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Chapter 4: Psychic Scammer
The group bid farewell and continued onward, making their way through the woods to a clearing overlooking the sea.
Joey, who wanted to be the next one to duel, cracked his knuckles with determination.
"I'm itchin' to duel, and I'm takin' on the next player we see!"
He took off, leaving the others behind.
Tea looked a bit worried. "You know, I'm not so sure Joey's up to this."
"Yeah." Tristan Agreed. "There are tournament-level players here. Don't you think he's smart enough to realize-,"
"Here I stand, the next Duel Monsters Champion!" Joey yelled from the cliff side.
Everyone sweatdropped, now feeling even more nervous for the blonde boy.
"Oh, he needs a reality check." Tea declared, not so subtlety looking to Rain.
Tristan sighed. "Guess he's as smart as he looks."
Taking the hint, Rain tugged on Yugi's jacket. "Maybe we should reign him in."
Yugi nodded lightly. "Right."
Everyone walked over to Joey, but before Rain could say anything, (Y/N) stepped.
"Leave him be."
She side eyed the spirit, and then noticed that despite his bold declaration, Joey had a serious look on his face and was lost in thought. It was then she remembered why Joey was here: his sister, Serenity. If he didn't win the prize money, they wouldn't be able to afford the surgery that would prevent her from going blind. That kind of pressure must have been eating at him. Rain then turned to Yugi.
"Hey, Yugi?"
He looked at her. "Yes, Rain?"
"How come you're in this tournament? Joey and Tea mentioned something earlier, and judging by the faces you guys make whenever he's brought up, you don't care for Pegasus in the slightest."
Yugi looked down, a troubled look in his eyes. "Well-,"
A loud cheering interrupted their conversation as Tea glanced over her shoulder.
"Look there!"
To their left, the fields were covered in arenas, and people either dueling or spectating.
Tristan whistled. "Look at 'em. They're all over."
"You said it!" Yugi agreed as Rain smiled.
"Now this is a proper tournament."
Joey pumped himself up. "Right. I'm goin' in!"
Tristan quirked a brow at him. "You sure you want to do this? If you lose, you give up your only star chip."
"That's right." Joey groaned, falling back.
Rain glanced down at him. "Well, if he wants to get to the finals, he's gonna have to."
"Don't panic." Yugi reassured him. "You can do this, Joey."
He then bounced back. "I hope you're right, Yugi. This'll be my first official duel, and I can't afford to get knocked out at the start."
"True, but not everyone here is a pro."
Rain patted Joey on the back and began pushing him towards the fields. "Come on, Blondie. Let's go find someone your level."
"Oi, don't call me Blondie! But I guess I should think about what kind of fields my cards are best suited for. Really hoping you're right about the meadows, Rain."
"Hey, I was right about the forest and beast types, wasn't I? And Yugi agreed with me!"
Rather than side with either of them, Yugi opted to keep his best friend's mind in the game. "See? You know what you're doing."
Before Rain could get Joey too far (the woe of being a short female), an unkind voice caught their attention.
"You lost, crybaby. Now give me your star chips."
Tea clenched her fist. "A voice that annoying can only belong to Mai."
Sure enough, they saw the older girl by a dueling arena, laughing at another duelist.
"It's not fair! You cheated somehow! How could you know what your cards were when they were still face down!?"
"I'm psychic." Mai insisted. "And you're done."
The kid took off as Mai cackled.
Rain rolled her eyes. "Oh brother."
That caught her attention as she put her hands on her waist. "Well, look who's here."
"Mai's already won 2 more star chips." Joey noted as Mai eyed Yugi.
"Hey Yugi! Are your duels going well?"
"I'm making progress." He answered hesitantly before having wrist snatched.
"So, you have 3 star chips, do you? I might be up for a duel myself."
Tea was fuming at the back, but it was Rain who took the initiative, much to Yugi's gratitude.
"Bold words from someone who was trash talking him throughout his duel with Weevil."
She punctuated her statement by slapping the blonde's hands off her new friends.
