Finally, Ethan said, "We need to find out more about these gold spheres. Where did they come from? What are they capable of? How can we use them?"
The other duelists exchanged glances. Still no one spoke. Their eyes returned to Ethan in expectation.
Ethan looked at each of the faces around him. There was no anger or blame in them. Instead, the faces expressed gloom, and understandably so. In the span of a few hours, many friends and fellow duelists had been lost, and there was no apparent way to bring them back. Ethan sighed. This was entirely his fault, and he knew it. He looked down at Sara, then back up to the duelists.
"We're in bad shape," Ethan told the others. "The professor, the only person who knows anything about the shadows, is unconscious. The best duelists here are also comatose. As for the globes themselves, well, I don't think anyone has dealt with objects like these for at least 40 years. It may be even longer than that." He paused to collect his thoughts, then continued, "Our best bet is probably the museum. If I remember correctly, the professor found the spheres there. Perhaps there's an exhibit; at the very least, we should be able to find someone who knows something about them."
Ethan looked at the duelists once more. Their expressions were still sad, but there was the slightest trace of hope beginning to show. Good, thought Ethan. This is working, but they need something more. He stood up. "There's no way to apologize for what I've done. No words or actions are sufficient. However, I can promise that I will do all that I can to ensure that our friends return to us." He looked at each of them, then said, "I need your help. Are you with me?"
Slowly one duelist began to nod, then another. Determination filled their eyes. "Then let's do this," said Ethan confidently. "The workers here will look after the others and make sure that they get medical aid. Let's go!"
Ethan slid off his duel disk and put it in his backpack. This might help at the museum, he thought. He closed his backpack and moved towards the entrance of the lab, followed by the others.
Ethan opened the front doors and stopped suddenly. A gigantic man towered over him. The man was at least a foot and a half taller than Ethan, and had the build of a powerlifter. However, the man's size was instantly forgotten as Ethan noticed his eyes. The irises were a deep grey, almost black, making the pupils seem twice as big as they should have been. The man looked straight into Ethan's eyes; in fact, it seemed as though he was looking into Ethan's mind. Ethan didn't like the sensation at all.
"Where are the Millennium Spheres?"
The voice was deep, and had a slightly threatening tone. Ethan jumped, looked at the other duelists, then back at the man. "Wha…what? Millennium…"
"You heard me. You've used them. You've been influenced by them. Where are they?"
Millennium Spheres? Could he be referring to the gold objects that they used to duel? "You mean this?" Ethan asked as he pulled out the duel disk.
The man raised an eyebrow, but merely said, "We'll see." He slid off the glove on his left hand, revealing a ring with a strange eye on it. The ring glowed, and an eye just like the one on the ring appeared on the flat part of the sphere. "That's one of them," the man confirmed as he put his glove back on. The eye on the sphere faded.
"So you know about these?" Ethan asked. "You know what they do, where they come from?"
"I know a great deal about them," replied the man. "Most importantly, that they're in the wrong hands."
"Is that right?" asked Ethan. "So who do they really belong to?"
"Me." The man reached out his massive hand.
Ethan was slightly intimidated, but he wasn't going to give in that easily. "Hold on," he said. "We have several friends back in this building who are unconscious right now. We think it's because of these spheres. Do you know of a way to reverse the process?"
"Of course I know how to reverse the process," the man returned. "I already told you I know much of these objects."
"Great!" said Ethan. "If you help bring our friends back, we'll give you the spheres afterwards."
"I don't think you understand the situation," the man said with a sneer. "The Millennium Spheres belong to me. You don't get to barter over them, since they were never yours to begin with."
"And what if I refuse to hand them over?" Ethan challenged.
The man lifted the right side of his overcoat, revealing an elegant golden dueling disk on his belt. "Then I'll have to use force."
A duel? This man was massive, yet his definition of "force" was a duel? Ethan thought back to his last duel and shuddered inwardly. The man's dueling disk looked like it was composed of the same material as the spheres, and Ethan had very little doubt that it had similar capabilities.
"No," replied Ethan. "I'm not dueling you. There's no way I'm going through that again."
The man removed his glove again, and the ring glinted in the sun. "You have two options," he said. "Duel, and the only stake will be the spheres. Refuse, and I'll send you to the Shadow Realm." The man paused and looked at the duelists behind Ethan. "ALL of you."
The Shadow Realm. So that's what it was called. That's why the others were unconscious now. Their minds were no longer a part of this world. Ethan looked back at the others. What choice did he have? He couldn't let that happen to the rest of them. "Alright," he sighed, sliding the duel disk onto his arm. "I'll duel you."
"No you won't!" came a voice from next to him. Ethan looked to his left in surprise. One of the other duelists, Derek, had his own duel disk on and activated. "You may be the strongest duelist here, but you've been through three tough duels already. Let me take on this guy!"
"Not alone!" came another voice, this time to Ethan's right. Marcus had stepped up, his own duel disk ready. "I'll help you. He won't be able to stand against the two of us!"
"Two opponents?" the man snorted. "No matter. I'll crush you both anyway." He took the gold duel disk and slid it onto his left arm. "Let's duel!"
--
"So…how does this work?" asked Derek. "I've never dueled two-on-one before."
"I don't remember any specific rules regarding this," replied Marcus. "I believe the most common way is to allow the lone duelist twice as many life points, but he has to beat each of his opponents separately. Another method is to give the duelist pair one set of life points, and when that has been expended, they both lose simultaneously."
"As the challenger, I'll determine the rules," their opponent said. "You two will play as one duelist. This means that between you, there may only be five monsters and five spells on the field. Only one of you may play a monster each turn, and only one of you may draw each turn. You will share 4000 life points, and I will also have 4000 life points. Also, since I'm the challenger, I'll go first."
"What deck will you be using?" Marcus asked Derek.
"I'm counting on my Magicians to win this duel," replied Derek with a smile.
"A monster-themed deck. Alright," said Marcus. He opened one of the cases on his belt and took out a deck. "This deck will complement yours nicely, I think."
