Getting on with the tournament, Team Mystic is on it's way to the destination of their next match. Traveling by train, all five of them sat comfortable in the train and was on their way.

"Wow! The water is so beautiful!" Cindy said as they had a great view of a forest and the water. "Traveling by train was a great idea."

"I don't know. It all looks the same to me." Kent said.

"No appreciation for the beauty of nature." Cindy complained. "I think I'm going to the diner cart and get something to eat." She claimed as she got up and left their cart.

"Yeah, this is boring." Marcus said. "I'm ready to take on our next match right now. How much longer until we get there?"

"We should be arriving tomorrow afternoon, so just relax until we get there." Felix said, but that was hard for Marcus to do since he was ready for a duel now.

"Who are going up against in our next match?" Yukina questioned.

"We're going to Italy to face a fellow Italian team on their own turf." Felix said. "They call themselves Team Rosebud."

"That's a weird name. I wonder why they call themselves that." Yukina wondered. "Still, I wonder if they're anything like Arthur Lance." Mentioning him, all of them thought back to what they witnessed. It's bad enough he's got a Malicious Fiend, but he knows how to use it. He's quite skilled. "I can't get over it. He has a Malicious Fiend, but he seemed to be in complete control of the power, and he wasn't as savage as Raika either. Despite that, he defeated Team Desert so easily."

"That Dark Warrior might be different from Life Destroyer, but it's still one of the six Malicious Fiends." Kent said. "That guy will be dangerous to face."

"I'll say. A card that can deal real damage? Something like that should be against the rules." Marcus said. "Someone could get hurt."

"But it doesn't look like it can drain one's power like Life Destroyer did." Felix said. "If Arthur stays in the tournament, we're bound to face him eventually. We've already relayed everything we knew to Justine and WDA, so we'll just have to keep our eyes open for him. Not to mention, we still need to learn about the other four." Felix was right. They need to be ready, especially if the other four fiends are in the tournament.

"Anyway, I want to talk to you three about something." Kent said. "Cindy and I want a chance to duel in the tournament. Sure, Cindy's acting as the manager, but I know she wants to be part of the action. So, is there any way you guys could let me take part in the next match?" Sounded fair, but it's not quite easy.

"Well, I'm sure Yukina will give you her spot." Marcus said.

"Huh? Why me?" Yukina questioned.

"Don't be selfish. It's only right he gets to be a part of the action." Marcus said.

"But why can't you give up your own spot?" Yukina questioned.

"No way. You guys need me out there." Marcus denied.

"I need you like I need a rash!" Yukina argued.

"Felix, what do you think? Can I have your spot?" Kent asked.

"Uh... It is only fair. I'll think about it." Felix said as they were all a little surprised Felix would agree. The reason was because Felix thought back to his last match and how that darkness made him lose control. 'I can't let something like what happened in my duel against Jaw-Long happen again. I've got to figure out what's going on with me.' He's rather worried he might lose control of himself again, and Yukina was rather worried about him.

"Let's see what Cindy thinks." Yukina said to break this little tension. "I wonder what's taking her."

...

Cindy

Cindy was going to grab herself something to eat, but she found something more enjoyable. She was met with a handsome young man that had long blonde hair that was tied together near the end. He was wearing all green with him wearing a jacket that went all the way down to his ankles with a couple roses stitched in.

"Your deck is quite impressive, Cindy. It holds some great combinations that also coordinate well with xyz monsters. I can see why you made it to the best eight of Duel Battlers."

"Thank you, Nicholas." Cindy said as she was getting so flushed from being around such a kind and handsome man. "Although, I did have some help from my friends. It's because of them I got to be the duelist I am."

"But you surely have some skill of your own to be part of Team Mystic." Nicholas said with Cindy getting flattered.

"Cindy, there you are." Yukina said as she entered the diner cart.

"Hey, Yukina. Sorry if I kept you waiting. I ran into Nicholas here." Cindy said as she admired him. "He recognized me from Duel Battlers and being on Team Mystic, and we just got talking."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yukina." Nicholas said. "I saw your team's battle against Team Fanrong. Most impressive."

"Thanks. Cindy, we should be getting back." Yukina said. "Since we'll be arriving tomorrow for our match, we should talk about what we're going to do."

"Yeah, you're right. Bye, Nicholas." Cindy said. As much as she didn't want to be away from him, she had some work to do.

"Hopefully, I'll see you around." Nicholas said as he saw the two off. When they were left, he had an annoyed expression on his face. It would seem there's more to his pretty face than what meets the eye.

...

Nicholas

Nicholas went back to his own cart. When he got there, there were two others in there. One was a guy with a white outfit that was based on a spacesuit and had messy black hair. He was working on some gadgets. The other was a girl with blonde hair in pigtails with her wearing a black shirt and red skirt. She was just laying back with her enjoying some snacks.

