Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Destined for More ❯ An Extended Weekend ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Note: Normally, I write Joey while taking his accent into account, but since he is the main character in the story, I will write his speech normally. Just pretend in your mind's ear that he's speaking with his accent.

Also, I do like Joey x Mai pairing - in fact, it's one of my all-time favorites - but this will be a Joey x OC story. I thought it would be interesting to write. Now, the story.

Destined for More

Chapter One

Joey put away his toolbox and walked up to the bathroom. He had just gotten back from his mechanics class at the local vocational-technical school and was ready for a shower and a nap. He removed his dirty clothes and jumped in the shower.

Joey stood in the shower, letting the warm water run down his body. As he stood there, he thought about everything that had happened in the past two years, since Yami had left for good. Seeing as Yugi had no more need to hold on to the three God Cards, he held a small competition involving some of the duelists he knew personally. The winner of the competition was Seto Kaiba, and Joey had come in a close second. As a result, Kaiba would have first pick on which God Card he wanted. Naturally, he chose Obelisk the Tormentor, leaving Joey with The Winged Dragon of Ra. Yugi decided to keep Slifer the Sky Dragon.

Also, in the past two years, Joey had climbed very high on the ladder of Duel Monsters. Joey was now ranked as the third-best duelist in the world, falling behind Yugi and Kaiba, respectively. Joey earned himself fame - he had been on more talk shows than he cared to remember - and his fair share of money, a mixture of prize money and endorsements. Nonetheless, he still needed a job. Joey decided to stick with what he did best - building and fixing things - so he decided to become a mechanic.

After they graduated from high school, Joey's friends went separate ways. Yugi decided to stay in town and learn how to run a game shop, so he was working at the shop during the day and taking business management and accounting classes at night. The only time Joey ever saw Yugi was when he decided to stop by the shop. Tea got accepted to a dance school in New York. Tristan was going to college, but he had not declared a major just yet. Duke had received a call from Industrial Illusions to manage his Dungeon Dice Monsters game. Joey himself got his own apartment, moving out of the run-down place he had shared with his deadbeat father. When he was not at vo-tech, Joey was delivering pizzas for Salvatore's Pizzeria. He still kept in touch with Serenity, who was now a sophomore in high school, as well as all of his old friends, except for one - Mai.

Ever since their problems with Dartz and his plans had been solved, Mai had disappeared without a trace. This was a real heartbreaker for Joey. Here he was, having practically poured out his heart and soul for her - literally - and she just got up and left. Since then, Joey had not been out on a single date. His friends all tried their hardest to cheer him up, but it did not work. Yugi and Tea had gotten closer over the years, Duke was always with some new girl, and even Tristan had found a girlfriend in "Ribbon," the student librarian that Tristan had developed feelings for ages ago. When Joey saw any couple, it would make him think of Mai, thus making him depressed.

Joey stepped out of the shower and got dressed. He put on a pair of blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a red jacket and attached his Duel Disk to his left arm. One of the drawbacks to being the third-ranked duelist in the world was the fact that there were plenty of people who wanted to challenge him at any given moment. However, he would always slip the Winged Dragon of Ra into his deck so that he could not participate in any sanctioned duel, for God Cards were forbidden in sanctioned duels.

Joey looked at his watch and saw that it was 4:30. He was off work tonight, and Yugi's night classes did not begin until 6:00, so he decided to drive down to the game shop to kill some time.

-1-

Joey walked into the game shop. As he entered, he noticed a new marketing strategy for the shop. They had signs up in all of the windows that said various things. Owned by the world's top duelist, Yugi Moto! Preferred store of the second- and third- ranked duelists, Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler!

Joey walked into the shop and heard the ringing of a bell. Mr. Moto walked up to the counted and smiled at the sight of Joey. "Ah, Joey! Long time, no see! How are you doing?"

"Not bad," Joey responded. "How about you, Mr. Moto?"

"Can't complain," Mr. Moto responded. "Hold on, I'll get Yugi." Mr. Moto walked to the back of the shop, over to the stairwell. "Yugi! You have a visitor!"

