Star Chips: Yugi: 6/Joey: 2/Sarah: 3

I felt helpless.

When the Pharaoh was facing off against the second Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Kaiba was the one who had helped him. And now, when Mokuba was counting on us, Clive and Bruce snuck him back into Pegasus' castle to make him a prisoner once again.

I felt utterly helpless. I was failing at my duty as Guardian.

"He's not here!" shouted Tristan, running back into the clearing from the west. The others met up with him. Everyone had gone separate ways to try and find Mokuba, thinking that he may have still been close by despite being taken away. But we've been looking for a while now, and the sun looked like it was about to set.

"I couldn't find him either," said Joey.

"Poor Mokuba..." said Téa quietly. Out of everyone else, she was the most worried. My heart wrenched even more.

"It'll be alright," said Yugi. Although he was troubled by how quickly Pegasus' guards dragged Mokuba away, he still tried to not show it on his face. "This just gives us another reason to win ten Star Chips and gain entry into the castle."

"You said it, pal," said Joey, his honey eyes glowing confidently. "We'll save both your grandpa and Mokuba."

That is what is left, after all... I thought, gazing up at the castle in the distance. It stood mighty atop its high hill, overlooking the island. Pegasus was in there, holding Mokuba somewhere inside, along with Mr. Muto's soul.

I clenched my fist.

We needed to get them back.

"Sarah?" I blinked and turned to see Tristan. He seemed concerned.

"You've been quiet for a while..." he said.

"Oh..." The duel was just too intense, and there was a lot to follow along with because I didn't know the details about the last duel which influenced this one. I didn't really know what to say about it all in respectful terms.

And everything I did want to say would expose the Pharaoh.

"I was just worrying about Mokuba..." I said. "I hope he's alright..."

"Yeah, I hear ya," he said. "It sucks that this is happening."

"I'd be more concerned with Kaiba," said Joey, but he was scrunching his nose as he said that, as though he didn't like what he was saying. "He didn't help us during the third Blue-Eyes. I have the feeling he's gotten himself into trouble."

"You don't think they caught him either, do you?" Téa's ocean blue eyes widened.

"Nah, Kaiba's too smart," said Tristan. "He was most likely just interrupted."

"I..." My voice stopped on its own. I was going to ask about Kaiba, but it just didn't seem right.

"Hm? What's on your mind?" asked Joey, catching my hesitation.

"I... think we can save everyone," I said, changing my mind afterall. It wasn't my place to know about Kaiba and what had happened between him and Yugi, even though I had a strong feeling that he was definitely going to be a factor in the Pharaoh's life. I could try and put the pieces together just through the various instances where we happened to talk about him, like in the last duel. I've learned quite a bit already.

Besides... even if I was supposed to know... I was still an outsider. Asking questions might hinder our development.

Yugi smiled. "You're right," he said confidently. "We can, and we will. They're counting on us."

"Then we gotta win enough Star Chips and fast," said Joey, looking down at the two chips he had on his glove. He pouted. "I need to catch up..."

"Putting them all together, you guys are almost halfway there," said Tristan. "We'll be at the castle in no time, so don't sweat it."

"Says you, and you're not even dueling!"

Tristan grinned innocently at his friend. Joey's eye twitched.

"Alright, guys, let's focus," said Téa quickly, before the two could start roughhousing. "We can still make a couple of duels before the sun sets. Sarah and Joey - go find someone."

Joey and I blinked at Téa, who had suddenly become our commander-in-chief, and then we exchanged anxious looks with one another.

"I would love to," said Joey, shifting his eyes from left to right, trying not to meet Téa's expectant gaze. "But I can't seem to find anyone nearby at the moment."

"Er... Joey, you might wanna retract that statement," said Tristan, pointing towards a familiar group of boys who were walking out of the forest.

It was Eric and his friends, Nick and Ryan. What a coincidence that we would meet them again so soon.

When Eric's eyes met mine, my heart almost skipped a beat, and I wondered why. Was it because I didn't know how to feel when I was around him? He practicallygave me his Star Chips, because I didn't use the environmental aspect of the arena, and he didn't say anything about it.

Or maybe it was because this person gave me a strange feeling from the very beginning. Just the thought of having a boyfriend gave me goosebumps, and I couldn't tell if it was in a good way or a bad way, which scared me. I felt more obligated to be Guardian, just to make sure that I didn't lose sight of my priorities, but at the same time, I wondered what Modern Sarah could have possibly been thinking.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here," said Eric. He had about half his Duelist's Glove filled with Star Chips, while his friends were maybe one or two behind.

"Hello," said Joey rather dully. He had his arms crossed over his chest now as he glared carefully at the three boys. He must not have really liked them to easily show how he truly felt.

Eric didn't seem to mind his attitude, and instead smiled charmingly. His fluffy orange hair seemed the same as before. "How are things?" he asked politely.

"Well, we're getting there," said Yugi. "At a good pace, I think."

"That's great," said Eric. "We're alright too. In fact, we just finished up a duel so we wanted to look around at the scenes for a bit."

"The island is quite beautiful," mentioned Téa.

"If we weren't worrying about our friends," muttered Joey. I think no one else heard him except me, because no one else looked his way. I patted his back in hopes that my apologies would be heard without saying anything.

We will save Mr. Muto, your sister, and the Kaiba brothers... I know it.

"Yeah, I was wondering if a change in atmosphere would help," said Eric. He seemed to be hinting something, but I didn't understand at first.

"You mean duel somewhere else?" asked Yugi.

"That and... I had an idea."

"What... idea?" Joey raised an eyebrow at the boy.

Eric didn't speak right away, as though he was choosing his next words carefully. "I know I said that we would meet in the finals, but I wanted to try one more thing before that - to try and make Sarah remember me."

He must have been looking for us at the same time as they dueled. It would make sense how we ran into them again.

Joey sighed. "You won't give up, will you?" he said a little harshly. I didn't understand why, I mean, this was my problem. He didn't need to concern himself with it.

Unless... he was worried... about me...?

I think my heart just skipped another beat.

"Of course I won't," said Eric. His maroon eyes suddenly held conviction, and he straightened his back to look more confident. He was trying to stand up to Joey's cold barrier.

"I want Sarah to remember who I am."

"You saw the way she reacted in your last duel," said Joey. His arms were now back at his side, and I was scared that he might end up fighting Eric. "She still has the effects from her amnesia, and remembering you is hurting her."

