Ba-Ku-Ra! chapter13

Chap 13: Fall of the Gate


Dox frowned at the situation… in only one round his brother had been left entirely vulnerable. Casting a subtle glare at his opponents he began his turn. His scowl promptly became a broad grin as he drew his new card, “I play this card and end my turn.”

Upon command, a large red box sealed with little more than a rope and marked with a thunder Kanji appeared on the field. Although unable to read the mark, the Thief King hummed interestedly as he observed the item.

Ryou swallowed and allowed himself to relax only faintly as Dox’s turn came to its rather swift end, the fact keeping him on his toes, ‘There’s something ominous about that box… I get a bad feeling about it.’ he thought as he observed the large item.

Inwardly Akefia felt himself smirk at the boy’s cautious observation, ‘A good instinct. Boxes tend to hold surprises… and often nasty ones.’ As he spoke, he couldn’t help but feel a nostalgic rush as he recalled his many experiences with such things, most usually holding a trap of some form… what surprise did this one hold in store?

Ryou nodded inwardly, also familiar with such traps, but he swiftly turned his attention back to the present as he began his turn, “I play one card facedown. Then I’ll play Monster Reborn to bring back Headless Knight!” True to his typing, the Knight sprung out of the ground in much the fashion of a spirit returning from the grave upon Ryou’s command and took his stance as his master continued, “And I re-equip Sword of the Deep-Seated!”
//Headless Knight: Attack: 1950 Defense: 1700//

Dox’s grin faltered some as the phantom knight’s attack rose, “Another Sword of the Deep –Seated?!”

“Nope, this card returns to the top of my deck when it’s destroyed.” Ryou responded plainly as his Knight once more brandished his weapon. He then looked down to the board, carefully scanning it over to ensure his move to have been a strong one, ‘No enemy monsters,’ he mused before settling on Dox’s side, ‘Only thing they have out is that box…’

For a moment, Ryou simply stared at the box, hesitating in a brief moment to wonder if the box was indeed some form of trap. But he simply shook the thought recalling the unique rules of the present game and looked to his knight confidently, “Headless Knight, march forward.” Armor clanking and brandishing his sword, the Knight moved forward before coming to a silent halt awaiting his next orders, “I end my turn.”

Not wasting a moment, Para drew his card and immediately smirked as he then placed the card onto the field. In a flash of light, another red box appeared on the field, this one identical to the first, only adorning a water Kanji.

Ryou took notice of the small change and hummed to himself thoughtfully, ‘Thunder and Water… Both hold a place in weather. If I’m right then the last piece is wind….’

The observation was likewise noticed by the Thief who glanced from one box to the other. The boy’s thoughts filling in the missing pieces, ‘So it’s a portion of something.’

Ryou simply hummed in response telling the thief he was correct, to which Akefia halfheartedly narrowed his eyes… a surprise indeed.

Para hummed as he eyed his opponent’s expressions. Both wore a look that was both of intrigue and yet completely unwavered… he smirked as he looked to his hand. They would soon not feel so bold, with that he selected a card and set it down, “I play this in attack mode! The Dungeon Worm!”

For a moment, nothing happened and the field remained quiet. Neither player had time to fully wonder what had happened when the field began to rumble and shake, and in the next moment a giant fanged worm erupted out of the ground beneath the feet of the Celtic Swordsman who, caught completely off guard, was devoured and gone in an instant, the worm swiftly disappearing back into the ground and out of sight leaving both players momentarily stunned. The fact made Para chuckle, “He-Heheh. With each feeding the worm’s attack power goes up by 10%”
//Dungeon Worm: Attack:1800 -> 1980 Defense: 1500//

The Thief King watched as the Celtic warrior was devoured, only momentarily surprised. Watching the beast once more vanish from sight Akefia simply growled in annoyance, ‘Oh wonderful… More footing disruptions.’ Glancing at his “ally”, Akefia couldn’t help but smirk at the look he wore at the new development.

