Hello, everyone. I'm back with the seventh installment of my little story. Here's the one that the Bakura fans have been waiting for, and it's one of my personal favorites. So let the darkness begin.

Disclaimer: Must I say anything here about how I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of its characters?

Chapter 7: Duel of Darkness - Jounouchi Against the Evil Spirit!

Yugi's worst fears were coming true right before his eyes. His best friend was possibly in danger of losing his mind to the shadows.

'Oh no! What am I going to do?' Yugi asked himself. 'If Joey duels Bakura, I know something bad will happen. But if I interfere, Jason will be sent to the shadow realm.'

Joey looked back and forth between Jason and Yami Bakura, making a final decision.

"Well Let's get this show on the road," Joey said boldly. "You and me, one-on-one in a duel."

Yami Bakura laughed.

"You have no idea what's in store for you in this duel," he said as he activated his duel gauntlet.

"Hey, please tell me that this guy knows what he is doing," Jason said.

"Joey knows exactly what he's doing," Yami responded. 'I just wish I knew how to help him.'

Joey and Bakura drew their cards as they started the duel.

"Alright, you freak. You're going first. Got that?" Joey said.

"Fine, mortal," Yami Bakura shot back. "I was going to take it easy on you, but since you want it this way, I won't hold back."

"It's time to duel," the two said.

(Joey: 8000) (Yami Bakura: 8000)

"I'll summon one monster in defense mode and place one card face down. That will end my turn," Yami Bakura said.

Joey drew his sixth card and decided on his opening strategy.

"I'll place two cards face down and summon Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200), in attack mode!" the blonde duelist said.

In front of him appeared two brown backed card holograms and a small human-like creature with a short sword in its hand.

"That'll do it for me," Joey added.

"Such a pathetically frail creature," Yami Bakura said while drawing. "I'll break it with this, my Legion Goblin (1400/600), in attack mode."

A very large, red goblin appeared on Yami Bakura's side of the field and snorted at the tiny creature standing in front of it.

"Now my creature, destroy his monster."

The goblin rushed forward and prepared to strike with all of its force.

"Hold it right there," Joey said. "Reveal Graceful Dice!"

One of his facedown cards flipped up and a small yellow winged creature holding a six-sided die popped out.

"When the die rolls, my monster's attack power increases according to the number rolled times 200," Joey explained. "Now go dice roll!"

The creature let the die roll from its hands. It tumbled a bit and eventually landed on a five.

"All right! My monster goes up by a thousand," Joey said.

Yami Bakura's goblin attempted to punch the Swordsman (1500/1200), but the tiny creature dodged the attack and stabbed the goblin in its chest, destroying it.

(Joey: 8000) (Yami Bakura: 7900)

"With such weak strategies, this will be easier than I thought. End turn," Yami Bakura said.

"Now I'll summon Little Winguard (1400/1800) in attack mode."

In front of Joey appeared a small fairy-like monster wrapped in a blue cloak with a sword in its hand.

"And I'll use it to attack your defense monster," Joey declared.

His new monster charged forward and slashed through Yami Bakura's facedown monster. It was a small, furry creature with three eyes.

"Thank you for attacking my Sangan (1000/600)," Yami Bakura said. "It allows me to go through my deck and add one monster with an attack of 1500 or less to my hand."

"Fine, but I'll still attack directly with my Swordsman of Landstar," Joey said.

His monster rushed forward and slashed Yami Bakura's chest. The spirit stumbled back slightly, but shrugged off most of the attack.

(Joey: 8000) (Yami Bakura: 7400)

Yami Bakura recovered and drew from his deck, determined to break Joey in one way or another.

"I'll summon my Headless Knight (1400/1700), in attack mode," Yami Bakura said, swiping the card.

A light fog suddenly appeared on the field. A spirit of an empty suit of armor walked through the fog towards the field.

"I'll place one more card facedown and have Headless Knight destroy the Swordsman of Landstar."

Bakura's Knight leaped up and delivered a flying slash to the Swordsman, splitting the tiny creature in two.

(Joey: 7100) (Yami Bakura: 7400)

"So much for that weakling. He broke just like all of your other monsters will."

Joey drew his card, looked at it, and immediately swiped it through the reader on his Duel Gauntlet.

"Why don't you tell that to Gearfried, the Iron Knight (1800/1600)!" he said.

In a shower of sparks, a large, warrior covered in a thick black suit of armor appeared on the field. The long blade that extended from his arm gleamed in the sunlight.

"I don't think so," Yami Bakura said. "Activate Dark Removal."

One of Yami Bakura's trap cards flipped up. On one side of Joey, a large cross rose from the ground. His Gearfried was pulled up onto the cross and held there by dark rings.

"What have you done to my monster?" Joey asked.

"My Dark Removal card instantly removes one monster from play for three of your turns, starting now of course," Yami Bakura replied with a twisted smirk.

Joey stared at his hand. Realizing that there was nothing he could do for Gearfried, he ended his turn.

"This duel is starting to look bleak for you," Yami Bakura said as he drew. "And it's going to get a lot worse, because now I'll sacrifice my Headless Knight to summon the Earl of Demise (2000/1000), in attack mode."

Bakura's Headless Knight disappeared into the darkness. A few seconds later, a rotting corpse in an old suit appeared in the same spot.

"Now my monster, attack and destroy his Winguard," Yami Bakura ordered.

His Earl of Demise charged forward and sliced the Little Winguard in half with his razor sharp rapier.

(Joey: 6500) (Yami Bakura: 7400)

"I'll place one more card face down and end my turn," Yami Bakura said.

