Chapter 11
"The Pandora Magician"
Down in an alley, a Battle City competitor was attempting to bend the rules to his own benefit and take two rare cards rather than just one, despite the protest from his defeated opponent. But that's when the whistle was blown, by Battle City Commissioner Mokuba Kaiba. "Break it up!" he ordered. "Beat it, junior." the rule-breaker, known as Koji, responded. "Junior? I'll have you know that I'm the commissioner of Battle City. I settle any and all disputes that happen in this tournament, and when it comes to rule-breakers, what I say goes. Am I clear, Mr. Koji Nagumo?" Mokuba responded. "I'll keep that in mind, now get lost!" Koji shouted. "If you want to stay in this tournament, you'll have to do what I say!" Mokuba retorted. "Or what?" Koji asked, daringly. "Or you'll have to deal with me." said a voice. "Who said that?" Koji asked before he looked back and saw just who was speaking, Mokuba's own brother, Seto. "Hey, bro." Mokuba said. "Seto Kaiba?! You're this kid's big brother?!" Koji asked, shocked.
"When you speak to an official that way, you dishonor the entire Battle City tournament. If you speak to my brother that way, you dishonor both me and the tournament. Not to mention, I have very little patience for bullies and rule-breakers." Seto said. "What's your point?" Koji asked before Kaiba set down his briefcase and opened it to reveal tons of cards. "It's time you learned some respect." Seto responded. "Whoa! Amazing! What's up with all these cards in your briefcase? Most of them are rare ones!" Koji said, amazed. "I challenge you to a duel right here and now. With one condition, you must use these rare cards to boost the power of your own deck." Seto stated. "Are you sure about this?" Koji asked before chuckling. In no time, his deck was enhanced with some of the cards before both players were in position to play. "With these rare cards and my skill, there's no way I can lose! So watch out, Kaiba! You're setting yourself up for a fall!" Koji declared before drawing. But Seto just chuckled, catching Koji off-guard before he declared it was time to duel. But Seto didn't seem to care. "I just need to play a single card, to teach you a lesson you won't forget!" he stated. Some time later, Seto was about to do exactly as he said he would. "I summon, Obelisk the Tormentor!" he declared before Obelisk appeared. "Attack now!" he commanded before, with one strike, the duel was quickly ended.
Across the rooftops of Battle City, Rainbow saw the glow and pondered what was causing it. "Either there's a big explosion going on out there, or someone landed a massive attack in a duel." she said, unaware of the mythical might that was being unleashed. On street level, Koji was on the ground, defeated. "I've never seen a card that powerful." he said as Seto and Mokuba walked away. "I think it's time I used my Egyptian God Card on a real opponent, so it's time to find Yugi." Seto said as they left Koji shaken. 'No one messes with my little brother. Especially with an Egyptian God Card in my deck. If my plan is working as well as I thought it would, which is likely considering that my enforcers have already arrested two Rare Hunters, the other two Egyptian God Cards should be in the city somewhere. I just need to find out where, so I can win them. When I get hold of all three of these unstoppable monsters, not even Yugi will be able to defeat me! Once again, I'll be the world champion and the number one Duelist in the entire world!' he thought. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, Marik was being informed of something.
"So Obelisk the Tormentor has been played in a duel?" he asked. "Yes. Moments ago in Battle City, Marik. And we've identified the card's owner, Seto Kaiba. "I figured he'd have it." Marik said with a chuckle. "How did you know, sir?" asked a Rare Hunter. "Its quite simple, Ishizu conspires against me. She likely gave Kaiba that card in order to try and stop me, just like Kaiba had Princess Twilight made into a Battle City enforcer, to try and arrest any and all of the Rare Hunters I've sent to Domino City. Now, it seems that both Kaiba and me are after the cards. For once you have one, you must obtain the others." Marik answered. 'I should've known Ishizu was the one behind this whole tournament. She's been trying to stand in my way ever since I decided to take what is rightfully mine.' he thought as he remembered the day he first obtained one of the Egyptian God Cards, the Winged Dragon of Ra, before he was confronted by Ishizu, his own sister.
'I know my sister gave the third Egyptian God Card to Seto Kaiba. She used her Millennium Necklace to foresee the events of Battle City. Ishizu knew if she gave Obelisk the Tormentor to Kaiba, he'd throw a tournament out of greed to obtain the other Egyptian God Cards. But Kaiba has little understanding of their true strength, and once I have them all, the power of the Nameless Pharaoh will be mine! However, first, I'll need to weaken the Pharaoh, prepare him for the day I take my ultimate prize!' he continued. "Sir, shall I order a group of the Rare Hunters we have sent to Battle City to pay Kaiba a little visit?" asked one of the Rare Hunters present. "No. Leave Kaiba to his games. The other Rare Hunters in Domino City must contend with those enforcers that Kaiba had employed and tasked to arrest my men." Marik answered. 'I have an important task of my own to tend to first.' he thought. "Dispatch Arkana to take down Yugi Muto." he ordered aloud. The three Rare Hunters standing before him agreed.