"But she needs to know!" cried Eric. He was trying very hard to be strong, but I could see his desperation threatening to break through and take over. Something in my chest twisted again, and it hurt so much that I had to grab my shirt.

I wanted to know.

What drove this person to such lengths?

"I won't jeopardize her safety," said Joey finally. "Just wait for the finals like you said before. Maybe by then the effects of her amnesia will weaken more."

"But..." Eric swallowed and looked towards his friends for help. Ryan, the boy with jet black hair and bright green eyes, stepped forward.

"Eric's idea just now was something we thought might work without it being too tough on her," he said. "He thought that I should duel instead, and see if that triggers any memories."

"But why would dueling you be any different than dueling Eric?" asked Joey, like a school teacher interrogating a child.

Ryan stood his ground, prepared to confront the blond of his various concerns. I listened intently. "I didn't have as great of an influence on Sarah as Eric did," he said. "Eric thought that maybe by first remembering me, she would be more easily able to remember Eric."

"You dueled Sarah too?" asked Tristan.

"Yeah, but just once," said Ryan. "She's dueled Eric countless times, so those memories must be too much for her to handle all at once. But with memories of me, it wouldn't be that bad."

Joey glared, but Téa gently held his shoulder.

"I think we all know that Sarah needs to know of her past sooner or later," she said. "It's only right if she decides what to do next."

"I know, but..." Joey's honey-coloured eyes fell onto me, and suddenly, I felt like a child looking up into the eyes of a parent, hoping to get permission for something.

Tristan blinked, realizing what I wanted. "She..." he started.

Even Joey was a bit surprised from seeing me wanting to duel. "You want to go through with this?" he asked.

I was aware that before, I was very skeptical about Eric and what this boy was claiming, but the more he pestered, the more I thought about everything he was saying being true. I needed to find out what the truth was, and I needed to know sooner rather than later, because it might affect me in a negative way if it was later.

I needed to remember everything I could about myself so that I could help the Pharaoh when I meet him. And if there was a process that would help ease me into my memories of Eric, then I would gladly take the chance.

"How confident are you that it might work?" I asked, a little more quietly than I thought I would.

Ryan's eyes were gentle. "We sat for an hour trying to come up with ideas," he said. "This one seemed like the one that would do the least bit of damage, or no damage at all."

"I like the "no damage at all" part," said Joey.

"Yeah, it would be nice if Sarah could have a break," agreed Yugi.

"I'd like to try it then," I said. Joey shifted a little uncomfortably beside me, but he didn't say anything. "Let us try dueling."

Ryan sighed, relieved that Joey's pressure had subsided. "Alright," he said. His shoulders fell and he seemed more relaxed now. Joey must have scared him quite a bit. If I was on the other end, I bet I would be intimidated too.

"We'll duel over there."

He pointed towards the mountains that weren't very far from us, where a little river flowed by, into the direction of the open ocean on the other side of the island. Pegasus must have come up with an intricate system to allow a river to flow through here. It seemed like a quaint little area, where the view must have been spectacular.

"Okay," I said to Ryan, and we all began walking over. Eric ran up beside me, and he seemed to be much more at ease now too.

"I'm so glad we're trying this right now," he said with a soft smile. He was indeed quite handsome, and for a moment I wondered if Modern Sarah really had befriended him the way he said I did.

"I have a feeling that this will work."

"I hope it works without any trouble," said Joey. "Sarah seems to trust this idea, but you had better hope that I don't have a reason to doubt her intuition."

"It'll be okay," said Eric, reinforcing what he said earlier. "And in a tournament setting? There's no way she won't be able to not remember."

"I cannot take your Star Chips," I said immediately, surprising everyone.

"But why not?" asked Nick, the boy with light brown hair and bright blue eyes.

"It's because I had already said that if we will duel for my memory, than it should be without any wagers," I replied. "It isn't fair that you put up Star Chips for the sake of my memory."

"I'm afraid the rules state that we must wager on every duel played on the island," said Nick with an apologetic frown.

I was about to comment and insist that Pegasus' list of rules was a pile of camel dung when Eric spoke.

"It's alright, we need to duel like this." The boy's dazzling smile returned to his face, and I was beginning to wonder if he had become too relaxed. I hoped that Joey didn't read too much into it. "If we duel with a wager, then we'll be giving it our all."

"You should give it your all no matter what kind of duel you're playing," said Yugi, taking my duffel bag from me. I blinked.

"That's true," admitted Eric. "But the guys and I aren't at that level yet, so we need some motivation. The wagers will also maintain a tournament-like setting, which I know will help Sarah in remembering everything she has forgotten."

"As if the giant arena and incredible landscape wasn't enough for a tournament setting," I said.

"Like I said: it'll be fine. I promise." Eric said that so kindly that the uneasiness I was feeling slowly melted away into nothing. I felt a little different, like I was being coaxed into a situation way out of my comfort zone, but the others were still here with me, so it must not have been too far.

I felt like Yugi and his friends gave me a lot of courage in situations I didn't think I would find myself in.

When we reached the dueling arena, I turned around and faced everyone.

"Thank you," I said. For a moment I wondered if maybe the others wouldn't understand why I would have thanked them, but when I saw their gentle eyes, I realized that they did.

"Just be careful," said Joey, patting me on the head. I nodded.

"Thank you, Joey," I said quietly. He must have been concerned just because he knew how to be from having a younger sister. People who cared for others will have a natural tendency to worry about people they know.

Joey blushed, and I thought he was getting a fever. I hoped not.

"How about we wager two Star Chips?" asked Ryan. As he said that, an arena emerged from under the earth. First the ground opened up, then the arena rose up from the crevice, and the two platforms on either end unfolded from within the dueling field along with the holographic projectors.

I blinked. "But that's too much," I said, watching Ryan walk over to the dueling platform. "And it will not be fair for Eric who only wagered one."

"Sarah, it isn't about the amount of Star Chips," said Eric. "We just want it to be like old times again..." His maroon eyes were warm as they looked at me, and I almost felt the need to hide somewhere.

What was this fever that has captured me in its claws?

"Old times?"

"Yeah..." Eric went to reach for my hand but then he stopped. With a sigh, he pulled back.

"We used to hang out a lot..." he said.

