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

The Dark Spirit Revealed Part III

'It's over, Yugi,' the Evil Spirit said. 'The card I've just drawn will destroy you.'

'Enough talk!' the Pharaoh snapped. 'Make your move.'

The Evil Spirit lifted his head, smirking. 'It's time for you to lose it all! You may have destroyed my Dark Sanctuary and stopped its magic, but that was only temporary.' He narrowed his eyes. 'A magic that powerful does not fade so easily.'

The Pharaoh gritted his teeth.

The Evil Spirit played his card. 'So I summon Jowken the Spiritualist!' The monster appeared on the field in attack position. The strange thing was that it only had an attack strength of 200.

What's he doing? 'What's your plan?' the Pharaoh demanded. 'Tell me!'

YGO

Sharee frowned.

'I'm stumped,' Joey said. 'What's that do?'

Tristan pointedly reminded him that he was one of the finalists. 'Hey, you tell us, Mr. Expert.'

'I've never seen it, all right?' Joey retorted defensively.

Tristan pulled a face. 'Well, excuse me! I thought you knew this stuff!'

Sharee looked at them and vocalised Sharee's thoughts. 'Are you guys really doing this now?'

'Oh, right.' Joey rubbed his head.

Tristan nearly flushed. 'Sorry.'

Sharee shook her head and refocused on the duel as the Evil Spirit laughed. 'By sacrificing one card in my hand I can use Jowken the Spiritualist to destroy all specially summoned monsters on the field.'

Joey leaned forward, disbelieving. 'No way!'

'Way.' Mai corrected him. 'Since Yugi summoned Dark Necrofear with a magic card, Bakura can destroy it.'

'But won't that release the dark magic thing with all the eyeballs like last time?' Téa demanded.

'Yes,' Sharee said at the same time as Mai nodded.

YGO

The Evil Spirit took a card from his hand. 'So I sacrifice this card…' He discarded it into his graveyard. '…to activate Jowken to do my dirty work for me.' He issued the command. 'Destroy Dark Necrofear!' Jowken moved, lifting a hand to his face before twirling his staff around and extending it to the other monster in question. A beam of purple light, electricity crackling around it, blasted from the top of his staff and struck Dark Necrofear. The resurrected monster was destroyed.

The Pharaoh drew back. 'You sent Dark Necrofear back to the card graveyard.' He tensed. 'Which means one thing.'

'Yes!' The Evil Spirit was almost glowing from this small victory. 'Dark Sanctuary is returning, and covering the field once again in its powerful magic. This will allow me to play the fifth and final letter of the destiny board, spelling its complete message – a message that will end this duel in your defeat, Yugi! It all happens in one more turn so prepare to say goodbye to the Battle City Finals, and so much more.' He burst out laughing.

The Pharaoh gritted his teeth.

One more turn…

YGO

Joey made a loud sound of fear. 'With this dark magic back, I'm freaked out!'

Mai groaned. 'All right. Snap out of it, chicken-boy! Are you just gonna curl up in a ball, or are you gonna cheer for your friend?'

Serenity made her decision. 'Go, Yugi!'

'Come on!' Téa murmured.

Joey was the loudest. 'Yeah! I know you can get outta this mess, buddy!'

'Are you sure?' Serenity asked.

'No matter how tough the fight, Yugi always pulls through!' Joey had the conviction to convince his sister. 'I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, but Yugi can do it.'

YGO

'I'd suggest giving up now, Yugi,' the Evil Spirit said. 'Nothing you do can stop me from completing the Destiny Board. I shall reveal the last letter next turn.' He pointed across the field. 'And you will automatically lose everything!'

The Pharaoh drew back.

The Evil Spirit went on. 'And since I must sacrifice a monster to maintain Dark Sanctuary, farewell, Jowken.' The monster he'd just summoned was dispersed. The Evil Spirit made his last move for the turn. 'I'll set one card face-down.' It appeared on the field. 'And end my turn. The ectoplasmic head floated past him with a cry. 'Remember my Ghost is back to possess one of your monsters.'

The Pharaoh had no patience for such pointless statements. 'I'm well aware.'

The Evil Spirit was undaunted. 'But which one will I choose? You'll just have to guess, eh, Yugi? But attacking me with a possessed monster could cost you your life points, so choose wisely.'

'Fine!' the Pharaoh snapped. 'I have no intention of losing. I outsmarted your spirit once before and I plan to do it again. The first thing I need to do is figure out which of my three monsters your evil spirit has possessed.'

