Disclaimer: Same as other pages.
Special notice: Thanks again to BMK for helping me with this. Also thanks to Jaesai for his help and his great dueling skills again.
- - - - -
School dragged on for the
teens as they sat there a week or so later after what had happened.
Just a week ago someone had kidnapped Yugi, Ryou and Kara and tried
to send them to the shadow realm for good. They'd been saved by Yami
and Bakura, but at the cost of Bakura being consumed by the shadows.
Ryou missed him and that was obvious, he seemed a little more down
than usual and anything his friends tried didn't keep his spirits up
for long. As they sat outside and under a tree for lunch, he was
quiet, not really speaking to anyone even Kara.
"Kara can't
you get Bakura back?" asked Tea. "I mean your sennen
crescent finds and saves lost souls doesn't it?"
"Yes,"
Kara admitted. "And I have tried searching, but a soul search
drains more than most searches does, especially when you search for
even the shortest length of time. I guess it's because the shadows
get to work at draining you as you move."
"Maybe we
should try combining the powers of the items," Yugi suggested.
"That way our strength would be increased and we'd have a better
chance. Right Yami."
"True," Yami agreed quietly.
"But i'd have thought he'd have been found."
Kara
sighed as she chewed on a sandwich.
"It's like he's been
totally consumed by the shadow realm," she told them. "Like
he's totally disappeared." Seeing Ryou's face drop even more,
she reached out and placed a comorting hand on his arm.
"We'll
find him Ryou, I promise you."
School
dragged on for the teens as they sat there a week or so later after
what had happened. Just a week ago someone had kidnapped Yugi, Ryou
and Kara and tried to send them to the shadow realm for good. They'd
been saved by Yami and Bakura, but at the cost of Bakura being
consumed by the shadows. Ryou missed him and that was obvious, he
seemed a little more down than usual and anything his friends tried
didn't keep his spirits up for long. As they sat outside and under a
tree for lunch, he was quiet, not really speaking to anyone even
Kara.
"Kara can't you get Bakura back?" asked Tea. "I
mean your sennen crescent finds and saves lost souls doesn't it?"
"Yes," Kara admitted. "And I have tried searching,
but a soul search drains more than most searches does, especially
when you search for even the shortest length of time. I guess it's
because the shadows get to work at draining you as you move."
"Maybe we should try combining the powers of the items,"
Yugi suggested. "That way our strength would be increased and
we'd have a better chance. Right Yami."
"True,"
Yami agreed quietly. "But i'd have thought he'd have been
found."
Kara sighed as she chewed on a sandwich.
"It's
like he's been totally consumed by the shadow realm," she told
them. "Like he's totally disappeared." Seeing Ryou's face
drop even more, she reached out and placed a comorting hand on his
arm.
"We'll find him Ryou, I promise you." Ryou nodded
slightly.
"I hope so. Even after everything he's done I still feel completely empty without him around. He's a part of me." He sighed at that then wrapped an arm around Kara's waist as he took a bite out of an apple and slowly chewed.
Derek ambled
up to them with a grin on his face, accompanied by a slash down his
cheek. "What's up guys?" he asked, plopping down
exhaustedly.
"Don't you want to see the nurse about that?"
asked Yugi, slightly green at the sight of so much blood. Derek
shrugged.
"Nah. She's as scared as everyone else." He pulled out a piece of homework and started to work methodically on it. Joey rolled his eyes.
"You
really out to cut back on da fightin', ya know." Derek slowly
raised his eyes from his homework, and rested them on Joey, who
quailed. "Or, you could just... do... whatever..."
"Dude,
you were lucky to escape last time," chipped in Tristan through
a mouthful of something, spraying its crumbs all over Joey's leg.
"Gee, lucky me," said Derek sarcastically, going back
to his homework. The rest of the group exchanged glances, then went
back to their lunches. He was like this most of the time, and there
was no point in trying ot start a conversation.
Ryou looked at him for a moment the grabbed his napkin and passed it over to the older boy speeking in a rather emotionless tone of voice,
"I think you scare people enough as it is, without walking around with blood dripping from your face." Derek took the napkin from Ryou gratefully.
"Thanks
dude. It's not my fault though," he added defensively, wiping
off the copioiusly dripping blood. "I mean, I ain't asking to be
jumped at every turn." He looked at his watch. "Mmm... I
need to get home, but I can't afford to cut classes. I mean, I got
better things to do than hang around this dump for another couple of
hours. So I guess it's time for Plan B."
"What's Plan
B?" asked Duke curiously.
"You guys don't mind having a
free afternoon, do ya?" asked Derek airily. They all shook their
heads no. It would be a good opportunity to find Bakura.
"Great.
Plan B should start in 3... 2... 1..." he muttered, staring at
his watch. Nothing happened.
"Oh yeah." Derek pressed a
button on his watch. There was a sound of breaking glass, and a
muffled explosion. Alarms blared, and the faculty was running around
in panic. They all stared, and Tea ventured forth a question.
