Joy: This chapter is called The Power of Three. Now Joy, Yugi and Kaiba are going to discover teamwork is the best way to get rid of this threat. Don't worry, this isn't the last chapter, only the beginning of the end. ^__^ Ready, set, go!
Yugi-angel: Cool new name. Glad you liked the chapter. ^__^
kurama'sdarkangel1: YAY! ^__^
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The Power of Three
Katilli finally spoke. "I need to tell you all some things that are very important. But first, I must tell the pharaoh something I was hesitant to reveal this soon."
Yami tilted his head, giving her a confused look. "What is it, Katilli?"
Katilli sighed. "I am your sister."
Silence hit the room like a brick. Yami and Yugi were absolutely speechless. Kaiba looked surprised as well. It took several moments for Yami to regain his voice. "My…sister?" Katilli nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to burden you with such a tremendous about of information with Yukia running around trying to destroy you and Joy. I am so very sorry, Yami. I didn't want to hurt you." She lowered her head.
I have a sister…a didn't even think I had any family, and now I learn I have a sister…and she's right in front of me…
Then Yami did something no one expected, expecially Katilli. He rushed over and gave her a big hug. "I am so glad that you are my sister, Katilli. I thought I had no family, except for Yugi. Now I have you and I am so happy." When he pulled away, his face was lit up with joy. Katilli returned his grin with one of her own.
"Wonderful. But why say this now?" Kaiba asked.
"Because that information is critical. Yukia must be stopped, and the three of you are crucial. The Power of Three is unstoppable."
"The Power of Three?" Yugi repeated, curious.
"Yes. It is a very powerful force. You, Joy, and Kaiba are able to combine your forces using the power of the Shadow Realm. You must call upon the power of your most trusted monsters and summon the Pheonix. That mighty being has the power to send that witch to oblivion."
"Our most trusted monsters, eh? No god cards?"
"Releasing the power of those cards to summon the Pheonix could destroy not only you three, but the world as well."
"Besides, we don't have all the cards. Marik has the Winged Dragon of Ra, remember?" Yugi spoke up. The others nodded in rememberance.
"Don't worry. It has worked before and it will work again. We must do this during a full moon and in a safe location…someplace not many people go at night."
"The park sounds good enough. The next full moon is tomorrow night," Kaiba explained.
"It's settled, then. We will meet at the park tomorrow night and put an end to Yukia's madness once and for all," Yami said determinedly. "Katilli, I want to talk to you in my soul room for awhile. Is that all right?" Katilli nodded, smiling. Yami and Katilli vanished into the puzzle.
"What card is your most trusted, Joy?" Kaiba asked suddenly.
Joy reached over and grabbed her deck. She shuffled it a few times and drew a card. She showed it too them. "Dark Magician Girl, of course!" She said with a smile.
"I didn't know you had her," Yugi said.
"Yep! I don't always have to use her, but she always come through when I need her. Like your Dark Magician, Yugi."
Silence for a minute. Yugi looked at his watch, then addressed the others with a smile. "Well, I gotta get home. It's time for supper. See you later, Joy. See you tomorrow night, Kaiba." With that, he left.
~Later~
Yugi settled into bed. He new tomorrow was going to be a big day. He already knew that he would use his Dark Magician in the ceremony. After all, the magician was his most trusted monster. He figured Kaiba would use his Blue Eyes. And Joy already said she would use Dark Magician Girl. He gave his favorite duel monster one more look before falling asleep. But his sleep was not pleasant.
Yugi was on a dueling platform, dueling against an unknown cloaked foe. He drew a card – The Dark Magician. "I play the Dark Magician in attack mode!" The purple-clad duel monster appeared, but on Yugi's opponent's side of the field!
"Your magician has betrayed you, Yugi Moto." Yugi instantly recognized the voice's owner.
"Yukia!" he gasped. The witch pulled back her hood.
"That's correct, little Yugi. Now you die! Dark Magician – Dark Magic Attack!"
