(A/N: This chapter has my favorite joke up until now. One I've been building since chapter 7. And don't it just figure that even though Joey isn't this chapter I still wind up focusing on a lucky character. I really do wonder if this will become a trend considering we have FOUR lucky characters. (Makoto, Nagito, Celeste and Joey). Anyway, not important, what is important is hoping you Yu-gi-oh fans have seen the abridged series, otherwise this joke will not be funny to you to the point that you won't even realize it's a joke. And at the risk of giving the joke away by saying more, let's just start the chapter).
Sitting in her hospital bed, thick bandages covering her eyes, Serenity Wheeler continued to exist in a world where sound and sight were her primary means of identifying her surrounds. Despite her calm, somewhat brave exterior, it was very scary to her.
However, scarier than her lack of sight was the situation she was currently in. Joey was sending over two people she had never met before to pick her up. Sure, she trusted Joey. They had the type of relationship where Serenity would gladly take a bullet for him, but this situation left her with knuckles as white as her bandages. Why couldn't he have just sent Tristan? She would've preferred that. Tristan was nice and he was Joey's best friend. And, more importantly, someone she could identify from just the sound of his voice.
The more Serenity thought about it, the more she wondered what she might do with her newfound sight once she got set loose back into the world. Obviously school was still necessary, boring old school and boring old classes. The young redhead actually dreamed of doing something more with her life.
As she contemplated the future, she raised her hand towards the ceiling and outstretched her palm. She wanted to be able to do something important with her life. She wasn't a terribly good duelist and she was a poor athlete. Her grades were also about average. She could probably do anything she set her mind to, but all she would be was average.
Serenity. brought her hand down to chest level, her head tilted towards her palm as though she could look at it. Still, she thought, As long as Joey lives happily and as long as I can continue to support him, She wrapped her arms around her knees and smiled, I'm fine with that. I just want to not be apart from my big brother. I want us to be able to see each other regularly once we become grown adults. Most big brothers would've spent all that prize money on duel monsters or other forms of instant gratification, but Joey spent it on my operation. He's such a good big brother.
A knock to Serenity's open door alerted her.
"Are you…Serenity Wheeler?" A plain sounding, feminine voice called to her. Judging from the girl's position, she was standing at the door, looking at Serenity. And, judging from the tone of her voice, she sounded like a teenager.
"Um, who are you?" Serenity asked.
"Oh, sorry," the girl apologized. "My name is Mahiru Koizumi. I'm the one Joey asked to come pick you up. Oh, well, actually I suppose more accurately he asked my classmate to come get you."
"H-Hello," a much kinder voice stuttered. "M-my name is Mikan Tsumiki. I-I'm the Ultimate Nurse at Hope's Peak Academy and so this hospital was kind enough to let me be your official escort out of the hospital."
"A nurse?" Now Serenity felt a little reassured and this Mikan sounded extremely harmless.
"Y-yes, I-I'm rather skilled actually. I know how to give injections, fix all sorts of wounds and give proper medical diagnosis." Her tone of voice changed to sound extremely sympathetic as she said, "I heard about your eye surgery. I hope there haven't been any complications. Have the doctors read you your full post-surgery report?"
"Yes, they assured me I'm going to be fine," Serenity said with a smile.
"That's good," Mikan said. "Though you should still check back in tomorrow after you get to take off your bandages. Every patient should always read their official doctor's notice. It's their right after all. Eheheh."
Joey, thank you, Serenity said and immediately got out of bed by herself.
"O-oh! A-are you okay to be getting up by yourself?"
"Unless someone put something in front of my bed without my knowledge I can manage at least that much." Serenity then pointed what she correctly assumed was the wall across from the foot of her bed. "I should have a change of clothes in that back over there. Could you help me change so we can get going?"
"No problem," Mahiru said.
"Yes, absolutely," Mikan said.
The girls helped Serenity change and then had her officially discharged from the hospital, signing guest sheets on Joey's behalf. Mikan being the Ultimate Nurse at a prestigious school certainly had its perks.
The girls piled out into the parking lot to head for the train, Mahiru and Mikan holding either of Serenity's arms to guide her so she wouldn't bump into anything. Serenity, however, became nervous when they came to a dead stop and one of them let go of her.
"Oh my gosh! Nagito!" Judging from the distance of the voice, Mikan had let go and darted forward towards someone Serenity could not see.
