Dueling Trigger Finger

by draconichero21

Worlds collide as a twisted tale interlocking the fates of both universes begins with the retelling of Battle City, but will cover the wide expanse of the plot of both series. Rated M due to profanity, Junko, sexual themes, Junko, murder, Junko, nightmarish imagery, and did I mention Junko?

83. The Battle for Everyone's Souls Part 2

(A/N: Once again, got nothing much to say really. Let's get it started)

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Yukizome fanned her cards out in her hand, taking careful note of each one. She stood in complete silence for about a minute or two, Dartz carefully observing her. She wasn't just analyzing the strategies she could make with her current hand, but rather the possibilities of what she could draw down to the last statistic. One thing she knew for certain was that Dartz was not going to make this easy. So, she would have to plan out each turn carefully. The words "perfect play" came to her mind. There could be no mistakes.

"I summon Cyber Harpie to the field! In attack mode!" Yukizome exclaimed.

Mai's Cyber Harpie floated elegantly onto the field with a wild cry.

"Next, I'll set three cards face-down," the redhead stated, leaving her with only two cards in her hand. "That'll conclude my turn."

"Very well," Dartz replied. "Then I shall begin by summoning Orichalcos Gigas, in attack mode!"

A hulking brown monster appeared with teeth that could scare a shark. It only had 400 attack points though.

"And next, an old favorite, the Seal of Orichalcos!" Dartz declared. The seal locked Yukizome and Dartz in, boosting Gigas' attack by 500 points up to 900.

Why did he play such a weak monster? Yukizome wondered.

"Orichalcos Gigas, attack Chisa Yukizome!"

Gigas charged forward, but Cyber Harpie greatly outclassed him. With her claws, she cut Dartz's monster down to size, destroying it. However, suddenly the ground was blasted open by Gigas' massive fist and the monster crawled out of the graveyard with now 1,400 attack points as Dartz's live points sat comfortably at 3,100.

"Next, I shall set one card face-down," Dartz stated. "Completing my turn."

Yukizome wasn't sure what to do, but she got Dartz's strategy. If she attacked his monster again, it would become stronger than Cyber Harpie. Fortunately, as she knew, she had already planned for being put on the backfoot. She drew the top card of her deck. "My move," she stated, placing the card in her hand. She scanned the three cards in her hand and then made a decision based on what she had. "I'll start by attacking with Cyber Harpie!"

Mai's borrowed monster darted forward excitedly and cut Gigas down to size once more. Dartz's life points were reduced to 2,700 points, but Mai knew his monster would be back. And that was exactly what she was counting on.

"Gigas! Return to my side!" Dartz commanded. Gigas burst through the ground and stood with a mighty 1,900 attack points, more than enough to destroy Cyber Harpie. "Next, I'll activate my trap card! Martyr's Curse! This will force Cyber Harpie and Gigas to do battle!"

"And in response, I activate my trap card: Dark Renewal!" Yukizome flipped her trap card face-up. It was one of Yugi's favorites. "And since my trap card was activated last, according to the rules of a chain, my card resolves first. Now, per the rules of my trap card, I'll send both of our monsters to the graveyard in order to summon, from my deck the one, the only, Dark Magician!"

Yugi's favorite monster arrived on the field of battle with 2,500 attack points, unopposed to a monster on Dartz's side of the field.

"And since the chain is still going and you have no monsters on the field, your Martyr's Curse trap is now invalid!" Yukizome exclaimed.

The trap card disintegrated.

"How very clever, Chisa Yukizome," Dartz said with a smirk. "But it would be poor of you to rest on your laurels just yet. Orichalcos Gigas! Return to the field!" Dartz commanded. His eternally reviving monster returned to the field now with 2,400 attack points.

If I attack with Dark Magician, I won't be able to keep him on the field until my turn. Yukizome looked at the three cards in her hand. And in this duel, every card counts. "I end my turn!" she declared.

"Very well," Dartz said, drawing the top card of his deck. "First, I shall summon to the field Orichalcos Malevolence, in attack mode!" A monster with 1,500 attack points and 1,000 defense points with the appearance of a dragon made entirely out of lava appeared on the battlefield. Its attack power was then increased to 2,000 due to the effects of the Seal of Orichalcos. "My dear Chisa, you probably have a strategy all set in mind to deal with the Seal of Orichalcos, don't you?"

"I'd say I'm confident in my tactics, yes," Chisa replied.

"I see, but then what will you do," Dartz said as he held up a Seal of Orichalcos magic card with two rings around it. "When the seal has far greater power than little Hiyoko and Gundham Tanaka led you to believe."

Yukizome gasped. An enhancement spell. She should've suspected as such, but she had no idea what it could do. This…changes everything, she thought.

"I activate Orichalcos Deuteros!" A second layer to the Seal of Orichalcos appeared around the original layer, glowing brightly. "Now, thanks to this enhancement to the Seal of Orichalcos, I can gain life points equal to the number of monsters I have on the field and I can activate this ability once per turn as well. But, for now…" Dartz said, pausing as his life points darted up to 3,700 points. "This will more than suffice."

Yukizome growled to herself, showing no teeth, staring at the field. What was she going to do now?

"I'm sure you know what happens next," Dartz chuckled. "Orichalcos Gigas! Attack Dark Magician!"

Gigas darted towards the Dark Magician, but Yugi's best monster erected a barrier around its entire body by slamming the pommel of its staff into the ground and Gigas was disintegrated from the counterattack energy that was set off when its fist punched the barrier. However, as predictable as the sun rising in the morning, Gigas returned to the field with 2,900 attack points, more than enough to kill Dark Magician. Dartz's life points dropped to 3,600. "Next, I shall attack with Orichalcos Malevolence!"

Okay, admittedly, Yukizome hadn't expected a second kamikaze attack. Dartz's lava dragon breathed copious amounts of its hot liquid at the Dark Magician, but just like with Gigas, it was completely destroyed by the purple clad spellcaster. Dartz's life points then fell to 3,100.

"And what was the point of that exactly?" Yukizome asked.

"So I can play this magic card: Impact Revive!" Dartz exclaimed as the magic card was played face-up on the field. "This will allow me to return any monster from my graveyard to the field, have it gain 500 attack and then, I'm allowed to attack with all of my monsters again."

"Interesting," Yukizome. "Also dangerous. Dismissed!" Yukizome exclaimed. "I activate Magic Jammer!" She held up a card in her hand. "By sending one card in my hand to the graveyard, I can negate the effects of any magic card that was activated."

Dartz's magic card sparked with lightning and then exploded. Dartz covered his eyes with his arm as the dust kicked up towards him. Yukizome just stared at him, her eyes steely with the glow reflected off the Millennium Puzzle.

"A good show of effort, but ultimately fruitless," Dartz stated, his posture relaxed, still holding one card in his hand. "Orichalcos Gigas is still now more than a match for any monster you could possibly summon. Suffice to say, despite your best efforts, you've now put yourself in a corner."

"Perhaps," Yukizome said as she drew the top card of her deck, bringing her back up to three. "Or perhaps I was just waiting for the right opportunity. I activate Pot of Greed." Dartz watched Yukizome draw two more cards, bringing her up to four. "Next, I'll activate Premature Burial!" Yukizome said, playing the card from her hand. "By giving up 800 life points," she said as her life points fell to 3,200, "I can revive a single monster in my graveyard, and I choose the monster I discarded with Magic Jammer: Blackland Fire Dragon!"

Dartz was a bit confused by this choice. Blackland Fire Dragon was pathetically weak. What could Yukizome possibly hope to gain with it?

"And next, I'll activate Polymerization!" Yukizome declared. "This will allow me to fuse together Blackland Fire Dragon, Koumouri Dragon and Versago the Destroyer in order to summon Hajime's favorite monster! Come on out! Blackland Void Dragon!"

Hajime's serpentine monstrosity of a dragon emerged on the battlefield behind Yukizome. Yukizome extended her arm straight towards Dartz, fingers spread, knuckles curled slightly. "He may not be as strong as when Hajime uses him, but he's still plenty powerful thanks to the fusion monsters I decided to borrow!" Yukizome declared as Blackland Void Dragon's attack power went up from 3,100 to 4,500 attack points. "Blackland Void Dragon, attack!" Yukizome exclaimed as the monster rushed past her. "Void Gale Blast!"

Blackland Void Dragon flew into the center of the battlefield and prepared to rain down unholy hell on Orichalcos Gigas.

"I activate the second ability of Orichalcos Deuteros," Dartz declared. "By sacrificing my monster as tribute, I can completely destroy your attacking monster!"

Orichalcos Gigas faded into light, roaring in protest as a ring of Orichalcos energy ensnared Blackland Void Dragon and crushed its midsection, destroying it. Yukizome bit her lip, waiting for Orichalcos Gigas to return to the field any second, but nothing happened. What? Did that mean…?

Dartz seemed tense, trying to maintain a poker face, but Yukizome was well-adept enough to spot tells.

