Star Chips: Yugi: 5/Joey: 2/Sarah: 3

"Oi, where did the two of you go?" asked Joey, raising his brow in question as Yugi and I finally returned. After our little exchange, the Pharaoh had disappeared back into the Millennium Puzzle. I couldn't help but wonder if he paid any heed to what I said.

"I was making sure Sarah didn't get lost," said Yugi with a wide smile. "She was the one who fell behind first so I needed to bring her back."

I blinked. He didn't mention to the others that I was leaving some food for Mako.

"Oh, that's right!" Joey said suddenly. Then he put his arm around my shoulders from my right. "We need to take care of this one!"

"Yeah, she's pretty delicate," said Tristan, doing the same thing as Joey but from my left. "Téa's strong, and can hold her own, but Sarah's smaller and requires more attention."

I blinked, confused about what was happening.

Téa smiled. "Guys, don't tease her so much..." she said, and it was then I realized that these two were just playing. I was slowly getting used to their odd little touches, having never recently been touched before. But then again, I was buried for the last few millennia. Not to mention that I haven't been teased since I was very young, but I liked it. It made me feel like I belonged.

"I don't mind..." I said with a small smile. I learned something else just now: I don't look as though I've practiced combat and magic during the hardest years of my life with the most intense training I could ever imagine, even if it was for only a few years. My appearance as a simple girl lowers their suspicions of me being dangerous. They will continue to think of me as a potential friend instead of a crazed lunatic spouting about the ancient past.

But this poses a problem for the future: they may not believe me when I tell them who I really am.

I felt a headache threaten to start, so I forced myself to stop thinking about the future, and only focus on the present.

"Us friends have to stick together anyways, right?" said Joey.

"Ah, but she is still being tested..." said Tristan, raising his brow and inspecting my face closely.

"How am I doing so far?" I said, blinking at Tristan's proximity.

He smiled and pulled back. "Well, you did feed Joey and his empty stomach..." he started.

"She fed all of our empty stomachs, Tristan," said Joey matter-of-factly.

"Right." Tristan grinned. "I'd say you're doing a swell job so far."

"Even if you didn't give us any of your food, we would think the same," said Téa with a smile.

I felt relieved. "I'm really glad..." I said with a smile of my own.

"Still want to go ahead with this test?" asked Yugi. "You're passing with flying colours so far."

I was glad that we had become a bit closer within the last few duels, but I still felt as though I wasn't worthy. This group of wonderful people were already very close friends, and when I first joined them on this journey, I thought of only the Pharaoh.

But they were growing on me now...

And so, I decided to see this "test" through to the end. I wanted to be worthy of their friendship, because I really did wish to be friends with them.

"How about... until the bonus question?" I suggested, cleverly using the theme of a test to my advantage. Usually bonus questions on tests would show whether a student could solve hard problems at their current level of study. And, sometimes, it showed how keen they were - how far they were willing to go to show how much they cared about their studies.

It was nearly the same in this situation: I wanted to show them that I really wanted to be good friends, and not just pass the test for my own benefit.

Téa seemed to understand what I meant while the boys exchanged confused glances. "Alright," said the brunette with a kind smile. "Until the bonus question."

"I'm not sure I follow..." said Joey, scratching his head.

"Oh, don't worry about that for now," said Téa. "We'll get there when we get there."

Joey met Tristan's and Yugi's eyes once again. Yugi shrugged.

"Then onto more duels!" said Tristan, fist pumping the air.

"Yeah, man, I need to catch up to Yugi," said Joey, looking at his Star Chips. "He's already halfway there!"

"You don't have to worry, Joey," said Yugi. "You'll get more Star Chips soon, and then you'll be able to help your sister."

"Yeah... I hope so..." Joey continued to have a thoughtful look on his face as he thought about his sister. Joey's sister was very lucky to have such a loving older brother. With the determination he has shown so far, I was sure that he would be able to help her with the surgery.

"We'll catch up together, Joey," I said, trying to help encourage the boy.

"Oh, nobody's even remotely worried about you," he said, playfully waving his hand dismissively as though it wasn't a big deal. Then he smirked. "You're a champion from the States! You're definitely gonna make it up there."

I laughed a bit apprehensively, remembering how nervous I was at the beginning of my duel against Eric. Perhaps it'll be different next time. Then I could easily agree with him about it being easy for me.

"Just thinking about another duel is getting me all fired up," said Joey, now eagerly hopping up and down on his two feet. "Let's go duel some more!"

His excitement for another duel vanished instantly the moment we heard a scared voice shouting for help. Everyone's attention was now diverted towards the shout.

"Let me go!" it said, and it sounded like a young boy's voice. It must have been one of the duelists.

"It came from that way!" said Yugi, pointing to a clearing far to our left. Without a second's thought, everyone ran towards the distressed call for help. These guys never ceased to amaze me: they were willing to drop everything they were doing to go to someone who needed help.

That made me even more determined to do well in their test.

When we finally emerged from the trees, we saw a large man wearing a suit and sunglasses - no doubt one of Pegasus' guards - handling a young boy with a Duelist's Glove by the arm and roughly dragging him away from an open arena. The duelist clearly seemed upset, and he looked to be no older than us, possibly a little younger.

"Come on, kid!" said the man, pulling the boy's arm at an odd angle. "You know the rules!"

