Wolfie: I do not own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh, just my oc and all alterations that I make to the plot. Now please read, review, and I hope you like the book so far.
Chapter 28: Double Trouble Duel: Part 2
"Your guardian is doomed, and your life points with it." Dox said as the Wall Shadow emerged from the wall once it was close enough, staring down at Celtic Guardian as it snarls.
"Heh. Hate to burst your bubble, but I'm not the one who's doomed." Yami Yuki said as she smirked, she knew something that the brothers ParaDox didn't.
"What do you mean?" Para asked, wanting answers from the heterochromic eyed female.
"Kunai with Chain!" Joey suddenly exclaimed as a chain with a blade attached to it suddenly flew towards the Wall Shadow, wrapping around it tightly.
"What is this?" Para demanded as he watched the chain ensnare his Wall Shadow before it could attack.
"My trap card worked!" Joey exclaimed, happy that the face down card he had played had worked. "Reel him in, Axe Raider!" He ordered as his monster was holding onto the end of the chain, keeping it pulled taunt. "Ha ha. The card I played face down before was a trap card- Kunai with Chain. It captures any opponent that attacks. I laid that trap card to help Yuki. It raised the Celtic Guardian's attack power by 500 putting it's strength higher than Wall Shadow's." Joey said as the Celtic Guardian's attack points were raised to 1,900.
"Celtic Guardian, destroy their Wall Shadow!" Yami Yuki ordered as the Celtic Guardian held raised his sword high above his head before bringing it down on Wall Shadow, slicing it in half.
"So, now it's lights out for your shadow." Joey stated, watching Wall Shadow explode into millions of pixels as it was destroyed.
"N-No!" Para exclaimed in shock, taken aback by the fact that his monster was so easily destroyed.
"Wall Shadow is beaten!" Yami Yuki and Joey stated in unison before sharing a look with one another.
"Hee hee hee hee." Joey laughed giddily with a grin and closed eyes as he gave Yami Yuki a thumbs up.
Whilst this happened Tea and the others were watching with excitement as Joey and Yami Yuki were finally working together. Now that Para was down a portion of his life points it was really starting to look like they were on their way to winning the duel. Though while Tea and Bakura were talking and Yugi was cheering on his sister, Tristan was silent as he had a fond smile on his face. He was just so proud of his friend and the fact that he was finally thinking strategically when it comes to the moves he makes in the duel. At this rate Joey will be on his way to being at the same level of skill that Yami Yuki is currently at. That thought alone made Tristan less inclined to say anything as he continued to watch the duel. He just hoped that Joey and Yami Yuki would be able to continue watching each other's back during this duel. Teamwork was the key to winning this duel, and the brothers ParaDox have mastered that already.
"Aah! To stop our decline, these two we must halt!" Para exclaimed, his brow furrowed in frustration and his teeth clenched as he lost 300 life points.
Para: 1,700 Dox: 2,000 Joey: 2,000 Yuki: 1,600
"Don't look at me. It's not my fault." Dox said as he also had broken out into a cold sweat upon their Wall Shadow's defeat.
"Ha. If we keep this up, we'll win this double duel and have enough star chips to enter the castle. Teamwork, Yuki!" Joey exclaimed with a clenched fist and a smirk as he looked at Yami Yuki out of his peripheral vision.
"Right, but we haven't won this just yet." Yami Yuki reminded as she kept her eyes focused on the two shady brother's they are dueling. "We're going to have to keep our guard up if we're going to defeat the ParaDox brothers and win a way out of this twisted, underground labyrinth." She explained as Para and Dox both had identical sneers on their faces as she spoke.
Meanwhile inside the castle Pegasus was still watching the duel from his dining room as he raised his wine glass. Proposing a toast to Yami Yuki for winning the first round, even if it was with some help from Joey. Though him talking to an empty room was interrupted by his head of security Croquet. The greyish-blue haired mustachioed male having come to tell Pegasus something that he already knows. Which is the fact that Seto Kaiba has been spotted on the island. Pegasus found this intrusion annoying yet amusing since Croquet is his head of security yet seems to find out about these things last. The silver haired male wasn't worried though, voicing his assurance that Seto would come straight to them because they have the perfect bate. His little brother Mokuba, said raven haired boy was still locked away in the dungeon and he was still staring at the picture in his locket. The younger Kaiba brother was sorrowful yet still hopeful that his brother would come rescue him.
