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

The Master of Magicians Part III

'Your Dark Magician is destroyed and your life points are almost at zero. One more attack and that dark energy disk will banish your mind to the Shadow Realm forever!'

The Pharaoh looked across the field. 'Never. You've already lost by putting your trust in a scoundrel like Marik. You actually believe that if you defeat me, he'll reunite you with your lost love, Catherine? If so, then you're more of a fool than I thought.'

Arkana glanced behind him before he called back to the silhouette. 'Don't listen to him, my sweet! We'll be together soon.' He turned back to the duel.

'Arkana, why don't you save yourself and set us free?'

'Ha?' Arkana took a card from his hand. 'And ruin the fun? Now I'll place one monster face-down.' The card appeared in front of him. 'And end my turn. Yugi, remember this is my show. And the grand finale is so close that I can practically taste it.' He licked his lips. 'Don't forget that I'm a master of magic, the king of all Dark Magicians.'

'You're not even close, Arkana,' the Pharaoh said. He felt the facts of what he was saying twinging in his buried memories. 'What kind of king would extract the soul of his very own Dark Magician? You disrespect your cards and rely on tricks to win. But I'll make sure you lose.'

'Huh? What's that, Yugi? You'll have to speak up. I'm afraid I can't quite hear you…over the hum of the dark energy disk, waiting to send you to the Shadow Realm.' He sniggered. 'Get ready to kiss your Dark Magician card, and your mind, goodbye, Yugi!'

The Pharaoh glanced down at the dark energy disk.

'This duel's over.' Arkana raised his hand and wiggled his fingers. 'Now, watch closely while I pull a stunning victory out of my hat.' He cackled.

'Sorry, your tricks will have to wait since your turn's over. It's time for me to take control of this duel.' The Pharaoh drew.

'Oh, really?'

'Yes. Especially seeing as you have no monsters left to defend you.'

'Well, my life points are higher.'

'Not for long, Arkana!' The Pharaoh pulled a card from his hand and played it. 'Now, I summon Gizelle, the King of Mythical Beasts!' The card appeared on the field and the monster emerged from it with a roar.'

'Activate Shadow Balance!' Arkana's face-down card flipped up, revealing a trap.

The Pharaoh knew what that meant. Rat rot! Behind him, Shamee tensed.

'This trap card makes the number of monsters you have on the field, equal to the number I have. And since I don't have any monsters active on the field at the moment, that means you don't either!' Arkana cackled again.

The card glowed and the trap came out. It was like a massive pair of scales. The Pharaoh stared at it. 'It can't be! That removes my only defence against an attack!' He ground his teeth. 'Which means…'

'When they're gone, I can wipe out your life points!' Arkana finished the sentence in triumph.

The thing groaned and came at his monsters. It opened its mouth and both Gizelle and Gardna were sucked inside. But they appeared at the top, on one of the balancing dishes. The Pharaoh knew what was coming next, even as Arkana cackled. The two sides of the dish lifted, turning into a mouth-like object and closing. His monsters cried out in pain as they were crushed.

'Now what are you going to do?' Arkana mocked him. 'Your Dark Magician is destroyed and you've got no monsters on the field. Nothing can save you now. It's over.' He drew. 'I hold in my hand the winning card, the key to sending your mind to the Shadow Realm and getting my sweet Catherine back. I told you I was the true master of the Dark Magician. And what kind of master would have only one Dark Magician in his deck? Hm? My first one may be gone, but I have another Dark Magician and he's waiting to destroy you, Yugi! Plus, I can summon him without sacrificing a weaker monster…'

What? How? The Pharaoh didn't need to be the five thousand years he was to know that if he couldn't get a certain card out fast, he was through.

'…thanks to this. The Dark Magic Curtain.' Arkana threw the card down.

The Dark Magic Curtain? That meant he could immediately call any monster in his deck. It didn't matter if his next Dark Magician was nowhere in his hand, he could still summon it. On the other hand, that also…The Pharaoh knew precisely which monster card he needed.

