Well, let's get started with the second half of this story. When we last left our protagonist, we had her falling to her death...
But now, things are about to change...
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Between my Brother and Me
by Green Phantom Queen
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chapter 18-The Romance of a Tragic Knight
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Down...down...down...
May was falling to her death. Her mind showed images of her life going by, each one passing as if someone had pressed fast forward on the remote control to her brain. Tears fell down her eyes as her body was racked with pain. She tried to grab for one of her Poké balls, but the wounds on her arms prevented her from doing so.
This can't be happening... She thought to herself. Someone...please help me...
A light emerged from one of her Poké balls. May looked to see Altaria swooping down, wrapping the Coordinator in its wings before spinning around, letting May sit on its back. May looked up, seeing the Winged Dragon of Ra slowly fluttering down above them.
"Altaria," said May, trying to point to the card falling above their heads. "Please...get Ra."
"Al!" Altaria replied, soaring back up. May grabbed onto her Pokémon's neck as Altaria flew higher and higher into the air. The card began to near the two as Altaria soon caught it in its white beak.
"Thanks Altaria." said May. "But now we have to find a place to hide. I don't think it's safe for us to be here."
Altaria nodded its head as it began to flap its wings, ready to find a resting spot for the two of them. May rested her forehead on Altaria's feathery wings, relaxing at the cottony feel of the appendages. But even those couldn't remove the pain in her body; there was blood staining the white cotton feathers, making them become light pink in color as May tried her hardest not to move. The bruises from Valon's punches and kicks hurt, but there was also the added pressure from her arms being slashed. What did she do wrong? She was telling them the truth after all...
As May continued to ponder these thoughts, she was also wondering what Max and Mokuba were doing...and she was just hoping that wherever they were, that they were all right.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"We're back where we started." said Max, seeing the railroad tracks in front of them. "Now what?"
"Maybe if we follow this trail, we'll meet up with Joey and Tristan." said Mokuba. "But still...I hope May's all right."
"She'll be fine, guys." said Téa. "But still...it'll take forever for us to get on foot!"
"Then don't go on foot!" said Mokuba, drawing a card from his deck. "We'll use Celestial Spirit-Draco to help us!"
"Mokuba, do you think that's a good idea?" Max. "I mean, what if those Soldier things come back?
"If they come back, I'll beat them up!" Mokuba replied. "We don't have time to lose; if we don't get to May then she'll be in danger! Her soul might've been captured by the Orichalcos or worse..."
"Worse?" asked Téa. "What can be worse then being kidnapped?"
"...she could've become one of them!" Mokuba finished. "And if that happens, then they'll use the Winged Dragon of Ra to bring out the Great Leviathan's true power! We can't just stand here and do nothing; we have to get going!"
He lifted the Duel Monsters card into the air as a transparent dragon soon escaped the paper. It soon nestled onto the ground, staring at its master with blue eyes.
"Mokuba," said Yami. "Is this..."
Mokuba nodded his head. "As the Defender of the King, I can summon spirits into the mortal plane. These monsters—known as the Celestial Spirits—follow the rule of a kind and pure heart. And in my heart, I feel May's in trouble...we don't have time to lose. Now let's get going."
"You're really worried about her, aren't you?" asked Yami.
Mokuba nodded his head at the question. In his mind, he was replaying the scene of Raphael kidnapping May...he could've done something to saved her and made sure she wasn't kidnapped. But all he could do was watch as May struggled to be free, and Raphael threatening to kill her on the spot.
"Mokuba," said Max, staring at his friend. "I know you're not feeling well...but maybe a duel should clear our heads. I don't mean right now, just tell me when you're ready to duel."
"What's a duel going to accomplsih Max?" asked Téa.
"Well it may sound silly to you guys," Max began to explain. "But by dueling, maybe it could not only prepare us for what's coming up next...it could also help us truly face our fears and worries. Just like when Yugi was dueling Yami, Yami defeated the darkness in his heart and was able to move on...So when Mokuba is ready to confront his fears, I'll be there to duel him."
