Duel Magic

Friends Till The End Part 1

Episode(s): 74 – 76

At the docks, Marik stood with his followers.

"Everything is in place. Kaiba and little Yugi should be arriving momentarily with the hopeless plan of rescuing you two. However, with both of you as my mind slaves, they'll have no choice but to play by my rules. Their Egyptian God cards and Yugi's puzzle will be mine for the taking," said Marik as he walked toward his final destination, holding Lilly's hand, and having Joey walk behind them. "And soon, I'll rule the whole world! Isn't that right, my Queen?"

Lilly continued to walk with him, her eyes glazed over. What no one noticed was her bracelet, lightly glowing. Marik just smirked and looked forward.

"Master Marik, I beg your pardon," said a man as he kneeled near Marik. The man wore the normal outfit of the Rare Hunters, but what was noticeable was that half his face was covered by a tattoo.

"What now?" asked Marik in annoyance as he stopped walking, causing the other two to stop as well.

"As you requested, sir, I've secured 12 Locator Cards for the Battle City Finals."

"Excellent, Odion. You've done well. Now we both qualify to participate in the finals. If we need to. Hopefully, that won't be required, in which case you've wasted a great deal of time," said Marik with a chuckle. "But hand them over anyway. Entering the finals may be necessary if today's plans fails."

"It's a privilege to serve you," said the man, now known as Odion.

"I always have a backup plan to ensure that I get what I want. But today's setup seems foolproof. Now hand my servant the deck we've prepared for him, Odion."

"Yes, Master."

"When Yugi is forced to battle against his brainwashed best friend, he's sure to lose it all!" laughed Marik as Joey took the new deck from Odion.

"Replacing his pathetic deck with an unstoppable assortment of extremely rare magic cards was an excellent idea, Master Marik."

"This is my most ingenious scheme yet. I took the things that mean the most to Yugi – his friends and Queen."

"Brilliant plan, Master."

"I know. Now, come and find me, Little Yugi, for the last duel you'll ever fight!" yelled Marik up into the sky.

~Sometime Later~

Yami, Seto, and the younger Kaiba boys finally reached the shipping docks that the younger Kaiba boys had escaped from earlier, they noticed Joey standing not too far away. Landing the chopper, they got out and began to walk toward him.

"Welcome," said Joey in a distorted voice.

"Joey!" yelled Yami in shock.

"Not exactly. Joey is not present. He's gone away," he said with a smirk.

"It's Marik!" said Yami in anger as he glared.

"That's correct. And if you want your friend and your Queen back, you will listen to me."

"What's going on?" asked Lance in confusion.

"That sure doesn't sound like Joey," said Mokuba, just as confused. James nodded.

"It must be one of Marik's tricks," said Seto in an uncaring voice.

"Listen, Joey, you've got to be in there!" said Yami.

"It's pointless. Now, you listen, Yugi, we are playing by my regulations. I'll release your pathetic friend and, maybe, your Queen once I get what I want. Of course, since I want your puzzle and Egyptian God Card, there's only one way to do this. You and I are going to duel!" said Joey/ Marik.