Bakura
He stood on the branches of a tree watching as the owner, Mr. Roberts was teaching Daveed how to walk in the backyard. Though he knew it was his intent to kill him, Bakura kept his composure and just observed him from afar. He knew now was not a time to execute his plan. Deep down he had the means to keep the child alive thus far. He had a feeling he would be of more use living than dead.
He grinned, and wished the others in his order saw this as well, but they were assassins who loved their job and were deeply determined to see their contract complete. At the moment, nobody but Bakura knew the child was living here on Earth under the care of the self-proclaimed Duel Monsters creator. He bit into an apple, keeping an eye on the boy as he wobbled towards Mr. Roberts
Many seasons went by, but in this tropical climate, Bakura couldn't tell. But he was content. After many months of planning, he finally got a family to adopt Daveed from the orphanage. Not just any family. It was the Montgomery Family, the owners of the island. Daveed was playing football with his new siblings, while the owner, Mr. Montgomery, was having a barbeque celebrating Daveed's acceptance into the family.
A Yata-Garasu, a raven-like Duel Monster, flew into a tree branch and morphed into Bakura. He hid in the shadows of the leaves keeping his watch on the child. Bakura sat down on the tree branch and swung his leg back and forth watching the Termnnian prince kick the football back to his brother, who lightly tackled him to the ground. Daveed laughing wildly as he tickled his stomach.
This warmed Bakura's heart and brought a smile on his face. It almost bothered him that Yami and the others sent him to live in some orphanage. But, he did not bring the Montgomery family to Yuri from the good in his heart. There was no good in it (if he had one at all). This favor he did for the prince was nothing more than a means to his own end.
"Ah there he is!" announced a bulky Russian man. "Come here little Yuri!"
"Why do you call him that, Sergei?" Paula Montgomery asked. "Lately we've all been calling him that. It just sticks for some reason."
"Because it means flower, and isn't he as sweet as one!"
"Sergei!" called Jacob. "Come help me with the meat."
"Da, we know you're no good at cooking."
Bakura smirked. "Yuri, huh?" He nodded. "Sounds almost like Yugi. It would be something if he grew to be quite the Duelist."
The football rolled towards the bottom of the tree Bakura was perched in. He looked down and spotted Yuri running towards it. The little boy looked up and saw the Eldori man looking down at him.
"Shhh!" Bakura said placing a gloved finger to his lips. He tossed the child a candy from his pocket to keep him quiet.
"Shhh!" Yuri said mimicking Bakura's actions.
"Shhh!" Bakura said again.
"Shhh!" Yuri mimicked again. He began to laugh hysterically. He thought Bakura was playing with him. Bakura realized this and made funny faces to entertain the child.
"Hey, Yuri, come on!" called Buzz. "Your little friend, Ren, is here."
Yuri picked up the ball and waved goodbye to Bakura before sprinting off back to his family.
"You're lucky I still have some form of a heart left in me, little Prince," Bakura whispered.
"I don't know what your son did to Josh and his friends, Mrs. Montgomery," the principal said during a meeting after school. "But he has the other children spooked. They won't go near him."
"I don't care what happened to them," Paula said coldly. "Lady, you have a lot of nerve letting those little bastards off easy after what they did to my son!"
She looked down at Yuri, his face bruised and there was dried blood on his lip. The bully at school wrapped Yuri to a tree with a jump rope and took turns beating him with his friends.
"I can't punish them," said the principle. "Not after what they've been through. It will be lucky if they ever retain their sanity again. We found them so scared their hair turned bleach white. They kept muttering about a pink-haired demon that Daveed summons at his command. Has Yuri been known to have any imaginary friends?"
"He talks of a man in black, but I figured it is just that; his imagination."
"That may be so, but imagination doesn't scare children senseless. I recommend psychiatric help for your son, Mrs. Montgomery, and a specialist to see that glowing eye of his because I've been receiving a lot of complaints from concerned parents. Some have even taken their kids to go to school elsewhere because they fear his eye is contagious."
"Bullshit!"
The principal ignored her outburst. "I also have a list of programs Daveed should take here on campus."
"You mean to isolate him?"
"Until we can figure out what's going on with your son, ma'am, I fear he is an endangerment to the students here in my school."
"My boy is harmless!" Paula retorted. "I don't know who or what screwed those boys up so bad. But I commend them! Because they did a better job executing justice than this poor excuse of an institution. Come on, Yuri, let's go."
She grabbed her child and left the office despite not being excused to leave. "Come on, baby. Let's go see if your friend Ren wants to play."
Little Yuri, now five-years-old, sat alone under the shade of a tree eating his lunch. It was his birthday but no one wanted to get near him to celebrate.
"He's so scary," said a child eating his lunch with his friends. "I heard they transferred him here from that other school because he summoned a monster or something that put those kids in a coma."
"I heard that glowing eye is how he summons that monster," said another. "They say it's some sort of demon with spiky hair."
"Those two kids are crazy befriending him."
Yuri finished his lunch. But as he got up to throw his trash away a cupcake appeared before him.
"What's a birthday without some sort of celebration?" Bakura asked from the top of the tree. He had the hood of his black armored coat up in case anyone spotted him. He was already some sort of monster in an urban legend, and the children around the little prince were already fearful enough of him as it was. Bakura jumped down from the tree and sat down in front of the boy. He tossed him a party hat, crumpled from being in his pocket. He placed it on the prince's head.
"Well, aren't you going to make a wish?" Bakura asked.
The boy just stared at him with a confused look.
"It's your birthday after all. Aren't you supposed to celebrate?"
Yuri swallowed and just looked at Bakura, examining his strange features. Yuri was young, still but an infant, but he was smart enough to know Bakura was not human.
"Blow out the candle now before the wind does you damn fool."
Still nothing but a stare from the child.
Bakura was growing impatient.
"Look, I risked a lot getting this stuff for you!" snapped Bakura. "The least you can do is say thank you."
The boy still said nothing and stared sadly into Bakura's brown eyes.
"I swear if I didn't need you alive," Bakrua growled grinding his teeth. "Stop looking at me like that!"
"Aren't you supposed to give me a present?" the prince said at last.
"Present!" Bakura stammered slamming his fist on the table almost knocking over the cupcake. "The things I do for you, my lord." Bakura muttered, but the 'lord' he was referring to was not Prince Yuri.
"I will be right back." Bakura leaped over the chain link fence and dashed away.
"Yuri!" called a cute little blonde girl with green and blue eyes. She was carrying a bouquet of linen balloons in one hand and a pack of cards on the other. "Look what I got you!"
"You mean look what I got you!" said a boy with short red hair. "I bought that pack."
"You got me a pack?" Yuri asked.
The little blonde girl nodded. "Uh-huh, and look! You even got yourself a cupcake with a candle and everything." The girl clapped her hands while sitting down. "Now we can have a proper party."
"Who was that guy you were talking to?" the red-haired boy asked.
"Nobody," Yuri replied. "There was nothing there."
"Good," said the blonde girl. "Because it's bad talking to strangers!"
"What's this?" Bakura said clutching onto a teddy bear he stole from a vendor's stall. "Ah, so his little friends have come to join him."
He watched the children all day and followed them to the beach where they splashed each other in the water and played in the sand. As he stood hidden in the cool shade of the palm trees, he couldn't help but feel jealous of the prince. He was having fun. Something Bakura was denied for far too long.
