DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.

Espa Roba, the ESP Duellist Part II

'I can read your mind and I can see you're losing hope, Wheeler!'

Joey ground his teeth. As long as Espa Roba has Jinzo on the field, I can't play my trap cards. That means my Alligator Sword will be easy pickings for this psycho fraud. Then I'll have to kiss my life points and the Battle City Tournament goodbye.

Roba chuckled. 'It's time to end this duel.' He pulled a card from his hand. 'So I'll play this. The magic card Amplifier!' He laid it and a helmet appeared on his monster's head. 'And now I'll hardwire it to Jinzo which will immediately boost his attack power by 500 points.' Jinzo's attack went up to 2900. 'Plus with every new turn Amplifier will crank up Jinzo's power by 300 more points!'

'Oh, no!' Joey cried.

'And now, my metal monster, send his Alligator Sword back to the swamp!' With a roar, Jinzo sent a black electric energy ball at the Alligator Sword and it was destroyed.

The light of the attack forced Joey to cover his eyes. His life points dropped down to 1200.

'I foresee the end for you!'

'If you think I'm giving up just cause of baldy and his tin can hat, you definitely got another think coming, you blue-haired freak!'

YGO

The Pharaoh looked over as the Roba boys cheered.

'Even without us helping him, Espa's winning!' one of them said. 'And he's still faking the ESP just to psyche that guy out!'

It was a very good thing that they were no longer cheating. Perhaps there was some merit in this kind of mercy, after all.

Ah. Espa Roba's a strong duellist but I know Joey can beat him.

And Yugi was absolutely right.

YGO

Joey had an idea. 'Right. This duel isn't over yet.'

'Ha!' Roba scoffed. 'But I predict that it will be just as soon as I make my next move. Why not just give me your locator card now?'

Joey's hand clenched into a fist. 'Fat chance, Roba. You and your psychic fraud network are about to go down. Check this out.' All right. Come on, baby. Deck, don't fail me now. He drew. Yes! My old friend, Baby Dragon. He grinned. Joey's back in business.

Roba laughed. 'Give it up, Wheeler. My Jinzo already has 2900 attack points and my cosmic forces tell me he's already stronger than any card in your deck! Plus Jinzo's only going to get more powerful.'

'I'll keep that in mind.' Joey played the card. 'As I summon Baby Dragon.' The card appeared on the field and, with a giggle, the Dragon emerged from it.'

'I know what you're up to!' Rex called from the sidelines.

But Roba evidentially didn't. He laughed. 'I don't know whether I should attack your monster or give it a baby bottle. But if that's the best that you've got to face Jinzo, then you're finished!'

'It maybe just a baby now, but it's possible that my Dragon's about to grow up.' Joey pulled another card from his hand and turned it around. 'Cause I summon Time Wizard!'

Now Roba started to worry. 'Time Wizard?' He demanded, before masking it. 'I see. You're gonna try to age that Baby Dragon into an older dragon.'

'Maybe,' Joey said.

'Well, my telepathic powers are telling me that still won't be enough.'

'I don't think that's telepathic powers, doofus,' Sharee said.

Joey looked back at her. 'Huh?'

'I can't be sure.' Sharee rubbed her chin. 'I just got the feeling that there's something about Jinzo that I'm not quite remembering.'

Joey noted that, but he really doubted it would affect the outcome much. It's gonna be a risk anyway. 'Okay, let's find out if luck is on my side!' The Time Wizard appeared on the field and spun into the air. The spinner arrow immediately moved, rotating very swiftly. 'Come on, not a skull!' That'll destroy my life points.

The spinner slowed and settled on a time machine. 'All right! It's Time Warp time!' The Time Wizard leapt into the air and there was a bright light over the field. 'Baby Dragon age a thousand years to re-emerge as Thousand Dragon!' The larger Dragon appeared on the field and roared.

'Uh…Joey?' Sharee was leaned over slightly.

But Joey was on a roll. 'And here's the plan you missed! Your metal monster rusting into a heap of scrap!'

'Joey?' Sharee tried again.

Joey wasn't listening, and soon he'd regret it.

YGO

The Pharaoh stood on the building top. He was perfectly aware of the fact that Joey wouldn't be able to see through his Thousand Dragon to the unharmed Jinzo. Sharee was leaning over and trying to get his attention but he was far too excited. He'd never actually seen the Time Warp fail on anything other than his and Yugi's Dark Magician, so it had likely not occurred to him that there was a reason Roba was confident.

Jinzo had special armour that took ten thousand years to rust, not just one.

YGO

Téa jumped and jerked her head back when hands suddenly covered her eyes. She felt someone's nose collide with the back of her head and jumped up. She was surprised, and a little guilty, to note that it was only Mr. Moto.

'Hey, you scared me!'