Still walking down a dirt path in the forest Seto was getting closer and closer to the castle. Fiery determination burning in his cobalt blue eyes as he kept them fixated on the path ahead of him. He knew his thoughts of reassurance wouldn't reach his captive little brother, but they added fuel to his fire. They made him determined to keep walking, no matter how much his body screamed at him to take a rest, if only for a few seconds. But Seto just kept walking, promising to himself that if Pegasus tries to stop him from saving his brother that he would regret it. And as he walked he could just barely see the castle off in the distance through the treetops. If he kept up this pace there was the small chance that he could make it to the castle by mid afternoon. Though Seto knew that he had to be on guard, he had a feeling that this island was crawling with Pegasus's goons. Probably on the look out for him since he wasn't all that discreet, what with the helicopter and schooling Wheeler...
They wouldn't be able to stop him though, not when he's running on adrenaline and anger towards Pegasus for taking his little brother. Then for the second time since he got to the island Seto opened his locket and stared at the picture inside of it as he walked. He's always been there for Mokuba and has never let him down, and he wasn't going to let some crackpot make him disappoint his little brother. After all he had promised that he would always be there, and he didn't want his brother to think of him as a liar. Though as he was walking and looking at the picture in his locket Seto had yet to notice that he was been followed. Obviously too deep in thought about the promise that he had made his brother as he inevitably went down memory lane thanks to his own thoughts. All whilst his gaze never left the picture that was in his Duel Monsters card locket.
"So it's the famous Seto Kaiba." Kemo said as he was hidden within the forest of trees on the right side of the path.
"Huh?" Seto hummed in question as he stopped walking and glanced towards the source of the voice.
"Searching for your little brother, no doubt." Kemo said as he came out from his hiding space behind a tree. "Heh heh heh heh. You're comin' with me." He said with a smirk as he rushed at Seto with a battle cry, attempting to punch the brunette.
"Grr." Seto growled as he ducked under the punch, elbowing Kemo in the stomach harshly.
"Ohhh." Kemo groaned, having no time to recover as Seto took hold of him by his tie and flipped him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. The young CEO standing up straight as the suit wearing goon landed on his back a few feet away with a thud.
"Actually, you're coming with me." Seto stated, watching as Kemo just barely lifted up his head before the cobalt eyed male grabbed him by the back of his jacket. The spike haired goon groaning in pain as he was dragged up into a kneeling position, his arm painfully twisted behind his back. "You're gonna help me find Mokuba, wherever Pegasus has him. And you're gonna start by getting me into that castle." He ordered as Kemo continued to groan in pain, clearly winded after what had just happened.
At the same time, down in the tag team duel arena not much had changed since Yami Yuki's monster had destroyed the Wall Shadow. Her Celtic Guardian was only three spaces away from the start of the maze. Whilst Joey's Axe Raider still had yet to even attempt to enter the maze. Said monster simply stood poised and ready to attack, having moved back to his original position now that Wall Shadow was destroyed. The brothers ParaDox, having gotten over their shock from before, were once again rhyming up a storm. Reminding everyone that even though their monster was defeated they still had the edge in this duel since together they have more life points. They were honestly right, because if the life points of both teams were added together, ParaDox combined have 100 more points than Joey and Yami Yuki. Which did kind of put a damper on everyone's mood since they didn't want to think about stuff like that right now. After all if they thought about stuff like that it would make them hesitate, and they cannot afford to hesitate right now. Not when they have so much riding on them winning and getting to the castle to battle Pegasus in the tournament finals.
"We're just gettin' started." Joey stated, wanting the brothers ParaDox to just shut up as he drew a new card and looked at it. 'Hmm. So far, the only monster I got on the field is my Axe Raider. I need to bolster our attack force.' He thought as he glanced between the new card he drew and the ones in his hand. "Now my Flame Swordsman will heat things up. I put it in attack mode." Joey said as he played the card and his Flame Swordsman appeared next to Axe Raider. "Its power level is 5, but I'll move only four spaces. I'll also move Axe raider forward four spaces to join him and consolidate our forces." He said as his two monsters walked forward 4 spaces, joining Celtic Guardian inside the maze. "I've already used up Kunai with Chain's trap effect, but it still works as a regular accessory card, raising Axe Raider's attack power by 500 points." Joey said as Axe Raider now has 2,200 attack points as all three monsters stood on the same space inside of the maze. "Lets see you take that on, you twisted twins." He stated as Yami Yuki silently glanced at him with an approving look on her face for a moment.
"It doesn't matter if your forces are one or many, for soon..." Para said as neither him nor Dox were phased by the three monsters that now stood within the maze.
"There won't be any." Dox added, finishing his brother's sentence like always. "Labyrinth Tank, advance 7 more spaces." He said as the whole field seemed to rumble as the vicious looking tank moved seven spaces deeper into the maze. "Labyrinth Tank wields futuristic weaponry. Your archaic soldiers don't stand a chance, and soon they will be within striking range." He declared as the rumbling of his Labyrinth Tank got closer to the three warriors.
