A/N: Sorry this is late. Our computer decided to erase the only copy we had of this chapter. Thankfully, we were able to reproduce it.
Disclaimer: We don't own the rights to Yu-gi-oh, or any of the cards except our fan cards and characters (unless otherwise noted).
Previously,
Gold and Ishizu faced off in their high-stakes rematch, with Ishizu emerging as the victor. But after the duel, Gold escaped, leaving Ishizu to return to the others. In the meantime, Brian and Joey have been working their way upstairs, and they'll be reuniting with the others shortly…
Chapter 14
411
Joey and Brian emerged from the stairwell, both of them panting as they ran down the hall. It had taken quite some time (roughly 15 minutes) to finish climbing the stairs up to the top floor after they saw Slifer appear, but now all that was between them and Seto's office was a hallway full of fallen paintings. The two of them tore down the hall, gasping for breath every step of the way.
Joey was the first to reach the door. He threw it open, and gasped…
Kaiba looked up from his desk, where he had apparently been conversing with the speaker box. Joey doubled over, and started panting from exhaustion.
"Never mind Roland, Wheeler just joined us." Kaiba confirmed, "But let me know if Mokuba's condition changes at all."
Yugi and Tea were standing next to the desk, obviously fully absorbed in what Kaiba had been doing. Their attention was now on Joey, and both looked relieved. Mai and Ishizu stood in the corner near the door (and far away from the water cooler and broken window), while Tristan was getting a drink from the cooler. He put his cup down, just as a hiss of static burst over the speaker box.
"Seto, I'm fine!" Mokuba's voice crackled over the box, "A little dehydrated, sure, but…"
"No buts!" Kaiba argued, "You're going to rest until we're sure you're okay."
And with that, he turned off the intercom. Tristan crossed the room, and slapped Joey on the back.
"Hey there Joey, what kept ya?" Tristan asked.
"Had to…take…the stairs." Joey wheezed out as he straightened up.
"Why didn't you take the elevator?" Ishizu questioned.
"It…still…works?" Joey gasped, turning toward her.
Ishizu nodded her head, and Tristan burst into laughter.
"Don't tell me you didn't even think to try it!" He chortled, doubling over in laughter.
Joey shot an angry glare at Tristan, then stepped aside. Brian entered the room, his face flushed from the stairs, but he had obviously taken a moment to catch his breath. The others all stared at him.
"Joey, what is he doing here?" Tea asked as she stepped back.
"You don't have to worry, he's on our side." Joey reassured everyone.
"Yeah." Brian confirmed holding up his hands, "I'm on your…"
He was cut off as Mai jumped forward and slugged him right in the face! Brain stumbled backward, clutching his right eye, while Mai held up her fists defensively.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Brian shouted.
"That was for your buddy Mako." Mai explained, "And you can let him know that the next time I see him, he's getting at least ten times that."
"Mai," Joey said placing a hand on the blond's shoulder, "He's on our side now."
Mai lowered her hands, and turned toward Joey. She then noticed how close they were to each other. She quickly stepped away from him, blushing slightly. Brian sighed, and moved his hand away from his face.
"It's alright Joey, I deserved that after all the trouble I've given you." Brian admitted.
"I'd say you deserve more than that." Tea growled as she and Tristan stepped forward.
"Look, I didn't come up here to fight with you guys!" Brian shouted as he took a step back, "I came because I wanted to help you stop Needlez!"
Tea and Tristan both stopped, and Joey took advantage of the moment and stepped in front of them.
"Look, the only reason Brian was all crazy in the first place was because of that weird crystal he had." Joey explained, "We got rid of that, so there's nothing to worry about anymore."
The others all stared at Brian, who just cast his gaze to the ground.
"I honestly don't expect to be forgiven for attacking you guys." He stated, "But I hoped that if I came to help you that it would help prove I'm not a bad guy."
Joey looked at Brian, and back toward the others. Yugi stepped forward, and extended his hand to Brian. The dark duelist looked at Yugi's hand, then at the boy.
"If Joey trusts you, then so will I." Yugi declared with a smile.
Brian looked toward the others, some of whom (Kaiba especially) seemed suspicious. Tristan and Tea looked the least so.
"If Yugi trusts ya, then Tea and I pretty much have to." Tristan sighed.
Then he raised a fist.
"But try anything funny, and Mai's punch will feel like a tap on the shoulder compared to what I do to you." He growled.
Tea forced Tristan's fist down. Brian just laughed though, and shook Yugi's hand.
"Nothing to worry about then." Brian stated, "I'll do whatever I can to help."
"Then tell us everything you know about your team." Seto demanded.
