Now we get onto the real action, what are our main protagonists going to do now?
Well, let's see...
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Between my Brother and Me
by Green Phantom Queen
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Chapter 12-Usurping the Dark Throne
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"I hate this." said Max, seeing the Seal of Orichalcos on Yugi's forehead. Shivers fell down his spine when he saw the evil glow in the King of Game's amethyst eyes. "This is just awful...."
"But what can we do?" asked Mokuba. "I tried breaking that barrier with my weapon and it barely did anything...that thing's there until either someone wins or there's a draw."
"Wait a minute!" said May, hitting her palm with a fist as she thought of a solution. "Max, you still have that Orichalcos Stone I won from Bandit Keith, right?"
"Of course!" said Max, pulling it from his pocket. It was glowing amongst the sunlight, as if mocking them. "Why do you ask?"
"Remember when Valon jumped off the balcony?" asked his sister. "He said 'With this piece of the Orichalcos Stone, I unlock the Seal!' before pressing the stone fragment onto the Seal of Orichalcos itself! That was the reason why Mai and Joey were able to escape the Orichalcos without worry!"
"That's right!" said Max. "So all we have to do is jump into the air, say the words, and then press the stone onto the Seal. Then we get Yugi out of there and kick Raphael's butt!"
"But...he's not Yugi." said Mokuba, to the younger boy. "I've...been searching him, using my magic dowsing...he calls himself 'Yami', from the Japanese word for 'darkness'. Yugi is the light, however, the pure and innocent soul who would do anything for his friends...but what we're seeing it's everything but 'pure'."
"Either way, we're not doing any good by standing here." said May before turning to her brother. "Max, since you have the stone you have to go and break the Seal."
"What?!" Max exclaimed. "But...but I...."
"You want the world to be plunged to darkness?" asked Mokuba. Max shook his head to reply. "Now trust us on this, this is going to help us save the world! You'll be a hero!"
"A hero..." Max replied, repeating the words. A look of determination replaced his look of fear as he nodded his head. "You're right! Let's get going!"
"And soon." said Mokuba. "I don't know how long that invisibility spell is going to last. So just go!"
"Banette!" said Max, running toward the edge of the cliff. "Psychic, now!"
"Ba....NETTE!" screamed Banette as Max jumped into the air. As expected, he was soon covered by a blue aura as he floated near the Seal of Orichalcos. Gripping onto the Orichalcos Stone, it began to glow as Max neared closer and closer to his destination.
"With this piece of the Orichalcos Stone," said Max. "I unlock the Seal!"
He slammed the stone onto the barrier, waiting for it to shatter. Instead, he was thrown back from the barrier, screaming in pain.
At that, Yami did sense someone's scream. He turned around and lifted a hand into the air, an aura of shadows growing around him. Soon enough, the invisible aura around Max was revealed, showing the boy falling to his death once more. It didn't stop there, as May and Mokuba found themselves also visible, but they ignored that as they saw Max continuing to fall.
"MAX!" said May, tossing a Poké ball into the air. "Beautifly, help Banette out!"
Beautifly emerged from its Poké ball as its eyes began to glow blue. Banette did the same thing as Max stopped falling once more. He looked up to see the Puppet and Butterfly Pokémon stopping his descent with their Psychic attacks.
"Thanks you guys." Max replied as the three flew back onto the cliff. When they arrived, Max was on his knees, panting for breath.
"You all right?" said Mokuba, helping to lift May's younger brother up. "What happened?"
"Nothing, apparently." Max answered. "I guess as long as I'm not under the Orichalcos, I don't have the power to stop the duel. Guess all we can do is watch."
Yami stared at the three children, feeling the power that was running through his veins. It felt so invigorating...and addicting, he wanted more. No, he needed more.
"Please Yami!" said May, when the spirit noticed the three. "Stop this duel now!"
"You're going to cause more harm than good!" Max added. "Get out of there!"
"Forget Timaeus and Dark Magician Girl, save yourself!" Mokuba yelled. "You're just falling into Raphael's trap!"
Yami took in the words before he began to laugh...it was low and then it slowly raised into a crescendo, causing everyone around him to be in fear.
"That doesn't sound good," said Weevil, as he and Rex were holding each other in fear. "I don't like the sound of it."
"He's crazier than all of those cartoons I watched when I was younger." Rex added.
"Snap out of it!" May screamed. "Just snap out of it and come to your senses, Pharaoh! Or else you'll become the evil ruler you once were 5,000 years ago!"
Max and Mokuba immediately covered May's mouth immediately after she said the last sentence, their hearts beating against their rib cages in fear. Yami just stared at them, and so did Raphael. There was nothing but silence for a couple of seconds before May removed the hands covering her mouth.
"You could've just used Defusion to save Dark Magician Girl and Timaeus!" May continued. "That thing only affects the fusion monster, but not the monsters that created it! Why? Why didn't you..."
"ENOUGH!" Yami roared as his body became enveloped in black flames. "I've had enough of your whining...and if I was an evil Pharaoh 5,000 years ago, then so be it. I'll use the Orichalcos to win this duel and stop the Leviathan from destroying the world."
"Who told him..." said Mokuba, before staring at Raphael. He was angry; Raphael was the one who gave Yugi that Orichalcos card and thus forced him to play it. Even with all they had done, the prediction came true, and there was nothing he could do about it...
"The Seal of Orichalcos serves me now!" said Yami to his opponent. "And all of its ancient magic rests on my side of the field, strengthening my Dark Magician Girl, the Dragon Knight with 500 extra attack points! Now she can break free from your Crystal Seal!"
The crystal surrounding the monster soon became crushed as Dark Magician Girl had the Seal of Orichalcos on her forehead. It raised her attack power from 2,600 to 3,100...but Timaeus roared in pain and disappeared. In doing so, Dark Magician Girl reverted to her blue and pink spellcaster outfit, and her attack strength was now at 2,500.
"Look at that!" said Max. "Timaeus....disappeared!"
"What have you done to my dragon?" asked Yami to Raphael with shock.