"Wow, I never thought of it that way." said Téa.
"Now let's get going, Pharaoh." said Max, getting himself seated on Draco. "If we're going to catch up to Joey and Tristan, and make it to Florida, then we'll have to move it."
Yami nodded his head as he and Téa also went to seat themselves on the Celestial Spirit. Mokuba looked down at the cliff...recalling the events that had happened, before he also ran toward his faithful monster.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"There has to be something we can do, Master Dartz!" said Valon. "There has to be a way to bring Mai back!"
"I keep telling you, Valon." said the King of Atlantis. "I would able to do so if I had the Winged Dragon of Ra...but who was the one who let it slip away?"
Valon grit his teeth, slamming his fist on the table of the office. He then stared at the unconscious form of Mai Valentine, resting against one of the walls. Then, his eyes turned to the screen, showing the tablet where Mai's soul was depicted. Her look of fear and loneliness was seen in her eyes...and Valon hated it. He hated that Mai had her soul sealed away, and he hated the person who did it.
"Well, it's not our fault that she jumped off of the building, Master Dartz ." Alister remarked. "Thought it'd be easier to end her pathetic existence than to give us a simple Duel Monster Card."
"A card that we need." Dartz added with a snarl, before turning to the blonde Swordsman. "And what about you Raphael? What do you have to say about this? This is the third time that you failed to capture the Winged Dragon of Ra thanks to its carrier jumping off the rooftop at the last minute. You are truly testing my patience."
"He'll probably be going on about how the 'Guardian of the Sea' is real like the broken record he is." said Alister. "But as I've been saying, she's nothing more than a myth."
"She's real!" Raphael roared at Alister. "Don't you forget it...the Guardian of the Sea...that girl knows something about her. That's why she jumped. She knew what happened to her and she's probably hiding the Guardian. I'm going to find her if it's the last thing I do."
"The Guardian of the Sea means nothing to us, Raphael." said Dartz, irritation heard in his voice. "You must forget about her Raphael; the more, the better."
"Forget about the Guardian of the Sea!" said Valon. "May...that girl...she took Mai away from me! And now she's going to pay!"
"Don't act so foolish, Valon." Dartz snapped at the spiky brunette. "Her soul is needed...and so is Ra. By killing her you might bring about the God's wrath; do you really want that to be on your conscience? Like that time with the church?"
Valon's face darkened when Dartz asked that question. He grit his teeth, a look of determination in his eyes as he stared back at the King of Atlantis with fury.
"I lost someone in my past, and I lost one now." He snarled. "When I get through with that girl...then the world will have one less person to protect it."
He took one last look at Mai's unconscious body before barging out of the office room, fully intent on destroying May and getting his revenge.
"This has gone far enough!" Dartz said in a fury. "This Goddess of Joy has evaded us for far too long! We must get the Winged Dragon of Ra at any means necessary!
"If we don't, then I assure you that I won't be happy."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Altaria flew down to the ground, landing in the alleyway. May soon got off of the Humming Pokémon, placing a hand onto the Winged Dragon of Ra. Altaria opened its beak as May let a hand pat it on the head.
"Thanks Altaria." said May. "You really helped me out there."
"Al! Al!" Altaria replied. It then looked down, seeing its cottony wings stained with its trainer's blood. It looked up as May brought out a small canteen of water. She unscrewed the cap, taking a sip of water, before pouring the rest of the contents onto Altaria's wings. The blood soon fell onto the ground as Altaria shook its whole body to shake away the excess water. May then screwed the cap back on, before placing it away.
"Get some rest." said May, bringing out Altaria's Poké ball. "You deserve it."
Altaria nodded its head as it became a red beam of energy, before returning to the sphere. May placed the Poké ball back into her waisptack as she sat down. Clutching her ribs with her left hand, she stared at what was in her right hand. The Winged Dragon of Ra, with the golden colouring being stained by her blood, shining similar to the color if its eyes. To think that an Egyptian God Card could not break through the power of the Orichalcos...and the powers of Slifer and Obelisk were being used by the Leviathan. May could somehow feel the sadness that the Winged Dragon of Ra might've felt when the power of its partners were drained, leaving them in a weakened state.