Brian broke off the hand shake, and stepped over to the water cooler. He quickly filled a cup, and took a drink.
"That's a pretty long story." Brian stated, "But I'll give you the condensed version. You see, I was just your average duelist, except maybe a bit better. My brother and I had become infamous at our local card shop because we never lost, and the owner of the shop was seriously considering banning us. He thought it was bad for business."
"That doesn't sound too fair." Mai commented.
"That's more or less what we thought." Brian continued with a shrug, "But the two or us forgot all about that problem when we discovered that a big tournament was being held in our town. It was called the 'Grand Elemental Tournament', and we were excited for our first chance to compete in a major tourney. We went, and participated. In the end, only the top six duelists were left, one for each element of the game: Tim, Celeste, Mako, Zeffie, Mr. Gold, and myself. It was then we met Needlez."
Brian paused, and took another gulp of water before continuing.
"He told us that the tournament had been his method of searching for six duelists who would help him make the world into a paradise. He told us about how, seven-thousand years ago, he had been a powerful sorcerer on the verge of creating a utopian world. But his fellow mystics, who were at the top of the social ladder, tried to stop him. The mystics were unwilling to surrender their positions of power, and so they drained Needlez of his magic. But, after enough time had passed, he managed to restore his powers enough to reincarnate himself. He returned to the place where his body had been entombed, and retrieved it, along with the magical seals that were holding the rest of his power."
"Needlez lied to you." Yugi interrupted, "A friend of mine found those ruins, and the records show that Needlez had been attempting to conquer the world. The other mystics had to stop him to save it."
Brian nodded a bit, and put the cup of water down on Seto's desk.
"That makes sense. I had a feeling Needlez hadn't told us the whole story." Brian grinned, "But anyway, Needlez gave us some special prizes for winning: namely, the crystals, the seal cards, and our ritual monsters."
"They're involved in this too?" Seto butted in, "How?"
"According to Needlez, they were the strongest creatures that the other mystics unleashed against him." Brian responded, "He also told us that the crystals would give us elemental powers. We didn't believe him of course, until Tim almost set some of our cards on fire. After that, he started helping us improve our decks and strategies. He told us that the only way he could help the world would be if the seals that held his own powers were offered new power to hold. According to Needlez, dueling talent was pretty much the same as magic power."
"So that's why you needed to collect it." Ishizu guessed, "The talent would be what replaced and released his own power."
"Exactly." Brian confirmed, "But that never sat well with me. Neither did the fact that, while we were training, I'd notice a sharp change in the others' behavior. Sometimes Gold would get really mad for no good reason, or Mako would start to stammer. I felt that something was wrong, but…"
Brian looked at the ground again.
"…I just couldn't leave. I felt compelled to stay."
"Needlez must have used the crystal to warp your mind." Mai said sympathetically.
"More than you may think Mai." Yugi agreed, "Those crystals are a specialized form of Orichalcum, and we've all seen what that does to people."
Everybody shuddered a bit, and Mai quickly fought back a surge of mental images. Brian cleared his throat, and continued.
"We continued with our normal lives apart from the training, until Needlez called us in for his master plan. He wanted us to duel the six of you, and collect your talents." Brian revealed.
"But why?" Tea asked, "Why did it have to be them."
"Because the five of us, plus Marik, are some of the best duelists in the world." Kaiba declared, "And I'd bet my three Blue Eyes White Dragons that Needlez wanted us out of the way."
"You got it." Brian confirmed, "But now, you guys have an edge over him. Needlez would never expect an assault on his home turf, and I know right where it is."
Brian looked to the others. Tristan was still eyeing him suspiciously.
"I don't know, this could be a trap…" He grumbled.
"Get over it!" Mai snapped, "Even if it was, why would he reveal so much? Besides, he knows what would happen if this is a trap, and he doesn't have any way to get away from us."
Kaiba nodded, and smiled as he typed in some commands on a key board.
"Mai makes a good point." He said, "So where do we go?"
He turned the screen around, showing a map.
Brian smiled and reached out to tap a specific point.
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In the meantime, back in the cave, the remaining five Elemental Duelists sat around in the main throne chamber. Celeste, Mako, and Gold had just given their talent to the body in the seal chamber, with dramatic results.
Gold had given it "the foundation of life." The body had reconstructed itself, until it was no longer a mummy. It now resembled a twenty-something body builder (or Gold himself) with handsome features on his face and extremely pale skin. While it had been weird seeing it re-grow, it did make the other two effects much more bearable to watch.
