49Hello everyone, and welcome, to another installment of "I hope it's not a dream!"! I'm sorry I didn't have this fic updated in forever, but I started college this year, and most of my time had to go to that. Now that it's over, I can concentrate on this, and on "Seto Kaiba's Kickassia". Also, just a little heads up, in the next duel, you'll probably notice that one of the duelists doesn't have the same deck he does in the anime. I thought this deck suited him, and made him a bit more unpredictable. His original cards are still there, I just added some more to it. I hope that's OK, and hopefully, it'll be the only change I make to characters of Yu-Gi-Oh in terms of their deck. Now, on with the fic!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series. I do, however, own my OC's in this story, Nina and Brian.
Chapter 6
"The next duelists are numbers 3, and 7!"
All of Yugi's friends gathered around him, wishing him luck for the upcoming duel. Joey said that he wished he could repay 'Marik' for making him duel Yugi against his will, but if Yugi did it instead, then he would support him.
We all walked to the dueling platform, as Yugi's Puzzle began to glow again, as Yami once more took control. Once on the platform, Yami and Odion started shuffling each others Decks.
"This is gonna be a good duel." said Brian.
"Why do you say that?"
"It's not everyday you get to see a battle between two God cards, right?"
"I guess..." I said, but then I got an idea. "What about what happens afterward?"
"I'm kinda trying to avoid thinking about it..."
I laughed, but we then turned our attention towards the duel that was about to start, as both duelists finished, and went to opposite sides of the platform. When they turned to face each other, Odion was holding something – a very realistic replica of the Millennium Rod. At that sight, Joey cringed and Yami merely looked on, unfazed. After a few moments, Odion put the object away, and turned on his Duel Disk.
"Marik must have a ton of rare cards in his deck, since he's the Leader of the Rare Hunters, right big brother?" asked Mokuba.
"There's only one card in his deck I care about Mokuba. His God Card, the Winged Dragon of Ra! I just hope that Yugi makes this duel last enough, so I can see it in action, and I can win it to strengthen my own deck." answered Seto, keeping his eyes on the two duelists the entire time.
"Start the duel!"
"Little Yugi, you will soon find that this is no ordinary duel, for you will deal with a force that has existed for thousands of years." said Odion, as he drew his first card. "I activate the effect of a monster from my hand, Gravekeeper's Command, allowing me to had the Necrovalley spell card to my hand." The field of play then became what looked like a canyon, with cliffs behind the two duelists. "Then, I'll set Gravekeeper's Curse."
A monster materialized on Odion's side of the field, and immediately a strange green mist left the monster, and surrounded Yami, who winced in pain.
"What was that?" asked Joey, looking at Odion, probably thinking that he cheated.
"When it is summoned, Gravekeeper's Curse can inflict 500 points of damage to my opponent's Life Points. Next, I'll play the Necrovalley field spell card, which adds 500 ATK and DEF to my monsters, and I'll end my turn."
"Is it just me, or did Marik pick up a new deck for Odion since the last time we saw the anime?" asked Brian, in what was almost a whisper.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing... but how? This deck only exists in the Yami Marik pack..."
"So, what, you're thinking Bakura got it for him?"
"And the evidences of Thiefshipping just keep piling up... still, I guess it is a better idea than the almighty force of the Gummy Bears, or the Easter Bunny..."
We both tried to control our laughter, as we watched Yami prepare his first move.
"My turn. I'll fuse Beformet and Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts to form Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast!" The two monsters appeared briefly on the field, before fusing into a more powerful version. "Now, my monster, attack Gravekeeper's Curse!"
Chimera jumped at Odion's monster, and slashed its claws, destroying it.
"Next, I will summon Sangan, in defense mode, and end my turn."
Odion merely looked on, unfazed from the monster's attack.
"I summon Gravekeeper's Spy in defense mode, and set two cards face down."
"Man, that's no good..." said Joey. "With a defensive power of 2500, he can stop any attack that Yuge throws at him!"