Meanwhile, at Yonezato Hospital, Tristan was about to leave. "Okay, Serenity, I'll see you later. I'm gonna head home to Domino City to see how Yugi and Joey are doing." he said before turning to leave. "Tristan, will you promise me something?" Serenity asked. "Sure. What is it?" Tristan responded. "Will you take me to Domino City to see the Battle City tournament the day I get my bandages removed?" Serenity asked. "You want to see the tournament?" Tristan asked. "Yeah. It's very important to me that the first sight I see is my brother dueling." Serenity explained. "Then it'd be an honor." Tristan responded, causing Serenity to smile. Back in Domino, Joey, Tea and Sol were walking around. "That was an awesome duel back there against Espa Roba, Joey." Tea said. "I'm amazed at how much your dueling skills have improved." Sol pointed out. "Thanks a lot, gramps." Joey responded before they came to a crossroads. "Well, we're off to find Yugi." Tea said. "Okay. Later." Joey said before walking away while Tea wished him good luck as both she and Sol headed the opposite direction of Joey.
Meanwhile, Yami was looking at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. 'I'm glad that Joey let us hang on to his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. It's his favorite card, and now that we have it, its like his heart is in our deck. No matter where we are, Joey will be with us. And if we have to face Marik and his army of Rare Hunters, much like Twilight and her friends are doing as we speak, we're going to need all the support we can get. I just hope that Joey can survive in the tournament without his Red-Eyes.' Yugi thought. "He can. Joey's a great Duelist and he seems to get better with every duel he fights. He just has to keep believing in himself." Yami responded. 'Yeah, Joey really has come a long way since his first duel. And he just defeated Espa Roba without using his Red-Eyes. Maybe we need Joey's card to help us save the world from Marik. Speaking of Marik, how do we know where he'll strike next? We still don't even know what he looks like.' Yugi thought. Suddenly, they heard a laughing off to the left.
What Yami saw was a jester standing next to a tree. "Who are you?" he asked. "Hello, Yugi. We've been waiting for you." the jester responded. "Who's we?" Yami asked. "You'll find out if you head that way. Fifty-three steps forward and into that tent. My master is waiting for you inside. It's in your best interest to go." the jester answered before pointing towards the tent and then backflipping behind a bush. Intrigued, Yami headed forward. Meanwhile, Tea and Sol were trying to find Yugi. "Still no sign of Yugi." Tea said before she looked to her left and saw Yami. "Hey! There he is!" she said. "You found him?" Sol asked as they saw Yami walk towards the tent. Yami didn't stop, even though Tea tried to flag him down, all the while Sol was complaining that he was getting too old for running around. Inside the tent, Yami found it empty. "There's no one here." he said before looking ahead and seeing a real Mystic Box, with a sign over it that read 'magic show'. "Magic show?" he pondered before hearing the jester's laugh and seeing him inside. "In here, Yugi. My master's waiting." the strange clown said before disappearing into the Mystic Box.
Yami moved forward, despite the attempts by Sol and Tea to flag him down. "There he is!" Sol shouted. "It almost looks like he's in a trance." Tea pointed out before Yami entered the Mystic Box and disappeared with the doors closing behind him. Suddenly, a puff of smoke engulfed the box, worrying the two. "Oh, no! You don't think he's trapped in there, do you?" Tea said, worried, before the Mystic Box completely undid itself, with no sign of Yami to be seen, prompting the two to run up to the stage. "Yugi! Yugi, where are you?" Sol called. "He's gone! Disappeared!" Tea said, more worried than before. Elsewhere in Battle City, Mokuba got an update. "Seto! The tournament surveillance system just lost track of Yugi Muto! He's disappeared!" he said in shock. "Disappeared? Impossible. Make sure the satellite link is working, now! And after that, tell our enforcers, have them search the city for him." Seto responded. Mokuba did so. 'Yugi's Duel Disk, as do the Duel Disks of all other competitors, sends out a constant ID signal, so wherever he is, his signal's being blocked somehow! But I'll find him.' Seto thought.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Yami emerged in a room with a computer monitor from another Mystic Box. 'Where are we?' Yugi thought before the computer monitor came on while an AI stated it was hacking into the Battle City database. Then, Yugi/Yami's dueling profile came up on the screen as the AI stated his dueling level and his rarest card. But suddenly, a creature that looked like the Dark Magician, only with white hair and red attire, appeared on the screen. "My Dark Magician!" Yami said in shock before a hologram of that magician came out of the monitor. "I've been waiting for you. You are not worthy of having my counterpart in your deck, so prepare to lose him forever!" it said with a chuckle. But Yami stood his ground. "You're not the only Duelist with the power of a Dark Magician in their deck, Yugi, and you're certainly not the best! It's time that you met a true master of the Dark Magician's power!" the so-called Dark Magician declared, but Yami saw through the charade.