What would I do if I really was close with Eric?

I started to doubt myself.

But... how could I have done such a thing? I knew that the Pharaoh was my top priority. If what Eric was saying was true, and we were... together... then why would I forget my duties as Guardian and make him my priority?

I couldn't say anything. I was at such a conflicting point that I couldn't take it. Yugi noticed this and stepped in.

"Alright, we'll think about what happened before her accident after this duel, at the finals," he said, and to be honest, when he spoke in my place, I felt so relieved I could breathe properly again. "For now, if what you guys are saying about Sarah having an easier transition into her memories through a duel with Ryan is true, then you should get ready for that."

"Yeah... good point," said Eric. "Sarah?"

I suddenly noticed that he hasn't called me any nicknames, like he did the last time, and I wondered why he stopped all of a sudden. Was it by my request? Or perhaps he just forgot, but I wasn't sure that could be the case.

I need to figure this all out soon. It's better to learn of my lost memories now than later - I could be missing something important that could help me in the future. And besides... if I wasn't whole, then how could I help the Pharaoh recover his lost memories?

Mustering up all the courage that I could, as I have always done when facing difficult situations, I readied myself.

"Alright," I said. Then I stepped onto the blue dueling platform and began shuffling my cards.

"Good luck, Sarah!" said Tristan.

"Don't push yourself!" said Téa. "Just take it nice and easy."

"Ryan, I swear, if you and your friends are wrong..." Joey glared at the boy so darkly that Ryan almost backed up into the platform's railing.

"D-Don't worry about it," said Ryan. "I swear, it won't be bad."

I was ready for my head to start hurting again, so it made no difference to me, but I wasn't about to say that outloud. I just needed to know what was going on, and I will take whatever risks that I must.

"Alright," I said, setting my cards down, ready to search for my memories through them again. "Let's duel."

Ryan activated the arena by setting his cards down as well.

LP: Sarah: 2000/Ryan: 2000

My duel against Eric did show me bits and pieces of a past memory, but it hurt to remember. I hoped that my memory of Ryan was more easy to recall.

Hopefully, what he said was true, and it wouldn't hurt to remember him.

"Ryan, I'll let you go first," I said.

"No, no, no," he said, waving his hand. "Eric would kill me if you let me go first. So, please. Take the first turn."

I blinked. "Well... alright..."

Eric sighed. "Ryan, please don't make me look like a bad guy..."

Ryan grinned sheepishly.

I looked at Ryan carefully, thinking that maybe I could recognize something right off the bat. As I was, he took off his jacket and threw it towards Nick. He brushed his fingers forwards through his jet black hair to maintain the point that it came to, and he fixed his neck band that had some sort of logo on it. There was a black skull on his red shirt, and I suddenly remembered complaining how that type of art was everywhere.

I blinked.

Wait... when did I complain about that?

My head wasn't hurting either.

"Sarah?" asked Ryan hesitantly, as he noticed me staring. I swallowed the lump in my throat and quickly looked down at my cards.

"Everything okay?" asked Yugi.

"Y-Yeah... I'm alright," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I just... like Ryan's shirt, that's all."

Binking, the boy looked down at his shirt. Then he looked back at me with his mouth slightly open.

"You used to complain about this design after saying that you liked it," he said.

Everyone got quiet, realizing that my mind had already begun to remember.

"Sarah, do you feel okay?" asked Tristan.

I blinked again. "Yes..." I said. "My head didn't hurt..."

Ryan smiled. "That's great! That means our plan is working!"

"Yes!" Eric cheered, but then he blushed when everyone looked at him strangely.

I began feeling a little more hopeful about this duel. If I could remember this one little detail with ease, then maybe I could remember other things the same way. Perhaps this really could work.

"I'll keep going then," I said, but before I drew the first card of the match, I looked at Joey from the corner of my eye. He seemed a bit more calm than before.

So he really was worried about me...

I felt my cheeks grow hot. I haven't been fussed over in a long time, so it was a little embarrassing. I didn't even pass their test yet, and Joey was already treating me as though I was part of the group.

My mind was yelling at me to stop right there. I bet he would change his mind once I told him who I really was.

I shook my head. Right now wasn't the time. I needed to focus on the duel and on remembering Ryan. Hopefully, I could get some answers to my many questions.

Feeling familiar cards being held in my hand once again, I felt a little more confident with myself. This time, I was going to use the environment to my advantage, so that I would feel like I deserve the Star Chips. I needed to work harder.

"It looks like our dueling field is split up into mountains and grasslands, right down the centre," said Ryan, overlooking the arena. "We both get a part of each too, which is nice."

"Yes, it certainly changes things around a bit," I said. The new card that I had drawn was another monster card. So far, my hand of cards was alright. I could work with what I had.

"To begin this duel, I will play Different Dimension Master in Attack Mode."

A magician with white hands and hair, wearing a large brown cloak with gold trim, materialized onto the field. He had many leather straps holding his mantle closed across his chest, and he held his arms crossed over his heart as if readying his attack. The magician's intense silver eyes seemed to glow under the sun, but the holograms were just shimmering.

"Wow, another magician," said Tristan in awe.

"He's my favourite monster from Sarah's deck," said Yugi as he smiled.

"Of course, buddy," laughed Joey. Yugi was quite fond of magicians, and everyone knew it. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I first discovered this, as the Pharaoh's servant himself was a magician, and was currently closer to the Pharaoh than I was.

"I'll leave it there, then," I said. My D. D. Master had 1700 Attack Points, so I felt comfortable starting off with just him.

"Hmm... that's a good opening move," said Ryan, as he drew his card. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to demolish that monster now. I summon Newdoria!"

A lanky fiend-type monster with salmon-coloured skin appeared on Ryan's side of the field. The monster had its eyes covered with a spiked metal band that went over his head and through his messy green hair. The guard around his upper body was made of the same material, as were the bands around his arms, wrists, legs, and ankles. He wore sea-green tights that were tucked into pointed shoes that a clown would wear.

He was a frightening monster.

"Shall I expect more fiends from your deck?" I asked, humourously.

Ryan smirked. "You bet," he said. "I have so many here that are just dying to meet you."

"I think the skull on your shirt is less scary than your current fiend, and it's only the first one."

"Getting a sense of déjà vu?"

I thought about it for a second, but when nothing came to mind, I shook my head. "Not at the moment," I admitted.