"Are you all right Goddess?" asked a voice. May looked up to see Atem standing in front of her, his crimson eyes showing worry and concern.
"I...really don't know myself." She replied. "The blades from Alister and Raphael's knives didn't dig to deep...but they hurt all the same."
"Sit down." said Atem. "I want to see the damage that has been done."
May nodded her head as she got on her knees, wincing a bit from the pain Valon placed on them. Atem knelt down near May and inspected the wounds: wounds from the upper arm going down to her gloves, all of them bleeding and darkening her skin. The Pharaoh placed bronze fingers one of the wounds to apply pressure on them...but when he pressed down, it only caused May to let out a small squeak in pain.
"It hurts..." She whimpered, trying her hardest to not let tears fall from her eyes. Atem realized this and released the pressure, slowly taking May into a gentle embrace. May closed her eyes, embracing the Pharaoh as best as she could as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I shall make sure that we find help, Goddess." Atem whispered into May's ear. "So please, do not cry...do not shed any tears."
May nodded her head, sniffling a bit. The Pharaoh closed his eyes, recalling the events. Even though May did not call him, he was there...invisible to the attackers. He saw everything that his Goddess had to go through: the harsh words of the Swordsmen, the slicing of flesh due to sharpened blades, the site of his Goddess unable to call for help when she was punched in the stomach...she tried her hardest to fight back by using the Winged Dragon of Ra, but it wasn't enough. Then there was the explosion...she fell, screaming for help as she was plummeting to her death...
It made him angry. It made him angry that those three harmed his Goddess of Joy. What did she do to them that caused her to be in so much pain? Nothing...all she did was brought happiness to people around her, but now there was the possibility of her unable to smile...It was because of them...this young girl was trying to help them. But they didn't listen, all they did was just stand there as the Goddess of Joy told them what was going on, that they weren't seeing the truth and that the Orichalcos was clouding their minds.
As May was still wrapped in the embrace, Atem's eyes began to flare with fury. He was going to destroy the Swordsmen if they got near his Goddess; he was going to make sure that no one would harm him again.
It was around that time that the two heard the roar of a motorcycle. They released their embrace as May turned around, seeing the motorcyclist park his ride near the entrance to the alleyway. May saw the person's eyes through his goggles...she knew who that person was. She slowly began to crawl backwards...trying to escape this person. She was trembling; whether it was due to fear or from the pain in her body, she didn't know.
"Valon..." She whispered. Atem snarled at the spiky haired motorcyclist; he was the one who delivered the crushing blow that caused his Goddess to fall.
"Looks like the little rat tried to find a mousehole to hide in." said Valon in a cold and cruel voice. "And I'm the cat that's about to play with its food before swallowing it."
Valon began to walk toward the Coordinator as May slowly began to stand up. May was about to run when her wrist got grasped once more, Valon pulling on it to make her stop.
"Please let go!" May exclaimed. "Let go of me!"
Atem pulled on May's other arm and the two warriors soon began playing a game of tug-of-war with the Goddess of Joy. May grit her teeth in an attempt not to scream; when either of them pulled on her arms, it only worsened the pain that she felt from the cuts. When he saw how much pain she was in, Atem loosened his grip...but it turned out to be a mistake.
Valon pulled May to him and shoved her to the ground, one hand on her neck. His eyes were in a blaze of fury as he continued to choke her.
"You took her." He hissed. "You took Mai away from me! And now I'll take you away from the ones you love!"
"S...stop..." May gasped out, choking for air. "I...I..."
Atem snarled and charged toward Valon...but Valon stood up, released his hand on May's neck and lifted her into the air. Atem stopped; he couldn't hurt his Goddess, and she was already in so much pain.
"Save yourself..." May croaked to Atem. "This is my fault after all..."
"You're damn right it is!" Valon snarled at her, tossing May to some of the garbage cans. They fell with a thud as May was sitting upon the moist trash and had a banana peel on her head. Slowly trying to stand up, May pressed her hands against the side of the building, her knees buckling from the pain they endured...