"It's not what I've done." Raphael answered back. "It's what you've done by playing that magic card. Guess I should've warned you; Timaeus and the Orichalcos don't mix. But at least your dark side is free...."
"How can he say it that way?" said May. "It's awful!"
"What have I unleashed?" asked Yami as he let out a roar. The same black shadowy aura surrounded him, soon expanded around the Seal of Orichalcos, making it darker than before.
"You were a fool to hand me this card." The spirit snarled. "For when you lose, your soul will be sealed for all eternity...where it belongs.."
May noticed something glowing in her Duel Disk. Drawing a card, a mote of light escaped from it, soon transforming into an astral projection of Atem.
"I'm so sorry..." said the Coordinator. "I...I mean, he was...and we..."
"I forgive you for what you did, Goddess." Atem answered her. "You did what you had to do in order to stop the madness...however, it is too late. The Orichalcos has brainwashed him into becoming a pawn of true darkness....and there's nothing that we can do about it."
"Don't say that!" said May, gripping onto Atem's shoulders, tears nearly falling out of her eyes. "There has to be a way..."
Atem stayed silent and bowed his head. May closed her eyes as tears fell down her face. Max and Mokuba just stood there as May began to sob. She tried to stop, but it was too much....she had falsely believed that Yugi would be able to stop what he was doing, and that they were able to do something to stop it...but now it was different.
"Now I activate, Hand Control!" said Yami, showing a card that depicted a hand holding onto five cards.
"All I need to correctly guess the name of a card in your hand, and I can activate it! And since I gave you the Necromancy card, I know you're holding it! Now it's mine!"
Even when he was speaking, there was a spark of anger growing inside the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Four cards escaped the graveyard as Yami continued with a smirk on his face
"Necromancy allows me to bring four monsters back from my graveyard!" He said. "So return to me, Big Shield Gardna, Berfomet, Gazelle, the King of Mystical Beasts, and Kuribabylon!"
As he called out the names of the monsters, they appeared behind Dark Magician Girl crouched in Defense Mode.
"Next, I'll sacrifice Gazelle and Berfomet, so I can summon my Dark Magician!"
The Fiend and Beast type monsters disappeared as Dark Magician took their place, hands folded across his chest and scepter in hand. (2,500/2,100)
"Then I'll separate my Kuribabylon into the five Kuriboh brothers I used to create it!"
The giant horned Kuriboh soon separated into five Kuribohs: the original Kuriboh, plus four that were pink, purple, turquoise and white.
"Kuri! Kuri!" The five puffballs squeaked.
May looked up, wiping a tear from her eye as she saw all of the monsters. She wanted to exclaim how cute the Kuriboh brothers were, but dread crept back into her heart as she saw what happened next.
"Don't tell me..." said May. "He's going to give them the power of the Orichalcos!"
"That's just wrong!" Max yelled. "I saw how Arkana gave his Dark Magician a power boost, but Yugi—I mean, Yami—shouldn't be doing this! It's just so...horrible!"
Dark Magician groaned in pain as he gripped onto his forehead, trying to resist the dark magic of the Orichalcos. In the end, the Seal appeared on his forehead, raising his attack power to 3,000. The same thing happened to Big Shield Gardna, his attack going from 100 to 600. Not only that, all five Kuriboh brothers had red eyes and the Orichalcos on their foreheads, raising their attack power of 300 to 800.
"I combine my Kuribohs once again to form Kuribabylon!" said Yami, pointing to the five fiend monsters.
The five Kuribohs soon transformed into a giant dark blue furry version of a Kuriboh. The differences was that it was there was a giant horn on his head, he had no front claws and it also had fangs and glaring eyes.
"Remember," Yami continued. "Each of my furry friends gain 500 extra points, for a grand total of 2,500 attack points! And all of that power was absorbed by my Kuribabylon!"
Kuribabylon's original attack of 1,500 soon rose to 4,000! Plus, the Orichalcos on its forehead gave it an extra 500 attack points! It didn't stop there; Kuribabylon looked fiercer than before, as if it was about to eat Raphael into pieces.
"That's one powerful cotton ball you got there." said Raphael, commenting on the situation.
"It's all thanks to the power of the Orichalcos." Yami replied.
"Wrong!" Raphael answered back. "The power comes from the darkness in you!"
Yami didn't say anything, but glared at his opponent.
Mokuba blinked his eyes, as if he was trying to check something. "Um, guys..." He said to both May and Max. "Call me crazy, but something's wrong."
"What is it?" asked Max.
"Well," Mokuba explained. "When a spirit possesses you, you still have some sort of 'projection' of your spirit that is shown beside that being walking around in your body. So if Khonsu possesses me, I can let my spirit come out and interact with him. So if Yami is outside..."
"Then Yugi should be there also!" May finished.
"Exactly." said Mokuba. "However, any readings of Yugi's spirit is gone...it's as if the Orichalcos is blocking the signal, and therefore I can't sense him."
"Where is he though?" asked Max. The three children stared at Atem—as if to find some answer from him—but he did not reply...he only stared at the duelists contained in the dreaded green Seal.
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Yugi slowly opened his eyes to find the darkness greeting him. He stood up, looking around as if to see if he could find someone who could explain his situation.
"Where am I?" He asked himself. He then looked up and gasped...in front of him was the Seal of Orichalcos acting like some sort of monitor, showing Yami—under the influence of the Orichalcos—dueling Raphael.
"No..." said Yugi, tears forming in his eyes. "He played it...how could you Pharaoh?"
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"I don't care where this power came from!" said Yami, after some silence. "All that matters is it's mine now!"
He pointed at Guardian Grarl as Kuribabylon charged toward it, striking it into the chest with its horn. The guardian soon shattered into pixels.
"No, my Guardian!" Raphael replied, seeing his faithful monster destroyed. With the attack his 3,000 life points decreased all the way down to 1,500.
"And now that you have a monster in your graveyard," Yami continued. "Your Magic Card loses its power."
Raphael's Purity of the Cemetery Magic Card shattered into pieces.