Mahiru stayed close by with Serenity, but showed equal concern. "Is that guy going to be okay? What happened?"
"Not sure. I just brought him to the hospital as a favor to Ibuki," Nagito said. "Apparently, he's acquainted with her new friends and well, how could I just turn down a request from a classmate I respect so much?" Nagito too sounded harmless, but there was something in his voice that just made the hairs on the back of Serenity's neck stand up straight.
"I-I'll take him inside," Mikan said. "H-he deserves to get a proper diagnosis as soon as possible. Oh my gosh, he's pale as a sheet. He's lost a lot of blood. Come on, uh…"
"Bakura," Serenity heard weakly.
"Bakura," Mikan repeated. "Let's get you inside."
"Well, I suppose my role in this endeavor is done since the Ultimate Nurse is taking care of it."
"Wait, Mikan, are you really going to leave me so soon?" Serenity asked. Not that she didn't trust Mahiru, but Mikan's status and innocent sounding voice was incredibly reassuring to her scary situation.
"S-sorry, d-duty calls," Mikan stuttered. "P-please don't hate me, Serenity,"
"I don't hate you," Serenity said. "Actually, I'd really like to see you again sometime…well, I mean…you know what I mean?"
"Eh?" Mikan seemed surprised by this notion.
"It's just…I really wasn't sure about being picked up by complete strangers, but…you're really nice Mikan. I really would like to be able to thank you properly once my bandages are off."
Mikan sounded like she was going to cry.
"I-I'm sorry," Serenity apologized. "Did I upset you?"
"Nah, she's always like this," Mahiru said, rubbing Serenity's shoulder. "It's okay, Mikan. Just breathe. Be happy, you made a new friend."
"I know and I should be happy, but I…I…"
Bakura unceremoniously coughed.
"Eek! I almost forgot about Bakura! C-come on! Let's get you inside!" Mikan walked away with Bakura. Serenity could only tell this by the two pairs of footsteps.
"I suppose I should get going then," Nagito said. "I've got the finals to get to after all."
"Finals?" Mahiru asked, sounding confused. "I thought you didn't have interest in the tournament finals."
"Eh, I kind of changed my mind," Nagito said, almost laughing. "I mean, I've got five locator cards, why stop now? I doubt I'll beat Yugi Mutoh or Seto Kaiba, but if I can duel just one of them to be a stepping stone towards their hope, it'd be great."
"Jeeez," Mahiru exasperated, "There's the weirdo I call a classmate. Come on Serenity."
"It was nice meeting you, Nagito," Serenity said, bowing to him.
"Same," Nagito said.
"Wait, aren't you going to come on the train with us?" Mahiru asked.
"Nah, I've got some private transport," Nagito said, though Serenity had no idea what he was talking about. "I might as well use it."
"Well, I'd say good luck," Mahiru said. "But…"
"Nah, go ahead and say it. It's nice. I like nice compliments from my classmates."
Mahiru sighed. "You really are such a weirdo. Well, good luck anyways, not that you need it given your talent."
Nagito just laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow I suppose."
"Yeah, tomorrow," Mahiru said and then she and Serenity walked away, leaving Nagito to his own devices.
The Ultimate Lucky Student of Class 77-B then turned around towards the taxi cab that had dropped him off. The driver was still waiting.
"Care to drive me back to the tournament?" Nagito asked.
"Not a problem, though this time it'll cost you," Kazusa said. "To the hospital was an emergency after all."
"Heh," Nagito responded. "Not a problem. Whatever it costs. I don't mind."
"Then I'll be happy to escort you, Nagito," Kazusa said as he piled into the back of her cab.
The drive back was relatively short. Traffic wasn't even that bad. Nagito was even sure he'd beat Mahiru and Serenity here. Course he couldn't let them ride with him, not just because of taxi fare versus train fare but also because his good luck was a little too good today. He'd been batting 1000 without slowing down at all. Three successive victories and not an ounce of bad luck in sight. Plus, he got to help a classmate. Something fishy was going on and it could all come crashing down any second. Traffic wasn't even that bad. Nagito half-expected to have gotten into an accident that would've required medical attention for Kazusa, but nothing.
