WARNING: The duel endings here are REALLY short. Sorry.
Tokyo Tournament
Chapter Fourteen-The Black Gate of Death
Also Entitled-The End of Life's Road
The path of life that lies forever before us has an infinite number of forks and branches. Some turns we are forced to take, but most we must choose ourselves. Will you commit crimes, or will you uphold your people's laws? This is a choice left to you. However, the final choice that is made is made by outside forces, and it shall always come in the end: how shall you die?
. . . Someone watches . . . -
"Now THIS is more like it," said the viewer to the man beside him as he gazed over the four scenes before him as the Duels took place, "just look at them, all fighting for their lives. And that Wheeler is so pathetic lying there. I'm glad we have made considerable progress in my plans. However," he frowned as he continued, "it is unfortunate that the Pharaoh could not be found. Oh well," he grinned, "I wanted to face him myself anyway."
. . . The bottom floor . . . –
"How could they all just disappear like that?" Tristan nearly shouted in frustration as he, Serenity, and Tea all walked about in an attempt to find their missing friends.
"I have no idea," conceded Tea, "but that's why we're walking around aimlessly, now, isn't it?"
"I hope we find them," said Serenity in a worried tone, "I feel like something bad's happening to Joey. I think he might be in big trouble."
"Hey, don't worry," said Tristan for the who-knows-how-many'th time since the dubbers hacked the script for the show up, then followed it up with another overly used phrase, "he can take care of himself, and I'm sure Yugi and the others can, too."
Serenity, however, did not say something like "Thanks Tristan" because that phrase is used WAY too much as well and this is definitely not a feel-good story.
"Hey, let's split up," said Tea in a way that suggested that she did not at all take into consideration that she would probably be unable to do anything helpful to several grown men and three teenagers if they had been abducted by some hostile force without at least having SOME help, "we'll be able to cover more ground in this huge hotel. I'll look around where they vanished, you guys look upstairs." The last part almost justified her suggestion, which has been used far too much in obscure horror movies that just end up being pathetic because the murderer kills everyone in the group except two or three people because they split up to find them.
"Yeah," agreed Serenity with a nod.
"Okay," said Tristan," and we'll meet up back here in thirty."
With that, the search squad broke up.
. . . The domain of the Forbidden One . . . -
"PREPARE TO SPEND THE REST OF ETERNITY IN THE PRISON MEANT FOR ME, PATHETIC WARRIOR," said Exodia as he flexed his form's body, "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF DEFEATING ME, I AM INDESTRUCTIBLE, AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DEFEND YOU. IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE I CRUSH YOUR LAST MONSTER AND GO IN FOR THE KILL!"
Exodia: 200 Term: 2700
Term glared daggers at Exodia, "We'll see who ends up spending their days locked up in here," he said coldly. He drew his card, and visibly sighed. He had failed to draw a monster, and this card was totally useless. [I guess he's right. This card would be great in almost any other case, but it's useless without a monster on the field, and all I have is that facedown card]. He stopped, then looked at the facedown car again, and grinned. "I play the Spell card Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to decrease the level of all monsters on my side of the field by two for this turn." He slipped one card into his graveyard, then grinned as he pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "now I activate Call of the Haunted, reviving my Mystical Knight of Jackal (2700/1200), who I discarded for Cost Down's effect!" For the second straight Duel, the Cost Down card allowed the Anubis-like monster to step onto the field. It hefted its golden blades and matched glares with Exodia as it raised the weapons to do battle. "Now to win this Duel! Mystical Knight of Jackal, attack Exodia Necross!"
The humanoid jackal rushed forward with the agility only it could possess and stabbed at Exodia with its ornate weapon. Exodia raised his arm to block the blow, and actually cringed in pain as the blade pierced his arm and went straight through.
Exodia: 0 Term: 2700
Exodia growled, then lashed at the Mystical Knight of Jackal with a glowing fist, catching the beast in the stomach. The blade was forced out by the blow to its wielder, and Exodia snarled at the green glowing crack in his arm. "YOUR JACKAL ONLY MADE A SIMPLE FLESH WOUND!" he yelled, "NOW I SHALL SHOW YOU TRUE POWER!"
"But you lost!" shouted Term in outrage.
"FOOL! DO YOU THINK I AM RESTRICTED BY THE RULES OF YOUR PATHETIC GAME!? NOW I SHALL SHOW YOU THE TRUE POWER BEHIND THE GREATEST MONSTER IN THE SHADOW REALM!"
He charged the Mystical Knight of Jackal and struck it again with his glowing fist, and continued his barehanded onslaught as the beast tried to defend itself with its twin blades. Suddenly, five golden chains lanced from the four corners of the room and the middle of the ceiling. The one from the ceiling clamped about Exodia's neck, while the other four wrapped around his wrists and ankles. They then pulled his body apart as he cried in anguish, pulling the five parts of his body into the stone walls of the room as his body disintegrated.
Term looked a bit shocked as he saw the final remnants of Exodia's Necross form disperse. He then gazed at the Mystical Knight of Jackal, who looked back with its red eyes. He then glanced at its right shoulder, which was bleeding badly. "Thank you," he said in a sort of daze. The Jackal nodded, and then faded into a transparent form before drifting away as if in a breeze. Term smiled, then walked over to the unconscious form of Exodus, and picked him up. He then headed back down the hallway to where he hoped Lin would be.
- . . . The domain of the five Gods . . . -
Pentan's cruel grin was as wide as his face would allow. He looked beyond the immense form of his Five God Dragon at Lin, who drew his card. He continued to stare in grave amusement as his opponent placed a card facedown and signaled the end of his turn.
Pentan: 4000 Lin: 1000
Pentan drew and looked at his card in vague disappointment. Still nothing that would allow him to deal more damage to Lin. Not that it mattered, the Five God Dragon was unbeatable, and Lin only had a certain number of monsters in his deck. It was only a matter of time . . .
"I'll just have the Five God Dragon attack your facedown monster before ending my turn," Pentan stated. This time he sounded casual, as he knew that it was all over. In reality, the only thing he had ever had to do that required him to use any skill was getting the dragon out, and then his opponents stood absolutely no chance. He watched Lin flipped up his facedown card, Waboku. He rolled his eyes. How pathetic. Protecting a monster that would be destroyed in another turn anyway. He ended his turn.
Lin drew, and instantly played his card, "Pot of Greed." He then picked up two more cards and grinned. His grin was wider than Pentan's. "I now shift my facedown Headless Knight (1450/1700) into attack mode."
Pentan watched in bewilderment as the empty suit of armor appeared, sword held in an offensive position. "Are you crazy?" he asked with a laugh, "Now you've given me a target to attack on my next turn."
"There's not going to be a next turn," replied Lin, "and the reasons why are right here: three Spell cards. The first one I've had on the field for the past few turns. I activate Banner of Courage, which boosts my monsters' attack powers by 200 during my Battle Phase." A red banner with a blue symbol painted on it appeared behind the Headless Knight, and it began to glow a light blue. "Next, I play Monster Reborn, reviving my monster of choice, the Hayabusa Knight!" The bird warrior reappeared next to the Headless Knight, and it also began to glow a light blue.
"So what?" spat Pentan, "you've brought out another weakling of a monster and given them both a meager bit of extra strength. You still can do nothing."
"You're wrong," said Lin in a serious tone, "I have the card that will defeat you right here in my hand. It's strange. Before I came to this tournament I never thought I'd have to use it, but something told me to keep it in my deck. And now, I understand why. I play De-Fusion! Which will take your Five God Dragon away from the field!"
The five-headed dragon seemed to become five dragons, and then all of them disappeared, leaving Pentan with an empty field. "But where are my monsters!?" he said in panic.
"You don't get them," said Lin simply, "the monsters you used as the Fusion were all tokens, made by Spell cards. They remain in your graveyard. And now, my monsters will attack directly and finish you off!"
