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Fanfic Chapter 14: Bully for Yugi
Episode Basis: Winning Through Intimidation
Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!: Yugi and the gang came to the defense of Mai, who was forced into a duel by Panik, one of Pegasus' Eliminators. Panik clobbered Mai and took all her star chips. Seeing the unfair way in which Panik dueled, Yugi stepped in to win back Mai's star chips. But from the moment Yugi stepped onto the platform, Panik was luring him into a trap, by trapping Yugi on the podium and threatening him with flames. He then played his Castle of Dark Illusions which blocked everything from view, including monsters and life point counter. Panik's monsters were shrouded in darkness forcing Yugi to go on the defensive. Panik taunted and teased Yugi's courage. But Yugi didn't back down, even with hot flames threatening to cook him alive. Yugi revealed that his Swords of Revealing Light card had the power to illuminate the field and dispel the darkness. Panik sent his Reaper of the Cards after it, but Yugi pulled a switcheroo, laying the Spellbinding Circle when Panik thought it was the Swords of Revealing Light. Then Yugi made an outrageous declaration: he can beat Panik in five turns. Let's see if Yugi lives up to his promise.
The tables had been turned on Panik, with the capture of his Reaper of the Cards.
"Nice going, Yugi," Harold, who had managed to regain enough strength to stand on his own, congratulated. "You captured one of Panik's best cards."
"So what? The Reaper's only one of my powerful monsters," Panik revealed.
Yugi heard the slight tremor in his voice. "Getting nervous, Panik? I may have not been able to mount an effective attack, but that will all change very soon!"
"Ridiculous, what are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about. I made you a promise that in five turns, I would teach you a lesson you would never forget. And I intend to make good." He held up four fingers. "You have only four turns left. Four more turns before I drag you out of your shadows and show you up for the bully you really are."
"You dolt, have you forgotten who you're messing with? I am Panik the Eliminator!" Panik hit a button causing flames to spout up around Yugi.
But Yugi wasn't intimidated. "Are those supposed to scare me? Or are YOU running scared?"
"Yugi's playing with fire," Tea complained. "I sure hope he knows what he's doing."
"Yeah, this Panik nut job is playing for keeps."
"Joey, you know as well as I do that Yugi doesn't coward even in the face of death. And when he gets like that, it's like he can accomplish miracles."
"But Panik enjoys breaking Duelists," Mai said. "Making them sweat, watching them squirm. For him... dueling is just an excuse to practice his cruelty!" Mai obviously was still ashamed about her utter defeat.
"Mai... I'll tell you a secret," Harold said. "Yugi has dealt with a lot of cruelty. Doing so has made him strong, probably stronger than any one of us here, and definitely stronger than The Shadow over there."
"You can't stall forever," Yugi told Panik. "Sooner or later, you'll have to make your move."
"Silence," Panik seethed as he drew a card. Looking at it, he laughed celebrantly. This match will win the entire match for me! King of Yamimakai(1)! Powered up from the field power bonus I get from playing it at night, it's more than a match for your Curse of Dragon!"
(KY: 2000---2600, 1530---1989)
"King of Yamimakai, electro-shock attack!" The monster let out a blast of dark energy. But instead of hitting Yugi's Curse of Dragon, which wouldn't have affected his lifepoints anyway, it veered off course andstruck the Reaper of the Cards, drawing it into a vortex.
"What? What happened?" Panik asked.
"My Spellbinding Circle drew in your attack, destroying the Reaper of the Cards instead. And since the Reaper was one of your cards that means..."
"No, my life points!"
(Y: 1606)
(P: 494)
"They don't do well, when they step out of the darkness. Now let's bring all your monsters into the light. I dispel all your darkness with the Swords of Revealing Light!" Yugi flipped the magic card over. A bright light covered the field, blinding everyone, especially Panik.
"Stop it, stop it," he whined. "I can't stand the light!"
As the bright flash subsided, hundreds of sword-shape energy encircled the Castle of Dark Illusions and the three monsters underneath it. Yugi was also able to see Panik's duel table and his life point counter.
"No more hiding, Panik, your darkness will shield you no longer," Yugi said. "Three turns left and then you're finished! I didn't use the Swords of Revealing Light to just illuminate the field. It also froze your monsters for three full turns. That means you can't do a thing while I implement my strategy."
