I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did, more characters would have noticed the difference between Yugi and Yami.
Chapter Six: Battles in the Shadows
Joey stared at the orange blade in his hand in confusion. Last thing he remembered was Bakura doing something weird with his necklace, and then everything went black. Now he was dressed in a form-fitting blue shirt and pants with a fire-orange skirt and some strange headpiece. "What gives?" he asked, turning around to face Yugi. He screamed at his friend's size. "What the heck? You're a giant!" Had he finally cracked? Or did Mai put something in the food she gave them?
"Joey, listen to me," Yugi commanded. "Your soul has been sealed inside your favorite card. You've become the Flame Swordsman."
"I'm the what?"
"If I don't win this duel, we can't restore you to normal," Yugi explained. "But if you're defeated in this battle, you'll be carried off to the card graveyard, just like Tristan was."
"Graveyard?" the blond panicked at the thought. And it already happened to Tristan? What about the girls? Where were Tea and Kisara?
"In order for me to win this duel, restore you all back to your bodies, and get us all out of the Shadow Realm, I'm going to need your help," Yugi continued.
"You want my help, you got my help," Joey promised.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Yugi asked.
"Okay? I figure I've lost my mind, but I'm going to go with it," Joey answered. "Now who wants a beating?" He turned to face Yugi's opponent and screamed again at Bakura. "Giant Bakura? Now I know I'm nuts. I'm like six inches tall, wearing a dress, about to attack my giant friend?"
"That's not really Bakura," Yugi explained. "An evil spirit from his Millennium Ring has taken him over."
If this was what insanity looked like, maybe Joey should just go along with it. Sure, why not? "I have no idea what you're talking about, so here goes nothing." He charged forward and swung his sword through a guy in a white top hat and cape. "Say good-bye to the cat in the hat!" Bakura's LifePoints dropped to 1200.
Bakura set a monster face-down on the playing mat. "Why did he play that face-down?" Yugi asked.
"'Cause he's afraid of what Joey the Swordsman'll do!" Joey ran into attack the monster despite Yugi's pleas to wait. The card flipped up, and Joey's sword sliced through a long black creature with a grinning face. "Ta-da!"
"What a dolt," Bakura smirked.
Yugi explained the effect of the monster—Morphing Jar. When attacked, both players had to discard their hands and draw fresh ones. They were lucky Yugi didn't have Tea or Kisara's cards in his hand. His eyes widened at one of the cards. "Time for some back-up, Joey. I'm summoning Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
The White Dragon materialized over the card. Its head looked around at the area before its sapphire eyes settled on Joey. "Joey?"
Was that Kisara's voice? "Kisara?" he asked cautiously.
The dragon nodded. "What's going on? Why am I a dragon?" Kisara asked.
"Don't worry; I'm just insane," Joey answered. "According to Yugi, we gotta win this duel to get back to normal size."
Yugi fully explained what was going on as he ended his turn. Bakura sneered at them as he set a monster and a face-down card. "Ah, yes, Kisara. I remember you. Do you think you can protect your friends in this life? You succeeded with Seto in the last one, but the cost was high. Are you prepared to pay it again?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"I suppose you wouldn't remember," Bakura continued. "I know I wouldn't want to remember a fate that tragic, but I'm not awarded that luxury. But I will say you should get used to that form."
"Don't listen to him, Kisara," Joey interrupted their opponent. "He's just trying to get inside your head. Remember, you're the strongest monster in play. Heck, I'm betting Giant Bakura doesn't have a single card that can take you out." Kisara nodded.
Yugi looked over his cards before summoning Dark Magician. Joey barely registered the purple-robed spellcaster was also Yugi when the one dueling activated Monster Reborn to resurrect the Cyber Commander—Tristan. Then he activated the magic card Dian Keto the Cure Master, increasing his LifePoints by 1000.
"Joey? Yugi?" Tristan looked between the other two. "You guys dreaming this too?"
"Nah, this ain't no dream, Tristan," Joey answered his friend. "This is just me going insane. It's all one big delusion."
"But just one second ago, I was up there," Dark Magician looked up to the one dueling on their behalf. Joey did a double take as it sunk in that both were Yugi.
"Yeah if you're down here, who's that up there?" Tristan asked as he faced the Yugi who was dueling.
"I don't know," Dark Magician Yugi answered.
"Don't you?" Dueling Yugi responded.
"Well," Dark Magician Yugi paused as he thought it through. "I have noticed that sometimes, when I duel, it feels as if someone is guiding me." Dueling Yugi nodded. "And sometimes it's like I can hear a strong voice calling out to me from my Millennium Puzzle, an ancient, powerful voice." Joey and Tristan stared at their short friend in disbelief. "I'm not sure what it means," Dark Magician Yugi admitted, "but I'm pretty sure we can trust him, whoever he is."
"Hey, if the big guy is okay in your book, then he's okay by me," Joey grinned.
"I've noticed you seem different when you duel," Kisara the Dragon spoke, hovering over the group. "This would explain why."
"Who's the Dragon?" Tristan asked.
"It's me," she answered. "My soul was put in Blue-Eyes."
"Well, you kept saying how much you liked dragons," Tristan laughed. Joey suspected he was grinning at the situation, but the Cyber Commander's mask made it impossible to see his full expression.
"Anyway, I'm ready to bash me some Bakura," Joey turned his attention back to his opponent. Even in the insanity of their situation, he knew he had to protect his friends, and he wasn't going to let them down.
"Hang on, Joey," Dark Magician Yugi stopped him. "I was just played, so I have to move." He raised his green staff and fired it at the face-down monster. "Dark Magic Attack!" He panicked when he saw it was another Morphing Jar, causing the duelists to discard their hands and draw new ones again. "I'm sorry," he apologized to Dueling Yugi.
"It's okay, man; I did the same thing," Joey consoled his short friend.
Dueling Yugi's eyes widened with the last card he drew. "No! The Magician of Faith!"
