Chapter 36

Clash in the Colosseum: Part 5

"Oath to a Friend"

Inside Kaiba Craft 3, most of those watching over Joey saw Obelisk return. "Yawl see what I see?" AJ asked. "That big blue meanie again, Obelisk the Tormentor!" Pinkie answered. "I bet Kaiba used Monster Reborn to bring it back." Rainbow suggested. "How's Yugi supposed to stand up to Obelisk without Slifer?" Tristan asked. "I think I have an idea." Rainbow said before she started taking Joey out and off of his medical equipment. "Rainbow, don't!" Serenity pleaded.

"This is too important." Rainbow replied. "Please, stop this!" the doctor ordered. "Look, this may sound crazy, but Joey needs to see this. He may be unconscious, but as far as I'm concerned, if he's fighting, he's still alive. So we wake him up ourselves." Rainbow replied. "How?" Tea asked. "Yeah, that medical equipment was keeping Joey stable, so for all we know, you could be endangering him." Duke pointed out.

"We have a connection to Yugi, so if Joey can feel that connection again, he might just regain consciousness. Tristan, lend a hand." Rainbow said before he did so and carefully dragged Joey towards the window. "Joey, I know you can hear me, Yugi needs all the moral support he can, and that includes you so wake up already!" she said the unconscious underdog.

Up in the colosseum, the game continued. "Your Egyptian God Monster won't be around for long, Kaiba." Yami said. "That doesn't matter, Obelisk has served his purpose already. I won't be needing him to finish you off." Kaiba replied. "Very well, then, I'll set one card face down and end my turn. Your move, Kaiba." Yami said. "As you wish." Kaiba replied. "As you said, it's time for my Egyptian God Monster to return to the graveyard." he stated. "Obelisk, your task is done." he said before his mighty creature returned to the graveyard from whence it came.

"Obelisk's wrath may be over, but the worst is yet to come. So I suggest you start living in the moment, and forget the ancient legend told in those hieroglyphics!" he stated before laughing. "But then again, there's nothing you can do to save yourself at this point. As soon as I make my next move, you're history." he added. 'It can't end like this. Yugi has to beat Kaiba to get to Marik! It's the only way to stop his plan of world domination.' Twilight thought.

'If the three Egyptian God Cards and the Millennium Puzzle fall into Marik's hands, the modern world could see a similar disaster that befell Giza 5000 years ago.' she continued as she remembered what she, Yugi, Kaiba and Fluttershy witnessed. Back in Kaiba Craft 3, Rainbow and Tristan were urging Joey to wake up. 'Got to keep fighting.' the underdog thought.

Within his head, Joey was getting ready to face off against his next opponent in the final match of the State Championship, under Duelist Kingdom rules. Joey's opponent, an unknown kid, started out by drawing and then playing level three, Earth attribute Beast with 1100 attack points and 900 defense points called Nekogal #1 in attack mode. Joey drew and then countered by playing a level three, Earth attribute Warrior with 1000 attack points and 500 defense points called M-Warrior #1.

He then gave it an equip card known as Legendary Sword, which boosted M-Warrior's attack points to 1300 and its defense points to 800. One slash from the M-Warrior holding the Legendary Sword lowered the kid's life points to 1800. The boy soon set one card face down before summoning a level four, Wind attribute Dragon with 1200 attack points and 1000 defense points called Lesser Dragon.

Thinking that his opponent made a mistake, Joey drew and commanded M-Warrior to attack, only for the boy to activate a trap card known as Reinforcements, which boosted Lesser Dragon's attack points 1700, allowing it to counterattack and destroy M-Warrior, lowering Joey's life points to 1600. However, the Domino City underdog summoned Tiger Axe in retaliation. As for the boy, his Reinforcements trap lost its effect, bringing Lesser Dragon's attack points back to normal before he drew.

Back in reality, up in the colosseum, the duel continued. "Go ahead and make your move, Kaiba." Yami Yugi said. "This duel has grown tiresome. The outcome is of no consequence to me as long as a winner is declared soon. For no matter who wins this, I will be the ultimate victor." Yami Marik said with a chuckle while Kaiba drew his next card.

"Alright, it's time to bury this nonsense about our ancestors and move on! If you want to believe that you and I are descendants of ancient Egypt, be my guest, but don't waste your time trying to convince me that the battle we're fighting now is the same thing as in the hieroglyphics in the museum." the multi-millionaire said before remembering the battle they previously witnessed.

