Good Day Readers and welcome to the sequel to Pain of Betrayal, Pain of Loss! Thanks to all of you for the support and I hope that you all enjoy this latest edition of the Hope sisters. Sorry for the late update, on time this week, thank goodness. To EchoRoses, thanks for the review and I have to agree about what happened to Mai and I am confused as to why no one checked up on her, that's why I only gave them a week gap in this, too little time for them to think anything had gone wrong but plenty for it in my opinion, especially with trauma in the mix.
Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation, a video tape or something in a language that isn't Japanese. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy
Chapter 11: - The Darkness Within Yami
I couldn't believe it, I genuinely couldn't find the strength to actual believe what I was seeing, it was completely incomprehensible to my eyes despite its' physical reality. Yami commanded his imprisoned Monster to gain the corrupted power of the Oreichalcos, I felt my bracelet pulsing madly, far worse than it had during the other Duels with this damned card.
Dragon Knight Black Magician Girl – ATK/2600 – ATK/3100
"Because her Attack Strength has now changed, the Crystal Seal is destroyed!" Yami declared. The blue crystal suddenly cracked and shattered into pieces, up the moment that happened my bracelet unleashed a flash of blinding light and Timaeus let out a roar; when my sight returned to me, I was greeted by a shocking scene, Timaeus was gone. "Why would Timaeus?" Yami questioned. Black Magician Girl had lowered to the ground and lost her armour as a result of Timaeus' disappearance.
Black Magician Girl – ATK/2000 – ATK/2500
"I got you! The power of Oreichalcos and the power of the Legendary Dragons, in other words the power of light and darkness, they cannot coexist together," Rafael revealed. Wrong! The words there should be good and evil, light and dark magic could exist together quite easily; but I couldn't speak as I continued watching this tragedy in silence. "Now, the source of my uneasiness is gone," Rafael admitted. A dark aura suddenly surrounded Yami and I felt myself step backwards in response to that appearance.
"I activate a Magic card known as Seizing Control!" Yami declared. Rafael knew what the card did as did I, it allowed the controller to declare a card in the opponent's hand and then forcibly activate, there could only be one card that Yami would declare, Necromancy. "I activate the effect of Necromancy! Four Monsters in my Graveyard are Summoned back to the field in Defence Position! Come out! Big Shield Gardna! Baphomet! Phantom Beast King Gazelle! Kuribabylon!" Yami declared. That would at least reduce the amount of damage he'd take from Pure Cemetery, but I couldn't feel happy about this fact.
Baphomet – ATK/1400 – ATK/1900
Big Shield Gardna – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/100, DEF/2600
Big Shield Gardna – ATK/100 – ATK/600
Phantom Beast King Gazelle – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200
Phantom Beast King Gazelle – ATK/1500 – ATK/2000
"Then I Release Gazelle and Baphomet! Come forth! Black Magician!" Yami declared. I actually flinched upon hearing that he was bringing his trump card onto the field, I didn't want to see Black Magician – any of Yami's Monsters really – be corrupted by that bloody thing; I felt Andromeda appear beside me as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder, in an attempt to give me comfort but the lead weight in my chest dispelled any comfort that I could try and take. Black Magician ended up screaming as the power of Oreichalcos flooded into him.
Black Magician – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2100
Black Magician – ATK/2500 – ATK/3000
"In addition, the Special Effect of Kuribabylon! Undo the combination, Kuribabylon!" Yami commanded. The massive furball split apart into the Kuriboh Brothers and I could just image how Katherine would react if she saw the Monster she adored being turned into such a monstrous form; I could hear their screams and cries even as I pressed my hands so tightly over my ears that I thought I'd end up crushing the small bones of my inner ear.
Kuriboh – ATK/300 – ATK/800
Kuribah – ATK/300 – ATK/800
Kuribee – ATK/300 – ATK/800
Kuribeh – ATK/300 – ATK/800
Kuriboo – ATK/300 – ATK/800
"And then, I activate the Special Effect of Kuriba! Show yourself again, Kuribabylon!" Yami commanded. The five little fluff balls combined and the massive one returned, this time turned into such a terrifying form that I'm sure would terrify Katherine if she saw it; I felt a small whimper escape me as I slid down to my knees, desperately wishing that I couldn't hear the Duel Monsters at this moment, to not hear their pain as the blackness of the Oreichalcos corrupted them.
