Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Return of a Master ❯ Millennium Duel, part 2 ( Chapter 9 )

Part Nine

"Make your move, loathsome swindler!" Nebamun cries.

Bakura chuckles, glancing at the two face-down cards laying in front of him. "Is that all? I must say, you're beginning to disappoint me, Nebamun. When I came here today, I expected a real battle, something to be proud of. I even altered my deck, making it more powerful in case you should prove to be quite formidable. But if this is all you can muster, I shouldn't have wasted my time."

"Just move," Nebamun growls. I can tell he's getting more aggravated at Bakura by the second, and I pray that he can keep his cool long enough to do what he came here to do.

"As you wish." He draws a card, and says, "Well, seeing as how you're wide open, I could summon another monster and permanently cripple your life points. But since I'm in a merciful mood today, I'll just lay this one face-down." A card appears next to the man-beast, glowing softly. "And now, Vorse Raider, attack his life points directly!"

"Hold it right there!" Nebamun cries, at the last second. "I activate my trap card, Ultimate Offering! It allows me to summon a monster during your turn in exchange for sacrificing one of the monsters in my graveyard!" The spirit of the elf sisters floats up through the ground, glows brightly and begins to take on a new shape. A tall, strong man emerges from the pool of light, holding his sword high. "Neo the Magic Swordsman!"

The crowd gasps at this new twist, but Bakura simply smiles. "You don't really think that puny swordsman can fend off my beast, do you? Vorse, destroy his swordsman with your legendary Axe of Misery!" The humongous man-beast races at Neo, a triumphant snarl on its lips.

Nebamun chuckles. "It's your turn to face defeat, plunderer! Activate the magic card, Rush Recklessly!" Neo raises his head to the sky, screaming in fury. When he lowers it, his eyes are burning red. He charges at the swiftly-approaching brute, and slams his sword directly through the evil beast's chest, destroying it instantly.

It is Bakura's turn to grimace. "I should have known you wouldn't go down so easily." Then, unexpectedly, he smiles. "Maybe this was worth my time after all." He then lays two cards of his own face down, and ends his turn.

But before Nebamun can even draw, a voice breaks through the crowd. "Violation!" it cries, and as the onlookers grumble at being forced out of the way again, Mokuba Kaiba emerges, holding a whistle in his hands.

He prepares to blow the whistle, but suddenly recognizes the participants. "Bakura! And Nebamun? What on earth are you guys doing?!?" Then he turns around and sees the others. "Yugi! All of you! What in the world is going on?"

As Yugi prepares to explain, Nebamun interrupts. "Little Mokuba, perhaps you should wait a few more minutes before you decide to disqualify us. In fact, why don't you call your brother? He should see this too." Then he turns back to Bakura, drawing his next card before Mokuba can say a word.

Mokuba grumbles, but he obediently picks up the edge of his jacket, saying, "Seto? I'm having problems with a couple of rule-breakers. I need you to come help." Then he turns back to the duel, content to watch while he waits for his brother to arrive and set things straight.

Nebamun chuckles at this, and returns his attention to the duel. "Ah, so now you are the one forced to defend yourself. Well, let's invite some more friends to this little party. Go, Hoshiningen!" A tiny star-like creature jumps up out of the card, light radiating from his body. "As long as Hoshiningen is on the field, the attack of all my light creatures is increased by 500! And now for the final touch to my brilliant friend! I play the magic card, Mage Power!"

The tiny star suddenly glows even brighter. As the crowd looks on in awe, the brilliant light stretches out into the shape of a doorway, and what used to be a tiny star steps out, now as tall as Neo himself. His entire body has transformed into that of a man, with a rainbow-colored robe billowing in the wind.

"My lovely little star has now become a powerful wizard! Hoshimagen, with an initial attack power of 1000, gains 500 attack points for every face-up magic or trap card on my side of the field! And he still has his power bonus from being a light-type! That means he now has 2000 attack points with which to destroy you!"

Bakura leans back slightly, blinded by this new monster. Then he grits his teeth, growling, "Just do your worst! I promise you, the darkness will not give in so easily!"

"We shall see. Now, Hoshimagen, attack his face-down card!" The newly-formed wizard doesn't move, but simply points at the card. It explodes with so much force, it nearly knocks Bakura down. The shivering skeleton beneath shatters instantly.

"Now, Neo can attack you directly! Go, my swordsma-"

"Hold it!" cries Bakura. "I activate Michizure! My Dark King of the Abyss will take your swordsman to the grave with him!" A long, skeletal hand reaches out of the ground, wrapping around Neo's ankle. Although he tries to break loose, he too is engulfed by the collapsing dirt.

"No! Neo!" Nebamun cries. "You'll pay for that, soul-stealer!"

"I'll be ready for you," Bakura promises. "But first, it is my turn. And now I will play a magic card, one of my favorites--The Dark Door!"

As the ground begins to rumble, a gigantic black wall rises out of the depths. It seals off both players, and the only unblocked path is a tiny doorway in the center. "My Dark Door will make sure only one monster can attack per turn! And, to complete my ultimate defense, I summon Zombyra the Dark!" A red-cloaked warrior in skeletal armor leaps at the doorway, blocking it completely. "Zombyra! Attack his wizard! Destruction Punch!"

The fiendish warrior reaches through the doorway, ensnaring his clawed hands in the folds of Hoshimagen's cloak. With a harsh cry, he slams his fist into the wizard's chest, sending him flying. With a look of intense pain on his face, Hoshimagen slowly fades away.

"My wizard..." Nebamun calls softly. "Thank you for your sacrifice. It will not be in vain."

Bakura stares at Nebamun for a moment, then begins to giggle. "Mortal fool! There is nothing you can do now to stop me! Granted, my warrior now only has 1900 attack points, but that is still plenty to keep you from doing a thing to stop me while I go on the offensive!"

Nebamun sighs, looking at his hand. "You're right. There is nothing I can do--this turn. But trust me, I will find a way to defeat you!"

"I'd like to see you try! You are most fortunate that my warrior is unable to pass through this tiny doorway. But next turn, I'll have something else out that can, and will, obliterate the rest of your life points!" Bakura's laughter echoes all around, and the crowd begins to mutter, wondering if the duel is almost at an end.

"What in the name of the Tormentor is going on here?!?" a harsh voice calls out. The crowd parts again, quite willingly this time, as Seto Kaiba strides onto the scene.

"Big brother!" Mokuba calls out. "These two are breaking the rules! They aren't even listed in the tournament database, and they don't have any locator cards either!"

Kaiba narrows his eyes, preparing to take out his recent frustrations on them. But just then, he notices a familiar swirl of color, and spins around. "Yugi!!! I should've known you'd be a part of this!" He takes a step towards him, fury in his eyes. But suddenly a reverberant voice sounds from behind him.

"The child has nothing to do with this, Kaiba-boy!" Kaiba hesitantly turns back and faces the speaker. Nebamun is standing there, his robe rippling majestically in the breeze.

"And just who are you?" Kaiba asks, aggravated by the interruption. "You aren't even supposed to be here!"

"Perhaps you should listen to what I have to say before you decide that. Ooh, but since I remember how infuriated you became at Duelist Kingdom, let me first congratulate you on putting together such a wonderful tournament. And these new rules are quite ingenious, actually. I really do-"

"Can it, mystery man! How dare you speak to me like that? I've never even seen you before!"

"Ah, but you have, Kaiba-boy. Several times, in fact. Oh, I've been waiting for this for such a long time!" Nebamun, grinning, steps forward and removes his hood.

A deafening cry erupts from all those watching. "PEGASUS?!!?"