*~*Disclaimer*~* Someone said that I messed up on the summoning monsters. and yeah, that did happen, but I wanted to make that chappie as short as possible cuz I was in a bit of a rush to get it done and post it LOL! ANYWAY, YOU know the drill with this part. Don't own it, own the created charries, and sum of the attacks that you never even heard of before with some of those cards are mine (cuz I couldn't think of what they were in the series!) and........yeah.....
*I... I can't face Ian! NOT IAN!* Marita moaned, defeated. In all her years of running and thieving, there was never a closer friend to her than Ian; he was the one who gave her a place to stay, got her back on track with her studies, gave her everything she had. And here she stood, in front of him, and could go no further.
~You can Marita.~
Those words echoed in her mind, a distant, disconnected voice in the back of her mind. Confused, her eyes widened, and searched the room from whence the voice came from. ~Who... who are you?~ She cried out in her mind, trying to make sense of the voice in her head. ~Am I going nuts?~
~I am only a spirit; one that will help you defeat this foe you call a friend. I see he is dearly loved by you, and you wish no harm to come to him. I can help you, Marita. You just have to trust me, and trust in the heart of the cards.~
~The... the heart of... the cards?~
~Exactly. Put your trust, your heart, your soul into the cards, trust them and me with your life, and you will see for yourself that you will not fail to win.~ The voice seemed older, wiser, stronger than Marita, full of confidence and courage. As she looked up, her thoughts spun around her in whirlwind speeds, picking up as she drifted to the back of her mind's eye.
It was dark, there. A single spotlight hung above her, illuminating the suppressed darkness. She clearly heard the words that the spirit was speaking, as if that same spirit was in the same room as the young duelist. "You can win against this foe, Marita. I know you can."
The room seemed to spin as she spun around, hoping to catch a glimpse of this 'spirit' in the lamplight. at first, she only saw inky darkness beyond the light, nothing but ghostly shadows of memories past. It was only glancing closer that she could see a figure strolling around the enlightened area, taking confident strides in the abyss. Intrigued, The ebony haired girl called out again, "Who ARE you? Why are you helping me? Why are you here in my mind?"
For a moment, the shifting shadows stopped their movements, the figure frozen. Turning towards Marita, she simply said, "Because you and I are the same, Marita. I know you can defeat Ian, because I know it is the only thing that will set him free."
"Set him free?"
"Yes. I have only heard of this, but it has been said that anyone under mind control shall be forsaken until a noble soul releases them from their mind's prison. To do this, a 'duel' is enacted, and if their opponent wins, the puppeteer cuts their Pinnocchio's strings."
Thinking on this, Marita closed her eyes, murmuring, "Dueling him will set him free?"
~Yes...~
The shouts of Yugi Mutou was enough to stir Marita, her hope rekindled. "You can do it Marita! Don't let this guy get the upper hand! You can beat him!"
*Yes, I... can,* She thought, still slightly wierded out by the whole spirit routine. *But... who was that in my head? Who... spoke to me?*
Her opponent, his gaze cold and dead, leered at her, scowling his annoyance. "Come on, little Marita! You ignorant little fool! Let's get this duel out of the way so I can take your locator card, and your rarest card all in one shot!"
Eyes bursting open, she scowled back, declaring, "I don't know WHO you are, but NO ONE messes with my friends and gets away with it!" Picking up her hand, she arranged them in chains, setting 'Ian' up for the fall. "I know you're NOT IAN, not by a long shot. So whoever you are, you're about to be in a heap of trouble!"
"YEAH! Go Marita!" shouted Yugi, bright violet eyes gleaming with pride. "You tell him who's boss!"
"Thanks Yugi." She smiled, and gave him a thumbs up sign. To 'Ian', she stated, "It's your turn. LET'S DUEL!"
*I put my heart into building this deck, so it can't fail me now. I just have to win this...*
'Ian' drew a card, his face motionless. Realization became evident, as he shifted his cards back and forth, devising his plans. At last, he grinned wickedly, his hawk eyes staring at his female adversary like a tiger to its prey. "Tell me, Marita, how does it feel to play a professional?"
