Chapter 35
"The Final Duel, Part One: End Game"
The golden trail stopped at the end of a winding passage in front of enormous double-door made of stone. Yami's footsteps slowed as he approached. The fight with Athena had allowed him to get a hold of himself once again, and he was feeling a bit more together now. He stared at the doors, which were covered in hieroglyphics…his knowledge of the ancient language was slowly returning, and he bemusedly began a loose translation…
The Grecians move closer everyday… the defenses will not hold much longer. I wish my grandfather were here. They say King Yami was the most powerful Pharaoh to live… not like me. I know not what to do now, so I pray to the gods for guidance. High Priest Jetsu Maeda has suggested transferring the powers of the Pharaoh into new Items. If only I knew how to access the power of the Items! If only I knew what to do…
Yami continued to read, eyes open in surprise. The next part he could understand and though these symbols looked like the others, there was a certain sharper, darker quality about them:
These were the last writings of the final Pharaoh to hold true power in Egypt. He was but 17 when he gave the order to transfer all the magic left into the new Items: Shield, Sword, Earrings, Mirror, Statue, Staff, and the Hourglass. My ancestor was only able to obtain the Shield, even after killing the other priests. The Shield protected him from the Greeks long enough to go into hiding. Beyond these doors is the sanctuary of the last member of the Maeda family. Only those enemies brave or foolish enough enter here. Proceed with caution or flee in haste...
Yami frowned. He was certainly not going to flee, but the first section of the writing intrigued him and he felt it deserved another moment of thought. Grandson…? But that would've meant that Dedi and I had had a child…and neither of us remember that…Why would such an important memory be hidden from both of us…? But he had no more time to ponder this. Their friends were in grave danger and the only way to save them lay beyond those doors.
He reached out a hand and touched the inscription reading "Proceed with caution" and all the hieroglyphs glowed bright red on contact. The light enfolded him and he squinted, watching the doors swing slowly open, groaning against their own weight.
This is it… came Yugi's voice in his head.
I know.
Yami stood as tall as he could make himself, ignoring the pain that still throbbed at the back of his head, and entered the chamber.
"So you decided to come… I can't say I'm surprised. Everything else you've done ever since you came to this country has been stupid." Jetsu was standing on the far end of the spacious chamber, his Shield hooked onto his right arm as usual. Held loosely in his right had was the Millennium Sword and on his left arm was hooked a Duel Disk 2, black in color and glowing a brilliant green instead of the typical yellow, "Leading your friends into my trap, alienating your host in a rushed episode of lost lust with the Queen in the Shadow Realm, abandoning the soulless bodies of your comrades for a ill-fated attempt at revenge upon me…"
"This ends here and now, Maeda!" Yami said, pointing at his foe, "And you can try your mind tricks all you want, but I've learned my lesson. I won't make the same mistake again."
"That'd be a first," the knight hissed at his enemy, "I may not show it as openly as you, Yami, but I too have been waiting a long time for this day. Indeed our game will end now and you with it! Let's duel!"
He raised the Sword high above him and a green glow stretched to the corners of the room. Yami raised a hand to shield his face and then felt his whole body begin to tingle. Glancing down at himself, he gasped as he watched a ring of black magic surround him. Starting at the ground and moving up, it transformed him. His original outfit dissolved and in its place the garb he had worn 500 years ago solidified around him. He felt the cool metal of his headband touch his forehead and knew the ensemble was complete.
He lifted his head to face his opponent and found that Jetsu had undergone a change as well. The armor that once shrouded his being had faded away and had been replaced by the white robes of an Egyptian high priest. Red lining made its way around the entire negligee and there was a bandage visible on his right forearm, nearly concealed by the two Millennium Items. And for the first time ever, his mask was gone and his face was visible, shaded lightly by a draping hood. His eyes were piercing green, and a scar ran along the right one. His complexion was unlike that of all other Egyptian's Yami had encountered (besides himself), and was pale; probably from spending all his days hidden beneath his armor.
"What is the meaning of this…?" Yami asked, stepping nearer to the area painted on the floor.
"I thought that the mightiest of Pharaohs would want to die looking at least somewhat respectable." Jetsu's Duel Disk began counting up life points, but did not stop at 4000 as usual.
"W-what?" Yami said, glancing down at his own Duel Disk and watching it spin up in numbers until it stopped at 8000. "8000??" he said, "A new rule it seems…fitting, seeing as it increases with every tournament I've entered…but why not use this new system from the beginning? Is this a special honor, reserved for only the match between you and I?"
