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The Orichalcos Saga
Fanfic Chapter 201: Separation Anxiety Pt 1: Self-Destruction
Episode Basis: Trial By Stone
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Yami was sacrificing monsters like there was no tomorrow in desperate hopes for finishing off Raphael. It seems that Raphael was right in that Yami's true nature was evil. Raphael then summoned his ultimate guardian, Guardian Eatos, which absorbed the monsters from Yami's graveyard and used their power to finish him off. It looked like the end of Yami when suddenly Yugi jumped into the fray switching places so the seal would take him instead of Yami. What was Yugi thinking, pulling a kamikaze like that? It's like he thought Yami was more important than he was.
Tea and Rebecca waited on the steps of the motor home.
"I'm getting worried about the others," Tea commented.
"Yeah," Rebecca agreed. "I hope nothing bad has happened to them." Tea saw a cloud of dust in the distance and sure enough Duke's car came rolling up followed closely by Copernicus.
"Welcome back," Tea greeted. "Since you're all still here I'm guessing that Yu… gi… won?" Something seemed off. For one thing, everyone was wearing sad faces. Rebecca started to run up to Yugi but noticed something different about his expression.
Joey and Amara got out of the car. They looked at each other as if wondering who should deliver the bad news.
"Is everything all right?" Tea asked.
Amara put her hand over her mouth as Joey said, "No, we have a serious problem."
"What is it, what's going on?" Tea asked. "Someone say something."
"He's gone," Amara said in a small voice. "Yugi's gone."
Tea took a step back. "No, I can't believe it, I refuse to believe it! If Yugi lost his duel, how can he be standing in front of us right…" Tea suddenly came to a realization. She took a look at the boy who rode the horse. His eyes, his eyes, though sad, had a hard and intense look to them. Tea knew that this wasn't Yugi but the Pharaoh.
"Yugi, talk to me," Rebecca pleaded.
Head lowered, Yami shook his head. "They got him, they got Yugi."
"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" Rebecca whined pounding on Yami's chest. "How could you? Give my Yugi back! What kind of a Pharaoh are you to let this happen?"
That's what I want to know, Yami thought.
"What's going on here?" Professor Hawkins, head bandaged, came limping out of the motor home. "What's all the screaming about?"
"Oh Grandpa!" Rebecca cried running to him and grabbing onto his waist. "He's gone, my darling Yugi's gone."
"What?" Hawkins looked at Yami. Finally, he said, "Come inside, everyone." Everyone except Yami went inside and the tale as they knew it was recounted.
"I see," Hawkins said sipping some tea. "How interesting; the Millennium Puzzle pulled a switch right before the Seal of Orichalcos took away the soul."
"Who cares about that stinking puzzle?" Rebecca snapped. "I wish my Yugi hadn't even put on that thing in the first place then he would still be here!"
"I don't think it matters," Tristan said.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?" Rebecca cried and launched an attack at Tristan only coming up short because Tea had her hand around the girl's waist.
"Tea, would you please take Rebecca into the bedroom to cool down," Professor Hawkins instructed.
"Of course," Tea said and carried her into the other room and closed the door.
"I didn't mean to make her upset," Tristan said. "What I meant to say was that even if the Pharaoh's soul was taken, that would just mean Yugi would be here worrying over him instead of the other way around."
Amara sighed then let out a loud gasp. "Oh man, guys, I just realized something."
"What is it?" Hawkins asked.
"How do you think those Orichalcos guys are going to react once they find out that the Yugi they got wasn't the Yugi they wanted?"
Joey and Duke shared a wide-eyed look, "Oh man, they're going to be pissed off," Duke commented.
"They might come after us full force," Joey added.
"We need to get out of town," Tristan commented.
"But where would we go?" Tea, who had just come out of the bedroom asked. "We're in the desert, not a big city."
"Well we definitely need to go somewhere to plan our next move without attracting the attention of the Warriors of Doma."
"Guys," Amara said. "I might have a place we can go to for a while until we figure out what to do next…"
Rex and Weevil stared out the windows with wide eyes as the helicopter cruised through the city heading towards a large building with no windows. The helicopter landed and Raphael and Alister escorted Weevil and Rex into the building.
"Why does a super secret organization have such a super lame hideout?" Rex asked.
"Maybe they're just using it as cover," Weevil guessed.
Raphael and Alister stopped at a set of double doors. "You're about to meet the master," Raphael informed them. "So don't say anything too stupid."
The four entered a large conference room with a domed ceiling. Suits of armor lined up against the wall. The high-back chair at the far end of the room was facing away from them so they couldn't see if someone was sitting in it.
"This is cool," Weevil whispered to Rex.
"Yeah, we get to be real live super villains," Rex whispered back as they both got down on both knees.
Raphael and Alister genuflected. "Mission accomplished, Master, the strongest soul on Earth has been captured."
