Usual reminders:
Italics are thoughts or word emphasis. Bold is Malekos' speech.
I do not claim to own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. I only own Jessica and Malekos.
After watching Joey use some gambling moves to help his outcome of the duel, Noah appeared above the duel. His appearance set Jessica's nerves skyrocketing and she couldn't help the growl that escaped her as she glared at the brat. Luckily, he was only there to put a stop to Johnson's cheating ways. He allowed the duel to continue only because Joey asked for it.
As Noah disappeared in a flash of pixels, Jessica didn't miss the smug smirk he had sent her way as he did. It made her dig her nails into her arms to keep herself from shaking. She felt something brush against her fingers and she turned to see Yami's hand placed over hers. She couldn't directly feel his touch, but she could still sense his warm presence tingling against her skin. Looking at his face, she could see the concern flash in his eyes and he shook his head, urging her to release her tight grip. In favor of not creating a scene, she didn't fight it. She took a couple slow breaths and allowed her nerves to relax enough so that she could loosen her grip on her arms. She still kept her arms crossed but at least she wasn't scratching at her skin anymore. He let go of her hand.
She focused on the duel once more. It ended with a win for Joey due to his steady confidence that could've matched Yami. He had tricked Johnson into picking between two cards, but made him second guess his choice and pick the other card. Which resulted in his ultimate downfall. Joey had won the day, keeping his body.
She let out an impressed whistle as Yugi and Téa cheered. "Wow, nice move, Joey!" She unfolded herself and stood up next to Yugi. She watched as Joey went to bump fists with Téa and Yugi, and then blinked in surprise when he offered it to her as well with a large grin. Heart swelling from the buzzing excitement in the room, she connected her fist with his and he threw it into the air triumphantly as he gloated.
Joey suddenly changed the mood in the room as he realized they still had to find the rest of their friends. Expressions turned grim as Yugi explained that the the Big Five wanted to duel them all.
"Even Jessica had to duel," he had told them.
"You dueled?" Joey asked as he and Téa turned to her in surprise. "No way!"
She ducked her head slightly to hide the slight blush that dusted her cheeks, growing embarrassed. "It was a combined duel with Yugi, so we both won. It was my first duel…" She spared a sideways glance towards Yugi and he gave her a reassuring smile.
"Wait, did you say all of us?!" After realizing Yugi's words, Joey had rounded on him and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket in a panic. "Serenity's never dueled before!"
Sensing the tension, it made Jessica bristle. She grabbed Joey and managed to pull him away from Yugi, fixing him with a small glare. "Calm down! She's with Duke and Tristan. She's going to be fine."
"What?" Shock crossed all of their faces.
"Jess, how do you know that?" Yugi asked, grasping her hand gently as he was already guessing how.
She laced her fingers with his, grateful for his warmth. "Noah showed me just before he dumped me here. I saw everyone, but I don't know where they are." She shook her head. "He can control this world so any doors that pop up can lead us just about anywhere he chooses."
Joey still didn't look convinced that his sister would be fine, but he at least relaxed knowing that she wasn't alone. Even if she was with the two people that were trying to hit on her. "Well, what do we do?"
She shrugged, "The only thing we can do."
Yugi picked up on what she meant and finished for her, "We pick a door and see where it leads."
"Let's move then! I'm coming, Serenity!" Joey threw himself over the railing and bolted for the doors that Yugi and Téa originally came through.
"Wait for us!" The trio immediately sprinted after their impulsive friend, not wanting to get left behind or potentially lose him again.
They went straight through the doors and found themselves in a cavern, surrounded by jagged rock walls. It definitely wasn't an area Jessica recognized and she made it clear to them. They walked down the cave tunnel, hoping to find an exit soon. Yugi never let go of her hand since they left the courtroom and she knew why. He was worried he might lose her again, and she didn't blame him. She didn't want to take another random tumble through the floor so she squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"Well, guys," Téa spoke up once she couldn't handle the silence anymore. "The good news is that each of us defeated one member of the Freaky Five. Three down, two to go!"
"The bad news is we don't know where they're gonna strike next." Yugi told her.
"Or who they're going to strike next."