'Watch this performance!' Arkana crowed as the card flipped up and the Curtain emerged. 'The Dark Magic Curtain allows me to summon a high-level monster, like the Dark Magician, without a sacrifice in exchange for one half of my total life points.' His points dropped down to 750. He sniggered. 'You're on, Dark Magician!' The skeletal figure holding the material yanked the curtain aside. Arkana's second Dark Magician emerged. 'Yugi, there's no way you can win. Remember, my duelling deck was put together specifically to counter your strengths. Its mix of power and magic makes for an unbeatable show, don't you think? Marik will reward me when I hand him your Dark Magician card and tell him your mind's in the Shadow Realm!' He threw his head back and laughed maniacally. 'Pay attention as my Dark Magician wipes out the last of your life points, and ends your duelling career forever. If you thought the show was good before, you won't want to miss this ending, Yugi.'

Shamee was tensed up tighter than a drum, she was sure. That couldn't be good for Sharee's body. She forced herself to relax. Despite how Arkana was going, she was sure the Pharaoh had a way out of this. He always did find the way that nobody else knew was even there. It was something Marik was very slow in learning.

And something Arkana obviously wasn't aware of. 'This is it! The final performance of Yugi Moto. Your life points are almost gone and you have no monsters to hide behind. As soon as my Dark Magician attacks, you're finished! But first, just in case you're counting on your two face-down cards to rescue you from having to spend all of eternity in the Shadow Realm, I will take the liberty of wiping them out. And I'll take care of the job with my Anti-Magic Arrows.' He held up the card in question.

Shamee's eyes widened. No, there had to be a way to stop this. She looked back at the Pharaoh again. His face was composed and showed no signs of a man about to have his mind banished to eternal darkness. He had something up his sleeve.

'Say goodbye to your last hope!' But Arkana didn't see it. He played the card. 'Seek and destroy, my Arrows!' The card appeared on the field and the Arrows streamed out of it, skewering the Pharaoh's cards multiple times over. The cards and the Arrows disintegrated. 'Looks like I've got you completely pinned down now, Yugi. The show is over.'

The Pharaoh growled and tensed.

Arkana gave the order. 'Dark Magician, attack his life points directly!'

The Dark Magician glowed and came at him, but he was suddenly cut off. Shamee saw it happen and nearly laughed. Arkana should have thought of that before. She settled for a smirk. The Dark Magic Curtain was on the Pharaoh's side of the field.

The Pharaoh smirked as well. 'Not so fast, Arkana.'

Arkana cried out in alarm. 'What's going on? My Dark Magic Curtain is working for you?'

'Yes,' the Pharaoh said. 'You should read the rules more closely. Its magic summoning power is available to both sides of the duelling field.'

This was something Arkana was clearly not prepared for that. He cried out again, this time in protest.

'So that means I can drain half of my life points for a monster too. And just like you do I'll play…another Dark Magician.' His life points dropped to 350.

Oh! His girlfriend.

Girlfriend?

Huh. I wonder where that came from. Shamee shook her head and decided to think on that later. 'Oh, good, I like that one.'

Arkana either didn't hear her or didn't register what she said. He pointed to the Pharaoh with a quivering finger. 'But, wait! I was told you only had one Dark Magician in your deck!'

'Well, you're partially right but mostly misinformed,' the Pharaoh said.

'Stop speaking in riddles!'

The Pharaoh held up a card, not letting Arkana see the Magician in question. 'The card that I now hold in my hand is a different variety of Dark Magician, Arkana. And it is even more powerful than yours is.'

'You lie!' Arkana insisted. 'I'd know if another Dark Magician card existed! It can't be!'

What's he talking about? Sharee asked. I thought there was only one Dark Magician.

Shamee smirked. Technically, there is but remember the Dark Magicians hold their origins in Ancient Egypt. You know the lore. Think about it.

'It is!' The Pharaoh played the card and the curtain was pulled aside. 'Say hello to Dark Magician Girl!'

