Tea's Little Sister ~Mokuba Kaiba~[Book 1]

Yugi Muto vs Joey Wheeler part 2

Meanwhile, the duel between Yami and Joey continued, and Pegasus was snickering...
"What a lovely day this is for a duel, especially on an occasion such as this when two old friends are battling it out to the very end. Its challenges like this that puts to the test, the ties that bind us." He announced mockingly, and Jill just glared deadly at him.
"I hate him!" She murmured, low enough for anyone to hear her.
"The game is really too close." Tea commented, tensely.
"Yeah, they're both playing at the top of their form. I mean, either one of them could win." Tristan replied, in agreement.
"You're right. I don't think I've ever seen such an exciting duel, and who would have thought that at this point, Joey would have more life points left than Yugi? Truly extraordinary!" Bakura replied to Tristan, in agreement as well.
"Wow..." Jill breathed, in awe.
Yami, meanwhile, picked up his card and examined it for a moment.
"Go ahead and toss it, Yug, It won't surprise me. I know your cons by heart." Joey taunted, before Yami suddenly grinned.
"True. You'll also know it's my favorite, and it's one of my most powerful cards. Dark Magician, attack mode!" Yami announced, as he summoned Dark Magician, and he appeared on the field.
"Figures, you always count on the Dark Magician, when you're in a tight spot. But not this time! Even he's no match for my Skull Dragon!"
"Are you sure?" Yami asked, as he still grinned.
"In a duel, the monster with the lowest attack strength loses. That's one of the first lessons you ever taught me about Duel Monsters, Yugi. Your passes come back to haunt ya!" Joey reminded.
"Let's see who spooks who. Don't forget, I also taught you how to protect your weaker monsters by enhancing them with magic cards." Yami reminded back, which startled Joey.
"Don't tell me!"
"You know what's coming." Yami replied boldly, before he pulled out his card and drew it.
"Magical Hats, protect and conceal Dark Magician!" Yami commanded his hat, before it hid Dark Magician and began multiplying.
Joey just growled as he watched the hat multiply, "I usually like this trick."
"Good move." Tea commented, amazedly.
"That'll sure slow Joey down, big time." Tristan chimed in.
"You said it, Tristan." Jill replied, in agreement.
"It's your pick, Joey. So tell me, which hat do you think is hiding the Dark Magician?" Yami asked, tauntingly.
Joey just sighed as he tried to figure out which hat was hiding the Dark Magician, 'I was hoping to end this duel before he drew the Magical Hats. Now I gotta depend on luck, not dueling skill that'll help me find this Dark Magician.'
"Come on! Pick a hat." Yami encouraged.
Joey growled for a moment, then he shouted, "Ok! Guess I just gotta take him down one at a time! Attack molted fire bolt!"
After Joey commanded his monster, it began breathing its fire on one of the hats.
"One down!" Joey announced, as Yami shut his eyes tight and looked away from the smoke, and when he opened his eyes, he grinned when he saw that Joey hit the wrong hat.
"From the looks of things, you picked wrong. That leaves three." Yami taunted.
"Nuts! This'll give you another turn to fight back!" Joey exclaimed, in disbelief.
"That may have been Joey's last shot. Whenever a Duelist gives Yugi time to recover, he always comes back stronger than ever." Tristan commented, which made Jill's eyes widen in realization.
"You have a point there, Tristan!"
"But if Joey loses, how can he save his sister? No matter who wins this game, somebody loses everything." Bakura replied to the pair, a bit worriedly. Both Tea and Jill were tense and conflicted by now.
"So now that your attack on my Dark Magician has failed, is there any other play you want to make before I end your turn?" Yami taunted.
"Now that you mention it, I did have one more move in mind. I hope I'm doing the right thing here by playing this card. I mean, it could be a mistake, but I play Garoozis, in attack mode!" Joey replied coolly, before he summoned Garoozis, and he appeared on the field.
"Your turn." Joey announced, as he pretended to talk sweet.
"Why play that card?" Yami asked, completely not fazed.
"Oh, you're right. What could I have been thinking? The Dark Magician has an attack power of 2500, and Garoozis only has a strength of 1800." Joey answered, confidently.
"Yes?" Yami asked, patiently.
"I guess you have no choice but to attack Garoozis. I'm almost giving you the game, but I got no one to blame but myself. So go ahead, Yug, bring it on! Attack me with your Dark Magician. That's what I get for my bonehead move." Joey taunted, and everyone just stared blankly at him for a moment.
Tea then suddenly spoke up, "An attack would bring Joey down to 50 life points!"
"But also draw out the Dark Magician." Bakura suddenly spoke up, and both Tea and Jill turned to face him.
"Which would let Joey counter attack this Black Skull, wiping out all of Yugi's life points." He continued.
"What's the matter? Bring it on! I can't stop your attack!" Joey taunted.
Yami grinned as he thought to himself, 'That bluff might have worked on somebody else, but not somebody who's known him as long as I have.'
Then he placed his card down in front of himself and spoke up, "Sorry, Joey, but I'm not going to fall for that one. Instead I'll put this card inside one of the Magical Hats and end my turn."
Joey was pissed at Yami's statement, 'He was too smart for me.'
"Time to pick another hat, Joey." Yami announced, tauntingly.
