WHOOT! I gots a lot of reviews, now! And, good news, I can probably take my dog home tomorrow. So, YAY! Enjoy leh update. (Which is now all one chapter, huzzah!)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Yugioh characters or storyline.
Chapter Fourteen
The Dark Spirit
Everyone appeared on the Stratos level. Roland led Yami and Bakura onto the arena and everyone stood around it.
"Duelists! Take your marks! Elevate the playing field!" The dueling stage rose up.
"Whoa, dueling up here is insane!" Jounouchi exclaimed.
"And freezing..." Shizuka said with a shiver. Kay shrugged. She, unlike Shizuka, was wearing a jacket. But, admittedly, it was pretty chilly due to the high winds.
"Oh look, here comes the master of ceremonies now." Mai was right. Seto walked to his spot with Mokuba and Adelinda stood next to Mokuba.
"Alright, I'll make this speech quick so we can begin this duel."
"Him making a speech quick?" Kay whispered. "I think the apocalypse is coming." Cat and Kristen laughed a little but bit their lips to keep quiet.
"Kaiba Craft 3 is now cruising at an altitude of 4,000 feet. The strong winds and cold air will test your strength and stamina. If you can't take it, you don't belong here."
Kay raised her eyebrow. Kaiba really did know how to throw nice twists.
"Yeah!" Honda exclaimed. "I dig this little twist!" Otogi nodded with a grin.
"I have to admit, Kaiba does know how to throw a tournament."
"Are you prepared to lose it all?" Bakura asked.
"He sounds different..." Cat whispered. Kay nodded. Bakura's voice sounded smoother, colder, and creepier, but not too far off from its usual tone.
"I don't like this...something doesn't feel right..."
"I won't lose. Before we begin this duel, why don't you tell me who you really are and stop this charade."
"Hm hm hm." Bakura gave a soft, evil laugh. Kay furrowed her brows.
"Something definitely is wrong...it's like he's…possessed." Cat nodded.
"Yeah, you're telling me."
"Alright, have it your way then. But I think I know who you are." Kay gasped as something began to form on Bakura's chest. It was a necklace with a strange gold ring that had five spikes dangling down and a flat pyramid in the middle of the ring that had an eye carved on it.
"What...is...that?!" Kay asked, eyes widening.
"I don't know…but did that thing come out of his flesh? That's just wrong on so many levels!" Kristen said, shuddering.
"Oh no..." Cat whispered, automatically recognizing the millennium ring.
"It is you! The spirit of the millennium ring!"
"Hey, look at Bakura!" Anzu said.
"Oh no. He's wearing that millennium ring again."
"Millennium ring? What is that?" Kristen asked. Kay shrugged, totally lost to all of this.
"That can't be," Honda said, "I got rid of it at Duelist Kingdom. I tossed that thing into the deepest part of the woods: miles from anywhere. I don't know how Bakura got it back, but I know it's not a good thing."
"Um, Cat?" Cat looked at Kay. "Mind shedding some light on the situation."
"Well...it's sorta weird to explain. It's the same with Yugi and the pharaoh. Bakura's millennium ring has a spirit too."
"Only, judging by your reactions, the spirit is not good?" Kay suggested, examining the various expressions of worry sprouting on the group's face.
"Right. He's evil."
"Well, now that the introductions are over and done with, why don't we begin this duel?" Bakura asked. His voice was deeper and raspier, more demonic and malevolent.
"But first, tell me why you have entered the Battle City Finals and what it is you hope to gain! Is it about the millennium items?" Yami asked, glowering.
"Huh, perhaps. Yugi, perhaps there is something else that I am planning to take away from you besides your millennium puzzle."
"What are you talking about?" he demanded. Bakura smirked.
"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" he asked, sounding amused.
"He does." Kay nodded.
"Yeah."
"There is so much about this tournament that you are unaware of. So many secrets being kept from you: for instance, how do you know that I am working alone? And are you sure one of the people you believe to be your friend isn't really your greatest enemy?"
"I don't believe you. Lies are a part of your game, but they won't help you in this duel."
"Hmph, I don't know if he's lying..." Cat nodded.
