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Post by LadyKeren on May 23, 2016 11:30:56 GMT
Chapter 46
Kaiba stared out the window, observing as the sun illuminated the night sky, signifying it was morning. It shone brilliantly and he turned away from the glare to glance at his watch, which read five o’clock. A small smile appeared on his features. ‘Excellent. Now is the perfect time to have Roland wake up those slackers. They have had more than enough time to rest. If they chose not to use that opportunity wisely, then it’s not my problem.’ His smile morphed into a smirk. ‘To show what a considerate person I am, I will allow them to stuff their faces before the next round of duels begin. If I don’t, I won’t hear the end of it.’ He rolled his eyes as he had an image in his head of Joey whining about how he wouldn’t be able to duel on an empty stomach. ‘Then again, I expect nothing less from such a dork.’
“Seto?” a small meek voice interrupted his musings. He turned around to see that his brother had come up behind him. He gave the young boy a “go on, I’m listening” look.
“How long will it be before we arrive at the next dueling site?” asked Mokuba, running a hand through his wild black hair.
“Hmm.” The young CEO went to peer at the map and compass, mentally calculating the estimated miles in his head. “We should be there in about 90 minutes,” he confirmed. He kept his tone of voice as neutral as he could, trying to mask his chagrin at having to sit back and watch as the events unfolded. He didn’t want his brother to worry about him anymore.
Mokuba nodded. “Okay.” His expression then grew serious as he knew his elder brother was having trouble getting over his shocking defeat much more than he let on. “Seto? How are you feeling this morning? Any better?”
“I have been in better moods,” came the curt reply. Seto’s voice became perky as he quickly added, “But I will let Yugi and Ishizu revel in their glory for now. They won’t be able to for much longer.” A sly grin escaped his lips. ‘Soon, they will know what it is like to feel the sting of defeat.’
Mokuba looked slightly uncomfortable at the gloating, but let it go since it was preferable to seeing his brother down in the dumps or letting his resentment consume him. “Well I’m glad to know you’re okay. Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Yes. Tell Roland to sound the alarm at once. Those lazy baboons have slept for long enough.”
The young boy hesitated as if he had doubts, but then nodded in understanding, knowing it was not wise to question his brother. “I’m on it, big brother!” He scampered off to go find the gentleman.
Yugi awoke from his light sleep, sitting up and stretching his arms forward. He pushed back the covers and swung his legs sideways before running a hand through his messy hair. ‘I was barely able to get any sleep last night...not as much as I would have liked to, anyway. Between that dream and the talk with Marik…’ He had a pensive look on his face as he mulled over everything the cornsilk blonde had said about wanting to get rid of his evil side once and for all. ‘While I can’t say I saw it coming this soon, I do applaud him for taking his first step on the right path.’ What feelings of ill-will and anger he felt towards the original Marik had faded away and he couldn’t help but smile at the fact that his counterpart was also willing to forgive the young man. ‘With everything that’s at stake, it is not the time for hard feelings. Also, banishing this evil will be challenging, to say the least. I don’t even know if I’ll be facing Marik or not, not to mention this dark force has become far more ruthless. Either way, I will have to find a way to save him.’
RIIIINNNG!
The sound of the shrill alarm bell snapped Yugi out of his musings. He got off the bed, pulling the sheets up as he waited to see what Roland would announce.
“Attention duelists! It is now time for you to rise and shine! Breakfast will be served in the hall in fifteen minutes! The tournament will continue as soon as we reach the next dueling site, which will be in approximately one hour and twenty five minutes!”
‘Well then, it looks like I woke up in the nick of time.’ Yugi retrieved his millennium puzzle from the nightstand and placed it around his neck. His mind switched to Joey, wondering if he was awake yet. ‘Probably not, since he can have trouble getting up in the morning sometimes, especially so early. I should go check on him to be sure. On second thought, Duke and Tristan are there with him as well. He’ll be in good hands with them around.’ He tapped his chin, pondering what he should do to kill time while waiting for the others. ‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Bakura since after my duel with him. I wonder how he’s doing, considering he was hurt pretty badly. Hopefully the medics were able to help. I would hate it if he is worse now...I guess there’s only one way to find out…and I haven’t seen Tèa since Marik was controlling her mind, either.’ He let his arms drop to his sides as he got an idea of what he could do with his time. Activating his millennium puzzle, he allowed Yami to take control, exiting the room and walking down the hall to Bakura’s room.
Both Tristan and Duke jarred awake as soon as they heard the sound of the alarm. Joey, however, was still snoring, ever so often mumbling about random stuff, particularly food. Duke shook his head, resisting the urge to make a snide comment. Tristan reached over and shook the blonde roughly. “You heard what the man said. It’s time to get up.”
Joey groaned and rolled over. “Please Pops, five more minutes…” he muttered sleepily.
Tristan let out a frustrated groan as if to ask, ‘What am I gonna do with this knucklehead?’ He was not in the mood for the blonde’s antics that morning, but he took a breath to keep calm. ‘Time for Plan B.’ He got a devious grin on his face. “Suit yourself. I thought you wanted to have a five star breakfast, judging from how you were talking about food a few moments ago. I bet all will be gone by the time you do get up.”
Joey’s eyes shot open at that. He let out a panicked noise as he went to sit up. “Okay, I’m up already!”
Tristan smirked to himself, satisfied his little stunt was effective. ‘I’m not surprised, though. After all, it is hard for him to resist food.’
Joey sluggishly climbed out of bed. He gave a mighty stretch before running a hand over his face and yawning loudly. The two boys rolled their eyes and made faces that read, ‘Was that really necessary?’
“Dude, do you have to be so loud?” asked Tristan, mockingly rubbing his forehead. “You could wake up the dead with that hell forsaken sound.”
Duke burst out laughing at the brunette’s remark. “Good one, man!” He laughed some more.
Tristan was about to respond when Joey shot both of them withering glances and dragged, “Yeah, yeah. You know you can be just as bad, so don’t go there.” Running a hand through his mop of hair, he went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
“Just great,” muttered Tristan. “He’s gonna be in there forever.” He muttered unflattering things about the blonde under his breath, then his eyes turned shifty as he lowered his voice. “On second thought, at least I could raid the refrigerator while he’s gone.” He turned to face the raven haired young man. “What do you say, Duke? It’ll be the perfect way to kill some time.”
Duke rolled his eyes for the second time that morning. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You know how Joey feels about you being a sneak, and besides, we’re getting food in a few minutes.”
Tristan opened his mouth to protest that it could be a long time, but instead grumbled, “Geez, you’re no fun.” Deep down, though, he knew the young man spoke the truth about Joey’s reaction to his food being swiped. He cringed at the thought. ‘As much as I don’t want to, I might as well wait.’
Vicki woke up with a stiff neck and back, groaning in pain. ‘This is just bloody great…but I suppose it is to be expected with me sleeping in this blasted chair all night. Not that I had a choice, though.’ She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and rolled her neck around several times before arising from the chair. She peered down briefly at Mai, biting her lip as she quickly looked away. ‘Poor lassie...I hope Joey frees her mind soon.’ Her eyes briefly landed on the smushed pillow, which she couldn’t help but snicker at. She picked up her knapsack and moved her pillow to the side so she could rest the bag in the chair. Zipping it open, she took out several hair products, and then made her way to the bathroom. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Serenity still asleep on the stool next to Mai’s bed. ‘I hope she fares better than I did in that position. Hopefully she will be awake by the time I’m done freshening up.‘ She stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind her, not wanting to wake the younger girl up.
No such luck. The moment the door closed, Serenity began to stir. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she stretched her arms before gazing around the room. She frowned slightly at Vicki’s absence, wondering where the older teen had gone off to, then her frown disappeared when she heard the sound of running water in the bathroom. ‘Oh, she must be freshening up…not a bad idea at all. I like the way her mind works.’ She ran a hand through her hair and tucked a strand behind her ear, putting a thoughtful expression on her face as her mind landed on her brother. ‘He should be up by now, especially with the announcement that there will be breakfast. I hope he got enough rest last night…he really needed it in order to be alert for his duels today.’ She quickly eyed Mai’s unconscious form and her expression turned sad as her mind wandered to the events that transpired the previous day. Swallowing a lump that was beginning to form in her throat, she lowered her head and folded her hands in her lap. ‘I hope she wakes up soon…I can’t stand to see her like that.’ Her eyes welled up with tears, but she quickly dried them, wanting to stay strong, even though it was hard.
All of a sudden the door slid open, making Serenity glance up. Her eyes brightened when she saw it was Joey who had come in. He scratched his head before wandering over to the young teen. She gave him a sunny smile and stood up to hug him. “Good morning, sis,” he greeted, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Good morning, Joey,” answered Serenity. “Did you sleep well?”
Joey broke out of the hug and put a finger on the bridge of his nose, rubbing it. “Ah, as well as I could with two knuckleheads jammed in the bed with me…but I’ll live…” He chuckled nervously.
Serenity giggled a bit at the term “knuckleheads” before nodding in understanding. “I see. Well, I’m glad you were able to rest, and remember, the sleeping arrangements will return to normal by tonight.”
“Yeah I know. That’s what I kept reminding myself, too. Even so, I’m gonna be glad when it does.” Joey’s look then turned serious as he glanced over at Mai lying motionless in her bed. “So Mai is still the same, huh?” He already knew the answer to that question, but he had some false hope her condition had miraculously improved.
Serenity hung her head somberly as if admitting it would be painful, which it was. “Yes,” she confirmed, her voice just above a whisper. She was afraid if she spoke any louder, it would crack.
The blonde bowed his head. “I thought so.” It was all he could do not to look glum or react to the burning pain inside of him. He went over to the woman’s bedside, knelt down and took one of her hands in his own, squeezing it lightly. He was sure the cynics would laugh him to scorn if they saw him, but he didn’t care.
Serenity sat back down, wringing her hands wistfully. “I just don’t understand…what did she do to deserve this? It’s not fair.”
There were many names Joey wanted to call Marik, all of which were obscene, but he knew how much it bothered his sister when he got carried away, not to mention he had too much respect for her to use inappropriate language in her presence. ‘Not the type of example I need to set as a big brother.’ He just said, “I know it isn’t. But we’ll get her back, and that’s a promise.” He rested a comforting hand on the young girl’s shoulder.
Serenity managed a small smile at her brother. “Thanks, Joey.“
“Don’t sweat it.”
Just then, the bathroom door opened and Vicki stepped out, running a hand through the ends of her wet and wavy styled hair to keep them from clumping together. She wandered over to the chair, zipped open her knapsack and reached inside for her fedora, resting it on top of her head. She turned to face the two siblings. “Well, well, look who’s awake…and good morning to you, too, Joey.”
“Good morning,” Joey and Serenity answered, Joey adding, “What’s shaking? Ready to grab some grub?”
Vicki chuckled lightly at how the blonde was always thinking about food, although she had to admit she could go for a bite to eat as well. ‘I want a cup of coffee more than anything…though I do need to take my pain meds.’ She nodded. “Sounds good to me. “
Joey grinned like an idiot and rubbed his tummy, eliciting another chuckle from the young woman, along with Serenity. “Great! Let’s go see if Yuge and the others are ready.”
“I’m right with you.” Vicki reached inside her knapsack again, pulling out her pill bottle. She slipped it into the pocket of the bolero jacket before walking over to Joey and Serenity. The three of them headed towards the exit, Joey turning back once to glance over his shoulder at Mai. He pressed a button on the side, the door opened and he left the room with the girls. As the group of friends stepped into the corridor, they spotted Yami, Tèa, Duke and Tristan coming from the direction of Bakura’s room. Joey waved at them to get their attention. “Hey guys!”
Tèa, the two boys and the ancient pharaoh glanced up to see their friends. They stopped in their tracks to allow the rest of the group to catch up. “What’s up? Where are you guys off to?” asked Joey, as he and the girls walked up to them. His stomach felt like it would gurgle any minute, and he was more than ready to satisfy his hunger. ‘If I know Rich-boy, there is another all-you-can-eat meal waiting for us. He’d better feed us if he knows what’s good for him. I’m so hungry I could eat a bear.’
“We just came from checking on Bakura and now we’re about to head to the hall for breakfast,” answered Tèa, smoothing down her skirt.
Joey’s honey-colored orbs lit up, as he had been hoping Tèa would say that. “Oh sweet! That’s where we’re off to as well!”
Tristan was about to make a remark about how the blonde just had to be wherever food was, but Vicki interrupted him, asking, “How is Bakura doing anyway? “ Concern and worry filled her eyes. “Poor laddie, he was so banged up after that duel.”
“Yeah, is he awake yet?” chimed Joey. Seeing the ancient pharaoh look so grim was making him sweat. ‘Please don’t tell me he’s gotten worse. If he dies, there will be hell to pay!’
Yami could see Vicki and Joey were eager for some good news, but he knew he would be lying if he said he did, even though it wasn’t exactly bad news, either. “Well, the bleeding has ceased completely. However, he remains unconscious and so he has yet to be completely out of the woods.” He massaged his temples a bit. So far, the tournament had been beyond stressful for him, and he had a feeling things were not about to get any easier. ‘However, giving up is not an option if I am to regain my lost memories and help Marik conquer his dark side.’
Joey wiped away a sweatdrop from his forehead with the back of his hand. Although he was hoping to hear that Bakura had awoken from his coma and was lucid, he heaved a sigh of relief that there was a sign of improvement in the young man’s condition, even if it was minimal. “Well it’s good the bleeding stopped,” was all he said.
“It is,” agreed Vicki. “Every bit of progress counts, and we have to continue to hope for the best.” She was trying her hardest to sound optimistic, although there was a tiny part of her that wanted to yell, ‘What the hell is taking so long? He had better be awake by the time the tournament is over or else!’
Joey went quiet for a moment before looking thoughtful. “Well, when you put it that way, it’s easy to stay positive. “
Yami had a hint of a smile on his face at how Vicki and Joey had such a profound perspective motivating them to remain strong. “You both speak the truth.” His expression and tone then became grave. “However, this madness must end before someone else gets hurt.”
“Or even worse,” added Tèa, trying her best not to let her voice shake or crack. She had succeeded, but just barely. She went over to Vicki, deciding to do some catching up with her and give the two duelists some time alone to continue discussing the tournament if they wished.
“Yeah I know,” said Joey, as if he didn’t care to be reminded. He clenched his fists at the thought of Marik succeeding in his diabolical scheme. ‘That Marik is lucky he isn’t here…I could just pummel his face into the ground right now!’ With a deep breath, he unclenched his fists, his voice becoming perky as he continued, “But hey! As tough as Marik may be, he’s got nothing on you, Yuge. We will be right by your side while you kick his butt to the moon and back!” He balled up a fist and punched the palm of his other hand for emphasis.
“That’s right!” Tristan and Duke piped up.
The ancient pharaoh chuckled a bit, allowing his lips to quirk up. “Thank you. I appreciate the confidence and support.” His smile faded, turning into a pensive expression. He remembered he had to tell the group about the deal he made with Marik’s good half at some point. ‘It will be no easy feat to make them understand the magnitude of the situation, to say the least. I expect them to be displeased, and understandably so, but I must tell them nonetheless. Right now is not the appropriate time. Perhaps I will after the first duel.’ Although he knew he had to brace himself for doubts and possible mistrust, it was not enough to deter him from his resolve. ‘No one should suffer and he has for long enough.'
Joey was about to ask Yami what was on his mind when the sound of the gong went off, interrupting the conversation that had ensued between Vicki and Tèa. Everyone glanced up, waiting to hear what Roland had to say.
“Breakfast has been set up in the main hall! Please head there immediately!” Roland’s voice boomed over the speakers.
Joey grinned widely at the announcement. “It’s about time! I’m starving.” His stomach growled, as if on cue. Serenity giggled, whilst Tristan muttered under his breath, “So what else is new?” Joey heard the comment, and opted to ignore it as he didn’t feel like arguing with the pointy-haired teen.
Duke, however, wasn’t about to be robbed of a chance to get a dig at Tristan. “Huh,” he snorted. “Like you’re the one to talk.”
Tristan faced the ebony haired young man, glaring at him. “And what is that supposed to mean, dice boy?”
Duke met Tristan’s glare with a smirk, clearly amused he had found another way to get under the young man’s skin. “That’s for you to figure out, and if you can’t because you’re too stupid, then it’s not my problem!”
Tristan looked as if a vein was going to pop in his forehead and smoke was about to rise from his ears. “All right, that does it! If you think I’m gonna let you mess with me first thing this morning, think again!” He strode towards Duke and clenched both of his fists, growling like a dog. Duke growled back and leaned so close to Tristan that their noses were almost touching.
Tèa and Yami merely ignored the scuffle between the boys, although the aspiring dancer couldn’t resist giving an eye roll. ‘Oooh they just had to start first thing this morning. At least I now have a female friend I can spend time with.’
Joey watched with a pokerface, but he felt the ends of his mouth twitching. He bit his lip to keep from laughing at such stupidity and stared hard at the two boys as if willing them to stop fighting. ‘I just know if they don’t stop, I’m gonna leave them behind. I won’t let them cause me to miss breakfast.’