"NOOOO!!!!"
"NOOOO!!!!" Yugi leaped up in his bed, yelling at the top of his lungs. In an instant, Grandpa ran into the room.
"Yugi, are you all right?" he asked. His grandson was deathly pale and breathly haggardly. Beads of sweat rolled down his face. His eyes were wide with fear.
"I – I don't know. I t-think I – I think I had a b-bad d-dream," Yugi stuttered, trying to get control of his breathing.
"Well, it's all right. You're safe." Grandpa went over and pulled his son close, trying to calm him. "Try to relax. It was only a nightmare. Nothing is going to happen to you."
It took a while for Yugi to calm down enough for Grandpa to feel comfortable leaving. "Thank you, Grandpa," Yugi said as his grandfather left the room.
"No problem, Yugi. Just try to get a good night's sleep. Have pleasant dreams now."
Yugi was about to lie back down when Yami appeared in the room, looking extremely concerned for his light. "Yugi, are you all right? What happened?" he demanded to know. Yugi sighed.
"It's nothing, Yami. I'm all right now. It as just a bad dream." Yami seemed to relax.
"Well, just rest. Remember that you can control your dreams. It is all a matter of will." With that, he vanished back into the puzzle.
"Everything okay, brother?" Katilli asked when Yami returned. They had been talking when Yami had felt fear coming through the link he shared with Yugi. Then they had both heard the boy scream. Yami had left without a word and he returned a bit more relaxed.
"Yes. Apparently only a bad dream." He looked thoughtful. "He seemed so afraid, it was like he was being attacked. Perhaps I should stand by his bedside tonight, just to be safe."
Katilli could see that the pharaoh was still very worried about his hikari. "You have grown very attached to Yugi, Pharaoh Yami. It looks like he is also like a brother to you." She smiled. "I am sure he will be fine, but I am sure you will not rest until you are sure, so go ahead and watch over him. I myself must return to Joy.
~The Next Morning~
Joy and Mokuba were in the kitchen. Kaiba had worked in his home office most of the night, and they decided he was going to sleep in and have a day off. They were even making him breakfast in bed. After breakfast was made, they took it up to the still sleeping CEO. By that time, it was ten o'clock. Mokuba opened the door and they slipped in. Joy smiled slightly as she watched the teenager sleeping soundly.
He looks so peaceful and innocent. Like a small child, she thought, though she told herself never to tell that to Kaiba. Mokuba went over and gently shook his brother.
"Seto? Seto, wake up." Kaiba opened an eye.
"What is it, Mokuba?" he mumbled.
"Get up, sleepyhead," Joy said. "We made you breakfast in bed."
Kaiba opened both eyes now and sat up. He gave them a look of suspicion. "Why?"
"Because you work too hard, Seto. You deserve a day off. All we want you to do today is relax. Let us do all the work," Mokuba explained. Joy nodded eagerly in agreement.
Mmm…sounds good. "Well, all right." They sat his breakfast in front of him and left. This must be a dream… He pinched himself. Okay…not a dream. Might as well enjoy it. Heh, I could get used to this.
Joy and Mokuba were true to their words. They cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, and made sure he wasn't disturbed all morning. Kaiba finally came downstairs at around two in the afternoon to find Mokuba getting a snack in the kitchen. "Where's Joy?" he asked.
"Um…I think she's in the living room on the phone. She's been intercepting calls for you all day. I don't think she's had much of a break. I was just about to bring her a sandwich."
"I'll take it to her." He took the food into the living room, where Joy had just finished another call. "Been busy?" he asked. Joy sighed.
"I don't see how you do it, Kaiba," she said, turning to him. "Having a good day off?"
"Yeah," He paused, noting Joy's tired persona. "You, know, you're technically here to rest, not become my personal secretary."
"Call it a thank you for helping me and Katilli break that spell."
"Well, for the rest of the day you're going to take it easy, too. Let the blasted machine get it for today."
Joy grinned up at him.
