Ryou: Welcome back lovelies please note Phoenix doesn't own Yugioh, its characters, or any media used in this story.
Kisara: We hope you're keeping well and staying safe. Thank you so much for taking the time to read.
Bandit Keith: Now on to the story so I can wipe the floor with this dweeb in America!
(Inside Your Bedroom)
Your POV
After teasing Yugi, Yami switched back with him so his friends could congratulate him. Serah, Leo, and I went up to our rooms to freshen up and organize ourselves for our duel that's right after Joey's. I gave Serah three cards for him to help him in his duel. For some reason, he and Tea are being very cold to me. I've picked up on it with Yugi as well. I'm guessing it has to do with me being the daughter of the man who stole the soul of Yugi's grandpa forcing him to take part in his tournament in order to get it back.
"Hey, Morri do you happen to know why dad wants Yugi's puzzle?" I asked Serah.
"It's not just the puzzle he's after. He wants all the Millennium Items," She said.
"Your dad wants all seven Millennium Items, so he could use their ancient powers to resurrect your mom," Leo explained.
"How does he plan on getting the other five?" I queried.
"The ring and puzzle are in the castle and he already has the eye. The other four items are in Egypt and he knows their owners very well," He clarified.
"Whoever places the seven items in their sacred stone will get whatever they request," Serah added.
"I see, where exactly is the stone located, and do we know for sure this will happen?" I asked.
"According to the scriptures yes," Leo said.
"Will you be okay dueling against me?" Serah asked.
"I wish I didn't have to duel either of you. I'm not sure I can do this," I told her.
"You can do this Emmy just have faith in yourself and your monsters," She assured me.
"That's not the problem Ser, I don't think I have the courage to take down your warriors. I know how much they mean to you," I explained.
"For the sake of our loved ones and Yugi's grandfather, we have to Y/N. It's the only way and at the end of the day whether we admit it or not they're just playing cards," She said.
"She's right. Your heart and souls are in your decks but they're still just ink on paper that becomes holographic images of the field," Leo added.
"That's just the thing you guys my cards remind me of the people I love and cherish for example my Divine Dark Magician Girl reminds me of Issy while Dark Magician Girl Knight and Dark Magician Knight reminds me of you two," I explained making them sigh.
"We know hun but it's the only way for us to get everyone back," She assured me.
"She's right there's too much at stake for you to be backing out," Leo added.
"You're right guys but I need you to duel with everything you have otherwise it'll be for nothing. I won't accept a surrender unless there's absolutely no way for you to defend yourself," I told them.
"The same goes for you," Serah agreed.
"Mahad should be here any minute now, you two should head up to the balcony so it wouldn't look suspicious. They're probably halfway through their duel making it perfect for you to come up with a good excuse for me not being there," He explained.
"Let's get to it then," I said.
I stepped out of my room to give them some privacy. I promise you mom I'll do everything I can to get dad and all the stolen souls back. I stared at my Phoenix Queen the card that reminds me of my mom. The reason my Phoenix Magician Girl's my favorite card is because it has both our hearts in it.
(Serah POV)
"Please be careful sweetheart, I don't want anything bad happening to you," I told him.
"I'll be fine princess. I owe it to Bella to get her back safely after all big brothers are supposed to protect their little sisters not so?" He asked and I nodded.
"Take this with you, it'll protect you," I said placing my ruby necklace around his neck.
"No princess I can't. You need it to protect you!" He protested.
"I'll be fine. Now go get Seto and Isa back," I told him.
"Fine. Promise me you'll keep your cool around Pegasus and you'll fight your hardest in your duel against Y/N. I know how much she means to you but you need to remember what Ra said," He said making my blood boil.
"Now you listen to me Salvador, Y/N would never justify taking someone's soul to bring back her mom despite how badly she wants her back. "If she did her mom would never forgive her and she knows that. You know how much Seto and Isa mean to her so why would you bring up Ra's speech about being cautious with her? Like I told Ra if he thought she was so easy to persuade why make us her guardians?" I demanded.
"I know that sweetheart but you saw what Pegasus is capable of. What if he coerced her somehow?" He queried.
