Yugi squeezed on the brakes and his motorcycle slowed to a stop in front of the glass doors of Industrial Illusions Headquarters. He had thankfully been able to dodge around the monsters still rampaging through the streets on their way back, and he didn't want to stay out in the open any longer than they had to. But the thought of going back inside, where his friends were still crowded around the unconscious Joey made Yugi stomach twist. He wondered if he would have been better off going to set things right on his own.
There was no response from the spirit of the Puzzle, though he was sure it knew his thoughts; this was Yugi's fate to face.
Yugi didn't have a chance to turn back, as at that moment, Tea glanced over her shoulder and her eyes met Yugi's. He stood frozen in place, unable to run toward them or away, even as she hastily turned back to Tristan, and both of them leaped up to rush out the door toward him.
Tea closed in around him in a tight embrace. "I was so worried."
"You'd better not run off like that again!" Tristan said, hopping around them like the ground was on fire.
It was all too much, and for the second time that day, Yugi broke down as Yami watched impassively. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I've been a terrible friend, and hurt you all, and- and Joey," he sobbed.
Tea only held on tighter, assuring him, "It's okay, we're just happy to have you back."
After what felt like a long time, but probably wasn't, Tea helped him inside with some prompting from Matsuda, who was nervously keeping an eye out for monsters, and they all huddled on the floor of the dark, quiet Industrial Illusions lobby.
Yugi tried to rub the tears from his eyes. He could make out Joey, still lying on the floor where he had fallen in the duel. He almost burst into tears again, but managed to choke them back.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted the power to keep you safe, and look what happened!" He pushed himself up on shaky legs. "I shouldn't have come back, I'll just bring more danger. I need to go and stop Rafael and Dartz once and for all."
Tea gently helped him back to the ground. "It's okay Yugi, we're just glad you're safe and yourself again." She glanced uncertainly at the Millennium Puzzle around Yugi's neck.
"You could tell us what happened," Tristan said pointedly.
Tea gave him a sharp look, but Yugi shook his head.
"Tristan's right. That's the least I can do. After everything that happened at Battle City, I was just so afraid it might happen again, especially with all that between Light and the Puzzle" - he glanced apologetically at the artifact. "I couldn't trust anyone, but Rafael said he could give me power even greater than the Millennium Items, and then I'd be able to protect everyone. Oh, I hope it's not greater than the Millennium Items! But I didn't know where else to turn! He took me to their headquarters - I'm sorry, I don't even really know where it is - and gave me everything they'd promised, and suddenly it all seemed so clear. I don't know if I've ever been so angry, except, well, maybe at the end of the duel with Pegasus…
"They sent me after Pegasus, and I took his soul, just like Rafael- just like how I took Joey's. After that, I couldn't stand it any more. I don't know what I would have done if Matsuda and Yami hadn't found me and dueled me back into my senses."
"It's a good thing they did," Tristan said. "Does that mean the Millennium Puzzle is really on our side now?"
Yugi nodded with just a little hesitation. "He'll help us stop them and save Joey. He wants to redeem himself too. And it's not just Joey we have to save. I'm afraid the whole world is in danger; they want to destroy the world!"
Tristan broke the stunned silence. "I've gotta say Yugi, you really know how to choose your friends."
Tea shot him another glare as Yugi bowed his head, looking down at Joey, and said, "I'm sorry. I'll do everything I can to make it up to everyone."
To Yugi's surprise, he felt Tristan's hand on his shoulder. "We," he corrected Yugi, "you don't think we'd let you try to stop them alone, do you?"
"We're with you all the way!" Tea added.
Yugi gave them a small smile.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud roar coming from outside. They all looked up and turned toward the door, which was thrown open, and in strode Seto Kaiba, followed closely by Mokuba. He was one of the last people Yugi wanted to see.
Kaiba ignored Yugi and instead pointed accusingly at Matsuda. "Tell me everything you know about the Paradius Corporation."
"I was wondering where Kaiba and Light had gotten to," Tristan remarked.
"Light's gone. He left with the other losers."
Yugi's stomach twisted. He wasn't sure what to think or feel. In the back of his mind, he could sense Yami's suddenly rapt attention.
"Other… You mean Rafael? They kidnapped him?" Tea asked, aghast.
"Oh, he seemed pretty willing."
The betrayal, even though it was entirely expected, hit Yugi like a punch. He could feel Yami's vindication mingled with righteous anger, neither of which Yugi felt ready to handle after everything.
"I don't have time for any more distractions," Kaiba said before anyone could ask any more questions. He turned again on Matsuda. "You said you knew something about the Paradius Group. Spill it."
Yugi had enough. He pushed to his feet and stepped between Kaiba and Matsuda. "You barge in here, demanding we all serve you on our knees after everything you've put us through? Or do you not remember sending my grandfather to the hospital? We don't owe you anything!"
"Yugi, it's okay," Matsuda attempted, but it was too late now.
"Get out of my way," Kaiba sneered. "My company is on the line."
"If you care about your company so much, then go deal with it yourself and leave us out of it! We didn't ask you any favors!" Yugi could feel something deep inside him, spurring him on, like the power of the Orichalcos, or Yami's anger.
