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

Shadow of a Duel

'We showed that Marik creep, didn't we!' For someone who'd just been brainwashed, Joey was still his usual self. 'Now we can focus on the Battle City Finals.'

Sharee considered that might have been because of the Tylenol she'd just given him. She chuckled. 'And how's the headache?'

Joey slumped and clamped a hand to his head. 'Fine, until you bring it up.'

The rest of their friends laughed. Sharee smiled to herself. Hopefully, Marik's learnt a thing or two. Though I expect it'll take a lot more than this for him to suck it up and go home with his tail tucked between his legs.

Joey spoke to his sister. 'Serenity,' he turned around, 'I wont forget how you saved my life back there.'

Serenity looked surprised.

'And now that you can see again, you'll be able to watch me duel all the way to the top and win the Battle City Finals, sis!'

'Hm-mm.' Serenity nodded.

Mai made an exasperated sound and stepped over, draping an arm over the youngest girl's shoulder as she turned her around. 'Look, Serenity, I know your really excited to see your big brother duelling in the Finals, but I'll tell you,' she waved her finger, 'between us, girlfriend, Joey's not gonna last too much longer in the Battle City Tournament.' She gave the blond in question a sly look. 'Especially once he has to face me in a duel.'

'Oh, yeah?' Joey demanded. 'Who beat who last time?'

'Oh, yay!' Sharee chuckled again. 'Duellist High!'

'The what?' Téa asked.

'You know,' Sharee said. 'That thing everybody gets when they get into any Tournament Finals.'

Mai laughed and stepped away from Serenity. 'That's what it is.' She looked at Joey. 'As for your victory last time, pure luck! Besides, Duellist Kingdom's ancient history and this time I plan to wipe out both of you boys.'

Yugi, ever the peace-maker, said, 'I'm sure you'll be tough to beat, Mai.'

'Forget about her, Yugi.' Joey gave him the thumb's up. 'After what you and I have been through, the rest of this tournament's gonna be a breeze.' He lowered his hand. 'Speaking of which, it's time to use our locator cards and find out where the Finals are being held. So let's do this!'

Yugi nodded.

Joey pulled out his six locator cards and held them up. 'All right! Here we come, Battle City Finals!' He activated his duel disk and slid the cards into the six slots. 'Word on the street is we put 'em on our duel disks and the secret site is revealed.' The duel disk on his arm glowed brightly as the transmission was sent up to Kaiba's Satellite.

'That makes sense to me,' Mai said.

Tristan was definitely impressed. 'Check it out!' A beam of light shot out from the device on Joey's arm. The others around them made sounds of awe.

'It's projecting something!' Téa observed.

A 3-D holographic image appeared in front of them. Sharee nearly rolled her eyes at Téa's statement. How did you think it was going to work?

'What is it?'

'It's so cool!'

The image shot a beam of light into the sky as it took shape. Sharee recognised a very specific part of the city before anyone else did. The aforementioned beam was clearly serving as a pointer. It was the only indicator on the map and pointed quite directly to one of the city's most iconic buildings.

'It kinda looks like a stadium,' Yugi said.

'It is.' Sharee folded her arms. 'KaibaCorp Stadium to be specific.'

'But how do we get there?' Tristan asked.

The computer voice activated. 'Congratulations. Our Satellite Network has confirmed that you are a Battle City Finalist. Stand by for directions to KaibaCorp Stadium.'

YGO

Bakura found something of great interest inside of his mind. The thing was for too long now, he'd been nothing more than an observer to his own body. Sometimes he really envied Yugi and Sharee, having spirits that allowed them their free will. Bakura was not so fortunate. He could do nothing but watch the conversation taking place in his own body. The Evil Spirit and Marik met in the landscape of his mind.

'Seems everything's going according to plan,' Marik said.

The Evil Spirit landed opposite him. 'Yes, and I've already done more than I agreed to do. I took care of Bakura like you asked so you could rescue him, Marik, and gain the trust of those fools. It's your turn.'

'You'll get my Millennium Rod and the other items when you complete your end of the bargain.'

