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Fanfic Chapter 20: The Labyrinth Dungeon Pt. 3: The Ultimatum
Episode Basis: Double Truble Duel Pt. 3
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Kaiba ran into Kimo, once a Kaiba-Corp. employee, now working for Pegasus. He gently convinced Kimo to aide him in his search for Mokuba (okay, so Kaiba beat him up, let's not nitpick here). Meanwhile, the Paradox Brothers embarked on an elaborate scheme to summon their ultimate monster, the Gate Guardian, by combining the Trinity Gods. Kimo got Kaiba into Pegasus' castle, but then triggered an alarm causing Kaiba to hasten his search. The Paradox Brothers succeeded in bringing forth the Gate Guardian and unleashed its power on Joey's vulnerable Flame Swordsman. Looks like this is one storm Flame Swordsman's not going to weather.
Joey could only watch helplessly as the giant burst of energy headed towards his Flame Swordsman. "If you got any bright ideas, now's the time."
Para laughed. "Now you see, our Gate Guardian conquers all!"
"Not this turn," Yugi said. "Unless he's not affected by traps! Mirror Force, reflect his attack!" The attack bounced off the shield and headed back towards the Gate Guardian.
"Gate Guardian defense: Squall Barricade!" Para announced. The middle section set up a shield to block the attack. "Our forces not felled…"
"…You've been repelled."
Yugi smirked. "Yes, but your Gate Guardian reflected your attack right at your Monster Tamer." Sure enough, Monster Tamer was consumed by the energy.
(Y: 800)
(J: 1600)
(P: 900)
(D: 1600)
"Phew, that was a close one," Harold said. "But how much longer can they keep it up?"
"Until they win," Tea said firmly.
Pegasus' goons were searching high and low for Kaiba, who had seemed to disappear. Two guards reported in to their chief.
"No sign of him, sir."
"He couldn't have just disappeared!"
"But sir, we searched everywhere."
"Then stand by his brother's cell, he'll show up." As soon as the guards ran off, Kaiba revealed himself from one of the dark corners of the tunnels. He ran off.
"All right, now it's my turn!" Joey said.
"Wait, Joey, don't make your move just yet," Yugi cautioned. "Look at that monster. It was created by combining three different monsters."
"So?"
"So that might be our ticket to dismantling him."
"Right, section by section. All right, Flame Swordsman, use Salamandra's power and attack the mid-section!" As the fire snake raced towards the green part, a wall of water raised up around it.
"You fool," Dox insulted. "Attack one and the others will defend it. You wasted your turn. Now our Gate Guardian will lay waste to your monster, Tidal Surge attack!" The entire maze suddenly became flooded. Bakura explained that Dox was using Suijin, the water elemental section to flood the arena. Yugi's Dark Magician would be protected vie the Magical Hats but Joey's Flame Swordsman will not.
The Paradox Brothers launched into another acrobatic routine.
"I swear, if they do that one more time, I'm taking a frying pan to one of their heads," Harold grumbled.
"We have taken the lead," Dox announced.
"For now," Joey replied.
(Y: 800)
(J: 1300)
(P: 900)
(D: 1600)
"Your Gate Guardian may have dampened the fields, but not our spirits," Yugi declared. "For my turn, I lay this card face down and I call upon the Summoned Skull to finish the job Joey's Flame Swordsman started."
"You must be joking…"
"…That swordsman started nothing before he left choking."
"That's not quite true. If it wasn't for him, the stage wouldn't be set for my Summoned Skull's attack."
Harold realized it. "The water, Yugi's going to use it as a conductor for an electrical attack."
From the horrified look on the Paradox Brothers' faces, they reached that same conclusion.
"Summoned Skull, Lightning Strike!"
"Payback time!"
The lightning traveled along the water all the way back to its source.
"Not so fast," Dox said. "You may have found a watery trail back to our Guardian, but you have yet to breach his defenses, defenses that we activate now!" But nothing happened. "Huh, what's going on?"
"What's going on is that by flooding the entire labyrinth with water, you attacked my Magical Hats. And hidden underneath them was a trap, a trap that immobilizes your guardian and leaves him vulnerable… Spellbinding Circle, ensnaring your Gate Guardian and leaving him 700 attack points weaker leaving Suijin, your Guardian's water element vulnerable to my electrical attack!" The lightning struck the blue part of the Gate Guardian and destroyed it.
(Y: 800)
(J: 1300)
(P: 900)
(D: 900)
"One down, two to go," Joey said excitedly.
