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

Soon after Eric and his friends left, I remembered something else about them. This memory was hazy, and full of speckled lights, but I could still make out what was going on.

It was of a local tournament happening at my "hometown" in the States. After a duel with Ryan, we were shaking hands when I met his friends for the first time. That was when I first met Eric. He was the same as he was now - charming, confident, and cool. His mop of orange hair wasn't much of a mop back then, however; it was shorter, and I could see his cute little ears clearly poking through the strands. I remembered feeling shy at first, and it was difficult to meet his gaze. But did I like him? Did I really like him enough to...?

I felt myself blush. I've been doing that a lot lately, and it had become quite annoying. I wanted to feel normal again, and to remove these fluffy feelings from out of my insides before I exploded.

"How do you feel, Sarah?"

I decided to try and ignore myself for now as much as I could. I did not wish to think about this at all.

"A lot better now that I have some of my memory back."

Tristan playfully nudged my shoulder with his arm. "Think you can remember dating Eric anytime soon?"

My face remained hot for some reason. "You're teasing me."

Tristan grinned. "I just think it's kind of cool how someone who's so close to you hasn't given up on you," he said.

Although the notion was quite romantic, after my duel against Ryan, I didn't know how to feel about this. My heart was still a confused mess, and everywhere I thought I would get an answer, I ended up running into more corners. Why could I not remember Eric as easily as I could remember Ryan?

I groaned in frustration. I just wanted to go back to only worrying about the Pharaoh. Running into Eric and his friends was such a mistake.

What happened before I lost my memory?

I felt a pat on my back and turned to see Yugi with an apologetic smile as he handed my duffel bag back to me.

"It's alright," he said, kindly. Again, reassurance fell over me. Yugi always seemed to calm me down. "I'm sure we'll figure this all out soon. It's just going to take some time."

"Mm... thank you."

"Hey, let's put this aside for now," said Téa. "Joey's far behind and needs to catch up, so let's watch him duel somebody."

The anxious look from before returned to Joey's face. He scratched his cheek thoughtfully, probably coming up with another excuse.

"Eh, but I don't see anyone," he said again. This man's persistence was admiring.

"Come on, man. Even Sarah's got more than you now, thanks to her last duel," said Tristan.

Joey looked at me. I blinked.

"... Eheh."

"Don't you be so innocent."

"But..."

Before I could finish my sentence, Tristan suddenly bumped into me, making me lose my balance. We both fell to the ground with Tristan weighing down on me.

"Whoa! You guys alright?" asked Yugi. Joey started to laugh, finding the sudden situation quite hilarious. It did happen from out of nowhere, which made me concerned.

"That was so smooth!" Joey struggled to say between bursts of laughter. "Dude!"

I rubbed my head, recognizing this same scenario from a while ago. Then I looked up at Tristan who was pulling himself off me, also massaging his temple.

"I think we have been through this once before," I said, smiling at the recollection of Joey crashing into me when we were at school.

Tristan blinked, remembering the same thing. Then his cheeks reddened and he quickly stood on his feet.

"Y-Yeah... haha..." He said a little embarrassed as he helped me up. "Sorry about that... my coat got caught under my shoe..."

"You and Joey are both such clumsy boys," said Téa, shaking her head.

"Thank goodness I don't trip as often as you guys," said Yugi. "It looks painful."

I massaged the end of my nose, finding that I had hit it against Tristan's shoulder. "It is," I said. "But it's okay."

Tristan's mouth fell open. "I'm so sorry...!"

"It's alright... really-"

As I thought he would, Tristan leaned in and looked at me closely. I was against people being so near, because it would hinder my ability to move around quickly in desperate situations, but I wasn't fighting now so it didn't seem as bad. I watched his eyes investigate my nose with concern at first, but then his gaze softened when he saw that there were no injuries.

"Well... okay..." he said, pulling back, but he still seemed a little unsure. He must have still felt bad, but what could I do to tell him it was alright?

I gently held his arm. "I'm fine... thank you," I said with a smile. It warmed my heart to know how caring Tristan was, and the more I found how kind he and his friends were, the more I realized that I might need to tell them the truth soon. I could not continue to lie to them; they did not deserve betrayal.

With a small sigh, Tristan nodded. "Alright..."

"Hey! Check this out, guys!" Joey was hunched over the ground, inspecting some scattered Duel Monsters cards by our feet.

"Where did all these cards come from!"

"Hey, hands off," said Tristan, kneeling down next to him so he could collect his cards. I blinked and bent down to pick one up that was right on my shoe. It was a trap card that negated another trap card's effect.

"Tristan, that's awesome!" said Yugi, smiling excitedly up at his friend. "Why didn't you tell us you were practicing to become a duelist too?"

Tristan quickly gathered up all his cards back into his deck and grinned sheepishly. "I wanted to make sure that I could do it too before showing off my skills," he said.

I returned the card that I had. "You have a great selection," I said. "This card will be quite useful in a tight spot."

"Thanks, Sarah! I had a feeling this card would come in handy."

"Heeey..." Joey was staring strangely at a card that he had picked up before inspecting it more closely. It was a monster card depicting a red beast warrior with beady yellow eyes and two horns on the top of his head. "I've seen this card somewhere before..."

Yugi blinked, also finding the card intriguing. Then his eyes lit up as he thought of something. "I think there's one like it in your deck, Joey," he said.

"Let me see..." Joey quickly searched through his deck of cards until he got to a similar looking beast warrior, but this one was green.

"Would you look at that, I really do have one almost like it," said Joey excitedly. "They're practically brothers! But I bet my Swamp Battleguard is stronger."

"Ahah, yeah right!" Tristan smirked at his friend's challenge. "My Lava Battleguard is an ace. You'll see!"

"Oh? You wanna duel?"

"Nah, man. I'm sayin' that you should put him in your deck - try them out together!"

Joey blinked. "Wow, really? Thanks, man!" He held the two cards side-by-side and grinned. "It does say that they do best together..."

"Reminds me of Joey and Tristan," I said. Though I did not know them for very long, I did notice them having similar expressions at times, or similar actions. They practically mirrored each other.

Téa giggled. "There is a resemblance between them and their muscleheads."

"Yeah, yeah," said Joey. "I take that as a compliment!"

"Strength is a good thing," I said, agreeing with Joey.

He grinned.

We were now at some plains where we could see many duelists wandering. A small group of girls were sitting by a patch of flowers, talking amongst themselves. Another small group of friends ran over to a couple of duelists, probably to challenge them. It seemed like such a peaceful sight, what with the orange and purple sky now overhead from the setting sun, and the duelists roaming around and playing amongst themselves. I would have love for this tournament to be of simple game and not treachery.

"It's nice to see some normal duelists now, after all the crazy duels we've faced," said Yugi.

"Maybe Joey should go duel one of them," suggested Tristan. "He could try out his new combo of monsters against them."

"Hmm..." The blond held his chin in his hand as he thought about that idea.

"They might have crazy strategies of their own," I said. Joey grew pale at the thought.

"Aw, don't scare him," said Téa in a teasing manner. Joey shook his head, pulling the colour back into his face, and playfully glared at his friend.

"Should we look for some toddlers for him to duel?" Tristan asked jokingly. Joey redirected his glare at Tristan.

"He's just biding his time until he can find a dueling monkey to challenge," said Téa. Yugi covered his mouth in an attempt to stifle his bubbling laughter, but both Tristan and Téa found no need to. They laughed outloud, and this angered Joey even more.