"You may be right, Kay. With that spirit in control, I'm not sure who or what to believe."
"It feels like everything is nothing but a charade..." Kay muttered. Cat nodded.
"Yeah…" Kristen looked at the both of them before smiling a little.
"Go Yugi!" Kristen cheered, trying to lighten the mood. The two girls smiled too and also began to cheer.
"Defeat him, Yami!" Cat yelled.
"Blast him out of here!"
Roland raised his arm up. "And now the first duel of the Battle City Finals will begin!" he announced. "It's time to duel!"
Yami and Bakura each gained 4000 lifepoints.
The two began dueling and Yami continued to wipe out Bakura's monsters – one after the other. Bakura's lifepoints had fallen all the way to 450 while Yami's were still at 4000.
Kay turned to Cat.
"Since the duel is pretty one-sided, why don't you tell us a little bit more about this spirit." Cat sighed.
"Well, the thing of it is, this is the first time I've actually seen him in person. I met Yugi and his friends right before Duelist Kingdom, and they went off to the island together while I was here. After they came back, they told me all about what happened, including fighting this spirit.
"He used the power of his Millennium Ring to trap their souls in their favorite cards and make them duel him. Yami was able to save them, but it was a dangerous match."
"Wow…" Kristen said.
"Apparently he wants all seven Millennium Items for himself."
"Wait, there's seven?" Cat nodded.
"Yeah. I don't know much more than that, though. Some of it is still sinking in." Kay whistled.
"Damn."
"I hold a card in my hand with dark powers beyond your wildest imagination." Bakura snickered.
"Wait, what?" The three girls automatically returned their attention to the duel. "But first, before I could play this all-powerful card, I needed a bit of assistance. Thanks for helping me destroy you." Yami's eyes widened a little.
"Oh no," Kay muttered, "I was afraid he'd have something like this planned."
"What's he going to do?" Kristen asked. Bakura stood ready to take a card from his hand and play it.
"Three of my monsters needed to be destroyed before I could bring forth my dark destructor. You made that possible."
"So that's why he gave up his monsters so willingly." Cat frowned. "Come on, Yami, you can still win this!"
"What card will he play?" Kay wondered. Bakura held up the card, smirking.
"Now I summon the beast that will cause your demise." He flipped the card for all to see. "Dark Necrofear!" He placed it on his duel disk and the card appeared on the field. A pink light swirled out of the card and floated around. "You have no idea what you are about to experience."
The light floated back in front of Bakura and started to form a shape. The light turned into dark smog and a creature started to come into view. It was a strange, blue, humanoid creature wearing a gold breast plate, and dark blue boots with armor on the knees.
"What is that freaky thing?" Mai asked.
"I dunno, but it looks like trouble."
"Yugi!" Anzu cried. Yami growled.
"I knew you were planning something." Dark Necrofear had 2200 attack points and 2800 defense points.
"It doesn't matter! You still fell into my trap and now you're about to pay the ultimate price!" He chortled wickedly. "This is it! You're finished, Yugi!"
"Man, that thing is creeping me out!"
"Me too, Honda. And if he was willing to lose all of those lifepoints to bring it out, it must be powerful." Jounouchi grimaced a little. "Bakura's got the freakiest taste in monster."
"Dark Necrofear is one of the most destructive cards in my deck. You'll never stop it!"
"I know a card in Yugi's deck that can." Mokuba and Adelinda looked up at Seto. "His Egyptian God Card, the mighty Osiris the Heaven Dragon. It all depends on whether or not Yugi has the courage to use it." Kay rolled her eyes.
"Again with the stupid God Cards."
"Stare into the face of defeat! You see, not only is my monster strong, possessing more attack points than either of your monsters, but it also possesses a dark magic hidden within, waiting to activate and destroy you!"
"Your monster may be powerful but it's not unbeatable!"
"I'm not ready to attack yet, so I'll end my turn." Bakura placed two cards face down before ending his turn. Kay, Kristen, and Yugi all stared, jaws dropped.
"Wha?" Kay snapped out of her expression and clenched her fist.
