Chaos Effect

Chapter 2

I sighed as I checked my bag over one more time, trying to focus on making sure I hadn't forgotten anything. There was nothing worse than starting a trip only to realize that a toothbrush had been left behind. The problem was that rather than thinking about the cruise and all that waited for me on that island my mind was elsewhere, namely my first interaction with one of the main Yu-Gi-Oh! characters.

I hadn't meant to run into any of cast this soon. In fact I was trying to avoid it for as long as possible. Not because I was worried or anything, as I knew that Yugi and his friends were pretty kind and trusting. Heck, they had bought the shit Weevil was shoveling when they'd met him despite him acting like a trenchcoat wearing Gollum rubbed his deck like it was Precious. I could have easily walked to Kame Game and introduced myself and even with his worries about his grandpa Yugi would have welcomed me with a smile. No, the problem was my age. No matter how one could try and manipulate it in the end it would be someone in their early 20s hanging out with a group of sophomores.

'Which only makes Mai and Joey's relationship all the creepier. Swap the genders and Mai would have been arrested as a predator. Last thing I need is to climb a set of stairs with Tea ahead of me... "Why hello Chris Hanson! No, I'm just here to talk with my friend Tea... she might look like she is 20 be she's actually 15 or so-OW STOP BEATING ME WITH YOUR NIGHTSTICKS!".'

Worst, in my mind I was in my 30s, despite what I might look like in this world. I could have been Yugi's father, for god's sake! What was I supposed to say if someone pressed me? 'Hi, I just happen to play the same games as these young teens and now I'd like us to play magical games together, but they can't discuss it because it's a super secret game-AAAAARGH! MY EYES! STOP PEPPER SPRAYING ME!'

Yeah, that would have gone over well.

Kaiba would have been even worse. Right now, what with losing to Yugi and the Big 5's actions, Seto was in full paranoid mode, focused solely on his brother... and while I couldn't remember exactly when Mokuba had been kidnapped I knew that showing up acting all friendly with Kaiba only for his brother to end up in a cell would have made me the prime suspect.

As I finally zipped up my bag and did one last pass through my room I felt a twinge of guilt over Mokuba's fate. "Nothing I could do about it," I muttered to myself. "I might know about the kidnapping but I couldn't have stopped it." Despite my attempts to reassure myself that I was blameless it still bugged me that I had known that a child had been or was about to be thrown into a cell and done nothing. "I swear, Pegasus, if I get my chance I'll make sure you pay for that."

That was the other thing that kept me from getting too involved with Yugi and his friends: changing canon. Things had worked out pretty good at the end of the anime: the Pharaoh defeated Zorc, was given his reward in the afterlife, and everyone lived in the end. At worst a few people probably would need to see a shrink (and honestly I needed to look into that myself, considering that my already fragile grasp on reality was taking a battering thanks to me being in a fictional world) and a few villains got trapped in a digital world that then got erased or done blown up, but otherwise everything had worked out. I had no idea what my meddling might do.

'Let's say I decide I go to Yugi and give him the information about the battlefield bonus, so he is able to prepare for that and prevent Weevil from taking advantage of that. The little twerp goes down hard, Yugi utterly crushing him and I get to laugh in his face and cement myself as a strong ally. All good, right? Except then Pegasus might send Panik after Yugi instead of having him just pick off other trainers. Now, I don't doubt Yugi could defeat the paid duelist eliminator or whatever his title was but losing all her Star Chips and having Yugi win them back inspired Mai to help out later on. Without that she could completely bypass him, go into the castle, and Yugi doesn't get to compete and his grandpa's soul is lost. Or maybe Panik shows up and Joey, being so gungho to win Star Chips, challenges him and loses, eliminating him completely from Duelist Kingdom.'

I rubbed my forehead with two fingers. I wasn't going to sit on the sidelines but I couldn't go firing cannon balls into canon.

Heading out of the apartment (my uncle had warned that he'd have to work late and thus wished me well in the morning before work) I made for the elevator and thought about my encounter with Mai. My plan had been to make friends with Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea when we were on the ship. They hadn't had that great of an experience getting to Duelist Kingdom and I figured that being a friendly face would help. I wouldn't hang off them like a limpet but I would be friendly and let them know I was someone they could talk to if we happened to run into each other. The time to truly bond would be in the castle when I got to watch Yugi kick Pegasus' but. That would establish me in their eyes and set the stage for Battle City. Of everyone else only Mai had been on my radar to meet and greet. Rex was a jerk and Weevil was a creep, Mako wasn't bad but he was eliminated too early, and Bandit Keith was simply a no-no (and I might punch him for embarrassing all Americans... more than we already have been). As for Bakura... well, without any protection there was no way I was getting close to him if I could help it. I didn't need Zorc's little soul fragment or whatever the heck Yami Bakura was deciding to send me to the shadow realm.

But everything had changed when the gods or whoever was mucking with my life had led me to meet Mai early.

I ground my teeth as I stepped off the elevator and headed towards the taxi I'd called to pick me up. 'I lost my temper... I shouldn't have done that. But damn that woman for being so... stubborn!' I knew I was being a hypocrite, as she was merely trying to influence the situation to her advantage and I was planning to do the same. But it was her stubbornness that got to me. 'I know she is a loner and wraps herself in her mask of being a cold and dominating woman but was it really so hard for her to just ask about my deck?' I hopped into the taxi once my suitcase was loaded and rolled my head up to stare at the roof of the car. 'Just admit it, Chaos... you're mad because she flirted with you.'

I knew most people would have been questioning my sanity and my sexuality for turning down Mai Valentine. Ignoring the fact that the curse that kept me from swearing probably would keep me from getting too far with Mai the fact remained that I wasn't one for casual hookups. Never had one and honestly I didn't think I could have one. I wasn't sure if I was technically demisexual, needing deep emotional connection in order to be with someone, but I knew that I leaned towards it. I had girlfriends, not cheap flings. Doing something so causal? It just... wasn't in my nature. And Mai trying to toy with me like that just because she didn't want to say 'please'? It didn't make how I reacted right and the lovely guilt that was in my heart that would make a jewish mother jealous was tap dancing on my heart, telling me how I was wrong and I needed to apologize.

Now I had no idea what to expect when I arrived on the ship. I doubted I'd get an apology from her. The best options were that she would just ignore me and pretend it never happened. At worst she'd either get mad and make a scene... or take it as a challenge that I had rejected her and try and seduce me all the harder. 'And while most people in this situation would be drooling at the idea of Mai Valentine hitting on them that is just going to create more headaches.'

After that I just brooded, watching as Domino buzzed by, and tried to remember all I could about the show. I hadn't watched the anime in years but I remembered enough about what had happened that I felt that I could accurately guess what would happen. The boat took off at 7pm after sunset. It would take all night to get to Duelist Kingdom and sometime in the morning Pegasus had started the entire event. One full day went by, sunset would lead to the duels against Bakura and Panik, then would come the second day before Kaiba and Yugi's big duel on the castle rampart. After that Kaiba faced Pegasus (I honestly couldn't remember if that had happened right away or the next morning but I was willing to bet it was that day) and then Pegasus served a late supper to determine the dueling order. The next morning were the first round matches, then the night when Tristan, Tea, and Bakura climbed a tower for... reasons (I still wasn't clear on why they'd done that... or half of the motives of the characters) and then the next morning Joey vs. Yugi and then Yugi vs. Pegasus. I counted it out on my fingers; not counting today I'd be on that island for at most around 4 days.

