Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.
Fore warning, whilst this won't affect Battle of Destiny Begins, due to the sudden rise in heat and my home's incredibly annoying heat retention coupled with my headphones that I NEED to use, I'm taking a break from writing stuff that requires me to listen to it, as soon as this heat ebbs I'm getting back to it.
I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy
Chapter 25: - Shatter the Darkness
I clicked my tongue against my teeth in response to Dark Bakura's claim, what card could he have that would possibly allow him to preserve his Occult Combo, the psychotic spirit praised Yami for being able to push him so far into a corner but he claimed that it was going to be stopped now; I pressed my teeth against the corner of my mouth as Dark Bakura's made his move by summoning out Zangxuan the Spirit Purifier.
"Oh... not good," Katherine commented. She was right about that as Jowgen's effect enabled him to destroy all Special Summoned monster by the controller discarding one card from their hand and its' continued presence would prevent any future Special Summons which left Normal Summoning and Advance Summoning as the only way for Yami to protect himself, although he did currently have three monsters on his side of the field which meant Yami might have a way to escape from the situation that was about to erupt thanks to the evil spirit's actions.
Zangxuan the Spirit Purifier – Attribute: Light, Type: Spellcaster, Level: 3, ATK/200, DEF/1300
Yami was naturally alarmed by the monster's appearance yet Jounouchi was confused and even had to ask what it did which nearly made me slap my face and caused Katherine to actual to so in exasperation at the knuckle headed blonde we'd befriended, Honda was also annoyed by his friend's lack of knowledge but even he didn't know since he wasn't a duelist but at least he had an excuse unlike Jounouchi, apart from being an idiot but I don't think that was much of an excuse given who he was friends with.
Dark Bakura proceeded to explain what Zanguxan's effect was, Jounouchi quickly caught onto what this meant whilst Mai vocally confirmed it, Dark Bakura would be able to destroy Dark Necrofear thus unleashing that dreadful Dark Sanctuary all over again and allowing Dark Bakura to play the final Spirit Message and winning this Duel on his next turn if he had it in his hand right now, all we could do was hope that it wasn't the case.
That psycho proceeded to discard one of his cards thus activating Zanguxan's effect, the spiritualist spun his staff around before pointing the end at Dark Necrofear unleashing a blast of purple coloured kanji at the dark creature which destroyed it, with Dark Sanctuary once more entrapping our surroundings and causing Katherine to start clinging to me again whilst I gritted my teeth together at the utter mess we were currently in once again; Jounouchi was creeped out by the field becoming Dark Sanctuary once more.
"Idiot! Now isn't the time to be getting scared! If this keeps up Yugi is certain to lose in one turn," Mai explained. Either she had directed her comment at my sister as well or she was ignoring the scared girl clinging to me like a koala, Mai's words did get everyone to start worrying about Yami although Jounouchi didn't and instead stated that he would believe in his friend until the end, it was good for him to focus on something apart from the evil spirit roaming this place which I was shooting a death glare at if it ever came near our position.
"There's one way out but Yami needs to draw a card in order to go through with it, all we can do is watch and hope," I commented. I felt confused eyes gaze at me but I wasn't about to reveal the trump card that Yami possessed when that psychopath could heard us; Dark Bakura proceeded to sacrifice Zangxuan in order to maintain Dark Sanctuary which meant a Special Summon could now be accomplished however attempting to revive Dark Necrofear would simply be a folly since it had been countered easily already, the evil spirit then set one card face down but with it being in the Monster Zone thanks to Dark Sanctuary, I couldn't tell if it was a Magic, Trap or an actual monster.
Dark Bakura reminded everyone of the Hateful Spirit's presence with it having gone invisible as it searched out which of Yami's monsters it should possess this time, Yami was worried about this fact given his inability to attack with multiple monsters thanks to the Dark Door and the probability of choosing his possessed monster; however to add insult to injury that evil spirit revealed that his face down card was a second Dark Spirit of the Silent which nearly made me curse at the bad luck that Yami was currently having.
With everything set as it was this was the final turn and Yami had to draw the right card in order to be able to win this Duel, one hand rested on Katherine's head so the other curled tightly into a fist at the deadly situation my friend was stuck in, who knew what that psychotic spirit would do to Yami if he actually lost the duel; Yami was looking at his cards as he wondered about how to escape from this predicament.
