MMMG: Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter!
Seto: The 23 reviews you got for the last chapter, raising the total to 519 for the story, wouldn't be why your so happy, now would it?
MMMG: Spoil sport. But yes. And this chapter is dedicated to my 500th reviewer, bookgirl111.
Joey: This chapter is based off of Yugioh! manga chapters 54-56 (part), and Season 0 Ep. 26.
Mokuba: MMMG does not own Yugioh, and probably never will. Enjoy the chapter!
UgunsGreka Fans: Ryou agrees that he'll need asprin, and is looking into different meathods of exorsism. But he hopes to keep Bakura.
dragonwolf416: Yes, Yugi will find out about the two different spirits in the Millennium Ring.
littlerostte: She will, just during duelist kindgom.
EgyptsBlackRose: Yes, once Yami defeats Akefia during this game, he'll be gone until the end of Duelist Kingdom.
bookgirl111: Don't blame me for that line! That's what the manga and the Season 0 episode said. -pouts-
Killer-Fangirl: Is updating in less than a week to long for you? Yes, Bakura will have his own character in Monster World with Ryou.
PokerPair: Yep. Akefia's the bad guy.
Equality4Puppies: Oh, LOL! You got me laughing at that image of Akefia!
Aqua girl 007: That was long. I'm going to be honest, most of it went over my head the first time I read it, (lack of sleep due to work). Glad you liked Yugi revealing Yami to Ryou, and Akefia is basiclly Yami Bakura in the anime. Sorry about the lack of character thoughts, but that chapter was long enough as it is. Thanks for the examples, and the whole 'blah, blah, blah', is how I write what the character are thinking in the anime and manga. Sorry if it bugs you, but that's just how I write characters not talking. And I do plan on mentioning Amane more, probably after monster world.
horrorstar100: Yes, Ryou and Bakura will join the game. Next chapter.
Animesaki: Yeah, you're the only one who got the 'Little Merman' referance. Or the only one who mentioned it. Yes, Bakura did have to deal with his psycho brother for 5,000 years, and he does somewhat remember Ryou. Just not their relationship.
SangoMarie: Glad your liking this. You've made me hungry for popcorn.
Kitkat304: Glad your liking it. And yes, the race and class lists came from the manga, but I made up the details for the class list.
s2Teennovelist: Wow, glad your liking this. Last chapter of How did it come to this? explains that Bakura and Akefia's mom was a woman from Kul Elna who had an affair with a nobleman who took one of the twins to raise. But good idea. Yami told Akefia, when he was handing out character sheets, that we wasn't going to play, 'in case his parents called him to come home'. Sucker fell for it.
Wordsorcereress: Glad you like the game, and no, they can't leave Tea behind. No matter how much I want to. Like your ideas, and I'm going to use 'they all fell asleep and had a weird dream' excuse. Hope this update cheered you up again.
Leviathan of the Sea: Thanks for pointing those out, I'll try to correct them as soon as possible.
BlizzardBlessed: Here's the next chapter, and stop freaking out if you don't review. As much as I love seeing you, if life gets in the way, I understand why you can't make it to the computer to review.
Chapter 25: Fight! Fight! Fight!
Akefia growled in anger as he watched Tristan sever Zorc's left hand from his arm. How could he have forgotten about Yami? The guy had been sitting there the whole time.
"Hey Yami!" Joey called up. "Our lives are in your hands, so you've got to defeat Zorc!"
"I will." Yami promised. -Don't worry Yugi. I'm going to get you back.-
-I know.- Yugi let the confidence he felt in his lover roll down the link.
-I'm proud of you Yugi.- Yami smiled. -You're willing to put your own life on the line to fight with your friends. Such strong courage is what brought us together in the first place.-
-Yeah.- Yugi smiled back.
Akefia pulled through his host's memories. Wait a minute. Yami was a spirit who resided in a Millennium Item like him, except he resided in the Millennium Puzzle. Yami had been expecting something like this to happen. He knew it would.
'I must save my friends.' Yami thought to himself. 'The only way to do that, is to defeat Zorc. Then everyone's souls will be freed.'
"Let's continue the game." Yami said, tired of the silence.
"Fine." Akefia nodded once. "Now you control the dice for the adventuring team. But if the players' life points hit 0, your friends' souls and bodies will die!"
Yami played a quick recap in his head. So far, everyone has lost no life points, so they had all that they had started with. Joey had 25 LP, Tristan had 23 LP, Yugi had 22, Tomoya had 22, and Tea had 18.
"I can't die looking like this!" Joey yelped.