After all these years being so close to the child, Bakura was fighting an urge in his being, his heart perhaps, to spare the child of the malicious plans that were in store for him in the future. But he was loyal to his order and his lord. He made a name for himself being a cold and emotionless killer in the battlefield and in the game of Duel Monsters. He could not afford to let this boy change that.
Another year went by leading to a dark and rainy night. Bakura was leaning against the wall outside the mansion. His hood down over his head to shield him from the cold rain beating down on him. He could hear Mrs. Montgomery crying inside the kitchen from the window beside him.
"My baby!" she sobbed.
"Mrs. Montgomery, it will be all right." The sheriff confided to her, rubbing her back to soothe her. "We're doing all we can to find him. We have helicopters searching the sea and boats forming a perimeter around Aquarius to make sure the kidnappers don't get far. I assure you we'll find him safe and sound."
The front door opened. Sergei came in with the blonde little girl. Paula gave the little girl a long hard hug as she wailed in her chest.
"It's okay, sweetie." Paula soothed the child.
"Any word yet?"
"None," said Jacob. "The kidnappers still demand money from me. We've got until midnight to pay the ransom. Otherwise, we'll never see our son again."
The blonde girl let out a sorrowful wail when she heard him say that.
"Please, ma'am," said the sheriff. "We're doing all we can."
"It's not good enough," scoffed Bakura from his hiding place. "I found the boy's location hours ago," he grinned. "I was hoping to spare the fool who took the little prince the pain of having to contend with me, but your amateurish search has gone on long enough. You leave me no choice."
And so Bakura dashed into the city keeping to the darkness. It was too windy for him to turn into Yata Garasu, and as he went deeper into the city there were more obstacles to fly around. He couldn't afford to get hurt tonight. As much as it pained him to admit, the child needed him. He found a rundown apartment building nestled in between two large hotel rooms. The apartment building was scheduled to be torn down soon. Inside Yuri sobbed uncontrollably as four men walked about the room with guns.
"You got four hours. If you don't pay up he's dead." The leader of the gang said hanging up the phone. He was a skinny old man with gray hair, balding all round the top and a short cut beard. He was wearing a white tank top, mattered and dirty and torn work jeans. He reached into a bag of chocolate chip cookies and ate one savagely. He peered to the left and saw the child he kidnapped looking at the cookies hungrily.
They heard a scream from downstairs. It was one of the guards.
"Go check it out!" the leader ordered. His men switched the safety off their MP5s and dashed downstairs.
"You're gonna be okay kid," the leader said looking at Yuri. "Come here," he signaled him to get close. Yuri didn't want to move but then the man took out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at him. "I said come here."
Yuri moved forward cautiously until he was directly in front of him. He offered the child a cookie. Yuri smiled and reached for it. "Syke!" he laughed swiping the cookie away and stuffing it into his mouth. "That's the fourth time you fell for that you stupid kid! You know what Yuri means in Japanese?" he asked. "Lilly flower. I hear they call you that because you're a nice kid. And you are a nice kid aren't ya?"
Yuri nodded his head twice...Three times.
"Yeah, you're a real nice kid."
He had a look on his face that was scaring the boy. "What is with that eye of yours, kid? Your eye glows like a nightlight," he laughed. "I wonder if anything else glows on you."
Without warning, he yanked down both Yuri's pants and underwear with a powerful tug.
"I wouldn't do anything brash if I were you," the chilling voice of Bakura said from the darkness of the apartment roon. He grinned, entering the room. Yuri dashed for a bed and went under the sheets to hide.
"What the hell are you?" the kidnapper asked, staring at the Eldori creature coming into the light.
"Is this how you get your sick kicks?" Bakura asked with a sneer. "By going after children? I'm by no means a saint myself, but you. Animals such as yourself make me vomit. You poor excuse of a Homo sapien."
The man was about to ask Bakura where his men were, but he could see his twin blades were dripping with blood.
"You killed my guys!"
"I would do the same to you, but your death would be quick and painless. A form of punishment I don't like. So, I have something else in mind."
"Oh yeah, tough guy?"
"Are you accustomed to the game Duel Monsters?"
"So, you want to Duel huh?"
"Yes, and the boy will be at stake."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because if you win, I will hand you these," Bakura took a black sack out of his coat. He walked to a table and poured egg-sized diamonds onto it.
"Are those real?" gasped the man.
"They are very real. And they will be all yours if you win the Duel. And you can keep the child."
"Very well, but I warn you. I'm good."
"We'll just see about that," sneered Bakura. "Come sit."
Bakura used his arm to clear the table of empty beer bottles and boxes of takeout Chinese food before opening his game mat to set his cards down.
"You first," said Bakura. "We'll play with two-thousand Life Points."
"Why so little?"
"Because the police already have a bead on your location. If you wish to escape with the boy and the diamonds on time you'll play with what you have. You did say you are a skilled player?"
"I am. After this match, you're going to make me filthy rich," he drew his first card. Then, with is free hand reached into the bag of cookies and ate one. "You know, I should thank you for taking out my boys. After I win this Duel and get the ransom from Montgomerys all that money will be mine and I don't have to share it. Fewer hands mean more pie. Anyways, to start my turn, I summon Flame Manipulator!"
Flame Manipulator
ATK/900 DEF/1000
"My fiery spellcaster is going to roast ya!"
"Is that so?" Bakura said drawing his card. "I shall summon The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in attack mode!"
"Hey, how come I've never seen that card before?"
"The game evolves from day to day," said Bakura, laying down a face-down card. "A well-experienced Duelist knows how to adapt to these changes. The game; ever-changing. And now I will destroy your Flame Manipulator with my Souls of the Forgotten."
"Okay, not bad," the kidnapper said, tossing his defeated card in the Graveyard. "But how can you go against this? Ancient One of the Deep Forest with an attack strength of eighteen-hundred points."
"Oh dear," Bakura grimaced.
The sheep-like monster easily defeated his ghostly creature and dropped his Life Points down to 1100.
"It's your turn, freak. If you summon another pathetic monster you're going to get wiped out. And then your diamonds and the kid are all mine."
"Very well," said Bakura. "I shall use the spell card Polymerization to fuse Tainted Wisdom and Ancient Brain in order to create Skull Knight."
Bakura's fusion monster had an ATK of 2650. The kidnapper gawked in shock. But Bakura was not done yet.
"I now use the spell: Shrink, to reduce your goat's attack in half reducing it to a pitiful nine hundred attack points. Then I will attack with my Skull Knight and finish you off with a little Hinotama which does five hundred points of damage to your Life Points which have been reduced to a measly two-hundred-fifty because of the devastating attack of my Skull Knight."
"But the match just started!" gasped Yuri's kidnapper. "That just isn't fair!"
"You're another fool who plays with nothing but aggressive monsters in his deck," Bakura picked up his card. "This world plays so primitively. Now if you don't mind, I will take the child."
The kidnapper stood up and pulled out the pistol tucked in his waistband. He shot Bakura four times in the chest. Bakura grunted and fell backward in his chair laying lifeless on the floor. The kidnapper fired more rounds into Bakura's corpse until the clip was empty.
Yuri screamed with fright, covering his ears from the blasts.
"You thought it was going to be that easy, huh?" the kidnapper said picking up the bag of diamonds from the table. He even looted Bakura's golden cards. "Look at this deck," he said greedily. "I've never seen such cards. These creatures. They all just reek of pure darkness. I could be world champ with a deck like this. After I get my money of course."
He stuffed Bakura's deck into his back pocket and undid his belt.
"Okay, kid. Where were we?"