'I scared you? That noggin of yours almost broke my schnozz.'

Téa smiled. 'Well, don't sneak up on me.' He phone suddenly started ringing. 'Huh?' She pulled it out of her handbag and answered it. 'This is Téa.' A pause. 'Hey-ya, Tristan.'

'Are you watching Joey's duel right now?' Tristan asked.

'No, I'm not.' Téa had no idea he was even in a duel. 'What's going on?'

'Find him,' Tristan said. 'You gotta give him this message.'

YGO

Sharee ground her teeth. Joey was down to only 700 life points and Roba was crowing like a bitch. But, even if Roba won, Sharee had still seen what he had tucked under his hair.

'Your Battle City days are over, Wheeler! Your Dragon is destroyed and, according to the celestial forces that tell me all, you have nothing in your hand that can defeat Jinzo! Your future looks dim!'

And that "celestial forces" rubbish was really getting on her nerves.

'As long as I have my deck, I have hope,' Joey said. 'And it won't let me down here.' He laid a card. 'Activate the magic card Scapegoat!' The card appeared on the field and four coloured goats emerged.

Roba laughed. 'That's your best move? Those hairballs can't save your life points! Jinzo will take them out one by one. Then he'll destroy you. Why don't you make it easier on yourself, Wheeler, and just hand me your Locator Card?'

Well, it would keep his life points safe for now.

'Oh, you could just continue to embarrass yourself by playing lame cards!' Roba crowed, making the people around them laugh.

That was when Sharee started to suspect. She folded her arms across her chest. 'Roba, I just got a suspicion and, if I'm right, you're the biggest coward I ever met.'

Roba stopped laughing and drew back. Of course, everyone else stopped laughing too. That was exactly the effect Sharee had been hoping for. Nothing shut people like that up faster than making them look like idiots.

Rex, though, wasn't convinced. 'The little creep's right, Wheeler! This duel's as good as over. I mean, come on, even I couldn't defeat his Jinzo!'

'Your point being?' Sharee asked. 'You couldn't defeat him either.'

'It's your move, Roba,' Joey said.

'I warned you,' Rex grumbled.

YGO

Joey knew Sharee was right. 'All right, tough guy, let's see what you got.'

'You're just prolonging your defeat, Wheeler. But, if that's what you want, who am I to stop you?'

Joey ground his teeth.

'It's my move.' Roba drew and played the card. 'I summon Reflect Bounder to the field.' The card appeared and the monster emerged.

Joey tensed as his Scapegoats gathered around him, protecting him.

'My new monster is practically attack-proof!' Roba crowed. 'It can reflect any of your monsters' attacks right back at you. So even if you did manage to summon a decent monster, all of your attacks will be completely useless!'

Joey's eyes narrowed. 'Bring it on.'

'And don't forget, with every turn Amplifier increases Jinzo's attack by another three hundred points!' It looked extremely painful for the monster even as his attack rose to 3200. But Roba laughed triumphantly. 'Now I've got two undefeatable monsters on the field. And you, you don't have a chance, Wheeler!' He paused before giving the order. 'Now, Jinzo, attack his Scapegoat!' Jinzo roared and sent one of his energy attacks flying at one of the four and that Scapegoat was destroyed. 'Reflect Bounder, it's your turn to attack!' The Bounder shot its blast out of the central mirror and destroyed another.

Joey threw his arm up to protect his face from the light.

'Your future's looking more pathetic by the second! Two Scapegoats are down and, if my extrasensory perception is right, the other two will meet the same fate.' He threw his head back and laughed. 'Sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you, Wheeler. Loosing like this must be painful but I'm afraid it's going to get worse. By my next turn I'll have three monsters on the field, and I predict your life points will be gone!'

Joey growled.

Roba chuckled. 'What a pathetic way to end your Battle City experience! Ha! You couldn't even make your way out of the first round.'

I can't lose like this, Joey thought. But what else can I do?

Roba continued his crowing. 'Come on, Wheeler, face the facts! With those cards, your future careers as a duellist is…' He turned his thumb down. '…bleak and getting bleaker.'

Joey felt doubt begin to seep in.

'All right, I've had enough of you!' Sharee suddenly snapped. That wasn't something that happened everyday. She pointed at Roba. 'A good duellist isn't someone who always wins! It's someone who can face defeat. It's someone who's not afraid to fail. It's someone who can think outside the box. Most importantly, it's someone who never gives up! You keep yammering on about celestial forces which, by the way, don't even exist. At the same time, you have no idea of the forces that exist within your very deck.' She folded her arms again. 'I'm not talking about the monsters, or the traps, or the magic cards. The forces I mean cannot be seen or touched, only felt.'

Joey realised what she meant. The Heart of the Cards!

Roba drew back, shocked. But before he could collect himself and retort, he was cut off.

