What Was, What Is, and What Shall Be

by thegymrat

The climatic end to the final duel of light and dark! The might of these two forces push against each other in order to decide a winner. If dark succeeds then all life ceases to exist. Pray for your very soul that light succeeds. Epilogue time.

15. Destiny and Determination: The Struggle ...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

Author's Note: This chapter has mentions of the 'Devil' and has some rather violent undertones during certain parts. There is no blood, but there is death. If this offends anyone I apologize, but I decided that these things were necessary in this chapter to further the story. A further note is that this story will get darker as things go, at least for the most part.

Chapter Fourteen: Destiny and Determination: The Struggle for Truth

Officer Mimono hadn't been having a very good day. First he'd been stuck breaking up a fight caused by this stupid Battle City thing that had half the streets in the city blocked off. After that he'd checked in on his mail only to discover that he had been passed up for promotion yet again.

That wasn't the end of it either! No, it got worse after that. A quick stop home during his lunch break had ended with him throwing a guy out of his house...his girlfriend had been cheating on him. Their relationship had been summarily ended and he had dumped her out in the street as well.

The sudden crackle over the CB Radio alerted him to an incoming call, giving him time to pick up the receiver. "Officer Mimono, we've received a call requesting police assisting from District Building 13, as the closest officer available you are being dispatched to the scene."

"Roger that." Letting out a groan Mimono turned the car around and headed towards District Building 13. For some reason he was getting the strange feeling that his day was about to get even worse.

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"This is Dispatcher 1183 calling for any ambulance within the area of District Building 13 to head towards said location. I repeat, this is a call for any ambulance within the area of District Building 13 to head towards said location. And...bring a cleaning crew with you."

The ambulance driver on the other end blinked in surprised and repeated the dispatcher's words under his breath. Finally he picked up the CB radio and radioed in a response. "Dispatcher 1183....what do you mean a cleaning crew?"

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When Officer Mimono arrived at the scene he found a short woman with medium length black hair sitting against the door, sobbing hysterically. Mimono leaned in, straining to hear the words that the woman was muttering intermittently between sobs.

"A devil...a devil...a devil..." Mimono crouched down so he was at the woman's level and reached a hand out towards her shoulder to help calm her down. Before his hand reached her shoulder the woman jerked back and screamed. "He's a Devil!"

Mimono shook his head, knowing that nothing he could do could help this woman. Whatever she had seen had traumatized her, and it would be up to psychologists in the department to figure out how to break through the trauma.

Letting out a sigh he stood and started searching the building for anything that might give him information on what had happened. He stopped at the entrance to the kitchen at the sight of a small red light, blinking on the answer machine.

Mimono clicked the play button and waited. After a few moments a teenager's voice came on, it sounded panicked. "Mom, I need some help. I'm in some strange room and the window overlooks the sea...I think I'm on a plane but I don't know how I got here. Something's going on and I really need your he~"

Mimono's eyes narrowed as a gurgling sound overtook the kids voice. The voice then returned, but this time with a sharper edge to it. It was like the kid had become a different person. "Taking control while I slept huh? Looks like you've got a stronger will then I gave you credit for. But your mistake was calling your mother because she's not around any longer...she annoyed me to much."

The message ended and Mimono shook his head. Craziness like that would definitely have to be analyzed by the psychologists. But when the voice cut off her realized that he had been hearing another noise since the voices changed. "He's a devil, he's a devil, he's a devil..."

That crazy woman was repeating that over and over again. Did that mean that the kid had something to do with this. What he had said at the end hinted that it very well could have been. Groaning at his bad luck today he turned the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead.

Glossing over the rest of the carnage he forced his eyes to the red writing on the wall and what it said. It was like he was drawn to it, unable to look away from those simple words. "For what was, for what is, and for what shall be."

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Joey let out a quiet groan as he stretched his back. His duel with Kaiba had been a tough one, but though he felt good about winning he had gotten something negative from the duel. When he was blasted backwards by one of Kaiba's attacks his back had twisted a bit, and now the muscles in his lower back were aching.

He had decided, before they even got off the blimp, that in order to truly deserve a spot in the tournament so he could help Yugi he would have to back up any and all challenges he made. He had challenged Kaiba, so he had to back that challenge up. He had, and now he was glad for it, because he felt readier then ever before for whatever happened.

The duel very well might have turned out differently if Kaiba hadn't used that Hibashira card. Kaiba had probably figured that Joey wouldn't be able to use a card like that to his own advantage or even be able to cancel Kaiba's moves out like he had. Guess Kaiba hadn't thought that move through completely.

"Yugi Motou and Joey Wheeler, please report to the dueling arena for the commencement of the first duel of the quarter finals." Joey straightened up and shot a glance over towards his buddy who was already in his Yami mode, rode for the duel ahead. Idly he wondered what his friend was thinking at that moment, whether he had put as much thought as Joey had into the upcoming duels. Yeah probably, but maybe not enough.

The two duelists...no, the two friends caught each others eyes and nodded slightly before the entered the elevator that would take them to the top of Duel Tower where the rest of the finals would be held. As they were whisked to the top their friends and various others took a separate elevator so they could watch the duel from the sidelines.

The two friends stopped at the last point before they would take their places, the point where they would turn ways to head to opposite sides. In mere moments they would become opponents, dueling not for fun, but for what quite possibly could be the very fate of the world itself.

Joey took a deep breath and placed his hand on the younger duelist's shoulder, giving him a reassuring grin. "Other Yugi, I know all this stuff that's happening right now is a big deal, but this is something that we have to do, not me and you, but me and Yugi. We have to make up for what happened with Malik's mind controlling earlier."

Yami nodded in acceptance, and with a flash of light he shifted into the smaller form of Yugi. The young dueling prodigy looked up at his older friend and returned the reassuring smile that he was being given. "I understand Joey. We'll make this a good duel, I promise you that."

Joey grinned and started on his way over to the other side of the dueling ring, waving over his shoulder at Yugi as the short duelist shifted back into Yami mode. "I'll give as good as I get Yuge. Ya mind if I start us off?"

The former Pharaoh nodded his assent and the two duelists drew their opening hands. Yami's of five cards, and Joey's of six. The counters on their duel disks rose to 4000 each as the referee announced the start of the first quarter final duel.

Joey perused his hand and then formulated a his first move. It was a good hand, and it'd be a good start, or at least he hoped so. "I'll set two cards face down, and then I'm gonna summon Blue Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) in attack mode!"

The alternate blue version of Joey's favorite monster appeared on the field and let out a vague monster that sound that most monsters seemed to make. Behind it appeared to brown-backed cards, hovering just above the ground. From below one of the cards could be seen to be some sort of...weapon.

Yami glanced over his hand and discovered only decent cards. Based on what he had in his hand it would be better for him to start by defending. Joey still had a tendency to attack without thinking about the consequences first and that could be to his advantage in this situation.

"I'll set one card face down and place a monster in defense mode. That will end my turn." Yami narrowed his eyes as he looked over Joey's monster. A monster so similar to Joey's favorite monster but with its own distinct differences. Did the monster have an effect? When did Joey get it?

Joey drew and kept his face cool as his slipped his newest card into one of his magic/trap zones. Yet another surprise waiting for Yugi whenever his next turn rolled around. Joey intended to give Yami a top quality duel, so he'd be give his best in this duel, maybe better if he could. "I'll set this one card face down, and now I'll summon Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600) in attack mode. Gearfreed, attack his defense monster!"

The iron knight surged across the field like an unstoppable force and swung its bladed arm down upon Yugi's defensive card. There was a bright flash of light and a resounding clang.

The light faded, revealing a dark-haired warrior crouched behind a massive shield. The warrior shoved backwards with his shield, sending Gearfreed staggering backwards. Yami grinned and held up a clenched fist in triumph. "You've struck my Big Shield Gardna(100/2600)! Because its defense points were higher then your monster's attack you end up losing life points!"

(JLP: 3200) Joey grinned and then pointed his finger at Yami's warrior who was just now standing up and setting his shield to the side. "Big Shield Gardna still has that one minor bad point, where when its attacked it afterwards switches to attack mode. With an attack strength that low its easy prey for my other monster. Blue Flame Swordsman, take it out!"