Jessica had been watching Joey through this and she wasn't surprised when he suddenly growled and sprinted off again. "Wow, guys. Way to make a guy worry more about his sister," she said sarcastically as she shot a meaningful look at Téa.
"Serenity, I'm coming!" Joey shouted as he ran down the tunnel ahead of them, and they had to dash after him to keep up while also making sure they didn't slip on the wet floor. They continued to run until they heard a scream, making them all stop. "You hear dat? That was Serenity screaming just now! I know it!"
"We're gonna find her, Joey." Téa tried to reassure him.
"I hope so!" And he was off again down the tunnel with the trio fast on his heels.
Jessica couldn't stay focused on anything else besides keeping her feet moving. Her mind was still racing. Thoughts and memories bounced off the walls of her mind with each step she took and it only made her heart twist in her chest, causing her to grit her teeth. Anxiety was eating at her and there was nothing she could do to stop it now.
Another scream cut into her thoughts, causing her to trip and Yugi had to catch her so she didn't fall flat on her face. She thanked him, but they were running again before she realized it.
Malekos surfaced in her mind with a growl that echoed in her ears. You need to calm down, little one.
Easy for you to say. I can't stop thinking about it! She could hear their footsteps echoing through the tunnel as they ran.
Over-worrying will only cause you harm. You need to focus on your friends right now.
But-
Quit being so stubborn! His frustration was evident in his growl. Look! He forced her thoughts to clear away so she could focus on something else.
Her friends' voices caught her attention and a light came into view. She snapped her gaze up and saw that the tunnel was ending, and they pushed through the doors on the other side. They stopped at a railing and she leaned against it to catch her breath. Her gaze flicked about the new area and she recognized it as the landing bay the blimp had been in, but the blimp wasn't there. Joey's yell made her look down and she saw Serenity and Duke below, facing what she could only assume was one of the Big Five.
She furrowed her brows, noticing something was missing. Where's Tristan? Looking around the room proved to be useless, she didn't see that familiar pointed haircut anywhere in the room. And that glowing pit below was definitely worrisome. She voiced her thoughts aloud, catching everyone's attention. "Where's Tristan?"
"Wasn't he with you?" Joey asked, leaning over the railing to talk to them from their height distance.
Duke looked down. "No… Tristan is gone." He glared at their opponent. "He lost."
Different phrases of shock resounded around the trio and Jessica bit her lip, keeping quiet. She didn't know him very much, but Tristan seemed like a cool guy when he wasn't wrestling with Joey. She listened as Yugi pitched the idea for Joey to step in the duel, but it was immediately forbidden. So instead, Joey chose to encourage his sister. And it worked because she got off her knees and stood with more confidence to duel.
They could only watch as Serenity figured out what she needed to do and even used her deck master's special ability. There was a monster in an empty space that could have only been where Tristan stood, and his monster was helping Serenity's as well.
"Hey, guys! Listen!" Yugi called down to them, startling Jessica slightly. "I think I know how you can do this, but you're going to need Tristan's help! Trust me on this!"
Jessica was confused. She opened her mouth to ask and then closed it again. She wanted to figure it out on her own. She looked down on the field and spotted a face down card sitting behind Tristan's monster. She gasped quietly as she realized it. They would have to use his card in order to help them win. But were they really able to activate it if he wasn't there?
She watched as Duke figured it out and activated his deck master's ability. By discarding two cards, he was able to activate Tristan's face down. It was a card that helped Serenity's monster even more by raising its attack points. And she sent it in to attack even though their points were the same. It destroyed them both, causing Nesbitt to lose the duel. But he claimed to be taking Tristan's body anyway.
Outraged cries filled the room and Jessica growled, gripping the railing. "That's not fair! They won the duel," she shouted.
"He's my ticket out of this virtual prison," Nesbitt told them. "I'm finally free!" His laugh echoed around the room before fading along with him.
As Duke and Serenity fell to their knees, Joey split from the group to go a more risky route to reach his sister. Jessica, Yugi, and Téa took the stairs instead. Reaching the bottom, Yugi and Téa helped Duke to his feet and supported his weight together as they made their way over to Joey who was consoling his sister. Jessica stood a little off to Yugi's side, stuffing her hands in her hoodie pocket as she watched their friends. She glanced around the room and was glad the pit on the floor had closed. She didn't want any of them to accidentally fall in. Not that they were going to go near it anyway. Once Serenity had calmed down, they made their way out of the room.
