A Yu-Gi-Oh! Story

Written by Yami Ron

If you have any comments about this story, you can e-mail me at and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Any person or Duel Monster listed in this story from the Yu-Gi-Oh! television show is copyrighted under Konami, Shonen Jump, and TV Tokyo.

©2004 Yami Ron

Chapter 5

The duel between Pooka and Kazakura was nearing its end. The two of them were using a dueling mat that was laid on a tree stump in the forest. Pooka had the Wrestling Ring field card in play as well as his signature card Triple H (Level 8/2500 ATK/2500 DEF) in play. Kazakura's previous turn had her summon Dark Necrofear to the field (Level 8/2200 ATK/2800 DEF). She also had two cards face down while Pooka had none on his side of the field.

"This duel is pretty much over, Kazakura! You only have 400 LP remaining."

"You're all talk and no action, mortal." "I won't even have to activate these trap cards to finish you off," Kazakura then said to herself.

"We'll see about that! Triple H, Pedigree Kazakura's Dark Necrofear now!" The shadow figure Triple H didn't hesitate. He charged at the defenseless Dark Necrofear at full speed, placed her head between his legs and then locked her arms within his. The baby doll that Dark Necrofear was holding was slapped out of her hands and bounced near a ring post.

"Pedigree! Pedigree!" Ditrinity cheered a safe distance from the duel. Shadow fans that were hidden from sight seemed to be also cheering their appreciation.

Then Triple H jumped and then landed knees first hard on the canvas. Dark Necrofear groaned loudly in pain and then shattered into nothingness, as did her baby doll. The shadow crowd went into an uproar. Ditrinity also followed suit with her own oohs and aahs and ran over to her brother's side.

"When you play the Game, you lose!" Pooka said proudly, his life points at a solid 2000, while Kazakura's LP dwindled down to just 100. "I end my turn."

"You really are a rookie duelist, mortal. I've led you on this whole match."

"What are you talking about? You are about to lose the duel next turn and then my sister and I are going to go find Ron and warn him of your intentions."

A dark glow emitted from the Millennium Ring. "Fools! There is no next turn for you! Have you forgotten the effects of Dark Necrofear?"

"What effect?" Ditrinity and Pooka said simultaneously and nervously.

"Dark Necrofear's effect allows me to control one of your monsters on the field. Therefore, I will take control of your Triple H wrestler. And since you have no Magic or Trap cards to defend yourself, you will lose the duel this turn. Now my Triple H, attack Pooka's life points directly!" Triple H did an about face and stared down Pooka, with an evil look in his eyes. The shadow fans were shocked at the latest turn of events and were suddenly quieted.

"Don't do it Triple H! NOOOOOO!" was all Pooka and Ditrinity could cry as Triple H climbed onto the nearest ring post to Pooka and literally jumped at Pooka's head fist first. The wrestler connected with a right, knocking the siblings on the ground, flat on their backs. Pooka's life points read zero. Triple H and the wrestling ring field soon dissipated into nothingness.

Kazakura, pleased by the performance, stood up from the tree stump and walked over to the siblings, her Millennium Ring glowing brightly in the dark shadows. "Well now, I think it is time for the Graveyard to accept two more mortals." White ghostly hands started to emerge from the forest grounds and started to grab at Pooka and Ditrinity in an attempt to drag them down into the tombs below.

"No, you can't do this, Kazakura! Leave us alone!"

"You've accepted this fate when you first accepted this duel, Pooka. Your sister will share the same reward as you. Your souls will belong to me very soon."

Ditrinity was squirming out of the reaches of the ghastly hands while talking at the same time. "Please Kazakura, why are you doing this? We've never done anything to you. I mean, you have never met us before until today. Don't you have any friends?"

The last word Ditrinity said seemed to strike a chord of warmth within Kazakura, if that was even possible. "No, I have never had a friend." The Millennium Ring's glow seemed to subside a little and the ghastly hands seemed to waver in their potency.

