Author's Notes: The duel scene has remained mostly intact from Linkin-Phoenix's version. I honestly couldn't create descriptions due to how many steps were being listed in each turn.
Disclaimer: The Arthurian cards mentioned in this chapter are a creation of Linkin-Phoenix with the assistance of members of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Guide.
Chapter 36: Ruins and Revenge Part II
Rebecca blinked, staring down Nick who had just challenged her to a duel. "I don't have..." Almost immediately Nick threw her a duel disk he had delivered earlier. She smiled. "What are the stakes?"
Nick put the duel disk on his arm and activated it, returning his gaze to Rebecca. "If I win, you leave, forever. You never come back here or to Domino ever again. You never try to contact Yugi ever again. You become persona non-grata."
The blonde scowled. "If I win?"
"Simple, you get what you've always wanted; you get Yugi, no if's, ands or buts. We will no longer interfere or discourage him from pursuing a relationship with you. We won't stop you from having him."
Rebecca grinned ear to ear. "Deal!"
Horus growled at Nick's statement, knowing the big risk involved in the duel. "Mortal, if you lose this duel, I will personally arrange a special place in hell for you to suffer when you die."
Nick snorted a laugh. "Trust me Horus, there already is."
*Duel Start*
Rebecca Hawkins Life Points: 8000
Nicholas King Life Points: 8000
*Rebecca*
"I draw;
1. I summon a monster in defence mode;
2. I play two cards face down and end my turn.
*Nick*
Nick breathed out, this was his first real duel in years, the last time he had duelled for real was two years ago against Yugi and he'd lost. This didn't inspire confidence.
"I draw;
1. I summon The Knight – Gawain (Light/Warrior/4 ATK/1700 DEF/1500) in attack mode;
2. I play two cards face down and end my turn."
Sephora raised an eyebrow. "I've never heard of that card before."
Mai smiled. "There's no reason you should have, hon. They were cards specifically constructed for Nick by Pegasus after he became world champion. He has the only set in existence. He's never used them in a duel before, well, not a public duel."
Rebecca glared. "This isn't fair. How am I supposed to fight cards I've never heard of?"
"Adapt," Nick said.
*Rebecca*
"Fine, I draw;
1. I play one card face down in defence mode;
2. I end my turn."
*Nick*
Nick watched the field carefully. "Hm, I draw;
1. I summon The Knight – Bors (Light/Warrior/Effect/4 ATK/1600 DEF/1200) in attack mode;
2. When Bors is summoned in attack mode I can add one Knight monster from my deck to my hand with less than 1500 attack points;
3. Now, Bors, attack Rebecca's face down monster on the left;
4. Gawain attack!"
Nick's cards carved through Rebecca's defensive monsters, but this didn't seem to bother the blonde. On the contrary she laughed. "Idiot! You fell into my trap! Behold Giant Rat;
1. When Giant Rat is destroyed I can special summon an Earth Attribute monster from my deck with an attack of less than 1500 attack points;
2. I summon Millennium Shield (Earth/Warrior/5 ATK/0 DEF/3000) in attack mode."
*Rebecca*
"My turn! I draw;
1. I switch Millennium Shield into defence mode;
2. I also add Ring of Magnetism (Equip/Spell) to stop you from attacking any other card other than Millennium Shield;
3. I play Cost Down (Spell) and discard a card from my hand to reduce the level of monsters in my hand by two stars until the end of my turn;
4. I summon Shadow Ghoul (Dark/Fiend/Effect/5 ATK/1600 DEF/1800) in attack mode;
5. When Shadow Ghoul is on the field, its attack increases 100 points for every monster in my graveyard, which is three (ATK/1900);
6. My sweet Shadow Ghoul, get rid of Bors for me, would you!"
Shadow Ghoul's attack destroyed The Knight – Bors.
Rebecca Hawkins LP: 8000
Nicholas King LP: 7700
*Nick*
Nick frowned. "Ok, I summon a card face down in defence mode."