Tristan thrust an arm forward, intending to put Duke in a headlock when Vicki got between both of them and pushed them apart. “All right, enough of this foolishness! It’s time for you to start acting like humans and not like bloodhounds!” She felt an ache in her shoulders from the maneuver, but she brushed it off. She dropped her arms to her sides, letting out a deep breath.
Serenity, who was also quiet, said in a gracious tone, “Vicki’s right. There’s no need to be at each other’s throats.”
Both young men looked sheepish as they realized they had made total fools of themselves in front of their crush. “Sorry,” they apologized in unison, backing away from each other, but not before exchanging one last look.
“Hallelujah!” proclaimed Joey. “Now let’s get going already.I feel like I’m gonna pass out.”
Tristan rolled his eyes at how dramatic his best friend was being. “Well, you’d better keep it together, because I won’t be hauling you there. “
“Whatever,” the blonde huffed. “No one’s asking you to.” His face then brightened up. “The last one to the hall is a rotten egg!” He started to walk really briskly, leaving the others behind, but caught himself and slowed down for Vicki’s sake.
Tristan, Duke and Tèa shook their heads in embarrassment, letting out groans before speeding up a bit to catch up with the blonde. Yami, Serenity and Vicki followed without uttering a word. They were all silent as they made their way to the hall together.
As the gang got closer, the food was within smelling range, albeit faint. Vicki’s stomach made a low rumbling sound, making her roll her eyes. ‘I’ll feed you momentarily, you greedy thing. Can’t you wait for two more minutes?’ Though irritated by such impatience, she couldn’t help chuckling a bit. Joey started to sniff the air like a hungry animal, trying to make out the scent. “Mmmmm, is that coffee and eggs? And I think I smell okonomiyaki, too.” His mouth started to water.
Tristan let out a loud whistle and was about to tease Joey, but then his eyes lit up when he heard the blonde mention the savory dish. “Oooh, sweet! I gotta have me some of that for sure!”
“You know, that actually sounds pretty good,” commented Duke, opting not to pick a fight this time.
“I know right?” Before Tristan could rave some more, he saw that he and the others were just outside the hall. Joey wasted no time entering. His friends were right on his trail, just so they wouldn’t be left behind.
There was a long table set up in the middle of the room near the bingo machine. An assortment of breakfast dishes covered most of it, and on the other end were drinks such as orange juice, water, tropical fruit juice, breakfast smoothies, as well as ingredients for coffee, hot chocolate and tea. The aroma of the food and drinks penetrated everyone’s nostrils.
Joey’s eyes bugged out at the large spread on the table. He had to bite his lip to keep from drooling all over the floor like a puppy. “Woo-hoo, Money-bags and his suits sure went all out this time!”
“Yes, I must say, this is awfully kind of him,” agreed Vicki, wandering over to the side of the table containing the beverages. She got a cup, held it under the coffee machine and pressed a button for the coffee to pour inside. Once she had the desired amount, she rested it down and got milk, sugar and whipped cream to mix into it.
“Right? Well, I’m about to take advantage of it! After all, I’m a hardworking man who needs to build up for a duel.”
“I’m with you, dude!” Tristan and Joey immediately made a beeline for the table, grabbing plates to heap up with food. Duke had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the boys acting like they were having their last meal, but also took a plate and got food for himself.
Tèa and Serenity glanced at each other, not wishing to comment on the boys’ overexcitement as they went to stand in a corner to wolf down their food. “Maybe we should get something to eat, too,” said Serenity, going over to the table and grabbing a plate. “What do you think?”
Tèa twisted her mouth to the side and then nodded. “You’re right. After all, we don’t know when we’ll get to eat again and watching duels can be hungry work just as much as dueling itself.”
“Agreed.“ Serenity put mochi on her plate, whilst Tèa settled for ramen. They each grabbed a cup of orange juice and sat down in the chairs facing the wall on the opposite side of the room.
By then, Vicki had finished stirring the contents into her coffee. After tossing the plastic spoon away, she picked up the cup, then grabbed a plate, placing a chocolate chip muffin and a jelly bun on it. She got some extra napkins and sat in a chair at the end of the table.
Yami observed as his friends enjoyed their meals, chuckling lightly to himself when he heard Joey and Tristan raving about their food in the background. ‘Those two have always had healthy appetites….although I cannot deny that the aroma is positively enticing.’ His expression then turned serious. ‘Perhaps I should have a bite to eat as well…I can certainly use a boost to my stamina.’ Making up his mind, he went over to the table, and hesitantly picked up a plate as if feeling a bit unsure of himself. He quickly scanned all the food options, and then filled his plate with hotcakes, tamagoyaki, fruit, and a slice of smoked turkey. He got a fork and some napkins before having a seat in the chair on the opposite end of the table.
Vicki, meanwhile, was currently nibbling on her jelly bun, enjoying the flavor of its filling. ‘Mmmm, this is even better than the ones I make…I wonder who the chap has for his chef.’ She had a few more bites of the pastry before blowing lightly on her cup of coffee as she brought it up to her lips to take a sip. However, the beverage was still a tad too hot and burned her tongue. Wincing a bit, she quickly jerked the cup away. ‘Ack! How clumsy of me! Oh God, please don’t let the others have seen that.’ She mentally groaned in annoyance. It took everything in her not to let out a string of harsh cuss words. ‘Well, this is just bloody great…I’m gonna have to deal with this pain for the entire day...how bloody lovely.’ Sighing heavily, she placed the half-eaten jelly bun on the plate and arose from her seat, resting her plate down on her chair. Walking over to the table, she got a cup of orange juice, hoping it would help to soothe the scorching feeling. That done, she retrieved her plate of food and sat down again. ‘Hmm….suddenly I am not sure I’m so hungry anymore, but I still have to take my meds as they don’t do well on an empty stomach.’
Keren pulled the covers over most of Odion’s head, as there was no doubt in her mind Dark Marik would discover the older man’s disappearance and be enraged about it. She walked around the bed back to the stool and glanced over at Ishizu, who was currently sitting at her desk working on a strategy for her next duel. “I’m going to the hall to get some food. Would you like anything?”
Ishizu rested the cards down on the table, furrowing her brow in thought. “Yes, please…I doubt there would be any Om Ali, so a pastry or a muffin will do.”
Keren nodded, thinking the younger woman was probably right in her assumption. She didn’t even expect one of her favorites to be there. ‘I doubt they are very familiar with sufganiyah.’ Not wanting to develop a craving for it, she smacked the back of her head to make herself stay focused. “All right,” she agreed. “I will be right back.” She turned around to leave, then stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder. “Is there anything else you’d like? A cup of tea, perhaps?”
Ishizu hesitated as if she were trying to decide and then answered, “No, that will be all. I can always find something to make tea with in this room.”
“That’s true. Well, I will be back with your pastry.” Keren left the room.
Ishizu exhaled a slight breath and redirected her attention to the cards on the table. A tiny smile crept upon her lips as her eyes landed on Obelisk the Tormentor. Her smile suddenly disappeared and turned into a pensive expression. ‘As pleased as I am that everything happened as my necklace predicted, Obelisk must be returned to the pharaoh as he needs all three god cards to uncover his lost memories. However, without my necklace I do not know who I will be facing or who will win the tournament.’ Her mind then fell on Kaiba. There had been no trace of him since he had stormed away from the arena. She couldn’t help feeling concerned for him. ‘I hope he hasn’t done anything too rash. I was able to see the fury in his eyes and felt it radiating from him, despite his efforts to camouflage it. I do believe he will see reason soon enough and realize he caused his own downfall…no, Ishizu, never mind that now. There are more important matters to worry about.’ Shaking away those thoughts, she let her eyes drift over to her other cards, looking meditative. ‘Hmmm…whoever I will face is most likely familiar with my cards Michizure of Doom, Muko and Exchange of Spirits so I will have to alter my strategy a bit.’
All of a sudden, the young woman heard the sound of footsteps outside her door, which made her glance up and rise from her seat. A curious frown was etched on her features as she knew it could not have been Keren returning with the food already. ‘Perhaps it’s my brother’s good side?’ She held in a deep breath whilst waiting to see who had come to pay her a visit. She froze, and her frown disappeared when the door opened to reveal Marik’s sinister personality. She immediately tensed up, feeling chills running down her spine. It did not help to see his trademark sadistic smile and a glint of rage in his eyes, looking as if he was out for blood. Biting back a gulp, she inched away slightly as the young man approached her and put on her best neutral expression so he wouldn’t sense her fear. “It’s you,” she acknowledged, her voice void of any emotion. She had an idea of why he was there and it spelled bad news. ‘Whatever I do, I mustn’t give him too much information.’
Dark Marik gave Ishizu an evil smile, then it turned into an all-business look. “It most certainly is. I have come to inquire you on the whereabouts of your friend, Odion. What have you done with him?”
Ishizu hurriedly wracked her brain for an acceptable response. “Nothing at all. Besides, how do you know I am responsible for his disappearance?” She knew she was taking a risk by being sassy, but if it made the cornsilk blonde leave her alone, she didn’t care. She allowed a small smirk to escape her lips for good measure.
Dark Marik’s lavender colored eyes narrowed at that response. “Don’t play innocent. I know what you are up to, and it won’t work. You are aware of my plan to dispose of him, so you must be protecting him from me.”
Ishizu suppressed a gasp, her smirk faltering. His assumption was correct; she was protecting the tattooed face man. ‘Stand firm,’ urged a voice inside her head. Her countenance became stoic once again. “Even if your conclusion was true, I still wouldn’t give you that information,” she responded in a firm, no-nonsense tone.
The possessed tombkeeper let out a soft growl and then marched up to the woman with a sneer on his face. A voice inside her head was screaming at her to run, but her legs were frozen solid. ‘Dear Ra, no! Not now!’ All she could do was watch helplessly. “Are you sure you wish to resist me? I have the power to eliminate you as well.” He pointed his rod at her before placing it against her neck. She flinched slightly, causing him to grin evilly. His grin widened upon seeing a sweatdrop escape. “Is that fear I see in your eyes? I must say, I am rather fond of that side of you.” Ishizu let out a slight gasp as she realized Marik’s dark side had sensed her fear, which she had been trying to prevent. He cocked an eyebrow at seeing her neck bare. “I see you no longer have your millennium necklace which shielded you from my advances in the past. How unfortunate. Now you are vulnerable to the power of my millennium rod.” Satisfied with how much fear he had instilled in her, he removed the rod from her neck.
Ishizu breathed several deep breaths to compose herself. As soon as her rapid heartbeat slowed down, she brought up a slender hand and rubbed her neck, the area her brother had placed his rod. She had to admit, she was scared out of her wits for a second.
Dark Marik let out an evil chuckle as he studied the older woman before him. ‘So courageous, yet so feeble.’ He clicked his tongue slightly. “What I have just done to you is just a mere taste of what I have in store. You may have defeated Seto Kaiba, but if you face me, you won’t stand a chance. When I defeat you, I will send you, Keren, and that fool Odion to the Shadow Realm, where you will all wander for eternity!” He let out a cruel laugh and began to walk away, only to stop in his tracks, glancing over his shoulder at a dumbfounded Ishizu. “I must say, it was a pleasure conversing with you, my dear sweet sister, and I’m looking forward to spending even more time with you in the days to come.” With that, he exited the room, smirking to himself in self-satisfaction.
Ishizu watched as the young man left, muttering after him a barely audible, “Good day.” She couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief that he was finally gone. The entire time he was there, it was all she could do not to quiver in fear. ‘He is getting worse. I must speak with the pharaoh about helping me save him and soon.’ Luckily, her legs had thawed out enough for her to make her way back to her chair and sit down again. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she gazed down at her cards, hoping she would be able to take her mind off her “brother’s” cryptic threats. ‘Now let’s see...where was I, before I had been interrupted?’ She moved three of her monster cards to the side. ‘I may use these as a sacrifice to summon Obelisk…that is, if I am facing someone who also holds an Egyptian God card.’ She didn’t want to use the immensely powerful creature against someone who was defenseless against it, especially after all the catastrophes that had taken place thus far. ‘I suppose I will just have to wait and see who my opponent will be before making thorough preparations.’
(one hour later)
After what seemed like an eternity, the blimp was soaring towards the deserted island. The remaining food had been put away, and the girls were hanging out in Mai’s room. Yami and Joey used the remainder of the voyage to prepare for their upcoming duels. It was easy for the ancient pharaoh since he had peace and quiet, but Joey was another story, as he had to spend a fair amount of that time keeping Duke and Tristan from raiding the refrigerator or making too much noise.
Yami was stacking his cards back up neatly when the gong sounded. ‘Hmm?’ He looked up from fixing his deck.
“Attention all finalists! We have arrived at our destination and are about to land! Please make your way back to the hall immediately where the match up for the first duel will be chosen!”
‘I thought as much.’ Yami finished fixing his deck before slipping it onto his duel disk. As he stood up, he picked up his duel disk and strapped it onto his arm. ‘It is time...I will have to be prepared for absolutely anything.’ He then exited the room and stood in front of Joey’s room door. Just as he was about to knock to see if the blonde was ready yet, the door slid open with Joey, Duke and Tristan coming out. Joey gave a small grin when he saw the ancient pharaoh. “Hey, Yuge! You ready to rock?”
Yami chuckled lightly before responding, “Yes, very much so. I trust you are prepared as well?”
Joey looked sheepish for a moment, lowering his head as if ashamed. “Not as much as I would have liked to, thanks to these two mongrels distracting me.” He shot the boys a dirty look. They purposely avoided his eyes, but yelled simultaneously, “I heard that!”
Yami chuckled awkwardly before knitting his eyebrows together. He gave the blonde a sympathetic look. “I see. Well, I know you will do your best under the circumstances.”
“Heck yeah I will! I won’t let anything stop me!” Joey pumped a fist. “Now let’s get cracking!”
Yami nodded, while suppressing another chuckle at his friend’s energy. “Yes, let’s go.” He and Joey walked to the hall together. Tristan and Duke were right behind them.
Roland stood waiting for the finalists by the bingo machine. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement at Yami, Joey, Tristan and Duke when they entered. They nodded back, and gazed around the room. The Kaiba brothers were there, off in a corner by themselves, but in terms of finalists, only Dark Marik was present so far. He stood in the midst of the room with his arms folded, appearing to be deep in thought about something—presumably the next phase of his evil plot. Joey shot a murderous glare at him. If looks could kill, he would have fallen to the ground, dead. Chuckling, the corrupted tombkeeper met his angry gaze with a smirk. ‘Tenacious fool...so full of rage, yet so powerless to stop me.’ After awhile he tore his eyes away from the blonde and directed his smirk towards Yami, who in turn gave him a stony look.
At that moment, Ishizu strolled into the room, followed by Tèa and Vicki, causing the two young men to break their heated gaze. Dark Marik shot his elder sister a smirk, which she ignored. Despite how unnerved he had made her earlier, she put on her best fearless look and turned to face Yami, giving him a small, reserved smile. “My pharaoh,” she greeted him.
Yami didn’t smile, but still had a gracious expression on his features. He gave a light nod. “Ishizu,” he acknowledged. Her presence didn’t come as a surprise to him. He had a feeling she would consent to joining the other finalists since she no longer had the powers of her millennium necklace to predict when her duel would take place.
“If I may, there is something I must speak to you about following the first duel...if it is all right with you.” Ishizu wanted to be sure she wasn’t interrupting anything of importance.
The ancient pharaoh furrowed his brow for a second, but then had a vague idea of what Ishizu wanted to talk to him about. He almost chuckled at the flicker of nerves he thought he saw on her features, but caught himself, nodding. “All right. We will do it in private.” He didn’t want to risk Marik’s dark side overhearing and messing up whatever plans they ended up making.
Ishizu looked relieved to know she wasn’t inconveniencing Yami in any way. She allowed her lips to quirk up a bit. “Wonderful. That sounds like a plan. We will talk about a possible meeting place then.”
“That’s fine.”
There was a thumping noise and the sound of the engine died down before completely cutting off, which got everybody’s attention. Vicki had to lean against the wall to brace herself from falling due to the sudden drop. ‘Whoa...easy.’ She placed a hand over her chest and rose to her full height, adjusting her fedora. Her mishap during breakfast was long forgotten—as much as she possibly could, considering that the discomfort still had yet to fade. ‘So bloody irritating but I’m not gonna let it put a damper on my day...I’m ready for more action.’
Roland cleared his throat loudly, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and glance at him. “As you may have noticed, we have landed at the next dueling site.”
Joey let out a dramatic sigh of relief before crying out, “Finally!” He was about to say more when Tèa placed a finger to her lips and hissed, “Shhhhhhhhh! Let him speak!!”
“Okay, okay already.” Joey fell silent so the older man could continue.
Roland shrugged off the squabble between the two teens, though he hoped he wouldn’t have any more interruptions. He cleared his throat again. “It is now time for the selection of the two duelists that will be involved in the first matchup of the finals. I hope you all remember your numbers.” All the finalists, including Joey, nodded to let him know they had not forgotten. “Good.” Roland walked over to the bingo machine and pressed the button to shuffle the balls. The spherical objects made a juggling noise as they were being mixed up. Everyone waited with baited breath as the balls started to slow down. Even Kaiba’s attention had been captured, as he wanted to see if he should stick around. ‘Hopefully Marik will be participating in this match, then I will have a chance to witness more of Ra’s abilities.’ A gleeful half-smile crossed his lips at the thought.