Yuri wailed doing everything in his power to keep from being sodomized by the sick man who had no clue Bakura was getting up from the floor with a smile on his face.
The kidnapper finally yanked the sheets away, but before he could commit his dastardly crime he felt a sharp pain in his back. He gasped in shock looking down at his chest and seeing a bloody katana poking out of his body dripping with his blood.
"You thought it was going to be that easy, huh?" Bakura whispered in his ear. He then shouted: "Penalty Game!"
Yuri cried trying to make sense of what was going on around him. Bakura wiped the blood off his blade with a towel hanging on a kitchen rack and then he tossed the frightened child his pants.
"Stop your wailing you fool!" he snapped. "Now get dressed so we can get you home."
Yuri sobbed pulling his jeans back on. He suddenly ran to Bakura and hugged him then started wailing in his lap.
Bakura stood rooted to the spot.
"Come off it!" he said, patting the child on the back of the head. "You're all right. Want a cookie to make you feel better?"
Yuri wiped his face and nodded taking the cookie from Bakura's hand.
"Well, go on then, eat it."
Yuri gave a wan smile little knowing of the face wailing in fear at the bottom of the cookie.
Where am I? What have you done? Why can't I move? Where are my arms and legs?
Yuri bit into the cookie with a loud crunch. Thanks to Bakura's shadow magic he couldn't hear the scream of agony erupting from the treat.
"Finish it," said Bakura. "It's a sin to waste food. Well, I don't know about that cookie though. You really shouldn't eat junk food."
Yuri did as he was told and finished eating the cookie thus ending the sorry excuse of a life the kidnapper once had.
After Bakura led the child out of the apartment he summoned a mischievous Pyro-type Duel Monster called Hinotama Soul. The fiery creature laughed maniacally as it bounced into the apartment, hopping from room to room and setting everything it touched ablaze.
"Come on," Bakura yanked the child by the arm leading him away deeper into the city as police cruisers and fire trucks wailed down the rainy streets towards the burning building.
Later, Bakura and Yuri were strolling through the rainy night back to the Montgomery estate. Since leaving the nightmare of the apartment complex Yuri said nothing. But as they reached the entrance of the neighborhood, Yuri looked up at Bakura.
"Are you an angel?" the boy asked timidly.
Bakura stopped.
"What did you say?" he asked coldly, looking down at Yuri from the corner of his eye.
"Mom said if I prayed hard enough, God would send me an angel to take care of me. I think he answered me. You always come to save me and are there to make me feel better when I'm alone. "
"No."
"You have to be a one. You are a very good person!"
"SHUT UP!" Bakura shouted unsheathing his katana.
He swung hard and stopped just inches from Yuri's throat.
"I may have watched your back all these years, but I implore you to understand that you are needed for a fell purpose in the future. When the time comes, my lord, my service to you will be over and I swear, child, I will let the shadows devour your soul!"
Yuri stood motionless, staring into Bakura's eyes. He could feel the cold steel caressing his little neck. Yet, his feelings for Bakura did not change. He was still young and figured Bakura was trying hard to convince Yuri he was a bad guy.
But five years of kindness failed to convince him otherwise. Bakura was still his hero in his eyes.
"Thank you, for saving me tonight," Yuri said anyway.
"Ugh!" Bakura gasped, his eyes widening.
Strong and brave. Any other fool would have begged for mercy upon seeing me, but, even with my blade to his throat, he still loves me. A remarkable child.
Bakura sighed, put his sword away, and grimaced for a minute before saying, "You're welcome." He ruffled the prince's jet black hair.
Bakura offered Yuri his hand. The child took it and followed his angel, for lack of a better word, up the hill back to his home. He watched as the boy slowly walked into his house. He rang the doorbell and was later met with a crying, sobbing Paula Montgomery. She picked him up and brought him inside the house.
"Some night, eh?" said an Eldori with wild, spiked hair leaning against a tree while hiding in the shadows.
"Marik?" said Bakura.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've grown attached to the boy, Bakura."
"We need him alive in order for our plan to work," said Bakura. "I thought he'd be better off here than that orphanage that Yugi sent him to. Obviously, he's been so pampered that he's a weak boy. Plus, his father refuses to give him cards, so his skills in Duel Monsters will never grow. At this rate, he'll be dead before he turns eighteen. I don't know what else to do. Everyone is after him. I lost sight of him for just a few seconds and look at the trouble he's been in this night."
"Arrr." Marik grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So see to it that he grows up big and strong. He has great power inside of him that has yet to see its full potential. It would be a shame to let it go to waste so soon. I do hope you're going to keep those assassins in line."
"They don't know he's here," said Bakura. "It's going to be difficult watching over him and keeping him a secret from them."
"I will aid in suppressing his power so they don't sense him here," Marik said, holding up a golden rod-shaped item. A Millennium Item, just like the ring around Bakura's neck. "In the meantime, raise the child as though he were your own. Raise him properly, Bakura. I want a man returning to Termnnia, not a prince."
The next day, Bakura met with Yuri again, safe and secluded in the backyard beach behind the estate. He sneered and tossed the boy a wooden rod. Yuri caught it with ease. Bakura unzipped his jacket, stripping down to his black belted vest. He picked up a wooden rod on the ground and spun it around. Yuri then realized that Bakura wanted to fight, and he shook his head no.
"I'm not going to watch you forever, boy! It's time you learned to defend yourself! Pick it up and fight me!"
Yuri dropped the rod and attempted to run. Bakura grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him on the sand.
"Do you want bad people to come after you again!?" he shouted. "FIGHT!"
Yuri whimpered. He knew he had no choice, but at the same time, he knew Bakura was right. He suddenly felt determination and picked up his rod, ready for battle.
"That's it!" said Bakura.
Yuri charged and started to swing his rod wildly. Bakura blocked each messy attack and tripped Yuri. To punish him for his mistake, Bakura slapped his staff on Yuri's rump.
"Ow!" yelped Yuri.
"Again!" said Bakura, twirling his staff. "If you want to go back inside with mommy and daddy then fight!"
For hours, Yuri was beaten by Bakura. When he decided he had enough, Bakura cleaned the boy up and let him back into the house. "I expect you back here tomorrow!" said Bakura.
When Yuri remained in bed, refusing to go out. He was wakened by a firm grasp on his neck. Bakura dragged the boy out of bed by the scruff of his shirt. He took him outside and threw him in the sand again. It was time to spar with him again.
They continued fighting with the staves for days until Yuri grew quicker and stronger, whacking Bakura's thighs and back. When he was good and ready, Bakura nodded.
Five Years Later
Bakura stood on the roof of pharmacy watching as Yuri, now ten-years-old, ran out of the store with an armful of goods from candy to packs of Duel Monster cards. Yuri ran into a crowd and started secretly giving them to his friends, who were helping him with the robbery. The owner of the store came running out of the store, chasing Yuri with a broom.
When he finally caught Yuri he attempted to swing at him with the broom. Yuri dodged the owner's weapon with lightning-quick reflexes. He finally took the broom from the store owner's hands and beat his legs with it until he could no longer get up. Yuri looked at the top of the building. Bakura was looking at him with an evil sneer and nodded his head, congratulating him for a job well done.
At school the next day, Yuri stole some goods from one of the teachers and shared the loot with his friends who ordered him to pull off the heist. When he demanded his cut of the items, they turned on him.
Yuri's training with the wooden staves could not defend him from hand-to-hand combat. The boys beat him and tossed him into the bay. Bakura saw this and shook his head disapprovingly. He fished Yuri out of the water and slapped him for his weakness.