"Alright, enough of these tricks." he said before the one behind the act appeared to his left, holding his version of the Dark Magician while he had another on his Duel Disk. "Welcome, Yugi Muto. I am the illusionist known as Arkana. And soon, your favorite card will become mine. Only a true master of illusion deserves to hold a Dark Magician. You will never understand its full potential." he said with a demented chuckle. "That's enough, Arkana." Yami stated. "Sorry, Yugi. I know it must be hard to think of your favorite card in another Duelist's deck. So, I challenge you to a duel. The winner will take the loser's Dark Magician." Arkana said as he walked up and stood next to the hologram of his own Dark Magician. "Then I accept. You must know that when a Duelist build his deck, he chooses his favorites from many different types of cards. But sometimes a card can choose a Duelist, the two are connected and the Duelist can tap into the card's true power, because each is bound by the Heart of the Cards. And the Dark Magician I have has chosen, me." Yami said as he got out his deck and shuffled it, to Arkana's annoyance. "He has never let me down, and I place my complete trust in my Dark Magician." he added before drawing him from the top of the deck.
"So its true, the great Yugi Muto never backs down from a challenge. Very impressive. But this room's a little cramped, don't you think? Fortunately, I know of a special dueling ring close by. Follow me." Arkana said before pointing to a flight of stairs. "I suggest you hurry, it's almost curtain time. I have special orders from my superiors to make this a real spectacle." he added as they both headed down the stairs. "What do you mean you have orders from your superiors? Just who is it that you're working for, Arkana?" Yami asked. "Just relax and enjoy the show, forget who's backstage, just worry about me." Arkana answered. 'Could this deranged showman be working for Marik? If he is, then there could be much more at stake here then my Dark Magician.' Yugi thought. Soon, the reached the bottom of the stairs. "Ta-da! Beyond that door lies my dueling ring." Arkana said before the door opened to reveal it. "I had it specially made for this match. It's almost time to raise the curtain and start the show. I hope you enjoy a good matinée, Yugi, you'll notice we're completely alone. There are no screaming fans and no cameras. Yes, it's the perfect setting for a private performance with so much on the line. As you suspected, we'll duel using the Battle City rules, but thanks to our location, not even Kaiba knows we're here." he added. Before both players set down their decks. "Now, let's shuffle our decks and let the show begin, shall we?" he asked before he started to shuffle Yami's deck while Yami shuffled Arkana's.
"I'm watching you. Don't try any sleight of hand, Arkana." Yami warned. "Card tricks are strictly for amateurs, Yugi Muto." Arkana responded before both Duelists set each other's decks down. "Just to be sure, I'll cut your deck." Yami stated. "Of course. You know, there is an old saying among high-rollers and card sharks; 'always trust your opponents, but only after you've cut their deck'. Arkana said as Yami cut the deck. "Here's another; 'never trust a masked man'." Yami responded, bluntly. "I'm almost offended. Besides, you and I are a lot alike; we both play to win. Of course, in this duel performance, you'll find there's another downside to losing." Arkana said before the floor retracted with both players standing on them. "Get ready, the show, I mean, duel, is about to begin!" he added before Yami and Arkana's ankles were clamped and shackled. "No!" Yami shouted. "Relax, we're both locked in, so there's no way for us to escape. You see, there's an extra twist, we're not just playing for what's inside our decks, we're playing for what's inside your mind!" Arkana stated before two glowing buzz saws came out from the sides of the ring. "What's that?!" Yami asked before Arkana laughed. "It's a buzz saw enhanced by dark energy, Yugi. And I wouldn't get too close if I were you, they act as buzz saws should because they'll sever your ankles from the rest of you while the dark energy from them will send your mind to the Shadow Realm upon contact!" the mad illusionist explained.
