Standing in the middle of the lobby, Cairo looks around in all directions. The powerful soul is close, but she can't pinpoint who it is. She growls, growing more frustrated. Bowing her head slightly, she sighs in disappointment. She really wanted to see her father duel in the tournament, but due to her having important responsibilities, she couldn't enjoy her time here at all. There's no way that she can actually relax when there's a powerful soul lurking around.
Unbeknownst to her, a kid her size wearing a bandana has his handed outstretched toward her from a distance. He grins, seeing that her guard has been let down.
Eventually, Yami becomes victorious against his duel with Leon and a wave of cheers fill the air. An awards ceremony shortly follows afterward, with Yami and Leon standing in the middle of the arena to the sound of more cheers. After the ceremony, the crowd starts to clear out of the arena. The theme park is still open for now and most of the crowd goes out into different areas of the park to take advantage of the free rides. Yami finally joins the others on the balcony. They all crowd around him to congratulate him on an amazing duel.
"That was awesome Yugi!" Joey exclaims with excitement. "You had me worried there for a second, but you pulled through as always!"
"I never doubted you for a second," Téa says with a smile.
"Thank you," Yami says with a smirk. "Leon was an amazing duelist, especially at his young age. He will go far."
"Yeah, that kid definitely had a lot of moves up his sleeve," Duke agrees.
"So do you guys wanna catch some of the other attractions before this place closes," Tristan suggests.
BOOM.
The loud noise echoes through the area and causes the ground beneath them to shake violently, bringing them to their hands and knees. Screams begin to fill the air as another loud explosions occurs, putting them on even more alert.
"What was that?!" Téa yells.
"Sounds like it's coming from the lobby!" Tristan exclaims. By now the arena is near empty and many have opted to evacuate the park to be at a safer distance from the commotion.
"Maybe we should find another way out," Duke suggests.
Joey narrows his eyes. He has a bad feeling about all of this. "Hold on guys…"
"Uh Joey? If you haven't noticed, we're in danger!" Tristan says.
"I have a feeling that Cairo is the one in real danger."
Yami looks at him with a mixture of surprise and concern. "What?"
"Think about it you guys. She came here briefly to watch Yugi duel. But soon after, she ended up leaving. I think it's because she finally sensed the soul she was looking for."
Cairo's eyes glow purple as she keeps debris from falling on park goers. They all look up in shock, surprised that they haven't been crushed, before running away to safety. Roy peeks from around a nearby wall, watching as this all goes down. A boy that greatly resembles the kid that bullied him stands across from Cairo at a distance, laughing loudly as she scrambles to save everyone.
"Who are you?" she grunts, glaring into the kid's eyes. There's no doubt that this soul has inherited powers from Dartz as well. That would explain his massive strength.
"I am Abosi and I will be the cause of your demise," he introduces himself with a grin.
Roy begins to bite on his nails nervously, wondering what he should do. When Cairo saved him the first time, he felt so helpless. She was just a total stranger that stepped into help him because she saw he needed help. "I gotta do something."
Abosi prepares to attack once more, and without thinking, Roy runs past Abosi to stand in front of Cairo protectively to her surprise. "I won't let you hurt her!" he exclaims.
"Roy, what are you doing?!" Cairo asks. "Get outta here!"
As this is all happening, Yami and the others finally make it into the lobby. "Cairo!" Joey yells.
Roy grits his teeth. His body shakes as he stands face to face with the boy that bullied him. "I won't be a coward this time around! I won't let you bully anyone else!"
"What's that kid doing? He's gonna get himself killed!" Tristan exclaims.
Abosi laughs. "Foolish human. The 'bully' you know isn't here. I have possessed his body to carry out my revenge," Abosi explains and Roy gasps in shock. Is this the soul Cairo was referring to, he asks himself. "And I won't let you or anyone else stand in my way!" His hand begins to emit a bright red glow in the shape of a dagger. He draws his hand back and prepares to strike Roy who is frozen in place. He can see the attack quickly approaching. The blinding red light bounces off his glasses and he shields his face.
At the last minute, Cairo pushes Roy out of the way, and she can feel the right side of her chest split open. Her eyes slowly go big, feeling her insides beginning to burn with each passing second. The blood begins to shoot out and she grimaces, clenching her teeth to prevent her cries of pain.
"NO!" Yami screams at the top of his lungs. She gasps for air, stumbling over until she drops down to one knee.
"Oh no! She's hurt!" Téa cries out with worry.