Kuribabylon – ATK/? – ATK/4000
Kuribabylon – ATK/4000 – ATK/4500
"This is the power of Oreichalcos," Yami spoke. He seemed amazed by the sickening thing that he'd activated, Rafael declared that it was actually Yami's power. "Guardian Kay'est is a Monster that cannot be attacked. If so, Kuribabylon, attack Guardian Grarl!" Yami commanded. The horrific Monster charged forward and speared the Monster, causing it to shatter into pixels; I waited for Rafael to pull out one of his revival cards in order to save Grarl… but nothing happened.
Rafael – LP: 3000 – LP: 1500
"Now that you have a Monster in your Graveyard, the continuous effect of Magic Power of the Pure Cemetery is destroyed," Yami stated. The card shattered, removing the threat of its' Life Point theft. "My Black Magician and Black Magician Girl have yet to attack. Go! Black Magician!" Yami commanded. The mighty magician flew forwards with his sceptre held out before him as a cry came from his form.
"I activate the Instant Magic, Divine Protection of the Dead!" Rafael declared. As the card was activated, a spectral image emerged from the card and Black Magician's advance was blocked as he was repelled. "What?" Yami asked. Rafael explained that this card activated when a Monster was destroyed and by discarding two cards, this caused the Battle Phase to be negated.
"Kylie! Yugi!" Katherine's voice sounded. I turned around and looked up to the cliff above me, I saw not only my little sister but Jounouchi, Honda and Otogi there as well. "Wh-What the hell!?" Katherine exclaimed. She had ground to a stop as did the two knuckleheads and all three were staring pale faced across the canyon.
"Wh-why would Yami have the mark of Oreichalcos on his forehead?" Jounouchi asked. Katherine turned and started to climb her way down to my position and rushed over to me with the other three quickly joining her. "Kylie! What happened?!" Jounouchi asked. I looked down at the ground beneath my legs, knowing that Jounouchi wasn't going to appreciate what I had to say, but lying wasn't a good idea.
"You won't like it and you might not believe it… but Yami used the Barrier of Oreichalcos," I admitted. Jounouchi was shocked as hands reached down to bring me back to my feet, I looked at Otogi who was standing there with his hands around my arms. "Thanks Otogi," I spoke. I looked back at the Duel just in time to see that sickeningly dark aura surround Yami once more.
"Looks like you didn't expect me to be able to use the Barrier of Oreichalcos so easily, huh? You've made a grave miscalculation. You'll come to regret ever handing me the Oreichalcos Barrier card!" Yami declared. Rafael however seemed to be unconcerned by the development and instead looked down at his Duel Disk.
"My Monsters… lend me your powers. My turn!" Rafael declared. He pulled a card free from his Deck as I saw Eatos' wings flare and surround him, did that mean she would enter the Duel, or was she just showing off; I heard Katherine gasp and I glanced down, seeing my sister standing at my side as she stared at Rafael. "Magic card! Reincarnation of the Dead! Reincarnation of the Dead allows one Monster in the Graveyard to return to the Deck. I will return Guardian Grarl back to my Deck!" Rafael declared. Grarl's card was ejected from his Graveyard as a result of.
"You really don't want any Monsters to be sent to the Graveyard, huh?" Yami questioned. Rafael gave no response as he simply set a card face down on the field and then activated the Magic card, Sealing Swords of Light; this caused the glowing green swords to rain down and encircle Yami and his Monsters behind their repelling force.
"Now Yami can't attack for the next three turns," Katherine whispered. Her hands were folded together as her brown-black gaze darted around, perhaps trying to locate something. "I can't find Yugi… do you know what happened to him? Something… something's interfering with the Soul Bond," Katherine revealed. I shook my head to show that I didn't know what was happening but for something to be blocking her Soul Bond with Yugi, it meant some scarily powerful magic was at play.
