"Why did you follow me?" The Spirit of the Millennium Ring had been quiet since he left the Stratos Duel Arena with Marik following in his shadow. Bakura had gone directly to his host's room on the blimp, avoiding the spectators and other duelists completely. Now that they were alone, the spirit turned to face the Egyptian, his eyes hard as stones.
"Because I don't trust you to know how to take care of that body," Marik answered, serious, straightforward, without a trace of fear in his countenance. "And because someone needs to keep an eye on you."
"Oh? So you're going to be my bodyguard? Excellent." Bakura's smug grin was temporary, though, for Marik surprised him by giving those pale arms a shake to indicate his beloved's hijacked body.
"You are not allowed to hurt this." The Egyptian teen was earnestly serious, his eyes scanning Bakura's startled and miffed expression for a sign that the spirit understood him. "If you try to hurt this, then I will stop you."
"And what if I try to hurt you?" the spirit countered without missing a beat, already recovered from his temporary sense of surprise. "Again, I mean. Will you just play along like last time?"
"I will do whatever needs to be done," Marik answered after a short pause, holding the other's gaze steadily.
"You just left the hospital, didn't you?" Bakura taunted with a smirk. "Do you really think you can hold up long enough to stop me?"
"I will do whatever needs to be done in order to stop you," Marik repeated emphatically, belying the residual weakness in his body caused by his recent wound. The tense silence stretched out between them until it was interrupted by a chime over the intercom system.
"All duelists, please report to the common area for the lottery to determine the participants in the next duel!"
After retreating from the open-air duel arena, Ishizu and Seto had ducked into the former's private room to discuss their options, speaking in frantic, hushed voices—aware that they might be surveilled at this very moment, and that they had very little time to talk before the next duel was announced.
"There should be a way to defeat Noah using the Millennium Items and their Shadow Magic. I don't think we have to play along with the tournament duels as the only way to take him down."
"What are you suggesting, Seto?" Ishizu's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"You, Yugi, and I all possess Millennium Items and have complete control over them. If we ambushed Noah with a three-way assault of Shadow Magic, there'd be no way that he could stand against that." Granted, he understood relatively little about the Shadow Magic, but he knew for a fact that it could be weaponized.
"It would have to be an ambush," Ishizu mused. "But what if the Spirit of the Millennium Ring decided to join the battle on Noah's side?"
"We'd still have the numbers in our favor, I should think." Seto's eyes examined Ishizu's face closely, searching for a hint of approval. "And if we can also get his bodyguard separated from him beforehand, there's nothing to stop us from using physical force against him as well."
"An attack like that would have to be coordinated," Ishizu pointed out. "How do we stop him from seeing our plan in our minds before we act on it?"
"I don't know. The only option is to strike before he has the chance."
"That means we'd have to inform the others of our plan right now." Ishizu's eyes sparkled with fear. "Do you really think that this will work?"
"I do, but I get the feeling that you don't." Seto took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind so that he didn't say something he didn't mean. "Why is that? What are you thinking?"
"I…" Ishizu's hand fluttered to her neck as she dropped her gaze, fingertips resting on the eye pendant of her necklace. "I don't think I have the same capacity for attack that you and Yugi share. Kaiba has no inhibitions, nothing that he believes he should not do, which makes him more dangerous."
"It doesn't work, does it?" Seto asked in a bitter whisper. "You already know that it doesn't work."
"I'm sorry—"
But Seto didn't need to hear another word. "Damn." He dragged a hand through his hair. "I thought we could stop anyone else from getting hurt."
"I know," Ishizu assured, reaching out to lightly touch his elbow, perhaps trying to calm him. "I want that too. As long as I'm not dueling in the next round, I'll keep thinking on other ways for us to stop him."
"Let me know as soon as you find anything."
"Of course."
Their conversation was cut short by the announcement summoning them back to the lottery room. Without another word, they left Ishizu's room to do as they'd been told, Seto's hand slipping behind his back to grasp and remove the Millennium Rod. He wanted to be prepared for anything that could happen.