The following day, Bakura brought two Dueling Mercenaries known as the Paradox Brothers from Termnnia. They were expert Duelists, but they were also well-trained in martial arts, being masters of kung-fu. They helped Yuri with his hand-to-hand skills. Naturally, he was beaten and bruised by their fists which came at him as fast as thinking.
Normally, one would give up after having such a beating, but being secretly raised by a man like Yami Bakura poisoned and strengthened his mindset. Yuri took the pain as motivation to keep on going. He trained with them for months in secret on the sands of his father's private beach.
Bakura played with the minds of his parents and staff with his Millennium Ring so as to keep them from worrying about Yuri or even thinking about him when he was in the backyard undergoing his training. Yuri fought with the Paradox Brothers until his fists were just as fast as theirs were. He blocked both of their attacks in a two-on-two battle.
When they saw that their work was done, they placed their hands together and bowed. Yuri bowed back.
Three Years Later
Now a teenager, Yuri was stalking the streets of the slums stealing Duel Monster cards from gullible little kids. He traded his fake cards in exchange for their rares. The children were too young to realize they were being cheated.
He laughed cruelly, for he could not believe they were so stupid not to see the text on the cards he gave them was bigger and the surface of the cards were a lot brighter and faded. Nevertheless, someone caught on. The son of a slum overlord caught on with Yuri's actions. He and his goons beat him and dunked his head into the water of a fountain as punishment for his schemes. He had to be a lot more careful from then on. He learned never to linger in one spot or his entire operation would be ruined. Still, he had a desire to be stronger.
Still seething from his mistake Yuri started a racketeering ring in Los Angeles Rojas, charging the poor people for money to keep them safe from both the mafia and the islands private security force, RAPTOR. He paid the roughest boys in the slums with large amounts of money and ultra-rare cards to form a gang to help him collect the dues owed by those who desired his protection.
He marched through the town with his gang, and with his newfound muscle, Tyson, he was able to shake the stowaways into paying him, and he would spend his money on cards, video games, and expensive dates with girls whose names he could not remember. This Bakura enjoyed seeing Yuri's transformation from his shadowy perches over the streets; watching Yuri's every move. The little angel Yugi Muto and his friends worked so hard to keep pure was now a juvenile delinquent, a spoiled rich kid, and a bully. Clearly, he was losing the qualifications to be king.
But, once again, Yuri would find himself in trouble. A woman from the slums reported Yuri's activity to the authorities. He was arrested and spent months in a detention center and put him into even more trouble with Jacob.
At sixteen, Yuri lost a fight trying to defend Crystal from her abusive boyfriend. Even though he had spent weeks of training with the Paradox Brothers, he was outmatched. Bakura helped him back on his feet and told Yuri to keep getting stronger.
"Every failure is a lesson," he said to him while cleaning his wound. "Learn from it, understand? That is the only way you can get revenge for your lady friend."
Not long after hearing Bakura's pep talk, Yuri joined a gym and began to spar in the ring, learning mixed martial arts techniques, much to Bakura's joy. While in the form of Yata-Garasu, he watched as Yuri was beaten and stood back up again to take more punishment until his opponents were the ones on the floor, groaning in agony and defeat.
Every morning Yuri would walk to the beach and do exercises to get better. His muscles were like iron and he grew taller and leaner. A year later, he joined an MMA tournament, going up the brackets until he finished fourth place.
Bakura shrugged when he saw the progress he made and decided his job was done. Yuri was a man now. A man with a cold, black heart. With him behaving this way, there was no way those back home would allow him to be king.
Bakura would watch Yuri for another few months before he disappeared never to be seen again. With one final shadow spell from his Millennium Ring, he faded away from Yuri's memory, erasing decades of memories.
Tristan
Tristan Taylor felt someone punch him in the face. "OW!" he shouted. The blow freed him from his slumber, lights flashed in his eyes, and his cheek was stinging from the strike he just received. Yes, yes, now he remembered. He had been captured? But by who? The last thing he remembered was traveling on the Royal Road back to Rasaay. The next thing he knew, monsters called Pale Beast jumped out of the forest. They pounced on top of him, knocking him off his steed and he fell to the ground, hitting his head. Thankfully, he had his helmet on. Though it prevented him from getting any serious damage, it wasn't enough to prevent him from getting knocked out. Even though the world was growing foggy and spun all around him, he could see the double-headed monsters devouring his steed and then men in black cloaks laughed whilst they surrounded him.
"Wakey, wakey," someone with a raspy voice said. Must be them, Tristan thought sourly. Tristan opened his eyes. He saw nothing. He couldn't see anything. The world around him was dark and...smelly. At first, he thought he was blind, but as he came to, he realized he had a bag over his head. It must have been made in a rush, for the fibers were prickling his face and was falling apart in some places. There was a hole, small, but it was just enough for Tristan to see what was going on. He could see the black leather of the cloaks his captors wore. They had zippers as well, flashing in the light of a torch somewhere.
"What the hell is going on!?" Tristan yelled. "I can't see anything!"
"Ser Tristan," a voice said in a mocking tone. "How are things going?"
Tristan heard other men chuckling. It sounded like they were all around him. His ears picked up the sound of boots scratching and shuffling on the damp stone floor. "Are you kidding?" he groaned. "Bad obviously!"
He heard more footsteps coming towards him, then the sound of clothes hobbling as whoever it was in front of him knelt down to speak to him face-to-face. "Well, it's only going to get worse, Sunny Jim."
Man! This guy's breath stinks! "Worse!?" Tristan shouted, moving his head from side to side to escape the noxious smell of decaying gums and a dried tongue. "How can it get any worse? I was kidnapped by three smelly, big, hairy thugs while I was taking a piss. And the inside of this sack smells like ass!"
"Mmmm," said the voice. "That's a very bad day."
Whoosh!
The sack was ripped off Tristan's head. He looked around and gasped, sucking in the fresh air - for lack of a better word. It smelled awfully rank wherever he was, but it sure as hell beat the shitty-smelling sack that was over his face. The room was dark, lit only by candles placed conveniently on shelves, desks, wooden crates, and barrels. In the fiery-orange glow, he could make out his captors. There were ten of them, clad in leather armor with hooded capes. They wore eerie masks with floral engravings under the eyes and on the cheeks. They carried four rapiers, each one enhanced with a magical enchantment based on the owner's desire. The leader had his enchanted with Drain Life, giving his weapon a strange red aura. He swished it around to scare him.
Tristan knew who they were at once. Rare Hunters.
"What the hell?" Tristan groaned. "What did I do this time? If this is for what happened to that Crimson Maiden, I assure you, it was just a kiss. Now that you mention it, she was kind of drunk on the sacramental wine and I took advantage of the situation - uh - nevertheless, she came on to me."
"Shut up," the leader of the group said calmly.
Tristan's eyes widened and he slowly cocked his head to the side. Despite the situation, he found that rather rude.
"We're not here to play games, Ser Tristan," the leader said. "So you can save the satire." He unsheathed a dagger from his belt. "We know you've been very busy. We know where you put the Song."
Tristan gulped. "What? How did...?"
"We always know. There's no hiding things from us. Master Marik always knows what goes on in these lands."
Tristan clenched his teeth together to fight the rage burning within him. He was ashamed that he - a veteran knight of the king's royal guard - could allow himself to be captured by thugs who stole cards for a living. "You'll never find him," he said.
