LoneWolf16: Woot! It's chappie nine! In record time! (Hey, that rhymed. O.o And that rhymed as well…) Okay, I know that is not true, but I really, really wanted to say that…
*waves to reviewers* Great to know some people like Death…^^;;; Lotta death in this chappie, lotsa fun…*grins* And after reading reviews from you guys, I'm admitting that this is at least a little angst and have classified this fic as such. *grins* So hold on to your seats, 'cause five duels of death are coming up…
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO or up-to-date video games. -_-
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Chapter Nine: Fire and Ice…
And so it was that the remaining duelist returned back to the slowly decreasing population of the locker room. Yami regally entered the room again, being the Pharaoh that he was, although sorrow for his lost comrade was hidden underneath.
Joey looked quizzically at the announcer. "So uh, do I get to duel now?"
The black-clad announcer nodded his head. "In a way, yes." He swept out his hand to the doorway. "If you will all follow me, we shall proceed to the second round…"
Everyone was a bit confused. Everyone was going out now? What was this, a free-for-all?
Kaiba sniffed at Joey as he passed him. "Hff. Guess they thought you wouldn't even last the first round, puppy."
Joey growled. "What did that mean?"
Kaiba smirked. "Well, just look around you. All of us took part in a duel and survived. Except you." Kaiba shook his head. "I don't know whether to pity you or to scorn you. Wait, I do know, and it's not pity."
Joey's eyes turned red-hot. They only cooled down to their former brown color when Yami placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Joey. Concentrate on your goal."
Goal? Oh yeah…his little sister, Serenity… Joey shook his head and followed the crowd out the door. He had to save his little sis'…
They followed the silent announcer person to yet another little room. It was painted completely black, with little neon lights as light bulbs, making for one strange effect.
Yami looked towards the center of the room. There was a large box containing some kind of firearm. Peering closer, he noticed that they resembled paintball guns.
Joey's mouth dropped open. "Ya mean the second round's gonna be a paintball gunfight?"
"Generally speaking, yes. With a few new rules, of course."
Yami's eyes narrowed. Those new rules would change everything…
"The second round will be as follows. Each remaining duelist will be outfitted with one semi-auto paintball gun. No protective gear is allowed. The paintballs we are using are a special, altered type: if you are hit, not only will you have a bright red marker on you, but you will also be shocked with about 700 volts for half a second and a slow acting poison will begin to seep in. It makes no difference if it hits your clothes or your actual skin. The human body can fight off a small amount of the poison, but take too many hits and you will probably die.
"The playing field will be just that: a large, open field with various landscapes. The boundary will be a black fence. The other rules of Duelist Combat will still hold -- that is, summoning monsters to the field will be legal and possible. Anything goes.
"There is no 'out,' only dead. The second round will end when only two duelists are alive and the rest either dead or unconscious. Now, does everyone know how to fire a paintball gun?" The announcer asked.
To Joey's surprise, everyone nodded. Well, Yami he knew about; they often played together. But Kaiba? Quiet Ryou? And Mai?
Mai saw Joey's shock. Smirking, she bent down, grabbed a gun and hefted it. "What, so surprised, Joey? Didn't think I had it in me?"
Joey closed his mouth. Wisely, he didn't say anything.
Kaiba strode in and grabbed a gun, checking its weight. Yeah, it felt okay. "I've been taking my anger out on fools in this game for a while now."
Marik stepped in and picked up a gun as well. "Well, I usually don't go for this stuff, but my yami and I used to do this a lot." His eyes hardened. "Well, that is, a lot before he went insane…"
Ryou shyly walked over and tentatively took a gun. "Bakura likes this game a little too much…"
Yami raised an eyebrow, shrugging as he went to take a gun. "I've had some practice at shooting, thanks to paintball addict Joey over here." Yami took a gun and then tossed another one at Joey, who was still (somewhat) gaping. "Right, Joey?"
Joey looked down at his gun. "Uh, right…"
* * * * *
After everyone was outfitted with one gun and a good supply of altered paintballs, the announcer gestured towards yet another doorway, one that was encased in buttons and other high-appearance security like stuff.