The Evil Spirit turned his head in irritation. 'Look, my patience is growing thin, Marik. What's the next part of the plan?'

'You'll obtain a duel disk and enter the Battle City Tournament Finals.' He lifted his Millennium Rod. 'I'll hand over the objects you seek if you can win me the cards that I desire.'

The Evil Spirit laughed.

Marik lowered the Rod. 'Huh?'

Folding his arms across his chest, the Evil Spirit smirked. 'I guess you're not duellist enough to win them yourself.' He turned away. 'Or is there something else you're not telling me about this scheme of yours, Marik?'

Marik's eyes narrowed. 'Ha. Do you want the Millennium Items or don't you? If so, I suggest you do as I say. Time to enter the finals is running out.' He jumped back, levitating himself into the air. 'You'll need to obtain six locator cards in order to qualify.' He disappeared into the landscape of Bakura's mind with a boisterous laugh.

'Fine, Marik,' the Evil Spirit said.

YGO

Dennis pushed the hospital door open and cursed. Bakura's bed was empty, the covers thrown back like he just got up and walked out. Solomon Moto was on the floor, doubled over with his face pressing against the carpet. The Egyptologist rushed in and leaned over the old man.

'Mr. Moto?' He rolled him over. The aged man groaned. At least he's conscious. 'Mr. Moto, what happened?'

'Bakura…' He gasped in pain. 'He woke up and immediately stood up. There was some kind of Millennium Item that just appeared. He punched me and I fell.'

Dennis cursed. 'Don't worry. That wasn't Bakura. The Item you saw was the Millennium Ring. It's got a spirit inside it too but, unlike what Yugi and Sharee have, Bakura's is evil.' He straightened up. 'Stay here. I'll look for him.'

Dennis bolted out of the room. He paused outside the door. If I were an ancient evil spirit, where would I go to sneak out of a hospital…? It came to him. 'Naturally.' He turned and ran out the back way. He ran through the car park and out the door that led to the alleyway at the back of the hospital. The first thing he saw was a lanky kid shivering, sitting at the base of the opposite building.

'Hey, kid!' Dennis called. 'Did you see a white-haired boy anywhere around here?'

The shivering kid looked up, alarmed. 'Y-yeah. He took my duel disk and my locator card.'

'Shit!' Dennis pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Sharee will need to know about this.

YGO

The Evil Spirit walked through the cemetery. 'Not a duellist in sight. Those fools deceived me.' He heard something ahead and stopped. 'Hm?' Three men suddenly emerged from the surrounding area. Two were in front of him and one was behind. Their faces would look dried up and dead to those with poor eyesight. He could see, though, that they were actually made of plastic.

'This is our turf!' the one behind him stated.

'What is the meaning of this?' the Evil Spirit asked, because he really didn't know.

The one behind him jumped at him. 'I'll show you!'

The Evil Spirit calmly waited until the moron was right behind him, and then he side-stepped. His hand snapped out and snatched the mask from the man's face. Tossing it aside, the Spirit grabbed the fool's wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. The human cried out in pain.

The Spirit calmly looked over his shoulder. There was a duel disk lying on the ground, where this idiot had dropped it. 'So you are duellists.' He looked past the one he had a hold on to the other two. 'If this is how you eliminate the competition, you're even more hopeless than you look.' He pushed the human forward and watched with satisfaction and he stumbled over to the others.

The buffoon spun around.

'You're no match for my strength so we'll do things my way.' The Evil Spirit placed a hand on his hip. 'I possess one locator card. If you'd like to have it, you'll have to duel me for it.'

'Fine.' The shortest moron lifted his hand and pointed at him. 'We have five locator cards, so once we win yours, we'll go straight to the Battle City Finals. What d'ya say, guys?'

The unmasked one stared at him. 'I seen him before.' He rubbed his chin. 'But who knows where? I can't even remember what I had for breakfast today.'

'Just duel him?' The third man – a tall and lanky human – pulled his mask off. 'And win that card, Bonez.'

The short one put his duel disk on. 'I can duel fair and square, especially if it means a trip to the Finals.'