"Ditrinity and I will be your friends, Kazakura," Pooka said, while also trying to break free of the hands that tried to grab him.

Kazakura stood motionless with her eyes closed, conflicting emotions questioning the thought. "Friends? For me? NO! Kazakura must NEVER have friends! But still..." Then she opened her eyes and spoke up. "IF you want to be my friends, STAY OUT of my way!" Her Millennium Ring glowed brightly at Pooka and Ditrinity and put them sound asleep. The ghastly hands receded back into the forest grounds and left the two siblings alone. Kazakura then, with a quick movement of her right arm, removed the Shadow Realm from around her. "That will keep you two out of my hair while I go after the Millennium Items."

Kazakura looked at Pooka and Ditrinity with a very faint smile, then turned away and continued to head up the path that led to Nickosus' Castle, determined to capture the Millennium Items for herself.

"So Nickosus, have you been capturing any souls in your Glory of the King's Opposite Hand cards lately?" Ron chuckles.

"No, Ronnie-boy. Hmmhmmhmm, I locked those cards away after I married Kurai. However, I could always bring them back out to use on you."

Ron's Millennium Puzzle started to glow brightly. "I don't think the spirit of the Puzzle would allow you to do that," Ron smiled back at Nickosus. Then the both of them laughed to themselves.

A knock was heard on the doors entering the library.

The Millennium Eye gleamed. "Come in, Mozz."

The door opened and the Head of Security for Nickosus' castle entered. "Master Nickosus, our intruder as defeated Birtha in a duel and now has asked for your permission to duel you. His name is Arnie Hopkins."

"I'm not familiar with this Mr. Hopkins. Very well. Have Birtha and Kuno send him to my duelist floor. I'll meet him there. Where is my wife?"

"Kurai and Ishizu are still in the doll room as far as I know."

"Contact them and have them meet us at the duelist arena."

"Right away, sir. Dinner is almost ready though. What do you want me to do with your meal, Master Nickosus?"

"Leave it warming on the stove. I'm sure this duel won't take long."

"Very well, sir." Mozz left the library and closed the doors behind him.

Ron stayed quiet while Nickosus and Mozz chatted amongst themselves until Mozz left. "Well, Nickosus, it looks like you have an opponent at last after all this time. I hope your dueling skills are still up to par."

"As you know, I created all these wondrous Duel Monster cards, Ronnie-boy. I know each card's strengths and weaknesses. It also doesn't hurt when you possess the powers of the Millennium Eye," Nickosus said while pointing to the Millennium item. "Would you like to watch the duel?"

"Of course I do. However, rival and friend, I don't want you to have to resort to reading the minds of your opponents. If I'm going to watch this duel, I don't want to see any cheating from you."

"Cheating? And you think your Millennium Puzzle..." Just then, Nickosus' Millennium Eye glowed brightly with the pupil emitting psychedelic colors. Nickosus grabbed his head and went down on one knee. "Urrrgh.... Ron?"

"Is something wrong, Nickosus?" Ron looked down at Nickosus, giving him a worried look.

"How... would... you feel about a double duel?"

"A double duel? Who else is going to be battling in your arena?"

The Eye's glow faded out and Nickosus regained his composure. "Archaic is in the castle, Ronnie-boy. Will you help me save my company?"

"You're my friend, Nickosus. I'll do anything to help you."

"Excellent, Ronnie-boy. Now, follow me." Nickosus and Ron left the library, heading towards the duelist arena. As they walked down one of the corridors, Nickosus spoke to Ron out of curiosity. "Shouldn't you change into your other dueling mode, Ronnie-boy?"

"I rather wait to see what type of competition I'm up against."

Nickosus shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself."

Kurai's cell phone started to ring. She reached into her pocket, pulled it out, and answered the phone. "Hello, Mozz. What's going on?"

Ishizu tried to listen to what Mozz was trying to say, but to no avail.