Mako had surrendered "the pulse of life." Once the blue light had stopped glowing, the sound of a dull heart beat could be heard throughout the seal chamber. The crystal pillar now pulsed in time with the heartbeat, filling the room with an eerie, blue-green glow.
The worst of it had been after Celeste went up. Once infused with "the spark of life" the body had developed a deep tan all over. This wouldn't have been so bad, except the eyes also snapped open!
Now, the quintet was sitting in the throne room. Gold was crossed legged on the floor, with Zeffie on his shoulder. Mako leaned against the wall, occasionally rubbing at his anklet. Tim was shuffling through his deck, and was Celeste nervously rubbing her ring.
"How long did Lordy Needlez say he was going to take?" Zeffie asked for the umpteenth time.
"It shouldn't be much longer Zefs." Gold said as he patted her hand, "He said it would be about thirty minutes, and it's been roughly…"
Gold trailed off. He looked over to Celeste, who glanced at her watch.
"Twenty." Celeste answered as she tapped her watch, "Unless my watch is running fast."
Zeffie sighed in a frustrated manner. She slowly slid down from Gold's shoulder, and walked over to Tim. Standing over him, she looked over his shoulder as he continued to look through his cards.
"So how did your duel with Moky go?" Zeffie asked.
"I won." Tim stated simply, "And Mokuba should be fine."
"You told me you redirected over three thousand points of damage toward him." Mako said as he turned to Tim, "How does that not hurt?"
"Maybe the seal picked up that I didn't really want to hurt him." Tim shrugged, "I mean, the seals always started off pretty heavy, but they seemed to really dish out the pain once we decided we want our opponents to feel it."
"Aye laddy, ye hit the nail on the head." Needlez declared as he entered the room with a dramatic flourish.
The five duelists quickly snapped to attention. Needlez stood in front of his throne and smiled down at his minions.
"Now then, as ye know, Brian has decided to side with Yugi and the others." Needlez said as he pulled out his pocket watch, "Since he turned his heart and mindset against us, Joey was able to save him from the seal by removing his crystal."
"So that's how he got this off." Celeste muttered as she looked at her own ring, "I was wondering how he could when we still can't."
"Now Celeste, I explained that the crystals bonded with yer innate spiritual powers." Needlez sighed, "That's why they're so tough to remove. Don't worry though, once we've met our goal, I'll teach the rest of ye how to take them off. Until then, I need Tim and Zeffie to step forward."
The duelists of wind and fire both walked up to Needlez, who reached into his jacket pocket. From it, he produced two thin silver chains, each one attached to a piece of the dark crystal.
"These are fer yew two." He explained as he put one of the accessories one each of the duelists, "Yew two are now the Elemental Duelists of Darkness fer our team!"
"Cool!" Zeffie cheered as she fingered the new gem.
Tim was silent as he looked at the crystal. Suddenly, a light began to shine from his deck! Zeffie noticed it, and pulled out own her cards. One of the cards in Zeffie's deck was glowing as well. Each of them removed their glowing card, and both of them gasped.
"I believe yeh'll find these a wee bit more useful." Needlez said,"Now then, here's yer next mission…"
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Thrity minutes later, a helicopter descended to the ground near the outskirts of Domino City. From the chopper, emerged Seto Kaiba, followed by Joey, Yugi, and finally Brian. The copter had landed in front of a small train station, with the Kaiba Corp. logo plastered to the top of it. The four of them walked in the building, Kaiba leading the way.
The inside looked like a typical train station. Arrows on the walls pointed to different trains, and an electronic schedule displayed what trains were going where. There was even a food court, where a few employees were chatting idly over their meals. The quartet ignored all of this however, as Kaiba led them down the hall.
"So, how is it you own your own train system?" Joey asked as he followed Kaiba.
"It's a left over from my stepfather's day." Kaiba explained as they rounded a corner, "He had a system of railroads created that passed through the mountains so that he could deliver the weapons he developed without having to charter a transport train, or put up with the government's strict safety laws about transporting dangerous materials."
"That sort of thing would be considered a major tax dodge in the U.S." Brian commented as they continued down a flight of stairs.
"I'm well aware that this system would be illegal." Kaiba responded, "That's why when I took over Kaiba Corp., one of the first things I did was make sure that the government was aware of this system. I actually talked them into letting Kaiba Corp maintain control of it. All the right taxes are paid, and the safety standards are followed to the letter. I now use these trains for shipping the games my company develops, and for transporting employees who live far outside the city, or need to travel for business to one of my subsidiary companies."
As Kaiba was talking, the quartet reached the bottom of the stairs. Their, they passed through a gate, and found themselves standing in front of train that looked very much like…
"Blue Eyes White Dragon." Joey muttered, "Why am I not surprised?"
