Minerva Meets Yugi
A Minerva/Yu-Gi-Oh Crossover
Story by Danny Wheeler
Minerva and other Animaniacs characters © WB
Yu-Gi-Oh and related characters © their respective owner(s)
Chapter 1: The Nightmares Begin
One night, in a forest outside of Burbank, Minerva Mink had a dream. She dreamt she was taking a jog in the forest, as she usually did. But, this was different than usual. And sometimes, different can be deadly! She soon jogged deeper into the woods, when the sky grew dark and the trees took on a forbidding look. Minerva shuddered and said, "Something tells me I'm not particularly welcome here." Minerva turned around and began to run, when she encountered vicious, purple, thorn-covered plants. The thorny brambles pierced her fur and flesh as they wrapped around her. Minerva awoke in a cold sweat. After a few minutes, she went back to sleep again, albeit not very soundly.
Morning soon came. Minerva went to the studio, but the past nightmare haunted her still. The movie she was in had her as a young nurse trying to help a wounded soldier (Hello Nurse was elsewhere at the time, so Minerva had to fill in). She did well, but the other studio workers, and Mr. Plotz for that matter, noticed a frightened look on her face from time to time. After the film scene was done, Minerva went to sit down to drink from her water bottle. Mr. Plotz came up, concerned about Minerva. "Ms. Mink," said Mr. Plotz. "You did well, but I noticed a certain look on your face. Is there something wrong?" The young female mink looked and said, "It's not anything in the studio. Just had a bad dream last night." Mr. Plotz said, "I guess it's all right. Maybe you'll be better tomorrow." Minerva sighed, "I hope so too, sir." She then went home for the day.
Meanwhile, in a hidden realm, a madman was cackling. His name was Bakura, and his dream was to unleash terror into the world. Bakura laughed as he noticed the torment he put the mink girl in. "Now," said the mad child, "I shall create an even more frightening nightmare for the woman! I'll give her terrors she'll never forget. The Darkworld Thorns were perfect for a warm-up! Now to send in a more gruesome monster!" At that, Bakura pulled out another of his cards to send another monster into Minerva's dreams.
Chapter 2: More Fright
Minerva went to sleep for the night. But an even worse nightmare soon emerged. Minerva dreamt she was on a sunny beach, and after getting some sun she went for a swim. But as she swam out from shore, an animated coffin trapped her and pulled her under. Through a slot, she saw a sword screaming toward her! She was helpless inside the coffin! Just as the sword was about to go through the coffin (and her!) she awoke with a scream! Minerva lay awake and trembling for the rest of the night! Minerva thought, "Am I going insane? What is causing all of these nightmares?"
There was no work for Minerva at the time, so she decided to walk around for a while in the studio, and find someone to talk to concerning these nightmares. Mr. Plotz noticed Minerva in the studio, and noticed the worried look on Minerva's face. Mr. Plotz was really concerned this time. "Ms. Mink," said Mr. Plotz as he came to her. "Did you have another nightmare?" Minerva just nodded. Mr. Plotz said, "This is starting to worry me. This just isn't natural, even by toon standards. Here, come into my office. I'll bring Dr. Scratchensniff as well!" The two stepped into the office. The doctor and nurse soon arrived as well.
Dr. Scratchensniff said to Minerva, "You mentioned you had two nightmares in a row, Ms. Mink?" "Yes," said Minerva. "Both were horrible! First time, I was jogging through a forest, when the scenery went all eerie on me, and these purplish thorn plants caught me!" The humans looked shocked. Minerva continued, "And just last night, I dreamed I was swimming in the ocean, when this living coffin grabbed me. And if that wasn't scary, this is—this sword was screaming right toward me!" "Did someone mention some nightmares?" said a voice outside the office.
