Yu-Gi-Oh! Avatar
The Orichalcos Saga
Fanfic Chapter 187: Prelude to Darkness Pt 1: Stolen Gods
Episode Basis: A New Evil Pt 1
In the Atlantic Ocean, a research vessel was stationed. A small submersible attached to it detached and started to descend. Soon a transmission could be heard over the submersible's speakers.
"This is the research vessel Guilderland calling the Poseidon 3. Poseidon 3, your depth has just past 35,000 feet, you need to stop your descent."
"Negative, Guilderland, I can not stop now, I'm onto the discovery of a lifetime!"
"But Professor Hawkins, if you go any deeper, your ship could be crushed!"
"This could be the greatest discovery man kind has ever known! I have to continue!"
"But Professor!"
Professor Hawkins cut the speakers and continued piloting the small submersible in between the crossed columns. Through the columns was a hole in the ground. Professor Hawkins piloted the submersible through a tunnel and into an underground cavern. From the look of it, the cavern had air in it so Hawkins pulled up to a shoreline and climbed out. "Remarkable," he commented. "Definitely capable of supporting life." He shone his flashlight around and stopped when it came to two giant statues. The statues were of odd creatures, one humanoid-looking another looking like a snake. "Incredible, those look like… Duel Monsters!"
"This is Andrew Carson with DNN with a breaking news report. Renowned scientist Arthur Hawkins has uncovered evidence of an ancient civilization beneath the north Atlantic. Primary analysis indicates that the culture is at least 4000 years ago. But further analysis must be made in order to ascertain which of the ancient cultures controlled them or whether it's a whole new culture. This is DNN."
Rex Raptor walked along the streets of Domino not really watching where he was going which is why he ran into someone. "Is this your first time walking?" Rex grumbled then got a good look at who he bumped into. "Weevil?"
"Rex?" Weevil Underwood said in the same tone.
"What are you doing here?" They asked each other at the same time, then responded at the same time, "What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"
"Battle City is over," Weevil pointed out. "Why haven't you gone home?"
"I'm… uh… here for the… Cheese Festival."
"Liar, you're just looking to get your hands on Yugi's Egyptian God Cards just like me!"
"No, I just like cheese!"
"Yeah, I bet." Weevil started to walk down the street but Rex was keeping pace. The two picked up the pace and were soon running down the street.
Suddenly they both slammed into something and fell down. "What hit me?" Rex groaned.
Weevil looked up and freaked out, "Uh… I think he did."
Rex also looked up and saw a tall man in a cloak and a monocle. "Whoa, does the Grim Reaper know you've stolen his wardrobe?"
The man started chanting something. His eyes started to glow green. "I think you made him mad," Weevil said.
"Now, Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor," the man said in an English accent.
"Hey, how do you know us?" Rex asked.
"Prepare to be stripped of your souls!" He slid his arm out from under his robe and displayed a dark green and black Duel Disk with strange symbols in a circle around where the life point counter should be. "Get up… get up and duel!"
Weevil and Rex screamed.
Tea Gardner stood on the roof of Domino High, staring through the protective fence that encompassed the entire roof. Yugi has been acting strange ever since we returned from the Shadow Realm, she thought. At first it sounded like he wanted to tell me something important but then he decided not to. And he's been looking at me with puppy dog eyes like he'll never see me again. Then there was that whole thing with Anubis and now he disappeared from school. I hope everything is all right.
"Tea!" Joey Wheeler, Harold Kumara, and Tristan Taylor came out onto the roof. "Any sign of Yug?" Joey asked.
Tea shook her head, "Nothing."
Joey sighed, "I hope he wasn't taken to that Shadow Realm place like Tea was."
"You mean you guys went on an adventure and didn't even invite me?" Tristan asked bug-eyed.
"Tristan, that's beside the point," Harold said. " Yugi would never just up and disappear without at least telling one of us. Perhaps we should skip lunch and…"
"Hey guys!" Amara Penfield ran up to them panting. "I'm glad I found you. Someone just said they saw Yugi leave school!"
