DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.

Yugi vs. the Rare Hunter Part II

The Pharaoh stared across at the Rare Hunter. I may have figured out his plan to summon Exodia, but now I have to figure out a way to stop it. And that was going to be far from easy, confident as Joey was over there.

The Rare Hunter laughed. 'That's nice work, but I'm afraid it's too little too late.' He laughed again. The odds were, then, that most of the pieces of Exodia were in his hand. So, they really didn't have much time. The Pharaoh racked his brain for the way to stop this from happening and went over everything he'd seen of this duellist's tactics so far. Hmm.

YGO

'Our satellite imaging indicates the Rare Hunter's cards are coded with an invisible ink,' the operator reported.

'Marked cards?' Mokuba demanded. 'That means he always knows which card he'll draw.'

'Let it go, Mokuba,' Kaiba said. He had no doubt that Yugi would beat these guys. After all, he'd beaten Pegasus and that Millennium Eye. While he tried not to believe a word of that stuff, but he'd had his soul ripped out. That really hurt! More to the point, he'd seen the same thing happen to his little brother.

Not that he'd admit that to anyone.

'But, Seto, the guy's a menace!' Mokuba insisted. 'First he hacks into your database and now this? Come on!'

'Mokuba, I'm well aware of that but I'm willing to let him slide this time.'

'Sorry, big brother, you made me Battle City Commissioner so I could enforce the rules!' He pointed. 'Give me one reason why I shouldn't bust that cheat out there!'

'Because I need him,' Kaiba said. 'This Rare Hunter may have something I want, Mokuba.' His eyes narrowed. Besides, I can't wait to see Yugi squirm when he faces the same Exodia he used to defeat me.

YGO

The Pharaoh took a card from his deck. 'It's my move now.' He laid it down. 'I place one card face-down on the field and I attack with Kimera, the Flying Mythical Beast!' The Beast lurched forward with a roar. 'Demolish his Stone Statue!' Kimera collided with the Statue and sent debris flying. It shattered. 'You're left with one monster.'

The Rare Hunter laughed in triumph. 'That doesn't matter to me. You're done! I knew that even you couldn't beat me in one turn! All I have to do is draw my next card and not only will I win this duel, but I'll score an even greater prize!' He reached for his deck. 'First I won Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon and now I'll take your Dark Magician! My master will be extremely pleased. Bye-bye, Yugi. Now, I will draw the final…'

'Not so fast, Rare Hunter!' The Pharaoh cut him off.

The Rare Hunter drew back. 'A trap? What is it?' The card flipped up. 'Time Seal? That stops me from drawing any cards.' He glared as the card activated.

'And that means you can't pick the final Exodia card yet,' the Pharaoh said. 'This duel is far from over, Rare Hunter.'

The Rare Hunter sneered again. 'A desperate move from my desperate prey.'

'Whew!' Joey sighed behind him. 'I thought Yugi was a goner.'

My Time Seal trap will only last one turn so I've got to stop him with my next card. I have to win this duel so I can start figuring out the secrets of the past. The fate of the entire world depends on it. Now, I can't let him draw the fifth piece of Exodia and I can't just keep skipping his turn. There's gotta be a card in my deck that'll stop this Rare Hunter from summoning the Unbeatable Exodia. Yes, there was. And I need to draw it right now. They drew together. 'I play Light Force Sword!' He held the card up and it glowed brightly.

'Huh?' The Rare Hunter looked at it curiously.

'It will randomly attack one card in your hand,' the Pharaoh said, 'preventing you from using it for three full turns.' He played it. 'And I'll aim for a piece of Exodia!' The Sword appeared above him.

'Oh, no!'

I can't control which card my sword will slash! If it doesn't get an Exodia piece, I'll lose the duel! The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed. 'Go, Light Force Sword!' The blade shot down and lanced through the cards in his hand.

'Not that one!' It'd gotten part of Exodia. 'You pierced Exodia's Right Arm!'

The Pharaoh smirked.

YGO

'The Rare Hunter only has three Exodia pieces in his hand now,' Mokuba stated.