"I only rely on one thing, and that's my superior dueling skills, Yugi. Everything else is meaningless! Now let's get on with this duel so I can reclaim what's rightfully mine, the world championship title you stole from me, Yugi! By this game's end, I'll have it back, and when the Battle City tournament is done, I'll be recognized as the greatest Duelist to ever live! Now, for the final turn to begin!" he declared.

Little did Seto know that Mokuba heard what he said, as did Twilight and Fluttershy. 'Nothing else has meaning to him? Not even his little brother?!' Fluttershy thought, shocked. 'He's more than greedy and power hungry, he's hateful and egotistical!' Twilight thought, knowing Kaiba finally showed his true colors. 'Did Seto really mean that? Everything but his dueling skills doesn't have meaning?' Mokuba wondered.

"I switch Lord of Dragons to defense mode, then I activate the magic card, Flute of Summoning Dragon!" Seto declared. "This can mean only one thing." Yami said. "I take it you're familiar with my strategy, well you should be because you saw me use it before. As soon as my Lord of Dragons plays this flute, two more dragons will be summoned to the field." Kaiba replied. "You're planning to summon two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons, aren't you?" Yami asked.

"That's precisely what I'm doing, Yugi!" Kaiba replied before his two remaining Blue-Eyes appeared. "How can he fight off three Blue-Eyes?" Twilight asked. Back in Joey's mind, his opponent summoned a level five, Earth attribute Machine with 1400 attack points and 1800 defense points known as Steel Ogre Grotto #1. Soon, the boy played Polymerization to fuse his two monsters together to summon a level six, Wind attribute machine/fusion monster with 1850 attack points and 1700 defense points called Metal Dragon.

Soon, the Metal Dragon coiled around Tiger Axe and crushed it, greatly decreasing Joey's life points to 1050. Knowing his Flame Swordsman wouldn't be able to scratch Metal Dragon, Joey decided to play it safe by summoning a level three, Earth attribute Warrior with 1100 attack points and 1000 defense points known as Hero of the East in defense mode to protect himself.

Back in reality, the rescue copter was making its approach to KaibaCorp Island. Up in the colosseum, the duel continued. "Looks like I have the advantage with four monsters on the field. And you, all you have is your Dark Magician and your pathetic Magnet Warrior, Yugi." Kaiba taunted. "And you know what that means, I can annihilate them and wipe out your life points! Just give up now, Yugi!" he continued.

'Oh, no! I'm out of options!' Yugi thought. Back in Kaiba Craft 3, everyone was watching on. "What do you think is going on up there, guys?" Serenity asked. "I wish I knew, sugar cube." AJ answered. "Let's hope that Yugi's winning so that we'll be a step closer to the end of this nightmare." Rarity said. "You need to have faith, ladies. Yugi will come through. Right, Joey?" Tristan said. Back inside Joey's dream, his opponent just drew and played a Stop Defense magic card, forcing Hero of the East into attack mode.

With that done, Metal Dragon destroyed the warrior, GREATLY decreasing Joey's life points to 300. He ended his turn by setting a card. Joey soon drew his trusty Shield & Sword magic card and decide to play a monster with higher defense points than Metal Dragon. To that end, he played Polymerization to fusion summon his Flame Swordsman, followed by activating Gust Fan to increase Metal Dragon's attack points to 2250 while lowering its defense points to 1500.

The child had no idea what was going on until Joey activated Shield & Sword, swapping the attack and defense points of all monsters on the field. However, the boy had a surprise planned by activating Castle Walls, to increase Metal Dragon's defense points to 2000 before the effect of Shield & Sword kicked in. Indicating that Flame Swordsman was destroyed by the Metal Dragon's counterattack, Joey's life points hit 0, knocking him out of the State Championship tournament.

Back in the colosseum, Kaiba was about to land what he thought was the final blow. "This is where it all ends, Yugi! There's no way you can escape the devastation of three Blue-Eyes! The moment I've been waiting for is finally here!" he declared before laughing. 'I'm in mayor trouble. With three Blue-Eyes White Dragons on the field, Kaiba could easily wipe out both of my monsters and the rest of my life points! What am I gonna do?' Yugi thought, desperate for an idea.