The balls came to a complete stop and one of them rolled out, revealing the number label. “It’s duelist number five! Marik Ishtar!” The tan-skinned young man gave a wicked grin, chuckling softly to himself. ‘Excellent. I wonder who will be my next victim.’ He ran his fingers over the top of his rod.
Kaiba’s half-smile grew ever so slightly. ‘How appropriate…I wonder who his opponent will be...not that I particularly care, as long as it is someone who has the power to force him to play his Egyptian God card.’
Roland pressed the button on the machine again, shuffling the balls to see who Dark Marik would be facing. Joey held in a deep breath and clasped his hands together. ‘Oh please let it be me. I have a score to settle with him.’ His heart pounded whilst watching the balls slow down. They came to a complete stop and one of them rolled out. He exhaled the deep breath he previously held as the number was revealed, his lips lazily spreading into a huge grin. ‘Yes!’ Opting to show some self-control for as long as possible, he merely grinned so hard his cheeks hurt.
“Facing off against Mr. Marik Ishtar is duelist number 2, Joey Wheeler!” announced Roland, raising an arm upwards.
Joey jumped several feet high and let out a hoot, unable to contain his excitement anymore. “Yeah! Someone is about to get a serious beat down!” He turned to face Dark Marik with the fiercest glare he could possibly muster. Groans erupted amongst Tèa, Tristan and Duke. The cornsilk blonde just shot Joey a malicious smirk. ‘It looks like Little Joey will be my next victim to be cast into hell...how amusing.’
Ishizu drew her lips in a thin line, making a soft “hmmm” sound upon realizing who her opponent would be. ‘So I will be facing off against the pharaoh. Not quite what I had been hoping for, but dueling against him will be an honor. While I no longer have the power of the millennium necklace on my side, I believe Joey has the power to defeat my brother.’ She turned around and left the hall, heading back to her bedroom to continue preparing for her duel.
Yami said nothing, but his eyes were filled with worry, for he had been hoping the matchups wouldn’t turn out this way. ‘I do recall when Joey expressed how much he wanted to save Mai, but I have a bad feeling. It isn’t that I don’t believe he can win, but Marik is not to be trusted. Joey must be very careful.’ Serenity was also silent. She was trying her hardest not to look worried as she wanted Mai to be saved as well, but that was easier said than done, given how dangerous the tombkeeper proved to be. ‘Oh Joey…’ She clasped her hands and closed her eyes as if she were praying.
Kaiba’s half-smile transformed into a smirk and his eyes lit up like that of a child in a candy store. ‘This is perfect. Wheeler won’t stand a chance against Marik, but I will use him as a pawn to bring out the Winged Dragon of Ra. Surely he is competent enough to do that, if nothing else.’
Joey broke his stare with Dark Marik and turned to his friends, who had been relatively quiet. “Isn’t it great?” he asked them. There was no answer. He frowned in confusion. “What’s up, guys? Why so quiet?” He started to sweat and squirm. ‘I hope it’s not because they don’t believe I can win.’
“We are happy for you, Joey, but we want you to promise you’ll be careful,” Serenity finally explained in her quiet voice.
“There’s no telling what Marik will do,” added Tèa, trying not to show how worried she was. The thought of another friend falling victim to Dark Marik’s evil was too much for her to bear.
“Yeah, that Marik plays for keeps and is a nasty piece of work,” chimed in Tristan.
“Interesting way of putting it,” Duke commented wryly. Tristan pretended not to have heard him.
Vicki gave Duke a “you’re not helping” look and rested a hand on Joey’s shoulder. “You have a tough road ahead of you, but I do believe you can do it. You’re not alone in this fight.”
Joey smiled at the long haired brunette for her support. “I know.” His smile faded, replaced by a more thoughtful expression as he glanced at his other friends. He didn’t want them to think he didn’t appreciate their concerns. “Believe me, I know how he is. That’s why I’m not about to go easy on him. There’s too much at stake for that, and plus he doesn’t deserve it.”
Yami, who had appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, finally spoke up, “As long as you believe in yourself and in the power of your deck, you can win, despite the danger.”
Joey grinned widely. “Thanks, Yuge.”
Dark Marik listened to the conversation with an evil smirk on his face. ‘That’s it, you fools, keep on filling Little Joey’s head with false hope. That will make it more devastating when he meets his most unfortunate end.’
Roland glanced at his watch and once again cleared his throat. Everyone faced him, looking attentive. “All right, duelists and spectators, it is now time to disembark the blimp. The match will start in 10 minutes in the duel tower’s arena.”
At those words, Joey, Yami and the remainder of the gang started to make their way to the exit, except for Serenity. Vicki frowned when she noticed the young teen wasn’t following. She stopped in her tracks, making the others stop as well. “Serenity? Are you coming?”
Serenity shook her head. “I would love to, but I have to stay behind and continue to take care of Mai,” she said.
Vicki nodded. “Okay. I understand.”
Joey felt a pang of disappointment coursing through him that his sister wouldn’t get to see him duel the evil entity. ‘I guess it is for the best, considering any duel with Marik ain’t for the faint of heart.’ He tried his best to mask it, saying, “All right. You stay and take care of her. She needs you by her side and I don’t want her alone when she wakes up.”
Serenity smiled a little. “Thank you for understanding, big brother. I’ll be with you in spirit, like always.”
Joey gave his sister the victory sign. “You got it!” He turned to his friends.”Now let’s go everybody!”
“Yeah, let’s.” The group of friends left the hall to go find the blimp’s exit. |
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Post by LadyKeren on Jun 12, 2016 19:51:16 GMT
Chapter 47
After exiting the blimp, three of the finalists and the observers walked into a tall building, taking an elevator to get to the top of the duel tower. Aside from some words being exchanged between Joey and Kaiba, with Tristan having to hold back his friend to keep him from beating up the CEO, there were very little problems.
Joey followed Yami out of the elevator and briskly walked over to the stairs, doing his best to erase Kaiba's disparaging words from his mind. 'He's lucky that Ishizu woman beat him, otherwise I would clobber him after my duel with Marik. But I'll shut him up and make him eat his words. He'll see.' He exhaled a deep breath. 'Focus, Joey. If you're to win against Marik, you have to have a clear head, and not let anyone get to you,' he reminded himself.
Yami walked side by side with Joey, making sure to remain close. "Remember, in order to win this battle, you must use all of your strength against Marik," he reminded the blonde.
Joey gave a wide grin as he was becoming giddy with excitement. "Don't worry, I plan to. Even if I didn't, Marik has no chance," he responded, his grin turning cocky. He did a quick gaze around to familiarize himself with his surroundings. His grin faded and turned into a frown when he saw no trace of his other friends anywhere. "Hey, what gives? Where's everyone else? I thought they were right behind us." All of a sudden he heard quiet laughter, followed by a deep, taunting voice asking, "Why would you want them here?" He turned around sharply to see the cornsilk blonde approaching him and Yami with a wild smirk on his face. "Marik!" he spat. "I thought I smelled a little weasel."
Dark Marik ignored the stinging jab, laughing again. "With the horrors I have in store for you, it should be a blessing that your pathetic friends won't be around to witness them. You will soon be separated from them forever, so you had better learn to adjust."
Joey cut his eyes at the tan-skinned young man and drew in a breath, ready to curse him, but a voice inside his head reminded him not to give his opponent the satisfaction. "Whatever, artichoke head. You're not scaring anyone with your head games." Yami placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him down a bit.
"That's right. You mustn't allow his words to affect you," said the ancient pharaoh. He removed his hand from Joey's shoulder, giving the blonde an opportunity to step back and shuffle his feet.
Joey placed a hand in the back of his head and laughed a little. He then let his arm drop to his side and put on his best determined look. "Believe me, I'm not. Sure he's a psycho, but he's got nothing on either of us. He will be out of the tournament before he can say freakshow, and Mai will be back to normal again." It was his promise that helped control the urge he had to laugh in Dark Marik's face.
Yami was about respond when he and Joey were interrupted again, this time by a familiar scornful huff and a glacial voice commenting, "Keep living in your delusions that your good luck will save you again. A slap in the face will bring you back to reality, and it will be a painful one." The two gentlemen glanced up to find themselves standing face to face with Kaiba, who had a sneer on his features.
Joey immediately felt his spirit becoming cross to the point where he had the strongest urge to rearrange the CEO's face. He glared at him. "Says who, you? Well, nobody asked for your opinion, so I suggest you shut your piehole before I staple it shut!"
Kaiba tilted his head and let out a huffy laugh. "Your empty threats don't scare me! We both know you're all talk. If you honestly believe you stand a chance against Marik's Egyptian God card, you're more brainless than I thought." Amusement crossed his features as he watched the blonde shake with rage at his insults. 'His anger does not move me in the least. He is powerless to do anything about it, and as far as I'm concerned, he's only putting on a façade.'
Joey's first instinct was to rush forward and bash the CEO's face in, but Yami was giving him a look that was telling him to control his temper. 'I'm not sure if I can do that, but I will try.' He growled and then let out several heavy breaths to cool down. "You may not remember this because you have your head stuck in your behind, but I faced off against the Winged Dragon of Ra before and that wasn't enough to scare me away."
Kaiba bit his lip to keep from laughing at the blonde's selective memory."Not quite. According to my recollection, you were knocked out cold. I'm the only one who is capable of defeating Ra, and you're going to help me."
Joey blinked in surprise, looking at Kaiba as if he were mentally ill for making such a declaration. "Fat chance, Kaiba! You're the last one I would ever help willingly. If you think you're so tough and could beat him so easily, then do it yourself!" He had thoughts about reminding Kaiba of how he had been kicked out of his own tournament and in the first round of the finals at that, but thought better of it.
Kaiba smirked. "I'm afraid refusal is not an option. The fact that a small fry like you advanced further than I have in my tournament is mindboggling, but your lucky streak is about to end here and now. However, at least you would have served a purpose. Watching you lose to Marik at the hands of his Egyptian God monster will show me what I must do in order to defeat it and win it from Yugi. So you see, Wheeler, Yugi is also my guinea pig, because I am counting on him to win this tournament. It is merely your job to provide the entertainment."
Joey clenched one of his fists again and shook it at the CEO whilst he glared at him, looking as if a vein would pop in his forehead. "I'm not entertainment for anyone!" he growled through clenched teeth. It took everything in him not to rush over to the former world champion and deliver uppercuts to different areas of his face. 'The only reasons I'm bothering to hold back is because I don't want to embarrass Yuge and I'm saving my energy to take down freakboy. But if he keeps on pissing me off, things ain't gonna be pretty.'
Kaiba's smirk widened and turned smug, clearly satisfied at having gotten under the blonde's skin. "That's all you're good for in my eyes and it's the only thing you will ever be."
Joey felt his body becoming hot and he began to shake again. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep his temper. "Did I mention how much you're pissing me off?! You're lucky Yugi is here with me, otherwise I would mess up your face right now!" He cracked his knuckles.
Kaiba opened his mouth to give a snarky remark, but before he could, Yami spoke up, "In reference to your ambitions, Kaiba, if you want to wield my Egyptian God monster, you will have to defeat me first, and that won't be easy." He uttered the last statement with a self-confident smile on his face. He could tell his rival hadn't learned from his defeat at the hands of Ishizu. 'Even so, he is a formidable opponent and I must be prepared for when I do face him.'
Kaiba gave Yami a smirk. "That doesn't scare me in the least. I have every intention of defeating you, and I won't rest until I do. " He directed his smirk towards Joey. "In the meantime, Wheeler has a battle to lose." He walked away with a smug grin on his face, the tail of his trenchcoat blowing in the wind.
Joey scowled, rubbing his knuckles as they were sore from him cracking them so hard. His jaw also ached from clenching his teeth, but right now that was the least of his worries. "Friggin' dickweed," he yelled after the business tycoon.
Kaiba merely smirked to himself as the insult reached his ears. 'He can believe whatever he wishes to about me. At the end of the day he is the one who is doomed for failure.' He went to join his brother on the sidelines. He turned to Roland, who stood several feet away from him. "Proceed," he ordered brusquely, his voice sounding rather flat.
The older man nodded. "Right." His voice got loud as he announced, "The first duel of the finals is about to begin!" He fixed his eyes on Joey and Dark Marik. "Gentlemen, please make your way onto the arena at once!"
'It's about time,' was what went through the possessed tombkeeper's mind as he briskly walked up the steps. He entered the arena and took his place on the playing field, his lips spreading into a wide evil grin. 'This should be an amusing match. Toying with Little Joey will be even more pleasurable than my duel with Mai. A pity he will meet the same fate.' He let out a soft chuckle and then fixed his gaze upon Joey, willing him to come pronto. 'The shadows are hungry and waiting to feast on your soul. I would pick up the pace if I were you.'
Joey muttered something that sounded like, "You don't need to tell me twice," and made his way to the flight of stairs. Just as he was doing that, Tristan, Tèa, Duke and Vicki scurried out of the elevator, slowing down when they spotted Yami. They stood next to the ancient pharaoh, letting out huge sighs of relief at the fact that they had not missed anything.
Hearing the footsteps, Joey stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder, not bothering to acknowledge the presence of his friends. Instead he faced forward again, breathing heavily.
Tristan quirked an eyebrow at his best friend's odd behavior and frowned a bit. "That's weird...I wonder what's with him."
"Is Kaiba bugging you?" ventured Duke, his voice laced with concern. He knew how high the possibility of that was, given the amount of tension between the two.
Joey grunted in reply as he side-eyed the ebony-haired young man. "Perhaps he is...though I don't see what that has to do with you."
Duke let out a gasp of mock surprise, placing a hand on his chest as if he had been offended by the blonde's grumpy behavior. "Well excuuuuse me for prying."
Vicki was flinching inwardly, all the while thinking of what would be the best way to cheer up Joey that wouldn't backfire or make Mokuba upset with her. She gave Duke and Tristan an "I'll handle this" look before directing her attention to Joey. "Just ignore him," she advised him in her most maternal voice. "He's only trying to distract you in order to throw off your performance and you can't let him do that. It'll just give him something else to gloat about."
Joey's scowl softened considerably at the words of wisdom. He turned to face Vicki and gave her a light nod to let her know he understood. 'Is Vicki the voice of reason or what? She's right, though. Kaiba is only trying to mess with my head. I have to stay focused and not let him rattle me.' Trudging up the steps onto the arena, he took his place on the playing field and faced the possessed tombkeeper with the fiercest expression he could muster, hardening his honey colored eyes. "All right, Marik, it's go time! I've been looking forward to this match for a long time! I hope you're prepared to get a major beat down for what you did to Mai!"
Dark Marik sneered at Joey, more or less expecting such anger and animosity from him. He let out a deep chuckle before retorting, "Fool! You can do nothing against me. You'll end up just like your little girlfriend."
Joey put on his best tough guy look. "We'll see."
"Yes, we'll see how well you fare in our battle. I doubt you will be able to withstand my onslaught any better than Mai did." The tan-skinned young man chuckled again, a devilish sounding one. Both Tèa and Vicki had to fight the urge to cover their ears.
Joey's eyes narrowed as he ignored the chills going down his spine. "That's what you think, but I'll show you!"
Roland glanced at his watch and then cleared his throat, ceasing the young men's verbal standoff before Dark Marik could think of a comeback. "All right, gentlemen, it's time for the match to begin!" he declared, raising an arm up in the air.
"It's time to duel!" Dark Marik and Joey belted out simultaneously, activating their duel disks.
"All right, Joey!!" blared Tèa.
"Stick it to him!" yelled Tristan.
"And stick it to him good!" added Vicki, giving him a thumbs up sign.
"We're all behind you!" called out Duke.
Joey turned to his friends and smiled at them. "Thanks, guys. You're the best. With your support, there's no way I'll lose."
Yami was about to offer his encouragement as well, but then a silhouette of his weaker half appeared next to him, his eyes full of doubt and worry. "What's wrong, Yugi?" he asked, concerned.
"I don't think we should let Joey go through with this duel. It's too dangerous. There's gotta be a way for us to duel Marik in his place." He looked at the ancient pharaoh with scared eyes. He knew what Marik's dark side was capable of and had a feeling it was just the surface. 'I would hate to see what he has in store for Joey.'
Yami could see how strongly his little friend felt about the dueling set up, and he couldn't say he blamed him when it came to Joey's opponent. His voice became firm as he said, "I understand your concern. However, Joey has some promises to keep and it is not our place to interfere. We must have faith in him. He has the power to stop Marik. Remember, it is not a task we can accomplish on our own."
Yugi was silent as he considered the pharaoh's words. Although he wanted to protest, he found he couldn't because Yami spoke the truth. Joey had made a promise to him and Mai. He also knew how guilty the blonde felt when he couldn't protect his female companion. A part of him knew expecting his best friend to change his mind was asking too much, and he wanted to smack himself for being selfish, but he couldn't help it. 'Either way, I have to put my worries aside.' He looked thoughtful and then nodded. "You're right," he conceded. "I just hope Joey will be all right."
Yami nodded. "I agree." With that, Yugi's silhouette disappeared.