"So you finally understand, Yugi? You have a literal zero percent chance of victory," Dark Bakura mocked. Even Otogi went as far as to agree with the evil spirit which caused Honda to get mad at the D. D. M creator, fortunately Mai put a swift stop to the argument before it even began by admitting she understood Honda's feelings but logically she knew where Otogi was coming from even admitting that the combo was perfect and Yami knew it, Shizuka asked her brother for his stance on the matter.
"I believe in Yugi!" Jounouchi declared. His unwavering faith and the strength of his words drew everyone's attention to him as a small smile curled the edge of my lips as Mai called out the blonde's name. "I said I'd believe in him and I believe! A True Duelist never gives up hope until the very last moment of the end! Besides Kylie and Katherine still have faith in him!" Jounouchi defended. At his words everyone turned their attention to us, no doubt wondering if we'd back Jounouchi up or if we'd cut the blonde down.
"Jounouchi's right, there's one card left that can help Yugi and Yami, all they have to do is draw it," Katherine answered. I looked down at my sister surprised that it had been her who answered the stares and not me AND that she did it without stuttering once in her sentence, as if galvanised by my sister and Jounouchi's belief in Yami's victory everyone began to cheer our friend on, encouraging him not to lose this Duel.
"It's futile. Even if you all cheer him on until you run out of breath, Yugi's got no chance of defeating me! Even this supposed card will be useless!" Dark Bakura declared. Knowing exactly which card could turn the tide of this battle it was possible and I could tell from Yami's expression that he knew which card we were referring to; Yami placed his fingers on the top card of his deck and declared he was betting everything as a duelist on the next draw, he drew the card... and lightning struck the airship as he held it aloft.
"I Release Black Magician Girl, Magnet Warrior Gamma and Big Shield Gardna to Advance Summon, Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Yami declared. My fist uncurled as I grinned widely at seeing the cards had answered Yami right when he needed them to; lightning danced about the playing field for a short time before finally coming together and surging up to the top of the dome that Dark Sanctuary shrouded us in.
As if to demonstrate a God's might, the lightning blasted a hole in the roof of the dome before dissolving the majority of it so only a tiny piece remained on Dark Bakura's side and Osiris manifested himself as his long serpentine body curled around the airship whilst his double mouthed head hovered near his master, looking at the beast I still felt in awe of it despite having already seen the sunset red scaled dragon and I swore that its' yellow eyes gleamed with delight as it roared at Dark Bakura, who quite frankly looked batshit scared to be staring down the God.
Sky Dragon of Osiris – Attribute: God, Type: Phantom Beast God/Dragon, Level: 10, ATK/X000, DEF/X000
Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/X000 – ATK/3000, DEF/X000 – DEF/3000
Everyone was gaping at seeing the draconic god for the first time, not that I could blame them seeing as I'd done the exact same thing when I first seen the beast and that was from afar unlike right now, Seto and Mokuba ended up having to drag/push me the last few steps to reach Yami; Dark Bakura recovered and stated that the hateful spirit from Dark Sanctuary was still wandering the field and now with no other options Osiris was the only one that it could possess, boy was he in for a nasty surprise.
"What?! The Onryou was dispelled?" Dark Bakura questioned. He had no hand, no protective monsters and no cards that he could activate to protect himself, the evil spirit's overconfidence in his Occult Combo was utterly shattered with the appearance of such overwhelming might, all Yami had to do was declare the attack and the Duel was his, in response to this Jounouchi let out a cheer and encouraged his friend to take the shot, it was all over now.
"Sky Dragon of Osiris, attack!" Yami declared. However as he did I noticed the Millennium Puzzle pulse and Katherine tore herself away from me suddenly which nearly caused me to topple over from the sudden force, I looked at my sister only to see her gaze locked on the elevator. "Thunder-," Yami bean to continue but stopped. His reason soon became apparent when Marik proceeded to walk over to the dueling platform with the Millennium Rod in hand as Yami turned around to face him; Otogi had to quickly pounce on Jounouchi in order to hold the blonde back from clobbering the man, not that he could be blamed.
Before attempting to lunge, Jounouchi did ask why the psychopath was present, Mokuba claimed he wouldn't forgive the man for interrupting the Duel, there was a lot we couldn't forgive this monster for doing ever since that first Duel with the possessed Keith; Yami's only words were to curse the man who'd interrupted his attack, this sudden decision to appear made me uneasy and I wondered what he was up to yet my sister did nothing, or speak for that matter, she simply gazed at the man.