The group turned and saw a young boy with spiky hair. "Hi!" said the boy. "My name is Yugi. The monsters in the woman's dreams sound suspiciously like the monsters in my favorite card game, 'Duel Monsters.' What was the first nightmare again?" Minerva again described the purplish thorn plants that grabbed her. Yugi looked through a box of cards and, holding up a card bearing the similar monster, said, "You must mean this monster—Darkworld Thorns!" Minerva gasped and said, "Those are the same ones!" Yugi then said, "You mentioned also a sword coming at you when you were trapped in a coffin." After rummaging through his box some more, he picked up a card and said, "That sounds like this monster—Trial of Hell!" Dr. Scratchensniff said, "It seems that these nightmares are not ordinary nightmares. Someone with magic or something must be using Duel Monsters to create Ms. Mink's nightmares!" Yugi said, "Tell you what, Ms. Mink… if you have any more nightmares, tell me. You can meet my at my grandfather's game shop. We'll talk there." Minerva said, "Thanks, Yugi! I hope we meet again soon!"
Meanwhile, Bakura laughed and said, "Ha! Minerva will soon become a nervous wreck! And soon, I will make her my slave in the Shadow Realm!" He had not known that Yugi had spoken with her yet. "Now," growled the madman, "to send another monster to torment her slumber!" He searched through his cards and prepared another nightmare.
Chapter 3: Planning the Counterattack
Minerva went to sleep again. In her dream, she dreamt she was a woman with horns on her head and wearing a sort of skimpy warrior woman out fit. "Very funny, whoever you are!" she shouted out! She looked around in the rocky landscape, when she saw a monster that looked like a conglomerate of three idols come down. It first flooded the area up to Minerva's waist! Next it sent some winds to blow her around, when she landed in the water. Finally, it sent a lightning bolt down toward her. Minerva again woke, in both a scream and a cold sweat. She said, "Yugi… tomorrow, I must find Yugi!"
After getting permission to go, Minerva went to the game shop. She found Yugi with his grandfather. "Yugi!" said Minerva, "I'm so glad you're here!" "Had another nightmare?" asked Yugi. "Yes," said Minerva. She asked to look through the cards, and Yugi consented his permission. She first picked up one card—Succubus Knight—and said, "I was transformed into this 'Succubus Knight' monster." She picked up another card—Gate Guardian—and continued, "Then all of a sudden, this thing came after me!" Yugi said, "That's Gate Guardian! I remember facing that with Joey when we face the Paradox Brothers on Pegasus' Duelist Kingdom! This is getting more and more suspicious."
Yugi soon went into a trance as his Millennium Puzzle began to glow. He spoke with his alter ego, which some friends call "Yami Yugi". Yami Yugi said, "I too have a suspicion of what's going on. It would seem that someone is using dark magic to send monsters into the maiden's dreams. I have a plan: we'll use the Millennium Puzzle's powers to enter her dreams and spy on whoever may be causing this." "Great!" said normal Yugi. Soon, he came out of his trance. Yugi said, "I have a plan. I'll use my puzzle's powers to spy on your dreams, Minerva. Then we might get to the bottom of this!" Minerva smiled and hugged Yugi. They soon parted ways, for now.
Chapter 4: The Truth Is Revealed
Once more, Minerva had a dream. In this, she dreamt that she was the Magician of Faith (she got to look at some more cards while she was at the game shop). But soon, the Serpent Night Dragon flew in, and Bakura was riding on it! "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Bakura. "Greetings, Minerva! You look great as the Magician of Faith!" "Who… who are you?" Minerva said in fright. The madman replied, "I am Bakura, your future master! After a few more nightmares, you'll be too weak of mind and body to resist me! I shall soon make you my slave in the Shadow Realm! Ha, ha, ha…" Fortunately, Yugi and Yami Yugi eavesdropped on this. Yugi said, "Make Minerva a slave?" Yami Yugi said, "That won't happen! We shall use the true Heart of the Cards to stop Bakura and save Minerva!"
The next day, Yugi went to Minerva's house (Yugi asked for directions and explained the reason). Yugi brought with him his three friends: Joey, Téa, and Tristan. Yugi said, "We've had problems with Bakura before. We thought we freed him from the evil spirit who possessed him, but we see he now holds him more than ever. We'll deal with him just as we did before—with the heart of our cards!" Téa said, "I'll go as my card—Magician of Faith!" Minerva said, "That was what I turned into in that previous dream!" Tristan said, "Okay! Well, anyway, I'll go as Cyborg Soldier!" Joey said, "Flame Swordsman will be my form!" Yugi said, "And I'll go as my favorite card—Dark Magician!"
