Chapter 12

"Black Magic of the Soul"

"Why don't you set us both free and end this madness, Arkana?! My Dark Magician has already taken out more than half of your life points. One more attack, and the dark energy imbued in that buzz saw will send your mind right to the Shadow Realm while the blade severs your ankles from the rest of your body!" Yami stated, trying to talk sense into the poor, demented soul, but Arkana just laughed at the thought. "My mind, sent to the Shadow Realm? My ankles severed from my body? Never! Listen, Yugi, I promised you a spectacle, and I never disappoint. Not only will I win, I'll take your precious Dark Magician from you, and send you into mental oblivion while your body is destroyed!" Arkana retorted. 'Yugi obviously doesn't know the first rule of a master magician; always save the best trick for the finale.' he thought. "You should stop worrying about me and take care of yourself, Yugi. It's my show, remember? I can't lose." he added, aloud.

"I gave you a chance to save yourself, but you left me with no choice. Prepare to lose it all, Arkana!" Yami responded, knowing he had no choice but to possibly cause his opponent to bleed out, lose his feet and have his mind banished to the Shadow Realm. Meanwhile, in Domino City, vendors were selling food for all the hungry Duelists and spectators. But amongst the customers, Tea and Sol were searching. "I just don't understand what happened to Yugi." Tea said, worried. "He must've fallen into a trap door." Sol suggested. "Yeah, but what I'm worried about is where that trap door may have led him." Tea responded. Soon, Fluttershy came up. "Tea! Mr. Muto!" she called. "Fluttershy? What's wrong?" Sol asked. "I got a report from Mokuba saying that Yugi is missing!" Fluttershy answered, out of breath. "We know, we're trying to find him, too. We followed him into what looked like a circus tent before he entered what looked like a Mystic Box before he, possibly, fell through a trap door in the floor." Tea stated. "Then he must be being held prisoner somewhere! We have to find him!" Fluttershy stated. "We were thinking the same thing, so I say we search every square inch of Battle City until we do." Sol pointed out. Fluttershy agreed. Back at the duel, Arkana's turn had come.

"I know you want to believe that someone is looking for you, but I suggest you drop that belief. No one will ever find us here, so you'll be alone when you lose it all!" Arkana said before drawing his next card. 'I have to defend myself from another direct attack by Yugi's Dark Magician, or it'll be curtains for me! This'll do.' he thought. "Silent Magician Level 4, in defense mode!" he declared aloud as his monster, a level four, Light attribute spellcaster/effect monster with 1000 attack and defense points, appeared. "And I'll place one card face down. Now let's get on with the show." he added. 'Arkana's Silent Magician is a weak defense. If I summon another monster and destroy it, I can mount an attack on his life points and win this duel!' Yugi thought. 'Take the bait, Yugi! I know you want to summon another monster, and when you do, I'll have a surprise waiting!' Arkana thought. "Here's where it ends." Yami said as he drew his next card. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior!" he added as his magnetic monster appeared. "Attack, now!" he commanded. But right then and there, Arkana sprung his trap.

"Not so fast, Yugi!" the mad magician declared. "What are you up to?" Yami asked. "You activated my trap, Dark Renewal!" Arkana answered before both Beta and the Silent Magician were drawn into the coffin. "It takes your monster and a single spellcaster that I have on the field and sends them to the graveyard, but in return, it brings back another spellcaster that's been lost by the user. In this case, the user is me!" he explained before laughing, but Yami caught on quickly to what he was up to. "You want your Dark Magician back!" he declared. "Very perceptive, that'll give me another chance to annihilate you! Welcome back, my Dark Magician!" Arkana responded as the coffin opened and his own Dark Magician appeared. "You have your wish. It's Dark Magician vs Dark Magician. Let's find out who the real master is." Yami said. "Our monsters' attack points are identical, so merely attacking won't be enough. You'll have to think more strategically, and only a true illusionist like myself can master the power of a Dark Magician! Prepare to lose your card, your ankles, and your mind!" Arkana pointed out before Yami prepared two more cards.