"Listen carefully Yugi... that boy is being controlled by my Millennium Rod and has now become my puppet," Marik stated. I pretty sure all of us who'd encountered the evil spirit previously were doubtful of this claim with Yami personally vocalising such a fact as Bakura was obviously being controlled by the spirit, a thought came to me and it deeply worried me as I had thought that perhaps our two enemies had joined forces to dispose of Yami and Yugi. "Correct that boy is being controlled by two people," Marik answered.
'Well... shit!' I thought. Marik's words confirmed my fears and the man went on to offer proof by suggesting he would release the real Bakura from control, Yami was surprised and proceeded to twist around to look at his opponent with my head following quickly after as I wanted to know if what Marik was saying was true; seconds later the evil spirit tensed up as his hair smoothed down and he clutched his injured arm before slumping to his knees.
"I-it hurts... it hurts!" Bakura cried. It was definitely our white haired friend and he was still suffering from the ramifications of his wound, either the evil spirit was better at dealing with pain or he'd done something else to ease the pain Bakura was enduring. "Yugi-kun!? Where am I? Why am I here? Why do I have this wound?" Bakura questioned. On the last one he lifted up the shirt sleeve revealing that his wound was bleeding, this wasn't good as Bakura needed medical attention immediately.
"As you can see that boy is badly wounded. Yugi, it's true that an attack from God will grant you victory, but the damage from that shock could very well end that boy's life," Marik calmly stated. This time around Mai had to pounce on me to keep me from throttling this bastard, he'd put Yami in an impossible situation where he either won and sacrificed his friend or he saves his friend but lost the chance to reclaim his memories and that gave Marik more of a chance to claim the title of Pharaoh, especially since he and the evil spirit were working as one.
"What?!" Yami questioned. Marik wondered if the ancient spirit would be able to follow through with his attack, Yami's crimson eyes began to glare at the man for his deceitful actions just to force Yami to lose. "You're using Bakura's life as a shield, Marik?!" Yami accused. Jounouchi damned Marik for his actions whilst the others worried about Bakura's condition, as he had apparently run out of words Marik turned around and proceeded to leave the area; Bakura's pained cries snapped my attention from the monster to him as I worried about how he was doing.
In response to the cries from his friend, Yami attempted to make his way to Bakura but Seto's bodyguard ordered him to stop and explained that if Yami approached his opponent then he would be disqualified from Battle City, naturally the others started demanding that the Duel be stopped because of Bakura's injury, all the while Katherine remained quiet as she gazed after Marik before she twisted around to look at the Duel but she did nothing more than that.
"Seto, come on! Bakura needs medical attention. Now! You've got to stop the match!" I exclaimed. Bakura was in too much pain to surrender the Duel and Yami didn't have it in him to attack a wounded friend especially since his life was in danger due to the sheer power that Osiris possessed, my eyes were locked with the brunette CEO hoping that he would see reason and call this accursed Duel off, Yami was clearly the victor.
"Not until Yami attacks!" Seto answered. I almost screamed at that but controlled myself although I did proceeded to roughly rake my hands through my vibrant red hair, things were made worse when both Isono and Seto himself urged the ancient spirit to continue with his attack yet the hesitation shining in my king's eyes causing me to press my lips together tightly, Jounouchi climbed up and almost got disqualified himself; however he was saved from such a fate when I suddenly heard my sister take in a deep breath.
"HEY! PSYCHO SPIRIT OF THE RING!" Katherine bellowed. Everyone jumped at the unexpected loudness that my sister projected with everyone staring at her in surprise, I couldn't recall a single insistence in my life when my sister had raised her voice so this was a complete shock to even me. "IF YOU DON'T GET OUT HERE, THEN BAKURA'S GOING TO BE HURT AND YOU NEED HIM, LIKE YAMI NEEDS YUGI! SO GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!" Katherine carried on. She greedily shucked in breaths clearly signalling that her yelling session was done but no one reacted yet, even the wind itself had fallen silent.
Suddenly a light sprang up from Bakura, surrounding him as a result and when it faded Dark Bakura was standing in his place and he was laughing rather loudly before turning to look at Katherine with a maniacal look on his face, my sister did the very wise thing and promptly ducked back behind my leg although she shyly peeked out to look at the evil spirit that she'd managed to summon back to this Duel at the best possible time... I really didn't think he'd listen to be very honest.
