The Detestable Duel
"The rules of this game are very simple," said Count Olaf with a smirk. Violet grimaced. Nothing was ever simple with Count Olaf. She glanced over at her siblings, Klaus and Sunny. They were trapped behind metal bars, with a giant weight hanging over them.
"We both start with 4000 life points," Olaf said, gesturing at his and Violet's Duel Disks. "As we reduce each other's life points, we'll each get closer to what we desire. In your case, as I lose life points, the bars of little Klaus and Sunny's cage will lower and lower until they can finally escape."
"And if you lower my life points?" said Violet, though she dreaded to hear the answer.
Olaf's eyes shined brightly as if he was about to tell a very funny joke. "The lower your life points become, the lower that weight over the little brats will become. When I reduce your life points to zero, it will fall and crush them flat, and you will have to come with me until you come of age and I can seize the Baudelaire fortune!" He snickered at this.
Violet felt anxious about trusting the fate of her brother and sister to a game of Duel Monsters. She had only picked up the game a week ago, and she still wasn't very good at it.
Mr. Poe had dropped off her and her siblings at Domino High School to learn while he looked for a new guardian for them. (Their parents had died in a terrible fire not long ago.) At Domino High, everyone played Duel Monsters. If you didn't, the students had nothing to say to you. The Baudelaires had been lonely at the school until a boy named Yugi invited them to play with his friends. Yugi's grandfather owned a card shop, so he had plenty of cards. He helped them build decks and taught them how to play. It was a pretty fun game, and it was a relief to have an easy way to make friends at the school now.
Of course, Count Olaf, their long-time enemy who followed them everywhere and concocted schemes to kidnap them and steal the fortune their parents had left behind, had disguised himself as a teacher at the school and made ruses to get near the children. One by one, Violet's siblings had disappeared, until, one lunch break, she found a note from Olaf in her locker. It told her to come to a warehouse just outside the school, and to make sure she was alone if she wanted to see "the other brats" alive.
And now, if she wanted them to stay alive, she had to beat Olaf in a children's card game. It was almost as vile a scheme as when he had tried to marry her under the guise of a lousy play.
She had no choice. All she could do was trust in her cards and let fate decide the match.
Violet and Olaf shuffled their decks and inserted them into their Duel Disks. "Let's duel!" they said.
They each drew five cards.
"I'll go first," said Olaf with a smirk. As if he would have it differently, thought Violet. "I summon Chest Mimic, in attack mode!" A giant treasure chest materialised before them. It had 1300 attack points and 1500 defence points. "Next, I'll play two cards face down and end my turn."
Violet looked at the cards in her hand. Aha! she thought. My Green Gadget! He has 1400 attack points, which is higher than the Chest Mimic! If I summon him and attack, I can get an early lead and finish this duel sooner!
"I summon Green Gadget in attack mode! Now he'll attack your Chest Mimic!"
Green Gadget curled up into a gear and revved into the Chest Mimic, cracking the wood and eviscerating the monster hiding inside. It exploded into polygons and Olaf's life points went down to 3900.
However, the smirk was still on his face. "Oh dear," he said. "It looks like you outplayed me." His eyes shined brighter. "But we'll see how the rest of this duel turns out."
Violet grimaced. It wasn't like Olaf to be outmanoeuvred so easily. He must have some plan, but what could it be?
"My turn," said Olaf. He drew a card. "I summon the Fallen Aristocrat in attack mode and end my turn."
Violet's eyes lit up. The Fallen Aristocrat only had 800 attack points. Her Green Gadget would easily beat it. And if she summoned Red Gadget as well, she could attack him directly as well and bring his life points down to 2000! Halfway to victory!
"I summon Red Gadget in attack mode!" said Violet. "Now I'll attack the Fallen Aristocrat with Green Gadget and then attack directly with Red Gadget!"
