I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did, Tristan would have more of a backstory and fought more duels.
Chapter Five: Joey's Dragon
"Mokuba!" the gang yelled for their lost friend. They searched the surrounding forest trying to find him, but no luck. They figured Kemo must have taken him back into the castle. Kisara looked at the eight stars in her glove. I promise you, Mokuba. I'll get you out of this. Just hold on.
"Hey, it's my lucky day!" Joey reached for a pile of cards on the ground.
"Hand off," Tristan told his friend. "Those are mine."
"Cool, Tristan," Yugi grinned at his friend. "I didn't know you were training to become a duelist."
"Yeah, well I figure if a doofus like Joey can hold his own in this game, then hey, I'll probably be an expert at it," Tristan grabbed his cards from Joey.
"I kind of wondered how you'd remained so disinterested until now," Kisara chimed in.
"Hey, I recognize that monster," Joey gazed at a red beast-warrior card.
"Isn't that card in your deck, Joey?" Yugi asked.
"Not this one, but I think I got something just like it," Joey took out his deck and shuffled through his cards. "Bingo! Swamp Battleguard!" He compared the two monsters. "Hey would you look at this. These two look like they're long-lost brothers. Of course, that doesn't mean your boy packs the same kind of wallop mine does!" Joey grinned at Tristan.
"His wallop is just fine!" Tristan defensively answered. "My Lava Battleguard had never let me down. Try him out, you'll see!"
"Thanks," Joey accepted his friend's offer. "It does say they work best together."
"You know what," Tea's blue eyes moved between the two guys. "I think I kind of see a resemblance between you two and those muscle-heads." Yugi and Kisara laughed at her comment. Joey and Tristan glared at them as the group moved on.
They came across an area filled with arenas. Tea and Tristan began teasing Joey about finding an easy opponent or a dueling monkey to duel. Joey started losing his temper at them, but before his rant could go too far, he was interrupted by Mai's laughing. Kisara had a bad feeling as soon as Mai started bashing on Joey's dueling, and she was right. Mai challenged Joey to a duel where Yugi and Kisara were banned from offering advice, and Rex Raptor was his opponent.
Against Tea and Tristan's warnings, Joey accepted the challenge. He refused to keep his star chips if Yugi was the only reason he was winning them. He had to stand on his own and fight, without anyone coming to his rescue. Tristan fought to make Joey decline the challenge, telling the opposing duelists that 'Joey couldn't come out and play,' and Joey punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
"What was that for?" Tristan asked.
"I already said I'm tired of everyone thinking they got to come to my rescue!" Joey yelled at him.
"But that's not true," Yugi tried to reason with his friend. "Friends look out for each other."
"Keep outta this, Yuge," Joey looked away as he spoke. "Just let me do what I gotta do."
"Great idea," Tristan glared at Joey as she stood up. "Do what you gotta do, even if it means losing the chance to help your sister."
"Just calm down, both of you," Kisara stepped between the two guys. "Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement."
"Forget it," Tristan turned away and stormed off. "If Mr. Macho wants to lose, he can do it by himself."
"Tristan!"
"Let him go," Joey turned to face his opponents. Ready to duel, he followed Rex to the arena and took his place in the blue platform with each duelist wagering two star chips. "Bring it on!" Joey yelled to his opponent.
"Keep rooting for Joey," Yugi said to the girls as the duelists drew their cards. "I gotta go see about something." Before Tea or Kisara could stop him, the shorter duelist ran off.
Joey started the duel by summoning his Baby Dragon. "Aw!" Kisara still couldn't get over how cute it was. Of course, normal people would have the same reaction to puppies. Is he planning on using his Thousand Dragon combo now? Even if Joey planned to use the same combo he used on Mai, Rex wasn't going to wait for Baby Dragon to grow up. He summoned Two-Headed King Rex, and the purple dinosaur stomped on the little dragon.
Kisara could see Joey was frazzled over losing Baby Dragon, and she bit her lip to keep from saying anything. "Keep your cool, Joey!" Tea yelled to him. "You just made one mistake! Just try not to make another one!"
Joey summoned Leogun in attack mode and sent the lion in after the King Rex, but because of the wilderness field, King Rex got a power bonus that overtook Leogun. The purple dinosaur stomped it out just like the Baby Dragon, and Joey's LifePoints dropped to 1670.
