Chapter 20
"The Fourth Duel: Servants of the Ernten"
"I told you he could not defeat the Pharaoh, but this is worse than I anticipated," Chalie stated, watching Barak make his through the second floor. On a smaller screen around the largest one there was a close-up on Barak's left hand, which was clutching loosely the Millennium Staff. Another screen flashed images of an unconscious Basil and Shem's abandoned, deck-less Duel Disk 2, "I have no doubts about my dueling skills. I will meet him at Level Two."
Seated as usual in her high-backed chair, Seline had undergone a sort of transformation. A vein was pulsing out of control on her temple and the Egyptian Eye symbol burned bright neon green on her forehead. Her right eye was twitching slightly and her face was illuminated by the glow of the mysterious gold earrings she always wore. "Yes…" she said quietly, with a great effort to control the tone of her voice, "Do that…"
Chalie grunted softly and closed his eyes. His hyper-sensitive magical presence was becoming greatly disturbed by this alarming energy Mistress Seline was emitting, "I shall defeat him, Seline. Now is neither the time nor the place for rash actions. I will salvage what I can from this situation and with any luck, we'll replace the lost Mirror with another Millennium Item." He stood behind her chair a moment longer. If she were to lose control, his natural-born protection would aid him in restoring his Mistress to her usual state.
She nodded, breathing deeply, gripping the arms of her chair, willing herself to calm down. After a moment, when she realized she would not succeed on her own, she held up one hand towards her lone faithful servant, pleading, "Help me, Chalie."
He grimaced, almost imagining the pain to come. Bravely, the man clasped his hand upon hers, and a blind rush of agonizing pain and wild green energy coursed through Chalie's body. Such was the life of an Ernten, or roughly translated from his ancestral German, "Collector" or "Gatherer". A magically-absorbent being, possessors of great magical power or wielding such Items could have some or all of their powers stripped away with a single touch. It was a calculated risk with each contact, as too much energy would overload the being's system, obviously a fatal mistake to make. He let go quickly, the Eye symbol no longer apparent on his Mistress's forehead. He clutched his bleeding right hand, several burn-type marks sketched across it, "If I'm to make Level Two, I must go. Rest, for now."
As he swept out of the room, she looked down at her own hand, marked with his blood, and then covered her face with both hands to hide her tears.
* * *
Barak glanced down at the Millennium Staff he had taken from the oaf again, feeling his magical energies surge upwards with this small addition to his power. It was a good feeling, claiming the spoils of war. If the second level duels of this museum were anything like that of the first level, this conflict would be over even more quickly than he had anticipated.
As he reached the large arched doorway leading into the main arena of Level Two, he could see a spotlight in the center of the room, shining down on one tall figure flanked by two smaller ones. Barak was mildly surprised as he drew closer to make out the familiar faces of Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood standing one either side of the taller man.
"Welcome, Thief," the man said calmly, "We've been expecting you…haven't we boys?" He glanced down at each of the young teens, neither of whom reacted at all.
"Apparently Ms. Chrysogonus has been busy," The Spirit of the Ring remarked, eyeing the two younger duelists for just a split second before turning his full attention to the cloaked figure, "Two of the Pharaoh's friends disappeared over a week ago. I assume they now reside here somewhere?"
Chalie smiled grimly, "You're not as ignorant as you appear," he said, "But they are not your concern now – these two beside me are who you must worry yourself with."
Barak smirked, folding his arms across his chest, "Do you really expect me to waste my time with these two? Or is it that you are afraid I'll do to you what I did to the one that held this?" The white-haired man brought the Staff up and pointed it at Chalie, a golden glow surrounding Barak faintly.
"I do not fear the Staff," Chalie said, his expression turning cold, "Or any magical item, for that matter. You will find your newly acquired powers quite useless here."
The Spirit of the Ring raised an eyebrow, confused, "False threats don't frighten me."
"False, you say…?" Chalie said, one eyebrow raised, he waved his heavily bandaged hand over the heads of the two boys and they each activated their Duel Disks, "We will see exactly what is truth and what is falsity here tonight."
Barak's Duel Disk 2 clicked and beeped as it counted up to 4000 life points, "I'll make the first move; I can't waste my time with these two. There are bigger fish to fry here…" He looked down at his six cards (Dark Necrofear, Kishido Spirit, Whiptail Crow, The Portrait's Secret, Bark of Dark Ruler, The Puppet Magic of Dark Ruler) and began to place several of them down on the field, "First, I set one face-down (Bark of Dark Ruler). Then I'll play the magic card Kishido Spirit!"
Out of the card rose a translucent knight in shining silver armor and blue cape, holding a long sword in one hand. He floated up above the field and positioned himself there, watching the action with mild interest. "Whenever any of my monsters are attacked, if their attack powers are equal, then my creature will survive the struggle," Barak explained calmly, watching the knight, "For my last move, I summon the Portrait's Secret (1200/1500) in attack mode and end my turn."