As he wondered around the city, with no company but his own thoughts, Nagito contemplated both his situation on luck and his situation in the tournament. He managed to get all the way to the opposite side of the river bank where, unbeknownst to him, Yugi had dueled Strings. I suppose I should focus on my last opponent right now. I mean, at this point challenging someone with an incredibly low dueling level might spark my bad luck. And that's assuming there are even any left by now. Hmm, I don't suppose I could find that Namu guy again. He seemed a little shady. I wonder if I still have the luck to find him before my bad luck hits. Or maybe…
"YOU!"
Nagito picked his head up when he realized he was the one being shouted at. He even pointed to himself as he saw a cloaked man that had definitely seen better days not too far from his current location. Nagito, curiously pointed to himself to confirm that the man was yelling at him, even though there was virtually no one else around.
"Stay! RIGHT! THERE!" The man shouted, clearly sounding like he was on the edge of his rope. He then hobbled up to Nagito and Nagito could not only smell the stench of bird poop, but also could see that the man had a brace on his shoulder, a head bandage to cover up his burgundy hair, and what on earth had happened to his pants. It looked like there was a huge hole bitten in the back with the way part of it was flapping down along his backside that Nagito could barely make out along the inside of the cloak.
The man laughed maniacally, continuing to point at Nagito with his skinny, bony finger. "I have been trying to catch you all day, you little punk. You! The guy with Exodia, Master Marik wants a word with you!"
"Marik?" Nagito asked. "Oh, I see," he said. "You're with that Rare Hunter organization. I thought you were dressed kind of funny. "Marik must be the name of your boss.
"It is," the Rare Hunter replied. "And you've been marked by the Rare Hunters, Nagito Komaeda! We want your Exodia cards and I aim to take them from you!"
Nagito thought this was so precious. "Aww, you want to duel me, Mr. Rare Hunter? Truly, I'm flattered. Well, why not? I've got five locator cards. Taking yours will put me into the finals."
"I have a name you insensitive little brat!"
"Oh? And what, pray tell, is your name?"
"It's Steve!" The Rare Hunter shouted. "And drop the nice guy act! I know you've been eluding me all day with your millennium item! Master Marik told me so!"
Now Nagito was confused. "Huh?"
"Don't "HUH?" me!" Steve barked. "I've been bit by a dog, trampled by passersby to the Sweet Orchard concert, fell into the river, caught a cold," he sneezed as if on cue, and then pointed to his left eye, "And I got BIRD POOP IN MY EYE!" Sounding even more strained he continued, "I knocked over a man's cabbage stand and got covered in produce and was hit by a car that ran a red light! Oh don't worry, I'm fine! Thanks for asking!"
Nagito seemed to ponder Steve's words for a moment, glancing down at the ground, finger under his lower lip. Then, the metaphorical light bulb went off in Nagito's head. "Ohhhhhh! I get it now!"
"Yes, yes! Now, tell us your secrets!" Steve exclaimed, rubbing his hands with glee.
Nagito smiled gently. "I was wondering how my good luck streak had kept up for so long." He held his hands up, arms spread wide with praise, "Thank you, Steve. It seems that in your pursuit for me, all of my bad luck got transferred to you."
Steve looked at Nagito dumbfounded. Bad…luck? He twitched. He had suffered all this injustice because this kid was some sort of malevolent jinx? NOPE! NOPE! Steve had had enough. Holding his head and screaming the top of his lungs, Steve shouted to the heavens and then collapsed on the ground.
Then, suddenly, a glowing eye symbol appeared on Steve's forehead and he rose up from the ground. As he spoke, his voice was distorted, "Good help is so hard to find these days," the echoy voice said, seeming to sigh.
"Huh? Steve, are you okay?" Nagito asked, showing concern for his opponent, if only to make sure his opponent wasn't now justifiably insane.
"This is no longer Steve. I am Marik. I am controlling my pawn through the power of my Millenium Rod," Marik said.
Nagito paused to soak this statement in and then stuck his hands in his pockets, shrugged and said, "Okay."
"You seem unimpressed," Marik said.
"Well, I mean, it's just, every magician has a stage act, you know? It's kind of like that, I guess," Nagito stated.
"Fool!" Marik bellowed. "This is no mere magic trick! The power of the ancient Millennium Items are far beyond the comprehension of mortal men!"
"Which is why I'm taking it in stride," Nagito said happily. "Why question what's happening right in front of me?"
