Joey awakens from a nightmare he had about being chased by Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon and being turned into a dog once he found himself at a giant Kaiba's feet.

"Kaiba, we'll see who eats the dog chow on this island!" Joey says in anger. "Everybody, wake up!"

"What in tarnation is going on, Joey?" Applejack asks.

"I thought I heard you sobbing while you were asleep, maybe you had a bad dream." Fluttershy suggests.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just a brand new day in the tournament and I'm hot to find me a duel!" Joey replies.

"Well, you don't have to yell about it." Tristan says.

"Hey, guys, what's all the commotion?" Tea asks as she walks up with a full knapsack.

"What's with the knapsack?" Spike asks. "Gift from someone?"

"Yeah, from Mai." Tea answers. "But she said she had somewhere to go. And she wanted me to give you this note, Yugi." Tea pulls out the note which reads: 'I owe you eight star chips. See you around. Mai.'

"Guess you can kiss those eight chips goodbye." Tristan says.

"I don't know. Maybe we really can trust Mai." Yugi responds.

"And if not, well, we're still the team supreme, right?" Rainbow asks. And everyone agrees.

"Okay, then. Move out." Joey says. Later, the group is wandering around, pondering how many contestants are still in the tournament.

"I wonder how many duelists there are left." Rarity says.

"Well, counting Weevil and that kid Mokuba tried to return some star chips and cards to, I'd say a couple dozen were sent back to Domino City yesterday." Twilight says.

"And I bet even more have been eliminated by now." Tea adds.

"And some of them were likely really good players with powerful cards, too." Spike says. "Yugi, you and Joey could be the next targets."

"Not a chance, Spike." Fluttershy says. "Those other duelists were in this for the prize, those two are fighting for a loved one, and that makes all the difference in the world."

"You're right, Fluttershy." Yugi concurs. "I have to rescue my grandfather's soul from Pegasus, and Joey needs the prize money to save his little sister's eyesight. But the duelists either me or him face today will be stronger because they survived the first round."

"Even stronger than Weevil and Rex?" Joey asks as he stops.

"Careful what you say, Yugi, you've got little Joey shaking in his sneakers." Tristan says.

"What? You think I'm a scared, little puppy like Kaiba said I was?!" Joey snaps.

"I ain't like Kaiba." Tristan says as Applejack separates them.

"You just bring on any duelist, then I'll cream em." Joey says.

"That's the attitude, you gotta believe in yourself, Joey." Yugi says. However, little do they know that three duelists are watching them from above on a cliff.

"The blonde one's mine." the smallest and youngest of the three says.

"If you like em tall, skinny and stupid, Bonz, that blonde geek sure fits the bill." the tallest and largest of the three replies as he look as them through his binoculars.

"Oh, yeah. You'll demolish him." concurs the second tallest of the three. "So, who are they, anyway?"

"Will you just keep your shirt on, Sid? I'm trying to see if I can get a tighter focus on them." the tall and large one says.

"I don't know who the others are, but I think that little runt with the black, purple and yellow hair is that Yugi Muto kid." Sid says.

"Yugi? He's the one who beat Kaiba." the tall and large one says in surprise. Even Bonz is surprised.

"We better tell the boss about this, Zygor." Sid suggests. Zygor agrees and all three of them head for their 'boss'. They soon meet with him, and it's revealed to be none other than Bandit Keith from the story Kaiba told the group the past night.

"Alright, spit it out." Keith says, impatiently.

"We found two duelists." Zygor begins.

"One's just a stupid geek with blonde hair." Sid adds.

"But the other one's supposed to be pretty good." put in Bonz. "A kid by the name of Yugi Muto."

"Yeah, the same kid who beat Kaiba on his own turf." finishes Zygor. "Everybody figures that he might make it all the way to Pegasus' castle."

"Yugi Muto, huh?" Keith asks. "Yeah, I've heard of him. Everyone knows about his duel with Kaiba. He's supposed to be a tough little squirt. That is, if you believe his reputation without actually seeing him duel."

"Yeah, good point." Zygor says. "Seeing as we never seen him in a duel, we don't know if he's as good as people say he is."

"Right. Nobody's going to that castle accept us, because we teamed up with the most brilliant bloomin' duelist on the whole island." Sid concurs. "The intercontinental champion himself, Bandit Keith."

"That's right. So if you three want to win this tournament, you'll keep your mouths shut, you'll keep cool, and let Bandit Keith do all the heavy thinking for you." Keith says with a smile as he removes his shades.

"No argument from me, boss." Zygor says. "You got all the brains, and I'm just the muscle."

"And we'll hammer any blinking duelist who gets in our way. While likely making them tremble, too." Sid concurs. Keith looks at the castle, remembering what happened to him at the intercontinental championship tournament.

