Gar, I should have made the minimum number of reviews for this chapter to be 3. Meh...

Latoma: Yeah, It's a dull chapter. I knew that already. The rest of your review... I don't understand. (sigh) Your reviews just get more and more cryptic

Asukatenjoin: Yeah, I had actually made that deck a while ago. And as I've said several times before, you'll see why I gave her that deck

Anyway, fillers are over! Time for the plot to start! Oh, and now that we have some interesting chapters, there's no reason not to review! ;)

Oh, and what a perfect time for the plot to start, since I've just finished watching season 2 of yugioh GX! XD (watching 3 hours of anime straight is fun!)

RER!

(Oh, and I have a Monty Python reference, and Teen Titans reference, and a Phantom of the Opera reference in this chapter. I'll give a special prize to anyone who can find any XD)


Chapter 15: Dark Spirit of the Silent

'Chris,' Yami began. Chris was currently sitting in his dorm room, watching TV, but shifted attention to Yami upon hearing the spirit's voice.

'I really think you should work on your deck,' Yami told him. 'I've been suspecting such ever since I came back from the afterlife, and your duels with Samantha and Zamen have only confirmed it.'

'What do you mean?' Chris asked. 'I won both of those duels.'

'You may have won, but you shouldn't have,' Yami said. 'Samantha and Zamen both executed their strategies almost perfectly, and dueled extremely well. Samantha easily got out four monsters with 4000 attack points each, and Zamen was able to effectively stall at the start of the duel, and then go on the offensive when necessary. In both of those duels you won not from skill but because you were lucky and drew the right cards. Nobody likes to admit their flaws but you have to realize that your deck does need work. Learn this from the duels that don't count so when the duels do matter you won't fail.'

'Well… maybe you're kind of right…' Chris admitted. 'I'm always willing to improve my deck.'

Yami was about to respond when there was a knock at their door. Chris got up answered it, finding Manukan was standing on the other side with the Millennium Ring around his neck. As soon as Chris opened the door Manukan's eyes closed and he fainted, falling into Chris's arms.

"What the?" Chris asked aloud.

'It must be one of Bakura's tricks,' Yami scornfully said.

'Yeah, but we can't just leave him here,' Chris replied as he dragged Manukan into the dorm and propped him up on the couch, turning off the TV afterwards.

'Take off his ring, just in case,' Yami suggested. Chris reached around and pulled the Egyptian artifact from Manukan's neck.

Suddenly a transparent version of Manukan appeared before him. "Please, you must help me!" he said.

Almost immediately, Yami appeared too. "No, don't! He's Bakura!"

"It's about him," Bakura almost whispered, gesturing to Yami. "He's probably told you that he's an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh and I'm a dark spirit aiming to revive Zorc. Well he's lying! I was the Pharaoh, and he's the dark spirit!"

"What? No! He's lying!" Yami quickly said.

"What has he done to prove to you he's not evil?" Bakura asked before Chris had a chance to answer to either of the two spirits.

"Chris, don't listen to him," Yami exclaimed. "He's trying to confuse you. Don't fall for his mind games!"

"Look at our decks," Bakura said. "He uses a dark, evil magician and I use agents of light."

The two spirits continued to argue; each one trying to prove to Chris the other was evil.

Chris couldn't figure out which one was right. Their words merged into mindless jabber; Chris couldn't tell who was telling the truth. "Enough!" he finally yelled, silencing both spirits. Chris slammed the Ring down on the coffee table, and Yami smiled at this action. Chris then took off his Puzzle and slammed it down next to the Ring. "I don't know which one of you is telling the truth," Chris said to the artifacts, "But I need some time to think! I'll be back later," he sighed as he walked out of his dorm.


Chris sighed again as he walked throughout the Ra yellow dorm. He needed to sort out what Bakura and Yami had said; he couldn't decide which was right.

"Hello Chris," he heard someone say.

Chris whipped around to see Manukan standing there, the Millennium Ring around his neck. However, Chris couldn't feel Yami's or the Millennium Puzzle's presence, which relieved him; he hadn't stolen the Puzzle. "Manukan?" Chris asked.

"Bakura, actually," he corrected.

"I haven't finished deciding yet," Chris stated. "Besides, how'd you get out?"

