Clash in the Coliseum Part I

Kaiba stood on the field, waiting.

Roland checked his watch. 'Mr. Kaiba, there are only two minutes for Yugi Moto to arrive.'

'He'll show up,' Kaiba responded with complete confidence. But he was still slightly annoyed. Thanks to Wheeler's little mishap, Yugi's wasting his time in the medical ward. But even his pathetic friends can't keep him away from our duel, for whoever wins faces Marik for the championship.

Added onto that, Yugi had never backed down from a fight.

YGO

The Pharaoh stood at the doors as the lift ascended.

Behind him, in spirit form, Yugi continued to sob.

'Yugi,' the Pharaoh said. 'We mustn't let Joey's struggle interfere with our concentration.' He turned to face him. 'Remember, in order to overcome Marik we must get past Kaiba.'

Yugi forced a smile and nodded. Then he returned into their Chamber of the Mind. The Pharaoh turned back around.

YGO

Kaiba lifted his head as the lift came to a stop and Yugi stepped out of it. He couldn't resist. 'Well, well! Yugi, so you decided to show up after all.'

Yugi, like usual, didn't rise to the bait. He just narrowed his eyes. 'Of course. To miss this duel is to deny my destiny.'

Part of Kaiba wondered if all that destiny talk was Yugi's own flavour of trying to rile him up. 'Spare me the drama.'

The field was moved into position as Roland made the declaration. 'The second duel of the Semi-Finals will now begin!'

Kaiba smirked. 'So, why didn't the Nerd Herd show up to cheer you on? Are they too busy trying to wake Wheeler up from his nap?' He chuckled at his own joke.

Yugi, though, didn't appreciate it. 'Joey is in a great deal of danger now! More than you could ever know.'

'Wheeler shouldn't have been here in the first place,' Kaiba retorted. 'I warned him not to play with the big boys and if you ask me he got just what he deserved: a slap in the face by Ra. And if getting attacked by an Egyptian God Card didn't knock any sense into that kid, then nothing will.'

'That's enough, Kaiba!' Yugi snapped. 'You have no appreciation for how dangerous this Duel Monsters Tournament of yours has become. And that's despite the amount of people you yourself have witnessed fall!'

Kaiba frowned and turned his head. 'I have the best medical staff in Japan working on their care. I'd stop complaining if I were you.'

Yugi glared at him.

Kaiba took that as acquiescence. 'As far as I'm concerned, Wheeler never really belonged here in the first place. So why don't we cut the chit-chat and get on with this duel so I can reclaim my title as World's Greatest Duellists.'

'Fine, Kaiba,' Yugi responded. 'The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can return.'

Eh – to-mar-toe, tom-ay-toe.

YGO

In the medical ward, everyone had found various positions around the room.

'Come on, Joey,' Serenity begged, sitting at his bedside. 'Keep fighting! I know you can get through this!'

'Huh?' Tristan suddenly said. 'Check it out!'

Everyone turned and looked. Joey's hand was twitching.

'It's just a reflex,' Duke said with resignation. 'He's still out of it.'

'Unfortunately true,' Sharee agreed. 'People who've been stationary for a long time do experience muscular spasms. It's part of the body's attempt to stop the muscles from atrophying – not very effective, but an attempt. The only movement we should take as Joey waking up is movement in response to outside stimulus. Like if you tell him to squeeze your hand and he does.'

Serenity's response to this was to reach over and take her brother's hand. 'Joey, can you squeeze my hand?'

No movement, and Serenity sobbed again.

'Nuts to this!' Tristan jumped up. 'Why isn't that emergency chopper here yet?'

'Mokuba might be having trouble getting through,' Sharee suggested.

'I'll find out!' Tristan ran out of the room.

Téa stood silently, eyes downcast. Sharee and Ishizu looked at each other, and then Ishizu stood up and walked over to her.

'You look troubled, Téa,' Ishizu remarked.

She jumped, having not seen Ishizu coming, and looked at her in surprise. 'Ishizu?'

'I know it seems as though we'll never be delivered from this darkness,' Ishizu said, 'but you must have faith in the light.'

YGO

The Pharaoh steeled himself as Yugi's thoughts moved through his head.

This is it. I have to win this duel – for the sake of Joey and the entire world!

Kaiba wore a wide grin of anticipation.

Roland stepped to the middle of the field. He raised a hand into the air. 'The last Semi-Final duel will now begin! I repeat: this duel will end the Semi-Finals!' He stepped back and both Kaiba and the Pharaoh prepared themselves.

