Here's where Gekko starts dueling Richie. Unfortunately, he's going to lose this round, but there's always a plan B and you're gonna love that plan B. Seto and Atem were prepared for if one of their teammates loses in a duel. Otherwise, they wouldn't be dueling at all. Review please!
Gekko sighed before walking up to Richie, so both of them can shuffle their decks. Seto and Atem kept their eyes furrowed. Richie was not only a pro, but one of the top ranking duelists. He was trained by Maxamillion Pegasus himself on how to duel, just like Gekko and Yako. Richie also had a record against Gekko. They went back and forth when it came to wins and losses. They couldn't decide on which one would win or lose.
Tea examined Atem's facial features. It seemed that Atem wasn't as sure if Gekko could win this match as he was with Hanaski winning against Scott. Hanaski caught this as well and hoped in his heart that Gekko can win this. If he didn't, Atem and Yugi would never return to their bodies; not to mention there was alot at stake. Hopefully, Atem's suspicions were wrong.
After Gekko and Richie finished shuffling their decks, they walked on the opposite sides of each other. They turned on their duel disks and drew five cards into their hand. Gekko knew he had to win this round or he would never rescue his brother from whatever dark power was brainwashing him. There didn't seem to be any other way around it.
"I will let you go first, since you did agree to duel against me," Richie taunted as Gekko shot a glare in response. "I swear to it, Gekko. Neither you or your new friends can stop us from seeing Pegasus again!"
"If you care about Pegasus so much, why don't cha marry him?" Atem smirked as Richie shot him a nasty glare. He shrugged. "Hey, it'll save the guy the grief he's been having over his dead wife! I assume that since you and your friend are so desperate to bring Pegasus back, I was thinking maybe you were in love with him or something."
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT PEGASUS!" Riche shouted angrily.
"How dare you insult Pegasus!"
"ARE YOU MOCKING ME?"
"Are you mocking me?"
"SHUT UP YA LITTLE SHIT!"
"Aw, is my meanie widdle employer getting on your widdle nerves? Are you gonna cry like a little baby? Are you gonna get mad and frow a fit?" Seto asked mockingly.
"I swear to you I will-" Richie seethed through his teeth before being cut off.
"That's enough, Richie! Let's just duel before you get too carried away," Gekko said as Richie growled, then faced his opponent. "I summon Learning Elf in attack mode!" Learning Elf appeared on the field with the book in her hand in an attacking position. "I place two cards face-down and that ends my turn!"
"Then, looks like I go!" Richie smirked, drawing his next card. He peered at the cards in his hand. "I summon my Twin Gunfighter in attack mode!" A mighty warrior appeared with two guns in its hands, long messy hair, a spiky helmet, and leather tight armor on its body in an attacking position. "He attacks Learning Elf!" Twin Gunfighter took out its two guns and shot directly at Learning Elf.
"I activate my equip spell card Shield Reflector! Now, when my Learning Elf is an attack target, my opponent takes damage equal to half of the attacking monster's attack points!" Gekko declared as a huge shield bubble surrounded Learning Elf and the bullets bounced off of the shield and headed directly for Twin Gunfighter.
"I also activate my spell card from my hand Mirage! This makes it to where any spells, traps, and direct attacks will be uneffected against me for the next three turns!" Richie declared as the bullets stopped where they were and dropped to the ground. "I also activate Twin Gunfighter's effect! This inflicts damage to you equal to its attack after its attack!"
Gekko gasped as Twin Gunfighter shot with its guns again right at him and his life points dropped to 2400. He shot a glare directly at Richie, who held a smirk in response. Atem and Seto still held their settled glares, thinking the exact same thing. It was as if they were sharing a mind wavelength. Hanaski and Tea could see this.
"You think Gekko can win this... right?" Hanaski asked.
"Atem?" Tea asked.
"At this point, neither of us are sure. It depends on if Gekko can keep his head in the game and come out in one piece," Seto replied for Atem.