Dark Marik smirked to himself as he listened to the gang offer their support. 'Such delusional fools. Well, they're in for the most unpleasant surprise, so they can continue to have the notion that Joey can resist me.' He let out a raucous laugh. "If you think your pathetic friends will be enough to save you, then you are more foolish than I thought! All of you are powerless against me!"
Joey crossed his eyes at the cornsilk blonde. "I'm more than ready for you, so bring it on! You're going down!" He pointed a finger at his opponent.
Dark Marik chuckled again. "Then let's begin this duel."
"Now you're talking!" After exchanging one last brief stare with the corrupted tombkeeper, Joey drew five cards from his deck, putting his game face on.
Dark Marik drew his five cards as well, his lips spreading into a wide evil grin as he scanned them. 'Excellent. I can commence with this fool's destruction right now if I wish. But what fun would that be when I can prolong his anguish?' He glanced up from the cards, letting his eyes meet Joey's. "I will begin this duel," he declared, pulling a card from his deck and adding it to his hand. "I summon Gil Garth in attack mode!" (1800 attk) A warrior whose armor was made up of metal materialized, at which Vicki let out a whistle. Its head was shaped like a diamond, and there were spikes protruding from its shoulderpads, armbands, kneepads, and metallic boots. "I'll also set one card face down. As much as I would love to proceed with your punishment, I must end my turn. Consider yourself lucky. On my next turn, you had better be prepared for my assault."
Joey closed his eyes for a moment to drown out his opponent's rambling, going, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. You don't scare me. It's my turn now!" He reopened his eyes to give Dark Marik a hard look before peering down at the cards in his hand. His expression changed into disappointment, but he did his best to keep it subtle, not wanting to give his opponent the satisfaction. 'This is bad...I don't have any cards in my hand powerful enough to defeat that eyesore...let's see if I draw a good one.' He pulled a card from his deck and held it up to glance at. The disappointment grew ever so slightly, but he kept his expression neutral. 'Hmm...not what I was hoping for, but oh well...I can't attack now, anyway. But I can't keep drawing cards like this if I want to win.' He put his game face back on. "I play Alligator's Sword in defense mode!" (1200 def) The reptilian warrior emerged onto the field, kneeling down. "I also place one card face down. That's all for now."
"Pathetic!" Dark Marik scoffed, thinking perhaps achieving his victory was a simpler task than he thought. His lips then curled into a malicious grin and a maniacal laugh erupted from deep within his throat, eliciting a strange look from Joey that read, 'What the hell is this wacko laughing about now?' He just smiled evilly at the blonde. "I hope you have had enough practice during your first turn, because I am about to take this game to a different level."
Joey made a horrified sound and squirmed a bit, his eyes bugging out. Gasps escaped the lips of nearly everyone watching, followed by loud whispers of, "Oh no! Not that!" and "Joey's in trouble!" They knew where the evil young man was going with those words, and they didn't like it one bit. Yami just looked on with a stony expression and wrinkled his brow in disgust, clearly furious about the cowardice his foe displayed. 'Just as I expected. The stakes in this duel have just increased for Joey...but I know he will succeed.'
Dark Marik let out an evil chuckle upon hearing the whispers. "That's right, you should be afraid," he taunted, reaching for his rod in the back pocket of his pants and pointing it at Joey, who had to pinch himself to keep from squirming again. "The remainder of this match will be held in the Shadow Realm!" His millennium rod glowed brightly as he emitted a blanket of darkness, which cloaked the entire playing field, surrounding participants and observers alike.
Joey felt a chill going down his spine and a sweatdrop forming on his forehead. 'I had a feeling he was going to pull something like this. However, he's got another thing coming if he thinks it's enough to scare me away.' He quickly wiped away the bead of sweatdrop before anyone could notice. 'I've gotta stay tough, no matter what this freakshow decides to do.'
The possessed tombkeeper quirked an eyebrow at Joey before allowing his trademark evil smirk to appear on his features again. "I am afraid what you have faced thus far is just the beginning. No shadow game is without its twist, and I have one planned just for you." Before Joey could ask what he meant, a translucent string containing a purple glow appeared on his monster.
Joey blinked several times to make sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him, and then glanced up at Dark Marik with an expression that was between annoyance and confusion. "Do you mind telling me what's that thing doing on my Alligator's Sword?"
Dark Marik gave a Chesire cat grin. "I would be happy to. That is an energy string. It will attach itself to all of your monsters and every time a creature of yours is destroyed, your energy will be depleted until your body becomes an empty shell. That will make it easier for the shadows to consume you, just like your friend Mai." He laughed evilly. Deciding to torture the blonde a bit, he conjured the hourglass that contained Mai. The trapped young woman was waist high in the quicksand. She banged on the glass as hard as she could in an attempt to free herself. "Someone please get me out of here!" she cried out, her voice filled with fear.
Joey felt a painful jolt in his heart, causing him to nearly double over, but he remained upright, letting out a horrified gasp. 'Oh no! Mai's in trouble and I can't do anything to get her out of there except win this duel!' He balled one of his hands into a fist, inwardly seething both at the fact that he couldn't do anything to help his female companion, and Dark Marik committing the act. 'When I'm through with him, he's gonna be sorry he crossed any of us!'
Dark Marik laughed gleefully, enjoying the cries of anguish. "Did you hear that? Those are the cries of your dear friend Mai. Unfortunately, she is in a place where no one can come to her aid." The tan-skinned young man gave a wicked grin as he sent the hourglass back into the depths of the massive fog. "Soon you will suffer the same fate!" He let out another diabolical laugh, his eyes stretching to the side. Vicki and Tèa had to turn away in order to avoid making squeamish faces.
Joey let out a growl. The young man was trying his patience. 'Remain focused and bite your tongue,' his conscience reminded him. He had his doubts about whether he would be able to heed those words much longer, although he knew it was in his best interest to do so. His look turned into that of a hardened warrior's. "Not likely, psycho boy! I'll kick your butt to the moon and back! Now hurry up and make your move already!"
The cornsilk blonde tsked. "In a rush to meet your demise, are we? Well, I am happy to grant that wish." He pulled a card from his deck, holding it up to glance at and smiling widely. "I summon Drillago in attack mode!" (1600 attk) A machine-like beast adorned with drill-bits emerged onto the field. "Drillago, annihilate his Alligator's Sword with Spiral Thrust!" The creature glided forward, spun its drill weapons around like a windmill and cut the reptile to bits. Joey covered his face to shield it from the breeze that blew before crying out in pain and hunching over slightly. 'This freak of nature wasn't kidding...that rope thingy packs quite a punch. I have to continue to hang tough, though.' He panted a bit and rose to his full height. Dark Marik laughed gleefully. "Now my Gil Garth, attack this fool's life points directly!" The friendship gang watched with looks of horror as the creature lunged at the blonde.
Joey's lips stretched into a sly grin. 'Gotcha,' he mentally gloated. "Not so fast! I reveal my face down card, Scapegoat!" The four hairballs appeared hovering in midair and Gil Garth slashed one of them, leaving three. Dark Marik's smugness drained from his face and he let out a growl at having his scheme ruined. "That's right! My Scapegoat absorbs your attack, leaving me unscathed!"
Dark Marik growled again, gripping his rod. "Curse you! You won't escape my onslaught next time."
Joey gave him a look that was between a glower and a sneer. "We'll see about that, artichoke head! I also have some surprises up my sleeve, so look out! It's my move now!" He pulled a card from his deck and took a look at it, smiling a little. 'Ah, now we're talking.' He faced his opponent with his best all-business expression. "All right, Marik, I hope you're ready for the fun to begin! I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!" (2000 attk) The humanoid shaped feline beast emerged onto the field and raised its sword, letting out a roar. "My monster needs a sacrifice before it can attack, so I'll get rid of one of my Scapegoats!" Another of the furry miniscule creatures disappeared. "Panther Warrior, attack!" The feline warrior lunged forward, slicing Gil Garth in half. Dark Marik put on a pokerface as he watched his life points plummet to three thousand, eight hundred, grunting when he felt the gust of winds blowing in his face and at his hair. "I place one card face down. My turn's done."
Kaiba, who had been observing the duel intently, let one corner of his lips quirk up before laughing huffily. "So will you be soon enough," he remarked, partially aloud, partially under his breath. He tapped his right foot several times to remain alert. 'Wheeler had better make this duel worth watching.'
Tèa, Tristan, Duke and Vicki all had wide smiles on their faces, happy that the blonde was on the road to making a comeback. It had been extremely difficult for them to watch him be tortured the way Mai was. Tèa clasped her hands together, looking misty-eyed. 'Come on, Joey. Please win this duel. Mai is counting on you.'
Dark Marik locked eyes with Joey before sneering at him. "You may have outwitted me that round, but it won't happen again. That's just one of many surprises I have planned, and things will get worse from this moment on. It's my move now." He pulled a card from his deck, glancing at it. He drew his lips in a straight line as he gazed at the other cards in his hand. 'Hmm...Hidden Soldiers won't be of any use to me right now, but my Tribute Burial magic card is perfect.' His lips curled into an evil grin. "Your time has just about run out, Little Joey! I activate my Tribute Burial magic card! "
Joey gave the cornsilk blonde a perplexed look. "What does that do?"
Dark Marik smiled at the question, a smile that seemed well-meaning but was actually dripping with malevolence. "It's quite simple. It allows me to remove a monster from your graveyard as well as my own from play." Just as he explained, Joey's Alligator's Sword and his Gil Garth emerged from their respective graveyards to be rendered useless for the remainder of the duel. Joey's jaw dropped open slightly at that. Dark Marik chuckled lightly. "If that move astounds you, wait until you see my upcoming move!"
Joey sighed heavily and pretended to glance at his watch. "Well then quit your yapping and make your flippin' move already! I don't have all day to waste with you!" he yelled, irate. Buried beneath his annoyance was intense anxiety about what the possessed tombkeeper could be planning. 'There's no doubt he will sick his Egyptian God monster on me. I have to find a way to beat him before that happens or else I'm dead meat.'
"He took the words right out of my mouth," Vicki muttered under her breath. She was beyond weary of the taunting and gloating.
Dark Marik wagged his finger at Joey before clicking his tongue in amusement. "Now, now, my friend, you should be careful what you wish for. But since you insist, I will gladly proceed. Thanks to the effects of my magic card, I can summon a powerful creature without making a sacrifice. Say hello to Helpoemer!" (2000 attk) An aqua colored ghoul bound to a cross rose up out of the ground. Joey bit his lip to keep from yelling out in terror, but he couldn't help shuddering. There was so little skin covering the monster that its veins were poking out, and its neck and face were twisted grotesquely. "I set one card face down and end my turn."
Vicki and Tèa took one look at the beast and shivers immediately went down their spines. Tèa couldn't resist wrinkling her nose. "That thing looks so disgusting!!"
"That's an understatement," remarked Vicki, wrapping her arms around herself to curb the chills. "I have the feeling I'll be seeing it in my nightmares."
Tristan let out a loud whistle and tilted his head to the side. "Gee, I thought Bonz's and Bakura's monsters were creepy, but this one takes the cake."
Confusion crossed Duke's features for a moment as he didn't know who Bonz was, but he nodded in agreement. "You said it. I just hope Joey can keep it together."
Tristan glanced over at his best friend, noting how he seemed to be having trouble hiding the fact that he was terrified. "You're right about that."
Dark Marik merely ignored the chatter going on amongst his opponent's friends, chuckling to himself. 'My Helpoemer is nothing compared to what I have in store for Joey.' He faced Joey, giving him a wide malicious smile. "It is your move, Little Joey...that is, unless you wish to surrender."
Joey stared back at the tan-skinned young man, his eyes full of determination and passion. "Never!" he declared. "I won't stop until I beat you and send you packing! So look out! It's my turn now!" He pulled a card from his deck, glancing at it. His lips quirked up a bit. 'Sweet! Jinzo! I can use him to make Marik's trap cards useless. I will hold onto him until the time is right. But for now...' He added the Jinzo card to his hand. "I summon Rocket Warrior in attack mode!!" (1500 attk)
Dark Marik gave a devilish grin. "That's the move I wanted you to make. You've activated my trap card!"
Joey's smile faltered. "Say what?!"
"That's right! I reveal my face down card, Hidden Soldiers! When you summoned a monster without making a sacrifice, you enabled me to use my magic card's ability to summon my Plasma Eel!" The gray beaded worm-like creature emerged onto the field, slithering in midair. "I'll also activate its special effect, Plasma Drip, which lets me ensnare any monster I choose. My target is your Panther Warrior!" Joey's eyes widened in fear as the serpentine shaped beast wrapped around his monster, binding it tight. The feline warrior struggled to break free, but to no avail.
Vicki felt her stomach starting to churn, all the while suppressing a dissatisfied groan. 'That thing is gonna make me lose my breakfast, but it's the least of my worries. I'm more worried about how Joey will fare as it has proven to be bad news.'
Joey had a horrified expression on his face upon seeing his Panther Warrior trapped. He remembered the scene all too well from Mai's duel, although he didn't care to. 'That same snake put Mai's monster out of commission.' He took a deep breath to compose himself.
Dark Marik laughed again, getting a thrill out of seeing Joey rattled. "What will you do now, Joey? If I were you, I would surrender, for every move you make leads to your defeat and a journey to the dark abyss. "
Joey looked at him as if he were crazy. "In your dreams, Marik! "
Dark Marik cocked an eyebrow. "Well then, continue your turn if you're so confident you can stop me."
"Heck yeah I can! You're not so tough!" Joey then put on his best focused look, wearing a smug smile inside as he was proud of himself for having found a way around his opponent's trap. "Here I go, Marik! I activate my Rocket Warrior's Invincible Mode!!" Rocket Warrior transformed into its full rocket form and launched into the air. It soared towards the ghoulish creature and collided with it, decreasing its attack strength by 500 points, while the semi-humanoid warrior was unharmed. Helpoemer grunted from both the force of the collision and its strength diminishing. "There's more where that came from, so brace yourself! I sacrifice another one of my Scapegoats! Now my panther, slice and dice his Helpoemer!" As another token vanished, Panther Warrior lunged forward and slashed the ghoul, reducing it to ribbons. Dark Marik lost 500 more life points, retching from witnessing the attack on his monster. It was now Joey's turn to smirk. "How do ya like them apples?" He started grinning widely.
Dark Marik began to laugh deep within his throat. It started off low, but gradually got louder until the laughter was maniacal, his shoulders rising and falling. The boys glanced at each other as if to ask, 'What gives?', whereas the girls were cringing, wishing he would be quiet.
Joey blinked several times before giving the cornsilk blonde a funny look. "What the hell are you laughing about?" he demanded to know.
The possessed tombkeeper abruptly stopped laughing, though a diabolical grin remained on his features. "Your follies and delusions are appalling. When you destroyed my Helpoemer, you triggered its special ability!"
Joey's smirk faded, replaced by a look of fear as he was almost afraid to ask or learn about this ability. "What? Oh no!"
"Oh yes!" Dark Marik confirmed smugly. "Look at your duel disk and you will see that Helpoemer is in your graveyard instead of mine."
Mystified, Joey peered down at his duel disk as instructed, his eyes going wide as saucers and mouth falling open when he saw the Helpoemer card sliding out of the graveyard slot. "What the hell?" He then glanced up at Dark Marik with an indignant expression on his face. "Do you mind telling me why your monster card is there? Explain yourself!!"
The cornsilk blonde gave a devilish grin. "It's quite simple. It is a part of my plan to destroy you."
Joey's facial expression morphed into one of bemusement. "And just how will it destroy me?" Though he wanted to believe the tan-skinned young man was just bluffing and playing mind games, something told him that wasn't the case. 'Knowing him, it's probably something else unheard of. I just hope it won't cause me to lose the duel.'
Dark Marik smiled a deadly smile. "It takes one random card from your hand each turn and sends it to the graveyard. If you doubt my words, just observe."
Before Joey could react, a mint green translucent eerie hand reached out and pulled a card from his hand, slipping it into the graveyard slot. He got a horrified look on his face when he saw which one was chosen. 'No! Not my Jinzo! That was the best card in my hand!' It took everything in him not to pout like a small child because his plans were ruined. 'To hell with that blasted monster and its special effect.' He continued to mentally curse the sinister young man, not holding back. 'Calm yourself, Joey!' a voice inside him chided. 'There is a way to retrieve the card for future use.'
Dark Marik chuckled evilly at Joey's less than pleased reaction. "From the looks of things, I must have foiled whatever strategy you had planned. Well, I'm afraid things will only get worse, and soon you'll be nothing more than a memory."
In response, Joey let out a frustrated growl, wishing Dark Marik would just shut it already. All he wanted to do was get the young man out of his sight once and for all. 'The question is, how should I do it? Each turn that passes his Helpoemer will toss my cards and before long my entire deck could be destroyed. As much as I hate to say it, he's right. I have to do something.' He clenched his teeth, trying to wrack his brain for a way out of his predicament.
