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Fanfic Chapter 36: Final Duel of Souls Pt 3: The Mind Shuffle Strategy
Episode Basis: Match of the Millennium Pt 3

Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Yugi was in trouble when Pegasus brought out his Toon World card. He converted his Ryu-Ran, Red Archery Girl, and even Yugi's Summoned Skull into ultra-powerful toon monsters. Plus since he was able to read Yugi's every thought and intention, Yugi was almost literally an open book to him and Yugi began to get discouraged. Meanwhile, Tristan was cornered by some guards but Yami Bakura showed up and tied them up with a magic card. The two were chased all the way up a tower to a ledge. Tristan thought they were done for but Yami Bakura revealed that he could get help from the Shadow Realm. Just whose side is Bakura on anyway?


"Your turn, Yugi-boy."

Yugi assessed his situation. If he placed a monster in defense mode, Pegasus' Gorgon Eye trap would just turn them to stone, then his toon monsters would destroy them and half of the defense points of the stoned monster would be deducted from Yugi's life points. On the other hand, if he laid monsters in attack mode, they would just be destroyed anyway.

Pegasus could sense Yugi's plight. "Oh, what's a poor Duelist to do? Either fossilized or destroyed, neither way a fitting end if you ask me."

He's right, unless maybe this combo will work! "I summon the Dark Magician in attack mode!"

"Oooh, the Dark Magician," Pegasus said mockingly as Yugi's favorite monster appeared.

"And I'll protect him with Magical Hats!"

"Brilliant play," Tea congratulated. "Even Pegasus can't tell which hat Yugi's Dark Magician is hiding under!"

"Ah, I see," Pegasus simply said.

"See what?"

"With your feeble attempt to hide the Dark Magician, you're hoping to stall until you can find a way to overcome my Toon World! But it won't work. You see, Yugi-boy, your mind decides which hat the Dark Magician hides under, and I can easily read it and find out which hat it's hiding under."

"Huh?"

"Don't you get it; you can keep no secrets for me! I'll find out where your Mage hides and destroy him!" Yugi gasped. "You might as well give in and save yourself the embarrassment of a humiliating defeat!"

Yugi hesitantly withdrew his hand from the Magical Hats card leaving it in play.

"Prepare yourself, Yugi-boy, because here I come!"

What do I do? If Pegasus reads my mind and finds out where the Dark Magician hides, I'm finished, there has to be some way I can stop him. There has to be!

"Yugi," Joey called. "Come on, stay with it, man!"

"I know Pegasus has magic, but… but so do you, the magic of your Millennium Puzzle!"

That's it! I DO have my own type of magic, the magic that merges me with the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle!

"Spirit, listen to me quickly!"

"Yugi?"


They met in the corridor of their soul, one side being a room of light and innocence, the other being a mysterious dark room.

"I can feel Pegasus clawing into our minds, I can't keep him out!"

"I know, but I have an idea. My Grandpa said that if I'm to win, I would have to harness the power of my Millennium Puzzle. I thought that he meant we should join like always, but now I realize that I was wrong. Grandpa said to trust in the power of my Millennium Puzzle, he never said anything about you."

"What are you saying?"

"If I'm to have any chance against Pegasus, I'm going to have to banish you from my mind!"

"But Yugi, we must work together or we won't stand a chance!"

"I know," Yugi agreed. "But just listen to me for a sec, we're losing because Pegasus can read our minds, because we're united as one, it's wrong… I mean it's the wrong strategy to use against an opponent who can read minds. If our minds so closely resemble one another, Pegasus can read it with ease, but I think I have an idea."

"It better be a good one, many lives are counting on us."

"I know, but I think it might work."

"Then tell it to me quickly, I can feel Pegasus pushing at our mind."

"Okay, here it is: each time we play a card, Pegasus reads our mind. So what if we keep our minds separate? One of us plays a card and then switches with the other. That way, if Pegasus reads our mind, he won't find out what he wants to know. In addition, if Pegasus was correct in saying our minds decide where the Dark Magician hides, then two separate minds would mean that the Dark Magician can switch between hiding places."

"So what you're saying is that we don't unite like we usually do, but we keep our thoughts and ideas secret, even from each other! A dangerous move, but it just might work."

"Okay, let's do it!"


"Toon Summoned Skull, emerge from the safety of Toon World and attack the hat on the far left!" The Toon Summoned Skull let out bolts of electricity from its wings and destroyed said hat. "The Dark Magician has performed his last act."

"Maybe, or maybe you're losing your touch, Pegasus."

Pegasus looked down at his monitor. Yugi still retained his current 900 life points. "What, Yugi-boy hasn't lost any life points? And the Dark Magician card is still on the field! Impossible, I just read his mind!" For the first time since the duel began, Pegasus showed a hint of genuine fear. "His Magician had to be hidden underneath that hat!" I felt him resisting my probe, but there's no way he could've deceived me!

"Maybe you probed the wrong mind, Pegasus, one that doesn't know where the Dark Magician hides!" Pegasus noticed that Yugi's voice no longer had the harsh deep tone, and his shape had become somewhat more diminutive. "Or maybe your mind-reading powers aren't as all-seeing as you might think!"