"Oh, I have my ways," Bakura smirked. "And look at it this way; you'll have plenty of time to think things over in the Shadow Realm."

"So Yami was telling the truth?" Chris murmured, just loud enough for Bakura to hear.

"Child, Yami is not his name," Bakura sighed. "However, I guess I'll call him that too, just for the sake of consistency. Anyway, without Yami, there's nothing to protect you," he laughed, pulling a Duel Monster card out of his pocket and showed it to Chris.

Chris instantly recognized it as Man-Eater Bug, but was astounded when a transparent form of the creature emerged from the card and glided toward Chris.

"Holograms?" Chris laughed. "You're gonna attack me with holo-" He was cut off as the bug landed on him, pinning him to the ground. 'Uh oh, this is no hologram. If only I had trusted Yami…'

The bug brought its left claw back in preparation to slash Chris.

Chris only closed his eyes, waiting for the worst. However, instead of pain, the burden of the bug's extra weight was relieved and removed. He opened his eyes and saw a transparent version of Mystic Swordsman LV6 standing above him, smiling. "Mystic Swordsman?" he murmured as the swordsman helped him to his feet.

"Yes," the swordsman simply said.

"But… how?"

"I am a being called a Duel Spirit," Mystic Swordsman explained. "However, now is not the time to talk. We must defeat him," he said, turning to Bakura.

"Agreed," Chris nodded.

"Well, if it's a duel you want, it's a duel you'll get," Bakura said, his duel disk unfolding.

"Remember Chris, if you need me I'll be right in your deck," Mystic Swordsman LV6 said as he disappeared.

"Okay then, let's duel," Chris yelled, his duel disk unfolding.

"In a moment," Bakura smirked. "I have a special… condition." A sphere of black mist began to surround the two duelists, cutting them off from the outside world.

"A Shadow Game," Chris murmured to himself.

"I see Yami has told you about those," Bakura laughed.

The first thing Chris noticed, aside from the black mist, was the sudden drop in temperature and he shivered as Bakura drew 5 cards (5).

"Do you like it here?" Bakura asked.

"Not one bit," Chris replied, still shivering.

"Good, because you'll be spending all of eternity here once you lose," Bakura cackled.

We'll see about that, Chris thought to himself, drawing his hand (5).

"And now we're ready to duel," Bakura smiled.

Bakura: 4000; Chris: 4000

"Mind if I go first?" Bakura asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," Chris replied through gritted teeth. But it was too late, for Bakura had already drawn a sixth card (6).

"I'll summon The Portrait's Secret(5;1200/1500) in attack mode, and end my turn." A portrait appeared in front of Bakura. It was a painting of an evil man that was trying to escape its frame.

"I will defeat you," Chris vowed as he drew a card(6).

"I'd like to see you try," Bakura laughed.

"Then watch and learn. I summon Mystic Swordsman LV2(5;900/0) in attack mode, but I'll increase his power with Level Up (4)!" The tiny swordsman appeared and disappeared, Mystic Swordsman LV4(1900/1600) taking his place. "I then play Bond of Pain(3), paying 200 lifepoints to protect Mystic Swordsman LV4 from your targeting effects."

Bakura: 4000; Chris: 3800

"And now that my lifepoints are lower than you I can play Megamorph(2) to double my swordsman's attack." A green aura surrounded the swordsman, increasing his attack to 3800. "Finally I'll play Fighter's Soul(1) to increase my swordsman's attack all the way to 5000! Now attack!" The swordsman flew forward, going through the portrait and slashing at Bakura.

Bakura coughed and fell to the ground while his lifepoints dropped.

Bakura: 200; Chris: 3800

"I'm not quite dead yet," Bakura said, getting back up. The front of his uniform was messed up and his sleeve was cut, some blood coloring the wound. A second trickle of blood slipped from between the evil smile of his lips.

With the difference in lifepoints reversed, the swordsman's aura turned to red, and his ATK decreased to 2150. Chris said, "I'll end my turn, but upgrade my swordsman to level 6(2300/1700) so his ATK remains high."

"I'm honored I could come into the battle so soon," Mystic Swordsman LV6 bowed to Chris before turning to Bakura.