Mai looked positively offended, glaring down at the opposing female's dueling glove. "I see you've four star chips now."
"Indeed I do." Rain answered back. "Feeling brave?"
"Take her, Rain." Tea egged like a devil on her shoulder. "Knock her out of the contest and off the island!"
"Tea, am I going to have to stop you from getting the assault charges now?"
"Hmm." Mai seemed to recover from her burst of aggression. "You know, I'm definitely in the mood for a duel right now. So get ready, because I choose to challenge you, Joey!"
"What!?" He said, shocked. "You challenge me!?"
"Do you have the guts to accept? Get it? I want to play you, kid."
"She's totally baiting him." Rain mumbled as (Y/N) appeared beside her.
"Without question."
"Ha!" Joey feigned confidence. "Guess you heard about my skill!"
"Don't flatter yourself." Mai shot back. "I overheard you and Yugi talking on the boat. I know he gave you the only star chip that you have. My motto is 'take out the weakest players first'. And considering that you wouldn't even be here if Yugi hadn't given you one of his chips, you've got to be the weakest duelist on the island."
"Hey, do you have to be so insulting?"
Tea eyed Joey. "This time she was being truthful."
"Huh?!"
"Joey, she's egging you on." Rain warned. "Do not fall for it."
"She's right, Joey." Tristan joined in. "Don't you get it? If you lose this contest, you're out for good."
"Yugi, Rain, stand up for Joey." Tea encouraged. "One of you has to fight her in his place."
Rain was just about to step in between them, but Yugi nudged her shoulder with his, shaking his head when he got her attention.
"This is his decision to make. Show Mai what you're made of, Joey."
"Right." The brown eyed boy said. "She thinks I'm a pushover, but she'll see."
"Like a fish to the hook." (Y/N) sighed, as Joey and Yugi argued with Tristan and Tea respectively. "Whatever the case, Joey must learn to fight his own battles."
Evidently, Joey agreed. "This is my chance to prove myself, to show everybody. Don't forget, gramps trained me. I mean, sure, gramps didn't get a chance to finish my training, and granted, I wish I'd had a chance to practice more before getting thrown into a tournament this huge with so many heavy hitters, but honestly, I think I can take her."
"Oh man." Tristan sighed. "You'd better be right. For your sister's sake."
"Yeah." Tea jumped in. "You better not screw this up, Joey."
"I accept!" He decided. "Let's duel."
"Get ready to lose." Mai answered back.
As the duelists took their positions, (Y/N) stood beside Rain, arms crossed.
"I'm not certain a trial by fire is the best approach." The spirit said.
Rain gave her a side look. "Hey, you're the one who said he needed to fight his own battles. Still." Rain looked up and cheered. "You can do this, Joey!"
Tea joined in. "Go get her!"
"Kick her butt!" Tristan said.
Joey nodded. "Yeah!"
"He'll do fine." Yugi mumbled, almost as if he was trying to convince himself.
Rain, hearing this, elbowed him lightly and smiled. "He'll be okay."
Yugi smiled back, encouraged by her words.
"Since you only have one measly star chip, I only have to bet one of mine against you." Mai said confidently.
Joey seemed to be calm at first, until he noticed the field. "What the-!? What are all those mountains doing on my field?!"
"The field we'll be battling on is 40% forest, 40% mountain, and 20% meadow, so deal with it or surrender." Mai explained.
Rain facepalmed. "And this is why you do everything you can to not have your opponent pick the battlefield."
Yugi tried to be more optimistic. "Calm down, Joey. You'll be okay! Your monsters will still get a field power bonus on the meadow part of the field."
That did seem to calm the blonde boy down. "Right. Listen, Mai, not for nothing, but I gotta ask you one question before we duel."
"Hm?" This seemed to genuinely take the older female by surprise. "What?"
"Why did you decide to take part in this tournament? Why is it you duel?"
"Why do I duel? For all the comforts that I crave: designer clothes, travel, perks, hot cars, turbo-charged for livin' large!"
"Huh! So that's why you want the prize money? How selfish."
"Don't you judge me! Who do you think you are?!"