"We will enter the dueling arena here." The announcer said, punching various buttons and whatnot.
Kaiba snorted. That security was practically useless; all show and no proof. He could make a better security system than that in less than two hours.
Yami also raised an eyebrow. For some fun, he was wondering how long it would take him to hack through that pathetic security system. About two minutes…
And Bakura (who had taken over the moment Ryou had touched the gun, anticipating some "fun,") was laughing at the poor announcer fool. He could burn right through that flimsy door in two seconds flat…
Well, the door was finally opened and the announcer beckoned towards the lush outside that awaited the six remaining duelists. And lush it was. Covered with trees and bushes, there were places galore to hide from. And to make things even better, a slight fog misted over the entire arena. The place seemed to stretch on forever; the boundary fence was nowhere in sight…
"Ready, duelists?"
Everyone hefted their semi-auto paintball gun and picked a target to run for.
"BEGIN."
And they were off. Mai headed for a hilly area next to some trees; Marik closely followed, picking the actual group of trees to the left. Kaiba stalked off straight ahead, into a tall grassy area. Joey zoomed off a bit to the right, towards a bushy, scrubby area, and Yami headed off to the far right, near a rolling grassy plain. Bakura quickly followed him; he had a bone to pick with that guy…
* * * * *
Mai stopped after about a minute and looked around. Paint wasn't flying around at her so she hadn't been caught yet. Her mouth curled up into a grin. Oh boy, this was going to be a lot of fun…
She got down on her knees and began grab the dirt and grass from the ground and rub her clothes in them. Hey, bright purple is just not good camouflage in a paintball gun war. And when times call for it, Mai could definitely get down and dirty. Real dirty.
When Mai deemed herself sufficiently scrubby, she quietly moved towards the group of trees. She could kind of see the boundary fence to her left; so all opponents had to be to her right.
Suddenly, she heard a voice muttering behind a tree. She dived down to the ground, hoping that she hadn't been discovered. When thuds of paintballs didn't hit the ground, Mai carefully peeked to see just who she had heard.
It was Marik!
Marik was having a hard time. Well, it was kind of obvious; he was a split personality with a dangerous psychopath in his head. The moment Marik had gotten alone and about to hide, his dark self decided to attack. Marik was trying to shove him down and out, but it wasn't working…
~//Let me out!//~
~NO!~
Yami Marik battered against the doors. ~//I--will--win!//~
Marik screwed up his eyes. ~Never! You're not going to hurt anyone anymore!~
Yami Marik laughed. ~//Oh? Then why are we here then? This is the perfect place for death…it was even created by it…it feels like home…//~
"Go away! Get out of my mind!"
~//Your mind? This is our mind…//~
"Noooo…"
Mai widened her eyes. Yep, that guy was a psycho. Then her eyes narrowed. Along with killer, liar, and thief of her life… that guy was going to pay. She slowly moved her arms and legs, beginning her favorite move: the crawl.
The crawl is exactly what it is -- a low, quiet, sneaky crawl. Your body is low and constantly moving, making it hard for an opponent to take a shot. It's also an aggressive move; doing what opponents are not expecting. Mai could get directly next to someone, grab his or her marker, and offer surrender. Or in this case, death.
Mai had a surprisingly easy time to get nice and close to the crazed Marik without him even noticing. Carefully, she edged her paintball gun into target. Now was the time to test these strange paintballs…
Sppleeew!! *thud*
"Aiiieeee!!"
*CHH CHH* *thud! thud! thud!*
"HA!" Mai yelled as she saw Marik crumple from the pain of electric shock. "That's what you get for messing with my mind!" She leapt at Marik, intending to finish the job the paintballs started. Mai raised the gun over her head, getting ready to bash Marik's head in.
The gun whizzed down…until it was stopped.
By the Millenium Rod.
"Heh heh heh…thought you could stop me, Mai dear…"
Mai gasped. It was that voice again! That evil voice… Overwhelming memories of terror and fear swept through her mind. Mai fell to her knees and could simply look up into terrible purple eyes.