"Wait, Violet!" cried Klaus. "You're falling into his trap! Count Olaf knows that his monster can't beat yours, so why would he summon it in attack position if he didn't want you to destroy it?"
"Shut up, you orphan brat!" snapped Olaf. "Or I'll set off the trap early and kill you now!"
I appreciate the thought, Klaus, thought Violet. But I don't see what he could gain by me destroying his monsters. He still loses life points, and when his life points reach zero, I'll win. If he has a strategy involving that, I don't see how it could work.
Green Gadget plowed through the Fallen Aristocrat, and Red Gadget crashed into Count Olaf. Olaf winced at the blow, but he stayed on his feet. He was now down to 2000 life points. The bars of Violet's siblings' cage were halfway down. Klaus could touch the top of the bars if he stood on his toes. It seemed like they had a chance!
"It's my turn again," said Olaf. "Because I have two DARK attribute monsters in my Graveyard, I can banish them and pay 1000 life points to summon my ultimate beast! Say hello to the Pyromancer!"
Olaf summoned a humanoid figure that towered over Violet, reaching the ceiling. It was clad in flame from head to toe, and its face was a shadowy silhouette. It seemed to have an expression of twisted glee.
"The Pyromancer can't attack, but if I pay 600 life points, I can wipe out every monster on your side of the field! I think I'll just do that!"
The Pyromancer breathed in deeply and then spewed fire onto Violet's gadgets. They writhed in pain from the blaze and exploded into polygons.
Violet was unhappy at losing her beloved gadgets, but she could only be baffled by Olaf's tactics. He was now down to 400 life points. Klaus and Sunny's cage was now so low that, if Klaus lifted Sunny over his head, he could get her out. (He wouldn't, though, because he would still be trapped and Olaf would surely crush him immediately.) Was he planning to lose the duel so he could trick her into an even worse trap? Was the mechanism rigged to release the weight when she won instead of Olaf? It made no sense.
"And now," said Olaf. "I activate my face-down trap card: Reversal of Fortune."
"Karpov!" screamed Sunny, which probably meant, "This must have been his plan all along!"
"Wh... What does Reversal of Fortune do?" said Violet.
"Reversal of Fortune lets me discard my hand in order to swap our life point totals. So my measly 400 life points now become your life points, while your plentiful 4000 life points now become mine!"
The bars of Klaus and Sunny's cage shot back up to the ceiling, and the weight hurtled down towards them. They screamed and ducked. The weight hung just above their lowered heads; if they'd stayed standing, they would have been killed.
Count Olaf cackled. "It worked! My plan was foolproof, and you were the fool!" He clapped and danced in celebration of his wicked scheme.
Violet collapsed to her knees. She should have known something like this would happen. It was going too easy. It was always this way with Count Olaf: no matter how much progress they made, no matter how certain victory seemed for the Baudelaires, fate always pulled the rug from under their feet. She usually thought of herself as quite intelligent. It seemed like an objective truth when she had been able to invent so many devices to pull herself and her siblings out of disaster so many times. But now, after falling so easily into Olaf's latest trap, she felt like the biggest idiot in the world. She started to weep and she hid her face in her hands.
"Violet!"
Violet looked at the entrance to the warehouse to see who had called out her name. The door opened and in ran her new friends: Yugi Moto, Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor.
"Violet! Are you okay?" said Yugi.
"What da HECK is goin' on around here?!" said Joey as he looked around. "Why are ya dueling Coach Genghis, and why are your brother and sister locked in a cage?"
"Because Coach Genghis is really Count Olaf!" cried out Klaus. "He's trapped us all here as part of his latest scheme to kill us and steal our parents' fortune!"
"WHAT?! Dat sleaze!" said Joey. "C'mon Tristan, let's get dese guys outta here and teach dis Count Olaf creep a lesson!"
"Ah, ah, ah," said Count Olaf. "I wouldn't come any closer, Joseph. If you got too close, I might accidentally pull this switch, and it might just cause the little orphan brats over there to be crushed flatter than matzo on Pesach."