The swordsman leapt into the fray with zeal, hoping to outdo its fellow warrior Gearfreed. Yami, however, had no intention of letting that happen. "Open trap card, Mirror Force!"

Joey smirked and extended his hand to indicate one of his two face down cards, which flipped up to reveal a swiss army knife. "At a cost of a thousand life points I can activate Seven Tools of the Bandit to negate and destroy your trap card!" The knife flew out of the trap and sliced straight through the barrier created by Mirror Force, opening the way for Blue Flame Swordsman to cut straight through Big Shield Gardna.

(YLP: 2300, JLP: 2200) Yami grimaced and drew another card, adding to his hand something he didn't want to use in this duel or in any other but knew eventually he might have to. "I'll summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior!"

"Activate Bottomless Trap Hole!" Yami's eyes went wide as his magnet warrior vanished into the pit as soon as it was summoned. Without a monster he was completely defenseless! With two monsters of such strength Joey had the certain advantage...but he could even the odds somewhat himself.

"Alright Joey, I'll play the magic card Fissure! Normally it would destroy your monster with the weakest attack strength, but because both of your monsters have an equal attack I can choose which one is destroyed. I'll destroy your Gearfreed!"

A cracking line of earth shot towards the iron knight in order to take it into the grave, but at the last moment Joey's remaining face down card flipped up, and the line of cracking earth was redirected to consume Blue Flame Swordsman instead. "My trap card Shift lets me switch your target to a monster of my choosing, and I select the Blue Flame Swordsman!"

"But why destroy him instead of Gearfreed? They both have identical stats." Yami's question was answered as soon as Blue Flame Swordsman had vanished. In a burst of flame Joey's favorite monster took the place of its look alike, ready to do battle.

For future use Yami stored away the knowledge that when the Blue Flame Swordsman was destroyed the Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) was summoned in its place. "Very well Joey, I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

Joey drew and then picked out two of his three cards and played them. "First I summon Axe Raider(1700/1150) in attack mode. Then I'll set one card face down. Now I'm gonna have all three of my monsters attack you directly!"

Flame Swordsman, Gearfreed, and the newly summoned axe wielding warrior charged across the field ready to strike Yami down. Abruptly a massive chain erupted from the grave, dragging with it the card 'Mirror Force'.

Yami smirked as he took one card out of his hand and slipped it into his cemetery slot. "You've forced the activation of my Grave Chain trap card. By discarding a card from my hand I can chain your attack with the activation of a trap from my own cemetery, in this case Mirror Force to destroy all of your monsters!"

A giant field of blue energy suddenly engulfed the field, and seconds later all cards were back in their previous positions. Yami's trap was gone, but it was now as if Joey's monsters had never attacked.

"I figured you might have some sort of trap waiting for me, so I decided I'd make you sure you couldn't use it to hurt me in any way. The quick play magic card Absolute Negation lets me negate all attacks for the turn, and also destroys any and all other magic or trap cards that were activated before it was. Guess you came out the worse for wear in that go around eh Yami?"

The smile that blossomed on the ancient ruler's face was on of determination and satisfaction. "Perhaps Joey, but it also helped me slightly. You see the card I discarded was Repayment of Losses, and when it goes to the cemetery I can draw one card."

Drawing two cards the ruler increased his hand to three cards. Next he played one of those three cards. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed." He glanced over the four cards he had in his hand and decided to bluff his way through the next turn. It very well might work. He slipped two cards into his magic/trap slots and watched as the representative holograms appeared in front of him. Then he set a monster onto this field.

"I'll summon Magician's Valkyrie(1600/1800) in defense mode and set two cards face down on the field. Back to you Joey." Yami's newest monster was a near duplicate of the Dark Magician Girl, however the staff she carried was much different. Otherwise they were essentially the same. Its effect was what truly made it useful.

At the start of Joey's turn the duelist added a magic card to his hand to go along with the trap he already had. Well, in a case like this he might be able to get rid of the threat of Yugi's face down cards quicker then he might have thought. "I'll start off by setting one card face down."

The brown-backed card appeared behind this three monsters, ready for activation. "Now I'll activate Bait Doll! This magic card forces the activation of your two face down cards, and if it isn't the right timing for their activation they get destroyed!"

Yami's eyes widened in horror as he looked from his face down cards to the one card he had left in his hand. This wasn't good, not good at all. He grimaced as his two cards, Magical Hats and Exchange were revealed. Because of their activation four silk hats covered Magician's Valkyrie.

The two friends walked across the field in between the monsters so they could exchange cards. However because Joey no longer had any cards in his hand Yugi was unable to get anything out of the card's activation. Joey on the other hand nearly freaked out when he saw the card he had just taken from Yugi.

"Well Yugi, its worth the risk for me to make this next attack, so I command all three of my monsters to each attack of the four hats!" The three monsters stepped up in front of one hat apiece and casually sliced their designated hat in half, each one falling apart to reveal nothing but air. With no other hats remaining the final one vanished and Magician's Valkyrie was revealed.

"Joey, I tried to talk to you about this before we got off the blimp. I know this duel means a lot to you and Yugi but you can't hope to win. It is my destiny to defeat the coming evil and that means that I'm going to win this duel no matter how hard you try."

Joey chuckled and raised on finger to point at the puzzle that hung from the spirit's neck. His playful demeanor quickly became serious as he started to speak. "Ya know, Yugi has a better personality then you do. He's a good and honest kid, and what makes him better then you is that as good as he is, he doesn't have a big fat ego like you do!"

Everyone gasped in shock, including the pharaoh himself. However Kaiba couldn't help but laugh to himself at Yugi's discomfort at being told he had a big ego. He still didn't believe in all that pharaoh stuff, but it was certainly funny anyway.

"You talk about you and your destiny all the time and you think that a bunch of crap spewed out by some ancient Egyptians means that you're special. Well face the facts, your not any better then anyone else. And you certainly can't always rely on words to determine your courage."

For the first time since the spirit had first come to know Joey he was becoming mad at the blond duelist. How dare Joey say such things to him? What right did he have? "What are you talking about? It is my destiny!"

Joey grinned and held up the card he had taken from Yami in front of his eyes. He stared at it for a moment before looking back at his opponent. Yami wanted to know, then he'd know.

"You say that its your destiny to win, but your taking that for granted, getting your courage from something that isn't as simple as you seem to thing it is. I believe in destiny and all that, but destiny doesn't come without effort, you can't just sit back idly and expect to win because its destiny. You have to really try and put forth the effort and courage on your part, not because you just believe its going to happen."

The blond duelist casually picked the monster cards up off his duel disc and shoved them into his cemetery slot in order to make a sacrifice. It was time for him to end his turn, time for him to show what he was made of.

"If you think your destiny makes you special then your going to have to give me your all to prove it! If you keep playing like an amateur then your bound to lose and then destiny, the future that your so certain of, that'll all change! If its your destiny to save the world from evil then you can't do it juts because you feel like it! I'll make you see the truth by either beating you in this duel or making you duel harder then you ever have before!"

Joey slammed the card down onto one of his monster zones and watched as the scene unfolded before him. First his three monsters shattered into holographic particles, and then the sky above them darkened. Storm clouds rolled in and bolts of lightning flashed across the sky. Real lightning, not holographic lightning.

The lightning cracked down around them and Joey felt a strange pulsing throughout his body. An echo to the power that was emerging from the clouds above, piece by piece. Yami's heart pounded so loud it was deafening to his ears as the mightiest monster he possessed dropped from the clouds in all its glory. Hundreds of feet long and deadly looking was a mighty two-mouthed dragon.

"I'm about the show you that pure force of will and determination are a hell of a lot more important then destiny. Without that same determination and iron will all the destiny in the world can't accomplish anything. So to prove it I'm going to defeat you with the card you worked so hard for, a card only those who are the greatest of duelists can use! Saint Dragon Osiris(0000/0000) will be your downfall!"

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Seto Kaiba stopped watching the duel when a voice came on through his ear piece. Mokuba was trying to tell him something. "Seto, you should come down to the main control room right now. There's something on the news that you have to see."

Kaiba grunted back a response and turned from the duel, heading for the main control room as fast as he could. Normally nothing could tear him away from a duel like the one he was watching, but there had been a sense of urgency in Mokuba's voice that spurred him onwards.