"Now I'll draw a card(6)," Bakura calmly said, obviously not worried about the lifepoint difference. "I'll set a monster (5). Now, that might seem like a bad move because of your swordsman's ability, but I have a spell card. Go, Swords of Revealing Light(4)!"

"That's an interesting card for you deck," Chris observed as several golden swords penetrated his field.

"Well I'm an interesting individual," Bakura replied. "I'll end my turn."

Chris silently drew(1). "I summon Blade Knight (1;1600+400/1000) and end my turn."

Bakura drew(5), set a trap(4) card, and silently ended his turn.

"Draw(2)," Chris yelled, but Bakura quickly activated his trap.

"I play Destiny Board," Bakura said as a strange spirit appeared on his field. It carried a sphere made of fog with a "D" on it. "During each of your End Phases a new letter will be added to the message. When the message is complete your fate shall be revealed and you shall lose the duel."

'D?' Chris thought to himself. I wonder what it stands for. Defeat? Destiny? I'll just have to wait and find out… Of course, I can't wait too long. "I summon Sangan (1;1000/600) in defense mode and end my turn," Chris said as a new spirit appeared, this time with an "E". DE… both defeat and destiny still look good.

Bakura drew a card (5). "I set a spell/trap card(4) and end my turn, as I did with my last."

At least it's the last turn for Swords of Revealing Light, Chris thought as he drew a card (2). Then Chris noticed something: Bakura's Spirit Message was a Spell card! That also meant that the other letters were Spell cards, so both defeat and destiny would not work; they were too long. Unless maybe the "T" is a Field Spell… "Bakura, I just noticed that your Spirit Messages are Spell cards. However, with your set card, your message can't be completed and you won't be able to win the duel in that way."

"Don't worry child, the card will not be here for long," Bakura said.

"Yeah, we'll see," Chris muttered to himself. "I'll set a spell/trap of my own (1) and end my turn." The next Spirit Message appeared in front of Bakura, this time an "A." DEA… that rules out both my- Chris froze when he realized what the message was.

"Judging by the look on your fate I see you've realized your fate," Bakura laughed.

"N…no, that's not my fate!" Chris defiantly yelled. The mist seemed much darker to Chris than it did when the Shadow Game was first engaged. "That can't be it! I won't let it happen! Not here! Not now! Not... like this!"

"Child, you fate was sealed the moment of played Destiny Board. You cannot stop destiny, and it is my destiny to win!" Bakura continued to laugh.

Suddenly, Chris was much more aware of his breathing. His breathing, and his heart rate. It was fast, but it was slowing... becoming slower, lighter... non-existant...

"When the message is complete," Bakura continued, "Your body will die and your soul will rot for all eternity in the Shadow Realm!

"Now, on a lighter note, I believe it was my move," Bakura said as he picked up the top card of his deck (5). "I sacrifice my set Headless Knight(1450/1700) to summon a more powerful monster: Dark Ruler Ha Des(4;2450/1600)!"

I remember that card from Kengake's duel, Chris thought as the robed fiend rose up on Bakura's field. Of course, this gives me the chance to win. He's probably going to attack either my Blade Knight or my Mystic Swordsman LV6, and when he does I'll use my Covering Fire trap. This will increase my monster's attack to 4300, which will wipe out Bakura's lifepoints!

"Now Chris," Bakura began, "I admire your efforts with your little trap, but I'm afraid it will all be in vain. I play the Spell card Lightning Vortex(3), discarding a card from my hand(2) to destroy all of your monsters."

As the giant blasts of lightning obliterated Chris' monsters Chris took his deck out and began searching for a card. "When Sangan is destroyed I'm allowed to add a monster with 1500 attack or less in my deck to my hand(2)."

"Regardless," Bakura said, "I'll have Dark Ruler Ha Des attack your lifepoints directly." The fiend rushed forward and punched Chris hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Chris clutched his stomach and fell forward, floating in the dark mist.

Bakura: 200; Chris: 1350

After a few moments he slowly got back to his feet. It didn't look like he was hurt, but he could still barely breathe.

"Now, to make sure you lose, I activate my Trap: Altar for Tribute. This will replenish my lifeoints and clear out my Spell and Trap Zone for my Spirit Messages." A dark altar rose up from underneath Dark Ruler Ha Des and a black flame was magically lit, burning the fiend to his death. The smoke then surrounded Bakura, momentarily giving him a dark aura.