Serenity remained at Mai's bedside to keep watch over the young woman, only once moving from her spot to use the restroom and fill a bowl with water. There still hadn't been any changes in Mai's condition, but by then Serenity knew not to expect it. 'It hurts to see her this way, but I have to stay strong and continue taking care of her.' She took the cloth, dipped it in the bowl of water and wrung it out, dabbing at a sweatdrop that had formed on the woman's forehead. She placed it in the bowl of water and then stood up to take a quick peek outside, gasping when she saw a massive fog enveloping the top of the duel tower. 'It's that same fog from Mai's duel, which means my brother and Marik are fighting a Shadow Duel!' She felt cold inside, her stomach became queasy and there was a look of fear on her face. Seeing the cloud-like darkness brought back too many memories for her—unpleasant memories. After swallowing the lump that was beginning to form and lodge itself in her throat, she sat back down, clasping her hands as she looked down at her lap. 'Please do your best to win this duel, Joey. I wouldn't be able to bear it if I lost you, too.'
(Ishizu's room)
Ishizu and Keren sat in the room, continuing to watch over Odion. The atmosphere was a bit more relaxing, seeing that Marik's dark side was currently dueling and would most likely be gone for awhile. Knowing they would be able to enjoy some peace and quiet for a bit without having to worry about the corrupted tombkeeper hunting them down put their minds at ease.
As for Odion himself, there still had yet to be any visible changes in his condition. It was all Keren could do not to have a meltdown because she desperately wanted to do something to speed up the process, but was at a total loss. She hated feeling so powerless when it came to helping the man she loved.
Keren exhaled a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to soothe her inner turmoil and anxiety that ate away at her. She knew there was only so much the medical technician could do for Odion and his body needed time to recover from the trauma, but waiting patiently for results was easier said than done. 'I suppose all I can do is pray and hope Odion will awaken soon, preferably before this tournament concludes.' She leaned over to kiss his forehead and took one of his large hands in hers, squeezing it lightly before pressing it to her face. 'Don't worry, Odion...no harm shall come to you as long as Ishizu and I are here.' She let go of his hand and shot a glance at Ishizu, smiling to herself at how preoccupied the younger woman looked peering down at her scattered cards. 'Hmm...she does need the preparation if her duel is against the pharaoh. I must say, though, I envy her for being able to keep focused in the wake of this madness. I can use a distraction.' She closed her eyes, saying another silent prayer to Ra for Odion's recovery and that Marik would conquer the evil controlling him.
Joey peered at the cards in his hand with a pensive look on his face, trying to clear his mind and put a strategy together. 'First things first is I have to find a way to protect myself from all his traps. More importantly, I have to stop that monster from stealing all my best cards before I don't have any left.' He glanced up and looked back down, his eyes landing on the face down card he had played not too long ago. 'Hmm...I think I got it. That card may be enough to slow him down and buy me some time, if nothing else.' A small smile escaped his lips, despite the fact that he was still feeling a bit drained.
Tèa shot a sideways glance at Joey to see how he was holding up with what had just happened. Relief crossed her features when she saw he appeared to be keeping his cool and not looking like he intended to do something overly rash. 'It won't be too long before the pressure gets to him, though.' She turned to her friends with a serious expression on her face. "So guys, which card do you think was sent to the graveyard just now?"
Tristan rubbed his temples a bit as if to think. "I don't know, but based on all that jibber-jabbering Marik was doing, it had to be one of the major league monsters."
"Yeah, and the worst part about it is that thing can take any card and Joey has no say," added Duke. He then got a grim look on his face. "That means he could end up losing all of his best cards before he uses them."
Tèa's eyes were filled with dread as the realization hit her. Although she was no expert, she knew full well how difficult it was for someone to achieve victory with their deck nearly destroyed. She wrung her hands wistfully. 'Joey, please keep it together. I don't want to think of what will happen if you lose.'
Dark Marik broke into raucous laughter, jolting the blonde out of his thoughts. "You could use a rest, Little Joey."
Joey cut his eyes at the possessed tombkeeper before retorting, "And you could use a haircut, so what's your point?"
At that, Vicki began to snicker, a snort involuntarily escaping in the process, which led to the others glancing at her. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment. "Oops, didn't mean to do that, but his jab was too hilarious." She stifled another giggle.
Dark Marik just laughed off the insult, totally unfazed by it, for he had heard worse. 'It won't be long before I silence him forever.' He briefly faced Vicki and flashed her a lustful smirk, receiving a distasteful look in return, which only made his smirk grow. 'Such a feisty girl...she would make a good love slave, although my weaker half would not be pleased.' The young man almost let out an aroused moan at the thought. 'Stop it, Marik! This is no time to be thinking of such foolishness!' his conscience chided him. Opting to heed his inner voice, he turned away and met the blonde's gaze with his own."Now that your turn is complete, my Plasma Eel's ability is about to take effect, draining 500 points from your pathetic creature!" Joey kept his expression nonchalant whilst watching his monster's attack strength decrease to one thousand, five hundred. "My move." The sinister young man pulled a card from his deck and took a look at it, smiling widely. 'Ah, this is perfect. My Coffin Seller trap card is just what I needed. All I have to do is lure this fool into attacking me and he's finished.'
Joey undressed Dark Marik with his eyes, sizing him up and discreetly arching an eyebrow upon seeing the smirk on his features. Usually he would either feel uneasy or seethe with anger at such smugness, but instead he gave a smug grin of his own. "Yo, Marik, listen up! I'm about to wipe that smirk off your face starting now!"
The young man's brow furrowed as his smirk faltered considerably."Hmm? And just how do you plan to do that?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, his voice dripping with amusement. It took everything in him not to burst into uproarious laughter.
"You'll see. Watch this! Reveal face down card, Drop Off! Someone like you should know what it does, but just to show what a nice guy I am, I'll remind you. It forces the opponent to get rid of the card they drew. Time for you to ditch the card you were just grinning up a storm about!"
Dark Marik let out a growl through clenched teeth as he disposed of the card, grumbling. He faced Joey with a sneer. "It was clever of you to destroy one of the traps I planned to use against you, but that was just a minor setback, for I have many powerful cards in my possession. I set two cards face down and end my turn. Make your move, if you dare."
"Don't mind if I do! Here goes!" Joey started to reach towards his deck to draw a card, but then stopped and frowned a bit. 'That's weird. Why didn't Marik attack me? He has his Drillago on the field, which is now stronger than my panther and would leave me defenseless if he attacks. I guess I should be glad although the only monster I have in my hand is Baby Dragon...but then he could be up to something. I really need a good card this turn or I'm history.' With a focused expression on his face, he continued to reach towards his deck, pulling a card from the top of it. He took a look at it and gave an excited smile to see another one of his best monsters. 'Insect Queen! Sweet! She could do a great deal of damage to Marik's life points. But I have to sacrifice two monsters and with one of them tied up it's too risky right now. I had better hold onto it and hope that wretched Helpoemer doesn't nab it.' His smile then disappeared. "I play Baby Dragon in defense mode!" (700 def) The bright orange colored dragon appeared on the field, growling softly. Joey looked over at his Rocket Warrior, wrinkling his brow in thought. 'I had better hold off on my attack for now. Marik has 2 cards waiting to spring on me and there's no way I'm giving him that chance...though I know I have to attack him sooner or later.'
Dark Marik raised an eyebrow at Joey's hesitation and shot him an evil smile. "What's the matter, Little Joey? Why are you hesitating? Do you fear the two traps I set on the field? Or have you given up because there's no way for you to win?"
Joey balled up one of his fists and clenched his teeth, letting out a grunt. 'This creep is grinding my gears, but I can't let him bully me. Something tells me those two cards he played face down are bad news.' His clenched fist began to shake as if he were struggling within himself to make the right decision.
Vicki looked worried upon noticing the blonde's trembling form. She knew when he got like that, it meant he was having trouble controlling his temper. "Guys, it looks as if Marik has finally gotten under Joey's skin." She couldn't resist shooting a murderous glare at Dark Marik for that as well as the implications behind his smirk. 'He's coo coo if he thinks I would ever be attracted to a sicko like him. I would rather eat worms or die a thousand deaths before I let him have his way.' She forced the unpleasant thought from her mind, softening her glare just a smidge. 'I did promise Ishizu I would support her in her quest, although forgiving him will be difficult. It's not impossible, though, and if he does change for the better, I will give him a chance.'
Duke eyed the blonde to see what Vicki was referring to and got an expression on his face that read, 'Uh oh.' "Now that you mentioned it, you're right," he agreed, bringing the young woman back to reality. His voice got a little loud as he called out, "Joey, calm down, dude! Don't let him push you around!"
"Yeah, don't let him force you into attacking!" chimed in Tèa. "He'll just activate one of his traps."
Joey side-eyed his friends to show he had heard them, but kept his fist clenched, breathing heavily. 'Tèa has a point. Those traps could finish me if I attack. At the same time, if I can get rid of Drillago, Marik will be defenseless. He's crazy if he thinks I'm scared of him, and if I just sit around and do nothing, it will prove I am. Plus, it won't get me any closer to winning.' Joey let out a long, deep breath, hardening his eyes as he redirected his attention towards the corrupted tombkeeper. "All right, Marik, it's go time!"
Horrified gasps escaped the lips of Tristan, Duke and Tèa. Vicki remained silent, though, as she was pretty sure she would have done the same. "Joey, wait!" Tristan warned, hoping his best friend would heed his advice for once.
Yami, however, had a thoughtful look on his features. "No, Joey should attack."
"Huh?" Everyone whipped their heads to face Yami, not expecting him to say such a thing at all, especially since it was very unlike him to support making extremely risky decisions.
Yami had anticipated the disbelief, so his countenance didn't waver. "If Joey wants to win this duel, he must force Marik to reveal his traps right away. Once he finds out their identity, he can devise a strategy to destroy them." He spoke slowly and matter of factually, hopeful his friends would understand where he was coming from.
The friendship gang was quiet as they considered his words, and realized how much sense he made. "I get it now," confirmed Tristan. The others nodded in agreement.
Yami smiled a small self-satisfied smile. "Good." His smile faded as he turned his attention towards his best friend. "It's time to take him down, Joey!"
Joey gave a light nod to the ancient pharaoh, saying, "Right." He then turned to face Dark Marik with a fierce expression. "All right, tough guy, you've had it! I'll start off by activating my Rocket Warrior's Invincible Mode!" Once again, the warrior turned into its full-fledged rocket form.
Dark Marik let rip another round of sinister laughter. "That's exactly the move I wanted you to make. Thank you for making it easy for me."
A look of dismay appeared on Joey's features, as if to say, 'Oh man, not again.' "Huh?!"
"That's right! I activate one of my traps, Card of Last Will! I am sure you recall this card from my duel with your little girlfriend, but in case you don't, allow me to refresh your memory. It allows me to draw five new cards!" The sinister young man laughed before pulling five cards from his deck and adding them to his hand. He scanned them with a contemplative expression on his face. 'Hmmm, which card shall I use on this fool first? There are so many possibilities.' His eyes lit up and his lips spread into an evil grin when he spotted his Egyptian God card. 'If I want, I could summon Ra now and use its special ability, but I think I prefer to prolong his suffering for awhile longer.'
Joey did a wave off gesture with his free hand. "So what if your trap lets you draw a few new cards? That doesn't scare me one bit, and I'm about to prove it! I sacrifice another Scapegoat so my panther can attack!" A third Scapegoat vanished, enabling the considerably weakened feline warrior to charge forward and slice Drillago into bits, draining 400 more of Dark Marik's life points. Pain seared through his chest, causing him to clutch at it. Joey couldn't help grinning triumphantly. He got great pleasure from seeing the tan-skinned young man receive the same discomfort he dished out. "I'll end my turn for now. That's nothing compared to what I plan to do to you on my next turn."
Dark Marik stood upright, averting his gaze towards the blonde with a nefarious smile pasted on his face. "Savor that brief moment of triumph all you want. I can assure you things will be entirely in my favor from now on. Watch as my Helpoemer takes another card from your hand."
'Oh great.' Joey felt his heart leap in his stomach. He had the urge to close his eyes so he wouldn't have to see, but a voice inside his head warned him to be on the alert. He peered at his card held hand just in time to see the ghastly green hand snatch his Insect Queen card. His eyes widened in horror. 'Nooooooooo! Not my Insect Queen! Anyone but her. This thing keeps taking my cards left and right! What am I gonna do?' He glanced up with a stunned look on his face, fighting the sweatdrop that was about to pop out on his forehead. Plasma Eel drained 500 more of Panther Warrior's attack points, decreasing them to 1000 and making Joey cry out in pain.
Dark Marik gave the blonde an amused look before laughing. "How frustrating it must be for you to lose all your powerful cards. Consider it revenge for foiling a part of my strategy. Not that it matters. I have another way to implement it."
Joey stood up straight, although it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so. However, he refused to allow Dark Marik to see that. He tilted his head. "Oh yeah? Then show me what you've got!"
"With pleasure," remarked the cornsilk blonde with a toothy grin. He pulled a card from his deck. "First I'll place another card face down and then I'll activate my magic card, Premature Burial! By giving up 800 of my life points, I can resurrect one of my creatures you previously destroyed." Joey waited with baited breath to see which one Dark Marik would bring back. "I choose Drillago!" The drill-bit monster re-emerged onto the field, surrounded by gusts of smoke. "I sacrifice my Drillago in order to summon my all-powerful Legendary Fiend!!" (1500 attk) A turquoise colored beast with black wings, goat horns, and a muscular build materialized, letting out a mighty roar that sent shivers down the girls' spine.
Joey felt the ends of his mouth twitching and a laugh tickling the inside of his stomach. It exploded out of him before he could try to suppress it. "You call that monster all-powerful?" he asked through his laughter, once he got it somewhat under control. "He only has 1500 attack points!"
Dark Marik sneered at Joey. "Your ignorance knows no bounds. You should know everything is not what it appears to be."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"It's simple. My monster's attack strength increases by 700 points each turn."
Joey faked a groan. "Oh. Just great." He looked away from the cornsilk blonde, letting his eyes drift towards the cards in his hand.
Although the duel had been difficult for the gang to watch, the fact that Joey held his own and showed no signs of being deterred was reassuring for them. "Joey does still have all of his life points, whereas Marik has lost almost half of his, so I'm not too worried," said Tristan, trying to sound optimistic.
"Very true, but as you will soon see, life points are not everything," Yami pointed out, his voice becoming grave. "Marik's monsters combined with his trap cards have the power to change everything." He closed his eyes for a brief moment. 'Joey, don't lose hope. You can turn this duel around.'
Joey eyed the cards in his hand with a grim expression on his face as he wracked his brain for possible ways out of his tight spot. 'The odds are not in my favor, to say the least. Aside from the fact that I forced Marik to get rid of one of his traps, I have yet to really have him on the ropes. If only I had my Jinzo, I could really lay it on him. The problem is it's in my graveyard. I would need something like Monster Reborn to bring him back. If I draw it, that would be perfect. Otherwise, I'm burnt toast. Here goes.' He pulled another card from his deck, hopeful it was one that would help him in his dire situation. As soon as he took a look at it, however, his smile faded and was replaced by chagrin. 'Little Winguard?! He's too weak! Oh well. I could always use him to protect my life points or as a sacrifice if I draw another powerful monster.' He turned back to Dark Marik. "Okay, Marik, it's my turn! I play Little Winguard--"
Dark Marik allowed one corner of his lips to curl into a devious half-smile. "Not so fast!" he yelled, before Joey could lay the card on his duel disk.
Joey groaned in annoyance. "What now?" He was beyond weary of Dark Marik interrupting his turns.
"I activate my trap card, Nightmare Wheel! I'll use it to put your Rocket Warrior out of play for the duration of the duel!" Said wheel appeared on the field behind Rocket Warrior, strapping it inside its bindings. The monster grimaced and tried to wiggle out of its hold, but it was useless.
Joey's annoyance drained away, his look turning into fear. "No! Not that!" A part of him felt like smashing his duel disk on the ground and screaming curses at the corrupted tombkeeper, but he caught himself, making his expression nonchalant. "It figures you would interrupt my move for something like that. I'll continue if you don't mind. I play Little Winguard in defense mode. I also switch my Panther Warrior into defense mode, so try and get me now!" He gave Dark Marik a "Come at me, I dare you" look.
Dark Marik chuckled darkly at Joey's tough guy gesture. "You seem to be a glutton for punishment. Well, in that case, I am pleased to oblige. First, your Panther Warrior will feel the effect of my Plasma Eel once more." Panther Warrior's attack power was now down to a meager five hundred, causing it to hunch over.
For the fourth time, Joey screamed at the top of his lungs. His body sagged to the point where he was almost on his knees, but he quickly pulled himself back up. 'God that hurts, but I have to keep going. I did the same to Marik before and I can do it again. I just have to hang in there.' He stared hard at Dark Marik, his eyes full of fire.
Dark Marik let out another quiet chuckle. "Oh you poor, pitiful soul," he mocked. "Perhaps I should end this nightmare for you now. It's my move." He pulled a card from his deck and looked at it, smiling slightly before facing Joey. "One thing I neglected to mention is my Nightmare Wheel drains 500 of your life points each turn." Joey remained pokerfaced as he watched his life points plummet to 3500 and Legendary Fiend's attack strength increase to two thousand, two hundred. "All right, Legendary Fiend, dispose of that pitiful Winguard at once!" The demonic creature lunged forward and gave a mighty swipe at the small statured warrior with its claw, reducing it to smithereens. Joey gave another loud scream of pain, thinking he would be hoarse at this rate.