'Except I can't assume anything is concrete,' I thought to myself as the taxi pulled up to the wharf and I stepped out, the cool ocean air hitting me right in the face and making me glad I'd decided to go with my favorite gray hoodie. I adjusted my Tigers baseball cap and walked over to the trunk, retrieving my suitcase and wheeling it towards where a small crowd had begun to gather before a truly massive cruise ship, a table already set up for registration. 'There was nothing in the anime about Kaiba secretly being the fifth contestant in the tournament and automatically getting the right to claim the money and a duel. I don't know if that changed because I am here or it was never brought up. But I could end up uncovering things that never got mentioned... and that could throw my plans out of wack.' And that I really didn't like, as I was someone who liked things to work out exactly as planned and REALLY didn't like surprises and setbacks.

Grabbed my earbuds I threaded them through my hoodie and connected them to my phone before pulling up Queen's "Under Pressure" and letting the genius of Freddy Mercury and David Bowie will away my concerns and worries as I looked about the crowd. A lot of the people in the crowd looked like they had just left school and come straight to the dock. A lot of school uniforms or casual clothes. A few were decked out in more showy outfits, like Weevil in his green coat or Mako in his blue vest and his tight pants that made me think that he'd make a good Aquaman in this universe. Me? I'd gone with my favorite gray hoodie and a pair of jeans, my hiking boots on and my Tigers cap (because Michigan had to represent). The only things that set me apart at all was my large suitcase, my earbuds (thank god this world's 2001 was more advanced than my world's 2001), my deck box (secured with a lock because I didn't trust half of these people not to try something), and my uncle's key he'd given me dangling around my neck.

Yugi and Joey might have been willing to put up with tricks and schemes and answer by merely dueling the offenders but I didn't put up with that bullshit. Back in my world I was famous among my employees for hating April Fool's Day and making it clear to them that any such tricks would result in me dropping the hammer on them. So I had some... surprises... ready just in case anyone tried anything foolish.

"Attention duelists!"

I looked up and pretended to listen as one of Pegasus' goons give his speech about why we were there and what we needed to get on the boat. Instead I just switched to some AC/DC and waited for them to motion for us to begin boarding before I quickly made a beeline towards the front of line.

"Star Chips?" the check in man asked.

"Right here," I said, presenting my two chips. "I also have this card... it said to present it to you..."

"Ah!" the other man said pleasantly, taking the card and checking it over before handing it back. "You have been selected to have a private room for your trip to Duelist Kingdom. This card will serve as your keycard." He flashed a smile. "Be glad... only the finalists from the National Championship and you are getting rooms. Have a pleasant-"

"Hold up," I said, raising a hand. "Where is everyone else going to sleep?"

"Mr. Pegasus has arranged a common room to be made up for them."

I shot the man a look of utter confusion. "This ship can hold thousands of people and you are making people sleep on the floor?"

"Mr. Pegasus' orders, sir. Now please board."

I rolled my eyes. "For a man who can afford to give away $3 million Pegasus sure is a cheapsake." Still I snatched up my roomkey back and began to make my way up the gangplank only to pause when I heard a commotion. Looking down I couldn't help but stop and stare.

It was Joey. Trying to sneak onto the ship. Joey Wheeler.

"Joey?"

"Yugi..." I whispered, staring at the young man that, in roughly a year's time, would save the earth from a demonic menace so great it's threat had spanned millennia. Until that moment, seeing the glint of that puzzle and that ridiculous hair... I hadn't truly comprehended what had happened to me. Where I stood. What awaited me. Even holding my deck in my hand and feeling the Heart of the Cards thrum through Endymion, walking the streets of Domino, getting the invitation to Duelist Kingdom, talking with Mai... it hadn't struck me just what my new reality was. Not until that moment.

It was enough to make me shiver.

"Hey, come on!" someone said behind me. "I know its exciting get a move on, man!"

"Right... right..." I quickly hurried along, shaking myself from my stupor and stepping on board the ship.

~MC~MC~MC~

Mako Tsunami patted the wall of the cruise ship before nodding to himself. It was a fine ship, nice and sturdy and strong. He could tell just by placing his hands upon it that it would get them safely to their journey, no matter what the sea might throw at that. He knew that many thought the journey would be an easy one, that they would have, no pun intended, smooth sailing. Even the weather reports stated that the winds would be calm, the sky clear, and the waves gentle. Still, he had been on the ocean far too long to believe that anyone could predict what it would be like. He had seen peaceful days become swallowed up by raging storms and the violent seas suddenly calm. Still, the boat was strong enough and he knew it would get them there.

Entering the common room he watched as several other duelists selected where they would be sleeping while others were showing off their decks, making trades and having quiet duels to hone their skills. Mako had done neither of these things, having preferred to grab a bite to eat. While Pegasus hadn't arranges for private rooms for everyone he had at least laid out a buffet and Mako had happily grabbed some cooked shrimp and several lobster rolls before wandering about the ship. He chose a wall and leaned against it, watching the people go about their business. It was all fun and games at the moment but he knew that tomorrow the contest would begin and the schools of fishes would turn into a feeding frenzy of hungry sharks.

"I see I'm not the only person sane on this boat," someone said and Mako turned to find a tall man a couple years older than him had walked over and joined him. Lifting up a turkey sandwich the man smiled. "Food first, chat second."

"One never knows when their next meal might be," Mako stated before taking a bite of his lobster roll.

"I'm more of the opinion that when there is an easy meal you gorge first before the rest of the scavengers show up." The man stuck his bottle of water in the pocket of his hoodie and held out his hand. "Edwin Chaos."

"Mako Tsunami," he created. Looking back over the assembled duelists Mako shook his head and smiled. "Still, I can't blame them... for some their nerves make it hard to keep anything down while others are more concerned about staking their claim to the best spot than filling their bellies."

"And you aren't?" Edwin asked.

"Oh no," Mako said, waving off his comment. "My deck is ready. I have built it to honor the sea that gives life and anything else would merely pollute it. As for sleep I much prefer the sky above me than a ceiling. I will sleep above deck with the waves in my ears."

"A man who knows what he wants. Can respect that."

"What of you?" Mako asked. "Why did you choose food over everything else?"

"Well I lucked out and got a room thanks to my uncle and as for my deck I've already got that locked up, just like you." He patted the deck box that was attached to his belt. "Besides, I'm not much of a people person. I can... handle them... but I prefer to be by myself, you know?"

"Indeed I do," Mako said, understanding exactly what his new companion was getting at. "Then why did you come to talk to me then, if you are so shy?"

At that Edwin laughed. "Oh, I'm not shy. When I set my mind to it I can be the life of a party. I've been on stage and performed in front of packed audiences. It doesn't bother me... I just prefer the quiet." He paused to take a large bite of his sandwich. "As for why I came over..." he swallowed, "...well, I decided to at least try and interact with other people. The only problem is-"

"That's a cool card! Oh, look at that one! Wanna trade? Huh? Look at these babies! Guys?"

Mako and Edwin watched as some blond teen began to dart about the room, harassing everyone he could find.

"-well... that," he finished.

"I see your point," Mako said with a quiet chuckle. "I haven't seen you around any of the tournaments. Are you from out of the country?"

"Yeah," Edwin said. "My uncle broke his leg so I'm taking his place and... snippets!"

"Snippets?" Mako asked, turning to find his companion turning his head and covering his face with his hand.

"SHHH! Don't draw attention to yourself!"

"What's the problem?"

"You see the blonde that just walked in?"

"The... oh, Mai Valentine!" Mako frowned as he saw the famous Harpie duelist look about the common room before stomping her foot in outrage and storming off, snarling something about sleeping conditions. "She just left."

"Thank God!" Edwin said, finally turning back around and dropping his arm to his side.

Mako looked at the other man carefully. "There is a story I am missing here."

