I thought that the last chapter went quite well, how about you? Sorry to all the Joey fans out there, I had to kick someone out of the tournament to make room for Brian and I decided on removing Odion. My decision was between Bakura and Odion and I wanted to have Brian move on to the next round by utilizing REDD and it would be dumb to kick Yugi out of the tournament. As for the next few chapters, they will be the other duels in the finals. This one is the battle between Bakura and Yugi. I'm pretty sure that it is nearly completely accurate. The only thing wrong with it is the card that Yugi used to destroy Kuriboh. See, I put Foolish Burial. If you know what that card name really is, please let me know so I can adjust my data.

Chapter 8: Spirit Battle

"Roland, start the machine," Mokuba ordered. "Everyone remember your numbers."

Me and my seven friends filed into the selection room just as Mokuba made his announcement. I noted that Kaiba, Marik, and Bakura were already waiting. I had just finished my match with Joey not to long ago. It frightened me a little to look back on it. During the match I nearly lost myself, not to mention the love of my life.

"Have you seen that eighth duelist yet?" I whispered to Yugi, who was standing on my left.

He turned his head slightly to look at me. "Now that you mention it, I haven't," he replied. "I would think that he would have appeared to see at least one of the matches, to size up his opponents, at the very least."

"Unless…he already knows what is going to happen," I pondered.

Before Yugi could respond, Roland called the name of the next duelist. "The first duelist of the second match is…duelist number 7! Ryou Bakura!" he announced.

Most of us looked at the boy in question. He looked bewildered. "Hey, you okay, man? Tristan asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered quickly. "I'm just surprised that I was chosen so soon, is all." He finished with a laugh.

Roland cleared his throat to get our attention again. "The second duelist in the match is, duelist number 2, Yugi Moto! Will both duelists please proceed to the upper deck to begin your duel."

Yugi and Bakura stepped into the elevator that took them up to the dueling platform and everyone else took a second elevator to the spectators area. It was a bit warmer where we were standing and a lot less windy. "So what do you guys know about this Bakura guy?" I asked them.

"He's a classmate of ours," Téa explained. "He somehow got into Duelist Kingdom, but he was possessed by an evil spirit."

That worried me a little. I didn't have time to dwell on it too much because Yugi and Bakura stepped out onto the field a second later. Even Marik was sitting in on the other side of the booth this time. They took up sides on either side of the arena. Bakura had an evil look on his face and I sensed something totally different from him than when we were inside.

"Oh no, guys look!" Téa exclaimed. "That Millennium Ring is back!"

"What? I thought I got rid of that thing at Duelist Kingdom," Tristan questioned. "I swear I threw it into the woods."

"I doubt you can get rid of a Millennium Item that easily," I told him. "They seem to be able to find their way to their owners by themselves."

"Prepare for defeat, Yugi," Bakura snickered as he started the match. "I summon Headless Knight in attack position."

I was taken aback by his move. "Why is he playing such a weak monster in attack mode?" I wondered out loud. "Be careful, Yugi. He's got something planned."

Yugi didn't heed my warning. He summoned Gamma the Magnet Warrior and destroyed Bakura's weak monster. The attack only did 50 damage to Bakura's life points.

Bakura's next move was another shocker. "I summon The Portrait's Secret in attack mode!" He said with an evil smile.

"Now I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts!" Yugi declared his next move. "Gamma, destroy his monster and Gazelle, attack his life points!" Yugi's attack knocked Bakura's life points down to 6150. Yugi was still at 8000.

"How did Bakura get into the finals anyway?" Joey asked. "It's like he's not even trying."

"Something's not right," I said as I watched the match. "I don't care who you are, you don't get into a duel with a top duelist like Yugi and play a bunch of low level monsters without some sort of plan."

"Now, it's my move," Bakura said. "I summon The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams, again in attack mode."

"I sacrifice my Gazelle and summon Dark Magician Girl," Yugi stated. "Then I'll place this card face down, and attack your Ghost with Dark Magician Girl!" The monster destroyed Bakura's then Gamma took even more from him, leaving him at 3350.