"I'm gonna go before I say something I may not regret," I said walking away.
"Don't you ever walk away from me without me telling you I love you, angry or not," He said holding my hand before pulling me into a deep kiss.
(Y/N's POV)
Serah exits my bedroom and closes the door.
"Ready to go or do you need more time?" I smirked at her disheveled hair and smudge lip gloss.
"Let's just go already!" She squealed.
"You might want to fix your hair and makeup first," I laughed making her eyes widen.
She quickly took out her compact mirror and fixed her hair and lips. We quickly made it to the balcony to meet up with Yugi and the gang.
"So what did we miss?" Serah asked.
"It's quite a nail-biter at the moment," Bakura told us.
"Keith was dominating but Joey made a great comeback," Yugi said proudly.
(Bandit Keith 1100, Joey 1150)
"You ain't nothing but a speed bump on my way to duel Pegasus and that goes double for that dweeby friend of yours Yugi," Keith snickered.
"Yeah right Keith," Joey said.
"What you say?" Keith growls.
"I've got news for you even if you beat me which you won't. Yugi'll cream yuh and you know why hotshot? Because you're a selfish sleazeball who's only in this tournament for your own greedy reasons. People like you never win. Sure your tricks may get you little ways but only till people with good intentions show up, like me, and like Yugi and Leo too.
"Yeah? We'll just see about that! One card faced down and I'll attack with this! My Barrel Dragon (2600 ATK, 2200 DEF) is going to blast you and your good intentions to dust. See with its triple attack laser discharge system it has three attacks so it can blast all your monsters on the field in one attack," Keith said making Yugi growl.
"Three attacks?" Joey says in disbelief.
"That's right you're going down so say adios to your two bodies on the field. Go Proton Blast!" Keith ordered destroying both Garuzi and Battle Ox.
"Wow, that thing plowered them both!" Joey said in shock.
(Keith 1100, Joey 850)
"Now wonder Keith was acting so confidently. Just look at that thing!" Yugi said.
"Joey's really got his work cut out for him now" Tea noted.
"Come on Joey take this cheater down!" Serah cheered and Joey sent her a thumbs up.
"Are you done yet, Keith? Cause I already figure out how to beat your little toy blaster. Meet the master of the past and future!" Joey said as he played his Time Wizard.
"Alright, that could work!" Tea cheered.
"Right, if Time Roulet lands right that machine will age and corrode," Yugi added.
"And I'm not done Keith I'm throwing this baby down to Baby Dragon that is now you've got two things to worry about Keith that Blaster of yours rusting up and this little guy growing up. Let's do it! Go, Time Roulette!" Joey ordered and his Time Wizard starts spinning.
"Of course if that Time Roulette lands wrong then Joey will have something to worry about. His Time Wizard would be destroyed and he'd be at the mercy of Keith's Blaster," Yugi said.
"It's in faith's hand now," Bakura started.
"You've got this Joey!" Serah cheered.
"Come on Joey!" Tea encouraged.
"We're with you bud," Tristan added.
"You can do this!" I cheered feeling my necklace activate.
"Your necklace is glowing. What's causing it? Yami thought to me.
" It's the strong bond of friendship they have for each other. Joey's faith will win him this duel," I thought back to him.
"Alright yeah! Go Time Wizard!" Joey ordered and his Wizard began its Time Warp.
"Time magic is making Keith's machine rust up," Tristan said.
"While Baby Dragon's growing up," Tea added.
"Nice work Joey the stage is set perfectly!" Yugi told him.
"Now Thousand Dragon! Noxious Nostril Gust! That hunk of steel is history," Joey cheered but Keith laughed.
"But history repeats itself especially when you're taking on a deck with all kinds of different machine cards. Like this trap for example," Keith said.
"A trap card?" Joey asked surprised.
"Say hello to my Time Traveling Time Machine," Keith snickered.
"Uh, what's in that chamber?" Tea asked.
"Whatever it is it doesn't look good," Serah said.
"It can travel back in time and bring back a monster from the previous turn," I explained.
"My time machine can travel back in time one turn so I can retrieve the monster you just destroyed," Keith said.