Both knights leapt forward, and their swords flashed through the air, cutting Pentan in several places and bringing him to his knees as they dealt a total of 4050 damage (120012001650=4050).
Pentan: 0 Lin: 1000
Pentan cried in anguish as the floor seemed to swallow him. Lin watched as his monsters faded and silently mourned the death of his opponent, who was now sentenced to live through eternity without ever feeling happiness again. He turned and walked from the room, hoping he would never set foot in it again.
. . . The Gate of Death . . .-
Note: This version of Death is actually based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Read 'em, they're funny.
Joey woke up. In the spiritual sense, anyway. He slowly opened his eyes, but could only see a dense fog that was all about him. He pushed himself up off his stomach into a sitting position. After doing so, he looked around again. The fog came up to his knee and was everywhere about him. To his left he saw a tall black gate. Beyond it was a forest of black, dead trees. The sky above was black with thunderclouds, but at the same time Joey wondered if the darkness would remain if the clouds dispersed. He heard a strange voice behind him, and whipped his head about when he heard it. WELCOME, JOSEPH WHEELER, it said.
When Joey saw the speaker, he could only think of one thing to say, "Oh, crap."
THAT'S HOW A GREAT DEAL OF THE PEOPLE REACT WHEN I MEET THEM, said Death. He was sitting as if on an invisible stool, his scythe balanced on his black-robed knees. His face was, of course, a skull, and his eye sockets shone with emptiness.
Joey stood up and walked over to Death, who got up from his sitting position. "So, I'm dead, right?" he asked in a rhetorical tone.
NO, NOT YET, responded Death, BUT MOST LIKELY YOU WILL BE SOON.
"Then why am I here?" asked Joey, confused, "From all the stories I here, Death doesn't tell people they're going to die soon, 'cause then they'd get a chance to avoid it."
YES. WELL, said Death, as he prepared to explain, YOU ARE A BIT OF A SPECIAL CASE.
"What kind of 'special case'?"
WELL, YOU KNOW HOW THEY SAY THAT EVERYONE'S DESTINY WAS WRITTEN BEFORE LIFE BEGAN?
"Yeah?"
THAT'S A MYTH. IN REALITY, DESTINY LETS A LOT OF PEOPLE DECIDE WHAT TO DO THEMSELVES, THEY'RE JUST INCLINED TO DO WHAT HE –SUGGESTED- BEFORE LIFE BEGAN. HOWEVER, HE REALLY DIDN'T DO MUCH BEFORE LIFE BEGAN, SO HE REALLY DOESN'T CONTROL ANYTHING. HOWEVER, HE TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE TO BE A SPECIAL CASE. YOU SEE, MANY PEOPLE MUST OBEY THE LAWS OF PROBABILITY IN CHOOSING THEIR DESTINY. YOU FOR INSTANCE, CANNOT STOP YOURSELF FROM DYING. HOWEVER, DESTINY HAS SEEN THAT YOU WILL PAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE SOON, AND YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO LIVE IF YOU CAN PASS A SMALL TEST.
"Oh great, do I have to play you at cards or chess?"
NO, Death seemed confused, WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?
"Um," Joey seemed more confused, ". . . never mind."
VERY WELL. YOU SEE, YOU MUST MAKE THIS STONE GLOW BLUE. Death handed Joey a red jewel. TO DO SO, YOU MUST THINK OF AS MANY REASONS AS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO LIVE.
Joey looked at the jewel and squinted. He felt a large gap appear in his mind. "I can't . . . remember anything . . . "
THAT SHOULD BE EXPECTED, YOUR MIND IS PROBABLY BEING AFFECTED BY THE POISON. OH, AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW THAT IF YOU DO NOT PASS YOUR TEST IN FIVE MINUTES, YOU WILL DIE.
- . . . Ciom's prison . . . -
The horrid cartoon version of the Blue Eyes White Dragon laughed maniacally as it released a blast of lightning from its mouth. Yamato's hand moved with great show of reflexes to push a button on his Duel Disk, and a barrier of light shot up around him, blocking the blow of the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon. "Negate Attack," he explained simply to a frowning Ciom, "and that ends your turn as well." He drew a card and added it to his hand before stating, "I now activate my facedown Metal Morph, which will give my Vorse Raider an additional 300 attack and defense." The reptilian creature before him became covered in silver armor. The warrior's head became covered by a round helmet that had small eye-slots, while the gauntlets of the armor sprouted claws. "But that's not all," continued Yamato, "because whenever my monster attacks another monster now, it will gain attack power equal to half the attack of the monster it attacks." The Vorse Raider began to glow a brilliant bright white that crackled with lightning much like the lightning that the Toon Dragon had just used to attack Yamato. "Vorse Raider, destroy his Blue Eyes Toon Dragon." The armored reptilian warrior, now with its power at an awesome 3700/1500, leapt forward, its glaive raised high. The bladed weapon cut through the cartoon, and it sent volts of electricity coursing through the monster, destroying it.
Ciom: 2800 Yamato: 3100
Ciom growled at Yamato, whose composure had not changed much throughout the entire duel. It seemed as though Yamato and Ciom were opposites, with Ciom reacting heavily as his monsters dealt damage, while Yamato remained calm and simply kept going no matter what situation he was in. Ciom ripped a card out of his Duel Disk, and immediately played it, "I play Pot of Greed, and draw two more cards." As his gaze swept over the two cards, he snickered, then erupted in laughter. "Now prepare to meet your doom! I play Premature Burial, paying 800 Life Points to summon my Blue Eyes Toon Dragon from the graveyard!" The chubby dragon appeared again, its face looking mischievous as ever.
Ciom: 2000 Yamato: 3100
"And," continued the clown, "to make sure that annoying Vorse Raider doesn't give me any more trouble, I play Harpie's Feather Duster, which will destroy both the Metal Morph that gives him his power boost, as well as the Call of the Haunted that keeps him alive!" Both of Yamato's Traps were swept away by the Feather Duster, and the Vorse Raider cried out as it was dragged back into the earth. "Now to attack directly with my mighty Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!" The dragon cackled insanely, and let out a blast of lightning. This time the blow was unchecked, and Yamato took the blast full in the face.
Ciom: 1500 Yamato: 100
Ciom grinned as he saw victory open its hand to him. Yamato drew his card, then played the Pot of Greed and drew two more. Ciom went back to his normal joking self. "Hah! You copycat! However, those two cards definitely won't do for you what mine did for me."
Yamato silently stared at the cards, then looked up at his opponent and agreed, "No, they do not."
"Haha! Hurry up and end your turn then so that I can-"
"They do better," Ciom quirked an eyebrow at Yamato's statement. He then watched as Yamato slid the first of the two cards into his Duel Disk, "I revive my Vorse Raider with Monster Reborn." The reptilian warrior appeared on the field for the third time, and glared at the person that had sent it to the graveyard twice. Yamato then assisted the beast in its bid for revenge by playing his second card, "Now I play my most powerful Spell card, the life-stealing Riryoku, which transfers half the attack of your Blue Eyes Toon Dragon to my Vorse Raider." Waves of energy flooded out of the cartoon dragon and into Yamato's Vorse Raider. The warrior let out a roar of challenge while the dragon whimpered as it felt its strength leave.
"Vorse Raider," said Yamato calmly as Ciom yelled in panic and pulled at his hair, "attack the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon and win us this Duel." The Vorse Raider raised its glaive high and rushed forward before dealing the cartoon dragon a deathblow for the second time.
Ciom: 0 Yamato: 100
Ciom yelled and cried in panic as the square in the floor that he had been standing on disappeared and he began to fall into the Shadow Realm. Yamato leapt forward from where he stood to try and grab his former jailer, but his hand fell short of grabbing the clown's arm and he could only look down as Ciom vanished into darkness. He stood up slowly and looked at his Vorse Raider, which began to fade. Before it left, it saluted just as the Gadget Soldier had done. Yamato returned the salute as he had done before, and the Vorse Raider pointed at a blue circle in one of the walls that Yamato determined to be a portal. Then the monster vanished completely, and Yamato walked into the disc.
