Author's note:

This is my English translation of the story I had written in Hungarian, my mother tongue. Special thanks to Hero Beater and Fluffy Pillow for helping me every step of the way.

BLUE-EYES AND THE DARK MAGICIAN

"I'll go first," announced Bakura, and inspected his five cards before he drew. "I summon a monster face-down in defense mode… Your move."

"Alright," replied Yami, and he drew as well. "I summon Gamma, the Magnet Warrior!" he cried, and Gamma appeared on the field. "My Magnet Warrior, attack his face-down card!"

Gamma struck the card and revealed the hidden monster: the Headless Knight.

"You are out of luck, Pharaoh," Bakura said darkly. Yami lost 200 life points and Gamma obediently retreated to his slot in attack mode, while the Headless Knight, now in plain sight, waited in front of Bakura in defense mode.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"So be it," Bakura replied flatly, drawing a card. A cruel smile flashed across his face. Excellent. "I summon a monster face-down in defense mode and place another card face-down. But that's not all, Pharaoh. For now I'm going to play a special field spell card, just for you…" he said in a low, malevolent voice, inserting a card into the special slot of his duel disk. "Battle to the Death!"

"What is that? Tell me!"

"I'll explain how it works," said Bakura in an off-handed tone. "Now both of us shall receive a card that we must immediately place on our playing field."

The moment he spoke, two slots flared up, and slowly, the cards materialized: based on their color, they were supposed to be monster cards, but all their attributes were blank.

"As you can see, they are empty and lie opposite one another: the monsters that we summon into these slots can only fight each other to the death…"

"Get to the point, Bakura!"

"Gladly. We can summon our first two monsters right away anyway. Now see what I have chosen!" Bakura cried out with a malevolent grin. The Millennium Ring started to glow around his neck, and suddenly, a beam of light burst forward from it. Yami instinctively raised an arm to protect himself, but then discovered to his horror that he wasn't the target: the beam slithered past him in a flash, and then struck down, like a shining whip, wrapping itself around Kaiba's throat. Seto tried to wrench himself free, but he couldn't pry it off, and the light beam quickly started to drag him towards the playing field.

"Nii-sama!" screamed Mokuba and tried to run after his brother, but Tristan quickly grabbed him and snatched him up to hold him back.

"Are you nuts?" he snapped at the frightened child; Mokuba was thrashing fiercely in his grasp, and the others stood in shock, staring wide-eyed at Kaiba.

"Stop this at once, Bakura!" Yami cried in anger. Kaiba gasped for air as he was drawn towards Bakura's activated card; he planted his feet several times, but it was no use, and the light beam dragged him along relentlessly until it finally forced him onto the surface of the empty card. The beam then detached itself from the Millennium Ring and its loose end penetrated the blank square. Kaiba was the card's prisoner now, and as it flared up, the attack and defense points became visible: 3000/2500.

"How do you like my Blue-Eyes?" Bakura asked, grinning. Yami hissed in anger.

"Nii-sama!" howled Mokuba, now beside himself, and elbowed Tristan in the groin in desperation, the sudden pain causing Tristan to lose his hold on him. He couldn't reach him fast enough, and Mokuba darted towards the playing field. He had no idea how he could help, but he wanted to try, no matter what.

"Mokuba, NO!" howled Kaiba, hardly able breathe in the clutches of the light beam, but it was too late: his little brother had reached him, seized the shining shackle rising from the card, and he started tugging at it.

"I won't leave you!" cried Mokuba, and he yanked hard at the light beam to tear it out, without success. Bakura laughed.

"I see you two cannot bear to be apart! So be it!" he said magnanimously, and another light beam emerged from the Ring, coiling around Mokuba. It wrapped around his small chest, tied his arms behind his back and chained him onto Seto's lower arm, where he then hung suspended like some living counterweight.

"Mokuba!" Yami cried out in shock.

"What have you done, you snake?" howled Kaiba.

"He wanted to defend you so badly. I granted his wish," came the gentle reply, and the next moment, Kaiba's free arm jerked backwards against his will, his other arm lifted in front of him along with Mokuba, as if he had assumed a defensive position.

"He makes for a dainty little shield, doesn't he?" purred Bakura. Kaiba struggled frantically to move his arm, but he was helpless: he no longer had any control over his own body. Mokuba hung on his older brother's arm defenselessly, and tried desperately to turn his head to at least look his Nii-sama in the eye, but it was no use.

"You can't do this!" roared Kaiba, completely beside himself.