"Argh..." said Joey. "Yuge, you got any ideas on how to get dese guys outta this?"
"Violet, what's Count Olaf's plan here?" said Yugi. "How is playing Duel Monsters with you going to help him get your fortune?"
Violet wiped away her tears so that her friends wouldn't see that she'd been crying. She explained how her siblings had been trapped, and how their situation was tied to their life point totals. She explained how the Baudelaire fortune was being held by the bank until she turned eighteen, and that Count Olaf needed her (or Klaus, or Sunny) alive until then. And she couldn't help explaining how afraid she was due to her inexperience at the game, and how much was riding on her ability.
As Violet told her story, Yugi began to quiver with anger. The pendent he wore, the Millennium Puzzle, began to glow.
"Yu-Gi-Oh!"
With a flash of light, Yugi's appearance changed. He stood taller, more confidently, and his face wore a self-assured smirk.
"Count Olaf," he declared. "Your treachery is at an end!"
"Hmph. You wish. Don't you see I have this duel in the bag?" said Olaf.
Yugi grinned. "On the contrary. Violet has this duel won. In just three turns, you'll see."
Everyone gasped and stared at Yugi. Especially Violet.
"Hey, Yuge," said Joey. "Not for nothin', but what makes you so sure about dat? Violet's in a pretty hopeless situation right now."
"As long as Violet has faith in her deck, victory will be hers," said Yugi.
Violet looked at the cards in her hand. The Pyromancer had 1450 attack points, and she had nothing in her hand that could beat it. I'll have to draw and hope I get lucky, she thought. She drew a card. Monster Reborn! This is a good card! Maybe it can help me turn the duel around!
"I'll take that!" said Count Olaf. Violet looked and saw that Count Olaf had revealed his last face down card. "Snatch" allowed him to steal the card she just drew if he activated it during her Draw Phase. That meant her Monster Reborn would go to him. "Bring it here!"
Violet shamefully walked over to Count Olaf and held out the card. He snatched it from her hand. "Stall as long as you want," he hissed at her. "But it won't change that you're mine this time." She shuddered as she walked back to her place.
Violet felt like Count Olaf had crushed her hopes yet again, but she saw that Yugi was unperturbed. He still had faith that she would win. Why? she thought. There doesn't seem to be any way...
"I summon one monster face down and end my turn," she said.
Count Olaf drew a card and smirked at her. "Now I'll use that card I stole from you to bring back a powerful monster I had to discard earlier. Normally, I'd have to tribute two monsters to bring it out, but thanks to you, I can summon it for free! Here comes The Regal Charlatan!"
The Regal Charlatan was a scruffy-looking man in fancy clothes who had 2600 attack points. He didn't look strong on the surface, but he had an aura of menace that made it clear how dangerous he really was.
"Regal Charlatan, destroy Violet's face down card!"
The Regal Charlatan leapt high and stomped down on Violet's monster, which was revealed to be Yellow Gadget. Now Violet had no monsters on her side of the field.
"It's your turn now. With my Regal Charlatan, I can destroy any monster you try to summon! You might as well give up!"
But I also might as well keep going, she thought. What would I gain by letting him win sooner? If nothing else, I can give Klaus and Sunny another few minutes...
Violet drew a card. Ah, this is a good card too! "I play Pot of Greed! This is a card which here means that I can draw two extra cards from my deck!"
"I know what Pot of Greed does," snarled Count Olaf.
Violet smiled when she saw the cards she drew. Maybe Yugi was right, she thought. Maybe I CAN win this duel!
"I play one card face down!" she said. "And then I play Mechanical Inspiration! This lets me summon all three of my Gadgets from the graveyard in defense position! Not only that, but it protects them from being destroyed by battle! Now they'll serve as a shield that keeps you from getting at my life points!" It will also prevent you from disrupting my strategy...