"All of its points bonus are back to," Yugi said.
Keith attacks with Barrel Dragon destroying Baby Dragon.
"No he's gone, my dragon's gone," Joey said in dismay.
"And he's gonna stay gone that is unless you have a time machine but then he'll be coming back as Baby Dragon wouldn't he?" Keith said.
(Keith 1100, Joey 650)
"I'll throw a monster in defense mode and that's it," Joey said placing his card faced down.
"That's it is right. Cause my machines are gonna keep on coming. Go slot machine (2000 ATK, 2300 DEF) attack mode. Now your turn Dragon blast that defense card to kingdom come Proton Blast!" Keith ordered destroying Joey's monster.
"Hang in there Joey!" I told him noticing his struggle.
"Poor Joey," Tea says.
"Yeah he's in a tough mind," Tristan said.
"Joey believe in your cards, you need to trust them if you're gonna beat that thing!" Yugi assured him.
"You can do this Joey! We're all with you! Your sister's counting on you J'man!" Serah cheered.
"I'm gonna lay one card face down and throw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400 ATK, 2000 DEF) in attack mode and that'll do it for me," Joey said ending his turn.
"That dragon may be the best card you've got but he's still no match for this kind of blasting power. Say bye-bye to your prized possession, Proton Blast!" Keith orders his attack.
"Not so fast!" Joey smirked.
"What's that?" Keith demanded.
"It's a little something called copycat. It lets me copy one of your cards that you've used and I'm choosing to copy Magic Metal Force! Now my Red-Eyes Black Dragon is a Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon (2800 ATK, 2400 DEF) and that makes him strong enough to withstand your attack!" Joey explained.
"Alright now Keith's dragon is the one in trouble," Yugi points out.
"Red-Eyes counter attack! Flash Flare Blast!" Joey orders and Red Eyes wipes out Barrel Dragon.
"How do you like that Keith? Your triple blast machine has been reduced to a pile of smoking metal debris!" Joey told him.
(Keith 900, Joey 650)
"Check it out since Keith's Barrel Dragon's gone, Joey's metal dragon is the toughest card on the block," Tristan said.
"Yeah but don't count Keith out yet. There must be some reason he played that slot machine monster," Yugi said.
"I knew you were an amateur and now I'm gonna show you how come," Keith snickered.
"Hu..uh, amateur am didn't I just go and blast your best monster to bits?" Joey asked twirling a finger in his ear.
"That's right keep talking tough guy! I'm laying this card face down and I'm switching my Slot Machine to defensive mode," Keith ended his turn.
"Stay focus, Joey!" I yelled.
"Bad move Keith first I'll lay this faced down and now my Red Eyes will attack Flash Flare Blast!" Joey ordered.
"Wait, Joey!" Serah yelled but it was too late.
"Man you're as predictable as you are brainless. I'm playing the card I had faced down, go seven complete," Keith ordered and a seven appeared in the middle of the slot machine.
"How come that middle slot just switched to a seven?" Tea asked.
"He's still there?" Joey asked surprised.
Keith chuckles.
"That's because my seven complete card raises my slot's defensive points to 3000 to be exact and that's more than enough to deflect your Red-Eyes Black Dragon's strongest attack," Keith said.
"Because my attack is lower than its defense I lose life points," Joey stated.
"And you know what else I've got two more seven complete cards in my deck that are able to power up my Slot's attack or defense by seven hundred points," Keith said.
"Yeah well just because you have it doesn't mean you'll draw it, Keith," Joey said making Keith chuckle.
(Keith 900, Joey 450)
It was Keith's turn to draw and I noticed he slipped a card from under his sleeve. I see dad looking at him closely so he must have picked up on it.
"Yami did you see that?" I thought to him.
"I did Y/N, what do you want to do?" He asked.
"Joey needs to know," I told him.
"But how do we do that without causing a scene? He asks.
"Leave that to me," I said.
I touched my necklace focussing on Joey.
"Joey please be on guard, Keith's cheating. He's about to play a seven complete card from under his wrist band," I thought to him.