. . . The real world, Serenity and Tristan separately search the building,
and Serenity gets ever closer to Joey . . . -
. . . The Gate of Death . . . -
Death looked on silently as Joey wracked his brain for answers. He knew there had to be reasons, the problem was that the crystal didn't, and wouldn't unless the person holding it thought about them. Beings without minds can only learn things in a very direct manner.
. . . Floor 5 ½ . . . -
Lightning stared at the Warrior of Balance (8500/8500) in awe. He had only two monsters protecting him from the awesomely powerful monster, but he knew all too well that they would not survive long.
Thunder: 1200 Lightning: 1800
Lightning drew his card while staring down Thunder, who was now acting as a spectator rather than a Duelist. "I'll just set one card facedown and end my turn," said, slipping the card into his Duel Disk.
The Warrior of Balance immediately leapt at the Thunder Nyan Nyan with its double bladed sword raised above its head. But Lightning beat the monster to the punch, "I activate Shift, which causes you to attack my Guardian Tryce instead." The Thunder Nyan Nyan was immediately replaced by the Guardian Tryce, which cried out in anguish and was destroyed.
"It would seem that your Trap accomplished nothing," commented Thunder.
"Is that so?" replied Lightning as the Mega Thunderball appeared where the Guardian had been. "Because when Guardian Tryce is destroyed, the monster that was sacrificed to summon him is immediately Special Summoned from the graveyard."
"It still did nothing," said Thunder simply, "after all, Mega Thunderball is a Wind monster, and since Thunder Nyan Nyan is destroyed if you have any non-Light monsters on your field . . . "
Lightning looked a bit surprised as his Thunder Nyan Nyan immediately vanished. He mentally kicked himself as he drew. He then placed down the card he had drawn, "I play Pot of Greed so that I can draw two more cards (yes, I have officially abused the use of Pot of Greed. Don't worry, this is the last use for this chapter." He placed the Spell card in his graveyard and drew two more cards. He then selected one of the cards he had drawn and placed the monster in defense mode. He simply signaled the end of his turn. Before the Warrior of Balance could strike, however, he interrupted, "I discard Kuriboh, which will cause the Warrior of Balance to do no damage this turn." A brown puffball with yellow eyes and four small, green claws appeared in front of Lightning's monsters, and the Warrior of Balance lowered its weapon.
Lightning drew again, and began to sweat as he simply placed another monster in defense mode. The Warrior of Balance, now at 9000/9000 since Kuriboh was in the graveyard, immediately struck down Lightning's first facedown monster, destroying it even before it was revealed. Obviously it had been a Light or Dark monster, though, as Warrior of Balance now was at 9500/9500.
"Victory is near, mighty Warrior of Balance!" Thunder cheered the monster on, "Your power cannot be matched, and soon you shall be victor of this Duel!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, Thunder," said Lightning, "but I'm the one who's going to win this one. First off, I flip my Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) into attack mode." A warrior wearing blue armor decorated with purple fish fins appeared in front of him, carrying a yellow trident.
"That move is suicide," commented Thunder, "your monster's power simply adds to that of the Warrior of Balance (10000/10000)!"
"I won't have Kaiser Seahorse on the field for long," explained Lightning as he slipped the armored warrior and the Mega Thunderball off of his Duel Disk and placed them in the graveyard slot, "because I now tribute it and my Mega Thunderball for my favorite monster, Gilford the Lightning (2800/1400)!" A man armored in silver and wearing an orange cape appeared in a flash of lightning. He carried a tremendous broadsword.
"I see no point in sacrificing your monsters for that," said Thunder, "he won't last long, and you have nothing on the field to protect him."
"Looks like an explanation's in order," said Lightning, "you see, Kaiser Seahorse, when sacrificed for a Light monster, counts for two sacrifices."
"Then why did you bother sacrificing Mega Thunderball as well?"
"Because when Gilford the Lightning receives three tributes instead of two, his effect activates." Lightning pointed his finger over Gilford's shoulder at the Warrior of Balance, "Gilford! Use your Raigeki Strike to destroy all of his monsters!" Gilford raised his sword, which now crackled with blue electricity. He raised the sword to the sky, and a lightning bolt struck from above, destroying the Warrior of Balance. Thunder watched in horror as he watched the Warrior's one weakness be exploited to its fullest. "Now, Gilford! Attack directly!" Gilford raised his large sword and leapt into the air. He brought the blade down, still crackling with energy, on Thunder, causing him to fall back under the blow.
Thunder: 0 Lightning: 1800
Lightning looked at Gilford and nodded thankfully at him. Gilford responded with a nod of his own before beginning to walk off and vanishing.
Thunder got up from the ground and handed Lightning the Lord of Light, Duke of Darkness, and Warrior of Balance. Lightning began to thank him, but Thunder cut him off, "Remember, these are not meant for you, they are meant for another. You are simply to give them to him."
Lightning nodded, "Don't worry, I know who."
Thunder walked off into the shadows after a final goodbye, and Lightning reverted back to Kirbin, who walked back to the elevator.
. . . The Gate of Death . . . -
YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ONLY TWO MINUTES LEFT, Death told Joey, YOU KNOW, I HAVE LEARNED NOT TO PITY THOSE WHO DIE. AFTER ALL, THEY'RE MOSTLY THE ONLY PEOPLE I EVER MEET. HOWEVER, I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOU TO LIVE IN THIS CASE. IT WOULD BE QUITE INTERESTING IF YOU DID.
"I can't . . . remember anything . . . ," Joey replied, almost to himself.
WELL, I CANNOT BEND THE RULES OF THE TEST. YOU MUST FIND A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF . . . REASONS IN ORDER FOR YOU TO LIVE.
. . . The Hotel . . . -
Serenity, by pure chance (or by divine intervention by the author), looked down a hallway and spotted Joey lying on the ground. She then saw Assanto and the Duel Monsters between them. She rushed over to her older brother and began to shake his unconscious form, oblivious to all else around her. "Joey! Wake up!" She saw the dart that had pierced Joey's shoulder and a small amount of the poison dripping from the blade. That was enough for her to deduce what had happened. She continued to shake her brother and call his name as tears began to roll down her face.
"Stop your pathetic bawling," said Assanto as he looked on, "the poison shall claim his life within one minute. If you don't leave by then, I'll kill you as well. Use your common sense and start running."
"Please, Joey . . . wake up . . . "
. . . The Gate of Death . . . -
"I hear something," said Joey, "like someone's trying to whisper something in my ear, but it's so unclear that I can't understand that . . . "
MOST LIKELY SOMEONE ON EARTH TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP, responded Death. He looked away from Joey, as if peering at something in the distance. YES, he said as he turned back, IT'S YOUR SISTER.
"Serenity!" cried Joey, "Dat's a reason! I can't just die on her!" The jewel in his hand began to glow orange as he spoke, catching his attention briefly. "And all the others, too, Yugi, and Tea, and Tristan, and the rest of my friends. I'd be letting all of them down now if I just left like this." The jewel flashed multiple colors before coming to a brilliant blue.
Death seemed to grin in a way that required no facial expression. YES, WONDERFUL, he said, IT'S A GOOD THING YOU HEARD YOUR SISTER.
Joey cocked an eyebrow at Death before responding, "Yeah, but you were da one who-" he stopped. It was best not to mention such things to the collector of souls, although Joey was certain he saw one of Death's eye sockets flash briefly, as though he were winking. "So, what now?"