"Think again. Now I'll set two cards on the field, face down, and end my turn." Yami responded as he finished his turn. 'This show will have more twists than Yugi expects. I'll match him move for move.' Arkana thought before drawing. "Two can play at that game. I'll also set two cards face down." he said aloud. "So what's next?" he asked. "I'll show you." Yami answered as he drew. "I'll set one more card face down." he added. "Brilliant move, Yugi. So I'll set one card face down as well." Arkana responded. "I'll place my last." Yami said as he set his fourth card. "And so will I." Arkana responded as he also set his fourth and fifth cards. "You have four cards face down and one Dark Magician, I have five cards face down and one Dark Magician. And now, let's see who picked the best dueling strategy. I activate a magic card from my hand, Stop Attack! This allows me to switch your Dark Magician to defense mode, setting the stage for my trap card, Tragedy!" he added as Yugi's magician switched to defense mode and a guillotine appeared. "Say goodbye to your Dark Magician, Yugi!" he declared. "I won't let you destroy him!" Yami responded.

But Arkana just laughed as Yami's Dark Magician was grabbed, clamped down and pulled onto the guillotine. "As if you have a choice?" he asked. "My Dark Magician! No!" Yami shouted. "I'm afraid it's true, your Dark Magician's about to be cut from the show, your ankles are about to be cut from your body, and your mind is about to be trapped in the Shadow Realm!" Arkana declared with a demented laugh. "Now it's time for the grand finale!" he added. "Not yet, Arkana!" Yami declared. "Sorry, but I'm afraid the show's about to be, cut, short. The curtain falls right onto your Dark Magician!" Arkana responded as the guillotine's blade dropped down. "I'm afraid you're going to have to find him, first! I activate Magical Hats!" Yami retorted as his trap was sprung. "No!" Arkana shouted as the Dark Magician was quickly hidden away while the guillotine's blade sliced an empty hat in half while the others reconvened on Yami's half of the field side by side.

"Now you'll have to guess which hat he's under to attack him." Yami stated. "Don't be so sure of that! I activate Thousand Knives!" Arkana retorted before his Dark Magician became armed with several knives while others surrounded him. "These magical daggers will home in on the hat that hides your Dark Magician and destroy him!" the mad illusionist added before the knives were thrown. "It's all over!" he shouted, but Yami just grinned. "Hold on, Arkana, I'll rescue him with De-Spell!" he declared. "It can cancel out one magic card on the field." he explained as the knives were destroyed. "Destroying my Dark Magician won't be easy, Arkana." he added. "Well, we'll just see about that! First I'll reveal him the old-fashioned way, with this, Remove Trap!" Arkana responded before he activated his card from his hand and the Magical Hats were instantly destroyed, revealing Yugi's magician. "Now to see how powerful our magicians are! Dark Magician, attack, now! Dark Magic Attack!" he added before his magician attacked, prompting Yami's own magician to do the same. "They'll destroy each other!" Yami shouted before that very thing happened.

"And now my Dark Magician will return, with Monster Reborn!" both players shouted as their final facedown cards activated, returning their magicians to the field. "Looks like we're back to where we started." Arkana pointed out. "Yes, a stalemate. Why don't you unlock us from these shackles and finish this duel with honor?" Yami responded. "With honor? And ruin all the fun? Never." Arkana retorted, not willing to give up his demented plan. "Have it your way." Yami said before drawing. "But answer this now that I pass my turn, why did you lead me down here, Arkana? And why did you force me into a duel in which the loser's ankles are cut from their legs and their mind gets sent into the Shadow Realm?" he asked. "I'm simply following the orders of my master." Arkana answered. "Enough secrets, Arkana. What's going on?" Yami responded before Arkana removed his mask, revealing a scarred and disfigured face underneath. "Just look at my face." Arkana said upon removing it, with Yami shocked at what he saw. "Once, I was the greatest illusionist and magician since Harry Houdini himself." Arkana began as he had a flashback to his life before he became a Rare Hunter.

