In Which Téa Makes a Bad Decision

by Rebelwarrior217 NeoZwartPrime

No one is sure whether the planets had aligned, or deals had been made with dark forces, but somehow against all odds Téa became a duelist and was winning. (Blend of Manga/Anime verse. Dub/Sub. Also includes Season 0)

2. DUEL 01 - A MANIC PANIC

WARNINGS: Self-doubt, self-esteem issues, duelling with correct usage and knowledge, long ass pages get your reading glasses on. blood, stabbing and the insanity that is Yami Bakura. Honestly he is his own warning. NPC 's are not having a good time here.

Author's Note: Okay… 26717 words 58 pages. This bad boy contains a hell of a chapter. With a bit of growth from all angles for most of the characters others will eventually get a chance in the spotlight but I believe a bit of sisterhood was needed.

So please enjoy this meal of a chapter. Bon Appétit

Do be kind and supportive by leaving a kudo and a comment.

Comments make the chapters go faster… just saying.

IMPORTANT:

'Normal thoughts'

"Mind link talk"

"Normal Talk"

Electrical Television actions "That is speaking"

This is a flask back "That is speaking."

This is a vision with "talking"

CHPT 02 : DUEL 01 - A MANIC PANIC

X

"Joey… I am…" Barely above a whisper "Proud to… Have fought…" Life, barely hanging on by a thread "Against…You." The line snapped… He was gone.

Eyes filled with insanity "The one who cast that shadow…" A look of derangement on her beloved brother's face "Is me."

Gentle calloused hands held the bruised face of the feather wielder. "The reason I entered this tournament… was so I could fight you once again" Tears welled up in the eyes of the one that was blessed by luck "That the only way I know… to let you know how I feel!"

"YOUR HATRED" Royal blood dripping from the king's mouth "YOUR ANGER… I'LL TAKE IT ALL ON!" Crimson eyes strained to look at the shadow of despair "But I swear… I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO THE DARKNESS!"

"I'll let you win this time." A single eye, not yet devoured by demons, hardened by hate. Life and soul now devoured by shadow "You haven't seen the last of me."

"Ukht…" Desperate hands reaching out to her "Sister! I'm scared."

"Marik." Her voice quivered as her own hand reached out. "Brother!"

Lilac eyes glistened with tears drowned by darkness "PLEASE HELP ME!"

"NO GHALI!"

The raven-haired female sat up with a loud gasp as she frantically looked around for her assailant. Ishizu threw her back against the couch as her breath hitched, her eyes landed on a black standing figure at the side of the coach she was resting on. The beating of her heart filled her ears as the breath froze in her chest, the bottom of the woman's stomach sliding into a great black pit, sweat as cold as the winds on the nights her mother wasn't there to hold her anymore.

Gold marking around the arms and eyes of the creature felt familiar… ah. The woman gave a sigh of relief as the figure became clearer to her. 'Anubis, a bit early to come for my weighing, is it not.' She gave a slight chuckle as she now allowed her eyes to roam the room.

The small paintings that decorated the wall was the only thing to show where she was now.

Domino City Museum. In her office. She wiped the sweat from her palms on her dress, the back of her neck wet, rolling down her spine.

Eyes filled with insanity "The one who cast that shadow…" A look of derangement on her beloved brother's face "Is me."

Again. It was that vision…

Tears, unwanted, unbidden, rose in her eyes as she blinked in a futile bid for composure. Her tongue felt dry, and she didn't want to think about it, didn't want to think that in a week's time everything she had been dreaded would come to pass.

Her brothers

The Pharaoh

All that would be caught in the crossfire. They would suffer horrible fates in the Battle City finals, and she wasn't allowed to interfere with the king's destiny for fear of changing the fate of the world.

She would be forced to watch it unfold before her, but… "It will all depend on if my will is strong enough to allow myself to be on the side-lines." Ishizu softly whispered as she stood up from her resting place before walking towards the corner of the room that held a simple kettle and a small fridge for where the milk was kept.

Tea would sooth her… doubts. If only she could get her hands on some Om Ali. The gentle scent of cinnamon and the soft texture of pudding was one of her favourites. Her mother often spoiled her and Rishid with the delightful treat. Until her passing…

Her father refused to even make or have the sweet in his presence. Despite this her uncle, even when he still had other duties to attend, had showered her and her brothers with traditional sweets of their homeland and culture. Marik's favourite was their uncle's tiger nut cake.

The young woman rummaged through her small bag before slowly taking out a small pouch with the words صعيدى embroidered. Ishizu smiled as she gently ran her finger over the embroidered word. The name of the tea had a likeness to that of her uncle's name.

Sa'idi

A tea from upper Egypt.

It was an exceptionally heavy black boiled sugary tea. She gave a tired smile as she poured the sachet's contents. She needed this. This delightfully bitter black tea needed to boil for as long as five minutes over a strong flame. Her uncle loved it with plenty of cane sugar. Unfortunately, it was always still far too bitter for her little brother.

The small black-haired girl pouted in slight jealousy as she noticed the small fingers of her gremlin of a brother taking their uncle's hand, which held a cup of the black tea. The male's mouth twitched at the curious expression that the small boy was making. She giggled, knowing how he was going to react, as she saw him lowered it enough for the young boy to smile at him as he took a small sip from the cup.

"How is it?" A knowing glint in her uncle's eyes.

"…."

She laughed as she saw Marik stuck his tongue out in sheer disgust at the drink.

Ishizu gave a small chuckle at the memory before slowly sipping her drink. Bitter yet sweet. Such bliss for the simple luxuries in life.

She gently placed the cup down as the ambassador noticed the prolonging silence of the room. Normally one of her guards would come to check on her and since she had fallen asleep, it indicated that they had not checked up on her for some time. If Suheil was currently in charge of the security tonight, then he may have allowed her a moment of rest.

The corner of her eyes crinkled in amusement at the thought. Suheil allowed her these few moments of freedom, much like Rishid did for Marik. The female quietly walked towards the door, readying herself to be taken to her hotel room for the night for a decent rest.

"Odd…" She muttered as she found the door locked. "Suheil! Are you there?" She waited for an answer from one of her guards. A pit grew in her stomach as silence greeted the Egyptian ambassador. "Omar? Anyone?"

She hurriedly ran towards her desk, grabbing a set of keys within one drawer. With a slight jingle of the doorknob, it opened. Wide eyes immediately gazed frantically through the hallway for any sign of her security. 'This isn't right. There always has to be at least one member of the security team here.'

She narrowed her eyes as her hand traced the eye around her neck. Normally she would refrain from using the necklace unless the circumstances were dire but with her guards missing… Ishizu closed her eyes as she felt a slight warmth emit from the ancient artefact.

Corpses littering the hallways.

A sword embedded in the glass protecting the sacred stone.

An intruder

Blood dripping from a blade

Fair skin and brown eyes with white hair

Maniacal laughter.

Her eyes snapped open, ending the vision as soon as it began. "It can't be." She gasped as she gripped her necklace tightly. "He's not supposed to be here." This wasn't supposed to happen! Her feet moved without her command. Towards the room that contained the ancient tablets of the old Kingdom.

"Despite being banished to the shadows and the item itself thrown. You always seemed to find a way back to Ryou." A deep frown formed on the ancient king's lips. "And use him for your own gain. The question is, are you here for my puzzle or for something else?"

The spirit smirked at the frustrated tone in the tri-coloured being's voice. "Who knows?" He snickered seeing the Pharaoh practically snarl at his answer. "Maybe I'm just here to torment you and your friends knowing that you will never be rid of me!" Cackled the occult duellist.

His presence was only supposed to be known at the battle city finals. Why did he now appear?

The raven-haired woman's breath slightly hitched as she noticed a few broken cases that held replicas of various weaponry. Her lip slightly curled at the disrespect and audacity of his actions. The security system had been interfered with and the guards that were stationed outside had clearly been dealt with. As for her guards…

Hands pressed against her mouth as she saw at the entrance of the staircase, the unmoving form of one of her members. The warm wet sensation returned, and her throat felt tight. Breathing was becoming difficult. She gritted her teeth as she attempted to control her emotions.

Now wasn't the time.

He was here.

Thin fingers dug into the palms of her hand as she finally addressed the intruder of the museum. "I knew you were here but only when you had already struck," The young woman turned around to face her adversary, "I find it strange that my necklace didn't warn me of your actions. The only way it couldn't have warned me is if…"

"If the enemy wielded a millennium Item." Finished the figure as they twirled the blade between their fingers. Then a gentle clinking sound echoed, much like wind chimes that shopkeepers kept at their doors, from the artefact around the being's neck "Come now, don't act surprised." He pulled off the ski mask that had covered his face. His fangs glinted in the room's light. "You were aware of my existence."

The male had fair skin and dark brown eyes. The shadows of the room gave his eyes an eerie reflection as glowing white flecks practically devoured his irises. It wasn't humanly possible for a being's eyes to look so other-worldly.

His ashen white hair was pointed downwards in various directions and trailed off halfway down his back. They were stiff, unlike the soft appearance most of the city occupants had. The male's his bangs were angled upward, much like the horns of a beast or the wings of a devil.

His clothing surprised her the most. The young man donned a pair of flannel pyjamas as if he just came to inflict suffering upon her instead of sleeping. There was a slight glimpse of the artefact that was tucked safely under the being shirt.

Though, what had her attention was the blade in the killer's hand.

A khopesh.

A curved blade with a sickle-like shape in design, and the opposite side has a short hook. Discovered during the Mesopotamia period in the 2nd Millennium B.C if she was not mistaken. Old Kingdom. Usually, the artefacts would be brittle and fragile but not these replicas. The curator believed sharpening them would give the weapons a more authentic look to them. Curse him.

She gritted her teeth behind her stoic façade.

The blade dripped with crimson.

She watched, entranced by the sight and sheer callous nature of the spirit of the ring.

More than one of her guards had fallen at the hands of this man.

The pale-skinned male brought the slicked blade up to his malevolent smile, a pink muscle extended to swipe at the lukewarm liquid staining the blade.

The nihilism, the absolute disregard for human life… sickened her.

"Why?" It wouldn't help. No motive would ever justify the reason to kill someone. "You could have reached me without bloodshed. Yet you still decide to commit such an atrocious act."

His smile widened as it glinted menacingly as the moonlight shined through the windows. "Why indeed? For fun? For sport? Maybe it was just a whim. Maybe. But that doesn't sound like me. Perhaps after spending millennia inside the darkest corners of the shadows-"

A screech echoed in the room as he dragged the blade on the ground. A few sparks emitting from the contact of the blade "I just wanted to add a bit of colour in my new existence and what colour is better than…"

Blood flowed afresh. Curved blade digging in her neck. A bloodied hand gripping her necklace. A fierce grin with teeth stained with crimson-

She ducked.

Behind her, the loud sound of broken glass reverberated as she took one hallway.

Pain blossoming in her abdomen. A bronze tipped blade pierce-

The female dodge to her right, a sharp projectile tearing through her dress's sleeve, the tip of the weapon now embedded in the wall. Maniacal laughter echoing behind her as she went further in the museum.

The male gave a slight frown in annoyance, seeing his prey had escaped. 'Clever. She realised the item wouldn't be able to predict my movements, but it would show her visions of how she would get killed and thus avoid it.' He smirked, gripping the stained blade as he stalked over towards the exhibit the girl had escaped to.

"Run, little priestess as fast as you can." Grin widening as he eagerly adorned the ski mask. Pupils dilated in glee when he felt the ring pull him toward his quarry. "For I hear the snapping maw of the Ammit AT YOUR HEELS HAHAHA."

Her heart hammered away in her chest as she heard the monster's cackling laughter echoing in the building. Her breath was laboured as she leaned against the wall. The ebony-haired woman worriedly looked over shoulder making sure her pursuer wasn't nearby.

She couldn't stop, she had to keep moving. She needed to find a way out and away from this creature. To think, a sudden change to the future she was intimately familiar with. Now suddenly it's different. 'How could it have happened? What changed?' She froze as she saw a shadow drape over one of the building's side exits.

The curator cursed silently as she softly backed away from the area. Not to mention, she hadn't seen the recent changes that would take place. 'Would my brothers still be in danger? Will the Pharaoh succeed?'.

She hurriedly ducked behind one of the colossal statues decorating the hall. The necklace wielder wiped the small sweat droplets away. She needed to think. 'If the spirit of the ring… wait.' Her eyes widened as realisation dawned on her. 'He is attached to the ring and as a spirit he uses a host. Without the item, he would be powerless.'

"If you surrender your necklace now. I'll let you live… If you refuse." She flinched as she heard something shatter. It sounded heavy, probably one of the ancient canopic jars of a great king.

The young woman gave a shuddering breath as she thought through her options. Technically, she only had one option. She knew what she had to do. She needed to escape. Cerulean coloured eyes looked up to the statue that currently gave her refuge.

The statue appeared to be a man. The head had a resemblance of a hawk, wearing the golden disk on top. At the base of the disk was a serpent which had decorated its base. It had the semblance of a crown.

"My King and father of all creation." She whispered. Her breath slightly hitched as she heard bare feet touch the tiles of the hallway. "May my feet be light and my heart as brave as the sun." She placed her hands on the statue as the steps came closer. "For one misstep on this night shall be the end of all that is and…" She gritted her teeth before pressing against the statue. 'All that will be.' The statue toppled.

The masked male eyes widened as the still statue of Ra had started to topple over. In his direction. He jumped back as the sculpture landed with a loud crash near his feet. He gave a slight hiss as his arm had a deep scratch from his attempt at dodging the effigy. He didn't take notice of the figure closing in.

He felt a weight against his chest. A hand. His eyes widened as he felt fingers curl around the ring. Her nails scraped against his skin as she pulled.

"Sto-AAH." He let out a pained cry as he felt his skin being torn apart. The cry became a laugh as he saw the priest's eyes looking in shock at how the cursed item refused to budge. He thrust his free hand against her chest, causing her to be pushed back until her back hit against one of the glass barriers. Cracking it.

Winching slightly from the impact as she stepped away from the display case. She frowned in confusion as the ring she had attempted to grab from the tomb robber refused to be dislodged. Which wasn't considered possible since it only adorned his neck.

Though, a slight red stain had spread on the shirt after she had yanked on the ring. She brought her shaken hand close to her face. Seeing a small trail of red at her palm… but no wound.

Blood. He started bleeding.

The ebony-haired woman slowly backed away as the possessed boy that was cackling.

"Shocked?" Purred the albino as the curator stared at him in growing alarm. He grabbed the slightly unbuttoned shirt and yanked it open. The buttons of the shirt scattered in all directions as he revealed the ring in its entirety.

The female looked in horror at the sight of the artefact.

The prongs of the gold item had burrowed into the chest of the white-haired male. Skin had literally overlapped the small chimes. Blood dripped off one prong. It was grotesque and nauseating. If she were to remove it by force, she knew much of his chest skin would be torn along with the artefact.

Maiming the innocent host. Maybe even killing the boy.

"Care to try again?" Mocked the intruder as he stepped towards the freighted woman.

Ishizu gritted her teeth as she backed further away, wanting to put distance between the two of them. Only to feel the cold stone touch her back. She was trapped and her executioner was inching closer. Her item is useless against a far stronger artefact.

