Disclaimer: See Chapter 17 for details

Chapter 18: The Black Gate Test, Part II: Magical Mayhem

"First I summon Skilled White Magician (1700/1900) in attack mode! Next, I'll use this Premature Burial card! For the simple price of 800 life points, I can summon Skilled Black Magician back from the graveyard! (#1's LP: 550) he exclaimed as a mage covered in black appeared next to his white mage.

"Finally, I'll activate this all powerful magic card! Unleash, Energy Recharge!" he declared as all four duelists glowed in bright blue energy. "This magic card instantly resets all of life points back to 4000, and you were so close to defeating us." He sarcastically sympathized. (All 4 people's LP: 4000)

"Oh yes, I should mention that since I activated two magic cards when my Skilled White Magician was on the field and one magic card since my Skilled Black Magician has been up, they each gain one magic counter for the magic cards activated" explained #1 while three flames each floated to their respective positions.

"To end my move, I'll set this one card face down" he said.

Kaiba drew. "So you have 2 magicians on the field! That's missing a huge amount of attack points from my dragon! Now Blue Eyes, show him your power! Destroy Skilled White Magician!" commanded Kaiba as the dragon unleashed a streak of lightning, aiming directly at the unbothered mage.

"Reverse magic card! Body Change! This card instantly swaps our monster's attack points!" he exclaimed as the lightning disappeared and the monsters glowed red, signaling the attack point change. The dragon then restarted its attack, and when it reached the mage, he simply deflected it with his staff, and then aimed a white line of magic that obliterated the dragon on the spot. (K's LP: 2700)

"So much for your dragon." He added while #2 drew.

"Let's see. I activate the magic card Yield Tribute to summon Helpoemer (2000/1400)!" he explained as a coffin appeared and opened to reveal a blue demon. Plus, I activated a magic card, so Skilled Black Magician gains a third magic counter!" he snickered, while a third black flame appeared above the mage's head.

"Now I set this card face down and end my move."

Joey drew. (Finally my move again) he thought. "First I'm summoning Wyvern Warrior (1500/1200) in defense mode, and I'll activate Dice of Defense! This magic card rolls a die, and the number rolled is first multiplied by 300, and then added to my Wyvern Warrior's defense power! So go, roll die!" Joey commanded as a white dice appeared on the ground, rolling around before stopping on a 5. "Awesome! This raises Wyvern Warrior's defense power by 1500 points!" he exclaimed as his monster's defense power skyrocketed to 2700.

(Not good enough Wheeler. Now we'll be facing a Buster Blader, a Black Magician, and another monster he'll choose to summon. Wheeler wasn't prepared enough! And worse, what if he has a fusion card in his hand...) thought Kaiba while watching #1 draw.

"Next to the field is Breaker, the Magical Warrior! (1600/1000+300)" he declared as the red knight with a red flame appeared directly on the field.

(Seven down) thought #1. "Finally, I'll place this one card face down to end my turn. Try to attack me!" he said while Kaiba drew.

(He may not have summoned Buster Blader or Black Magician yet, but that doesn't mean he won't summon them. I've got to destroy one of his mages this turn.)

"My move will begin by activating the magic card, White Dragon Descent!" he announced. "Now I can sacrifice X-Head Cannon from my hand to summon the all powerful Knight of White Dragon (1900/1200)!" he yelled as the dragon rider flew down from the sky landing on the field.

"Then I activate Card of Sanctity! This causes all four players to draw until we have 6 cards." He said while drawing a fresh hand of 6 cards. Joey drew 3. #1 drew 4 and #2 drew 2.

(Just what I needed.) Kaiba smirked. "Now I can activate Cost Down to lower all monsters' levels in my hand by 2! Secondly, I sacrifice Knight of White Dragon to summon my great beast, Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" he declared as his knight dissolved into a flash of light. The light particles came together to form Kaiba's massive dragon, who roared a fierce roar onto the dueling field.

"Then, I'll activate Power Blitz! This allows my dragon to attack this turn! Go Blue Eyes, attack Helpoemer!" he commanded as the dragon unleashed its white lightning attack.

"Kaiba no!" Joey warned, knowing of Helpoemer's ability, but it was too late. The attack flew directly threw the demon, destroying it. However, the demon returned to the field and flew directly into Kaiba's graveyard slot.

"The hell?!" Kaiba questioned.

"When you destroyed my Helpoemer, you activated its special ability! It goes directly into your graveyard, and every turn it will snatch one card from you." He snickered, while a ghastly blue hand snatched a card from Kaiba's hand.