"Ok, he must be the world's worst duelist, because Yugi can sacrifice his monsters and summon something stronger." Kristen laughed.
"What an idiot!" Cat nodded.
"Totally! Come on, Yugi!"
"Blast him back to the minor leagues!" Kristen yelled.
"Make your move!"
"When I'm ready! You were foolish enough not to attack me when you had the chance. Now you shall pay the price, as I draw this!" Yami drew a card. "I sacrifice Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts."
He placed a card on the field and a dark figure came into view, starting to come into light.
"In order to summon my Dark Magician Girl!" She opened her green eyes and winked with a grin and spun around, posed and prepped for attack.
"Fool. I'm afraid your magical fairy is too weak to destroy my monster."
"She's a magician, not a fairy!" Kay yelled. "There is a freaking difference!"
"Whatever!" Bakura brushed off her comment. Kay glared at him.
"He's almost as big an asshole as Kaiba, and THAT is saying something." Kristen smiled a little.
"That's true that my Dark Magician Girl is weaker than your Dark Necrofear. And it's also true that she is a magician and not a fairy."
"Does that really make a difference?" Bakura snapped.
"Actually, it does. Especially when I play this; my facedown card."
"What?"
"It looks like you're the fool, Bakura. Behold my Magic Formula card."
"No!" A book appeared on the field and a key unlocked the binding, allowing Dark Magician Girl read it.
"Yes! Magic Formula allows me to raise my Dark Magician Girl's attack power by 500 points, making her more powerful than your Necrofear." Dark Magician Girl's attack strength rose to 2500.
"Yeah! Attaboy!" Jounouchi cheered. "Put that big creep six feet under!"
"And now attack his Necrofear with Dark Burning Attack!" Dark Magician Girl floated up and spun around, unleashing a bright attack from her wand. Dark Necrofear vanished, but instead of looking troubled, Bakura only grinned.
"Thanks. Once again, you've done exactly what I wanted, Yugi. Don't you realize I've manipulated every move you've made so far? Including destroying Dark Necrofear." He held up a card. "So I can play this." He placed the card in the slot for field cards.
"What's going on?" Yami asked.
"Watch as the entire playing field is engulfed in a shroud of dark magic known as Dark Sanctuary." A red and blue haze filled the area around the field. A dark castle stood behind Bakura and eyes and mouths appeared all over the place in the creepy sky.
Jounouchi yelped a little and hugged Shizuka.
"It's the evil eyes!"
"I don't like this!" she whimpered.
"What's up with these creepy eyes?" Kay asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Mokuba, I'm scared..." Adelinda whispered, hugging him. He hugged her protectively.
"It's ok, Adelinda. It's just a hologram."
"Then why does he feel so real?" she asked.
"Look around you! There's no escaping the magic of Dark Sanctuary. Well done! Everything had to go just right for this to work, and you played your part perfectly."
"Now what?" Yami asked.
"Just wait. You have no idea what you have just helped me to unleash. Prepare to experience an evil like you've never seen before!" Cat looked at Kay.
"Hey, Kay. You're Pegasus's niece, right? Have you ever seen this card before?" she asked. Kay shrugged.
"I'm not sure. I've seen and helped make hundreds, possibly thousands of cards. It's hard to remember them all. If you're asking me what Dark Sanctuary does, quite frankly I don't have a clue." She frowned. "We'll just have to wait and see." Kristen shivered.
"This is so creepy! I hope Yugi gets rid of this card soon."
"You and me both, Kristen." Bakura laughed evilly.
His Dark Sanctuary Card had an evil ghost roaming the field, and it possessed one of Yugi's monsters each turn. Yami declared an attack with Gamma the Magnet warrior, but a silver ghost flew out of it and struck Yami, causing his lifepoints to fall to 3250 and Bakura's points rose to 900.
"No way! He can drain Yugi's points and then take them? That's not cool!" Kristen cried.
"And he claims Dark Sanctuary has even more powers. I wonder what else it can do."
"Your lifepoints are still minimal. They'll be gone soon."
