The Pharaoh and the Wayfarer (Atem/Yami Yugi x Spirit! Reader)

Chapter 38: The Darkness Returns and Clash in the Coliseum

And we're just gonna squeeze the semifinals together to get on to the main event (not all because we're right about to hit the arc I've been the most excited to write since starting this). But seriously, why are these duels 4 and 6 episodes a piece!? I own nothing.
Chapter 38: Semifinal Mania

Nervous was not exactly the word that could be used to describe how (Y/N) and Rain felt about Joey dueling Marik. Flat out terrified? That was closer. For all his peacocking and smack talk, Yami's duel with Seto would at least be fair and not evoking terrifying dark magic while Joey was facing a merciless psychopath with access to such tools of torture.
Needless to say, everyone was pretty on edge.
"Well, this is it." Mokuba announced with a smile, seemingly not getting the gravity of the situation. "The duel starts now! Let's go! Move it or miss it!"
As Tea and (Y/N) moved to follow the younger Kaiba, Duke rightfully pointed out someone had to grab Serenity for Joey's duel.
"Good point." Tristan admitted, turning tail to leave. "So...I'll just go. Bye!"
"Tristan!" Mokuba shouted, stopping him in his tracks as the boy reached over to grab a wall phone. "This tower's high tech, I'll call."
The brunette sighed as Mokuba did so, (Y/N) shaking her head with a small smile.
"Better luck next time."
Once Serenity had been informed and had decided to stay with Mai, the group was led to the top of the tower. The duelists were all already present and Yami appeared to be trying to give advice and Seto was being Seto and talking down to him. Of course, that only encouraged the Pharaoh to snark back at his rival. Sighing, (Y/N) walked over to the two, getting between them.
"Do I need to supervise you two so you're not constantly at each other's throats?"
"Keep your boyfriend on a leash and we'll be fine." Seto snapped.
(Y/N) held out her arm to stop Joey from charging. "Put one on your ego and maybe we'll talk."
Kaiba didn't dignify that with a response and walked away, Joey snarling at him as he went.
"I hate that guy."
The former queen then looked at her husband. "You know you don't have to bait him."
"He starts it." Yami pointed out defensively as (Y/N) moved to his other side to hold his hand.
"Yes, but I expect more from you, like not falling for his taunts." Her husband grumbled, but allowed her to pull him towards their friends. "Keep your head on, Joey. Don't fall for his tricks."
"You got it." The blond assured with a thumbs up before walking over to his side of the field. "All right, you're goin' down, Marik!"
Roland walked over to the officiant spot, nodding to both duelists. "The first duel of the semifinals is about to begin! To my left, Marik Ishtar, and to my right, Joey Wheeler."
Yami and (Y/N) squeezed each other's hands as everyone cheered for Joey as the dueling arena rose up.
"He'll be fine." Yami whispered to her.
(Y/N) nodded weakly. "He has to be."
Yami Marik of course was chuckling madly as Roland granted him the first move.

Marik 4000LP/Joey 4000LP

"As you wish." Marik mocked as he drew. "I play Gil Garth in attack mode!"
A faceless armored knight coated in spikes appeared on the field.

Gil Garth
1800 ATK/1200 DEF

"Then I shall place one card facedown and end my turn."

Marik 4000LP/Joey 4000LP

Joey drew, putting on a tough facade. "I'll take it from here, ya nut case! I'll also place one card facedown and then I'll summon my Alligator's Sword in defense mode!"
Both the facedown and Joey's reptilian warrior manifested on the field, though the edge in his voice tipped off that he was not exactly thrilled by what he had in his hand.