"My tricks were the talk and envy of the magic community, and I loved every minute of them. I had it all; money, fame, but most importantly, I had her, my sweet Catherine. We were going to be married, until that fateful day. It was a routine escape trick, getting out of a box that was locked up with a lock and chain and hoisted above the ground with a crane while I was chained up inside. I done it a million times. But as Catherine and the audience looked on, something went horribly wrong!" he said, remembering the moment the crane hook broke and dropped the box and him. "I lost my career and my movie star-quality good looks that day. It was after that, when I lost my fiancé. I drove her away, Yugi. I was too ashamed to marry her. I was a broken man, physically and emotionally. I hated for her to have to look at me, disfigured and ruined." he continued as he remembered losing his finance.

"She wanted to stand by me, but I felt hurt for hurting her by driving her away. I wanted to make amends, but it seemed like it was too late, she was gone. My life as I knew it was over, until I met him...Marik!" he continued as his flashback ended with the moment he met his master. "He made me and offer; if I could eliminate Yugi Muto for good, he'd help me win back Catherine by using his Millennium Rod." he concluded as he put his mask back on. "Working for Marik will only lead to more pain and suffering, Arkana. Marik cares about no one except himself, he'll say and do anything to get what he wants." Yami said, trying to convince Arkana that working for Marik was a big and foolish mistake.

"It's a cruel, cruel world, Yugi. You'll find that out soon enough. There are very few things you can count on, and very fewer people. But I am counting on Marik to bring my Catherine back into my arms." Arkana responded before pointing toward a curtain. A light comes on behind it, revealing a silhouette of a woman sitting in a chair. "There she is. Waiting for me, just like Marik promised. He's a man of his word, Yugi. You shouldn't be so quick to judge people, especially if you haven't met them in person yet." he said before turning his attention to Catherine. "Give me a minute, darling. I have to dispose of Yugi, and then we'll be together forever." he said before turning back to Yami. "So you see, Yugi, it's nothing personal." he concluded with a laugh. "You're a fool to trust in him. Instead, you should be putting your trust in yourself and in your card, Arkana. You rely on tricks and illusions to win instead of believing in your deck. And that will be your downfall." Yami responded.

"Their just cards, Yugi, nothing more." Arkana said, not buying into Yami's Heart of the Cards philosophy. "That's your problem. They're not just cards to me. My heart is in my deck, and that's something you'll never understand." Yami retorted. "You talk about putting your faith in the cards, Yugi, but that will be your downfall! I knew you'd depend on your Dark Magician to bail you out, so I built my deck with one purpose; to take your Dark Magician away from you!" Arkana said, defiantly. 'And that dark energy infused buzz saw will take some things that are even more precious to you; your ankles and your mind!' he thought before laughing like a madman. Meanwhile, Tea, Fluttershy and Sol were searching the streets of Domino for Yugi/Yami. "Yugi MUST be around here somewhere." Sol said as they searched.

Meanwhile, at KaibaCorp, the brothers had returned. "Yugi still hasn't reappeared on the Duelist Tracking Screen. His Duel Disk won't operate unless it has a connection to our tournament computer or another compatible system. So, Mokuba, if Yugi is dueling someone who doesn't want KaibaCorp watching, they must be battling in a secret location that has its own internal dueling computer system." Seto explained before he turned his attention to his technicians. "Search for every active computer network in Domino City that's compatible with KaibaCorp's Duel Disks, and make it snappy!" he ordered. The technicians agreed and managed to find ten different active computer networks. "Isolate any systems that refuse to identify themselves to our network." he added before three systems were left on screen, indicating that there were just three location were Yugi/Yami could be located.

"I'll hit the streets and have Spike and the girls look in those locations. Just radio us when you find him." Mokuba said before running out. Back at the duel, Yami continued to try and talk sense into his opponent. "Set us free, Arkana. It's not too late to stop this." he said. "Not until I win your Dark Magician!" Arkana responded. "Then make a move." Yami said. "With great pleasure." Arkana replied before drawing. "I set one card face down. Ready for the Shadow Realm?" he added. "I won't lose." Yami responded before drawing. "I set two cards face down." he added. "Time to spice up this show! Ready Yugi? I reveal, a magic card! Beckon to Darkness!" Arkana declared as his card activated and a giant hand, (which looked somewhat similar to Lord Zedd's), came down from above. "No! My Dark Magician!" Yami shouted.

