Lu: Here's the new chappie! It's just a bridge chapter, really, but far more exciting than the other bridge chapter. Enjoy! Oh, and read the end note if you want an explanation of the challenge given to the finalists by Kaiba.
-
The sun shone brightly above the duellist city. All over town, duellists were waking up, checking through their decks, making last minute peaks and touch-ups. Nobody knew what was in store for them that day. Kaiba hadn't yet informed the duellists as to what was going to follow, now that all of the finalist entry cards had been claimed.
But in one room, one guy was still asleep.
"Hun, time to get up" cooed a voice into Joey's left ear. He groaned, mumbled something incoherent, and turned over, drawing the blanket closer to him. Mai sighed and rolled her eyes. This was the first time she had been stuck with the burden of getting Joey out of bed. She was finding it an amusing but slightly exasperating experience. Joey let out a loud snore. Mai snorted. She hadn't thought it was humanly possible to make a snore that loud. She placed a hand gently but firmly onto his shoulder, and shook him.
"But Ma, I don't wanna go ta school dis mornin'" slurred Joey, before emitting another snore. Mai rolled her eyes again. Boys.
"Joseph Wheeler, get your lazy ass out of bed right now or I'll be forced to do something drastic" barked Mai, hoping a stern voice would be a more successful approach. However, she was mistaken. Her order was completely ignored. Mai was getting frustrated. But she had one more plan.
Moving quietly around so she was facing him, she kneeled down beside the bed, and planted a kiss on his lips. Joey's eyes immediately flew open, and Mai broke away.
"If I'd have known dat was the wake up call I'd be gettin', I would've given da hotel a tip" exclaimed a suddenly wide awake Joey. Mai smirked.
"And if I'd have known how long it takes to wake you up, I would have brought a siren. Maybe that would have gotten you out of bed quicker" retorted Mai. "Now get up! It's already 7:00! If you want any chance of having breakfast, then you better get up" Joey sprung to his feet, grabbed his bag and disappeared into the bathroom.
-
"So Kaiba, what's gonna happen now" asked Yugi, as the gang settled into their now familiar seats at the breakfast cafe in town.
"You mean with the tournament? Well, anyone who has an entry card for the finals stays, and everyone else is sent packing, unless they want to watch the rest of the tournament. There is complementary seating for anyone who participated and you guys"- he pointed to Tristan, Serenity and Tea"can all sit there too. And the sleeping arrangements will change to be two or three in a room, because I expect that quite a few duellists will pack off. Sore losers."
"Two, huh" pondered Joey. "Can we choose anyone to be with? Let's say, if I wanted to be with"
"Yes, Joey. You can be in the same room as Mai" interrupted Seto, causing Joey to immediately glance at Mai and smile. The group immediately broke into loud discussion of who was sharing what room with whom. Tea sat to the edge of the group, not participating in the discussion. She glanced to her left, where Yami also remained in a sullen silence, his arms crossed across his chest.
"Umm... Yami..." began Tea shyly. "Would... would you like to share a room with me" Yami looked at her, startled.
'Share a room with Tea? Does she mean... like that?' He glanced around. Yugi had already paired up with Ryou. This he took as a good sign, because he had assumed that they had to be together to share a room, but he was sure his hikari was not gay.
"Err... sure Tea! It would be my pleasure" he replied enthusiastically. Tea smiled at him, then looked at her knees, the shy smile still on her face.
The discussion ended abruptly as the waiter arrived to take the orders. By now, everyone was sorted out - Joey with Mai; Yami with Tea; Yugi with Ryou; Duke, Tristan and Marik (neither Tristan nor Duke would let the other get to Serenity) and finally, Serenity, Seto and Mokuba (Joey steamed as it was announced, but felt slightly comforted at the fact that Mokuba was going to be in there too). A/N: Just so you know, I'm changing it so that Joey will not like the fact that Kaiba and Serenity are together. I don't really like the couple anymore, but I love Joey's reaction, so I'm going to change it to suit myself.
"Seto, you didn't really explain what is happening with the actual tournament. Do the finals start today" asked Yugi curiously. Seto swallowed his food, nodding in reply.