I watched him carefully as he began to tremble with rage. His friends enjoyed teasing him... but it looks like he takes it to heart...

The blond gritted his teeth. "Guys...!"

Suddenly, we hear a different kind of laughter, and its voice was quite familiar. Immediately, Joey's anger turned to annoyance after recognizing who's laugh it was.

"Don't tell me..." He slowly turned around, and sure enough, Mai Valentine was standing before us with a smug look on her face and her hands on her hips as though she meant business. Where did she come from? She might not have been too happy with how her duel against Joey went, but she looked ready, nonetheless: ready to prove herself all over again.

"Hello, Joseph," said Mai, although her greeting sounded more like a taunt. She looked the same as ever, but maybe a bit more worried now because Joey - a beginner in the game - defeated her. "Glad to see me?"

"Ecstatic," said Joey, sarcastically.

"My, my. Still in the game, are you? But let me guess, your friends were with you wherever you went, isn't that right? Were you ducks in a past life?"

"I defeated you in our duel fair and square, even after your little parlour trick," said Joey, ignoring the remark about ducks. If this situation wasn't so unfriendly, then I would have found it quite cute. "Why are you here bothering us now?"

"Because the only reason why you won was because Yugi was there," said Mai, so straightforwardly that even Yugi, as calm as he was, looked concerned.

"Yugi...?"

"That's right. If you didn't have Yugi holding your hand throughout the entire match, you would have easily been defeated by my Harpies!"

"That's not true!" said Yugi, stepping forward to defend his friend. "Joey's a strong duelist, whether I'm present or not!"

"Alright... then let's prove it." Mai suddenly became quite serious. Her provoking banter did not sound like hollow teasing anymore. She wanted to put Joey under a magnifying glass.

"If you really are as tough as you say you are, let's see you duel for yourself!"

"You know what?" Joey glared. "I will prove it. I'll duel you."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Oh, you won't be dueling me," said Mai smoothly, crossing her arms. A crazy sense of déjà vu overwhelmed me, and for a moment I wondered if another ghost duelist would show up from the forest. But then I looked around and saw that there was only a single tree behind Mai. It was oddly placed in the middle of the plains, perhaps planted there to initiate the growth of trees in this area.

Mai happened to point back towards that same tree with her thumb. "You'll be dueling him. You can come out now!"

A short, familiar boy wearing a red cap with "DK" written on it walked into view from behind the tree. He held a bag by its strings over his shoulder, and a smug smirk was plastered onto his face.

"So I get to duel an amateur, huh?" said Mai's friend. "Bet you don't even know who I am, punk."

He was quite rude for someone who was nice on the boat.

"It's Rex Raptor..." said Yugi, with wide eyes.

"What... Dino Brain?" said Joey. "I bet he isn't as tough as he thinks he is."

"Joey...!" said Téa in a warning tone. "Do you not remember who he is? He's the guy who came second in the Regional Champions last week!"

Joey did not seem fazed.

"What's it gonna be, Joey?" asked Mai. "You gonna duel? Or do you need to make sure with Yugi first?"

That bothered even me, so I couldn't imagine what Joey must have been feeling. His pride as a duelist was being questioned, and Joey was the type who wouldn't let something like that go, no matter who it was that was questioning his skills in the first place.

"No way!" said the blond. "I'm ready!"

"Really, man, pick your battles!" urged Tristan.

"Think about who you're dueling," said Téa. "Is it worth proving whatever it is you want to prove to Mai by dueling Rex?"

"Oh, and by the way..." piped Mai. Tristan and Téa stopped arguing, and looked at their challenger angrily. "If Yugi helps Joey in any way, he is automatically disqualified and Rex wins the duel."

"What...!" Yugi's violet eyes darted between Mai and Joey. "It isn't like I help him choose his cards, Mai!"

"But you still help the guy," said Mai. "And it doesn't really matter now... because Joey has already accepted. Didn't you?"

Everyone looked at Joey, expecting him to back away from this ridiculous duel, but his unchanged expression only made them more worried.

"Yeah, I did," he said.

"Joey..."

"I have to, Yugi," said Joey. "Even if it costs me everything I have, because if I win using help from someone else, then I don't have the right to have any of these Star Chips. I need to hold my own, and prove that I am worthy of being called a duelist. I can't be told what to do and what not to do all the time."

"Joey, you've lost it," said Tristan suddenly. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch you throw your chips away, not for something like this. Mai, he's not gonna go through with it."

"Damn it, Tristan! Stay out of this already!" The anger that was building up inside Joey from the moment everyone started teasing him to the moment where they tried to pull him back from his decision of dueling suddenly burst. He punched Tristan hard in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"What is wrong with you?" said Tristan, as he held his cheek. "We're only trying to help!"

"Yeah, well you can help by keeping your comments to yourself!"

There was silence. Both Téa and Yugi didn't know what to say, and I was in no position to be saying anything in the first place, so I certainly couldn't talk to Joey or Tristan. With a huff, Tristan got up, and I had to stop myself from stepping forward to check on his wound. This was a rather delicate situation.

"Then go ahead," he said harshly. "Do whatever you want, even it means losing the chance to save your sister."

Without another word, Tristan walked away. I expected Joey to retract everything after what Tristan just said, but he didn't even show any signs of backing down. He was going to go through with it, regardless.

"W-Wait... you guys can't fight..." said Téa.

"Let him go," said Joey.

"But... Joey..."

"Yugi, no offense, but I'd like for you to stay out of this one."

The other was going to say something, but after realizing that no matter what he might say won't change his mind, Yugi sighed. "Alright..." he said quietly.

Yugi did not like this idea. I don't think it was because he didn't have faith in Joey's abilities. I think he was concerned because Joey made the decision to duel based on his emotion. Even if it was a good thing to prove to yourself and everyone around you that you are capable, riled emotions tend to blind duelists and cause them to make rash decisions. Joey might end up throwing the match from careless mistakes.

He needed support from his friends, to let him know that he didn't have to burden everything on his own. That his friends were there to lend him a hand in many different ways, and that included providing insight into his duels. He was still learning the game, after all. But he wanted to do it on his own.

He must have also wanted to do it for his sister. If Serenity knew that Joey didn't do it on his own... then he wouldn't seem as dependable.

"Alright," said Joey. "Let's go."

"Then it's dino feeding time!"

A large arena with "45" written on the side unfolded from within the ground behind Rex. The smaller duelist tossed his bag at the base of the tree and ran to his side of the arena. Mai smirked as she watched him go, while we were left to worry about Joey.

"Okay, Joey," started Téa. "Since you've agreed to this, we have no choice but to back you up. Good luck."

Joey simply nodded without saying anything before walking over to his end of the dueling arena. Yugi and Téa exchanged glances with one another.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Sarah," said Téa, surprising me. "That wasn't acceptable attitude."

"Brothers fight sometimes," I said softly, hoping that they wouldn't mind me saying that.

Yugi smiled sadly. "Yeah," he said.

At the mention of brothers, I remembered when my own brother and I used to fight when we were young. We often had our little skirmishes, but in the end, we always made up. Should I try and talk to Tristan since I could relate? Was it even my place to go to his side in a time like this?

I was going to ask Yugi if it was alright, but with one look at his face and I realized that he was going to go instead. This was probably for the best, because I didn't know their situation as much as Yugi did. He understood his friends more than I did.