"You will be the first…"
Yami Marik slammed the Millenium Rod's dagger into Mai's chest, twisting it to make the hidden blade dig deeper. He wallowed in her death, savoring the magic he had not tasted in too long of a time…
* * * * *
Yami quickly stopped and gave a quick look around. Grass. And more grass. Nice and long; good hiding place and great stuff to mess with the trajectory of the paintball "bullet." But something was wrong with the place. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was definitely wrong. Yami got down on his hands and knees, planning to hide himself. As he crouched down, even the grass felt wrong beneath his hands.
Frowning, he looked closer. Seemed okay. He broke off a leaf, and looked at it. Seemed fine as well. Then he looked down at where he picked the blade of grass.
If someone without magic had looked, everything would have been normal. Just grass. But with Yami being the Pharaoh, he had innate magical senses. And every sense was screaming "wrong!"
The cut grass was bleeding red blood.
Something was definitely wrong here.
Somewhere, somehow, someone had created this place…using the power of death and blood.
Yami shuddered. He had thought that had died out. Apparently not. But this was no time to muse about his hard past; he had to concentrate on the present. And so he sat and he waited for some person to come along so he could pummel him with some bullets.
The person came along quite quickly, hot on the trail of the Pharaoh.
Bakura grinned as he followed the very faint trail of Yami. Now it would be just Yami and Bakura, and Bakura would finally have a chance to make Yami pay…
Spppiiillleeew!! *thud*
Bakura jerked up, seeing a big fat red blob of paint and poison on his left arm. Shoot, he hadn't been paying attention. Three thousand years of being stuck in an inanimate object makes skills go a bit rusty…
"A bit rusty, thief?" Yami called out.
"Curse you, Pharaoh! I'll get you for that!"
A low chuckle. "Sure. Just like every other time."
Bakura narrowed his eyes. He had just about found the spot where the voice was coming from… he turned his body so the motion of his gun was partially hidden. "Oh really…"
Sppeeeiiew! *thud*
Another low chuckle, from the opposite direction this time. "Oops. Missed, thief." *CHH CHH* Spplleeeiw! *thud* "I didn't."
Bakura raised a paintball-studded fist. "Coward! Why don't you face me!"
Yami emerged from behind a tiny bump on the ground. " 'Coward'? Really." Yami hefted his gun. "So then, shall we play a little game to prove it?"
Bakura grinned in anticipation. "Let's." Raising his Ring, he chanted the famous four words of time.
"Let's play a game…"
* * * * *
Joey trotted to a stop and breathed deeply. Good, no paint was flying about him yet; therefore no one had followed him. Or at least, shot at him yet.
Eyes narrowed, he scanned the area for possible targets or hiding places. Ah there, over there, near those trees. That'll be a nice likely place to wait and take some shots. Joey quietly moved towards the group of trees and after looking around to make sure no one had seen him, Joey shimmied up the tree and sat on a nice, wide, tall branch.
Joey grinned. Ha! He was the "King" of Paintball! No one could beat him at this game; he ruled the field!
The first challenger to his "throne" stumbled out of the trees very shortly, cursing and muttering.
"Stupid hikaris and their meddling ways…I'll teach that Pharaoh…" The Rod swung back and forth, dripping red blood. Eyes twitching and flickering, finding some crazed reason to kill everything he saw. He had only one goal: to find Yami and kill him.
Joey growled deep in his throat. It was that darker Marik again, the one that took over his mind and sent Mai to the Shadow Realm. He was going to pay…
He aimed right for that murderer and let the paint fly.
Sppllliiiieeeewww!! *Thud! Thud! Thud!*
"What?!" Yami Marik raised an arm. "What's happening?" Sparkles of electricity raced across his surprised face.
"Live target practice, that's all." *CHH CHH* Sppllliiieeewww!! *Thud! Thud! Thud!*
"Arrrrggggghhhh! … stupid trees…forgot to watch them…they're not in Egypt…" Yami Marik cursed as he fell to the ground as bands of electricity zapped across his chest.
Joey shrugged as he jumped down from the tree. "It's a whole new world now, eh, Marik?"
"Curse you…no one can defeat me…" Yami Marik spat as the poison began to work its way into his body. He began to gasp for breath, his face graying in need. Sweat broke out all over, making his dark cloak even darker.
