Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly (Version 2 - SEMI FINAL)

Chapter 7

Emiko sighed as Joey and Rex drew their first hand of cards, the life point counter setting itself to 2,000 points each. She said, "Be careful, Joey!" Téa said, "We believe in you! Just don't forget what you're fighting for!" Joey looked down and gave the trio a bold thumbs-up and winked. Mai barked, "Rex! Don't forget our deal! Beat him and you get to duel with me!" Joey said, "Wow. I can't believe you've reduced yourself to being Mai's attack dog." Rex retorted, "At least I'm no duelling monkey!" Joey snarled angrily. Rex reeled slightly, confused. Emiko thought, "Wow. That duelling monkey thing really gets to him." Rex asked, "How many chips do you want to lose to my dinos?" Joey said, "I have two, but I plan on doubling them after this duel!" Rex said, turning up his nose, "You wish. I bet your deck isn't even prepared for the fields we're playing on." Joey thought, "Maybe not, but we'll just have to find out. I gotta win this. For Serenity."

"Now, quit stalling," Rex shouted, "Let's go!" Joey said, "It's on, Raptor!" As Joey began his first turn, Yugi turned and ran in the direction that Tristan went. He turned and said, "You two keep rooting Joey on for us." The girls looked at each other, then at Yugi. Téa asked, "Where are you going?" Yugi said, running off, "I've gotta go see about something!" Emiko smiled and the girls turned back to watch the duel. Joey threw monsters down carelessly in the first few turns. Rex's monsters were much stronger than his were, especially with the field power bonus Rex's dinosaur monsters got. Every time Joey thought he had the lead, Rex would pull a fast one on him, taking him down a peg. Joey finally took a moment, looked over his cards, and played a couple of magic cards. It wasn't until he threw down the Flame Swordsman that the match finally started to turn in his favour.

"Hang on," Rex said, "How the heck can a swordsman beat a dinosaur?" Joey said in disbelief, "Wait, I won that one?" Mai thought, grimacing, "There is no way that little punk Joey could have known that dinosaur cards are especially vulnerable to fire. That jerk! He totally lucked out on that one!" Joey laughed confidently, "Looks like I found the secret to beating your dinos! Hope you're not too sore about it! Get it? Sore? Dino? Dinosaur?" He laughed at his own joke. Over the next turns, Joey took the lead and Téa and Emiko cheered, "Yeah!" Téa said, "I knew you'd make a comeback, Joey!" Emiko said, "And he didn't even need Yugi's help!" Rex said, "This is far from over, you know. One card won't win this whole match for you." Joey smirked and said, "Alright then, I'll just bring out another one for you. Swamp Battleguard!" Rex layed a card out on the field and said, "Big deal! I have a beast that'll wipe that smirk off your face permanently!" On the field, a long, snake-like dragon with very sword-like features came to life. Rex snickered.

"Meet the top link of the food chain!" he shouted, "Serpent Night Dragon!" He said, folding his arms, "This rare card was awarded to the elite few who made it to the final round of the Regional Championships. But for a loser like you, it should be an honour just to get thrashed by it!" It only took one attack for Serpent Night Dragon to destroy Joey's Flame Swordsman. Joey looked through his cards, drawing for his turn, then smiled. He said, "It's Tristan's card." He thought, "Man, it took me this long to finally understand. Tristan is always looking out for me. Not because he thinks I need babied, but because he's a true friend."

"Yo, Joey!"

Emiko, Téa, and Joey looked back to see that Yugi and Tristan had finally come back to watch Joey's duel. Tristan said, "We're here for you, Joey! So, how about it? You gonna take that card of mine for a test drive or what?" Joey grinned and nodded, throwing the card out on the field and watching as the Battleguards stood together, ready to fight. Tristan cheered, "Right on! My card's on the field!" Rex cackled, "What a touching reunion. Too bad my Serpent Night Dragon is more powerful than them! Now, attack the green one!" As the dragon reared its head, Lava Battleguard jumped into action, deflecting the Serpent Knight Dragon's attack and destroying the dragon. Tristan said, "Wow! Sweet! The red guy blocked for the green one!" Yugi nodded.