"O-Ow! That hurts! Please wait...!" The boy tried his best to maneuver himself into a more comfortable position before he could even begin to pull away, but the grip the man had on his arm was much too tight. To make matters worse, when he tried to move, the large man picked him up and held him in a chokehold, preventing him from having any hopes of getting away at all.

"Hey! What's the big idea! You're hurting him!" shouted Tristan angrily as he ran forward. He was the first one to move out of all of us. I was still processing the scene.

"This doesn't concern you brats. Go on and play your little game!" he said.

"Like Hell it doesn't concern us!" Tristan shouted back. He realized that the man wasn't going to let go of the boy without a fight, so he charged at him with his fist drawn. The suited guard smirked, finding Tristan's attempt at fighting for the boy an amusing feat. He momentarily let go of the duelist so that he could easily dodge the punch Tristan threw. His fist barely missed his jaw.

But in that moment, when the man was distracted in dodging the punch, and involuntarily leaned to the right, Tristan quickly pivoted on his foot and grabbed his arm, pulling the large man over his shoulder and throwing him. It amazed me how he moved so efficiently, and did it all with no problem. Had Tristan done some sort of training as well?

The guard expertly landed on his feet as he crouched down to decrease his momentum more easily. He got up, and in a split second, kicked Tristan down. Tristan groaned as he hit the floor, holding his stomach from where he was hit, while the man towered over him.

"Tristan!" cried Téa.

The young duelist took this as his chance to run, but just as he turned around, the large man grabbed him up again.

"Stop squirming already," he said.

"Please!" shouted the duelist. "Put me down! Just let me explain!"

It was Joey's turn to step forward, and although he had both his fists clenched, he didn't try to fight. The man was just too skilled at being a bodyguard, and Joey knew he couldn't win in a fist-fight against him.

"You heard him, damn it!" said the blond. "Put him down!"

"No can do," said the guard. "This duelist is officially out of the running. He has no Star Chips left to duel with."

"But that's what I'm trying to tell you!" said the boy. "Someone stole my Star Chips! They took my deck too!"

"I don't care what excuse you come up with," stated the man defiantely. "You're now disqualified, so you're going to be shipped off the island. Those are the rules - those are the orders from Mr. Pegasus himself."

Without another consideration for us, the guard took the boy away. We watched him leave the clearing, with the duelist still held up in his arms. The boy shouted again for the suited man to listen, but he paid no heed.

"Damn, that guy..." said Tristan, holding his stomach. I knelt down beside him and helped him up to his knees. He looked at me, deep brown eyes flaring.

"I say we follow him," he said. The conviction he displayed was incredible. I always found myself admiring the determination that people had. It's hard to fight for what's right, and people who do it like it's second nature are truly inspiring. Tristan didn't even care that he was in pain. All he cared about was helping the duelist.

"Alright, let's go," said Joey, his honey eyes also glowing. "You alright?"

"Yeah... I'm fine."

Tristan got up and started heading towards the direction the man went with the others. I hadn't met such a group of people who insisted on helping others first in a long time... not since I worked with the Pharaoh's Court. Tristan and the others reminded me so much of the people I used to work with, always putting innocent lives first before their own.

I couldn't help but smile as I thought about it: the Pharaoh was reborn amid a wonderful group of people. They were passionate and driven, always willing to lend a hand, and supporting each other.

I knew that I was the same; I wanted to help others as much as them, but my specific job sometimes kept me confined in that respect. I was the Guardian of the Pharaoh. I needed to help him and make sure that he was alright.

But... no one ever said that I couldn't do both. And back in Ancient Egypt, I did do both at the same time despite the Court's warnings of the responsibilities being too difficult: I helped the good citizens of our kingdom, and I also helped the Pharaoh. I did it all because I really wanted to, and the Pharaoh was always in charge of doing those important things in the first place.

I couldn't just focus on the Pharaoh - I had to divide my attention and focus. This way, I could help the both of us, as well as others.

Finding my own peak of resolve burning within my chest, I ran after the others, hoping to be of some assistance in any way that I could.

We followed the man all the way to a small dock, where a rowboat was filled with a few more duelists and another guard was standing by on the dock. The second one regarded arriving guard as "Kemo" and joked about finding disqualified duelist. Kemo practically threw the duelist he was holding into the boat, right next to Weevil, who the Pharaoh defeated earlier. I could feel my blood boiling at the awful gesture. The duelist was now rubbing his arm where Kemo held it. Weren't these duelists guests on the island? So what if they had been disqualified? That gave Kemo and the others no right to treat them this way!

"Stop right there!" shouted Joey, catching everyone's attention.

"Hey! Didn't I tell you that this was none of your business?" Kemo said.

Yugi ignored him swiftly and looked at the boy he just brought in. "What did the thief who took your Star Chips and cards look like?" he asked him.

The boy seemed confused as to why Yugi would come all the way here to ask him that. He had looked so sad before, being thrown off the island so harshly and without a single regard to his explanation. "Well... he was a short guy... wearing normal clothes... but he had a bandana that covered his face..."

"It could be another duelist," said Téa. "One of them could have decided to cheat their way through the tournament."

"The thing is, he didn't have a deck or Duelist's Glove with him," said the duelist, which surprised us because all duelists had their own deck of cards as well as a Duelist's Glove. "At first, he challenged me to a duel, and when I took out my own deck to accept, that was when I realized he didn't have any of those things. Seeing that I noticed, he took my deck and Star Chips from my hand!"

"That sneaky little..." Tristan crossed his arms.

