Sorry for the delay on that last chapter, but I hope this makes up for everything else. Is everyone ready?
Then, onward to the Earth's warm gooey center! (Brownie points for whomever can tell me where that line came from)
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Between my Brother and Me
by Green Phantom Queen
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Chapter 16-A Warrior Emerging from the Shadows
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"May!" said Max, as he and Mokuba ran toward the Pokémon Coordinator. The orbs of light that were relentless taunting Yami moved to the sides, creating a pathway for the kids to walk through.
"That's strange." said Mokuba, noticing the orbs. "These spirits were taunting Yami just a while back; why aren't they going near us?"
Most likely, they go after souls full of darkness. Khonsu replied to Mokuba. You three are innocent children so I doubt they would want to take you away. Only those with darkness in their souls will be taken here...
Good thing to know. Mokuba said in response. But still, I feel as if something is wrong....
May placed Timaeus into her waist pack before she turned to see Max and Mokuba running up to her. Max had his arms wrapped around her waist and Mokuba just stared at May.
"So...it's true then?" asked Mokuba. "This was nothing more than a test?"
"It seems that way." May replied. "But either way...there's a giant hole in Yami's heart. He most likely still blames himself for what happened..."
The three children stared as Yami was soon on his knees, tears flowing down his eyes and onto the dirt. All of them felt so bad for what happened; they tried to stop the Orichalcos and it was all for naught. Jouno's prophecy only showed them what was going to happen, and it did happen.
"It isn't Yami's fault at all!" said Max. "It's that no-good cheater, Raphael! He was the one who gave the Seal of Orichalcos card to Yami..."
"But Yami decided to play it via his own free will and in the end, Yugi paid the price." Mokuba added. "Face it...there's nothing we can do about Yugi's fate."
"...Yes there is!" said May as a thought came to mind. "Max, remember when Raphael did that trick with Weevil and Rex's souls?"
"You mean that one where he held onto the soul cards and then did some kind of weird magic trick that released the souls from the cards?" asked Max. "Yeah, I remember that. Hey! Maybe that's how Bandit Keith got out from his fate also! So if we can find Yugi's Soul Card..."
"Then there's a chance to get his soul back!" Mokuba ended. "But...there's just one problem."
"We know." Max replied. "Raphael has the card...and he has three Duelists who want revenge."
May went to Yami's side, kneeling near the Spirit and embraced him. She then placed her head on her shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Everything is going to be fine, Yami." She whispered into the Pharaoh's ear. "So please, don't cry anymore...Stop shedding these tears..."
Yami just closed his eyes, turning his body to May's and wrapped his arms around her, still sobbing. Max and Mokuba just stared at the two for quite some time.
Suddenly Mokuba looked up, seeing a familiar figure standing at the side of the cliff.
"Um, Max..." said the Defender of the King. "Don't look now...but we've got company."
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Raphael stared in shock...here was his Guardian of the Sea, embracing the Pharaoh. He was angry, his blood was boiling, it took all that he had not to let out a giant roar for the whole mountain to hear. Instead, he began to grind his teeth in anger, fists clenched and it looked like he was on the verge of crying. Why? The Guardian of the Sea helped him keep his sanity...and she was comforting the ENEMY?!
That was it. The Pharaoh was going to pay!
He immediately dialed a number on his cellphone, then placed the setting to an earpiece on his left ear. After a few rings, Dartz's voice was picked up.
"This had better be good." came the voice of the irritated King of Atlantis.
"I've located the Pharaoh, Master." Raphael replied. "And I've also found the three kids."
"Nice work, for once." said Dartz.
"Now all I have to finish what I started." With that said, Raphael jumped and began to slid down the cliff, all the while Dartz answered back with "No, you fool!" And there was a good reason why, two grey wispy tendrils soon wrapped around Raphael's left leg.
"Something's got me!" said Raphael, sounding a bit startled from the unexpected surprise.
"How observant of you." Dartz replied with sarcasm. "That valley is inhabited with evil apparitions; but I never expected your miniscule brain to comprehend that. Now throw your stone into the ruins."
Raphael tore off the Orichalcos Stone and threw it into the valley. It began to glow in an evil light as he heard Dartz begin to chant some sort of spell.
"Ancient spirits of the Orichalcos," said Dartz. "I call humbly upon thee to awaken the soul of one of your own from the depths of the Earth! Come forth my Orichalcos Soldier, and bring the Pharaoh to me!"
