Chapter 18: Tormented Soul

"So then you were planning this all along, weren't you!? Kaiba spat. "Disappointed? I thought I'd be rather amusing to watch you fall at the hands of the card Yugi defeated...but that was only because he had what YOU do not! Without your god card, your fate is all but sealed Seto! So just how will you fair against me?..." Yami Bakura laughed with delight. Just the thought of this very duel sent blood rushing through his veins as Dark Sanctuary enshrouded the field with its eyes and mouths along with his dark castle. "Now! Let the thrashing commence! Struggle all you want your attempts will be in vain!"

Kaiba felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face. With La Jinn being his only monster on the field. It was no doubt Bakura's ghost would possess his monster. That much he remembered Yugi struggling with. However, he would have to attack eventually. If he didn't Bakura would use the magic of Dark Sanctuary to play all five letters of his damned destiny board. And that would mark the end. He had to consider all of his options. "We'll see about that..." Kaiba muttered and drew from his deck. "I summon Sagi The Dark Clown in attack mode! With a total of 600 attk pts. Then I'll place a card face down. Since he just summoned Sagi he should be able to attack. "SAGI! ATTACK BAKURA'S LIFE POINTS DIRECTLY!" Kaiba commanded before the ghost shot through Sagi and hit Kaiba instead. "GAH!" Kaiba exclaimed before Sky cried out another piece being lost to the shadows. Costing him 300 LP.

"SAGI! ATTACK BAKURA'S LIFE POINTS DIRECTLY!" Kaiba commanded before the ghost shot through Sagi and hit Kaiba instead. "GAH!" Kaiba exclaimed before Sky cried out another piece being lost to the shadows. Costing him 300 LP. "But how! I just played my clown!?" the CEO questioned as his LP went from 2650 to 2350. "Did you forget that it is MY choice? But don't feel bad...your LP will go towards mine...making mine 1700 LP. Since there is nothing more YOU can do I'm sure you know what is next...my destiny board gains its FIRST letter "F" Oh and to stop you from even thinking of attacking me twice I play my "Dark Door" Magic card! So? How long can you last!?" Yami Bakura laughed.

"But that's not all. I sacrifice my Headless Knight to keep Dark Sanctuary in play...with that I end my turn..." "I DRAW!" Kaiba spat and drew from his deck. Since Dark Door only let him attack once per turn he needed to figure out just which of his monsters were possessed. "La-Jinn attack Yami Bakura's life points directly!" Kaiba commanded only to have the ghost attack him instead. "GAH!" the CEO hissed before Sky's scream broke the almost deafening silence around them. "Sky isn't looking so well now is he?" Bakura taunted. "Shut your damn mouth...you're starting to get on my nerves..." Kaiba warned as he narrowed his eyes as the blue-eyed male's life points dipped down to 1450 only to add 900 LP to Yami Bakura's 1700 making his total 2600 LP. With no choice, Kaiba ended his turn.

"Now Destiny Board gains another letter! And the letter is "I" - {"F" "I". } My Move..." Yami Bakura muttered and drew from his deck. "I summon Portraits Secret" in order to keep Dark Sanctuary...now let's see if you can guess where my ghost hides...so attack me! If you dare to that is..." Yami Bakura laughed. Damn it. Kaiba needed to get rid of that annoying ghost. If only he could recall how Yugi defeated it last time. But this shadow game was causing his head to grow hazy and his thoughts weren't as sharp as they normally were. Just what was this place doing to him. It was getting harder to breathe by the second. "I play "Sword Of Soul" in defense mode. Now he just needed one card to turn this duel around. But could he draw it before it was too late? And which monster should he attack with? Since Sagi had fewer atk points he would choose him.

"Now my dark clown! Attack Bakura's life points!" Kaiba exclaimed. "I activate my trap! "Dark Spirits Of The Silenced" Yami Bakura revealed his face down card. "NO!" the CEO exclaimed before the platform out from under him shattered. Before Kaiba could plummet into the miasma below he quickly grabbed onto the side of the platform nearby. He could feel the miasma's fumes zapping his strength but still, he refused to give in to his fate and with all of his will he pulled himself up. Kaiba huffed as sweat dripped down his face. The miasma having burned his skin eating away at some of his clothing. The blue eyed male turned his gaze towards Yami Bakura and forced himself to one knee before he vomited blood. It burned like acid coming up.

