Chapter Seventeen

Heroes' Rescue pt. 1

"You're nothing but another overly confident tyrant to me, Ahmose!" Yami Yugi shouted, jabbing his finger at his opponent; his ancient advisor housed in the stolen body of a young boy. He blew a lock of sagging wet hair away from his eyes. "I will free Deirdre from the prison you've caged him in, and then I'll make you pay for these transgressions!"

Ahmose snickered and held up his hand, waving it down as if dismissing his foe as nothing but a bothersome fly. Though the two were several meters away from each other, Yugi's extended finger was forced back down to his side; the unseen influence exerted upon him left him little choice. Yugi was not intimidated by Ahmose's showboating telekinesis and snapped his hand to his deck, drawing a new card and placing it into his hand. "You'll take me seriously soon enough."

"I doubt it, pharaoh." Ahmose said as lackadaisical as ever and raised his head to the sky, smiling as the sharp rain speared down on him, his foe, and their maniacal spectator, Marik. "But you've surprised me once before with something much more…extreme, so I wouldn't expect anything less than the most unexpected thing possible from you."

Yugi looked over his hand and then on the field to review his current standing: One monster, the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and two face down cards. He'd need something stronger than what he currently had on the field to defeat Ahmose's powerful Blaze Barrier trap card. "Or will I?" He said thoughtfully and grinned slightly. "Still, it is the chance for an early lead and I'll make sure his prediction of 'four turns' is washed away, along with any chance he has of defeating me."

"I sacrifice my Celtic Guardian and summon Dark Magician Girl to the field!" Yugi thumbed away his sharp-eyed swordsman and slapped down his new monster, a sparsely glad sorceress who swirled to the field from a portal or rising pixels and smiled warmly to Ahmose's diminutive Raging Flame Sprite. The pharaoh's monster blew a kiss and waved alluringly, causing the Sprite to blush before clearing its throat and regaining its composure. 2000/1700

Ahmose, though knowing that this monster was capable of bypassing the barrier and destroying his monster, didn't seem worried.

"Dark Magician Girl, attack and destroy the Flame Sprite!" With a gleeful hoot and a spin of her staff, thrust forward her weapon and blasted the little beast with a colorless ray of energy that lifted the creature off its feet and without even a howl to signal its end, was obliterated. Ahmose's life points plummeted from 4000 to 2100.

"Good pharaoh, but I'm not intimidated."

"Oh, but you should be, Ahmose! I activate the trap card Lingering Spirit Strike!" The Dark Magician Girl pirouetted back to Yugi's side of the field and held out her arms, issuing from her body the incorporeal image of Yugi's fallen Celtic Guardian. He raised his sword high and slashed again at Ahmose, who howled and fell back on his rear, snarling at Yugi as he rose up on his knees. In disbelief he looked at his life point meter, which was now at a startlingly low 700.

From the audience booth below the holographic stadium, Marik burst into hysterics, banging his fist against the rafters and even wiping a tear from his eye, which was followed by a hazy doppelganger that distended from his face; Marik's gruesome true self barely being kept contained within. "Oh Ahmose, this is pathetic! I expected more from you, something that would actually make it seem like you deserved that Millennium Item adorning your ungrateful hand! You're nothing except a bag of hot air!"

Ahmose gritted his teeth and glared over the platform into Marik's eyes. Marik seized up like a board and his skin grew pale and flaky. He rocked back and was struck from the side by a strong gust of wind, sending him toppling motionless to the ground with a splash. Even his hair remained straight and pointed, the rain running off his impermeable body, his eyes staring vacantly at the metal actuators beneath the dueling arena.

Yugi grinned and looked back at his rival with indifference. "I can't say I approve of your methods but I certainly must congratulate your accomplishment. I've often wondered how to silence Marik and, well, now I know." He said with a chuckle, gesturing down at his statue-like adversary.

"Be quiet!" Ahmose shouted, raising back to his feet and clenching his fists angrily. "You're not going to make a fool of me any longer, pharaoh! You did that more than enough all those years ago!" Ahmose's eyes grew so intense and bloodthirsty and the true Yugi, who was watching all of Yami's actions through his magically aged gaze, shivered, and his emotion visibly transferred to the pharaoh. "I've sat in darkness and silence in this accursed paperweight for far too long, destroying myself for being made a fool of by you, by following you and worshipping you like you were a god!" The Millennium Balance transformed back into its true state and Ahmose began to ring his hands around the base of it, imaging the pharaoh's neck was in his iron grasp.