*Rebecca*
"I draw;
1. I summon Witch of the Black Forest (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect/4 ATK/1200 DEF/1100) in defence mode;
2. Shadow Ghoul attack Gawain!"
Shadow Ghoul's attack destroyed The Knight – Gawain.
Rebecca Hawkins LP: 8000
Nicholas King LP: 7500
*Nick*
Nick frowned down at his cards, drawing a new card which didn't make him any happier. "Ok, I draw;
1. I summon a monster in defence mode;
2. I end my turn."
*Rebecca*
"Awe, what's wrong, is the big bad world champion rusty? I draw;
1. I sacrifice Witch of the Black Forest to summon Cannon Soldier Mk-2 (Earth/Machine/Effect/5 ATK/1900 DEF/1200) in attack mode;
2. I play Stray Lamb (Spell) to summon two Lamb Tokens (Earth/Beast/1 ATK/0 DEF/0) in defence mode;
3. I sacrifice the Lamb Tokens as ammo for Cannon Soldier Mk-2 to inflict 1500 points of direct damage to you;
4. Shadow Ghoul attack!"
Shadow Ghoul's attack destroyed Future Knight.
Nick crossed his arms over his face as he was pummelled by Cannon Soldier's attack. His jacket smoked as he moved his hands away, glaring a hole through Rebecca who had a wide smirk on her face.
Rebecca Hawkins LP: 8000
Nicholas King LP: 5000
*Nick*
"I draw;
1. I end my turn."
Mai growled, unsatisfied with the lack of skill Nick was putting into the duel. "Nick, what the hell are you doing?"
"I'm trying Mai; I can't get the cards I want!"
*Rebecca*
"Aww, isn't that awful? I draw;
1. I summon Scapegoat (Spell) to summon Sheep Tokens (Earth/Beast/Token/1 ATK/0 DEF/0) in defence mode;
2. I sacrifice all four of my Sheep Tokens to inflict 3000 points of direct damage to your life points!"
Rebecca Hawkins LP: 8000
Nicholas King LP: 2000
Nick stood with his fists clenched, looking visibly shaken by his lack of success in putting even a minor dent in Rebecca's life points. He ran his fingers through his hair, desperately trying to figure his way out of the situation. "What's wrong with me..." He whispered desperately.
"A true duellist wouldn't let anything hold him back."
"What?" Nick asked, his head snapping back as he realized he was no longer in the backyard. He was now staring into an empty void, a world drained of light and joy. Nick rubbed his eyes and looked again only to still find himself in the void. "Uh... so not Vegas."
"Do not be afraid mortal, your physical body is still in New York, but your mind has been drawn into your soul room."
Nick blinked again. "You'd think there would be more lights on."
"Your soul room reflects the darkness that has gripped your soul, the self-hatred that you've allowed to overwhelm your spirit. You blame yourself for the loss of the woman you love and you hide your feelings from those who would help you cope. This situation has led you to this point in your life. You gambled your friend's future, believing you can defeat the spy and banish her. However, your own doubts and fears have left you inadequate for the task at hand."
Nick scowled. "Why shouldn't I blame myself for what's happened to Téa? It's my fault."
"Is it?" The voice asked, a gentle light pierced the darkness and a tall woman with long red hair, dressed in tight fitting robes emerged. Her long, elegant wings spread to their full span as she locked her azure eyes on Nick. "You have no true knowledge of what made your love turn against you, you only have what she and your enemies want you to believe. I have been inside both your minds, the bond of love is strong enough to allow me to. You have fought and broken up, you've both said things you've later regretted and you have both spent time in the arms of others in the six years since the Dark Crisis. But the love you both share, the love that produced a child that grows strong in the belly of your fiancée has never dimmed. It has been threatened at times but it was never in danger of being extinguished." Bastet placed a gentle hand on Nick's shoulder. "There is a price for Téa's betrayal, but it is not the love you two share. I have seen the future and I know that soon you will be reunited, that your bond of love will be enough to even overcome death itself. For now though, you must let go of your fear. Let go of your anger, it is holding you back from being the man Téa needs you to be. Release your burden, and the road to victory and the one you love will be open to you again."