"How'd it go?" The girl asked.

"I was able to meet with the one acting as the team's manager." Nicholas said. "I at least saw her deck, so I know what to expect, but she would probably only act as a substitute. We need to think about what we're going to do with the main duelists: Yukina, Marcus, and Mason."

"Do we really have to spy on them?" The guy asked.

"We have to, Mario." Nicholas said. "If we win the Worldwide Supreme Tournament, we might be able to save the orphanage. If that means we have to spy on our enemies and gain some sort of advantage, we have to. Even if it means we sabotage them." The three of them weren't exactly proud of what they were doing, but it sounds like they don't have much choice.

"What do we do now?" The girl asked.

"That part is easy, Emily. They have no idea that we're Team Rosebud. We can just use that to our benefit." Nicholas said.

...

Team Mystic

It was getting late at night and Team Mystic was still in the process of deciding what they're going to do. They went to another train cart and were trying to figure out what they were going to do about their upcoming match. There was just one thing...

"No way! You're the substitute!" Marcus claimed. "You're only suppose to step in if one of us isn't able to duel, and there's no way I'm just going to give away my spot!"

"Come on! Let me take part in the match!" Kent said. "I'm a member of Team Mystic! I should duel in this tournament as well!"

"We're not saying you can't, Kent." Yukina said. "It's just... We don't even know anything about Team Rosebud. We need to choose our duelists carefully."

"Yeah right! You just don't want to give up your spot!" Kent argued. "Felix, what about you?! You said you would think about giving me your spot for the next match! Have you decided?!" He questioned, but Felix still seemed sure on what to do.

"Settle down." Cindy said. "There's no reason to fight. We'll figure this out if you just try to stay calm."

"Hey!" That was when Emily came running in and she looked ready for a fight. "You guys are Team Mystic, right?! Come on! Duel us right now!" She insisted, but that was rather weird of her to just step in and ask for something like that when they don't know who she is.

"Emily!" Mario called as he hurried on over. "You're jumping the gun! You're acting too impatient!"

"What? We want to have some fun on this train, right?! I've been on this train for so long that I feel like I'm going to lose it!" Emily said. "Besides, we want to duel!"

"Hold on. Who are you people?" Yukina questioned as they thought this was so random.

"Never mind that! Just take out your decks and duel!" Emily insisted.

"Emily, you're being rude." That was when Nicholas came walking in. "You're bothering these people. At least have the common decency and introduce yourself."

"Nicholas! Hi!" Cindy said as she seemed rather excited to see him again.

"I'm sorry about this. These two are friends of mine. This here is Mario, and the other one is Emily." Nicholas said. "We've known each other since we were children. I'm sorry that Emily is being rather rude. She has a bad tendency to be rather impatient when it comes to getting what she would like."

"You say impatient, I say just cutting out the middle man." Emily claimed.

"You see, my friends here love a good duel." Nicholas said. "I'm sure you guys are busy getting ready for your upcoming match, but we certainly love a challenge. We're hoping you could duel us, and maybe it will prepare you for your next match."

"That's all? Sure. We love a good duel ourselves." Yukina said.

"Wait a minute. This cart seems rather small for a duel." Marcus said.

"We'll just have to do it old school style and without our duel disks." Yukina said. "It might be a little boring, but at least it's still a duel."

"But they have three duelists and we have five. It really isn't fair." Kent said.

"No worries. I'll sit out." Felix said, but the way he said it had the others think there was something rather wrong. "I want to be well rested for our match tomorrow." That was all he said before he left the cart, but they were all rather concerned about him.

"I hope everything is okay with Felix." Yukina said.

"He's probably just in a mood." Marcus said.

"Anyway, let's have ourselves a duel." Emily said as she wanted to jump right into action. They weren't using their duel disks, but they were still all for a duel.

"Do you have your little gadget ready?" Nicholas asked Mario.

"Yeah. I got it working." Mario said. Mario had a pen in his hand, but it was actually a camera in disguise. They were secretly recording everything, and that means they'll gain full insight into everyone's decks. While Mario was recording, Nicholas was doing his own little investigation as he went over and talked to Cindy.

"Your friends seem rather great, Cindy." Nicholas said.

"Oh! Thank you!" Cindy said as she felt herself already getting flustered by having Nicholas near her. He even surprised her by handing her a rose.

"Consider it a token of appreciation for being so nice." Nicholas said with Cindy blushing. "By the way, I would also like to do something nice for them. What can you tell me about them?"

"You are so sweet." Cindy said. "Let me think. Kent likes a good burger, Yukina always enjoys a nice duel, Felix..." As she was listing things her friends might like, she was playing right into his hands to get information they can use to defeat Team Mystic.

...

Team Rosebud

"Oh man! We so could have taken them if we weren't holding back!" Emily said.