"I'm not done yet." Yami added. "My Dark Magician hasn't had a chance to make you suffer...."
Dark Magician flew into the air, staff in hand.
"I activate Aid to the Doomed!" said Raphael, activating his facedown Magic card, showing the spirit of a woman standing amongst the headstones of a cemetery. Dark Magician neared closer to his opponent when a giant spirit of a woman in a white cloak screamed at him, negating the attack.
"What the heck is that thing?" asked Max, seeing Dark Magician's attack negated.
"I've heard of that card." Mokuba replied. "It negates the attack of a monster but the person who used it has to discard two cards from their hand to the graveyard. It's useful, but losing two cards in your hand can be risky."
It was at that moment that Duke's car finally made it to the dueling arena. The three teenage boys got out of the car, Joey screaming his best friend's name.
Yami, hearing this, turned around...only for Joey, Tristan and Duke to see the Orichalcos on his forehead.
"What's going on?" asked Joey. "Why's that Orichalcos thing on Yugi's forehead?"
Sliding down the canyon walls, the three met up with Weevil and Rex—Rex saying that they missed the best part.
"Yeah?" asked Duke. "Then why don't you two fill us in?"
"I don't trust these guys as far as I can throw them!" Tristan replied.
"Hey!" said Joey, grabbing Weevil by his shirt collar. "My best friend has that thing on his head and I want answers NOW!"
"Why don't you take your paws off me and try asking nicely?" asked Weevil with some sarcasm.
"Wrong answer." Joey snarled. "Now it's go time!"
Tristan, Duke and Rex held onto Joey, making sure the blonde duelist didn't do anything that he would probably regret later on.
"It's the Seal of Orichalcos!" said Rex. "Yugi got it from that big muscle guy and then activated it!"
Joey then dropped Weevil onto the ground, the Insect Duelist panting for breath as Tristan and Duke also released their grip.
"But Yugi wouldn't do that." said Joey. "He knows that card's evil!"
"What makes you so sure that he knows what's right?" said a voice. The five turned to see Mokuba, Max and May running up to them, the three children looking a bit worse for the wear. Banette and Beautifly hovered above them.
"You three!" said Tristan, growling at them. "Where the heck did you go?"
"To follow Yugi, of course!" Max answered. "We saw him ride off somewhere and we went to go follow him! We knew he was going to play the Orichalcos so we tried and stop him...but..." He became silent, bowing his head. There was no need to say anything else; they knew what was going on.
"Goddess..." Atem whispered into May's ear. "I'll talk to the other monsters in your deck; perhaps they can provide valuable information to use for our dilemma."
May nodded her head as she stared back at the duel, just wondering about what could've happened to cause this whole mess.
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In a void of darkness, several monsters were standing there, waiting for the meeting to start. The Gravekeeper's were bunched together while Dark Horus let Kuriboh rest on its head. The beast monsters were all in one little circle as Atem walked from the shadows, calling everyone's attention.
"I hope everyone is aware of what is happening." The Ancient Pharaoh stated. "If things continue this way, then we are all in a world of trouble."
"As if it hasn't happen before." said Kura. "Only this time I'm not going to be blamed if the world is destroyed."
"Silence, Tomb Raider." said Seth, bringing out the Millennium Rod. "Just be lucky that you're on the Goddess of Joy's good side, or else I'd personally send you into the Shadow Realm."
"Both of you be silent." said Atem, getting between the two. "This is no time to be arguing amongst ourselves...this is the same reason that my other half accepted the Orichalcos!"
There was some silence as the other monsters murmured to themselves. Then, Gravekeeper's Visionary stepped forward.
"Pharaoh Atem," said the Level 8 monster. "How do you know about this?"
"It was part of the spell that was used to split my soul." Atem explained. "Because of it, I could feel his inner struggle and heard the Orichalcos tempt him to play the Seal."
"But it's just a magic seal." said Gravekeeper's Priestess, standing next to Gravekeeper's Visionary. "It cannot talk, it cannot think....how could such a thing be the cause of the Goddess of Joy's suffering?"
"It's not the playing of the Orichalcos that is troubling her though." said Jouno, who had been quiet for some time. "It is the vision that I showed to her, alongside the Prince of Wisdom and Defender of the King. They were confident with their ability to change that future, and to stop the card from being played. It is all...my fault."
"No, Jouno." said Atem. "It was never your fault; the blame goes to that man...Raphael, that is what Goddess called him."
"Come to think of it," said Seth. "That man reminds me of someone...perhaps he had an ancestor that lived around our time period."
"The Goddess of Joy right now had an ancestor also, you know." Kura added. "Their auras are so similar that you can nearly tell who's whom...she is definitely Hara's reincarnation."
At the name, Atem's eyes widened. Hara...a Vessel for the goddess Isis who was around 10 when he gave himself up to the Heart of Chaos. Hara always looked up to the Ancient Pharaoh, one time leaving her post so she could travel with him on his journeys with Kura—despite not knowing that he had the Heart of Chaos. She had a beautiful singing voice and often came to the palace to entertain the Court with different songs and dances.
"Hara...." Atem gasped out before turning to his ally. "Is this true..."
"No doubt about it." Kura replied. "Hara, the Vessel of Isis was reborn into our current Goddess of Joy. That would explain her outfit, her appearance...and how close she is to you."
Atem didn't comment on that part; when Hara finally discovered that Atem had the Heart of Chaos, she didn't run away...instead, she cried in front of him, embracing him...asking him why did it have to happen. Unfortunately, the artifact possessed his body and caused him to attack her. Hara tried her best to fight, using the magic she had learned from Isis to stop him...but in the end, she was killed in front of his eyes. When Atem broke from the control, he saw Hara trying to sing ...but she could not complete the last verse as her eyes closed, letting out her last breath.
"Hara..." Atem repeated, closing his eyes. "Innocent Hara....."
"Kuri!" cried Kuriboh, floating to the Pharaoh. Tears were falling down his face as Kuriboh landed on top of his head. "Kuri! Kuri!"