"Now, you said you found another duelist with Yugi?" Keith asks.

"Yeah, we managed to catch that his name is Joey." Zygor answers.

"Good. We'll take the dweeb out first." Keith says as he stands up. Meanwhile, Joey is showing signs of paranoia.

"Did you hear that?" Joey asks. "I think we're being followed."

"I didn't hear anything." Twilight says.

"I think he's getting a little paranoid." Applejack suggests.

"You've been on edge and hyper ever since you woke up this morning, after you had a bad dream like Fluttershy suggested." Rainbow points out.

"I'm telling you, somebody's stalking us." Joey says in worry before running off.

"Joey, where are you going?" Pinkie asks.

"To stalk them!" Joey answers as he runs off. Little do any of them know that Sid and Zygor are stalking the group, and preparing to go after Joey. Meanwhile, in some kind of cave, Bandit Keith and Bonz are walking.

"Boss, where are we heading?" Bonz asks

"To a hidden arena." Keith says. "One that I found out about yesterday."

"This arena, is in a cave?" Bonz asks, a bit creeped out. But he soon gets spooked when some bats fly past his head.

"I'm surprised at you. You oughta feel right at home down here, Bonz." Keith says. "It's dark and dank and really creepy, just like you are. Now, about your deck. You did load it up mostly with zombie cards, didn't you?"

"Yeah, just like you said." Bonz confirms.

"Let me see what you got in your deck." Keith suggests. Keith then looks through Bonz's deck. "It's good, but I think you could use a little more brute force."

"But where could I find cards that can grant more brute force?" Bonz asks.

"Don't you worry, kid." Keith says as he opens his jacket to reveal a dozen pockets worth of cards. "I got all the power you need right here to build the strongest zombie deck in Duel Monsters history." Soon, Keith puts a few more cards into Bonz's deck. "Now that your deck is enhanced, it's time we moved on to the graveyard."

"The graveyard?" Bonz asks, more spooked than ever.

"It's a perfect arena for you, Bonz. And with all these new zombie cards, you just can't lose." Keith answers.

"Thanks, boss. And you can bet that I won't let you down." Bonz says.

"You better not, or you're gonna find yourself in a world of hurt." Keith says as he takes the flashlight and smacks Bonz to the ground. "You wouldn't want that, now would you?" Bonz soon finds himself face to face with a skull, scaring him further. "What are you afraid of? Some musty old skull?" Bonz quakingly confirms that he is a bit spooked. "Gimme a break. Your face is scarier than this old thing." Keith tosses the skull aside as he and Bonz move on. Outside, Joey is at a waterfall washing his face off.

"Maybe Applejack is right. I guess all I heard was this waterfall." Joey says. Soon, Zygor comes up behind him, but Joey quickly senses him. "Can I help you?" But instead of an answer, Joey gets blacked out and soon wakes up elsewhere.

"Wake up, dweeb." Zygor says.

"What? Where am I?" Joey asks.

"The boss wants you." Zygor answers as Joey is lifted up. Soon, Joey sees what kind of nightmare he just stepped into, a duel monsters arena that looks like a graveyard.

"What is this place?" Joey asks as he looks around in terror. Soon, Bonz comes up in the other player box, eerily.

"Welcome, duelist, to the unluckiest arena on the island." Bonz says. "Field 13, the arena of lost souls." Joey is quickly spooked by Bonz's appearance. "Abandon hope, for no duelist gets out of this arena with star chips in his glove, nor with a soul in their body, for no duelist leaves this arena alive."

"Help! A ghost!" Joey screams in terror. Outside, the others are worried about Joey.

"Joey's been gone for a while now." Yugi says.

"You don't think he got lost, do you?" Fluttershy asks.

"No way. But he could have been challenged to a duel." Yugi answers.

"That must be it." Tristan says. "I must've gotten on his case about being scared after his loss to Kaiba, and now he's gone off to find a duel by himself."

"That just proves that it's never right to tell someone they're scared when they aren't." Fluttershy responds.

"Then I say we split up and cover more ground." Applejack suggests. "Yugi, Tea, and Fluttershy, you go that way. Rarity and Spike head that way. Rainbow and Pinkie go that way. Me and Twilight will head this way. Tristan and Bakura, you head that way." Everyone agrees and splits up. Back at the cave, and at the graveyard arena, Bonz keeps spooking Joey.

"Prepare for your final duel." Bonz says. "This arena will be your final resting place."

"Now that's some spooky talk." Zygor says.

"Spot on, mate." Sid concurs. "He's got the dweeb scared stiff."

"I don't believe it. Looks like the dweeb fainted on his feet." Zygor says.

"Yeah, so do something about it, Zygor." Keith says. "Get busy and wake him up."

