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The Orichalcos Saga
Fanfic Chapter 220: Duel of Lost Souls Pt 4: Double-Header
Episode Basis: Fighting for a Friend Pt 4
Yami, Tea, and Tristan ran down the street, calling for Joey and Amara. When all of sudden Tea called out, "Guys, hold on!"
The boys stopped. "Tea, there's no time for rest," Tristan protested. "Joey could be dueling that Valon guy right now and if we don't hurry, Joey could be out one soul!"
"That's why I said to hold on," Tea said waving the map Rebecca gave them. According to the map, he should be dueling nearby. We should split up and start looking down every street and…" She noticed that Yami was staring intently at the Eye of Timaeus. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure," Yami replied. "A minute ago I could feel Joey's Legendary Dragon card being played but now… I'm afraid that it might have been destroyed."
"Does that mean Joey lost?" Tea asked.
"No way," Tristan said.
"We can't be sure until we find him." They took off again.
Joey and Valon were both panting heavily. They were bruised, battered, and beaten. But they still continued their duel.
"I don't know how you survived that last attack," Joey said. "But I still have one last attack to take you down. Too many people are counting on me to let you walk away with a victory!"
"Well if you think I'm going to let you walk away with one, think again. You can barely stand, let alone walk. Besides, there's someone counting on me too."
Each of these Neanderthals think they're going to save me by winning, Mai thought. But I don't need to be saved. All I need is my victory over Wheeler. The Seal of Orichalcos appeared on her forehead as Mai gripped it in pain.
Amara gripped her blue tank top as she normally did when she was apprehensive. Poor Joey, I'm not sure if he can take much more punishment from Valon. She then remembered the end of Joey's battle with Marik.
"It's… my… move," Joey said hoarsely.
The others cheered, "Now all Joey needs is a monster with high-enough attack points," Duke said.
"That should be almost any card," Harold commented.
"All right," Mokuba cheered.
Kaiba just stared at the scene bewildered. How could he have withstood an attack from an Egyptian God Card?
"Joey, make your move!" Yami-Yugi yelled.
Like a zombie, Joey drew a card from his Duel Disk. His vision was blurry but he could tell that he drew a monster card. He laid it on his Duel Disk.
Gearfried the Iron Knight appeared.
"Awesome, Gearfried should be more than enough," Tristan said.
"Joey, hurry and call out an attack!"
Joey struggled to command his monster to attack but his vocal chords wouldn't move, his mouth wouldn't even open. Finally, Joey fell to the ground, Gearfried dispersing.
His duel against Marik left Joey beaten to a pulp but he still continued and was almost able to win. Valon doesn't look as skilled as Marik, maybe there is a chance he could win.
"To keep my armor, I have to pay half my life points," Joey commented.
(V: 900)
(J: 100)
"Next I set two cards face-down. That's it."
"That's it is right," Valon said. "I bring Psychic Armor Head back from the graveyard."
(PAH: 0-500)
"Next I play a magic card called Phoenix Gravitation. This lets me form a suit of armor with pieces from my graveyard. So I'll revive Burning Knuckle, Jet Gauntlet, Over Boost, and Active Guard." The pieces appeared around him.
(BK, JG, OB, AG: 0-500)
"That's right, Wheeler, my ultimate weapon is back." The pieces wrapped themselves around Valon's body. "It's been fun but all good things must come to an end. I'm ready to send you off with a bang!"
"I think your helmet's on too tight, because you forgot about my trap cards, one of which I'm activating right now! Go, Graverobber!" A gnome appeared. "This lets me steal a card from your graveyard and I think I'll take Big Bang Blow." The card appeared in Joey's hand. "Next I activate my other trap card Take One Chance which transports one random card from my graveyard to the field." There's only one card that can bail me out now, I need to draw it now! Joey fingered one of the cards in his graveyard pile and picked it up. "Yes!" He cried. "It's Hermos!" The dragon appeared roaring triumphantly.
"Timaeus is glowing again," Yami reported. "It means that Joey is still dueling."
"So we still have some time," Tristan said. "Come on, we need to find that duel!"
"I fuse Hermos with your Big Bang Blow," Joey said. The gauntlet that formed from the merger was shaped like a dragon's head which attached itself to Joey's arm. "How do you like it, I took your weapon and made it better!"
"I'm impressed, just when I think you're at the end of your rope, you come back with something like this. I never fought a duel like this before, you're pushing me to be my best, it will make my victory all the more rewarding!" The two Duelists dashed forward again. "Burning Knuckle Strike!"
"Big Bang Dragon Blow!" The two's fists met, the resulting explosion causing a shockwave of such intense proportions that Mai and Amara needed to anchor themselves down.
Yami and the others were running when suddenly the white orb shot up. "What's with that thing?" Tristan asked.
"Guys, look!" Tea called. They looked up and saw a vortex of energy rising into the sky.
"Is that what I think it is?" Tristan asked.