Atem opened his eyes, lifted the Kuriboh from his head and stared into its eyes. The little furball continued to squeak as if trying to say something.
"What was that?" said Atem. "You've kept a spell from the Book of Secret Arts?"
That got everyone's attention as Kuriboh let out a loud "KURI!". In front of it was a Duel Monsters Card, depicting May—or at least someone that looked like her—dressed in her blue hooded cloak and tunic with her hands clasped in prayer as a wave of magic surrounded her. There were also three Kuribohs dancing around her.
"Kuri! Kuri!" Kuriboh replied, handing Atem the card.
"Which spell was it though?" asked Gravekeeper's Spy with some curiosity. "There were so many that were preserved."
"The Song of Redemption." said Atem, as everyone else gasped. "It was Hara's favorite song to sing...she loved music...and this was the song she sang to me before...."
There was silence once more as he began to choke from the memory. More tears fell down his eyes as Kura looked to the other monsters.
"We are now in a grave situation as it is." The Thief Lord announced. "Should there be any surprised tactics, be ready to appear at a moment's notice. You are all dismissed."
One by one, all of the monsters disappeared, until both Pharaoh and Thief Lord remained. Kura placed a hand on his "friend's" shoulder.
"Things are going to work out all right." The Thief Lord replied to the Pharaoh. "Everything is going to be all right."
"For the sake of saving the world, I hope you're right." Atem replied, staring at the card some more.
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On the field were six monsters—Raphael's Guardian Kayest (1,000/1,800) and Backup Gardna (500/2,700) and Yami's Kuribabylon (4,500/200), Big Shield Gardna (600/2,600), Dark Magician (3,000/2,100) and Dark Magician Girl (2,000/1,700). There was some tension in the air however as the Seal of Orichalcos continued to glow amongst the morning sun.
"How does it feel to know that all this time you've been hiding your true self?" asked Raphael. "You derive your powers from darkness, and you've always have."
"What's wrong?" Yami replied. "Are you jealous because the Seal of Orichalcos resides with me now? And it's your soul that's on the line this time? Perhaps you should've thought twice before turning that Magic card to me, Raphael."
The Seal may be strong, but I'm not worried... Raphael thought to himself. I have complete trust in my monsters; they won't let me down.
"My Guardian may be gone, but he'll be back." said Raphael, drawing two cards from his deck. As he said that, a pair of white feathery wings covered him, although it was unseen by everyone else.
"I activate my Monster Rebirth." The Swordsman continued, showing a Magic Card of a blue ankh. "This Magic Card allows me to bring one monster back from my graveyard, and place it in my deck. And I choose Guardian Grarl!"
"I destroyed that monster once and I'll do it again." Yami replied. "Now finish your move."
"Next, I'll play one card facedown on the field." Raphael added. "Then, I'll activate my Swords of Revealing Light Magic Card...so now your monsters can't attack for three turns."
As one card appeared facedown, swords made of light surrounded Yami's side of the field, trapping his monsters.
"All right, guys." said Weevil, seeing the situation. "If Yugi loses, I call dibs on his Dark Magician."
"That's not cool!" Rex replied. "Why not show some compassion for a change? And let me have his Dark Magician."
"Watch it..." said Joey, staring at the two duelists.
Mokuba stared at Raphael, noting the white wings surrounding him. "That's...weird..." He said to himself.
"What is it this time?" asked Max. "Did you find Yugi?"
"No dice on finding him." Mokuba answered. "But Raphael's giving off a bad aura....there's some guardian protecting him. But it's hard to tell what it really is...guess we're just going to have to wait and see."
"Your Swords mean nothing!" Yami commented to Raphael's move, drawing a card. "For I play Catapult Turtle, by sacrificing my Big Shield Gardna!"
The warrior disappeared as a giant mechanical turtle appeared, a catapult strapped to its back. (1,000/2,000) -) (1,500/2,000)
"What does that card do?" asked May.
"If you sacrifice a monster, you can inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of the monster's attack points." said Mokuba. So if Yami sacrificed all three of his monsters...it would add up to a grand total of around 5,000 to 5,250 attack points!"
"But why around that much?" asked Max.
"Because if there's a Dark Magician in either duelists' graveyard, Dark Magician Girl gains 300 attack points." Mokuba answered. "Depending on which monsters he sacrifices first, it'll result in how many attack points she'll have before she's sacrificed for Catapult Turtle."
"You've activated my trap, Limit Tribute!" said Raphael as one of his cards flipped open, revealing two warriors staring at each other while two shadowy figures stood upon the temple floor.
"What's that?" asked Yami.
"It changes the rule of the competition by limiting the number of monsters each player can sacrifice to one monster per turn." Raphael answered. "Oh well."
"I guess I end my turn." said Yami with defeat.
"I thought you'd say that." Raphael replied, drawing two cards. "And now I activate Nightmare Binding!"
The Magic Card appeared, revealing a huge orc with a long chain in hand. Chains rose from the ground, wrapping themselves around Kuribabylon, decreasing its attack power to 3,700. At the same time, Raphael's life points were raised to 2,300.
"Your Kuribabylon just lost 800 points." The Swordsman continued. "But they didn't go to waste, 'cause those attack points got added to my life points And to top it all off, your oversized dust bunny can't be sacrificed."
"Insult my monsters, all you like Raphael." Yami replied. "With the power of the Orichalcos behind me, I can't be stopped."
He drew a card, revealing it to be his Beast of Gilfer.
"Since he's useless, I'll sacrifice my Dark Magician. And by using the special ability of my Catapult Turtle, I'll damage your life points."
"How could he call Dark Magician useless?" asked May. "Isn't he one of Yugi's precious cards?"
"At this point, Yami doesn't care." said Max, seeing Dark Magician launched from Catapult Turtle. "He's...completely lost it."
Dark Magician turned into an orb of magic, heading straight toward his opponent. Raphael blocked the attack with an arm, his life points going down from 2,300 to 800 and he himself was on one knee.