"He couldn't have gotten far," said Joey.

"If you lot are truly this persistent with finding this kid's Star Chips and cards, I'll give you a chance to do what you want to," said Kemo suddenly. "You're not gonna leave me alone until I let you."

"Damn straight!" said Joey with a glare. "This sort of injustice is horrible! As people in charge of the tournament, you should have a more organized way of dealing with these things!"

"I don't take orders from you, punk," said Kemo, sizing Joey up. The blond held his ground and glared right back at Kemo, even though his eyes couldn't be seen because of the sunglasses. "I'll give you and your friends thirty minutes to find the culprit. After that, this boat is going back home."

"That's more than enough time," said Tristan.

"We'll get your cards and Star Chips back to you before time runs out," said Téa, smiling reassuringly at the young duelist.

The boy blinked. "Thanks so much, you guys..." he said. "But... who are you? Why are you doing all this?"

Joey grinned. "We're the guys who're going to get your stuff back," he said. "You've got the ba-rilliant mind of Joey Wheeler on the case! And I always get my man!

"... Even though he's just a kid."

Téa, Yugi, and Tristan collectively sighed. "Here we go..." murmured Tristan.

"Alright, guys, let's go back." Yugi started running back to the clearing. The others quickly followed after him, and Tristan teased about Joey's mind coming up with a "ba-rilliant plan".

I knelt down to the level of the boat so that I could place my hand on the young duelist's shoulder.

"They're good people..." I said gently, with a kind smile. "You can count on them."

He blinked at first, but then his eyes widened.

"You're..."

I stood back up. "We'll see you in a bit!" I said. Then I bolted after the others. He realized who I was, and I was hoping it would reassure him. Familiar faces brings a form of comfort, even though not much about the person may be known except for their current reputation (and it depends on that reputation). Me being with Yugi, who with no doubt is about to be known all over for his wonderful dueling strategies, would hopefully provide some hope for the boy, that the people helping him were truly there to help.

I also wanted to heal him. When I touched his shoulder, I could feel a bruise forming where Kemo had held his arm. With direct contact, and a simple spell, I managed to stop it, and hopefully, he would be feeling better now.

I met up with the others as they were looking around the area where Kemo picked up the duelist.

"Alright, so how will we find the guy?" asked Tristan.

"We're back at the scene of the crime..." said Yugi. "Perhaps the culprit will return?"

"They usually do, to cause more trouble when they know people are looking for them," said Téa thoughtfully.

"I say we wait just a little while in case that happens," said Joey. Then he punched his hand while a small, devious smirk appeared on his face.

"And then we go hunting."

"Joey, we can't track the guy like you're thinking," said Tristan, unimpressed.

"Regardless, we still need to plan what we will do in the meantime," said Téa. "We only have thirty minutes."

Suddenly, the bushes behind me rustled. As I was turning around to see what was making that noise, someone jumped out into view.

"I found you, Yugi!"

Yugi's eyes widened. "You've gotta be the thief!" he said.

It was a little boy, younger than the duelist who he (presumably) stole from, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a bandana wrapped around his mouth, with a hat covering his hair. His clothes were slightly dirtied, as though he was sleeping on the ground. His dark eyes were glaring with utter hatred, and I wondered who could have done anything to a little boy like him to make him so.

Indeed, this boy matched the description given to us by the duelist. The thief didn't have a Duelist's Glove and he had a bandana on to hide his identity.

"Hey! That didn't take too long!" said Joey, but I had a strange feeling that perhaps the boy had never left the area. It was much too convenient. "Hand over the Star Chips you stole from the other duelist!"

"No way!" said the boy. "I need these!"

"... Do you want a duel?" asked Yugi. He was calm despite Joey having asked his question harshly.

"You bet I do!" said the little boy easily, and I was confounded. How did Yugi know that that was what the little boy was after? Was it because of the Star Chips? Now that I thought about it, it would be strange for a person who isn't a duelist to suddenly steal someone's Star Chips and cards.

But I wonder... why Yugi...? He said that he "found him"... What was this little boy after?

"Yugi..." said Joey, surprised as well.

"There's just something we're missing, guys," said Yugi. He had a feeling... but he just didn't know what it was quite yet. He had a thoughtful look on his face, as though he was also trying to piece together this strange puzzle. "I have to find out why he's doing this, and it looks like it has to be through a duel."

Yugi started walking towards one side of the already-open arena from the duelist's previous duel while the little boy ran over to the other side. Joey seemed confused as well as impatient.

"Do we have to settle this through a duel?" he asked. "We can just grab the Star Chips and return 'em!"

"You know Yugi," said Téa. "He has his own way of doing things."

"Yeah, but..."

"I'm sure that it would be fine," I said, trying to reassure him. I trusted the Pharaoh and his partner. "Yugi will finish the duel before the time runs out."

At first, it looked like Joey would say something again, but he bit back his words and nodded. Even though I didn't know what to think of it, Tristan seemed to understand perfectly.

"Man, I don't even think Yugi knows why he does what he does," he said.

"It might... have something to do with his Millennium Puzzle..." said the blond, thoughtfully.

I blinked. Had Joey realized that that the Millennium Puzzle could harbour powers? It seemed as though, little by little, they were realizing that Yugi was indeed quite different when he dueled, and they must have begun to think something else of it besides sudden courage in their small friend.

