The Darkness Returns Part I

'The four Battle City Finalists are now being transported to the top of the tower for the first duel of the semi-finals,' Roland announced over the PA as the four of them flew up.

Malik looked at Joey. 'Our Shadow Game awaits. I hope you're prepared to be swallowed up by the darkness.'

'Keep dreaming, psycho,' Joey retorted.

YGO

Below, everyone else stood and watched.

'Well, this is it!' Tristan declared.

'The duel starts now,' Mokuba said. 'Let's go.' The lift opened behind him and he ran in. 'Move it, or miss it!'

'Hold the door, Mokuba! Wait for us!' Téa started to run for the lift.

'Hold on a sec!' Duke stopped her. 'We can't just take off like this. Somebody's gotta tell Serenity her brother's about to duel.'

'I have a cell phone,' Sharee responded, walking past and heading into the lift. She pulled out the cell phone in question. 'I'll do it.'

YGO

Serenity answered the phone. 'Thanks for letting me know, Sharee, but I'll stay here. Someone needs to help keep an eye on Mai.'

'Fair enough,' Sharee agreed. 'You want me to give him a message for you?'

'Wish him luck for me.'

'Sure thing. See you after the duel.' Sharee hung up.

Serenity did the same. She looked out the window to the top of the tower. 'Please win.'

YGO

'Marik Ishtar and Joey Wheeler will face off in five minutes,' Roland announced.

Marik chuckled as their podiums rose up to the duelling arena. He stepped off and walked around to take a look around the field.

Joey hopped off his podium. 'All right, chump. I'm gonna enjoy taking you apart.' He looked around. 'Hey! Where's my fan club?'

'Why do you want them here?' Marik sneered. 'So they can witness your defeat? You fool. When your mind is engulfed by the shadows, you'll be glad that no one was here to see it.' He laughed maniacally and turned away.

Yugi and Kaiba arrived at the top of the tower next.

'This shouldn't take long,' Kaiba decided.

Yugi, meanwhile, turned a concerned eye to Joey.

'Oh. Hey, Yug,' Joey said.

Yugi walked over. 'Joey, this is going to be the most difficult and dangerous duel you've ever fought.'

'Nah!' Joey grinned. 'Marik's got no chance. I'm gonna crush that creep! Just wait and see. He'll be outta this tournament before he can say "freak show".'

Yugi smiling slightly.

But then Kaiba interrupted with a huff. 'You couldn't beat Marik if he was blindfolded and handcuffed.'

Joey glared at him. 'I don't remember asking you.'

Kaiba smirked. 'Wake up, Wheeler. You're no match for his Egyptian God Card.'

'Kaiba!' Joey rounded on him. 'You may not remember this, but I went up against Marik's Winged Dragon of Ra once before, pal. And I did just fine!'

Kaiba gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look. 'If memory serves me, that Egyptian God Card knocked you out cold. Face it, Wheeler. You don't have what it takes to win. I'm the only one who can defeat Ra!'

Joey ground his teeth and growled.

But Yugi spoke up. 'Kaiba, the Winged Dragon of Ra holds secrets that none of us understand yet.'

'Wrong,' Kaiba said. 'I've uncovered the secrets of Ra.'

'What?' Joey demanded.

Yugi, on the other hand, remained silent.

'While you geeks were asleep, my computer was translating the Egyptian writing that no one else could,' Kaiba said.

'Big deal!' Joey huffed. 'So your computer figured it all out.'

'And don't forget, Kaiba,' Yugi added, 'Sharee's background means that she could read the text just as easily if she were given access to it.'

Kaiba's gaze flicked to Yugi, before he sneered at Joey. 'Wheeler, I'm the only one who can defeat the Winged Dragon of Ra, and you're going to help me.'

'Fat chance!' Joey snapped. 'You're the last person I'd ever help!'

'You don't have a choice,' Kaiba responded. 'I'll be watching your duel against Marik very closely so I can test my own strategy and take him down in the finals.'

Marik chuckled in the background, but he was mainly ignored.

'Once I defeat Yugi in the semi-finals, I'll gain ownership of Slifer the Sky Dragon,' Kaiba declared, 'giving me two Egyptian God Cards in my deck. Then I'll be ready to face Marik. Once you've served as my lab rat, of course.' He gave a single laugh.

'I'm no lab rat!' Joey snapped angrily.

