Lu: Here we go! I'm really sorry for the late update, but it's all OK now. This is the final chapter before I have to begin writing again, so the updates may become even less. Yes, I know you all hate me. I'm only going to answer questions in reviews now, because I'm writing three fics and I've got homework and projects etc. so the updates and review answers will reduce henceforth.
Yami Lu: Damn homework... can't I just send the teachers to the Shadow Realm?
Lu: No, I'd just get detention.This chapter's kinda corny, but hey!
Chapter 24 – The Pharaoh's Power
Yami felt an ache in his heart. This time, so did everyone else. Everyone sped up.
"We have to get to her," shouted Yami. Joey nodded, panting. They reached the edge of the forest. Yami stopped for a moment, deciding which direction to go. "This way," he said, and ran into a large clump of trees.
Malik saw that Yami was barely 5 minutes away by walking, and Yami was sprinting. "That's right, Pharaoh, come and get her," he laughed. Tea heard him, and her heart lifted.
'Yami's coming,' was the only thought that her mind contained.
Yami burst into a small clearing, and saw Tea lying on the ground, like in his vision. "Tea!" she shouted, and ran to her. He knelt down beside her and lifted her into a sitting position, leaning against him.
"I knew you'd come for me Yami," she murmured. She fell limp in his arms. He held her close to him, tears filling his eyes again.
"She will be dead soon," said Malik's voice. Yami didn't look at him. He didn't want Malik to see him as weak. He continued to hold Tea, letting his tears drip onto her. Joey, Mai, Bakura, Duke and Kaiba ran into the clearing.
"Marik!" shouted Kaiba. "This is against tournament rules! You will be disqualified!" Malik laughed hysterically.
"Disqualified? I don't care about my placing in the tournament! I simply want him dead!" he said, pointing at Yami.
"Why kill Tea too?" said Mai.
"Because... Bel um Fal loves her," said Malik. Everyone looked at Yami. He didn't look at them, simply held Tea even tighter. "Well, let's see what damage I can do here..." said Malik, picking up his Rod and approaching Yami and Tea. He lifted his Rod, and Tea's breathing became shallow.
"No!" shouted Yami, holding Tea so tightly that even if she was awake, she wouldn't have been able to get out of his grip. "Malik, what have you done to her?"
"Her mind is in the Shadow Realm. How far are you willing to go to get her back?" asked Malik evilly. Yami remained silent. "Would you be willing to... die for her?"
"Yes," said Yami, still looking at Tea.
"Well, how about this? I release her, and then you die," said Malik. Yami paused for a moment, his eyes closed. He nodded. Malik smiled, and raised his Rod. Tea's eyes flickered open.
"Yami?" she said quietly, realising she was in his arms.
"Tea, I need to tell you something," said Yami.
"No, Pharaoh, now you are coming with me," said Malik. He snapped his fingers, and two robed figures appeared out of nowhere. They took Yami's arms and held them behind his back.
"No, Yami!" shouted Tea.
"Wait!" shouted Joey. "You can't kill Yami without killing Yugi too, and Yugi wasn't part of de deal." Malik sneered.
"Oh, trust me, that problem is going to be taken care of," he said. Yami was taken over to a huge machine.
"How did you get that thing in the Virtual World?" asked Kaiba.
"I simply got my Rare Hunter to take it in when they got Tea," said Malik. The two Rare Hunters were chaining Yami to the machine.
"Turn it on," grunted one of the Rare Hunters. The other one pulled a lever on the back of the machine. The machine revved up and whirled into life. A sharp buzzing sound could be heard and the area around the machine was filled with a light fog.
When the fog cleared, there were two bodies where Yami's once was.
"Yami?" said Yugi, dazed.
"What? Yugi, how can you be here?" said Yami.
"Well, Yugi wasn't part of the deal, so I couldn't kill him, right? But if I separated your bodies, I can kill you without hurting the shrimp," said Malik.
"No!" shouted the whole group.
"Yami, please, don't leave me," cried Tea. Yami jumped up, and ran to her.
"I will never, ever, leave you Tea," he whispered, drawing her close again. They both let a few tears fall.
"Get him," said Malik. The two Rare Hunters, walked forward to grab Yami, but Tea would not let go.
"Tea, leave me. Please. Don't put yourself in danger," said Yami.
"No, I'm not going to let them take you," she sobbed. Yami held Tea tight for a moment, and then pulled away.
"Goodbye Tea," he said, tears falling freely down his face. Tea stood still, looking lost and sad.
"Kill him, and make it quick," spat Malik.
"Malik, stop dis madness!" shouted Joey.
"Marik, if you kill him, I will personally see to it that you will never see daylight again," said Kaiba.
"Too bad. This is my destiny," said Malik.
"Malik, stop this!" said a familiar voice from a clump of trees nearby.
"Ishizu?" said Malik as she emerged.
"That's right. Stop this immediately. This is not your destiny. So leave Yami alone!" she said.
"How do you know what my destiny is? You no longer have the Millennium Necklace. I do!" he shouted. Ishizu looked shocked and looked at Yami. "Too late," said Malik, and picked up his knife. "Bind him!" he commanded, and the Rare Hunters did his bidding. Yami was tied to the tree, so he was hanging off it. "Now, I will kill him!" said Malik. He ran at Yami with the knife.