Marcus and Derek inserted their decks into their duel disks, which lit up. "Where's your deck, uh…" Derek began to ask, then stopped. "We don't even know who you are. What's your name?"
"You may call me Nakhti," the man replied.
"Where's your deck, Nakhti?" Derek finished.
"I do not have a physical deck, as most of the creatures that I shall be using have never been reproduced as cards," Nakhti replied. "However, I will be constrained to the same rules as you. Just watch."
Six blank stone blocks rose from the ground in front of Nakhti. "I'll start by summoning Hapi, Son of Horus to the field," Nakhti said. In response, one of the stone blocks rotated, revealing the carved image of a baboon. The carving shone with a bright yellow light, and the baboon materialized on the field. An outline of the monster appeared on one of the sections of Nakhti's duel disk.
"That's quite a unique way of dueling," commented Marcus.
"On the contrary," replied Nakhti, "This was a common way of settling disputes in ancient Egypt. Monsters were sealed within blocks of granite, and sorcerers released them to battle each other. You are seeing the game as it was originally played."
"Fair enough," said Marcus. "Can I assume that you're done with your turn?"
"I am. Now show me what you can do," replied Nakhti.
Derek reached for his deck, but Marcus stopped him. "Hold on. Only one of us can draw each turn; I recommend that you let me do it this time."
"That's fine with me," said Derek. "Do you mind if I play our monster for the turn?"
"Not at all. Unless I say otherwise, you can play the monster each turn," Marcus told him.
"Works for me. I'll summon Royal Magical Library in defense mode!" A massive semicircle of bookshelves rose from the ground. Three dim green globes sat atop it.
"Excellent move," smiled Marcus. "Now I'll activate Meteor of Destruction, dealing 1000 points of direct damage to you, Nakhti!"
As the meteor sped towards Nakhti, he raised his arm to cover his face, but made no other movements. The meteor struck him hard, but Nakhti seemed completely unharmed. He lowered his arm slowly. "Interesting strategy," he said, "but it will take much more than that to defeat me.
One of the Library's globes lit up. "We've got more than that," Derek said with a grin, realizing what Marcus had done. "Each time a spell is played, my Library gains a spell counter. When there are three counters, I can remove them to draw a card!"
The other duelists cheered, and Ethan smiled. Marcus had picked a deck that would support Derek's magicians perfectly. He was definitely a skilled duelist, and it was showing.
"I'll play one card face down, and that's it," said Derek. "Marcus?"
"I'll also play a card face down. Your move, Nakhti."
Another stone block rose from the ground. Nakhti studied it, then looked at the others. "I'll summon Sebek, Lord of the Nile," he decided. One of the blocks rotated to face Derek and Marcus, this one depicting an alligator. Again, the carving glowed, and again, the monster appeared on the field.
"Sorry, but Sebek is much too weak to destroy my Library," Derek said. "Our life points are safe."
"I'm not so sure of that," replied Marcus. "Why would he play Sebek in attack mode unless he intended to attack with it? It must have some special ability."
"Attack mode? There were no 'modes' in the Shadow games," Nakhti told them. "The game is called Duel Monsters because the monsters are intended to battle each other. For that reason, all of my monsters are summoned ready to fight. But you were right about the ability, Marcus," he continued. "Sebek, Lord of the Nile can my opponent directly, bypassing any defenses they may have."
Sebek disappeared, then reappeared behind Derek's Library. It dealt a blow to both duelists, then returned to its original position. As their life points fell to 2800, Nakhti's increased to 4200. "Now the second ability of Sebek has been manifested. Whenever it deals damage, I gain that many life points," Nakhti said. "I'll end my turn."
Derek instinctively drew a card and looked at it. "Remember, Derek, only one of us can draw each turn," Marcus warned. "Nakhti is an experienced duelist, and we can't afford to make any mistakes. However, we can defeat him if we work together."
"Oh…right. Sorry, Marcus," Derek said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it," Marcus replied with an encouraging smile. "The card you drew will put us at a significant advantage if you use it correctly."
"Right," agreed Derek, placing the card on his duel disk. "I'll summon Skilled White Magician, in attack mode!" He selected another card and slid it into his duel disk. "Also, I'll activate Fissure, destroying your Sebek!"
The ground split open under Nakhti's monster, swallowing it. At the same time, another of the Library's globes lit up, and an orb on the Magician's shoulder glowed. "I'm not done yet," Derek continued. "As you probably noticed, playing Fissure put a spell counter on both of my monsters. Finally, I'll activate my face down card, Pitch-Black Power Stone!"
A black stone appeared on the field. On it was a golden triangle. "Once per turn, this stone allows me to add a spell counter to one of my monsters," Derek explained. "It only lasts for three turns, but that's long enough to be very useful to me. So I'll start by adding another counter to my Library!" One of the corners of the triangle faded, and the final globe of the Library lit up.
"Since there are three counters on my Library, I can remove them to allow one of us to draw a card. Marcus, would you do the honors?"
The globes atop the Library faded as Marcus drew. "Thank you, Derek," he said with a smile. "Now it's my turn to help you. I activate the magic card Ookazi! But you know how this works by now, Nakhti. You take damage; we gain spell counters."
A fire sprang up around Nakhti, and his life points dropped to 3400. An orb on each of Derek's monsters lit up. "That won't be all," Marcus continued. "Derek, are you going to attack?"
"Yes, I am," Derek responded. "Go, Skilled White Magician! Destroy his monster!" The sorcerer lifted his staff and launched a magical blast at Hapi, obliterating it and reducing Nakhti's life points to 3200. "That's all for now," Derek said confidently. "Your move, Nakhti."
"Very clever," said Nakhti, "but you have yet to see my deck's true power. Fortunately, your ignorance will be cured this turn."
Derek and Marcus looked at each other. They had played brilliantly so far, and their opponent wasn't even fazed! Ethan was worried, too. What was Nakhti planning?
--
As he waited for Nakhti to make his move, Ethan looked around. He was surprised at how dark it had gotten. The sun was slowly setting behind their adversary, covering the field in a dim orange light. Thank goodness that there's still SOME light, thought Ethan. The darkness brought back memories of his last duel, and that was the last thing he wanted to think about right now. He focused on the current duel, noticing that another granite slab had joined the ones in front of Nakhti.