"Of course," he said, "Those two monsters are like two best friends, so when they're together on the field, they help power each other up." Emiko and Téa smiled. Yugi said, "Kind of like how you and Joey help each other out in real life, huh, Tristan?" Tristan smiled back up at Joey and the duel raged on. Rex played a few more monsters in defense mode, but the Battleguards made short work of them, gaining a power boost from being on the field at the same time. Rex finally threw down a monster and shouted, "Now, prepare yourselves for the wrath of my supreme monster: The Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Emiko and Yugi gasped. Yugi said, "So, it does exist. My grandpa told me about this card. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon's powers are said to rival those of the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Emiko nodded. She thought, "Seto told me about the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, too. It's strong, but its attack points are lower than Blue-Eyes. I'll bet it has some magic cards that boost its powers." Sure enough, Rex played a Dragon Nails magic card to boost Red-Eyes' attack points and swiftly wiped out both Battleguards in one move. As Rex taunted Joey, his face suddenly grew worried.

"Hey!" Mai shouted furiously, "Are you going to nab that victory you promised or are you just going to sit there with that dumb look on your face!?" Rex smirked and said, "Oh, Joey! I have an idea! Let's duel more exciting and each put one card up for grabs along with our star chips." Joey cocked his head to the side. Rex continued, "Just so it's fair, how about we each put up whatever card we have out right now. Sound good?" Joey looked at the field, confused for a moment, then said aloud, "Oh, yeah! My Time Wizard! I totally forgot I put him out a few turns ago!" Rex said, "And for him, I'll give you my rarest card: the supreme Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Mai shrieked, "Just what do you think you're doing, you disobedient dolt!? You're here to take Joey out of this tournament! Not to improve your deck!" Rex snapped, "Stay out of this!" Mai shouted, "Rex, you double-crossing snake! I know what you're up to!"

"You've got yourself a deal," Joey said, flipping his Time Wizard face-up, "Your Red-Eyes and my Time Wizard! Winner takes all!" He grinned and said, "And while I'm at it, I'm making him my weapon of choice, too!" The tension on the field was high as the Time Wizard appeared and spun his roulette wheel. Rex and Joey both stared intently at it. Emiko, Yugi, Téa, and Tristan all watched, hearts racing. Mai squeezed her eyes shut. As the arrow slowed down, it crept around and around until it finally stopped.

"Alright!" Joey cheered, "Hope you packed your bags, Rex, 'cause your dragon is about to go on a long trip." The Time Wizard sent the entier battlefield warping through time, the wind picking up around them. When everything finally calmed down, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon was left as nothing more than an empty, fossilized shell that cracked and crumbled to pieces. Rex groaned and said, "So, I guess you won my star chips, huh?" Joey nodded and sighed, but then said, remembering their earlier deal, "Hey, wait a minute! Not only did I win your star chips, but I won your Red-Eyes, too! Fair and square!" Rex growled, but he handed it over, realizing the mistake he made. Joey turned around and ran back to his friends, cheering, "I did it, guys! I really did it!" Tristan said, running for him, "You're the man, Joey!" Joey said, "Gimme some skin, bro!" Before anyone could register what had just happened, Tristan's balled-up fist came in contact with Joey's chest, beating him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.

"You...you punched me," Joey stammered, "After everything I just went through, you go and punch me!?" Tristan smirked, "Yeah, well, tough tamale. Now we're even for when you punched me." Joey snapped, "Don't you know two wrongs don't make a right, you jerk!?" Tristan growled, "Should I make it three, then?" The two roughly engaged in a wrestling match. Yugi stepped forward and said, concerned, "Hey, guys, come on. There's no need to fight." Emiko said, "Hang on a second, Yuge. We should stay out of this one." Téa nodded and said, "Yeah. I think this is just their bizarre way of showing each other they care." Yugi shrugged and said, "Oh, ok. I just hope they don't care about me that much." Emiko laughed.