"We can't reveal all the tricks up our sleeves just yet." Nicholas said. "Thanks to Mario's camera, we now have intel we can use. From what I've seen so far, the only one we really have to worry about is Yukina. Not surprising since she's the best duelist they've got."

"What can we do about her?" Mario questioned.

"Don't worry about her. I'll take care of it." Nicholas said.

"Okay, but... Is this really okay?" Emily questioned as none of them were enjoying this.

"Of course it's not okay, but we have to win." Nicholas said. "Look at us. The three of us had nothing. We were living in an orphanage, and it's how we met. That place is the closest thing we three had to a home. That's why we named ourselves Rosebud. We might not look like much, but we grow and bloom into something beautiful. Of course, no matter how beautiful they look, every rose has its thorns. Even a black rose is a rose. The orphanage needs help, and us winning the Worldwide Supreme Tournament could help. I don't like this any better than the rest of you, but this has to be done. It might be our only chance." None of them clearly like what they're doing, but it sounds like they're doing it for a good reason. Question is... Will it actually pay off?

...

The Next Stop

By they time the train arrived at the next stop, some of the passengers were fast asleep. That included Yukina and the team. However, Nicholas was playing a dirty trick. He took a couple sticks and aimed them right into the cart that Yukina and the team were sleeping in.

"A little aromatherapy and Yukina will surely be out of our hair." Nicholas said as he was using special scents to lure Yukina out. It seems to be working as Yukina got up and was on the move. Cindy was trying to sleep herself, but then she began to wake up from the scent.

"What's that smell?" Cindy questioned. Nicholas kept using his scented trick to try and lure Yukina on a different train with him leaving a basket of goodies for her. When he heard someone coming, he quickly hid and saw someone follow the scent and got on the other train.

"Sorry, Yukina. Hope the nice basket of some of your favorite snacks makes up for it." Nicholas said as he hurried back on the train with the two trains starting to leave. As for Cindy, she kept looking around.

"Weird. I could have sworn I smelled something." Cindy said as she kept walking around and then bumped right into Yukina. "Sorry, Yukina. What are you doing up?"

"I just got out of the bathroom." Yukina said. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I smelled something and... Aw! Yukina, look! On the next train!" Cindy alerted. They both took a look and saw Marcus was on the wrong train and was eating what was left for him.

"Marcus?! What's he doing on that train, and where did he get that basket of goodies?!" Yukina questioned.

"I don't know, but that train is going in the wrong direction!" Cindy said as the train were taking off in two different directions. "What do we do?!"

"I don't know! Man, now of all times we want him around and he's going away!" Yukina complained.

...

Team Mystic

Team Mystic soon arrived at their destination, but there wasn't a sign of Marcus. Once they alerted the others about what happened, they had to come up with something.

"Cindy, anything?" Yukina asked as Cindy worked on her DPA.

"I told Hank and Justin about what happened to Marcus, but they don't know where he is now." Cindy said.

"Oh man. He could be anywhere." Yukina complained.

"Kent, you didn't do this just so you could duel, did you?" Felix accused.

"What?! You think I would sink that low?!" Kent questioned.

"Says the guy who threatened to throw my deck off a tower if Yukina didn't duel Cray." Cindy argued with Kent shutting up.

"Hello again, everyone." Nicholas said as he and his friends stepped forward and acted innocent. "Is there a problem?"

"Hi, Nicholas. There actually is. Somehow, Marcus got on the wrong train and we don't know where he is." Cindy said. That was when Nicholas realized that Yukina was here and Marcus wasn't. That means his little plan to get rid of Yukina failed, but Team Mystic is still down a member.

"That's too bad. I'm sure he'll show up soon, but he might not make it for your important match." Nicholas said. That's what they're afraid of. Just then, Cindy's DPA alerted them about something.

"Hey, we might not know where Marcus is, but it looks like Team Rosebud submitted their battle order." Cindy said.

"Good. That means we'll find out who we're up against." Yukina said with Nicholas and his friends about to be busted. They all took a look and were surprised to see the faces of their new friends were on it. "You guys?"

"They were Team Rosebud all along." Felix said as they looked at the three of them with suspicion.

"Why didn't they tell us?" Kent questioned.

"We don't like being deceived." Felix said. "You challenged us to a match last night, but you failed to mention you were our opposing team. Were you really trying to gather intel on us?" When he accused them of that, Cindy realized that Nicholas probably played her.

"I'm sorry, but now that you know, we are not going to lose." Nicholas claimed as this match in Italy is about to get a spicy.

...

Marcus

As for Marcus, he realized something was wrong when he saw he was in a small town instead of city, and there was no sign of a dueling arena anywhere. Seeing all of this, Marcus only had one thing to say.

"Where the heck am I?!"