Nakhti looked at the new stone briefly, but his attention soon turned to the leftmost stone. "I'll summon Qebehsenuef, Son of Horus," Nakhti declared as the granite block rotated to face the two duelists. The shadows covering the face of the stone were suddenly broken by a bright golden outline of a hawk. The outline was extruded into the hawk itself, which flew forward and landed lightly on the field.
"It's too bad you have to play Qebehsenuef in attack mode," said Derek. "It looks pretty weak to me."
"Looks can be deceiving," replied Nakhti. "This demigod may be lacking in physical strength, but its value to me lies in its other abilities."
"I can't imagine it will last long enough to use them," returned Derek. "You've already summoned this turn, and unless you want to attack, your turn is over."
"Watch it, Derek," cautioned Marcus. "We don't know anything about Nakhti's deck. Qebehsenuef might be much more powerful than it looks."
"You speak wisely, Marcus," said Nakhti. "Much more so than your impetuous partner. All of my creatures have hidden strengths, and I'll call upon one of them now. Come forth, Khepri! Grant me the power I need to finish this duel!"
"Khepri! What?" exclaimed Derek, as two more of the stone blocks rotated to face him. A large scarab beetle appeared, bearing a giant sphere. Bright rays of light shot out of the sphere, increasing in intensity until the field was bathed in light. Just when it seemed that the light was becoming unbearable, it disappeared. Derek, Marcus, and the others were left blinking, trying to see what had happened.
Ethan peered into the darkness. Like the others, he had been temporarily blinded by the intense light, and the last rays of sunlight were impeding any vision he had regained. Ethan could barely make out a large silhouette…was…was it a scorpion?
The creature was becoming clear to the others, too. It had a spiked purple body and glossy black claws. There was an eye on its back similar to the one on Nakhti's ring, to their surprise. Derek and Marcus looked at the beast, then at Nakhti.
"Where did that come from?" asked Derek in disbelief.
"I can sacrifice my monsters immediately after playing them to release their inner power," Nakhti replied. "The power of Khepri, the Sun Attendant allows me to summon an additional creature this turn. That creature is the goddess Serket, the protector of Qebehsenuef."
"Interesting," mused Marcus. "Nakhti is using his monsters as spell cards. Apparently his deck isn't as one-dimensional as it originally seemed."
"Interesting?!" Derek exclaimed. "Look at that scorpion! It's bigger than either of my monsters!"
Marcus looked over at his shaken partner. "Calm down, Derek," he said reassuringly. "We can still win this duel if we keep our heads and continue to play as a team."
Derek turned to Marcus, about to thank him for the support. But he was interrupted by Nakhti's powerful voice calling, "Mystical Beast Serket! Destroy Skilled White Magician!"
The gigantic scorpion clamped its claws on Derek's monster and began devouring it. Derek looked on in disbelief as their life points dropped to 2000. He turned back to Marcus, frustrated. "We can win this? What do you mean, we can win this?" He pointed a shaking hand at Serket. "Look! Look at that! It's bigger now than when he played it! It's stronger than any of the monsters in my deck!" Derek lowered his dueling disk. "I know a hopeless duel when I see it. I'm quitting."
Marcus grabbed Derek violently. "Get a hold of yourself! This duel's not over! I don't care if you can't destroy Serket! Just protect our life points long enough for me to burn his away!" He released his grip on Derek and drew a card.
"Marcus-" began Derek angrily.
"Quiet," Marcus cut him off, just as angrily. "You'll get your chance to draw."
Derek looked at him, furious. "Fine," he said. "I'll play Skilled Dark Magician in defense mode." A sorcerer clothed in black appeared on the field and dropped to one knee, holding up his staff protectively.
"Alright," said Marcus. "I play Graceful Charity!" He discarded two cards from his hand and looked at Derek. "Draw three cards."
"Marcus-" Derek repeated, but this time it was completely in surprise.
"Just draw," said Marcus. "I have all the cards I need."
Derek did so. He looked over his new cards as one of the gems on the Skilled Dark Magician's robes glowed. "I'll activate Magical Blast," he decided. "This deals 200 damage to you for each of my spellcasters." Nakhti's life points dropped to 2800, and another of the Magician's gems shone. "Finally, I'll use the effect of my Pitch-Black Power Stone." The final gem lit up.
Derek smiled. Maybe Marcus was right; at any rate, things didn't look so dismal now. "Now that Skilled Dark Magician has three spell counters, I'll sacrifice him to summon the Dark Magician!" A great sorcerer dressed in bright red robes appeared on the field. Derek looked back at his hand, then suddenly remembered something. "Marcus, want to draw a card? My Library has three counters now, too."
Marcus looked up at the Royal Magical Library. Sure enough, all three globes were lit. "Sounds good to me," he said, drawing. "Thanks, Derek."
"No problem," Derek replied. He looked at his remaining two cards, selected one, and slid it into his duel disk. "I'll activate Magic Formula, increasing the attack of my Dark Magician by 700 points!" Derek also inserted his final card into his duel disk, declaring, "I'll also play one card face down. Marcus, do you want to play anything before I attack?"
Marcus examined the two cards in his hand. "No, I don't think there's much I can add to your move," he said with a smile. "I will play one card face down though."
"Alright. Dark Magician, attack Mystical Beast Serket!"
The magician raised his staff to attack, but before he could do so, one of Nakhti's stones rotated and glowed. A serpent emerged from the stone and began circling around Serket and Qebehsenuef. It left a trail of darkness behind it, eventually covering Nakhti's side of the field with a shadowy dome.
"You didn't think that I'd let you destroy my monsters so easily, did you?" Nakhti laughed from the darkness. "I release the power of Apep the Deceiver! As long as his shadows cover the field, you may not attack. However, I may voluntarily clear the shadows by attacking with my own monsters."
