the same expression as when I told her my story a week ago. "He told me about a ritual that might help us fight Marik. It was a ritual to fuse our souls as one."

"Okay, and did something bad happen during it?" Téa questioned.

"I think the ritual worked," I continued. "But something just hasn't felt right since it happened. I don't know what it is exactly. I just don't feel like I belong here, I don't know who I am anymore."

"You aren't questioning us, are you?" she asked. It sounded like she could start crying at any moment. I thought about her question for a minute. It was a very good question. I was questioning everything at this point, but I didn't want to tell her that, it would break her heart.

"No, of course not," I comforted her. I thought a little more about it. I really did still love her. "That's the only thing I'm absolutely sure of. I just have a lot to sift through. All of Skarra's memories, feelings, knowledge, my thoughts, the tournament, Marik…it's just too much for me to handle right now. But the thing is I have to handle it now."

"Don't worry, we can get through this together," she said and placed her hand on my shoulder. "I promised that I would be there for you and that's a promise I intend to keep."

"I love you, Téa," I said sincerely and smiled.

"I love you, too, Brian," she replied. Then she practically leaped out of the chair, wrapping her arms around me. I put my arms around her waist as she fell on top of me and I melted into the kiss she planted on my lips.

A crackle and voice from an intercom interrupted our moment and brought us back to our senses. "Attention duelists and guests," Mokuba's voice came through loud and clear. "We have left the ground and the buffet is open to everyone."

Téa and I sat up and giggled. I was a little embarrassed at what almost happened. "Shall we go?" I asked Téa and took her hand. When we exited the room, we heard a loud thumping sound that got steadily louder. I quickly yanked Téa back into my room just in time to save her from Joey, who was running at full speed down the hall yelling "FOOD!"

I peeked out the door to check for any other danger. Téa and I exited the room again, this time with more caution. We were looking in the direction Joey had gone when someone cleared his throat behind us.

"And what do we have here?" I turned and saw Tristan standing there grinning. Behind him, were the rest of our friends, well, all of them except Joey. "So what have you been doing?"

I blushed when I realized I was still holding Téa's hand, but I didn't let go. I was unsure about most of my life right now, but this was one thing I knew was part of me. "What? Never seen a couple holding hands before?" I asked him. Everyone laughed and we walked together to the room where the food was. When we arrived, we saw that Joey was already at work with four plates full of food.

"Yeah, I'm not hungry," Tristan commented after we sat down with Joey, who was cramming food into his mouth nonstop, with barely enough time to chew. Some of us ate, some stared at Joey in horror, and others, namely me, just enjoyed the company of the others. After an hour, and promptly an hour, Mokuba announced that the first match was going to be chosen. With that, we filed into the next room where a machine sat. It was designed to look like a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

"The competitors will be chosen randomly by lottery," Mokuba explained. "Each ball in the machine is marked with a number that corresponds to your key card. Two will be randomly selected and those two duelists will report to the upper deck to begin their duel. Now, Roland, will you do the honors.

The official standing next to the machine flipped a switch that started the selection process. "Remember your numbers duelists," he stated. Soon the first ball rolled out on to a tray on the front. "And the first duelist is…duelist number 5! Brian Matthews!"

My jaw dropped a little. I didn't expect to be picked first. Téa squeezed my hand and whispered a good luck in my ear. We watched in suspense as the next duelist was chosen. The second ball followed soon after and Roland picked up and announced my opponent's name. "The next duelist is…number 4! Joey Wheeler! Both of you report to the upper deck immediately begin your duel. Guests and other duelists are welcome to watch."

Joey and I stepped into an elevator that took us up to the upper deck. We rode in silence to the top. When the doors opened, a chilling wind blew into the elevator car. The "upper deck" was actually the top of the blimp. There was a elevated arena for the match as well. The two of us climbed a small stair case up to the arena and took up positions on either side. On my left stood Seto and Mokuba Kaiba and on my right was Téa and the others. Thankfully, Marik wasn't anywhere to be seen, but neither was that mysterious eighth duelist.

"Brian Matthews versus Joey Wheeler," Roland declared. "Let the duel begin!"

Joey went first. He drew a card and looked at his hand. Then he started to giggle to himself. A gust of wind blew across the playing field and Joey's cards scattered away through the air. He quickly snagged all of them before they got away.

"C'mon Joey focus!" Tristan called out.

"Hey, Joey needs all the support we can give him," Serenity butted in. "Nice catch big brother!"

"Good grief. How naïve is she?" I asked myself. I kept my attention on my opponent and spoke out loud. "I'm expecting a good match from you, Joey. Keep your focus on the game."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just getting some exercise, warming up," he replied. "I summon Alligator's Sword in defense mode and end my turn there."

