~Third person Pov~
I can't believe I let this happen. Joey, Tea, and Sabrina are all in grave danger now. Yami thought."Hey guys, there's a person down there! And it kind of looks like Sabrina!" Mokuba says.
Yami leans his head over to the window and see her standing by the pier, "That is her!" He says.
The helicopter soon lands and Yami bursts out of his seat, with Kaiba and Mokuba walking out shortly after. Sabrina has taken on the physical appearance of Ari. "Welcome…" she says.
Something's not right. Her voice is different. Yami thought, "Ari?" He asks.
"Not exactly. Ari is no longer in control." She says.
"Marik?"
"That's correct. And if you want your friends back, then you'll listen to what I say."
"Listen Ari! You've got to escape his grasp! Marik is controlling you!"
"It's pointless. So listen up, we're playing by my rules today. I'll release your friends as soon as I get what I want. Of course, since I have my eyes on your Puzzle and Egyptian God card, I'll have to duel you. Your opponent will be waiting for us."
"You're crazy!"
"Refuse and your friends belong to me. I could always use more Mind Slaves."
"Come on Ari! You vowed to help me defeat Marik! You've got to wake up! I know you're in there and I'm going to free you."
"Yugi! You'd better do exactly what she says!"
Yami turns around to see Tea standing there. "This may come as an unpleasant surprise, but like Sabrina, Tea is also under my control. AHAHA!" she says.
"Marik leave them alone! They've done nothing to deserve this!"
"Follow me. I'll show you the location of our duel." Ari says, completing ignoring Yami. She and Tea begin to walk away, which gives Yami no choice but to follow them. How will I free them? What if I can't? He asks himself.
Yami, Kaiba, and Mokuba are lead to an area of the pier that is in a square- shape. The middle of the square is missing, which reveals nothing but water. On the left side is "Joey!" Yami says.
"Correct. I will be your opponent today! Welcome to my special dueling arena. Should you accept this duel, you'll duel your best friend for the highest stakes imaginable!" he says.
Ari then walks over and holds up two chains, "Put these on." She says. Joey and Yami are forced to wear them around their ankles, "Notice that those chains connect to that large anchor hanging above you. Thirty seconds after a players Life Points hit zero, the anchor will drop to the bottom of the sea!" she says.
"That's right, now look down." Joey says. "That small yellow box by your feet will be your Life Point calculator, but it also contains the key to your survival. When one players Life Points reach zero, the other players box will open, and reveal the key to unlock his shackles! Remember, you'll have thirty seconds to free yourself before the anchor drops."
"So the loser will be dragged to the bottom of the ocean, while the winner frees himself at the last minute?"
"That's right. Quite ingenious, isn't it?" Ari says, "In order to get Joey back if you've won this duel, then you'll have to fish him out of the ocean. But don't think I've let Tea or Sabrina out of the equation. I'll get to Tea's role in a minute, but notice, that Sabrina will be standing on that platform over there." She says pointing to it. It sits at the back of the arena and looks big enough to hold one person on it.
It's Joey's turn to speak now, "Notice how she is also chained to that platform. For every Life Point you lose, that platform will sink lower into the ocean. And when your Life Points hit zero, she'll be drowned underwater! But don't worry, because either key will also unlock her shackles."
"Marik! Stop this now! My friends aren't involved in this; it's just you and me!"
"It's never that simple little Yugi. Oh, and Seto Kaiba, don't think your just a spectator in all of this. As soon as I'm done with little Yugi, I'll set my sights on your Egyptian God card; Obelisk the Tormentor!"
Kaiba cringes at the sight of this, "As head of the Battle City tournament, I demand this duel be stopped now!" he says.
"Sorry, but this duel will go as planned. See, above Tea's head is a crane holding that crate; if anyone makes a move to stop this, well, let's just say that anchor won't be the only thing falling! Now that the rules have been explained, I suppose we can start this duel. Oh, and I almost forgot, I wouldn't want Tea to miss the fun!"
Tea then slumps over, but then wakes up again, "Tea!" Yami shouts.
