Far away from Egypt, in a snowy wasteland, the pillar Yugi, Joey, and Ryou were in crashed. Rolling down a hill towards a cliff, the pillar slowed to a stop, before it reached the cliff, but all riders inside had been thrown out into the cold.
Yugi shivered as the blowing wind and snow bit threw his tattered rags. He was already sore from Dartz's magical attack on him, and the biting chills weren't helping. Holding his arms close, Yugi looked around, and saw no one. But he knew that Joey was sent into the tower with him, so where was he?
"Joey!" Yugi called, his voice thrown back at him over the wind. "Joey, where are you?"
"Achoo!" Joey sneezed.
Yugi looked behind him to see Joey's blond hair sticking out of the snow. Running over, he began to dig out his friend as fast as he could.
"This is all my fault." Yugi groaned as he pulled the snow away. "I should have freed Bakura when I had the chance."
Pulling away enough snow, Joey was able to change back into his monkey form. But despite the gold fur, he shivered at the cold wind and snow. Yugi's heart wrenched at the sight, and he quickly picked up his friend, and cradled him inside the tattered remains of his shirt.
"Are you okay Joey?" Yugi asked, having to shout over the wind, but Joey heard and nodded his head as his teeth chattered. "I'm sorry Joey. I made a mess of everything. Somehow, I have to get back and set things right."
Standing up, Yugi began to walk. He stumbled through the snow, not being able to see more than 12 inches in front of him. But he was able to see the large tower, and headed towards it. As he staggered again, a chunk of snow rose under his feet. Shocked, Yugi fell back and realized that it was…
"Ryou!" Yugi whispered, and then grinned.
Yugi brushed the snow off of the top of the rug and pulled on him. But Ryou was pinned under the tower. Slipping in the snow and falling, Yugi realized that he wouldn't be able to pull Ryou out from under the heavy tower of stone. The only way to get him out was to get the tower to roll off of him.
"Joey, start digging!" Yugi said as he began to move chunks of snowy ice.
Joey caught on and moved further down to remove the snow. Both panted as the worked frantically. A creak caught Yugi's attention, and he looked up to see the pillar beginning to roll.
"Come on Joey." Yugi called as he ran away from the turret, looking for one spot.
As the monkey climbed back onto his shoulders, Yugi spotted the window Dartz used to get him into the tower. He had to time this just right, or he would be entering the afterlife. Running forward a few paces, Yugi ducked down as the tower bore down on him and Joey.
When it moved away, both of them were alright. The window border was big enough for Yugi to fit into and let the tower roll over them. Both watched as the tower rolled off the edge of the snow cliff, the wind howling too loudly for them to hear it hit any sort of bottom.
"We're alive?" Yugi asked as he touched himself, and received a sharp tug of his hair being pulled, making him glare at Joey. "Ouch! Did you really have a better idea?"
Joey shook his head. Rolling his eyes, Yugi looked back to Ryou, who hovered up as he shook the rest of the snow on him off. Zipping to his friends, Ryou slowed briefly to let Yugi hop on with the monkey on his shoulders.
"Now back to Domino!" Yugi shouted. "Let's go!"
Determination filled the amethyst eyed teen. He had been written off as a failure many times in his life. But this time, he couldn't fail. Too many people were counting on him to win. Especially Atem.
Large piles of gold, silver, rubies, emeralds, and other precious jewels surrounded the lavish snake throne room. Red crimson dark ominous clouds swirled in the sky outside, as lighting cracked. Orange flames danced in the stone torch bowls right upon the snake's sides. The once beautiful bright happy throne room was now a desolate dungeon.
Weevil's insect like laughter echoed throughout the creepy chamber, as he continued to shove and stuff crackers down the former pharaoh's throat. Aknamkanon's once pristine white and purple robes were replaced with a hideous dark blue and yellow jester suit. He was to look like an amusement puppet on a couple of strings with a brown marionette puppet for Pharaoh Dartz's amusement.
"Here have some more ya big pakola!" Weevil cackled madly, his yellow claw's clutching a couple of golden crackers.