Cairo clenches her teeth, trying to fight through the immense amount of pain she is feeling. She outstretches her hand toward Roy, levitating his body into the air and flinging him back. Duke catches the kid who seems to have passed out from shock and she struggles to her feet.
"Still have some fight in you, eh?" Abosi says. "I'll kill you first. Then your father will be next."
Yami narrows his eyes. Cairo has clearly been weakened by that last blow. He has never felt so helpless in his life. He wants to help her out badly, but he has never faced off against someone this powerful and extraordinary. Not to mention, Cairo would be against him getting in harm's way.
As he shoots more attacks, Cairo runs across the length of the room, avoiding the red blasts shot from Abosi. A wall quickly approaches and she increases her speed, running up the wall and doing a backflip. She grunts, landing on her feet, but her moment of recovery is short lived. Abosi has been ruthless with the attacks and he shows no sign of stopping.
Abosi laughs, watching as the girl scrambles to get away from his powerful blasts. "Are you just going to run all day? Heh. I was expecting more out of—" He stops mid-sentence when she launches a large blast of her own and narrowly dodges it.
"Incredible…" Yami says to himself. Even after that critical blow to her chest, she is still able to fight.
"Now's my chance…" she says to herself and she charges at him at full speed, pulling her fist back and landing a direct hit. He goes hurdling into the opposite wall with so much force, he goes straight through it. Cairo doubles over, placing her hands on her knees and panting heavily. Having a physical body definitely has it cons. In the shadow realm, she never gets fatigued, therefore she is able to defend herself easily from any uprisings. But because she in the land of the living, it is the opposite. Her body is covered in cuts and she wipes the sweat off her brow. Not to mention the gaping hole in her chest.
"I need to end this quickly," she breathes out in exhaustion.
"BE GONE!" Abosi yells from inside the wall crater, and he launches a huge blast at Cairo. She crosses her arms quickly to shield herself and she manages to stand her ground while her body gets pushed a few feet back. Abosi emerges from the crater, his eyes glowing red. He catches sight of the pharaoh and grins.
Cairo narrows her eyes after uncovering her face. Abosi is probably one of the most powerful souls she has faced since coming here. Dartz sure did pack a punch with this one. She watches as he starts approaching her and he outstretches his hand. She immediately goes on guard, expecting him to attack her once more, but that isn't the case. Instead, a weird feeling overcomes her body and she suddenly feels stiff. No matter how much she tries to budge, she cannot.
"I can't—" she starts off, only being able to move her lips. He only laughs until he is only mere inches away from her.
Yami looks at Cairo's posture and grits his teeth. "Something's wrong."
Abosi looks over Cairo's shoulder to stare directly into the pharaoh's eyes. "Greeting pharaoh. I'm glad you're here. I am Abosi. And once I get rid of your daughter's demise, you will be next." Yami's eyes widen in horror as Abosi points his finger at Cairo and a beam of energy appears at his finger tip. He uses his free hand to levitate Cairo into the air as she struggles to break free from his freeze spell.
"Cairo, get outta there!" Joey yells, but it's no use. She is frozen in place.
"Why isn't she moving?" Téa asks, clenching her fists at her chest with worry.
"Don't do it Abosi!" Yami yells, taking a step forward. "Your issue is with me!"
Abosi chuckles. "Too late." And with that, he begins to shoot multiple beams at Cairo and her body jerks with each individual blast. It's as if she is getting hit by multiple bullets in different areas of her body and she clenches her teeth tightly to avoid from crying out. With each attack, she gains a new wound and becomes weaker.
She shuts her eyes. There is a power deep inside her that she can use to defeat Abosi once and for all. But she has always kept that hidden in fear of losing control. Her mind flashes back to 5,000 years ago when the dark energy took control of her body. The power that surged through her body. The wave of destruction she rained down on Egypt. 'But if I don't defeat him, he'll hurt my dad,' she thinks to herself as her body takes more abuse.
Abosi lets her body fall to the ground and she grimaces. It isn't long before he starts his next hurdle of attacks which involve stomping her back repeatedly. She finally lets out a cry, not being able to contain it anymore. Her cries echo through the room and Yami can feel his heart beating fast. There has to be something that he can do, he thinks to himself. He can't just let her face off against Abosi alone.
Cairo can feel her body being snatched up and she opens her eyes, finding her face inches apart from Abosi's. "I hear the princess never learned to swim…" He flies up into the air, bursting through the ceiling and Yami and the others rush outside to see what the evil soul is up to next. Grinning, Abosi dangles Cairo above a nearby pond as she goes in and out of consciousness. At this point, even opening her eyes or raising her hand is too much for her to bear at the moment.