"You can bear a grudge with me all you'd like Ahmose, but that doesn't mean anything to me. I don't remember any of my past, certainly not some indignity I committed against one specific person." He made a gesture that signaled for his opponent to draw his next card, and begrudgingly he directed his hand to his deck after the second it took to remake his Balance into a golden band, but stopped short. "Is something wrong, Ahmose? All of a sudden you're not in the mood to continue this Shadow Game?"

"No…" Ahmose drawled and ejected his deck. Yugi's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest but his opponent stopped him short with a simple raised palm. "Silence yourself, pharaoh. I'm making the rules now and I choose to alter the conditions of his duel by switching out my deck." He slipped Deirdre's deck into the side pocket of the bronze bomber jacket he wore and produced another, slightly thicker one. "I was overconfident, I see that now, but honor and dignity mean nothing too me at this point. I've waiting so long for my revenge that the means I use to accomplish it are inconsequential. I will beat you," he snarled and made a stationary lunge, causing the pharaoh to inch back a step. "I will annihilate you! And I'll do it under my own terms! Nothing but this feeble child's image will remind you of him now!" Ahmose folded his hand and shoved it into Deirdre's pocket as well. The only card that was still in play was Blaze Barrier, and that didn't seem to be as effective as it was originally intended to be. It even looked weak, visibly nothing but a linear molten line which let out small puffs of smoke whenever a drop of rain struck it. He then drew a fresh five-card hand and a sixth for his starting phase and snickered, peering over the top of them so only his vacant eyes were visible. "You are welcome to object again, pharaoh, but I doubt I'll listen."

"I have no further objections, Ahmose." Yugi replied and crossed his arms in disinterest. "You obviously don't care about the rules and regulations, no surprise there, so I'll just beat you like I planned too from the start and then your defeat will be that much more humiliating."

"I'm far from intimidated, pharaoh! I place one card on the field and summon Shadowknight Archfiend in attack mode!"

A black arcane disk appeared on the field, the border of it being looped by glowing runes, and from it a pair of huge bat-like wings emerged, followed by a hideous monster with long dark purple hair, skeletal features and two devilish weapons on each hand: A thick, wickedly sharp sword and a four-clawed gauntlet. The beast landed with a thud and rose to its full height, which towered over Yugi's Dark Magician Girl. 2000/1600

"And because I cannot afford by monster's costly price, I activate Pandemonium!" The side slot on Ahmose's duel disk flipped open and he slipped a card into it. Sparking like a multicolored wildfire, the arena was bathed in a misty haze that kept Ahmose's life points untouched.

"Now my great beast! Give your life for me by attacking Yugi's monster with your Satan Sword Slam!" A single beat of its wings propelled the beast into the air and another sent it soaring towards Yugi's Dark Magician Girl, its dual weapons at the ready. The sorceress didn't seem afraid and raised up her staff, ready to take him out as well. Yugi, however, had a different plan in mind.

"Activate Kishido Spirit!"

Ahmose screamed in frustration and pulled his hair as a cloud in the shape of a armored man appeared and withstood the Shadowknight's blow. After one or two additional slashes of rage from Ahmose's monster, who was as aggravated and vengeful as he, gave up with a huff and returned to its proper side of the playing field.

The pharaoh laughed and began to fuss with the cards in his hand, an uncaring gesture that further helped to antagonize his opponent. "If you didn't know, Kishido Spirit prevents my monsters from being destroyed by my opponent's monsters as long as they both have equal attack scores. Sorry Ahmose, but you've been shot down again." Yugi grinned and held out his arm, flipping down his thumb as the old emperor's of Greece did when they were displeased with a gladiator's performance.

"H-how did you…?" He shook his head and thrust a additional card into the card reader. "Come at me, pharaoh!" He hissed and beat his fists against his chest like an ape, sending a tidal wave of absorbed water spraying to the ground. "I'm ready!"