Bakura grinned at him, delighting in their predicament. "Isn't that Tea's favorite card? Do you suppose that her mortal soul is trapped within it? Maybe you should play it and find out. Then again," he placed a monster face-down, "you don't know what I'm playing here. You might be putting her in danger. I know it's a dilemma, and while you deliberate, I'll just activate my trap card: Just Desserts." A white, transparent hand rose up and gripped Dueling Yugi's face, dropping his LifePoints to 1000. "I think it will help you come to grips with your current situation. Just Desserts takes 500 LifePoints from you for each of your monsters on the field, and you'll feel like each and every LifePoint is ripped from your beating heart."
"Big Yugi! Are you okay?" Tristan asked their duelist.
"Yes," he answered, clutching his heart while his face was twisted in pain. "But one more attack like that and it's over."
"It's a good thing he played Dian Keto earlier," Kisara commented. "We'd be done for if he hadn't."
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Dueling Yugi set a monster. The card rose slightly, and Tea greeted them. Yugi and Tristan seemed to have the same idea as Joey, and all three of them moved to hide her from Bakura. Kisara flew over them, spreading her wings to block Bakura's view. "Uh, guys, it's a little early for Halloween, don't you think?" Tea asked despite the guys' pleas for her to be quiet. "What the heck? What's this?" Joey saw her pick up her moon-shaped staff.
"Hush," Joey told her. "Yugi and Bakura are big dueling giants and are fighting for our souls."
"But Yugi's right here?" Tea turned to the purple-robed Yugi.
"Yeah, well, the big guy's not really me, but he's not really not me," Dark Magician Yugi tried to explain.
"Yugi, I think you're confusing her even more," Kisara chimed in. "Basically it's something with the Millennium Items, right?"
Dark Magician Yugi nodded. "Yeah, it's some kind of magic."
"So I'm not crazy?" Tea asked.
"Not unless we're all going crazy," Dark Magician Yugi awkwardly grinned at her.
"Just think of it this way, Tea," Joey chimed in. "There's two Yugis—the cool one up there and the puny one down here."
Dark Magician Yugi scowled at Joey's comment. "That's now how it works at all!" he yelled.
Maybe Joey went too far with that one. "Relax, it's just a joke," he held his hands up in defense.
"You forget that here, I have the powers of the Dark Magician here," his short friend retorted, facing Bakura's field.
"Yugi, don't just charge in," Kisara tried to warn him, but he didn't listen.
"I'll show you who's puny!" Dark Magician Yugi attack Bakura's face-down monster. Joey barely saw the purple lizard before his friend's magic obliterated it. He, Tristan and Tea cheered for Yugi's success.
Their elation was short-lived as electricity sparked over Dark Magician Yugi's body. He dropped to his knees, hugging himself as he went numb. Kisara flew over and rubbed his shoulder with one of her claws. "What monster was that?" she asked.
Bakura laughed at them. "You can't attack the Electric Lizard without some rather shocking feedback, a lesson I'm sure Little Yugi won't soon forget."
"All right, soul stealer," Dueling Yugi continued his turn. "I'll play my next card face-down." Joey and Tristan continued to try and hide Tea, harder now that Kisara had moved to help Yugi.
"Don't bother, you fools," Bakura sneered at them. "I can see her perfectly well." Joey and everyone else tensed. What did that giant freak have planned now? "Now I have all five of you right where I want you—helpless on the field and easy prey for my Man-Eater Bug."
"Man-Eater Bug?" Tea repeated as she stood up. "Glad I'm a girl."
Joey had a really bad feeling about that monster as Bakura placed it face-down. "Yugi, what does that card do?"
"The Man-Eater Bug can automatically destroy one creature on the field as soon as it's flipped up," Yugi gasped, still struggling against the purple lizard's effect.
Everyone gasped at his warning. "Guys, I really don't want to go back to that graveyard," Tristan whined.
"Don't you worry, Tristan. None of us are going back," Joey wouldn't let that thing take one of his friends. He leveled his sword, ready to attack the monster. "We'll destroy that bug before he plays it."
"That won't work," Yugi told him. "The moment we make an attack, that card will activate."
"Graveyard here I come," Tristan groaned.
"No, I'm the likely target," Kisara spoke up. "I have the most attack points; he has no other way to get past me. I'll go.
"Wait, so you guys are saying one of us for sure is going to end up worm food?" Joey looked between his friends. No way was he going to let one of them be destroyed by that bug.
"I'm saying there's only one way out of this," Dark Magician Yugi told him, "and we're standing on it." He drew their attention to their face-down card.
"Right, the trap card Big Yugi laid down," Tristan said.
"Yeah, but I'm afraid to use it," Dark Magician Yugi said. "The card requires that we sacrifice a creature."
"You mean one of us?" Tea asked.
"Don't worry, Tea," Tristan reassured her. "I'll go."
"No way, Tristan!" she yelled at him.
"Think about it," he reasoned. "That Man-Eater Bug's going to take one of us out no matter what we do. At least this way, I'm taking it out too." Joey slammed the hilt of his sword into his friend's stomach, knocking him down. "I guess you disagree," he panted as he fell.
Joey steeled himself as he came to a decision. No more letting his friends come to his rescue. "You just got back from the graveyard," he told his friend. "If anyone's going, it's me."
"Joey, no!" Kisara pleaded. "I'll go."
"I'm doing this," Joey insisted before charging in. "Just get back and win that prize money for my sister. And save Gramps and Mokuba." With that, and ignoring his friends' protests, he charged in and attacked the Man-Eater Bug. The Bug materialized from the card, and Joey rode its back, his sword jammed into its mouth. "Big Yugi!" he called to his duelist. "Use the trap! Do it! Do it now! Please!" he begged. The Bug was strong, and Joey couldn't hold onto it forever. "I don't want my friends to get hurt! Sacrifice me!"
Dueling Yugi narrowed his eyes as he listened to Joey. Nodding to his friend, he flipped the trap card over. "I'm playing a trap, sacrificing my Flame Swordsman to do so: The Horn of Heaven! Blasting its celestial tune directly at your Man-Eater Bug, obliterating him from the field once and for all!"
Golden light swarmed Joey's vision, and it was harder to hear his friends' voices. "Don't worry about me!" he called to them. Still holding onto the Man-Eater Bug, the light completely engulfed him, taking him to his next destination.
ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ
Kisara cursed her dragon form as tears spilled from her eyes and she couldn't swipe them away with her claws. Once again, she was helpless to save someone she cared about. First her mom, then Mokuba, and now Joey. Why did people she cared about always end up getting hurt? Bakura just taunted them as they tried to come to terms with Joey's sacrifice. Unlike with Tristan, they couldn't revive Joey because they already used Monster Reborn.
"Poor Joey," Tea whispered, grieving her friend. "He can't be gone." A tear slid down her cheek, and she began to glow.
"Tea," Dark Magician Yugi turned to face her. "Wait, you're the Magician of Faith!"
"What does that mean?" Kisara asked.
"Tea's tear activated the magic effect of her favorite card!" Dark Magician Yugi explained.
"That's right," Dueling Yugi agreed, "and the effect of the Magician of Faith allows me to bring back one magic card from the discard pile and add it to my hand." He took his desired magic card from the pile. "And the card I choose: Monster Reborn, which I play now!"
He played the magic card, and Joey the Flame Swordsman appeared on their field. Everyone ran to hug him as he sat on the field, all held beneath Kisara's large white wings.
Bakura scowled at his opponent. "You waste your time and your turns rescuing these foolish mortals."
"My friends are never a waste of time," Dueling Yugi insisted. "Make your move."
The white-haired duelist smirked at them. "Oh, I'll move, and you'll lose. This is the play that will end the match and win me your Millennium Puzzle. First I will play Lady of Faith in attack mode." A blue-robed woman with a pink headpiece appeared on his field. "And then the card that will turn your friends against one another: the Change of Heart." He held the magic card for them to see.
"Isn't that Bakura's favorite card?" Kisara asked.
"Yes, and a very magical card it is," Bakura sneered. "With this card, I can turn you against your comrades, the very friends you sought to protect, you will now destroy. And I will be able to do what that fool Aknadin could not and command the power of the White Dragon."
"I won't attack my friends!" Kisara insisted.
"You won't have a choice in the matter," Bakura grinned. "The Change of Heart allows me to control any opposing monster, and I choose you, Kisara."
"Leave her out of this," Dueling Yugi yelled at him.
"Why should I?" Bakura asked. "If she destroys little Yugi, I defeat you as well. You want to protect them? Then protect them from this!" He played the magic card.
Kisara braced herself as the card shone with light, but she was surprised to see the real Bakura materialized in the form of the angel in the card's illustration, half an angel of light and half an angel of darkness.
"Bakura!" Dark Magician Yugi called to their friend. "So your soul was sealed into your favorite card too!"
Angel Bakura nodded. "I want to help, but we must act quickly, Yugi!" he said as he took control of the Lady of Faith. "I've taken over one of his cards instead of yours. I'll control her while you attack me." He spread his arms as he begged his friends to finish the duel. "You can win against the Evil Bakura."
"I can't," Yugi panicked. "I'd be destroying you, sending you to the graveyard."
"I don't care!" Bakura insisted. "It's better than being enslaved by an evil spirit! Do it!"
"Be quiet!" the Evil Spirit yelled.
"I have a better idea," a golden eye appeared on Dueling Yugi's forehead as he spoke. "If the evil power of Bakura's Millennium Ring can pull souls from people, perhaps mine can put them back." The Millennium Puzzle flashed with light, blinding their opponent.
The opposing duelist opened his eyes, and Kisara recognized the kind, slightly confused expression of the good Bakura. And the Evil Bakura was now in his Lady of Faith. "Send him to the Graveyard," Dueling Yugi commanded them.
"My turn," Kisara said as she roared, her White Lightning sending the Evil Spirit off to the Graveyard. Light flashed even after her attack ended, and she felt herself fading away.
When she came to, Kisara saw Yugi and Bakura awake and talking. Everyone else was still out cold. "Where did you get your Millennium Ring," Yugi asked.
"My father picked it up on one of his trips," Bakura answered. "He told me it's from ancient Egypt. I think that's where they're all from."
"That about all I was able to determine about them," Kisara chimed in. Both guys jumped at the sound of her voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"No, it's fine," Yugi said.
"Anyway, my father was shopping at a merchant bazaar when the Millennium Ring caught his eye," Bakura continued. "The man who sold the Ring to my father said it had something to do with Duel Monsters. But that never made any sense to me since the card game is new and the Ring is clearly ancient. When my father got back, he gave it to me. He said he felt I was destined to have it."
"Well it was destined for something," Kisara said dryly.
"I just dreamt Bakura went totally mental," she heard Tristan's voice. Kisara turned to see the other three had finally come to.
"Same here," Joey agreed. "Last time I snooze with dueling cards under my pillow."
Kisara recognized the mischievous look in Bakura's eyes as we walked over to the group. Giving them his most innocent smile, he asked, "Sleep well?"
"BAKURA!" Joey and Tristan yelled and hugged each other. Kisara smothered a laugh as they realized their situation and each pushed the other away.
Tea laughed before answering Bakura's question. "I dreamt that Yugi had us dressed up as Duel Monsters, and that you'd gone nuts, so no, I did not sleep well."
Kisara looked to the two Item wielders, unsure how to answer the brunette. Before they could say anything, a scream came from deeper in the forest. "That sounded like Mai," Joey said. "Come on, let's go check it out."
They ran deeper into the forest until they found a duel arena. Mai was exiting the blue platform while a large man towered behind her. "Mai, are you alright?" Yugi asked.
"You're too late," she said, not meeting their eyes.
"Too late for what?" Joey asked. "Is this side-show freak giving you a hard time?"
"That's right," the man grinned. "Just like Pegasus pays me to do. Root out the dueling filth on this island and dispose of it."
"Doesn't that make you a garbage man?" Tristan asked, ready to move if necessary.
"This is no joke!" Mai yelled. "Panik is one of the island's Eliminators, and if you don't get out of here, he's going to do the same thing to you that he did to me!"
Panik grinned as he showed off Mai's point: her dueling glove was empty. She lost all her star chips in her duel against him, meaning she was no longer in the tournament. This isn't right. No way would Mai bet all of her star chips on one duel; she'd only need to bet two, and she's into the castle! Kisara tensed and prepared to challenge Panik, and he shoved Mai to the group, prompting Joey to lunge forward to attack the Eliminator. "You creep!" he yelled. There's no excuse for pushing a girl!
