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The Orichalcos Saga
Fanfic Chapter 222: Rematch with Raphael Pt 1: Grappling with a Guardian
Episode Basis: Grappling with a Guardian Pt 1
The battle was intense. Joey and Valon literally threw themselves into the fighting, with neither giving an inch to the other. Finally, Joey broke through Valon's armor and defeated him. But even with Valon's soul being taken by the Orichalcos, Joey wasn't done yet. Next he challenged Mai to a duel. Joey was barely standing and he still got Mai down to a sparse 800 life points. Finally, the Millennium magic that was laying dormant within her since her duel with Marik broke through the Orichalcos' control. But by then it was too late as Joey fell. Unable to continue the duel, the Orichalcos took his soul. Mai realized what a mistake she made and set off to right the wrongs she done by confronting Dartz.
Yami, Tea, and Tristan, guided by the white orb, arrived at an abandoned parking lot where a horrible sight awaited them. Joey was propped up against a fence.
"Joey!" They cried together. They ran up to him. Tristan grabbed him and shook him, "Joey, say something."
"I don't think he can," Yami said solemnly.
"Then it's true," Tea said sinking to the ground. "Joey lost his soul."
"But to who?" Tristan wondered. He stared at Valon's body which was also up against a fence. "Because from the looks of it; it certainly wasn't him."
"It was Mai," Amara announced coming out from behind a strangely-placed shed, wearing both Joey's Duel Disk and her own.
"Amara, are you all right?" Tristan asked going up to her.
"A little nauseous but fine."
"Amara, please tell us what happened," Yami requested.
"It was the most extreme battle I have ever seen," Amara said. "Joey and Valon literally threw themselves into the duel. They were the ones who battled, not the monsters. It wasn't a Duel Monsters match, it was a match between two evenly-skilled warriors. But in the end, Joey emerged victorious."
"But then how did…"
Amara held up her hand stopping Tristan's question. "Mai showed up, itching to finish off Joey for good. But actually, it was Joey who challenged her. I tried to stop him but he was dead-set on returning Mai to normal. Mai was almost ready to finish Joey off but Joey couldn't continue and she won by forfeit."
"I'll butcher her!" Tristan said angrily.
"NO!" Amara snapped surprising the other three humans. She wiped some tears away from her eyes. "Right before Joey fell, Mai screamed something out and the crystal shattered." She pointed to the shards of the Orichalcos crystal that was on the ground. "She was free from the Orichalcos's spell and believe me she wanted revenge, but now it was on Dartz. She took off."
"Amara, which way did she go?" Yami asked putting a hand on each of her shoulders. Amara pointed down the street. Yami turned to Tea and Tristan. "You two pick up Joey and follow behind. Amara, let's go."
"You're not going to pull me, are you?" Amara asked as the two took off.
"Wait," Tea called. But the two were already gone. She sighed, "Everyone's taking off we need to stick together. I thought we were a team."
"Don't worry, Tea," Tristan said. "Not even a soul-stealing nut job can tear this team apart. Now come on, I need someone to help me carry sleeping beauty."
Yami and Amara came out from an alleyway. They noticed a strange metallic building with a red motorcycle by it. "There's Mai's motorcycle," Amara pointed out. The two entered.
The inside was very dark with three elevators. It was creepy even for nighttime.
"Where do we go from here?" Amara asked.
"Look!" Yami pointed to one of the elevators. The indicator lights were flashing signaling that an elevator car was on its way down. The two got ready for anything.
The doors opened and Mai appeared. But right away something was odd about her. Suddenly she fell forward. Yami and Amara ran forward and caught her.
"What happened to her?" Amara asked.
"She must've been in a duel and lost," Yami guessed. Something fell out of Mai's hand. It was Joey's Legendary Dragon. They gently set Mai up against the wall then he and Amara entered the elevator.
"You do realize we could be walking into a trap," Amara commented.
"Probably," Yami agreed. "But I have to do this. This will be my hardest challenge yet. He will no doubt tempt me with the power of the Orichalcos and spout about how evil I am."