"Huh?"
"You're playing one of the best duelists in the game of Duel Monsters, and I've just drawn the card to clench my VICTORY!" He slapped a duel card face up on his Dueling Deck. "I play Hane-Hane, in attack mode!" Then he slid another card face down into a slot in the side of his Deck. "I also place this card face down!"
"WHAT? Hane-Hane? What's that?" questioned Marita, her eyes widening slightly.
The Hunter grinned smugly. "Oh, you'll see in a minute Marita, I guarantee you!" his words faded on the breeze, as a hideous looking creature began to materialize on the field. It looked like an island, tribal Tabooki mask, the crimson and violet feathers on its roundish face flapping with unknown force. in its smallish, six fingered hands lay a wicked looking scythe, the metallic blade gleaming under the strobe lights. The mask-like monster smiled evilly at Marita, and began to make faces at her Red Eyes.
Marita smirked, amused. "You mean to tell me that that little dorky thing is going to attack ME? and MY Red Eyes? Huh, that's pretty pathetic."
"Oh really? that's what you say now! Hane-Hane! Dispatch Red Eyes Black Dragon with your Hand-Hane Dispatch!"
The Tabooki like creature cackled loudly, its face spreading into a wide grin. Hurling itself at Marita's Red Eyes, it swung its blade in a precisioned arch, slashing the dragon at the middle. Startled, the Red Eyes flapped its mighty wings before dissolving in a wave of energy.
"WHAT!??!" screamed Marita, wide eyed. "He- he destroyed my Red Eyes!"
'Ian' shook his head, tsk tsk-ing her on her ignorance. "Not destroyed, RETURNED. For you see, my Hane-Hane has the power to return one monster card on the field back to its original owner! So naturally, I picked your Red Eyes!"
Marita clenched her teeth, taking back her Red Eyes card from the field. *Awww MAN! With that card in play, I can't build up a monster group on the field! That leaves me at a MAJOR disadvantage, because he can summon stronger monsters than what I can put out!* She gripped her cards tightly, and ground her heel on the dance floor. *I need to find a way around that card!!! But WHAT?*
"Accepting defeat so soon Marita?" the hunter asked, cocky at his own brilliance. "I have one face down card and my Hane-Hane on the field. What hope can you possibly have to defeat them both?"
*Well, it's my turn, and now is as good a time as any to play...* "Swords of Revealing Light!!!!"
"AUGH!" yelped 'Ian', not expecting that card. Above the field, the heavens opened up as if a storm had passed, and three shafts of light struck the ground in a triangle shape. The Swords of Revealing Light began to form, their blades penetrating deep into the floor.
Smiling, Marita stared at her challenger, undaunted. "That ought to hold you until I can finish you off! And since that was a defensive foul, I do lose 400 life points." Deducted 400 pts, the scores of the two were 3600, to 1400.
"Humph, your little swords wont do you a BIT of good, because after 3 turns, you'll be finished!"
"DON'T count on that!" Shot back the ebony haired duelist, her temper flaring. "You will be the one who's finished!!!!!"
"Such fire... too bad your little Yugi Mutou can't be the one to enjoy it!"
Marita blinked, wondering how Yugi could have come into this conversation. "'Yugi cant enjoy it'? Whaaaaaaaaaat the heck are you talking about?"
The hunter grinned ferally, his canines showing like fangs. "Don't you know, Marita? Most of the time, he isn't even in control of himself!"
"..."
Her head turned sideways, glancing at Yugi, flushing red with anger, who was in the midst of a scowl. "SHUT UP MERRICK! You have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Oh, but I do Pharaoh. You and Yami are of two minds and one body. I wouldn't be surprised if you never told young Marita here all about it! You always did save that last bit of juicy information for last!"
The ebony haired duelist stared into Yugi's eyes, deeply than she ever had before and asked a simple question: "Yugi, is this true?"
