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

Master of Magicians Part II

Their attention was suddenly drawn by the sound of something metal hitting the floor. Both looked to the curtains that Arkana had hanging all over the place. One of them shifted and the Pharaoh wasn't really surprised to see who came through. The ability to block a heart-reader's senses was clearly a talent not possessed.

'How did you get in here?' Arkana demanded.

'The ventilation shafts,' Shamee said. 'It's not exactly dignified, but if you had left the doors open I wouldn't have had to come in like that.' She looked down at the dark energy disk. Instead of asking questions, like their modern-day friends would, she merely folded her hands behind her back and stood at ease.

Shamee would wait and watch for her answers.

May as well explain it anyway. 'Why don't you set us both free and end this madness, Arkana?' the Pharaoh demanded, pointing to him. 'My Dark Magician has already taken o
ut more than half of your life points. One more attack and that dark energy disk will send your mind right to the Shadow Realm.'

Arkana laughed. 'My mind? Never!'

The Pharaoh's expression tightened.

'Listen, Yugi, I promised you a spectacle, and I never disappoint. Not only will I win, I'll take your precious Dark Magician from you and send you to mental oblivion!' Arkana's eyes narrowed. 'You should stop worrying about me and take care of yourself, Yugi.' He lifted his hand to his chest. 'It's my show, remember? I can't lose.'

The Pharaoh closed his eyes. 'I gave you a chance to save yourself but you've left me with no choice.' He opened his eyes, turning steely purple eyes on his opponent. 'Prepare to lose it all, Arkana!'

YGO

Shamee was now aware of the purpose of the glowing blue disks on the sides of the ring. It appeared to be a private duel and they didn't want Kaiba knowing about it. While Shamee acknowledged she couldn't do much, she would remain a constant support at her master's back.

'So the heart-reader found us?' Arkana asked. 'But she came alone. No one else will ever find us!' He drew and smiled at his card, before turning it around. 'Mystic Tomato!' He laid the card on the field. 'In defence mode.' The card appeared and the Tomato rose out of it. 'And I'll place one card face-down.' He set a card into the duel disk and it appeared on the field as well. 'Let's get with the show.'

Shamee rubbed her jaw and glanced at the Pharaoh. The Mystic Tomato was a weak defence. It would be a simple matter to destroy it. From the look on the Pharaoh's face, he was thinking the exact same thing.

'Here's where it ends.' The Pharaoh drew and laid a card down. It appeared on the field i
n attack mode. 'I summon Beta, the Magnet Warrior!' Beta emerged from the card. 'Attack now!' The monster moved forward.

'Not so fast, Yugi!' Arkana cried.

'What are you up to?' the Pharaoh demanded.

'Ha! You've activated my trap!' The card flipped up. 'Dark Renewal!'

Well…rat rot.

YGO

The Pharaoh watched as a large coffin appeared on Arkana's side of the field and the doors opened up. An energy spilled forth from a hole inside the coffin and encompassed both Arkana's Tomato and the Pharaoh's Beta. It sucked them both inside and the doors slammed shut.

'It takes a monster from each player and sends them to the graveyard,' Arkana said. 'But, in return, it brings back one monster that's been lost by the card holder. In this case, that means me!' He cackled in delight.

That didn't take a genius to work out. 'You want your Dark Magician back.'

'Very perceptive. That will give me a second chance to annihilate you.' Arkana cackled again. 'Welcome back, my Dark Magician.' His coffin opened up, revealing his Dark M
agician. He opened his eyes and leapt out from the coffin. The casket closed and disappeared behind him.

'You have your wish,' the Pharaoh said. 'It's Dark Magician versus Dark Magician. Let's find out who the real master is.'

'Our monsters' points are identical, so merely attacking won't be enough. You'll have to think more strategically. And only a true illusionist, like myself, can master the power of a Dark Magician. Prepare to lose your card, and your mind!'

'Think again.' The Pharaoh took too cards from his hand. 'Now I'll place these two cards on the field, face-down.' He set them and they appeared. 'And end my turn.'

Arkana drew. 'Two can play at that game.' He set the card in his hand and took two more out to set on the field. 'I'll also place two cards face-down.' They appeared. 'So what's next?'

'I'll show you.' The Pharaoh drew. He laid another card and it appeared. 'I'll place one more card face-down.'

'Brilliant move, Yugi.' Arkana drew and laid another card. It appeared on the field. 'So I'll place one more card face-down as well!'

'I'll place my last.'