Yami, however, looked like he had a plan. "My turn! I sacrifice my Sangan to summon my Dark Magician Girl, and I activate the equip spell card, Magic Formula, raising her attack strength to 2700!" A book appeared from the activated spell card, which Dark Magician Girl began to read. "Now, attack with Dark Burning Attack!" Having found the spell she was looking for, the apprentice magician aimed her attack and fired, destroying Gravekeeper's Spy.
"And now, Chimaera, attack his Life Points directly!" The winged monster complied, running up to Odion and slashing him, bringing his Life Points to 1900.
"I thank you, little Yugi, for destroying my monster, for now I shall be able to show the first of the many surprises that my deck holds." Odion said, drawing a card. "Because of Gravekeeper's Spy's effect, I can Special Summon a monster with "Gravekeeper's" in it's name that has 1500 ATK or less from my deck. And I choose Gravekeeper's Cannonholder, which I will tribute for Gravekeeper's Chief. Now I will activate it's effect to summon Gravekeeper's Cannonholder back from the Graveyard! Now, Gravekeeper's Chief, attack Chimaera!" The monster raised his staff, and fired at Chimaera, who got destroyed immediately.
"Then I activate my monster's effect, that allows me to Summon back to the field one of the monsters used in the fusion that created it! And I chose Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts!" Yami said, as Gazelle materialized on the field where Chimaera had been just a few seconds ago.
"Now I will attack your Gazelle with my Gravekeeper's Cannonholder!" Odion commanded, and his monster took aim, loading his cannon that he carried on his shoulder, and fired at Gazelle. " Now, I activate his effect, which allows me to deliver 700 points of damage to my opponents Life Points, by Tributing a "Gravekeeper's" monster." Gravekeeper's Chief mounted the cannon, and Cannonholder aimed, and launched him at Yami, who recoiled from the impact, making his Life Points drop to 2100. His friends quickly got as near as they could to him, yelling words of encoragement. Kaiba merely looked on, uninterested. With some difficulty, Yami got back on his feet, and drew his next card.
"Man, Yuge doesn't stand much of a chance against a deck like that! With that Field Spell Card in play, any monster that Marik plays has a huge advantage!" said Joey.
"Yugi will find a way to win! He's gotten himself out of tougher situations before, he can do the same here!" said Tristan, and the rest of the gang cheered in agreement. Yami looked at them for a moment, smiling to show appreciation for all their support, and focused on his hand.
"My turn! I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, and I chose to destroy Necrovalley!" A typhoon rose from the card, and hit Odion's card, causing the field spell to disappear, and all of his monsters' ATK and DEF points return to their normal values. "Now, my Dark Magician Girl, attack with Dark Burning Attack!" Once again, the young magician fired, and hit Odion's remaining monster, bringing his life Points to 600. "Now, to end my turn, I will summon one of my most loyal monsters, the Celtic Guardian, in attack mode!"
Yugi's friends cheered, saying that he had finally been able to outsmart Marik, but Odion merely smirked, and beside Brian and me, I could see Marik smirking as well, as he held the real Millennium Rod behind his back.
"Hey!" I whispered, nudging Brian and pointing discretely towards Marik. He looked, and tried not to laugh.
"LK was right... You really can completely ruin his plans from here!"
"I know! I still can't believe nobody notices! I mean, it's right there!" I whispered back, holding back my laughter as well, and focusing once again on the duel.
Odion drew a card, and stared confusingly at it, like it was a surprise even to him that it was there. The Millennium Rod behind Marik's back glowed softly, and after a few moments, and Odion seemed to be back to smirking at his imminent victory.
"I applaud your efforts, little Yugi. But, you see, that part of my deck is not where it's true strength resides. It was only a trial test, and now you shall see the power that lies within it! I activate The Temple of the Kings!" said Odion, as a huge temple began to rise behind him, that had a strange ark atop the temple stairs.
"Hey guys, what do you think this card does?" asked Tristan, as they all looked to the temple.