Yugi's puzzle glowed and some rings of light formed on the party's wrists. Yami Yugi's voice spoke from the puzzle, saying, "These are dream bracelets. Use them to follow her into her dreams. I will await you in the dream world." Soon, the four humans got some sleeping bags out and slept in the living room, as Minerva slept in her bedroom. Bakura, still unaware of Yugi's presence, said, "Now, for the ultimate nightmare! These cards I stole from Pegasus long ago will serve me well. I don't need those foolish toon cards! These are all I need! Ha, ha, ha…"
Chapter 5: Battle of Dreams and Nightmares!
The final Bakura-caused nightmare brought Minerva into a battlefield. On one mountain, she soon found herself tied to a pole! "Eek!" cried Minerva. "Someone! Help!" Bakura's image floated in the sky and said, "Hah! No one can save you here!" Five monsters: Serpent Night Dragon, Gate Guardian, Skull Knight, Punished Eagle, and Tri-Horned Dragon came forward. "Now," cackled Bakura, "you shall soon be my slave! Or I will sever your soul's ties to your body… in other words, you will sleep forever in the sleep known as death!" "I don't think so!" said another voice! "What the--?" said Bakura. Bakura and Minerva looked and beheld… Yami Yugi's image in the sky. Normal Yugi came as the Dark Magician. Joey took on the form of Flame Swordsman. Tristan appeared as Cyborg Soldier. And Téa came as Magician of Faith. "Now, Bakura," said Yami Yugi, "LET'S DUEL!!!"
Bakura made the first move and prepared Punished Eagle. Flame Swordsman went into Defense Mode, blocking the attack. To counter, Joey used the powers of Salamandra to scorch Punished Eagle. Since this was not an official Duel Monsters match, any card can be used. Yugi and Tristan went into take care of Skull Knight and Gate Guardian (or at least stall them), while Joey went an untied Minerva. "Thank you, friend," said Minerva. Joey nodded, and joined in. Minerva saw how they fought for her. "I must help them in return," she thought. A card glowed near Minerva's feet. She picked it up. The card read, "Princess of Tsurugi." It depicted a lovely lady with sharp crystalline daggers. "Minerva!" Yami Yugi said in a soft whisper. "Use that card! Just follow my directions and we'll beat Bakura!"
Normal Yugi, Téa, Tristan, and Joey, were soon worn down. They had vanquished all except the Tri-Horned Dragon. "Hah!" laughed Bakura. "Soon, I will defeat you all and claim Minerva as my prize!" Yami Yugi placed a fifth monster card face down. He then placed the trap card "Waboku" to protect Normal Yugi. Bakura gloated, "On my next turn, I will finish you all off!" "There won't be a next turn for you, Bakura!" "What?!" gasped the maniacal Bakura in disbelief. Yami Yugi smiled and said, "The fifth monster is Minerva… or should I say…" Yami Yugi flipped the fifth card and finished, "The Princess of Tsurugi!"
Everyone except Yami Yugi looked in surprise as Minerva arrived dressed as the Princess of Tsurugi! "And the card has an effect when flipped—it does direct damage! More than enough to finish this duel! Do it now, Minerva!" "Right!" Minerva cheered as she threw crystalline daggers at Bakura's image. The image faded, and all of Bakura's forces faded! Everyone cheered, and Yami Yugi said, "Well done, all of you! I'll see you when you awaken!" At that, Yami Yugi's image faded.
Epilog
Minerva awoke, fully refreshed, the next day. After working in the studio, she paid a visit to the game shop to thank Yugi and his friends for helping her. When she went home, she found a surprise for her… she found under her pillow the Princess of Tsurugi card—the very same card she used in her dream! She visited the game shop again and asked for help in constructing her own deck. Her deck consisted mainly of feminine monsters (such as Magician of Faith, Princess of Tsurugi, Succubus Knight, and her strongest—Girl Dark Magician), and cute monsters (such as Kuriboh, Beaver Warrior, Petit Angel, and such). She was soon playing Duel Monsters with the best of them.
The End