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

The Dark Spirit Revealed Part II

The Thief King laughed. 'Yugi, you fool, you've helped me release the power of Dark Sanctuary and now the field is covered with a magic so terrifying it will keep you in a constant state of fear and eventually destroy you!'

'It is you who should be afraid,' the Pharaoh said. 'You have no monsters left and you're down to your last 150 life points.' It'd apparently cost him 300 to use this card.

A white ghost head started swirling around the field as the Thief King answered. 'That's true, however the Evil Ghost of Dark Sanctuary is now protecting me, which will change my fortune dramatically.'

'Your ghosts don't frighten me. Without a single monster to defend your life points, I will win this duel and remove you from the Battle City Finals in one attack.'

'You're more foolish than I thought. Dark Sanctuary provides me power beyond your understanding. But, if you're so confident, then go ahead and attack.'

The Pharaoh did just that. 'Gamma the Magnet Warrior, attack his life points directly!' Gamma charged, but then something unexpected happened. The Ghost of Dark Sanctuary shot out of his back and streaked across the field.

'What?' the Pharaoh demanded.

The Thief King issued his own command. 'Evil Ghost, counterattack!' It slammed into the Pharaoh.

With a grunt, he staggered back a step. His body stung from the blow. He'd still been able to lift his arm to protect his face though. 'What's going on? My monster's attack didn't work and I was attacked instead.'

The Thief King laughed again. 'Very observant, Yugi. Your monster is possessed by the Evil Ghost of my Dark Sanctuary.'

'It's possessed?'

'Yes, and that is how I was able to turn your own monster against you.' He chuckled.

'And have you possessed all of them?'

'You'll just have to figure that out for yourself if you have the nerve to try and attack me again.' He closed his eyes with his confidence. 'And, of course, possession is only one of my card's powers.'

'Huh?'

'But you'll find out what else Dark Sanctuary is capable of soon enough. In the meantime, we shall deal with the situation at hand.'

'Go on.'

'I will. Since you made the mistake of attacking me with a monster that was possessed, half of your monster's attack points come out of your life points.'

Rat rot! The Pharaoh knew he should have thought of that. His life points dropped down to 3250.

'And then, just to make sure they don't go to waste, the life points you lost will simply be added to mine!' His maniacal laughter was accompanied by his life points shooting up to 900.

'Your life points are still minimal. They'll be gone soon.'

The Thief King stopped laughing, but the smirk never left his face. 'We'll just see about that, Yugi. You have no idea of the terror that lurks in my deck! Let's see what's next. Are you ready?' He drew. He set the card. 'I play Destiny Board.' The card appeared on the field. 'You're finished!'

'Destiny Board?' the Pharaoh asked. 'What does it do?'

It rose into the air as it begun to activate. 'You're about to find out.' The Board emerged from the card.

YGO

'That's weird,' Joey said. 'All that fuss just for a board?'

'I saw one of those boards at a haunted funhouse,' Duke remarked.

'You mean there's gonna be more ghosts?' Joey demanded.

'Possibly.' Sharee scrutinised it. 'That's an ouija board.' She looked at her friends. 'They came into usage in Victorian England when scam-artists would pose as mediums and clairvoyants. They used them to pretend to communicate with the dead.'

Téa sighed. 'Trust you to have a history lecture.'

'Man,' Tristan said. 'Ghosts and ghouls…Yug's in real trouble.'

'Hold on, guys.' Serenity looked confused. 'Isn't this all just a game?'

Téa looked back at the battlefield. 'Well, let's hope so.'

Knowing that Thief King, probably not.

YGO

'I'll ask you again,' the Pharaoh said. 'What does this card do? Answer me!'

The Thief King's smirk remained firmly in place. He chuckled. 'It's quite simple. My Destiny Board gives me the ability to communicate with lost souls of the Shadow Realm. Using the letters on this board, they shall spell out a message for you. So, Yugi, it's time for you to receive the first letter of your message.' The arm began moving around, carrying the metal instrument with it. 'And that letter is…' The arm stopped. '…D!'

The letter appeared above the board. Even as he stared at it, the Pharaoh's mind turned over what the Thief King had just said. He'd said "the lost souls of the Shadow Realm". That meant that was where they were. At the start of the duel, he'd also told him not to count on the woman and child appearing. Was it possible that the Evil Spirit of the Thief King had brought them to a part of the Shadow Realm that was blocked off so his two spirit allies couldn't come to his aid? Yes…it is very possible.

'What is the Destiny Board going to spell out?' the Pharaoh demanded.

'You'll see.' The arm returned back to its original location. 'Each turn the Destiny Board will reveal one letter. And then, after five turns pass and all five letters are revealed, this duel will end and you'll lose absolutely everything, Yugi!' He accentuated his statement by pointing at the Pharaoh. Then he broke into maniacal laughter.

