The Final Face Off Part IV

Malik chuckled. 'One more turn. That's all I need in order to activate my Monster Reborn card. I'm sure you're aware of what happens after that.'

The Pharaoh ground his teeth.

'Isn't that right, Pharaoh?' Malik returned the card to his hand. 'My Winged Dragon of Ra will return to the field! And once this Egyptian God Card makes its appearance, you're done. My plan was fool-proof!'

'You may have built a powerful defence by creating a clone of my Obelisk the Tormentor,' the Pharaoh said, 'but I'll break through.'

'Really?' Malik sneered.

'Yes,' the Pharaoh stated. 'And, not only will I defeat you, but I'll spare your good side from the Shadow Realm.'

'That's impossible,' Malik said calmly. 'You know that when I lose life points, my weaker half loses a piece of himself to the Darkness.' He pulled out a card and played it. 'I shall play one card face-down. Then…' As the card appeared in front of him, he took another card from his hand.

'Go on!' the Pharaoh called.

Malik set the card in defence mode. 'I summon my Swallowtail Spiked Lizard.' The monster appeared on the field.

The Pharaoh frowned. That monster would give Malik a further 1000 life points each turn it remained in defence mode. And that was a problem he had to address. 'All right – now, it's my move, Marik!'

YGO

'Crush this guy, Yugi!' Duke called.

'And whatever you do,' Tristan added, 'don't let him summon his Winged Dragon of Ra.'

'Wait a sec,' Joey said. 'Can't you guys see that Yugi's got himself a dilemma here?'

'Huh?' Tristan and Duke turned to him.

'Just think,' Joey told them. 'If Yugi beats Marik, then Marik's good side goes to the Shadow Realm. That's if a creep like Marik can actually have a good side!'

'Don't be so quick to judge,' Mayet told him, from where she was still standing over the still-unconscious Téa. 'Remember, all of his actions were tainted by his evil side and we need to remember that. Odion controlled it, but he didn't entirely suppress it.'

At that moment, Téa woke with a gasp. 'What happened?'

Mayet's lips quirked. 'Do you guys want to tell her, or shall I?'

YGO

'What are you waiting for?' Malik chuckled. 'It's your move. So why don't you attack me, Pharaoh? Have you realised that you're out of options?'

Hey, I've got an idea! Yugi suddenly said. Remember how Marik fused himself with his Winged Dragon of Ra? I'm sure Marik's planning to do that again. He's building up his life points so that when he merges with Ra he'll be unstoppable. But that also means that Marik becomes a monster himself, giving him all the weaknesses of a monster!

The Pharaoh's eyes widened as the brilliance of Yugi's brainwave hit him.

And that could be our only hope!

'Make your final move, Pharaoh,' Malik sneered.

The Pharaoh drew.

We can do this!

They could. 'First I'll place two cards face-down.' The Pharaoh set his cards. 'Then I'll summon Gizelle, the King of Mythical Beasts!' The monster in question appeared on the field in front of him. 'That ends my turn.'

'Not quite,' Malik said. 'It doesn't end until my Bowganian takes 300 of your life points. So activate your special ability, my Beast.'

The Pharaoh braced himself.

Bowganian aimed his crossbow and fired.

Pain rippled across the Pharaoh's chest and he grunted. His life points dropped to 700. Yugi didn't react to the pain as more of his body was consumed.

'There goes a little more of your friend,' Malik sneered. 'Into the dark abyss of the Shadow Realm.' He laughed.

The Pharaoh looked up. 'Yugi, I promise I won't let you slip away.'

'You have no choice,' Malik stated. 'In just a few short moments, Yugi will be gone.'

YGO

Now Marik can activate his Monster Reborn magic card to bring back the Winged Dragon of Ra, Kaiba thought. Yugi doesn't stand a chance.

YGO

'You can do it!' Téa called. She was feeling a little…violated, knowing that Marik's "good side" had used her body. She wondered if Sharee and Yugi had ever felt that way. Of course, the difference was that Marik had chosen to do what he did and she didn't think the Pharaoh or Mayet had much choice.

