Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Return of a Master ❯ Millennium Duel, part 1 ( Chapter 8 )

Part Eight

The next day, Nebamun and I wait patiently by the fountain. Well, at least I do.

"What's taking him so long? It's only three minutes until eight and he's still not here!"

I chuckle, patiently ignoring him, since he's been like that all morning. Then I see Yugi and his friend Joey approaching us.

"Shadi! What are you doing here?" Yugi asks as soon as he is in range. "And Nebamun, too! What's going on?"

I am about to answer him when suddenly Nebamun steps forward. "Little one. You might want to stick around for a while...you're about to have the shock of your life!" He points over Yugi's shoulder, and we all turn to look.

"Well, well, so you did show up. Excellent," Bakura smirks, strapping on the duel disk. Nebamun does the same, and a crowd quickly gathers around to see what's going to happen.

"Bakura! What are you doing?" Yugi asks, perplexed.

"Yeah, and since when do you have a duelin' disk?" Joey cuts in.

Nebamun chuckles, but doesn't answer. Instead, he keeps his eyes trained on Bakura. "Shall you go first, or shall I?"

"You may have the first turn. But before we begin, let us be sure we both understand the conditions. If I win, since neither of us have any locator cards, I get your Millennium Bow as my prize."

"Yes." He takes the Bow from around his neck and sets it on the ground. "Here, I'll put it out of the way so you know I won't be using it to cheat. But remember--if you are the one who is defeated instead, then I claim the Millennium Eye!"

"What?!?" Yugi and Joey cry simultaneously.

Bakura doesn't even look in their direction. He is completely focused on Nebamun. "Very well," he replies, and sets the Eye on the ground by his feet. "I, too, do not wish anyone to call me a cheater."

Joey looks as if he is about to strangle Bakura, but Yugi steps in front of him. He quietly says, "Joey, don't. That's the evil spirit in control. Let's just wait and see what happens."

Joey growls for a moment, then calms down and says, "Fine. But as soon as this is over, Bakura's got some serious explainin' to do."

"Well, let's get this show on the road!" cries Nebamun, holding his arm out for the holoprojectors to set themselves up. Bakura does this as well, and the life points climb to 4000 each as the duel begins.

"Since I get to go first, I play Harpie Lady, in attack mode!" Nebamun calls out, as the winged female appears and lets out her familiar squawk.

"Huh? What's going on?" a girl's voice cuts through the crowd.

"It's Mai!" Yugi calls out.

"Yugi? Joey? And I thought I heard someone say 'Harpie Lady'!" Just then, she pushes through the front row, adding another astonished face to the group. "Whoa...does someone want to explain?"

"We're as lost as you are. All we know is that they're dueling for them two items on the ground there!" Joey points at the Eye and the Bow.

Bakura ignores all this, and as he draws his first card, says, "Is that your best shot? If so, this duel is already over! Go, Baron of the Fiend Sword! Destroy Harpie Lady!" A burly monster with one of the ugliest faces I've ever seen leaps out of the card, slashing his shimmering sword right through the Harpie Lady as he does so.

"Hmm..." Nebamun shrugs as his life points drop to 3850. "Oh, well. That was only the opening move." He draws his next card, and replies, "And here's the newest update! Shining Abyss! In attack mode!" A strange-looking fairy floats upward out of the card, and as sparkles surround it, Nebamun cries, "Attack! Rainbow blast!" The angel shoots a multicolored blast from its oddly-shaped hands, obliterating the pig-like Baron and reducing Bakura's life points to 3950.

"Heh heh...a minor setback. This duel is only beginning." He draws a card, and adds it to his hand. He then pulls out a card, and says, "Ah, this will do. Dark Zebra! Send his 'angel' where it really belongs!" The evil-looking zebra charges at the creature, and as its horn touches the fairy, it lets out a piercing shriek.

Nebamun only smiles as his life points drop by 200 more points. "What the heck are they doin'?" Joey asks, completely baffled. Yugi shrugs, apparently as confused as he is.

I know what they are doing, I think. But I simply stand there, completely silent. This is his show, not mine....

Nebamun doesn't hear me this time, and I realize that it must be because the Bow is on the ground. But before I can take the time to figure out why, Nebamun makes his next move.

"These twins will teach your Dark Zebra a thing or two! Gemini Elf, attack mode! Bridle that rabid beast!" The elvish sisters clasp each other's hands, and, chanting a few unfamiliar words, send out a blast that wipes the zebra from the field and takes out 100 more of Bakura's life points.

"Wow...those elves are awfully powerful for such a low level!" Tea exclaims. Yugi, Joey, and Mai all turn around in shock to see both Tristan and Yugi's grandpa standing beside her.

"We saw the duel and decided to come see what was going on," Tristan explains. Then he looks up and sees Bakura.

"Don't even ask," Mai quickly says. "No one has any idea what's going on."

Bakura studies the elves carefully. Then, drawing a card, he says, "Playtime is over! I summon Vorse Raider!" Then he places a card face-down on the field. "Vorse Raider! End this pitiful charade!" The powerful beast leaps up and slices the elves in half, growling in triumph as he does so.

"What is he doing? They have the same attack power!" Yugi's grandpa shouts.

And, as he speaks those words, a powerful blast erupts from the dust cloud that had been the elf sisters. It knocks the beast-man halfway across the field, and he too fades into nothing.

"You're right. It's time we began this duel in earnest," Nebamun agrees.

"I get it now!" Yugi suddenly cries. "They were just testing each other, seeing how far the other would go!"

"Yes, little Yugi. And now, soul-stealer, since you've left yourself wide-open for an attack, I place Senju of the Thousand Hands in attack position! Go! Teach him a lesson!"

"Tsk, tsk...I thought you were better than that. Or did you simply forget about my face-down card?" Bakura presses a button on the disk, and Vorse Raider reappears, slashing Senju into a thousand pieces. "I activated my magic card, Premature Burial! It allows me to bring a monster back from the Graveyard, and equips him with this card as well! It also raises his attack power by 50 points for each turn that my monster was buried!"

Nebamun groans as his life points drop to 3100. "Very well. But all is not lost...Senju allows me to search my deck for another, much more powerful monster when he is destroyed." He picks up his deck and selects a card, adding it to his hand. "But for now, all I can do is place these two cards face-down on the field." He lets the disk pull them into the slots and signals that it is Bakura's turn.

"Now this is getting exciting," Joey says.