'And so will I.' The two final cards appeared on the field. 'Heh! We each have four cards face-down and one Dark Magician. And now, let's see who picked the best duelling strategy. I'll play a magic card.' He activated it and one of his cards flipped up. 'The Mystical Guillotine!' The Guillotine appeared on the field. 'Say goodbye to your Dark Magician, Yugi!'

'I won't let you destroy him,' the Pharaoh said.

Chains shot out and clamped onto his Dark Magician, pulling him to the Guillotine and holding him down. Arkana laughed. 'As if you had a choice!'

'My Dark Magician! No!'

'I'm afraid it's true!' Arkana crowed. 'Your Dark Magician's about to be cut from the show and your mind will be trapped in the Shadow Realm!' He cackled. 'It's time for the grand finale!'

'Not yet, Arkana!'

'Sorry, but the show's over and the curtain must now fall!' The chain released and the blade fell. 'Right on your Dark Magician!'

'I'm afraid that you'll have to find him first!' The Pharaoh activated his own magic card and it flipped up. 'Go, Magical Hats!' The Hats emerged from the card and flew around the Pharaoh's Dark Magician, concealing him from view.

'No!' Arkana cried.

One Hat remained while the others retreated back to the Pharaoh's side of the field. The Guillotine's blade sliced through only the Hat. 'Now, you'll have to guess which Hat he's under to attack him.'

'Don't be so sure of that.' Arkana activated another of his down cards. 'A Thousand Knives!' The Knives emerged from the cards and flew into the opposition Dark Magician's hands. 'These magic daggers will detect and destroy your Dark Magician.' He let the Knives fly. 'It's all over!'

'Hold on, Arkana. I'll rescue him with Curse Breaker!' The Pharaoh activated another of his hidden cards. 'It cancels out all other magic cards.' The Knives and the Hats all shattered. His Dark Magician moved back to his position in front of him. 'Destroying my Dark Magician won't be easy, Arkana.'

Arkana ground his teeth. 'Well, we'll just see about that!' He was a predictable as sunrise.

They both called out at the same time. 'Dark Magician, attack with Dark Magic now!' Both Magicians leapt forward and attacked. The energy crackled around them with the power.

'They'll destroy each other!' Arkana cried. And just that happened.

'And now my Dark Magician will return!' Again, they commanded at the same time and activated a magic card in front of them. 'Monster Reborn!' Both Dark Magicians emerged from the cards.

'Looks like we're back to where we started,' Arkana said.

'Yes, a stalemate. Why don't you unlock us from these shackles and finish this duel with honour?'

'With honour?' Arkana made it sound like the word was offensive. 'And ruin all the fun? Never!'

'Have it your way.' The Pharaoh drew. 'But answer this. Why did you lead me down here, Arkana? And why did you force me into a duel in which the loser's mind gets sent into the Shadow Realm?'

'I'm just following the orders of my master,' Arkana said.

'Enough secrets, Arkana. What's going on?'

'Look at my face.' Arkana reached up and removed his mask.

The Pharaoh gasped in shock. His face was probably once very well-structured. Now it was hideously scarred and disfigured. He must've been the victim of some kind of terrible accident. So, the mask was a vanity to cover up this unappealing appearance. Shamee spoke for t
he first time since her entrance.

'What happened?'

'Once I was the greatest illusionist and magician since Harry Houdini himself. My act was the envy of the entire magic world. And I loved every minute of it. I had it all! Money, fame, but most importantly I had her. My sweet Catherine.'

Hm. A lost love. That explained a fair bit.

'We were going to be married until that fateful day. It was a routine escape trick. I'd done it a million times. But as Catherine looked on, something went horribly wrong! There was an explosion. I'm still not sure what exploded or why. I lost my career and my movie star good looks that day. Then I lost Catherine's love. I drove her away, Yugi! I was a broken man. I didn't want her to see me ruined. She stood by me and I hurt her! By the time I figured that out, it was too late. She was gone. My life was over, until I met him: Marik!'

Rat rot! That was what he'd been afraid of.

Arkana put his mask back on. 'He made me an offer. If I could eliminate Yugi Moto for good, he'd help me win back Catherine with the help of his Millennium Rod.'

'You do realise that means brainwashing her?' Shamee asked.

'Ha!' Arkana scoffed. 'No such thing.'

Evidentially not. 'Working for Marik will only lead you to more pain and suffering, Arkana.' Somewhere inside him, the Pharaoh felt an odd yearning rise up. He also felt d
eep sympathy for this man. 'Marik cares about no one except himself. He'll say and do anything to get what he wants.'

