Chapter 15

"The Fifth Duel: Fire"

"You'll regret having challenged my vessel to this duel! This is a match that you cannot win!" Yami Bakura slowly drew his cards, clearly seeing that his words had struck a cord within this man. He had to be one of the henchmen to this Jetsu he had heard about this morning through that fool Tristan. The next time any of those friends to the pharaoh interfered with his affairs, he wouldn't hold back. And once this match was over, he would have access to the tournament Pyramid. Access to another of the Millennium Items…

The fire duelist glowered at the holder of the Ring and ran a hand through his short, spiky red hair. This kid talked a big game, but he'd knocked down plenty of brash teens like this. This one would be no different, even if he was several millennia old. Lord Jetsu had informed him and the other Elementals (his siblings) about the Spirits that resided in the Millennium Items. This one must be the ancient cat burglar of Egypt, a notorious thief in his time and a dangerous being, "Just keep talkin', thief! You'll soon see who the real hotshot is here! I'm one of Lord Jetsu's private Eliminators, Fuego, and the world's greatest Fire Duelist! You're about to get seriously burned!" Fuego slipped six slick cards from his Duel Disk 2 in succession then glanced down causally (Fireyarou, Darkfire Soldier #1, Tyhone #2, Soul Exchange, Molten Destruction, Ultimate Offering), "Let's get this duel started!"

"As you wish," the evil spirit looked at his own hand (Masked Sorcerer, Change of Heart, Hiro's Shadow Scout, Widespread Ruin, Mechanical Spider, Nobleman of Crossout) and grinned maliciously. Excellent! Bakura's trump card right at the off! This match is already over, "I lay one card face-down in defense mode (Hiro's Shadow Scout (650/500)), and one more face-down (Widespread Ruin)."

"While you might want to take your time and play defense, I'm gonna turn up the heat!" Fuego pulled two cards from his hand and placed them on the field, "First, my Soul Exchange card, which allows me to sacrifice one of your monsters to summon one of my higher level ones! I choose Tyhone #2 (1700/1900) in attack mode!" Hiro's Shadow Scout's card shattered, surprising Yami Bakura (though he didn't show it). The fire duelist slapped down a third card, "And this magic card, Molten Destruction) will turn this entire field into a pool of lava, giving Tyhone #2 even more firepower (2200/1500)!"

Fuego smirked at the spirit, "Not too tough now, are you?" He shook his head, "Well, I can't attack this turn, rules of the Soul Exchange card you know, so I'll just place this one card face-down (Ultimate Offering) and end my turn."

Yami Bakura sniggered softly, "I commend you for powering up your monster so much, even if it was at the expense of my own. I also commend you for having so little brain!" Fuego spluttered in rage and offered a few rather colorful words to the Egyptian spirit. Joey had to cover Yugi's ears quickly ("Joey, knock it off! I can't hear what they're saying!"). It wasn't good for children to learn foul language such as that.

The white-haired thief drew his card (Electric Snake), "I summon the Electric Snake (800/900) in attack mode! Then," The dark Bakura held up a card then put it in his Duel Disk, "I'll play the Change of Heart! It allows me to take control of one of my opponent's monsters for the extent of my turn!" Tyhone #2 flapped its way over to Bakura's side of the field, and hovered next to the electric reptile, "Both of you, attack this fool and end his ridiculous notion of victory!" Two elements of nature smashed into the defenseless man (electricity then fire), knocking him down, and his LP with him. Yami Bakura: 4000 – Fuego: 1000.

"Damn you! Damn you to hell! How dare you abuse my fire monster like that? You'll pay for this you despicable ass!" The Fire Eliminator grabbed his next card (Final Flame), then slammed a button on his Duel Disk 2, "I activate my Trap card, Ultimate Offering! I can summon any number of extra monsters that I want per turn, sacrificing 500 of my LP per monster to do so! So I'll summon the Darkfire Soldier#1 (2200/650) and Fireyarou (1800/500)!"