I shouldn't try to do everything.

"Alright, Wheeler! Ready to get stomped back into the Stone Age?" remarked Rex with a smirk.

"You're the one who's gonna go back to the Stone Age, pal!" said Joey.

"Then how many Star Chips do you wager on this little battle of ours? I say two!"

"In that case, I'm going to double my chips by the end of this duel!"

"Then let's go!"

The boys set their decks down onto their dueling mats, and the duel arena activated. Rainbow lights shimmered on the holographic projectors.

LP: Joey: 2000/Rex: 2000

"Two Star Chips?" said Téa, astonished. "He's betting everything on this duel... Gosh, I really hope he knows what he's doing...!"

"He'll be fine," said Yugi, and as quick and short as his answer was, it was even more heartfelt, like he really meant it. Of course he would believe in Joey because he was still friends with him. He might have been troubled about what Joey did, but he wasn't going to be angry about it, it just wasn't right. He understood what Joey wanted.

Yugi understood both his friends really well.

"Hey, guys," started Yugi. "I'm gonna go check on something. Cheer Joey on for us!" Without a second more, Yugi bounded towards the trees where we saw Tristan walk away to.

"W-Wait - Yugi!" Téa called after him, but the other didn't turn around, and instead disappeared into the brush. Téa sighed. "Right when Joey needs him the most..."

"I think he is fulfilling Joey's wish," I said.

Téa sighed, finding her handle on the three boys slipping. She was quite strong to have held on for so long in the first place. They seemed like quite the handful. "That hot headed..." She didn't finish her sentence, but I could sense her frustration.

"We can cheer him on for them," I said, trying to be helpful. It seemed to work, because Téa smiled a bit.

"Thanks, Sarah," she said. "I don't know what I would do without another girl around."

"I haven't had a female friend before," I blurted from out of nowhere, realizing that it was a sad truth. It even sent a sharp pain through my chest that I didn't know what to make of. "It's nice to have one."

Téa smiled warmly at me. "It is," she said.

I tried to think back to my old life in Ancient Egypt. Did I have any female friends? I think I was with many people my age, but I was never able to make someone a good friend, as I had done with the Pharaoh. I just didn't have the same duties as the other girls who were working in the palace, so while they chatted easily to each other at the same time as they worked, I was always on guard with the Pharaoh and that was how we became good friends.

If I become friends with everyone now... then they could be my first ever friends...

I thought that to be quite ironic: here they were giving me a test to becoming their friend on my accord, but the more time I spent with them, the more I wish we could be friends that much faster. Since the Pharaoh was now a part of Yugi, and Yugi himself was friends with all these people, we could not work alone. Not anymore. The Pharaoh needed Yugi and his friends.

My eyes widened.

We needed Yugi and his friends.

I squeezed the strap on my duffel bag. I needed to pass their test. I had to. We couldn't do it without them.

"Remember, Raptor!" said Mai, who was standing off to the side. "You have to beat Joey in order to have a chance of dueling me."

"So that's why you're doing this?" asked Joey. "I thought it was weird that Mai wanted me to duel you, Rex. Jeez, you're like her attack dog!"

"Better than a dueling monkey, Wheeler!" retorted Rex. Joey seethed. The poor boy was running into the same label over and over again - he was on the verge of exploding.

"I'll start this match off!" Joey drew the first card of the duel and then looked through his cards. The angry look on his face soon melted away and what replaced it was a small grin. It looked like Joey drew something good.

He held up a card. "I play Baby Dragon in Defence Mode!" The little orange dragon puffed onto the field with its wings tucked in behind him. The little guy only had 700 Defence Points. Rex blinked.

"You're kidding," he said, dejectedly. "I think dragons are cool, but even I can tell he ain't that powerful, even with the Field Power Bonus." Rex drew his first card. "I summon my Two-Headed King Rex!"

I watched the incredible beast appear onto the field; a two-headed dinosaur, as the name suggested. Its Attack Points increased to 2080 because of the Field Power Bonus. That was a lot of points - Baby Dragon had no chance against it.

"Stomp that baby, King Rex!"

As the eyes of the young dragon bulged out of his sockets at the sight of the great terror before him, King Rex picked up one of his giant feet and squashed the poor little dragon into a puff of pixels.

"And just like that, he's toast!"

Although Joey's Life Points were safe, his face said he lost something big.

"Wait, I... I didn't get to play my combo!" he cried.

It was then I realized why Joey was so happy when he drew his cards; he must have drawn both Baby Dragon and Time Wizard. He had the tools for a good combo, and the same combo that won him his last duel, but he just did not execute it properly.

Quietly, I smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. Emotions. He was still running on emotions, and he wasn't thinking ahead. If he didn't start thinking ahead from now on, he was going to lose the duel.

"It's alright, Joey!" urged Téa. "You can still do this! Everyone makes mistakes!"

"Yeah, but not a mistake like this!" laughed Rex. "Even toddlers know to not defend on the first turn - you rookie!"

Joey bared his teeth and growled.

To add to the fire, Mai felt like she needed to add in her share of backlash. "His biggest mistake was agreeing to this duel in the first place," she said with a smirk. "And now he's gonna have to go through with it."

"Don't worry, pal," said Rex. "I'll go easy on ya, but I just can't say the same about my dinosaurs. Especially Two-Headed King Rex."

"Not a problem," said Joey, but he was sweating. "I'll just play something else. I summon Leogun in Attack Mode!"

I blinked. Why would Joey play a weaker monster than his opponent's?

"You idiot!" cackled Rex, confusing Joey. "King Rex, show Leogun who's boss!"

Rex's monster roared at the charging lion, and with one simple swing of his tail, he sent Leogun flying off the dueling arena. He burst into pixels before he could reach the edge, and Joey's mouth fell as his Life Points plummeted.

LP: Joey: 1670/Rex: 2000

"What the... but how!"

"Joey, Rex's monster has a Field Power Bonus!" said Téa, realizing that Joey must have completely forgotten about it. It would make sense why he played such a reckless move.

Joey's eyes widened, and suddenly, his confidence flew away and genuine fear replaced it.

"Damn it... I still don't understand much about this bonus thing..." said the blond as he nervously scratched his neck.

"Then why are you playing?" sneered Rex. Joey paled.

"Ignore him!" I said, and Joey's eyes met mine. Yugi had left us to cheer Joey on in his stead, so that was what we had to do. "Think carefully about the math, and it should come easy in no time. This was your first and last mistake - once you understand the Field Power Bonus, it will not happen again."

"I never was good at math..."

"You can do it."

Joey seemed to relax a bit. Maybe now he would leave his emotions behind and focus on thinking about the duel properly like he was supposed to. He needed to pull together all that he knew about Pegasus' rules and Duel Monsters in order to strategize and play the duel.

"It's easy!" retorted Rex. "Whatever field your monsters are best on, they get a Field Power Bonus. My King Rex does better on the wilderness field, which just so happens to be part of the conditions on this dueling arena. So of course my monster gets a huge bonus!"

"Rex is right," I said. "Think carefully about what your monsters -"

"Hey!" Mai's sharp voice cut mine off before I could finish what I was saying. Her glare was fierce. "Just because I said Yugi couldn't help, doesn't mean that you are allowed to. You've chosen your side, Sarah, now you must honour the rules I've set."