The Pharaoh waited for him to finish. 'Your Destiny Board doesn't frighten me. I'll defeat you well before its message is spelled out in four more turns. After all, it's my destiny to win.'

'Come on, Yugi!' Téa called from the sidelines.

Joey added his two cents in. 'Show this creep-a-zoid who's boss!'

The Thief King laughed. 'Yugi, with my Evil Ghost possessing your monsters, and my Destiny Board on the playing field, you're done. Only four more turns and victory is mine.' He took a card from his hand. 'Now, I play the Dark Door.' He set the card and it appeared on the field. 'With this magic card on the field, you can only attack once per turn.'

The Pharaoh ground his teeth.

The Thief King chuckled. 'Your chances of defeating me have just decreased.' He took a card and looked at it. 'And, next, I'll play Earthbound Spirit.' He set the card and it appeared on the field. The head and arms of a brown mummified body, minus any bandages, emerged from the card. 'But it won't be around for long.' He chuckled. 'I plan to sacrifice it. You see, in order to keep my Dark Sanctuary card in play I need to sacrifice a monster each turn.' He pointed to the Spirit. 'So, begone!' The monster and its card both disappeared once again.

'Time for me to put an end to this.' The Pharaoh drew. It was Kuriboh. All right. Since he has Dark Door in play, I can only make one attack per turn. So I have to make this attack count. He looked up at the field. But I can't use my Magnet Warrior since it's possessed by an Evil Ghost, thanks to his Dark Sanctuary card. If I attack with it, I'll lose life points again. So, my best bet is to attack him with my Dark Magician Girl. Since he has no monsters protecting him, and only 900 life points, I can wipe him out with one direct attack – as long as he doesn't stop my attack with that face down card. This duel will be over.

'Well, then,' the Thief King said with a chuckle, 'you seem to have trouble making up your mind, Yugi. Perhaps you should surrender now.'

The Pharaoh scowled. 'Never!' He slapped the card on the duel disk. 'I summon Kuriboh in defence mode!' The card appeared on the field and the small monster emerged. He called out the attack. 'Now, my Dark Magician Girl, attack his life points directly!' The Dark Magician Girl charged, but she didn't make the attack. Instead, the Evil Spirit shot out of her back too.

The Thief King chuckled. 'Dark Ghost, counterattack!'

The Pharaoh braced himself. Rat rot! Once again, the Ghost slammed into him. He cried out and staggered a step. 'What's going on?' The Dark Magician Girl looked back at him regretfully.

'She was possessed,' the Thief King said. 'With each turn, I can choose a different monster for my spirit to possess. And now you lose even more of your life points…'

The Pharaoh's life points dropped to 2000.

'…but, fortunately, they get added to my own. My Dark Sanctuary is full of surprises, and since your turn is over you know what's about to happen.'

The Pharaoh growled and drew back. 'What? Tell me!'

'Destiny Board gets another letter!' The arm on the Destiny Board began moving around again. The came to rest on the second letter. The Thief King lifted his card. 'And the second letter is…E.' He set the card and that appeared next to the "D".

'Only three letters left!' It suddenly occurred to the Pharaoh. 'Wait!'

'Yes?'

'Our duel disks only have five slots,' the Pharaoh said. 'Which means only five magic cards can be in play at once and each of your letters is one magic card, so as long as your Dark Door card is in play you can't spell out your entire word.'

The Thief King chuckled. 'Very observant, Yugi. However, with Dark Sanctuary I can play more than five magic cards.'

'Huh?' The Pharaoh drew back a bit.

'In other words, even with my Dark Door magic card on the playing field I can still play all five letters of the Destiny Board and finish you off.' He broke out into his maniacal laughter.

'You mean your Dark Sanctuary card allows you to play extra cards and possess my monsters with an Evil Ghost?'

'Yes, and that is what makes me unstoppable!' He pointed at him across the field. 'Yugi, your hope of winning is over. In just three short turns, you will be finished!' He started laughing again. 'Say goodbye to the Finals!' He paused. 'As long as the magic of Dark Sanctuary surrounds, I'm in control.' He drew, and played his card. 'I summon Sangan!' The beast appeared on the field. 'And now I'll sacrifice it to maintain the power of Dark Sanctuary.' The monster was instantly destroyed. 'Sangan's special effect allows me to draw one more card after its been sent to the graveyard.' He did just that. 'Now, let's see what you can do. Not much, I'm sure.'