The others gasped. "Which way did he go?" Joey asked.
"Down Raven Street," Amara reported pointing in the direction of said street.
"That's strange," Tea commented. "The only place of interest down that way is…" She looked up and her own shocked look mirrored the others.
"The Museum!" They all said at the same time.
Yugi, or rather Yami, walked across the street. He could see the museum in the distance.
Little-Yugi's spirit appeared besides him. "What's going on?" He asked. "We never switched during school before."
"Did you bring the Egyptian God Cards?" Yami asked.
"Sure did." Yami reached into the box that contained his Duel Monster deck and withdrew the God Cards. "Have you figured out what to do with them?"
"I did," Yami confirmed. "Once I hold the God Cards in front of the stone tablet, my memories will be unlocked."
"And then what will happen?"
"I'm not exactly sure but we'll know soon enough." Yami-Yugi had arrived at the museum steps and was about to walk up them.
"Yugi!" Tea and the others ran up to him. "What's the deal, man?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah, we've been looking everywhere for you," Harold added.
"Why did you just up and leave without telling anyone?" Amara asked.
"I was going to…" Yami began but couldn't finish it.
Harold did, "You were going to unlock the secrets of the Millennium Puzzle, weren't you?"
Yami nodded, "With everything that has happened, I didn't want to involve you guys should something bad happen to me."
"But we're a team," Tea pointed out. "Come on, I've been giving this friendship speech for years, hasn't it sunk in yet?"
"Yugi, after all the times you looked out for us, the least we can do is look after you as you discover the secrets behind the God Cards and the Pharaoh who inhabits the Millennium Puzzle. Come on," Harold said placing his hand out. "All for one and one for all, you know?"
"Nicely said, Harold," Tristan said adding his hand to it. Yami, Yugi (in spirit form) Tea, and Joey added theirs to the mix.
Amara was awe-struck as she watched the five-way handshake.
"Come on."
Amara looked up and saw that Joey was smiling at her. The others were as well. "New girl has to put her hand on top."
"On top of Joey's," Tristan added causing Joey to scowl at him.
"You mean… me?" Amara asked pointing to herself.
"That's right, Amara," Yami said. "You're just as an important part of this team as any of us."
"And we'd be glad to consider you a friend," Tea added.
Carefully, Amara put her hand on top of the others.
"And so the circle is now complete," Harold said solemnly. "Now, let's solve this mystery."
Joey, Tristan, and Amara have never seen the stone tablet before so they were aghast at the familiar figures depicted on it. "I may be stating the obvious here," Tristan said. "But that guy on the right looks like you, Yugi."
"Yeah and the guy across from him looks like Kaiba," Amara added. "Is this for real?"
"It's real all right," Yami confirmed holding up the Egyptian God Cards. "Everyone stand back, I don't know what will happen. Ancient Tablet of the Unknown Pharaoh, behold the Gods of Egypt!" The eye of Horus at the center of the tablet started to glow and so did the God Cards.
In a dark temple, a man knelt before a statue of a serpent praying, "Ancient Deities of Destruction, use the Pharaoh's life force to release the beasts and liberate the fury of ten thousand years!"
Lightning danced across the God Cards. Yami-Yugi cried out in pain as bolts of electricity began going from the God Cards to the iced tablet.
"Yugi, what's going on?" Tea asked.
"I don't know… it feels like something is draining the power from the Egyptian God Cards!"
"Let go!" Amara shouted.
"I can't!"
Ice arose around the glass casing containing the stone tablet.
Harold quickly used his Armlet to set up a shield blocking the electricity coursing through Yami-Yugi. The others were able to drag Yami-Yugi away before Harold let down his shield allowing the electricity to zap nothing.
"What the Samuel Langhorn was that all about?" Amara asked.
