This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
WARNING: These stories are rated T for moments of violence, mild blood, frightening moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be advised.
Title: The Master of Magicians
It was near the end of the first day of the Battle City tournament. The duels were finishing up and such… but there was one duel going on that was a bit unfair to a person in it.
(elsewhere…)
Within an alleyway, one 13-year old, male duelist had lost to a 17-year old, male duelist. Let's just say that this 17-year old duelist was a bit of a bully.
"I've won," he grinned arrogantly, "Now give me your rarest card."
"Very well," sighed Young Duelist, handing over his rarest card and Locator Card, "Here."
Unfortunately, Bully Duelist didn't seem very impressed with his prize and merely spat in disgust.
"Stop joking around!" snorted Bully Duelist, the moment he saw what the card was, "That lame card doesn't meet my definition of a rare card!"
"But you were fine with this ante card before we started the duel," argued Young Duelist.
"Well, I've changed my mind!" retorted Bully Duelist menacingly, making Young Duelist flinch while listening, "Now the loser has to give me, the winner, £50 or something just as valuable."
Young Duelist gasped, "Are you serious?"
"You heard me!" shouted Bully Duelist, beginning to walk over and beat up the younger player, "Fork over whatever else you've got—or I'm gonna give you a serious-"
Suddenly, there was the sound of a whistle, causing Bully Duelist to stop walking and look nearby.
"Stop right there!" The voice of Skiff called out. He walked into the alleyway, looking very cross with the bully, "This is a warning! You're violating the rules of the Battle City tournament!"
"Stay out of this, junior," warned Bully Duelist, unafraid of a child, "Not unless you wanna get beaten up, too!"
"I wouldn't talk to me like that if I were you," Skiff shot back, "Not unless you want to get kicked out of the tournament for gross misconduct. Besides, if you can't follow the rules, you're not a duelist."
Bully Duelist scowled, "Says who?"
"Says me," The voice of Spencer cut in, sounding cold and cutting.
Bully Duelist instantly froze with fear when he heard who said that. Walking into the alleyway armed with his metal briefcase was, indeed, Spencer, and he didn't look too happy with what he was seeing.
"Big Brother!" greeted Skiff happily.
"Uh-oh…" gulped Bully Duelist, knowing he was in big trouble, "Y-You're Spencer Gresley…"
"When you disrespect my Little Brother," began Spencer, "you also disrespect my tournament, all of Boxford Corporation, and my whole family, and I have very little patience for bullies. It's time someone taught you a little lesson."
"Wh-What are you gonna do to me?" stammered Bully Duelist, trying in vain to not sound intimidated.
With that said, Spencer set the briefcase on the ground and turned it around so it was facing the bully.
"What are you doing?" quizzed Bully Duelist.
"I'm challenging you to a duel," Spencer answered firmly, before smiling smugly, "However, just so it would be a fair fight, I'll let you use all of the strongest cards I have inside this briefcase. And if you win, you get to keep them in addition to a Locator Card."
The briefcase was opened… and the bully's eyes widened with excitement over what was inside.
"A-A-Amazing! Incredible!" cried Bully Duelist greedily, "Look at all the rare and powerful cards!"
Many of the cards in the briefcase were shown to be the following:
-'Anotherverse Solaria' (Normal Monster Card)
-'Harpie's Feather Duster' (Spell Card)
-'D.D. Crow' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Ultimate Obedient Fiend' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Nobleman of Crossout' (Spell Card)
-'Shattered Axe' (Trap Card)
-'Garura, Wings of Resonant Life' (Fusion Monster Card)
-'Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Compulsory Evacuation Device' (Trap Card)
-'Hand of Nephthys' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Dark Armed Dragon' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Reshef the Dark Being' (Ritual Monster Card)
-'Final Ritual of the Ancients' (Spell Card)
-'Dimension Explosion' (Spell Card)
-'Skull Dice' (Trap Card)
-'Vanity's Ruler' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Firewing Pegasus' (Normal Monster Card)
-'Chain Material' (Trap Card)
"You mean I can use any of these cards for the duel and keep them if I win?!" The voice of Bully Duelist rejoiced.
"By all means," accepted Spencer confidently.
That was all Bully Duelist needed to hear. After taking as many rare cards as possible and modifying his Deck to center around them, Bully Duelist placed his new Deck into the Duel Disk and activated the device.
"You're setting yourself up for a humiliating fall, Spencer Gresley!" bragged Bully Duelist, drawing his opening hand (LP: 4000), "With these rare cards and my skills, there's no way I'll lose to someone like you! Cards are power, after all!"
Spencer (LP: 4000) merely drew his opening hand, knowing that a smallfry is no match for him, the King of all animals.
"I wouldn't flatter yourself, punk," Spencer said right back, drawing a sixth card, "And if you don't mind, I'll take the first turn."
"Whatever," replied Bully Duelist arrogantly.
Turn One: Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "The Flute of Summoning Dragon", "Lord of D.", "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", and "Pot of Greed"
Spencer looked at his hand, knowing that this would, indeed, be an incredibly easy duel.
"My first card," stated Spencer, as an enlarged version of the 'Pot of Greed' Spell Card rose from the ground behind him, "'Pot of Greed'!"
"Draw 2 cards," guessed Bully Duelist, "I already know how that common card works!"
An unfazed Spencer drew two cards, and, after placing one card into his hand, placed the other card onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk.
"I Summon 'Lord of Dragon - Dragon's Ruler'!" announced Spencer, as his Duel Disk lit up and the mentioned Effect Monster Card materialized on the field (sideways), "Defense Position!"
Appearing on the field was the caped man with a dragon-like armor (Level: 4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1100).
"Huh?" blinked Bully Duelist.
"Then, from my hand, I'll activate two copies of 'The Flute of Summoning Dragon'!" As Spencer spoke, the two mentioned Spell Cards materialized face-up on the field behind 'Lord of D.', "I must Special Summon up to 2 Dragon monsters from my hand. 'Lord of D.' must be on the field to activate and to resolve this effect."
Two dragon-shaped flutes appeared on the hands of 'Lord of D.'; he blew into one flute, then the other. Bully Duelist knew what was coming next.
"You're not the only one with rare cards," hissed Spencer, before holding his right hand out, "Come forth, three 'Blue-Eyes White Dragons' and 'Hyozanryu'!"
In a burst of light, appearing on the field whilst roaring were all three blue and white-scaled dragons (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500) x3. A fourth monster, a dragon with diamond scales, also took to the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2100/DEF: 2800). Bully Duelist looked scared at facing four destructive monsters on the first turn.
"With that, I'll end my turn here," finished Spencer, "So now, it's your turn—unless you wish to just give up."
Bully Duelist was not at all happy with being called a coward.
"F-Forget it!" he refused, drawing a card, "It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Two: Bully (LP: 4000)
Deck: 34
Current Hand (6): "Ultimate Obedient Fiend", "Flame Ruler", "Gorlag", "Flame Spirit Ignis", "Double Summon", and "Firewing Pegasus"
Adding the drawn card into his hand, Bully Duelist went from scared to evilly excited in an instant upon spotting another card in particular.
"Hey! I got something good in my hand!" realized Bully Duelist.
Spencer raised an eyebrow, but said nothing back.
"Here I come!" declared Bully Duelist, taking and placing a card ('Flame Ruler') onto his Duel Disk, "I play 'Flame Ruler'!"
Appearing on the field was a blue-haired, tan-skinned man wearing a red coat (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600).
"Next, I'll activate the Spell Card, 'Double Summon'!" continued Bully Duelist, as the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field in-front of him, "I can conduct 2 Normal Summons/Sets this turn, not just 1. The effect of 'Flame Ruler'! This card can be treated as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of a FIRE monster."
Spencer smiled to himself, still not bothering to say anything. On cue, 'Flame Ruler' burst into flames.
"I Tribute my only monster!" The voice of Bully Duelist proclaimed, before being shown holding up a card ('Ultimate Obedient Fiend') taken from his hand, "With the offering met, I'll Tribute Summon 'Ultimate Obedient Fiend'!"
Appearing on the field from the same stream of fire left behind, was an enormous, crimson red skinned Fiend monster that seemed to control the fire around it (Level: 10/ATK: 3500/DEF: 3000).
"An ATK of 3500!" cried Young Duelist, while Skiff watched neutrally.
"This is the ultimate Fiend monster," explained Bully Duelist, "Stronger than any of those Dragon monsters you control, Spencer. Unfortunately, my monster's first effect is a negative for me. This card can only attack if this card is the only card on my field and if I also have no cards in my hand," He shrugged, "But who even cares? 'Ultimate Obedient Fiend' is strong enough to keep you on the defensive."
At last, Spencer chuckled after being silent throughout Bully Duelist's only turn.
"Hey, I missed the joke over there," insulted Bully Duelist.
"I just need one card to teach you a lesson," murmured Spencer gleefully, drawing a card, "I'll show you the power of 'God'!"
Turn Three: Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (1): "Obelisk the Tormentor"
The drawn card was, indeed, the 'Obelisk the Tormentor' Effect Monster Card Spencer smiled grandly upon seeing it. It was time to eliminate another smallfry duelist!
"'Blue-Eyes', become 'God's' power!" commanded Spencer. On cue, all three 'Blue-Eyes White Dragons' shattered into shards of glass, and he held up one more card ('Obelisk the Tormentor'), "Descend, 'Obelisk the Tormentor'!"
A big light show began in the sky, while the ground also began to shake itself to pieces.
"Wh-Wh-What's happening?" shuddered Bully Duelist, quivering from the rumbling.
Within an explosion of light came a huge, blue muscular monster, roaring loudly (Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000). The sight of this monster nearly made the bully wet himself.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! This is my 'God' Card, 'Obelisk the Tormentor'!" boomed Spencer, laughing sadistically, "I activate 'Obelisk's' twelfth effect!"
'Obelisk the Tormentor' reached out and took hold of both 'Lord of D.' and 'Hyozanryu', crushing them and absorbing their power.
"If this card is in Attack Position (Quick Effect): I can Tribute 2 other monsters; I must inflict 4000 damage to my opponent, then destroy all monsters my opponent controls!" revealed Spencer, as his eyes went dull, empty, and cold, "This is real power!"
Bully Duelist stammered in terror, knowing it was all over.
"Vanish, you weakling!" roared Spencer, as 'Obelisk the Tormentor' finished absorbing the two monsters and threw an energized punch at 'Ultimate Obedient Fiend', "Go, God Hand Crusher!"
'Obelisk the Tormentor's' fist collided with 'Ultimate Obedient Fiend', destroying it in an instant as it continued until it reached Bully Duelist. The blast struck and knocked the bully off his feet and into a wall as his LP instantly became depleted (LP: 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Spencer Gresley wins!
The impact was so powerful that Bully Duelist's newly built Deck had completely spilled out of his Duel Disk. Spencer walked over and picked up a Locator Card.
"Keep your rare card," offered Spencer, "But I'll be taking my other cards back…in addition to one of your Locator Cards."
The silver-haired boy then looked over to Young Duelist, who was both surprised yet amazed that he was saved from a bully.
"Th-Thank you, Mr. Spencer, sir," Young Duelist bowed politely.
"Think nothing of it," said Spencer gruffly, before turning and walking away with Skiff following, "Just do me a favor and stay away from punks like him."
Bully Duelist, sitting on the ground, was barely able to get a word out from what attacked him. At last, he screamed with terror, with it echoing outside the alleyway. Spencer and Skiff overheard the loud screaming, but paid no attention to it.
"There are three 'Egyptian God' Cards," thought Spencer, "I have one of them. The other two are somewhere out there. When I find those cards in the city, I'll complete my supreme 'God' Deck, and everyone will kneel before me. Billinton, wait for me on my road to battle."
A faded image of Thomas appeared in the sky.
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in an unknown location, there were several lit torches and a teenage boy, Marik, was seated on a throne awaiting some news. Luckily, he got the news from some Rare Hunters.
"So, we've identified the owner of 'Obelisk'," asked Marik.
"Yes, Master Marik…" One Rare Hunter, the official second-in-command named Odion, answered, "The owner of the card is Spencer Gresley."
"As I thought," The voice of Marik chuckled, as his Millennium Rod shined.
"But how did Spencer get his hands on the card?" pressed Rare Hunter 1.
"I can imagine he hosted the tournament specifically because of getting his hands on 'Obelisk'… This tournament is a ritual to gather the 'God' Cards," answered Marik. He entered his thoughts, "Big Sister… It was you…"
A flashback began.
FLASHBACK
Somewhere in the sands of Egypt, Flashback Marik was inside some ruins with a possessed mind slave—who moved a large rock off of something to find a briefcase with a code.
"Open the vault," ordered Flashback Marik.
The man pressed a few buttons, which unlocked the briefcase and revealed a Monster Card called 'The Winged Dragon of Ra'.
(outside…)
With his acquired prize, Flashback Marik emerged from the ruins before finding Flashback Ishizu standing in his way.
"Marik, my Millennium Necklace allowed me to see what you would do," frowned Flashback Ishizu, "Our family has protected the Valley of the Kings for 3000 years, and you're wasting the sacrifices of our ancestors."
"They sacrificed for what?!" exclaimed Flashback Marik, "Someone eventually had to get rid of this tradition! If it means freeing our family from our cursed destiny, I will acquire all three 'God' Cards and claim the title of Pharaoh!"
"You're betraying our family!" objected Flashback Ishizu, "I cannot let you pass."
Losing his patience, Flashback Marik held up the Millennium Rod at his own elder sister.