"I ran into her yesterday and it didn't end well."

"Ah. Well cheer up, I hear many men try to woo that flower and-"

"I turned her down."

Mako blinked. "Pardon?"

"She was trying to trick me into giving her information about my deck. I told her she just had to... it doesn't matter, the point is I stormed off after and now I really want to avoid her since I have no idea how she'll react."

"Well she just went off to complain to about the common room, I think."

"Good." Edwin looked around before polishing off his sandwich. "You didn't happen to see what happened to that hyperactive blond teen, did you?"

"The one asking to make trades? He and the shorter boy with spiky hair were talking with Weevil Underwood." Mako shook his head and let out a scoff. "I hope they are careful, Weevil has a reputation of using underhanded tactics." Edwin shifted uneasily at that, his jaw clenched and his body tense. "Do not worry, so long as they are careful..."

"Yeah, somehow I don't think either of them realize how treacherous Weevil can be." The older man jerked his head towards the door. "I'm going to check up on them... just to make sure."

"I'll come with you," Mako offered, stuffing his last piece of shrimp into his mouth. "I could use the fresh air."

The two of them weaved their way through the common room and made their way out into the hall, Edwin pausing only for a moment before making his way towards the port side of the ship. Mako had to practically jog to keep up with the other man, his long legs eating up space quickly. They came out on deck and Edwin swiveled his head about, looking this way and that while gritting his teeth.

"What is the matter?" Mako asked, not at all winded but still concerned by his new friend's odd actions.

Edwin let out two quick blasts of air from between his clenched teeth. "I just have a bad feeling-"

"SAY GOODBYE TO EXODIA!"

"NOOO!"

"There!" Edwin snapped, now racing forward with Mako hot on his heels. They had to dart back into the ship and then down a hall but when they emerged they caught sight of the rail... and the blond teen diving off the edge of the cruise liner into the cool water below, his friend following a second later.

"Get help!" Mako shouted, shedding his vest without thinking and checking to make sure his waterproof deckbox was shut tight. Edwin, meanwhile, had crouched down and grabbed a gold box that Mako vaguely remembered seeing the shorter teen carrying. "I will get the two of them out!"

He didn't wait for a response, instead gracefully diving over the rail. The air rushed by him, whistling in his ears, and he stuck his hands out seconds before he hit the ocean's surface and plunged into the inky darkness. Kicking hard against the chop the boat was kicking up Mako burst back up and began to swim hard, quickly spotting the short teen struggling to help his friend. He could tell the taller one was losing his strength fast, not used to fighting such heavy churning water, and he put on a bit more speed. The spiky-haired one was crying for help while fighting to keep his head above the waves, his quest to save his friend threatening to drag him down too.

"Hold on!" Mako said, covering the last few feet and reaching them. "Give him here, I'm a stronger swimmer!" The short teen nodded and passed over his friend and Mako lifted him, the blond coughing and sucking in a mouthful of air. "Steady, I've got you!"

"Guys!"

Mako looked up to see two more teens, one a girl in a pink and yellow outfit, the other a boy in a long brown coat, had gotten one of the emergency ladders and had tossed it down to them. Edwin was gripping the edge of the rail, his face pale as he looked down at them.

"You go first!" Mako called out to the short teen, the boy nodding and swimming for the ladder. "Kick with me," he commanded the one he was holding, the blond young man nodding and working with Mako to get to the ladder. It seemed that he was slowly regaining his strength and between the two of them they were able to get to the ladder. The climb was slow but finally all three of them were back on deck, shivering as the cool night air struck their wet skin but otherwise fine.

"Thank you so much," the girl practically sobbed, not caring in the slightest how wet Mako was as she leapt over and hugged him tight. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't been there!"

"It's all right," Mako said, patting her on the back. "I'm glad we were here. You can thank my new friend."

Edwin, who had finally backed away from the rail and had got his color back (Mako had a sneaking suspicion the older man was afraid of heights), merely nodded. "Always... trust my gut."

"Well I am glad you trusted it," the shorter teen said, reaching over and shaking Edwin's hand. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." With that Edwin stood up. "I'll go get the captain."

"What for?" the coat-wearing teen asked.

"To report that little basket Weevil Underwood for stealing your cards and sending you two over the rail."

"Wait, don't!" the short teen exclaimed, grabbing for Edwin's arm. "Please, let it go."

"He stole your cards," Edwin pointed out.

Mako nodded. "You two could have died. At the very least he should be kicked out of the tournament."

The four teens shared a look before the blond rubbed the back of his head. "Listen... we'd rather not get ourselves on anyone's radar, if that's alright. We appreciate it but... we'd rather handle it with a duel then involve any officials."

"Are you sure?" Mako asked.

"Positive," the short teen said. "Weevil will have his day soon enough."

Mako's lips pressed into a firm line but finally he nodded. "Very well... I don't like it but I will honor your choice." He stood up. "At the very least let us get you some towels."

"Thank you," the girl said, finally realizing that now she was wet from hugging them all. She made a face and flicked droplets of water from her hands, accidently flicking the water on the trenchcoat wearing teen who let out a cry of protest.

Mako and Edwin stood up and after he retrieved his vest both began to walk back down the hall, the quiet and contemplative after what had just occurred. "I do not like it... Weevil has always been a sneak but this time he has gone too far."

"I agree," Edwin said.

"But clearly those four have secrets of their own and we can not risk exposing them. I suppose there is little we can do."

Edwin though merely took off his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt. "Go get them the towels and then tell them to stay there. Let Yugi know I put his deck box in the corner behind one of those huge pipe things sticking out of the deck." With that he turned and began walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"To deal with Underwood," Edwin said darkly, his voice rumbling like a distance storm.

~MC~MC~MC~

All my plans to lay low and not change things died a swift death thanks to Weevil.

Chatting with Mako was a risk but one I had managed to justify in my head. One might not want to influence George Washington and cause the colonies to lose the war but didn't mean one wasn't tempted to say hello and shake his hand. I'd messed things up chatting with Mai but I was hopeful that wouldn't affect things greatly and no matter how I played the conversation I'd had with Mako I couldn't see how that would alter the future. I had been seconds away from returning to my room when my wonderful, oh so wonderful, conscious piped up and began to tap dance on my soul, singing at the top of its lungs about what Weevil was about to do and how would I like it if someone could have stepped in and helped me after losing something precious to me and they didn't.

Thankfully for the fabric of the universe I didn't get there soon enough to stop Weevil from tossing the Exodia pieces over the edge. Because I would have done just that. I would have broken that little bastard's wrist... or at minimum intimidated him into backing off. I was also too late to stop Joey from being insanely stupid and diving off a damn ship to try and save some (admittedly expensive) cards. Mako going in to get Joey and Yugi was something I hadn't expected but better him than me... I was never a fan of heights nor deep water thus diving into a churning ocean was not something I was ever going to be able to do.

But deal with that cackling bastard who'd caused all this? Oh yes... that was something I could do.

People leapt out of my way as I stormed through the halls, my face must have clearly shown just how enraged I was. When I got into the common room I could hear the runt still giggling over what he had done, holding court with a couple of wide-eyed teens who were hanging on his every word, thrilled just to be able to stand next to the National Champion. He was explained in great detail how he had managed to win the said Championship, speaking of his skill and cunning, and how half of a duel was the mental game one played before hand. He would chuckle at that, his high-pitched 'heeheheehehee' filling the air as he rubbed his hands together, throwing in mild insults at Rex for good measure that the suckups lapped up like warm cream.