"But you look so much better in that outfit that you normally do." Tristan teased.
"Not helping guys." Tomoya groaned.
"Can we all please just believe in Yami?" Yugi asked. "He needs all the help he can get."
"Yugi's right." Tea nodded. "He can do this."
'The decisions and outcome of this game will be decided by the dice.' Yami thought to himself, dimly recalling a shadow game he'd had with that sicko director months ago. 'I need to put an end to 'Ryou' making anymore super critical hits. But I can use that technique myself.'
"The battle continues." Akefia began narrating again. "Although Zorc lost his hand when his guard was down, he looks almost uninjured. You could even say things have gotten worse for this little gang of adventurers."
"EW!" Tomoya pointed to Zorc's hand. "It's mutating!"
"It's turned into monsters!" Joey yelled as it split into two beings, a creepy eyeball and an evil looking dragon.
"Any flesh that is cut from my body turns into two or more monsters under my command!" Zorc proclaimed.
"Oh no." Yugi moaned.
"Pokii! Zorc himself is the source of darkness in this world!" Pokii exclaimed. "He will continue to create monsters until he is destroyed! Pokii!"
"Leave them to us, Master Zorc." the creepy eye pleaded to its master.
"Very well." Zorc replied as he turned away. "Kill them!"
"Are you running away Zorc?" Yugi demanded, making the demon halt. "Fight us here!"
"I'm going to prepare a special stage for our fight." Zorc replied. "Make your way to my castle where I can finish you off with my flames. If you still can, that is."
"Zorc takes flight and disappears towards the castle." Akefia narrated.
"Jerk!" Joey yelled after Zorc's retreating form. "We'll get to your castle, no matter what! And there, we're going to defeat you!"
-We're acting according to 'Ryou's' script.- Yugi groaned. -We're completely trapped in this game world.-
-You're right.- Yami agreed. -'Ryou' had Zorc appear when the adventurers' guard was down. He was then able to seal your souls into your figures, just as he planned. He's a tough game master to watch out for.-
-But 'Ryou' also has been getting criticals when he rolls the dice.- Yugi pointed out. -Is there any way we can win?-
-There is.- Yami replied. -I know just what to do. Thanks to your knowledge of games and you're sub-conscious remembering things you may not recall normally.-
"Alright Joey, it's your turn to kick off this battle!" Yami said aloud as he picked up the dice and tossed them up and down in his hand.
"Let me at 'em!" Joey exclaimed.
"Roll the dice Yami." Akefia snickered. "But don't forget, if you roll a 99, a fumble, it means death for that character."
"Now he mentions it." Tomoya grumbled.
Yami didn't reply, but held one die between his index and middle finger, and the other between this middle and ring finger. Akefia narrowed his eyes. Did this guy know something?
"Go!" Yami threw the dice down, both of them spinning like tops. "00! Super critical! Energetic Slash!"
"The warrior cuts his opponent in half!" Joey cheered as he did just that to the creepy eye ball monster.
"He got another critical!" Tomoya cheered.
"What else did you expect from Yami?" Tea asked.
Yami chuckled at the look on Akefia's face, making him growl in anger. And then he gasped. Could it be that Yami…?
"Get the lead out up there!" Joey snapped up to Akefia. "I killed the monster, so now what happens?"
"Seeing his companion slain by the warrior has done mental damage to the other monster, thus he loses his attack chance." Akefia read from the laptop. "Beast Tamer, it's your turn!"
I have to make as many allies as possible before we enter Zorc's castle.- Yugi frowned. -I probably won't have a chance once we get there.-
-That dragon in front of you is a strong one Yugi.- Yami commented. -He would be a very powerful ally.-
"I'm capturing you!" Yugi shouted as he pointed to the evil dragon that was advancing on him. "Beast Tamer Power Hand!"
"Pokii! I'll hold him down for you!" Pokii exclaimed as he darted forward and pinned the dragon's wings together. "Go Master!"
"Until a few minutes ago, Zorc's Arm Dragon was a part of Zorc." Akefia read from the screen. "Chances of changing him are a very low 10%."
-10%!?- Yugi gasped but quickly recovered. -I believe in you Yami. You can get a role less than 10! I know it!-
"Here it goes." Yami tossed the dice down the same way he had for Joey.
Everyone watched them spin until the red one stop on the… 8. The red dice, the tens column, made it so whatever was rolled would be in the 80s.
"You've already failed." Akefia laughed. "There's no way-"
Akefia stopped with a gasp. The white dice had spun over to where the red dice was and had clacked it into spinning again.