A female Dark Magician drifted out of the shadow of the Curtain. She had long blonde hair, rosy cheeks and very pretty green-blue eyes. Shamee was sure she was the most beautiful female monster that she'd ever seen. And there was something familiar about her form. She flew out of the cover and, unlike her male counterpart, she made happy little noises as she moved.

Shamee and Sharee both recognised the voice.

Hey, that was the giggle.

Yes. Somehow or other, it was the Dark Magician Girl who showed us where to find the Pharaoh.

Arkana stared in disbelief. 'It's true. A female Dark Magician.' A awestruck sound left his throat. 'But you're wrong about one thing. Your girlfriend's attack points are less than my Dark Magician's.' He had gathered his bearings and growled. 'In a head-to-head battle, my monster will wipe her out! It's over! Dark Magician, attack Dark Magician Girl!'

Ha!

Arkana's Dark Magician launched forward. The Dark Magician Girl made a "hmph" sound and regarded her opponent with disdain. A glow surrounded her body. As the Dark Magician attacked, she lifted her staff and shot her own attack out. The two powers clashed and an explosion ripped through the field. Arkana raised his hand and covered his eyes. The Pharaoh, nor Shamee, even bothered.

Arkana, ignorant dolt that he was, sniggered. 'Finally, Yugi's defeated!'

'I don't think so,' the Pharaoh said. 'Take another look, Arkana.'

'Hm.' The Dark Magician Girl stood there, unharmed. She was smiling in satisfaction.

'No!' Arkana cried. His Dark Magician, on the other hand, was coming to pieces. 'My Dark Magician's been beaten.' As he watched it disappear, a shocked sound left him. He tried to rationalise it. 'But how? This was supposed to be my grand finale. It can't be. He had five hundred more attack points than she did.'

'Wrong again,' the Pharaoh said. 'Dark Magician Girl gains three hundred extra attack points for every Dark Magician that's inside the card graveyard, Arkana, making her strong enough to defeat your Dark Magician.'

'Much like the real one,' Shamee said. She cocked her head. Okay…really, now where did that come from?

'It still doesn't add up,' Arkana insisted. 'There's only one Dark Magician card in your graveyard. Even with the extra three hundred points, her total is only 2300. That means my Dark Magician still outranks her by 200 points.'

'Look again,' Shamee said.

'Open your eyes.' The Pharaoh scowled at him. 'If you were a master of the Dark Magician, you would have seen the answer in front of you.'

'What?' And then Arkana finally saw it. 'No!'

'Hmph.' Now it was Arkana that the Dark Magician Girl regarded with disdain.

'It can't be!' Arkana insisted as he rubbed his eyes. 'My first Dark Magician's there too!' The monster in question turned and glared at him. 'But…but…why? Why would the power of my Dark Magician be reborn in your monster?'

'The Dark Magician Girl inherits points from every Dark Magician, no matter whose graveyard it's in,' the Pharaoh said. 'So when you destroyed your first Magician, you helped give my Dark Magician Girl the power she needed to destroy your second.' The Magician in question narrowed his eyes.

Arkana was breaking out in a sweat.

'And now, Arkana, prepare for my grand finale.' The two Dark Magicians behind the Dark Magician Girl faded from sight. 'As I wipe out the last of your life points!' The Dark Magician Girl prepared to attack.

Arkana panicked and began struggling in his shackles. Clearly, the idea of losing had never occurred to him while he'd been setting this up. 'No! No, let me out!'

'Dark Magician Girl, attack his life points directly!' The Pharaoh gave the order. The Dark Magician Girl attacked.

Arkana screamed as his life points dropped to zero.

'When you mistreat your cards, you pay a high price. You lose.'

Téa and Mr. Moto followed Mokuba as he ran to the doors of a building.

'Seto said Yugi's in here!' Mokuba immediately started working on getting the door open.

'Hey!' Tristan had just pulled up on his motorbike. 'Is everything all right, guys?'

Téa turned. 'No, Tristan. Yugi's been missing for hours!'

'He's missing?' Tristan got off his motorbike and pushed it over to them.