"Of course, we won't." The leader walked in circles around Tristan, who started to get nervous. "The world is so big; you could have hidden him anywhere for all I know. We can't find him without your help. So be a pal and tell us where he is, won't you?"
Tristan was ready for whatever they had in store for him. Ten years as a soldier in the Golden Guard, Tristan prepared himself for torture. But now that such a situation was at hand, he felt as though all his training went out the window. He felt his legs shaking, his teeth wanted to chatter, but he clamped them down as hard as he could to keep these ruffians from thinking he was afraid. He was, there was no doubt about that. But if these men saw it, there was no doubt they were going to relish in the agony they would inflict upon him. Nevertheless, he had to be brave. Now that the secret of the Song was out, more than just his life was at stake. "I won't tell you a thing."
The Rare Hunters looked at one another, bobbing their heads and chortling with glee. This is what they've been looking for the whole night. They were eager to break Tristan's bones or peel his flesh off with red-hot tools. The man interrogating Tristan flashed a big smile. A breath of humor escaped through his teeth, blasting Tristan again with his terrible breath. He coughed and moved his head around in desperation for a patch of fresh air. The interrogator laughed, holding a knife close to Tristan's face. "Oh, playing the tough guy, I see. I can fix that."
The leader snapped his fingers. One of his subordinates chuckled, wheeling in a cart next to Tristan. It was covered in a white sheet. How cliche. Frightening, but cliche. Tristan already knew the whole act. Even when he was afraid, he couldn't help but look at the ceiling and pout. "Just pull it off," Tristan said through his teeth. "I know a lot of painful crap is under there."
"You Golden Guard knights are no fun," said the thug, yanking the sheet away to reveal pliers, serrated blades, clamps, wrenches, and scissors.
The leader picked up the pliers and snapped them over Tristan's face. They were getting closer and closer to his nose. He could practically feel the cold steel brushing against the tip. Without warning, the leader took the pliers and clamped it on one of Tristan's fingernails. "You're going to tell me where he is, Ser Tristan." Tristan braced himself as the man put pressure on the pliers. The pain grew to be white-hot. He could take it no more and let out a horrible scream until the nail came completely off. "That's one little piggy," the man said, readying the pliers for another finger. His men laughed. "Now, you are going to tell me where Lord Yugi put the Song. Otherwise, I will take more and more. If you refuse to speak, we will start removing your fingers."
Tristan growled with anger. But then...he started to laugh. "Real smart, dumbass," he said. "Make me even lamer. Ruin me. It's just going to make it harder for me to talk." He leaned forward and laughed in the man's face.
"I say we just kill him now, boss," said one of the Rare Hunters. "He's of the High King's most elite knights. He aint gonna talk. He's a tough one."
"All men can break. All men have their weaknesses." He snapped his fingers.
A door creaked open. Two Rare Hunters came in, dragging someone by the arms. Tristan couldn't see the person's face, for they had a black sack over their head. But by the timid squeaks and airy gasps, it sounded like a girl. Oh yes, it was a girl. She wore tattered brown linen pants and a matching long-sleeve linen shirt that revealed her midriff. They brought her before Tristan and forced the girl on her knees. A pock-marked Rare Hunter pulled the bag off her head. Red hair flowed past her shoulders and down her back. Long, thick bangs covered her face. The same Rare Hunter grabbed handfuls of hair from the top of her head to lift her face up. She whimpered from the pain.
"No!" Tristan gasped.
The Rare Hunter brushed the girl's hair off her face so Tristan could have a better look at her. But there was no need. Tristan already knew who it was. Serenity Wheeler. She gazed at Tristan sadly with red, weepy, eyes. Her nose was cherry-red from constant sobbing. There was a bruise on her cheek from when they slapped her. Even though it was dark, Tristan could see dirty handprints over her shirt, meaning they had been fondling her for who knew how long. "Tristan..."Serenity sighed. "Don't tell them anything. No matter what they do to me, please! Don't tell them anything!"
The Rare Hunters laughed at her pleas.
"So, we've got another tough one," said the lead hunter. "Ooooh, I love it when girls like to think they're hard like the big boys. Ollie! Bring in the bone mangler."
"DON'T!" shouted Tristan.
"Tristan don't you tell them a thing!" Serenity begged as they dragged her to the wall on the far left side of the room. Moonlight shone down from the barred windows, illuminating the men as they shackled Serenity's wrists to the ceiling. One of them tried to muffle her with a scarf, but the leader held up his hand in protest.
"No, no, no, no," he said. "Let her squeal. I want him to listen to her squeal." He looked at Tristan as his men struggled to chain Serenity up. "You think because you do not talk...you are strong? There will be no Song sitting on the Diamond Throne, Ser Tristan. It was simply not meant to be. Killing a Dark Lord does not make one a king."
"Torturing a girl does not make you a man," said Tristan. He pulled on his bindings, hoping he could rip them apart to no avail. "Coward! Savage! Leave her alone!"
"Tell us where Yugi hid the Song, and she won't feel a thing." The door burst open. Two more Rare Hunters wheeled in a horrid-looking contraption with straps, vices, spikes, and cranks.
"What should we do to her first, boss?"
The lead Rare Hunter stood up and looked at Serenity. He tsked mockingly at her. "Such a shame. What a pretty body she's got." He removed his glove and slid his hand up and down her curves, exposed by the tattered shirt. "I would certainly hate having to ruin it, but this man is such a stubborn bastard. Turn her around."
The Rare Hunters did as he commanded. But it wasn't a quick command. They spun her around and around for fun before they faced her against the wall and ripped up the back of her shirt.
"Whip her. Do it fifteen times. If Ser Tristan refuses to talk, poke her flesh with the hot iron. If the knight still refuses to talk, bend her over the table and shove it up her ass."
"NO!" Tristan shouted over the jeers and howls of the Rare Hunters.
A Rare Hunter went for the wall where the whip was hung from two hooks. Another one took an iron from the Bone Mangler's nightmarish tool chest and then held it over one of the torches lighting up the room. He kept it over the flames until the iron burned red hot. Serenity tried her best not to struggle. If she did, she would make Tristan feel guilty. If she showed any signs of suffering, Tristan could break and then talk. And then they would find the Song they were looking for. They would kill it. The Divine Music that saved her world, dead at the hands of these barbarians. She could not allow it.
"This ain't gonna be pretty," taunted the leader. "Would you like a blindfold, love?"
Serenity turned her head and spit to show defiance. But just before the Rare Hunter could put the first strike in motion — BAM!
Something burst through the walls. The large cement blocks fell on two Rare Hunters, crushing them to death. The moonlight shone through the cloud of dust. A large figure could be seen walking through the dust cloud. He held up two swords. A flash of red light lit up the room. The swords were engulfed in flames. The swordsman wielding them was a Duel Monster known as Ferocious Flame Swordsman.
The Rare Hunters attacked. Ferocious Flame Swordsman was quick to counter. He spun to the right, avoiding a man with a spiked club. He then jabbed his orange-glass blade into his back and lit it on fire, burning the man's insides. He screamed in agony and gurgled. He was no more. Ferocious Flame Swordsman saw two more coming his way. With one swing of his sword, the two men's heads came clean off. He held up his palm and launched a stream of fire at five more.
Suddenly, a blonde man came running into the room. He drew a sword with a fiery-orange blade with bright red runes and a deep blue hilt covered in red rubies. The handle handsomely wrapped in black leather. A gold chain hung from the orange-diamond pommel clinging onto a crystal with a flame flickering inside.