Tristan and Bakura held him back. "I know how you feel," Bakura said as he held onto to the blond, "but that guy is more than twice your size."
"I can take him," Joey insisted.
"No, I'll take him," Yugi interrupted, his blond bangs hanging in his face. "Violence won't solve anything. I've dealt with a lot of bullies in my life, and there's only one way to deal with them." He walked to the front of the group and then raised his head to meet Panik's gaze. "You stand up to them." The Millennium Puzzle flashed, and Yugi changed again, to the guy who dueled the Evil Spirit in Bakura's Ring. "Now let's see you try your intimidation tactics against me, Panik!" he challenged the Eliminator. "I don't scare easily, especially when I'm standing up for my friends! So let's duel!"
Panik taunted Yugi as the dueling platform came to life. Mai warned Yugi about Panik's playing style, urging him to leave while he could, but that only emboldened the shorter duelist. He wagered all of his star chips to earn back Mai's. But Panik didn't care about the star chips; he pressed a button and two mechanical claws unfolded from Yugi's side of the arena, locking onto his ankles and holding him in place. He pressed another button, and two shots of fire burst forth from either side of him.
"Stop it!" Kisara yelled at the Eliminator. "Just play with your cards already!"
"Panik used those on me too," Mai whispered.
"I can see the fear growing in your eyes," Panik grinned maniacally. "You've realized the nightmare you just stepped into, and you're quaking in your boots! I believe you're beginning to panic!"
"Get a life, you psycho!" Tea yelled at him.
The guys tried to convince Yugi to walk away, but he was unfazed by Panik's opening act. "Are you finished blowing smoke, Panik?" he asked. "It will take much more than cheap pyrotechnics to make me lose my cool."
This definitely has to be that other Yugi's influence. Kisara had a hard time imagining the Yugi she knew facing down fire without so much as a flinch. But now she knew there were two of them from that duel in the Shadow Realm. Who knew what the other one was capable of?
Panik started the duel by summoning Castle of Dark Illusions in defense mode. It received a field bonus for being played at night, and the castle covered his half of the field in shadows. Panik rambled on about how the dark hid nightmares and preyed on fears. Kisara had never been afraid of the dark, and his monologue was starting to get on her nerves. I'd love to use Seiyaryu or even Blue-Eyes on this guy. See how their attacks light up his field.
Yugi summoned Celtic Guardian in defense mode. Panik summoned a hidden monster, and it attacked, the shadows surrounding it as it pulled the Celtic Guardian into the darkness. If it wasn't for the sound effect of the monster being destroyed, Kisara wouldn't have known what happened to it.
"This is almost like his duel against Mako," Kisara commented. "He couldn't see Mako's monsters under the water, and now he can't see Panik's monsters in the shadows."
"I didn't think of that, but you're right, Kisara," Joey said. "He just has to find a way to light up the field, like he dried up Mako's ocean."
"Or get them out of the shadows," Kisara added.
Yugi summoned Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress, in defense mode as well. Panik summoned a second monster, but withheld attacking, probably to soak in the terror he thought he was inflicting on Yugi. Yugi put his dragon on the offensive and had it launch a fireball at Panik's field. The field lit up, and his two monsters could be seen for a minute, enough to tell what the monsters were. Once the attack faded though, Panik sent one of them in to crush the Winged Dragon, and Yugi's LifePoints dropped to 1606.
"And you said there wasn't anything in the woods but crickets and squirrel," Kisara said to Joey.
"How was I supposed to know there was a freaky pyromaniac duelist in the woods?" Joey retorted.
"Keep struggling, Yugi," Panik grinned at his opponent. "Bullying's so much more fun when you resist!"
"Tough talk, Panik, coming from someone who makes all their attacks while hiding in the safety of shadows," Yugi answered his taunt. Panik scowled and turned on the flame ejectors again. Yugi leaned away from the blaze.
"You uppity little cretin!" the Eliminator yelled at him. "Perhaps you should think twice before you insult someone who can scorch you with the touch of a button! You're afraid, Yugi! You're lost and alone in the dark, and I'm the big bad boogeyman, about to leap out and give you the scare of your life!"
"This guy should get hired at a haunted house," Kisara folded her arms across her chest as she waited for Panik to finish his rant. "He could narrate the whole show."
Whether it was her comment or something else, Yugi started to laugh, throwing Panik off his insults and scare tactics. "I can see right through you, Panik. You are the boogeyman, scaring children into being afraid of the dark, until they realize the dark is nothing to be afraid of. Like you. Once a person conjures up the confidence not to be fearful of the unknown, they've disarmed the only weapon the dark has."
Who is the other Yugi? Again, it sounds like he's dealt with this first hand. Kisara wondered if they should be wary of the spirit of the Puzzle. Bakura's spirit had tried to kill them, and even though Yugi's had saved them, they didn't know anything about him. He hadn't even revealed himself to Yugi until tonight.
Yugi continued to taunt Panik, promising to cast away the shadows on his field. The Eliminator didn't believe him, but it didn't matter to Yugi. Everyone else wondered why Yugi would tell Panik his strategy. Mai believed Panik was starting to get inside Yugi's head, but Bakura pointed out Yugi was calm and collected. Joey and Tristan tried to talk Yugi out of showing his card, but he revealed the magic card in his hand: Swords of Revealing Light, and he promised to have Panik beaten in five turns.
"I think I get what he's doing," Kisara said. "He's playing the same game as Panik."
"How so?" Tea asked.
"Panik gets in his opponents heads and psyches them out, throwing them off their game," she answered. "By accepting his challenge and calling out every tactic and bluff, even proving he knows how to get past the shadows, Yugi is doing the same thing to Panik, making Panik start to panic himself."
Yugi continued to make his move. "Curse of Dragon, defense mode," he summoned the yellow dragon. "And then the card that will make you see the light," he set one card. "You're five turns start now, Panik. It's your move."
"Why would he keep that card out if he's not going to use it?" Tea asked.
