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 either T (13-plus) or M for moments of violence, bloody moments, frightening moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be (or strongly is) advised.
Title: The Sun Dragon, Part 3
Inside the Shadow Realm atop the blimp, the golden sphere was still floating high up on Lady's field—and she still had no idea what in the world it was.
"How can 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' just become some giant sphere?" she asked.
"As I've just said; the 'God' you seek is trapped inside that sphere," Dark Marik answered simply, "And the only way to use it is to release it from its prison."
Below the platform, everyone (except Discord, who was looking silent) was staring at the giant sphere.
"That's 'The Winged Dragon of Ra'?" began Thomas.
"I get that it's round like the sun… but is that all it is?" commented Percy, "'Ra' doesn't look like the one I faced in my duel."
"This one's completely different!" agreed James.
"Once I learn how to release it and control its amazing power, I'll be unstoppable," thought Spencer.
Back on the platform…
"How can I release it?" asked Lady.
"Heh heh heh… Only those who know how to recite the ancient text on the card are able to control this powerful monster," chuckled Dark Marik, "And unfortunately for you, I'm the only one capable of doing so!"
"You're just jealous that I took and Summoned your best monster!" Lady protested, trying to deny the predicament she was in.
"Oh?" Dark Marik said, tilting his head in amusement, "Then why not take a little look at the card if you don't trust my words."
Lady looked down at the card and gasped. There was something written on the card in some different language.
"W-What is…?" The beautiful blonde-haired girl couldn't make heads or tails of the text.
"So?" teased Dark Marik, "Can you read the text and use 'Ra's' power?"
Lady stared at the card's text in shock. The text was in a strange language, and she couldn't read it at all.
"It looks to be in an ancient Egyptian lore, but I can't seem to make heads or tails of it…" Lady thought to herself, "Augh! I knew I should have paid better attention in my History Classes!"
"Well, if you can't recite the card's text, then I shall do so on my turn!" cackled Dark Marik.
"If Marik successfully recites the lore on the card, he'll control the 'God' and Lady would be put into great danger!" realized Thomas mentally.
Lady continued to silently glance at the 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' Effect Monster Card on her Duel Disk.
"Stare at it all you want," The voice of Dark Marik continued to taunt, "You'll have to make a move sooner or later, and when you do… I will be ready!" He then held his right hand out, "But here's a small, 'helpful' little tip; the hieroglyphs on the 'God' Card can only be recited by those with an Ancient Egyptian counterpart hailing from 3000 years ago, or those who are part of the Ishtar family! You, as a normal person, could never be able to control 'God' unless you have a connection to 3000 years ago!"
Lady gasped.
"The ancient writing is also known as hieratic text," finished Dark Marik
"It's what?!" flinched Percy.
"Hieratic text?!" came from Thomas.
"Ancient writing?!" added Spencer.
"It was used in Ancient Egypt for law, literature, and religion," explained Dark Marik, "And as I said earlier; only those with an Ancient Egyptian counterpart hailing from 3000 years ago, or those who are part of the Ishtar family, can read it."
While Dark Marik spoke on, Discord only watched on grimly—well, just before Dark Marik spoke up about him (Discord)…
"I should really thank Discord for putting that 'little' catch on the card," The voice of Dark Marik joked sickly.
The creator of Duel Monsters's eyes widened, while everyone else gazed at him in aghast.
"You were the one who put that hieratic text on the card, Discord?" Carlie asked in shock.
"But why?" demanded Michael.
"Because 'Ra' was easily the most powerful of all the 'Egyptian God' monsters, he felt that only someone very special would be able to control it," replied Dark Marik, smiling wickedly, "In fact… I know two certain other people here who are able to recite the text and—well, control it."
Looking around in his P.O.V., he was clearly gazing at Thomas and Spencer respectively. The silver-haired boy at first didn't get this and looked over to Skiff.
"Skiff, head for the lab and use the computers to get the satellites to scan the card," ordered Spencer, "After that, use the computer to translate the text."
"Right," obeyed Skiff, heading off.
"Oh? But you need not do that, Spencer-boy," The voice of Dark Marik teased.
"What!?" pressed Spencer.
"The two people I'm talking about are Thomas Billinton…and you!" confessed Dark Marik.
"Huh?!" gasped Thomas.
"Me?" exclaimed Spencer.