YOUR TEST IS NOT COMPLETE YET. YOU MUST STILL DEFEAT ASSANTO IN A DUEL. YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES, IN WHICH YOU WILL FEEL NONE OF THE EFFECTS OF THE POISON. HOWEVER, IF YOU LOSE OR NO RESULT IS DECIDED IN THOSE FIVE MINUTES, THEN YOU WILL DIE. IF YOU WIN, YOU LIVE. I WOULD WISH YOU LUCK, BUT I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED ENOUGH HELP.
Death began to walk off, and Joey called after him, "Hey," Death stopped. "Thanks."
THANK DESTINY.
. . . The Hotel . . . -
Joey slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his sister's worried face that began to brighten as she saw him stir. "Serenity . . . ," he said a bit drowsily. However, with little time for conversation, he quickly stood up. "Let's finish dis, Assanto."
"Impossible!" cried Assanto as he stepped back in shock, "You should be dead!"
"I was given a temporary pardon," replied Joey with a grin.
Assanto recovered himself and said back with his own grin, "It doesn't matter, you will be eliminated soon enough. You'll lost this Duel as soon as I draw."
Assanto: 7200 Joey: 500
"We'll see about dat," responded Joey as he drew. His grin widened, "I sacrifice Panther Warrior-"
"HAH!" scoffed Assanto, "It doesn't matter how strong that monster is, it won't be able to get past my Gravity Bind!"
"Not in this case, ya lousy son of a –this word has been censored because I feel that there may be less mature readers going through this story-," Joey shot back as he summoned his monster, "cause I'm summoning Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!"
"No!" cried Assanto as both of his Traps became useless.
"Now, Jinzo! Destroy his Fire Princess!" Jinzo summoned a sphere of crackling black energy in its hands, then released it at Assanto's only monster. "Baby Dragon, follow it up by attacking directly!" The orange dragon took a breath, then released a fireball at Assanto.
Assanto: 6000 Joey: 500
Assanto drew his card in anger, and simply played a defense monster before ending his turn. Joey drew his own card and went into action, "I summon Mad Sword Beast (1400/1200)!" A rhinoceros-like creature appeared beside Jinzo. Its back was covered by a giant turtle shell from which curved blades extended at the sides. "Mad Sword Beast, attack his defense monster!" The beast charged at the facedown monster and trampled on it. A monster that Joey did not recognize (A/N: Originally supposed to be Cannon Soldier, but then I realized that Assanto would have to be an idiot to put it into defense mode.) with 1000 defense was destroyed. "Jinzo, Baby Dragon, attack directly!" Both the large android and the infantile dragon launched their attacks at Assanto, hauling him down in Life Points.
Assanto: 2000 Joey: 500
Serenity smiled as she watched her brother pull off his comeback. But then she worried as Assanto actually began to grin as he set another defense monster.
"Mad Sword Beast!" exclaimed Joey, "Attack the facedo-"
"Joey, wait!" shouted Serenity. Joey cut off his command and looked at her, confused. "Don't attack with Mad Sword Beast, I really don't like the way he's acting."
Joey examined Assanto's face momentarily. Assanto began to very visibly sweat as Joey stared him in the face. "I think you're right, Serenity," Joey conceded, "Besides, he'll lose anyway if Jinzo just destroys his monster. Jinzo, attack!" Jinzo released another attack upon Assanto's defense, this time revealing a man with an extremely large shield. "Hey!" recognized Joey, "That's Big Shield Gardna (100/2600)! I would've lost if Mad Sword Beast had attacked!"
Assanto: 2000 Joey: 300
Assanto began to panic as Big Shield Gardna switched to attack mode, "Now to finish dis!" cried Joey as he thrust his finger at Assanto, "Baby Dragon, Mad Sword Beast, attack together!" The Mad Sword Beast ran forward and slammed its razor-sharp horn into the Big Shield Gardna, and the dragon released another fireball from its mouth, striking Assanto in the chest.
Assanto: 0 Joey: 300
Serenity wrapped Joey in a bear hug, "I was so worried about you!"
Joey smiled at his sister and hugged her back., "What? You were worried about me? You shoulda' worried about dat guy," he motioned to Assanto, and immediately noticed the assassin was clutching his head in pain. The man then fell facedown onto the floor. When Joey walked over to the man who had tried to kill him, he felt his pulse. He then turned the man over and looked at his eyes, which were empty black voids. "Dead," he announced, "in the Shadow Realm."
"I really hate to say it," said Serenity, "but I think he deserved it."
And they both made their way to the stairs.
. . . The bottom floor . . . -
Tea watched in surprise as Term, Lin, and Yamato appeared practically out of thin air. Term was carrying Exodus over his shoulder. Tea jogged up to them and instantly began asking questions. "What happened? Where were you guys? Where're Joey, Bakura, and Yugi? Wh-"
Yamato held up a hand to silence her. "It's a long story," he said, "but we're all fine. I'm not sure about Yugi and the others, but they could be in trouble, especially if they got in the same situation we did."
"At least it did some good," commented Term as he opened his KS, "now Lin and I have enough chips for the finals. But I think that some of us should take care of Exodus here first."
Exodus groaned, and Term propped him against the wall as he awakened. "Whoa . . ., " he groaned, "that was weird."
"You alright?" asked Lin.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Too bad I'm out of the tournament. Sheesh, I hope something like that never happens to me again."
"Alright," said Yamato decisively, "let's find Yugi and the others."
. . . The Shadow Realm . . . -
Yami drew his card, and immediately played it, "I summon a monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
Yami Bakura: 1800 Yami: 700
Yami Bakura grinned wickedly as he set Spirit Message "A" on the field. As he drew, he taunted the pharaoh, "Just one more letter, then you lose. But for now, I'll take down your monster using your own Gamma the Magnet Warrior!" Gamma fired a blast of electricity from its horn, striking the facedown Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) and destroying it. "Your move, Pharaoh," Yami Bakura's grin widened, "your 'Final' move."
Yami sweated as he drew his card, the card that would decide the result of the Duel. "I can assure you, spirit," Yami called to Yami Bakura, "that whatever this card is, that it shall lead to your defeat!" He then glanced at the card he had drawn and smiled. "And now you shall see how! I play Monster Reborn, reviving my Dark Magician, which you forced me to discard when you activated your Morphing Jar's effect!" The purple-robed mage appeared before Yami, prepared to serve its pharaoh.
Yami Bakura grew slightly nervous, but recovered quickly and continued his taunting, "It doesn't matter that you have your favorite monster on the field, you'll only cause me to lose a few sparse Life Points before I finish you off!"
"Not with this card, thief!" replied Yami as he played another Spell card, "I play a card that you forced me to draw when you activated Morphing Jar! It's called Magical Boxes!" A tall black box covered with yellow question marks appeared around the Dark Magician, and a second one around Gamma the Magnet Warrior. Yami Bakura began to cry in anguish as he watched the "trick" take place, and the box that the Dark Magician was supposedly in become skewered with swords. Then the box opened to reveal a butchered Gamma, while the box Gamma had been in open to reveal the Dark Magician. "Now, Dark Magician!" commanded Yami with a dramatic wave of his arm, "Finish this Duel with your Dark Magic Attack!" The mage raised its emerald staff and released a wave of dark energy at the possessor of the Millennium Ring, causing the target to cry out in a combination of frustration and pure rage.
Yami Bakura: 0 Yami: 700
The spirit of the Millennium Ring snickered as the Dark Magician faded away. He then went into a state of evil badness that consisted of laughing loudly, maliciously, and annoyingly. "You may have won this battle, Pharaoh," said the spirit as the shadows began to envelope him, "but believe my words when I state that you have not seen the last of Wraith, the greatest thief of Egypt!" And then he was gone, and Bakura fell, unconscious, to the ground.
"Wraith," pondered Yami as the darkness faded and made way for the light of the realm that he knew as his home, "so he has a name . . . " He reverted control back to Yugi, who made his way back to his friends.
For those of you who make a connection, yes, I did get the idea for Wraith's name from the Nazgul in J.R.R. Tolkien's LotR novels. So, no suing me, Pete Jackson!