Joey searched through the cards in his hand, finally summoning Axe Raider, and the warrior drew strength from the Meadow Field. Axe Raider sliced through King Rex and knocked Raptor's LifePoints down to 1870. Joey's victory was short-lived as Rex summoned Sword Arm of Dragon. The dragon stabbed Axe Raider with its tail, destroying it and dropping Joey's LifePoints to 1605.
"Joey!" Tea encouraged her friend. "Don't let that dino-dork intimidate you! Remember we're all right behind you!"
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Tristan knelt at the stream and splashed water in his face. The cool water helped soothe the ache in his face where Joey punched him, but it did little to soothe his anger at his best friend. What was Joey's problem? He needed to win that prize money for his sister, yet he was prepared to risk throwing away his chance on a duel Mai rigged to back at him. "What a nimrod!" Tristan mumbled to himself, splashing more water in his face. "Big, dumb, jerk!"
"You okay, Tristan?" he spun around to see Yugi standing there, alone.
"What are you doing here?" Tristan asked. "You should be helping Joey."
"Joey made it pretty clear he didn't want my help on this one," Yugi answered. "And since you left, I figured maybe I should too."
"Me being there and you being there are two totally different things," Tristan insisted. "Without your coaching, Joey won't last two minutes against that conniving little freakasaurus! I don't care what he says, you gotta go back and help him out, pronto!"
It killed Tristan here there was very little he could do to help his friends. His specialty was fighting and mechanics, not playing cards. Yugi was the one who pulled Joey this far, and part of Tristan was jealous of that. It used to be just him and Joey against the world, especially after they left the gang life behind middle school. Even after Yugi helped them against Trudge, Tristan hadn't hung out with him at first. It wasn't until Yugi helped him with his crush on their classmate Miho. Even though it ended up being a disaster, it solidified their friendship, and now it was Yugi that made the former gang members think twice about starting fights with people that ticked them off.
"I can't do that," Yugi shook his head. "Joey needs to fight this duel on his own, and I gotta let him."
"Yugi!" Tristan grabbed his friend by the collar. If Tristan couldn't help Joey, he could at least make sure the person who could actually did help him.
"If I go back on my promise and help Joey, he'll be disqualified," Yugi argued despite Tristan's grip. "Besides, we gotta believe in him so he believes in himself."
Tristan let go of his friend and turned away. "Maybe I don't think he can win," he said, staring at the water flowing down the stream. Joey had to win. He'd been through too much to lose now. Mr. Wheeler had massive debts, and Mrs. Wheeler took Serenity away from Joey. On top of Serenity about to lose her eyesight, Joey needed something to go right, for once in his life.
"This is about something more important than winning or losing," Yugi interrupted Tristan's thoughts. "This is about Joey learning to be a strong big brother for his little sister. And even though he doesn't need our help, he needs to know he has our support."
"I don't know." Tristan had to admit Yugi made sense. It was that same quiet, reasonable attitude that usually kept the two former gang members from charging in headfirst into a situation. When they were in Hirutani's gang, Joey always insisted he be able to fight his own battles. Tristan couldn't always come to his rescue, just like Joey couldn't always do the same for him. They watched each other's backs, and they fought their own battles.
He remembered the day they left the gang for good. Hirutani and the others attacked a kid who wandered into their territory, and Joey protected him. While the kid got away, Joey fought the gang on his own. Tristan had been away, but the kid ran into him on his way back to the warehouse hideout. As soon as the kid told Tristan what happened, he charged through the rain to back up his friend. Together they fought off the other members, and they put that part of their lives behind them. Sure, Joey had been mad at the time because Tristan hadn't let him fight alone, but Tristan would never give up on his best friend. If only Joey would see that.
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Kisara held her breath as Joey set his Time Wizard and summoned his Rock Ogre in defense mode. Rex summoned Megazowler and attacked the Rock Ogre. Come on, Joey! You can do it! She sighed in relief when Joey summoned Flame Swordsman. Even though Rex forgot his card's weakness, Kisara remembered Yugi mentioning dinosaur cards were weak against fire. Megazowler lost its field bonus, and the Flame Swordsman tore through the dino, dropping Rex's LifePoints to 1330. Armed with his new fiery knowledge, Joey was more than ready to take out Rex's Dinosaurs.