'All right! Now…' Kaiba declared as they drew their first cards. 'Get ready, Yugi. We're about to find out which one of our Egyptian God Cards reigns supreme! So let the epic battle begin!'

'The winner of this duel will advance to the championship round,' Roland declared, 'to face Marik Ishtar for the Battle City Crown!'

'You're about to lose your Egyptian God Card and your reputation!' Kaiba declared. 'And a duel this momentous deserves an appropriate setting, wouldn't you agree, Yugi?' He lifted his arm and manipulated some controls on his duel disk. 'Observe the latest in holographic technology!'

The Pharaoh looked up at the projectors as they moved into a new position. Looked like Kaiba was planning on indulging his theatrical tendencies.

'I think you'll find this environment quite fitting,' Kaiba said.

With that, the projectors activated and a holographic field was cast around them. The lights spun around them at a high speed.

'Explain,' the Pharaoh said.

'I just wanna take you down in style, Yugi,' Kaiba stated. 'So observe.' At that moment, they were surrounded by a large massive structure that Yugi instantly identified as a colosseum. Kaiba only confirmed it. 'Welcome to Duellist Colosseum!' There were even holographic spectators. Kaiba's smirk deepened. 'In ancient times, Roman Gladiators would battle to their doom in order to prove who was the strongest. Now it's our turn to see which one of us deserves to call himself the greatest in the world. So draw your first card and let the battle begin!'

'With pleasure, Kaiba!' And the Pharaoh drew.

Everything is riding on this duel, Yugi said. I've got to stay focused and win this.

'Here we go.' The Pharaoh added the card to his hand.

'All right! Let's duel!'

The Pharaoh played his first card. 'I summon…this!' The card appeared on the field and the monster took form. 'Queen's Knight, in defence mode!' He took another card and played it. 'Next I'll place one card face down.' The card appeared. 'And that's all.'

'Yeah. Whatever.' Kaiba drew. From the smirk on his face, he either drew one of his Blue Eyes White Dragons…or his Egyptian God Card.

I wonder if Kaiba is planning to use the same strategy he used against Ishizu in his last duel… Yugi pondered. The Pharaoh doubted it. Far too predictable. Besides, Kaiba had done that to them once before. Kaiba may try to destroy my deck like he did Ishizu's. But, then, knowing Kaiba, he's got a whole new strategy planned for me.

Kaiba took a card and played it. 'And now, I summon my X-Head Cannon in attack mode!' The monster appeared on the field. 'Next, I'll activate a magic card.' He set the card and it appeared on the field. 'Does it look familiar?'

'It's Spell Sanctuary!' the Pharaoh declared.

'Yes,' Kaiba said, 'and it lets us both move one magic card from our deck to our hand. So it looks like you were wrong when you said I never help out anyone but myself, Yugi. Now, choose the magic card that I was nice enough to let you have so I can move on!'

Confused, the Pharaoh took his deck out of the slot and looked through his cards. He selected one and added it to his hand before replacing his deck. That was weird. Why would Kaiba want me to have instant access to my favourite magic card? Whichever card he chose must have been worth the risk.

Kaiba himself was selecting his own magic card. Then he played what both Yugi and the Pharaoh suspected…was it.

'I'll place one card face down,' he said as his card appeared on the field, 'and end my turn.'

YGO

Tristan ran into the cockpit where Mokuba was trying to contact the mainland. 'Yo, Mokuba. What's up with the rescue team?'

'I can't get through,' Mokuba said.

So, what Sharee had thought then.

'Something's interfering with our communications,' Mokuba explained.

'We need that helicopter now!' Tristan grabbed the headpiece from him and tried himself. 'Mayday! This is an emergency! Anyone! We need medical help now!'

But there was no answer.

YGO

In the medical ward, Serenity clutched her brother's hand. 'Joey, I know you can hear me…Please, don't give up! Keep fighting, big brother!'

There was no response.

Serenity sobbed. 'Poor Joey!'

YGO

'Now, Kaiba…my move!' The Pharaoh drew. He looked at his cards.

Kaiba's X-Head Cannon is stronger than my Queen's Knight, Yugi mused. So why didn't he attack me when he had the chance? The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes. He must be up to something.

'I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defence mode!' The Pharaoh set the card on the field and the monster appeared. 'And then I'll play one more card, face down.' He set the card. 'Your move, Kaiba.'

Kaiba smirked. 'Now…' He drew. '…observe! First off, I'll activate this magic card.' He set the card and it appeared on the field and flipped up. 'Soul Exchange!'

'That's why you spared my Queen!' the Pharaoh exclaimed.