Bakura: 2650; Chris: 1350

"Now my lifepoints are almost double yours," Bakura laughed. "And now the time has come to summon my ultimate creature. By removing The Portrait's Secret, Headless Knight, and Dark Ruler Ha Des in my graveyard from the game I can summon Dark Necrofear(1;2200/2800)!" The three spirits appeared on Bakura's field and melded into one dark, formless shape. The blob began to shift and mold itself until it became the dark lady. She was a strange woman with no hair and blue skin. A few pieces of ragged armor covered bits of her body and she held a creepy broken doll in her arms.

"I know what your Necrofear does," Chris said before Bakura could open his mouth.

"Good, then that will save me some explaining," Bakura smiled. "You may go."

Chris sighed as he drew(3). "I'll summon Spirit Reaper (2;300/200), which I got form Sangan, in defense mode, and end my turn." As the transparent reaper appeared so did the fourth letter of Bakura's message, a "T".

"Not putting up much of a fight now, are we? Well, only one more turn," Bakura smirked as he drew(2). "I activate the Spell Soul Taker(1). This will destroy your reaper, but in exchange you gain 1000 lifepoints." A demonic hand rose out of the mist and grabbed Chris's monster. It squeezed and squeezed until the reaper burst into dust, which floated into Chris.

Bakura: 2650; Chris: 2350

"Enjoy your new lifepoints now, because they won't be there for long," Bakura taunted. "Dark Necrofear, attack!" The strange creature did nothing but a flurry of black flames still rose up around Chris. Although they did not inflict physical pain Chris could feel them ripping at his heart, telling him to give up.

Bakura: 2650; Chris: 150

"Then I'll play Block Attack (0) to switch Dark Necrofear to defense mode and end my turn. Make your last, pathetic move," Bakura spat. "Of course, you could just surrender; you don't have anything helpful in your hand and you're obviously not going to draw anything to save yourself."

Chris looked at his deck. Breathing alone had become a tedious chore for him; he could barely imagine actually drawing a card. But, if he didn't, he would be trapped here forever. Bakura was right though; Chris didn't have anything helpful in his hand. However, how could Chris know whether Bakura was right about his deck? There was only one way to truly find out.

Slowly, he reached his hand up to his deck, and slid the top card off(3). When he saw what he got he sighed in relief. Thank you... Casatos...


Then Chris opened his eyes. He wasn't dueling any more; he was sitting in the leftmost chair in Casatos' office. Casatos' chair was facing the other way, so Chris couldn't see who was in it, while the other three chairs each had Sarah, Sam, and Kengake, who were sleeping. Chris silently got up as he wondered what happened.

He creeped over to Casatos' chair, and spun it around. Instead of a person, only a face-down duel monster card sat in chair. Chris picked it up, and his eyes widened when he saw the rare card.

"I want you to have this," Chris heard Chancellor Casatos say. Chris' head darted up but nobody was there, excluding his friends. His friends stirred and started to wake up, and Chris instinctively slid his new card into his deck before his friends could see it.


"Your destiny said I would lose," Chris solemny said. "But your destiny was wrong! By removing Sangan and Blade Knight in my graveyard from the game I can summon a monster of my own. Meet Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning(2;3000/2500)!" A white and a black sphere of light came out of Chris's graveyard. They twirled around for a few seconds until they combined in a giant flash of white light. Standing in the orb's place was a tall soldier adorned in elegant gold and black armor, long red hair flowed out of the back of his helm.

"Your monster has a high attack but it cannot win you the game," Bakura commented. "No matter what you do, you can't win. There is nothing in your hand to destroy Dark Necrofear so your only options are to attack or not to attack. If you attack, Dark Necrofear will be destroyed, but will come back as an Equip Spell and stop my Spirit Message from being completed. However, I will gain control of your Black Luster Soldier, allowing me to attack you directly and end the duel. And if you don't attack then my Spirit Message will be completed. Either way you choose, you cannot win!"

"I doubt it," Chris spat. "Black Luster Soldier, attack Dark Necrofear. Chaos Blade!"

