Yay, only a few days late this time. :) Again, short chapter but I do hope you enjoy it.
Boring stuff. Yugioh's not mine, my OCs are. battousaisgirl16 proof read.
Enjoy :)
Chapter 83 Whatever It Takes
The spirit observers watched in horror as the cube appeared. Even from their vantage point, all could see the symbol of the ring on the cube.
"The ring was missing?" Esset rounded on her husband. "You knew?"
Atem refused to look at her, his eyes watching the events below.
Esset lowered her voice so only he could hear. "You knew, and you still made your deal with the gods?"
At last, he looked at her. She could read the stubbornness she'd seen on the palace balcony when he told her his role in defeating Zorc. The face of a man who would do it alone even if it destroyed him. She turned back to the portal to watch. Of course, he would keep something like that to himself.
She met the gaze of Mystical Elf; the latter nodded. Atem wasn't the only one with a plan.
The top of the cube erupted into purple fragments which formed a beam twisting around the arena as the cube grew in size. Airi pulled Mokuba behind her as she tried to keep all the shadow tentacles in view. Screams came from the crowd as the cube tentacles twisted through the audience. Somewhere in the arena a female voice Airi didn't recognize screamed out a name.
"DIVA!"
"Yes." a demented voice laughed. "It's me, dear sister. And better than ever."
More screams came from the audience. From what she could see, some of the tentacles were sucking some people into a new dimension leaving nothing behind.
"What's happening to them?" Mokuba asked. The security forces surrounded Mokuab and Airi in a vain attempt to keep the tentacle at bay. Airi pulled off the diadem and placed it on the younger Kaiba's head.
"Mokuba, no matter what happens, do not take this off," she ordered.
She turned back to the field. The vibes generating from the cube were familiar, very familiar. She recognized the same sickly emptiness of the orichalcos. Strangely she felt a slight glimmer of hope. The orichalcos had been defeated, and so could this. An idea formed. If this was similar to the orichalcos then maybe she could help.
She reached into her pocket gripping the gold diadem piece with the ankh. She flinched as the piece zapped her fingers. Something about the cube monster must be agitating it. She greeted her teeth against the pain as she grasped it in her palm and pulled it out. It continued to pulse slight shocks against her skin, threatening to numb her if she held on. Still, she hung on. She was ready for whatever was coming out the side of the cube.
The cube had grown to the size of Obelisk and something was coming out of the side, the millennium ring on its chest. It looked more like Zorc with the rot color skin but the face was more human with purple-gray hair but with cubes protruding from the eye sockets and forehead.
"Diva?" Yugi said
"He looks better," Kaiba said.
Someone appeared next to Yugi, a girl in a pink dress and gold jewelry. She was joined by four other kids looking small and frail in contrast to the sickly green monster.
"Diva, what are you doing?" the girl shouted.
"Diva is no longer in control." the thing said. "I am. He has saved me. Thanks to him I have a body again."
"Spirit of the Ring." Airi gasped, tightening her grip on the piece.
The monster levitated the sickly purple cube above his head. "And by bonding the millennium ring with his cube. I'm stronger than ever before. And now at long last, dear sister, I will bring forth a perfect new world."
"No!" Sera gasped. "This is not how the Plana is to be used. It's to create a world of peace and harmony. But like this, it will create a dimension of darkness. This isn't what we wanted" She was near tears. "Master Shin would be ashamed of you."
"Shin is my master no longer." scoffed the creature. "That's why I did away with him. As I will do with anyone who opposes me. Including you, dear sister."
The monster sent an attack right at her. Yugi tried to run for her but was stopped by one of the tentacles. Sera didn't fight back as she was struck by the magic and disintegrated into an explosion of purple cubes.
"Sera!" Yugi screamed.
The other children soon followed. The creature cackled with mirth, turning his deformed face onto the two duelists. "Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba. Now the fun shall truly begin."
Screams continued to come from the audience. Someone shouted Yugi's name, a voice sounding like Tea by the way he reacted. Airi looked around. Kaiba's guards were being picked off as the coils began coming closer and closer, leaving only her and Mokuba on the sidelines.
"Ya know." Kaiba's voice was even as he eyed the creature. "I'm not going down without a fight."
Yugi's face lit up. "Do you mean?"
"Time for battle," Kaiba yelled at the monster. "Diva, keep your paws off our dimension."
"We'll defeat you together and save the world." Yugi agreed.
Airi almost laughed in relief.