"The spinning dice hit the stopped one to change the roll!" Akefia gasped.
"This technique is one of the many ways of cheating with dice, and is called the Double Hit." Yami explained to those who didn't know. "This is also the same way you got your run of criticals earlier."
The dice stopped moving and stilled on 02.
"Another critical!" Akefia growled.
"That means I change him!" Yugi cheered. "Training Hands, appear!"
Two large white gloves, the same that had changed Pokii, appeared either side of the dragon. The dragon blinked in confusion and Pokii quickly leapt out of the way as the gloved hands began rubbing the dragon like they had him earlier in the game. When the gloves pulled away, the purple black dragon had changed into a cute red-orange one.
"Alright!" Yugi cheered. "I've got a new companion!"
"Pokii! Today is a fresh start for you!" Pokii grinned at his new friend. "Your heart is different, so do your best."
"Pau! I know!" Pau, the new dragon friend nodded. "I'll fight for my new master!"
'I can't believe that Yami knows the 'Double Hit' dice trick.' Akefia growled as he glared at the 02 dice on the field, mocking him.
"So that jerk was cheating?" Joey asked angrily. "Yami, is it true you can control the roll of the dice by the technique you use?"
"Yes." Yami nodded. "These 10 sided dice are shaped like five-petaled flowers on the top and the bottom. They're split into even and odd numbers. For the double hit technique, the really important part is to spin the dice like a top with the even side facing up."
"I get it." Yugi perked up. "That way it can't land on an odd number and your chances of getting a 0 are 1 in 5."
"That's right." Yami nodded. "When the dice are thrown, the dice that represents the ones column gets a really strong spin. That way, if the tens column dice lands on a less favorable number, the faster spinning dice can change it."
"But what's the chance of those dice hitting like that?" Tea asked. "Can you make them hit each other?"
"You can control the path of the spinning dice with a bump to the field." Yami explained and demonstrated. "Like shaking the table with your knee or bumping the edge with your elbow. That way, you can chance the number you roll as many times as you like. Too bad, 'Ryou'. But your cheating won't work on me."
"Okay then, from now on we'll roll the dice by letting them drop from our hand." Akefia said. "Spinning is prohibited."
"I can agree to that." Yami nodded.
"The next time that you cheat, you should be turned into a miniature to!" Tristan yelled up at Akefia.
"On with the game." Akefia began narrating again. "With Zorc's servants taken care of, the adventurers continue out of the forest and to the gates of Zorc's castle."
"Everyone ready?" Joey asked, receiving nods from everyone. "Then we're going in."
"Pokii! Be careful!" Pokii exclaimed. "Zorc probably has traps waiting!"
"Okay Pokii, we'll be careful." Yugi nodded.
"No matter what traps we face, we have Yami on our side." Tomoya added. "He's a friend we can trust. No matter what."
'It's easy to say you can avoid the traps, but can you really do it?' Akefia snickered. 'This is where Yami's gaming skills will be put to the test… and will fail you.'
"The gate is opening and the drawbridge in lowering!" Tristan pointed as a brown gate set itself down in front of them.
"Now the adventurers' goal lies before them." Akefia narrated. "The path into the castle lies open."
"Let's go!" Tristan encouraged as they marched up the gate.
"The adventurers enter Zorc's Castle area." Akefia narrated as he clicked on the laptop. "The Castle Field opens!"
The castle on the field opened itself down the middle, revealing the inside of a castle building, much like what had happened when they had entered the town.
"You've come to the last stage of your quest." Akefia smirked down on the field and the adventurers. "Somewhere in the castle lurks Zorc. Can this group of heroes find this demon and slay him… or will they be killed by him?"
"Hey Zorc, where are you hiding?" Tristan yelled into the empty courtyard. "Come out here and fight, you spineless monster!"
"That tower seems suspicious." Tea noted as she pointed to a tower that had a stone pedestal inside by nothing else.
"Let's try going in." Joey said as they walked up the stairs to the entrance.
"Wait a moment!" Yugi stopped everyone. "What's with the pedestal with the strange marks on it?"
"It's just some dumb carving." Tea dismissed. "Let's look around inside."
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Tomoya groaned as he and Yugi stayed outside of the tower while the rest went in.
-That mark worries me, it must have some meaning.- Yugi confided to Yami.
-It looks like the upper part of the pedestal is missing.- Yami noted, and everything clicked. "It's a trap! Don't go in there!"
"Say what?" Joey turned.
"You fell for it." Akefia cackled as the ceiling, that was cover in spikes, fell on top of Joey, Tea, and Tristan.
