Between My Brother and Me: When the World Falls Down
Rated: T
Author: Green Phantom Queen
Summary: What would have happened if Yami won the duel against Raphael? The Chosen are soon warped to a future where the Pharaoh rules with an iron fist, and their allies have turned against them. Their only hope is their reliance to each other and their determination to return to old times past.
- - – – – – -
Prologue-When the World Changed Forever
The duel between Yami and Raphael was very tense for a three reasons.
First, Yami played the Seal of Orichalcos, letting the Seal consume him with evil and hatred.
Second, Raphael was close to losing his soul, his life points down to 100. Yami, on the other hand, was down to 600.
Third, and last but not least, the Chosen that consisted of three children—May, the Goddess of Joy, Max, the Prince of Wisdom, and Mokuba, the Defender of the King—were watching the duel with horror and fear. They were supposed to help the Pharaoh in his darkest hour, but there was nothing that they could right now. They failed with their objective.
"Well," Yami smirked. "You've stalled your inevitable loss for one more turn, Raphael. And since your Swords of Revealing Light disappear once I end my turn, all I have to do is just sacrifice one more monster to end this duel. But for now, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."
A facedown card appeared behind the chained Kuribabylon and Catapult Turtle. The swords that prevented him from attacking vanished. Still, Yami kept that crooked smile on his face.
"Yugi has this duel in the bag!" Tristan exclaimed. "Isn't that right Joey?"
"...This isn't Yugi," Joey replied. "That Orichalcos is warping his mind, making him become a monster...just like Mai."
"Isn't that a good thing, though?" asked Duke. "At least it's not that blond muscular hulk who's using it."
"But it's not right at all," said Mokuba. "We have to destroy it before it gets worse."
Raphael stared at the situation in the duel and then laughed. The laugh was wicked and harsh as the biker stood up from the blow.
"I knew that the Seal would show who you really are." He commented. "You're wicked and full of hatred and the darkness inside you grows as time goes by. Look around you, Pharaoh. You tainted your monsters with this evil and made them become shadow creatures! You lost all respect for them."
"...So what if I have?" asked Yami. "They are my monsters, they have no choice but to obey me!"
"What?" May, Max and Mokuba looked on in horror when those words escaped the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle's lips.
"You sicken me," Raphael snarled, drawing two cards from his deck. "It's time for me to end this nightmare once and for all."
When Raphael drew those two cards, a pair of ghostly, angelic wings shielded his body. Mokuba saw this and gasped.
"What is it, Mokuba?" asked May. "Do you see anything?"
"I do..." Mokuba whispered. "It's a very powerful spirit that's going to change the whole duel. It's a power so great that it rivals that of the gods."
"That can't be right..." said Max.
"I activate Celestial Sword!" Raphael cried, raising the card in the air. The card depicted a brown-haired angel in pink robes behind a pair of crossed swords. The Magic Card was replaced with a glowing sword that fell from the sky, piercing through the Seal of Orichalcos.
"With Celestial Sword in play, I summon my most powerful monster." The Swordsman continued. "Come forth, Guardian Eatos!"
A white bird of light flew into the air, soaring into a storm of dark clouds. Lightning crashed and thunder boomed as a figure descended from the sky. It was a woman in a Native American outfit with a headdress similar to a hawk's head. She grasped onto her sword as she flew near her master's side. (2500/2000)
"That must be the aura you were seeing, Mokuba!" Max exclaimed. "But what does it do?"
"I don't know," said Mokuba. "But I know it's bad..."
Eatos raised her sword in the air as orbs of light escaped Yami's Duel Disk. The lights transformed, revealing to be all of the sacrificed monsters that were used as fodder for Catapult Turtle.
"No way!" said May "That thing can use all of the monsters in his graveyard?"
"It seems that way!" said Max. "But what for?"
"Poor Pharaoh," Raphael smirked. "Thanks to all of your sacrifices, my Guardian Eatos can use their attack strength to boost her own attack. With all of their attack power, she now has 10,000 attack points!"
The spirits of Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Berfomet, Gazelle, and Big Shield Gardna were absorbed into Guardian Eatos's sword. (2500/2000) -) (10000/2000)
"Ten thousand?" Rex and Weevil exclaimed. "No way!"
"Yugi's going to lose the duel!" said Duke. "And he'll lose his soul!"
"That monster..." Tristan growled.
Yami didn't say anything as Raphael pointed a finger at him. He didn't say anything when Guardian Eatos prepared to destroy his monsters. Instead, he smirked as he raised a hand into the air.