"Indeed. With more life points, not only does it make for a more interesting match, but I'll have the pleasure of causing you as much pain as possible." He pulled out all six cards at once from his hand (Winged Sage Falcos, Royal Oppression, Time Seal, Pyro Clock of Destiny, Delinquent Duo, Mysterious Guard) "Time to die, Pharaoh!"
"We'll see who's left standing at the end of this," Yami said, "So don't start building my tomb yet." He drew five cards of his own and looked down at them (Swords of Revealing Light, Kuriboh, Big Shield Gardna, Gamma the Magnet Warrior, De-Fusion, Shift).
"My family has always had one step ahead of yours, Yami, and your tomb has already been built! Through three generations you and yours were never even able to see it…" he selected a card form his hand and placed it on the field, "So I'll go first, starting with this: the Delinquent Duo magic card!" Two bratty little demons (one red and one blue) each labeled with a '1' and a '2' on their foreheads. Together they jumped on Yami and began grabbing at the cards in his hand.
"What the–?!" he cried as he tried to shake the crazy imps off of him, "What are they doing??"
Jetsu let out a short laugh, "In exchange for 1000 of my life points, demon number '1' will steal one card from your hand," The red demon snatched the 'Kuriboh' from Yami Yugi's hand and pushed it into the graveyard. With a wave the little devil disappeared into thin air. Jetsu's life points decreased down to 7500, but the Millennium Shield began to glow again, keeping its master from being punished.
"Demon '2' is kinder, and will allow you to select the card you wish to destroy" Jetsu finished as his life points dropped to 7000.
The blue demon climbed down off of Yami and stood in front of him, holding out a hand expectantly. Yami glared at him for a moment, then handed him his 'Shift' trap card. It took the card, patted the ruler on the hand lightly with a smile as wide as could be, then pushed the card into the card graveyard and disappeared as well.
Yami scowled, "I'm sure there's more…right, Jetsu?"
"But of course. Now I place three cards face-down (Pyro Clock of Destiny, Royal Oppression, Time Seal) and one monster in defense mode (Mysterious Guard (800/1200))."
"My turn," Yami picked up the next card off of his deck (De-Spell) That's not going to help now… "I play my Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode and one card face-down (Spellbinding Circle). That end's my turn."
"Well then, why don't I start the action? Jetsu selected his next card carefully (Dark Spirit of the Silent), "I place one more card face-down (Dark Spirit of the Silent) and switch my Mysterious Guard into attack mode!" His blue-hooded figure revealed itself quickly. It was holding a long staff up high and slammed it down hard on the ground. Jetsu smiled, "And that activates its special effect, sending one of my opponent's monsters from the field back to the top of their deck!"
Yami drew in a breath slowly, watching as his monster card was placed by the Duel Disk back onto the top of his desk. As he exhaled he breathed out the twinge of his old frustration that had returned. This duel was far from over, especially with the new life point rules Maeda had instituted.
Jetsu Maeda clicked another button on his duel disk, "Now I activate my trap card: Time Seal!" Mysterious Guard pulled one of the scrolls out from his belt and threw it in the air. Before the flimsy paper could land, the creature had thrust its staff forward and froze the bit of parchment in midair. The symbols written on the document began to burn a vivid blue color and the same symbols appeared on top of Yami's deck.
Folding his arms across his chest, Jetsu gave an evil grin to the Pharaoh, "I trust this needs no explanation?"
"No," Yami said. The Time Seal card was commonly used – it forced him to skip his next draw phase. "Now finish your turn. I'll still destroy you, Maeda, even if it takes one or two more turns than it should."
"I doubt that," the priest's expression turned quickly to a frown, "But before I continue I want to know how it is that you discovered that name."
Yami set his jaw indignantly, "Do you take me for a fool? I may have forgotten a lot about my past, but I can still read the writings of my native language."
"What a surprise. Then, since you know so much about your past, do you remember a certain high priest of yours? One Basu Maeda?" Jetsu's green eyes were both focused on the Pharaoh, genuinely curious.
The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle froze up for a second, feeling an icy sweat droplet dribble down his neck, "No… why?" the ruler responded slowly, dreading the answer.
"You have much to learn, Pharaoh. There is a lot more history between us and our families than you think, as you will find out before this duel ends." He picked out another card from his hand and placed it on the field, "Now I summon the Winged Sage Falcos (1700/1200) in attack mode!" There was a rush of wind and feathers as a white-robed half-falcon half-man appeared on the field. His wings beat restlessly at he touched down and he folded his long arms across his chest.
