Chapter 17
"Slifer the Sky Dragon"
"It appears you're out of options, pharaoh. Thanks to the Nightmare's Steelcage, you can't attack. And in one more turn, you'll be finished and your Millennium Puzzle will be mine!" Strings stated. "Never! As long as I believe in the Heart of the Cards, you'll never succeed in claiming my puzzle!" Yami retorted.
"Your misguided faith is completely pathetic compared to the overwhelming power of my Egyptian God Card, but you'll see that first hand in just one turn, when my Breeding Machine creates the third Slime Token, giving me enough monsters to sacrifice. Then I'll summon my great beast, an ancient creature of unbeatable strength to destroy you!" Strings responded.
Up in orbit over the Earth, a KaibaCorp satellite was keeping tabs on every single duel and beaming it back down to KaibaCorp headquarters. "All systems go. Commence download of real-time satellite imaging." said an operator. "Check." said a KaibaCorp technician. "Confirm system data link with all active Duel Disks." said the operator. "Check." said another KaibaCorp technician. "Resume digital scan of Battle City tournaments gameplay and card tracking software." said the operator. Soon, Kaiba came on screen.
"Status report." he said, bluntly. "Mr. Kaiba." said the head technician. "Has my satellite tracking system recorded any use of the two remaining Egyptian God Cards?" Kaiba asked. "No, sir. But we are searching around the clock. On the plus side, the girls and young man you hired managed to round up four of the Rare Hunters, the Domino City Police Department is sending us all the information on them." the responded.
"Good, but I trust that, soon enough, you'll finally find someone using the remaining Egyptian God Cards. After all, I've done all the real work programming my satellite to track every card played in this tournament. Contact me immediately, if an Egyptian God Card appears. And any of our rule enforcers in the area are to be dispatched to that location immediately." Kaiba said before he signed off.
Out in the city, Kaiba and Mokuba were surveying around. "I'm surprised those two cards haven't surfaced yet." Seto said as he closed his laptop. "Me, too. But if they had, our satellite system would've picked them up." Mokuba concurred as Seto closed his briefcase. "Well, then, maybe it's time I go out and find them on my own. My patience is growing thin." Seto suggested. "Relax, with all these Rare Hunters running around the city, I bet those Egyptian God Cards are right under our noses." Mokuba said, assured in his brother's tech succeeding.
"And once I have all three, I'll have the most powerful deck in Duel Monsters history. I'll be unbeatable, and prove it by defeating Yugi and reclaiming my world championship title. Let's go, Mokuba." Seto stated before walking away with Mokuba following behind with his brother's briefcase in hand. "Wait up, Seto!" Mokuba called.
Meanwhile, Yami's duel with Strings continued. "History may be on your side, pharaoh, but destiny is on mine as I draw closer to winning your puzzle. And once I possess it, only the final Egyptian God Card will be left to claim. When I do, then I'll be the pharaoh." the mime stated. "You're not worthy of the powers that lay hidden within you! So I'll take them! For as long as I can remember, I was taught to obey the ancient scriptures and to help my family protect the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb. Now I realize that your time as pharaoh has long since expired. and I must take your place. And your puzzle is the key to your power." Marik declared.
'I wish I knew more about what happened in the ancient past when Yami was pharaoh. But for now, I know that I can't let Marik win.' Yugi thought as Yami drew. "Keep in mind, you can't attack." Strings said. "Then I'll pass my turn." Yami responded, only to get a chuckle from Marik/Strings. "That's good, because your time has run out, anyway. Breeding Machine, create the third and final Slime Token!" the mind-controlled mime said upon drawing as the last Slime Token was created.
"This can't be. You succeeded!" Yami said in disbelief. "Now I have enough monsters for my ultimate sacrifice!" Strings declared as storm clouds gathered and closed in on Domino City. "Finally, the time has come! The skies shall be shrouded in darkness as I take one step closer to becoming supreme ruler!" Marik shouted before laughing in triumph as lightning flashed and thunder rolled, something that even the girls and Spike took notice of from where they were. Fluttershy soon saw that the lightning bolts were striking in one specific location.