"Now that he's gone, my Dark Magician can actually serve a purpose." Yami continued. "By strengthening my Dark Magician Girl."
Dark Magician Girl closed her eyes as her attack was raised to 2,800.
"That doesn't sound like the Yugi I know." said Joey, seeing the situation. "Come on, pal. Snap out of it!"
"Well, here we are." said Yami, oblivious to his friend's pleading as he stared into the eyes of his opponent. "You're just about to lose the duel, and your soul. One more blast from my Catapult Turtle and it's over."
Raphael snarled as he stood up—Yami commenting that he didn't scare him while Raphael drew two cards from his deck.
"I'll play one card facedown, and end my turn." said the Swordsman, placing a Magic Card in the tray. There was laughter as Yami stared at the move.
"Then all I have to do destroy one card, and this duel's done." The spirit replied, drawing a card. "I choose my very own Dark Magician Girl."
"WHAT?!" May, Max and Mokuba screamed.
Dark Magician Girl turned to Yami, as if to ask why he was doing this.
"The monsters are real while the Orichalcos is in play, Yami!" said Max. "You're going to hurt Dark Magician Girl because of that!"
"Wait," said May, turning to her brother. "How do you know that, Max?"
"When I got attacked by both Dark Eradicator Warlock and Malice Doll of Demise, their attacks really hurt." Max explained. "I could feel all of the pain ripping through my body...especially when Dark Eradicator Warlock's special ability came into play. So if I could feel pain, then most likely, monsters under the Orichalcos also feel pain when they're destroyed."
"I can't stand it!" said Mokuba. "Yami has no respect for his monsters if he's using them as fodder! This cruelty has to stop right now!"
"What would the real Yugi say at a time like this?" asked May.
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"Pharaoh, no!" cried Yugi, pounding his fists on the Seal of Orichalcos. "The Seal of Orichalcos is played, so the monsters are real! Please don't sacrifice the Dark Magician Girl!"
Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears as Dark Magician Girl was launched from Catapult Turtle, going past Raphael's monsters, and heading toward the Swordsman....in the darkness all he could do was watch in horror as he saw the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle continue with his malicious act.
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"I activate my Shrink card!" said Raphael, revealing his Quickplay Magic Card.
"No!" said Yami. "Not that!"
"Dark Magician Girl loses half of her attack points!" said Weevil, as everyone else watched in horror. "He saved himself!"
"If Dark Magician Girl had 2,800 attack points, then half of that is 1,400!" said Max. "But...how many life points did Raphael have to begin with?"
"Let's see," said May. "When we were flying around, I used my telescope to check the life point counters. Raphael had 3,000...then lost half of that when Guardian Grarl was destroyed by Kuribabylon. Then, he gained 800 life points from Kuribabylon, then lost 1,500 from Dark Magician. He only has 800 life points left!"
"How do you know Kuribabylon inflicted 1,500 points of damage though?" asked Mokuba. May replied by bringing out the Duelist Monthly magazine in front of the boy's face from her brother's backpack.
"It's part of a booster pack known as 'United Resistance'." May replied. "Kuribabylon can only be summoned by sacrificing the five Kuriboh brothers, and its attack is based on the combined score of all Kuriboh brothers. Since each Kuriboh has 300 attack points—and their attack score was raised to 800 by the Orichalcos—then you multiply that by five and that equals 4,000. Plus the 500 from the Orichalcos gives it 4,500."
"Moreover, Guardian Grarl has 2,500 attack points, but it has Gravity Axe-Grarl on it, so it increased its attack to 3,000. So 4,500 minus 3,000 equals the 1,500 Raphael lost."
"Wow..." said Max. "You got all of that just from looking at a telescope?"
"That...and the fact that the Guardian monsters were in Mr. Muto's giant album of cards." May added. "I found them interesting...but it didn't fit with my deck style."
"So, if Raphael has 800 life points, and Dark Magician Girl has 1,400 life points but half of that is damage due to Catapult Turtle's special ability..." said Mokuba, doing some mental arithmetic. "Then she inflicts 700 points of damage...so Raphael only has 100 life points left!"
As he said that, Dark Magician Girl broke through the Shrink Magic card, and launched a direct hit at Raphael. The sheer force of the attack, caused him to collide with the Seal of Orichalcos, gritting his teeth in pain. As Mokuba predicted, his life points went down to 100.
"Impressive." said Yami commenting on the situation. "But all you did was prolong your eventual downfall." There was some laughter before he continued. "You'll never escape the Seal of Orichalcos now..."
The Swords of Revealing Light began to dim...then they all faded. Yami smirked, seeing his side of the field rid of the nuisances.
"It seems your Swords of Revealing Light has expired. So once I sacrifice another of my monsters, your spirit will be absorbed by the Seal...trapping you forever."
"Was this how Atem acted when he was under the control of the Heart of Chaos?" asked Max. "It seems so...wrong and cruel. Just using his monsters as if they were nothing but bullets for a gun to shoot with...what type of person could do such a thing?"
"A person who has given himself to the darkness, that's what." said Mokuba. "But when Seto dueled Alister, Alister used the Blue Eyes White Dragons against him..."
"And Mai used Harpie Ladies and Harpie's Pet Dragon to beat Joey into submission." May added. "Plus the more Harpie Lady monsters she has, the more monsters and life points she can destroy when using Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation. Either way...it feels as if they'll use anything they have to achieve their goals...even if it includes brutally destroying monsters."
"The world's strongest force answers to me!" said Yami with pride. To this, Duke added that "Yugi's got this duel in the bag."
"You go, Yugi!" said Tristan before turning to Joey. "Nice move, huh?"
Joey stayed silent, staring at his friend who had been corrupted by the Orichalcos.
"Earth to Joey." said Tristan. "Are you in there?"
"He's here, all right." said Max, commenting on the situation. "But Yugi isn't...and can you guys be nothing but complete idiots to cheer someone who's sacrificing his monsters left and right?!"
Tristan and Duke wanted to retort, but were kept silent as Max continued his rant.