"A duel?" the Zorc-Diva chuckled. "Excellent Idea. Why speed this up when I can do this slowly."
Airi's attention turned to the tentacle which was nearly done eating half of the audience members. The cube was going to destroy the world if the cube escaped the arena. She gripped the millennium diadem piece in her now numb hand. If they were going to duel, she was going to do her part. She slipped the band Yami made over her palm, making sure the piece was secure under the braided cord, to make sure she didn't drop the piece.
She raised her fist into the air. "Come forth, Mystical Elf!
She screamed in pain. The numbing in her hand made her skin burn as fire seemed to erupt from her hand, traveling down her arm and into her chest. But she refused to put her fist down as the light exploded from her hand.
The green-dressed elf appeared before her. One glance behind her and the elf seemed to read Airi's mind, thankfully, since Airi didn't dare speak again. The elf opened her hands to the side and sent a gold barrier around the edges of the arena temporarily blocking off the tentacles from escaping.
"Airi, what are you doing?" Mokuba gasped.
Airi didn't answer, teeth gritted against the pain.
"Airi!" Yugi screamed. "Don't."
"Your foolish sister thinks she can help." scoffed at the demon. "All she's doing is help me drag this out." he raised a hand into the air. "Your demise begins with Crimson Nova the Dark Cube." the monster levitated, brushing against the barrier above them. The jolt against the mystical elf sent a shock wave through the barrier causing Airi to let out a whimper of pain.
Suddenly the hand gripping the gold piece didn't seem to hurt as much. Surprised, she turned her head.
"Esset?" she gasped out.
The former queen's hands enveloped Airi's, helping her hold on. "It was my headband first." She smiled at her call back. "We have to give them time." she nodded towards the duel.
Airi nodded. Both women concentrated on the barrier.
Diva's attack blasted Kaiba and Yugi. All three life point counters dropped down.
"You lose so much more than life points."
Airi watched in horror as part of Yugi and Kaiba began to dissolve, like a purple haze version of gangrene.
"Focus," Esset warned. "More will suffer if we let the barrier fall.
Airi closed her eyes, wishing again she had the mind link to ask Yugi how he was or encourage him to hold on.
Mokuba seemed to realize what he could do to help as he moved out from behind the two women and started cheering on Kaiba and Yugi.
Kaiba didn't seem to care about the life point cost. "Come forth Pandemic Dragon. By lowering my life points, I can lower your monster's attack points. And because of this, Pandemic Dragon can automatically destroy your monster."
Despite this, nothing seemed to happen. Zorc-Diva's monster remained on the field.
Yugi's turn.
"I summon Silver Gadget, which also allows me to summon Gold Gadget." Yugi tried to hold back a scream as the summon took its toll on him. "I place two cards and end my turn."
"I expected more from you." their opponent scoffed. "It only makes my attack easier."
"Now, I play my trap card. Metalhold the Moving Blockade." Yugi said, the two gadgets turned into bullets, equipping the cannon. "Metalhold, Attack."
"Pathetic," laughed Zorc-Diva. A barrier came out of the monster blocking Yugi's monster's attack. "And I summon two more monsters to help." More eyed tentacle cubes appeared as the crazed creature laughed.
"I'm getting really tired of the laugh," Kaiba muttered.
"Rip Pandemic Dragon apart." the claws tore the dragon apart. Not only did Kaiba's points go down, but so did Yugi's monster's attack points.
"When my monster is destroyed, your's weakens." Kaiba clarified.
Airi's eyes snapped open long enough to meet Kaiba's gaze. It was the closest she'd ever seen him look apologetic.
"Some teamwork." Zorc-Diva mocked. His monster's tentacles tore into Yugi's monster next. The explosion blasted Yugi across the field.
"Yugi," Airi and Mokuba scream in unison.
"And I'm not finished. My Crimson Novas can attack you again."
"I play, Swords of Revealing Light." Yugi activated the card in time to block the claws, but the cost was 2000 life points. He screamed as the life force was pulled from his body.
"Noble." Zorc-Diva grinned, "but I had two attacks." he snapped his fingers towards Mystical Elf. There was nothing any of them could do as the claws reached forward and stabbed the elf in the chest.
Mystical Elf's silent scream was voiced by Airi as the barrier exploded. Airi sank to the ground cradling her hand against her chest. Red boiled skin peaked between her clenched fingers. Mokuba knelt next to her, voice unintelligible through the pounding in her ears. He tried to take the diadem off, but she used her good hand to grab his arm, though her grip was weak. Her limbs began deteriorating away in purple flakes.
