Disclaimer: Still not owning a thing. Must we do this every time? *goes back to kicking Yami Marik on her DS* DIE YOU PORCUPINE HEADED FREAK!
A/N: RIGHT! The duel has been put up! (falls into an ungraceful heap).
This duel was written entirely by DuelistBlake1852. All credit goes to him.
For those of you who read the original drafts – I shifted more scenes into chapter 29, because this chapter was too long (this would break my Longest-Chapter-Ever-Written record, only most of it isn't my work, so I don't feel that it really counts for my personal record).
For now, enjoy and please don't come hunt me down for being so confusing.
Chapter 28: Red Eye, Blue Eye
Alastor Moody twitched as one of the young aurors carrying one end of the box, slipped on the pathway and dropped it. The auror on the other end staggered to a halt.
"Come on, keep moving!" Moody growled, and the auror who had stumbled immediately leaped back into place and picked up the other end. Moody's eyes, both normal and magical, swept over the six aurors accompanying him. Two carried the box, and four circled them, keeping an eye out for any suspicious individuals.
Moody then eyed the container. He did not like the contents within. He knew what those stones were, and what they were capable of unleashing. He was angry at the Ministry for demanding that Dumbledore hand them over for testing. The Department of Mysteries were crazy. Those things were unnatural, and not meant to be near human hands. The fact that the stones came with instructions not to touch them with bare flesh unless necessary should have proved that fact alone.
The auror growled. He was getting too old for this. He was retired for Merlin's sake! It was only the fact that the Dark Lord was back that had pushed him into the line of duty once more, right when the enemy had found a new toy to play with…
He shook his head. His thoughts were uncharacteristically bitter, and he guessed this was what Dumbledore had meant when he had said that the stones had a tendency to bring out people's darker emotions. He pitied all those poor kids in the school who had spent the last few weeks under their influence. They must have been ripping each others throats out.
An owl screeched from the darkness of the Forbidden Forest, and Moody spared it a glare. He would be glad when they were beyond the castle boundaries and back in Hogsmeade. There they would meet the other three members of their team, who had stayed behind to keep the way back clear.
"Almost there," he called over his shoulder, his magical eye spinning around to check his team. The four circling aurors had their heads down, focusing on their footsteps, making sure that they weren't the next ones to take an undignified tumble onto their ass. The two carrying the box looked pale and strained. Moody was concerned. Though the stones weren't heavy, they had resisted all attempts to be shrunk or charmed to be feather light. Moody wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous about apperating with those things. Sure the Death Eaters could apparently do it when they were wearing their stones, but who knew how so many of them would react to their magic?
All six of his companions stopped to a dead halt, and all drew their wands, pointing them ahead. Under any other circumstances, Moody might have admired their speed, but he had turned to see what they were pointing their wands at.
It was a person – a very small person, dressed in black robes, long blonde hair swaying slightly in the wind, catching the moonlight sharply. They stood in the middle of the pathway before them, blocking their way forward. Moody drew his own wand, his eyes narrowed. He didn't like this at all.
"Identify yourself!"
"Put the stones down."
The voice was female, but it was as though a darker tone had been spoken at the same time, over the top. Moody wasn't stupid. He knew whoever this person was, they were being controlled by some outside force.
"Stupefy!"
His stunning spell was broken a foot away from the figure by a green barrier. Moody saw a glow around her neck and he knew this person had a fragment of Orichalcos stone around her neck.
"They are here!"
The aurors whirled, only to find that they were surrounded by Death Eaters. The box of stones that had been abandoned on the ground pulsed with light. The figure on the pathway smiled, though no one could see it.
"Your souls belong to the Dark Lord."
A bubble of green light, exploded just inside the boundary of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As one body in particular hit the ground, the magical eye within dimmed slowly until it was a single white orb, resting still in the socket.
"Give the stones to me," the blonde figure demanded, their double toned voice sending shivers down all the Death Eater's spines. "I shall take them back to the castle. I shall shroud the students in darkness once more."
OOO
The last three weeks had been nothing short of hell.
There had been no reasoning with Harry, Ron or Hermione after that night, so Yugi had attempted to corner the boys the next morning before they went to breakfast. Harry and Ron had taken pains to avoid this however, and had adopted the same tactic that Ryou had been using all those months ago after they had read his letters – avoidance.
As speaking to them about the issue in the Great Hall was ill advised given the nature of the problem, Yugi, Ryou and Malik had had to endure the rest of the day being blatantly ignored. Every attempt they had made to talk to Harry, Ron and Hermione was ignored or walked away from. It drove all of them to despair. It seemed as though they had truly lost their friends.
And then the stones had returned.
True to their word, the stones had been handed over to Dumbledore that very evening, where the headmaster had informed them that the Department of Mysteries wanted the stones for testing. Yugi and Yami had both been unhappy about this – the stones were volatile and dangerous to any human being. But Dumbledore it seemed had no power to stop the Ministry, and any attempt to do so would be seen as him attempting to prevent research which could be used to stop the Orichalcos. Indeed, this was also the easiest way to get the stones out of the castle.
Eventually, knowing that the headmaster was unable to do anything to stop the stones from being taken away, Yugi and Yami had made Dumbledore promise to stress all the dangers to the aurors before he released the stones into their care. This the headmaster had promised to do, though it was clear from the look on Bakura's face as he had sworn this, that the thief did not believe him in the slightest.
And as it turned out, Bakura was right to be sceptical. The very morning after the stones had left, the castle was full of them again. The Ministry was keeping it quiet, but Dumbledore had explained (after the bearers had pushed into his office and demanded some answers) that the aurors had been attacked on their way to the Ministry, and the stones stolen. The supply was back in the castle, and all seven of the aurors were soulless in St Mungo's Hospital. Not wanting to risk losing anymore of their staff, the Ministry were leaving the stones where they were.
"I told you!" Bakura had ranted later that evening. "I told you Dumbledore and the Ministry were useless!"
No one had had the willpower to argue with him – not even Yami. And that night, the nightmares had begun again.
But the stones had another effect on behaviour too. Now Yugi, Ryou and Malik suddenly found themselves angry. What right did Harry, Ron and Hermione have to judge them? If they couldn't accept the good and bad about their past, then that was their loss. They knew their anger was probably being influenced by the stones, but it didn't make it any less strong. This thinking distressed Yugi and Ryou especially, who were unused to having so many negative thoughts. They often regretted them as soon as they thought them. But it didn't stop their anger growing, nor did it stop them from giving Harry, Ron and Hermione a cold shoulder.
But this new side to the avoidance strategy worked well for Harry and his friends, as none of them were in a hurry to talk to Yami and Bakura yet either. And since avoiding the spirits meant avoiding their hosts, they were avoiding Yugi and Ryou too, and Malik by default, as it was pretty clear whom his loyalty belonged too. The situation probably would not have lasted as long under normal circumstances, but the dark magic of the Orichalcos was sending everyone in the castle into a state of extreme depression, and none of them were in particularly forgiving moods.
Had they been in their right minds, Yami and Bakura might have encouraged their hikari's to at least try talking to Harry, Ron and Hermione again. But the truth was, neither one was in their right mind at the moment. Yami was still depressed at having his past experiences with the Orichalcos flung back into his face, and more specifically that of his friends. It was the worst thing he had ever done in his life, and he had just wanted it to remain over and done with. But now his secret was out, and it was causing even more problems, for everyone.
But while Yami was too depressed to care about the situation with Harry, Ron and Hermione, Bakura on the other hand could not have given a damn whether Harry and his friends ever decided to speak to them again. He had more important issues on his mind. He, like the others had spent the first week in a depressed state after reliving such horrible memories. His mother and sisters wove in and out of his dreams so much that he was sure he could see them in his waking hours too. This depression had turned to anger eventually, and a desire to make Harry, Ron and Hermione suffer for upsetting them all this way. But that had not lasted long either, as two weeks after the fallout, something happened to drive the fight out of the Item bearers minds.
Over the last few days Bakura had noticed a change in Ryou's behaviour. His hikari was spacing out far more than normal. It had got to the stage where Professor McGonagall had stood next to him and repeated his name three times before he had realised she was standing there, and that was only because Malik had poked him in the side. The class had found this hilarious and Ryou had not stopped blushing all lesson. But Bakura knew his hikari was not just spacing out. He was sensing something very big approaching.
The next Divination lesson, Ryou had been reading his cards as he normally did, trying not to doze off in the smog of perfume. Bakura had been observing the other students, and rolling his eyes at the uselessness of their skills, when he had felt a dark sense of unease, and saw that Ryou was spacing out again in front of a tarot spread. The hikari's face was drained of colour and his hands trembled as he examined the cards before him. Bakura had taken one look at the spread, and his hikari's jumbled thoughts and begun cursing. Ryou had swept the cards into his bag and raced from the room, much to Professor Trelawny's shock and outrage.
The three transfers had been going around the school as normal as they could, but everyone knew they had had some kind of falling out with Harry, Ron and Hermione, though no one knew exactly what they had fallen out over. So to avoid them at free times, Yugi, Ryou and Malik had been taking shelter in the library, and it was in here that Ryou had stumbled to meet Yugi and Malik, looking as though he had just fought off a gang of dementors.
"Who died?" Malik had asked in a bitter voice. Yugi had gasped at him.
"Don't say that Malik!" he shuddered. He was not taking any sentence said lightly anymore, and he did not want to tempt fate. "What is it Ryou?"
"He saw something," Bakura said cryptically, appearing in spirit form beside a pile of books.
"What, in the cards?" Malik asked.
"Yes in the cards, where else?" the thief had snapped. Ryou, rather than turning back to his normal colour, seemed to be getting paler.
"Would you like some firewhisky Ryou?" Malik had asked, thinking he was being helpful.
"Do you want me to slap you Ishtar?" Bakura had retorted.
"Stop it," Ryou had said, trying to get his breathing under control. "I'm okay…I just saw something…"
"What did you see?" Yugi had said gently. "Tell us Ryou."
Ryou had swallowed thickly before reciting his conclusion.
"A family shall be torn apart, and darkness shall fall to the earth once more…"
Yugi and Yami had exchanged fearful looks. They had lost their friends in the school…and now Ryou had seen a family being destroyed…who was going to suffer next? There wasn't much more they could take before it all became too much.
OOO
Yawning widely, Joey tried in vain to focus on the text in the book in front of him. It was futile. He hadn't been sleeping well over the past few weeks. Originally he had put it down to sleepless nights thanks to his father's loud returns from the bar. But slowly a feeling of dread had crept into his stomach, refusing to shift. It almost felt like a sickness that was about to reach its peak, but kept dying down before it could completely corrupt his body. One thing was for sure, something horrible was coming.
The latest letter from Yugi, had done little to ease Joey's nerves. The message had arrived a few days ago via Taiyo, explaining that Yugi, Ryou and Malik had had a fight with their British friends. It sent an angered look across Joey's face when he thought of a bunch of people being unkind and unforgiving to his friends, especially when the events that had caused this were well in the past. Everyone had secrets, and they had a right to keep them…
"Mr Wheeler," the teacher's voice cut through Joey's musings, and he jumped, realising he had been giving the sentence on the whiteboard a particularly vicious glare. "Any reason you were looking to burn holes in the whiteboard?"
"Sorry Sensei," Joey said in a demure voice, and turned his attention back to his notes. Around him, his classmates giggled before the teacher brought their attention back to the days lecture. Joey registered vaguely that he was supposed to be taking notes on English business protocol, but his mind was elsewhere. This lesson was a snooze usually, but every time the teacher mentioned the word 'English' his thoughts turned to his friends currently stuck in that country.
A few rows down, Tristan, turned his head slightly and threw Joey a wink before going back to feigning attention at the board. Joey grinned. Yugi might be gone, but at least he still had Tristan and Tea to look out for. It didn't stop the school from feeling empty though, with three of their team missing. He knew they were helping in England, but Joey couldn't help but hope that Yugi, Ryou and Malik would come back at the end of this term. He missed them painfully.
His eyes wandered over the class, coming to a rest on the upright CEO, two rows behind him. Why Kaiba even bothered coming to school was beyond him. Joey guessed that it didn't look very good if Rich Boy didn't have his High School diploma…never mind that by sixteen he was already head of one of Japan's most successful companies.
Sweet relief was fast coming as the bell for the lunch period rang out. Joey repressed the urge to cheer aloud, and instead opted for putting his books away in his desk slowly along with the rest of his classmates. There were bangs and clatters as the students began to move their desks together to form their lunch tables. Joey saw Tea rush out of the room as fast as she could, probably going to book a meeting with the guidance councillor. She was already researching and applying for various dance schools in the US, and she was using all the help available to her (though Joey reckoned part of this was to take her mind off missing Yugi so much). He stretched and wondered vaguely if there would be any juice left in the vending machine.
"Hey Joey," Tristan dragged his chair over to Joey's desk. "Zoning out again?"
"Oh like you were any better," Joey snorted, before turning serious. "I'm just worried about Yugi, Ryou and Malik…I hope they come back after this term. They aren't happy in England, I can tell."
Tristan couldn't help but nod in agreement. He'd been having similar thoughts himself.
"Any news from Yugi yet?"
Only Kaiba could be awkward enough to interrupt Joey just as he was about to suggest they got food. He tried very hard not to let his irritation show, but it was difficult. The CEO had been hounding Joey non-stop since Easter, wanting to know if they had any leads on Voldemort that he could look into from his end. Joey knew it was only the fact that Kaiba wanted to get even with the Dark Lord that meant the CEO would even consider talking to him in a civil tone of voice.
"Not since three days ago," Joey shook his head. "You know they can't reply that quickly Kaiba. It takes a week for Yugi's owl to get one way, so stop nagging me."
Kaiba scowled. "I can't help it if you geeks are so pathetic you need to send message by a bird. It would be much easier for Yugi to email me…"
"And we keep telling you," Joey said through gritted teeth. "That electronics don't work at…" he looked around, to check no one was listening, before dropping his voice, "their school. So get off my back. I'll let you know if Yugi sends me a letter."
The gaze of Seto Kaiba was enough to freeze just about anyone, but Joey had spent most of the last few years on the end of that glare, so he was used to it. "Believe me, I have better things to do all day than get information off you Mutt. So just make sure you pass it to me, and I will happily do as you suggest, and get off your back."
"Would you quit calling me that?!" Joey snapped, his temper rising further, and Tristan tensed just in case his friend decided to go for the CEO's throat. "I ain't no dog!"
"Then why do you yap like one?" Kaiba smirked, before sweeping out of the door. His mobile phone rang on cue, as soon as he stepped over the threshold.
Joey rolled his eyes. Rich Boy was never going to change.
"Ignore him Joey," Tristan said bracingly. "Come on, let's go get some food."
Still irritated, Joey stomped out behind his friend, with no intentions other than getting something to eat and forgetting about Rich Boy. Students passed him in the corridor, some of them already carrying their own meals back to their classrooms to eat. A few of the freshmen cowered slightly. Joey smiled slightly. He could hardly believe that two years ago that had been him…he had been very different back then. He didn't have Yugi and Tea as friends for a start. He certainly hadn't given a shit about anyone beyond himself and Tristan. And he definitely did not fit the criteria of 'nice guy'. Things were so much better now.
A hand almost yanked Joey off his feet, and pulled him into an empty classroom. Tristan, seeing his friend stumble, was by his side instantly. Joey made to attack whoever it was who had seen fit to tug him into a deserted computer lab, but the tall, beanpole figure gave it away and he held back the urge to punch Kaiba where he stood. The CEO was still on his phone, his eyes narrowed in anger.
"I warn you people," his voice was as cold as ice. "If you've done anything to harm my little brother…"
Joey felt his stomach clench. It sounded like Mokuba was in trouble…and there was only one reason the CEO could have yanked Joey and Tristan into this – it involved the Orichalcos.
"Fine, we will be there."
And he hung up.
"We're going Wheeler."
It was an order, not a request. Joey's eyes narrowed.
"That was the Death Eaters? They've taken Mokuba?" he deducted. Kaiba's mouth was a grim line as he hastily pressed two on his speed dial for Roland, intending to order that the limo get down to the school as fast as humanly possible.
"And your sister."
At this, Joey's carefully control rage exploded.
"They've taken Serenity?!" he was livid. How dare they drag his sister into this! Kaiba was already heading out of the door, and Joey, anger pouring off every inch of his being, raced after him. Tristan was hot on his heels.
"Where have they taken them both?" he demanded.
"None of your business Taylor," Kaiba snapped, in a low voice now that they were out in the corridor again, where anyone could hear them. "You are staying right here. They asked for the chosen duellists to be present only."
"I don't take orders from you Kaiba!"
"Tristan he's right," as much as it pained Joey to admit that Kaiba was correct about anything, he didn't want Tristan getting involved in this right now. Two students vanishing from school in the middle of the day would be difficult enough to explain. And besides, someone needed to tell Tea.
"Stay here and tell Tea where we've gone," Joey ordered, as Kaiba swung the front door of the school open dramatically. Joey rolled his eyes. "Could you keep it down Rich Boy? When you're sneaking out, banging doors is not the best way to go about it!"
"Oh and I suppose you'd be an expert on sneaking out of buildings to chase postmen, right Mutt?"
Joey would have started a loud argument, were it not for the fact that they were trying not to get caught, and the fact that Tristan decided to interrupt again.