"I'm warning you! Move out of my way," threatened Flashback Marik.
"Would you really use your Millennium Rod on your own flesh and blood?" Flashback Ishizu challenged, completely unafraid.
"I can if it's for the future of our family. Even on you, Big Sister…" replied Flashback Marik.
To prove his point, he made the Millennium Rod shine even bright and unleash a blast of light.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"You had the last card. You must have sensed a possible future…" thought Marik, as he envisioned Ishizu surrendering one of the 'God' Cards ('Obelisk the Tormentor') to Spencer and resulting in the start of Battle City, "You knew that if you gave 'Obelisk' to Spencer Gresley, he would hold a tournament like this," While still thinking about Ishizu, a faded image of Thomas was briefly superimposed over him before he looked up, "And you knew that by the Gods' guidance, my fate and Thomas' would intersect. But… In the end, the 'God' Cards will come together in my hands! Along with the title of King!"
"Shall I assemble the Rare Hunters to attack Spencer?" suggested Rare Hunter 2.
"Spencer Gresley is an extraordinary duelist," declined Marik, "Even the Rare Hunters will have a hard time now that he possesses 'Obelisk'…" He pulled out a card and looked at it, "To fight a 'God' Card, you need a 'God' Card," The card in-question was the 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' Effect Monster Card, "I, yielding 'The Winged Dragon of Ra', will personally go to Knapford City."
"But, my Lord, must you dirty your hands…?" Odion protested a little bit.
"Eventually I 'will' have to fight Spencer," insisted Marik, "But now that we know he has 'Obelisk', we can let him be for a while… He might be of use to us somewhere down the line," He looked to two additional Rare Hunters nearby as they straightened up, "Put somebody on Spencer Gresley, and make sure not to lose him."
"Yes, sir!" Rare Hunters 3 and 4 obeyed.
"Before that, there is someone in Knapford City who can entertain me…" chuckled Marik.
"'Entertain'?" Odion thought to himself, looking a little fearful underneath his usual stoicness, "Master Marik only uses that word when he is filled with hatred…"
"Thomas," muttered Marik, before addressing the rest of the Rare Hunters, "Call upon Arkana the Conjurer. Tell him to prepare for a duel. Thomas should soon appear in front of him…"
"As you wish, Master," promised Odion, before going into his thoughts while turning around to leave, "Acquiring the third 'God' Card should be the Rare Hunters' highest priority. But Master Marik is after Thomas…"
"It'll take some time for me to get to the Island of Sodor…" commented Marik, stroking the tip of the Millennium Rod, "In the meantime, let Thomas play with Arkana. That'll at least keep him occupied for a while," He smiled menacingly, "Now then, I shall get ready… "
(elsewhere…)
Back in Knapford City, Thomas was walking alone down a busy section of the city. The good news is the duels were beginning to wind down as the day came closer to ending. When he came upon a clear spot, he approached and took out a card ('Red-Eyes Black Dragon') from his Deck to look at it.
"'Red-Eyes'…" thought Thomas, "This card represents Percy's courage. He wants to earn it back with his own strength. I know he'll continue to win in the duels of Battle City. When that time comes, I'll accept his challenge because Percy Avonside will be a True Duelist. No matter who loses the duel, our memories of it will never be forgotten."
"What's wrong?" The voice of Mavis echoed.
Thomas looked up in surprise from being interrupted. On cue, Mavis and Toby both walked up to see their friend.
"Mavis… Toby… Sorry, I didn't see you," apologized Thomas.
"With the duels soon ending for the day, we decided to find and see how you're doing," said Toby.
"Currently, Percy and I have two Locator Cards," answered Thomas, "He defeated Samson, and I defeated a Rare Hunter."
"Yeah, the same Rare Hunter that defeated Percy and took 'Red-Eyes' from him," agreed Mavis, before noticing that Thomas seemed troubled, "Wh-What's the matter, Thomas?"
"Why were the Rare Hunters after Percy's 'Red-Eyes'?" frowned Thomas, "He was attacked the night we registered for the tournament, and yet they challenged him, knowing he was a tournament participant…" As he finished talking, Toby and Mavis looked at each other, then back at him, "They knew Percy owned 'Red-Eyes'…"
"Good question," mused Mavis thoughtfully.
"The card shop!" gasped Toby, "When you guys registered, the clerk there looked up duelists' cards and levels to verify whether they were eligible to enter!"
Mavis gasped.
"That shop is a front for the Rare Hunters!" realized Thomas.
"But what are we supposed to do about it?" fretted Mavis, "It's sure to be closed like most other shops at this hour, so how would we get in there?"
With determination in his eyes, Thomas turned and ran off for the mall. Not knowing what to expect, Toby and Mavis decided to follow their friend.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the mall, Thomas, Mavis, and Toby arrived outside the card shop, which had closed up for the night—or was it? Thomas approached the door and wiggled the doorknob, which, to his surprise, was not locked.
"Huh? The shop's closed, but the door is unlocked…" peeped Thomas.
"Could it be someone is expecting us?" pondered Toby.
Mavis shrugged in response. Thomas carefully opened the door, first allowing Mavis and Toby inside before he followed and gently closed the door behind him.
(inside…)
Within the card shop, Thomas and his two friends looked around for anything suspicious. So far, there was nothing out of the ordinary. That changed when the nearby computer suddenly turned itself on. Once the static ended, the screen revealed Thomas's duelist level and his rarest card ('Dark Magician').
Name: Thomas Billinton
Duel Rank: 8/10
Rarest Card: "Dark Magician"
"My duel data," murmured Thomas.
"What's going on?" worried Mavis, "Why is Thomas's profile showing?" She then noticed something with the monitor and gasped once more—this time in fright, "G-Grease and oil!"
"What is it?" pressed Toby, touching and gripping onto his girlfriend's shoulders in concern.
"Take a look at Thomas's 'Dark Magician'!"
The card ('Dark Magician') on the screen was glowing purple. Suddenly, the card changed color, now sporting silver hair, tanned skin, red robes, and a sinister smile on his face. It also came out of the computer as a hologram of sorts.
"What the-?!" flinched Toby, reeling back, "'Dark Magician' came out of the computer!"
"How is that even possible?" added Mavis.
"I've been waiting for you, Thomas!" greeted (Red) Dark Magician, "You will duel Master Arkana, the true master of myself!"
"Arkana?" thought Thomas.
"Master Arkana is the only one truly capable of using 'Dark Magician'!" boasted (Red) Dark Magician, before pointing his scepter at the three humans in an effort to threaten them, "He is the true 'Master of Magicians'! You will learn this up close and personal!"
"Hmph!" sighed Thomas, grinning a little bit over the trickery, "Enough tricks! Show yourself, Rare Hunter!"
A sinister laugh echoed as, from the nearby shadows, a man wearing a magician's suit, top hat, and white mask walked in from the door in the back of the shop.
"Welcome, I'm the second Rare Hunter, Arkana the Conjurer," The man greeted fiendishly. He wore a Duel Disk on his left arm, which had a 'Dark Magician' Normal Monster Card sideways on a Monster Zone, and in his right hand was another card ('Dark Magician'), "I use 'Dark Magician' like you, Thomas."
"So, you're Arkana," urged Mavis.
"And you wield 'Dark Magician', too?" put in Toby.
"Thomas, I've seen many of your duels since San Francisco, and I know you use 'Dark Magician' to win those matches," remembered Arkana, before walking up and standing beside his 'Dark Magician', "However, I am the 'true' master of him. No one can defeat 'my' 'Dark Magician'!"
"Is that so? From among many cards, a duelist chooses ones that he or she believes in to build a Deck. But the cards also choose the 'duelist'," teased Thomas, "When those two hearts unite…" He took his Deck out of his Deck holder, "…in trust, the cards unleash their true power," The blue-haired boy began shuffling, "Rare Hunters like you don't have the heart of a duelist!"
Arkana growled a little bit.
"Okay, I accept your challenge, Arkana!" The voice of Thomas accepted, drawing the top card ('Dark Magician') and readying it, "Because 'Dark Magician' chose 'me'!"
Just then, an image of 'Dark Magician' appeared to face the other, evil 'Dark Magician'.
"I'm honored you've accepted my request for a duel, though this room is much too small," noted Arkana, "But I prepared a special area for the duel. Please come this way," He started to walk away, but then stopped and addressed Mavis and Toby, "Oh, and you two are welcome to follow and watch."
"What do you think?" Toby whispered to Mavis.
"I say let's go see Thomas demolish that Rare Hunter," suggested Mavis quietly.
Arkana led the trio to a nearby staircase going down deeper into an unknown area.
"Please be mindful of the stairs," warned Arkana, walking down the stairs, "I was informed by Master Marik that you'd be coming, so I had something special setup so you wouldn't be bored."
"Marik? The same person who leads the Rare Hunters and is armed with the Millennium Rod?" thought Thomas, before talking aloud, "Where is he? Answer me, Arkana!"
"I, too, wonder where he is…" replied Arkana, "Maybe he's nearby…" He turned and tapped the side of his head, "or maybe he's in here? Hmhmhm…"
"Marik? Who is this Marik guy?" thought Toby.
"That's right! Marik has the power to possess his underlings and make them do whatever he wants…" thought Thomas, remembering the power of the Millennium Rod, "Could Marik be watching right now…?"
After walking down the stairs, Arkana led Thomas and his friends to a door down the short hallway.
"Here we are," The voice of Arkana stated, opening the door and showing the visitors the next room, "Pandora's room! How do you like it?"
Thomas, Mavis and Toby saw what looked to be a small arena with rows of seats around a circular pit in the center.
"Pandora's room?" observed Mavis, "Nothing personal, but with all of the magic tools and occult paraphernalia," She looked at Arkana with disdain, "it all looks like a bad dream to me."
"Well, young lady, a conjurer has many powers," smiled Arkana, "From simple card tricks to the ability to bring nightmares to life… This is where Thomas and I will fight in order to see who the superior user of 'Magicians' is! We'll use my own Solid Vision System because I don't want Boxford Corporation to be breathing down our necks," He motioned his left arm (with the Duel Disk) to a nearby spot of the room, "Now, can our honored guests take a seat nearby? Thomas and I need to shuffle our Decks."
Toby and Mavis did as they were told, while Thomas approached Arkana. A table then rose as both players placed their Decks down and glared. It was then they shuffled their Decks; while Thomas shuffled normally, Arkana was shuffling through a card technique called shotgun-style. It was a sight that disgusted Thomas.
"Shuffling shotgun-style can damage your cards," Thomas pointed out.
"I'm used to shuffling it this way, and my cards don't mind when I do it," insisted Arkana.
"I doubt it," retorted Thomas coldly, placing his Deck down again, "And to make sure you try nothing funny, I'll cut your cards."
"Please proceed," offered Arkana, taking Thomas's Deck and cutting it, "You know, there's an old saying among gamblers… 'Trust your friends, but always cut the cards'."
Thomas soon finished cutting Arkana's Deck and returning it to normal.
"Friends, us?" scoffed Thomas, smiling darkly, "Sorry, but I never become friends with Rare Hunters such as you."
"What a pity," chortled Arkana, now holding onto his own Deck again, "But now that we are committed to dueling, I'd like to show you something that will prove that we're truly blood brothers!" On cue, the floor started to move, "A nightmare show with you as the star!"
Thomas and Arkana found themselves moving to their respective ends of the field, where they were immediately shackled by their ankles.
"What the-?!" cried Thomas.
"Thomas!" called Toby.
"What the hell are you doing to our friend?!" demanded Mavis aggressively.
"Yes, I'm locked up, too!" reassured Arkana, "Neither of us can flee. And now all of you will witness the greatest show on Earth… 'Arkana's Great Escape from the Jaws of Death'!"
"That's a mouthful!" commented Toby.
From there, buzzsaws emerged from the center left and right of the field, spinning and making frightful sounds.
"Are those-?" exclaimed Thomas.
Arkana's response was to laugh madly at Thomas's confusion to the whole thing.
"These buzzsaws are used in large-scale magic tricks," cracked Arkana, "You now know the rules in this duel."
Nearby…
"Toby, you see the numbers on the walls?" said Mavis, looking at the saw rails on the walls of the field and seeing numbers written, "Any idea on what they mean?"
"If I were to make a guess, they're LP markers. When a player takes damage, the saws slowly move closer," The voice of Toby guessed, going from '4000' all the way to '0'. When he finished, he looked at Mavis with worry, "Once a player's LP falls to 0…
"Yup, no need to tell me," agreed Mavis anxiously.
"You've figured it out!" beamed Arkana, The loser gets his legs sawed off, dying from either shock or blood loss!" He pointed downward, "Now, look at your feet. We each have a small box."
Below Thomas's feet rose a small box with a count of 4000 marked on the cover.
"What's inside?" quizzed Thomas.
"When the opposing player's LP run out, the box will open," The voice of Arkana was saying, with focus squarely on the mysterious box, and while Toby and Mavis both listened, "Inside is a key and a prize for the winner, a Locator Card. The key is used to unlock the shackles on our legs," He grinned maniacally, "Only the winner will be able to escape death!"
"Arkana, you're insane!" accused Thomas.
"The Greek God, Zeus," explained Arkana, as he envisioned King of the Gods, Zeus, sealing the evil inside Pandora's Box, another God opening the box and unleashing the evil, with a fairy found inside the box as a symbol of hope, "put every catastrophe inside Pandora's Box. No one was allowed to open it, but when she did…all the evil emerged from the box, hurting everyone. But one thing was left inside the box—hope," He continued to smile from the explanation, "The key inside the box represents our final hope."