Joey shrugged. "Eh, there's always a first time…" Joey raised his foot to stomp on Yami Marik. This would end it all…
Yami Marik grimaced, and for a few seconds, the real Marik flashed through, terrified and frightened.
That face stopped Joey. Could he really do that? Kill Marik? Joey shook his head. That guy was evil! A menace! He should be killed for what he did! And yet…there was always a second chance. Yugi was always giving a second chance…
Yugi. That word shocked Joey. What would Yugi think of this? And Serenity? What would she think? What kind of big brother would he be, killing other people, even if it was for her sake?
Joey lowered his foot and looked down. No, he wouldn't kill Marik. But he'd make real sure that Marik wasn't going anywhere. He bent down and gave a nice, hard rap to Marik's skull with his gun, knocking Marik unconscious. That'd keep him there until the paintball game was over.
Joey turned and walked away. But he couldn't resist turning his head over his shoulder and spitting on the ground in contempt.
"Serves you right…"
* * * * *
The world was covered in fog and shadows, flitting and sliding around, a tantalizing sense of darkness waiting to draw one of the two combatants in. Fire began to lick around the edges, waiting for a chance to grow and eat.
Bakura grinned in the increasing heat. Ahh, the warmth of the fires of Hell…
Yami looked around and shrugged. Ehh, nothing incredibly new. "So what's the game, thief?"
"Game? We are already playing the game, Pharaoh." Bakura lifted his paintball gun. "First one to kill the other wins. Simple enough, eh, Pharaoh?"
Yami hefted his gun as well. "Simple, indeed."
Bakura's grin grew even wider. "So let the game…begin." And then the Ring around his neck glowed, and the darkness swept around Bakura, eventually covering him and hiding him.
Yami narrowed his eyes. This should be interesting; Bakura was using the shadows to hide himself. Yami invoke the power of the Puzzle, shedding light across the entire area where the Shadow Game was taking place. Now if Bakura decided to come at him, the refraction of light would change, warning Yami.
Spplliiieeew! *thud*
Yami grimaced at the red paint on his shoulder. Or perhaps not… Bakura had merged with the darkness, escaping the light's penetration.
The laugh of his opponent echoed. "Watch out, Pharaoh…the fires of darkness are waiting…"
Yami glanced around. The fire was burning hotter, coming in closer, eating up the dry grass and shrubbery and sending up sparks. If he didn't move quickly, things would become unpleasantly warm…
* * * * *
Kaiba stopped from his very fast-paced walk. Alright, surroundings were clear. No targets or opponents in sight. He pumped up his gun and began the search for some unsuspecting fool. Kaiba dodged from tree to tree, becoming a white ghost. His eyes constantly watched and calculated, taking in possibilities and shooting them down one by one.
He stopped suddenly, seeing a body lay motionless on the ground. Kaiba raised his gun and took aim, crystallizing his shot in moments.
Sppliiieeeww! *thud*
The body didn't move. Kaiba raised an eyebrow. He walked over to the body and toed it. No movement. The person was dead. Kaiba uncaringly noticed it was Mai. He shrugged; so she lost this game. Oh well. Only the strong would survive. And he was strong.
Kaiba turned away from the dead body, walking past it in search for something alive.
As he (carefully) wandered from tree to rock to bush, he suddenly entered a freezing cold area. The trees just separated to reveal a desolate landscape of ice and pretty much nothing else. It was a sculpture of ice, shaped from frozen water into an eerie, curving glass landscape. Strange pillars of ice shot up from the ice to writhe in frozen pain.
"What the…"
Joey, too, was dodging from tree to tree, looking for a target. Then, as he emerged from behind a tree, he came to the same conclusion as Kaiba:
This is a very weird place.
Thick ice covered the ground, covered with snow and well, more snow. Looking down at his feet, the ground beneath Joey's shoes was unfrozen and somewhat warm. However, the ground out there was decidedly frozen, probably a few meters thick, with a nice coating of ice besides. Joey raised an eyebrow. It must be magic or something…
Eyes goggled, he scanned the area for signs of life in this desolate area. And surprisingly enough, there was.