"No!" Yugi screamed from where he and Tomoya were safely outside of the tower.
"Don't worry, only amateurs use the instant death technique in RPGs." Akefia chuckled. "A good game master prolongs the torture. I'll give you a fair chance to save them."
"We're going to be smashed!" Tea wailed as she, Joey, and Tristan held up the ceiling while some of the spikes gently poked their heads.
"Are you okay?" Tomoya asked.
"No!" Joey snapped back. "This ceiling is heavy and it has spikes in it!"
"We can't move!" Tristan groaned.
"You bastard!" Yami growled at Akefia.
"Every passing turn, that ceiling will gain weight and will eventually crush them." Akefia cackled. "You have three turns, or three roles of the dice Yami. If you fail, your friends die. To save them, make the pillar that will support the ceiling appear. But to do that, you must roll a certain number on the dice."
'A certain number will make the pillar appear, but which one is it?' Yami wondered.
"It's the Fairy-Pixie Bard's turn." Akefia continued. "Get going."
"Roll at critical Yami!" Joey yelled.
"I don't have time to think this through." Yami growled as he let the dice slid from his hand. "Dice Roll!"
The dice clatter on the table and rested on 04.
"Critical!" Tomoya cheered.
"Too bad." Akefia scolded. "While that number lets the bard sing to strengthen his team, it doesn't save your friends. I said you have to roll a certain number. Here's your hint. You have to role doubles."
-Getting a critical isn't enough?- Yami groaned. -I have to get doubles.-
-I'll bet the carving on that pillar is a clue.- Yugi replied as he looked at the two 'u' symbols on the bottom of the pillar and the two 'n' symbols on the top.
"This thing is getting heavier!" Tea wailed as the ceiling pressed down more. "Can't you do something Tomoya?"
"I'm a Bard, not a magician!" Tomoya snapped as he began tapping his drum. "I can only sing to heal and strengthen you guys, maybe get Yami another turn to roll the dice."
"Why did you pick that profession?" Tristan asked.
"Because someone has to has some knowledge of healing in this group." Tomoya replied as he started to sing.
"One other thing, it's time to determine if Zorc will appear." Akefia smirked as he inputted the info in the laptop. "There is a 30% chance he'll turn up."
"Zorc showing up now would be a disaster." Yami hissed.
"Judgment Roll!" Akefia let the dice fall from his hand, and they landed on 28. "The worst possible number for the adventurers. Zorc appears from the castle!"
Pokii and Pau shrieked in fear as Zorc appeared directly behind them, and bolted over to Yugi. Yugi and Tomoya held each other, knowing the only weapons they had were their daggers, along with the attacks Pokii and Pau had.
"You foolish whelps fell right into my trap!" Zorc roared in laughter. "Prepare yourselves! I'm going to tease you while the trap holds your corpses in place!"
"Damn it!" Joey shrieked. "That's low!"
"Fight fair!" Tristan added. "Are you listening?"
'This is bad.' Yami growled. 'Not only are Joey, Tristan, and Tea about to be crushed, they're going to be defenseless against Zorc's attack! I have to save them, fast!'
"This turn counts as the magicians." Akefia nodded his head, his eyes on the dice in Yami's right hand.
Yami let the dice drop from his hand. They clattered briefly before settling on 13.
"No good." Yami groaned. "I have to roll doubles and Tea is trapped. She can't attack this turn."
"Zorc attacks." Akefia let his dice slid from his hand. "Since three of the adventurers are trapped, his success rate is 95%."
The dice bounced a couple of times before ending on 41.
"41 isn't the best number, but it's a good start for a slow and painful death." Akefia chuckled evilly.
"What about us?" Yugi squawked as he glanced at Tomoya. "We're not trapped!"
"One moment." Akefia clicked the keyboard. "Since the Bard and Beast Tamer are not trapped and Zorc rolled above 40, they dodged this attack."
Yugi and Tomoya leapt out of the way as Zorc attacked with a fire stream. Joey and Tristan yelled in pain as Zorc's attack hit them. Tea was behind them, so the attack didn't reach her. Joey's HP fell to 15 while Tristan's fell to 14.
"Come on Yami, roll the dice!" Joey panted. "We believe in you! Even with spikes in our heads that could kill us!"
Yami felt touched by the words, not noticing the Millennium Puzzle flash briefly. But in that instant, both Yami and Yugi knew what the carving on the stone pedestal meant.
-The doubles that need to be rolled are what's carved on the pedestal, only the middle part is missing!- Yami gasped.