"Like I've mentioned before; several people on this vessel can trace their lineage back to Ancient Egypt 3000 years ago," said Dark Marik, "They include both of you…and a few others present, too. For everyone else… it would just be plain old gibberish!"
As the man laughed maniacally over revealing his true plan to everyone, Thomas immediately knew that this had been Dark Marik's plan all along.
"Marik planned this from the start of the duel!" he thought to himself, as faded stills of 'Amazoness Chain Master' twirling her chain, colliding with Dark Marik's Duel Disk, stealing a card, and Lady rejoicing taking it, "He WANTED Lady to take his card, because he knew she wouldn't be able to recite the text."
Over with Spencer…
"'The Winged Dragon of Ra's' ATK and DEF are determined by the monsters used in the Tribute Summon," thought Spencer, "Lady Tributed three Cyber Harpie Ladies for the Summon. That means 'Ra's' ATK would be 5400, and its DEF would be 3900," He then scowled, "But 'God' is doing nothing. It can't attack or defend while it's locked inside its Sphere Mode. Until I can figure out the hieratic text, I'll have to wait a little bit longer before I can learn how to defeat it."
Back on the duel platform…
"I… I can't control a 'God' monster…" groaned Lady, mentally.
"You only have a disobedient 'God' on your field," taunted Dark Marik, "If I were to attack on my turn, it would not protect your LP…"
Lady growled at her opponent, but said nothing in response.
"If you can't get 'Ra' to transform into its Battle Mode, you'll experience more pain and torture next turn…" reminded Dark Marik, before spreading his arms out, "C'mon already, pray to the 'Egyptian Gods'!"
He laughed psychotically again. Finally giving up on attempting to use 'The Winged Dragon of Ra', Lady could only take her last card and slot it into her Duel Disk.
"I Set one card face-down and end my turn," she sighed, just as a face-down card appeared on the field near her feet while also falling directly into her thoughts, "My Trap Card, 'Gravity Bind', will stop any Level 4 or higher monsters from attacking, so even if Marik gets control of the 'God', I should be safe and sound for the time being."
"It's my turn," smiled Dark Marik, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Sixteen: Dark Marik (LP: 250)
Deck: 37
Current Hand (5): "Holding Legs", "Coffin Seller", "Spell of Pain", "Ancient Relic of the Past"(!), and "Byser Shock"
Adding his drawn card to his hand, the evil man immediately took another card and held it out.
"I Summon 'Holding Legs' in Attack Position!" declared Dark Marik
Appearing onto the field was a pair of shackles similar to 'Holding Arms' (Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF: 600).
"I pity you," said Dark Marik, sounding surprisingly calm, "This monster, like 'Holding Arms', has a monster effect…"
Suddenly, Lady's face-down card fizzled out, and immediately returned to her hand.
"My card!" cried Lady in surprise, "It returned to my hand?!"
"If this card is Summoned: I must return all Set Spells/Traps on the field to the hand," explained Dark Marik, before holding another Spell Card ('Ancient Relic of the Past') out, "Now, I'll activate the Spell Card, 'Ancient Relic of the Past'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-down on the field, just before flipping face-up and revealing itself.
"If I control 'Holding Arms' and 'Holding Legs': I must Special Summon 1 'Sacred Stone of Ujat' from my Deck," continued Dark Marik, before holding up a card ('Sacred Stone of Ujat') taken from his Deck, "Come forth, 'Sacred Stone of Ujat'."
From behind Lady, a huge stone tablet emerged from the ground.
"Huh?!" wailed Lady, turning around in shock, "A wall?!"
"This is 'Sacred Stone of Ojhat'," replied Dark Marik sadistically, "And it will be the key element to prevent you from leaving here alive… Do it, 'Holding Arms' and 'Holding Legs'!"
The two respective shackles attached themselves to Lady.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, "Let me go!"
The two monsters then sealed themselves into the wall, completely preventing Lady from trying to escape.
"This is a Shadow Game, little girl," reminded Dark Marik, "Meaning that everything you experience here is real. Soon, you shall be nothing more than little scraps…" He lost his smile and swung his right arm about, "NOW FACE THE DARKNESS, POLLY STONE! DIRECT ATTACK, NOW!"
'Holding Arms' and 'Holding Legs' both obeyed, shocking Lady and causing her to scream in agony from the very real electric shock (LP: 2200 → 900).
"Lady!" cried Percy, "We gotta save her!"