"How are you in my head Y/N?" He thought back to me.
"My necklace allows me to do so," I explained.
"Say what now?" He asked.
"That's not important. Just be ready. The cards Ser gave you will help you. Just keep believing in the heart of your cards and you'll be just fine," I told him before cutting the link.
"Well, what do you know check out what card I just drew. I think I'll go ahead and take it for a spin this time for my attack power," Keith smirks.
"Aww man if I don't do something soon my life points are gonna get cleaned out," Joey cried and winked at me letting me know he's bluffing.
"Oh no! One more of those seven completed cards and that slot would be powered up enough to defeat Joey's Red-Eyes Dragon," Yugi noted.
"And any other card he has too," Bakura added.
"Next I'm throwing this down. Go Blast Sphere (2900 ATK, 1400 DEF) and attach yourself to Joey's Dragon," Keith ordered.
"Blast Sphere?" Joey questioned.
"That's right and once I end my turn it'll self-destruct giving off 2900 points of damage to your Dragon," Keith explained.
"Self destruct!?" Joey exclaimed still pretending.
"Okay dweeb I'm ending my turn now. Your time's up," Keith smirks as a lilac light illuminates Red-Eyes.
"You've got this Joey!" Serah cheered.
"Use your secret weapon!" I told him.
"That Dragon should be blown to bits! This ain't right!" Keith exclaimed.
"Oh, it's right thanks to my handy Dragon Nails card given to me by a dear friend of mine. It made my Red-Eyes 600 attract points stronger," Joey explained.
"Yay Joey!" Serah cheered and I smiled.
"Of course the blast got deflected," Tristan noted.
"You dweeb now my life points go down," Keith hissed.
"Aww, you're gonna make me cry," Joey taunts.
(Bandit Keith 400, Joey 450)
"Well lookie what I got here! I think I'll power up my slot's attack again. Well, would you look at that," Keith snickers making Joey groan as both their monsters have the same attack points of 3400.
"Both their monsters have the same attack points now," Bakura stated.
"And Joey and Keith have almost the same amount of life points remaining to," Tèa added.
"Hmm this next turn could decide the whole match," Yugi agreed.
"You can do this J'man your sister's counting on you remember that!" Serah yelled.
"Just believe in your cards and yourself Joey! We're all rooting for you!" I cheered.
"Come on no card you play is gonna help. Just end your turn," Keith stated and Joey nodded.
"Thanks now I think I'll go ahead and end this duel. It's all over for you thanks to this, The Pillager!" Keith exclaimed.
"The what?" Joey asked.
"The Pillager allows me to look at your dueling hand and steal one card from it. So lay em down," Keith ordered.
Joey places his cards on the platform and a colorful light appears making his cards appear on Keith's platform.
"I think I'll take this one," Keith says making Joey squirm.
"I told you, you were through. Go Sheild and Sword swap attack points with defense points. Now go Slot Machine, Plasma Laser Cannon!" Keith orders.
"Activate Trap!" Joey says shakily.
"Attack!" Keith orders.
"I win! Huh no...way the dweeb had a Grave Robber card and he used it to bring back my Time Machine trap!" Keith said in disbelief.
"Hah, you should have paid more attention to my last turn Keith then you would have seen the trap I set for yuh," Joey told him.
"And since the Time Machine can bring back a monster from the previous turn then that means," Keith said.
"Bingo my Dragon's back and now his attack is higher than your defense. Red Eyes welcome back and since he's back from the previous turn his attack is higher than your defense so good luck blocking this! Go Flash Flare Blast!" Joey ordered his Dragon destroying Keith's Slot Machine and the rest of his life points.
(Bandit Keith 0, Joey 450)
"No way! He beat me! He actually won!" Keith cried.
"Alright, Joey! Way to go Joey! Yay Joey!" Everyone cheered.
"Joey Wheeler you are the victor!" Croquet announced.
"Hey hey alright!" Joey rejoiced.
"Yeah, you ahhh!" Tristan yelled as he jumped on the banister almost falling over but Yugi and Serah caught him.
"You and Joey will be the death of me," I told him holding my heart and he smiles cheekily.