He blushed. "Marita, you need to win this duel! Win it, and I'll tell you everything! I promise!" His words were sincere, compassion evident and overwhelming in his eyes. To this, Marita nodded, and said, "it's your move, MERRICK."
The puppet grinned for the puppeteer, never letting his guard down. He drew his cards and watched Marita closely, trying to see what she would play. Grinning, he said, "I pass my turn. It does me no good to stay locked in this cage."
*OK... I need to get out of this predicament...* Marita drew a card. "I place this Monster Card face down in Defense mode..." Placing the card down, a square on the field illuminated, glowing and blinking like a traffic light. "..and I also place this card face down."
'Ian' drew again, discarding a card to his graveyard. "Done."
*This game's getting tense,* thought Marita, running her hand through her hair. Finally, she placed her move. "I place Karibo in defense mode! And add the Magic card: Multiply!"
In an instant, the fuzzy brown, roly poly hairball known as Karibo popped out from a defensive square, and began to double, triple, even quadruple itself many times. The amounts of Karibo kept growing, and growing, and GROWING, as more and more were produced.
"Wha... WHAT is..?"
"...Happening?" Marita grinned with pleasure. "The Karibo are multiplying, making more and more as time goes on. by creating the ultimate DEFENSE, I can see how much time I need to plan your downfall!"
"It won't MATTER!" Shrieked the Hunter, his eyes wide with insanity. "I WILL HAVE YOUR LOCATOR CARD AND YOUR ARMLET!!!!"
*Wait... my armlet?* Eyes narrowing, the ebony haired lady looked at him shrewdly. "My Armlet? Why..." The truth hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh god... that's why you took Ian, didn't you? You took him to get to me! You thought HE had the armlet, not me!"
"We tracked your history throughout all of Japan. Domino City, the Shinji Plateau, Orogoth Plains. It didn't matter where you were sent, we were always watching you. I was always watching you. When the time came to strike, you weren't there, so we had to find you again, and again, and again..." He trailed on, the same monotonous voice at all pitches. "Finally we had tracked you down, tried to pin you where you lived, but someone had already warned you, enticed you to this dueling tournament. By the time we got there..."
"Only Ian was there."
The hunter glared at her feminine face, sneering evilly. Suddenly, a shot of pain ran through his head, a sharp, digging pain that came from beneath his eyes. Clutching in pain, 'Ian' collapsed to the floor, his hands placed against his skull. His all out, mind blowing screams were inhuman, bestial and screeching.
"IAN!!!!!!!" Forgetting the duel, Marita rushed to the side of her friend, only caring for his safety as he collapsed to the floor. Weak and unable to keep his balance, the last of Merrick's mind control did a number on him, as Ian collapsed in Marita's arms.
"I... will... have... you... my queen..." he whispered, The last traces of Merrick's will still imprinted in his mind. Then, he blacked out, never remembering a thing about the duel, or what had happened to him.
"Marita!" Yugi rushed over, his violet eyes wide in alarm. "Are you OK?"
She smiled at him, grateful he was there. "Yeah, I'm alright, but we have to hurry and get Ian to the hospital before he collapses for good!" Taking hold of his arm and supporting his arm around her shoulders, she began to drag him away from the dance floor, as all the audience watched.
*WOW, I forgot all about them...* she reflected, as two guys, one with a rusty red jacket and one with a white-with-a-blue-stripped shirt and blonde bangs took Ian from her. They both ran with the poor guy to the door, Marita following. She barely heard Yugi among her own thoughts, hearing him say, "Thanks Joey, thanks Tristan" as they rushed down the block to the nearest hospital. *OOOOOOH, how could I have let this HAPPEN?* she chided herself, ashamed of her own ambition. *How could I have let Ian down like this? Left him behind?* Tears were slowly forming in her eyes, their salty state stinging. *I shouldn't...I shouldn't have let him behind!*
She was startled when a voice in her mind replied to her thoughts. ~Marita, you had no idea this would happen. Stop blaming yourself!~
~Spirit! You have no idea what I've BEEN THROUGH! YOU cant possibly tell me what I can and cant do!~
~You'd be surprised...~
*You're another mystery I have to find out,* Marita declared in her mind, thinking about everything that had happened tonight. *Merrick called me Queen... why? And who am I hearing in my head? WIERD...*
*I... I can't face Ian! NOT IAN!* Marita moaned, defeated. In all her years of running and thieving, there was never a closer friend to her than Ian; he was the one who gave her a place to stay, got her back on track with her studies, gave her everything she had. And here she stood, in front of him, and could go no further.