"It allows me to seal one card from my hand inside it's ark, so it can be Tributed later!" Odion says, as if answering Tristan's question, and took one card from his hand – the card Brian and I knew to be the Winged Dragon of Ra. "Now, I will play Cup of Sealed Soul, and Seal of Serket. These cards allow me to summon one of my most trusted monsters: Mystical Beast of Serket!" From the two Spell cards materialized a new monster, which was scorpion like, had thorns running through its body, sharp pincers, several rows of teeth, and what looked like a Millennium Eye atop its head. It roared, and turned to face Yami's monster's.
"That bug doesn't look so tough! Yuge can defeat that thing, no prob!" Joey boasted, but Odion said that his monster wasn't what Yugi should be concerned about, but what power he will be able to unleash if the monster inside the ark breaks free.
"And what monster would that be?"
Kaiba scoffed. "Haven't you been able to figure it out yet, Wheeler? It's the third God card."
The gang gasped, and Odion merely nodded. "Yes, the Winged Dragon of Ra is sealed away, but not for long. But you're in luck, because since it was summoned with a ritual of my two Spell Cards, I can't make my monster attack this turn, so I'll just end my turn. So make your move, little Yugi, and let's find out how great the power of the Pharaoh really is!"
"What is the big deal about this card Marik has, anyway?" asked Mai.
"It must be a card with considerable power, for Marik to be making such a big deal of it." said Joey, looking on with a hopeful look on his face.
"In that case, I'll summon my Beta, the Magnet Warrior. Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack!"
The apprentice magician prepared to fire her attack, but before she could, Odion activated a Trap Card.
"I don't think so, Pharaoh. I activate the Eye of Wdjat. When a opponent declares an attack, I can turn that attack against one of your own monsters. And I chose the Celtic Guardian!"
Before Yami could react, Odion took control of the Dark Magician Girl, who fired the attack against the Celtic Guardian, destroying him, and dropping Yami's Life Points to 800.
"Man, that took a heavy blow to Yugi's game! Do you think he's okay?" asked Tea, looking concerned.
"He's fine, don't worry Tea!" said Duke.
"Yeah, don't forget, he's the King of Games!" said Brian, loud enough for Kaiba to hear it. Kaiba narrowed his eyes, and focused on the duel, but otherwise showed no signs of having heard my friend.
"You did that one on purpose, didn't you?" I whispered.
"You know I'll take every chance I can to annoy him!" he said, grinning.
I shook my head and sighed, but also turned my attention to the duel, where Yami had already recovered from the blow.
"I activate a Spell card from my hand, Red Medicine, which allows me to recover 500 life Points, and I end my turn." said Yami, as his Life points rose to 1300.
"Don't worry, Yugi, you'll get him back next turn!"
"I beg to differ. This monster is one of my most powerful ones, and you will soon find out why. Mystical Beast of Serket, attack Beta, the Magnet Warrior!"
The giant scorpion like creature obeyed, and grabbed Yami's monster with its pincers, held it up, and ate him. The reactions of everyone were various, from the indifference that Kaiba showed, to the looks of shock and horror that Yugi's friends had on their faces.
"And now, my monster will absorb its power, adding another 500 ATK." said Odion, as his monster grew a bit larger, and roared, hungry for more.
Yami looked at his hand, put two cards face down, set his Dark Magician Girl in defense mode, and ended his turn.
Odion merely glanced at his opponents field, before ordering his monster to attack. The gang could hardly watch, as one of Yami's most trusted monsters was eaten by the Mystical Beast of Serket, and it grew even more, raising its ATK to 3500. I could tell by Yami's face that it was hard for him to witness it, but he would never give up. As he drew his next card, a small smile appeared on his face. "Even though you defeated my Dark Magician Girl, her loss will not be in vain. Because of Magic Formula, I gain 1000 Life Points, bring them to a total of 1500. Now, I place a monster face down, and end my turn."
We all started to shout words of encouragement, but there was one of us was who seemed to have taken enough. Serenity turned away, and ran towards the elevator, and Joey ran after her.
"Wait Serenity! Where you goin'?"
"I can't watch this anymore!"