Kaiba watched calmly. From the looks of this, Yugi becoming aware of the existence of Exodia in his deck was what would facilitate the Rare Hunter's defeat. That meant what Yugi was aiming for was to ensure that Exodia could never even be summoned.

Kaiba knew he should've known.

YGO

'I'm not done yet, Rare Hunter.' The Pharaoh played another card. 'To wipe out your monsters I'll start by sacrificing Kimera…' The beast disappeared. '…for Summoned Skull!'

The Rare Hunter drew back in annoyance.

'Summoned Skull, attack! With Lightning Strike!' The Skull screeched and glowed. The electricity crackled around it and then struck the Rare Hunter's monster, destroying it.

'Well, all right!' Joey cheered. 'Way to put that caped clown on the "endangered species" list.'

'You see?' the Pharaoh asked. 'Your Exodia maybe unstoppable as a whole, but the five cards that make it up are easy prey.'

The Rare Hunter gritted his teeth. 'Now it's my turn.' He drew.

'Rare Hunter, you have no monsters to defend you,' the Pharaoh said. 'Looks like a whole new game.'

But the Rare Hunter laughed. 'A whole new game? Hardly, Yugi! You really think you can stop me with one card?'

'I do.'

'A professional card hunter like me is prepared for any situation.' He laughed again.

The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed. What did he have?

'Take this!' The Rare Hunter threw down a card. 'Swords of Revealing Light!'

'Oh, no!' Usually, he was the one who used this card. 'Not the Swords! I can't attack.'

'And that means you won't deplete my life points,' the Rare Hunter crowed. He laughed manically.

'Come on, Yug!' Joey called. 'You gotta get to him before he gets that last piece of Exodia!'

YGO

Beside him, Mokuba ground his teeth. 'Seto, why are we letting that cheat beat Yugi?'

'Why not?' Kaiba asked. 'Yugi should have been prepared for anything.' Besides, it's about time Yugi felt what's it's like to face Exodia.

YGO

'It's my move,' the Pharaoh said. 'I'll draw one card.' He did so. 'And end my turn.'

The Rare Hunter sniggered. 'Thanks to my Swords of Revealing Light, that's all you can do. You're reduced to watching your own duel, unable to attack, unable to even move. I should just end your misery. Why wait for your magic card to expire when I can draw another Right Arm from my deck?'

The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed but he wasn't too worried.

'Exodia cards are so rare that most duellists don't own a single piece, but I have three copies of each which means that there are two more right arms waiting in my deck.'

The Pharaoh smirked. 'Hmph.'

'Hey!' the Rare Hunter snapped. 'What's so funny?'

'Your deck's loaded down with so many Exodia body parts the odds of drawing the Right Arm are slim-to-none.'

'We'll find out, won't we?'

The Pharaoh closed his eyes confidently. 'Your mistake is that you're relying on one monster, but a good duelling deck requires the right balance of cards. And you're still a prisoner of my Light Force Sword, which means I have three turns to defeat you.' He held up three fingers.

The Rare Hunter smirked too. 'Hm, wishful thinking, Yugi.' He took a card. 'It's my draw.'

'Come on, Yug,' Joey called from the sidelines. 'You can do it, buddy. You still got two turns to figure out how to stop this card-swiping freak.'

That was already in his head. The Pharaoh drew. 'I play one card face down.' The card appeared on the field. 'And I summon Alpha, the Magnet Warrior.' He held up the card before playing it. 'In attack mode.' The card and monster both appeared.

'You forget about my Swords of Revealing Light?' The Rare Hunter gloated. 'You can't attack.'

'I can't, yet.'

The Rare Hunter drew back, startled.

'But once I destroy your Swords, my monsters will be let loose.'

'You won't.'

I will. 'And, remember, your deck has a tragic flaw. It's cluttered with so many Exodia pieces that you squeezed out room for other cards needed to protect your life points. You need more magic and trap cards to destroy my monsters. But all you have in your hand are Exodia cards.'

The Rare Hunter looked down at his hand. From the look on his face, that was right.

