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The Orichalcos Saga
Fanfic Chapter 209: Dueling Spirits Pt 1: The Stone Wilderness
Episode Basis: Self Destruction
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Just like when he dueled Aaron of the Four Horsemen at Battle City, Harold experienced a vision of a boy and his uncle going to see someone. But when they arrive at the apartment, the boy is knocked out. When the boy woke up, he did not know who he was. Even though Harold could understand what the poor girl had gone through and why she was so supportive of Dartz, he knew he had to win. Harold released the final dragon, Solon, which he combined with his Ojama King. Before falling victim to the Orichalcos, Jonah made one last plea to Harold: she asked him to save Dartz. But Harold had no idea how to do that or even who he was saving Dartz from.
"Yugi, what are you doing?"
"The seal can only take one of us so I'm letting it take me instead."
"Yugi, no!"
The boy stared up at the spirit, his eyes already tearing up. "You're more important to the others than I am, you're the only one who can finish this. Farewell, Pharaoh."
"YUGI! NOOOOOOOO!"
"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, Weevil," Yami said showing him the Eye of Timaeus. Weevil squealed in fright. "I play the Eye of Timaeus and fuse it with Poison Butterfly…" But the fusion failed and Timaeus disappeared. "No, Timaeus has abandoned me!"
Weevil shrieked again, this time in delight. "The dark magic of the Orichalcos is still inside you! You turned your back on your monsters now they turned their back on you! That's what you get for treating them like cannon fodder!"
Yami gasped and opened his eyes. "Was it all a dream?" He wondered. He then looked around at where he was. It was some sort of teepee. Tea was sleeping next to him and he shook her awake. "Tea, wake up."
"Pharaoh?" Tea asked groggy. She sat up and also took in their surroundings. "How did we survive the crash?"
"I don't know," Yami replied. "But… I'm glad you're safe." I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to her. After losing Harold and Yugi, if I lost Tea, I… A movement caught Yami's eye. "Tea, watch out!"
Tea turned just as a wolf leapt onto her… and started furiously licking her face. "Hey, come on, that tickles," Tea said laughing. The wolf then turned and started doing the same to Yami.
"Sky, quit it," a voice called from outside. A young girl with maroon hair done in a pair of short braids dressed in native garb including a wide-brimmed hat (that seemed to be too big for her small head) came into the teepee. "I'm sorry that Sky woke you up."
"It's all right," Tea said.
"My name's Chris," the girl introduced. "And this is Sky."
"I'm Tea and this is…" Tea paused, not sure whether to call the boy sitting next to her the Pharaoh or Yugi.
"You can just call me Yugi," Yami introduced making Tea's heart ache.
"Come on, my Grandpa's waiting by the river."
An old man in shamanic robes carrying a walking stick stood by the river picking up scattered Duel Monster cards. He paused and looked surprised upon seeing the Eye of Timaeus. He picked up the card. "So we meet again, old friend," he muttered.
"Grandpa!" Chris and Sky ran up to him followed by Yami and Tea.
"Ah, I'm glad to see you are finally awake," he said to Yami and Tea. "My name is Ironheart."
"Are you the one who rescued us?" Yami asked.
"Yes, though I would've not found you were it not for your friend here." Ironheart motioned with his head to the white orb which flew up to Yami's face and started bouncing around in an almost celebratory manner.
"It's you!" Yami gasped. "You led me and Yugi to the dragons and to the Professor." Tea let out a little jump, Yami just blurted out their secret. But Ironheart and Chris didn't seem surprised or even confused by it. "I don't know who or what you are but thank you."
Ironheart smiled knowingly. "Here," he said handing Yami his deck. "You dropped this in the crash. I noticed that you carry the legendary Eye of Timaeus." The card was face-up on the top of Yami's deck.
Yami was too distraught upon seeing the card to wonder how Ironheart knew about Timaeus. Yami took the card and handed it to Ironheart. "I did, but now… I'm not deserving of its power."
Ironheart took the card. "I'll hold on to it for the time being."
Tea looked around and then asked Ironheart, "Was there another boy near us when you found us? He had big glasses and a bad haircut."
"There was another boy with you," Ironheart confirmed. "He was taken to the village at the foot of the mountain. He was different from you he was cold, lifeless, like he had no soul."
"That's precisely what it is," Yami said. "And it's my fault. I was corrupted by darkness… or perhaps I always had it but did not know." He related their adventure so far to Ironheart and Chris.
"I see," Ironheart said neutrally when Yami finished his story. "If you do find your friend, what would you say to him?"
"I would apologize to him for betraying his trust and abandoning him."
"I see. I might be able to help." He led the group along a dangerous path. Tea almost tripped several times.
After Yami had to help her for the third time, she asked, "Mr. Ironheart, sir, where are you taking us?"
"It's called the Stone Wilderness. It's a link between the living world and the spirit world. My people believed that souls exist all around us and just beyond this mountain is a sacred valley that lost souls are said to wander. The soul of your friend might be there. But searching for the soul will be the easy part, getting out with your own would be much more difficult." He turned to Yami. "Are you sure you don't want to back out?"