'He walked into a tent and disappeared,' Téa explained.

'And my brother traced him to the basement of this building,' Mokuba said.

'He must be trapped!' Téa insisted.

Tristan grinned. 'Well, then, we gotta bust in there and rescue him. So, let's do it!'

The Dark Magician Girl finished her attack and returned to her place, protecting the Pharaoh. While the Dark Magician was cited as his favourite card, it was actually on par with this one. The Pharaoh's affection for the Dark Magician was a different kind from the affection he felt for the Dark Magician Girl. She called an odd longing into his heart, like an echo from his lost memories.

'You call yourself a Dark Magician Master?' the Pharaoh demanded of Arkana. 'It was your disrespect and your misuse of your own Dark Magicians that caused you to lose this duel, Arkana.'

'That…can't be!' Arkana insisted. 'There's no way you could have defeated me, Yugi. I am the greatest magician the world has ever known! You're nothing, Yugi!'

'A magician and a duellist are two very different things,' Shamee said.

True, but the Pharaoh felt, deep in his gut, that Arkana was not, in fact, the greatest magician. That title went to someone else, someone living in the distant past. 'What I am is very sorry for you.' He closed his eyes and bowed his head. 'It looks like you led me all the way down here…' He snapped his head up and his eyes open. '…for the sole purpose of losing at your own demented game, Arkana. You relied on trickery to win, instead of trusting and respecting the Heart of the Cards.'

Arkana quickly looked down with a gasp, seeming only to remember his own Shadow Game. 'The dark energy disk!' He covered his face with his arms. 'Oh, this can't be happening! I can't lose or I'll never get back my sweet Catherine! Help me!'

The key box at the Pharaoh's feet ran down to zero and opened up. The Pharaoh looked down. 'Ah, the key – and a locator card!' As he bent down to unlock the shackles around his ankles he really did feel sorry for Arkana. All the man had really wanted was to get his lost love back.

Téa wasn't sure how Mokuba knew which way to go, but he did. They were all running down the stairs in no time at all. Kaiba probably had blueprints of the place, if she thought about it, and had already directed Mokuba on which way to go.

'Yugi!' Mr. Moto called as they ran.

'We're coming, buddy!' Tristan's reassurance came as they came to a heavy metal door with a large red question mark on the top bit.

'This is it.' Mokuba reached for the handle and pulled. 'It's bolted shut!'

That was a problem, but Téa noticed something else. 'Hey, guys, listen. What's that hum?'

The dark energy disk closed in on Arkana. He screamed. 'Someone help me!'

'Don't give us that!' Shamee snapped. 'You're an escape artist too. I bet you have a spare key up your sleeve.'

Arkana suddenly looked at her and then grinned, producing the aforementioned key. 'Ha, ha, a real magician always has one more trick up his sleeve. I will indeed make my great escape after all.' He suddenly froze and a look of panic took over his face.

Marik. Marik.

'Just give me another chance,' Arkana begged the madman invading his mind. 'Spare me from the Shadow Realm!' He paused as he received his response. 'Please, Marik, please don't send me to the Shadow Realm!' Suddenly, he looked down at his hand. 'The key…where'd it go?'

It was clearly still in his hand.

'I just had the key and now it's gone!' Arkana's panic increased. 'I'm losing my mind!'

The key fell from his hand and dropped to the ground.

The Pharaoh got the shackles around his ankles unlocked. He straightened up and looked at the panicking illusionist. There was a banging on the door behind them. Tristan's voice came through.

'Hey, it's us!'

'Is that you in there?' And Téa.

'Yugi, we'll get you out of there!' Yugi's grandfather was not really a surprise.

'Should I let them in?' Shamee asked.

'Not quite yet.' That said, the Pharaoh switched back to Yugi. He felt Shamee and Sharee switch over as well.