Tokyo Tournament
Chapter Fourteen-The Black Gate of Death
Also Entitled-The End of Life's Road
The path of life that lies forever before us has an infinite number of forks and branches. Some turns we are forced to take, but most we must choose ourselves. Will you commit crimes, or will you uphold your people's laws? This is a choice left to you. However, the final choice that is made is made by outside forces, and it shall always come in the end: how shall you die?
. . . Someone watches . . . -
"Now THIS is more like it," said the viewer to the man beside him as he gazed over the four scenes before him as the Duels took place, "just look at them, all fighting for their lives. And that Wheeler is so pathetic lying there. I'm glad we have made considerable progress in my plans. However," he frowned as he continued, "it is unfortunate that the Pharaoh could not be found. Oh well," he grinned, "I wanted to face him myself anyway."
. . . The bottom floor . . . –
"How could they all just disappear like that?" Tristan nearly shouted in frustration as he, Serenity, and Tea all walked about in an attempt to find their missing friends.
"I have no idea," conceded Tea, "but that's why we're walking around aimlessly, now, isn't it?"
"I hope we find them," said Serenity in a worried tone, "I feel like something bad's happening to Joey. I think he might be in big trouble."
"Hey, don't worry," said Tristan for the who-knows-how-many'th time since the dubbers hacked the script for the show up, then followed it up with another overly used phrase, "he can take care of himself, and I'm sure Yugi and the others can, too."
Serenity, however, did not say something like "Thanks Tristan" because that phrase is used WAY too much as well and this is definitely not a feel-good story.
"Hey, let's split up," said Tea in a way that suggested that she did not at all take into consideration that she would probably be unable to do anything helpful to several grown men and three teenagers if they had been abducted by some hostile force without at least having SOME help, "we'll be able to cover more ground in this huge hotel. I'll look around where they vanished, you guys look upstairs." The last part almost justified her suggestion, which has been used far too much in obscure horror movies that just end up being pathetic because the murderer kills everyone in the group except two or three people because they split up to find them.
"Yeah," agreed Serenity with a nod.
"Okay," said Tristan," and we'll meet up back here in thirty."
With that, the search squad broke up.
. . . The domain of the Forbidden One . . . -
"PREPARE TO SPEND THE REST OF ETERNITY IN THE PRISON MEANT FOR ME, PATHETIC WARRIOR," said Exodia as he flexed his form's body, "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF DEFEATING ME, I AM INDESTRUCTIBLE, AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DEFEND YOU. IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE I CRUSH YOUR LAST MONSTER AND GO IN FOR THE KILL!"
Exodia: 200 Term: 2700
Term glared daggers at Exodia, "We'll see who ends up spending their days locked up in here," he said coldly. He drew his card, and visibly sighed. He had failed to draw a monster, and this card was totally useless. [I guess he's right. This card would be great in almost any other case, but it's useless without a monster on the field, and all I have is that facedown card]. He stopped, then looked at the facedown car again, and grinned. "I play the Spell card Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to decrease the level of all monsters on my side of the field by two for this turn." He slipped one card into his graveyard, then grinned as he pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "now I activate Call of the Haunted, reviving my Mystical Knight of Jackal (2700/1200), who I discarded for Cost Down's effect!" For the second straight Duel, the Cost Down card allowed the Anubis-like monster to step onto the field. It hefted its golden blades and matched glares with Exodia as it raised the weapons to do battle. "Now to win this Duel! Mystical Knight of Jackal, attack Exodia Necross!"
The humanoid jackal rushed forward with the agility only it could possess and stabbed at Exodia with its ornate weapon. Exodia raised his arm to block the blow, and actually cringed in pain as the blade pierced his arm and went straight through.
Exodia: 0 Term: 2700
Exodia growled, then lashed at the Mystical Knight of Jackal with a glowing fist, catching the beast in the stomach. The blade was forced out by the blow to its wielder, and Exodia snarled at the green glowing crack in his arm. "YOUR JACKAL ONLY MADE A SIMPLE FLESH WOUND!" he yelled, "NOW I SHALL SHOW YOU TRUE POWER!"
"But you lost!" shouted Term in outrage.
"FOOL! DO YOU THINK I AM RESTRICTED BY THE RULES OF YOUR PATHETIC GAME!? NOW I SHALL SHOW YOU THE TRUE POWER BEHIND THE GREATEST MONSTER IN THE SHADOW REALM!"
He charged the Mystical Knight of Jackal and struck it again with his glowing fist, and continued his barehanded onslaught as the beast tried to defend itself with its twin blades. Suddenly, five golden chains lanced from the four corners of the room and the middle of the ceiling. The one from the ceiling clamped about Exodia's neck, while the other four wrapped around his wrists and ankles. They then pulled his body apart as he cried in anguish, pulling the five parts of his body into the stone walls of the room as his body disintegrated.
Term looked a bit shocked as he saw the final remnants of Exodia's Necross form disperse. He then gazed at the Mystical Knight of Jackal, who looked back with its red eyes. He then glanced at its right shoulder, which was bleeding badly. "Thank you," he said in a sort of daze. The Jackal nodded, and then faded into a transparent form before drifting away as if in a breeze. Term smiled, then walked over to the unconscious form of Exodus, and picked him up. He then headed back down the hallway to where he hoped Lin would be.
- . . . The domain of the five Gods . . . -
Pentan's cruel grin was as wide as his face would allow. He looked beyond the immense form of his Five God Dragon at Lin, who drew his card. He continued to stare in grave amusement as his opponent placed a card facedown and signaled the end of his turn.
Pentan: 4000 Lin: 1000
Pentan drew and looked at his card in vague disappointment. Still nothing that would allow him to deal more damage to Lin. Not that it mattered, the Five God Dragon was unbeatable, and Lin only had a certain number of monsters in his deck. It was only a matter of time . . .
"I'll just have the Five God Dragon attack your facedown monster before ending my turn," Pentan stated. This time he sounded casual, as he knew that it was all over. In reality, the only thing he had ever had to do that required him to use any skill was getting the dragon out, and then his opponents stood absolutely no chance. He watched Lin flipped up his facedown card, Waboku. He rolled his eyes. How pathetic. Protecting a monster that would be destroyed in another turn anyway. He ended his turn.
Lin drew, and instantly played his card, "Pot of Greed." He then picked up two more cards and grinned. His grin was wider than Pentan's. "I now shift my facedown Headless Knight (1450/1700) into attack mode."
Pentan watched in bewilderment as the empty suit of armor appeared, sword held in an offensive position. "Are you crazy?" he asked with a laugh, "Now you've given me a target to attack on my next turn."
"There's not going to be a next turn," replied Lin, "and the reasons why are right here: three Spell cards. The first one I've had on the field for the past few turns. I activate Banner of Courage, which boosts my monsters' attack powers by 200 during my Battle Phase." A red banner with a blue symbol painted on it appeared behind the Headless Knight, and it began to glow a light blue. "Next, I play Monster Reborn, reviving my monster of choice, the Hayabusa Knight!" The bird warrior reappeared next to the Headless Knight, and it also began to glow a light blue.
"So what?" spat Pentan, "you've brought out another weakling of a monster and given them both a meager bit of extra strength. You still can do nothing."
"You're wrong," said Lin in a serious tone, "I have the card that will defeat you right here in my hand. It's strange. Before I came to this tournament I never thought I'd have to use it, but something told me to keep it in my deck. And now, I understand why. I play De-Fusion! Which will take your Five God Dragon away from the field!"
The five-headed dragon seemed to become five dragons, and then all of them disappeared, leaving Pentan with an empty field. "But where are my monsters!?" he said in panic.
"You don't get them," said Lin simply, "the monsters you used as the Fusion were all tokens, made by Spell cards. They remain in your graveyard. And now, my monsters will attack directly and finish you off!"