'That won't help you,' the Evil Spirit looked down, 'thanks to my face-down card, Dark Spirit of the Silent. So no matter which monster you choose to attack with, my Dark Spirit of the Silent will shift that attack to the monster that is possessed, which will then cause you to lose a large number of your remaining life points.' He sniggered.

If I attack, his Ghost will drain the rest of my life points. But if I don't attack, he'll play the last letter of the Destiny Board and I'll automatically lose. Yugi's thoughts caused the Pharaoh to scowl and look down at the cards in his hand. He forced aside the sensation of phantom pain in his head. And none of my magic cards can stop them either. But I can't lose!

The Evil Spirit sneered. 'It's your last turn, Yugi. Just one move more and I shall win.' His face took on a look of maniac glee. 'You're done – once and for all!' He was on the brink of laughing now. 'You can't win, Yugi!'

He vaguely heard his friends talking on the sidelines. There was a bit of yelling, but all he heard clearly was Joey calling up. 'We believe in you, Yugi! I've seen you get outta way tougher spots than this before, so you can win this!'

Then Mai called up. 'You can do it, Yugi! Pull the sheet off his Ghost!'

'Yugi! Téa called. 'Hang in there!'

It was Tristan's turn. 'You can beat him, Yugi! Come on!'

The Evil Spirit completely ignored them. 'Can't you see? I have already defeated you. Just make your move so I can end this duel, Yugi.'

The Pharaoh stared, mind going blank for only a moment.

There is one card in my deck that can save me. The Pharaoh looked at his deck as Yugi continued. Even if I'm lucky enough to draw it, it may be too dangerous to play.

The Pharaoh knew which card he was talking about.

Then again, what choice do I have? Yugi appeared beside him. I guess we only have one hope to win this.

That's right, the Pharaoh said.

If we don't play the Egyptian God Card this turn, we're gonna lose the duel. We've got to win to save the world! We have to draw it now.

Yes, we must. The Heart of the Cards will guide us. Now let's do this!

YGO

Kaiba watched the duel, his impatience growing by the minute. Use your Egyptian God Card, you fool.

YGO

The Pharaoh reached for his deck. 'Prepare to experience a power like no other!' Come on, Heart of the Cards! He drew. He looked. Perfect.

Lightning began to crackle in the sky as the Pharaoh began the summoning. The Evil Spirit cried out in alarm as the lightning seemed to strike the blimp. Bright light engulfed the whole field. The Pharaoh held the card over his head. 'I sacrifice Dark Magician Girl, Gamma the Magnet Warrior, and Big Shield Gardna…' The three monsters disappeared, one by one. His new card appeared on the field. '…to summon the almighty Slifer the Sky Dragon!'

Light erupted from the card and lightning crackled. The light was suddenly drawn up into the sky. It shot through Dark Sanctuary and instantly destroyed it. The light began to take shape. It sprouted wings, and took on a solid red form. It wrapped around the blimp like a gigantic serpent. Finally, there was Slifer. It lowered its head, nearly level with the Pharaoh and roared at the Evil Spirit.

The Evil Spirit drew back, wide-eyed and shocked. 'His Egyptian God Card!'

The Pharaoh did not miss Kaiba's self-satisfied smirk on the sidelines. On the other side, only Sharee, who had seen this before, knew what to make of it. Only she and the Kaiba brothers had been present when he'd obtained it. She was calmly explaining it to the others.

The Evil Spirit attempted to appear unshaken. 'Yugi, your Egyptian God Card is powerful, but it does not guarantee your victory. I've come much too far to lose now.'

'I'm afraid it's over!' The air of finality in his tone came easily.

'Never!' the Evil Spirit snapped. 'The Ghost of Dark Sanctuary is still wandering the field, Yugi.' He issued his order. 'And now, my Evil Ghost, it's time to attack!' The Ghost charged at Slifer. 'Possess Slifer the Sky Dragon!' But the Ghost dispersed before it even got to the Egyptian God. The Evil Spirit stared in confusion. 'What happened? My Dark Ghost had no effect.'

'It's a God!' Sharee called from the sidelines.

There was that tremor in the Millennium Puzzle again. Were the Evil Spirit and Marik plotting together again? Well, of course they were but to what means this time? Did they have a way to take Slifer down? Unlikely. The Pharaoh ran through all the possibilities in his mind. Could they be plotting to play dirty?

'I can't lose!' the Evil Spirit insisted. 'There's too much at stake for me. I must win!'

'You won't win!' the Pharaoh stated. 'This duel is over.'