Which was made worse when Valon delived another kick to her ribs. May slid onto the ground, raising her arms to protect her body, but Valon snarled at that. He pushed the arms away and gripped onto her shirt, shoving her into the building. May let out a gasp, tears falling down her eyes as she tried her hardest not to scream.
"I don't care what Master Dartz and Raphael sees in you!" said Valon. "All I know is that you took Mai away from me! And I'm going to take your life if it's possible!"
May was released and she soon fell down onto the garbage; but it wasn't until she felt a punch to her face that she regained her sense of touch. Atem saw this and snarled; this had gone far enough!
"Goddess!" said Atem, bringing out his Kopesh sword. "When I give the signal, run! Run and don't look back!"
May just nodded her head, before getting a crushing blow to the stomach. Atem rushed toward Valon and tackled him to the ground, sword placed near his heart.
"RUN!" May didn't need to reply to that as she stood up and began to run. She was tired, but she had to...she had to get away from this place, she had to return to her friends, but most of all, she had to rest...
Once she left, Valon pushed Atem off of him, eyes still with fury.
"Why did you stop me, Pharaoh?" Valon hissed at the spirit as he stood up.
"I'm not the Pharaoh that you speak of, Swordsman." Atem replied, getting on one knee. "But I stopped you because you threatened to kill my Goddess. Just as you were angry when my Goddess defeated your 'girlfriend', I became enraged when you began to hurt her. You and your friends shall suffer for what you did to her."
"You're wrong!" Valon snapped. "That girl is nothing compared to Mai Valentine! Mai was a soul who was at the end of her rope, she was one who was lonely and misunderstood, tired of living under the shadow of her so-called friends. That girl is nothing but a little brat who wants attention!"
"The Goddess of Joy is a pure spirit who would not want harm to others!" said Atem. "The reason she dueled Mai was to find a way to save someone close to her, and that duel was to help knock some sense into her. Hopefully when Mai awakens, she'll ask her friends for forgiveness."
"Mai is never going to awaken." said Valon. "She'll never return unless the Great Leviathan returns, and as long as that girl has the Winged Dragon of Ra...then Mai will never come back."
"You're wrong." said Atem. "You have the power to return souls to their proper bodies, or do you not remember what happened back at Domino City?"
Valon had no idea what he meant...but then he remembed Raphael returning the souls of Rex and Weevil to their bodies after Yami defeated Grerimo. He then shrugged the memories away before turning to Atem...and for some strange reason, he had a green glow in his eyes...the same shade of green of the Orichalcos.
"You're lying..." Valon hissed. "You're LYING!"
"I am not." Atem replied. "However, I can tell that you're nothing but a coward for picking on my Goddess. She was hurt and defenseless, but you attacked her either way! What type of Swordsman are you to hurt her?"
Valon roared and charged at Atem who immediately rolled out of the way. The spiky haired Swordsman tried to aim a punch at the dark warrior, but Atem blocked it with his sword. Unfortunately, he did know the strength of his opponent, and felt Valon trying to push his way through.
Suddenly, something whiz by them. Valon turned to see Kura with some daggers in his hands, glaring at him.
"You hurt the Goddess of Joy and dared to defy Atem's words." The Thief Lord hissed. "Your hands caused us all so much pain..."
"I'm so sorry..." Valon said to Kura with sarcasm. "Now why not give me a paper cut and rub salt on it?"
"I'll give you more than just a small cut on your finger." Kura snarled at him. "I'll feed your heart to Khonsu for what you've done!"
"That's enough Kura." said Atem. "This is a fight we cannot win...we must return to the Goddess of Joy."
"Fine." said Kura, sheathing his dagger. He soon transformed into a mote of light, the same was beginning to happen to Atem.
"Come back here you cowards!" Valon screamed. Unfortunately, he got no response as both spirits vanished. He grit his teeth and let out a roar.