Bastet stood in front of Nick, stroking his cheek as several tears rolled down his face. She smiled, wiping his tears and resting her forehead against his. "Release your burden to me and let go."
Nick nodded as best he could with Bastet's head resting against his. She continued to smile, gently pressing her lips against his as the room glowed brightly. Nick opened his eyes and found Bastet had gone and Téa now stood in her place. This wasn't the artifice that controlled Téa's body; this was the real thing, his love and the mother of his child. She wrapped her arms around him, capturing his lips in a passionate and powerful kiss.
The few moments of bliss they shared were broken by Téa as she released his lips and smiled. "There's plenty of time for us to make out later. Go out there and kick that little blonde witch's butt, then come and save me, Mr. Hero."
Nick blushed, recalling the last time Téa had called him that. A time when Téa and Yugi were still dating and Shadow Phoenix was on the loose, trying his damndest to kill them. He could still remember the smell of smoke, the weight of the overturned couch and the sound of helicopter gunships hovering outside. Even dead, the feeling of Téa's perfectly curved body had a positive effect on his body.
Nick smiled. "Yes ma'am."
Téa's eyebrow twitched as the soul room faded. "Ma'am! I'll so get you for that Nicholas King. Come back here, we are not finished!"
Nick opened his eyes to find himself back to the duel. He smiled at Rebecca, exhaling and stretching his arms. Mai blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out how from a few moments ago Nick's demeanour had completely changed. It looked like he had completely shrugged off the huge weight that had been keeping him held down since Téa was kidnapped by the Millennium Guardians.
He looked Rebecca square in the face and smiled again. "Well, that was a good warm up Rebecca, how about we get down to business."
Looking at both their current Life Points, Rebecca stifled a laugh. "You're about to lose."
Nick continued smiling. "I see it differently, you've got a one track mind, girl, and that's your failing. Your deck is completely built around two pillars: Shadow Ghoul and Cannon Soldier Mk-2. Once your defences are in place you summon your two key monsters and set them to work. Cannon Soldier feeds Shadow Ghoul and both destroy your opponent's life points. Take one away, the other suffers, take both away and you have nothing but Millennium Shield to defend you and soon you won't even have that."
Rebecca grinned but was visibly alarmed at Nick's sudden change in demeanour. "Just try!"
*Nick*
"Ok then, I draw;
1. I flip Lady of the Lake (Water/Spellcaster/Effect/4 ATK/900 DEF/1900) into face up defence position;
2. When Lady of the Lake is flipped face up I can add The Sword of Legend – Excalibur to my hand from my deck. My deck is then shuffled;
3. I summon The Knight – Kai (Light/Warrior/Tuner/Effect/2 ATK/400 DEF/900) in attack mode;
4. That allows me to activate Siege Perilous (Spell) when I sacrifice a Knight monster on my side of the field. Siege Perilous allows me to draw two cards from my deck, now I can summon a level 4 or Lower Knight monster to my side of the field;
5. Future Knight (Light/Warrior/Effect/3 ATK/1000 DEF/1000) come forth;
6. My final card is Monster Reborn (Spell) to summon another Future Knight in attack mode..."
Rebecca shook her head, unimpressed by the moves he was making. "That's it? That's your big plan, two monsters with a thousand attack points each."
Nick laughed, cutting Rebecca off. "I said Monster Reborn was my final card. I meant from my hand, I'm not nearly done."
7. "Now, as I was saying, now that Future Knights are on my field I can activate their special abilities to send them to the graveyard to special summon;
8. The Knight – Sir Bedivere (Light/Warrior/Effect/6 ATK/2300 DEF/1800) in attack mode;
9. And The Knight – Sir Percival (Light/Warrior/Effect/6 ATK/2200 DEF/1600) in attack mode;
10. When Sir Bedivere is special summoned to the field its attack is increased by its original attack until the end of this turn (ATK/4600);
11. Sir Bedivere attack Millennium Shield;
12. His effect sends Sir Bedivere to the graveyard at the end of the turn his effect is used;
13. Sir Percival attack Cannon Soldier Mk-2;
14. When Sir Percival destroys a monster in battle it can attack once again in a row. Sir Percival, rid the field of Shadow Ghoul!"
