Chapter 24
"Return of the giant god soldier"
Up on the high rise roof, the duel seemed to be nearing its end. "One of you two fools is about to feel the wrath of my ultimate creature, the Masked Beast Des Gardius. But which one? If I attack you, Yugi, my beast will wipe out the rest of your life points. And if I choose to attack you, Kaiba, your Blue-Eyes will practically be a meal for Des Gardius." Lumis said.
"And don't forget what happens when your life points reach 0! Your implosion box will destroy the glass surface below you and send you falling to your deaths!" Umbra pointed out. "And you friends and family will join our growing army of Rare Hunters and serve master Marik, especially after he becomes pharaoh and rules the world. Now the time has come for me to decide which of you pathetic nitwits will be attacked by Des Gardius. The answer is simple; the weakest first. I choose to attack you, Yugi Muto!" Lumis stated.
"Wait, aren't we supposed to be a team, Lumis? That means we both get a say in this decision. While I agree that we have to destroy Yugi, leaving Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field would be an extremely foolish mistake." Umbra pointed out. "No. It's my move so attacking Yugi is my decision alone." Lumis replied. "I knew it. I was wondering if you had the guts to challenge my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and now I know." Kaiba said, smugly. "Know what?" Lumis snapped.
"That you're all talk and no action. Only a coward would take the easy way out instead of flexing his muscles and attacking my monster." Kaiba replied, surprising Yami. 'Kaiba must be trying to save me. He knows that without my help, he'll lose this duel for sure.' Yugi thought. 'Maybe Kaiba's right. Attacking Yugi first could be a mistake. His monsters are weak and I could destroy them at any time. So why waste my creature's first attack?' Lumis thought.
"Alright, there's been a change in plans! Des Gardius, destroy Kaiba's Blue-Eyes!" he declared before, in mere moments, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was destroyed, lowering Kaiba's life points to 1800 while Lumis laughed in triumph. "Guess you were wrong, Kaiba! No one calls me a coward and gets away with it!" he gloated. 'Yugi better not make me regret saving him.' Kaiba thought. "Destroy them, Yugi!" he said aloud. "With pleasure." Yami gladly responded.
"Remember, thanks to both Mask of the Accursed and Mask of Dispel, you lose another 1000 life points." Lumis said as Yami's life points lowered to 500. "Fine, this duel is almost over anyway." Yami responded as he drew. "You'll regret not attacking me, when I play the card in my hand and destroy you!" he declared, worrying Lumis. "What? You fooled me?!" the Rare Hunter asked, shocked.
"Attacking my Blue-Eyes was a big mistake, because now Yugi has something even worse in store for you." Kaiba responded. "That's a lie!" Lumis retorted, trying to put on a brave face. "You can't summon a high-powered monster because the Mask of Restrict prevents sacrificing!" Umbra pointed out. "That's where you're wrong, I have no intention to sacrifice anything. And there's more than one way to summon powerful monsters, Umbra. So I summon this, Gamma the Magnet Warrior!" Yami responded as his third magnet warrior, a level four, Earth attribute Rock monster with 1500 attack points and 1800 defense points, appeared.
"And now that I have all three magnet warriors on the field at the same time, I can combine them to create a brand new monster! Watch as they begin their transformation!" he continued. "Transformation?!" Lumis and Umbra asked. "Yes. All three magnet warriors can combine to form a brand new, mighty warrior with three times the attack strength!" Yami responded as the three magnet warriors came together, whilst at the same time, the Mask of the Accursed was destroyed. "What is that?" Lumis asked, shocked. "Behold, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" Yami declared as the mighty warrior was assembled at last.
"Consider this attack payback for destroying my Blue-Eyes, Lumis. Yugi's Valkyrion has 200 more attack points than your Des Gardius, so with one swing of its sword, your Masked Beast will be completely annihilated. Tough break, Lumis." Kaiba stated. "Yugi, it's time for you to repay me for allowing you the chance to summon Valkyrion. Now wait no longer and attack!" he said to his rival. 'It's true that in a head to head battle, my Magna Warrior could easily defeat Des Gardius. And neither of them seem to have any facedowns on the field, but Lumis and Umbra don't seem nervous at all.' Yugi thought.