"Rules?" I crossed my arms and matched Mai's glare with one of my own. She was surprised, but didn't change her posture. "The only rules in this tournament are set by Pegasus. You're a duelist within this tournament, so you are not allowed to simply make your own rules as you see fit."

"A duelist must honour customized rules in a duel," said Mai. "We all have conditions, and for this duel, Joey has agreed to mine. This is all just a game, anyway."

"Then why are there sides?"

Mai first blinked, but then she continued to hold her ground. "Sarah, you're fighting a pro at the game you've forgotten all about."

She dared to attack me about my amnesia.

"At least I know how to fight."

Mai became furious.

"Rex, beat this cracker and fast so we can get out of here!"

"Alright, but I'll help him out a little bit," said Rex. Mai fumed, but said nothing. She didn't want Joey to have any more help than he's already had. "My side is wilderness while yours is mountains. Now think about what monsters will be good on that field, cool?"

"Yeah... cool..." Joey was hesitant, possibly wondering if he could trust Rex. When he looked towards me, I gave him a small nod to tell him that he was right. This seemed to ease Joey, and he got himself ready for the next turn.

"I hope I have this Field Power Bonus thing figured out..." we heard Joey murmur. "I summon Axe Raider in Attack Mode!"

A muscular man wearing armour while brandishing a large axe materialized onto the field. His Attack Points were at first very low, compared to Rex's dinosaur monster, but as soon as the Field Power Bonus was applied and Axe Raider's points shot up to 2210, we all knew who would win this round.

"Good choice, Joey!" cheered Téa.

"Yeah! I... I think I did it! Attack, Axe Raider!"

The man swung his axe with a battle cry and shattered Rex's dinosaur monster upon impact. Rex watched his Life Points fall, but he seemed more annoyed than angry about it.

LP: Joey: 1670/Rex: 1870

"No more hints for you," he said callously. Then he quickly played another monster. "Sword Arm of Dragon! Cut his Axe Raider down!" A large, orange dinosaur with a spikes poking out of its back and a long, sharp tail appeared onto the field in a cloud of dust. It roared challengingly at Joey's monster, and its Attack Points were higher.

After its call of attack, the dinosaur swung its large tail at the warrior and it burst into pixels. Joey's eyes widened as he watched his Life Points fall once again.

LP: Joey: 1605/Rex: 1870

"That's three monsters already," I noted with concern.

"Joey, don't worry!" cheered Téa. "We're all right behind you!"

Hmm... but half the team isn't here... I looked into the direction that both Tristan and Yugi had disappeared to. Yugi must have been trying to talk to Tristan about what had happened. I hoped that they would come back soon. Téa and I couldn't give Joey the type of reassurance that he gets from Yugi and Tristan. He needed the whole team here.

I saw regret in Joey's eyes. He was beginning to think that what Tristan said was right, but he couldn't say anything about it now. His fists suddenly clenched, and he tried his best to veer himself away from such thoughts. Right now, he knew that he needed to focus. And he had to choose a side in order to do so. So, he must have stuck with what he had originally thought in order to push through the duel.

Whether it was the right choice or not, we wouldn't know for now. We watched honey-coloured eyes race across familiar cards before finally finding one to play. Joey played it faced down, but he still said what it was.

"I place Time Wizard onto the field!" he said. His voice sounded confident, but his body language was telling me that he was a little hesitant about that play.

"Watch out for that card's effect," Mai suddenly said to Rex.

"Hmph." Rex smirked, as if Mai's warning didn't mean anything. "Don't worry about it. He probably doesn't even know how to use it properly. Finish your move!"

Joey gritted his teeth, biting back fighting words. "I'm gonna play Rock Ogre in Defence Mode. Now it's your turn."

A stone statue made of sectioned blocks sat down on one knee before Joey's podium, protecting his Life Points from taking a hit. At least he was being safe this turn, even though his monster only had 1200 Defence Points.

"That little guy is nothing compared to my dinosaurs," said Rex boastfully. "I summon Megazowler!" A large triceratops with spikes all over his back and across its sides materialized onto the field with a loud huff. For it's size, it had a lot of Attack Points - 1800, to be exact, but before the bonus was applied. It had more than enough to wipe out Joey's defence.

"Smash Rock Ogre to pieces!" Rex's monster scraped the ground with its foot and veered back, ready to charge. Then it barrelled towards Joey's monster, and with the horns on his nose, destroyed Rock Ogre. Because of the defensive position, Joey didn't lose Life Points, however, he was still in need of a strong, offensive monster. One that could fit all the criteria of the field being played on.

As Joey watched with despair when his monster was sent to the Graveyard, Rex once again pressed him under his shoe. "See, Mai? He's a rookie. He doesn't know how to use that card. I think he won by pure luck during your duel."

Mai, who was standing off to the side with her arms crossed relaxed at Rex's words. She began to think that Joey really wasn't that big of a deal since the beginning. Then she smirked, and I knew what it was for. This just proved her claim that Joey really couldn't do anything without Yugi.

'Come on, Joey, you can disprove her snobbish theory...' I wanted Joey to win so he could help his sister, but he couldn't do it while leaning on someone else's shoulder. He needed to stand beside the person who was helping him in order for all his hard work to count for something. Joey needed to put in his own effort the most, but he was still just a beginner.

"Joey," I said suddenly, surprising even myself, let alone the people around me. Joey looked down at me anxiously, as if I would finally give him some ideas on how to defeat Rex and get him out of this mess. But his eyes also held disbelief at the fact that that would happen.

"Prove to us that your one week of practice has taught you a lot more than simply asking for help."

My words struck a chord within Joey, because his eyes widened at what I said. His honey-coloured eyes darkened thoughtfully as they looked down at his shoes. The conflict within his heart dissipated into a far memory, and he found a conclusion: use all the knowledge that he gained from his previous duels to win his future duels. One could only learn from one's mistakes.

"Got it..." he said with a smile. Then he nodded to say thanks, and Téa patted my shoulder, telling me that what I said was the right thing to say. It was then I finally released the breath I found myself holding. I was tense about whether or not what I was going to say would be appropriate, but I guess it was alright. And it seemed to have helped Joey without being too direct.

He needed to become a stronger duelist, one that didn't need the reassurance of his friends' presence or words to win. He needed to do this... for his sister.

Rex blinked. "What's gotten into you?" he asked. "Did I beat you too much?"

"No, man, I was just thinking." Joey suddenly smirked, his newfound confidence bursting to the surface like the morning sun. "I learned something a long while back, and I can't believe I'm remembering it now. Dinosaurs are weak against fire, aren't they?"

Rex blinked once more, this time looking more concerned. "How do you..."

"Have I got a strategy for you! Come on out, Flame Swordsman!"

During one of his lessons with Yugi's grandpa, Joey learned some helpful hints about monster types. He learned random tidbits that day - anything that Mr. Muto could remember off the top of his head. One of those little bits of information included the fact that dinosaurs were vulnerable against fire. It decreased their Attack Strength during a battle.

In this case, after applying the Field Power Bonus, both Joey's Flame Swordsman and Rex's Megazowler have 2340 Attack Points, but that tie would break once Flame Swordsman attacks.

A muscular swordsman wielding a large, brightly lit, orange sword then materialized onto the field in a fiery storm, surprising all of us by his ferocity. Just within its presence, Megazowler's attack strength fell, as if the burning embers surrounding his opponent did some damage before the actual attack. Power radiated from this powerful monster, and Joey was excited to see the tables finally turning in his favour. Rex's eyes widened.