"Yugi, wait!" Tea called to him, at the same time as Mokuba began to caution, "Seto, maybe we should…"
"I don't like Kaiba any more than you do," Tea said, "but we're all working toward the same goal, aren't we?"
"I think so," Matsuda said.
Kaiba glared at him expectantly. Yugi didn't take his wary eyes off of Kaiba.
"Well," Matsuda continued, "it looks like the Paradius Group are the ones buying all of your stock - I think they've got all of it now, actually - and my boss seems to think they're behind all the monsters too."
I sensed it, Yami insisted inside Yugi's mind.
Yugi took a deep breath. "Alright, then let's go put a stop to this before anyone else gets hurt."
"My thoughts exactly," Kaiba said with a sinister smile.
"I'll ask my boss where their headquarters are," Matsuda offered.
"You dweebs can even come and watch if you promise not to get in my way," Kaiba taunted.
Yugi clenched his fists, but said, "Fine."
"It begins," Dartz declared. Light was already beginning to tire of his vague, prophetic tone.
"Mr. Ryuzaki" had been sent back to his hotel for the evening - though Light doubted he had truly done as he was told, not that there was anything the detective could do now. Light, Rafael, Alister, and Valon had all been summoned to the opulent, royal blue conference room and finally Master Dartz made his appearance, now wearing white robes with blue accents, and a large Seal of Orichalcos pendant around his neck that looked almost as absurd as his purple suit. The lights all dimmed as he entered, turning the bright colors a dull, dark grey.
He strode to the front of the room, where the now muted red banner bearing the company's insignia - not so different from the Seal of Orichalcos - hung, but rather than sit down at the head of the table, he instead stood facing the banner. The entire wall slid up, revealing a dark chamber beyond. The only illumination came from candles scattered across the floor that seemed to light themselves ahead of them, leading into the darkness.
Dartz strode into the waiting abyss and his subordinates followed, Light, the newest acolyte, at the rear. As he passed, he saw that the candles were even sitting in cartoonish, little skull-shaped holders. But that was the least of Dartz's absurdities; looming above them in the swirling shadows was some manner of temple, its colors garishly bright even in the dark. They were presumably still somewhere inside the nondescript office building that was Paradius headquarters, but it was impossible to tell.
They passed through the front door of the temple, into a grand, cavernous stone chamber. A shallow stairway, flanked on either side by large candelabras with unnaturally high flames, led up to a wall that extended into the darkness above. Sculpted into the wall were three enormous snakes, one extending down vertically on either side and a third down the center. Their three heads met less than a meter from the ground, extending out into the chamber. Carved into the wall between them were lines and lines of an unfamiliar language that Light could not begin to decipher.
Dartz climbed the stairs to stand directly in front of the center snake head. His subordinates remained behind on the lower level and dropped to their knees, their heads lowered, with Rafael in the center and Valon and Alister on either side of him. Light mirrored them, positioning himself behind Rafael.
Finally, Light would get a glimpse of what this Orichalcos could really do.
"Ancient soldiers of the Orichalcos, hear me!" Dartz called out, his voice echoing into the darkness.
The dias beneath him began to glow green with the Seal of Orichalcos, just as Light had seen when he had dueled Rafael and Muto, Dartz directly in the center.
"Locate the scattered pieces of the Great Leviathan!" Dartz raised his hands dramatically into the air, as though to draw an invisible force into him. "Inhabit these crystals and return to this world, for the battle of Atlantis begins again!"
A wind began to pick up even though they were inside a temple, itself inside Paradius headquarters. The Seal of Orichalcos began to spark with electricity, leaping and bowing around Dartz. Light half-hoped it would strike him and knock him dead on the spot, sparing Light the trouble, but the power of the Orichalcos appeared to think it still had some need for him and Dartz remained standing in the center as his impossibly long hair whipped wildly around him. Suddenly, a blinding column of green light erupted from the circle, filling the temple and somehow extending past the roof, into the night's sky beyond. Light felt the power wash over and through him like liquid electricity.
And then it fell back into darkness. Even the candles had been blown out.
The flames flickered back to life, bathing the stone chamber in a dull golden light once more, though a faint green glow still seemed to linger in the shadows.
"Soon the Great Leviathan will have all of the souls it requires. Soon it will rise once again and fulfill its grand purpose at last," Dartz declared, not turning away from the high wall. "You are dismissed. Prepare yourselves, for the time is nearly upon us."
His subordinates hastily rose to their feet, Light last of all, and then they obediently took their leave. They left the temple and passed through the dark void, back into the opulent conference room. The wall slid shut behind them and the bright lights returned, as though nothing had occurred. They passed through the conference room into a plain metallic hallway.
The hallway was not empty. Shuffling his feet awkwardly just outside the door, his back hunched, was the so called Mr. Ryuzaki.
Light had to hold back a smile as the intruder was surrounded in an instant. Whichever way you looked at it, he was vastly overpowered. However, he seemed to be foolish enough not to notice.
"What are you doing here?" Rafael demanded, always the diplomat.
"Oh," Mr. Ryuzaki feigned surprise, "I'm looking for Mr. Dartz. Is he available now?" He attempted to crane around Rafael to look into the conference room, but the doors were shut and Rafael did not budge.
"Master Dartz is busy."
