It had been a while since Atem got in a duel of that magnitude, especially in a classic field like that. He loved the feeling of having five cards on his hands and going against the world, even if his heart was heavy with exhaustion right now.
Shadow Atem went first. He was still sitting down, looking at the cards on his hands.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" The creature said, looking directly at his counterpart. "Clear black and white morals. A win-or-lose only situation. Nice and clean, just the way you like it."
"Play, beast."
"Very well. I set my monster facing down." He placed a card on the monster roll, horizontal and facing downwards. A cautious beginning. "That's how we always used to begin duels when we were children, remember? Always one card facing down, defensive position. We thought it would be foolish to do anything different, because it would make us vulnerable."
Atem didn't answer. He didn't want to say anything that could lead to a you are not me situation.
"In the end, you did end up vulnerable, didn't you? No matter what you did."
He drew a card. The Pot of Greed. Maybe it would prove useful, but not now. Atem decided to ignore the opponent and focus on the duel.
"I set up a card facing down. Then, I sacrifice a card to Special Summon my monster! Go, The Tricky!" The jester-like humanoid with a question mark for a face appeared in front of Atem, 2000 attack points and all. The Pharaoh put his monster on the Graveyard. "Destroy his face down monster!"
The caped man jumped straight forward, onwards to its enemy.
"Man-Eater Bug."
The face-down card exploded when the monstrous being stood up. In one fell swoop, he lunged at the airborne target ferociously, completely destroying him.
"That was a sloppy move. I assume you just want to get this over with, maybe to help your friends out?"
Atem clenched his teeth. He didn't expect Bakura's card to show up.
"They don't need you, so don't worry. Look, they are doing just fine." He actually looked back to the circle of fire.
The Black Magician of Chaos was wreaking havoc with his staff, summoning black fire balls as projectiles and quickly moving towards any of his targets. Yosuke had used Sukukaja on everyone, but it was still not fast enough. He saw as Kanji grabbed the magician and performed an amazing suplex, but then let go exasperated as his shirt started to burn.
"Atem!" Said Yu, sword in hand, Scathach the Irish warrior summoned by his side. "Don't worry about us, just finish him!"
"See?" Said his Shadow, smiling. "You're not needed at all."
"Wait, that's not what he meant!" Chie tried saying, but the magician's leg found its way to her stomach, throwing her into the fire. She would have been finished if Naoto's Sukuna-Hikona hadn't interfered on her trajectory.
"We have our own battles to fight, Pharaoh! Focus!"
Naoto's words managed to reassure him, even if just a little.
"I set two cards face down, and then I summon the Green Gadget, in Attack mode." The creature was made out of gears. Atem recognized the card. It was Yugi's. "Because of its effect, I can draw the Red Gadget to my hand. I end my turn."
He knows I have something to protect myself. Atem thought. I must be careful, but that was a foolish first draw. The man looked at the cards he was holding, and then drew another one. A monster he could actually summon.
"I summon Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts, on defense mode!" The lion-man appeared before the Pharaoh. "I then set a card facing down, and I end my turn."
"Afraid, are we?" The Shadow smiled ironically. "I activate the Spell Card Ties of the Brethren!"
Atem's eyes widened as he recognized that card.
"With it, I can summon two Level 4 monsters. And I believe you know which ones I will summon."
"How dare you."
"Come, Yellow Gadget! Red Gadget!"
The cog-men came to the Shadow's support, each a formidable adversary on their own. But Atem didn't care about that.
"How DARE you!"
"As a tribute, I will pay 1000 Life Points, and-"
"YOU ARE USING YUGI'S DECK!"
The Shadow was smiling as Atem raged. His yellow eyes seemed to have fun with the outburst.
"Why, of course. He was our friend, after all. Don't you remember that last duel?"
"Don't you dare speak of him. You are a mere shadow of me, you wouldn't–"
"Please. Without me, that stupid kid would be nothing. I made him into the King of Games, I defeated every enemy, and he took the credit."