"I don't know," Yami-Yugi said staring at the Egyptian God Cards. He noticed that the boarders had become faded, most likely from that strange energy.
A loud scream came from outside. Everyone ran outside to see tons of monsters all over the city, on buildings, hopping on cars, even sticking out of open sewer covers.
"Look at all this," Amara gasped.
"It's like a horror flick out here," Joey commented.
"Someone's Duel Disk must've gone haywire!" Tristan guessed.
"It would take a lot more than one busted Duel Disk to cause this," Tea said.
Yami-Yugi and Harold shared a look. They were both thinking the same thing. Was it possible that the portal that Edina used to pass into their world was still open? They both reached the same conclusion: they didn't want to go down that road yet.
"Well since we're talking about projecting monsters," Joey said. "I'd say we go straight to the source: Kaiba!"
"Right," the others said.
Yami-Yugi and his friends ran down the street. A dinosaur leapt off the roof and dove for them. Harold used his Armlet's shield to catapult the dinosaur over them.
"That was a close one," Amara said.
"Yeah, we're really going to have to waaaiiiii!" Joey tripped over a pair of legs. He saw them and freaked. "GYAH! DEAD BODIES!"
"I don't think they're dead, Joe," Tristan said. He and Harold picked them up.
"It's Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor!" Tea recognized. But something was weird about them. They had dazed looks in their eyes and they were cackling.
"The Age of Destruction has arrived," Rex said in a dull tone.
"Soon your souls will be offered to the Great Beast," Weevil said also in a dull tone.
"I'm no doctor but these two look like they're in shock," Amara said.
"This is all the more reason why we should get to Kaiba Corp. as soon as we can," Yami-Yugi said. The others left Weevil and Rex and continued on.
"Kaiba Corp., please hold."
"Monsters in City Square?"
"Mister Kaiba is still in America, would you like to talk to his secretary?"
"No, I don't want to save money on car insurance, I don't even have a car…"
"I'm sorry, I'm new here could you spell that? K-U-R-I…"
Kaiba's "staff" (bridge bunnies) had their hands full answering all the complaint calls coming in.
Out in front, a mob of reporters and onlookers harassed Roland.
"Is this some sort of promotion scam?" One asked.
"Those monsters are scaring the populace!" Another said.
"Does this have anything to do with the recent turning over of Kaiba Corp. affairs to the new Board of Directors?" A reporter asked.
"Please, everyone calm down," Roland said wiping his brow. "Mister Kaiba has assured us that the Duel Disk System is working fine. Our company is not to blame!" The crowd raised their voices. "Please calm down! Any more questions will be answered at a press conference Mister Kaiba is giving tonight!"
Yami-Yugi and his friends ran up the steps and saw the crowd.
"Man, we'll never get past that circus," Joey complained.
"Chuck, its Lucy," a female reporter spoke on a cell phone near them. "Get Robert and his crew over to America now! Kaiba's going to hold a press conference tonight."
"You guys hear that?" Harold asked.
"Yeah, we won't find anything out until tonight," Tea said.
That night, everyone gathered at Yugi's house where a laptop tuned to live news feed was set up. Right now the news was showing a blue dragon on top of the Taj Mahal.
"So it's not just us," Amara analyzed. "These monsters are appearing all over the world."
"Which leads me to doubt that Kaiba Corp. alone could be responsible for this," Yami said.
"Excuse me, Gina," a news reporter said. "But we've just received word that Seto Kaiba, president and CEO of Kaiba Corp. is about to give a statement. We take you now to America and Seto Kaiba."
Yugi's rival appeared in a purple duster standing behind a podium with the Kaiba Corp. logo. His younger brother Mokuba could be seen behind him.
"After extensive testing of our Holographic Simulation System, we've determined that these so-called monster sightings are unrelated to Kaiba Corp. Our technology is working perfectly."
"Kaiba's definitely covering something up," Tristan decided. "Who else has the ability to produce all these holograms?"