"In other words, you don't think he'll win," Duke translated.
"At this point, it can go for either favor," Atem said honestly.
"Looks like it's my turn!" Gekko said, drawing his card. He peered at his deck, then onto the field. "I summon Wonderbeat Elf to the field!" A little mini elf appeared on the field with two huge arch-shaped knives in its hands. "I place Learning Elf in defense mode, then Wonderbeat Elf attacks your Gunfighter!" Learning Elf changed to a defensive position, then Wonderbeat Elf threw its knife at Twin Gunfighter, about to obliterate it from the field.
"Which is why I activate my trap Theft Whip! With this, I take your Shield Reflector!" Richie declared as a huge whip appeared and took Shield Reflector from Learning Elf. "Now, I can equip it to my monster Twin Gunfighter!" Twin Gunfighter held a bubble shield as the knife bounced from the shield and hit directly at Gekko, leaving him with 1550. "And isn't it sad that your Wonderbeat Elf has a very harmful effect?" Wonderbeat Elf threw its second knife at Twin Gunfighter, having the knife bounce and hit Gekko directly and leaving him with now 700 life points remaining. "Looks like my win is only a shot away! It's just too bad it had to end up this way, Gekko! Here you could've been a great ally to helping us bring back Pegasus!"
"Richie, I know Pegasus' death was tragic and horrible, but we can't just live on the past! We have to learn to move on with our lives! That was Pegasus' flaw! That's what he was trying to teach us! He told us that we can never live by the past or we will be imprisoned by it! That's what's happening to Yako and that's why I need to get to him!" Gekko told Richie.
"Are you saying that this world would be better without Pegasus?"
"No, I'm saying that his life in this world should be helping us grow up! My brother and I weren't doing so bad taking over Industrial Illusions! We were becoming successful! We were about to make business with Kaiba Corporation, and then my brother goes into bringing Pegasus back to life! I'm not saying that I don't miss Pegasus, but I think we can live on without him and wait until we meet him when we die! I know that's what he wants from us!"
"You, among all people, should know that Pegasus' life is more meaningful than all your crap!"
"Yes, because this whole world revolves around Pegasus!" Seto spouts out sarcastically.
"Did I ask for you to-" Richie yelled before being cut off.
"Richie Rich, this is what you're doing!" Atem said, making his hand look like a duck bill, moving his thumb and fingers up and down. "This..." He closed his thumb and fingers together like a duck bill. "is what I want you to do. Any questions?"
"Are you telling me to shut up!"
"Yes please! Your speech about how great Pegasus is, is making me want to fall asleep. It's like you look at him like he's the god of all wonders. Though... um... maybe you weren't aware of this and I understand if you didn't but... um... HE STOLE MY GRANDPA'S SOUL, KIDNAPPED A LITTLE TWELVE-YEAR-OLD, THREATENED TO STEAL MY SOUL, TOOK OVER KAIBA CORP, STOLE SETO'S SOUL, HAD HIS MEN SHOOT ME, HIRED MEN TO GO INTO PEOPLE'S TENTS AT NIGHT TO STEAL THEIR STAR CHIPS, AND KILLED BANDIT KEITH! THAT IS YOUR GOD OF ALL WONDERS! THE MAN YOU'RE TRYING TO BRING BACK FROM THE F***ING DEAD! A SELFISH, SPOILED, ANNOYING, CHEATING, THEIVING SON OF A F***ING BITCH! NOW DO ME A FAVOR AND SHUT THE F*** UP!"
"Wait... Pegasus used his eye to steal your grandpa's soul?" Gekko asked in shock. His jaw was gaped wide open.
"You didn't know?" Atem asked as Gekko shook his head. "Now you know!"
"YOU'RE LYING! PEGASUS WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Richie yelled, his head boiling hot red.
"Well, he did. If you don't believe me, I have the whole video web cam of our duel recorded and my grandpa showing on my desktop and you can shove it up your f***ing ass! If I hadn't have won the duel in Duelist Kingdom, not only would he have taken my soul, but he would've sexually harassed me too!"
