hibryd: Sorry, MASA, but we're playing Halo 2. There is no long sword with red and black coloration. And you're on Mars. You can hold nothing to my head except possibly a shotgun, and as I am a better Halo player . . .-takes shotgun from MASAMUNE and shoots him in the head- that is what happens to players who threaten me.

MASAMUNE: -blood pouring from the hole in his forehead- Owwwwwww. . .

hibryd: Yay, violence!

----------------- One Day at Home Ch. 18 -------------------------

"Joey, you can't help her! She's in the Shadow Realm!" Steven said.

"Get your hands offa me! Mai! Don't worry, I'll get you back!" Joey said, struggling against Steven. "Let go!" Joey turned around and tried to punch Steven, but some fire popped up around Steven's face for the first time in a long time. "Owwww! My hand! What did you do that for?"

"I don't know how I did it! Get. . .down. . .Joey! Tristan! A little help would be appreciated!"

"Don't worry, I've got you covered!"

Combined, Steven and Tristan could get Joey off of the Platform, effectively hitting his head and giving him the worst headache he'd ever had.

"I notice that the fire came back." Paul said. "Cool."

"I still can't control it though."

'It looks as if the fool's powers are starting to show themselves. And they still can't even control them! This means that my dear sister was correct to believe in these children. And when I defeat each of them, along with the Pharaoh, I'll be the most powerful being who ever lived!'

"And now, to the main room!" Roland said again.

"Does that guy do anything but yell?" Michael said, finally talking.

"I guess not." Steven said. For a few seconds, Michael gave Steven a cold stare, then walked away in silence. "That guy has issues." Steven said to Paul.

"That's between you two. I've got nothing to do with it."

"Fine, fine, I'll quit complaining about it." Steven said, waving his hands in the air.

Once everyone was in the main room, the randomizer began to spin again.

"The first number is. . .3! Joey Wheeler will participate next!"

"Ah, yeah! Who's the man?" Joey said.

"And the next number is. . . an 8! Joey Wheeler will face Michael Listovich in the next match!"

"My deck's been beefed up quite a bit since I entered this tournament, ya know. I'm not gonna lose to your friend Michael over there." Joey said to Paul.

"We know your deck's been 'beefed up quite a bit.' You might still lose though." Paul said. "Our friend is quite the duelist. But not quite as good as me."

'And you're quite as good a duelist as me.' Malik thought with malice on his mind.

"And now, if you would rise to the Dueling Platform, we will start this new match up!" Roland announced.

"So it looks like after this duel, we know what happens. Kaiba faces Ishizu and wins, moving on to face someone in the quarterfinals." Steven said out of earshot of anyone but Paul.

"We'll see if Michael beats up on Joey first though." Paul said.

"He probably will." Steven said bitterly. "I don't want him to win anything, but he is good at the game, I'll give him that. I kind of feel like he's a second Marik."

"Why would he be a second Marik?" Paul asks. "He's here to help too, even if he is a jerk."

And once more, everyone walked up to the Platform.

Michael: 4000Joey: 4000

"I'll start things off." Joey said. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode. Next I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn."

'My hand isn't the greatest one. But I've gotta beat this chump of a kid to get to Marik. That's the only way I'll get Mai back.' Joey thought.

"Okay. I'll summon Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei in attack mode. Lei Lei, attack Gearfried!"

"Hold on there, big guy. I activate my Skull Dice!" The little guy holding the red die popped out of the air and dropped the die. It landed on . . .

"A ONE?"

"Ha! Means Lei Lei's points are only decreased by 100." The Indomitable Fighter punched Gearfried into a million pieces.

Michael: 4000Joey: 3600

"Luckily for you, Lei Lei switches to defense after each attack. Your move."

"Okay, here goes. I activate the Magic Card Monster Reborn! This'll bring back Gearfried the Iron Knight. Next I summon Alligator's Sword in attack mode. Now, Alligator's Sword, attack his Indomitable Fighter!"

Alligator's Sword slashed the powerful monster away.

"Now, Gearfried, attack his Life Points directly!"

Michael: 2800Joey: 3600

"Next I'll set one more facedown card and end my turn. Who's laughing now?" Joey asked mockingly.

"I am! I'm always laughing at these pitiful attempts to win! I summon Monk Fighter in attack mode and set three facedown cards. Next I equip him with Mage Power! This increases his attack power by 500 point for each Magic and Trap card I have on the field!"

Monk Fighter: 3500

"Monk Fighter, Shmunk Fighter. You can't beat me on this turn like everyone thought you would." Joey said, the tiniest bit of worry in his voice.

"Well, then, I'll prove you wrong!"

"How?"

"By activating Scapegoat!"

"What? How is Scapegoat gonna help you win? You Monk lost 500 attack points!"

"But for a much greater cause. I activate United We Stand! This increases Monk Fighter's power by 800 for every monster I have face up. And since I've got 5, he just gained an extra 4000 points! But when I add in Mage Power, he gains 500 more!"

Monk Fighter: 7500

"No way! 7500 attack points? That's way too much!"

"Monk Fighter, crush Alligator's Sword!"

The Monk jumped very high into the air and flew about 50 feet down, fists first. He rammed Alligator's Sword with such force that Gearfried was blown away by the blast.

Michael: 2800Joey: 0000

"See what I meant by 'pitiful attempts?" Michael walked over to Joey and pulled Jinzo out of his deck. "I'll be keeping this as a prize." Michael said cruelly. He then threw the rest of Joey's deck on the ground, and they all spread out on the floor. Michael then walked into the elevator, pressed the down arrow, and as the doors shut, he smirked at Steven evilly.

The doors shut, and no one would see Michael until his next duel.

----------------- End Chapter -------------------------

hibryd: Michael, if you're reading this, you probably are smirking. . .

MASAMUNE (over Xbox Live with voice masking): It's probably because he's evil in reality.

hibryd: Just because you use voice masking doesn't mean I don't know who you are! –skewers MASAMUNE over Xbox Live and types I - P-W-N-E-D – MASAMUNE SWORD OF EVIL for all participants to see and enjoy-

MASAMUNE: -finally getting angry with all the skewering- -pulls out a Needler and dual wields it with a Plasma Rifle- Die, Everyone! –fires needles and plasma bolts all around the map, effectively killing everyone but hibryd-

hibryd: -grabs an Active Camo and Rocket Launcher- Say hello to my little friend! –fires the rocket at point-blank range and kills both himself and MASAMUNE- Well, enough Halo 2 over Xbox Live chaos. . .AND ON TO PRESSING THE REVIEW BUTTON!