"I activate the power of Magical Hats!" He cried. "Shield my monsters from this monster!"
Four top hats each bearing a red and white checkerboard ribbon and a ? mark appeared on the field, shielding Kuribabylon and Catapult Turtle from the , Eatos attacked the hat on the far right, only to find nothing inside.
"What?" Raphael exclaimed. "No!"
"Yami just saved himself for one more turn!" said May. "What happens now?"
"Whatever happens," said Max. "We hope for a miracle...we're going to need one right now.
0-0-0-0-0-
Yugi was about to give up hope. No matter what he did, he couldn't escape the barrier the Seal of Orichalcos created, blocking him from his partner. Now, that very same Seal was underneath his feet, tempting him to give into the darkness.
"Go away!" The young boy cried. "You're nothing but pure evil! I don't want you near me!"
We are only evil to those who believe we are evil...The Orichalcos hissed. Have you not seen the duel? The blond Swordsman is fighting for the side of evil, but he acts like he wants to save the world. He is a hypocrite...he just wants to prove a point!
"But you were the one who caused Mai to betray us! You were the reason that Pegasus lost his soul!"
That man lost the duel. That woman chose to give up her soul to the devil. Your friend chose to use the power to save the world! You chose to hold onto that catalyst!
Yugi's eyes widened when he took the stone from Rebecca; that was the same artifact that amplified the temptations in Yami's heart. Had he not taken the card, would things have been different? Would Yami be this evil?
You are beginning to understand, little one. The Orichalcos purred. You made the decision to take that stone with you—you are the evil one! You saw what the stone could do, and yet you took it with you! You are no worse than your friend!
"No!" Yugi screamed, falling onto his knees. "I...it wasn't me! I didn't mean to!"
YOU DID! The Orichalcos screamed in his mind. Now take responsibility and give in! Give into the darkness within your heart and let it run free! Lash out at the people who hurt and betrayed you! Attack those who kept secrets from you. Attack the Chosen!
"You mean May and Max? No, I can't hurt them! They're..."
They know who the Pharaoh really is! They know that he was a wicked and heartless Pharaoh! They know that and they kept it secret from you! They know all about the Pharaoh's past and more about his evil heart. They knew that it would hurt you so they kept it secret. You call them friends, yet friends don't keep secrets from each other, do they? They might've told your friends and kept it all to themselves. That's how much they don't trust them—that's how much you shouldn't trust them.
As the words continued to pound his head, Yugi began to think. May and Max's looks when Yugi asked them about the monsters, Atem threatening to kill him if he tried to get close, the monsters that May had in that duel. Something was wrong—they didn't come to Domino City and San Francisco for an extended vacation. They came to destroy him and the Pharaoh.
Don't you see? said the Seal. You must fight those who are evil, and you must stand tall. Accept the Orichalcos, and let it consume you. Choose wisely, and you shall be free.
Yugi bit his lip and stayed silent. The Seal was right—all of these unknown secrets that were kept from him made him suspicious. He brushed it aside and gave May and Max the benefit of the doubt. But he couldn't do so anymore; they kept something from him. They kept everything from him.
Yugi saw two things that were on his neck—the Millennium Puzzle and the Orichalcos Stone. He held them in his hands and stared, weighing his decision. He closed his eyes as a symbol appeared on his forehead, symbolizing his decision to which side he belonged to.
"I choose freedom." He said, the Orichalcos shining on his forehead. "I choose power. I choose darkness!"
The Millennium Puzzle shattered in his hand when he gripped it, the golden pieces scattered everywhere when they touched the Seal beneath his feet. He made his decision.
Excellent... The Orichalcos chuckled. Welcome, young one. Take the Orichalcos to your heart and discard your kindness for cruelty. There, no one will harm you ever again.
"Yes, master." Yugi replied, an aura of green covering his body. "No one will ever keep secrets from me again."
0-0-0-0-
"This duel ends here, Raphael!" said Yami. "End your turn so I can defeat you."
Raphael growled; Yami was right. Kay'est and Backup Gardna failed in comparison with Attack Power against Yami's remaining monsters. He didn't expect the Pharaoh to actually make a rational move in his Orichalcos-induced haze. He had lost.
"I end my turn." He said. "Your move."
"Very well," said Yami, drawing his card. At the same time, the Millennium Puzzle began to glow.
"W-what's going on?" asked Max, seeing the Millennium Item shining. "Is that..."
"It's Yugi," said May. "I think he's trying to fight this madness."
"He better be quick," Mokuba noted. "This is the last move of the duel!"