She could wait for him to come closer to attack him, Hands gripping her neck. A sickening snap was heard.

Running past him could… Sharp pain in her stomach. The blade cutting in. The blade sliding upwards.

Would attacking him and trying to wrestle the blade away work? Thumbs hovering over her aquamarine-coloured eyes. The sound of cackling laughter. The thumbs pushed in.

Nothing.

Nothing would work.

She couldn't escape.

"Realised it's futile, sweet priest?" Cooed the killer as he twirled the glistening blade, causing a few glass cases and the Arab woman to be covered with specks of blood. He grinned, seeing the curator flinch and shake at the wet sensation. "I offered you a deal. Your life for the Tauk" He raised the blade above his head as his grin faltered to an annoyed frown. "That offer has expired. Along with your life."

She closed her eyes as she turned her head away. Preparing for the inevitable pain that was to befall her… None came.

Ishizu slowly opened her eyes before widening in shock at the sight in front of her.

A male somewhat too tall for his build but clearly muscular had jumped in front of her and grabbed the arms of the killer before it could be brought down on her. A look of relief formed on her tanned face as she now recognized her saviour. It was Suheil!

The man known as Suheil adorned a shaved head, his face was decorated with a black-haired extended goatee. He was missing his signature keffiyeh, a headdress, though she could see ribbons of it in a makeshift bandage around his upper arm.

His teeth clenched as he struggled against the surprisingly strong child. His arms ached as he attempted to disarm and, hopefully, either stun or knock out the maniac.

"You look tired, my friend. '' jeered the teenager, who didn't look in the slightest bothered by the man's desperate attempt.

"My lady Ishtar." Her saviour said with gritted teeth. "Please find an exit and leave the area." His arms were shaking, but still he kept his grip firm on the blade. He winced as a small part of the blade's fang started digging in his neck. "I'm afraid I cannot provide help for much longer." He didn't wish to terrify her, but the truth of the matter remained. He would give his life for her, and her remaining here would keep her in danger.

"Run, and I'll bring you his head, little seer." Snapped the thief as he bared his teeth in a mocking attempt at a smile as his opponent. "You gain nothing from protecting her except a few coloured pieces of paper. Is your life worth that much?" He giggled as he pressed harder against the male. The blade dug in causing a river of blood to flow.

"Or are you getting satisfaction in another way?" Jeered the spirit. Enjoying the emotions of fear and hatred forming on the guard's face.

Unfortunately for him. Suheil had enough.

The man gritted his teeth before pressing himself against the blade. Digging deeper in his skin. The killer emitted a slight noise of surprise before a pounding pain erupted on his forehead.

This bastard… This cretin, with a blade embedded in his shoulder, had head-butted him.

He winced, eyes slightly watering from pain. His arm felt loose which meant the blade had been dislodged. Pain erupted on his stomach. He gave out a loud cough as he felt a kick to his abdomen causing him to step back into a wall.

Except there was no wall. Stairs.

He reached out trying to catch the door frame only for his fingers, covered with blood, to slip. A sickening sense of no longer being supported by his feet took over, his stomach did a flip, and he found himself face down on the floor.

The grey-haired male gave an animalistic growl as he heard his quarry take off. He grabbed his mask before yanking it and tossing it aside with a furious yell and slammed his fist against the floor. Again, and again till he rested his forehead against the floor.

His erratic breathing went to a slower rhythm before stopping as he took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. He gave out a loud sigh, as he slowly stood up from his position.

How… irritating.

With the blade gripped tightly in his hand he began his climb of the staircase. No doubt they had left the building with the item in tow. 'Still... I have had little excitement in centuries.' A tongue snaked over his wet fingers as he entered the hallway. His reddened mouth widening as he hears a splash with every footstep he takes.

'This may have been a setback…' A wicked smile formed on his face as he stopped at the stairway of his desired destination. A body of one of his first victims decorating the first step of the staircase. He kicked the bleeding corpse, causing it to tumble to the bottom.

A river of red flowing behind it.

'But I'm far from finished.'

He twirled the tainted weapon as he walked towards the stone tablet. His own grinning reflection stared back at him before a slight frown formed as he saw the carved picture. None of his memories contained the event the tablet had recorded.

He lifted the khopesh, the tip aimed at the pharaoh before sliding over towards the carved priest.

Had he failed?

He pulled the blade back over his shoulder. Much like a javelin or a spear before letting it loose. A loud cracking sound echoed in the room as the blade dug into the glass barrier.

'Was there a hidden rebellion? Had the priest finally snapped, and if so was it because of betrayal or insanity?'

Webbing of cracks spreading off the case. Distorting the images on the tablet. Though a small crack could be seen on the stone. Forever separating the Vizier and his king.

'What tantalising thought. The Pharoah's most trusted companion turned against him.'

It seems history enjoys repeating itself.

X

Tuesday - Six days till the Tournament

- Location: Domino High - 07:30

"Remember Joey this isn't Duelist Kingdom. Summoning a level five monster won't be possible without tributing a monster." Nevermore was Téa Gardner thankful for breaks between classes and even more thankful for Joey. Her beautiful blonde idiot had asked Yugi to help him go over the new tournament rules, if only he was this diligent in studying for the exams, which gave her the opportunity to learn a few of the basics even if it was a watered-down version.

Still, she was immensely thankful.

"Right, right." Muttered the male as he placed the card back in his hand. "Then I'll sacrifice this monster to summon my Red Eyes Black Dragon!" A smug grin had formed on the lucky duellist's face which didn't match Yugi's nervous expression. "Scared now Yuge?"

"Uh Joey… For a level five and six monster you need only one tribute. A level seven and higher… needs two." The sight of Joey's face and the situation would have been funny if the same thing didn't happen to her last night. "You gotta be kiddin me!" Cried the male as he placed the card back.

"At least this will not happen at the tournament." Reassured Ryou as he stared at the annoyed Duellist. "You'll be able to create a good deck with all this practice so think of this as a learning Opportunity." Kami bless this boy. Bless this boy for many years because without him she might've thrown in the towel. Even if his words weren't directed at her, it still motivated her.

Violet eyes turned to look at her. "Speaking of practice. How was Yesterday Téa?" She closed her eyes and tried to give her best smile. "It was good we did a lot yesterday." When the brunette opened her eyes, she didn't expect to see a worried look adorning his gentle face. "You okay Téa? You seem a bit… off." She clenched her hand into a fist behind her back. "I'm exhausted and honestly school has been draining."

"Preach to the choir." Said Tristan who was currently laying down on his side as he watched his two friends duel each other. "School normally sucks but now with all this." He waved his hand in a circle motion "It just got worse. I'm thankful they didn't take away P.E, focusing on all this theory is just boring."

Téa gave a slight chuckle before replying "We can't allow our school's Judo Champion to get rusty now, can we?"

In all honesty it was one of the few times where the other gets to see Kaiba, when he still came to school regularly, got his own ass handed to him. The man was fit and skilled in self-defence ways but when it came to Tristan and following the Judo rules. Her friend reigned supreme. Those were Joey's favourite days but now it seems Kaiba had now become fully invested in his business. Whenever or not that means he'll come back to school one day is a mystery for another time.

"Damn straight!" exclaimed Tristan as he jumped up before going in his signature fighting stance. "Hey Ryou, give me your best shot. I've noticed you've been dodging our matches lately." This sudden declaration had caused the meek male to jump behind her to hide from his would-be assailant.

"I'm fine, thank you very much." The young male closed his eyes as he gave a nervous smile to Tristan. "Besides, I'm still recovering from falling down the stairs last night." He winced as he rubbed his shoulder. "The nurse said I nearly dislocated it, not to mention the scratches on my arm and chest, so I'm sad to say our match will need to be on hold for a bit longer." He had a slight frown on his face to convey his displeasure.

He wasn't sad… not the least bit.

"You're just upset, you know you're going to lose."

"You really are just a Barbarian in real life. Not dumb, just a very…. Instinctual."

"… and violent."

"Huh, what do you-? WHA!"

"Tristan! Put Him Down!"

"Ryou quick! Do a savin' throw!"

"JOEY!"

- After School _ Location: Gardner Residence - 16:30

Gemini monsters are a type of effect monster that at first is treated as normal monsters on the field and in the graveyard.

'So if you use a card that targets non-effect monsters in a graveyard you can choose a Gemini monster.' She hummed in thought as she softly chewed on the end of her pencil.

They gain their effects by performing an additional Normal Summon on them while they are face-up on the field.

'Might as well call them Dual monsters.' She quickly added the small note to her notebook 'Would the amulet of Ambition still work on them if it's equipped, and they are turned into effect monsters?' Her eyes flickered to the card in her hand before shaking her head. 'No, it will get destroyed.'

"Tea, remember when I said about calling out the effects of monsters?"

She looked up from the card in her hand "Mm If you don't call out the effect whenever it is a monster's flip effect or a quick effect it won't be considered active." She parroted her friend's words. "You also said when that monster is destroyed, you can't call out the effect later."

Mai smiled happily that her student was a good listener. "There is one mistake in that sentence." She smirked, seeing the confused look of her student. She popped a small block of chocolate in her mouth. "Can you figure it out?"

"You're not going to give me a hint, are you?"

"Nope, and I'm going to keep asking you these minor questions and with every wrong answer." The blonde woman grinned before quickly snatching one of Tea's malt balls, "I'll take these as a penalty fee."

"Mai listen I know Lovely Berry's chocolates are heaven sent but the way you have been packing it you're going to get sick eventually." Warned the high schooler as she saw the little ball of delight disappear behind a set of crimson lips.

"You worry about the question; I'll worry about my weight."

The brunette sighed in annoyance. She warned her.

"Why didn't we start with duelling? I know most of the basics so won't practise be more effective?" Was she impatient yes and maybe a little frustrated but she learned by trial and error. So why wouldn't Mai duel her?

"Patience Chickadee." She tapped her nail against the coffee table's surface. "You are far from being a decent challenge, much less someone that can win or at the very least reach the tournament finals." Her face softened as she saw her friend deflate. "That doesn't mean it's impossible. I mean look at Joseph, he made it to second place!"

"With a lot of hard work and patience." She poked the brunette's forehead for emphasis "You'll be able to help your friends and become one of the best duelists in Domino to boot."

Téa gave a shaking smile as a tight feeling sensation was felt in her chest. She wiped her face with her nightgown's sleeve. "Thanks Mai… I" She swallowed, attempting to clear her throat. "I needed that."

"Dry those tears and finish those questions then in an hour we watch a movie. I know, one I think you'll like!" Mai cooed as she grabbed her laptop and quickly searched for the desired film. "It's about a stripper that met a wealthy businessman-"

Téa could only smile as she saw the harpie duellist become excited.

She became her friend. A dear friend.

A friend that clearly couldn't handle sappy moments in a movie without causing the dam to flood.

'Yeah.' She smiled before handing the weeping blonde another tissue. 'I think I made another best friend."

X

Wednesday - Five days till the Tournament

- Location: Mutou Residence - 07:00

"Yugi do you ever think Oneko is going to catch that mouse?"

The tri-coloured male looked up from his porridge in confusion at his grandfather's question. 'Mouse?' He tilted his head before noticing the newspaper in his grandfather's hands. 'Oh, the comic strip.' He gave a smile to his grandpa, "I don't know Jichan, without Jinkusu in the story there wouldn't be any new adventures."

"Fair point." A shuffling of paper echoed in the room as the young boy stood up and walked towards the kitchen sink. "I just don't understand the point in chasing… My goodness."

"Something wrong?" Asked Yugi as he placed his bowl in the sink. He frowned as he didn't hear an answer. "Grandpa?" Confusion filled him as he returned to the television room to see his grandfather hunched over the newspaper. Curiosity brimming, he glanced over the older male's shoulder. His eyes widened as he glimpsed the newspaper headlines.

MUSEUM MASSACRE: 6 DEAD 2 INJURED – UNKNOWN KILLER STILL AT LARGE.

The feeling of surprise and sorrow filled his chest as he read the title. 'Not even historical buildings are safe these days.' He could only shake his head, especially at the drama the embassy or politics were going to receive.

A cold sensation enveloped him. The spirit. Yami. He wanted to take over. To see for himself the content of the newspaper. He gave a soft smile, amused that his friend was unsure on how to ask him if they could switch, just to satiate his curiosity.

"You're not gonna like this, Yami." Whispered Yugi as he closed his eyes, and he felt the ancient spirit take over.

Violet eyes turned to a deep magenta colour. His slender hand gently took the newspaper from the elder being's hand.

During the late hours of the night, an unknown intruder infiltrated the museum and in process injured one of the security guards and killed six of the personal bodyguards of the museum curator Ishizu Ishtar.

The old king felt his muscles tense as his eyes flickered over each word on the paper. His throat felt tight as thousands of questions echoed in his mind as he could only guess why anyone had bothered to attack an innocent woman, injured and killed many people and left with nothing valuable.

"Yami, is everything alright?" The young light's voice was laced with concern as he felt fear and anger. The anger did not belong to him, but to the ancient being inside his puzzle.

Yami didn't answer, but turned to his puzzle's finder. "Grandpa." The elder looked up as he heard the young boy call to him. "I'm leaving. See you soon." He didn't stop to hear their grandfather's goodbye as he quickly closed the door behind him.

"Spirit?"

His fists clenched tightly as he turned to look at the floating form of his other half. Amethyst coloured eyes glistening in concern for him. "Yugi… There is something I need to tell you."

X

- Location: Kaiba Tower - 11:59

"Killed six of the personal bodyguards of the museum curator Ishizu Ishtar - who is still in current employment for the Egyptian government agency - the Supreme Council of Antiquities, who had been confronted by the masked killer. Police-" The screen flickered to black as the monitor was shut off. A reflection of the being that had been listening to the news broadcast was seen on the screen.

"Idiots." Mutter the CEO as he placed the remote next to a lonely persimmon.

Sharp steel-blue eyes narrowed in annoyance as he mulled over the information he received. The last thing he needed was an idiot trying to exercise his power in the streets. Fortunately, he already had the Police Department within his grasp so any unnecessary interruptions would be barred.

The brunet quietly hummed in thought as he walked towards the windows of his office. Tossing the small fruit in one hand to the other.

He had no doubts it could have been a planned hit. Ishizu Ishtar was the original owner of Obelisk so no doubt the head of these so called Rare-hunters, or Ghouls depending on who you ask, had tracked down information on who was the last one to have held the God Card.

Still for a single man to be able to not only infiltrate but come into contact with trained officers and prevail. It was no easy feat.

"Seto."

He turned around to the door of his office as he heard the small timid voice of his brother.

"Roland informed me that two of the duellists you requested will be here in fifteen minutes." The young boy placed two folders on his elder brother's desk. "I didn't know one of our ex-employees was a duellist?" His brow narrowed in confusion as he saw his brother fist slight clench.

"I don't consider someone an ex-employee if they were wrongfully terminated Mokuba."

"Wrongfully terminated?"

The tall brunette gently reached out to grab one folder on his desk. He flipped it open before placing it in front of the young successor.

The young child looked over at the pages in front of him before his gaze settled on a picture of a muscular man. "Hagane Saito?" Mokuba scratched the back of his head. 'Sounds familiar…' His eyes widened as a small image of a younger version of his brother and two adults flashes in his head.