"Damn it... he had such a powerful monster in his deck?!"

Mai squinted her eyes. "I don't remember seeing him during our duel," she said.

"That's because I beat you - fair and square, by the way - before I got the chance to play it," said Joey with a smirk on his face. He didn't seem like he was struggling a few moments ago. It was nice to see him being his confident self again.

Mai humphed and crossed her arms.

"Now then, since introductions have been made..." Joey pointed out towards Megazowler. "Flame Swordsman! Attack Rex's monster!"

In response to the command, the Flame Swordsman summoned all the flames around him to encircle his sword, causing the blade to become burning hot. It glowed beautifully with magic and energy. A battle cry escaped the warrior's lips as he charged towards Rex's massive dinosaur, and with a swing of his large sword, the monster was cut in half and destroyed.

"Way to go, Joey!" cheered Téa, a bright smile on her face.

"An excellent move!" I said, also excited for him. It felt good to watch Joey pick up after being pushed down for so long. I could only imagine what he must have been feeling. With this monster, he could have a really good chance of standing up to Rex and his dinos.

LP: Joey: 1605/Rex: 1330

Rex watched as his Life Points dropped. There was a significant difference between both monsters' Attack Points after the fire effect was activated. It was a huge chunk to lose all at once, and Rex's eyes narrowed at the thought.

"You got lucky," he said harshly. He drew his next card, and suddenly, he seemed more conserved. He was probably thinking about how he had to be more careful.

"Luck had nothing to do with that, and you know it," said Joey proudly. Then he pointed to his chest. "That was all heart."

"Just because you've got a powerful monster on the field now," Rex grumbled. Then he slapped a card down onto the dueling mat. "I place a card in defence mode. That ends my turn."

It was another Sword Arm of Dragon, but this time, instead of standing with its tail ready to attack, it was bracing itself, ready for an attack. This dinosaur, that I considered to be quite terrifying during its first turn was now the one being attacked during its second turn. I was reminded by how it took only one turn to change things completely around.

Joey grinned. "Now you're the one defending," he said. "Flame Swordsman, attack!"

Once again, we watched as Joey's swordsman sliced right through Rex's dinosaur. He didn't lose any Life Points, but he was still quite agitated that he was at such a large disadvantage.

His eye had begun to twitch as he looked at the new card he had drawn.

"Looks like he still didn't draw something helpful," I said, noting Rex's annoyance.

Téa nodded. "Yeah, but this gives Joey a really good chance to keep him under his thumb," she said. And although that was true, the reality was that Joey wouldn't be able to move forward until he could put another major dent in Rex's Life Points.

"How about this one?" Rex summoned another monster to the field, again in defence mode. It was Crawling Dragon #2, a black scaled dinosaur with large, sharp teeth protruding from its open mouth that looked like they could rip through anything. His beady, green eyes moved back and forth between Joey and his monster. Then it held up its claws and roared ferociously. This dinosaur didn't want to go down without a fight.

It didn't even enough Defence Points for a standoff.

"That's right, Raptor, keep throwing monsters at me!" Joey said. The smirk on his face was overconfident, which only told me that he didn't have a backup plan in mind because he was too excited about his wins against Rex's powerful dinosaurs. Even though I wanted to tell him to have something on the side just in case, I knew I couldn't say anything. Mai would insist that I would be directly helping him and would order the match to be over with Rex being the winner. I didn't want to do that to Joey so I kept my mouth shut.

I just wished that he didn't let this sudden lead get to his head.

"Flame Swordsman, you know what to do!" Just like a rehearsed scene, Joey's swordsman rushed at Rex's new monster and sliced him in half just like the others. The dinosaur disappeared, along with Rex's hopes.

"Raptor, think of something!" shouted Mai, scaring Rex so much he nearly jumped out of his socks. The poor boy looked through his hand of cards more desperately now.

"I'm trying, damn it! But I just can't get a break!" Rex drew his next card and groaned, not finding anything this time either.

"I play Uraby in Defence Mode. I can't look."

Joey rubbed his hands together, as if ready to conduct a magic trick. His face was going to be stuck with a permanent grin on his face if he continued to smile like that.

"I'm gonna do something a little different this turn," he said, surprising everyone. "I summon Swamp Battleguard to the field!"

When the green beast emerged onto the field, Téa and I exchanged glances.

"He must be thinking of a backup plan," I said hopefully, thankful that he hadn't let his guard down during his lead.

"Oh, that's good," said Téa.

"And now..." Joey stopped talking for dramatic effect. I had the urge to face-palm but controlled it. "Attack Raptor's raptor!"

Indeed the newly summoned monster on Rex's side of the field was a raptor, the size of a wardrobe, and it looked like it was about to get a beating. The Flame Swordsman attacked Rex's monster and, once again, left his field empty.

"I have to admit that this is nice," said Joey, smirking at Rex's narrowed eyes directed at him.

"This isn't over!" shouted Rex. He roughly drew his next card and - for the first time in a handful of turns - smirked when he saw what it was.

"There! This is what I've been waiting for!" He slammed his card down onto his dueling mat. "Serpent Night Dragon! You're up!"

From within a cloud of darkness materialized a dragon monster with slanted, red eyes and long, sharp claws. Its long body circled many spaces on the dueling field, living up to its attack strength of 2350 - very close to Joey's Swamp Battleguard who received 2340 points after the bonus. Both of Joey's monsters now had 2340 - and that was a powerful attack system. But Rex's newest monster had just 10 more Attack Points, and that was all that was needed to make a difference.

Joey's face visibly fell at the sight of the terrifying beast, and its equally terrifying power.

"Nice! This is what I'm talking about!" said Mai, the smirk she liked to wear now returning to her face. I could feel my chest growing hot with concern. Joey would only lose a few Life Points for now, but in the long run, he will lose powerful monsters.

Joey was so surprised, he couldn't say anything.

"Not talking now, huh? Well, that's just too bad! I would really like to hear what you have to say about this monster! Serpent Night Dragon, attack that rookie's flame-man!"

Rex's monster had a strange but very powerful attack. It opened its mouth and produced sharp arcs of sound waves that sliced through the air and right through Flame Swordsman, destroying him immediately. Such a terrifying monster had an equally terrifying attack. I felt shivers go up my spine from hearing the high-pitch created with each soundwave. After the attack, it was ironically very quiet for a moment. Everyone was still processing what had happened. Poor Joey was at a loss for words as he looked at his field forlornly. He had just lost his best monster.

LP: Joey: 1595/Rex: 1330

"Did you see the moves on that monster?" cackled Rex. "That card was given as a prize for second place during the Regionals! You're lucky that you got to see it - not many people have!"

"I don't think he wants to see that monster on the field anymore..." said Téa carefully. I slowly nodded.

"That was quite a hit," I said a little quietly. "I hope he doesn't lose faith in himself because of this setback."

"Oh, he will lose himself alright," said Mai rather presumptuously. "There's no way he's going to win this duel. Rex just has really good monsters."

"We all know that strong monsters aren't the only things needed to win a duel," I said, narrowing my eyes slightly at the blonde. "We'll just see where this goes."

"We will indeed, little lady," said Mai.