Bakura began to laugh maniacally. "You played right into my hand, Yugi!" he shouted. "Haven't you wondered why I played so many weak monsters for you to destroy? It was to summon my most powerful creature! Come forth Dark Necrofear!"

"Oh no…it can't be…" I said in awe.

"You've heard of this card?" Téa asked me.

I nodded. "It's similar to my Red Eyes Darkness Dragon. It relies on monsters in the graveyard in order to be summoned."

"Are you serious?" Yugi asked me. He must have heard my explanation.

"Yes, he's right," Bakura said. "I had to remove the three monsters in my graveyard from play in order to summon this monster of darkness. And now it will destroy you! Dark Necrofear, attack Dark Magician Girl!"

"No! Activate face down card! Magic Formula!" Yugi said to counter the move. "This card powers up spellcaster monsters by 500 points!" Dark Necrofear's attack was countered and it was destroyed instead of Yugi's Dark Magician Girl.

Bakura had another fit of laughter. "You fool! Do you even know what power you have unleashed now?" he threatened. "When Dark Necrofear is destroyed it unleashes an evil essence known as Dark Sanctuary!"

I looked around as a dark cloud surrounded the two duelists as well as the spectators. Then several dark looking eyes opened in the sky around us. Serenity was frightened by this and clung safely to her brother.

"Oh man this is creepy," Téa murmured. I looked up at Yugi who appeared to have kept his cool through the whole ordeal.

Now I'll need to summon a monster then sacrifice it in order to keep Dark Sanctuary active," Bakura explained. "And I'll play The Dark Door. It prevents both of us from attacking with more than one monster per turn. And I'll play Destiny Board! And it will begin to spell out your doom, Yugi!" We watched as an 'F' appeared above Bakura.

"With no monsters on the field, you're wide open to a direct attack from any of my monsters," Yugi challenged.

"Well, then attack if you're so confident," Bakura responded with another evil grin.

"I will! Dark Magician Girl, attack!" Yugi exclaimed. The attack launched, but backfired and Yugi lost 1250 life points. "What? How…?"

"Surprised?" Bakura smirked. "There's a spirit that resides in Dark Sanctuary. And once each turn I use it to possess one of your monsters. When the possessed monster attacks, the attack is negated and half of its attack power is taken from your life points! And just so they aren't wasted, they'll be added to mine."

"It's a near perfect strategy," I said. "Only Bakura can see the spirit so Yugi has no idea which of his monsters are possessed. Since he can only attack with one monster, attacking is a huge gamble right now."

"There is way to beat it, right?" Mai asked.

"Only one way I can think of and that's luck," I replied.

"Come on, guys. We need to be supporting Yugi here," Serenity scolded us. "Go, Yugi!"

"Now another letter will appear, an 'I' this time. Then I set this card face down," Bakura took his turn. "And I'll summon Sangan then sacrifice it to keep Dark Sanctuary. Sangan lets me draw a card from my deck when it goes from the field to the graveyard. Now it's your turn, Yugi."

"I'll summon Kuriboh in defense mode," Yugi stated. He though about his next move for a few moments before making it. "I'll attack your life points with Gamma the Magnet Warrior!" A grimace came to Bakura's face as the attack launched, this time it didn't backfire.

"Yes! Yugi picked the right one!" Tristan exclaimed.

Our small celebration ended when Gamma was a few feet from hitting its target. "Ha! I activate my trap card, Dark Spirit of the Silent!" Bakura laughed. "It stops your monsters attack and lets me choose another monster to attack. Attack me Dark Magician Girl!" The same effect happened as the last time she attacked. Yugi lost another 1250 life points, dropping him to 5500 and raising Bakura to 5750.

Yugi then ended his turn by placing a card face down. Bakura's next turn was an uneventful summoning of a monster then sacrificing it to keep Dark Sanctuary in power, but adding an 'N' to Destiny Board's message. Then Yugi was up again.