"You don't seriously think I'm staying behind after…" Tristan never got any further. Kaiba whirled around and grabbed Tristan by the collar.
"Listen to me Taylor! I am not going to have you getting in my way while I rescue Mokuba! So we are leaving the school, and you are going to stay here, and deal with it."
And with that, he threw Tristan roughly to one side. Joey's eyes narrowed.
"Kaiba! I'm coming with you to rescue Mokuba and Serenity, but I swear if you treat my friend like that again…"
It was obvious from the way Kaiba turned and continued heading for the school gates, that he honestly didn't care about whatever threat Joey was about to give. In the distance, Joey could hear a screeching of tyres, and he knew that Kaiba hadn't been exaggerating when he had ordered his limo to get there as fast as humanly possible.
"Tristan. Please, just stay here. Tell Tea where we've gone. If the teachers ask…tell them whatever you can. Kaiba will probably smooth it over later. We will get them back, and we'll be fine."
"Joey…" Tristan was not happy about this in the slightest, and his tone of voice made it clear.
"Just trust me man," Joey implored, hurrying after Kaiba, trying not to look at his friend. Because the truth of the matter was, he had a very bad feeling about this upcoming encounter, and he did not want his friend involved…enough people had been hurt already.
OOO
The building the Death Eaters had directed them to was painfully familiar to Joey. It was the rooftop where he, Yugi, Tea and Tristan had pursued the Swordsman of the Orichalcos after they had stolen the God cards. It was up here that Yugi and the Pharaoh had been forced to duel Gurimo, and they had had their first true encounter with the magic of the Orichalcos, and the Seal.
As they climbed to the rooftop, Joey felt a shiver of dread. He couldn't explain exactly what it was that made him so uneasy, only that it now felt like the stomach-ache he had had for the past few weeks was reaching its peak…and this time, it wasn't going to stop. From the pinched look on Kaiba's face, Joey knew the CEO felt it too.
As soon as they vaulted the top of the building, and landed on the concrete, two voices split the air.
"Seto!"
"Joey!"
Their voices had not carried well over the wind, but there was no mistaking them. Mokuba and Serenity, still wearing their respective school uniform's, were bound off to one side of the rooftop with what looked like streams of magical energy. Joey guessed it was some form of wizard magic. Before Joey and Seto had the chance to respond to their siblings, two dark chuckles cut through the air.
"Bang on time," a thick Scottish accent stated. "At least they're punctual about their demise."
"Who's there?!" Joey barked.
"Identify yourselves!" Kaiba growled.
"With pleasure," a female voice replied, cool as anything, and before Joey and Kaiba appeared two very familiar looking duellists. It was Angus and Raquel, the two Death Eaters that had been British Regional semi finalists. Kaiba narrowed his eyes and Joey growled at them.
"You two! Yugi warned us that you were working for Voldemort!"
"You're sharper than most of the duelling circuit give you Wheeler," Raquel said, her long black hair whipping out behind her in the wind, in a similar manner to her cloak. "But maybe I'm giving you too much credit. After all, given that we've got your little siblings hostage, even you could work that out."
"Listen you two lowlifes!" Kaiba's voice had gone beyond icy, and was now cold enough to freeze hydrogen. "You made a big mistake getting my little brother involved in this!"
"You make us sound so heartless Rich Boy," Angus stated. "As I recall, we had to work very hard just to knock those two out. Your little brat of a brother was raring to duel us when he realised who we were! The girl too for that matter."
"Serenity!" Joey couldn't help but yell reproachfully. Serenity just glared back slightly.
"You thought I was just going to sit there and let them knock me out?!"
"Too bad we weren't allowed to duel them first," Raquel shrugged.
"Yeah I'd have relished sending such powerful souls to our Master," Angus' grin was unholy.
"You won't get away with this!" Kaiba snapped. "By now both of their schools will have realised that they are missing!"
"And Ma is going to kill me when she realises that Serenity isn't in Tokyo anymore…" Joey mentally winced.
"It doesn't matter," Raquel shrugged. "Our Master will make sure we won't be found for a while. And in the mean time…" she raised her left arm, upon which her duel disk rested. "How about we get down to business?"
Neither Joey nor Kaiba needed anymore prompting, and they both activated their own duel disks.
"Rules are simple," Angus stated. "One tag team duel – American rulings. Whoever wins, gets to keep those two. Whoever loses…well, you've been in enough Orichalcos duels. I'm sure you can figure it out."
Joey narrowed his eyes. While American rules would give them an extra field, it also meant he and Kaiba had less chance to help each other. Angus and Raquel must know that he and the CEO hated each other, and they must be hoping that they would be less inclined to work together. Joey wasn't thick. He knew that he would need Kaiba to back him up and vice verse if they were going to beat both of them, but the question was, would Kaiba be willing to do the same?
"Fine!" Kaiba barked. "Let's just get on with this!"
"Agreed," both the Death Eaters echoed, and they each switched on their wicked Duel-Disks and threw their decks into them.
Joey and Kaiba prepared to draw their opening hands, but paused as they were interrupted by the voice of the young cloaked woman.
"First, however, we need to decide the turn order," she explained. She turned towards her partner. "Angus, what do you think?"
"Oh, hurry up and decide who goes when already..." Kaiba grumbled under his breath. Only Joey picked up on it, and he couldn't help but agree with Kaiba, much as it pained him.
"Well, let's see..." Angus mused, his eyes flicking between the other three duellists back and forth. "Ladies first, as they say, so I believe you should take the first turn, Raquel. Then Wheeler can go second, I can go third, and Rich Boy over there follows behind us." He smirked at the other pair of duellists. "Does this sit well enough in your books, gentlemen?"
"Yeah, whatever!" Joey snapped impatiently. "Can we just duel already?!"
Raquel clicked her tongue tauntingly and drew her first six cards. "Someone really should have taught you some manners, Wheeler."
Joey growled a little, but he chose to hold his tongue and draw his own opening hand instead. Kaiba and Angus both followed suit, and all four duellists shouted the same phrase at the exact same moment: "Let's duel!"
(Raquel: 8,000 Life Points)----(Joey: 8,000 Life Points)----(Angus: 8,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
"As Angus over here suggested, I'm going to lead us off!" Raquel proclaimed before studying her opening hand. After taking a moment to consider her options, she selected just one card. "I'll set a Monster in Defence Mode, and that will be the end of my turn!"
Joey smirked at her as he drew his card. "What's wrong, lady? I take it you've got a hand so bad, all you can do is hide?"
Raquel chuckled and shook her head. "Just as I suspected. Obviously you do not know good duelling strategy when it's staring you right in the face, Wheeler."
Joey opened his mouth to make a comeback, but Kaiba shot a retort at him before he could.
"Will you just can it and play already, Wheeler?!" he snarled. "I've got someone who needs rescuing!"
"And so do I, what's your point?" Joey snapped back at him. Then he sighed and looked at his cards. "Okay...I guess what I've got here will do. I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in Attack Mode!"
The agile knight covered in black metal armour leapt onto the field and let out a vicious battle cry. The blades on his arm-shields flashed malevolently as he glared at Angus and Raquel. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,600)
"Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Joey added. "So, big guy, think you can outplay what I've laid out for ya?"
Angus ignored his question outright and made a draw to commence his turn. "Hmmm...this one looks good..." he muttered to himself as he looked at his cards. "But then again, there's always that one...decisions these days...so very difficult to make."
Joey lost his patience rather quickly and started to hope that the Death Eater would hurry up and make a move. "Well?" he growled.
Angus looked up with a smirk at last. "I guess this will do! I begin by calling forth my Mad Dog of Darkness in Attack Mode!"
A loud snarl echoed around the wooden arena as a huge and disturbing-looking hound with rough orange skin and a vicious set of fangs materialized in front of the beefy Scottish man. A set of horns poked out of its head, and drool leaked from its fangs as it glared with its insane eyes. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,400)
Kaiba wasn't fazed by this. "What, you're giving me a second mutt to deal with for the day?" he sneered. "Sorry, not interested."
He felt Joey's glare burning holes into the side of his head, yet he completely ignored it. Angus chuckled at this and exchanged a smirk with Raquel. Both of them had been counting on the uneasy relationship between Kaiba and Joey to work in their favour, and it seemed that their plan would be successful after all.
"If I may continue, gentlemen, " Angus went on, "no-one may make an attack until everyone has taken at least one Draw Phase, so your Iron Knight's time is not up yet, Wheeler. However, my move is not done. I play the Spell Card, Terraforming!"
Joey and Kaiba flinched a little. That card allowed its user to select one Field Spell in his deck and add it to his hand. And they both had a sick feeling that they knew just the one that Angus would decide on. Sure enough, as the card slipped out of Angus's deck and was swiped up by the Death Eater himself, and as Angus gave an evil grin and displayed it to them, they were proved just right.
"And I take it you two already knew what I'm choosing!" he laughed. "In that case, prepare, for only the sole survivors will be standing after this! I activate...the Seal of Orichalcos!"
The familiar green pentagram drew itself around his feet, and it immediately grew in size for until the other three duellists were enclosed within it as well. The two Death Eaters exploded into fits of laughter as their foreheads each lit up with the symbol of the Orichalcos and their eyes turned red from the darkness rearing its heads within them.
Mokuba and Serenity cried out for their siblings, but neither of them gave a reply, their focus only on Angus, Raquel, and the Mad Dog of Darkness, who had also fallen under the influence of the Orichalcos as its stats raised according to the effect of the cursed Field Spell. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,400) - (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,400)
"Bet you wish you had power like this, eh?" Angus taunted.
Although that it was obvious Kaiba was fighting to resist the cold feeling that had settled itself inside his chest, the CEO managed to conceal it with a roll of his eyes. "Please, you can't scare me with mind tricks. Just finish your move!"
"Well, as that's all I can do for my turn, you can go ahead and come up with a feeble plan to save yourself now." Angus waved a dismissive hand at Kaiba, who snorted and drew his sixth card.
"Me? Save myself?" he asked. "I think you are the one who's going to need some saving soon! To start off, I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization, so that I may fuse together my Versago the Destroyer and my Divine Dragon Ragnarok from my hand! Versago's effect allows me to treat him as a substitute for a Fusion-Material Monster whenever I conduct a fusion, so in this case he's taking the place of my Lord of Dragons!"
Two ghostly silhouettes appeared beside him, with one of them being a many-armed fiend in green scarves with purple claws and the other being a long, sleek dragon with white skin that had a pink tinge to it. The two of them swirled into one another, and Angus and Raquel had to cover their eyes from the glare.
When the light dimmed a little, they chanced it and looked again, only to have their jaws fall open in amazement at what they were seeing. Occupying Kaiba's field was a creature with the magnificent golden body of a dragon for a lower half and a man's chest, arms, and head for the upper half. A pair of black wings sprouted from its back, and a mane of fur similar to that of Divine Dragon Ragnarok's surrounded its neck. It wore a golden helmet forged in the shape of a dragon's claw, and it also carried an instrument that looked like the Flute of Summoning Dragon. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,100)
"Meet a new acquisition for my deck!" Kaiba announced with triumph. "King Dragun!"
Joey could not take his eyes off the Fusion Monster. "Whoa...man, Kaiba, where'd ya get that guy?" he gasped.
Kaiba turned a deaf ear to the question and selected a fourth card in his hand. "Now allow me to explain one of his effects," he offered. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Dragon-type Monster of any level from my hand!" His cold blue eyes flashed with growing confidence. "And I think you can guess just who I'm summoning with this effect! Come forth...Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Mokuba let out a joyful cheer, which was immediately eclipsed by an even louder shriek as the gigantic yet beautiful form of the draconic engine of destruction materialized and snarled with anger at the Mad Dog of Darkness, who yowled in fright and covered its head with its paws. Powerful gusts of wind blew over the rooftop each time the Blue-Eyes White Dragon beat its strong wings. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)
Angus looked just as intimidated as his Monster, but Raquel was perfectly calm. Her finger caressed her Disk's centerpiece...
"You put Mokuba in danger, so now it's time for you to suffer the consequences!" bellowed Kaiba. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, put that mangy mutt down for good with your White Lightning Attack!"
Blue-Eyes White Dragon fired forth a beam of bright-blue energy, which incinerated the Mad Dog of Darkness into nothing but ashes before it had the chance to howl its agony. Some of the small flames from the blast licked at Angus's skin too, making him hiss and jump back a little. Clearly the power of this dragon was nothing to be underestimated.
(Raquel: 8,000 Life Points)----(Joey: 8,000 Life Points)----(Angus: 7,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
"Now it's King Dragun's turn to have his shot!" Kaiba continued. "Attack Angus directly with Flaming Scourge!"
King Dragun aimed his flute at the defenceless Scotsman and unleashed an inferno of orange flames upon him. Angus wished he could just scurry out of the way, but even through his anger, which the Orichalcos was feeding, he knew he couldn't, so he stood there and took the hit head-on. His scream could be heard amongst the roaring of the flames, and still Raquel was not bothered by the circumstances unfolding in front of her.
(Raquel: 8,000 Life Points)----(Joey: 8,000 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
When the after effects of the firestorm cleared away, Angus was seen laying facedown on the ground, his robes issuing smoke, and a few spots on the wooden floor sported scorch marks. The man growled as he pulled himself to his feet and glared at Kaiba. "Are you just about done?" he snarled.
"For now, yes," Kaiba shrugged, but he couldn't hide the smug grin forming on his lips. "I believe it's Raquel's move now."
Raquel picked up her next card from her deck and pointed to the Monster that the other three duellists seemed to have neglected. "I Flip Summon my facedown Monster...A Cat of Ill Omen!"
The facedown Monster Card flipped over to reveal the small yet plump black cat that Bakura had used against the Pharaoh in their duel at the Hogwarts Quidditch Stadium. The Orichalcos symbol drew itself on its forehead, and it started giving off demonic hisses through its teeth. (ATK: 500/ DEF: 300) - (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 300)
"And that activates his Flip-Effect!" Raquel exclaimed. "Which allows me to-"
"-to take any Trap Card you have in your deck and then place it on the top," Kaiba interrupted, rolling his eyes again. "Tell me something I don't know."
Raquel glared at him, but obliged nonetheless. "Indeed. And I know just the Trap Card to pick. It's the one that I've labelled as the key card of my entire strategy...Bad Reaction to Simochi!"
Her chosen Trap Card popped out of her deck. She grabbed it and shoved it back into the holder, being careful to place it on top of the deck this time. Then she plunged another of her cards into a slot. "But I'm going to get it right away, with a little thing called Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two cards!"
The symbolic jar in Duel Monsters that represented the sin of greed appeared in front of her before exploding, and Raquel eagerly drew her next two cards, one of them being her Bad Reaction to Simochi.
Joey was very confused about what Raquel was doing. "What the heck's so important about that card that you've got to add it to your hand right away?" he asked.
"You'll see very soon, I guarantee that," Raquel snickered at him. "Now, I activate another Spell Card!" She held up a second card with a green border. "It's called Goblin Thief. This allows me to drain away five-hundred Life Points from your score and add them to mine...only, since I'm facing two opponents, I'll have to choose one of you to use this on. So who will it be...ah, I know!" She gave Joey an unholy grin not unlike Angus's. "I think I'll choose you, Wheeler!"
A red aura flared around Joey's body, and the young man winced in agony as he felt some energy leaving his body. Raquel, on the other hand, glowed with an eerie green light to match the glow from the Seal of Orichalcos as her Life Points went up.
(Raquel: 8,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 7,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
"Joey!" Serenity cried, fearing for the condition of her brother. "Are you all right?!"
Joey gave a grunt, but managed to flash a thumbs-up at Serenity. She took that as a good enough sign that he was okay, and allowed herself to relax a little.
"Wheeler..." Kaiba growled through his teeth as he glared at Joey. "Don't you dare mess this up now..."
"Oh, cram a sock in it, Rich Boy!" retorted Joey. "I'll be fine!"
"Not for long you will be, and neither will Kaiba," Raquel warned him. "It's still my move, and I have three more cards to play. Two of them are going facedown, and the third is a Monster I'm placing in Defence Mode..."
The holograms of three brown-backed cards facing towards the floor materialized at her bidding, surrounding the tainted Cat of Ill Omen. Joey and Kaiba shared a similar thought while glaring at the facedown cards. One of them was obviously Bad Reaction to Simochi.
"I'm ending my turn now," Raquel announced. "So feel free to take over, Wheeler."
Joey was all too willing to take that challenge. He drew another card. "I'd be glad to, lady! First, I summon one of my old favourites to the field...Axe Raider in Attack Mode!"
A muscular barbarian wearing a golden chest plate of armour and guards on his elbows and knees charged out onto the field and swung his axe in a dramatic gesture. He looked towards Gearfried, and the two Warriors nodded at each other. (ATK: 1,700/ DEF: 1,150)
"Before you go any further, Wheeler," Raquel intervened, punching a button on her Disk, "I'll activate one of my Trap Cards - Bad Reaction to Simochi!"
One of her Trap Cards lifted up. It had a picture of a sickly woman sitting on her knees surrounded by a cloud of thick brown gas. The sight of the card was enough to give Joey an uneasy feeling.
"But don't you worry, this Continuous Trap's effect doesn't take place just yet," Raquel assured him with a mock comforting tone. "So by all means, continue your move."