"Why do you say that..." said Téa. Her ocean eyes were wide, and to my surprise, a little frightened. "You don't think... everything that Sarah said was true... do you? Shadow powers... in the Millennium Puzzle...?"

"I apologize if what I said before frightens you," I said. I would be scared too if someone I cared for was suddenly involved with dark powers that no one knew anything about, not to mention the dark adjectives like "shadows" didn't help relieve things either. "What I intended to emphasize was the knowledge of these shadow powers. Knowing and practicing are two different things. And..."

I stopped talking. The urge to say more threatened to push me over a line I did not wish to cross just yet.

Joey blinked. "What? What is it?" he asked.

I quickly tried to word my sentences carefully. "Possessing powers of any sort is also different, and when one possesses power, it depends on what one will do with it..."

"Okay, let's say the Millennium Puzzle really did live up to its legends," said Tristan. "Would it... be dangerous?"

"I can assure you with every beat of my heart that it is, in fact, not dangerous," I stated. "The powers in the Puzzle... or the knowledge of power... are not things that will bring about harm. The Millennium Puzzle was thought to be the mightiest of creations - it was used by Pharaohs to bring order and peace to Egypt."

"Wow..." said Téa. The panic in her eyes settled down to a look of awe. "You didn't tell us that Pharaohs used them..."

"I'm afraid it might have slipped my mind." It was more like, as time progressed, and the others were slowly beginning to realize the difference between Yugi as he's dueling and Yugi when he's not dueling, I was able to tell them just a little bit more of the Puzzle so that it wouldn't be overwhelming in the end. Telling small bits and pieces here and there should help in their understanding, and it will not pose as too much of a shock when they finally know the whole truth.

"You must have read about the Millennium Puzzle a long time ago too," said Joey. "Not all of it will come back to you at once."

Indeed, my amnesia could be blamed for this, but I knew in my heart that I still remembered everything about the Items and the Shadow Magic as I knew of them in Ancient Egypt. I just could not tell the others everything that I knew all at once, otherwise, problems would arise.

Once the duel arena was set up as Yugi and the little boy wanted it to be, the Pharaoh switched seamlessly with Yugi.

"How many Star Chips will you wager?" he asked.

The little boy glared back at him. "Five!" he said, and placed his five stolen Star Chips onto the dueling mat by the stolen cards. "To wipe you out, Yugi!"

So, it seems as though this boy's true objective was to get Yugi disqualified, but I wondered why he would want to do such a thing.

The Pharaoh began to match the boy's Star Chips with his own, placing all five that he owned onto the dueling mat. "Alright," he said, without hesitation, and I could literally feel Joey, Tristan, and Téa becoming anxious. The consequences of this duel were severe - if Yugi lost, then he would have to be disqualified.

And he wouldn't be able to save his grandpa.

"I will wager five," said the Pharaoh. "But only because I think I know why you're doing this."

"I don't care what you think!" said the little boy viciously. How could such a small person harbour so much rage inside them? What in the world could have caused him to be like this? Yugi was such a gentle person - he wouldn't harm anyone...

The little boy's fist shook as he gripped the air tight. "You tore my family apart..." he said miserably. "And now you're going to pay! In the end, you're going to lose!"

The Pharaoh regarded the little boy intently. He didn't say anything as a response, but he was concentrating.

"What does Yugi see that we don't...?" asked Téa wonderingly. "It's like he's looking into the other person's soul..."

"He's gonna beat this guy, easy!" said Joey, confidently.

"I hope so, because we still have a time limit until the boat leaves," said Tristan, bringing up a valid point and reminding us.

"Yugi will get those Star Chips back in time," I said. The others nodded.

Both the little boy and the Pharaoh drew their first five cards. Then they started the match.

"Duel!"

LP: Yugi: 2000/?: 2000

The little boy drew his first card and looked through his options. "I summon the Man-Eating Plant, in Attack Mode!" he said, playing a card. A vicious, potted plant materialized onto the field, and it greatly resembled a Venus Fly Trap, but with pink flowers around the mouth. It snapped its mouth open and close ferociously.

"This card will be the beginning of your downfall!" said the little boy. Unfortunately, the Man-Eating Plant did not have much attack strength, so it wasn't going to be a problem for the Pharaoh.

"I counter with Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!"said the Pharaoh, and he summoned his monster to the field. A blue dragon appeared before the plant monster, and his attack strength was enough to defeat it.

"My monster won't lose to yours!" insisted the little boy, despite there being a clear difference in attack strength between the two monsters, and not in favour of the boy. "Just like I won't lose to you! Man-Eating Plant - attack his dragon!"

"Fireball attack!"

The blue dragon flew over the plant monster and shot it with a fireball from its mouth. The monster easily dispersed. Not only was it a weak monster, but it was also land-based. So, the little boy's assumption of his monster winning did not fall through.

LP: Yugi: 2000/?: 1400

"No way..." The anger in the little boy's eyes suddenly turned into shock. "Why did my monster lose?"

"When you duel with a deck that does not belong to you, you overlook the simplest of details," said the Pharaoh, crossing his arms over his chest. It seems as though he was quite serious about the boy. "How can your heart ever live in cards that belong to someone else?"

It was as though those words triggered him, and the anger returned to the boy's eyes. "Enough about that "heart of the cards" stuff you keep preaching about!" he shouted. "Cards aren't about that - they're all about power!"

The Pharaoh closed his eyes for just a moment, as he quietly said words that only I was able to make out:

"Is that so...?"

Did he know this little boy after all...? He must have realized who he was...