"Oh well, it's not a big deal, I'm sure one of you could help me instead. Also, there was a problem with the lights, but it seems to be fixed now."
Rafael shut him down in an instant, "We're busy. You shouldn't be here."
Still, he forged on, apparently undeterred. "It's just a small thing. I'm sure you could spare a moment." His wide eyes fixed upon Light, as though he expected Light to eagerly go along with whatever his plan was.
"I'm sorry," Light said, politely, but firmly, his smirk hidden, "I really don't have time right now."
"What has you so busy this evening?" Mr. Ryuzaki craned forward, as though to get a better look at Light.
"I'm afraid, I can't tell you."
"Is that so?"
Light refused to dignify his blatant prodding with any further response.
Finally, his unblinking gaze left Light and he looked over the others. "One of you must be able to help me."
Dartz's three other subordinates exchanged a glance, all silently insisting one of the others take care of it - or be the one to force him out.
Finally, before Rafael could physically throw him from the building, Valon exclaimed in annoyance, "Fine! I'll take care of it, so then you'll get out of here and stop bothering us!"
Mr. Ryuzaki accepted the less than polite offer without complaint - as no real businessman in his position would - and leisurely followed Valon, who raced off ahead of him to get it all over with as quickly as possible.
Without a word, Rafael turned down one hallway and Alister took another.
Light quickly followed after Rafael and stepped in beside him - he had his own task to accomplish. As Rafael presumably had his own preparations to do, Light went directly to the point, "When we've summoned the Leviathan and started the world anew, I presume Master Dartz will be king again, just like in Atlantis?"
"Yes," Rafael said impatiently, perhaps lengthening his stride a little.
Light lowered his voice. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Wait! Hear me out. You know what happened during Master Dartz's rule in Atlantis-"
"His people were evil and he summoned the Leviathan to destroy them," Rafael interrupted. "And this time, we won't fail."
"But they weren't always evil; that's how the story goes, right? Atlantist was a paradise and its people were good, until they became corrupted, and then the Orichalcos showed their true nature and gave Master Dartz the Leviathan to destroy them and start again. But Master Dartz was already king when they became corrupted in the first place, wasn't he?"
"What are you saying?"
"If Master Dartz let his people become evil then, what's to say it wouldn't happen again, and then all of our hard work would come undone. I'm not suggesting anything drastic, it's just something I've been thinking about. I want the same thing you do, to make a perfect world without evil, and I'm willing to do anything to make that a reality. Aren't you?"
Rafael stopped and glared at him. "I will do whatever it takes to destroy all evil in the world."
Light smiled. "That's what I was hoping to hear. I'm sure with your help, we'll be able to ensure that the world is freed of all evil and it doesn't come back."
"What's that?" Tristan shouted above the beating of the propellers, pointing out the window of the helicopter.
Without any better options, Yugi had reluctantly taken up Seto Kaiba on his offer to take them to Paradius headquarters in his huge, noisy company helicopter. Mokuba, Tea, Tristan, Matsuda, and even Joey, lying awkwardly across a few seats, had come with them. It had been a smooth ride so far; the pilot had been able to avoid all the monsters still flying around for the most part, but Yugi had known it couldn't last.
Tristan wasn't pointing at any monster that Yugi could see; instead it was the sky itself, transformed into an ethereal rainbow of rippling color, like the pictures he had seen of the northern lights, but they were a long way from the arctic.
What's going on? Yugi demanded.
I do not know, the spirit of the Puzzle answered. I feel the same power as that which courses through the Seal of Orichalcos, but now it is everywhere.
Yugi could feel it too; like an electricity in the air that carried the distinct, jittery feeling that something was horribly wrong.
They finally descended into the city between the towering skyscrapers. Nestled among them he could see an impossibly out of place structure, nearly as tall as the skyscrapers, but much wider, made of some dull black material that almost looked like stone smoothed by the sea, with giant spikes protruding from the corners. They circled in around it - there was no doubt that this was their destination.
"Mr. Kaiba, we can't seem to find a landing pad," the pilot's amplified voice echoed through the cabin.
"Land in the street if you have to," Kaiba ordered.
He was right, whatever the cost, they had to find Dartz and put a stop to this before it was too late.
As they descended, what at first seemed to be occasional pieces of hail began to plink against the helicopter, chipping away at the finish. But they were no pieces of hail. Scattered at Yugi's feet as he stepped down from the helicopter onto the street, were dark green stones, identical to the one that Dartz had given him when he had been inducted into his organization, if a little rougher.
Pieces of the Orichalcos.
They seemed to draw Yugi toward them, beckoning him to pick them up and take up their power once more, but he'd had enough of what they had to give. He could see his friends eyeing them with the same desire - only Seto Kaiba appeared to be unaffected, unable to think of anything but his company. However, none of them had the chance to succumb to the temptation.
The streets around them were in chaos. There were not only monsters, stirred into a frenzy, clawing at objects and people alike, but masses of giant warriors in full suits of armor, with monstrous faces and glowing red eyes, all of which were anointed with the Seal of Orichalcos. The few people that were still around did what they could to flee, but they were thoroughly surrounded.
"Go!" Kaiba ordered the pilot. "We'll go the rest of the way on our own. Take Wheeler to the hospital - I'm feeling generous."
