Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 055 The Millennium Enemy, Part 6

In my hangover bad mood yesterday, I forgot to question whether or not there is any other way that Other Bakura could possibly cheat. Yes, the dice are how the intensity of an attack is determined, but Other Bakura does have his special laptop, with all its special game information. I don't trust that he WOULDN'T find a way to gain an advantage from it. Yami should grab a hammer and smash it, just in case, you know. Can't be too careful.

Thanks for that recap of the events so far and your goals in the future, Yami. Jonouchi also has a reminder for everyone that they're about to enter Zork's castle, and asks if they're all REALLY ready. That's a dodgy question, Jonouchi. You sure YOU'RE not the one who isn't ready? Yuugi's head monster pet warns him that there are traps set for them in the castle, and he promises to be careful. He seems to have named the puff pastry "Pokii," which is better than monster #1, I guess.

Jonouchi turns to look at Yami, stating that he's a trusted friend that they can count on, no matter what's in that castle. Other Bakura is mentally chuckling because he thinks Jonouchi and the others are all talk, and the real test of Yami's gaming skills is ahead. Yami glares like he's trying to read Other Bakura's mind, but he must only be coming up with static.

The drawbridge to the castle unfolds into a ramp for the players, and Other Bakura narrates this in a typically long-winded fashion. Jonouchi seems to be raring to go as the little pieces slide up the bridge, so I'll concede that he may not be quivering in fear as much as I suspected. Bakura announces the pieces' arrival into Zork's castle, and the opening of the castle field. As he does so, the turrets and walls draw back into the board, amazing one of the players that this building is retractable as well.

Reminds me of those little Polly Pocket houses you unfolded like a little dollhouse. Yes, I was a girly child, get over it.

Other Bakura is smiling again, and it's not a nice smile either. He says that they've come to the final leg of their journey, and wonders if they'll be able to find Zork in the castle and slay him. Jonouchi starts shouting and carrying on, trying to lure out Zork with insults to his bravery and his limp... dork. How does Jonouchi know he has a whale penis? Pervert...

Honda notices something as he's looking around, a tower with what looks like a pair of eyes peering out from it that he finds suspicious. Jonouchi approaches it, encouraging everyone to join him, and revealing that what I thought was a pair of eyes was actually a pedestal with two raised horseshoe-looking markings on the face of it. My bad. Other Bakura glares down at the board creepily, and Yuugi tells everyone to hold the fuck up.

Yuugi wonders what those markings on the pedestal are supposed to be, but Jonouchi thinks they're boring and dumb. He insists that they get into that tower, but Yami is with Yuugi. Something about those horseshoe shapes on the face of the pedestal is suspicious, and he thinks they have to have some meaning. He thinks it looks like the top of the pedestal has been snapped off, and hums as he determines that it's a trap.

Well, no shit, Sherlock. EVERYTHING is probably a trap in the castle. He shouts at his friends not to go into the tower, but they're already inside. Jeez, Yami, could you have been any SLOWER with that warning? Other Bakura grins at how they fell for his trick.

Classic. Other Bakura says that Yami shouldn't worry, because he's not so AMATEUR as to lay instant-death traps in his game. No, he likes to prolong the torture, nice and slow, like Yami's warning times. He'll give Yami a chance to save his friends, and so long as he's not a slow-poke, they'll survive.

Let's hope he's faster in figuring out how to get out of this than he was in figuring out Exodia was in Sugoroku's deck, shall we?

Ahh, the "pedestal" was actually a display for the double zero critical. I get it. Yami is appalled and relieved at the same time, I'm sure, as Jonouchi tells him that the slab over them isn't just heavy, but the spikes on the bottom of it digging into their tiny little lead heads. He says they can't move. Yami screams that Other Bakura is a scumbag of the murderous variety, but Other Bakura doesn't seem perturbed by the insult as he continues to rest his chin on his laced fingers. He tells Yami his pieces can hold out for just a little longer, because he's well aware of their snapping point. Other Bakura tells him that three turns, or rolls of the dice, is how long his friends will last. Chuckling, he reminds him of what will happen if Yami fails to get them out of the situation.

In order for Yami to succeed, though, he has to roll a certain number on the dice. Other Bakura won't tell him what that number is, but he will give him a hint: he has to complete the column that will hold up the spiked ceiling and the pieces can get out. Yami wonders what number this puzzle indicates will cause the pillar to appear. Jonouchi's piece encourages Yami to roll a critical, but I'm pretty sure double zero isn't the number he needs to roll in order to put the pillar in place. Yami thinks he has no time to consider the riddle Other Bakura is posing, and he just has to wing it, so he throws the dice. The dice show 04, which is a critical, and Yami and friends start celebrating far too early.