"So you want to die by your own monster's sword?" Bakura smirked. "The more pain, the better."

"I'm not going to die," Chris stated as his soldier destroyed Bakura's Dark Necrofear with one slash of his sword. However, the strange doll was left behind. "At least not right now."

"Oh? And just what can you do now?" Bakura asked. "The only thing left is to end your turn."

"Not exactly," Chris slyly said, despite the fatigue in his voice. "When Black Luster Soldier destroys a monster in battle he can attack once again. So attack Bakura directly and end the duel!"

Bakura looked over and noticed Black Luster Soldier had remained on his side of the field instead of returning to Chris. Black Luster Soldier burst into action a second time, running towards Bakura at full speed. With a single slash of his golden sword, Bakura was knocked back several feet.

Bakura: 0; Chris: 150

I won, Chris thought, relieved, as the dark sphere began to disintegrate. When the black sphere and black magic had disappeared, Chris felt much better. "Yes! I defeated Bakura and the world is saved!"

"Not quite," Bakura said, getting up from the floor. "I suppose you're not as pathetic as I had thought."

"But… how?" Chris asked, taking a surprised step back. "Shouldn't your soul have been taken when you lost the Shadow Game?"

"I'm a 10,000 year old spirit," Bakura exclaimed. "I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. And I think you'll remember this one." A transparent Man-Eater Bug appeared once again in front of Bakura.

"That again?" Chris laughed as Mystic Swordsman LV6 reappeared beside him.

"It's not quite the same," Bakura said, pointing behind Chris.

Chris turned around, finding that half a dozen more bugs were positioned around the hallway. One jumped towards Chris, but was easily destroyed by Mystic Swordsman. Then the one that was originally in front of Bakura attacked, and he too was destroyed.

5 more left, Chris thought. Three of them attacked simultaneously, but simultaneously they were destroyed. Immediately after though another attacked Mystic Swordsman LV6 while the remaining attacked Chris. Chris fell to the floor again and could see his Duel Spirit fighting off the other bug. This could be the end, Chris thought with a sense of déjà vu. But once again the Man-Eater Bug was removed from Chris. However, the first time it just disappeared; this time it felt like it was ripped from Chris. He opened his eyes to see both Man-Eater Bug flying together in a jumbled heap into the wall. When they collided with the wall, they disappeared as their brethren had earlier. "Nice idea."

"Thank you," Mystic Swordsman replied. "Did you see where Bakura went?"

Bakura's gone? Chris looked around and sure enough the hall was empty. "No, but why do you think Bakura did that? He should have known that you would defeat the Man-Eater Bugs."

'What do you think Yami?'

Yami. Chris suddenly knew what had been done. He bolted off back to his dorm without even explaining to Mystic Swordsman what had happened. Bakura wasn't trying to kill Chris; he was trying to stall him. Chris prayed to all the gods, goddesses, and holy beings he knew of as he unlocked his dorm room. When he opened the door and peered inside, his heart and breathing momentarily stopped while a wave of black despair washed over him.

The coffee table was empty; the Millennium Puzzle was gone.


FEAR THE POWER OF MY CLIFFIE!! MWA HA HA!!

(oh, and RER! XD)


Card of the Day

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (LIGHT)
Warrior/Effect
Level 8
ATK 3000/DEF 2500
This card can only be Special Summoned by removing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster in your Graveyard from play. Once during each of your turns, you can select and activate 1 of the following effects:
-Remove 1 monster in the field from play. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack during this turn.
-If this card destroys your opponent's monster as a result of battle, it can attack once again in a row.


Original Cards

Bond of Pain; Equip Spell: When this card is activated pay LPs equal to the Level of the equipped monster x50. Your opponent's cards effects that target do not destroy the equipped monster. During each of your End Phases pay LPs equal to the level of the equipped monster x100. If you do not, this card is destroyed.

Fighter's Soul; Spell: Select 1 Warrior-type monster on the field. Until the end of the turn increase the ATK of the selected monster by 1200 and decrease its DEF 500.

Soul Taker; Spell: Destroy 1 face-up monster on your opponent's side of the field. Increase your opponent's lifepoints by 1000. (NOTE: This is an OCG card)


Next Time: Rivalry of Warlords