Milkshake
"How are we going to do this?" wailed Yuki. "The duel's tomorrow!"
"We're going to give our best, duh!" said Jono.
"Easier said than done," said Bakura, always the pessimist.
"We need to discuss battle strategies," said Atemu.
"What kind of idiot would only think about it now," said Seto bitingly.
This left Atemu spluttering.
"I will go first," said Jou. "I don't care what any of you say. I can handle myself. I even proved it!"
Nobody answered. Everybody knew the consequences. Earth would be swallowed by darkness if the Lord of Chaos won. The eight of them had to duel anyway. They were strongest of those who knew the situation. Order didn't really matter.
"Fine I will go after," said Seto. "Don't make me save you, pup."
"I won't," said Jono. "I'll make you proud to have me."
"You already have," he replied. "I just don't want to lose you...again."
"Baka," said Jono. "I'll always be here. You can't get rid of me!"
…
It was time. They were at the Battle City arena. It looked as it had always been. There was no trace of shadow magic. That meant that there was little chance that the Lord of Chaos had actually cheated by cursing the equipment.
"Where is he?" asked Yuki fear evident in her voice.
"I don't know," said the Pharaoh. "But you will be safe, as long as I am here. I promise."
"Promises can be broken," said a cold harsh voice. The sound of pained screams and lamenting sobs could be heard.
Standing at the opposing end of the arena was The Lord of Chaos himself.
Instinctively, Ryou recoiled. He hit the body of his boyfriend, causing them to tumble over.
The Lord of Chaos just raised an eyebrow. This was interesting. He could cheat by taking the Hikari from their Yami. But he won't today, when they had won the last time with sheer courage and persistence.
"Very well," said the Lord. "I shall start by stating the rules. You will each have one chance to go against me. You win; you will not be bothered by me. You lose, you will serve me. Once you have won, you may fight for the soul of one other person only. Then if you win, I will return that person's soul, if not I will allow you to keep your soul. The one person you would only want to save is your beloved. If you lose you will suffer with out your beloved for a life time, until you die. We will start with 1000 life points each. There can be direct hits to a person, even to me."
"You sure you can handle us all in succession?" asked Bakura.
"Of course," said the Lord. "Prepare to suffer, Touzouku Ou (thief king)."