The Pharaoh opened his eyes. "You're Kaiba's younger brother, aren't you?" he asked.

Joey blinked. "Mokuba Kaiba?!" he exclaimed.

"What in the world is he doing here?" asked Téa. "His brother isn't dueling in the tournament...!"

"And why do you think that might be?!" Mokuba shouted indignantly. Now that his cover was blown, he pulled down the bandana that was covering his face, exposing the face of a young child and not one of a thief. Then he removed the hat, and his long, bushy black hair fell down his back. He gritted his teeth together, as though a pressure was building up within his small body and was threatening to burst.

"My brother was the strongest there ever was!" he said. "But thanks to you, Yugi, he's gone. I don't know what you did to him during your duel... but he's never been the same! He left KaibaCorp. to his executives and now they're planning to take it over with Pegasus!"

"Pegasus wants KaibaCorp.?" The Pharaoh's eyes suddenly widened in concern.

"With my brother out of the picture, it's easy for him to do it!" exclaimed Mokuba. "His disappearance gave our board members a chance to take the company for themselves! But there's a bylaw that requires a Kaiba to be in control of the company. So they took me away from my home and brought me here to be in charge of it - through me! All so they could have my brother's company!"

My heart suddenly reached. First, it seems as though this boy's brother left him for some unknown reason, and now a mutual enemy is attempting to take over his company, by forcing Mokuba to be their puppet. This poor little boy went through so much...?

But... was it really Yugi's fault...? Mokuba mentioned a duel... was this the duel that Joey and Yugi mentioned on the boat? If it was a duel, then it must have been the Pharaoh who was in the match.

What could have happened for Kaiba to change so suddenly...?

The Pharaoh listened to what Mokuba had to say. He was patient with him, and he was patient again when the young boy blamed him once more.

"It's because of you that Seto has deserted me!" he cried.

"Mokuba, your brother did not desert you," said the Pharaoh. He didn't falter, which could only mean he was absolutely sure with what was going on with Mokuba's brother.

"He's searching for himself."

"Liar!" said Mokuba bitterly, unable to accept anything that undermined his resolve. "Tell that to my monster!"

Mokuba summoned another monster from the deck of cards he had stolen. A crocodile monster materialized onto his side of the field.

"Krokodilus! Attack Yugi's monster!"

The two monsters engaged in battle, but much to Mokuba's dismay, his monster lost, and his Life Points fell once again.

LP: Yugi: 2000/Mokuba: 1100

"Dueling me will not bring your brother back," said the Pharaoh. "And we want to stop Pegasus as much as you do. He has commit atrocities towards the both of us - he's taken my grandfather prisoner."

"That's right!" said Joey. "Pegasus is the enemy, not Yugi!"

"That's not it!" said Mokuba. "Pegasus will gain control of KaibaCorp. if he defeats Yugi! I have to protect my brother's company!"

"Oh, I see!" said Téa. "Mokuba is trying to get Yugi disqualified by taking his Star Chips, so Pegasus won't get the chance to duel him!" Joey and Tristan blinked.

"Ah, that must be it -" said the Pharaoh, but then his voice stopped short as he blinked towards the now empty opponent's platform.

"Hey, where'd Mokuba go?"

No one had seen him jump off in the split second that Téa began explaining what she thought Mokuba was desperately trying to do.

Suddenly, the little boy appeared on the other side of the Pharaoh's platform. He had gone around so we wouldn't see him, and was currently reaching for the foothold.

"Yugi!" I cried out.

The Pharaoh blinked and saw me pointing. Then he felt the pressure of someone climbing his dueling platform and quickly turned around.

"Mokuba...!"

"I'll get you disqualified - one way or another!" The young boy quickly swiped at Yugi's Star Chips and jumped off the platform. Then he started running into the direction of the trees.

"Wait, come back!" the Pharaoh shouted after him.

"Hey! Get back here with my friend's Star Chips!" said Joey as he sprinted after Mokuba. The young boy didn't stop, and kept running.

"Mokuba, listen to me! You'll never save KaibaCorp. this way!" said the Pharaoh. Mokuba suddenly stopped running, and Joey stopped short of catching him. He then glanced up at the Pharaoh from over his shoulder, with an uneasy look on his face.

"Your brother is just confused," started the Pharaoh. "After I defeated Kaiba in our duel, I removed from him all the dark influences that clouded his thoughts and actions. Free of the evil essence, Kaiba is struggling. Now your brother realizes that his way wasn't the right way, and he's searching his heart for answers.

"And you know in your heart what you're doing isn't the right way either..."

At first, Mokuba shook his head, trying to convince himself that what Yugi was saying was wrong, and he turned away. He was so close to the trees, that if he wanted, he could just run in and we wouldn't be able to find him again, but the Pharaoh's words stopped him. His clenched fists, which were shaking before, now relaxed. And he turned around, the anger and hate dissolving into tears of frustration in his eyes.

"Then, tell me... Yugi..." he said, desperately. "What should I do..."

The Pharaoh looked at him gently. "You can start by trusting in me..." he said. "If you and I work together, I promise that we will defeat Pegasus. We will save your company and your brother together."

Mokuba seemed reluctant at first, but he came to the realization that he couldn't fight a powerful force such as Pegasus all by himself. Slowly, he nodded.

"Alright..." he said finally.

"Good..." The Pharaoh controlled the platform back down and stepped onto the ground. "But there's something you have to do first: you have to return the Star Chips and cards that you took from the other duelist."