"That's okay, the duel just started," said Eric from the ground. It sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than us.

"Hey, but Ryan's monster doesn't have enough Attack Points," I said looking closely at the small dueling monitor. "If he attacked, he would lose Life Points."

Ryan chuckled. "Oh, no," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Looks like I screwed up and put him in Attack Mode."

"Come on, man," said Eric. "You're supposed to be helping..."

"I am helping - I gave her the lead, didn't I?"

Something does not seem right. I thought. Ryan sounded quite fictitious just now, as though he did not mean what he said...

Even if he didn't sound suspicious to me, the fact that he was supposed to be a skilled duelist - from the amount of Star Chips that I could see on his Dueling Glove - suggested that he would not make such a simple mistake. There was something that I was missing, but I could not move forward with the duel if I backed away.

"You had better not be giving me the duel anytime soon," I said, playing along, as I drew my next card. "I vowed to myself after Eric's duel to become a better duelist so that no one would have to go easy on me again!"

Eric blinked. "You figured it out?" he said, surprised.

"Of course I did," I said. "I have learned to be observant."

Eric smiled sheepishly after being found out. "I should have known by now that I couldn't get anything past you..." he said.

For some reason, my cheeks flared up again.

Why was this happening to me...

"She's flustered now, because of you," said Nick, nudging his friend in the ribs. Eric laughed softly.

"She's cute," he said.

"I'm gonna shake the bananas out of your brain if you don't let her focus," said Joey suddenly, startling both Nick and Eric. The boys didn't say anything after that, but the concerned looks on their faces were funny.

I wanted to ask Eric what it was that made me "cute" but with Joey how he was I thought it would be best to ask him that later. For now, this duel should be my main focus.

I have a lot of work to do, and the list won't shrink with idle chatter.

"Anyways..." I began. "Please do not say that you are helping by giving me an early lead, because I am ready for any strategy that you might have planned."

"Oh?" Ryan smirked.

"Yes. First, I summon Warrior of Light onto the field!" The familiar monster, clad in her long, white trench coat and snow-white hair, emerged onto the field next to my magician. I thought it would be a good idea to build up an offensive army when I had the chance.

"Now, I will get her to attack! Destroy Newdoria!"

In the blink of an eye, my warrior cut Newdoria in half with her sword, and shattered the fiend back into its holographic remnants. Ryan's Life Points fells.

LP: Sarah: 2000/Ryan: 1500

"Way to go, Sarah!" cheered Téa.

"Well... losing a quarter of my Life Points in one turn isn't so bad," said Ryan, brushing off the attack as though it was nothing.

I blinked. He only lost five-hundred points?

But that can't be... I thought I had a Field Power Bonus!

My eyes met the field conditions written on the dueling monitor, and I felt the blood drain from my face.

It was mountains and grasslands, not mountains and meadows.

Most of my monsters were warrior-types. They would have gotten a bonus from the meadow part of the field, but since there wasn't any meadow... my monsters didn't power up.

Before I realized that the panic was visible on my face, Yugi called out to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Um..." I mean, it wasn't a bad thing entirely. Thankfully, I had enough strong monsters to hopefully withstand Ryan's monsters if they powered up using the field's advantage. But what concerned me the most was the fact that I couldn't use the environment as much as I had wanted to in this duel.

The environment was what I was waiting to use in this duel since the beginning, and now I couldn't.

What was I going to do...?

"Everything's alright," I said. My tongue yelled at me for fibbing, but there was nothing I could do to change the field, and the others would only tell me what I already knew.

Don't give up.

"Just do your best," said Yugi. I nodded, and turned my attention back to the duel.

"So you destroyed my monster," said Ryan. "But you also destroyed yours."

I blinked again. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"See, Newdoria has a nasty effect: When it is defeated in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can target one of your monsters and destroy it."

"What... an eye for an eye?"

"Something like that. Now then, I choose... Warrior of Light. As I recall, when it is destroyed in battle, you can summon her counterpart."

Indeed, the effect worked both ways: if Warrior of Darkness was destroyed in battle, then I could summon Warrior of Light in her place, as I did in Eric's duel. If Warrior of Light was destroyed in Ryan's duel, then I would have summoned Warrior of Darkness.

Ryan and Eric both knew the effects of my monsters, but I did not know the effects of their monsters.

I had a lot of disadvantages in my duels.

With a troubled sigh, I removed Warrior of Light's card from the mat and watched her disappear from the field. Since she wasn't destroyed in battle, I couldn't automatically summon her other half. This saved Ryan from dealing with her rapid replacement the next time he summoned a stronger monster and wiped her out to get to my LIfe Points.

"Don't worry about it!" said Tristan. "You've still got your magician!"

"I liked that duo though," said Eric, a bit sadly. Nick patted his friend's shoulder.

"It's okay, man."

"Knock it off."

I actually kind of liked their friendly banter, because it lightened the atmosphere and made me forget some of my problems, which scared me at the same time.

I am losing touch with myself.

"Guys, let us concentrate," said Ryan.

"Yes, please," I said. "As Tristan has said, you still have my Different Dimension Magician to worry about. But that's not all."

I slipped two faced-down cards onto the field.

"Hmm... so traps or spells, hm?" Ryan tapped the side of his chin. "I've gotta be careful then. My move!"

He drew his newest card, and suddenly he had a goofy grin on his face.

"Alright! I summon Brron the Mad King!"

A fiendish monster with wicked green eyes and dark purple skin with bones sticking out materialized onto the field. He had crazy white hair, and he wore long silver chains over a torn jacket. Ryan's monster frightened me so much that I bent down behind the dueling monitor.

An image flashed across my eyes and I blinked.

I suddenly remembered doing almost the same thing but at a different arena. This one was surrounded by bleachers packed full of cheering fans. There were large lights everywhere, and cameras filming the duel at all angles. Ryan summoned Brron and it emerged onto the dueling field, whipping its chains around.

I remembered feeling the same sense of fear, and hiding behind the dueling monitor.

But it didn't hurt to remember.

I peeked over the screen and saw Ryan looking at me strangely.

"Sarah?"

I blinked.

"Your monsters... are Dark World monsters, aren't they..."

"Yeah..." he said. Then he smiled, and it was the type of smile that was wide enough to make it look like his eyes were closed. I felt myself blush again, because it looked like he was really happy.

