(A/N: I have you all right where I want you, my adoring fans, RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATS! Yoh and Atemu are on the brink of defeat, Anna is almost entirely swallowed by the darkness, and Yoh's final ploy involves tossing a scrap of paper at the three Blue Eyes White Dragons to defeat them. Can Yoh and Atemu pull this around, or will they not live to see the present time?)
Chapter 15: Hoping for the Future
Seto's three Blue Eyes White Dragons lean over Yoh and Atemu, ready to tear them both to pieces in a second. Yoh only stares up defiantly at the three dragons, continuing to hold the paper wad in the palm of his hand.
"Heew gowz nuttin..." (Here goes nothing...) Yoh mutters. He tosses the wad of paper out onto the field. The paper lands on the ground, seeming to have had no effect. But still, Yoh has a smirk of confidence on his face.
The three Blue Eyes White Dragons bend over to the wad of paper. The dragons collectively lower their heads and curiously sniff at the wad of paper, trying to figure out what it is. The three dragons snarl at each other lightly, as if communicating like pack-hunting wolves.
Atemu freezes up in fear as the wad of paper fails to react with the magical properties that Yoh's stones invoked. "Psst... Yoh... Yoh, it's not working... When those three realize that the paper you threw has no monster in it..." Atemu whispers to Yoh, trying to keep motionless so that the three Blue Eyes White Dragons don't sense him and try to attack him.
Yoh only continues to smirk. "Idew wuwk, twuzd mee..." (It'll work, trust me...) Yoh declares, trying to comfort Atemu's fears.
The three dragons stop their primal grunting and roar into the air loudly. Starting with the Blue Eyes White Dragon in the center, apparently acting as the pack leader, the dragons fly high into the sky, away from the wad of paper. The three dragons open their mouths and gather energy in the back of their throats. They aim at the wad of paper from a distance, ready to unleash their devastating attacks. The loud crackling of thunder echoes throughout the entire field.
Atemu takes a step back as he sees the three dragons get sized up for one final attack formation. "Yoh! If there's some secret strategy you have, now would be a GREAT TIME to let me know!" Atemu shouts to Yoh, trying to speak over the loud crackling of the attacks of the Blue Eyes White Dragons.
Seto folds his arms and stares across the field at Yoh and Atemu. "Yoh, that proposition you offered cost you the game. I almost feel sorry that you have to explain to your 'precious Anna' that you screwed up because you were stupid, but then again, at least I come out the winner..." Seto mocks.
The three dragons gather lightning in the back of their throats and release the gathered energy in highly concentrated bursts of pure power. The target of these potent beams is Yoh, who somehow stands defiantly in place, as if he has accepted his fate.
The energy streams cross above the wad of paper, and the light from the beams glistens in Yoh's eyes as he stares back with unnerving confidence, when all of a sudden, the beams get cut off right before reaching Yoh. The beams instead intercept an empty space in the air. The pressure of the beams dies down and all three attacks fail to hit Yoh.
Right where the attack bounced off of, in between Yoh and Atemu, a ball of bluish green light appears. This light shines out in small, thin beams and draws an enormous, five-pointed star in the air.
None is more shocked by this turn of events than Seto. He takes a step back and stares at the luminous star that shielded Yoh from the attack of his dragons. "Wh-what is that?! What sorcery can stand up to the might of three Blue Eyes White Dragons?!" Seto stammers in shock.
Atemu sighs to himself, though is still tense about what had just happened. 'Phew, so that wad of paper does have a monster, and the attacks of those Blue Eyes White Dragons were averted. But still, it takes more than any normal monster to defeat three Blue Eyes White Dragons...' Atemu thinks to himself.
Yoh's smile grows bigger. "Awwiyd, Iy tawd wee wew duwn fow! Wee suw wukd owd dew, hu Utemoo?" (Alright, I thought that we were done for! We sure lucked out there, huh Atemu?) Yoh says with a snicker in his tone.
Atemu hears this and anime-faints, quickly coming to his feet afterwards. "LUCKED OUT?! Are you telling me that you threw that wad of paper out there and made that gamble with Seto, but you DIDN'T KNOW if it would even WORK?!" Atemu exclaims, disturbed at how Yoh comically took his own and Atemu's success for granted.