"And somewhere in the labyrinth lurks another trap for your unwary warriors." Para said as he was talking about the Jirai Gumo card that had been played face down. "Do you really think you stand a chance?" He asked, because him and his brother certainly didn't think so.
"Don't you two ever stop yakkin'?" Joey asked, once again feeling very annoyed with the brothers ParaDox. "You're up, Yuki." He reminded since now it was her turn now that Dox's tank had moved 7 more spaces.
"I play Dark Magician in attack mode." Yami Yuki stated as she played her card, her purple cladded magician appearing on the field seconds later. "And I'll move him forward five spaces to defend our three warriors." She said as Dark Magician jumped up into the air, flipping mid air before landing on the space infront of the three warriors and then crossed his arms.
"Cool. Nice move, Yuki. Now the gang's all here. They're a team, just like you and me, pal." Joey said, feeling like the Dark Magician was the leader and the three warriors were his team members.
"Mhm. Right now there is strength in numbers. Together our monsters stand a much better chance of conquering this murderous maze." Yami Yuki explained as both Para and Dox growled with scowls on their faces.
"We shall see about that." Para said as he drew a new card, letting out a hum of delight as he smirked upon seeing the card he drew.
"Quit grinnin' and spit it out. What is it?" Joey asked, growing impatient as he watched Para glance at Dox as he continued to smirk.
"It's a magic card, and that's cause for celebration, brother." Para stated in a tone that allowed his brother to know what he was talking about.
"Right!" Dox exclaimed in agreement and soon they were once again jumping and flipping around like lunatics before posing again.
"Now face the wall-warping power of... Magical Labyrinth!" Para shouted, playing the card as the dueling field began to rumble and shake.
"Hmm?" Yami Yuki hummed in question as her and Joey noticed how the field began to shake and rumble.
"What's goin' on?" Joey asked, not quite knowing or realizing what that card can do just yet.
Much to everyone's shock they watched as the maze began to change, the walls changing around all of their monsters. A wall soon separating Dark Magician and Celtic Guardian from the rest of the group as they looked towards the new wall. The two monsters seeming to have looks of shock and disdain on their faces upon realizing that they were seperated from Axe Raider and Flame Swordsman. Having this happen not only shocked the monsters but Joey and the others as well, but Yami Yuki managed to keep her cool. If only a little bit as she watched the maze settle into its new lay out as it stopped changing, for now. She had to stay cool, not only for Joey's sake but for everyone else's sake as well. If they saw that she was shaken up by this then they would begin to lose hope of them winning, and Yami Yuki didn't want that happening. She just had to remind herself that this was only a minor inconvenience and that they would get past this as she stayed silent. Listening as her friends and brother exclaimed in shock and outrage at what had just transpired.
'Ha ha ha ha. That's the power of the Magical Labyrinth- to reshape the maze according to our will. That should rattle them.' Para thought with a sadistic smirk as he looked up from the now reshaped maze towards his and his brothers opponents.
"Tag teams are only as strong as their weakest link, and the link that's about to break is you!" Dox declared as his gaze was focused on Joey who's mouth was slightly agape in shock.
"Oh, no. Our strategy's blown." Joey uttered as he drew a new card and looked at it as he slightly gritted his teeth.
"Joey, don't let those twisted twins rattle you." Yami Yuki suddenly spoke up before Joey had any more of a chance to try and syke himself out.
"Huh? Right, Yu." Joey said with as he looked over and saw Yami Yuki giving hima confident and reassuring smile. "Gotta keep calm. Axe Raider, Flame Swordsman, advance and regroup." He said as he used the grid touch pad on his duel terminal to map out what way his monsters will go as they squares glowed yellow. "The closer our boys get to the maze exit, the closer we get to getting out of here." Joey said as his monsters turned and began walking a different way in hops of regrouping with Dark Magician and Celtic Guardian.
"Heh heh heh heh heh." Para and Dox laughed sinisterly as they watched Axe Raider and Flame Swordsman walk towards their hidden Jirai Gumo.
"Joey, wait! Watch where your monsters are going!" Yami Yuki called out in warning but it was too late, Axe Raider had stepped on the space marked by Jirai Gumo.
"Too late. He activated my trap." Dox said as he held up his Jirai Gumo card for Joey and Yami Yuki to see.
"Wha-!" Joey started to exclaim as he looked at the card in shock.
"And now the landmine spider attacks Axe Raider." Dox declared, cutting Joey off as his spider burst forward from the floor and latches onto Axe Raider.
"Fend him off, Axe Raider." Joey ordered, confused as to why that creepy spider still had a hold of his monster when Axe Raider is supposed to be stronger.
"He's too weak. Jirai Gumo reduces Axe Raider's attack power to its original 1,700." Dox revealed with a smirk and wide crazy eyes as he looked at Joey.