Seto Kaiba.
Oh, joy.
Joey growled and lifted his paintball gun. Kaiba wasn't even paying attention, he was just staring at all of that boring ice. Well, that would be Kaiba's downfall. He'd show that Kaiba who was boss in this game…
Spppllliieeeww! *thud*
"Hey!" Kaiba yelled as he glanced down at the paint running down his expensive trench coat.
"Well, if you're not going to pay attention, someone's going to nail you." Joey pointed out. He lifted his paintball gun. "Maybe you'd better keep your eyes moving next time instead of staring into nowhere-land."
Kaiba growled. Stupid dog Joey, getting in his way. He lifted his gun and aimed at the Joey-dog.
Joey grinned and took one step right as the ball whizzed by him. "Whoops, Kaiba. Seems like you're no better at paintball than at Duel Monsters."
Kaiba scowled. "Oh really, Wheeler." He took one step forward, closer to Joey. "Shall we settle this with a duel instead?" He reached into his trenchcoat for his deck.
"Oh, duel? Sure." Joey off-handedly waved. He slipped his deck out of his pocket and drew a card. "Though I'd rather make things a bit more realistic, eh?" He lifted the card. "I call upon the Red Eyes Black Dragon!"
The dragon formed and appeared from a hole behind Joey. It reared and roared its defiance at Kaiba, black scales shining in luster and red eyes blazing with a fire that echoed Joey's own.
"Cool stuff, huh, Kaiba?" Joey taunted, gazing at his dragon.
"That's what you think." Kaiba growled, drawing a card from within his deck too. "I call upon the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
A lightening bolt came down from the sky to sizzle at Kaiba's unflinching feet, curving and shaping to dragon of legends and terror. It reared its head and looked down at the smaller Red Eyes Black Dragon, as if it were a puny thing to be squashed.
As Yami often noted though, never underestimate the small. Their spirit and determination can often turn the tides of battle. The "little" dragon curved its tail around its master, protecting Joey and venting it's well, what could be best described as "the Irish temper."
Yes, the Red Eyes Black Dragon has a temper to match Joey's.
And no, the Blue Eyes White Dragon did not approve.
The field of ice echoed and shattered with the roars of the two dragons. Kaiba smirked and yelled over the increasing noise. "So, Joey, shall we duel?"
Joey grinned back. "Oh yeah, sure, Kaiba. We'll duel." He waved his gun. "Duel with these, anyway." He aimed at Kaiba, who took a step to the right. "Why waste the gun and paint if we have these?"
Sppllieeew! *thud*
The Blue Eyes White Dragon roared in anger and in annoyance as the electricity of the paintball glossed over its chest.
Kaiba growled. "Oh, you want to play that game then, Wheeler. Alright then…two can play at that game…"
* * * * *
Yami was getting a bit frustrated. He could still not see Bakura and get a bead on him, and Bakura kept shooting at Yami. Thankfully, Yami's military training was coming back to him and he had only gotten hit twice, but Yami was still worried about the poison factor.
Spplliieeew!
Yami's senses wrenched him over to the left as yet another paintball whizzed past him. Yami gritted his teeth. There had to be a way to find out where Bakura was!
A mad laugh echoed around the burning grass surrounding the field of Shadows. "Pharaoh, you'll never get me…the darkness covers all, and not even your light can penetrate it…"
Yami's eyes widened. That was it!
If his light couldn't find him…then Yami would be the light!
Yami closed his eyes and reached deeper into the Millenium Puzzle, calling forth the powers of light and Change. The light around Yami grew and swirled him, merging with Yami's magical body until Yami was the light. The fires shrank back from this source of light, deciding rather to consume something else, something that didn't change into other things.
Yami was now part of the light as Bakura a part of darkness. Now wherever darkness lurked, Yami would know where Bakura was hiding. For wherever the light shines, there is also shadow, and there darkness waits and hides. The two are somehow connected, creating one and knowing the other, a split balance between the two. They are destined to always fight each other in an almost never-ending battle. But eventually, as according to the Law of Chaos, one will prevail.
