Chapter Thirty-Six

Dria

The duel between Odion and Joey continued, though Odion managed to stay ahead…I hadn't decided if that was fortunate or unfortunate yet. Of course I wanted Joey to win, but Odion was playing a very important role and I needed to figure it out before it was too late. Though I do wish Joey would make his comeback….He had a tendency to end duels quickly when he made a huge comeback. The faster the duel was over, the faster I could interrogate Odion.

"So Dria, what gave you the idea of a trap monster?"

I turned to face the others and I was surprised to find every one of them staring at me. It wasn't surprising that Mai had asked the question, but the fact that even Tea showed some interest… If I may be a cynic, I suppose she could be trying to expose me of something. Of what though, I truly have no idea.

I laughed a little before explaining, "Actually, the idea came from an Ancient Egyptian myth about a treasure thief. A man built a great pyramid for the Pharaoh in order to store and conceal the Pharaoh's great treasure. But, he added a secret entrance, which he accessed at night in order to steal away some of the treasure. It was so well hidden that even though the Pharaoh knew his treasure was being stolen, the guards could never find the thief. Well the man grows old and before he dies, he passes the secret along to his two sons, who also use the entrance to steal the treasure. One brother dies because he gets caught in a trap, but the guards couldn't figure out who he was because his brother ran off with his head, at the second brother's request. Anyway, the surviving brother continues to steal treasure, the Pharaoh pardons him because the secret was so fantastic and the execution of it was so perfect, and he marries the princess and lives happily ever after."

Tea scoffed loudly, "And what exactly does that have to do with duel monsters?"

I shrugged, "The answer is not always obvious. Trap monsters are very confusing cards and require very specific and special circumstances. Even so, they have a weakness. All you have to do is find their secret."

There was always a secret passageway when it came to defeating any of these duel monsters. Even the gods themselves were not impenetrable, as proven by Slifer's defeat at Yami's hands. But, the way is always hidden. I could only hope that Joey was clever enough to find the secret of the trap monsters.

Unfortunately, Joey's first attempt at stopping Odion's monsters was easily rendered useless, causing his life points to fall to 200. Perhaps he just wasn't ready for this level of dueling yet. He had done incredibly well during the tournament, but not even a duelist like Mako would have lasted long against one like Odion. What was even worse is that Joey seemed to think that too. He looked defeated, and the duel hadn't even truly begun.

"Tristan, Joey can still win right?"

"Sure he can." Mai scoffed, "Well, if you say so."

True, the odds were completely against Joey, as usual. If he has given up, then he stands absolutely no chance of winning. But, I could still see a slight hint of fire in his eyes. Sometimes, all you need is a small flame to start the blaze.

"Dria, what do you think?" It was sweet to see how concerned Serenity was for her brother. I smiled at her, "Where there's a will, there's a way. If he still believes he can win and remembers that we will support him until the end, I have no doubt that he'll figure out how to win."

Thankfully, Joey managed to regain his senses after hearing his sister's continuous support. Odion seemed far away, lost in a distant memory, wearing a similar expression I probably do when my memories take over. Both duelists focused back on the duel, with Joey more fired up than he had been before the duel even began.

"Save the world."

I turned my gaze to Yami, who had suddenly appeared to give his small words of encouragement as well. I smiled at his words…if only it were that simple. The real maniac was behind us and Joey was only facing his most loyal subject. But, if Joey believed that he could beat Odion, I have no doubt that he would give the real Marik a challenge he didn't see coming.

Joey's next move was probably one of the smartest moves I have ever seen him make. Not only did he summon a powerful monster, but he also found the secret to the trap monsters. Ginzo's special ability destroyed the monsters, leaving Odion completely open to Joey's attacks. The duel quickly went from 4000 – 200 Odion, to 400 – 200 Odion. I smiled widely and nodded my head, "And there, my friends, was the secret to trap monsters."

"That wasn't that difficult of a secret," Tea arrogantly said. I turned to her and raised my eyebrow.

"Oh? If you knew, why didn't you say something earlier?" She fell very quiet after my question. No, it wasn't all that complicated of a secret, but most duelists focus on the monster side of the card and forget about the weaknesses of a trap card. While most duelists probably don't have Ginzo in their decks, there would be other ways to exploit those weaknesses.

"I still have my Temple of the Kings, a card with ancient powers so strong it can't be stopped."

I sighed as I looked at the temple. I had designed it after the Pharaoh's temple, a shrine where only he could offer sacrifices or prayers to the gods above. Even I had only been in there once, and it wasn't even my Pharaoh who took me. It was his father.

I lightly shook my head to ward off an oncoming memory. I needed to pay attention to this duel. Joey couldn't do much because of Odion's Swords of Revealing Light, but he did summon his more powerful monsters to the field. He was in good position to win the duel.

Then Odion drew his next card…

A jolt went through my chest, causing me to clutch at my heart and stumble back a few steps. Yami looked at me worriedly and wrapped an arm around my waist to support me. I looked up at Odion, my eyes wide with confusion.

What had he done?

"Dria? Dria? Are you alright?" I couldn't look away from the card to answer the question. Something was terribly wrong…and I feared that it was only going to get worse.

Yami

Something was clearly wrong. First Dria and now Marik. What on earth had happened? If it had just been one of them, it wouldn't have seemed like a big issue. But both of them seemed...afraid…

And I don't think Dria fears many things.