"I activate Heavy Storm!" Yami exclaimed, playing the card. "Now all of our Magic and Trap Cards are sent to the card graveyard!"
"But the Orichalcos stays on the field!" said May. "That means..."
A large gust of wind blew across the field, destroying Yami's Magical Hats and Raphael's Nightmare Binding, Limit Tribute, Rod of Silence-Kayest, and Celestial Sword-Eatos. Now there were only five monsters on the field. Guardian Eatos had her Attack decreased back to 2500.
"I lost..." Raphael whispered. "No..."
Yami laughed as an aura of darkness surrounded him. The red tint on his eyes were expanding, replacing amethyst eyes with crimson.
"This is the end of you!" He said. "Kuribabylon, destroy his Guardian Eatos!"
Kuribabylon charged toward Eatos, lowing its head as its powerful horn pierced through Eatos's heart. Eatos screamed in pain as blood splashed everywhere and her mouth was set in a permanent gasp.
"EATOS!" Raphael screamed. "NO!"
Guardian Eatos slowly turned around, the corners of her lips curved to create a smile. Then she vanished, taking the last of Raphael's lifepoints with her.
"Come back..." Raphael gasped out, collapsing onto his knees. "I still need you..."
Yami smirked as the monsters vanished. The Seal of Orichalcos shrank until it was beneath Raphael's feet, ready to claim its prize.
The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle approached his opponent and placed a hand on their forehead.
"A little present before you go," He explained. "Your little trick to make me see the light failed. Let's see what happens when I give you that very same treatment."
"What is he doing?" asked Tristan. "What's going on?"
"Don't tell me..." said Joey. "He's not going to..."
There was a scream as dark energy appeared in Yami's hand. One hand was on Raphael's forehead, the other at his heart. The Swordsman's eyes were wide with terror as he continued to scream.
"This is madness!" said Rex, covering his ears. "It's worse that stupid girl's bird cloud!"
"That scream..." said May, covering her ears. "Make it stop!"
"What is he doing?" asked Max. "Mokuba, do you know?"
"I do," Mokuba replied. "I've seen battles where people are subjected to punishments that only the darkness can create. And Yami is instigating one of those punishments on his opponent. Whatever it is, I can assure you it's not pretty."
"We have to stop him!" said May. "We have to stop Yami from doing this! Come on!"
May ran toward the broken bridge and jumped. Beautifly began to glow blue as it lifted its trainer into the air with Psychic. Max and Mokuba nodded their heads as they did the same thing, Banette lifting them into the air. Once they were near the two duelists, May descended onto the ground.
"Beautifly!" She cried. "Use Silver Wind!"
"BEAUTIFLY!" Beautifly cried, crescents of silver light flapping from its wings. Yami turned around as he was hit with the attacks dead on.
"Banette!" Max cried as he and Mokuba also descended. "Attack with Will-O-Wisp!"
"Bane..." Banette was soon surrounded by blue orbs of fire that were fired at the Pharaoh. Yami tried to shield the attack with his Duel Disk.
"Not so fast!" A voice cried. "Shield us, Orichalcos!"
A dome of green light barricaded Yami from the attack and the flames disintegrated into nothing. A figure emerged from the shadows, their forehead branded with the Seal of Orichalcos.
"What?" asked Max. "What just happened?"
The barrier vanished as the figure approached them, scattering pieces of gold all around them. The darkness that covered them dispersed, revealing a familiar face.
"It can't be!" said Tristan. "Is that..."
"We have to get out of here!" said Duke. "Everyone in the car!"
Rex and Weevil immediately started to hightail it out, immediately pedaling away on their makeshift bike far, far away from the situation. Duke was preparing his convertible to drive back to Professor Hawkins and the others and Tristan immediately got in the front seat.
"Come on, Joey!" said Tristan. "Get in the car!"
"We can't just leave those kids there!" said Joey, pointing to May and the others. "We-"
"They have their powers, but we're still human! Besides...it's better that they left us alone." Tristan kept that last part to himself.
Joey hesitated before turning to Copernicus who had stayed still the whole time. He immediately went to the horse and climbed onto the saddle, grabbing the reigns. He took one last look to the Chosen and shook his head before leaving.
The Chosen stared at shock when they saw the figure staring at them with a scowl on their face. After some time, May was the one who said the person's name.
"Yugi?" She exclaimed. "But...you..."
Yugi smirked, his innocent amethyst eyes tinted with crimson. He looked the same, but those eyes showed a soul consumed by evil and corruption.
"Nice to see you, Goddess of Joy." Yugi hissed. "Seems that we need to have a chat about a certain someone."