Both knights leapt forward, and their swords flashed through the air, cutting Pentan in several places and bringing him to his knees as they dealt a total of 4050 damage (120012001650=4050).
Pentan: 0 Lin: 1000
Pentan cried in anguish as the floor seemed to swallow him. Lin watched as his monsters faded and silently mourned the death of his opponent, who was now sentenced to live through eternity without ever feeling happiness again. He turned and walked from the room, hoping he would never set foot in it again.
. . . The Gate of Death . . .-
Note: This version of Death is actually based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Read 'em, they're funny.
Joey woke up. In the spiritual sense, anyway. He slowly opened his eyes, but could only see a dense fog that was all about him. He pushed himself up off his stomach into a sitting position. After doing so, he looked around again. The fog came up to his knee and was everywhere about him. To his left he saw a tall black gate. Beyond it was a forest of black, dead trees. The sky above was black with thunderclouds, but at the same time Joey wondered if the darkness would remain if the clouds dispersed. He heard a strange voice behind him, and whipped his head about when he heard it. WELCOME, JOSEPH WHEELER, it said.
When Joey saw the speaker, he could only think of one thing to say, "Oh, crap."
THAT'S HOW A GREAT DEAL OF THE PEOPLE REACT WHEN I MEET THEM, said Death. He was sitting as if on an invisible stool, his scythe balanced on his black-robed knees. His face was, of course, a skull, and his eye sockets shone with emptiness.
Joey stood up and walked over to Death, who got up from his sitting position. "So, I'm dead, right?" he asked in a rhetorical tone.
NO, NOT YET, responded Death, BUT MOST LIKELY YOU WILL BE SOON.
"Then why am I here?" asked Joey, confused, "From all the stories I here, Death doesn't tell people they're going to die soon, 'cause then they'd get a chance to avoid it."
YES. WELL, said Death, as he prepared to explain, YOU ARE A BIT OF A SPECIAL CASE.
"What kind of 'special case'?"
WELL, YOU KNOW HOW THEY SAY THAT EVERYONE'S DESTINY WAS WRITTEN BEFORE LIFE BEGAN?
"Yeah?"
THAT'S A MYTH. IN REALITY, DESTINY LETS A LOT OF PEOPLE DECIDE WHAT TO DO THEMSELVES, THEY'RE JUST INCLINED TO DO WHAT HE –SUGGESTED- BEFORE LIFE BEGAN. HOWEVER, HE REALLY DIDN'T DO MUCH BEFORE LIFE BEGAN, SO HE REALLY DOESN'T CONTROL ANYTHING. HOWEVER, HE TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE TO BE A SPECIAL CASE. YOU SEE, MANY PEOPLE MUST OBEY THE LAWS OF PROBABILITY IN CHOOSING THEIR DESTINY. YOU FOR INSTANCE, CANNOT STOP YOURSELF FROM DYING. HOWEVER, DESTINY HAS SEEN THAT YOU WILL PAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE SOON, AND YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO LIVE IF YOU CAN PASS A SMALL TEST.
"Oh great, do I have to play you at cards or chess?"
NO, Death seemed confused, WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?
"Um," Joey seemed more confused, ". . . never mind."
VERY WELL. YOU SEE, YOU MUST MAKE THIS STONE GLOW BLUE. Death handed Joey a red jewel. TO DO SO, YOU MUST THINK OF AS MANY REASONS AS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO LIVE.
Joey looked at the jewel and squinted. He felt a large gap appear in his mind. "I can't . . . remember anything . . . "
THAT SHOULD BE EXPECTED, YOUR MIND IS PROBABLY BEING AFFECTED BY THE POISON. OH, AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW THAT IF YOU DO NOT PASS YOUR TEST IN FIVE MINUTES, YOU WILL DIE.
- . . . Ciom's prison . . . -
The horrid cartoon version of the Blue Eyes White Dragon laughed maniacally as it released a blast of lightning from its mouth. Yamato's hand moved with great show of reflexes to push a button on his Duel Disk, and a barrier of light shot up around him, blocking the blow of the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon. "Negate Attack," he explained simply to a frowning Ciom, "and that ends your turn as well." He drew a card and added it to his hand before stating, "I now activate my facedown Metal Morph, which will give my Vorse Raider an additional 300 attack and defense." The reptilian creature before him became covered in silver armor. The warrior's head became covered by a round helmet that had small eye-slots, while the gauntlets of the armor sprouted claws. "But that's not all," continued Yamato, "because whenever my monster attacks another monster now, it will gain attack power equal to half the attack of the monster it attacks." The Vorse Raider began to glow a brilliant bright white that crackled with lightning much like the lightning that the Toon Dragon had just used to attack Yamato. "Vorse Raider, destroy his Blue Eyes Toon Dragon." The armored reptilian warrior, now with its power at an awesome 3700/1500, leapt forward, its glaive raised high. The bladed weapon cut through the cartoon, and it sent volts of electricity coursing through the monster, destroying it.
Ciom: 2800 Yamato: 3100
Ciom growled at Yamato, whose composure had not changed much throughout the entire duel. It seemed as though Yamato and Ciom were opposites, with Ciom reacting heavily as his monsters dealt damage, while Yamato remained calm and simply kept going no matter what situation he was in. Ciom ripped a card out of his Duel Disk, and immediately played it, "I play Pot of Greed, and draw two more cards." As his gaze swept over the two cards, he snickered, then erupted in laughter. "Now prepare to meet your doom! I play Premature Burial, paying 800 Life Points to summon my Blue Eyes Toon Dragon from the graveyard!" The chubby dragon appeared again, its face looking mischievous as ever.
Ciom: 2000 Yamato: 3100
"And," continued the clown, "to make sure that annoying Vorse Raider doesn't give me any more trouble, I play Harpie's Feather Duster, which will destroy both the Metal Morph that gives him his power boost, as well as the Call of the Haunted that keeps him alive!" Both of Yamato's Traps were swept away by the Feather Duster, and the Vorse Raider cried out as it was dragged back into the earth. "Now to attack directly with my mighty Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!" The dragon cackled insanely, and let out a blast of lightning. This time the blow was unchecked, and Yamato took the blast full in the face.
Ciom: 1500 Yamato: 100
Ciom grinned as he saw victory open its hand to him. Yamato drew his card, then played the Pot of Greed and drew two more. Ciom went back to his normal joking self. "Hah! You copycat! However, those two cards definitely won't do for you what mine did for me."
Yamato silently stared at the cards, then looked up at his opponent and agreed, "No, they do not."
"Haha! Hurry up and end your turn then so that I can-"
"They do better," Ciom quirked an eyebrow at Yamato's statement. He then watched as Yamato slid the first of the two cards into his Duel Disk, "I revive my Vorse Raider with Monster Reborn." The reptilian warrior appeared on the field for the third time, and glared at the person that had sent it to the graveyard twice. Yamato then assisted the beast in its bid for revenge by playing his second card, "Now I play my most powerful Spell card, the life-stealing Riryoku, which transfers half the attack of your Blue Eyes Toon Dragon to my Vorse Raider." Waves of energy flooded out of the cartoon dragon and into Yamato's Vorse Raider. The warrior let out a roar of challenge while the dragon whimpered as it felt its strength leave.
"Vorse Raider," said Yamato calmly as Ciom yelled in panic and pulled at his hair, "attack the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon and win us this Duel." The Vorse Raider raised its glaive high and rushed forward before dealing the cartoon dragon a deathblow for the second time.
Ciom: 0 Yamato: 100
Ciom yelled and cried in panic as the square in the floor that he had been standing on disappeared and he began to fall into the Shadow Realm. Yamato leapt forward from where he stood to try and grab his former jailer, but his hand fell short of grabbing the clown's arm and he could only look down as Ciom vanished into darkness. He stood up slowly and looked at his Vorse Raider, which began to fade. Before it left, it saluted just as the Gadget Soldier had done. Yamato returned the salute as he had done before, and the Vorse Raider pointed at a blue circle in one of the walls that Yamato determined to be a portal. Then the monster vanished completely, and Yamato walked into the disc.