Yami, caught completely off guard and had only to watch as his Swordsman was devoured clenched his jaw as he watched the insectoid monster’s attack climb as Para’s turn came to an end, ‘It’s only by 30 points but Dungeon Worm is still stronger than Bakura’s Headless Knight… Also neither of us can attack.’ He mused as he glanced at the field. His eyes lingered first on Dark Magician and then on the shadow on the wall and hummed as his eye fell to a magic card in his hand, ‘Diabound is safe from attacks. Until we figure out a way to defeat it.’ he nodded to himself, finding his plan sound and placed the magic card, “I activate Magical Hats!”

Upon command, four large identical black top hats adorning a question mark appeared on the field, one falling squarely over Ryou’s Headless Knight and the other over Dark Magician, both vanishing from sight. All four hats then swiftly began shuffling around the same area of the field before coming to a complete stop but remaining on the field, neither warrior in sight. Yami merely looked up at his clearly bewildered opponents, “It’s attack may have increased, but it’s still weaker than Dark Magician. Guess wrong and your worm will be destroyed.”

As he watched, the Thief King’s expression went from mock impression to one of complete confusion at the new play, more so at his “ally’s” mention, ‘What the hell kind of “magic” is that??’ he blurted.

Ryou felt himself pause and sweatdrop at the spirit’s clear tone of annoyance, no doubt at the fact that he was confused judging not so much as his question than by his tone. For a moment Ryou wondered how exactly he could answer the spirit before simply settling to tell him basic idea, ‘Very few even believe magic is real nowadays. “Magic” acts are more about illusions and deception…’ he explained, as he looked pointedly at the hats.

‘Wow… things have changed since I’ve been gone…’ the Thief King muttered, now far less than impressed.

An amused chuckle cut any further response from either and both immediately looked to the Brother Dox who then took his turn, “Heh-Heh, very well… Then I play this card! The Monster Tamer of Hell!”

A flash of light was accompanied by the loud crack of a whip as a wicked bandit appeared on the field, a cold gleam in his eyes as he seemed to scan the field for an unsuspecting creature. Dox grinned as he eyed him and then glanced to his brother, “Heheheh, normally I can’t control something my brother summons, but I can with Monster Tamer… And the monster he controls gets a third of his attack and defense!” he declared with a broad smirk , the Monster Tamer immediately cracking his whip on the ground establishing his dominance over the underground creature.
//Dungeon Worm: Attack 2580//

‘Now he’s stronger than Dark Magician! If it hits, then both our monsters are dead! And there’s a fifty fifty chance!’ Yami thought to himself tensely as he watched the field.

Ryou also sat tensely, heart rate picking up as he watched the field, the next attack likely holding a deciding moment in the remainder of the duel…. As the ground began to shake once more, all duelists watched as the worm burst out of the ground and tore into a hat… only to sway about as if confused.

Ryou released a sigh of relief as the worm retreated back down through the empty hat, which then dispersed. The two opposing brothers wore a momentary glare of irritation, which was quickly tossed aside for the time being, ‘Heh, no matter. The worm will retreat underground where they can’t reach it. It’s only a matter of time before they run out of hats or the Demon God is summoned!’ Dox mused as he watched the Monster Tamer’s stats returned to normal, ‘I’ll take control of Dungeon Worm next turn once again…’

Akefia huffed to himself as he gazed on at the current situation, irritations mounting over the simple fact that their progression was now being held back by a worm of all things. Glancing to the boxes that still sat waiting made him grit his teeth, ‘At this rate it seems we WILL be in for a nasty surprise…’ glancing once more to Diabound, Akefia growled inwardly over the fact that for the moment his spirit’s survival depended on hiding in a wall, ‘He’s safe for now… But we need to feed his strength…’

“My turn, I play one card facedown.” Ryou declared forcing the Thief away from his thoughts to make use of their “ally”. The Thief was about to make a comment when he felt the tingle of realization emitting from his host, effectively piquing his intrigue.