The pilot didn't argue. The helicopter lifted up behind them, leaving them stranded amid the monsters and Orichalcos soldiers.
"Let's go, we don't have all day," Kaiba sneered.
Yugi glared at him, but they all had more important things to worry about.
"This way," Matsuda said. "It should just be a few more blocks."
They ran down the middle of the street, dodging behind the wreckage of once neatly parked cars, and hurrying wherever the Orichalcos soldiers were not.
But slowly, the lumbring, monstrous soldiers converged around them, until they were all out of options; surrounded, with nowhere left to turn. They closed in, with Yugi and his friends all stuck in the center, standing back to back.
"I'm not going to cower in fear of some holograms!" Kaiba foolishly insisted.
Mokuba tried in vain to reason with him, "Seto, wait, I'm not sure they're holograms."
"That's preposterous!"
"Whatever they are, they sure look like they're not messing around." Tea tried to back even further away from the soliders, but only bumped into Yugi.
"You're being absurd." Kaiba stepped forward, as though he was going to try to walk right through them, even as Mokuba tried to pull him back.
"Wait, I'm not sure that's a good idea," Matsuda attempted.
"Yugi, if you could do something with that fancy puzzle of yours, now would be the time," Tristan pleaded, covering his eyes.
You said you were going to help me protect them!
Your Duel Monsters cards, summon them, Yami instructed, as though he were just throwing ideas off of the top of his head.
What's a Duel Monsters card going to do? They're just holograms without the power of the Orichalcos.
Trust me.
With no other options, Yugi pulled his best monster from his deck. "Go, Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"
A magician in elaborate purple robes appeared before him and with a wave of its staff, it released a volley of magic missiles that destroyed every Orichalcos soldier they touched.
Kaiba followed suit without an instant's hesitation. "I summon you, Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
An enormous, metallic dragon appeared in the middle of the street. With a blast of blue lightning, it decimated everything in its path and Kaiba strode after it, Mokuba close behind. They made their way down the street, carving their own path through the chaos.
"That works," Tristan said and ran after them.
"Wait!" Tea cried out.
Tristan stopped in his tracks and turned around as another swarm of Orichalcos soldiers came upon him from the cross street.
"Tristan!" Yugi yelled. His Dark Magician rushed at the oncoming soldiers, its staff blazing.
But for each Orichalcos soldier it defeated, another took its place. The soldiers closed in around them all, blocking off Tristan from view.
"No!" Yugi cried.
Tea tugged at his arm. "Yugi, come on, we have to move."
The Orichalcos soldiers were advancing on them from all sides.
"We should be able to circle around," Matsuda said.
"What about Tristan?" Yugi demanded. You said you'd protect them!
"Come on, Yugi!" Tea pulled more forcefully.
"We can't just leave him behind!" Yugi's Dark Magician brandished its staff at the Orichalcos soldiers, but its movements were sluggish, weak.
We must defeat Dartz. That is the only way we can truly protect them, Yami said, infuriatingly calm.
Yugi struggled as Tea and Matsuda dragged him away from the oncoming hordes of Orichalcos soldiers, down an alleyway hidden between two skyscrapers. The Dark Magician stood guard ahead of them, floating at the mouth of the alley.
Yugi doubled over, panting from the struggle and their desperate run. He could feel Matsuda and Tea's concerned eyes on him, but he ignored them for a little longer.
We failed again. Now Tristan's gone too.
"Yugi," Tea timidly spoke up.
He glared at her and she backed away, her eyes wide.
He flinched - her fear cut more deeply than a glare. "I'm sorry!"
She cautiously reached out to him. "Yugi, are you okay?"
He frowned despite himself.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He didn't really want to talk about it, especially with everything he still had to do as the world crumbled to pieces around them. He could feel Yami watching him just as intently as Tea was.
"I don't know. Maybe after everything's over…" Yugi said at last.
"I understand," Tea said, closing her hand over his. "It's a lot for anyone to deal with, and somehow you ended up right in the center of it. It is pretty scary, but I just want you to know that I believe in you. And if you ever do want to talk about it, I'm right here."
"Thank you, Tea, that means a lot."
She pulled him into a friendly hug and then hastily let go.
Yugi knew he wouldn't really be at ease until this was all over and all his friends were safe with their souls and everything, but he at least felt more ready to face what was to come.
Your friends seem to care for you, Yami remarked.
They do, even though I don't deserve it.
Matsuda spoke up, "If you're sure about going after Mr. Dartz, it looks like if we circle around, we can get to Paradius headquarters without running into so many of those monsters."
Yugi nodded resolutely, one hand on the Millennium Puzzle. "It's time we put things right. It'll be dangerous, you don't have to come."
"We're with you all the way, right Officer Matsuda?" Tea said.
"Right! I can't just leave you kids to walk in there on your own."
Yugi knew better than to argue with them and though he worried for them, there was something comforting about not going into it alone.
"Then let's go."
The four acolytes of the Orichalcos waited, scattered around the Paradius Group's main conference room. Valon had thrown himself across one of the royal blue chairs, his legs propped up on the table. Alister stood moping off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. Rafael occupied the chair nearest the head of the table - not quite daring to take Dartz's place at the head. Light, the newest recruit, sat confidently on Rafael's other side.