Violet summoned Red, Green and Yellow Gadget in defense mode and ended her turn. Before Olaf conducted his Draw Phase, she said, "Wait! I activate my trap card! Stronghold the Moving Fortress! This trap card becomes a monster that gains 3000 attack points if I have all three of my Gadget monsters on the field! It starts in defense position, but next turn, I can switch it to attack mode and start destroying your monsters!"
"Oh, really?" said Count Olaf. He drew a card. His eyes shined brighter than they ever had. "I play the equip spell card, Internal Bleeding. When I equip this to a monster, it loses half of its attack points during each of its controller's Standby Phases. I'm sure you know which monster this is going on." Violet's heart sunk. Count Olaf attached Internal Bleeding to Stronghold the Moving Fortress. By Violet's next turn, Stronghold wouldn't have enough attack points to defeat The Regal Charlatan.
"Well... At least my life points are still safe... I have four monsters in defense position, and you can't destroy them!"
"Don't be so sure," said Olaf. "I'm going to play this trap card face down." He revealed that he had the card Battle Mania. If he activated it during Violet's next turn, it would change all of her monsters to Attack Position and they would be forced to attack during her Battle Phase. Violet and her siblings had always managed to foil Olaf's schemes by biding their time and only acting when they had figured out the right thing to do. But now, even that option was about to be taken away from them.
"Face it, orphan. You and the other brats have been a thorn in my side for long enough. But now I've outplayed you. You're coming with me, and your fortune will be mine."
Violet tried to hold it in, but she couldn't help but break into tears. It was humiliating to break down in front of everyone, but that just made her cry more. I've failed... she thought. Klaus and Sunny are going to die, and it's all my fault... I was supposed to look after them and protect them, but I can't... I can't do anything...
Joey growled. "Dat's it! I can't take dis anymore! I'm gonna go give that Count Olaf creep a piece o' my mind!" Joey tried to charge at Olaf, but Tristan held him back.
"Calm down, Joey!" said Tristan. "If you get near him, Count Olaf is gonna kill Klaus and Sunny!"
"Not if I get there first!" said Joey. "There's just no excuse for making a girl cry like that!"
"It's going to be alright, Joey," said Yugi. "Violet! Listen to me!"
Violet choked down her sobs and turned to look at Yugi.
"There's one card in your deck that can save you. All you have to do is draw it and victory will be yours."
One card that can save me...? I don't know what you mean... I don't remember every card in my deck... Besides, what are the odds that I'll draw it?
Violet hated relying on luck. Part of why she loved inventing was that mechanical objects are predictable. If an invention didn't work the way she expected, she could tinker with it and fix it. It was comforting when something was her own fault, because then it was in her power to do something about it. If it was someone else's fault, at least she could be angry with them, as she had often been angry with Count Olaf.
But luck is just an abstract concept. You can't get angry at it. If she got unlucky and drew the wrong card, it wouldn't be anyone's fault and Klaus and Sunny would be doomed for no reason at all. She would ask herself, "What if it had gone differently?" and all she could think would be that it could just as easily have gone differently, but nothing anyone could have done would have had an influence on it.
Maybe there was another way. Maybe she could stall taking her turn and give the others time to figure out some way to stop Olaf. But if I do that, Olaf will realise what I'm doing and he'll kill Klaus and Sunny anyway... There didn't seem to be a way out of it. What do I do...?
The Millennium Puzzle flashed. Yugi gave Violet an assuring look. How can Yugi be so sure? Does he somehow know what's on top of my deck? It seems impossible... But... Yugi believes in me... And I trust Yugi...
"I draw a card..." Violet closed her eyes and slowly drew from her deck. Please be the right card... Please be the right card...
She opened her eyes and looked at the card she drew. Her heart soared and she realised Yugi had been right.
"I summon a second Green Gadget in Attack Mode!" said Violet.