"We'll just see about that, Yugi. You have no idea of the terror that lurks in my deck. Let's see what's next. Are you ready?" Bakura drew a card. "I play Destiny Board. You're finished!"
"Destiny Board? What does it do?"
"You're about to find out." A blue board with a hand holding a shield with a hole in it appeared. It had "yes" and "no" written on the top, the alphabet, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, and "good bye" on the very bottom. Jounouchi blinked and stared.
"That's weird. All that fuss for a board game?" Otogi frowned.
"I saw one of those things once in a haunted fun house." Jounouchi immediately looked freaked out.
"You mean there's going to be more ghosts?" Shizuka looked back at the duel.
"Hold on, Jounouchi. Isn't this all just a game?" she asked. Anzu looked back at the duel as well.
"Well, guys, let's hope so." Cat and Kristen exchanged glances.
"That's strange. Have you ever seen that card before, Cat?" Kristen asked. She shook her head.
"Never. Bakura seems to love throwing out things none of us have ever heard of. How about you, Kay?"
"Actually, I think I remember this card…"
"You do?" Kristen asked. She nodded.
"Yup. My uncle created this one. And it's not a fun one to be up against."
"Why, what does it do?" Cat asked.
"It gives you a message that determines your fate in the duel."
"A message?" Kristen tilted her head. "What kind of message?"
"Just wait and see."
After some more dueling, Yami's lifepoints fell to 750 while Bakura's shot up to 3400 thanks to the ghost of Dark Sanctuary possessing Yami's monsters and hitting him. Bakura's destiny board currently read D-E-A and Yami was in a pickle.
Until he used a magic card to absorb the ghost of Dark Sanctuary into Kuriboh and then destroyed Kuriboh with Exile of the Wicked. Everyone cheered as Yami started to regain control of the duel.
"You may have defeated my ghost, but my Destiny Board will still destroy you in only two turns when it completes its message."
"Don't count on it. This duel isn't over and it's still my move."
"All right!" Jounouchi cheered.
"Way to go, Yugi!" Anzu cried.
"All right, now it's time to bring a monster back from the graveyard. I play monster Reborn! I'll bring back a monster from your graveyard. Dark Necrofear, return!" The familiar, creepy monster appeared on Yugi's side of the field. "So say goodbye to your Dark Sanctuary. Since destroying Dark Necrofear released it, I knew bringing it back would defeat it." Bakura's eye twitched.
"No!" The cloud of Dark Sanctuary dissolved away.
"Now that Dark Sanctuary is gone, I'm afraid you are no longer permitted to have more than five magic cards in play at one time. This may foil some of your plans. And now I'll attack your lifepoints directly with Dark Necrofear!"
Dark Necrofear released a red beam of light that struck Bakura with a blinding effect.
Bakura's lifepoints fell to 1200. He growled and played the fourth letter to the destiny board. "T."
"D-E-A-T. Your word is 'death.' It's too bad you'll never play the last letter. Look at your duel disk. You have five magic cards in play, and you have no room for any others. So if you want to play to last letter of your message, you must discard your Dark Door magic card and its effect on my monsters, allowing me to attack more than once in a turn! And with no monsters to protect you, and only 1200 lifepoints, my three monsters would wipe you out in one turn. The decision is yours." Bakura's eye twitched again.
"This can't be true!" Honda grinned.
"Stick a fork in that guy, 'cause he's done." Jounouchi smirked.
"Be glad to."
Bakura used a monster to bring back Dark Sanctuary and was one turn away from completing his Destiny Board. Yami only had one shot – his Egyptian God Card.
"Prepare to experience a power like no other." Yami's eyes widened a little as he took a deep breath, placing all of his faith in his deck. He drew a card. Lightening rained from the clouds and blinding light was released from the arena.
"AHHH!" Bakura screamed.
"I sacrifice Dark Magician Girl, Gamma the Magnet Warrior, and Big Shield Gardna to summon the almighty Osiris the Heaven Dragon!" With a bunch of expensive lighting effects and lightening, Osiris appeared in all of his glory. The large dragon appeared, wrapping around the blimp. It bowed its divine head and roared. Osiris was so powerful; it actually caused half of Dark Sanctuary to completely dissolve.
