I'm back! And I'm finally somewhat satisfied with this interlude. Here are some recognizable characters, as promised :-)

Vices
INTERLUDE VI

Darkness gradually shrouded the valley as the sun descended behind the hills, leaving two exhausted teenage boys—plus an unconscious third in tow—stranded in the desert for another night. All that was set before them were miles and miles of train tracks, and an empty wasteland that stretched endlessly in all directions. Water was scarce, and food was non-existent.

Joey was the first to stop, having been the one to carry a limp Rex Raptor on his shoulders for the last few hours. "Hold on," he said as he fell to his knees, short of breath. "I need… a minute."

Tristan obliged, and sat beside his friend to catch his own breath. "Fine. We're not going to get far tonight anyway. The sun is setting."

Joey shook his head, gently laying Raptor down onto the sand. "We need… to keep… going," he insisted between panting. "Téa… and… the pharaoh…. might need us."

Tristan fell silent. Joey turned to him, noticing a somber look had settled on his face. "What's up?"

He sighed wearily, waiting a moment to voice his thoughts. "Dude… I'm starting to wonder if they even made it out."

Joey started back. "What?"

"You saw the train car. It was going a million miles an hour, and it wasn't stopping anytime soon."

"So what? They probably found a way to stop the train… or at least jumped off."

Tristan paused. "Maybe they did. Or maybe Téa did. Or… maybe neither of them did."

Joey furrowed his brow. "What're you trying to say, Tristan?" he challenged.

"I don't know if you remember or not, but the pharaoh was in bad shape last time we saw him. He wasn't exactly in 'fight for survival' mode."

"He helped Téa onto the train car with 'im," he argued. "He told us to get help."

"Help for us."

Joey fervently shook his head. "Look man, there's no way the pharaoh is down for the count. I mean, do you really believe something like this would take 'im out? That's not how this story's gonna end, no way."

Tristan stared grimly at the fading hills. "I hear you, man. But I saw how he was, and I know you did, too. He was depressed. There's just no other way to describe it. Take it from someone who has a lot of depression in his family. Every day is a heavy, tedious journey to the next. When someone in his state of mind suddenly has to choose whether to live or die… well…"

"He chose to live," Joey heartily interjected. "I know he did."

"What makes you so sure?"

He clenched his jaw. "Because if I know anything about that guy, I know that the one thing he's driven by, besides a good duel, is purpose. I mean… yeah, he was pretty down in the dumps, but he's on a mission, ya know? He's gotta save Yugi. He'd never give up on him."

"And you know what?" he continued, as if his own words were convincing him as well, "If that wasn't enough, he's got Téa with him. And you know for a fact that Téa would never let him give up, even if he wanted to."

Tristan looked a little relieved. "Maybe you're right. I may not share your confidence in the pharaoh, but I definitely trust Téa to keep him straight."

Joey nodded in agreement. "That's why we call her 'Téa the Toughie', right? Ya know, I never really thought about it, but she might be the best thing for the pharaoh right now."

"Maybe that's why she went after him on the train. She probably knew she could help him."

"You might be right." He paused, briefly considering his next words. "But I don't think that's the only reason she did that."

"Huh?"

"She probably doesn't know I know this, but… she kinda has the hots for the pharaoh."

Tristan quirked an eyebrow. "Does she?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I trust her, but even the smartest people do dumb shit when they're in love."

Tristan nodded reluctantly, keeping a wary eye on Joey, who was frustratingly scratching his head with both hands.

"It's a crazy thing, man. You think you got your head on straight, you know what you believe in and what you're fightin' for, and then that one person has the power to turn it all upside down. And then all of a sudden, you don't know which way is up anymore."

Tristan heaved a long, knowing sigh. "You're still not over Mai, huh?"

Joey bit his lip. "I screwed up, T. Big time. I spent so much time trying to help her realize that I—we—were there for her. That the people in her past who mistreated her or drove her away are long gone, and she didn't have to keep her defenses up so much anymore. I—we—had a place for her in our circle and in our hearts." He threw his fist into the earth beneath him. "And I fuckin' blew it, man. Battle City was over and what did I do to show her I meant what I said? Absolutely nothing. Not a phone call, visit, or even an email! She went through such a horrifying duel with Marik, and suffered through her trauma all alone. How could I do that to her? How could I be so blind to her suffering, after all she went through? No wonder those Orichalcos freaks got to her first! They conned her into joining this crazy cult because she might've not known where else to go… she just wanted to feel that belonging again."

"That's still no excuse," Tristan sternly pointed out. "She still betrayed us. She betrayed you."

He shrugged. "Yeah well, I betrayed her first."

Tristan paused for a moment. "I see what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yeah. She's turned you upside down, man. She treated you like garbage when she first met you, right up until you called her out on her shit. She was even in cahoots with this asshole"—he pointed to the comatose Rex Raptor on the ground beside them—"before you came along. You did so much for her, and tried so hard to help her. Even when she was being a stuck-up bitch, you were there for her. And what does she do? Turns her back on you, is what she does. Next time you see her she was riding around on a motorcycle with some gang and terrorizing people and saying she doesn't give a shit about any of us, even tried to take your soul, for nothing if not out of spite. And you think this is your fault? Is this the 'dumb shit' you were talking about?"

Joey stared off into the distance. "No offense, T, but you wouldn't understand."

"Well… maybe I'd like to someday. Lord knows I've learned from your mistakes."

Joey playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Shut the hell up."

"Ya know, maybe I'm having a hard time letting her off the hook because I personally know someone who went through a lot of shit, and still came out alright."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Yup. He used to bully defenseless kids and get into fights all the time. His only parent was a drunk dirtbag, and he hung out with a gang, with other sons of drunk dirtbags. He still became a decent guy."