"The true Yugi doesn't do that...and he certainly doesn't talk about power...it's the Orichalcos that's making him behave this way...he's been brainwashed by it! Can you not see it or are you two as stupid as Team Rocket to blindly believe that Yugi is going to win this duel?!"
"What would you know?!" said Tristan. "What would you know about dueling?!"
"I just went through a duel against someone under the Orichalcos yesterday!" Max screamed back. "I saw how Arkana treated his monsters, using pain and suffering to attack me! Besides, I don't see you trying to do anything to help Yugi get out of this situation at all!"
Tristan growled, charging through Rex and Weevil, glaring at the seven year old kid.
"You're adding to the problem!" Tristan exclaimed. "We had to go searching for you three alongside finding out where Yugi went! And I don't care if you have those Pokémon on you; you could've been in danger!"
"That's enough!" said Mokuba, getting in between the groups. "We get the point: We shouldn't have followed Yugi, and you guys are nothing but complete idiots...but it isn't going to change the fact that Yugi's under the Orichalcos....the verdict of this duel, is yet to be seen..."
"Max is right, though." said Joey. "That Orichalcos is messing with Yugi's mind...just like it did with Mai...it's nothing but pure evil and it has to be stopped!"
"We did everything we could, though." said May. "We even tried to break the Seal open with a piece of the Orichalcos stone....but it didn't work...the only thing we can do is just watch and see if this is going to be ending in a draw, or someone's victory..."
"And personally...I would rather have it with a soul being taken away."
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Tears fell from Yugi's eyes as he stared at the duel. It was unfair...Yami was acting so cruel to his monsters....
"How could he do this?" said Yugi. "That card is evil...I warned him."
No one could hear him, though. And he continued to stare at the scene in front of him...
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Raphael laughed as he stood up.
"I told you the Seal would reveal the truth." He stated to Yami. "This is you: wicked and greedy and full of hate. The power of the Orichalcos reveals all, and just as I suspected; you're evil, Pharaoh. And you're getting worse; as time passes, the darkness grows."
"No..." said Yami, trying to deny the statement.
"If you don't believe me, all you have to do is look around the field." Raphael replied. "See what you've done to your monsters? At one time they were pure...but now they're nothing but evil shadow creatures!"
Yami turned his attention to his corrupted Catapult Turtle and chained Kuribabylon....thought swirling in his mind. Did he really do all of this? Recalling how he had caused the innocent Kuriboh brothers to transform into a corrupted version of themselves...his eyes widened in surprise.
"You deceived me!" Yami yelled at the Swordsman.
"You chose to play the Seal of Orichalcos, even at the cost of losing Timaeus." Raphael replied. "Your lust for power destroyed a valuable monster; only a truly individual would have a blatant disregard for his deck."
"Enough!" Yami snapped.
"Not to worry." Raphael replied. "Someone's going to lose in this next round, and this nightmare will be over."
Drawing two cards from his deck, all was silent. It was then that Mokuba saw the glowing white aura surrounding Raphael.
"Um, guys..." Mokuba said to May and Max. "We've got trouble...I think I figured out where this power is coming from...and you're not going to like it...."
"I activate, Celestial Sword!" said Raphael, raising the card into the air. It was of an angel in a pink robe behind two crossed swords. Replacing the Magic Card was a gleaming sword, piercing through the Seal and onto the ground.
"Um, May." said Max. "While you were searching that giant album...which Guardian monster uses that card?"
"That thing..." May said in a soft voice. "Belongs to the strongest of all the Guardians....Guardian Eatos...."
Max and Mokuba gulped as Raphael revealed a card of what was presumed to be Guardian Eatos. Then, the white aura surrounding him transformed into a glowing bird, soaring into the sky. It flew upon the storm of dark clouds...
Then lightning crashed! An orb of light descended from the sky, revealing a pair of white feathery wings...then it appeared to be human shape. A young girl wearing a Native American outfit with a headdress in the likeness of a hawk's head. Her arms were outstretched as she landed beside Raphael. (2,500/2,000)
"So that's whom I've been sensing this whole time!" said Mokuba. "But...that's strange, it's some sort of Duel Monster Spirit."
"A what?" asked Max.
"Call me crazy, but it's true." Mokuba replied. "Like Atem and Jouno, they can appear to some selected few who have some sort of sight. Since all three of us have it, we're able to see them...but even with my Magic Dowsing, it took me some time to sense that monster....and from the looks of her, I'd say Yami is in big trouble."
Guardian Eatos picked up her sword and raised it into the air. The blade began glowing in a bright light as she closed her eyes.
"Activate your special ability, Eatos!" said Raphael. "Spirit of Celestial Sword!"
Eatos opened her eyes as the light intensified. Yami closed his eyes, but felt his Duel Disk being raised into the air. He couldn't stop it, as everyone else looked in shock.
"What's going on?" asked Joey, seeing Guardian Eatos pointing her sword at her opponent's Duel Disk.
"My Guardian Eatos has the ability to remove monsters from your card graveyard and absorb their attack power!" said Raphael with a smirk.
"Not my monsters!" Yami cried.
"Too little, too late." Raphael replied. "Now let's see who's up first..."
A card escaped from Yami's graveyard. It flipped to reveal Dark Magician Girl. The spirit of the card appeared, staring at Yami with sadness.
"Not Dark Magician Girl..." said May with shock.
"Next," Raphael continued. "It'll take your favorite monster."
Another card escaped from the graveyard, revealing Dark Magician. The purple robed Spellcaster just stared at his master.
"And Dark Magician also!" said Max. "What is with this card?!"
"Guardian Eatos can absorb the attack power of all monsters in a graveyard..." May explained. "But from what I read—and I still don't get it—is that it gains the attack points of the monsters starting from the top of the graveyard, going down until it reaches a Magic or Trap Card."
"I think I know what that means." said Mokuba. "The last Magic Card Yami played was Hand Control. Then after that, the next cards in his graveyard were Berfomet and Gazelle to summon Dark Magician. Catapult Turtle was summoned by sacrificing Big Shield Gardna..."