"Go ahead, Yugi. Destroy their monster, now!" Kaiba shouted. "He's right, Yugi, make your move." Lumis concurred. 'Could Des Gardius have a hidden ability that activates as soon as I attack?' Yugi pondered. 'As soon as Yugi attacks my monster, he'll be in for a surprise and a one way trip to the other side!' Lumis thought. "What are you waiting for? Are you thinking that Des Gardius might have a special ability? If so, stop contemplating and take it as it comes so I can get on with finding my little brother!" Kaiba shouted.
"I set one card face down." Yami said at last. "Kaiba, if you and I want to see the captives ever again, we have to duel intelligently and I know you're far smarter a Duelist than people claim. Your anger will only cloud your reasoning." he said to his rival. "You're wrong." Kaiba retorted. "You have to put your frustration aside and put your faith in both my skill and both our decks. Unless you do, we'll be playing right into Lumis and Umbra's hands." Yami said, calmly.
"But lives are at stake, so we have to crush them, now!" Kaiba responded. "You're losing focus, Kaiba! If you want to win, put some faith in your deck." Yami stated. 'Heart of the Cards. It may be a real and powerful philosophy, but I don't need it. The only way I know will win us this duel is by playing my Egyptian God Card, Obelisk the Tormentor. But in order to summon it, I need to sacrifice three monsters and as long as their Mask of Restrict is in play, we're not allowed to sacrifice anything!' Kaiba thought as he looked at his hand.
Suddenly, he saw the very card that could help him. 'Wait! That's it! It's right in front of me! A way to summon Obelisk even with their Mask of Restrict on the field! But it can only work if Yugi's forced to split Valkyrion back into three seperate monsters. I gave up my Blue-Eyes White Dragon to help him, so it's only fair he makes a sacrifice. I don't like depending on anyone but myself, but I'll do what I have to do to save my brother.' he continued.
"Yugi, we can win. So go ahead." he said aloud. "Right." Yami responded. "Valkyrion attack Des Gardius now!" he commanded. With one electromagnetic slash of his sword, Valkyrion cut Des Gardius in half. "He took the bait, and now he'll pay for it." Lumis said as his life points lowered to 3800. "Your monster is finally gone." Yami said at last. "You may have destroyed Des Gardius, Yugi, but you also activated its special ability." Lumis revealed.
"So Yugi's suspicions were right?" Kaiba asked. "Yes. When Des Gardius is sent to the graveyard, it leaves behind three masks, which combine into a new and more powerful mask. The Mask of Remnants!" Lumis answered as the mask appeared. "As payback for destroying Des Gardius, this mask allows me to control the monster that destroyed it as if it was my own! So it's a good thing all of my masks are one size fits all!" he continued before the mask attached to Valkyrion, causing it to switch sides.
"Valkyrion the Magna Warrior belongs to me now! And that means you're both in trouble!" he declared with a laugh. "Excellent work." Umbra complimented. "Thank you." Lumis replied. "Looks like you're through, Yugi. Your defenses are gone and a long plunge to death's door awaits! Destroy Yugi on this turn, Umbra, and I'll take out Kaiba." he continued. "With pleasure." Umbra replied. "I'll make sure Kaiba never sees his runt of a brother again when I send him to join Yugi in the afterlife!" Lumis declared.
"Let's do it!" Umbra said before drawing. "Perfect! Farewell, Yugi, I activate Masquerade!" he declared before activating said card. "With this magic card in play, I'm able to control a monster wearing a mask as if it were my monster for this one turn." he explained. "So, Magna Warrior, attack and destroy your former master, Yugi!" he commanded before Valkyrion charged in. "Goodbye!" both Lumis and Umbra said with wicked smiles, but Yami just smirked.
"Don't celebrate just yet. I reveal my facedown, De-Fusion!" the ancient pharaoh declared as he activated said card, catching the Rare Hunters off-guard. "You see, Valkyrion was formed through a different kind of fusion known as Contact Fusion. So De-Fusion can break it apart into the three monsters used to summon it and destroy your Mask of Remnants at the same time!" he explained as Alpha, Beta and Gamma returned to the field and the Mask of Remnants was destroyed.