'Sharee's right, Joey!'

Joey turned his head. 'Téa?' Téa and Gramps were standing on the edge of the crowd, near where Sharee stood. They'd obviously just arrived and just in time to hear that little speech of hers.

'Tristan called from the hospital,' Téa called to him. 'He's watching the duel on the internet right now with Serenity.'

'Huh?' Joey turned a bit more, surprised.

'You sister wants you to know something, Joey,' Téa said.

'What is it? What did she say?'

Téa gave him the good two fingers up. 'You two are a team – forever. And she believes in you, so don't even think about giving up!'

Joey smiled. There's no way I'm quitting. Serenity would never give up on me. I'm not about to give up on myself. He turned back to the duel. I know you're right here with me, sis. So I'm gonna win this duel with your help. This so-called psychic clown is about to go down!

'Enough stalling!' Roba yelled. 'Are you gonna quit or what, Wheeler?'

'I don't think so,' Joey said.

Roba drew back, surprised. 'Really? Suit yourself.'

'That's right, Joey!' Gramps called. 'You can still win this duel! You just have to believe in yourself and in the Heart of the Cards!'

Gramps and Sharee were both right. I know I can do this. The odds are against me, but my friends are with me. I gotta have faith. He looked down. I know there's a card in my deck that could help me, a card that could turn this thing around. Now, all I gotta do is draw it so I can finish Espa Roba. 'Roba, check this out.' He drew. Yes! It was exactly the card he needed. He played it. 'The magic card, Roulette Spider!' The card appeared on the field and the Spider emerged. 'Roulette Spider, attach to Jinzo.' The Spider crossed the field and clamped onto Jinzo's face.

'Ah!' Roba drew back. 'What's that?' For a moment, Jinzo tried to get the Spider off of his face. As he did so, he staggered to the middle of the field. 'Ah! What's the point of all this?'

'Playing Roulette Spider is one of the riskiest moves in Duel Monsters,' Joey said. 'It could destroy me or win the duel for me. You see, after I give up half of my life points…' They dropped to 350. '…Roulette Spider blindfolds the strongest monster on the field and walks it to the centre. That's where it gets interesting.' A web was suddenly constructed around Jinzo. Each player and monster was alone facing one edge of the hexagon that was now on the ground.

Roba frowned. 'What is that web for, Wheeler?'

Joey almost sniggered. 'For a guy with ESP, you ask a lot of questions. That's the spin table. My Spider will spin Jinzo round and round like a giant wheel. When you tell it to stop, it'll automatically attack whichever target the arrow's pointing to.'

'Any target?' Roba demanded.

'Open your ears, psycho-boy,' Joey said. 'Any target. Could be me or you directly, or any of the monsters on the field. And since you been so good about piling up attack points for your monster friend there, whatever Jinzo points to will be destroyed instantly. Any predictions, Mr. ESP?'

'But I…!' Roba was looking suitably scared.

'Ready?' Joey gave the order. 'Go, Roulette Spider! Spin now!' The arrow on the spider lifted up and Jinzo began spinning, faster and faster. 'Whatever it points to, it destroys.' Joey was breaking a sweat. This was a big gamble, but it didn't matter. 'What's the matter, fraud? You too scared to tell it to stop?'

From the look on his face, yes.

'What you waiting for?' Joey demanded.

But the more the monsters spun, the higher the tension grew. Finally, it was just too much for him. 'Jinzo, stop!' Jinzo began slowing and clicked around until he finally came to a stop. 'Jinzo's pointing to my Reflect Bounder! And, if it attacks, they're both doomed.' The Roulette Spider disappeared from Jinzo's face, taking its web with it. Regardless, Jinzo powered up his attack. It fired, heading straight for the Bounder. Roba cried out in alarm. 'Don't reflect! You'll send his attack right back!' But it was too late. 'No, you can't! If Jinzo's blast gets sent back by Reflect Bounder, they're both gone!'

The blast had hit and was reflected. But, because of how superior Jinzo was over the Bounder, the reflected attack destroyed it even so. The blast slammed right back into Jinzo and he was destroyed as well with a pained roar. Roba cried out and covered his eyes against the force of his monsters being destroyed. When he looked up, there was nothing left but Joey and his remaining Scapegoats.

Joey smirked. 'Too late, Roba. Both your monsters have been destroyed, and you're history!'

'Ah!' Roba stumbled back. 'No! I had it won! I…you couldn't beat me!'

'What do you think just happened?' Joey asked. 'Let me do the math for you, you psychic sneak. Jinzo started with 3200 attack points. Subtract Reflect Bounder's 1700.' He pointed at him. 'And you lose 1500 life points!'

Roba's life points dropped to 0.

'You're finished,' Joey said. 'And this duel is over!'

There was cheering all around him.