The train was covered in a coat of silvery white paint, giving it a shimmering glisten. The front engine had been painted to look like the famous dragon's head, complete with blue eyes painted on either side. The doors slid open, and the four of them walked into a well furnished private car. There were padded seats, a table, plush white carpeting with matching walls, and even a metal cart that looked as though it held drinks.
"Wait here." Kaiba ordered as he exited the car, heading to the front engine.
Brian, Joey, and Yugi all sat down in the padded seats around the table. Brian took out his deck and began to leaf through it, looking over each card carefully.
"You're sure that the cave Needlez is using is in the mountains?" Yugi asked him.
"Positive." Brian declared as he continued to look through his cards, "I may have always used my shadow powers to transport there, but I had to know the location first."
"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave Mai and Ishizu behind?" Joey asked Yugi.
"We all agreed, it should be a bare bones team that goes in for this." Yugi sighed as he nervously drummed his fingers on the table, "Needlez would be coming after us since we're the best ones left. If the others came, he might try to take them as hostages or something. I'd rather not take that risk."
"How do we know he won't try that anyway?" Joey asked as the train began to move.
"I doubt he'd go through that much trouble to get at you." Brian assured them as he pulled three cards from his deck.
Laying them on the table, Yugi and Joey saw that they were the Elemental Seal of Darkness, Contract with the Dark Master, and Dark Master Zorc. Brian pulled a smaller stack of cards from his pocket, and quickly selected three which he shuffled into his deck. Outside the window, the train station pulled away, and the city began to pass by.
"You're taking these cards out?" Joey asked as he looked at the three cards.
"Putting them in my side-deck." Brian corrected as he added them to his pocket, "I plan on showing Needlez just how big a mistake it was for him to mess with me…"
"We'll be arriving at our drop point within the hour." Kaiba stated as he re-entered the car, "Calls have already been sent so that we'll have a clear track out there and back. Lucky for us, this route is only used in case the other tracks are shut down for some reason."
"Then let's sit back, and enjoy the ride." Joey said, "There anything good in that drink cart?"
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Back in the cave, Mako was humming happily as he sprayed water over the wall. He was happily watching as small piles of dust and debris pooled at his feet. Gold, in the meantime, was grumbling as he pressed his hand against each wall, using his powers to make it smooth and even all over.
"What's the point to cleaning a cave?" Gold griped, "Last I checked, their supposed to be covered in dirt and rocks."
"Needlez said that everything had to look nice for when he dueled the pharaoh." Mako said as he continued to spray the walls down, "I guess he has a flair for the dramatic."
"Well he certainly not worried." Celeste said as she entered the room carrying a magnifying glass, "I just passed his chambers, and he's fast asleep. He must be a hell of a duelist if he's not worried about Yugi."
Celeste held up the magnifying glass, and raised one hand over it. From her hand issued a beam of light, that the lens focused. The focused light quickly began to obliterate the small piles of debris that Mako had cleaned from the walls. Gold started rubbing his chin.
"Hey, have either of you ever seen Needlez so much as pick up a card?" He asked.
"Come to think of it, no." Mako answered as he stopped spraying the wall.
"He must know how to duel though, he trained us for almost a year." Celeste pointed out as she looked up from her work.
Gold suddenly let out a yelp of pain, and began to hop around the room clutching his foot! A small wisp of smoke rose from a hole in the top of his shoe. Looking down, Celeste saw that her light beam was focused right where Gold's foot had been a moment ago. Mako saw this too, and burst into laughter.
"Oops, sorry." Celeste apologized as she turned of the light.
"That's the funniest thing I've ever seen!" Mako gasped as he continued to laugh.
Gold put his foot down, and raised one hand. Turning in Mako's direction, a large rock tore out of the ground and hovered over him.
"See how funny you think this is!" Gold shouted as the rock flew at Mako.
Mako stopped laughing and dove to the right, away from the wall. The rock slammed harmlessly into the ground, and Mako launched a blast of water at Gold. Gold dove aside however, and Celeste screamed as the water hit her instead!
"Why you…" She sputtered as she raised her own hands.
A blast of energy flew from her fingertips, and Mako once more dove aside. The energy struck the still-wet wall instead, and tiny bolts of electricity crackled over its surface! The three stopped and stared at this phenomenon.
"Electircity?" Mako gasped, looking at Celeste.
"Well, a lot of thunder type monsters are light." Celeste shrugged, "I guess the two are naturally linked."
The other two nodded in agreement, then a scowl crossed Gold's face.
"Wait a sec', I'm angry at Mako!" He realized.