"His Egyptian God Card!" Bakura exclaimed.
"What's...that?" Shizuka asked, trembling with her eyes widened in fear.
"Uhh...Jounouchi?" Honda asked.
"The hugest duel monster I've ever seen!" Osiris was a giant, red, serpent dragon lined with dark spines on his back. His head contained two mouths and the sharpest teeth. And his yellow eyes glared darkly and without mercy in them.
"It's incredible! That thing...how is it only a hologram?" Kristen asked.
"You got me..." Cat said.
"Yugi, your Egyptian God Card is powerful, but it does not guarantee your victory! I've come much too far to lose now!"
Osiris roared. "I'm afraid it's over!"
"Never! The Ghost of Dark Sanctuary is still wandering the field, Yugi. And now my evil ghost, it's time to attack! Possess Osiris!" The ghost tried to possess Osiris but it was destroyed. "What happened?! My dark ghost had no effect!"
Bakura was trapped. He had no more cards in his hand, no monsters, and his Dark Sanctuary was useless because of how powerful Osiris was. There was no way for him to win. The one facedown he had on the field was a dead card.
"I can't lose! There's too much at stake for me. I must win!" Yami clenched his fist.
"You won't win! This duel is over."
"Hmm, alright!" Jounouchi cheered. "Nice going, Yuge!"
"There's no way he can lose."
"Yay! Go Yugi!" Cat cheered.
"Prepare to lose!"
"This can't be!"
"Osiris the Heaven Dragon, attack his life points with-" His arm fell a bit and he stopped. Everyone stared. Why had he stopped?
Everyone turned to see "Marik" walking out with his millennium rod clutched in his hand.
"Marik?" Yami asked. "What does he want?"
After Marik warned Yami not to use Osiris, he raised his rod and freed Ryou from the possession of the spirit of the Millennium ring. He gasped and grabbed his arm, falling to his knees and trembling.
"Oh, my arm...it...hurts..."
"Bakura!" Yami gasped. Jounouchi stepped forward.
"Bakura!"
"Are you ok?" Anzu yelled.
"That's low..." Kay muttered darkly. "Very low."
"Yugi help me...I-I don't know where I am. What am I doing here in this duel?" he looked at his arm. "What happened to my arm?"
"It is him."
"He is in pain. Without the Spirit of Ring he is weak. Therefore, you may wish to reconsider your attack. The devastation caused by Osiris will more than likely kill him."
"What?!"
"Would you risk the life of your friend?" Marik asked. Yami offered him the most infuriated glare he could muster.
"Only a coward would do something like this to win a duel!"
"That's crazy!" Kay yelled, jumping to her feet. "There's no way Yugi can risk hurting his friend, you're a bloody FREAK, Marik." Cat ran over to her and grabbed her arms to keep her from pouncing.
"K-Kay, calm down!" she said.
"No way, she's right! This is beyond crazy!" Jounouchi yelled. "That's a cheap trick, Marik!"
"Bakura, hang in there!" Honda yelled.
"Yugi!" Anzu cried. Kay growled.
"Kaiba, aren't you going to do something?!" Seto did not answer. He didn't even have the courtesy to look at her. She growled at him, knowing her words were wasted on this heartless jerk. Marik turned around and walked away without another word.
"I don't feel very well, Yugi..."
"Bakura!" Yami yelled, and he started to run toward him but Roland held up a hand.
"Stop right there. You are not allowed to have contact with your opponent during a duel. Take one more step and you'll be disqualified." Yami growled.
"Stop the duel right now!" Anzu yelled.
"Bakura needs to see a doctor; we've got to get him to a hospital now!" Honda shouted.
"Please sir, we have to help him!" Cat begged. Roland ignored them.
"If you don't continue to duel, you will forfeit the match."
"Yugi...help..." Ryou pleaded.
"Yugi, I'll make this decision very easy for you." Kay glared at Seto, already hating the words she knew were about to come out of his mouth. "Finish him off!"
"Kaiba!" Kay snarled. He ignored her and it was all she could do to stop herself from punching him.