'The fact that an amateur like you made it this far in my tournament boggles my mind,' Kaiba mused. 'But, on the bright side, at least you're serving a purpose, Wheeler. Watching you lose to Marik will help me perfect my plan for crushing his Winged Dragon of Ra.'

'Did I mention you're getting on my nerves?' Joey asked rhetorically.

Then Yugi smirked. 'Kaiba, you think you have the rest of this tournament figured out.'

Kaiba made a "hmph" sound in his throat.

Yugi continued. 'But in order for this scheme of yours to work, you have to get past me first.'

Kaiba gave a disdainful laugh and turned away.

'He knows it's true, Yug,' Joey declared.

'We'll soon find out,' Kaiba said as he walked away. 'Our duel is next. But, first, Wheeler has a battle to lose.'

Joey ground his teeth. 'I hate that guy!'

'Couldn't tell,' Sharee remarked as she and the rest of the gang came up the stairs. She looked around. 'Whoa. Hope no one's afraid of heights.'

'We're here, bro!' Mokuba called and ran across to Kaiba.

Meanwhile, their friends came over and joined them.

'So,' Téa said, 'what'd we miss, guys?'

'Yeah,' Tristan agreed. 'Something wrong? I sense tension.'

'Is Kaiba bugging you?' Duke guessed.

'None of your business!' Joey snapped, still on the defensive.

'Well, excuse us, sunshine,' Tristan retorted.

Joey growled to himself and turned around. He walked to his place on the duelling arena.

Tristan sassed him one more time. 'Someone's in a cheerful mood.'

But Joey cast all that out of his head. I gotta keep my cool. Kaiba's just playing mind games. I have to ignore him and focus on taking down Marik. It'll be tough, but I didn't get where I am by taking it easy. I crushed some of the strongest duellists around to get to the Battle City Finals. He stepped into place, across the duelling field from Marik. Besides, this is about more than just winning a duel. It's about keeping a promise I made to a friend!

YGO

Everyone was waiting for the duel to begin.

'All right,' Joey declared. 'You're going down, Marik!'

'The first duel of the semi-finals is about to begin,' Roland announced as the podiums vanished. 'To my left, Marik Ishtar. To my right, Joey Wheeler.'

'That's me!' Joey crowed.

Come on! Yugi cheered in their head as the field elevated. You can do this!

'Whip this wacko, Joey!' Téa called.

Malik just chuckled.

YGO

Ishizu sat at Odion's bedside, staring up at the tower.

'There is nothing left for me to do but wait,' she said. 'The rest is in the hands of fate.'

YGO

Roland lifted his hand into the air and declared the duel start. 'Marik will begin!'

'As you wish,' Marik said, as both of them drew their cards. Marik then made his first draw. 'I play Gil Garth in attack mode!' He set the card. The card appeared on the field and the monster emerged from his card. 'And I shall place one card face-down and end my turn.' The card in question appeared on the field.

'I'll take it from here, you nutcase.' Joey drew. He looked at the card he'd just pulled and then at the cards already in his hand. I'm off to a bad start. His Gil Garth has 1800 attack points and none of my cards can beat it – yet. 'I'll also place one card face down.' Joey set the card and it appeared on the field in front of him. 'And then…I'll summon my Alligator Sword in defence mode!'

He played the card and it appeared on the field, emerging out of the card and crouching defensively.

Marik chuckled and that freaky golden glowing eye appeared on his forehead. Not good.

'The time has come to take this duel to the next level.'

Joey narrowed his eyes. He had a funny feeling he wouldn't like the next bit. 'Next level?' He lifted his head and watched as a darkness began to creep over the field from Marik's side. 'I know where this is going.'

Behind him, his friends made varying sounds of concern.

'Come on!' Tristan demanded. 'Again?!'

'Joey!' Téa called out, worried.

The duel had just become a Shadow Game.

'Show some originality, Marik,' Joey complained.

Marik lifted his Millennium Rod. 'Hah! The Shadows hunger for your mind, and your soul.'

'You don't scare me!' Joey insisted.

'Then what's that I see in your eyes?' Marik retorted. 'I'd say it's the look of fear – fear that you're about to join your friend in the Shadow Realm.'

'Look, she'll be back!' Joey snapped.