At least, Joey had said it looked very different. Her eyes had been blank when Marik was possessing her, whereas neither Mayet or the Pharaoh produced that look in Yugi or Sharee. Téa supposed it was something to ask Sharee about later on, as she did seem to know the most.

'We're all behind you!' Joey called.

'That's right!' Tristan added.

'Take him down!' Duke finished.

YGO

Malik laughed maniacally, looking more crazed than usual. 'My move!' He drew. He looked at the card in his hand. 'This will come in handy shortly, but first I have other things to take care of. Then I'll send whatever's left of the Shadow Realm with this!'

'Marik,' the Pharaoh growled. 'Just go.'

'Fine,' Malik said. 'But first my Spiked Lizard's special ability grants me 1000 life points.' His life points flew up to 1700. 'and now I'll activate the magic card that will end this duel.' He took the card from his hand. 'Monster Reborn! It's over!'

With a burst of flame, the Winged Dragon of Ra emerged.

'Now I shall bring forth my Winged Dragon of Ra in its most devastating form ever!' Malik declared. The firebird emerged with a roar.

'Egyptian God Phoenix,' the Pharaoh stated.

'Next I'll give up 1000 life points,' Malik's life points dropped back to 700, 'to activate Ra's special ability. Now, my Great Beast of the Sky, destroy his Obelisk!'

The Winged Dragon charged at Obelisk.

'No!' The Pharaoh declared. 'That won't work!'

The Winged Dragon seemed to impact with Obelisk.

Malik laughed maniacally. 'Your life points are wide open! Obelisk is gone.' Then the smoke cleared and Malik's eyes widened, his laughter cutting off abruptly. 'What's this?' Obelisk still remained on the field. 'Impossible!' Then he saw the other monster on the field. 'What? Slifer the Sky Dragon? But where did he come from, Pharaoh?'

'While you were calling out your attack,' the Pharaoh said, 'I was activating a magic card to stop it from destroying Obelisk the Tormentor. So I played,' he gestured to the still face-up card on the field, 'Monster Reborn!'

Malik ground his teeth.

'I used it to revive Slifer,' the Pharaoh said, 'and save Obelisk.'

Below, his friends loudly cheered.

YGO

Kaiba looked up in approval. 'Quite impressive. He saved himself, at least for now.'

'Hey, Seto, look,' Mokuba said. 'Slifer was hit by Ra, and Obelisk escaped without a scratch.'

Obelisk drew his head back and roared in outrage as Slifer vanished from the field again.

Kaiba knew what he was asking – or rather not asking. 'That's because Slifer's special ability is to absorb any attack when he is summoned to the field from the graveyard.'

Mokuba nodded in understanding. 'I wonder what Yugi's…gonna do now.'

If he's smart, he'll tap into the true power of Obelisk, Kaiba thought. At this point, it's his only chance of survival.

YGO

Malik gave a bitter smirk. 'It's time for Ra to return to the graveyard.' With a screech, the flaming Winged Dragon returned back to his duel disk. 'My great beast may be gone, however, I assure you he'll be back.'

'We'll see,' the Pharaoh said.

'Yes, we will,' Malik stated. 'In fact, my Egyptian God Card will return to the field sooner than you think.' He gave a nasty grin. 'Watch. I'm about to give my Dragon a second chance – by turning back time and repeating my attack again, and it's all thanks to this magic card!' He turned the card in question around. 'Have you ever seen it?'

The Pharaoh's eyes widened. 'Surprise Attack from Beyond!'

'Well, I suppose I'll take your response as a yes. This card allows me to replay the attack I just made against Obelisk!'

'Oh, no,' the Pharaoh murmured.

'Yugi already blocked that attack!' Joey called from below. 'That's a real cheap move, Marik!'

YGO

Now Marik has another chance to wipe out Yugi's defence with his Winged Dragon of Ra, Kaiba thought.

YGO

Odion stumbled out of the blimp.

He stopped at the bottom of the ladder to catch his breath. He'd been in Ishizu's room so the evil force inside of Master Marik must have tried to kill him in his state of previous indisposition. Clearly, the true Marik had found a way to alert his sister and she had moved him before the act could be done.

He looked up to the dark orb that denoted the Shadow Game.

'I must save Marik,' he said to himself, 'before it's too late.'