"You remembered..."

I heard gasps from my left.

"Sarah! Do you feel okay?" asked Yugi with concern. Would I be asked this every time I remembered something?

I slowly nodded. "Yeah, it... didn't hurt..."

I blinked.

"It didn't... hurt..."

Not feeling any pain from remembering a part of my past that I had forgotten made me feel so ecstatic that I almost jumped up. The first time could have been a fluke, but the second time it happened meant that this was how it was going to be.

I had a chance of finding out what happened without getting hurt.

"That's awesome, sweetheart!" Back to calling me little nicknames, Eric was the most excited out of everyone. I couldn't wait until I remembered more about him. It would make me less confused.

"Just keep taking it easy! You're doing great!"

"Hmph. Ryan got lucky," said Joey, crossing his arms. "I'll believe it's okay when she remembers something else."

"Joey, you're so tough to please," teased Tristan. "Be happy for her!"

"I know... but..." Joey's honey-coloured eyes met mine. His gaze was so strong that I was held captive by his vigor. Even after the second time, Joey was not convinced.

He reminded me of my brother.

I forced myself not to look away, otherwise he would know that I was thinking of something, and I couldn't make him worry more.

He reminded me too much of my brother.

"It'll be alright," I said, a little shyly. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

I had a feeling that no matter what I told him, Joey would still worry. So, when he thought for a moment and then nodded, I returned my attention to the duel knowing that I had to be even more careful. He wasn't worrying because he had to; he was worrying because amnesia pain was a serious thing. It was one's brain telling oneself that he or she cannot access certain memories for any number of reasons, and too much of it could be potentially dangerous.

I was already being as careful as I could, but for myself. Now I had to be careful for someone else's sake.

It's been a long time since I've been worried about... I've almost forgotten what it felt like...

It was nice.

"Ready to remember more?" asked Ryan.

"Ah, yes," I said, straightening back up. I took too long, but thankfully, Ryan was being patient with me. "I am guessing that you want to attack my monster?"

"How right you are," said Ryan, grinning. "Brron! Attack Sarah's magician!"

Brron thrust his chains forward and wrapped them around my poor magician, who could only brace himself for the upcoming hit. He was pulled forward, within punching range, and was hit hard across the face. Upon impact, my spellcaster shattered into pixels, and I had to dispose of my monster.

LP: Sarah: 1900/Ryan: 1500

"It was only a little bit, but it still did damage."

"Yeah... but now I'm back to square one in terms of monsters..."

"You can jump back, Sarah!" cheered Téa.

"Oh, I plan to," I said with a small smile.

"Wait! There's an effect." I blinked at Ryan, wondering how many effects he had in his arsenal. "When Brron inflicts damage onto my opponent, I can discard one card from my hand."

Ryan chose a card and placed it onto his Graveyard deck. I blinked again. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if the whole reason why he attacked was so that he could play this effect. Maybe that was why he didn't care about how many Life Points I lost.

Hmm...

"When you said "effect" I thought it was similar to your last monster's effect," I said with a nervous smile. That's right, Sarah... don't look like you know anything...

"Yeah, it isn't a big deal," said Ryan. The innocent smile on his face told me otherwise.

He knew, and I knew; and yet, neither of us would admit it.

Excellent.

"Before I forget..." I said, casually. Ryan raised an eyebrow at me. "I play this trap card."

I flipped Macro Cosmos to activate it. A ghostly woman's figure wrapped in bandages slowly faded onto my field, but she was no ordinary woman. She had a small sun for a head.

"Macro Cosmos allows me to summon Helios to the field!"

"Whoa... I haven't seen a monster like that before..." said Yugi, and I was surprised to hear such a thing. Yugi seemed to be quite knowledgeable about Duel Monsters, but then again, there was thousands of cards. He could only know about so much. Every new duel was a learning experience.

"Sarah's deck is full of monsters no one has ever seen," said Eric. "Well... except Pegasus, of course. He once admitted that these cards would never fit into anyone's deck, but Sarah managed to work well with them. Of course, it was mostly her monsters and her cards that Sarah is known the Dueling Legend for, aside from her dueling skills."

"That's Helios, The Primordial Sun," said Nick. "And look carefully at the Attack and Defence Points."

When Yugi and the others took a closer look at the counter that was above my monster's head, they gasped.

"Zero points for both..." said Téa.

"Where does your monster get points from, Sarah?" asked Tristan.

"For every monster that's removed from play, Helios gets 100 Attack and Defence Points," I replied.

"But so far, there aren't any monsters that are removed from play," said Ryan. "So she has no Attack or Defence Points, and it is summoned in Attack Mode as default."

"But..." I started. "I have something to save her. I play my other trap card - Shield!" A large, golden shield floated up from the field's floor in place of the card's holographic image. It was lined with colourful jewels, and there was an insignia of a chimera in the center.

"This card allows me to shield one monster for one turn - as long as I give up 500 Life Points."

LP: Sarah: 1400/Ryan: 1500

Ryan burst into laughter. "You're going to do my job for me!" he said, wiping away a tear from his eye. I didn't think it was that funny. "Either I attack your monster now, and make you lose all your Life Points at once, or you can lose all your Life Points in small increments!"

"But I did not lose as many Life Points from my card's effect as I would have lost from your monster's attack," I said, crossing my arms. "That's the last of my trap cards, so I'll return your turn back to you."

"Ahaha... yes, I understand... So, to finish my turn, I place one card face down."

I wondered if the faced-down card would play off of his monster's effect, but I wouldn't know until Ryan showed me. There wasn't anything that I could do to destroy the faced-down card he had played.

He has the upper hand right now...

"Sarah, your strategy is perfect, don't mind him," said Tristan. I caught his eyes, and was about to answer when I saw Yugi looking at my field with a thoughtful look on his face. I blinked, realizing that he was trying to dissect all my moves and see what the underlying meaning behind them was.

"Oh, that's right..." said Ryan. "Macro Cosmos has one more effect. Every card that is destroyed since its activation is removed from play. That's what you will use to power up your Helios..."

My hunch was correct in that he knew the effects of my cards. "That's right," I said. "I am planning on powering her up."

"Hmm... well, for now, I can't do anything to her."