A burst of light and a strike of lightning hit the stone while all around the area, the earth started to shake. May, still grabbing onto Yami, slowly stood up as she saw the earth split.
"I don't like the looks of this!" She yelled. "What's going on?!"
A geyser of black mist erupted from the cracks, while a giant soldier emerged from the darkness. It was dressed in grey armor, had purple skin and red eyes. To make it worse, it towered over everyone else, and on its left arm was an Orichalcos Duel Disk.
"Not much of a talker, huh?" asked Max, looking up. "I don't like where this is going..."
Raphael noticed the scene from above, lightning dancing amongst the spirit circle.
"...I hope that thing's on my side." He said to himself, commenting the situation.
Suddenly, in a flash of light...he found himself seeing another vision.
There was fire everywhere....the sky was dark with the sun eclipsed. And the screaming...it was so horrifying...
"Horus!" cried a voice. It was of the Guardian of the Sea, who was staring at the giant dragon. "Horus, are you okay?"
Horus let out a painful screech as a bolt of lightning attacked it. When it dimmed, it was now replaced in a dark armor, with a black helmet that had a red gem inset on it. Its yellow eyes glared down at the Guardian of the Sea as it opened its mouth.
"Look out!" The young girl had no time to react as Rael cane and pushed her away, just as the new Dark Horus let out a gout of black fire.
"Are you all right?" asked Rael. The Guardian of the Sea looked to Rael and nodded her head.
"What happened to Horus?" asked the Guardian of the Sea, looking at the dark God of Protection. "I thought he was on our side..."
Rael growled; he knew what was happening, and no matter what, the Guardian of the Sea had to be protected.
"Stay in the palace, Guardian of the Sea." said Rael. "I'll try and find the cause of all this."
"Wait!" said the young girl. "There's something I must tell you; my real name is..."
"Tell me later!" said Rael, starting to run. "Just get inside the palace and hide!"
"Rael...my name is Ha..."
Raphael blinked as the memory vanished. Rael only learned one part of her name...'Ha'...what else was there? What was the Guardian of the Sea? Who was she?
Why is she invading my thoughts? He asked himself. He then stared at May who was talking to Max and Mokuba about something. He then let his gaze go back to Yami who was entrapped by the Seal of Orichalcos descending from the sky.
It doesn't matter why she's invading my thoughts... He answered. Because once the Pharaoh is sealed, I'll figure it out...and I'll make sure that the Guardian of the Sea returns to the one who cares for her the most...Me.....
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"Get out of the way, you three!" said Yami. "I this thing wants to duel me."
"Are you sure?" asked May. "We can help you out if you need it."
"I must do this on my own." said Yami. "Yugi helped me face the darkness, but I must make sure that I won't return to the darkness anytime soon. Now get going May; I don't want you to get involved in this confrontation."
"All right." said May before she turned around. "Let's go you guys."
Max and Mokuba nodded their heads and ran from the site as the Seal of Orichalcos appeared on the field. As they were running, an idea came into the mind of the Pokémon Coordinator.
"Max," said May. "You still have that stone, right?"
"Of course." said Max. "Why do you ask?"
May looked up, seeing Raphael looking at the scene from the cliff. She then turned her gaze back onto her brother and friend.
"I'm going to make an exchange." May answered back. "That stone for the secret in getting Yugi's soul back."
Max and Mokuba stopped running, turning to May and looking at her with some shock and surprise.
"Are you nuts?!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Raphael isn't going to tell you the secret that easily! You must be out of your mind."
"But it's better than doing nothing, right?" asked May, stretching her hand out to Max. "Now come on, Max. I have to meet up with the man who took Yugi away."
Max stared at his sister for a moment...then he reluctantly pulled out the Orichalcos stone from his pocket and placed it into his sister's hand. May clutched the necklace in her palm before pulling out something from her waist pack.
"Take this." She simply stated, tossing the item to Max. Max gasped when he noticed that he was holding onto the Eye of Timaeus.
"Timaeus?!" He exclaimed. "But why?"
"If she got captured by Raphael, then he'll try to destroy Timaeus." Mokuba answered, trying to come up with an explanation. "And without Timaeus, we wouldn't be able to destroy the Orichalcos or the Great Leviathan."
"Precisely." said May. "Now you two get going...I'm doing this alone."
"No you aren't." said Mokuba. "We're a team, and we're all doing this together."
"I understand that you're worried about me," said May. "But once we leave this circle, we're all easy pickings for Raphael."