'You're so naïve,' Marik remarked. 'She's permanently trapped. And with each passing second another portion of her mind is absorbed into the darkness.' He laughed. Then he paused, as if something had taken him by surprise. Then he resumed chuckling. 'Can you hear those screams? They're the helpless screams of your friend, Mai! And the weaker she gets, the stronger my powers grow!'

He threw his head back and laughed maniacally.

Joey was so enraged, he was shaking. 'You're nuts!'

YGO

Sharee glanced over, Mayet at her back, as Tristan spoke up.

'We can't let Joey go through with this duel!' he insisted. 'This is exactly what happened when Marik duelled Mai. It's too dangerous!'

'Let's step in,' Duke agreed.

'Joey's already made up his mind.' Téa drew all of their attention. 'Didn't I tell you what he said to me?'

The Pharaoh looked at her. 'What's that?'

Tea dropped her head. 'Sorry, Yugi. I should have told you about this before. Joey and I had a conversation after Mai's duel with Marik. He said, and I quote, "I know if I beat that evil freak in a duel, I can get Mai back." So I asked him if he was sure, and he said, "I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I owe it to Mai, and to myself, to face Marik. If I back away from this fight now, I'll never be able to forgive myself. I've made up my mind. I gave Mai my word that I wouldn't let anything happen to her and Joey Wheeler would never break a promise to a friend. So look out, Marik, cause here I come".'

The rest of them stared at her.

Sharee was the first to break the silence. 'I'm impressed. You remembered the whole thing.'

Téa nodded. 'Anyway, so Joey's trying to rescue Mai out there. And nothing we say can stop him.'

'I thought so,' the Pharaoh said.

Téa looked up again. 'Hang in there, Joey! We're all right here!'

YGO

The Pharaoh's attention was pulled by one thing that nobody else saw.

The woman in the Shadow Realm, and her young son, appeared on the edge of the duel.

They stood and watched.

And the Pharaoh still couldn't shake the feeling he knew them…from so very long ago.

YGO

I gotta beat Marik at his own twisted game, Joey thought, or lose my mind trying!

'So let's do this,' Joey said. 'Bring it on! I'm ready for your Shadow Game!'

'Do you have any idea what you're about to experience?' Marik asked. 'I doubt it. The ancient dark magic I've conjured will devastate you, you poor soul.' He drew. 'My move. You may have seen the power of the Shadows before, but as the energies within me grow so does the strength of my Shadow Magic.'

'Are you here to talk or are you here to duel?' Joey demanded.

'Are you the least bit curious about how this Shadow Game will differ from the one your friend lost?' Marik asked. 'As always, the loser of the duel will be banished to the Shadow Realm for eternity. But there's a bit more.'

'Say what?' Joey asked.

'You'll soon find out!' Marik crowed. 'And then, mark my words, you'll wish you never faced me!'

Joey ground his teeth.

YGO

Feeling at a loss, Yugi listened to his friends.

'Joey can't let Marik keep messing with his mind like this,' Tristan said.

'Yeah, it's all part of Marik's warped mind game.' Duke raised his voice. 'Don't let him get to you, Joey!'

The Pharaoh had said they needed to hold onto their promise and not protect him. They had to stand back and support him. And Yugi got it but…the stakes just seemed far too high right now. He turned to Sharee and moved over to speak to her. 'We can't just let Marik do it again!'

Sharee turned her head and, with a sigh, she relinquished her body over to Mayet. Then she turned to Yugi.

'Yugi, I told you,' she said. 'This is a war. It isn't pretty, but we are going to lose people; there will be casualties. And there's nothing anyone can do about it. If you think otherwise, you're about to get one hell of a nasty shock.'

Yugi tensed.

Sharee continued. 'The important thing is that each of our friends realises what could happen if they go in, and do it anyway. Joey knows precisely how dangerous this is. His courage in this moment is without measure. To "save" him now would be to undermine that courage. Let him do what he needs to do.'

YGO

Joey steeled himself. 'Right. I'm ready to rumble, you big freak!'

'Then let the Shadow Game begin.' Marik looked at his monster. 'Ready?'

A bright purple line shot out of Joey's chest. It travelled down and connected to his monster.

'Hey!' Joey exclaimed. 'What's going on? You mind telling me why this thing is connecting me to my monster?'

Marik chuckled as a similar line shot out of his chest, and connected him to his monster. 'Didn't I tell you that this duel was a bit different? I decided to raise the stakes by adding these energy steams to our game. Now, whenever your monster's attacked, your body will be drained of a little more energy, leaving you weaker than before.' He laughed again.