"What's going on?" she says.
"Enough! This duel will start. But Yugi, don't even think of using your Egyptian God card. So remove that card from your deck and let's start this duel!"
Yami unclips his belt from my waist and open up the slot for my deck. Inside, are Slifer the Sky Dragon and… Joey's Red-Eyes! This will help. It was a sign of our friendship when Joey gave it to me. I'm putting this into my deck, maybe it will bring Joey back if I use it. He thinks.
The belt, which contains Slifer, is thrown onto the ground. "Prepare to lose Yugi!" Joey says.
Yugi has the first move. "I'll summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, in defense mode! That ends my turn." Yami says.
"Say goodbye to your Gazelle, because I play Raigeki, which destroys it! And now, I'll summon Alligator Sword, attack his Life Points directly!" Joey says. Yugi now has 2500 Life Points. With Life Points lost, the platform holding Ari sinks lower until the water reaches just below her waist. Ari flinches slightly, "Y-Yami's in trouble. I have to h-help him." She says to herself.
"No, you are to stay under my control!" Marik tells her.
"I play Big Shield Gardna in defense mode. That's all for now." Yami says.
"You think that will save you, your so naïve. I play my Hinotama magic card!" Joey says. "Watch as it inflicts you with 500 points of direct damage!"
Yami now has 2000 Life Points, and the water is up to Ari's waist now. "I place this card face-down, and then summon my Kuriboh in attack mode!" Yami says.
"Is this a joke? Kuriboh's weak! But if losing is your goal, allow me to help you. So now, Alligator Sword, attack his Kuriboh!"
"Hold it right there! I activate Spellbinding Circle, to stop your monster from attacking!"
"I've had enough of your childish games! Since this worked well last time, I'll use another one; Hintotama! AHAHAHA!"
Yami has 1500 Life Points now. The water reaches up to Ari's stomach now. "Y-Yami. I have to h-help you. I-I can't let you keep getting hurt." She thinks.
"Quiet! You'll stay under my control until I decide to release you!" Marik tells her.
"N-no. I-I can't let him get hurt."
"Silence!"
An immense pain shoots through Ari's head, which makes her yell. "Ari, are you alright?!" Yami says.
"Yes, just some minor difficulties, but now I'm back in control." She says. By her tone, you can tell Marik is still there.
Yami draws the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Yes! This could be the card I need to free Joey! He thinks. But summoning this now will be too risky; Marik might have something to destroy it. "So now, I play the magic card Exchange!" he says.
"Ha! You must be getting desperate! But if you insist, I'll be glad to take a card from your hand." Joey says walking over to Yami.
Yami holds up his hand, which contains Mystic Box, Card Destruction, De-Spell, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, "So go ahead Marik, pick any card you like." Yami says.
"Take that Red-Eyes card! You have no mind of your own Joey!" Marik tells him.
Joey reaches for the card, but hesitates, "B-But I gave Yugi that card. It's Yugi's card now, I-I made a promise!" Joey says.
"You made no promise! I command you to take that card NOW! Obey me!"
"N-no! Yugi needs it."
Joey hesitates, but ends up taking Card Destruction. Now Yami is able to pick one of Joey's cards, and he takes Magic Arm Shield. Joey walks back over to his side of the field, "Make your move Pharaoh." He says.
"Alright, now I'll sacrifice my two monsters, so I'll be able to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" he says.
"M-my Red-Eyes." Joey says.
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack his Alligator Sword!"
Alligator Sword is destroyed, and Joey is down to 2400 Life Points. "If that was a pathetic attempt to loosen my control on Joey, then your even more pitiful than I thought. And now, I'll use another Hintotama magic card!" Joey says. Yami is down to 1000 Life Points now.
The platform sinks lower until the water is up to Ari's chest. "I-I need to help him." She thinks
"NO! You're going to stay under my control!"
"N-no. I can't let t-this happen anymore. I-I love Yami, and I can't let him get hurt."
A pounding headache comes over Ari as she screams in pain. "What? No! My control is breaking!" Marik says. The Eye of Wdjat appears on her forehead as she continues to yell.
