Chapter 35: The Finals, First Match

Seto had never felt more sure of himself than he felt as the referee declared the opening of his match against Marik. He would crush the Egyptian insect, and then he would have his long-awaited duel against Yuugi, where he would claim both Yuugi's title of King of Games and the Battle City crown. Nothing could stop him now.

"Make your move, priest." Marik smirked.

Not even Egyptian nonsense.

Seto drew his cards. His goal was to summon Obelisk as quickly as possible. To do that, he had to get the god into his hand first. He had just the thing in his opening hand—Star-Crossed Sacrifice. Unfortunately, he would need to gather three sacrifices on the field first, and he didn't have the immediate cards for that. Best to let Marik wonder if he held the god rather than give it away before he was ready.

"I'll set one card facedown and summon X-Head Cannon [1800/1500] in attack mode. End turn."

The bulbous metal robot appeared before him on the field, both shoulder cannons trained on Marik.

"Guns blazing already." Marik drew his cards with a flourish, sunlight glinting off the gaudy bands on his neck and wrists. "I set one monster in facedown defense mode, and I summon Dark Jeroid [1200/1500] in attack mode."

His visible monster was nearly the same shades of blue and yellow as Seto's, but rather than shoulder cannons, it had stingers arched over each shoulder like two scorpion tails. It hissed as it appeared, and Seto's Duel Disk let out a ping as X-Head Cannon's attack dropped down to 1000.

Marik's smirk grew. "Did I mention its summoning effect?"

Marik attacked, destroying Seto's monster and dropping his lifepoints to 3800.

"This is the most fun I've had all day," Marik said, "but it's still early morning. I'm sure things will only get better."

He ended his turn, and Seto drew Lord of Dragons, one of the best cards he could have hoped for. From the edge of the rooftop, he heard the hushed chatter of the onlookers as one of them left. Yuugi couldn't even keep his eyes on the duel, apparently bored with the whole matter. Seto focused his scowl on his opponent.

"Is our lofty pharaoh disappointing you?" Marik raised his eyebrows, then lowered his voice a bit, as if imparting a secret. "He does that to everyone."

"I don't need to listen to your nonsense."

Seto discarded Thunder Dragon [1600/1500] from his hand to his graveyard, using its effect to add two more Thunder Dragon cards from his deck straight to his hand. He reshuffled his deck and snapped it back into place. As a five-star monster, Thunder Dragon normally required a sacrifice to summon, but there were ways around that.

He summoned Lord of Dragons [1200/1100] in attack mode, then activated his set magic card, The Flute of Summoning Dragon.

"Let me guess," Marik said. "The flute summons dragons."

"How perceptive," Seto drawled.

On the field before him, his cloaked Lord of Dragons raised the golden instrument, and rather than a melody, out came a roar. Seto slapped both of his Thunder Dragons into monster slots, and they appeared to either side of his existing monster, flecks of lightning dancing across their green scales.

The sparks seemed to dance in Marik's eyes as well. "Three monsters. Whatever could you summon with such an army, I wonder."

Unfortunately, Dark Gremlin was the only monster left in Seto's hand. It was four stars. If he wanted to activate Star-Crossed Sacrifice to retrieve Obelisk, he would need a six-star monster to discard with it.

"I activate Pot of Greed," he declared.

"No Obelisk, I see." Marik clucked his tongue. "Go fish."

Seto whipped out the top two cards of his deck. One was Gadget Soldier—a six-star fire-attribute. Seto smirked.

"You tried to drown me," he said. "Now I'll crush you. You know what they say about payback."

"It's a fifty-foot, blue-skinned god monster? I believe I have heard that expression."

Seto activated Star-Crossed Sacrifice. He slid Gadget Soldier and Dark Gremlin into his graveyard, then flipped through his deck for Obelisk. The god was hiding eight cards from the bottom; he never would have drawn it in the duel if he'd waited for normal methods. Good thing Seto didn't count on luck to save him. He made his own luck.

As Seto claimed the god, Mokuba cheered from the sidelines, as did a few of the other spectators. Yuugi was finally watching. Let him see the future coming for him as well.

"Too bad you can't summon it."

Seto snapped his gaze back to Marik's. The Egyptian's eyes practically bulged with glee, and his tongue lolled from his mouth as he laughed. He raised a hand, and the facedown monster on his field flipped, revealing a Plasma Eel [500/1200].

Seto's stomach fell.

"I see you're familiar with my little beast. Then I'm sure you know what comes next."

The silver, wriggling monster flung itself across the field, twisting like a snake around one of Seto's Thunder Dragons. With a piercing shriek, it sank its foot-long pincers into either side of Thunder Dragon's head, and Seto's dragon responded with a bellowing shriek of its own.

"I'm so sorry," Marik said. "This dragon is closed to tributing business for the foreseeable future. Better luck next time."