Lady was left nearly unconscious around here, and Dark Marik could only laugh sadistically at the very sight.
"Give yourself into the pain!" The evil man yelled excitedly.
"Enough, Marik!" The voice of Thomas echoed.
"Huh?"
Dark Marik stopped laughing and turned to see Thomas Billinton gazing at him (Dark Marik) with the Millennium Eye symbol on his (Thomas) forehead and a look of absolute hatred and rage on his face.
"Hmm… This is quite the entertaining show, isn't it, Thomas?" asked Dark Marik slowly, frowning unhappily at being interrupted by his greatest enemy a third time, "Walking on the edge of death with nothing else to live for in life… As you can see by now; for this poor girl, pain and suffering is her only proof that she still lives," He then gave the crowd a very cold smile, "Either way, I shall begin the preparations for the 'Sacrifice of Darkness'."
"Sacrifice of Darkness?" Thomas thought bitterly. He knew exactly what Dark Marik was planning to do to Lady next, "You wouldn't!"
"What's that supposed to mean, you psychopath?!" demanded Liz aloud, "What you're about to do is kill an innocent teenage girl!"
"How right you are," smirked Dark Marik, "And innocence makes a very appealing sacrifice."
No one else said a word, and Dark Marik then continued with his explanation…
"Now, listen to me very closely…" requested Dark Marik, "'The Winged Dragon of Ra' has three different special effects… For this duel, I'll reveal just one of them."
Thomas was shocked, "What?!" he thought to himself "Three special effects?!"
"But of course!" laughed Dark Marik, before focusing on the duel, "Unfortunately, I must first regain control of my 'Egyptian God' monster."
"Regain control of 'God'?" repeated Ryan.
"He's about to recite the text!" realized Emily in worry.
She was right; back on the platform, Dark Marik crossed his arms together and began to recite the text on the card.
"What?! What kind of language is that supposed to be?" gasped Molly, "Is it some sort of spell or something?"
At first nothing seemed to be happening as Dark Marik continued chanting the text on his card, but then the huge sphere started to glow all gold-like once more, and Percy was the first to notice.
"Thomas, look up there!" announced Percy, pointing up at the object, "That sphere is glowing all gold!"
He was right; the giant sphere was releasing rays of light while beginning to transform itself into the body of 'The Winged Dragon of Ra'.
"'Ra' is starting to come out of the sphere," gasped Thomas in surprise, as the sphere gained wings, "The 'God' belongs to Marik once more!"
Spencer was looking upward in surprise as the sphere continued to transform.
"That must be-!" thought Spencer.
As the sphere neared its complete transformation, Dark Marik let out a small sinister chuckle.
"This is one of 'Ra's' abilities," he explained, "'God' itself will serve the player who utters the sacred text!"
Lady, meanwhile, could only watch helplessly as the evil man finished reciting the text on the 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' Effect Monster Card.
"Awaken and grant me victory!" boomed Dark Marik, as he spread his arms out in welcome, "Arise, 'The Winged Dragon of Ra'!"
By now, the sphere had transformed into the full Battle Mode of 'The Winged Dragon of Ra', who let out a loud roar to signal its arrival. The roar was so powerful that it unleashed a powerful blast of wind across the top of the blimp that everyone felt. Spencer managed to keep his balance and look up in shock at the glowing dragon.
"Behold 'The Winged Dragon of Ra'!" shouted Dark Marik, while his ace monster lowered itself a bit.
The audience took in what they were seeing with their own eyes.
"So that's…" began Thomas.
"…'The Winged Dragon of Ra'!" finished Spencer.
'The Winged Dragon of Ra' soon reached the ground and leered at the helpless Lady Stone.
"It's my turn. With just one attack, you will burn into ashes," proclaimed Dark Marik, "The underworld will be very pleased to have someone like you there, my dear!"
He erupted into more psychotic laughter, while 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' just softly growled in agreement (Level: 10/ATK: 5400/DEF: 3900).
"Lady!" screamed Percy.
"Lady doesn't have the LP to survive," Thomas thought to himself, "And this is a Shadow Game! If the attack manages to hit her, she'll…"
Lady, still chained to the giant tablet, remained barely conscious as can be while Dark Marik snickered quietly to himself.