Joey stared blankly at him, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. "Who's dat?"

Tristan rolled his eyes. "You, dumbass."

"'ey, gimme a break. It's been a minute since I've had a fresh hot pizza, eh?" He wiped the sweat from his brow. "Besides, it's different."

"Different how?"

"I had you guys," he answered matter-of-factly.

"And?"

"And you, Yugi, Téa, and even the pharaoh showed me friendship no one ever bothered to show me before. The closest thing I had was Hirutani and his gang, but brotherhood in the streets meant something very different than what I have now. The gang taught me that the world was out to get us… the world was responsible for my problems, and I solve my problems with my fists, with terror, with anger. You guys built me up, you inspired me to be a better person, to help make the world a better place through kindness."

"What about Mai?"

Joey shook his head. "Mai never had that. She was alone. She's had to rely on herself for so long… that really messes with people."

Tristan quirked an eyebrow. "I find it hard to believe that's worse than hanging out with people who threatened you and attacked you with stun guns."

"Yeah… I know. And I'm not condoning all the bad stuff they did. But at one point in my life… they were the only ones lookin' out for me. Messed up as it was, I had somebody. Mai had nobody. Unless someone was lookin' for a duel, or sex… she felt like no one ever cared about her."

"She had us," Tristan defended.

"She had us, and then, in a way, she didn't. She was coming around, and then I screwed up. I gotta take responsibility for my part in this, T. She was goin' through some shit. She clearly relapsed with her trauma from Marik, and I feel like it was my fault."

"Well, I don't think it's your fault. But the fact that you're taking responsibility anyway just proves how much you've grown."

"And there's another thing I keep thinking about…"

"What is it?"

Joey opened his mouth, and closed it again, gathering his thoughts. "Who am I to say that, if I were in Mai's position, I wouldn't fall into the wrong hands, too? What reason do I have to believe I'd be above taking the hand that offered me support when I felt deserted… power when I felt powerless… hope when I was at my lowest… no matter who it belonged to?"

"Would you?"

He shrugged defeatedly. "I don't know. I guess I'll never know. Truth is, we don't know why people do the things they do. Sure, we get an idea sometimes. But if I've learned anything from the kooks we've faced together, it's that there's always more to the story. And we can't say we wouldn't be the 'kooks' if we were on the other side, if we had their pain in our hearts."

Silence rolled between them. Tristan nodded in what looked like approval. "You know… you're a lot smarter than you look."

Joey smirked in response. "I'm too tired to figure out if that was a compliment or not."

"Just take it however you want." Tristan peered into the distance as something caught his eye. "Hey… what's that over there?" He pointed his finger over Joey's shoulder.

Joey followed his finger, eyes still unfocused. "What's what?"

"There's something over there… do you see it?"

"Dude, I'm seein' double. I have no idea what you're talking about."

With effort, Joey rose to his feet, leaving Raptor on the ground. He and Tristan treaded cautiously towards the figure, wary for traps. As they drew closer, a crop of stringy blue hair and the back of a dirty green sweater revealed themselves under the veil of the dying sun.

"No way…" Joey breathed disbelievingly.

"Is that…"

Tristan knelt beside the figure and slowly turned the body over on its back. A pair of spectacles hung loosely on its face, its round lenses cracked. Beneath the glasses was red, tender, peeling skin covered in large blisters. Beady indigo eyes, crusty from dehydration, stared half-lidded at the night sky, not a sign of life in them.

"Weevil Underwood?"

Tristan clasped a hand over his mouth. "Holy shit, what happened to him?"

"I think I might have an idea… " Joey glanced back at Raptor's body a few feet behind him, "he was the other half of the 'Terrible Two'. As per usual."

"He's still alive," said Tristan, his hand hovering under Weevil's nostrils. "Dartz must've sent him after the pharaoh, just like he sent Raptor after you."

"Guess the pharaoh won."

"It would appear that way," confirmed Tristan, checking the bug duelist's pulse.

Joey crossed his arms. "I bet the little bug brat tried to cheat, too."

Tristan scoffed. "Please… even with cheating, he's barely a challenge. You wiped the floor with him in Battle City."

Joey looked skeptical. "I dunno about him being 'barely' a challenge. The Seal of Orichalcos has a way of… erm… enhancing their dueling skills somehow. And I bet, like Raptor, Dartz must'a spruced up his deck, too."

"Plus, the pharaoh…"

The blonde turned his hands up. "Well, if it's any consolation to you, the pharaoh still came out on top… so."

Tristan tightened his lips over his teeth. "Yeah. I guess." He gave a resigned sigh, and rose to his feet. "I'll take Raptor, you take Bug Boy."

"What, we're takin' him too?"

He shrugged. "Well, we can't just leave him out here, can we? I know we got bad blood with these guys, but we have a responsibility, as the better men, to at least not leave them out in the desert to die."

Joey glared at Underwood's body. "They'd never do the same for us."

"I know that. Hence the 'better men' part."

Joey rubbed his temples with a groan. "To be totally honest, T, I'm only hearin' like half the words you're sayin' right now. I'm exhausted and I need water, bad."

Tristan peered over the cliff and pointed downward. "I think I see a little river down there. If we can find a way to get down safely, we might be in luck."

"Agh," Joey groaned, his shoulders slumping. "Can't we just toss these bozos down and use them to break our fall?"

"Better men," Tristan repeated with emphasis. He broke his irritated frown with a laugh. "Although… pretty tempting."

"Don't worry," Joey snorted, "I won't tell a soul."

TO BE CONTINUED

Hopefully it won't take me another year to finish this damn thing.

What do you think is going to happen next? What's this "plan" you think Yami and Tea got cooked up? Trying to figure out if I've left too many clues... :D