'Strange place for lightning to strike. Better investigate.' she thought. "Prepare to experience an ancient force unlike no other, as I sacrifice my three Slime Tokens, in order to summon the beast of your ultimate destruction!" Strings declared as shards of rubble from where the lightning struck and destroyed the Jam Breeding Machine and the Slime tokens shot up to the sky. "A creature whose power is as absolutely limitless as the might of the ruler of the Egyptian underworld, Osiris! In fact, many who saw this creature claimed it was the noble pet of Osiris himself!" he continued as a portal opened up right as Fluttershy showed up.
"What's going on? Wait, it's Yami! But who's his opponent, and what monster did he summon?" she said before she looked up at the portal and saw a beam of light blasting down from it. "Meet your maker, pharaoh, the last monster you'll ever see! The Egyptian God Monster, Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Strings shouted as Yami and Fluttershy saw Slifer, a level ten, Divine attribute divine-beast/effect monster with unknown attack and defense power, appear before them. Fluttershy was in absolute fear and shock as she gazed upon the giant red dragon.
"Your finished, pharaoh! Prepare to feel his wrath!" Marik declared, triumphantly. "How can I stop it?" Yami pondered before feeling the powerful wind from Slifer's roar. Even Fluttershy had to hold on to her hat. 'I'm glad I didn't wear a skirt today, but how are Yami and Yugi supposed to stop a monster like THAT?' she thought. "You're staring into the face of defeat, pharaoh. Slifer the Sky Dragon is one of the three most feared creatures in history, the Egyptian God Monsters. In the ancient days of Egypt, Slifer was considered the pet of Osiris, ruler of the underworld. Neither of the three Egyptian God Monsters can be defeated." Strings stated.
"Every monster has a weakness, Marik! And I'll find the weakness to this one!" Yami said boldly. "I'm afraid you're in no position to say such things before the favorite pet of Osiris. You're trapped in my Nightmare's Steelcage with no way to attack and you're face to face with an Egyptian God Monster whose attack power is limitless! All you can do is watch it grow stronger!" Marik retorted. "Stronger? But how?" Yami asked.
"Allow me to explain Slifer's special ability. The number of cards I hold in my hand, determines how powerful Slifer's attack power will be. And since I hold two cards, it has 2000 attack points and defense points." Strings answered. "I'm afraid that means Slifer is still weaker than my monster." Yami pointed out. "But this is just the beginning, all thanks to my magic card. I activate Pot of Greed!" Strings retorted before activating said card. "This one card allows me to draw two new ones. I suppose that means greed is good, doesn't it?" he continued. 'If you're a Rare Hunter, it is.' Fluttershy thought before she realized that the mime had the Eye of Anubis on his forehead. 'Oh, no. Marik must be controlling the poor guy.' she thought, horrified.
"Since I lost one card but gained two, this brings my hand to three cards and gives Sliver a total of 3000 attack and defense points!" Strings stated. "But in Duel Monsters, there's a limit to how many cards a player can hold, so Slifer has a limit to his strength." Yami pointed out. 'He's right. That would mean Slifer's attack power will stop at 6000. But even then, I doubt Yami has a monster in his deck strong enough to destroy it. I wish he still had Exodia.' Fluttershy thought.
"Foolish pharaoh, don't you realize that every rule is made to be broken or manipulated?" Strings asked. 'He has no understanding of the destructive force of an Egyptian God Monster because he has no memory of the days when they devastated the Earth by the order of the Egyptian gods themselves. But he'll learn about Slifer's power the hard way since I have just the cards to give my Sky Dragon infinite strength!' Marik thought. "I'm afraid any hopes you have of survival are completely in vain because no one has ever defeated an Egyptian God Monster." Strings stated.