~You can Marita.~
Those words echoed in her mind, a distant, disconnected voice in the back of her mind. Confused, her eyes widened, and searched the room from whence the voice came from. ~Who... who are you?~ She cried out in her mind, trying to make sense of the voice in her head. ~Am I going nuts?~
~I am only a spirit; one that will help you defeat this foe you call a friend. I see he is dearly loved by you, and you wish no harm to come to him. I can help you, Marita. You just have to trust me, and trust in the heart of the cards.~
~The... the heart of... the cards?~
~Exactly. Put your trust, your heart, your soul into the cards, trust them and me with your life, and you will see for yourself that you will not fail to win.~ The voice seemed older, wiser, stronger than Marita, full of confidence and courage. As she looked up, her thoughts spun around her in whirlwind speeds, picking up as she drifted to the back of her mind's eye.
It was dark, there. A single spotlight hung above her, illuminating the suppressed darkness. She clearly heard the words that the spirit was speaking, as if that same spirit was in the same room as the young duelist. "You can win against this foe, Marita. I know you can."
The room seemed to spin as she spun around, hoping to catch a glimpse of this 'spirit' in the lamplight. at first, she only saw inky darkness beyond the light, nothing but ghostly shadows of memories past. It was only glancing closer that she could see a figure strolling around the enlightened area, taking confident strides in the abyss. Intrigued, The ebony haired girl called out again, "Who ARE you? Why are you helping me? Why are you here in my mind?"
For a moment, the shifting shadows stopped their movements, the figure frozen. Turning towards Marita, she simply said, "Because you and I are the same, Marita. I know you can defeat Ian, because I know it is the only thing that will set him free."
"Set him free?"
"Yes. I have only heard of this, but it has been said that anyone under mind control shall be forsaken until a noble soul releases them from their mind's prison. To do this, a 'duel' is enacted, and if their opponent wins, the puppeteer cuts their Pinnocchio's strings."
Thinking on this, Marita closed her eyes, murmuring, "Dueling him will set him free?"
~Yes...~
The shouts of Yugi Mutou was enough to stir Marita, her hope rekindled. "You can do it Marita! Don't let this guy get the upper hand! You can beat him!"
*Yes, I... can,* She thought, still slightly wierded out by the whole spirit routine. *But... who was that in my head? Who... spoke to me?*
Her opponent, his gaze cold and dead, leered at her, scowling his annoyance. "Come on, little Marita! You ignorant little fool! Let's get this duel out of the way so I can take your locator card, and your rarest card all in one shot!"
Eyes bursting open, she scowled back, declaring, "I don't know WHO you are, but NO ONE messes with my friends and gets away with it!" Picking up her hand, she arranged them in chains, setting 'Ian' up for the fall. "I know you're NOT IAN, not by a long shot. So whoever you are, you're about to be in a heap of trouble!"
"YEAH! Go Marita!" shouted Yugi, bright violet eyes gleaming with pride. "You tell him who's boss!"
"Thanks Yugi." She smiled, and gave him a thumbs up sign. To 'Ian', she stated, "It's your turn. LET'S DUEL!"
*I put my heart into building this deck, so it can't fail me now. I just have to win this...*
'Ian' drew a card, his face motionless. Realization became evident, as he shifted his cards back and forth, devising his plans. At last, he grinned wickedly, his hawk eyes staring at his female adversary like a tiger to its prey. "Tell me, Marita, how does it feel to play a professional?"
"Huh?"
