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Fanfic Chapter 94: Duel of Ghouls
Episode Basis: Shadow of a Duel
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Things started to fall apart for Marik. First was the fact that Mokuba dismantled his "insurance" policy of destroying everyone. Then Joey started rebelling against Marik. Marik was able to force Joey to play Meteor of Destruction before Joey exorcised Marik from his mind once and for all. Yugi was safe, but Joey was about to take a permanent swim. But who should come to his rescue but Serenity, who had removed her bandages and dove in with the key to Joey's shackles. Back on shore, Joey apologized to everyone and Mai, in her own "polite" way showed Joey how lucky he was to have such a loving sister. But now that that crisis has ended, a new one is about to begin: the Battle City Finals.
At the pier, everyone stood watching the sun set.
"Hey Yugi, here," Joey said handing Yugi his Puzzle. "I think this looks better on you than it does on me. Not to toot my own horn, but I must be the luckiest guy in the world to have friends like you guys."
"Thanks, Joey," Yugi said. "That reminds me, I owe a big thanks to you too, Yami. You trusted me enough to allow me to win this on my own. I'm glad we make such a great team, but it's good to know that I can handle myself if need be." Yugi turned to Harold, "That also reminds me, Harold, that last move you played at the end, I have to admit I never seen a card like that."
"Yeah, I haven't seen a card like that before either," Mai agreed. "Where did you get it?"
"You could say a good friend gave it to me." Harold looked at the card remembering the person who gave it to him.
"Congratulations, Harold, you won, you beat the Four Horsemen," Katy said with a sad smile. "Unfortunately, I don't have a locator card to give you, but I do have a rare card to give you." She threw a card to Harold. "This card was given to me by my mother; she said that it often reminds her of me. I don't think the picture looks a thing like me but I'm thinking it would really help out your Wingweaver."
Katy, I don't know who your mother was, but she was right in comparing you to it, for just like the card, you helped light my way. "I only hope it can help me win the finals."
"Buddy, all the rare cards in the world won't help you beat my deck," Mai boasted.
"Uh… excuse me, but what am I, chopped liver?" Joey asked. "I beat you last time!"
"That was then, this is now, and I have cards you wouldn't believe."
"Hey, we should get going," Harold said. "We still have to find out where the finals are."
"Hey, you're right," Joey said as he activated his Duel Disk. "Okay, Mai, tell me if I'm doing this wrong, I just place each of my locator cards on my Duel Disk like so…" he slid a locator card into a monster card slot and placed the remaining one in the field magic card slot.
"Congratulations, and welcome to the Battle City Finals," an automated voice said. "Please stand by for directions to Kaiba Corp. stadium." As a 3-D map appeared, a line started to draw from where they were to the spot.
"Everything is going according to plan."
"I did what you had said; I deliberately stabbed myself so you could save me and befriend those other fools. So why don't you fulfill your part of the bargain and give me the Millennium Rod."
"You'll get my Millennium Rod the same way others have received Millennium Items throughout the ages."
"Don't patronize me, Marik!"
"I'm not; you're going to have to enter the Battle City Finals if you're going to win my Rod."
"What do I have to do?"
"First thing you need to do is get a Duel Disk and six locator cards. Then use the locator cards to make your way to the finals. Once there, we will initiate the next phase of the plan."
"Fine, if it wins me your Millennium Item, I'll do it."
"Excellent, but remember time is short."
"Bakura… Bakura!"
"Huh… what?" Bakura opened his eyes. Solomon Moto was standing over him.
"You were having a nightmare. Oh, by the way, I have great news. Yugi just called, he, Joey, and Harold got into the Battle City Finals."
"Did they say where it was?" Yami-Bakura asked.
"Oh my, in all the excitement I forgot to ask."
"That's too bad," Yami-Bakura said standing up. "It means more work for me to do."
"Hey, you have to remain in bed," Solomon said. "You're injured, remember?"
"I don't have time to deal with old fossils like you," Yami-Bakura said and used his Millennium Ring to knock Solomon out. "That ought to take care of you for a while," he said as he got up and left.
The boy was thrown against the wall. A bruise formed on the side of his head. "Hey what are you doing, give it back!"
"I have need of your Duel Disk," Yami-Bakura said. "But don't worry; you can keep your pathetic deck." Yami-Bakura turned and walked off.
"Aaron!" Chris, Todd, and Katy ran up to the weakest member of the Four Horsemen. "What happened?"