"What... what did you do?"
"I blew up Bakashi's
office. Whaddaya think?" Derek shrugged. Teachers started to
herd students out of the grounds.
"I can't believe you, Derek. What if that explosion had hurt someone?" Ryou said quietly, staring at the other boy in shock, then shook his head and glanced at the others, "Lets get out of here before he does something else and gets us all arrested."
Derek stared incredulously at Ryou.
"One, it's lunch. No one's inside. Two, it wasn't a real explosion. Just a bunch of special effects. And three, do you think I care? I get into fights every day." Shaking his head, he left the grounds and headed home.
Meanwhile, in the Kame Game Shop, the bell tinkled as three darkly-clad figures entered the store. Solomon cheerfully began to greet them.
"Welcome to Kame... OOF!" He crumpled to the ground in a unconscious heap. One of them, who seemed to be the leader of the troupe whispered, "Pack him away. Quickly." Another one of the three bent down and deftly began to bind and gag the old man. As the largest of the three put away the steel pipe that he had incapacitated the old man with and impassively stood by, on guard, the leader walked behind the counter and took a golden box down from the highest shelf. Opening it reverently, he stared at the contents, whispering,
"The Gods of Egypt."
The thin one, who had finished packing
Solomon Moto into a burlap sack and handed him to the burly one, now
turned to the leader, who quickly snapped the box shut and put it
inside his trenchcoat. "What now, sir?"
"The
note." The thin one pulled out a slip of paper with an
explanation already written upon it and placed it against the wall.
The leader, quick as a flash, pulled out a stiletto and with unerring
accuracy, threw it and pinned the note to the wall. "Let's go."
They made their escape, as clouds rolled across the sky, and thunder
was heard in the far distance.
- - - - -
Derek waved to the doorman as he walked in the lobby.
"Afternoon,
Mista Boltra," replied the elderly man in a reedy voice. Too
pumped to wait for the elevator, Derek sprang up all eight flight of
stairs, taking them two at a time, letting himself out on his floor.
As he approached his door though, he felt that something was amiss.
Terrific bangs were issuing from inside, and someone was throwing
things around. Dreading what he would find, Derek slowly pushed the
door open.
"Sure you didn't touch me! What the hell am I
doing here?" screamed Teresa as she chucked stuff at a figure
hiding behind the kitchen counter.
"Whoa, take it easy,"
said Derek, alarmed, as Teresa grabbed a snowglobe. "Calm down,"
he added soothingly, taking the object out of her hand and firmly
setting it down on his bedside table. "You got nothin' to worry
about."
He had brought Teresa back to his apartment and
looked after her for a week, in which she had lain in a coma. The
other duelist, who introduced himself as David, also took up
residence, claiming with a grin that "I just don't got a place
to stay." Derek had let Teresa have his bed, David the couch,
and he took the floor. Guests came first. He smiled at Teresa's face.
"Glad to see you're awake."
"Hi," said
Teresa, flushing. She averted her eyes and clutched the blanket
closer to herself. "You want a cup of tea?" asked Derek,
heading over to the kitchen.
"Sure. Thanks," mumbled
Teresa, still not looking Derek in the face, and she blushed even
deeper when Derek flashed her a sincere smile. David, still
pretending to cower behind the door, said in a mock frightened face,
"Is it okay to come out now?"
"It's fine, dude,"
laughed Derek as he put on the kettle. "Introductions. Teresa,
this is David, my, er, current roommate. David, this is Teresa, the
girl who saved my life."
"Nice ta meetcha,"
chuckled David, plopping down in an office chair and rolling over to
Derek's desk, where he was apparently working on a spare Duel Disk.
It had a Doma-resembling design, with a chunk that swiveled around
and extended a scythe-like arm for the cards. The only things
different about it were its colors (it was silver and black), the LP
counter, and apparently the technology inside.
Derek looked
over David's shoulder as the other duelist welded in a metal
component. "Don't ya think you made those panels too thick?"
David turned off the blowtorch and shrugged. "I'm too used to
it. I developed a plating for my original Duel Disk which had
electrodes scattered in the glass mix, so when a card is played, all
of the nanocomponents can, using different kinds of light, capture
the card being played, with no use for an external camera. This
eliminated the use of any external components, but thickened the
panels not only for more capacity but also for stability.
"I
also built in a computer, instead of relying on a central database,
like the ones they have in KC and I2. Of course, I don't have that
stuff, but force of habit and the need to store each panel in the one
that precedes it sort of led me to make them this thick." He
judged the distance carefully, then painstakingly connected two
wires. The Duel Disk lit up, and David sighed in satisfaction as the
kettle came to a boil.
