Chapter 14 – Here Comes A New Challenger
A wide space of black that faded into green-white lights hovering above Tea and Yugi set the scene. Their shoes crunched in the odd jade bone texture of the ground, which had alien construction. It was a suspended flat circular panel they stood on which had a narrow bridge that connected to the largest circular panel in the center.
Marik had already ran down ahead of them, trying to find the source of Zorc's power. He didn't seem to keen on trying to stop Tea and Yugi at the moment who had followed him in; perhaps in the hope he could get what he searched for before they had the chance. The duo were still mesmerized by the weird space they were in; it was like a different world entirely. Hoping not to attract the attention of Ishtar; they both looked at each other and nodded, before walking down the sloped pathway slowly. The sounds of the whirring around them hid the scuffle noises of their feet. Somehow, Marik's loud voice overpowered this atmospheric sound. "Where is the power I so rightly claim!? It should be here somewhere," his eyes locked onto a platform ahead that mirrored the one Yugi and Tea had started on. Instead of a gateway, on top of this platform was a seat with strange decorations behind it. It resembled a throne.
Marik couldn't be happier. He ran over with his hands flailing in the air, screaming weird garble like a lunatic. At this point Tea and Yugi ran to catch up, but they were blocked by something else. He sat on the cold seat and rubbed his arms over the siderests affectionately. "Look! I'm the King now! Bow down to me!"
Silence.
"Why don't have have infinite power already?" Marik quickly grew frustrated.
The person who appeared before Yugi and Tea soon revealed themselves. They wore a white cloak and hood, much like a nun. She wore long sleeves and only her left hand was visable. There was a weird kind of benevolent air around her. "Who's she?" Yugi whispered to Tea.
"I don't know," Tea quickly replied.
The woman in white and blue stepped slowly forward to Marik Ishtar. "My name is Mellissan and I have been watching over this place for as long as I can remember. "
Marik stood up from his position. "What!? There was no such thing in the legend!"
"Of course not." Mellissan quickly replied. "If anyone knew, it would be... too easy," her words halted for a brief period.
"I am a Black Wing!" Marik shouted, revealing the single black wing on his back. "I am rightful to this position!"
Mellissan shook her head. "No. You can only become the ruler here with my blessing."
Marik seemed hysterical. "So you won't give me what I want?"
To Yugi and Tea's suprise, Mellissan shook her head again. "No. I will give you it, if you come to me."
Bad news for Yugi and Tea. The brunette girl was itching to act. "Hey Yugi, if we let this continue, then all will be lost!"
Yugi remained still, concentrating on the situation. "Let's wait a bit."
"Huh?" Tea had noticed that Yugi had that look in his eyes; the same look that an opponent would make to him laying down cards face down in a Duel.
The ghost of the Pharaoh appeared over Yugi's shoulder. "You noticed it as well?"
Yugi merely nodded in response as he watched the rest of the events unfold.
Marik was now face to face with Mellissan. He didn't seem to keen to attack her just yet; he would take the blessing from her to acquire Zorc's energy, then kill her. Mellissan held out her visible hand and touched Marik's shoulder. "Now, I shall give you the blessing of the Black Wing..."
Marik grinned.
"...by taking it away." Mellissan coldly worded.
Marik didn't have a chance to react when his vision was blackened. From Tea's perspective, Mellissan hand suddenly drawn a massive black iron gauntlet from her other cuff and snatched Marik by the face to prevent him from seeing. Suddenly, the aura around her dripped to a blood cold.
Ishtar was unable to speak or react, but he could instantly feel his body being sapped away. Mellissan screamed. "Soon the powers of the Black Wing shall be mine!" She released Marik and he dropped to a heap on the floor. Grabbing her cloak, she removed it revealing some black battle armour underneath designed with a red stripe. He hair was mid-length and orange. Her head was decorated in an intimidating gold head-dress with white feathers. She summoned a black spear to her left hand, and flexed her black gauntlet in the other. "All I need now is one more soul of a Black Wing and I will have what I need to take Zorc's place!" Her eyes locked with Yugi; sensing the power within his being.
Yugi readied his Duel Disk sword. He could feel his own body demand to sweep him away, as Yami cried to be set free to challenge the dangerous woman. He allowed it, and his Millennium Puzzle activated and Yami soon stood before Tea and Mellissan. He whipped out a card from his deck on his belt. "How did you get in here?" Yami asked, trying to buy himself time.
"Get in here!? I was waiting in here for almost an eternity for the Black Wings to stroll right in!" Mellissan screamed. "I got in here when Zorc first created this place thousands of years ago when he predicted his own demise. Time does not flow here. You do not grow old and die. You do not require amenities so significant as 'sleep' either. To live an eternity has made me feel the powers of a god, but I lack the power. I desire it so! So you need to roll over and die so I can take it!" Mellissan aimed her spear at Yami Yugi's heart removing her from any further negotiations with him.
Yami flipped up the one card he had randomly drew to his hand and glanced at the unique red bordered card. "And so the heart of the cards pulls through for me," he smiled.
