Clash in the Coliseum

Kaiba spent the entire hour on top of the duel tower waiting for Yami's return. Thanks to Wheeler's little mishap, Yugi's wasting his time in the medical ward. But even his pathetic friends can't keep him from our duel. For whoever wins faces Marik for the championship.

Rather than join Yami in the elevator, Emily decided to stretch her wings and fly to the tower. I hope Yami and Yugi won't let Joey's struggle interfere with their concentration. They need to keep it together so they can get past Kaiba. Then she stops and lands in the arena.

Kaiba was now used to seeing Emily flying around. He still didn't believe she possessed any magic powers, but he decided to bear with the fact that she was flying with wings. "I see you got here before Yugi did."

"He'll be here," she promised him. "To deny this duel would mean denying his destiny."

"Spare me the drama," Kaiba scoffed. "Why didn't the rest of your friends come with you to cheer for Yugi, Briar? Are they all too busy trying to wake Wheeler from his little nap?"

Emily didn't appreciate Kaiba's pessimism and mockery and she just wanted to snap. But she knew that doing so would let her powers get out of control. She instead said, "Joey is in a great deal of danger right now, Kaiba. More than you could ever know."

"Wheeler shouldn't have been here in the first place," Kaiba argued. "I warned him not to play with the big boys and if you ask me, he got just what he deserved; a slap in the face from Ra! And if getting attacked by an Egyptian God card didn't knock some sense into that fool, then nothing will."

He sure got that part a little right. Still, Emily just clenched a fist to what she was hearing. "You still don't realize how dangerous your own tournament has become. The outcome of the Battle City finals could put the whole world at risk."

Kaiba stubbornly refused to heed her words. "The only one at risk is your boyfriend. For once I win, Yugi won't be number one."

Emily wouldn't give up. "Kaiba, it's not always about being number one. It's about dueling with bravery, honor, and respect. And most importantly, putting the people you care about before yourself. And my friend Joey Wheeler did that every day of his life. The reason he's unconscious in a hospital bed is because he put himself in harm's way just to keep a promise he made to his friends," she preached, releasing her tears.

"Pathetic," Kaiba grumbled. "Listen, Briar, Wheeler can do whatever he wants. But I'm in this thing for one reason only and that's to win this tournament and be recognized as the greatest duelist in the world! So why don't you save your girl scout speech for someone who actually gives a damn?"

"She doesn't need to," said Yami's voice, and Emily saw him approaching the arena. "Everything Emily just said is true."

"Regardless, your pal Wheeler never belonged here in the first place," said Kaiba.

It's no use, Emily thought. He won't listen to us no matter what we say.

It's all right, Emily, Yami tells her. The only way for Kaiba to see reason is for me to defeat him.

She nods and hugs him to wish him well. You can do this. I believe in you.

Yami hugs her back and takes his position on the arena.

"Get ready, Yugi," Kaiba cried. "We're about to find out which of our Egyptian Gods will reign supreme! So let the epic battle begin!" Everything has been living up to this moment and Kaiba wanted the duel to go down in style, so he used the holographic systems to create a coliseum surrounding the arena. "Welcome to Duelist Coliseum," Kaiba said as the holographic spectators cheered his name. "You see, guys, in ancient times, Roman gladiators would battle to their doom to prove who was the strongest. Now it's our turn to see which one of us deserves to be called the greatest in the world. So as I said, let the battle begin."

"As you wish," Yami said and drew his card. He summoned a feminine warrior with 1500 attack points and 1600 defense points. Her name was Queen's Knight and she was summoned in defense mode. He ended his turn by playing a card face down.

Was it luck of the draw or was it a twist of fate as Kaiba drew his Egyptian God card on his first turn? Either way, Kaiba assumed that winning the duel would be easier than he thought. Watching the duel, Emily wondered if Kaiba was planning to use the same strategy he used to defeat Ishizu; to devastate his opponent's deck and declare a hasty victory. Yami and Yugi were wondering the same thing as they were looking back on what happened. But then again, knowing Kaiba, he would have a whole new strategy planned for his greatest rival.

Kaiba summoned X Head Cannon, a machine with 1800 attack points. Next, he played Spell Sanctuary, a magic card that allowed both duelists to pick a magic card from their decks and place it in their hands. "Hey, Briar, it looks like you were wrong when you said I never help anyone but myself. I was nice enough to let Yugi choose whatever magic card he wants." The card Yami chose was Change of Heart. Yugi didn't understand why Kaiba would give him instant access to his favorite magic card. Whatever card Kaiba wanted must have been worth the risk. Finally, Kaiba ended his turn by playing a card face down. Before long, Yugi will be staring into the face of defeat. Soon I'll give my adoring fans something to really cheer about, he wondered as he heard his name being cheered. The sound of it was really beginning to irritate Emily. Sure enough, he had an oversized ego.