The others finally make it out, gasping in horror as they see her body falling a hundred feet until she crashes through the water with a splash. Joey grits his teeth. "No! She can't swim!" he yells, thinking back to when they first met. She had crashed through the water in a similar manner and he rescued her.
"I'm coming Cairo!" Yami shouts, rushing toward the pond. Abosi looks down, aiming his hand at Yami and shooting a blast toward him.
"Look out!" Tristan yells. In the knick of time, Yami jumps out of the way and he narrows his eyes at Abosi who now stands in his way.
"Now it's your turn," Abosi says. "You will pay for what you've done to my people."
Yami growls inwardly, looking past Abosi's shoulder into the pond. He knows that he is running out of time and he has to make a move quick. He shuts his eyes, clenching his fists at his side. "Cairo…"
"Yugi, look! Your deck!" Téa shouts, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looks down to his pocket, seeing his deck of cards glow and he pulls it out. He shuffles through it until he lands on a card in particular.
"Dark Magician Girl…" he says to himself. He takes the card out and observes it. "But why…?"
"Now to finish you," Abosi says, aiming his hand at Yami to prepare a final powerful blast.
"NO!" Yami cries out, and without thinking he charges at Abosi as fast as his feet will take him.
"Yugi!" Joey yells.
As he runs to Abosi, he draws back his fist while a lighter figure appears next to him at the same time. He looks at the corner of his eye and gasps when he sees the Dark Magician Girl flying alongside him. "Dark Magician Girl?" She looks over at him with a determined look and she nods. He returns the gesture and they both charge at Abosi at full force.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Yami yells, his voice booming with such authority. He brings his fist forward as hard as he can and simultaneously, Dark Magician Girl shoots her Dark Burning Attack, sending Abosi hurdling and crashing into a nearby gate. Dark Magician Girl twirls her wand, bowing to Yami before returning to his deck.
"Whoa! Did you guys see that?!" Joey yells. "That was awesome!"
"Holy cow!" Tristan chimes in. "How did he do that?"
Cairo feels herself sinking deeper and deeper into the water. She doesn't struggle and she doesn't even try to move. This is how her story here began. Being thrown out from the Shadow Realm and into the sea below, knocked unconscious as soon as her body hit the water. Will this be how her journey will end? What will become of her father? She clenches her teeth, feeling disappointed with herself. So much for trying to redeem herself. The countless battles that she has faced since coming to the land of the living have finally taken its toll.
She slowly opens her eyes. Initially everything is a huge blur, with the sunlight from above partially blinding her. But as her eyes gain more focus, she notices a familiar figure swimming toward her. 'Dad…' She closes her eyes once more, feeling her body being lifted.
"Almost there…" She hears a woman say and she opens her eyes. She is in a brightly lit room, surrounded by absolutely nothing. Her injuries are gone and her body feels good as new. Standing to her feet, she looks around to find the source of the voice. When she finally turns around, she gasps. A woman with melanin skin and brown spiky hair stands across from her. She wears a white pleated skirt and a blouse that hangs off her shoulders. And right beside her is her father wearing a long blue cape, a tank and a skirt. The crown on his head matches her own and he adorned with jewelry on his fingers with the Millennium Puzzle around his neck.
"Mom…Dad…" she says hoarsely, her body beginning to tremble. She can't believe she is standing only feet away from them. "You're here…you're both really here…"
"Don't give up, Cairo," her mother says with a smile.
"But I'm so tired…I just want to be with you."
"And you will," the woman says, looking over to the pharaoh who stays silent. "Your father has never broken a promise."
"Release that power, Cairo. Don't hold back," the pharaoh says to her surprise.
"But…what if I lose control? What if the darkness overcomes me and I hurt the ones I love?" Cairo asks, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She can't bear to think of betraying those that she has made a close friendship with and repeating history once again.
"Before the evil took over, you were a powerful sorcerer…powerful beyond your years," the pharaoh reminds her. "Remember that. Don't let the darkness win."
He walks up to her and crouches down to her eye level, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Wake up."
"Wake up Cairo," Yami says, gently shaking her in his arms after finally reaching the surface. Abosi is just now beginning to stand up after Yami and Dark Magician Girl's assault, and he seems ready to do more harm to them both. Her eyes shoot open and she quickly sits up as Abosi approaches them, enraged by the previous attack.
"I'll kill you both!" he screams. He aims a blast at Yami who shields himself from the oncoming attack.
"Yugi!" Téa yells.