"Come on, sis! Yuge needs all of us here to support him! You have to stay and watch the rest of the duel! True, if it keeps going on like this, he could lose, but that's why were all here! So we can cheer him on, and so he can see this duel through! Remember, even though it was difficult for yah, you found your light in the darkness. No matter what happens, you have to face it!"
Joey's speech seemed to have done the trick, and Serenity returned with her brother to the rest of the gang. However, Serenity wasn't the only person struck by Joey's speech. Odion got a far off look on his eyes, as he remembered his childhood, from when he was just a baby being taken to live a life of cruelty and restraint, living underground with a seriously crazy father, never being able to be accepted as a Tombkeeper, up to the point when Marik was born, when the two of them were playing ancient egyptian basketball, when he killed the Ishtar family pet snake Cornelius, how he got punished for it, and finally, the dreadful day when Marik had to take the Tombkeeper's initiation. Apparently, my friend was thinking the same as me.
"That is one big flashback, huh?" he whispered.
"Yeah, but the worst part is the end. It is not right for the poor guys to have to sit trough a movie with CGI chihuahuas!" I answered him.
We were trying not to think much about it, but we both knew that the duel was drawing to a close, and with it, came one of the scariest moments in the entire season. I know it didn't sound like much when we were days from it happening, or when we were watching it on TV, but now that it was so close, the tension was about to pick up – and the game was about to become much more dangerous.
As Odion began to focus back on the present, he simply ordered his monster to attack, and it launched forward, preparing to devour its third victim. However, it seemed that Yami had prepared a surprise of his own, because it was revealed to be...
"Morphing Jar! And because of it's effect, we now have to discard our entire hand! Now I activate Pot of Greed, and draw two new cards!" Yami looked at his hand and smiled. "It looks like your time is up. All the pieces of the puzzle are now in place, and your fate has been sealed. I activate one of my face down cards, Premature Burial! By paying 800 Life Points, this lets me select one monster in my Graveyard, and Special Summon it in attack mode. And I choose Beta, the Magnet Warrior!" A card flipped open on Yami's side of the field, and a ghost came out of it, which began to take form to become the chosen monster. "And that's not all! I also activate Monster Reborn, bringing back another monster which was taken away by the effect of Morphing Jar: Gamma, the Magnet Warrior!" Another monster suddenly appeared next next to the first one, and stood facing the huge scorpion on the other side of the field.
"A fair move, but those monsters cannot even match my Mystical Beast of Serket."
"Perhaps, but they aren't the ones I will use to attack. Separate, they are excellent warriors, but together, they form a force that few can hope to match! I combine them with my Alpha, the Magnet Warrior, to form Valkyrion, the Magna Warrior!" A third warrior, similar to the other two, appeared for a short moment on the field, before combining with them, to for a new monster.
"As good as this new monster is, it's ATK is still low compared to the one Mystical Beast of Serket has. What is Yugi thinking?" said Kaiba.
"Now, I'll defuse them again, so all three monsters will be on the field." Valkyrion made a mechanical sound, as all the parts that he was made of detached themselves of him, rearranged themselves, and all three warriors appeared one again on the field. At the mention of the word "three", Seto's eyes widened in understanding.
"Why did Yugi do that?" asked Tristan. "Those three monsters don't stand a chance there!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure he has a plan!" said Brian.
"Prepare to experience a power like no other! I offer my three monsters on the field as tribute to summon the almighty Slifer, the Sky Dragon!" Yami then pulled a card from his hand, held it high, and slammed it down on his duel disk. Suddenly, the sky turned dark, and it began to thunder, as Yami's duel disk glowed, and a giant hologram of Slifer's card appeared on his field. The card then began to glow, and light shot upwards towards the sky, with two huge wings appearing on the side. The dragon then began to materialize, his body so big it wrapped around the blimp several times. It then lowered its head, and glared at Odion, letting out a big roar.
"Thanks to Slifer's special ability, its attack gets determined by how many cards I have in my hand. And since I have four, Slifer's ATK power is of 4000!" said Yami, as Slifer roared once more, showing of its power.