Arkana giggled madly, while Thomas, with his head bowed, was further disgusted over what kind of game this was going to be.
"This is fun?" spat Thomas, raising his head and dispeling the shadow, "You think it's fun to fight for our lives?"
"Yes, because I'm going to win," vowed Arkana.
"You're rotten to the core!" yelled Thomas, "I'll show you how a real duelist fights! It's time for us to duel, Arkana!"
Thomas activated his Duel Disk and got ready. Since Arkana's Duel Disk was already activated, he didn't need to do that. Meanwhile, the Solid Vision systems in the area activated by themselves.
"The spotlight is on us," announced Arkana excitedly, "It's showtime!"
"Then draw your cards!" challenged Thomas, drawing five cards (LP: 4000).
"With pleasure!" Arkana accepted, drawing five cards (LP: 4000). His grin grew wider when he saw what was in his hand already, "I already have…" His hand contained 'Dark Magic Attack', 'Saggi the Dark Clown', 'Summoner Monk', 'Dedication through Light and Darkness', and 'Dark Magician', "…'Dark Magician' in my hand! Or, should I say, I made it come to my hand. An illusionist has over a thousand ways to control his cards. Getting the card I want into my hand is easy to do. I used a technique called the 'stripper'."
A vision began.
VISION
Within the darkness, two cards moved towards each other; one had normal edges, but the other card had its edges trimmed just enough to look smaller.
"By cutting a strip off of a card, it's now a different size than the rest of the cards," narrated Arkana, as Vision Thomas lifted a part of the Deck with three stripped cards and causing one card to fall down, "By stripping my three 'Dark Magician' cards… I can always get a 'Dark Magician' on top of my Deck should it be cut."
END VISION
The vision ended.
"Thomas, this game of death will show you why it's foolish to challenge an illusionist in a card battle," thought Arkana, before speaking aloud, "Now, Thomas, you can go first!"
"Here I go!" responded Thomas, "It's my turn!" He drew a card, "Draw!"
Turn One: Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Miracle Restoring", "4-Starred Ladybug of Doom", "Silver Fang", "Card Destruction", "Electromagnetic Turtle", and "Change of Heart"
Adding the drawn card into his hand, he took a different one and placed it onto his Duel Disk, face-down and Set.
"I Set one monster on my field," stated Thomas, then taking and slotting a card into his Duel Disk, "Then I'll Set one card face-down and finish my turn!"
Two Set cards appeared on the field; one was a Monster Card, and the other was a Spell or Trap Card.
"It's my turn!" said Arkana, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Two: Arkana (LP: 4000)
Deck: 34
Current Hand (6): "Dark Magic Attack", "Saggi the Dark Clown", "Summoner Monk", "Dedication through Light and Darkness", "Dark Magician", and "Legion the Fiend Jester"
Without wasting a second, he placed the card ('Legion the Fiend Jester') onto his Duel Disk (sideways).
"I Summon 'Legion the Fiend Jester'!" declared Arkana.
Appearing onto the field was a jester with yellow skin (Level: 4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1500).
"My monster's first effect allows me to Tribute Summon a Spellcaster monster in addition to making a Normal Summon," thought Arkana, looking at his hand one more time—containing 'Dark Magic Attack', 'Saggi the Dark Clown', 'Summoner Monk', 'Dedication through Light and Darkness', and 'Dark Magician', "And now next turn, when I Summon another monster, I'll Tribute them both to Summon my all-powerful 'Dark Magician'!"
In the stands…
"The way Arkana's smiling has me unnerved," shivered Toby.
"You're not the only one feeling like that," nodded Mavis.
Back on the field…
"You won't be smiling for long!" Thomas called out, as he drew a card and began his turn, "Card drawn!"
Turn Three: Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (5): "Miracle Restoring", "Silver Fang", "Card Destruction", "Electromagnetic Turtle", and "Exile of the Wicked"
Adding the drawn card into his hand, Thomas glared at the opponent before deciding to try something.
"Arkana, I don't trust your hand," remarked Thomas, picking a card ('Card Destruction') from his hand, "Which is why I'm going to activate a Spell Card."
"A Spell Card? Don't trust my hand?!" repeated Arkana angrily.
"My card…" began Thomas, slotting the card into his Duel Disk. It caused a Spell Card called 'Card Destruction' to materialize face-up on the field, "…is 'Card Destruction'!"
"Wh-What? 'Card Destruction'?!" flinched Arkana.
"Both players discard as many cards as possible from their hands, then each player draws the same number of cards they discarded," explained Thomas, before pointing at Arkana, "Now, Arkana, do as my card says!"
"Discard hand…" thought Arkana, looking down at his current hand—still containing 'Dark Magic Attack', 'Saggi the Dark Clown', 'Summoner Monk', 'Dedication through Light and Darkness', and 'Dark Magician', "I have to discard 'Dark Magician'!"
Noticing Arkana's dilemma caused Thomas to smile smugly in response.
"I expected you to have 'Dark Magician' in your hand," noted Thomas, "Since you're an illusionist, I had to be aware that you'd cheat. And I don't think someone who shuffles shotgun-style cares about their cards," He gathered his new hand together, "I knew you wouldn't think twice about stripping your cards."
"Ngh… It can't be!" complained Arkana, gathering his hand together and placing it in the GY, "You knew and still accepted my challenge?"
"I did," confirmed Thomas, "My turn is also just getting started!" He placed a new card ('Berfomet') onto his Duel Disk, "I Tribute my Set monster…" The sideways Set card erupted into darkness, "…and Tribute Summon 'Berfomet'!"
Appearing on the field from the eruption of darkness was the winged demon with the head of a goat and the body of a human (Level: 5/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1800).
"'Berfomet's' effect activates!" continued Thomas, as a card ('Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts') slid from the middle of his Deck and he placed it into his hand. "When this card is Normal or Flip Summoned: I can add 1 'Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts' from my Deck to my hand," After adding the card into his hand, he pressed a button on the Duel Disk, "Next, my Set card activates!" The face-down card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be… "'Change of Heart'!"
"'Change of Heart'?!" thought Arkana, shocked, "Target 1 monster your opponent controls; take control of it until the End Phase! You're gonna steal my 'Legion the Fiend Jester'!"
As expected, that's what happened; a fairy, with a light half and a dark half appeared on the field, held her hands out, and manipulated 'Legion the Fiend Jester' into coming over to Thomas's field.
"'Legion the Fiend Jester's' first effect…" remembered Thomas, as both 'Berfomet' and 'Legion the Fiend Jester' both turned into purple smoke, "During my Main Phase, I can Tribute Summon 1 Spellcaster monster in Attack Position, in addition to my Normal Summon/Set. (I can only gain this effect once per turn,)" He then held his right hand up, then outward, "I Tribute both of my monsters in order to Tribute Summon!" On cue, from the thick blanket of smoke, a familiar monster started to appear, "Appear now, my mightiest servant, 'Dark Magician'!"
When the smoke cleared away, there, now on the field and armed with his scepter, was the purple-haired, male Spellcaster monster, who had come to the rescue (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100). 'Dark Magician' hovered in front of the frightened Arkana with a stern expression on his face.
"I'll show you how much pain a card feels when it's stripped, Arkana!" threatened Thomas.
Arkana was sweating profusely at the situation he was currently in.
"He Summoned 'Dark Magician' before I could! And I'm wide open for an attack!" thought Arkana.
"I'll play any game, no matter how dangerous! But, if you want to kill me, you better be ready to pay the price!" rambled Thomas, before entering the Battle Phase, "'Dark Magician', show him some 'real' magic with a direct attack!"
Arkana cried out a gasp, watching as 'Dark Magician' twirled his scepter a few times.
"Dark Magic Attack!" The voice of Thomas commanded.
Obeying the order without question, 'Dark Magician' pointed his scepter forth and fired off a very magical blast that struck Arkana and made him scream in agony as the air all around him fizzled and flashed in a multitude of colors (LP: 4000 → 1500). Once everything died down, Thomas spoke sternly to the weakened man.
"I've taken off more than half of your LP in one hit!" reminded Thomas, "Now, let's see this 'Show of the Century' you were talking about!"
The buzzsaw on the left end of the field started to move down the rails towards Arkana, causing him to yell out in horror. Thomas, however, was not at all surprised over it.
"What, are you surprised?!" sneered Thomas, "You shaved your cards to try to cheat me! If that's your idea of tactics, maybe I'll shave a few inches off of 'you'!"
Toby and Mavis couldn't help but snicker at Thomas's burn—mostly because he was in the lead and controlled 'Dark Magician'.
"You're pretty good, but you have no idea who you're dealing with!" thought Arkana, recovering from his brief fit of fear to smile dementedly at the opponent. He (Arkana) and Thomas stared each other down while Mavis and Toby watched from the sidelines, "That was just the opening act, Thomas! By the time this duel is over, your life will be 'cut short'! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
(elsewhere…)
"What?! Thomas has disappeared?" wailed Skiff.
Inside the technician chamber of Boxford Corp, Skiff and Spencer had just returned for news about a 'God' Card, only to get some bad news about Thomas.
"It's true, Master Skiff," reported Girl 1, "We just found out that Thomas Billinton's ID signal has disappeared."
"Billinton vanished…" Spencer whispered to himself, "Is it the Rare Hunters?" He then gave the staff their orders, "Investigate this thoroughly."
"Yes, sir!" Girls 2, 3, and 4 each obeyed at once.
"The Duel Disk constantly emits an ID signal," thought Spencer, "If we can't detect it, he's in a location where the signal is blocked. Like the basement of a building."
(elsewhere…)
A little later in the middle of Knapford City, the tournament had finally ended for the day. All of the competing duelists had gone home to rest up for the second day in the morning. At the Stirling residence, Emily was seen standing outside on the balcony of her bedroom in her nightgown while thinking about the first day of the Battle City tournament.
"It sure has been an eventful day," she remarked only to herself, brushing her long hair with a hair brush, "Either way, I can't wait to see what tomorrow will behold in this tournament."
Unfortunately for Emily, the day was not over yet. Just before the dark green-haired girl could turn around, go inside, and climb into bed for an early night, her Mother showed up.
"Emily, honey," sighed Mrs. Stirling.
"Yes, Mom?" blinked Emily, "What is it?"
"I have some bad news," Mrs. Stirling admitted, knowing her daughter was not going to be happy, "I've just gotten a call from Thomas's parents… Thomas, Mavis, and Toby have gone missing."
"Missing?!" gasped Emily, "Where were they last seen?"
"We don't know," Mrs. Stirling replied gravely, "All we do know is that Toby and Mavis went to grab some dinner before coming home… but that was the last we heard from them."
Emily was horrified to hear that a few of her friends had gone missing, and hoped they were alright.
(elsewhere…)
Back inside the Knapford Mall, Thomas, Mavis, and Toby were each still okay—well, maybe not Thomas…
(elsewhere…)
Inside the stage-like area, Thomas and the magician-like Rare Hunter, Arkana, were locked in the middle of a duel for their lives, and Thomas was actually doing extremely well so far. He had full LP and controlled 'Dark Magician', while Arkana was left almost beaten.
"So far, Thomas is winning," Mavis said to Toby.
"But that Arkana shouldn't be taken too lightly," Toby pointed out, "If he shaved his cards to cheat, then who knows what else he has in store?"
Over in the middle of the arena…
"Arkana, you sliced your cards and cheated!" accused Thomas, "If you continue this game, you will feel the pain that those cards felt!" He then made an offer, "If you want to give up, now's the time."
"G-Give up?! Never!" refused Arkana, before laughing loudly, "This is great! It's so fun! The taste of death! The tension! The frisson! I wish you could taste it, too!"
Thomas growled.
"Listen, Thomas… I am a conjurer!" recalled Arkana, "'I'm' in control here! 'You' and your friends are just the audience for my show—'Arkana's Great Escape'! I am the one who will win… I am the one who will live… You're the one who'll be chopped to mincemeat! You, Thomas! YOU!"
"So much for audience sympathy," groaned Thomas, exasperated, "Let's get this game over with."
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in the city, Emily, after giving Edward a call, was dressed again and out looking for Thomas and the others.
"Where on Earth did they go?" thought Emily, before something came into her mind, "Maybe the Rare Hunters that attacked Percy got to them?"
"Emily!" The voice of Edward called out, as he ran up and appeared out of breath, "Any luck?"
"No," denied Emily, shaking her head, "But I do know that the Rare Hunters are behind this. We have to find Thomas and the others—and we have to do it soon."
"But we have no leads," frowned Edward, "Where are we supposed to search?"
Emily didn't have an answer to that.
(elsewhere…)
Back in Arkana's hidden duel stage underneath the card shop…
"It's my turn!" announced Arkana, drawing a card.
Turn Four: Arkana (LP: 1500)
Deck: 28
Current Hand (6): "Dark Spear", "Witch of the Black Forest", "Thousand Knives", "Dark Renewal", "Tragedy", and "Monster Rebirth"
He took a close look at the opposite field.
"Thomas only has 'Dark Magician' on the field," thought Arkana, "I can't allow him to get a direct attack on me next turn. In that case…" He placed a card ('Witch of the Black Forest') onto a Monster Zone, sideways, onto his Duel Disk, causing the device to light up, "'Witch of the Black Forest' in Defense Position!"
Appearing on the field was a woman with long purple hair and wearing a black dress (Level: 4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1200).
"Furthermore…" As he spoke, Arkana took another card and slotted it into his Duel Disk, which caused a face-down card to appear on the field, "I Set one card face-down and finish my turn."