"Oh and by the way, neither of us can summon the monster my Helpoemer has just sent to the graveyard." He explained as the selected card glowed in a pale blue essence.

"Very well. I'll set a card face down and end my turn." He said. (I've got a virus on me. Once per turn I randomly lose a card, and if the monster takes my third Blue Eyes White Dragon, I'm nearly finished. The dragon can't be special summoned from the graveyard, so I'll be finished. Wheeler hadn't mess up like I did.) he thought while #2 drew.

"Perfect! I activate Monster Reborn! First, I'll revive Kaiba's first Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" he said as the mighty dragon appeared on the field. "Now I can sacrifice Blue Eyes White Dragon to summon Great Maju Garzett (? /0). Instantly the dragon was banished back to the graveyard by a flash of red light. The dragon exploded as a vile fiend appeared on the field from within the dragon's body.

"What?! Why sacrifice a monster with 3000 attack points to summon a monster that doesn't even have any attack points!?" Joey burst while #2 snickered.

"Watch my monster gain attack points! My almighty garzett's attack power is two times the attack strength of the monster I sacrificed to summon it. If I'm correct, that gives my monster a raging power of 6000!" he chuckled as the monster's attack power instantly rose to 6000. "Now eliminate Kaiba, Great Maju Garzett! Attack his Blue Eyes White Dragon, destroy him!" he commanded as the fiend's hands glowed deep red.

The monster then unleashed two beams from his hands, going full-speed at the dragon.

"Goodbye Seto!" he laughed.

"Celebrating so soon? Your attack has activated my trap card, Shadow Spell!" he yelled as several chains sprung from the card, encasing the fiend and ending its attack.

"Not only does my trap card stop your attack, but it also weakens your monster's attack power by 700!" he explained. (5300/0)

"Kaiba started our winning spree, now I gotta keep it going." He thought while he drew. (Oh yeah!) "Go, Shield and Sword! Swap all attack points with defense points!" demanded Joey as all the stat's flipped. (Great Maju Garzett: 0/5300, Blue Eyes White Dragon: 2500/3000, Wyvern Warrior (2700/1500), Skilled White Magician (1900/1700), Skilled Black Magician: (1700/1900), Breaker the Magical Warrior: (1000/1900)

"Now I switch Wyvern Warrior into attack mode! Wyvern Warrior, destroy Great Maju Garzett!" he commanded as the alligator charged at the fiend, first easily destroying Kaiba's Shadow Spell trap, then vertically sliced at the fiend, eliminating him. (#2's LP: 1300)

"Ha!" #2 laughed. "You have been deceived! For while you both were attacking me, my partner over here is about to destroy you!" he snickered with a sense of sure victory. Nothing could go wrong now.

"Now it's my move!" he said drawing. (Time to finish you off!) thought #1. "First, I'll activate my trap card, Pitch Black Power Stone. It gives me three spell counters automatically!" he explained as the completely black flames hovered over the magical stone.

"Now it's time to show you my master plan! For with this magic card, I seal your fate! I unleash the devastating power of the Mega Ton Magical Cannon!" he burst as sacred cannon instantly rocketed onto the field.

"For the price of ten magic counters..." he began as the 3 completely black flames, 3 black flames, and 3 white flames were absorbed into the cannon. However, when Breaker's flame flew into the cannon, it lit up, and the lightning rope lit up completely white.

"I can destroy every card on your side of the field!" he chuckled while the cannon launched an enormous amount of energy, completely obliterating Joey and Kaiba's side of the field.

"Skilled Black Magician and Skilled White Magician attack Kaiba's life points directly! Destroy him from the duel!" he commanded as the mage's crossed staffs and aimed a combination blast at Kaiba, ready to wipe him out.

Suddenly, the blasts hit a barrier and were instantly deflected.

"What happened?!" #1 demanded to know.

"Easy. His Helpoemer took the card I needed it to! It's a magic card called Energy Boundary! Not only does it negate your attack, but I can summon a monster from my graveyard! And I choose to revive my second Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" he laughed as a second of his most sacred cards came to the field.

"My dragon's about to end this match!" he snickered while #1 ended his turn.

"Now I draw." Kaiba said, and happily enjoyed the card he drew. "Now I activate Heart of the Cards! This magic card allows me to sacrifice 2400 of my dragon's attack power (600/2500) to draw 6 new cards!" he said, and a look of power came on his face.

"We win this duel!" he declared. "First of all, I activate Polymerization to fuse the two Blue Eyes White Dragons on the field with the one in my hand, to create my supreme beast! The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800!" he yelled as his massive 3-headed dragon reigned down to the field.