"Amazing!" said Tristan.
"Yeah, now Yuge has enough power with him to wipe Marik out for good!" said Joey.
"However, I won't make an attack."
"What?" asked everyone, even us, because we were surprised. Yami could destroy Odion's strongest monster, and that wasn't a move someone would pass up lightly.
"What are you thinking, Yugi? Attack!" said Kaiba.
Yami shook his head. "No, and I have a good reason. I only had a suspicion at first, but it became stronger and stronger as the duel progressed. I have battled Marik three times now, and all those times, he hid his face behind someone else, and let them do his dirty work – Bandit Keith, Strings, and even my best friend Joey." Joey was noticeably angrier with the memory of being forced to duel Yami against his will. "However, what I've seen out of you so far has made me certain that you are not Marik! So, I'll give you one more chance, before I end this duel!"
Marik was now visibly angrier to see that his plan was now on the brink of collapse. The Millennium Rod glowed once more, and Odion's eyes widened as he drew his next card. He seemed to be conflicted about using the card he drew earlier, but after a few moments, he made his decision.
Odion pulled out the fake Millennium Rod, and waved it at Yami, saying that only the real Marik would have it. Yami is still not convinced, replying that unlike Marik, Odion has dueled him with honor and respect.
"Very well, Pharaoh. If this is the only thing that can prove my point, I see no alternative." said Odion, raising the fake Rod. "I will now sacrifice my Mystical Beast of Serket, to summon my God Card, the Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"Be very careful, Yugi" said Brian.
"Yeah, nice advice..."
"What? Nobody else was gonna do it..." my friend said, shrugging.
Odion then turned to the ark. "I now offer my Mystical Beast of Serket, and half my Life Points, to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra, in the name of he next great Pharaoh, King Marik!"
The lid of the ark rose, and a beam of light shot out, reaching for the thundering sky above. Slifer roared as this happened, awaiting the monster that would face it. Huge claws emerged form the sky, through the clouds, and a huge golden dragon soon followed, looming over the playing field.
"The Mystical Beast of Serket absorbed three monsters, Gamma the Magnet Warrior, Dark Magician Girl, and Morphing Jar, thus making it's ATK 4000. Now, that power has been transferred to the Winged Dragon of Ra. Now, my God Card! Attack!"
Suddenly, all the Millennium items present started to glow at once. The fake Ra stayed in the same place, as if ignoring the order.
"Oh, sweet mother of Osiris, it's gonna happen now..."
"This is not good..."
Odion ordered it to attack again, but still nothing happened. The gang all start to wonder why Ra didn't do anything.
"It's very simple." said Yami, pointing at Odion, with his Millennium Puzzle glowing dangerously. "He isn't the real Marik!"
Kaiba seemed to still be find this argument hard to believe, but everyone was now focused on the sky, where it was now thundering even more now. All of a sudden, one of the thunderbolts hit an area to the far left of the dueling arena.
"Nyeh!" said Joey, jumping from surprise. "Man, that was close!"
Odion then bows his head, as more thunderbolts strike all around the arena now. Finally, one of them hits him, shattering his fake Millennium Rod. Everyone's eyes widen, as they realize that he really wasn't Marik, as Odion falls to the ground, and remains in the same place, unmoving. Concerned, Yami started to go to him, only to be struck by lighting himself. Everyone present gasped, as he too fell to the ground, and remained there.
Joey and Tristan start to run towards them, but Roland quickly stops them, saying that the duel was still in progress.
Joey and Tristan merely glared at the man. " We don't care! Yugi's our friend, and he needs our help!"
"The Duel Disks aren't programmed to do real damage, so they must have sustained some sort of mental injury. Like your friend from the duel earlier." Images of Bakura taking the blast from my Blue Eyes, and Ryou being unconscious afterward flashed trough my mind, and I lowered my head slightly, still feeling guilty.
"Who cares!" said May. "Just end the duel!"
Roland looked Kaiba, looking for instructions. "Since both duelists still have a few Life Points remaining, we can't disqualify either one. The first duelist who gets to his feet within five minutes, is declared the winner!"