"No!" Tea screamed, and hurled herself at Malik. Malik had already almost reached Yami's heart, and Tea made his arm thrust upwards, cutting Yami along the jaw line. Yami cried out in pain, and his head hung limply for a second as Yami regained his composure. He then lifted his head up slightly, and his eyes met an astonishing sight. Tea and Malik were struggling, Tea holding the hand with the knife in it away from her.
Tea twisted Malik's wrist away from her, so that it was almost impossible for him to keep his grip on the knife. Malik dropped it, and was forced onto the ground as Tea continued to twist his wrist.
"Bitch!" he spat. Tea kept the pressure on his hand, and reached for the knife with her other hand. She picked it up, let go of Malik's hand, and held it in front of her in defence. She backed away from the stunned Malik, and stood in front of Yami, protecting him. "Give me the knife," said Malik.
"No," said Tea. "I'm not letting you kill him."
"Oh, so Gardner loves him too," said Malik. Tea blushed.
"Malik, this has gone far enough!" shouted Yugi, who had been trying to get out of the bonds from the machine. "Already Tea and Yami have been hurt. Why don't you just leave us alone?"
"Not until he is dead!" shouted Malik.
"Wait! Malik, you only want the Pharaoh's powers, right?" said Tea. Malik nodded. "Well, I'm sure you can get something from which you can get the Pharaoh's powers without killing Yami," she said.
"But it's easier just to kill him!" said Malik, and began to walk forward.
"Malik, one more step and... and I'll stab you!" yelled Tea. Malik stopped and laughed.
"Do you think I'm scared of you?" he said. Tea held the knife in front of her. Malik continued to walk towards Tea and Yami.
"Tea, please. I made a deal with him. He would release you from the Shadow Realm if he could kill me after. I did this all for you. Please, Tea. Don't make my sacrifice be in vain," said Yami.
"Yami, no! I'm not leaving you to die," said Tea. Malik took this short lapse in her concentration to his advantage. He grabbed her arm, and took the knife back. Holding it against Tea's neck, he started laughing.
"You're going to go over to the rest of the group, and you're not going to come back," he muttered in her ear. Tea screamed. Malik grabbed onto her. Tea started squirming, trying to release herself from Malik's grip.
"Let go of me!" she shouted.
"Not a chance," said Malik. "Now, when I take you over to Mr. CEO over there, you're going to stay there, unless you want Yami to die."
"You're going to kill him anyway," said Tea, struggling against Malik.
"OK, if you stop fighting, I won't kill him," he sighed. Tea stopped her struggle.
"Really?" she asked. Malik tossed her aside, and she crashed into Kaiba and Duke, sending all three of them flying into Joey, Bakura and Mai. He threw the knife aside as well.
"Now, Pharaoh, I shall keep my word. You shall not die. But, you will be too weak to move," said Malik. Yami was already too weak to lift his head. Malik forced Yami to look at him. "Goodbye, Bel um Fal."
Malik took his Rod again. He held it up, and Yami's head rolled limply onto his shoulder.
"No, Yami!" shouted Tea. She and Yugi ran forward to help him.
"Don't move, girl, or I will kill him," snapped Malik. Tea fell silent. "He is not dead. Just too weak to do anything. And now, I have the ultimate power!" shouted Malik. A gold light began to emit from his Rod.
"No!" shouted Ishizu. "This is not how it's meant to be!"
"Don't tell what it's meant to be like, Ishizu! I know, I have the Millennium Necklace, and I now have the power of the Pharaoh! All I need now is the last two Egyptian God cards, and the Millennium items!" shouted Malik. He reached into Yami's pocket, took his deck, and removed Slypher the Sky Dragon. "Now, Seto Kaiba. I believe you hold a piece of the Puzzle. Your Obelisk the Tormenter. Now, I shall take it!"
"Not a chance. Obelisk is mine!" said Kaiba, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his deck. Malik tutted.
"Kaiba, it seems you have underestimated the power of my Millennium Rod," he chuckled. He lifted his Rod, and Kaiba was immediately pinned to the nearest solid object, a tree. His arms were flung out to either side of him, and his hands were forced open. His deck fluttered to the ground. Malik bent down and picked up the last Egyptian God card.
"There is only one more piece to the puzzle. Excuse the pun," said Malik. "I need the Millennium items now." He removed the Puzzle from around Yami's neck. "Rare Hunters, grab Ryou and Yugi!" he shouted. The Rare Hunters did his bidding, holding Ryou and Yugi's arms behind their backs. Malik took Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, and Ryou's Millennium Ring and Eye.
"OK, I have 5 of the Millennium items. The only 2 left belong to Shadi. Arkana?" said Malik. One of the Rare Hunters stepped forward.
"Yes, your greatness," said Arkana in a high pitched voice.
"What is the update on Shadi's position?" asked Malik.
"Millennium item less," smiled Arkana, reaching into his pocket. He revealed the Millennium Scales and the Millennium Key. Malik smiled.
"The final key to the Pharaoh's power. Combine the strength of the Pharaoh with all of the Egyptian god cards and the Millennium items. Then you gain ultimate power," said Malik and he took the two final Millennium items.
Lu: That's it for now! Review! I know you hate me for leaving it at a cliffie, but then again, you all hate me anyway so it doesn't matter.
Yami Lu: Malik's so evil, Malik's so evil!
Lu: Yeah he is. I actually read the manga for episodes 90-92 (a.k.a. the Mind Game episodes), and they changed the plot completely for the anime. Mai doesn't forget Joey. But Joey does save her! - Yay! Anyway, review!