Alligator's Sword
1500 ATK/1200 DEF

Marik 4000LP/Joey 4000LP

Yami Marik cackled madly as his turn came again, darkness begin to settle over what was once a bright, sunny day.
"The time has come to take this duel to the next level!"
Joey gritted his teeth. "I know where this is going..."
(Y/N) focused, trying to stave off the darkness with the Millennium Bracelet. However, she still wasn't fully recovered from her attack from Ra, especially not after that adventure in cyberspace, so eventually, it settled over the entire field. Yami noticed (Y/N) pushing herself still, to her own detriment at this point, and he squeezed her hand again.
"Shagngu, stop. Save your strength." He then glared at Marik. "I'm afraid there's no stopping this Shadow Game."
"Show some originality, Marik!" The blond boy shouted as his opponent held up the Millennium Rod.
"Ha! The shadows hunger for your mind and your soul!"
"You don't scare me!"
"Then what's that I see in your eyes?" The dark spirit pointed out. "I'd say it's the look of fear! Fear that you're about to join your friend in the Shadow Realm!"
Joey stood his ground, refusing to show weakness. "Look, she'll be back!"
"You're naive! She's permanently trapped! Not even the combined might of the Millennium Bracelet, the Millennium Puzzle, and the two royals could save her! Can't you hear her screams as a little more of her is chipped away by the darkness, and the weaker she gets, the stronger my powers grow!"
"You're nuts!" Joey snapped as Marik laughed fittingly like a mad man.
"We can't let Joey go through with this duel!" Tristan said. "This is exactly what happened when Marik dueled Mai! It's too dangerous!"
Duke nodded in complete agreement. "Let's step in!"
"We can't interfere." (Y/N) told them, not wanting anyone else to get hurt unnecessarily. "The Shadow Game is already in play. If I had full strength, maybe the bracelet could stop this, but the truth of the matter is Marik crippled my ability to interfere. We'd only be putting ourselves at risk and distracting Joey."
"Besides, Joey's already made up his mind." Tea affirmed. "Didn't I tell you what he said to me?"
Yami looked over at her, shocked. "What?"
"Sorry, Yugi, I should've told you about this before. Joey and I had a conversation after Mai's duel with Marik. He said if he didn't try to save Mai, he'd never forgive himself, so now he's trying to rescue her by beating Marik. Nothing we say can stop him."
Yami sighed. "I thought so."
Rain and Yugi appeared before their counterparts, the four of them talking in the space that their minds overlapped with.
"There's gotta be something we can do to save Joey!" Yugi insisted. "I know he promised to bring back Mai, but there has to be another way!"
Rain bit the nail of her thumb. "I know, I know, I'm thinking! But outside of trying to force it with the bracelet, I'm drawing a blank!"
"Yugi, Rain." (Y/N) said calmly. "This is his fight."
"Are you crazy?!" Rain shouted at her partner as Yugi looked at Yami.
Yami crossed his arms. "She's right. Just as Joey made a promise to Mai, we made a promise to Joey that we would stop protecting him. We must prove to Joey that we believe him by letting him duel on his own."
"We can't!" Yugi shouted back as Rain looked ready to blow a gasket.
"I seriously think dark magic shouldn't apply to that promise!"
(Y/N) shut them both down. "Trust him, both of you. He'll need our strength and support."
Neither of the teens wanted to leave that up to chance, but at the end of the day, Joey alone had to decide his next course of action, and if it was to fight Marik head on, there was nothing any of them could do but be there for him.
Finally, Joey decided enough was enough and egged Marik on. "All right then, let's do this! Bring it on! I'm ready for your Shadow Game!"
"Do you have any idea what you're about to experience?" The dark spirit taunted. "I doubt it. The ancient dark magic I've conjured will devastate you, you poor soul! My move! You may have seen the power of the shadows before, but as the energies within me grow, so does the strength of my shadow magic!"
"Are you here to talk or are you here to duel?" Joey snarled back, Yami Marik only smirking.
"Aren't you the least bit curious how this Shadow Game will differ from the one your friend lost? As always, the loser of the duel will be banished to the Shadow Realm for eternity, but there's a bit more. You'll find out soon enough, and then, mark my words, you'll wish you never faced me!"
Joey remained ever unshaken. "I'm ready to rumble, ya big freak!"
"Then let the Shadow Game begin! Ready?"
Just as he said this, two glowing ropes grew out of the chests of the duelist, tethering them to their monsters.
The blond stumbled back. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Didn't I tell you that this duel was a bit different?! I decided to raise the stakes further by adding these energy streams to our game. Now, whenever your monster's are attacked, you will feel their pain just as they have!"
"Ha ha. Just get on with it!"
Marik drew. "With great pleasure, Mr. Wheeler! I'll summon Drillago in attack mode!"
The drill-headed beast burrowed its way onto the field, another rope connecting it to Marik.