"Then Yami'll win by default! Truly it shall be a victory for the forces of justice!" whispered Brian, making me laugh. Meanwhile, to our right, Marik was already showing signs of his decent into the darkness.
Joey says the whole idea is stupid, but Kaiba replies that it's the only option he is going to give them. Joey glared at him, but joined the gang in urging Yami to get back to his feet. In the arena, Odion was struggling to get up. Just when Roland was about to declare Odion the winner, however, he fell back down, and the two duelists remained tied.
With two minutes left to go, Yami's friends were beginning to get desperate. Suddenly, a faint glow came from the Millennium Puzzle, and slowly, Yami began to rise to his feet. When he finally got to his feet, the gang congratulated him, and told him that he had won the duel, for he seemed somewhat disoriented, but quickly recovered.
"The winner is Yugi Muto!" said Roland. Yugi's friends began to invade the arena to celebrate, but Yami noticed that Odion was still not moving, and headed towards him.
"Man, that was freaky..." said Joey, also looking over to Odion. "It was like his God card went nuts, or something!"
Kaiba looked at Odion also, but I could tell for different reasons. Duel Disks recognize any card in Duel Monsters, but it reacted in a weird way when Ra was summoned. The only logical reason is because the card was a fake.
"That cannot be good publicity for KaibaCop, or the tournament..." I mused, as I focused my attention back on the fallen duelist, as my friend beside me seemed to wish to be anywhere else, but here.
"I... I'm sorry, Pharaoh." said Odion. "It was an honor for me to duel with you."
Yami nodded. "Same here. But, I must ask; if you're not the real Marik. Then who are you? And why would you go through all this trouble?"
"I... am only a servant of the real Master Marik." Odion answered, weakly pointing towards Marik, who was still clutching his head.
"That's Marik?" said Joey and Yami. Tea then noticed that Marik had a Millennium Rod, just like the fake one that Odion had.
"It's Kira!"
"And there's the obligatory Death Note reference... I never thought we'd sink that low..." said Brian, shaking his head. However, everyone was too focused on Marik now, so nobody seemed to notice us.
"Admit your true identity, Marik!"
Marik then turned to them, the pain on his head a minor concern at the moment. "That's right, you fools! I am Marik!"
"So Namu lied to us all along?"
"Namu? He was merely a disguise to get me closer to little Yugi!" said Marik. Yami remarked to Joey that he was the one who brainwashed him.
"No, you think?"
"At last I can finish the job that my pathetic servants couldn't! Yugi, your Puzzle and your power will soon be where they belong!" said Marik, his voice twisting a bit towards the end of his sentence. His face then twisted in pain, as the darkness within his heart grew stronger. Unable to control it any longer, Odion passed out, as the others continued to watch Marik struggle with his Yami. Finally, Marik let out a deafening scream towards the sky, clutching his head, and after a few moments, he finally lowered his head, his hair now spikier, and with a Millennium Eye glowing on his forehead.
"We're dead..." said Brian, looking like he had seen a ghost, and frankly, I couldn't agree more.
"I'm finally free again, which means I can do things my way. I was restrained for many years by that fool Odion."
"Who are you?"
"I'm the true Marik, and I'm not as kind as the one you've come to know. And soon, I'll finish the job he couldn't complete, and strip you of your powers!"
"I don't really know why, but I suddenly had a weird flashback to "Leather Pants"... must be his clothing." I thought.
"For I deserve to be Pharaoh, not you!" continued Yami Marik, looking straight at Yami. "And when I'm done with you, your power will be all mine, and you'll be trapped in a realm of eternal darkness!" now he looked straight at Yugi's friends, as well as towards us. "As well as your friends!"
"Hey, pal, get a life!" said Joey, not impressed.