"Continue your turn."
"Of course, I didn't mind giving him the credit. What was I going to do with it, anyway? We were best friends. It was completely fine. But how did he repay me?"
Atem bit his own tongue. He was falling into the creature's trap.
"Hahaha. Pitiful. As I was saying, for summoning the two of them, I pay 1000 Life Points as tribute. And now, I end my turn."
I get it now, Atem thought. He doesn't need to win. He just needs to make me angry.
And it's working.
"It's my turn." The Pharaoh drew Monster Reborn. "First, I will summon Big Shield Gardna, in defense mode. Then, I will use Pot of Greed." He then drew Obelisk the Tormentor and Rebellion. He had no real options right now. "I… end my turn."
"I sacrifice my Red Gadget to summon my Summoned Skull, in attack mode. After that… actually, you know what?" His smile disappeared. "Magician of Black Chaos! Kill the redhead."
Atem's horrified expression turned to the circle, where the group was still fighting. The monster looked at Shadow Atem and nodded, and pointed its staff directly at Rise. The girl had no time to escape.
A giant black fireball shot from the staff's tip, carbonizing part of the floor. Chie used Bufudyne to try and stop it, but it was too strong.
"MOVE RISE, GOD DAMN IT!" Kanji's Take-Mikazuchi struck Rise with its gigantic shoulder, which made her fly out of the way. It wasn't fast enough for it to move, however, and it received the attack on full. Kanji screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground as his Persona broke.
"KANJI-KUN!" Yukiko kneeled next to him, counting on Yosuke to protect her momentarily. "Cover me, he needs to be healed immediately!"
Yu's teeth clenched in anger as he invoked a card. He spun the apparition in mid-air and broke it with his left hand when it stopped. His Persona was replaced by a majestic angel with six wings. "HELEL!"
Naoto dreaded the thought of Yu fighting angry. But she wasn't very happy right now either.
"PERSONA!" Sukuna-Hikona floated around her, sword in hand. "Whenever you want, Senpai!"
Both Personas started glowing in power as their combined might was directed towards the enemy.
"MEGIDOLAON!"
The two Almighty spheres of energy combined into a giant one, aimed at the Magician of Black Chaos.
"What is it with you and people who need rescuing?"
Atem's glare could almost burn through stone when he turned it to the monster.
"Play, you bastard."
The magic attack annihilated the Magician of Black Chaos. It was good timing too, since all the fighting had burned out the Investigation Team. Naoto could feel Sukuna-Hikona almost begging to disappear. And even if he hadn't taken a straight hit like Kanji did, she knew Yosuke was on his last leg.
They had to finish this quickly, but the circle was still there.
"I will attack now. Summoned Skull, attack…"
He was ready for that. His hand was already reaching for the trap card.
"… the woman in red."
Time seemed to stopped as the energy beam coming from the Summon Skull passed right by Atem's ear, straight for Yukiko. The Pharaoh turned around almost in a trance.
The healer was kneeling, but heard the attack coming. She had time to jump up and summon Konohana-Sakuya right in front of her, but her Persona wasn't strong enough to take that hit in full. It shattered. And the beam continued.
She felt pain like never before when the attack pierced her skin, and then her flesh. It opened a hole on the right side of her abdomen. Chie screamed, and Yukiko vomited blood while falling on the ground.
Atem didn't care that it was against the rules. He didn't care that he would lose the duel.
"OBELISK THE TORMENTOR!"
The Egyptian God sapped almost all of his life energy to appear on all of his glory, a giant overshadowing the arena. The other monsters disappeared, for the duel was over. Atem was about to kill his opponent and he was perfectly fine with that.
"Really, Pharaoh. You give up so soon? Have you forgotten that this is a duel to the death?"
"SHUT UP!"
"Don't pretend you care about her. We both know you're only with them because you want the attention. You want to feel part of a group again."
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! YOU KILLED HER!"