Ethan shuddered. He remembered this feeling all too well: The darkness surrounding his opponent, punctuated by a disembodied voice. He looked around, realizing with a start that the sun had gone down completely, with only the holograms from the duel providing light. Ethan didn't like it, and he hoped that Derek and Marcus would end the duel soon.
"Well, I can't do anything else," said Derek, clearly disappointed. "How about you, Marcus?"
"I'm finished as well," Marcus responded. "Your move, Nakhti."
Although they couldn't see it, a grinding sound informed them that another granite block had risen in front of their opponent. "I'll deal with your Dark Magician next turn," Nakhti's voice said. "But now, my target is your Library!" The shadows parted, revealing Serket poised to attack.
"Hold on!" called Marcus. "I'll activate Ring of Destruction to destroy your Mystical Beast Serket!" Immediately a band of explosives appeared and attached itself to the scorpion.
"Marcus, are you crazy? That will kill us too!" cried Derek.
"Relax," replied Marcus with a smile. "I'll also activate the card I set last turn, Poison of the Old Man. This will increase our life points by 1200!"
"Great!" exclaimed Derek. "That means we win!" Then he groaned. One of Nakhti's blocks was rotating.
"Not quite," declared Nakhti, "for now I invoke the power of Isis, Mother of Egypt!" A woman in white robes emerged from the now glowing stone, and held her hand out towards Serket.
"Not another one," Derek sighed. "What does she do?"
"For the remainder of this turn and the duration of yours, I cannot take any damage and my monsters cannot be destroyed. This negates the effect of your ring, Marcus."
The explosives detonated, but nothing else happened. Isis disappeared from the field. "Now, Serket, continue your attack!" Nakhti called. "Destroy that Royal Magical Library!"
The scorpion leapt upon the Library and tore it apart within its claws. Serket glowed briefly as it grew in size.
Marcus noticed Derek staring dejectedly at the field. "Come on, Derek, this isn't over yet," he said encouragingly. "You've still got a powerful monster out, and we have the most life points now."
"I just…it's just…so frustrating to duel against this guy," Derek replied, still looking down. "We've had two chances to destroy his monster, and now it's stronger than my Dark Magician again. It's the most powerful monster I've ever faced. I just don't know how we're going to defeat it."
"Don't worry about it," said Marcus reassuringly. "We'll find a way to destroy Serket and to defeat Nakhti. I'm sure of it." However, even he had his doubts. What defense was there against a beast that already seemed indestructible, and grew in power every turn?
--
"I guess it's our turn again," said Derek. "Which one of us should draw?"
Marcus looked at the card in his hand. "Well, this isn't going to do me any good unless I have another card or two," he replied. He looked over at Derek's empty hand and continued, "Of course, you don't have anything to play, either. It's up to you."
Derek looked at the cards on his duel disk, thinking. Finally he said, "Why don't you draw. I think I can manage with what I've got, for now anyway."
"Alright," Marcus said. He took a deep breath, knowing the importance of the next draw, but exhaled it in a disappointed sigh as he saw what the card was. Chain Burst was generally a useful card, but it wouldn't help him at all against an opponent who didn't use traps.
"No luck?" asked Derek, seeing Marcus's expression.
"Sorry, Derek," replied Marcus. "Not this time."
"I see." Derek reluctantly turned his monster card horizontal. "I switch Dark Magician into defense mode. That's all."
"Very well," said Nakhti, briefly eyeing his new creature. "I'll attack Dark Magician with Mystical Beast Serket!"
Marcus grimaced, but Derek confidently called, "I don't think so! Activate Magical Hats!"
A black hat appeared, concealing the Dark Magician. It replicated into four identical hats. "My Dark Magician is under one of these hats," said Derek, "but the only way for you to determine which one is by attacking each hat individually."
"You want me to play a guessing game with your monster?" Nakhti snorted. "No matter. Serket, attack the hat on the far right!" The giant scorpion instantly swung its massive tail down at the indicated hat. The hat disappeared, leaving nothing but air in its place.
"Bad guess," smiled Derek, hoping his expression would conceal his inner worry. He only had three turns left, at most, and he was sure that Nakhti would hit the right hat before then.
Nakhti apparently came to a similar conclusion, for he said, "Those hats won't stop me for long. And," he continued, "since I doubt you'll leave that protection, I'll summon the Oracle of Ptah." As he said this, one of the stone blocks rotated to display the image of a robed man. The man appeared on the field and stood alertly. "I'll end my turn with that," Nakhti finished.
"The Magical Hats should hold him off for a while," Derek told Marcus. "Why don't you draw this time?"
Marcus did so, but the card, Accumulated Fortune, was still of no use to him. "We're done," he said, frustrated. "Your turn."
Nakhti frowned as his next stone rose, but continued on as usual. "Mystical Beast Serket, attack the hat in the middle!" Once again Serket struck, and once again it came up empty. "Luck appears to be on your side, for now at least," he told Derek. "But your Magician can't hide forever. Your move."
"Derek, I think you should draw," Marcus said. "My deck doesn't have much in the way of defense, and we need something to protect our life points."
"You're right," conceded Derek. "Let's hope this card can help us." He drew, looked at the card, and looked up with a smile as he slid it into his duel disk. "I activate Knight's Title!" he said with relief. "This lets me tribute my Dark Magician to summon the Dark Magician Knight!" The Dark Magician leapt out of his hiding spot as his staff morphed into a sword.
Derek looked at the new monster with approval, and added, "When my Dark Magician Knight comes into play, he automatically destroys one monster! I choose your Mystical Beast Serket!"
The Knight drew his glowing sword back, then swung it forward, launching a red arc at Nakhti's monster. It passed through the scorpion, which disintegrated.
"Nice move, Derek!" Marcus called. "And don't forget that since your Magic Formula card was sent to the graveyard, we gain 1000 life points!" As if to confirm this, their duel disks changed to display 4200.
"That's right!" exclaimed Derek, remembering the card's effect. "Now, Dark Magician Knight, attack Nakhti's hawk!" The warrior charged at Qebehsenuef, obliterating it with a powerful swing of his sword. Nakhti's life points dropped to 400. "Your turn, Nakhti," Derek said confidently.