Yugi ran forward, Sharee right at his heels. 'Hold on!' He didn't have it in him to let Arkana lose his mind to the Shadow Realm. He grabbed the key at Arkana's feet and quickly unlocked his shackles. Sharee suddenly grabbed his jacket and yanked him back and then hauled Arkana out of the way of the dark energy disk as well. Yugi pushed himself up and panted for breath. 'Not even a cheat like you deserves to go to the Shadow Realm.'

Arkana pushed himself to his feet, whimpering. 'What have I done? Catherine…' He staggered back. He turned around and bolted towards where the silhouette was. '…I'm coming! Catherine!' He dived at the curtain and grabbed the figure behind it, hugging it tightly. 'My Catherine, please stay and let me make it all up to you.' He closed his eyes. 'Please.'

The curtain fell away, revealing the cold, hard truth.

Shamee had tried to warn him. The figure that had been sitting behind the curtain was not Catherine. The form back there was really no more than a dummy. It was a plastic mannequin designed to look like Arkana's lost love. All of it had been nothing more than a trick. The plastic head fell back.

'My darling, what's going on?' The head fell off. Arkana finally opened his eyes. 'I have been tricked. Or maybe Marik is just hiding the real Catherine to surprise me with later.' He rested his cheek against the dummy. 'Oh, Catherine, I need you back with me! We can finally get married and forget all this.' He began to cry.

'Arkana, are you going to be all right?' Yugi asked.

Sharee answered instead. 'Furtherest thing from it.'

'Huh?' Yugi looked up at Sharee. Her face displayed all the pity he felt. But there was also the look she got when she was planning something. Yugi was sorry for what Arkana had been put through. He wished there was some way he could help. It occurred to him that if he knew where to find this Catherine, he could explain what happened here and Arkana's remorse but he had no idea where to even start.

Suddenly the illusionist stopped crying and scoffed. 'Arkana is gone.'

Marik had taken control of him.

Sharee prepared herself as she saw Marik take over Arkana's body. He had him stand and turn around. The millennium symbol glowed on his forehead.

'So we meet again, little Yugi. I'm sure I need no introduction.'

'Show your face to me, Marik,' Yugi said. 'Coward.'

My thoughts precisely. Ditto.

'I'll reveal myself to you when the time is right and no sooner. Once I obtain what's mine. And you know exactly what I want.'

Sharee spoke through her teeth. 'The power of the king.'

'Yes,' Marik said. 'The unlimited power of the ancient Pharaoh. The spirit that lives within the Millennium Puzzle.'

'No way, Marik.' Yugi was as strong on that one as she was.

'You can't stop me. Remember when I took control of Bandit Keith? I almost succeeded in separating you from the Millennium Puzzle forever. If it hadn't been for the Digger's Daughter here, I would have done so!'

Yugi clenched his hands into fists. 'Tell me why you want the Pharaoh's power! Answer me!'

'Because that power is rightfully mine! And once I have it I will be unstoppable. The world will belong to me. And no one will stand in the way of my destiny. Especially, not you!'

Sharee scoffed.

'Oh, yeah?' Yugi asked him. 'Just watch me, Marik.'

'Listen, little Yugi, my family has slaved for centuries, protecting the tomb of the Pharaoh until his return. And for what? I should be the Pharaoh!'

'Never,' Yugi said. 'You won't get the power of the Pharaoh and we'll make sure of it. That power belongs to the Pharaoh himself, not you!'

'Ha!' Marik barked. 'Well, we'll just see about that, little Yugi. You two are nothing but vessels for the ancient spirits. You could never comprehend his strength, nor could you stand in my way of getting it.'

Sharee smirked. 'But remember, we were chosen as the vessels for a reason.'

Marik's disdain was felt in the air. 'We've given up too much to let someone else claim the Throne.'

'Delusions of grandeur.' Sharee stepped forward. 'Come on, Pharaohs don't have that kind of power anymore. He's not here to pick up his reign where he left off. He's here to finish his fight.'

'Don't tell me, girl!' Marik snapped. 'I was raised on the ancient scriptures, learning all there is to know about the Nameless Pharaoh and the Shadow Games. The key to his power is your Puzzle and the three Egyptian God Cards. But I can't just take the Millennium Puzzle from you. According to the ancient scriptures, I have to defeat you in a duel first. Then I'll banish you to the Shadow Realm.'