He burst into the room and stopped as he looked upon the various screens across the control room. Only one screen in the corner was devoted to the duel, now the rest were showing one image from the same perspective. It was the perspective of a TV camera, following a reporter in their report on what was behind them.

"At the moment we are unable to enter this part of District Building 13, current home of the wife of former Mayor Takashi Nobuki and her sixteen year old son, Taichi Nobuki. A little bit earlier today a friend of the family discovered the remains of Mitsune Nobuki who had been brutally murdered sometime within the past two days. The police have yet to confirm the time of death. At the moment Taichi is at an unknown location and is very possibly being held hostage."

The man in front of the camera turned as a medical crew exited the building pushing along a moving table with a once white cloth covering something. The cloth was soaked through until it was nearly completely crimson, and the shape underneath the cloth only vaguely resembled a human body.

"Ladies and gentlemen the scene you see behind me is a gruesome one, but barely up to par with what is within the home itself. In all my years of reporting I've never seen anything as sickening as what was discovered. I am perfectly willing to admit that when I first caught a glimpse of the carnage I was unable to keep my food down. Our hearts go out to Taichi Nobuki, and we hope that he is safe, wherever he is."

Kaiba grabbed the remote and muted it, his breath coming out ragged and shallow. From what he had seen Taichi was mentally unstable, he was brutal and willing to cut his own flesh deeply because of some crazy faith. Taichi's mother...brutally murdered...and Kaiba knew who had killed her.

"Mokuba, get on the phone and get in touch with the police. Tell them exactly how to get here and telling them that Taichi is here. And somebody find Taichi and make sure he doesn't leave the island!" Kaiba grimaced as everyone raced out of the room, leaving him alone to contemplate what was going on. His tournament was being torn apart, and what he had told Drake was true, he couldn't stop it, and he doubted the police could either.

He couldn't tell anyone either, couldn't tell them that Taichi and Industrial Illusions had taken control of Kaiba Corps old military satellites. Couldn't let them know that if he didn't let the tournament continue then the missiles in those satellites would be launched, and all of Japan would be consumed in the apocalyptic fires.

If Taichi wanted to he could burn almost the entire world to a cinder with a single command. With that single command he could reduce the population of the world to approximately 2% of its current size, it would be the end of the world.

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"Go ahead you fool, your doomed no matter what you do. Should you get a useless card that you can't play, as soon as you end your turn you'll lose that card and your last life points. You can't attack or else my germ's effect would finish you. If you can use your card but it isn't incredibly useful, then you'll just give me another chance to destroy you. So what do you say to that?"

Shadi clenched his eyes and drew his next card, knowing that it might very well be his last. If he didn't get something that could be used he would be doomed at the end of this turn! "Ra, help your faithful servant this one time, I beg of you."

He pulled the card from of the holster and raised it up before his eyes. Letting out his breath in relief Shadi played the card to recover from his worsening situation. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy my own Skull Invitation!"

The card appeared and sent a blast of lightning and air at Taichi's own trap card, shattering it into tiny pieces. Finally he was free of that bond, and he could survive this turn. However he couldn't attack Taichi's monsters, otherwise he'd still lose. He was out of that fire, but he had no way to win at the moment. "I shall end my turn."

Taichi smirked and added another card to his hand, and to his surprise it was a card he hadn't expected to see, a card he was certain wasn't in his deck. He stared at it for several seconds, wondering when he had lost control and allowed the boy to put his favorite card into Taichi's deck. Snarling he picked up his two monsters and shoved them into his cemetery slot.

"I care so little about your pathetic excuse for skill that I'm going to clear away your remaining obstacle and give you a simple monster to deal with. I sacrifice my two Giant Germs for my strongest basic monster, Invader of Darkness(2900/2500) in attack mode!"

Taichi's new monster was a fearsome looking humanoid dressed in a black cloak that covered his somewhat machine looking body parts. The metal over his arms was serrated and at the shoulders jointed out into spikes. His face could barely be seen under the mask but he didn't seem human.

"My newest and greatest monster has a very interesting special effect. While he remains face-up on the field, you can't activate any quick-play magic cards. That may not seem very dangerous, but it can work wonders."

Shadi grimaced and drew his next card, aware that he would lose it if he didn't do something with it and quickly. He had to get something good. He held out the card and let out a breath of relief as he took in the card he had drawn and its effect. Now he might be able to win. "Taichi, it is time for me to take back control of this duel. To do so I will play a card that can only be activated while Necrovalley is in play. The permanent magic card, Gravekeeper Command!"

Taichi's eyes displayed obvious shock as his new Invader of Darkness floated over to stand beside Shadi's Gravekeeper's Chief. Both monsters were obviously ready for battle. "Gravekeeper's Command allows me to take control of one of your monsters, and I can maintain control of it as long as I remove one gravekeeper from my cemetery during each of your standby phases, if I can't control of it returns to you. Since I have four gravekeeper monsters in my cemetery I can maintain control of him for a total of four turns, easily enough to finish you off!"

Shadi cast one hand out and in a strong and determined voice announced his next move to his opponent. He was about to take back this duel and win it, no matter what Taichi tried he knew he could succeed. He had to, or else the world would suffer. "Gravekeeper's Chief, Invader of Darkness, attack Taichi directly!"

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Yami looked up Osiris with a sense of dread and awe, also somewhat of confusion. Joey shouldn't be able to control Osiris, should he? More then that, it didn't make sense for Joey to sacrifice his three usable monsters for Osiris when he had no cards in his hand...unless he was counting on Yami to think that and attack. Joey's face down card had to be a trap that could ruin Yami, so attacking at the moment was out of the question.

"Alright Joey, lets see whether you can handle that monster. I'll set a monster in defense mode and then I'll end my turn." Before Joey could even draw his next card Osiris' second mouth opened wide and launched a purple blast of explosive energy. It struck Yami's monster with devastating force, nearly knocking him off his feet. However to Joey's displeasure the monster was revealed to be Mystical Elf(800/0) so it managed to survive the blast.

(Osiris: 1000/1000) Joey surveyed the field and realized that at the moment the only target he could have was Osiris because it was too weak to survive an attack from the mighty god dragon. So he stretched out his hand and gave the command for his god monster to attack. "Osiris, destroy Mystical Elf!"

To his chagrin, however, the god monster did not respond. It simply continued circling the battle field, ready to strike whenever it felt like it. "Come on Osiris, attack!" Still there was no response from the god monster.

Yami smirked and gestured to his other monster, the Magician's Valkyrie. "Its not you Joey, it's the effect of my other monster. As long as Magician's Valkyrie is on the field you can't designate any of my other spellcaster types with an attack. Because you attempted to attack Mystical Elf an the attack failed, I'd say that leaves you with no options."

Joey groaned and passed the turn over to Yami, who gladly drew a card giving himself a single card in his hand. He grinned and set the card face down, watching as it appeared behind his two monsters. His valkyrie's effect could only save him that once, and in the next turn Joey would target it for destruction. He had to be ready.

(Osiris: 2000/2000) As Joey increased his hand size and Osiris' stats he selected his next and only available target. He would have to go after Valkyrie before he could take out Mystical Elf. Now that Osiris had 2000 attack points he could take out the 1800 defense strength monster. "Attack Magician's Valkyrie!"

The blast engulfed the magician, shielding her from the view of everyone watching, including Joey himself. At least until the light faded. Joey gasped as he saw Magician's Valkyrie holding up a big tube that was shimmering with a huge amount of energy. Yami grinned and gave Joey the thumbs down sign. "Looks like Osiris' fifteen minutes of fame are up. My Magic Cylinders trap card will sent its attack right back at it!"

Joey smirked as the blast of energy hurtled towards his god monster. Now seemed to be the best time to activate his down card. This way he'd keep Osiris and give himself a boost at the same time. "Jar of Greed activate!"

Joey slipped another card off the top of his deck and Osiris was able to react in time. Its tail swept down and slapped the blast of energy away from its body. It exploded in mid-air some distance away, blinding them in its great light. (Osiris: 3000/3000) Joey glanced down at this three cards, each one a decent card. No monster though, and at the moment he could use one.

Yami grimaced as he added a card to his hand. The card was useful, but at the moment it wasn't much help. He'd have to sit tight and hope Joey didn't get a monster card anytime soon.