'And take a look in front of you, Rare Hunter. I've already destroyed the only two monsters you summoned, leaving you without a single monster to guard against a direct attack. The only thing stopping my monsters is your Swords card, a weak and temporary shield.' Even if he used it a lot, it was only effective when it was part of a long-term strategy. 'Once my monsters are free, I'll begin attacking your life points.'

The Rare Hunter growled. 'Impossible! You'll never break free from my trap before I summon Exodia and obliterate you and your monsters! It's over, Yugi!'

YGO

'You've left yourself wide open for a direct attack, Hunter,' the Pharaoh said calmly.

Joey watched the duel. 'Yugi, take him down!' He called him that, even though he knew this was a different person, because he'd thought about it. It drew too much attention and too many awkward questions if they varied between the names they called these guys. And, if any unfriendlies heard and understood it'd cause big problems.

Shamee stood just in front of him and behind the Pharaoh. It was strange. No matter how emotional the rest of them got in duels, she remained stoic-faced and calculating. She never freaked out and she never seemed to get scared or overexcited. It was like her emotions were in chains. The Pharaoh often did the same thing. But, they were five thousand years old.

Maybe it was just an ancient people thing.

YGO

'There's no way you can draw Exodia in time,' the Pharaoh said.

'You forget,' the Rare Hunter insisted. 'Your monsters are trapped in my Swords of Revealing Light. And it's my turn.' He drew.

'I bet it's a duplicate Exodia card.'

'It makes no difference to me! Your Light Force Sword will soon disappear, allowing me to access all five pieces of Exodia for an automatic win!'

'But not soon enough.'

'Hm?' The Rare Hunter looked down at his hand for a long moment. He took a card from his hand and played it. 'I summon Exodia's Head in defence mode! Now, you can't strike my life points.'

The Pharaoh smirked. 'That's exactly what I wanted you to do, Rare Hunter. Now it's time for me to destroy Exodia.'

'What?' The Rare Hunter looked shocked and afraid.

'You activated my trap card! A costly mistake!' The card flipped. 'Chain Destruction!' The image glowed bright and a chain shot out of it. The chain crossed the field and then into the Exodia head, continuing through into the Rare Hunter's deck.

'Ahh! It struck my deck!'

'While it can't destroy your Exodia Head on the field, it can destroy the ones in your hand and your deck.'

'Hm?' The Rare Hunter looked down. 'Oh, no! My Exodia Heads!'

'Are gone,' the Pharaoh said.

Smoke rose up from the cards. The Rare Hunter cried out and staggered.

The Pharaoh rested his hand on his belt. 'All of your Exodia Heads have been eliminated from your hand and your deck. And with no Heads left to play, you can no longer draw all five pieces into your hand to summon Exodia.' His lips quirked upwards. 'And I'm not through, Rare Hunter. I also found a way around your Swords of Revealing Light. Activate Dust Tornado!' The other down card flipped up and activated. 'This trap destroys one magic card, shattering your Swords of Revealing Light which allows my monsters to attack.' As he said this, it happened. 'Next, I'll play Monster Reborn, revive Kimera, the Flying Mythical Beast!' The monster reappeared on the field and roared. 'Kimera, destroy the final Exodia Head!'

Kimera pounced forward and shattered the Head. The Rare Hunter cried out in shock and horror.

'Now your life points are defenceless against my attack.' The Pharaoh pointed and gave the command. 'I play Alpha the Magnet Warrior and Summoned Skull. Summoned Skull's electricity raises Alpha the Magnet Warrior's attack power by two hundred points. As he said this, the Skull sent the electricity to Alpha and the latter's attack power rose up to 4100. 'Now, my monsters, attack the Rare Hunter's life points!' Alpha charged with a glowing sword and struck the Rare Hunter down, not physically harming him – despite the fall he took – but bringing his life points down to 0.

'Yeah, Yug!' Joey called over the crowd's cheering. 'You won!'

The holograms disappeared and the projectors returned to the duel disks.

YGO

'I can't believe it!' Mokuba insisted. 'Yugi defeated Exodia.'

Kaiba smirked. He couldn't believe it either. 'He may have beaten Exodia, but there's one card Yugi will never beat. And I'm the one holding it.' He turned and walked towards the door. 'I'm heading to Battle City.'