'It looks like the end of the line for the pharaoh, which means Seto Kaiba will be the next casualty of the Shadow Realm.' Yami Marik thought. "Now, my three Blue-Eyes, attack! Finish him off and end this duel!" Kaiba commanded. "Once those dragons attack, the duel's over!" Fluttershy said in a panic. Yami shut his eyes and braced for the end. 'Hold on, Yuge.' said a familiar voice within his and Yugi's shared mind. 'Joey?' Yugi asked, mentally. 'Yep, the one and only, pal.' the underdog replied. 'I'm about to lose this duel.' Yugi said.

'Guess again, Yuge. It's like you told me during a practice duel, look closely and consider all of your options.' Joey replied. 'All of my options?' Yugi asked. 'Yep. I think you'll find the card that'll save you that way.' Joey replied. 'Let's see.' Yugi thought before looking at his hand. 'He's right! There's still hope!' he exclaimed. "Farewell, Yugi Muto, you're no longer the world champion!" Kaiba declared, but his face turned to one of shock soon after, as did the faces of Fluttershy, Twilight and Mokuba.

"It can't be!" Twilight shouted. "It's really...!" Fluttershy began to say in surprise. "The Red-Eyes Black Dragon?! Where did that come from?!" Kaiba asked. "If you recall, you used your Flute of Summoning Dragon to summon your two other Blue-Eyes to the field, but you must've forgotten that your flute works on my side of the field, as well!" Yami explained, to Kaiba's chagrin. "So I owe you a thank you, for bringing out one of Joey Wheeler's best monsters." the ancient one added.

"This doesn't change a thing, Yugi! I can destroy you and your Red-Eyes!" Kaiba retorted. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Kaiba." Twilight said, confident that Yugi/Yami had a plan. "Now, my Blue-Eyes White Dragons, attack now! Annihilate his Dark Magician first!" Kaiba commanded before one dragon launched a White Lightning attack right at the legendary magician. "Say goodbye to your favorite monster!" he shouted.

"Not so fast, Kaiba! I activate my trap, Magician's Selection!" Yami retorted before his trap sprung. "That protects your Dark Magician from my attack!" Kaiba exclaimed, clearly surprised. "That's right, Kaiba, but my trap also sends your weakest monster to the graveyard." Yami replied before Lord of Dragons was destroyed. "Fine, but you'll never escape my other two attacks!" Kaiba responded before the second White Lightning attack took down Beta. "Beta the Magnet Warrior is gone and your Red-Eyes is next!" he declared.

"So much for Wheeler's gift!" he added. "That's what you think, Kaiba! I activate my second trap, Spellbinding Circle!" Yami retorted before his trap sprung and ensnared the final Blue-Eyes. "Nice try, Kaiba, but my Spellbinding Circle did more than just stop your attack, your Blue-Eyes White Dragon's strength gets lowered by 700!" he stated before the dragon's attack power decreases to 2300. "Time for my own dragon to fight back!" he declared.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, destroy the trapped Blue-Eyes White Dragon with Inferno Fire Blast!" he commanded before Joey's dragon destroyed Kaiba's, lowering the man's life points to 1900. "Alright. You may have saved yourself for now, but this duel's far from done!" Kaiba stated. 'Well, looks like I made it out of that mess. And I owe it all to you, Joey.' Yugi thought. 'All I did was remind you of the advice you gave me one time. Now, win this fight, pal.' Joey mentally replied. 'You, too, Joey.' Yugi replied.

Right on cue, the miraculous happened and Joey began to awaken. "Guys, look!" Serenity shouted. Everyone else noticed Joey opening his eyes. "He's waking up!" Tristan said, shocked. "He's alive! He's alive! ALIVE!" Pinkie shouted as if she were Dr. Frankenstein. "Are you okay, Joey?" Spike asked. Up in the colosseum, the duel continued.

'I must admit, Yugi's move took me by surprise. But if he thinks this is the time to celebrate, he's sadly mistaken. Victory WILL be mine!' Kaiba thought. 'I have a long way to go, but as long as I have faith in the Heart of the Cards, and in myself, I KNOW I can win this.' Yugi thought. Back in Kaiba Craft 3, Joey was still waking up. "Come on, Joey, say something." Rainbow said as Joey's eyes nearly fully opened.