'All right!' Joey cheered. 'Nice going, Yug!'

The Pharaoh made his final statement. 'Prepare to lose!'

'This can't be!' the Evil Spirit declared in desperation.

YGO

Sharee waited. She had a very good idea what was coming. Odion was coming up to the battle area via the elevator. Shamee could feel it. Marik was orchestrating this whole thing and he was counting on the Evil Spirit of the Ring to get him the God Card that was currently in play. She was really expecting a trick to be played. If I was them, what would I do right now?

The Pharaoh began the order. 'Slifer the Sky Dragon, attack his life points with—'

At the same time as he felt it, surely, Sharee felt a greater disturbance. Something was going on with the items. The Pharaoh and she both turned as the lift doors behind the ancient opened and Odion stepped out. The Millennium Rod – fake, she was sure – glinted. Okay, what now?

'Marik?' the Pharaoh asked, despite knowing perfectly well that was not Marik. But they had a performance to adhere to. 'What does he want?'

Odion stopped and looked up at the Pharaoh. 'Perhaps you want to wait before you attack with Slifer the Sky Dragon.'

'What do you want, Marik?' the Pharaoh asked.

Joey decided it was a good time to pick a fight. 'Hey, come up here and get a piece of this!' He charged.

'Joey!' Luckily, Duke was fast enough to stop him.

'Yeah, dude,' Sharee said. 'I know you're mad, but please control yourself!'

'Yeah!' Tristan ran around to stop him front the front. 'I don't think you wanna mess with this guy, man!'

Mokuba still pulled him up on it. 'Hey, you! Just who do you think you are anyway? You can't just bust in here and interrupt someone else's duel!'

Kaiba's eyes narrowed.

'What is it?' the Pharaoh demanded.

'Listen carefully. Bakura is now under the control of the Millennium Rod,' he held up the item in question, 'and will do only what I command him to do.'

That wasn't true. Sharee and Shamee both knew it. If the Pharaoh did, he put on a good show. He twisted around fully. 'What? How can that be? I thought the Spirit of the Millennium Ring was in control of Bakura!'

He knows, Shamee told her. Because if you are in possession of a Millennium Item the Millennium Rod cannot control you. That's why Marik never tried to control you or Yugi. He knew it wouldn't work.

Odion continued his lie though. 'True. But now I am in control of both Bakura and the Spirit. And now I shall prove it, by freeing your friend's mind.'

'What?' The Pharaoh spun again.

Sharee watched with little surprise as Bakura suddenly crumpled to the ground. The wound in his arm was finally too much for the boy, whereas for the Spirit it had been no trouble. 'Oh, my arm…' He probably had no recollection of getting the wound anyway. 'It hurts!'

'Bakura!' the Pharaoh called.

Joey was on the same line. 'Bakura!'

'Are you okay?' Téa called up to him.

'I doubt it,' Sharee said. 'The Spirit probably pulled his stitches and just left it like that. Look at him. He's in so much pain he can't even stand.'

Bakura lifted his head. 'Yugi, help me. I…I don't know where I am. What am I doing here in this duel?' He looked at his bandage. 'What happened to my arm?'

Sharee looked over at the Kaiba brothers. 'Hey, Kaiba, can we call this off on account of injury?'

Kaiba scowled and answered. 'Only if he's physically unable to continue the duel.'

'You don't call that "physically unable"?' Duke asked.

'To Kaiba, "physically unable" means "passed out".' Sharee looked up at the "duel" again.

'It is him,' the Pharaoh murmured.

Odion spoke again. 'He's in pain. Without the Spirit of the Millennium Ring, he is weak. Therefore, you may wish to reconsider your attack. Devastation by Slifer the Sky Dragon could make your friend's condition even worse.'

The Pharaoh spun around again. 'What?'

'Would you risk the health of your friend?'

The Pharaoh was visibly angry. 'Only a coward would do something like this to win a duel!'

Joey took a step forward with a growl. 'That's a cheap trick, Marik!'

Tristan called up to the injured boy. 'Bakura, hang in there!'

'Yugi!' Téa called up to the Pharaoh. What she hoped him to achieve, Sharee had no idea.

Odion simply turned and walked away again.

Sharee looked back at the field. The Evil Spirit of the Ring was not so easily controlled. And it was a warrior, she had long come to suspect. It would only remain away from its host for so long. She closed her eyes and felt out its black heart through Shamee. She was right. It was growing restless.

'I don't feel very well, Yugi,' Bakura said weakly.