Their only task now was to bide their time and see if King Dartz's promise of the end of the old world and the birth of the new would truly come to pass. In either case, Light's pieces were in position. There was nothing the detective calling himself "Mr. Ryuzaki" could do to stop him if he dared.
Finally, the front wall, which bore the red banner with the golden insignia of Paradius, slowly rose up from the ground, giving way to the darkness beyond. From the shadows emerged King Dartz.
"My soldiers have nearly gathered enough souls to awaken the Great Leviathan and then we will bring about a new era on Earth," Dartz declared.
Light eagerly awaited the promised reckoning. After that, only one task remained.
Rafael stood to greet his master. "Master Dartz, when we have destroyed all evil, how will we ensure that it does not return?"
"It will be destroyed, obliterated by the Great Leviathan. Dare you doubt its power?" Dartz answered confidently, but as Light had expected, he had no real answer.
Rafael bowed his head. "Of course not, Master Dartz."
"Good."
However, Rafael wasn't done yet. Still with the air of Dartz's obedient servant, he continued, "But if evil arose once, even in the paradise of Atlantis, couldn't it happen again?"
"I will stamp out any evil that dears bare its head! Now, enough of your foolish questions or do you want your soul to join all of the others that will fuel the Great Leviathan?"
Dartz underestimated Rafael's stubborn devotion. "I only want to ensure that all of our efforts aren't undone. Evil arose once during your reign and I won't let it ruin the world again."
Dartz drew himself up, as though that made a difference next to the hulking Rafael.
Light concealed a smirk - Rafael knew all the wrong things to say.
Before Dartz could say anything, Alister too stepped forward. "Is it true that even your company stood by and let evil rampage? That you had stock in Kaiba Corp?" he spit out the name.
"Yes, if you recall, you specifically requested to aid me in acquiring it."
"What about before our plan?"
"Paradius has always had stock in every company," he said, as though it was unimportant, sealing his fate. "What has gotten into both of you - and on the eve of our victory? I had hoped I had made your resolve stronger than this. Think of your poor brother, Alister, and Rafael, your family corrupted by the world while you were wrecked alone on that island. Or would you like me to put you back where I found you?"
Alister seemed not to hear him. "How could you support Kaiba Corp? Some of Mikey's blood is on your hands!"
"Is it your intent to join your family's fate?"
Alister activated his Duel Disk. The dark metal extended to an absurd curved point, like it was a weapon rather than a hologram projector for playing card games.
"Is this how you would rule," Rafael asked disdainfully, "by supporting evil?"
"I will do whatever it takes to raise the Leviathan and destroy all the evil in the world. Is that not what you want Rafael, or has the world corrupted you too? I hoped stranding you on an island would keep you free from society's wiles, but it appears it only lasts so long."
"You know," Alister drew Dartz's attention back to himself, "no one knows what happened to my family. I looked for years and never found any trace of them. So, tell me, what else are you hiding from us?"
"They were killed and buried in an unmarked grave, and in a moment, you will meet an even worse fate." He raised his own dark, spiked Duel Disk.
Rafael mirrored him. "And what were you saying about stranding me on an island?"
Dartz laughed as though he was not cornered. "You didn't honestly think those formative events in your lives were all coincidences? You should be thanking me for bringing you along this path!"
"It was all your fault? You took me from my family?" Rafael demanded, stunned.
Alister, however, had everything under control. "This is for my brother, Mikey! When I'm through with you, you won't know one side of a tank from the other!"
"Count me in too!" Valon leaped to his feet, his Duel Disk ready.
"Do you have grievances you'd care to air as well?" Dartz taunted.
"No, but I'm not about to sit out on the duel of a lifetime!"
"On all your heads be it. The Leviathan only needs one more powerful soul to rise, this way it will have three!"
Light watched from his comfortable seat as the duel began. Everything had gone more perfectly than he could have hoped.
One after the other, Valon, Alister, and Rafael declared, "I play the Seal of Orichalcos!"
With the Seal on their side and three against one, Dartz barely stood a chance. As his lifepoints finally dropped to zero, the triple Seal closed in around him and swallowed up his soul.
Then the ground began to rumble.
"It's the Leviathan," Rafael said. "It's claimed the last soul it needed."
All of Dartz's former acolytes stood in the middle of the conference room, glancing around in confusion, as though this was not what their entire lives had been building toward.
"Go!" Light ordered. "Act as its vanguards and let us bring in a new era in a world free of evil!"
Yugi and Tea crouched behind a toppled car. A few meters ahead, Matsuda peeked out from behind a collapsed awning and beckoned them forward. Yugi and Tea exchanged a glance, but they could not afford to wait in hiding forever. They darted out from behind the car, across the pockmarked street, moving as quickly as they could to keep out of sight of the dinosaur that was tearing up the intersection ahead.
However, just before they could reach Matsuda's shelter beneath the fallen awning, the ground began to rumble beneath their feet and the sky suddenly turned dark, overcast with deep grey clouds. Yugi and Tea flattened themselves against the side of an office building as the dinosaur fled down the street in the opposite direction without sparing a glance at them. Yugi wasn't sure exactly what had just happened, but he had no doubt that the epicenter was the giant, dark grey edifice looming just blocks away.
"I have to make a run for it," Yugi said.