Dark Marik laughed, enjoying the blonde's screams of anguish. "I'll set one more card face down and end my turn. It's your move now, although I would surrender if I were you. You are barely able to stand up and it won't be long before the shadows consume your soul." His lips curled into another devious smirk. 'Hmmm...next turn I will activate my Malevolent Catastrophe trap card, which will destroy all the monsters on the field. Joey will lose another 500 life points from Nightmare Wheel, and I will wipe out his remaining life points with my Legendary Fiend. This fool is finished!' He smiled to himself, proud of the fact that he didn't need Ra to win the duel.
Mokuba, who had been silent the entire time he was observing the duel, had a grave expression on his face. "This is terrible. Marik has Joey backed into a corner and there is little he can do to fight back."
Seto let out a scornful huff. "Pathetic. It seems Wheeler is losing his touch, but then again, this could be proof it was luck that enabled him to make it this far." He folded his arms tightly across his chest.
Joey breathed out a deep sigh, shifting his weight from foot to foot in an attempt to compose himself. "All right...here goes nothing!" He closed his eyes and lowered his head as if deep in meditation. 'All right, it's time to hit this guy with everything I've got before he does me in with all his trap cards. From now on I'll be putting my faith in the Heart of the Cards. Come on, deck...' Keeping his eyes closed, he pulled a card from his deck, praying it would be a decent one.
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Post by LadyKeren on Jun 12, 2016 20:49:26 GMT
A/N: Some of the scenes from the 3rd part of the duel have been moved around and when you see the way the chapter/duel concludes, you will know why.
Chapter 48
Joey slowly opened his eyes as he held up the card to glance at, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. 'It's not Monster Reborn, but it's just as good...maybe even better.' From the corner of his eye, he saw his friends watching with anxious expressions on their faces. 'I hate worrying them like this, but the good news is they can relax now.' His lips lazily stretched into a big grin and he let out a joyous hoot before laughing a bit. "I bet you're wondering what's got me so happy, aren't ya?" he crowed, noting the bewildered expression on Dark Marik's features. "Well, I won't leave you in suspense. I have just drawn a card that'll turn your strategy upside down. The goddess of victory is beginning to smile on me."
Dark Marik blinked a few times and then stared at the blonde as if he had spoken an alien language. "You lie!" He refused to believe Joey possessed any cards capable of outwitting him. 'The reality of his defeat has caused him to lose his mind.'
"Nope," Joey corrected with a smug grin, popping the p. "I'm not lying. It's a card called Question." He held up the card for Dark Marik to see and slid it into the magic/trap slot of his duel disk.
Dark Marik froze before furrowing his brow in confusion. "Question?"
Joey smirked slightly, glad for the first time he knew something that the possessed tombkeeper didn't know. "That's right. This bad boy forces you to guess which monster card I have at the bottom of my graveyard. If you guess right, that card gets removed from play, but if you mess up, I can summon it to the field and use it to take control of this duel." He sounded confident, as if he knew what the outcome was going to be. 'Although I have a fifty/fifty shot under normal circumstances, this time it's guaranteed I will win the bet.' He grinned to himself.
For the first time since the duel began, Dark Marik got a flustered look on his face, and was at a loss for words, not to mention his palms were becoming sweaty.
Joey quirked an eyebrow and bit his lip to keep from bursting into laughter. He got such a kick out of seeing the tan-skinned young man look like a wreck. "What's the hold up? Are you scared? The worst thing that could happen is you guess wrong and I crush you. I'm waaaiting...."
Dark Marik growled at the blonde goading him, clenched his teeth and fists, trembling. 'I have to remember! Everything is riding on this guess. Perhaps it was that Alligator's Sword of his, but that card was removed from his graveyard. The only possibility left is one of the cards chosen by my Helpoemer. I have destroyed so many of his monsters it is hard to say which one was first.' It was everything he could do not to scream in frustration at the tight spot he was in, and the blonde being so smug certainly didn't help matters.
Joey's grin widened a bit. "You're in trouble, Marik. You wanna know why? Well I'll tell you. The monster that's at the bottom of my graveyard was chosen randomly by your Helpoemer. That means there's no way you could have known which one was destroyed, because you never saw which one it was," he explained smugly, smirking when he saw the cornsilk blonde grip his rod in anger. "I'm giving you five more seconds." He held up a hand, placing each finger down as he counted, "Five, four, three, two, one. Times up!" Dropping his arm back by his side, he gave Dark Marik a look of false pity. "I'm sorry, stunned silence was not the answer I was looking for." He averted his eyes to the sidelines just in time to see Vicki stifling a laugh at his wisecracks, which didn't surprise him, given that her sense of humor was similar to his.
Dark Marik let out another growl through clenched teeth. 'Curse this fool and his ridiculous merriment.' He scowled for a bit, and then his scowl transformed into a smirk. 'He can summon whatever monster he likes. It won't be enough to stop my trap cards from annihilating him.'
Joey redirected his attention to the sinister young man, meeting his smirk with a self-satisfied one of his own. "Anyway, to cut a long story short, you chose wrong, so I get to summon this! Jinzo!" he declared, retrieving the card from his graveyard slot, holding it up in the air and setting it on his duel disk. The android creature emerged onto the field, letting out a low growl.
Dark Marik's smirk faded and was replaced by a look of horror, accompanied by a sour feeling in his gut."No, not Jinzo!" 'Of course I was aware he had that card in his possession, but I didn't expect he would be fortunate enough to wield it.' He began to sweat more profusely, his bronze complexion turning a shade of pale. It was all he could do not to soil his pants as well.
Joey gave another wide grin. "I'm afraid so. I'm sure you know when he's on the field, all opposing trap cards are useless and seeing as how you've laid down plenty...you know what that means. Jinzo, strut your stuff!!" The imposing creature shot a pink laser-like beam at all but one of Dark Marik's face down cards, as well as the Nightmare Wheel, destroying them all and freeing Rocket Warrior in the process. The semi-humanoid warrior glided back over to Joey's side of the field, poised for combat.
All Dark Marik could do was stand there and grind his teeth at the loss of his beloved traps. 'He will pay dearly for this.' He gave his rod another tight grip, shaking with rage.
Joey burst into loud laughter, his cheeks aching from grinning so hard earlier. He calmed down, though a smirk was still on his features. "That's right, Marik! I've blown your strategy big time, and you had it coming!" He stuck out his jaw, staring his opponent down.
Tristan clenched a fist and raised it in the air in triumph before letting out an excited yelp. "Way to show him who's boss, Joey!"
"Well done!" Yami congratulated his friend. "Now that all his trap cards are useless, Marik needs a new strategy."
Vicki muffled a giggle as she caught a glimpse of Dark Marik looking like smoke was about to arise from his ears. "You've said it," she agreed. "He was turning the duel into a total bore with the lack of action."
"Not only that, but it also gives Joey a real fighting chance," added Tèa. She smiled a bit and then looked serious. 'That was an awesome beginning of a comeback, Joey. It won't be easy, but I know you can do it if you pick up the pace even more.'
Dark Marik drowned out the chatter amongst Joey's friends, deciding they were the least of his worries at the moment. 'Let them continue with their incessant rejoicing...they won't be experiencing such joy for much longer.' He gazed up at the blonde, his eyes filled with deranged fury. "All right...go," he snarled, his voice full of bitterness and clamor.
Joey almost laughed at Dark Marik's little hissy fit. He had been so used to the corrupted tombkeeper behaving like a tyrant who feared nothing that seeing him act like a little baby was strange, yet amusing. 'I had a feeling he was only pretending to be big and bad. He's more of a spoiled brat than I thought.' He gave the young man a look of mock sympathy. "What's the matter, Marik? In a bad mood?" he asked, sounding as if he were speaking to a small child. "I would be mad, too if I were on the other side of Jinzo. He was the first monster card I won in Battle City." He got a pensive expression on his face as he recalled that moment.
*Flashback Begins*
Having calmed down, Espa finally handed his locator card and Jinzo over to Joey. "Here. My Jinzo and my locator card. You deserve them."
Joey took the cards from his opponent."Thank you."
The blue haired teen smiled a little before looking serious. "Listen, I'm sorry for cheating and disrespecting you."
Joey gave Espa a warm smile. "No hard feelings."
Espa looked surprised Joey was willing to forgive him so easily after everything that had happened. "I had a total blast in our duel and you taught me some things I needed to learn. Next time we face each other, I'm playing totally legit. No more cheating."
Joey smiled. "That sounds good. I'll hold you to your promise. Until then, smell ya later, Roba brothers." He started to walk away, and then stopped in his tracks when he remembered what he wanted to say the moment his opponent was having his little tantrum. "You know something Espa? We're a lot alike."
Espa's eyebrows quirked up slightly."Huh? You really mean that?"
"Yeah. You've got your brothers, and I've got my sister and my pals. Once we have someone to stand by us, nobody loses." Joey gave the ESP duelist the peace sign.
*Flashback Ends*
Yami watched his best friend intently, beaming inwardly with pride. 'You have progressed very well as a duelist since Duelist Kingdom, Joey. I look forward to our match.'
Joey smiled inwardly at all his accomplishments and progression in Battle City thus far in his quest to become a True Duelist. 'I wasn't alone then, and I'm not alone now. I've got Mai and my sister Serenity to inspire me, and my friends standing beside me, cheering me on.' He side-eyed Yami, giving him a reassuring glance. 'I'm almost there, Yuge...continue to wait for me.' He focused his attention back on Dark Marik, hardening his eyes. "I'm not through with you yet, Marik! After all, you still have a monster left on the field, and that's not gonna work for me. I'll start by switching my Baby Dragon and Panther Warrior to attack mode! And now, there's Jinzo! Blow away his Legendary Fiend!" Joey watched with a satisfied expression as Jinzo fired a ball of ebony-colored cyber energy at the demonic creature, destroying it and causing the sinister young man's life points to drop down to one thousand, nine hundred. A small, proud-of-himself smile escaped his lips, then it morphed into a smirk. "You're defenseless now that I've gotten rid of your last monster, which means once I attack your life points, you're done!" he declared.
Dark Marik, having recovered from his brief moment of burning anger, simply returned the smirk. 'That's what he thinks...however, the moment he launches an attack on my life points, he will be in for a surprise. He's more of a fool than I thought if he thinks he can defeat me in a Shadow Game.'
Vicki clapped her hands together in a light round of applause. "That's it, Joey, you're almost there!" She clenched one of her fists to show how pumped she was. If she had been sitting down, she would be on the edge of her seat.
"Finish him off!" urged Tristan, raising a fist in the air.
"Excellent. Now that Marik has no monsters protecting his life points, if Joey successfully launches a direct attack, he'll win the duel and put an end to this madness once and for all," Yami stated, a smile creeping on his face at how close to victory the blonde was. His smile disappeared as he knew there was more work to be done even after his foe was knocked out of the tournament and he had to talk to the others about the agreement he made with Marik's good side. 'I will speak to them after this duel. They may not understand at first, but I have faith they will come to accept it once they realize the importance.'
Dark Marik side-eyed the ancient pharaoh, giving him a sneer. 'That's where you're wrong, Pharaoh. Your pathetic friend will be defeated, leaving me free to continue my madness.' He shot a quick glance at the friendship gang, smirking before averting his gaze back towards Joey, giving him an "I'm waiting" look. 'Let those fools continue living in their delusions. They are in for a rude awakening. If only Little Joey would make haste and complete his turn. Waiting is not something I enjoy doing.'
Mokuba, whose heartbeat had returned to normal, turned to face his brother with excitement on his features. "Wow, I gotta say I certainly wasn't expecting Joey to come up with that move. Who knows? Maybe he'll win this duel after all."
The young CEO let out a cynical sounding huff. He knew what Mokuba was trying to imply, and the mere thought of it was hard for him to allow his mind to grasp. "His comeback means very little to me. Your eyes should be on the one who holds the most powerful Egyptian God card." He smiled his trademark devious half-smile. 'I highly doubt the goddess of victory will smile on that small-fry of a duelist enough to grant him a miracle. It won't be long before he sees that I spoke the truth.'
Mokuba had half a mind to protest, but instead he shrugged his shoulders and opted to drop the matter. He got an earnest look on his face. 'Joey, please do your best to prove my brother wrong.'
Joey shifted his weight on his toes and clenched his fists like a warrior preparing to attack. His lips spread into a thrilled smile as butterflies fluttered inside his stomach. 'I can hardly believe this...I'm gonna do it. One more attack and I'll win the duel. I'm about to actually beat Marik.' He stood upright once again and exchanged a look with Dark Marik, his eyes blazing. "All right, Marik, I'm through playing around! It's time to end this duel! Panther Warrior and Baby Dragon, attack his life points directly!" The two creatures lunged towards Dark Marik, preparing to attack. Everyone held their breaths as they watched, desperately hoping the blonde would succeed. For added measure, Vicki crossed her fingers, ignoring the flip-flops her stomach was doing. 'I have a bad feeling about the face down card. I hope it's not one designed to repel the attack.'
Dark Marik's lips curled up in a smug grin and he let out an evil chuckle. "Do you think it's that simple?"
Joey heard a voice inside his head going, 'Uh-oh,' upon hearing those words. His confident expression faltered and turned into fear. "Eh?" He started shaking, but he smacked his hand to stop it.
Dark Marik laughed in satisfaction. "I activate my magic card, Dark Wall of Wind!" Two large gusts of tornadoes appeared swirling in front of him, repelling the dragon's fireball and the panther's sword before they could touch him.
Horror appeared on the faces of the cheerleaders, although they couldn't help but sigh inwardly in relief because they expected worse. "Oh no!" gasped Yami, looking grim. "Marik blocked the attack!"
Dark Marik laughed again, shooting the ancient pharaoh a smirk. "Very perceptive, Pharaoh." He then directed his smirk towards Joey, who looked as if he had bitten into a sweat sock. "What's the matter, Little Joey? Are you disappointed because your onslaught failed? You should have known that defeating me would be no easy task. Your little girlfriend made the same mistake, and look where fate befell her—an eternity of darkness and despair. As a result of your fatal error, you will soon be joining her."
Joey ground his teeth and let out a frustrated grunt whilst clenching his fists. He hung his head a bit, not wanting the corrupted tombkeeper to pick up on how much his maneuver affected him or get the wrong idea that he was on the verge of quitting. 'Gah!! This guy is driving me frickin' insane with all his yapping. However, I can't give up, no matter what. With the stakes this high, I have to keep going.' He briefly glanced down as Helpoemer removed another card from his hand and discarded it. His facial expression was indifferent when he saw it was his Emergency Prevision card.
Dark Marik tapped his duel disk with the sharp edge of his rod and then mocked, "Rise and shine, Little Joey." The blonde glanced up, shooting him a hard look. "I hope you haven't forgotten the special effect of my Plasma Eel. If you have, I will gladly remind you!" The slithery creature zapped Panther Warrior again, decreasing its attack points to zero and causing its body to go limp. Joey let out another shout of pain at the top of his lungs before slumping over, his knees nearly touching the ground. The sinister young man gave a hearty laugh at the sight. "It appears I don't need monsters to bring you to your knees! At this rate it won't be long before you have no strength left. I would surrender if I were you. Resistance is futile."
Joey stood up straight and let out several shallow breaths before glowering at Dark Marik. "Never! I'm not finished with you yet! What I've done was just the start, so watch your back! I'm about to become even tougher on you!" He gave the evil entity the fiercest look he could muster in his considerably weakened state.
(Mai's room)
Once again, Serenity reached inside the bowl of water for the rag and wrung it out, mopping up the sweatdrops that had formed on Mai's forehead and cheeks. She studied the woman's face for a moment before cleaning it some more. "Don't worry, Mai...wherever your mind is, Joey will get it back," she reassured her. She stopped wiping Mai's face and took a quick peek outside, letting out a wistful sigh. 'Oh Joey, I wish I could be there to watch your duel, but I'm the only one who is available to take care of Mai.' She tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear and got back to wiping Mai's forehead.
(back to the duel)
Dark Marik shot Joey a sneer in response to the hard look he had received. "It's the beginning of the end for you, Little Joey. My move." He pulled a card from his deck, holding it up to glance at. His lips curled into a devilish grin and he proceeded to laugh maniacally, inwardly smirking at how the blonde was glaring at him impatiently. The observing gang had expressions on their faces that read, 'What the hell is up with this wacko now?' He soon quieted down, although his eyes were filled with glee. He faced Joey with an evil smile on his features. "I am about to summon an extremely powerful monster that has 8 stars, which will be the instrument of your destruction."
Joey tilted his head and then looked at the corrupted tombkeeper as if he had admitted to being an alien in disguise. "Slow down there, cowboy. You must sacrifice a couple of monsters in order to summon something that powerful, and you don't have any on the field."
Dark Marik gave a smug grin. "Don't worry, I have every intention of making a sacrifice as my monster comes with a twist." He peered over at the blonde's side of the field, his grin widening as he formulated a plan in his head. "Your Baby Dragon and Jinzo will do nicely!"
