Yu-Gi-Oh! Avatar
Fanfic Chapter 158: The Long-Awaited Rematch Pt 6: Triumph Over Hatred
Episode Basis: Clash in the Coliseum Pt 6
Joey: I'm not sure but I think I had a dream. I was at this huge Duel Monsters tournament in Domino. I made it to the Finals and was sure I was going on to the championships. The kid I was dueling was a real smart-aleck but very good. Every move I tried he was able to counter with some sort of trap or magic card. Even when I started a combo that would shock some pros, he countered it. He ended up winning but it was all good. At least I knew now I have what it takes to go up against the big boys. Unfortunately Yugi was having a tougher time with Kaiba than I was with my opponent. Don't ask me how I knew maybe it was because we grew so close. So I tried to send him the same advice that he gave me: to consider all my options. And he was able to summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon. I could feel the heartbeat of my Red-Eyes and somehow it brought me back.
Everyone watched as Joey's eyes slowly opened.
"Joey!"
"Say something, man!"
"Can you hear us?"
"What's going on?" Joey wondered looking around lazily. He spied his former bed. "A hospital bed, did someone get hurt?"
"Yeah, someone was knocked unconscious," Tristan said staring at Joey.
Joey looked down at himself. "Did… was I the one who passed out?"
Serenity couldn't hold her tears in any longer. She ran towards him and threw her arms around his waist. "Oh Joey, I was so scared for you. I'm so glad you're back."
"Welcome back to the land of the living, bud," Kevin said.
"We all missed you," Tea said.
"Especially Serenity," Duke observed.
"This is impossible," the Doctor said. "There's no humanly-possible way you could've recovered so fast."
"You don't know Joey Wheeler," Harold said. "His endurance is close to superhuman."
Tristan grabbed Joey by the collar of his shirt. "Never pull a trick like this again!" He burst into tears. "You… you had the girls worried sick," he sobbed. "I, of course, knew you were going to be all right."
"Oh brother," Kevin moaned.
Joey was briefly disoriented. "The last thing I remember was dueling Marik to save Mai from the Shadow Realm…" Joey's eyes widened. He turned around and saw Mai lying on a bed next to his. He ran over to her. "Mai! Mai, wake up! I don't get it I thought that beating Marik would've freed her from the Shadow Realm." He looked up at the others. "I did beat him, didn't I?"
Solemnly, Serenity shook her head. "Joey, you lost that duel."
"No, that can't be," Joey said shaking his head. "I remember, Marik had only 900 life points left and I summoned a monster with more!"
"Gearfried," Kevin supplied.
"I attacked him, I should've won; I should've…"
"Joey, listen," Serenity sad harshly. "You were playing a shadow game. Marik was draining your strength. You did summon a monster strong enough to beat him, but before you could call out an attack, you passed out."
Joey's eyes tear up. He grabbed Mai's body and hugged her, "Mai, I'm sorry, sorry I couldn't save you. Please… forgive me."
The others' hearts went out to Joey and Mai.
At this time, the helicopter dispatched had landed on Kaiba Corp. Island next to the blimp. Two paramedics carried a stretcher out.
"You're at a big disadvantage, Yugi," Kaiba said.
"What do you mean?" Yami-Yugi asked. "We both have two monsters on the field!"
(Y: 1500)
(K: 1900)
"But my dragons are still more powerful than either of yours." Kaiba set two cards face-down and ended his turn.
"Maybe, but we still have a long ways to go," Yami-Yugi said as he started his turn by drawing a card. This magic card could come in handy later. "I set one card face-down and switch my Red-Eyes to defense mode."
"Hah, I activate my trap card," Kaiba announced. "Final Attack Orders, this trap card forces all of your monsters to attack mode. It also has another ability."
"What is it?"
"We must take three cards from our decks and send all others to the graveyard. These three cards will form a new deck. And the first player to use up all three cards loses." Kaiba took three cards from his deck. "I already know which cards I want. You might as well give up right now because my strategy is unstoppable."
Yami-Yugi scanned his deck for which cards he could use.
Laying Mai back down, Joey suddenly recalled Yugi. He turned to Serenity. "What's going on with Yugi?" He asked.
"Yugi's dueling Kaiba," Tea informed him.
"I have to get up there," Joey said and hurried to put on his shoes.
"You can't go," Tea argued.
"Yugi needs me," Joey argued back.
"You should get back in bed," the Doctor said but to no avail.
Outside, Joey ran into two paramedics who were carrying a stretcher. "We're here for the critically ill patient, where is he?" One paramedic asked.
The others caught up with him and heard the paramedic's question. The doctor sheepishly pointed at Joey, "Uh… he's standing right before you." The paramedics' eyes almost bugged out. "He was in critical condition a minute ago."