Joey frowned. He stared intently at Raquel's other facedown card. If she thinks I don't know what her Bad Reaction to however-you-pronounce-it does, she's very wrong. That Trap Card will activate whenever Kaiba and I try to gain Life Points, so that instead of gaining them, we lose them! So could her other facedown card be something to heal our Life Points so that her Continuous Trap will go to work? Better yet, what Monster did she set facedown?
He was yanked out of his thoughts by a familiar growling voice.
"Hurry up, Wheeler!" Angus barked. "We'd like to be done here before the next millennium begins, if you don't mind!"
"Rude much?" Joey scowled. "I was just doing a little thinking here!"
"Or perhaps you're just too scared to attack because of what my facedown cards could possibly be?" Raquel jeered. "I suppose it's fitting. A dog running away in fear with his tail between his legs. But I guess I can't blame you; nobody likes walking into a trap. Heck, not even I do!"
That touched a nerve in Joey. Kaiba had flung that insult at him for long enough. Having to hear it from somebody else was enough to grate heavily on his self-restraint. "Oh, you asked for it!" he yelled. "Gearfried, slice up her pet cat!"
Gearfried the Iron Knight jumped forward and slammed his arm-shields into the poor cat, flattening it with ease. Raquel cringed a little, but shrugged it off rather quickly.
(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 7,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
Kaiba's frustration started to boil again. That idiot! he seethed. He fell for that trick like a ton of bricks! He should have gone for Angus - we'd have been able to get him closer to defeat and put Raquel in a really bad situation! Leave it to the street pup to always get in my way...
"Now Axe Raider, attack her facedown Monster!" Joey ordered. "Axe Slam Attack!"
As Gearfried leapt backwards and returned to Joey's side, Axe Raider charged towards his own target and cleaved it in half with his axe. The ghost of a small tree with its branches on fire appeared above the damaged facedown card before vanishing into thin air along with the card's remains.
"You just destroyed my Burning Algae," Raquel informed Joey. "Doing so would normally grant you one-thousand extra Life Points...but due to the effect of Bad Reaction to Simochi, that gain is converted into damage to you for the same amount!"
Joey's insides suddenly burned with such heat, it was like they had caught fire. He screamed and fell to his knees. Even when the pain subsided, his body was still shaking from the torture.
(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
Raquel let out a peal of laughter. "Aw, what's the matter?" she giggled. "Too much for you to handle? Well as they say, if you can't stand the heat...stay out of the kitchen! Or in this case, stay out of an Orichalcos duel!"
Man... Joey's muscles screamed in protest as the young man pulled himself back into a standing position. I almost forgot that the Monsters were real in an Orichalcos duel...I should be used to this by now...
"Fine, I have to end my turn!" he shouted.
Angus drew a card and fixed an ugly glare on Kaiba. "Well now, Kaiba, I'd like to dish out some payback for your treatment of me earlier! You and your precious dragons will feel the primal wrath of my mighty beasts!"
King Dragun and Blue-Eyes White Dragon did not take kindly to the threat being issued to their master, a fact made obvious by the roars they directed towards Angus. But Kaiba just smirked. "After a poor first turn you pulled a bit ago, you'll forgive me if I'm not convinced at all. Talk is cheap."
"And so is this!" Angus yanked a card out of his bulky hand. "I summon Berserk Gorilla in Attack Mode!"
The huge gorilla with flaming orange skin appeared on his corner of the field and let out a loud roar, beating its muscular chest as it did. It stopped right when the Seal etched itself onto its forehead and started snarling in a feral manner instead. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000) - (ATK: 2,500/ DEF: 1,000)
"Ugh, this is the third time I'm seeing that stupid thing!" Joey complained.
"And I can assure you that this'll be the final time you'll meet him!" Angus laughed. "But my business is not with you right now, Wheeler, but rather it's with your partner! Berserk Gorilla, snap that King Dragun's neck!"
Berserk Gorilla crouched down on its legs and prepared to pounce, but Joey reacted just in time by activating his facedown card. "Not so fast, big guy! I reveal my Graceful Dice card!"
The tiny pink cherub with wings on its hat flew out of the card, carrying its big blue die. Mokuba and Serenity exchanged surprised looks. They knew well enough that Joey hated Kaiba, yet he was helping him out? The CEO was equally confused, but his face didn't show it.
Angus, however, was actually smirking. It was as if he had been hoping that Joey would do something like that...
"And guess what, Angus?" Joey smirked. "I may not be good at math, but from the looks of things, it won't matter what number I get with my Graceful Dice, your Berserk Gorilla's still going down!" He turned to look at the cherub. "Okay, little guy, do your thing!"
The cherub gave a nod of consent and threw its blue die on the floor. It bounced around a few times before it landed on one of its corners and started spinning like a wheel. Everyone's gazes were locked squarely onto the die...
Finally, it came to a stop and fell on one side, revealing a three on its top face. At once the Attack and Defense Points of the Monsters on Kaiba and Joey's fields each went up by three-hundred, so that they were in a far better battle-ready condition than the Berserk Gorilla. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,100) - (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 1,400), (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) - (ATK: 3,300/ DEF: 2,800), (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 2,100/ DEF: 1,900), (ATK: 1,700/ DEF: 1,150) - (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,450)
"Not too shabby!" commented a cheerful Joey. "So, King Dragun, care to see our hairy friend off?"
King Dragun looked a little annoyed that he was being commanded by Joey, but he obeyed nonetheless. He fired another blast of hellish fire from his flute, and it enveloped the terrified Berserk Gorilla and incinerated it into ashy remnants of burnt hairs. But rather than scream with fury, Angus chuckled instead.
(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 4,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
Kaiba snapped an irritated scowl towards Joey. "Wheeler, if ever I wanted your help, I would have asked for it," he hissed, though even he could not deny that if Joey had not done that, his King Dragun would have been obliterated. But he certainly was not going to say that out loud, least of all in the presence of Joey.
"Kaiba, don't be stupid," Joey chastised him. "This is a tag duel, so if we expect to win, we're gonna have to help each other out! I know you don't like me, and I certainly don't like you, but I'm not stupid enough to try to take them on by myself! And I know you're not either!"
"Don't you start on that teamwork speech, mutt," Kaiba warned. "Yugi's blathered on about it enough as it is. I am more than skilled enough to handle these fools on my own, so don't get in my way, you hear me?"
Joey sighed in defeat and turned his attention back to the duel. He just never learns... he thought. Once he gets like that, there's no reasoning with him.
"Rich Boy has a good point, you know," said Angus, the sinister smirk still on his face. "You see, Wheeler, by helping him to destroy my Berserk Gorilla, you've managed to set the stage for the arrival of one of my greatest creatures. So thank you so much for the generosity!"
Joey blinked a few times, trying hard to register what Angus was saying. "Uh...whaddya mean?" he inquired. "You wanted us to destroy your Monster?"
"As a matter of fact, that was precisely what I wanted!" Angus answered. "When a Beast-type Monster I control is destroyed and sent to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon a rather unique Monster from either my hand or my Graveyard, for the cost of surrendering one-thousand more of my Life Points! Before you ask, I didn't do this last turn because I didn't draw the unique Monster in question until I started this turn! So get ready to come face-to-face with one of my personal favourites!"
(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)
"Please," scoffed Kaiba. "I doubt this Monster of yours can defeat my Blue-Eyes or my King Dragun. You're just bluffing!"
"Am I?" Angus arched his thick eyebrows at him. "Well we'll just have to see!" He thrust a hand forward, as if preparing to cast some sort of curse on Kaiba. "Arise and prepare to defend your fellow forest denizens...Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest!"
A muscular, hairy arm suddenly broke through the surface of the wooden floor, and its owner used it to pull itself up into plain sight for the duellists to see. The sight was both hideous and frightening. It was a gigantic gorilla, with its bulky shoulders concealed in huge cocoon shells that served as its armour. It carried a long stick in its oversized hands. One could tell by just looking at this beast's face that it had almost no sanity left in its mind, especially with the Seal of Orichalcos lighting up its forehead and tinting its eyes with an evil red colour. (ATK: 2,600/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800)
"Man, that is one ugly Monster!" Joey cried out as he took a step backwards. Kaiba, on the other hand, was more worried that this creature would be stronger than his Blue-Eyes once the turn had passed.
"Not as ugly as what's about to happen next will be!" Angus countered. "Green Baboon, finish the job that Berserk Gorilla began and attack King Dragun! Primal Punch!"
The Defender of the Forest bellowed with uncontrollable anger and slammed its fist into King Dragun's mid-section. The Fusion Monster was knocked off the roof by the impact, and before it started to plummet to its death, it exploded into pixels in mid-air. Kaiba glared at Angus with anger that almost matched Green Baboon's.
(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 7,600 Life Points)
"You'll regret what you've just done..." he growled with a low voice.
"Yeah, sure I will." Angus wasn't swayed by his threat. "The effect of your partner's Graceful Dice will wear off at the end of my turn, which therefore means that your precious Blue-Eyes won't be able to defeat my Green Baboon. So how you intend to carry out that promise is beyond me."
"Then apparently you don't know me very well," snarled Kaiba. "End your turn. Now."
Angus shrugged his huge shoulders and set a card facedown before waving an arm to end his turn. Kaiba drew another card, then gave a worried glance at his Blue-Eyes, whose stats had indeed gone down to normal just as Angus had indicated. As had those of Joey's Monsters for that matter.
This is bad, he thought. But I refuse to switch my Blue-Eyes White Dragon to Defence Mode! My dragons never cower from their foes, and neither do I! He looked at Raquel's empty corner of the field. So instead I'll take this opportunity to deal that girl so much damage, she and Angus will regret kidnapping my brother and challenging me to a duel!
With his mind made up, he pointed a finger at the female Death Eater and gave his Blue-Eyes a command. "Go my great beast, attack that woman's Life Points directly with your White Lightning!"
The Blue-Eyes began to gather more energy in its maw to spit at Raquel. But the Death Eater in question calmly pointed to her remaining facedown card. "Sorry to disappoint, Rich Boy, but I have a Trap! Go, Draining Shield!"
Kaiba looked murderous as the Trap Card lifted up. The Blue-Eyes didn't take notice, however; it went ahead and blasted its destructive stream of obliteration at Raquel, but it was blocked by a coloured dome of energy that appeared a few split-seconds before the attack would have hit. Raquel gave a cocky laugh as her Life Points blasted way past their starting amount, until they stopped.
(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 7,600 Life Points)
"Kaiba, be careful out there!" Joey yelled at his enraged partner.
The CEO ignored him again and shifted his gaze back to his hand of three cards. He eventually chose one of them and played it. "I end my turn with one facedown card, you fools! But you can't dodge my Blue-Eyes forever!"
The dome of energy vanished from around Raquel, who kept her smirk as she drew her next card. "Oh, believe me, we won't need to now," she taunted. "Lest you forget, my partner's got something strong enough to handle your pathetic excuse for a dragon." She pointed at Angus's Monster for emphasis. "So please pardon me for not begging for mercy."
Kaiba narrowed his eyes in such a deadly way, it would likely have sent even his Ultimate Dragon flying off in fear. "Will you shut up and go already?!"
Raquel ignored his anger. "Now, since I'd rather not be defenceless, I'll set a Monster in Defence Mode," she said. "Then I'll set one more card facedown...and I do believe that will be all."
The two set cards appeared on her field, looming a little close to her Bad Reaction to Simochi. Joey nervously drew his next card while casting a spare glance at the Green Baboon every now and then. He did not want to be on the receiving end of a blow from that beast.
Fortunately for him, he was not about to, as he found out by looking at his drawn card. He beamed with confidence. "Yes!" he shouted. "Alright, here goes! I sacrifice my Axe Raider to summon Maximum Six!"
The barbarian let out one last battle cry before he vanished in a shower of sparks, and a new creature took his place. It was a muscular ogre with six arms sprouting out of his sides. His skin was purple, and his only article of clothing was a loincloth. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,600)
"Oh come on now, Wheeler," Angus rolled his eyes at the new arrival. "You call that a level six Monster? We've seen better."
Joey wagged a finger at him. "Now now, big guy, you might wanna slow down there a sec. My Maximum Six has a very neat effect, which activates only when he's Tribute Summoned!"
The Maximum Six held out his middle-right arm and unclenched his hand. A big white die appeared on his palm.
"Whenever he's Tribute Summoned, I gotta roll one die. Whatever result he gets is multiplied by two-hundred, and then added to his Attack Score as a permanent bonus! So if he gets a six, he'll be on par with your ugly furball there, Angus!"
Maximum Six threw the die above his head, and everybody's eyes, including the ones of the two captives watching the duel, followed its ascent. It soon started plummeting back to the wooden floor and began clattering around, until it dragged to a stop. Everybody saw that, just as Joey had hoped for, the top face contained six dots. Maximum Six gave a pleased grin and flexed his muscles. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,600)
Angus merely looked bored. "You forgot one thing, Wheeler. If you attack my Green Baboon with that thing, all you'll get is a draw. Not to mention, I can just destroy another of my Beast Monsters in order to bring him back from my Graveyard. So why waste your time?"
For once I agree, Kaiba thought as he cast another irritated look towards the blonde duellist. What the Hell is Wheeler thinking? Hasn't he messed us up enough as it is?
"Well, this is where it kinda gets ironic," said Joey. "See, I noticed that a lot of the Monsters in my deck are of the Warrior-type, so I included a little card that was used by the very first Orichalcos user that my pals and I ran into when that freaky magic showed up! As they say about the past, it comes back to haunt you...but in some cases, that's a good thing! Watch this!"
The image of a Continuous Spell Card rose up from behind his Monsters and presented itself for everyone to see. The card bore the name 'The A. Forces,' one that had indeed been used by Gurimo in the past. Gearfried and Maximum Six gave the card pleased grins as their bodies became surrounded by vague light and their stats shot upwards. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 2,200/ DEF: 1,600), (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 1,600)
Angus gave no reply to this. Raquel, however, chuckled to herself. If Wheeler thinks that he's all that because he has a pair of powerful Monsters, he's more of a naive fool than I thought! she laughed in her mind. Anybody will tell you that Attack Points don't mean everything...as he and Kaiba are about to find out!
"Okay, Maximum Six, attack that Green Baboon with Six-Armed Strike!" commanded Joey.
But just when Maximum Six clenched all his fists and rushed forward to do the job, Angus suddenly let out a loud shout of laughter. "Now that had to be the most reckless decision I've ever seen!" he laughed. "I activate my Trap Card, Sakuretsu Armor, to wipe out your Maximum Six!"
A spiked suit of grey armour appeared on the Green Baboon's body. Maximum Six ignored this and slammed one of his fists into the ape's armoured chest, only to be met with surprise as the armour exploded into a storm of spikes that peppered his body all over. The ogre staggered backwards, and Green Baboon seized its chance and slammed a fist into his chest, flooring him and sending him shattering into shards. Gearfried looked shocked at the death of his comrade, not even caring that his scores had gone down a little. (ATK: 2,200/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,600)
"Figures," Kaiba growled. "Always rushing right into things...what an idiot."
"Oh, but don't think you're getting off the hook, Rich Boy!" Raquel addressed him. "Like my partner, I have a facedown card, and now I choose to activate it! Go, Gift Card!"
Her own facedown card lifted up to reveal a small white card with a gift ribbon wrapped around it.
"And what's that supposed to do?" sneered Kaiba.
"It's quite simple, actually," replied Raquel. "Normally it would grant my opponent three-thousand Life Points...but again as this is a tag duel, only one of you receives this effect! And let's not forget about my Bad Reaction to Simochi..." She trailed off, giving an evil grin.
Kaiba's eyes registered shock, and a little fear, for the first time since the duel began, and so did Joey's. Before anyone could give a comment, a huge explosion erupted all around the CEO and sent him falling to the floor. Blue-Eyes flew away from the explosion by pure instinct while letting out a roar to display her concern for her master, and Mokuba and Serenity screamed out in horror on his behalf.
(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)
"Kaiba, are you all right?!" Joey yelled out over the noise of the explosion. "C'mon, say something!"
He almost kicked himself for asking that question. That move had caused just as much damage as a direct attack from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon would, so of course Kaiba was going to be in a weakened condition. Joey glared at Angus and Raquel, who were both laughing their heads off at Kaiba's misfortune. "You think that was funny, huh?!" he snarled.
"Depends on your definition of fun!" Raquel snorted through her laughter. "You should listen when people tell you to never look a gift horse in the mouth!"
"Big brother!" Mokuba screamed at where he thought his brother stood amidst the smoke of the explosion. "Please be all right!"
The smoke cleared away seconds after that shout to reveal Kaiba already standing back on his feet. But he was hunched over a little, and his breathing came out in small gasps. Nonetheless, he was forcing himself to keep the scowl on his face. Everyone found themselves wondering how he did that.
"I'm fine, Mokuba," Kaiba reassured his brother, his voice still level and cool. "It'll take more than a wimpy shot like that to keep me down."
Raquel looked incensed. "Wimpy, huh?" she challenged. "Well if you call that wimpy, I guess I'll have to step my game up a notch, now won't I? But until I get my chance, it's still Wheeler's turn!"
Joey snapped back to his senses and consulted the field again. It was only then when he looked at the field that he remembered his Maximum Six being destroyed by Angus's Sakuretsu Armor, and as much as he wanted dearly to make the Scotsman pay for that, he knew his Iron Knight was not strong enough to take on Green Baboon in a head-to-head battle. But there was another target that he could attack...although it would involve a risk.