"Wait, a minute. Didn't our stepfather assign him as your personal guard at one point?" He picked up to look at the picture of the male. "He looks… bigger than I remember." He gave his brother a bewildered look. "He's a duelist?" He blinked only to find his brother's back turned towards him.

Five cards held by an aged hand. Windsor spectacles glinted in the rays of sunlight that had escaped past the curtain in the room. A shaking grin on dry spotted skin. "Giving up Bocchama?"

Bright azure eyes narrowed in annoyance at the elder opposite of him. With a frown he drew a card from his deck before grinning at the sight of the card. "Alright! I summon a Komouri dragon!" He placed the card on the game mat between them. "He has an attack of 1500 and with Fairy dragon and Dragon dwelling in the cave on the field it's more than enough to beat you." A gleam of excitement on the boy's face " I'm going to use him to attack!"

"Bravo Kaiba-sama for having the courage to attack." The elder male smile slightly widened as flipped over a card on his side of the game mat. "Unfortunately, I will stop your dragon in his stead by activating my trap card." He picked up the card before giving it to the frowning child. "The card is called Shadow Spell. I can target one face-up monster your opponent controls. It will lose 700 ATK, and it cannot attack or change its battle position."

The child tipped on his side as he landed on a pillow next to him. "Which means I can't attack." He pressed his face against the pillow before giving a muffle 'your turn' causing in turn his opponent to laugh.

"Don't worry Bocchama one day you'll beat me." Chuckled a male before putting down a monster card and destroying the Komori Dragon.

"I agree." Young Seto looked up as he heard a soft Baritone of a male entering. A tall professional looking being with a single spiked hair walked closer to the pair holding a tray filled with a pitcher of juice and peeled persimmons. "You will defeat him one day." A soft smile adorned his face.

The brunette gave a small chuckle "Professionally no, but he taught me a few… strategies." He tossed the fruit again.

"Not in a million years." huffed the boy as he stared at the cards in his hand. The tall chestnut haired male carefully looked over the young boy's shoulder. "Not with these cards, anyway."

"No, I believe you have everything you need." He pulled out two cards from the boy's hand. "Think on how to use these."

The boy frowned as he looked at the two cards in his hand. Lord of Dragons and Dark hole. What could he do with them? Lord of Dragon only had 1200 attack points so he can't defeat Jiichan's monster and if he activates Dark hole, all of his monsters will be gone. Even if he were to summon a monster after he activated the spell card it wouldn't be enough to defeat him.

His scrunched-up face slowly loosened as the realisation had set in. His spellcaster could protect his dragons! "I play Lord of dragons and activate Dark Hole to destroy all monsters on the field!"

The elder male looked stunned "Wouldn't that mean your Monsters as well?"

Seto grinned "My spellcaster is destroyed but my dragons are safe thanks to his special ability." He stood up on the bed as he pointed his finger at his opponent. "Which makes you now defenceless for my attacks!"

"Yatta!" He laughed as he jumped down on the floor. "I defeated Jiichan!"

"You are spoiling that boy Hagne." Grumbled the elder. "He can't expect someone to always help him." The tall being laughed as he stared at his senpai's sour expression "I wasn't helping, just showed him the tools he always had." The male grinned, "Honestly I didn't even know about the monster's effect."

He could feel his brother's curious gaze on his back as he gently peeled the fruit.

"Why was he dismissed?"

He took a small bite of the piece of the skin. "He was originally an important piece to my plan. Gozoborro didn't want me to gain any advantage over him." Chewing on the peel of the fruit. "After Diamon's death, he thought of getting rid of Hagane, so I had no-one to rely on." He tore into the flesh. "What he didn't realise is that I never relied on anyone."

"What about the other guy?"

"A pain in my ass."

Violet-coloured eyes widened in shock at his brother's slight crassness. Seto sighed as he turned towards his little brother.

"He's a genius in developing software. He can upgrade and do the work while I can focus my search on the tournament. He's an old contact of mine, and he owes me a favour," The dragon user gave a slight smirk as he wiped the corner of his mouth. "And I aim to collect."

"You trust him?!"

"He's too lazy to betray me." Mokuba could only stare at his brother in disbelief. "If he worked for any other company, they would force him to put his talents to use."

"And you're not going to?"

"The trick is to make him want to do it."

"Oh…"

"... I hate persimmons."

"... You're out of my will, Mokuba." He gave an annoyed growl as he heard his brother erupt into laughter.

X

- Location: Gardner Residence - 19:00

Téa gave a slight sigh as she slowly prepared the water to a gentle boil. 'What did mom always say?' She hummed as she placed a few cups on a tray before smiling as she hurried towards the cabinets 'Right! Eat ginger biscuits to help the nausea or at the very least something with ginger.' The brunette gently placed the biscuits on a plate.

She looked up from the kettle as she heard a small beep coming from her peach coloured phone. Picking it up she saw a small notification from Ryou.

'Ah right.' A small sad smile formed on her face. Tonight was the finale of their campaign and she couldn't be there but that was fine. She had given Ryou full permission to take control of her character and to give his campaign the finale it deserves.

One problem… She was the group's healer and Ryou was not a forgiving Game Master but she had an ace up her sleeve.

She opened the message with a small click of a button.

"You planned this didn't you." She may have given all of her gear to the twins and wore level 1 trash items so that she was virtually useless to the game master.

Accompanying the message was a picture of Ryou with his head face down on the table. Tristan and Joey holding the millennium Puzzle ,much like what the baboon had done in the Lion King Movie, above the table and Yugi Down on one knee in front of the table with his arms raised up like he was praising the heavens.

Translation: Yami Kicked ass and helped them win the game. Ryou was clearly displeased.

What she would give to be there…

With an amused look she placed the phone away and picked up the tray and walked towards the sitting before gently placing the tray in front of the cocooned form of her friend. With a small grin she gently prodded the covered form. "Hey… Hey Mai I use the card Cocoon of Ultra Evolution on you. Time to get out."

"I use harpie's feather duster to destroy it." Came a muffled voice came from the mound of blankets.

"It destroys the card but doesn't stop the effect." Giggled Téa as she poured in a bit of tea. "I got something that will make you feel better." She muffled her laugh as she saw a wandering well-manicured hand before placing a ginger cookie next to her.

The hand snatched up the biscuit before dragging it back into the blanket lair. Small crunching sounds emitted from the curled-up form.

"What have we learned?"

"No-one can sustain a diet on chocolate."

"And…?"

"Take out is no form of living."

"Almost there."

"Ugh… You were right."

"Good Girl."

X

Thursday - Four days till the Tournament

- Location: Private Hospital - Patient Ward - Room 05 - 09:30

'It won't be long now… How could one difference derail my visions so much?' Ishizu's brow furrowed at the thought. 'Her presence in this tournament… to cause such a change.' A loud crunch shook her out of her thoughts as her gaze landed on the man resting in the hospital bed.

"It's one thing these people know how to make…" The museum curator smiled at the muffled voice of her employee as she gently cut the peeled apple into smaller bite-sized pieces "Is sweets."

"Indeed…" She nodded, "Their bread is also quite delicious." She placed the small plate in Suheil's lap. "I'll buy one for you when I return later today." She still had to deal with the many phone calls, paperwork, not to mention the press that wanted her statement. The museum would be closed for the next few weeks. The director wanted her and the artefacts to return in less than a week. The victim's families need to be called. It was a fight she was still battling. She needs to be here.

"At this rate you will have to roll me out, and I don't mean with a wheelchair." The male gave a bark of laughter before slightly wincing from the sudden jolt of pain from his shoulder.

"Careful! You'll tear your stitches." Scolded the Arabic woman with a click of her tongue. The dark-skinned male muttered a quick apology before taking a spoonful of cubed fruit his caretaker had cut for him.

A gentle smile formed on the ebony-haired woman before frowning as her phone rang for the 10th time that day. At first, it could have been mistaken for the start of one of the ridiculous songs that today's youngsters were listening to. She could have ignored it then, but the ringing didn't stop. It sounded almost insistent, demanding that someone answer.

"It could be important."

"I'd rather not, it's probably the press trying to get a statement from me."

"Not with that number…" She turned to look at the recovering male in confusion. "That number is from LUXOR or somewhere in that region." Stark black eyes crinkled in slight amusement. "And none of our… employers and such nonsense have that number."

The curator sighed in defeat as she picked up the phone "Very Well." She walked towards the bathroom door. "I won't be long."

The male waved at her dismissively. "Don't worry I won't cause any trouble for these kind people."

She smiled before walking in and closing the door behind her. The second the door had closed the small little phone went off. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance at the small device in her hand before clicking the small button to answer.

"Ishizu Ishtar speaking I'm afraid I'm not-"

"It's good to hear your voice… Lady Ishizu" She nearly dropped the phone in shock. Her eyes slightly watered as she felt her breathing hitch at the sound of the deep baritone of her elder brother's voice. He no longer held that gentle tone she was familiar with when she was fifteen. "I can't speak for long, but I needed to know if you were alright… Master Marik has been…worried."

"I've been better, but I'm surviving." She laughed as she softly wiped away her tears. "To hear your voice… after so long… I." She trailed off 'I thought you no longer cared.'

"I assume the incident at the museum had been spread worldwide."

- Location: ? - 04:30

The large male sighed in relief "I'm afraid so, but I'm comforted to hear that and that you are not injured." His hand slightly twitched as he felt a small weight lean on his back. A shaking hand gripping on the fold of his robe. The sound of metal sliding against metal echoing in the filling the previous silence of the room.

"Tell me about our brother. How is he? How are you?... I miss you both"

The hand tightened against his back. He could help but picture the small boy he once had hidden from his father-... His previous master's gaze. Both children cowered behind him. Ever since the keeper had been killed.

"Miss… What happened to you was not of ou-"

"I know… It was a thief… an old one."

The sliding of the metal started quickening. The form behind him started shaking as it pressed against his back even harder.

"I must take my leave now. Do take care of yourself."

"Take care my brother… Send Marik my love."

His chest pained at the word 'brother'. A sacrilegious name he could never be called or given, but still despite punishment and threats she still called him that.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" He dropped the wet cloth as fear washed over his frame. He looked up seeing his master towered over him. "Wear something on your face! Do not show me that blasphemous carving!"

"Forgive me my Lord." He bowed before picking up the wooden pail filled with water. Walking out of the corridor of his master's office.

"Don't think that because you carved that, you are a son of the Ishtar family. My brother may have toyed with such notions but I won't!" He wiped away the tears before they could fall. "You are a servant nothing more!"

He slightly winced in pain as the carving on his face gave a slight flare as old memories surfaced. "Take care my… lady." He clicked a small button ending the call. Silence once again filled the room. Even the sound of the sliding blade within the rod had quieted.

Rishid flinched as he heard the door slam shut behind him. It wasn't long until he heard glass shattering. The tall man looked down as he continued to listen to his master's outburst. He is angry and upset. In his mind another part of the pharaoh's past has attempted to claim what is dear to him.

More fuel to the fire of hatred burning inside him.

'My master…" He gingerly traced the carvings on his face. 'I don't know how long I can keep it at bay.'

Clothes and broken pieces of glass and reflective surfaces were scattered around the floor of the darkened room. A metallic sceptre is seen embedded in one of the eye gleamed wickedly as the line of candle light flickered on it. In the middle of the room amongst the carnage sat a lone figure.

"I didn't… I didn't mean to." Thick tears streamed down as he dropped the bladed sceptre "He was hurting them. I- I wanted him to stop." Blood dripped from his hands. Blood that belonged to his father, Rishid… "This wouldn't have happened if -if" Hiccups left his throat as Rishid, forever his shadow, embraced him. "He didn't hurt y-you!" Sobbing of his sister in the background.

Fingers dug into his shoulders. Nails scraping against skin. The headache is coming back. The damning voice whispered in his ear.

Over the elder teen's shoulder his gaze landed on the haunting stone with depictions of their king. The being they worshipped, loved and sacrificed for.

Rage. Hatred. Unbridled fury coursed through his veins.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!" Burning. His tears were burning. "All this happened because of YOU!"

"I'll make sure…" Whispered the golden-haired male. Shirtless. Back and chest bare. His scars and engravings for all to see. "You won't take her from me…" Bloodied fingers now raking through his hair. "I'll protect her from you and your ilk." Shadows dancing in the candle's pale light.

Shadows decorated with white eyes and sharp teeth. "I'll kill you… Pharaoh."

X

Friday – Three days till the Tournament

Location: Kaiba Corporation - Seto Kaiba's Office – 09:25

"Normally I'd be over the moon with Mei spoiling me with sweets, but…" A large sweat drop formed on the black-haired boy's face as he saw a mountain of Japanese confectionery on the table before him. "This is too much even for me, so I can only deduce that either she's gone overboard or there is something you're not telling me, Aniki." His eyes narrowed in suspicion to the male sitting at the desk near the window.

"Are you complaining?"

"N-no it just this is a bit much. I appreciate it… really."

There was a slight tickling sensation on his face as he stared at his brother's worried face 'Mokuba… You will eventually forgive me.' He turned to look at the watch on his arm, noting the time had moved on to 09:30. It wouldn't be long until the third duellist he had requested would make her appearance.

He had duelled her once a few years ago. It was during a birthday party, if you can believe it, of the president of the PlayMaker toy company's granddaughter. The girl was roughly the same age as his brother, but according to the other was extremely talented at games. Card games especially and a cutthroat.

The man adored children, created, and provided millions of toys to children all over the world, and with his granddaughter he loved every inch of her. He practically threw grand parties for every milestone his grandchild achieved. Money was never a problem.

Why was he there? At that time, he was still washing away his stepfather's influence over the company, so he needed the man's support and reputation to ensure his father's war-stained image would fade away and become the gaming company he had envisioned for so long.

The man had connections and money. With him backing his company, practically every large city over multiple contents would have duelling arenas equipped with his Holographic systems.

So, he brought over Mokuba. A child of the same age as the president. They could become friends and thus ensure victory. It was fool proof… He just didn't realise how cunning the old man could be.

"I have to admit, I didn't think my little Holly would become so fond of young Mokuba-Kun." Boisterous laughter followed the remark. The elder being in front of him is a large, bald, and rotund man. He wears an olive-green tuxedo with a Black bow tie. He has light blue eyes that seem to twinkle in amusement behind half-moon spectacles, a grey moustache decorated his face. His name was Daiki Hemlock.

A fake smile formed on his face as he nodded in agreement "I'm glad to hear it. It is also good to see my brother make friends." The man gave another below laugh as he held his jiggling middle. His mouth twitched in slight annoyance as he listened to the man. He wanted this to be over and get on with his work, but he had to be patient.

His gaze trailed over to the 'happy' couple. The girl was practically hanging off his brother's arm. Her loud giggling could be heard from where he was standing. Mokuba looked up at him with pleading eyes before his attention was driven away, seeing a cart full of sweets drive past them.

The girl seeing his brother's intrigue immediately stopped the cart before pointing towards a lone table. The cardinal red head began pushing the young boy to the table. The table cart, full of sweets, followed them closely.

"Now tell me, my boy." He turned his gaze back to the large man that had now taken a seat at one table. "Let's try to keep the pleasantries but move on to business. There have been rumours that Kaiba Corporation had disbanded its military contacts and contracts and had now started planning on creating unique software systems for games and of course creating games." He took a large gulp of the cup in his hand. "That is a far cry from what your predecessor had planned."

