The beauty of the canyon came to an end. At the end of the cliff was another stairway where they could safely exit. The stairs ended directly back on the trail which they had been on before. It led to a dark yet temperate forest. The leaves grown on the trees were the brightest of green. The trunks were strong, the branches long. While it shaded them from the sun, the area was harmonious. The calm breeze of the wind blew on them, and even the chirps of small birds could be heard.
Upon the entrance to the forest, the group stopped. There was another basket of food sitting before them. Though incredulous of its safety, they ate it. They were in no mood for eating. Otogi was gone. Yugi was gone. They were slowly disappearing from the world, one by one. Yami Yugi sat on the ground, resting his back against a tree. He buried his face in his arms resting on his knees. Their group of seven had become a group of five all in about a day. The thought depressed him, as it did for most of them, but he was clearly the most affected by it.
Eating only a few pieces of bread and drinking some water, Yugi somewhat separated himself from everyone again. He did not want to hurt them. He did not want to see them hurt anymore. Everything was overwhelming him, not just from what was happening now, but everything he had seen. All that he had been through in the present day, it all began coming back to him and haunted him. He wanted to get away from it all, but there was no escape. He knew as this particular journey progressed, everything would only become worse.
Everyone had been silent as they ate their small meals. They were still recovering from the shock caused by the death of Otogi. Talking about it would only make them feel worse. The topic itself was unavoidable, but it was never brought up in conversation.
"This is all too strange," Bakura began talking, finishing his food. "I'm still unclear as of where we are and why we're here."
"I think it's his point to not let us know where we are. He wants to keep us lost and questioned," Kaiba replied.
"That still doesn't answer why. It doesn't seem suiting to Anubis, so why here?" Jounouchi asked.
"Do we know that?" Yugi asked Jounouchi, though not looking up. "Do we honestly know what's suiting to him and what's not? Do we really know him?"
The group fell silent again to Yugi's comment. He was right. None of them truly knew him. It was not up to them to determine what fits him most.
"Let's go," Honda encouraged them to continue the trail. It was already the afternoon, much of the day being wasted by traveling. They expected to come across Anubis once more before the day died. Not wanting to delay it, the group got up and once again walked on the trail.
As they continued through the forest, they passed a tree which contained more hieroglyphic drawings on the trunk. Again, it showed seven people together, representing them. However, now there were two people crossed off in red. The shortest, Yugi, had already been marked off before, but now the person which stood next to two square shapes, containing a star on one and a hexagram on the other, was also gone. The squares clearly represented dice, and the person standing closest to them was Otogi. Trying to ignore the drawing, the group merely walked by it, not even acknowledging it to each other.
The forest lasted for good miles. Travel by walking made their departure from the forest slower. Leaving the forest meant entering another unique area. This time, it was a grassland area, filled with buildings of ancient civilizations. Structures of ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and even China were there. Such structures normally could only be seen while vacationing or visiting, but all of these sights seemed to be gathered in one large, hilly area. Looking in astonishment, the trail lead to an old coliseum made in Rome. Seeing how the coliseums were used for battle and fights, they all assumed they would meet Anubis there next.
Entering the tall, circular, stone building, they went in through the entrance which the gladiators took to enter the arena. In the center of the fighting area, Anubis stood directly in the center. The group approached him together.
"I crave another victim," he said smiling. "Who will be next?"
Again, Yami Yugi wished to step forward, but Honda beat him to it. Honda held his arm in front of him so that he would not be tempted to move forward as well.
"I will, but I'll be no victim," Honda assured, holding a fist up.
"Puh," he sighed. He pointed to the exit for the rest of them. "Again, I encourage you all to stay and watch. Go take a seat in the stands."
The others left, leaving the same way they entered. After leaving the fighting grounds, all entrances to it were blocked by heavy bars with too narrow of a space for anyone to fit through. They walked around the circle for a bit, looking for an entrance to the stands. It was not hard to find, and they each quickly took a seat.