The king attempted to keep his mouth shut but it was no to avail, as Weevil shoved them in forcefully. Crumbs scattered across the marble floor, while Dartz howled with laughter at his furry friend's antics.
The sorcerer's ex-apprentice sat on the ground, her legs chained with thick silver chains, so she wouldn't escape. Selene wore a black brassiere which tied around her neck and fastened with a silver chain, a long flowing black skirt, underneath it were black leggings, her hair swept up into a high ponytail, and her feet were adorned with silver strappy heels.
Atem stood beside the throne wearing a slave outfit. He had on a black pair of billowy harem pants, a black vest, and black leather shoes with rubies and sapphires on the ends, golden arms bands, and the silver chains around his wrists were tied to a Dartz's serpent staff. Atem was also holding a golden cup that Dartz was drinking wine from. Both Selene and Atem were forced to wait on the power hungry man hand and foot.
The rest of the sacred court, Seto, Mahad, Isis, Shada, Karim, and Aknadin, had all been chained to the wall and had their Millennium Items taken away. Malik was also chained to the wall, and tiger cub Marik was locked up in a cage. They were powerless against their new 'pharaoh'. The Millennium Items had been tossed carelessly in a pile next to Dartz's throne, out of Selene's and Atem's reach. Except the Millennium Puzzle, that Dartz wore around his neck.
Atem watched in horror to the torment his father was subjected to. It was horrid to see the proud and honorable man being used for nothing more than a puppet for entertainment of the worst kind. Dartz cackled at the sight, and Atem couldn't watch anymore, so he turned his head away. Before they had been separated, Aknamkanon had told his son no matter what happened to him, never beg before Dartz and give him the satisfaction of knowing that he held power over him.
"Leave him alone!" Selene screamed at Dartz with a glare.
Dartz panted for breath and held up a hand. Weevil stopped stuffing crackers into Aknamkanon's mouth for a second, and then continued at an even faster pace.
"It pains me to see you both reduced to this." Dartz sighed as he forced Selene to feed him an apple. "A beautiful desert bloom such as Selene and a fetching royal such as Atem should be on the arms of the most powerful man in the world."
Dartz waved his hands, and the shackles on their wrists and Selene's legs disappeared while two crowns appeared. Both were solid gold and had no decorative features such as jewels or a design carved into them. Atem and Selene both stared at the crowns, both believing that Dartz had really lost it. He had attack them, forced them to become his slaves, tormented poor Aknamkanon, and expected them to marry him?
"What do you say, my dears?" Dartz crooned. "Why, with you as my-"
"Never!" Atem snarled as he threw the glass of wine in his hands into Dartz's face.
Atem knew that Dartz would react badly to this, but it was better him then Selene. With Selene, there was the threat that Marcus would be forever imprisoned, or destroyed if she didn't obey. The only thing Atem had to loose was his dignity, and possibly his father, but he seriously doubted that Dartz would kill Aknamkanon if he didn't want the people to revolt against him.
"Argh!" Dartz roughly wiped the wine out of his eyes, and then backhanded the prince so hard he fell to the floor in a heap. "I'll teach you some respect!"
Atem growled and glared back at Dartz. Even if the man was the 'pharaoh', he still needed to marry someone of the royal bloodline to have full access to the magic within the Millennium Items. Dartz was power hungry, and would do anything to get Atem to submit to him, so it stop the prince when he stopped with a thoughtful look on his face.
"No." Dartz grinned and turned to the sulking Thief King, who was sitting on the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne. "Bakura, I have decided to make my final wish. I wish for Prince Atem and Selene to fall desperately in love with me."
Atem and Selene both inhaled sharply as their eyes widened. A forced magical love? They would never be able to fight that off.
"Actually, there are a few limitations to the wishes I can grant." Bakura said as he stood up. "Making people fall in love with each other is one of them."
"Don't talk back to me, you stupid peasant!" Dartz snarled angrily at Bakura as he got off of the throne and stalked down the man. "You will do what I order you to do, slave!"
"Who do I look like, Cupid?" Bakura hissed. "That Greek archer is off on vacation in the Bahamas."
"What's the Bahamas?" Dartz asked.
"No idea." Bakura shrugged.