"I set two cards face down and summon Masked Dragon in attack mode," I began my turn. "Then I'll play my Mountain magic card. It increases the attack and defense of all dragon, winged beast, and thunder monsters by 200 points. And now Masked Dragon will destroy your Alligator's Sword!"

The dragon lashed out and shattered Joey's monster. Since it was in defense mode, there was no damage to his life points. "Not to shabby, but you ain't gonna beat me with those lame attacks," he said calmly. "Now I set this card face down and summon Tiny Wing Guard in attack mode. Gimme your best shot."

"Alright, you asked for it," I told him. "I summon Gray Wing and I'll use it's special ability by discarding one card from my hand. Gray Wing can now attack twice this turn. Now Masked Dragon attack his Wing Guard!"

"You walked right into my trap. Go Skull Dice!" Joey exclaimed.

"Nice try. Reveal face down card, Trap Jammer!" I countered. "This baby negates a trap card that you activate during the battle phase." My monster continued its attack and destroyed Tiny Wing Guard and took 300 life points. "Gray Wing attack his life points. Twice!" Another 3000 was lost. "You're going to have to do better than that to beat me, Joey."

"Fine, then. I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!" Joey stated his next turn. "Gearfried, attack and destroy Gray Wing!" I lost my monster and 300 of my own life points on that move. "Is that better?"

"At least it's not a shut out anymore," I replied. "I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards from my deck." I looked at my cards and tried to think up some sort of strategy. "I summon Koumori Dragon in defense mode and switch Masked Dragon to the same position. I end my turn."

"I summon Rocket Warrior and I'll use it to destroy your Koumori Dragon," Joey stated his next move. "And now say bye-bye to your other dragon. Gearfried, attack!"

"Thanks, Joey," I said to him. He looked confused, as did Téa and the others. "When Masked Dragon is destroyed in battle, I get to summon another dragon to the field. I select Red Eyes Black Chick!"

"Red Eyes Black Chick?" Tristan asked from the sidelines. "It looks like a Red Eyes Black Dragon, but it's smaller and weaker. Why would he play that in an important match like this?"

"Brian knows what he's doing," Téa responded. "He's very experienced."

"Yeah, experienced in getting you alone with him," he snickered back.

Téa just glared at him. "I know you can do it, Brian!" she cheered after shutting Tristan up with her death glare.

I began my turn, ignoring Tristan's comments. I grinned to my self. I drew one of my Blue Eyes White Dragons and had Soul Exchange in my hand. I could summon it now, but I had other plans for my Chick. "Let my show you the hidden power of my Red Eyes Black Chick," I said to my rival. "I offer it as a tribute, to summon the adult form. Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

"What? No way! That can't be true!" Joey stuttered. "Yugi? You gave him that card?"

"No. I still have it," I heard Yugi respond. "This must be a different card."

"That's right Joey," I continued. "This is mine. Now make your move. I end my turn without attacking."

"I appreciate you going easy on me, but you really don't have to," Joey said. "I switch both of my monsters to defense position and summon Hayabusa Knight, also in defense mode. Then I'll set this card face down. Back to you, buddy."

My next card was Monster Reborn. I used it to revive my Masked Dragon. "Now prepare for one of my most powerful creatures," I told him. "I play Soul Exchange and I'll use your Hayabusa Knight and my Masked Dragon to summon my almighty Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

My monster drew startled gasps from everyone except Yugi and Téa, who had seen it before. Even Kaiba was taken by surprise. Joey just smiled. "I'm glad I finally got to see you play that monster," he said with a grin. "But I'm afraid it won't be around for long. I activate Trap Hole!"

"Hey, way to go Joey!" Serenity called from the sidelines.

"Nice job, man!" Tristan added.

"Brilliant move, Joey," I congratulated him. "But if you only knew that you were helping me out…"

"What's he talking about, Téa?" Mai asked. "You are his girlfriend after all."

"I don't know," she replied. "He kept a few of his cards a secret, even from me."

"Well, I've heard of a card that draws power from monsters in the graveyard," Bakura spoke up. "But I thought it was just a rumor."

"It's your turn, Joey," I told him. "When I use Soul Exchange, I can't attack."

"I think I'll activate my magic card Roulette Spider," Joey declared his next move.

"I think I'll activate my facedown card, Magic Jammer," I countered. Joey just growled and ended his turn. I drew a card and began to laugh. "Are you ready to see the full power of my Red Eyes Black Dragon?"

"Full power? I think this is that card I mentioned," Bakura stated.

"I offer my Red Eyes Black Dragon as a tribute to call forth my Red Eyes Darkness Dragon!" I exclaimed. The Black Dragon disappeared and thick storm clouds formed above me. The clouds dropped a few lightning bolts and a huge blast of wind soared across the arena and, apparently, where the spectators were standing. Out of the corners of my eyes I saw everyone shielding themselves from the gusting winds. I withstood the wind, my hair blowing wildly, and watched my dragon descend from the epicenter of the swirling black clouds. The dragon, twice the size of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, landed in the middle of the arena and let out a loud roar. The gale winds died down but the pitch black clouds remained.