The Pharaoh turned back around. 'Bakura!' He made to run forward.

The ref held up a hand. 'Stop right there. You are not allowed to have contact with your opponent during a duel. Take one more step and you'll be disqualified.'

The Pharaoh gritted his teeth.

'Stop the duel right now!' Téa called.

'Bakura needs to see a doctor!' Tristan insisted. 'We've got to get him to a hospital now!'

'If you don't continue the duel, you will forfeit the match,' the ref said.

When this is over, I'm going to take that ref aside and clean his clock.

Well, they can't exactly kick you out. Just don't get carried away.

Bakura was in too much pain to register this. 'Yugi, help!'

Kaiba spoke up. 'Yugi, I'll make this decision very easy for you: finish him off.'

'I'll give you a second warning: make your move or lose your spot in the finals.'

Joey went to jump up and have a yell but Sharee grabbed his t-shirt and yanked him down again. 'Calm down and wait a bit.' She then looked across and called over. 'Kaiba, I don't care how rich you are. This kind of jerkiness is bad for stocks a company's reputation, isn't it?'

Kaiba looked at her. He knew she'd do it.

Suddenly there was a bright glow from the Millennium Ring and when it faded, the Evil Spirit was back. Sharee was very certain it was the suddenness of the shift that had startled him. Not the fact that the Spirit was still in there. The Pharaoh knew just as well as she did that Evil Spirit could not be controlled.

The Pharaoh drew back. 'What?'

'I'm back, Yugi.'

'It's you!'

'That's right. I'm back in control of your friend, Bakura. I still need him.'

'What?'

'So if you plan on using your Egyptian God Card, Yugi, why don't you use it on me right now.' He lifted his arms. 'Come on, Yugi!'

'All right! It's time!' The Pharaoh ordered the attack. 'Go, Slifer the Sky Dragon!' Slifer opened his mouth and let forth a blast. 'Attack!'

The Evil Spirit grinned as he took the blast. When the light of the blast cleared, the rest of the field did too. The holograms faded away. Bakura, or the Evil Spirit maybe, was left sprawled on his back. He didn't move. The Millennium Ring appeared to be gone from around his neck. His life points dropped to zero.

The ref lifted his hand. 'And the winner is: duellist number three, Yugi Moto.'

'Bakura!' The Pharaoh rushed over to him. This time he was not stopped.

'Now, lower that arena and get them down here!' Joey barked.

The arena lowered. Sharee stepped up and climbed onto the duelling platform. The others all hopped up after her and ran past her to where the Pharaoh was attempting to wake Bakura. She ignored the chatter as she leisurely strolled over. She noted that he apparently had switched back to his actual self.

'Hey. So where am I?'

'With your friends now, Bakura,' the Pharaoh assured him.

'He doesn't look very good,' Serenity said. 'I think we need to get him to a doctor.'

'So why don't we get Kaiba to land this thing?' Joey suggested.

'Yeah! First,' Tristan walked over, turned, and crouched in front of Bakura, 'help him get onto my back so that we can get him to his room.'

The others helped Tristan pull Bakura onto his back. Tristan then lifted him up and headed for the lift. Everyone except for the Pharaoh and Sharee followed. Sharee stood with him and opened the link between their Millennium Items so that she could hear what he had to say.

I hope Bakura's okay, Yugi said. That was one of the toughest choices I ever had to make. If the Evil Spirit didn't come back to duel, I don't know what I would have done. The Millennium Ring is a lot like my Puzzle. It contains an ancient spirit that depends on someone else so it can exist.

Close enough.

Even though the Spirit of the Ring is evil and controls Bakura against his will, it seems to still need Bakura in order to survive. But there's one major difference between you.

What's that? The Pharaoh asked.

The Spirit inside my Item is my friend. And you and I are always there to support each other, no matter what comes along. You were there to help me when my grandfather was in trouble. I'm here to help you rescue the world from evil. I promise. Together, we'll figure out the secrets of your ancient past and how to unlock your hidden powers before Marik can take them. Your destiny is mine too and we're gonna win!

The Pharaoh smiled. That's right.

This was a tough duel but thanks to our teamwork, and the Heart of the Cards, we came out on top. Now we're heading for Round 2 and we're gonna take it all the way as long as we stick together.

Nothing can stop us from our destiny.

They hit high fives.

Yugi went to move.

'Hold on,' the ref said, stopping him. 'As the winner of the duel, you are entitled to take the rarest card from your opponent's deck so it's time to claim your prize, Yugi.'