"Don't exaggerate, Doc," Joey said wagging his finger. "Five minutes, tops. But look at me now." He flexed. "I'm in the best shape of my career!"
"But it's too dangerous to be moving about," the doctor protested. "You need to be examined!"
"Examine me later," Joey said and turned to run off.
"Joey, stop!" Tea commanded. Duke, Tristan, and Harold had never seen such ferocity in her voice before. "You have to listen to the doctor. You were in really bad shape not long ago and everyone was worried sick about you." Joey cast a glance at the others as Tea continued (allowing a sob to escape every now and then). "Too many… so many people have been hurt because of this tournament. I… I don't want…" She trailed off.
"Look," Joey said. "I'm sorry I worried everyone, but I made a promise to be there for Yugi. I came back for a reason: to fulfill my promise to be there by his side when he defeats Marik. And I never go back on a promise even if I'm on my deathbed."
Tea gasped as she recalled what Yugi said before he left.
"Tea, remember what we learned at the museum? We learned that I was once an Egyptian Pharaoh and that I once saved mankind thousands of years ago by defeating an ancient evil and that I must do so again by winning a Duel Monsters Tournament. Joey found out about this and vowed to help me. If I back out, I would not only be giving up on Joey, but the entire world."
"Yugi… does need your help," Tea realized.
"That's right, so my mind's made up." Joey looked at Kevin and Serenity. "Look after Mai, you two; you need to be there for her now just like you were there for me."
"Right," Serenity and Kevin said.
Joey turned to Tea, Tristan, Duke, and Harold, "Let's go, guys." The five of them took off.
"Hey wait," the Doctor called. "Can't anyone talk some sense into him?"
"When my brother makes up his mind, it's impossible to change it," Serenity said cheerfully.
Yami-Yugi was wracking his brain over what Kaiba's strategy was. Kaiba's trap card only allows him to pick three cards. His three cards must be the key to his strategy. Let's see, if I was Kaiba, what would I do? I would probably want to sic the Ultimate Dragon on me. Let's see, first he would need to bring back the Blue-Eyes that I already destroyed and to do that he would need Monster Reborn. Next he would need to combine it with the other two Blue-Eyes and to do that he would need Monster Reborn. But I can't imagine what his third card would be. Oh well. Yami-Yugi selected three cards. It's all up to destiny now. He shuffled the three cards and placed them in the deck slot while the rest of the deck went into the graveyard.
"It won't matter which cards you chose because they certainly can't help you now." He drew a card. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that's currently in my graveyard." The third dragon appeared in between the two others.
I knew it, Yami-Yugi thought.
Then Kaiba revealed his face-down card and Yami-Yugi's theory about Kaiba's three cards went down the toilet.
It was Polymerization.
"If Polymerization was already on the field, what were the other two cards he chose?" Yami-Yugi wondered out loud.
"I use Polymerization to fuse my three dragons together to form Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (1)!" A giant three-headed dragon appeared. Yami-Yugi gasped. Nothing he currently has on the field can defeat it and Kaiba knew that. "Yugi, when we left Duelist Kingdom, I said that we would face each other again."
"Yes, and now your prediction has come true," Yami-Yugi grumbled. Except now there's more at stake than he could possibly imagine.
"I will now strip you of everything you have! Oh how I've played this moment over and over again in my mind. Now here we are on top of my Duel Tower and all you have to hang on to is some rock from a few thousand years ago! But you know what, you're right about one thing: this is about the past. But it's not about some battle you think happened 3000 years ago this is about burying the past for good! Once I win this tournament and beat you, I'll be number one. Then I can close the book on my past and concentrate on the future."
Ever since my brother Mokuba and I were dropped off at that stinking orphanage, I had to toughen up to protect the both of us! Then we were adopted by that tyrant Gozaburo Kaiba who taught me how to crush my enemies and trust nobody! But no matter what I did, nothing could satisfy that demon of a man. So I turned his own teachings against him and took his company from him. Now Kaiba Corp. belongs to me.
"But there's one conquest left for me to achieve: to defeat you! Then I can forget the past forever."
"Sheesh, sounds like Kaiba's blaming all his problems on Yugi," Amara commented. "I hate guys like that." She heard a sniffle and turned to her left.
Mokuba was crying.
"Mokuba, are you all right?"
"I never realized he felt that way about our past," Mokuba said more to himself than to Amara. He's right about things not being easy for us, especially after we were adopted by Gozaburo. It wasn't that bad, at least we still had each other. But Seto wants to forget everything, even the person he used to be."
"It's awfully hard to ignore who you used to be," Amara said solemnly.
"But I like how he used to be." He took out his locket and opened it to reveal a picture of his brother when he was younger. "Back then, he used to smile, and play games with me, and help me. But now… all he seems to care about is moving up."