"The eight finalists - Yami, Joey, Mai, Marik, Mako, Rex, Ishizu and I - will be placed into duels drawn at random. From there, four people will be eliminated, and the final four will be duelling also from the results of a random draw. Basically, it's the same set-up as Battle City, but much less publicised and much more selective" he explained.
"Guys, two of us are going to have to duel each other you realise" pointed out Yami. "There are five of us, am I correct? Joey, Mai, Seto, Marik and I. So two of us are going to have to duel each other." This fact hit each of them rather heavily. Joey and Mai immediately glanced at one another in dread. Not only would there have to be one of them eliminated by another in the first round, but in the second round of duels, if three of them got into them, another person would have to be knocked out by a friend.
Once everyone had finished, Duke suggested that they get moving "No use waiting around here, when there's duelling to watch" - so they headed off.
-
As Seto approached the podium, a hush fell over the crowded duellists. He stepped up into the stand, commanding the total attention of everyone gathered.
"Fellow duellists, thank you for participating in the Conflict Duel Tournament. I'm sure you're all wondering what's happening from here on in" there was scattered murmurs of approval "-and any of you who participated in Battle City will know the basic format. Eight finalists, duels drawn at random. Then two more duels also chosen at random, followed by the grand final. Now, anyone without a final entry card, which is most of you, are welcome to stay and watch the finals. Anyone who doesn't want to watch the finals, thank you for participating, and better luck in the next tournament. Anyone with a finalist entry card, please follow me."
The finalists spread themselves out inside the small room that Seto had led them to. Yami, Joey, Mai and Marik grouped on one side of the room. Rex and Mako positioned themselves on the opposite corner, whilst Ishizu retreated into the last corner. Seto stood in the centre of the room, ready to address those gathered.
"The actual duels will not be held here, but in a duelling arena not far from here. Unfortunately, though it is not far as the crow flies, there are many obstacles for people. This will be a test of stamina, as in the last tournament, some people" - here he stared pointedly at Joey "were unable to complete their duels. Anyone who doesn't manage to complete this challenge will be replaced by someone who can. Once we get to the duelling site, we will draw the first duel, and there will be a ten minute break to prepare. Does everyone understand" He received eager nods from everyone in the room, with the exception of Ishizu, who inclined her head slightly to indicate that she understood.
"What is involved in this challenge" asked Yami.
"First, we'll go in a helicopter" - murmurs of ascent echoed around the room "followed by sky diving into 4 canoes" - everyone started to sound slightly less confident "and then, once we've gotten to the end of the river, we'll slide down a flying fox to the arena." A long and uneasy silence answered the end of the speech.
"And how do all the spectators get there" queried Mai.
"They will be airlifted by helicopter to the duelling site" responded Seto.
"And why can't we" growled Joey, glaring icily at Seto. Seto simply returned his glare with a withering look.
"If are finished complaining, Joey, then we can begin the stamina challenge. Everybody follow me to the helicopter pad."
-
"Approaching destination. Please attach parachutes and prepare for departure" said the stately pilot's voice over the intercom. They all reached for the parachutes, and psyched themselves for sky diving. Joey's strategy was to ask Seto if he was sure this was safe without pausing for an answer, whilst Yami and Marik sat quietly in the corner. Mai was trying to stop Joey from bugging Kaiba, and Mako and Rex were discussing the tournament. Ishizu did not seem to be psyching herself at all, instead staring sullenly out the window.
"So the canoes will be dere, right? I mean, dey won't just not turn up an' we'll have to swim da whole way dere? And da parachutes will open, right? You have checked dem all for any faults, right"
"For the last time, yes! You will be able to steer your own parachute towards your chosen canoe. OK? Just stop annoying me"
"Joey, he's right, he wouldn't be making us do this unless it was absolutely safe. Come on, stop bugging him, come over here with me. Please"
"So yeah, my deck is tweaked to perfection. There is no way that your sea monsters will beat my dinosaurs"
"I wouldn't guarantee that, Raptor. My sea monsters are stronger than ever, and not even a dinosaur can survive the awesome power of the sea"
The pilot's voice silenced them all at once "The first person to jump in 10... 9..."
