Ya'll I'm not dead I promise. I forgot I had this pre-written chapter in my files so here ya go, the second part of Joey's duel with Yami Marik.
Usual reminders:
Italics are thoughts or word emphasis. Bold is Malekos' speech.
"If he keeps losing cards from his hand, Joey will never beat Marik!"
Jessica glanced at Yugi as he said it, his face full of worry for his best friend. When she glanced at Yami, he had a similar expression but with gritted teeth. She bit her lip and looked back to the field.
"You could use a rest, little Joey."
"And you could use a haircut," he shot back. "So what's your point?"
"Don't you understand? Thanks to these dark energy streams, every time your monsters are attacked, your body is drained of strength!"
"So, what's the deal with that card Marik stuck in Joey's graveyard?" Téa asked, apparently not fully understanding.
"It removes one card from Joey's hand with every turn," Tristan answered, while Yami stayed silent.
"Some of his best cards could be destroyed before he gets to use them," Duke added.
And it sounded like he already lost one of them, Jessica silently added, her gaze fixed on Joey's face who looked like he was sweating. And even more when Marik placed two face down cards and didn't attack. She narrowed her eyes. He's planning something. Malekos hummed in agreement.
After Joey played Baby Dragon in defense mode, he was debating on what to do. She listened as Marik tried goading him into making a move, and the gang were discouraging him from attacking due to the potential traps that had been set on the field.
Attacking is risky, but not attacking is just as risky since it will give Marik a chance to further his traps. Malekos growled in her mind, and she could just see him crossing his arms.
He's stuck between a rock and a hard place, she deduced.
Precisely. Let's see what he chooses.
"Wait, Joey! Don't attack," Tristan tried calling out.
"No, he should attack." Yami finally spoke up, catching everyone's attention. His gaze never left the duel. "In order for Joey to win, he must force Marik to reveal his traps right away. Once Joey knows what Marik's cards are, he can devise a strategy to destroy them. Take him down, Joey!"
Joey needed no further instructions and immediately sent his Rocket Warrior in to weaken Marik's monster. Marik laughed and activated a trap that allowed him to draw five new cards. But the grin he had made Jessica bite her lip.
Something tells me he just drew the last Egyptian God card.
You may be right.
"I don't care what cards you got. I'm still gonna mop the floor with that head of yours!" Joey sacrificed his last scapegoat to power up Panther Warrior and sent it to attack Marik's monster.
But no matter how much strength Marik loses, that ugly smirk ends up right back on his face again. And Téa caught onto it. He activated another trap card that made everyone gasp at its name. Now 300 life points are deducted from Joey every time one of his monsters are sent to the graveyard no matter what position they're in. And when that ghostly hand snatched another card from his hand, his life points dropped by 300 to signal that it was a monster.
Jessica clicked her tongue in contempt. "Even the monsters in his hand are a detriment with that card in his graveyard and that trap added onto it," she realized.
"You're right," Yami told her.
"That's not good!" Tristan exclaimed.
"It's over for you! I've devised a fool-proof system of depleting your life points each turn without having to do anything at all," Marik explained. "And don't forget that my Plasma Eel is still attached to your Panther Warrior. Which lowers its attack points even more!" As if to prove his point, it zapped Joey and his monster's strength. Marik drew a card and placed it face down before activating a spell, allowing him to revive any monster in either of their graveyards.
"What are you bringing back?" Joey asked nervously.
By sacrificing 800 of his life points, Marik brought back his Drilago. Then he sacrificed it to summon a bigger monster that made Joey even more nervous.
"What is that?!"
"I've summoned an unstoppable creature known as Legendary Fiend!"
"Wait, he's only got 1500 attack points!"
"You should know that things aren't always what they appear to be." He chuckled. "My beast gets stronger by 700 attack points each turn. Now make your move, if you dare!"
"Joey still has way more life points than Marik does so I'm not too worried," Tristan announced.