"So it is you," Anubis looked at Honda, "the strongest of the group. You have been blessed with physical power, have you not?"
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Honda asked him.
"Can you not take a compliment?" he laughed. "For Gods' sake, you take a compliment worse than any other I have encountered."
"Which in your case isn't many," Honda insulted.
Anubis turned away, having no desire to argue with him. He walked to the other end of the coliseum before turning back to Honda, who had remained standing in the center of the arena. Anubis pointed to the other end of the coliseum, indicating that was where he wanted Honda to be. With a hateful stare, Honda did as indicated.
"The coliseum, as history has told, was used for great battles with prisoners of the Roman empire. They fought against different people and creatures, all for the sake of survival. This will be no different, only it is not man versus beast or man versus man. It will be beast versus beast."
Honda raised an eyebrow.
"Pick any duel monster you wish, and that is the beast you will become. However, what comes with it is also the mind and instinct of the beast itself, which you will have to cooperate with. Fail to do so, and the both of you will crumble," he explained.
Overhearing the conversation, the group knew that Honda would be entering a physical fight to the death. The fact that it was possibly Honda's strongest game relieved them. Honda knew how to fight well, no matter what the situation.
"It is time to pick," Anubis told him. "Egyptian God monsters are off limits."
Having been around several duels and duel monsters, Honda thought of many possible choices. He thought possibly a warrior would be a wise choice. He would be able to use all human abilities, which he was familiar with. He then remembered he would be restricted to land only. If he took a monster with the ability to fly and fight on ground level, he would be better off. He then began thinking of any monster that could fly. His first thought was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but he figured he would get a beating from Kaiba afterwards if he did. Repeating different duels in his head, he found a monster that seemed to suit him well.
"Thousand Dragon," he said. "That is my choice."
Everyone looked on as Honda's body began to glow. He grew several feet taller, and his muscles grew even larger. His skin became brown and he grew a tail. Horns grew out of his head as his face grew a large snout. His puny nails became sharp claws, his neck growing longer and wings sprouted out of his back. Before their eyes, Honda had become a Thousand Dragon. Jounouchi was satisfied with Honda's decision. Being one of the monsters he had used several times before, Jounouchi knew of its strengths. He figured Honda would be undefeatable as Thousand Dragon.
"My choice shall be Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon," Anubis told him.
Obviously having some relation to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, no one knew much more about his chosen beast. He began to grow not only taller, but longer as well. His body became larger, yet thin for a normal beast. His arms became a different type of wings, them being three large curved blade-like wings. His body turned black, with little lines of orange on his wings, legs, stomach and face. Spikes grew from his back, and his tail grew several feet long. His neck and legs became longer as well, large black nails coming from his feet. When the transformation was complete, he looked more like a larger, more ferocious Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
"What's he done to Red-Eyes?" Anzu asked.
"It's summoned by the sacrifice of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon, at least that is how the card works," Seto informed.
Yugi knew of its great power, and began to worry for Honda. Be careful, Honda.
Compared to Anubis, Honda was about half his size. It was immediately known that he would have to overcome the size disadvantage. Standing on his hind legs, Honda, in the body of Thousand Dragon, showed not even a glimpse of fear. In his own mind however, he was confused. He kept hearing another voice, another instinct that told him to do differently than what he wanted to. He had a strong enough mind to hold it back for the moment.
"Even if they try to interfere, they would only be asking for death," Anubis laughed, keeping his same voice and not that of the dragon. "Are you prepared? The fight for survival is about to begin. Wait for the bell to ring and that will be your starting point."
Honda was hardly listening. He was too busy trying to fight off the other spirit inhabited in the body. It kept arguing with him, telling him to attack and rip him to shreds. Honda could hardly restrain himself. He knew that the other half fighting him within his mind was the real Thousand Dragon. Unless he wanted to die, he needed to keep it under control. He needed to win this fight for the sake of himself and everyone.