"Until today!" Yami retorted. "You're a fool. Slifer could wipe you out with one single attack, then I'll take your puzzle and send you to the place of eternal darkness we know as the Shadow Realm! Now, prepare to lose!" Marik declared with a triumphant laugh.
'I got to find a way to bring down Marik's dragon. My Buster Blader gains 500 attack points for every dragon on his side of the field and in his graveyard, so right now, my monster is stronger than his Sky Dragon by 100 points. With 3100 life points, my swordsman would slay Marik's dragon with one swipe of his blade! But as long as I'm in this cage, I can't attack, and by the time I can, his monster will become 1000 points stronger.' Yugi thought.
"Finally see the truth? My Sky Dragon will only get stronger as I add more cards to my hand. So when I draw on my next turn, Slifer will have 4000 attack points, more than enough to annihilate your Buster Blader and seriously damage your life points. And soon enough, you'll be out of my way to the throne." Marik stated, confidently. "Your reign is over, Yami. Why not admit defeat, hand over your puzzle and accept the inevitable?" he asked. "Never! I'll trust my deck." Yami answered, confidently, before drawing.
'This card may be able to help, but I'm still trapped for one more turn. If I can hang on until then, maybe I can turn this duel around. I just have to trust the Heart of the Cards.' Yugi thought after looking at what he drew and then his hand. "This duel is far from over, Marik!" Yami declared. "How sad. You should already know you're finished no matter what you do, just embrace it. You've had your chance to be pharaoh 5,000 years ago and you ruled Egypt well, Yami. But now it's time for me to take over and rule the world!" Marik replied.
'Not if I can help it, Marik. It's my destiny to stop you!' Yugi thought. "I'll set these two card face down, and then summon Kuriboh in defense mode." Yami said before his fur ball appeared. "Make your move, Marik." he concluded. "Yes! The moment has now arrived! Prepare to feel the wrath of an Egyptian God Monster! The Nightmare's Steelcage is evaporating, leaving you wide open for annihilation! You're about to witness an ancient force so mighty it almost destroyed the entire world!" Marik declared before laughing triumphant.
"You are powerless against Slifer, so let's end this! I draw, and since Slifer gains 1000 attack and defense points for every card in my hand, now it's up to 4000! Enough to incinerate your Buster Blader!" Strings stated, confidently upon drawing. "And now, my Egyptian God Monster, attack!" Marik commanded as Slifer unleashed his godly power. "You've activated my trap card!" Yami declared. "What trap card?" Marik asked. "My Lightforce Sword! This card allow me to remove one card in your hand from the duel for three turns." Yami responded before the sword pierced one card in Strings' hand, lowering Slifer's attack power back to 3000.
"No!" Marik shouted. "And now that your dragon's attack power is back to 3000, it's weaker than my monster, all thanks to his special ability to gain 500 attack points for every dragon on your field and graveyard, including Slifer himself!" Yami declared. "Now, Buster Blader, swing your mighty sword and slay his dragon!" he commanded before Buster Blader leapt in for the kill. "Looks like your Egyptian God Card is about to be defeated!" he continued. However, he got a real shock when Revival Jam leapt in and took the blow meant for Slifer.
"Not exactly. You forgot my Jam Defender trap is still in play, which means my Revival Jam will intercept your attacks!" Strings declared as his Revival Jam reformed. "And from now on, this magic card will also be in play. Card of Safe Return!" he continued as he activated said card. "Card of Safe Return?" Yami asked. "Yes, this rare magic card allows me to draw three new cards every time a monster is special summoned from the graveyard. Or in this case, whenever my Revival Jam reforms itself." Strings explained before drawing. "This brings the amount of cards in my hand up to five, giving Slifer the Sky Dragon a grand total of 5000 attack points so far!" he continued. "5000 points?! Now what will he do?" Fluttershy pondered in worry.