Yugi thought that maybe it had to do with the temple, which would make sense. Dria is far more sensitive to the moves in this game than anyone else in the world, but I hadn't figured out why yet. It had to be more than simply she created the game…no, there was a deeper connection between her and this game. If only I could figure it out…

"By sealing this card of the gods, I have also sealed your fate."

Oh no…card of the gods? Could it be the Winged Dragon of Ra? Is that why Dria reacted so strongly? But why? She gasped beside me and looked towards me, her eyes wild with anger and fear.

"Dria, what's wrong?" She only shook her head and turned back to the duel. She seemed to be mumbling something so I leaned a little closer to hear her.

"What has that idiot done…he's put us all in danger…"

I didn't understand what she was saying, but I pulled her close to me to try to offer her comfort and support. Hopefully, if it was dangerous, I could protect her and everyone else from whatever evil Marik had just introduced.

Joey managed to summon every rare monster from his Battle City victories: Ginzo, the Insect Queen, and the Legendary Fisherman. Even since the beginning of this tournament, Joey had grown a lot as a duelist and his deck had gotten much stronger. Marik, unfortunately, had an even stronger creature waiting for Joey.

"Mystical Beast of Serket, I summon thee!" An enormous scorpion like monster appeared. Joey was in trouble and unfortunately, he knew it too. Marik also revealed that it was indeed the Winged Dragon of Ra that hid inside the temple's box, only worsening the situation for Joey.

"My brother can still win this, right?"

I tried my best to reassure Serenity that Joey could still defeat Marik, even with the odds so stacked against him. He found a way to defeat those tricky trap monsters, so he could surely find a way to defeat this creature. As much as he should worry about the scorpion, Joey couldn't forget about Marik's god card. It was far more dangerous than any other monster known in this game, mostly because of its power.

Beside me, Dria sighed in anger and remained quiet, her arms crossed over her chest. I nudged her a little bit, but she only shook her head at me. She was extremely angry, and now was definitely not the time to ask questions.

Marik's beast destroyed Joey's defense of rare monsters, stealing some of their attack power while it was at it. His creature was growing unbelievably strong, to the point that it seemed unbeatable.

"My brother….it's just too much." Serenity turned to leave; she couldn't bear to watch her brother struggle like this. Joey begged her to stay, "You're my biggest inspiration Serenity."

She paused for a moment, letting Joey's honest words sink it. Dria turned towards her, "You can't leave; if you do, Joey has no chance at winning." Though we were all slightly startled by her blunt comment, we knew that she was right. Serenity was Joey's biggest fan, and there was no way he would lose while she was watching. He wanted to make her proud, and he would do whatever it took to make that happen. When she agreed to remain, Joey seemed to gain a little life back.

As I turned my eyes back to Marik, I couldn't help but wonder how he had become like this and why he did. Even if he wanted this power of the Pharaoh, surely he hadn't become so power hungry that he was willing to hurt, destroy, and possibly kill for it. As much as I hated him, whether it was for kidnapping Dria or Joey and Tea, I didn't want to hate him. I wanted to understand what had happened to him, and I wanted to figure out if it was possible to save him from this darkness.

Joey had done nothing the past few turns except watch as Marik destroyed his monsters. Maybe his luck had run out…As much as I hated to think that, there didn't seem to be any way out at the moment. But wait….

His eyes. They were burning with such passion and strength. I had only seen that resolve in another set of eyes one other time, but my mind couldn't remember where that had been. If only I could remember my past right now. This strength came from his determination to defeat Marik, determination that no amount of intimidation could ever erase.

Marik destroyed Joey's last line of defense, but Joey did nothing to stop him. Perhaps the duel was finally over. Maybe it was better this way; Joey would be out of harm's way.

"I've had this weird feeling. You don't seem like the same guy that controlled my mind. I've got a voice that tells me that you're not Marik. You won't win."

Joey's point struck me. He was right; this man wasn't the mad man who was trying to steal my Puzzle. He didn't have the same evil aura around him, which meant he wasn't Marik. That evil aura was here, but where? I turned back to Namu…was it possible that he was actually Marik?

"Attack his Life Points directly and end this duel immediately!" The mystery man's monster leapt forward, claws at the ready. This duel was over.

Suddenly, the monster froze, stopping his attack. Marik had changed his mind because instead of continuing the attack, he turned back towards the temple. That could only mean one thing.

He intended to play the Winged Dragon of Ra.

I turned towards Dria, who was gripping the side of her head tightly. What was going on?

Dria

I gripped my head as memories flashed across my eyes. Something was extremely wrong, but I couldn't tell what it was. Normally, the gods could care less about the quarrels of humans. But, this time…they were furious. The air crackled with electricity and the winds began to blow. My head felt like it was about to split into two pieces. All I could see were times where the gods destroyed those who had disrespected them. Scenes with the Pharaoh, his father, Seto, Atlantis…We were all in grave danger.

What did Marik bring upon us?

"Prepare to experience and ancient power you've never seen before, and will never see again."

My eyes snapped up towards Odion...please don't do it, Odion. Something isn't right…this could be a huge mistake.

"I am Marik." You stupid boy…

He sacrificed his mystical beast in order to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra and half his Life Points. The card revealed itself from the box in the temple. The sky turned green as the anger in the air increased dramatically. My vision started to fade as the creature's shadow appeared. The last things I remember seeing were the two angry eyes of the most powerful of the three gods. After that, my world went black.

"Dria? What's wrong? Dria!"