Yami discarded his paintball gun, as now this Shadow Game would reside within the magical realm, where the powers of light and darkness waited to called upon and strike at the enemy. Yami reached out into the light and grabbed hold of part of the Light, shaping it to his will.
Bakura too, knew that the rules of the game had changed now. He too, reached for the darker, stolen magic of the Ring around his neck and began to ready for the final battle…
* * * * *
The field of Ice was littered with gunfire, fire burns and lightening strikes. The two duelists were having at it, pumping their guns and letting the paint fly.
The two dragons were fighting in the frigid air, tooth-to-claw, ripping and rendering. The smaller Red Eyes Black Dragon had more maneuverability, but the larger Blue Eyes White Dragon had more power. It was a dance of death they wove across the sky, fighting for supremacy of the air, to rip and slash the fragile wings that would make a dragon plummet and die. Each had blood dripping down their scales, but as dragons, their pride would not permit them to give up and secede.
Joey and Kaiba were having at it on the slippery, icy winter wonderland. Ice and sheet was raining down, covering the ground to become a dangerous, slick floor, just waiting to trip and catch one of the two duelists. They dodged and aimed at each other from various areas, from blocks of ice taller than two (tall) men to tiny, emancipated frozen bushes. Once in a while, a dragon from above would decide to attack, creating crevasses and ditches and ice shards of death.
Sppliiieeew! Spplliiieeeww!
*CHH CHH*
Sppliiieeew!
KABOOOM! Joey dived down, barely missing as an ice boulder broke free and began rolling towards him.
Spppllliiieeew!
"Darn it, I missed!" Kaiba cursed as he missed Joey's diving body.
Spppllliieeew! *crack* *thud*
The hardened, almost frozen ball ricocheted and hit Kaiba, who arched as it hit his back. A loud, booming crack echoed within Kaiba's mind, and he instinctively ran for cover as an avalanche of ice came crashing down where Kaiba had crouched a moment before. Kaiba cursed again, wanting this terror to be over.
Joey gasped for breath as he reloaded his paintball gun. When would this frozen hell be over? Rolling over onto his stomach, he looked for wherever Kaiba may be hiding.
He was no more than a meter away.
Screaming in victory, Joey leapt over the boulder and landed on Kaiba, sensing victory was almost at hand.
* * * * *
The field of Fire was pulsating light and darkness, where shots of pure energy lanced at the enemy of the other. And still the fire grew and surrounded the two battling duelists, licking at them feet and screaming in unholy fury, The fire as alive, eating the discarding waste of magical attacks and growing higher and higher, bringing Hell onto the mortal world.
"You cannot stop the powers of darkness Pharaoh!" An arrow that could pierce the night zoomed towards Yami.
Yami raised his barrier of light. "Neither can the force of light be controlled by one such as you, thief." He called for the light to surround the darkness that was Bakura. "Or will you ever concede that?"
"Surrender to the light? Never!" Bakura cursed as he shattered the shackles of light.
Yami sighed. "Why do you continue to struggle? It has already been written that the darkness will fail."
"Written?" Bakura laughed as he took out a throwing knife. "Written by those fools of folly and light-headed fluff-balls. You cannot fathom the depth of darkness." He whipped three knives in quick succession at Yami, aiming for his heart.
Yami's eyes widened. He could dodge one, but all three? …
The knives reached the light's barrier and crumpled against the sheer light.
Yami smiled bitterly. This battle would not end so easily, and Yugi's life would not be lost so soon. Yami would not give up on his little light, his hikari. Yami whirled around, using the fire around them to conceal his movement.
Bakura's eyes narrowed. Using the fire then hmmm? Yami forgot that the fires came at Bakura's beck and call…
Bakura clenched his fist and commanded the fire to gather in one point, creating a pillar of fire. Within it lay Yami, trapped by the fire's bounds. Bakura laughed and lunged Yami, who smirked and lifted himself out by the smoke. Yami floated within the smoke, becoming invisible within the darkness.
Bakura screamed in frustration.
* * * * *
Two purple eyes slit open.
The being had only two things on its mind:
Revenge.
And Hate.