Yami drew his card and wondered what Kaiba was thinking. X Head Cannon is stronger than Queen's Knight, so why didn't Kaiba attack when he had the chance? But Yami didn't want to spend too much time worrying about it. He summoned Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense mode and played another card face down.

Everything was in place for Kaiba to go down in a blaze of victory. He played Soul Exchange, giving him control over Queen's Knight and Alpha. That was why he didn't attack last turn. Yami understood what Kaiba was planning, but it wouldn't work this time. He played Change of Heart, giving him control over Kaiba's Cannon. But Kaiba was a step ahead and knew how to get his monster back. He played Enemy Controller and a giant game console control pad appeared. Kaiba paid a thousand life points and entered the command code and X Head Cannon returned to his side of the field. With three monsters again, Kaiba could summon Obelisk the Tormentor, but as he raised the card in the air, Yami played Lightforce Sword to render it useless for three turns.

"What's the rush, Kaiba?" Emily asked, grinning. "The duel's just getting interesting and it's really fun to watch. It wouldn't be very worthwhile if you ended it so fast."

"Shut up, Briar," Kaiba barked. "Your boyfriend may have brought himself a little time, but he'll have to face Obelisk sooner." But his Soul Exchange was no longer in effect now that his turn was over, so Yami regained control over his monsters. Besides, Kaiba had other alternatives to summon Obelisk.

Yami needed one more monster on the field so he could summon Slifer the Sky Dragon. But before he could do that, he had to draw his Egyptian God card from his deck first. Even if he were to switch his monsters into attack mode, they wouldn't be strong enough to destroy Kaiba's Cannon. He had to be patient for now. So he ended his turn by playing a card face down.

Faintly, Emily sensed the presence of another Millennium Item approaching. She turned and saw Malik coming to watch the duel. Hopefully that would be his intention for coming here. She didn't want to take her chances against him even if her powers were stronger than his. She decided to just watch the duel and keep her guard in case Malik would try anything.

When Yami and Emily saw Kaiba summon another machine called Y Dragon Head, they noticed something significant about Kaiba's machines. They belonged to a certain category and had the ability to merge when played together. Together, they formed XY Dragon Cannon, a machine with 2200 attack points. Kaiba also revealed that he had the third monster of the category in his deck and would merge it with his Cannon to make it stronger. Plus, since the machine would be three monsters in one, Kaiba could sacrifice them to summon Obelisk. Yami knew just as much and he had to hurry because he only had two turns left before the effects of his trap would expire.

The Dragon Cannon attacked Alpha. Seeing Yami look flustered, Kaiba decides to torment him. "Afraid of losing in shame, are we? Once a duelist starts thinking about defeat, he's already lost. Perhaps it's time you surrendered your Egyptian God card to me."

"Enough," Yami tells him.

"Interesting," Malik tells himself. "Kaiba seems to be in control. "I'll enjoy seeing the pharaoh squirm."

Hearing Malik's opinion, Emily keeps her comments to herself. Knowing Yami and Yugi can hear her thoughts, she gives them words of encouragement. The duel is still just getting started. And I know you'll prevail like you always have. Then she begins to wonder if she should have told them about what she learned the other night when she was asleep.

Kaiba played Lullaby of Obedience, a magic card that allowed Kaiba to choose a powerful monster from Yami's deck and add it to his hand. Obviously, he wanted Slifer the Sky Dragon. "It was only a matter of time before your card went to the hand of a much more worthy duelist," Kaiba says, crossing the arena. His fans cheered his name once again as Yami crossed the arena as well. "My card, please," he softly requests.

"This card will return to me," Yami promises, taking it from his deck and presenting it to Kaiba.

The brunette had his doubts, but he continued to torment his opponent. "I wouldn't feel so bad. Slifer was buried so deep in your deck, you never would have drawn it anyway," he said, walking back to his side of the arena. "Both Egyptian God cards are mine now. Know why? Because everyone gets what they deserve."

"Yes, I agree," said Yami. "And I want to thank you for helping me to claim what I deserve. Knowing how greedy you are, I suspected you would try to take my Sky Dragon. So I was ready." He revealed his face down card Exchange. "I believe you owe me a card, Kaiba, so give Slifer back to me." Looks like Kaiba was the one who was outwitted once again.