While that conversation was happening, Atem had glanced around the room to see if there was a way and, and saw Yugi, in human form Joey, and Ryou, slip in one of the windows. Atem felt relief fill him, seeing that Yugi was alright. Yugi placed a finger to his lips, telling the prince to keep quiet before he slid down a curtain and hid behind a pillar. Atem knew he had to keep Dartz distracted, and the only way he could do that was by… acting like he was genuinely interested in and attracted to the man.
"Dartz!" Selene called, making the 'pharaoh' turn to her as she stood and placed the crown on her head. "I never realized how incredibly handsome you are."
Selene had also seen Yugi slip in the window with his friends. She knew that Atem would not be able to pull off the 'I'm interested in you' charade long enough or keep it realistic enough to keep Dartz interested. She had pretended to be 'interested' in Dartz in the past, now all she had to do was kick it up a notch.
"That's better." Dartz hummed in pleasure as he ignored the jaw dropped look on Bakura's face. "Now my desert bloom, tell me more about... myself."
"You're tall, well dressed..." Selene replied as she walked slowly over, letting the torch light shine just so on her as she moved.
Bakura managed to shut his mouth after he recovered from his shock. Rolling his eyes, the genie moved to sit down and stare at the wall, sulking again, but spotted Yugi, Joey, and Ryou behind one of the pillars. Glancing at Dartz, Bakura quickly slipped across the room and slinked behind the same pillar, where he was wrapped up in a rug-hug from Ryou.
"Thank Ra you're okay." Bakura whispered and looked to Yugi. "I can't help you pipsqueak. I work for Mr. Power-Hungry Psychopath, now. What are you going to do?"
"I'm a street rat, remember?" Yugi replied as he and Joey took a quick peak around the pillar again. "I'll improvise."
"You mean, we'll improvise." Joey grinned as he changed to his monkey form.
Bakura sighed as he stayed behind the pillar with Ryou and watched. Yugi dashed around the piles of coins and gems, getting closer to where Dartz had placed the lamp. Joey scampered off in the direction of Weevil, his job being to keep the bird from alerting Dartz they were there.
"Go on." Dartz crooned to Selene as he finally was able to wrap and arm around her.
"And your hair... is so... smooth." Selene said smoothly as she ran her fingers through his thick turquoise hair while the other hand is motioning for Yugi to get closer to the lamp.
Yugi slipped behind the couch the lamp was one and slowly moved forward to grab the metal item. Weevil, who had been humming to himself while eating a bunch of fruit that was in a bowl next to him and reclining on a cushion, spotted Yugi. Eyes wide, the teal colored parrot sat up with a gasp.
"Dar-" Weevil started to shout, but was cut off as Joey pounced on him and kept his beak shut.
"And the mirror boy?" Dartz asked Selene, unaware of what was happening behind him.
"What mirror boy?" Selene asked as she ran a hand down the side of his face so Dartz looked at her.
Yugi had almost grabbed the lamp when the bowl that held the fruit Weevil was eating got knocked over. The bowl hit the floor with a clang, making Yugi freeze with wide eyes as Dartz turned to look at what caused the commotion. Moving fast, and praying that Marcus would forgive her, Selene grabbed the man and forced him to face her again, and kissed him.
Yugi, Atem, and everyone else watched the kiss. They all felt disgusted, and sorry for Selene.
"Yuck!" Joey couldn't contain his exclamation of disgust.
But Dartz was so wrapped up in the kiss that he didn't even notice. When he pulled back from Selene, he grinned down at the woman.
"That was…" Dartz paused as he squinted at the sight of a reflection in the crown he had conjured, and whirled around. "You!"
"Damn it!" Yugi hissed and lunged towards the lamp.
"How many times do I have to kill you, boy?" Dartz sneered as he threw a bolt of magic, knocking Yugi back into a huge pile of treasure and re-conjured the shackles around Selene's arms and legs to keep her tied to the throne.
Atem couldn't bear the sight of Yugi hurt, so he jumped on Dartz's back, hoping to distract the man. But Dartz played dirty, and elbowed Atem in the unmentionable areas. Atem groaned in pain as his grip loosened enough for Dartz to throw him to the ground. On the floor, Atem didn't see Dartz get ready to hit him, but Yugi did. Throwing himself at the man, Yugi grabbed his staff, and engaged the evil man into a battle of strength. And he had a lot from living his life on the streets.