"You have guts talking to me that way!" Dark Bakura stated. Yami was surprised, which he vocally admitted, by this turn of events although he did shoot wary glances at me and Katherine as I pushed my sister completely behind me and sent a glare a the psychotic spirit who turned his attention back to Yami. "Yugi, I'll humbly admit my defeat this time. Attack me!" Dark Bakura dared. Yami was surprised by the sudden twist that had entered the Duel and I wondered if Dark Bakura and Marik really were working together. "What? You're little friend Bakura won't die, so don't worry. Like the little girl said, this host is important to me! I can't allow him to be killed off, so come at me!" Dark Bakura explained/dared.
"Then here I go! Sky Dragon of Osiris, direct attack!" Yami commanded. The mighty god summoned its' devastating lightning attack and unleashed it towards the evil spirit, engulfing his form in the crackling embrace, Dark Bakura declared that he would be the one to claim the power of darkness in the end and those words caused a deep chill to settle within my bones for some unknown reason as Katherine gripped my leg even tighter in response.
Bakura – LP: 1200 – LP: 0
Osiris disappeared, Bakura was unconscious on the floor and Isono declared that Yami – saying Yugi – was the victor of the match and so with that declaration Yami rushed to the boy whilst the Duel ring was lowered and once it was the rest of us wasted no time in hauling ourselves up to gather around our friend who Yami was lifting up gently; Bakura regained consciousness but his arm was still bleeding badly so Honda got the white haired on his back with some help from Yami and Jounouchi, once he was secured we all rushed to the boy's room.
Yami had hung back to switch with Yugi but we easily made it to Bakura's room and he was set down on his bed, since Namu wasn't in the room Katherine was able to start healing the boy who'd lost consciousness again but from the grim expression on her face I could tell that there was something present that she couldn't undo and the golden glow of her Millennium Gauntlet slowly faded away as she dropped her hand.
"I can heal the wound and other physical strains but he needs a blood transfusion, that's the real problem alongside some good rest and food once he wakes up," Katherine stated. Our discussion turned to the duel and Yugi admitted that his other self really could have lost that duel because of his inability to attack his injured friend, Jounouchi wondered if the evil spirit had let them win the Duel. "No... I think he was worried Yami really would attack thus killing Bakura and like I said and he confirmed, he needs Bakura to live just like Yami needs Yugi," Katherine admitted.
The discussion switched wheels to why Bakura had been put in danger to begin with, Yugi explained that it had all been Marik's doing which caused Jounouchi to get angry however I kept quiet as I thought over what had happened during the Duel primarily focusing on the events surrounding when Marik showed up, I only came around when I heard Yugi loudly call my name and when I looked at him he asked me what was wrong.
"It's Marik, but not why any of you think. There's just something weird going on, he's acting less and less like how I expected from all the possessed conversations that he had with him. The guy who's claiming to be Marik just... doesn't fit for some reason. It's hard to explain," I admitted. The others looked confused but Katherine nodded her head showing that she agreed with me on my instincts. "Anyway Bakura needs a doctor so let's go get Seto," I suggested. Everyone agreed and Anzu offered to stay with the unconscious boy whilst the rest of us took off.
"Huh?" Yugi exclaimed. We turned back to look at the boy only to find him staring at Bakura so I walked back over to stand beside him and looked at the boy myself. "It's gone. The Millennium Ring. Bakura-kun's Millennium Ring went missing after he was hit by the attack," Yugi stated. Another chill set into me as Honda complained about the vanishing tendencies of that object, Jounouchi stated that searching for it was second to getting Seto's emergency help and so they set off, I remained for a few moments before leaving meaning that I was last out the room and a distance behind the others.
"Not all is as it appears Consort," A female voice stated. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to look at the person only to find that she'd covered her appearance but my mana sense immediately identified her causing me to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "You must be wary Consort, lies and misdirection cloud the truth to all of your eyes," The red – no rhodonite – clad woman warned. I smirked as I planted a hand on my hip.
"You seemed to have changed your tune since we last met. But you already were odd, I know Marik's up to something you just gave me confirmation," I stated. The woman's eyes crinkled slightly at my words before a voice called out to me so I twisted around and jogged to catch up to my friends but not before glancing back as the rhodonite dressed woman vanished into a nearby room, a room for one of the three missing duelists.