Ding!
The bell rang. Anubis wasted no time to attack. He was already shooting a burst of immensely hot flames from his mouth. To avoid the hit, Honda shot his own attack from his nostrils. The two attacks collided and exploded, showing that it was a draw. Smoke crowded the arena as the two took flight. High above the coliseum, they flew at each other, flying right next to one another. The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's sharp claw-like wings cut Thousand Dragon's side as it flew by, cutting into him, but not deeply.
"Honda!" Anzu screamed to the sky, knowing her friend had just taken some damage.
Not even flinching in pain, Honda turned around and launched another attack from his nostrils. As Honda had done before, Anubis used his own attack to repel it. Instantly after the explosion Honda flew into him, bashing his gut with his skull. Anubis flew backward, but eventually moved away from Honda's head. He attempted to spit more flames at him, an attack Honda easily dodged. Honda flew at him again, which Anubis used his incredible speed to move from harm's way. At an extremely fast pace, he flew several feet from Honda then quickly turned around and flew back at him. They were again going to fly next to one another, but this time Honda dodged the sharp wing and used his claws to cut into his side.
"He hit him!" Jounouchi exclaimed. "Kick his ass, Honda!"
The two flew away from one another, and then turned back. Honda stuttered for a moment, continuing to resist the other presence within him. After he regained control, he went to meet Anubis, who was already flying towards him. Using a sly move, Honda flew up before Anubis' jaws could grasp onto him. When Anubis flew by, Honda dove down onto his back and dug his teeth and claws into it. Anubis cried in pain as he viciously flung his body around in an attempt to throw Honda off. Honda had sunk in deep, and refused to release his hold. Angrily, he flew back to the ground and squashed Honda on it. The impact from hitting the ground and Anubis' weight on top of him forced him to let go. Anubis stood up as Honda did the same.
Attack…dig into the flesh…eat, Honda kept hearing. He kept putting it aside, but the voice grew stronger as well as the force. Honda could not keep control for long, so he figured it was best to defeat Anubis as soon as he could.
Using his long, powerful legs, Anubis leaped at Honda head first. Honda used his large hand and punched him away. Anubis went back, but landed on his feet, shaking his head trying to shake off the pain. Honda wasted no time in another attack. He used again the burst of energy from his nostrils, but Anubis flew out of the way. Anubis flew high and Honda followed him, flying towards him as fast as he could. Spinning to keep his opponent away, Anubis waited for Honda to back off before attacking. When he did, he flew right up next to him and used his left foot to scratch his right leg. Honda responded by using the claws on his right hand to upper cut a wound onto Anubis' chest. Anubis went to land to try to get a quick rest, thwacking Honda with his long, thick tail to keep him away.
It will not be much longer, he thought to himself as he stood on the ground for a quick rest, breathing heavily. I have seen him hesitate. He is hardly holding it back. Soon it will take over.
Blood dripped from all over his body, but Anubis was not concerned. The wounds were painful, but it was nothing he could not handle. He was working with the other half that also inhabited the dragon's body, which was to his benefit. After catching his breath, he returned to the sky to face Honda, who had also been using that time for rest and to try to keep control of the dragon's spirit. When Anubis returned, they flew at one another again. Thousand Dragon's mind was now continually interfering with Honda's concentration, and threw him off his strategy when flying at Anubis. He flew right into Anubis' hard wing his had slamming into it and sent him falling. A cut on his head, he caught himself and put himself back in the fight. By the time he was back, Anubis was already using his fast flying to attack again, using his sharp wing to cut him in the gut as he flew by. With Anubis' back now turned, Honda weakly launched the attack from his nostrils again, this time connecting to at least his left leg. Anubis' leg burned and felt as if it were disintegrating.
"Did it work? Is he down?" Anzu asked, hardly able to see the fight above.
"No," Bakura confirmed. "Both of them are still up there."