"Panik's getting to him," Mai answered. "I kept it together for about this long too, but Panik has a way of getting to you and making you slip up."
"Not my pal," Joey said. "He knows what he's doing."
"And that might not be the Swords," Kisara added. "Like I said, he's playing Panik's game."
"And Panik is the master," Mai insisted. "Yugi's good, but it takes more than skill to beat Panik. You have to keep a level head while you're lost in the dark or being attacked by fire. Yugi needs guts to beat Panik."
"Well he's got heart," Tea said.
Both of them are right. To be honest, I think the Yugi we know would be flustered in this duel. Even watching from here, I don't know how people can think straight with the fire and head games. But the other Yugi barely flinched when he was fighting for our souls. Compared to that Shadow Duel, this is nothing. He can handle this, and he can help our Yugi stay calm as well. Kisara silently rooted for both Yugis as Panik started his turn.
Panik summoned Reaper of the Cards, and its effect let him destroy opposing magic cards. The Reaper went into to destroy Yugi's face-down card, its scythe poised to strike. But it stopped. Yugi laughed at Panik's confusion. "I said my Swords of Revealing Light is the card that would illuminate your monsters. I never said it was the one I placed on the field. You just assumed that."
"I told you he'd psyche Panik out," Kisara grinned.
"The card I placed on the field was a different card—the Spellbinding Circle, a trap card," Yugi activated his face-down card. The Spellbinding Circle ensnared the Reaper, trapping him in the light and weakening his attack points by 700. Now that the Reaper was trapped, Yugi was free to play whatever magic cards he wanted. He played two of them face-down—Swords of Revealing Light and another, or so he claimed. Kisara knew what Yugi was up to, but even she couldn't know exactly what cards Yugi played.
It was clear Yugi was turning the tables on Panik in terms of mind games. Yugi no longer responded to the Eliminator's blasts of fire, and Panik was starting to get more worked up. The tri-color haired duelist simply promised that in four turns he would win the duel.
Panik laughed as he summoned King of Yamimakai, the shadows on the field parting enough for everyone to see the monstrosity before hiding him in the darkness. King of Yamimakai attacked Curse of Dragon, but the attack veered off course, drawn to the light of the Spellbinding Circle, and it hit the ensnared Reaper of the Cards, dropping Panik's LifePoints to 494.
Yugi took the opportunity to activate his Swords of Revealing Light. Their light blanketed the field and banished the shadows from the Castle of Dark Illusions. The Swords also prevented Panik from attacking for three turns, leaving him helpless while Yugi pieced together his victory.
Panik played the magic card Chaos Shield and combined it with his Castle of Dark Illusions, casting a protective barrier around his monsters to stop Yugi from destroying them. It raised the defensive points of all the monsters within it, making it that much more difficult to destroy them. The gang, discouraged, began to wonder if Yugi really could win the duel at all, let alone in the three turns he promised his opponent. But Yugi remained unfazed by Panik's scare tactics. That other Yugi is calm as ice. Yugi seemed thrown off as the duel started, but I think Panik's running out of tricks. I bet since he always scares his opponents, he doesn't know how to deal with a real challenge. Kisara continued weighing Yugi's odds in her head.
Yugi's taunts began to really rattle the Eliminator. He mocked Panik's skill and predictability, pushing Panik to aim the fire blasts at him. Yugi just leaned out of the way, no visible reaction on his face.
"Now I see what you were saying earlier," Mai said to Kisara. "You were right about his strategy; I couldn't see it through my own fear. You've got a really level head. How did you do it?"
"Yugi's not the only one to have dealt with bullies," Kisara answered, her long hair falling in her face. Being the strange new girl all the time left her vulnerable to taunting. Granted, the girls who picked on her never did so directly to her face. They operated behind the scenes, spreading rumors about her through the school, making all the other students shun her. One of them was the daughter of the guardian she had at the time, unhappy at having a foster sister. That made her home life even worse than school. Kisara had had to learn to clamp down on her emotions and prove her cases through fact and logic. Leave no room for argument, no holes for them to push their falsehoods through. And hardest of all, not let them see how much they hurt her. She was a dragon, immune to their pettiness and hatred.
Yugi drew and summoned Gaia, the Fierce Knight. Then he activated his face-down Polymerization, fusing the Knight and Curse of Dragon into Gaia, the Dragon Champion. Panik summoned Metal Guardian in defense mode, moving it in front of the Chaos Shield to further protect his other monsters. Yugi smirked at Panik's move and said that was the Eliminator's last turn. The tri-color haired duelist summoned his Catapult Turtle and loaded Gaia onto it. The Turtle raised Gaia's attack strength to 3200, matching the Castle of Dark Illusion's defense. He fired Gaia, and the Dragon Champion smashed into the castle, covering the area in smoke.
When the smoke cleared, the Castle was still floating, but its outer ring cracked and fell apart. Panik laughed as he stared as his still-hovering Castle. "You're attack simply knocked its floatation ring off!" he sneered. "It's been five turns and I'm still standing, Yugi! And at the end of this turn, the paralyzing effects of your Swords of Revealing Light will wear off, and I'll annihilate you with all of my monsters!"
"There is no next turn," Yugi stated. "This duel is already over."
"It's not over!" Panik insisted.
"Doesn't it seem strange to you that a Castle that's lost its floatation ring is somehow still floating?" Yugi asked his opponent. "What if the Swords of Revealing Light somehow had locked in place not only your monsters, but your Castle as well? Then what would happen next?" The Swords flickered as their time came to an end.
"It can't be!" Panik denied the turn the duel had taken.
"Right now the only things holding up your Castle are the Swords of Revealing Light, and when this turn ends, each and every sword will vanish." Yugi pointed at the Castle of Dark Illusions to emphasis his point.
"But. . . that means. . ." Panik stumbled over his words as he realized he'd been beaten.
"It's over," Yugi declared, "and now your world's about to come tumbling down. My turn is over." He gestured from a thumbs-up to a thumbs-down, signaling his turn's completion.
On cue, the Swords vanished, and the Castle began to fall. Panik ordered his monsters to run, but because of the Chaos Shield, they were trapped under the crushing bulk of the Castle. Their destruction dropped Panik's LifePoints down to zero.