"That's a load of crap," Amara said. Yami looked at her with a curious glance. "You're about as evil as a pug. Remember what I said at the ranch, it doesn't matter what you did in the past what you're doing right now matters. And right now, you are a hero to all of humanity, even those who might be evil. Here…" She handed Yami the Claw of Hermos. "I think Joey would want you to have it."
"Thanks, Amara." Yami shuffled it into his deck.
The elevator chimed and the doors opened. Yami and Amara found themselves on the two-tiered roof.
"It's about time you showed up for our rematch."
"I'm here to see Dartz," Yami said. Raphael didn't reply.
That's the guy who was on the mesa when the guys and I went after Yugi, Amara thought. He's the one the Pharaoh lost Yugi to.
"Is he so much of a coward that he sends you to do his battles for him, Raphael?"
"You owe me something: a soul!"
"It was you who defeated Mai," Amara accused.
"Jonah was right not to trust her, she came here just as you looking for Dartz. But she found a defeat instead. She even was foolish enough to try to use that Dragon card owned by your friend but as you well know, once someone has been tainted by the Orichalcos, the Legendary Dragon cards won't work."
He probably thinks I still can't use Timaeus. "When will this madness end? Think of the innocent lives that have been destroyed because of this! You could be next!"
"I made a commitment to help Dartz save the world from people like you, selfish evil people who don't even deserve their souls! If keeping my promise means I have to give up my soul then so be it."
"You're insane!" Amara gasped.
"Even if I'm taken, I'll be doing my part by giving the Great Leviathan the strength it needs to restore peace to the world!"
"Wake up! Can't you see that Dartz is using you for his own selfish needs? If you really want to save the world you should join my side!"
"As soon as the Great Beast has revived, your side will no longer exist. All it needs now is one strong soul."
Amara looked up and screamed. Yami followed her glance and gasped. A large serpentine shadow was snaking across the sky. "It's true," Yami gasped.
The strange serpent shape was seen all over the world. Every man, woman, and child stared up at it in awe completely unaware of what was happening.
Tea and Tristan carried Joey down the street. "Are you sure they went this way?" Tea asked.
"Positive," Tristan replied as a car pulled up behind them.
Kaiba and Mokuba got out. "Dork Fest, lovely," Kaiba said dryly. "What happened to Wheeler, did baby need a nap?"
"That's not funny!" Tea snapped. "Joey lost a duel and his soul."
"Oh no," Mokuba moaned.
"So the clown finally lost one, huh?"
"Yeah, but not before taking down one of Dartz's henchmen in the process," Tristan bragged.
"That's fine," Kaiba said. "It means one less person to get in my way." Tea and Tristan didn't know if he was referring to Joey or Valon and they silently decided that it was better not to know. "Where's Yugi?"
"He and Amara went on ahead to Doma Headquarters," Tea informed him.
Suddenly Mokuba ran to the other side of the car. "What's wrong?" His brother asked.
"Look." Mokuba pointed to a dark alleyway where dozens of glowing red eyes stared back at them.
"You geeks get moving!" Kaiba commanded as he adjusted Joey who was slipping off Tristan's back. A sea of rats came rushing at them. The kids ran down a side street but accidentally hit a dead end. The rats turned the corner and started to charge them.
"Tornado Flare!"
"Diamond Blade!" The rats were suddenly thrown back. Kevin with Storm Shooter and Duke with Orgoth the Relentless appeared.
"Duke, Kevin, boy are we glad to see you guys," Tea said.
"I wonder if geeks are immune to the Orichalcos," Kaiba muttered.
"We'll plow the road," Kevin volunteered.
"You guys join up with Yugi and Amara at Doma Headquarters," Duke added.
"But we don't even know how to get there," Tristan protested.
"Rebecca marked it out for you on your map," Kevin pointed out.
Tea studied the map, "Okay, I got its location, let's go!" Storm Shooter and Orgoth the Relentless blew back the rats with their attacks. Tea led the group out of the alleyways where they came upon an Orichalcos Soldier.