"You heard him, dweeb, rise and shine!" Zygor says as he tosses a skull at Joey, snapping him out of his state.

"The spirits of the dead are all around you, Joey." Bonz says. "There's no way to escape from either your fate, or your fear."

"Who says I'm scared?" Joey asks.

"You can't hide the truth from the spirits, Joey." Bonz says. "They see you're frozen with fear."

"Alright, I'll admit I was a bit spooked." Joey retorts. "But not because of the graveyard field or your ooga-booga talk, it was your creepy face that gave me the willies!" Keith and the others start laughing hysterically.

"You have to admit, he's got a point, Bonz." Keith says.

"Yeah, you even creep me out, Bonz, and I'm on your side." Zygor concurs.

"Well, if you're on my side, than stop laughing at me!" Bonz snaps. "So, are we gonna duel or just stand around talking? Lay down your star chips, now!"

"Hold on, I never even agreed with this duel!" Joey protests.

"Tough luck!" Keith calls out. "You ain't got no choice, dweeb." Joey looks around, wondering if there's a way out of his situation, but Keith and the others hear him.

"You want a way out?" Keith asks. "Well, hand over all your star chips and crawl out like a scared little puppy!" Everyone laughs at the remark, but Joey gets mad at it, remembering what Kaiba called him and the nightmare he had.

"Puppy?" Joey asks himself. "If I run from this I will be a scared puppy. If that's the way you want, I guess I've got no choice but to beat you! Four star chips!" Joey proceeds to lay down all his star chips.

"Nice going, boss." Zygor says. "He fell for it."

"Let's duel!" Joey and Bonz call out as their life point counters set and they both draw their hands.

"Put him away, Bonz!" Zygor calls. "Send him straight to the grave with your zombie cards!"

"Did he say zombie cards?" Joey asks himself. "Now I get what he's up to. I was led here so that those zombies he mentioned will get a field power bonus.

"You got that right. And you don't stand a chance." Bonz answers. "This arena is one big graveyard, and all my zombie cards get a Field Power Bonus here." Meanwhile, outside, everyone calls out for Joey, but get no answer.

"Where could he be?" Fluttershy asks. "If he were in a duel, we should've been able to find the arena."

"I'll admit that I'm worried, Fluttershy." Yugi says. "It's like Joey vanished off the face of the island." Back in the cave, Bonz prepares to make his first move.

"Here goes." Bonz says as he picks his first card. "My first zombie card." But before he can play his card of choice, Keith stops him.

"Not so fast, Bonz." Keith says. "Remember that strategy I told you about? If you want it to work, play the card on the far left instead of the one you had in mind."

"The far left?" Bonz asks. "But that's not a zombie."

"I know, but you needed some raw muscle, so I slipped it into your deck, Bonz." Keith explains. "It's part of your strategy, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, but why go for it early?" Bonz asks.

"Just do as I suggest and keep to the game plan." Keith answers.

"Just play the card already." Zygor says. "Bandit Keith won't steer you wrong. After all, we all managed to get this far in the tournament after following his advice."

"What is this?! Dueling by committee?! You gonna play the card or aren't you?!?" Joey snaps.

"Alright, boss. Whatever you say." Bonz relents. "Zanki, in attack mode!" The monster soon appears.

"This'll put a major dent in Zanki's armor!" Joey shouts as he plays his first card. "Go, Axe Raider, attack! Wind Blades!" In seconds, Zanki is destroyed and Bonz's life points decrease to 1800. "Alright! So much for your armored warrior!"

"You wiped him out!" Bonz says in surprise.

"That's just step one." Keith says reassuringly.

"Are you telling me the first step in a winning strategy is playing a lame card?" Bonz asks, annoyed. "If that were one of my zombies I would've clobbered him easily."

"Where's all your spooky chatter now, you little creep?!" Joey says with a smile of confidence. "Go ahead and play your next card, because whatever it is, I'm ready."

"I really think I could use some zombies." Bonz says.

"Not yet, Bonz." Keith interrupts. "The second card to the left is your best bet." Bonz looks and sees what Keith is talking about. But he knows that the monster Keith suggested, the Crawling Dragon, isn't a zombie either. "Look, I know you don't like the idea, but you have to be patient, Bonz. Your strategy is coming together. After all, no duelist has ever beaten Bandit Keith without cheating." So Bonz relents and sets his Crawling Dragon.

"I'll set a monster in defense mode." Bonz says at last.

"Running from me already, skull face?" Joey asks. "Guess you're not so scary after all. Go, Axe Raider! Slice 'em and dice 'em!" In no time, the Crawling Dragon is destroyed. "I win again!"