With his determination firmly in place, he made his way to the tower.

YGO

'Arise, my Winged Dragon of Ra!' Malik commanded.

With a bright glow, the Winged Dragon emerged from the duel disk. The light was blinding to anyone who was not connected to Ancient Egypt, and everyone but him, Kaiba, and Mayet covered their eyes. The Pharaoh watched as the Winged Dragon arrived onto the field in sphere mode – the one he'd only seen before in Mai's duel.

'Behold the return of my Egyptian God!' Malik declared.

'It's locked in that sphere of light,' the Pharaoh mused to himself.

'That's correct,' Malik said. 'And only I can release it, so stand back as I recite the Ancient Chant…' he chuckled. '…to unlock Ra.'

The Pharaoh remembered that chant. He also had a sense that the Winged Dragon of Ra would emerge with even more power if the chant was recited in the original dialect of the Ancient Egyptian Nobility. Ancient High Egyptian was the key to making the Winged Dragon truly unstoppable but, fortunately, Malik did not speak that language and, instead, he recited it in Japanese.

Malik crossed his arms in the traditional pose, protecting both the ka and the ba. 'Great Beast of the Sky, please hear my cry. Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight.' Light exploded from the orb and the Winged Dragon of Ra unfolded. 'Envelop the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe.'

Fully unfolded, the Winged Dragon let out a mighty roar.

'Now, I shall merge together with my creature,' Malik declared, 'transferring my power to the Winged Dragon of Ra!' He chuckled as, once again, he vanished, except for one eye. He reappeared on the forehead of the Winged Dragon. 'Now all but one of my life points will transform into Ra's attack points.'

Malik's life points dropped to 1. The Winged Dragon of Ra's attack points flew up to 699.

'Prepare for my final assault!' Malik declared. 'The moment is here! I shall finally drain you of your ancient powers, and I will rule as Pharaoh!'

This is our last chance to stop him! Yugi declared.

And save mankind from his evil, the Pharaoh added.

'There's still more,' Malik gloated. 'Next I plan to sacrifice every one of my monsters and transfer their power to Ra, giving my beast almost 7000 attack points. That's enough to destroy Obelisk, and wipe out what's left of your life points! No one can escape the fury of the Winged Dragon of Ra – not even you, Pharaoh!'

The Pharaoh looked up at him with a smirk. 'Hm. We'll see about that.'

Malik's eyes widened, despite being in different locations. 'What?!'

'I activate the magic card, Soul Taker!' The Pharaoh's second face-down card flipped up in front of him.

YGO

'Hey, Seto, what card's that?' Mokuba asked.

'Just what Yugi needed,' Kaiba said. 'While it may grant Marik 1000 life points, it allows Yugi to sacrifice one of Marik's monsters. I just wonder which of Marik's monsters Yugi will choose.' It suddenly hit him. 'Wait! I think I know!'

YGO

'You do realise that I can sacrifice any monster I wish?' the Pharaoh asked.

Malik drew back with an alarmed sound. 'Does this mean you're going to sacrifice Ra?'

The Pharaoh decided to leave him guessing. 'Anything's possible, Marik!'

The effect of his card circled around Marik's entire side of the field, including around the Winged Dragon of Ra. Marik yelled in alarm.

YGO

'What's going on?' Mokuba asked.

'Since Marik's merged with Ra,' Kaiba answered, 'when his monster goes, so does he!'

YGO

'This will never work, Pharaoh!' Malik insisted. 'Your magic card is no match for my Winged Dragon of Ra.'

But the Pharaoh kept on smirking. 'I never said that I was targeting your Dragon.'

'You're not?' Malik demanded.

'I have something better planned,' the Pharaoh said.

YGO

'All right, I'm lost,' Tristan declared.

'I guess he's not gonna sacrifice Ra,' Joey mused.

'Then what is he sacrificing?' Duke asked.

Mayet smiled. 'You mean it isn't obvious?'

YGO

'All right,' the Pharaoh said. 'I choose…your indestructible Egyptian God Slime!'

'But why him?' Malik demanded, looking back. 'That won't save you!'