"Also, Quick Attack will be activated! Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, destroy Skilled White Magician!" commanded Kaiba as the three lightnings merged to form an attack of unstoppable power, completely overtaking and destroying the mage. (#1's LP: 0)

"No! How could this happen!" he thought as the pillar underneath him exploded, and he disappeared before he could hit the ground. Damien growled from his tower window view.

"Alright! One down!" Yugi declared.

#2 furiously drew. "You will pay for that!" he declared and stared at his drawn card. It was a level 8 monster and unluckily for him, his hand had one level 4 monster, but he knew he couldn't win. He had no magic or traps in his hand, except for a pathetic Magic Absorption.

"I'll set this one monster in defense mode and end my turn." He declared while Joey drew.

"I'll sacrifice Wyvern Warrior to summon Android Psycho Shocker (2400/1500)!" he declared as his tall machine crossed his arms when appearing on the field.

"Android Psycho Shocker, attack his face down monster now!" he commanded as the android gathered a ball of black energy, which he hurled and easily destroyed the monster.

"Now Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon finish him off with Neutron Blast!" he commanded as the triple attack blew up #2's pillar as well. (#2's LP: 0)

Kaiba and Joey's platforms lowered to the ground and all eyes were focused on the tower. There were a few "are you ok?" and "good jobs" but nothing major was spoken. Suddenly, the tower door opened and out stepped Damien, Duel Disk loaded and ready to fight.

"Bravo." He said, politely applauding. "So you defeated them."

"With ease" spat Kaiba.

"Well..." he responded, "I hope I'm a bigger challenge for you Kaiba!" he yelled furiously.

"I hope so too. This may be a 6 on 1 duel, but you've only got one major problem. Me." He chuckled.

"Then I have no major problems" retorted Damien. Kaiba hissed and growled at him. "However, as much as you hate it, this is not about you! It's about all 6 of you and getting out of this virtual world. So, without any more delays." He began, reflecting the ending sentence at Kaiba, "I believe I'm ready to start this duel!" he said, slightly bowing and letting his duel disk operate.

"The six of you begin with 3000 life points each, while I begin with 8000!" he explained as all 7 duelists' life points raised.

"Now choose a deck master!" he demanded as each of the six flipped through their cards.

(This will be one of my toughest duels yet) thought Yugi. (I'll stick with a monster I know will guide me.) "My deck master is Black Magician (2500/2100)!" he spoke out, as his mage appeared on the field, as Yugi was first to choose.

(Hey! This will be perfect for this duel) thought Tea. "I choose Shining Friendship (1300/1100)" she declared while her fairy appeared beside her.

(This one will be well suited for my deck) Mai thought. "Cyber Harpie (1800/1300) for me!" she declared as the female winged beast in her golden cyber armor burst from the card.

(Of course! This card would never let me down.) Kevin thought holding his card in the air. "Red Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) will be mine!" he announced as the dragon flew out from the card, taking its place next to its master.

(Ah. This will complete my Blue Eyes combos) thought Kaiba. "Knight of White Dragon (1900/1200) will serve as my deck master!" he shouted while his trusted knight hovered in the air next to Kaiba. All eyes turned towards Joey.

(Ha ha! There it is! It's always come through for me before) he thought, "Rocket Warrior!" he stated as his faithful yellow rocket came bursting from the card, giving a small display before reverting to its normal self.

"Finally, my deck master will be Kisetai (300/800) he announced as the small insect materialized next to him. The order will go as follows: Yugi, Tea, Mai, Kevin, Kaiba, Joey, and then back to me. You may attack directly whenever you wish, and you can sacrifice your teammate's monsters. At this time, I believe introductions and explanations are over! So without further ado, let this 6 on 1 duel begin! Prepare for a fight for your life!" he cackled while Yugi glared at him and drew.

(Help me heart of the cards, guide me through this duel!) Yugi thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CARDS PLAYED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skilled White Magician: ****/1700/1900/ Spellcaster / Desc: Each time you or your opponent activates 1 Magic Card, put 1 Magic Counter on this card (Maximum of 3). You can Special Summon 1 "Buster Blader" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard in face-up Attack or Defense Position by offering this monster with 3 Magic Counters as a Sacrifice during your Main Phase.

Premature Burial: MAGIC/Desc: Sacrifice 800 life points to special summon a monster from your graveyard in face up attack position.

Skillful Black Magician: Level 4 / 1900/1700/ Magician / Desc: Each time you or your opponent activates 1 Magic Card, put 1 Magic Counter on this card (Maximum of 3). You can Special Summon 1 "Black Magician" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard in face-up Attack or Defense Position by offering this monster with 3 Magic Counters as a Sacrifice during your Main Phase.

