The night's dreams were not kind to Serena. She'd overcome her depression, but it didn't erase the images of Beryl's dark seraphs closing in on her. She screamed in her dream as Asmodeus' blade narrowly avoided her head, running as fast as she could to escape the angels.
"That's right, Sailor Moon!" Serena looked up to see Bakura towering over her, dwarfing her and cackling like mad. "How much longer can you keep running, little girl?" He laughed.
"DIE!" Serena turned around just in time to see the tip of Kristya's sword before-"
"AHHH!" Serena jolted awake. Something besides her dreams was very wrong, and she remembered the last time she'd ventured from her hotel room. "Luna?" She whispered, trying to wake the feline up.
"Nnnn… What is it?" Luna moaned as she rolled over.
"I feel that something isn't right. I can feel it in my heart and my Moon Prism," She said, grasping the jewel. Luna focused and discovered that indeed, there was a disturbance in the surrounding area.
"Can we not just get through the night without any more fighting?" Luna groaned. Serena let out a small chuckle as she transformed before leaving the room, just in case.
"It's coming from this way," She said as the pair exited the hotel, pointing north. As they began walking, Serena noticed that they were heading to the hospital. "I wonder if it concerns Joey… Hope he's alright," She said aloud.
"It's OK Serena, I don't sense the aura of Bakura, Beryl or any of the others," Luna assured her as they reached the building. She was startled to see not only Atem but Kaiba as well already gathered in front. She was even more surprised that the two weren't dueling.
"I thought you might have felt it," Atem commented as she joined them. Kaiba gave the girl a sideways glance.
"I suppose I do owe you some form of thanks for distracting Beryl long enough for me to get a shot. But try not to get completely destroyed next time you're dueling for lives," he added dryly. Serena honestly couldn't tell if that was supposed to be his form of humor or not, but shrugged it off.
"Is Joey alright?" She asked. Atem frowned.
"That's what we were about to check on, until we saw you in the distance," He said.
"Well, what the hell're we waiting for?" Serena asked. They walked calmly inside and made their way to the service desk. "Hi, we're looking to see a Joseph Wheeler?" Serena asked politely. The nurse nodded and shuffled through some papers.
"…He seems to have checked himself out a couple of hours ago," She said after a moment. The three looked at each other, thoroughly confused. "I believe I recall him. Blond hair, wearing one of those watch-disk things?" She asked. Kaiba's eyes narrowed at the terminology, but he nodded. "Yes, he was out a couple hours ago. He had a visitor come by to see him, and he checked out shortly thereafter. I tried to talk him out of it… he seemed quite injured still, but he insisted," She apologized. Serena nodded grimly.
"What did the visitor look like?" Atem asked sharply. The nurse closed her eyes in thought.
"I remember it was two people. One was a shorter kid, black hair, looked a little wild-eyed honestly. The other was blond, had kind of a sneer to his face and wasn't exactly the most polity gentleman," She said. Serena nodded. Jaedite she recognized. But who…?
"OK. Thank you," Atem said before leading them back outside. "OK, so Neflite came and told Joey to be somewhere. But who was with him, and what incentive did Joey have? He had three broken ribs; he shouldn't have been walking," He pondered.
"Don't know, but I'll ping his Duel Disk. He didn't leave it behind," Kaiba said, pulling out a small computer from a pocket and hitting a few buttons. "He's about two miles west of here," He said. Then his eyes widened. "And he's just drawn his first hand. He's dueling," He added.
They ran as fast as they could to the coordiantes Kaiba had gotten. Atem smiled as he saw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in the distance; that was almost always good news. The smile quickly faded when they arrived on the scene.
Across from Joey stood Jaedite, three Unknown Synchrons floating before him. To Jaedite's right was a steel cage with pointed iron bars pointing towards the contents of the cage; Mokuba Kaiba. Both Duel Disks were wired to the cage; Serena guessed that one Disk's Points hitting 0 freed Mokuba, and the other skewered him.
"Ah, Kaiba," Jaedite said as he spotted the elder of the two brothers. "Glad you could make it. Good to see you two as well, you can watch the show from the top box," He laughed. Kaiba balled his fists in rage. Bakura was mad at Seto so he'd ordered Jaedite to take it out on Mokuba for him.
"Don't… don't worry, Kaiba. I ain't gonna let ya down," Joey wheezed. To Atem's shock, Kaiba's face softened into a look of concern.
"You are in no condition to Duel, Wheeler," He said. Joey shook his head.
"In condition or not, if I lose or forfeit your brother is shish kebab," He said. "Make your move," He added at Jaedite.
"Fine. I'll sacrifice all my Monsters to form The Wicked Avatar!" He said. Atem grimaced as the ball of black rose before taking on Red-Eyes' appearance (2500/2100).
Kaiba looked around and assessed the situation. Joey had two cards down and Red-Eyes, as well as two cards in his hand. A look at the Graveyards via his duel disk tracking system revealed that Joey had played Ancient Rules to do so. Jaedite had used the same combination Atem had told him about.