"He only has a single defending monster," thought Thomas, "On my turn, I'll Summon a new monster and attack to finish him."
"Thomas will definitely Summon another monster," thought Arkana, before smiling slightly, "That's when my Dark Magician' will resurrect!"
"It's my turn!" proclaimed Thomas, drawing a card.
Turn Five: Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)
Deck: 47
Current Hand (4): "Monster Rebirth", "Dark Illusion", "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts", and "Magic Jammer"
Adding the card into his hand, he picked another card ('Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts') to play—a card he added into his hand earlier by 'Berfomet'. He placed the card onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, causing the device to light up.
"I Summon 'Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts'…" continued Thomas, as the 'Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts' Normal Monster Card materialized face-up on the field, "… in Attack Position!"
The brown beast-like monster appeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200).
"You fell for it!" thought Arkana, triumphantly, "Not so fast, Thomas!"
"What?!" gasped Thomas.
"It's time for 'Dark Magician' to rise again!" beamed Arkana, pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "Face-down card, open!" The Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "Trap Card, 'Dark Renewal', activate!"
A coffin appeared onto the field from the face-up 'Dark Renewal' Trap Card, opened up, and sucked both 'Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts' and 'Witch of the Black Forest' inside.
"When my opponent Summons a monster(s) or declares an attack: I must…" The voice of Arkana explained, as the above scenario played out as the pentagon on the coffin started shining brightly, "…target 1 of those monsters and 1 monster I control; I must send both monsters to the GY, then I can Special Summon 1 DARK Spellcaster monster from my GY!"
"A DARK Spellcaster monster!" said Toby urgently.
"That means-!" added Mavis.
"You will resurrect 'Dark Magician'!" finished Thomas.
"This will give me a second chance to win!" gloated Arkana, as the coffin doors opened up, "Come forth, 'Dark Magician'!"
In a burst of red energy, a tan-skinned, silver-haired, red robe-wearing man armed with a scepter was formed inside the coffin. (Red) 'Dark Magician' opened his eyes and jumped out to meet with 'Dark Magician'.
"There's also the monster effect of 'Witch of the Black Forest," acknowledged Arkana, holding up a card taken from his Deck, "If this card is sent from the field to the GY: I must add 1 monster with…" He placed the card ('Apprentice Magician') into his hand—which also contained 'Dark Spear', 'Thousand Knives', 'Tragedy', and 'Monster Rebirth', "…1500 or less DEF from my Deck to my hand, but I cannot activate cards, or the effects of cards, with that name for the rest of this turn," From there, he retreated into his thoughts, "Two 'Dark Magicians' are on the field. Now the true battle begins, Thomas."
"Our monsters have the same ATK," thought Thomas, "Neither can directly attack each other without meeting mutual destruction," He took two cards from his hand, "The best way to win is using our Spells and Traps. It's become a battle of wits!" He slotted the cards into separate Spell & Trap Zones on his Duel Disk, "I Set two cards and leave my turn there!"
"I know what you're up to, Thomas," thought Arkana, "Whoever uses their 'Dark Magician' to the fullest…" He spoke aloud, "It's my turn!"
Turn Six: Arkana (LP: 1500)
Deck: 26
Current Hand (6): "Dark Spear", "Thousand Knives", "Tragedy", "Monster Rebirth", "Apprentice Magician", and "Ectoplasmer"
He added the drawn card into his hand and took two more cards.
"For my turn, I'll Set two cards," The voice of Arkana remarked, slotting the cards into separate Spell & Trap Zones on his Duel Disk. It caused two Set cards to appear on the field, "Done."
"Now, it's my turn," nodded Thomas calmly, drawing a card.
Turn Seven: Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)
Deck: 46
Current Hand (2): "Magic Jammer" and "Des Volstgalph"
He added the drawn card into his hand and took another card.
"I Set one more card," The voice of Thomas stated, slotting the card into an unused Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk. It caused another Set card to appear on the field, "Done."
"Not bad," admired Arkana, before drawing a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Eight: Arkana (LP: 1500)
Deck: 25
Current Hand (5): "Dark Spear", "Thousand Knives", "Apprentice Magician", "Ectoplasmer", and "Shadow Balance"
Without skipping a beat, he slotted another card into an unoccupied Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk, causing a third face-down card to appear on the field.
"I Set another card," announced Arkana, "Done."
Turn Nine: Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)
Deck: 45
Current Hand (2): "Des Volstgalph" and "Mystical Refpanel"
After drawing a card, Thomas slotted the drawn card into a fourth Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk.
"Done," finished Thomas.
Toby and Mavis watched anxiously from the sidelines, knowing that both players were Setting cards in anticipation for a potential fight between both 'Dark Magician' monsters.
"It's my turn," cut in Arkana.
Turn Ten: Arkana (LP: 1500)
Deck: 24
Current Hand (5): "Dark Spear", "Apprentice Magician", "Ectoplasmer", "Shadow Balance", and "Nightmare's Chains"
He slotted a fourth card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk without a word. All-in-all, both duelists controlled 'Dark Magician' and four Set Spell/Trap Cards.
"It seems we both have four cards face-down on the field," observed Arkana, "In that case, I'll take the first strike," He pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate the Spell Card, 'Tragedy'!"
The first Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, creating a large guillotine on the field.
"Is that a guillotine?" cried Thomas.
Suddenly, chains were used to grab 'Dark Magician' and pull him in.
"'Dark Magician'!" called Thomas.
The struggling 'Dark Magician' laid in the guillotine with the blade positioned over his neck.
"If I control 'Dark Magician': I must target 1 monster my opponent controls; I must destroy that target!" explained Arkana, as a transparent image of the 'Tragedy' Spell Card was superimposed over him. He was eager to see blood from 'Dark Magician's' head being cut off, "Thomas, your 'Dark Magician' is history!"
The blade started to drop towards 'Dark Magician'. In the stands, Mavis looked away, not wanting to see the bloody mess left from 'Dark Magician's' destruction.
"Counter Trap, 'Dark Illusion'!" interrupted Thomas, as one of his own Set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself, "When a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated that targets a DARK monster on the field: I must negate the activation, and if I do, destroy that card!"
Before the blade reached 'Dark Magician's' neck, it stopped literally at the last second before the whole guillotine shattered into shards of glass, which freed Thomas's 'Dark Magician'.
"'Dark Magician' escaped!" thought Arkana, frustrated, before talking aloud, "But your monster can't escape twice!" He pressed another button on his Duel Disk, causing another Set card on his field to flip face-up and reveal itself, "Spell Card, 'Thousand Knives'!"
Several knives appeared in (Red) 'Dark Magician's' hands, as well as all around him, to be used as weapons to kill Thomas's 'Dark Magician'.
"If I control 'Dark Magician': I must target 1 monster my opponent controls; I must destroy that target!" stated Arkana, before (Red) 'Dark Magician' hurled the knives towards the defenseless 'Dark Magician', "Die!"
"Are you sure about that?" smirked Thomas.
"What?!" flinched Arkana.
"Counter Trap, 'Magic Jammer'!" Thomas declared, making a second Set card of his flip face-up and reveal itself. He discarded a card while going over the effect, "When a Spell Card is activated: I must discard 1 card; I must negate the activation, and if I do, destroy it!"
The knives fizzled out, saving 'Dark Magician' again.
"Curse you! I was so close, too!" thought Arkana, before speaking aloud once more, "My turn's not over!"
Suddenly, both 'Dark Magician' rushed at each other.
"'Dark Magician'!" The voices of Thomas and Arkana ordered at the same time, both not backing down from declaring their attacks, "Dark Magic Attack!"
Both 'Dark Magician' struck the other with their respective signature moves.
"They will destroy each other!" The voice of Mavis protested.
Both (Red) 'Dark Magician' and 'Dark Magician' shattered into shards of glass. But they would not remain gone for too much longer.
"I will resurrect 'Dark Magician'!" Thomas and Arkana spoke at the same time again, while they then made their third Set cards flip face-up and reveal themselves, "I activate a Trap, 'Monster Rebirth'!"
While the effects were being explained, Mavis and Toby watched with admiration at how even things were on the field.
"If a monster(s) was destroyed by battle this turn: I must send 1 'Monster Reborn' from my hand or Deck to the GY…" The voice of Thomas began.
"…then target 1 monster in either GY; I must Special Summon that monster to my field. (This is treated as a Special Summon by the effect of 'Monster Reborn'!)" The voice of Arkana added in.
Back on the field…
"Resurrect, 'Dark Magician'!" Thomas and Arkana finished at the same time.
Reappearing on Arkana's field was (Red) 'Dark Magician', and reappearing on Thomas's field was 'Dark Magician'.
"We're at a stalemate," uttered Arkana.
"I applaud you, Arkana," acknowledged Thomas, "Your 'Dark Magician' is evenly matched with my own," He drew a card, "It's my turn."
Turn Eleven: Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)
Deck: 43
Current Hand (1): "Big Shield Gardna"
He added the card into his hand and…
"Done," finished Thomas, before talking to Arkana directly, "Arkana, I admit you have talent. A duelist like you must have been a skilled illusionist. So why would you disgrace yourself by working with the Rare Hunters?"
Arkana sighed, deciding to reveal the reason he's doing this.
"Look at my face," requested Arkana.
With that said, he removed his mask and showed his opponent and the spectators what had happened. Thomas gasped, but Toby and Mavis had some more vocalized reactions to the scars.
"Oh no-!" winced Toby.
"What the hell has happened to your-?" gagged Mavis.
"I was once known as the world's greatest stage magician since Harry Houdini, loved by millions across the globe," began Arkana.
FLASHBACK
A year before Duel Monsters came out on the Island of Sodor, Flashback Arkana was performing for a massive audience in 'Paris - France', and standing by his side was his assistant.
"I had it all; fame, fortune, good looks, and more…" narrated Arkana, "But I wasn't alone, I had my assistant, Catherine, by my side. We were in-love and eventually going to marry."
The woman with long blonde hair took a bow with Flashback Arkana at the end of a magician show and they smiled at each other.
(new scene…)
Flashback Arkana was chained up and placed inside a box, which was being lifted into the air by a crane while Flashback Catherine watched on in concern.
"But it all changed during a simple routine escape act I had done over a million times," recalled Arkana, "Just as the box had reached its supposed height, something went horribly wrong!"
All of a sudden, the box exploded. Everyone, from the audience, stage hands, to Flashback Catherine, all gasped and/or screamed at what had just happened to the magic trick. The box landed on the ground in flames. Then, out of the flames, ran Flashback Arkana with his arm covering his face as he screamed in agonizing pain.
"I lost my career and my movie star good looks that day," sighed Arkana, as Flashback Catherine watched and reached out in horror, "Then I lost Catherine's love."
(new scene…)
Following the accident, Flashback Arkana was taken to a hospital and his face was bandaged up. Inside his room, Flashback Arkana could only sink into depression despite Flashback Catherine vowing to never leave his side.
"I'm done," Flashback Arkana said in despair, "My career is finished!"
"Never mind your career," comforted Flashback Catherine, full of sympathy for her fiance, "We still have each other, don't we?"
She went over to hug Flashback Arkana in comfort, but he pushed her away.
"I don't want you to see me like this!" sobbed Flashback Arkana.
"Arkana?" peeped Flashback Catherine, as she tried to reach over and touch her future husband's arm, but was refused, "A-Arkana?"
"Just leave me!" screamed Flashback Arkana, tears running down his bandaged face, "You could never love someone who looks like this!"
Unable to do anything to help him, Flashback Catherine left the hospital room as Flashback Arkana sobbed in despair.
"I was left a broken man," admitted Arkana sadly, "I didn't want Catherine to see me this way. She stood by my side, and I badly hurt her," As his flashback self recovered and collected himself, he tried to call Flashback Catherine on the phone and apologize, but he was ignored by her repeatedly, making the depression worse, "But then I realized that Catherine was more important to me than anything. By the time I realized it though, I was too late. She was gone! My life was completely over…"
(new scene…)
One day after leaving the hospital, Flashback Arkana, still in bandages, wandered through an alleyway.
"And that's when I met him," remembered Arkana, "Marik."
Standing in Flashback Arkana's way was Flashback Marik, wearing his cloak and holding his Millennium Rod with a grin on his face.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, with Toby and Mavis not knowing what to say about Arkana's tragic backstory. Back on the field…
"He promised that if I killed you," finished Arkana, putting his mask back on, "he'll bring Catherine back into my life using the Millennium Rod."
"Why didn't you trust your supportive girlfriend?" frowned Thomas, feeling bad for Arkana, "It's not too late. You can still talk to her from your heart."
"Hmph! You wouldn't understand," huffed Arkana, looking away, "The world is heartless. Trust won't get you anywhere!" He shut his eyes for a moment, "Thanks to Master Marik, Catherine will come back to me," His eyes opened, "As a matter of fact…"
With that being said, Arkana turned to a nearby curtain and snapped his fingers, causing a light to shine and reveal somebody behind the curtain.
"Catherine is waiting for me right there," The voice of Arkana blurted, as Toby and Mavis gasped and listened, "We'll go back to France so that we can start over."
"Can that be Catherine?" Mavis asked, looking at Toby.
"It can't be," objected Toby.
Back on the field…
"Marik, are you controlling his mind?" thought Thomas.
"Catherine, I'll bury Thomas so that we can be together again," vowed Arkana, before facing Thomas again, "To accomplish that, I must be heartless."
"Duels require trust!" insisted Thomas, "I trust my 'Dark Magician'! The one who believes in himself and his cards to the end will be the victor!"