Sir Bedivere's attack destroyed Millennium Shield; Sir Percival's attacks destroyed Cannon Soldier Mk-2 and Shadow Ghoul.
Rebecca Hawkins LP: 7600
Nicholas King LP: 2000
Rebecca fell to her knees in shock at the utter destruction of her strategy she had spent all that time building her defences. She was sure she'd anticipated everything, she was sure she was going to win but in one turn Nick had completely ruined it.
Nick crossed his arms, staring down the blonde. "Your strategy relies on getting monsters into the graveyard to fuel the engine of your deck, Shadow Ghoul. Yugi tried to teach you a lesson about friendship once by stopping himself from using Soul Release to win. Unfortunately for you, I'm not Yugi. I've had enough of you, your lies and your spying on us for the Millennium Guardians. All you do is cause others pain and suffering, that ends today. Today is the day you get you comeuppance. Today is the day you answer for everything you've ever done to harm my friends."
Rebecca slowly rose to her feet. A gleam of insanity shone in her eyes. "You can try but when this is over Little Wugi will be mine again."
Horus squeezed his eyes shut, turning to Mai. "Did she...?"
Mai nodded. "Yes, she just called him... Wugi."
Meanwhile, Wugi... sorry, Yugi was peeking out from the entrance to the Icarus ruins at the situation above as the Trinity helicarrier hovered ominously above them. He crawled back inside the entrance where Mars and Neptune were waiting for him. "Are you sure it's Pluto and Yukai?"
Neptune gave him a condescending look. "Of course I'm sure. Do you think I wouldn't recognise my brothers if I saw them?"
Mars frowned. "I am deeply concerned by the fact they're on board a helicarrier, the Trinity are supposed to be loyal to us."
"Looks like they've changed sides." Neptune observed disdainfully.
"It could be one rogue ship; it doesn't mean they've all turned against us." Yugi pointed out, trying to sound as confident as his words were. Neptune and Mars returned his look with scepticism. Yugi sighed. "Whatever's happening we have to get out of here first with the prophecy."
"How do we do that?" Jupiter asked, joining them. "As soon as we summon a warp tunnel, they'll bring all of their guns to bear on us."
"One helicarrier has enough firepower to destroy this entire mountain range." Mars reported grimly.
"Then why haven't they?" Yugi asked, sensing the answer.
"Because you're here Yugi, they can't destroy the mountain without killing you and they need Ra alive to revive Apophis." Jupiter answered.
Yugi sighed again. "Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that." He walked past the Guardians back into the main chamber to stand in front of the tablet. He crossed his arms and paced for a minute or two, looking at each individual member of his group. After taking time to consider them individually, his eyes came to rest on Serenity's rear.
Serenity followed his eye line and blushed a deep shade of crimson realizing where he was staring. She covered her cheeks with both hands, screwing up her nose at him. "Yugi, you can stare at my butt all you want when we're alone, but we're in public."
Snapping out of his dirty fantasy to realize why he'd been staring at her butt, Yugi blushed. "S-Sorry Serenity, that wasn't why I was staring. Well you have a very nice butt... I mean, I mean... um... you have a camera in the back pocket of your pants, don't you?" He shifted his feet nervously, realizing how awkward their conversation went.
The girl blinked. She dug into her back pocket to locate her camera. "Sure, I carry it with me everywhere."
Yugi gently took the camera from her hands; her camera obsession a leftover mental scare from almost losing her eyesight. Serenity had an obsessive need to document everything just in case. Luckily she was an extremely good photographer, so good she had begun winning awards for it in Domino.
