God's Thief

One week after the end of the Memory RPG

"Shizuka's doing well," Jonouchi remarked, "She should be coming to Domino in about a month or so to visit."

Yugi and Anzu smiled politely, as did Honda.

Jonouchi frowned, "What're you smiling about, Honda?"

The taller boy laughed, "Nothing, just that it'll be good to see Shizuka again."

Jonouchi gave him a glare and then laughed as well, "Yeah, it will. I haven't seen her since Battle City ended."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you, Jou," said Bakura.

Ryou Bakura's white hair glinted in the sunlight and he looked so beatific that Yugi could almost forget how Dark Bakura had dueled him and Yami Yugi on the Battleship.

Yugi and his friends were enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun, relaxing after what had been the final hurdle for the other Yugi.

No, thought Yugi, your name is Atem.

Yes, said Yami, his spirit standing under a nearby tree, invisible to all but Yugi.

The ancient spirit was gazing off into the distance, his mind focused on the letter that had arrived earlier in the week. The package had contained a short letter from Ishizu that congratulated Yugi for unlocking the Pharaoh's memories and a picture of a circular lithograph. Yugi had never seen it before, but Yami had told him about it, having seen it in the Memory World.

You're still thinking about it, aren't you, said Yugi, his thoughts heard only by Yami.

The immaterial spirit turned to face his other half, yes, aibou.

We'll go to Egypt soon, Yugi said.

Yami shook his head; I can't finish my task without the final two items.

Yugi understood his other half's despondence. The strange man that brought the Millennium Key and Scales to the museum, Bobasa, had vanished. The corpulent guardian had used the Key to take Yugi and his friends into the Memory World but when they had awakened in the RPG Room with Dark Bakura, Bobasa and his two items had been nowhere in sight.

Ishizu doesn't know where they are?

No, Yami replied, and I have a bad feeling about it. After all of you entered my memories, the Spirit of the Ring brought my spirit to the RPG Table and placed the four of you in the sarcophagi. But what happened to Bobasa?

Maybe he escaped? Yugi offered.

It's more likely that Bakura defeated him and took the Scales and Key, said Yami.

But that doesn't make any sense, Yugi argued, if he had them, why didn't he use them against you?

Yami's face grew more troubled, I don't know, but I don't think it's a good thing.

A cold breeze blew across the park and Yugi shivered slightly. The gust swept across the field and the Frisbee Jonouchi and Honda had been throwing was sent flying away.

"Hey!" Jonouchi shouted, "What's going on?"

Anzu leapt from the tree she'd been sitting in and landed gracefully on the grass.

"Yugi?" she asked, her bright blue eyes shining with concern, "What's going on?"

Yugi shook his head, "I don't know."

Mou hitor no boku, he asked.

But Yami wasn't looking at him. The former king's gaze was focused on the soccer field, where a single dark figure stood.

Yugi shivered again, he wasn't nearly as adept at sensing mystic properties as Yami, but even he could feel the darkness in the stranger's aura.

"Hey you!" he shouted and began to run, racing towards the dark man.

Anzu followed, hot on his heels, and Ryou tossed his paintbrush down and raced after them.

Ever since he'd met his other half, Yugi had been growing stronger and he covered the distance to the field swiftly. Standing before the stranger, he levelled a finger at him.

"Who are you?"

The man was tall, but stout and the black robes that covered his entire body could not hide his immense girth.

"Bobasa?" Yugi shouted in recognition.

Anzu and Ryou stood by Yugi's side, having caught up with him and across the way; Jonouchi and Honda were running over to their friends.

The stranger pulled back the cowl of his heavy cloak and Yugi was staring at the face of the huge man that had held the Millennium Key and Scales.

"No way," Anzu gasped and Jonouchi and Honda grinned.

"Hey, Bobasa!" Jonouchi yelled, "Good to see you again."

He walked up to the big man with a friendly wave and the giant raised a ham-sized fist and punched Jonouchi square in the jaw.

Anzu screamed

Honda swore angrily

Ryou's eyes widened in shock

Yugi ran over to his fallen friend brushed his hand over his best friend's face. Bobasa had knocked Jonouchi out cold.

Yugi felt a wave of fury rush through him and felt Yami's presence flow into his body.

Yami Yugi rose to his feet and glared at Bobasa, his amethyst eyes burning with rage.

"What have you done, Bobasa?"

The big man's eyes were oddly blank, missing the warmth and merriness that they had come to associate with Bobasa.

"Hello again, King-sama," he said in a cruel, bitter voice.

Yami felt a cold shiver go down his spine, "It's you!"