. . . The real world, Serenity and Tristan separately search the building,
and Serenity gets ever closer to Joey . . . -
. . . The Gate of Death . . . -
Death looked on silently as Joey wracked his brain for answers. He knew there had to be reasons, the problem was that the crystal didn't, and wouldn't unless the person holding it thought about them. Beings without minds can only learn things in a very direct manner.
. . . Floor 5 ½ . . . -
Lightning stared at the Warrior of Balance (8500/8500) in awe. He had only two monsters protecting him from the awesomely powerful monster, but he knew all too well that they would not survive long.
Thunder: 1200 Lightning: 1800
Lightning drew his card while staring down Thunder, who was now acting as a spectator rather than a Duelist. "I'll just set one card facedown and end my turn," said, slipping the card into his Duel Disk.
The Warrior of Balance immediately leapt at the Thunder Nyan Nyan with its double bladed sword raised above its head. But Lightning beat the monster to the punch, "I activate Shift, which causes you to attack my Guardian Tryce instead." The Thunder Nyan Nyan was immediately replaced by the Guardian Tryce, which cried out in anguish and was destroyed.
"It would seem that your Trap accomplished nothing," commented Thunder.
"Is that so?" replied Lightning as the Mega Thunderball appeared where the Guardian had been. "Because when Guardian Tryce is destroyed, the monster that was sacrificed to summon him is immediately Special Summoned from the graveyard."
"It still did nothing," said Thunder simply, "after all, Mega Thunderball is a Wind monster, and since Thunder Nyan Nyan is destroyed if you have any non-Light monsters on your field . . . "
Lightning looked a bit surprised as his Thunder Nyan Nyan immediately vanished. He mentally kicked himself as he drew. He then placed down the card he had drawn, "I play Pot of Greed so that I can draw two more cards (yes, I have officially abused the use of Pot of Greed. Don't worry, this is the last use for this chapter." He placed the Spell card in his graveyard and drew two more cards. He then selected one of the cards he had drawn and placed the monster in defense mode. He simply signaled the end of his turn. Before the Warrior of Balance could strike, however, he interrupted, "I discard Kuriboh, which will cause the Warrior of Balance to do no damage this turn." A brown puffball with yellow eyes and four small, green claws appeared in front of Lightning's monsters, and the Warrior of Balance lowered its weapon.
Lightning drew again, and began to sweat as he simply placed another monster in defense mode. The Warrior of Balance, now at 9000/9000 since Kuriboh was in the graveyard, immediately struck down Lightning's first facedown monster, destroying it even before it was revealed. Obviously it had been a Light or Dark monster, though, as Warrior of Balance now was at 9500/9500.
"Victory is near, mighty Warrior of Balance!" Thunder cheered the monster on, "Your power cannot be matched, and soon you shall be victor of this Duel!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, Thunder," said Lightning, "but I'm the one who's going to win this one. First off, I flip my Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) into attack mode." A warrior wearing blue armor decorated with purple fish fins appeared in front of him, carrying a yellow trident.
"That move is suicide," commented Thunder, "your monster's power simply adds to that of the Warrior of Balance (10000/10000)!"
"I won't have Kaiser Seahorse on the field for long," explained Lightning as he slipped the armored warrior and the Mega Thunderball off of his Duel Disk and placed them in the graveyard slot, "because I now tribute it and my Mega Thunderball for my favorite monster, Gilford the Lightning (2800/1400)!" A man armored in silver and wearing an orange cape appeared in a flash of lightning. He carried a tremendous broadsword.
"I see no point in sacrificing your monsters for that," said Thunder, "he won't last long, and you have nothing on the field to protect him."
"Looks like an explanation's in order," said Lightning, "you see, Kaiser Seahorse, when sacrificed for a Light monster, counts for two sacrifices."
"Then why did you bother sacrificing Mega Thunderball as well?"
"Because when Gilford the Lightning receives three tributes instead of two, his effect activates." Lightning pointed his finger over Gilford's shoulder at the Warrior of Balance, "Gilford! Use your Raigeki Strike to destroy all of his monsters!" Gilford raised his sword, which now crackled with blue electricity. He raised the sword to the sky, and a lightning bolt struck from above, destroying the Warrior of Balance. Thunder watched in horror as he watched the Warrior's one weakness be exploited to its fullest. "Now, Gilford! Attack directly!" Gilford raised his large sword and leapt into the air. He brought the blade down, still crackling with energy, on Thunder, causing him to fall back under the blow.
Thunder: 0 Lightning: 1800
Lightning looked at Gilford and nodded thankfully at him. Gilford responded with a nod of his own before beginning to walk off and vanishing.
Thunder got up from the ground and handed Lightning the Lord of Light, Duke of Darkness, and Warrior of Balance. Lightning began to thank him, but Thunder cut him off, "Remember, these are not meant for you, they are meant for another. You are simply to give them to him."
Lightning nodded, "Don't worry, I know who."
Thunder walked off into the shadows after a final goodbye, and Lightning reverted back to Kirbin, who walked back to the elevator.
. . . The Gate of Death . . . -
YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ONLY TWO MINUTES LEFT, Death told Joey, YOU KNOW, I HAVE LEARNED NOT TO PITY THOSE WHO DIE. AFTER ALL, THEY'RE MOSTLY THE ONLY PEOPLE I EVER MEET. HOWEVER, I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOU TO LIVE IN THIS CASE. IT WOULD BE QUITE INTERESTING IF YOU DID.
"I can't . . . remember anything . . . ," Joey replied, almost to himself.
WELL, I CANNOT BEND THE RULES OF THE TEST. YOU MUST FIND A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF . . . REASONS IN ORDER FOR YOU TO LIVE.
. . . The Hotel . . . -
Serenity, by pure chance (or by divine intervention by the author), looked down a hallway and spotted Joey lying on the ground. She then saw Assanto and the Duel Monsters between them. She rushed over to her older brother and began to shake his unconscious form, oblivious to all else around her. "Joey! Wake up!" She saw the dart that had pierced Joey's shoulder and a small amount of the poison dripping from the blade. That was enough for her to deduce what had happened. She continued to shake her brother and call his name as tears began to roll down her face.
"Stop your pathetic bawling," said Assanto as he looked on, "the poison shall claim his life within one minute. If you don't leave by then, I'll kill you as well. Use your common sense and start running."
"Please, Joey . . . wake up . . . "
. . . The Gate of Death . . . -
"I hear something," said Joey, "like someone's trying to whisper something in my ear, but it's so unclear that I can't understand that . . . "
MOST LIKELY SOMEONE ON EARTH TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP, responded Death. He looked away from Joey, as if peering at something in the distance. YES, he said as he turned back, IT'S YOUR SISTER.
"Serenity!" cried Joey, "Dat's a reason! I can't just die on her!" The jewel in his hand began to glow orange as he spoke, catching his attention briefly. "And all the others, too, Yugi, and Tea, and Tristan, and the rest of my friends. I'd be letting all of them down now if I just left like this." The jewel flashed multiple colors before coming to a brilliant blue.
Death seemed to grin in a way that required no facial expression. YES, WONDERFUL, he said, IT'S A GOOD THING YOU HEARD YOUR SISTER.
Joey cocked an eyebrow at Death before responding, "Yeah, but you were da one who-" he stopped. It was best not to mention such things to the collector of souls, although Joey was certain he saw one of Death's eye sockets flash briefly, as though he were winking. "So, what now?"
YOUR TEST IS NOT COMPLETE YET. YOU MUST STILL DEFEAT ASSANTO IN A DUEL. YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES, IN WHICH YOU WILL FEEL NONE OF THE EFFECTS OF THE POISON. HOWEVER, IF YOU LOSE OR NO RESULT IS DECIDED IN THOSE FIVE MINUTES, THEN YOU WILL DIE. IF YOU WIN, YOU LIVE. I WOULD WISH YOU LUCK, BUT I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED ENOUGH HELP.