Yoh only grins back at Atemu comically. "Wud, yew ixpektyd mee ta hav a pwan?" (What, you expected me to have a plan?) Yoh says with a giggle. He then turns to the large, glowing star in the air that protected him and Atemu from the blast of the Blue Eyes White Dragons. "Wew, hooeva yew aw, iv yowr a mawnstow, kum awn owd an sow deez nawdee Bwu Iyz haw da beehayv!" (Well, whoever you are, if you're a monster, come on out and show these naughty Blue Eyes how to behave!) Yoh confidently commands the un-summoned monster.
A moment later, to everyone's surprise, an enormous, bronze, right arm thrusts itself out of the star and balls up its fist, as if crossing a portal. This hand is so large that its fist is easily larger than a single Blue Eyes White Dragon. Another arm shoots out of the star, this arm having a broken shackle around its wrist. A giant, ancient face and heavily armored torso then thrust itself out of the star. The torso is then followed by a large pair of legs, both wearing shackles around the ankles. Fully emerged, the beast looks like a gigantic, bronze-armored, extremely muscular mummy. It stares down at Seto and his Blue Eyes White Dragons as if they are insects.
Seto's jaw drops in horror at the monster Yoh summoned. "Wh-wh-wh... H-h-how did- how did- ...such an inexperienced brat summon a monster like that?! I swear that I've never seen that monster before, and I've seen everything!" Seto stutters in fear, barely comprehending the awesome might of the monster that Yoh summoned.
Atemu stares up at the monster with awe. 'No, wait... I remember this monster... Yes, it was back in my duel with Seto! I remember now! I unleashed this all-powerful monster against Seto and defeated him, after which I erased both our memories so that no one may ever use such a powerful creature again... It's...' Atemu thinks to himself.
Yoh's jaw hangs open as he stares at the monster he called on miraculously. "Wowee, wud a mawnstow!" (Wow-wee, what a monster!) Yoh exclaims.
Atemu begins muttering under his breath. "I'm sure I've seen that thing before. Yes, it's the Harbinger of Extinction... The Forbidden One... Exodia..." Atemu mutters in awe.
"Ig... zo... dee... yah..." (Ex... o... di... a...) Yoh says to himself, sounding out the name of his new monster. "Yezz! Iy dyd idt! Iy kan beedt Settow nau!" (Yes! I did it! I can beat Seto now!) Yoh congratulates himself, jumping up and down with youthful joy.
After a while, Atemu averts his gaze from the monster that Yoh summoned and glances down at Yoh, clearing his throat before responding to Yoh. "...er, ahem! Yoh, if you don't mind, I would like to make the final move of this Shadow Game. It's nothing personal, it's just that I feel that Seto is my problem and it's my responsibility to make sure that his plans of conquest aren't carried out." Atemu tells Yoh.
Yoh stares up at Atemu uncertainly, then after a moment, he shrugs his shoulders. "Wuddevew, Utemoo. Aw Iy wawd awda dys iz miy Annah bak, sayf an sownd. Iy ow yew miy wiyf fow gettyn mee dys faw, idz da weezd Iy kan dew." (Whatever, Atemu. All I want out of this is my Anna back, safe and sound. I owe you my life for getting me this far, it's the least I can do.) Yoh says as he glances out the corner of his eye, to the batting cage where Anna, nearly enveloped in shadowy tentacles, hangs off the cage by her hands.
Atemu grins at Yoh, and then then turns to the giant barbarian mummy that towers over Seto and his monsters like a skyscraper. "Thank you, Yoh." Atemu responds calmly, then he grits his teeth and stares coldly across the field at Seto. "Now Seto, feel the wrath of Exodia once again! Exodia, OBLITERATE!" Atemu commands Exodia.
At hearing Atemu's command, the giant begins moving by lifting its hands in front of its chest. The creature cups a small sphere of golden light in its hands, and the sphere of light slowly gets bigger and bigger. Then, in one swift motion, the beast takes an offensive stance and swings its hand back, carrying the small orb of light in its palm. With one swift follow-through of its arm, the ball of light implodes, sending a wave of golden fire in Seto's direction. This tears apart Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragons, ironically enough, as if they were made out of paper. Seto shouts in both pain and astonishment as the mighty creature tears through his Blue Eyes White Dragons, his last monsters, so easily. With all the other monsters gone, Exodia vanishes off the field.
Seto collapses to his hands and knees and stutters to himself. "H-h-how could this happen...?" he asks himself under his breath as he stares up at Atemu and Yoh.
Atemu stares coldly down at Seto. "Seto, get off the ground, you don't deserve mercy! For all that you've done..." Atemu says as he points at Seto. "...I lay a curse upon your foul soul!" Atemu exclaims.