Ryou, upon a quick glance over the playing field came to a very welcome realization, ‘The Tamer’s stats went back to normal!! It must reset when the turn is over.’ Looking to the hole the worm emerged from he hummed, ‘Then the Dungeon Worm’s attack should be below 2000,’

Weighing his options and thinking critically for only a moment more he took a breath and looked to the shadow on the wall, “Diabound attacks Dungeon Worm!”

Akefia blinked at his declaration. Given he could sense the boy was in fact inwardly hesitant, something else tickled his interest at his decision. The boy knew something and was willing to take the chance to exploit it making the Thief hum interestedly. Curious, he opted to urge Diabound to obey.

Diabound, hearing the command and feeling the faint urging from his Master’s consciousness immediately acted and leapt from the wall and, to the great surprise of the Brothers, easily slipped into the worm’s hole and disappeared, silence accompanying the act for only a moment before Diabound reemerged holding fast to the clearly enraged worm that snapped fruitlessly at the large serpentine monster. A swift Spiral Blast to the head ended any further struggle from the snapping creature, Diabound immediately diving back into the wall upon victory.
//Diabound: Attack: 2000->2200->2380//

Para clenched his teeth tightly as he watched the serpentine monster’s attack climb once more, confirming that what he’d seen had been legitimate, ‘I can’t believe they got the worm!’ he then growled as realization hit him, ‘Grr… and it took the worm’s attack boost ability!’

Akefia immediately began laughing at the clearly irate expressions of their foes, ‘Can’t even hide in his little hole in the ground!~’ he laughed with a smug smirk at the irony, ‘ Just forged you own graves~’

Yami blinked in surprise as the worm fell dead and vanished in a flash of light, ‘Ah, Diabound’s snake qualities allowed it to enter the hole!’ he thought before smiling at Ryou, “Great thinking Bakura!”
Akefia huffed and then proceeded to address his host, his tone once more cool and rather stoic, ‘Good work. Now we have an attack boost in Diabound, but keep up your guard,’ he warned firmly as he gazed back to their goal, ‘I have a feeling those boxes will be opening up soon.’

Ryou smiled at the praise and just as quickly gulped at the warning, taking relief that both his Knight and Diabound were well out of harm’s way, ‘I get that feeling too. At least our monsters are hidden for now.’ Once more gathering himself he looked on at his opponent, “I end my turn.”

Setting his irritation aside, Para drew his card and immediately his face split into a wide grin, “Cheer while you can,” he called drawing both his now grinning brother’s and his opponent’s attention, “Without further ado, I play this!” he called, a third red box adorning the Wind Kanji appearing onto the field, “Hahah! Thunder, Wind and Water are United!”

The new box barely had time to settle when it and its counterparts began to shudder and, one by one, their seals broke off and allowed a thick swirling mist to gush from each, effectively concealing the Brother’s side of the field while Ryou and Yami looked on tensely, bracing for what awaited them, their opponents now grinning broadly in delight as Para cried out strongly, “Rise Gate Guardian, Demon God of the three elements!!!” Slowly, the mist cleared away and revealed a giant machine-like monster composed of three clearly separate parts.
//Thunder: Attack 2600; Wind: 2400; Water:2500//

Ryou blinked and looked on at the monster that now stood imposingly before his and his ally monsters, ‘A three in one monster! This must be their strongest monster! Their Dungeon Master!’ he thought both tensely and excitedly, the layout all but familiar to him, ‘If we beat it, we win!’

‘Yes… but there is one simple issue.’ Akefia began as he observed the new development with a disdainful scowl, ‘Both Diabound and his Royal pain’s sorcerer are no match for him, one wrong step and we’re done for.’ He managed through grit teeth, taking no small amount of displeasure admitting the fact that his beloved spirit was being left to cower in a wall. Still, never one to back away like a cowering dog, the Thief glanced about the field for any means of aid, his eye settling on the Beast Tamer momentarily, ‘That pawn might provide an edge…’ he mused, but even then it might not provide enough, and the Thief was never one to go in properly prepared. He then turned his gaze to his host’s hand, ‘Anything to arm Diabound in your arsenal?’