Marik sighed inwardly. Tylenol sounded pretty good right about now. First Celeste, now this. "I will complete Steve's job for him. Nagito Komaeda, I challenge you to a duel."
"Oh? The big boss himself wants to face me with his underling's deck? Well, why not? This actually ought to be interesting," Nagito said, activating his duel disk.
"Believe me, I'd sooner send another Rare Hunter after you, but I haven't the time. I have other matters to attend to." Marik was, of course, referring to his nefarious plot to have Yugi and Joey duel in a death match, but Nagito didn't need to know that. Using his Millennium Rod, he activated Steve's duel disk.
"Then I'll try not to waste any of your time, Marik," Nagito said. "And I don't plan on losing. I want to get to the finals."
"Let's duel!" They both declared.
"Since I want to get this over with quickly, I'll go first," Marik said. "And I play Soitsu in attack mode!"
A weird clay-like figure on a paper airplane that looked like a weird small man in a latex muscle suit appeared. He was flexing. He had 0 attack and defense points.
"A monster with no attack points, huh?" Nagito asked.
"Just you wait," Marik said, reaching for a card in Steve's hand, "Steve's deck is special as you will soon see. For now, I play the spell card Frontline Base, which will allow me to special summon Doitsu." Another paper airplane riding monster appeared, this one orange and kneeling with a bento box. "Next, I'll combine Soitsu with Doitsu's power," Marik said as Doitsu's airplane retreated to Marik's spell and trap zone, "Raising Soitsu's attack power to 2500." Nagito watched the number's climb. "Next, I shall set one card face-down on the field and end my turn," Marik said.
Nagito didn't comment on Marik's move, but he knew how poor of a situation he was in. His hand wasn't any better either. Hmm, no Exodia cards. Looks like I'm doing this old school.
"I play the spell card Pre-Preparation of Rites," Nagito said, activating the spell as it appeared on the battlefield, "This lets me put both a Ritual Spell and Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand." Nagito sifted through his deck for the monsters he wanted. And next, I'll activate my Ritual Spell Primal Cry," Nagito said, and then held up two cards from his hand, "And send two monsters from my hand to the graveyard to special summon Vennu, Bright Bird of Divinity."
A majestic, golden bird with red plume-like tails appeared. It had 2800 attack points. It was like a crane and a phoenix had a baby and this was the result. It was also adorned with magic gems.
"Next, I'll place one card face-down," Nagito said, as the hologram appeared, "And end my turn."
"Not going to attack?" Marik asked.
"And fall for such an obvious trap when I can't spring any of my own?" Nagito asked. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass."
"Suit yourself," Marik replied and drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the spell card Gust Fan and equip it to my Soitsu," Marik's monster did a hand stand as it obtained the fan in question. "This raises my Soitsu's attack power by 400 points. And since it has no defense points, the drawback of my Gust Fan has no effect. Now, Soitsu, Marik declared, attack!" (Hand: 2), raising its attack points at the cost of 200 defense. Now, Soitsu, attack! Wipe out that eyesore of a bird!"
"I activate my trap card, Skull Dice!" Nagito exclaimed as the gremlin holding the red dice appeared. "Now, I roll the dice and divide your monster's attack points depending on the number I roll."
Marik and Nagito watched the animated red dice roll to the ground and ceremoniously land on a two. Nagito commented on the roll. "Looks like my bad luck is catching up to me. I usually do a lot better than that. Oh well, half is half."
Soitsu's attack power was reduced down to 1450 and thanks to Nagito's monster counter attacking with a shining ray of light, Marik's monster was blasted back by the blinding flash and reduced his life points down to 2650. However, Soitsu remained in play as did Gust Fan.
"Huh? Why wasn't Soitsu destroyed?" Nagito asked. "Oh, Doitsu disappeared.
"That's right because Soitsu and Doitsu are part of a union and when a monster formed by a union would be destroyed by battle, only its partner is sent to the graveyard."
Nagito laughed. "What a wonderful strategy. I should get some union monsters. Sacrificing oneself so the hope of your partner can shine brightly? What a great way to duel."
"I doubt it'll still seem so great to you once I use Frontier Base to special summon another Doitsu and allowing me to bring Soitsu back to full strength, powerful enough to destroy Vennu next turn."
"I suppose it does indeed have that power. But, no, union monsters still seem like something I can get behind. So, is that all you're doing next turn?" Nagito asked.
"Yes," Marik said.