He ran towards a Rare Hunter and ignited the blade with a thought. "Nyeh!" he shouted. "HASSAN CHOP!" He slashed the man across the chest. Flames licked his open wounds as he fell dead.
Téa
Redflower, Capital of Gardenrealm
The Blooming Palace
Rain violently tapped against the painted glass window that stood high over the pool she waded. The wind howled and lightning flashed. The thunder, thankfully, was drowned out by the numerous fountains and waterfalls flowing into her pool to add warmth to her bath. She sat on the edge of the pool and had her eyes closed in tranquility as her five most trusted handmaidens rubbed sweet-scented oils on her soft peach-colored skin. Another one then sprayed lilac perfume on the lips between her legs and two more on the tips of her breasts and neck.
Lady Téa of House Gardner was the name of the fair maiden. She was a princess of the house, but the title meant very little to her. The Vined Throne which her father sat on would never be hers, for she was tenth in line for it behind her cousins.
It didn't matter to her. So long as she remained in the grand company of her friends, she felt like she was the queen of the world. It had been a long time since she had seen them, on the count of the Gate Wars taking place many leagues from her home, but she had a feeling she would see them again soon. Something grand was happening out there. What it was, she would soon find out.
She opened her eyes and looked at the stained glass window overlooking the pool. The glass was just a grand explosion of color around the centerpiece of the display. A Black Luster Soldier-Evoy of the Beginning locked in combat with a Chaos Emperor Dragon - Evoy of the End. Both of the mighty monsters were stuck in combat for all eternity, neither one giving in. Téa had seen both monsters before.
The Black Luster Soldier she had seen her friend, Yugi, use during the Eredian Grand Prix many months ago. And Seto Kaiba had used the Envoy of the End, not to her surprise. It's often joked that Seto Kaiba had a fetish for dragons. As she looked at the two monsters above her, she couldn't help but think it represented their tense rivalry. The last time she saw them fight was during the unveiling of his new Generation 3 Duel Disk with its Solid Vision Technology. She smiled as she washed suds off her shoulder, wondering when they were going to Duel again.
A maid was about to wash her breasts, but Téa refused her politely with a slight wave of her hand. She took the cloth from the maid and did it herself with one hand. The other reached for a tray of cupcakes glimmering with sugar crystals. Téa ate the little treat with one bite and continued washing herself.
"You are very beautiful, my princess," said one of the maids, who harbored intimate feelings deep inside. She rubbed a cloth down Téa's back with tender loving care, hoping that her movements would give the princess some idea of how she felt. But she was oblivious to this sort of thing, as usual. "Forgive me for being crude, but you've gone up another size it seems."
Téa realized what she meant. True, her bust had gone up but what the hell did the maid care if it did? Why bring it up now? She opened one eye and peered at the maid. "Uh...yeah. What's your point?"
The maid faked a giggle and went red, quickly soaking the washcloth in a bowl of rose-scented oils. "Forgive me, my lady. It's not my place to say. If I may humor you for a bit, I'd say you will attract many young men with your great beauty."
Téa shrugged her shoulders and helped herself to another cupcake. "It's not the time to be worrying about such things. My friends were just rescued from the clutches of Rare Hunters not too long ago. They've been badly hurt."
"Gracious!" cried one of the maids. "Are they all right?"
"They're fine," Téa replied with a heavy sigh. "Just shaken up. But they'll recover soon." She stood up, water dripping from her legs in elegant cascades. At once the maids rushed to dry her and clothe her in a silky white robe with sleeves in the shape of butterfly wings.
"It's about time you got up," Mai Valentine said, leaning against a marble pillar with her arms crossed over her chest. "I thought you'd be stuck in there forever at this rate." She was clad in dark armor with gold accents and a red cape. Her sword and shield were hanging on her back.
Téa laughed as she wrapped the robe's rope around her waist. "Damn it, Mai, can't you let a girl bathe in peace?"
"Not in these times, little lady." Mai helped herself to a chocolate cube from a glass bowl beside her. "The Gate Wars may be closing down, but we've far from won. What about these so-called Neo Rare Hunters? Why would they come back again?"
"Because it's almost that time," said Téa, using a pink beaded hairband to tie her hair into a ponytail. "The Song is going to return. They're scared of him. I know with all my heart they're going to do everything they can to prevent him from coming back to Termnnia again."
The doors to her bed chambers opened. A man clad in periwinkle robes with gold designs walked in and bowed. "Princess Téa. Forgive the intrusion...uh..."
He paused, realizing he had just walked in at the wrong time. Even though Téa was dressed in the robe, its hem was incredibly short, not even reaching her thighs. But Téa kept her composure and looked at him.
"Yes?" she said.
Mai snapped her fingers. "Get a move on it!"
"Of course, my apologies. I have received an urgent letter from Yugi Muto. He wishes to have a session of congress in Rassay discussing the matter on the Rare Hunters and the return of the prince. He requires both your signature of approval and your presence, as you are now the Senator of Gardenrealm."
Mai leaned off the pillar and walked towards the man. She swiped the letter from his hand and walked to a desk where Téa went to get a quill and ink. In no time at all, she signed the document.
"Thank you, my lady," said the messenger. "And one last thing. The guests are waiting for you. Ser Max Darrenton of Blue Meadow wishes to challenge you to a Duel. For your hand in marriage."
Téa rolled her eyes. "Great. If he was able to make it that far, my aunt and uncle have allowed it. They're so desperate to get me out of the palace. I'm on the road as a Senator and I fought for months in the Gate Wars. What more do they want? Thank you, Berkins, you may leave."
The man bowed and turned to leave.
"Ahem," Mai said.
The man turned, then froze when he found the tip of his nose being poked by the point of Mai's jeweled blade.
"This is the princess's private bathhouse. The next time you barge in here without knocking, I'll shave your balls off with my blade, got it?"
The man trembled and began to babble. "Gee-gee-Y-yes, my lady. I'm sorry." He hurried out the door.
Just then, Serenity walked inside the bathhouse. She bowed at once when she saw Téa. "Hey, guys," she said, her green eyes adjusting to the darkness of the bathhouse. Mai bit into one of her fingers when she saw Serenity standing there in the multicolored glow of the stained glass windows. She was clothed in a blue velvet dress accented with gold, which showed off her shoulders and the upper portion of her breasts. A big blue bow was pinned in the back of her hair, giving her such an adorable appearance. One Mai found to be quite irresistible. She looked like such a work of art tonight. To think she could have undergone such a horror just a few hours ago and still maintain her timid beauty was nothing short of a miracle to Mai.
"Look at you," said Mai. "Lovely as always." She took Serenity's hand and kissed it once, two, three times….ugh, make it four. She just couldn't help herself. Serenity was somewhat of her hero to Lady Mai. Some daresay they shared a little something more than just friendship. The two young women always laughed at that, but the way Mai always outdid herself with her praise of the girl, one couldn't help but think certain things.
"Mai..." Serenity said, turning her head. Her face blushed bright pink as Mai's lips climbed up from her hand to her exposed arms. "By the Goddesses above, if you keep doing that, people are going to get the wrong idea about us."
Téa's eyes went up and she shook her head. "People already get the wrong idea about you two. Mai, break it up, will you?"
Mai let go of Serenity's arm then planted a big kiss on Serenity's cheek and put an arm around her neck. "Well, sorry if I got a little too worried. How are you?" She ran her fingers through Serenity's hair. "Did they hurt you?"