He raised his card up in the air in a dramatic way and revealed it to the new enemy. "I summon Slifer the Sky Dragon!" He placed down the card on his sword hilt and before long, a scream could be heard in the air as a red snake dragon emerged from the sky. It was larger than any normal Duel Monster. "This is my Egyptian God Card!" Yami threatened.
Mellissan just chuckled. "I've slain much bigger dragons in my lifetime compared to that tiny whelp." She summoned the black wing that Marik once had to her back and propelled herself forward to attack the Yami first. She aimed for his heart, but Silfer descended far enough to block, and instead she changed her course by jumping on it's head. She cruelly stabbed down her spear onto the monsters head to keep stability. "You underestimate my power, Pharaoh!" The girl shouted while she knelt down on the dragon she surfed. She placed down her iron gauntlet with an open palm. Before long, Slifer gave a roar as it shattered into thin air and she dropped from the sky.
Yami was in awe.
Mellissan turned around. "This is the Death Claw of Dragon Slaying. Any dragon you summoned will instantly be its victim. Even if it is a god."
Yami's best monster had been destroyed. There wasn't any better card he could have pulled and it was quickly defeated by Mellissan. "She fights like a real warrior." He fumbled through his cards to see if he could draw anything else. "I summon the Buster Blader!"
"Oh?" Mellissan smirked "And what will your little man do?"
"Since my dragons don't work, I shall fight warrior with warrior." Yami replied as his Duel Monster stood before him.
Buster Blader attacked, and too did Mellissan."I just don't get why you don't use your powers of the Black Wing! It's putting you at a huge disadvantage mortal!" She swept her spear and it clashed as the Buster Blader defended with his huge sword.
"I don't want such power." Yami replied.
"Then why not give it to me!?" Mellissan cringed as she nearly let herself take a hit by Yami's monster.
"Because I don't need it. Nobody needs it. Not even you. Such a dark power is only meant to be abused." Yami continued.
"But without it you'll die!" Mellissan screamed as she finally struck her spear through Buster Blader's torso, destroying it. "Why risk the life of you and your disgusting girlfriend!?"
"Because this is just a game. And I'm about to beat it." Yami sneered.
Mellissan charged at Yami with her spear to prevent him summoning another monster. "You'll do no such thing!"
An arrow shot from the corner of her eye and she was nearly struck by it. It seemed Tea wanted a piece of this woman as well. "I'm not disgusting! You are!"
"You bitch!" Mellissan screamed "I'll decimate you first!"
But Mellissan stopped. She couldn't move her body further as it suddenly went cold. She looked down at her torso and noticed a golden blade had stuck itself inside her body.
Yami's hand was at the other end of the blade. He had run her through. "I struck you in the heart, where the power of the Black Wing lies."
"No! You-" Mellissan stopped as the pain quickly sunk in. "I will not go without a real fight...!"
Yami removed the sword from her body and stepped backwards. Tea stood close by. The Pharaoh's Puzzle glowed as power of the other half of the black wing sucked itself in.
However, Mellissan did not seem keen to give it up. "I beseech you... Slayer..."
Yami grabbed Tea by the waste and lifted her into her hands. "What are you doing?" Tea asked, feeling rather awkward.
"We need to leave as soon as possible." Yami quickly replied.
Tea suddenly felt herself being lifted in the air. When she looked up, she could see Yami... flying?
He had a pair of black wings this time, whereas Mellissan and Marik had only showed one. "You know Yami, you could take that throne in that room right now and become a god; why don't you look back?" Tea asked.
"I chose not to because I'd rather not abandon my friends. That's my only reason."
"You'd throw it all away for that?"
"You better believe it." Yami responded. "Besides, if I lived here for eternity with ultimate power, I'd get bored very quickly. I'm already missing playing Duel Monsters with Yugi again."
Yami dived through the gate while holding on to Tea, and as they left, the room around them had begun to crumble and fall apart. The monster that was once Mellissan had fallen to the bottom of the endless space, never to be seen again.
Page breaky
Yami tumbled and fell over a wooden object, into a heap of bodies on the floor. His vision was obscured by something that blocked out the light. It felt soft and comfortable... like a pillow. He wanted to sit there for a bit, but he suddenly found himself being scolded by the voice of Tea above him.
"Oh wow Yami, you know where to land don't you?" Tristan chuckled from behind.
Yami pulled himself up and realised that his face had been resting between Tea's cleavage. He blushed and shook it off, before realising they were back in Joey's bedroom. He noticed Tea was back in her normal pink uniform. Standing up, he saw Tristan and Joey beside him, but they were also not carrying their Duel Disk weapons nor wearing their equipment.
Yami rubbed his head. "Was that some kind of dream?" He questioned.
"I don't think so." Joey replied. "I remember going on a whacky adventure, as if we were really in that videogame!" Wheeler was confused when Yami instinctively pulled his hands behind his back.
"The wings... they aren't there anymore." He thought aloud.
"Ehh... you high Yami? What wings?" Joey had not seen Yugi or Yami use the Black Wings like Marik or Mellissan had.
Tea merely giggled at the embarrassing situation the Pharaoh had put himself in.