'Just go!' Joey snapped.

'With great pleasure, Mr. Wheeler.' Marik took a card from his hand and slapped it onto his duel disk. 'I'll summon Drillago in attack mode.' The card appeared on the field and the monster emerged from it. A new energy stream connected the monster back to Marik. 'Drillago, attack! Destroy his Alligator Sword and drain his energy!' Drillago's drill arm rotated as he did attack.

Alligator Sword was destroyed.

Joey recoiled and screamed out in pain. The pain was like that drill had been driven into his own heart. He staggered and collapsed to his knees. His friends cried out in alarm and concern. Joey took a deep breath and forced himself to get up off the floor. He wouldn't let a little pain hold him down.

'That wasn't fun.'

YGO

The Pharaoh watched severely. 'It's the ultimate test of his strength.'

At least, Sharee's words seemed to have gotten through to Yugi.

'Come on, Joey!' Yugi cheered.

YGO

'All right, then,' Joey said. 'So this duel's got a little twist. But it can work against you too.'

Marik's smirk didn't move. 'Gil Garth, attack his life points directly!'

Gil Garth charged.

'Joey, no!' Téa cried out.

Joey activated his face down card. 'I reveal my Scapegoat magic card to protect me!' The card flipped up and the four Scapegoats emerged from inside. And one of them was destroyed instead of Joey taking a hit to his life points.

'What's this?' Marik demanded.

'And since my Scapegoat's not a monster card, there's no energy stream to zap me!'

'Nice move, Joey!' Yugi called.

For a moment, Marik looked stunned. Then he composed himself. 'Hm. Well, it looks as though I've underestimated you. Make your move.'

'Oh, I will.' Joey drew. 'Stand back.' He looked at the card. 'Read it and weep.' He turned the card around, showing Marik what he'd drawn. Then he slapped the card onto the duel disk. The card appeared on the field and the monster emerged onto the field. 'Cause now I summon my good buddy, Panther Warrior to the field in attack mode.'

The energy stream appeared, between Joey and his Panther Warrior.

'Ready for a taste of your own medicine?' Joey explained as one of his Scapegoats vanished and went into his Panther Warrior's sword. 'I'll sacrifice one Scapegoat to jumpstart my Panther and attack your Gil Guard.'

The Panther Warrior attacked.

'Yeah, baby!' Joey cheered as Gil Guard was cut in two and destroyed.

Marik growled and stumbled back as he felt the pain.

But he lifted his head, that same nasty grin on his face. He chuckled, even as his life points dropped down to 3800.

Joey forced himself not to react. 'That one was for Mai.'

Marik chuckled. 'Speaking of your friend, Mai, her mind should be empty by now.'

'Your head games won't work on me,' Joey calmly stated. 'My turn is done.'

'You've had your fun! But now…' Marik drew. '…it's time for me to end all that with this.' He took a card from his hand, after adding his new card to his hand. 'My Tribute Burial card!' He played the card and it appeared on the field.

Joey jerked back. 'No way!'

'Now I can bring one monster back from each of our graveyards and sacrifice them to summon an even stronger creature, to drain whatever's left of your strength, Wheeler,' Marik said. He pulled the two monsters. 'Alligator Sword! Gil Guard! I sacrifice you to summon this!' Both monsters appeared on the field and then quickly vanished, only to be replaced with… 'The mighty Helpoemer!'

A monster, attached to a cross of some sort, rose out of the card that was suddenly on Marik's side of the field. An energy steam appeared, connecting Marik to his Helpoemer.

'And, I assure you,' Marik said, 'this mighty monster of mine is more than he appears to be!'

Joey glared across the field. What does he mean by that? It's got the same strength as my Panther Warrior. He glanced over at the Panther in question. Unless it's got a hidden ability. I got to find out, or I'm done!

'I'll place one card face down and then end my turn.' The card in question appeared in front of Marik.

Joey ground his teeth. 'Time for me to put you in your place. So, look out.' He drew. Awesome. It's Jinzo. This bad boy can rearrange his Helpoemer's face, one-two-three. But I gotta be careful. He could've blasted my Scapegoat last turn and he held back. He must want me to attack his Helpoemer so he can spring its special ability on me. He added the card to his hand. I can't risk my Jinzo just yet. Joey took another card from his hand.