(Osiris: 4000/4000) The blond duelist looked only briefly at the card he had drawn, a non-monster card once again. Oh well, he could still make use of this turn by cutting down Yami's defenses. "Okay, this time really destroy Valkyrie." The dragon launched a blast of energy that consumed the magician within seconds, leaving only cinders. However because she had been in defense mode Yami took no damage.

The duelist with the multi-colored hair tried to keep a calm face as he added yet another card that he couldn't use at the moment. As long as Joey didn't get a monster his defenses would last for one more turn and he wouldn't be open to a direct attack till then. So at the most he could survive this one turn. "I pass."

(Osiris: 5000/5000) Joey grimaced at his lack of any usable monster. He had a monster now, but there was no point in playing it. It would hurt him more then it would help. "Osiris, take out the Mystical Elf!" Once again the beast opened its jaws wide and unleashed its furious attack, blasting the elfin woman into oblivion and beyond.

Yami took a deep breath as he added a third card to his hand. A plan started forming in his head as he looked over the three cards. He had a way to get out of this situation but he needed one more card to do it, and unless he drew that card he would most certainly lose.

Slowly he turned his gaze to meet Joey's, giving his friend a confident smile. Now he was essentially out of options, and he couldn't put a monster into play. If things didn't work out well this might be the end for him. "Though I may seem down right now, its is my destiny to win. You should know this as well as I do. I will win no matter what, and I will work for that victory. You're forcing me to. So I leave you these words for the moment. End turn."

(Osiris: 6000/6000) Joey and everyone else could only stare at the empty field that stood in front of Yami. An empty field that left Yami completely defenseless and waiting for Joey's attack. There was absolutely nothing that Yami could do to survive...he was about to lose...and Joey was about to win!

Not even bothering to look at the card he had drawn, still in shock about the fact that he was about to win, he prepped for the attack. It was now or never, he had said he would give this duel his all. Joey's determination had payed off, and he was about to beat Yami. That would mean he had beaten the two best duelists in the world.

"Osiris...attack Yami directly to win me the duel!"

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Two blasts of dark energy collided with Shadi's opponent, with them came a burst of flame that also surrounded Taichi's position. It took several seconds for the flames and smoke to fade, and when they did Taichi was almost completely unharmed, and his life points virtually intact. "How can this be? Your life points should be much lower after those two attacks!"

(TLP: 9800) Taichi smirked and held up a single card. Depicted on it was a fuzzy brown animal with huge eyes creating an overall adorable image. He slipped it into his graveyard slot, glad to be rid of a reminder of his host. "By discarding Kuriboh from my hand I can negate damage done to my life points through battle by one of your monsters. So I negated the damage dealt by my own monster. Seems like you just can't get a break can you?"

Smirking, Taichi placed another card in his hand, and watched as Shadi plucked his Gravekeeper's Shield Maiden from his cemetery and placed it within a fold of his robe to pay for the cost of Gravekeeper's Command. "You know, I don't think there's any move I can make, so I'll just have to end my turn. Go ahead and attack me if you like, its only a matter of time before I win and you die. And boy am I anticipating seeing the expression on your face as you take your final breath!"

Shadi grimaced and drew, then made his move. He slapped his newest card onto the monster zone to the left of his Gravekeeper's Chief, and watched as the monster was summoned up to the left of his Gravekeeper's Chief. "I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier(2000/1500) in attack mode to join his leader in my battle against you!"

The new monster was a human with black robes and a headband on. In his hands he carried a long spear that was wrapped in an unearthly yellow glow. The rest of the spear soldier was also covered by this same yellow glow, making the dark look on his face all the more menacing. "Gravekeeper's Chief, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, Invader of Darkness, all out attack!"

Gravekeeper's Chief sent a spiraling beam of red energy at Taichi, followed by a blast of yellow energy from the top of the spear soldier's spear. Following the other two attacks came a thick black beam of energy, that when it collided with the others created an explosion so big that it completely blocked out view of Taichi, and knocked Shadi flat on his back, burning at his clothing.

Yowling in pain the gravekeeper himself scrambled to his feet without using his hands, for using them would only cause him more pain and make handling the cards more difficult. This was a dangerous game that Taichi was playing, but with the most recent attack it would seem that the insane creature was nearly defeated. For by the effect of Shadi's Robbin Goblin trap card, Taichi no longer had any cards in his hand.

Taichi's laughter cut straight through the inferno that had engulfed him, and he rose as a flaming mess of burning flesh and cloth. His life points dwindled and Shadi's bridge extended to the half-way point, yet still he laughed. (TLP: 2000) "You absolute fool! Fire and agony cannot effect me! No matter what you attempt I will win this duel and crush you beneath my boot. I have seen it, and I know that in this next turn you will fall before my absolute might!"

As suddenly as the flames had sprung up, they extinguished, leaving a charred wreck of a duelist standing across from Shadi, arrogant to the last. Smirking he swung one hand backwards to point at the city that was now merely a speck in the distance.

"Back in Domino, at this very moment, I suspect that my crimes have been discovered. I've even anticipated that they would, anticipated that Kaiba will call the police to come to get me. But I've prepared everything ahead of time, and his call will be forwarded to my people, who will make Kaiba believe he has gotten through, but no help will come!"

Shadi stared at the ruin of a man, now more of the image of the monster that he truly was. What crimes did the creature speak of? What might he have done that would warrant the police to investigate. "What crimes are these?"

A dark smile fixed itself upon Taichi's face, a sick and twisted smile that sent a shiver down Shadi's spine. For the first time in his life, Shadi knew fear...and he did not like it.

"My host's mother became bothersome. So I gutted her, ripped her throat out, and used her blood to write a message to those who would come after! The same message that I will leave on your tombstone when I bury you beneath the same tombs that you try so hard to protect! For what was, for what is, and for what shall be! The voice of my master calls me to act and I do! I AM THE HAND OF THE FORBIDDEN ONE!"

******************************************

"Osiris...attack Yami directly to win me the duel!" The mighty red dragon opened its primary mouth wide and launched a stream of deadly energies at the King of Games, prepared to consume him utterly.

The former Pharaoh flung his arms out and let the golden glow of his Millennium Puzzle protect him from the wrath of the god card. Even outside of a Shadow Game a direct attack by a god card, particularly one at six thousand attack points could be devastating.

The explosion rocked the dueling arena, forcing Joey to fight for his footing in those first few seconds. He couldn't even see Yami behind the cloud of smoke, but he already knew the outcome. He had just defeated the King of Games himself...and that meant he was now King of Games! He'd beaten Kaiba and Yugi...and that would make him the current top-ranked duelist in the world! "I just beat Yugi!"

A superior chuckle that had meant the downfall of many a skilled duelist reached his ears. Unable to believe his ears, Joey had to watch as the smoke drifted to the side to reveal Yami, still standing and his life points unharmed. They had to be, otherwise Osiris would have vanished by now. (YLP: 2300) "Don't be so sure about that Joey. I'm tougher then that."

Yami held up in front of him a single card from his hand of three cards. A very familiar card depicting a fuzz ball that was far more dangerous then it appeared...just like Yugi himself. "By discarding Kuriboh I was able to negate the damage from Osiris' attack. It was certainly a close call, but don't count me out just yet!"

The King of Games smirked as it became his turn and he drew a card from the top of his deck with a ferocity that only he could muster. As the King of Games he couldn't afford anymore mistakes. It was defeat Osiris now, or never!

"Joey, earlier we talked about the god cards, and how difficult it is to beat them. I mentioned how I was able to defeat Osiris the first time...but you were right in saying that I'd never beaten it before when my opponent had set up the perfect situation for me. Now I will!"

Yami slipped the first of his three card combo into a slot and activated it. The card appeared before him as a stylized ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life. "I play Monster Reborn to revive your very own monster, Flame Swordsman(1800/1600)!"

"Bad move Yami, cuz now Osiris' effect activates. Summon Lightning Impact!" Osiris' second mouth opened wide and it launched out its special effect attack, and the instant it hit Flame Swordsman would be destroyed because it wasn't strong enough to survive the blast.