"Thomas, you're too naive!" taunted Arkana.
"We'll see about that," Thomas rebutted, not having any of it.
"I can see why you're also worthy of being a 'Dark Magician' user," thought Arkana snidely, "But you're forgetting something. I knew you'd use 'Dark Magician' before the duel started. So my Deck is prepared to thoroughly and heartlessly seal your 'Dark Magician' away!"
Once again, he burst into crazy laughter.
(elsewhere…)
Back on the streets, Emily and Edward, joined by Percy and Lady, searched and searched the different areas of the city, but they couldn't find Thomas, Mavis, or Toby.
"Guys, where did you go?" thought Emily.
(elsewhere…)
They all weren't the only ones searching; Spencer and Skiff were, too. Outside Boxford Corp headquarters, people were either coming or going.
(inside…)
Inside the technician chamber of Boxford Corp, Skiff and Spencer returned once more to see if any progress on locating Thomas and the others had been made.
"Well?" pressed Skiff.
"Sorry, sir, nothing," sighed Girl 2.
"The new Duel Disk system shouldn't work unless it's connected to Boxford Corporation's main computer," commented Spencer, arms folded, as he watched the big monitor display maps of nearly every area in Knapford City, "But this control room can't find it. If Billinton is dueling a Rare Hunter, they must be using a different duel system," With that theory in hand, he issued his next order, "Search for Duel Rings in Knapford City whose computers are compatible with Duel Disks!"
"Yes, sir!" Girls 1, 2, 3, and 4 all obeyed.
The monitor displayed new map footage with blinking red dots, signaling potential areas of interest, slowly ticking down to a single red dot.
"Which of these facilities isn't connected to the main computer and has a basement that blocks all signals?" The voice of Spencer demanded.
The point of interest was at Knapford Mall.
"Spencer, I'll go and see," offered Skiff.
"Make it so," agreed Spencer.
Skiff turned around and left the room and, ultimately, the whole building to see if Thomas, Mavis, and Toby were at the mall. Spencer merely stared blankly at the monitor.
(elsewhere…)
Back inside the hidden basement of the card shop, Thomas and Arkana were still in their life or death duel with the following stands:
-Thomas (LP: 4000): Controlled 'Dark Magician' and a Set card.
-Arkana (LP: 1500): Controlled (Red) 'Dark Magician' and a Set card.
"It's my turn!" declared Arkana, drawing a card.
Turn Twelve: Arkana (LP: 1500)
Deck: 22
Current Hand (5): "Dark Spear", "Apprentice Magician", "Ectoplasmer", "Shadow Balance", and "Beckon to the Dark"
He immediately slotted the card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk.
"I Set one card face-down on the field," The voice of Arkana went on, as the above scene played out. A face-down card materialized on the field, giving him two cards again, "My turn is finished."
"It's my turn," accepted Thomas, drawing a card, "Card drawn."
Turn Thirteen: Thomas Billinton (LP: 4000)
Deck: 42
Current Hand (2): "Big Shield Gardna" and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior"
However…
"I pass my turn," concluded Thomas.
Turn Fourteen: Arkana (LP: 1500)
Deck: 21
Current Hand (5): "Dark Spear", "Apprentice Magician", "Ectoplasmer", "Shadow Balance", and "Anti-Magic Arrows"
"You won't do anything?" scoffed Arkana, adding his drawn card into his hand, "If you won't, then I 'will'!" He pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "Face-down Spell, 'Beckon to the Dark'!" The first face-down card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "I must target 1 monster my opponent controls; I must destroy that target!"
Dark clouds formed near the ceiling before a demonic-looking hand emerged and reached for 'Dark Magician'.
"What's that?!" cringed Thomas.
"I told you, this is a card that will drag your monster into the darkness," snickered Arkana, "It'll take your 'Dark Magician'!"
The hand grabbed hold 'Dark Magician', while (Red) 'Dark Magician' watched and giggled maliciously.
"I won't let you!" snapped Thomas, before pressing a button on his Duel Disk, "Trap Card, 'Mystical Refpanel'!" The face-down card flipped up and revealed itself, as the demonic hand placed 'Dark Magician' back on the ground and instead reached for (Red) 'Dark Magician', "When a Spell effect that targets 1 player is activated: The effect of that Spell is applied to the other player instead!"
"Hmhmhm… You fell for it," jeered Arkana, "'Beckon to the Dark' was a decoy to make you waste your Trap Card," He laughed madly and pressed a button on his Duel Disk and caused the final Set card to flip face-up and reveal itself, "This is my real goal! Continuous Trap, open! 'Nightmare's Chains'!"
The face-up 'Nightmare's Chains' Trap Card released several chains and grabbed hold of the shocked 'Dark Magician', trapping him on a large, stone cross.
"'Dark Magician'!" worried Thomas.
"The power of 'Nightmare's Chains'!" laughed Arkana, "If my opponent activates a Trap Card while they control 'Dark Magician': I must negate the activation of that Trap, and if I do, my opponent's 'Dark Magician' cannot attack or be targeted for attacks, but does not prevent me from attacking directly!" Focus went towards 'Dark Magician' as he bragged and bragged, "All he can do now is watch his master get tortured to death!"
Thomas said nothing, knowing that without 'Dark Magician' protecting him, he would be attacked directly this turn.
"And now prepare yourselves!" proclaimed Arkana proudly, "It's showtime! 'Dark Magician', attack Thomas directly!" As he announced the attack name, (Red) 'Dark Magician' obeyed the command by raising his staff and pointing it forth, "Dark Magic Attack!"
(Red) 'Dark Magician' fired off a powerful blast from his own scepter right at Flashback Thomas, striking and making him scream in agony as the air all around him fizzled and flashed in a multitude of colors (LP: 4000 → 1500).
"THOMAS!" Toby and Mavis both screamed out in horror.
'Dark Magician' was taking it even worse. There was nothing he could do but 'watch' Thomas suffer.
"This is turning into quite the performance," chuckled Arkana, "How was the taste of Dark Magic Attack?" He swung his right arm about, "And now watch, my friends, as the buzzsaw comes closer than ever to cut Thomas's legs clean off!"
The buzzsaw on the right end of the field started to move in slowly.
"My magic show is nearing its climax!" beamed Arkana, raising both arms into the air, "When your LP becomes 0, I will make my escape!" He pointed at the opponent, "The show will end with your blood being spilled."
Thomas grimaced.
"But before I call it a turn, I'll play one more card—a new weapon for 'Dark Magician'!" As Arkana said that, he slotted a card into his Duel Disk, "'Dark Spear'!"
Replacing the scepter in (Red) 'Dark Magician's' hands was a magical-looking lance of sorts.
"'Dark Spear'?!" realized Mavis.
"His 'Dark Magician' is wielding a lance instead of a scepter!" put in Toby.
"I must equip only to 'Dark Magician'. If the equipped monster attacks a Defense Position monster, I must inflict piercing battle damage to my opponent!" revealed Arkana, and, when Thomas made no effort to respond, he (Arkana) continued, "That's right! That means you can no longer rely on any defensive monsters for protection! One attack from 'Dark Magician' will finish you off!"
Thomas did 'not' like the sound of that.
"If I can't find a way to free my 'Dark Magician'," he thought to himself, "then Arkana's got me."
"Now, Thomas, it's your turn!" dared Arkana, "Your 'last' turn, that is!"
(elsewhere…)
In another part of the city, Emily, Edward, Percy, and Lady were taking a short breather before resuming their search.
"We'll never find them in a city this big!" complained Percy.
"But we can't give up," refused Emily, "Something could happen to…"
"Heeeeeey!" The voice of Skiff echoed, as he was shown running up, "Emily! Everyone!"
"It's Skiff!" gasped Lady.
"What's the 9-9-9?" asked Percy.
"I'm heading to where Thomas and the others are being held captive," replied Skiff firmly.
"You know where they are?!" exclaimed Edward, "Then lead the way! If those Rare Hunters are there, it will work out for us better in numbers."
Skiff nodded in agreement, and the race to the mall ensued.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the hidden basement, Thomas had drawn a card in hopes of finding a way to get himself out of this mess.
Turn Fifteen: Thomas Billinton (LP: 1500)
Deck: 41
Current Hand (3): "Big Shield Gardna", "Gamma The Magnet Warrior", and "Mirror Force"
As Thomas looked at his drawn card, he felt a presence near him. He looked and saw it was the spirit of Dark Magician Girl. Clearly she was greatly worried about her master/friend's current condition.
"I wish there were a way I could help you," she commented mentally, "and protect you from that madman and his disillusioned puppet."
By 'disillusioned puppet', she was of course referring to (Red) 'Dark Magician', angry at him for having the gall to copy the skills of the 'real' 'Dark Magician', and for hurting Thomas.
"I'll just have to hold them off for the time being," Thomas insisted, mentally and gently, "Your chance will come soon," From there, he returned to the duel, taking his drawn card and slotting it into his Duel Disk, "I Set one card face-down!" A face-down card materialized on the field, just as a warrior carrying a large shield appeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 100/DEF: 2600), "I also Summon 'Big Shield Gardna' in Defense Position! My turn has finished!"
"I see. You're trying to hide behind a wall to survive 'Dark Magician's' attack," noted Arkana, "But it won't work! Thomas, your life will end this turn!"
Thomas gasped. How could Arkana be so sure of such a declaration?
"Are you prepared?" teased Arkana, drawing a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Sixteen: Arkana (LP: 1500)
Deck: 20
Current Hand (5): "Apprentice Magician", "Ectoplasmer", "Shadow Balance", "Anti-Magic Arrows", and "Malice Doll of Demise"
From there, he took the card he just drew, and placed it on the Monster Zone on his Duel Disk.
"I'll Summon a monster for now," said Arkana, as the Duel Disk lit up, "Say hello to my 'Malice Doll of Demise'!"
Appearing on the field was a creepy looking marionette doll with blonde hair, a gray shirt, purple overalls, and boots, and it was armed with a large handaxe for a weapon (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1700).
"Yeesh… That thing almost looks like Pinocchio's demented cousin," deadpanned Mavis.
Back on the field…
"And this is the Spell Card that will kill you!" screeched Arkana, holding out a card ('Ectoplasmer'). He then slotted it into the opened Field Zone, "The Field Spell, 'Ectoplasmer'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field near Arkana's feet.
"What?! That card is-!" thought Thomas.
"What's that card do?" Mavis asked curiously.
"Oh, I don't wanna hear this," groaned Toby, knowing it will be bad news for Thomas.
"I'm very glad the young lady asked," remarked Arkana, "During the Main Phase: The turn player can Tribute 1 face-up monster, and if they do, inflict damage to their opponent equal to half the original ATK of the Tributed monster. By draining their souls, this punches through any defensive monsters you control!"
"What?!" gasped Thomas, "If you drain your monsters' souls, they will die!"
"Like I care! They're just cards; they have no souls!" snapped Arkana, "Once I win, Catherine and I will be together again, and I will no longer have any use for them! After all, it's a small price to pay."
(Red) 'Dark Magician' overheard that and his evil smile turned into a look of worry. But did Arkana stop there? Not really.
"Did you hear that, Catherine, my darling?" The evil magician called happily over to the curtain. "Just wait a little longer, then we're off to Paris, or Hawaii, or wherever you'd like!" He (Arkana) then looked back towards Thomas, "Say goodbye, Thomas Billinton. I'm about to kill you by killing my monsters! But just so you know, it's nothing personal!"
Thomas awaited the first assault. At last, Arkana spoke about 'Malice Doll of Demise'…
"Now, I'll drain the life force of my 'Malice Doll of Demise'!" The voice of Arkana declared, as 'Malice Doll of Demise' let out a yelp as it lost its life force energy and was absorbed into the face-up 'Ectoplasmer' Spell Card and he pointed forth, "And now, I'll use it to attack you directly, Thomas!"
The blast was fired, blasting through 'Big Shield Gardna' (but not destroying him) and striking Thomas (LP: 1500 → 700). 'Dark Magician' watched in horror as his master got struck by the blast.
"No…" The purple-haired, male Spellcaster monster thought to himself. "I…can't let it happen again."
The Duel Spirit of Dark Magician Girl couldn't help but cry at the sight of Thomas hurting from such an attack. To make matters worse, the buzzsaw was getting closer.
"One more hit and it will be all over for me!" thought Thomas.
"I can't take it anymore!" grunted Mavis angrily, standing up. "We gotta help Thomas out of there!"
Too bad Arkana heard the blonde-haired girl say that…
"I wouldn't bother trying to break those shackles if I were you," warned Arkana sternly, causing Toby and Mavis to stop. He had some more words for them, "The buzzsaws have a trigger that will make your friend's LP immediately go to 0 if the shackles are damaged. The only way to save Thomas is with the key, which won't come to him unless I lose!"
"Damn you!" cursed Mavis, sitting back down.
"You're a sick man!" accused Toby, "What kind of lunatic enjoys playing games like this?!"
Arkana ignored the accusations and just looked over at Thomas once more…
"You've played well, Thomas. I'll give you that," admitted Arkana, "But do you know why you and your beloved 'Dark Magician' couldn't beat me? Because you're too soft! You lack the ruthlessness it takes to become a true 'Master of Magicians'! In battle, monsters respond vastly to fear. You have to make certain they are afraid of you! You will never command their respect with kindness and trust," Focus went towards the chained 'Dark Magician', "Just look what happened to your favorite card, 'Dark Magician'," He motioned both arms out, "You are the master, they are the servants. And they should ensure victory for you even if it means you have to destroy them to get there!"