"Gearfried, destroy Raquel's facedown Monster! Iron Shield Strike!"
Gearfried snapped out of his shock and gave an angry snarl. He charged forward and attempted to slam his shield into the facedown Monster, but suddenly a strange figure appeared in its place and dodged out of the path of his attack. It was a small creature shaped like a white gumdrop, with an upside-down smile on its tiny face, but the smile quickly turned into a glare of hatred as the Seal of Orichalcos spread its influence throughout the Monster's body and drew its symbol onto its lower half. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 500) - (ATK: 800/ DEF: 500)
"Now what was that supposed to be, an attack or a baby punch?" taunted Raquel. "That's my Marshmallon, and he cannot be destroyed in battle no matter how hard you hit him! And also, when he's attacked while facedown in Defence Mode, the opponent responsible for the attack loses a thousand Life Points! Didn't expect a dessert topping to be quite an annoyance, did you?"
(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)
Joey felt very irritated that his attack had been foiled again. In fact he was fighting the urge to storm over there and slug one of the Death Eaters in the torso...but as soon as the thought entered his mind, he shook it back out. It was the Orichalcos influencing his thinking. He knew better than to give in to it.
"Whatever, then," he growled. "Your move, big guy."
Angus happily drew his card and slapped another one to his Duel-Disk. "All right, then, I'm going to summon another Monster in Attack Mode! Say hello to my namesake...the Great Angus!"
A huge boar with bulging muscles, pink skin, and a set of horns materialized beside the snarling Defender of the Forest, dressed only in a loincloth to cover itself. The Seal etched itself onto its forehead, and its features started to look even more fierce than normal. It released a feral growl aimed towards the unflinching Blue-Eyes. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 600) - (ATK: 2,300/ DEF: 600)
"Wow," Kaiba said sarcastically. "You named yourself after one of your own cards. Did your parents have limited imaginations, or did they just think you were ugly?" He let himself chuckle at his joke, and even Joey couldn't help but snort with amusement.
"Ha ha ha, Kaiba, you're so funny," Angus deadpanned. "But let's see you laugh when I wipe your precious Blue-Eyes White Dragon off the map with my Defender of the Forest! Green Baboon, smash up that pathetic dragon with your Primal Punch!"
The command wiped the smirk off Kaiba's face and he scowled viciously instead. "Calling my dragons pathetic, huh?" he growled, even as Green Baboon prepared itself to attack. "Well let's see you call this pathetic! I activate my facedown card, Shrink, to cut your oversized monkey's original Attack Points in half! And since half of twenty-six hundred is thirteen-hundred, that's how many points your beast loses!"
The Green Baboon suddenly keeled over and groaned in agony as a red aura flared around it, which showed that the effect of Kaiba's Shrink card was taking place. It tried to stand back up, but its legs would not obey its possessed mind. (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK and DEF: 1,800)
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, counterattack with your White Lightning!" Kaiba barked.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon leered down at the weakened Green Baboon, as if it was unworthy to be in its presence. Then it spat out another burst of White Lightning, and the Green Baboon had no time to react before it was engulfed by the energy. A final howl could be heard from where it once stood before it vanished as the energy dissipated from the field.
(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 2,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)
Kaiba chose this moment to give Joey a very smug leer. "And that, mutt, is how one exterminates a monkey," he bragged. "That method you tried was one a beginner would use."
"Lay off, Kaiba!" Joey threw at him. "So my method didn't work. I don't care! As long as we manage to win this, it doesn't matter who duelled better!"
Kaiba made to respond back, when Angus cleared his throat to interrupt their argument. He and Joey turned to look back at the Scotsman, and they both felt themselves frowning with curiosity, for Angus was still smirking rather than worrying for his Green Baboon's defeat.
"If you two are done, may I continue?" he asked. "And my Green Baboon will not be gone for as long as you're hoping for. I can assure you of that, Rich Boy."
Kaiba glared at the Great Angus, who announced its growing impatience by bellowing a loud roar. "I take it you're going to feed your mutated namesake to my Blue-Eyes just to bring that thing back? Fine, then go ahead and try."
"Actually, I've got a better idea," said Angus. "Watch and see for yourself." He fixed a predatory stare on Gearfried the Iron Knight. "I think he's had his share of the spotlight for long enough, so Great Angus, attack him with Ferocious Charge!"
Great Angus snorted through its nostrils and stampeded toward the terrified Iron Knight. Even as Gearfried raised up one of his arm-shields to attempt to hold off the attack, Great Angus's huge fist slammed right through it and belted him in the face, sending him flying backwards. He came close to crashing right into Joey, but exploded into pixels before that happened. The blonde duelist in question couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 2,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)
"Now that he's been taken of," Angus continued, "here's how I'm going to get my Green Baboon back!" He threw another card into his Disk. "As it is still my Battle Phase, I'm free to activate Quick-Play Spells from my hand for the duration of this phase. Thus, I can activate Offerings to the Doomed right away!"
Kaiba flinched and looked up at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Argh..."
"Oh don't worry, Rich Boy," Angus told him. "I'm not targeting your Blue-Eyes with this. You see, the Monster I plan to destroy...is my Great Angus himself!"
Great Angus turned and looked towards its master in shock. Then it started to run away from the field, but a beam of light flew from Angus's Duel-Disk and caught it before it could take a second step. Within the space of a single second after the blow had struck, the Monster was blown into fragmented pixels, all of which vanished into nothingness.
"Now that he's gone, I can pay a thousand Life Points once more to call my Green Baboon back to the field!" laughed Angus. "I may have had to sacrifice my next Draw Phase due to my using Offerings to the Doomed, but hey, you have to make sacrifices to get somewhere, right? Now Green Baboon, come back to my side and wreak your revenge!"
His Life Points took another big drop, but Kaiba and Joey barely noticed this, as they were busy watching the resurrected Green Baboon fight its way out from under the floor again and take its place on the field. It beat its hairy chest and glared at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, clearly not happy for what it had done a bit ago. The Seal drew itself on its forehead again, but it barely did much to raise its temper any further. (ATK: 2,600/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800)
(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)
"And you said that my way of destroying that thing sucked, Kaiba?" Joey gulped in fear. His ally had no smart-aleck response to make this time.
"Green Baboon, try again and attack the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Angus shouted. "Primal Punch!"
Mokuba shut his eyes tight and turned away. Before long, the sound of a loud, gut-wrenching crack, a pained roar, and an explosion bombarded his eardrums without mercy. When he opened his eyes and looked again, Kaiba's Blue-Eyes was gone, and the CEO's face was twisted with absolute rage.
(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)
"How dare you disrespect my Blue-Eyes in such a manner!" Kaiba snarled. "That's yet another mistake you made today, Angus! For that, I am going to make sure you suffer the pain of a thousand deaths!"
"Big talk coming from someone who's got an empty field, a small hand of cards, and a partner with abysmal duelling skills," the Scotsman taunted. "Why don't you just make your move and spare yourself the trouble of making any more futile threats?"
"Who're you calling abysmal here?!" Joey roared, but no-one paid any heed to his outburst.
Kaiba's hands were shaking from his rage, so it took him a while to pull the top card on his deck free. After checking it, he slammed it into his Disk. "First, I'll play my own Pot of Greed!"
Again the blue-and-green jar with an evil smile that displayed rotting teeth appeared, but Kaiba didn't stop to look at it and made his next two draws. Even as the jar shattered into pieces, he picked out his next card and played it. "Next, I activate Fiend's Sanctuary, which allows me to summon a Metal Fiend Token to the field!"
A small white pentagram drew itself inside that of the Orichalcos. Then a small, lanky creature comprised of black beads that made up a faceless head, a torso, and a pair of arms arose from the smaller pentagram and gave the Death Eaters a blank stare. (ATK and DEF: 0)
That's the same card he gave Yugi before the last match of the Battle City Finals! Joey thought as he recognized the token. But what's Kaiba gonna do with it?
"The stats for this Token Monster are as follows, by the way," continued Kaiba. "It's Fiend-type, Dark-Attribute, and level one, plus it has nonexistent scores, as you can clearly see. Also, to keep it on the field, I need to sacrifice a thousand Life Points during my Standby Phase...but it won't be around for that long!"
"Yeah, because Green Baboon will smash it to bits on Angus's next turn," Raquel jabbed. "Not to mention that you'll be nearly out of Life Points."
"I'm afraid you're mistaken..." An evil smirk crept across Kaiba's face as he started to chuckle. "Because I'm sacrificing my Metal Fiend Token to summon something even better! My Luster Dragon #2!"
Both the white pentagram and the Metal Fiend Token disappeared from the field, to be replaced by a towering dragon with emerald growing around its legs. Its skin was also as green as an emerald, and it had a small goatee growing from its chin. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,400)
"Bah!" scoffed Angus. "That Monster isn't even as strong as your Blue-Eyes, Kaiba! Why bother summoning it?"
Kaiba scowled at Angus again and chose a third card from his hand to play. "Because," he replied, "in order to activate this next Spell Card, I needed a Dragon-type Monster on my field. And since Luster Dragon #2 obviously qualifies, the conditions for this card's activation are cleared! I play..." He threw the card into a slot. "...Dragon's Gunfire!"
The card's hologram - or rather image since the effects of a duel were made real by the Orichalcos - materialized behind his Luster Dragon #2. It displayed the picture of a dragon spitting out an orange ball of fire towards the foreground.
"This card has two effects, but I only get to use one of them," explained Kaiba. "The first effect allows me to inflict eight-hundred points of damage to the opponent...and the second effect allows me to destroy a Monster that has eight-hundred Defense Points or less!"
"Eight-hundred Defense Points or less..." Raquel's eyes widened in horror as she caught on and looked at her Marshmallon. "But he has only five-hundred!"
"And last I checked, Marshmallon may be immune to battle, but not to card effects!" Kaiba gloated with triumph. "Luster Dragon #2, use the power of Dragon's Gunfire and wipe that Marshmallon out!"
Luster Dragon #2 howled and breathed a stream of bright-green flames towards the Marshmallon, whose angry expression suddenly turned to one of fear as the attack approached. The flames washed over it before it had a chance to scream, and it was reduced into a pile of burning ashes. Raquel leapt backwards as the flames threatened to touch her too, but they vanished before they got to her.
"Yeek!" the female Death Eater shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Damn you, Seto Kaiba!"
"Now look who's defenseless," Kaiba chuckled smugly. "Oh wait, wouldn't that be you, Raquel? Since that is indeed the case, it wouldn't make sense not to attack you with my Luster Dragon #2, now would it?"
Before Raquel had the chance to respond, Luster Dragon #2 spat another blast of green flames right at her this time, setting her robes on fire and throwing her into a world of pain. As she got back up, she hissed and cast the CEO a look of pure rage, one that was amplified by the magic of the Orichalcos rushing through her.
(Raquel: 8,300 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)
"You are going to regret that!" she raged. "Nobody knocks me down like that and gets away with it!"
"Not to worry, Raquel," Angus assured her. "We still have the upper hand. The only thing Kaiba managed to do was draw out his inevitable demise. His Luster Dragon #2 is still weaker than my Green Baboon."
I hate to admit it, but he's right, Joey fretted. Kaiba's move was great, but what was the point? He should have tried setting up a defense instead!
Kaiba only shrugged his shoulders. "Well, true, but it was either do that or let Raquel hide behind a wall for a longer period of time," he stated. "I have to end my turn now. But trust me, you two..." His calm mood changed back into one of such anger that it matched Raquel's fury, and his voice rose with each word that he spoke. "You will pay for kidnapping my brother and disgracing my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Raquel spat to the side and drew another card. "We'll just see about that, Rich Boy! I summon my Sangan in Attack Mode!"
The tiny three-eyed demon with green limbs erupted onto the field with a high-pitched shriek of rage. Then the Orichalcos symbol etched itself onto its forehead, turning the colour of its fur to a very unpleasant-looking brown hue and lengthening its fangs as its soul was tainted by the dark magic. (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 600) - (ATK: 1,500/ DEF: 600)
"I may not be able to attack you directly since you still have a Monster, Kaiba," Raquel sighed, "so I guess I'll just take my frustration out on your partner! Sangan, attack Wheeler directly!"
Sangan leapt forward and buried its claws into Joey's chest, making him cringe and howl out in pain. He soon gathered himself and managed to wrestle the demon off of him before he fell to his knees and clutched where he was hit.
(Raquel: 8,300 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)
"No..." Mokuba moaned, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "They're losing..."
But Serenity shook her head fiercely. "No they're not, Mokuba! My brother will turn things around, and so can yours!"
"But even my brother's Blue-Eyes couldn't stand up to that Green Baboon!" Mokuba protested. "So what chance do they have?!"
"You've got to believe in both of them!" Serenity exclaimed. "I've seen my brother duel, and he's always been able to come back! Just like Kaiba can! If you don't think they'll succeed, they won't be at their best! You've just got to trust them!" She craned her head back towards the duel and called out to her brother as loud as she could. "Joey! Get up! You guys can still win this! I know you can!"
"Why don't you just put a cork in it, little girl, before I decide to have my Green Baboon rip your insides out?" Angus threatened her. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a duel here, and we could do so much better without your whining!"
At that point, a very unpleasant voice spoke up. "Oy..."
"Huh?" Angus and Raquel echoed at the same time as they turned to look at Joey, who was already back on his own two feet. But what caught their attention was the very vile glare that had somehow crept its way onto its face.
"Don't ever speak to my sister that way, Angus," the blonde growled. "If you wanna pick on a Wheeler...then try picking on me instead!"
The surprise slowly melted away from the Death Eaters' faces and they smirked. The threat seemingly had had no effect on them. "Well if that's really what you want, then we can abide by that with no problem," Angus shrugged. "Then I'll have my Green Baboon mutilate your dear sister for my amusement."
"It's only a matter of time anyway before the Orichalcos devours all your souls!" Raquel laughed. "Now, back to the duel! I place one card facedown and end my turn!"
A new facedown card appeared beside her Bad Reaction to Simochi Trap Card. Joey, who was still very angry with Angus for threatening his sister in such a terrible manner, ripped his next card free and looked over his hand, wanting to come up with a move as fast he could. Kaiba found himself marveling at how very provoked Joey could get whenever someone threatened Serenity...it was almost like how he was each time someone dared make a move against his little brother. But he shook the thought out of his head almost as quickly as it had come to him. There was no way he was going to sympathize with Joey of all people. The mere thought of that was almost too much for him to take.
"All right, here goes!" Joey shouted. "First, I'm activating my own Pot of Greed! Gotta say, though, it's getting kind of repetitive, but who cares?"
For the third time in a row, the jar of avarice popped up in front of Joey and let out a giggling noise. But Joey went along with what Kaiba did and ignored it while drawing his next two cards.
"All right!" he sounded very pleased from seeing his new cards. "Looks like I'm all set to take you jerks apart! And what better way to do it than with another new Spell Card I added to my deck recently? I play Ancient Rules!"
A tiny scroll of Middle Age-styled paper fluttered down from the sky, and as it landed on the wooden arena it unfurled to reveal the picture of a small Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba arched his eyebrows at the paper.
"A tiny piece of paper?" Raquel snorted with amusement.
"Just how is that going to help you, eh Wheeler?" asked Angus.
"Funny you should ask," Joey chuckled. "Ancient Rules allows me to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my hand, for as long as its level is five or higher! Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragons would qualify, but I don't have those guys in my deck. However...I do have my fave ol' buddy watching my back! Rise up, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
An inferno of reddish-black flames exploded all around his corner of the field. Then the flames cleared away to reveal the intimidating figure of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Its bloody-red eyes glinted when they caught sight of Green Baboon and Sangan, and the beast itself let out a howl of pure anger and spread its wings to keep itself airborne. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000)
"That pathetic mockery of my Blue-Eyes?" Kaiba jabbed at Joey. "And just how is he supposed to help us out?"
Joey threw his unwilling partner another vicious scowl before looking back out at the field again. "This 'mockery of your Blue-Eyes' is gonna bail us out, that's how!" he declared. "But first, I think I'll give 'im something to help him out with that job!" He pulled another Spell Card from his hand and showed it to everyone. "It's called Lucky Iron Axe, and it gives my Red-Eyes a nice boost of five-hundred Attack Points!"
As the Red-Eyes Black Dragon could not carry an axe, no such weapon appeared in sight for it to grab. But it was surrounded by a small aura of energy that represented the effect of Joey's Equip Spell. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 2,900/ DEF: 2,000)
"That still isn't strong enough to wipe out my Green Baboon, Wheeler!" snapped Angus.
Joey shook his head and pointed a finger at Raquel's mutated Sangan. "That oversized ape ain't my target, but that little guy sure is! Red-Eyes, attack Raquel's Sangan with your Inferno Fire Blast!"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon snarled with a burst of anger and let out a volley of molten fireballs upon the Sangan, frying it into ashes just like the Marshmallon. But yet again Raquel gave a smirk, which caused Joey to frown.
(Raquel: 6,900 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)
"Why thank you, Wheeler," she said. "Destroying my Sangan allows me to add another Monster to my hand...as long as it has fifteen-hundred or fewer Attack Points, of course. And I think I'll choose my Spirit Reaper!"