Arkana turned his head away. 'Ha! It's a cruel, cruel world, Yugi. You'll find that out soon enough. There are very few things you can count on, and even fewer people. But I am counting on Marik to bring my Catherine back into my arms!' He gestured to the curtains behind him and a light went on behind him. There was a clear silhouette of a woman sitting there. 'There she is, waiting for me just like Marik promised!'

Shamee gave him a bland look. 'You should probably know there's no one there.'

'How dare you!' Arkana barked at her. He calmed though. 'Well, isn't it ironic that the heart-reader has no heart?'

Shamee ignored him and looked at the Pharaoh. 'When I see Marik, I would like to kick him very hard.'

So would he, but that was very interesting. 'Sharee appears to have mellowed you.'

Shamee smiled. 'I could say the same for you and Yugi.' She fell back into her at-ease position.

'Don't listen to them, my darling!' Arkana called to the silhouette. He turned back to them. 'Marik is a man of honour. You shouldn't be so quick to judge people.' Then he called back over his shoulder. 'Give me a minute, darling. I have to destroy Yugi, then we can be together forever.' Once more, he turned to the Pharaoh. 'So you see, Yugi, it's nothing personal.' He laughed once again.

'You're a fool to trust in him,' the Pharaoh said. 'Instead, you should be placing your trust in yourself and in your cards, Arkana.'

Arkana scoffed.

'You rely on tricks and illusions to win, instead of believing in your deck,' the Pharaoh told him. 'And that will be your downfall.'

'They're just cards, Yugi, and nothing more,' Arkana insisted.

'That is your problem.'

'Heh.'

'They're not just cards. My heart is in my deck and that's something you'll never understand.'

'You talk about your faith in the cards, Yugi, but that will be your downfall. I knew you'd depend on your Dark Magician to bail you out, so I built my duelling deck with o
ne purpose: to take your Dark Magician away from you!' He threw his head back and laughed dementedly.

YGO

Kaiba and Mokuba walked into the main computer centre of the Battle City Tournament. As he'd thought, there was nothing wrong with the satellite link. That left one possibility on how they'd lost track of Yugi.

'Yugi still hasn't reappeared on our duellist tracking screen. His duel disk won't operate unless it has a connection to Kaiba Corporation's tournament computer or another compatible system. So, Mokuba, if Yugi is duelling someone who doesn't want me watching, they must be battling in a secret location that has its own internal computer d
uelling system.' That left him with one option. He called out to the operators. 'Search for every computer system in Battle City that is compatible with Kaiba Corporation's duelling system – and make it snappy!'

'Right!' The screen showed a map of Battle City with flashing red dots.

'Isolate any systems to refuse to identify themselves to our network,' Kaiba ordered.

One by one, the red dots disappeared.

'I'll hit the streets,' Mokuba told him.

'Hm.'

'Just radio me when you find him.' Mokuba ran out.

YGO

The Pharaoh tried again. 'Set us free, Arkana. It's not too late to stop this.'

'Not until I win your Dark Magician!' Even as Arkana spoke, the Pharaoh noticed that while his Magician was firm-faced and stoic, Arkana's looked nervous.

'Then make a move.'

'With great pleasure.' Arkana drew. 'Hm.' He set a card in his duel disk. 'I place one card face-down.' It appeared on the field. 'Ready for the Shadow Realm?'

'I won't lose.' The Pharaoh drew and set his own card as well as another one. 'I place two cards face-down.' They appeared in front of him.

'Time to spice up this show. Ha! Ready, Yugi?' He activated one of his down cards. 'I reveal a magic card!' It flipped up. 'Back Into The Dark!' Grey clouds gathered over the field and a large hand reached down.

The Pharaoh knew what that was. 'No, my Dark Magician!'

Arkana laughed. 'That's right, Yugi, you should be scared. With its gruesome claw, this m
agic card snatches up any opponent's monster and transports it directly to the graveyard. So you can say goodbye to your Dark Magician!' The last bit was crowed.

The hand reached down and wrapped around his Dark Magician. 'Oh, really? Afraid not!' The Pharaoh activated one of his down cards and it flipped up. 'You didn't count on this! Mystical Rift Panel!' The claw let go of the Pharaoh's Dark Magician. 'This trap card will counter the darkness of your magic card and spare my monster.'

'Ha! But not for long.'

'We'll see.'

'We will. Back Into The Dark was a decoy, to get you to waste your trap card.' Arkana laughed.

Oh, rat rot.