"He won!" Joey cheered. "And Panik's not taking it too well!"
"I'll say," Tristan agreed. "Panik's having a panic attack!"
"I may not have defeated you, Yugi!" Panik slammed his fist on the fire controls, completely smashing them. "But I can still eliminate you!"
Fire shot forth from several blasters, blocking Kisara's view of her friend. Soon the fire surrounded the arena, headed for the spectators. Wind blew Kisara's hair as she felt the heat of the blaze. Above everything else, she heard a dragon roar.
ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ
Joey pulled Mai away from the flames and felt a familiar crackle of energy. Kisara glowed with blue energy, and her hair flew wildly in the wind. "Kisara, get back!" he yelled over the wind and fire. He put his arm over his face against the blaze, and he heard a dragon roar.
"What is that?" Mai asked.
Lowering his arm, he saw Blue-Eyes White Dragon hovering above them. It flew over the group and spread its wings, shielding them from the fire's blaze. Is it protecting us? Joey wondered as the dragon roared against the burning heat of the flames.
It felt like an eternity before the flames finally died out. The White Dragon disappeared, and Kisara collapsed to the ground. Everyone ran to her. "She's breathing," Bakura said, holding her up, "and she doesn't appear to be injured. I think she just passed out. Why did that dragon protect us?"
"I don't know," Joey answered. "Where's Yuge?"
He sighed in relief when he saw his friend exit the dueling platform unharmed. Tea was the first to congratulate the victor. "Yugi, you were incredible."
"You're Millennium Puzzle must have more power than we thought," Tristan said, "Considering how it protected you from all that fire."
"And that Dragon saved us," Joey added, glancing back to Bakura and Kisara. Why does Blue-Eyes keep saving me and Kisara?
Yugi nodded to them and walked up to Mai. "I don't know what to say," Mai admitted.
"Here," Yugi held out the star chips he'd one. "These are yours, Mai." She stared at them, her violet eyes questioning. "They're yours, take them," Yugi insisted.
Mai shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept them. I fight my own battles."
"Mai, Yugi battled for you," Tea insisted. "He risked his life in this duel for you."
She wants to take them, but she doesn't want to accept help. Joey was finally starting to get the blonde woman. And he figured out how to get her to take them. "Well there's no point in arguing. She's way too thick-headed," he said nonchalantly, taking the star chips from Yugi. "But if she'd rather be booted off the island, I'll take them." He grinned as he counted the stars in his hand.
"You think me losing all my star chips is funny, Joey Wheeler?" Mai yelled at him.
There was the Mai he knew. Uptight and stubborn. "I thought you didn't want them," he answered innocently.
She lunged for the star chips, but he held them as high as he could over his head and out of her reach. "Give them back!" she demanded.
Joey turned the stars over into her outstretched hand. "Of course you can have them," he said. "They're yours."
Mai's expression softened as she looked at the star chips in her hand. Joey thought that, when she wasn't being defensive and plotting against them, she really looked beautiful. "Really Joey?" she asked.
"Didn't you learn anything from this duel?" he asked. "You can't always keep your defenses up. 'Cause they'll just get between you and the other people who are trying to be your friends. So can't you let your shield down, just this one time?"
Joey's heart beat faster as she considered what he said. Pushing the feeling away, he stretched and yelled, "I'm such a sensitive guy!"
"When you're not being a pain," Tristan laughed at him.
"Which is most of the time," Tea added.
"Ah, my adoring fans, Joey said as he returned to Bakura and Kisara.
"Yugi, wait!" Mai called to the shorter duelist. "I'll repay you for what you did today," she promised. "You're the one who won these, so far as I'm concerned, I still owe you. More than I've ever owed anyone. And when we finally do face each other in a duel, it'll be an honorable one."
"Sounds good," Tea answered.
Joey gave Mai a thumbs-up and a grin as the others started to walk back to the campsite. He picked up his fallen friend and followed after them. Joey only hoped Kisara would be all right.
ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ
Kisara opened her eyes to a cloth ceiling. Did I dream all of that? She was in her sleeping bag, and Tea was sound asleep next to her. Last thing she remembered was Panik going crazy and blasting all of them with fire because he lost to Yugi. Careful not to wake up her friend, Kisara slid out of her sleeping bag and exited the tent. Outside, Joey and Tristan were fast asleep next to the tent, and Yugi and Bakura were sitting farther away talking. She could hear them as she walked closer. "Bakura, am I seeing things or is your Millennium Ring actually glowing?" Yugi asked.
"If it's not, then we're both hallucinating," Bakura answered.
"I don't think all three of us could hallucinate the same thing," Kisara said as she sat down next to them. One of the pointers on the Millennium Ring was pointing straight to Bakura's right and holding itself level instead of dangling like the others.
"You're awake!" Both boys said at the same time.
"You gave a scare when you passed out," Bakura explained.
"So Panik and the fire wasn't dream? Or the whole everyone's souls were put in their favorite cards by an evil version of you?"
Ashamed, Bakura nodded. "I'm sorry for the trouble my Ring caused," he apologized.
"Everyone else thinks it was a dream," Yugi explained. "I'm thinking of keeping it that way."
"Not a bad plan," Kisara said. "What happened after Panik tried to torch us?"
"My Millennium Puzzle protected me from the fire, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared and saved you and the others," Yugi answered.
"So I missed getting to see a dragon?" Kisara frowned as she thought through what Yugi said. That was the second time that dragon appeared, according to her friends. She had failed to see it either time. "So why is the Ring glowing?" she changed the subject back to Bakura's pendant.
"I don't know," Bakura answered, "but it did the same thing the day I met you, Yugi. I had just transferred to Domino. I was watching you play Duel Monsters, and the Ring started to glow and pointed right towards your Millennium Puzzle."
"Wow," Yugi watched the Ring with interest. "So those pointers are somehow able to zone in on Millennium Items."
"But why would it point towards the castle?" Bakura asked.
"Because Pegasus and the Millennium Eye are inside the castle," Kisara answered.
"That's what took Grandpa's soul," Yugi added.