Damn it! Joey cursed in his mind. Another Monster that can't be destroyed in battle?! That's the last thing I need right now!
Raquel chuckled at the look on his face and pulled her desired card out of her deck. "Well that's what you get for not looking at how the strategies of your opponents work, Wheeler. Haven't you realized by now how Angus and I function? He's practically the perfect sword, whereas I am the shield. An unbeatable combination, if I do say so myself!"
"There's nothing unbeatable in the game of Duel Monsters," Joey snapped. "Even the Egyptian God Cards are no exception."
"Bah!" Raquel waved away Joey's words like they were an annoying cloud of gnats. "Even those so-called gods couldn't handle the magic of the Orichalcos if they tried! What you're facing is far stronger than they could ever be!"
"You're mistaken if you really believe that," growled Joey.
"Oh?" Raquel's eyebrows lifted up into her hairline. "Well then, if one of you has one in your deck, why don't you summon it and prove me wrong?" Then she clapped a hand to her mouth with mock surprise. "Oh yes, I forgot! Your friend Rich Boy lost his Egyptian God Card to a nobody like Yugi Muto, and you've never used one, Wheeler!" She stared at the CEO with a very evil smile. "If you could lose to someone while holding a so-called unbeatable power in your hands, I guess the Egyptian God Cards aren't as big as the world claims them to be, just like you, Kaiba! Against the magic we wield, you're nothing but a common duelist who hides behind an ego to shield himself from the truth!"
That did it. Kaiba's rage had reached a boiling point by the time Raquel had finished speaking. "How dare you?! Don't you even think about speaking of how I lost to Yugi Muto, especially when you two could not even win the British Regionals!" he snarled at the top of his lungs, before giving Joey another glare. "Now why don't you two stop talking and just end your turn already?! In case it escaped your notice, my brother could use some rescuing!"
"I'm getting there, Kaiba," Joey snapped. He placed the last two cards in his hand into separate Spell/Trap Card slots before waving to Angus, who started to draw a card from his deck. But then he stopped as he remembered something.
"Oh, right," he said. "Since I used Offerings to the Doomed last turn, I can't take my Draw Phase this turn. Oh, well." He shrugged and checked the single card he held, then looked up at his prized Monster again. "May as well get down to the best part! The only question is, who should I attack...?"
Maybe I could attack Kaiba's Luster Dragon #2 and bring him closer to defeat, the Death Eater reasoned with himself. But then... His gaze traveled over to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Wheeler might draw another card to power up his own dragon, and if he does, my Green Baboon will be wiped out again. Plus, should my Life Points fall below a thousand, I won't be able to use its resurrection effect. So...the choice is clear!
"Go, Green Baboon! Hand that Red-Eyes the same fate that you handed Kaiba's precious Blue-Eyes!"
Kaiba gave his partner a quick look and spotted a tiny smirk on his lips. Was he prepared for that...?
It sure seemed that way. For when Green Baboon pounced over to slam its fist into the neck of Joey's prized Monster, the blonde duelist himself struck a button on his Disk, causing one of his facedown cards to lift up. At once another imp - only this time it was the black one with bat-like wings growing from its shoulders - materialized above the Trap Card, carrying its huge red die in its hands.
"Thanks, you just activated my Skull Dice Trap Card!" Joey gloated.
Angus winced. "Agh, damn it!" he cursed. "If that thing manages to roll...at least a two, my Monster is doomed!"
"You've got that right!" Joey laughed. "Go, Skull Dice, do your thing!"
The black imp threw its hand upwards and released the red die from its grip. It struck the Green Baboon's forehead, causing it to flinch and take a few steps backwards, before the die clattered to the ground and began bouncing around like the Graceful Dice before it had done. It soon dragged to a halt...and Kaiba had to restrain a sigh of relief when he saw a four on the top face.
"Boo-yeah!" Joey pumped a fist in the air with triumph. "That means that your oversized ape loses four-hundred Attack and Defense Points, making it weaker than my Red-Eyes!"
Much to the chagrin of the Death Eaters, Green Baboon screeched in agony and clutched its stomach, but it was unable to stop its scores from plummeting due to the effect of Skull Dice. (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 1,400)
Yes! Serenity's mind screamed in relief as a huge smile lit up her gentle face. I knew my brother would turn this all around! You rock, Joey!
"Red-Eyes, counterattack that Green Baboon and send it running back to the Graveyard!" Joey commanded. "Inferno Fire Blast!"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon obediently released another barrage of fireballs, all of which struck the huge hairy ape on various spots on its body. Green Baboon's fur started to catch fire as it howled in pain and misery, and as soon as the last fireball struck it in the chest, it was blown into shards once again. Angus started to get a little frustrated now.
(Raquel: 6,900 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)
"You're only prolonging your inevitable demise, Wheeler!" he raged. "As long as I have Beast Monsters and enough Life Points to give up, my Green Baboon will never truly be gone!"
"Well, as you don't have very many Life Points left, Angus, it looks like your big monkey will only get to come back once," Kaiba chuckled. "You know, you really should have attacked my Luster Dragon #2. What kind of idiot attacks somebody when they've got some facedown cards out?"
"Shut your trap, Kaiba!" Angus flung at him before he addressed Joey again. "You know, I was going to consider letting up on attacking you after I rid us of your pesky Red-Eyes so that I can focus on Rich Boy. But since you pulled that stunt, I've got a score to settle with you!"
"As I do with you, big guy," scowled Joey. "You kidnapped my sister and I kicked your best Monster's ass for the second time in a row, and as soon as Kaiba and I win this duel, we'll be even."
Angus snarled again and slammed his last remaining card onto his Disk. "I'll set a Monster facedown in Defense Mode and end my turn!"
Kaiba eyed Angus's newly-set facedown Monster with suspicion as he drew his next card. If that card he set is another Beast-type Monster - and knowing Angus's strategy so far, it must be - then if I attack it, he'll just bring his Green Baboon back. Of course, as I pointed out, he only has enough Life Points to do that one last time, so after I destroy Green Baboon again, it'll stay in the Graveyard. He took a moment to scowl at the side of Joey's head before returning his attention to his hand of two cards. And Wheeler had better not get in my way again. I don't need the help of some amateur who relies only on luck! In the end, it'll be MY skills and mine alone that'll bring about the end of these two fools!
"Well, Kaiba?" Raquel asked impatiently. "Are you going to attack or not?"
The cold CEO gave her a slight smirk. "Eager to lose to me, eh? Well in that case, let's get to work on that, shall we? Luster Dragon #2, attack her directly again with your Emerald Flash Flare!"
Raquel flinched and held up her arms instinctively, but the action didn't buffer any of the pain that rocked her systems as another storm of emerald flames slammed into her. She stumbled backwards and came close to hitting the floor again, but she succeeded in keeping her balance this time.
(Raquel: 4,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)
"And that, Raquel..." Kaiba growled, his smirk turning back into a glare, "...is for everything you said to me just a bit ago! You think I'm just some common duelist? Then why is it that you both are on the losing end of this rather than myself? And if you had gotten to face an Egyptian God Card yourself, you wouldn't be spouting off such reckless taunts! They'd leave you a quivering wreck by the end of the day...as would I! Compared to them, your little broken card is nothing!" He spat out the last word with such contempt, one would think he was preparing to murder somebody.
An annoyed Joey merely rolled his eyes. Great, there he goes, getting all egotistical again...even though he DOES have a few points. He winced again. Man, I hate agreeing with Rich Boy! I seriously need to stop doing that!
Raquel took a moment to dust off the smoke and bits of ash from her robes. Then she glared back at Kaiba. "Then I guess I need to shove all of your words back down your throat, Rich Boy! I activate my next Trap Card, The Paths of Destiny!"
As her facedown card turned over, four huge coins materialized in front of each of the duelists.
"RAQUEL!" Angus suddenly screamed in fear, his face going pale as a ghost's. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Raquel ignored his shouts. "Now, listen up, all of you!" she barked. "When I activate this Trap Card, we each must flip a coin! Should you get heads as a result, your Life Points are increased by two-thousand! However, should you receive tails as a result, you lose that many points!"
If it was even possible, Kaiba would have looked much more incensed at this as he glared at her still-active Bad Reaction to Simochi card. "You little...!" he snarled. "Thanks to that stupid Trap Card of yours, it doesn't matter what I get, because I'll still lose the points!"
"That's playing cheap, Raquel!" Joey shouted, forgetting to chastise himself for agreeing with Kaiba yet again.
"As if I ever intended to play fair in the first place?" Raquel mocked. "Life's always going to be unfair, you two. So if you expect to survive, you have to play just as dirty."
"Raquel, you idiot!" Angus raged at her. "You realize that if I fail this toss, I'll lose both the duel and my soul?! You could have tried using that when I had more than two-thousand points so it wouldn't be as risky!"
"Oh, calm down, Angus," shrugged Raquel. "Even if you lose this, I can handle those two just fine on my own. I have plenty of tricks left to use on them. But if it makes you feel any better, I'll be sure to tell the master how helpful you've been. However, I'm sure you'll be just fine. I've hardly ever lost a bet with The Paths of Destiny, so I doubt you will."
Angus's face scrunched up from his increasing rage and panic. "Raquel..." he growled. "If I lose this duel because of you, I will never speak to you again..." His voice turned very poisonous. "But when I first see you again, I'll subject you to such torture, you won't be able to even THINK when I'm done with you! You hear me?!"
The threat was lost on the female Death Eater. "If you are quite done, Angus. Coins...flip!"
At her command, all four of the coloured coins flipped themselves into the air. Sweat ran down Angus's face like waterfalls, whereas Raquel, Kaiba, and Joey were all simply glaring at their respective coins.
I hope it won't change anything, Mokuba panicked. After all, Seto and Joey each still have some powerful Monsters. And if Angus loses this toss, they'll have one less enemy to deal with. But what if it turns out differently?
Hang in there, big brother! Serenity coached with her thoughts. Be strong!
After almost an unusually long ten seconds had passed, the coins finally came crashing back down on the ground and starting spinning around like tornadoes until they came to a stop. Much to everyone's surprise, and just as Mokuba had feared, all four of them had come up as heads. Angus just about collapsed from relief, while Joey and Kaiba grunted in pain as they felt their Life Points drop like a stone.
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 1,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)
"See, Angus?" asked Raquel. "I told you that you would be fine, didn't I? Now look! They're closer to losing their souls, and we've come out stronger than ever now!"
"Fine, you dodged a bullet there," Angus admitted, but he still looked angry with his comrade. "So I'll let you off for this. But if you make another crazy bet like this and I wind up losing it, I will still make good on my threat!"
"If you two are done with your lover's quarrel," Kaiba's scornful voice reached them, "I have to end my turn."
"Excellent." Raquel made another draw and smirked at her new card. "Well, Wheeler, looks like your Lucky Iron Axe won't be so lucky after all! I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it!"
A whirlwind surrounded the disturbed Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and the aura around it faded away. As the whirlwind vanished too, the dragon glared at Raquel in hate, desiring nothing more than to incinerate her with its molten fireballs. (ATK: 2,900/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000)
"Ha!" Joey laughed loudly. "Actually, Raquel, I should thank you! When Lucky Iron Axe is destroyed by my opponent's card effect, I get to draw a new card from my deck! So I guess I got the last laugh after all!" And he picked up another card from his deck to replenish his empty hand.
"Please!" Raquel scoffed. "A measly card is nothing compared to what I've got in store for you and Rich Boy! Although, for now I can only set a Monster in Defense Mode for this turn and pass the rest of it off...but I'd be more careful if I were either of you two!"
"We all know what that facedown Monster is, Raquel," Kaiba muttered even as his partner drew yet again to start his own turn. "Your pesky Spirit Reaper."
"Well duh, Kaiba, whatever made it so obvious?" Raquel asked sarcastically. "I'm not in the mood to take another hit from any of your puny dragons, after all."
"Fine, then I guess I'll just take a piece of Angus for myself!" Joey declared. "After how he insulted my little sis, I ain't about to let him off! So first, I'm gonna play a Spell Card - Inferno Fire Blast!"
Angus was about to mistake this declaration as an attack on his facedown Monster until he noticed the Spell Card's hologram appearing on Joey's side of the field. His angry expression transformed into confusion immediately. "What? There's a Spell Card named after a Monster's attack? But what does that do?"
"Glad you asked, Angus," Joey said, grinning like a devil. "Red-Eyes, why don't you go over there and answer his question?"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a low growl that suggested disappointment. Clearly it was hoping to get to attack Raquel again, but it was never one to disobey a command from Joey. So it craned its neck towards Angus instead and spat out a gust of searing hot flames at him, scorching him considerably. Angus bit back his scream of agony and kept himself braced for until the attack faded, leaving him gasping for breath.
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 1,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)
"W-what..." he moaned, but his surprise was very evident, as was Raquel's.
"It's kinda like attacking you directly, I know, but lemme explain," chuckled Joey. "I can only play Inferno Fire Blast when I've got my Red-Eyes on the field. When I do, I can give up his normal attack for the turn in order to inflict damage to you equal to the original Attack Score of my dragon! And since you've got only a thousand Life Points left now, Angus, if you try to bring back your Green Baboon, you'll be committing duelist suicide!"
No! Angus thought in terror. He disarmed me of my most valuable weapon!
But Raquel had different opinions. "So what?!" she spat. "We've still got some Monsters to protect ourselves, and plus there's other ways to raise Monsters from the Graveyard, in case you didn't know!"
"Well yeah, but I'm just going to take my chances with that," Joey shrugged. "And anyway, I ain't done! I've got a new Monster I'm gonna summon right off the bat this turn, but to do that I have to sacrifice my Red-Eyes. So later, pal!"
The Red-Eyes exploded into an inferno of black flames, but the fire didn't seem to disintegrate its body at all. In fact, it started to mutate a little.
"Come on out, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!" ordered Joey. "Let's show these jerks your best!"
The flames on the dragon's body weakened to a mere aura, and everyone could see that the Red-Eyes had transformed into the creature it had become during the Japanese Regionals at the beginning of the year - its black hide had hardened considerably and dark-red lines of lava ran all over its body. It bellowed an even louder roar than usual. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000)
"What the?" Angus blinked at the new arrival's increase in Attack Points. "It got stronger? But how?"
"This fella gets three-hundred Attack Points for every Dragon-type Monster in my Graveyard, that's how!" Joey crowed. "I've only got one in there, namely the Red-Eyes I just gave up to summon the Darkness Dragon, but it's no big deal! Because now I've got a Monster that can attack on this turn!"
Like that cheap imitation of my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon is gonna make a difference, Kaiba thought while rolling his eyes. It still can't get past Raquel's Spirit Reaper.
"Now, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack Angus's facedown Monster!" ordered Joey. "Inferno Dark Fire!"
The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon sent out a blast of reddish-orange flames at Angus's Monster, and as the card disintegrated into nothingness the silhouette of a small hyena with grayish-black fur appeared, writhing in agony. Then it vanished as well.
"That was my Hyena," Angus muttered. "And when it's crushed in battle, it's replaced by the other two clones of itself from my deck."
Two more Hyenas materialized in place of the first one and crouched down in Defense Mode. The Orichalcos symbol lit up their foreheads, and they started shrieking with hatred and anger as the darkness of the cursed Field Spell took hold of their souls. (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 300) x 2 - (ATK: 1,500/ DEF: 300) x 2
"Fine, Kaiba and I'll just take out the rest of 'em when it's our turns," Joey shrugged again. "Since I've got no more cards in my hand to play, it's your turn, big guy. Let's see what else you've got."
Angus sneered at him and drew his card. "Oh, I've got plenty," he promised, then looked at his new card. With a chuckle, he played it. "Well, looks like I've got my own Pot of Greed, and about time too. That's two new cards for me!"
For what promised to be the final time in this duel, the Pot of Greed's representing image materialized on the field and spun around like crazy, but once again its act was ignored as Angus snapped off two more cards from his deck. When he glimpsed what he drew, he burst out laughing like a maniac.
"Okay, is it just me, or is this guy finally going off the deep end...?" Joey muttered to himself.
Angus soon stopped laughing long enough to take one of his two cards. "Oh, Rich Boy!" he taunted with a singsong voice. "Looks like you're going to meet your end on this turn! By the time I'm done, you'll never get to see your little brother again!"
Those words made Mokuba's insides clench with fear, but he managed to ignore it. Come on, Seto, pull through! You can do this!
Kaiba merely gave Angus a look that echoed disbelief. "Yeah, right. You and what army?" he snorted.
"Glad you asked, Rich Boy," chuckled Angus, echoing Joey's words from earlier. "If you thought Green Baboon was the only strong Monster I've got, wait'll you see what I'm about to pull out from under my sleeve! And thanks to the Orichalcos, even your pitiful Blue-Eyes can't stop this beast! But first, in order to summon him, I need to sacrifice my two Hyenas!"
The Hyenas let out yelps of shock at this as they vanished into grains of light. An alarm went off in Joey's head. A double sacrifice! he thought in fear. Okay, I think this guy's getting serious...well, more serious than he's been so far...
"Come forth!" Angus bellowed at the top of his voice - and for a moment the triumph on his face made him look inhuman. "Big Koala!"