Emily would never forget what happened the last time Yami and Yugi played Exchange. It was the first stepping stone they took on their path to rescue Joey from Marik's mind control. Joey fought off Marik's dark power once before because all of his friends refused to give up on him. And also because Millennia herself was with him. And he would come through once again with everyone's help.

Kaiba crossed the arena once again and presented Yami with his card in exchange for one of his own. The card Kaiba chose was a trap called Light Shaffer. Seeing what just happened made Emily appreciate the help Kaiba was offering because it was doing Yami a lot of good. She even smiled as she heard Kaiba's fans cheering for her hero. Just as Kaiba said, Slifer was buried deep, making it impossible for Yami to draw it from his deck. But thanks to his generosity, it's in Yami's hand waiting to be summoned.

But Yami knew the cost of playing Exchange. The effect of the card Kaiba chose would force Yami to discard a certain number of cards based on how many turns the trap would be on the field before activating. And since Slifer's attack points are based on the number of cards in Yami's hand, the Light Shaffer trap could seriously weaken the Sky Dragon.

"Are you going to stand here contemplating your move all day?" Kaiba impatiently asked. "I'm getting bored and I'm sure Briar is too."

Yami made his move by summoning Big Shield Gardna in defense mode and playing a card face down. As Malik was watching, he saw that things were looking hopeless for Yami. He hasn't been doing much to fight back and soon the effect of his trap would wear off.

Back in the aircraft, Serenity continued to pray for her brother to come through. "Come on, Joey," she sobbed. "Keep fighting."

Poor Joey, Téa wondered. When did this tournament get so out of control? I mean, why should my friends have to suffer because some evil nutcase can't control his temper?

Ishizu notices Téa's troubled expression and tells her, "I know it seems we may never be delivered from this darkness, but you must have faith in the light."

Tristan went to the main deck and asked Mokuba what was going on. Mokuba answered by saying that their communication systems were weak. The crew was also working on repairing the damages to the engines.

Joey was still in his dreams about being in a tournament, but he could hear a voice telling him not to give up. "Who said that? And where exactly am I anyway?" Then he looked down at his deck and remembered. "That's right, I'm dreaming about winning a Duel Monsters tournament." It was his turn and he summoned Axe Raider in attack mode. The warrior attacked and destroyed the opposing Petite Dragon, ending the duel. As Joey cheered for himself, he noticed that his friends weren't present to watch him. Things started to get weird for Joey as the spectators in the audience turned into zombies.

It was Kaiba's turn again back in the duel tower. He played a card face down. After that, he summoned the final machine of the category: Z Metal Tank. Now all three of his machines merged together to form XYZ Dragon Cannon; a tank of a monster with 2800 attack points. The tank destroyed Big Shield Gardna. This was actually what Yami wanted Kaiba to do. It activated his trap card Soul Rope, a card that allowed him to summon a level four monster from his deck when a defending monster is destroyed. The monster he chose was King's Knight and now that he was on the field with Queen's Knight, Yami could automatically summon Jack's Knight.

To Kaiba, this was unfair. He was supposed to be in control of the duel and summon his Egyptian God card first. But this is the cruelty of reality. He was never once in control of the duel. Every move he made only helped Yami more than it did for him. As Yami sacrificed his three Knights, the sky became dark and lightning flashed. The Sky Dragon was now in play, but Kaiba wasn't too impressed and remembered all of Slifer's weaknesses.

Yami was holding three cards in his hand, giving Slifer 3000 attack points and making it 200 points stronger than Kaiba's Dragon Cannon. But Yami had to think his move carefully. A hasty attack even with an Egyptian God could cost him. That made him assume that Kaiba's face down card was Light Shaffer and since it's been on the field for one turn, activating it would force Yami to discard one card from his hand. He was in quite a predicament.

But Kaiba's face down trap wasn't Light Shaffer. It was Interdimensional Matter Transporter. Before Slifer's attack could land on the Dragon Cannon, Kaiba's machine disappeared from the field. As the Sky Dragon's attack waved through the entire area, strange pulses were being felt. The pulses were strong enough to restore the aircraft's transmission signals. It turned out headquarters received Mokuba's distress signal and sent a rescue helicopter to the island. Happy to hear that, Tristan left to tell the rest of his friends the good news. Mokuba even managed to be able to watch his brother's duel and broadcast it to the city. After that, he headed to the top of the duel tower to get a better look at the match.

Back at the duel, the effect of Kaiba's trap removed his Dragon Cannon from play for the duration of the turn. To end his turn, Yami played a card face down, weakening his Sky Dragon. Was this a trick? It didn't matter to Kaiba. The effect of Lightforce Sword had now expired, making Obelisk free to be played again. He sacrificed his Dragon Cannon to summon his Egyptian God card.