"Heh, you're wide open, aren't you? Orichalcos Gigas can't revive itself from being sacrificed, only from other means of being sent to the graveyard from the field. Perfect timing then!" Yukizome declared. "Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician extended his arm and made the world go photo negative as Dartz groaned, taking a knee, clutching his heart as his life points crumbled all the way to 600, giving Yukizome a tremendous lead.

Huh. This wasn't so bad after all, Yukizome thought. She was on the verge of winning. Dartz had only one card in his hand and all she needed was to give him one good smack and victory was hers.

"I must admit…you're as tenacious and skilled as Iona was," Dartz stated. He stood up.

"What did happen between you and Iona anyway?" Yukizome asked. That was the one part of the puzzle she did not have.

"When the Seal of Orichalcos arrived in our paradise of Atlantis, it began to infect the populace, turning those it considered evil into hideous monsters. Iona was no exception. With her grotesque fangs and dagger sized nails, she attacked me viciously." Dartz could still remember Iona's hissing in his face, drool splattering his cheeks. "I had no choice, but to cut her down. I thought I had killed her, but that damned fool Pythagoras managed to not only cure her, but restore her to her human state. Iona tried to explain to me, tried to tell me that the Orichalcos was the root cause of all the world's problems, that I was the one turning into the wicked tyrant."

"You should've believed her when you had the chance," Yukizome stated.

"You and her are both fools," Dartz responded. "The Orichalcos turned the wicked into monsters and left the pure with their humanity! Even by the end of the war, Timaeus, Critias, Hermos, Pythagoras, and even my beloved Iona, they had all turned themselves into hideous beasts to stop the power of the Orichalcos."

"The Orichalcos will revive the Leviathan that will destroy the world," Yukizome said. "That sounds like evil to me."

Dartz sighed. "Dear me, you even sound like Iona now. As I explained to her, the pure of heart, those deemed worthy by the Orichalcos shall survive. The Great Leviathan is a powerful monster that will flood the world and return it to its natural state, a paradise with only a single floating continent atop its waters, the continent of Atlantis!"

Yukizome shook her head. "You don't realize it, do you?" Yukizome asked rhetorically. She then pointed at Dartz's forehead. "The Orichalcos hasn't judged humanity, it's brought it to ruin. You don't realize it because what you call purity is actually brainwashing! Just as you have used others as pawns for the revival of the Great Leviathan, so to is the Orichalcos using you as its pawn."

"Silence!" Dartz exclaimed.

"You only wish me to be quiet because somewhere inside you know it's true. Tell me, o' King of Atlantis. Would a fair and just, and pure king use people and unmake the world as you have?"

Dartz shook his head. "No, but I have no need of kingship anymore. I have no need of humanity anymore. The world will be reborn. That is what matters."

"You're so indoctrinated that you aren't even listening to yourself," Yukizome stated. "So it seems, in the end, my true enemy is not you, nor Atlantis, but the Orichalcos itself."

"If you mark the Orichalcos as your enemy, then I shall stop you," Dartz stated.

"And if you're going to try and wipe out humanity, I will stop you. And if I fall, others will rise up as well. Kyosuke, my friends, even the others in Battle City that my students met and befriended. You will never win, Dartz. Because goodness and hope will always triumph over wickedness and despair."

"You philosophize well, Chisa Yukizome," Dartz said, drawing the top card of his deck. "But you lack the strength to put your words into action."

"War determines not who is right, only who is left," Yukizome mused to herself. This situation seemed to fit that idiom.

Dartz only smiled in response. "I think I'll activate a magic card you're overly familiar with: Monster Reborn!"

Yukizome gasped. Uh oh. That couldn't be good.

"And I think I'll use it to revive Orichalcos Gigas once more!" Dartz's monster growled as it returned to the field now with 3,400 attack points. "Orichalcos Gigas! Destroy Dark Magician!"

This time, Dark Magician hadn't the power to stand up to Dartz and was promptly destroyed, causing Yukizome's life points to drop down to 2,300.

"Hmm, oh yes, I almost forgot. I activate the power of Orichalcos Deuteros, letting me regain 500 life points." Dartz's life total went back up to 1,100.

Well, so much for an easy victory, Yukizome thought.

"I think that'll do for now," Dartz stated. "Feeling the pressure yet, my dear Chisa?"

"Only Kyouske gets to call me his dear Chisa," Yukizome responded. "But I'm managing," she stated and went for the top card of her deck. "My move!" She drew the top card and looked at it. Bottomless Trap Hole! Perfect! But… she looked at the field and at her sole face-down card. I don't have any way of utilizing it without getting Orichalcos Gigas off the field.

"I'll end my turn," Yukizome stated.

Dartz raised an eyebrow. Yukizome had to have some sort of plan if she thought she could survive a direct attack from Orichalcos Gigas. And, as Dartz drew the top card of his deck, the two cards in his hand left him with no alternative other than to spring that very trap.

"First, I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Deuteros!" Dartz exclaimed. His life points increased to 1,600. "And next, I'll attack with Orichalcos Gigas!"

"I activate a Quick-play spell!" Yukizome exclaimed. "Scapegoat!" Thanks, Joey. She thought as the four sheep tokens appeared.

Gigas' massive fist could only collide into one of the colorful sheep tokens, allowing Yukizome to protect her life points.

"I see. So that was your plan back during your first turn. If I had managed to remove Cyber Harpie from the field, you had those little eyesores prepared as a backup plan and Magic Jammer in case I tried to remove it from the field forcibly. I can see now why Gurimo struggled with you so and little Hiyoko was not a match for you at all. You truly are a force to be reckoned with."

"Too little too late to be coming to that conclusion now," Yukizome stated, glaring and speaking in a dull monotone. "Are you done with your turn?"

"Hmm, I suppose I am," Dartz said, his confident smile never leaving his lips.

Yukizome drew the top card of her deck. It was Yugi's Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. I could play this face-down, but if Dartz plays a monster with less than 1,900 attack points or finds a way to switch this monster into attack position, I'm in no position to take 2,000 points of damage right now. I'll just have to stall for now, Yukizome thought.

"I set one card face-down onto the field," she declared, setting her Bottomless Trap Hole. "That'll end my turn."

"I see. Very well then, my move," Dartz said and drew the top card of his deck, bringing him up to two cards. Ah, now things would get interesting. "I give up 500 life points," Dartz stated as his life points decreased to 1,100, "In order to summon to the field Orichalcos Kyutora!" A green monster that looked like a cyclops, a Kuriboh, and a spider got mashed together in a splicing chamber appeared on the battlefield with 500 attack and 500 defense points. Its attack points then increased to 1,000 points. "Next, I'll activate the effect of Orichalcos Deuteros to give myself 1,000 life points back." Dartz's life total shot up to 2,100, almost even with Yukizome's. "And finally, I'll have Gigas and Kyutora destroy two of your little ovine minions there," Dartz stated.

Gigas punched one of the scapegoats out of existence and Kyutora fired a beam that destroyed another, leaving Yukizome with only the blue colored sheep token.

"You had best play a monster, Chisa Yukizome," Dartz stated. "If you don't, you'll be wiped out by a direct attack from Orichalcos Gigas."

He's right about that, Yukizome thought, teeth clenched in frustration. But…what do I do? I wasn't expecting the Orichalcos to have a second layer to it, She bit the side of her thumbnail. And what if it has a third layer…what do I…?

The Millennium Puzzle glowed brighter and then started to fade.

Huh? The puzzle? Yukizome stared at the Millennium Puzzle, feeling its warm glow around her hands as she held it. I see. If I start to doubt myself, then it's all over. The puzzle's glow became a bit brighter. Then I won't doubt myself. I'll trust you, the others and my students that are hoping for us to succeed. I will not fail! The puzzle glowed brighter, nearly blinding Dartz.

"I'm not afraid of you, Dartz," Yukizome stated. "No, more accurate to say, we are not afraid of you. I'm not fighting alone. I have all of my allies together with me and together, we shall triumph!" Yukizome said as she put two fingers on the top card of her deck, drawing it. She bent over slightly as her arms whipped out behind her in an overdramatic fashion. Lightning sparked as she drew the top card of her deck. Her body was all aglow with the power of the Millennium Puzzle. There was no need to worry. The others would not let her down. All she had to do was stay in the fight and the resources, the tools, would come to her.

I've spent so much time taking care of other people, that I've forgotten what it's like to have other people aid me. That's what you and I did when we attended Hope's Peak, right Kyouske? Yukizome thought as she looked at the card in her hand. "Get ready, Dartz, because the real battle starts now. I activate the Fang of Critias!"

Kaiba's dragon appeared on the battlefield with a tempestuous growl. "And I'll combine it together with my face-down trap card, Bottomless Trap Hole!"

A big hole opened in the ground on Yukizome's side of the field as Critias was sucked into it like a genie being sucked into a lamp.

"Now!" She exclaimed, holding her hand out over the hole. "Combine your powers to create Bottomless Hole Worm Dragon!"

Critias' head and neck emerged out of the ground like it was some sort of subterranean worm creature, roaring at Dartz loudly. It had 0 attack points and 0 defense points.