"What do you think you can possibly accomplish by doing that?" said Count Olaf. "Green Gadget isn't strong enough to defeat any of my monsters, and the rest of your monsters are about to attack and be destroyed!"
Violet smirked at him. "Well, I need five monsters on the field so I can activate this card."
Violet revealed the card she'd drawn. "Mechanical Explosion. As long as I tribute five Machine-Type monsters on my side of the field, I can destroy every monster on your side of the field to inflict damage equal to the sum of your monsters' attack points."
Count Olaf froze for a moment. "What?!"
"The Pyromancer has 1450 attack points, and The Regal Charlatan has 2600. If I'm not mistaken, that makes more than 4000!"
Count Olaf snarled. "You can't do this!"
"Yes I can!" Violet activated the card. All of her Gadget monsters came together and formed a raging inferno. The fireball crashed down into Count Olaf's side of the field and vaporised his monsters. He screamed as the fire consumed him and reduced his life points to 0.
"I did it!" said Violet.
"She did it!" cried Joey, Tristan and Klaus.
"Balboa!" said Sunny.
Violet looked back at Yugi. "Thank you, Yugi..." He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.
"Hey! Why isn't the cage opening?" said Joey. Everyone looked. It was true. Even though Olaf's life points were gone, the cage was still all the way up.
"You think I'm going to give up on this plan over a stupid kids game?!" said Olaf. "I may not be able to get you this time, Violet, but I can still get rid of two wretched orphans today! I'll squash those little brats flat!"
"No!" screamed Violet.
Olaf was about to activate the mechanism to murder Klaus and Sunny, but he was stopped when Joey ran up and kicked him across the room.
"Awright!" said Joey. "I've been itchin' to kick ya butt dis whole time, and now it's time for you to deal with Joey Wheeler!"
Joey ran to Olaf to deliver more punches and kicks, but Olaf had gotten up and was ready to defend himself. He dodged Joey's attack, punched him in the gut and forced him to the ground. Despite his scrawny appearance, Count Olaf was a formidable fighter.
Olaf tipped over a barrel that was in the corner. By the smell, you could tell it was petrol. Olaf lit a match and tossed it onto the spilled liquid. It burst into flame, and the flame began to spread to the rest of the warehouse.
Olaf smirked at Violet. "This isn't the last you've seen of me! I'll be back for you before you know it!" With that, he ran through the nearest door.
Joey groaned as he got to his feet. "C'mon, Tristan. We gotta get da Baudelaires outta dis cage before da fire gets outta control!"
Joey and Tristan ran to Klaus and Sunny's cage and tried to pull the bars apart. However, the bars were too strong.
As they struggled, Violet tied her ribbon around her hair and examined Olaf's hellish device. The bars came up from the floor from slots in the ground. When she got closer, she could see that the bars were attached to springs at the base. Evidently, it worked by a device coiling the spring to lower the bars.
She looked at the weight. It was held up by a rope, which wound its way through a series of pulleys to be controlled from the lever Olaf had used. At the rate the fire was going, the rope would start burning soon.
Violet gasped. "Tristan! Joey! Try to lift up that weight!"
"DIS heavy thing?!" said Joey. "You gotta be kidding! It probably weighs a few hundred pounds, at least!"
"Please!" said Violet. "If you don't, Klaus and Sunny are going to be crushed!"
"Okay... C'mon, Tristan. Let's put our backs into it!"
Joey and Tristan put their hands under the weight and started to lift. They grunted and yelled from the exertion, but it started to move.
Violet examined the whole mechanism again and had an idea. It was risky, but they were running out of time.
"Have you guys securely got the weight?" she said.
"Nng... Barely..." said Joey.
"Hold on tight. I'm going to pull down the ropes and pulleys that are holding it up."
"Are you crazy?!" said Tristan. "If we lose our grip, that rope is the only thing keeping Klaus and Sunny safe!"