"That's right, Yugi, you should be worried if not afraid. That gruesome claw will snatch up any of my opponent's monsters and send it directly to the graveyard, so you can say goodbye to your Dark Magician!" Arkana stated with a laugh before the claw grabbed Yami's magician. "Oh, really? Afraid not! You didn't count on this, the Mystical Refpanel! This trap card counters the effects of a single magic card that targets one of my monsters and spares it." Yami retorted as he activated his trap. "But not for long." Arkana said with a scoff. "Are you sure?" Yami asked. "Of course I am. Beckon to Darkness was a decoy, so that you could waste your trap." Arkana answered before laughing. "I knew you would fall for that trick! Now it's my turn to spring a trap of my own, Yugi! Nightmare's Chains!" he added before activating his trap, ensnaring the Dark Magician.

"These chains will bind your Dark Magician and negate the effects of Mystical Refpanel, putting him out of play and leaving you open for a direct attack!" he explained. "No! My Magician's been trapped!" Yami shouted before Arkana laughed. "With your monster hung up for the moment, all he can do is watch helplessly while I attack his master!" the crazed magician stated with a laugh. "Of course, you won't be his master for much longer, so it doesn't really matter, I suppose. Soon, he will belong to Marik. And now, prepare yourself, because it's, showtime! Dark Magician, attack Yugi's life points directly, Dark Magic Attack!" he added before his magician blasted Yugi, dropping his life points to 700, all the while, his Dark Magician only watched on.

"This is turning into quite the performance. And now, watch, my friends, as the buzz saw edges closer to slicing Yugi's ankles and sending his mind to the Shadow Realm!" Arkana declared before laughing. "Just one touch and your legs will be severed while your mind will be banished to the Shadow Realm!" he added before the saw stopped. "I'm almost ready for my grand finale, Yugi, and it's worth sticking around for! I don't want to ruin the surprise for you, but let's just say Marik will be extremely pleased. You, on the other hand, probably won't. But why spoil it? Now it's time for you to make your final move!" he continued before Yami drew. 'If I can't free my Dark Magician, Arkana's got me.' Yugi thought. Out in the city, Tea, Sol and Flutershy were scanning around near a duel that was taking place, with one player battling with a card that Fluttershy had, a level four, Water attribute beast-warrior/effect monster with 1400 attack points and 1000 defense points called Mother Grizzly, and with the other battling with a card Spike had in his deck, a level six, Fire attribute Pyro monster with 2200 attack points and 1700 defense points known as the Twin-Headed Fire Dragon.

"We've been over every square inch of Domino City and we haven't found a trace of Yugi anywhere." Sol said, worried. "We just got to keep looking for him." Tea stated. "Wait, look who's coming!" Fluttershy said as she pointed towards Mokuba, who was running towards them. "You're right, it's Mokuba!" Tea added. "Mokuba, I got your message from my ring, and we already know why you're out here and not at KaibaCorp." Fluttershy said. "Yugi walked into a tent in the park and disappeared. We've looked everywhere." Sol added. "We've got a bad feeling he may have been kidnapped." put in Tea. "Don't worry, my brother just messaged me and told me where he is, I'm heading there right now and I could use you as backup, Fluttershy." Mokuba said. "Perfect timing." Tea pointed out. "You lead the way and we'll follow." Sol said. "We have to hurry." Mokuba suggested before they started heading off. Meanwhile, back at the duel, Yami was about to make his move. "First, I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, allowing me to restore 1000 of my life points!" he began before his life points increased to 1700, causing the saw to go backwards. "Now I'll summon my Big Shield Gardna in defense mode." he added before his monster, a level four, Earth attribute warrior/effect monster with 100 attack points and 2600 defense points, appeared before him to defend himself.