Derek poured a cup of tea and brought it
over to Teresa, still sitting on the bed, gently removing the blanket
and placing it aside. Teresa muttered her thanks, before scooting to
the edge of the bed, and watching David work with mild interest.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, Kara, Ryou and the gang had left the school and headed to the arcade to keep themselves busy until the time when school would usually let out. A certain member of the group really didn't need his 'family' finding out that he got out of school early as his 'family' wouldn't believe that there was an explosion at the school. Kara glanced over at Ryou who had his gaze on the ground. She'd been rather shocked at her boyfriend's outburst earlier but decided that maybe it was best to just forget about it. She smiled slightly and brought a hand to his trying to stir him from his thoughts. Ryou lifted his head and glanced at her and smiled back slightly, squeezing her hand, "Something wrong, Kara?" He already knew what was wrong but he didn't really know what else to say. He'd been feeling strange lately and really didn't know why. Not only was he depressed and lonely because of the loss of his dark half but he found he was getting a bit agitated as well and he didn't know why.
"You're becoming a little like Bakura," Kara whispered to Ryou as she returned the squeeze on his hand. Ryou looked at her, was she either crazy or did she have a point? She smiled at him gently.
"Maybe not having him around brings out the side of you you got of him, or something," she told him. "I like it though, a little extra tough never hurts anyone." Ryou flushed slightly and turned his gaze to the ground.
"I'm afraid I don't agree with you. Bakura wasn't exactly one of the nicest people in the world. I might be close to him but I really don't want to be him or anything like him for that matter."
- - - - -
Quietly,
Derek left the apartment, and came back later to find Teresa snoozing
in his bed, blankets wrapped tightly around her. He looked to David
for an explanation.
"Hey man, I didn't touch her," he
said quickly, throwing up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Derek
couldn't help but grin.
"I
know, dude. Got dinner," he added, holding up a bag.
"Think
we should wake Sleeping Beauty up?" asked the other duelist as
he pulled out several boxes of Chinese takeout. Derek was silent.
"Nah.
She'll eat when she's hungry." Smiling inwardly, he thought to
himself, 'Extra emphasis on the "beauty",' as he adjusted
her blanket.
- - - -
Back at the arcade, Kara and Tea had agreed to have a dance off, although the boys really didn't know why they were having one. They all knew now that Kara did ballet classes, thankfully no one else knew. The boys were actually surprised that Kara was keeping up with Tea, she was good even if she wasn't doing ballet at the moment.
"I'm going to have to watch myself," Tea laughed as she defeated Kara by a really narrow margin. "You'll outdance me one day."
"Maybe," Kara laughed. "But if you don't mind i'll stick to ballet." Ryou smiled as the two walked towards the rest of the group, "You both looked great up there. You should have seen the faces of some of the other guys around here." He pointed over to a group of three boys who were staring at the two. He then chuckled and shook his head. Kara and Tea turned their heads to look back at the boys who were staring at them and chuckled.
"When you're hot you're hot," Kara laughed. "Right Tea?"
"Yeah."
"You know guy's it's getting late," Yugi noted. "We really should head home or something. Hey I have an idea, let's all got o mine and hang for a while. We don't have to be bored at home you know." The rest of the group laughed and nodded, and grabbing their bags followed Yugi out of the arcade.
The others couldn't help but laugh at the spring in Yugi's step as they headed towards the Kame game shop, it looked peaceful enough as they got close that was for certain.
"I'm home grandpa!" Yugi called as they walked into the shop. "And i've brought company." Getting no response he looked around.
"Grandpa?"
"Yugi does your grandpa usually have a stiletto sticking out of the wall?" asked Joey as he walked over and yanked it out of the wall. He unfolded it and read it.
"Yugi, check this out..." he whispered.
It was then Tea happened to glance up and around and noticed that the box with the God Cards in it was gone.
"Yugi, the god cards are gone!" she cried. "Yugi?" She turned to look at Yugi, and found the smaller boy standing at Joey's side trembling.
"Yugi, what is it?" Yami asked as the smaller boy crumpled to his knees in an obvious daze. As Joey knelt beside him, Yami reached out and took the note from his friends hand and scanned it. It made sense to him with the teaching he'd been getting recently, just anyway.
"Gods," he whispered as he knelt down to comfort Yugi, who by then was in tears.
"What's the fuss?" asked Tristan. Yami handed him the note and he, Tea, Ryou and Kara peered at it.
"Oh Yugi..." Kara whispered.
"Uncool," Tristan muttered. "Any ideas?"
"I wish," Tea muttered. "But whoever took Yugi's grandpa took the god cards to."
"Not again," Yami growled. "Why can't people leave us be?"
"There's not much you can do Yami," Kara comforted. "You said it yourself, it's destiny. Someone's after the Millennium Items again, that's for sure."
"Yes, but why can't it wait a while?" asked Joey.
"Because life stinks!" Yugi cried and slammed a fist into the floor, hurting his hand. Yami reached out gently and rubbed it as his counterpart leant against him and cried.
"It's ok Yugi," he soothed. "We'll get your grandpa back. I promise."
Turning his head he looked thoughtfully at Kara, her emerald green eyes gently shimmering in the artificial light above her. His eyes fell onto her necklace, he knew it's power, maybe...