'But why would you do that?' Yugi, innocent as he was, really didn't understand it.

Sharee answered first. 'So that you can't take a rematch and win your Puzzle back.'

'Once I gain control of the Millennium Puzzle and obtain all three Egyptian God Cards, I'll be king! And a much more worthy king than your counterpart. He doesn't even know how to harness the great powers that lie dormant within him.'

Sharee felt her temper flare. 'Well, you try being trapped on your lonesome for five thousand years and come out singing show tunes!'

Marik growled and then went on as if she'd never spoken. 'I, on the other hand, know full well how to take them from him. And my Millennium Rod will ensure that I get everything I need.'

And that right there was why, even if he did become a king, Marik would never measure up to the Pharaoh.

'Who has the cards?' Yugi asked.

'Marik has two.' Sharee once again answered first. 'Kaiba has the third.'

Marik spoke again. 'Soon enough, my loyal team of Rare Hunters will bring the final card to me. It's only a matter of time, you see, that is until I take what is rightfully mine and banish you and the former Pharaoh to the dreaded Shadow Realm where you will spend all of eternity while the rest of the world is kneeling before King Marik, the new Pharaoh!' He laughed in triumph. 'You're powerless against me, little Yugi. And so is your little attendant. My destiny can't be stopped. Don't you see it's only a matter of time? The three Egyptian God Cards, along with your Millennium Puzzle, will belong to me. Then I will strip the Pharaoh of his ancient powers and infuse them within myself.'

Yugi closed his eyes and wrapped his hand around his Millennium Puzzle. Sharee knew he was thinking about how he could stop Marik and how little he knew of the Pharaoh and Shamee's past. Yes, the scriptures may have told Marik all about the spirits and their world. It may have been written how the power would be extracted, but it was clear what wasn't written in the scriptures.

Sharee folded her arms across her chest. 'I'll give you all of that, but it won't be as easy as you seem to think it will be.'

'Huh?' Yugi opened his eyes and looked up at her.

'Hm?' Marik asked. 'What do you speak of, Sharee Pertinicle?'

Sharee laid her hand over her core. 'Even if you take these souls, do you truly believe that you can just take the power within the Items? You've overlooked one very important detail: we're the vessels.'

'I am fully aware of that.'

'And, yet, you miss the point.' Sharee shrugged, turned and headed to the door.

Marik had one more thing to say. 'I promise you, by the sands of Egypt, the Pharaoh's power will be mine! Another of my mind slaves is already in Battle City, waiting to defeat you and take your Puzzle. And he holds an Egyptian God Card.'

Yugi gasped. 'And what's the name of this card?'

'You'll find out soon enough, little Yugi. Until then, beware the quiet one.'

'What do you mean, Marik?' Yugi demanded. 'Who is the quiet one?'

'We'll meet again, Yugi.'

With that, Marik let go of Arkana's body and the illusionist dropped. Sharee had no doubt Yugi caught him before he hit the floor.

'I'm not afraid of you!' Yugi called to Marik. 'Next time, show me your face, you coward!'

Sharee unbolted the door and pulled it open. Tristan came flying through with a cry of alarm. For the past few minutes, it seemed, he'd been trying to beat the door in. Sharee shook her head. It's a steel door, buddy. You're not gonna knock it down. Mokuba, Téa and Mr. Moto was on the other side as well. Tristan jumped up and the other three ran in.

'Yugi, you all right, buddy?' Tristan asked.

'We're here!' Téa cried.

'And you missed all the fun.' Sharee chuckled and pulled out her phone. 'Somebody call an ambulance for red-suit. I gotta make another call.' She stepped out of the room and strode thought the building until she got outside. She didn't doubt all technology signals were blocked from inside there. Sharee dialled and waited until she got an answer. 'Shauna, I need you to track someone down for me.'

Sorry about the delay. There's been a lot going on around here at the moment.