"I activate my trap card Collected Power! And transfer all magic card effects on the field to Kuriboh," he played. "And I'll use Foolish Burial to destroy Kuriboh!"

"Why is Yugi destroying his own monster?" Téa asked.

"I don't know…unless Collected Power put the spirit into Kuriboh as well as the rest of the card effects!" I said excitedly.

"What? No!" Bakura yelled in desperation. His comment confirmed my theory.

"Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack!" Yugi finished. With Yugi's devastating counter strike, Bakura's life points were down to 3750.

"And another letter appears," Bakura said as an 'A' appeared. "Now I'll set a card face down and summon a monster to sacrifice."

"I'll summon Big Shield Gardna in defense position," Yugi started. "And I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back Dark Necrofear!" When the monster was brought back, the effect of Dark Sanctuary dissipated.

"Hey, what happened?" a confused Joey asked.

"Of course," Duke explained. "When Dark Necrofear was sent to the graveyard it brought out Dark Sanctuary. It only makes sense that doing the opposite would get rid of it."

"Dark Necrofear, attack!" Yugi commanded. The attack dropped Bakura's life points again. Only 1350 left.

"Way to go, Yugi!" Téa cheered.

"One more time and he's done!" I added.

"That won't happen again, Yugi. Because my next monster is Jowgan the Spiritualist!" Bakura told him. That evil grin had come back to his face again. "I'll use Jowgan's special ability by discarding one card from my hand so he can destroy all specially summoned monsters on the field. You know what that means? The return of Dark Sanctuary!"

"Not again," Téa complained as the strange mist reappeared.

Bakura sacrificed Jowgan, but, with only one turn left before Destiny Board spelled out its message, Yugi had to act fast. He drew a card and stared at it with his eyes wide.

"If Yugi doesn't draw a monster with attack power greater than Bakura's life points, he's done for," I said, my voice full of worry. "And if Bakura's face down card is another Dark Spirit of the Silent, he'll lose anyway."

"The Pharaoh has drawn the card he needs to win," the evil voice of Marik told us. "But let's see if he has the courage to use it!" We looked to Yugi for the answer. He didn't look away from the card and his expression didn't change.

"I'll make this choice painfully simple, Yugi," Kaiba spoke up. "Play that card or you lose."

"What? Why you-" Joey started. I grabbed his shoulder and shook my head when he looked at me.

"Although I don't like to admit it, Kaiba's right," I told him and the rest of my friends. "If that card is as powerful as they say, it's his only hope. On Bakura's next turn, Destiny Board will spell out FINAL and he will automatically win."

The look on Yugi's face changed suddenly to determination and I knew he had made up his mind. "I sacrifice Gamma the Magnet Warrior, Big Shield Gardna, and Dark Magician Girl to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon!" he exclaimed.

Yugi's monsters disappeared and dark storm clouds covered the sky. The clouds started to swirl around a central eye and out from it came a huge serpent like dragon that slowly wrapped itself around the entire blimp. I sensed an enormous power surging from the monster, so much that it overwhelmed my mind and heart. I would have collapsed, had Téa not caught me. She helped me over to the wall at the back of the booth, where I sat with Téa kneeling next to me.

"What is that thing?" Tristan said in awe.

"It's the biggest Duel Monster I've ever seen, that's what it is," Joey proclaimed.

"That is an Egyptian god monster," I corrected him weakly.

"Your Egyptian god card is no match for the spirit of Dark Sanctuary," Bakura said calmly. The spirit suddenly appeared when it bounced off of Slifer the Sky Dragon's head. "What? What's going on? Why can't my spirit possess your monster?"

"My Egyptian god is too powerful to be controlled," Yugi replied strongly. "Now Slifer the Sky Dragon, att-!"

Suddenly Bakura fell to his knees. "What am I doing here? Why am I wearing a duel disk?" he asked.