"He and I didn't see eye-to-eye." He took the seat opposite the Toy CEO "In the end I'm the one running his company now."

"It's not that simple."

"Running a company is never-"

"A military based company is one thing, but a toy one is two completely different things. Anyone in the world will buy weapons, but toys are a different matter altogether." He felt his fist clench at the sharp tone of the fat man. "Children are fickle things. Either they are gripped with excitement by what you manufacture, or they will show barely any interest. That minor factor alone can make or break a company."

"That includes places of interest such as amusement parks and arcades."

He had the best teachers in the country teaching him the ins and outs of business, companies and even politics but listening to that old fossil made him realise that achieving his dream was still a long road he needed to travel.

That man didn't want to endorse nor work for a company that had barely understood its own goals. It would have been a massive drawback if the man had said no. Fortunately the girl worked in his favour… even though she had her own agenda.

Seto blinked in surprise as he saw a white blur tackle the elderly man. "Easy, easy, my flower." Daiki Chuckled as he held his granddaughter. "What is it?" The girl leaned to the old man's ear and whispered directly into it.

"Mmm I see… Are you sure?" The young girl giggled as she nodded. "Very well then. Go get ready." She clapped her hands in excitement before running up one of the ballroom stairs.

"Tell me, do you play duel monsters?"

It was a question he didn't expect. He hadn't taken part in tournaments and competitions yet. In fact, it would have been roughly one week after this that he had got his first Blue Eyes White Dragon card.

"I do… It is a game I enjoy."

"Wonderful." A gleam of triumph in the light blue eyes of the man in front of him.

"My darling Mistletoe wants to make a bet."

Azure eyes widened as the words left the toy maker's mouth.

"You see, she is set to inherit my company and I've been training her to take over if something were to happen." He softly stroked the tips of his moustache "All these recent… developments I'm sure you had researched was because of her decisions." The look of surprise was clear on his own face.

The young redhead returned with a sly grin adorning her face as she walked past him.

He heard the sound of shifting as the floor panels had begun moving out of the way. Showing a familiar gaming platform.

"You win, I will work with you but if she wins." The well pampered girl stood next to him. Dragging Mokuba to her side as her face split into a wicked smile."Mokuba-sama will marry me."

"Bro." He looked over to his frowning brother. "You promised you won't make deals on my behalf, right?" He tilted his head in a mocking attempt at confusion. "You promised you wouldn't use me as a bargaining chip." 'Mokuba…'

"I accept." The words had already left him before he could stop it. Holly erupted into a squeal of excitement.

Mokuba felt his hackles rising as his brother continued to stare at him without any indication of any emotion on his face. He didn't like he didn't-

He heard the double door behind him open, along with the pit of n his stomach.

"Hello." A sweet, poisonous tone reached his ears. "Mo-ku-ba-sa-ma."

His brother was a stinking liar.

- Location: Hospital - Private Ward - Room 02 – 16: 30

Today was considered a break for her. Even though school had been going on in the background, it was nice to relax for a moment.

Why was she at the hospital? Well…

Sometimes it's nice to meet and get to know the people that had inspired her friends to reach such amazing heights and with Mai living with her it would only have been a matter of time before she would meet Joey's sister. Still, it surprised her how excited someone could be to meet the friends of her brother.

'I wonder if she has any friends at her school?'

"My brother also said you were one of the people that helped him in the Duellist Kingdom finals."

Adorable… That was the only word Mai could describe the small pixie that was practically bouncing on the heels of her feet. No way this cutie could even be remotely related to the loudmouth that was Joseph Wheeler.

"Kid, sweetheart calm down." Laughed the harpie duellist as she placed her hands on the excited brunette shoulder. "I'm flattered really, but you got it all wrong." This caused the small girl to frown at her in confusion. Téa could actually feel her eyebrows raise in surprise. Is Mai actually going to be, dare she say it, modest?

"He clearly hasn't given me enough credit."

Ah of course not…

Mai ignored the incredulous look her student was giving her. "While they were trying to get to Pegasus's Castle, I was busy knocking down other players and collecting their starchips." She winked at Téa, who could only shake her head in disbelief of her teacher. "In case any of them need it and wouldn't you know it I was right!"

Hazel coloured eyes widened in admiration for the blond Amazoness.

"I'm surprised you're not stopping her." Turn to look at the motorcyclist standing next to her. "Joey will not be happy she is stealing his spotlight."

"It's gonna bite her in the ass one day." She sighed in annoyance. "Still its nice someone is admiring her, not necessarily for her skills but her kindness." She gave Tristan a devious look. "Besides, I'll always have something over her head. She'd do anything to keep Serenity's admiration after this."

"Oh, ho." Snickered Tristan "There is a method to the madness." He turned his gaze back at the chattering duo. "Still, I thought you hated her guts. Since when did you two start hanging out."

Crap. "Since that night I went out with Yami. She looked like she could use a friend and honestly sometimes it's nice to have a female friend I could gossip with."

"Think Serenity could be one to?" There was a slight pleading look in her friend's eyes. 'Tristan, you didn't even need to ask.'

Téa gave a wide grin of eagerness as she looked how the brunette was fawning over Mai. "I think I would love her to be one."

"Can you teach me?" Serenity clasped her hand in front of her in a pleading gesture as she bubbled over with enthusiasm. "I want to learn how to play. Especially after my eyes get better! I want to be as good as my big brother!"

'Bless her little heart.' Mai silently cooed 'I think I just might steal this little chick for myself.' To think that Joseph had actually painted her in a good light. Heck better than what she would've said. 'He really thinks…' The blonde furiously shook her head as she felt her cheek inflame. 'No way, not this bird.' Still the warming feeling in her heart didn't leave.

"Easy Serenity." The gentle hand of Taylor rested on her arm. "Right now, focus on getting better." The girl gave a slight pout before nodding in agreement with her friend.

"You're right. Still thank you so much for visiting me." Her eyes had gained a glistening shine. "I'm so relieved my brother has such kind friends." She softly wiped at her eyes. "He was alone for as long as I can remember. To know he is so well loved makes me happy."

Téa had to cover her mouth as she heard a slight sniffle coming from her roommate. Mai was such a sap for these types of touching moments. "To think Mai here was such a- mmph."

She could feel Mai's nail practically digging on the side of her mouth.

"Softie, she wanted to say. When your brother told me I just needed to help him." Her eyes flashed with the promise of pain if she tried to correct her. "Right Téa?"

"MMph." (Liar)

She could only go along but it was nice to see Mai being humble for once.

X

Saturday - Two days till the Tournament

- Location: Domino Plaza - Pandora's Cards and Rarity's Emporium - 08:30 AM

It may not have been a full week of training, but Téa felt confident. Now she needed to collect her Duel disk and prepare herself for tomorrow.

It was precisely 08:30 AM near the Domino Plaza at the recently opened Pandora's Cards and Rarity's Emporium. One of the few stores that held the duel disk and luckily for the brunette this shop held her order. It was also one of the local registration offices for the Battle City Tournament. Lucky for her, she had registered online. All she needed to do was show her ID and the cards she was putting up for the ante, then she could claim her duel disk as her own.

There was a long line of people in front of her. She already recognized Mako Tsunami from a mile away but then again, she already had an inkling of his presence since he was leaving behind wet footprints. He probably just came back from a dive at sea. Her teacher was a few people ahead of her. Mai turned around to look at her as she flashed her a wink and a thumbs up. She gave one in return.

Today, Téa Gardner was going to walk away from the side-lines and into the ring. A Contender and an equal to her friends and, who knows, may even a -

"You ready, Chickadee?"

She gave a slight jolt before noticing Mai had now stood next to her, the box that held the duelling device was under her one arm in a tight grasp. She gave a smile at her friend. "Nervous and honestly a little uncomfortable, but I'm ready." Mai gave a slight chuckle at her student's optimism.

"Keep that up and remember our lessons. I'll give you your final quiz tonight and afterwards we can watch a movie – huh… Is that?" She trailed off as she looked past the brunette.

Téa blinked in confusion at Mai's response, but before she could ask her friend what was wrong a familiar voice reached her ears.

"Awe man, even this store has long lines. I got up early for nothin."

Téa felt her eyes widened as she heard the familiar Brooklyn accent. Joey Wheeler up THIS early?! Typical. Luck really wasn't on her side. Fortunately, she had come prepared. The rookie duellist quickly grabbed the hood of her jacket and pulled it over her head as quickly as she could, nearly scraping the backs of her ears in the motion. She briskly pulled out a face mask and quickly pulled it on, hoping it would cover her face enough so that her friends won't recognize her.

She wasn't wearing her usual attire, which now comprised baggy sweatpants and a hoodie. Something her friends knew she wouldn't be caught dead in.

So hopefully they won't recognize her.

"I'll make sure they don't see you." Whispered the Harpy Duellist before winking at her friend. She held out her arms as she walked towards her little chick's gaggle of friends. "Joseph! You actually qualified? Call me stunned!"

"Ah no! Who invited you?"

"What?" Came a mocking tone, "Don't tell me you didn't miss me."

Téa could only give out a slight snicker as she heard Joey barely stuttered out a reply.

"Where's tinkerbell? Normally, she'd be attached to you lot at the hip?" Right… It would be odd if she didn't mention her constant presence. After all, she was at their side since Mai got to know them.

She was doing this for her friends. She wanted to help.

Her friends had been asking if she was alright, had enough sleep, or if she even ate enough. They were worried as she hadn't nearly visited or spend time with them, but then again, she WAS supposed to be at her dance classes. Getting ready for their big production in a few months instead of being at their side. She was always at their side for such important things but in the end it would be worth it. She just knew it. She almost couldn't wait to show them how well she would do.

"Next"

She did this for them. For her friends, for the Pharaoh. All this so she could lessen the load on their shoulders. That they didn't have to think about her safety and fight this battle alone.

"Kid… Next."

She could…

"Oi! I said next!" The brunette gave a slight gasp of freight at the loud tone of the man. She looked back as she heard a few angry voices behind her. "Please step up or move on".

Téa Gardner you're an idiot.

"Sorry" She muttered as a heavy blush adorned her face. The clerk had an exasperated expression on his face as she walked up closer to the register.

"Ok. ID Number." She showed her ID as she pressed the hoodie closer to herself.

"Good, now your duellist ID if you had registered online."

"I did." The duelist quickly typed in her small phone before showing her Duel ID to the man. "Here it is." He quickly typed in the few numbers on the screen before quickly duck down under the counter to retrieve the box that held the duel disk.

The male slightly adjusted his bandanna as he placed the box down in front of her. "As you qualify based on increasing your rank through rare cards." The young man pushed his glasses back up as a slight grin formed on his face. "I need you to verify that you actually own such cards."

'Right…' She pulled out the three cards before placing them in front of the clerk. "Here you go." She smiled as she kept her gaze on his hands. 'No funny business.' Last thing she needed was someone running off with her babies.

"Let's see, ah the Gemini elf. Lovely." A quick type on the screen. "Rarity card level: Red. That checks out."

She frowned as she heard a scoff behind her. Clearly the owner wasn't impressed. Typical Duel maniacs. For a moment, the fairy user wondered if Kaiba was behind her.

"Vanity's ruler. Rarity Red. Checks out." She heard the data clerk mutter under his breath.

"We got a rookie here." She heard the remark from the back.

"Fresh meat is on the menu, boys." Boisterous laughter followed the male's remark.

Téa felt her nails dig into her palm as anger flashed through her body. 'Ooh.' She heard a slight crack of her teeth as they ground against each other. 'I can't wait to show them. Bastards.' She crossed her arms as she quietly fumed.

She blinked in surprise as silence now greeted her instead of laughter. The brunette looked back to see a few of the customers stare at her in an expression of surprise and shock. Even her friends from a far were staring. Was that a bad sign?

Her eyes widened as she now realised, she had looked away for a moment. The azure eyed girl immediately turned her gaze back to the man behind the counter. 'Uh, is something wrong?'

The man had a shocked expression as he looked over the card in his hand. "Honest. Rarity White." His mouth quivered in pleasure. "That alone would get you in. You are very lucky to have it." He gave a smirk as he handed the card back to the female duellist. "I'll add all three" His fingers flew over the keyboard and his glasses glinted in the screen's light, obscuring his eyes.

Behind her, the crowd's volume had now lowered to nothing but a few whispers

"Dude… Honest."

"No way… how could she…he… uh it have it?" Good to see her disguise was working… sort off.

"Uh Yuge." Whispered the blonde male "Mind ah, telling me what's going on?"

The tri-coloured male looked over to his friend. An expression of excitement adorned on his face. "Joey that is one of the rarest cards in the world if not THE rarest effect monster card. There are only two of them in the entire world, one of them was rumoured to be somewhere in Europe."

"The last one is here in Japan." Mai finished for him as she covered her eyes in exasperation. 'Honey, you really have the worst luck.' She turned to look at the idiot of the group. "In case you were thinking of it, Joseph I wouldn't recommend duelling someone with that." Warned Mai.

"I wasn't gonna." Interjected Joey with a nervous expression. 'Am I that predictable?'

"I wouldn't want to duel with someone like that." Admitted Yugi with a sheepish grin. "A card like that can easily turn the tide of the duel. A one hit K-Oh!" He yelped as he suddenly found himself knocked over, nearly hitting the ground before getting caught by his best friend.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YA RUNNIN'!" Hollered Joey at the fleeing 'Honest' owner. Who in their attempt of fleeing from the area had knocked over his friend. "Little shit. You okay Yuge?"

The tri-coloured male gave a slight laugh. "Don't worry Joey, I'm fine." He turned to look at the direction his hit and runner went. "They must have been in a hurry. Don't worry about it." He re-assured to his grumbling friend.

"Nonetheless, it was quite rude of them." He gave a nervous chuckle as he heard his dark half mutter in an annoyed tone. Still there was one thing that bothered him. The runner had a scent of peaches. Fresh and deliciously fragrant. Almost familiar.

"I'll be seeing you two. I have a few preparations I need to do." Mai gave a gentle wave to the two boys. "Later Yugi and good luck Joseph."

"Bye Mai. See you at the tournament." He waved at her retreating form before turning to look at Joey. "Ready to get signed in?"

"You bet!" Grinned his friend as he and Joey entered. Ready to face destiny… without Téa.

His smile faltered just a little at that. Whenever he had to take a big step, she was always there with him. To support him, give him advice and cheer them on but now. "It feels wrong without her here." He softly nodded in agreement as he held the puzzle. "But I can tell you one thing she believes in us and I'm sure even now she is cheering us on."

"You're right." Yugi smiled. "Besides, we need to cheer her on as well!" He practically felt the spirit grin in agreement. "Right!"

"YUGE!" The poor high-schooler practically jumped in fright at the blonde screech. "Guess who Qualified!" A large tick formed on the puzzle holder's forehead as he turned to look at his beaming friend. A slight twitch in his eye as he stared at the sunshine, practically, radiating from his friend. The spirit of the puzzle didn't help as Yugi could hear his snickers echoed in the back of his mind.

"Joey…"

"Yes…?"

"DON'T YELL IN MY EAR!"