"All right then," Nagito said, "My draw." Nagito drew the top card of his deck and looked at the battlefield. Hmm, with another pre-preparation of rites in my hand I could get Garlandolf and Ritual of Destruction to my hand right now, but the only way to summon it would be by tributing Vennu and even though I could directly attack, the best case scenario is that Marik goes down to 50 life points and I still have to worry about that face-down of his. I'll play it safe, but I'll prepare for the future anyway.
As Nagito plucked the Pre-Preparation of Rites from his hand, he then noticed the card he'd just drawn: Right Hand of Forbidden One. Well now, this is getting interesting.
"I activate another Pre-Preparation of Rites!" Nagito declared, allowing him to get Ritual of Destruction and Garandolf to his hand. "Next, I switch Vennu to defense position." allowing the bird to cover its body with its wings. "And I play this monster card face-down and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn," Marik said and drew the top card from Steve's deck. "I activate the field spell Rising Air Current!" Marik declared as a blue aura appeared on the battlefield, causing an updraft, an artificial sun appeared as a hologram and a large holographic hawk flew high in the sky overhead. "This spell card increases the attack power of all wind monsters by 500 points, while lower their defense points by 400, but since Soitsu has no defense points. He only benefits."
The monster flexed its muscles as its attack power went all the way up to 3400.
"Soitsu, attack, destroy Vennu!" Marik declared as Soitsu flew forward on his airplane and used the Gust Fan to swat Nagito's bird and rip it apart with a powerful hurricane. "HAHAHA! So much for your ritual monster," Marik said. "Perhaps your next one will be sturdier."
"Maybe it will and maybe it won't," Nagito said. "You won't know until its summoned."
"Well then summon it just so that I can crush it," Marik said. "It's your turn."
"Well I'll certainly try," Nagito said and drew the top card of his deck: another Exodia piece. He had no moves to play this turn. "I end my turn," Nagito said.
Marik laughed. "Not going to make a move? Have you resigned yourself to defeat so soon?"
Nagito didn't comment. He only smiled.
"I will so enjoy wiping that annoying smirk off your face," Marik said and drew the top card from Steve's deck. "I play Vampire Orchis in attack mode!" A tree with vampire fanged lips for flowers on its branches appeared. It had 1700 attack points. "Vampire Orchis, destroy Nagito's face-down monster!"
Vampire Orchis' vines shot out and the vampire fangs bit into and tore apart Nagito's Witch of the Black Forest, activating its special ability and letting Nagito add another Exodia piece from his deck to his hand, but Marik didn't know that part.
"And now," Marik declared, feeling triumphant, "Soitsu! Attack Nagito directly!"
Soitsu charged in and blew Nagito off his feet, causing him to land on its ass and dealing a devastating 3400 points of damage, leaving Nagito with only 600.
"AHAHAHA! How unfortunate for you, Nagito Komaeda," Marik cackled. "Once I'm through with you next turn, I'll be taking your Exodia cards and then I will become the most powerful duelist in this tournament."
"Misfortune?" Nagito said in an interrogative tone only to light up with a smile. "You just said the magic word."
"What are you blathering about?" Marik demanded to know.
Nagito seemed happy to explain. "Whenever I suffer a dose of bad luck, it's always followed by some good luck. Now watch this!" he declared, feeling pretty lucky—though he didn't believe his good luck and bad luck had entirely evened out yet. He was relieved to see the card he drew. "I activate my Ritual Spell: Ritual of Destruction!" Nagito declared and held up a small oddly faced raven monster. "By activating Ritual Raven's special ability, I'm allowed to summon a ritual monster using only it as a tribute. Now, behold my most powerful Ritual Monster in my entire deck! Go, Garlandolf, King of Destruction!" Nagito declared.
The swirling black mass that was Garlandolf's seal appeared and then Garlandolf broke free from the chains encasing him in dark matter.
"And when Garlandolf is summoned to the field," Nagito declared, "He destroys every monster on the field with less defense points than his attack and there are two."
"What? No!" Marik declared.
"Too bad, Marik. You focused so much on attack you didn't consider defense. Now, Garlandolf! Unleash your fury with Destructive Energy Wave!" Nagito declared, pointing decisively at the battlefield, his hair spiking up a little from its usual wavy cowlicks.
A mighty dark wave of energy ripped through the battlefield, destroying Marik's monsters and giving Garlandolf a total of 2700 attack points.