Before Kaiba could activate his Duel Disk, the soldier was destroyed. Rebecca was behind it with her Luster Dragon #2. "Hurry," she said. As Kaiba walked by her she said, "Kaiba… I think… with Joey gone you're the only one I can trust who can stop this madness."
"Stopping this madness is what I intend to do," Kaiba said. As he took off along with Mokuba, Tea, and Tristan, Rebecca watched them.
"Please save my Yugi," she muttered. She turned to Duke and Kevin. "Okay, whose bright idea was it to have you two go off and play hero while leaving me back at the trailer?" The boys gulped.
"Even as we speak, the greatest monster to ever roam the Earth is awakening. All it needs now is your soul, Pharaoh, and the Seal of Orichalcos will see to that. I defeated you once before but somehow you were able to escape the Orichalcos's grasp. Don't you think of pulling a stunt like that again, I don't appreciate being lied to."
"I won't hide any more," Yami declared. "I accept your challenge, but it's just a shame a Duelist of your skill has to throw it all away by following a madman like Dartz."
"Dartz opened me up to the truth and made me what I am today!"
"Which isn't much," Amara cracked.
"You're just jealous that you don't have one of these," Raphael said holding up the Seal of Orichalcos. "But I'll let you take one last look at it as you shuffle my deck." The two came together.
"You can't tempt me with that card again," Yami said as they exchanged decks.
"I wasn't planning on it." They shuffled and returned each other's decks.
I must stay true to my heart, Yami thought as he returned to Amara's side of the roof. I can not give in to my dark side. Yugi, Joey, Harold, this duel is for you. I fight with your dragons in my deck and your hearts by my side.
The two activated their Duel Disks. They stared each other down for a minute.
Lightning striking was the call to battle. "Duel!"
(R: 4000)
(Y: 4000)
"Since I'm the returning champion, I'll start off," Raphael volunteered. "I play Guardian Treasure. Now I have to discard my entire hand. But now I'm able to draw two cards. Plus during every one of my turns I can draw two cards instead of one. Now I play Backup Gardna in defense mode. Then I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Then I play Queen's Knight in defense mode." I wonder why he didn't play the Seal of Orichalcos right away. Is he just toying with me or is it that he just hasn't drawn it yet. Either way, I better finish this duel before he plays it.
"It's time to reunite you with an old friend from our last duel," Raphael said drawing two cards. "You remember Gravity Axe, don't you?" A large double-breasted axe landed in front of Backup Gardna. "Now that it's on the field I can summon Guardian Grarl." A large dinosaur appeared. "And I'll switch my Gravity Axe to Grarl raising his attack points." Grarl picked up the axe.
(GG: 2500-3000)
"Grarl, attack Queen's Knight!" The dinosaur and the woman clashed weapons briefly before Grarl hacked her up. "That ends my turn."
Yami drew a card, "I play Monster Reborn to revive Queen's Knight in attack mode. Then I summon King's Knight (1) in attack mode. And with his effect, I can summon Jack's Knight (2) directly from my deck." Two more warriors in colorful armor appeared. "Finally I play the magic card Brave Attack."
"You used this against Obelisk," Raphael recalled.
"That's right, Brave Attack lets me combine my monster's attacks into one with 4000 points of damage. Though I'll lose my knights in the process, I will destroy Grarl."
"It seems like you still haven't learned your lesson about respecting your monsters." Yami gasped at that comment.
"Don't you listen to a thing that meat head says, Yugi," Amara said. "Look at your monsters."
Yami looked at his three knights and saw that they were smiling at him. They all nodded their heads. "Thank you. Now, my knights, show him the power of teamwork!" The knights all brought their swords down."
"Sorry, Pharaoh, but I won't let you slaughter your own monsters this time around I reveal my trap card Guardian Force. This lets me negate and destroy any magic card I choose… as long as there are no Guardian monsters in my graveyard that is." Brave Attack was destroyed and the three knights returned to their original positions. "I end my turn," Yami said glumly. Raphael's trap disrupted my strategy, I need a new plan.