The fighting resumed. All three of the Elemental Duelists were throwing their powers at each other, and cries of pain and surprise filled the room. As all this commotion continued, Needlez entered, apparently oblivious to the chaos.
"Ah, what a lovely nap." He sighed as he strolled forward, "I feel so calm, so happy…"
At that point, a convergence of light, water, and rocks slammed into the ground in front of Needlez. A small explosion was the result, covering Needlez in bits of rock and dirt. The fighting trio stopped, and looked at Needlez.
"Alright, now I'm pissed of again!" Needlez roared as blue-green energy surrounded his body and vaporized the offending sediments on his clothes.
The other three drew back in fear.
"Oh, look at the time." Mako commented as he began to sink into a puddle, "I've got to go…place…"
Mako vanished without completing the statement.
"Um….Me too!" Gold declared as he vanished into the ground.
"Same here!" Celeste exclaimed as she vanished in a pulse of light.
"GIT BACK HERE!" Needlez ordered, his body flaring with energy.
Immediately, the three were found themselves landing back on the floor they had just left.
"I did not know he could do that." Gold gasped as he got to his feet.
Celeste coughed, and tapped her watch. Needlez checked his own time piece and nodded. Celeste vanished in a flash of light, while Needlez turned his gaze on the cowering Mako and Gold.
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The train was speeding through the mountains, looking like a silver serpent winding its way through a rocky maze. The city lay about a half hour behind it, and in Kaiba's private car, tensions were running high…
Mainly because Joey discovered that Kaiba had failed to stock the drink cart with his favorite soda.
Joey and Kaiba were in a staring contest of sorts, glaring at each other from across the car. Brian and Yugi were observing this, neither one saying a word. Joey began to open his mouth…
"Say one more word to me about soda preferences, and I promise you'll regret it." Kaiba growled.
"Twenty minutes." Brian said glancing at his watch, "Wow…"
"I'm not sure whether it's worse when they refuse to talk to each other, or when they won't stop arguing." Yugi said with a sigh.
Everyone fell silent again, as Kaiba and Joey began to try ignoring one another. Brian and Yugi both sighed. Then the train began to shake and tremble.
"What the…" Joey muttered.
Suddenly, over the intercom came a new voice.
"Mr. Kaiba, we have a problem!" The voice shouted, "Strong winds have picked up around the train, it looks like a tornado!"
"But there can't be a tornado in the mountains!" Kaiba protested as he got to his feet, "Tornados need flat land to develop!"
"Unless…" Brian muttered as a horrid look of realization came to him, "Oh-no!"
Suddenly, a section of the roof began to glow red-hot. A large chunk of ceiling was blown away, leaving a large hole! Brian screamed as a strong wind blew down through the gap, and lifted him into the air! As he was yanked out through the hole, Yugi grabbed his foot. Joey and Kaiba lunged forward, and grabbed hold of Yugi just as he was halfway through the hole!
"Naughty Kaiba and Joey, you shouldn't keep your friends all to yourselves." A voice called down the hole.
A sudden blast of air knocked the two to the floor, and Yugi screamed as he was sucked through the hole!
"Yugi!" Joey shouted as a plate of metal slammed over the tear, and the edges began to glow red hot.
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On top of the train, Yugi was shocked to find he was hovering over the roof of the car. In front of him was Zeffie, who was giggling as she settled Brian down on the roof. Looking over his shoulder, Yugi spotted Tim welding the fissure in the roof shut, using blasts of flame from his hands.
"Zeffie told you to watch out Mr. Yugi!" The blond girl giggled as she snapped her fingers, "You really should have listened."
Yugi fell to the roof, landing next to Brian. The wind from the moving train was passing harmlessly over the four figures on top, obviously being manipulated by Zeffie. It was like standing under an invisible dome as dust and leaves flew past, bust not even the slightest gust ruffled their clothes.
"What do you two want?" Yugi asked.
"We want Brian of course!" Zeffie cheered as she placed her deck into her duel disk, "And Zeffie wants you!"
"What do you want me for?" Brian asked as he got to his feet.
"Needlez told us to take your talent." Zeffie explained with a grin, "He said it was to make sure you wouldn't be able to do anymore damage. And he even gave Timmy and Zeffie some new toys to help."
Zeffie happily twirled her new necklace around her finger to emphasize the last point.
"The pieces of the dark crystal." Brian grumbled, "Fine, I'll duel you, but leave Yugi out of this!"
"Sorry, but Zeffie missed her chance to duel him before, so now he'll play two-on-two tag team against us!" Zeffie declared pointing at Tim, "Zeffie and Timmy against you and Yugi. And Yugi isn't allowed to have the pharaoh help him."