To his relief, Tea didn't argue; she just nodded. "We'll be right behind you."
Without another word, Yugi ran across the street as fast as his short legs could carry him. He zigzagged down one block and then another. He didn't see any more Orichalcos soldiers, though the streets had all been torn up in their wake.
We have to stop them.
His legs pounded against the ground until at last he saw the platinum scales of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, towering above the street, directly in front of the intricately carved, high stone wall of the Paradius Group's true headquarters, which seemed to form a pair of impossibly large doors. He wasn't the first person Yugi wanted to see, but he wasn't the last either.
"Come out and face me," Kaiba shouted up at the wall, "or are you scared?"
Yugi jogged the rest of the way to meet him, ready to summon his Dark Magician at a moment's notice. However, before he reached Kaiba, the wall itself seemed to open up - it was in fact all an enormous doorway - and out walked three tenagers, all in dark long coats. On one side was Valon - just a boy with messy brown hair - on the other was tall and thin Alister, with reddish-purple hair, and in the center was bulky, blond Rafael.
Rafael was the one who had manipulated Yugi, offered him the power of the Orichalcos, and then used that same power to take away Joey's soul. He was a threat to the whole world. Yugi could feel that terrible righteous anger rising within him.
"Dark Magician, go! Destroy him!" Yugi shouted at the same time as Kaiba called out, "Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack!"
There was an explosion of purple and white light as the two attacks collided against the stone of the building. A great plume of dust swept back over them, stinging at Yugi's eyes and throat and scratching at his lungs. But he could still make out his Dark Magician, standing tall a meter above the ground. Through the settling dust, he saw the metallic glint of the Blue Eyes White Dragon.
Out of the dust erupted a bolt of bright blue that launched directly at Kaiba's dragon, knocking it back into the building on the opposite side of the street. It almost looked like a humanoid robot with the Seal of Orichalcos on its forehead, hovering in midair over its fallen foe - or like Valon in a suit of superpowered armor.
Lumbering through the air after him, was a giant airship, covered in canons, that almost looked like it was shaped like a metal blimp of a businessman, with the foremost cannon for a tophat, red viewports for eyes, and a glowing Seal of Orichalcos on its forehead. Standing atop it was Alister. It fired off volley after thundering volley to finish off the dragon. Below, a platoon of robots marched in formation like soldiers, advancing on Kaiba as his dragon disintegrated into electronic dust.
As the dust cleared finally, Yugi could make out Rafael, still standing just outside the enormous doors, but now, hovering in front of him, just opposite Yugi's Dark Magician was a woman in an earthy brown dress, with large, white wings, an elaborate headdress that looked like the head of a bird of prey bearing the Seal of Orichalcos, and a gleaming sword in her hands.
"Is that the best you can do?" Seto Kaiba taunted. "You took out one Blue Eyes White Dragon, but can you handle two?"
Two of the enormous dragons appeared in front of him and Alister and Valon's attack resumed in earnest, with volley after volley of cannon fire as Valon swerved and darted around the dragons' heads like a giant insect, and the robots closed in around their feet.
But Kaiba wasn't Yugi's problem. He faced Rafael. "I won't let you get away with this or what you did to Joey!"
"I'll gladly put an end to you and the evil Pharaoh," Rafael said with a humorless smile. "Guardian Eatos, attack!"
"Dark Magician!" Yugi shouted as the monster charged at him like a giant white bird of prey.
The Dark Magician shot out a wave of purple magic missles, but Guardian Eatos didn't even slow down; she just sliced straight through them with her sword. The two monsters met in mid-air, sword clashed with staff. The two monsters were precisely evenly matched.
The Dark Magician couldn't do it all on his own.
"Dark Magician Girl, go!"
She sprung into the air with a bolt of magic and together, she and the Dark Magician were able to push Guardian Eatos back.
"Yes!" Yugi crowed, as at last the monster disintegrated. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kaiba, down to only one dragon again, struggling against Alister and Valon.
"You're going to pay for that." There was a dangerous glint in Rafael's eyes.
The ground rumbled beneath them and began to crack. A lifeless human hand reached out from the darkness, clawing its way up into the world of the living. It was a woman - at least it appeared to have once been - with spiky black armor and wild hair, and deathly pale features, a scythe in her grey hands.
Both Dark Magicians charged at the creature, their staves ready.
And then a dark shadow passed overhead. Yugi's eyes were drawn inexorably toward the sky. Up, amidst the swirling clouds was a great serpent. Yugi gave a half-formed shout as it swept toward the ground, its mouth open to devour them all whole.
Kaiba cried out as his final dragon was destroyed and the Seal of Orichalcos appeared beneath his feet and swallowed him up.
"We meet at last, Pharaoh," Dartz's voice echoed down from the skies above.
As the giant serpent slithered closer, Yugi could just make out a miniscule humanoid figure embedded in its head from the waist down, with long hair just like Dartz's and purple skin like the scales of the Leviathan.
"My servants turned against me, but there is no better position to command the Great Leviathan than as one in the same! And now I will devour this Earth, starting with you, Pharaoh, and all my unfaithful servants!"
"Dark Magician!" Yugi began to cry out.
Then, the Leviathan swept over them all and there was only darkness.
.
I failed everyone. I failed. I failed. I failed.