The common room had grown rather crowded since I'd left, people moving off the main deck as the boat had gotten moving, the winds had grown more steady and cold. Some were still trading cards, others had grabbed food from the buffet that had been set up two doors down, and others had simply decided to just hang out and chat and make a lot of noise. First one, then another, then a small pocket of duelists, spotted me and grew quiet, elbowing those around them and nodding in the direction of the door I was standing in. As those people saw what must have been a truly thunderous look on my face they grew silent. Food was put aside, trades halted, and conversations stopped in their tracks. Like a wave the silence rippled from the front of the common room to the back, people slowly turned to stare at me before they looked away, fearful of making eye contact. Interestingly enough the only one who didn't grow quiet was the one person in the entire room that I was interested in. Weevil had become far too wrapped up in his story to realize that his audience was no longer focused on him.

I stalked forward and teens scattered and shifted, parting like the Red Sea. Still Weevil continued to brag and boast, letting out little peals of laughter. I stopped just behind him and all the hangers-on that had been following his entire tale with almost a religious fervor now only had eyes for me as I loomed over the parasite. The brat thought he was a king holding court only now those in attendance saw the looming devil standing behind the throne.

Weevil, finally cluing in that something was wrong, turned and promptly stumbled back onto his ass as he realized just how close I was to him. He looked up from the floor as I stared down at him with a sneer, the National Champion scurrying to his feet before puffing out his chest and plastering a smirk on his face. It might have worked to throw me off my game if I didn't have at least a foot on him (far more if you got rid of his puffed up hair).

"Hehe... if you are... well... here for an autograph-"

"We need to talk," I said coldly.

"I'm afraid that I am in the middle of something," Weevil stated. "But maybe-"

"Anyone mind if I borrow Mr. Underwood for a moment?" I called out, the entire room quickly shaking their heads. I clapped my hand down on his shoulder and squeezed just hard enough to make it clear to him that it would be wise to just go along and not fight me on this. I paused only to snatch a hand towel that someone had left lying out before half shoving-half guiding Weevil out the door, the little vermin trying to walk with a cocky swagger when it was clear he was really trying to keep his legs crossed so he didn't wet himself. I purposely walked a bit further than I needed to for some privacy, as it gave me a chance to calm down so I didn't let my anger get me to act too rashly and also because it added to the fear. I'd done plenty of these walks, where I had to grab someone and bring them to an office or conference room so we could chat, and how you handled that walk would set the entire tone. Need to deliver bad news but wanted them to be calm? Be very friendly and talkative, asking them about their day. Wanted them to be worried and understand that now wasn't the time to screw around? Take the long way and be utterly silent. Thus I pushed Weevil down several halfways, making our walk through the deserted section of the ship last as long as I could before I finally let him go.

"What is the meaning of this? Do you have any-" Weevil began to complain as he turned to face me. He went quiet though... mostly because I slammed him against the wall with my left arm and then shoved the balled up towel I'd grabbed against his mouth.

"Is it sad that you've screwed over so many people that you have no idea why I might be mad? Because I think it's sad." I leaned forward, letting the weight of my larger frame do all the work in keeping the green-coated sack of crap firmly in place. "Don't worry, I'm going to clue you in real quick. But first a few tidbits. There is no one around to hear you scream so don't even think of wasting my time crying for help. Second, this towel is to keep you from raising your shrill voice and making my tinnitus even worse. So if you raise your voice above casual conversation levels I will gag you. Third, I suggest you think long and hard about making me even more pissed off because all I need to do is shift my arm up a bit and cover your nose and the next thing you'll be seeing is little men in red pajamas with pitchforks ask if you'd like the top or bottom bunk in your room with Hitler. Do I make myself clear?"

Luckily Weevil had no idea that my upbringing wouldn't let me get even close to doing serious harm to him, let alone killing him. I preferred to use my mouth to deal with problems, not my fists.

"Now then..." I said, lowering the towel so Weevil could breathe through his mouth while still keeping my arm firmly against his chest, "we need to talk about what I saw you do."

"What... what might that be?" Weevil said with a weak chuckle. "Is it a crime to tell stories?"

"Let me refresh your memory." My made my voice as nasally as possible. "Say goodbye to Exodia!"

Weevil paled at that before shaking his head, a vicious smile forming on his lips. "So what? I took advantage of some na?ve fool who shouldn't even been on this ship. That's part of the game, you know. Get every advantage you can, be it during the duel or before. Mental warfare and all that. Just look at that na?ve child... for all I knew he was trying to figure out my own strategies so he could take me out. Instead I turned the tables on him and eliminated a threat! You should be thanking me... with Exodia gone we all stand a better chance!"

"Hmmm, you're right," I said blandly before narrowing my eyes. "So it would be a real good advantage to toss the National Champion overboard right now." I pulled my arm away only to grab the lapels of his jacket. I wasn't strong enough to actually lift the brat in the air but I could at least drag him along. "You can swim, right? Maybe if you paddle really hard-"

"Wait, wait!" Weevil cried out, realizing that my warning about not pissing me off hadn't been idle chit chat.

"Ever of the Indianapolis? Of all the men that went into the water... and the sharks that ensured not that many came back out?"

"You... you can't do this!"

"I think I can," I said with a cocky smirk. "Might be hard getting you over the railing what with it being taller than you but-"

"You'll be caught!" Weevil exclaimed.

I snorted. "All alone on a deserted ship deck, remember? Accidents happened. Oh no, Weevil disappeared? Well... I will duel in his honor!" I sniffed away fake tears. Again, I had no plans of tossing the little bastard into the sea but even if I did I wasn't too concerned. This was a world where Pegasus kidnapped a child and nothing happened to him (and the eye popping thing doesn't count, Bakura would have done that anyway). A world where Marik could rob a museum and nothing happened to him. A world where Siegfried did... something, I couldn't remember what he did, to be honest... and as far as I remembered nothing happened to him. I honestly couldn't remember when there had been a cop on the show. The only time we'd seen a prison was 5ds and that was some 'The 100'/'Hunger Games'/2010s Young Adult Post Apocalypse bullshit. On that boat I wasn't concerned.

"People will know!" Weevil whimpered, all his bluster gone as I continued to haul him towards the deck. "They saw you leave with me!"

"And when I tell them what you did, about how you stole cards from another duelist and tossed them overboard... and get them to wonder what you might have done to them... well, I am willing to bet I'll get some alibis REAL fast." I clicked my tongue several times. "Now would you prefer me to sing Under the Sea or Anchors Away before I drop you?"

"Why... why do you care?" Weevil demanded, finally dragging his heels and trying to wrench my hands from his person. Anyone else might have caused some damage but apparently Weevil had the strength of a turnip. "It's just some fool-"

"Because someone has to," I said darkly, thinking of all the poor people, the little guys on both sides of the battle against good and evil in this world that got stepped on. Yeah, it was Yugi this time and he was able to get a measure of vengeance but after that? The kid who got kicked off the island because of Mokuba. The innocents who lost to the Rare Hunters and had their cards taken away and unlike Joey never got them back. There were plenty who got dealt a shitty hand but never got Yugi Moto to save the day for them. Seeing Weevil's smug little face... well, it made all that injustice burn my soul. And light the fuse on my rage.

"But it doesn't even affect you! Why... wait... wait!" Weevil suddenly grinned but it wasn't his cocky grin anymore. No, he had begun to wear a small one, a desperate one, a smile that spoke of fear but also a glimmer of hope. The moment I saw it I decided to pause and see where this was going. "There must be... some way for me to make it up to you. Something I might... give you... to make you look the other way."

I puckered my lips and raised an eyebrow. A bribe. I hadn't considered that. I'd never taken one before. I'd been given stuff after helping out, been offered favors, but never a bribe. It was... intriguing. I wasn't going to actually do any damage to Weevil, I had planned to just scare him a bit before letting him go with a warning. But getting something in return, a payment for penance... well that was a new turn and I decided to see what he might offer.