"I don't care." said Mokuba. "But I sense something evil within his soul; if you go alone, there's a better chance that you'll get hurt. I won't let that happen!"
"...All right." said May. "Let's do this together."
"I'm going with you too!" said Max. "No one's going to hurt my sister while I'm around!"
"But you have Timaeus, Max." said Mokuba.
"Not anymore." said Max, tossing a Poké ball into the air. It opened to reveal Banette who was grinning at the three.
"Banette," said Max to the Marionette Pokémon. "Take the card in my hand to Ironheart and Chris up there." He pointed to the cliff where Téa, Ironheart and Chris were at. "And whatever happens, protect them at all costs.
"Ba...nette..." Banette replied as it began to glow in a bright blue color. Timaeus was lifted into the air as Banette soon flew to its destination.
"Let's get going." said May, seeing the lightning circling around the the competitors dueling each other in the Orichalcos. "We have not time to lose."
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Raphael stared at the duel with interest. He was happy; the Pharaoh was going to lose his soul, and the Guardian of the Sea would be his once more. No matter what happened, Orichalcos Gigas kept returning, growing stronger and stronger every time it was sent into the graveyard. In no time, the duel would be over, and the Pharaoh's soul would be sealed away forever.
"Let's see you get out of this one." He said to himself with a smirk.
"Agreed." said a voice. "Let's see if you can get out of this!"
Raphael heard something whiz by. He turned around and saw May, Max and Mokuba standing in front of him.
"So you're the one who sic that monster at Yami!" said Max, pointing a finger at the Swordsman. "I should've known."
"You caused a lot of trouble for all of us." said Mokuba, bringing out his giant crescent blade. "And we've come for a little...negotiation."
"And why would I want to talk to a couple of pipsqueaks?" asked Raphael.
"Because of this." said May, lifting the Orichalcos stone into the air. "When you took Professor Hawkins, wasn't it because you wanted this stone? Yami came with the stone, and when you dueled you reclaimed it. So we're giving you this stone in return for you giving us Yugi's soul."
"It's going to take more than a little stone to get your friend back." Raphael replied. "It'll take a lot more."
"What do you have in mind?" asked May.
"You." said Raphael. "If you come with me, I'll make sure to ask Master Dartz to release your friend's soul."
"Over my dead body!" said May. "I'd rather be dead then be taken as a captive by you!"
Raphael growled and immediately snatched May's wrist. May didn't flinch, but glared at the Swordsman.
"This 'grabbing my wrist' thing is getting a bit old, don't you think?" She asked. "And I repeat: I'd rather be dead then be taken as a captive by you!"
"Then how about being killed by me?" asked Raphael, reaching toward something in his boot. May's eyes widened when she saw what it was: a knife with a sharpened blade.
"Don't you dare!" said Mokuba, eyes glowing white. "If you do, then your heart will be roasted on a spit for me to dine on!"
"Hurt my sister, and that's the end of you!" said Max, bringing out Absol's Poké ball. "Why do you want her in the first place?!"
"Because the Guardian of the Sea belongs with me!" Raphael answered. "When I was stuck on that island, she was there. She made me feel hope for the first time since arriving on my new home. And you know what happened? She died....she fell off of a cliff as she was singing to me. She gave me one hint before she died...'Find the girl in blue, for she is the one who shall hint you to my whereabouts'."
"And you think that my sister's the girl in this prophecy, huh?" asked Max. "Well that's ridiculous!"
"That's what I thought too." said Raphael in reply. "But ever since you arrived, I started to piece things together. The girl in blue is the Guardian of the Sea...and she's all mine now."
"What are you talking about?" asked May. "I'm not the Guardian of the Sea, and I never will be."
Raphael snarled and tightened his grip on May's wrist. May grit her teeth, trying her hardest not to scream.
"You don't mean to say that though," He whispered in a hushed tone. "That evil Pharaoh must've brainwashed you into forgetting all about me. But no matter...once Master Dartz sees you, he'll set things right."
"You're a lunatic!" May screamed. "Yami would never do anything like that! And I won't let you take me!"
Raphael pulled May towards him, the blade of his knife pressed against her neck.
"Then how about I do the favor of killing you?" He asked the Coordinator. May closed her eyes, heart beating against her chest as she felt her life flashing before her eyes.
"Absol!" said Max, about to toss its Poké ball into the air. "Use Night--"
"No!" said Mokuba. "If Absol attacks, it'll hurt May!"