Nakhti didn't reply, but instead looked at his new monster with approval. "I, too, will tribute one monster to summon another," he said. "I sacrifice my Oracle of Ptah to summon Ptah, the Creator!" The robed man was replaced with a much larger human figure, wrapped in cloth and bearing an ankh. "I'll also invoke the power of Duamutef, Son of Horus to increase his strength! Duamutef raises Ptah's attack power based on how many creatures are in my graveyard. And there are quite a few."
Eight ghostly figures emerged from the ground and circled Ptah. One by one they entered him, until only the gigantic glowing figure of the god remained.
"He's almost as powerful as Serket was!" cried Derek.
"Indeed," confirmed Nakhti, "and now Ptah is strong enough to destroy your Dark Magician Knight!" The great being shone with a dark green light, and the ground below Derek's monster crumbled and collapsed, taking the Dark Magician Knight with it. Derek and Marcus's life points dropped to 3400.
"We're in bad shape," stated Marcus. "We desperately need defenses that we don't have. You'll have to take this next draw, Derek."
Derek nodded, but he felt almost ready to give up again. Nakhti kept bringing out powerful monsters, stronger than any Derek had ever seen. He knew for a fact that none of his monsters were strong enough to stand up to Ptah. But, he decided, as long as Marcus still has hope, so do I.
Derek looked at his new card, but felt only marginally better. Pot of Greed was a good card, but there was a limit to how helpful his new draws could be. "I'll play Pot of Greed," he said, sliding the card into his duel disk. He drew two cards, and looked at them in surprise. "I'll set a monster and play one card face down," Derek said, adding the two cards to his duel disk. "That's all."
Marcus looked over at Derek, a bit worried. He calmed down a bit when he saw Derek's expression, though. Derek seemed confident enough, and at least they had a monster between Ptah and their life points.
Nakhti's new stone rotated almost as soon as it rose. "I call upon the power of Ma'at, the Judge!" he declared. "Her ability switches our life points." A woman in a throne appeared, holding forth a scepter.
"What!?" cried Derek, watching in disbelief as his life point counter altered to display 400. Nakhti's disk now showed 3400. Marcus couldn't believe it either. He looked at his duel disk twice, as if the second look would change the numbers in front of him.
"Because Ptah is the Creator, he makes summoning much easier," Nakhti continued. "I'll use his power to bring forth Geb, Personification of the Earth!" Another humanoid figure joined Ptah; this one had dark brown skin and was clothed in tan robes.
"You fought well, but it's time for me to end this duel and claim the Millennium Spheres," Nakhti told the two duelists. "Ptah, destroy that face down monster!"
"Sorry, Nakhti, but you haven't won yet!" returned Derek. "I activate Magic Cylinder!" The increasingly bright light surrounding Ptah was drawn into one of the cylinders, and now both of them glowed dark green. The ground shook violently, and a green blast of energy was shot at Nakhti from the other cylinder. The blast hit him hard, and he took two steps backwards in order to steady himself. Nakhti's life points fell to 100.
"Impressive, said Nakhti shakily, "but I still have another being ready to attack. Geb, destroy that monster!" An old robed man appeared long enough to launch a magical blast into the air, then was destroyed.
"You've triggered the ability of my Old Vindictive Magician," called out Derek. "When he's flipped face up, I can destroy one monster on the field. I target Ptah, the Creator!"
The blast that had remained suspended in the air now shot towards Ptah and collided with a bright flash. When the light faded, Ptah was gone.
Nakhti clenched his fists, furious at the destruction of his monster. "You may have destroyed Ptah," he said angrily, "but now you're defenseless. Geb will defeat you next turn. You have no hope to survive."
Derek looked at Marcus, then at the empty field before them. The duel was closer than it had ever been, and they couldn't afford to make any mistakes. They had to win next turn, or they wouldn't win at all. But how was it possible? What could possibly get past Nakhti's creature?
--
"Which one of us should draw?" Derek nervously asked. "Any monsters I draw can block Geb, but that won't do us any good if he summons another monster."
"That's true," replied Marcus. He remained silent for a moment, thinking about the last few turns. Every time Derek had drawn, the card had saved them for another turn. Every time he had drawn, the card had been useless. He didn't want to let down Ethan and the others with another dead draw. But this is a good deck, Marcus's thoughts continued. I've never been so unlucky; in fact, most of the times that I've used this deck, I've won in the first few turns. These lousy draws can't continue. He looked over at Derek. Derek is relying on me to help him win this duel. He's willing to trust my judgment here, despite my poor play in the past. What should I do?
"Marcus?" prompted Derek, noting his vacant expression.
Marcus didn't respond, but instead drew a card. He looked at it briefly, then slid all four cards in his hand into his duel disk. "Your move, Nakhti," Marcus said emotionlessly.
Derek stared at Marcus, trying to determine what he was thinking. Marcus had a very serious look on his face. He clearly knew the gravity of the situation, but there was an uncertainty in his eyes. What's he uncertain about? wondered Derek. Marcus knows what his cards do. Either his strategy will work or it won't. He looked at Marcus again. Yes, that look definitely was one of doubt. It had neither the confidence of a winning move, nor the resignation of a losing one. Derek gave up and resolved to wait it out to see what happened.
As Nakhti eyed the new stone in front of him, Marcus knew he had to act. He needed to activate Accumulated Fortune, which required him to also activate at least three other cards. He knew that two of those cards might hinder them or even cause them to lose the duel outright, but there was nothing he could do. Marcus also knew that he was relying on chance to win the duel, but there was a possibility that they would emerge victorious once he made this move.
"I'll start by invoking the power of Sokar, Adorned One," said Nakhti. "By sending him to the graveyard, I can destroy two of your face down cards." He gestured toward the two cards on the right.
"Hold on, Nakhti!" Marcus called. He started to activate all of his cards, but stopped. Since that effect was the first link, I don't have to activate Chain Burst, he realized. "Before that effect resolves, I'll activate three of my face down cards, including the two that you would have destroyed!"