"My turn!" Yami declared. He pulled a card free and I forced myself to keep watching the Duel. "I Release Big Shield Gardna! To Advance Summon Catapult Turtle!" Yami declared. The mechanical tortoise appeared on the field and I could already guess where Yami was going with this situation, it was a sure fire way to keep hitting at Rafael's Life Points from behind the Sealing Swords.
Catapult Turtle – Attribute: Water, Type: Water, Level: 5, ATK/1000, DEF/2000
Catapult Turtle – ATK/1000 – ATK/1500
"Catapult Turtle's Effect works by sacrificing a Monster on the field. It inflicts direct damage to the opponent equal to half of its' Attack Power! Swords of Sealing Light can't interfere with this!" Yami declared. I saw a concerned expression appear on Rafael's face, perhaps indicating that this was going to be a serious problem for him if he allowed it to continue.
"Permanent Trap card! Sacrifice Limited!" Rafael declared. The card rose up and a wave of pressure radiated from the card. "With Sacrifice Limited in play, each player can only sacrifice one Monster per turn. In this turn, since you've already sacrificed one Monster to Summon Catapult Turtle, you are unable to Release any more Monsters!" Rafael revealed. This forced Yami to end his turn and I wasn't sure how to feel… did I want Yami to win despite using this evil power or perhaps… did I want him to lose despite the risk of his soul; I cared about him, but he had betrayed the trust of his Deck, something that was sacred to me. "My turn! Magic card! Nightmare's Iron Bindings!" Rafael declared. Chains shot from the ground and bound themselves around Kuribabylon.
Kuribabylon – ATK/4500 – ATK/3700
Rafael – LP: 1500 – LP: 2300
"Nightmare's Iron Bindings, it deducts eight hundred points off the Attack of a Monster. And adds that eight hundred to my Life Points. In addition, the targeted Monster cannot be sacrificed," Rafael explained. Yami was completely unconcerned with this since he believed that he would still win the Duel; when he started his turn, Yami swiftly did in Black Magician, sacrificing the mighty magician to inflict damage against Rafael who was forced to his knees by the projectile attack.
Rafael – LP: 2300 – LP: 800
"Because Black Magician is now in the Graveyard, Black Magician Girl's Attack Points will go up!" Yami declared. Rafael was one sacrifice away from losing the Duel if he didn't do anything to stop it; I heard Jounouchi question his friend's actions. "What's wrong, Rafael? The outcome is obvious. In the next turn, with just one more attack, your Life Points will be completely drained!" Yami announced. Rafael forced himself to his feet with a growl, showing he wasn't about to give up yet.
Black Magician Girl – ATK/2500 – ATK/2800
"My turn! I set a reverse card and end my turn!" Rafael declared. The card appeared and Yami took control of the Duel and declared that he would settle it, but Katherine's shake of the head proved that her sixth sense declared Yami was wrong, it must have been to do with the face down Rafael set; Yami intended to use Black Magician Girl as a sacrifice, this announcement caused the blonde woman to turn around and look at him in shock.
"Don't do it Yami! We made her a promise! Remember!" I cried. He couldn't sacrifice her, she couldn't be betrayed; however, Yami didn't listen to my voice as the female magician leapt onto the catapult when Yami gave no response to her gaze, she was sent flying forward and formed into an orb of pink light and fell towards Rafael.
"Magic card, Shrink!" Rafael declared. Black Magician Girl hit the card as everyone else was shocked by the sudden twist and perhaps the unusual way in which Shrink had been used based on the way we'd seen Seto use it several times already; the pink light burst through the card and proceeded to strike Rafael in the abdomen and sending him grinding back until he hit the edge of the barrier.
Black Magician Girl – ATK/2800 – ATK/1400
Rafael – LP: 800 – LP: 100
"What persistence. But now your Life Points are lower than mine," Yami acknowledged. He looked over at the Sealing Swords which were slowly losing their glow. "The Sealing Swords of Light will expire this turn. In the next turn, Catapult Turtle will sacrifice itself and your Life will become zero. It'll be my victory," Yami declared. He was acting so arrogantly, believing that whatever cards Rafael drew wouldn't be able to turn the tide of this Duel, but he was beyond wrong.