"Oh no!" Lumis said in worry. "The attack failed!?" Umbra asked in absolute shock. "Are you shocked? I'm afraid you're no match for our combined skills, Rare Hunters." Yami replied. "It's my turn." Kaiba said before drawing. "Prepare to behold the might of my Egyptian God Card." he said smugly. "Not quite. As long as the Mask of Restrict is in effect, you can't summon it. You would have to make three sacrifices and my mask prevents that!" Lumis responded.
"Wrong. You mask only stops me from sacrificing my own monsters, but I plan to sacrifice your monsters instead, Lumis, since Masquerade was only in effect for Umbra's turn, which already ended. And I'm going to use this card to perform my offering, I activate the magic card, Soul Exchange, allowing me to sacrifice your three Magnet Warriors!" Kaiba corrected as he activated his magic card.
"They can't get away with this! Do something, Lumis!" Umbra shouted. "There's nothing that I CAN do! If this maneuver is successful, he'll have summoned Obelisk the Tormentor and we'll have no hope of winning this duel!" Lumis responded, worried. In no time, the Magnet Warriors were sacrificed successfully. "I warned you two clowns." Kaiba said as a whirlwind appeared on the field. "This is for my little brother!" he shouted as a bolt of lightning struck the field and Obelisk began to rise out of it. "You've been talking about winning my Egyptian God Card this entire duel, now it's time for you to once again experience its power! Obelisk the Tormentor, arise and wreak your unbridled wrath!" he declared before laughing in triumph.
"It's payback time for kidnapping Mokuba, so prepare to feel a force like no other! For now, it's time! Obelisk, attack Umbra's life points directly! Fist of Fate!" he bellowed before, with one shot, Umbra's life points dropped to 0, eliminating him from the duel. "Umbra! No!" Lumis shouted. Soon, the light show ended and Umbra fell to the ground. "Umbra, are you alright?" Lumis asked, worried. "He's fine for now, but thanks to Obelisk, his life points don't look so good. Furthermore, you've fallen victim to your own trap, Rare Hunters." Kaiba answered.
Lumis and Umbra then went into a look of shock as Umbra looked at his life point counter/implosion box. 'When my life points hit zero, the glass under me will shatter and I'll plummet to my doom!' Umbra thought, frightened, before the device went off and the glass shattered, sending him plummeting. "UMBRA!" Lumis shouted. But Umbra tried to save himself with a parachute, unbeknownst to anyone. However, things were about to take a turn for the worse for him as he slowed his fall. 'Umbra, you have failed me!' Marik declared, mentally. 'No, master! Please! Don't kill me!' Umbra pleaded. 'Your pleas are futile. You're a disgrace to the Rare Hunters and to me, so therefore you must pay the penalty; forfeiting your soul to the Shadow Realm!' Marik mentally bellowed before, in moments, Umbra was left hanging on a flagpole, due to his parachute catching it, but without a soul.
"Umbra! Come back, please! You can't leave me here!" Lumis shouted, unaware of his partner's ultimate fate at the hand of his master. "Too late for that. It looks like you're dueling alone now, doesn't it? The odds are certainly against you, Lumis. And you're powerless against Obelisk. If you want to avoid the same fate as your partner, then you'd better surrender." Yami stated before Lumis dropped to his knees, knowing the pharaoh was right.
"Don't let him off the hook and give him the chance to surrender yet. Obelisk is just getting warmed up and Lumis needs to pay for what he and his former partner have done. He kidnapped my only family, remember?" Kaiba stated. "Enough, Kaiba. Revenge won't help you find Mokuba. Perhaps if he's willing to surrender, he'll tell us where the prisoners are being kept." Yami pointed out. "Wise up, Yugi. He's a member of a gang of criminals, so he has to be put in his place!" Kaiba rebutted before Lumis screamed.