When he realized I'd stopped pulling him along Weevil quickly began to barter. "I have information about the tournament. Something to help you out against everyone else-"

"The field advantage," I said, cutting him off. "Grasslands power up beasts and such, forests the same for bugs. The sea for water monsters." Weevil deflated at that. I released him but made sure to stand so that he had no way of running past me and back to safety. "Gonna need more than that."

As Weevil blathered on though I tuned him out and actually considered what he could give me. Nothing from his deck... there was nothing in it that would work with Endymion that I could think of. Not his stupid moth and even if he had the Insect Queen I'd never use it. I wouldn't hand over Star Chips and I couldn't risk asking for them anyway because Yugi would be winning those soon enough. Weevil didn't have any money on him which was a shame because I would have enjoyed making a few yen off of him (and I was already planning on finding a way to make some cash on this trip... nothing in the rules about extra betting, after all, what with Yugi putting up his deck to get Weevil's second Star Chip, along with a few other ideas I had for trades and such) so that was off the table. As he continued to ramble on about different tips and such he could give me I honestly fought off a yawn, the high I had gained from my adrenaline rush fading away and leaving me wanting to head back to my room once this was done-

I blinked as it suddenly hit me what Weevil had.

"You're room key," I said, cutting him off.

"Wha-what?" Weevil stammered.

"The two finalists for the National Championship got private rooms on this ship. I want your room key."

The runt swallowed at that. "Well... I kind of like my room... I already put my stuff in there-"

"I'll leave it by the door. Room key."

"Now... maybe we can work something out-"

"You don't know how bribes work, do you?" I asked dryly.

"-what about a duel? Hmmm? You win you get my room key and maybe something else? I have some rare cards I won. You lose and you let me go?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck. "We could do it right-"

"No."

Weevil blinked at that, having already begun to shuffle his cards. "But... but I-"

"I said no," I repeated. "Do you know why? Because that would mean that I respect you, Weevil. That I think of you as someone I'd like to challenge. And I don't. You make up for the fact that you are so short by having a large personality but the thing is that no matter how big you try to puff yourself up to be you are Just. So. Small." I poked him in the chest with each word. "I'm going to duel a lot of people on Duelist Kingdom, Weevil. And I'm going to duel a lot of people after it. But you? I'll never duel you. Because that would be me giving you a measure of respect and I REFUSE to give you what you wish." I held out my hand. "Now... room key or the water. Your pick."

Shaken but angered by my dismissal Weevil pulled out his roomkey and threw it at my chest, the card bouncing off and falling to the group. "We'll see about that... I'll win Duelist Kingdom and then I'll make sure with my new title to keep you from ever playing this game again!"

"Blah blah blah boring me now." I said, lazily pointing back to the common room. "I'll leave your junk outside the door in an hour. Go entertain the dull masses, would ya?" I waited until he was a few steps away before saying. "And Weevil? I know about the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. I also know that Rex has a Red-Eyes Black Dragon that he didn't have when he took you on." That made the little bastard freeze. "I have sources, Weevil." Deciding to steal from Lord Varys I added, "Little birds that sing sweet songs to me. If you even think of bringing up what we said here or talk crap about me to the other contestants... well, Duelist Kingdom is a big island. And I know how to bury bodies deep."

I waited until Weevil was long gone (as I didn't trust the rodent not to try and kick me when I bent down to grab the room key) before retrieving my bribe and making my way back to where I had left Yugi and his friends, my only detour being where the buffet was set up and snagging some junk food. Thankfully none of them had left the spot where Mako had dragged Joey's wet form to, with the only difference being from when I last saw them the towels they had wrapped around them and the lack of a certain Water-themed duelist.

"Oh, there you are!" Tea said, standing up and hurrying over to me before giving a polite bow. "Thank you so much for helping Yugi and Joey!"

"Ya, thanks for that man," Joey said, a towel draped over his head.

Tristan scoffed. "Thanks for helping my idiot friend who thought it was a good idea to dive into a cold ocean!"

"Hey, I was tryin' ta save Yugi's cards!"

"By nearly getting yourself killed?" Tristan shot back.

"Why you-"

"Guys, it's alright!" Yugi said with a smile, holding out his hands and motioning for the two to stop. He looked over at me and chuckled. "Sorry, you get used to Joey and Tristan. OH! I'm sorry... we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Yugi Moto. This is Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor and Tea Garner."

"Edwin Chaos," I replied before looking around. "Where did Mako go?"

"He said we'd be fine and he wanted to go stake out a spot to sleep on deck. Something about his late night swim being very relaxing," Tristan stated with a scoff.

"Yeah, that sounds like the freaky fish guy," I said drolly. I looked down at the snacks cradled in my arms. "Sorry it took me so long... had to take care of some things but I come bearing snacks-CRAP!" I stumbled back as Joey and Tristan damn well tackled me in their rush to get the food, tearing open bags of cookies and chips and gobbling them down.

"You guys!" Tea scolded, her hands on her hips. "That wasn't nice at all! Edwin is helping us..."

"Sorry man!" Joey said with his mouth full. "Just hungry, you know?"

"I get it, don't worry." I rubbed my bruised tailbone before looking up at the four. "So... I've heard of you, Yugi, but I haven't heard of you three..."

Tristan, embarrassed, stopped eating and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh! Well... we aren't exactly duelists... but we totally belong on the ship. Completely. Utterly."

"You snuck on, didn't you?" I asked with half-lidded eyes. "That's why you didn't want me to grab the captain."

"...yeah," Tea answered, head bowed as she let out a little sigh.

I held up my hands. "Hey, I'm only here because my uncle broke his leg. I'm not here to judge." Looking at them I decided to lead the conversation right where I needed it to go. "That said, I'm assuming you three want to avoid being seen?"

"Well, Joey already was given permission to be on board," Yugi admitted. He dropped his voice a little. "I gave him one of my Star Chips." I merely made the motion of zipping my mouth shut. "But even I wasn't expecting Tristan and Tea to stowaway so I don't know what they'll do."

Tea nodded. "We're going to have to sleep out here... thanks for the towels by the way. We'll keep a lot warmer with them."

"Hmmm... about that." I looked at the four and smirked before reaching into my pocket. "See, I was mostly delayed because I decided to have a little talk with our dear friend Weevil. As the oldest duelist on this boat, as far as I can tell, that makes me the elder statesmen and thus it is my duty to educate the younger generation how to behave... and punish naughty children who get out of line." I mentally hoped that didn't sound as creepily sexual as it did in my head, especially since Pegasus had made Duelist Kingdom a real sausagefest with only Mai to represent female kind. "It occurred to me that since Weevil cost you Exodia he needed to pay a penalty."

"You didn't take his cards, did you?" Yugi asked, concerned. "Because I don't want Weevil dealt with like that."

"Speak for yourself, Yug!" Joey said with a snort. "I think that toad deserves a bit of punishment."

"Mixing your metaphors, Joey. Weevil is a bug, not a toad," Tristan pointed out.

I merely waved them off. "I have no interest in giving Weevil any excuse when he is booted off of Duelist Kingdom the first day. No, I wanted something to make his life uncomfortable." I drew out the card. "Did you know that there are private rooms for a select few? Rex got one for making it to the finals, my uncle got one for the press... and Weevil got one. And I'm pretty sure it connects to my room." I wiggled the card a bit. "So you four can freeze out here..."

"I don't know," Yugi began only for Tea to instantly leap in front of me.