"What's him?" Anzu asked from her position of over Jonouchi's unconscious form.

"Yeah!" asked Honda, "What the hell are you doing, Bobasa?"

"That's not Bobasa," said Ryou, his voice cold and terse.

"Well, well, yadonoushi, I'm flattered you recognize me, even in this fat slob's body."

Yami swore in Ancient Egyptian, "This is impossible. You are dead. By the rules of the Dark RPG, Zorc and everything made from his power is vanquished forever!"

Not-Bobasa chuckled darkly, "Once again, King-sama, you are wrong."

He reached into his robes and pulled out a golden scale emblazoned with the Eye of Wdjat.

Holding the Millennium Scales in his right hand, he laughed, "You need this to complete your mission, Pharaoh. So I challenge you to a duel!"

Yami frowned and then activated his Duel Disk, "Very well. I already defeated Zorc, and you are nothing but a pale remnant of his power."

The possessed Bobasa laughed again, "I am more than enough to defeat you, foolish Pharaoh."

"Duel!"

Y: 4000 B: 4000

Bobasa drew five cards and then slid a sixth one off his deck. Looking at them for a few moments, he grinned and placed on his disk.

"I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier in attack position!" (ATK 1500)

A dark-skinned man dressed in black robes appeared. He held a huge spear in his hands and pointed it at Yami threateningly.

"And then I shall place one card face-down."

A single set card appeared.

Yami smirked and snapped a card off his disk.

"I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior," he shouted.

A monster made of yellow orbs and shining magnets appeared. (ATK 1700)

"And now my Magnet Warrior, attack!"

Sparking orbs of electricity gathered in the Magnet Warrior's hands and then they flew across the field, slamming into the Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier.

Bobasa didn't even flinch as his monster was destroyed.

Y: 4000 B: 3800

"I place one card face down," Yami declared, "Make your move."

Bobasa grinned and drew another card.

"I discard my Gravekeeper's Commandant." he said and threw a card into his discard pile, "This lets me take Necrovalley from my deck and add it to my hand."

He threw the card into his duel disk and weathered stone walls began to rise around them and suddenly they were all standing in the middle of a desert valley.

Massive statues of ancient kings lined the valley walls and a burning sun hung in the sky.

"This is the home of the Gravekeeper's," said Bobasa, his voice thick with a very familiar contempt.

"According to legend, the Gravekeeper's were charged to protect the tombs of the great kings from graverobbers and thieves."

The large man's face came alive with a maniacal grin, "Of course, no one could protect the tombs from me."

"How did you survive?" Yami snarled, "I watched your spirit merge with Zorc and Horakhty annihilated him."

"What the hell are you two talking about?"

Yami turned to see Jonouchi back on his feet, a dark bruise on his face.

"Bobasa, you fat bastard. Why'd you hit me, you fucker?"

"That isn't Bobasa, Jonouchi," said Ryou quietly.

Everyone turned to face the white-haired boy.

"What are you talking about, Ryou?" Honda asked, clearly confused.

"That may be Bobasa's body, but the other me is controlling him."

Ryou's voice was cold and hard, a sharp contrast to the quiet, polite young man that Yugi had grown to call a friend.

"What?"

"How?"

"Son of a bitch!"

Yami was the only one who didn't react; Ryou's words had only confirmed his own suspicions

"I don't know how, or why, but that man is the Spirit of the Ring," Ryou's finger was pointed directly at the possessed guardian, "I'd know his presence no matter what form he took."

The controlled Bobasa laughed again, "Correct again, my host. But I do despise this body, so fat and slow. I look forward to retaking yours."

Honda's eyes narrowed in fury and he stepped in front of Ryou, "Over my dead body, you piece of shit!"

Bobasa glared at him, "You should show so more respect, fool. After all, it was I who saved you from Pegasus's guards at Duelist Kingdom, or has your feeble brain failed you?"

"Enough!" Yami shouted, "I've defeated you many times over the ages, Bakura, and I'll do it again, no matter who you possess. Make your move."

Bakura-Bobasa laughed, "Oh I will and you will lose."

He activated another spell card, "I play Voice of the Heavens!"

Yami's breath caught in his throat, "No, not that card!"

"Yes,"' Bobasa gloated, "With this card, I can declare the name of a high-level monster and if it's in your deck, you must give it to me."

Yami scowled, Kaiba had used this exact card against him on Alcatraz and he had nearly claimed ownership of Osiris.

"This is the perfect card for me, for I am the King of Thieves, ha ha ha ha!"