"Hmmhmm. Uh-huh. Hmmmhmmm," Kurai spoke while nodding her head to the receiver. "We'll be right there, Mozz," Kurai said in her cell phone. Then they both hung up.

"What's going on, sister?"

"Nickosus is about to have a duel against our most recent intruder into our castle. He wants us to be on the main dueling floor to cheer him on to victory."

Ishizu placed her right hand to her necklace. "Will my Pharaoh be there?"

"You should know Ron by now. He never misses a duel."

The Millennium Necklace started to glow very faintly. "It has begun," Ishizu spoke quietly to herself.

"Are you coming with me or do you want to stay in my doll room?"

Ishizu looked at the five lifelike dolls that sat on the ledge. She could have sworn that Mari and Necrophia just winked at her. She rubbed her eyes and tried to keep focus on the situation at hand. "Kurai, I think all of your dolls are getting to me. Let's get out of here, dear sister." The two siblings then left the room and headed towards the arena floor.

Archaic and Frozen Flareon continued to walk down long passages and climbed up and down the stories of Nickosus' castle, not knowing which way led to DMASB's final obstacle.

"I think we came this way already, big brother," Frozen Flareon said while passing some knight's armor that looked familiar to him."

Archaic raised a fist. "Curse that Nickosus. This castle is like one large maze and everything looks exactly the same no matter where you go. I don't even remember the way back out of here now."

"Could we be trapped here... forever?"

"Nonsense, Frozen Flareon. We'll find a way out of this place... after we defeat Nickosus that is." Just then voices could be heard coming from a side hallway up ahead. "Quick, little brother, we need to hide behind the armor here so we won't get spotted."

Archaic and Frozen Flareon hid in the shadows behind the armor as Kuno, Birtha, and Arnie Hopkins emerged from the side hallway, with Birtha leading the trio.

"So can you give me any pointers or strategies before I take on Nickosus?"

Kuno spoke up from behind Arnie. "No can do, intruder."

"Will you stop calling me intruder?"

"You haven't earned my respect to call you anything else."

Arnie shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well. You can't win them all."

"It wouldn't matter anyway, Mr. Hopkins. Every time we duel Master Nickosus, he always has a counter deck already prepared to defeat us. His only loss to date has come by the hands of my friend, Ron Motou."

"Master Nickosus also has some sort of golden eye that somehow holds some special magic that helps him win duels. We don't know too much about it, nor does he tell us all its capabilities."

"Could it be another Millennium Artifact? The Eye?" Arnie thought to himself. "Ron? He should be in the castle by now, as well as his girlfriend Ishizu. First I'll defeat Nickosus, and then the King of Games himself!"

The three people passed the intersection and continued down the same hallway, not noticing Archaic and Frozen Flareon standing behind the armor. When they disappeared from sight, Archaic and Frozen Flareon left their hiding spot and peeked around the corner.

"That was close, big brother."

"Well they didn't spot us so we're safe. The hallway they're walking down though is a dead end. The only thing down there is a large emerald book on the wall with a picture of a mermaid on it."

Once the trio came up to the book on the wall, they stopped. "We're here, Mr. Hopkins."

"It looks like a dead end to me."

"Looks can be deceiving, intruder." Kuno walked passed Arnie and Birtha and approached the large emerald book. His two large hands grabbed the book and he gave it a quarter turn clockwise. There was a pause. Suddenly, the large wall started to shake as different size pieces of rock started to come free from the corners and the wall started to lift up.

Arnie, Archaic, and Frozen Flareon stared with wide eyes and mouths open in amazement as what stood before them.

After the wall had completely lifted out the way, the five people noticed someone standing in the center of the huge room. Birtha and Kuno recognized him immediately as the Head of Security for the castle. The Head of Security greeted them. "Welcome to the Grand Duelist Arena, Mr. Arnie Hopkins. Master Nickosus has been anticipating a duel against you."