Even as the Spirit inquired, the young silverett was already scanning his hand carefully, ignoring the Spirit’s spiteful insults to his friend before letting his eye fall onto a spell card, ‘I have Dark Pendant... a 500 attack boost..’

No stranger to quick math, Ryou swiftly looked from the Pendant to the Tamer and hummed, ‘If we kill the Tamer…800 attack boost,’ he brightened, ‘In total his attack will go up to 3,260!!’ he thought brightly, the prospect of victory growing strong swiftly. Glancing down to his facedowns his hopes were strengthened, ‘And if they try to power their monster, I have a trap set.’

“I used my turn to summon Gate Guardian… It’s your move Yugi.” Para declared, arms crossed with a smug grin. In all the duels he and his brother had played, never once had someone beaten them at their game, especially when Gate Guardian came into play. Victory was all but assured to them with its many abilities; still, he wanted to see just what this favored duelist could pull.
//LP: 1880//

Drawing his card Yami looked the situation over carefully, all monsters hindered either simply by lack of sufficient strength or distance. Looking to the looming monster he hummed to himself thoughtfully, ‘It’s too risky to attack yet, we don’t know what that thing can do.’ taking a slight sigh he took two cards and set them down, ‘I play two cards facedown. Turn over.”

Dox grinned broadly, his opponent clearly afraid of their monster’s power, one he was about to exercise well, “My turn, Gate Guardian use your power! Sangra of Thunder, Attack the left hat! Thunder shot!”

Upon command the top section of the goliath began to crackle with electricity before firing multiple arrows of raw lightning down at the hapless hat, incinerating it in mere moments leaving both Ryou and Yami watching on tensely…. Both once more relaxed much to Dox’s chagrin when the hat was revealed to be empty, ‘Another miss!’ he thought irritatedly, to which he simply huffed in irritation, “My turn is over.”

Ryou once more looked to his Dark Pendent and hummed to himself, ‘I won’t use it just yet… I can’t just attack that thing, it has to have some special abilities on it.’ glancing to his facedown trap, Ryou nodded opting not to lose the open opportunity, “I activate Just Deserts! This trap card deducts 500 life points for each monster you control.” He grinned, “Gate Guardian combines into one monster, but it’s not a true fusion and is made up of three plus the Monster Tamer. You each lose 1000 life points!” he declared, both brothers immediately tensing at the declaration as both brother’s life points dropped to 880. Dox visibly winced as he then realized what was to come, “Now, Diabound attacks Monster Tamer!”

Akefia grinned broadly, quickly catching the boy’s plan and immediately compelled Diabound to obey, the white monster immediately leaping from the wall and, claws outstretched, rushed the Monster Tamer dead on and in a swift blow impaled the Tamer, effectively destroying him before twisting around and vanishing back into a wall.
//Diabound: Attack: 2380-2750//
Ryou then nodded satisfied, “I end my turn.”

Akefia chuckled and grinned triumphantly as Diabound took his rightful stance in power, ‘Hahaha. Perfect~ Now they can watch as their precious monster falls~’

Dox sat rigidly in his seat as his life points once more dipped low, //LP:220// ‘His monster is stronger than any part of Gate Guardian now!’ he thought as he looked on at the shadow on the wall with far more caution. The balance of power was now clearly out of their corner, something that was by far rare to he and his brother…. But looking towards the hats he felt a grin once more come to him, ‘But now we have a chance to destroy their monsters! Our next attack will not miss!’

“Now it’s my turn! Suijin, Aqua Wave!” Para called, a broad grin on his face as a wave of water rushed towards the nearest hat, “There’s no missing this time!” he smirked widely as the hat was washed away, revealing the Headless Knight, “The Knight will drown!”

“Heh, we’ll see about that. I activate my trap card, Mirror Force!” Yami said suddenly as he flipped a facedown, a reflective force field immediately appearing around the Knight, the rush of water swirling angrily around him before spiraling back around and rushing back towards Suijin.