Mokuba looked down at the Star Chips in his hands. Then he looked up at Yugi and nodded.

"Right," he said. Then he smiled a little bit, and it was a hopeful smile. "Then... we can take on Pegasus together!"

The Pharaoh smiled. "That's right," he said.

"We've got ten minutes until the boat leaves, we should hurry," said Téa. There was relief in her bright blue eyes.

Joey and Tristan also threw away the trouble of going through the whole ordeal over their shoulders. All they were focused on now was reaching the boat in time.

"Let's go!"

When we arrived at the dock, after sprinting as hard we could, we saw that one guard was gone, as well as the rowboat of duelists. We could just barely make it out in the distance, nearing the horizon. My heart dropped into my stomach.

We were too late...?

"Hey! What gives?!" said Joey, running over to Kemo. "We still had so much time left!"

"Tough luck," said Kemo simply, with a terrible smirk on his face. "They're on their way home now."

"But it hasn't even been a full half-hour yet!" exclaimed Téa. "That isn't fair!"

"Everything on this island runs on Pegasus' orders," stated Kemo flatly.

Joey stepped in. "That's it!" he said, balling up his fist.

Mokuba suddenly pushed through and held out his hand with the Star Chips, showing them to Kemo. "You've gotta call the boat back!" he said. "I have to return these!"

Kemo merely glanced at the Star Chips before callously brushing Mokuba's hand aside, causing him to drop all the Star Chips from his hand and into the water.

"No!" Mokuba's eyes widened.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Tristan also stepped in. "Some of those Stars Chips belonged to Yugi, damn it!"

Kemo smirked and merely shrugged, showing just how much he didn't care. My blood that was boiling before was now reaching a certain pressure point. Not only did this man not keep to his word, but he also gave no regard to Mokuba's efforts at returning what he took.

I couldn't just do nothing anymore - I needed to do something. This sort of injustice... it just wasn't right!

So standing back, behind everyone else, I dropped my duffel bag to the ground by my feet.

I got into sideways stance, perpendicular to the water's edge, and while everyone's attention was directed towards Kemo, I took the opportunity to summon as much of my sleeping magical power as I possibly could, for the plan that I had in mind required a large input.

I concentrated, and when I knew that I had a good hold on what I was aiming for, I moved both my arms up over my head.

A wave two stories high suddenly emerged in front of the boat.

"What the... hey! Look at that!" said Tristan, pointing towards the boat. Everyone stopped arguing and looked to where Tristan was pointing.

The Pharaoh's eyes widened. "The boat... it's..."

When I threw my arms to the right, the wave pushed towards us, driving the row boat back to the dock. The wave slowly eased the boat into place, decreasing in height as it went, until it finally disappeared under the boat once it settled down at its previous departure position. Everyone on board was thoroughly confused when they arrived back at the same spot they from a few minutes ago, tucked very neatly to the edge of the dock without even crashing.

"Huh? Kemo, how -" The guard on the boat who was supervising the duelists' return had his mouth open in surprise.

"That's... so strange..." said Kemo, also unable to comprehend. "There's no storm and no movement in the water at all... and yet..."

His words fell short when he saw me. I was approaching him with shadows covering my eyes.

"Sarah..." Joey said tentatively. He and the others regarded me with shocked expressions, and instinctively moved back to let me through to Kemo. I wasn't showing myself as a helpless little girl anymore.

In front of everyone, I roughly handled Kemo's shirt collar and pulled his face down close to mine. Kemo's eyebrows went up with surprise.

"H-Hey! What are you -"

"You will replace the Star Chips you just casually threw into the water," I said, as menacingly as I could, with a deeper voice than I had anticipated would be produced from my anger.

"Sarah Wind?" Kemo asked in disbelief. Sweat formed on his forehead, and his brows furrowed. "Uh - wait - why are you doing this...! You of all people should know the rules of a tournament should be followed through-"

"Of which you are clearly not following," I stated defiantly. "I am all for following the rules, but when it comes down to uncommon decency, I will not simply idle by. This boy does not deserve to be kicked off the island!"

For a moment, I glared at Kemo expectantly as the man fumbled over his thoughts and words, wondering what to say to a girl who just suddenly grabbed at him like it was nothing, when the man on the rowboat stood up and reached into his pocket.

"Alright," he said suddenly. "We understand that we were in the wrong. Each guard is given one Star Chip for just such an emergency. Kemo, let's just give them two that we have together."

At first, I saw Kemo's eyebrows knit forward in disagreement, but then he sighed and nodded. "Alright, alright... we'll give him the Star Chips..."

"What about Yugi's Star Chips?" I asked bitterly. The Pharaoh and his partner were the first people I needed to fight for. "You threw his into the water too."

Kemo and the other man exchanged looks.

"We only have these two between us," said the man. "Perhaps... splitting them...?"

"What...!"

Suddenly, a hand touched my shoulder. Immediately, I relaxed. I knew whose hand it was, because this person has stopped me like this many times before back in Ancient Egypt. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder, and into watchful crimson eyes.

"Sarah, it's alright," said the Pharaoh. Irritated with how things turned out in the end, I let go of Kemo.

"I apologize for my behaviour," I muttered. I always knew that my anger could get out of control, and sometimes, I couldn't hold it in. As though on instinct, the Pharaoh stopped me.

Kemo and the man didn't know what to say, but the Pharaoh took the time to speak his mind.