"She knows what she's doing," said Klaus, though a little fear broke through his voice. "We'll be okay."
"Don't worry, Tristan," said Joey. "Ngh... We gotta trust Violet so she can trust us!"
Violet tugged on the pulley system and brought some of it to the ground. She brought the pieces to the cage and attached a pulley to the floor. She tore off some cloth from her dress and tied it to a large nut that was nearby. She tied the cloth to the rope and placed the nut on top of one of the cage bars. Violet had made a crude tow rope. In theory, the bar would be pulled down via her pulley system using a large weight for force. This weight happened to be the one dangling over Klaus and Sunny right now. In order to work, they would have to lower the weight from the right height.
"Can you guys lift it over your heads?" said Violet.
"Hey, you wanna try holding this thing?!" said Tristan.
"Lay off her, will ya?!" said Joey. "We got dis. On three. One... Two... Three!"
With that, Joey and Tristan pitted all their strength against the weight and screamed loudly from the exertion. But they got it over their heads.
Violet adjusted the ropes so they were taut. "Now gently lower it down. This should work..."
Joey and Tristan lowered the weight. As it came down, the ropes pulled on the cage bar, and by the time the weight was just over Klaus and Sunny's heads, the bar was just low enough for them to crawl out to freedom. They didn't waste a second. Violet directed her siblings to the exit of the warehouse and called to Joey and Tristan, "You can let it go now! Quick, let's get out of here!"
They dropped the weight to the ground with a crash! and all of them ran out of the warehouse. Tristan went to look for a pay phone so he could call the fire brigade.
Meanwhile, the Baudelaires tearfully embraced each other. They'd lived through so much peril already, but never before had they been separated and held near death for so long before.
Violet turned to Joey and wiped her eyes. "Thank you, Joey. If it wasn't for you and Tristan, we'd all be..."
"Ah, don't mention it," said Joey. "You guys'd do the same for us, right? That's what friendship is all about."
The Baudelaires thought about what Joey had said. Before Count Olaf came into their lives, they'd had some friends, but those friends had quickly drifted away. For a long time, the Baudelaires had only had each other to depend on to get out of trouble. It was strange to have people who were willing to put their own lives in danger to help them.
Joey continued. "Anyway, I wanted ta help you out. I know what it's like to have to protect someone you love, and how powerless you can feel. Dat's why we gotta stick together. We can't let people like dat creep, Count Olaf, walk all over us. Anyway, for what it's worth, Violet, I think you're doin' a great job of lookin' out for your little brother and sister."
Violet smiled and fought hard to keep from crying tears of gratitude for Joey's kind words. Then she remembered something. "Where's Yugi?"
Joey remembered too. "Huh? Hey! Yuge! Where are ya, pal?"
But Yugi was nowhere to be seen.
Count Olaf dashed through the alleys, away from the warehouse. He cursed under his breath that yet another scheme to seize the Baudelaire fortune had failed. But he consoled himself with the thought that the younger two would surely die today. Violet, the pretty one, would surely have enough sense to not die herself trying to save them. He could track her down again and seize her by a new scheme.
As he ran through the final alley to freedom, he found his way blocked by a young boy standing in the way. He growled. "Get out of my way, boy!"
The boy smirked. "I want to play a game with you, Count Olaf."
The boy didn't look particularly strong. Olaf could probably easily overpower him. And yet...
"Why should I play a game with you, you brat?" Olaf tried to sound as confident as possible. He didn't want to admit that he was a little scared.
"Because..." The boy grinned. "I have something of value to you."
What could he possibly have that I would want? Olaf thought. Yet he found himself saying, "Alright. I'll go along with you. For now."
He followed the boy into a dingy room with a table, two chairs, and a knife stuck in the table. They sat down opposite each other.
"I'm sure an old scoundrel like yourself knows how to play five-finger fillet," said the boy.