Jessica frowned, removing her hands from her hoodie pocket to cross her arms. "Yeah, but with his Panther Warrior steadily losing its attack points and Marik's monster gaining attack points each turn, that won't last long until he can figure a way out of it." She saw Yugi nod from her peripheral vision. She was proud of herself for picking up on that sort of stuff despite her limited knowledge, but the situation was too grave to focus on such a selfish thought.
"Life points aren't everything," Yami agreed.
"Oh, no…" Téa brought a hand close to her mouth, staring worriedly up at the field.
When Joey drew a card, Marik activated a trap that rendered Rocket Warrior useless. So he placed a new monster in defense mode and put Panther Warrior in defense mode, but it didn't stop the Plasma Eel from draining both of their strengths. It also didn't help that every time Marik's turn begins, now Joey loses 500 life points due to that new trap card.
Your friend doesn't look so good, Malekos noticed as they watched Joey struggle to stay standing.
Jessica watched as his smaller defensive monster was sent to the graveyard, dropping his life points. I know. But he seems to be pretty strong-willed.
How long will that last?
She didn't answer as she watched Joey hesitate before drawing his next card. When he started grinning, a bit of relief washed over her.
"The card I'm holdin' in my hand right now is gonna put an end to your entire duelin' strategy!" Joey proclaimed with confidence.
"You lie!"
"I'm afraid not. Check it out, Marik." He played a spell card that left Marik and Jessica confused until he explained it. Marik has to choose which of Joey's monsters are at the bottom of his graveyard. The right answer banishes the monster from the rest of the duel, but the wrong answer lets him summon it directly to the field. "You're in trouble," Joey taunted as Marik hesitated. "Wanna know why? Well, I'll tell ya. The first card that went to my graveyard was chosen randomly by your beast! So guess what? There's no way you'll remember because you never saw which one it was!"
Jessica couldn't help but smile as she watched Joey continue to mock Marik until he counted down the seconds, causing Marik to growl in frustration. The monster he summoned was Jinzo, and the dismay of Marik made her smirk. Looks like someone was relying on a trap or two he had placed on the field. All but one face down card on Marik's side of the field was destroyed, leaving Marik struggling to contain his anger. Not only that, but Joey got his Rocket Warrior back. She listened as both Tristan and Yami commented on Joey's successful move.
"You can do this, Joey," Yugi said as Joey glanced over his shoulder at his friends, even though only Jessica and Yami could hear him. "If you beat Marik, he's out of the tournament and the world is saved!" Jessica reached down with one arm to place her hand over his, which was still placed on her hip.
They watched as Joey switched all his monsters to attack mode, and his first attack with Jinzo destroyed Marik's only monster on the field.
"Great! Joey has destroyed all of Marik's monsters." Yami had removed his arm from Jessica's waist to clench his fist. "If he can successfully attack Marik's life points directly, he'll win the duel!" Tristan and Téa both shouted their encouragement up to Joey while Jessica stayed quiet, allowing their friends to do the encouraging.
"It's over, Marik!" Joey sent his two smaller monsters to attack Marik, but faltered when the Item user chuckled.
"Do you think it's that easy?" Marik activated a spell card he had placed on the field, allowing the attacks to bounce right off the wind that made a protective barrier around him. He laughed as the wind barrier disappeared after its job was done. "It looks like I don't need monsters to bring you to your knees!" As he said this, Joey had been brought to his knees after having a card stolen from his hand and the last of Panther Warrior's strength stolen. "You thought you could defeat me, didn't you? You should have known that's no easy task. Remember, your little friend Mai made the very same mistake. And you know well what fate befell her, an eternity of darkness and despair. And you'll soon join her!"
Jessica bit her lip. So much for that. He had a good comeback while it lasted. Let's hope he can pull another one off again. Malekos hummed in agreement.
Marik drew a card and smirked. "I'm about to call forth an extremely powerful beast. It's an 8-star monster known as Lava Golem!" He flipped the card to show Joey. "It allows me to sacrifice two monsters on your side of the field." The monster appeared behind Joey and towered over him, trapping him in a metal cage in the process.
"That monster may belong to Joey now," Yugi said, his attention on the new monster. "But it comes with a price."
Jessica had to keep herself from clicking her tongue. Figures.