A towering koala the size of an elephant appeared in front of the Scottish Death Eater, chewing on a few eucalyptus leaves. Its fur had a turquoise tinge to it, and its eyes and claws were a deep black, but they lit up with a bloody-red tint, compliments of the green pentagram drawing itself onto its forehead. The tainted koala let out a horrible growl and glared at Joey and Kaiba, its friendly side long gone. (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,000)
Kaiba and Joey started to get a little unnerved again. Staring down a Monster stronger than one of their headliners was never an easy thing for them.
"Big Koala may be powerful now..." Angus bragged. "But he's only going to get stronger, thanks to the other card I just drew! I empower my Big Koala with the Spell Card, Wild Nature's Release! This strengthens his Attack Points even further, by an amount equal to his Defense Points!"
The Big Koala's muscles started to make themselves visible from under its fur, and its expression turned even more rabid, until it was so horrible that it was hard to look at it without flinching. (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 5,200/ DEF: 2,000)
"Oh no!" a terrified Mokuba screamed out. "My brother's only got twenty-five hundred points left! If Angus attacks him, he loses!"
"Don't worry, Mokuba, I'm sure my brother has a plan!" Serenity assured him. She jerked her head towards the facedown card behind Joey's Monster. "He's still got a facedown card left! Maybe it can block an attack!"
Joey slowly looked towards his sister. There was a strange look in his eyes...it seemed like a mixture of determination and hopelessness...
"Well, it'd better, because if not then Rich Boy's got a payment to make!" Angus cackled. "But don't worry, Wheeler..." he added as he looked towards Joey, who had gone very silent. "I do still have a score to settle with you, but we all know that Rich Boy is the bigger threat here. So once I take care of him, you're going down next, so don't you worry. You'll have your turn to suffer before long."
"Indeed!" Raquel laughed gleefully. "But for now, Angus, you know what to do! Let us make one of our finest deliveries to the Dark Lord, shall we?"
"Yes, we shall!" Angus agreed, and he pointed a bulky finger at Kaiba's only Monster. "Big Koala, strike down his Luster Dragon #2 and feed his soul to the Orichalcos!" Then he snapped an evil smile towards one of the terrified captives. "Oh, Mokuba? I hope you're watching this!"
Indeed Mokuba was. The horrified young man had eyes only for his big brother. "SETO!" he screamed in anguish. "NOOOOO!"
Kaiba flinched from the shout, and he closed his eyes as the Big Koala started to advance on his Luster Dragon #2. This is it, he thought sadly. Forgive me, Mokuba...I'm sorry...
Everyone seemed to fall deathly silent, so that the only noise in the air was the sound of Big Koala rushing towards the emerald dragon...but then another voice cut in, and the Big Koala stopped in its assault as Joey's facedown card lifted up...
"Not so fast!" Joey yelled with defiance. "I activate my other Trap Card, Shift! Now your Big Koala's attack is redirected towards my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"
"WHAT?!" Angus shrieked, astonished at Joey's daring interception. "Are you crazy, Wheeler?! You don't have enough Life Points to survive this attack either!"
"Joey, please don't!" Serenity yelled at her brother, tears filling up her eyes. "You'll lose your soul! Please don't do it!"
Joey just turned around and flashed her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about me, sis," he said. "I'll be fine...you guys can count on Kaiba. He can take these of these idiots."
Kaiba felt himself gaping at Joey. He could not believe what he was hearing, let alone seeing. He can't be doing what I think he is! he thought. He must have lost his mind!
Raquel, on the other hand, was snickering more than ever. "Fine by us, Wheeler!" she shouted. "If that's really what you want, then I'm certain we can oblige!"
Angus snapped out of his shock and regarded his empowered Monster again. "Big Koala!" he barked. "It's obvious that Wheeler wants a death wish, so we may as well give it to him! Destroy his pathetic Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and deliver his soul to the Dark Lord once and for all!"
Big Koala lumbered away from the Luster Dragon #2 and slashed the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon across the chest without mercy. The wounded dragon let out a final howl of pain, shame, and humiliation, and then combusted into a storm of flames and flying fragments of black stone. Joey Wheeler was thrown up against the Seal's invisible barrier by the overwhelming force of the destructive death his dragon had suffered. He couldn't scream; he was much too winded from being thrown up against the Seal. He could barely make out his sister's screams through his damaged hearing...
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 0 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)
Joey collapsed to the floor, but managed to keep himself on his knees so that he wouldn't fall face-first just yet. It was difficult for him to breathe. His breaths kept coming out as gasps for air, and his vision was going hazy. Kaiba could only gawk at him.
And frankly, so could Angus and Raquel. Despite the surges of triumph they felt, they were also caught unawares by what Joey had done. They had believed that he and Kaiba hated each other so much, that one of them wouldn't dare sacrifice himself for the other...and now they were proven wrong.
"Kaiba..." Joey could barely talk through his labored breathing, but he willed his throat to work with all his strength. "Kaiba...I'm...counting on you...save my...sister..."
Kaiba felt very unused to the tone Joey was addressing him with. He didn't even feel himself nod his head. Joey felt satisfied with this response, but he was not done talking yet.
"One more thing..." he wheezed. "Get the...the Claw of...of Hermos...to Yugi...believe me, he's...gonna...need it..." As he craned his neck to look at his sobbing sister, he almost passed out from the agony wracking his body, but he did not give in just yet. "And, Serenity...I'm sorry...but I promise...you'll see me again...Yugi'll get me...out of there..."
Serenity shook her head in frantic denial. "Joey, please don't leave me!" she sobbed. "I love you too much to lose you again! Please don't go!"
Those words stabbed at Joey's heart like knives, but he could only bow his head in shame. "I did...my best..." he moaned. "But I had...to do this...so that...so that Kaiba could rescue you guys..." He managed to smirk at the stunned CEO. "He might be...a jerk at times...but I...I trust him...and that's...good enough for me..."
Kaiba's arms fell limp to his sides. He felt so stunned by what Joey had done, he couldn't bring himself to deny a fact that had just presented itself to him. Had Joey not made the move he did, he would have lost the duel...and as much as he would deny it, he would have also lost his soul. And to think it was Joey of all people who saved him...let alone trusted him...it was like his world was spiralling out of control and he could not bring it back into focus...
Then the Seal of Orichalcos gave a malevolent flare of energy. A smaller pentagram of itself shrunk in on Joey and surrounded him. The blonde duelist could feel the wicked magic pulling at his soul, but he lost the last of his contained consciousness before it captured him. For a moment, green light was all that flashed before his eyes...and then all went black.
The smaller Seal vanished from around him, and his soulless shell finally collapsed to the floor. Serenity couldn't take this sight anymore. Her sobs of grief pierced the air as she turned away, not willing to believe that, right before her eyes, her brother had been taken from her.
Mokuba felt like crying too. He could definitely sympathize with Serenity's situation, having once lost his own brother in the exact same manner.
Then there came scornful laughs from the pair of Death Eaters.
"How touching," Raquel chuckled, her voice thick with sarcasm. "How very dramatic. But it was his own fault. He could have just let Kaiba take the fall, and instead he goes and throws his soul away. What kind of idiot does that?"
"I'll tell you what kind," snickered Angus. "The stupid and hopeless type. He just made our job all the easier. Now all we have to do is eliminate Rich Boy's Life Points, and our master will reward us greatly. You can't defeat a pair of duelists all by yourself, Kaiba, so why not just surrender?"
Kaiba raised his head up and scowled at the Death Eaters so much, they flinched a little. "You two are so deluded," he growled with a very low voice. "I never surrender to anyone. Wheeler did something right for once. He bought me the time I needed in order to take you two down, and I'm not about to let that chance go to waste."
"Save your bold declarations, Rich Boy," scoffed Raquel. "You're outnumbered two to one. There's no way you can pull yourself out of this. You've been backed into a corner you won't be getting out of!"
"Oh, really?" Kaiba chuckled as he arched his eyebrows and stared right at Angus. "I think someone's forgotten about the side-effect of his Wild Nature Release card. At the End Phase, the Monster affected by that card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. And since you have no other Monsters, Angus, I believe that means you'll be defenseless."
Angus jerked to his senses and came to a realization right there. He had been so caught up in coming close to wiping out Kaiba, he failed to notice that his hand was empty again, and that once his Big Koala was destroyed his field would be completely empty...and with only a thousand Life Points left...
"No!" he gasped.
Kaiba let out a small laugh. "Didn't count on that, did you?" he mocked. "Well, as you've no other cards to play, it looks like you have to end your turn. So say good-bye to your Big Koala!"
The Big Koala suddenly let out an agonized howl and clutched its head tightly. It keeled over and landed on the wooden floor with a crash, exploding into pixels upon contact. Angus started quivering with fear.
"My move!" Kaiba pulled out a card from his deck. "And just to make it more interesting, I'll summon the card I just drew! Say hello to my Vorse Raider!"
The vicious, muscular ogre dressed in a black vest and carrying a double-bladed axe materialized nearby the Luster Dragon #2 and bore his long fangs at his prey, namely Angus. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,200)
"Luster Dragon #2, attack Angus directly and wipe him out!" ordered Kaiba. "Emerald Flash Flare!"
Luster Dragon #2 let out another stream of bright emerald-green flames, and the Scotsman released what would be his final scream of anguish as they scorched through his robes and singed his skin in a few places. He was knocked backwards and thrown up against the Seal's wall. Then he slowly slid downwards until he was a smoking heap on the wooden floor.
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 0 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)
"Ha! Take that, you freak!" Mokuba gloated, looking very happy despite the tears in his eyes. "That one's for Joey!" He looked back at the still-sobbing Serenity. "See? Seto's gonna win!"
But Serenity didn't seem to hear Mokuba's words, as she was still immersed in too much grief to even try to speak.
"R-Raquel!" Angus gasped as he lifted his head up and cast his partner a frightened look. "Please, do something! Hurry! I can't afford to lose my soul, not when we've come this far! Please!"
Raquel stared at the second mini-sized Orichalcos pentagram that had formed and started contracting around Angus. She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Angus, but I'm afraid I lack the power to stop the Seal. Even I can't prevent the loser from paying up with his soul." She took a few steps away from him. "But I'll be sure to tell the Dark Lord how much help you've been after I take care of Rich Boy."
"NO!" Angus screamed in despair, before he was cut as a pillar of light shot up around him. Kaiba and Raquel looked on with dispassion as the Seal claimed the soul of the hulking Death Eater, leaving his body to fall to the floor as the light vanished. The field slot on Angus's Disk fell open, and his copy of the Seal of Orichalcos slid right out, except that the picture on the card had changed. Now it resembled Angus trapped behind a cage of bars.
Then what happened next came as a bit of a surprise to Kaiba. The Seal vanished from the wooden floor, and its symbol also left Raquel's forehead, thus erasing the bloody tint in her eyes. She groaned and clutched her head, as if she was getting a headache.
"The Seal! It's gone!" Mokuba sounded both surprised and relieved. "But how?!"
I think it's because since Angus was the one who played that card, it left the field when he lost the duel, Kaiba theorized to himself. Well, that's one less thing to worry about. Now, all that's left to do is deal with Raquel so that I can get my brother back!
"Well, what now?" he addressed the surviving Death Eater. "You're all alone just like me, your broken advantage is gone, and you've only got one Monster to protect you. So why don't you throw in the towel and hand over my brother? I might consider letting you off if you do...even though I'm not in a particularly forgiving mood." He emphasized this statement with an angry growl.
"Like Hell!" Raquel spat at him. "In case you've forgot, I have four-thousand more Life Points than you do, and as you know my facedown Spirit Reaper can't be destroyed by attacks! I still have a chance to crush you and deliver your soul to the Dark Lord, and this duel isn't going to stop until your shell's laying dead at my feet!"
"Oh, quit going on about all that soul-stealing crap and whatnot," snapped Kaiba. "And if that's really how you want this all to end, that's fine by me. I'll crush you so hard, it'll send a message to this Dark Lord of yours to never mess with my family again!"
"Bring it on, Rich Boy!" dared Raquel. "With barely any Life Points left, I'd just like to see you try to turn this around!"
"Well then..." Kaiba cracked his knuckles for a bit and then pointed at the facedown Monster still sitting on Raquel's half of the field. "Why don't I get started right now? First things first, time to bring your Spirit Reaper into the spotlight! Vorse Raider, attack her Monster with Bloodlust Slash!"
Raquel's irritated expression became replaced by a confused one. "Huh?"
But the Vorse Raider had already let out a deep growl and charged forward with its axe. As it swung downwards with it, the specter with a purple cloak appeared on the card and parried the weapon with its scythe. For a moment the two Monsters tangled with one another, until Vorse Raider gave up and backed away, but not without spitting at the Spirit Reaper with contempt. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200)
"Now why did you do that, Rich Boy?" asked Raquel. "Didn't I just tell you that Spirit Reaper can't be destroyed in battle?"
Kaiba chuckled. "Well, apparently you're overlooking your own Monster's weakness," he explained. "True, it's invincible in battle, but if either duelist does so much as target it with any card effect, even a beneficiary one, it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. So now that it's face-up, all I have to do is target it to destroy it, and then I'll have my Monsters crush the rest of your Life Points!"
Raquel realized Kaiba's point right there, but it didn't stop her from looking all smug. "Like that's gonna help. All you've done is waste your time. I doubt you have very many cards in your deck that can target, and you've already used your Shrink, so I'd say your options are limited."
Kaiba just scowled at her and examined the two cards left in his hand. I hate to admit it, but she has a point, he thought. My deck's mainly focused on beatdown, not card effects. And the only two cards I have here are Card of Demise and Trade-In. The latter only works if I have a level eight Monster to discard, and I don't have one. As for the Card of Demise, I COULD use it right now, but Raquel's best trick has yet to come out, so maybe I should save it for until then. However, if turns keep passing and I still haven't got past her Spirit Reaper, then I'll think about using it. For now, I'd better just wait it out and see what else happens.
"I end my turn," he said. "Good thing it won't take long to get rid of you now that Angus is out of my way."
"Please!" Raquel exclaimed, drawing her next card from her deck at long last. "Angus may be defeated, but he did most of the work for me! He left you in a weakened condition, so now I can complete the job he began and finish you off! It's not over yet, Kaiba, not until I finally stand victorious...and believe me, I will!"
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)
"Save your bluffs for later and just make your move," Kaiba jabbed at her. "You've wasted enough of my time as it is!"
Raquel sneered at him and examined her drawn card. Her scowl instantly turned upside-down as she looked at it, and she let out a bark of triumphant laughter. "Ha!" she taunted. "Well, Kaiba, if you thought your little jaunt into the darkness was over, I'm afraid you're about to be mistaken! I did say I would take your soul now, didn't I? Well, I can't do that without this on the field!"
Kaiba already knew what Raquel had drawn before she even flicked open her field slot and slid her card inside it. And sure enough, as the green pentagram drew itself onto the arena floor again and the Orichalcos symbol reappeared on Raquel's forehead, tinting her eyes an evil red again, he knew that she had drawn her own copy of the Seal of Orichalcos. But this time he wasn't worried. He just stood there in his calm and collected attitude, as if he was ignoring the Field Spell.
"To rectify a statement Angus made when he played this card," Raquel snickered through her clenched teeth, "since there's only one duelist left on each team, it will be the sole survivor rather than survivors standing when this duel's done. And you're staring right at her, Kaiba!"
"Oh, is that so?" Kaiba sneered icily at her. "Then why do you have to depend on some broken card to win your duels for you? If it were really your skills you were winning with, you might have been able to convince me of such a promise."
Raquel threw him an extremely ugly look. "Watch your mouth!" she shrieked. "How do you think I got to the semifinals of the British Regionals? I didn't use the Orichalcos then, and I certainly wasn't going to! That would have attracted too much attention! But even if I didn't have this card from the very beginning, Kaiba, you'd still be begging me for mercy by the time I was done with you!"
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you," Kaiba retaliated. "Now stop talking and make your move already, unless you want to end your turn!"
Raquel checked the last card left in her hand and gave a sneaky smirk. Perfect! With the help of this card, I'll be able to execute the very combo that will destroy Kaiba and rid him of his soul! This duel is all mine!
Chuckling, she set the card on her Disk facedown and sideways. "That ends my turn. And by the way, let's not forget that my Spirit Reaper gains five-hundred Attack Points due to the bonus it gets from the Orichalcos."
Kaiba looked at the Spirit Reaper and found that Raquel was correct; the symbol of the Orichalcos had appeared on the specter's forehead, though it didn't do much to enhance its wicked appearance as it was already evil enough. But its scores still altered accordingly. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200) - (ATK: 800/ DEF: 200)
"Feel free to try to get past my Monsters if you can, Rich Boy," Raquel invited. "I'm sure I'll get a laugh out of this!"
Kaiba just grumbled something under his breath - likely something about how people could be so dramatic at times - and drew a card. He had to hold back a laugh the moment he saw what it was. "Let's see you try and get a laugh out of this move! It's time to welcome my Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to the field, thanks to the power of my Premature Burial Spell Card!"
A small light surrounded his body, and he winced a little as he felt his Life Points go down, but it didn't bother him too much. An overwhelming light lit up his field a second later, and as it cleared away the magnificent form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was revealed once again, looking perfectly undamaged. It let out a prideful roar to announce its return. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 1,700 Life Points)
Yes! Mokuba beamed with happiness at the resurrected dragon. Seto's got his Blue-Eyes back! He can't lose now!
"That thing again?" complained Raquel. "What do you and Wheeler have, a dragon fetish or something?"