"I offer you a second warning: make your move or lose your spot in the finals. Now go!"
"Chill out buddy!" Jounouchi snapped. He had climbed up the side of the arena to yell at Roland. "Can't you see the poor guy's injured?! C'mon! What kind of show you guys running here?"
"Jounouchi, what are you doing?! Get down!" Honda demanded.
"Are you crazy?" Otogi asked.
"Get down or you will be disqualified from the finals as well."
"WHAT? Are you kidding me?" Jounouchi growled. "If I come down there, he's not the only one who's gonna need medical attention!" Honda had also climbed up and yanked Jounouchi back down and they both yelled loudly before they crashed. Kay slapped her forehead.
"I'm embarrassed to say I know those two idiots..." she sighed. Cat covered her face with her hand and groaned.
"Aw man..."
"Are you two ok?" Kristen asked, running over to them.
"Never…better…" Jounouchi mumbled.
"That's because you landed on me!" Honda snapped.
"Continue the duel now!"
"Yugi, do it!" Seto snapped.
"SHUT UP!" Kay yelled. "You-" Kristen, who had run over to Kay, smacked a hand over her mouth.
"Do you want to get disqualified too?!" she cried.
"Mammgth reggo mof murh!" Seto smirked.
"You might want to listen to your little friend, Kay. One wrong move and I'll be more than happy to kick you off this air craft." Kay ripped Kristen's hand from her mouth.
"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" Kristen, once again, smacked a hand over her mouth.
"Kay, shut up already!"
"Please, someone help me…" Bakura begged. "I don't feel well at all. I must lie down and get some rest. Please." Yami growled, twitching a little. He didn't know what to do. Could he risk the fate of the world for the safety of his friend?
Suddenly, the Millennium Ring glowed and he stood up. Everyone stared and gasped.
It was the evil spirit once again! Yami stepped back, his eyes widened in shock.
"What?"
"I'm back, Yugi." Bakura laughed evilly. "I'm back in control of your friend Bakura. I still need him. So if you plan on using your Egyptian God Card, Yugi, why don't you use it on me right now?" he challenged, smirking evilly. "Come on, Yugi!"
"Alright, it's time! Now, GO! OSIRIS!" he yelled, pointing dramatically at Bakura as the lightening attack built its power. "ATTACK!"
Osiris roared and unleashed its lightening. Bakura laughed evilly as the lightening attack hit him dead on. "Soon, I shall control the world's greatest power!" The millennium ring flew off of his neck.
The holograms vanished and the lightening was gone. Ryou was lying on the ground and appeared to be knocked out as his lifepoints fell to zero.
"And the winner is duelist number three: Yugi Mouto!"
"Bakura!" Yami yelled, running over to his fallen friend.
"Now, lower that arena and get them down here!" Jounouchi demanded. The stage lowered.
"Adelinda, stay here."
"Ok." Kay climbed onto the arena and ran over. She took Ryou's hand and felt his wrist.
"He still has a pulse, so at least he's alive. And he's still breathing." She looked at Yami. "But he is in desperate need of a doctor." Yami nodded.
"Yes." They helped him sit up and Ryou opened his eyes and was breathing heavily.
"Hey...so where am I?" he asked weakly.
"You're with your friends now, Bakura." Kay nodded.
"Hang in there, ok?" Kay said. "We're going to get you to a doctor ASAP."
"Alright..."
"He doesn't look very good. We really do need to get him to a doctor now!" Shizuka said.
"So why don't we get Kaiba to land this thing?" Jounouchi asked.
"Yeah!" Honda agreed. "But first, help him onto my back so we can get him to his room." They all helped get Ryou onto Honda's back.
"There you go." Honda carried Ryou away and everyone followed, except for Yami. Cat stopped and looked back.
"Yami?" He looked up at her. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Cat. I'm just thinking...if the spirit of the ring had not taken control again, I don't know what would have happened."
"Yeah, it must have been a terrible spot to be in. I can understand why it was a hard decision, but at least it turned out for the best." Yami smiled.
"Right, thank you Cat." She beamed and gave him a thumbs up.