"This duel is over!" Nagito declared. "Garlandolf, attack Marik directly!"
"Not so fast!" Marik declared. "I activate my face-down card: Mirror Wall!"
Garlandolf struck forward and wound up attacking a reflection of itself, though the residual energies smashed through the wall and ended up lowering Marik's life points to 1300.
"Fool!" Marik declared. "Did you forget about my face-down card?"
"Of course not," Nagito said with a smile.
"What?" Marik asked flatly.
"Aw, come on, I'm not that dumb, Marik. I knew you'd spring your trap eventually, but why waste a perfectly good opportunity on the table? At least I got your life points down. I'd say mission accomplished. I knew you wouldn't be defeated that easily. You're a leader of a powerful organization, right? How could someone like me defeat you so easily even with your subordinates deck."
I can't tell if he's mocking me or being serious and that's rather unnerving, Marik thought. Still… "I would not be looking so cheerful if I were you, Nagito Komaeda," Marik said. "With Garlandolf's attack points so low," They were at 1350 because of Mirror Wall. "This duel is just about over." Marik drew the top card of his deck. "I play Freezing Beast in attack position." A monster made entirely out of wet crystals appeared. It had 1500 attack points. "And I shall use it to attack your weakened Garlandolf with its frozen claws attack."
Freezing Beast lurched forward and destroyed Nagito's monster, bringing his life points down to a mere 450. "It's your turn, Nagito Komaeda," Marik said. "Although I should remind you that Mirror Wall is still in effect. You'd best be careful now."
"Don't worry, I'm always careful," Nagito said with a smile. "I look both ways before crossing the street." He picked the top card off of his deck. He decided to play it. He had to. Every other card in his hand was an Exodia card. "I play Gear Golem the Moving Fortress in defense mode." He declared, as the tanky golem with 2200 defense points appeared on the battlefield. "I end my turn."
"Of course you do," Marik said with a smug smirk. "I draw." He put the top card on Steve's deck in his hand. "First I activate the field spell Umiiruka." The Rising Air Current disappeared and a new spell card took its place as sparkling water surrounded the battlefield. "This new field spell helps out my water monsters in the same way my Rising Air Current helped out wind monsters."
"All right," Nagito said. "It's still not strong enough to defeat Gear Golem though."
"As things stand, sure, but not when I activate the equip-spell card: Steel Shell." Nagito gasped. "Yes that is the expression you should have on your face right now," Marik said. "This spell card raises the monster its equipped to by 400 points and lowers its defense by 200 provided that it is a water monster. And the monster I equip it to is obviously my Freezing Beast."
Thanks to the effects of Umiiruka and the heavy Steel Shell now placed upon its back, Freezing Beast now had 2400 attack points. "Now, my beast, attack!" Marik declared.
Freezing Beast charged forward and attacked Nagito's monster, destroying it and leaving Nagito defenseless. "This is almost too easy. I thought you were trying to win, Nagito Komaeda," Marik taunted.
"I am," Nagito said and drew the top card of his deck. "And I activate the spell card, Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw until we're holding six cards." Unfortunately for Nagito that was only 3 cards while Marik practically replenished his entire hand. And of those three cards, only one was an Exodia monster.
"I place a monster in defense position," Nagito said and place a card face-down on the field. "That ends my turn."
Marik laughed. "Yes, cower before me! I can't wait to take your Exodia cards from you!" Marik drew the top card of his deck. "I now play the monster card Uminotaurus!" A strange, bull-like creature with a cape on its head that seemed to cover its head entirely except for two strangely placed horns appeared. It also carried an axe that used a clam to substitute for an axe blade and a piece of coral to substitute for an axe pole. "Thanks to this monster card any time an aqua, fish or sea serpent on my side of the field destroys one of your monsters, you still take battle damage. And my Freezing Beast is an Aqua type monster." Marik laughed again. "It's over, Nagito Komaeda! Freezing Beast, attack!"
Nagito sighed. "I activate my trap card," he said with a smug smile.
Marik was floored by what he saw. "Another Skull Dice?"
"What can I say? It's a good trap card and perfect for me," Nagito said. "Now! Go! Skull Dice!"
As before, the dice landed on 2, but it was enough to cut Freezing Beast's attack points in half and have it slam head first into Nagito's Soul Tiger, leaving Marik with only 400 life points, less than Nagito's.