Serenity shook her head. "No, Tristan got the worst of the torture, but with a little elvish medicine, I'm sure he'll recover. Don't put him out for the count, he's a very strong man."
"And you're a tough lady," Mai said stepping back. "You have learned a lot since the Battle of Rassay; color me impressed. So, Téa, any word on our little prince? How's he doing?"
Téa applied some cream to her hands and applied it to her face as she looked in the mirror lit by six small candles. "Yugi's looking into him. Thankfully, he's safe. Nobody has gone after him yet."
Serenity breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Conqueror. But this is no time to relax. They know he's been hidden in that world This...Earth. That alone worries me. Is there anything we can do?"
'"Not until the Senate agrees for Yugi's motion to bring the prince back," Téa said, washing away the cream with a damp cloth. "We'll worry about that another time. For now, I've got a cocky knight to take out."
Téa walked in front of a triple table dressing mirror and let the robe slip off her body. Mai and Serenity then helped dress into a legendary gown known as the Venandali, a gown that had been passed from princess to princess since the very foundation of Redflower. It was black and accented with red floral patterns and was decorated with roses made of rubies crafted to look like their petals and emeralds made into the form of leaves, and there were more than a dozen red and black ribbons. Mai then fastened large ruby earrings on Téa before she equipped her Duel Disk and hurried down to the ballroom where the guests were eagerly awaiting the Duel between her and quite possibly the one-hundredth suitor to come riding into Redflower looking to take Princess Téa as a bride.
The blond-haired Ser Max was already in position on the other side of a fifty-foot long rectangular pool with six water fountains that shot hundreds of feet high into the air and were lit with multi-colored lamps that made the water glow in all the colors of the rainbow. Téa saw the look on his face from where she stood and felt her heart twist into a tight knot. Max wasn't here because he wanted to marry her for love. He wanted her for the sport of it. For the honor of marrying a Termnnian Princess. Even though Téa was far behind in the line for the beautiful Vined Throne, Max could still use her a trophy wife and show her off to his friends.
"I'm glad you've arrived, Princess. We were beginning to worry about you. You do know to surrender is still a loss? You will still be my bride. Or perhaps you just want to skip the Duel and get on with our wedding vows?"
Téa looked at the boy in the disgust. "What the hell makes you think I'm in any rush to marry you?"
"Why, Princess, with you being a great hero of the Gate Wars, I would assume you would know who I am. Ser Maxwell Darrenton, the ace of the legendary Thorn Squad. It was my genius in the arts of war and military tactics that single-handedly took down the mechanical forces of House Howard in three theatres of war. Why, without me, your friends Yugi and Yuma would have been slain by the Launcher Spider assault that took the lives of so many of their forces. I also am the first in line to rule the Emerald Garden Estates. All the gold mined on the coasts will be ours. Your uncle sees me as a worthy choice for your hand in marriage."
"Well, allow me to disagree." Téa activated her Duel Disk and placed the eyepiece over her right eye. The Duel Disk was black and accented with pink neon and resembled a cybernetic shield. Razzle dazzle rose-colored graphs and windows projected around her arm and the Duel Disk beeped to confirm it was ready for action. The crowd oohed and ahhed at the sight of it. Being the great hero that she was, and having a seat in the Termnnian Senate, Téa had been to lands were technology reigned supreme. Since their realm was not very technologically savvy, items like the one Téa had were a wonder to look at.
Once Téa stepped onto a platform at the end of the pool, the fountains shrunk and the lights died down. The chandeliers then started glowing in pinks, reds, greens, and blues, splashing the dark ballroom in an amazing display of color.
"Very well, Téa," Max said, placing his cards on an old-fashioned Duel Disk. "If I cannot sway you with my accomplishments, then perhaps I can sway you with my skills. I heard about your skills, however. And I am not impressed. Seriously, little fairies? Téa, do you think Shining Friendship and Happy Lover are going to be enough to stop me?"
Téa wrinkled her nose in frustration. "I've grown a lot since then. Remember, my best friend is the King of Games. He taught me a lot about the game, and I learned a lot more as the years went by to improve my game. Don't go thinking that just because I'm a princess that you're going to get an easy win over me."
"You're not going to win with cards like that, Téa. Just give it up already. If you do, I promise I'll let you decide where to go during the honeymoon."
Téa sighed. This guy clearly wasn't listening to a word she said. That was a sign of a very bad husband. Not that she had to worry about it.
"I draw!" she shouted. Her cards appeared in front of her and were equipped with a unique appearance, for they were shrouded in a flaming rose-red aura. Instead of smoke, the flames turned into rose petals that flew all around Téa. She studied her hand, weighing in her options. She grinned. It was already over for the poor knight.
Téa tapped one of the cards in the hand projected in front of her. "I summon Bountiful Artemis!"
Téa's monster revealed itself in a bright beam of light. It was a cybernetic angel, colored white with turquoise accents over its body that was in the shape of a goblet. It had long wings and a purple cape flowing from the neck of its faceless head.
ATK/1600 DEF/1700
"And to end my turn, I place three cards face down."
Ser Max nodded and drew. "Wonderful. Now we can begin the fun. First, I activate the spell card —"
"— I don't think so, buster! I activate my trap, Rebirth of Parsath."
Ser Max yawned. "Go on."
Téa was annoyed now. But she didn't let it get to her. She already had what she needed to secure a victory over Ser Max. "You're going to regret making fun of my skills tonight. My trap card triggers when you activate a card effect. Then, I pay 1000 Life Points and discard a Counter Trap Card from my hand and I can negate its activation. Also, it lets me summon a Parshath monster from my deck or extra deck and I call upon Celestial Knightlord Parshath!"
A formation of clouds spiraled above the playing field. Then a beam of light shined down from the center of the spiral. From the light came down a massive, multi-legged centaur-like angel with four wings and was armored in blue and gold with green orbs for ornamentation. He flew down and landed gracefully beside Téa.
Knightlord Parshath then bowed when it stood beside the princess. Téa smiled and did curtsey, for she was proud to have him fighting by her side in this Duel.
ATK/2400 LINK-3
"Not bad, not bad," said Ser Max, for he was quite impressed to see the monster. Then again, he had never seen a Link Monster before. But he was far more interested in taking it down than admiring it. It may have been a monster from the West, but it was still a monster, and all monsters could be taken down.
"Watch this! I discard a card to Special Summon—"
"— I activate Solemn Strike, which will negate your monster's summoning at the cost of 1500 of my Life Points, of course. And Bountiful Artemis's effect activates. When I activate a Counter Trap, he allows me to draw one card."
"Argh, well, now I summon —"
"—I activate Solemn Warning. At the cost of 2000 of my Life Points, your monster's summoning is again negated and Bountiful Artemis allows me to draw another card."
"By the Goddesses!" cried Ser Max. "You didn't let me do anything. You negated all my strategies and gained cards and a strong monster to boot? This...this is so unfair!" He looked toward a man standing by one of the columns. "Father! You promised me this deck could grant me victory and get me anything I wanted!"
Mai, who was feasting on chicken wings at the buffet table, started howling with laughter. True, it was funny seeing the young and arrogant Ser Max getting his ass handed to him in this Duel, but it was really Téa's skills that tickled her funny bone. Yes, a long time ago Téa's were something to be desired. In those times, she summoned cute little fair monsters. But she has grown up since then. She studied the game inside and out until she understood how to use her cards right. She really has bloomed since she first Dueled her in Duelist Kingdom all those years ago; it was truly a sight to behold.