"That means-." Joey started to say after he gasped in realization as to what that meant for his monster.
"Your Axe Raider is vanquished..." Dox said as Jirai Gumo crushed Axe Raider between it's four legs as he explodes into pixels.
"And you lose 400 life points." Para taunted as him and his brother both chuckled at Joey's misfortune.
Para: 1,700 Dox: 2,000 Joey: 1,600 Yuki: 1,600
"400 points?" Tea asked in disbelief at what had just happened.
"You're right. Joey just walked right into that one." Tristan said, feeling bad for Joey cause he had been doing so well until now.
"It's not like he meant to do that!" Yugi snapped in Joey's defense, something he usually doesn't do, before turning his attention back to his big sister and the duel.
"Good trap, my brother." Para praised as now both Yami Yuki and Joey have only 1,600 life points.
"Mmm. That's just the beginning. Labyrinth Tank, advance 7 more." Dox said as his tank advanced seven more spaces, putting it right behind Jirai Gumo. "And then I'll lay one more card in defense mode." He said as he laid a card face down, the card being hidden somewhere within the labyrinth.
"Aren't you gonna tell us what it is?" Joey asked, seeing as last time Dox played a face down card he had said it was Jirai Gumo, but said male simply chuckles.
"You have enough to worry about. My Labyrinth Tank is now within striking distance of your Flame Swordsman. It's all over for him in the next turn." Dox said as both Jirai Gumo and the Labyrinth Tank had Flame Swordsman cornered. "Then you can worry about what other surprises I have in store. Heh heh heh heh heh." He stated and chuckled darkly as Joey groaned.
"This doesn't look good." Bakura commented, a worried scowl upon his face.
"Tell me about it. It's a good thing Yuki's up next." Tristan stated as that hopefully gave Joey a chance to come up with a way to save himself.
"Go big sis! Wipe the smirks off of their identical ugly mugs!" Yugi called out just as Yami Yuki had drawn a new card from her deck.
"Hmm." Yami Yuki let out a pleased hum whilst smirking, her heterochromic eyes looking at the card she drew as Para and Dox watched with bated breath. "We'll counterattack. I play the magic card Mystic Box as a combo move with my Dark Magician." She said as the twin duelists both let out exclamations of shock in response to this. "I seal my Dark Magician inside the first box as swords rain from the sky." Yami Yuki explained as Dark Magician stood inside the box as it closed, hundreds of swords appearing around it.
"Hmm. What's this?" Dox asked just as the swords entered the cut out slots that covered the sides of the box one by one. "The duelist's gone mad, sacrificing her own monster." He said, assuming that the magician residing inside of the box was now impaled by the swords.
"No, wait. Look." Para stated, looking at something that Dox had yet to notice that was on the field.
"Huh?" Dox hummed in question as he followed his brother's gaze to see what he wanted him to look at. "Another box materializing around my Jirai Gumo?" He asked as a box identical to the one impaled by swords appeared where Jirai Gumo had once been.
With the two boxes now in place the door on the one with swords impaled into it slowly swung open. The brothers ParaDox yelling in shock, watching with wide eyes as the monster impaled by the swords was revealed to be Jirai Gumo. Then the door on the second box swung open, revealing Yami Yuki's Dark Magician to be completely unharmed. The purple cladded magician staring down at the Labyrinth Tank as he stayed within the open box, for now. Yami Yuki, who found the brothers ParaDox's shock quite entertaining, soon explained how her magician had magically switched places with Jirai Gumo. Why was why her Dark Magician didn't have a single scratch on him as the box disappeared from around him. Leaving him standing between Flame Swordsman and the Labyrinth Tank, ready to attack whenever he was ordered to do so. Meanwhile Jirai Gumo stayed within the second box, defeated yet not destroyed by the swords impaling it.
"All right. Let's see cue ball top that." Joey commented as he smiled at Yami Yuki, earning a nod and a hum of agreement.
"And now for that fugly tank of his. Dark Magician- Dark Magic attack!" Yami Yuki exclaimed as Dark Magician raised his staff into the air, electricity being drawn into the green orb at the top before he attacked, destroying Labyrinth Tank. "Now, let's see what that'll do to your life points." She stated, eager to see just how many life points this all cost Dox.
"Aah!" Dox shouted, feeling dismayed even though he only lost 100 life points.
Para: 1,700 Dox: 1,900 Joey: 1,600 Yuki: 1,600
"That's the problem with you eliminators, you underestimate people, like alot." Yami Yuki said and for a moment she couldn't help but inspect the nails on her free hand for a moment. "But together, Joey and I will overcome any obstacles you or Para put in our way." She said because as long as they worked together they could win this.