Does this upstart think he can panic me? Panik thought. Even if he is planning an attack on his next turn, the only monster he has is Curse of Dragon, while I have Barox (2), Dark Kimera (3) and King of Yamimakai. And since they're powered up by the field power bonus…
(B: 1380---1794, 1530---1989)
(DK.: 1610---2093, 1460---1989)
Despite Yugi's Swords of Revealing Light, my monsters still get a field power bonus. And after three turns, the swords will be gone, then I'll attack him with everything at once!
"You're stalling, Panik," Yugi called breaking Panik's internal thought. "Afraid to make your next move?"
He continues to goad me, Panik thought as he drew a card. Usually my opponents are battered and broken by now, but he is not like the others. I will enjoy crushing him once and for all! Panik looked at the card he drew and let out a cheer. "And this is the card to do it! Yugi, you can forget your foolish delusions of defeating me in just three turns! I've drawn a Chaos Shield magic card!"
"Oh no! That puts all the monsters in defense mode and raises their defense power!"
"You're thinking too small, you fool, or don't you know that I can combine my Chaos Shield with my Castle of Dark Illusions. With this combination, I can project a defensive shield on my side of the field!"
Mai was beginning to lose hope. With Chaos Shield in play, Panik's monsters are untouchable while Yugi was vulnerable to any sort of attack, at least in three turns.
"Do you still think you can defeat me in three turns, you impudent shrimp?! Admit defeat, you can see how Chaos Shield raises the defense power of my monsters!"
(CDI: 2600---3200)
(B: 1989---2600)
(DK: 1989---2600)
(KY: 1989---2600)
He's right, Yugi thought. That shield protects him from all attacks, even from my strongest monsters.
"I hate to say it, but Yugi doesn't stand a chance," Mai said. "Breaking Duelists is what Panik does best. Panik is brutal, ruthless, everything the perfect Duelist needs to be."
"Mai, you've become so cynical about Duel Monsters," Harold complained.
"And you don't understand Yugi at all," Bakura added. "There's much more to him than meets the eye."
"Exactly. Yugi may not follow your code of Duel Monster behavior, Mai, but he will always fight to the bitter end, that's why I admire Yugi so much, because he never gives up." Mai was secretly impressed at Harold's little speech. Tea's mouth tipped in the direction of a smile.
Panik was still commanding Yugi to give up. "I'm going to crack you like an egg!"
Yugi chuckled again. "You'd like me to crack, wouldn't you? Because it's worked for you before, winning through intimidation and not through skill."
"You mock my skill? My skill is what's beating you!"
"Don't be so sure. You think you're winning, you think your tactics are taking me by surprise. But I saw your tactics the moment I saw what type of man you are."
"You're talking nonsense."
"I knew you would use Chaos Shield, cowardly bullies like you always try to hide behind something."
"Shut up! I'm in no way a coward and I never tried to hide behind anything!"
"Your whole strategy is nothing but cowering and hiding."
Panik went off the deep end and turned the flame jets on Yugi, turning them into literal fire weapons.
"No one talks to me that way! I AM PANIK, THE ELIMINATOR!" Panik used the flame jets on Yugi.
But a simple shift of his body was all Yugi needed to dodge the flames.
"Are you finished? Or are you going to continue hiding behind your pyrotechnics like a big coward." Panik's fist hovered over the button. "The truth hurts, doesn't it, Panik? Facing up to your true self is usually more than bullies like you can bear. So you hide in the shadows."
"Uh... anybody besides me find that intimidating the scary brute with access to flame throwers just a little bit dangerous?" Harold asked rhetorically.
"Yugi, he's dangerous; you have to stop stirring him up," Tea advised.
"Don't interfere," Mai said in a low voice. "Yugi's just using Panik's own tactics against him. It's psychological warfare."
"I will burn you to a cinder!"
"That will prove you are a coward," Yugi returned. "If you're not afraid, then you should stop hiding and play this game with honor! Or I will rip your 'fearsome' façade away piece by piece!"
"You bluff!"
"There's only one way you'll know for sure, play out this game. After all, we'll know in just two turns. Can you last just two turns? Do you have the courage?"
"Do I have the courage?! Panik fears no Duelist! I will wipe out your life points and destroy you so that there's nothing left, not even ashes!"
Bakura wiped his forehead.
"Yugi's really freaking Panik out," Harold commented.
"Yup, psychology is half the game," Mai threw in.
"And now it's my turn." Yugi drew a card. "And my card is Gaia, the Fierce Knight!" The warrior on a horse appeared.