* * * * *
Joey and Kaiba rolled around on the ice, punching and scratching like two schoolboys. However, these two "schoolboys" had much deeper agendas than just a little dispute.
Joey was letting Kaiba have it, pulling every single trick he had ever learned from being in a gang. He clobbered poor Kaiba, yelling various Japanese (and other bits and pieces of other languages) profanities. Sometime during his business career, Kaiba had also learned a few "words of wisdom" himself and was giving it back screaming word for word.
The two dragons by now had pretty much lost the ability to fly but continued to battle on the ground. The Blue Eyes White Dragon was getting pretty annoyed. He should, in all respects, be able to squash the Red Eyes Black Dragon in one stroke. He had 600 more points of attack power and much bigger, and therefore should be able to crush this infuriating pipsqueak. Unfortunately, "pipsqueak" did not comply to those statistics and was wearing the Blue Eyes White Dragon down.
Meanwhile, Kaiba and Joey were still at it.
"Stupid dog!"
"Stupid businessman!"
"Dumb cur!"
"Filthy money-bag!"
(By this time, Joey and Kaiba had lost their creativity of swearing and were using the round-circle argument.)
"Stupid puppy!"
"Bloody capitalist!"
(It appears that Joey has been leafing through the dictionary.)
Blue Eyes attempted to help his master, but only succeeded in flaming Joey's hair, which quickly burned out anyway.
"Curse you! You're not going to win!"
"HA! You never win anything!"
"Neither do you!"
More punches. Et cetera.
As Kaiba was rolling over to slam down on Joey's black and blue face (for the thirtieth time or so) a flash of gold slashed through his vision and gashed his hand open. Howling in pain, he grasped his hand and got off of Joey. Joey coughed and gasped, looking up into the face of his benefactor.
Make that avenger.
It was the face of Yami Marik.
Joey gasped out in surprise, half raising an arm to defend himself. Yami Marik grinned madly, his eye twitching as he sneered, "Goodbye, Joesph Wheeler."
Yami Marik lost no time in killing Joey. Kaiba stared in disbelief as the life of Joey was snuffed out.
As the blow fell, the face of Yami Marik twisted as the real Marik broke through the moment the Rod entered Joey's body.
"Nooooooo!!!!!" Marik cried out, grabbing his arm in an attempt to stop himself. But the speed and force and hate of Yami Marik had put too much power into the strike and both Marik and Joey stared into each other eyes: one glazing over in death, the other in shock.
As his life left his mortal body, Joey could only whisper one word: "Ser…ren…ity…"
Marik lifted his head up to the sky. "NOOOOOOO!!!!" Why did his hands have to wield death? Why did he have the urge to kill? Why did everyone he love, he must also hate?
Kaiba lurched to his feet, slowly backing away from the crazed murderer. This was not good…
Marik turned around crazily, his maddened eyes locking onto Kaiba's shocked own. Slowly, he pulled the Rod from Joey's body and brought it to his own chest.
"Perhaps in this…I can atone for past wrongs."
Then Marik Ishtar, last heir of the Ishtar clan, plunged the dagger of the Rod into his own chest, making sure that he, at least, would no longer create despair on this earth.
And Seto Kaiba saw all that had happened.
* * * * *
Yami's mind screamed in pain. He was tired and weak and could barely move to defend himself against the relentless attacks of Bakura. His mind was tired of concentration, of handling the raw power of the Puzzle. And now, he kneeled on the ground, waiting for the deathblow to come.
Yami felt sudden tears fall from his invisible face. Another friend had died. How much more would have to, in order to have peace again? How many more deaths must take place before the Balance was appeased? Yami lowered his head, acknowledging that Death had come for another once more. The fires raged around him, creating a dome of fire.
Bakura sneered at the Pharaoh's apparent weakness. Tears? That was pathetic. The Pharaoh was pathetic. He didn't have the stamina for a real Shadow game after all.
Suddenly, a voice echoed within Yami's mind.
"Eh, Yugi!"
"Joey?!?" Yami looked up, into a black endless void. A shifting shape of Joey floated in front of Yami.
"Yeah, it's me. Look, don't give up man. Remember our promise?"
Yami nodded. "I do."