"Each turn Lava Golem melts, and you lose life points," Marik told Joey. "And now that your Jinzo is back in the card graveyard, I can set as many traps as I want!" He proceeded to set one card face down. "Now then, why don't you attack me with your monster? He does have 3000 attack points, which is more than enough to wipe me out. So what are you waiting for? There's not much else you can do."
Jessica glanced towards Yugi from the corner of her eye as he began to speak. "Even though Lava Golem causes Joey to lose life points, it still has 3000 attack points. Which makes it powerful enough to help him win this duel. So why would Marik give it to Joey? It doesn't make sense…"
She hummed quietly in response as she turned her attention back to the giant lava monster. The heat radiating from it could be felt even from below and it made Jessica tighten her grip on her own arms, remembering the flames from her childhood. But otherwise, she didn't let it show that it bothered her and nobody else seemed to notice. They were too focused on watching Marik continue to mock Joey.
"This isn't so bad," Téa piped up as she stepped closer to talk to Yami from his other side. "Now Joey's got a monster with 3000 points. So if he attacks Marik directly, he'll win the duel." Jessica glanced at them from the corner of her eye as she listened.
"It's not that easy, Téa," Yami told her. "Remember, Marik gave that monster to Joey. Which can mean only one thing, Marik wants Joey to attack. It's all part of his strategy to eliminate Joey."
Jessica hummed quietly as she looked back at the blazing monster. That must mean there's something about that monster that happens when used to attack, or perhaps a trap Marik will spring. The only way to find out is to attack with it, but it's a risky move.
"Alright. I think it's only fair to use the gift you gave me," Joey said.
"Excellent! I must say, that's the most intelligent thing you've said this entire duel."
"Watch yourself!"
"I guess you finally came to your senses. Or, perhaps you realized the truth, there's absolutely no way you can win this. Every pathway leads to the Shadow Realm." The gang gasped and Téa threw out words to encourage Joey not to listen to Marik's words.
"It's over!"
"For once, you and I are in agreement, little Joey. The moment you attack me, it's all over for you!"
"Then I guess I'll have to take my chances!" Joey ordered the Lava Golem to attack, and it charged up a flaming blast at its mouth.
Téa, Tristan, and Duke were flabbergasted by Joey's choice. Yugi, Yami, and Jessica silently watched it play out while holding their breath. And when Marik sprung the trap card he had placed, Jessica clicked her tongue in contempt. I knew it!
The card allowed Marik to have one of his monsters returned to his hand and he can summon a 4-star monster he holds in his hand. He called back his Plasma Eel, only to place it in defense mode to be saved from the Lava Golem's attack. Since it can't be destroyed in battle, neither the eel nor Marik were harmed. And with the end of Joey's turn, he once again had a card stolen from his hand and the Lava Golem dripped onto the bars of the cage, dropping Joey's life points.
With Marik's turn, he played a spell card that duplicated his Plasma Eel so that he now had three on the field. Two of the eels latched onto the Lava Golem and Rocket Warrior, draining their attack points and Joey's strength.
"Stay strong, Joey!" Yami called out.
"Things aren't looking so good for Joey up there," Téa said softly, looking at Yami again.
"She's right," Yugi said as he furrowed his brows. "Marik's shadow duel is really wearing Joey down, and if he loses he goes straight to the Shadow Realm. Come on, Joey. Whatever you do, don't lose hope!" Jessica squeezed his hand a bit, feeling his warm energy against her skin but not really able to touch him. She just hoped it would be enough to send comfort through their touch.
Joey glanced down to his friends and exchanged a smile with Yami before focusing back on the task at hand. "If you think I'm gonna let you win this, then you're even dumber than you look! Now feast your crazy eyes on this, Marik!" He drew a card, glanced between his monsters and the cards in his hand, and then back at Marik. "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes. 'Cause you're in for some hurt! Thanks to my magic card." He explained that he planned to use it on Marik's Plasma Eel, which will essentially make the clones disappear since they have to be a weaker monster to be used.
"Excellent dueling strategy, Joey!" Yami was smiling, proud of his friend.