Back outside of the underground labyrinth Seto had gotten to the castle much faster than he would have on his own now that he's making Kemo help him. Said suit wearing goon had taken them to a side entrance instead of to the front one so they could get in without being stopped. And normally Seto has some patience, however minimal it may be, but right now he has no patience whatsoever as he ordered Kemo to open the door. He had no time to be patient, not when his brother was in the clutches of a mad man and being held somewhere like a prisoner. Seto didn't even want to think about what kind of condition Mokuba might be in health wise, nor did he want to think that he might be injured. All he wanted to think about was saving his little brother, and then making Pegasus pay dearly for everything that he has done to him and his little brother. He outright wanted to make the man suffer, but a part of his brain that scarily sounded a lot like Yuki told him that that was wrong. That he was better than that and that he shouldn't stoop down to Pegasus's level.
"Don't you think we should ring the bell?" Kemo asked sarcastically in response to being ordered around as him and Seto stood side by side infront of the reinforced metal door.
"I think you should shut your mouth and open the door. Open it now." Seto hissed out, not at all amused at Kemo's decision to be sarcastic with him as said male chuckled and placed his hand on the scanner next to the door.
"You do know no one takes Pegasus by surprise. He probably already knows you're here... somehow" Kemo commented sinisterly, lowering his hand as the door infront of them slides open allowing them inside.
Of course what none, aside from those who could be trust, know is that Pegasus knows everything before they do because of his Millennium Eye. It was why he was so calm and prone to just sipping his wine and snacking on fancy fruit and cheese. Even though time and time again his employees disappoint him, either by losing a valuable asset such as Mokuba or by not defeating Yuki Muto. However he remains calm and undeterred, even now when he has Seto sneaking into his castle and the brothers ParaDox slowly losing life points. Because in the end he will get what he wants, come hell or high water he will be the victor of this tournament. That much he was certain of, because with his Millennium Eye there was no possible way he could lose. Simultaneously as Seto tries to get into the castle with Kemo's help the brother's ParaDox vs Joey and Yami Yuki in the labyrinth was still underway.
"Ok, dumbo duo, now we're gonna clean your clocks." Joey said cause now him and Yami Yuki were getting their groove back after those small setbacks.
"Of yourself you think to much. Show them, brother, our lucky touch." Dox said since it was now his brothers turn as Para drew a new card from his deck, letting out a snicker as he looked at it.
"Huh?/Hmm?" Joey and Yami Yuki both hummed in question, feeling confused yet curious about Para's snicker.
"I don't like it when that goon grins." Joey commented as Para had a grin on his face that just creeped the blonde male out.
"Sanga of Thunder is one of three Gods that control thunder, wind, and water. The remaining two cards are Suijin, God of Water, and Kazejin, God of Wind. If our luck holds two more turns and we acquire them all, they can be combined to create the Gate Guardian!" Para mumbled to himself whilst staring at the card that depicted a creature that has no face, just the Japanese symbol for thunder.
"Quit your mumblin', no-hair! Just hurry up and move." Joey snapped, growing impatient with all of Para's mumbling and grinning creepily.
"Not so hasty. I will lay this card face down, ending my turn." Para said, playing the card face down in attack mode as an ornate maroon box appeared floating an inch above the field outside of the maze.
"Intriguing, eh?" Dox asked as he glanced at the box, which had the Japanese symbol for thunder ontop and was tied shut by a simple black string.
"Okay now that's just a box. What's supposed to be in that thing, an evil pair of shoes?" Yami Yuki asked jokingly, but she did genuinely want to know what could be hidden in that sealed box.
"Heh. I don't know, but we'll bust it open and find out when our guys get there." Joey said as both Flame Swordsman and Dark Magician were close to the maze exit. "Flame Swordsman, advance 5 more spaces towards the end of the maze." He ordered as Flame Swordsman walked past Dark Magician and took a right to go around the corner that Labyrinth Tank had come from. "We're almost there, Yuki." Joey said as his swordsman stopped on his fifth space on the other side of the wall to the right of Yami Yuki's Dark Magician.
'I can't let them escape the maze until we assembled all the pieces of the guardian.' Dox thought with a frown, knowing what that box on the field has hidden inside it all too well. "Now we shall test my luck." He stated with a sinister chuckle as he drew a new card, smirking upon seeing what card it is. 'Suijin, the Water God.' Dox thought as he looked at the card depicting a blue monster with the Japanese symbol for water on its forehead. "Looks like I've doubled our delights." He said as he played the card and a box identical to the first one appeared next to the thunder box with the Japanese symbol for water on top.