"Heehee... he means yes, we will absolutely take you up on your kind and generous offer." She turned around and did that cartoon anime thing where a character's proportions would get bigger and the details more simple. It was rather offputting to see it happen to a person. She glared at Yugi and said fiercely, "Right?"

Yugi weakly laughed, eyes shut and a blush on his cheeks. "Right... that's what I meant to say."

About 30 minutes later we were all settled. Weevil's room did connect to mine so the first order of business was getting Yugi and Joey warmed up after their dip in the Pacific. Joey used Weevil's shower while Yugi used mine, their clothing left out to dry and fluffy white bathrobes provided for both. Tristan happily sat on the couch channel surfing while Tea, after first claiming the bathroom to, ahem, take care of business, began figuring out sleeping arrangement. For my part I went two more times to stock up on food (both the junk food variety and some sandwiches) knowing that I was bedding down with teenagers and even Tea would want plenty of things to munch on. The end result was me sitting on the couch reading Jurassic Park while the teens happily gorged themselves, my headphones giving me some relaxing music to listen to.

"Man, I am stuffed!" Joey exclaimed, leaning back against the couch. He'd decided to sit on the floor, a mini mountain of wrappers surrounding him. "Thanks again, Ed!"

I quirked my eyebrow at Joey's new nickname for me but chose to instead merely smile, marking my place in my book and popping my earbuds out. "Not a problem. Just glad I could help."

"I'll say," Tea said, sitting across from me as she finished nibbling on her sandwich. "I was not looking forward to waiting for the sun to rise."

"Meh, I don't see what the big deal is!" Joey opened up a bag of chips and, to my utter confusion at the physics of it all, he was able to dump all of it into his mouth without a problem. "Me, I could've handled it just find."

"Yeah right," Tea retorted. "If you had slept out there with us you would have been shivering and caught a cold." I rubbed my hand against my jaw to hide my smile, amused at just how right Tea was.

"Hey! So what if I had? I was tryin' ta help Yug!" The teen instantly became rather melancholy , staring down at the floor as he idly traced his finger along the carpet. "I'm sorry I couldn't get all your cards back, man."

Yugi, who was sitting on the bed with his puzzle box out, going over his deck and making changes, just smiled. "Don't worry about it Joey. It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," Tristan said darkly, sitting next to me on the couch, flipping through my copy of The Lost World (apparently Tristan enjoyed reading novels and while the other three had been discussing trivial things he and I had struck up a conversation about our favorite books). "It's that little runt Weevil's fault. Someone needs to give him a good thrashing in this tournament."

Joey though wasn't brought out of his dour mood. "Still, it's gonna really hurt ya when ya have ta face Pegasus, Yug! How are ya supposed to save your grandpa's soul- Erk!" Joey froze, looking over at him and grimacing. "Uh... what I mean-"

"When he says soul-" Tea began.

I shrugged, going back to my book. "He means Pegasus stole Yugi's grandpa's soul."

The four of them were silent.

'3...2..1...'

The four teens began to blast me with questions and I grimaced, wondering if I'd have any hearing left before the end of Duelist Kingdom. I calmly marked my page before waiting for them to calm down. After several moments they realized I wasn't going to say a word and they quieted down, looking at me expectantly.

"Believe it or not there are a few people who have actually been paying attention, kids," I finally stated. "There are... rumors concerning Pegasus." The comment 'and his love of The Village People' hung on my tongue but I swallowed that up. "Whispers of magic and the like."

"And you believe them?" Tristan asked.

"There are far more wonders in heaven and earth than are dreamed in your mind," I said, butchering some quote.

Joey shook his head. "Man, I was there when it happened and I still have a hard time acceptin' it and you just take it as fact, Ed." Joey once more looked over at Yugi. "And that makes me feel even worse. I mean, what if your grandpa isn't the only person Pegasus has messed with? You might be the best hope for a ton of people and I ruined it for you."

"It's alright, Joey," Yugi said with a soft smile. "Yes, Exodia is a powerful tool in my grandpa's deck but it isn't the only one. A good duelist doesn't just rely on a single card or a single strategy. They build a deck that can win multiple ways, to give them options so they can tackle any foe. I might have lost Exodia but I still have ways to beat Pegasus."

I stood up and walked over to my suitcase. "And I might be able to help with that." Finding the special lockbox I'd gotten the day before I opened it up and asked, "I heard rumor that you like using the Dark Magician, Yugi. Is that true?"

"It is," Yugi said with a grin. "He's my favorite card."

"Your ace card."

Joey's face screwed up in confusion. "What do ya mean, 'ace card'?"

"A lot of duelists have one card that is considered their ace card," I explained, finding only a touch odd to be lecturing a character from the show about the game. "Yugi was right that you need to have a lot of different cards and strategies in order to win but many times a duelist with have one card that is not only their favorite but one they build the most strategies around. Look at Seto Kaiba. He has the Blue Eyes."

"Don't remind us," Tea groused in annoyance. "That jerk ripped up Mr. Moto's Blue Eyes because he couldn't buy it."

"Seto is a Richard Nixon," I said, rather pleased with myself; I'd chosen to censor myself that time. "Yugi uses the Dark Magician as his ace card." Popping open my deck box I pulled out Endymion. "I can get that... I'm partial to magicians myself."

Yugi's eyes widened. "Wow... I've heard of Endymion! He supposed to be really strong."

"He is," I said, mentally adding 'And will be stronger when I track down the other Endymion cards... stupid world not having structures'. "Anyway, I went looking for a few more cards to boost my deck yesterday and I came upon one that I thought might work well for me... but I'm thinking she would work better in your deck." With a flourish I pulled out the card in question.

"The Dark Magician GIRL?!?" the four of them said as one, my smile all the bigger mostly because I so did love getting tropes to play out in front of me.

"That's right. And I think this would be a wonderful card for Yugi to have in his deck."

"It would," Yugi said eagerly. "I didn't even know there was a Dark Magician Girl... and her effect works perfectly with the Dark Magician." He paused, looking up at me with a shrewd look. "But I'm guessing you aren't just going to give her to me for free."

"I'm nice but not that nice. No, I'm thinking we can help each other out. I'll give you the Dark Magician Girl... and you give me the two pieces of Exodia that Joey managed to save."

Yugi considered that for a moment but before he could speak Joey, being the annoying little twit that he was, decided to speak up. "Hold up now, how is that fair? Yugi has to give you two cards for your one? That's just crummy math."

"Use your head man!" Tristan complained. "The Dark Magician Girl has more value to Yugi than one card!"

"What are ya talkin' about? Exodia is way more powerful."

Tea shook her head. "But only when one has all five pieces, Joey. Without the other ones those cards aren't that good."

"Look, I said I was sorry-" Joey began as I fought the urge to hold my head in my hands.

Yugi chose that moment to speak up. "It's okay Joey. It's actually a really good trade. Right now the Exodia pieces don't do much for me. The Dark Magician Girl will do more for my deck then both of those cards combined. So it helps me out a ton."

Joey considered that, scratching his chin before pointing at me. "Alright, then what do you get out of this? You runnin' Exodia too? If so why not trade Yugi your Exodia cards? Not like your gonna win the tournament or anything."

"JOEY!" Tea shouted, standing up and making the blond teen topple backwards. "That is very rude! Edwin could win Duelist Kingdom, you don't know!"

Quickly getting back up Joey scrambled to his feet. "What, and you're sayin' Yug and I don't have a chance?"

"No but I'm not going to say that Edwin doesn't!"

"They are always like this," Tristan whispered to me.

"I got that feeling," I muttered before loudly clapping my hands together. "Guys! Focus?" Tea and Joey quickly sat down, blushing at being wrapped up in their fight. "No, I don't have any other pieces of Exodia. I want them for a long term investment."