"You idiot! Do you really think a monster that weak can break through my Chaos Shield?"
"Maybe not by itself, but I also have a magic card on the field. Read it and weep: Polymerization! I combine Curse of Dragon and Gaia the Fierce Knight together, to bring forth... Gaia, the Dragon Champion!" The Dragon Champion was basically Gaia riding on Curse of Dragon's back. His attack power was 2600. "My turn's over, but you're finished as well."
What does he mean by that? Even with an attack power of 2600, it's still not enough to break through my Chaos Shield. He pondered what to do next. There's got to be something else involved, otherwise he wouldn't be so confident. I can't risk attacking, but if I just hold out for two more turns, his Swords of Revealing Light were fade, then I'll deactivate my Chaos Shield and attack him with all my monsters and destroy him once and for all! He drew a card. "Ah, perfect. Metal Guardian (4) in defense mode! With the field power bonus, he'll shield my monsters from whatever Yugi's planning!"
(MG: 1150---1490, 2150---2795)
Yugi humphed, "Figures, you're cowering again."
"Insolent dog!"
"Your strategy is nothing but putting up defenses. You're showing how weak you are."
"Silence! In the next turn, the Swords of Revealing Light will vanish then I'll hit you with everything at once!"
"It'll be too late; I already drew you deep into my trap. The stronger you make your defenses, the more you back yourself into defeat."
"That's a joke! You're nothing but talk!"
"The time for talk is over, that was your last turn. THE END IS NOW!" Yugi drew a card from his hand. "I summon Catapult Turtle (5) in attack mode!" A mechanical-looking turtle with a giant catapult on its shell appeared. "Slow and steady wins the duel, Panik, for I can use the turtle's catapult to launch Gaia the Dragon Champion and shatter your defenses!"
Panik gasped. "How?"
"Catapult Turtle raises Gaia the Dragon Champion's attack power enough to break through your pitiful shell!"
(GDC: 2600---3200)
"My defense power is still much too strong for you," Panik argued, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Yugi. "Protected by the Chaos Shield, you still can't touch them! You can only watch helplessly as they prepare to attack you next turn!"
"Who said I was attacking your monsters?" Yugi asked.
"Huh?"
"What I'm choosing to attack is..." Yugi pointed at the castle on top of the Chaos Shield. "The Castle of Dark Illusions!"
Panik argued that his castle was invincible to any attack so he won't take any attack damage at all but Yugi would take damage to his lifepoints by using his Dragon Champion as a weapon like that.
To that, Yugi simply replied, "We'll see. Turtle, launch my Dragon Champion now!" The turtle shot Gaia the Dragon Champion at the castle. The monster struck the castle head on causing a fierce explosion and seriously lowering Yugi's lifepoints.
(Y: 300)
(P: 494)
"I can't believe Yugi sacrificed his most powerful monster like that," Harold said.
"It certainly didn't help his lifepoints," Tristan commented.
"I can't see a thing," Tea complained. "Did it work?" As the smoke cleared, the castle revealed itself. Suddenly the ring around the castle crumbled to dust. But the castle remained where it was.
Panik laughed. "Fool, for all your bragging and threats, my castle still remains. Your attack just knocked its flotation ring off. And now that your attack has failed, I'll eliminate you once and for all! Where're your bold threats now? It's been five turns and I'm still here. At the end of this turn the paralyzing effect of the Swords of Revealing Light will wear off and I'll be free to attack you with all of my monsters!"
Yugi chuckled. "There is no next turn for you. This duel has already ended."
"What?!"
"Doesn't it seem odd that a castle that lost its flotation ring is still floating? What if the Swords of Revealing Light not only locked your monsters in place, but your castle as well, then what do you think will happen?"
"It can't be!" Panik cried.
"Can it?" Mai muttered.
"Right now, the only thing holding your castle in place is the Swords of Revealing Light, and when the turn ends, each and every sword will vanish."
"That means..."
"It means your world's about to come tumbling down!"
"NO! THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE! NO ONE CAN DEFEAT PANIK! I'M INVINCIBLE!"
Yugi gave him a Roman Emperor thumbs down, like he was condemning Panik to death, which he was. "My turn... is over."
As the swords vanished, the castle started to tip over and fall. Panik's monsters pounded against the Chaos Shield trying to get out.
"Run, monsters, get out of the way!" Panik warned.