* * *
Yugi Moto awoke suddenly, not sure as to what purpose. He blinked twice, then glanced over at his clock. 2:38 AM…The wind must have woken me up. I was sure I closed that window… The boy got up, his bare feet regretting every touch of the frigid carpet. As he made to shut the window, an unfamiliar figure appeared within the frame, having hoisted itself up as if on cue to bring itself nearly nose-to-nose with the young teen. With a cry of fright and surprise, Yugi fell over backwards, scrambling towards the door. "Wh-who are you?? What do you want??" he stammered.
The figure slipped in through the window, then turned and shut it. "It is unwise to keep this open during such cold months," said a mature voice that told Yugi the figure was male, "Better men than you have died of pneumonia from carelessness such as this."
"I didn't mean to leave it open, I mean- I didn't- Who are you?" Yugi stammered, tripping over his words as he tried to defend himself from the accusation whilst realizing that he wasn't the one breaking-and-entering. He took several steps backwards, hands fumbling behind him on his desk attempting to locate his Millennium Puzzle.
"You are Yugi Moto, are you not?" the man turned and for the first time Yugi's eyes had adjusted enough to let him make out the face. It was one he vaguely recognized, but could not place, with dark eyes and long hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. "The host of the Pharaoh Yami?"
"Yes…" he replied curiously, finally grabbing his Puzzle. Yugi Moto placed the Millennium Item around his neck, and then closed his eyes. When the spirit of the Pharaoh did not present itself to him, Yugi sighed. Yami was probably 'preoccupied' right about now. That figured, "Look, whoever you are, if you want to talk to Yami you might have to come back in the morning. He's kinda busy right now." The boy hoped that this would be enough of a hint. Dwelling on this subject for too long was sure to cause some nausea.
"Busy?" Shem cocked an eyebrow, "Do you mean the spirit of the Queen remains in this realm as well?" It had to be her – the Pharaoh would never betray his queen.
"Yes."
The older man nodded, "I see…well, the news I bring them cannot wait until morning. I shall seek them out myself."
"But, they're not here!" Yugi stated, shaking his head, "They're in the Shadow Realm!"
"I have realized that," the man said, "Besides, it will not be the first time I have interrupted them," he added with a wry smile. Then he closed his eyes and the mirror around his neck glowed for an instant. In its light, Yugi watched as the face changed to one a few years younger, then the host of this new spirit collapsed, unconscious on the floor.
The boy sighed. He would probably have a lot of explaining to do (if not to this boy, then to his grandpa) in the morning. But this, he decided, was not morning yet (despite what his clock tried to tell him). Very calmly and quietly, Yugi Moto climbed back into his bed and pulled the covers up over his head.
* * *
Rex Raptor slipped his sixth card out of his deck (Mad Sword Beast, Gilasaurus, Megazowler, Meteorain, Big Bang Shot, Gray Wing), "I set one face-down (Metoerain) and summon Mad Sword Beast in attack mode (1400/1200)." There was, like Shem, a total lack of emotion and feeling in everything the normally fiery dinosaur duelist did, "Attack now, Mad Sword Beast."
"I'm activating my trap card: Bark of Dark Ruler!" Barak pressed a button on his Duel Disk and his lone face-down card revealed itself. A green-skinned face bedecked with a red and gold headpiece pulled itself through the card opening its mouth and absorbing energy out of the attacking Sword Beast, "By sacrificing 200 of my life points, I can lower your attack power down to 1200! And thanks to my Kishido Spirit, when our monsters clash, only yours will be sent to the grave!" The blue-caped knight stepped in front of the haunted picture frame and took the hit.
Chalie (who had taken several steps back to watch the duel) sighed, "You had better start thinking you moves out more carefully, Thief! That move may have saved you in a one-on-one with Mr. Raptor, but now…" The man gestured to Weevil, who drew a card from his deck to start his turn.
Underwood gazed at his cards with little interest (8-claws Scorpion, Flying Kamikiri #1, Girochin Kuwagata, DNA Surgery, Laser Cannon Armor, Insect Imitation) then placed one down on the field, "I summon Girochin Kuwagata (1700/1000) in attack mode." The mauve-armored, beetle-like creature rose out of the card, pincers clicking angrily. "Next, I'll place one card face-down (DNA Surgery) and equip my monster with Laser Cannon Armor, raising my monster's attack and defense by 300." A large, futuristic cannon appeared as armor and a weapon for the new creature, focused only on one arm.
The insect master pointed at Barak, the scarab pendant around his neck glowing slightly, "Attack The Portrait's Secret and damage my opponent's life points." The little insect leapt forward, blasting the picture and shattering it into thousands of tiny dust particles. Barak: 3200 – Rex/Weevil: 4000/4000.