Joey just facepalmed and thought, 'Great. Now he's got something else hidden under those hats I gotta worry about.'
Then he took a peek at Yami and continued, 'And knowing Yugi, it's probably a trap!'
He then moved his hand away from his face as realization hit him, 'But wait, Yugi knows me, and he would know that I would know that he's laying a trap. So maybe he didn't play a trap after all. Maybe it's a monster card instead, but what if he knows that I would think that, so it really is a trap card? Except if he knows that I know that he knows what I know--'
He then became tongue tied, 'Ah, forget it! I'm just gonna attack!'
Then he spoke out loud, "Black Skull Dragon, attack! Molted fire bolt!"
Then Black Skull breathed its fire and it landed on one of the hats, and once again... Joey hit the wrong hat.
"Nothing! I missed again!" Joey exclaimed, completely exasperated, but he grinned, trying to stay confident.
"I'm not gonna miss this time, Yugi. I'm gonna blast your Dark Magician. Dragon, attack the hat on the far left! Go now, molted fire bolt!" Joey commanded his monster, and everyone became tense as they watched the dragon breathe its fire. Just then, the fire hit the wrong hat again and what it appeared to be was a Spellbinding Circle! Joey was shocked as hell!
"You activated my trap!" Yami announced, boldly.
"Spellbinding Circle!" Yani stated, as the circle began tying the dragon up tightly, and his life points went up to 2500!
"That dropped my skull's attack points! Now he's vulnerable to an attack! I gotta risk both my monsters." Joey exclaimed in disbelief, before he pulled out his card and switched it to defense mode.
"Garoozis, defense mode." Joey commanded.
"Now you're on the defensive, and it's a nice change." Yami remarked tauntingly, which Joey growled at.
"Yugi's Spellbinding Circle has wiped out Joey's attack advantage!" Tea exclaimed, in disbelief.
"No doubt about that, but it's still a close match." Tristan replied, a bit reassuringly.
"You said it. Yugi could attack with the Dark Magician, but what good would that attack really do here? Both the Dark Magician and the Skull Dragon have equal attack strengths. As strong as they are, a battle between the two of them would just result in a stand-off." Bakura replied, observantly.
"A stalemate, huh?" Tristan asked.
"Somehow, one of them is going to have to do something to tip things in their favor." Bakura nodded, and Jill nervously bit her lip before she and the others turned their heads back to face the duel.
'Yugi's the toughest opponent I've ever faced, but I'll beat him!' Joey thought, in determination.
'Joey's really learned a lot the past few weeks. He plays like a pro, but in the duel against Pegasus, it's gonna take more than an expert Duelist. It's going to take someone who can also stand up to the power of his Millennium Item.' Yami thought observantly, before he suddenly spoke up.
"Joey, you've dueled well, but the tide of this battle is about to turn." He said boldly, before he smirked.
Then he thought to himself, 'With my grandpa's soul at stake, I really have no choice. I have to win this!'
Then he spoke out loud as he pointed his finger at Joey, "All right, Joey! Prepare yourself! I'm going to obliterate your dragon!"
Joey grimaced tensely, "You what?!"
Then he toughened up and said, "I'm ready for you, bring it on!"
Yami picked up his card and examined it for a moment, then he smirked and Joey became tense as he knew what Yami was up to!
"This is it, Joey! The card I drew, will vanquish your Skull Dragon once and for all!" Yami announced, before he slowly presented his card.
"The Book of Secret Arts!" He announced, which Joey glared at.
"I play the Book of Secret Arts!" Yami repeated clearly, which confused Joey.
"And with its ancient magic, my Dark Magician becomes 300 attack points stronger." Yami stated, before he drew the card, and Dark Magician suddenly got out of the hat, which made his life points go up to 2800.
"Go, Dark Magician! Attack the Black Skull Dragon!" Yami commanded, before Dark Magician attacked, and Black Skull Dragon disappeared for good!
"Joey, Black Skull is beaten." Yami announced boldly, and Joey glared at him.
"Excellent work, Yugi-boy. You took out his very best monster." Pegasus cheered mockingly, as he clapped his hands. Jill just rolled her eyes.
'Man, I was countin' on that Black Skull Dragon to win this duel. Now, not only is he gone, but I still got Dark Magician to worry about.' Joey thought, tensely.
'Joey's cut me down all match long, but now I finally have the advantage! Not only is my Dark Magician 300 points stronger than normal, but he's ready to show off a few hidden powers too!' Yami thought to himself, proudly.
"Poor, Joey. He really got slammed there. You think this duel's over for him?" Tristan asked.
"Well, it depends on what he does next." Bakura replied, before Tristan turned his head to face him.
"What do you mean?" Tea questioned.
"Losing that Black Skull Dragon was a heavy loss, but not a critical one. If Joey can just pull himself together, he can still win this duel." Bakura replied, and Jill bit her lip tensely.
'Man, how could I go from top of the heat to down in the dumps in one turn? I'm never gonna win this now.' Joey thought tensely, before suddenly...
"Big brother." He could hear Serenity's voice call out to him...
Then realization hit him, 'Serenity!'
**Flashback**
"Joey, I miss you so much. Don't forget me." Serenity said from the voice message.