"It's almost like a dangerous magic trick." Yami said. "Oh, don't worry, Yugi, this is more than just a trick. Allow me to explain the rules of how this duel works before you lose. See the numbers written above the slot where the buzz saw is?" Arkana responded. "Those are life points. The closer the number gets to 0, the closer the saws get to us." Yami said, rationalizing what would happen every time he or Arkana lost life points. "Precisely. Then you can say goodbye to your ankles and hello to the Shadow Realm. Now look down between your feet, you'll see that each of us has a key box." the mad magician stated as he pointed down to said boxes. "The keys are inside each one?" Yami asked. "Precisely. Your box displays my life points, and mine displays yours. And only one will open if either of us wins! Only then can one of us save himself!" Arkana answered with a demented laugh. "You're insane!" Yami shouted. "Think of them as hope chests, Yugi, because the keys are our only hope to get out." Arkana stated before laughing. "What kind of person would toy with someone's mind? Are you some kind of demented madman?" Yami asked. "No, I'm a man whose undefeated." Arkana answered. "Not for long, Arkana. You've met your match, so get ready, it's time for us to duel, Arkana!" Yami responded as his Duel Disk activated before the holographic projectors within the ring activated.
"The spotlight's on us, it's showtime!" Arkana shouted. "Then draw your cards!" Yami stated as he drew his hand and his life points set to 4000. "As you wish, Yugi." Arkana responded as he drew his own hand and his life points also set to 4000. Arkana looked at his hand and saw his own Dark Magician. 'There it is, as expected. MY Dark Magician. Won't Yugi be surprised when he sees how easily I drew it. Sure, card tricks may be for amateurs, but as a Duelist, learning how to draw any card at any time comes in very handy. Yugi will never guess how I manipulated my deck. It's so simple, all I had to do was trim the edge of certain cards to make them slightly smaller than the rest. And since I trimmed all three copies of my Dark Magician, it showed up right on top when Yugi cut my deck, exactly as I planned it would! Now Yugi will learn how dangerous it is to play games with a magician, especially when the stakes are so high.' Arkana thought.
"And now, I'll start this duel, but setting one card face down, and then, I'll summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" Yami stated as he set the card and his monster appeared before Arkana drew. "Brace yourself. I summon Legion the Fiend Jester, also in defense mode." he said before his creature, a level four, Dark attribute spellcaster/effect monster with 1300 attack points and 1500 defense points, appeared. 'Once I have another monster on the field, I'll sacrifice them both to summon my all-powerful Dark Magician!' he thought. "You won't be smiling for long." Yami said before drawing. 'To defeat this trickster, I'll have to think like a trickster. Here goes.' Yugi thought. "Since I don't trust your hand, I'll play this magic card." Yami said. "Don't trust my hand?" Arkana asked. "I play, Card Destruction!" Yami responded. "Not that! My precious hand!" Akrana shouted in shock. "Both of us have to discard our hands now, that means you, Arkana!" Yami declared. 'My plan is ruined! I was ready to summon my Dark Magician and destroy him!' Arkana thought, frustrated.
"You've been deceiving me from the start, I thought you fixed your first hand, so rather than take my chances and falling victim to another one of your tricks, I destroyed both of our hands so we could discard our old cards and start over with a clean slate. Say farewell to the cards in your hand, Arkana." Yami stated, knowing that Arkana had something up his sleeve from the start. "You'll pay for that, when I claim your Dark Magician and send your mind to the Shadow Realm!" Arkana declared as both players sent their hands to the graveyard and drew fresh ones. "I wouldn't count on that yet, Arkana! I reveal my facedown card, Brain Control!" Yami retorted. "By paying 800 life points, this card allows me to take control of your single monster!" he explained as his life points lowered to 3200. "My Fiend Jester!" Arkana shouted as his jester was pulled over to Yugi's side of the field.
"Now I'll sacrifice our Fiend Jester and my Magnet Warrior, allowing me to summon my ultimate monster! Fear the power of MY Dark Magician!" Yami declared as both monster were sacrificed and the Dark Magician appeared, to Arkana's shock. "When you believe in the Heart of the Cards, Arkana, you don't need to cheat!" he added. 'I'm wide open to an attack by his Dark Magician!' Arkana thought, worried. "You believe in nothing but trickery and winning at all costs, but now you'll see what happens when you have faith in your cards, Arkana! Dark Magician, show him some REAL magic, with a direct attack on his life points!" Yami shouted before the mighty mage attacked and dropped Arkana's life points to 1500. "You've already lost more than half of your life points, Arkana, and I'm still waiting for this grand magic show you promised me." he concluded as the buzz saw got really close to Arkana's ankles.
'The dark energy infused buzz saw is getting closer! He may be on top now, but he has no idea of the other tricks I have up my sleeve.' Arkana thought. "That was just the opening act, Yugi! Before this show's over, your body will be physically broken and your mind will be trapped in the Shadow Realm forever!" he declared with an insane laugh.