Elsewhere in Domino City, Joey and his group were taking a break when a Duelist walked by. "You should've challenged him, you could've destroyed him one, two, three." Tristan said. "I mean, come on, you're just two locator cards away from the finals." he added. "I could've, but I didn't. He was a lightweight. I think I may be building up a reputation, and I've got to uphold it. I can't go dueling just every single Duelist I see." Joey responded. "What? Are you actually looking for more experienced Duelists? Are you out of your mind, Joey? I don't care if that guy couldn't play Go Fish let alone Duel Monsters, his locator card, or cards, are just as good as any others, and you need them now!" Tristan stated.
"Look, Tristan, if you were a Duelist in this tournament, you'd understand how it feels. I'm the Duelist Kingdom runner-up, that puts a lot of pressure on me to kick some serious keister in this tournament. If I were the same Duelist I was back then, maybe I would take on softer targets, but I don't want anyone to claim that Joey Wheeler did it the easy way." Joey explained before standing up. "And after the way I've been dueling lately, I know I'm ready to take on the stronger Duelists here in Battle City, and that includes just about anyone who wants to." he continued.
"Well, it's true your dueling skills have improved quite a bit since Duelist Kingdom, especially during your last two duels, but besides having confidence in yourself, Joey, being a great Duelist means knowing that there's always more to learn." Sol said. But the conversation was soon interrupted. "Well, what do we have here?" asked a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Seto and Mokuba Kaiba. "Kaiba?" Tea asked in shock. "Why is the second place winner of Duelist Kingdom wearing one of my Duel Disks?" Kaiba asked.
"I may be the runner-up of Duelist Kingdom, but I'm on my way to the top. I got four locator cards already, likely the same as you." Joey responded. "And here I thought someone messed up at registration. I'll deal with you at a later date, Joey. And since you got four locator cards, that gives me hope that you'll reach the finals and possibly be the runner-up yet again. Come on, Mokuba. We have a search to continue and we don't want to waste time." Kaiba stated before turning to walk away.
"Tristan, is it me, or is Kaiba looking to challenge me in the finals?" Joey asked. "I think so, Joey. But save it for then." Tristan responded. "So, Kaiba, you want me in the finals? Well, I'll be there. That's a promise." Joey said, causing Kaiba to stop and look back at him. "But I promise you, being 2nd place in Duel Monsters tournaments isn't going to be my life story." he continued. "Well, Joey, you are a decently experienced Duelist since I saw your duel against Espa Roba and I was informed that you completely removed Weevil Underwood from the tournament, but dueling against my big brother in the finals might not be the best idea." Mokuba said.
"Mokuba's right. But the coincidence that ties them together is that you dueled against players who had to cheat to win. A report from Miss Rarity proved this to be true as she got a confession from Weevil after his defeat and when Mokuba told me about Espa Roba's brothers before they all decided to go legitimate. But playing against a Duelist who plays by the rules with honor and dignity, well, we know how your duel against Yugi at Duelist Kingdom went." Seto stated. "Save the trash talking for the finals, huh?" Joey responded.
Right then and there, wind started kicking up. "What's with all this wind?" Joey asked. "This can't be a twister, can it?" Sol asked. They soon looked up and saw Kaiba's helicopter come down. "It's your chopper!" Mokuba said. "Mr. Kaiba, an Egyptian God Card was played just five minutes ago and Fluttershy is in the vicinity explaining everything to headquarters vi her radio. She says it's called Slifer the Sky Dragon. We'll fly you to it, sir." the pilot said before a rope ladder dropped down.
"What's with the chopper? Got somewhere to go?" Joey asked. "As a matter of fact, I do." Kaiba answered as he and Mokuba grabbed the ladder and hung on as they both climbed up and gained altitude. "Later, Joey! We have a date with one of the three Egyptian God Cards!" Mokuba called. "Egyptian God Cards?! That must be what Marik was talking about at the start of Battle City! Well, good luck trying to get to it! See ya in the finals, Kaiba!" Joey responded.