I took a deep breath. "My turn then." When I drew my card, I tried very hard not to show too much disappointment. I didn't draw a monster that was stronger than Brron, and now Ryan was onto a part of my strategy. I just hoped that I could defeat Brron in time, but for now, all I could do was defend.

"First things first: I switch Helios to Defence Mode." Helios kneeled down on one knee and crossed her arms over her chest. "Next, I play Exiled Force in Defence Mode." Three men wearing simple and rundown armour appeared onto the field, and all of them were in kneeling position. It was essentially one "monster" but a team of soldiers.

"I also place one card faced-down, and end my turn."

"Hmm... couldn't come up with anything productive, I see..." said Ryan as he drew his next card. He smirked when he saw what it was. "And since one turn has passed, your Shield is no longer active."

On cue, the golden shield before Helios faded away, but at least she was in Defence Mode now. That was why I used Shield, so Ryan wouldn't attack Helios.

"And now, I summon Goblin King in Attack Mode!" A tiny, green goblin king bearing royal robes and a king's crown, sitting on a small blue throne, appeared onto the field. He didn't seem all that intimidating, until Ryan told me his effect.

"While I control another Fiend-type monster, my Goblin King cannot be targeted," he said. "And his Attack and Defence Points increase by 1000 for every Fiend-type monster on the field. For now, because of Brron, Goblin King has 1000, but you still can't attack him, even if you wanted to."

"So... we both have had weak monsters guarded by effects," I said. It was strange, because Ryan's Goblin King was just going to sit there.

I blinked.

He's just... sitting there...

My eyes widened.

"You're... going to sacrifice them..."

At first, Ryan blinked, registering what it was that I said. Then slowly, his lips curled into a smirk.

"You're doing great, Sarah."

I clenched my fists. Another memory was flashing across my mind, but this one was even more terrifying than the last one. I distinctly remembered Ryan summoning the Goblin King and another Dark World monster only to sacrifice them for a much stronger monster. This one caused a lot of destruction, and it was extremely powerful, but the beast could only be summoned with a Ritual Summons.

Ryan purposely sets up this duo, because he knows that he needs two monsters. But if a monster is vulnerable, his opponent will destroy it, and Ryan would have to wait until his next turn to summon a replacement, but because of this, he will not be able to play his ritual card during that same turn. And by his next turn, he might lose his first monster, so the cycle continues. With this strategy, he could keep the vulnerable monster safe with its effect, and only limit his opponents' attacks to his stronger monster. Dark World monsters are more difficult to beat, so he's given the opportunity to play his ritual card during his next turn.

I had to stop him before he could play that card, if it wasn't already in his hand.

"Sarah, what do you remember?" asked Joey. Doubt disappeared from his eyes, because now, it was serious. He could probably see me becoming anxious as I continued to think about Ryan's Ritual Summons.

"Let's keep it a surprise," said Eric. "This monster is a really good one."

Joey was about to retort, but Yugi caught his arm. He gave his friend a look that said not to worry. He probably said that so I wouldn't have to lose my concentration in explaining. I told everyone about my earlier memory, but now things were becoming more complicated, and I couldn't afford to get sidetracked.

"Now... you know what's coming," said Ryan. "Since your Helios is unshielded, I can attack her with Goblin King!"

The little goblin pointed his royal staff towards Helios and from under his throne emerged a giant shadow creature that clawed through my monster. She was an easy target, with zero Attack and Defence Points. Macro Cosmos also disappeared, because it was linked to Helios. So much for removing monsters from play - the trap wasn't on the field long enough to do its job. At least my Life Points were safe.

"And now, Brron, attack Sarah's Exiled Force! Teach those soldiers how to really fight!"

Brron threw a couple of his chains at my monster, wrapping them around all three soldiers and squishing them against each other as he pulled. One by one, he punched them out, until the entire force was gone.

I had to take a deep breath. Both of my monsters were gone, and I was running out of options. I was literally bare before Ryan's tough fiend.

No matter how scared I was of Brron, he did not fail to deliver.

"I think that's enough, so I'll end my turn," said Ryan. "Sorry about that, Sarah."

I swallowed and tried to keep calm. There was a chance that I could still pull this duel around, I just needed to draw the right cards.

"It's fine, really," I said. "We have to duel our hardest, right?"

The next card that I drew raised some hopes for me. To make sure that what I was thinking could be accomplished, I double-checked with the cards in my hand. I bit my lip to force myself not to smile.

I may have just come up with a strategy to defeat Brron. Finally.

"I can only continue to defend," I said, sadly, trying to make it seem like I had nothing else left. But in reality, this was all part of my plan.

"I summon Dimensional Alchemist in Defence Mode."

A white armoured fairy the size of man flew without wings onto the field from a haze of pixels. He knelt onto the ground in a defensive position with only a couple of hundred Defence Points provided for protection.

"I will have to end my turn there."

"Hmm..." Ryan rubbed his chin as he drew his next card. "Looks like we are both waiting," he said.

So he didn't draw the Ritual Summons card this turn either.

"It appears as such," I replied. Come on, Ryan. Take the bait.

"Alright then." Ryan drew his next card. "I think I'll take this turn to build up a little army of my own. So I summon little Sangan in Attack Mode!"

A fluffy little creature with cat-like yellow eyes, and little green arms and legs with sharp claws hopped onto the field. I blinked.

"Cute," I said. It seemed I really was fond of adorable little creatures.

"Yeah, but... this one is evil," said Ryan, trying to make it look intimidating.

"Why didn't you summon a stronger one then?"

"He's the only other monster in my hand!"

"Alright, alright... but for the record... I remember you summoning him too."

"... Do you really?"

"Yes... and then I remember saying that I wanted him."

I heard some laughter from my left, and blushed.

"Yes... That's exactly why I summoned him. I knew that you couldn't resist cute things."

"Aw... you know me so well..."

For the second time during this duel, Ryan smiled like he really meant it. "We do," he said quietly. "And you used to know all of us..."

Pain tore through my heart. I opened my mouth to say something, but it closed on its own, unable to sound anything.

"Ahem. Sorry about that, but we believe that - with time - you will soon remember us, and we have loads of time."

"... Alright..."

"Well, you know what comes next," he said. I braced myself, for I did know how evil Brron was. "Brron, take out her Dimensional Alchemist!"

This time, instead of punching out my Dimensional Alchemist, Brron decided to be brutal. He pierced his chains through my monster and then ripped them out, and then he watched his prey crumple to the ground before flaking away into pixels.