"Get the lamp!" Yugi called over his shoulder, not really caring who heard him but prayed that they would listen and that someone would get it.
Atem picked himself up, still wincing in pain, but ran over to the couch that had the lamp on it. As his hand closed around the cold metal, a rush of magic struck him. Dartz had thrown Yugi off of him and decided that the prince was too stubborn to actually keep as a spouse, so he would get rid of him.
"Your time is up, my prince!" Dartz cackled sarcastically.
Yugi rammed into Dartz again, this time throwing him to the floor, where they wrestled for dominance. Yugi kept himself on top as best he could, but a loud thump drew his attention. Looking up, he saw Atem in a large hourglass with dark sand starting to fall on top of him.
"That isn't normal sand." Dartz chuckled evilly as he threw Yugi off. "It's infused with Shadow Magic. By the time the last grain of sand falls through the top, Prince Atem will be soulless. That is, if he doesn't die from suffocation first."
"Atem!" Yugi gasped in horror, unable to tear his eyes away from the black sand.
"Oh, nice shot Dartz!" Weevil cheered.
Joey growled. He really had had enough of that dumb bird, so he grabbed the bowl that had held the fruit, and bashed it on the green parrot's head. The bird shook briefly before falling to the floor in a faint. Nodding his head, Joey turned his attention to the lamp and rush towards it.
"Don't toy with me!" Dartz warned.
A blast of magic hit Joey, and he changed into a golden toy wind-up monkey. He now moved in one place banging come cymbals together.
"Joey!" Yugi gasped as he fixed his attention on the unwanted transformation.
Ryou flew down and snatched the lamp up in a tasseled hand. Turning, he flew towards Yugi as fast as he could. If he could get him the lamp, Yugi could make his final with and undo with mess. Yeah, he would be stuck as a rug for a little longer, but maybe Joey could wish him and Bakura free.
"Things are unraveling fast now." Dartz sneered as he shot another bolt of magic.
Ryou withered as the magic struck him. Still moving, his threads began to unravel until he was nothing but a pile of strings and four tassels. The lamp fell to the ground nearby, and Yugi ran for it, not wanting his friend's sacrifice to be in vain.
"Do you get the point?" Dartz asked as he waved a hand.
Swords fell from the ceiling, blocking Yugi's path. Yugi glared at Dartz as he reached in between two swords for the lamp, but it was out of reach. Dartz picked up the lamp and laughed hideously. Yugi pulled back and picked up one of the smaller swords that would be easy for him to carry and swing.
"Hope you're not tired, because I'm just getting warmed up!" Dartz cackled as he breathed a ring of fire around Yugi before laughing some more.
Yugi panted at the intense heat. The sacred court was chained to the walls and the pharaoh was stuck as a magical marionette. Selene was chained to the throne, and Atem was stuck in that stupid hourglass, running the risk of dying. Anger grew in Yugi, and it was all because of that turquoise haired man.
"Are you afraid to fight me yourself, you cowardly snake?" Yugi yelled as he ignored the heat as best he could.
"A snake, am I?" Dartz asked as he walked through the flames unharmed. "Perhaps you'd like to see how snake-like I can be!"
Dartz smiled broadly a snake's tongue flicking out from behind his teeth. His features morphed and changed as magic covered his whole body, and he changed into a giant cobra. The ring of fire around Yugi became the body of the snake.
Everyone who saw the snake gasped. It was a huge black cobra with a turquoise hood, golden eyes, and fangs the twice the size of Yugi's sword. And since Dartz was a cobra, that meant he was poisonous! All Yugi had to protect himself was a sword that looked like a toothpick for the monster. Dartz hissed as he bit down at Yugi. Yugi dodged, never more grateful for his street life giving him speed and agility.
Dartz snapped again, that time nearly nipping Yugi's heals. Yugi bit his lip. As much as he hated violence and hurting someone, he was going to have to make an exception. So when Dartz bore down the third time, Yugi swung his sword and hit Dartz right on his nose.