Of course he did. Two players take turns stabbing a knife between their fingers. Ridiculously simple, yet requiring nerves of steel. He hadn't played it in years, but he was confident he was still good enough to well outmatch this boy.
"Perhaps," Olaf said. "But what do I have to gain by playing with you?"
The boy held up the golden pendant around his neck. "This is the Millennium Puzzle. An ancient Egyptian artifact of great power. With this power, it would be trivial for you to acquire the Baudelaire fortune, and any other fortune you might set your eyes on."
Olaf licked his lips. "Hmm... And how can I be sure it's as powerful as you say?"
The boy sneered. The Puzzle flashed and every shadow in the room seemed to become longer and more crooked, and they seemed to take on a life of their own and ominously drift along the walls. Then Olaf's gaze was drawn back to the boy's eyes.
"I think you can tell that I am one to be neither doubted, nor trifled with," the boy said.
Olaf shuddered a little. "Very well. If nothing else, I'm sure such a quaint trinket will sell to someone for a high price. And if I lose, what then?"
The boy smirked. "If you lose, you must receive a Penalty Game."
Olaf didn't know what that meant. But his greed was enticed by the Millennium Puzzle. It might just be as magical as the boy claimed. He'd never get another chance like this.
"I accept."
With that, he and the boy both slammed their palms onto the table. The boy took the knife and began.
Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
Then he said, "I want to introduce a rule that may intrigue you." And, between Olaf's fingers:
Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
"In this game, not only do you have to trust your own hand, but also your opponent's. So you see, the way to victory becomes not merely about showing your own skill, but also avoiding blocking your opponent's skill. This makes for a purer game, with no tricks, wouldn't you say?"
Olaf trembled. He had several tricks for cheating at five-finger fillet, and this youth had just neutralised them all. To keep his hand intact, he would have to trust the boy, and the boy would have to trust him.
He took a deep breath.
Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
Then the boy's hand:
Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
He sighed and put the knife down. The boy's cool smile didn't waver. Now it was his turn.
Tap tap tap tap tap...
Tap tap tap tap tap...
Olaf wondered if there was a way to dishonestly secure victory, even with this anti-cheating rule. Perhaps if he shook the table while the boy was going through his own hand... No, that's no good. Even if he could get away with it, next turn, the tempo would be too fast to time such a trick. More likely, he'd get his own hand stabbed.
Why not stab his hand? If Olaf pinned the boy's hand to the table, he'd be in too much pain to fight back, leaving Olaf free to grab the Puzzle and flee. But Olaf looked again at the boy's face. The boy seemed much too confident for that. He felt as if the boy would manifest superhuman nerves and fight tooth and nail to stop him if he tried that.
He calmed himself and went again.
Tap tap tap tap tap...
Tap tap tap tap tap...
In silence, the boy took the knife and took his turn:
Taptaptaptaptap...
Taptaptaptaptap...
To escape the room, Olaf would have to run past the boy and go some twenty paces to reach the door. After that, he'd be free. But how could he do it while also seizing the Puzzle? Maybe if he stood, grabbed the Puzzle, and used the knife to cut its cord, all in one smooth movement... If he wasn't so shaky, perhaps. And the boy's surface exuded confidence and unflappability. It seemed like it might be easier to try to win the game honestly after all...
Olaf went:
Taptaptaptaptap...
Taptaptaptaptap...
The boy returned:
Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap...
This speed was Olaf's limit. Unless the boy faltered on his next turn, he was sure to win. Olaf looked hungrily at the Millennium Puzzle. He could taste the power emanating from it, and he knew he could use it better than this boy. Untold riches would belong to him if he could use the Puzzle. He wanted it. He needed it.
He looked at the boy. He had the same cocky grin, betraying no cracks in his arrogance. Except...
Olaf noticed a drop of sweat rolling down the boy's face. So! He was no paragon of superhuman confidence! He was just as human as himself! Olaf smirked. Now he knew the path to victory.
Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap STAB!
Olaf plunged the knife into the centre of the boy's hand. Or, at least, he intended to. But there was nothing but the bare surface of the table.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to help yourself, Olaf." The boy was safe and sound, and he insolently rested his feet on the table. "You're so used to scheming and cheating that you've forgotten how to win an honest test of skill."
Olaf growled. "That may be. But scheming and cheating is itself a mighty skill." He went to pull the knife out of the table, but the boy kicked Olaf's hand, and then kicked the knife into a distant corner.
"You've trespassed in my heart for the last time, Count Olaf. You'll never harm my friends again. Just as you burned their lives down, now you too shall burn."
Olaf snarled and lunged at the boy. But the Millennium Puzzle flashed, and Olaf saw flames start to lick at his boots.
Olaf screamed and stamped at the fire. But the flames just started to climb his body. He threw himself against the wall and rolled on the floor, but nothing helped. The flames engulfed him from head to toe, and he shrieked at the pain.
The boy laughed coldly and left the room. Olaf didn't realise that the flames were only an illusion in his mind. But for a man like him, who relied so much on appearances, perhaps it was the same thing either way.
Joey and Tristan were about to go back into the burning building to look for Yugi when he finally returned.
"Hey! Yuge!" said Joey. "What's da big idea, runnin' off on ya own and scarin' us half to death?!"
Yugi blushed. "Sorry about that. The other me said he had something to take care of."
"Well, as long as you're okay. Me and Tristan had it all under control, anyway."
"Yeah, right!" said Tristan. "You got your butt kicked by an old man!"
"Watch it, Tristan!"
While Joey and Tristan nearly had a punch-up, Yugi went to Violet and told her:
"Violet, the other me said to tell you that you don't have to worry about Count Olaf anymore."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" she replied.
"I don't know. Maybe you can ask him next time he comes out."
Violet didn't know what to say. Yugi was so mysterious: talking about an "other me" and acting so bold and confident today, when he was normally sweet and shy. And she dreaded to think of what he meant about her not having to worry about Count Olaf now.
And yet... He'd been so kind to her and her siblings, and he and his friends had helped her save them from the worst peril they'd endured yet. Perhaps they'd finally found a true friend...
The next day, they all had an easygoing day at school. They got through their classes and they all played Duel Monsters together at lunchtime. They were all about to go to Yugi's grandfather's card shop after school when Mr. Poe arrived.
"Good news, Baudelaires!" he said. "I've found another guardian for you! It's a fair journey away, so you'd better pack your things so we can leave as soon as possible!"
He was surprised when the Baudelaires let out a cry of despair.
"Hey! What gives, Mr. Poe?!" said Joey. "We were just havin' a good time together, and now you wanna just take dem away?! Can't you see they're happy here?!"
"It's none of your concern, Master Wheeler," said Mr. Poe stiffly. "As the executor of their parents' estate, it's my responsibility to make sure they're raised in accord with their parents' will. That means finding suitable guardians who will give them a proper upbringing."
Joey growled and Violet quickly said, "It's okay, Joey. Mr. Poe's right. He's responsible for us, and he just wants what's best for us."
"Thank you, Violet," said Mr. Poe. "Now, please gather up your things and get ready to go."
The Baudelaires sadly gathered their things and returned to their friends to say goodbye. As Violet said goodbye to Yugi, she held out her Duel Monsters deck and said, "I guess I'd better give these back to you."
Yugi smiled. "No, I want you to keep your deck. It's yours. And it'll be something to remember us by."
Violet forced herself to not cry. "Thanks, Yugi."
Violet and her siblings got into Mr. Poe's car and were driven away. Yugi and his friends waved goodbye to them until they were well out of sight. The Baudelaires were anxious about what lay ahead of them, but it comforted them to know that there were people who cared about them, who wouldn't abandon them, and who would fight to help them. People like Tristan, Joey and Yugi.