Walking back to the wall, he began photographing the different sections while moving a few centimetres at a time. After five minutes he was done, he turned back to the group and smiled. "Now we've got the evidence, let's get out of here!"
*Rebecca*
"I draw;
1. I summon Snipe Hunter (Dark/Fiend/Effect/4 ATK/1500 DEF/600) in attack mode;
2. When Snipe Hunter is on the field I can roll a die, if the result isn't 1 or 6 your monster is destroyed, go die roll!"
Nick smirked as the die roll stopped in front of Rebecca. "Six, looks like our luck has reversed."
Rebecca's eyes widened in fear. "I-I end my turn..."
*Nick*
"I draw;
1. I summon The Knight – Owain (Light/Warrior/Tuner/Effect/3 ATK/500 DEF/1200) in attack mode;
2. I tune Owain and the Lady of the Lake to Synchro summon The Knight – Sir Perdur (Light/Warrior/Synchro/Effect/7 ATK/1600 DEF/2700) in attack mode;
3. When Owain is tributed for a Synchro summoning of a Knight monster I can send one face down Spell or Trap card on your field to the graveyard;
4. Once per turn while Perdur is on the field I can destroy one face up monster card on your side of the field;
5. Now, I activate Crusade (Trap). Once per duel I can send one card in my hand to the graveyard to special summon as many Knight monsters with less than 1500 attack points to my side of the field until the end of my turn. All three of my Future Knights should do nicely;
6. Future Knights, Sir Perdur, Sir Percival, attack!"
Future Knights, Sir Perdur and Sir Percival's attacks inflicted 6800 points of direct damage to the opponent.
Nicholas King LP: 2000
Rebecca Hawkins LP: 800
Rebecca sunk to the ground in despair as the Future Knights disappeared. Her hands trembling, she could hardly take in the full extent of her possible defeat. Everything went according to plan and now all came tumbling down thanks to this one man.
Nick crossed his arms, waiting for her next move. "Surrender Rebecca, you can't win this. Walk away with what dignity you have left."
She looked up at him, glaring daggers through him. "Wugi's mine, you can't have him. That little red-headed slut can't have him nor can the brunette slut. He's mine!"
*Rebecca*
"I draw;
1. I play a monster face down and end my turn."
Nick eyed her card suspiciously. "That's cute."
*Nick*
"But I'm not falling for it, I draw;
1. I sacrifice Sir Perdur to summon the Knight – Lancelot (Light/Warrior/Effect/6 ATK/2400 DEF/2000) in attack mode;
2. When Lancelot is tribute summoned I can special summon Queen Guinevere (Light/Fairy/Effect/4 ATK/800 DEF/2000) in attack mode;
3. When Lancelot is on the field, Queen Guinevere can attack your life points directly. Go, Guinevere!"
Queen Guinevere's attack inflicted 800 points of direct damage to the opponent's life points.
Nicholas King LP: 2000
Rebecca Hawkins LP: 0
Rebecca sat on the ground, sobbing quietly as Nick walked to loom over her. He smiled. "So this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper." He quoted as Rebecca looked up to glare at him.
"You won, so what? Hathor's still mine and Yugi's daughter, if he wants to see her he'll have to see me." Rebecca pointed out smugly, playing her last trump card in the event she was found out.
"Yeah, your daughter. About that..." Nick replied as he reached into his coat. He pulled out a piece of paper and tossed it at Rebecca's feet.
Rebecca gingerly picked up the paper as the others gathered around them. "What's this?"
Nick smirked. "Why don't you have a peek and see."
Jupiter raised her hand. "Um, Yugi that's a great plan but we're inside, we can't summon a warp tunnel inside things."
Yugi blinked. "Of course you can, I've seen you do it before."
"You've seen the Millennium Guardians do it before, the remaining Guardians have tight restrictions on our powers. We can only summon a warp tunnel in clear air, otherwise it's just too dangerous. Anything could happen, including the death of all the people inside the warp tunnel when it closes." Neptune explained.