The blonde jumped back in surprise before clasping his hands together in front of his face. "Gomen nasai Yuge." He whispered with his eyes closed and an apologetic smile adorning his face. "Gomen."

As the two walked out of the store. The bandanna male quickly closed the door behind them and placed a 'We're closed' sign. Preventing annoying customers from entering. A grin formed on his face as he quickly grabbed the phone on the table. He sat in front of the computer as he heard the phone ring.

His smile widened to a malicious degree as he heard the owner of the number pick up.

"It's me… I found one for you."

X

- Location: Kame Game shop - Mutou Residence - 08:30 PM

"Thanks for the Tips buddy." Grinned Joey as he and Yugi exited the small shop "I gotta admit I feel pretty good about Monday and with this I'll make it to the finals!" He gave an enthusiastic fist pump. "You're gonna meet me at the finals too right Yuge?"

"You bet!" Chirped the hikari. "Yami says he'll be expecting you there so give it your all!"

"Damm straight." He laughed before slightly frowning "Um Yuge do you know if Téa is going to be there Monday." The tri-coloured male slightly frowned as he crossed his arms in thought.

"I don't know Joey. We can't expect her to drop everything every time we want her to be there." He looked down as he remembered how she and Tristan had snuck on board the ship for him. "She had already done that in Duelist Kingdom and I know how much dancing means to her."

"It's fine Yuge I'm just a little worried ya know?" He said with a concerned look in his eyes. "She's been distant lately and well… I think the pressure is gettin' to her."

"I too am worried, Joey." The lanky being blinked in surprise as he heard a deeper tone from his friend before relaxing as he realised the two had switched. "We should go see her tomorrow or maybe after the duels of Monday… What do you think, pal?"

The ancient being King rubbed his chin in thought "We should ask." He looked up at his friend with a fond gleam in his eyes "I believe she would appreciate it and we should visit your sister with her as well."

"Eh?"

"I heard Téa had visited Serenity with Mai and according to Tristan, she had enjoyed it." A soft smile formed on his face. "Yugi said it would be good for Téa to have more friends and Mai would enjoy it as well."

"… This better not be some ploy to date my sister… I get enough of that from Tristan."

"Joey I don't-"

"I'm speaking to the pervert behind those innocent eyes. I know what you've seen, Yuge!"

"Um well… Goodnight Joey!" The deep voice now replaced with a slight squeak as the tri-coloured being ran into the shop before closing the door with a loud slam.

"Yugi…"

"…"

"What does he mean by- Yugi!" The spirit shouted as his hikari dropped the puzzle on the couch before dashing towards the stairs. "Aibou! You may be able to run but I have no need of sleep and my patience is as endless as the sands of a desert!"

X

Location: Kaiba Tower - Top floor – 11:02 PM

The sound of expensive heels made a rhythmic click, which echoed through the corridor as a woman with a svelte figure crossed the marble floor. The woman had tresses of Arctic-white hair as they swooped over her shoulders. Barely tickling past her ethereal neck. Her enraptured blue eyes landed on a figure lounging on one bench outside the chief executive office.

Her mouth pulled into a deep frown as she approached the male, who was currently gazing at the small laptop next to him. The lounging male wore a simple sweatshirt, sweatpants and a pair of mule slippers, though one was hanging on by a toe. Very Unprofessional. Sensing her gaze, tired maroon eyes flicked towards the female's presence.

"I'm surprised you're even awake."

"I'm surprised you're even making an attempt… this late too." The male smirked as he saw the woman bristle in anger.

"Is he… in his office?"

"Would that stop you?" Drawled the male as he looked at her with a frown of annoyance. He sighed as he sat up flipping his black hair over his shoulder. "Kirin, he doesn't want to be disturbed. We were hired to look after the contestants and to ensure that the tournament is running smoothly not…" He rubbed his forehead in exasperation as the female in front of him clearly wasn't listening.

"I have important information, Festus." Her lightning blue lips pulled into a slight pout. "I'm sure he'll understand." She softly cooed to herself as she pushed one of the doors and quietly slipped in as the door closed behind her.

Festus groaned before flopping back on the plush couch. "Maybe she'll scare him off to bed."

Kirin felt a stirring in her chest as she inches closer to her desired destination. Her face flushed with desire as her eyes laid on her employer and past opponent.

His trailblazer-blue eyes were as clouded as a storm over an unease sea as he kept staring at the computer screen as though nothing else in the world mattered. His concave cheekbones rested on skin pulled tight like a bolt of fine cloth. Thin lips tightened to a fine line as he narrowed his gaze on the screen.

A sly smile formed on her mouth as she softly walked closer towards her master's desk. A manicured nail tapped softly against the wooden surface, testing whenever or not the dragon at the desk would notice her presence.

He didn't.

Her blue lips pursed in slight annoyance before smirking as an idea formed in her head. Her manicured nail slid over the hard surface as its owner stalked to the side of the desk. Wooden surface now changed to air before landing on the soft material of Seto Kaiba's jacket. Her smile widening as her finger continued to trail over the dragon's scales. Reaching to his shoulder as Kirin now stood behind him.

As for Kaiba he didn't notice nor seem to care about the being's presence. The man is strung tight over what he's reading, eyes flickering over and backwards. Skimming over lines of information, he didn't notice the claw, a mere centimetre away from the skin of his neck.

It made contact.

"WRONG!" A burning pain on his skin where the leathered crop had struck him. A cry of pain escaped from his mouth before being cut short as the chain attached to the collar around his neck yanked him backwards.

A rough hand grabbed the back of his neck before he-

Grabbed the offending hand. He felt the radius and ulna of the arm practically rubbed against one another. His laboured breathing echoed in his eardrum. Wide azure eyes looked over to the owner of the hand, expecting it to be the dead man himself.

Anger and rage coursed through his body as his gaze landed on the petite woman.

Her face was decorated with a heavy flush before an occasional wince of slight pain from how tightly he held her wrist. Her own laboured breathing nearly matched his as she kept her half-lidded eyes on him. A slight giggle escaped her as their eyes met.

Disgust absolute disgust to this woman that even dared to touch him much less his…

"Never. Touch. Me. Again." His own growl practically caused his own chest to ache at vibrations. He loosened his grip on her arm but continued to leer down at her form "Understand." The woman's eyes had a gleam of excitement in them. Clearly, she didn't care.

"Understand, or I will get someone else as your replacement."

The gleam was gone, fear had now taken its place. "Y-yes I understand. It won't happen again without your permission."

"I will never let it happen." He gave one last warning glare before releasing his grip on the girl. He quickly grabbed his coat and started his walk towards the door, leaving the white-haired woman behind.

"Seto-Sama." She softly swooned as she kept her gaze on his fleeting form. Her hands tracing the area he once sat as she kneeled next to his seat 'One day you will let me touch you and, on that day…' She closed her eyes as she rested her head on the seat. The sound of the doors closing echoed in the building as her master left.

'I'll never let you go.'

X

- Sunday - One day till the Tournament

Honestly, she shouldn't be surprised that somewhere along the line something bad would happen. She just didn't think it would happen so quickly and to one of the strongest people she knew. He did so much and life was still throwing its punches at him. Still he kept standing up, ready to fight back.

"Yugi what do you mean Joey is missing." Fear, worry was coursing through. She knew today was the big day. Serenity finally getting the surgery. All of Joey's hard work would finally pay off but for him not to be there… Something terrible had to have had to keep him away.

'I was right.' She softly played with the small straw in her cup 'All that for a single card.' Téa knew that there were maniacs that were after cards but for it to happen to one of her friends no less.

"Mai…Mai wake up!"

"What's wrong… did I miss breakfast?" Groaned the onesie wearing harpie as she regarded her friend with slight annoyance.

"Joey's missing! He's not with Serenity!"

She's never seen a woman who had taken pride in her looks, dropped everything from jewellery to make-up just to wear a simple T-shirt and jeans with a pair of flip-flops… or was it slippers?

"I got my Keys" The blonde quickly tied her hair in a simple ponytail "We'll pick up Tristan along the way."

The look on her just showed worry and concern. A small smile formed on Téa's lips. 'Mai you really have grown into such a wonderful person. I'm happy to be your friend.' And thankful for being a bit of a maniac on the road. She and Yugi only saw a blur of her vehicle drive past them with Tristan and Joey as Passengers. With her speed, Tristan had the idea of where to look. They were able to find Joey and get him to the hospital. Where his sister had been waiting.

That was roughly three hours ago. In the meantime she had walked with Yugi back to the game shop where they had been waiting. For any news to reach them. In order to keep themselves sane they had decided to spend their time playing scrabble. Surprisingly, or maybe it's not surprising, the Pharaoh was winning.

"Okay I'm gonna step in, Tittynope is not a word. I refuse to believe it."

"Yugi, it means the small pieces left behind like the crumbs from a plate or the few grains of rice sitting at the bottom of the bowl."

"Normally I would say prove it but that means you'll cheat by looking in the dictionary."

"Aibou… Do you not trust me?"

"The last time you asked me to trust you was that you promised you wouldn't drink coffee in the middle of the night. Guess what happened…"

"You have no proof it was me."

"Only you drink that tar. I was in the bathroom throughout the whole English period."

Honestly, she couldn't hold in anymore. She burst out laughing and continued laughing so hard that she slipped out of her chair. Hearing her friend switch from a slightly high pitch voice to a much deeper tone was funny but hearing them argue with one another was the cherry on the cake.

"Thanks for doing this, Yami." A fond look on the young puzzle solver's face as he turned towards his previous protector. "I think she really needed this."

'I agree.' A small smile formed on the king's face as he stared at the slightly flushed face of their friends. 'With everything that had been going on. It's good we at least get to see her before the tournament starts.' He slowly walked towards the giggling form of their pillar before crouching down to her level. With an annoyed frown adorned on his face. "You may laugh, Téa but this you see before you is a regular occurrence."

It resulted in the girl erupting in a fit of giggles.

"Don't laugh." Scolded Yugi as he switched with his mind occupant. "Believe it or not, sometimes we take turns picking out clothes. That one time I wore those ridiculous frog pattern socks…" He pointed to an invisible figure next to him. "His idea, not mine."

"I was forced to compromise. You refused to allow us to get earrings."

"I don't want to get my ears pierced!"

"Ever heard of clip-eh!" Yami gave a slight yelp as he felt arms encircle around his waist and a slight weight settled against his chest. He gave a sigh of exasperation as he heard more muffled laughter from their friend.

The laughter eventually died down until only muffled voices could be heard in the other room. There seemed to be a few customers that their grandfather was currently helping with.

"Promise me that both of you will be safe tomorrow." A tight sensation in his chest as he heard the small voice of Téa. "I can't expect you to stay out of trouble but atleast come home without any injuries."

"I can't be there to physically cheer you but I'll be thinking of you guys everyday and I'll be cheering you on in my heart." Her voice cracked. She could hear it but she couldn't tell them. The truth on why she couldn't be there. They needed help, they needed more people that could fight with them instead of constantly watching over their shoulder to make sure their friends are alright.

What happened with Joey showed her that they needed people they could rely on. She wanted to be that person.

"Téa…" A gentle baritone reached her ears. "That's more than we could ask for…" Arms wrapped around her shoulder. "We truly are thankful to have such a kind friend." She could feel warmth flow from her eyes. "Téa." The gentle tone of her childhood friend. "We'll be safe. I promise."

She didn't know if they would keep their promise but if they tried, it's more than she could ever ask of them. Maybe one day it's a promise she could help them keep.

'Yugi…Pharaoh… I'll fight at your side and protect you… both of you.'

It wouldn't be long when Mai Valentine and Tristan returned. She had said her goodbyes to the… twins before following her teacher to the car.

Tomorrow was the day… the day she can prove to herself that she can help her friends… that all you needed was hard work to achieve anything.

X

Monday – The start of everything.

"You better watch it normies!"

"Yeah, you better leave! Don't want to scare you off with our monsters."

The brunette sighed in annoyance as she adjusted the disk on her arm. Already the treatment was starting. The divide between who knew and played duel monsters and those who… had a different passion in life.

She adjusted her mask and hoodie but kept her hood down. She lifted the disk up before staring at it in contemplation. Debating whenever she should come clean to her friends or go through with her plan of… helping them?

Honestly, she wasn't sure anymore but there was this feeling, this thrill of going into danger and overcoming the hurdles of the challenges in front of her and maybe just maybe she was going to come out on top. The brunette took a deep breath before she gently slapped at her cheeks and looked ahead with a grin, eyes bright with belief and ready to conquer!

Unfortunately, that train of thought and attitude went out the window as she felt a hand grab her shoulder which resulted in her letting out a small squeak of terror. She gave out an audible growl when she heard the high pitch chortling laughter of her teacher.

"Mai! I thought you were some… Oh I don't know!" yelled Téa as she glared at the blonde in question who was currently in a fit of giggles.

"Goodness if you're this nervous at the start of this tournament I'm worried how you will be during a duel." She smiled at the girl before ruffling her hair "Besides, did you really think I was just going to throw in the deep end and expect you to swim?" In all honesty maybe she did, it was the same at her dance school maybe that's why she felt like she was suffocating.

She was drowning in that school.

"Honey, listen I'm just going to give you a few bits of advice, see you how you are doing in your first duel THEN I'll let my little duckling go on her own." Mai put her arm around Téa before pointing at a café at the end of the street. "So how about we buy a cake slice or two and get strategizing and maybe also get on with latest gossip…" Téa could only smile and roll her eyes as the Harpie duellist continued talking while pushing her in the café's direction. Lovely Berrie. A rather infamous coffeehouse and patisserie known for a brand-new high-quality coffee blend. Blue Mountain… and delicious treats.

The place was packed at the counters with young people looking to sample their delicacies. Macaroons, pastries, and cakes lined the shelves, and she felt a little compelled to try some. She loved chocolate. Truffles especially. Decadent and sometimes paired with delicious bitter chocolate. To her dismay, they were led past.

They were taken to another section where the walls had instantly turned into a more mature wood and sophisticated feel. Téa could only hope that Mai would pay for this… despite what the other half of the coffeehouse was, this was a little rich for her blood. The smells were exquisite with a rich earthy aroma.

As they were seated at one of the available. The blonde woman quickly ordered them two simple coffees and one muffin each. It would be a terrible idea to battle on an empty stomach and honestly, she was going to need all the support she could get. She'll probably freeze up at her turn. Or get an effect wrong or-

Mai tapped her nail on the table catching her attention. In the few minutes that she was lost in her thoughts Mai stared at her and regarded her with an amused expression. She must've been staring. How embarrassing. "Okay Téa, here is the game plan," she finally said after her laughter had quieted down.

Téa tilted her head in confusion. "Game plan? There is a plan for this. Why wasn't I informed of this?" Great she wasn't paying attention now she's behind again. Maybe she's in over her head. She felt like she was choking.

Mai lifted an eyebrow. "Téa… hon. You're panicking." She placed her hand on the slightly shaking brunette. "Easy there. The plan is just to do your best, but you also are going to need a couple of things: a water bottle, a cardholder, a secret card holder, backpack and such… but luckily your fairy god harpy has your back. I've got it all!"