"You'll be a perfect sacrifice, Polly Stone," remarked Dark Marik, "Restrained, you're unable to move any limbs of your body, meaning you'll not be able to escape the fury of 'Ra'. You can't even surrender!" His smile grew even more evil, "I'll make this real quick. Just one little attack from 'Ra'."
The beautiful blonde-haired girl still didn't say anything back, and could only weakly glare at her deadly opponent.
"Burn into ash by the holy flames of 'Ra'!" cried Dark Marik, as the veins on his face became more and more noticeable.
"As one of the heads of Boxford Corp," spoke up Mr. Gresley (Boxford) in an official tone, "I hereby declare this duel be called off before somebody gets hurt!"
"Oh, I think not!" Dark Marik retorted, turning to look towards the one of Boxford Corp's two co-Presidents, "Try to call the match off, and I will use 'Ra' to destroy the blimp and everyone aboard! The only one who can officially call it off…is your eldest son."
Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) both immediately looked over to Spencer pleadingly.
"Spencer, you must call off this duel!" begged Mrs. Gresley (Boxford), "That poor girl could be killed!"
Spencer didn't say a word about it, and only kept his arms folded while gazing at the middle of the duel field… Currently, the only thing he cared about was learning more about 'The Winged Dragon of Ra', winning all three 'Egyptian God' Cards, defeating Thomas, and winning the whole tournament in order to become the Duel King. The sight caused Dark Marik to let out another laugh when it became clear the duel was going to end—his way…
"It would seem he doesn't want the duel to end," figured Dark Marik, speaking in a sadistic teasing tone, turning to look back at his opponent, "That's good…for me!"
"No! Lady won't survive!" Percy protested.
"Isn't there 'anything' we can do?!" came from Ryan.
"Stop it, Marik!" called Thomas, "This duel is over! You've won! There isn't any need to continue!"
"Yes, there is!" insisted Dark Marik, not losing his sadistic smile, "I want your friend to suffer in the dark abyss, while drawing out all of the hatred in your heart in the process!"
"Marik!" snarled Thomas.
Dark Marik turned around, "On my back are the carvings of the Ishtar clan," He frowned while envisioning an image of himself shirtless and his back turned with the carvings being shown, "It holds the secrets and answers that you might be seeking on the questions you have on the past 3,000 years ago, the Millennium Items, and potentially on who or what you really are. 'Are you but a mere boy? Or are you actually the descendant of the great Pharaoh'?"
Thomas's furious look softened, "Answers to what I truly am?"
"Yes, indeed…" said Dark Marik, still frowning dejectedly. He soon closed his eyes while speaking on, "This was my family's mission passed on through generations… Our own birthright was to guard a worthless secret…" He then placed a hand on his face, almost looking like he was feeling sad or something, "We were bestowed with darkness, scars, despair, and agony for our troubles…"
Silence filled the duel stage for what seemed like forever… Just then, quiet snickers came from Dark Marik before he faced Thomas and the others again with another evil laugh.
"Like it?" Dark Marik pressed teasingly, "That's the trauma that dominates my weaker self! Darkness robbed him of his freedom, and even more darkness was born within his self-pitying heart! And the pain and hatred that exists within his dark heart… these things belong to me."
Thomas growled, "I knew it…" he thought in realization, "He's Marik's dark personality!"
"The day of my birth was when Marik turned 10-years old…" continued Dark Marik.
A flashback began.
FLASHBACK
Young Marik was lying on his stomach and chained to the table (his back was all burnt and bloody from the carvings being—well, carved).
"On the day the Tomb-Keeper's Initiation was performed on him," narrated Dark Marik.
Mr. Ishtar held the heated knife up in one hand, and a nearly burnt out candle in the other hand. There was no trace of any signs of regret/remorse on his face after having successfully carved the markings onto his own son's back.
"His Father filled him with such pain and sadness…" continued Dark Marik, "…until his weakened heart was so enshrouded with agony and suffering that all he wanted to do was die."
Young Marik finally stood up, feeling all of the pain that he had endured from the initiation, his eyes welled with tears as he began to cry. Unfortunately, he had no idea that something dark and sinister had spawned within his heart…
"So in order to survive, in order to keep living… he had to create another self," Dark Marik narrated some more, "Namely…me…"
Floating beside the crying young boy, a faded image of the younger Dark Marik emerged and looked at the weaker soul with a sinister chuckle.