"It's obvious that Yami-kun's going to win!" Otogi declared. He seemed happy about this, Honda backed up Otogi's assumption before asking for Jounouchi opinion; I looked at the blonde when he didn't respond as did Katherine, we saw the dark look in the boy's honeyed eyes which were staring straight ahead at the back of our friend.
"No… that person isn't Yami or even Yugi. Sacrificing your Monsters one by one for the sake of winning… a True Duelist wouldn't do that!" Jounouchi declared. I nodded my head in agreement as Katherine let out a weak sound, we turned around to look at Yami as that blasted dark aura started to surround him once more; but then Rafael began to laugh.
"You want to win. You want to win, don't you? No matter who it is, or whatever means it may take…what a sight, Nameless Pharaoh. How do you feel about your impending victory? You've proven well. You've proven that darkness exists in your heart as well. Nameless Pharaoh, your eagerness to win has caused you to fall into this trap," Rafael revealed. Yami was confused by this and I think the rest of us watching were confused as well. "The Barrier of Oreichalcos is a card whereby the stronger the darkness in your heart is, the more power you can get from it. Haven't you noticed? Look carefully at what's on your field!" Rafael insisted. The distorted ugliness to the two Monsters on the field was clear as day to any of us watching. "Your persistence to win has turned these lovely Monsters ugly. You've become a slave for more power!" Rafael finished
"What have I done to the Monsters?!" Yami asked. He was only just realising what had happened to him after activating that accursed Barrier, how it had twisted him and his Monsters as a result; but it was far too late for regrets, Rafael lambasted Yami for activating the Barrier thus sealing away Timaeus' power even though Rafael feared such power. "What?!" Yami exclaimed. My own eyes widened at those words, shocked was perhaps an understatement to what I felt knowing that they actually feared them.
"My turn!" Rafael declared. When he did, I heard a thump sound right next to me, I snapped my head in that direction and my eyes widened when I saw that Katherine had collapsed to her knees, ashen white in skin tone as she stared at the Duel, her mouth a gape as if she was trying to comprehend something that seemed unbelievable to her. "Our fates will depend on what I draw this round!" Rafael announced. He pulled the card free and the white aura surrounded him once more. "Equipment Magic! Holy Sword of the Goddess – Eatos!" Rafael declared.
"It's over, he's lost," Katherine whispered. I saw tears appearing at the rim of her eyelids, I pulled my sister into my arms and looked back at the Duel as a beautiful sword manifested itself onto the field, with Backup Gardna taking a hold of the sword in the free hand; I knew what, or rather who, was coming with that sword now out on the field.
Backup Gardna – ATK/500 – ATK/800
"Come forth, Guardian Eatos!" Rafael declared. He pulled a card from his hand and immediately placed it onto the Duel Disk, a light was shot forth from the card and flew into air as it took shape as a winged creature, the hunting cry of a bird of prey escaping from it; upon the light entering the sky, clouds gathered and lightning flashed down to the ground. A light manifested and from it emerged the fearsome maiden, Rafael's Spirit Partner, the beautiful Guardian Eatos.
Guardian Eatos – Attribute: Wind, Type: Angel, Level: 8, ATK/2500, DEF/2000
"So, she's the aura who's been protecting him all this time!" Yami exclaimed. With the woman made manifest, it was clear to see that fact, Eatos reached her hand out towards Backup Gardna and, like a knight present a weapon to a queen, the Monster placed Eatos' sword into her hand which she swung around to point into the air.
Backup Gardna – ATK/800 – ATK/500
Guardian Eatos – ATK/2500 – ATK/2800
"The Special Effect of Guardian Eatos! Soul of the Holy Sword!" Rafael declared. The blade of Eatos' weapon began to glow as Eatos snapped her golden eyes open, unleashing a powerful wave of pressure, Yami's body was forced to move on its' own; the arm holding the Duel Disk rose into the air even as he tried to fight the force off, causing all of us to cry out the spirit's assumed name. "The Special Effect of Guardian Eatos… it removes from play every Monster in the opponent's Graveyard and she will absorb their combined Attack Points!" Rafael revealed. The sword Eatos wielded lost its' effect at those words.