"Thanks to Odion's failure, I now have a life! But wait... where are my manners? There is another I should be thanking! Pharaoh, thanks to you winning this duel, I'm now free to plunge the world into darkness!" said Yami Marik, throwing his head back in laughter. After a few moments he seemed to calm down. "Of course, in failing, Odion has proven that only people with a connection to the Ancient Egypt can control the Egyptian God cards." he said, looking at Kaiba, who in turn replied that he didn't believed in any of that Egyptian fairy tales, and the only reason he could control Obelisk was because he was a master duelist. Yami Marik then told Yami that the true battle for the Pharaoh's power would now begin, and walked past everyone, heading towards his room. Soon afterward, we all did the same, and hurried to make sure that Odion got to a hospital bed.
_x_
Now inside one of the hospital rooms available, we all looked at Odion, who was being looked after by a doctor. Over the intercom, we heard that the next duel would take place in fifteen minutes. Joey asked the medic how Odion was, and he replied that, although his tests are fine, the mental stress he went through left him unconscious. Brian and I told them that we would be right back, and headed to our room to discuss the latest developments. As we arrived, my friend began pacing the room, worried about the next duel.
"Don't worry, you have the same probability of facing Melvin in this tournament as the rest of us. Well, except for Yugi, he has 100% chance of facing him. It's what the season has been building up to, after all." I said, trying to comfort him.
Brian looked at me, a small smile on his face. "Actually, the season has been building up for Yami to face Marik, not his imaginary friend Melvin. And, in any case, what if I end up facing hm in the next duel? Like you said, we don't know what the matchup is anymore!"
"Then you do what you always did! You fight with all your might, and if for some freak chance you end up losing, then make sure to make as much damage as possible on him!" I replied, holding out my fist, which he hit with his. "Besides, if there's anybody in this room who stands a chance against him, it's you! You beat him way more times than me back home!"
"I guess..."
"All duelists, please report to the main hall. It's time to chose the participants of the next duel!" said Roland from a nearby intercom. We exchanged a look, nodded to each other, and left the room to join the others. On the way, we heard Joey and Yami, who were still in Odion's room, discussing the last moments of the last duel.
"Hey, Yuge, what happened when you got struck by all those thunderbolts?"
"It's hard to say. All I remember was everything going dark, and I saw some people. Their face were covered by shadows, but they seemed familiar... I tried to get up, but suddenly, I saw everyone by my side, helping me up. I felt the strength of all my friends, just like when I dueled Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom."
"Man, this tournament is getting weirder and weirder... but don't worry, pal, no matter what happens, we will always be there for yah!" Yami nodded, and we all walked to the main room, were the Blue Eyes Ultimate Bingo Machine was already rolling.
"Hey, Marik's not here yet, and there still hasn't been any sign of the eight duelist." stated Mai.
"Hey, Kaiba, since Marik entered under a fake name, shouldn't he be disqualified?"
"Wishful thinking, Wheeler! This contest is about skill, not names! You should be man enough to get rid of the competition with your deck, not some trivial technicality!"
"Okay, Roland, start the machine!" ordered Mokuba. Roland nodded, and the numbers inside the machine started rolling. After a few moments, the first one was revealed to be...
"Number 4!"
Joey cheered for Mai, but she ignored him, and turned to go.
"Wait Mai. Don't you wanna know who you'll be facin'?"
"It doesn't matter who it is, I'll win either away! I'll see you all in the finals." May replied, not even looking back. Joey said they'll be there rooting for her, but she told them not to bother, that a certain blonde headed knucklehead was beginning to get on her nerves, and that she and Joey were not friends, and stormed out.
The next number to be selected was ...
"Number 5! Marik Ishtar has been selected, and must report to the dueling arena immediately!"
We all got on the elevator that led to the dueling platform. Once we got there, we saw that Mai was already there, and Yami Marik was still nowhere to be seen.
"Finally! A duel that goes like the anime intended!"
"Yeah, but I'm still wondering one thing... where do you think Melvin got the new clothes? I mean, I can understand the cloak, it's a Rare Hunter cloak, but where did the new shirt come form?" whispered Brian.
"I once heard a theory about that... His shirts were once all like that, but one day, one of the Steves screwed up the laundry, and the shirts shrank, and turned into a lighter color... He liked the new look, and kept it!" I answered.