~Ari~
I breathe heavily as I return control. Where am I? What's going on? I look around and notice that Yami and Joey are dueling. Plus, my body is halfway underwater. "What is going on?" I say.
"Ari? Is that you?" Yami says.
"Yeah, who else would I be?"
"Marik was controlling your mind. He has Joey under his control also."
I try to get out of the water, until I notice that my feet are chained to whatever I'm standing on. "Ari, maybe you should let me take control. I think Yugi has the same idea. Joey may be able to recognize us more if we change back." Sabrina says to me.
I look over at Yami, who seems to be having the same conversation with Yugi, "It's the only way. Yami isn't having any luck getting through to Joey, so have us give it a try."
"Alright, but be careful."
~Sabrina~
Yugi is struggling to get to his feet, probably from that direct attack. "Surrender yet, Yugi?" Joey says.
"Listen up Marik, I'm not going to stop until my friends are safe from harm." Yugi says as he starts walking toward Joey. What's he doing?
"And I'm not going to stop this duel, so I play Rocket Warrior in attack mode. And I'll also play Attrition, which allows me to attack your Red-Eyes, but instead of losing Life Points, the points will come out of Red-Eyes' attack points. Attack my Rocket Warrior!" Joey says.
Red-Eyes now has 1900 attack points. But also, Rocket Warrior's effect sets Red-Eyes at 900 attack points. "Here Joey, take this." Yugi says as he holds the Puzzle out to him. Yugi places it around Joey's neck, "Now a piece of me will always be with you."
If this doesn't break Marik's grasp, then I don't know what will. "Y-Yugi's Puzzle." He says. That's it Joey, come on, fight it! "D-destroy Yugi!"
Crap. "Your efforts won't work little Yugi. No matter what you do, Joey will remain under my control. So let's get on with this and make your move!" Joey shouts.
Yugi sets two cards face-down and summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode. Joey summons Panther Warrior in attack mode, and then has Rocket Warrior attack Beta, but Yugi activates Magic Arm Shield to redirect the attack back at Panther Warrior. But, instead of destroying it, Rocket Warrior uses its effect, which brings Panther Warrior to zero attack points.
"I'll sacrifice my Beta to summon Beast of Gilfer! Now destroy his Rocket Warrior!" Yugi says. Now Joey has 1700 Life Points.
Joey sets two cards face-down and ends his turn. Yugi draws and sets one card face-down. He then sends Gilfer to attack Panther Warrior, but Joey activates Graceful and Skull Dice. Yugi counters Graceful Dice with De-Spell, which destroys it. Skull Dice lands on a two, which brings Gilfer to 1100, but Joey's Life Points still drop to 1100 since Gilfer was stronger than Panther Warrior.
I then notice a car pull up to the pier. Inside, are Tristan, Duke, Mai, and Serenity. Oh no. Why Serenity. Thank goodness she still has her bandages on, or else if she sees Joey dueling like this, she'll never get over it.
Joey draws his next card and stares at it for a moment, "The moment I've been waiting for has arrived Yugi." He says. Oh no.
"Joey don't do this! You can still break free from Maarik's control!" Yugi says.
Joey continues to stare at the card he drew, as if he's trying to fight back Marik's wishes. Come on Joey, you can do it! "I-I am Joey. I remember…" He says faintly. Yes! You can do it! As the conflict within himself continues, he starts yelling.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he yells as he falls to his knees. "I-I CAN'T DESTROY YUGI! HE'S MY BEST FRIEND! I WON'T DO IT!"
"Fight it Joey!" I yell.
"You can do it Joey!"
"Be strong!"
Come on, you can fight this! "Marik!" Yugi yells, "There will be a loser to this duel, but it won't be the players. It will be you! There's something you forgot to think about when you possessed Joey, you forgot about his will, and the support of his friends! Your power over Joey has weakened, and that means, you lose!"
Joey yells again, but then comes back to his feet. "It's over Yugi! I'm back in control! And I activate Meteor of Destruction!" he says. "WAIT! YUGI! NO!"