"Lie to yourself all you want, you can't lie to me. We killed her. We dragged them into this, we made it their problem, and we had them searching this TV World for Bakura with us. She would be completely healthy if you hadn't come to this city."
"OBELISK! OBLITERATE THIS BASTARD!"
But the giant didn't obey. Atem was too weak to command anything, much less a god. His knees failed him and he fell to the ground, his face touching the cold stone. His summoning was undone by his own lack of power.
"All this is is just a big ego trip for us. You endanger people to give meaning to your life, and when they move on, you find other victims. She died because of you, and now they will too."
The Summoned Skull came back. This time, accompanied by a Curse of Dragon.
"Kill the detective."
Naoto was by Yukiko's side trying to contain the bleeding. Her gaze met Atem's for a second when she heard the word detective, and it was filled with anger and fear.
And it was his fault.
"Stop it." Both the tears and the fact that he was barely breathing made it harder to see. "Just please… leave them alone… leave my friends alone…"
"But I thought this was what you wanted. To be the hero again. To save your friends from their death. Didn't you want to be important again… me?"
He didn't care anymore. His mind was blank. There was no life left on his soul.
"You are… not…"
The flames around the Investigation Team subdued. Yu understood why. The Leader didn't move, he just kept using Ishtar to try to heal Yukiko with what little power he had left. He prayed there was enough energy to save Kanji, as well.
"Yosuke, Chie, Naoto." He said, not even looking at his wing-man. "Fight this battle without me. I am busy. Help them, Rise."
"Right on, Leader." There was none of the usual happy-go-lucky vibe on his voice. There was just a sense of duty that didn't fit the Magician, but that would serve him wonders in a couple of seconds. Chie yelled a wild battle cry while wiping her tears, and Naoto didn't say anything.
They were waiting for Atem to say the rest.
"… me…"
That was the last thing Atem said before passing out, his life dimming away by the second. He knew he was done.
Naoto liked to think of herself as a calm individual.
Not much got a rise out of her, and her rage usually manifested as cold, calculated actions or ideas. She wasn't perfect, of course, but it wasn't really a habit to give in to her ire.
This time, however, two of her best friends were in the brink of death, and an individual she had vowed to protect was dying right in front of her. Shadow Atem laughed as it transformed into its ultimate form, but Naoto didn't flinch. She didn't even blink when it absorbed the two monsters it had just summoned. The detective just stared at the monstrosity.
It had taken the form of a ten-feet tall colossus, with a golden helmet on its head. There were three faces: one was that of a dog, the other was that of a bird, and the middle one was that of a man. It was sitting down, its body physically connected to a gigantic ebony throne, being decorated like an old Pharaoh's robes. On its left hand it held a staff as tall as it was, having a free right hand with something akin to a duelist gauntlet on its arm.
"I am a Shadow. The true self. I am the Nameless Pharaoh. Legendary hero. King of Games. Let the names of my enemies be forgotten on the annals of History-" His speech was cut short by a gunshot, precisely on the middle of his forehead. There was a dent where the bullet hit.
The following bullet hit the human face's left eye. The third shot hit the right one. Then the middle of the mouth. And finally the heart.
"No." Naoto said, re-loading her gun. "You are just my target practice for the next hour."
Chie and Yosuke summoned their Personas. Naoto followed suit. Rise started analyzing the giant enemy.
"Come forth, heroes. Avenge your friends, if you can." It said, slowly approaching Atem's body with its giant free hand. It barely touched him, but a phantasmagorical white energy transferred itself from the man to the monster. They all watched in horror as Atem's body disappeared.
"What did you do to him?!" Screamed Yosuke, trying his hardest to not grow desperate.
"He lost the duel. His soul is now mine. Do not worry, petulant children."
With a swing of his scepter, he summoned three Dark Magicians. They weren't like Atem's: instead of a normal human being inside a suit, there was only humanoid-like darkness on them.
"I will have your souls, as well."