Para and Dox both laughed as they gave one another a knowing look and a smirk upon the appearance of the second box. Said appearance of not one but two boxes had quite a few of the people in the room feeling very confused. After all it seemed odd to summon boxes during a Duel Monsters duel because they didn't appear to be monsters. Tea of course ended up making the mistake of saying the boxes were Chinese boxes. When in fact they were Japanese in origin due to the symbols on top of the boxes. Of course it was an easy mistake to make, seeing as the only ones who could see the symbols clearly were the four duelists at the arena. Even then they didn't pay much attention to the symbols as both Yami Yuki and Joey were more concerned about what was in the boxes. They could worry about the symbols on the boxes later, after they've figured out what is in the boxes and if it spelt trouble for them and their monsters. Cause if it did spell trouble for them and their monsters then they would need to find a way to protect themselves against it.
'Ugh, something about those boxes just doesn't sit right with me. And what's this vibe I'm getting from them? It feels ancient, and evil.' Yami Yuki though with a shudder as she stared at the two boxes on Para and Dox's side of the field. 'Almost like I can feel a powerful, dangerous energy pulsating within them.' She thought as the Eye of Anubis appeared on her forehead for a moment, she had a feeling that her sensing the energy was the Millennium Puzzle's doing. However Yami Yuki still has yet to fully understand just what her puzzle or Yami himself can and cannot do...
'We cannot summon the gatekeeper yet, but we can still slow our enemy's advance.' Dox thought as he looked towards the two unsuspecting duelists that stood before him. "I now play my hidden card. Dungeon Worm, return to the surface now in attack mode." He ordered as a grotesque looking worm with spikes, jagged teeth, and about a dozen eyes appeared on the field. "And I will strengthen it with Invigoration, which raises its attack power by 400 points." Dox revealed, his worm growing in size as its attack points rose to 2,200.
"What the fuck is that?!" Yami Yuki exclaimed in shock and disgust before she noticed that the worm was doing something.
"It's a burrower, and it's coming for you." Dox said as the worm burrowed its way into the dueling field and out of sight.
"Where'd it go? Where's that thing hidin'?" Joey asked as he looked around, searching for where the worm had disappeared to. "Aah!" He yelled in shock, noticing a purple glow within the maze just as the worm burst forward from underground.
"No!" Yami Yuki shouted as the worm had taken her Celtic Guardian in it's jagged toothed maw when it burst forth from within the ground.
"No! The Celtic Guardian!" Joey yelled as the worm, with Celtic Guardian held tightly between its teeth, turned tail and went back into the hole it came from.
"Watch your life points go slithering away." Dox taunted as him and his brother chuckled, that attack had destroyed the Celtic Guardian, taking 800 of Yami Yuki's life points in the process.
Para: 1,700 Dox: 1,900 Joey: 1,600 Yuki: 800
"No, big sisters monster is worm food!" Yugi exclaimed with a frown because now his sister only has one monster and 800 life points.
"Hey, that's not fair! That creature can pop up anywhere." Tristain declared, outraged that once again one of the ParaDox brothers monsters had appeared without moving any spaces.
"That's true. This field gives their monsters all the advantage." Tea said, also feeling outraged at the fact that another one of the twins monsters get to move freely whilst their friends monsters have to move spaces.
"That's right." Para affirmed in response to Tea and Tristan's outrage and in response to Yugi's outburst at what had happened to Celtic Guardian.
"No one escapes the labyrinth." Dox stated ominously as if he was talking about more than just the labyrinth on the dueling field.
"It's up to you, Yu. You're gonna have to pull a winner out of your hat." Joey said as he unknowingly gave Yami Yuki the perfect idea to buy them more time.
"That's a perfect idea! I play Magical Hats. Hats, materialize! As for our remaining warriors, now you see them... now you don't." Yami Yuki said as top hats with checkered ribbons and big yellow question marks on the front appeared, two of them moving to hid their monsters.
"Aah! The hats!" Para exclaimed with wide eyes at the sudden appearance of the hats.
"They're multiplying, hiding all their monsters." Dox said, equally as shocked as his brother as four hats appeared in a single file line within the maze.
"All right, Yu. That should sure confuse that slimy worm of theirs." Joey stated since the worm won't know what hat to attack if the brothers ParaDox don't know either.
"Plus the Dungeon Worm has only 2,200 attack points, while my Dark Magician's power is at 2,500. Meaning if the worm attacks the wrong hat and uncovers the Dark Magician, it'll be getting a one way ticket to the graveyard." Yami Yuki explained as this caused Para and Dox to groan in annoyance because they knew she was right. "And don't worry, it also guarantees the safety of your Flame Swordsman as well, because with my Dark Magician waiting in the wings, their worm wouldn't dare to strike any of the hats." She said since there was a fifty fifty chance that one of the four hats either held the Flame Swordsman, Dark Magician, or nothing at all.
"Ha. Your little plan is not as foolproof as you think, Yuki. Monster Tamer, appear now in attack mode!" Para exclaimed as he played a new card, causing a humanoid monster in Arabian clothing with a whip and blue spiked accessories to appear.