"And next, I'll activate Bottomless Hole Worm Dragon's special ability!" Yukizome exclaimed. "By removing one card in my graveyard from play," she said, ejecting Cyber Harpie. "I can remove any monster on the field with 1,500 or more attack points. And I choose your Orichalcos Gigas!"

Critias' gigantic mouth opened as its seemingly endless neck stretched onward, gulping Orichalcos Gigas into its mouth and swallowing the monster whole like a frilled shark. Then, the monster retreated deep into the hole, its yellow eyes peering eerily out from below.

"What's more, Bottomless Hole Worm Dragon cannot be attacked unless it's by a monster with fewer than 1,500 attack points. After all, any monster with 1,500 or more attack points that gets summoned to the field, can easily fall victim to its special ability. So go ahead and make your move," Yukizome goaded.

"I hate to disappoint you, but you've left yourself wide open to Kyutora," Dartz stated. "It only has 1,000 attack points."

"Perhaps, but it also means I've left you with no other option that to only attack me with weak monsters this turn," Yukizome stated. "I'd gladly give up 1,000 life points while I can afford it, if it means I can crush you."

"What a foolish notion. You'll just bring yourself that much closer to your demise," Dartz stated and drew the top card of his deck. "I attack with Orichalcos Kyutora and destroy your Bottomless Hole Worm Dragon!"

Kyutora fired a beam that went forward and then arched down into the hole, destroying the dragon within. Yukizome stood in place as her life points trailed down to 1,300.

"Next, I'll summon to the field Orichalcos Whooknow," Dartz stated as a pale blue sphere appeared with all sorts of Orichalcos-colored lines etched into it. It had 1,200 attack points and 900 defense points. The emblem then appeared on the monster and its attack points increased to 1,700. "When Orichalcos Whooknow is summoned to the field, I automatically get to draw until I'm holding four cards," Dartz stated, doing precisely that. "And next, I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Deuteros, increasing my life points. However, since Orichalcos Whooknow is on the field, my increase doubles." Dartz's life points increased to 4,100.

Not good, Yukizome thought, teeth clenched in frustration.

"My, how the tides have turned," Dartz stated. "Weren't you the one, only so many turns ago, on the verge of taking me down?"

Yukizome growled lowly, frowning. I was careless.

"Please, by all means, make your move. I'm looking forward to it," Dartz stated.

"Just watch me go!" Yukizome exclaimed, lightning sparking as she drew her next card. Another dragon? She flipped it around to see what it was. Oh. This bode well. "I summon to the field, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian! In attack mode!" Yukizome declared as the elf warrior stood on the battlefield.

"And next, I'll combine his power with the Legendary Eye of Timaeus!"

Timaeus stormed the battlefield and merged together with Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, gaining celtic war paint all over its body as Celtic Guradian stood atop it like a mount, suddenly having a shield in its off hand.

"Behold! Celtic War Dragon!" Her monster had 2,300 attack points and 2,000 defense points.

"Celtic War Dragon! Attack!" Yukizome declared. "Destroy Orichalcos Whooknow!"

Celtic War Dragon blasted a continuous stream of blue flame from its mouth at the spherical ball, intending to destroy it.

"How quick we are to forget," Dartz stated. "I can simply sacrifice Whooknow and rid the field of your monster."

Yukizome smiled. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" she asked. "But Celtic War Dragon has a special ability! When it attacks a monster with greater than 1,500 attack points, spell, trap, and monster effects can't be activated until after the Damage step."

Dartz only frowned as Yukizome's monster's flame blasted into Dartz's monster, destroying it, reducing his life points to 3,500.

"Don't think that the Legendary Dragons will save you forever," Dartz stated.

"But they will," Yukizome said. "Your actions only delay the inevitable."

"I could say the same back to you," Dartz said and drew the top card of his deck. "I set a monster face-down in defense mode," he said as the sideways hologram appeared. "And next, I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Deuteros, increasing my life points again." Dartz's life points were now at 4,500. "Next, I'll set one card face-down," Dartz said as the face-down hologram appeared. "I think I'll end my turn for now."

"My move then," Yukizome stated and drew the top card of her deck. Excellent. One of Kaiba's cards. This would help her out. "I activate Card of Demise. This will let me draw until I'm holding five cards, at the cost that I'll throw out my entire hand five turns later."

"Considering how this duel is going," Dartz chuckled, "You'll all too likely meet that penalty."

"We'll see," Yukizome stated and drew until she was holding five cards. She looked at the field. Celtic War Dragon's ability only worked on face-up monsters and Kyutora was too weak to allow it to take effect. Yukizome looked at the cards in her hand. "I'll set three cards face-down onto the field!" she declared as the three holograms appeared behind her dragon. "That'll end my turn."

"An interesting decision," Dartz stated. "But I'm afraid your efforts are pointless." Dartz drew the top card of his deck. "I summon to the field Orichalcos Zeon." A creature with blades for legs, a woman's torso, a gigantic, red telescope for a head, wearing a turquoise dress, appeared on the battlefield with 400 attack points and 2,200 defense points. The Orichalcos emblem appeared on the lens of the telescope and increased the monster's power to 900 points. "Next, I will activate the power of Orichalcos Zeon. In exchange for 1,000 life points, I can look at all of your face-down spell or trap cards." His life points descended to 3,500.

Yukizome jolted back. "What?"

"Let's see what you're hiding, Chisa Yukizome."

All of Yukizome's spell and trap cards were revealed: Magical Hats, Mirror Wall, and Skull Dice.

"I see. Those are some incredibly dangerous cards," Dartz stated as the cards went back to being face-down. "I'll have to carefully come up with a strategy around them."

Yukizome clenched her teeth. So much for the easy way out.

"I believe I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Deuteros," Dartz stated, life points going up to 5,000. "That'll end my turn."

Now what? Yukizome thought. With only weak monsters on the field, and one face-down monster, Yukizome didn't have any means of surprising Dartz. The Millennium Puzzle dimmed a little, causing Yukizome to gasp. Right, no second guessing myself, she thought. I have to stay positive. Let's go! She drew the top card of her deck. She had drawn the Pharaoh's Change of Heart magic card. "I activate Change of Heart!" Yukizome exclaimed. "This will let me take control of any monster on your side of the field! I think you know which one I want, Dartz," Yukizome stated. "I'm targeting your face-down monster!"

The sideways hologram pivoted slowly and moved to Yukizome's side of the field. "Now I think I'll flip it into attack mode!"

The monster that Yukizome had brought to her side of the field turned out to be a Cerberus, as noted by its three heads. The canine creature had a black body with a green underbelly that was glowing just like the Seal of Orichalcos. Its feet were pitchforks instead of normal paws. The monster's eyes and the inside of its mouths glowed green just like the Orichalcos. The monster had 1,700 attack points and 1,200 defense points. Since the monster was currently serving Yukizome, it did not gain a boon from the Orichalcos.

"I don't know what this is," Yukizome stated. "But I'm going to attack with it! Go! Minion of the Orichalcos! Destroy Orichalcos Zeon!" Yukizome ordered the monster to charge.

Dartz only smiled as Zeon crouched Yukizome's stolen monster seemed to stop dead in its tracks as it collided head first into a barrier projected by Zeon. The Cerberus staggered back in a daze as Yukizome's life points dropped to 800. "What?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Orichalcos Zeon can change the battle position of one monster on either side of the field once per turn. So, I've ordered her to switch to defense mode. Now then, will you permit me to have my monster back?" Dartz stated.

Yukizome frowned. "Fine."

"Thank you, come back to your master Orichalcos Cerberus."

Dartz's monster about face and snarled at Yukizome as its eyes glowed red with the power of the Orichalcos and gained 500 attack points, giving it a total of 2,200.

Yukizome's heart beat fast. How was she going to get out of this now? She had only two cards in her hand, a legendary dragon monster and one sheep token on her side of the field, three face-down cards that had been previously exposed, and she only had 800 life points. It was getting harder and harder to have faith when everything seemed so bleak.

"It's my turn now," Dartz stated and drew the top card of his deck. Dark energy seemed to pulse from Dartz. "It seems this duel has reached its conclusion. Well, not immediately, but once you see what I have in store," Dartz said, holding up the card he drew, back facing Yukizome, "You'll understand the despair of your defeat. First, I activate the power of Orichalcos Deuteros, increasing my life points by 1,500 points." Dartz's life total was now 6,500. "Next, I shall activate the special summoning conditions for Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos! First, I must give up half of my life points." Dartz's life points decreased to 3,250. "Next, I must sacrifice two monsters on my side of the field. And I shall choose Orichalcos Cerberus and Orichalcos Zeon!"

What? Why is he leaving Kyutora on the field?

Dartz removed both of his more threatening monsters from the field to summon a brand new one. "Behold the power of Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos!" A gigantic, full moon, glowing yellow, suddenly formed high in the cosmic sky above Yukizome and Dartz. Within the moon, a portal opened and a being descended down with the aid of a shower of dark energy. A monster rose up from the darkness and then blew it away.