"Great..." Yugi groaned, sitting on the ground.
Jupiter paced in front of Yugi but stopped suddenly when an idea hit. "What if we summoned a warp tunnel, like, right in front of the entrance to the ruins? If we did that, we could all run out and get through to the other side before the helicarrier has time to fire."
Mars came over to them, overhearing Jupiter's plan. "Could it work?"
"Only if the last person through was one of us. They could close it before the helicarrier fires. But it still carries risk." Neptune replied.
Yugi stood and approached his fellow Guardians. "No one gets anywhere in life avoiding risk. Do it." He ordered with authority. Mars and Neptune looked at each other and nodded, walking towards the entrance to the ruins.
Serenity walked over, slipping her arms over his shoulders. "Yugi-kun, have I ever told you how sexy you are when you're ordering people around?"
Yugi turned completely crimson as he led Serenity, an embarrassed Jupiter, a blushing Ryou, Bakura, Kaiba and Selene back to the entrance. Mars and Neptune looked back towards Yugi as if asking permission to which he nodded. He looked back to the others. "Once the warp tunnel is open, don't hesitate—we've only got one shot, if you're still here when it closes you're dead."
Looking down on the area, Lucifer's eyebrow arched as he saw the flickering light of a warp tunnel. He growled, grabbing the communicator off his brother. "Fire, you half-wit! Fire now!"
Suddenly all cannons on the helicarrier began to charge. Seconds later they began firing, completely levelling the area below them and burying the Icarus ruins in rubble for the second time in several millennia.
Picking the piece of paper off the ground, Rebecca unfolded it slowly. She tried to pretend but the shock was obvious on her face.
For those who couldn't see, Nick decided to narrate the situation. "I had someone from the Manhattan office of one of our papers do some digging through public records for Hathor's birth certificate. When I was told that Hathor was Yugi's daughter I believed it immediately, but the way you and Hathor act towards each other doesn't ring true of a mother-daughter relationship."
Rebecca looked up from the birth certificate, already falling into denial. She felt like saying something to defend herself, but no words were uttered. Completely immobilized, she could only stare horrified as Nick continued.
"So I had it checked for a child of mixed heritage named Hathor Mutou; at first nothing was found. But searching by the surname alone my friend found something interesting: a child named Mizuki Mutou born six years ago."
Mai raised her eyebrow. "Mizuki means beauty and..."
"Moon. It's apt for the child of Yugi and Artemis, I think." Nick finished.
The Guardians exchanged shocked looks amongst themselves. Even Horus was completely stunned by this new development. "Mortal, are you saying that girl is..."
"Your granddaughter, yes. Rebecca Hawkins has never been pregnant, she never visited an OBGYN in the correct time frame." He cast a disgusted look down at Rebecca. "You're a fraud and liar, worse you're a con-artist and not a very good one."
The group parted, allowing Rebecca a path out. She saw her opportunity to run before she was set upon by every person she had angered during her time among them. Rebecca ran for her life, sprinting through the house and out the front door before a comment could be made by the people inside.
Mai looked at Nick with a small smile on her face. "Remind me to never hide something from you."
Nick shrugged. "I'm in the information business. It's my job to know the stuff other people don't want the public to know and report it. This was easy, try investigating what the ingredients of a meat pie are, that's tough."
Sephora rolled her eyes, turning around. "The question we should be asking is, if she was Artemis and Yugi's child, how did Hathor, err, Mizuki..."
"At a guess I'd say Hathor is Mizuki's Guardian name. It never came up on any documentation my people could find." Nick interjected.
"Whatever, how did she end up with Rebecca?" Sephora asked urgently.
A warp tunnel suddenly opened behind them with Yugi's team emerging from it in a gang tackle, followed by an explosion of shrapnel that was cast aside by Horus before it harmed any of them. The gang looked down at Yugi and the others curiously until Nick looked up. "Well, Yugi's here now, we can ask him ourselves."
Yugi blinked, picking himself up. "Ask me what?"