Chapter 7
Let the Games Begin
From behind the transparent barrier of glass, Yugi watched his closest friend. Yami raised his left arm in a smooth, graceful arc, then thrust his elbow down to activate the duel disk he had just slipped on. The two halves left their withdrawn positions on either side of the center disk, swinging around to meet above his wrist, then sliding back as a piece to lay nearly parallel to his arm. He unhooked the top of their studded cardholder, hanging from a loose belt about his waist like a modern cowboy's holster. Draw! Yugi thought to himself, stifling the giggle aroused from the nervous comment as he remembered the serious scene. During the whole process, his indigo eyes remained riveted on his opponent. Yugi could feel his slight apprehension through his contact with the puzzle, but was unable to share his thoughts now that they were separated. The pharaoh, he was sure, though, was aware it was unlikely this man was too good at Duel Monsters, but still, he was right to be cautious. It was never a good idea to underestimate an opponent, as they themselves had shown many times. But then again, maybe he hadn't even heard of the game, or didn't know how to play. Could Pegasus' card game truly be that popular?
"I'm waiting, Collector. Where is your duel disk? Have you rethought this match and wish to forfeit, or could it truly be there is something you actually do not own? It's such a common item back home, thanks to Kaiba, and you don't have one? It is a good thing I came prepared, then, for I just happen to have one for you. On loan from my close friend Joey." Yami mocked the heavy man across from him, recalling Joey's reluctance to let him use it before reminding him it might help to save Yugi. He pulled the second disk out from the satchel Yugi used for school, which he had left in the hall at their earlier confrontation, but now had beside him. The duel disk spun lazily in the air as he tossed it Frisbee-like toward him. A lady in a dark green, skintight jumpsuit stepped forward, catching the revolving projectile deftly. She handed it to the Collector with an assassin's grace, then retreated once more to the shadows against the wall.
"Thank you, Mari. As you can see, my dear Pharaoh," he made the title sound like an insult, in much the same way as Marik and Bakura had, "It is dangerous company I keep. It would not be wise to attempt to cross me before this is through." He nodded in the direction of the lady assassin, barely visible in her chosen position. "Your foresight is admirable, though laughable in the face of certain defeat. I would not be so cocky as to think you might win. Remember, even if you do somehow manage to win this challenge, Mr. King of Games, there are still two more to contend with."
"Let's get started then. After all, I'm sure Yugi is anxious to be on his way home, as am I." Yami said, withdrawing his deck from the leather pouch at his hip and placing it in its customary slot, the duel disk's lights flaring to life. The projectors now resting in the corners of the corridors flashed with rainbow brilliance, awaiting their time to project the holographic images. The Collector repeated the motion, activating the disk now pressed tightly against his mass of flesh.
"LET'S DUEL!" they shouted in unison, and the life point counters appeared, allotting each duelist with eight thousands points. Yami drew five cards in quick succession, and the Collector pulled out five as well, his quick single jerk belying his agitation.
"As you were so kind as to choose this complex challenge, I shall be going first." The Collector drew a card, then squinted at his hand, his beady, greedy eyes searching back and forth as he attempted to formulate a plan. "I'll start off with this, for now. Ryu-Kishin, in defense mode. I hope you had a good opening hand," he sneered across the distance between them. The air shimmered with coruscating light as the card appeared, large and floating parallel to the floor, the image of the giant beast snarling on top of its solid-light surface.
Yami reached across his chest to his disk, drawing a sixth card to add to his hand. He was careful to keep his face indifferent as he looked over the new addition. It would work perfectly with what he had planned while waiting for the Collector's opening move.
"We'll just see how good it is. Here goes! First I play Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts." A hologram appeared before Yami, an enlarged picture of the card he had just laid on one glowing blue slot on his duel disk. Above it, the air rippled in rainbow sparkles, then a figure exploded into being. A lion-ish creature with curling horns let loose a bestial roar of challenge, posture threatening in every line.
"Next, I'll fuse him with Berfomet using the magic of Polymerization!" Two more cards were plucked from his hand, one he placed next to Gazelle on the disk, the other sliding into a slot in the inner edge of the machine. Another holographic card flashed into being, a devilish man of red skin with black horns and wings rising, four arms folded, from its center. A black hole formed behind the two, a whirl of darkness etched with deep blues and purples. It swirled outward to encompass the two imposing creatures, their forms blurring as they swirled around inside it, vanishing inside its ebony depths. The rotation reversed, and one figure emerged, lunging outward to stand before its master, baring snarling teeth. A tan lion with two heads adorned with curling goat horns stood waiting for his command, white-feathered wings flared and snake-headed tail thrashing.
"Say hello to Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast! Chimera, attack Ryu-Keshin now!" The powerful haunches of his newly formed monster sprang Chimera forward, claws colliding with the opposing red creature, ripping it apart at the chest even as gleaming fangs clamped down upon its head. Multicolored shards of tangible light exploded from within the defeated monster, leaving nothing but lonely space in its wake. And with one beat of mighty wings, Chimera returned to Yami's side, the attack completed.
"Now I'll place one card face down on the field, and that ends my turn." A hint of a smile entered the spirit's voice, the corners of his mouth barely turned upward. Though it was an important duel, one that he could not afford to get distracted in, and certainly not one to be overconfident, he still could tell that this was going to be an interesting duel, and not for its challenge. "I'll leave it to you to decide if my hand was good, or not."
The Collector snarled at the other side of the room, eyes glaring at the winged beast. He ripped a card from his deck, jamming it down amongst the rest of his cards, searching their faces and his mind for anything with which to counter his opponent's new vigor, confidence, and skill.