'If we're going to duel, then take off your mask and show me your face,' the Spirit said.

The short fool tore the mask away. It looked like it was just a cheap replica of his own face. 'I'm afraid you don't stand a ghost of a chance in a duel against me. So put up your locator card and let's do this.'

Mortals were always so easy to work. 'If you're so confident, why not raise the stakes?' The Evil Spirit raised his locator card. 'The winner takes all.'

The three humans over there gasped.

'Not likely,' the skinny one said.

The big one sneered and waved his hand at it. 'You thin we're dumb enough to risk all five cards?'

A goading was required, it seemed. 'Your cowardice comes as no surprise, but let me remind you the finals begin soon and you're running out of time.'

The big guy started. 'Hm? He's right!'

'I have stated my case clearly, and if you are wise you will duel me. The winner will go to the Battle City Finals.'

'I accept your challenge.' Bonez activated his duel disk. 'Besides, with only one locator card, you can't be much of a duellist anyway.'

'Accepting my challenge was your first mistake.' The Evil Spirit activated his own duel disk. 'And once I'm through with you, it will be your last!'

YGO

'Mother!'

When she heard her son call, the dark-skinned woman rushed to where he was. Her little boy was crouched behind a tombstone, watching something on the path. Someone had shifted them to the Shadow Realm for this duel. Crouching down behind him and looking herself, she easily saw who.

And, really, who else would it be?

The Evil Spirit of the Millennium Ring sneered at the three boys before him. 'If you want my locator card you'll have to be prepared for anything.' At the moment, she couldn't tell if it was the Dark One or the Thief King.

Two of the three mortals looked around in confusion.

The big one was the first to protest. 'Hey, this fog's as thick as…uh, a really thick soup!'

'Time to begin our duel.' The Spirit drew. 'So get ready…' He looked at the first card he'd pulled from the deck. Before he took his move, though, he decided to give them a little scare. 'Are you aware of the legend of this cemetery?'

The short one drew back. 'What legend?'

'Listen.' The Evil Spirit played the card. 'This very cemetery is haunted by the ghost of a knight who lost his head in battle.'

'What?' the duellist demanded.

The Spirit went on, clearly enjoying this. 'When the clock strikes midnight, he rises up from his grave in search of his missing head.'

'I…don't believe you!' Even as he said it, the short guy certainly looked spooked.

By the Gods, modern day people are easily frightened.

The Evil Spirit cackled in laughter as his monster exploded out of the ground. 'Headless Knight!' As he'd said, it was really a headless knight, with a sword in hand. It had an attack power of 1450. The boy jumped back with a cry of alarm. His eyes were bugged and his already-pale face went even paler. He made frightened little noises.

Really?

The big guy looked at him, annoyed. 'Your face is scarier than that Duel Monsters card, Bonez!'

This seemed to calm him down. 'Hey, I didn't see it coming!' he insisted.

'All right.' The Spirit pulled a card from his hand. 'I'll place one card face-down.' He set the card and a three-dimensional image of it appeared in front of him, vastly enlarged. She knew it was some kind of projection but…What were those things called again? He kept going. 'I'm afraid the worst is yet to come.'

Bonez drew back with a noise of alarm. 'This guy's creeping me out!' He drew. 'I'll show him.' He played the card he'd drawn. 'Now, I'll dig out Snake-Hair, the Sorceress!' The card appeared in front of him, flipped up and the monster emerged from within. She had an attack power of 1500.

'Mother?' her son whispered.

'Yes?'

'Why did they summon their monsters differently?'

'Because the modern-day humans don't have Shadow Powers.'

'That doesn't seem very fair.'

'Few things are.'

He quietened as the duel proceeded.

'She'll bury your Knight in no time!' Bonez pointed across the field as he called out the command. 'Snake-Hair, destroy his Headless Knight with your Stone Blizzard attack!' The monster's eyes flashed and she waved her arms before shooting out a sort of eye-beam attack, a shrill cry coming from her.

The Knight was destroyed by the blast. The Spirit raised his arms against the intensity of the attack. His life points dropped to 3950. This one minor victory meant that Bonez started to get cocky. He lived in a world that was not prepared for the strategical complexities of warfare. He would suffer for it.