Yugi gasped as Zeffie waved her arm, and the Millennium Puzzle was lifted from his neck! The puzzle hovered in mid-air, then settled around Brian's neck.
"What are you doing?" Tim asked as he stepped away from his welding.
"The pharaoh can't help Yugi if Brian has the puzzle." Zeffie giggled, "So that way, Needlez won't be mad when Zeffie wins. The pharaoh will be safe for Lordy Needlez's plans."
"Tim, Zeffie, you have to listen to me!" Brian shouted as he stared pleadingly at both of his former allies, "Needlez is lying to you. He wants to control our world, not save it! You have to break free from him, like I did!"
"Sorry bro." Tim sighed as he and Yugi activated their disks, "I don't like it, but…"
Tim looked at his feet.
"I don't have a choice." He finished.
"That's what Celeste sai…wait a minute, bro!" Yugi thought as he placed his deck in its slot.
"Brian, is Tim…" Yugi asked, turning to the dark duelist.
"My brother?" Brian finished grimly, "Yes. Why else would we have the same last name?"
"I can't believe you'd obey a guy who'd tell you to attack your own brother!" Yugi shouted at Tim.
"Let's just get this over with…" Tim muttered as he drew five cards.
"And since Zeffie is youngest, she goes first!" Zeffie declared.
Zeffie LP: 8000
Brian LP: 8000
Tim LP: 8000
Yugi LP: 8000
Zeffie laughed as she looked over her hand.
"This is the best!" She smiled as she placed a card on her disk, "Zeffie opens with Whirlwind Prodigy (1500/1600) in attack mode!"
A young boy in brown clothes jumped onto the field, his hair blown by a strong breeze.
"And now, Zeffie lays two cards facedown. Next?" Zeffie challenged as she slid two more card into her disk.
The two cards materialized behind the boy, who glanced over his shoulder at them. Brian drew and nodded.
"I'll summon Pitch Black Warwolf (1600/600) in attack mode, and lay one card facedown! Then I'm done." He announced, sliding the two cards into his disk.
The black-furred wolf man jumped into play, and a brown card appeared behind it.
Tim drew and took three cards out of his hand.
"I'll set two cards facedown, and summon Great Angus (1800/600) in attack mode. That's all." Tim stated, looking very solemn as he put the cards on his disk.
In front of Tim appeared the large red boar, which looked as though it was in a calmer mood. Behind the boar appeared two brown cards. Yugi drew and placed two cards into his disk.
"I'll start with Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode, and play my Pot of Greed!" He announced.
A magician in bulky purple robes, carrying an iron rod appeared on the field. At the same time Yugi drew two cards and a light began to glow on the magician's shoulder. Yugi pointed toward Zeffie's monster.
"I know your prodigy can be used as two monsters to summon a wind monster, so I'll have my monster attack it!" Yugi declared.
The magician spun its staff, and the fired a blast of dark energy straight at the little boy!
"Not so fast!" Zeffie said, tapping a button on her disk, "I activate my facedown card..."
Before the card could turn over however, Brian's wolf snarled and jumped on top of the card, pinning it in place! Brian smirked.
"Nice try Zeffie, but my Warwolf prevents you and Tim from activating trap cards during the battle phase!" He shouted as raised his own disk for emphasis.
Zeffie gasped as her monster was struck by the spell! The boy screamed, and shattered into pieces!
Zeffie LP: 7600
Brian LP: 8000
Tim LP: 8000
Yugi LP: 8000
Yugi smiled at his partner.
"Nice work!" He congratulated Brian as he put a card in his disk, "Now I'll lay a card facedown and end my turn!"
The card materialized behind the magician. Zeffie drew, grumbling a little bit.
"Time to get serious!" She said.
Zeffie held up her card, showing a picture of a green circle with strange black symbols on it. Brian gasped in horror.
"Hey, that looks like one of the elemental seals!" He exclaimed.
"It is!" Zeffie cheered, "This is a new one that was made from Zeffie's seal fusing with yours! Zeffie activates: ELEMENTAL SEAL OF WIND AND DARKNESS!"
Tim pulled a card out of his deck, placing it into the field zone of his disk.
"And when she plays her seal, I can play my Elemental Seal of Fire and Darkness." He said, though he didn't sound as excited as Zeffie.
Immediately, a red and green circle appeared on the top of the train. At the same time a wall of wind, fire, and shadows surrounded the four deulists! Yugi looked around, barely registering as his monster gained two more lights, one on the other shoulder and one on its chest.
Zeffie smiled as green clouds appeared on her body.