'Very perceptive!' Kaiba retorted as the effect of Soul Exchange took hold. 'Thanks to my Soul Exchange magic card, both of your monsters now belong to me, Yugi, so come forth, my monsters!' The Queen's Knight and Alpha the Magnet Warrior were dragged across the field. 'Now I can summon them along with my monster to summon my great beast!'

'I'm afraid not, Kaiba!' The Pharaoh activated his own duel disk. 'Reveal my face-down card!' The card flipped up. 'Change of Heart!'

Kaiba jerked back. 'No!'

'Yes, I'm afraid so, Kaiba,' the Pharaoh responded. 'Thanks to my Change of Heart magic card's effect, you no longer have three monsters to sacrifice.' Kaiba's monster crossed the field. 'Now your X-Head Cannon belongs to me for one turn.' He made the point. 'Kaiba, you won't summon Obelisk that easily. Now, go!'

Kaiba quickly wiped the look of shock from his face. 'Heh. So you've prevented one move. I've got plenty more planned. Like this one!' He activated his own face-down card and it flipped up. 'Reveal face-down card, Enemy Controller!' The card appeared on the field in the form of a large video game control.

'What?' the Pharaoh demanded.

'For the price of 1000 life points, this control pad lets me take control of one of your monsters.' Kaiba's life points dropped to 3000 as he gave the order. 'Enemy Controller, activate! Left! Right! A! B!' And, with that, X-Head Cannon's eyes flashed and he returned to Kaiba's side of the field as Kaiba ordered it. 'And now, bring my X-Head Cannon back to my side of the field so I have three monsters to sacrifice once again!' The three monsters were in front of Kaiba again. 'My strategy was fool-proof!'

The Pharaoh gasped and drew back.

'I sacrifice Alpha, Queen's Knight, and X-Head Cannon now!' Kaiba took the Egyptian God Card from his hand and raised it into the air. Lightning began to crack. 'Obelisk the Tormentor! Come forth—'

'Hold on, Kaiba!' The Pharaoh activated his last card. 'Go, Light Force Sword!'

The sword crossed the field and pinned the Obelisk card, taking it out of play.

'Oh, no!' A twitch formed on Kaiba's face.

'Oh, yes,' the Pharaoh said. 'Now your Obelisk the Tormentor is completely useless to you for three turns, Kaiba, thanks to my Light Force Sword. What's your rush? This duel's just getting interesting, Kaiba. Why try to end it so soon?'

Kaiba had been glaring at him. He wiped the look away though, in favour of a bitter smirk. 'You may have bought yourself a little time, but you'll have to face down Obelisk sooner or later!'

YGO

Duke stood at the window in the medical ward. 'Where's Tristan already? That helicopter better be on its way. Joey needs help now.'

'You're right,' Téa agreed. 'But if we can't get through…'

Ishizu met Sharee's gaze. Behind Sharee, Mayet took spirit form. She was unseen by anyone who had not been touched by a Millennium Item. Mayet nodded and Ishizu took her leave of the room. Nobody questioned her departure from the room. That was for the best though.

Sharee sighed.

YGO

'Your Soul Exchange card is no longer in effect,' the Pharaoh declared, 'which means you're not able to sacrifice my monsters, because you don't control them anymore and Obelisk will have to wait.'

Alpha the Magnet Warrior and Queen's Knight returned to the Pharaoh's side of the field.

Kaiba ground his teeth. He glanced back at his pinned card before he looked back at his hand, then he returned his attention to Yugi. 'My turn may be over now, but you're not safe yet!'

'All right. My move!' The Pharaoh drew and added the card to his hand.

So far I have two monsters on the field, Yugi mused. One more and I'll have enough sacrifices to summon my Egyptian God Card, Slifer the Sky Dragon. But, first, I have to draw Slifer from somewhere in my deck. Anyway, for now I have to deal with Kaiba's X-Head Cannon. Neither of the monsters I have on the field are strong enough to take it down, and nothing in my hand has that kind of power either. So…I'll just have to be patient.

The Pharaoh took a card from his hand and played it. 'Now, I'll play one card face down.' The card appeared on the field. 'Then I'll leave both of my monsters in defence mode and end my turn.'

'Hmph! I'd expect more of a challenge from the top ranked duellist.' Kaiba made an attempt to goad him. 'My move!' He drew. 'Ready, Yugi? I play this!' He set a card on the field dramatically. 'Go, Y Dragon Head!' The monster appeared on the field. 'Notice anything similar about my two monsters?'

The Pharaoh glared across the field, mind racing.

'Think about it, Yugi,' Kaiba said. 'This isn't a tough question. One is X-Head Cannon and the other is Y Dragon Head.'