"Come on, Joey, you can defeat any monster that Rex throws your way!" cheered Téa, trying to cheer her friend up. We could see that Joey was visibly upset, sweating nervously as he acknowledged Téa's support and drew his next card. But then he surprised us when we watched his eyes widen with disbelief at the sight of the new card.

I blinked. What could he have drawn to make him stop? Had he come up with an idea?

It seemed like he was thinking about something. He was deep in thought, and then he gave the card a soft smile, as if realizing something important. He was accepting something as the truth, and was treasuring that feeling. I could tell because I had seen my mum look at my worried father that same way when I was little.

She noticed me watching secretly that time, and when I asked her about it, she said that she was accepting how my father was always concerned about his family, and how he had always wanted to keep us safe. The smile I had seen on her face that day was from the warmth she felt from father caring about her so deeply. Even though she already knew, at times it must really strike her as something that was really true. She was always so deeply touched about it that she would often smile while just thinking about it.

I felt strongly that Joey's gentle smile was for the same thing. It was the same look in his eyes that I had seen many times in my mother's eyes, and the small smile on his face only reassured what I had already been thinking.

And as I was thinking it, Tristan himself walked up beside us with Yugi right behind him. He looked calmer than before, and he was looking up at Joey with a confident grin rather than a sour face.

He had put the fight behind him.

"Hey, Joey! It looks like you're in a bit of a bind here!" he shouted, driving Joey back into attention. The blond first looked around him before realizing that the voice actually came from below, at the sidelines. Once his eyes met Tristan's, he blinked.

"Huh? You're back..."

"That's right, I can't leave my brother hanging," said Tristan. He winked at me and I blinked. "So, how about it? Ready to test my card out?"

Joey blinked, looking once at his card before turning back to his friend. Then he smiled excitedly and pumped the air with his fist.

"You bet!"

Yugi and Téa shared a knowing smile, and I couldn't help myself but to smile too.

Tristan and Joey were pals again. It was amazing how Tristan could tell Joey was holding the card he gave him before the fight just from looking at his face, but I suppose that just showed how close they were.

And that meant that my hunch was correct: Joey was smiling thoughtfully at the card Tristan gave him, and he was probably thinking about how lucky he was for having a caring friend like him.

"I play Lava Battleguard in Attack Mode!" A mirror image of Joey's Swamp Battleguard - besides the red skin - materialized onto the field. Tristan reeled back.

"Whoa, my card's on the field!" he said excitedly.

"Good for you guys, you've reunited," said Rex a little impatiently. "I've still got the strongest monster on the field, so you summoning another beast doesn't make a difference to me. Serpent Night Dragon, attack Swamp Battleguard!"

Serpent Night Dragon started up his attack again, shooting waves of sound energy at the green beast monster, again with the same intense piercing noise as before. Just as the arcs were about to slice Swamp Battleguard in half, an amazing thing occurred. Lava Battleguard stepped in front of his friend and blocked the attack with his heavy club. As the attacks were rebounded, they bounced right back to their source - Rex's Serpent Night Dragon. In a shower of its own sound arcs, the dragon was pierced into tiny little pixelated pieces.

Rex's mouth dropped in horror.

LP: Joey: 1595/Rex: 0840

"What?!" he cried. "That was one of my strongest beasts! How did it lose to a pair of muscleheads!"

We stared up at the pair of Battleguards in amazement.

"No way..." said Téa with disbelief.

"Oh! Lava Battleguard blocked the attack for Swamp Battleguard!" said Tristan.

"Tristan's card was right there when I needed it the most..." said Joey.

Yugi smiled at both his friends as they slowly began to realize just how this situation connected with them. "They're like best friends, aren't they?" he said. "And if they're best friends, they look out for each other. That's what friends do, after all."

"Just like... how you and Joey help each other out, right?" I said. Tristan blinked. Then he looked up at Joey and smiled.

"That's what bein' a buddy is all about..." said Tristan.

"Thanks, man," said Joey as he grinned. "I owe you one!"

Tristan gave his close friend a thumbs up.

How cool... I thought. They came back together so quickly because they came to an understanding. Tristan and Joey both understood each other, and that was why they were still the same friends as before, even after the altercation.

The bond between them must have been unbreakable.

"What a team," said Téa with a smile, her ocean blue eyes sparkling under the sun. "Not only did they beat such a powerful monster by working together, but they also made a nice dent in Rex's Life Points."

"Yeah, and now that they're back together..." said Yugi, smiling apprehensively while looking at the two friends.

"There's not a monster that can stop us!" cried Joey.

"Yeah, let's keep powering each other up!" said Tristan.

"Hmph, you guys just keep getting lucky," said Rex suddenly, cutting into their reunion. "I can't believe you took out such a strong monster with a couple of puny apes. You won't get away with this play, Wheeler!"

"Oh, dream on!" said Joey with a smirk. "You just can't handle teamwork - even when you and Mai are working together!"

"And I'm starting to think back on it..." grumbled Rex as he eyed Mai carefully. Mai glared dangerously back at her "partner".

"Rex, you'd better think of another strategy if you want that rematch," she said straightforwardly. Nobody on our side said anything. That was a matter between the two of them, but I could see Joey was resisting the urge to say something, probably to make fun of them both.

"Don't even worry about it, my deck is loaded with strong monsters. I just had bad luck the past few turns before drawing Serpent Night Dragon. I'm sure I'll come up with something during this turn."

Rex drew a new card.

"Your team of beast cards have a good offensive trap set up," said Rex. "But let's see how long you can hold it. I summon Trakodon in Defence Mode!"

A raptor-like dragon with blue stripes on its arms and legs appeared onto Rex's side of the field. It wasn't any bigger than the two Battleguards on Joey's field. Joey rubbed his hands together.

"Easy! Lava Battleguard! Do some damage!"

Lava Battleguard charged in and clubbed the poor dragon into the ground until it dispersed into pixels.

"The Field Power Bonus that both monsters gained from being together on a field that they do best on has made them quite a duo," said Yugi.

"Yeah, and since they took out Rex's strongest monster, there's nothing else in Rex's deck to beat them!" said Tristan.

"Ha!"

Everyone turned to Rex, who seemed to find this way of thinking amusing. I felt unsettled from his laugh.

Losing a monster was quite significant to a duelist, because it removed the monster from play by moving it to the Graveyard, and out of reach for accessibility for specific strategies. Rex now had a Graveyard full of monsters, so it made me wonder what kind of monsters were still left in his deck. Most of the monsters that we've seen were quite normal, and we've only seen a couple of potentially strong beasts.

What else did he have?

"I said that Serpent Night Dragon was one of my best monsters," said Rex with smirk. Then he drew his next card, and suddenly even the look in his eyes changed. He seemed as though he knew he would win against Joey with whatever he drew.

"The best monster from my deck is in my hand right now. It's a dragon, but of a different sort - and one you won't be able to win against. I summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

A rush of cold wind surged over the arena as a black-scaled dragon flew down from the sky and landed on Rex's field with a tremble. Its glowing red eyes were piercing, and it stretched its wings as far as they could go, displaying its overbearing power to Joey's monsters. Then it let out a gut-wrenching roar. And just without the Field Power Bonus, the massive dragon had 2400 Attack Points.

"A what dragon?!" shouted Yugi, shock and surprise written all over his face. He seemed to have heard about it before, but its existence was unbelieveable.

"Kaiba has similar dragons..." noted Téa, her voice was quiet. "But they were Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Does this dragon...?"