-That means the numbers that can match the carving are 0, 3, 6, 8, and 9.- Yugi continued. -Numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 won't work.-
'Dice, don't make our faith be for nothing.' Yami thought as he let the dice drop from his hand and watched them clatter. 'This is the last chance! Please, let it be the right number!'
The dice settled on the number 66.
"Please let that be the correct number." Yami breathed out.
"Sorry Yami." Akefia chuckled. "That's the wrong double. The correct answer is 33."
"No." Yami groaned as he watched the spiked ceiling push down on Joey, Tea, and Tristan even more.
"Can't hold on." Joey groaned.
Tomoya whimpered as he shut his eyes, not being able bear to watch his friends get crushed. With his eyes shut, he failed to notice the teal glow come from his entire body.
"Tomoya, open your eyes!" Yugi gasped, pointing to the pillar.
The pillar had been completed. The number 33 made the stone pillar and had lifted the ceiling off of Joey, Tea, and Tristan.
"I see." Akefia read from the laptop screen. "The Fairy-Pixie Bard can freely manipulate the numbers on the dice. But it can only happen twice in the entire game."
"Phew!" Joey exclaimed in relief.
"We're saved." Tea sighed.
"Nice going Tomoya!" Tristan cheered.
"Now to determine Zorc's next attack." Akefia let the dice drop again. "12. Zorc attacks the adventurers."
"I'll slice threw everything at once!" Zorc roared. "Demon Hand Blade! It's over!"
Zorc's hand split the tower in half, crumbling it, leaving it as nothing but a pile of rubble.
"You're forgetting one thing." Yami smirked as he pointed to the field. "The adventurers have a much higher speed than Zorc. Once the puzzle was solved, the three trapped succeeded in escaping and joined Yugi and Tomoya behind Zorc."
"And by being back here, we get a surprise attack!" Joey grinned as he stepped forward for his turn. "So get ready for 5 attacks in a row!"
"Dice roll!" Yami dropped the dice for Joey's attack. "15! Time for you to see our united power! Go Joey!"
Joey charged forward and slashed Zorc right in the stomach. Zorc roared in pain and anger. The spot he had been hit in didn't cause him to lose any flesh he could use to make more monsters with.
"And there's more where that came from!" Joey called as he stepped back. "Go Tristan!"
"Right!" Tristan stepped forward with his magic gun drawn. "We agreed to play this game because we thought you were our friend! But you betrayed us and turned us into these! And that is completely unforgiveable. I'm going to put a hole in Zorc's brain as my way of saying 'Thank you'!"
"My hands are channeling the anger everyone feels." Yami growled as he clenched his fists around the dice and dropped them again. "09!"
"Another critical!" Akefia yelled. "That's impossible!"
"Thunder Grenade!" Tristan yelled as his gun fired a powerful stream.
"Yugi's turn." Yami let the dice fall. "08!"
"Beast Attack!" Yugi yelled, letting Pokii and Pau attacked Zorc.
"Tomoya!" Yami called forward and he let the dice go again. "10!"
"Crippling Song!" Tomoya shouted as his hands played a rapid pace on his drum and sang a tune that made Zorc cringe and screech in agony.
"And Tea's final follow-up attack!" Yami let the dice slip off his hand. "13!"
"Apprentice Death Blaze!" Tea called as she let her magic attack hit Zorc, hurting the Dark Lord more due to Tomoya's song.
'How does he keep getting criticals?' Akefia wondered, some fear showing in his eyes. 'It's obvious he's not cheating.'
"Scared Ryou?" Joey taunted. "It's not that hard. Yami's already told you the answer."
"Our hearts and souls are channeled into Yami's dice." Yugi explained. "The dice are responding to our anger."
Akefia growled, and then began to laugh. The smoke that had appeared from all the attacks cleared, showing Zorc still standing and ready to fight.
"It can't be!" Tea gasped in fear.
"Despite all of those attacks, he's mostly undamaged?" Tristan questioned.
"How is that possible?" Tomoya asked.
"It's too bad, really." Akefia gave a bone chilling laugh. "But you fools are still merely apprentices, Level 1 beginners. You don't have enough experience to defeat Zorc."
"Then there really isn't any way for us to win." Yugi realized.
Everyone glanced at each other as Zorc walked closer. How in Ra's name were they going to survive a game that had been rigged for them to lose?
MMMG: End of chapter.
Atemu: You're ending it there?!
MMMG: I'm following the season 0 episode length. That's the reason the last chapter was so long, and this one is shorter.
Yugi: Please review! Let us know which part you liked, disliked, and if there are any spelling/grammer mistakes we made.