My friend tried to hold back his laughter. "I guess it makes sense..."
At that moment, Yami Marik arrived from one of the elevators, saying that the duel wouldn't take long, and took his place on the side of the arena opposite to Mai's, and they start their duel.
_x_
(AN: Since this duel goes just like the one in the anime, I didn't think it would be all that much I could do that would make it different, so, I'll skip to the end of the duel, after Yami Marik has won.)
The duel was now over. Yami Marik had ordered Ra to attack, and despite Yami's and Joey's best efforts to protect her, Mai lost the duel, and her mind got sent to the Shadow Realm. As Mai's body collapsed on the arena, Joey turned to Yami Marik and demanded to know what he did to her.
"Your friend made a costly mistake dueling against me. Now I'm afraid she's paying the ultimate price. Notice her motionless appearance? That's because her mind is trapped!" said Yami Marik.
"Say what?"
"With each passing second, she forgets more, and the shadows are taking everything, Wheeler; her family, her friends, everything she kept inside her mind, and inside her heart!" replied Yami Marik, laughing.
"That's it, Marik! Now you've gone too far! So it's go time, so put 'im up, cowboy!" said Joey, just about ready to make Marik know how he felt about the whole situation.
"Fool! Threaten me again, and you'll meet a fate similar to your friend!"
Tea then asked Joey to just let it go, as Yami Marik walked passed us all, and headed downstairs.
"She's right man! This creep's psychotic!" said Tristan.
"I'm not sure that would be the wisest thing for him to say, considering Yami Marik is a few feet away..."
The gang then began to urge Mai, and Yami to return to consciousness, but so far to no avail. After a few moments, however, Yami managed to get back on his feet.
"Are you alright?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine. But are you and Mai OK?" Yami asked Joey, who said that he was fine, but Mai wasn't doing so well, that Marik had done something with the Millennium Rod, and that her brain was trapped in the shadows.
To our right however, Kaiba got a call from his brother, saying that there was more written on the Winged Dragon of Ra's card than the chant, and that he was decoding it.
"That is so cool... It's like he's wearing K.I.T.T., from Knight Rider!"
"Good work, I need to know all the secrets of that card." He then turned to all present, and ordered another 15 minute break, before the next duelists would be decided, so everyone returned downstairs, and Mai was put in a hospital bed, like Odion. Me and Brian, however, went towards our room to discuss the latest developments.
"Three duels into the semifinals, and three people have been hospitalized! Do you think there's a connection?" asked Brian.
"Hey, c'mon! Ryou is hospitalized because of our duel!"
"Actually, to be fair, most of that had to be from the wound Bakura inflicted in him. It wasn't a Shadow Duel, so the damage wasn't all that real. At least he wasn't hit by Slifer, the Executive Producer this time..."
"I guess..."
Just then, we were told to report to the main hall again, so that the next duel could be determined. We all met there, just as the remaining numbers started to roll. After a few minutes, a number rolled out of one of the heads of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon machine, and it was...
"Number two!"
Joey began to get all hyped up, almost too impatient to see who his opponent would be. After what seemed like forever, the machine dropped another number, and the second duelist was...
"Number nine!"
Brian couldn't believe his ears. It took him a few moments to realize that he would be dueling his favorite duelist, but when finally dawned on him, he couldn't be happier.
And that's it for this chapter. I made it extra long, to make up for the year long absence. Again, sorry!
Also, just something I wanna point out, I know Nina said the Gravekeeper's deck was only obtainable on a Yami Marik deck, but I realize that that's not true. What I meant was that it's the easiest way to obtain all the cards that I mentioned. I know there are booster packs that have some, if not all the cards, but the easiest way is the Structure Deck. That, and it makes it easier to make another Thiefshipping joke! :D
In any case, I hope I got the character of Odion down. I know he doesn't exactly act like that, but he was supposed to act like Marik, so I thought this way would be better. I hope you liked this chappie, and remember, reviews and advice are always welcome!