"The Monster Tamer?" Yami Yuki asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering what good playing that monster would do Para.
"Ha. Normally, I couldn't control the Dungeon Worm or any other monster my brother placed on the field, but by using this Monster Tamer, I can add 600 points to the Dungeon Worm's attack power and also make the worm follow my tamer's instructions during my turn." Para explained as this new information makes Yami Yuki's plan utterly useless against the now super powered Dungeon Worm.
'Damnit, 2,800. That makes the Dungeon Worm stronger than my Dark Magician.' Yami Yuki thought with a frown, and here she thought she could scare them into not attacking.
"Now, Monster Tamer, command my brother's Dungeon Worm to destroy one of the Magic Hats!" Para ordered as his Monster Tamer cracked his whip against the ground and swung it around a bit.
'With that Dungeon Worm of theirs suped up by Para's Monster Tamer, this all comes down to if luck is on mine and Joey's side.' Yami Yuki thought, watching as the Dungeon Worm burst out of one of the hats with no monster trapped within its maw.
"Hmm. Empty hat." Para stated, disappointed that the Dungeon Worm had attacked the wrong hat.
"Whoa. That was close." Joey said as the Dungeon Worm slinked its way back down into the hole it came out of.
'Luck was on our side this time, but that pesky Dungeon Worm will attack again on Dox's turn. And now that there's only one empty hat left, the odds won't be in our favor. There's got to be something, anything we can do. But what?' Yami Yuki thought with gritted teeth and a furrowed brow as she wracked her brain for a solution.
"Don't sweat it." Joey said, breaking Yami Yuki out of her train of thought in the process.
"What?" Yami Yuki asked, her expression morphing into one of confusion as she turned her gaze towards Joey.
"I got it all figured out. You just sit back and watch me and the Flame Swordsman go." Joey said with a smile before pressing on a square on his grid, causing Flame Swordsman to jump out of one of the Magical Hats.
"Joey, what the hell are you doing man?" Yami Yuki questioned, looking towards a smiling Joey in shock after witnessing Flame Swordsman reveal himself.
"Is Joey nuts? His swordsman was safe." Tristan said as that seemed like the wrong move for Joey to make.
"Maybe all of the thinking has scrambled his brain..." Yugi suggested as he also thought that that was the wrong move for Joey to make.
"Don't worry. This time I know what I'm doin'." Joey reassured them all as he held up a card with a smirk on his face. "I played a magic card- Salamandra!" He revealed as he flipped over the card, the picture depicting a sword surrounded by flames.
"Aah!" Para and Dox screamed in shock at the sudden appearance of this magic card, both of them knowing exactly what it does.
"That's right. You oughta be scared. It juices up any fire based blade and raises its attack points by 700." Joey said, his swordsman's attack power growing to 2,500 as fire swirled around his sword. "Swordsman, Salamandra Flamestrike!" He exclaimed as the fire left the sword in the shape of a dragon and went into the hat the worm had attacked.
"Where is it going?!" Para asked, watching as the fire continued to go into the hat and presumably down the worm's hole.
"Good show." Bakura praised, having caught on to what Joey was doing. "Not only does Salamandra increase the swordsman's attack strength, but because of the worm's weakness to fire, it negates the bonus points the worm got from the Monster Tamer, returning its attack power to 2,200." He explained for those that were confused as the rest of the fire disappeared down the destroyed hat.
"Less than my supercharged swordsman." Joey added as the Dungeon Worm then burst forth from the destroyed hat covered in fire. "The worm turns. Or should I say burns?" He asked as the worm was burnt to a crisp, causing Dox to lose 300 life points.
Para: 1,700 Dox: 1,600 Joey: 1,600 Yuki: 800
"Top that!" Joey exclaimed with a smile as he held up his free hand as he clenched it into a fist.
"Good job, Joey. That was an awesome move." Yami Yuki praised with a smile as the others were happy for Joey as well.
"You must draw the card we need." Para ordered as he looked at Dox, the both of them were sweating bullets at the loss of their Dungeon Worm.
"Indeed." Dox agreed before hastily drawing a new card from his deck. "Hmm. Ha! The third piece! This will seal their fate." He said after looking at the card, giving his brother a grin akin to that of the Cheshire Cat's grin.
"Hmm. The third piece, with which we will now create..." Para said as he gained an identical grin to the one on Dox's face.
"A monster who will..." Dox continued, both of them having regained their confidence and composure at the appearance of this card.
"Annihilate!" They both exclaimed as they once again jumped and flipped around like lunatics.
"Against the..." Para trailed off as both him and his brother landed after all of the flipping and jumping.
"Trinity." Dox stated, finishing off the short sentence for his brother.