They all watched as the little winged monster appeared and threw the blue die onto the field. It landed on a six, increasing Marik's Plasma Eel to 3000 attack points and destroying the duplication spell card. Now Joey's monsters were free of their binds, and he sacrificed all three of his monsters to summon a new monster. Gilford the Lightning. Lightning bolts shot about randomly and the gang had to cover their heads to avoid being hit, yet Marik never flinched even as two bolts went close to his shoulders. The group cheered for his successful move, but Marik simply laughed.
"When you used your magic card on my Plasma Eel, you raised its attack points. So thanks to you, my Plasma Eel is now more powerful than your Gilford the Lightning! It looks like your strategy backfired, giving me the advantage, little Joey."
"Wrong! Do you think I'd be dumb enough to let that happen?" Joey was in a more casual pose now, his arms crossed behind his head.
"Yes!" Jessica had to bite her lip so she didn't laugh at Marik's quick and honest reply.
"It looks as if Marik thought wrong," Yami noticed, smirking. "Because the special ability of Gilford destroys every one of Marik's monsters. It's time to take him down, Joey!"
That's a relief! Jessica watched as Marik's Plasma Eel was indeed destroyed, shocking and confusing him.
"You're not paying attention. Your eel's not the only one with a special ability," Joey told Marik. "And my Gilford's special ability destroys every monster you have on the field. I guess you shouldn't have skipped class that day, Marik." Marik growled. "But don't worry. School's back in session starting right now, and Professor Wheeler's in the house!" He then ordered his monster to attack Marik directly.
Marik sprung another trap card, making Gilford attack Joey's reflection so that he took the damage instead. All Marik had to do was discard the only card in his hand in return. "Did you honestly think that you could take control of this duel away from me? This is a Shadow Game, you fool! Which means that I make all the rules."
"I don't like the sound of this at all," Yugi frowned. "Marik must be up to something." Jessica gave a slight nod to show her agreement.
The look in Marik's eyes and the sinister grin that spread across his face when he drew a card made Jessica shiver. He began to laugh. "I'm about to eliminate you from this duel once and for all, with Ra!"
The gang gasped collectively, "With Ra?!"
"His Egyptian God card," Yami said.
"But there's no way Marik can summon a monster as powerful as the Winged Dragon of Ra! He has nothing to sacrifice," Yugi noticed. His grip on Jessica's waist tightened slightly, and she glanced at him. She could just see the gears in his head turning, trying to figure out Marik's plan.
I don't understand. I thought Marik had his God card in his hand already. Did he discard it and another one popped into his deck? Jessica narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the field again.
According to your friends, there is only one copy of each Egyptian God card. I don't think he'd risk placing a counterfeit copy in his deck like he did with his Rare Hunters. Malekos growled thoughtfully. He seems to know better than to do something as stupid as that.
Jessica chewed on her bottom lip absentmindedly. Then what is he planning?
All their questions were answered when Marik activated Monster Reborn, summoning Ra to the field. Immediately, heavy winds picked up and everyone had to shield their face until it died back down. When Jessica looked up, she gasped at her first sighting of the golden beast as it roared down at Joey. She could feel the power radiating from it as she did with Slifer and Obelisk, and it took all her might not to shiver. Instead, she gripped her arm with her free hand.
"But Marik's monster has zero attack points," Yami noticed. "What kind of strategy is that? Ra takes on the attack points of the monsters sacrificed to summon it. But since Marik didn't make any sacrifices, his monster has no attack points." All they could do was watch as Ra opened its mouth and yellow flames erupted, engulfing its body with its own flames. "It looks like Ra is transforming!"
"Behold the true form of Ra!" Marik exclaimed as Ra now hovered behind him, completely engulfed in flames.
Jessica gasped, realizing what she was looking at. "A phoenix… Ra became a phoenix!"
"In this mode, Ra is unstoppable!" Marik continued as he laughed. "Now my beast is ready. Ready to feed you to the shadows!"
This is the last true pre-written chapter. The next one is about halfway done and I'll work on getting that finished. As for Feathers of the Raven... I need to do some research before I continue that one.