“No you don’t!” Para called out, “Kazejin Barrier: Storm Barricade!”

Immediately a powerful vortex gale erupted from the center section and protectively surrounded the entire form of the Gate Guardian, the onslaught of water dispersing into a harmless trickle on the maze floor.

‘Gr… It reflected the rebound… No trouble.’ Yami thought as the vortex came to a stop, to which he drew his card, “My turn. Come forth Summoned Skull!” he called, a large skeletal demon soon emerging onto the field with a low and menacing growl.

Dox winced, immediately recognizing the mighty card, ‘The Skull Demon…!!’ his fears diminished however when he noted that the beast’s position, “Ah, but he’s all the way back at the starting point. His attacks won’t reach Gate Guardian.” His grin faltered when Yami smirked back,

“We’ll see, your monster’s attack left a nice trail for him to follow.” Yami replied as he pointed to the board.

Para blinked and followed his gesture, wincing as he spotted what his opponent meant, ‘Oh no!!’

“Now Suijin dies! Demon Lightning!” Yami called, the demon’s eyes flashing viciously as it’s claws crackled with electricity, which it released in a powerful burst that swiftly and easily traveled on the trail of water within the maze.

Para watched helplessly as the attack swiftly rushed towards their monster, ‘I’ve already used Kazejin’s reflection for this turn!’ he then blinked and grinned excitedly in realization, ‘Ha! But I have Suijin’s reflection!’ quickly, he took the opportunity, “Suijin reflection! Wall of Water!” he commanded. His expression fell in frustrated confusion when nothing happened, “What? Why isn’t anything happening?”

Yami simply grinned, “I activated my second trap card! Spellbinding Circle!” he declared, motioning to the card at his fingertips, a glowing hexagram now visible around the water section of the Great Guardian effectively immobilizing it, “Suijin’s ability is useless! Now eat lightning!”

Unable to move and nothing to stall the oncoming attack the brothers could only watch as their monster was struck, the water section immediately bursting from the sheer unhindered force, to which Yami nodded in satisfaction, “I play one card facedown and end my turn.”

‘Grah!! They’ve defeated one of the Great Guardians!?’ Para gasped disbelievingly to himself as his lifepoints fell. Gritting his teeth he glared at his opponents, now realizing that they had clearly underestimated them.
//LP:580//

Akefia huffed as he watched the fragment disperse and watched the brothers’ confidence and initial cocky stature take a nosedive, clearly knowing that they had overestimated their monster. Looking to his host he couldn’t help but allow a shallow grin settle on his face as he addressed him, ‘Now for us to take out a portion. Won’t be long now before we can move on from this troublesome duo.’ He commented, earning a fresh wave of eager hope from his young host who nodded confidently, ‘Right.’

“My turn!” Dox called, drawing his card somewhat aggressively in their growing pressure. A grin once more took root as his deck yielded a promising card, wasting no time he set down his card, “I play the Magic Card Ryoku! We’ll be taking half of your lifepoints and adding it to Gate Guardian!”

Ryou’s eyes flashed and without hesitation flipped a card, a seal suddenly appearing on the board, “No you won’t! You activated my Trap Card Curse of the Forbidden Spell! I discard one Magic Card to destroy Ryoku!” at his declaration the seal overshadowed its target, and in a burst of light the card dispersed mush to the enragement of Dox.

‘Damn it!!’ he snarled to himself. The boy would pay for that! Turning his attention to the boy’s monsters, his Headless Knight drew his attention, ‘He still hasn’t change it to defense position!’ he smirked as he issued his command, “Double Attack! Demon Wind and Thunder!”
//combined power: 3000//

Yami then grinned at the assault, “Heh,you forgot my new facedown card. Monster Reborn!” he declared as the card made itself known. The fact didn’t daunt Dox in the least who continued to grin broadly,

“It doesn’t matter what you bring back!!” he jeered, inwardly laughing at how futile the move had been. But his grin was once more tossed away as, to he and his brother’s shock, a wall of water gushed forth and cancelled the attack before it could touch the Knight.