"Yes..." I nodded solemnly, finishing her thought. "The Red-Eyes Black Dragon is in the same class."

"Looks like our little Dueling Legend hasn't forgotten that little detail about Duel Monsters since her fall," said Rex in an outrageously rude tone. I placed my hands on my hips.

"Verbally attacking me now since your ego has doubled at the summoning of your precious dragon?" I asked, my sudden back-talk causing some raised eyebrows. "You should stick to battling one person at a time - this isn't a good habit of yours, Rex."

I watched his eye twitch, and felt like snickering at the sight of his befuddlement, but I kept my cool because Joey needed as much support as he could get for this monster. It was now the strongest monster that was ever played during this duel, and he needed to hold himself together if he wanted to find a way to beat it.

Speaking of Joey, the poor blond was looking at the dragon now with wide eyes. He was absolutely surprised at seeing such a powerful beast before him. He soon clenched his fists, getting used to the fact of holding in his surprise so that he could think of a strategy with a clear mind.

"And if you think it's bad enough that he's just on the field, wait until you see what I'm going to equip him with! The Dragon Nails card boosts Red-Eyes' Attack Points so high, you'll have to scrape your Battleguards off the floor after he attacks!"

Shining metal claw attachments that were sharpened to a point materialized onto Red-Eyes' claws. Its overall attack power increased to 3000.

My heart clenched uncomfortably at the sight of that large number. Now it was even stronger...

"Say 'adiós' to your groupmates!" Rex ordered his attack. "Inferno Fire Blast! Scorch those two into smithereens!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon opened its mouth and charged up a burning ball of fire between its jaws. It grew and grew until the orb of generating power had to leave its cage. The dragon reared back and then threw its head forward, shooting the giant inferno at Joey's two Battleguards. It crashed into them, incinerating them on the spot until they were nothing more than a pile of pixels.

Not only was Joey's Life Points all of a sudden really low, but we were surprised to see that instead of one Battleguard being defeated, both of them were at the same time.

LP: Joey: 0235/Rex: 0840

"What... how did your dragon beat my monsters together?" asked Joey.

"They defended together, didn't they?" said Rex smugly, as if that would answer Joey's question. "Effect monsters that defend together, die together."

"What a harsh little guy," I found myself muttering.

"Damn it... without those two, I'm done for..." said Joey.

"The field smells like the foul odour of your fried beast monsters," continued Rex. "Which monster's next?"

Joey's fists clenched tightly, and he gritted his teeth together, forcing himself to remain calm even though the situation appeared grim.

"Hang in there!" cried Téa. "You've still got lots of chances! Just think things through!"

"Joey!" called Tristan.

Joey turned to look at his friend, his honey-coloured eyes asking for help, yet at the same time, they were begging for the opposite. He knew he couldn't ask for assistance, but he still wished for some form of guidance.

"You may not have a monster to beat him with, but you sure have the smarts!"

"Yeah, don't let it intimidate you!" added Yugi.

"Dueling's more heart than anything else!" said Téa as well.

Tristan turned to me. "Any words of advice for our buddy up there?" he asked hopefully.

I blinked, wondering what I could have possibly said at a time like this that would help. Then something occurred to me, but I wondered if it was appropriate or not.

"I want to be your buddy too!" I blurted out regardless, and my heart thumped uncontrollably against my chest. "I want to be proper friends with everyone. So we have to move through the tournament together. You cannot fall behind!"

The rush of adrenaline inside me slowly began to die down as I studied everyone's looks of astonishment at my words. I knew that I had been thinking of these things beforehand, and that I thought I wouldn't mention it anytime soon, but this seemed like the perfect time to not only rattle the cage of panic over Joey that Rex put there, but to also get my feelings across. It was quite dramatic, now that I thought about it, and I wondered if it was even alright to say such things in front of Mai and Rex.

But the others heard my feelings, and they smiled with joy. I felt myself becoming even more flustered now. Would they accept what I had said?

"Really? Sarah?" asked Téa, her ocean blue eyes widened with wonder. I slowly nodded.

"I... wish to be friends with all of you..." I said, a bit more quietly now that the energy from before had left me. "I will still take the test... but I... want us to be friends..."

There. I said it. I finally said it.

"Alright!" cheered Tristan, jumping up and punching the air excitedly. He had a huge grin on his face, as did Joey. "Did you hear that, man? You can't lose now!"

"Yeah, no kidding," said the blond. "I have another reason to fight for!"

"Alright, now focus on what you're going to do," said Yugi, bringing everyone back together. Although he said that, his violet eyes were saying something different, as if he was expecting me to confess my true thoughts sooner or later. "You have to deal with Rex right now."

I wondered how he knew such things.

"Yeah, you're right..." Some of the worry appeared back into Joey's expression, but he seemed like he was thinking more clearly this time. He was getting better at controlling his emotions with each duel, and he was starting to consider all his options first rather than diving in with random moves.

We watched with high hopes that Joey could think of something soon as he scanned his hand of cards.

"Rex, are you going to nab me the victory you promised or are you going to just stand there with that dumb look on your face?"

Mai's nagging voice broke Rex out of his thoughts, causing him to glare at her from over his shoulder. He didn't say anything though, probably out of fear from being told off even more. Poor guy... the only reason why he was doing this was because Mai wanted revenge on Joey.

Suddenly, Rex's dark violet eyes widened as he thought of something. And when he smirked, I got even more suspicious.

What could he have been thinking?

"Hey, Wheeler," called Rex. Joey looked up from his cards.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"How about we make this duel even more interesting?"

"Interesting? What do you mean?"

"How about the loser of the duel hands over his rarest card to the winner?"

"Rare card? But I don't have..." Joey's eyes fell onto the unturned card on his field. He blinked.

It was then I realized: he had played Time Wizard face down since the very beginning, but he hadn't activated it yet.

"That's right," said Rex. "I want your Time Wizard. And if by any chance you win, I'll let you have my Red-Eyes."

Joey's eyes widened.

Mai suddenly became furious. "What do you think you're doing, you little twerp! You're here to win the duel not improve your deck!"

"Hey, it's my duel. Stay outta the details!"

"Rex, you dolt! I know what you're scheming!"

Oh, that's right! I thought. Rex must know that Joey won against Mai using Time Wizard. So that's why he wants it...

"So, what do you say, Wheeler? Deal? You can have the chance to add this terrifying dragon to your deck if you accept."

I saw Joey become hesitant. He was seriously considering the offer.

"You're a double-crossing snake, Rex," said Mai.

"Hey! I'm no snake! I'm a dinosaur!"

"You're no dino-"

"It's a deal!"

Joey's voice broke through Rex's argument with Mai. Mai was surprised.

"What?!"

"Yeah!" cried Rex, excitedly.

"What... is this okay...?" asked Téa.

"It's a risk he's willing to take," said Yugi, backing his friend up even though the card Joey was using as a bargaining chip was the one that Yugi gave to him.

"I hope he knows what he's doing..." said Tristan.

"The thing is... I think he does know..." I said, staring up at the determined expression on the blond's face. "He looks like he has a solid plan in mind..."

"He does?" Tristan blinked. "I thought it was a front."

"Joey's done being a rookie," said Yugi. His violet eyes were fired up. He put a lot of trust in his friend. "He knows that bluffs won't work right now."

"In that case, I wonder what he's got planned," said Téa.