Joey gave a thumbs-up. "Don't forget it, Yuge. Look, I know that you're not really Yugi and all, and you're trying to save him. Keep it up. Don't ditch us."
Yami smiled, another tear curving down his cheek. "I won't."
"Yeah, fix everything, okay Pharaoh? You always do." Joey waved. "See ya later."
And with that, Joey left, but he also left something behind.
Bakura did not notice anything. Yami raised his head, gathering strength for what was about to come. There would be only one chance, one last thing to end it all. He already was beating himself for what he had to do, but it was the only way to stop this madness.
Bakura sneered, leaping at Yami with his knife. Yami had no defenses, no hand-held weaponry, and practically no magical reserves left. This should be a snitch…
Yami rolled over, twisted his hand and clenched it.
And a flaming sword appeared, which Bakura landed upon, impaling himself. Bakura gasped out in surprise. How had he done that?
Yami gasped, staring at the pole-axed person before him. It was over, but so was Ryou.
Bakura clenched his teeth and pulled the sword out of his stomach. He wrenched to his feet, blood streaming from his gut to pool in puddles, which the blood-hungry ground ate up.
"Don't think this is the end, Pharaoh! You will pay for what you did long ago! I have waited three thousand years, a few more in the Shadow Realm will not make a difference!"
As he spoke, the shadows dimmed and circled around Bakura, sucking up his spirit and the fires around him. Yami could only stare in surprise as Ryou collapsed to the ground, unconscious--
--And unscarred.
Yami gasped in surprise. How could Ryou have survived unscathed?
Then the arena around him echoed with the eerie voice of the announcer.
"THE SECOND ROUND IS OVER. MAY THE TWO REMAINING DUELISTS PLEASE RETURN BACK TO THE ENTRANCE GATE."
Yami bowed his head. The time had come. Now, perhaps, he could save his lost hikari. He had to find Yugi, had to know if he were alright. That was why Yami was here, to protect his lighter self. And Yami would do anything to make sure that would be fulfilled. A slight tugging within his mind bothered Yami as he walked towards the entrance. He had to win the next one. For Yugi's and Joey's sakes…
* * * * *
Kaiba looked around in surprise. The dragons disappeared, their masters done with their feuding. What, over? But Joey had just died…
Kaiba glanced down at the two dead bodies before him. He tried to convince himself that the two were losers, but somehow his heart just wouldn't agree. The last word of Joey's was echoing through his mind.
"Serenity…"
Kaiba shook his head fiercely. Mushy stuff is not good for him at this time. And yet, it reminded him of his own little brother. Kaiba would do anything for him, and now Kaiba realized that Joey would have done the same.
Would have.
Kaiba found himself walking towards the two. In a daze, he bent down and looked at the Millenium Rod.
It was calling out to him.
Kaiba's hand reached towards it, as if he belonged it him.
NO!
Kaiba grabbed his hand and stopped it. No foolish stuff. He didn't need this Egyptian bunk.
Except that a hand-held weapon would be very useful in the next duel, his mind whispered.
Shut up!
His hand reached again. And try as he might, Kaiba could not stop his hand from clenching the Rod.
It seemed to fit perfectly.
Like it belonged.
No, that isn't true! He tried to convince himself. I'm just taking advantage of my enemy. For the next duel. It was nothing to do with the past.
And with himself still arguing within his mind, he walked back towards the entrance, where the next duel of death awaited him. Paint strewn trenchcoat, scruffy boots, ice chipped skin, and one Millenium Rod.
* * * * *
The dark man grinned. "Now the time has come… The final test has arrived. And the victor will be the one who survives." He twisted a cup of wine.
He laughed. "Which of course, would be me…"
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LoneWolf16: O.O Wow. Looooonnnnnggg.
Djanil: *nods*
LoneWolf16: Yep, and I cannot help but wince and say that the characters are probably a little OOC, most likely due to my writing so fast. I probably could have gone more in depth, but more Death and mental anguish might not make you guys happy. ^^;;;; *shrugs* Oh well, a whole lotta people died. That's how it goes. *waves* Hope you liked this one! Review please! Ja ne!