'It's showtime!' Joey slapped the card onto his duel disk and it appeared on the field. 'I summon Rocket Warrior, in attack mode!'

Rocket Warrior emerged from his card.

'You fool!' Marik declared. 'You fell directly into my trap. 'Reveal face down card!' The card flipped up. 'By summoning a monster in attack mode, you activated my Hidden Soldiers trap card. This gives me the ability to summon any monster with four stars or less.' He did just that and the card appeared on the field, the monster emerging from within. 'Meet my Plasma Eel.'

Joey growled in frustration.

'Now I'll activate its special ability: the power of Plasma Grip!' Marik gave the order. Plasma Eel shot across the field and clamped onto Panther Warrior's head and coiling the rest of the way around him. 'Now for the fun part: when my Eel attaches itself to a monster, it lowers that monster's strength, so your Panther loses 500 points. And according to the rules of our Shadow Game, as your monster is drained of its energy, so are you, Wheeler.' There was a bright green glow all around Joey's more powerful monster.

Joey found himself crying out in pain right along with his Panther Warrior as both of their energy was drained. His knees hit the floor and he vaguely heard his friends calling out to him. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Unfortunately, the same was not true for Marik.

'Well, now! Are you beginning to regret duelling me?'

Joey gripped his throbbing head. He turned his thoughts to what he was fighting for. I won't give up on you, Mai!

The pain eventually faded. 'You'll never…break my spirit, Marik,' Joey gritted out. 'I…made a promise!' His body shook. That evil creep can drain my physical strength all he wants, but he'll never drain my determination! I gave Mai my word that I'd rescue her, and there's no way I'm giving up!

Joey pushed himself to his feet with a yell of effort.

'What's this?' For some reason, Marik was shocked again. 'That fool should be begging for mercy!'

'You can't keep me down,' Joey declared. 'Not as long as I have something to fight for!' He gave the order. 'Activate Rocket Warrior's Special Ability!' Rocket Warrior morphed and moved into position. 'Invincible mode!' The rocket came to rest in attack position. 'Attack his Helpoemer!'

The rocket shot across the field and hit the monster. Helpoemer roared as it was weakened down to attack strength of 1500, and Marik grunted in pain, surprise, and alarm.

Tristan cheered from below. 'Not only did he drain that monster's strength, he drained Marik's too!'

'That's right,' Joey said. 'Next I'll sacrifice a Scapegoat, letting Panther Warrior strike back! Time to attack – now! Slice and dice his Helpoemer!'

And just that happened. Panther Warrior absorbed the Scapegoat into his sword and then charged across the field. He struck and destroyed Helpoemer in one slash. Marik cried out and staggered back as he lost another monster and the energy stream attached to it vanished as well.

Marik growled as his life points dropped down to 3300.

'Eat that,' Joey said.

But…Marik began chuckling again.

Joey scowled. 'What's so funny?'

Marik lifted his head. 'Thank you, little Joey. By attacking my beast, you caused your own demise.'

'Huh? How's that?'

'It's simple,' Marik said. 'When you sent my Helpoemer to the card graveyard, you activated my monster's special ability.'

'What's its special ability?' Joey asked.

'Patience, my boy, for you're about to find out. And I doubt you'll like it.' Marik raised the card and then something ghost-like came out of the card and crossed the field.

It crossed right over to Joey's duel disk. He made a sound of surprise. 'Your card!'

'It's in your graveyard now.' As Marik spoke, Joey watched the card slide in. 'Heh. It gets much better. Now it can destroy you…from within your own duel disk.'

'I don't get it. How's it gonna destroy me?' No sooner had Joey asked, than did he see a ghostly had reach up out of his duel disk. He cried out in alarm.

'Time for you to learn Helpoemer's special ability,' Marik said.

'Yeah?'

'Say farewell to a random card from your hand!'

Joey cried out in alarm as the hand snatched Jinzo and pulled it into the card graveyard. 'Hey! Not that card!'

Marik's smirk was deep and malicious. 'Yes. And I'm afraid there's plenty more where that came from. For as long as my Helpoemer remains in your card graveyard you'll lose one card every turn.'

Uh oh. Joey looked down.

'This is even more amusing than my duel against your friend, Mai!' Marik declared. 'But, in the end, I'm afraid your fate will be exactly the same as hers: an eternity in the Shadow Realm!'