"Unfortunately, you have failed again," a rich voice came from the other end of the table. The chair turned around. Sitting in it was a man with long teal hair with eyes that were two different colors. He was dressed in a purple Italian suit and holding a martini.
Raphael's head shot up. "No, that can't be."
"It's true." Valon, his arm now in a sling, came into view. "The soul of the Pharaoh is still out there." A view screen clicked on showing a wall of stone slabs with people imprinted on them. The image zoomed in to show an edifice of Yugi.
"You captured the soul of some kid instead," Jonah said appearing on the other side of Dartz.
"Both spirits inhabit the same body," Dartz explained. "And you got the wrong one!" Dartz slammed his drink down.
"That's impossible! I'm certain I was dueling the Pharaoh!"
"You will take full responsibility for this."
"Forgive me, Master Dartz, I'll make it right if you'll let me."
"Grab a force and return to the Hawkins Estate. With any luck, they might still be there," Dartz instructed. "Kidnap all of them if you must but I must have the Pharaoh's soul!"
Yami had been standing and staring out into the horizon for almost an hour. He kept going over that duel in his head trying to make sense of it all. Why did Yugi sacrifice himself like that? Was he really evil? He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a small white orb inserting itself into his Duel Disk's graveyard slot.
"Pharaoh?" Tea came out to see him. "Amara is taking us somewhere where we can hide out and plan our next move. Come on."
"Leave me," Yami said making Tea gasp.
"But Pharaoh, once the Warriors of Doma find out you're still al… around, they'll waste no time in coming after you!"
"Let them come," Yami requested. "My soul is evil; the only fitting punishment for what I've done is for them to take me."
"Are you going to let Yugi's sacrifice be for nothing?!" Tea cried. Yami finally turned to look at her. "Yugi chose to give himself to the Orichalcos to save you! Are you saying that it was meaningless?"
"No," Yami replied.
"Please, Pharaoh, I already lost three friends to that Orichalcos thing I don't want any more to suffer!"
"Tea, I was the one who played the Seal of Orichalcos!" Yami argued. "Yugi told me not to play it but I did it anyway! How can you be so forgiving after…"
POW!
Joey suddenly came out of nowhere and slugged Yami right in the cheek. The Pharaoh went down. "Listen, you," Joey said firmly. "If we're going to rescue Yugi, we're going to have to move ahead, not look back! But first, we need to live long enough to do it! Now we're all getting out of dodge and that includes you so get up and let's move out or do you need me to knock some more sense into you?"
"When Joey comes out to be the sensible one, we've officially landed in the Twilight Zone," Duke commented from the motor home.
"Duke, now is not the time," Tristan said.
"Sorry."
"Please, Pharaoh, come with us," Tea coerced.
Yami sighed and accepted her proffered hand. "All right."
Rex and Weevil crawled up to Dartz's chair. "Excuse me, Mister Dartz, sir," Weevil said humbly.
Dartz regarded the two Duelists like one would regard cockroaches. "And who are these two?"
"Just some wannabe Duelists who followed us," Raphael said dismissively.
"But I'm the regional champion."
"And I was the runner-up," Rex threw in.
"We're great Duelists," Weevil took over. "But we came here to become even better Duelists."
"Yugi and his crew have been making fools out of us for years."
"Yes, and now we want revenge!"
"We ruled the duel, now we're the butt of everyone's joke!"
The two groveled before him. "Please share with us your dueling secrets," they pleaded.
"It won't be easy," Dartz pointed out. "Yugi and his friends have the power of the Legendary Dragons."
"That's exactly why we need the Orichalcos cards," Weevil said.
"Well first we have to test you to see if you're worthy." Dartz took out two cards. "Take these."
Rex and Weevil greedily took the cards then gawked at them.
The cards were of the same design as the Seal of Orichalcos but the picture was blank.
"Hey, what's the deal?" Weevil asked Dartz. Dartz just held out his hand and two small green stones appeared floating in thin air.
"All you have to do is hold the stones in your hand. If you are worthy, the card will activate. But if you are not worthy, your souls will be fed to the Great Leviathan."
"No loss either way," Jonah commented.
"Five bucks says they botch it," Alister said.
Rex and Weevil reached for the stones. Lightning lashed out from the stones and repelled them. They still continued to reach for them.
"Hey Weevil, maybe we should re-think this whole join-the-bad-guys plan."
"Do you want to remain a loser your entire life?"
"No."
"Then reach!" The two grunted as they continued to push against the light. Finally they got to the center and each grasped a stone.
The Orichalcos seal appeared on the cards.
"Congratulations," Dartz said indifferently. "You are now Warriors of Doma."
"Yes!"
"We did it!"
Jonah and Alister took Rex and Weevil to a room filled with Duel Monster cards. "Have a party constructing your new decks," Jonah offered.
"We've hit the mother load!" Weevil cried and the two dove in.
"These two make Valon look mature," Jonah said sarcastically. Alister nodded.