Energy Recharge: QUICK PLAY MAGIC/Desc: Immediately reset all duelists' life points to their starting amount.

Body Change: QUICK PLAY MAGIC/Desc: You can only activate this card when your opponent attacks. Immediately switch the attacking monster's attack points with the attack target's attack points until the end phase in which this card is activated.

Yield Tribute: MAGIC/Desc: Choose to either normal summon or special summon a monster. If you special summon a monster, you must skip your battle phase.

Helpoemer: *****/2000/1400/ Fiend /Desc: When this card has been sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, this card's effect is activated. As long as this card exists in the graveyard, your opponent randomly discards 1 card from his/her hand at the end of his/her battle phase. Neither player can special summon this card from the graveyard.

Wyvern Warrior: ****/1500/1200/ Warrior

Dice of Defense: EQUIP MAGIC/Desc: Equip this to one face up defense position warrior monster on the field. Roll a 6 sided die. Multiply the number rolled x300 and add it to the equipped monster's defense points.

Breaker the Magical Warrior: ****/1600/1000/ Magician /Desc: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned, put 1 spell counter on it (max.1) Increase the ATK of this monster by 300 points for each Spell counter on this card. Also you can remove 1 Spell Counter from this card to destroy 1 Spell Card or Trap Card on the field.

White Dragon Descent: RITUAL MAGIC/Desc: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Knight of White Dragon". Sacrifice monsters in your hand or field to Ritual Summon "Knight of White Dragon" to the equal level of 4.

Knight of White Dragon: ****/1900/1200/ Ritual/ Warrior/Desc: Summoned by a [White Dragon Descent]. Sacrifice Monsters from your hand and/or the field that total level 4 or more. If this Monster attacks a Monster in face-down defense mode, destroy the Monster without doing damage. You can sacrifice this Monster to Special Summon 1 [Blue Eyes White Dragon] from your hand or deck. (That [Blue Eyes White Dragon] cannot attack the turn that it is summoned.)

Blue Eyes White Dragon: ********/3000/2500/ Dragon

Power Blitz: QUICK PLAY MAGIC/Desc: When this card is activated, select one face up monster on the field. The selected monster can attack twice if it has successfully completed one attack or attack once if the monster was restricted from attacking this turn.

Monster Reborn: MAGIC/Desc: Select 1 Monster Card from either your opponent's or your own Graveyard and place it on the field under your control in Attack or Defense Position (face-up). This is considered a Special Summon.

Great Maju Garzett: ******/? /0/ Fiend /Desc: The ATK of this monster becomes twice of the original ATK of the monster you tributed to Tribute Summon this monster.

Shadow Spell: TRAP/Desc: Select one face up monster on your opponent's side of the field. Decrease the ATK of the selected monster by 700 points. The monster cannot attack or change its position. When the selected card is destroyed or removed from the field, this card is also destroyed.

Shield and Sword: MAGIC/Desc: For 1 turn, each face-up monster's original ATK becomes their original DEF and vice-versa. Any additions and subtractions to ATK and or DEF due to card effects are applied to the new ATK and DEF. Monsters summoned after this card's activation are excluded.

Pitch Black Power Stone: TRAP/Desc: After activation, put 3 Magic counters on this card. Once during each of your turns, you may move 1 Magic counter from this card to another of your [Cards that can have Magic counters placed on them]. If there are no Magic counters on this card, destroy this card.

Mega Ton Magical Cannon: MAGIC/Desc: Remove 10 Spell Counters on your side of the field. Destroy all cards on your opponent's side of the field.

*Energy Boundary: QUICK PLAY MAGIC/Desc: After activation, negate all direct attacks to your life points. Special summon the strongest monster in your graveyard to the field.

Heart of the Cards: CONTINIOUS MAGIC/Desc: You may sacrifice monster's attack points, in segments of 400 points each, to draw a number of cards equal to the number of sets you sacrificed.

Polymerization: MAGIC/Desc: Fuses 2 or more Fusion-Material Monsters to form a new Fusion Monster.

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon: ************/4500/3800/ Fusion/Dragon/Desc: "Blue Eyes White Dragon" + "Blue Eyes White Dragon" + "Blue Eyes White Dragon"

Quick Attack: QUICK PLAY MAGIC/Desc: All fusion monsters can attack on the turn they are summoned.

Android Psycho Shocker: *******/2400/1500/ Machine /Desc: As long as this card remains face up on the field, all trap cards cannot be activated. The effects of all face-up trap cards are also negated.