"Kara, could you?" he asked. Kara nodded and stepped away from Ryou, her item tended to get quite hot when she used it. Raising her hands she cupped them around it and closed her eyes, even though her item was gaining strength each time she used it it would still take her some time. She was searching a whole town after all.
Ryou closed his eyes for a moment as rush of nausea went through him with two words seeming to come from it, 'It's coming.' Ryou shook his head and put his hand to his head for a moment. What had that been? The voice he'd heard almost sounded familiar yet distant.
- -
- - -
A dark figure wrapped in a robe stood atop the tallest
building in Domino: the KaibaCorp Headquarters. The burly one
standing behind him ventured to speak.
"What if he doesn't
come, Lord?" The robed one replied,
"He
will, Gringe, he will. Skith, do you have your deck ready?"
"Yes, Lord Jekk," replied the thin, sinuous one
slinking in the shadows, placing a gleam of red in his deck.
"Then
go. Stay upon the streets. Should the Pharaoh escape, I want another
God Card holder to destroy him. Graide." He beckoned to the
large one, who lumbered forward, big as a gorilla, as Skith
disappeared without a trace. "Take this, and go seek out other
Millennium Item holders. We had best increase our number of targets."
As he spoke, he slipped a flash of yellow into the man's hand. "When
you are done with your reconnaissance, return to the Master, and
deliver that card to him." Gringe disappeared with a nod. Taking
out a card, and slipping it into his deck amid a glint of blue, he
murmured to the night.
"Come,
my pharaoh. My Gravekeepers and their new god await you."
- -
- - -
Kara's eyes twitched slightly as she focused her powers, she was having trouble searching for things at the moment. It was as if another power or something was blocking her efforts. Barrier upon barrier blocked her, but they were weak so her item destroyed them everytime. That was until a particulalry big one sent her wheeling, but focusing her energy she threw her power at it and it shattered like glass.
"There!" she exclaimed her eyes snapping open. "Atop the tallest building in Domino. Kaiba Corp."
"Kaiba
Corp?" Ryou murmured in slight shock, "Do you think that
this might have something to do with Seto? Or is it just a
coincidence that Yugi's grandpa was taken to his corporation?"
He was still a little confused and wiery about the voice he'd heard
but right now wasn't the time to think about that.
"I highly
doubt it," Kara responded. "From what you guys have told
me, he usually gets dragged into something without really wanting to.
I suggest heading their though."
"That ok with you Yug'?" Joey asked as Yami helped the smaller boy up.
"Yeah," Yugi responded wiping his eyes. "Let's go."
- - - - -
Seto Kaiba got a rude surprise as he prepared to return to his mansion after a late night at the office. As Yugi and his friends burst through, he narrowed his eyes in anger.
"Well
look at this. The mutt and his friends. Sorry, I don't have anything
for you to fetch," he mocked, and Joey's ears went redder than a
beet.
"Listen Kaiba, we don't have time for this tonight!"
he yelled, face contorted in rage.
"Please, Kaiba."
Yugi's pleads brought Kaiba to look down upon his face, streaming
with tears. For a moment he was reminded, somewhat fleetingly, of
Mokuba.
"All
right. What do you want?"
"We need to get on the roof,"
suppled Tristan.
"It's urgent. Please, Kaiba," begged
Tea. Kara watched with admiration as Yugi and his friends tried to
appease the cold-hearted CEO. Never having dealt with the man
himself, she stood quietly, surmising that she probably wasn't
important enough for the businessman's notice. She slipped her hand
into Ryou's, who squeezed it comfortingly. He stayed silent around
Kaiba too.
"All right. Here." He swiped a card down a
pad, activating the elevator. "What happened?"
"Come
along and you'll see," said Ryou somewhat quietly, still holding
Kara's hand. Kaiba turned to the two, as though noticing them for the
first time. Kara had read him correctly. He had barely noticed they
were there.
As the doors opened and the gang rushed out, followed by Kaiba in his disdaining fashion, they looked around for the person mentioned by the note. Suddenly, Joey shouted,
"There!"
He was pointing to a robe-wrapped figure, standing silently,
overlooking the city. Yugi ran forward. "Give me back my
grandpa!"
"Don't you want your Gods?" asked the
man. His voice was calculated and precise.
"Give 'im back
everything you stole! I'll give you a butt-whupping in return!"
challenged Joey. The man chuckled. With a swift move, he sent Joey
flying. He didn't seem to have moved at all. Tea and Tristan ran over
to administer to him.
"I will only face the Pharaoh, and him
only."
"Very well," growled Yami, walking forward.
"I suppose you want a duel?"
"A man of action, my
Pharaoh?" inquired the man rhetorically as he activated a
strange-looking Duel Disk. For some reason, Yami had been expecting
something similar to Doma's, but it was a white Duel Disk with only
the longer blade attached with a blue orb at the point of attachment.