"No matter," Marik said, "Uminotaurus can still attack and it is unaffected by your Skull Dice."
Uminotaurus swung its battle axe down onto Nagito's Soul Tiger and thanks to its special ability, Nagito still lost life points, bringing him down to 350, giving Marik the advantage once more. "No matter, this duel is as good as mine. You have barely any life points left and I still have two very powerful monsters on my side of the field. And even if you managed to play something dangerous, I still have Steve's strongest monster waiting in my hand. It's over for you, Nagito Komaeda."
"You don't pay attention very well, do you?" Nagito asked, holding up his finger by his temple, but not quite touching it. "What did I say earlier? Whenever I suffer misfortune, good fortune is just around the corner."
"So?" Marik barked.
"So this!" Nagito declared and pulled the top card from his deck. Exactly as predicted. "It might be a bit overkill," Nagito said, pressing a card into the far right slot of his monster zone, "But there's never a bad time to summon the most powerful monster in all of Duel Monsters!"
Marik was flabbergasted. He knew what Nagito had done and saw the five cards appear on the duel disk. "You can't be serious! Seven turns? SEVEN TURNS?!"
"Oh, hey. I didn't even notice it was my seventh turn. Funny how that works out," Nagito chuckled.
Marik was distraught. Sure, he was using Steve's deck, but how did Nagito summon Exodia in only seven turns? "This! Isn't! Happening!"
"Sorry, Marik, but I have a tournament finals to get to," Nagito said as the ten-star pentagram appeared. "If nothing else," he smirked as Exodia emerged, "maybe we'll do for real there. But for now," he pointed at Marik's monsters. "Exodia! Obliterate!" Nagito clenched his fist as the chained monster destroyed Marik's monsters and automatically won Nagito the duel.
Marik quickly composed himself as the hologram projectors ended. "How very amusing," Marik said. "I did think I would be beaten so easily, but it seems if I want your Exodia cards I will have to duel you myself with my deck. You may have defeated me now, but you are a sub-par duelist compared to me, Nagito Komaeda. For I hold a card in my deck so powerful that even the mighty Exodia would feel humbled before it: one of the Egyptian Gods."
"Egyptian Gods," Nagito muttered and then asked, "Are these Egyptian Gods your hope, Marik?"
"My…hope?" Marik asked.
"Yes, your hope," Nagito beamed. "The hope that springs from within your soul and pushes you to succeed even in the face of despair, which I'm sure your feeling after losing."
"Well…" Marik said, pausing to think. "When you put it that way, I suppose my Egyptian God is my hope: my hope that I will defeat Yugi Mutoh, take his Millennium Puzzle, become Pharaoh and rule the world!"
"Yugi, huh? You really think you're qualified to duel someone as talented as him?" Nagito asked, thinking Marik all talk.
"Silence, you fool!" Marik declared. "You are talking to the holder of powerful ancient magic. I could have your mind with a word! Yugi Mutoh is my sworn enemy because he squanders his gift of the Millennium Puzzle, which I will put to great use once I have my hands on it. And you, you lowly worm, will not impede my progress!"
Nagito snickered at first, only for it to escalate into full blown, mad laughter. "Amazing! Simply amazing! I didn't know Yugi had an archenemy in this tournament! This changes everything!"
"What are you blathering about now?" Marik asked.
"Marik, I'm the type of guy that loves hope, all forms of it," Nagito said. "For someone like me, there is nothing greater than becoming a stepping stone towards the hope of someone else. And if you're so keen that you can defeat Yugi Mutoh with your hope then it means I have someone else in this tournament worth losing to. Marik, I have an even greater reason to get as far as I can in the finals now: I want to see yours and Yugi's hope clash with my very eyes. What sort of hope will that create? Whose hope is stronger? Ah, the possibilities, they make me shudder with joy just thinking about it."
"You are…a very odd fellow," Marik commented.
"There's nothing odd about hope," Nagito said.
Marik did his best to avoid this pointless line of questioning. "So, if you're so keen on hope does that mean you'd be willing to part with Exodia."
"Of course," Nagito said, arms open wide, only to hold up his index finger above his shoulder and by his face, "But only if you can beat me fair and square. Just because I enjoy being a stepping stone doesn't mean I let myself become a stepping stone to just anybody. But you're so filled with hope, Marik," Nagito said. "I bet I wouldn't stand a chance against you." He began hugging himself. "Oh, these finals are so exciting. I wonder if I might pass out from all the anticipation."