"I sincerely doubt that, Ahmose. Look at you; you're so furious you can't think rationally. If you keep acting like this I'll have you beaten by my next turn." Yugi drew another card and smiled. "And as it stands right now I think I can accomplish just that. I set this down," Yugi said as confident as ever, "and play Monster Reborn, bringing my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian back from the graveyard!" Again, Yugi's stalwart swordsman appeared and took up a confident stance against the much stronger Shadowknight Archfiend. "And then I sacrifice both my Celtic Guardian and my Dark Magician Girl to summon the Dark Magician of Chaos in attack mode!"

The ancient viziers rage was fueled further as he watched Yugi's stoic sorcerer jump onto the field from a rippling portal above their heads, landing with a sturdy pose on one knee, his fist bracing against the impact and his other hand lightly holding his magically infused baton. The tremendously powerful creature sighed deeply and looked up, a simple gesture that stunned Ahmose's Archfiend and causing it to step back from its awesome might. With a small crook of his mouth and a wink, the magician rose to his feet and crossed his staff over his chest. 2800/2600

"Ready?" Yugi said mockingly. "This is the end of the line, Ahmose!"

Ahmose didn't respond, just stood his ground so visibly infuriated that he couldn't even speak.

"Dark Magician of Chaos! Mystic Scepter Blast!"

"NO! Wait Yami!" A voice called from within the pharaoh. Yami stopped the attack and looked to the corner of his vision, as if his younger counterpart was right beside him. "Yugi? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, something is wrong! We can't beat Ahmose just yet. Deirdre is still trapped within the Millennium Balance. If he's beaten he might retreat back into the item and from there we'll never be able to reach either him or Deirdre." The two materialized in a dark and spacious room, the pharaoh was facing away from his young protégé simply staring out into the infinite expanse before him. "But right now he isn't even focused on Deirdre, his mind is so filled with hatred and anger that Deirdre might be easily rescued if I can sneak into his mind!"

The pharaoh turned around and looked at Yugi with surprise on his face. "You? Alone? Yugi, that is senselessly dangerous. Inside of Ahmose's mind he has all the power. He could destroy you with but a thought and I couldn't do a thing to protect you. It is, fortunately, not a risk I am willing to take."

"But Yami I am." He said touching his chest, giving Yami the wide-eyed look of innocence that proved to him just how powerful and yet still so young his host was. "I won't let Deirdre just be left to rot inside of that nut job's head." He stepped closer to the pharaoh and took his hands in his, smiling up at the wiser man with a incredible amount of courage and self-confidence that he couldn't help but smile back, as always surprised with what the boy was capable of. "If you just keep him busy and don't deal the final blow until I get back I can coax Deirdre out of there and give him enough strength to take back his body."

"And what if you can't? Stalling is not something I can do forever. Eventually Ahmose will get suspicious or he'll get the upper hand. Either way it might prove disastrous."

Yugi sighed and crossed his arms, mocking the pharaoh's usual disposition. "Geez Yami, have some faith."

Yami threw back his head and laughed, rubbing Yugi's hair lovingly. "I have all the faith in the world that you would be successful, my friend." The two stared into each others eyes for several long moments, analyzing the other, searching for any gap in the other that would help to change either's mind. Finally, the pharaoh gave in. "All right Yugi. I'll make the transfer in a moment, so get ready. It'll be a rough trip."

Yugi nodded and the two returned to the duel; though they had mentally been away several minutes talking, no actual time had passed by. "Dark Magician, stop your attack! I want to prolong this experience!" Yami stared holes into his opponent; Rain assaulted them both mercilessly, lightning crashed overhead, the occasional powerful gust of wind threatened to send one tumbling off the edge of the blimp, and most importantly the tension between the two completed a emotional setting usually only seen in Hollywood. "All right," Yami said enthusiastically and plucked another card from his hand, slipping it into one of the available magic and trap slots on his Disk. "I play this card and then switch my Dark Magician of Chaos into defense mode." He grinned and waved a hand at Ahmose, dismissing anything he did as pointless. "You're move."