'Well, I disagree,' the Pharaoh said as the Slime was slowly consumed with the effects of the magic card. 'Your Egyptian God Slime is made up of two monsters, so I'll be making a double sacrifice.'

The Slime roared as it was destroyed.

'Then what?' Malik demanded. 'I still don't understand the point of all this!'

'It's simple,' the Pharaoh said. 'Obelisk the Tormentor's special ability requires two sacrifices.'

Malik's eyes widened. 'You're going to activate the hidden powers of Obelisk?'

The de-merged monsters came into Obelisk's hands and were quickly turned into pure energy for him to absorb.

'Yes,' the Pharaoh said. 'To wipe you out!'

'You can't do this!' Malik insisted.

Obelisk's entire body glowed.

YGO

When two monsters are sacrificed, Kaiba thought, Obelisk's force becomes infinite. Now Yugi can destroy all of Marik's monsters.

YGO

Obelisk clenched his fists and his attack points went from 4000…to infinity.

Malik's eyes had widened so much, they were pinpricks. 'You'll never take down my Winged Dragon of Ra!'

'Too late for that!' the Pharaoh snapped. 'And I'll destroy you with it!'

Obelisk let loose two blasts of infinite power out of his fists. They crossed the field and headed straight for the Winged Dragon and Malik.

'Wait, Pharaoh,' Malik said. 'There's still time for me to make one last move! I sacrifice my Bowganian and my Spike Lizard,' both monsters vanished from the field, 'now I can add their attack points to Ra. Plus, thanks to your Soul Taker magic card, I get a 1000 life point boost, which also gets added to Ra.'

Why would he do all that? Obelisk's attack points were infinite.

The Winged Dragon's power flew up to 4899. Malik sneered. 'My Egyptian God's attack points have risen to almost 5000.'

'That glowing eyeball on your forehead must be frying your brain!' Joey called from the sidelines. 'Ra's still weaker than Obelisk!'

Which meant Malik had something else up his sleeve.

Obelisk's attack hit.

A huge gust picked up and everyone around lifted their arms to cover their faces. The Pharaoh couldn't hear much else over the roar of the wind. When he lowered his arm, however, he was surprised to find…

'Oh, no! Ra should have been destroyed! What's going on?'

Malik pointed down, grinning again. 'I activated a magic card to protect him, Pharaoh.'

The Pharaoh looked down.

'It's called Class System,' Malik went on.

'No!' The Pharaoh exclaimed. 'This can't be!'

'Sorry to disappoint you,' Malik said. 'But thanks to this card, only a monster with more stars than the Winged Dragon of Ra can destroy it. And I'm afraid your Obelisk doesn't qualify.'

The Pharaoh let out an aggravated sigh. 'So the Winged Dragon was spared from Obelisk's assault.'

'Very perceptive,' Malik sneered. 'Now my monster is stronger than yours. And it's my move.'

Obelisk's attack points dropped back down to 4000.

'Good try,' Malik said. 'But not good enough.'

YGO

'So now that Obelisk's power is back to normal, Ra will easily destroy Obelisk,' Kaiba said. 'Guess you missed your chance, Yugi.'

'So Yugi's…gonna lose?' Mokuba asked.

'Time for you to fall, by the might hand of Ra!' Malik declared.

YGO

Odion forced himself to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other.

He looked up at the tower. It looked insurmountable – but surmount it, he must.

I must save Master Marik from the wrath of his dark side!

He continued staggering forward, making his way through the doors.

…Even as his body screamed in pain.

YGO

Malik laughed manically again. 'All right! This duel is done! Winged Dragon of Ra, destroy him!' The Winged Dragon let loose a blast. The fireball flew towards Obelisk. 'I win!'

'Not exactly,' the Pharaoh said.

'Huh?' Malik's grin fell away.

The Pharaoh promptly activated his second-to-last face-down card. 'Now, I activate this! Magic Dimension!' The card flipped up and glowed brightly. 'I need a spellcaster to activate it. My Dark Magician Girl will do.'

The Dark Magician Girl moved into position with a happy sound and activated the card.

'Now there's only one part left,' the Pharaoh said. 'I must sacrifice two of my monsters. Gizelle and Obelisk.' Both monsters swirled with the sacrificial magic.