"I'll get you for this!" He hissed, eyes blazing that sickening Orichalcos green. "May...you'll pay for what you did to Mai Valentine..."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
May was running. Her breath came in short pants, her body aching with so much pain. She couldn't stop...she had to keep moving, she had to make sure that she got away from Valon. As she escaped the city, the heat of the desert started to burn her skin, sweat pouring down her face as she continued to burn. But at the same time, she started to feel dizzy...it must've been from all the blood she was losing. But she couldn't stand still...she had to run.
I have to get out of here...The message ran through her mind hundreds of times, the only reason that she kept running. She didn't focus on anything except for that statement...she couldn't afford to stop and think about something else. Right now, escape was what she needed.
Suddenly, she stopped running. She placed a hand on her forehead to help steady herself...but the loss of blood was becoming too much. She got on her knees, placing both hands on her head.
I can't stop running...I have to move... But her body was saying otherwise. The body couldn't handle all of the stress that May was going through; it told her to rest. She started to feel sick as she laid on her back, looking up at the blue sky.
Maybe for just a minute... She thought to herself. Then I'll run again...
Her eyes closed and there was nothing but darkness...she smiled a bit; the sleep was relieving her of all of her suffering, and the desert heat felt good on her body. She would stay like this for a little longer...after all...no one was going after her...
But her smile turned to a frown...she couldn't sleep. She had to move, she had to be strong...She had to find some way to stop this madness. Those Swordsmen...they hurt her: Mai, Valon, Alister, Raphael...each of them hurt her in some way or another, and she had to save them. The Orichalcos was hurting them, controlling them, and yet the Swordsmen wouldn't listen to her. She had to help them...
But I'm not strong enough...I don't have the power to help them... She recalled Valon choking her and punching her...they only aggravated the wounds and made her body become racked in pain. What did I do wrong? All I did was tell them the truth...
The truth? You did tell them your opinions, but they didn't accept them. However, there is a way to convince them...
May's eyes snapped open at the voice. She sat up, finding herself in a realm of shadows. She sat up and realized that she didn't feel so dizzy from when she was running in the desert. But that didn't matter at the moment...finding out where she was did.
"Who's there?" she asked. "And where am I?"
You are in the Shadows, my dear Goddess of Joy...do not worry, Valon shall not be harming you any time in the near future.
The voice was calm and soothing, like a mother lulling her baby to sleep. May was still looking around, trying to find whomever was speaking to her.
"How do you know about my situation with Valon?" asked May. "Have you been spying on me?"
You could say that...The voice replied. I've been watching you for quite some time, and I know that you have some unfinished business with the Swordsman.
"I do..." May replied. "They took Yugi's soul away, and they also hurt me." She stared at her sliced arms, clenching her fists and closing her eyes as she continued. "I know there's something wrong with Dartz, but they just wouldn't listen to me...in fact, I feel as if no one listens to me. Joey, Tristan, Téa, Duke, Rebecca...they wouldn't listen to me or Max about why we were here. We had to lie to them about many things...but it was for a good cause. If they found out about Yami's past as nothing but half of a person, and the fact that he was actually a wicked ruler than a good one...then it would break him apart.
"It's the same for the Swordsmen, particuarly for Raphael. I am the reincarnation of a girl who called herself the Guardian of the Sea, but Raphael truly believes I really am that Guardian. Valon and Alister don't make it better; they're all trapped in the past full of anger and hate and complain about their suffering...that they truly don't look ahead to happier times. As for Mai...she needs to learn that there are people that are there to help her, and that she shouldn't push them away. If she needed a shoulder to cry on, then she could rely on her friends to be those shoulders..."
You said that everyone does not listen to you...but what about that black haired boy?
"Mokuba?" asked May, opening her eyes to the darkness. "He listens to me...he cares for me...confidentially, I feel as if he's like my younger brother and I'm very greatful for that. Sure, I've only met him for about two days...but he's there for me, and I want to be there for him. After all, with me, Max and Mokuba together, nothing will stop us from destroying the Great Leviathan. Although..."
Although, what?