"And then he sacrificed Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl to activate Catapult Turtle's ability, sending them into the graveyard!" Max finished. "But...what now?"
Yami stared at the images of all five his monsters...each of them staring at their master, who had abused them and sacrificed them for nothing except the sake of victory. Raphael had told him about his reckless sacrifices and disrespect for them.
"Just look into the eyes of your monsters." The Swordsman ended. There was nothing more that needed to be said; Yami looked into his monsters' eyes, trembling in fear.
"Please..." The spirit begged. "Forgive me for what I've done..."
"You disrespected your monsters." Raphael added. "And it's time to pay the price now. Your favorite cards are fighting on my side!"
The five monsters shattered and soon were streams of light, being absorbed into the Celestial Sword.
"Your own monsters just added their power to my Guardian." Raphael continued as Guardian Eatos had her attack power raised all the way to 10,000. "Ten thousand points...that's more than enough to wipe you out."
"Now Guardian Eatos, destroy his monsters and the rest of his life points!"
"He's done for!" said May. "There's no card in Yami's hand to protect him!"
Eatos raised her sword into the air as a bolt of lightning striked it. Then, she brought it to the ground as giant shockwaves of light appeared. Both the trapped Kuribabylon and Catapult Turtle screamed in terror when hit with the attack. Yami screamed in pain as his life points went all the way down to zero.
"No way!" said Rex, as a dome of light covered the dueling opponents. "Yugi lost the duel!"
"This can't be!" cried Duke.
"Oh man..." Tristan added.
"Yugi..." Joey said softly.
"I wanted a soul to be sent to the Orichalcos." said May. "But...I didn't know it was going to end up like this!"
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"He lost the duel." said Yugi, staring at the defeat of the 'Pharaoh'. "And now he'll lose his soul!"
The Seal of Orichalcos began to shrink as the cards on the field disappeared. Raphael laughed, seeing his victory. Yami wasn't saying anything, smoke rising from his body. There was no sound, his eyes weren't blinking...he was in complete shock.
"Time for you to pay up, Pharaoh." said Raphael walking toward his opponent. "The Seal of Orichalcos never leaves the field without taking something along for the ride. And this time, it's you...and you have yourself to blame, cause you sealed your fate when you played that card. Now your life force will awaken the Great Beast."
"Not if I can help it!" said Yugi as his Millennium Puzzle began to glow.
"With all the power of the Millennium Puzzle," He cried, grasping it in his hands. "I break the Seal!"
He slammed the tip of the inverted pyramid onto the Seal, as a beam of light surrounded him. But back in the real world, the Orichalcos began to shrink once more soon surrounding the body of the Pharaoh. Yami didn't say anything, but let himself be resigned to his fate.
"Pharaoh!" cried a voice. "I won't let the Seal take you!"
Yugi appeared by Yami's side, pushing the spirit out of the seal. Yami looked in shock.
"Yugi, no!" He cried, turning around to face the young boy. "What are you doing here?"
"It only needs one of us." Yugi explained. "So I'm letting the Seal take me instead!"
"NO!" Yami exclaimed. "YUGI!"
But it was too late, a beam of light appeared from beneath the storm of grey clouds, sucking the soul away...and the Orichalcos disappeared.
"Adios, your highness." Raphael said mockingly. As he said that, Yami's body slumped onto the ground...just like every victim who lost their soul to the Orichalcos.
"Oh my goodness..." said May, gripping onto Mokuba. "Please don't tell me...."
"I...." said Mokuba, trying to see the aura surrounding the King of Games. "I...can't sense anything....he's gone."
"This can't be..." said Max. "He's the King of Games, he never loses a match...."
Raphael pulled the Seal of Orichalcos card from the Duel Disk of his fallen opponent. He then removed the necklace from the Spirit's neck before standing up.
"You won't be needing these anymore." He replied.
Suddenly a whirring sound came into view. The audience was in shock as they saw a helicopter rising into the sky, piloted by Alister nonetheless.
"Alister!" Mokuba snarled. "So that's where he went!"
"Isn't he the same guy that disguised himself as Pegasus?" asked Max. Mokuba nodded his head.
"He's the one who gave me those vibes I felt earlier." He explained. "And if he could disguise himself as Pegasus, who knows who he can disguise himself as."
"Well, at least his will be better than what Team Rocket can come up with." said May.
The door to the helicopter opened as a giant rope ladder fell from the sky. Raphael grabbed onto it, but also let an arm grab onto Yami's torso. The helicopter rose into the air as it past by the eight audience members. While Joey, Tristan, Duke, Rex and Weevil blocked themselves from the wind...May, Max and Mokuba aimed their Duel Disks at the Guardian Duelist.
"Give him back, Raphael!" said Max, Banette glowing in a blue light. "Or else we'll use lethal force!"
"The same goes for you, Alister!" said Mokuba, preparing his giant crescent blade weapon. "I'll slice that thing in half!"
"Give us back the Egyptian God Cards!" May screamed as Beautifly prepared for a Silver Wind attack. Raphael stared at May, somehow recalling a memory. He closed his eyes as it came...
"Who are you supposed to be?"
"I...don't really know myself...I don't know where I am, or who I am...I'm just..."
"It's okay...by the way, call me the Guardian of the Sea..."
"Guardian...of the Sea? But the only thing here is a river..."
"But I hear tales from Atem about a giant sea that connects to a kingdom far away...one day I'd like to travel with him...and see what is there, so I can sing to the people who live there...but I have to do my duties first."
"If you're the Guardian of the Sea, then who am I?"
"Silver Wind, now!"
Raphael broke out of his trance as he saw silver crescent-shaped blades of wind attack him. Alister swerved the helicopter out of the way, so that his partner wouldn't be affected by the blast.
"Banette, get ready for Sucker Punch!" said Max.
Mokuba lifted his blade in the air, trying to aim it at the rope ladder. "Keep them steady guys, this won't take long."
"Don't do it, guys." said Joey, despite not knowing what they were trying to do. "If you attack them, Yugi goes with him."