Joey's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What? And just what twist are you talking about?"
Dark Marik let out a chuckle. "You will soon see. Watch as I summon it to your side of the field!" Joey's eyes widened even more, looking as if they would roll out of their sockets. The sinister personality laughed again. "I sacrifice your monsters in order to bring forth my all-powerful Lava Golem!" (3000 attk) A cage emerged onto the field surrounding Joey. On top of it was a large mass of fire with blank eyes and sharp teeth. The creature bared its teeth at the blonde as if it were going to bite him, causing him to make a scared noise and shrink back, cringing. 'Pull yourself together, dude!' a voice inside his head scolded him. He adjusted his posture and narrowed his eyes at Dark Marik. "What's the deal with this stupid cage, Marik?" he demanded to know.
Dark Marik feigned an innocent expression before giving his opponent an amused look. "What's the matter, Joey? I thought you would be pleased to have a creature with 3000 attack points."
Joey froze, not expecting to hear those words at all. His annoyed expression slowly melted away, turning into puzzlement. 'Did I hear him right? I think I did, but it seems weird that he wants to give me a monster...no...I can see the smirk on his face and I don't trust him.' He stuck a finger in his right ear, pretending to clean it and gave Dark Marik a skeptical look. "You mean this monster is mine? Just what are you planning, Marik?" He knew the corrupted tombkeeper wouldn't show such "generosity" unless he wanted to lure him into a trap, which was highly likely.
Looks of confusion and surprise crossed the features of the group of friends at Dark Marik's monster as well as his declaration. They began to murmur amongst themselves, asking questions such as, "What on earth?" and "Has Marik lost it? Why would he give Joey a monster?" Vicki and Tèa held back a shudder, fanning themselves as they felt the heat emanating from the creature.
Yami was stone faced as he listened to his friends express their bafflement and had been wondering the same thing until the realization hit him. "I have a bad feeling about this," he spoke up, causing them to cease their chatter and glance over at him with curious frowns on their faces.
"You know something about this card, Yugi?" asked Tèa, doing her best to keep the worry out of her voice.
"Yes," the ancient pharaoh answered grimly. "Despite its strength, it comes with a heavy price, one that could very well cost Joey the duel."
Tèa's face turned pale. "Oh no. That doesn't sound like good news."
"It isn't. Joey will have to be prepared for anything."
"Let's hope he is."
Mokuba turned to face his elder brother, who appeared to be in his own world. "It's so unlike Marik to just give his opponent a monster. What do you think he could be up to?"
Seto briefly glanced over at Mokuba, secretly finding his inquisitive nature endearing. He stared ahead and made a "hmmm" sound. "Well, apparently this Lava Golem has some devastating abilities. Therefore, Marik is counting on Wheeler to attack so he can use them against him. I must say that's quite a clever move on his part." His lips curled up into a smirk. 'Then again, it wouldn't take too much to crush Wheeler.'
Joey, meanwhile, was staring daggers at Dark Marik as if he were daring him to say or do something when all of a sudden he heard a noise that sounded like a volcano erupting, causing him to nearly jump a mile. "What the hell was that?" He placed a hand on his chest and let his eyes dart from side to side before they finally landed on Lava Golem. The fiery creature blazed mightily and draped its arms over the sides of the cage, beginning to lose its form.
Dark Marik let out another hearty laugh and then grinned wildly. "As you can see, Little Joey, Lava Golem is getting ready to melt. Once it does, you will lose 700 life points until you have nothing left!"
Joey grunted in reply, all the while trying to ignore the discomfort from the scorching heat. He felt a drop of fire landing in front of his shoe, singeing him. "Ah!" he cried out as pain seared through his toes. He jerked his foot back as far as he could. "I swear, this is worse than being in a freakin' oven," he muttered under his breath. 'Not that I've actually been inside one, but still.' He brought up a hand to brush the fringe of his hair out of his face, biting his tongue against the pain. 'Awww crap, that wasn't the best thing to do.' He also felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead, but he didn't bother to wipe them off. He wasn't about to risk getting burned again.
Dark Marik cackled with delight at the blonde's obvious distress. "Are you having trouble enduring the heat?" he taunted. "I am afraid you have only begun to experience the pits of hell. It's my move." He pulled a card from his deck, grinning widely as he held it up to glance at. 'Perfect. Just the card I needed to complete my counterattack, and with Jinzo back in the graveyard, nothing will stop me.' "I place one card face down and end my turn. Attack me if you dare!"
Joey growled in frustration, feeling his tolerance level for his opponent dwindling rapidly. 'Calm, Joey, calm. Who knows what will happen if you attack?' He sucked in a deep breath, letting it out through his nostrils.
"Be careful, Joey!" called out Tèa. On top of feeling his pain from noticing how uncomfortable he must be, she also feared he wouldn't be able to keep his temper for much longer. 'I must say he did pretty well so far, though.'
"Yeah, don't rush into anything without a plan!" added Tristan. 'Seriously, though, I'm burning up seeing him inside that thing.'
"Agreed," chimed Vicki, then her expression grew serious. "That aside, I hope he gets out of this in one piece and doesn't get fried to a charred cinder." She felt her nerves twitching. 'Marik is lucky I'm not the one dueling him.' Although she didn't find being turned into a lobster appealing, she almost wished she were, just so she could get a crack at him.
Despite being just as concerned for Joey as the others were, Yami remained silent, instead fixing his eyes on his greatest foe with his trademark stare of death. 'Marik, you are aware of the fact that Lava Golem is powerful enough to help Joey win the duel. How do you plan to use it to your advantage?'
Dark Marik felt the ancient pharaoh's eyes on him and turned to give him a smirk before laughing at his opponent's state of torment some more. "Not to worry, Little Joey, this duel will come to an end soon. However, your suffering will be eternal as you find yourself in a place that's worse than death itself!"
Joey gritted his teeth in response. The temperature rose, and the flames spread around him as if they were preparing to burn him alive. What was worse was that his remaining energy was being zapped from the heat, making it difficult for him to stand upright. He pinched himself to keep from slumping over and then gave Dark Marik his best "I'm not playing" look. "Get me out of here now or you'll be sorry!" It was all he could do not to run through the flames and break the cage down to rip out the tan-skinned young man's internal organs.
Dark Marik made another tsking sound before wagging a finger at the blonde. "If you're so confident you can stop me, then attack me with Lava Golem and save your friend!" he challenged. His lips curled into a devious smile. 'As soon as you do, you will be finished.'
Ishizu had long finished putting together what she considered the perfect strategy to use in her upcoming duel and was now assisting Keren with guarding Odion. She got up to stretch her legs a bit and took a peek outside, her expression becoming grave when she saw the fog cloaking the top of the tower. A sharp pain instantly pierced her chest, prompting her to sit back down. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will the throbbing sensation to disappear. 'Marik is at it again...and I have a feeling it's worse than usual.' She reopened her eyes and let out a deep sigh, lowering her head slightly.
'Hmm?' Keren glanced up at hearing the sigh and turned to Ishizu, her eyes filling with concern when she saw what looked like pain on the younger woman's face. She knew that only happened when something terrible was about to take place. "Ishizu? What is it?" she asked, bracing herself for the worst news. 'Although Ishizu can no longer foresee the future, I know her intuitions are usually correct. Either that or it must have been something she just saw.'
Ishizu put on a neutral expression as she met Keren's gaze. "Marik has conjured the darkness once again," she answered in a grim tone, but kept it level so the young woman's anxiety level wouldn't skyrocket. 'After all, fretting won't help and she has enough on her plate already.'
Keren was silent whilst letting the words sink in. Her face turned pale and her heart sank. She could only imagine the terror Dark Marik was inflicting on his opponent and it made her want to scream, but all she said was, "That doesn't surprise me in the least. Do you know who his opponent is?"
Ishizu nodded. "He is currently facing off against Joey. It appears he will not be satisfied until he has crushed the lives of everyone in existence." She folded her hands in her lap.
"Oh my..." Keren's voice trailed off, unsure what to make of the revelation. On the one hand, she had witnessed how strongwilled Joey was, but on the other hand, Marik's dark side was far more dangerous and ruthless than Odion had pretended to be. Her blood chilled slightly and her heart leapt in her stomach at the thought of what would happen if the blonde did lose his duel. 'Your pessimism isn't helping,' her conscience scolded her, making her wince. Closing her eyes briefly as if entering a meditative state, she drew in a deep breath. "I-I hope he succeeds or who knows what will happen." She almost laughed at her lack of composure. 'Goodness, I guess it's that time when I'm on edge again.'
Ishizu still wore her serious expression, but it had melted enough for her to no longer look as if she were afraid the world was coming to an end soon. "I am sure he will. He is a powerful duelist and has the support of his many friends. We must have faith in him as well. And sending a few well wishes his way won't hurt, either."
Keren fell silent again, stretching her lips in a thin line whilst pondering the younger woman's words. The image of Joey's duel with Odion probed her mind, drawing her into a pensive state as she recounted all the events that took place. 'His duel was a bittersweet time for me, but it will be etched within my memory for the remainder of my days.' She came back to reality, looking thoughtful before Ishizu could ask her what was wrong. "You are absolutely right. Joey is quite the tenacious one and knows how to use it to his advantage." A light chuckle was threatening to escape in her last statement. She mentally kicked herself for even thinking of giving up hope.
Ishizu's lips quirked up a bit. "Indeed." Her smile then faded, returning to her usual solemn countenance. 'I haven't heard any news about the status of Mai's condition since yesterday. I should see if there is any improvement.' The young woman rose from her chair, stepping behind it. Keren gave a confused frown at Ishizu's sudden change in demeanor. Before she could inquire about it, Ishizu explained, "There is something I must take care of, but I will be back. It isn't necessary for both of us to guard Odion. I leave him in your capable hands."
Keren nodded, though she had a slight questioning look on her face. "All right," she agreed, resisting the urge to put on her modest face at the compliment. She opened her mouth to ask Ishizu what it was she needed to take care of, but closed it, figuring the bronze skinned woman would tell her when she returned. "Good luck."
"Thank you. And to you as well." Ishizu made her way to the exit, and left the room after taking one last glance over her shoulder at Odion. As soon as she was out of earshot, Keren exhaled lightly and turned her attention to the tattooed face man. She reached over and ran a slender finger over his forehead. 'Still warm. However, he still has a long way to go.'She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, uttering another silent prayer to Ra for Joey's protection this time.
Serenity placed the damp cloth she was using for Mai's face back inside the bowl of water and stood up to take another peek outside, putting a hand to her forehead to block the glare of the sun. Her stomach churned at the sight of the foggy cloud still coating the top of the tower, followed by her heart racing.
Filled with dread, she quickly moved away from the window and sat back down, exhaling a deep breath with a hand on her chest. It did little to calm the anxiety and trepidation inside of her. 'I can't stand not knowing what's going on out there. Joey is a great duelist, but Marik can't be trusted. Just look at what he did to Mai.' The young girl hung her head, allowing herself a slight glimpse of Mai from the corner of her eye. She was so lost in her thoughts that she was oblivious to the sound of footsteps entering the room. All of a sudden she heard a soft, "Ahem!" making her head snap up. She tensed up a bit, but then relaxed when she saw it was only Ishizu. She managed a weak smile as she gave the young woman her full attention. "Oh. Hi, Miss Ishizu," she greeted in a voice she hoped wasn't too flat.
Ishizu acknowledged the girl's greeting with a light nod. "Serenity, shouldn't you be with the others? I am certain your friends could use your support right about now, and so can your brother."
Serenity started to give Ishizu a strange look as if the answer should have been obvious, but she caught herself, not wanting to seem rude. "I know," she responded in her soft voice. "I would really like to so I could see for myself how things are going. It kills me not knowing what's happening with Joey. But it's just that I promised to remain by Mai's side. Ever since her duel with Marik, she's been..." She cut herself off, unsure if she could bring herself to utter the ugly words without being overcome with emotion. Lucky for her, Ishizu seemed to understand, because she gave her a look that said, 'Go on,' before inching a bit closer. 'Come to think of it, she is very easy to talk to, and also compassionate.' Gathering her thoughts, she drew in another breath and continued, "She hasn't spoken since yesterday evening. Joey felt guilty because he couldn't protect her, so he was glad to have this chance to face Marik. He promised he would always be there for her."
Ishizu listened with a thoughtful expression before nodding in understanding. "So both of our brothers are in a battle with the ultimate stakes." She didn't realize until now how much she and Serenity were alike, but it was comforting for her to know. 'Perhaps this will bring us closer together. After all, I will need all the support I can get if I am to save my brother.'
Serenity scrunched up her brow in thought, successfully hiding her surprise at how eloquently the woman put it. "Yes...I suppose you're right. I never thought about looking at it that way before." Her expression grew serious as determination clouded her hazel eyes. "For that reason I will keep supporting him. I'll never give up hope."
Ishizu couldn't help smiling to herself at the amount of conviction in the girl's tone of voice. 'She is very much like her brother.' She then gave the girl an understanding look. "I know just how you feel," she said. She was met with a slight eyebrow raise that seemed to be asking, 'Really?' at which she gave an affirmative nod to. "My brother will be saved from the darkness controlling him. All of the wrongs he committed will be fixed, and your poor friend Mai will return from the Shadow Realm." Her lips curled up a bit. "Now then, why don't you go and support your brother in his duel?"
"Well I—" Serenity hesitated for a second, looking down at her feet before letting her eyes meet Ishizu's once again. "I-I do want to...but who's going to take care of Mai?"
"I'll look after her for you," Ishizu offered a-matter-of-factually. "Why should we both stay?"
There was another pause of silence. Serenity had to admit, Ishizu did have a point when she hinted it wasn't necessary for two people to be guarding one person, but at the same time she didn't want to go back on her word. She lightly gripped the cuffs of her shorts, letting out a soft sigh. "I promised I would, that's all."
"Well, I promise you she'll be fine under my watch," countered the older woman. "So go. Be there for Joey." Her tone left very little room for objection.
Finally convinced, Serenity gave a slight nod and rose from the stool. "Thank you so much, Ishizu," she said with a curtsy.
Ishizu gave her a warm smile. "Of course." She went over to the stool as Serenity headed towards the exit. "Stay strong, Serenity."
"I will! Thanks!" Serenity called over her shoulder. With that, she left the room.
Ishizu smiled wistfully as she watched Serenity took her leave. The love the young girl had displayed for her elder brother stirred her soul greatly. 'I understand the bond she shares with Joey very well, but it has been a long time since I've had that bond with my own brother. I miss those days immensely. However, I am grateful to have Keren by my side.' She then sat down on the stool and clasped her hands in her lap, peering down at the blonde woman for a minute. 'Without the power of my millennium necklace, I have no way of knowing who emerges victorious. But I do have faith the pharaoh will prevail. He must.' She closed her eyes before reopening them. "Otherwise everyone in this world will cease to exist," she mused aloud.
After exiting the blimp, Serenity proceeded to make her way to the duel tower, running as fast as she could. Her long auburn hair flew behind her and she could hear her heart pounding with each footstep she ran. 'Just hang on, Joey. I'll be right there.' The last thing she wanted was to arrive one minute too late.
Joey clenched his teeth and balled one of his hands into a fist, trembling as if he were struggling within himself to make the right decision. Not to mention he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out when he felt the scorching heat intensifying by the second.
Dark Marik snapped his fingers loudly to get Joey's attention. The blonde immediately faced him with a hard look, which the possessed tombkeeper met with a smirk. "What are you waiting for? Are you going to make your move or surrender?"
Joey let out a growl through his clenched teeth. He was extremely close to bloodying up Dark Marik's nose. "Not a chance! I won't stop until you're scrambling for cover! It's my turn now! Here goes!"
Tèa pressed her lips together in thought. "You know, come to think of it, things aren't as bad for Joey as they look. He has a monster with 3000 points. If he attacks Marik directly, he'll win the duel." She frowned to herself. 'It wasn't smart of Marik to do that. He's digging his own grave. Either way, though, I will be happy once Joey beats him.'
Yami wore his grim expression as he side-eyed the brunette teen. "It isn't as simple as it seems, Tèa."
Tèa gave the ancient pharaoh a confused look. "Huh? What do you mean?" With the exception of the face down card, she didn't see what else could possibly stop Joey.
"Remember, Marik gave Joey that card, which can only mean he has something planned for him. There are numerous traps he intends to set for Joey."
Tèa nodded. "Oh. Ok."
Joey drew in a deep breath and peered down at the cards in his hand with a meditative look on his features. 'All right, it's time to step it up another notch if I am to beat this dickweed. There's too much at stake to let him win. I need a good card this turn...something that'll help me get around his trap...like Giant Trunade.'
His eyes darted around to scan his hand again, giving a toothy grin when they landed on the card he was most hoping for. 'Yes! It's in my hand already. I'll have to somehow keep that frickin Helpoemer from tossing it. I think I got a plan. I just need the right monster card to help. Here goes nothing.' He pulled a card from his deck and took a peek at it, his grin faltering ever so slightly. 'Gamble...not what I was hoping for. I can't attack with Lava Golem. That's just what Marik wants me to do and there's no way in hell I'm gonna give him that satisfaction. But on the other hand, if I sit back and do nothing, this thing will only melt away my life points.'