"Airi!" Yugi tried to run past Kaiba who grabbed the back of his jacket. "She wasn't part of this," Yugi shouted at the monster.
"Shadow game, Dear Yugi." mocked the demon. "She summoned a monster, I destroyed it."
Body nearly gone, Airi looked at Kaiba; blue and violet eyes met.
"Save him." she mouthed.
He gave the slightest of nods.
Airi fell back feeling her body disintegrating around her. She looked up at the sky.
"Yami." she breathed as she faded away.
The blast sent Mystical Elf and Esset back to the spirit arena. Mythical Elf clutched her chest and was caught by Celtic Guardian. Beneath her hands showed gashes that still seemed to glow purple. Dark Magician Girl muttered an incantation, closing the wounds but they didn't fade.
Esset had crumpled to the ground with her hands still clasped together before her. Atem gathered her in his arms, eyes widening at the sight of the color fading from her hands and spreading down her arms leaving them bland as bleached parchment.
"That was stupid and reckless." Mahad spluttered, on Esset's other side.
In the portal, they could see the tentacle starting to destroy the world again as the lone duel continued to play. Yami stood in front of the portal, staring transfixed at the place Airi had been.
Esset shifted, eyes opening. "Here." she opened her hands. Inside was the piece of the diadem. "Your soul." She smiled up at her husband.
Atem gaped down at the piece. "But-"
"Here." Yami held out his hand. The motion caused the bolt on his neck to flair up again and he recoiled back.
"What are you doing?" Mahad said. "You're not allowed to handle any millennium magic."
"The conditions have changed." Yami looked at Atem. "Whatever it takes, remember?"
The former pharaoh studied him. Yami could see the calculation in Atem's eyes as the pharaoh looked from the portal to the piece of the diadem, to Yami.
Atem looked Yami directly in the eyes. "You understand the cost?"
Yami's stomach churned as he unfastened the amulet from around his neck. Looking at it one last time he wrapped the chain around it and handed it to Mystical Elf.
"Make sure Airi gets this." he closed her fingers around it. "Please."
Her other hand gripped his arm, giving him a light squeeze. The elf seemed to be trying to tell him something, but no sound came out and she was too weak to project any mental messages.
Yami nodded, trying to smile. "Tell Timaeus I'm sorry."
The elf slumped defeated, holding the amulet tightly in her hands.
Yami turned back to Atem.
The pharaoh nodded. Mahad carefully took his sister into his arms so the pharaoh could stand. Atem and Yami faced each other. The pharaoh touched Yami's neck murmuring something as he pulled the bolt away. The flash of pain was replaced by nothing. The bolt fell to the ground before dissolving into a wisp of smoke.
Yami held out his hand. His other half placed the gold piece in his hand. It pulsed, but the feeling was familiar instead of painful. He turned to the portal. The reality of his actions threatened to swallow him.
"Whatever it takes," Yami told the shadows in his mind. He became more aware of how alone he was. Closing his eyes did little to push away the loneliness, but he pushed past it bringing the image to the wall inside the puzzle where his name stood out in carved starkness on the wall.
"I am Yami, Spirit of the Puzzle," he proclaimed. "Return me to my puzzle."
Yugi could barely stand. He kept wanting to look back at the spot where Airi had been moments before, but he had to focus on the duel. This was a shadow game he reminded himself, if he beat this monster everything would be fixed. Airi would come back. All of them would come back. Now he just had to beat this thing. Kaiba seemed resolved as well, staring at the creature with a hard edge in his blue eyes.
Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord, the new monster made from combining the last tree towered above them.
"My monster can't attack unless I feed it life points." Zorc-Diva cackled. "Lifepoints I take from you," Lazars appeared from the monster and blasted the two opponents. The blast knocked both of them off their feet.
Yugi stared up at the monster, his life points draining down to 400. There was no way he would survive a direct attack.
"Who should I attack?" Zorc-Diva asked. "I choose Yugi."
Yugi refused to look away. If he was going to die he would see it coming.
"No, you don't." Kaiba suddenly pushed himself up. "Go, Krystal Avatar." Kaiba rose to his feet as the crystal monster took the field. "Your attack switches to me."
Yugi pushed himself up. "But Kaiba," he gasped, but kept pushing himself up to a kneeling position. "You won't survive this."