'I managed to get 1000 of my life points back, but now I have to defend them.' Yugi thought. "Look at you, cowering behind your monster, desperately trying to put off your inevitable defeat at the hands of my mighty Dark Magician! I'm afraid that defense won't help you, as strong as it may be. After my next turn, your life points will be 0, I promise you! Now if you're done with your turn, it's time for my next move." Arkana said before drawing. "I will also summon a monster. Say hello, to the Doll of Demise!" he added before his new monster, a level four, Dark attribute Fiend with 1600 attack points and 1700 defense points, appeared. "And now, Yugi, behold the magic card that will herald your annihilation! I play, Ectoplasmer!" he continued before activating said card.

"Confused, Yugi? Allow me to explain if for you, Ectoplasmer drains the very soul of one of my monster at the end of my turn, creating the purely concentrated form of energy we know as ectoplasm, which is then fired directly at you!" he explained, shocking Yami. "What? If you turn your monsters into hollow shells, they'll be of no use!" he said, but Arkana just laughed. "Maybe so, but once I've destroyed you, I'll have no use for them anyway! Then my task will be complete and I'll be reunited with my sweet Catherine!" the mad magician declared, bringing a look of shock to his own Dark Magician, before he turned back to the curtain hiding his beloved. "Did you hear that, Catherine, my darling? Just a few more minutes and we can plan our honeymoon. We'll head to Hawaii, or Tahiti, or wherever you'd like to go." he said before turning back to Yami. "Say goodbye, Yugi, I'm about to drain your life points by draining one of my monsters' souls away! I extract the soul from my Doll of Demise to turn it into ectoplasm!" he declared as his doll's soul was drained. "And now I fire it at you!" he added before the ectoplasm shot forward, straight through Big Shield Gardna and nailed Yami, lowering his life points to a sparse 900 while the buzz saw got closer.

'One more hit like that, and my life points will go down to zero!' Yugi thought as his faithful friend, the Dark Magician, watched on helplessly. "You played well, Yugi, I'll give you that. But do you know why you and your beloved Dark Magician couldn't beat me? You're too soft. In battle, Duel Monsters respond best to fear. You have to make certain that they're afraid of you. You'll never command their respect with kindness and trust. Just look what happened to your favorite one, the Dark Magician. Duelists are the masters, the monsters in their decks are the servants, and they should ensure victory for you, even if it means you have to destroy them to get there!" Arkana stated, showing he had no respect for his own Dark Magician.

"You're a sick man." Yami plainly stated. "This is my show and my Dark Magician knows that I am his master! He's nothing but my pawn. Now for the grand finale! I extract the soul from my Dark Magician!" Arkana responded before his magician's soul was drained. "Stop, now. This duel has already gone way too far." Yami said, trying to talk sense into his opponent once more, though to no avail. "Not when I'm about to win! Ectoplasm, fire!" Arkana responded as the ectoplasm shot forward and through Big Shield Gardna. "Goodbye, Yugi!" he declared. However, Yugi's own Dark Magician started to glow, catching Arkana off-guard. "What's happening?!" he asked before realizing what was going on. "No! That's impossible!" he shouted. "My Dark Magician!" Yami shouted as his magician's own soul was drained and blocked the oncoming ectoplasmic shot. "The soul of Yugi's Dark Magician was also drained, and now it's blocking my attack! Meaning they'll both be destroyed!" Arkana said in shock.

In moments, the attack was nullified and all that remained was Big Shield Gardna. "It looks like your plan to destroy me backfired. You were so busy disrespecting your cards, Arkana, that you failed to learn how to use them properly. While it's true that Ectoplasmer drains a monster's soul and fires that energy at the opponent, what you obviously didn't realize is that when there's more than one of the same monster on the field, they're all effected in the same way. So my Dark Magician had his soul drained as well. Canceling out your attack, Arkana." Yami explained. "You may have avoided that one, but you're still one attack away from having your ankles severed and being sent to the Shadow Realm forever!" Arkana retorted, determined not to let Yami defeat him.