As long as Marik's eel stayed attached to his monster, Seto would be unable to tribute it, and he would also lose 500 lifepoints in each of his end phases. With only Obelisk and one other card in his hand, Seto would have to wait for more summoning options. But he wasn't completely powerless in the meantime.

He ordered an attack, and his Thunder Dragon destroyed Dark Jeroid, dropping Marik's lifepoints to 3600.

"Ooh, that stings." Marik licked his lips. "But mine will hurt worse."

Seto declared the end of his turn, and true to Marik's word, with his declaration, the silver eel released a bolt of electricity, causing Thunder Dragon to writhe in pain. Seto grimaced as his lifepoints dropped to 3300.

"Are you discouraged, priest? Have I broken your spirit yet?"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "Not even close."

Anzu had tried a few times to talk to Mokuba, but as long as his brother was dueling, the boy's attention was only in one place. She couldn't blame him for that, but with each passing minute, she grew more and more anxious about Marik. Whenever she looked at the man standing on the field masquerading as him, she saw only the bloodshot eyes, the unnatural strain in his neck, the cackle in his voice. There was no sign of the real Marik to be found. And when she reached out in her mind, there was only silence. But she had to trust that he was fighting even if she couldn't see it.

It was all she could do.

Joey declared he didn't want either creep to win, but he still kept his attention trained on the duel, muttering things to himself here and there like he did in class when he was trying to work through the steps of a math problem. Mai watched with the same kind of rapt attention and none of the noise. Tristan watched as well but with less attention. Duke and Serenity didn't even pretend; they stood huddled together at the far edge of the platform, fingers laced, whispering a conversation.

But the pharaoh was the true surprise; Anzu couldn't remember ever seeing him distracted during a duel, whether his own or someone else's. She wanted to ask what he'd spoken to Ryou about and why the albino had left, but at the same time, if she was going to hold a conversation with him, she needed to tell him the truth about Marik, and she hadn't quite psyched herself up for that yet. If Yuugi had tried to gently discourage her, she could only imagine how much more strongly the pharaoh would react to an appeal on Marik's behalf. Maybe she should just ask to speak to Yuugi again.

As she had the thought, the elevator dinged to announce an arrival. She expected it to be Ryou returning, but it was Odion and Ishizu. Without thinking, she rushed to them.

"Are you okay to be moving?" she asked, reaching for Odion and stopping short. His forehead was dotted with sweat.

"I had to come," he said, his tone almost apologetic, like he expected a scolding.

He didn't look on the verge of collapse, just tired. Anzu couldn't fault him for not wanting to stay cooped up in a room while his brother was in trouble. So she gestured for him and Ishizu to join the group. Mai had already shifted to make room, and as Odion reached her side, she offered him a purple handkerchief. He blinked, apparently clueless, and without a word, Mai dabbed his brow on her own.

"You may stay," she said pointedly, "as long as you see to your own health."

Odion nodded obediently, accepting the handkerchief this time.

"Whoa." Joey stared with wide eyes. "A token. Lucky fella." As if they'd been friends all their lives, he slapped Odion on the shoulder. "Good to see you up and walkin', pal. You had us all worried."

Odion's eyes went wider than Joey's. "All?"

But no one contradicted the statement.

Anzu smiled—

Until she saw the soulless shell of Marik glaring down at them from the field. It was a chilling expression, cold at the center but edged with enough hot hatred to make her shiver. He pressed one hand to his right eye as if trying to pop the eye back into the hollow of his skull. Veins pulsed visibly in his neck and forehead.

Odion noticed, his own expression twisting in pain. "Master Marik."

"After this duel," Marik snarled, "I'll take the trash out."

"After this duel," Kaiba countered, "you won't be able to walk."

Marik resumed his turn, which consisted of duplicating his creepy eel. By the end of it, all three of Kaiba's monsters had silver eels latched to their heads. Even after all her time watching Yuugi and Joey, Anzu didn't know much about dueling, so she couldn't imagine what the escape would be, but she knew Kaiba had been an undefeated champion before his first match with Yuugi, so if anyone could find one, he could.

There was something about the match that bothered her. She'd been too nervous to ask the pharaoh, but now she edged closer to Ishizu and lowered her voice.

"In the duel against Yori," she said, "there was that . . . black dome."

"A shadow game," Ishizu said without missing a beat. She kept her eyes on Marik, her expression unreadable.

"Right. A shadow game." Anzu swallowed. "But here . . ."

"Perceptive, Anzu. He doesn't dare use the rod against Kaiba." For a moment, her gaze met Anzu's. "Kaiba could use it back."

Because he'd once been the rod's owner. Anzu still couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of a reincarnated Kaiba. Ancient-Egyptian-high-priest-turned-modern-billionaire-tech-genius was a hard concept.