"What do you mean?" asked Mokuba. "How could you side with the Orichalcos? You know that thing is evil!"
"Wrong!" Yugi growled. "You three are the evil ones! You claim to guard the Pharaoh and you have! You hid his past from us; Yami was an evil king long ago, wasn't he?"
The Chosen gasped in surprise. Yugi took that as a "yes."
"I should've known," He said. He turned to Yami and narrowed his eyes. "What do you suggest we do with them?"
Yami stared into Yugi's eyes before smiling. He released his hands on Raphael—by then, the screaming had stopped—and wrapped his arms around his Vessel. Yugi just leaned back, so their foreheads touched.
"W-what are they doing?" asked Max, nervously. "Why are they smiling?"
"They're talking in their heads," Mokuba answered, stepping back. "They're planning on how to kill us!"
"No..." May gasped. "NO!"
Yami stepped back as Yugi smiled once more, his eyes lowered half-mast. He took a step toward the Chosen, specks of darkness licking and kissing his skin in worship.
"When the world cries for justice," said Yugi. "When the world screams for blood...when the world lies to each other...that is the world we live in. You are the instigators of this destruction. You were supposed to save the Pharaoh, and you failed. You kept us in the dark and you could've taught him his past. But no, you kept it all for yourself!"
"Listen to yourself!" said May. "Since when are you so pushy about knowing about the past? Isn't there some things that should just be left in the sands of time?"
"Everything will be found sooner or later," Yugi retorted. "You should've told me that night instead of crying out for help. No one is going to help you now..."
Yugi waved his hand as a ring of black fire wrapped around the Chosen. The blaze began to rise higher and higher, taking away any oxygen the three could use to breathe. The three were on their knees, trying to gasp for air.
"Can't...breathe..." May gasped, returning Beautifly into its Pokéball. "S...stop..."
Max returned Shuppet to its Pokéball as he started to cough. Mokuba collapsed and his vision felt blurry. Still, he concentrated on a single thought.
Khonsu...He thought to himself. I'm so sorry...I couldn't save the world...
Yugi stared at his handiwork before turning to Raphael. While the fire burned, the soul of the Swordsman was taken and was now inside the Seal of Orichalcos card. Instead he set his gaze at Raphael's deck. He picked up the cards and smiled.
"What do you suggest we do with this, Pharaoh?" He asked the spirit.
"We keep it," Yami laughed. "A gift for our rebirth. The Orichalcos showed me who I truly was. I was the Pharaoh who let Egypt burn. I was the Pharaoh who set my land on fire when the kingdom kept secrets from me. Yes, everything is starting to make sense. It is time to scour the land for my past. It is time for the world to burn once more!"
"Then shall we start by seeing Dartz? He's the only one in our path that is stopping us from achieving our destiny. Better yet..."
The whir of a helicopter was heard as the two looked up. Inside the helicopter was Alister and Valon, the two looking down in shock.
"What the hell's going on down there?" Valon exclaimed. "There's two of those brats?e"
"And they both have the Orichalcos on them!" said Alister. "And they took Raphael's soul!"
Yami just grinned as he snapped his fingers. The helicopter exploded in a burst of flame and began to fall into the chasm. The only sound that was heard were Alister and Valon screaming as they fell to their deaths.
Yugi laughed as he took the Eye of Timaeus from his deck and tore it in half, the card halves falling just inches near the black fire barrier. Noticing this, May took as much as air as she could and slowly began to inch her hand toward the card. However, when her fingertips touched the barrier, she let out a gasp when she felt how much it hurt.
"No..." She weakly gasped before her eyes closed.
Mokuba was already unconscious and Max was struggling to stand up. His mind concentrated on only one thing before he felt himself fall down.
I wish we weren't here! He thought. Take us to a somewhere that isn't here! Please...anywhere but here...
As if to answer his question, something began to glow in his pocket. Max slowly pulled it out, seeing his father's special wishing tag glowing in a faint light. Then, that light began to expand, dispelling the black fire and enveloping the Chosen. While the Swordsmen, Yami and Yugi were in their scuffle, the three children vanished.
It was if they were never there to begin with.
0-0-0-0-
May: Where are we? It seems familiar...
Max: Yeah, it does. But at the same time, something seems off.
Mokuba: People we know don't know us or hate us. What did we do to deserve this?
Max: I have no idea, and we need to find out what's going on.
May: Next time: "Chapter 1: When the World Grew Old"
Mokuba: This is insanity...we're not in Domino City anymore...
Max: You mean...
May: We're in a place where the world hates our guts...
