Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Destined for More ❯ Hobbies and Business ( Chapter 5 )

Joey was awakened by somebody knocking on the door. He threw the sheets back and went to the door. "Yeah, who is it?"

"Joey, sir, your breakfast is ready," came Tobias's voice from the other side.

At the mention of food, Joey perked up. "I'll be down in a couple minutes," he responded. He went over to the closet, got out of his pajamas, and pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a spray-painted image of a 1969 GTO on it. He then ran out to get his breakfast. -5-

Joey sat down at the table in front of his breakfast and found the king and Serra to already be there. Joey looked at the breakfast prepared for him. There was a large plate with a pile of scrambled egg, a few slices of bacon, and a pair of hotcakes. Next to the main plate was a bagel on the bread plate with cream cheese already applied. A bottle of syrup sat in front of the plate, and there were two glasses, one with milk and one with orange juice. Thrilled at the food, he began to chow down as if he hadn't eaten in a week.

Serra watched him in surprise. She had never seen anyone eat so fast. Despite eating so fast, Joey was able to keep from making any kind of mess. "You're the hungry one, aren't you?" she commented.

Joey looked up, his mouth full of egg. He held up his index finger, chewed a bit, and swallowed. "Well, yeah. I mean, I haven't eaten anything in eight hours."

"But you were asleep," Serra responded.

"And while I was sleeping, my stomach emptied out," Joey responded. "So I wake up starving. The word 'breakfast' came from 'break the fast.'"

"But you look like you haven't eaten in days, not hours," said the king. "Oh, well. No matter." He then turned to his daughter. "Serra, you need to do your homework."

"Daddy, I did it all on Friday right after I got home," Serra answered.

Joey looked up in surprise. The only other person he knew who did their homework immediately after getting home on a Friday was Tea.

"Ah, I see," responded the king. "Very well, then. Why don't you give young Joey a tour of our palace?"

Serra looked over at Joey, who was still stuffing his face yet listening intently. "Well, I guess I could do that. We wouldn't want him to get lost." In response, Joey twitched. -5-

Joey threw on his red jacket and found Serra waiting at the door of the guest bedroom. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Joey responded. "Not like I'm going on vacation or anything."

"Well, you are, in a sense," Serra responded. "Away from your responsibilities and living in a royal palace? That would be a dream come true for those not of the nobility."

Joey shrugged. "After two years of celebrity treatment, not so much. I've been to places like Tuscany, Nice, Rio de Janeiro, Honolulu, and that's just the beginning. It's usually with Duel Monsters gigs, but I still get plenty of time to relax."

Serra looked at him, confused. As realization dawned on him, Joey scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right. I forgot you don't know about those places." The two of them began walking.

"So, what do you do in your spare time when you're not dueling?" Serra asked. "Train your monsters?"

"Huh?" Joey asked, confused. Then he remembered that they believed the monsters were real. "Oh. No, there's no real way to train them. They come out of the cards only during duels. Anyway, I usually play video games, build model cars and garage kits, and hang with friends. When I'm not dueling, in school or working, that is.

"Anyway, what about you? Your friends must love coming here."

Serra looked down, sadness crossing her face. "I don't really have any friends. People are intimidated by the fact that I'm a princess, and I always have to have a bodyguard with me outside the palace. That doesn't stop the boys from asking me out, but I'm not really interested in any of them. None of the noblemen or noblewomen have any children my age, either. They usually only have about three or four children ranging from ages five to ten."

Joey frowned. "I know how that can be. I lived with a father who didn't care about me, and I spent a lot of time on the streets. I ended up with a rep of being the toughest kid in Domino, and other people were afraid of me. I don't know where I'd be without Yugi." Then, he looked at Serra and smiled. "But why live in the past? It's the present that counts." -5-

Joey looked around at the stone tunnel. "What could possibly be down here?"

"Something I think you'll enjoy," Serra commented.

"I dunno, I doubt anything down here could beat out that killer rec room," Joey commented.

They reached a door. Serra opened it and led Joey inside. Joey, upon entering the room, rubbed his eyes and gawked. "WHOA! NO WAY!!"

Serra giggled. "See? I told you so."

Serra had led Joey into a garage. However, these were cars from Earth. Classic cars, to be exact.

Joey dashed from one car to the next. "This is great! Here's a '57 Chevy! And over here's a '68 Camaro! How did you guys get all this?"

"A will," Serra replied. "My grandfather was fascinated by automotive technology, especially from Earth. He bought a large number of cars, from 1940 to, um, 1985, I think. I'm not too familiar with Earth years."

"That seems about right," Joey responded. He opened the door to a 1985 DeLorean DMC and hopped into the driver's seat. "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!"

Serra gave Joey a puzzled look. "Oh, right," he remarked. "It's a quote from a movie. Hey! The odometers are all at zero!"

"They've never been driven," Serra replied. "Neither Grandfather nor Father know exactly how to drive them. Besides, they're not exactly meant for Chaimellans. There's not always a place to put our wings."