The others from the sideline also cheered.
"Our Guardian is only damaged, not beaten," Para said. "I activate the magic card Remove Trap!" The circle that ensnared the Gate Guardian's remaining two sections disappeared. "Even without Suijin, our Guardian is still powerful."
"We'll see," Joey said. "It's my move."
Their Gate Guardian may be unbeatable by any monster, but not by our teamwork.
"All right, Bozo Brothers, try this on for size, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Joey's dragon appeared next to Yugi's Summoned Skull.
"And now, with the magic of my Polymerization card," Yugi said turning over one of his face-down cards. "I'll combine Joey's Red-Eyes with my Summoned Skull." The two monsters' bodies intermingled. "You now face…"
"The supreme Black Skull Dragon (1)!" Joey finished. The Black Skull Dragon was a fusion monster in every sense of the word. You could even see the bits of the two material monsters the fusion monster made up of. "Your Guardian ain't so tough now."
"Yeah, let's see your labyrinth try to stop this."
The Paradox Brothers burst into laughter.
"What are you two clowns laughing about?"
"You fool," Dox said. "You think your new creature will win the match for you?"
"You're wrong," Para continued. "There is little that your creature can do. For there is a maze rule you must not have known."
"Oh no!"
"Oh yes, and the rule states that the labyrinth is a no-fly zone!"
"Aww nuts," Joey said. "Our Black Skull Dragon can only move through flight. These rules stink."
"Don't worry, Joey, I have an alternate plan."
Joey breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh yeah, we have a back-up plan!"
The Paradox Brothers didn't seem too worried.
Harold put down his backpack. For some reason, it felt heavier than usual. Yugi and Joey have the right monster, now they need to get it over there. I can't think of any cards that might work to solve that problem. I hope Yugi knows what he's doing.
"So what do you think the Ball Brothers are thinking, Yugi?" Joey asked.
"You mock us?" Dox asked. He drew a card and laughed. "But with this next card, I will trash your team." After doing their patented triple back flip, he played it. "Ryoku."
"No, not Ryoku!" Yugi gasped.
"It's all Greek to me, pal," Joey said revealing that he didn't know the card.
"Ryoku is a rare and mighty card."
"Too true, Ryoku allows me to take half of my opponent's life points and add it to the attack points of one of my monsters."
"Aww nuts," Joey moaned. "You might as well be stealing."
(Y: 400)
(J: 650)
(P: 900)
(D: 900)
"Stay strong, Joey," Yugi said.
"The only one around here that'll be staying strong is our Gate Guardian! We power him up with your life points."
(GG(S): 2600-3000)
(GG(K): 2400-3050)
A/N: The S and K stand for the segments of the Gate Guardian (GG). Sanga's original ATK was 2600 and Kazejin's was 2400.
"That's like cutting their chances to win in half," Tristan complained.
"Luckily, using the Ryoku card ends our turn," Dox said. "But when our next turn is at hand, we will use our Gate Guardian's newfound power to eliminate you once and for all!"
"He will turn your monsters into smears on the labyrinth wall," Para added.
Joey sighed frustrated.
"Don't worry, Joey, I still have a plan. First I draw." Yugi took the top card from his deck. "Next, my Dark Magician will leave the safety of the magical hats and return to the field." The Dark Magician popped out of one of the remaining hats. "Then he'll move six spaces forward and out of your maze."
Para shouted at Yugi, "You fool! Why are you moving your Magician out of the maze when you know that our Gate Guardian is waiting for him on the other side?"
"Does it matter? You seem certain he will win regardless of what I do."
"Uh… Yug, not for nothin', here, but you wanna fill me in here?"
"It's all right, Joey, trust me." The Paradox Brothers chuckled hungrily. "Finally, I play this card: Monster Reborn!"
No matter which of his monsters he revives with that card, it will do him no good, Para thought. "Your plan will fail! Gate Guardian, attack the Dark Magician now!" The Gate Guardian's remaining parts combined their powers and launched it at the Dark Magician.
"You attacked without seeing which monster I have resurrected so you couldn't have known. Suijin, Tidal Shield!" A wall of water rose up around the Dark Magician. "Recognize the monster? You should, seeing as how it's yours."
"He used his card to bring back our Suijin!"
"Only now, he's not ours, he's been brought back on their side!" Suijin appeared with the Dark Magician standing on it.
"All right, Yug, that's the play of the day!"
The others breathed a sigh of relief. "That was a close one," Tristan said and Tea nodded.