"No, master! Please don't be angry! We tried our best!" Lumis begged, knowing that Marik was trying to take him over and rid him of his soul. "What now?" Kaiba asked, annoyed. "No! Master, please! I beg you! Marik, no!" Lumis shouted, but as soon as Lumis said Marik's name, Yami was shocked, for he knew just what was going on as Marik took complete control over Lumis. "I see that you have defeated Lumis and Umbra, but it's fine, they did their job." Marik said with a chuckle after making Lumis stand up.
"What have you done with our friends and family, Marik?!" Yami asked demandingly, but Marik just chuckled. "This Rare Hunter's gone mad!" Kaiba said in shock. "No, Kaiba. It's mind-control. Think of it this way; Marik has each of his Rare Hunters agree before him that, if they fail him, he does something to completely destroy their minds and essentially kill them." Yami explained. 'Does that mean Marik has access to some kind of mind-control technology?' Kaiba pondered. "Furthermore, Marik is the one who ordered Mokuba to be captured." Yami added.
"Then tell me where this Marik is hiding!" Kaiba demanded, only for Marik to chuckle. "Wouldn't you like to know, Kaiba? Well, I'll give you a hint, I'm closer than you think I am. I hope you enjoyed the special duel that I set up for you both. You fared better than I thought, but don't think that just because you've beaten Lumis and Umbra that you'll be rescuing your friends and loved ones anytime soon. You see, I've been preparing for the next phase of my plan and I've been studying each of your decks through the eyes of my Rare Hunters. In fact, the same goes for your hired helpers, Kaiba." the madman stated.
This brought a look of shock to Yami's face, as he knew who Marik was talking about. "As for your Egyptian God Card, Kaiba, I know not how you managed to control it so easily, but Obelisk pales in comparison to the third and final Egyptian God Card, The Winged Dragon of Ra. I'm afraid that there's no way it can stop me. And once I defeat you, Obelisk will be in my deck. And I haven't forgotten you, Yugi. Your Egyptian God Card and the Millennium Puzzle will be mine, as well. And since my Lumis and Umbra failed, I've come up with the perfect plan to defeat you once and for all, by playing upon your greatest weakness, your loyalty to your pathetic friends and your precious companion, Fluttershy." he continued.
At his hideaway, behind him were Joey, Tea and Fluttershy, all under Marik's power. "Don't worry, they're safe and sound here with me, but I don't think they're on your side anymore. It would seem their allegiances lie with me!" he continued, shocking Yami further. "It's funny how friends can be so quick to turn." he added. "I'm the one you want, Marik, so leave my friends and Fluttershy alone!" Yami shouted. "Too late! I'm afraid those fools belong to me now, Yugi!" Marik retorted. "You're a coward! Why don't you face me already instead of hiding behind your mind slaves?!" Yami bellowed, angrily.
'Controlling other people's minds is so much more fun and thanks to my Millennium Rod, Yugi's closest friends and his beloved are already my mind slaves. Once I turn them against him, Yugi will surrender everything he has to me!' Marik thought. "Leave my friends and Fluttershy alone, Marik and tell me where they are!" Yami demanded. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you better tell me where Mokuba is! I've pretty much won this battle by means of defeating Umbra and an essential forfeit by Lumis, so release my little brother just as you said you would right now!" Kaiba demanded after walking up to and grabbing Lumis by his cloak.
"You trust me to do that? What a fool." Marik responded. "Let him go!" Kaiba commanded. "Stop, Kaiba. You're just wasting energy and it's obvious he has no intention of helping us find Mokuba and the other captives." Yami stated. "Very perceptive." Marik said before laughing and finally letting Lumis' mind and soul be sent to the Shadow Realm, essentially killing him as he dropped to the ground. "He's gone. Okay, then, we're going to have to track them down on our own, Kaiba. Maybe your satellite system can help." Yami said.
"Look, Yugi, first thing's first, I think this Rare Hunter owes us something." Kaiba said before collecting two locator cards from Lumis' body. "This was an official Battle City duel, that means the losers have to give up one locator card each to the winners. Since there's one for each of us, that means we both have six. We're each guaranteed a spot in the Battle City finals and that's exactly how you said you'd rather duel against me." he stated.