Duke drove the truck that towed the motor home along a dirt path. Amara rode shotgun.
"Are we going the right way, Amara?" Duke asked.
"Sure are," Amara confirmed. "I used to go here dozens of times. But for some reason, each time it's like I'm looking at it for the first time."
"Your family must be rich to own a ranch resort like this."
"We're no Kaiba or Pegasus, and this land has been in our family for a good long time."
The ranch resort was headed by a large lodge with a lake surrounding it. There were various cabins and lofted condominiums. Duke pulled up to the ranch house. "I'll go tell the others we've arrived."
"Right." The two got out. Duke went around to the motor home while Amara walked up to the front door. "Well here we go." She rapped on the door.
After about a minute, the door opened to reveal a portly man with thinning gray hair and blue eyes appeared. "Amara!" He cried and swept her into a fierce embrace.
"Grandpa Rhodes," Amara greeted.
"Your mother said you would be in the states, I didn't think you would be in my neck of the woods."
"We're kind of in limbo at the moment, Grandpa," Amara said as the others came around. "You don't mind if we stop in for a bit, do you?"
"Do I mind? Never!"
Amara turned to her friends. "Guys, this is my Grandpa Nick Rhodes. Grandpa, these are some of the friends I made in Domino."
"Pleased to meet you," Nick said.
"Rhodes?" Tristan asked of the last name.
"Yeah, he's my mom's father. In America, most of the time the woman takes the husband's last name."
"Well, nice to meet you, Gramps," Tristan said shrugging. Tea elbowed him.
"Speaking of meeting people…" He turned upstairs. "Hey Kids, someone's here to see you."
Amara also called upstairs, "Word up, kids!"
A loud rumble came from upstairs. Two blurs came running down and dog-piled Amara. "Cousin Amara!" A pair of voices cried out.
Amara chuckled. "Hey, Alex, A.C."
"Aww, Amara," the two voices said. "I hate that nickname."
Amara laughed, "Sorry, kiddos." By this time the three has disentangled from each other and the others got a good glimpse at Amara's tacklers.
They were two children, perhaps a little younger than Rebecca, a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and gray eyes and a boy with dark blue hair and eyes.
"Everyone, I like you to meet my cousins: Alexis and Atticus Rhodes."
Alexis's eyes opened up wide at the sight of Yami. "You're Yugi Moto!"
Yami started to open his mouth but then he looked up at Amara. The solemn look in her eyes and slight shake of her head told him everything. He leaned down, patted her on the head, and said with a small smile, "That's right, it's nice to meet you."
"Wait till we tell everyone we met Yugi Moto," Alexis said to her brother.
Amara placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Listen, guys, we're kind of in hiding for now, so no telling everyone till after we leave, okay?"
"You're hiding from someone?" Atticus asked. "Who?"
"A secret shadowy organization out to control the world," Amara said in an overdramatic voice.
The kids looked from her to each other, they then both exclaimed, "Cool!" And then they ran back upstairs.
"Don't worry, they won't tell anyone," Amara assured them.
"You kids aren't in any real trouble, are you?" Nick asked.
"Not really," Amara said. "But the place we were staying at burned down before we got there so we kind of need a place to chill for a while."
"Well shucks, why didn't you say so?" Nick asked optimistically. "Stay as long as you need to."
"Thanks, Grandpa Rhodes." As Amara's Grandpa went back to the kitchen, Amara plopped down in a chair. "It's okay we can stay here for the time being."
Dartz was still in the meeting room with Valon.
"You do know that those two new guys are a couple sprinkles short of a sundae if you know what I mean," Valon said.
"It does not matter," Dartz said sipping his martini. "Either they capture the Pharaoh and Wheeler's souls or they themselves get fed to the Great Leviathan. As Jonah has said, it is no loss to us."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about the Sheila," Valon said. "She only came on board because we needed her old man to test the Pharaoh, now that he's literally a slab on your wall, do we really need her any more?"
"I suppose not," Dartz said. "Then again, the same argument could be said of you and Jonah has been more openly loyal to our cause than you."
Valon stood up. "Loyalty isn't the problem, its skill. Her skill is on par with a five yard old. She couldn't even beat that guy we currently have in the dungeon!"
"Mai Valentine interrupting the duel certainly didn't help it."
"Hey, she did that of her own will."
"The point is even if we do not need her, we will still use her for our cause because she is loyal."
"If you say so."
From outside, Jonah heard the entire conversation. With her hand over her face, she ran off. She kept running and running until she reached a dead end. She sank to her knees and started crying.
"Father," she muttered. "Am I worthless?"
Harold opened his eyes. "Ouch, my head's aching," he complained. He looked around. He was in a windowless room, no furniture, just a wooden door with metal bars over it. Candles flickered around the wall just out of reach. "Whoa, I don't think I'm in California any more."
To Be Continued
A/N: In the beginning I mentioned a "semi-crossover." Now you all know what I was talking about.