"What is this, pharaoh?" Deirdre's tormentor said with a raised eyebrow. "Trying to mock me? Trying to provoke me by drawing out this battle and insulting me with your little tricks and games?" He seethed, his hand clenching the cards in his hand, crinkling the paper-like material. "You think I'm a fool, pharaoh? You think you an just ridicule me and win this duel not only effortlessly but after treating me like a child? How dare you! How dare you make me look like an idiot!"

"I'm not making you look like anything, Ahmose. You're doing that just fine all by yourself."

"SHUT UP! You write me off to early, pharaoh! I may be behind now but I can and will come back and then you'll be kicking yourself for not finishing me when you had the chance!"

Yami nodded and grabbed the chain connecting his Millennium Puzzle around his neck and held it out away from his chest. "Well I don't want you too feel like I have a unfair advantage, Ahmose. In fact I'll even help you to win. Here." The pharaoh lowered his head and pulled the item off his neck, gathering up the chain in his hand, holding it up so Ahmose could clearly see it. "You aren't using your Millennium Balance, at least not against me—" Yami grinned and peered briefly down at the still immobile Marik, "—so I won't either. Just to show my good sportsmanship, of course." With a grin he gathered all the length of chain and the golden pyramid in his right hand and hurled it toward the center of the field. In mid-air, when the ornate eye gyrated to face Yami (and away from his foe's weary gaze), the object shimmered like a sun and transported Yugi into the realm within Ahmose's warped mind via a invisible beam that not even the pharaoh could see. He just hoped the trip went as planned. Sending a living spirit into someone's else wasn't often attempted and he wasn't entirely sure how successful it would be.

"I hope Yugi made it there safely," he thought somberly and tried his hardest to focus on the duel.

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With a yelp and a hard crash, Yugi fell face first onto the cobblestone pathway that made up the massive indoor edifice within the Millennium Balance. His mouth dropped open as he stared straight up at the endlessly ascending levels connected by a single spiraling stairway that climbed upward and had no visible end. It wasn't like the impossibly challenging enigma that the pharaoh's mind was, this was very straightforward and the concept was simple. But Yugi was stunned, or some reason he believed this would be a simple trip in and out with Deirdre in tow but considering just how sadistic the ancient spirit was, Deirdre was probably either on the first floor, first door, or on the highest level at the furthest door. Either way, it was viciously intelligent; Almost like Ahmose he had anticipated an assault on his mind.

Each floor was rectangular and a dozen or more doors lined the walls no more than a foot or two apart from the next. The only place where the pattern of doors broke was when the staircase that led up to the next floor began, and then the arrangement started all over again.

Yugi sighed and brushed back his hair as he rose to his feet. "I hope there is a directory around here somewhere."

"A directory? What do you think this is, a shopping mall?" A hoarse, but young-sounding voice said directly behind Yugi. Haunted sounds of grinding earth accompanied it.

He stiffened up and started to breathe harder. He turned around slowly and peered over his shoulder, and was quite surprised by what he saw but certainly no longer afraid. It was one of Deirdre's favorite cards in a much more lively and talkative form. It was the Flame Champion, his large kite-shaped shield leaning against the wall and his sword, blade down, was being spun with quick snaps of his wrist drilling a shallow hole in the stone beneath his armor-glad feet. "I may not be as forward as a 'directory' but I might be as helpful. You're here to rescue my friend, correct?"

Yugi tilted his head to the side not unlike a puppy does when they see something odd for the first time. But it certainly wasn't a new experience as he had been face-to-face with his favorite monster, the Dark Magician, once before with the assistance of Shadi. And at this point, it seemed like he could use whatever help he could get. "Uhh…y-yeah…do you know where he is?"

"Of course I do!" He said happily, the tarnished gilded joints clanking together as he gestured wildly. "But I cannot get in there. That large man with the serpent tattoo sealed the mouth of the pit with some kind of a invisible layer." The Flame Champion sighed sorrowfully, letting his arms droop to his sides. "You know, I don't blame Deirdre." He said with a soul-searching smile, then when he saw the expression of confusion on Yugi's face he clarified. "For losing me in that duel, I mean. When that insane white-haired man took me. I do not blame him. I know he still appreciates me, that I'm still his favorite card. But I really haven't been able to talk to him lately now that he's had this other person in his head, whispering all those words…"

Yugi remembered that duel as well and looked at the monster with pity, feeling sorry that he was so upset about the loss of his friend. "Umm…Mr. Flame Champion?"