Rex switched his Sword Arm of Dragon into defense mode, and Flame Swordsman torched it like the Megazowler. Every dinosaur Rex summoned to defend himself was taken out by Joey's warrior. After a few turns, Joey brought out his Swamp Battleguard to join his Flame Swordsman. But Rex wasn't out; he summoned Serpent Night Dragon, and since it wasn't a dinosaur, it wasn't weakened by the Swordsman's fire. The long dark blue dragon waved its wings, and black arrows shot from them, piercing through the Flame Swordsman. Joey's LifePoints fell to 1595.
Kisara couldn't deny the Serpent Knight Dragon was beautiful with its long, slender body and shining scales; she cursed her fascination with dragons for distracting her. Joey needed to find some way to defeat it. Could Time Wizard do something? Even if Baby Dragon isn't there to grow up, the dragon could still be aged. I think?
Joey stared at the card he drew, as if he were lost in thought. Is that Tristan's card? "Yo, Joey!" Kisara jumped at Tristan's voice. She'd been so focused on the duel she hadn't even heard the guys rejoin the group. "We're here for you, buddy!" Tristan grinned at the blond duelist. "So how about it? You going to take that card of mine for a test drive or what?"
"You got it, pal," Joey grinned back and summoned the monster he drew. "Go, Lava Battleguard!" The red-skinned warrior appeared next to the green-skinned Swamp Battleguard.
Rex believed he still had the upper hand and ordered his dragon to attack Swamp Battleguard, but the attack was reflected back to the dragon, destroying Serpent Night Dragon and knocking Rex's LifePoints down to 840. When the smoke cleared, it was clear that Lava Battleguard had protected his green friend, and they were powered up because they were on the field together. "Of course, those two monsters are like best friends, so they help power each other up!" Yugi concluded, turning to Tristan. "Just like how you and Joey help each other out in real life."
Tristan smiled. "That's what being a buddy is all about."
The Battleguards made quick work of Rex's next face-down monster, glowing with the power got from each other. The gang's elation was short-lived as Rex summoned his most powerful monster: Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Yugi explained it was said to rival Blue-Eyes White Dragon's power. Kisara stared in awe at it. If Blue-Eyes was a dragon of light, then Red-Eyes was a dragon of darkness. Its black scales shone like the night sky, and its eyes glittered like rubies. Rex increased the Dragon's strength with Dragon Nails, and its Inferno Fire Blast destroyed both Battleguards, reducing Joey's LifePoints to 235.
"Yugi, tell me that dragon isn't as tough as it looks," Tea begged. "I mean, there must be something Joey can do to stop it."
Kisara shook her head. "No matter what options Joey has, the answer has to come from him," she said.
"Oh, Joey," Rex sneered at his opponent. "I have an idea. Let's make this duel more exciting and each put one card up for grabs with our star chips. And just so it's fair, we'll both put up whatever card we have on the field. Sound good?"
Rex sure is confident. And he definitely wants Joey's Time Wizard. Kisara could see the gears turning in Joey's head as he weighed his options. Red-Eyes would help his deck significantly, especially as the lower-ranked competitors were being eliminated. At the same time, the Time Wizard was from Yugi, and Kisara knew Joey wouldn't want to give up the card his friend gave him.
"You got it, Rex!" Joey came to his decision. "Your Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Time Wizard—winner takes all. And while I'm at it, I'm making him my weapon of choice too!" He flipped over the card, and the little clock magician materialized on the field.
Kisara bit her thumbnail as Joey ordered Time Wizard to use its Time Roulette. If it landed on a tower, the magic would activate, sending the field 1000 years into the future. If it landed on a skull, it would self-destruct and wipe out the rest of Joey's LifePoints. Kisara held her breath as the spinner slowed down, waiting until it finally stopped. It landed on a tower, and everyone cheered as the Time Magic activated, spinning the field eons into the future with a blinding light.
When the light faded, Red-Eyes still stood on the field, but his scales were now a rocky gray instead of night-sky black, and the glittering red was gone from its eyes. Rex shakily ordered his fossilized dragon to attack, but the fossil cracked, leaving the dragon as nothing but a pile of dust. Rex's LifePoints fell to zero.
"So I guess you won my star chips huh," the dino duelist sighed.
Joey sighed in relief as his victory sunk in. "Wait a second!" he yelled at his opponent. "Not only did I win your star chips, but I won your Red-Eyes too, fair and square!" He exited the platform and ran back to his friends. "I did it guys!"
Tristan led the group to meet him in the middle. They yelled encouraging words to each other until they got close enough to high-five each other. "Up high or down low?" Tristan asked before punching Joey in the face and knocking him to the ground. "I guess you're down low."