Guardian Eatos – ATK/2800 – ATK/2500
"What did you say?" Yami demanded. Rafael gave no response as the cards began to be ejected from Yami's Graveyard and with every removed card, the spirits of the Monsters emerged onto the field, with damnation in their eyes as they stared at Yami, except for two; Black Magician and Black Magician Girl held onto each other as their eyes burned with sorrow, Rafael pushed Yami to think about what he had done to them. "Don't stare at me! Don't stare at me with those eyes!" Yami pleaded.
"The darkness in your heart has enabled Eatos to reach her full potential!" Rafael declared. At those words, the spirits of Yami's Monsters flew down towards him, before flowing backwards towards Eatos and they immediately hit her sword, vanishing into it and passing their strength on to the white winged maiden and dramatically boosting her strength.
Guardian Eatos – ATK/2500 – ATK/10,000
"O Nameless Pharaoh! Bear the wrath of these Monsters! Guardian Eatos attack! Forbidden Gospel!" Rafael declared. Eatos prepared her sword which began to glow before she raised it high above her head, causing lightning to crackle off of its' surface; Eatos then swung the sword down, sending out a wave of power that tore across the ground and straight through Kuribabylon and Catapult Turtle, eliminating it along with the remains of Yami's Life Points.
Yugi – LP: 600 – LP: 0
As the boys cried out to Yami, a hiccup of a sob escaped me as Katherine actually started crying, pressing her face into my shoulder as I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle the cry. The blue light of the attack began to fade down before shooting into the sky, leaving only the Barrier, Yami and Rafael; Yami's body was smoking from Eatos' attack, Rafael approached him and declared Yami had lost the most important thing, therefore would become an offering for the revival of that Dark God of theirs'.
"Please… save him," I whispered. As I did, my bracelet began to glow as did Katherine's Gauntlet, our eyes widened in confusion and surprise as the two accessories shined for a long time, long enough for the Barrier to close around Yami's form. At that moment Katherine's hands flew to wrap around her head as she moved them through her hair, I thought she would rip strands free as her face and eyes took on an anguished and panicked light which caused my heart to start beating extremely fast.
"No… No! No! No!" Katherine cried. The tears that had bubbled began to stream down her face as the Oreichalcos vanished and Yami tumbled to his knees, Rafael retrieved his Barrier card and the pendant as the other three spectators began to freak out over Yami's loss. A helicopter suddenly shot up and I spotted the red head Amelda sat at the controls.
A rope ladder was thrown out which Rafael took a hold of and it flew over to the lot of us, churning the wind up something fierce as I looked up at Rafael whilst shielding my eyes. With a cry of 'take him' Rafael tossed Yami's body down to us and the two knuckleheads were forced to act as landing cushions for the unconscious individual.
"Miss Kylie, Katherine, Jounouchi! I'll return in good time to take your souls as well! Please look forward to that day!" Rafael declared. I raised my head to glare at him in response to those words as the helicopter flew away from our location; the three boys started to yell at Yami, alternating between his name and his host's name, to see if either one got a reaction from him, that was when a small groan echoed into my ears as one of them asked if he was alright.
"Thank goodness, I was so worried about you," Jounouchi admitted. But something must have appeared on Yami or Yugi's face because Jounouchi let out a small gasp. "Is everything ok, Yami… or Yugi?" Jounouchi asked. I didn't turn around and instead kept holding onto my blubbering sister, waiting with bated breath to know what had happened, although I already feared the worst.
"I'm… not alright!" Yami's voice declared. It was filled with sorrow and regret and confirmed the thing I'd feared the moment Katherine had started to freak out earlier as the others were confused by the spirit's words. "In my stead, Partner has…," Yami explained. The others caught on to what he meant as I heard a thud sound next to me. "I… I… Partner! Partner!" Yami screamed. He then started to scream as I tightened my arms around Katherine who seemed to be attempting to bury herself into me.
"Yugi," I heard Katherine weakly moan. I closed my eyes as a few tears dripped down my face at the incredible loss we'd suffered.