Jetsu raised his hand and pointed across the room at his defenseless opponent, "Mysterious Guard, attack now!" With a leap and a thrust of his staff, magical energies had thrown Yami backwards several feet. The mighty king land hard on his buttocks, swearing loudly.
He got up gingerly, rubbing his backside. This body was taking far too much punishment… Yami glanced down at his Duel Disk 2 as the score changed, dropping his life points: Yami: 7200 – Jetsu: 7000.
"Winged Sage Falcos, attack him again!" Just as the wings of Jetsu's second monster began to flap, the Pharaoh of Egypt pressed a button on his duel disk, causing it to shine brightly for a second.
"Not so fast, Maeda! I'm activating my trap card: SpellBinding Circle!" the purple trap card flipped face-up and sealed its magical ring around the stronger monster, "My trap card will stop your monster in its tracks!"
"Then make your move if you can, Pharaoh," Jetsu told him, waving his hand, very unaffected.
Yugi's worried thought entered into Yami's mind, nearly mirroring Yami's own line of thinking, 'Why doesn't he mind that we just trapped his strongest monster? He must have something planned!'
'I'm aware of that Yugi, but the only way we're going to win this duel is by facing the challenges that Jetsu sets against us.' Yami looked down at his deck and saw that the symbol of the Time Seal still burned upon his top card. He sighed and selected another card from his hand, "I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) in attack mode!" The pink and silver magnet warrior appeared suddenly from its yellowish card, clicking and whirring softly to itself.
"I will defeat you Jetsu, no matter how much of a handicap advantage you give yourself! Go Gamma, attack his Mysterious Guard!" The monster rushed forward, but the Mysterious Guard pulled out another scroll as Jetsu pressed down a button on his duel disk.
"Another mistake! My trap, Dark Spirit of the Silent, will turn the tables on this bout!" The scrolls symbols began to burn purple, and a flaming white-and-reddish ghost came soaring out of the parchment and crashed into Gamma the Magnet Warrior. Immediately, it changed directions and rushed the Winged Sage Falcos, whom was struggling against his bindings.
Gamma thrust its sword forward, and it was caught in the beak of the larger creature, which snapped the weapon in two. Yami's monster exploded with a violent shockwave, which powerful sent gusts of wind back at the leader of Ancient Egypt. Yami: 7000 – Jetsu: 7000.
Jetsu chuckled lightly, "How very ironic that you are helping me to win this duel, just as your ancestors helped my family rise to power. Yes, your father was a bigger fool than even Basu imagined he would be."
As if a small jolt of electricity shot through Yami's brain, a small passage in the maze of his memories was illuminated and the image of a cloaked figure much like Jetsu entered his mind. It was blurred, but Yami was certain that he could see his father in the picture as well. Both figures' faces were overshadowed, and Yami realized that his mind (reacting to his childhood distaste for both men) had blotted out their faces from his memory. He said nothing, but his expression must have reflected his recognition.
"So you do remember? I was told by that idiot Shadi that I was too much like my ancestors for my own good. Yes, that night was certainly different, to say the least, but perhaps I should show you what I mean!" He raised the Sword high in the air and it began to glow. The room around them vanished swiftly as Yami watched in wonder. The next thing the Pharaoh new, he was floating high in the air, watching below as past events unfolded beneath him.
"Are we…?" he asked slowly.
'Yes.' Jetsu's voice seemed to emit from every direction around him and the high priest did not move his mouth.
'I'm certain that Shadi had sensed an imbalance in the Millennium Magic even before the construction of the new pyramid had begun, but as it is a different sort of Millennium Magic, even you must have noticed that. Shadi always has had the wait-and-see attitude, which meant that by the time he took action it was far too late. While he waited, he buried himself in the ancient scriptures, searching for a meaning to the bewildering circumstances.'
'I believe it was about at the time of the pyramid's completion that he uncovered what he had sought – records of a second set of Millennium Items! The writings had been hidden deep within the little-known tomb of King Yami's grandson. They told of a young man, losing power rapidly, and at the urging of his Chief Priest, Jetsu Maeda, had sealed the last bit of Egypt's old magic into the new items. Shadi soon discovered the chamber where the new items should've been kept, but there was nothing but empty stone molds – not one Item remained. The fool never even realized that the Items had never even made it to their resting place, those 4800 years ago.'