The darkness was cold and unending.
Yugi! Then there was light. A golden glow emanated from the Millennium Puzzle, illuminating another boy, hovering in the darkness, like Yugi's reflection, but standing tall rather than curled up in the fetal position, with broader shoulders and piercing eyes.
What are you doing here? Yugi demanded.
You still have the Millennium Puzzle. I will not leave you alone in the belly of the beast.
For all the good it'll do us, Yugi retorted. So much for saving the world. I couldn't even save my friends. I should have known you wouldn't be able to help me.
We cannot give up hope yet.
Why? I've brought my friends nothing but pain and suffering. At least here I can't hurt them any more. Maybe the best I can do is leave them alone. He curled further in on himself in the endless void.
Yami crouched down, so that his eyes were on level with Yugi's. You have brought much good as well. You showed me that people can be honest and kind. Without you, I would be no better than Light or Rafael. I believe in you.
He held out his hand and, bewildered, Yugi accepted it, allowing Yami to pull him to his feet.
And we are not alone. Yami gave a sweep of his arm and all around them lights turned on in the darkness.
They were not in an endless void, but in one glowing bubble among countless others, each containing a person - a soul - curled up inside, asleep. One not far away contained Seto Kaiba, another little Mokuba, Rafael, Alister, Valon, and further away Tristan, and-
"Joey!" Yugi called out, but his voice only echoed around his own bubble.
I have to wake him up - wake them all up! There must be something the Millennium Puzzle can do - the Puzzle is why I'm awake, right?
Yami nodded. I believe, if we all worked together, we could even escape the belly of the Great Leviathan.
And then it wouldn't have any souls left to power it.
Yugi put both his hands on the Millennium Puzzle and Yami rested his hands on top of them. They both closed their eyes.
Yugi could feel all of his friends around him, always cheering him on despite everything.
Joey!
What is it, Yug? It was almost as though Yugi was right there next to him, an arm across his shoulders.
Tristan! Everyone! I need your help! If we all work together, maybe we can get out of here and save everyone else too!
Yugi felt a swelling rush of energy, like a surge of warmth that ran through him to his fingers resting on the Millennium Puzzle. Despite himself, he peeked open his eyes to see that the belly of the beast was glowing even brighter than before; golden ribbons connected one bubble to the next, all flowing in toward Yugi to wrap around the Millennium Puzzle.
Yami gave him a small smile that made his heart seem to float.
I'm sorry. I should have trusted you from the start.
Yami shook his head. I would not have trusted myself either, were I in your place. I had only just begun to trust you.
Well, thank you, for saving everyone.
I am only the conduit. It is you who has saved everyone. Are you ready?
Yes, Partner.
Yugi closed his eyes again and clutched the Millennium Puzzle as tightly as he could. Even with his eyes crammed shut, he could still see the immense burst of light that poured forth from the Puzzle, chasing away the darkness.
When he dared open his eyes again, he was drifting slowly to the ground, directly in front of the now devastated Paradius headquarters. He could still see Yami's ghostly figure beside him, smiling at him warmly in a way he hardly deserved, but couldn't help but fill up his heart regardless. Above, the sky, now clear, glowed with all the colors of sunset.
As Yugi's feet touched the ground, Tea barreled into him, pulling him into a crushing hug. Matsuda waved at him awkwardly a little ways behind. Just as Yugi was able to breathe again, Tristan came wading through the rubble toward them, and then they heard a loud thumping coming from above as the Kaiba Corp helicopter circled in toward them.
"Yugi!" Joey shouted, hanging precariously out of the door.
"Joey!" Yugi, Tea, and Tristan shouted back.
The helicopter managed to find a sufficiently flat spot to land and Yugi, Tea, Tristan, and Matsuda ran to meet it, crowding around Joey as he stepped out.
"Yug! I knew you'd be back to yourself in no time! You wouldn't believe, I had the strangest dream; it was all empty, just nothing around, but I wasn't alone, the creep Pegasus was there, and a bunch of other people - I think you were even there for a bit, Tristan - and then I heard Yugi calling to me, and suddenly I woke up in Kaiba's helicopter, circling through the air, trying to find a place to land."
Joey glanced around at the decimated street, littered with rubble. "They weren't kidding about trying to end the world, were they? It looks like they did a number to this place, but I knew you'd be able to stop them, Yug!"
Yugi flushed. "I had a lot of help." He glanced at the translucent figure of Yami, floating beside him.
"If you losers are done with your touching reunion, this is my helicopter," Seto Kaiba interrupted, looming over them with his usual sneer.
Yugi felt Yami's anger, but he wouldn't have stood a chance against all of Dartz's followers without his help, and Kaiba had been there inside the Leviathan too; he had done just as much to save everyone as Yugi had.
Yugi swallowed his pride and faced Kaiba. "Thank you for helping me back there."
"Whatever," Kaiba said, apparently unmoved by the whole experience, "I didn't do it for you. At least with Paradius destroyed, there's no way they'll be able to keep their hold over my company."
"Actually, about that…" Joey spoke up, and Kaiba immediately turned his glare on him, "while we were up there, we were getting some pretty crazy reports about some weird island that had risen right out of the ocean or something. It's still there, last I heard. If those Orichalcos creeps were going to hide out anywhere to recoup and all that, I'm betting that'd be it - especially 'cause they do have that whole Atlantis theme going on."