"Only because you had my key in your d***," Seto muttered angrily.
"Please don't remind me!" Tea said.
"Wait, did you really hide your key in your junk?" Duke asked, seeming like he was about to laugh. Atem smirked and chuckled. "Nice man! That's just pure gold!"
"That's... gross, but I am sorry my father did all that. I had no idea and if I did, I promise I would've stopped him," Gekko apologized, feeling grieved.
"You choose to believe a word that asshole says?" Richie glared.
"Atem hasn't proven to be a liar yet and it's your turn!" Gekko replied with a glare of his own.
"Fine!" Richie spat, drawing his next card. "I summon Pierce Musketeer!" A woman with an old puff-sleeved dress that would be mistaken as a dress from the middle ages, a hat, long brown hair, and carrying a shotgun appeared on the field. "She and Twin Gunfighter attack your Wonderbeat Elf!" Pierce Musketeer took out her shotgun, aimed, and shot right at Wonderbeat Elf.
"I activate my trap card Holy Sacrifice, this transfers all the attacks to one monster I choose and I choose Learning Elf!" Gekko declared as Pierce Musketeer and Twin Gunfighter shot their guns directly at Wonderbeat Elf and destroyed her. "By her effect, I get to draw one card!" He drew a card from his deck to his hand.
"Nice move," Richie glared with annoyance. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."
Gekko drew his next card, then declared, "I activate Owner's Shield from my hand by taking back Shield Reflector and equipping it to Wonderbeat Elf!" Shield Reflector disappeared from Twin Gunfighter and the shield bubble was now around Wonderbeat Elf. "Then, I activate my face-down card Sacrifice of Grave Goods! With this, I can use an equipped card as a tribute. I sacrifice Wonderbeat Elf and Shield Reflector to bring out Angel 07!" Wonderbeat Elf and the shield disappeared from the field and were replaced by a man with white-winged arms and a white metal body. "As long as this monster's face-up, it cannot be effected by monster effects! Angel destroys Twin Gunfighter!" Angel 07 flew up in the air and sent a powerful energy blast of white light directly at Twin Gunfighter, bursting it from the field and leaving Richie with 3100 life points remaining. "I place one card face-down on the field and I end!"
"Go Gekko!" Hanaski cheered excitedly. Atem and Seto were still unsure about how this duel would end.
Richie drew his next card, then said, "I summon Grenadier in defense mode!" A man with a black outfit holding a gun appeared on the field in a defensive position. "Then, I switch Pierced Musketeer in defense mode, then set a card face-down on the field! I end!" Pierced Musketeer crouched in a defensive position before Sand Mirage disappeared from the field, having used up of all its three turns.
"My turn!" Gekko declared before drawing his card. "I summon Boomerang Elf to the field!" A little ninja elf appeared on the field with a huge boomerang in its hand. "My Boomerang Elf and Angel destroy your monsters!" Boomerang Elf threw its boomerang at Grenader and Angel 07 sent a huge light blast at Pierced Musketeer, both of Richie's monsters being destroyed completely.
"Looks like Gekko's got this in the bags!" Duke smirked with folded arms. He eyed at Seto and Atem, whose eyebrows were still furrowed. "You guys still have your doubts?"
"Gekko doesn't have his guard up," Seto stated as Duke's eyes widened.
"He's right, one of a duelist's greatest weakness is losing focus when at the brick of winning. Gekko still has 500 points left. He can't lose focus," Atem explained as Duke then saw two face-down cards on Richie's field.
"I believe it's your turn," Gekko said as Richie drew his next card.
"I will skip this turn," Richie declared.
"Just like I thought, that face-down cards are deadly. Gekko better keep his guard up, if he knows what's good for him," Atem said.
"Gek-" Tea was about to say before...
"My monsters attack you directly!" Gekko declared with a smirk upon his face as Angel 07 and Boomerang Elf began their final attack.