"Now play the card that's on the far right." Keith says to Bonz, frustrated that it's not a zombie. "And this time, don't put it in defense mode. If the dweeb can't see your monster, he might hesitate and wait to attack. But if you don't want to trust me, Bonz, I'll keep my advice to myself. It's up to you." Bonz draws and relents

"Crass Clown, in attack mode." he says as his monster appears.

"Is that the best you've got?" Joey asks as he plays his next card. "Flame Swordsman! Flaming Sword of Battle!" In no time, the Crass Clown is wiped out and Bonz's life points drops to 1350. "Too bad. One Crass Clown going down. Along with 450 of your life points." Joey knows he can see fear growing in Bonz's own eyes, thinking he has him on the run, and he intends to keep it that way, seeing as there's too much riding on the duel for him to lose.

"Now what?" Bonz asks Keith.

"Just relax." Keith answers. "You've already neared the end of your strategy, meaning you've practically have this duel won, Bonz."

"What's the problem, Bonz?" Joey asks. "Can't fight this duel on your own? Maybe your coach would rather take me on, and I'll cream him, too!"

"Oh, yeah?" Keith asks. "Looks like you could use a lesson in strategizing, dweeb." Joey is confused, while Bonz grows a wicked grin as he draws his next card.

"Oh. Wow. I had totally forgotten about this card, boss." Bonz says. "Now I understand what you meant by strategy."

"Then lay it down, Bonz! Play your trump card!" Keith says with a smile.

"You're finished!" Bonz says to Joey. "This card here is unstoppable! I play Call of the Haunted!"

"Call of the Haunted?" Joey asks.

"It can bring every monster you destroyed back from the graveyard." Keith explains.

"But since we're playing on a graveyard field, they come back as zombies, with the power of immortality!" Bonz adds as the three monsters Joey's warriors slayed rise out of the ground as undead zombies. Meanwhile, outside, the gang has reunited and found a clue to Joey's disappearance. His wallet.

"Isn't that wallet Joey's?" Applejack asks.

"It is, since there's a picture of his sister, Serenity, inside." Tea answers.

"Joey would NEVER be careless enough to lose something like that." Rainbow says. "Especially when his sister's photo is inside it. Since she means more to him than anything else."

"If you ask me, this is starting to sound like foul play." Pinkie suggests.

"Look over there!" Twilight says as they find the cave that Joey is in.

"I don't like the looks of this at all." Tristan says.

"Neither do any of us." Applejack concurs as they all head to the entrance to the cave. Soon, they all head inside and investigate.

"What is this place?" Tristan asks as they come across two coffins.

"Careful, this could be a trap." Applejack warns. "Those coffins could be part of it."

"Who would leave them just standing in a place like this?" Bakura asks.

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you guys." Yugi says.

"Uh, Fluttershy, could you kinda loosen your grip on my arm?" Tristan asks.

"Sorry, Tristan." Fluttershy says.

"Don't worry, Rarity." Spike says, a bit spooked. "I'll protect you."

"Well, I feel safer already." Rarity responds.

"Don't be silly, guys. It's just a couple of empty wooden bo..." Rainbow says before something starts happening. Soon, the coffins open and skeletons fall on her and Bakura, spooking them both and prompting Yugi and Tristan to get them off the two.

"That Pegasus sure has a sick sense of humor." Tristan says.

"You said it, Tristan." Yugi concurs. Back at the duel, the monsters Joey destroyed have fully risen from the grave and are back on the field as zombies.

"I can't believe it." Joey says in shock. "Your monsters are back."

"Call of the Haunted brought all three of them back from the grave, and they turned into zombies thanks to the field we're playing on." Bonz responds. "And as zombies, they get a Field Power Bonus from the graveyard. Armored Zombie's attack power is now 1950, Dragon Zombie's attack power jumps to 2080, and Clown Zombie's attack power is now 1755. Dragon Zombie, attack the Axe Raider!"

"Axe Raider, bash that undead lizard!" Joey retorts, and it seems that the Axe Raider destroyed the Dragon Zombie, however the monster simply reforms itself. "Oh no. A direct hit on the head, and the Dragon Zombie recovered!"

"That's thanks to both the field and Call of the Haunted, dweeb." Keith explains with a chuckle. "It'll take more than an axe to take one of them down."

"Now to finish what I was about to start." Bonz says. "Dragon Zombie, destroy Axe Raider! Deadly Zombie Breath!" With one blast of its foul breath, the Axe Raider is turned to dust and crumbles. "One down, and one to go. Now your Flame Swordsman is outnumbered three to one." Joey begins to wonder what he'll have to do next, otherwise he'll be considered dead meat.

Author's Note

Again, the anime messes with card effects. Normally, Call of the Haunted can bring a monster back once per turn, but this time it brought back three monsters once activated. Therefore, I put in the suggestion that the field turned the slayed monsters into their zombie counterparts once Call of the Haunted was activated.