"Don't worry," Yugi piped up after she had voiced another sympathetic comment about Tristan. "They must have him in some kind of virtual holding area. We just have to find him before they take control of his body!"
"That's right, and then his mind will be trapped inside of cyberspace. We gotta get him back, now!" Joey clenched his fist, and Serenity agreed.
They started to walk outside until they heard shouting. Yugi was the first to bolt and Jessica was quick to follow, with the rest of the group on their heels. They rounded the corner of a building and spotted three figures.
"Look, it's Kaiba!" Yugi pointed out.
"And Mokuba!" Téa added as they got closer.
When they stopped, Jessica could feel Malekos' presence surface and she tensed at the way it felt. Something was wrong and she knew exactly what it was, even if the others didn't. She heard their comments about the other figure being Tristan, and that's when she opened her mouth. "That's not Tristan!" The group turned to look at her in shock at her outburst, and they grew uncomfortable as they watched her glare at him. "His presence feels different. That's his body, but it's not Tristan."
'Tristan' chuckled as a smirk grew on his face. "Yes, I've taken over your friend's body." Gasps were heard and he continued, facing Kaiba. "Now that that's over… On guard!" He raised his wooden sword with an evil grin and swung it at Kaiba.
Kaiba dodged the attack by jumping to the side. He snatched a metal rod that was lying on the floor nearby and held it up for protection, but 'Tristan' just knocked it aside easily. "Why are you doing this?!"
"Because you need to pay for what you did to me! Goodbye." 'Tristan' was about to make the final move when suddenly a robot monkey hopped up and latched onto his head. He dropped his wooden sword and tried to get the monkey off of his head.
Jessica's eyes widened as Malekos whispered to her, and she felt it. She heard her friends murmur about the monkey, and Joey started running towards 'Tristan'. But she wasn't focused on what he was going to do. Her eyes were focused on the monkey. As soon as it was yanked off and thrown to the side, she jolted into action. She heard Yugi call after her as she darted after the monkey and managed to catch it before it hit the ground. "Gotcha!" She wrapped her arms around it and held it close. She didn't have time to see the different facial expressions that crossed its face when the sound of a motorcycle engine revved to life.
Turning, she saw 'Tristan' drive out of the garage that he had been thrown into and snatched Mokuba as everyone else leaped out of his way. Nobody was able to stop him as he drove away with Mokuba shouting for his brother's help. It wasn't long before Kaiba found another motorcycle and followed after his kidnapped brother in a hurry.
"What now, guys?" Yugi asked as they stared into the tunnel that the two motorcycles had disappeared into.
"Kaiba's after the fake Tristan so we gotta find out where the real one is," Joey told him.
Jessica jogged over to them, making sure to hold the monkey in a way where its face was not facing her chest. "Guys!" They turned to her as she stopped in front of them. "This is Tristan."
"What?!" The group exclaimed in unison, absolutely shocked.
As if to prove her point, the monkey chattered and waved its arms and tail excitedly at them.
"Eh, I don't trust it." Joey said, disbelieving. This caused the monkey to falter.
"Yeah, for all we know it could be a trap," Duke added, always skeptical.
Jessica rolled her eyes as she felt the monkey start to squirm and shriek angrily in her arms, but she held firm. She bristled when Joey and Duke started to talk about taking it apart, but Serenity spoke first.
"Don't you lay a finger on him! This little guy risked his life to save Kaiba," she said, clenching her fist. She walked over to Jessica to examine the monkey more closely. "And just look at him! Even if he isn't Tristan, he sure is adorable!"
Jessica didn't even have time to react when the monkey, Tristan, leaped out of her arms to hug Serenity who welcomed him with open arms. "It's still Tristan," she muttered under her breath.
"Well, we gotta get going, guys," Yugi piped up. "We gotta get Tristan's body back!"
Yes, Malekos and Jessica can sense things about others that aren't right. Including if someone's mind [or soul I'd like to think] is swapped with someone else's. It's like a 6th sense in a way, or a gut feeling. Some people are more entuned with their senses than others.
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