"Call me 'Lancelot'. Deirdre does."

Yugi grinned and nodded. 'Okay, Lancelot. Maybe I can help you get Deirdre out of here. Can you lead me to him without us getting caught by the man with the serpent tattoo?"

Lancelot nodded with a smile that seemed like he finally had a hope of regaining his friend. He hefted up his sword and shield, jabbing the blade of his weapon in the direction of the staircase with a cry of battle. "C'mon, my short friend! Let us go save Deirdre!"

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Skylar's search led her on a late night hike throughout the entire length and breadth of the city, each time she passed by a person who didn't look like a thief, a murderer, or a rapist she asked them where the Battle City finals were being held. After all, a bloodied and tired girl was the worst kind to lie too and even the most unscrupulous of thugs she asked begrudgingly told her what they knew. Word on the street was the semi-finals were being held on a airship on its way to some undisclosed location on a island far from the shores of Domino.

Over an hour past before Skylar, now barely able to stand, came to the border of the city atop a grassy hill that spanned out into the dark empty highway that led to any number of other cities, but none within walking distance. Skylar climbed to the top of the hill and sat down against the back of the city limits billboard. She closed her eyes and was plenty ready to just give up on her search and fall asleep right there.

"Why do I care?" She asked herself again, for what had to have been the millionth time sense she began her trek. Internally, she could not explain it. It seemed more than just simple friendship. Deirdre was a good friend but he wasn't that damn good to warrant such a commitment from her. She hated to admit it for it made her feel like a bad person but no one else she knew from her shallow pool of buddies was so exceptional that could make her try this hard. In fact, the friends she did have were the popular cheerleaders and the valley girls who only major concerns in life were what color mascara to wear on Monday with a blouse that was meant for Tuesday. None of them could handle the kind of physical and mental abuse Skylar had endured in the last few days; before that, she wouldn't have believed she could have either.

She looked up at the sky, soaking in the cool drizzle that she had mostly ignored for the last couple of hours patter down on her face. At least she could be grateful for this as the rain had washed off most of the blood a while ago and made her appear human and even pretty darn clean at passing glance. And the kicker? She was wearing designer pants right now. That made her smile, for it reminded her that the situation was not so dire that she couldn't allow in some humor.

Her eyes closed again and she was nearly asleep when she felt the rain stop and she opened her eyes to see why her luck had changed so suddenly. However, the rain hadn't stopped. Someone was standing over her with an umbrella. "Thought you might find more use for this thing than I could."

Skylar looked at the young man with surprise and was silent for a moment until she could place the face to the name she was struggling to recall. "Espa, right? Espa Roba?"

The silver-haired boy grinned and nodded. "I see my reputation precedes me. It is good to see you again too, miss. Though you must excuse me, we were never properly introduced so your name escapes me."

She held out her hand a bit uncaringly and they shook. "Lucky."

The expression on his face told her that he wasn't sure if she was being serious or not. He smoothed a lock of wayward hair that had been plastered over his left eye back to its proper place on his head. "You must be. It looks like you've had a good time tonight; you look terrible, just so you know." He gestured to the spot beside her and when he got the O.K. he took a seat on the drenched grass. "I wish I could see that sort of excitement. The most exciting thing I see nowadays is when one of my brothers brings home a bad grade."

"Well if we are going to compare sob stories I think you have it worse. I'm just miserable now," she said keeping her eyes away from meeting his. "You've had it tough all your life what with taking care of your whole family by yourself and all. So don't worry about me Espa, I'll be all right."

He nodded in understanding. "You're right, I have had it pretty hard and for a long time but one of the things I've come to learn is that just because I have to struggle doesn't mean I should hold a grudge against others who don't. I can manage just fine and I'll continue to do so. But if I just walked by you knowing I could help but didn't, would me taking care of my brothers by myself make me any less of a bad, inconsiderate person?"

Skylar looked up at him rather taken aback by his words. "So, what you're saying is that just because you don't think it is fair that you have to work harder doesn't mean it would be any less fair to ignore another in need? Wow, that's…mature."