The next duel was mercifully uneventful. Joey dueled Yugi with an absence of Shadow Magic or underhanded strategies, which most of their audience found refreshing. Noah Kaiba acted like he was bored with the entire thing, though he observed it closely in order to learn everything he could from the duelists.
Both teens dueled skillfully and honorably, giving it their best with an understanding that they were both fighting for the same cause: to take down Noah Kaiba, reclaim the Millennium Eye from him, and face off against the Spirit of the Millennium Ring once again to free both Mai and Ryou. Hopefully their friend would be freed from the spirit permanently this time…
Joey dueled hard, and Seto was proud of him. The outcome of the duel didn't change that either. Seto approached Joey inside the blimp right after his duel to congratulate him, only to have Joey clasp his hand and yank the brunette into a tight hug.
"You did great up there, Joey," Seto said quietly, feeling comfortable in the blond's embrace. "I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, man." The blond's response was a bit hoarse, but lighthearted in tone. "It's probably better that I lost to Yugi, or I might have had to duel you later on, and I wouldn't've stood a chance."
"You don't know that," was Seto's quiet, kind response, but Joey laughed and released him.
"Now you're just trying to make me feel better." Joey's grin showed that he didn't resent him for the comment, and Seto had no response for him but a shrug. "Who do you think will be dueling next?"
"Duke, Ishizu, Noah, and myself are left. I don't know what to expect. Any possible match-ups at this point are concerning. There's no good outcome."
"Great job out there, Joey!" Yugi interrupted, giving Joey a hug of his own. He had the same sentimental look he always had when defeating one of his friends, but this time, it was mixed with the same pride that Seto felt. "I honestly thought you had me a few times there."
Seto left the two chatting about their duel to approach Ishizu and Duke.
"How's Marik doing?" Duke was asking.
"I only spoke with him briefly. He told me not to worry."
"I'm sure that didn't work," Seto interjected. Ishizu glanced to him and shook her head.
"I'm concerned about the next duels. Someone will be facing Noah Kaiba and his Millennium Eye." Ishizu's hands were clasped together as if in prayer, her knuckles white.
"It will be one of us, that's true," Duke said slowly. "I'm not keen to face the Millennium Eye again, but I have a strategy in mind in case I do."
"Duke, you don't stand a chance against an opponent that can read your mind." Seto's words came across harsher than he intended, but he was just being pragmatic. "If you don't want to go back to the Shadow Realm, you'll concede the duel before it becomes a Shadow Game."
"If I'm going to be defeated, I'm going to put up a fight." Duke crossed his arms, insulted by the advice. "And that goes for anyone I end up dueling."
"It's tempting, certainly," Ishizu mused.
"What is?" Seto looked back at Ishizu.
"Conceding the duel to Noah Kaiba before things get dangerous." She sighed. "He can't be allowed to continue, though."
"No, he can't." Seto looked back at Duke. "Do you remember how it felt to duel against Pegasus?"
Duke blinked. He glanced down, resting one fingertip on his lips. He closed his eyes and his shoulders softened.
"He made me feel powerless and trapped."
"Noah Kaiba would find a way to make it twice as horrible as whatever Pegasus did," Seto asserted. "I understand needing to defend your pride as a duelist, but Duke, please." His voice dropped almost to a whisper. "Don't do that to yourself."
"All duelists, please report to the common area for the lottery to determine the participants in the next duel!"
The now-familiar call on the intercom system summoned everyone back to the lottery machine. Joey found his way to stand beside Seto as they waited for the names to be drawn. His fingers reached around the brunette's hand, which opened in response. They clasped hands tightly, Joey trying to give strength to Seto and Seto trying to find comfort in his friend's touch. This next drawing would determine both duels that remained in the quarterfinals. Someone would have to duel Noah Kaiba, which meant that someone was probably about to be lost to them for the rest of the tournament.
As before, Roland operated the machine and read the results aloud: "Duelist #3 and Duelist #5 will face off in the third duel of the Battle City Quarterfinals!"
Joey breathed a sigh of relief next to Seto while Seto felt his blood run cold. He'd be dueling Duke next, but…
"Duelist #1 and Duelist #8 will be facing off in the final duel immediately afterwards!"