"Maybe," Kaiba chuckled. "Maybe not. Either way, that shouldn't concern you right now! What should concern you is that my Blue-Eyes White Dragon is going to wipe your facedown Monster off the map with its White Lightning Attack!"
The Blue-Eyes picked up on the command within that statement and shot its White Lightning at the target. As the attack struck home, a small dome of blinding yet destructive energy lit up Raquel's field, covering her attacked Monster and her Spirit Reaper from sight. When it cleared, only the Spirit Reaper was left standing, but the other Monster was gone without a trace.
"Since you obviously didn't see my Monster before it went bye-bye, I'll tell you what it was," Raquel chuckled. "It was my Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu, and his ability allows me to add an Equip Spell Card in my deck to my hand. And I know just the one to choose...in fact, with my Bad Reaction to Simochi, it's practically my ultimate weapon!"
But Kaiba looked very unimpressed with this. "Your ultimate weapon is an Equip Spell?" he inquired. "Well that's rather pathetic of you. That kind of card is easy to destroy."
Raquel ignored his criticism and yanked her desired Equip Spell out of her deck as fast as she could. Kaiba gave a frown at this. It was like she was in a hurry to get that card into her hand...perhaps it was her most powerful Equip Spell in her arsenal? He hoped he wouldn't have to find out.
"End your turn yet, Rich Boy?" asked Raquel.
Kaiba just gave her a light nod in response.
"Good!" Raquel smirked with glee, drew again, and shoved her Equip Spell into a slot on her Disk. "Then it's time for you to lose control of your prized Monster, moneybags! I activate the card my Blacksmith gave me...Snatch Steal!"
Kaiba's senses almost froze like a computer would as his brain registered Raquel's declaration. "Say what?!" he bellowed.
"You heard me!" Raquel laughed. "Now I get to steal control of a Monster on your side of the field! And I think it's fairly obvious as to who I'm going to be choosing for this effect - your Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Now that thing will be fighting on my side!"
A shadowy thief with a mask covering his face and a sack slapped over his shoulder ran out from behind Raquel and entered the body of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon just like a ghost would. The dragon let out a strained roar, and then slowly flapped its wings and flew over to the Death Eater's side of the field, much to Kaiba's anger...and terror.
Raquel stretched out both her arms towards her new servant. "Now, my Blue-Eyes, let the power of the Orichalcos course through you!" she chanted. "Let it guide you on the path of total destruction!"
As the Blue-Eyes raised its head and let out a roar, which now sounded like a demonic parody of what it once was, Kaiba and Mokuba saw that the Seal had been freshly drawn into its forehead. The mere sight of it was enough to send a flashback tingling through their senses...
FLASHBACK
On Pegasus's resort island, inside his Duellist Kingdom Castle...
Seto Kaiba, dressed in his purple trenchcoat he once wore to the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, was staring down Alister, a young man with red hair cropped over both sides of his head. He wore a white tanktop that left his stomach exposed, and he also wore combat jeans and wristbands. His young face was twisted with anger, amplified by the glowing Seal on his forehead.
The two duelists were standing inside the Seal of Orichalcos, hovering right over what looked like an endless abyss below them. On Kaiba's side, there lurked two Blue-Eyes White Dragons and a facedown card, whereas Alister's field was completely empty, save for his Royal Decree Trap Card, which prevented all other Trap Cards from being activated and used. Mokuba was looking on at the duel from behind his brother with a mixture of ecstasy and worry.
(Alister: 1,200 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 400 Life Points)
"If you thought I devastated you this turn," Kaiba mocked his foe with his usual smirk, "then just wait. The worst is ahead."
"Whatever," Alister grumbled and drew his card. His frown turned into a smirk of his own when he saw what it was. "I've got one word for your moves: predictable. I can see your lame strategy coming from a mile away."
"If that's the case, then let's see you do something about it," Kaiba challenged.
Alister's smirk didn't waver. "I'll play a Spell Card," he stated, holding up his drawn card for Kaiba to see. "My Pot of Greed. It lets me draw two cards." Thus he slid the card into his Graveyard and pulled two more from the top of his deck. "Then I activate another Spell Card called Aetonix Flame!"
Suddenly, twin bursts of flaming tornadoes erupted from thin air and enveloped the screaming Blue-Eyes White Dragons. The CEO could only look on in shock as they exploded into pixels, which were then consumed by the flames.
"How could you have destroyed both of my dragons?!" Kaiba shouted in anger.
"You need to brush up on your Duel Monsters cards," Alister jibed him. "Aetonix Flame destroys every creature on the field that isn't a Fire Monster. And as an added bonus, it allows me to bring my Gorlag back to the field in Attack Mode."
The red-skinned fiend with horns and a sword made of blue flames rematerialized in front of Alister and let out a vengeful snarl, before it went silent as the Seal etched itself into its slimy forehead and lit its eyes with an evil green glow. (ATK and DEF: 1,000) - (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000)
"Next I'll activate another Spell Card known as Fire Whip!" came another shout from Alister.
As the Gorlag swung its flaming sword, it grew into a whip that struck the discard slot on Kaiba's Duel-Disk and sent two cards falling out of it. "My cards!" Kaiba yelled out in surprise. Then his attention was grabbed by the reappearance of his two prized Blue-Eyes...only now they were on Alister's side of the field, crowded around the Gorlag.
"Thanks to my Fire Whip, your precious Blue-Eyes belong to me!" gloated Alister. "And they've been resurrected as creatures of fire!"
"Those dragons are mine!" Kaiba shouted at him.
"Call me crazy, but last I checked your dragons were on my side of the field!" Alister corrected. "Soon I'll use your favorite Monsters to take you down! Can you say 'perfect revenge?'"
Kaiba was too busy staring at his favorite Monsters in horror to answer the question, for the Seal of Orichalcos had now drawn themselves onto the dragons' foreheads. Their normally bright eyes were now like veils that issued waves of darkness, as was their roars, which now sounded demonic. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) x 2 - (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 2,500) x 2
"Since my Spell Card also made them Fire Monsters, my Gorlag gets a one-thousand Attack Point boost!" added Alister.
The Gorlag's muscles bulged a little to show its increase in power. Its Attack Points was now nearly on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragons themselves. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000) - (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 1,000)
"You're staring into the face of three Monsters with a combined amount of ten-thousand Attack Points!" laughed Alister. "But luckily for you, I can't attack, so I'll place one card facedown and end my turn! And thanks to the sacred Seal of Orichalcos, when you lose your Life Points, you lose your soul!" His eyes flashed with pure malevolence, which made Kaiba take a small step backwards for a change. "You'll suffer like I did at the hands of your stepfather!"
END FLASHBACK
"Oy, Kaiba! Hey! Rich Boy! I'm talking to you! Wake up from La-La Land already!"
Kaiba vaguely heard Raquel's shouts wrenching him back into reality. "Wh-wha...?" he mumbled.
"Were you not paying attention to my move at all?" Raquel's voice sounded very exasperated. "Good Lord, did you decide to take a nap or something? I'd at least like you to acknowledge me before I strip you of your soul and win the duel!"
The present situation soon started coming back to Kaiba. A bit ago, Raquel had played Snatch Steal to take control of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon to attack him with...
...his Blue-Eyes?!
Kaiba snapped his head back up to look at his prized Monster again, and found that the Seal of Orichalcos had indeed etched itself onto the beast's forehead, just like it did when Alister had stolen two of them from him during their first duel at Duelist Kingdom Island. Not only that, but Kaiba noticed that the scores of the dragon had altered a little, obviously due to the effect of the Seal. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) - (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 2,500)
"You are going to pay for what you've done..." the CEO spat, his voice filled with bile and hate. "Nobody destroys my Blue-Eyes White Dragons and gets away with it, nor do they steal them from me!"
"No-one except me, that is," Raquel boasted. "Besides, take a look at the field. If you really weren't paying attention before, you'll notice now that your Vorse Raider is gone. Then you should check your Life Points."
Kaiba hated being ordered around, but when he spared the field a glance just for the Hell of it, he discovered that his Vorse Raider was indeed gone. He turned his gaze to his Duel-Disk, and his eyes widened when he discovered that his Life Point counter had changed drastically...for the worse.
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)
"You must have used my Blue-Eyes to attack my Vorse Raider and weaken me when I wasn't looking..." he noted with a growl.
"Pay more attention next time," Raquel scolded him, before her face morphed back into its usual evil grin. "Not that you'll need to...because now, my task is complete! I've won the duel at last!"
"Huh?" Kaiba stared at her in confusion and irritation. "Can't you do the math right, Raquel? I still have a hundred Life Points left, so this duel isn't over."
"Check again, dead-eye," Raquel rebutted. "You obviously don't know the other effect of my Snatch Steal card. There's a reason it serves as the ultimate weapon when it's comboed with Bad Reaction to Simochi...during each of your Standby Phases, you receive an additional one-thousand Life Points. But again, you'll remember that I still have my Simochi Trap Card, which converts all your Life Point gains into damage to you instead!"
Kaiba's eyes widened considerably as the situation sank into him like a stone. "No!"
"Yes!" Raquel exploded into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "In other words, no matter what you do, your soul is destined to be brought before my master so that our plans can finally reach fruition! Face it, you never had a chance from the very beginning, Kaiba!"
Kaiba's nerves tingled on the edge of panic, before he forced himself to think rationally again. Actually...there is only ONE shot I have left, he thought. I still have a card in my deck that I can activate right before Raquel's Trap Card activates and wipes me out. It all depends on whether or not I draw it NOW. But if I don't...then Raquel wins... For an instant he was appalled with what he was thinking. I can't believe this, but after all the times I've lectured Wheeler on how dumb luck doesn't win duels, I now have to depend on a lucky shot myself. It doesn't look like I have a choice, though. It's either do this, or lose Mokuba forever...
Raquel soon finished laughing, even though she continued to snicker. "Well, Kaiba?" she asked. "Want to surrender now while you still have the chance? Maybe if you do, I'll consider bringing you to the Dark Lord while you're intact and let him decide what to do with your soul. At least you'll have a little longer to keep it before my master decides your fate. Certainly that would be preferable to a humiliating defeat, right?"
Kaiba hitched his cool glare back onto his face and regarded Raquel again. "Have you gone deaf or something?" he demanded. "I told you before, I don't surrender to anyone, and I'm not about to start now. Not even if it looks like I'm about to lose."
"I'm not giving you another chance after this, Kaiba!" Raquel warned. "Need I remind you that it doesn't matter what card you draw, you lose the duel? And you also don't have the option of simply skipping your Standby Phase, which is when you'll lose! So, last chance. Either back down, or lose your soul!"
Kaiba's glare bore right into her very eyes as he gave his response: "Never."
Raquel rolled her eyes. "Why do they always want to do it the hard way?" she grumbled. "Oh, very well then! I'll just strip your soul from you the hard way! I end my turn now, Kaiba, so draw your card, and accept your demise!"
"Whose demise?" Kaiba smirked. "Mine...or yours?"
And with that strange question, he drew what would possibly be his last card. Before he could make any further remarks, Raquel burst out laughing again and pointed a finger at him.
"Time's up, Rich Boy!" she gloated. "Bad Reaction to Simochi now activates with that of Snatch Steal's, so you lose all your Life Points! Now...DIE!"
A split-second after her shout, something happened. A blast of searing white energy blasted out of the image of her Trap Card and slammed right into the floor near Kaiba, thus causing an explosion that threw up smoke all around him and his Luster Dragon #2. The smoke was so thick that nobody could see through it, not even Mokuba who was currently screaming out horrified shouts to where his brother once stood.
"SETO!" he yelled, flailing his limbs wildly in a vain effort to break free from his bindings. "SETO!"
Serenity was almost oblivious to the commotion going on nearby, but now more grief was piling up within her. First her brother, and now Mokuba's...who else would fall victim to the power of the Orichalcos, she wondered?
"Heh heh heh..." Raquel giggled evilly. "Two powerful souls in the bag...won't the Dark Lord be pleased with my efforts." She paused in her gloating to cast Angus's body a brief glimpse and then looked back at the sight of the explosion. "Shame that Angus couldn't make it, but maybe my master will restore his soul once he sees what I've accomplished...not to mention that we have only those three at Hogwarts left to attend to. Once that's done-"
"Writing your victory speech already?" a snide voice interrupted her. "Why don't you wait until you've actually won?"
Raquel gave a start. "Wh-what?!" she screeched. "Kaiba, is that you?! But you should be losing your soul by now!"
The smoke was starting to recede from the rooftop before she had asked her question. As the last of it cleared away...Kaiba was seen standing in his usual calm posture, with his arms folded across his chest and his glare unwavering, and the Luster Dragon #2 was also still there. Raquel gave them a suspicious look and checked her Life Point counter, only to have her jaw fall open in surprise.
(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)
According to her Disk, the scores had not changed at all...
"SAY WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Raquel squawked before she could stop herself. "HOW THE HELL?!"
Even Mokuba, despite his overwhelming relief, was just as confused. So was Serenity, who for once had snapped out of her grief to look at what was going on.
"How, you ask?" Kaiba chuckled. "Very simple, Raquel..." He unfolded his arms and held up the card he had drawn right before the blast from Bad Reaction to Simochi had struck. "It was all due to one very good draw."
Raquel stared at the card in shock. "Mystical Space Typhoon?!" she exclaimed. "But Kaiba, you can't activate Spell Cards during the Standby Phase!"
"Where did you learn how to play the game?" inquired Kaiba. "Normally, it's true that you can't activate Spell Cards during your Standby Phase...save for one kind of Spell Card. As every duelist likely knows, there are six types of them. One of them is Quick-Play, which is what my Mystical Space Typhoon qualifies as."
"That still doesn't explain anything!" Raquel exploded indignantly. "You must have cheated!"
"I never cheat," Kaiba chuckled. "And besides, you should be able to figure this out. Didn't you see Angus activate a Quick-Play of his own from his hand during his Battle Phase? Wouldn't it make sense that the player can also use Quick-Plays from his hand during his Standby Phase too?"
Raquel was about to fire another accusation at Kaiba, but when she opened her mouth to form the words, none came out. She had been stopped dead in her tracks by Kaiba's deduction. It was all starting to come together for her.
"You see, Raquel," Kaiba went on, "Quick-Play Spell Cards can indeed be used during your opponent's turns, but only if they are facedown on your field, like Trap Cards. As for your turns, they can be used during any phase of your turns whatsoever, and that includes the Draw, Standby, End Phases...all of them. You can even use them from your hand if it's your turn, regardless of the phase. Thus, I was able to use my Mystical Space Typhoon right before your Snatch Steal's recovery effect activated, and I used it to destroy that Equip Spell! And you know what that means, right?"
Raquel had no time to respond as the Seal vanished from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's forehead, thus freeing the wyvern of the evil Field Spell's influence. It let out a roar that sounded like it was happy, spread its wings, and soared back to its master's field. Luster Dragon #2 gave the Blue-Eyes a friendly roar, as if welcoming it back. (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 2,500) - (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)
"That's...just...inconceivable..." Raquel protested weakly. "Nobody should be able to draw such a card right at the literal moment they need it! It's just impossible!"
"I've got some advice for you," sneered Kaiba. "Live with it. I'm still in this duel, and I intend to win it all." He put his miracle card inside his Graveyard as he spoke. "Now, last I checked, it was my Standby Phase, so now I'm moving into my Main Phase 1."
"All right, Seto!" Mokuba shouted in joy. "You rock! Now beat this crazy woman like you do with everyone else!"
Raquel recovered rather abruptly, and she glared at the young boy with severe annoyance. "Silence, you brat!" she snarled. "Your brother just got lucky, that's all! He's still clinging to the edge where Life Points are concerned, and I still have plenty of direct damage cards left in my deck to finish him off with! All I have to do is draw one of them on my next turn, and I'll still win!"
"No, you will not," Kaiba stated, earning him the attention of the angered Death Eater once more. "You're not getting a next turn. I plan to see to that. Now, I'll first place one card facedown..." He did so, and then took his other card and threw it into his Disk. "Next, I'll activate Card of Demise! Since my hand is now empty, it lets me draw five cards, at the cost of discarding my entire hand after five of my End Phases are over!"
He snapped off five more cards from the top of his deck and fanned them out. He looked over the text on each of them carefully so as not to miss out on a single detail.
"Play whatever cards you want," Raquel snapped at him. "It won't change the fact that you're about to lose!"
Kaiba looked up from his new hand with a smirk and flipped one of his cards around. "Oh, you think so? Not even this? I activate Stamping Destruction!"
Raquel was about to ask what that card did, but she got her answer when the Blue-Eyes White Dragon suddenly slammed its tail into the ground, sending out shockwaves that all slammed into the Bad Reaction to Simochi card and tore it to pieces. Then some of them struck Raquel and just about floored her, but despite that the move had caught her unawares she was able to maintain her footing.
"My Trap Card!" she wailed. "What have you done?!"
"Demolished it, what does it look like?" Kaiba asked sarcastically. "Like Dragon's Gunfire, Stamping Destruction requires that I control a Dragon-type Monster if I wish to play it. It can destroy a Spell or Trap Card on the field, and also deal the owner five-hundred points of damage. So you see, you're not the only one with some decent direct damage cards."