~Meanwhile~
Yugi was in him room, staring at his deck. Yami was in his soul room, napping. Apparently he had stayed up all night making sure nothing happened to him. Yugi picked up his deck and pulled out the Dark Magician.
"You wouldn't betray me, would you?" he asked the monster on the card. He didn't really expect a response
Suddenly, the card began to glow. In fright, the teen dropped the card. The boy watch in surprise as the Dark Magician came to life! He stared down at the boy. Yugi gasped at the look he received from the duel monster.
"You are too weak to have me in your deck, little Yugi. You wouldn't even be in control of me if it weren't for the pharaoh. Be careful, boy. The next time you summon me, it might be the last thing you ever do." With that, the Dark Magician vanished back into the card.
~Later~
"Earth to Yugi. Hellloo…?" Joy put her hand on her friend's shoulder. Yugi jumped and cried out. "Are you okay? You've been so distant and jumpy this afternoon."
Yami, what's wrong with Yugi? Katilli asked of the pharaoh.
I don't know. He won't tell me. Yami sounded worried.
Joy, see if you can find out what's wrong. Katilli requested.
"Yugi, I know something is wrong. You can't fool me. Spill it." Yugi looked up at her for a moment, and then looked at the ground sadly. When he looked back up, he began to tell Joy what had happened earlier. She listened intently. When he finished, Joy sat him down for a chat.
"Yugi, I think I know what happened." Yugi looked at her in confusion. "Yukia must have been behind it. She wants to break up the Power of Three so we can't perform the ceremony tonight. Do you honestly believe that the Dark Magician would turn on you? He's always been there. She just wants to make you think that so you'll be afraid to use the card."
Yugi thought about what she had said. She's right, he thought to himself. It makes perfect sense. The Dark Magician is loyal. I can feel it. "You're right, Joy. Yukia was just playing with my head. I feel better."
"Good."
Inside the puzzle, Yami heard the whole conversation. Not only had Yukia dared come at his aibou again, but she had also tried to damage the bond they shared with the Dark Magician. She will pay.
~That Night~
Everyone met at eleven thirty at the park as planned. The ceremony had to take place under the full moon at precisely midnight. They looked around and noted that no one was in the vicinity. "All clear," Yugi said. Katilli and Yami appeared in physical form.
"Now what?" Kaiba asked.
"Now you three must take out the cards and put them in front of you, on the ground." They did as instructed. "Now close your eyes and concentrate. Draw from the power of your monsters." Katilli closed her eyes and began to chant. Soon the three teens could feel an immense power surrounding them. They continued to draw from their monsters.
Suddenly a wicked laughter filled the air. "Yukia," Yami muttered scowling. The eye of Ra glowed on his forehead. "Keep going! Don't stop!" He called back to the others. He could feel the witch's presence. She appeared behind him. He whirled around only to be hit by a blast from Yukia's staff..
He cried out as he fell back, dazed by the blast. The woman in black smirked, then focused her attention to the others. "If I can't trick these fools, then I will destroy them!"
Just then the sky grew dark. Over the group appeared a gigantic fiery bird – the Pheonix. It let out a deafening shriek and turned to Yukia. It flapped it's mighty wings only one time, and from the wings a trail of fire soared through the air, aimed directly for the witch. It hit her dead on and she let out a scream of pure agony. Before she faded into nothingness, however, she pointed her staff and fired one more shot.
The blast shot straight for Seto Kaiba!
"Kaiba, look out!" Joy cried. She was too far away to do anything, but Yugi was right next to Kaiba. He managed to push Kaiba out of the way, but was hit by the blast instead.
The last thing Yugi heard was his name, and then darkness claimed him.
~*~*~*~*~
Joy: Whew! Long chapter this time, folks! My longest yet! But, oh no! What did I do! Is Yugi dead? Don't worry, this isn't the end. The next chapter is the conclusion. Send in reviews to let me know if I should write a sequel. I might anyway, but the encouragement might make me write it quicker. ^__~