"Ba-Bakura?" Yugi stuttered. I was as confused as everyone else looked.

"Yugi! Help me, I don't feel well at all," he begged. "I should be in the hospital."

Yugi stepped forward to try to help. "Hold it right there," Roland commanded him. "Duelists are forbidden to have direct contact with each other during the duel. If you take another step, you will be disqualified."

"What? Are you nuts? Can't you see Bakura's hurt?" Tristan yelled at him. I tried to tell him to let it go but Slifer's undeniable power was still getting to me. Téa hugged my head to her chest right under her chin. We could only watch as the scene before us unfolded.

After some prodding from Kaiba, Yugi was about to attack again. He hesitated for a moment, but that was enough time for the evil Bakura to get back into control. Yugi noticed this change and immediately made his move.

"Slifer the Sky Dragon, attack!" Yugi commanded. With a tremendous roar, Slifer opened it's huge mouth and let out a solid stream of lightning. The surge of energy was too intense for me and I blacked out.


When I woke up a short time later, I saw Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Duke on the arena platform kneeling over the body of Bakura. Yugi's Egyptian god monster was gone, so I figured the duel was over. Téa helped me up, but my head was spinning and I practically fell on top of her.

"Are they okay?" I asked. I leaned on Téa. Trying to take in the backwash of Slifer's power had weakened me more than I thought.

"Well, Yugi appears to be fine," Mai answered. "But that Bakura kid took that monster's attack head on. There's no telling if he's alright or not. Not right now, anyway."

Joey and Tristan had thrown Bakura's arms over their shoulders and were carrying him off to the nearest elevator. The same happened with me, except that Téa had me, and Mai and Serenity followed closely behind us. I began to regain my strength little by little. By the time we caught up with the others I was able to walk on my own feet. I guess Téa felt she still had to help me because she was still beside me, ready to catch me if I fell again.

"Hey, are you alright?" Yugi asked when we caught up.

I nodded. "I'm fine. I think because I have a Millennium Item as well, I could feel Slifer's power. I wasn't ready for anything that strong. It just overwhelmed my entire body. How is he?" I indicated to Bakura. Joey and Tristan had brought him to his room and laid him on his bed.

"I can't tell," Yugi responded. "Of course, I'm no doctor. He needs to get back to a hospital, though."

"Let's go talk Mr. Sunshine into landing this tub, then," Joey spoke up.

We tracked down Kaiba and begged him to land his aircraft. His response was anything but good. "No way," he replied. "This tournament will not be interrupted for any reason."

"Please, Kaiba?" Serenity pleaded with a sad tone and expression. It made me want to just hug her, but I refrained from doing so because both Joey and Téa would have torn my head off.

"C'mon, how can you say 'no' to this face?" Tristan added.

"Easy," Kaiba continued. "If your friend entered my tournament against his health, that's his problem, not mine."

"How can you be so cruel, Kaiba?" Téa said with a glare.

He stared at her for a few seconds, with a softer facial expression, before standing up and walking to the intercom on his wall. "Fine. Mokuba, send a medical team to Bakura's room before Yugi's friend starts some stupid speech," he said. Then he turned back to us. "But we're still not landing. Now if you don't mind, I have a duel to prepare for."

We filed out of Kaiba's room and stood in the hallway. Yugi had slipped out before our conversation with Kaiba and no one knew where he went, except me. I knew he had gone back to his room. I wondered why he didn't want to wait to hear his response. We eventually made our way back to Bakura's room. He still hadn't woken up. Then I noticed something strange.

"Hey guys? Where's the Millennium Ring?" I asked.

"It must have fallen off during the duel," Téa suggested from the chair she was sitting in.

"Yeah, Duke and I will go look for it," Tristan volunteered. He took Duke out of the room in a headlock, despite his protests. Then Joey left with Serenity to go back to his room and Mai stepped out, heading back to hers. Only Téa and I were left in the room with Bakura.

"I have some questions I want to ask Yugi," I told her after awhile. "You going to be okay by yourself?" She nodded and I bent over and gave her a good-bye kiss, then walked out the door.