This horrifying monstrosity had no head, instead just having the Seal of Orichalcos spinning like a disk where a head should be. The monster had a body made entirely up of green plasma that spread out into four wings that resembled fallen angel wings. In between each of the wings, green, metal blades descended down from the "center" of the being, creating a dress-like armor around the creature, the blades of which descended down to the "floor" of the battlefield. Furthermore, the monster had two metal arms and in the right arm of the monster it held an oversized claymore. This was one of the most powerful minions of the Orichalcos: Nyx Noctoratos. Yukizome felt as if she was staring down the personification of death itself.

As if to add to this sensation, she found it hard to breathe as the background of the duel changed. Dark storm clouds hung all around the battlefield, tinted green by the Orichalcos' light. Bats, upon crows, upon ravens, upon bats floated around the upper atmosphere like a deadly swarm. The only place the clouds were not obstructing the sky was the gigantic moon overhead. Additionally, four pillars of granite made their home at the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest points of the Seal of the Orichalcos, which now sat over a metal floor.

Is the monster warping the battlefield? Yukizome wondered. She then gasped when she saw the stats: 2,900 attack points and 2,300 defense points. The seal of Orichalcos glowed brightly above the monster's "head" and its attack power increased to 3,400.

"Be fortunate that you still have all of your spell and trap cards this turn," Dartz stated. "However, also be forewarned that you now face death itself! As Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos gains attack points when it is summoned equal to the life points given up to summon it!" The monster raised its blade to the sky and its attack power increased to 6,650. Yukizome stared up at it in terror.

"Yes, that is the face you should be making, Chisa Yukizome. Stare up at despair and crumble as I activate Nyx Noctoratos' special ability. I can destroy one monster on the field once per turn at no extra cost."

Nyx Noctoratos aimed her blade at Celtic War Dragon and blasted a black beam from it that consumed the monster and seemed to corrode it down from all over its body as Timaeus howled and then disintegrated.

"It gets worse, you must now take cards off the top of your deck and send them to the graveyard equal to the number of levels of the monster that was destroyed."

Yukizome swallowed and put the top six cards of her deck into her graveyard, including Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju.

"Hmm, I would attack your poor, pathetic sheep token this turn, but I'm still leery of your spell and trap cards. I think I'll end my turn for now," Dartz stated.

Yukizome panted as panic and fear took hold. How the heck was she supposed to contend with a monster like that right now?

You mustn't give up! She heard a voice tell her in her head.

That…voice…is that?

Please, you mustn't! The voice pleaded. If you do, all will be lost.

Iona?

Have faith in your friends. Have faith in me. You are their guiding light. You cannot give up hope now.

Yukizome's trembling hand balled into a fist as her gaze tightened. You're right. I can't give up. Everyone's counting on me. And I won't fail!

Yukizome drew the top card of her deck as lightning sparked from the duel disk. It was another Legendary Dragon. This time it was Pythagoras. Unfortunately, the situation didn't really let her use him at the moment. The best magic card she could fuse it with was Magical Hats. And with the situation as dire as it was, Yukizome really needed to hold off on making any rash decisions. "I'll pass my turn for now," she stated. Two turns had now passed since she had used Card of Demise. She needed to come up with a strategy soon before she lost all of the resources she had at her disposal, especially since she was currently holding three cards in her hand.

"Very well, my move," Dartz stated. "Ah, exactly what I needed right now. This is truly the beginning of the end for you, Chisa Yukizome. I activate the power of Orichalcos Tritos!"

Another layer of the Orichalcos?

"This magic card now makes spell and trap cards that affect my monsters completely useless. You are now powerless to stop me with only monster cards."

Not good, Yukizome thought, biting her lip.

"Next, I activate the power of Orichalcos Tritos and increase my life points!" Dartz's life points increased to 4,250. "And next, I shall activate the power of Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos, destroying your final remaining sheep token."

Yukizome flinched as a beam of wispy darkness completely disintegrated Yukizome's sheep token, leaving her wide open to attack. Yukizome picked the top card of her deck up and sent it to the graveyard, heart beating fast. She barely had time to recognize what it was before Dartz was already making his next move.

"Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos!" Dartz declared. "Attack Chisa Yukizome directly and end this duel!"

However, as Nyx Noctoratos' blade slashed down towards Chisa Yukizome, it was repelled as if by magnetic force.

"What? Impossible! You should be destroyed."

Yukizome ejected a card from her graveyard, the very card that Dartz had forced her to send to the graveyard with Nyx Noctoratos' ability.

"Sorry, Dartz, but you just gave me the card I needed to survive one more turn. Even without his soul, the Pharaoh continues to watch over me." The card she was holding up was none other than Electromagnetic Turtle. "This lets me end the Battle Phase and grants me another turn. Now watch as I draw!"

Yukizome pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. "I set a spell card face-down," she declared, setting the card she'd just drawn. "And next, I play the Horn of Pythagoras!"

Hajime's powerful orange dragon emerged on the field, roaring proudly as it fanned out its wings, piercing the clouds with its heat. The creatures in the air were incinerated as a mysterious, purple night sky was left behind by the glow of the yellow full moon.

"And I'll combine him with my face-down magic card that you haven't seen, Swords of Revealing Light! This will create…"

Yukizome stated as Pythagoras was drawn into the magic card. It then emerged in a bright white light as the magic card was destroyed.

"Shining Blade Dragon!"

A dragon made entirely of light energy appeared on the battlefield. It had six horns going around the back of its head like spokes at the 45-degree, 90-degree, and 135-degree angles, three each on either side of its head. Its body was glowing and moving around, having no corporeal form to speak of. It had 2,500 attack points and 2,500 defense points.

"Next, I'll activate the special ability of my monster!"

Shining Blade Dragon raised its head to the sky and fired a bunch of light beams shaped like crosses into the air. The crosses arced over and slammed down on Dartz's side of the field, their bright glow immobilizing not just Nyx Noctoratos, but also Kyutora.

"Thanks to Shining Blade Dragon, not only can your monsters not attack, but you can't activate any of their special abilities either while Shining Blade Dragon is on the field for three whole turns." Good. This would give her some time to build up a strategy to take down Dartz and his incredibly powerful Nyx Noctoratos. "Given that you could still activate the power of the Orichalcos if I attacked, I'm going to end my turn for now," Yukizome stated.

Dartz snarled as he drew the top card of his deck. He had to admit, Yukizome had put him in a bit of a bind. Still, three turns would be over soon enough. Her stall tactics would fail her. The Great Leviathan would be revived.

"I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Tritos and give myself more life points," Dartz stated, increasing his life points to 5,250. "And then, I shall end my turn," Dartz stated, having nothing else he could do at the moment.

"Then I shall draw!" Yukizome declared and drew the top card of her deck. Excellent. One of her cards. "I activate Supremacy Berry!" She declared. "This will increase my life points by 2,000 points thanks to the fact that I have fewer life points than you do." Yukizome's life points sprang up to 2,800. "Next, I'll set two cards face-down onto the field." She had emptied her hand. On her next turn, she would lose the card she drew, but then she would be free to do anything after that.

Dartz drew the top card of his deck. He smiled. "Well now, it would appear that I will have to cut the power of your Shining blade Dragon short," Dartz chuckled. "I activate the Continuous Spell Twin Bow Centaur!"

From the ground, in the center of the battlefield, emerged a gigantic statue comprised of two, stone, headless centaurs. Each of them was carrying a bow. One of them was aiming their bow at Dartz and the other aimed its bow at Yukizome. Each one nocked an arrow.

"Here's how it works," Dartz stated. "I select one monster on my side of the field and one monster on yours. My spell card will select one of those monsters at random and destroy it and then the controller of that monster loses life points equal to that monsters original attack points."

"Well, what are you waiting for then?" Yukizome asked, throwing her arm across her body and down at her side. "I won't retreat from your threats!"

"Your bravery is truly something to be admired, Chisa," Dartz stated, smiling. "I will be so sad when you're just an empty husk," he added facetiously. "Now then, for this usage of my Twin Bow Centaur, I'll select Orichalcos Kyutora and your Shining blade Dragon. Which one will die? Let's see."

With a snap of his fingers, Dartz waited as the arrow facing Kyutora was set aflame and blasted into Dartz's monster, destroying it.

"You just destroyed your own monster," Yukizome stated.

"Indeed I did," Dartz stated as his life points ticked down to 4,750.

"But why would you do that? Unless…" Yukizome thought about the possibilities only to gasp. "No!"

"I'm afraid so. You see when Kyutora is destroyed, a new monster takes its place! Behold Orichalcos Shunoros!"

A tall monster that looked like a big, green statue like it had been constructed using Japanese pottery methods appeared on Dartz's side of the field. It was almost as tall as Nyx Noctoratos, appeared. It had 0 attack and 0 defense points. Its attack then increased to 500 points thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos.