Marcus paused as his first card appeared. This was the key card. He took a deep breath, then said, "This card is called The Paths of Destiny! Each of us flip a coin, and if the result is heads, we gain 2000 life points. If it's tails, we lose 2000 life points."
The second image became visible, and Marcus said, "But before that card resolves, Chain Strike takes effect, dealing 1200 damage to you!" Marcus smiled as he realized that he didn't need to worry about gambling with The Paths of Destiny, since Chain Strike would eliminate Nakhti's life points before it could take effect.
"And before that card resolves, I'll activate my final card, Accumulated Fortune. This lets Derek and I draw two cards." Satisfied, Marcus reached for his deck. He noticed Derek smiling happily out of the corner of his eye.
"Don't be so sure of your victory," Nakhti told them calmly. "I'll use the effect of Anubis, Lord of the Dead!" A man with a jackal's head briefly appeared on the field, and Nakhti's life points increased to 1800. "Anubis gives me 100 life points for every monster in every graveyard. There are seven in your graveyard and ten in mine, for a total increase of 1700 points!"
Derek's grin faded, and Marcus viciously punched his duel disk in frustration. "Now you may draw," finished Nakhti with a small smile of his own.
Marcus stared directly at Nakhti, with his fists clenched in rage. Derek had called this duel frustrating, but that was understatement. It was simply maddening to duel against a person who calmly countered every move you made, then summoned massive creatures to dismantle your defenses.
"Calm down, Marcus," said Derek. "As you told me earlier, no matter how bad the situation looks, the duel still isn't over, and as long as the duel isn't over, there's still hope. We can still win this duel, so we might as well draw."
Marcus looked at Derek and sighed. "You're right. You can draw both cards, if you like. If Nakhti flips tails, we'll win, but if he flips heads, he'll have too many life points for me to burn away next turn. Because of that, we'll need a defense, and your deck can provide that."
Derek nodded in assent, and drew the cards. "Now the effect of Chain strike activates, dealing 1200 damage to you," said Marcus. Nakhti's life point counter changed to read 600.
"And now," said Marcus, taking a deep breath, "let's see what fate has in store for us." As he pulled a coin out of his pocket, Nakhti rotated the top of his ring, detaching it from the band.
Nakhti held out the disk and said, "The eye will be heads, and the flat back will be tails." Marcus confirmed this with a nod. Nakhti tossed the object into the air, letting it fall onto the ground. The eye looked back up at him.
Derek groaned as Nakhti's life points climbed to 2600. He then looked expectantly at Marcus as Nakhti reattached the disk to his ring. Marcus followed Nakhti's example, tossing the coin into the air and letting it land on the ground. He peered at the ground, trying to see though the darkness which side was facing up. Derek waited anxiously.
"Yes!" Marcus exclaimed in relief as he finally made out the image on the coin. It was heads. He scooped up the coin as his duel disk changed to read 2400. Derek and Marcus exchanged relieved looks, just before they heard Nakhti call, "Attack their life points directly!"
Geb swooped in with a mighty blow that knocked both duelists flat. Their life points dropped to 100. "Your turn," Nakhti concluded.
"No way," muttered Derek, looking at the cards in his hand.
"Derek, is everything alright?" questioned Marcus.
"Hmm?" asked Derek, looking up suddenly. "Oh, right. Yeah. Everything's fine. Go ahead and draw." His attention returned to his cards.
"Okay, I guess," replied Marcus. He drew a card and looked at. Things were looking up now; if Nakhti played a monster, this card, Just Desserts, would win the duel for them. "I'll play one card face down," said Marcus. "Derek, what can you do?"
"What can I do? Just this," said Derek with a smile. "I activate Dark Magic Curtain! By paying half our life points, I can special summon my Dark Magician!" His life point counter dropped to 50, but the Dark Magician reappeared on the field. "Next, I'll activate Thousand Knives to destroy your monster!"
The Dark Magician sent dozens of knives flying towards Geb, skewering him. Geb dropped to his knees, fell forward, then disappeared.
"Now Dark Magician, attack Nakhti's life points directly! Dark Magic Attack!"
Nakhti's eyes widened as the magical blast sped towards him. It hit him hard, and the impact almost knocked him off his feet. Nakhti steadied himself as his life points dropped to 100.
Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, Derek had saved them. He desperately hoped that they could end the duel next turn, before Nakhti had a chance to strike back. But Nakhti had always had some new trick each time it seemed they were going to win. Would this time be different?
--
A hush had fallen over the people watching the duel. Everything was on the line here, and neither side would last for much longer. If Nakhti could destroy the Dark Magician, he would win. If he couldn't, Derek and Marcus would win. The tension was almost tangible.
The silence was broken by the sound of a new stone slab rising from the ground. Nakhti examined it, nodding slowly. Finally, he said, "I'll use the power of Imsety, Son of Horus to return a monster from my graveyard to my hand." The new stone block rotated to show the engraved outline of Imsety, which glowed briefly as the rock sank back into the earth. Another one rose up simultaneously as one of Nakhti's monsters returned to his hand.
"Now that all four sons of Horus are in my graveyard, I can move Horus, God of the Sky from my deck to my hand," continued Nakhti. A third stone block joined the first two. "Now I'll play Oracle of Horus," Nakhti declared as the leftmost block turned to face his opponents. A man in yellow robes appeared on the field.
"Oh no," moaned Derek. He remembered Nakhti's Oracle of Ptah, and was sure that this one had a similar effect.
"Hold on, Nakhti!" Marcus called. "Before you can summon Horus, I'll activate Just Desserts to deal 500 damage to you!"
Nakhti met Marcus's smile with one of his own. "I've studied your play style during this entire duel, and I anticipated that you'd play a card like that. Against most duelists, you would have won with it." Nakhti paused, allowing one of his blocks to rotate. "But the monster that I returned with Imsety was Isis, Mother of Egypt. Once again, I shall call on her to protect me."
Marcus dropped to his knees, stunned, realizing he was powerless to prevent Nakhti's next move. Derek looked on dully, trying to keep his disappointment hidden. They had come so close, and now they had lost. He didn't even see Nakhti summon Horus, or hear him declare the attack. The darkness remaining after the holograms faded was the only sign that the duel was over.