"I'll be right down, Grandpa!" came the response. A moment later, Yugi came down, dressed in his usual clothing. "Hey, Joey! How are you doing?"

"Not bad," Joey responded. "How about you, Yug?"

"Pretty good," Yugi responded. "How's school going?"

"All right," Joey responded. "How's school going for you?"

"Not bad," Yugi answered. "Oh, I forgot. Grandpa, do you have the pack?"

Mr. Moto pulled a small pack of cards from under the counter. "Right here, Yugi," he said. "Joey, this is a pack of eleven Duel Monster cards. All eleven are rare cards, too. Yugi had me hold on to the very last one for you to see if you wanted it."

"How much is it?" Joey asked.

"Let's see . . . Normally it would be fifteen dollars, but I'll give it to you for ten," Mr. Moto said.

"What's with the discount?" Joey asked. Mr. Moto had never offered a discount for as long as he had known the man.

"Well, I'm sure you saw Yugi's signs in the windows," Mr. Moto said. "Yugi has quite the mind for marketing. Anyway, like it says on the sign, you, one of the top three duelists in the world, prefer to shop here. We just want to validate the sign."

"Yeah!" Joey answered. "Sure thing, Mr. Moto! I'll even sign the sign if you want!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Yugi said. He pointed at a picture of him, Joey, Tristan, and Tea, taken during high school. "That's all the evidence we need."

Joey pulled a ten-dollar bill from his wallet and gave it to Mr. Moto in exchange for the card pack. Joey removed the wrapping and began going through the cards.

Joey held up one. "Hey, a Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon!" he said. "This will come in handy. I also got a Prohibition. That would really help against Kaiba. Yeah, that would stop his bl-" He stopped, wide-eyed, when he saw the last card. "Yugi! Take a look at this!"

Yugi walked over and Joey handed the last card to him. Yugi's jaw dropped. "No way! It can't be!"

"What is it, boys?" Mr. Moto asked.

"Mr. Moto, you're never gonna believe this," Joey said, "but I just got a Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"WHAT?" Mr. Moto exclaimed. Then, he calmed himself. "Joey! You almost scared me to death! Are you trying to give this old man a heart attack?"

"But Grandpa, it's true!" Yugi said. "Look!" He showed the face of the card to his grandfather.

Mr. Moto walked up and took a look at the card. "But how?" Mr. Moto exclaimed. "It's impossible! Kaiba ripped up the last Blue Eyes!"

"Maybe Pegasus found out and had another one printed," Yugi commented. "I see it has a new graphic."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Joey remarked. "He'd do it for no more reason than to spite Kaiba. We all know how he is."

Behind one of the doors, something beeped. "Oh, the ramen is done!" Mr. Moto exclaimed. "Joey, would you like to stay for dinner?"

Joey held his hands in front of him, palms facing away. "Uh, I don't want to impose . . ."

"No, it's perfectly fine," Mr. Moto said. "There's too much ramen for just the two of us to eat, and the leftovers will just go to waste."

-1-

"Well, I have to go to class now," Yugi said.

"All right," Joey said. "I guess I'll get going."

"See you soon, Joey!" Mr. Moto said as Joey left.

Joey looked down both ways on the street as the lights came on. He turned left and walked down the block. He reached the end of the block and pressed the button to get the "Walk" signal.

"Hyohyohyo. I've got you now, Wheeler."

Joey whipped around, but he already knew who it was from the laugh. "Weevil. What do you want?"

"I think you know," Weevil responded. "Your Egyptian God Card!"

"Give me your duelist résumé," Joey muttered. He looked at Weevil's credentials and accomplishments. "Sorry, but your credentials aren't high enough to challenge me. I'll tell you what, though. I'll duel against you in a non-sanctioned match."

"All right!" Weevil set his Duel Disk into duel mode. "Let's go!"

Joey set his Duel Disk into duel mode. "All right. I go first."

-1-

Soon, things weren't looking too good for Joey. He had two monsters left on the field, and Weevil had summoned his Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. It was Joey's turn, so he drew a card. Joey looked at the card and found it to be his new Blue Eyes White Dragon. "All right, I use my Flame Manipulator and Rocket Warrior as tributes to summon my second-strongest monster . . . the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Joey slid the card into the slot and a hologram of the dragon appeared.