Although no harder than the magic mind control she'd experienced with Marik. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

"So Kaiba has the upper hand," she said, feeling relief in the statement.

But Ishizu wasn't quick to agree. "Perhaps when he is whole, but he is fractured with doubt, even if he refuses to admit it. The monster controlling Marik has 3,000 years of history and personality at his disposal. He is a thief, a strategist, a con man, a soldier, a high priest. Kaiba does not know who he is."

Anzu looked up at the field. Kaiba stood firm, drew his cards with confidence, declared his actions with the same. She only knew him as a passing acquaintance, but from their first encounter, she'd always thought he was strong. Arrogant and infuriating, yes. Totally a jerk. But also strong.

"I have to hope you're wrong," she said.

At that, Ishizu gave a faint smile. "I have only ever asserted that I'm unfailingly right. This time, we can both hope."

Anzu cupped her hands and shouted, "You've got this, Kaiba!"

Kaiba paid her no attention, but Mokuba grinned. He added his own encouragement.

And then Kaiba announced the summoning of his god card.

Seto cherished the look of shock on Marik's face when he announced he'd be summoning Obelisk.

"I've locked all three of your monsters," the Egyptian said, gesturing to his eels. "None of them can be tributed. And without a tribute, there's no way to summon your god."

Your god—unlike Marik's Ra, who had special abilities that could bring him to the field without tributes. From the start of the duel, Seto had kept a close eye on Marik's graveyard, waiting for any attempt to sneak the god into it. If Ra were special summoned from the graveyard, there was only one strategy that could protect Seto from defeat.

But that was a concern for another time. Hopefully never, if he could strike hard and fast with Obelisk as he intended.

"If I can't tribute my monsters," Seto said, "I'll tribute yours."

Marik had four monsters on the field, three eels and Drillago [1600/1100], all in defense mode. It would have been best if he had only three, but better overkill than under.

After Marik had played his first eel, Seto had switched strategies. He'd hoped to draw Soul Exchange, which would allow him to sacrifice Marik's monsters in place of his own. Instead, he'd drawn Spell Sanctuary, which was close enough. It allowed him to pull a spell card of his choice from his deck (with an extra continuous effect that allowed him to play spell cards on an opponent's turn). It gave Marik the same option of pulling a spell card from his deck. He'd chosen Machine Duplication and used it to turn his one eel into three. He thought he was condemning Seto to lose 1500 lifepoints each turn, but in truth, Seto couldn't have planned it better himself.

He activated Soul Exchange, targeting Drillago and two of Marik's eels to be sacrificed.

"I think not," Marik said coldly. "You forgot that Spell Sanctuary works for me, too."

He activated his single facedown card. Seto grimaced; he'd assumed the card was a trap for an attacking monster, and since trap cards didn't work against god cards, he hadn't worried.

But the card was an equip spell called Black Pendant. It raised Marik's original Plasma Eel to 1000 attack points. Since Machine Duplication only worked on monsters of 500 attack or less, the second and third eels vanished with a puff of silver smoke.

Seto smirked. "You still have two monsters."

Marik gave a smirk of his own. His last eel detached itself from Thunder Dragon—

—and sank its pincers into Drillago.

"Hey, what gives?!" Wheeler bellowed. "That effect is for enemy monsters!"

He was right, for once, though he ruined it by turning to Yuugi and saying, ". . . isn't it?"

It was Marik who answered. "Kaiba already took control of Drillago with Soul Exchange, and my eels can attach to any face-up monster my opponent controls. So tribute the eel if you like, but Drillago's not on the market."

Seto snarled under his breath. It was a clever play, and normally he would be thrilled to see an exhibition of cleverness from an opponent. But he wasn't here for a challenge. He was here to send a message.

"Well, joke's on you, Pink-eye," Wheeler called out. "With your eels gone, Rich-boy can still make the tribute with his own monsters."

Sure he could. Marik hadn't been avoiding the tribute; he couldn't. He'd been avoiding Obelisk's effect after he was summoned.

As if he'd heard the thought, Marik spread his arms and grinned. "Such a shame Obelisk's effect requires the sacrifice of two monsters."

Had Seto been able to tribute three of Marik's monsters, or even two for that matter, he would have had enough of his own remaining to trigger the effect. Sacrificing two monsters to Obelisk allowed the god to strike everything on his opponent's field at once, including a direct attack to the opponent. Marik would have been finished, and the duel would have ended.

"Even without the effect," Seto growled, "I will crush you."

He tributed Marik's Plasma Eel along with his own Lord of Dragons and first Thunder Dragon. As he notched Obelisk the Great War God [4000/4000] into place on his Duel Disk, the sky above him split with blue lightning. The sun darkened, overshadowed by black storm clouds, and what had been a light ocean breeze became a hurricane gale, howling across the rooftop. A few shouts rose from the spectators as the clouds swirled down, sweeping across the roof's edge like a black fog. Obelisk stepped from the fog, towering at Seto's back, leering down at Marik in the same manner.