"Hey, you're only dueling for yourself, but for your information, some of us duel for the people we love."
Rain sweatdropped. "Why do I suddenly feel inadequate?"
"Because you only came to this tournament for a distraction." (Y/N) chimed in.
"You know, you could encourage me more."
"Someone has to keep you in check."
"Duel!" Both duelists shouted.
Joey 2000 LP/Mai 2000 LP
Joey started, drawing his card. "So to start the game off: Masaki, the Legendary Swordman! The field power bonus will add 330 points to his total!"
A samurai in green and blue armor took to the field, ending the first turn.
Masaki, the Legendary Warrior
1430 ATK/1430 DEF
Joey 2000 LP/Mai 2000 LP
"Hey, I made my first move." Mai only started to laugh, oddly enough putting the cards in her hand face down in front of her. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Divining my card." Mai answered. "I have to mystically choose which one of them is the best."
"Huh?! What are you, a psychic?!"
Mai did not answer, dragging her finger over her cards. "And the best card would be...hm, the Harpy Lady!" Sure enough, the monster she summoned was indeed that monster. "Her strength is boosted by the mountain field power bonus."
Harpy Lady
1690 ATK/ 1820 DEF
Joey gritted his teeth. "I'll still take it on! Attack!"
"Joey, stop!" Yugi tried to warn. "Land monsters are at a disadvantage to flying monsters! Monsters that can fly have a resistance to those land bound, meaning Masaki won't have the field power bonus."
Sure enough, Harpy Lady took to the sky and destroyed Masaki.
"So Joey already blew it?" Tea asked.
"The duel only just started." Rain interjected. "However, he needs to think before he attacks."
Mai ended with a facedown, again without looking.
Joey 1410 LP/Mai 2000 LP
Joey was frazzled by her tactics. "How's she doing that?"
"He's losing it!" Tristan said. "Guess he wasn't ready."
Rain elbowed him in the gut. "What did I say? A duel's not over until someone's lifepoints reach 0. Still..."
"Joey!" Yugi called out. "Think about what you're doing before you act!"
Rather than answer back, Joey set Tiger Axe in attack mode.
Tiger Axe
1690 ATK/1430 DEF
"With the field power bonus, he can take Harpy Lady on, head to head!"
"The power bonus isn't going to help you!" Rain yelled to remind him. "It won't apply against a flying monster!"
To prove her point, Harpy Lady sliced up the feline warrior, dropping Joey's lifepoints further.
"Her tactics are rattling him." (Y/N) said.
Rain gritted her teeth. "I know. If he doesn't clear his head soon then-,"
"He'll have to figure out her method. I highly doubt this woman is a psychic like she claims."
"Do you know how she's doing it?"
The spirit only smiled back at her. "I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out yourself."
Before the girl could retort, she suddenly smelled something strong and sneezed.
"Bless you." Tea said.
"Thanks."
Joey 1020 LP/Mai 2000
"It will take a stronger monster than your land-based wimps to beat my Harpy Lady." Mai taunted. "Now I'll play this card, without looking. I'll give you a hint: it's an Equip card that will help me defeat your next card."
Joey 1020 LP/Mai 2000
"Again with all that Psychic stuff!?" Joey yelled, drawing before setting a monster face down and ending his turn.
Joey 1020 LP/Mai 2000
"Running scared?" Mai mocked. "Well, let me show you my surprise." Mai flipped her equip card. "Cyber Shield, to boost my Harpy Lady."
Cybernetic armor appeared on the monster, boosting its attack up to 2190 and its defense to 2320, easily letting it crush the facedown, Kojikocy.
Kojikocy
1950 ATK/1560 DEF
"Just how is she doing that!?" Joey growled.
As Mai continued to mock and bait Joey and Yugi tried to keep Joey calm, Rain thought about it. Mai had to be using a trick as a means of messing with her opponent's heads, and (Y/N) was not being much help, so just what was she doing? Again, a strong scent hit her, making her sneeze, this time a number of times and even catching Joey's attention.
"You good, Rain? Not coming down with something, are ya?"