Yami looked at the Eye of Timaeus. It was glowing again. "It's Joey!" The white orb turned into an alleyway.
"Follow that light," Tea cried as the other three started to follow.
Inside the vortex of energy, Joey and Valon clashed.
"You can't win," Joey told Valon. "My fist has the power of my dragon behind it!"
"You're good but not that good," Valon returned. "It's all over for you!"
"You wish!"
"It looks like a draw," Mai said from the outside.
"It's time to activate Big Bang Dragon Blow's special ability. By sacrificing my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I can destroy all of your monsters and subtract their attack points from your life points!" With one last scream, Joey pushed. Valon's armor started to crack. Suddenly it shattered and Valon fell back.
(V: 0)
(J: 100)
"You won," Valon said from the ground. "Congratulations." His voice was very hoarse. He turned to look at Mai. "Well, see ya."
Mai gasped, "No… it's my fault."
"Don't be silly," Valon said standing for the last time. "I brought this on myself. I thought that if I won, I could make you forget about him. But now I see what attracted you to him in the first place. The guy's got heart." Mai tried to go to him but the Seal of Orichalcos was still up. Valon looked at Joey, "It's up to you now, to save her… to save all of us." And he collapsed. The Seal of Orichalcos shrunk around him.
Dartz was in his temple praying when he felt a surge of energy. A powerful soul has arrived, he thought. He looked up at the wall and saw Valon's image appear in stone. "Well, what do you know; my former employee. Now it's Miss Valentine's turn to give me a soul… or give up her own."
Mai cradled Valon's upper body in her arms. "Valon, come back to me!" She pleaded.
"It's too late," Joey said solemnly. "The Orichalcos has him now. But we'll get him back."
"He was the one who told me that a Duelist should only fight for himself then he turns around and duels you to protect me…" She laid Valon's body down. "How pathetic!" Joey and Amara both gasped at the sudden turnaround in Mai's personality. "He deserved this."
"He fought like a true Duelist,' Joey said. "He fought with determination and heart. He should be treated with more respect than insults."
When Mai turned to face them, Joey and Amara saw the Seal of Orichalcos was on her forehead and they realized her change of heart. "I thought you wanted to destroy him?"
"Look, Valon may have been annoying, but nobody deserves to have their soul taken away." He combined his graveyard with his deck and reshuffled. "And you know what, I just realized something: as long as you have that Orichalcos seal on your head, I'll never be able to talk some sense into you. The only thing I can do now is duel you and show you what a monster you've been to your friends and family!"
"Hold on, Joey, you just been through a duel," Amara pointed out. "Why don't you take a break before jumping into another one?"
"It's the only way to show her the truth," Joey said. "So what do you say, do you accept my challenge?"
"So you want another lesson in humiliation like at Industrial Illusions, huh?"
"Oh please, I get enough of those from Kaiba."
"Fine, I accept your challenge. Let's duel!"
(J: 4000)
(M: 4000)
I have a bad feeling about this, Amara thought.
"That light must be around here somewhere," Tea said as they searched around.
Yami turned to the white orb. "Could you help us find Joey?" The white orb nodded and flew upward.
"I can't believe our only hope for finding Joey lies within Tinkerbelle up there," Tristan mused.
"It's a lot stronger than you might expect, Tristan," Yami said sharing a smile with Tea.
Kaiba and Mokuba in their brand new sports car drove down the road. "We're about a mile from Doma Headquarters," Mokuba reported. "No signs of trouble so far."
"I think you may have spoken too soon, Mokuba." Mokuba looked ahead and saw a line of Orichalcos Soldiers standing in their way. "I'll handle this." He got out. "Evening, can I help you boys with something?" The soldiers roared in response. "I don't know what you are or even if you exist at all, but I don't have time to play games with you so back off!" They, unsurprisingly, don't.
"Tell you what, I'll let you go first," Joey said.
"Big mistake," Mai said drawing her sixth card. "I summon my Cyber Harpie (1) in attack mode." Cyber Harpie was basically Harpie Lady decked out in battle armor. "I'll leave it at that."
Joey's hand was shaking as he drew a card. That last duel took a lot out of me, he thought. I'm exhausted. "I summon Blue Flame Swordsman (2) in attack mode." The Blue Flame Swordsman looked similar to its counterpart with the exception of its helmet which was blow and its sword which was emitting blue flames. "I'll end my turn there."
"I hope you're not taking it easy on me like last time, I want a real duel."
Joey's eyes dilated for a second, a happening which wasn't lost on Amara.
This isn't good, Joey can barely see straight. If this keeps up, it could be fatal! "Joey, please, let me duel in your place."
"No, I have to see this duel through to the end."
"Your end may come sooner than you think if you continue like this," Amara warned.
"Look, something happened during my duel with Valon. I realized that I could actually sense how his true feelings each time he attacked. If Mai truly wants to get rid of me, I'll see it in her attacks." But if my hunch is right, then by the end of this duel, the real Mai will shine through.