My friends stared at my monster in awe, even Kaiba was speechless. Eventually, Joey found his voice. "How strong is that thing?" he managed to get out.

"It has the same attack and defense as its predecessor," I replied. "But it has a special ability that gives it 300 attack points for each dragon in my graveyard. Guess what? I have seven dragons in there. That gives it 4500 attack power. And it still gains another 200 since Mountain is still active. Now behold my dragon's immense power. Red Eye Darkness Dragon, attack Rocket Warrior with your Shadow Mega Flare!" A ball of black fire formed in the dragon's mouth and it sat there for a second before launching itself at Joey's monster.

Joey wore an expression of pure horror, as did everyone else. He slowly drew a card and trembled as he looked at his cards. "There's nothing I can do now. I end my turn," he said weakly.

"My next card is useless right now, but I'll still wipe out your Iron Knight. Darkness Dragon attack!" I declared my next move. The attack had the same devastating effect as the last one did.

"I play Scapegoat!" Joey said as he made his move.

I drew another monster from my deck this time. "I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth, and I'll take out two of your Sheep Tokens," I said.

I heard Téa say something from the where she was standing on my right. "I hope this ends soon, I don't know how much longer I can watch."

"I'll sacrifice one of my Sheep Tokens to summon Jinzo in defense mode," Joey claimed.

"No more monsters, yet," I informed him. "But now the last of your defenses will fall!" Twin-Headed Behemoth took the life of his last Sheep Token and another Flare engulfed his Jinzo.

"I set one card face down and end my turn," Joey said half heartedly.

"I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face down card and I'll finish you off," I said as I made the final move. "Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, annihilate him!"

My monster launched the final attack directly at Joey's life points. The force of the blast threw him on his back a few feet away from where he was standing. I then turned to Roland who was standing off to the side of the arena. It took him a few moments before he declared me the winner. When the holograms shut down, I walked over to where Joey was lying and helped him to his feet. Together, we stepped off the arena and joined Yugi and the others. They started congratulating me on my victory and I thanked Joey for the match. After Mokuba told us there would be a half hour intermission between the duels, our group headed back down the elevator.

About halfway down, I noticed something missing. "Where's Téa?" I asked them.

"She said something about not wanting to watch the match anymore and she rushed off during the duel," Tristan replied. After his explanation the doors of the elevator opened and I pushed my way out and rushed off to find Téa. "Hey, where're you going?"

"Just let him go," I heard Mai say as I left. "You can't stop him. He's in love."

I rushed around the blimp searching everywhere for my girlfriend. I eventually found her in the banquet hall sitting in a chair with her face in her hands. As I walked in, I could hear a muffled crying. She didn't notice me until I was bent down in front of her with my hand on her shoulder.

"Téa, tell me what's wrong," I begged her. She lifted her head up so it was level with mine. Tears were streaming down her face and she wore an expression of worry and fear. She didn't say a word. She just looked at me for a second and turned her gaze away. "Téa…please…" I whispered. She continued to keep her eyes off me and began to finally speak.

"That duel…you were…I couldn't…" she stuttered between sobs. I could barely make out the words. "You summoned that monster…you became…evil…"

I didn't believe what she said. After a few seconds, I recalled the match with Joey. When my monster descended to the field, I couldn't control myself. I just attacked and attacked with no regard for Joey or anyone else for that matter. All I cared about was winning that duel.

I dropped to my knees and stared at my hands through the tears that had formed in my eyes. "I couldn't control myself, Téa," I cried. "All I wanted to do was win. I just couldn't handle the power of that monster. I'm so sorry…" The tears that were in my eyes were now running down my cheeks. Téa then wiped the tears from my cheeks with her hand, something I didn't expect. I looked up at her, only to see her trying to smile.

"No, I'm sorry," She told me. "I should have known that you would never become evil. I was just so scared-" I stopped her speech with a passionate kiss, one that made us pull each other closer.

Someone, apparently desperate to break us up, cleared his throat several times. Not wanting to have one of our moments ruined twice in one day, Téa and I ignored him. We continued our kiss through to the last possible second before we broke it slowly. The two of us stood and stared lovingly into each other's eyes. I held Téa's hands in mine, pressed against my heart.

"You guys done?" Tristan asked.

"What is it?" I replied, not taking my eyes off Téa for a second.

"C'mon they're gonna pick the next duel," Joey piped up. "If we don't get going now, we're gonna miss it."

"Yeah, we're coming…" I said softly. Téa and I shared one more sweet kiss before turning to leave, hand in hand.