"Mokuba, with all due respect, your brother needs to realize that being on top doesn't have to mean you have to be miserable." She looked across the field at Yami-Yugi. "He also needs to learn that you can't throw all your anger at one person especially for things he wasn't a part of."
Yami-Yugi smiled, "You know what, Kaiba you never cease to amaze me."
"Oh, is it my superior dueling skills that amaze you?"
"No, it's your stubbornness and lust for power that I find so puzzling. You will never truly defeat me with a heart full of anger and hatred. Observe, I activate my face-down card Double Spell which lets me copy and use all the magic cards you used on your previous turn which includes Monster Reborn and Polymerization. So now I resurrect Buster Blader (2) from the graveyard!" A burly warrior in armor carrying a large cutlass burst from the ground. "Next I'll combine Buster Blader with Dark Magician." The two disappeared into a vortex. Lightning danced across the sky and a figure could be seen in a fetal position inside a ball of light. The ball of light burst open and a figure dressed like the Dark Magician but the colors were blue and a little bit of yellow appeared. The staff had a long curved blade on it. "Behold, Dark Paladin (3)!"
"That's your big fusion?" Kaiba asked skeptically.
"Don't let down your guard just yet, Kaiba, Dark Paladin gains Buster Blader's special ability to raise its attack points by 500 for every Dragon-type Monster on the field." There were currently two: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
(DP: 2900-3900)
"Your Paladin is still 600 points short of beating my Ultimate Dragon." Kaiba ended his turn.
Yami-Yugi drew a card. Kaiba, I know your heart is full of hatred and rage, but I hope that this card can help me break through that. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."
Kaiba drew his second card and laughed. "Yugi, now I can forget the past!"
"It's the past that makes us who we are today! We must never forget the past but learn from it and use it to grow stronger!"
"No, you're wrong, Yugi, you're always wrong! It's time for me to move forward! The past is over. The only thing I need to do now is defeat you and obtain my total greatness!"
Amara noticed that Mokuba was shaking his head. He gripped his pendant so hard that it looked like he was going to crush it. Amara had a feeling Mokuba wasn't even aware he was doing these things. She placed a hand on Mokuba's shoulder and the boy relaxed a little or at least realized what he was doing to the pendant.
"This Duel Tower that we stand on, surrounded by rubble and destruction, is much like your heart, Kaiba. surrounded by hate and anger. As long as those fuel you, you will never beat me!"
"It's my hatred that's pushing me forward, and it's what I'll use to crush you!"
"Then go ahead and direct all of your hatred towards me. Strike me down with your rage and prove to me that rage and hatred are the strongest force in the universe!"
"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, get ready to attack!" Shockwaves moved through the ground aiming at Yami-Yugi and Dark Paladin.
I have to believe in my friends and myself, Yami-Yugi told himself. If I'm truly destined to face Marik, there's no way Kaiba will win. My faith in the heart of the cards will overpower Kaiba's hatred any day. "I activate the magic card Magician Formula."
"I'll counter that with Absorb Spell," Kaiba interrupted. "Now the power-up from your magic card goes to my monster."
(BEUD: 4500-5000)
"I'm glad you like history so much, Yugi, because you're about to become it. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack his Dark Paladin with White Neutron Blast!"
"It's over," Yami-Marik announced.
Mokuba leapt up in joy, "All right, Seto!"
By this time, Joey and the others arrived at the dueling field. "Yugi!" Joey cried.
"I win," Kaiba declared.
"I disagree," Yami-Yugi said. His smile disturbed Kaiba. "I still have one remaining face-down card. I've been destined to defeat you for 3000 years. I activate my final face-down card De-Fusion which I'll use to separate your Ultimate Dragon back into three separate Blue-Eyes!" The mighty dragon separated. "And now that there are four dragons on the field, my Dark Paladin gains 2000 attack points."
(DP: 3900-4900)
Yami-Yugi drew a card. "Kaiba, the card I hold in my hand will conquer the darkness surrounding your heart. I play the magic card Diffusion Wave Motion! By paying 1000 life points, I can have my Dark Paladin attack all monsters on your side of the field!" Energy waves lashed out and destroyed all three dragons at once.
(Y: 500)
(K: 0)
Mokuba dropped to his knees. "No… my brother lost," he said meekly.
"That was a match for the ages," Amara said.
Yugi's friends cheered.
"I told you, Kaiba, your hatred and anger would never prevail. If you truly wish to defeat me, you must first defeat your own anger and hatred. Until you do that, you'll never win against me!"
The End
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon
Level: 12
Type: Dragon/Fusion
Attribute: Light
ATK: 4500
DEF: 3800
(2)
Name: Buster Blader
Level: 7
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 2600
DEF: 2300
(3)
Name: Dark Paladin
Level: 8
Type: Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2900
DEF: 2400