Kaiba ignored him as the attack struck the crystal monster, shattering it and sending his life points plummeting to zero. Yugi staggered forward to the other teen's side.
Kaiba continued staring at the other monster ignoring the shouts from Mokuba, the only other person left alive besides the two duelists.
"Why did you do that?" Yugi asked confused.
Kaiba pulled something out of his coat pocket. "Take this."
Yugi took the familiar gold puzzle. Kaiba suddenly gave a groan and sank down to one knee as he started to dissolve. "Bring him back, Yugi," he said before dissolving completely.
Yugi stood alone holding the puzzle. He met Mokuba's gaze from the side of the field. The slight glow from the headpiece seemed to be keeping the boy still standing. He watches Yugi as if waiting for a miracle. The puzzle felt cold. What could Yugi do? Yami was no longer there, and neither was Atem.
"Don't grieve for him, Little Yugioh." mocked his opponent. "You will be joining him and your pathetic family soon."
Yugi's eyes narrowed. He slipped the chain above his head. It felt good to have the puzzle back in its familiar place. He turned back to face the grinning face of the demon.
"You will not get a chance to summon the pharaoh." Zorc-Diva streaked. "Feel our wrath!" the monster began to form another attack.
"I send Clear Kuriboh to the graveyard so I won't take any more damage." Yugi countered. The furball sucked in the attack, but Yugi still felt something ripping at his core, stealing his breath.
"That's not good enough. Crimson Nova Trinity can still cut your life points in half."
The blast rocketed Yugi backward onto the field. His life points dropped to 200. He tried to stand but his limbs refused to respond. The puzzle lay on his chest as he lay on his back staring at the purple sky.
"Face it. You lost." Zorc-Diva's voice cued. "The whole world's lost."
Yugi tried desperately to command himself to stand but nothing responded. If he didn't move the darkness would devour him, he was the only one left who could do this. A tear slid out of the side of his eye. Who was he fooling? He couldn't do this.
"Get up Yugi!" Mokuba shouted from the sidelines, but he seemed so far away.
"And now a new world of Darkness will commence for all eternity." Zorc-Diva gloated.
"No," Yugi murmured, finally struggling to a sitting position. The action took the rest of his strength from him and he slumped forward. The chain around his neck clinked against the puzzle. "I must . . . keep. . . fighting." One name came to his mind as he started to fall backward. "Yami." he breathed, hand resting on his puzzle.
Light erupted from the puzzle. Yugi stared at it. Despite the light causing dots to appear before his eyes, he couldn't look away. The puzzle lifted from his neck, the chain dissolving as the puzzle levitated into the air.
"What is this?" Zorc-Diva's voice echoed around the arena.
Yugi watched as a black form emerged from the cracks between the pieces, surrounding the puzzle until the gold appeared to be contained in the shadow figure's chest. A black flame hand rose, and the purple tentacles turned to gold, surrounding the field in a new barrier. Besides the puzzle, there were three other points of color in the figure; A golden eye on the forehead and two blood-red eyes.
"Yami?" Yugi choked.
The figure turned at his voice. There was no face beside the eyes but Yugi could see recognition in them. A sob came from Yugi and he looked at the ground in shame. He didn't want Yami here. Because of him, Yami would. . .
He felt pressure on his shoulder and looked up to see a hand, more black rippling flame than human form, resting on his shoulder. The fire didn't burn but sent reassurance through Yugi's body.
A chuckle from the other side of the field turned to a full-on roar of mirth.
"That's all you could summon?" Zorc-Diva howled. "That's not the pharaoh, you fool. You used your last move to summon a shadow puppet?"
With one last squeeze, the black flame figure stepped in front of Yugi, blocking the evil monster from view. In the other hand, he held up something Yugi hadn't noticed before.
Shadow Yami raised this hand over his head, the light flashing in the light of the puzzle.
"Come forth." came the familiar voice Yugi had missed. "Pharaoh Atem, Servant of the Gods."
A gold pillar of light engulfs the field, seeming to freeze everyone in place. Sheiling his eyes Yugi watched as another figure appeared, a translucent figure looking like the one Yugi remembered from the shadow game in Egypt. The figure approached Yami, taking his hand so the gold piece was in both their hands and the other hand raised until he touched Yami's forehead.
"No!" Yugi was powerless to stop the next command.
"Mind Crush,".
A/N: Thank you for reading. I'm sorry this is so short. I'll try to get the next part up soon. Please review. Thank you again. Take care and God bless.