Joey, Tristan, and Téa sat in a local fast food joint, seeking food as a refuge for the worried minds. Téa mechanically ate the hamburger she held before her, absently noticing that it didn't taste any different than the microwaved patties and stale buns she served at Burger World. She, of course, had been left to pay for all seven burgers (Tristan and Joey each had three) as her friends had conveniently left their wallets at home.
"I hope they're alright. I mean, it's been hours and we haven't heard a word," Téa said into her fries, brushing her short hair from her downcast face.
"Come on, Téa, I'm sure they're okay. I mean, no one's ever beaten Yugi and the Pharaoh at playing games." Joey slurped at his soda, staring, despite his words, out the store window at the nearby corner where Yami had left in the shadow.
"You mean, except Kaiba and that spiky blonde Oricalchos guy. They beat him," Tristan said from beside him, pointing with a soggy fry at Joey.
"Hey, man, we have to think positive. He's going to come through this, both of 'em will. I bet you right now he's out wherever he is, knowing we're with him all the way. I'm not going to let him be wrong! We just gotta believe in our friend, and the Heart of the Cards, and whatever else stuff he's going to use, and know that he'll pull through for us. Yeah!"
"Come on, Joey! You're starting to sound like Téa. But you're right, we gotta believe." Tristan stuck his hand into the middle of the table, palm down, and Joey and Tea did the same, forming three quarters of a circle they knew very well. "Hey, Pharaoh, wherever you are, we're with you, and we know you can do this. We know you'll bring Yugi beck home safely to us."
Back in the cold street, the dark alley remained empty and silent.
Yugi watched the duel progress, hope rising inside him. For once, it didn't seem as if the Collector had the upper hand. He had made a mistake, letting his arrogance get the better of him. Now he was paying the price for letting Yami choose the game, trapped in a battle where every move seemed to lead him that much closer to his eventual defeat. He kept his hopes in check, though, for while he trusted the pharaoh more than anyone, even he was not infallible, and this was only the first challenge. Even if he did win the duel, two more battles of who-knew-what-dangers where yet to be bested. Still, Yami's smile reassured him. Its confidence spoke of a plan, without seeming stupidly arrogant or incautious. And somehow he knew that his friends were with him, too, if only in spirit. Somewhere, they were cheering their friend on and quietly supporting him. "Soon, guys, soon I'll be home," he whispered to the cold, unyielding glass before him.
Yami drew once more, starting his next turn, his life points all intact. So far, the only hits had been his against the Collector, though each blow had only chipped away at his points. The man had shown a surprisingly strong deck, though not strong enough to rival his if he tried. Still, he refrained from playing any of his strongest monsters, such as Dark Magician, choosing instead to save them until he was sure the Collector didn't have some magician's trick up his sleeve. His gaze remained riveted on the card as he thought, a nebulous plan forming inside the labyrinthine corridors of his mind. He had known which card it was before he had looked at it, even before it had been drawn. At his first touch on its smooth surface, an electric jolt had surged ethereally through his mind. This time, his smile was more than just a quirk, but a wide grin, and he chuckled softly under his breath, knowing it discomfited an opponent.
"What are you laughing at? I see no reason to celebrate. This game is far from won!"
"Do you think so? You have 5000 of 8000 life points remaining to you. A valiant stand, yet it means this duel will be over in 5 turns from this one."
"Ahhhh, I see. You're bluffing. You've been having trouble more than denting my armor, so you're trying to scare me into faltering. You disappoint me. I thought you treasured your little friend more than that to make such an amateur mistake." A hearty chortle wobbled deep in his throat.
"Really? Let's see. For now, I'll set things in motion." He gracefully plucked a monster from between his fingers, flipping it over to place it face up on the glowing surface attached to his arm. "I introduce my King's Knight." A blonde man in medieval clothing, decorated in a playing card fashion and holding a sword, shone into life beside a woman similarly dressed who already stood upon the field. "If they seem a set, it's because they are. And whenever I have King's Knight and Queen's Knight out on the field, I can summon from my deck the one who completes their trio: Jack's Knight, come forth!" Yami swept his hand out and up dramatically as a third man with matching clothing joined the two knights. "You should take a good look at them, for they won't be with us long."
"And what do you mean by that?" sneered the Collector in confusion and disdain.
"Only that I'll be sacrificing this collection for one of another. Feel free to study him all you like. He's of a collection that the likes of you will never possess! Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Yami threw down the card he had drawn, surges of blue lightning shooting across the duel disk and up his arm and chest. He bowed his head and pulled in his arms, straining against the power that flowed through him into the growing hulk behind him. A great form loomed up at his back, the shadowy mass shifting and writhing. The darkness faded as it hulked forward, showing red scales shining and glinting in the sparse golden light. Long spikes ran all along its ridged spine, stretching down the entire length of the dragon's sinuous, muscular form. A head the size of a small room arced down from the ceiling, the lower of two mouths gaping open. Two huge claws on slim, stunted arms hung down beneath a pair of giant leathery wings. Slifer lay coiled behind him, his mass cramped in the glass-enclosed corridor in constant motion. "I play one last monster, in defense mode, and end my turn," Yami finished, staring satisfied at the Collector's incredulous, near-terrified expression.
Yugi gaped up in surprised at the enormous apparition that was the Egyptian God Slifer. "But, that monster was the last card in his hand. Slifer has no Attack Points!"
What now, huh? Well, you'll see! Don't worry, Yami's the King of Games, he's got something planned that I think you'll like! And to those of you wondering about Yaoi in this story...I thought I addressed that alreafy. Oh well, I'll say it again. I don't have a problem wit h Yaoi if it is neccessary to the story. But if it is just so girls can envision two supposedly hot guys together, than it's just pointless and rather disgusting. I don't intend to have any in this story. They're just really good friends, trying to help each other out. That's all it's meant to be!
See you soon in Chapter 8: Furry Finish!