"You dare mock the awesome powers of my Millennium Eye? That's going too far, Yugi-boy."

"Hey Tea, you have any idea what's going on?"

"I think it has to do with the spirit that lives in the Millennium Puzzle. Pegasus probably tried to read its mind but got the mind of Yugi instead."

"Um… okay," Joey simply said.

"You gained nothing from your attack, Pegasus," Little-Yugi told Pegasus. "Even with your magic, you won't be able to win." He held up his Millennium Puzzle. "Because you're not the only Duelist with a Millennium Item; now let's see how your Millennium Eye stands up to my Millennium Puzzle!"

"I sure hope Yugi knows what he's doing," Tea said hopefully. "I mean how much does any of us really know about the Millennium Puzzle?"

Yugi drew a card. "I lay this card face-down and end my turn. Pegasus, do you know WHAT the card I just laid face-down on the field is? Just use your Millennium Eye to read my mind," Yugi dared. "That is if you think you can."

"No problem, you can hide nothing from me!" Pegasus' Millennium Eye started to glow.

So did Yugi's Millennium Puzzle.

An image of a card started to appear to Pegasus but then faded. "What, I can't tell what that hidden card that you just played is!"

The boy chuckled, "Sorry, Pegasus, but I don't know what this face-down card is either. Reading my mind will tell you absolutely nothing!"

How is he doing this? Pegasus wondered. He was bewildered.

"You see, Pegasus, I don't know what that card is because I am no longer Yugi Moto, but someone else all together! Through the magic of the Millennium Puzzle, two minds inhabit this body! Now each time you try to read one of our minds, we'll use the Mind Shuffle!"

MIND SHUFFLE!


Meanwhile, another Millennium Item spirit was preparing for battle. Yami Bakura was preparing to set off against Pegasus' guards (who were actually on loan from Kaiba Corp).

"Give us back our prisoner now!" The guard demanded. "Do it and we might let you live to see your next birthday!"

"Yes, but you fools won't live to see tomorrow!" Yami Bakura countered holding out his Duel Monster deck.

What's with Bakura all of a sudden? Tristan wondered. He's behaving oddly, even for him… wait a minute, I think I remember him acting this way once before, it was when the evil spirit of Bakura's Millennium Ring dragged us all to the Shadow Realm and forced us to duel. I thought that was just a bad dream, but I'm guessing it really happened. But now that it's back, what does it intend to do?

"Now I'll teach you the true meaning of fear," Yami Bakura said. "I summon the Man-Eater Bug, with the power of my Millennium Ring!" The card started to glow and the image of the insect monster came to life. "Now you pathetic fools, prepare to meet your demise!" The bug roared. The guards unloaded their guns at it. "Those foolish toys are no match for the power of the Shadow Realm! Present day humans are so fun to terrorize, don't you think?"

"No," Tristan denied. "Then again I am a present day human, what the heck are you?"

"I'm someone with great power; it'd be in your best interest not to cross me." Yami Bakura took another card. "Oh well, I guess play time is over. Morphing Jar, transport those despicable fools directly to the graveyard!" As the monsters converged on the helpless guards, they were suddenly destroyed by a ring of archaic symbols. "What!"

A figure dressed in a red cloak appeared on the steps.

"Who's that?" One of the guards wondered.

"You again," Yami Bakura growled. "Apparently you're more than a one-trick pony."

The newcomer turned towards the guards and pointed down the staircase. The guards' legs were too frozen to move. The figure held out his arm and the ring of archaic symbols formed again. The ring of symbols acted like a wall and shoved the guards all the way down the stairs. It then turned to Yami Bakura.


"Still trying to read my mind, Pegasus?" Dark Yugi asked. "Go right ahead."

"No thanks, my mind-scanning abilities are only one of many talents or have you forgotten who invented this game? Besides, I can sense that you're about to switch minds the moment I start probing it so rather than waste both of our time, let's get on with the fun, shall we? You still have no defense against my toon monsters and they can only be destroyed by other toon monsters. And it's only a matter of time before I find out which hat hides the Dark Magician."

"Then pick a hat and we'll see just how impressive your mastery of Duel Monsters is." The three remaining hats gathered together at the center of Yugi's side of the field. "But I have suspected that you relied on the magic of your Millennium Eye for so long that your dueling skills have diminished!"

Pegasus chuckled, "Even if your little theory was true, I'm still far and away a superior Duelist to you!"

"We shall see, Pegasus, make your next move."

"Toon Summoned Skull, attack the middle hat!" The middle hat exploded in a flash of light. "Did I get him? I think I got him… I must've gotten him!" But no numbers changed, the middle hat was revealed to be empty. "No, I missed again!"

Dark Yugi chuckled, "Another turn wasted, Pegasus. And for my turn, a quick change is in order." Little Yugi emerged again.

"So you switched again."

"That's right, Pegasus, our Mind Shuffle strategy is working perfectly." Little Yugi drew the Living Arrow card. Great, the Living Arrow card can really turn this match around! "I'll just play this card face-down and I'll see you later, Pegasus." Dark Yugi re-emerged. "You're looking frusterated."