"I had hoped to use Kyutora's battle damage absorbing effect to give Shunoros some attack points, but the current situation works out quite nicely on its own," Dartz said with a chuckle. "Next, I'll activate one of its special abilities, allowing me to special summon Orichalcos Dexia and Orichalcos Aristeros!" The right and left arms of Shunuros ejected from Dartz's monster and zoomed in front of Nyx Noctoratos and floated in the air. Each also had 0 attack and 0 defense points, but their attack also increased to 500 as per the power of the Seal of Orichalcos.

"And since my new monsters were not on the field when Shining blade Dragon's effect took place, they can attack on my next turn!" Dartz declared. "For you see, fortunately for you, given that I used Twin Bow Centaur this turn, my monsters cannot attack this turn. Oh, but feel free to attack of your own accord, Chisa. If you feel like losing your monster to the power of the Orichalcos that is." Dartz said, laughing. "Oh, but before I end my turn, I suppose I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Tritos and gain some more life points." Dartz's life points shot up to 6,750.

It was Yukizome's move now. She drew the top card of her deck and was immediately forced to discard it as per the effects of her Card of Demise. She looked at the field, Dartz's monsters didn't seem threatening, but she did not want to take the risk.

"I'll switch Shining blade Dragon to defense mode," Yukizome stated as her monster crouched and hid behind its wings. "My turn is over."

"Of course it is," Dartz stated and drew the top card of his deck. "It's my move now. And, once again, I shall activate the power of Orichalcos Tritos." Dartz's life points increased to 8,750. "And now, I shall attack with Orichalcos Dexia!" The left arm sprang to life. "You were wise to put your monster in defense mode. Unfortunately, your efforts were in vain. Dexia gains attack points during battle with a monster equal to the attack or defense of that monster, depending on which battle position its in." Dexia's attack power surged to 2,800. Then it zoomed forward and destroyed Yukizome's Shining blade Dragon by punching it in the torso and causing it to collapse on the ground. Three out of the five dragons had fallen to Dartz's power.

Yukizome then noticed that, as a result of Dartz's attack, Orichalcos Shunuros lost the only 500 attack points it had gained.

His monster was weakened? Yukizome thought it best to make a mental note of what this could mean for later.

"And since your Shining blade Dragon is no longer on the field, I'm able to attack with all of my monsters," Dartz stated as Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos could now attack. "Nyx Noctoratos! Attack Chisa Yukizome directly and wipe out her remaining life points!"

"Not gonna happen!" Yukizome exclaimed. "I activate Negate Attack!"

Nyx Noctoratos' blade phased through Yukizome's body, not harming her in the slightest, leaving her with her full 2,800 life points. She took a deep breath. She didn't know if that was Kaiba or Hajime's copy of the card, but it didn't matter. It just saved her life.

"Hmph, how irritating," Dartz stated. "I suppose since you've ended my battle phase I'll just end my turn. But this is your last turn, Chisa Yukizome," Dartz stated. "You will not get another one. Nyx Noctoratos, Shunoros, Dexia, Aristeros, and the power of the Orichalcos itself will see to your demise."

"This is far from my last turn," Yukizome stated, going for the top card of her deck. "Because I'm not giving up! Because, as the Pharaoh taught Hajime and Chiaki, and as their will passes to me, I know I can defeat you! Because I believe…" Yukizome said as she drew the top card, "In the Heart of the Cards!"

Yukizome glanced at the top card of her deck as she turned it upright. There we go! She thought. "I activate Card of Sanctity!" she declared. "This will allow me to keep drawing until I'm holding six cards!" With six cards in hand, Yukizome flipped one of her other cards on the field face-up. "Emergency Provisions!" she declared. "I'll now give up my Mirror Wall and Skull Dice trap cards in order to gain 2,000 more life points!" Yukizome's life points shot up to 4,800.

"Next, I activate Dark Magic Curtain!" Yukizome declared. "This will allow me to summon none other than Dark Magician Girl at the cost of half of my life points." Yukizome's life points then decreased to 2,400.

Dark Magician Girl emerged on the battlefield. She had 2,300 attack points given that Dark Magician was in the graveyard and 1,700 defense points. She looked back at Yukizome and the two nodded to each other.

"Next, I'll set one card face-down onto the field," Yukizome stated. "And next I'll activate the power of Magical Hats to hide and conceal Dark Magician Girl!"

Dark Magician Girl leapt into the one hat that appeared, then the hat split into four like it was an amoeba reproducing asexually. Next, the hats all shuffled around too fast for Dartz to keep up, even if he had known previously which hat Dark Magician Girl was hiding in.

"Do you take me for a fool, Chisa Yukizome?"

"No," Yukizome replied, staring at him with a serious expression. "I take you for someone whose luck won't hold out compared to mine."

"Let's test that theory, shall we?" Dartz asked. He drew the top card of his deck. "First, I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Tritos, increasing my life points by 2,000 again." Dartz's life points were now 10,750 strong.

"Next, I shall activate the power of Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos!" The monster raised its blade and aimed it at one of the hats. Dartz merely snapped his fingers and fired the beam of Darkness at the hat. The hat disintegrated, showing no sign of Dark Magician Girl.

"Empty hat," Yukizome said with a smile.

"This is not over," Dartz stated. "For now, it's time for me to attack! Orichalcos Dexia! Attack the middle hat!" The arm of Shunuros darted towards the hat that remained in between the other two hats like a rocket, blowing it up. No dice.

"Empty hat," Yukizome chuckled.

"Hmph," Dartz stated. "No matter. You've left me with merely a coin flip of a chance of success." He pointed to the hat on his far left, Yukizome's right. "Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos! Destroy that hat!"

Yukizome, of course, knew that Dark Magician Girl was concealed inside, but that was all part of her strategy. "Activate Magical Pigeon!"

"What?" Dartz gasped.

He watched as Dark Magician Girl emerged from the hat and disappeared into a cloud of pink smoke as Nyx Noctoratos cut through the hat she'd escaped from. The other hat then quietly faded from sight. Two Pigeons now floated on Yukizome's side of the field and ended up on the artwork from the Pharaoh's spell card.

Yukizome smiled. "Magic is all about misdirection. You were so focused on the probability factor of Magical Hats, you neglected the idea of what my face-down could be." One of the pigeons on top of the magic card cooed and the other bit itself under its wing.

"Don't worry, Dark Magician Girl will be back," Yukizome stated. "As soon as you end your turn that is."

Dartz growled. "Nnnngh. Fine." He discarded a card from his hand, having reached the hand size limit.

Nodding, Yukizome drew the top card of her deck, giving her five. And the card she drew was never more indicative of what it was as lightning sparked from her duel disk, accompanied by a thunderous boom. It was the Claw of Hermos.

"I activate Monster Reborn!" Yukizome exclaimed. "With it, I'll summon to the field Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju!"

"What? Impossible! I never sent that monster to the graveyard!" Dartz exclaimed.

"Of course you did," Yukizome stated. "When I sent six cards to the graveyard from the effects of Nyx Noctoratos, this was one of them." She turned around the Claw of Hermos in her hand. "And the fun is just getting started. I activate the Claw of Hermos!" Joey's dragon roared as it emerged on the field. "Now! Combine with Dogoran to create Mad Flame Kaiju Cannon!"

A gun-like construct shaped like a bazooka and modeled after Dogoran the Mad Flame Kaiju appeared on the battlefield. Dark Magician Girl then grabbed ahold of it.

"Here's how it works, Dartz," Yukizome said. "I can give up 1,500 life points to destroy up to any three cards on the field." Her life points descended down to 900 points. "And that means you lose your Twin Bow Centaur, your face-down card and your Orichalcos Nyx Noctoratos!"

A trio of heat seeking missiles were fired from Mad Flame Kaiju cannon and blasted at Dartz's cards, blowing them all up. With Nyx Noctoratos gone, the battlefield it had created shattered as if the boundaries between time and space had fractured and exploded like a mirror exposed to a grenade. The scenery returned to Doma's prayer chamber with the souls of those damned to be food for the Leviathan coating the floor, walls, and ceiling. The torches were lit again. It was clear that the battle was approaching its definitive conclusion.

"And there's more," Yukizome said. "For each magic and trap card I destroyed, you lose 500 life points."

Dartz's life total ticked down to 9,750.

"And there's more," Yukizome stated. "When I destroy a monster card, you lose life points equal to its original attack as well, just like with your Twin Bow Centaur."

Dartz gnashed his teeth as his life points descended downward to 6,850.

"Don't start patting yourself on the back for that little stunt. Orichalcos Dexia can still destroy your Dark Magician Girl next turn and damage your life points."

"Perhaps it will, but it is the only monster that can attack. You seem keen on leaving Aristeros in defense mode, probably for an ability of some kind. And, even if you were to switch it to attack mode, you can't finish me off next turn. I have 900 life points, Dexia will only injure me for 300, so Aristeros can't finish me off. No matter what," she jammed her thumb into her chest, "I get another turn."

Dartz's gaze narrowed. Yukizome's will to survive was truly becoming irritating to him. However, after a moment, he shook his head and smiled. "You'll be giving up yet another legendary dragon. How sad. This is just like 10,000 years ago, when you threw your allies away to protect yourself."