'So, it looks like your Knight just lost a lot more than his head,' he said.

'Wrong.' Of course it was. 'I assure you, you haven't seen the last of my Headless Knight so observe and learn.' He drew and added the card to his hand. 'I reveal my face-down card.' The card in question flipped up. 'And it's Shallow Grave.' The ground shook as a coffin rose up from it.

'What's that, mother?'

She had a basic understanding of what it was. 'It's like a sarcophagus except much simpler in design and available to everyone – also, it was put in the ground rather than a tomb.'

The coffin came to stop just in front of the card. The Evil Spirit explained. 'This magic card allows me to revive one monster from my graveyard and place it back on the field in defence mode.' He took the card from his duel disk and held it up. 'So, welcome back, my Headless Knight.'

The lid of the coffin was pushed open from the inside. It slid across until it overbalanced and crashed to the ground below. The Headless Knight rose from the inside and stood up, sword in hand. This time, though, his attack power was at 1700.

The big guy leaned forward. 'Look out, Bonezy! That Headless guy came back from the grave!'

The lanky guy looked over at him. 'Wake up, Zygor! Snake-Hair's still got more attack points than that flimsy Knight.'

'Oh, yeah, you got a point there, Sid.' Zygor chuckled.

The Evil Spirit took a card from his hand. 'This monster maybe too weak, but watch as I sacrifice my Headless Knight in order to summon a creature stronger than your Snake-Hair.' A vortex appeared underneath the Knight. 'Rise up, Earl of Demise!' The vortex became a portal. The Knight and his coffin sank down into it, disappearing from the field. The portal glowed for a moment, pink tendrils extending out from it. Then the whole lot shattered and a new monster was in its place.

The Earl of Demise looked like a long-dead aristocrat from pre-revolutionary France. His skin was blue and, even from the distance, clearly rubbery. He looked like he'd been blinded in one eye and his back was hunched. He held a rapier in his hand. His attack points stood at 2000.

'Oh, no.' Bonez jumped back. 'My monster's a goner!'

The Spirit gave the order. 'And now, Earl of Demise, attack with your Sword of Peril!' The Earl leapt forward and slashed Snake-Hair in half. The other monster was destroyed, shattering to pieces.

'No! Snake-Hair!' As Bonez watched his monster die from behind his arm, his life points dropped to 3500.

The Evil Spirit laughed as the effects of his attack cleared. 'Have you amateurs had enough punishment yet?'

Bonez ground his teeth. 'We'll see which one of us is an amateur when I do this!' He drew and played his card. 'I summon Dragon Zombie!' The card appeared on the field and the monster emerged from it. The monster stood with an attack power of 1600. He played a second card. 'Now I'll unearth my Magic Burial card!' It appeared on the field, flipped up. A hand shot out of the ground and a familiar monster pulled itself up out of the ground. 'Look familiar? This magic card costs me 800 life points…' They dropped down to 2700. '…but since it brings Snake-Hair back from the grave, it's a price I'm willing to pay.' He pulled another card from his hand. 'Especially once I activate my Polymerisation card.' The card flashed onto the field and flipped up. It begun slowly sucking the two monsters inside. 'It fuses my two monsters together, creating a monster so terrifying it will send shivers down your spine.' The Dragon Zombie and Snake-Hair fell into the card. 'Behold! The Great Mammoth of Goldfine! You are finished.' The card glowed brightly and the Mammoth emerged. It looked like only the skeleton, with only one eye to see through. Its attack power stood at 2200. He pulled another card from his hand. 'Since fusion monsters have to wait one turn before attacking, I'll lay one card face-down.' He set the card. 'And then I'll wait for you to make your next move.' The card appeared in front of him.

The Evil Spirit regarded him, and his Mammoth, calmly.

'Hey!' Bonez was clearly growing impatient. 'Are you gonna draw or what?'

'With pleasure.' He drew.