Téa blinked in surprise before she pulled a black and purple backpack from nowhere. Full to the brim. She couldn't believe that Mai would do such a sweet thing. How had she ever thought badly of her? She's going to let her down… isn't she? Her hands shook as they rested on her lap. She hated feeling like this. This was a terrible idea. What does she know anyway? Yugi wasn't even there to cheer her on… or Joey… or Tristan.

"Honey, you need to get out of your own head. I didn't buy this just for no reason you know…" Mai answered as she accepted an ornate white and blue cup from the server. Téa looked up and watched as a similar cup was placed in front of her. Her shaking hands accepted the warmth and instantly relaxed. "I will pay you back…"

"You will do no such thing! I bought those things and helped you for one reason! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Mai looked at her sharply over her steaming cup. She was obviously ticked and even insulted before sighing in annoyance and maybe even a bit of dejection. "I really do. I will be honest and say that I don't have friends Téa. I know that in the beginning you called me just to coach you, but I've never had so much fun. I want to be your friend and I believe this will be a good thing. I am going to help in any way I can." She said as she scratched at her forehead as if she could pull off the lines of worry.

Téa was truly moved. She was sure that this would go wrong but if Mai believed in her, then maybe she could actually… do this. She picked up her cup and raised it. "To the tournament and the finals!" Mai beamed and happily clinked her own cup against Téa's. They burst out laughing and the thick fog of anxiety dissipated.

"Damn straight! We are going to make it to the finals!" She took a small sip and sighed "Oh this is sinfully good… let's meet here at the end of the tournament days. We're worth it!" She happily purred into her plush seat. Téa thought she was more of a cat than a bird but she couldn't deny that this was heaven. The warm atmosphere, excellent coffee and the company of a good friend. This to Téa was a true luxury. May there be many happy moments like this. It got even better when they placed two rather large oozing chocolate cake slices in front of them. Decadence.

They finished and exited in good spirits matching backpacks and all chatting happily as they made their way to the beginning of the Battle City Tournament.

"Téa look!" A manicured nail pointed towards the large screen on one building. "A match had already started." Téa blinked at her in surprise before looking up where her friend was pointing. A grin formed on her face as she saw the familiar tri coloured hair on the screen. "Seems someone is eager to get to the finals. Though I don't know who his opponent is." Mai said with a slight frown.

The young male thrust his finger in his opponent's direction, "You activated my trap card! Lightforce Sword!" A blade of light formed above the duelist head before it launched itself towards his opponent's hand. "This card banishes one random card from your hand, face-down."

At the explanation her friend's opponent became panicked. Clearly the Pharaoh had put a kink in his adversary's plan. "The card will return to your hand by the fourth standby phase of your turn."

"Look at him go and with such confidence." mused Mai as she turned to look at her brunette friend. "Shall we get going, Téa?"

Téa nodded in agreement. She looked up at the screen one more time, "Ganbatte Yugi! Ganbatte Pharaoh." She softly whispered the last part to herself.

"Okay, Let's go!

"Right."

Unfortunately for them, before they could go on. A tall figure had inched closer while they had their attention on the duel that was displayed by the screen. The brunette frowned as she now noticed the unknown figure that had become uncomfortably close to her and her teacher.

"Um Mai. We have company." Violet eyes looked at her in confusion before widening as her gaze landed on the tall figure.

"Hello there ladies." It was a pathetic attempt at a purr, and honestly it made her feel disgusted and dirty at how he was leering at them. It didn't help that he seemed familiar… Before she could process more on that thought, she felt slight tremors through the hand on her shoulder. Her eyes shifted towards her friend on her side, and it was a sight that didn't suit her usually overconfident and strong persona.

There was silence; all the people had either walked away or been scared away by the distant thunder of battle. Mai's fingers tightened their grip on her arm, her expression bemused, but there was a line of tightness at her mouth. A look she rarely ever saw on the Pharaoh, fear… She was scared.

The only time she ever remembered Mai being afraid was the duel with…

"PaniK, can't say this isn't a surprise." The blonde said with a smirk before her face hardened with a look of disgust. "Now out of which abyss did you crawl out of coming all this way to bother me?" The man, now revealed as PaniK, gave out a guttural laugh as he inched closer towards the two females.

"I'm not surprised you still remember me, but out of all my little victims…" he tilted his head, enough that one eye was still visible past his thick mane, as he moistened his lips with a slick protruding tongue, "You I remember. You and your sweet screams of terror, the look of fear and dread, it gave me pleasure like no other!" the outline of his misshapen pupils wavering between various sizes as his face stretches out with a twisted grin. "I wish to experience that sensation again, so… little bird." He smirked before presenting his duel disk from his arm, "I challenge you to a duel."

With a look of disgust, she turned to Mai and grabbed her hand, "Let's go, Mai. You don't have to fight this creep- "before Téa could finish that sentence, the creep interjected, "She knows she can't, it's against the Battle City regulations if she declines a duel." His smile stretched at the obvious victory. She felt a hard, quick pulse in her throat. He was right. Mai couldn't refuse… but there is an exception to every rule.

She tightened her duel disk as Mai took a tentative step closer to her back. Mai in a way wanted to protect her, but she could feel her teacher's uncertainty. Yami may have fought and defeated this creep, but her friend was never able to face her fear of this man.

This time she could do something. This time she could protect her friend. Téa steeled her resolve and took a step towards the burly, twisted man. "I accept on her behalf!" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Téa don't...!" Mai yelped and tried pulling her back but Téa pulled her arm from the blonde's grasp and smiled back at her and gave a wink, hoping that her false bravado would at least make a slight difference to the trembling woman. She knew that this was not how she wanted to make her debut in Battle City, but there was no turning back.

Mai looked lost. She could see how tense her Jaw was. She was grinding her teeth in frustration. Relying on someone else did not come easy to her, but Téa knew that this once Mai can put her faith in her. It was a test for them both.

Mai relying on someone other than herself and her… To be able to fight her own battles.

There was a laugh and a large slobbering tongue hung from the giant's mouth. A warm puff of air made its way past his disgusting mouth and into the girls' faces as he stalked closer. Breathing and smirking in her face. Gross. She could almost see the spittle move to touch her. This man was unnatural. She kept a brave face.

He smirked, and his hulking frame shook with amusement. "Ok little girl. I can play! You do not know what you've let yourself in for. I've made a few prominent changes since my last duel with that little tri-haired twerp…"

He took a few steps backwards as they prepared for the clash. Holographic projectors shot from the duel disk, signalling the start of a duel. She couldn't believe that this was to be her very first duel in the tournament. This is where she had to rely on herself and all that Mai, Yugi and Joey had taught her through their many duels. She and Mai worked hard.

Shuffling was awkward as the bastard kept a leering gaze on her, a little lower than her face. Shivers ran down her spine in waves. She knew what went on in his mind. She was no fool. He got pleasure from people being uncomfortable. Pain, sadism, and sexual pleasure went hand in hand for people like this. Usually duels with Yugi and the Pharaoh left people for the better, but definitely not in this case.

He got worse.

She inserted her deck into its slot and she felt the Muscles in her jaw tense as looked at her opponent. "It's time to duel! You better not underestimate me!" This is it. Everything is put to the test. She looked once more at Mai who had her brows furrowed in worry but a brave smile on her face. She could do this. For her friend.

He grinned Impossibly wide, showing his long teeth. He was going to enjoy this little morsel for all the screams she's worth, and then settle on his true prize. Mai Valentine. It's all so perfect. The fear would be so sweet. He stood to his full height and bellowed.

"PREPARE FOR A WORLD OF PANIC''

X

- Location: Domino Plaza – Ten Minutes earlier.

"The man you see speaking isn't the one before you." droned the possessed Exodia user as the being wobbled closer to the two battle contestants "I'm in a place further away." Joey felt a shiver crawl up his spine as he stared into the face of his previous opponent. "You see, I have implanted a bit of myself in him." The puppet tapped against its forehead "So, I can control him whenever I want." The creature's face split into a wide grin as they put their hands on each side of the possessed being's face "And when they no longer serve a purpose."

Joey felt the bile rise in his throat as the sickening sound of a wet crack was heard.

The cracking of his own teeth echoed in the blonde's head as he watched the group of tournament officers escort people from the plaza area. 'He died. He died because someone used his own hands to…to.' He gave a slight cough as he tasted acid in his mouth before swallowing it down. 'The power to control people… I knew that guy was a big creep, but who knew he was a front for an even bigger creep.' He looked up as he saw his friend walk away from the officer, towards his direction. 'Yuge… Pharoah. What did you two get yourselves into?'

"You okay, pal?" It was a dumb question. He knew it but someone had to ask him. The guy needed to know he wasn't alone. He got his back. He… Joey gave a worried frown as silence continued to fill the space between them.

"Does he know… 'bout Marik?"

"… No."

"Are you gonna tell im'?"

"Not yet… soon."

His hazel-coloured eyes narrowed at the answer. "Listen, pal… Secrets ain't something you should keep between friends… Nah." He waved as a small grin formed on his face. "Brother sounds better. You shouldn't keep secrets from ya brother Pharaoh." He chuckled as he saw the once pale skin suddenly turn flush with a gentle red hue on the ancient beings face. "I won't force ya I'm just tellin' ya."

"Thank you. I appreciate it… truly."

"One last thing pal." Tri-coloured male looked up at him in question. "It ain't ya fault." The Mauve eyes of his friend narrowed before looking away. "I mean it. No-one could have foreseen that happenin' so don't beat yourself over it." He didn't know if the guy believed him, but he'll make sure that he will.

"Here you go Joey." The luck favoured duellist blinked as Yami brought the monster card towards him. "Take your Dragon back." He frowned as the bitter taste came back in his mouth. He hated to admit it but…

The blonde shook his head before focusing his gaze back on his friend "Nah pal. You keep it." He gave a sullen look as he stared at the card. "It's not mine to take pal. You won it fair and square."

A deep frown formed on the Pharaoh's face as he listened to his friend's refusal. "I don't understand."

"Yugi." He sighed. "Right now, I can't take Red back. If I take that card back now… It will feel like I'm just getting farther from the true duellist I'm trying to become." It was the truth, and he hated to admit it. His partner deserved more than he could give, "And Red wouldn't approve of it either."

"A true duellist?"

"Pharaoh… Yami. You and Yuge have always been closest to what I consider a true duellist." He turned his gaze towards the sky as the memories resurfaced. "When I was at duellist Kingdom with you. I felt I was fighting for something." He gritted his teeth as he looked down. "But I think I lost that feeling."

"Joey…"

"Even when you face an opponent using cheap tricks, you always fight them fairly." He looked back up at the ancient spirit with slightly misty eyes. "You taught me another lesson as a result. What I was missing was a duellist pride." He grinned the mist in eyes now gone. "It's true that Red means more to me than any other card in the world. He's been my partner for a long time now, and that's why I can't take him back right now. Not the way I am. I've leaned on it for too long and if I accept that card I won't grow as a fighter."

He frowned as he looked back at what once was the battlefield against the ghoul. "Besides, the rare hunters collected tons of rare cards. Their decks are totally souped up. So, I know they are gonna be tough to beat, even for you." He turned back his gaze to his friend.

Crimson eyes slightly widened, "What are you saying Joey?

"I'm saying you are going to need every powerful card you can get. You always had my back so it's time I help you for a change." Joey, with a gentle smile, pushed the card towards his comrade. "That's why I want you to keep Red and use him."

Speechless, the Pharaoh could only stare at his friend in shock.

"After all, you and Gramps taught me rules, killer strategies, and everything else I need to know to get to the finals." He gave a thumbs up at the gaping king. "I couldn't have done it without ya help."

"That's what friends do." Spluttered Yami. His chest was surprisingly tight. "I don't expect-""

"That's my point exactly, buddy." He interjected. "This is my way of helping you. I know he won't let you down." The blonde smirked as he rubbed the spot underneath his nose. "Besides, this means that a part of me is a part of your deck. It's kinda cool knowing I'm helping you with your destiny."

The male opened his one card pouch before revealing it to tri-coloured twin. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still in the contest. I put together a new deck for today's tournament, and I still have that rare card requirement covered." He shuffled through his deck before revealing the card that would keep him in the tournament. "We'll actually Yuge had it covered."

A smile pulled at the being's chiselled face. "The Time Wizard."

"Yup, it bailed me out of a few situations. And I know its gonna save my butt in battle city." He placed it back in his deck.

A look of determination formed on his face. "I want to become someone I can respect… a true duellist." He clenched his fist in front of him. "No, in this battle city I'll become one." He turned back to his partner. "Pharoah… I'll win this tournament and when the time comes where I can call myself a true duellist…" He turned his body directly in front of the being of ancient royalty. "When that time comes, please fight me."

A spark of excitement in magenta eyes. "I understand… we'll fight each other then, Joey."

The tall blond gave a chuckle as looked at the deck on his duel disk. "You know When you think about it, pal. Both of our hearts are in our decks." He stretched out his hand towards his partner. "We're a team, and together we won't let any duellist beat us." The spirit grinned, feeling his friend's courageous spark. A grin Joey returned. "It's true we'll whoop this Marik creep and his rare hunter goons squad so hard they won't know what hit em'. They'll be sorry they ever decided to mess with us!"

He felt the shorter male grasp his hand in a tight grip. "Thank you." Mauve eyes glinting in the sunlight. The dull fog from his soul long since lifted. "You are a true friend Joey, and together we can take on any evil that comes our way."

Joey pulled away with a nod before turning around to walk in the opposite direction. "Yea alright!" He yelled with his fist raised up. "Which of you duellists wants a piece? Just step right up, so Joey can knock you down!" He challenged with a smirk before frowning.

'Watch yourself Marik. We're gonna be trailing you every step of the way.' He bared his teeth as the following thought came to mind 'And if you try hurting any of my friends… You're going to wish you never came into our lives…That's a promise.'

X

Location: Domino City, North, Block C

Manic laughter echoed throughout the area, attracting the attention of various bystanders and seated customers at cafés. As they saw two duellists now taking or to be more precise creating a stage in the middle of the street.

'This is it.' The brunette could feel the tension in her legs as she prepared her duel disk 'My first duel of the tournament and…' She looked up seeing the ex-player killer placing his deck into the slot. 'Against a creep and a skilled duellist. Not your smartest idea Gardner.' Despite her doubts she couldn't let this person scare her friend. Not if she could do anything about it. Her face hardened. She was ready.

"I'm ready Panic, don't make me wait any longer." The raven-haired male cackled at her before giving a sadistic grin "I'm going to enjoy this now… "

"Let's duel!" They both shouted before drawing until they both each held five cards in their hands.

"How about I begin this little venture?" He smirked, his tongue temporarily flicking outwards before he picked three cards from his hand. "I'll start off by setting two cards face down and placing one monster face down in defence mode." As he mentioned each of his actions, the cards appeared one by one on the field. Two cards in the spell and traps zones and one monster card on the field.

Facedown and Hidden… Already laying down traps for her.

"I end my turn… Do try your best." It sounded almost sincere… as sincere as Kaiba accepting a defeat gracefully, especially from Yugi.

She tsked before yelling out "I draw!" as she picked up the card and looked at it 'Witch of the Black Forest' this could help depending on how she was going to approach him in the upcoming turns. This card had a simple but effective effect: If this card is sent from the field to the GY: Add one monster with 1500 or less DEF from her deck.