"Some guy knocked me down and stole my Duel Disk. His strength was incredible, almost superhuman!"
"Who would do such a thing?" Katy wondered.
Yami-Bakura walked around the city and came upon a group of kids talking.
"Hey, have you heard, six Duelists already qualified for the finals."
"Is it true that three of them are the Duelist Kingdom finalists?"
"Probably."
Time is running out. "Hey," Yami-Bakura called. "Where can I find a Battle City duel."
"Scram, Blondie," one of the kids snapped.
Yami-Bakura grabbed the kid by his collar. "That wasn't the answer I was looking for."
"I… I heard about some duels happening in the cemetery," the kid replied nervously.
Yami-Bakura dropped the kid and headed towards the cemetery.
A Duelist walked through the cemetery, rubbing his arms for heat. "Maybe that rumor was wrong," he said trying to convince him self out of this spooky place.
A low groan came from the ground. A hand stuck out from the ground. The Duelist screamed and turned to run away but came across a guy in a Frankenstein mask. He turned to take cover behind a tomb stone but only came across somebody in a zombie mask. Scared out of his wits, the Duelist dropped his Duel Disk and locator card and took off.
"That was easy," one of the masked ones said. Removing his mask revealed him to be tall and thin with shaggy red hair and sun glasses.
"Easy as taking candy from a baby, right, Bonz?" The other masked one asked. He also took off his mask revealing a not very bright-looking guy with dark hair.
The last member of this little circus burst up from the ground. The kid looked like a skeleton which fitted his name. He held up the locator card. "That makes it five locator cards. Soon we'll have enough to be in the finals."
"Yeah, after that creep Bandit Keith took all our star chips at Duelist Kingdom, it's about time something went our way."
"Quiet, boys," Bonz hissed. "I think I hear another victim coming, get ready."
As Yami-Bakura walked into the cemetery Bonz, Sid, and Zygor surrounded him and made haunting noises.
Yami-Bakura wasn't scared. "What is going on here?"
"Give us your cards or suffer in eternal torment."
Yami-Bakura snickered, "You fools have no idea what eternal torment is." Zygor rushed him from behind but Yami-Bakura side-stepped it and shoved the brute to the ground. "If you want my locator card, you'll have to duel me for it."
"That's fine," Bonz said taking off his mask. "I can duel legit."
"We'll see about that," Yami-Bakura said.
This guy looks familiar, Zygor thought. But I can't remember where I've seen him before… of course I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning either.
"Since you're so confident in your dueling abilities, how about we raise the stakes, an all or nothing duel."
"Why should we risk our five locator cards when you only have one?" Zygor asked.
"We're both running out of time," Yami-Bakura said. "The Finals will begin soon."
"He's right, Bonz," Zygor realized. "If we're going to be in the finals, we need to act fast!"
"Fine," Bonz said. "All or nothing it is. Eject holo-emitters!"
"Duel Tray transform!"
"Scan deck!"
"Life points set."
"Let's duel!" Bonz shouted.
Yami-Bakura just smirked. Let the Shadow Game begin.
Unknown to Bonz, strange pink fog started to fill the cemetery.
A/N: For clarity's sake, I'm going to use a 'Y' for Yami-Bakura.
(Y: 4000)
(B: 4000)
As Yami-Bakura drew his sixth card, he chuckled, "Do you know the legend of this cemetery?" Bonz defensively took a step back. "It's said that this cemetery is haunted by a knight who lost his head in battle. He now wanders the cemetery searching for his missing head." Bonz looked around in fright. "Now say hello to Headless Knight (1)!" A headless suit of armor burst from the ground. Bonz screamed for all he's worth.
"Your face is scarier than that Duel Monster card!" Zygor snapped.
"Oh, right," Bonz said gaining his composure. Yami-Bakura just looked annoyed as he set a card face-down.
Bonz drew his sixth card. "I summon Snake Hair (2) in attack mode! Snake Hair, attack Headless Knight!" The woman with snakes for hair lashed out with two of the snake heads that bit down on Headless Knight and destroyed it.
(Y: 3950)
(B: 4000)
"I activate my face-down card Shallow Grave which lets me bring back my Headless Knight in defense mode." A coffin rose from the ground and opened to reveal the Headless Knight. "Next I'll sacrifice him to summon the Earl of Demise (3)!" The Earl of Demise looked like a typical zombie monster with pale blue skin and thinning white hair. "Earl of Demise, attack Snake Hair!" The Earl sliced through Snake Hair.