'I knew that you would fall for that trick. Now, it's my turn to play a trap card, Yugi.' Arkana activated his other down card. 'Nightmare Chains!' The Chains shot out and did exactly what Arkana said they would. 'Theses chains will bind your Dark Magician, putting him out of play and leaving you open to a direct attack.'

'My Dark Magician is trapped!'

Arkana laughed again. 'With your monster hung up for the moment, all he can do is look on helplessly while I destroy his master.'

The Pharaoh growled and looked up at his Magician.

'Of course, you won't be his master for much longer, so it doesn't really matter I suppose. Soon he will belong to Marik. And now, prepare yourself. It's showtime!' Arkana called out the attack. 'Dark Magician, attack Yugi's life points directly!' He charged forward.

The Pharaoh braced himself. The full force of the Dark Magic Attack tore through Yugi's body but the Pharaoh suffered the pain. He cried out as his life points dropped to 1500. W
hen it finally stopped, the Pharaoh slumped forward a bit. His body was relieved to have the pain stopped but, if he didn't defend himself, that would be short-lived.

'Pharaoh?' Shamee called.

Instead of answering, the Pharaoh straightened up. He knew it sent the same message anyway: I'm fine.

Arkana chuckled. 'This is turning into quite the performance.' He cackled in laughter. 'One touch of that dark energy disk and your mind's banished to the Shadow Realm!'

The Pharaoh watched as the disk moved closer to him.

'I'm almost ready for my grand finale, Yugi, and it's worth sticking around for. I don't want to ruin the surprise for you, but let's just say Marik will be extremely pleased.' Arkana smirked. 'You, on the other hand, probably won't. But why spoil it? Now, it's time for you to make your final move!'

The Pharaoh drew.

If I can't free my Dark Magician, Arkana's got me!

YGO

Téa panted for breath. Mr. Moto sat on the edge of the stone girder they'd stopped by.

'We've been over every square inch of Battle City and we haven't found a trace of Yugi anywhere,' he said.

Téa straightened up. 'We've just gotta keep looking for him.' Suddenly, she saw someone familiar running down the street. 'Huh? Look, Mr. Moto, it's Mokuba.'

Mr. Moto turned.

Then Mokuba saw them. He stopped just in front of them.

Mr. Moto stood up. 'Mokuba, you've got to help us. Yugi walked into a tent and he disappeared. We've looked everywhere.'

'We're afraid that he might've been kidnapped!' Téa insisted.

Mokuba had the Kaiba determination written plainly across his face. 'I know. Kaiba just found out where he is. I'm heading there right now.'

That was a relief. 'What timing!'

'You lead the way and we'll follow you,' Mr. Moto said.

Mokuba nodded. 'We have to hurry.' He took off again.

YGO

The Pharaoh held up his card. 'Now I'll summon my Big Shield Gardna, in defence mode.' He played it and the card appeared on the field, the monster emerging from it.

I've got to protect my life points.

Arkana immediately mocked him. 'Look at you cowering behind your monster, d
esperately trying to put off your inevitable defeat at the hands of my mighty Dark Magician! I'm afraid won't help you. After my next turn, your life points will be zero I promise you.'

The Pharaoh gasped.

'Now, if you're done with your turn it's time for my next move.' Arkana drew and picked up a card from his hand. 'I will also summon a monster.' He laid it down. 'Say hello, to the Doll of Demise!' The card appeared in attack mode and the monster emerged with a snigger. 'And now, Yugi, behold the magic card that will annihilate you!' He played his next card and the Pharaoh watched it appear and flip up on the field. 'I play Ectoplasmer!'

The Pharaoh growled when he saw it. He wasn't seriously going to use that card, was he? It was one of the worst things Pegasus had ever made. And it'd shown a total disregard for the life of the monsters in the game. Though it was a powerful card, the Pharaoh and Yugi both simply refused to have it in their deck.

'Confused, Yugi?'

No, not really.

'Allow me to explain it for you. Ectoplasmer is a card that drains the very soul of one of my monsters, creating a pure concentrated form of energy known as ectoplasm which is then fired directly at you.'

The Pharaoh drew back. 'What?' So he was really going to use it. 'If you turn your own monsters into hollow shells, they'll be of no use!'

Arkana just laughed. 'Maybe so, but once I've destroyed you I'll have no more use for them anyway.' His Dark Magician reacted to this with a stumble, looking back at him in f
ear. 'Then my task will be complete and I'll be reunited with my sweet Catherine!' He turned back to the silhouette again and the lights flicked on to show it. 'Did you hear that, Catherine, my darling? Just a few more minutes and then we're off to Hawaii or Tahiti or wherever you'd like!' He turned back to the Pharaoh. 'Say goodbye, Yugi. I'm about to drain your life points by draining one of my monsters' souls away!'