"I have to go," Yami said determined. "I owe it to Yugi."
Raphael descended the cliff to the wreckage of the train which had landed in a river. He took a peek inside it but couldn't find anyone. I wonder if the Pharaoh survived, he thought. Even if he didn't, I can't go back to Master Dartz empty-handed; I would at least need a body to show him.
Atop another cliff, Iornheart pointed downward with his walking stick to a circle with stones placed at various points around it. "There it is, the Stone Wilderness."
"What do I do when I get there?" Yami asked.
"Enter the center of the sacred circle alone."
"Fine, I accept the challenge!" He started to run down the mountainside.
Tea started to follow but Chris held her back. "You can't go, Tea," she said.
"Only someone with a strong mind may enter the Stone Wilderness," Ironheart explained. "If you were to enter behind him, your soul would be in danger just as his. If the Pharaoh worries about you, his mind will not be strong and he would be lost for all eternity."
Tea sighed and turned to watch the descending Pharaoh. "Pharaoh," she muttered.
Yami arrived at the bottom of the valley and started to walk into the circle. He heard childish laughter around him. "Hello, is someone there?" He asked.
"Turn back," voices commanded.
"Who's there, show yourself!"
The laughter became more insidious. Small balls of light, different from the one that was now perched on Tea's shoulder like a parrot started to enter the circle.
"The Pharaoh is attracting lost souls seeking revenge," Ironheart explained to Tea.
Phantom images of all the opponents Yami had dueled with appeared, from the Eliminators to Yami-Marik and the Rare Hunters. Yami knew they were trying to scare him. Still, he walked on. When Yami got to the center of the circle, he called out, "Yugi! Yugi, are you here?" The specs of light started to gather together.
"A soul is crossing over," Chris explained.
Yugi appeared floating in mid air. He opened his eyes. "Pharaoh?"
"Yugi!" Yami held out his hand but only ended up passing through Yugi's form.
"Pharaoh, did you come all this way just to see me?" Yugi asked.
"Of course." Yami lowered his head. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am."
"I'm sorry too," Yugi replied. "I wished this whole thing never happened."
Yami nodded, "It's my fault, I gave in to the darkness in my heart and you paid the price. Now that you're gone…" Yami thought back to his vicious attack against Weevil, even going so far as to almost throw Weevil off the train. "The darkness is growing inside me. Without your light to keep me pure, I'm becoming evil. Maybe Raphael is right." He thought back to the images of destroyed Egypt and the fight between the Priest and the Pharaoh. "Maybe I was the one who destroyed Egypt, maybe my soul should be locked away."
"What good is that now?" Yugi shouted. "I'm the one who's been locked away forever!"
"I'm sorry."
"I don't need your pity! If you're really evil, then there's only one thing left to do." He walked to one end of the circle. When he turned to face Yami, there was a Duel Disk on his arm. "Your spirit should be locked away and I'm the one who's going to do it!"
"No…"
"It's time you started taking responsibility for what you done. If you're truly sorry, you would own up to it like a man and face me in a duel!"
Yami sighed defeated, "Fine."
(Y: 4000)
(P: 4000)
A/N: For clarity's sake, Y means Yugi and P means Pharaoh.
"Why is Yugi going to duel himself?"
"He needs to do this," Chris explained. "That's why we brought him here."
"We took the Pharaoh here so that he could face his darkness and move on," Ironheart added.
"We knew about you guys from the beginning," Chris threw in. "That's why we didn't say anything when the Pharaoh referred to Yugi as Yugi instead of himself."
"But how could you know all this?"
"We've always known," Chris said.
"I'll start by placing one monster face-down in defense mode," Yugi said.
Yami drew his sixth card. "I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in attack mode. Gazelle, attack!" Gazelle pounced on the face-down card, which was another Gazelle. "Your monster was Gazelle too?" He looked down at his hand.
"We must be holding the same cards." Yugi drew, "I set another monster in defense mode. I know what you're planning, Pharaoh."
"Then it won't be a surprise to you," Yami returned as he drew a card. "I play Polymerization fusing Gazelle with Befomet to form Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast! Next I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in attack mode. Alpha, attack his face-down card." Alpha swung his sword. A furry monster with three eyes and claws appeared briefly. "Chimera, attack him directly!" Chimera slashed its claws across Yugi's side.
(Y: 1900)
(P: 4000)
That's strange, Yami thought. If we do have the same hand, why didn't he just use Monster Reborn to revive Gazelle and block my attack? Is he trying to lose this duel on purpose? Or is he trying to deceive me as part of some sort of strategy.
"By destroying my Sangan (1), you allow me to move a monster from my deck to my hand." He drew a card. "Next I place one card face-down and activate Card Destruction! Now we have to send our entire hands to the graveyard. With different hands, you can't cheat any more!"
"Why are you acting this way?"
"I'm just a reflection of you, so the darkness in your heart is also in me."
"I wish I could get rid of this retched darkness."
"Well it's too late, you've already shown me who you really are, an evil Pharaoh who only cares about himself! You didn't care what happened to me, so long as you have power!"