"Well who's winning?" Anzu continued asking questions. Seto gave her the look which told her to be quiet and let them try to watch and figure out what was going on. She immediately fell silent after that, watching as well.
Honda found it harder and harder to focus on battle with Thousand Dragon's spirit constantly with his thoughts. The dragon's instincts and mind were thinking differently than that of his, and the contradiction of the two minds caused fighting. Honda could not do two fights at once, and the longer the fight continued, the worse it became. He could not resist the dragon anymore.
Anubis saw Honda shaking in place and his eyes no longer focused on him. His red eyes focused in on one of Honda's wings. If he could take out just one wing, he would lose the ability to fly, which would put him at a severe disadvantage. Aiming precisely, he breathed flames from his mouth directly at the center of his right wing. The flames connected and ended up burning a large hole into it. No longer able to fly, Honda began to fall fast back to the ground. To make him fall faster, Anubis dove and clamped his teeth onto the left side of Honda's ribs and flew straight down. Honda tried to fight him off, but it was no use. Right before Honda hit the floor, Anubis let go and flew back to the sky.
"Honda," Jounouchi screamed to him, "you gotta up! Now!"
Not hearing a word Jounouchi said, Honda was slow to rise. He had landed on his left leg, and now it felt stiff. His entire body felt as if it were about to fail. Worst yet, his control over himself now was minimal. Thousand Dragon had finally stopped Honda.
"Behind you!" Yugi shouted. Honda still heard nothing.
Anubis had snuck up behind him, and he dove right into the back of Honda, biting it with amazing power. He ripped off the skin from his back and used his healthy leg, while still in the air, to kick him. Honda was sent forward, landing on his chest, and rolled onto his side. All the wounds had added up on him, and he found himself lying in a puddle of the blood of his own beast. He tried to sit up, but Anubis had put a foot on his long neck, stopping him from moving. He was too weak to move around anymore.
The group ran up to the ledge of the coliseum stands but again was blocked by an invisible wall above the ledge which separated the stands from the arena. With the entrance they had used to get into the arena blocked, there was no way they could get to him.
"To cooperate and work as one is key," Anubis talked to him. "With so many people of different sorts, you must learn how to work with one another. The less you do that, the more hostile you and the people become, especially towards each other. Your inability to do that makes you a threat to yourself and others! It is not honor you die with, but shame."
Honda heeded those words. He was right. It was hard for him to work with others. He was stubborn, always wanting to go solo. He thought back to the time when he and Otogi along with Jounouchi's sister Shizuka had been dueling. He remembered how he refused to cooperate with Otogi in order to impress Shizuka. It led to his death and soul sealed in a robotic monkey. The experience was horrible, and he wished never to go through it again.
I've forgotten, he thought to himself, that it's killed me before. And I let it happen again? I'm a disgrace.
His eyes glanced at his friends. Their looks of concern and sadness made him, for once, fear death. He wished at that moment he could change everything about the battle he had just fought. He had not the strength to fight anymore, even with his friends watching his final moments.
"I'm…sorry," he said to them, but no one heard him, and he knew it. He wished of all the ways to die, it would not have been recommitting a mistake of the past.
Anubis' large jaws opened and chomped on his skull. The dragon skull split open as blood poured out. Honda, too, was now gone.
With nothing more to do or say, the group made their way out of the coliseum, again fleeing from the scene. Even if they ran, they could not escape the terrifying image, or the terrifying truth that two of them had been picked off. If this were to continue, how much further could they possibly go? It was a question they all thought as they left the old Roman coliseum.
Returning to his normal form, Anubis held his wounds. The pain was only temporary, as he would momentarily close his wounds. He looked down at Honda, who had also returned to his regular body, carrying the wounds he had inherited from the fight. His lifeless body lay flat on the ground in blood as Anubis towered over him. He looked to the sun, which was setting on the horizon.
Still running, he thought. You are erasing yourselves. I am not responsible. No matter how far you go, you cannot stop the black hole you created from sucking you in.