YGO

The Pharaoh looked down at the finished product of Joey's duel. He'd taken a very big gamble, but sometimes you had to do that in Duel Monsters. And Joey had proven that he knew when he needed to take a long shot. It was also a good thing that Sharee had decided to watch from where Joey could see and hear her.

Nice work.

The Pharaoh looked down to where Espa's brothers were. They were talking amongst themselves on how close their brother had been. That was far better than helping him cheat just to escape petty bullies.

YGO

Sharee was a little sorry to see Espa take losing so badly, falling to his knees like that. 'He beat me!'

One of the onlookers scoffed. 'Check out the psychic duellist now.'

'What happened to his ESP?' another one asked. 'He couldn't predict he'd be a loser!' He laughed.

Roba cringed. Sharee thought as much.

Joey walked over. 'It was a tough duel. Now, fork over your Jinzo and your locator card.'

Roba looked up and narrowed his eyes. 'No! I can't!' Then he was up on his knees. 'Please don't make me! You just don't understand.' He glanced behind him on both sides.

'Those are the rules.' Sharee came over and leaned on Joey's shoulder. 'Your Locator Card and your rarest card. If we don't understand, why don't you explain it to us?'

'Yeah, what are you freaking out about?' Joey asked. 'Just stand up and face defeat. Everyone loses once in a while. Even Joey Wheeler blew a few duels in his day.'

'But it's not that simple!' Espa insisted. 'People count on me to win, Wheeler!'

'Ah.' Sharee chuckled to herself.

'We all have our own reasons for duelling,' Joey said.

Espa dropped to his hand and knees again. 'Stop! You just don't get it, do you?'

Sharee interrupted him. 'You feel the need to win at all costs due to a responsibility to someone, probably younger siblings.'

Espa lifted his head and looked at her.

'Let me guess: the lot of you always get picked on my bullies so you figure if you always win your duels, they'll leave you alone because they'll respect you.'

Espa gasped and then averted his eyes.

Sharee nodded and leaned over. 'I understand your reasoning, but I don't understand why you would. Bullies are simply sad, miserable losers who try to make themselves feel better about their lives by making someone else's miserable. They don't respect you. They don't even respect themselves.' That said, Sharee leaned down and reached for what she'd seen when she arrived. She drew a receiver from Espa's ear. 'And when you cheat, the only one you cheat is yourself.'

Espa glared at her. 'Oh, and you would know?'

'Yes, I would,' Sharee said.

At that moment, a voice came out of the earpiece. 'Come on, big bro, get up. You didn't disappoint us. You fought an awesome duel and you did it without cheating.' When the person spoke again, they weren't coming through the receiver. 'We're proud of you, bro.'

Espa looked over and gasped. 'But I lost!'

'So?' one of the brothers asked.

'So you're not worried about people thinking your big brother is a big loser?' Espa asked them.

'No, cause in our book you're a winner.' The kid had tears coming down his cheeks.

Espa stood up. 'Well, come here! And give your bro a hug!' The brothers all ran over.

'Awww!' the crowd chorused as the Roba brothers hugged.

'Thank you, guys,' Espa said to his brothers. 'I guess I have a lot to learn.' He looked ahead. 'About winning.'

'You duelled great.'

'And the totally best part of it is you did it on your own.'

'Yeah! Without using any of that phoney ESP stuff.'

Joey grinned at Sharee. 'So I guess these guys are the cosmic forces he was talking to. Now all I need is his rare Jinzo card to finish this happy ending.'

YGO

The Pharaoh watched the scene below him with upturned lips. He was completely satisfied with the situation now. 'Good work, Joey. I knew you'd find your strength.' He turned and walked towards the door.

The Pharaoh now had his own next duel to find.

YGO

'Here, my Jinzo and my Locator Card. You deserve them.'

'Thanks.' Joey took the cards from Espa and looked at them in his hand.

'Look, I'm sorry about that cheating thing,' Espa said.

'Ah, no worries.' Joey brushed it off.

Espa spread his arms. 'You beat me fair and square. And next time we duel, I'm playing totally legit. No more cheating.'

'I'll hold you to that. Until then, smell you later, Roba brothers.' He turned and started walking. Then he stopped. 'You know, we're a lot alike, Espa.'

'Huh?' Espa asked.

'You've got your brothers, and I've got my sister and my pals. And we're all there to support each other when we need it.' He turned to face them again. 'As long as we got that, nobody loses.' He gave him a thumb's up.

Espa smiled and nodded.

'See you later,' Joey said. He, Gramps, Sharee and Téa headed off.

'Excellent duelling, Joey,' Gramps told him.

'Yeah!' Téa grinned. 'Way to go!'

'Thanks.' Joey smiled. Well, my first duel of the tournament. And not a bad start if I do say so myself. There'll be tough times ahead, but I know I'm not in this alone.