"My, it's all kind of scary," Bakura said. "Pegasus grabbing souls with his, and I'll never forget when mine took us all to the Shadow Realm."
"I don't think I'll forget that for a while either," Kisara added. "You guys were at least humanoid. I was a dragon for all of that."
"But I thought you liked dragons?" Yugi teased her.
Before she could answer, the wind picked up, and a bright light filled the area. Kisara heard a powerful motor, and the noise woke up her friends. A helicopter came into view and landed in the clearing. The engine powered down, and Seto disembarked from the helicopter. He wore a blue shirt and dress slacks with a long blue trench coat. He carried a briefcase in his right hand.
Her friends were wary of him, but Kisara ran up and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're all right, mon ami."
He tensed and then returned the hug. "It'll take more than Pegasus's goons to take me out, mon meilleur ami," he said.
"One minute," Kisara pulled away and went to her bag. She pulled out a deck and brought it back to Seto. "Here's your deck. Thank you for helping me with that duel. I can see why you like Blue-Eyes so much."
Seto accepted the deck. "Thank you. And thank you for protecting my company. I know those were the stakes in your duel."
"Not entirely, Seto," Kisara said. "The person pretending to be you threw that in. I was dueling for Mokuba."
"What?" Seto was visibly startled before recomposing himself.
"He escaped the castle, and he was trying to defeat Yugi so Pegasus couldn't," she explained. "But Kemo recaptured him, and I wagered my star chips for his freedom. But Kemo took him before the duel ended. I'm so sorry I couldn't save him."
"Your mistake was thinking Pegasus would play fair," Seto said.
"So why not join us?" Kisara asked. "We're trying to make it into the castle by qualifying for the finals. I'll give you mine. As far as I'm concerned, four of them are yours anyway."
"Don't be so naïve," Seto snapped. "This isn't a game for me. I'm here to save Mokuba, not to win some silly prize."
"Why do you think we're here?" Kisara snapped back. "Do you honestly think we're only interested in the prize? You're not the only one with family at stake!" She closed her eyes and took a breath to calm down. "I'm sorry for snapping. Please, Seto, I don't want to fight."
"And I can't waste my time with this tournament," Seto turned to leave. "Have fun winning your star chips."
Kisara bit her lip and watched him walk away. Seto was beyond stubborn, and there was no way she was going to change his mind. Even when they were kids, once Seto made up his mind, there was no changing it. She was glad to know somethings hadn't changed. Kisara just hoped Seto knew what he was getting into with Pegasus. He couldn't go in half-cocked against a Millennium Item. That was the only sure thing she knew about them from watching Yugi duel.
Joey ran past Kisara and blocked Seto's way, grabbing the CEO by the collar. "Listen, tough guy," the blond said. "I get you wanting to get your little brother back. But Kisara's right, and you're not the only one with a noble cause, capisce? She's trying to help you because she cares about you. So if you want a piece of Pegasus, get in line or deal with me. I ain't scared of you."
"Nice grip," Seto smirked. "Let me show you mine." He grabbed Joey's hand and flung him across the clearing.
"Seto!" Kisara yelled at her friend.
"Relax," Joey assured his friends. "I'm fine."
"Do you really think I'm going to let you and this little tournament you're in delay me from finding Pegasus?" Seto asked.
"Forget Pegasus!" Joey got up and faced Seto. "Now you got me to deal with, so bust out your cards and let's get it on!"
"Forget it," Seto shot down the blond. "Why don't you go look for an opponent you can actually beat? Like an infant or a monkey."
"What'd you say?" Joey yelled.
"That's enough," Kisara stepped between the two duelists. "Joey, calm down. Seto, there's no need to insult him. Believe it or not he beat Rex Raptor. And he started playing before I did."
"I don't have time for your nonsense, loser," Seto turned away again and started walking towards the castle. Part of Kisara was relieved; at least if he left, there wouldn't be any conflict between him and Joey.
"Go ahead and run!" Joey yelled at him. "Everyone knows you're nothing but a washed-up has-been!"
"Joey, be careful what you say," Yugi warned his friend. "Kaiba may not be the nicest guy, but he's still considered the top duelist in all the world."
"Not anymore," Joey finally got Seto to turn around. "That's right, tough guy, I bet ever since Yugi mopped the floor with you, you can't even lay down a trap card without flinching!"
"Stop it, Joey," Kisara blocked her friend's way. The others tried to talk Joey out of picking a fight with Seto as well, but he wouldn't listen.
Seto finally agreed to the duel on the condition they use his new portable holographic technology. At least that's what Kisara could understand. While the time she spent practicing and learning to play the game had increased her skill, she still couldn't see the need for extravagant set-ups. Seto tossed Joey one of his devices, two circular pieces of equipment with five slots on the larger circle and a cord that connected it to the other with a rectangular opening. Kisara assumed the deck went there. Joey strapped the smaller circle onto his wrist, and Seto did the same with his.
Seto started the duel by summoning his Battle Ox. He tossed the larger disk to the center of the field, and it spun, generating a shower of glittering white. Tea was elated with the sight until the Battle Ox appeared; then she was disgusted by how it looked. Understanding how the technology worked, Joey summoned his Armored Lizard. But the Lizard was too weak to stand up to the Ox, and Seto's monster decapitated Joey's, dropping the blond to 1800. His disk stopped spinning and spit his card out, signaling his turn to try again.
Joey retracted his duel disk and summoned his next monster: Flame Swordsman. He sent his Swordsman into to destroy the Battle Ox, but its immunity to fire allowed it to snap the Swordsman's blade in two and destroy him. Joey's LifePoints fell to 1600, and Seto taunted Joey for his ignorance.
Seto then fused his Battle Ox with Mystic Horseman to summon his Rabid Horseman. The half-ox-half-horse creature tore through every creature Joey summoned, knocking down his LifePoints with every attack. Joey almost lost hope when his LifePoints hit 500, but the others encouraged him to keep going. Drawing on their support, Joey drew and summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and its Inferno Fire Blast incinerated the Rabid Horseman. Seto's LifePoints fell to 1600.