"You punched me?" Joey asked from the ground in disbelief. "After everything I just went through, you go and punch me?"
"Yeah, well, tough tamale," Tristan answered. "Now we're even for when you punched me."
Joey jumped to his feet yelled in Tristan's face, "Don't you know two wrongs don't make a right, you jerk?"
"Should I make it three then?"
"Bring it on!"
"Come on, guys, there's no need to fight it out," Yugi tried to stop the two guys from the sidelines as they began to wrestle each other, pulling on each other's faces.
"Maybe we ought to stay out of this one," Tea suggested. "I think this is their bizarre way of showing each other they care."
"Okay," Yugi relented as the three of them watched. "I just hope they don't care about me that much."
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The gang wandered around the forest in the dark. Kisara couldn't believe how dark it had gotten so quickly. She shivered a little bit as the temperature began to drop. "Maybe we ought to set up camp somewhere," Tea suggested.
"Don't tell me you're afraid, Tea," Tristan teased her. "You've got us protecting you."
"But who's protecting you guys?" Kisara asked.
"Good point, let's set up camp," Tristan answered.
"Relax guys," Joey said. "There's nothing in these woods but crickets and squirrels."
They found a clearing and sat in a circle around it. Kisara began sorting through the food she had, deciding what would be best to make for the group as Tristan told a ghost story about pepperoni pizzas in a car. Joey began yelling at the moon about his hunger until he noticed a large mushroom at the base of a tree. "Hey, my meal ticket!" he leaned into to eat it.
"No!" Tristan held him away from the mushroom, though Joey fought to get away.
"Joey, I have food, just be patient!" Kisara yelled at him.
"Wild mushrooms are poisonous, Joey!" Yugi added.
"So do us all a favor and let him eat it." Everyone turned to see Mai laughing at their predicament.
"Now what do you want, Mai?" Joey frowned at her. She took a bite from a candy bar.
"That's it!" Joey got in her face as he spoke. "You can duel me, you can insult me, but you're not eating in front of me!
"You're that hungry are you?" Mai asked innocently. "Okay then, give me your star chips, and I'll give you some food."
Joey stumbled over her suggestion. "Forget it. Potato chips—I mean, star chips—are priceless!"
"I was just kidding, Joseph," Mai smiled at the blond. "I'd be more than happy to share if you can manage to ask politely like a gentleman."
"Right, so you can go make of me for that too?"
"How much do you have?" Kisara asked. "I have some food, but it'd be great if there was more to go around."
"My knapsack is full of food," Mai answered, gesturing to her tall brown bag. "And since I'll have won entry into the castle by tomorrow, there's no point in me keeping it all."
"How do we know this isn't another trick?" Joey eyed her.
"Because it's me or the poisonous mushroom," Mai answered.
"My food won't get us through tomorrow," Kisara pointed out. "We're better off combining it with hers."
Joey relented, and Mai spread the contents of her knapsack for them to see. "Look at this stuff," Yugi said. "Candy bars—"
"Dibs on the candy bars," Joey interrupted.
Yugi continued, "Potato chips—"
"Dibs on the chips," Tristan called.
"Canned fruit, soda—"
"Dibs on the soda," Joey called.
"No dibs on anything until you do your chores," Mai shot the guys down. "I want Yugi to go look for some firewood, and you boys can go fetch us some water." The guys left to follow her instructions, leaving only the girls behind. "You're name was Tea, right?" Mai asked the brunette. Tea nodded. "And Kisara?"
"Yes," she answered.
"If you two want to freshen up a bit, there's a makeshift shower over there," Mai pointed in the direction she was talking about. "Hanging out with those boys is no reason to smell like them."
The three of them headed to the shower. Kisara showered first, thinking about everything that happened as she stood in the water. Yugi got back at Weevil for Exodia, Joey won his first two matches and a powerful new dragon, and she made it to eight star chips by taking out someone pretending to be Seto. And she failed to save Mokuba. Her fist clenched as she remembered Kemo taking him away despite his freedom being the wager of the duel. Seto was still MIA, so it was up to her to get Mokuba out of Pegasus's castle. Kisara turned the water off and redressed so Tea could take her turn.
She saw the guys had built the campfire while she was in there, and Joey had begun cooking. "Joey, I don't think we should cook the candy bars," Yugi said.
"Back off. I know what I'm doing," Joey answered.
"Look at you go, Joey," Mai called from her place by the shower. She and Kisara stayed close to the shower to guard against unwelcome visitors. "The only thing missing is a chef's hat and a cute apron."