'You're wrong.' The Pharaoh drew. 'I draw!' He cast his gaze over his side of the field. I know one of my three monsters is possessed by the Ghost of Dark Sanctuary. But which one? He looked down at the monster directly in front of him. I doubt it's Kuriboh. He's too weak for me to attack with anyway. He lifted his gaze again. So that leaves me with two choices: Gamma the Magnet Warrior or the Dark Magician Girl. He glanced between the two, then ground his teeth. Which is it? I can only attack once thanks to his Dark Door card, and if I choose the wrong monster to attack with I'll lose more life points – and he'll gain them! I can't mess up, or I'm finished.

'Proceed with your attack, Yugi, but choose wisely,' the Thief King said. 'For one of your monsters is possessed by the Evil Ghost of Dark Sanctuary.'

The Pharaoh looked at the card in his hand. I know this monster isn't possessed, cause I just drew it, but his attack points are low so I'll just use it to protect my life points. 'I summon Big Shield Gardna in defence mode!' He played the card and it emerged on the field.

'That was pointless,' the Thief King said. 'Nothing can protect your life points from the Ghost of Dark Sanctuary.'

The Pharaoh ground his teeth and tensed in anger. All right. Time to attack! But I gotta make sure I don't choose the monster that's possessed, or half of that monster's attack points will be taken out of my life points. Since my Magnet Warrior has less attack points, I'll choose him. Cause, really, there was no way to tell which monster it was. 'Gamma the Magnet Warrior, attack now!' Gamma charged forward. This time, no Ghost came streaking out of his back so he'd gotten it right. The Thief King watched the approaching attack calmly.

'You've triggered my trap card, Dark Spirit of the Silent!' His face down card flipped up. A ghoul emerged and streaked across the field. 'This card instantly stops your Magnet Warrior from attacking me. Did you honestly believe I'd let you attack my life points directly, Yugi? Never! And there's more. Once my trap card stops your Warrior, it will force Dark Magician Girl to attack!'

So, as he thought, she was the one possessed. Magnet Warrior was knocked off from his attack. 'No! If my Dark Magician Girl is the monster that's possessed and she attacks you, then that means I'll lose more life points!'

'Correct. And I'm afraid she is, so say goodbye to 1250 life points.'

The Pharaoh swore he saw tears in her eyes as she was forced to attack and the Ghost emerged from her back, striking him once again. His life points dropped down to 750.

'Looks like you get weaker…' the Thief King said as his own raised to 3400, '…as my life points grow higher and higher.' He took a moment to compose himself. 'I'm afraid this duel is almost over. Too bad. There's no hope left. One more attack to your life points and you're finished.' He chuckled.

The Pharaoh maintained his silence. He's right. If I attack him with one more monster that's possessed, I'll lose the rest of my life points and be eliminated from the Finals. A painful twinge took up residence in the Pharaoh's head. If I could only figure out how to destroy the Evil Ghost of Dark Sanctuary. There must be a way. But how can I destroy something I can't even see?

'What's the matter?' The Thief King was clearly enjoying the lead he had. 'Perhaps you would like to forfeit the duel?'

I'll never quit. This duel isn't over and I know I have something in my hand that can help turn things around. He looked over his cards. Hm…

There.

Huh? Oh, wait! That's…

Yes.

Maybe those cards will help. The Pharaoh pulled them from his hand. 'I place two cards face down,' he set the cards and they appeared in front of him, 'and end my turn.'

The Thief King, apparently, was on a roll. 'So, I see that you haven't yet realised that nothing can save you now. It's merely a matter of time, Yugi.'

'Wrong,' the Pharaoh said. 'I can assure you that your Evil Ghost of Dark Sanctuary is in for a rude awakening. And once it's gone I'll be free to attack you.'

'You're no match for the power of my deck, Yugi.'

'We'll see about that!'

'Time is running out. Look at the Destiny Board.' The arm moved again. The Thief King took a card at the same time.

'The third letter! What is it?'

The Thief King set the card as the arm came to the letter in question. 'A. Two short turns and it's all over!'

The Pharaoh looked at the letters. D-E-A…His mind scanned over the words that it could possibly be spelling. He heard Sharee groan on the sidelines. He could see why now too. There was only one five-letter word that would really make sense in the situation. It was irritating, but he wasn't really surprised.

'The Destiny Board is displaying three letters.' The Thief King drew.

'I'm aware of that.'

'I play Souls of the Forgotten…' He set his card and it appeared on the field. A plethora of spirits surged forth. '…and sacrifice it to keep Dark Sanctuary.' They all disappeared again. He laughed. 'It's time for you to try and attack me again, if you dare. But, remember, one of your monsters is possessed so be careful.' He lifted his head. 'Now make your move.'

It was the Pharaoh's turn to smirk. 'I'll do it with pleasure. I have a plan to demolish your Evil Ghost once and for all.'

For the first time, the Thief King seemed to take his words seriously. 'It can't be.'

'It is,' he said. 'And once your Ghost is gone I won't have to worry about my monsters being possessed.'