"Stand up," Nakhti commanded. Marcus didn't hear him. "Stand up!" Nakhti repeated. "Your loss was inevitable, but you did manage to last much longer than most of my opponents. You dueled well, and there's no reason for you to be on the ground."
Marcus slowly rose to his feet, shaking off the stupor that had gripped him. Derek walked over to join him, as did the rest of the duelists. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness somewhat, and were all too aware of Nakhti's now outstretched hand.
"But, you still lost. And we had a bargain," Nakhti continued. "Give me the Millennium Spheres." Ethan hesitated. "Your souls are as good as anyone else's, and I have no problem removing them from your bodies." Nakhti's voice was icy now; there wasn't enough emotion in it for it to be considered angry, but one couldn't help being intimidated by it nonetheless.
Ethan sighed, knowing that resistance would be pointless. "We have a few here, but most of the spheres are inside the laboratory."
"Take me to them," Nakhti commanded.
--
As they walked down the halls, Ethan couldn't help feeling a bit sick at what he was doing. He had no idea why Nakhti wanted the spheres, but he knew what they were capable of, and he hated to be putting them in the wrong hands. Well, Ethan thought, it could be worse. Maybe Nakhti has a legitimate reason for wanting these items. It can't hurt to ask. He did so.
Nakhti didn't answer at first, and Ethan began to wonder if he had even heard the question. As Ethan opened his mouth to repeat the question, though, Nakhti spoke.
"I am a Tomb-Keeper. We are in charge of keeping the sacred relics for the true Pharaoh until he returns. My clan has already amassed many artifacts, and we believe that these spheres are very important as well."
"The Pharaoh?" asked Ethan. He looked at his duel disk, trying to remember where he had heard something like this before. Ah! That was it! "Didn't he already come back? I think I remember there being a big deal about that about…was it 40 years ago?" Ethan paused, waiting for the details to come back again. "Yeah! That was when Duel Monsters was just being created! They had found some Millennium Items or something…some kid had put together a puzzle and became pretty good at the game. What was his name…"
Nakhti snorted. "That imposter. The weaker members of our clan, tired of waiting for the Pharaoh's return, drew their own conclusions about that child. They saw the puzzle, watched him duel, and decided in their impatience that he was the Pharaoh."
Nakhti stopped for a moment, apparently disgusted about the entire situation. "Those fools," he spat. "The Millennium Items were lost forever when Egypt was ravaged by the Dark One."
"Lost forever?!" exclaimed Ethan. This was completely different from what he had learned. "So how can the Pharaoh return?"
"For a long time, that was a mystery," replied Nakhti gravely. "For thousands of years, our clan was content merely to wait, assuming his spirit would manifest itself when he was ready. However, our new leader believes otherwise. Through careful study of the ancient scriptures, he's learned that our king will only return once the Millennium Items are reforged."
"And…and that's what you want the gold spheres for?" Ethan asked uncertainly. None of this sounded right to him.
"Exactly," confirmed Nakhti. "They were early prototypes of the true Millennium Items, meaning that they are the perfect composition to remake all seven items."
"Well…here they are," said Ethan as they entered one of the rooms.
Nakhti looked around approvingly. "Excellent. These spheres, and the souls that they contain, will be ideal for our purposes."
"Wait. The souls they contain?! What will happen to the souls?" Ethan cried.
"They'll be consumed in the reforging process, of course," Nakhti replied calmly. "That's how the original Millennium Items were made; we can't do it any differently and still hope to be successful."
Ethan looked frantically at the spheres, then at the other duelists, then back at Nakhti. "You can't do that!" he yelled. "Some of my friends have been trapped in there!"
"And the Pharaoh will graciously accept their sacrifices," Nakhti said. Ethan tried to say something, but couldn't. He could barely breathe.
Nakhti, apparently unconcerned, took one last look around the room before turning to leave. "There are too many spheres for me to take right now," he said. "I'll be back with some help tomorrow."
Ethan and the others stared after him, completely speechless.
--
Megan, one of the other duelists, was the first to speak up. "We have to do something about this! We need to call the police!"
"I don't believe that will do any good," replied Marcus. "First of all, Nakhti has done nothing explicitly wrong. There's no evidence that the spheres contain human souls. There's no proof that the spheres were here initially, either; to confirm that, the police would need a warrant to search this building, and there isn't sufficient time or justification for that. If Nakhti is to be stopped, I'm afraid it's up to us."
"That's true," Ethan mused. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was well past midnight. He looked up and addressed the others. "It's pretty late. We won't gain anything by staying here any longer, so here's what I recommend. Why don't we all head back to our homes and get some sleep, then come back tomorrow? Nakhti doesn't seem to be in any hurry, and it will take some time to load up all of the spheres into whatever vehicle he brings."
Another duelist named Ryan nodded. "Sounds like the best option we have. Does ten o'clock sound like a good time to return?"
Everyone agreed, and Ethan concluded, "So that's settled. See you all tomorrow." As they started to leave, he added, "Also, bring your duel disks. I don't know what will happen, but there's a good chance that we'll need to duel Nakhti or his associates sometime in the future. It's best to be prepared."
--
Upon arriving at the laboratory the next day, Ethan was greeted by the sight of a large flatbed truck in front of the building, partially filled with large crates. He noticed the others standing in a group, and went over to them.
"Is that Nakhti?" Ethan asked, gesturing toward the truck.
"That's him alright, and there are two other guys helping him," Matthew responded nervously.
"They appear to be loading the crates inside," commented Marcus. "Anyone seeing this would just assume it was a standard delivery or pickup."
"Makes sense," said Ethan. He considered the situation, trying to come up with some way of stopping their opponents.
"So what do we do?" asked Derek. "What CAN we do?"
Ethan had the same questions, and he wasn't any nearer than they were to coming up with an idea. But since the others seemed to be waiting for his response, he was forced to think out loud.