Alright, he broke free! "Trap Card activate; Mystical Refpanel! This card will stop your Meteor of Destruction, and then be redirected anywhere on the field!" Yugi says.
Yugi hesitates slightly though, if he directs it at himself, then I'll drown with him, but if he hits Joey, then he'll drown. "Yugi! Don't worry about me! Just do what you need to do!" I shout.
Yugi hesitates more, which I can't stand. I take off the Millennium Pendant and throw it over to Joey, "Take care of that Joey." I say.
"But I-"
"No, this is what needs to be done."
"It's time." Yugi says, "I guess I'll have no choice. At least they have a chance at saving you Sabrina. Now, Refpanel, direct your attack at me!"
A tear falls from my face. Yugi collapses on the ground as his Life Points hit 0. I feel the platform below me shatter and a weight pulls me down to the bottom. I clamp a hand over my mouth to keep from inhaling water, but it's not very effective.
Even if Joey will be able to escape, then I doubt they'll have time to unlock my chain with his key before I'm dead. But, I guess the somewhat bright side to this is that I'll be able to die with my best friend. And Ari and Yami are safe. I look up to the surface of the water, which seems so far away, to see the anchor fall off the hook and see Yugi fall with it.
I close my eyes as I allow death to come over me. I float there for a second until I notice something yanking at my chain. I open my eyes to see someone unlocking my chain. My vision is blurred, so I can't see very well. Is that Joey? My eyes move over to the chain that was supposed to hold Yugi, but I can't see anything connected to it. Is he safe?
The chain then unlocks and I begin to float back to the surface. But wait, what about Joey?! We can't leave him there to die! I try to swim back down to help him, but I can't. My head comes above water and I gasp for air.
I feel someone pulling me toward shore, but I can't tell who it is. "Wait Serenity?!" I hear someone say.
"She has the key!"
Is she trying to help Joey? Did she already take her bandages off? I finally gain enough air to tell what's going on, and I begin to rub the water out of my eyes. Yugi is sitting next to me, and he seems fine. Joey and Serenity then come out of the water, and we bring them to shore.
The sun begins to set. "Man, guys I-I I'm sorry." Joey says.
"It's fine Joey; it's not your fault." Yugi says.
"But I almost killed you and Sabrina."
"It's okay Joey. The good thing is that we're all safe."
"But Marik made a complete fool outta me! How can I show my face at the finals!? I nearly killed my best friends!"
"Joey," I say, "I was controlled too, and I'm partially responsible as well. But that doesn't mean we have to keep beating ourselves about it. What's done is done. The best thing is that Yugi forgave us, and we can continue with our lives and forget this thing ever happened."
"But-"
"Just forget it! You showed enough courage to fight back Marik, and that's what counts! And that courage was the same thing that inspired Serenity to save you! She doesn't care if you were controlled, you're her brother and she's supposed to look up to you! But with you feeling sorry for yourself, you're not doing your job of setting an example for her!"
"Yeah Joey," Serenity says, "you inspired me. At first, I didn't want to take my bandages off, but seeing you use such courage gave me the strength I needed to do it. I've been able to get through all of this because you were always there for me. Your more than just my brother, your my idol, and I love you." She says hugging Joey.
"Thanks sis. I needed that. Oh, and I almost forgot." Joey says. He walks over to where he left his Duel Disk and picks it up, along with the Puzzle and Pendant. "I think I should give these back." He says holding out the Items.
"Thanks Joey." Yugi and I say.
"I'll see you dweebs at the finals." Kaiba says walking off with Mokuba.
Oh, right, I almost forgot that Kaiba and Mokuba were ever here. In all of this madness I almost forgot about the finals. But luckily, Marik didn't take my deck or Duel Disk when I was controlled; they've just been sitting against a warehouse, which is kind of strange. But now, we're finally ready to enter the finals and take down Marik.
I got a few requests for this chapter, but due to some key plot details, I was unable to fully fit them in. I just hope this chapter was good overall without those requests.