"Ah, right," Joey said, his attention focused under the hood of a Dodge Daytona. "Uh-oh, these weren't stored properly. They'd need work before driving them. Looks like I've found something to do here!"

"I guess so," Serra said. "Who knows, you might even get to keep one or two!"

Joey jumped at the response. Unfortunately, his head was under the hood. "OWW!!!!"

Serra rushed up. "Are you all right?"

Joey straightened himself, rubbing his head. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Guess I shouldn't have said that when your head was under the hood," Serra giggled.

"Well, yeah," Joey responded. "If you're gonna get me excited, you ought to wait until it's safe to do so!" -5-

Serra and Joey returned to the den and sat down. No sooner had they done so than a servant entered the room.

"Mr. Wheeler, you have a call on the satellite phone," he said.

Joey blinked. "A call? For me?"

Serra got up. "Thank you, Reuben." She then grabbed Joey's hand. "Come on."

Serra led Joey into the room with the satellite phone and sat him down in the seat. Joey picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hello, Joseph. It's been so long. I'm pleased to hear from you."

Joey's eyes went wide. "What the . . . ? What's going on here?"

Serra walked over to the visual screen and turned it on. An image of a man in his mid-20s appeared. He wore a suit with a red jacket and had long, straight, silver hair that concealed his left eye, if it had still been there. He was leaning back into a large, comfortable chair.

"You're not glad to see me?" Maximillion Pegasus asked. He pouted. "I'm hurt. Surely you'd like to see old friends once in a while."

"Friend? You stole the souls of Mr. Moto, Kaiba and Mokuba! Granted, I can understand Kaiba, but still!"

"Can't we put the past behind us?" Pegasus replied. "You haven't been an angel yourself. Besides, who was it that told you about Dartz and his plans?"

Joey sighed. He did have a point. "All right, all right. Now, what do you want?"

"I called to deliver some news and to offer a proposal," Pegasus explained. "First, I'll start with the news. You see, your sponsor, Delicious Discounts, is dissatisfied with your performance as a duelist. They terminated your contract."

Joey shot out of his seat. "WHAT?!"

Pegasus held the receiver away from his ear for a second. "Please, Joseph, there's no need to shout. I can hear you perfectly fine."

"What do they think they're doing? And why?"

"They seem to have taken advantage of your absence," Pegasus explained. "As for why, well, they've lost faith in your caliber as a duelist. Your résumé is one of the best in the world, but there are two imperfections. First, you have never defeated Seto Kaiba. Second, you have never defeated Yugi Moto."

"Well, nobody's officially beaten Yugi!" Joey exclaimed.

"True, but apparently third place isn't good enough for them," Pegasus said. "Of course, Kaiba-boy is safe since he's having KaibaCorp sponsor himself. But I'm afraid you're not. This is where my proposal comes into play."

Joey frowned. "I'm listening."

"You see, I, as a former Duel Monsters official, and current supervisor of card distribution, cannot duel. I can, however, have Industrial Illusions sponsor a duelist. Now, back in Duelist Kingdom, your rags-to-riches Duel Monsters career impressed me. Never have I seen someone rise so quickly, except for maybe Yugi-boy, but he had prior experience. Anyway, let me cut to the chase. I am offering to be your new sponsor."

Joey's jaw dropped. "What?! No way! I don't believe it!"

Again, Pegasus pouted. "What's wrong? You don't trust me? I'm hurt. Well, maybe someone like Weevil Underwood would appreciate my sponsorship."

This made Joey angry. "What? Taking a duelist not even in the top ten over me?"

"Well, not if you accept my offer," Pegasus said. "If not, there are plenty of duelists out there who will."

Joey thought for a moment. On one hand, this is the guy who tried to do Yugi in. On the other, I have no sponsor right now. And having Industrial Illusions as a sponsor may have added benefits. I know I would like a free Exodia set. He then looked into the visual screen. "All right. I accept."

Pegasus smiled. "Splendid! I'll send the contract out to you right away."

"Wait, how are you going to do that?" Joey asked.

"I have a messenger boy lined up, and I've gotten in touch with Dr. Straussen," Pegasus explained. "We have a spaceship set up, and you'll be able to return sooner than you planned."

"Who are you sending? One of your suits?" Joey asked.

"No, actually. He's an old friend from school. I won't say whom, though. I don't want to spoil the surprise," Pegasus said. "Well, I'll see you when you get back. Goodbye, and good luck!" With that, the screen went blank.

Serra continued to stare at the screen. "He's quite the oddball, huh?"

Joey shrugged. "That's Pegasus for you. Probably came from the death of his wife and finding and losing the Millennium Eye. He's no slouch at Duel Monsters, either. His monsters may look like Saturday morning cartoons, but they're actually tough."

Serra stared at him, then broke down laughing. "He - he uses cartoon monsters? Oh my God!"

Joey sighed. Man, I'll never understand women.