"I try." He grinned and looked up at the sky, his previous smile diminishing slightly. "I wish I could have gotten on that blimp."

She nodded and looked up as well, and after a moment saw a distant twinkle in the night sky, which could have been any number of things, but she firmly wanted to believe that it was the spotlights from the KCTV blimp. And even better, Deirdre trying to let her see that he was all right. "I hope he's okay."

"Why wouldn't he be?" Espa said while tucking in his leg, which had been out of the shield that the umbrella provided against the storm. "He's in the best of hands, after all. I can't say I know any of them very well but I do know that they would do anything in their power to help a person in need. You're boyfriend isn't the exception."

Skylar looked at him with newly found contempt and weakly slugged his thigh. Still, it was enough to cause him to cringe and rub it until the sensation went away. "He isn't my boyfriend. He's a boy and he's a friend but he's not my boyfriend."

"Yeah, sure Lucky. Regardless, don't worry too much about it, and stop beating yourself up over it. He'll be back down here and with you before you know it."

She sighed and nodded, then looked at him with her usual expression of caring and devotion that had recently been overshadowed with anger and misplaced determination. "Thank you, Espa. I will wait. But in the meantime," she arched her back in order to get into her back pants pocket and produced her plastic-wrapped deck. "Wanna duel?"

Espa smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, but I didn't bring my duel disk."

"Well neither did I silly, but you know this game was table-top long before Kaiba made any of those fancy-schmancy inventions. Still remember how?"

"Of course." He fished his own deck out of his jacket and they sat down across from each other, under the partial protection of the umbrella and began to duel.

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"I'm taking control of this battle, pharaoh! Then your power, your livelihood, even your friends, will bow before me as I once did for you! I'll own them all!"

Yami bit his lip, suddenly having a difficult time keeping his bluff in check; if there was one thing that got his blood boiling it was when someone threatened his friends. However, he knew that would never happen and once Yugi returned from his excursion into Ahmose's mind and release Deirdre he'd likely be very distracted with his host and easily defeated thereafter. In the meantime, he could only stall and set up defense. It was currently Ahmose's turn.

Forgoing any further taunting, Ahmose drew a card and slipped two additional into his card slots, then placed a monster down with a muted splash of water. "I switch Shadowknight Archfiend into defense mode and summon Desrook Archfiend to the field in defense mode." Ahmose tried not to show it but he knew the pharaoh could sense his uncertainly, even as his second monster materialized into view; a towering skull with fiery red eyes supported atop of randomly generating crab-like appendages. 1100/1800

"Growing desperate, I see." Yami taunted, then a unnerving tug stabbed in his chest which directed his view to the Millennium Puzzle discarded in the center of the dueling field, the eye adorning the front of the item was pulsing faintly.

Ahmose saw it as well and with a bit of disinterest looked at the ancient riddle, then something caught his eye moving behind the pharaoh and his attitude brightened considerably. It was Téa, and she was attempting to hide from both of them behind the narrow lip of the entryway. Ahmose smiled and looked back up at Yami who was still unsure what that sensation had been. It was the feeling he got when one of his friends was about to come into some type of danger but without seeing the person he couldn't put a finger on it. Though no longer visible on his person, he raised up a hand to his deck and immediately recognized what it was that was jabbing him: The everlasting symbol of friendship that Téa marked on his, Joey's and Tristian's hands with a permanent marker. One of them was nearby.

"Well now," Ahmose said with a sly grin. "Perhaps my odds are improving. Pharaoh, remember earlier in this duel when I predicted I'd defeat you in four turns?"

Yami nodded. "Obviously you were mistaken. Seems like you should have spent the money you wasted in fortune tellers school and invested it."

Ahmose laughed. "Oh pharaoh, you slay me! As always you have a witty retort and guess what? This time I have one as well! In four turns I might not be able to defeat you but you will seriously consider forfeiting."

"I will?" Yami said with a scoff. "Is your headband on too tight, Deirdre?"

His sneer grew and he switched his cards to his other hand, slipped a thumb up under Deirdre's white headband and flipped it off. He held it straight out at his side and the wind lifted up and sent it soaring off the edge of the ship. "Four turns pharaoh, or else." He pointed past Yami towards where Téa was hiding. She gasped and stood up, causing a look of utter incredulity from the pharaoh.