However, when activated, the blade shifted outward, and the shorter
blade slid out from under the longer one, and the orb lit up bright
red. None of the card slots had the glass over it to read the cards
associated with the older version. It was rounded, sleek, and very
futuristic-looking, with almost nothing in common with the older
contraption that Yami was now sliding onto his arm.
"What is
that?" asked Yugi.
"It's a prototype 'Next Generation'
Duel Disk," explained the man. "It's in development as an
improvement to the current Duel Disk," he said, eyes running
over the shabbier Duel Disk on Yami's arm, which he had activated.
"It is from your company, Kaiba, after all." If the young
CEO would have deigned to this blatant display of thievery, he didn't
show it.
"Shall we start, my Pharaoh? My name is Jekk,"
he added, "and I'm here to dispose of you and your other self,
at behest of my master."
"I could've guessed. Let's
duel," muttered Yami, as he drew his cards.
Kara stood by
quietly, she didn't like this guy. It was one of those instant
dislikes you got around a person, although there was a just cause for
it to begin with. Her necklace glimmered slightly, it didn't like
this guy either.
"This duel won't be easy," she
whispered to no on inparticular. She cast a glance at Kaiba. The CEO
just stood there; the look on his face suggested he was contemplating
something or other, but it didn't portray what. Should I search for
your hidden thoughts? Kara wandered eyeing him. Deciding against it
she turned back to watch the duel.
"I'll start," announced Jekk. "First, I activate the Magic Card Gravekeeper's Servant!" An eerie green moon appeared overhead, and the shadow of some creature could be seen flying past it. "As long as this card remains on the field, every time you attack, you must discard one card from the top of your deck. Next, I'll place a card face-down and summon a monster in face-down Defense Mode. End turn."
"I draw," muttered Yami. "I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" The metallic creature, armed with a short sword and horseshoe magnet shield, appeared, brandishing its weapon at Jekk. (4/1400/1700) "And I'll have it attack your face-down monster!"
Alpha slashed at the face-down monster, tearing it in two and blowing it to bits.
"Your monster if vanquished!" shouted Yami.
Jekk chuckled.
"Really?" He picked up the card and revealed it. "An Owl of Luck! When this monster is flipped, I can take a Field Magic Card from my deck and place it on top." He searched his deck quickly, before pulling out one card, slapping it on top, and replacing his deck. "And you must discard a card from the top of your deck." Yami did so, losing his Dark Magician Girl.
"I place one card face-down, and end my turn."
"I
draw," said Jekk with a smile on his face. "I'll play the
Field Card I just drew! Necrovalley!" The blade part of his Duel
Disk shifted out even further. It seemed that the Field Magic Card
slot was contained in the arm holding the blade. Sliding the card
into the zone, the blade shifted back. Mountains sprang up on either
side of them, and a glowing sun appeared behind Jekk. Behind Yami, in
the far distance, pyramids could be seen.
"Then I summon
Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" The black-robed Gravekeeper,
clutching an ornate gold and silver spear materialized. (4/1500/1000)
"Due to Necrovalley's effect, he gains 500 attack points,
raising his attack to 2000! Attack Alpha now!" The Spear Soldier
stabbed viciously at Alpha.
"Activate Trap!" roared
Yami. "Magic Cylinder! This trap deflects the attack of one of
your monsters to your Life Points!" The strangely-decorated
tubes appeared, one absorbing the attack, the other firing a beam of
energy at Jekk.
Jekk, however, pressed a button.
"I activate Barrel Behind the Door! This trap will switch damage done to me to you instead! Too bad, my Pharaoh." The golden gun-shaped instrument appeared, absorbing the attack of Magic Cylinder, then firing a thin golden beam at Yami, who gasped and clutched at his chest. (Y's LP: 2000) Yami narrowed his eyes as he stood up.
"Why
do you keep calling me your Pharaoh?"
"Because, my
Pharaoh," said Jekk, smiling, "I am one of your servants."
Throwing off his robe, he revealed Egyptian tattoos all over his
chest, back, and arms. Everyone was strongly reminded of Marik.
"Yes,
Marik is a cousin of mine," chuckled Jekk, as though reading
their minds. "We are of a different clan of Gravekeepers.
Slightly more devoted and violent in our ways, we still guard the
tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs."
"Then why are you
fighting me? Do you resent your duty?" asked Yami.
"No.
I simply believe that my master's authority is greater than that of
the ancient pharaoh," he replied. "I place one card
face-down, and end my turn." Yami, rather confused about the
turn of events, drew his card quietly, eyes still riveted on the
tattoos on Jekk's chest.
"This game has just
got more dangerous," Kara whispered to the others. "There's
something about this duelist that I don't like."
"Like what?" asked Tea arching a quizzical eyebrow.
"I don't know," Kara responded truthfully. "I will say for certainty though that this has something to do with the guy who kidnapped, Ryou, Yugi and myself recently though."
"You're right in a way," Jekk confirmed hearing what Kara had said. "But compared to him, we're a lot stronger."
"We?" Yami questioned. "Who's we?"