On my way out, I sensed something from the room I was just in. When I looked back, I just saw Bakura on the bed and Téa in the chair, same as when I last looked. I continued on my way and knocked on Yugi's door upon arrival. The door slid open to reveal Yugi in the doorway.

"Hey, Brian. What brings you here?" Yugi greeted me. I looked past him quickly, and saw that he had all his cards laid out on the table.

"Is this a bad time?" I asked. "I just wanted to ask you some stuff. I can come back later if you want."

"No, that's fine, come on in," he replied. He stepped aside and let me in. His room seemed nicer than mine for some reason. I walked over and looked at the cards he had placed on the table. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Yeah…I was just wondering about some things in your duel," I explained. "Who exactly were you dueling against? Don't tell me it was a friend of yours, because I could sense that he wasn't."

"It was the spirit of the Millennium Ring," Yugi replied. "Even I was surprised that he was still here. During Duelist Kingdom, he challenged me to a shadow game that endangered my soul and those of Tristan, Joey, and Téa. He trapped everyone but Yami into our favorite cards. Yami was able to defeat him without losing us and he banished the spirit to the Shadow Realm."

I picked up Yugi's Egyptian god card and looked it over. I could feel traces of the dragon's power emanating from the card itself. "Yugi, how come when you played this you didn't collapse from the power of it?" I asked curiously. I handed the card back to its owner. "I passed out and had my strength drained and I was on the sidelines."

"I don't know exactly," he started. "Maybe it was because I had faced it once before, or maybe because I have more experience with dark energy."

"Or maybe because it's because you are destined to control it," a mysterious voice said. We turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw a guy dressed in a robe. From his neck hung a golden Ankh, the bottom of which was shaped into what appeared to be a skeleton key.

"Hey, I know you. You're Shadi!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Shadi? Wait, the keeper of the Millennium Items?" I asked myself. "What is he doing here?"

"Greetings, my king," Shadi said as he bowed his head. "I must apologize for being blunt, but I came merely to pass on my message to the Pharaoh. If you will excuse us."

"No. I believe that what you have to say is appropriate for his ears," I could tell it was Yami talking this time. "He is, after all, a holder of a Millennium Item. Also, the spirit that used to be in the item claimed to be my guardian."

"We shall see," Shadi replied. He then held up his item and pointed the key part at my face. "My Millennium Key will show me if what you claim is true." I felt something probe my mind quickly. It was only a second before he lowered his key back to where it hung. "I see. You can be trusted with this information."

"Okay…so what is it?" I questioned him.

"Everything that you need to fulfill your destiny is on this craft," Shadi told us vaguely. "The Egyptian god cards, the Millennium Puzzle, and the secret of the tomb keepers. These three things are required to claim the destiny of the Pharaoh. You must not let them fall into the wrong hands. Pegasus tried to control the Egyptian gods, but even he knew that not just anyone could control them."

We looked over at Slifer the Sky Dragon, which had been returned to its place on the table. "How will I know-?" Yugi started. The two of us looked around for Shadi, but he had vanished.

"People are doing that a lot lately," I stated.

"Yes…but what did he mean by 'the secret of the tomb keepers'?" Yugi wondered.

"I'm not sure, but I'll help you find out. No matter what it takes," I assured him. That's when Joey and the others barged in.

"I don't even wanna know what was going on in here," Tristan snickered. His joke didn't last long because Téa kicked him in the shin.

"Sorry, that information is classified," I said with a grin. "Millennium Item business."

"Well, whatever. We're gonna be late for the next duel selection…again," Joey informed us.

Yugi and I laughed and followed them out the door. Once again, I was the one in the rear of the group. When I exited the room, I stopped and gazed thoughtfully back into it. "There you go spacing out again," Téa's joke interrupted my thoughts. "What's up?"

"Nothing," I said to her with a smile. "It's just…Yugi's room is so much better than mine."