Seto stares around himself and stutters in fear as black, shadowy tentacles come out of the ground and try to pull him down, through the ground. "Waaa! What is this curse?! Atemu, I'll get you for this one day!" Seto exclaims as he is pulled through the ground by the shadow tentacles.
Atemu continues staring coldly at Seto. "Hmph. Not only will your soul be consumed by the darkness, but the will of your soul will be exterminated. Should the child you possessed during this Shadow Game ever be unfortunate enough to cross paths with you again, he will close his mind to your existence, and he will deny your presence fully, so that your power may never again gather!" Atemu declares as the shadow tentacles pull Seto through the ground. Yoh stands behind Atemu and squeamishly hides his face with his hands, peeking through with his fingers occasionally to see the fate that is befalling Seto.
Seto is slowly and steadily dragged through the ground by the tentacles, and the last part of him to be swallowed up is his fist, which he balls up in defiance right before being swallowed up entirely. "I'll get you both, you haven't seen the last of the most powerful sorcerer to walk the earth!" Seto utters, his voice echoing throughout the area as if coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. His hand finally falls below the ground.
Yoh and Atemu stand in place, motionless and silent for a while, until Yoh speaks up at last.
"Wew, zad idt?" (Well, is that it?) Yoh asks innocently and dumbly as he places a finger on his chin.
Atemu nearly falls over in astonishment at the carelessness of Yoh's comment, but he catches his balance quickly. "What?! 'Is that all', you ask?! After a Shadow Game against Seto, with the odds stacked against our victory, 'Well, is that all' isn't what should normally come to mind!" Atemu shouts at Yoh, unable to comprehend his carelessness.
Yoh begins giggling childishly and holds the back of his head. "Wew wee dyd wyn, sew new hawm, new fawell, ey?" (Well we did win, so no harm, no foul, eh?) Yoh says with a snicker.
Atemu slaps himself in the forehead and groans, trying to answer to himself how Yoh can be so easygoing about something as serious as a Shadow Game.
(A/N: Well, the duel is finally over, and Atemu and Yoh are free from the Shadow Game at last! (Hehehe, just checking, but how many of you have seen this duel before? Here's a hint, the similarity is no coincidence...) But not all is well though. Still, some questions remain unanswered. Is the child Seto okay? What happened to Mokuba and Anna? What repercussions are there to having released Exodia, the Forbidden One? And what effect does this have on Yoh, Anna, Seto, and YamiYugi in the present? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of Chibi Beginnings: "The Cost of Victory", coming soon...)
Chapter 15: Hoping for the Future
Seto's three Blue Eyes White Dragons lean over Yoh and Atemu, ready to tear them both to pieces in a second. Yoh only stares up defiantly at the three dragons, continuing to hold the paper wad in the palm of his hand.
"Heew gowz nuttin..." (Here goes nothing...) Yoh mutters. He tosses the wad of paper out onto the field. The paper lands on the ground, seeming to have had no effect. But still, Yoh has a smirk of confidence on his face.
The three Blue Eyes White Dragons bend over to the wad of paper. The dragons collectively lower their heads and curiously sniff at the wad of paper, trying to figure out what it is. The three dragons snarl at each other lightly, as if communicating like pack-hunting wolves.
Atemu freezes up in fear as the wad of paper fails to react with the magical properties that Yoh's stones invoked. "Psst... Yoh... Yoh, it's not working... When those three realize that the paper you threw has no monster in it..." Atemu whispers to Yoh, trying to keep motionless so that the three Blue Eyes White Dragons don't sense him and try to attack him.
Yoh only continues to smirk. "Idew wuwk, twuzd mee..." (It'll work, trust me...) Yoh declares, trying to comfort Atemu's fears.
The three dragons stop their primal grunting and roar into the air loudly. Starting with the Blue Eyes White Dragon in the center, apparently acting as the pack leader, the dragons fly high into the sky, away from the wad of paper. The three dragons open their mouths and gather energy in the back of their throats. They aim at the wad of paper from a distance, ready to unleash their devastating attacks. The loud crackling of thunder echoes throughout the entire field.
Atemu takes a step back as he sees the three dragons get sized up for one final attack formation. "Yoh! If there's some secret strategy you have, now would be a GREAT TIME to let me know!" Atemu shouts to Yoh, trying to speak over the loud crackling of the attacks of the Blue Eyes White Dragons.
Seto folds his arms and stares across the field at Yoh and Atemu. "Yoh, that proposition you offered cost you the game. I almost feel sorry that you have to explain to your 'precious Anna' that you screwed up because you were stupid, but then again, at least I come out the winner..." Seto mocks.