Barak's nostrils flared at Chalie's last remark, but he ignored him and selected another card from his deck (Reckless Greed), "I set one card face-down (Reckless Greed) and summon Whiptail Crow in attack mode (1650/1600)!" In a rush of blue wind, the creature appeared, standing upright, its entire body covered with fine, sheet-like red feathers that dissolved into green scaled on its clawed hands and feet. Its pupil-less blue eyes narrowed and it spread its wings aggressively, letting out a shrill cry through its pointed beak.
The ancient cat burglar smirked to himself, "Now, attack Rex Raptor and take a bite out of his life points!" The bird-like creature rushed ahead and attacked the boy directly, knocking over the mind-controlled slave. Barak: 3200 – Rex/Weevil: 2350/4000.
Chalie reached out a hand and caught the boy before he fell completely, pushing him back to his feet, "You will find that mind-slaves are not discouraged like a self-conscious opponent would be. It will take more that that to dampen their spirits – seeing as their souls are no longer a part of them."
Barak frowned, "It makes little difference to me. Either way, I will defeat them," he studied his hand for a moment, giving the monster on Weevil's side of the field a concerned glance, "Before I end my turn, I will play a magic card: The Puppet Magic of Dark Ruler!" The same green-skinned creature sank through the ceiling, long-nailed hands stretched out towards the field. Red energy shot from its fingers and engulfed the Whiptail Crow. "This allows me to send my monster to the graveyard to revive another of the same star level!" Instantly, the Whiptail Crow disappeared, only to be replaced by The Portrait's Secret, now in defense mode.
Rex pulled out another card from his deck(Kabuzuals), "First, I choose to special summon Gilasaurus in attack mode (1400/400)," The small, brown-skinned dinosaur appeared on the field, snarling and snapping at the possessed picture frame, "This allows my opponent to special summon one monster from the graveyard if he wishes to do so."
Barak immediately pulled the few cards in his graveyard out, then played the Whiptail Crow card back on his Duel Disk, in defense position. Rex nodded slightly, then continued with his turn, "Now, I sacrifice my monster to summon Megazowler (1800/2000) in attack mode," The smaller dinosaur monster disappeared in a bright flash of light and was replaced by the larger, meaner-looking Megazowler.
Raptor pointed a finger at his opponent, "Attack his Portrait's Secret now." The large ancient reptile trampled the weaker fiend monster, sending it to the graveyard.
"It doesn't make a difference to me," Barak said, looking past his two opponents and into the eyes of their controller, "With every monster they destroy I grow stronger!"
Chalie raised an eyebrow, "Really? Then why are your life points decreasing?"
"What?" the white-haired man asked, staring at his Duel Disk in disbelief.
"I activated my trap card, Meteorain," the dinosaur duelist's purple-rimmed trap revealed itself, showering the field with large meteorites, "For one turn if my monster has a higher attack power than the opposing monster's defense points, the difference is inflicted to your life points." Barak: 2900 – Rex/Weevil: 2350/4000.
Weevil pulled another card from his deck (Insect Barrier), "Activate magic card: Insect Barrier," Thousands of tiny, golden lights wormed their way around the dueling field, forming a barrier between Barak and his two opponents, "No insect monsters on your side of the field may attack as long as my magic card remains on the field," the boy placed another card down on his duel disk, "Next, I'll lay one card in defense mode (Flying Kamikiri #1 (1400/900)) and use my Kuwagata to destroy your last defense." Whiptail Crow shrieked in pain as the small insect blasted it into millions of tiny pieces, then silence overtook the room once again.
"If you're quite finished," the yami spirit of the Ring said huffily, "I'll make my move," he drew (the Cheerful Coffin), then pressed down a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate my trap card, Reckless Greed!" The trap showed itself, signaling Barak to draw again, "This allows me to skip my next two draw phases in order to get those two cards right now!"
He smiled past his opponent's, looking right at Chalie, "After all, there's no need for me to waste any more time here than I need to," he selected his next two cards quickly (Death Board, Dark Ruler Ha Des), grinning almost savagely, "I activate a magic card, The Cheerful Coffin!" In front of his field, a huge, black sarcophagus took shape, "This card allows me to send up to three monsters from my hand to the card graveyard!"
Chalie snorted, "Defeating yourself would hardly seem like a decent idea, since you have no monsters on the field," he started, watching as the coffin disappeared, "What are you planning, Thief?"
Barak smiled, "Now that I have three fiends in the graveyard, I may remove them from play," the Prince of Egypt pulled his three monsters out of the graveyard and slapped another card down on the field, "I may summon the Dark Necrofear (2200/2800) in attack mode!" The blue-skinned, slightly-feminine/slightly-robotic creature rose in a whirl of black energy, its pupil-less eyes glinting in the dim light of the room.