"Dartz. I'm not your wife. Even if that was true, I don't care. Your mind games aren't going to work on me," Yukizome said to him. "I care about survival. As long as I can survive, as long as I can draw, as long as I can keep playing, I can figure out a way to beat you."

"You're chasing a pipe dream," Dartz stated. "Allow me to demonstrate." He drew the top card of his deck. "First, I'll activate the power of Orichalcos Tritos!" Dartz's life points increased to 8,350. "Next, I shall attack with Orichalcos Dexia!" Dexia flew forward and decked Dark Magician Girl in the face causing her to drop the cannon and collapse on the ground face-up.

It didn't matter what kind of attack power Dark Magician Girl gained from holding the weapon Yukizome had given her, Dexia completely overrode that like a thrice powerful Moon Mirror Shield.

Yukizome's life points dropped to 600, less than a tenth of Dartz's.

Dartz put a card from his hand into the graveyard. "That'll conclude my turn for now," he said.

Yukizome stood fearlessly as she drew the top card of her deck, bringing herself up to four. Until she could dispose of Shunuros, she needed a monster to defend herself with. Anything would do at this point. She looked at her hand. Two monsters, one magic and…wait, what was this blank card in her hand? The card was blue bordered like a ritual monster, but its orientation made it seem like some kind of spell card. It had no effect text and no title.

Where'd this come from? Yukizome wondered. Oh well, she couldn't worry about it now. Nodding to herself, she knew the only plan she could rely on at the moment. "I end my turn!"

Dartz's gaze narrowed. What in the world was Yukizome thinking? It was clear she hadn't given up, so why had she left herself wide open?

"I draw," Dartz stated. "And I'll give myself more life points." Dartz now had 9,850 life points. "Now! Dexia! Attack Chisa Yukizome's life points directly!"

Dexia slammed towards Yukizome for 500 direct points of damage, knocking her into the wall of the Seal of the Orichalcos. Yukizome staggered to her feet, holding her shoulder as her life points dropped to 100 points.

Did she really have nothing she could do? Dartz wondered.

"You screwed up, Dartz," Yukizome said, lifting her head to give him a manic grin. "Sure, I had a backup plan just in case you decided to attack me with Dexia and Aristeros, but thanks for letting me keep a trump card."

Dartz only glared.

"The time has come," Yukizome said, going for the top card of her deck. "To bring out my last ace in the hole. Let's go!" This time, lightning didn't spark from Yukizome's duel disk as she drew the top card of her deck. Instead, bright light flashed from it, accompanied by a stream of water, as she drew the card she needed. "I summon to the field The Wing of Iona!"

The 2,000 attack and defense point Queen of Atlantis arrived on the battlefield. "Next, I activate her special ability. By giving up half of my life points, I'm able to call upon any monster I control from my hand or deck. And I choose this monster in my hand: Kaiba's trusty Blade Knight!"

Blade Knight appeared as Yukizome's life points fell to 50 points.

"And that's not all, I'll now combine my dragon with Blade Knight to create Queen's Armored Dragon!" Iona was now covered in knight's armor from head to toe, her attack points now 3,600 and her defense points 3,200. "And that's not all." Yukizome said and flipped around a magic card in her hand. "I'm also combining Iona with one of Mai's favorite magic cards Harpie's Feather Duster!"

Two pairs of Harpie wings attached themselves to Iona. One pair was snowy and white, added above her normal wings. The other pair was pink, a paler hue than her wings, and were attached below her natural wings. Iona's attack was now 4,100 with 3,700 defense points.

"Thanks to the combined power of Blade Knight and Harpie's Feather Duster, my Armor Wing Queen Dragon is not only immune to spell and trap card effects, but monster effects as well. Additionally, she's going to rid the field of your Orichalcos layers once and for all."

With a loud, proud roar, Iona flapped her wings, whipping up a powerful gale that blasted apart the outer two layers of the Orichalcos.

"No!" Dartz exclaimed.

"Iona! Destroy Orichalcos Shunuros!"

"No! I can activate Orichalcos Aristeros' effect, allowing me to switch the target of your attack to it."

"Too bad it won't avail you much," Yukizome stated as Armor Wing Queen Dragon utterly destroyed the right arm to Shunuros with a high-speed gale generated from her six beautiful wings. "Next turn I won't miss."

Panicking, Dartz drew the top card of his deck. "I'll shift Orichalcos Dexia and Orichalcos Shunuros to defense mode. Then I'll end my turn," His heart stopped beating fast as he discarded an excess card from his hand, but he kept up the panicked expression. He knew he was about to lose Shunuros, and when he did, Yukizome would lose the duel.

"My move!" Yukizome exclaimed and drew the top card of her deck. "Armor Wing Queen Dragon, destroy Orichalcos Shunuros!"

Dartz shielded himself from the high winds. Shunuros was completely destroyed by the powerful winds generated by Iona and, with it, Orichalcos Dexia went with it.

"It's over, Dartz. I've destroyed your best monster. There's no way you could summon a monster stronger than Armor Wing Queen Dragon in one move."

Dartz chuckled and then went into full-blown cathartic laughter.

"What's so funny?" Yukizome asked.

"You are, dearest Chisa. For you see, I wanted you to eventually destroy Shunuros, now you've automatically sealed your fate."

"What do you mean?" Yukizome asked. Then, one by one, all of the torches went out again and a black mist coated the battlefield. "What's going on?"

"Take a look," Dartz stated as a red and black swirling portal appeared in the air above his head.

Yukizome gasped in surprise as a pair of yellow eyes stared back at her from the abyss. "What…is that?"

"You're about to find out," Dartz stated, giving her a shit-eating grin. "You see, by destroying Orichalcos Shunuros, you've allowed Divine Serpent Geh to be born!" A serpent's head and neck jutted out of the portal, eyes glowing yellow with malice, its foul tongue extended out of its open mouth. However, what was more surprising than the serpent, was its stats.

"Infinite Attack Points?" Yukizome gasped, almost in a whimper.

"Indeed," Dartz stated. "I'm afraid this is farewell. Now then, in order to fulfill the conditions for Divine Serpent Geh to be on the field, I must now throw out my deck, my hand, and all of my life points."

Dartz sent the rest of his deck to the graveyard, his hand to the graveyard and his life points hit 0.

"But…then you lose," Chisa stated, eyes shaking with fear.

"Under normal circumstances, yes," Dartz said. "However, Divine Serpent Geh's own ability states that as long as he is on the field, I cannot lose the duel under any circumstances. Of course, if you manage to destroy him, you win. But no power is greater than the power of infinity. I'm afraid this is where it all ends. Divine Serpent Geh, destroy her Armor Wing Queen Dragon!"

With white and blue flame-like breath, Divine Serpent Geh obliterated Armor Wing Queen Dragon. However, as the blast rocketed forward to take Chisa out of the game, a bunch of Kuribohs suddenly blocked the blast, each with its own coo of arrival.

"What?"

"This duel isn't over yet," Yukizome stated. "I kept the aid of Kuriboh till the last possible second, just in case something like this happened!" She shouted. "I'm not going to lose to you!" She exclaimed, drawing the top card of her deck, bringing her hand up to two cards.

"I don't think you understand," Dartz said. "You've already lost."

"What do you mean?" Yukizome asked.

"There is not a single card in your deck that can destroy Divine Serpent Geh," Dartz stated. "You have carelessly thrown away each and every one of the Legendary Dragons, all for the sake of hoping to gain an advantage."

"No. I haven't…"

"You have," Dartz interrupted. "You claim to care about your students, but you carelessly pushed them aside to get to me. Nagito, Hiyoko, Gundham. Do you even care about any of your students?"

"Of course I—"

"Oh, really? You left the comatose bodies of poor Chiaki and Mahiru back in Japan without gentle Mikan there to look over them. Instead she's here, with you, in the thick of danger."

"No! My students are with me so that I can protect them!"

"And what a fine job you've done of that," Dartz stated. With a snap of his fingers, he showed Yukizome the room that the others had been left in. They were all unconscious, soulless. The vision was in her head as though it were a giant movie screen.

"No…" Yukizome whimpered.

"The entire world has become one with the Leviathan and soon you will too," Dartz said as the vision vanished. "The very thing your fighting for," he said as Yukizome dropped to her knees in shock. "The very people you swore to protect, they're gone. Don't you want to be with them?"

"I…" Yukizome said, eyes twitching.

"Why drag out this torment?" Dartz asked. "You haven't a card in your deck that can stop me."

Yukizome looked at the two cards in her hand, the blank card, which was covering the other card she'd drawn. Her hand and eyes shook. They started to go dull, and then they flashed green.

"Accept your destiny and join your students, and your friends, on the other side," Dartz told Yukizome. "Iona is crying out in pain, can you not hear her? If you leave your soul, hers will be freed to come to me. You could reunite me with her as a happy couple. Don't you think that's a good deed."

"Good…deed…" Yukizome said as though in a trance, arm shaking. It started to move from reaching for her hand to reaching for the top of her duel disk, the uniform sign of surrender.