Max lowered his hand and growled. Mokuba was right; but how was he going to save his sister if he couldn't get near her?
May was struggling, trying to push the arm away from her neck, or at least try to kick Raphael in the shin. But nothing was working.
"Don't struggle any longer, Guardian of the Sea." said Raphael in a gentle tone (which was pretty creepy for May's standards). "I'll take you away from the Pharaoh, and soon, you shall help create peace and harmony in the new world."
"I don't want to!" May cried. "I want to get out of here! I have to help the Pharaoh because that's my destiny!"
"The Pharaoh doesn't need you!" Raphael snapped. "I'm the only one you want! I'm the one who loves you more, Guardian of the Sea! The Pharaoh doesn't even know you like I do! I was the one searching for you, the one who was waiting for you after all these years..."
"But I've never met you before until a couple of days ago!" May exclaimed. "Now please...let me leave!"
"Never..." Raphael hissed, running a hand through May's hair. "I'm not letting the Guardian of the Sea escape me again...never..."
There was a flash of green light as Max and Mokuba covered their eyes. Then when the light had vanished, the two opened their eyes to reveal no one in front of them. May and Raphael had vanished.
"No..." said Max in shock. "He took her...my sister..."
Mokuba stood in silence as he clenched his fists. Why? Why did he have to take her? Why was Raphael so obsessed with her in the first place? These questions wrapped around his brain as he closed his eyes. Tears fell down his face as he let out a scream. An aura of white light surrounded his body, glowing brighter and brighter as Mokuba's scream reached its crescendo. His whole body was trembling in anger and sadness; he could've saved May, but he didn't....
Eventually he stopped screaming, and began to sob. His throat a bit sore from screaming...but it didn't matter; his screaming couldn't express all of the sorrow he had in his heart.
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"Banette!" said Banette as it followed Ironheart and Chris amongst the trail of Duel Monsters. After receiving the card, Ironheart immediately ran toward Yami, to make sure that he received the Legendary Dragon. The shaman immediately destroyed the monsters in his way, in the attempt to make sure that Timaeus was returned to its rightful owner.
"Come on, Skye!" said Chris to her pet wolf. "You know what to do!"
Skye transformed into a Silver Fang, running faster than before. Banette swooped around Chris as it let out a barrage of Will-o-Wisps at some Hinotama Souls.
"Thanks!" said Chris to the Marionette Pokémon.
"Pharaoh!" cried Ironheart to the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Unfortunately, before anything else was said...a bolt of lightning struck down and hit him, causing him to collapse onto the ground.
"Grandfather!" Chris cried, as Skye ran toward him.
"Please..." said Ironheart, trying his hardest to get up. "You must take Timaeus back..."
Banette floated toward Ironheart, a look of sadness in its eyes as it used its Psychic ability to lift Timaeus into the air.
"Strange creature..." said Ironheart. "Take this to my granddaughter...help her give it to the Pharaoh...it's our only chance to save the world..."
Chris stared in shock as she saw her grandfather becoming transformed into motes of light. Tears fell down her eyes as Banette placed Timaeus into her hands. She then wiped her tears.
"Come on!" She said to Skye and Banette. The two nodded and headed toward their goal once more. Unfortunately, the lightning was becoming more frequent, dancing in barely noticeable patterns in an attempt to stall the process of Timaeus being reclaimed by Yami.
"Stay back!" cried Yami, pounding on the Seal of Orichalcos. A roar soon stopped him as he turned to see Orichalcos Gigas about to attack his Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. Thinking quickly, Yami discarded Kuriboh from his hand, causing the giant monster to hit a wall of the cute critters.
"Here I come!" cried Chris, getting closer and closer to the Pharaoh. Banette was following her, acting like her bodyguard. Unfortunately, the Marionette Pokémon did not expect a bolt of lightning to strike Chris, causing her to fall off of Skye.
"Chris!" cried Yami. "Are you all right?"
"Banette..." said Banette, floating toward Chris. "Bane..." Chris slowly stirred awake.
"Yeah, I think so." She replied. Skye let out a whimper and also became motes of light. Chris looked in shock to see her best friend vanished...but she didn't have time to ponder that as she began to run. The lightning began to strike again as Chris quickened her pace.
"Chris, turn back!" Yami cried to the young girl. "It's too dangerous."
Chris ignored that as she inched closer and closer to the Seal.