"This duel doesn't count!" Keith yelled.
"Doesn't count?" Tristan asked.
"Keith just doesn't know when to give up," Tea said.
"The entry card that Joey showed in this match wasn't even his! Therefore the duel shouldn't count and he ought to be disqualified right here!" Keith demanded making me growl.
"He's right my card was missing so Mai gave me hers. But tell me Keith how could you have known this card wasn't my card?" Joey asked.
"Uh ehh," Keith stuttered.
"I'm all ears so why don't you explain yourself," Joey said.
"He doesn't need to it's quite clear he stole your card and then proceeded to cheat with those seven complete cards he hid under his sleeves," I explained making the gang gasp.
"She's right that's why he was so determined you wouldn't be able to find it," Dad added.
"You snake I knew it!" Joey yelled.
"That big cheat!" Tea shouted.
"Then Keith ought to be disqualified not Joey," Tristan said.
"Oh, Keith ought to be disqualified alright for both his misdeeds inside and outside of the match. I also noticed his improper misconduct inside the match as well," Dad stated.
"Is that so Keith?" Joey asked.
"Oh yes, Keith kept his seven complete cards under his wrist band that way he could power up his Slot whenever he chose," Dad said.
"Man Keith that's low," Joey told him.
"Take the scoundrel away faraway," Dad ordered and his men grabbed hold of Keith.
"No! Let me go! Nobody makes a monkey out of Bandit Keith nobody!" Keith yelled.
"Well done Joseph you should be quite proud. You dueled admirably," Dad praised clapping his hands.
"Hey!" Keith shouts running back into the arena.
"Keith!" Joey called out.
"Pegasus!" Keith yells.
"You truly are a stubborn one aren't you?" Dad asked with his eyes closed.
"Can it, you ain't talking your way out of this one. Now hand over that prize money or else," Keith says pointing his pistol at dad.
My heart was in my throat. I was scared, despite everything dad has done I didn't want to lose the only parent and family I had left.
"Oh, certainly Keith I'll do whatever you say. Just give my body a moment to recover from the complete paralysis that your terrifying demands have shocked me into," Dad smirks making me more uneasy.
"Don't worry Y/N, he'll be okay," Serah assured me squeezing my hand.
"She's right Y/N. He wouldn't be Pegasus if he didn't have a plan up his sleeve," Yami thought to me.
"I sure hope so," I breathed.
"Okay wise guy, I'll give you till three," Keith said.
"Hmm, fine! One, two, three," Dad says quickly before pressing a button with his shoe making the floor below Keith open up and he falls in screaming.
"Now the finalists for the next match will receive a thirty minutes recess. So rest up our host wants you both in top form for your duel. Leo Salvador will face off against Miss Y/N Pegasus in the last semi-final match," Croquet announced.
"Do you think he'll let us face each other or do you think he'll just disqualify Leo?" Serah asked.
"If it were anyone else he was facing he would've disqualified him and give his opponent automatic win but as it's me his daughter no he wouldn't. He has too much pride for that," I told her.
"Well we better get ready then," She sighed.
"I'll meet you in the arena. You can have the blue platform," I winked at her.
"Like I was ever gonna let you take it," She smirked making me smile.
"What are we gonna tell them when they ask for Leo?" I asked.
"He wasn't feeling well when we went to check if he was ready to come with us," She said shrugging her shoulders.
"Sounds good to me," I told her.
"Hey Y/N, are you ready for your duel?" Yugi asked.
"I'm a bit nervous but yes I'm ready," I assured him.
"Ser, I just wanted to thank yuh for whatcha did for me back there," Joey said rubbing the back of his head.
"No problemo Juno," She smiled.
"Well, guys I'm gonna head down to the arena. I'll see you guys later," I said before leaving.
Joey: That's it, for now, folks smell yuh later.
Yugi: Stay safe and be true to yourself🤗
Serah: Prepare your deck bestie. Our duel is next🤗
Melvin: I look forward to stealing your soul Y/N. It's only a matter of time now😌
Yami: Mind Crush! There let's see who's soul your gonna steal now that you're in the shadow realm😏