(Red) 'Dark Magician' slowly grew more and more frustrated with how his own master was saying that he and the other monsters in his Deck were nothing more but just servants. 'Dark Magician' actually felt sorry for his evil counterpart, as did Thomas.
"And besides, it's MY show!" continued Arkana. "And MY 'Dark Magician' knows that I am his master. He is nothing but my pawn," From there, he made his final move, "And now for the Grand Finale! 'Ectoplasmer', extract the soul of my 'Dark Magician'!"
(Red) 'Dark Magician' suddenly felt very weak, like his own soul was being ripped out of his body. His body eventually fell limb as he appeared to die. The soul was then absorbed into the face-up 'Ectoplasmer' Spell Card. In all honesty, Thomas could see the exact pain (Red) 'Dark Magician' had been in and couldn't help but pity him.
"Arkana…" uttered Thomas softly, "Your own monster is crying."
"I don't care!" shouted Arkana, "Fire the ectoplasm!"
The blast was fired, blasting through 'Big Shield Gardna' (but not destroying him) just like before.
"Hehehehe! I win!" cackled Arkana.
"THOMAS!" Mavis and Toby both screamed out.
The blue-haired boy merely closed his eyes in defeat and braced for the impact. Dark Magician Girl covered her eyes as well, not wanting to see Thomas die. 'Dark Magician', still chained up to the slab, finally couldn't take it anymore.
"I WILL PROTECT YOU, MY PHARAOH!" vowed Dark Magician.
Suddenly, Thomas opened his eyes in shock as 'Dark Magician' began glowing.
"What?!" gasped Arkana. "What's happening?!"
"'Dark Magician'…" whispered Thomas.
'Dark Magician's' soul suddenly came out of his own body and appeared in front of Thomas as a ghostly version of himself, blocking Arkana's attack, causing an explosion that also destroyed 'Nightmare's Chains' along with 'Dark Magician's' body.
"MASTER, NO!" screamed Dark Magician Girl.
"'Dark Magician' extracted his own ectoplasm?!" panicked Arkana.
The ghostly image of Dark Magician then turned around to look at both his master and apprentice.
"I'm sorry, but I had to protect you and my apprentice, Thomas," reassured Dark Magician, "Even at the cost of my own life… Now, I leave the rest of this duel to the both of you. Farewell…"
The ghostly image faded away. Thomas continued to watch what had happened in complete shock. Toby and Mavis were both just as stunned.
"What just happened?" stammered Mavis.
"It looked like Thomas's 'Dark Magician' just saved his master from losing," figured Toby, "But how was that even possible though?"
"Maybe the card had a mind of its own," suggested Mavis, trying to make a guess but really having no clue, "It was simply amazing—yet it was also very unbelievable."
Back on the field, Arkana was in disbelief over what happened now.
"How?! You should have lost the duel!" raged Arkana.
"If you weren't so busy disrespecting your cards, Arkana," said Thomas bitterly, "then you wouldn't have failed to use them properly."
"Properly?" repeated Arkana, before it hit him as he looked at his Duel Disk, "Yes, that's it!" He looked back up and revealed the side effect to use the primary effect, "If you or your opponent controls a monster with the same type as the Tributed monster, apply the following effect."
This was the additional effect written on the 'Ectoplasmer' Spell Card:
-"Tribute that monster, and if you do, you take no damage from this effect."
There was now a long, long silence in the area as everyone processed what had happened.
"Because I Tributed 'Dark Magician' for the effect of 'Ectoplasmer', Thomas's 'Dark Magician' destroyed himself to reduce the damage to 0!" thought Arkana, "How could I have made such a huge misstep?!"
Thomas, meanwhile, finally spoke up, with his tone full of rage at the opponent for making such a cold and calculated move.
"You like being ruthless to your cards, Arkana? Well I'm about to be ruthless to YOU!" exclaimed Thomas hatefully.
"Save the small talk, Thomas!" Arkana snapped unhappily, still reeling from the turnabout, "You're still one attack away from being sliced up in two!"
There was another long silence in the room… As, once again, Thomas and Arkana processed what had happened.
"'Dark Magician', I won't let your sacrifice go to waste!" promised Thomas mentally.
"I sacrificed 'Dark Magician' to finish off Thomas," thought Arkana, "But that method failed!" He began to sweat fearfully as he briefly eyed the curtain behind him, "Just wait a little longer," Another mad smile appeared on his face, "Well, it's good that 'Dark Magician' is no longer on his field. I still have two more 'Dark Magicians' in my Deck," From there, he spoke aloud, "Continue the duel!"
"It's still your turn," nodded Thomas, before the Duel Spirit of Dark Magician Girl reappeared alongside him, "What do you think?"
Dark Magician Girl looked positively disgusted with how Arkana treated his cards—who luckily couldn't see her.
"That madman doesn't deserve to call himself a 'Master of Magicians'," growled Dark Magician Girl, mentally and hatefully.
"No, he doesn't. He doesn't even deserve to call himself a duelist," agreed Thomas mentally, looking down at his Deck, "Together, we're going to avenge your teacher."
"Then if you draw my card next turn, Summon me as soon as possible. I'll have more than enough ATK to finish him off."
The blue-haired boy was about to voice agreement to the idea when Arkana took a card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Disk.
"I Set one card face-down and finish my turn!" finished Arkana.
A face-down card materialized on the field, and Thomas suddenly became uncomfortable with the idea of Summoning 'Dark Magician Girl'.
"I don't trust his face-down card," thought Thomas, before looking up at Dark Magician Girl, "If I were to Summon 'Dark Magician Girl' next turn and attack, she could be destroyed…"
Dark Magician Girl saw Thomas looking at her in an uneasy way. Realizing that a possible trap was waiting, she just smiled at him.
"It's alright, Thomas. I can wait a bit longer to fight," she reassured mentally.
"Moreover, I have to get rid of that 'Ectoplasmer' before Arkana tries to use it again…" thought Thomas.
"Thomas, I know for a fact that you have no more 'Dark Magicians' in your Deck," Arkana pointed out, before licking his lips gleefully, "It's definite that I'll be known as the true 'Dark Magician' user."
"Arkana, I'll ask you again… Is this really what you want to do? What would Catherine think or say if she knew what you were doing?" questioned Thomas.
Arkana suddenly stopped looking sadistic and glanced over towards the curtain; he was now looking a bit worried. What if Thomas and his two friends were right? What if Marik really was lying about bringing Catherine back?
"Could he…be right?" Arkana thought to himself, raising an important question. Unfortunately, he shook his head stubbornly, "No! This boy is just messing with my head. I must kill him to please my master."
From there, Arkana then looked back over to Thomas with the ever psychotic smile back again. His stubborn refusal to see the truth once again got the better of him.
"Your mind games won't work on me, Thomas!" snickered Arkana, "I'm so close to victory I can taste it!"
"We'll see about that, Arkana. If you were a REAL 'Master of Magicians'," berated Thomas, "then you would have heard the cries of your monster when you killed it uncaringly!"
"What's that, Thomas?" Arkana cut in, mocking, bracing a hand to one of his ears, "I can't seem to quite hear you. Ah, it must be the sound of the buzzsaws ready to slice your legs off!" Focus went on the buzzsaw near Thomas, "Thomas, you only have 700 LP left. When it reaches 0, it's all over for you," He was excited to end the duel and escape like a skilled magician he was, "And my great escape show will end perfectly."
He started moving the fingers of his right hand while laughing at his cruel joke. Thomas merely sighed in defeat.
"I see I won't be able to get through to you," The blue-haired boy said unhappily, preparing to draw his card, "But I will warn you now; your cruel and underhanded strategy will come back to haunt you one of these days! Here I come!" A card was shown being drawn, "Draw!"
Turn Seventeen: Thomas Billinton (LP: 700)
Deck: 40
Current Hand (2): "Gamma The Magnet Warrior" and "Spell Shattering Arrow"
Upon seeing what the card ('Spell Shattering Arrow') was, he looked very surprised and relieved.
"Wait, I can use this card to remove 'Ectoplasmer'," thought Thomas, before readying and slotting the card into his Duel Disk, "Quick-Play Spell, 'Spell Shattering Arrow', activate!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.
"Wh-What is that?!" freaked out Arkana.
"I must destroy as many face-up Spells my opponent controls as possible, and if I do, inflict 500 damage to my opponent for each," explained Thomas, before pointing directly at Arkana's field, "Arkana, this will destroy 'Ectoplasmer' and leave you with 1000 LP!"
A light-based arrow fired from the face-up 'Spell Shattering Arrow' Spell Card, striking the face-up 'Ectoplasmer' Spell Card on Arkana's field and destroying it.
"My 'Ectoplasmer' is gone!" yelled Arkana (LP: 1500 → 1000), before looking both angry and crazy, "Curse you, Thomas! But it doesn't matter what happens next, you'll have to Summon another monster and take me down!"
Thomas silently agreed and placed his remaining card ('Gamma The Magnet Warrior') onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk.
"I Summon 'Gamma The Magnet Warrior'!" proclaimed Thomas, as his Duel Disk lit up, "Attack Position!"
Appearing on the field was a pink magnetic warrior, and it was ready to battle (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1800).
"With 1500 ATK against your 1000 LP, I'll win with a direct attack!" assumed Thomas.
"I don't think so," countered Arkana, "You fell into my trap!" He pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "Face-down card, activate! 'Shadow Balance'!"
A large machine of a sort appeared on the field, taking the place of the face-up 'Shadow Balance' Trap Card before sucking 'Gamma The Magnet Warrior' and 'Big Shield Gardna' inside and carrying them in a scale.
"Both of Thomas' monsters!" cried Mavis, "They're…"
"When my opponent Summon(s) a monster: I must destroy monsters my opponent controls until they control the same number of monsters as me," stated Arkana, before holding his right hand out and clenching it into a fist, "Let the scales decide!"
"Oh no… Because you control no monsters, it means I lose my…" worried Thomas.
"That's right!" laughed Arkana, "Balance's Judgment!"
The scale carrying 'Gamma The Magnet Warrior' and 'Big Shield Gardna' lowered due to the other scale being empty. It then went and crushed both of Thomas's monsters, destroying them.
"My monsters!" fretted Thomas.
"Now we both have no monsters on our field!" taunted Arkana, "And right after you Summoned… I'm so sorry."
"I end my turn," sighed Thomas.
"It's my turn!" announced Arkana, drawing a card.
Turn Eighteen: Arkana (LP: 1000)
Deck: 19
Current Hand (3): "Apprentice Magician", "Anti-Magic Arrows", and "Dark Magic Curtain"
Upon seeing what the card was…
"It's here! The one card that will let me Summon a second 'Dark Magician'!" thought Arkana.
"With none of us controlling a monster, the first player to draw and play a high Level monster will win," thought Thomas.
"Thomas, with this one card, I will defeat you!" gloated Arkana, "And didn't I even tell you? A great duelist like myself, especially with the title of 'Master of Magicians', will keep at least two or three copies of a specific card in their Deck!"
In the stands…
"Does that mean-?" realized Toby.
Back on the field…
"Yes, I have 'three' copies of 'Dark Magician'!" confirmed Arkana, "One of them might be in the GY, but I have two more waiting in the wings—and they are just 'dying' to finish you off!"
"Does he already have a Quick Summon-based card drawn?" thought Thomas.
"Are you ready? Then here's my trump card!" boomed Arkana, slotting his drawn card into his Duel Disk. A face-down card appeared on the field, then flipped face-up and revealed itself, "Spell Card, 'Dark Magic Curtain', activate!"
"That guy even has a card like that!" wailed Mavis.
On cue, a large machine with a pentagon symbol appeared on the field.
"I must pay half my LP; I must Special Summon 1 'Dark Magician' monster from my hand or Deck," ranted Arkana, taking a LP hit (LP: 1000 → 500). He then pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "Come forth, 'Dark Magician'!"
The machine grabbed the cape-like curtain and threw it aside, turning the whole thing into a second (Red) 'Dark Magician'. Only this one had an even more evil look on his face and even chuckled evilly upon seeing a defenseless Thomas.
"This is it!" Arkana was saying in a very demented tone, "The final performance of Thomas Billinton!"
Unlike the first (Red) 'Dark Magician', this second one was completely unaware of Arkana's true colors and views on his own monsters—or, maybe, he 'was' aware, but either didn't care, or even 'shared' the same views regardless.
"Now do you understand, Thomas? We might play many of the same cards, but my 'Magician' Deck is vastly superior in every way!" insisted Arkana, "It has a combination of Summon speed, quickness, and magic that outperforms your Deck! You have to admit that I'm the true 'Dark Magician' wielder!"
He burst into laughter once more. All Thomas could do was keep silent.
"You have no monsters on your field! When I give the word, 'Dark Magician' will attack you directly, your LP will be reduced to 0, and I will win!" continued Arkana, before eyeing Thomas's face-down card, "However, your Set card is a concern to me…" He entered the Battle Phase, "Which is why I'll attack you anyway! Battle! 'Dark Magician', get ready to attack!"
(Red) 'Dark Magician' smiled insanely and raised his scepter.
"Arkana knows I have a face-down card," thought Thomas, looking at his face-down card one more time, "What he doesn't know is that my card is 'Mirror Force', which I can use to destroy 'Dark Magician' once an attack is launched."
As (Red) 'Dark Magician' charged up an attack, Arkana made another move to stop Thomas from activating any Set cards.