"No problem." The puzzle glowed and Yami changed back into Yugi.
"Let's go."
"Right." They started running but Roland stopped them.
"Hold on! According to Battle City rules, as the winner of the duel, you are entitled to take the rarest card from your opponent's deck. So it's time to claim your prize, Yugi."
"No way! I think Bakura's been through enough already." He ran off with Cat. Adelinda ran after them.
"Hey, wait up!" she yelled.
Kay stood next to Bakura and checked to make sure he was alright. She made sure he was breathing ok and his pulse was not stopping. Adelinda sat next to her.
"Bakura's been through a lot," Otogi started, "he definitely needs rest, but we gotta land this blimp and get him to a hospital." Anzu nodded.
"Yeah."
"Some crazy stuff went down in that duel," Jounouchi looked away, "especially when Marik showed up. What exactly happened back there?"
"For some reason, Marik didn't want the Spirit of the Ring to lose. So when I was about to play my Egyptian God Card and win the duel, Marik used his Millennium Rod to free the real Bakura. Since he was injured, Marik knew I would forfeit the duel instead of attacking him. But the Spirit must have been afraid I would attack Bakura, because he took control again at the end."
"So, wait, do you mean to tell me the Dark Spirit of the Millennium Ring let you win?" Jounouchi asked.
"Yeah, because he depends on Bakura to survive and if I attacked Bakura with Osiris, the Spirit might have been in danger too."
"I'm confused."
"What else is new?" Kay thought.
"Even though the evil spirit was in control, you still ended up attacking Bakura."
"No. Since the evil spirit was in control of Bakura when I attacked him, the real Bakura was spared." Anzu looked at Yugi.
"This is all so confusing."
"Not really." Everyone looked at Kay. "If Yugi had attacked Ryou with Osiris, Marik pointed out that the overwhelming power may have been enough to kill him. But Ryou's still alive, which means the spirit took the full blown attack." Yugi nodded.
"Right." Anzu pursed her lips.
"The way this all sounds, it seems that Marik and the evil spirit were in this together."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure how or why. I just know we can't let Marik win this tournament, and hopefully that evil spirit won't be coming back again." Yugi sighed. "I don't know about you, but I've had enough of evil spirits and mind controlling for one day." Jounouchi stood up suddenly and everyone gasped in surprised.
"Grr, I'm sick of that Marik! Come on! Let me at him!" he yelled.
"Hey! Don't get yourself in trouble again!" Shizuka warned.
"Yeah, monkey-boy." Jounouchi glared at Kay.
"What was that? Care to repeat that?"
"Nyah!" She stuck her tongue out at him and he growled. Honda looked at them all.
"Alright, I think it's time to talk to Kaiba about getting Bakura back to the hospital as soon as possible." Kay stood up.
"I'll come too. Maybe I can help since Adelinda and I are friends with Mokuba."
"Good plan, Kay."
"Shizuka, could you stay and watch Ryou?" Jounouchi asked.
"Yeah, sure." She nodded.
Everyone stood up and started walking out of the room. Suddenly, Yugi gasped.
"Hold on guys!" he exclaimed. Everyone stopped.
"What's wrong, Yugi?" Jounouchi asked. "Everything alright?"
"It's gone..."
"What's gone?" Otogi asked.
"Bakura's millennium ring. I don't get it, guys. He had it around his neck until the end of the duel. Now it's disappeared."
"That thing seems to come and go all the time without any explanation."
"Are you sure you're not exaggerating, Honda?" Kay asked. Cat shook her head.
"No, he's dead serious."
"Wow, weird."
"Your Egyptian God Card probably blasted that thing sky-high, Yugi. Now let's get going."
"Well alright...take care of him, Shizuka." She nodded.
"I'll stay too."
"Ok, Anzu."
"See you guys."
Roland came on over the speaker. "Attention Battle City Finalists. With the completion of the opening duel, there will be a half-hour intermission. At the end of this intermission, all remaining finalists are instructed to report to the main concourse for the selection of the next Battle City Finals match-up."
"We have to help Bakura!" Yugi said.