"Not quite Joey, because I'm not finished! I play the magic card, Polymerization to fuse Flame Swordsman with a monster in my hand!" As the rest of them watched in awe the Flame Swordsman was pulled into a swirling vortex, as was the card in Yami's hand. Because of that Osiris' second mouth attack exploded harmlessly against the ground.

"Black Flare Knight(2200/800) rise up! Behold Joey, the fusion of our two favorite monsters and the power that it possesses is what will bring down Osiris!" Moments later a dark figure burst forth from the swirling vortex of the fusion. And the monster that touched down in front of Osiris was impressive looking at the very least.

A long purple cape flared out behind it, caught by a gust of wind. Its body was covered in a black cloth and armor, with massive shoulder pads and a stylized helmet rimmed with red and with a horn sticking out of the top. In its left hand it held a large black shield, with various designs in red on it. In its right hand it held a blade similar to the Flame Swordsman's, except this one was slimmer and longer.

Osiris' second mouth blast caught the newest monster full on, pouring over it but unable to destroy the mighty monster. Its once decent stats now plummeted to a mere two hundred attack points, making it no match for Osiris in pure strength...but its effect was where its strength lay. "Black Flare Knight, attack Osiris!"

The knight extended his blade and a rush of fire exploded from the blade, heading straight for the mighty god monster. The god dragon let out a torrent of its own explosive energies that consumed the knight's flame attack and then continued on to crash against the knight himself. But Yami's life points stayed strong.

"When Black Flare Knight is destroyed in battle I take no life point damage...and then I can special summon the strongest monster you will ever encounter, a monster who cannot be beaten in battle, not even by a god! I summon Mirage Knight(2800/2000)!"

The monster that appeared in the Black Flare Knight's place was a strange looking one, but nonetheless an impressive sight. Dressed in golden armor the knight made a shining image, and looked particularly deadly wielding an enormous scythe in its right hand. The scythe was also gold. Flowing out from the back of its armored head was a long cape of blue hair that flapped in the breeze. This monster to was soon the victim of Osiris' effect.

Even reduced to under a thousand attack points Yami seemed confident that his newest monster could defeat Osiris, and that had Joey worried. Either Yami was cracked, or there was some deadly secret hidden underneath all that golden armor. "Now Joey, its time to show you exactly what my destiny can lead me to. It was destiny that brought me these cards and made your Flame Swordsman available for the fusion. Now it will be this monster that will defeat Osiris. Mirage Knight ATTACK!"

Joey grimaced and called out to his massive monster with his order. The order that he had to make because he had to win this duel. "Osiris, counter-attack and destroy Mirage Knight and the rest of Yami's life points!"

The rage of Osiris struck Mirage Knight head on, but the golden knight cut straight through the blast with his scythe. With one sweep of his weapon he decapitated the mighty god, and then landed on the ground, perfectly unharmed.

Joey gasped in shock as Osiris burst apart like a pricked soap bubble. At the same time Mirage Knight faded away, as if it had never existed. The field was now empty of cards and monsters and silent as the dead. "But...but how?"

Yami smirked as he started to explain. He was proud of the monster he created, and proud that he had successfully defeat a god card...for real this time. "Its simple really. When Mirage Knight battles another monster during the damage calculations Mirage Knight's attack is increased by the attack strength of the monster it was in battle with. Unfortunately once my turn ends when Mirage Knight has been in battle, he is removed from the game."

(JLP: 1400) Joey grinned in pure joy as they duel continued, despite the loss of the god card. Heck, it wasn't like losing the god card had killed him, and the effort it had taken Yugi left his hand and field completely empty. Now he had no way of countering Joey's attack. "Ready Yami? I'm about to knock you down a notch!"

He grabbed a card off his deck and glanced down at it out of the corner of his eye. Looking over his cards he started to come up with a plan of action, now that he had a monster that is. "Okay, I'm gonna start off by summoning Rocket Warrior(1500/1300) in attack mode!"

The small machine warrior squeaked as it appeared in front of Joey, prepared to take flight and attack with all of its might. "Next up, I'll set two cards face down. Then Rocket Warrior will attack you directly!"

Two cards appeared behind the small warrior, who then transformed into a rocket and launched at Yami, crashing directly in front of him and knocking Yami backwards. Then the warrior returned to his place in front of Joey, and back to his regular form. (YLP: 800)

"This next move you'll recognize because it became possible after Malik captured me. See he was determined to beat you, and he figured the best way to do that was with a horde of rare and powerful magic cards. I decided after that duel that I would keep them because I could use them to beat him, a pretty ironic situation in my mind. So...Hinotama, do your stuff!"

A rain of fireballs shot down from the sky, colliding with Yami and making him shrink back in pain. They weren't real, but it sure felt like getting struck by a bunch of super-faster soccer balls. He had known that Joey would get in a direct attack, but he had never expected for him to do that much damage to him. (YLP: 300) "Its all on you Yami. Its either get a good card right now, or lose the duel."

Yami grimaced and drew what might possibly be his very last card. His destiny assured him that he wouldn't lose, so this card had to be something good! He looked down at it and grinned in triumph. Now he had a way to cut down Joey's monster! "Alright Joey, to counter your monster I'm going to summon Zombyra the Dark(2100/500)! Go Zombyra, attack Rocket Warrior!"

Joey smirked and activated one of his down cards, and when it flipped up a small group of men with swords charged forwards to engage in battle with the dark monster Zombyra, Rocket Warrior joined the fray, but Zombyra managed to cut him down anyway. "I may not have had a trap card that could destroy Zombrya, but my Reinforcements trap increased my warrior's attack by 500, so I'll only lose 100 life points. Meanwhile your monster loses two hundred attack points, making it fall closer into range with monsters I could bring out."

(JLP: 1300) As it was Joey's turn again he drew and then set his first card down. He had a plan now, and the instant Yami attack he'd be in the green for laying the smack down on his friend. In Joey's next turn, he'd win the duel for sure. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and set one card face down behind it. You're up Yami."

Yami drew and grinned at the card he had drawn. He couldn't use it yet, but in a few turns it would be useful. "I'll set one card face down. Now I attack your defense monster with Zombyra the Dark!"

To Yami's surprise both of Joey's face down cards flipped up, one revealing four multi-colored goats. The four goats appeared surrounding the defense monster, and Zombyra's attack was drawn to one of the goat tokens. With a swipe of Zombyra's claws the token was no more, but Joey's defense monster remained untouched. "Sorry Yami, but my combo of Scapegoat and Shift keeps your attack from my monster."

Yami started to worry as Joey drew another card and Zombyra's attack decreased further to 1700. Joey had protected his defense monster for some reason, which implied he either intended to sacrifice or that the monster had a flip effect that Joey wanted...and during his turn. "Ready for the best move you'll ever see? It's a move that'll knock you for a loop. I'll flip my defense monster face up, revealing Fiber Jar(500/500) and activating its effect!"

Joey grinned and picked up the cards off his field, and took the cards out of his graveyard and started shuffling them all together with his deck. "When Fiber Jar is flipped both players take all the cards in their hand, on the field, and in the cemetery and shuffle them together into their deck. Then they both draw five cards. Looks like the duel's starting over."

As Yami shuffled his cards into his deck he realized the danger involved. Joey's play had been brilliant! By shifting the attack to a goat token he had kept Fiber Jar face down during his turn. Since it was flipped in Joey's own turn, Yami's field was completely empty, and Joey was free to play whatever monsters and cards he wanted.

"Okay, Yami, now that we're both ready, I'll summon Blue Flame Swordsman(1800/1600)! Now he attacks directly with Flaming Sword of Battle!" The counterpart to Joey's favorite monster lifted its blade into the air and swung it down, cutting an arc of fire across the field heading straight for Yami. With nothing to protect him he was finished for sure!

The strike drove Yami back into the railing, nearly knocking him over it, but he managed to keep from tumbling backwards. And despite Joey's brilliant strategy, he was still standing, and totally unharmed. "Looks like destiny is more powerful then your strategy and determination in this case. Because one of the five cards I drew was my Kuriboh!"

Joey grimaced at seeing his perfect move go to waste and was forced to pass the move to Yami. Now Yami had a chance to recover from his bad situation, and maybe even make a comeback. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Kuriboh. Then I'll sacrifice it for the Dark Magician Girl(2000/1700)."