He twisted his mouth to the side and scrunched up his brow, trying to wrack his brain for an alternate solution to his dilemma. 'To hell with this! I'm just gonna attack! If his face down card is a trap, push comes to shove I can just get rid of it.' He stared back up at the tan-skinned young man with a fierce look in his eyes, shooting daggers at him. "All right, Marik, I hope you're ready, because here I come! First I play one card face down. And I think it's only fair that I use the gift you were so kind to give me." His voice dripped with sarcasm in the last part, eliciting loud gasps from nearly everyone watching. Kaiba just stood there pokerfaced with his arms folded.
Dark Marik laughed at Joey's declaration. "Wise decision. I must say that's the most sensible thing you've said this entire duel. Or perhaps you have realized that there's no way you can win, regardless of what move you make. However, I must admit I'm impressed by your bravery. How fortunate for you, it is not one of my continuous trap cards. However, it will finish you nonetheless. Go ahead and attack me if you think you can face the consequences."
Joey cut his eyes at Dark Marik. "Spare me!" he scoffed.
Tèa got an uneasy feeling in her stomach at where the exchange was going. It took everything in her not to spew chunks at the tombkeeper's antics. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Joey, don't listen to a word he says! He's just trying to play head games with you!" Her expression then changed into a confused frown. 'Marik is setting himself up when he told Joey he played a trap. Oh well. Time will tell what his true intentions with that are.'
Kaiba looked on with an amused smirk plastered on his face. 'Wheeler's in quite a predicament. If he attacks, Marik will strike back, but if he doesn't, he will lose life points. If he's smart, he'll surrender. Now he is about to pay the price for being such a tenacious fool.'
Joey addressed Dark Marik with his hard, determined look again. "All right, Marik, enough of this bs! This duel is about to end!"
"Yes, it will end as soon as you attack!" agreed the possessed tombkeeper, grinning maliciously.
"Whatever! I'll just take this chance! Your traps don't scare me in the least! Lava Golem, attack!" At that, the fiery beast pulsated and opened its jaws wide.
The friendship gang felt their hearts drop in their stomachs and they widened their eyes to the size of saucers, pupils looking as if they were about to roll into their sockets. "Are you sure you wanna go through with this?" asked Tristan in a scared voice. "I can't watch! Is it over yet?" Duke wailed with an equally frightened expression on his face. Tèa, Yami and Vicki didn't say anything, but were hoping nothing too awful would happen.
Dark Marik let out a maniacal laugh. "Nice try! I activate my trap card, Relieve Monster, which allows me to return one monster on the field to my hand and replace it with whatever four star monster I'm holding."
Tristan and the others let out the deep breaths they had been holding in, ignoring the mild discomfort in their ribs that had ensued from the pressure. "News flash, Marik, you don't have any monsters on the field to return to your hand," Tristan corrected Dark Marik in a smart aleck way.
"Hold on, he actually does. He has the Plasma Eel that's attached to Joey's Panther Warrior," pointed out Yami.
Tristan blinked several times as if he had forgotten about the serpentine creature and then smacked his forehead. "Oh yeah."
Dark Marik laughed again. "Pharaoh is correct. I would pay better attention if I were you. I will now call Plasma Eel back to my hand and replace it on the field in defense mode!" Just as he did that, the golem's flaming balls hit the field, creating a small ring of fire. "As you can see, my trap card also protects me from being attacked and my creature cannot be destroyed in battle."
Joey's jaw dropped open. "What? Oh no!"
"Oh yes! And let's not forget, Helpoemer takes another card from your hand. "
"Yeah...I know," dragged the blonde. He didn't particularly care to, but he lowered his head and watched to see which card would be taken, mentally sighing in relief when it took Gambler. 'I don't have any use for that card anyway.' He bit his lip, wondering what was next. The flaming beast blazed again and another drop of fire fell, making him yelp.
"As you can see, Lava Golem is beginning to melt. Say goodbye to 700 life points!" Dark Marik laughed as Joey's life points decreased to two thousand, eight hundred. "It's my move now." He pulled another card from his deck, grinning evilly whilst holding it up to see. 'Perfect.' He faced Joey with a sinister smirk. "This duel is about to end for you here and now! I play Machine Duplication, which multiplies my one eel into three!" Sure enough, two more materialized to join the original Plasma Eel. "All right my eels, ensnare this fool's two monsters and drain his strength at once!" As if reading their master's mind, the worm-like creatures slithered towards Rocket Warrior and Lava Golem, binding them both. They zapped the two creatures, making Joey cry out in pain and slump down on his knees. At this point his throat was extremely sore from all the screaming he had done. 'At this rate I'm gonna end up with laryngitis.'
Both Tèa and Vicki cringed at Joey's scream of anguish. It was so gut wrenching to listen to, they almost had to cover their ears. "Poor laddie. He must be feeling pretty beat up right now," said Vicki, smoothing down the ends of her hair a bit. As she did that there was a surge of anger burning inside of her and she knew not to look in Dark Marik's direction, lest it would bubble over.
"Yeah," agreed Tèa. "I'm just happy Serenity isn't here to see it."
"Aye, aye."
Dark Marik laughed gleefully, his left eye bugging out psychotically and his face distorting. "Your cries of anguish are like music to my ears. Have you had enough? I would like to hear more."
Joey groaned in pain and then steadied himself on his feet with all his might. He faced the tan-skinned young man with a glare. "Not...quite! It'll take much more than that to keep me down, you douche-bag!"
At first Dark Marik looked appalled at Joey's determination, as most of his opponents would have given up long ago. 'He is a more gallant duelist than I thought, possibly even stronger than Little Mai. I admire his tenacity. However, it won't save him in the end.' He quickly recovered and shot the blonde a smirk. "Oh, is that so? Well, in that case, I'll set one card face down and let you go. Let's see how much longer you last."
"Finally," breathed out Joey through clenched teeth. He panted several times, trying to catch his breath.
Kaiba let out a sigh of disgust. 'This is just pathetic...Marik doesn't even need Ra to crush this worthless deadbeat.' He had half a mind to leave, but a voice inside him advised him to stay. He snarled under his breath. 'I had better not regret this.'
Tèa's eyes instantly filled with worry upon seeing the blonde's fatigued state. "Joey...I hope he can win this duel and soon. I don't think he can take much more."
Yami briefly glanced at Tèa from the corner of his eye, his grim expression never wavering. He didn't respond, though her concerns did reach his mind. 'Tèa is right. The situation has become dire for Joey. If he is to win this duel, he will have to believe in himself and in his deck.'
Having calmed down somewhat, Joey glanced down at the remaining card in his hand with a pensive expression on his face. 'All right, it all comes down to this. I really need to get rid of this flaming monster before it continues eating up my life points, but I only have this Graceful Dice card in my hand, and it can't help me now. If I don't do something soon, Marik will be free to continue spreading chaos.' He broke out of his musings for a moment to shoot a glance at Yami. 'I have a promise to keep. I guess now is really the time to put my faith in the Heart of the Cards.'
Putting his game face back on, he locked eyes with Dark Marik. "If you think I'm gonna let you win this, you're even dumber than you look. Now feast your crazy eyes on this, Marik!" He closed his eyes as he reached towards his deck, pulling a card from it. 'Heart of the Cards...show me some love.' He reopened his eyes. "This is it...come on." He slowly turned the card over to glance at, hoping it was one that would be able to help him regain control of the duel. His eyes lit up and his lips curled into a small grin. 'Gilford the Lightning...this monster can really give Marik a good beat down. But there is one little problem. I need to sacrifice 3 monsters in order to activate his special ability and my creatures are a little tied up. Thankfully my face down card will take care of that.' He directed his grin towards Dark Marik. "I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes, because you're in for a world of hurt."
Dark Marik was about to respond with another of his threats when all of a sudden the doors of the elevator opened, making everyone turn around to see who it was. Out stepped Serenity, whose face was flushed and she looked worried upon seeing her brother look so winded. "Joey!" she called out before joining the others on the sidelines. Relief crossed her features when she saw that she wasn't too late. "Are you okay?"
Joey faced the young girl with a big grin on his face, genuinely happy to see her. "Hey sis! You've arrived just in the nick of time! Don't worry, I've got this!"
Serenity managed a tiny smile. "Okay. Just remember, we're all behind you."
Joey nodded, giving her a thumbs up sign. "Right." He turned back to face the cornsilk blonde. "All right, where was I? Oh yes. I was about to wipe the floor with ya! First I activate my face down card, Giant Trunade! It allows me to sweep every trap and magic card off the field and back to the player's hand."
Dark Marik's smirk faltered. "Oh no!"
"Oh yes! And here's an added bonus! Once your Machine Duplication card is gone, your other two eels will disappear, freeing my monsters! Say goodbye!" A massive typhoon materialized, swirling towards the two cards, blowing them away with its strong winds. Dark Marik covered his face to brace himself from the cold air. He glanced up, grunting and watching with a horrified expression as his two extra eels disappeared, freeing Joey's monsters.
Yami's lips curled up into a genuine smile. "Excellent dueling strategy, Joey," he complimented his friend. It made him proud just how much the blonde was growing more and more as a duelist.
Joey turned side-ways to face the ancient pharaoh. "Thanks, Yuge." His eyes then hardened like that of a warrior's as he redirected his attention to his opponent. "Now that all of my monsters are free, I can sacrifice them in order to bring forth my ultimate fighting machine!" As the sacrificed monsters disappeared, colorful lights started glowing and shone in the faces of all the spectators, giving off a glare. Vicki covered her eyes to prevent it from blinding her. She and everyone else waited with baited breath to see what creature would be summoned. A muscular, sturdy looking warrior with chiseled features emerged onto the field. His shoulders, chest and knees were decorated with armor and he was dressed in an orange robe-like dress with a cape. There was also a sword sheath attached to the cape. "Meet Gilford the Lightning!" (2800 attk) The imposing warrior pumped his fists, letting out a mighty battle roar. The girls felt chills going down their spines at the power radiating from him.
Dark Marik had a grave expression on his face, literally quaking in his boots. 'Ridiculous! Why am I afraid of him? As powerful as he may be, he is no match for my Egyptian God monster!' He held up the rod, using it to cease his trembling.
However, Joey caught his opponent's frightened state. It was now his turn to smirk. "That's right, you should be scared! My Gilford has the power to send you straight to hell! How does it feel to be staring in the face of defeat, Marik?"
Serenity had an awed expression on her face. "Wow, that monster is so awesome," she gasped softly.
"That he is," agreed Vicki. "And I can tell he's like a boss, too."
Duke couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. "Way to rock the ultimate comeback, man! Now finish this guy off!"
Dark Marik had long stopped shaking and erupted into uproarious laughter, making everyone go, "Huh?" His eyes widened and stretched to the side. Vicki didn't know whether to burst out laughing or make a squeamish face.
Joey eyed the cornsilk blonde strangely, wishing he had some duct tape handy. "I must have missed the joke, Chuckles!"
Dark Marik's laughter died down a bit. "Let me fill you in. You were so busy gallivanting over your most powerful monster that you left out one important detail. My Plasma Eel cannot be destroyed in battle, so you've brought forth that creature for naught!" He laughed some more, like there was no tomorrow.
But Joey's smirk didn't waver. "Yeah, yeah. Did you think I would be dumb enough to not take that into account?"
"Yes!"
"It appears as if Marik thought wrong," observed Yami with a hint of a smile. "Because Joey sacrificed three monsters, Gilford's special ability activates." He gave Joey a smile. "It's time to take him down."
"You got it." Joey fixed his eyes on his opponent. "What Yuge says is true, so you had better brace yourself. Gilford, show this wanna-be your special ability! Wipe out his eel with your lightning sword." The warrior complied, unsheathing his sword and making two diagonal slashes. A lightning bolt crackled around the blade and hurtled towards the worm-like creature, dissipating it into ashes. Joey pumped his fist in triumph. "A-booyah! Your eel is history!" He started grinning like an idiot.
"Yeah, way to go, dude!" cheered Tristan.
"Terrific!" added Serenity.
Dark Marik could only stand there agape before some words finally came to him. "But how?" he questioned. "My Plasma Eel is immune to all attacks!"
Joey gave a sigh of mock exasperation. "Someone is not paying attention. Let me make this easy for you. Your monster is not the only one with a special ability. My monster's special ability lets him destroy all of my opponent's monsters on the field. I guess you shouldn't have skipped class that day. But don't worry. School is back in session and Professor Wheeler is in the house!" He heard someone burst into giggles at his sarcasm. He turned slightly to see it was Vicki doubled over with her face buried in her hands. "Now that you have no monsters or face down cards on the field to protect you, you're wide open!" He pointed a finger at the possessed tombkeeper.
Dark Marik stood there with his teeth ground together, sweating and trembling. "No, this can't be happening!" he howled. "I won't lose this duel to a pathetic mortal!" That was what he wanted to convince himself, yet he knew sadly it was reality. 'Curses! If only I had foreseen that magic card I could have canceled its effect! Now I will lose this duel and my Egyptian God card!'
Joey merely ignored the condescending remark, giving a smug grin. "I'm afraid it is! You're toast! Now Gilford, teach this kid a lesson the hard way and wipe out the rest of his life points!" The lightning elemental emitted another bolt from his blade. It charged towards the evil entity and once colliding with him, it sent him careening several feet until he landed on his rear end with a thud, groaning in pain. His life points dropped all the way to zero. He sat there frozen in shock, looking dazed. As he replayed the entire duel in his head, his dazed expression turned into a scowl. 'How?! How could I have lost at my own Shadow Game and to this pitiful duelist? He is no match for me!'
The fog shrouding the field disappeared, as did Joey's Gilford. For awhile, all the spectators stared into space, blinking as if they wanted to make sure the unfolding events really did take place and it wasn't just a dream. They all had expressions on their faces that read, "Did Joey just win? I know he was doing well, but who would have thought?" Kaiba just stood there with his mouth hanging open.
"The winner of this duel is Joey Wheeler!" Roland finally declared with the raise of an arm, after a lengthy period of silence. "Congratulations!"
Joey blinked to make sure he heard right. When he turned to see Dark Marik sitting on the ground looking like he was going to murder someone and his friends smiling widely at him, he knew it was true. "All right!" he cheered, raising a fist in the air. He had the sudden urge to do a happy dance all over the field, but was too drained to, so he settled for grinning widely until his cheeks hurt.
Tristan and Duke broke into a celebratory dance, cheering whilst they did so before finally glomping each other. The girls jumped up and down in their excitement, Serenity calling out, "You did great!"
Joey turned to grin at his younger sister and friends before walking over to give them each a high-five. "Thanks, guys. I couldn't have done it without you."
Yami, who had been beaming at his friend, shook his head lightly. "No, Joey. It was your hard work, determination, and faith in your deck that has brought you to victory. Not only have you knocked Marik out of the tournament and saved the world, but you have kept your promise to Mai."
Joey's grin suddenly turned into a thoughtful expression. "Oh yeah, that's right." His chest suddenly felt lighter, like he could sleep well that night knowing the woman he loved was safe and sound.
Tèa's grin faded and she looked serious. A thought had just occurred to her about the ante rule. She didn't want to have to relive the moment of what had happened when Mai stole Ra and couldn't use it. "So... are you...going to take Marik's Winged Dragon of Ra card from him?" asked Tèa, sounding as if she were worried about what the blonde's response would be.
"Naw, man. He can keep it," answered Joey. "Remember, I can't control it and besides, it's not why I wanted to face Marik in the first place."
Tèa looked relieved to hear that. "Yeah, I know." She was about to say more when all of a sudden, she heard a loud groan and a familiar deep voice commenting, "How kind of you, Little Joey." She and the others whirled around sharply to see Dark Marik rising to his feet with a smirk on his face.
Joey mockingly smacked his forehead as if he had forgotten the cornsilk blonde was there. "Oh, you're welcome," he responded dryly. Inwardly he was frowning at the fact that Dark Marik seemed to be taking his defeat a little too well. 'That smirk is telling me he's up to something...he had better keep his hands off of Mai or else.' His eyes hardened at the thought.
Dark Marik sneered at the blonde. "You may have defeated me, but don't think I am done with you fools yet, especially you, Pharaoh. I will be back, so you had better beware!" In a flourish, he turned on his heel and marched away with the Eye of Horus glowing on his forehead. Still reeling from the effects of the duel, he placed a hand to his mouth and retched into it, grumbling angrily all the way.
Yami grunted as he watched his foe leave. A part of him had expected he wouldn't accept defeat, but at the same time he had an unsettling feeling Dark Marik would continue to wreak havoc and things would get worse. 'I expect to cross paths with what is left of Marik's good side soon. I hope we can devise a plan and execute it before it is too late.' He clenched a fist, knowing what he had to do.
Tèa shook her head in disgust. "Doesn't he know when to quit?"
Vicki snorted. "Obviously not."
"Never mind that, guys," Serenity piped up. "We have to go check on Mai now."
Joey's eyes were beginning to droop, but he fought to keep them open. "Yeah, I wouldn't put it past Marik to try something with her," he chimed. "And if he does, he'll be..." His voice trailed off and his body tipped forward, falling face down on the arena, crumpled in a heap.
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