Valerie hated making camp outside town, but the Black Dragon Squad was far from popular in the Anker-Hill region, and Joey thought it was safer to set up in the dark woods outside the town of Shadow-Forest. Her boyfriend pointed out most of the merchant cities in Anker-Hill province depended on trade, and wouldn't take kindly to the people who kept robbing merchant convoys supplying the Empire. However, knowing Joey was right about where they should camp didn't make Valerie enjoy living in a drafty tent with Mai. Both women longed for the comforts of town, but toughed it out as best they could. Unfortunately, neither of them had worked out a way of significantly improving their tent setup. When they first appeared in this world, the two women had also shared their tent with a little girl, but she had gone missing in an Imperial raid about two months ago. If she had been making decisions based solely on comfort, Valerie would have joined the Resistance as soon as she arrived, as their larger forces enabled them to safely occupy enemy towns. Of course, Joey led the Black Dragon Squad, so she was here too, and functioning as his second-in-command no less.

Before Valerie could sink deeper into her musings on her general lack of shampoo and warm sleeping accommodations, she was distracted from her berry picking by an approaching horse and rider. She recognized his intense eyes and particularly spiky blond hair. "Yami?"

"Hello, Valerie." His deep voice carried easily to her as he rode up and pulled his horse to a stop, "I need to talk to Joey, is he around?"

Valerie nodded, "Yeah, when you get to the fork in the path, don't go left or right, just forge straight on and you'll get to our camp."

"Thank you." Yami rode past her.

Curious, Valerie screwed the lid onto her glass jar of blackberries and followed. By the time she reached the camp, Joey and Yugi were already talking. Lots of young men scattered around the area watched with interest as they temporarily abandoned sharpening knives, opening stolen crates, and sorting their previous haul. Seeing Valerie approach, Mai gave up on attempting to simultaneously sew up a rip in their tent and flirt with one of the squad members, instead strolling over to join her at the wooden table set up in the center of camp.

Joey slammed a paper onto the table as they approached. "You gotta be kiddin' me, Yuge! I'm not taking my men into de Anker-Hill military base for a meeting with Kaiba! Malairuka's still imprisoned after his run-in with Rich Boy almost two months ago."

Valerie reached the table, towering a good five inches above Yugi as he tried to make a case for their forces joining together.

Sighing, Valerie tried to explain to the ever hopeful leader why teamwork wouldn't work. "Yugi, Kaiba's men might view you and your forces as a legitimate Resistance they can exploit in their bid to overthrow Emperor Haysheen, but the Black Dragons are nothing but criminals in their eyes."

"But we're stronger as—" Yugi tried to counter Valerie, but Joey cut him off.

"Kaiba might have ta arrest da Black Dragons just ta fulfil his role and follow da rules. And I don't think he'd be broke up about it neither."

"Have you seen the slave camps in the south of Vaxi Island?" One of the men spoke up from where he stood nearby, feeding Yugi's horse. "Seven years ago, Kaiba's father led Haysheen's forces to crush a revolt in the area and set up the camps."

"It was his stepfather, surely?" Yugi looked panicked. Valerie thought he was correcting their facts as a way to buy a moment of time to think.

"Yeah, what of it? For all we know, Kaiba might do the same to us in order to get back in the Empire's good graces." The man stroked Yugi's horse as he spoke.

"That's right! And didn't Kaiba betray his own stepfather in order to win his place in the Imperial Army?'' Another man joined the discussion, "Claiming to want to meet with us and then turning us in to the Empire would be nothing to a man like that."

Yugi stood speechless. Valerie supposed he was wondering how to explain the Seto Kaiba in the world today was not the same as the one whose stepfather set up the slave camps. How to explain they had all been sent here from another dimension—those with counterparts literally displacing them in the process—and as a result, none of them were responsible for their actions in this world further back than a few months. How to explain a situation she herself barely understood?

Yugi took a deep breath, and straightened up. Although he still lacked the height and presence of Yami, it was clear his resolve was just as strong. "Listen to me, Joey. All of you!" Even without the deeper voice of his partner, Yugi managed to catch the attention of everyone present. "I know each of you have suffered at the hands of the Empire in one way or another. But if you don't trust anyone to help you, it may be impossible to create a better world for yourselves. If you focus only on what you've lost, you might miss out on all you could gain."

"We trust you, Yugi," Joey pointed out, "Why don't we team up an' call it a day? Between da Black Dragons and your Resistance, we've got most of da best Marshals."

"Our chances of winning would increase if we had Kaiba on our side, Joey. At least let us all get together and see if we can figure out a way to team up!"

Joey looked at Valerie, "What do ya think, Valerie? Should we meet up with Kaiba at Anker-Hill?"

Last time Valerie went into town, she had overheard tales of a woman who worked with Kaiba. Rumors saying she was his trusted messenger, consultant, strategist, assistant, lover, or friend. While no name was ever attached to the stories, she was certain the woman was her older sister. It would be good to see Briana again. In fact, Briana was the only reason she wanted the groups to get together. But...Briana would tell her to be logical and stay safe.

Valerie ran her hand through her hair, "I'm not against a meetup, but for our safety, we would need to create a situation in which Kaiba isn't in the strongest position." Valerie played with the end of her collar as she paused, trying to explain what the Black Dragons needed, "So we can't go to Anker-Hill, and we would need to limit the number of men Kaiba has with him during the meetup."

"Heh, I just had a thought." Joey grinned at Valerie before addressing the ever increasing number of young men gathering around, "If Kaiba's willing ta attend a meeting here in da Black Dragon camp, without being allowed ta know its location, and without bringing more den one or two people with him, den I say we'll meet with him any time he chooses." Raising one hand casually, he asked his men, "How does dat sound ta you?"

The Black Dragon Squad laughed and cheered.

"Mai, you've got fancy handwriting, don'tcha?"

"The fanciest." Mai stepped up to the table, "Want me to write down your proposal?"

"Ya got dat right!"

"I've got part of a black candle in my tent, we can use it to seal the letter," Valerie offered.

"Dat sounds perfect."

Minutes later, Mai was composing Joey's official meeting terms.

Yugi rested his elbows on the table, dejected, "This won't work, Joey. You're asking for too much."

Joey smiled and quietly said, "I know ya want ta get all your friends combined into one team, Yuge, but I don't think it's gonna work out da way ya want."

"At this rate we'll never even have a chance for the three of us to talk together." Yugi slouched even further into the table, "I thought we might work together a bit even if we don't combine into one group, but I can't imagine that happening now."

"Joey, how many people can Kaiba bring with him to our camp?" Mai asked for clarification.

"Two," Valerie interjected her own answer. Joey raised his eyebrows. "You know, so he can bring Briana and Mokuba."

"You heard da lady, Mai." Joey resumed his quiet conversation with Yugi, "Valerie makes a good point, Yuge. Kaiba's not alone in Anker-Hill. He's got people around him ta make him swallow his ego for the greater good."

"That's true. But you're asking for so much…"

"It'll work out, Yugi. You'll see. In a couple days, dat jerk will be here putting me and da Black Dragons down for being bandits and actin' like he's not wanted for treason. Den a couple hours later we'll all give up on workin' together, but at least we'll be able ta say we tried ta play nice."

Valerie wondered if this was a smart decision. She really did want to see Briana again, but sometimes knowing less was better for her mental health, especially when it came to the dangerous situations her sister managed to get into with Kaiba. And now, while helping these people fight against the Empire's injustice, she suspected that principle was more true than ever.