My jaw fell.

"Wha... why so mean..."

"Sorry about that." Ryan blinked, just as surprised as I was about what happened. "He only does that... sometimes..."

"Huh... my poor alchemist..."

"I'll just, um... end my turn there then... heh..."

"Good... now it's time I turn this duel around. You did exactly as I wanted you to."

Ryan blinked, confused. "But I destroyed your Helios," he said.

"You'll see just what I mean, Ryan! My turn!"

I needed one more card to finish this duel. Come on, Destiny...

I drew my next card, and suddenly, something clicked. I now had all the cards I needed to put my overall strategy into play. And I could finally defeat Brron, before Ryan managed to draw his Ritual Summons. If he already had it in his hand, he would have played it by now.

It was finally time to say goodbye to Brron.

"I summon Gren Maju Da Eiza in Attack Mode!"

A blood-red Devil Beast with deep purple wings and a long serpent's body emerged onto the field. It was a hybrid of a large fiend and snake-type monster, formed for the sole purpose of ripping through one's Life Points with its sharp claws. But that could only work when it had enough Attack Points, and it gained Attack Points from banished monsters.

"Another monster that depends on banished monsters?" asked Ryan. "You don't have any that are removed from play yet - how do you intend to power him up?"

"With Soul Release, of course."

"Oh... wait, no!"

"I activate it now!"

The card I had faced-down flipped over, and a beautiful woman wearing a silk dress, with rainbow hair cascading down her back, fazed overtop. She waved her hands and the five monsters in my Graveyard appeared in ghost form before her.

"This card allows me to remove from play up to five monsters from either Graveyard," I explained. "But the five monsters I choose are all the ones in my Graveyard, so that I can power up my newest monster!"

"No, no, no!"

"Why her own monsters?" asked Yugi.

"Gren Maju Da Eiza gains 4oo Attack and Defence Points from each of Sarah's removed from play monsters," said Eric. "The effect does not work with her opponent's monsters. She has a lot of cards that are based on her monsters that are removed from play."

"That stylization is different from anything I've encountered," said Yugi.

"Yeah, she surprised me too, when I first saw her in action."

Soul Release sent my monsters flying into the sky. They exploded into pixels as they touched the sun and began raining down over my Devil Beast. His Attack and Defence Points began increasing, and they stopped at 2000.

"Whoa! Her monster gained a lot of points from her card's effect!" said Téa.

"It's finally strong enough to defeat Ryan's Dark World monster," said Tristan.

"That's right," I said, with a small smirk of my own. Finally, I could feel confident again. "I attack Brron! Destroy Ryan's monster, my beast! And spoil his plan for a Ritual Summons!"

Gren Maju Da Eiza slithered around Brron, winding his tail around the fiend. Then with one swipe of his claws, he ripped through Ryan's monster and left small bits of light flickering in its place.

It felt good to finally take down one of Ryan's monsters instead of watching him take down one of mine.

LP: Sarah: 1400/Ryan: 1300

"Go, Sarah!" cheered Téa. I smiled.

Ryan's eyes widened. "No! I needed him!"

"Well, now it's gone! How does it feel to be on the other side of things?"

"It doesn't feel nice, even if it's for a little while."

I blinked. At first, Ryan looked worried, but now he didn't. And that made me worried.

So he had a backup plan set up already in case I took down one of his monsters for the Ritual Summons. He wasn't going to let this chance slip by, not when he was so close. It was a good thing I prepared for it, even though I spent so much effort trying to destroy Brron in the first place. It wasn't all for naught - I gave him enough time to summon a weak monster.

"Then... to end my turn, I place one card faced down." I wondered how he was going to summon a sacrifice, and then Ritual Summon his most powerful beast. It didn't matter, of course - because I have all the cards I needed to win the duel. I was sure I did, and I needed to remain confident so that I could win and get one step closer to the Pharaoh.

I watched as Ryan took a deep breath. He then drew his card. The triumphant look on his face said it all.

He drew the Ritual Summons card.

This is it.

"I play my faced-down card - Monster Reborn! This lets me bring back a monster from my Graveyard, and I'll bring back Brron!"

Ah... Monster Reborn. A classic. That's how he brought back his Dark World monster sacrifice during our last duel too, after I went through the trouble of defeating it. I didn't remember the strategy that I used to defeat Ryan back then - I don't even remember if I defeated him in the first place - but things are as they are, and I have something to counter his move.

I was going to clench this duel. Ryan played right into my hands.

Brron materialized back onto the field, looking as good as new. Ryan smirked.

"And now, it's time to summon my ultimate beast - one that you cannot overcome! I play the Dark World Ritual Summons! By sacrificing two monsters, I can summon him!"

He played his card, and the field began to shake. From the ground emerged two seats, with a giant throne between them. Goblin King appeared on one while Brron appeared on the other. Flames engulfed both until there was nothing left - and the throne began to smoke. With a crack of thunder and bolt of lightning striking it, a large man clad in royal armour with indigo wings stretching from his back suddenly appeared in the haze. He stood up from the throne, causing his long silver to fall off his shoulder and down his back. His white cape billowed out behind him, and in his hand was a large sword shining in the sunlight.

I swallowed nervously. He was scarier than Brron.

"Behold... Belial, Marquis of Darkness!"

"That man is a beast..." said Tristan, his eyes widening at the sight.

"There's no way Sarah's Devil Beast can withstand an attack from that guy," said Joey.

"Yes... so brace yourself!" Ryan thrust his hand forward. "Belial! Show everyone your mighty strength by destroying Sarah's Devil Beast!"

Belial, the great Marquis of Darkness, slowly raised his sword over his head, getting ready to pass judgement upon my monster. With a great swing, faster than anything I have seen so far, Belial struck down my Devil Beast and sliced him clean in half. My monster exploded in a show of holographic lights, and I watched with wide eyes as my Life Points fell dangerously close to zero.

LP: Sarah: 0600/Ryan: 1300

"Sarah!"

I wiped my forehead and sighed. "Wow... that was incredible..."

The others blinked, and Yugi, who called me, looked at me confused.

"Why, yes. He is the strongest monster in my deck, after all," boasted Ryan.

I smiled, and Ryan blinked.

"Strongest, huh?"

"..."