'So he retreated into the trail of scripture writings that I had left him, delving deeper and deeper into the mysteries of the two generations of rulers that succeeded the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. And so, when I released the seal of the Millennium Magic above my creation, Shadi took it upon himself to attempt to nip my plan in the bud. He was too late…:
Shadi's thoughts were amplified, probably by the magic of his Millennium Key, as he was wearing it around his neck as usual. 'With the protection of my Millennium Key, I may be able to uncover how far the Item holder here has gone, and stop him now. The Pharaoh need not trouble himself again, not so soon after Battle City…' Shadi mused to himself, as he walked invisibly past the many workers and guards that tromped the corridors of this wretched fake pyramid.
'Their minds are weak; none of them can be the one I seek. None of these are worthy to hold any of the Millennium Items.'
The Millennium signal led him quickly to the top most story of the pyramid. As he drew nearer, he could hear the sound of something being struck repeatedly against stone and soon a young woman came within his line of sight. She was sitting on top of a ladder, carving hieroglyphics into large double doors with a hammer and chisel. Shadi recognized them instantly as an excerpt from the long-lost scrolls. He made to move past her and enter through the partially-open doors.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, sir," the woman said suddenly, making Shadi freeze in his tracks, "Master Jetsu does not like to be disturbed."
Shadi glanced up quickly at the woman and his eyes widened as he saw what had to be the Millennium Sword in a hilt attached to her belt. "You…you can see me…?" he gaped.
"Of course I can," the woman said, not stopping her inscribing, "I am Vitani, most loyal and trusted servant of the all powerful Lord Jetsu Maeda, and he has taught me much in the arts of Millennium Magic."
"Jetsu Maeda…!" Shadi gasped. The High Priest from the scriptures had born that name! Were they one in the same…or just a member of the same family?? His expression darkened. "Tell me, Miss Vitani," he said, trying to remain calm, "If I have business with your master, what must I do to obtain an audience with him?"
Vitani frowned and she set her hammer and chisel down. "You'll have to get through me," she said, fingering the handle of the Millennium Sword. Shadi took a step back. If there was going to be a fight, he did not want to give this girl the advantage by being in the perfect position for her to jump on him.
But there was no time for fighting, as the door that Vitani had already finished with swung open and a man clad in shining black armor stepped out into the corridor. "Vitani…" he said, with the air of a father scolding a young child, "What have I told you about frightening the natives…?"
The woman bowed her head. "Forgive me, Master," she said, "But this man sought to disturb you. I was simply trying to deter him from that course of action."
At these words, the knight turned towards Shadi. "And who are you, that thinks himself worthy enough to trespass in my Pyramid?"
"I am Shadi…guardian of the Millennium Items," Shadi said, releasing his hold on the magic that had hidden him from the weak-minded, "I wish to know what your purpose is, building this obstruction in the sacred land of the ancient kings."
"That's very simple," Jetsu said, "I intend to become king."
"You're mad!" Shadi cried, "I'll put an end to this right here!" He withdrew the Millennium Key from his cloak and held it up towards Jetsu. 'I'll enter his mind and rearrange it – destroying this strange evil at its core!' he thought, sending a wave of magic towards the knight.
Jetsu cocked his head, the Millennium Shield on his arm glowing brightly. "Was that all?" he asked.
Taken aback, and slightly worried, Shadi retreated another step. 'His mental defenses are like none I've ever encountered before!' he thought hurriedly, 'That Key was my only weapon against him. If he has rendered it useless, then I have no way to stop him!'
"I think…if that's all you can do..." Jetsu said, raising the arm which held the Millennium Shield, "Then I have no use for you." And before Shadi could even react, the room was filled with red light and his soul was torn from his body. His eyes went blank and he crumpled to the floor. Jetsu stood over the body and kicked at it. "Pathetic…" he muttered, "yet, not altogether useless." He bent down and pulled the Key out of Shadi's limp hand. "Quite nice of him to drop by and give this to me, wasn't it, Vitani?" With that Jetsu began to retreat back into his chamber.
"Sir! Sir, what should I do with the body?"
Jetsu stopped, his back still to Vitani. She looked apprehensive, as if now regretting that she had spoken at all. At long last, his harsh, deep voice emitted again and he began to walk away, "Do what you want with it. It doesn't matter…"
"Yes sir," Vitani nodded.
Another rush of wind, and the two souls returned to their respective bodies. Yami was glaring at Jetsu, while the other seemed very calm, almost happy. "Did you enjoy that?" Jetsu asked, "No? Good. Because I've got much more to show you before this duel is over…"