"Now the fun really starts. Thanks to the power Lordy Needlez gave us, we can change our seals between their original form and the Seal of Darkness!"
"NO!" Brian shouted.
"Yes!" Zeffie continued as she waved her hand over her disk, "And Zeffie chooses to change her seal to darkness!"
The half of the circle surrounding Brian and Zeffie immediately changed into a black circle with black letters inside. Brian watched in horror as his monster began to change, its fur growing wilder, and its eyes becoming pools of shadow!
"What's happening?" Brian asked, "My monster looks like he did when I used the seal!"
Zeffie began to laugh maniacally, the crystal shard around her neck shimmering with purple light. At the same time, the tattoos on her body turned into black infinity symbols.
"That's because in this duel, the monsters will reflect what is in our hearts!" She laughed, "And no matter how much you deny it, or how hard you try to escape it, you can't get away from the darkness inside you!"
Brian began to shudder as he looked at his monster.
"Now then," Zeffie continued, "Zeffie will summon Luster Dragon #1 (2100/1000) in attack mode!"
A sapphire blue dragon materialized on the field, immediately becoming covered by a tattoo similar to its master. It let out a frightening roar as it glared at the wolf.
"Now Zeffie's monster will attack Brian's with sapphire smog blast!" Zeffie announced.
The dragon launched a blast of blue smoke from its mouth, and the warwolf let out one last howl as it shattered!
Zeffie LP: 7600
Brian LP: 7500
Tim LP: 8000
Yugi LP: 8000
Brian was shaking uncontrollably as he drew his next card.
"I'll set one monster in defense mode, that's all." He said nervously.
He slid the card onto his disk, and a replica of it materialized in front of him.
Tim drew and looked over his hand, seemingly not caring about the red fire tattoos that now covered him.
"I summon Raging Flame Sprite (300/200) to the field." He sighed as he placed the card on his tray, "And since all my monsters are creatures of fire, my seal is automatically set to fire."
A small pixie in brown clothes with a burning wand floated to the ground. She had a sad look on her face though, like she wasn't in the mood to battle, even as the fire tattoos appeared on her body.
Tim pointed at Yugi.
"Flame sprite, attack." Tim ordered.
The little girl lazily flicked her wand, showering Yugi with sparks!
Zeffie LP: 7600
Brian LP: 7500
Tim LP: 8000
Yugi LP: 7700
"Wait," Yugi shouted as he batted the sparks away, "how did you do that!"
"Flame sprite's special ability lets her attack you directly no matter what you have on the field, and every time she does she gains 1000 attack points." Tim explained.
A tiny fireball began to orbit around the Raging Flame Sprite (1100/200) who still didn't seem to care.
"Now attack Brian's monster!" Zeffie shouted at Tim.
Tim sighed and pointed at the facedown creature. Angus half-heartedly smashed it, and suddenly a black rope wrapped around the Luster Dragon!
Brian let out a sigh of relief.
"That was my Newdoria," he explained, "and, since it was destroyed in battle, I can select another monster to get rid of. In case it didn't sink in yet, I choose Luster Dragon!"
Zeffie screamed as her dragon shattered into a thousand pieces! Tim just shrugged, and waved his hand to end his turn.
"My turn now!" Yugi announced as he drew, "And I'll start by activating the special ability of Skilled Dark Magician!"
He smiled as he looked at his monster which began to glow with a golden light! Yugi slid a card from his deck, and swapped it with the monster on his disk. The light faded, revealing a man in purpled robes carrying a green staff.
"Since three spells were played since I summoned him," Yugi explained, "I can sacrifice the Skilled Dark Magician to summon the original Dark Magician (2500/2000) from my deck!"
The mighty spell caster bowed toward Yugi, and then turned toward the other monsters.
"Now Dark Magician, destroy the Raging Flame Sprite before she gets any stronger! Dark Magic Attack!" Yugi commanded.
Dark Magician swung his staff forward, aiming at the Flame Sprite. Suddenly, one of the cards behind her turned over!
"I activate Magic Cylinder." Tim stated as he pointed at his now face up card.
The magical tubes appeared to intercept the blast of dark magic, when they suddenly shattered as a purple mist surrounded them!
"That trap won't help thanks to my Trap Jammer card." Yugi said as his own trap lifted, "It negates any trap that's activated in the battle phase."
The attack continued, and the flame sprite screamed as she was vaporized!
Zeffie LP: 7600
Brian LP: 7500
Tim LP: 6800
Yugi LP: 7900
Yugi let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close!" He thought as he took two cards from his hand, "I never thought he would have a Magic Cylinder! Better be careful."