"Pharaoh..." she said to Yami. "Grandpa wanted you to have this—AAAH!" Her sentence got caught off when she was hit by a second bolt of lightning. She fell to the ground, her hand just a few inches away from the Orichalcos.
"Pharaoh..." Chris said in a weak voice, lifting the card into the air. "Please...take Timaeus...He saved us once 10,000 years ago...now he'll...save...us...."
Chris collapsed before she could finish her sentence, and was soon nothing more than motes of light. Timaeus fell onto the dirt, unaffected by the lightning.
"NO!" Yami yelled, seeing Chris disappearing in front of his eyes. "No...."
Banette noticed the card was just a few inches away from the Seal. If it was a bit closer...then Yami would be able to play it!
"Banette!" cried the Marionette Pokémon, its eyes glowing blue. The card also had a blue aura as it went through the barrier. Yami grasped the card in his hand, eyes shut as he recalled how Ironheart and Chris sacrificed their lives to bring the card to him. Now, he had to fight back.
He turned toward Orichalcos Gigas, the monster ready to attack once again.
Timaeus... Yami said in his mind. Please forgive me for betraying you...and I hope you deem me worthy of your power. The lives of many people hangs in the balance, so please lend me your power...we must win!
He placed Timaeus into his hand, expanding it to three cards.
"Now I sacrifice my Celtic Guardian to summon Dark Magician Girl!" Yami announced to his opponent.
The elf warrior was soon replaced with the blonde Spellcaster. (2000/1700)
"Next I'll play the Legendary Eye of Timaeus!" Yami added, playing the teal dragon onto the field. The dragon let out a mighty roar, glad that the bearer of its power was no longer tainted by darkness.
"Now Dark Magician Girl, fuse with Timaeus! Form Dark Magician Girl, the Dragon Knight!"
Dark Magician Girl's Spellcaster outfit was soon replaced with the armor of a knight. Her staff was replaced with a sword and she was also riding on top of Timaeus. (2,600/1,700)
"Next," Yami continued. "I'll enhance your strength with my Excalibur Magic Card!"
Dark Magician Girl's sword was now replaced by a fancier one, doubling her Attack Points to 5,200.
"Attack!" Yami commanded his monster. "Destroy his creature of darkness!"
Timaeus let out a blast of energy from its mouth, while Dark Magician Girl did the same with her sword. The attacks combined and soon destroyed Orichalcos Gigas with a crushing blow! Then, the whole field was surrounded by light...
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May hadn't been teleported too far from the location when she saw a bright light coming from the spirit circle. She could only stare with shock...knowing that Yami had gained Timaeus's trust once more.
"He did it..." She gasped before it turned into a smile. "He did it! Yami defeated that monster!"
Unfortunately, the celebration was interrupted by Raphael slapping her across the face. May then became quiet as she glared at the Swordsman.
"The Pharaoh got lucky." Raphael replied with a snarl. "But you won't be once Master Dartz gets through with you."
Grasping onto the necklace in May's hand, the two soon vanished without a trace.
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"Wait a minute," said Téa, seeing some sort of marker on the ground. "Chris, Ironheart and Sky were spirits 10,000 years ago? That means they're ghosts...right?"
"Not exactly." said Yami. "They're spirits who once fought a great war...but now they had been captured by Dartz.
"And now that gives me three more reasons to hunt down and stop this madman from destroying the world."
"Yami..." said a voice. Yami turned around to see Max and Mokuba walk up to them. Banette flew towards its trainer, trying to ask what was going on.
"Max, where's your sister?" asked Téa. "Did she go someplace?"
"She did, Téa." Mokuba replied. "Raphael's kidnapped her. And right now...I'm worried for her. What if her soul gets captured? What if they take Ra from her? What's Dartz going to do to her?"
"...I don't know the answers to those questions, myself." said Yami. "But standing here doing nothing isn't going to help us. We must go and head to Florida...only there will we find the answers to our questions."
"I hope so..." said Max. "And I just hope my sister will escape from Dartz's clutches...if not...
"Then we can just say goodbye to the world as we know it!"
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May: I have to escape this place somehow!
Valon: You're not going anywhere, missy! Now hand us Ra and no one gets hurt!
May: I won't hand over Ra, but someone's going to get hurt! And that'll be you!
Alister: You don't scare us!
May: Try me!
Valon: Next time, "Between my Brother and Me" chapter 17-The Wrath of a Goddess
May: Watch out, because I'm getting out of here no matter what it takes!
Valon: Bring it on!