Yugioh: The Hope of Six

Chapter 20: Kaiba Arc - Part 10

That was rather disappointing." Vivian complained. She was hoping that "nightmare" Bakura would finish off the real one and go after Yuzu next, but it didn't turn out that way.

Noah actually didn't seemed too bothered. "Relax. They may have conquered their own individual fears, but they still have "You Know Who" to contend with." Vivian smiled, remembering who was waiting at the center of Death-TF. She looked forward to seeing that brute chop everyone to pieces... especially Yuzu.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"How sick. Killing people with their own fears." Yusho said in disgust. The others all agreed with the performer. Aqua's hacking allowed those with her to witness everyone's worst fears being used as killing weapons. Except for Yuzu, who's nightmare Aqua couldn't see. This puzzled her, until she hypothesized her bracelet was blocking her own nightmares from everyone observing.

'Even I never went that far.' Pegasus thought to himself, still ashamed of his previous actions.

"Such a tactic truly shows the dark side of humanity, even if Noah isn't technically human anymore." Aqua said.

"But they're all okay now, thanks to Yuzu." Mokuba said.

While they were glad Yuzu managed to save herself and those with her, no one was prepared for the appearance of Yami Bakura in the real world. Witnessing his Duel with the real Bakura made Duke remember that one match during Battle City. But, like Yugi, the good Bakura triumphed over the evil one. They all relaxed after that.

"What a relief." Said Solomon.

"It isn't over yet. According to Noah, Chopman is still waiting." Duke reminded everyone present. Suddenly, he got a buzz on his cell phone. He had set it on vibrate so he and the others would not be easily disturbed while watching everyone. The caller I.D. says "Unknown". This made Duke feel suspicious.

"Who's that?" Mokuba asked. Duke shrugged.

"Don't know." He felt he should let it go to voicemail, but he picked up anyway. If it was something related to Noah, he didn't want to hear it in a message. "Hello?" He replied casually. As he listened to the person on the other end of the line, his eyes widened and tensed up instantly. He kept quiet while the caller spoke. Aqua and the gang watched with both curiosity and concern. After a minute, a now pale Duke hung up.

"Duke, what's wrong?" Yusho asked. Duke turned his back to them.

"I... have to go upstairs. There's something I need to do. I promise I'll be back. Keep watching our friends and fill me when I return." He instructed them, an edge in his voice now.

"Where are you going?" Mokuba demanded. He was stunned one of Yugi's friends was about to leave without an explanation at a time like this.

"Stay here. No one leave. I'll be back soon." Duke said, ignoring the little boy's inquiry. He then stepped out of the room and into the hallway.

After the door closed behind him, the rest of the group shared a very worried look. "What do you suppose that was all about?" Pegasus asked, but all he got were shaking heads and befuddled expressions.

As she refocused on Yuzu's group, Aqua had gotten a very bad feeling about Duke's situation. 'Be safe, Duke. Be alright.'

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Once his evil lookalike was no more, Bakura sighed heavily with relief. "Finally... it's really over this time." He hardly dared to believe it, but he felt it in his gut. Yami Bakura was at last vanquished for good. He would no longer be haunted by that monster, no longer had to be afraid. He could finally move on. It was then that the toll on his body caught up with him and he started to fall back. Luckily he was caught by Yuzu and Miho. "Thank you." He said gratefully.