"I'm fine!" She insisted, before sneezing again. "Just focus on the duel!"
Yugi looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure? Maybe you're allergic to something?"
"No, I'm not allergic to anything, except maybe per-," The lightbulb went off in her head. "OH!"
(Y/N) reappeared, looking quite pleased. "Now you see it."
Mai glared down at them annoyed. "Hey, can you stay out of it! Brainless cheerleading isn't going to help him against the superior power of my Harpy Lady. Don't you guys get it yet? Friendships doesn't win duels, never will. It hasn't helped him."
Rain glared back up at her before smirking. "Of course someone who doesn't have friends would cling to such a pathetic view. Someone with a poor spirit like yours can't handle the idea."
"What did you say, brat!?"
"I said your spirit is weak! Why don't you clean your ears?"
Even with Rain antagonizing Mai, Joey was still rattled to the core. Beside her, there was a flash of light as the spirit of the puzzle took over.
"Don't listen to her, Joey!" He said. "We're here to help you, just like you've always been there for us."
That seemed to finally get through to him.
Rain shut her eyes. "(Y/N)?"
The spirit nodded. "Let me take over."
Opening her eyes, (Y/N) was now in control.
"Joey, listen to him. Mai is using cheap tricks to confuse you. It's a tactic that has endured for centuries, but you need to calm down and think it through. If you don't, the answer could be right under your nose and you'd still miss it."
"Subtle, (Y/N)." Rain mocked.
Joey seemed to understand what she was getting at, and though Mai tried to throw him off again, Joey didn't take the bait. As the male thought through the problem, 'Yugi' side eyed (Y/N).
"'Under your nose?' So you've also noticed?"
Considering the look he was giving her, (Y/N) knew he noticed the switch. Still, despite this, she felt completely calm next to him, almost serene. Still, she kept up the act, smirking.
"This is hardly a trick unique to her. Though I suppose it helps when your own nose tips you off."
The other spirit half chuckled as Joey seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
Joey 1020 LP/Mai 2000
"I see through your card trick." Joey said, shocking Mai. "You sprayed all your cards with different perfumes, and by smellin' each different scent, you can tell which card is which without looking and psych out your opponents. It's also why Rain's been sneezing up a storm down there."
"No way! How could an amateur punk like you see through my aroma strategy?!"
(Y/N) rolled her eyes. "Anyone with a strong enough sense of smell could figure it out. Honestly, it's a wonder all those clashing scents don't give you a headache every time you duel. I certainly would."
"Well, I didn't take you for being so susceptible, Rain." The spirit teased, putting emphasis on Rain's name.
(Y/N) would not fall for it. "We all have our weak points, Yugi."
Joey seemed to finally be calm. "I gotta admit, Mai, you really had me buyin' into the whole psychic power shtick. I was too freaked out to think things through, but all you are is a fraud!" The gang cheered him on as Joey smiled down unknowingly at the two spirits. "Yugi, Rain, you were right."
"Just because you saw through my little psychic act, doesn't mean you're going to be able to defeat me in a duel." Mai insisted sharply.
(Y/N) crossed her arms. "I don't think Mai realized her tactics are a double edged sword. It may confuse her enemies initially, but once they see through them, she's the one left scrambling."
Yugi's spirit nodded. "She'll have to fight with her own power, no tricks."
Joey told Mai as much, setting Baby Dragon down in defense mode.
Baby Dragon
1200 ATK/700 DEF
Joey 1020 LP/Mai 2000
"Ha! That wimpy card is your grand play?" Mai mocked. "I only wish it was worth some more so when I devastate you, it'll be more of a kick. I play Elegant Egotist. With this, I can duplicate my Harpy Lady!"
"Oh no!" Joey shouted as two more Harpy Ladies appeared.
"Now what?" Tea yelled. "He was already struggling when there was only one!"
"Don't give in, Joey!" Tristan yelled. "You still have all kinds of moves left!"
"And what would those be, exactly?"
"I don't know! Ask Rain or Yugi!"
"It's Joey's duel." 'Yugi' said. "He has to figure it out."