"Well, let's see. We don't have any way of preventing them from leaving with the spheres, short of force, and I don't think that's in our best interests." Ethan paused for a moment, looked around, then returned to his thoughts. "Dueling right here is out of the question. Nakhti already won fairly last night, and it's not like the others will suddenly stop helping him if we can defeat them." He looked at the truck again and got an idea. "The crates…they're big enough for us to fit inside. If we hid in them, we would be taken to wherever the Tomb-Keepers live, or at least to where the new Millennium Items would be made. Once we get there, we might have a chance of stopping it, somehow."
This time Andrew spoke up. "THAT'S your idea? That has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. First of all, we don't even know where their hideout is! Let's say we get there and defeat them, or whatever you think we can do. Then what? Where do we go? How do we get back?"
Ethan opened his mouth to reply, but Andrew cut him off. "Then there's the whole issue of riding in crates the entire way. Sure, they're almost big enough, but it will be cramped and bumpy. We could be in those things for several hours, too! Do you really think I'll do that just so some people I don't even know can wake up? I don't believe in any of that "soul" stuff, anyway. Look at me! I dueled, and I lost. But guess what? I'm still standing here, fully conscious!
"And if that weren't enough, consider the risk! There is a very high chance that these people will notice us getting in the crates, or notice the weight difference, or something! And if we get to the destination, will they just dump us in a warehouse, allowing us ample time to escape and hide? I don't think so. You can count me out; I'm not doing this."
Ethan sighed. It wasn't a great idea, sure, but at least it was better than nothing. He looked at Andrew. "Why did you come if you didn't want to help?"
"I'm a duelist," Andrew said sharply. "You said there might be dueling, and I can do that. I'm great at it. I'll duel anyone you want, but all of this cloak-and-dagger spy stuff is stupid, and you can leave me out of it."
"Alright," said Ethan. "I can't force you, or anyone else, to go along. I admit my idea isn't very plausible, but the truth is, I don't know what we can do to stop the Tomb-Keepers. I don't know how many members there are, or where they live, or how they'll convert the spheres into the Millennium Items. I don't know any of that, and I sure don't know how we'll stop them."
Ethan paused and looked at Andrew, then at the others. "However," he continued, "I do know that something happened to all of the duelists yesterday, and I'm convinced that it's connected with the spheres somehow. Because of that, I feel that we must do all that we can to prevent the Tomb-Keepers from creating the Millennium Items. Even if we have no solid plan, we can increase our chances of disrupting the process if we stay with those spheres."
Ethan gestured towards Andrew's duel disk. "We'll need your skills. Even if you," and here he turned towards the rest of the duelists, "or any of you, don't believe in magic, or souls, or the shadow realm, or any of that, I need you to support the rest of us who do. To us, it's a matter of life and death. I don't even know most of the people who fell unconscious yesterday, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that there are people who do know them and who care about them, people who are hurt by the loss of these duelists. It is our duty as fellow humans and fellow duelists to help them in any way possible."
"So you're just going to jump in some boxes and see what happens?" Andrew asked. "Have you even considered what the consequences could be?"
"I have," admitted Ethan. "And you know what? I'm scared." Ethan stopped and took a deep breath. It was one thing to feel fear and to just pass it off as apprehension or even excitement. But after hearing what he just said, Ethan realized the truth. He was scared and he knew it. But even with knowing that, there was nothing he could do but strengthen his resolve and go on with the plan.
"I have no idea where we'll be taken, who we'll meet, or what will happen to us. You or I or any of us could lose our souls or otherwise be harmed. We're taking a giant leap into the unknown here, all on the slight and very improbable chance that it will help less than ten people. But I think it's worth the risk.
"This is your decision. If you don't want to come along, I'll understand. Anyone who wants to back out is definitely entitled to do so. But there's strength in numbers, and I hope that all of you will see this through to the end. There's so much at stake that we risk letting slip through our fingers if we remain inactive. Please, for us and for the duelists we lost yesterday, help me carry out this task."
As Ethan finished, he felt a little surprised. He had never been much of a public speaker, but the dire situation had allowed him to express himself rather well, he thought. Ethan hoped it would be enough to sway the others. He looked at them in earnest anticipation.
Marcus was the first to step forward. "I'll help. Our defeat last night was unacceptable, and I'm looking forward to a rematch with Nakhti."
Derek joined him, merely nodding his assent. Megan followed, then Ryan. The other four stayed back, undecided. Finally Andrew let out an annoyed sigh and moved forward to join the group. "I want to duel the best," he said. "Judging by Nakhti's performance last night, I'll find that here."
That left Matthew, Emily, and Connor. "I'd really like to help you guys," Matthew offered, "but I don't know if I can handle it. I don't work well under pressure, and I don't think I'm quite ready to duel seriously again. I'm sorry," he finished apologetically.
Ethan grimaced, knowing that he was partially the cause of Matthew's apprehension and reluctance. "That's fine, Matthew," he said. "If you come, it should be because you want to, not because you feel obligated to." He turned to the other two. "The same goes for you two as well. I would appreciate your help, but I'll understand if you choose to decline."
"I understand why you want to do this," said Emily, "and I think you should do what you feel is right. But I'm not convinced by all of this talk of souls and shadows. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for what happened yesterday; it was most likely an equipment malfunction. I don't think that there's enough evidence to justify the risk of what you want to do."
"That's understandable," replied Ethan. "Connor?"
"Yeah, what she said," answered Connor indifferently. "It's cool if you want to do this, but count me out."
"I see," said Ethan grimly. "Well, the six of us will go on to the Tomb-Keepers' hideout. Hopefully we'll see you soon."
--
A short time later, Ethan waited with Ryan in one of the crates. He knew that the others were secured as well. It had been a fairly simple matter to climb into crates, which were only partially full, and have Matthew, Connor, and Emily reseal them. Nakhti and his cohorts had been occupied with filling the other crates inside the laboratory, and so far there was no indication that Ethan and the others had been noticed.
Suddenly, Ethan felt a jerk, then gradual acceleration. "Looks like we did it," he told Ryan happily as the truck began its journey back to the Tomb-Keepers' lair.