"You're playing one of the best duelists in the game of Duel Monsters, and I've just drawn the card to clench my VICTORY!" He slapped a duel card face up on his Dueling Deck. "I play Hane-Hane, in attack mode!" Then he slid another card face down into a slot in the side of his Deck. "I also place this card face down!"
"WHAT? Hane-Hane? What's that?" questioned Marita, her eyes widening slightly.
The Hunter grinned smugly. "Oh, you'll see in a minute Marita, I guarantee you!" his words faded on the breeze, as a hideous looking creature began to materialize on the field. It looked like an island, tribal Tabooki mask, the crimson and violet feathers on its roundish face flapping with unknown force. in its smallish, six fingered hands lay a wicked looking scythe, the metallic blade gleaming under the strobe lights. The mask-like monster smiled evilly at Marita, and began to make faces at her Red Eyes.
Marita smirked, amused. "You mean to tell me that that little dorky thing is going to attack ME? and MY Red Eyes? Huh, that's pretty pathetic."
"Oh really? that's what you say now! Hane-Hane! Dispatch Red Eyes Black Dragon with your Hand-Hane Dispatch!"
The Tabooki like creature cackled loudly, its face spreading into a wide grin. Hurling itself at Marita's Red Eyes, it swung its blade in a precisioned arch, slashing the dragon at the middle. Startled, the Red Eyes flapped its mighty wings before dissolving in a wave of energy.
"WHAT!??!" screamed Marita, wide eyed. "He- he destroyed my Red Eyes!"
'Ian' shook his head, tsk tsk-ing her on her ignorance. "Not destroyed, RETURNED. For you see, my Hane-Hane has the power to return one monster card on the field back to its original owner! So naturally, I picked your Red Eyes!"
Marita clenched her teeth, taking back her Red Eyes card from the field. *Awww MAN! With that card in play, I can't build up a monster group on the field! That leaves me at a MAJOR disadvantage, because he can summon stronger monsters than what I can put out!* She gripped her cards tightly, and ground her heel on the dance floor. *I need to find a way around that card!!! But WHAT?*
"Accepting defeat so soon Marita?" the hunter asked, cocky at his own brilliance. "I have one face down card and my Hane-Hane on the field. What hope can you possibly have to defeat them both?"
*Well, it's my turn, and now is as good a time as any to play...* "Swords of Revealing Light!!!!"
"AUGH!" yelped 'Ian', not expecting that card. Above the field, the heavens opened up as if a storm had passed, and three shafts of light struck the ground in a triangle shape. The Swords of Revealing Light began to form, their blades penetrating deep into the floor.
Smiling, Marita stared at her challenger, undaunted. "That ought to hold you until I can finish you off! And since that was a defensive foul, I do lose 400 life points." Deducted 400 pts, the scores of the two were 3600, to 1400.
"Humph, your little swords wont do you a BIT of good, because after 3 turns, you'll be finished!"
"DON'T count on that!" Shot back the ebony haired duelist, her temper flaring. "You will be the one who's finished!!!!!"
"Such fire... too bad your little Yugi Mutou can't be the one to enjoy it!"
Marita blinked, wondering how Yugi could have come into this conversation. "'Yugi cant enjoy it'? Whaaaaaaaaaat the heck are you talking about?"
The hunter grinned ferally, his canines showing like fangs. "Don't you know, Marita? Most of the time, he isn't even in control of himself!"
"..."
Her head turned sideways, glancing at Yugi, flushing red with anger, who was in the midst of a scowl. "SHUT UP MERRICK! You have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Oh, but I do Pharaoh. You and Yami are of two minds and one body. I wouldn't be surprised if you never told young Marita here all about it! You always did save that last bit of juicy information for last!"
The ebony haired duelist stared into Yugi's eyes, deeply than she ever had before and asked a simple question: "Yugi, is this true?"
He blushed. "Marita, you need to win this duel! Win it, and I'll tell you everything! I promise!" His words were sincere, compassion evident and overwhelming in his eyes. To this, Marita nodded, and said, "it's your move, MERRICK."