“Attacking is useless with Suijin’s Wall of Water is on our side.” Yami explained, the Monster now in full view of the players.

Dox stared, mouth agape, ‘He brought back Suijin?! Now Attacking them is useless so long as it’s on the board!’ Looking about the field he felt his confidence be replaced with worry as he looked from his monsters to his opponents, “I end my turn…”

Heartbeat racing, Ryou drew his next card, ‘He used up both of their moves, now’s my chance!’ he thought excitedly as he made his move, “I equip Dark Pendent to Diabound! Raising his attack to 3260!”

The declaration brought a distinct pride to the Thief King who took great pleasure in watching as the section of wall where Diabound lurked suddenly glowed, the creature already emerging as the new surge in strength empowered him as well as the look on the bothersome duo’s faces as they too realized what was to happen,

“Destroy the rest of the Gaurdian!” Ryou called strongly, Diabound immediately raising up and releasing a powerful Spiral Blast at the crippled Guardian, the final sections immediately crumbling and shattering in the blast’s wake along with the two brother’s lifepoints. The moment was not taken lightly and Ryou exhaled in pure relief as the board reset, ‘We won.’ He thought, his heart still racing from excitement and pride that he’d ended the duel… he was that much closer to his father.

An echoing laugh alerted him to the rather prideful emotions radiating from the Spirit, no doubt from the fact that his Ka had delivered the final blow so devastatingly, ‘Well done! A flawless victory to be sure!’

Ryou smiled, ‘Thanks… I’m glad this duel is done,’ he thought as he took back his Star Chips and placed them back in his glove, ‘It was more complicated than the first one…’ he mused. Had he not had anything so precious on the line to lose, the game might have well been more than welcomed and fully enjoyed. With his chips back in their place he took up his cards and set them safely away, stopping as he took up Diabound last and smiled at him, “Thanks.” he said softly with a grateful smile before placing him with his other cards, standing as Yami Yugi approached him, a proud smile on his face,

“That was great Bakura! You’ve definitely become a fearsome duelist!” he commented, nodding his respect to him, to which the young silverett laughed sheepishly at the praise,

“Thanks,” he replied before looking back at him determinedly, “Now we can get to the Castle.”

Yami Yugi nodded curtly and turned his attention to the Meikyu Brothers as they approached them, faces somewhat blank to hide their irritation at being bested at their own game. Both then proceeded to extend a hand, Star Chips in their palms,

“Here are the Star Chips you’ve won.” They said in unison before turning and motioning to the back of the room at the door, “You may now leave the Labyrinth.”

Ryou took his Star Chips and exhaled somewhat proudly, ‘Two duels and I have ten Star Chips…Got them quicker than I expected…’ he thought almost disbelievingly at the fact as his friends excitedly headed for the door, he himself not far behind them. Perhaps it was what was on the line and the still present glow of his victory, but Ryou felt stronger… more capable to accomplish what he wanted than before. In any case, he looked ahead confidently and rushed to catch up with his eager friends, leaving the two Meikyu brothers behind him.

Once gone, Para merely looked to his brother and nodded, Dox returning the notion as Para pulled out a cell phone and dialed. It took only a moment when the recipient answered, “Master Pegasus, we’ve encountered both the duelists you mentioned to look out for. Bakura and Yugi have both won ten Star Chips and should arrive at your castle at any moment.”

Sitting in his room, a glass of wine in one hand and a comic in the other, the red clad billionaire paused reading his comic, “Really? I didn’t expect Bakura-Boy to get this far…” he mused, somewhat surprised at the news, “Seems I’ve underestimated his determination. This will be an interesting show after all~.” He mused as he took a sip of his wine, grinning. Beating the Meikyu brothers was one thing, but soon both the Item bearer’s would be facing true challenges… ones he knew for a fact their young selves would not be able to easily endure no matter how hard they struggled. In the end, he knew he’d get what he wanted.