"Avatar attacks Red-Eyes!" Jaedite said.
Joey cried out as he was thrown back from the force of the attack, his Red-Eyes obliterated and his Life Points dropping (8000 - 100 = 7900). He landed on his back, groaning in pain. "JOEY!" Atem cried. He started to run to his friend, but Kaiba stopped him.
"Don't interfere. We don't know who's here that we can't see," He said. Atem hissed furiously but stayed put.
"It's your move," Jaedite said. He knew Joey was weak. How long he could keep the duel up was unclear, but Jaedite was certain it wouldn't be long.
Joey drew and tried to clear his mind through the pain. How had Atem stopped this God? Oh right, he overpowered it into a Magic Cylinder… used its own strength against it, Joey remembered from Atem's recount. "I'll Set a monster and end my turn," He said.
"Draw! And I'll play a card facedown to end my turn," Jaedite finished.
Joey looked at his hand as he drew. "I'll Set two cards and end my turn," He added. Jaedite nodded,
"I'll Set a card and pass," Jaedite was growing impatient. He needed another one of his owerful monsters so Dreadroot could power up!
"I don't have a play this turn," Joey shook his head as he passed back.
"Ah! Here we go!" I play Monster Reborn to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Jaedite smirked as the Dragon rose again and Avatar transformed. Joey bared his teeth; he could see the dragon already trying to fight free of Jaedite's control. "I attack! Double Inferno Fire Blast!" He called.
"AHH!" Joey was again laid out (7900 - 4900 = 3000). Kaiba winced; even he couldn't deny the sound of another rib breaking. Initially Joey just lay there prone. He closed his eyes; the pain seemed to engulf him. Damn… Joey, come on, get yer ass up, he thought. Easier said than done, however, as an attempt to stand again failed. He tried again, to no avail. Jaedite grinned; it was finally happening. Joey was unable to-
"How the hell are you still standing?!" Jaedite yelled. Joey had made it to his feet and drawn his card. He was a panting mess, but he was up.
"If an Egyptian God couldn't take me down, what makes you think your fake over dere's gonna cut it?" Joey asked with a weak smile. "I… I'll set a Monster and end my turn," He added.
"Fine. I'll knock you down AGAIN! Avatar, attack!" Jaedite roared. The attack blasted through Joey's card but left a small object in its wake. "What in the…?" He questioned. Joey grinned as the object revealed itself to be a small pot with what appeared to be a miniature tree inside.
"Meet Fiber Jar!" Joey said. Kaiba's eyebrows shot up and he shook his head in amazement. Wheeler never failed to utterly astound the number 2 duelist with his inventive techniques.
"…A potted plant. I am so scared," Jaedite said dryly. Atem and Serena shot a glance at Kaiba.
"What does Fiber Jar do?" Serena asked. Kaiba simply pointed at the duel, where the Jar's roots seemed to begin absorbing the energy from every card in play. Even the Graveyards and hands seemed to be feeding it. "What the…?"
"When Fiber Jar is flipped, as you so kindly did when you attacked," Joey paused for a moment, wincing as another jolt of pain hit him, "every card from our Field, hand and graveyard is shuffled back into our Decks. Then we'll draw a whole new hand of five cards and start fresh," He said. Serena's jaw hit the floor.
"Of course! Joey's deck can't use Avatar's strength against it, but it can manipulate the field better than my deck can," Atem realized.
"I… I'll admit, he's gotten better," Kaiba said hesitantly. "Wheeler!" He called. Joey looked over. "You got around his God, now don't screw this up!" He said. Joey shook his head.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Moneybags," He said as he drew his five. Jaedite was just about literally hopping up and down in rage. His new hand was passable, but did not contain the God. "I will Summon a monster face-down and end my turn," Jaedite ground out. Joey grinned; he could see he was getting under Jaedite's skin.
"Alright den. I'm gonna play Gearfried, The Iron Knight in Attack Mode!" Joey said. The familiar plated-armored warrior appeared in full combat mode (1800/1600). "I'll also set two cards facedown. After that, I'll end my turn," Joey added. Serena was confused.
"Why not attack…?" She wondered. Kaiba furrowed his brows but decided to, at least this once, have faith in Joey.
"If Joey's half the duelist that everyone says he is, he's realized that Jaedite didn't lay down protection. He WANTS Joey to attack," Kaiba responded. He grimaced as Joey's hand flew to his midsection. He really was in no condition to duel, especially with the safety features that buffered the solid-light holograms from making all-too real contact turned off.
Jaedite grinned as he looked at his drawn card. "I'll play one card facedown and one monster facedown before I pass," He said. Joey nodded and reached for his deck but didn't make it, instead falling to one knee as his ribs screamed again.
"Joey!" Serena and Atem cried at the same time. Somehow, the blond duelist AGAIN made it back up. "Jaedite! This duel stops NOW! Moon Ti-" Jaedite held up a hand.
