The Dark Spirit Revealed (3)
Excited with the card that he has just drawn, Bakura takes great pleasure in summoning it, Jowgen the Spiritualist (200/1300) to the field. Although Joey and Yugi both have no idea what the monster can do which makes it so useful, Bakura explains that if he discards one card from his hand he can destroy any monster which was specially summoned to the field, namely Dark Necrofear. As he discards one card, Necrofear is destroyed and, as it is sent to the graveyard, the magic of Dark Sanctuary returns to the field.
With the ability to play magic cards in his monster slots available to him once more, Bakura reminds Yugi that he now has room to activate the last letter of the Spirit Message at the start of his next turn. However while Joey and Yugi are both confident that Yugi will somehow be able to pull through and win the duel, Bakura is also confident that victory will be his as he sacrifices Jowgen to revive the evil ghost of Dark Sanctuary. As he sets one card and ends his turn, Bakura warns Yugi that there is no way for him to win, as attacking with the possessed monster would wipe out the remainder of Yugi’s Life Points. Not only that, but Bakura’s set card is Dark Spirit of the Silent meaning that there is no way for Yugi to not attack with the possessed monster.
Unable to win whether he attacks or does not attack, Yugi is unable to see any way to win with the cards that he holds in his hand. As Duke suggests that Yugi may be unable to win, Tristan tells him to stop doubting Yugi but Mai agrees with Duke telling Tristan that things may be too bad for Yugi this time. As Serenity also begins to worry that Yugi might lose the rest of the gang continues to cheer him on and Yugi realises that there is still one card that could win him the duel; Slifer the Sky Dragon. As Kaiba hopes that Yugi is planning to try and summon the Egyptian God Card, Yugi puts all his faith in the Heart of the Cards and successfully draws the card, immediately sacrificing all three of his monsters to summon it to the field.
As Slifer the Sky Dragon (X000/X000) appears on the field, it’s massive body wrapped around Kaiba Craft 3, Yami Bakura is worried by the sight of the powerful beast, as are Yugi’s friends, however Kaiba is glad to finally see Yugi using the card. Seeing Slifer’s body from the window of her room, Ishizu senses that everything is going as the Millennium Necklace predicted it would and that Yugi is on track to win the duel. However Yami Bakura is still not willing to give in and even as Marik contacts him mentally once more he refuses to accept help, sure that the evil ghost of Dark Sanctuary will be able to control Slifer the Sky Dragon.
The ghost prepares to enter Slifer the Sky Dragon, however as it does so it is destroyed by the powerful Egyptian God and Bakura begins to realise the true might of the legendary beast. As Yugi prepares to attack, things seem helpless for Bakura but Marik refuses to give in so easily and Odion, who everyone else believes is Marik, approaches the duelling arena with the Millennium Rod in his hand. As ‘Marik’ approaches, Joey is furious and prepares to make him pay for what he has done, however ‘Marik’ ignores him as he explains that he controls Bakura and the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring.
‘Marik’ explains that he is going to force Bakura back in control of the body which is currently being controlled by te evil spirit, and as he says this the real Marik tells Yami Bakura that he has to relinquish control of Bakura’s body if he seeks to win the duel as Yugi would not risk attacking his injured friend. As Yami Bakura releases Bakura from his control, Bakura collapses to the ground confused, injured and scared. As ‘Marik’ warns Yugi that Bakura will not survive the force of Slifer’s attack, Bakura calls out for Yugi to help him but as Yugi goes to approach him the umpire warns him that contact with his opponent will result in him being disqualified.
As Yugi struggles to choose between attacking and possibly destroying his friend or forfeiting the duel and leaving the world to suffer the wrath of Marik, Kaiba tells him to attack and be done with it. Angered by the fact that Yugi iis unable to help Bakura, Joey calls to the umpire to halt te duel but he refuses, warning Joey to back off lest he be disqualified from the tournament as well. However as Yugi debates what he should do, Yami Bakura senses that he is not going to give up the duel and regains control of Bakura’s body, not able to risk it being destroyed. Realising that the evil spirit has regained control of Bakura’s body, Yugi orders Slifer to attack, but as the powerful blast elimiinates the last of Bakura’s Life Points he warns Yugi that he hasn’t seen that last of him yet.
As the injured Bakura collapses to the ground, Yugi and the others rush over to see if he is alright and, while weakened, he is still conscious. Tristan picks Bakura up and, carrying him on his back, leads him back to his room to rest, however while the rest of the gang follows him Yugi stays behind and contacts Yami. The two discuss what has happened and they both sense that Yami Bakura needs Bakura somehow, like how Yami needs Yugi. However Yugi explains that while Yami and he support each other, Bakura and his evil spirit are at constant conflict with each other and that in the end it will be Yugi and Yami who are victorious in Battle City.
Heading off to see how Bakura is doing, Yugi is stopped by the umpire who tells him that he can take a card from Bakura’s deck but Yugi refuses, more worried about his friend’s well-being. As he reaches Bakura’s room, he and the rest of the gang all agree that Bakura needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible, but while they are gathered together talk turns to what happened between Bakura and Marik and Téa suggests that Marik and the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring may be working together to achieve some common goal, although none of them have any idea what that might be.
As Tristan and the others head off to try and get Kaiba to land the ship at the hospital, Téa offers to stay and watch over Bakura, however as Yugi prepares to leave he realises that the Millennium Ring has gone missing. Deciding not to worry about that now, Yugi also heads off but as he does so Marik takes control of Téa and reveals that she has the Millennium Ring, keeping it safe until Marik sees fit to return it.