"From the moment I was born, I always KNEW I would take over his personality at one point in life!" finished Dark Marik.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"But Marik was the one trying to kill Thomas here!" protested Henry, "He was also the one who committed all of those crimes of attempted murder on all of us."
"Speaking of Marik," put in Gordon, "what does he even have to do with you?"
"What does he have to do with me, indeed," agreed Dark Marik, shrugging uncaringly, "But all of those greater crimes… Clearly he would never have felt so terrible in committing any of them if he didn't have someone on-hand to…" His slasher smile intensified, "…take the guilt out of his heart."
"Say what?!" exclaimed Percy, "Are you trying to tell us-?!"
"Oops! I guess the cat is out of the bag now… Yes, I outright admit it! I was the one who influenced Marik to commit all of those horrible crimes!" confessed Dark Marik, smirking evilly, looking directly at Thomas without remorse, "Including the crimes against you and your friends, Thomas Billinton!"
Hearing that REALLY made Thomas angry.
"You…" he seethed quietly, before his eyes flared up in intense rage at the one person who was TRULY responsible for everything evil/dangerous that has happened to him and his friends throughout Battle City, "YOU!"
The blue-haired boy's Millennium Puzzle started glowing all gold while the Millennium Eye symbol reappeared on his forehead. What was worse than that? Oh, a burning aura of darkness also surrounding him. Clearly, they were all responding to his (Thomas) inner hate and anger towards Dark Marik—it was a sight the evil man was loving every second.
"Thomas!" cried Emily, frightened of what was happening to her friend.
"Oh, but I didn't even get to the best part!" laughed Dark Marik, continuing to look sickly amused with Thomas's fury, "There was only one thing standing in the way of my plans to take over… I could only switch personalities whenever Marik is filled with hatred and rage."
A vision/flashback began.
FLASHBACK
In this vision, Odion was shown standing and awake.
"Odion…" narrated Dark Marik, "Without originally knowing what he was doing, that foolish man engraved his own face with those hideous carvings just to comfort my weaker half… By doing so, all of the anger and hate inside Marik was sealed away."
(new scene…)
Inside Odion's room, the Rare Hunter second-in-command was shown lying in bed and still in his coma.
"I was confined deep inside Marik's heart with no way to emerge…" spat Dark Marik.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, and Dark Marik smirked some more and raised his Millennium Rod.
"But since he had fallen into a coma from foolishly playing that fake 'God' Card," rejoiced Dark Marik triumphantly, "I'm finally in control of the body!" He swung his right arm into a bow, "Ah ha ha ha, I guess you could also say that I'm the 'REAL' Marik Ishtar!"
Below the platform…
"You say you're the 'real' Marik? You're nothing but a maniac!" shouted James.
"A pure sadist!" came from Toby.
"A heartless monster!" finished Liz.
"What the hell do you want?!" demanded Thomas in his rage, "Is it the 'Egyptian God' Cards?! Or is it something else?"
Back on the platform…
"What do I want?" teased Dark Marik in a highly sadistic tone, "I 'have' no needs whatsoever. But if you really want an answer…" His face began to slowly stretch out like bad animation of sorts, while his voice began growing more and more disoriented, "All light and order… All life besides my own, I want to destroy… DESTROY! Destruction is my only pleasure! That is what gives birth to my world!" It was then his face and voice returned to normal, "A world in the DARKNESS OF DEATH!"
Dark Marik then laughed more savagely than ever before, actually frightening a few members of the group from what they just heard and witnessed from that insane split personality of a mere teenage boy.
"Marik…!" thought Thomas in cold fury.
Soon, Dark Marik stopped with his insane laughter and held his Millennium Rod up triumphantly at the defenseless Lady Stone.
"And it shall all begin with this weak girl!" proclaimed Dark Marik madly, "She shall perish alone in the darkness…"
Below the platform, everyone else watching gazed at Dark Marik with fear and anger, knowing that they couldn't do anything to stop the evil man from winning the Shadow Game. Eventually, however, Percy couldn't take it any longer and ran towards the platform.
"Huh? Percy, wait!" called Thomas.
But Percy didn't listen, "I hope it isn't too late…!" he thought to himself. Finally, he arrived at the platform and looked up towards Poland in desperation, "Hey, you! Stop this duel at once!"
"I can't!" refused Roland, "The duel can't end until one duelist's LP reaches 0."
"But Lady's going to die if it continues any longer!" argued Percy, "Can't you guys see that?"