The three dragons gather lightning in the back of their throats and release the gathered energy in highly concentrated bursts of pure power. The target of these potent beams is Yoh, who somehow stands defiantly in place, as if he has accepted his fate.
The energy streams cross above the wad of paper, and the light from the beams glistens in Yoh's eyes as he stares back with unnerving confidence, when all of a sudden, the beams get cut off right before reaching Yoh. The beams instead intercept an empty space in the air. The pressure of the beams dies down and all three attacks fail to hit Yoh.
Right where the attack bounced off of, in between Yoh and Atemu, a ball of bluish green light appears. This light shines out in small, thin beams and draws an enormous, five-pointed star in the air.
None is more shocked by this turn of events than Seto. He takes a step back and stares at the luminous star that shielded Yoh from the attack of his dragons. "Wh-what is that?! What sorcery can stand up to the might of three Blue Eyes White Dragons?!" Seto stammers in shock.
Atemu sighs to himself, though is still tense about what had just happened. 'Phew, so that wad of paper does have a monster, and the attacks of those Blue Eyes White Dragons were averted. But still, it takes more than any normal monster to defeat three Blue Eyes White Dragons...' Atemu thinks to himself.
Yoh's smile grows bigger. "Awwiyd, Iy tawd wee wew duwn fow! Wee suw wukd owd dew, hu Utemoo?" (Alright, I thought that we were done for! We sure lucked out there, huh Atemu?) Yoh says with a snicker in his tone.
Atemu hears this and anime-faints, quickly coming to his feet afterwards. "LUCKED OUT?! Are you telling me that you threw that wad of paper out there and made that gamble with Seto, but you DIDN'T KNOW if it would even WORK?!" Atemu exclaims, disturbed at how Yoh comically took his own and Atemu's success for granted.
Yoh only grins back at Atemu comically. "Wud, yew ixpektyd mee ta hav a pwan?" (What, you expected me to have a plan?) Yoh says with a giggle. He then turns to the large, glowing star in the air that protected him and Atemu from the blast of the Blue Eyes White Dragons. "Wew, hooeva yew aw, iv yowr a mawnstow, kum awn owd an sow deez nawdee Bwu Iyz haw da beehayv!" (Well, whoever you are, if you're a monster, come on out and show these naughty Blue Eyes how to behave!) Yoh confidently commands the un-summoned monster.
A moment later, to everyone's surprise, an enormous, bronze, right arm thrusts itself out of the star and balls up its fist, as if crossing a portal. This hand is so large that its fist is easily larger than a single Blue Eyes White Dragon. Another arm shoots out of the star, this arm having a broken shackle around its wrist. A giant, ancient face and heavily armored torso then thrust itself out of the star. The torso is then followed by a large pair of legs, both wearing shackles around the ankles. Fully emerged, the beast looks like a gigantic, bronze-armored, extremely muscular mummy. It stares down at Seto and his Blue Eyes White Dragons as if they are insects.
Seto's jaw drops in horror at the monster Yoh summoned. "Wh-wh-wh... H-h-how did- how did- ...such an inexperienced brat summon a monster like that?! I swear that I've never seen that monster before, and I've seen everything!" Seto stutters in fear, barely comprehending the awesome might of the monster that Yoh summoned.
Atemu stares up at the monster with awe. 'No, wait... I remember this monster... Yes, it was back in my duel with Seto! I remember now! I unleashed this all-powerful monster against Seto and defeated him, after which I erased both our memories so that no one may ever use such a powerful creature again... It's...' Atemu thinks to himself.
Yoh's jaw hangs open as he stares at the monster he called on miraculously. "Wowee, wud a mawnstow!" (Wow-wee, what a monster!) Yoh exclaims.
Atemu begins muttering under his breath. "I'm sure I've seen that thing before. Yes, it's the Harbinger of Extinction... The Forbidden One... Exodia..." Atemu mutters in awe.
"Ig... zo... dee... yah..." (Ex... o... di... a...) Yoh says to himself, sounding out the name of his new monster. "Yezz! Iy dyd idt! Iy kan beedt Settow nau!" (Yes! I did it! I can beat Seto now!) Yoh congratulates himself, jumping up and down with youthful joy.
After a while, Atemu averts his gaze from the monster that Yoh summoned and glances down at Yoh, clearing his throat before responding to Yoh. "...er, ahem! Yoh, if you don't mind, I would like to make the final move of this Shadow Game. It's nothing personal, it's just that I feel that Seto is my problem and it's my responsibility to make sure that his plans of conquest aren't carried out." Atemu tells Yoh.