"If you defeat me you'll find out my pharaoh," Jekk told him. "Till then, just duel."
"Fine," Yami growled.
Ryou bit his lip and clenched the first that wasn't holding Kara's hand. Though he didn't say it, he had the same feeling that Kara was having about this duel. He almost felt as if someone was watching them from every direction at once. Kara glanced at him quietly, she didn't need magic powers to read her boyfriends mind. She then glanced at Kaiba, the young CEO was standing there with his arms crossed and an irritated looking glare on his face. Probably wandering what the heck's going on Kara thought quietly. Probably thinks we're all loonies
"I
activate the Magic Card Graceful Charity! This will allow me to draw
three cards, then discard two!" shouted Yami.
"Sorry to
disappoint you," chuckled Jekk. "I discard Gravekeeper's
Watcher to negate your Graceful Charity!" The
white-and-black-robed Gravekeeper appeared, dragging the angel of
Graceful Charity into the Graveyard.
"What?" exclaimed
Yami. "You can't just discard cards from your hand to stop
others!"
"Gravekeeper's Watcher has a special ability,
allowing the player to negate the card effect of one that involves
discarding cards into the Graveyard," explained Kaiba, somewhat
to Yami's chagrin.
"Quite right, Mr. Kaiba. Now make your
move, my Pharaoh," said Jekk somewhat sinisterly.
"Fine!
I activate Bonds of Brotherhood!" called out Yami. "By
paying 1000 Life Points, I can summon two monsters of the same level,
type, and attribute as the one on my field. So I summon Beta the
Magnet Warrior and Gamma the Magnet Warrior!" The yellow and
pink magnet creatures floated down to the field, making strange
buzzing sounds as they landed. (4/1700/1600) (4/1500/1800) (Y's LP:
1000)
"Then, since they can't attack this turn, I'll combine
my three magnet warriors to form Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"
The three metallic monsters disassembled into a variety of parts,
before reassembling into one, their heads fusing together to form
Valkyrion's helmet. (8/3500/3850) "Next, I play Change of Heart
on your Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" The Gravekeeper floated
over, landing gracefully at Yami's feet.
Jekk gritted his teeth as Yami called out his next move.
"Valkyrion!
Spear Soldier! Attack Jekk directly!"
"Activate Magic
Card! Book of Moon! This will turn your Valkyrion into face-down
Defense Mode!" A blue tome covered in Egyptian hieroglyphics
appeared, then started to open, showering Valkyrion with a bright
blue glow. She disappeared, to be replaced with a horizontally-placed
card back. Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier then continued its attack,
striking Jekk in the chest, and dropping his Life Points
dramatically. (J's LP: 2000) Yami then discarded another card to the
Graveyard from his deck, losing his Big Shield Gardna in the process.
"Are you done?" asked Jekk, lip curling. Yami gave a
curt nod after a quick survey of the field.
Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier walked back to his master's side of the field as he drew.
"It's
time to lose, my Pharaoh. I activate Card of Sanctity! This allows us
to draw until we have six cards each in our hands!" He swiftly
drew six cards, while Yami carefully and deliberately drew his four.
"Next, I place this monster in face-down defense mode, and
activate the Magic Card Book of Taiyou on it! This book of the sun
reveals my monster! Gravekeeper's Spy!" shouted Jekk. The gold
bound volume appeared, opening its pages and showering Jekk's
face-down card with light, causing it to flip up, and activate its
effect. (4/1200/2000)
"Gravekeeper's Spy allows me to summon
a Gravekeeper from my deck with an attack of 1500 or lower,"
explained Jekk with a chuckle. "I summon Gravekeeper's Guard to
the field, in defense mode!" A burly Gravekeeper, toting a thin
spear and holding it in a repelling position materialized beside the
Spy. (4/1000/1900) "I'll end my turn by placing two cards
face-down."
"I draw," declared Yami. "First
I'll place one card face-down. Then I'll resummon Valkyrion the Magna
Warrior!" Flipping the card face-up, the Magna Warrior
reappeared on the field. "And I'll have it attack Gravekeeper's
Spy!" Valkyrion rushed at the defenseless Gravekeeper.
"I'll
discard Charm of Shabti, to protect my Spy!" The mystical amulet
appeared before the Gravekeeper, protecting it from any harm as
Valkyrion's sword whooshed by harmlessly. "However, I still take
damage from the attack. But I'll activate my trap: Energy Drain! This
card will increase my monster's attack by the number of cards in your
hand times 200 points. You've got six cards in your hand. Because
Gravekeeper's Spy has her attack raised by 500 points due to
Necrovalley, and 1200 from Energy Drain, I only lose 600 Life
Points." (J's LP: 1400)
"End turn," growled Yami.
"Excellent." Jekk drew his card, and his face underwent
a transformation. His face was wreathed in smiles, and he seemed to
barely be able to contain his excitement. "Now you shall witness
true power!" he exulted.
"Oh no," whispered Yami.