Death began to walk off, and Joey called after him, "Hey," Death stopped. "Thanks."
THANK DESTINY.
. . . The Hotel . . . -
Joey slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his sister's worried face that began to brighten as she saw him stir. "Serenity . . . ," he said a bit drowsily. However, with little time for conversation, he quickly stood up. "Let's finish dis, Assanto."
"Impossible!" cried Assanto as he stepped back in shock, "You should be dead!"
"I was given a temporary pardon," replied Joey with a grin.
Assanto recovered himself and said back with his own grin, "It doesn't matter, you will be eliminated soon enough. You'll lost this Duel as soon as I draw."
Assanto: 7200 Joey: 500
"We'll see about dat," responded Joey as he drew. His grin widened, "I sacrifice Panther Warrior-"
"HAH!" scoffed Assanto, "It doesn't matter how strong that monster is, it won't be able to get past my Gravity Bind!"
"Not in this case, ya lousy son of a –this word has been censored because I feel that there may be less mature readers going through this story-," Joey shot back as he summoned his monster, "cause I'm summoning Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!"
"No!" cried Assanto as both of his Traps became useless.
"Now, Jinzo! Destroy his Fire Princess!" Jinzo summoned a sphere of crackling black energy in its hands, then released it at Assanto's only monster. "Baby Dragon, follow it up by attacking directly!" The orange dragon took a breath, then released a fireball at Assanto.
Assanto: 6000 Joey: 500
Assanto drew his card in anger, and simply played a defense monster before ending his turn. Joey drew his own card and went into action, "I summon Mad Sword Beast (1400/1200)!" A rhinoceros-like creature appeared beside Jinzo. Its back was covered by a giant turtle shell from which curved blades extended at the sides. "Mad Sword Beast, attack his defense monster!" The beast charged at the facedown monster and trampled on it. A monster that Joey did not recognize (A/N: Originally supposed to be Cannon Soldier, but then I realized that Assanto would have to be an idiot to put it into defense mode.) with 1000 defense was destroyed. "Jinzo, Baby Dragon, attack directly!" Both the large android and the infantile dragon launched their attacks at Assanto, hauling him down in Life Points.
Assanto: 2000 Joey: 500
Serenity smiled as she watched her brother pull off his comeback. But then she worried as Assanto actually began to grin as he set another defense monster.
"Mad Sword Beast!" exclaimed Joey, "Attack the facedo-"
"Joey, wait!" shouted Serenity. Joey cut off his command and looked at her, confused. "Don't attack with Mad Sword Beast, I really don't like the way he's acting."
Joey examined Assanto's face momentarily. Assanto began to very visibly sweat as Joey stared him in the face. "I think you're right, Serenity," Joey conceded, "Besides, he'll lose anyway if Jinzo just destroys his monster. Jinzo, attack!" Jinzo released another attack upon Assanto's defense, this time revealing a man with an extremely large shield. "Hey!" recognized Joey, "That's Big Shield Gardna (100/2600)! I would've lost if Mad Sword Beast had attacked!"
Assanto: 2000 Joey: 300
Assanto began to panic as Big Shield Gardna switched to attack mode, "Now to finish dis!" cried Joey as he thrust his finger at Assanto, "Baby Dragon, Mad Sword Beast, attack together!" The Mad Sword Beast ran forward and slammed its razor-sharp horn into the Big Shield Gardna, and the dragon released another fireball from its mouth, striking Assanto in the chest.
Assanto: 0 Joey: 300
Serenity wrapped Joey in a bear hug, "I was so worried about you!"
Joey smiled at his sister and hugged her back., "What? You were worried about me? You shoulda' worried about dat guy," he motioned to Assanto, and immediately noticed the assassin was clutching his head in pain. The man then fell facedown onto the floor. When Joey walked over to the man who had tried to kill him, he felt his pulse. He then turned the man over and looked at his eyes, which were empty black voids. "Dead," he announced, "in the Shadow Realm."
"I really hate to say it," said Serenity, "but I think he deserved it."
And they both made their way to the stairs.
. . . The bottom floor . . . -
Tea watched in surprise as Term, Lin, and Yamato appeared practically out of thin air. Term was carrying Exodus over his shoulder. Tea jogged up to them and instantly began asking questions. "What happened? Where were you guys? Where're Joey, Bakura, and Yugi? Wh-"
Yamato held up a hand to silence her. "It's a long story," he said, "but we're all fine. I'm not sure about Yugi and the others, but they could be in trouble, especially if they got in the same situation we did."
"At least it did some good," commented Term as he opened his KS, "now Lin and I have enough chips for the finals. But I think that some of us should take care of Exodus here first."
Exodus groaned, and Term propped him against the wall as he awakened. "Whoa . . ., " he groaned, "that was weird."
"You alright?" asked Lin.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Too bad I'm out of the tournament. Sheesh, I hope something like that never happens to me again."
"Alright," said Yamato decisively, "let's find Yugi and the others."
. . . The Shadow Realm . . . -
Yami drew his card, and immediately played it, "I summon a monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
Yami Bakura: 1800 Yami: 700
Yami Bakura grinned wickedly as he set Spirit Message "A" on the field. As he drew, he taunted the pharaoh, "Just one more letter, then you lose. But for now, I'll take down your monster using your own Gamma the Magnet Warrior!" Gamma fired a blast of electricity from its horn, striking the facedown Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) and destroying it. "Your move, Pharaoh," Yami Bakura's grin widened, "your 'Final' move."
Yami sweated as he drew his card, the card that would decide the result of the Duel. "I can assure you, spirit," Yami called to Yami Bakura, "that whatever this card is, that it shall lead to your defeat!" He then glanced at the card he had drawn and smiled. "And now you shall see how! I play Monster Reborn, reviving my Dark Magician, which you forced me to discard when you activated your Morphing Jar's effect!" The purple-robed mage appeared before Yami, prepared to serve its pharaoh.
Yami Bakura grew slightly nervous, but recovered quickly and continued his taunting, "It doesn't matter that you have your favorite monster on the field, you'll only cause me to lose a few sparse Life Points before I finish you off!"
"Not with this card, thief!" replied Yami as he played another Spell card, "I play a card that you forced me to draw when you activated Morphing Jar! It's called Magical Boxes!" A tall black box covered with yellow question marks appeared around the Dark Magician, and a second one around Gamma the Magnet Warrior. Yami Bakura began to cry in anguish as he watched the "trick" take place, and the box that the Dark Magician was supposedly in become skewered with swords. Then the box opened to reveal a butchered Gamma, while the box Gamma had been in open to reveal the Dark Magician. "Now, Dark Magician!" commanded Yami with a dramatic wave of his arm, "Finish this Duel with your Dark Magic Attack!" The mage raised its emerald staff and released a wave of dark energy at the possessor of the Millennium Ring, causing the target to cry out in a combination of frustration and pure rage.
Yami Bakura: 0 Yami: 700
The spirit of the Millennium Ring snickered as the Dark Magician faded away. He then went into a state of evil badness that consisted of laughing loudly, maliciously, and annoyingly. "You may have won this battle, Pharaoh," said the spirit as the shadows began to envelope him, "but believe my words when I state that you have not seen the last of Wraith, the greatest thief of Egypt!" And then he was gone, and Bakura fell, unconscious, to the ground.
"Wraith," pondered Yami as the darkness faded and made way for the light of the realm that he knew as his home, "so he has a name . . . " He reverted control back to Yugi, who made his way back to his friends.
For those of you who make a connection, yes, I did get the idea for Wraith's name from the Nazgul in J.R.R. Tolkien's LotR novels. So, no suing me, Pete Jackson!