Yoh stares up at Atemu uncertainly, then after a moment, he shrugs his shoulders. "Wuddevew, Utemoo. Aw Iy wawd awda dys iz miy Annah bak, sayf an sownd. Iy ow yew miy wiyf fow gettyn mee dys faw, idz da weezd Iy kan dew." (Whatever, Atemu. All I want out of this is my Anna back, safe and sound. I owe you my life for getting me this far, it's the least I can do.) Yoh says as he glances out the corner of his eye, to the batting cage where Anna, nearly enveloped in shadowy tentacles, hangs off the cage by her hands.
Atemu grins at Yoh, and then then turns to the giant barbarian mummy that towers over Seto and his monsters like a skyscraper. "Thank you, Yoh." Atemu responds calmly, then he grits his teeth and stares coldly across the field at Seto. "Now Seto, feel the wrath of Exodia once again! Exodia, OBLITERATE!" Atemu commands Exodia.
At hearing Atemu's command, the giant begins moving by lifting its hands in front of its chest. The creature cups a small sphere of golden light in its hands, and the sphere of light slowly gets bigger and bigger. Then, in one swift motion, the beast takes an offensive stance and swings its hand back, carrying the small orb of light in its palm. With one swift follow-through of its arm, the ball of light implodes, sending a wave of golden fire in Seto's direction. This tears apart Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragons, ironically enough, as if they were made out of paper. Seto shouts in both pain and astonishment as the mighty creature tears through his Blue Eyes White Dragons, his last monsters, so easily. With all the other monsters gone, Exodia vanishes off the field.
Seto collapses to his hands and knees and stutters to himself. "H-h-how could this happen...?" he asks himself under his breath as he stares up at Atemu and Yoh.
Atemu stares coldly down at Seto. "Seto, get off the ground, you don't deserve mercy! For all that you've done..." Atemu says as he points at Seto. "...I lay a curse upon your foul soul!" Atemu exclaims.
Seto stares around himself and stutters in fear as black, shadowy tentacles come out of the ground and try to pull him down, through the ground. "Waaa! What is this curse?! Atemu, I'll get you for this one day!" Seto exclaims as he is pulled through the ground by the shadow tentacles.
Atemu continues staring coldly at Seto. "Hmph. Not only will your soul be consumed by the darkness, but the will of your soul will be exterminated. Should the child you possessed during this Shadow Game ever be unfortunate enough to cross paths with you again, he will close his mind to your existence, and he will deny your presence fully, so that your power may never again gather!" Atemu declares as the shadow tentacles pull Seto through the ground. Yoh stands behind Atemu and squeamishly hides his face with his hands, peeking through with his fingers occasionally to see the fate that is befalling Seto.
Seto is slowly and steadily dragged through the ground by the tentacles, and the last part of him to be swallowed up is his fist, which he balls up in defiance right before being swallowed up entirely. "I'll get you both, you haven't seen the last of the most powerful sorcerer to walk the earth!" Seto utters, his voice echoing throughout the area as if coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. His hand finally falls below the ground.
Yoh and Atemu stand in place, motionless and silent for a while, until Yoh speaks up at last.
"Wew, zad idt?" (Well, is that it?) Yoh asks innocently and dumbly as he places a finger on his chin.
Atemu nearly falls over in astonishment at the carelessness of Yoh's comment, but he catches his balance quickly. "What?! 'Is that all', you ask?! After a Shadow Game against Seto, with the odds stacked against our victory, 'Well, is that all' isn't what should normally come to mind!" Atemu shouts at Yoh, unable to comprehend his carelessness.
Yoh begins giggling childishly and holds the back of his head. "Wew wee dyd wyn, sew new hawm, new fawell, ey?" (Well we did win, so no harm, no foul, eh?) Yoh says with a snicker.
Atemu slaps himself in the forehead and groans, trying to answer to himself how Yoh can be so easygoing about something as serious as a Shadow Game.
(A/N: Well, the duel is finally over, and Atemu and Yoh are free from the Shadow Game at last! (Hehehe, just checking, but how many of you have seen this duel before? Here's a hint, the similarity is no coincidence...) But not all is well though. Still, some questions remain unanswered. Is the child Seto okay? What happened to Mokuba and Anna? What repercussions are there to having released Exodia, the Forbidden One? And what effect does this have on Yoh, Anna, Seto, and YamiYugi in the present? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of Chibi Beginnings: "The Cost of Victory", coming soon...)