(Raquel: 6,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)
Raquel managed to shake off her loss and scowled at Kaiba. "Big deal! I don't need that card now that I've got you hanging by a thread, and you still can't get past my Spirit Reaper!" She jabbed a finger at the sneering specter to further reinforce her words. "So what was that supposed to accomplish?"
"I'll get to your Spirit Reaper in a moment," Kaiba promised. "For now, though, I'd like you to pay attention. To continue with my move, I play the Spell Card I set facedown before playing Card of Demise. It's called Trade-In!"
His facedown card flipped up, and he slipped a card into his Graveyard and drew the next two from his deck. "This lets me discard a level eight Monster in my hand, like my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon, in order to draw two more cards. So now I'm back up to five."
Raquel now looked bored. "Still a worthless move," she intoned. "Just hurry and finish up your turn so I can take mine and wipe you out."
But the triumphant look Kaiba was now sporting begged to differ with her assumption. "Guess again, Raquel! Like I said, you're not getting a next turn, for I've now drawn a means to unleash my ultimate weapon!"
Immediately Raquel was yanked out of her boredom and once again she was taken by surprise. "Come again?" she asked. "Are you talking about your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon? But you have one of the three Blue-Eyes in your Graveyard, and you've already used Polymerization, so you can't possibly summon it!"
"There are loads of ways to summon Fusion Monsters!" laughed Kaiba. "Polymerization has only been the primary example, but there are plenty of other such cards, and I hold one of them in my hands right now! I activate Dragon's Mirror!"
Behind the Blue-Eyes, there arose a stand with an ancient-looking mirror perched atop it, with the glass surface surrounded by five colored symbols. Everyone looked at the mirror and found that it was casting a reflection of the Blue-Eyes, but it looked different, as it had three heads instead of one.
"Let me explain how this card works, even though your thick skull might not get it," said Kaiba. "Dragon's Mirror allows me to summon a Dragon-type Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck, for as long as I remove the necessary components from my side of the field and in my Graveyard. For this Monster I plan to summon, three are needed. You're seeing one of them on my field right now, and the other two are in my Graveyard."
"But Kaiba, there's only one Blue-Eyes in your Graveyard, not two!" Raquel protested.
"True, but you're forgetting something," the CEO pointed out. "I still have Versago the Destroyer in my Graveyard, and as you know I can treat it as the substitute for any Fusion-Material Monster during a Fusion Summon, including one made by my Dragon's Mirror. So for this case, it'll take the place of one of the three Blue-Eyes!"
Raquel grit her teeth. This was not going to be a pleasant sight to see...
"However..." Kaiba suddenly grabbed another card and jammed it into a slot. "Before the effect of Dragon's Mirror really takes place, I'm going to chain to it with another Quick-Play Spell from my hand! It's called Emergency Provisions, and with it I can discard my Dragon's Mirror and Premature Burial from the field in order to gain two-thousand Life Points back! And of course, Premature Burial has to be destroyed in order for the equipped Monster to be wiped out as well, but since the effect of Emergency Provisions does not technically destroy the cards it discards, my Blue-Eyes that's on the field will be spared! Just see for yourself!"
At that point, the stand with its mirror shattered into a storm of shards and rocks, with all of the debris scattering around the wooden field. Then a red aura flared briefly around the Blue-Eyes White Dragon before vanishing along with the debris, leaving the two dragons on the field looking a little confused.
(Raquel: 6,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,100 Life Points)
Damned loopholes... Raquel seethed. Couldn't the card makers have been a little more careful about those? Now Kaiba's exploiting all sorts of technicalities that I never even knew about in the first place, and I call myself a British Regional semi-finalist?!
"Now then..." Kaiba continued with yet another sinister chuckle. "I may have discarded my Dragon's Mirror from the field, but that doesn't negate its effect, so I still get to complete my Fusion Summoning! And all I have to do is remove from play the Versago and Blue-Eyes in my Graveyard along with the Blue-Eyes I have on the field, to bring forth my ultimate beast of destruction!"
The ghostly silhouettes of a second Blue-Eyes and Versago both appeared beside the living Blue-Eyes, and then they all swirled into one another like liquids being mixed together. The result was more light spilling onto the field...and three earth-shaking roars shaking the building to its very foundation. Raquel shrunk away in fear, thinking that the building would collapse any minute now, but the shaking stopped soon as the light faded...
...and as it did, it revealed what was possibly one of the most horrifying images ever to be looked upon in the game of Duel Monsters. It was a monstrous three-headed version of the Blue-Eyes, with a larger body and a bigger wingspan. It was not mindless like the Green Baboon, yet no signs of mercy could be seen within the narrow eyes of the beast's three heads. (ATK: 4,500/ DEF: 3,800)
"You asked if I was talking about my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon...well, here it is!" Kaiba announced, laughing. "And with its arrival comes your destruction!"
Raquel was so hypnotized by the mere sight of the Ultimate Dragon, she forgot to remind Kaiba that her Spirit Reaper was still immune to battle...not that Kaiba had forgotten that little fact. And as for the Spirit Reaper, it was cowering inside its cloak and hiding its face with its scythe, as if thinking that this colossal titan would decide to snap it up like a snack any moment now.
"And the best part is..." Kaiba held up one of the three cards left in his hand. "I'm still far from done with this turn! I plan to hurt you as much as I can, so I'll now activate Dimension Fusion! With it, I can spend the Life Points I just got back in order to allow both players to call back any of their Monsters that have been removed from the game! As I recall, you have none removed from play, Raquel...but I happen to have the three I just removed for the effect of Dragon's Mirror, so you're about to come face-to-face with my two Blue-Eyes and my Versago once again!"
As his Life Points dropped back to their small amount of one-hundred, a huge rift slashed itself open in the sky nearby the rooftop, and from it flew two Blue-Eyes White Dragons, with the diminutive Versago the Destroyer following from behind. They each grouped themselves around the Ultimate Dragon and Luster Dragon #2. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) x 2, (ATK: 1,100/ DEF: 900)
(Raquel: 6,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)
"What in blazes..." Raquel gasped. "Five Monsters?!"
"And it only gets worse!" Kaiba boasted, plugging yet another Spell Card into his Duel-Disk's wing. "Next I play the Continuous Spell Card, Precious Cards from Beyond! This allows me to draw two cards each time I Tribute Summon a Monster that requires two or more sacrifices!"
Raquel felt like her head was spinning. Kaiba was playing Spell Card after Spell Card and just wasn't letting up. How long was this going to go on?
"And I plan to summon such a Monster right now!" Kaiba added, twiddling his last card in his fingers eagerly. "I sacrifice my Luster Dragon #2 and my Versago the Destroyer, in order to summon my third and final Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Luster Dragon #2 and Versago both vanished from sight at the same time, and a third Blue-Eyes White Dragon that looked exactly like the first two materialized in their place and swooped up to accompany its siblings and their gigantic fused form. They all snarled at Raquel with rage and anticipation. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)
"And since that required two sacrifices to pull off, I get to draw two cards thanks to my Precious Cards from Beyond!" Kaiba jerked two more cards out of his deck and grinned at them. "Well, look at that...one of them is Pot of Avarice, which I'll use right now! It lets me return five Monsters in my Graveyard to my deck, reshuffle, and draw two more cards yet again!"
"Kaiba!" Raquel shrieked, her voice growing louder from her increasing panic. "Stop it with all the Spell Cards and all the drawing! You're really freaking me out!"
Kaiba ignored her and watched his Disk eject five cards from its discard slot - Luster Dragon #2, Vorse Raider, Versago the Destroyer, Divine Dragon Ragnarok, and King Dragun. He slipped his King Dragun into a pocket on his trenchcoat, then combined the other four cards with his deck and shuffled rather quickly. Once he was done, he plugged the deck back into its holder and drew twice more, raising his hand of cards to three.
Man, what is happening with Seto?! Mokuba thought, his own astonishment showing itself on his face. He's never drawn this often in a turn before, nor has he used so many Spell Cards! It's like...like his deck knows what he wants and is just giving it to him! But there's no way that can be true!
Kaiba let out a bark of laughter at his new cards. "Now, for the final piece of my strategy!" he exclaimed. "I have one last Spell Card to play, and like your Snatch Steal it's an Equip Spell, only it's more powerful...go, Megamorph!"
"Oh, no!" Raquel seemed to realize what Kaiba's intentions were. "You plan to equip that to my Spirit Reaper so that it'll be destroyed by its own effect!"
"Well...I could do that, yes," admitted Kaiba. "But I have something even better in store for your Spirit Reaper, so instead I'm going to equip Megamorph to my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Since your Life Points exceed mine big-time, it means that my dragon's Attack Points are doubled!"
The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon grew even taller and wider in size, so that it would have taken up the space on the entire rooftop were it not for the fact that it was hovering in the air. The tri-headed beast let out a combined roar that was even stronger than its last one, yet still Kaiba was unfazed by the ear-splitting noise. (ATK: 4,500/ DEF: 3,800) - (ATK: 9,000/ DEF: 3,800)
Despite that the Ultimate Dragon had reached a considerable record in body size and Attack Points, Raquel was more baffled than she was frightened. "What...?" was all that she could say.
"Now then, let's take care of your annoying Spirit Reaper, shall we?" Kaiba suggested. "I'll first set a card facedown...and next I play this!" He brandished a card high above his head so that everyone could see it. "The Fang of Critias!"
His Legendary Dragon soared down from somewhere in the sky and bellowed an angry roar, obviously upset over the defeat of Hermos's bearer. The facedown card Kaiba had just set lifted up as well to reveal his Interdimensional Matter Transporter, and both it and Critias started to melt into one another.
"I fuse Critias with my Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" yelled Kaiba. "In order to create...the Cyber Digital Dragon!"
A new dragon glided out of the vortex created by the fusion and took its place on the field. It looked just like Critias, except that its silvery body was made of a sleek metallic design not unlike that of the Interdimensional Matter Transporter, and there were lights pulsating all over its body. (ATK and DEF: 2,000)
Raquel managed to muster up the courage to ask about the new Monster. "How's that supposed to handle my Spirit Reaper? It's not even as strong as your other four dragons, Kaiba!"
"But it has a special ability," Kaiba countered. "Once per turn, Cyber Digital Dragon can remove a card on your side of the field from play, and it stays gone for until three of your turns pass! And of course, there's only one card I see on your field..."
The truth slammed into Raquel like a train. "NOOOOO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Yes!" Kaiba shouted back. "Now, Cyber Digital Dragon, remove her Spirit Reaper from the game and clear me a path to my victory and my brother! Digital Eraser!"
The Cyber Digital Dragon opened its mechanical maw and let loose a beam of white light that struck the Spirit Reaper head-on. The specter was still for a second...and then it dissolved into a virtual cloud of ones and zeroes, leaving Raquel's field as blank as a clean slate. The Death Eater fell to her knees, unable to digest what had just happened.
"And with that, you're wide open!" Kaiba barked. "And you're at the mercy of a group of dragons whose combined Attack Points all add up to..." He paused for a moment to let the tension increase, before giving the rest of his statement. "...twenty-thousand. And I intend to hit you with every single point."
Mokuba and Serenity were stunned. With the Monsters being made real by the Orichalcos, if Raquel took on twenty-thousand points of damage...
"This is for kidnapping my brother and believing that you can beat me as if I was just some common duelist!" Kaiba declared wrathfully. "Go, my dragons! Demolish every single one of her Life Points, and finish this duel!"
Even as the five dragons all began charging up their attacks in their mouths, Raquel didn't respond. Her mind was in a whirl over how close she had come to obtaining Kaiba's soul. And now her victory was being snatched from her very fingers right when she was sure it was hers...
She was broken from her thoughts when a storm of energy unlike anything that had ever been seen before collided with her. The agony was immediately too much for her nerves to take. She couldn't even muster the strength to scream. She lost consciousness right when a devastating explosion erupted all around the rooftop and blew smoke everywhere. One would compare this devastation to that of a nuclear bomb...
(Raquel: 0 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)
OOO
Down at the Kame Game Shop, Solomon Mouto was busy sweeping the front porch of his shop as usual, humming a tune to himself as he did. He wasn't prepared for the slight tremor that suddenly shook the ground, causing him to fall on his behind and drop his broom.
"Oof!" he grunted in surprise. "What the..."
Then the tremor was gone before he could run around screaming that there was an earthquake. Solomon blinked in confusion as he stood back up and looked around, thinking that something might have happened from nearby. What he did find was a strange sight...a humongous cloud of smoke blowing around the rooftop of the abandoned building where Yugi had once faced Gurimo. The sight sent a chill through his old bones.
Oh, my Lord... he thought. Please tell me that it isn't an Orichalcos duel...if it is, I hope that it's not one of those kids who lost!
OOO
All around Domino City, the same tremor that had knocked Solomon over had also shaken a number of locations around the metropolis. Some of the civilians were knocked over by the tremor, and were about to run for cover, fearing it was an earthquake, before the ground settled back down. Confused chatter started breaking out all among the people.
OOO
At the Domino City Pier, Mako Tsunami was sitting at the dock with a fishing rod in hand. He was preparing to cast his rod's hook out into the water, when suddenly a tremor shook the ground so hard, it sent him falling head over heels into the water. He broke the surface, spluttering and spitting out water.
"What in the name of the Mother Ocean...?!" he swore loudly.
Before he could get any further with his statement, the tremor had stopped, and all was quiet again. Mako, who was unsure about whether to be angry or confused, pulled himself back out of the water and looked around, wondering if something at the harbour had caused the tremor.
"I hope it's not a tsunami about to hit this land..." he moaned. "If so, then it's going to be Hell dealing with it..."
OOO
Voldemort hissed with anger. He had sensed the defeat of his two servants, Angus and Raquel, and was not about pleased about this at all. His servants had come so close to taking the souls of Kaiba and Joey, and although they had halfway succeeded, it was not good enough for him. It would have helped if they had taken Kaiba out of the picture as well...
Oh well, he soon decided as he calmed down. To him, one soul was better than nothing. It wasn't going to be much of a wrench in the plans he had in store for the Item Bearers at Hogwarts.
"You," Voldemort said to one of the cloaked figures surrounding him. "Return to your post and monitor the Item Bearers again. They should be receiving news of their friend Wheeler's demise any minute now, and it will be the last straw for those fools..." A nasty chuckle escaped his lips as he finished speaking.
The figure bowed to him with respect. "Yes, My Lord," the voice was quiet and docile as the figure turned and left without another word.
"As for you," Voldemort addressed another of the cloaked figures. "Find the bodies of my defeated servants and bring them to me at once. If you find the cards that contain their souls, do what you want with them. I won't be requiring them anymore. Just make sure you bring me their bodies, their Disks, and all their cards. If you lack any of them when you return, I won't be very merciful..."
His servant was rather confused by this request, but he didn't dare disobey, especially not after the threat Voldemort had just issued. After bowing to Voldemort, he turned to follow the first figure out of the room. The last of his cloak's tails soon vanished into the darkness of the hallway as he left.
Voldemort settled back down into his chair with a grin of satisfaction. "Everything is in place now, my Death Eaters," he proclaimed. "Soon the bearers will leave Hogwarts...and when they do, the final phase of my plans shall begin, and the Wizarding World will see a new age of darkness led by me..."
OOO
Back at the scene of the dramatic clash between Kaiba and Raquel...
The smoke had cleared away almost a minute after the duel's conclusion. All five of Kaiba's dragons had disappeared from sight, along with the cursed arena that was the Seal of Orichalcos. Raquel's body was also lying facedown on the floor beside Angus's, and her copy of the Seal had fallen out of her Disk's field slot, revealing a picture of Raquel herself trapped behind bars just like Angus. Her soul had been taken from her after she had lost consciousness due to the relentless assault dished out by Kaiba a bit ago.
As for Kaiba, he was down on one knee, trying to gather his strength. The intensity of the crazy duel had taken a lot out of him. He wished he could go to sleep right now, but he didn't plan to yet, for his work was not done.
The magical bindings keeping Mokuba and Serenity captive finally broke, depositing the two teens onto the floor of the rooftop. They both clambered up onto the wooden platform and ran over to their respective brothers, with Mokuba throwing his arms around Kaiba and Serenity dropping to her knees beside Joey's comatose form.
"Joey! Wake up!"
Kaiba paused in his hug, and both of them turned to examine Joey for themselves, though they knew it was hopeless. His soul was gone. As Mokuba placed his hands on Serenity's shoulders, Kaiba crouched down and took Joey's deck from his duel disk and pulled off the top card…the card Joey would have drawn the next turn.
The Claw of Hermos.
He would get it to Yugi. He didn't like Joey, but Kaiba was a man of honour, and he would honour the blonde's last request. He owed Joey that much.
OOO
Card Specs
Name: Cyber Digital Dragon
Card Type: Fusion Monster
Image: A sleek, metallic dragon with silvery skin, and warped lights shooting all over its body.
Card Stats: (2000/2000) Level 7 Light attribute Machine type
Card Text: Interdimensional Matter Transporter + The Fang of Critias. This card cannot be special summoned except by sending the above Fusion Material Cards to the Graveyard (you do not use Polymerization). Once per turn, you may remove one card on your opponent's side of the field from play. After three of your opponent's End Phases, the removed card returns to the field in the same position it was in.
This card was created by DuelistBlake1852 for his story Return of the Orichalcos. All creative credit goes to him.
Again, props for the duel goes to DuelistBlake1852. Now I'm going to crawl back into my box…