"And now, I'll stop you from activating your Set card!" As Arkana spoke, he took a card ('Anti-Magic Arrows') from his hand and held it out, "From my hand, I'll activate the Quick-Play Spell, 'Anti-Magic Arrows'! At the start of the Battle Phase: For the rest of this turn after this card resolves," He slotted the card into his Duel Disk and caused it to light up, "neither player can activate Spell/Trap Cards, or their effects!"
A flurry of magical arrows rained down the ceiling, striking Thomas's Set card and sealing it in place.
"My Set card!" panicked Thomas.
"I've sealed away your countermeasure!" shrieked Arkana happily, "You lose!" He finally issued the command to (Red) 'Dark Magician', who finished charging his attack, "'Dark Magician', finish Thomas off! Dark Magic Attack!"
(Red) 'Dark Magician' obeyed, aiming his scepter at Thomas and unleashing the magical blast.
"I win!" thought Arkana, but thought wrong when the magical blast approached Thomas but hit something else instead—an electrical surge, "Wh-What?! What happened?! Why did my attack-?"
"Heh! One of the cards I discarded when I played 'Card Destruction' at the beginning of the duel was 'Electromagnetic Turtle'," revealed Thomas.
"What was that?" spluttered Arkana, while (Red) 'Dark Magician' was looking furious over failing to kill Thomas, "'Electromagnetic Turtle'?!"
"Yes, and I chose to activate its special effect," said Thomas, before holding up a card ('Electromagnetic Turtle') taken from his GY, "During the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): I can banish this card from my GY; I must end the Battle Phase," The card dissolved into dust, "Therefore, your 'Dark Magician' can't attack me.
"To think he planned so far ahead!" thought Arkana, before having no choice but to enter the End Phase, "My turn's finished!" From there, the sealing arrows on Thomas's Set card were lifted, "Meaning the effect of 'Anti-Magic Arrows' has ended!" Despite the failed attack, he was still certain of his victory, "Oh, but are you sure you want to continue? As long as I have ways to Summon 'Dark Magician', my most powerful servant, you can't win without your own 'Dark Magician'!
"We'll see about that," corrected Thomas.
"What?!"
"Unlike 'you', I have the trust of my cards on my side," The blue-haired boy pointed out, "And together we're going to take you down!" He looked down at his Deck in deep thought, "There's only one monster that can save me now. I have no cards in my hand, and no monsters on my field, but I 'have' to Summon 'Dark Magician Girl' this turn or it's over for me."
Slowly, Thomas reached for his Deck. When he began to hesitate, he felt the Duel Spirit of Dark Magician Girl place her soft hand over his own.
"We can do it…together," The female Spellcaster monster offered, mentally and kindly.
Thomas, feeling better, nodded to his Duel Spirit before looking back to Arkana.
"This duel ends, now!" declared Thomas, "It's my turn!"
He finally drew his card, slashing a colorful wave from his Deck with a Destiny Draw.
Turn Nineteen: Thomas Billinton (LP: 700)
Deck: 39
Current Hand (1): "Dark Magic Curtain"
The Heart of the Cards rewarded him; the drawn card was the same card Arkana used last turn, the 'Dark Magic Curtain' Spell Card.
"Arkana, with the card I've drawn, I, too, will Summon a second 'Dark Magician'!" assured Thomas.
"What?! A 'second' 'Dark Magician'? That's nonsense! You only have a single copy of it in your Deck!" protested Arkana.
"Then allow me to show you something interesting!" offered Thomas, holding up his card ('Dark Magic Curtain') and turning it around to show the opponent, "I activate my own 'Dark Magic Curtain'! I must pay half my LP; I must Special Summon 1 'Dark Magician' monster from my hand or Deck!"
Thomas slotted the card into his Duel Disk, while Arkana watched and smiled smugly, thinking it was going to fail.
"What a fool!" thought Arkana, "Without any other 'Dark Magician' in his hand or Deck, it can't be used! Huh?" His (Arkana) mind changed upon seeing Thomas's LP getting cut in half (LP: 700 → 350), "Impossible! His LP have been halved as per the effect! Does this mean he really does have a second 'Dark Magician' waiting to be played."
"In the world of Duel Monsters, 'Dark Magician' has an apprentice who inherited his vast powers…" recalled Thomas, now holding onto a card he took from his Deck.
"Is that true?! I never knew that!" admitted Arkana.
The very same machine that Summoned (Red) 'Dark Magician' reappeared on the field as it threw away the curtain and revealed the monster—which was a female Spellcaster (and dare I may say, a very pretty looking one). Her outfit was composed of a blue off-the-shoulders garment with pink trimmings and a few touches of yellow that extended to her mid-thighs and ended up as a skirt. The low cut of her garment displayed a generous amount of cleavage from her ample bust, and the skirt showed off plenty of her legs. Her hat was pointed, like 'Dark Magician's', except it was also blue, along with pink rings and a pink spiral on one side. She also wore boots reaching halfway up her thighs, and her wand, which was also blue, had a spiral which was very similar to the one on her hat, except yellow. She also wore pink and blue gauntlets. Her most prominent features, however, were the faint pink markings on her cheeks, long blonde hair, and emerald green eyes. That was all while Thomas did a Summon Chant.
"As the young disciple inherits the black magic that carries on the legacy of the ultimate wizard, darkness shines brilliantly upon a beautiful, dark road!" chanted Thomas, as most of the above scene played out before 'Dark Magician Girl' flew in, winked, and posed for battle (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700), "Appear now, 'Dark Magician Girl'!"
Back in the stands…
"Alright! Now we're cooking!" whooped Toby.
"Let's check out some girl power!" agreed Mavis.
Back on the field…
"N-No way! You 'do' have a second 'Dark Magician'—a 'female' one!" gawked Arkana, before recovering and believing he can still defeat the monster, "Heh! Unfortunately, your little girlfriend is far weaker than my own!
"Some 'Master of Magicians' you are then!" insulted Thomas, while 'Dark Magician Girl' glared sternly at the enemy field, "Go forth, 'Dark Magician Girl'! Avenge your master!"
'Dark Magician Girl' obeyed, rushing towards (Red) 'Dark Magician' with her wand. Arkana and (Red) 'Dark Magician' were amused as they watched the seemingly futile attack coming their way.
"Have you gone mad, Thomas? Attacking my 'Dark Magician' with your weaker monster?" berated Arkana, "Very well! I'll just kill the both of you together!" As he gave the order to counterattack, (Red) 'Dark Magician' aimed his scepter at 'Dark Magician Girl', "'Dark Magician', attack 'Dark Magician Girl'!"
Both monsters unleashed their attacks at close range, causing an explosion and leaving a large cloud of smoke behind. Arkana truly thought he defeated 'Dark Magician Girl'.
"I got 'em… I got 'em!" whispered Arkana, "Huh?" He saw, as the smoke cleared, that not only was 'Dark Magician Girl' still alive, but his own monster was wounded and fizzling away until he was completely gone, "No! My 'Dark Magician' has been destroyed!" Too stubborn to realize it, he remained in denial of the whole thing, "But how? My monster was so much stronger than your own!"
"'Dark Magician Girl' has a special ability," suggested Thomas, "She gains 300 ATK for every 'Dark Magician' or 'Magician of Black Chaos' in the GYs," As he spoke on, 'Dark Magician Girl' stood triumphantly with her wand over her shoulders, "She carries on her master's legacy… and he watches over her."
The spirit of 'Dark Magician' reappeared on the field, standing by his younger apprentice.
"That's your 'Dark Magician'!" accused Arkana, but still refused to see the truth, "But with only 300 ATK added to 'Dark Magician Girl', she still couldn't beat my-"
"Wake up!" snapped Thomas, making Arkana see the truth, "I said 'GYs'! That includes your own GY!"
"Wait…" gasped Arkana, as he started to see the first (Red) 'Dark Magician' appear as a spirit beside 'Dark Magician Girl' and the spirit of 'Dark Magician', "It can't be…" He rubbed his eyes like he was seeing things, "Is that…'my' 'Dark Magician'?!"
(Red) 'Dark Magician' turned and faced Arkana with rage in those usually evil eyes, aiming to teach him a lesson he would never forget. In the stands, Toby and Mavis were a little nervous from seeing (Red) 'Dark Magician' looking so hateful towards his former master.
"Oh boy, does that 'Dark Magician' look ticked off," sweated Mavis.
"Arkana really shouldn't have insulted him so much," acknowledged Toby.
Back on the field, (Red) 'Dark Magician' glared at Arkana one last time before he and 'Dark Magician' faded away to let 'Dark Magician Girl' (ATK: 2900) finish the duel.
"'Dark Magician Girl' inherits the souls of 'all' deceased 'Dark Magicians', no matter where they're buried—even your so-called slave, who you ruthlessly killed!" reminded Thomas, before entering his End Phase, "I end my turn!" He looked up at 'Dark Magician Girl' and entered his thoughts, "'Dark Magician Girl'… from here on, my life is in your hands. I know you'll never fail me!"
"N-No! I refuse to lose to 'Dark Magician Girl'!" ranted Arkana, still refusing to accept defeat. He entered his thoughts, "Stay calm, you can still defeat Thomas and please Master Marik!" Now that it was his turn, he drew a card, "Draw card!"
Turn Twenty: Arkana (LP: 400)
Deck: 17
Current Hand (2): "Apprentice Magician" and "Magical Blast"
As soon as he saw his drawn card, his fear was again replaced with relief or glee.
"Aha! This is perfect!" thought Arkana, before speaking aloud, "I Summon…" As he announced his monster's name, he placed another card ('Apprentice Magician') onto a Monster Zone, sideways, on his Duel Disk, "…'Apprentice Magician'!"
"'Apprentice Magician'? What is Arkana up to?" wondered Mavis.
Appearing on the field was a human female wearing a red headband and purple robes and wielding a scepter (Level: 2/ATK: 400/DEF: 800). Even Thomas was left wondering what Arkana planned to do with that monster despite being much weaker than 'Dark Magician Girl'. Unfortunately, Arkana made his intentions very clear.
"And now, I'll activate the Spell Card, 'Magical Blast'!" screeched Arkana, slotting his drawn card into his Duel Disk and causing the mentioned Spell Card to materialize face-up on the field, "Prepare yourself, Thomas! I must inflict 200 damage to my opponent for each Spellcaster monster I control!" As he (Arkana) gave the command, 'Apprentice Magician' raised her scepter, aimed it at Thomas, and charged an attack, "'Apprentice Magician', open fire!"
'Apprentice Magician' unleashed the magical blast, striking Thomas and making him yell in pain (LP: 350 → 150). Arkana was laughing, believing he was going to win—for sure this time.
"Because I control 'Apprentice Magician', I inflicted 200 damage!" tittered Arkana, as Thomas winced, "Your LP are just 150! If I can get off one more attack, the show will end—with your blood being spilled! My turn has finished!" He entered his thoughts and looked at his GY, just before an enlarged image of the 'Magical Blast' Spell Card loomed in the background behind him, "Once I get my next turn, I'll forgo drawing a card in order to add 'Magical Blast' back into my hand, which I can use to wipe out the rest of Thomas' LP!" At last, he spoke aloud, "Who needs 'Dark Magician' now? This new strategy will guarantee your loss!"
"When 'Apprentice Magician' is destroyed by battle, Arkana can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Spellcaster monster from his Deck in face-down Defense Position…" thought Thomas, knowing exactly what to expect, "If that happens, all he'd need to do is Flip Summon that monster and activate 'Magical Blast' again," He looked on top of his Duel Disk, remembering he only had 150 LP left, "My LP won't survive another usage of that card."
Mavis and Toby watched from the stands wondering what Thomas would do about 'Apprentice Magician' and get Arkana's 400 LP down to 0. On the field, Thomas sensed that 'Dark Magician Girl' was looking at him and smiling, as though she was silently telling him that the answer to winning was waiting on top of his Deck. Thomas smiled back, then lost that smile while facing Arkana.
"This duel will end this turn! It's my turn!" vowed Thomas, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Twenty-One: Thomas Billinton (LP: 150)
Deck: 37
Current Hand (1): "Dark Burning Attack"
The drawn card was a Spell Card called 'Dark Burning Attack', which, when used with 'Dark Magician Girl', would win Thomas the duel.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Dark Burning Attack'!" began Thomas, slotting the card into his Duel Disk. As he explained the effect, 'Dark Magician Girl' found herself getting energized with a whole new power—the power to destroy enemy monsters outside of battle, "If I control a 'Dark Magician Girl' monster: I must destroy all face-up monsters my opponent controls!"
"IMPOSSIBLE!" bellowed Arkana.
Suddenly, a makeshift spotlight shined down on Thomas as he raised both arms.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" announced Thomas, "Allow me to show you MY grand finale, as…" Focus went to 'Dark Magician Girl' as she, armed with her wand, took a bow and winked at the pretend audience, "…my most beautiful 'Dark Magician Girl' destroys 'Apprentice Magician' AND wipes out Arkana in one fell swoop!"
Toby and Mavis were clapping from the stands, with the latter whistling. On the field, Arkana did not say a single word except for panicked wails. Thomas then got dead serious as he prepared to end the duel with his victory.
"Prepare yourself, Arkana! By betraying your cards in the dirtiest way possible, you have lost!" threatened Thomas, 'Dark Magician Girl', commence your final attack!"
'Dark Magician Girl', glowing pink with power, posed for battle. Arkana was so scared that he tried to escape, but with his ankles shackled, he was not able to get away. Once close enough, "Dark Magician Girl' yelled and brought her wand down upon the helpless opponent and 'Apprentice Magician'.
"Dark Burning Attack!" The voice of Thomas commanded.