"Yes, now let's see if they can follow through," Bakura commented.
"It's Joey's turn," Harold said.
"You have been lucky, you little louse…"
"But we promise your luck's about to run out."
"Fine, but in the mean time, its Joey's turn."
Okay, Yugi started our come back, and I have to keep it going.
That water god I revived bought us some time, but it'll be up to Joey to keep us in this.
Joey drew a card. Copycat (2, 3, 4), copies one card on the field. Joey pondered how to use its special ability and smiled fox-like. Oh man, I just got a killer idea. "I use Copycat and play it as Ryoku!" The Paradox Brothers were taken aback by that. "That's right, say good-bye to half of your life points."
(Y: 400)
(J: 650)
(P: 450)
(D: 450)
"But don't worry; they're going to a good cause: my Black Skull Dragon!"
(BSD: 3200-4100)
"Great move, Joey!"
"Why power up your dragon, it's still forbidden to fly through the maze and therefore can not move." Dox turned to Yugi. "If you're smart, you wouldn't have used Monster Reborn on that treacherous water god. Thunder Stroke attack!"
"Suijin, raise Tidal Shield!" Yugi commanded. Suijin blocked Kazejin's attack.
"To be honest, we knew you would defend," Para said.
"Indeed, now hit him again!" This time, Sanga blasted Suijin with thunder. The Dark Magician leapt off as the water god was destroyed.
"What happened?" Tea asked.
"Suijin is only allowed to use its tidal defense ability once per turn," Bakura said. "So the Paradox Brothers split their attack into two waves."
"Yugi, did you really think one water god could stand against two?" Para asked. "That miscalculation will cost you the duel!"
"I'm afraid you're mistaken. Not only did I know you could destroy Suijin, I WANTED you to."
"What do you mean?"
"Anything to draw attention away from my Dark Magician." Yugi held up a magic card. "After all, if I was to use this Monster Replace card on the Black Skull Dragon, I needed someone strategically placed to exchange it with."
"No, he can't!"
"He played us for fools! Knowing his dragon couldn't move, he had his Dark Magician do the moving for him!"
"And now…" Yugi played the magic card. "Monster Replace, exchange the Dark Magician for the Black Skull Dragon!" The dragon appeared in the Dark Magician's place and the Dark Magician returned to Yugi's side of the maze. "At first, I thought the only way to beat your Gate Guardian was piece by piece, but now, with our dragon powered up by Ryoku, we can finish this with one final frontal assault! BLACK SKULL DRAGON, MOLTEN FIREBALL ATTACK!" Balls of hot lava shot out of the Black Skull Dragon's mouth and destroyed the remaining pieces of the Gate Guardian.
(Y: 400)
(J: 650)
(P: 0)
(D: 0)
Tea, Harold, Tristan, and Bakura cheered. "They did it."
"Hey guys," Harold said, "you know what that means?"
"They get ten star chips," they all said flashing victory signs.
"All full," Joey said.
"And all set to take on Pegasus," Yugi added.
"Not quite yet," Para denied.
"Still one test yet."
"I should've known," Yugi groaned.
Mokuba looked up as the guards that were watching his cell were suddenly knocked unconscious and dragged away, their attacker, and his rescuer, stepped into view.
"Mokuba…"
"Seto… Seto, is it really you?"
"Yeah, it's me."
Mokuba held his pendant. "I knew you would come." Mokuba staggered forward but malnourishment and the chains held him back.
"Easy there, kiddo, I'll have you free in a moment." Kaiba moved to unlock the cage door.
"The Brothers Kaiba, reunited again," a sarcastic voice said. Kaiba feared the worst and saw that his fears were well-founded.
Maxamillian Pegasus was standing behind them.
"Bravo, Kaiba, bravo, I knew nothing would stop you from rescuing your brother."
"Pegasus," Kaiba snarled.
"What do you mean there's another test?" Joey asked.
"Yugi and Joey won, and therefore, we should be entitled to go free."
"You have won our star chips, but you still must choose a door, remember?"
"I remember," Yugi admitted. "Now, which of you two is guarding the door we need?"
"If you cherish your lives, you'd choose my way," Para said.
"Select my side or else you pay," Dox responded.
"Maybe we could just try both doors," Harold suggested.
"I don't think it goes like that, Harold," Tristan said.
"Can't you two give us a straight answer for once?"
"I am giving you a straight answer," both the brothers argued.
"The answer is we can't trust either of these two," Yugi said. He cast a side glance back at the duel arena. Then an idea came to him. "Harold, do you have a marker?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do."