"You look to be in quite some pain...why don't I just end it for you right now...after all what the point of carrying this on when you know that I will emerge the victor..." Yami Bakura smirked before La-Jinn was forced to attack Kaiba as per the effect of his Trap Card. Sky screamed out in agony as the Card Reaper slashed at another piece of his soul. "Now you only have 500 LP whilst I have a full 3,500 LP! Surrender! It's impossible for you to win Seto..." Kaiba said nothing as he finally rose to his feet. "Scre...screw you and...your damn...tactics...Yugi...beat you...and I will too...you'll regret...EVER HAVING MESSED WITH ME!" the CEO spat as Yami Bakura's eyes widened. "Perhaps you're more stubborn than I first thought...it appears I will have to teach you NOT to run your mouth..." Yami Bakura muttered. "I place...two cards...face down and that'll do it..." Kaiba muttered before as Destiny Board revealed the letter "N" {"F" "I" "N"}. "I play "EarthBound" to sacrifice it...to keep my "DarkSanctuary..." And end my turn..." Yami Bakura smirked.

"TIME TO BANISH THE DARKNESS! I PLAY MY FACE DOWN CARD COLLECTIVE POWER!" "A Trap!?" "That's correct...it forces your ghost to take over my clown! It's the same tactic Yugi refused when he absorbed it with the fur ball! And I can destroy your ghost along with my monster by playing "Exile Of The Wicked!" How does it feel to be defeated by the very same strategy? As an elite duelist, I take in everything that I see! I use it to create my own powerful assaults! And now you'll see the result of that! As I play "Monster Reborn" to bring back Dark Necrophere! Now my beast! Attack Bakura's life points directly!" Kaiba exclaimed. Yami Bakura watched his Dark Sanctuary vanish before he was attacked by his own monster. Ryou cried out being the victim instead. Taking Yami Bakura's LP to 1,300.

"I add the fourth letter of the Destiny Board! "A" {"F" "I" "N" "A"} And now I think it's about time you call out mercy...as I summon Jaugen by discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one specially summoned monster on the field! So I destroy "Dark Necrophere" to bring back "DarkSanctuary" Then I shall sacrifice my monster to keep it on the field! Finally, I set one card face down...accept it Seto...you're through...it must be a real let down to realize Yugi defeated what you alone could not! And to add to the fun my ghost returns!" Kaiba bit his lip hard. This was bad. In one more turn, he'd be wiped out. Unless he did something and fast! It was no wonder Yugi had such a difficult time against this very magic card. Even if he managed to summon his Blue Eyes White Dragon to the field it too would become possessed by Bakura's ghost. There was more than just a tournament title at stake here. "Damn it..." Kaiba cursed under his breath as he went to draw a card.

Yugi's Grandfather's Shop

Yugi paced back and forth unable to sit still. "Yugi you must try and calm down..." Atem murmured but Yugi just couldn't seem to heed his advice. "I just can't Atem! Everyone's stuck in the Shadow Realm and here I am sitting on my hands doing nothing! If only I had my own power somehow...then maybe I could do SOMETHING!" Yugi cried before he paused as he heard Kaiba's voice. "K-Kaiba!? Is that really you!? Where are you!? Answer me!? KAIBA!" Yugi called out before Atem directed Yugi's attention towards his deck. "Yugi...look..." the pharaoh murmured softly. "My deck..." Yugi gasped and picked it up. It was illuminating brightly as if it had a will all its own. Shuffling through them there was one card that seemed to shine the brightest.

"...Obelisk...?" Yugi questioned before he looked at Atem. "I believe Kaiba is calling is calling out to us..." the Pharoah pointed out. "Do you really think so?" "I do...place your hand on your deck and concentrate hard on Kaiba..." Atem suggested. "...Right..." Yugi murmured and placed his hand on his deck as Atem placed his hand on top of Yugi's. Slowly they both closed their eyes before a vision of the battle at hand was revealed to them. Kaiba and Bakura both dueling one another in the Shadow Game. "I see him!" Yugi cried and tried to call out to him. "I fear our voices cannot reach him..." the Pharoah murmured. "But then how-" "We'll find a way Yugi...I promise..." Atem murmured before Bloom upstairs could hear a voice calling out to her. "Daphne...?" Bloom questioned before she sat up and looked around. Without a word, Bloom hurried downstairs feeling something drawing her to it. The red head paused as she caught Yugi in some sort of trance muttering Kaiba's name.