"I would like if the young man in the boat was given the Star Chips instead of me," he said. At the angle I was now looking at, I could see both Kemo and the man in the boat blinking behind their sunglasses.

"Alright then, here you go," said the man in the rowboat, placing the Star Chip into the duelist's hand. Kemo reached into his pocket, took out the Star Chip that he had, and placed that into the duelist's hand as well. By this time, the young duelist's face was bright red.

"T-Thank you so much!" he said.

"Now hurry up and get off the boat," said Kemo, massaging the bridge of his nose, as the duelist stumbled out of the boat. "Leo, let's get the other duelists, who really did lose, off the island. Take 'em back home."

"Hey! I'm the Regional Champ!" cried Weevil, jumping to his feet. "If anyone deserves a second chance, it's me!"

"You really lost, damn it," murmured another duelist who was sitting behind Weevil. "And in the first duel too. You're no champ. You were disqualified on matter what you come up with."

Weevil was left with his mouth wide open with horror of the realization, once again, that he lost.

"Alright, that aside..." said Kemo, as the man in the boat - now known as Leo - was getting the boat ready for a second departure. "Are you all satisfied now?"

He fixed his shirt and tie from where I grabbed him, while seeming to look straight at me. I crossed my arms.

"Yes," stated the Pharaoh simply. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," grumbled Kemo. "Now scram."

The others began walking away, with the duelist excitedly thanking Yugi and them for giving him a second chance at the tournament. I stayed behind, regarding Kemo thoughtfully.

Kemo noticed this and crossed his own arms as well, trying to intimidate me after everything that I had already done.

"What is it now?" he asked roughly.

"I just thought it was strange," I stated simply. "Pegasus ordered you to take disqualified duelists back home - but what was the hurry?"

"Hell if I know," said Kemo, but I knew that he was hiding something by the way his brows furrowed forward, and his lips tugged upward. "They were just orders, nothing more."

"I know that something is going on," I said, glaring at the man now. "This whole situation seemed hasty."

Kemo regarded me intently, but then he smirked, as if there was nothing I could do to stop him from whatever Pegasus might have planned. "I've heard stories about you, Sarah," he said. "You were a great duelist who suddenly disappeared. You have a lot of nerve showing up all of a sudden and threatening a guard in the very first tournament you sign up for after your amnesia incident. Pegasus only has one thing for me to say to you as a result of all of this:

"You had best be careful."

I controlled the urge to ask him more about what else Pegasus might have wanted to say to me, but then I realized that he was reiterating what Pegasus had told him through the earpiece in his ear. This, without a doubt, had something to do with why he was after Yugi.

"Thank you for your time," I said deliberately, forcing down the pressure that I could feel building on my chest. "I apologize for all the trouble."

"Not at all." Kemo's calm demeanor, as if all my efforts of protecting Yugi would be futile, was unnerving. I had to continue to believe that we could foil whatever plans Pegasus had come up with. I would make sure that none of his goons would stand in our way.

I turned back around, picked up my duffel bag from off the ground, and headed off towards the others, who were waiting for me a few feet away. We started walking away from the docks. The small rowboat of duelists bound for the mainland slowly began shrinking in the distance.

"Giving him another piece of your mind?" said Joey with a smirk on his face.

"Of course," I replied swiftly. "That man had no right to do what he did. There is a reason why rules were established - to create order - but he wasn't doing anything of the sort."

"You go, girl!" said Téa.

"When Sarah suddenly went dark on him, I was completely shocked," said Tristan. "You're actually pretty strong - not as innocent as we thought."

"I knew there was something special about Sarah," said Téa with a knowing smile. I blinked.

"Guys..."

"Sarah, thank you so much for sticking up for me," said the small duelist. He had pinned the two Star Chips given to him onto his Duelist's Glove - I suppose the Pharaoh, once again, insisted that the duelist take the Star Chips instead.

"It means a lot to me. I didn't think there was any hope left for me to stay on the island."

"Well, I did not do much," I said. "It was a group effort, and we were more than happy to help."

"You did most of the grunt work," said Joey. "I was so surprised to see you all up in the guy's face - it was awesome!"

"I have to admit, I did do some practice... in self defence." I could not say offence. That would raise suspicions.

"That's so cool!" said the young duelist. "You can fight off anyone who bothers you!"

"That is the plan," I said with a smile. "Hey, by the way... what is your name, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, I'm Hibiki," he said. "It's very nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Hibiki. I'm Sarah. I'm sure you've met the others as well while I was busy a moment ago?"

"Yup!"

"Hibiki..." Mokuba's suddenly quiet voice broke through. "I'm really sorry for stealing your cards and your Star Chips..."

"It's alright," said Hibiki with a small smile. "You seem like a nice person who was just looking for a way to solve a problem - whatever that might have been. But look! You have a cool group of people right here who can help you now! You're super lucky."

Mokuba smiled thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're right..." he said.

Everyone smiled. We were glad that Mokuba didn't feel as though he had to resort to such extreme measures in order to save his brother's company. Now he realized that we were there to lend him a hand, and will hopefully rely on us. We could work together to bring Pegasus down.

"Now that everything is settled, and you've got your Star Chips, what's your plan?" asked Téa.

"I hope you're not thinking of dueling either Yugi or Sarah," teased Tristan. "They might be a little difficult to duel first, right after getting a second chance."