'Oo!' Bonez suddenly interrupted his turn. 'I'm playing a trap card. Skull Invitation!' His face-down card flipped up. 'Now, every time one of your monsters is destroyed my Skull Invitation card will severely damage your life points!' He laughed arrogantly. 'So when my Great Mammoth of Goldfine destroys your Earl of Demise in my next turn, you will lose 300 extra life points automatically. Ha!' He raised his duel disk. 'Talk about having one foot in the grave. You are finished, bud!'

Of course, the Evil Spirit started sniggering, then that turned to laughing.

'Huh?' Bonez drew back, confused.

'Your trap card is meaningless to me,' the Spirit said. 'To prove it, I'll send every card in my hand to the card graveyard.' He raised his hand and then did exactly as he said he would, sliding them into the slot.

'What?' Bonez demanded.

Sid perched his hand on his hip. 'This bloke must be mad as a hatter to make that move. You can't lose, Bonezy.'

'Yeah.' Bonez smirked. The card activated. 'Skull Invitation, do your dirty work.' The Skull beast streaked out from the card, curling and weaving across the field. It twisted around the host body that the Spirit was using.

His life points dropped to 2750.

'That's right!' Zygor clenched his fist. 'Squeeze the life points right out him!'

The beast slowly faded away. The Evil Spirit chuckled, unfazed.

'Now what's so funny?' Bonez demanded.

'You'll soon find out.' The Spirit straightened up. 'Not only are you about to lose this duel, but when I'm done with you…' His eyes narrowed. '…you'll lose so much more.'

For the first time, the boys seemed to acknowledge the danger they were in.

The Spirit willingly explained. 'You were so distracted by the hopeless thought of winning my locator card and a chance into the Finals, you failed to notice I've played a magic card.' The card in question glowed. It flipped up, revealing itself.

Bonez clearly recognised it. 'Oh, no!'

'It's called Spiritualistic Medium, and it provides my Earl of Demise with an additional 500 attack points with every card destroyed during my turn.'

'It can't…!' Bonez insisted.

'Oh, it can,' he said. 'And, if you remember correctly, I destroyed four of my own cards, giving my monster 2000 more attack points. Go, my spirits!' Skeleton ghosts covered in torn purple robes emerged from the card and steamed into his Earl. 'And add your power to the Earl of Demise!' His monster's attack point flew up to 4000.

Bonez stepped back. 'Its grown too powerful!'

'Yes!' The Evil Spirit called out the attack. 'Earl of Demise, destroy his Mammoth!' The Earl shot forward and slashed the Mammoth apart. It fell apart and shattered.

Bonez groaned. 'I lose 1800 life points.' That brought them down to 900.

The Spirit pointed to him. 'And because of your own trap card, you lose 300 additional life points.'

The effect rippled against the boy and he cried out as he was thrown back. His life points dropped down to 600.

'The end is near. And, when I win, you and your friends will be trapped here.'

'What d'ya mean by that?' Zygor demanded.

The child under her arm looked up at her. 'They haven't noticed?'

'They mistook this dimension for simple fog.'

'Mother, what's fog?'

'Yeah, we didn't get much of it in Egypt,' she mused.

Their attention was called back to the duel when the Evil Spirit began explaining it. 'Ha! Just look around you, you fools. We've been duelling in the Shadow Realm.'

The three of them looked around with varying sounds of alarm. They finally saw what was around them – what their world had never prepared them for. Even now there were mounds moving towards them. Those mounds were lost human souls, seeking sustenance from the venerable souls, desperate to preserve themselves even if just a little longer. They'd been torn down in much the same way, but their sense of consciousness was gone. They only knew the need to survive.

'I transported us here when I first arrived,' the Evil Spirit said. 'What do you think?'

The three of them made the same demand at the same time. 'What are those things?'

'Those are lost souls, trapped forever in the darkness,' the Spirit said.

All three boys whimpered.

'And, soon, you will join them. Your souls doomed to wander in the darkness of the Shadow Realm.'

'No!' Sid hollered. 'See you later, lads!' He turned and took off.

'Sid!' the big guy called as he ran right past them.

Her son looked up at her. 'I thought you couldn't run away in the Shadow Realm.'