"Four turns! If I don't beat you or you do not surrender I will kill her!" He laughed and held out his arms towards the sky, causing the thunder and lightning to increase dramatically all centralized above her, who also found her feet were completely immobile.

Téa hunched down and tried to physically uproot her feet from her tennis shoes but found those as securely fastened as her soles were to the ground. "Yugi help! I can't move!"

Yami flipped around and attempted to run to her aid but found his feet were just as motionless beneath him, and despite working his own Millennium magic, as evident from the item vibrating and glowing though several feet out of his reach. "Ahmose, please stop this! Téa's life isn't worth fulfilling this grudge you have against me!"

"Oh, I think the life of one little mortal girl will be overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Now," Ahmose said with a renewed sense of confidence in the duel. "I activate the magic card Reckless Rush, which forces your Dark Magician of Chaos to initiate an attack against me!"

Against his better judgment, Yami's Dark Magician grunted and creaked like a poorly oiled machine while lifting up his staff and shouting out of frustration while slamming it down on the ground, creating a huge black ball of crackling energy that streaked towards the Desrook Archfiend. "And now I activate the trap card Shadow Spell!" A wall of midnight black chains leaped up from the ground, ripping through the attack and coiling around the Dark Magician of Chaos in a binding wrap of metal that covered him head-to-toe. "Very nice. So, I choose to end my turn." He snapped his fingers at Téa, who started to struggle a bit more than before. "Three more turns my dear, and you'll be at the business end of a lightning bolt!"

Yami wasn't at all paying attention to the duel, though he drew a card and looked at it in his hand, though he couldn't concentrate enough to form a viable strategy with such a short amount of time remaining before one of his best friends was fatally electrocuted. Desperate, he shifted his method of approach. "Deirdre! I know you are in there and I pray you can hear me! Stop this madman! Don't let him continue this Shadow Game any longer!"

Ahmose shook his head and sighed with disappointment. "Oh pharaoh, how sad. I can't believe you would reduce yourself to weak-willed begging. Why not just save yourself some measure of dignity and give up? I won't think any less of you and though you'll be permanently confined to your Millennium Puzzle, at least your companions will all be safe." He leaned to the right and shouted past him to Téa. "And I know you'd appreciate not dying, right?" Laughing harder than ever completely enthralled with himself, Ahmose felt invincible. "Oh my poor pharaoh! You've finally met your match, so many years after when it actually mattered. And you know the best part?" He asked enthusiastically. Yami, however, only scowled and said nothing. "I've been inactive in dueling for five thousand years."

"If you are truly pleased with yourself for stooping so low then I fear you truly are a lost cause, Ahmose."

"I could have told you that." He reached both hands up to the collar of his jacket and adjusted it with a sharp pull forward, ringing out much of the water that had absorbed into the collar lining. "Well, time to end this comedy of errors. You're finished pharaoh." He held up four fingers and then slowly lowered one. "In three."

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Skylar drew a card and smiled. "And now I play Polymerization! Fusing my Sangan and my Witch of the Black Forest—"

Espa's hand hovered over a trap card he had face down but decided against activating it. This was the fourth duel in a row he had won but each time he received a severe punch from his opponent, and this would be game breaking. He decided to just let her win and save himself some pain.

"—Into Sanwitch! Attack his…hey, what is that?"

"What is what?" Espa asked as his hand was prepared to remove his monster from the field. Skylar stood up and ran out of the shelter towards the darkened field. Espa watched her run, snickered quietly to himself and drew an additional card, then set down his hand and ran after her.

Skylar had stopped at the base of a tall tree and stared up at an object which was dangling precariously from a branch. She waved him over and asked for a boost, which he gladly provided. She balanced on his hands and snatched the strip of white fabric, then hopped down and landed with cheerleader's grace next to her companion. She gasped at the realization of what it was and smoothed her hand across its tarnished and dirty surface. "It's Deirdre's...bandanna."

Skylar shuttered with a renewed sensation of worry and looked up into the sky, praying that he was all right. This time, however, she didn't see that familiar twinkle.