Chapter 8
Previously
"But until you're strong enough, I'm going back out there and help the pharaoh in every way I can." Rafael responded determined.
Una smiled sincerely for a short while before turning serious again.
"When you wake up, I won't be there. Don't worry about it, though. I will be around shortly. Now let's get going. The war has started. Once this battle is over, I promise that I will send you back. Once you arrive there, none of you will remember what has happened these last few years." Una said before walking out of the room.
(A.N. The duel where Dartz faces the pharaoh and Kaiba has taken place like on tv right up to the point where the mirror knight's helmets crack.)
"What going on?!" Kaiba demanded.
"Yugi! Joey!" Yami exclaimed. 'But how? I thought that Una freed them. They were supposed to be in a coma-like state until Dartz is defeated. How did that vile man get his hands on them? Did Una lie to Yugi? Or did something happen to her when she jumped after Rafael?' he thought, suddenly doubting whether he could trust her or not and feeling a familiar, yet strange pang to the chest.
Flashback
"You passed Una's test and now she will free me from the Oricalcos!" Shocked Yami looked at the girl who was surrounded in a pinkish-purple light, which flowed over to Yugi. Yami gasped as he saw Yugi solidify.
"Now listen quickly Pharaoh, even though Una has freed my soul from the Oricalcos, I will be in a coma-like state until you defeat Dartz. But in a way, the worst is over, because now you will know that I am safe. I'll be waiting for you in my soulroom." said Yugi.
Flashback 1 end
Flashback 2
"Joey and I were duelling, but he lost. Then out of nowhere, this strange girl, Una, appeared and said that Joey was safe but he is in the same state that you're in." said a confused and teary Mai.
Flashback 2 end
Flashback 3
"No, Una, what are you doing? Have you gone insane?" Mai cried out. To Yami's horror, he saw Una standing at the edge of the ledge and diving after Rafael. Again, Yami had the strangest feeling. The feeling he had when he saw the woman on the tablet. The feeling of his heart being ripped into shreds!
"Una, no!" He called out as was surprised to feel tears gather behind his eyes.
Flashback 3 end
"Hey Dartz, I think your dueldisk is faulty." Kaiba mocked, interrupting Yami's musings just in time to let him see Yugi's and Joey's faces disappear, leaving two knights headless and the remaining two with faces, one had Pegasus' face while the other one had Solomon Moto's face.
"What have you done, Pharaoh? How were you able to save your friends from the Oricalcos?" Dartz demanded.
"O please," Kaiba mocked, "just because he is the King of Games doesn't mean he is the reason your dueldisk is giving problems. Now Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon(ATK 4300) attack those knights. Take them out!"
Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon attacked the soldiers but Yami, who was watching while mentally apologising for doubting Una, noticed that Ciotora nullified the attack.
(A.N. I'M NOT GOING TO WRITE OUT THE ENTIRE DUEL, BECAUSE IT WILL TAKE PAGES. THEREFORE, I WILL LET THE DUEL FOLLOW THE ANIME AND WILL ANNOUNCE WHERE I WILL PICK UP AGAIN)
(A.N. WE START OFF AT THE POINT WHERE RAFAEL INTERRUPTS THE DUEL. KAIBA HAS 600 POINTS LEFT, PEGASUS SENT A TELEPATHIC MESSAGE TO YAMI, TELLING HIM THAT THE CARD HE GAVE HIM WAS HIS ONLY HOPE.)
"You don't look happy to see me," Rafael said, "and after all we've been through. Where's the love? Don't answer that. I've heard enough lies from you! The pharaoh opened me up to the truth."
"Really now?" Dartz taunted.
"Yea, really, and after the pharaoh saved me from the darkness in my heart, Una went further and has saved me from my loneliness." Rafael responded.
"Una's alright? Is she here with you?" Yami asked, while wondering why he was so relieved to hear that she was safe and unharmed.
"She is alright, but I don't know where she is right now. Don't worry though, I have a feeling that she will be here before the end of the duel."
'The girl in the valley? Why is she fighting in this battle? Could she be the one? I didn't see the one who stopped the great beast 5000 years ago very clearly. Could it be that it was this Una-girl?' Dartz pondered before mocking Rafael: "Well, then, I guess I can stop this charade I've built around you and your so-called friends. How about a little exposé? Let's start with Allister. Gozuboru Kaiba's men supposedly killed his family, while I was actually the one who had those people killed. I was also the one who messed up Valen's life, when I framed him for a crime when he was 9 years old. How do you think he ended up in that juvenile centre of his? And then, there's you- a poor little boy, who has to see his family drown after the cruise ship capsized. You see, Rafael, you and your friends have been my pawns from the very start!" Dartz mocked with glee, thinking that the explanation will make Rafael so angry that the hatred will take him over and reopening the fool to the seal's magic.
"Why am I not surprised? You look shocked, Dartz" Rafael told the surprised Dartz. "I told you that the pharaoh and Una saved me. Have you gotten anything else you want to admit?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. I have the Pearson, now known as the Kaiba brothers, whose fire-fighting parents were called out to a non-existing fire in the mountains. Their helicopter was sabotaged, causing them to crash in the mountains. And just to make sure that no-one found them, a different flight path was filed at the fire-department and the chopper's radio was destroyed in the crash"
"It was you?!" Mokuba yelled, getting more worked up by the second, "You were the one who caused my parents to disappear, and inevitably caused us to go to that awful man? You caused that my brother never smiles anymore. He was filled with so much hate, and it's entirely your fault!"
"Mokuba, calm down! He's just messing with your head!" Kaiba ordered, but it didn't help.
Mokuba was too emotional. Then, out of nowhere, a seal started to form around Mokuba and slowly started to grow around him.
"Yes, little boy, I was the reason your mommy and daddy never came back home. I was hoping that I could corrupt both so that I have both of you at my disposal, but, unfortunately, it turns out that the eldest brother was one of the chosen duelists and the youngest was protected by some force, causing that I couldn't get my hands on either of them." Dartz taunted the younger Kaiba brother, knowing that if he upset the boy enough, he would gain another soul for the great leviathan.
The seal around Mokubah was now fully activated and was beginning to shrink to take the boy captive. However, a mere second before the seal sucked Mokuba away, something under Mokuba's shirt lit up. Taking it out, Mokuba was surprised to see that it was the stone Una gave him. It was glowing and filling him with a warm, loving feeling. Suddenly, Mokuba could hear a voice in his head.
"Mokuba, please calm down. Your parents are alive and well. I was able to save them before the helicopter crashed, but I as much as I wanted to, I couldn't send them back to you and your brother. I was simply not strong enough at the time. However, if your brother and the pharaoh can defeat Dartz, I will be able to bring them back to you, but to do that, I need you to trust me."
"Who are you?" Mokuba asked mentally.
"I'm called Una. Now will you trust me?" The voice questioned.
"I – I don't know. Give me a little time to think about it." Mokuba inquired.
"Alright, you have three minutes before I ask you again." Una responded.
Kaiba, who was still calling out to Mokuba in an effort to get him to respond was surprised to see the glowing stone around his brother's neck. But what shocked him more, was the fact that the seal which surrounded his brother remained in a stasis-like form, as if it is waiting for something…
TBC