Joey could only groan at the sight of the more powerful monster. Sure he would get his Flame Swordsman summoned when his current monster was destroyed, but those were life points he might be needing. Anytime anyone let Yami get any kind of headway they always ended up losing. "I'll set one card face down, and attack Blue Flame Swordsman. Black Magic Burning Attack!"

A barrage of pink energy collided with his swordsman and blasted him apart. However, in a burst of flame the Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) replaced the other monster. Yami smirked and ended his turn, feeling confident that he could make a come-back. (JLP: 1100)

The blonde duelist picked up a new card and then slapped it down on the field, picking up his Flame Swordsman and sending it to the cemetery in the process. "I sacrifice Flame Swordsman for Fiend Megacyber(2200/1200)! I'll set one card face down and attack your Dark Magician Girl!"

The yellow armored monster extended its gauntlet encased fist and punched forwards with such force that the air itself was sent spiraling forwards to strike the Dark Magician Girl, destroying her in seconds. (YLP: 100) "End turn."

Feeling the strain that came with only have a spare one hundred life points to play with the world's foremost duelist drew his next card, hopping to get something useful. "Pot of Greed!" He drew two new cards and then surveyed them, realizing that he had a perfect combo ready to use.

"I activate my face down card, Black Magic Ritual! By sacrificing Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from my hand I can special summon Magician of Black Chaos(2800/2600), one of my strongest monsters! I'll set two cards face down, and then I'll attack your Megacyber with my magician!"

The deadly magician spun his staff around his head several times before swinging it down against the ground, sending a sphere of deadly magical energies at the waiting warrior. Megacyber caught the sphere in his bare hands, but even his great strength couldn't stop the attack, and in moments he was destroyed. (JLP: 500)

Joey added another card to his hand and was happy to see a good card joining his ranks. With the cards in his hand he could create a powerful combo that would take Yami off guard, and possibly win him the duel. It was a risk he had to take. "I activate my face down card, Aura Armor!"

(JLP: 250) Yami jerked back in shock as his friend started to glow brightly. Suddenly his body was covered by red and white armor with wings, giving him a fearsome appearance. "My trap card Aura Armor lets me equip an armor to myself that's equal to my life points. But to activate it I have to pay half of my life points. Its got more uses though, and I'm about to demonstrate them. Check this out; Red Eyes Transmigration!"

Yami shielded his eyes as his deck started to glow even brighter then Joey had been a moment ago. Slowly he reached out and took hold of the glowing card and pulled it out. At Joey's beckoning he tossed it over. The light faded as a familiar black dragon exploded onto the field next to Joey.

A bright flame engulfed Joey's body, surrounding all of him except for his face. As Yami watched the Red Eyes was pulled into the flame and it grew exponentially for several seconds before it vanished. Standing before him was Joey in an armor that appeared to be created from the body of the Red Eyes. A black spiky armor with a tail and wings, that made him look even more fearsome then he had previously.

"Meet my Red Eyes Armor(2650/2250)! Now that I've gotten the Red Eyes Armor equipped to me its attack becomes my life points plus the Red Eyes. I get a few effects that I can't activate at the moment, but they may come in handy if this next move doesn't work. I equip myself with Lightning Blade, raising my attack by eight hundred points!"

(REA: 3450/2250) Joey picked up his new weapon, a thick blade that crackled with hidden power that increased his own. Now Joey, almost a monster himself, outmatched Yami's Magician of Black Chaos, making it possible for Joey to finish Yami off with one attack. Yami prepared himself as his friend zoomed across the field at incredible speed, holding his blade up at the ready as he did so.

"Activate Power Balance to shift my magician to defense mode!" Yami grimaced as Joey sliced right through his magician, shattering it with one clean sweep of his blade. Had Yami not had Power Balance ready and waiting he would have been taken out with that one hit. "Now I activate Careless Avarice to draw two cards at the expense of two of my draw phases."

Joey cursed inwardly at his lost chance. He had been so close to taking Yami down in that attack! Holding his curses in he placed one last card down, leaving him with only one card in his hand. "I'll set a card face down, and end my turn."

Yami drew a deep breath as he started his turn without drawing. He had two good cards in his hand, but they weren't going to cut it. He'd have to get more cards if he were to have any chance of defeating Joey. He knew that he had always encouraged Joey, but it seemed that his friend had groan as a duelist far faster then he had ever thought possible, faster even then he could. "I play Graceful Charity...now I'll discard two of the cards I drew, one of which is Repayment for Losses, letting me draw one card."

Letting out his breath the King of Games continued his turn with a card he had gotten from one of his Battle City duels. Soon he would have his most trusted monster on the field. "I play Dark Magic Curtain. At a cost of half of my life points (YLP: 50) I can special summon the Dark Magician from my deck to the field!"

A curtain with a skull figure on top appeared on the field and drew apart its curtains, letting the purpled robed magician to step forth. Yami could always count on the Dark Magician(2500/2100) to get him out of a jam, and it was no different today. "Now its time to separate you from your mighty armor. To do so I play the magic card, Defusion!"

Joey gasped as the three parts were split from each other. Moments later he stood apart from a shell of the Aura Armor whose attack was now set at eight hundred merely because it retained the Lightning Blade. His Red Eyes Black Dragon(2400/2000) stood to his left, roaring in defiance of his opponent's monster. Yami smirked and raised one hand to point at the Aura Armor. "Dark Magician, use your Dark Magic attack to destroy his Aura Armor and end this duel!"

Now it was Joey's turn to smirk as he revealed his remaining card, a card that had saved him in some of his Battle City duels. With his luck things might work out anyway. "Not so fast Yami. My Aura Armor may be weak, but with the toss of a single die this duel could go either way. If my Graceful Dice lands on a four or higher the Dark Magician will be destroyed and I'll win the duel. If it's a two or less then the Aura Armor and my life points will be destroyed. Lets see what happens!"

A purple stream of energy exploded from the tip of the Dark Magician's staff, streaking towards the inert Aura Armor. However, at the last moment, even as the die was still rolling, the armor raised its blade and sent a stream of lightning at the Dark Magician's attack. The two different forms of energy collided and exploded with tremendous force, sending a cloud of smoke over the field.

Slowly the smoke lifted, and the Dark Magician stood strong with its arms crossed over its chest. The Aura Armor was nowhere to be seen and Yami knew what that meant. The duel was his. "Sorry Joey, but it looks like I've won this duel. Like I said before, you can't stop destiny, and it was my destiny to win."

His friend grinned and pointed to the Dark Magician and the Red Eyes, then at his own duel disk. Yami's eyes widen with sudden realization...if the duel were over then the disks would shut down and the monsters would vanish...but they hadn't! "It ain't over yet Yami. I said what would happen if it came out four or higher or two or lower, but I never said what would happen if it came out a three. The armor's attack was tripled to 2400, meaning it was destroyed by the Dark Magician's attack, but there wasn't enough damage to knock me out of the duel."

(JLP: 150) Joey took in a deep breath and drew his next card, knowing that if he could deal with Yami's Dark Magician he could have another chance to win the duel, because Yami wouldn't be able to draw another card until the turn after his next one...if he had a next turn.

"I'll start my turn off by play Genocide War! Next I'll play Warrior Returning Alive to resurrect Blue Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) from my cemetery!" The Flame Swordsman's blue counterpart appeared next to the Red Eyes, staring down the superior power of Yami's Dark Magician. Yami however was unsure of what was going to happen, because he didn't know the effect of Genocide War.

"Red Eyes, attack the Dark Magician!" Yami's eyes widened in shock as the dragon launched a fireball at his magician, who automatically retaliated by unleashing his Dark Magic Attack, shattering the Red Eyes in one quick blast. (JLP: 50) Yami's surprise increased further when his Dark Magician grabbed at his chest and then collapsed, shattering into a million pieces.

"I guess I should explain huh Yami? See when two monsters do battle during the turn that Genocide War is activated all of them are destroyed after damage calculation. So while I took one hundred damage and my Red Eyes was destroyed, the Dark Magician was also destroyed. Now, Blue Flame Swordsman, attack Yami directly!"

The swordsman charged his blade up with blue fire and then swung it straight down. A ring of fire erupted from the end and surrounded Yami. The ring closed in and exploded, sending a fireball high into the sky. When Yami was visible again he was on his knees, and his life point counter was trickling down. It looked like the duel was finally over.