He raised his left hand and pointed at Yami Bakura, "Soldier, Fireyarou, Tyhone #2! ATTACK THE BASTARD!" Tyhone #2 swooped in at the electric snake, throwing up lava as it flew. Fireyarou (a short man sitting Indian-style above a burst of flames) and the Darkfire Soldier (a warrior with long, blonde hair, standing in flames and holding a curved blade) watched in amusement as the Electric Snake tried to avoid the incoming assault by slithering around in a circle on the little patch of land it was sitting on.

Yami Bakura pressed a button on his Duel Disk #2, and his face-down card activated, "My trap will take care of that attack! Activate Widespread Ruin!" A huge cloud of smoke erupted around the spit-fire monster, incinerating it. Yami Bakura chuckled, "I guess it couldn't take the heat. Well, it stands to reason. Only a stupid duelist would fall for such and obvious trap."

Tea made to cheer, but caught herself. "Um…" she asked Mai, who had stood up, holding Rebecca in her arms, "Who're we supposed to be rooting for?"

"You got me," Mai shrugged.

Fuego curled and uncurled his hands into fists of rage, "You… you… You SON OF A BITCH! I've had enough of you! Even if you do somehow make it past me, you'll never defeat Lord Jetsu! He'll kill you and take your item, you jackass! Darkfire Soldier, attack!" After two furious assaults from the Soldier and Fireyarou, the score had significantly changed: Yami Bakura: 800 - ****: 500.

Fuego put one more card into his Duel Disk, "Lastly, I'll use this Final Flame magic card! It decreases your LP by another 600 points! One more turn and you're finished! Your Millennium Item will be mine!" Yami Bakura: 200 – Fuego: 500.

Joey cocked an eyebrow, "Who are we rootin' for, Yug?"

"I really don't know," Yugi shook his head, "On one hand, if Bakura's Spirit wins, he'll be directly in the finals! But on the other hand, I don't think the real Bakura would be too broken up about losing possession of the Ring."

"But we also don't want whoever's behind this to get a hold of it, do we?" Tristan asked.

"I don't know what to think," Yugi said, "I've never seen a duel with so many different angles to the outcome before. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

The evil Spirit drew his card (Just Desserts), threw back his head and began to laugh manically, "I'll play this one card face-down (Just Desserts) and end my turn!"

Fuego began to laugh as well, "I don't even need to draw a card to finish you-"

"But, by rule, you are required to do so," Yami Bakura folded his arms across his chest. He was allowed to activate his trap at any time during his opponents turn, so when the fool drew his card, the Spirit of the Ring could simply activate his trap and end the game before **** had a chance to attack him.

"Fine, if it makes you happy," The man picked up one card and placed in his hand, "Now I will-"

"This duel is already over! I activate this trap card: Just Desserts! It takes away 500 of your LP for every monster you have on the field, which is more than enough to finish you!" A translucent hand came out of the trap and grabbed Fuego, which causing him to cry out in anguish as electricity coursed through his body. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. The holograms faded away. The duel was over and Yami Bakura had won.

"Well…now what?" Joey asked.

"At least it's over," Tea said, "That was kind of scary."

Yugi realized then that Tsuki had taken hold of his arm again and was clinging to it tightly. She was watching Yami Bakura with wide, frightened eyes. He knew what she was thinking. Any minute now the Spirit of the Ring would make to claim their Items. Well, he wasn't going to let that happen.

From atop a nearby building another person watched as the Spirit of the Ring went to collect what he had won. The cloaked figure slapped themselves in the forehead and muttered quietly to no one in particular, "Fuego, you idiot." The being pulled out a small, cylindrical device and spoke into it, "Master Terra, you must speak with Lord Jetsu. Fuego has failed, but he did discover another of the Millennium Items. Please get the master to spare his miserable life. I will defeat the boy with the Ring and the boy with the Puzzle, then bring the Items to him… promise him that. No, Master Terra, I will not fail…"

Back down on the street, Yami Bakura had claimed his five new mini-items and turned towards the gang. His gaze fell on the youngest pair and he smirked. "You know what I want, kids," he said, "Now hand the Items over and there won't be any trouble."