The Pharaoh ground his teeth. The sad fool just didn't understand.

'Extract ectoplasm!' The Doll of Demise glowed as its soul was extracted and drawn into the upturned card. 'Attack now!' The stream of ectoplasm was released and sent right at him. It went straight through the Gardna, leaving him unharmed, the Pharaoh reflexively threw his arms up to cover his eyes. The ectoplasm struck him and he cried out as hot, white pain shot across his body. As the attack stopped and the pain faded, the Pharaoh s
lumped forward again. A sting still ran across his skin. His life points dropped to 700 and the dark energy disk slipped closer. The Pharaoh looked across at Arkana, a growl in his throat.

One more hit and my life points will go down to zero.

YGO

Shamee watched with gritted teeth. If he got hit like that again, he was gone. Well…one of them was. Two minds in one body complicated the "banishing your mind" process. It didn't escape Shamee's notice, however, that the Dark Magician was also grinding his teeth. There was something very special about that particular duel monster.

Arkana thought he had this won. 'You played well, Yugi. I'll give you that, but do you know why you and your beloved Dark Magician couldn't beat me? You're too soft.'

Another growl sounded from the Pharaoh's throat.

'In battle, monsters respond best to fear,' Arkana said. 'You have to make certain that they are afraid of you.' His Dark Magician certainly was. 'You will never command their respect with kindness and trust. Just look what happened to your favourite card, the Dark Magician!'

That was when Shamee noticed it. She was getting a heart signature from the Pharaoh's Dark Magician. She didn't usually get those from duel monsters. The Dark Magician r
espected the Pharaoh. He loved him in the way a human would love a charge that…they had long ago sworn to protect. That meant she was right. There was more to the Dark Magician than it appeared. Her mind flashed back to Mahad.

Well, Sharee mused in her head. It's been a while since I've seen a good mystery.

You, and me too.

Arkana went on, unaware of their internal conversation. 'You are the master, they are the servant. And they should ensure victory for you, even if it means you have to destroy them to get there!'

If there weren't shackles around his ankles and he wasn't so disciplined, Shamee had the feeling the Pharaoh would cross over now and beat Arkana to a deformed pulp. 'You're a sick man!'

'It's my show and my Dark Magician knows that I am his master.' The fear in the monster's face made Shamee pity the poor guy. 'He is nothing but my pawn. Now, the grand finale!' Arkana activated his card again. 'Activate Ectoplasmer!'

YGO

The Pharaoh watched in disgust as he did it again.

'Extract the soul of my Dark Magician!' The Magician slumped forward with a short and strangled sound. His soul went into the card.

'Stop now,' the Pharaoh said. 'This duel has already gone way too far.'

'Not when I'm about to win!' Arkana crowed. 'Fire the ectoplasm!' Once more, the card fired out a monster's soul. It went right through the Gardna and headed right for the Pharaoh. 'Goodbye, Yugi!'

But then something happened that no one was expecting. The Pharaoh's Dark Magician b
egan to glow brightly. The Pharaoh remembered what Sharee had said of the sorcerer she'd met. Loyal to the Pharaoh. Looks like the Dark Magician. If this was happening now, that meant only one thing.

Arkana cried out in shock. 'What's happening?' It took him a moment to work it out. 'But…that's impossible!'

The Pharaoh was close to horrified, but he found he wasn't surprised. 'My Dark Magician!' The Dark Magician's soul left its body and shot around, blocking the attack from hitting the Pharaoh. He cried out against the force in front of him.

Arkana summed it up. 'The soul of Yugi's Dark Magician was also drained and it seems to be blocking my attack!'

Yes, it was.

'They'll both be destroyed!'

Then it must be true! The Pharaoh watched as both Dark Magician souls were destroyed in a bright flash of light. 'It looks like your plan to destroy me backfired.' When it cleared all that was left was his defence monster and his two face-down cards. 'You're so busy disrespecting your cards, Arkana, that you failed to learn how to use them properly. While it is true that your Ectoplasmer drains your monster's soul and fires that energy at your opponent, what you obviously didn't realise is that when there's more than one of t
he same monster on the field they're all affected in the same way. So my Dark Magician was drained of his soul also, cancelling out your attack, Arkana.'

Arkana managed to recover himself. 'You may have avoided that one, but you're still one attack away from being banished to the Shadow Realm forever!'