"Kaiba, no offense, but how can you think about the tournament after what Marik just said? We have to find your brother, Fluttershy and my friends right now." Yami pointed out. "I'm well aware of that, Yugi." Kaiba said. "Then we have to think of a plan, because every second counts." Yami said. Suddenly, Kaiba's helicopter appeared right before them. "Isn't that one of your helicopters, Kaiba?" Yami asked. And who should come out, but Mokuba.
"It's me, Seto!" he called out. "It's Mokuba! He escaped!" Seto said in shock as the helicopter landed on the helipad and Mokuba ran up to his brother. "Tell me, are you alright?" Seto asked. "Yes, but I had to leave Tea and Fluttershy behind." Mokuba answered. "Are they okay? And what of Joey and Tristan?" Yami asked. "I'm not sure about Joey and Tristan, but up until they helped me escape from the Rare Hunters, Tea and Fluttershy were doing alright. We've got to go to the pier." Mokuba replied, bringing a slight feeling of relief to Yami.
"Get in the chopper, Yugi. Sounds like one of your friends and your girlfriend saved Mokuba's life and as much as I hate getting involved in other people's business, I hate owing someone a favor even more." Kaiba stated. "Thank you." Yami responded. Elsewhere, the shinkansen that Tristan and Serenity were on came to a stop at a station to pick up and let off passengers. "This is Kagegawa Station. If you are disembarking, please take all of your belongings and watch your step." the conductor said on the PA as Tristan headed toward the snack stand.
"Excuse me, I'd like a to-go order." he said. "Alright, what would you like?" asked the stand keeper. "Not sure, I think I'll take one of everything." Tristan answered, puzzling the stand keeper. "No time to waste, I have to get back on the train to get to Domino City." he stated as everyone else aboard the train got ready to roll. "All aboard! Please step in and stay clear of the closing doors. Next stop, Domino City." said the conductor before the train started to move.
"Oh, no. Where's Tristan? I hope he didn't miss the train." Serenity said, concerned before Tristan returned to his seat with a mound of snacks in hand. "I'm back. Hope you're hungry, cause I got plenty to eat for the rest of the way. I got some Eikiben, Onigiri, Yakitori, Curry rice and Ramen along with soda and even some sushi." he said. Later, they had eaten every single bit of what Tristan brought. "Tristan? I'm still nervous about what will happen when I take my bandages off tonight. I know the doctor said I could but I'm worried that the operation didn't fix my eyes." she said, still worried.
"Nah, you're going to be just fine, Serenity. You got to have a little faith, that's all." he said, reassuringly. "I know, but I want to see again so badly, Tristan. But there's something inside me that makes me too frightened to face this alone. I bet you think that I'm just a scared little girl, huh?" she responded. "Come on, we all get scared sometimes, even me, but if you think about it, the things that seem to freak us out the most are usually no big deal at all, Serenity." he said, trying to comfort and ease her tensions. "Yeah and I think I'll feel better when we get to Domino City and find Joey, because I feel that I need him to give me the strength and courage to face the unknown one more time like he did the day of my operation." she said.
"Well, I'll tell you right now, Joey needs you just as much as you need him. You'll give him the courage he needs to win Battle City." he pointed out. "That sounds so perfect! He inspires me and I inspire him, so its no wonder he overcame his doubts at Duelist Kingdom! Thanks for listening to me, Tristan, I can't wait till we get to Domino City!" she said with an excited smile. "No sweat. Don't mention it." Tristan said, happy to help.
Meanwhile, up in the sky above Domino City, Yami, Kaiba and Mokuba were about to head to the pier. "Is our satellite tracking system working?" Seto asked. "Yes, I'm picking up a weak signal from Joey's Duel Disk, it's coming from the same warehouse those Rare Hunters were keeping me, Tea and Fluttershy inside. We should be there in about 15 minutes." Mokuba answered as he looked at his laptop.
'Joey, Tea and Fluttershy better be okay. Hang in there, guys! We're on our way to save you!' Yugi thought, determined to save his friends and his one true love from Marik's demented grip.