* * *
It did not take Shem long to locate the Pharaoh and his queen, and despite his regretful familiarity with the scene he could not shake the feeling of awkwardness as he drew nearer to the bed. Putting a fist up to his mouth, he cleared his throat loudly.
Out from the tangled mess of sheets and limbs came a string of muffled curses and the two bodies separated, Yami turning over onto one side to see who dared intrude on them, while Dedi pulled the sheets up tightly around her. Both sets of eyes opened wide in disbelief as they came to rest on the figure of their bodyguard. "It can't be…" Yami said slowly.
"Shem???" Dedi said, "What are you–? How did you–?"
"It's a long story, and perhaps you would like to dress before hearing it?" he suggested.
Dedi blushed, and nodded. He certainly hasn't changed, she thought to herself as she reached for the dress she had tossed on the floor, He always did have a knack for showing up at just the wrong times.
* * *
The dark spirit of the Ring chuckled, his cheeks muscles pulling his mouth into a wide, almost crazed smile, "Necrofear, attack and destroy that pathetic little insect!" The mighty creature widened its eyes, unleashing a blast of energy towards the smaller bug-type monster.
Weevil Underwood pressed a button down on his Duel Disk, activating his face-down card, "My trap, DNA Surgery, will change every monster on the field into an insect-type, making my Insect Barrier a completely effective wall against all attacks." The red beam impacted against the barrier, sending up a whirlwind of dust and dirt, but keeping the creatures behind it safe from harm. Both Necrofear and Megazowler let out roars of confusion, sprouting plate-like armor and antennae.
Barak growled softly, "No matter. Now I place one card face-down (Death Board) and end my turn."
Rex pulled his next card out (Mystical Space Typhoon), "I activate the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon."
Barak's eyes went wide. Without Death Board, winning the duel would be a much more complicated matter. He moved to discard the trap, when he heard Raptor's voice again.
"I choose to send your Kishido Spirit to the graveyard," the lightning bolt directed its course towards the face-up green-backed card. It smashed the knight hovering over it into thousands of tiny pieces.
Chalie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was a decent choice, but the face-down card had him much more worried. It was the rash action of a child.
The dinosaur duelist placed another card on the field, then pointed with his free hand at Barak's lone monster, "I will now equip Megazowler with the magic card Big Bang Shot, raising its attack to equal that of your Necrofear. Attack it, and clear the way for my partner's monsters." The two insect creatures clashed for an instant, before they shattered themselves.
The spirit of the Ring beamed proudly, sending his Necrofear to the graveyard, "Thank you," a translucent image of his lost monster hovered over Weevil's Girochin Kuwagata, "Not only have you just given me control of the strongest monster on the field, but you've triggered my trap card: Death Board!" The large ouiji appeared over the field and a single little ghost popped out, holding a large 'D' in its hand.
Chalie raised a questioning eyebrow, "Explain yourself, thief."
The former tomb robber stuck his nose in the air, "When destroyed, my Dark Necrofear allows me to take control of one of the monster on my opponent's field. And since I have two opponents, my options are quite vast."
"And the trap?"
Barak held up five fingers, "I need all five letters of my message to automatically win this duel. At the end of my opponent's turn, I get one letter. But since there are two opponents facing me," his eyes narrowed dangerously, "I think you get the picture.
Rex set the second to last card in his hand down, "I'll place one monster in defense mode (Gray Wing (1300/900)) and end my turn." Another ghost appeared out of the ouiji board; clinging to a large letter 'E'. Both letters now floated above the insect that had taken Necrofear's place on Barak's side of the field.
Weevil drew his card (Bombardment Beetle), "I end my turn."
Barak was laughing in triumph, "And that makes three! Since I cannot draw this turn, I'll end my turn as well." D-E-A
Rex Raptor pulled his next card, folded his arms and motioned to Weevil to draw. The fourth letter appeared off of the ancient game board, causing Barak to sneer at the puppet master behind his dueling servants, "Do you understand my message now?" he asked cruelly, pointing up at the board, "I am Barak, the Prince of Egypt!" A golden aura began to course rapidly around the dark yami spirit, "And my will cannot be stopped by the likes of you!"
Weevil drew, his emotions long since drained from his body. A puppet could not care. Not even about the fate of itself or any of its former friends. He made no move to play any cards, "I end my turn."
"And I add the last letter to my Death Board! Victory is mine!" The spirits clutching the letters let them fall to the floor in a cloud of mist and surged forward, emitting an ear-splitting shriek. They swirled around the mind-controlled teens before opening their mouths wide and swooping over top of them, as if swallowing them whole. As one, Rex and Weevil crumpled to the floor, even more lifeless than before.