"You're just full of good news," Tristan griped.
Tea glanced at Yugi. "You have to go, don't you?"
"You don't think we'll let you go alone, do you?" Tristan said before Yugi could respond.
"Then hurry, I'm not waiting for you dweebs," Kaiba said, climbing into his helicopter.
"Come on!" Mokuba waved them back into the helicopter and they were off.
They passed over the city, which had definitely seen better days, but they didn't see any more Duel Monsters or Orichalcos soldiers rampaging through the streets, just people, slowly emerging, peeking out of their doors as though to explore a strange, new world.
They flew higher still, up over the skyscrapers and out over the ocean, now calm, though according to the reports coming from the cockpit, it had raged with a terrible storm just minutes before.
"Look! There it is!" Matsuda exclaimed, pointing out the window.
Sure enough, down below was a small island, encircled by a stone wall, that surrounded what looked like the crumbling ruins of an ancient temple complex of stone huts, all built around a low domed temple that stood in the center, its spires cracked with age. There were a few boats around it, but none had docked yet. The helicopter touched down on the bare rock directly in front of the ancient temple and they all climbed out.
The temple's doors alone were taller than all the neighboring buildings, engraved with a pair of coiled snakes, one on each door, their heads facing each other at the top with open mouths to bear sharp teeth. Even all together they may not have been able to push them open, but thankfully the temple doors swung open of their own accord, welcoming them in.
While Yugi and his friends exchanged uncertain glances, Kaiba strode directly through the doors, Mokuba hurrying after him.
Yami motioned for Yugi to go ahead, and he led his friends through the doors, into an inner courtyard. Most of the courtyard was now a pond, full of salt water, criss-crossed with raised stone passageways that converged on a gazebo in the center. And in the center of a gazebo was a crystal throne, on which sat Light Yagami.
"You?" Kaiba demanded just as Yugi and his friends caught up to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Welcome to my temple," Light said imperiously, as though it wasn't already in ruins, crumbling around him.
Yugi pushed past Seto Kaiba to confront Light himself. "You really joined them? After everything they did?"
"I did what you didn't have the courage to do; to eliminate all evil from the world. However, apparently my Leviathan missed a few spots."
"You're even crazier than I thought!" Joey declared.
Yugi nearly shouted, "Your Leviathan is gone! After it nearly destroyed everything!"
Light only laughed. "That's impossible. The world is already at its knees, just looking for a new god to lead it." There was a crazed look in his eyes.
"Why would you do all this? Why all the destruction and lies? Did you ever really see us as your friends?"
"What use would I have for friends?"
"What use would you have for friends?" Joey demanded, looking ready to punch him.
Tea gently put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Come on, you already defeated the Leviathan, I don't think there's anything more we can do."
Yugi could feel Yami seething inside the Puzzle, but Tea was right. "Come on, Joey," he said, "let's go home."
"Alright," Joey said with a final glare at Light.
Light only smirked and as they walked away he said, "You should have joined me when you had the chance."
They all crossed back over the saltwater pond and out of the temple, Kaiba in the lead and Yugi and his friends behind.
"Don't worry, he'll face justice for what he's done," Matsuda said quietly as they passed back out through the temple doors.
Kaiba's helicopter was no longer alone in the temple complex; now it was one of a handful, and a whole squad of police officers in SWAT uniforms crouched by the temple doors.
"It's all clear, Chief," Matsuda said to a greying old man in a suit, who was overseeing the officers. To Yugi and his friends he said, "you should go now."
As they piled into the Kaiba Corp helicopter, the officers charged in through the doors and they were just lifting off the ground when the officers returned, marching Light Yagami out. Light was escorted into one of the police helicopters and Matsuda and the chief lifted off in another, and Yugi thought he glimpsed Matsuda's friend with wild black hair who had been possessed by the Millennium Ring sitting in the helicopter next to him.
It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Yugi was walking home from school with his best friends in the world; Joey, Tea, and Tristan, now joined by Yami, whose spirit was housed in the Millennium Puzzle that now always hung from Yugi's neck.
"You two defeated Pegasus, Marik, and now Dartz and Light, what's next?" Tristan asked.
"What's next?" Joey parroted, aghast at the very thought.
"I think Yugi's had more than enough excitement," Tea said.
Yugi glanced at Yami, drifting beside him. "Yeah, I think we could all use a little less excitement."
Yugi and his friends all laughed.
"Hey, guys-"
Joey let out a scream and jumped a foot in the air. "Bakura! You almost scared the life out of me!"
"Sorry," the quiet white-haired boy said with a smile, "I just wanted to invite you all over to play a game some time. I've been working on a Monster World campaign, would you like to play?"
"Sure!" Yugi said, and there were cheers of agreement all around. A friendly game was just what they all needed, and maybe somehow Yami could even play with them.
Note: At long last, the Millennium Death Note saga comes to an end. Thank you to everyone who has come along on this journey with me, without you this story would never have been completed. It's been a very long, wild ride, and thank you so much for sticking with me until the end!
In celebration of the conclusion of the series, keep an eye on my tumblr (vtsuion dot tumblr dot com) for a poster!