"If my Duel Disk shuts off for ANY reason other than my Life Points running out, that cage will activate automatically. You wouldn't want poor Mokuba to be skewered for nothing, do you?" He said with a smirk. Serena shook with anger as she clutched her tiara.
"You don't… have… to interfere. I got dis," Joey said, his breathing labored with each word. "I'll play Red-Eyes Black Chick and sacrifice it to Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon," He added (2400/2000). "One facedown… go."
"I reveal my facedown, Ultimate Offering! I'll Summon Spirit Reaper, then pay 500 Life Points (8000 - 500 = 7500) to allow myself another Normal Summon! I-"
"Hold it. I'll use Kunai with Chain to give my Red-Eyes an additional 500 points and… and…" Joey stopped for a moment to clear his head, "destroy Spirit Reaper by targeting him with an effect," he added. Spirit Reaper exploded and Jaedite growled.
"You delay the inevitable. Make your move," He said. Joey drew and stopped cold. Not from pain, but from what he saw. Jaedite's deck, specifically his top card, had turned black. It looked different from the others. Joey, confused, looked at his draw and smiled in understanding.
"Looks like dis is over… One card facedown to end the turn," He said. Kaiba groaned Wheeler had screwed it up. He knew it. Wheeler was doomed to be a second-to best.
"I draw, and-"
"Trap card, activate. I'll Drop Off your Wicked God Avatar to da Graveyard!" Joey said confidently. Jaedite was slack-jawed; indeed, he'd drawn the God. He had used Ultimate Offering as a bait as to take care of the facedown cards!
"What in the actual hell…?" Kaiba said, awestruck as Jaedite was forced to discard the entity. Jaedite ended his turn without another word and Joey smiled as he drew, knowing he'd again pissed off the evil man before him.
"I'm playin' my other facedown, Red-Eyes Transmigration! Dis card requires a sacrifice of Red-Eyes and a Warrior," Joey said as his two monsters vanished, "and summons Lord of the Red!" He said as Red-Eyes essentially became a suit of armor for a new man to wear (2400/2000).
"Next, I'll play Foolish Burial to send Jinzo to da Grave," Joey said. "Den Pot of Greed to draw two. And now, since two Spells were activated, Lord of the Red can destroy all of your monsters!"
Jaedite's eyes widened as his monsters were wiped out. "No! Stop!" He yelled.
"I'll play Monster Reborn on my Jinzo!" He said. Jinzo rose up with a mechanical noise (2400/2000). "Den I'll play Question! Guess which monster's on the bottom of my Grave!" He challenged.
"Easy. I destroyed Fiber Jar last," Jaedite said. Joey laughed.
"Da graveyards went back to da decks, moron," He said as Gearfried arose. Jaedite cursed as he remembered that detail. "Finally, I summon Goblin Attack Force (2300/0) and attack with everything I got!" He said.
Jaedite was sent to the ground by the force of the attacks as the cage opened. Joey gave an odd smile, as though he was finally satisfied with something.
"Not… this time… ya overgrown golf ball," he whispered before finally succumbing to his injuries, both old and new. He fell to his knees, where Atem and Serena caught him before he fell face-first.
"Mokuba! Are you hurt?" Serena swung her head around, shocked to hear compassion in Seto's voice as the two Kaiba brothers embraced. The younger Kaiba shook his head and Kaiba sighed in relief. "We really need to get you some self-defense classes or something," Seto said. His gaze turned to Jaedite.
"Misery loves company," He said as he roughly yanked Jaedite's disk off his arm. He rifled through the deck until he found Avatar and pocketed it. It would go in the same vault as Dreadroot, leaving Bakura with only Slifer's counterpart.
"These are his," Atem and Serena both looked behind them to see Seto standing there, two locator cards in his hand. "I'll lock away the Avatar card, just like Dreadroot. Does he need an airlift or something?" He asked, gesturing at Joey.
"Don't know. I wish Amy were here… she'd know how bad he's hurt," Serena said. Luna hopped down.
"I could always contact her," She suggested. Serena shook her head. "Then yes, Kaiba, an airlift if you please," Luna said, looking up at him. He nodded and pulled out his cell phone. One three-minute hold and a few words later and the aircraft was on its way.
"…I have sleep to get before tomorrow comes. Tell Wheeler…" Kaiba seemed to be forcing the words from his mouth, "that… that I'm glad he didn't completely screw up. He'll be registered into the finals; I know you've been registered already Atem, and you're only one card away, Serena. The blue girl actually only needs two. The other three slots are still anyone's game," He said finally before walking back to the hospital, where his car was waiting.
Atem sighed at Serena's narrowed eyes. "Serena, once you've known Kaiba long enough you'll know that's his version of 'thank you' to most people," He said. As the words came out of his mouth, the pair heard chopper blades above. "That was fast," he commented.
"Let's hope it was fast enough," Serena said.