Mokuba quickly followed. 'Hey, wait up. I'm commissioner, remember? I gotta go and make sure no one else is cheating!' He stopped for a second. 'Oh, if you detect a duellist using an Egyptian God Card let us know right away.'

'Yes, sir.'

YGO

Shamee walked over, slower than Joey, as the Pharaoh headed over and picked up the Rare Hunter's deck. She'd head something about the Rare Hunters and fake cards. Looked like it was true.

'Way to go, m'man!' Joey said.

'Thanks, Joey.' The Pharaoh flicked through the cards until he found what he was looking for. 'Ah, there it is.' He pulled the card from the deck and looked down at the Rare Hunter. 'I'm taking Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon and your Locator Card. You won't need to find the finals now.' He flicked through the rest of the cards.

'What's wrong?' Joey asked.

'Something's rubbing off on my fingers,' the Pharaoh said.

'Really?' Shamee took one of the cards from him and sniffed it. There was some chemical on it. Pulling a face, she walked over to the Rare Hunter and leaned over. She had a feeling he was wearing contacts, and she was right. She pulled a contact lens from his eye. 'Hm.' Holding the card up so the back was facing her, she raised the lens and peered through it. 'Aha!'

'What?' Joey asked. 'It's just a contact lens.'

'It ain't an ordinary contact lens, Joey,' Shamee said. 'It's an x-ray lens. Coupled with invisibility ink, which is what's on all these cards, this lens allows the player to see what cards they have even when they're still in the deck.'

Joey scowled and clenched his fists. 'That's cheating!'

The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed. 'Yes, it is. So all these cards are marked.' That said, he tore the cards up and tossed them to the air.

The Rare Hunter suddenly seemed to come to consciousness. 'I lost…I failed!'

'Hng?' Joey looked down in confusion.

'Forgive me, master! I tried my best!'

Shamee's extra sense picked up the change in his heart. 'Marik's initiating contact.' She stepped back to her place at the Pharaoh's side.

'No! Please don't be angry!' The Rare Hunter seemed to be yanked to his feet by an external force. He grabbed his head and screamed. 'No, master! Don't, please! Spare me!'

Joey drew back. 'Yugi, that whacko's lost his mind!'

'Actually, he's still in the process of losing it,' Shamee said.

'We've seen this before,' the Pharaoh said as the Millennium insignia appeared on the Hunter's forehead.

Marik spoke through his Rare Hunter, causing the man's body to become lank. The eyes had gone completely white. 'Remember me, Pharaoh? Actually, perhaps you don't. You were trapped in the Puzzle when I duelled little Yugi.'

The Pharaoh growled.

'Congratulations on defeating my Rare Hunter, though he was the weakest duellist in my crew. My other minions will prove much more formidable.'

Joey leaned over. 'Yug, what is with this freak show?'

Shamee answered. 'Marik has the Millennium Rod. He uses it to control people's minds.'

Marik went on like she hadn't even spoken. 'Pharaoh, I've waited for you for years. Finally, after all this time I will destroy you. I will not allow my other Rare Hunters to fail me like this one did. I have little time for this kind of foolishness so I have taken over his body and trapped his mind in the Shadow Realm. I am in control.' And he proved it by making the Rare Hunter spasm wildly.

'Yegh!' Joey drew back. 'This guy's creeping me out!'

'Mind control with the Millennium Rod,' the Pharaoh said. 'No good can come from that power.'

'Sharee Pertinicle has already introduced me to you,' Marik said.

The Pharaoh stepped forward. 'What is it you want from me, Marik?'

'I want what belongs to me,' Marik answered. 'And I'll take it using the strength of the Egyptian God Cards.'

'The what?' Joey asked.

'Three ultimate monster cards based on the Gods that the Pharaoh used when we were alive,' Shamee said.

The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed. 'So you want my Puzzle.'

'You misunderstand me. I want more than the power of the Puzzle. I want the Pharaoh's power. The boundless energy of the ancient ruler himself.'