Weevil jumped back in shock. "What? But that's impossible! Kaiba has three and ripped up the fourth!"

"Well, Pegasus apparently printed a new one," Joey said. "I now play Mountain." Suddenly, mountains erupted from the ground beneath Weevil's Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth and Joey's Blue Eyes White Dragon. "That raises the stats of all dragons, thunder-types, and winged beasts by two hundred points." The Blue Eyes White Dragon's Attack Points increased to 3200, and its Defense Points increased to 2700. "I place one more card face-down, and end my turn."

Weevil drew a card. What is Wheeler up to? Why did he put his monster in attack mode? He knows it can't stand against my monster. "All right! Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, attack!"

"All right, I activate Skull Dice!" Joey said in response as he flipped over his face-down card. The demon figure tossed the dice and it landed with the six face-up. "Yeah!" Joey exclaimed. "Jackpot! Your Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth gets its attack power divided by six! Say goodbye to your monster!" The hologram of the Blue Eyes White Dragon counterattacked, destroying Weevil's monster.

Joey then drew a card. "All right! Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack my opponent's Life Points!" The dragon let loose with a blast from its mouth that seemed to hit Weevil head-on. Weevil's Life Points were reduced to zero. The holograms of the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the mountains disappeared. "Too bad, Weevil. Face it - you just can't compete with me."

"Grrr . . . I'll be back! Just you wait!" With that, Weevil ran off.

"Good riddance," Joey muttered under his breath.

-1-

Joey stood at another corner, waiting for the signal to walk. Then, he heard a voice.

"Psst! Over here!"

Joey turned around and found a man beckoning to him from the side of a building. "You talking to me?" he asked.

"Yes! Follow me, and qvickly! I vant to show you somesink!"

Joey followed the man through an alleyway into a basement. In this basement, there was some sort of a laboratory. "Hey, what's going on here?"

"You'll see in a moment," the man said. "Now vere is zat stupid light svitch? Ah, zere ve go."

The lights flickered on and Joey saw the man completely for the first time. He was a balding man with patches of hair on the sides of his head, and a handlebar mustache. He had a pointed goatee and wore a white coat. Judging by his surroundings, Joey assumed that the man was a scientist.

"Joey Wheeler?" The man stuck out his hand. "Dr. Ludwig Straussen. I need your help vith somesink." He took a small pod off of his desk. "You see zis pod? Well, zis pod contains a spaceship."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Really," he remarked. "Just how much have you had to drink tonight, Doc?"

"Ah, you're skeptical. Zat is not unexpected. I knew I vould have to show you personally. Come vith me."

Dr. Straussen led Joey back outside the building and into a nearby clearing. "Now, take ze pod. You see ze small button on ze pod? Press it."

Joey pressed the button and a burst of smoke appeared from the pod. When the smoke cleared, Joey found a space vehicle about the size of an eighteen-wheeler.

"You see?" Dr. Straussen said. "Vat did I tell you?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Joey muttered in awe. "But how do I know that this thing can fly?"

"I'll show you," Dr. Straussen said. "Come!"

Joey followed Dr. Straussen onto the ship and into the cockpit. "Buckle yourself in," he said. He sat down in the pilot's seat and pressed a few buttons. Suddenly, the ship took off, knocking the wind out of Joey. The ship's speed increased, and the ship left the Earth's atmosphere. Joey felt the pressure ease on him and he looked out the window. He could no longer see the Earth. Soon, the ship came to a stop.

"Look out ze right side of ze ship," Dr. Straussen said. Joey did as he was told and looked. He saw two celestial bodies, one just slightly larger than the other.

"Zat is ze planet Pluto," Dr. Straussen said.

Joey spun around. "No way!" he exclaimed. "That was only two minutes!"

"Yes," Dr. Straussen said. "Zis ship is capable of reaching speeds up to one hundred thousand times ze speed of light."

Joey was taken aback. "No way!"

"Take a look in ze back of ze ship," Dr. Straussen said. "Zere are living quarters back zere. Quite cozy if I say so myself. I based it off of ze common mobile home."