"What do ya mean?"

"My deck is all set, other than some minor tweaking. I don't really need any new cards for it. But the Exodia cards are worth something... I can take the cards and sell them when this is all done and use the money to buy new cards to improve my deck."

"Wha?" Joey exclaimed, utterly baffled. "Sell Exodia... but..."

Yugi shook his head. "It makes sense, Joey. You just can't stick random cards in your deck that don't fit your strategy." I fought a snort; if only Yugi knew that until the whole Atlantis thing that would be Joey's entire shtick. Seriously, Fortress Whale?

Joey though shook his head. "Nah, I got a better idea." He looked over at me and grinned and I had a feeling that whatever happened next would not end well for anyone. "What say you and me have a little duel right here. If I win you give Yugi the Dark Magician Girl and if you win you get the trade."

"Considering Yugi's already going to trade with me... why in the blue hfil would I ever go with that gamble?"

"Cause... cause I challenged you to a duel! Ya have ta accept!"

"Not really no," I said, the right side of my face scrunching in confusion.

"Oh, ya want to sweetin' the pot, do ya? Fine... if you win not only will Yug give ya the Exodia cards but I'll throw in an amazing card from my deck! And if I win-"

"No," I said firmly. "If I win the trade goes as planned. If you win then Yugi trades me one of his Exodia pieces for the Dark Magician Girl and I can try and work out another trade for the other one."

"What, afraid ta lose everything?" Joey taunted. "I promise ta go easy on ya!"

"No, I don't gamble needlessly," I informed him, pulling out my deck, ignoring Tea and Tristan's mutters about how Joey was letting his mouth cash checks he couldn't actually pay. "That is my final offer."

"Alright then, let's do this! Yug, ya can thank me later." Yugi merely smiled weakly and ducked his head. Joey shuffled his cards while Tristan cleared off the table that sat between the two couches, that being the best place for our little duel while Tea grabbed a pad of paper and acted as score keeper. "Alright, I'll let ya go first."

I nodded and looked over my cards. I was in a tricking spot and not because I feared Joey suddenly becoming an amazing duelist without a lick of practice. The reverse was actually the issue, as Joey right now was so bad that I was pretty sure I could destroy him within a few moves. The problem was that if I did that I might crush all in confidence and that would affect his ability to battle Mai and later Rex. Those had been hard matches for him but they had been important, with the first truly teaching him how to strategize and the second winning him Red Eyes Black Dragon, his ace card during Duelist Kingdom and Wake the Dragons. I wanted to win, as there was no way I'd live down being beaten by someone who until 3 hours ago hadn't ever put a spell card in his deck, but I couldn't destroy him. I had to play a solid match that gave me the victory without overpowering him.

"I set this card in defense mode and end my turn," I stated.

Joey grinned as he looked over his cards. "Ya can't win if ya ain't darin', Ed. Let me show ya how a real master duels."

"Oh boy," Tea muttered and I was inclined to agree with her.

"I summon Garoozis and have it attack your downface card!" I flipped the card over and Joey cheered as I revealed my Witch of the Black Forest. "Yeah, say goodbye to 600 of your lifepoints!"

"Uh, Joey?" Tea said. "He doesn't lose any lifepoints if you destroy a monster in defense mode."

"...I knew that! I meant next turn! Next turn say goodbye to your lifepoints! Yeah!"

"Right," I said, grabbing my deck and thumbing through it.

"Hey, what do ya think your doin?!" Joey demanded, trying to reach over the table and snatch my cards out of my hand. "You can't go just pickin' whatever card you want to draw next! How'd you end up in Duelist Kingdom not knowin' how to play?"

"Look who's talking," Tristan quipped.

I took several calming breaths before answering, as it was either that or choking him out until Joey stopped making noise. "My Witch of the Black Forest, which you just destroyed, has an effect that only activates when she is destroyed. It allows me to select one monster card from my deck with 1500 defense points or fewer and add it to my hand."

"...oh," Joey said, rubbing the back of his head as he leaned back away from me. "Sorry about that, Ed."

"No problem," I said dryly as I drew my next card. 'Dear Lord this boy needs an education and quick. Even if I don't meddle with the timeline he'll lose at this point.' Looking at what I'd just drawn I nodded to myself. "I will set another monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"What, that's it? Ya know ya have to do something eventually if you hope to take down my lifepoints!"

"Be careful Joey," Yugi warned, the Pharaoh clearly deciding that this little match didn't need him to take hold the steering wheel. "You have no idea what he might have under there."

"Eh, just another monster for Garoozis to take down! Garoozis, attack!" I couldn't help but smirk as I flipped it to reveal Defender the Magical Knight. "Oh man!"

"Sometimes people play defense monsters because they are trying to just protect their lifepoints. Other times they know a monster is stronger defending then attacking." Tea held up the paper to show the Lifepoints (Joey-1800/Edwin-2000). "Now then, I believe it is my turn. Draw." I looked over my cards and nodded to myself. "I summon Crusader of Endymion in attack mode and attack Garoozis."

"Oh!" Yugi exclaimed as Tea updated the lifepoints (Joey-1700/Edwin-2000). "I didn't know there were other Endymion cards!"

"There are a couple," I stated. I'd looked into it and unfortunately there were no versions yet of most of the second Endymion Structure Deck cards. I didn't know if that was because of Pendulums never being in the first series or if it was just that they hadn't produced the cards yet but would later. During Battle City it seemed like Pegasus had ordered a TON of new cards created and I was hoping that this world would either add Pendulum Monsters OR find a way to alter them enough to include them in my Battle City deck. "Like the Dark Magician has his student so too does Endymion have his warriors and guards."

"Doesn't matter how many cards Andymon has-"

"Endymion," I told Joey.

"-because it isn't staying on the field for long! I summon Rude Kaiser and then play a new spell card I picked up in the common room: Shield and Sword! This card changes the attack and defense points of all our monsters, turning your Crusader from a 1900 attacker into a 1200 attack...less... er! Yup, that! And yeah, my Rude Kaiser also drops down a bit but he only goes to 1600, more than enough to take out that Crusader! YEAH!" Joey pumped his fist as Tea lowered my lifepoints (Joey-1700/Edwin-1600). "I'm back in the lead. Now take that Crusader off the board."

I shook my head though. "I think he'll stay, he likes it there."

"Uh, Ed? Ya can't just keep your monsters on the field just because ya want them to stay there-"

"I activate Defender's special ability."

"Aw man, I don't like the sound of that," Joey said, instantly deflating.

"When Defender was summoned to the field he got what was known as a Spell Counter on him. I can now remove that spell counter to keep my Crusader from being destroyed. I still take that damage but he remains... and now that your Shield and Sword spell has worn off he is back to 1900."

"Oh man, and Rude Kaiser is stuck in attack mode!"

"Don't worry, Joey," Yugi pointed out, trying to comfort his friend. "You'll only end up losing 100 attack points."

"Think again," I said, drawing out the words. "Crusader is a special monster... normally he doesn't have an effect but if I forgo summoning another monster to the field I can give him a new effect, which I do so now: Once per turn I can replace a Spell Counter, like the one Defender used to protect Crusader, and when I do so Crusader's attack increases from 1900 to 2500."

"Oh man!" Joey moaned as I declared my attack. "This is bad!" (Joey-1000/Edwin 1600)

Tristan grimaced. "Geez, you're in real trouble Joey. Even if you manage to get a monster out that can destroy Crusader Edwin can just protect him with Defender and then not only return the Spell Counter onto Defender but that just pumps up Crusader back to 2500!"

"Yeah, I get that!" Joey barked before staring glumly at his hand.