Shamee scowled. Know any psychiatrists?

He certainly needs one.

Marik went on. 'With it, no one will stand on my way! I'll use the almighty magic I made to conquer and lead the world. I will be unstoppable. The end is near, Pharaoh. It's my world now!'

'Not yet, Marik.' He pointed at the closest thing he could get to "him". 'I'm beginning to understand why Ishizu asked me to participate in Battle City. It's my destiny to stand between you and the evil powers you seek. And I will.' At the moment, it was too complicated to mention, around his friends, that Ishizu and Marik were actually brother and sister.

'Then your destiny is easier said than done, you fool! Pharaoh, your days are numbered, so enjoy the game while you still can because your reign is coming to an end!' The Rare Hunter's body slumped to the ground.

'Man, that was weird,' Joey said. 'I knew that guy was a big creep, but who knew he was just a front for an even bigger creep?'

The Pharaoh held out the Red Eyes Black Dragon to Joey. 'Here you go, Joey. Take your Red Eyes back.'

Joey looked at it for a moment before he surprised them. 'Nah, Yug. You hold onto it. It isn't mine to take, pal. You won it, fair and square.' He put his hands in his pockets. 'Besides, the Rare Hunters have collected tons of rare cards. Their decks are totally souped-up so I know that they're gonna be tough to beat, even for you.'

'Huh?' Shamee asked.

The Pharaoh lowered the card. 'What are you saying, Joey?'

'I'm saying one day you'll need all the powerful monsters you can get, plus you can think of me whenever you play my Red Eyes. It's the least I can do to repay you. See, during the Duellist Kingdom Tournament, you taught me rules, killer strategies and everything else that I needed to know to help me get to the finals. I couldn't have done it without your help.'

The Pharaoh still wasn't sure where he was going with this. 'That's what friends do.'

Joey looked at him. 'That's my point exactly, buddy. You've always had my back so it's time I helped you for a change. That's why I want you to keep my Red Eyes Black Dragon. I know it's gonna come in handy for you sometime. Besides, this means that a part of me will be a part of your deck.' He looked down. 'It's kinda cool knowing that I'm helping you save the world.' And back up at him. 'Don't get me wrong. I'm still in the contest, and I still have the Rare Card requirement covered.' He smiled. 'Well, actually…I guess technically you have it covered, Yugi.'

'Hm?'

'See Red Eyes Black Dragon wasn't the only Rare Card I have in my deck.' Joey pulled out the aforementioned deck and flicked through it until he came to the card in question. You gave me another rare card way back when I first started playing Duel Monsters, remember?' He pulled it out.

The Pharaoh quirked his lips upwards. 'The Time Wizard.'

'Yup,' Joey said. 'It bailed me outta jams at Duellist Kingdom. And I know it's gonna save my butt in Battle City.' He tucked his deck away. 'You know, when you think about it, Yug, both of our hearts are in our decks. We're a team. Together, we won't let any duellist beat us!' He looked at him. 'It's true. We'll whoop this Marik creep and his Rare Hunter Corn Squad so hard they won't know what hit them. They'll be sorry they ever decided to mess with us.'

'Hm.' The Pharaoh's lips quirked upwards again. 'Thanks, Joey. I'll take good care of your Red Eyes Black Dragon.'

'Don't sweat it,' Joey told him. 'It's yours.' He offered his hand. The Pharaoh looked satisfied as he reached across and took it. Shamee watched the male bonding as the two of them shook hands.

'You are a true friend, Joey,' the Pharaoh said. 'And together we can take on any evil that comes our way.

Joey nodded. When he turned away, he immediately pumped his fist in the air. 'Yeah, all right! Which of you duellists wants a piece? Just step up so Joey can knock you down!'

The Pharaoh and Shamee both smiled indulgently and turned away. Shamee fell into step with him and they walked. She knew she should tell the Pharaoh, but she did not understand what it was she felt. Until then, she did not feel secure in telling him what it was she had noticed about the holder of the Millennium Rod.

When Shamee thought of Marik Ishtar, she felt pity.

Sorry about the delay on this chapter, people. I had some trouble with my laptop.