The Pharaoh gasped. 'Hold on! Are these two monsters able to combine together?'

'That's right! Any two of the X-Y-Z monsters can merge together to form a new, more powerful beast.' Kaiba gave the order. 'Now, my monsters, join!' The two monsters crackled with electricity. There was a bright flash of light before a new monster stood on Kaiba's side of the field. 'Behold! X-Y Dragon Cannon!'

The Pharaoh jerked back.

'Once I summon my Z monster, my Dragon Cannon will get even stronger!' Kaiba declared.

Oh, no! Yugi worried in his mind. If Kaiba merges his Z monster with the others, that dragon will be unstoppable! So…I'll have to keep my monsters in defence mode for now. But once Obelisk is set free, Kaiba can sacrifice his three-headed beast to summon his Egyptian God card. I have to do something to stop him. And I've only got two more turns to figure out what.

Kaiba called out his first attack. 'Now, my X-Y Dragon Cannon, attack his Magnet Warrior!' Instantly the cannons lowered and began powering up. Then…he fired. 'Yugi, say goodbye!'

Alpha the Magnet Warrior was struck and destroyed.

The Pharaoh used his arm to shield himself from the blast.

Since my monsters are in defence mode, my life points are safe for now. But if he wipes them out with his X-Y Dragon, I'll be wide open and his Obelisk could crush me with one strike.

Kaiba chuckled. 'You look so worried. Afraid of losing in shame, are we?' His smirk deepened. 'Once a duellist starts thinking about defeat, they've already lost!'

'Enough!' the Pharaoh barked.

But Kaiba ignored him. 'Perhaps it's time you surrendered your Egyptian God Card to me!' He pulled a card from his hand. 'Now, I activate…Lullaby of Obedience!'

The Pharaoh gasped.

'This magic card allows me to take a high-powered monster from your deck and add it to my hand,' Kaiba said. 'And I have a feeling you know which monster I have my eye on, Yugi.'

Of course he did. Fortunately, the Pharaoh was already prepared. He just didn't let it show on his face. Instead, he ground his teeth and drew back.

'It's your Egyptian God Card!' Kaiba's smirk deepened. 'Slifer the Sky Dragon.' He crossed the field. 'It was only a matter of time, Yugi. Before your most powerful card went to a much more worthy duellist!'

The Pharaoh said nothing and merely crossed the field. They met in the middle.

'My card, please,' Kaiba said in mockery.

Without a word, the Pharaoh took his deck out of its place and flicked through his deck until he found the Egyptian God Card in question.

Only then did he speak. 'This card will return to me.'

'I doubt it,' Kaiba said as he took the card in question from him. 'I wouldn't feel so bad if I were you. Slifer was buried so deep in your deck, you never would have drawn it anyway.' He laughed as he returned to his side of the field. 'Both Egyptian God Cards are mine!' He turned back around to face the Pharaoh. 'Know why? Because everyone gets what they deserve!'

The Pharaoh let a small smirk of his own cross his face. 'Yes, I agree. And I want to thank you for helping me claim what I deserve.'

The smirk went straight off Kaiba's face. 'What?'

'Knowing how greedy you are, Kaiba, I suspected you might try to take my Sky Dragon.' The Pharaoh pointed back to his down card. 'So I was ready. Reveal Magic card!' The card flipped up behind him. 'Exchange!'

Kaiba drew back, the overconfidence vanishing from his face. 'What?! Oh, no! Now he can take a card from my hand!'

I'll never forget the last time I used this card, Yugi mused. It helped me rescue Joey from Marik's mind control! And that memory gave Yugi hope. Joey fought off Marik's dark power once before. And I know he can do it again! In the meantime I have to defeat Kaiba and get to the next round.

'I believe you owe me a card, Kaiba,' the Pharaoh said. 'So give Slifer back to me.'

With an annoyed grunt, Kaiba crossed the field again.

All right, Yugi mused with a nod, now we're back on track.

With a scowl, Kaiba returned Slifer.

The Pharaoh took his Egyptian God Card back and then held up his hand. 'Now you pick one, so we can get on with our duel.'

Kaiba took one of the cards from his hand, looking decidedly unhappy about it. Then he stormed back across the field. The Pharaoh added Slifer to his hand and returned to his own side of the field.

'I appreciate your help,' he tossed back. Before he turned back to face Kaiba. 'Slifer's in my hand, thanks to you.'

Kaiba turned back around with a dark glare.

AN: I'm aware of the fact that it's spelt Colosseum, but the show spells it this way so...