Bobasa pointed a finger at Yami, "Now, I declare…the Saint Dragon of Osiris!"

The King of Games gritted his teeth and flipped through his deck until he found the God Card. Taking it out, he walked across the barren valley floor and handed it to the Spirit of the Ring.

"This card does cost me one thousand life points," said Bobasa with a smirk.

Y: 4000 B: 2800

Yami glared at him, "You still need three monsters to summon Osiris, thief. And you have none."

Bobasa laughed, "Foolish king, I plan for everything."

His face-down card lifted and a strong scent of incense filled the air.

"My Rite of Spirit trap card allows me to resurrect my Spear Soldier."

The spear-wielding monster reappeared, and Bobasa activated a spell card.

"I play Hell's Reckless Summon!"

Two more Spear Soldier's appeared in a flash of light and Yami stepped back in shock.

"Now, since I have three monsters, I will tribute them all and summon the Saint Dragon of Osiris!"

The three soldiers vanished into nothingness and the sky above Necrovalley began to darken. Lightning flashed in the sky and then something began to descend from the heavens.

A colossal dragon flew out of the sky and hovered over the field, its mighty wings flapping. It had a long serpentine body with crimson skin. A large blue orb shone on its forehead and it roared with its two mouths, razor sharp teeth glinting in the light of the desert sun. (ATK 2000)

Yami looked at the first God Card he had won with trepidation.

"You may control Osiris, but his attack points are determined by the number of cards you hold, and you have only two."

Bobasa grinned, "But that is more than enough to destroy your monster."

He shouted to the heavens, "Saint Dragon, destroy the Magnet Warrior with Thunder Force!"

Osiris opened its primary mouth and unleashed a mighty blast of lightning at Yami's monster.

Beta the Magnet Warrior was obliterated instantly but Yami stood tall in the face of the assault.

Y: 3700 B: 2800

"I end my turn," Bobasa said with a grin.

Yami drew a card and then surveyed the contents of his hand with a smile; a plan was starting to come together.

"I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode," he said. (DEF 2600)

The long-haired warrior crouched, holding a shield that was as big as itself.

Osiris roared and its second mouth opened and unleashed a ball of violet lightning that flew across the field.

"Whenever you summon a monster, Osiris will strike it with lightning and reduce its strength by two thousand," Bobasa declared.

Yami merely rolled his eyes, "That card belongs to me, thief. I know everything there is to know about it." (DEF 600)

He placed another two cards into his disk, "I place two more cards face-down and end my turn."

The possessed Bobasa drew and chuckled, "With three cards, Osiris gets even stronger."

(ATK 3000)

Osiris roared and unleashed its Thunder Force. Even with its full power, Big Shield Gardna couldn't have hoped to stop the God's attack and it perished.

Bobasa laughed, "Ha ha ha ha, how does it feel Pharaoh, to be defeated by your own creature?"

Yami smiled, "You haven't beaten me, thief. I defeated Osiris once and I'll do it again."

Bobasa smirked, "Fool, nothing can defeat a God Card."

Yami drew a card, "I beg to differ, Bakura."

He slid a card into his disk, "Now I activate my Dark Magic Curtain!"

A strange stage curtain appeared on the field, the drape swaying slightly in the air.

"By giving up half my life points, this card allows me to summon my most powerful creature and most faithful servant. Come forth, Dark Magician!"

Y: 1850 B: 2800

The curtain flew open and the purple-robed mage flew out and landed on the ground.

The monster that had come from the union of Mahado's ka and ba glared at the possessed Bobasa.

The fat man's eyes widened in recognition, "You!"

The Dark Magician smirked at the dark spirit and pointed his staff directly at the thief.

"Now, Mahado will defeat you once again," said Yami.

"Wrong, fool," Bobasa retorted, "By summoning your magician, you've activated Osiris's power. Summon Lightning Impact!"

The deadly lightning gathered in Osiris's mouth and the God launched the lightning ball at the mage.

"No!" said Yami, "I activate Dark Illusion."

Dark Magician vanished into thin air and the lightning bullet shot past Yami and slammed into the valley wall, missing its target entirely. Dark Magician reappeared a moment later, completely unharmed.

"What?" Bobasa said in confusion.

"My Dark Illusion card will protect my Dark Magician from all monster effects for the remainder of the turn. But it does let you draw one more card."

Bobasa drew another card and grinned with his stolen mouth, "That makes Osiris even stronger."

(ATK 4000)

"It doesn't matter, because now I activate Necromancy!"

Yami slammed the spell card into his duel disk and grinned.

Orbs of light began to fly out of Bobasa's graveyard and monsters began to appear on his field.