She nodded her head as Sid came running from the other direction. 'You can't.' He saw them and tripped, falling flat on his butt. 'How did I end up back here?'

'Let that be a lesson,' the Spirit said, bringing their horrified gazes back to his face. 'You cannot run from the Shadow Realm. Only by defeating me in this duel can you hope to escape its clutches.'

At that statement, Sid jumped to his feet and grabbed his shorter friend. 'Bonez, whatever you do don't you bloody lose!'

'Or we'll end up like these guys!' Zygor insisted.

Bonez drew with a shaky hand. 'O-kay, let me see here.' He looked at the card, hand still shaking. 'Hey! Not bad.' He set the card he'd just drawn. 'I play the magic card Nightmare Steel Cage!' The cage took form around the Evil Spirit and his monster. 'You'll be trapped in my cage for two whole turns, preventing you from attacking until you're free.' He laid another card. 'But, just in case, I'll play this magic card, face-down.' The card appeared in front of him.

'You got him good,' Zygor said. 'Now you have two turns to wipe out his life points.'

'Duh.' Bonez obviously had no patience for his friend. 'Think I don't know that?'

'I draw one card.' The Evil Spirit did exactly that. He made a disenchanted sound.

Sid decided it was a good idea to mock him. 'Aw! Disappointed cause you can't move?'

The Spirit smirked. 'On the contrary, I'm disappointed because this duel has to end and I wanted to prolong your misery.'

'What are you talking about?' Bonez demanded. 'As long as you're trapped in my Nightmare Steel Cage, none of your monsters can carry out an attack for two full turns.'

'That's only partially true. There is one card that can penetrate your cage.' He set the card in question. 'Activate Ectoplasmer!' The card appeared on the field and flipped up. It glowed as its effect was activated. The Spirit explained it as the card took effect. 'Ectoplasmer extracts the very soul of my monster and transforms it into an energy so powerful, it can penetrate your cage and destroy the rest of your life points.'

'That's terrible,' the woman murmured.

Bonez drew back with a strangled whimper. 'No way!'

'Yes!' The Evil Spirit called out the attack. 'Now, go, Ectoplasmer…' The soul of the Earl of Demise took on a form of white pure energy. It shot out and through the bars of the Nightmare Steel Cage. '…and finish these fools off now!' It sailed across the field and smacked into the three screaming men.

The woman shielded her own eyes with one hand, and her child's with the other. When the light from the attack faded, Bonez had lost the duel. The boys had fallen onto their butts. The Evil Spirit stood over the three of them. It was all over. Those three would never see their own world again, and soon their souls would be consumed.

'Stop your whimpering,' the Evil Spirit said. 'Nothing can save you now. It's over.'

They all gasped.

'You duelled me and lost.' The Spirit stated the facts. 'And now you must all wander the Shadow Realm until I chose to set you free.'

All three of them looked down and cried out in alarm. The wandering spirits had gotten to them. They all jumped to their feet and their backs slammed into each other, a futile effort to get away. The lost souls lifted up and covered them all anyhow as the Evil Spirit laughed.

Soon, all that was left of those three was a black puddle of soul energy…and Bonez's duel disk. The Evil Spirit walked over and picked the device up. He pulled five cards from it. These ones were different from they others though. They were see-through except for one tiny space on each.

The woman narrowed her eyes. I wonder…

YGO

Sharee was sitting on the very back of Mai's convertible sports car. Tristan and Duke sat on the back doors on either side of her. Her legs were tucked behind Téa's back. She was sitting in the middle of the back seat. Yugi sat on one side of her while Joey dozed in his seat on the other. Serenity sat in the front passenger seat as Mai drove them to the Battle City Finals.

Sharee's attention was drawn as her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her back pocket and looked at the text message she'd received. She pressed her lips together at what her father needed her to know. That would pose a problem later. She tucked her phone away and noticed Mai's eyes glancing at her in the rear vision mirror.

'Who was that?' she asked.

'Just dad.' She'd have to tell Yugi later.

'Anything wrong?' Duke asked.

'No.'