"Oh yeah!" Bakura cheered while Dartz howled in pain. "Stick that sword into that snake! Show him whose boss!"
"If this is so easy, you do it!" Yugi snapped back.
"I can't hurt my 'master'." Bakura huffed. "It's one of those 'unspoken rules'."
"You stay out of this!" Dartz hissed in anger as he recovered.
"Well sorry Mr. Cold-Blooded." Bakura sneered back. "Oh my bad, you're cold hearted."
Yugi was ready to snap at the genie when he realized what was happening. Bakura was distracting Dartz! And hopefully it would last long enough for him to get Atem out of the hourglass. Running as fast as he could, Yugi made good distance to his destination, but Dartz notice and struck again.
Yugi had to jump to dodge the bite. Landing on his stomach, Yugi groaned in pain. He groaned again when he realized his sword was flung out of his hand and landed several yards away from him.
"Yugi!" Atem called through the hourglass.
Yugi looked up to see the prince had his hands pressed up against the glass and was looking directly at him. The worry was evident in his eyes, and Yugi realized that if he didn't get moving, Atem wouldn't have to worry about him. He would be dead in Dartz's stomach!
Spotting a large gem on the floor, Yugi got an idea. Yugi leapt up as Dartz struck again, but the snake missed. Landing on the gem, the lack of friction slid the gem quickly across the floor and gave Yugi enough momentum to grab his sword. With Dartz hot on his tail, Yugi grabbed a nearby banner on a pillar and rounded an extremely tight corner.
The area Yugi was heading, a doorway that lead out onto a balcony, was too small for the pursuing snake. Dartz couldn't fit through the small doorway, so the front half of the reptile crashed through the wall and hung outside the palace. Taking his chance, Yugi jumped up and stabbed the dazed snake's back.
Dartz screamed in agony as the sword pierced his scales and flesh. Yugi left the man-turned-snake, and picked up another sword as he headed over towards the hourglass. With Dartz hanging out the balcony with a sword in his spine, he would be busy for a minute or two.
"Hang on Atem!" Yugi called as he found a spot he could hit the glass and not worry about accidentally cutting Atem.
As he began to swing his sword, as hiss caught a bit of his attention. But the scaly coils that grabbed him got even more of his attention. Dartz was back inside sooner than he excepted, laughing hideously and acting as if he had never gone through a wall and gotten stabbed.
"You little fool!" Dartz jeered, tightening his coils on Yugi with each word. "You thought you could defeat the most powerful being on earth!"
"Squeeze him, Dartz." Weevil encouraged, having recovered from his bowl banging experience with Joey. "Squeeze him like a- awk!"
Bakura had slid up behind the parrot and gave him a sharp blow upside the head with the flat side of a dagger. Weevil ended up crashing into the floor and passed out again.
"Without the genie, boy, you're nothing!" Dartz continued, ignoring the banter bellow.
Yugi moaned in pain the Dartz's coils tightened around him. He could defiantly feel some bones starting to break, and knew that he had failed. Atem, the pharaoh, the sacred court, Bakura, Ryou, Joey, all of them had been counting on him, and he had failed.
Wait a minute…
"A genie!" Yugi whispered before inhaling as much air as he could so he could shout up at Dartz. "Bakura has more power than you'll ever have!"
"What?!" Dartz snapped back.
"He gave you your power, and he can take it away!" Yugi explained.
"What are you doing shrimp?" Bakura demanded as he kneeled on the floor, holding Ryou's strings and tassels. "Don't you dare drag me into this."
"Just face it, Dartz." Yugi spat out. "You're still just second best!"
"You're right!" Dartz realized once he registered what Yugi had said. "His power does exceed my own! But not for long."
Dartz loosened his coil's tight grip on Yugi just a touch, relieving the young man greatly. Chuckling, Dartz started to circle around Bakura.
"The midget is crazy!" Bakura protested. "He just got squeezed a little too tight!"
"Slave, I make my third wish!" Dartz shouted as he finished circling and glared down at Bakura. "I wish to be: an all-powerful genie!"