"No, he won't." May replied. "If you haven't realize this, Max and I have partners that could help us out should things go wrong."
"Give him back!" said Joey. Raphael smirked as he turned his gaze onto May.
"Listen, May." said Raphael, as the Pokèmon Coordinator snarled at him. "You can have your friend back...if you give me the Winged Dragon of Ra."
"WHAT?!" Rex and Weevil screamed as they turned to May. "You have an Egyptian God Card?!"
"You have two minutes to give me your answer." said Raphael. "The clock's ticking."
May didn't respond, but kept a hand close to her waist-pack...she knew it was a trap...she knew that if she just gave the card to Raphael, then he would use it—and Yami's soul—to summon the Great Leviathan. Instead she grit her teeth in anger and glared at the Swordsman.
"May," said Mokuba, whispering something into her ear. "Go ahead and refuse...I just figured out something....Yami's soul wasn't taken by the Orichalcos!"
"What?" asked May. "But we saw him becoming unconscious, and the Seal of Orichalcos shrank...."
"It's true, Goddess of Joy." said Atem, reappearing to May, Max and Mokuba. "It looked like he had been taken away. However, if his 'soul' had been taken, I would've sensed it. The other soul—the one known as Yugi—has taken his place. We have stalled the inevitable from happening, but what worries me is what is going to happen from here on out."
"Are you sure about this, though?" asked Max. "It doesn't seem right..."
"We need all the power we can get at this point in time." Atem replied. "If they take his soul when he is in his most vulnerable state, then things will get messy. Also...Goddess of Joy..."
"Yeah?" asked May. "What is it?"
There was some silence before Atem replied, "I...wanted to tell you...that..."
"Time's up!" said Raphael, interrupting the moment. "What's your result, Guardian of the Sea?"
May turned to Raphael and snarled. She pointed a finger at the blonde Swordsman.
"First of all, I'm not the Guardian of the Sea!" She replied. "And second of all, keep the soul you have! You're not getting Ra!"
Raphael growled, seeing the resistance from the girl. Despite those memories, he couldn't help but get angry at her...probably because of the mentioning of the name 'Atem' in the last one.
"Fine!" He said, tossing the body toward the cliff. "You can keep him; I already have everything of his I need."
"Beautifly, use Psychic!" said May.
"Same with you, Banette!" Max added. Both of the Pokèmon began to glow with a blue outline as the body slowly fell down onto the ground. Then the glowing dimmed as the spirit laid unconscious on the ground.
Mokuba watched with anger as he saw the two Swordsmen get away, silently commanding his weapon to disappear. "How could this have happen, Khonsu?" He said to the Moon God.
Deceit, lies, wickedness...this person has it all. Khonsu replied. And yet...it feels as if he is...'conflicted'.
Conflicted?! Mokuba exclaimed in his head. He just dropped Yugi—I mean Yami—from that elevated height of a helicopter, and forced him to play the Orichalcos!
I didn't mean about that. said the Moon God. Did you see how he looked at the Goddess of Joy? It was as if he knew her from somewhere...like in a past life.
A past life? Mokuba repeated. I doubt it....
"Hey, Rex." said Weevil, turning to the Dinosaur Duelist. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah." Rex replied. "Let's get going."
As the two ran away from the group, Duke, Tristan and Joey tried to get their friend to wake up, seeing him unconscious on the ground. May and Max returned their Pokèmon back into their Pokè balls before staring at the site. May then stared into the eyes of the Ancient Pharaoh.
"Atem..." said May. "What were you trying to tell me?"
Atem sighed as he stared into May's eyes. "We...have actually met before, Goddess. Five years ago...the Book of Secret Arts was opened..."
"What?!" May gasped out. "How did...and when...but we..."
"I know it's hard to understand," said Atem as Max and Mokuba also looked on in shock. "But five years ago, you released me and my friends from that prison...and that is when we called you the 'Goddess of Joy', because you made us happy...however, an incident caused us to return to the book, and caused you to have your memories erased."
"W-what was it?" asked Max.
"I cannot tell you right now." said Atem. "However...when we return to that 'mobile home' that you speak of, the story shall commence...and it will be then that I shall punish the person that hurt you so..."
May wanted to ask who it was, but then she realized it. She turned to see Yami turn his back onto Joey, Tristan and Duke. Then it all became clear.
"I don't get it," said Joey. "How can you be talking to us when you're soul was taken?"
"Not mine." said Yami as his whole body began to tremble. Tears fell from his eyes as he added, "It was Yugi's..."
He got on his knees and continued to sob.
"It's all my fault!" He continued. "Yugi, come back..."
He slammed his fists onto the ground, grief overwhelming his senses as everyone around him just let his emotions run loose.
"It should've been me, not him! It's not fair!"
May stared at Yami before turning towards Atem, but soon grew nervous when she saw a dark shadowy aura around the Ancient Pharaoh...what made it worse, was that half of a black heart was seen through his chest.
"Oh no..." said Max, looking to his sister before staring at Atem. "This can't be good..."
"I'm starting to hate Raphael more with every second." Mokuba added. "He's beginning a game that should never be played...and in the end, we're going to suffer for it."
"He'll suffer after I'm done with my first victim." said Atem. "For anyone who ignores the messages of the Goddess of Joy, shall be punished..."
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Max: I still can't believe what's going on...Yugi's no longer with us...
Mokuba: And what's worse is that Atem is in a dark mood, and so is Kura.
May: I opened the book containing their spirits five years ago, but why can't I remember?
Kura: All will be explained in due time, but first...we must have some fun.
Max: I'm starting to think that coming here was a bad idea.
Mokuba: So what now? We just can't stay here forever.
May: Mokuba, your brother needs to get here...we're going to need everyone for this.
Mokuba: I don't know about that, if Seto finds out that his rival lost a duel, he'll be ticked.
Max: If we tell it like that, yeah...but there has to be another way of bringing him here....
May: Next time, "Between my Brother and me" chapter 13-Weaving Tragedy amongst Sorrow
Atem: Goddess of Joy, the story begins right now....