'Man, what a predicament,' Joey thought as he looked at the card that he drew. 'I don't have anything in my hand that can stand up to that Earl of Demise. But I have to throw down a defense so...' "I'll place one card face down and activate Scapegoat," Joey said out loud.

Four multicolored holographic sheep appeared on Joey's side of the field. Yami Bakura looked at the tokens and turned his nose up at them as he drew.

"Those sickening fuzz balls aren't going to save your Life Points for very long," he remarked with a twisted smile. "I'll summon Sakuma of the Darkness (1200/700), in attack mode."

A large black fire appeared next to the Earl of Demise. Out of it stepped a flaming skeleton with large bone claws.

"When there is another fiend on my side of the field, Sakuma can attack twice," Yami Bakura explained. "So now, Sakuma, destroy two Scapegoats."

Bakura's monster leaped up and delivered a fatal slash to two of Joey's goats with its claws.

"Now, Earl of Demise, wipe out one more goat," Yami Bakura ordered.

His Earl charged forward and sliced another goat token.

"You're quickly running out of defenses. I'll end my turn."

Joey drew, then, looked up at his crucified Gearfried. 'Aw man. I've only got one turn left before he comes back, but at this point he won't even matter,' Joey thought. 'Well, I might as well destroy something while I can.' "I'll summon Panther Warrior, in attack mode," Joey said.

A large black panther in heavy armor and a long green cape materialized onto the field.

"You've fallen right into my trap. Activate Bottomless Trap Hole," Yami Bakura said.

A large pit opened up beneath Joey's warrior.

"This card automatically removes from play one monster with an attack of 1500 or more when it is summoned," Yami Bakura said.

Joey's Panther Warrior sank into the dark hole, and was dragged down deeper by wailing and moaning spirits.

"No, my Panther Warrior!" Joey cried out.

"I thought that you said he knew exactly what he was doing," Jason said as he watched from the ground.

'Come on Joey. You can win this,' Yugi thought, paying no mind to Jason's lack of faith.

Jason looked on as Yugi continued to worry about Joey's safety.

'Now I know why the teacher always said to stay on crowded streets,' he thought. 'Cause you never know when some magical psycho will pin you to the ground with an enchanted necklace, and try to kill you.'

"What will you do now?" Yami Bakura asked.

"I'll...end my turn," Joey said reluctantly.

"Oh how I enjoy watching mortals squirm," Yami Bakura said. He drew from his deck and smiled. "Sakuma, destroy his last Scapegoat and then, take a chunk out of his Life Points!"

Bakura's monster charged through Joey's Scapegoat, straight to Joey, slashing him deeply with its claws.

(Joey: 5300) (Yami Bakura: 7400)

"Now, Earl of Demise, attack him directly!"

The Earl leaped through the air and came down hard on Joey with a quick slice.

(Joey: 3300) (Yami Bakura: 7400)

"I'll place two cards face down and end my turn," Yami Bakura said nonchalantly.

'I need a miracle to win this one,' Joey thought. 'He has three cards facedown on the field. One of them is definitely a trap to stop me. Come on deck, don't fail me now.'

Joey closed his eyes and drew. He looked at the card.

"All right! Joey Wheeler is back in business!" Joey exclaimed. "Gearfried, come on down!"

The cross vanished and Joey's Iron Knight returned to the field.

"Now, I'll sacrifice Gearfried to summon the almighty Jinzo (2400/1500)!"

Joey's Gearfried shattered and in his place stood a tall machine-like creature, with glowing red eyes.

"You know what that means," Joey said with a smile. "Those trap cards you have are useless," Joey said as Jinzo's eye beams went to work, destroying Yami Bakura's trap cards. "Now, Jinzo, attack the Earl of Demise."

The mechanical monster held up one hand and fired a sonic wave, shattering the Earl into holographic pieces.

(Joey: 3300) (Yami Bakura: 7000)

"That'll end my turn. Let's see you come back from that," Joey dared.

Yami Bakura drew, but simply placed the card in his hand without looking at it. His attention was focused on another card.

"I hope you're not too fond of that Jinzo, because it's time for him to bow before his dark ruler," Bakura said. "I'll sacrifice my Sakuma to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450/1600)."

Bakura's monster disappeared in a blaze of dark flames, and out of what seemed to be the very pit of hell itself, arose a huge green demon, with long horns and flaming red eyes. He took a sip from a glass of blood nestled in his left hand.

"Now Ha Des, send that tin can to the scrap heap!" Yami Bakura ordered.

His demon held out his hand and instantly blasted a column of dark flames at Joey's android, incinerating the machine.

(Joey: 3250) (Yami Bakura: 7000)

"Whatever hope you had of winning just went up in unholy flames," Yami Bakura said mockingly. "I'll end my turn."

Just as Joey drew, a loud moan caught his attention. He looked around, and for the first time, he noticed something different about the area. The fog that appeared when Yami Bakura summoned the Headless Knight was still there, except thicker, and darker. Jason could barely see through the fog.

"Hey, what's with this fog?" Joey asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention something. You and I are in a very special duel," Yami Bakura said. He went on to explain. "With each amount of Life Points that you lose, you are drawn closer and closer to the Shadow Realm. And if...oh, I'm sorry, when you lose, not only will your mind be trapped in the shadows, but so will your soul, for the rest of eternity!"

"No, I can't lose!" Joey said. "Now, not only does my spot in the tournament depend on it, but so does the fate of my mortal soul!"

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Well, that's chapter seven. Look forward to chapter eight, because I'll have that as soon as I can. I look forward to your reviews, of course.