"He must have drawn an Egyptian God Card!" murmured
Kaiba intensely.
Jekk laughed exuberantly.
"Goodbye,
Pharaoh! First, I activate Rite of Spirit! This trap allows me to
resurrect a Gravekeeper, and I choose Gravekeeper's Watcher."
The Gravekeeper returned to the field amid ritualistic flames.
(4/1000/1000) "Next, I'll play Pot of Greed, to draw two more
cards." He did so, barely able to stop from laughing as he did
so.
"And now, I sacrifice Gravekeeper's Spy! Gravekeeper's
Watcher! And Gravekeeper's Guard! To summon the unstoppable OBELISK
THE TORMENTOR!" The three monsters turned into bright bolts of
light, shooting into the card in his hand. Slapping it on the Duel
Disk, a crash of lightning landed on the field and the card began to
emit rays of electricity. The menacing God arose from behind a wildly
laughing Jekk, causing a windstorm to erupt and dark clouds to roll
across the sky, amidst holy music. The glint of the red eyes and the
roar of fury by the Divine Soldier caused everyone present to
shudder. (10/4000/4000)
People in the streets who were
passing by all stopped suddenly and pointed to the easily seen
KaibaCorp Headquarters and the massive apparition atop it. Up there,
on the roof, someone had played a monster of gigantic proportions,
causing inexplicable changes to start happening in its immediate
vicinity. A strong rain began to fall all over Domino, except at the
place where the Duel was taking place, where the very atmosphere was
vibrating with holy energy, and an odd glow made everyone feel light
and airy.
"He must be able to control Obelisk through some
connection to the past," breathed Yugi, as Yami looked on in
horror.
"My next Magic Card! Swords of Shrouding Darkness!
These sealing swords of the darkness blanket your field in shadows!"
proclaimed Jekk. Black swords shot down, plunging Yami's side of the
field in obscuring shade. As a result of this card, Valkyrion once
again reverted to face-down defense mode.
"Now nothing can
stop me! Obelisk! Attack his face-down card now!" Obelisk pulled
back his glowing fist, then launched it at terrific speeds at the
face-down card. With a single punch, Valkyrion had been completely
obliterated.
Tea gasped.
"Look
at Yami!" Yami was clutching his chest with pain, wracked with
agony. The attack had come far more powerfully than he had thought,
and he had been blasted backwards. He now lay on his back, terribly
winded.
"Not only did my swords hide your monster, now any
monster you attempt to play will go to face-down defense mode. Even
if you found some way of defeating Obelisk, you can't attack!"
laughed Jekk. Duke snorted.
"So?
It's not like he can do damage either as long as those Swords of
Shrouding Darkness stay on the field."
"I wouldn't be
so sure," snorted Kaiba. "Obelisk's special ability will be
able to annihilate Yugi." Tristan gulped.
"Oh man, he's doomed!"
Yugi tightened his fist in resolve.
"Have faith, guys. I know Yami can do it." Yami, getting up painfully, drew his card.
"Hah!
I drew Brave Attack. By resurrecting Valkyrion and defusing him, I
can combine the strength of his components to topple Obelisk!"
"Really?" asked Jekk coolly. "Try it, my Pharaoh."
"With pleasure. I'll place two cards face-down and I
activate Monster Reborn!" called out Yami. The card appeared on
the field and started to glow. Suddenly, it glowed a violent orange
and exploded. Yami could only look on in confusion.
"You
forgot about my field card, Pharaoh." Jekk pointed to the cliffs
surrounding them. "Necrovalley is where the dead Pharaohs are
buried. Nothing can affect the Graveyard here, due to the sanctity of
this valley."
"Then how did Rite of Spirit resurrect
your Gravekeeper?" challenged Joey.
"That trap card is
immune to the effects of Necrovalley, mutt," snapped Kaiba
condescendingly, earning him an angry glare from the less experienced
duelist.
Yami's eyes registered shock and surprise.
Wordlessly, he ended his turn.
"My move," said Jekk
mockingly as he drew. "I suppose it's over. I sacrifice my Spear
Soldier to summon Gravekeeper's Chief!" The white-robed leader
of the Gravekeepers appeared, sporting a red aura and a golden staff.
(5/1900/1200) "Now I resurrect Gravekeeper's Spy!" The
swift Gravekeeper rose one last time. (4/1200/2000)
"Hold
on," snapped Yami. "You just said the Necrovalley prevents
effects from touching the Graveyard."
"For one thing,
my Pharaoh, my Chief allows my cards to affect the Graveyard. And
second, it's ability allows it to resurrect a Gravekeeper when it is
Tribute Summoned."
The look of horror on Yami's face sufficed to tell Jekk his mission was completed.
"To
prevent even the possibility of resistance, I will activate my last
card: Royal Tribute! This will force both players to discard all
monsters on hand to the Graveyard!" Yami winced. He was being
forced to throw away Queen's Knight, Gazelle the King of Mythical
Beasts, Watapon, and most importantly, his Dark Magician. He slowly
and sorrowfully put his most faithful servant in the Graveyard slot.
