~Ari~

"The first duel of the semi-finals will commence in five minutes." Roland says.

Marik and my platform reach the top of the tower first. The top of the tower has no roof, just railing around it. Kaiba and Yami's platforms come up a moment later. I step out of mine and wait for the duel to commence. "Ari," I look over to see Yami coming toward me.

"What?" I say.

"Are you sure you're going to go through with this duel?"

"The only other option I have is to forfeit, and I would never do that. I don't plan on losing this duel, but that's for fate to decide."

"Then maybe this can help you." He says holding out Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"I'm not going to take that."

"Why not?"

"It's yours, not mine. And besides I don't want to risk losing it to Marik. Just keep it."

He hesitates, but then decides that there's no use in arguing. "Fine, but be careful." He kisses me, making me feel somewhat less nervous about this duel.

I separate from him, "I will."

I step up onto the dueling field, where Marik has been standing the entire time. The field rises, and the rest of the gang shows up as it does. "The first duel of the semi-finals is ready to commence. Marik Ishtar will have the first move." Roland says.

"Very well, I summon Makyura the Destructor in attack mode, and then I set two cards face-down and end my turn." Marik says.

I draw, my hand contains; Magic Cylinder, Magician's Valkria, De-Fusion, Michizure, Pot of Greed, and Soul Exchange. "I play Pot of Greed!" I draw Jack's Knight and Kaiser Sea Horse. "Then I summon Kaiser Sea Horse in attack mode and set two cards face-down. Kaiser Sea Horse, attack!"

"Activate Relieve Monster! Now your monster goes back to your hand and I can summon this; Revival Jam!" I end my turn from there. "The shadows grow hungry, so I think it's time to feed them!" the sky turns dark and now I know we're in a Shadow Duel.

"As all Shadow Games, the loser will be banished to the Shadow Realm. You'll find that this duel though, will be different from the one your friend was in. Instead of targeting your mental state, it targets your physical state."

"How so?"

"You'll learn soon enough. It's my move, so I send my Revival Jam to attack you directly!"

"I activate Magic Cylinder! Now that damage gets transferred to you."

Marik is down to 2500 Life Points. "Fine, but I'll send Makyura to attack also!"

I'm at 2400. Pain shoots through my body as the Life Points drop, "So, your plan is to whittle both of us down to nothing… correct?"

"Yes, but the more pain inflicted to you, the more power I gain!"

That explains why he wasn't affected too much by that last hit. I draw Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, "Okay, let's try this again; I summon Kaiser Sea Horse in attack mode! Now, attack Makyura!"

Marik is down to 2400. He still doesn't seem affected by the blows. "I set one card face-down and then place a monster in defense mode!"

I draw Dark Magician, "I set one card face-down and then I activate Soul Exchange! Now I choose to take control of your Revival Jam and the sacrifice both of these monsters in order to summon Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"

His monster was Drillago. Marik decides to pass his turn. I draw Queen's Knight, but I decide just to attack with Dark Magician, "Dark Magician, attack him directly!"

"Activate Nightmare Wheel! Prepare to watch your Dark Magician suffer!" Marik says, "My turn again, and now Nightmare Wheel will inflict you with 500 points of damage!" My Life Points drop to 1900. More pain shoots through me and I feel like my knees could collapse. Marik activates Jam Breeding Machine which gives him a Slime Token and then ends his turn.

I draw Petit Angel, "I sacrifice… Dark Magician to summon… Jack's Knight!" I say panting. "This will get rid… of Nightmare Wheel."

"Now that it's my turn again, I get another Slime Token. That's all."

I draw Fairy Witch, "I… play Magician's Valkria in attack…mode! Then I use her to attack... your Slime Token!"

"I sacrifice my Token and get rid of my Breeding Machine so I can summon my Helpoemer! Helpoemer, attack Magician's Valkria!"

I'm down to 1500. "Well, I activate… Michizure so I can destroy… Helpoemer!" my turn, I draw Divine Queen, "I set a monster and then… have Jack's Knight… attack you directly!"

"I activate Metal Reflect Slime! This card will block your attack and be placed as a monster!"

I end my turn, so Marik draws. "I think it's time to give you a little assistance. So I'll give you my Lava Golem, but this card comes with a price. Both of your monsters need to be sacrificed."

Lava Golem obviously has another price to it. He wouldn't just give me a monster with 3000 attack points and expect to get nothing from it. I draw Heavy Storm, "Oh, and Lava Golem gives you 1000 points of damage each turn you take." Marik says.

I'm down to a mere 500 Life Points now. My legs are shaking and I end up falling to my knees, and getting back up. On my next turn, this will be over, what can I do? "I set a monster then end my turn." Marik says, "It looks like your time is up my dear."

Come on, I need to draw something useful. I draw Dark Hole. "Sorry Marik, but… I'm no out… yet. I… activate Dark Hole… this destroys Lava… Golem! Then I'll set a monster… and end my turn."

Marik draws, "I'll set another monster and end my turn."

I draw Meteor of Destruction and activate it so Marik has 1400 Life Points left. Now he seems to start to feel pain, which I'm happy about. I decide to put Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts into attack mode and then end my turn.

Marik smiles, "The time has arrived to summon my ultimate creature!" oh no, "By sacrificing my three monsters, I can summon this; the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Ra appears in his sphere form, so Marik has to say the ancient chant, "Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry. Transform thy self from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight. Envelop the deserts with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe. Unlock your powers from deep within so that together we may win. Appear in the Shadow Game as I call your name; the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Ra transforms and now has a total of 3300 attack points. "Now my beast, it is time to finish this! Attack her Gazelle and bring her Life Points to zero!" Marik commands.

There's nothing I can do. I've lost this. "I'm sorry Sabrina, I put you into too much danger this time." I tell her.

"It's not your fault. You did your best, but Marik and Ra were too much." She says sadly.

The blast hits Gazelle and destroys it and then aims for my Life Points. The flames from the blast then target my skin, causing me to yell in pain. When the attack is finally over, smoke surfaces from my flesh and I'm still standing somehow. I don't think I can stand for much longer though. "ARI!" Yami shouts.

He goes to run up to me, but I fall over before he reaches me.

Hopefully they didn't lose too badly. Right? Well, anyways this is going to be an interesting turn of events. And this Shadow Game probably wasn't very different from your usual one, but hey, I wanted to get this done today and my head wasn't thinking of anything different, oh well.