"That's not true!"
Yugi drew a card and a strange look overtook his face. "Oh, then if it's not true, then why would I have this card?"
His face, it's like… "No, you couldn't, you wouldn't!"
"I can and I will. I play The Seal of Orichalcos!" Yugi slid the card into his field magic card slot.
It was like a car wreck. Tea wanted to turn away in disgust, but for some reason she couldn't. The white orb hovered closer to the side of her face.
The seal appeared around them, its points matched up perfectly with a stone around the circle. Yugi's eyes glowed red and the seal appeared on his forehead. "Now its payback time for taking my soul!"
"No," Yami quietly pleaded but discarded his hand into his graveyard and drew a new hand.
"I activate my face-down card Monster Reborn to bring back the Dark Magician Girl I sent to the graveyard. Next I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (2) in attack mode." The Seal of Orichalcos appeared on both the monsters' heads. This time, however, Dark Magician Girl was less resistant to its influence, in fact it was almost like she wanted it.
(DMG: 2000-2500)
(OCG: 1400-1900)
"Dark Magician Girl, attack Chimera and Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack Alpha! Go!" The two monsters charged forward. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian sliced Alpha to pieces while Dark Magician Girl blasted Chimera.
(Y: 1900)
(P: 3100)
"Now you have no monsters on the field!" Yugi declared.
"Wrong, what I do have is Chimera's special ability which I now use to bring Berfomet back in defense mode!" Berfomet reappeared crouched. "Now it's my turn." He drew a card. "I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode." This should protect me from Dark Magician Girl's attack.
"You're a coward," Yugi spat as he drew a card. "I summon Queen's Knight in attack mode and play Magic Formula to raise Dark Magician Girl's attack points!"
(QK: 1500-2000)
(DMG: 2500-3000)
"Queen's Knight, attack Berfomet and Dark Magician Girl, attack his Big Shield Gardna!" Yami's monsters were destroyed. "Now, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack his life points directly!" The guardian stabbed his sword into Yami's chest.
(Y: 1900)
(P: 1200)
"It won't be long now soon your soul will be locked away for all eternity!"
"I'm not through yet. I place one card face-down and summon Giant Soldier of Stone (3) in defense mode. Now I play Swords of Revealing Light!" The golden swords were grouped together in front of Yugi's monsters like cage bars. "There, now I have three turns to talk some sense into you!"
"Your swords mean nothing," Yugi said. Yami gasped, he remembered saying those exact same words to Raphael. "I sacrifice Obnoxious Celtic Guardian so I can summon Catapult Turtle!"
(CT: 1000-1500)
"This is just like what I did!"
"That's right, and now it's time for you to experience the consequences of your own evil! My first monster to sacrifice is Queen's Knight!" Queen's Knight got onto the catapult and was fired. The Queen transformed into a beam of gold light and struck Yami.
(Y: 1900)
(P: 200)
"It won't be long now," Yugi said acidly. "Soon you'll be a prisoner of the Orichalcos just like me!"
On his knees, Yami thought, His eyes, is that how I looked when I used the Seal of Orichalcos? "I can't lose. If I do, then I won't be able to set you free and two worlds will suffer!"
"You don't care about that, you're evil! Last time you didn't care who suffered so long as you had the power! Dark Magician Girl, get onto the catapult." Unlike last time, this time she didn't hesitate to get on the catapult. Dark Magician Girl transformed into a pink beam of energy in mid-flight.
Yami's whole body was trembling. Images flashed in his mind, the first time Dark Magician Girl was sacrificed through Catapult Turtle, Yugi pushing him out of the field, the images of Ancient Egypt destroyed, the Priest and the Pharaoh battling with Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Then a new scene appeared in his mind: a girl who looked exactly like Dark Magician Girl being held at the neck by a faceless individual wielding a knife.
Never again, you hear me? NEVER AGAIN! "ACTIVATE TRAP CARD!" Yami commanded. Yami's trap card, Divine Wind was revealed. Divine Wind takes an attack made by a card effect and bounces it back with double its intensity. So in short, Yugi was hit with the Dark Magician Girl blast with its full 2000 attack points.
(Y: 0)
(P: 200)
The blast sent Yugi flying back. When Yami realized the duel was over he went over to Yugi. Yugi stared up at his other half, the Orichalcos symbol vanishing. He smiled, "You did it, you passed the test."
"What test?"
"It was the only way, by defeating me you defeated the darkness that was inside your heart. I knew… knew you were a true hero."
"But… now what?"
"Don't give up," Yugi said. "No matter what happens, I… and the monsters… will always be with you. Good luck, Pharaoh." And then Yugi faded into specs of light.
Yami's eyes teared up. He watched the ascending light specs. "Yugi… I promise I'll find you… no matter what!"
The EndDuel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Sangan
Level: 3
Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1000
DEF: 600
(2)
Name: Obnoxious Celtic Guardian
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1400
DEF: 1200
(3)
Name: Giant Soldier of Stone
Level: 3
Type: Rock
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1300
DEF: 2000