Yugi scribbled something on the coins. "We'll decide with these," he said showing the coins to everybody.
Dox laughed, "Okay, heads or tails."
"Neither, I marked each coin to represent a different door." He turned to the others. "Do you all trust me?"
"Are you kidding, of course we do," Joey said speaking for the rest. "You know what you're doing so go ahead and do it."
"No matter which door you choose, Yugi, I'll follow you," Tea assured him. The others nodded their consent.
"Thank you." Yugi turned to the Paradox Brothers. "Here's how the game works. The coin I keep clenched in my fist is the door I have chosen."
"Ah, Kaiba, I knew you would come for Mokuba eventually."
"Oh really? Well tell me something, Pegasus, did you also foresee what I'm about to do to you for harming my little brother?"
"Actually, Kaiba, I predict you won't lay a finger on me."
"Why is that?"
Pegasus just chuckled.
"Are you ready?" Yugi asked. "Game start." He held up his fists, looking from one to the other, most likely building up suspense. He finally opened his right hand.
"That coin is marked with Dox's door," Para noted.
"But was the choice good or was it poor?" Dox questioned.
"What you say, Dox, shall we tell them which is right?"
"In good time, Para, I'm enjoying their plight."
The others all held their breath waiting for the answer.
Para began, "I say…"
"You choose wrong," Dox interrupted. "It was my doorway."
"All along," Para finished. The two laughed.
"So it was the Dox door which was the right one?" Harold asked.
"Not quite," Yugi said.
The Paradox Brothers actually looked insulted by that comment. "Oh yes it was," squabbled Para.
"Except if we had picked it, Para's door would be the right one." He gestured to the duel arena. "It came to me the moment I saw you play Magical Labyrinth. You can change which door leads to which path, can't you, ensuring that we choose wrong."
"I told you Eliminators are a sneaky bunch," Harold said.
"Too bad, too late, you chose a way," Dox said.
"In this maze you'll stay."
"Well actually," Yugi said revealing the other coin. "You never did see which door I chose."
The coin was marked with the Dox symbol.
"I knew you would try to pull a stunt like this," Yugi explained. "So I pulled a stunt of my own with these two coins." He showed the first coin he revealed, that coin was marked with both insignias. "Instead of marking them both with one insignia, I marked this one with both symbols guaranteeing that we would choose the right one."
"The old switcheroo," Harold said and nudged Bakura's arm. "You know I taught him that trick."
"Sure you did," Tristan said sarcastically.
"Beat them at their own game," Joey said triumphantly.
"Yes, now if you excuse us, we have a score to settle with your boss, Pegasus."
And so, it was on to Pegasus' castle.
"You conniving snake," Kaiba snapped. "I should take you down right now for what you did to Mokuba!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus rejected. "In my dungeon, in my castle, in my realm, the only one who makes threats around here is me." Pegasus' Millennium Eye started to glow. Kaiba was temporarily blinded and Mokuba screamed. When Kaiba looked at his brother, Mokuba was laying face down.
"MOKUBA!"
Pegasus chuckled and held up a card that had Mokuba's picture on it. The words at the top read "Soul Cage."
"Tell me what you have done to him," Kaiba demanded.
"It's just a little magic trick," Pegasus said cryptically. "I've ensured your cooperation, for you see, Mokuba's soul is now imprisoned in a place where the locks can't be picked."
"You're mad!"
"And there he will remain, Kaiba-boy, until you beat me in a duel."
"A duel, with you, now? Okay, I'll do anything."
Pegasus shook his head. "Not just yet, Kaiba-boy, first you must earn the privilege to challenge me. And you can only do that by beating Yugi in a duel. And if you don't win, Mokuba's soul remains mine forever!" Pegasus' laughter sounded cold and heartless.
The End
Monster Glossary
(1)
Name: Black Skull Dragon
Level: 9
Type: Dragon/Fusion
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 3200
DEF: 2500
(2)
Name: Copycat (U.S. TV version)
Level: 5
Type: Spellcaster (assumed)
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 0
DEF: 1000
(3)
Name: Copycat (Japanese TV version)
Level: 5
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 0
DEF: 1000
(4)
Name: Copycat (TCG version)
Level: 1
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Light
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
Note: In the U.S. show, Copycat is shown to be a normal monster card while both the Japanese show and the real card game show it to be an effect monster. I think it'll be like this for Joey's duels with both Bandit Keith and Yugi.