"They can't defend..." Para said, obviously talking about Joey and Yami Yuki.
"All their life points we will be rend." Dox said as he played the card face up, it was a green eyeless monster with the Japanese symbol for wind where its eyes should be.
"Summon Kazejin, God of Wind." They both said as a third box identical to the other two with the Japanese symbol for wind on top appeared next to the other two.
"Uh, Yuki, what's happening?" Joey asked as the whole dueling field began to rumble and shake yet again.
"Oh fuck. The Trinity! It is in the class of Exodia." Yami Yuki explained, now realizing why she felt that ancient and evil vibe coming from the boxes.
"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed as the tops of the boxes exploded open and yellow, blue, and red energy burst forth from within them.
"Elements of thunder, water, and wind, Suijin, Sanga, Kazejin, begin. Meld your powers in eternal light. Show these fools your unstoppable might." Para and Dox chanted as the red, blue, and yellow light swirled together in the sky, creating a rainbow effect as the silhouette of a monster could be seen.
"Here it comes!" Yami Yuki called out in warning, her eyes wide as she watched the monster begin to appear.
"What is it?" Tristan asked as he watched what was happening as well.
"I don't know." Tea said but what Yami Yuki had said made her worried about what the monster is.
"Well whatever it is, it's got my sister really worried." Yugi asked, watching in worry as he's never seen his sister get like this before.
"He is pain beyond description." Para continued despite the interruptions from Yami Yuki and the others.
"He'll mark the graves with your inscription." Dox said menacingly as the hulking silhouette became clearer and easier to see with everything they said.
"Gate Guardian!" They both shouted as the light faded and their hulking beast was completely revealed for all to see as it growls. "Against our Gate Guardian, you cannot possibly win." They declared in unison as their monster had three separate sets of attack and defense points.
"Oh no, that thing has the strength of three monsters." Yami Yuki said as it was now clear to her that this monster was nothing like Exodia despite being in the Exodia class.
"Yeah. He's three guys in one." Joey said as he was now looking at the Gate Guardian in shock. "We're never gettin' out of this maze." He stated, disheartened now that that monster is on Para and Dox's side.
"Now what do they do?" Tea asked, looking for some kind of answer from one of the people next to her since Joey and Yami Yuki were too busy to talk to her.
"I don't know. This looks bad." Bakura stated but that really was not the answer that anyone was looking for.
"Don't be so downbeat, Bakura. If they don't beat 'em, we'll never get out of the labyrinth." Tristan explained but that wasn't very helpful of him to say either.
"Tristan, thanks for cheering me up, mate." Bakura said sarcastically as he was the opposite of cheered up.
"Oh would you just stop with all of the negativity!" Yugi snapped at them before turning back to watching the duel as he gripped at his Yuki and Joey banner nervously.
"So, think you can beat us with your big multiple guy? Well, we're not givin' up." Joey said, having heard what the others were saying behind him as he tried to stay confident. "Let's go. Bring it on!" He exclaimed as he raised another clenched fist, he was determined not to stay shaken up by this.
"Ha ha ha ha ha. You must be mad." Para said with a laugh at Joey's attempt to stay confident.
"No one's ever gotten past the Gate Guardian." Dox said, basically saying that any attempt to get out of the maze would be futile.
"He is composed of three parts, each controlling an elemental force." Para explained, letting them only know part of what is in store for them should the Gate Guardian attack.
"You'll never get past his combined power." Dox stated because their Gate Guardian is a force to be reckoned with.
"You will wander the labyrinth..." Para said because him and his brother believed that victory was within their grasp.
"Lost for all eternity." They said in unison, their Cheshire Cat-like grins ever present on their faces as they spoke.
"Me and Yuki'll take on anything that you got!" Joey called out defiantly, refusing to believe that what they say is true.
"He's right. Joey and I are a team, we're not afraid of you because you'll never beat our combined power. Now stop talking and take your turn." Yami Yuki said, her eyes narrowed and her poker face once again in place as she crossed her arms.
"Ha!" Para and Dox both laughed, finding their courage and perseverance whilst facing off against their unstoppable beast to be very amusing.
Meanwhile back inside Pegasus's castle, Seto was being led through a dimly lit corridor. It was cold and damp down here which made the brunette believe that they were under the castle, either in an underground passageway, or a dungeon. Wherever they were didn't really matter to Seto though as he was more concerned with finding his little brother. Though by the looks of things it seemed like he was getting nowhere with Kemo leading the way. It was like the sunglasses wearing goon insisted on leading him deeper into the castle rather than where Mokuba is being held. This obvious stalling was really getting on Seto's nerves and made him wish he had just ditched Kemo when he got the door open. Cause at this rate he probably would have found his little brother alot faster on his own.