"It's too late; the Chaos Shield has held them in place. You've trapped them with your own card." Everyone watched as the castle fell, crushing every one of Panik's monsters.
(Y: 300)
(P: 0)
"Oh yeah, he did it!" Joey cried.
"And Panik's not taking it well," Tristan said noticing Panik trembling.
"I'll say," Harold agreed. "Panik's having... um... a panic attack."
Panik kept asking how anyone could defeat him. He looked at Yugi. Look at him, that smug little worm. I'll kill him! I'll kill him now! "I may have not been able to beat you, Yugi, but I can still ELIMINATE YOU!" He slammed the control button down.
A wall of flames rose around Yugi's side of the field. And with his legs clamped in place, there was nowhere he could go.
"We'll see who's the coward now!" More flame throwers came out of Panik's podium and headed straight for Yugi.
"Yugi, jump out of the way!" Bakura cried.
"Get down!" Harold shouted. Everyone dropped to the ground as the entire arena was transformed into an inferno.
"Yugi!" Tea cried out. "No..."
Inside, the fire storm, Panik celebrated the supposed death of Yugi Moto. Until he noticed that the flames were actually going around Yugi's podium. Panik immediately turned off the flame throwers. Yugi was still standing on his podium. His puzzle was glowing and he had a colorful Egyptian-looking eye on his forehead.
"How... how did you survive? It's impossible!"
"My Millennium Puzzle protects me from cowardly assaults like yours. Now I will teach you a lesson about bullying others." Yugi held out his hand. "PENALTY GAME: TORMENT OF FIRE!" All the flames immediately converged on Panik, leaving nothing but his two dueling gloves.
As the flames subsided, the others were afraid to see the worse, but they didn't. Instead, Yugi, leg clamps removed, descended from his dueling field.
"Yugi, thank goodness you're alive!" Tea said.
"Man, who would've thought your Millennium Puzzle would be that powerful," Tristan said bending down to look at the object in question. "All those flames and not even a sun tan."
Yugi just went over to eject the star chips from Panik's dueling glove. He went up to Mai and held them out before her. "Here," he said. "These star chips are yours."
Mai was silent for a while then she replied, "I'm sorry, but I can't accept them."
"Mai, Yugi risked life and limb to win those star chips for you," Harold reminded her. "The least you can do is accept them."
"Forget it, guys," Joey said casually. "There's no point in arguing, she's too stubborn, but if she doesn't want them, then I'll take them." He laughed.
His laugh infuriated Mai. "DO YOU THINK LOSING ALL MY STAR CHIPS IS FUNNY, JOEY WHEELER?"
"I thought you didn't want them." He held them out of Mai's reach as she grabbed for them.
"Hey, give them back!"
"Okay." And just like that, Joey dropped the star chips into Mai's hand. Mai stared at them questioning, then looked up at Joey. "Haven't you learned anything from this duel, Mai? You can't always keep your defenses up, they would block that which can help you as well as harm you." Mai couldn't believe it. Was this the same kid whom only hours ago she tried to eliminate from the island? "Also..." Mai looked up at him. "Not everyone has their own agenda. Some are actually willing to help out without asking for anything in return. Some people are just like that. If you do that, then you'll become one heck of a Duelist."
"Wow, I'd never thought I'd hear that coming from Joey's mouth of all people," Harold said.
"Hey, I'm just full of surprises," Joey commented.
"Yeah, like it's a surprise you can say anything intelligent."
With Joey giving Tristan the evil eye, they, along with Bakura, and Harold, turned to leave. Yugi and Tea were going to follow but Mai called, "Yugi!" Yugi turned back to look at her. "This was your victory so as far as I'm concern, I still owe you." Quietly, she added, "More than I've ever owed anyone. And if we ever face each other in a duel, I promise it will be an honorable one. I owe you that at least."
Yugi nodded. "I look forward to that time." And he and Tea turned and hurried after the others.
Monster Glossary
(1)
Name: King of Yamimakai
Level: 5
Type: Fiend
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2000
DEF: 1530
(2)
Name: Barox
Level: 5
Type: Fiend/Fusion
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1380
DEF: 1530
(3)
Name: Dark Kimera
Level: 5
Type: Fiend
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1610
DEF: 1460
(4)
Name: Metal Guardian
Level: 5
Type: Machine
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1150
DEF: 2150
(5)
Name: Catapult Turtle
Level: 5
Type: Aqua/Effect
Attribute: Water
ATK: 1000
DEF: 2000