He's played another card face-down, Pegasus realized. And there's no point in trying to read this Yugi's mind because he has no idea what card it is either!

Dark Yugi was thinking along the same lines as Pegasus. But although I don't know what that card is, I have faith in Yugi, and faith in the Heart of the Cards.

"I'm becoming annoyed," Pegasus said. He drew a card and his expression changed to that of jubilant. "Eureka, the card that will devastate your Dark Magician! Magical Neutralizing Force, activate!" Dark Yugi gasped as the Magical Hats were enveloped in a tornado. "This special card acts to eliminate any and all magic effects currently in play on the field. Which means the concealing effect of your Magical Hats now disappears!" The two remaining hats evaporated and the Dark Magician was revealed. "It's all over for him and your life points, you can only watch as I savior my final victory! Does your heart grow cold knowing that your doom is only moments away? Come on out, Toon Summoned Skull and show him the face of victory!" The little blue fiend popped out, hooked the edges of his mouth and blew a raspberry at Dark Yugi.

"Well it's definitely not the face of maturity," Joey cracked.

No, his toon monsters are virtually unstoppable! And my Dark Magician is totally unprotected. There's nothing I can do, unless…

"Toon Summoned Skull, attack the Dark Magician, Lightning Strike Attack!" The Skull's wings sparkled and shot two bolts of lightning out.

I don't have a move, but Yugi might. The two switched minds again. "Pegasus!" Pegasus quickly realized that they switched. "I'm defending my Dark Magician with the card I had face-down: the Living Arrow card!"

"Not the Living Arrow card!"

"That's right, and since you're the creator of Duel Monsters, you must know all about the Living Arrow card," Little-Yugi said sarcastically. "And how it can fuse with any card put into play by my opponent, whether it be monster or magic card!" Dark-Yugi took over. "Pegasus, we thwarted your mind-reading magic, and now we're going to use your very own magic card against you! Pegasus, I use Living Arrow to fuse with your Magical Neutralizing Force and fire it right back at Toon World!"

Pegasus gasped, but then composed himself. "It doesn't matter, the Skull has already attacked. Your Dark Magician is vanquished!"

"Sorry, Pegasus," Little-Yugi said. "You forgot my other face-down card. It's a trap, and one of my favorites too: Mirror Force!"

It's a trap! Pegasus realized all too late.

"And since the Living Arrow card neutralized the magic that made your toons untouchable, they return to their original form." Red Archery Girl, Ryu-Ran, and Doppelganger appeared just in time to get pummeled by the reflected lightning attack.

Pegasus burst into a tantrum. "No, no, this can't be happening! It's a nightmare, that's it, all a bad dream, there's no way it can be happening, NOOOOO!"

"We did it; all the toons are now destroyed!"

"That's right," the Spirit confirmed. "And it was your plan that did it, Yugi, I'm very proud of you."

(Y: 900)
(P: 600)

Yugi has proven formidable indeed, and his Millennium Item is even more intriguing then I imagined.

"All right, Yugi's in the lead!" Joey cried.

At last, those creepy toon monsters seemed almost unbeatable, Tea thought. But I knew Yugi would figure out a way to defeat them, I just knew it.


"I don't know who you are," Yami Bakura said. "But I won't allow you to interrupt my plans again!"

Again? Okay, now I'm really confused. Who's this guy and what does he have against Bakura… wait a second, not Bakura, the Spirit of the Millennium Ring.

"I summon the White Magical Hat, attack that fool and show him no mercy!"

The cloaked figure held out his hand, the one that contained the strange metal wrist band. The ring of archaic symbols appeared around the White Magical Hat and destroyed him.

"No, I can't believe this is happening! I didn't wait thousands of years just to be stopped by a wanna-be hero! Prepare to face the full power of my Millennium Ring!"

"Hey Casper, catch!" Tristan called throwing Mokuba. The boy's body slammed into Bakura's head and the two went tumbling down. The cloaked figure caught Mokuba but Bakura ended up unconscious. The cloaked figure ripped off Bakura's Millennium Ring and Frisbee-tossed it to Tristan who did the same to it over the ledge and into the forest. "That's the end of that. Thanks bud; I don't know…" but the cloaked figure had already vanished. Tristan slumped down onto the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll never scold Joey for going out on solo missions ever again," he said.


At the dueling ring, Pegasus had composed himself. "Yugi, I must say, I am impressed. When I first met you, you were just a boy who showed some faint dueling potential. But thanks to my gentle guidance, well look at you! You're one step away from becoming World Champ, you've been to the Shadow Realm and back, and most importantly, you finally begun to master the power of your Millennium Puzzle. For you see, Yugi-boy, that's what this tournament has been all about."

"Harold was right," Tea realized. "Pegasus had been targeting Yugi this entire time!"

"My puzzle?"

"No!" The Spirit realized.

"Yes, you and I will finish this duel in the Shadow Realm," Pegasus said as a dark cloud formed around them. "But this time, its winner take all!"

To Be Continued