"All right, already," Joey grumbled at her teasing.
"Now keep cooking," Mai yelled at him. Kisara chuckled.
"You're tough, Mai," Tea said from the shower.
"Us gals have got to look out for each other," Mai answered, "especially with a bunch of bozos like them around. I don't see why you two even bother hanging out with them."
"That's easy, Mai," Tea said. "They're our best friends."
"She's right," Kisara chimed in. "Being alone is the worst feeling there is."
"And I suppose you know what it's like to be alone," Mai scoffed.
Kisara suspected the two of them were in a similar boat. "Since my mom died, I've pretty much been unwanted," she answered. "That changed when I met Joey and the others. For the first time in years, I'm not alone."
"Kisara," Tea started, but then she screamed. Mai went in to see what was wrong. The guys, having heard Tea's scream, ran over to help to. Or rather Joey and Tristan were coming to help and Yugi was holding onto the ends of their jackets.
"Guys, no!" Kisara blocked their way.
Mai appeared from the shower and clobbered Joey and Tristan. "You boys really are idiots. Don't you know not to come near a lady's shower? Now go finish cooking dinner." They quickly left to follow her orders.
"And those bozos are better than being alone?" Mai asked as the water started.
"They may not be the smartest, or the most talented, but there isn't a malicious bone in them," Kisara insisted. "Yugi and Joey aren't even in this tournament for themselves. They're fighting to save people they care about."
"And what about you?" Mai eyed her.
"Originally, just to back them up," she answered. "I promised Joey that if I won, I'd give him the prize money for his sister's operation."
"His sister?"
Shoot, I said too much. "Sorry, it's not something I should have said; it's Joey's story," Kisara apologized. "But you might as well know. Joey's sister is on the verge of losing her eyesight. Joey needs the prize money to pay for an operation that can save it before it's too late."
Mai's gaze dropped, and she turned away from Kisara. I think I'm starting to understand her a little. She has been on her own, like me, and I bet she's never been close enough to someone to fight for them the way we are. "Mai, I didn't say this to make you feel bad. I just want you to understand us. I think you're a good person. You wouldn't have shared your food with us if you weren't."
"Believe what you'd like," Mai kept her back to Kisara.
When Tea finished in the shower, the food was ready, and everyone dug into their food. "Tasty," Tristan said between bites.
"Thank you very much," Joey grinned.
"How's yours, Tea?" Yugi asked.
"Four stars," she answered.
"Speaking of stars," Yugi tried to include Mai in the conversation. "I hear you've won a few, Mai. How many do you have? Eight? Or is it nine? However many, it sure sounds like you're in the zone."
"Don't think you can fool me with your nice guy routine, Yugi," Mai answered him. "It's only a matter of time before I—"
"Can't we just forget about the tournament for one night?" Tea interrupted.
"Let's make fun of Joey instead," Tristan suggested. "That's always fun."
"Okay," Mai relented. "Just so long as everyone is crystal clear about one little thing: any duelist in my way is going down!" Everyone just stared at her. Where did this come from? I thought we were having a nice time. Kisara said nothing as Mai got up and walked away.
"Man, she sure knows how to ruin a meal," Joey grumbled as they continued to eat.
When they finished, they washed the dishes and packed them away in their respective bags. Once everything was packed up, they sat around their still-burning campfire. It was definitely time to consider going to bed, but Mai had yet to return. They were debating whether or not to go looking for the wayward blonde when a rustling sounded from the bushes behind Tea. She screamed and moved next to Kisara while the guys moved to face whatever was there. "I bet you she's been waiting there the whole time," Joey accused the figure in the bushes. "Come on out, Mai!"
The figure that emerged from the bushes was definitely not Mai. It was a guy with thick, shoulder-length white hair and large brown eyes. He wore a white sweater over a blue-green dress shirt and blue jeans. "It's Bakura," Yugi said.
"See! I told you!" Tea yelled. "I haven't just been seeing things!"
"What are you doing way out here, Bakura?" Joey asked.
"Same as you guys, I guess," the guy answered.
"You gave us quite a scare sneaking around in those bushes," Tristan told him.
"Yeah, we actually thought we had something to worry about," Joey added. "Pretty silly, huh?
They welcomed the newcomer to their fire and offered him some of the leftover food. As he ate, Joey took his cards out to look through, and Kisara sat next to Bakura. "I don't think we've officially met," she said.