"Oh, but I already have…"

"Release them at once, Bakura!" demanded Yami, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Why would I? The best is yet to come!" cried Bakura excitedly, and the next moment, the playing field was engulfed by a blinding light, the air filled with the screams of Yugi and his friends. More beams of light burst forth from the Millennium Ring and chained them to one another – Joey and Tristan stood bound with their backs to each other while Yugi and Téa were pressed against them from left and right in the clutches of the beams. By the time the Ring's light dissipated and the Pharaoh regained his sight, it was too late: Yugi and his friends were helpless captives of the card in front of him, and their values were also revealed: 2500/2100.

"Oh no," groaned Yami. Yugi and his friends stared at him in fright, and then at Kaiba, who stood facing them, pale as a ghost, Mokuba still held in front of him. Bakura laughed.

"Now we have our monsters!" he declared happily. "Are you ready, Pharaoh?"

Kaiba's free arm swung forward and his other arm was lowered along with Mokuba in attack position. Kaiba gave a stunned groan; his little brother thrashed about terrified.

"I hope you realize what's coming," Bakura said with a grin. "As long as both monsters are on the playing field, they can only be each other's targets. That means they will also be dueling in a way, but unlike other monsters, the loser is gone for good when either he or my field spell card is destroyed. You see, Kaiba, I didn't leave you out of the fun – you will get the distinct honor of exterminating the Pharaoh's friends. He can try to stop you, but sooner or later he will have to choose which one of you is to die, and just between us, he values your life just as little as I do…"

"Don't listen to him, Kaiba!" implored the Pharaoh. "I swear I will find a way to save all of you!"

"Now there's an empty promise for you!" Bakura scoffed cheerfully. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but most trap and magic cards have rather painful consequences. Just try Mirror Force on him and we'll see if he survives!"

"Yugi!" cried Kaiba, his voice almost pleading. "I don't care what you do, just don't let my little brother get hurt!"

"I promise to defend you and Mokuba, Kaiba! Trust me!"

"How touching," sneered Bakura. "And pathetic. How fortunate that my field spell card forces our monsters to attack each turn! My turn may be over, but yours is coming up and you have no choice!" he said, and laughed again.

Yami glared at him, his jaws clenched, and drew a card. As fate would have it, he drew Mirror Force, and he had a feeling that this would not be the last card he would draw that could prove a lifesaver in any other situation, but would lead to Kaiba's demise here, and he was certain that Bakura, who had no regard for the lives of his friends, would not protect the brothers even if it were in his interest to do so.

"Stop wasting time, Pharaoh."

"I summon Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts, in attack mode," said Yami and activated his card. "It's time to get rid of your face-down monster! Gazelle, attack!"

Gazelle was successful, and Sangan was destroyed.

"Fine by me," Bakura said, unperturbed. "Now that Sangan goes to the Graveyard, I can choose a monster with one thousand five hundred attack points or less from my deck, and I choose Gernia!" he said, showing the card before he shuffled his deck and reinserted it into his duel disk. "And now, I activate my trap: Just Desserts!"

Yami clutched at his chest in pain. He lost one thousand five hundred life points for his three monsters. Nearly half of his life points were gone.

"Pharaoh!" cried Yugi in alarm. "Are you alright?"

"It hurt, didn't it?" purred Bakura. "And it's not over yet! Unless you want to send your Magnet Warrior to certain death, say goodbye to your friends, because you have no choice but to attack with them!"

Yami knew that Gamma couldn't defeat the Headless Knight, so he switched him to defense mode. It was Yugi's turn, and just like Kaiba, he, too, was helpless against the magic that bound him, his arms swinging forward like some living marionette. A wild force swept over him, ready to be unleashed, his palms starting to glow like the Dark Magician's staff.

"Yugi, NO!" Kaiba cried in alarm, desperately trying to twist his arm further back to shield Mokuba from the imminent attack. His own extended hand began to glow as well. White lightning crackled in his palm.

"I… can't… control it!" groaned Yugi, petrified.

"They are history!" Bakura cried in triumph – until Yami's hand shot up in the air.

"I activate my trap! Spellbinding Circle!"

The circle appeared out of thin air, the symbols glowing fiercely as the spell circle spun across the air and clasped itself around Yugi's extended arms like a magic manacle. The pulsating dark light flickered in his palm and then extinguished as if it had never shone. Kaiba heaved, trembling; Yugi and his friends were drenched in sweat.

"You were lucky," conceded Bakura with a sour face. "But don't think that circle will remain there for long. You have only gained time and nothing more. They will all die in the end!"

"That's enough! It's your move," Yami said sharply, watching his friends with worry. Thanks to the Spellbinding Circle, they were still safe… the only question was how long.