"I activate my trap card, Dazzling Radiance! With this, I can take control of one of your monsters with the lowest attack!" Richie smirked as Boomerang Elf jumped from Gekko's side of the field to Richie's side. "Now, your Angel can only attack your own monster!"
"Then, I activate Amulet of Affection and equip it to Boomerang Elf, so I take no damage!" Gekko declared as the amulet appeared around Boomerang Elf's neck.
"Which is why I activate my other face-down card Grazing Bullet! This inflicts damage to both of us equal to the attacking monster's attack points!" Richie declared, activating his face down card as a white light appeared surrounding Richie and Gekko. Richie was now left with 600 life points remaining and Gekko was left with 0. "Looks like you lose. So sad."
"No!" Gekko responded, falling down on his knees with a defeated look on his face.
"Perhaps if you didn't lose your focus, you could've won that duel!" Seto commented to Gekko, who then looked up at Richie.
"And that's where it ends here! As victorious as you were, this is where you stop from here!" Richie smirked as he began walking toward the door and Duke immediately runs for him. Richie rolled his eyes before turning and punching Duke right across the face. He fell on his hands and knees before Richie continued on his way to the door. "Nice try, but I don't do well with cheaters."
"Go!" Gekko cried out. "Go ahead and cheer for Yako's insanity, but just remember it's murder that will be on your hands! Every time you look at my father in Atem's body, just know that, that body once belonged to a real person who is also admired by those around him like Pegasus! By someone whom Yako killed off for his own selfish purposes! And you know what? When Pegasus does rise from the dead, he will know that you and Yako destroyed the life of a teenage boy he personally knew and admired!" Everyone's eyes widened and Atem's jaw gaped open. Pegasus actually admired Atem? Richie stood still for a while and scrunched his lips before leaving out the door, closing it behind him.
"What did you mean by that?" Atem asked.
"Pegasus... he said that you were one of the very few people who keeps his loyalty to Kaiba Corporation by friendship instead of money. He admired you for that... I think that's why he took your grandpa's soul... because you were not easy to bargain with," Gekko explained as Atem sighed aloud. "That's why Yako took you by force."
"It seems that Pegasus knew Atem's strength before I did," Seto said with a still voice.
"Strength?" Tea asked.
"Atem thinks about everyone elses' opinions before his own. He thinks about his workers, the people who clean his desk. He makes sure they will be happy with whatever decision he makes before making corporate deals. That's why Atem is not easy to bargain with," Seto explained. A smile appeared on his lips. "That's why his employers love him."
Atem sighed while blush came upon his cheeks. Tea chuckled at the reaction while Duke furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "what if what your employers decide isn't the right decision?"
"They will find out themselves. They're smart people and most likely those mistakes aren't that huge. That's how gangs work. You make a decision based on the members' opinions," Atem replied.
"You based this strength on gangs? Of all things!"
"We still have no way of rescuing Atem now!" Hanaski said, seemingly he was about to cry.
"Hold the water works, Hanaski," Atem said, then turning his head to Seto. "Let's get out of this dump!"
Seto walked to the security door Richie just exited through, then opened the security lock compartment, revealing different wires of different colors. Everyone's eyes widened as Seto connected curtain wires and switched other ones. Then, the door made a beeping sound and Seto opened the door.
"You could've hacked the door open this whole time?" Gekko asked angrily.
"Duh and I'm sure your friend knows that too," Seto smirked as Gekko's eyes widened. "In other words, good chance Richie and Scott were just playing for fun and are probably not even completely on your asshole brother's side like everyone else, especially seeing that your brother was on the other side of the door." Gekko's mouth slightly gaped before staring down at the floor.
"He was?" Duke asked in shock.
"Of course he was! That's why he was making a big speech about how great Pegasus was! He was trying to make a screen play just to impress that bastard!" Atem said while rolling his eyes. "That speech in itself was a giveaway."
"Whatever, let's go and get Yako!" Tea encouraged everyone as they all left out the door.