"No, we haven't. It's Kisara, right?" Bakura answered.
"Yep," she smiled at him. "When Tea said she saw you, I honestly had to ask who she meant."
"Joey, you've been staring at that card for like an hour," Tristan said, interrupting their conversation. "What's up?"
"I'll tell you, just don't laugh," Joey answered. "Sometimes, when I'm in a duel, I pretend that it's me out there on the field swapping blows with whatever card my opponent has out. Isn't that dumb?" He rubbed his head as spoke.
"Well, if you were, which card would you want to be?" Bakura asked.
"This one," Joey held out his card for the group to see. "The Flame Swordsman kicks everyone's butt!" He stood up and did a mock sword wing.
"Not mine, guys," Tristan stood up to join him. "The Cyber Commander."
"You boys and your cards are hilarious," Tea laughed at them.
"I think everyone has a card they can identify with," Yugi told her.
"Yeah," Kisara agreed, taking out Grandpa's Blue-Eyes. "I don't know what it is, but there's something about Blue-Eyes White Dragon that just resonates with me. Sometimes it feels like I understand what it wants."
"It kind of looks like you," Joey commented. "Not that you look like a dragon. I'm just saying, or at least trying to say, the dragon's scales and eyes match your hair and eyes."
"I don't know about that," she stared at the card, searching for answers.
"Where did you even get it?" Tristan asked.
"I borrowed it from the game store," Kisara answered. "I thought we might find a way to repair it at the castle."
"I told her it was okay," Yugi assured them. He turned to Tea. "Hey, Tea, why don't you try finding a card to connect with?
"Sure," the brunette searched through her deck. "I pick this one: Magician of Faith." She held up the card of a violet-haired spellcaster with a moon-shaped staff.
"What?" Tristan stared at the card in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me."
"More like the Magician of Freaks if you ask me," Joey chimed in.
"Shut up!" Tea yelled at them.
"What about you, Yugi?" Bakura asked. "Tell me which one you identify with."
"Dark Magician, hands down," Yugi answered, holding up the purple-robed spellcaster.
"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.
"Maybe a little," Yugi stared at Dark Magician as he spoke. "But it's like Grandpa says, 'it's not about the playing cards, it's about putting a little bit of your heart into anything you care about.' You know?" Everyone nodded. "So which card do you care about most Bakura?"
Bakura held up a magic card for them to see. "This one is my favorite." It held a picture of an angel holding a heart, but the right half was light up while the left half was shrouded in darkness. Kisara had an eerie feeling looking at it.
"Isn't that the Change of Heart card?" Yugi asked.
"Kind of a weird looking picture, don't you think?" Joey added.
"If you want to see how it works, we could have a duel right now," Bakura suggested. "Not for star chips, just for a little fun."
"I'm down with that," Joey answered. "After all this star chip stuff, it'll be nice to have a duel with no strings attached."
"I agree," Yugi chimed in. "I think just a regular old duel sounds like a great idea."
"Why don't you all put your favorite cards in Yugi's deck?" Bakura said. "That way it'll be like we're all playing."
"That sounds cool," Kisara said as she held Blue-Eyes for Yugi to take.
"I should warn you," Yugi said, "with this all-star team of cards, we'll be tough to beat.
"True," Bakura acknowledged the terms, "but maybe I'll surprise you."
Everyone grinned about fun the duel would be as Yugi shuffled in everyone's cards. They set up their duel mats on a nearby stump and shuffled their decks. "Are you sure you don't mind playing alone?" Kisara asked their opponent.
"Don't worry; we'll go easy on you," Joey assured Bakura with a thumbs-up.
"Before we get started, there's a little something I'd like to share with you all, especially with you, Yugi" Bakura said. Kisara had a bad feeling as Bakura started to hum. The air rippled, and a golden circular pendant appeared around Bakura's neck.
"This is getting freaky," Joey said.
That's the same symbol as Yugi's Puzzle and Pegasus's Eye! Is this another Millennium Item? Kisara barely had time to register that as the area around them darkened. "My Millennium Ring will take us to the Shadow Realm," Bakura said, his voice much harsher than when he first joined the group.
"I hate magic," Joey said as he looked around.
"Why are you doing this, Bakura?" Yugi asked.
Kisara froze. The last time she was in the Shadow Realm, Pegasus ended up claiming Grandpa's soul. What would Bakura do to them? A light flashed from Bakura's Item, and Kisara felt herself ripped away from her body before everything went black.