"And land this thing. So let's find Kaiba! He must be in one of these rooms."
Mokuba noticed them. "You guys, this is a restricted area!"
"Hey, Mokuba!"
"Where is your brother?" Yugi asked.
"We need to see Kaiba right now." Mokuba blinked.
"That's his room." He pointed to a door at his left. "But you don't want to disturb him." Jounouchi growled and started banging on the door.
"OPEN THE DOOR! LET'S GO, KAIBA!" he yelled.
"Are you nuts?!" Mokuba cried, waving his arms to try and get Jounouchi to stop. "He's preparing for a duel! Stop it!"
"I'm talking to you, Kaiba! Get out here now-" The door opened and Seto glared down at a rather surprised and somewhat frightened Jounouchi coldly.
"If it isn't Jounouchi. You're lucky to even be in my tournament, and yet you insist on making a nuisance of yourself over and over again."
"Grr…THAT DID IT!" Honda stepped in front of Jounouchi before he could do something stupid. Or, rather, stupider.
"Hey, this is no time to pick a fight, so just calm down, man."
"Honda is right, monkey-boy."
"WHO YOU CALLING MONKEY-BOY, KAY?!" Jounouchi yelled. She pointed at him.
"You," she stated simply. Jounouchi's eyes twitched.
"GRR!"
"Kaiba, you've got to help us!" Yugi said.
"Now what?" he asked, annoyed.
"Bakura's hurt! We have to land now! He needs to see a doctor right away, Kaiba."
"You're asking me to do the impossible." Seto sat in a chair. They were in his room at this point. "We can't make unscheduled stop."
"Don't you understand? Bakura needs help!" Honda nodded.
"He's been unconscious since losing his duel." Jounouchi glared.
"And if he gets any worse than he is right now, you'll be responsible!"
"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Kay stepped forward.
"Kaiba, please!" He looked at her and she looked at him seriously. "This is important! I know you don't care much, but Bakura's life is on the line. We're desperate and Bakura needs help."
"How can you say no?" Honda asked.
"Kay is right!" Otogi said.
"He shouldn't have left the hospital in the first place. This is Bakura's own fault."
"Kaiba! Please!" He turned his attention back to her. "Someone's life is more important than a game!" She looked up. "What if it were someone else? What if it was Mokuba instead of Bakura who was hurt? Would you refuse to land and get him help too?" she asked. He did not show how those words affected him. She had struck his only soft spot.
"Listen to her, Kaiba."
"Yeah, she makes a good point."
"What's wrong with you?" Jounouchi snapped..
"Stupid girl..." he thought.
"I've had enough of this attitude, Kaiba. Find a way to land this blimp, pronto, or get ready to say hi to the business end of my fist!"
"I told you, we're not landing, Jounouchi." He stood up.
"Then let's dance!" Seto turned and walked away from him. "Hey! Come back!"
"Relax, Jounouchi!" Yugi said, holding him back.
"What gives?" Honda asked. Kay watched him. Seto pushed a button on a device on the wall.
"Send a medical team to Bakura's room."
"Good call, Seto!" Everyone looked at Mokuba. "Kaiba Corp's on-board medical staff has better training than the doctors at most hospitals do. Bakura's in good hands here." Kay's face immediately broke into a grin and she put a hand to her heart, sighing in relief.
"That's a relief." Adelinda nodded.
"Yeah!" She turned to Seto and bowed. "Thank you, Kaiba-sama."
"Hmph." He shrugged.
They exited the room.
'I hope Mokuba's right about the doctors on board." Cat nodded.
"Say, Kay, how did you manage to stay so calm?" she asked. "I expected you to be screaming and yelling at Kaiba." Kay laughed.
"Yes, well, that wasn't really working, and when my yelling and threats don't work, I switch to plan B. Controlling my temper and asking nicely while still hitting a soft spot."
"Smart."
"Yeah." She grinned. "Well, we should get ready for the next duel of the finals."
MAN! I'm sorry about how long it is. I combined two chapters again. I considered removing all actual duels from Battle City out of the fic, but I decided against it. Hope you liked the updated chappie.