Yugi placed two cards into his disk.
"I'll lay these cards facedown and end my turn." He declared as they appeared behind his magician.
Zeffie drew and smiled as she held up her next card.
"Time for Zeffie to use Graceful Charity!" She cheered as an angel appeared over her, showering light onto her deck.
Zeffie swiftly drew three cards, looked over her choices, and tossed two cards into the graveyard.
"Time for you to learn to take Zeffie seriously Mr. King-of-Games!" Zeffie shouted, "Zeffie activates Call of The Haunted to bring back Whirlwind Prodigy (1700/1600)!"
A tornado of purple mist jumped up on the field and in the center appeared the brown clothed boy. This time, however, he was covered in black tattoos and had a strange glint in his eye.
"I'll bet she's going to sacrifice him for a stronger monster." Brian thought, "Well, Yugi should be able to handle things if I can't…I hope."
Zeffie smiled as she slid another card into her disk. Immediately, a huge multi-colored portal opened in front of her!
"What is that!" Yugi shouted as the gate began to howl.
"This is Different Dimension Gate!" Zeffie giggled, "And it spells doom for your Dark Magician! It lets Zeffie remove one of her monsters, and one of your monsters from play until it is destroyed! And since there's only one monster Zeffie can remove from your field…"
The gate let out another howl as Zeffie's prodigy and Yugi's magician were pulled through!
"OH-NO!" Yugi shouted.
"Don't panic Yugi!" Brian called out, "If we can destroy her gate, the monsters will come back!"
"And that's not going to happen." Zeffie said.
Zeffie placed another card into her disk, and a young woman with green hair in a purple body suit jumped onto the field!
"Meet Lady Ninja Yae (1300/200)!" Zeffie said with a smile, "Her special ability will get rid of Dark Magician for good!"
"What do you mean?" Yugi shouted.
Zeffie slid her last card into her graveyard and Yae began to gather a tornado around herself.
"You see," Zeffie explained, "when Zeffie discards a wind attribute monster from her hand, Yae sends every spell and trap back to our hands. And if D.D. Gate goes back to Zeffie's hand, the monsters don't come back!"
"NOOOOOO!" Yugi screamed (near tears) as every spell and trap, save the seals of course, was sent flying back to their owners' hands!
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Back in Domino City, Serenity let out a sigh as she laid down on her bed. She had just returned home from shopping with her mother, and two large bags of clothes sat next to the door to her room. She was still wearing her pink and yellow t-shirt and denim shorts, along with the angelic hair clip that she had received at the zoo two days ago.
Getting out of bed, Serenity looked at the clock on her nightstand. It read 5:00 p.m. She picked up the phone from the same nightstand, and dialed in a number. After three rings, a click sounded as someone picked up.
"Hey there, this is the Wheeler residence. If you're trying to get a hold of Mr. Wheeler or Joey Wheeler, just leave a message and we'll get back to ya. If you're a telemarketer, or named Kaiba, just hang up right now." Joey's recorded voice stated.
"Hi Joey, it's about five." Serentiy said as she sat down on her bed, "Call me back when you get the chance, I want to find out how things went with Mr. Kaiba today."
With that, Serenity hung up. She walked over to the bags, and pulled out a group of scrunchies. Walking across the room, she sat down in front of her vanity mirror, and held the hair bands up to her current accessory.
"No where near as cool." She thought as she put the scrunchies down.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Serentiy got to her feet, and exited her room.
"I'll get it mom!" She shouted as she headed down the hall.
Opening the front door, she smiled as she saw who was on the other side.
"Celeste! What are you doing here?" She asked.
Celeste was wearing the same outfit she had worn at the zoo, except now her hair was held in a tight bun by a yellow scrunchy.
"So Joey didn't tell her…" Celeste thought.
"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by." Celeste explained with a smile, "Mind if I come in?"
Trouble brewing…
If you want to find out what Celeste is doing here, you'll still have to wait a while. If you want to find out how Brian and Yugi end their duel, then you'll have to wait for our next chapter
Train of Terror
See ya then!
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Original Cards
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Elemental Seal of Wind and Darkness
Field spell
You may choose to treat this card as either 'Elemental Seal of Wind' or 'Elemental Seal of Darkness.' It will have the effects of whichever one you treat it as.
For more information on both seals, see the chapters 'Shadow's End' and 'Time's Up'
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Elemental Seal of Fire and Darkness
Field spell
You may choose to treat this card as either 'Elemental Seal of Fire' or 'Elemental Seal of Darkness.' It will have the effects of whichever one you treat it as.
For more information on the Seal of Fire, see the chapter '12:00'