"That's it. Just relax," Dartz said to Yukizome. "It will all be over soon. Let the Seal of Orichalcos take you to where you belong." Slowly, the seal began to close in on Yukizome, feeding on the weight of her heart clouded with despair.

Maybe he's right, Yukizome thought. I've already failed too many students. Who am I…to fight for the world? I'm just…a housekeeper. Her arm neared the top of her duel disk as the seal closed in. Perhaps I can do more by surrendering and allowing the Orichalcos to take me where the people I love are.

Yukizome's hand drew nearer and nearer to the top of her duel disk. The Seal of the Orichalcos drew nearer and nearer around her body.

Dartz's voice echoed inside her head as the world around her seemed to go black and foggy. "That's a good girl. Just give your soul up and become one with everything. There's no need to fight anymore. It will all be over soon. Declare defeat and you'll be free. Free to see your friends and loved ones once more before the Great Beast awakens.

Yukizome's hand neared closer and closer to her duel disk. Closer and closer. Closer and closer.

Closer…

…and closer.

---

In her mind, Yukizome could see a strong cobblestone wall. Her head whirled around and she saw birds flying and tweeting up above in the leaves of the nearby trees. She could feel the breezy outdoor air on her skin, the sound of the wind in her ears.

It was as if she had no body. Her perspective on this single street kept changing. And then, at the far end of the street, she could see a light, the sunlight and cherry blossoms of trees further down. And with them, a blurry image of a person.

Do I…know them?

Where…am I?

Yukizome could hear her voice in her head. It was echoing as if she were in some kind of canyon.

More visions clouded her head, taking place in this otherwise sunny street. They were like hotflashes. She and her friends, posing for pictures at the end of the school year.

Chisa could see her own lips move as she spoke. "My…friends."

Everything went black. Yukizome could hear a piano. Oh. Right. She sometimes played the grand piano at home. But…that operatic voice. That…wasn't her voice.

The next thing Chisa knew, she was drowning in an ocean inside her heart. Her right arm was reaching out. Someone was swimming down to her.

Who…is that? She wondered.

---

"You're nearly there, my dear Chisa," Dartz said as Yukizome's hand hovered over her duel disk.

---

Who…is that? Yukizome thought again as the swimming figure got closer and closer to her.

---

Chisa's hand started to descend down towards her duel disk. The Orichalcos Seal was almost upon her. The light inside the Millennium Puzzle started to die.

---

She could see silver hair and…a brown suit. Bubbles clouded her vision. Her body felt like it weighed a ton. Her arm began to drop.

---

Yukizome's palm was inches from her duel disk.

---

Wait… Yukizome thought as she gazed at the figure. I…know this person.

---

Yukizome's hand froze over her duel disk.

"What's this?" Dartz wondered. "Why did you stop?"

"I…made a promise…"

Both in her mind and in reality, Yukizome spoke those words. In her mind, she reached up and grabbed the swimming figure's hand, in reality, her hand lifted up a little.

"Stop!" Dartz shouted. "I command you! Surrender!"

"I…can't…stop…" Yukizome said as a pair of tears fell from her face. "I…can't betray him."

"What are you talking about? Answer me!"

---

"I love you…Kyouske…"

---

In her mind, as Yukizome's lips made contact with her cognitive creation of Kyouske Munakata, her vision became less hazy in reality. In her hand, there was another card besides the blank card. She could see it now. How could she have failed to recognize her. It was the spirit monster Izanagi.

---

"Yukizome-chan, I want you to have this card," Munakata said, handing a trading card to her.

"Munakata-san …but…I don't…"

"I know you don't have your own deck, but…I think you have the potential to be an excellent duelist," Munakata told her. "Just take it. You have to start somewhere, right?"

"I don't…understand."

Munakata reached out and pat her on the head. "Well, one day when you do, you can thank me."

---

Tears started to fall out of Yukizome's face. It was the first card Munakata had ever given her, back when they were still on a last name basis. He'd given her Labrys when they graduated, but Izanagi…it was the first card he'd ever given her. It was the first time anyone had ever thought to give her, well…anything so nice. People thanked her, people were appreciative of her, she knew that, but she'd never received a material item from someone else.

Yukizome could remember following Munakata throughout their high school years. He was a proud, if but arrogant 16-year-old when they met, but time and her nurturing had changed him. He was now a 20-year-old responsible man.

"I…won't go back on my promise…" Yukizome said with tremendous effort as the Millennium Puzzle started to glow again. "I won't betray Kyouske's love!" Chisa tore her arm away from her duel disk, the power of Dartz's hypnosis shattering.

"Impossible! How can you fight the power of the Orichalcos?"

"I'll tell you how!" Yukizome shouted at him, glaring with all of her might, the glow of the Millennium Puzzle brighter than it had ever been. "Because no matter what, there will always be one person who loves me! One person that I know is always here with me! One person that will never give up on me! As long as we support each other," Yukizome slowly brought a fist to her chest, "As long as he's near and dear to my heart, I won't ever succumb to despair! You and your little magic tricks…" Yukizome said light began to form around her, "can get stuffed!"

The light of the Millennium Puzzle grew outward from Yukizome and blew away the Seal of Orichalcos back to its original position. Then, her hand glowed with a white light. She held up the two cards in her hand. The blank card wasn't blank any longer.

"I activate the card Legend of the Ultimate Heart!" Yukizome shouted. A magic card was activated, showing five swords splitting the card artwork into five quadrants. Each quadrant had a head of one of the five legendary dragons facing the center of the artwork. "First, I give up half of my life points," Yukizome said, cutting her life points down to 25. "Now, I banish from my graveyard," Yukizome said as the cards went flying out of her graveyard as she declared them, "The Eye of Timaeus, The Fang of Critias, The Claw of Hermos, The Horn of Pythagoras, and the Wing of Iona!" Beams of light began to rain down as monsters appeared on her side of the field. "This allows me to special summon Legendary Knight Timaeus," Yukizome said as one beam of light stopped, revealing a knight missing an eye in green armor, "Legendary Knight Critias!" Another beam halted as a knight in black armor appeared. "Legendary Knight Hermos!" A third knight clad in red armor appeared. "Legendary Wizard Pythagoras!" A man in an orange wizard robe, complete with hood, suffering from heterochromia with one eye red and the other eye brown appeared. "And Legendary Queen Iona, Matriarch of Atlantis!"

As he had known her in life, Dartz's Queen Iona appeared. She was dressed in regal, leather, not bulky at all, battle armor that was bright pink in color.

Dartz's eyes shook. This was not good. "It…it doesn't matter how many monsters you summon. None of them will ever be as strong as Divine Serpent Geh!"

"Wanna bet?" Yukizome asked. "Timaeus! Critias! Hermos! Destroy the Seal of Orichalcos!"

"What?!" Dartz gasped.

The three knights combined their powers and, with a sword swing performed in unison, they shattered what remained of the Seal of the Orichalcos.

"Impossible!"

"Not impossible!" Yukizome shot back. "The Seal is not as strong as the power of the legendary knights of destiny! Allow me to show you! Iona! Your magic!"

Iona began chanting a silent prayer as Timaeus, Critias and Hermos fused together into one large gold knight, twice their original size. He had 8,400 attack points.

"And next, I activate the power of the Horn of Pythagoras! With his power, at the cost of half of my life points, I can summon any monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard, and I choose my favorite card, the card that Kyouske gave me all those years ago, the spirit monster Izanagi!" Yukizome's life points fell to 12.

A warrior with long white hair, garbed in white and carrying a wooden pole for a weapon appeared on the battlefield.

"Lastly, by cutting my life points in half three more times!" Yukizome declared as her life points fell to 6 then three and then 1, "I create a monster that is just as unstoppable as yours!" Yukizome raised her arm to the ceiling. "Behold the monster of Ultimate truth! I summon the great and powerful God of Fate, Izanagi-no-Okami!"

A warrior clad in all white, like a business suit, stood on Yukizome's side of the battlefield. He was 18 feet tall and carried a weapon in his right hand that was truly bizarre. On both sides of the weapon there was a sword blade and the guard was in the center with a full moon ring that surrounded the handle like a guard, except the guard was just as sharp as the rest of the weapon. Strangely, the way the guard hovered over the arm of Izanagi-no-Okami, it made it look like the monster itself had a duel disk. The monster's head was just a helmet over a human sized head, but the helmet was shaped so that the front curved like the bow of a cruise ship. However, behind the head, going down, back and to the ankles attached by three-link chains were a pair of horns that were shaped like a dragon's horns, but were also as sharp as swords.

What was surprising though was the monster's stats. Both of its attack and defense points were a series of four questions marks.

"No! What is that?"

"Perhaps you weren't listening," Yukizome said as her hair and dress blew up from an unexplained gale generated beneath her feet. "I called it Izanagi-no-Okami, a god with the power to control and change fate. And with it," Yukizome said, pointing her finger at Dartz as the golden glow of the Millennium Puzzle turned white. "I will destroy your Divine Serpent Geh! Izanagai-no-Okami! Attack with Myriad Truths!"