"...Please help me, Daphne...I need to find a way to help Kaiba and Sky...please...give me the power to help my friends!" Bloom prayed as she placed her hands together. Aura from the Millenium puzzle glimmered before it mixed in with her own. "WINX BELIEVIX!" the faerie cried out before finally, she was able to transform. "I..I did it..." Bloom murmured almost in shock. Whatever had stopped her from transforming it was gone now. "WOAH!" Joey exclaimed as he witnessed her transformation and fell on his ass. "DAT WAS AWESOME!" the blonde grinned as the red head blushed slightly. "By da way...ya know wats up with Yug? He's just sitting there...asleep...?" Joey questioned. Bloom shook her head.

"I don't think so. He's in some kind of a trance probably because Kaiba is reaching out to Yugi in his own way. Like their hearts are connected somehow." Joey made a face. "I'm not sure I like da way you worded dat..." "Uh! You know like you and Yugi! Uh...forget it! In fact, that sounds worse...but I'm sure Yugi is doing what he can in his own way so I'm going to try and find out what happened here before I came downstairs..." "...And just how are ya gonna do dat?" the blonde scratched his head in confused. "Using my Believix powers! Winx Tracix!" Bloom called out before she picked from a set of three wings and traded them in for her other ones. Poor Joey had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"Please! Show me what happened here!" the faerie called out before Joey and Bloom were shown a glimpse into the past with how Yugi saw the vision of the battle and the cards glowing. "Power Of The Dragons flame guide me to where Kaiba and Sky are! DRAGON ESSENCE!" Bloom chanted before her hair for a brief moment turned white and she turned into a blue flame and entered the Yugi's puzzle. Upon looking around endless corridors awaited her as she wandered around. It was only when she noticed one open door at the top did she fly up and enter it. The energy in the air was filled with negativity, not unlike the dark dimension of obsidian. It was almost as if the realm was a living and breathing entity itself. It took but a moment before she caught sight of Yugi and Atem. A dark sphere loomed ahead but unfortunately, it was beyond either of their reaches.

"HEY!" Bloom cried out as she flew over to them. "Bloom! You're here!" Yugi exclaimed. "Yeah I managed to use my powers but what's going on. Where's Kaiba and Sky?" "Over there..." Atem murmured as he pointed toward the sphere. Bloom turned her gaze towards the strange orb of magic as well. "So what's the problem?" "Atem and I can't get past the field of dark energy...mixed with the miasma...it's pretty clear the spirit of the Millennium Ring wanted to keep Kaiba in and everyone else out..." Yugi sighed softly worried even more now. "Bloom, can you use your magic to dispell the barrier?" Yugi questioned."No...i'm way too far away to be able to have any effect..." "I feared that to be the case...however...what if I used MY shadow magic to project you inside...not physically but your spirit...?" " "It's worth a try!" "Very well..." Atem closed his eyes before he began to illuminate along with Bloom.

"WAIT!" Yugi cried out before they ceased. "What is it Yugi?" Atem questioned before Yugi held out to Bloom a card. "Here...take it...Kaiba's gonna need all the help he can get...uh...if that's alright with YOU Atem...I know these are really YOUR cards...I guess they're not really mine to give away..." Yugi's voice trailed off. "It's Yugi...after all Kaiba is my friend as well..." the pharaoh offered a smile. Yugi smiled and nodded before he gave the card to Bloom. "Now! Go help Kaiba and Sky!" "Right! I'm ready!" the redhead exclaimed before Atem and Bloom held hands. Glowing in unison Bloom was teleported into the sphere. Right below her, there was Kaiba and Bakura both dueling. But looking at Kaiba he was pretty beat up. Bloom looked at the card and closed her eyes in attempted to connect with Kaiba.