"But first, Rex, I'm going to make him my weapon of choice." Joey flipped Time Wizard around, summoning the little guy to the field. "Time Wizard!"

Rex blinked - he wasn't expecting him to play it, and by the look on his face, he didn't want him to. By mentioning the deal, he reminded Joey that he still had Time Wizard on the field.

"Oh, this is the best possible option for him at this point," I said, coming to a conclusion. Yugi nodded with a smile.

"Joey figured out what he can do in this situation," he said.

"Rex, this wouldn't have happened if you had just listened to me!" said Mai, furious that Rex has a chance of losing. And her chance of making a fool out of Joey just backfired.

The little red clock-shaped monster playfully waddled around the field while waving his scepter around. There was a spinner on top of it, and I wondered what it could be for.

"I hope you're ready for the trip of a lifetime, Rex!" said Joey. "If the spinner on his scepter lands on any of the two Time Warp spaces, you're getting on the next boat off this island!"

Rex didn't seem too fazed, although he had begun to sweat a little bit. "There are more chances for you landing on one of the four Skulls, Wheeler!"

"What do the Skulls do?" asked Tristan.

"They take a chunk out of Joey's Life Points," said Yugi.

Téa blinked. "But all he has is a chunk!"

"That's why this play is so risky," I said. "He is depending on luck in this round."

"Man... don't lose this duel..." said Tristan. He tightened his fists so much that his knuckles turned white.

It would have been awful if Joey lost after all that he had been through in this duel. Both him and Joey reinstated the bond they already had, and a loss after something like that would just be heartbreaking.

Please, let him win... I prayed. His sister needs him... he cannot lose here...

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," said Joey, answering Rex. "Now then... are we ready to jump through time? Then in that case... Time Roulette, go!"

The little clock-monster raised its scepter and activated its magic. The spinner began to spin.

We held our breaths as it spun faster and faster.

"I can't believe the entire duel has been reduced to a single spin," said Téa nervously. "It's almost too nerve wracking to watch!"

"All we can do now is hope that the spinner doesn't land on a skull," said Yugi.

"Then let's start hoping..." said Tristan.

As the others watched the spinner, I momentarily looked away to Joey. He was staring intently at the spinner, with his teeth gritted together and his eyes piercing. He was scared, but he was hopeful too. The last move of the duel was based solely on chance. I wondered how much strength was needed to play such a move.

Joey truly was a strong duelist, and he has become even stronger through his past couple of duels. His sister would be very proud of him.

His heart was wholeheartedly in this duel... I thought to myself with a small smile as I admired the older brother. He will win this... he just has to...

Everyone was hoping that Joey would win (besides Rex and Mai), but our prayers would be heard.

Because as the spinner began to slow down, our hearts did not feel as heavy.

And when the spinner stopped on one of the safe zones, we released all our worries for the world to see.

Joey had won.

"No! It didn't land on a Skull!" cried Rex, horrified.

"Awesome, it worked!" cheered Joey.

"Way to go, Joey!" the others cried joyfully. I smiled.

"You did very well!" I said.

Joey grinned. "Thanks, guys! Now then! It's time to put this all behind us - in the past! Time Wizard! Time Warp!"

The little clock monster flew up to the same height as Red-Eyes, with its cape majestically flying behind him, and pointed his scepter right at the dragon. The field first dulled down to a grey colour. Then it changed to the scene of galaxies from its magic. Shapeshifting air spun the galaxies through time, and pictures of all living things passed by.

"Eons are passing like seconds..." said Rex with disbelief at the sight before him. "I don't believe this... the whole space-time continuum...!"

"What's going to happen to Rex's monster?" asked Tristan.

"Look!" Téa pointed at Red-Eyes. It was changing colour, from a solid, rich black to a dusty, mud brown.

When the Time Warp finally began to stop, and the field returned to normal with the wilderness and mountains, we took a closer look at Rex's dragon. It wasn't moving.

"He's been fossilized..." said Yugi.

"No... no, that's just the trick of the light..." Mai was trying to deny anything had even happened. Her trying to keep up a strong front was backfiring miserably. "Red-Eyes is fine. Go on and show them, Rex. Attack Joey and show them."

Rex, on the other hand, was in complete shock at seeing his magnificent dragon turned into a giant fossil. His open mouth closed and opened again, like a fish out of water. He was trying to process his loss.

"Well... go on, Rex!"

Even though Mai's words reached his ears, and he knew what she said was impossible, he still tried to uphold what little dignity he had left and continued. "Right... go on, Red-Eyes. Attack Wheeler..."

In a matter of seconds, the fossilized Red-Eyes crumpled to the ground in a heap of dusty mess. Rex admitted his defeat.

"Nooo! How could this have happened!"

Joey breathed a huge sigh of relief as the arena began to shut down and claim his victory. "It just did, Raptor!" he said with a smirk. Then he pointed at his rival. "And not only did I win your Star Chips, but I won you Red-Eyes Black Dragon too!"

"Aw, man!"

LP: Joey: 0235/Rex: 0000

"Hey, man! You did it!" said Tristan as Joey climbed down the platform. Mai was in the background, chewing Rex's ear off for losing. I felt really bad for him that he ended up trapped on her side, but he must have gotten himself stuck there somehow. And Joey did win fairly, so there was nothing to worry about.

The blond grinned proudly at his accomplishment and ran over to us. "You know it!" he said.

"Give me some skin, bro!" Tristan held out an arm.

"Up high or down low?" asked Joey, and right as he was about to high-five his friend, Tristan shoved Joey to the ground.

Yugi, Téa, and I couldn't say anything.

Joey, absolutely shocked that Tristan did something like this, quickly sat up with raging honey-eyes. "You... you shoved me!" he cried. "After everything we've been through, you go ahead and shove me?!"

"Yeah, well it was payback for shoving me earlier," declared Tristan. Joey stood back up and got right in Tristan's face.

"Don't you know that two wrongs don't make a right?" he asked threateningly.

Tristan started rolling up his coat sleeves. "Want me to make it three then?"

"Guys, come on, don't fight..." said Yugi, sweat dropping at the sight of their continued bickering.

"It's alright, Yugi," said Téa with an amused smile gracing her lips. "I think we should let them be. This is how they show each other they care."

"They sure are full of energy..." I blinked.

"Yeah... that's what I'm scared of..." said Yugi with a small sigh. "I just hope they don't care about me that much..."

The three of us shared a moment of laughter between us as we watched the two boys pulling at each other's cheeks or noses, looking absolutely ridiculous as they did so. It was indeed amusing to watch, and their sense of familiarity with each other was what drove me towards them. I believed it was the right decision for me to accept wanting to be friends with them, and even declaring it to everyone during the middle of Joey's duel.

"Now you won't miss your chance to become friends with Joey since he's going to continue walking alongside us after his win against Rex," said Yugi, and when I met his gaze, his violet eyes shined knowingly. It made me a little shy, being teased about what I had said.

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Yes... it is nice this way..." I said, smiling back at him.

"I wonder... why didn't you say this outloud before?" asked Téa.

Because I didn't think it was right... was what I wanted to say, but I knew that I couldn't. So I simply smiled a little nervously and answered, "I was shy to admit it before..."

"Well, I'm glad you told us this," said Yugi. His smile had a way of warming my heart.

"Me too," I said, returning the small gesture.

Star Chips: Yugi: 6/Joey: 4/Sarah: 5

⬛