Joey blinked as he heard the noise of the counter stop, but the duel disks hadn't deactivated. That didn't make any sense. If he had hit Yami and his counter was counting down that meant Yami had been reduced to zero life points, so how come the duel wasn't over? "What's going on?"

Yami grinned and showed Joey the card he had face down, and Joey blinked in surprise. Depicted on the trap card was a white mass with eyes looking out, but even in blown up holographic form he couldn't quite read what it said. "My trap card Reduction Barrier saved me. When my life points would be reduced to zero it simply sets my life points to ten instead, and doesn't let my opponent attack again this turn."

(YLP: 10) Yami smirked and, as he was unable to do anything, passed his turn to Joey. The blond duelist eagerly took it, not noticing Yami's smirk. All he noticed was that he had a clear and open field at his opponent. No monsters, no traps, and no cards in his hand. He hadn't had this good a set up since Osiris was destroyed. He peeked at the card he had drawn and kept it in his hand. It was a useful card, but at the moment he didn't need it. He was about to win.

"Attack and wipe out Yami's life points!" For the second time in as many turns the swordsman charged up his blade and unleashed the ring of blue fire. It too exploded upon contact, engulfing Yami in a temporary screen of fire. This time, there was no way out.

The fire vanished, and yet Yami's life points remained untouched for some reason. This time there was no way he could possibly have managed to take the attack without losing! It just wasn't possible!

Yami smirked and ejected a card from his cemetery, holding it out for Joey to see. It was a turtle with letters across its chest. "Remember when I played Graceful Charity? Well this is one of the cards I discarded. The Electric Turtle(0/1800) has an effect that can only be activated from the cemetery. At one point while its in the graveyard I can negate an attack made by my opponent. I did just that to protect myself. So, are you done?"

Joey grimaced as once again victory was snatched from his fingers by a hair's-breadth. Sheesh! Now he knew why Kaiba got so pissed whenever he dueled Yami. Even in their previous duel Yami hadn't been this good at slipping away from defeat. It was like the guy was a greased pig, you couldn't pin him down no matter how hard you tried! "I'll just set one card face down. That's it."

Yami drew for the first time in a few turns, and grinned at the sight of the card that destiny had rewarded him with. This could turn the game back in his favor, or it could make things worse. But he had no other choice but to play it. "Activate magic card, Card of Sanctity!"

The two duelists drew cards until they had six cards in their hand as per the effect of Card of Sanctity. It was a potentially dangerous move, but useful at the same time. Yami grinned and played the first card he could from his hand. "This next monster has the effect that if he's drawn out of my draw phase I can special summon him in face-up defense mode. So meet Watapon(300/200) in defense mode."

Yami's new monster was well...a white ball of puff with eyes and antenna. That was it. It was like an alien version of Kuriboh. Yami picked Watapon up off the field and slipped him into the graveyard so he could bring out his next monster. "I sacrifce Watapon for Gilfar Demon(2200/2500)! Gilfar Demon, use your Firestorm to finish Joey off!"

Joey grinned as a chain whipped out from his face down card and wrapped around the winged demon, constricting him and forcing him into defense mode. "I'm sure you recognize Kunai with Chain, it switches your monster into defense mode and then becomes an equip card on my Blue Flame Swordsman, powering him up to 2300 attack!"

Yami simply slipped a card into one of his magic/trap slots and motioned for Joey to start his turn. As confident as Joey appeared to be, he was bound to attack the moment he got a monster with twenty five hundred or greater attack. Yami would be ready for him.

Joey drew and instantly played two cards, one in his monster zone and the other in a magic slot. He could take out Yami's defense and go in for the attack right now. "I summon Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600) and I equip Blue Flame Swordsman with Dark Aura Blade, raising his attack by two hundred times the number of cards in my hand, boosting him to 3300 attack!"

At the same time as the armored knight Gearfreed appeared, the other swordsman set aside his normal weapon and picked up a pitch black blade that appeared out of thin air. The blade seemed to suck in the light around it, making it blacker then it was before. "Blue Flame Swordsman, Dark Aura Strike!"

"Activate Mirror Force!" The black ovoid blast of energy that the swordsman's attack had unleashed struck the barrier and split into two beams, each one connecting with one of Joey's monsters and blowing them sky high in a shower of black energy. However, they were replaced in a blast of fire by the Flame Swordsman(1800/1600).

"Fine, I'll set two cards face down to end my turn." The two cards appeared behind Joey's favorite monster and the turn passed to Yami. He was fairly certain that Joey would be able to survive his next attack, so he might as well prepare himself for whatever Joey would throw at him next turn.

"I'll set two cards face down, and summon King's Knight(1600/1400). I switch Gilfar into attack mode and have him attack the Flame Swordsman!" The demon sent out a stream of fire at the fire wielding warrior, but at the last moment a group of robed men appeared, blocking off the attack. Yami smirked at the sight of Waboku...exactly as he had expected. He didn't expect anything less of Joey.

"Now that you've triggered my trap card Waboku, I'll activate Sudden Windfall! During each of my standby phases it'll roll a die, and whatever the number is will be how many life points I gain. It gets better though. If I roll a six, instead of getting six hundred life points, I'll get one thousand!"

Yami kept his smirk on and motioned for Joey to start his turn. The blond did so, and they both watched as the die tumbled down across the field, coming up with Joey's first bad luck for the entire duel. A three. (JLP: 350) He shrugged and continued with his turn. "I'll summon Marauding Captain(1200/1400) and then according to his effect I'll special summon Battle Warrior(700/1000) to the field! I'll set up one card, and then I'll attack King's Knight with Flame Swordsman!"

"Open face down card, Spellbinding Circle! Now Flame Swordsman will be trapped and have its attack reduced!" The mystical pentagram shape flies out and surrounds the attack swordsman's waist, stopping him cold in his tracks. The counter for its attack trickles down to 1100, weaker then any of Yami's monsters.

"Draw!" Yami placed the card in his hand, and then set it on the field, knowing that if Joey survived this turn it would come in handy later. Now he had more in mind...if he succeeded then he'd manage to win this duel right here and now. "Gilfar Demon, attack Marauding Captain!"

Yami's eyes shot open as wide as they could go as an impish demon with a shovel on its back appeared in front of Gilfar Demon. It flipped around the card it was carrying, revealing Yami's own Mirror Force. "Looks like your monsters are gone!"

"Reveal Protective Force! This will keep my monsters for being destroyed this turn...but unfortunately Mirror Force still negates my attack. So I'll simply end my turn."

The instant Joey drew his card, the die was off like a shot. It bounced up, down, left, right, rolling wildly from number to number keeping both duelists in suspense for several seconds. Finally it came to a stop right in front of Yami's feet. Staring up at him was sign that Joey's luck was back in force. Six dots shown in the sun. (JLP: 1350)

"Time to see what other kind of luck I've got. Perhaps the kind of luck that you get from pure determination eh Yami? Destiny can't stop me so don't expect it to do you much good when I play Treasure of Destiny!" A magic card appeared on Joey's side, and a white die launched from the image, bouncing across the field just as Sudden Windfall's die had done moments before. However this one only came up as a two.

"Whatever number shows up is the number of cards I get to draw. So now I get two more." He breathed deeply and then picked up the two top cards from his deck. Silently he prayed for one of them to be Jinzo, because if he managed to draw Jinzo then he'd be able to beat Yami no matter what card he had face down.

He exhaled and looked at the first of the two cards, finding only Scapegoat. Not what he wanted...he'd have to hope that the next one was Jinzo or something else useful. Slowly he shifted Scapegoat to the side, revealing his other card. He grinned widely as he looked down upon his newest card. Things were definitely looking up!

"I was hoping for something good Yami, and I got it. Here it comes...I sacrifice all three of my monsters for Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) in order to activate his special effect!" Joey's three monsters shattered and in their place came a tall, muscular warrior wearing minimal armor. His style of dress was similar to that of the flame swordsman, though there seemed to be spikes extended from his helmet.

The warrior unsheathed his sword from his back and swung it in an arc. As he did so a black cloud materialized over Yami's monsters and from it came a bolt of lightning that shattered Yami's monsters in that single strike. Now the way was clear for Gilford to attack. "Gilford attack Yami with Lightning Blade Slash!"