'Yugi!' Joey called. 'Give this horror show a happy ending!'

'Say goodbye to your Ghost.' The Pharaoh drew.

'My invisible Ghost is possessing a monster now,' the Thief King said. 'So, why don't you figure out where it is and then destroy it?'

'I don't have to figure out where your Dark Ghost is. I have a card in my deck that can find it for me. And now…behold!' He activated one of his face down cards and it flipped up. 'The trap card, Collected Power! It forces certain monsters to focus their effect on Kuriboh.' He pointed to the monster in question. The first thing to be removed was the Magic Formula from Dark Magician Girl. Out of the corner of his eye, the Pharaoh saw Kaiba looking disdainful at the move for a moment, before his eyes widened in realisation. 'So who's in control now? I knew that your Evil Ghost lived within Dark Sanctuary.'

The Thief King growled.

'Therefore, I knew I had to play my trap card of Collective Powers, because it would force your Evil Ghost right out of its hiding place and into Kuriboh.'

The Thief King ground his teeth and growled again. 'What do you plan to do?'

'Simple.' The Pharaoh held up a card. 'I'll use this. A magic card called Exile of the Wicked, which will automatically destroy my Kuriboh.' He chuckled and set it on the field. 'So, Exile of the Wicked, wipe out my Kuriboh and his Dark Ghost.' The card's effect was instantaneous. The Evil Ghost tried to escape Kuriboh but it couldn't. Both his monster and the Ghost were disintegrated. 'And now, Evil Spirit of Dark Sanctuary be gone!'

The Thief King growled, and then smirked. 'You may have defeated my Ghost, but my Destiny Board will still destroy you in only two turns when it completes its message.'

'Don't count on it,' the Pharaoh said. 'This duel isn't over and it's still my move.'

'Huh?' He suddenly looked worried.

'All right!' Joey cheered from the sidelines.

Tea called out too. 'Way to go, Yugi!'

The Pharaoh felt a tremor from the Millennium Puzzle. There was a communication between the Millennium Rod and the Millennium Ring. Marik and the Thief King were talking. They obviously thought he was unaware of it. He waited until it passed before he continued his move. 'All right, it's time to bring back a monster from the graveyard.' He activated his second down card. 'I play Monster Reborn!' The familiar card flipped up and activated. 'I'll bring back a monster from your graveyard!' The Thief King's duel disk glowed brightly as the monster was revived. It came over to the Pharaoh's side of the field. 'Dark Necrofear, return!' The monster appeared in front of him. 'So, say goodbye to your Dark Sanctuary.'

The Thief King drew back as his Dark Sanctuary was destroyed. 'Since destroying Dark Necrofear released it, I knew bringing it back would defeat it.'

A twitch appeared on the Thief King's face. 'No!'

'And now that Dark Sanctuary is gone, I'm afraid that you are no longer permitted to have more than five magic cards in play at one time.'

He looked down at his duel disk.

'This may foil some of your plans.' The Pharaoh moved onto the offensive. 'And now I'll attack your life points directly, with Dark Necrofear!' The monster rose up and narrowed her eyes for a moment. When they widened, red lightening shot out and formed into a beam. It struck the Thief King through the chest.

He cried out in surprise and pain.

'All right,' the Pharaoh said. 'This duel's almost done…'

The Thief King's life points dropped down to 1200.

'…since you've lost more than half of your life points.'

The Thief King raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. He lifted it up into the air. 'Now I add the fourth letter to the Destiny Board!' He pulled the card from his hand and added it to the duel disk. 'The letter T.'

The Pharaoh looked up and smirked. 'D-E-A-T. Your word is "death". It's too bad you'll never play the last letter. Look at your duel disk.'

He did, with wide eyes.

'You have five magic cards in play, and you have no room for any others. So if you want to play the last letter of your message, you must discard your Dark Door magic card and its effect on my monsters.' The Pharaoh pointed across the field at him. 'Allowing me to attack more than once in a turn. And, with no monsters to protect you and only 1200 life points, my three monsters would wipe you out in one turn. The decision is yours.'

The Thief King's eye shook in rage. 'This can't be true…!'

There was another tremor of contact before the Thief King turned back to him. 'Now prepare yourself, Yugi. It's my move and this duel is far from over.' He drew. When he looked at his card, he started laughing. 'I've done it, Yugi. The time has arrived for me to regain my control…with this card!'

The Pharaoh knew he wouldn't say that if he didn't honestly believe it. 'Oh, no!'

'It's all over, Yugi,' the Thief King said. 'The card I hold in my hand is my key to annihilating you.'

'What card have you drawn?' the Pharaoh asked.

'Something that will help me take all that you have!' He burst into his maniacal laughter once more.

'The fate of the world depends on my victory,' the Pharaoh murmured.