"No matter what… the duel WILL continue!" boomed Spencer, standing nearby, "Remember that well!"
Cursing loudly in frustration, Percy ignored Roland's further orders to not go and interrupt the duel and jumped up onto the platform. Once there, he ran towards his chained up girlfriend. Lady was too busy thinking about her impending fate, as well as all of her previous actions to pay any attention to Percy approaching.
"I deserve this fate," thought Lady, depressed, "I've been a terrible friend to everyone I have ever met," Going through her memories, a few faded clips of her dueling Thomas in San Francisco were superimposed over her, "Thomas… I tried to defeat him in San Francisco so he wouldn't have to face Sailor John and potentially end up like Spencer did after he lost," The faded clips became her (Lady) duel with Emily, defeating her (Emily) in the end, "Emily… I defeated her in a duel and made it seem like Thomas would never enter the finals," And finally, the faded clips became the occasions during Battle City where it seemed like she wasn't being supportive, "And Percy, my love, I had been very unsupporting to him. He doesn't deserve someone like me…"
"Lady!" Percy's voice echoed in Lady's head.
Dark Marik smiled some more, "It's all over for you, now…" he whispered, before raising his voice, "'The Winged Dragon of Ra', get ready to attack!"
'The Winged Dragon of Ra' obeyed, beginning to charge a mighty blast of fire in its mouth.
"Lady, hang on!" Percy cried, trying to break the chains on his girlfriend's wrists, but was having no luck in doing so, "Argh! What the hell are these things made out of?"
The green-haired boy's voice and words slowly started to slowly bring Lady back to her senses.
"Percy?"
"Yes," said Percy gently, "It's me. I've come to save you."
"Why bother?" uttered Lady sadly, "I deserve to die…"
"No! You don't deserve this at all!" denied Percy, not going to have any of that.
"He's right," agreed a voice (male).
To Lady and Percy's surprise, James was here to help out.
"James?" Percy blinked, "What are you doing up here?"
"I couldn't let my two friends down!" smiled James. He then narrowed his eyes and looked over to nearby, "Well, that and the referee was pissing me off something fierce."
Gesturing to nearby, Roland was shown lying off the platform face-down with a large lump on his head and stars circling around his head. Despite the bleak, intense, almost hopeless situation, Percy and Lady both couldn't help but comically sweatdrop from seeing what James had done.
"You knocked him out, James?" Lady blinked in surprise.
"Hey, he gave me no other choice!" defended James, "It served him right for standing like an idiot when lives are in danger."
With that said, both duelists tried to free their friend from the ancient tablet, but it was no use.
"Damn it!" cried James, "These things are locked in tight. Isn't this supposed to be Solid Vision?"
"It's locked to the wall," remembered Percy, "There's got to be a way to free Lady!"
At this point, 'The Winged Dragon of Ra's' attack was all charged up.
"And now, 'The Winged Dragon of Ra', attack and kill all three of them!" cackled Dark Marik, before holding his Millennium Rod out, "God Blaze Cannon!"
'The Winged Dragon of Ra' obeyed, firing the blast of fire at the three duelists in an attempt to roast them alive. Seeing what was coming, Lady tried reasoning with her two friends…
"Forget about me!" she cried, "Run away while you both still can!"
"Not a chance in hell," James refused bravely, "I'm sticking by your side."
"Me too!" added Percy, "I won't let anything happen to you—because I love you."
Lady, with tears in her eyes, felt thankful.
"Thank you… my love," thought Lady, "At least…we'll die together."
Just as it was all over for the three friends, Thomas suddenly hopped onto the arena and, with his Millennium Puzzle still glowing all gold, he went and…intercepted God Blaze Cannon.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" screamed Thomas, blocking the attack with his back.
"Thomas!" James, Percy, and Lady cried out at once.
"How touching!" commented Dark Marik excitedly, "But now I get to actually kill Thomas, too! It almost makes me want to cry!"
"Never!" Thomas declared, grimacing and feeling the fiery rage of 'God', "You can attack me all you want… but when you try to hurt my friends like this… I will…repel it and…ugh…send you back into the darkness…for it!"
"We shall see!" challenged Dark Marik, just as his face briefly stretched like bad animation again, "Go, 'The Winged Dragon of Ra'! Destroy Thomas, as well!"