"I'm scared." May replied. "Those Swordsmen, what if they try to hurt me again? What if they try to hurt Max or Mokuba? It'll be all my fault...they don't deserve to suffer like I did...they're already suffering enough without me. All I want now is to be with them, to know that they're okay..."
But what happens if those Swordsmen hurt them? With you in your weakened state, all you can do is watch and see them be taken away...
"I don't want that!" May cried out. "I want to be strong, I want to stop all of this madness. I can't do anything though...I just can't..."
Tears fell down her eyes as she began to sob. All she wanted was to be with her family and friends, away from this madness. At the same time, something inside of her said that she needed to had to save the Swordsmen. After all she did to them, telling them that Dartz was using them in an attempt to escape, then the cuts with the knives, and the blows to her body...the threat that they were going to hurt her brother...she couldn't take it...Why did she have to go through this?
I can help you out...if you'll let me.
"You will?" asked May, wiping her tears away. "If you can, that would be great...no, I shall be indebted to you. All I want is to become strong, the stronger the better..."
Are you sure?
"Positive." said May, nodding her head.
Very well...let my power run through you, Goddess of Joy.
May closed her eyes, feeling all of her cuts and bruises going away. She felt renewed, she felt energized, she felt...slightly angry.
She opened her eyes and noticed something around her neck...it was the Orichalcos Stone...the same one she retreived from Bandit Keith from her first duel! But it shouldn't have been there; the last place she had it was in her waistpack. Then, it hit her.
"Wait!" May cried. "I don't want this! I don't want the Orichalcos!"
Too late... The voice hissed. You should've thought of that BEFORE you accepted my power. But no matter, I shall make you better...until you yourself are nothing more than a shadow of your former past.
May slowly stood up and found the Seal of Orichalcos circling around her. She gripped her head in pain as the Orichalcos appeared on her forehead.
"NO!" May screamed. "I will not join the darkness! I won't become a pawn to the Orichalcos!"
But aren't you part of the darkness yourself? You use Dark monsters in your deck—one of them being a dark version of the Egyptian God Horus. How can you be a Goddess of Joy and Happiness when you wield monsters of evil and darkness? And don't think that the monsters that aren't dark count...they are only a minority to the Dark Deck that you wield...
"I...I..." May stayed silent. She didn't know why, but she thought it was cool to have a Dark Monster deck. Atem and Kura were both Dark Monsters, the Gravekeeper's she got from the Game Shop were also Dark type monsters...Kuriboh was a Dark Monster...the voice was right...
Are you at a loss of words, Goddess of Joy? Good...it'll make the transformation so much easier...
May was surrounded by darkness, changing her blue clothes into black, white lining to red. Her eyes opened, becoming replaced with a crimson glow. Her Duel Disk even changed; instead of red and black, it was completely black with the Lifepoint counter looking like a black eye, the tray curved into a wicked scythe.
Welcome to the Orichalcos...as long as you have it with you, then you shall never feel pain again...
May grit her teeth in pain as she grasped onto her head. She didn't want this transformation. She didn't want to use the Orichalcos...she didn't care if her wounds wouldn't heal; it wasn't right to side with the force that she was facing. Her whole body radiated with white light, as the black and red coloring on her clothing began to disappear. The Seal of Orichalcos vanished from her forehead.
WHAT? The voice roared. How did you fight back?
May opened her eyes, crimson replaced with bright blue. She yanked the Orichalcos stone off of her neck, showing it to the darkness.
"Because my heart is pure." She replied. "Even with what you said, I know that I am not evil. I may have a deck filled with Dark monsters...but those monsters are also good. They want to stop the menance of the Orichalcos just as much as I do! So thanks for your offer...but I won't accept it! Take your stupid seal away from me and never, ever talk to me again!"
The voice roared as the Seal of Orichalcos shattered as did the stone. May soon felt the pain of her wounds returning, feeling herself becoming tired. Her body soon fell...but she didn't land on the 'ground', she was falling...
Goddess of Joy...Goddess of Joy, please wake up...
"Who's there?" asked May, straining to keep her eyes open. "Who's talking to me?"