(Y: 3950)
(B: 3500)
Bonz shook as he drew his next card. "I summon Dragon Zombie (4) in attack mode, next I'll play Premature Burial which lets me bring my Snake Hair back. Snake Hair, arise from your grave!" Bonz's snake-haired woman appeared from the ground.
(Y: 3950)
(B: 2700)
"You're running scared now," Bonz said.
"You wouldn't know what fear is if it came up and bit you," Yami-Bakura cracked.
"Oh yeah? I play Polymerization fusing my Dragon Zombie and Snake Hair to form the Great Mammoth of Goldfire (5)!" A gold-colored skeleton mammoth appeared. "Fortunately for you my monster can't play this turn so I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." As Yami-Bakura started to draw a card, Bonz said, "I think I'll play a trap card: Skull Invitation! Now every time we discard from our hand, we'll lose 300 life points."
"Your pitiful little trap card doesn't scare me, let me show you." Yami-Bakura discarded his entire hand.
(Y: 2750)
(B: 2700)
"You see, it doesn't matter how many cards I discard, I'll still win this duel."
"Have you gone crazy, your life points are almost even with mine, plus you just discarded your entire hand!"
"But you've seem to have forgotten my magic card Spiritualistic Medium. It gives my Earl of Demise a 500 point boost every time I discard a monster card from my hand to the graveyard." Yami-Bakura held up his Duel Disk with the graveyard facing Bonz. "In case you haven't been keeping track, I discarded four monsters which means my Earl of Demise gets 2000 more attack points."
(EOD: 2000-4000)
"Earl of Demise, attack!" The monster stabbed the giant mammoth with its sword and destroyed it. Bonz not only lost 1800 life points from the attack, but an additional 300 for sending the monster to the graveyard.
(Y: 2750)
(B: 600)
"Now your true colors are showing," Yami-Bakura said. "The only one who will be going to the finals will be me, and once I win, you and your friends will be trapped here forever!"
"What do you mean?" Bonz asked.
"Look around you." Bonz looked around and noticed the pink smoke surrounding them. "We've been dueling in the Shadow Realm. And once you lose a duel in the Shadow Realm, you remain here for all eternity!" Spooky black figures erupted from the ground and reached out to grab the three.
"Wh… what are they?" Bonz asked.
"They are lost souls, trapped forever in the darkness, just as you will soon be."
"Sorry, mates, but you're on your own," Sid said as he took off.
"Sid, come back, don't leave me," Zygor pleaded.
"He'll be back," Yami-Bakura assured them. And sure enough, like Pacman, Sid came running back from the other side.
"Huh, what, wasn't I just going away from here?"
"Once you accept a Shadow Duel, the only way to escape is to win," Yami-Bakura explained.
Sid grabbed Bonz and shook him, "Bonz, whatever you do, don't lose this duel."
"R… right," Bonz said as he drew a card. He smiled almost reassured. "I play Nightmare Steel Cage!" A cage rose up around Yami-Bakura and his monster. "That should keep you busy for two turns then I place a monster card face-down."
Yami-Bakura just drew a card and looked at it, scowling.
"Disappointed that you didn't get what you were searching for?" Sid asked.
"I'm disappointed that this duel will end so soon. I play the magic card Ectoplasmer which drains the soul of my monster and fires it directly at you." The Earl of Demise collapsed and a blue substance fired from the card hitting Bonz.
(Y: 2750)
(B: 0)
Yami-Bakura stood over them, "Now, you pathetic mortals wander in the Shadow Realm until I feel like setting you free." Hands rose from the ground and grabbed Bonz and his friends. The smoke gathered around them as the three were dragged underground. Soon all that remained was Bonz's Duel Disk and locator cards. Yami-Bakura picked up the locator cards. "Well that was easy," he commented. "Now it's onto the Battle City Finals." He turned and left as the fog faded away to reveal the real cemetery.
The End
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Headless Knight
Level: 4
Type: Fiend
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1450
DEF: 1700
(2)
Name: Snake Hair
Level: 4
Type: Zombie
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1500
DEF: 1300
(3)
Name: Earl of Demise
Level: 5
Type: Fiend
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2000
DEF: 700
(4)
Name: Dragon Zombie
Level: 3
Type: Zombie
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1600
DEF: 0
(5)
Name: Great Mammoth of Goldfire
Level: 6
Type: Zombie/Fusion
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2200
DEF: 2100