"Yes, the finals are sure to be interesting," Marik said, trying his best to deal with Nagito's strange behavior. "When next we meet, Nagito, be prepared to lose your precious Exodia cards.
"I'm already prepared," Nagito said, "If I wasn't, I never would've entered this tournament. But anyway, that's all six locator cards for me now, including the one I'm about to get from Steve. So, mind handing over Steve's deck so I can procure his most powerful card?"
"But of course," Marik said, handing the deck to Nagito. "In fact, take the whole deck if you'd like. You won't need it or your cards anyway once I'm through with you, Nagito and send you on a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm!"
"The Shadow Realm?" Nagito asked. "That sounds like a very despair inducing place."
"Of course it is," Marik said. "The Shadow Realm is a dark void of misery and woe that all of my enemies are sent once I've beaten them in a duel."
"But…you're a believer of hope, why would you also use despair?"
"Excuse…me?" Trying to talk to Nagito was like trying to decipher alphabet soup with Greek letters.
Nagito thought for a minute only to say, "Oh! I see! You use that despair to spur others with hope to beat you." Nagito chuckled. "I never thought I'd meet someone just like me."
"What? No! I'm nothing like you!"
"Now, now, there's no need to be so modest about it. Spreading hope is a wonderful thing," Nagito said. "I look forward to seeing you in the finals, Marik," Nagito said, pocketing Steve's deck and slipping a card from it into his deck, "I can't wait for our hopeful duel."
Marik quickly cut the feed from Steve than talk to Nagito for one second longer. That boy is going to give me a migraine, Marik thought, only to be approached by Odion. "What is it?" he asked.
"Sir, we have just succeeded in kidnapping Mokuba Kaiba. Shall we move on with the next phase of the plan?"
"Yes!" Marik exclaimed. "Rouse Joey Wheeler and prepare him so that he may be brainwashed by the power of my Millennium Rod!"
"Yes, sir. Also, what of the girl?" Odion asked.
"Our recruit or our captive?" Marik asked.
"The former," Odion said.
"I'm entrusting her to you for now, Odion," Marik said. "She is too good of a pawn to let slip away. Please inform her of all but our most sacred secrets."
"Sir," Odion said, knowing the vast ocean of information that included. "You wish for me to share with her the legacy of the tomb keepers and the legend of the Egyptian Gods?" Did Celeste really warrant so much trust.
Marik fiddled with the Millennium Rod. "I don't fully trust Celestia Ludenburg to be perfectly honest."
"Then why—"
"Because she intrigues me," Marik said. "Competent dueling like hers is not easy to come by. She might be sharp-tongued, but I can always rip that out later. Besides, she seems like she would skulk about to find the information anyway if she had to. I would like her to think I trust her more than I actually do. Besides, there is very little she can do with that knowledge aside from further our own goals and I have great plans for our new member of the Rare Hunters. Make sure she has access to our resources as well to improve her deck. I want her to be an extension of my will the same as you are."
"If those are your orders and your will, Master Marik," Odion said. "I will see it carried out."
"Good, then begone from my sight," Marik said and turned his back on Odion, brooding in the shadow of the dimly lit room. "Fetch me when Joey Wheeler is properly prepped for the power of my Millennium Rod."
"Yes, sir," Odion said and exited.
Your reckoning approaches, Pharoah, Marik thought. Not only do I have your precious friends, Joey and Teá, as my prisoners, but I now have a powerful wild card on my side as well. And once I have Nagito Komaeda's Exodia cards, even with Osiris the Sky Dragon in your deck there will be nothing you can do to stop me! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
(A/N: Arrogance before the fall much, Marik? Show of hands, did anyone see Nagito Vs Marik coming like this? And I'm hoping all of you get the Steve the Rare Hunter joke. Not much else to cover in this chapter other than that I liked writing the opening scene from Serenity's perspective, limiting visual descriptions of the scene—making it very easy to write—and even managing to get Serenity and Mikan to start a friendship. Awww!
Anyway, next chapter we cease focusing on one megalomaniac and shift gears towards the other. Junko returns, bitches and she's brought despair for everyone…well okay not everyone…not yet. See you next chapter! And as always, until then, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)