"Now that all you've got left are those pathetic Brave
Attack and De-Fusion cards, it's time to face defeat! I sacrifice
Gravekeeper's Chief and Spy to Obelisk!" he roared over the
howling of the wind. Obelisk reached down and snatched the two
monsters in its gigantic fists. Drained of their energy, they
disappeared. Obelisk's arms were pumped up from the energy it had
received, and it was time to deliver the final blow. "Go!
Obelisk! God Hand Crusher!"
A ghost of a smile flitted across Yami's face.
"Activate
Magic Card! Mirage Magic!"
"No!" groaned Jekk.
"Mirage Magic negates the attack and effect of a monster and
allows you to gain Life Points equal to its attack!"
"That's
right," growled Yami as a crystal plate appeared in midair,
taking the full brunt of Obelisk's strike. It then turned and
deflected the attack (now changed to a rainbow beam) at Yami,
increasing his Life Points. (Y's LP: 5000)
Jekk hissed in anger.
"No
matter. I'll destroy you next turn!"
"No. You're wrong.
There will be no next turn." Yami issued this statement without
a trace of emotion.
"Oh? And your authority for that
statement is...?" Jekk let the question dangle.
"This,"
declared Yami, placing his hand on his deck.
Jekk let out a hoot of laughter.
"You're
predicting the outcome of this duel on one card? May I remind you
that you have no monsters left to fight my God, and I'm about to deal
the final blow? And you're declaring victory on a random card."
"Not just any card. And I never said I would use a monster
to confront Obelisk." Yami drew his card, thinking, 'Heart of
the Cards, guide me.' And without even looking at it, inserted it
into a M/T slot on his Duel Disk.
"I
activate Living Arrow!"
"No!" moaned Jekk in
despair. The gold and silver arrow materialized amidst rays of golden
light.
"This card will destroy each and every face-up Magic
Card on your side of the field," explained Yami with grim
satisfaction. "And for every one destroyed, you will take 500
points of damage!" The arrow began to glow bright pink, then
loosed itself at Jekk, trailing fiery pink sparks. It buried itself
in Yami's opponent.
Jekk looked down slowly, and fixed his eyes on the arrow protruding from his heart as Yami proceeded to explain.
"You have Necrovalley, Gravekeeper's Servant, and Swords of Shrouding Darkness, making three cards. Which results in a total damage amount of 1500 points."
Jekk could only stare as his body was lashed with pink lightning, and his Life Point meter sounded loudly and crisply in the night air. (J's LP: 0) Obelisk let out another tremendous roar, and with a clap of thunder, dissipated into wisps of energy, and returned to the card.
Yami, deactivating his Duel Disk, roared at Jekk:
"Tell
me the information you promised, and release Yugi's grandpa."
"The old man is already sleeping in his bed," hissed
Jekk. "And as for the information you want, you'll have to
defeat us all for it." He raised his arm.
"Wait!"
yelled Yugi, but Jekk dropped the smoke bomb, and disappeared without
a trace. Yami walked over and picked up the only thing his opponent
had left behind. The first of the three God cards. Obelisk the
Tormentor.
Kara was amazed at how easily Yami had managed to destroy his opponant, she was only half that good at duelling. She glanced towards Yugi whose face was set in a confused look.
"Yugi, go and check on your grandpa," she advised softly. Yugi nodded numbly and ran to the door on the roof and disappeared in the elevator, with Joey close behind. He'd be ok with Joey.
"Are you ok Yami?" Tea asked.
"Yes," he responded rubbing his chest. "Just a little tired that's all."
"What do you expect?" Duke enquired. "You took a heck of a beating out there before you beat him."
"Way to state the obvious Duke," Tristan muttered. Skith watched from under an awning. Seeing Obelisk disappear and not hearing any voices (even with his sensitive ears), he decided that his Lord must have emerged victorious. He slunk off into the shadows.
Kara smiled softly, she'd had doubts about Yami's ability to win against a god card, but she'd been proven wrong and was proud of it.
"How about we head back to the game shop and check up on Yugi and Joey?" she offered. "I mean they're most likely there by now."
"On his shrimpy legs?" Kaiba asked. "The mutt probably had to carry him."
"Kaiba as much as i'd like to make you swallow your words along with my fist," Tristan told him as the group headed for the lift. "I can't be bothered. It's late, we're all tired and i'll find another opportunity some other time."
Kaiba simply watched as they left the roof, not really wanting to follow till they'd gone. He had no idea what was going on, who had that guy been who Yami had faced. Who the heck was the one known as Yami for that matter? He hadn't seen him before and who was the new girl? She didn't seem to be as annoying as Tea that was for sure.
Kara meanwhile stood in the lift beside Ryou, deep in thought. She subconsciously stepped out of the elevator and followed the others out of the building and towards the game shop. What was wrong with this whole thing?
- - - - -
Please R&R