"All right, just how does this thing get energy?" Joey asked. "There's no way that this runs on regular unleaded."

"It's qvite simple, really," Dr. Straussen said. "Have you seen ze movies vith ze time-traveling car?"

"Time-traveling car?" Joey asked. "You mean Back to the Future?"

"Yes," Dr. Straussen said. "In ze last two movies, zere was a fusion generator on ze car. Ze fuel zey used was everyday trash. Zat is ze case here. One pound of matter vill give you enough power to run ze ship for a veek. Ze chamber can hold up to fifty pounds of matter. You could stay in zis ship nonstop for a full year!"

"Are there any weapons on this thing?" Joey asked.

"Oh, heavens, no!" Dr. Straussen exclaimed. "Zere is a laser cannon, but zat is intended for cleaning space debris!"

"But if I wanted to, I could use it as a weapon?" Joey asked.

"Vell . . . yes, you could," Dr. Straussen said. "But vy vould you vant veapons, anyvay?"

"Self-defense!" Joey responded. "What if I'm ambushed by some aliens or something?"

"Yes, I see your point," Dr. Straussen said. "Vell, let us return to Earth."

-1-

"All right, I have one last question," Joey said. "Why are you showing me this ship?"

"Ah, I thought you'd never ask," Dr. Straussen said. "It is for publicity. You are famous. If you advertise my ship, I'll make money. I'll pay you for endorsements, of course. As my free gift, keep ze ship."

Joey looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! Vy vouldn't I be?" Dr. Straussen responded. "I can build anozer one in no time! I vant you to keep ze ship! Go on a trip through ze cosmos! Come back and endorse zis ship!"

Joey clutched the pod in his hand. "All right. I have an extended weekend, anyway."

-1-

Joey was getting bored. He had gotten up the following morning and left, like Dr. Straussen told him to do, and so far the trip had been rather uneventful. It was now 11:30 in the morning, and Joey had left home around eight.

Suddenly, he saw a flash. He pulled the ship out of hyperspeed and found himself in the airspace of a planet. Close by, a battle was waging. A silver, streamlined ship was being attacked by a large number of smaller ships.

Watching this scene made Joey angry. Ever since he befriended Yugi, he hated bullies and cowards. This was a situation where there was a group of ships attacking one ship that couldn't even trade shots, so Joey warmed up the laser cannon and attacked. He fired the laser cannon at the nearest ship and caused it to explode. This caused several ships to shift their attention toward him. Joey was now being attacked along with the larger ship. Joey fought back, but it soon became obvious that he was severely outnumbered.

"Warning. Shields are down to thirty percent. Shields are down to thirty percent."

"Computer!" Joey shouted. Dr. Straussen had taught him how to communicate with the computer. "Is there any way to destroy several enemy ships at once?"

"Affirmative," the computer responded. "However, it is very risky."

"What is it?" Joey shouted.

"Some of the fuel is emptied in a fusion receptacle," the computer responded. "The fusion receptacle is discharged from the ship and activated, detonating it."

"So it's like a nuke?" Joey shouted.

"Affirmative," the computer answered. "However, there is a risk that we may be caught in the blast.

"Well, that's a risk we have to take!" Joey yelled. "If I can't take a risk and come out on top, then my name ain't Joey Wheeler!"

"Commencing discharge," the computer said. Joey punched up the accelerator. A few seconds later, the receptacle exploded, incinerating the enemy fighters. Unfortunately, Joey had not gotten far enough away to escape the blast.

The blast shook the entire ship as lights flashed in the cockpit. "Warning. Warning. The ship has taken severe damage. Thrusters have been destroyed. The ship has been caught in the gravitational pull of the planet below."

"Whaddaya mean?" Joey shouted. "We're gonna crash into the planet?"

"Affirmative," the computer responded.

Joey held on and braced for impact. Joey began thinking to himself. Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Duke, good luck. Sis, don't forget that I love you. And someone please tell Kaiba that he's an idiot.

As Joey was thinking, his suitcase full of his belongings hit him in the back of the head. Joey slumped in his seat, unconscious, as the computer attempted to stabilize the ship.