Soon, the KaibaCorp chopper was out of sight. "You see the way they took off? Whatever these Egyptian God Cards are, they must be pretty important for Kaiba to be looking for them." Joey stated. "They could be pretty powerful, too." Tristan pointed out. "At least you aren't facing one." Tea added. "Yeah, if these things are called 'God Cards', they'd totally crush me." Joey concurred. But they were all unaware that one of Marik's Rare Hunters was stalking them.
Up in the chopper, Mokuba and Seto were strapped in and flying towards Slifer. "More information is coming in. The Egyptian God Card was played in a duel involving, Yugi Muto." said the pilot. "Yugi! I have a plan, Mokuba. That card will be mine!" Seto said as the chopper flew towards the location of Slifer. Back at the duel, Strings was launching his counterattack to Yami's own counterattack. "And now, Slifer the Sky Dragon, destroy his Buster Blader and take a bite out of his life points!" he commanded before, in one thunderous blast, the mighty swordsman was destroyed, greatly decreasing Yami's life points to 2100.
"Do you surrender yet? You're finished. Slifer will only get stronger, and thanks to my Jam Defender trap, you still can't attack him, pharaoh. For if you attempt to, I'll draw more cards and he'll grow even more powerful! Don't you realize there's no way you can win? Admit defeat and hand over your puzzle. Once my Egyptian God Monster finishes you off, your days wandering this Earth will be over!" Strings stated before laughing wickedly.
'None of my monsters are strong enough to beat his Sky Dragon, so I might need the right trap or magic card to do it. Please, Heart of the Cards, guide me.' Yugi thought. "Here I go! I draw!" Yami declared before seeing what he drew. 'Magic Cylinder, this might just do the trick. And I think I know just the card to use as bait to get him to attack, the Dark Magic Girl! Perfect!' Yugi thought. "Alright, I sacrifice Kuriboh to summon Dark Magician Girl in defense mode!" Yami said before his newest magician took the stage.
"By summoning a new monster to the field, you've activated my dragon's second special ability!" Strings declared. "Oh, no." Fluttershy said in worry as she saw a second set of jaws sitting on top of Slifer's larger set open wide. "That special ability is, his second mouth!" Strings revealed with a laugh. "Slifer's just full of surprises." Yami admitted. "Even if its your turn, Slifer will automatically attack every monster you summon with its second set of jaws, wiping out 2000 attack points from your monster, regardless of what mode its in. So say goodbye to your Dark Magician Girl!" Strings explained.
"Oh, no. 2000 attack points is all she has!" Yami said in worry. "Slifer, attack!" Strings commanded before the mighty beast fired a blast. "It's time for me to save my Dark Magician Girl!" Yami declared. "It's too late for that! Observe!" Marik retorted. "Why don't YOU observe!?" Yami responded as he, unbeknownst to Strings/Marik, he activated a facedown. "It really is a pity that your magician had to leave us so soon." Strings said. "Who said she's gone?" Yami asked. "I did!" Marik replied, sharply, before the dust settled and revealed the Magical Hats. "Guess again. I activated Magical Hats just in time." Yami retorted.
"So she's hiding inside one of those remaining hats?" Marik asked. "Not just hiding, she's preparing a counterattack, as well." Yami responded. "Pharaoh, your monster's not strong enough! Not to defeat Slifer!" Marik declared. "It's true that your dragon is powerful, Marik, but I have faith. And so I place two cards face down, hiding them beneath two of my hats." Yami said as he set said cards and hid them from view.