Téa gave a slight grin as she stared at the card. She had over twenty-four monsters in her deck and seventeen of them had less than 1500 DEF.

'And most of them have an Attacks point over 1500.' She smirked at that thought before adding the card with the rest in her hand. She had six cards in her hand and plenty of options to start with her turn. The question is how she should start, especially since her opponent had two face-down cards that could either be a spell or trap and not to forget the monster that was placed in a defensive position.

Hoshiningen, a level two fairy type effect monster with attack of 500 points and a defence of 700 with the ability to boost All light monsters attack on the field by 500 points and decrease all DARK monsters attack on the field by 400 points. She had fourteen cards in her deck that are light types so this could give her an additional advantage especially if memory serves her Panik had used fiend and zombie types of monsters. Those monsters were usually in the type range of darkness so they will have a disadvantage.

'Unfortunately, he has weak attack and defence points even with a power boost.' She frowned as she stared at the star figure in her hand. He might not be the best to start with.

Airknight Parshath, level 5 fairy type also an effect monster. For a monster that required a single tribute to summon an attack of 1900 and defence of 1400 wasn't all that impressive, but he made up for it with his unique ability by inflicting piercing battle damage to her opponent life points if this card attacks a Defence Position monster and when it inflicts said damage, she could draw one card.

Right now, he wasn't an option. Being a level Five meant it required a tribute to be summoned.

Horn of the Unicorn, she remembered this card quite vividly. It was an equip card that Yugi had used often especially for his imp monster which would gain a 700-point increase to their attack and defence.

The sound of mocking laughter reached her ears as she saw the large insect coming into existence. Black Chitin shone in the small speckles of sunlight that was able to break through the density of the forest leaves. "My Hercules beetle will find a way to crawl under your skin."

Violet-crimson orb gazed through the cards in his hands before skilfully plucking his two chosen cards. "I play the Fiend Monster Feral Imp." As he announced the monster name a small green hairy imp beast appeared on the opposite side of the beetle. High Pitch laughter erupting from the creature's mouth.

"I now use Horn of the Unicorn to magically raise my monster's attack power from 1300 to 2000!" The creature gave a loud shriek as its horn elongated to nearly twice its original length.

"Now Feral Imp Magic Lightning Attack!"

Fortunately for her, the Duelist Kingdom rules didn't apply here so she didn't have to worry about certain 'magical' immunities and if her monster was destroyed while it had the horn of the unicorn equipped – the magic card would be placed atop of her deck and If her opponent would have similar cards like Harpie's Feather duster, she wouldn't lose this card to the graveyard since it would be returned to the top of her deck as well.

She could keep reusing it and if equipped to the most basic of her monsters, they would have their attack points in the 1800's or above so she was ready for any high attack or defence monster Panik would throw at her.

Her last two monsters were none-effect monster cards comprising Winged dragon Guardian of the fortress and Hibikime both with an attack less than 1500, but their use wasn't in attacking rather she would use them for fusion monsters.

Winged dragon Guardian of the fortress #1 fused with Fairy dragon gives her Kaiser Dragon with an attack of 2300 and a defence of 2000 points.

Decent for a level seven monster.

Hibikime falls in the same category. If she is fused with Queen's Double, she would receive Empress Judge a level 6 Monster with a 2100 Attack and 1700 Defence but Mai Had told her Queen's double was too weak to be kept in her deck so she should use a substitution monster instead like Goddess with the Third Eye.

Right now, fusion isn't currently possible so right now she'll settle for this instead.

"I place one monster face down in defence mode and end my turn. Your move."

She was caught off guard as the maniac suddenly gave a bellowing cackle as he yelled out "I activate my Trap card!" she felt her heart leap in her chest.

She clenched her jaw as she waited for the effect to take place. Only to be surprised and immensely annoyed as she recognised the familiar grinning face of greed itself. Except it was now found on the surface of the jar.

She glared at the creeping man which resulted in him giving a childish snicker before saying "Don't look so scared! It's called Jar of Greed. All it does is make me draw an extra card. Don't worry" He licked his fingers before drawing two cards from his deck. "I haven't even begun tormenting you yet." He trailed his eyes over the cards in hands before looking up at the brunette, his grin widening.

"I'll place one monster face down and I'll end my turn." He crossed his arm as he grinned at her.

This is her second turn now, and he still hadn't made any attacks toward her. As usual, he was hiding his motives, but this isn't at all like in Duelist Kingdom there was no darkness for him to hide behind. Téa shook her head before looking at the card she had drawn.

A trap card, another favourite of Yugi's. Spellbinding Circle, she can activate this card during his turn. She can target one of his monsters and use it so it cannot attack or change its battle position. Sadly, it can only be used on a face-up monster of his so currently she has to wait for him to reveal his monster cards. Or she can be bold and take the initiative.

'I could summon Parsith and deal piercing damage.' Azure eyes flickered towards the Fairy Knight monster in her hand, but she suspected that it could be a flip effect monster and if it was as annoying as a 'Man-Eater' bug's effect then she had to be careful.

Losing Parsith is a blow she should avoid.

"I play Hibikime in attack mode!" A pale skin woman appeared, her cobalt hair glistening in the sunlight as a flowing lush, green-coloured dress hugged her curved body tightly. Her weapon, a scythe in the shape of a music note nestled in the crook of her arm. Her face plastered in a sultry look as her left hand was resting against her bosom threatening to spill out its contents.

"I place one card face-down and move on to my battle phase." Téa glanced at Mai who gave her a thumbs up.

"Go Hibikime attack Panik's face down monster on the right!"

The beautiful being smirked as she twirled her blade before launching at her target as Téa yelled out the attack "Attack with Grazioso Gash!" With a twirl of its weapon the being grabbed its end with both hands before slashing down with all its might! As the blade came down its tip touching the surface before she was suddenly repelled back at her master side.

"What?!" Yelled the female duelist before she immediately checked down at her deck. She saw her life points going down from 4000 to 3650. It meant that the monster's defence was higher than Hibikime Attack points.

"I applaud you for trying but unfortunately it will take more than a simple attack to get close to defeating my monsters." He gave a slight snap of his finger as he pointed towards the face-down card. "Speaking of which meet my monster 'Worm Yagan!'" The creature appeared as he called out its name.

Translucent tendrils appeared from the card and from the entrance appeared slime and sludge before more of the creature came out. A pure abomination with pulsing flesh and alien-like appearance as more muck dripped out of its gaping maw, honestly, she felt like she was going to be sick and from looking at her monster, poor Hibikime looked like she was going to be too.

"Since it was flipped face up its special ability activates. I can choose one face-up monster my opponent controls and return it to its owner's hand." He thrusted a finger in the brunette direction. "In this case the only face-up monster you control is Hibikime, so she goes back to your hand!"

A bright light engulfed her monster before it shot out in a stream of light back into her card. She gritted her teeth as she picked up the card before putting it back in her hand. 'Could have been worse… At least I still have my face-down monster.'

The creep grinned at her waiting for her next move. Both of them knew she couldn't do anything else. With a sigh of annoyance, she pressed the small button on the machine showing it was the end of her turn. "I end my turn. Your move."

The Raven-haired male smirked as he drew a card from his deck. He traced his pin eyes over the cards his hands hovering over then like a torturer choosing his weapon of repentance. "Ah, this will do nicely. I'll place this monster face down in defence mode." He places the card in said position as it appeared next to 'Worm Yagan' on the field before looking back at his opponent. "And I'll add another card face-down. I end my turn, clock's ticking princess. You better find a way to get to me or you'll be overran."

She scoffed at the nickname that before she drew a card from her deck. 'Still, he has a point. I need to find a way to do something.' She locked her eyes on the field as she looked on at her predicament. 'I'm already at a bit of a disadvantage here since I never heard of Worm Type Monsters before. To think they have a light attribute too, so playing Hoshiningen will only cause me trouble.' PaniK really was no longer the same duellist from a few months back.

She clenched her hand, careful not to harm the cards in her hand, as she looked back at the man that had instilled fear into her teacher and friend. 'I too am no longer the same person as I once was. I'm here to stand on my own.'

X

- Location: Kaiba Tower - 11:10

"That's Yugi for you. First one to be in a duel and also winning despite being in an impossible situation." The black-haired boy gave a smirk as he turned away from the screen to look at his older brother. "For normal duelists anyway. I'm sure you already knew how to win." Mokuba frowned when his brother didn't give a response. "Seto?"

He looked back at his brother seeing him fixated on the screen in front of him. He smiled before grabbing his whistle and phone. "As the battle City Commissioner, I should be out in the field making sure the contestants are following the rules." He waited for the doors of the elevator to open as he looked back at his brother "See you on the field bro." Heathered colour eyes gleamed in affection he grinned as his brother's eyes flicked over at him, and a small quirk of his mouth, before the door closed.

'Stay close Mokuba.' Azure eyes returned back to the screen. 'Now for the real work.' The billionaire's face twisted into a deep frown as he looked at the screen 'I may have underestimated these, Ghouls.'

The brunette was briskly typing on the keyboard. Multiple software windows opened on the screen as his eye combed through all the data that was displayed.

'I didn't think these low-lives had the ability to produce decent card copies. At Least enough to fool my duelling systems.' It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he was no fool. He knew when he had a setback. Albeit temporary.

'These fake cards are identified as authentic on the system. It will take roughly a week to update the software to prevent these cards from being used.' Blue eyes narrowed at the screen in front of him as he made the calculations in his head.

'A week I cannot afford to be distracted and I won't allow the competition to be extended.' Kaiba slammed his laptop shut. 'Give these bastards a week and they will attempt to create fake locator cards and sell them for a profit.' He felt his fingers dig into his palm as he clenched his fist. Fury coursed through him at the thought of his search, his tournament being interrupted by a pathetic little troglodyte that were looking to simply make a quick get rich scheme.

'Unfortunately, Festus is currently busy with his duties. So, for now we can't deal with the copies but I'm sure these so-called duellists can handle a few cheats their way.' His eyes narrowed. 'If they can't they were never meant to be in my tournament in the first place.'

He frowned as he heard a small beep emitting from his collar. 'This is surprisingly soon.' His eyes narrowed 'No… This isn't about the God Cards'. He pressed the small button on his communicator. "Status report."

"This is Captain Silver of the police-"

"Get to the point." Growled the CEO causing the occupant on the other side to stutter out a quick apology.

"A-ah yes sir. We have found one of the rare hunters-"

"Apprehend him and prepare for questioning."

"I'm afraid not sir.

He felt his brow furrowed "Explain."

"He's deceased sir."

'What…?' His mouth felt slightly dry.

"Witnesses say he did it to himself sir."

X

'Okay, let's check my options here.' She had two cards on the field one of them being her trap card Spellbinding Circle and her facedown defence card 'Witch of the Black Forest'. While he had two cards face down and three monsters with two of them being face down, Kami knows what kind of effects are waiting for her to trigger. Despite the fact he could flip his monster and use their effects. He wasn't interested in attacking her nor summoning them.

That is what bothered her the most but for now she needed to lessen the number of monsters on the field and deal with each effect as she went. That is IF they had any.

So, for now she needs to attack, and she has the perfect combo for it.

"I sacrifice my face down monster in order to summon Airknight Parshath." The face-down card disappeared into multiple spheres of light before turning into pure white feathers. They flowed together into shaping a form similar to that of a centaur. The creature lifts its front legs up before thrusting it down causing the feathers that decorate its surface to dissipate revealing the creature beneath.

The knight's hair is a golden colour swaying in the wind and with piercing azure eyes. Its gaze landed on his adversary before rearing his sword and shield up in a battle stance ready to fight on his mistress's command.

"The card that I tributed was 'Witch of the Black Forest' and she has a special ability. When her card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add one monster with 1500 or less DEF from my deck to my hand." She pulled out her deck before shuffling through them while going through her options in her head.

Some of her monsters did have a high attack and low defence so she could easily use one of them. One of them being her 'Dunames Dark Witch' with 1800 Attack points but she had to think smart. She could focus on bringing out one of her fusion monsters. Her highest attack fusion monster was 'Saint Joan' but she didn't have either of his fusion material in her hand and just to add one of them could be a waste so she could either settle for Kaiser Dragon or Empress Judge.

Her gaze settled on a colourful one.

'King of the Swamp' honestly didn't fit her aesthetic, but its effect was perfect. Not only could it be used as a substitution for a fusion monster if she draws a polymerization card. She could discard it to get the polymerization if she draws one of the needed monsters. It would be fool proof! She smirked at that thought as she added the card to her hand before reshuffling her deck.

"Don't think I'm done yet I have a few more moves up my sleeve." She places a card in her spell and trap slot before thrusting out her hand to the field "I activate the equip card 'Horn of the Unicorn' and equip it to Airknight Parshath!" The Knight's helmet disappeared leaving behind its Halo before a bright light and shape erupted out of the being's forehead. It stretched out before the tip sharpening into a point as the light faded out leaving behind a horn on her monster's forehead.

"His attack power increases by 700 points giving him a grand total of 2600!" She yelled out as her beast reared on its hind legs giving out a thundering war cry. "Now my knight! Attack his Worm Yagan with Galloping Skyward Slash!" The Monster galloped straight at the target his mistress yelled out and with a battle cry he slashed at the defending monster. His blade cut the creature in half before it eviscerated into small particles.

Panik frowned as he placed his defeated card to the graveyard "You got lucky this time- wait what?" he muttered in shock as he saw his life points decrease from 4000 to 3200, he looked back at the girl who had a grin on her face.

"Parsath has a piercing damage ability which means he inflicts damage to your life points the difference between his attack points and your monster's defence points though only when they are in defence mode." She reached over to her deck and drew a card "And when he inflicts damage to you, I can draw one card." Her eyes widened at the card 'Maha Veilo' she felt a fond smile form on her face. 'Yugi… Pharaoh' she thought as she gazed at the card before looking up 'I'll win then I… I won't be at the side-lines anymore!'

"I end my turn!"

"Little Brat" he muttered before drawing a card and grinning as he gazed at it 'It's all coming together perfectly' he thought as he trailed his tongue over his teeth before he stretched out a hand "I reveal my face-down card 'Tribute to the Doomed'." He smirked noticing the confused face of his opponent. "Allow me to explain what it does."

"By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one of your monsters" He looked on in glee as his prey's eyes widened "And you know which one I choose!"

As he finished his sentence cloth wrappings burst out of the card reaching towards its victim. Before her monster could utter sound, the wrapping had now covered every inch of him as he now looked like a macabre version of a centaur mummy before being dragged closer to the card. His struggles are still being seen before finally disappearing in the card.

"An unfortunate ending to that fairy-tale prince." Taunted the worm user as he placed his magic card in the graveyard slot.

Téa glared at him before placing Parsath in the graveyard and grabbing her equip spell card "Horn of the Unicorn second effect activates. If it was sent from the field to the graveyard while being equipped instead of going to the graveyard, I can put it on top of my deck. So, it will be the next card I draw."

He sneered at her and said "You're going to need it. I flip over my Monster card meet 'Worm Rakuyeh' with an overwhelming attack power of 2100!" Said creature burst out the ground as more muck flowed out of the crater from where the beast had slithered out of. The body was covered in a semi-translucent slime as the pulsing form of the creature's body writhed. Téa looked at it with pure disgust before turning to look at Mai who had a similar expression on her face.