"You're going down," Raphael said drawing two cards. "I equip my Backup Gardna with Butterfly Dagger raising his attack points by 300."
(BG: 500-800)
"It also allows me to summon Guardian Elma (3) in attack mode."
"I've never seen that Guardian monster before."
"There are plenty of Guardian monsters in my deck that you've never come across before as your friend over there can clearly vouch for." For a second it looked like he was pointing at Amara but in fact he was pointing above her at the white orb. "Now as for Guardian Elma's effect, it lets me bring Guardian Shield back from my graveyard when I then equip to her raising her defense points."
(GE: 1200-1500)
"I also use Backup Gardna's effect to transfer Butterfly Dagger over to Elma."
(BG: 800-500)
(GE: 1300-1600)
"Elma, attack Queen's Knight." Guardian Elma threw her dagger which destroyed Queen's Knight. "Now it's Grarl's turn, attack his king!" Grarl once again let loose with its axe.
(R: 4000)
(Y: 2500)
"What now, Pharaoh?"
Now only my Jack's Knight is left, Yami thought. He drew a new card. "I activate Five-Star Twilight." Jack's Knight transformed into a speck and disappeared into the night sky. "Since my Jack's Knight is a five-star monster, I can sacrifice it to summon five new monsters: the five Kuriboh Brothers!" Five different colored Kuriboh appeared.
"Oh no, I'm so scared," Raphael said sarcastically.
"You should be, because I'm discarding a trap card to activate the Kuriboh Bothers' special ability, Kuriball!" The white one swallowed up the other four and rolled towards Guardian Grarl. As it plowed into the dinosaur, the other Kuriboh were spat out.
(GG: 3000-1500)
"What did you do to my monster?"
"I weakened it so that it would be much easier to deal with. Now, Kuriboh Brothers, combine into Kuribabylon!" The dark blue Kuriboh with a horn appeared.
"Why bother, our monsters have the same attack strength."
"Not for long, I play another magic card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your axe!" Grarl's weapon was destroyed.
(GG: 1500-1000)
"Kuribabylon, attack Guardian Grarl!" But as the feral Kuriboh leapt at Grarl, Elma stepped into the line of fire blocking the attack with her shield.
"I can sacrifice Guardian Shield to allow my monster to remain on the field but I still lose life points."
(R: 3500)
(Y: 2500)
In all my years of dueling, I have never come across his type, Amara thought. He seems steadfast about keeping his monsters out of the graveyard. But sometimes it's better to have them in your graveyard because then they can't be used against you.
"As long as you're loyal to Dartz, you'll never be loyal to yourself," Yami was telling Raphael. "You have too much respect for your cards to use them for an evil purpose. Dartz has brainwashed you into thinking you're something you're not."
"Dartz opened my eyes to the truth." Raphael held up the two cards he drew. "The world is an evil place and you're part of the problem. But I'm here to fix that and thanks to my master I have just the card to do it."
"Oh no, you couldn't, you wouldn't!"
"I can and I will! I play the Seal of Orichalcos!"
"No, Raphael, don't!"
Amara stood back.
Kaiba, Mokuba, Tea, and Tristan arrived at Doma Headquarters. As they entered the lobby, they saw Mai. "Oh no, Mai must've lost an Orichalcos duel too," Mokuba guessed.
"I don't want to sound inconsiderate, but who's carrying her?" Tristan, who was carrying Joey on his back asked. The four of them rode the elevator to the roof.
"You're making a mistake," they heard Yami yell out as they exited the elevator.
"Amara, we're here," Tristan informed her.
"You're too late," Amara said. "He already played it."
The circle descended around Raphael and Yami. When Raphael opened his eyes, they were red and the seal was on his forehead.
What have you done, Raphael? Yami wondered.
To Be Continued
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: King's Knight
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1400
(2)
Name: Jack's Knight
Level: 5
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1900
DEF: 1000
(3)
Name: Guardian Elma
Level: 3
Type: Fairy/Effect
Attribute: Wind
ATK: 1300
DEF: 1200