Other Bakura reminds him that a certain number is needed in order to fill in the hole in the pillar, a number he hints is a double on the dice. Yami grits his teeth as he absorbs the the fact that doubles are also needed to solve the riddle. Yami stares at the pedestal next to his buckling friends and the carving, sure it must be the key. The ceiling lowers more, and the pieces bow as they grunt. Yami is freaking out because he has to find the correct answer as fast as possible before everyone gets crushed.

It's at this moment that Other Bakura, whom I might start referring to as Asshole Bakura, tells Yami something kind of crucial while pecking away on his laptop. He has to roll to see if Zork shows up, at a 30% chance. Yami's eyes bulge, because he knows that if Zork appears now, it's all over for sure.

FUCK BALLS!!! Sorry... I'm just... kind of getting into this.

Zork taunts his intended victims by reminding them of the obvious fact that they bumbled right into his trap, and he'll just kill them while it's holding their little bodies in place. Jonouchi stutters out that it's a low blow to attack people who are defenseless, and Zork should fight fair. Zork just chuckles. Yami knows that if he doesn't act fast, his friends will be defenseless against Zork as well as crushed, so he tosses the dice again.

The roll comes up as 13, and Yami chides himself for his useless, non-double throw. The little pieces are gritting their little teeth, grunting that they can't hold out much longer. Other Bakura rolls the dice for Zork's attack, who now has a 95% success rate since his targets are immobilized. Why not 100%? Is his aim crap or something? Anyway, Asshole Bakura rolls a 41, which he laments isn't the best roll, but it's enough to bring down everyone's health significantly to draw out their suffering. Zork slashes at Yuugi and Jonouchi's pieces in front, causing their HP to go down to 13 and 15 respectively. They both groan.

Yami grunts too, and Jonouchi's piece grits its teeth with its effort at staying upright. It thinks at Yami that he has one last chance to roll the dice, and even with spikes in their brains, all of his friends believe in him. Are you sure you don't believe in him BECAUSE of the spikes in your heads? I kid, I kid. Yami stares, thinking about all of them, and this makes me unsure whether or not those thought bubbles actually became speech bubbles again briefly, because I'm not sure if he heard Jonouchi or not. Regardless, Yami goes on to have a revelation, and has now solved the puzzle.

But he still has to roll one of those doubles that would work, so he throws the dice, begging them not to betray his and his friends' faith. As the dice tumble, Jonouchi's piece grunts from the pressure, and Yami prays that the correct numbers will show on the dice, because this is their last chance.

The number rolled is 33, and Yami wonders if it's the right one as his friends' pieces bow under the spiked ceiling's weight, unable to take it anymore.

Woooooo, Yami...

Asshole Bakura tells Yami that while he manages to solve the puzzle, Zork gets another attack. He rolls a 12 on the dice and announces that Zork hits the adventurers head-on. Zork decides to slice through the tower altogether with his blade-like demon hand, and as the tower collapses he laughs about how the little pieces must all be dead now. Man, EVERYONE celebrates way too early in this game.

Yami says that Asshole Bakura must have forgotten that the adventurers have a much higher speed than Zork. I don't think that was established at all, but sure, whatever. Anyway, they all managed to escape the tower before Zork destroyed it.

And with little holes drilled in your little heads. Phenomenal.

Yami states that because his friends managed to sneak up behind Zork, they get a surprise attack. Uh, Yami, I'm pretty sure that you're not the one who makes up the rules to this game, so it seems a little risky for you to be so authoritative about this. Even though, technically, you would be right in real life. Asshole Bakura stops being an asshole long enough to let Yami roll for a realistic surprise attack, though, and grunts as the dice tumble. They land on 15.

Jonouchi slashes at Zork just like last time, only this time not slicing anything off, because the roll wasn't a super critical. Yami promises that he'll show what kind of power these kids have as a team, and Jonouchi asks Zork if he's ready for a lot more whoop-ass where that came from.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? You are probably well aware of how much I like the puzzle-based gaming and riddles above all else in this comic by now, so I probably don't need to spend too much time saying how much I liked the one featured in this chapter. It was reasonably difficult, but with multiple solutions to it as well, so it wasn't too much so.

I also liked how it was paired with the appearance of Zork, because that raised the tension in a big way. One of the pieces of advice I always loved considering from every writer I ever consulted is the "torture your darlings" concept. A difficult situation for the characters is always great, but what makes it even better is when you throw even MORE difficulties at them, and that's what worked in this chapter. The stakes were raised to almost impossible levels, and that almost made me believe Yuugi and pals weren't going to make it. The scene was masterfully built and maintained, because a new, actively difficult element was introduced into it where it might have gotten boring just watching Yami fret. Zork amped up the tension wonderfully here.

It just makes me think back on that Death T arc with even more distaste. Takahashi, you were capable of THIS kind of writing all along, and THAT was what you gave your readers? Seriously?

Whatevz.