'The Winged Dragon of Ra' obeyed and continued its attack (increasing its power to the limit), but Thomas wouldn't stand down from it. Eventually, to Dark Marik's great surprise, the attack began to weaken itself. Soon, the attack had ended. James, Percy, and Lady each fell to their knees as the cards all faded away (along with the Shadow Realm fog), but Thomas immediately collapsed from exhaustion and pain.
"Thomas!" came from Toby, Edward, and Mavis.
"THOMAS!" came from Liz, Molly, and Emily, with the final one nearly in tears.
DUEL RESULTS: Dark Marik wins!
Once all was quiet…
"This match…is over," muttered Dark Marik, with his arms folded. He (Dark Marik) then cast a glance over to a now conscious Roland, "Kind sir, I've won the duel fair and square, so announce me as the victor… And do it nice and loudly."
Roland initially hesitated in doing so, but felt nervous when he (Roland) saw Dark Marik was holding up the Millennium Rod like he (Dark Marik) was going to use it on him (Roland).
"M-Marik Ishtar is the winner of the fourth duel!" announced Roland nervously.
"You mean the 'real' Marik Ishtar," corrected Dark Marik.
The arena lowered back down, and Dark Marik slowly approached the unconscious Thomas with the Millennium Rod, pulled off the handle with a rather short chuckle, and exposed the dagger.
"Well now, boy, should I tear you limb from limb now?" he asked sinisterly, pointing the weapon at his helpless victim, "After all, you did nearly ruin my fun."
"You bastard!" growled James, approaching Dark Marik.
"Relax, I merely jest," sighed Dark Marik, putting the handle back on the Millennium Rod with the evil grin remaining on his face. To make matters worse for James, the Millennium Eye symbol on his (Dark Marik) forehead was glowing all gold, "I'd much rather truly destroy Thomas in a duel. In a match befitting those chosen by the Millennium Items… In the Ultimate Shadow Game!"
Glowing gold himself, James found himself motionless and not able to move a muscle.
"H-Hey! I can't…m-move!" winced James, without his lips moving.
Dark Marik then approached Lady, but Percy immediately stood up and got in the way. This time, however, Dark Marik was not smiling at Percy—this time, he got angry.
"You stay away from her, Marik!" The green-haired boy snapped.
"You, on the other hand, need to be taught a lesson on interfering," sneered Dark Marik, narrowing his eyes.
With that said, he (Dark Marik), with great strength, whacked Percy with the Millennium Rod, making him (Percy) shout in pain as he flew off the arena and onto the ground near his friends.
"Percy!" came from Ryan, Liz, Carlie, and Ben.
"Know that I can kill you at any time I choose," murmured Dark Marik, before turning his attention to Lady, "Now, I will be wanting my 'God' Card back from you."
Lady didn't say a word. Dark Marik proceeded to approach the frightened girl.
"You're very lucky, little girl," began Dark Marik in almost a 'purring' like tone, kneeling down to Lady's level, "You actually got away with your life," As he rambled on, she weakly listened, "But you'll regret it… You'll wish you had died here painlessly… The loser of a Shadow Game must be penalized," His smile grew even colder, "Tell me something… do you know what kind of punishment I'm talking about?"
Lady merely shook her head fearfully, but soon came to regret it greatly…
"The kind of punishment is what I call…" continued Dark Marik, standing back up and holding up his Millennium Rod forth as it began glowing, "…A PENALTY GAME!"
Lady didn't have time to scream as the air all around her fizzled and flashed in a multitude of colors.
(new location…)
When she opened her eyes, poor Lady was somewhere in the darkness and inside a weirdly constructed hourglass of some sort.
"W-Where am I?" stammered Lady.
"You're in the world of darkness," The voice of Dark Marik echoed. He was shown outside the hourglass, "Or, rather, your soul room."
"M-My soul room?" repeated Lady, growing more and more frightened, "Let me out of here…! Please!"
"Sadly, I must decline your request to release you," refused Dark Marik, "And let me fill you in on a little something important; the moment I remove my 'Egyptian God' Card from the little hatch in the middle of this hourglass, it will release from the top half a swarm of flesh-eating insects into your section that will devour your body slowly—but surely…and painfully. In twenty-four hours or so… you'll never awaken from your deep slumber, Polly Stone!"
Lady could only bang on the hourglass repeatedly while screaming and pleading for mercy and help from someone.