Seto breathed the sparks in the air, and they lit a fire in his blood. He raised an arm to order the first avenging attack.

But before he could speak, something gold flashed from across the field, and the world around him disappeared.

He was in his home library—the polished oak desk, the built-in bookcases stretching to the ceiling, the red Persian rug beneath his boots—every inch recognizable. It was just like the crazy vision when he'd wrestled Yori; he struggled to control his breathing. His Duel Disk and cards were gone. His forehead itched.

He closed his eyes, breathed a deep count to ten.

When he opened his eyes, the library melted away. But it didn't reveal a dueling field.

Instead, he stood in an open, stone-paved courtyard. Eight-foot retaining walls surrounded the bright open space, and a rectangular pool marked the center. When he breathed in, the hot air scorched his throat.

This is a hologram. He willed himself to see evidence of the assertion, but any evidence pointed to the contrary. Even though he willed himself not to, Seto reached out to touch a plant at the pool's edge. The green fronds slid through his fingers, rough and spiny and very real. He curled his fingers into a fist. Clenched his jaw.

This is a hologram. It couldn't be anything else. But where was Marik?

He tried closing his eyes again, breathing the same count. He remained in the courtyard.

The light sound of footsteps made him turn. Two men entered the courtyard, one slightly ahead of the other. The one in the lead wore a loose robe, his beard and moustache white with age. When he turned his head, the overhead sunlight glinted off his left eye, which wasn't a real eye at all.

Seto's stomach twisted. It was Pegasus's eye. But it certainly wasn't Pegasus sporting it.

"This is the private rest area for priests," the man said, gesturing at the courtyard as if he didn't see Seto standing in the middle of it. "You may come here whenever needed to rest and rejuvenate."

He stepped aside, revealing his companion.

Seto's heart stopped.

He was the other man.

It was like looking in a mirror, except his reflection was decked out in gold jewelry over dyed blue linen. He'd thought Marik's gaudy jewelry was bad; the Seto-lookalike had five times as much of it—gold armbands, waistband, collar, cuffs, headpiece. There was even a glint of gold at his ankles below the edge of his robe.

But the worst part was by far the gold rod in his hand. Marik's rod.

"I need no rest," the imposter drawled in Seto's voice. He used the rod to point to the horizon. "That is the obelisk of Wadjet?"

Seto turned. Beyond the courtyard, a red-granite obelisk pierced the sky, marked on its visible side by hieroglyphs. Behind it, a pair of looming statues marked the entrance to a temple.

There was also a pyramid on the horizon, far distant but looming just as much.

Seto swallowed.

"Yes," the older man said, "and the temple of tablets. Every sealed ka lies within it. In time, you will familiarize yourself with the tablets and learn to summon beasts on command."

The imposter smirked. "Why wait? With your leave, I'll begin my studies at once."

The older man's right eye widened, and then he smiled. "I see a bright future in store for you, Seth."

"Priest Seth now," the imposter said coolly.

The man's smile only widened.

Seto felt his stomach flip like he'd missed a stair. The bright sunlight disappeared into black storm clouds, and the white courtyard turned to cold gray steel. He stumbled forward a step, blinking to clear the spots from his eyes. He almost dropped his cards, forgetting he even held them. Across the field, Marik hissed to himself like a snake, slapping the orb of the rod into his palm. The glowing eye on his forehead flickered.

"Marik!" someone shouted. "Master Marik!"

"Hoping to unseat me, priest?" Marik snarled, knuckles white around the rod. "I suppose I can't fault you; underhanded tactics are just our style."

Seto shook his head slowly. He glanced over his shoulder. The massive trunk of Obelisk's leg rose behind him, the god's piercing red eyes visible up in the clouds as he glared down, waiting for a command.

Had it been an illusion? The man with Pegasus's eye—Seto had seen him once before, in the images cast during Yori's duel against Marik. Whatever trick Marik had pulled then, he was pulling it again.

"Your mind games won't work on me," Seto ground out.

Marik cackled at that. "If there were any mind games, priest, they were all your doing. Strangely, I find myself not in the mood to play."

He shoved the rod through his belt once more. The golden eye adorning its center seemed to stare directly through Seto's soul.

Seto swallowed once more, but his dry throat still felt the scorching Egyptian air.

"Obelisk," he ordered, with all the false confidence he willed himself to adopt, "attack."

Note: Thank you to everyone who voted on the poll! A CH-themed oneshot was the winner, so I'll be posting that right after this chapter goes live. Thank you so much for loving my story and supporting me all this time. You guys are amazing. T_T