(Y/N) nodded. "Agreed. Besides, even if she has three out now, her own spell prevents her from attacking."
"Yeah, so what!?" Mai yelled down at the other female duelist. "He's still going to be up against an army!"
Joey 1020 LP/Mai 2000
"Just how am I supposed to beat a whole army?!" Joey said.
"Don't give up, Joey." 'Yugi' insisted. "Think hard about her strategy. She's been using only one monster card and strengthening that one card, but there's a serious flaw in her strategy. Think, which card will defeat her?"
Joey's eyes widened as he realized what he was saying, but frowned at his hand.
"He doesn't have the card he needs." (Y/N) thought.
Rain appeared beside her. "He'll have to draw for it then! But, the odds-,"
"Sometimes the only way to win is to take the odds. Joey will need to trust in his deck."
Joey drew, and (Y/N) felt a pulse of energy around her, causing her bracelet to squeeze. She flinched, grabbing her wrist. 'Yugi' noticed, but didn't say anything. Joey's face brightened, summoning a clock monster to the field.
"All right! It's Time Wizard!"
Time Wizard
500 ATK/300 DEF
Mai was confused. "Hm? What good is that thing?"
"Don't you know? Time Wizard can speed up time, causing Baby Dragon to grow into Thousand Dragon!"
"And that's hardly the only effect it will have." (Y/N) said, realizing why Joey's plan was. "Though, that's still a roll."
"He'll be fine." 'Yugi' assured her.
Thankfully, Time Wizard's effect went off successfully, transforming Baby Dragon as Joey had said.
Thousand Dragon
2400 ATK/2000 DEF
"So now you have a bigger dragon, big deal! My Harpy Ladies still have more attack power! Attack it, my three Harpy Sisters!" It was then Mai noticed that all of her monsters had aged tremendously and their attack points had returned to normal. "What!? What happened to my Harpy Ladies!?"
"Rain warned you." The spirit said. "A millennium has passed on the field, and your monsters have become old and decrypted. Face it, Mai, time's run out for you."
"Go, Thousand Dragon!" Joey yelled. "Attack with Inferno Flame Breath!"
The dragon torched the field, wiping out Mai's monsters and all her lifepoints in a single shot.
Joey 1020 LP/Mai 0 LP
"He did it!" Tea cheered. "Joey won!"
"Way to go, Joey!" Tristan joined.
Joey looked over at them. "Thanks, guys."
'Yugi' gave him a wink and a thumbs up while (Y/N) smiled at him.
"How?" Mai said in disbelief. "How could I ever lose to such an amateur?"
"Hey, Mai." Joey called. "I tried to tell ya. There's more to Duel Monsters than just kickin' the other guy's butt. If you're ever gonna be a real champion, you gotta learn to care about someone other than yourself, isn't that right, Yugi?"
The spirit nodded. As Joey got off the platform, (Y/N) ruminated on the idea.
"Really, is anything we do worth it without another person there to share in it? We're social creatures, we thrive off of the bonds we build with people. Making those special connections is perhaps the most important part of our lives. Without them...who even are we?"
"(Y/N)..." Rain said, looking at her friend sadly.
Despite how much she tried to hide it, she knew the unknown ate away at the spirit. The questions of who she left behind and if any had been left to miss her burned just as much as the question of who she once was.
The other spirit seemed to notice her melancholy as looked at her. "Rain?"
(Y/N) shook her head and began walking towards the group. "Shall we join them?"
"Wait!"
As he grabbed her wrist, brushing the Millennium Bracelet, a hot flash shot through her like lightning. For a brief moment, she was laying in an extravagant room, and a man was smiling down at her with the most joyful expression. He was very familiar, but before she could comprehend her surroundings, it ended, and she pulled her wrist from 'Yugi's' hand. He pulled back as well, either because he didn't know why he did that, or perhaps he too had seen the vision.
"I'm sorry." He said. "If there's something troubling you, you can tell me. We're...friends."
She smiled at him. "Thank you, Yugi."
The two handed control back to their other halves and ran off to join the others.