Now, it was her turn.
Téa activated Pot of Greed, granting her two more cards to draw from her deck. Then, she activated her Knightlord Parshath's effect, discarding a card to add a field spell called Sanctuary in the Sky to her hand. But she instead added a card that could be treated like Sanctuary in the Sky.
It was called The Sanctum of Parshath, and she activated it at once. The spell protected Téa's set cards from being destroyed, which was a bad thing for Ser Max. Being a Counter Fairy deck, he had no doubt in his mind that Téa would be setting up her back row with more Solemn cards, which negated effects and summonings, thereby ruining any chance he had of winning the game, not that he had any chance to win this Duel. Téa had him eating out of the palm of her hand the moment the first card was drawn. And there was no escape.
The Sanctum also increased the ATK and DEF of Téa's fairy monsters by 300 points.
She laughed at the chagrin on the poor boy's face. "Maybe this will teach you not to use the game of Duel Monsters to make girls a prize to be won. Asshole. I summon Guiding Ariadne in attack mode!"
Téa touched the card and then it was rendered next to Bountiful Artemis. It was another cybernetic fairy with a body made of white glass and shaped like a perfume bottle. It had long arms with claws, which could be used as awesome weapons and a long cord-like appendage that whipped around in the air.
Téa then attacked with all three of her monsters, reducing Ser Max's Life Points to a mere 1400. And she had only just begun. The conditions for a Link Summon had been met, and she used Artemis and Ariadne to Link Summon the monster, Herald of Mirage Light.
A few effects were activated and then the summoning conditions for her next monster were met. From her hand, she special summoned Sacred Arch-Airknight Parshath.
Usually, Parsath monsters were depicted as having the upper body of an armored angel and the legs of a white, winged horse.
But the Sacred Arch-Airknight's legs were in the form of a giant angelic face that resembled the head of the old Airknight Parshath. It doubled as a platform, which could shoot out an array of deadly light spells.
To end her turn, Téa set a couple of cards face-down and laughed. "I think you know what these are, don't you? Well, if you want to surrender, now's the chance."
Ser Max held his head up high. "We do not surrender in my House."
"Well, that's awfully noble of you. Your family is a treasured military asset, there's no doubt in that. For your service, you have my thanks. But your Dueling skills" — she made a hissing sound with her teeth and showed off her shoulder, exposed by the dress to taunt him even further with skin— "yeah, they're something to be desired. Go ahead. Make your move."
"I summon —"
"Ha! I activate Solemn Judgement! You know the drill. I pay Life Points, and your monster is gone before it even comes to the field!"
Ser Max ended his turn and waited for the end. Sacred Arch-Airknight Parshath raised his bladed arm and fired a beam of light brighter than the sun at the boy, reducing his Life Points to 0.
When the Duel was over, the lights came back on and the crowd clapped, applauding Téa's victory. Téa bowed and then hopped down from the edge of the fountain. She stopped at once when she spotted the blond-haired Ser Joey Wheeler the Black Dragonknight standing there in front of her.
"Hey!" she said. "There you are. What's up?"
Joey closed his eyes and shook his head. "I just got word from Gramps. Yugi. He's going back in."
Téa covered her open mouth with both her hands. "What...what do you mean? How bad is it?"
"The Prince. He's so close to the darkness. If I told you half the things the kid has done, you'd lose faith in humanity, Téa." He forced himself a smile to calm the princess, so as not to worry her and sour her victory. "Don't you worry," he said, placing both hands on her shoulders. "If there's anyone who can set our boy straight, it's Yugi. We gotta have faith in him. And we've got to have faith in the little guy as well. He'll be all right. You'll see."
Téa smiled and stared out the window at the three moons. "Yes, I know. It's just that this is his final year in that other dimension. These next months could determin
Lore
The Divine Beasts - The three mightiest monsters of the Goddesses and children of Horakhty. When summoned to the world, angelic singers, called The Meleyan, or Harbingers of the Divines, blast their powerful song announcing their coming. The three beasts first came to the earth to serve with the Pharaohs of Sobek, the golden continent. They battled Zorc alongside Exodia and three Ancient Beasts of Power in the War of the Giants that ended the first age and shattered Termnnia into five continents. When the Nameless Pharoah passed away, the Divine Beasts were left without a master until the beginning of the Second Age.
After Tiberius the Uniter brought Termnnia into order in his campaign for peace and unity from the Norman Invaders, the Divine Beasts vowed to remain in the World of Men and serve the High Kings of Termnnia forever.
Nelerung, Hammer of the Underworld - A weapon once used by Dark Master Zorc in the first Termnnian war.
The Giants of Belroth - A fell race of gigantic, cannibalistic humanoids who rose from Belroth (Meaning hunger in elvish), a plane of the Shadow Realm. Anubis used them to fight the armies of Men and Elves in the Titan Wars bringing both races to the brink of extinction. The giants were all but wiped out when a mysterious girl with silver hair and eyes of brilliant blue summoned an army of Blue-Eyes White Dragons and slaughtered them all.
High King Antar Wollcroft - The last living member of the House of Plantegrast, a cadet branch of the house of Pendragon, the House of Tiberius the Uniter. He, Yami Yugi, and Gabriel the Black led a long and bloody rebellion to take back the Diamond Throne from the Dragonheart Family, who murdered the High King Lenneth Plantegrast and his family and took the throne. After taking the Diamond Throne back from the Dragonhearts, Antar was named High King and accepted by Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra as their new master. He ruled well for twenty years. In the final days of his life, Antar adopted Prince Daveed after he destroyed Anubis in the mountain fortress of Karad-Antha, naming him his heir.
The House of Wollcroft - A small and extinct branch from the House of Plantegrast founded by Darrion Wollcroft, a bastard son of High King James Plantegrast (The Plant King). Their House lost all of its members in the Battle of Red Pass, where King Julius Dragonheart ambushed their caravan atop his dragon (A Des Volstgalph) and burned them alive. The survivors were slaughtered by the House's mercenary forces. Antar Wollcroft was the sole survivor of the battle and sought the aid of Yugi, Yami, and Gabriel to fight back the Dragonhearts and avenge his family. It went extinct after Antar's passing.
Sobek - The Land of the Sun, often called the Continent of Gold; for mountains and mountains of it is harvested daily. Sobek is home to the Rjel, a fair-faced race of people with ebony or silvery hair and skin kissed by the sun. After the land was separated in the War of the Giants, it sailed to an inhospitable part of the world. The trees died out and the lakes dried up turning the land into a harsh desert. But the people fought back against the elements and adapted to the hot, barbaric conditions creating a vast empire ruled by a leader called a Pharaoh. After the Nameless Pharaoh of the Second Age defeated Zorc Necrophades with the aid of Horakhty and the Divine Beasts, the Pharaohs were replaced with Sultans who rule their land with loving care, putting people over wealth because there is so much to be had. Many foolish kings in Termnnia have tried to conquer Sobek, but all have failed.
Eyar (eh-yar)-Powerful wizards sent down by Horakhty, the Mother of Monsters to combat Zorc Nercophades. They include Yami Yugi, Aigami, Bakura, and Dartz.
Karad-Antha - Meaning Heart of the Mountain in the Old Norman language, is the fortress where our story begins.
Nala - Goddess of arts and songs. She is the creator of the Eldori, a race of beings who arose from her paintings in the dawn of time. For this, she is highly praised by them. Artists, bards, and storytellers also pray to her in various temples across the land.