The puppet grinned for the puppeteer, never letting his guard down. He drew his cards and watched Marita closely, trying to see what she would play. Grinning, he said, "I pass my turn. It does me no good to stay locked in this cage."
*OK... I need to get out of this predicament...* Marita drew a card. "I place this Monster Card face down in Defense mode..." Placing the card down, a square on the field illuminated, glowing and blinking like a traffic light. "..and I also place this card face down."
'Ian' drew again, discarding a card to his graveyard. "Done."
*This game's getting tense,* thought Marita, running her hand through her hair. Finally, she placed her move. "I place Karibo in defense mode! And add the Magic card: Multiply!"
In an instant, the fuzzy brown, roly poly hairball known as Karibo popped out from a defensive square, and began to double, triple, even quadruple itself many times. The amounts of Karibo kept growing, and growing, and GROWING, as more and more were produced.
"Wha... WHAT is..?"
"...Happening?" Marita grinned with pleasure. "The Karibo are multiplying, making more and more as time goes on. by creating the ultimate DEFENSE, I can see how much time I need to plan your downfall!"
"It won't MATTER!" Shrieked the Hunter, his eyes wide with insanity. "I WILL HAVE YOUR LOCATOR CARD AND YOUR ARMLET!!!!"
*Wait... my armlet?* Eyes narrowing, the ebony haired lady looked at him shrewdly. "My Armlet? Why..." The truth hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh god... that's why you took Ian, didn't you? You took him to get to me! You thought HE had the armlet, not me!"
"We tracked your history throughout all of Japan. Domino City, the Shinji Plateau, Orogoth Plains. It didn't matter where you were sent, we were always watching you. I was always watching you. When the time came to strike, you weren't there, so we had to find you again, and again, and again..." He trailed on, the same monotonous voice at all pitches. "Finally we had tracked you down, tried to pin you where you lived, but someone had already warned you, enticed you to this dueling tournament. By the time we got there..."
"Only Ian was there."
The hunter glared at her feminine face, sneering evilly. Suddenly, a shot of pain ran through his head, a sharp, digging pain that came from beneath his eyes. Clutching in pain, 'Ian' collapsed to the floor, his hands placed against his skull. His all out, mind blowing screams were inhuman, bestial and screeching.
"IAN!!!!!!!" Forgetting the duel, Marita rushed to the side of her friend, only caring for his safety as he collapsed to the floor. Weak and unable to keep his balance, the last of Merrick's mind control did a number on him, as Ian collapsed in Marita's arms.
"I... will... have... you... my queen..." he whispered, The last traces of Merrick's will still imprinted in his mind. Then, he blacked out, never remembering a thing about the duel, or what had happened to him.
"Marita!" Yugi rushed over, his violet eyes wide in alarm. "Are you OK?"
She smiled at him, grateful he was there. "Yeah, I'm alright, but we have to hurry and get Ian to the hospital before he collapses for good!" Taking hold of his arm and supporting his arm around her shoulders, she began to drag him away from the dance floor, as all the audience watched.
*WOW, I forgot all about them...* she reflected, as two guys, one with a rusty red jacket and one with a white-with-a-blue-stripped shirt and blonde bangs took Ian from her. They both ran with the poor guy to the door, Marita following. She barely heard Yugi among her own thoughts, hearing him say, "Thanks Joey, thanks Tristan" as they rushed down the block to the nearest hospital. *OOOOOOH, how could I have let this HAPPEN?* she chided herself, ashamed of her own ambition. *How could I have let Ian down like this? Left him behind?* Tears were slowly forming in her eyes, their salty state stinging. *I shouldn't...I shouldn't have let him behind!*
She was startled when a voice in her mind replied to her thoughts. ~Marita, you had no idea this would happen. Stop blaming yourself!~
~Spirit! You have no idea what I've BEEN THROUGH! YOU cant possibly tell me what I can and cant do!~
~You'd be surprised...~
*You're another mystery I have to find out,* Marita declared in her mind, thinking about everything that had happened tonight. *Merrick called me Queen... why? And who am I hearing in my head? WIERD...*