'What's this?' Malik demanded. 'You're sacrificing an Egyptian God?'

'Yes,' the Pharaoh responded. 'Obelisk has served me well, but I must give him up – in exchange for one last chance!'

Obelisk vanished just as the Winged Dragon's attack would have hit.

YGO

Mayet turned her head. She was the first to notice. 'Odion?'

Ishizu spun around. 'Where?'

YGO

Odion stumbled into the lift and gripped the handrail to hold himself up.

Master Marik, it was your powerful words that enabled me to waken. It is my sworn duty to protect Master Marik. I must not allow his dark side to prevail.

YGO

'You were a fool to sacrifice Obelisk!' Malik declared. He chuckled. 'Without the power of your Egyptian God Monster to protect you, you have nothing left. You're done.'

'I have plenty left,' the Pharaoh rebuked him. 'Look around. I still have every one of my friends to give me support. And I still have the Heart of the Cards to give me strength.'

Smoke suddenly covered his side of the field.

'What's going on?' Malik demanded.

'My Magical Dimension card also allows me to summon any spellcaster from my hand.' As the Pharaoh said this, an upright casket emerged out of the smoke.

'Oh, no!' Malik cried out.

'I'm afraid so.' The casket began to open. 'Now I play…my Dark Magician!'

The Dark Magician emerged from the casket and stood on the field.

YGO

Kaiba watched all this with a slight smile. Well, well, looks like Yugi's smarter than I thought.

YGO

'Now I play my final card!' the Pharaoh declared. 'Behold, Ragnarok!' His last face-down card flipped up. 'Watch closely as my two magicians unlock this card's magic. Once the power of this card is released, every monster on your side of the field will be crushed, including your Winged Dragon of Ra. And since you and Ra are fused together, you will be destroyed as well!'

Malik looked concerned for a moment, before he chuckled. 'That may be, but the devastation caused by your attack will also destroy what's left of my weak side.' He looked down at what remained of Marik, and chuckled again. 'Just look. The Shadows have most of him already. One more attack from you will finish him off.'

'That's not true,' the Pharaoh said. 'Once Ra is gone, he'll still have 1 life point left.'

'That means nothing!' Malik insisted. 'Once he's that weak, the force of the Shadow Realm will be too strong for him to resist!'

The Pharaoh ground his teeth and looked at what was left of Marik.

YGO

Odion still struggled to catch his breath as the lift ascended.

I won't allow your inner evil to overpower your good heart, Master Marik. Ever since your family took me in, I pledged my word that I would serve you. All my life I longed to be a Tomb Keeper like you. This is my chance to fulfil that wish – by saving you, Master.

YGO

'Go on!' Malik sneered. 'Attack me and break the promise you made to Ishizu, by destroying her brother!'

The Pharaoh ground his teeth.

What if our move does send Marik's good side to the Shadow Realm? Yugi asked.

Malik laughed manically. 'Well, go ahead and make your move – and crush an innocent soul!' He continued laughing.

The Pharaoh noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Mayet turn. She nudged Ishizu as she passed her and the two of them headed to the entry onto the platform.

YGO

Odion struggled up the stairs, to the spot where the platform was. I hope I'm not too late. If I were to let Master Marik slip into the Shadows, I could never forgive myself!

As he neared the top, he saw Ishizu and the Servant's Vessel appear.

They reached down and he allowed them to take his arms and help him up the final steps.

'Master Marik!' he called out.

The Pharaoh, on the duelling arena, twisted around. He wasn't the only one but Odion ignored it for now.

'I shall protect you!'

YGO

'Huh?' With Odion's arrival, suddenly Malik didn't look so confident. He, in fact, blanched. 'What's that fool doing here?' Then he growled.

The Pharaoh looked back down at what was left of Marik. His one remaining eye, previously dull and blank, was suddenly alive.

'Master Marik,' Odion called out. 'Please, don't give up! There's still time!'

'Nonsense,' Malik sneered. 'The darkness is here to stay! There's no turning back now.'

'I don't believe he was talking to you,' Mayet said.

And the Pharaoh wondered if maybe – just maybe – Marik could survive this attack.

AN: I will again, put up the fact that I am not accepting any requests.

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