"I was thinking," Tea said. "What if these aren't holograms?"
"I agree," Yami said nodding his head. "When I was at the museum, it felt like something was draining power from both me and the God Cards. The powers of the Shadow Realm are very strong and dangerous. They could definitely bring all those monsters to life."
"So if the powers of the Shadow Realm are so strong, how can we send the monsters back to monster land?" Amara asked.
"Oh come on," Tristan said. "I tell you guys this is all a ploy by…"
A loud crash came from the other room. Yugi took over and everyone ran out into the Game Store.
The door had been busted in. Yugi's Grandpa was lying on the floor. "Grandpa, are you all right?" Yugi asked.
"Yugi…" Solomon said weakly. "I'm sorry… your cards… the cards you got at Battle City… they've been stolen!"
"The God Cards have been stolen?"
"Don't worry, Yug, Joey Wheeler is on the case," Joey said. "I'll find them."
"But you wouldn't know where to start looking!" Tea protested.
"That never stopped me before and…" Joey ran out the door and immediately skidded to a halt. "Found something!" Yugi and the others ran outside and looked at the distance.
A large blue demonic-looking being appeared in the sky. Obelisk the Tormentor (1).
"It's Obelisk!" Harold realized.
Two more creatures appeared on either side of it. One was a red serpentine dragon with two mouths and a yellow creature with a bird-like head and lion-like body. They were Slifer the Sky Dragon (2) and the Winged Dragon of Ra (3).
"Slifer and Ra too," Amara noted.
"This is totally nuts," Joey complained. "Who would steal the Egyptian God Cards then summon them in plain sight where everyone could see?"
"We would, mate." A bright light shone on Yugi and his friends. Four motorcyclists stood before them. They had strange devices that resembled Duel Disks. Their heads were covered by motorcycle helmets but three of them were men and one was a woman. "Our light can overcome any darkness you can dish out."
"What the heck?" Amara asked.
"Give me my God Cards back," Yugi demanded.
The cyclists laughed. "If you want them back," the woman said, her English accent filled with defiance. "You'll have to go through us."
"Those God Cards don't belong to you," Yugi protested.
"These God Cards have a new master now… Pharaoh!"
"How does he know about the Pharaoh?" Yugi wondered.
The motorcyclists turned to drive away. "If you want to try to win the God Cards back, come to the building that's currently under construction." And they all drove off.
"Yeah, just keep running, you cowards," Tristan dared.
Yugi and his friends huddled up. "Tea, Tristan, Amara, you make sure my Grandfather's all right then come to the construction building. Joey, Harold, let's go."
"Right!" Everyone said.
Considering how only one building in the entire Domino City Limits was under construction, it wasn't hard to locate it. Two flashes of light transformed Yugi and Harold into Yami-Yugi and Avatar. "Everyone, hang on tight," Harold said. Yami-Yugi grabbed onto Harold's other arm while Joey held onto Harold's shoulders. Harold fired his armlet at the ground and the force propelled them up the side of the building to the top.
The four motorcyclists stood on a taller building not far from the construction building, sans their helmets. Their faces could be seen though three of the four of them wore sunglasses. One was a muscular blond man; another (the only one not wearing sunglasses) was a short guy with spiky hair wearing goggles while a third was very thin with shoulder-length maroon colored hair. The only girl had long dark hair pulled back tightly into a pony tail and wore a tube top though her thin body looked unsuited for one. "Show off," the blond man mumbled seeing Avatar land safely on top of the building.
Yami-Yugi stepped forward as Harold turned back to normal. "Welcome to your final duel!" A bearded man stepped from the shadows. He wore a cloak, had thinning hair and wore a monacle. He spoke with a cultured English accent.
"All right, spill it," Joey said. "Just who are you clowns?"
"Yeah, that's what I want to know," Harold agreed.
"My name is Guimo, a Warrior of Doma!"