"Don't give up yet, Joey!" Yugi encouraged. "You got some great spell and trap cards... you just need to find the right combination!"

"You're right, Yug! I can do this!"

"Go get'em, Joey!" Tea cheered.

"Take him out!" Tristan added.

"I'm trying not to take this personally at all, guys," I said with a glower, Tea and Tristan instantly blushing and Yugi rubbing the back of his head modestly.

"Uh... sorry about that," Yugi told me. I merely chuckled and motioned for Joey to draw.

"Hmmm... oh, okay this will work real good!" Joey began to giggle to himself. "Oh man, if you knew what I drew." Apparently Joey had never heard of a poker face and it was painful to watch him cackling in delight. "Alright, I am going to summon Axe Raider in attack mode and set this card, ending my turn. Come at me Ed!"

"Well," I said with bored sarcasm, "I wonder if you've set a trap." I drew my next card and paused. 'I can win the game now. Utterly defeat him... but honestly I think it would be better for Joey to get his little ploy off so that he can get some more confidence in his dueling.' I looked up. 'Wait, am I doing that inner monologue thing they always do on the show? I am... huh. Neat.' Shaking myself out of my thoughts I turned back to the game. "Well, I don't think I need to be too worried about what you have set up... so Crusader, attack-"

"Not so fast!" Joey said, flipping his trap. "Kunai with Chain! I can equip it to my Axe Raider and increase his attack points to 2200! And since your Defender can only have one Spell Counter that means you can't boost Crusader up!" (Joey-1000/Edwin 1300)

"I use the Spell Counter that is there to save my Crusader from destruction. So he remains on the field. Good job, Joey."

"Way to go man!" Tristian cheer.

"Great work!" Tea added

Yugi nodded. "I told you that you could do it. You just need the right mix of spells and traps."

Joey nodded. "Thanks guys. And yeah, I think I get that now." Joey drew his next card and burst into an even bigger grin. "Oh man! With this I can lock up the win! First I summon the Flame Swordsman and then I equip Salamandra to him! This burning sword increases my Flame Swordsman's attack by 700, meaning he is now as strong as your Crusader could get!"

"That's the way, Joey!" Tea cheered.

Drunk on victory Joey jabbed his finger at me... which considering how close we were meant I could have bitten the digit off. "So I'll attack with both my monsters, Axe Raider taking out Defender and Flame Swordsman taking out Crusader, leaving you with nothing!" Tea rapidly began to do the math on the notepad while Tristan shook Joey so hard his teeth rattled. (Joey-1000/Edwin 700) "Don't feel bad Ed, ya nearly had me. But I'm gonna be one of the best duelists in the world and ya have to be quick to keep up with me."

"I guess so," I said, laying down the spell I'd drawn last turn. "Tremendous Fire. I win."

"...wait, what?" Joey stared at me dumbly, Tristan froze, Tea's face fell and Yugi leaned back on the bed.

"Tremendous Fire. It does 1000 direct damage to your lifepoints and 500 to mine." Tea weakly scribbled the final score out but before she could hold it out Joey snatched it from her. (Joey-0/Edwin 200) "Good duel though."

"No... no, that can't be right! I still have monsters on the field-"

"But no lifepoints," I pointed out.

Joey frowned. "Let me just check the math here!" he began to mutter to himself. "Carry the 3... divide by 7... Aw man!" Joey exclaimed, falling off the couch with a bang.

"Cheer up, Joey, you did really good!" Yugi said, trying to boost his friend's moral. "Edwin... just got the better of you."

"He creamed me... with one card he took half my lifepoints and stole the win."

I stood up, my face cold as stone. "I didn't 'steal the win', Joey. I won fair and square. In a duel that we didn't even have to play because Yugi was fine with a trade I wanted to make. A duel that, had I not been nice could have cost you a rare card because you almost cashed a check you couldn't pay." I walked over to the mourning teen and squatted down. "In this game victory can come just as quickly as defeat. You never know what card your deck if going to give you... or your opponent. But unless they are acting like Weevil you never claim they 'stole a victory'. They won it fair and square and you show that you honor them and their skill by being a graceful loser." I held out my hand. "Just like winners show they are honorable by being a graceful winner."

Joey, after a long moment, accepted my help in pulling him to his feet. "Sorry about that man... I shouldn't have said that. And you did real well. Guess I have a lot to learn."

"Admitting that is your first step." I paused, looking at Joey before nodding. "I changed my mind. I want to alter the trade. In addition to the Dark Magician Girl I'll give Yugi AND you something."

"What do you want to give us?" Yugi asked.

I held my arms out. "This boat is full of people that will be challenging us and trying to kick us off the island. I think it's time we Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast them all." I grinned wide and proud. "I want to form an alliance."

"An alliance?" Yugi asked.

"Yes. The three of us agree that we don't challenge each other unless we have no choice. Like we are forced to by Pegasus. We see each other on the island and we say hello, ask how things are, and leave it at that. If we find out information we share it and if one of us runs into trouble we can run to the other two. We don't try and hurt one another... we focus on everyone else. I'm not saying we have to stick with each other... but if tomorrow night we meet up then we share a camp and swap stories. I won't challenge you, you don't challenge me. We make it that the three of us are the Top Three Duelists at the end of this and all that needs to be sorted out is who is one, who is two, and who is three."

"That sounds great!" Tea exclaimed. "Joey, Yugi, you two weren't going to challenge each other anyway so this is just adding Edwin to the mix."

"Yeah, and with how good he is it would be great to have a third duelist working with us," Tristan added.

Yugi paused and I quickly realized he was thinking it out and, most likely though he probably hadn't realized it yet since the divide between him and his other half wasn't so definitive yet, hearing out the Pharaoh. Finally Yugi came back to us and nodded, pulling out the two Exodia cards and handing them to me. "I think that's a good idea."

"Me too!" Joey exclaimed. "The three of us can burst onto Duelist Kingdom and win the whole thing!"

"Then here is to the Alliance," I said, passing over the Dark Magician Girl and sealing the deal.

Notes:

Author's Notes: Do expect updates this quick from now on. It's only because I want to get you guys invested before it falls into my normal pattern, especially since one of Chaos Effect equals two Chapters of everything else.

And thus we have myself/Edwin meeting up with the main cast and even getting to duel Joey. Of course this is 'I don't even understand how this game works' Joey so me beating him isn't that impressive at all. And don't worry, all my victories won't come from burn damage cards.

One of the hard things with this "Season" is that, thanks to Duelist Kingdom and how decks were built then I can't use the deck that I really want to be using: my Endymion deck. I do have plans to allow for Pendulum cards to appear once we hit Battle City but for this first part I was just pushing it with the Gemini effect.

Bringing in the likes of Mako for this story allows me to begin showing off a running theme that this series will have: making connections with others. Yugi would run into recurring duelists, sure, but really it was always a different opponent unless you were Mai. There is a massive cast in Yu-Gi-Oh! and I am not going to restrict myself to just the gang.

We also see that my need to make money flares up here. While I hate to gamble I do enjoy trades and making deals... figuring out a way that everyone is happy and gets what they want. The Exodia pieces Edwin just nabbed are merely the first step... there are going to be PLENTY of chances for me to earn cards I can turn into cash as well as make trades for favors and other things.

Finally I wanted to establish here that while Yugi and Co will be working with Edwin he isn't a member of their group. He is an ally... and choosing to use the Survivor motto wasn't by accident. Sometimes alliances work... and sometimes you have to shatter them at the right moment.

As I warned with the description... this isn't me replacing Yugi as the lead or becoming his new best friend. This is what happens when you take a habitiual liar and schemer and put them in a world ripe for plotting and plans. And that doesn't always mean you get a white knight.