The warrior's blade swung through the air towards Yami, whistling as it did so, lightning crackling about it. In one sweep that blade could finish him off, and he refused to let that happen. "Reveal Waboku!" The robed men appeared in front of Yami this time and fended off Gilford's attack...for the moment. Joey grimaced and set a card face down before ending his turn.

Yami closed his eyes for a brief moment, and then drew. He held the card up in front of his eyes and grinned. Now was definetely the time to do something stupid and risky. It always worked for Joey, so why not for him? "Joey...I think I've realized something in this duel. You were right when you said that destiny doesn't come easily, that you have to work to achieve it. I've got my destiny, but unless I try hard and take risks nothing's going to come of it. So now I'll follow your example and gamble with this duel."

He held up the two cards in his hand to display them to Joey. It would take both of them for his plan to work. "The card I've been unable to use for a while now is Premature Burial. I couldn't use it because I can't pay for the cost. But now I can, at least by using the magic card Double Spell! By discarding Premature Burial I can use a magic card from your cemetery...and I'll gamble by using Treasure of Destiny!"

The two duelists locked eyes as Yami's Double Spell became a duplicate of Treasure of Destiny. The die dropped out of the card and the two continued to stare each other down as the die bounced all over the place. It made its way in its bounces slowly over to Joey. The blond casually put his foot out and stopped the die in its tracks...coming up a three.

Adding three cards into his hand Yami formulated a plan. It seemed to him that things could work out for him if he played his cards right. Pun completely intended. "I play Brain Control, to take command of your Gilford the Lightning!"

A brain appeared and extended bluish arms, picking up Gilford and depositing him in Yami's control. Then the brain vanished, readying Yami for his move to continue. "Gilford attacks!" The warrior charged forwards, only to be met by a group of fuzzy goats, one of which was sliced into pieces.

"Sorry Yami, but Scapegoat blocks your attack. Looks like you've got nothing to go on, cuz next turn Gilford is mine again." Yami's only immediate response was a smirk, and to pick out one of his two remaining cards.

"Not exactly Joey. My reason for attack with Gilford was to find out what sort of trap you might have placed, and it did just that for me. I figured I'd be better off letting your monsters run into a trap then one of mine. In either case, he's not my true plan. This is...I play Silent Dead to revive a monster face-up in defense mode!"

In a flash of light Yami's monster was resurrected, and it was revealed as...Watapon(300/200). Joey and everyone else stared blankly at Yami for the strange move. He had a lot of good monsters in the cemetery...so why revive a weak monster like Watapon whose only effect came when you drew him outside the standby phase?

Yami grinned as he picked out the last card he had in his hand. Next he picked up Watapon and tossed it into the cemetery where it was before his magic card, and brought out his next monster. "I summon Catapult Turtle(1000/2000)! Now, as per its effect I'll tribute Gilford the Lightning to deal half of its attack points directly to your life points! Catapult Turtle, launch Gilford!"

The warrior leaps up on top of the turtle's launching platform, and it then corrects its aim so that its pointing right at Joey. With a screech of turning gears the platform flings forwards, launching Gilford ahead as a speeding rocket. The warrior turned missile shrieks towards Joey, exploding mere inches in front of him sending him crashing to the ground. (JLP:0)

Yami let out a deep, relaxing breath as he shifted to give control to Yugi. He had just had one of the toughest duels of his entire life, perhaps THE toughest, and now he figured he deserved a bit of rest before the next duel. At least both of the duelists were satisfied and it seemed like this would be a positive note in an overall negative sequence of events in the tournament. It certainly made up for the duel they were previously forced into.

**********************************************

Taichi laughed wildly as he slammed his next card home, activating its magic to bring this duel to the ending that he knew it would reach. Now was the time that he had seen, now was the moment he had been waiting for. Now he would get to see Shadi's last breath!

"Activate Pot of Greed! Now, with these two cards I shall seal your fate! The first is the magic card, Genocide Bomb! At a cost of a mere thousand life points I can destroy all cards on the field, clearing the way!"

(TLP: 1000) The already smoldering Taichi wasn't even affected by the flames that lept up to scorch him. Next a huge explosive with reactor warning labels all over it appeared in the center of the field. It started to glow, and with a bright flash it went off, nearly knocking both duelists off their fire platforms.

As the light cleared it became evident that now the field was completely empty. All Taichi had to do was summon a monster, and Shadi would be finished. He had tried his hardest...but he had failed. "I told you before, gravekeeper, that you would witness the power I possess. You will witness the might of my greatest of monsters, and you will be consumed by it. This move was cut off before this because of your Necrovalley, but with it out of the way I'm free to play my magic card...Monster Reborn!"

Shadi dropped to his knees, all will to fight on gone from his body. He hardly even felt the fire that scorched his knees. Impending death could do that sort of thing to you. He had known there was a chance that he would die...but he had never truly understood exactly what that meant until now, when he was facing death in the eyes.

Standing above Shadi was the massive form of Exodia the Forbidden One, in all its deadly glory. The monster that had no equal, as its mere attack or defense meant victory for its controller. Its power was absolutely unstoppable, and Shadi was about to feel the pain that would come with the final attack. "Exodia...OBLITERATE!"

He didn't even feel the pain as the energy consumed him.

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Joey stopped walking towards the elevator as he heard a strange sound coming from above him. It was like...whistling sort of. He craned his neck so he could see what was making the sound. When he did he was forced to leap out of the way as the source of the noise came straight at him.

CRACK! Everyone whipped around at the sound to find out what had made it. All they could do was stare at the twisted and burnt form that lay before them. Only the white turban that covered the body's burnt head let them know that the body belonged to Shadi, guardian of the Millennium Items.

Joey rushed to his sister and covered her eyes with his hands. He couldn't let her see this, it was wrong, she just couldn't! She was his baby sister and this sort of thing...she just shouldn't see it.

The entire gang looked up at the sound of insane laughter. Descending down a path of flames was Taichi with a crazed look upon his face. He looked...giddy. Like he had just seen something he had been waiting a long time for. Drake shook with rage at the mere sight of him.

Taichi spoke at last, cutting into the thoughts of all those gathered. They had been trying to understand, to comprehend exactly what had happened before he spoke. "Oh boy! You guys should have seen it! As determined as that guy was it was great to see the expression on his face when he knew that was about to die. There's just something special about breaking a person so completely that just....touches me I guess."

He departed the path of flames, which dissipated behind him. Still grinning widely he brushed past all those gathered, none of whom were capable of taking action at the moment. Even Drake couldn't, knowing that if he did something now then Kirani's soul was forfeit.

Taichi stopped beside Shadi's body and knelt down next to him. He closed his eyes and placed his head against what might have been Shadi's chest at one point, but was now a burnt up mess. He grinned and jerked his head up, whistling a happy tune. "Perfect! I didn't miss it!"

The dark haired duelist leaned forwards so that he is face was directly parallel to what remained of Shadi's. Everyone watched in horrified fascination as Shadi's chest moved for one brief moment, and a small rattling breath escaped the gravekeeper's lips.

Taichi breathed deep and then stood up, laughing joyously, completely forgetting Shadi's fallen form or anyone else in the room as he marched away. "Finally I got to see it! I even got to taste it!"

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Author's Note: Ummm....its freaking huge! Also, I didn't even use the exact effect of every card there, so if you see something like that, its deliberate. This sort of thing will also appear in other chapters. Also, if you see any card that has a name you don't recognize but it isn't listed below, its probably because I used the japanese name without knowing the english one, or that it comes from the Doom Saga. Finally I'd like to send a thanks to Time Mage for helping me figure out the bit with Defusion on Aura Armor. Thanks dude!

Original Cards

Taichi: Genocide Bomb

Yami/Yugi: Protective Force, Grave Chain, Repayment of Losses, Power Balance

Joey: Dark Aura Blade, Sudden Windfall, Absolute Negation

Shadi: Gravekeeper's Control

Next Time: Kensai and Ryu confront Taichi when they realize that he was the one who got them their locator cards. As Dalin and Mai prepare to duel Mai makes a shocking announcement that has everyone at the edge of their seat, including Dalin. In order to work things out Dalin makes a startling proposal...