'Dark Magician Girl' finally fired her blast on the ground, sending a powerful shockwave that not only destroyed 'Apprentice Magician' in an instant, but also struck Arkana, causing him to scream as his remaining LP dropped all the way to 0 (LP: 400 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton wins!
"He won!" Toby and Mavis cheered once more.
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in the mall, Emily, Edward, Percy, Lady, and Skiff were looking around before coming across the card shop.
"This is the place?" asked Lady.
"It has to be," assumed Skiff.
"Thomas, please be okay," Emily whispered to herself.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the hidden basement, Thomas and 'Dark Magician Girl' faced the beaten Arkana.
"When duelists treat cards as nothing but objects, they go down the path of ruin and defeat…" explained Thomas, "You lost because your own 'Dark Magician' turned against you!"
"Th-That can't be…" objected Arkana, "Cards are just cards! They don't have minds of their own! They can't turn against their own masters!"
"You cut up cards to cheat. You slaughtered your own monsters to win," Thomas pointed out, "You've lost the soul of a duelist—if you ever had one!" He motioned his right arm around, "And now, your last act of cruelty is waiting for you!"
"He's right! Since Arkana's LP are gone, the buzzsaw will cut off his legs!" remembered Toby.
Sure enough, the buzzsaw slowly moved towards Arkana who was trapped and had no way to escape. Meanwhile, Thomas's box opened up and revealed the key and a prize.
"There's the key and Locator Card!" thought Thomas, looking up.
Arkana was shown screaming like a little girl, thinking it was the end of him.
"Help me! Someone! Get me out of here!" flailed Arkana, but then smiled and stopped panicking as he looked to his jacket sleeve, "Just kidding! A master magician is always ready for the unexpected; I've been keeping a spare key inside my sleeve this whole time!" He pulled a key out of the sleeve and looked at it, "With this, I can still complete my escape!" It was then he sensed something, "Huh? I-Is that you, M-Master Marik?"
"Arkana, you lost the duel, didn't you?" commented Marik, mentally, appearing an a transparent image beside Arkana, "You must pay the price for failure."
"No! Master Marik! Please forgive me!" begged Arkana, before the spare key vanished from his fingers, "Wha-? Where is it? Where's the key?! It was in my hands seconds ago!"
In actuality, the key was still in Arkana's hands, but he could no longer see it.
"I can control your memory…" giggled Marik maliciously, "I've erased the key from your mind—you can't see or feel it. As far as you're concerned, it doesn't exist!"
"Oh no…!" squeaked Arkana.
And he went back to screaming for his life, dropping the key from his fingers onto the floor. Thomas, meanwhile, finished freeing himself and noticed the buzzsaw inches away from cutting Arkana from the legs. At first, Thomas considered letting Arkana get his just desserts—but knew his friends would not approve of that.
"Dammit! Hold on!" shouted Thomas, running to the rescue.
Sliding along the floor, Thomas was able to grab the key and free Arkana in a hurry. Just before *CHOP!*, Thomas pulled Arkana away from the buzzsaw, knocking the hat off of his head in the process.
"Thomas!" exclaimed Toby.
He and Mavis went over to see if both duelists were alright.
"N-No game is worth dying for!" scolded Thomas, being helped by Mavis and Toby, "That's just sick!"
Arkana looked up. Thomas had saved his (Arkana) life. Even after Arkana almost tried to have him (Thomas) killed, Thomas still showed him (Arkana) mercy by rescuing him. A feeling of regret and remorse began to fill his mind while standing back up.
"What have I done?" Arkana asked himself sadly, "Catherine…" Suddenly, he turned around and raced towards the curtained area with a loud yell, "Here I cooooome!"
In a fit of total madness, Arkana tore the curtain and held what looked like the body of Catherine under it.
"Oh, Catherine, my darling. I'm sorry for how I acted," he apologized, "Please forgive me."
Just then, the head of "Catherine" fell off the body, revealing it to be merely a dummy. As Thomas, Mavis, and Toby each gasped, Arkana was horrified to see this.
"A fake?" gasped Arkana, "I-I'm sure Master Marik has you somewhere around here, but maybe he really 'was' lying to me."
The revelation became too much for him to bear and Arkana broke down crying. The three teenagers now felt sorry for the poor magician.
"Is he going to be alright?" frowned Mavis.
"Oh, Catherine, please come back to me! I'm so sorry for caring more about myself than you!" sobbed Arkana, as tears fell from his eyes, "I just want us to start over again in France!"
"You know, as much as I hate how he tried to kill Thomas… I can't help but feel bad for him," admitted Toby.
"A-Arkana, are you going…to be okay?" worried Thomas.
All of a sudden, Arkana turned around with dull, empty eyes and a Millennium Eye symbol on his forehead.
"Now why did you go and save him? He's worthless!" mocked Arkana (possessed).
"Bust my Buttons! What's going on with him?" cried Toby.
"It's you again," muttered Thomas.
"I see there are more friends of yours I have to introduce myself to…" greeted Arkana (possessed), "My name is Marik. Remember it well!"
"Marik?" repeated Toby.
(elsewhere…)
Within an unknown location…
"I am controlling this fool Arkana from a distance. I control his mind and all his senses; his sight and hearing," Marik, carrying the Millennium Rod, was saying, "That's how I can see, hear, and talk to you."
(elsewhere…)
Back in the basement…
"This is how I was able to get Diesel 10 to fight you, and how I was able to talk to you through my last Rare Hunter," recalled Arkana (possessed).
"Why are you hounding after Thomas?!" demanded Mavis.
"It doesn't concern you two, my business is with Thomas…" rebutted Arkana (possessed), as an image of Marik appeared alongside and also spoke, "And that business is revenge. I am the heir to the clan of Tomb Keepers who have lived in darkness for 3000 years. And I 'will' avenge them!"
"But what does any of this have to do with Thomas?" quizzed Toby.
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
In the sands of Egypt years ago, there were some ruins.
"In the most remote parts of Egypt, near the Valley of the Kings, we Tomb Keepers have lived apart from the world, hiding in the shadows, passing the task from mother to daughter, and father to son," narrated Marik, as scenes shifted from the BC era, the Middle Ages, to the age of Napoleon, and more, in that order, "To protect the seven secrets until the arrival of the Chosen One stated in the ancient prophecy."
"Chosen One?" The voice of Mavis repeated.
"Seven secrets?" The voice of Toby added.
(new scene…)
The scene shifted to the Egyptian ruins once again.
"The seven secrets I speak of are the Millennium Items," explained Marik, "I hold one of them and must guard it, even if it means my life, until I present it before the chosen one. That's what I was taught as a child."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended
"But what about this 'Chosen One'? Who exactly is he?" asked Mavis.
(elsewhere…)
"It has been written that one day, the Shadow Games would attempt to claim the world again. But hope would arrive in the form of the Pharaoh's chosen descendant, who would end the Shadow Games once and for all," remembered Marik, as he envisioned a stone carving containing three Divine-Beast monsters, "It is also written that you will know him by the three 'Egyptian God' Cards he wields," He kept frowning as he explained more of what he knew, "That means whoever wields the three 'Egyptian God' Cards will become the Chosen One in the prophecy, claim all seven Millennium Items and be crowned King."
(elsewhere…)
"Three 'Egyptian God' Cards…" thought Thomas, before pressing a question, "But what about me? Why are you and your Rare Hunters after me and my friends?!"
(elsewhere…)
"Because you are the Pharaoh's chosen descendant! And it was his fault my family was forced to live underground! For countless generations, my family has protected the Millennium Items at the cost of suffering and pain…" hissed Marik, "I will put an end to our curse… But not by welcoming the Chosen One we waited for. I will kill him and take revenge—that being you!"
(elsewhere…)
"And if the prophecy says that the King will wield the three 'God' Cards, then I will fulfill the prophecy and become the new King!" bragged Arkana (possessed)
"If you want to hurt our friend, you'll have to get through us!" dared Toby.
(elsewhere…)
"Impressive," smirked Marik, "I suppose I'll have to have some fun with you guys as well. I formed the Rare Hunters to find the three 'Egyptian God' Cards…"
(elsewhere…)
"I have two of them already, and the last one is in Battle City!" revealed Arkana (possessed).
"One of those 'Egyptian God' Cards is already in town as we speak?" thought Thomas, "Marik! No matter what lengths you go to, I will fight against anything you throw at me!"
(elsewhere…)
"I'll hold you to that," chortled Marik, liking a challenge, "Now, it'll take me a while to get to Knapford City. But I don't want you to get bored in the meantime…"
(elsewhere…)
"A Rare Hunter with a 'God' Card is already in town with you…" warned Arkana (possessed), while Toby and Mavis gasped at what was said at the end, "A man with 'Slifer the Sky Dragon'."
"'Slifer the Sky Dragon'?" thought Thomas.
"You'll see him before soon enough," advised Arkana (possessed), "Remember this… Beware the 'Quiet One'."
"The Quiet One…?" repeated Toby.
(elsewhere…)
Back in his hideout, Marik stood up from his throne and closed his eyes.
"Now then, I'd better tie up this loose end before I leave…" thought Marik, as an image of a slightly younger Arkana grieving over his (Arkana) Mother's death in a hospital was seen, "Looking through the network of Arkana's past, I see two times where he considered suicide… The first, right after the death of his Mother."
The first image faded away, allowing a second image of Arkana in the hospital from that accident and Catherine leaving him.
"And the second when he lost his lover after that magic trick went wrong…" Marik went on, mentally, "Perhaps I should bring back those sad memories and stir them up a little… The moment he wakes up, he will be assaulted by suicidal impulses," He smiled sinisterly as the Millennium Rod glowed brighter, "I wonder just how long he'll last before he finally ends up killing himself—not very long, I imagine."
(elsewhere…)
Back in the hidden basement, the hold on Arkana ended, and he collapsed on the ground.
"Marik?! MARIK!" shouted Thomas, but there was no response, "Damn…"
Toby, meanwhile, walked over to see if Arkana was okay.
"Will he be okay?" peeped Mavis.
"Well, I feel a pulse," answered Toby, looking up at Thomas and Mavis as they listened, "So he should be fine."
"And since you've won a Battle City duel, Thomas," reminded Mavis, looking down at Arkana and his Duel Disk, "don't you also get to take one of Arkana's 'Dark Magicians' as an ante?"
"Thanks, but no thanks," refused Thomas, shaking his head.
Before any more discussions could happen, some new voices rang in the area.
"Thomas? Toby? Mavis?" The first voice echoed, belonging to Edward. "Where are you guys?!"
"If you can hear us, please respond back!" The second voice pleaded, which belonged to Emily.
"Our friends!" exclaimed Toby, whilst standing back up.
"We're down here!" cried Mavis.
The footsteps became louder and louder…before Percy busted the door down, followed by Lady, Edward, Emily, Skiff scampering into the room.
"There you guys are!" greeted Percy.
"We were so worried," came from Lady.
"How did you find us?" pressed Toby.
"You can thank Skiff for that," replied Edward, as Skiff walked by, "If it wasn't for him, we'd never find you three."
"Is he the Rare Hunter you dueled?" wondered Skiff, walking up to the unconscious Arkana.
"Mm-hm," nodded Thomas, "He made it a duel where the loser gets his legs cut off by a buzzsaw!"
"Oh my God!" gasped Emily, as she quickly glomped Thomas into a very protective hug, knowing it must have been an awful experience, "I can't believe he made you do that!"
Thomas's eyes went wide. Although a hug was more than welcome after the death match he had just been through, Emily had unknowingly shoved Thomas's face into her chest, holding him tight. Thomas quickly felt his cheeks burn up as well as beginning to get lightheaded due to being smothered by her bosom.
"Emily," Thomas managed to say through Emily's shirt while tapping her arm repeatedly, "Emily!"
Upon realizing what she was doing, Emily quickly released Thomas, who stumbled back slightly. Both blushed at what just happened as Thomas took a deep breath while Emily fiddled with her fingers sheepishly. Luckily, everyone else was more focused on the unconscious Arkana and wonder what to do about him to notice what was happening.
(elsewhere...)
Back in the unknown hideout, Marik was approached by Odion, the second-in-command of the Rare Hunters.
"So Arkana has fallen to Thomas in battle…" murmured Odion.
"Frustrating, but a minor setback nonetheless," dismissed Marik, "I'll soon fight Thomas before I even get to the Island of Sodor…"
"You're going to use the 'doll' after all…" realized Odion.
"Of course," confirmed Marik, "That's why I've had it waiting in the middle of Knapford City for the past two days. When the time is right, I'll inhabit the doll and show Thomas the power of an 'Egyptian God' monster firsthand."
"Master Marik…" responded Odion quietly, before adding something else in, "Sir, we will make it to the Island of Sodor on time for the second day of the tournament."
Marik didn't respond; he instead sat up from the throne and approached a nearby table with a Monster Card laid in the center. When he reached the table, he picked the card ('The Winged Dragon of Ra') and looked long and hard at it.
"'The Winged Dragon of Ra'…" thought Marik, "Beware, Thomas! I must crush you with my own hands!" He put the card back down and removed his robes with his eyes closed, showing carving-like scars on his back, "I swear by these scars of hatred in my flesh to defeat you! Big Sister… I will not forgive him… Thomas Billinton… The one who killed our Father!"
Marik opened those eyes and revealed great anger within them, wanting to make Thomas suffer for the crime of murdering a member of the Ishtar family.
Thomas VS. Arkana is done, with all three parts merged into a single chapter with many minor changes, dialogue tweaks, and mistakes being fixed. Nothing more to say about that.