"A who of what?" Harold asked.
"You have something I desire," Yami-Yugi said pointing to Guimo. "The Egyptian God Cards, hand them over!"
"You have something I want as well," Guimo said. "Your soul!"
"The God Cards possess a power more dangerous than you could imagine! Give them back before somebody gets hurt!"
"I'm well aware of their ancient power and if you want them back you'll have to duel me!"
"Very well, I accept your challenge!" Yami-Yugi activated his Duel Disk. The man activated his though his had more of an unfolding feature than a connecting feature that Yami-Yugi's had.
"Let's duel!"
(G: 4000)
(Y: 4000)
"So far so good," the muscular man said. "As soon as the Pharaoh's life points reaches zero, his soul is ours."
"Yugi!" Tea, Tristan, and Amara came running out of an elevator. "Is this guy part of the group who stole the Egyptian God Cards?" Tea asked.
"We think so," Joey reported. "He calls himself a Warrior of Doom or something like that."
"Yugi has to duel him if he's to get the Egyptian God Cards back," Harold added.
"I just hope that guy doesn't use the Egyptian God Cards," Tea said.
"Not to worry," Joey assured her. "There's a reason they call Yugi the King of Games. He almost never loses."
"Old American proverb," Amara said speaking in a stereotypical monk voice. "Almost only counts in horseshoes."
"I'll start by summoning Beta the Magnet Warrior (4) in defense mode and place a card face-down."
"Then I'll summon Marauding Captain (5) in attack mode and use his special ability to summon Shadow Tamer (6) to the field as well. Now I'll play a card more powerful than all three of your Egyptian God Cards combined!"
"Impossible!"
"Oh, it's possible. This magic existed long before the Old Kingdom of Egypt! I play the Seal of Orichalcos!" The ring around Guimo's life point counter started to glow. A green circle of symbols started spinning around them. A series of asymmetrical lines was drawn forming a six-pointed star.
Green lightning formed a wall around the circle throwing the spectators down.
"My friends!" Yami-Yugi cried. He tried to run into them but he ran into a wall as well. "What's going on?"
"The Seal of Orichalcos prevents those who are inside its circle from leaving and those from the outside interfering," Guimo explained. "At the end of the duel, the winner will be allowed to leave and the loser will have his soul entrapped forever!"
"I am no stranger to ancient magic," Yami-Yugi said, the Millennium emblem already glowing on his forehead. "Feel the power of my Millennium Puzzle!" As much as he hated it, Yami-Yugi would have to initiate a Shadow Game. Perhaps if he obtained the home field advantage, he would be able to counteract whatever magic the Orichalcos circle had.
Suddenly the Millennium Puzzle fizzled and the emblem faded. "No, what happened to my Puzzle?"
"The Orichalcos existed long before your Puzzle was even forged! Your mundane Shadow Magic is worthless!"
By this time, the others have gotten up. "What is that thing?" Amara asked. "I have never seen anything like that before."
"Looks like bad news," Joey said.
"In addition, the Seal of Orichalcos changes my warrior monsters' attribute to dark and gains them 500 attack points!" The Seal of Orichalcos appeared on Marauding Captain's and Shadow Tamer's foreheads and their eyes glowed red.
(MC: 1200-1700)
(ST: 800-1300)
"Marauding Captain, attack Yugi's Magnet Warrior now!" The male warrior charged forward and slashed the little yellow monster to pieces.
"I activate my trap card Soul Rope," Yami-Yugi announced. "When you destroyed my Magnet Warrior, you set off this trap which lets me summon any four-star monster from my deck to the field for 1000 life points."
(G: 4000)
(Y: 3000)
"And I choose Gamma the Magnet Warrior (7)." A larger ball-shaped monster appeared.
"You'll have to do better than that, Yugi," Guimo said as he placed a card face-down.
"The old fart is really good," goggle-headed said in an Australian accent. "Do you think the half-pint can get the upper-hand?"