"Damn it..." Kaiba muttered before he paused hearing a familiar voice. "Kaiba...Kaiba can you hear me?" "...Is that...Bloom? No, I must be hallucinating..." Kaiba shook his head. "You're not dreaming. I'm right here with you Kaiba! Along with Yugi and Atem! We're fighting right along side you!" "...Even if that's true I'm about to lose this duel! Friendship isn't going to help me now! Certainly not Yugi's! Not even my Blue Eyes can save me." "You're wrong! There IS a card that can save you!" "And I say it's impossible! That card doesn't exist inside my deck anymore!" "Trust me...and Yugi...believe Kaiba...you CAN do this...WE will do this...NOW SHOW THIS GUY WHO'S BOSS!" Bloom exclaimed.

"I can't believe I'm GOING to say this...but just this ONCE...heart of the cards...grant me the card I NEED!" Kaiba exclaimed and drew from his deck. He almost couldn't look before he slowly pried his eyes open to look upon the card he drew. The CEO's eyes widened as he saw before him holding the card he once held in his deck. Obelisk The Tormentor. "It can't be...but somehow...IT IS...I know what I have to do! First I play Battle Ox and yet another Sagi The Dark Clown! I then sacrifice all of my monsters to bring out OBELISK THE TORMENTOR!" Kaiba yelled as the might Egyptian God emerged from behind him with a whopping 4000 atk points.

"WHAT!? HOW CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE! ONLY YUGI SHOULD HAVE THAT CARD!" Yami Bakura exclaimed in utter shock. "Well, you know what they say...PAYBACK'S A BITCH! NOW OBELISK DESTROY BAKURA AND HIS LP!" With a final, all out assault Ryou Bakura disappeared into the shadows with a finally blow by the Card Reaper as Yami Bakura's Life Points hit Zero. Everything started to collapse in on itself threatening to take both Yami Bakura and Kaiba with it. Not able to even think straight Bloom quickly teleported over to Kaiba and got him out of there with utmost haste. Both Kaiba and Bloom shot out from a dark tear in the atmosphere before it closed leaving them behind. The redhead huffed as she just laid there on the floor no longer transformed.

"...That was just WAY too close..." Bloom uttered out of breath. "...Can't...breathe..." Yugi muffled under Kaiba. "GAH! RICHBOY GET OF A YUG YA CRUSHIN HIM!" Joey yelled and tried to yank Kaiba off of Yugi. "Touch me again Wheeler and you'll get an early visit from the tooth fairy..." Kaiba warned before Joey quickly jumped back. "YIKES!" the blonde cried before the blue eyed male removed himself and offered his hand out to Yugi. Yugi paused before he smiled and took Kaiba's hand being pulled up. "Thanks, guys...I'm just fine by myself..." Bloom teased as she got to her feet. "Oh! Where's Sky!?..." the redhead questioned before she looked around. A silence echoed through the room as Kaiba averted his gaze.

"Bloom...Sky disappeared along with Bakura...I..I'm not certain where they went after that...I'm sorry that I couldn't save your boyfriend...I DID try damn it...but that Bakura..." Kaiba clenched his fist. "...Oh...Oh no..." Bloom murmured as tears swelled up in her eyes and ran up the stairs. "Aw man...this bites!" Joey cursed. "Stupid ass hole makin her cry like dat...what da hell is Sky tinking anyways!?" he growled. Yugi frowned. "Poor Bloom...I...I know how she feels...when Atem left me...I felt so lost so empty inside...like a piece of me was missing..." Yugi murmured softly. "I guess now Marik really may be our only hope of rescuing the others..." he sighed softly before he gasped as Kaiba slammed his fist against the wall right next to Yugi leaving a dent as he withdrew his hand afterward. "Kaiba..." Yugi murmured as he watched Kaiba silently make his way to his deck. Once he picked out Obelisk he made his way back over to his rival.

"Here...take it I believe this belongs to you..." Kaiba muttered as he held out the god card towards Yugi. Yugi only shook his head. "Keep it. Besides something tells me Atem would want YOU to have it." he murmured. "...Fine...I won't argue then..." the CEO muttered. "...Thanks..." "...WAH!? DID KAIBA JUST TANK SOMEONE!? OH! MEH EARS MUST BE FAILIN ME-" Joey was caught off with a blow to his jaw. "OAF!" the blonde cried as the blue eyed male stepped over him and walked up the stairs. "...Uh, are you ok Joey?" Yugi questioned. "...Ow meh back! I'll get ya back for dat Kaiba! I sware!" Joey swore. "Yeah, he's fine..." Yugi deadpanned.

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