"Your hats merely provide you with a temporary hiding place. And in the meantime, pharaoh, I'll use some magic of my own, and it will make my dragon's power infinite! You see, Infinite Cards lets me exceed the six card limit and hold as many cards as I wish in my hand!" Strings stated as he activated said card, shocking Yami and Fluttershy. "No! That can't be!" Yami shouted. "That's impossible!" Fluttershy shouted, gaining both Yami's and Strings/Marik's attention. "Not quite. You see, since Slifer gains 1000 attack and defense points for every card in my hand, now there's no limit to my monster's power! Slifer, unleash your Thunder Force on the hat on the right!" Strings declared before the attack fired at the targeted hat.
"You made a lucky guess, Marik." Yami said. "You couldn't hide her forever." Marik stated as the attack drew closer. "This duel's not over!" Yami declared as the blow landed, obliterating the hat. "It may as well be, your monster is destroyed." Marik rebutted, only for his look of satisfaction turn into surprise. "What's this?!" he asked before the light faded and he saw just what Yami had done. "She's absorbing my attack!" he said in shock.
"That's right, Marik. It seems you've forgotten that I hid two facedowns under those hats, Magic Cylinder and the Spellbinding Circle! So I'll weaken your Sky Dragon's attack power, and then redirect his own Thunder Force attack right back at him!" Yami revealed as the circle ensnared Slifer, dropping his attack points from 5000 to 4300. "Now, for the Magic Cylinder! Fire!" he declared as the attack from Slifer returned to sender. "Say goodbye, Marik." he added. "Never! You can't land a blow on Slifer with my Revival Jam around." Marik retorted.
Right then and there, Revival Jam took the mighty blow. "So your plasma creature can even block redirected attacks?" Yami asked in shock as Revival Jam reformed. "That's exactly right, pharaoh. And once it regenerates, I can draw three news cards, which makes my Sky Dragon even stronger! Thus giving it a grand total of 7300 attack points!" Strings responded as the Egyptian God Monster's attack points jumped to 7300 while its defense points greatly increased to 8000.
"That Egyptian God Monster, is unstoppable!" Fluttershy said in fright. "Precisely, my dear spectator. And since Slifer is an Egyptian God Monster, the effects of the Spellbinding Circle only affect him for one turn before it expires, allowing my dragon's attack power to equal its defense points, with 8000!" Strings declared. "I guess, there's nothing I can do. So I'll pass." Yami said, grimly, after drawing. "Well, now I draw again, bringing Slifer's attack and defense power up to 9000! Now Slifer, destroy his Dark Magician Girl!" Strings declared before the Dark Magician Girl was destroyed in an instant, to Yami and Fluttershy's horror.
"Behold, the ultimate five card combination that makes me completely indestructible! When these five almighty cards are played together, they complete a strategy that cannot be overcome! My Egyptian God Monster will continue to grow stronger, and your attacks are completely useless!" Marik declared as Yami dropped to a knee, realizing the danger he was in. "Oh, no." he said before dropping onto his hands. "I can't let Marik win my puzzle." he added as he tried to think of some way to get back in the fight, until a familiar face showed up.
"Get on your feet, Yugi!" called a voice. Fluttershy, Stings and Yami soon turned and saw Seto and Mokuba. "Kaiba!?" Yami said in shock. "Since when do you bow or kneel to your rivals?" Seto asked. "Never." Yami answered. "Then get up and stop embarrassing yourself so you can defeat this Rare Hunter nobody and relieve him of his Egyptian God Card! And I suggest you do it now!" Seto demanded. "I get you're a former world champion, but do you have to order Yugi around like he was one of your employees?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's the only way to get him back on his feet." Seto responded before turning back to Yami. "Don't let this punk win! You can take Slifer down, just find out its weakness. Unless, of course, you're losing your touch." he stated. "You know he's never lost his touch!" Fluttershy rebutted, angrily. "Then if he still has what it takes, then he'd better get up and prove it to us now!" Seto responded. 'And once I learn its weakness, I'll take Slifer from Yugi, and soon, I'll have the most powerful deck in the world!' he thought, clearly hiding a plan behind his words.