There was a quick flash of light, from not only the puzzle, but from the Scale tucked inside Tsuki's backpack as well. Then standing in the place where Yugi and Tsuki had been, stood Yami and Dedi. Everyone jumped back slightly in surprise. Even Yami Bakura was shocked to see them together.

Yami's eyes narrowed. "You'll get no such cooperation from us, thief," he said.

"We'll see how well you cooperate after I kill your bitch, pharaoh!" Yami Bakura yelled. He closed his eyes and began to mumble to himself in Egyptian. A blue aura began to form around the evil Spirit, and the Ring lifted slightly between his hands, which were only centimeters from the Millennium Item. A dark red blast of magic rushed outward, looking to strike Dedi head-on.

The woman didn't flinch. Yami's free hand was up instantly, casting his own Millennium magic. A beam of yellow light met with the red one and they disintegrated each other. "How many times do I have to banish you??" he said, frustrated, waving his hand again. Yami Bakura's image seemed to splinter and break, scattering to the wind, and leaving the real Bakura in his place.

The poor boy was even paler, with dark circles under his eyes. He met gazes with Yami for a split second, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out. Yami and Dedi let their hosts take over again. Yugi caught Bakura, and was dragged down to the ground with him.

The others quickly went to help revive him.

* * *

Bakura didn't come around until noon, and even though the gang tried to force food on him, he only picked at it listlessly. They had moved to a different section of town, back by the waterfront, having left Rebecca with her parents at her hotel. Now they were sitting at a round table under a large umbrella, attempting to eat their lunch.

Joey watched Bakura worriedly, and asked Yugi in a hushed voice, "How come he's so depressed? He's qualified for the finals after only one duel!"

"Yeah," Yugi said, "But it's a duel he didn't win."

"Oh…right…" Joey said, and went back to his food, contemplating this.

Yugi cast a glance around for his Spirit, and spotted him, standing a little ways off, talking with the spirit of Tsuki's Scale. He watched them quizzically, trying to hear what they were saying.

A bit out of the boy's earshot, Dedi put her hands on her hips, "I really should be angry right now," she said.

"What?" Yami asked, "Why?"

She sighed, "This isn't the first time you've left without saying good-bye. And it probably won't be the last."

Yami felt himself blush, the memories of the previous night returning vividly to his mind. "I-I am sorry," he said, "But Yugi needed me…and I didn't want to disturb you…"

"I wouldn't have minded," she said, "I hate being the last to know what's going on."

"You mean, you know?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded, "I probed Tsuki's mind. But I hate doing that – so next time, if something important's happening, please wake me."

"Uh-of course," he said, then gave her a guilty smile, "So…you're not angry?"

"No," she said, "It's seems it's almost impossible to stay mad at you. And it's not like it's the worst you've done."

"It's…not?" he gulped.

"Nope," she said, "One time, you left right in the middle of it!"

But she said this a little too loudly, and Yami hurriedly put a hand over her mouth, panicked. "Not so loud, please!" he begged, "Yugi's right there and I haven't told him that we…you know…" his voice trailed off and he turned red again.

"Oh…" she said, nodding, pulling his hands down, "Why not? It's not like we're doing it out of wedlock. It's a perfectly natural thing to do." She leaned down and kissed him, and he went an even deeper shade of red.

When she broke away, he turned nervously to where Yugi was sitting. The boy was about as red as the Spirit was, and his eyes were wide.

Dedi waved to him, "It's okay! We're married!"

Yami cringed. Why did she have to be so blunt?

"What?" Yugi said aloud, not realizing that the others turned to look at him, "Really, Yami?"

"Yes, Yugi," Yami said, putting a hand behind his head embarrassedly, "This is Dedi – my queen."

"Oh…okay…" Yugi said. He'd never seen the Spirit get so worked up about something before. It was almost kind of funny. Then Dedi kissed him again and Yugi turned away, uncomfortable.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" Joey asked him.

"Um…" Yugi didn't quite know what to say, "Yami and the Spirit of the Scale are kind of…um…making out…over there by the wall…" he pointed in their direction.

"Say WHAT??" Joey cried, "Aww…I wish I could see 'em…"

"Wish I couldn't…" Yugi mumbled into his food.