"Sarah's not even fazed by such a creature...!" said Téa, baffled by my composure.

The look of confusion on Yugi's face was replaced by that of realization. "Sarah... has a plan..." he said.

Eric blinked. "But Ryan just summoned Belial!"

"Well... she did remember about the Ritual Summons..." said Nick. "She must have found a way to counter it."

"No... I did not stop it," I said. "After all, he is on the field. But... I do know how to win the duel."

"Win the duel?" Ryan chuckled. "Sarah, I think you've been mistaken."

"Oh? Then I'll let my face down card show you!"

I activated the winning card.

"I play the card, Enemy Controller!"

A large video game controller appeared before everyone, with the buttons all displayed on my side.

"By sacrificing a monster, I can control one of your monsters for a whole turn!"

I placed the little monster Samsara Kaiser onto the Graveyard deck from my hand, and the buttons on the controller began to glow. Ryan's eyes widened.

"No way...!"

"Yes! I get to take control of Belial!"

With a couple of trudging steps, Belial walked onto my field and turned around to face Ryan, who was now backed up against his platform's safety bar.

"Y-You can't do this!" He pointed accusingly at me. "I... I almost won!"

"Maybe you should reconsider trying to make me remember," I said with a smirk. "It was because I remembered that you use a Ritual Summons that I could take advantage of the situation.

"And... you've set the field up for my victory."

Sangan was cowering at the sight of Belial on the other side. The poor little guy was shaking.

"No... Sangan!"

"It's time for me to end this duel!" I pointed at Sangan. "Belial... finish this! Attack!"

Belial raised his sword high above his head, like he did before, and got ready to pass judgment on poor little Sangan. The little furball couldn't do anything but cover his head. The sword fell on him, and he burst into little pixels.

I won.

LP: Sarah: 0600/Ryan: 0000

As the arena shut down, and the holograms faded out, Ryan's eye couldn't stop twitching.

"All that work... only to have it... literally turn on me... oh, the pain!"

There were claps and cheers from our friends as we met up to shake hands. Ryan gave me his two Star Chips, even though I tried to give them back, but he wouldn't have it.

"That was a brilliant game, Ryan," I said kindly. "You had me on the ropes for many turns."

Ryan blinked, the twitching in his eye stopped. Then he smiled, knowing that he couldn't hold a grudge over this - after all, it was a tournament duel. "One more turn..." he said. "If only I could have had you on the ropes for one more turn..."

"Yeah... but I did remember a lot," I said, a bit too excitedly for my taste, but I couldn't feel any better than this, knowing that I could remember memories of these boys without any pain. "Even if I won... you still helped me so much. Thank you... Ryan..."

Ryan's cheeks turned a curious shade of red, and I wondered if there was a bug going around.

"Oh... it was nothing," he said. "Anything for my pals."

I blinked, and as I did, Eric came up to us. "I'm glad to have such good friends with me," he said with that charming smile of his. "I was hoping that... you would be willing to join us after remembering more."

"Eric, I..." I did remember quite a bit, but I still didn't know much about Eric. "I appreciate the gesture, I really do... it's just that... I think I should stay with them..."

Eric turned around to see Yugi and his friends waving at us. He waved back.

"Well, they are nice people," he said with a small laugh. "And I agree with Joey - you should take breaks every once in awhile. But don't tell him I said that!"

I smiled, wanting to laugh, but my dry throat didn't let me. I always felt so strange around Eric, and I couldn't explain it.

"This time, I really will keep my word and meet you at the finals." His voice was soft, yet... there was a sadness to it. "Until then, good luck with all your duels."

"Yeah... you too..." I turned to Ryan. "And, again, thank you... for everything. I feel like I can remember Eric without any trouble the next time we meet."

Ryan smiled. "That's great to hear," he said. "Then after that, we can all go get ice cream!"

I blinked. "Like... we did after our first duel..."

The three boys exchanged knowing glances. Eric held my hand.

"Just like then," he said. Then he kissed the back of my hand, and I felt my cheeks flare up again. "Until the finals then, Little Berry!"

Just like a tornado rips through a barren wasteland spinning dirt and dust violently in its wake, Eric and his friends rolled through our evening and disappeared back into the forest. This scene reminded me too much of my first duel. Eric was here, and then he wasn't.

I was left utterly speechless, until I could find words again.

"Until... the finals..."

Yugi and his friends soon ran over.

"Sarah, your duels are something else," said Yugi. "There was no Field Power Bonus for either of you, but you guys still managed to play such an intense duel."

I almost slapped my forehead. I didn't use the environment at all during this duel...

"I think it's great that you didn't have the field to worry about," said Tristan. "You played a duel that was different from what's considered the norm here on the island."

"So... it really is alright...?"

"Of course it is!" Joey, now a completely different person with Eric and his friends gone, came up behind me and gave me a noogie. I didn't know where it came from, but he got me to laugh.

"H-Hey...!" I tried to pull his arm off my neck as he playfully rubbed his knuckles into my hair.

The others shared in on my laughter, and suddenly, I felt less tense and worried about not using the field. If the others said it was alright, then it must be.

"You did good," said Joey with a smile as he pulled away. "I'm glad you're alright."

I smiled up at Joey. "Thank you for supporting me..." I said. "I... I'm glad I... have..."

The others seemed to understand my appreciation, and smiled at one another after seeing my effort to try and explain what it was that I was happy to have. "We're glad you're with us too," said Téa kindly, gently placing her hand on my shoulder.

I thought I could do everything on my own. I was so ready to hold all responsibilities on myself. It got me thinking... how would I have handled everything that has happened so far without any help? Would I have even been able to, in the first place? There were so many new things, and the world has changed so much since the last time I saw it. Not to mention that I forgot all about the sneak peak I did get the chance to experience.

During it all... wasn't it better to not be alone?

"Thank you, Téa..." I said with a small smile. "I... know I am still being tested..."

"Tested? I hate tests," Tristan said, sticking out his tongue. Joey laughed at his friend's antics.

"Yeah, they can be tough," said Yugi. "But I think Sarah is doing great. Still up for the bonus question? Although, I'm not sure what it could be."

I smiled, truly thankful to the gods that I was with Yugi and his friends. "Yes..." I said.

"And... I think we will know what it is once we see it."

Star Chips: Yugi: 6/Joey: 2/Sarah: 5

⬛