"Well then, good night," finished Dark Marik coldly, about to remove his card from the hatch, "I'm taking my card back."
With that said, the evil man removed the 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' Effect Monster Card from the hatch, and Lady could only continue to scream in pure terror as the flesh eating insects started pouring down on her. The sight caused Dark Marik to laugh evilly.
(elsewhere…)
Back atop the duel arena, Lady had collapsed into a coma. Percy had managed to get up on his feet and run back onto the stage.
"Lady! LADY!" he screamed, shaking Lady, "Wake up!"
"Don't bother," hissed Dark Marik, standing before Percy, "She's trapped in a world of endless darkness with insects eating away at her. Unless you can defeat me in a Shadow Game within the next twenty-four hours or so… she will never wake up."
Percy was stunned; this had to be a lie, Lady was not in a coma… She was just unconscious, and would wake up soon. Yes, that was it.
"Stop joking…" whispered Percy, growing desperate, "It's all a lie! You're lying! I know Lady will be okay! Y-You just made her fall unconscious!"
"You fool…! She 'chose' to seek out the darkness," scolded Dark Marik remorselessly, causing Percy to shut up. He then continued speaking while smiling sadistically, "She knew the risks when she fought me—and she sought 'The Ultimate Pain and Pleasure' in her heart!"
Realizing that Lady was truly stuck in a coma and would likely die within twenty-hour hours if nothing was done, Percy held Lady's body close to him and cried. Dark Marik merely laughed and walked past the rest of the gang and off the platform towards the elevator.
"The power inside of me has been released," thought Dark Marik, looking to the palm of his right hand, "The more innocent souls I sacrifice to the darkness, the more it fuels my great power. But my desired number of sacrifices has not been satisfied…yet."
(elsewhere…)
Dark Marik's psychotic laughter echoed throughout the blimp as it flew high in the sky and across the ocean.
(elsewhere…)
Back on the platform, James managed to recover when everyone else got onto the platform.
"Are you okay?" asked Molly worriedly.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," uttered James weakly, before looking over in the direction of both Edward and Emily, "How's Thomas?"
His answer came as Thomas was heard groaning a bit and regained consciousness.
"Thomas!" sobbed Emily, hugging her friend (and crush) tightly, "Oh, Thomas! Thank God you're alive!"
"I'll…be okay," Thomas groaned a bit, before getting up and hearing the sobs coming from his best friend, "Percy?"
Everyone could see Percy holding Lady close to him and crying for her in anguish.
"Is Lady…going to be okay?" asked Liz, dreading the answer.
"No… She's stuck in a coma," Percy mumbled, with tears falling from his eyes. He then turned his head and looked up at most of his friends, "And unless Marik is defeated within twenty-four hours, she'll never wake up!"
Everyone else was absolutely devastated by the news—although not everyone was feeling very bad about it. Spencer was watching the scene when a beeping sound came from his coat collar.
"Yes, Skiff?" Spencer asked almost immediately.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the computer lab, Skiff was typing away on a keyboard while the monitor showed a large image of 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' Effect Monster Card (with the text).
"Big Brother, I've got a picture of 'Ra' on the computer," he reported, "I'll begin translating the text immediately."
(elsewhere…)
Back atop the blimp, Spencer looked pleased with what he heard.
"Good. Let me know when the process is finished," requested Spencer, walking past his Mother and Father. He then stopped at the center of the platform, "Alright, everyone, clear out so I can prepare myself for the next duel!"
Everyone turned to stare. Percy was so depressed over what happened to Lady that he had barely any strength in his (Percy) voice and made no effort to snap at Spencer for not stopping the duel when he (Spencer) had the chance.
"Spencer…" whispered Thomas.
"Save it, Billinton!" The voice of Spencer interrupted sharply, slotting his Deck into his Duel Disk. He was ready to demolish whoever he was set to face, "It's finally my turn to duel now, and nothing will stop me from becoming the best once more! So let the 'torment' begin!"
As he said the last part of his sentence, a large image of 'Obelisk the Tormentor' appeared in the background behind him with a roar. So yes, Spencer would be facing the tenth finalist. Who was she? We'll have to wait and see, won't we?
And that's part 3 of Lady VS. Dark Marik, completing this intense and violent three-parter, with Dark Marik winning out. Stay tuned for potential future "Definitive" versions of several Battle City Finals duels in the future, and, as usual, stay safe.