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Mai snapped. "I'll save you the trouble, the truth is I want to kill you because you think you're better than me. And once I beat you, you're little sidekick is next."
"Bring it on, you bimbo!" Amara snapped. "At least I don't need some stupid rock to make me a better Duelist!"
"Amara," Joey said putting a hand on her shoulder. He turned to Mai, "If that's truly how you feel then show it to me through your moves! Talk is cheap!"
"I intend to," Mai said drawing a card. "I summon another Cyber Harpie in attack mode and play the magic card Arrow Nail which increases Cyber Harpie's attack points by 300!"
(CH: 1800-2100)
"Now go, attack Blue Flame Swordsman!" The Cyber Harpie equipped with the Arrow Nail card flew forward and slashed the swordsman.
(J: 3700)
(M: 4000)
"When you destroyed my Blue Flame Swordsman, you activated his special ability letting me summon the original Flame Swordsman (3) in its place! So is your other Cyber Harpie ready to dance?"
"She'll have to pass. I set a card face-down and end my turn."
Nuts, she didn't take my bait. Now I have two Cyber Harpies plus something else to worry about. I need a strategy quick.
Joey needs a strategy quick, Amara was also thinking. The problem is strategizing isn't one of Joey's strengths and that beating he took from Valon certainly didn't help things.
I have a bad feeling I've seen that face-down card before. It must've been one of her custom harpie cards like the Sparrow Formation she used in our last duel. Last time, I was holding back because I was worried about hurting her. But this time, I'm going all out because it's the only way that I can get the real Mai to come out. "I sacrifice my Flame Swordsman to summon Cyber-Tech Alligator (4) in attack mode! Now attack her strongest Cyber Harpie!" The cyborg alligator slashed the Cyber Harpie equipped with the Arrow Nail card.
(J: 3700)
(M: 3600)
Mai laughed, "Not too bad. Finally, you're giving me something of a challenge. But you'll have to do better than that because before my Arrow Nail is sent to the graveyard, it transfers its power to my other Cyber Harpie."
(CH: 1800-2100)
"I'll set a card face-down. Show me what you've got!"
"You're pretty confident for someone who's about to lose." She drew a card and chuckled, "I drew it."
"You're about to play the Seal of Orichalcos, aren't you?"
"You got it!"
"Amara, stand back," Joey warned as Mai inserted the card into her Duel Disk.
Yami and the others were following the white orb when suddenly the orb stopped. The humans followed suit and looked up.
What they saw made them gasp.
A familiar green circle was descending from the sky. "It's the Seal of Orichalcos!" Yami recognized.
"That means someone's about to lose their soul," Tristana realized.
"Oh no, Joey!" Tea cried.
"We're locked in the seal," Mai announced. "There's nobody who can help you now. It's just you, me, and the most powerful magic card in existence."
I was expecting this, Joey thought. Now that the seal is in play, the darkness in Mai's heart just got ten-times stronger along with her monsters.
(CH: 2100-2600)
But I know this isn't the real Mai, and I'm going to bring her out!
"Joey," Amara muttered.
"I summon my third Cyber Harpie in attack mode."
(CH: 1800-2300)
"Cyber Harpie One, attack his Cyber-Tech Alligator with Arrow Nail Slash!" Joey's only monster is destroyed.
(J: 3600)
(M: 3600)
"Now for Cyber Harpie #2…"
"Not so fast," Joey said. "I reveal my face-down card Scapegoat!"
Mai didn't even seemed phase at Joey's four sheep tokens. "You use that card in every duel so forgive me for not being surprised. And my face-down card shouldn't surprise you either because I used it against you before: my trap card Nightmare Tri-Mirror! Now I get a new monster for every monster you have on your side of the field." The demonic-looking mirror opened up revealing Joey's Scapegoat tokens. "Since you have four Scapegoats, that means I get four more Cyber Harpies!" Four more Cyber Harpies joined the two already on the field.
(CH: 1800-2300x4)
"Fortunately for you, my new Harpies can't attack on the turn they're created."
"Yeah, lucky me," Joey said dryly.
"You better come up with some new tricks because I've seen all your moves before."
"I have some new twists up my sleeve," Joey assured her.
"Your bluff won't work on me. I'm going straight to the top and you're going right down to the bottom! Like I said, there's nowhere to run!"
I'm not planning on running away, I'll keep fighting until I break through to you, Mai… or lose my soul trying!
To Be Continued
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Cyber Harpie (Cyber Harpie Lady)
Level: 4
Type: Winged-Beast/Effect
Attribute: Wind
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1300
(2)
Name: Blue Flame Swordsman
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Fire
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1600
(3)
Name: Flame Swordsman (Version 2)
Level: 6
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Fire
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1600
(4)
Name: Cyber-Tech Alligator
Level: 6
Type: Machine
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 2500
DEF: 2200