"Wh-what is this?" the thief asked.

"Necromancy takes four monsters from your graveyard and they're summoned to your side of the field in defense mode."

The three Spear Soldiers and the Commandant all crouched in defense.

(DEF 1500) X3 (DEF 2000)

"But, Osiris will lose six hundred attack points for every one of these monsters that's destroyed."

Yami played another spell card, "Next I activate this, Diffusion-Wave Motion."

Dark Magician began to glow with an unearthly power.

"By giving up one thousand life points, this card turns my Dark Magician's attack from a line to a wave, letting him attack all of your monsters in one turn."

Y: 850 B: 2800

Bobasa's eyes widened in shock, "No, this is impossible!"

"Dark Magician attack!" Yami shouted, "Dark Magic Wave!"

Dark Magician raised his staff and deadly waves of energy lanced from it, flying towards Bobasa's monsters.

Gravekeeper's Commandant bellowed in agony as one of the terrible lances struck him dead.

The three Spear Soldiers were struck down just as swiftly, the magic blasts splitting them all in two.

Osiris roared in agony as Necromancy drained its strength. (ATK 1600)

A final blast of energy flew from Dark Magician's staff and struck the weakened Saint Dragon.

Osiris gave a final roar of pain and was blown to pieces.

Y: 850 B: 1900

Bobasa's body just stood there for a moment, completely stunned by this sudden reversal by the King of Games.

"And now, I shall end my turn," Yami declared.

The dark spirit snarled with Bobasa's mouth and snatched a card off his deck, "I am not finished," he declared and slid another card into his disk.

"I activate Double Summon, which lets me summon two monsters this turn."

He threw a card onto his disk, "I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant in attack mode."

A masked assailant appeared, holding a long, jagged sword. (ATK 2000)

"And now I tribute her to summon Gravekeeper's High Priest!" (ATK 2000)

The masked woman vanished and was replaced by a taller man, dressed in fine ceremonial robes. His face was covered with an ornate mask and he held a sleek staff in his hands, similar to the Dark Magician's.

"My High Priest gains five hundred attack points from Necrovalley and another two hundred points for every Gravekeeper in my graveyard. And there are five!"

(ATK 3500)

"Go High Priest, kill the Dark Magician!"

The High Priest raised his scepter and unleashed a brilliant blast of energy towards Yami's monster.

The Pharaoh smirked, "You attacked without thinking, thief."

His face-down card lifted, "I activate my trap card, Spellbinding Illusion. This card negates your monster's effect and reduces its attack power by five hundred." (ATK 2000)

Bobasa gasped, "No, stop your attack…."

"Too late," Yami crowed, "Dark Magician, counterattack!"

The High Priest's attack dissolved into nothingness and Dark Magician unleashed his own magic blast which flew unhindered and struck Gravekeeper's High Priest. The monster screamed in pain and shattered into pixels.

Y: 850 B: 1400

Bobasa looked at the last two cards in his hand, and then placed both face-down.

Yami drew another card and laughed out loud, "This duel is over. I activate Dark Magic Attack."

Dark Magician began to pulse with dark power.

"When Dark Magician is on the field, this spell card lets me destroy every Spell and Trap you have out."

"No!" yelled Bobasa.

Dark Magician raised his staff over his head and unleashed a blinding wave of magical energy.

Both of Bobasa's face-down cards shattered and the walls of Necrovalley began to crumble to dust. After a moment, the light faded and the two duelists were standing in Domino Park again.

"Dark Magician, attack his life points directly," shouted Yami.

Dark Magician unleashed his magic blast and it hit Bobasa right in the chest, knocking him over.

Y: 850 B: 0

Yami's duel disk deactivated and Dark Magician vanished. Yami's eyes narrowed in anger and he strode across the field to stand over Bobasa's fallen form. The Millennium Scale fell from Bobasa's hand and Yami snatched it off the ground. Holding the Scales over his fallen enemy, Yami channeled the magic of the item and weighed Bobasa's soul.

The item's two sides wobbled, unable to balance the light and dark within the man's soul. Bobasa's body gave a sudden spasm and then the fat man went completely limp. The Millennium Scale flashed with a brilliant light and then it too went limp.

Yami's breath caught in his throat and Yugi appeared beside him in spectral form.

Mou hitori no boku, what happened?

"He-he's dead," said Yami in disbelief.

"Wh-what?" Anzu gasped.

Yugi's friends joined him around Bobasa's body and Anzu clasped his hand over her mouth.

"How could he die?"

Yami shook his head in confusion, "I don't know."