"If the Pharaoh doesn't," the blond said. "He's not worth our time."
"I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior (8)," Yami-Yugi began.
"You triggered my trap," Guimo interrupted. "Hidden Soldiers which allows me to summon Makyura the Destructor (9)." A purple metallic demon-like being with huge claws appeared. The Seal or Orichalcos appeared on its head.
(MD: 1600-2100)
"Fine, then I'll activate the magic card Shallow Grave which allows me to summon a monster from my graveyard in face-down position." A face-down card appeared. "Normally Shallow Grave allows both of us to summon a monster but since you don't have any monsters in your graveyard, the effect only applies to me. And since I have only one monster in my graveyard, it's not hard to figure out which one it is: Beta the Magnet Warrior. Now I sacrifice all three of my Magnet Warriors to summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior (10)!" The Magnet Warriors broke apart and reconfigured themselves to form one being.
"The Old Man better think of something quick before the Pharaoh kicks his bum," Goggle-Headed said.
"He'll win," the girl assured him. "Nobody has beaten my father before."
"Valkyrion, attack his Marauding Captain with Magna Blade!" The warrior charged forward and sliced the Marauding Captain.
(G: 2200)
(Y: 3000)
Yugi's friends cheered. "Congratulations, Yugi," Guimo said. "I have not had such a challenge in so long. But in the end, you will suffer the same fate as my other opponents!"
"Oh no!" Tea gasped.
"Don't worry about it, Tea," Joey assured her. "I mean look, Yugi's Valkyrion has 3500 attack points. The only thing that can beat that is an Egyptian Go…" Joey's body froze up. "Uh-oh."
"By the look on your friend's face, he must've realized what I'm planning on doing. That's right I'm going to destroy you with your own Egyptian God Card!"
"But you can't, only certain Duelists can control an Egyptian God Card!"
"Such is the power of the Seal of Orichalcos! First I play Monster Reborn to bring back Marauding Captain! And next I'll sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"
"I warned him," Yami-Yugi muttered.
Makyura the Destructor, Marauding Captain, and Shadow Tamer disappeared. A large shaft of energy rose up and the familiar blue monster appeared. The giant monster started to convulse in pain. Then the Seal of Orichalcos appeared on its forehead and its eyes glowed red.
(OT: 4000-4500)
"He did it!" Harold gasped. "He's controlling an Egyptian God Card!"
Guimo burst into laughter, "The power of the Orichalcos has merged the most powerful creature that ever existed with the most incredible force ever imagined! You're trapped in a circle of doom and soon your soul will be sealed away for all eternity!"
To Be Continued
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Obelisk the Tormentor
Level: 10
Type: Divine-Beast
Attribute: Divine
ATK: 4000
DEF: 4000
(2)
Name: Slifer the Sky Dragon
Level: 10
Type: Divine-Beast
Attribute: Divine
ATK: X000
DEF: X000
(3)
Name: The Winged Dragon of Ra
Level: 10
Type: Divine-Beast
Attribute: Divine
ATK: XXXX
DEF: XXXX
(4)
Name: Beta the Magnet Warrior
Level: 4
Type: Rock
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1700
DEF: 1600
(5)
Name: Marauding Captain
Level: 3
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1200
DEF: 400
(6)
Name: Shadow Tamer
Level: 3
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 800
DEF: 700
(7)
Name: Gamma the Magnet Warrior
Level: 4
Type: Rock
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1500
DEF: 1800
(8)
Name: Alpha the Magnet Warrior
Level: 4
Type: Rock
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1400
DEF: 1700
(9)
Name: Makyura the Destructor
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1200
(10)
Name: Valkyrion the Magna Warrior
Level: 8
Type: Rock/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 3500
DEF: 3850
A/N: It was hard to find a concise spelling for the name Orichalcos. So I decided to use the spelling at yu-jyo dot net for this story arc.