Bakura cringed. What was Yugi thinking, telling Dartz he was second best? This was defiantly not going to end well.
"All right, your wish is my command." Bakura sighed reluctantly before he glared up at Yugi. "Way to go Pipsqueak."
Yugi didn't reply. He gaze was on the hourglass. Atem's crimson eyes had just disappeared under the black sand. If Bakura would just hurry it up…
Bakura shielded his face with one hand as he zapped Dartz with his magic, granting his last wish. Dartz's snake form faded briefly as his entire body changed into dark turquoise smoke, and he turned into a genie. Due to the smoky substance of his body, Yugi fell to the floor. The Millennium Puzzle, which had been absorbed into his body when he changed into a snake, also clattered to the ground.
"Yes! Yes!" Dartz praised as he rose up to the ceiling. "The power!"
At first, all Yugi could do was groan in pain. Both of his lower legs had been fractured by Dartz's crushing coils, and now at least the right one was broken. But when he landed he was facing the hourglass, and could see Atem's raised hands disappear under the black sand. Yugi winced as he dragged himself over, picked up the sword he had dropped when Dartz snagged him, and smashed the side of the hourglass.
Black sand spilled out and Atem came with it, not moving. Yugi grabbed the prince under the arms and pulled him out of the sand, looking back inside the hourglass to see the last of the black sand fall from the upper chamber. Holding the prince to his chest, Yugi looked at Atem's face. For three very long seconds, neither one of them moved.
And then Atem coughed. Yugi couldn't stop the tears that fell from his eyes. He thought he had been too late.
"Oh, thank the gods." Yugi whispered, his forehead touching Atem's
"Yugi?" Atem groaned as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"I'm here." Yugi replied, his voice barely above a whispered.
"The absolute power!" Dartz cheered as he broke the off the roof of the palace, causing a strong wind to blow through the palace.
"Do you have any idea what you have just done midget?" Bakura demanded over the gale as he held onto Ryou's strings and tassels.
"Trust me, please!" Yugi begged.
Looking at where Dartz's 'feet' were, Yugi saw a black lamp appear, thus confirming his theory. Atem held Yugi tightly as the wind, thanks to Dartz, blustered around them.
"Help me." Yugi whispered as he looked up to Atem.
"Do what?" Atem asked as he used a discarded piece of cloth to shield them from the wind.
"Get to the lamp." Yugi replied as he pointed to the black metal object on the floor.
Atem's eyes followed to where Yugi pointed, and nodded. Bracing himself, Atem crawled on his hands and knees, helping Yugi drag himself along. Despite his injured legs, Yugi pushed himself forward as much as he could.
Dartz was paying no heed to the people below. He was too busy conjuring up all sorts of magical filled items and letting them fly off uncontrolled into the sky.
"The universe is mine to command, to control!" Dartz shouted, full of pride.
"Not so fast, Dartz!" Yugi yelled as he and Atem reached the lamp. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh?" Dartz answered intelligently as he looked down at the small speck that was Yugi.
"You wanted to be a genie?" Yugi asked. "Then you've got it!"
"WHAT!?" Dartz shouted as bronze shackles clasped around both of his wrists.
"And everything that goes with it!" Yugi smiled as he held up Dartz's new black lamp in his hands.
"No!" Dartz yelled as he realized he had been tricked. "No!"
But it was too late for the man-turned-snake-turned-genie as his lamp began to pull him in. He had made the wish and now he was going to pay for it. And that included being a slave to others with a small metal house as his permanent lodgings.
"I'm getting out of here!" Weevil squawked, having woken up to see the roof blown off with Dartz all power hungry. "Come on, you're the genie, I don't want this!"
Weevil tried to fly away, but his tail was grabbed by one of Dartz's hands. The two screamed as they were fully sucked into the lamp. All was quiet except for the panting.
"Well Dartz, you got your wish." Yugi broke the silence as he looked down at the lamp in his hands. "Phenomenal cosmic powers… and an itty bitty living space."
"Midget, that was dangerous, suicidal, and the stupidest idea that I have ever seen any idiot put into action!" Bakura yelled as he glared at the teen. "And, Ra damn-it! I wish I had thought of it first!"