"I'm going to go first" announced Seto. "Everyone else can follow in whatever order they wish to. Once you have selected a canoe, just aim for it, and be careful. I do not want to have to deal with causalities due to stupidity. Is everyone ready"
"Would the first person please jump now" yelled the pilot, and Seto leaped from the helicopter. Everyone except Ishizu immediately rushed to the window, following Seto's progress through the sky. He free-fell for a couple of seconds, before pulling the string for the parachute to open, and he drifted downwards towards some canoes tied up at a small dock.
"Now!" shouted the pilot again. Everyone glanced at one another, and Mako shrugged and stepped out of the plane. Everyone filed out gradually. Rex followed Mako, then Yami and Marik, then Mai and Joey, and finally Ishizu.
Once everyone had landed safely in their double canoes (Joey with Mai, Yami with Marik, Rex with Mako and Ishizu with Seto), Seto stood up gracefully in the canoe to instruct them on the next leg of the challenge. Joey fidgeted in anticipation of the next leg of the challenge.
"As you can see, we will be canoeing down this river. The first pair to get to the end has to slide down the flying fox to the finish. Any person to get there in under half an hour will qualify for the finals. Whoever doesn't, won't. I will fly somebody else in to take their place in the finals. Is everyone clear with that? OK. Let's go."
The finalists took up their oars and began to move forward in the water. The current carried them along fairly quickly, so that everyone except Joey and Mai had reached the flying fox in about 15 minutes. They, however, were having some problems.
"Joey, keep in time with me" yelled Mai angrily. Joey growled something, but it couldn't be heard over the sound of the roaring current. He attempted to get in time with Mai, but his oar kept getting stuck in the water.
"Couldn't we just get da current to carry us dere" he shouted back. Mai didn't answer. She was staring at the opposite bank.
"Finally! We're there" She reached back and took Joey's oar, and began rowing them to shore. "I really can't believe you Joey, canoeing is not the hardest sport on the market. You could have gotten us thrown out of the tournament! I sincerely hope you can do a simple thing like slide down a flying fox."
"Well, sor-ry, Miss I'm-so-good-at-everythin'! Just 'cause I'm not so good at one lousy sport, doesn't mean we woulda got chucked out of da tournament! Gimme a little credit here"
"Whatever Joey. Let's just finish the challenge and we'll talk about this later."
"Fine."
They reached the shore within minutes with Mai rowing. They reached the end of the course within a minute, and with only seconds to spare.
"29 minutes. Well, I never thought that you could sink any lower, Joey, but that was pretty low. It was only because of Mai that you got here on time" sneered Seto.
"If you'll excuse me, Seto, I'm just not too good at canoeing. I'd like ta see you play basketball better dan me"
"Just so you know, I'm actually very good at basketball. Unlike some people." A/N: Hey, Kaiba's gotta keep fit somehow!
"Oh yeah? How about we have a one on one match then? We'll see how tough you really are, without your precious Blue Eyes to protect you..."
By now, Joey and Seto were right up in each other's faces. Joey's face was bright red, while Seto remained as cool as ever. Everyone else was keeping as far away from the feud as possible, not wanting to get involved. Everyone, that is, but Mai.
"Stop bickering, you two! Joey, get over here! Seto, I believe we have a tournament to participate in. Shouldn't we be drawing the first quarter-final duel"
Seto rolled his eyes, but surrendered and led them to a small room. It was almost identical to the selection room of the blimp in the Battle City tournament. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon selection machine stood in the centre of the room, with one of Seto's many hired workers next to it.
"So, this is it. The first duel of the finals will be drawn, right here, right now. Sir, please activate the machine."
-
Lu: Ooh, terrible cliffie:cough: OK, maybe not that terrible. But you know. Whatever. I wonder who's duelling each other? OK, well, I don't wonder, I've already figured that out, but y'know. I also have to explain something: the canoeing part of the story is part of a little challenge thing going on between Hysterik-Angel and I. We have to get canoeing into Conflict Duel (which I've done) and Shadow of Reality. The skydiving was from her brother, and the flying fox was from a T.V. show called Outback Jack. Don't ask, we just wanted to. Oh, and thanks to H-A for editing this chapter for me. R+R!