Cairo calmly stands in front of Yami, a dark aura forming around her. Her eyes are now pitch black and her hair begins to stand. As the blast comes at her, she begins to walk forward to everyone's shock. Abosi grins, but that grin soon drops when she walks right through it. "What the—?!" He shoots multiple, each ending with the same outcome until she is only a few feet from him.
"Whoa! Way to go Cairo!" Tristan cheers.
"Where was that power all along?" Joey asks with a smirk.
"Hold on you guys…" Téa says cautiously and they all look at her. "Don't you remember the last time this happened? Her powers went haywire!"
Abosi grits his teeth in fear, looking into her emotionless eyes. He attempts to punch her square in the face, but he soon regrets that. It feels like his fist has just hit a brick wall and he cries out in pain. "Impossible! Where did all this power come from?! I had you!"
Without a word, she returns a punch of her own, sending him flying. But before his back makes contact with anything, she zooms over, kicking him into the air and he yells with his eyes shut. When he opens his eyes, he gasps, seeing her right above her, aiming a magical blast at him. It is so strong, he lands on the ground, forming a deep crater.
"Cairo…" Yami says, his mouth slightly agape in amazement. Her power truly knows no limits, especially in her current state.
She lands gracefully on the ground, lifting Abosi up by the wrist, staring deeply into his eyes. Initially he has a look of fear, but he soon begins to laugh, accepting his fate, while also knowing hers as well. "You poor child…hehe…You'll be right back in the Shadow Realm with the rest of us. And the pharaoh will never fulfill his destiny…not when he has to go against the Dark One."
"The Dark One…?" Yami says to himself. It isn't the first time he's heard that name, but telling by the way people have talked about it, it will more than likely be the greatest foe he will ever have to face.
Cairo slams her first against his chest, emitting the soul and dropping its host body on the ground. Whipping out her wand, she opens a portal, sending the soul of Abosi back to the Shadow Realm.
"She did it!" Tristan exclaims.
She turns around after the portal has disappeared. Her eyes still have that dark menacing look that suddenly puts everyone on alert. Will she lose control and go after them next? She begins to walk toward them, her fists clenched at her sides and Yami stands in front of everyone protectively.
"H-Hey," Joey says cautiously. "It's us. Your friends."
"Easy kiddo," Duke chimes in.
The dark aura around her begins to disappear and her eyes gradually turn back to normal, revealing her normal eye color. She drops to her hands and knees, panting heavily and Yami runs to her side, kneeling down to her.
"Will you be alright?" he asks with concern in his voice. She manages to nod her head. A purple aura surrounds her body and it begins to heal on its own. Yami and the others watch in fascination as the hole in her chest begins to close and the cuts and bruises start to heal until there are no more.
"I'm tired…" she breathes out.
"We should get her back to your place, Yugi," Téa suggests and Yami nods.
"We need to get these two medical attention too," Tristan says, referring to Roy and the body that Abosi once held.
At the sound of his name, Roy stirs out of his slumber and he sits up, looking around in confusion until his eyes land on Cairo who is being helped up by Yami. Then he looks over to the body of his bully who lays unconscious. A smile creeps up on his lips when he realizes what has occurred. He jumps up and dashes over to Cairo with his fists clenched with excitement.
"You did it!" he cheers. "I knew you could!"
"Okay, so we just need medical attention for one then," Tristan mutters.
Roy lowers her head. "I'm sorry for getting in the way earlier. I just really wanted to pay you back for helping me."
Cairo smiles. "It's okay. Though quite foolish you, it was still very brave of you to try and protect me," she compliments him and he begins to blush.
"Will I ever see you again?" he asks and she frowns.
"I have to go back home soon…" she replies softly. "And it's very far from here."
"Oh…I see…"
Cairo digs into her pocket and shows him the Magician of Black Chaos action figure he gave her. "But I'll always cherish this gift. And I'll never forget you." She turns away to leave with the others, leaving Roy alone, clenching onto his shirt, feeling his heart beating out of his chest. Even though he has only known her for a short period, he will never forget the friendship and kindness she showed him. And he will miss her.
"Cairo, wait!" he calls after her.
Her and the others stop and turn around. Cairo could barely turn around fully when Roy suddenly kisses her on the cheek. Her eyes widen and Yami and the others blink a few times at this sudden display. When he finally pulls away, he runs off, leaving a confused expression on Cairo's face.
She turns to face everyone and tilts her head. Téa giggles. "It looks like he may have had a little crush on you Cairo."
"Me?" Cairo asks, pointing to herself while the other laugh as they continue their way back home after a long day.
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's finally winding down for Cairo to finally return and the pharaoh and her to meet in the past once more. Leave a review! :)