"Oh, I wouldn't even think of asking them for a duel even if I had seven-or-something Star Chips," said Hibiki with a shy smile. "You're both way outta my league..."

"Perhaps in the future," I said. Hibiki jumped up in excitement.

"I'm looking forward to it!" he said. Suddenly, his eyes widened as though he realized something. "Oh!" He stopped jumping. "I need to tell my friends this crazy story!"

"It's a huge island, do you know where they are?" asked Joey.

"Yeah, they're dueling in the environments their decks do best in," he said. "I'm going to go find them now! Is it safe to say that I'll see you guys again someday?"

"You bet," said the Pharaoh. "We look forward to that time."

Hibiki smiled. "Alright! Then I guess I'll see you later! Again - thank you so much for all your help! I owe you guys in the near future!"

After saying our "goodbyes" and "good lucks," Hibiki dashed across the clearing, waving back to us as he went. Just as quickly as everything had suddenly occurred, it was all back to normal.

"We should probably get going too," said Joey. "We need to duel our way into the castle!"

"Yeah." The Pharaoh nodded.

"But, Yugi, your Star Chips..." said Tristan.

He was down to three Star Chips - when Mokuba was on his platform, he didn't get all of them. It was lucky that he didn't get the rest at the time, but it still proved inconvenient. "It's alright," he said. "I am now back to the same level as Joey and Sarah."

"But... it isn't right..." Mokuba's violet eyes were sad. "Yugi, I'm so sorry..."

"I have forgiven you, Mokuba," said the Pharaoh kindly. "Now you know that the way you were doing things was not the right way, and that is all that matters to me."

Téa looked at the Pharaoh gently. "Yugi..."

Without a moment's thought, I took off two Star Chips from my glove and held them up for the Pharaoh to take. He blinked, as did everyone else.

"Please, take these," I said. I couldn't tell him why I was doing this, but I hoped that he would somehow know. Maybe an instinct that his memory wouldn't have forgotten - an instinct to trust me and accept all the help that I offered - would suddenly take over.

All I received were confused crimson eyes, first looking at the Star Chips in my hand, before rising to meet my own gaze.

"Why would I do that?" he asked me. "You earned them."

Because I am your Guardian. This is something I am meant to do. My very purpose in life now is to serve you, and when a dilemma stands in your way from reaching whatever goal you have set your mind to, I must be the one to make the situation easier to handle. In this case, you have lost Star Chips - things that would help you save your partner's grandfather - and so I shall help you gain them back. That is my duty as your Guardian.

My mind screamed for me to say everything, and my mouth almost opened and blurted it all out, but I remained quiet as I thought, and before I could say anything my controlled behaviour would allow me to, the Pharaoh gently folded my fingers over the Star Chips in my palm.

I blinked, but he showed a gentle smile.

"I appreciate your offer," he said, and for some reason, those words tore at my heart. Something in my chest hurt. "But I cannot accept them. It wouldn't be right. As a duelist, I have my own pride, and an honour that drives me to win Star Chips as myself. These are the Star Chips that you've won, as yourself. I cannot take them..."

Curiously, I frowned, and then looked at the Star Chips pressed between my fingers. I was not upset at the fact that the Pharaoh willingly said no, because his word was absolute. Something else was suddenly bothering me, something that his words triggered.

"The tournament is still underway, and we have lots of time to obtain more Star Chips," said the Pharaoh. "The three of us will enter that castle together in no time."

"I understand that you have a giving nature," said Joey. Then he grinned. "But it's not the end just yet! We can still win more of those chips!"

"Ah... you're right," I said. "I suppose it really was just how I am." It turned out to be my own instinct in the end, and that itself didn't work out as well as I had hoped.

"Do not worry too much about it," said the Pharaoh. His smile brought the pain back into my chest, and I slowly began to realize just what that pain was.

"Alright..." I said, pinning the Star Chips back onto the Duelist's Glove. Then I smiled as well, hoping that the gesture would force the pain in my chest to go away.

"Let us go win those Star Chips!"

"That's the spirit!" said Joey, punching the air. "Now I'm all pumped for a duel!"

"But we have to plan what we're going to do, now that Mokuba has told us another part of Pegasus' plan," said Téa.

"I agree, we have more than one person to worry about now," said Tristan. "Not only did that bastard take Yugi's grandfather, but now he has his eyes set on KaibaCorp.!"

"The only way that we can confront Pegasus about his evil schemes is if we win enough Star Chips to enter the castle," said the Pharaoh.

"His plan of beating Yugi in a duel would definitely get harder once he's in the finals," agreed Joey. "We just need to - "

"Hold it right there!" Two men suddenly ran into the clearing from the side, both wearing identical suits and ties, with glasses to boot. They appeared in an instant, as if they were sneaking around behind us this whole time.

One of them grabbed Mokuba's arm and quickly pulled the boy back towards him. "We've finally found you, little runt!" he said. The look on his face was sour. They must have been frantically running around the island looking for him.

"No!" Mokuba cried out, trying to pull away from the guard. "I thought I left you guys behind!"

"Hey! Let him go right this instant!" I shouted, running towards them.

Suddenly, there was flash of silver, and something metal was now pressed against my collarbone. I felt a shiver go up my spine as I realized what the object was. I had seen it before, but yet I had not. Modern Sarah must have come across it sometime before I had amnesia.

The second man was holding a hand gun to my chest.

Star Chips: Yugi: 3/Joey: 2/Sarah: 3

⬛