Izanagi-no-Okami spun its strange weapon around and around until it became a blur of gold and steel as beams of light rained down in all directions, piercing Divine Serpent Geh through the neck.

"No! NOOOOO!" Dartz shouted, watching his monster get torn to shreds by beams of light that seemed endless.

Yukizome marched towards the King of Atlantis, Izanagi-no-Okami going with her. She crossed towards Dartz until she'd cut the distance between them by half. "I told you that you would regret making me angry. How dare you mess with me, my students, and the man I love." Yukizome lifted her fist into the air and then pulled it down and extended arm arm out at Dartz, palm open. "VANISH FROM MY SIGHT!"

Izanagi-no-Okami emitted one last blast of white light from its spinning weapon that engulfed Yukizome, Dartz, and Divine Serpent Geh. Dartz's screams of agony could be heard as the wall behind him was blasted to smithereens and Divine Serpent Geh disintegrated in the bright light.

Yukizome's gaze remained firm and determined until she was certain Dartz wasn't coming back. Only then did she release the power of Izanagi-no-Okami. Then, she lifted her arms to the sky and tilted her hands up, pursing her lips as she let Iona's power flow through her, freeing the souls held captive by the Leviathan.

---

On the floor of Dartz's chamber, Yugi stirred, groaning. "What…happened?" As he got to his feet, Yukizome was standing in front of him, a sweet smile on her face.

"Ah, Miss Yukizome? Wait…" How did he know her name?

"Glad to see you safe, Yugi. Here, you can have this back now."

"Oh, my Millennium Puzzle," Yugi said, taking it back. "Why did you have it?"

"Well, I…"

"Ugh, did anyone get the number of that bus?" Joey asked, groaning as he got to his feet.

"Pretty sure that was an airliner than a bus," Mai said, getting to her feet.

Yukizome smiled, winking, putting a finger to her lips. "I'll explain later." She went over to check on Hajime and Sonia, leaving Yugi to get a feel for his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the giant hole on the far side of the room. "Whoa! What happened?"

Yami, appearing as a phantasm at Yugi's side, was quick to explain. It appears Yukizome was successful in defeating Dartz. With the fate of the world on her shoulders, her heart and her soul did not waver.

Yugi turned towards Yukizome who was in the process of smothering Hajime and Sonia with hugs, trying not to cry. She did that? Wow. But what about you, pal?

I'm fine. I knew I could entrust Dartz's defeat to her. After all, he put his astral hand on Yugi's puzzle, she was never fighting alone.

Meanwhile, upon realizing Mai was all right, Joey threw his arms around her, not caring about social norms at all.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he told Mai.

Mai just blushed. She couldn't bring herself to fling Joey off her. The only thing she could do was hug him back and nuzzle his shoulder. "Me too, Joey."

Kaiba, upon getting up, also noticed the big hole in the wall. "What happened?" He walked over to the hole and looked down. The Atlantic Ocean could be seen below, the waves still tumultuous as one could expect.

"Apparently Miss Yukizome beat Dartz. This must be a side-effect of their duel."

"She did, huh?" Kaiba thought aloud. "Hmph, I always knew she was never to be underestimated."

"Is it true?" Hajime asked Yukizome. "Did you really beat Dartz?"

"Yup," she said with a smile. "It really pushed me to my limits, but it wasn't that bad." No one needed to know the hardship and strife she went through. If everyone thought she was brushing it off as no big deal, they'd be more inclined to relax. She stood up and pressed a finger to her temple, leaning slightly to one side. "It's weird though. Freeing you guys with Iona's power flowing through me felt too easy."

"Too easy?" Joey asked. "What do you mean?"

A chill ran down Hajime's spine as he burst out into the hall where they'd left Nagito. He rubbed the white-haired teen's shoulder. "Nagito. Nagito, wake up!"

But Nagito did not stir.

"Hey! Nagito's not waking up!" He shouted into the other room.

"It's not over," Kaiba growled and turned towards the open hole in the wall.

"No…impossible! I beat him! I know I did! I…uwah!" Yukizome started to lose her balance a little as the floor began shaking. The altar chamber began to crumble away into just a solid white platform as it began rising into the air.

"Ah!" Hajime, not wanting to be left behind, darted up the staircase and jumped up to the rising platform. Yukizome caught his arm and she and Sonia pulled him up to the platform, which eventually stopped rising. Then, a staircase extended upwards, made of solidified light, that led to some kind of observatory platform.

Nodding to each other, the five dragon holders, and their allies, darted up the stairs and came to a platform where there were five, large, rising platforms.

"Hey! Doesn't this place remind you of where we got the dragons from?" Joey asked.

"It does," Hajime said.

"But that's not possible. The dragons were kept in the monster world, not the human world of Atlantis. What's going on?"

Suddenly, there was an earthquake as everyone did their best to maintain their balance. Yukizome ran to the far end of the platform, away from the staircase and gazed down. "What…is that?"

The others looked down near her and saw a gigantic whirlpool formed on the ocean surface, and it was only getting wider and deeper.

"If I cannot gain the souls necessary to revive the Great Leviathan! I will do it myself!"

"That's Dartz's voice!" Yukizome exclaimed. It was distorted, echoing, and angry, but she recognized it all the same.

Yami immediately took control of Yugi's body and shouted, "Everyone be on your guard!"

Then, suddenly a massive creature rose out of the hole in the whirlpool head first. It was long, black and dark magenta in color.

"What's that?" Kaiba gasped, eyes trembling with fear. "I've never seen a monster that size."

Yukizome's jaw dropped and her heart sank. "That's…the Great Levithan."

"But…how?" Sonia wondered aloud, worried. "You defeated Dartz, did you not?"

Everyone could only stare up at the sky as the massive Great Leviathan, bigger than any man or beast they had seen before, took to the sky. Even Osiris the Sky Dragon seemed positively skinny by comparison to the massive girth of the Great Leviathan.

"Look at the size of it!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"Guys, I think we're gonna need a bigger duel disk," Joey stated.

"Now's not the time for jokes!" Mai chastised while never taking her eyes off the Great Leviathan.

Through the air, the Great Leviathan twisted and turned until its entire body was in the air. No portion of the sky or the horizon could be seen from the monster's twisting, grotesque body.

"Looks like Nagito got what he wanted," Hajime gnashed his teeth.

"Everyone, look! On the Leviathan's forehead!" Yami gasped.

Everyone focused in on what Yami was looking at. In truth, there was a small growth on the Leviathan's forehead. It was gross, purple and with yellow eyes.

"No way!" Joey gasped. "Is that Dartz?"

"So that's what he meant," Hajime said. "He gave up his own soul in order to revive the Great Leviathan."

"If he could do that, why didn't he just do that from the start?" Joey asked.

"He must be desperate," Yukizome said. "Or maybe the Leviathan isn't at full power. Either way, the result is the same, and we have to stop it."

"How do we stop something larger than a city?" Kaiba hissed.

"We just have to try," Yukizome said, activating her duel disk. She held one card aloft above her head, summoning Guardian Angel Joan. She climbed on her monster's back. "I'm going in for a better look."

"You're nuts," Kaiba said dryly.

"Nuts or not, I'm with her," Mai said, calling forth a Harpie Lady. "I'm not gonna stand here and watch the world get engulfed by that thing."

"Me neither!" Joey exclaimed, calling forth Red-Eyes and mounting the dragon's back.

"Hmph," Kaiba said with a smirk. "I never said I wouldn't help. After all, it's just some cheap magic trick. I've got nothing to fear."

Yukizome smiled at Kaiba. She knew what he said was different from how he truly felt.

Hajime got up on his Curse of Dragon. Sonia called for Darklord Morningstar. Kaiba got on his Blue-Eyes, and Yami used Summoned Skull.

"Everyone ready?" Yukizome asked.

"Not exactly, but it's not like we can just excuse ourselves for a bathroom break," Joey commented.

"Nervous bladders aside, is everyone ready to do this?" she asked, the group on either side of her. "I could understand if any of you are too scared to go out there."

"Just give the signal," Kaiba said.

"All right then," Yukizome said. "Let's go, everyone." She gave the Leviathan, and Dartz, the toughest look she could muster, "Let's go save the world!"

---

(A/N: Not as long as the RPG battle, but definitely just as intense, if not more so, in my opinion. And now, it's all come down to this. The true final battle. With the Leviathan released and Dartz falling back on any desperate move he can make, it's now all or nothing. With the god cards sealed inside Kaiba's vault, how in the world are our heroes going to get out of this? Also, I think Yukizome now holds the title of "winning a duel with the fewest amount of life points" with only 1 measly point left. Ladies and gentlemen, and those of unspecified gender, I don't think I will ever top that XD

Anyway, next time on Dueling Trigger Finger, the final phase of the final battle. 84 will be relatively short, encompassing just the final battle and 85 will be the falling action and the conclusion of the arc. Unless I decide to combine the two, but I'm not planning on it. And then it's off to Canada for our delightful story XD.

Anyway, I'm blathering. So, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)