Yugi frowned at the suggestion. 'No way. I think Bakura's been through enough already.' He continued following his friends.

Sharee did pause though. She glared at the ref, before turning and calling over her shoulder as she left. 'We're gonna have a little talk later, buddy.'

YGO

Kaiba watched as Sharee, the last one to leave, disappeared into the elevator. He had a very good idea what her "talk later" with Roland would entail. He'd forgotten than Sharee was not naïve of the ways of the world. She knew precisely what kind of publicity he would get if it became known that he had forced a duel onwards when one duellist was displaying signs of incapacitation.

It would not be good for his company.

'So, Yugi won the first duel of the Battle City Finals.' Mokuba looked up at him. 'I knew he would.'

'No surprise,' Kaiba said. 'With a card as powerful as Slifer the Sky Dragon in his deck, Yugi is difficult to defeat.' He narrowed his eyes. Hm. Unless, of course, his opponent also had an Egyptian God Card.

YGO

Yugi sat between Téa and Joey at Bakura's bedside.

'Bakura's been through a lot,' Duke said. 'And he definitely needs rest. We gotta land this blimp and get to a hospital.'

'Yeah.' Téa looked down.

'Some crazy stuff went down in that duel.' Joey turned his head thoughtfully. 'Especially when Marik showed up. What exactly happened back there?'

Yugi answered. 'For some reason, Marik didn't want the Spirit of the Ring to lose. So when I was about to play my Egyptian God Card and win the duel, Marik used his Millennium Rod to free Bakura. Since Bakura was injured, he knew I would forfeit the duel instead of attacking him. But the Spirit must've been afraid I was going to attack Bakura, cause he took control again at the end.'

Joey looked at him. 'So, wait. Do you mean to tell me that the Dark Spirit of the Millennium Ring let you win?'

'Yeah, because he depends on Bakura to survive,' Yugi said. 'And if I attacked Bakura with Slifer, the Spirit might have been in danger too.'

Joey looked back at Bakura. 'I'm confused. Even if you knew the Evil Spirit was in control, you still end up attacking Bakura.'

'No.' Yugi frowned. 'Since the Evil Spirit was in control of Bakura when I attacked him, Bakura was spared.'

'Let me put it another way,' Sharee said, and all eyes turned to her. 'When the Spirits are in control of our bodies, our physical endurance is vastly increased to the level they would have experienced. Remember, they come from times before there was all this technology. They did everything by hand. They're stronger. Like if I jumped off a speeding train, I'd hurt myself. If my resident spirit did it, I'd be fine.'

Téa ventured a perspective. 'This is all so confusing. It sounds like Marik and the Evil Spirit were in this together.'

'Quite possibly,' Sharee said.

'Yeah,' Yugi said. 'But I'm not sure how or why. I just know we can't let Marik win this tournament. And, hopefully, that Evil Spirit won't be coming back again. I don't know about you, but I've had enough of evil spirits, and mind-controlling for one day.'

Joey suddenly leapt to his feet. 'I'm sick of that Marik! Come on! Let me at him!'

'Hey,' Serenity said. 'Don't get yourself in trouble again.'

Tristan pulled their focus away. 'All right. I think it's time to talk to Kaiba about getting Bakura back into the hospital as soon as possible.'

'Yeah,' Yugi said. 'Tristan's right. Let's get some help for Bakura.' In his peripheral vision, he noticed Sharee's lips were twisted as if doubtful.

Tristan shifted. 'Then let's stop talking about it already and go.'

'Go ahead,' Téa told them. 'I'll stay here and keep an eye on Bakura.'

'Okay.' Joey addressed the unconscious boy next. 'Hang in there, Bakura. Help is on the way.'

They all stood up and headed up.

Yugi was about to follow when he noticed something. 'Oh! Hang on, guys!'

'Huh?'

'Everything okay, Yugi?'

'It's gone,' Yugi said.

'What's gone?' Joey asked.

'Bakura's Millennium Ring.'

'Did you just notice?' Sharee asked. 'That thing's been missing since the end of your duel.'

'Hm?' Yugi looked at her.

'That thing seems to come and go all the time without any explanation,' Tristan pointed out.

'Yeah,' Joey said. 'And your Egyptian God Card probably blasted it sky-high! Now let's get going, huh?'

'Well, all right.' They headed out. 'See you, Téa.'

'Later, guys.' After the door closed, none of them saw her eyes go blank. She lifted the Millennium Ring.

Marik cackled.