Seto turned his head, eyes searching for Ishizu, but she was trapped in Anzu's arms at the moment, the peppy brunette giving comfort to the only other woman present, now that Mai was unconscious.
Joey walked with him to the elevator that would take him to the dueling arena. Seto said nothing as he shuffled around the cards in his deck, shifting his strategies based on what he knew about Duke's cards.
"You've got this, pal." Joey gave Seto's shoulder a squeeze when they reached the open elevator doors.
"This duel isn't the one I'm worried about."
"I know." Joey just nodded as the doors closed between them.
Focus on the present, Seto. Worrying about Ishizu's duel could be enough to make you lose yours.
There's no way she's prepared to face him.
And as good as you are, there's no way you're prepared to duel Duke if you're distracted.
Seto tried taking a deep breath, but it didn't help. He felt like he could barely breathe. The air passed in and out of his lungs, but he couldn't process it.
Focus, Seto. Focus on the duel. Focus on Duke. When you eventually face off against Noah yourself, there will be more worries than these afflicting you.
You're right. They would be losing more friends before all of this was over.
I know I'm right, and I know you can defeat Duke.
The doors to the elevator opened and Seto was hit by a wall of wind. This rooftop arena made for an interesting environment to duel in, especially at night. Seto walked out, his coattails being tugged in all directions as he and Duke approached each other to shuffle decks.
"You think you know what I have," Duke said as he shuffled Seto's cards. "But I've changed strategies since we last dueled."
"I look forward to a fun fight, Duke."
They exchanged decks again, a coin was flipped in Duke's favor, and the duel was announced to begin.
"I play Dice Dungeon, which allows me to summon one Dimension Dice to my hand from my deck." Duke's duel disk spat out the card he had named. "I lay one monster card in face-down defense mode and one magic card face-down. That ends my turn."
Dice Dungeon allows him to make both of us roll a die at the start of his turn and apply the results to our monsters for the rest of the turn. He has one Dimension Dice in his hand, that much we know. I'm sure he didn't play it face-down.
What makes you so sure?
Duke loves trap cards, I'm sure that's what it is. What kind of trap it is, I have no idea.
"I lay one magic card face down and summon Blade Knight in attack mode!" The blade-bearing knight glittered to life. "Blade Knight, attack his face-down monster!"
The monster obeyed, slicing through the card even as its monster tried to emerge.
"Normally, being attacked would trigger Dice Jar's flip effect," Seto explained. "But because of Blade Knight's special effect, Dice Jar's flip effect is negated."
"Well played," Duke said, trying not to show how much Seto's move annoyed him.
So the duel continued, with the two friends foiling each other's gambits at almost every turn while Duke's Dice Dungeon card added an element of annoying randomness.
Duke's Deck revolved heavily around dice-themed and ninja-themed cards: Dicelops, Strike Ninja, Fuhma Shuriken, Diced Dice, and That Six.
Seto countered Duke's magic cards with ones of his own: De-Spell, United Front, Silent Doom, Megamorph, Roll Out. And in the end, it was Seto's XYZ-Dragon Cannon that eliminated Duke's lifepoints and secured the brunette's victory.
"That was a good duel," Seto said as he extended a hand to his raven-haired friend. Duke smiled back and shook his hand.
"You may have beaten me, but I stumped you a few times, didn't I?" Green eyes glittered with mischief.
"It was a very close match," Seto agreed.
They released hands and descended from the duel arena to the spectators' area. Ishizu and Noah were supposed to duel immediately after them, but he needed to speak with her. She was at the base of the stairs ready to ascend for her duel, so as Seto passed her, he paused and stepped closer.
"Do you want Obelisk back for this duel?" he whispered.
"No, Seto. Having Obelisk in my deck will not affect the outcome of this duel."
"Are you sure?"
Ishizu smiled slightly and tapped the Millennium Necklace.
Got it, dumb question on his part.
"Good luck."
"Thank you."
Seto stepped back and let her ascend the stairs to the arena where she would fight in the final duel of the quarterfinals.