Seto was unimpressed with Joey's comeback, though he did give Joey props on the Red-Eyes. His final monster was his and Kisara's favorite: Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Its White Lightning obliterated Red-Eyes and the rest of Joey's LifePoints. Joey knelt on the ground in defeat.
"That's right, Joey," Seto taunted him. "Stay down like the sniveling, defeated dog I've turned you into."
"Are you all right, Joey?" Yugi asked as the group went to console him. He didn't answer them, but Kisara suspected his pride as a duelist was hurt more than anything else.
"I'd say my duel disk system has proven quite effective," Seto boasted. "Not only did its stunning realism jar Joey into complete and utter submission, but just look at him. He's moping like a frightened dog with his tail between his legs. Which is exactly how I intend to leave Pegasus."
"That's enough, Seto," Kisara chastised him. "You've made your point. It's one thing to do this to Pegasus; I'd appreciate anything that stops him from hurting more people. But this is Joey, and he didn't do anything to warrant this. Don't you remember what it was like when you just started out?"
"Do you honestly believe Pegasus will be any more merciful to you?" Seto countered. "I understand the Heart of the Cards is a powerful philosophy and it all works well for you, but I need to duel my own way now. I can't risk trying something new. And maybe Joey shouldn't either, unless he likes life as a dog, scrounging on the scraps of past victories and begging for mercy from true duelists."
"Please, Kaiba, that's just not true," Yugi insisted.
Seto wouldn't believe him and told them of the time he saw Pegasus duel at the intercontinental tournament in New York City. Bandit Keith had made it to the finals to face the creator, and Pegasus toyed with him the entire match. He stared into his opponent's eyes, and then wrote something on a piece of paper. Then he called a kid from the audience to take his place and handed him the paper. Following the notes on the paper, the kid defeated Bandit Keith. The slip of paper had Bandit Keith's entire strategy on it, though there was no way Pegasus could have known exactly what Keith would do. Seto only hoped his new equipment would give him the edge to defeat Pegasus.
Seto walked away from the group, and Kisara followed him, telling the others to give them a minute. "Seto!" she called to him.
"I already told you I'm not joining your group," he said, turning to face her.
"I'm not asking you to," she answered. "I know once you've made up your mind, there's no changing it."
"So then why are you following me?"
"Because I don't want us to be at odds," she answered. "You don't have to be so guarded around me."
"Who says I'm guarded?"
"Seto, you've been doing everything on your own, at least that's what I've seen since I came back to Domino. I haven't even seen you talk with anyone. And this is the first time I've seen you since you lost to Yugi. You're not even considering our help to rescue Mokuba. It's like you don't think anyone is capable of helping you. And Pegasus has powers I don't know if your duel disk will be able to counter."
"So how does winning his tournament help Mokuba?"
"I don't know," Kisara answered. "Right now, it's the only way we have to get into the castle. But I do know you can't go in there half-cocked. Please, don't be reckless."
Seto sighed. "You always did know when I was on edge."
"And when Gozaburo was being especially hard on you."
"You could always make it better with a fairy tale and encouraging word." He met her eyes and asked, "Why did you leave? It had been just like any other day, and the next you were gone."
"Mom got fired," Kisara answered. "I don't know why, but we couldn't go back. Then there was an accident, a hit-and-run. Mom died, and I was shipped off to a variety of relatives."
"That explains a lot," Seto gazed up at the cloudy sky before continuing. "Back then, you were always cheerful, brightening up our days. Now, a lot of you is the same: your hair, love of dragons, your smile. But you're also a lot different. You're focused and wary, far more observant than back then."
"I don't know if I really was that observant back then," Kisara said. "But there wasn't any other way for me to deal with my situation. Between being picked on at school and my family not wanting me at home, it helped to know what was going on. I didn't have you to come to my rescue. Remember that time I accidently broke that vase in the library?"
"I remember," he turned back to face her. "You had been trying to get a really big book for Mokuba, and you lost your balance just as it came off the shelf. It knocked the vase off of the nearby table and shattered it. When Hobson came to see what happened, I told him I'd knocked into it getting the book, and you hid under the desk."
"And you made Mokuba promise not tell, no matter what happened," she finished. "What kind of punishment did Gozaburo give you? You never told me."
"I didn't want you worry or blame yourself," Seto answered. "But he tripled my workload and confiscated my Duel Monster cards. Mokuba managed to get them back to me by hiding them in a textbook, and he drew a Blue-Eyes White Dragon for me."
"So that was the card you two always wanted back then," Kisara said. "I never got into the game back then, but I remembered you two always talking about it."
"Yeah," Seto gave a small smile. He reached under his collar and pulled out a pendant shaped like a Duel Monsters card. He pressed a button on the side, and it popped open. Seto moved the pendant closer to Kisara so she could see. Inside was a picture of Mokuba when he was about four. He was playing chess against someone, she suspected Seto, and he had the biggest grin on his face. "This was taken when we were still in the orphanage."
"He looks so happy there," Kisara said, smiling at the picture. "Things were so much simpler back then,"
"Maybe from your perspective," Seto answered drily. "You just had to avoid running into Gozaburo and the other workers. I had to actually deal with Gozaburo. And he threatened to send me back to the orphanage several times if I didn't keep up with his regime."
"And that's what I'm dealing with now," she countered. "If I screw up, my guardian's shipping me off. I don't know where I'd go if that happened. Things were finally looking up. I have a group of friends, I get to see you again, and no one actively hates me. And now Mokuba and Mr. Muto are Pegasus's hostages, and he wants KaibaCorp from you and something from Yugi."
"I'll take him down," Seto promised. "And after I save Mokuba and get KaibaCorp back on track, I want you to come by Kaiba Mansion. I know somethings won't be the same, but I won't be a stranger to you anymore. I want you to be mon ami."
"Mon meilleur ami," she said, smiling. "I promise to come and visit. And please remember you don't have to do everything alone.
"It's the only way I know how," Seto gave her a half-smile before turning away. "Keep dueling, and make good use of that Blue-Eyes. I'll see you when this is over."
"Take care, Seto!" Kisara called to him. "And be careful facing Pegasus!"
Seto just raised his right hand in a wave, not even looking back at her. Kisara smiled at him and then turned to walk back to her friends.