Author's note:
This is my English translation of the story I had written in Hungarian, my mother tongue. Special thanks to Hero Beater and Fluffy Pillow for helping me every step of the way.
RETURNING HOME
And so two days had passed in the other dimension. Yugi and his friends could hardly grasp how fast time had flown, having no inkling of how long they had been prisoners by the measures of the world they left behind. To the Pharaoh and Bakura, who continued their vicious struggle in their own world, these two days were no more than twenty minutes – twenty eternal minutes. Once the Dimension Gate closed, the Pharaoh's turn began with a mere 1800 life points and Gamma the Magnet Warrior, while Bakura waited with two active magic cards and the Earl of Demise on his side of the field, still at 4000 life points.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Bakura.
"Nothing now, Bakura," declared the Pharaoh. "I sacrifice Gamma, the Magnet Warrior to bring out the Summoned Skull! But that's not all! I also activate my magic card, Premature Burial! This allows me to bring back a monster from the Graveyard, so Gamma returns to the field!"
Gamma thus returned to assume his position by the Summoned Skull, staring down Bakura's undead warrior.
"Summoned Skull, attack the Earl of Demise!" he shouted, and the Earl fell into the dust.
"And now it's your turn, Gamma the Magnet Warrior! Attack him directly!"
Bakura snarled. He had lost 500 life points and then another 1500.
"And now I shall place a card face-down. Your move," said Yami, his tone calm.
"Fine by me!" growled Bakura as he drew. "I activate my magic card: Pot of Greed. Now I draw."
He drew two cards. His eyes sparked.
"I summon a monster face-down in defense mode. And now I remove the Headless Knight, Sangan and Gernia from play to summon this: come forth, Dark Necrofear!"
Black flames flared up on the field, slowly revealing Dark Necrofear, beautiful and terrifying as ever as she awaited Bakura's orders in attack position.
"Dark Necrofear! Attack Gamma, the Magnet Warrior!"
"I will defend my Magnet Warrior!" cried Yami, revealing his face-down card. "Negate Attack!"
Bakura laughed at him.
"Go ahead and waste your traps on such a worthless monster. What I have in store for the next round will be much, much worse!"
"I'm not afraid of you, Bakura! I know I can defeat you!" said Yami, drawing a card. "First, I will play this magic card: Dark Magic Curtain! Using this means I won't be able to summon any more monsters this turn, but I don't need to: not when I have the Dark Magician! Finally, I activate this card: the Swords of Revealing Light!"
Bakura flipped the monster he had placed face-down in defense mode: a Morphing Jar.
"Thank you, Pharaoh," he said darkly as he threw away his last card and drew until he had five cards in his hand. Yami followed suit.
"But that's not all! Summoned Skull, attack the Morphing Jar!"
The Jar was shattered. Only Dark Necrofear remained on Bakura's side, lonely but threatening all the same.
"Much good did that do you!" sneered Bakura as he drew a new card. "I place Dark Necrofear in defense mode and summon a monster in face-down defense position… and now I'm going to turn your own monster against you!"
"What are you talking about?"
"This magic card: Misfortune! With this card, I can choose a monster from your side of the field and take half of its attack points from your life points!"
Yami clutched at his chest in pain. He had lost 1250 points; only 550 life points remained.
"Thank your Dark Magician…"
The Pharaoh clenched his jaw and drew, hope still burning in his eyes.
"I play this card: Emergency Provisions! I may be forced to give up Swords of Revealing Light and Premature Burial, losing Gamma, the Magnet Warrior in the process, but this allows me to gain back two thousand life points. And now I place a card face-down," he told his opponent. Now he had 2550 points and hoped that it would be enough to survive…
"Finally," said Bakura satisfied, drawing a card. "Time to clear your side of the field…"
He revealed the monster he had in face-down defense mode: a Man-Eater Bug.
"Say goodbye to Summoned Skull!" he laughed, and the Skull was no more. "And now you are going to lose your Dark Magician: attack him, Dark Necrofear!"
Dark Necrofear had perished in the battle, but she used her last ounce of strength to possess the Dark Magician, drawing him onto Bakura's side of the field.
"I may have lost three-hundred points, but I gained a new monster," said Bakura, having merely fallen to 1700 life points. "And now the Maneater Bug will attack as well, just so you would grasp how pathetic your situation is!"
The Pharaoh had lost 450 life points. 2100 life points were left.
"I end my turn. Your move…"
"Don't think you can stop me, Bakura!" said the Pharaoh, and when he drew his next card, his heart jolted fiercely.
"First, I summon Beaver Warrior in defense mode. And now it is finally time to free my friends, so activate this: De-Spell!"
The gang and the four brothers were just passing through a small alley towards the main shopping avenue when the Pharaoh's magic card opened up the Dimension Gate. A shining gash appeared in the middle of the street, as though time had been clawed open.
"What's happening?" asked Seto, his tone alarmed as he drew his little brothers closer. The rift pulsated faster, luminous and angry, engulfing them in a glaring white light. Mokuba's jaw hung wide open.
"The Gate!" cried Yugi, half scared, half relieved. Pharaoh, you did it!
The next moment, a light beam lashed out from the gate and Téa screamed as it seized her arm, tearing her away from her friends like the wind snatching a flower by the root. Joey tried to grab her, but all he grasped was air. In a flash, a light beam wrapped around his throat, jerking him up along with Tristan latched onto his arm. Then the next beam captured Yugi and the four friends were gone. The brothers' eyes went wide with fear.
"Look out!" cried Mokuba Kaiba as a new light beam appeared and, missing its true target, was about to strike his counterpart. He jumped in front of Seto's little brother and shoved him aside. The beam wrapped around him the next moment, dragging him into the rift.
"Mokuba!" screamed three voices in unison. Seto snatched his little brother from the ground and seized Kaiba's arm to pull him away from danger, but it was in vain. The last beam coiled around Kaiba's other arm, tearing him from his brother's grasp. Even Seto felt it, as though he had been electrified; the sudden, rippling shock sent him to the ground along with his little brother. Kaiba howled and tried to reach for them, but a moment later, the rift had disappeared and tore them apart, perhaps forever.