Mai gave Téa a sympathetic look and mouthed a 'I owe you one' to her and gave her a shaky thumbs up. Honestly, the newbie duellist could only give her an annoyed glare before looking back at the creature who will haunt her upcoming nightmares.

Panic threw his head back and laughed "And last I checked you are defenceless! Now my beast taints this little brat with Submerge Acid Purge!" The slithered close towards her leaving a disgusting trail of muck after it as it widened its maw preparing for its signature attack.

"I activate my trap card Spellbinding circle!"

A bright sigil formed over the card before it shot out to the worm beast encapsulating it much like a collar to a dog. She held up the trap card towards her opponent. "This tap card allows me to target one monster on your side of the field and traps it! Preventing it from attacking or changing to defence mode so your powerful beast became useless." She smirked at him as the creature screeched while it wriggled in the trap. 'Go me!'

"Your struggle is futile you just haven't realized it yet." He bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile before placing down a card. "I place one monster face down and end my turn."

Téa huffed in annoyance as she drew the spell card. She had to think carefully now. If she kept losing her monsters while the horn is equipped soon it will be the only card she will have at a point while his army of freaks keeps growing and at one point, he may summon something that she won't be able to handle. So now she needs to be careful and play it smart. "I play a monster face-down in defence mode and end my turn." She'll gauge his reaction for now.

He grinned as he noticed the waver in confidence "Realising you're in over your head little girl?" He licked the corner of his mouth.

The brunette slightly growled at him as she grew tired of his constant remarks "Less talk more duel clown face."

He laughed at the pitiful insult before drawing his card. His eyes widen in glee before immediately thrusting it in his spell/trap slot. "I play the magic card! Double Summon! I can summon up to two monsters this turn so I'll tribute to summon Worm victory!"

Two of the facedown cards disappeared before a bright red insect-slime monster appeared with its six arm appendages and stood next to his other worm sibling. "And I'll also be summoning Worm XEX. His ability allows me to send one Reptile-Type "Worm" monster from my Deck to the Graveyard." His tongue slithered out as he looked on in glee and in excitement of his next move. "Worm Victory has a special ability. It gains 500 attack points for each 'Worm' monster in my graveyard and last time I checked I had four, so his attack comes at a grand total of 2000 Attack points!"

Her eyes widened at that as he chuckled before pointing his finger at her "Go on Victory destroy her face-down monster and Xex once that is out of the way attack her life points directly!" The beast called Victory took a running leap at her face-down card as it came down hard with its six appendages smashing them against the card. She heard a scream from the smoke where the creature had struck before it was silenced.

All it took was a single blink of an eye before Téa's field of vision was covered in teeth! She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but she felt pain as if something just took a bite out of her. Then again, she thought as she looked down to see her life points going from 3650 to 1850, it just did.

"HAHAHA! How did you like that?! Don't worry the fun is about to start soon!" Téa glared at the amused male who was enjoying inflicting pain and annoyance on his opponent. "For now, I'll end my turn."

She clenched her teeth as she drew her card. 'Swords of Revealing Light this is a good backup if things go south.' Right now she there is a worm she needed to crush.

The brunette looked up at the red creature who had from the looks of things been licking at its claws. Cleaning the residue from its victim. She had to get rid of it before it could get even stronger.

"I play Maha Vailo in attack mode." A tall dark-robed figure appeared with a large hat placed on the being's head. Bright ruby red jewels decorated parts of the garb and hat as well as other hanging ornaments hung from it. Large sharp shoulder pauldron added a frightening display to the already tall figure as it easily towered over even Panik. "I'm not done yet. With the horn of the unicorn, I can increase his attack power by 700 points!" A small light appeared on the wizard's forehead before the familiar sight of a horn appeared in the area. Sharpened and glistened in its ivory glory.

She smiled seeing her monster's attack power grow before thrusting her hand forward towards the field. "Oh, there's more! He has a special effect!" She clenched her hand and brought it to her chest as she felt excitement coursing through her skin "He gains an additional 500 attack points for each card he has equipped! That is in total 2750 Attack Points, more than enough to snuff out your victory worm's light!"

Panik felt his mouth twitch at the confidence of the brat. Yes, do raise that confidence. Fill yourself with the delusion of winning.' His eyes flickered to his deck, knowing he only requires a single card to ensure victory. For the beast I summon will shatter that illusion". Let her light shine bright till he douses that little flame. Kami, the scream and face she'll pull at defeat. He licked his lips as he felt his skin itch at the thought. "Go ahead and try!" he yelled as he stretched out his arms before motioning his hand over his neck in a 'slit throat' gesture. "I dare you!"

She wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks with her, but her monster looked almost enraged at her opponent's provocation. The spellcaster had turned his gaze towards her. His expression darkened, as he nodded towards her. She had to attack. She needed to.

She clenched her fist as she locked her eyes at Panik before moving towards the red-coloured reptile beast. "Go Maha Vailo Attack with Sacred Lightning!" The magician brought his hand towards the sky as it darkened before a lightning struck his hands and he thrusted them outwards towards the red creature. Strands of lightning flew out from his fingertips towards its target.

"Not so fast! I activate my trap card SHIFT it will redirect that attack towards a different monster and I choose Worm XEX!" As he spoke the lightning had hit and invisible barrier before being directed towards the slime creature. It shrieked in agony before disappearing in a loud crack. "I may lose 950 life points, but I can easily afford it especially since it was another worm creature sent to the graveyard thus my Worm VICTORY gains another 500 attack points!"

She gritted her teeth at that as she saw Worm Victory's attack reached up to 2500.

'Great, I did some damage but if that thing stays longer on the field it's going to become a big problem.' Her gazed moved towards his deck. 'And with PaniK who knows what other traps he has in store for me.'Right now, he had two monsters on the field, one was trapped in her spellbinding circle while the other was free to attack her.

One thing didn't make sense to her though…

If she was in his position, she would have tributed her monster in the trap rather than waste a defence positioned monster. What was he planning? There was also that face-down card that worried her. He had now 2250 Life point left while she had only 1850. She needed to end this fast and carefully because one wrong move could end her journey right here and lose her most valuable cards to a maniac like Panik.

"I end my turn."

"Starting to panic now little bird." He cooed as he reached a card from his deck. "Ah, I think it's time to move this duel on to the main event, I summon Worm Millidith in attack mode!" Long limbs appeared from the card before the creature's body followed suit. It reminded her of those daddy long-legged spiders she saw on Television once and according to her disk it only had an attack of 400 attack points. It was weak by all comparisons so why?

She glared at Panik "What are you up to?" He just snickered at her like a kid keeping a big secret from his mom like he was hiding a caterpillar in her bed.

"Oh, you'll see but now I activate my trap card! W Nebula Meteorite!" He smirked before holding up three fingers to his opponent "Let me explain this card has three effects. Let's start with the first" The one face-down monster on his side was suddenly flipped up 'Worm Hope' "First effect: It changes all face-down monsters on the field to face-up Defence Position, mine, and yours."

He held up two fingers. "To activate its second effect, I need to end my turn." He pressed a button to the side that signals his ending turn before looking back up to her "Now during my End Phase, I need to change all face-up LIGHT Reptile-Type monsters I control to face down Defence Position, then I can draw one card for each."

He grinned as he held up three cards "Three monster were flipped face down so I can draw three cards and since Worm Rakuyeh wasn't destroyed, you can't remove your trap card from the field and when Flip summoned the trap card still won't activate so you know have one useless card slot on the field! Bwaha" His back arched as he let out a bellowing laugh.

'Great. 'She grimaced 'that gave him an even bigger advantage, but that's two effects so far. What about the third?' Téa didn't have to wait long for her answer.

"For the last effect I can Special Summon one Level 7 or higher Light Reptile-Type monster from my Deck and let me tell you." He grinned as he shuffled through his deck for his chosen card "She's a real Beauty." He grabbed his chosen card before slamming it down on his duel disk "I special summon 'Worm Queen' in attack Mode!"

What had been summoned would have been beautiful… By Weevil's standard. The body looked like an ant with its thorax, six legs and leering eyes but right atop where you would consider its head had a torso attached to it like an alien version of a Drider or Arachnes character from DnD that Ryou had once explained to her. It had an almost ethereal glow to it as it had its two pairs of limbs crossed over each other like that of a queen and horns adored its head much like a crown. Then again, this was the Monarch of these Worm Monsters.

"It's your turn now. Oh, and a word of advice since I decided I feel generous. Don't attack Worm Victory."

She rolled her eyes at him before drawing a card "Give me one good reason I should believe you." His eyes had a wild look to them as he gave a slight lick to one of his cards in his hand. She felt her back shiver at the sight. Gross.

"It has two effects, the one where it gains 500 ATK for each "Worm," monster in my Graveyard. The other one is a flip effect." He leaned in as he locked gazes with her as his face was stretched into an insane smile. "If it is flipped over, it will destroy all face-up monsters on the field, except my Worm monsters."

Her pulsed raced as she felt her hands shake at his words. Was that even true? Is it possible?

She wanted to ask Mai, but Téa knew Mai was barred from helping her less they both end up kicked out of the tournament. Right now, she needed to rein in her doubts and go on. Show no fear!

The azure eyed female looked at him and grinned which had caused the former player killer to frown "Thanks for that then. I set this card face down so when you try that little trick, I'll be ready for it." She was bluffing, but he doesn't need to know that. Mirror Wall may not be able to prevent her monster from getting destroyed by effects, but she could at least lessen the blow of any direct attacks, but she can't just do nothing, so for this turn she'll take the offence route.

"Maha Vailo attack his Worm Queen!" Yelled the pale girl as lightning hit the creature with a loud thundering cry before its charcoaled remains disappeared. "That's all that I can do for now, so I'll end my turn." She could only hope he believed her bluff. Please Kami let it work.

"50 damage, so impressive…" He drawled before looking at the card he'd drawn. When he laid his eyes on it, he started laughing in hysterics.

'Great…' She internally groaned 'He lost it… Does Kaiba even have medical insurance in case a psycho goes after you?' She could joke as much as she wanted, but she knew trouble was now knocking at her front door.

"I activate Polymerization!" He yelled as he jammed the card in one of the slots before picking up his three monster cards on the field and to her horror jammed the three and the additional four cards in his hand!

She felt her throat constrict… did that mean this monster fuse with seven monsters?! The only card that she knew that used five cards in a fusion was Five-headed Dragon and that by itself was a behemoth. What would this creature bring?

"I Fusion summon a monster! Worm ZERO! Meet the creature that will be the cause of your demise!"

Truthfully, she had expected the ground to shake as it appeared or a creature to burst from the ground, but she didn't expect a hole to appear above some buildings. As it widened, translucent slime had oozed from the gap. A large blob seemed to squeeze itself out from the tear as more and more slime poured in. It landed on the pavement with wet plops on the ground. Others were attached by long slime strings connected to what seems to be the main body as more of it was slipping through the gap.

It reminded her of those jelly orbs that kids played with or little tapioca pearls in drinks but unlike them this looked rotten, a revolting version of them. Worst of all was when its entire mass had been formed, it was taller and larger than some of the buildings; it looked like at the centre, on the surface was withering humanoid figures that looked horrifyingly like human bodies.

"For each Monster with a different name that I used to Summon this card, it gains 500 ATK, that's seven monsters for total of 3500 Attack Points" The slime had by now reach her feet as some bystanders that were watching had moved away from where the muck had spread. Small children were clinging to their parents and weeping in pure terror.

"It also gains three additional effects for using seven monsters!" The ooze had reached its master's shins, and it looked like small tendrils were crawling up on his legs and waist.

The creep grinned as he looked at his paralyzed victim "Let's start with effect number one: Once per turn I can draw one card." He drew one "Effect Number two: Once per turn, I can select one Reptile-Type monster in my Graveyard, and Special Summon it in face-down Defence Position with all its special effects!" His smile widened as he saw the girl's face paled "I think I'll bring back Worm Victory face-down in defence mode."

A wave of nausea came over the poor woman as the realisation settled that all her struggles and victory in this duel was the only way to lower her guard.

"It's not over yet. Now I activate its third and final effect: By removing from play one Reptile-Type monster from my Graveyard to send one monster on the field to the Graveyard."

Much like Téa, the spellcaster's eyes widened at that. Before any action or movement could be made the wizard's arm was grabbed by a slimy tendril, then his legs and lastly his other arm as he was suspended above the battlefield.

"Oh, no." she whispered as she saw her monster struggle as he was brought closer and closer towards the creature surface as he was being pulled in it withering goo. The shape of her monster slowly lessened the deeper it got dragged in before finally vanishing without a trace.

"All alone now." Purred Panik enjoying the struggle the girl was putting up for him and the torment it brought towards her so-called teacher.

'I shouldn't have allowed her to do this' was the only thought that went through Mail Valentine's head as she stared at the eldritch abomination in front of her. Truthfully, she was proud and touched that her little student had jumped in to protect her. She appreciated it. Truly but this was too much, even Joseph might crack under this kind of pressure. This was her first serious duel, and this is not what she wanted it to be like for her. For now, she'll cheer her on because Téa can still turn this around with the right card.

'Come on Hun, don't give up.'

"Now attack my creature, end this duel and bring me victory!" On his command a large tentacle thrust downwards to his position before making a sharp turn towards her direction. It was fast and unstoppable.

"I activate my trap card! Mirror Wall. It will cut your monster's attack in half!" A reflective surface surrounded her as the tendril came closer. She was encompassed in sudden darkness before she heard a loud crash as the surrounding walls shattered. The mirror fragments went flying in all directions as the beast's tendril retracted back into its enormous mass. She survived, she looked down at her disk seeing her life points flicker from 1850 to 100, barely.

"I'll love it when they struggle."

She hated him. She hated this. This feeling of helplessness, being useless. This is just like back at the dance studio. The feeling that she is drowning.

Tears welled up in her eyes as her vision blurred. Maybe she wasn't meant for this. In the end she couldn't protect anyone let alone herself.

Yugi, Joey… Mai. I'm sorry.

Notes

Ganbatte Meaning "do your best."

Arachnes are half-human, half-spiders. They basically have the upper torso, arms, and head of a human. They have big, black, spider abdomens where their human legs would be.

Drider: A monstrous hybrid of a drow or other dark elf and a spider, with a humanoid (vertical) upper body and an arachnid body. Basically, the same as above just with a drow/dark elf.

Aniki is an informal, a rougher/slang variation along the lines of bro – Mokuba has used this in the sub before

Ghali - means precious - Marik is precious to Ishizu

Ukht - means sister. Marik is call out to his sister.

Sa'idi - A tea from upper Egypt.

Khopesh - an Egyptian sickle-shaped sword that developed from battle axes.

Oneko – Tomcat in japanese

Jichan – Grandpa in Japanese

Jinkusu – Means jinx – Jerry from tom and jerry original name was Gerald Jinx Mouse

Bocchama - young master in japanese

LUXOR - Luxor is a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. It's on the site of ancient Thebes, the pharaohs' capital at the height of their power, during the 16th–11th centuries B.C. Today's city surrounds 2 huge, surviving ancient monuments: graceful Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple, a mile north.

Gomen nasai -I'm sorry in Japanese.

Gomen - Sorry in Japanese