Later that day, Joey carried the box of Pharaoh's Gate in his hands. He decided to return it to the store after the experience he had with it. When he arrived, he noticed a massive queue going outdoors. Various people carried the games in their hands with disgruntled faces. He had a feeling he would be waiting a long time. In the meanwhile, he saw a TV screen on the outside of the door which had the face of Seto Kaiba on it.
"...Our first edition print of Pharaoh's Gate may have suffered technical compromises by connecting to the Kaiba Corp Virtual Network. You can trade in the game for a new copy and register your key on the Fume Network on your computers when you get home." Kaiba's face seemed to delve into confusion via the live feed and he whispered "...Did all of that actually happen?"
Joey assumed he still hadn't gotten over the church girl Kisara sacrificing himself. He watched as Kaiba clutched his Duel Monsters card hung around his neck, before the live video feed ended and the screen of the television went blank.
His cellphone in his satchel rung as he continued to wait in the crowd. He lifted the device out of his pocket and flipped it open before placing it by his ear to listen. He could hear Tristan on the other end. "Hey Joey, guess what?" Tristan's fuzzy voice on the other end.
"What?" Joey asked. He could hear Tristan giggling on the other end, making him even more curious.
"Yugi just duped Yami into going on a date with Tea again! He's not happy!"
Joey sniggered. "I have to see this!"
Wheeler got disinterested in queuing and decided to run off. He had a better idea in mind anyway.
Yami felt like he could pass out on the spot. He lugged himself through the door of Kame before hearing a voice in his head. "Let me switch places before Grandpa sees us!"
Yami grumbled at Yugi's deviance. "Fine."
Yugi saw his grandfather standing at the counter inside. His older relative immediately noticed his presence and welcomed him in. "How are you doing Yugi?"
Yugi was tierd. Tea had dragged Yami through a shopping mall through the entire afternoon and he could feel the wear on his body. "I'm a little tierd actually."
"It's very late in the evening. You should be catching some rest."
Yugi's mind had already wondered off on its own. His eyes locked on to the box at the top of the shelf. Grandpa snapped "What did I tell you about not touching stock on the shelves?"
"I was just wondering about this game here." Yugi said lifting down the old dusty box. It was very large and flat and he could hear the clatter of loose plastic pieces inside.
"Oh that one, that's a game I used to play when I was young. I showed it to one of your friends when he wondered in here."
Yugi saw the title on the box read 'Pharaoh's Gate'. "It looks interesting."
"If you promise not to lose the pieces in there, I'll let you try it out."
Fin
Author's Notes
And so ends the tale of Pharaoh's Gate! Thanks to everyone for reading this far, I thought I'd leave a little bit at the end to write down my thoughts and inception to the story.
This is actually my first Fanfiction to Yugioh and only ended up writing this because I got into the series recently. I remembered it from my childhood, but my sisters did not like me watching it because they thought the card games were 'stupid'. While the card games I feel are their own can of worms, I really liked the mythological lore and characters around the first season in particular.
Baldurs Gate Enhanced Edition came out a few months ago, and seeing my father play that game again after over a decade inspired me to write this. That feeling I had watching my father play boardgames in my childhood, before he got his first computer and started playing Baldurs Gate on it. I swear I used to watch him play it every night back in 1999. A year later, Baldurs Gate 2 came out and concluded the story with some of my favourite villains in games of all time, Jon Irenicus and Amelyssan/Melissan. I'm not a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, but these were some of the best story driven adventures I've touched.
I felt the genre of videogames and boardgames was sort of a perfect scenario for Yugioh, specifically for the King of Games, Yami Yugi. I remembered how in Season Zero I enjoyed him watching him defeat enemies in smart ways and how his desire to win prevented him from backing down on a challenge.
The main deviatons of this story is the entire Egyptian setting it's based on, feeding from the rules of Duel Monsters rather than Dungeons and Dragons. There were many more Children of Bhaal in Baldurs gate than there were Black Wings. (Some children of Bhaal were even non-human creatures like ogres and dragons.) Another notable difference is that Baldur's Gate 2 is set in the town of Amn, whilst Pharaoh's Gate is more a parody of the city of Baldur's Gate. There are many more differences though, see if you can spot them all.
Final Character Breakdown:-
Yugi Moto/Yami Yugi = Protagonist
Joey Wheeler = Minsc
Kuriboh = Boo
Tristan Taylor = Jaheira
Miho = Khalid
Duke Delvin = Quayle
Serenity = Aerie
Eradi = Kalah
Seto Kaiba = Yoshimo
Marik Ishtar = Jon Irenicus
Bakura = Bohdi
Melissan = Amelyssan/Melissan
The only main character that has their own role is Kisara.
Further Reading
I spent some time during the week creating a few 'visual' character sheets for this story. I'll probably make more in the future, but if you want to see them, you'll have to note me, as it prevents me linking them here.
Expect some more visual art for this story in the future. Just because it's finished for now, doesn't mean I can't still bring it to life. Thanks to everyone for reading, especially to ManwiththeImagination for reviewing so many of my chapters. Thank you guys!