It's Jirachi, Goddess of Joy... The voice replied. You must wake up...please don't succumb to the darkness...
"I'm too tired..." May said in response. "Just let me sleep...or at least take me to a place that will keep me safe."
I can take you, but you have to wish for it. Wish for it with all your might...
May nodded her head. "I wish...I wish that I..."
She paused. Where could she go? She couldn't return to Petalburgh in her condition, nor could she return to her brother with these wounds. No...she had to be somewhere away from all of this, to someone who could heal her and make her whole once more.
Then a name came to mind...she didn't know why, but somehow that person could help her. She closed her eyes as she told Jirachi her wish.
"I wish that I am with Seto Kaiba..." She whispered to the Wish Pokémon. "I wish that I was with him at this point in time..."
As you wish...Jirachi replied.
Then, May was swallowed by the light.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Valon was been in a very bad mood. After losing May, he had to unleash his pent-up aggression. So he went on a motorcycle ride across the desert to clear his head, but all he got were images of Mai trapped by the Orichalcos. He grit his teeth in anger as he recalled how she was defeated; by a blue blob of jelly who was saying something on the lines of 'Mana' or 'Mama'...whichever it was.
That was when he found Duke Devlin and Rebecca coming toward them. Rebecca—angry for what the Swordsmen did by taking Yugi away—immediatley challenged him to a duel. Duke also join in, making sure that Rebecca would be all right. This was perfect; if he gave up these souls to the Orichalcos, then the Great Leviathan would reward him by letting Mai return to her body.
Currently, the standing was at him with all of his lifepoints intact and no cards on the field, Duke having 1750 lifepoints with him also having no cards on the field, and Rebecca with Diamond Dragon (4,200/0) and one face down card on the field. It was his turn.
"This is the end." said Valon to his competitors. "I'm about to change the rules."
"Did he just draw what I think he just drew?" asked Duke.
"You're absolutely right!" said Valon. "I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!"
Placing the wicked card into play, the Seal soon surrounded the three duelists while a minituraized version of the Seal was soon emblazed on Valon's forehead, eyes basked in a crimson glow.
"This doesn't look good..." said Duke. "If our lifepoints go down to zero, we lose our souls!"
"Don't worry," said Rebecca. "My monster has more than enough Attack points to end this duel on the next turn. You just focus on what he's preparing."
"You better." said Valon, a wicked grin on his face. "Because here's where things get messy!"
Psychic Armor Head soon appeared on the field, then there were four more armor monsters: a silver armored gauntlet, a blue armored gauntlet, silver and blue metallic legs and a breastplate. Each of them had 0 Attack points and Defense Points— except for the blue armored gauntlet, which had 500 Defense points—but it soon changed once the energy of the Orichalcos became infused with the monsters.
"Time to use a card whose power is unmatched." Valon said with a laugh. "A card unlike any other in the name of Duel Monsters! For now, I activate my Armor Gravitation!"
Placing the Magic Card into the Duel Disk, a bolt of lightning soon struck his side of the field, Duke and Rebecca shielded their eyes from the light as Valon became wrapped in a blue aura. The armor soon covered his whole body, the Orichalcos shining brightly on the front of Psychic Armor Head.
When the light dimmed down, Duke and Rebecca were in shock, the only thought that was in their mind was that Valon had merged with his monsters.
"Like what you see?" asked Valon with a smirk ."You should, because this will be the last site you see before your souls are taken away."
"What do you mean?" asked Rebecca. "Even with the Orichalcos, your monsters only have 500 Attack Points! There's no way that you can defeat us with those weak cards."
"On the contrary," said Valon, raising his right arm into the air. "You see, my armor's special ability destroys all monsters on the field, and the damage comes out of our lifepoints."
"Are you nuts?" Duke exclaimed. "If you do that, your lifepoints will drop too. You'll also lose your soul to the Orichalcos."
"...No I won't." said Valon. "Now prepare yourself...here we go!"
Valon charged toward Diamond Dragon, his right arm charing power, sparks dancing across the monster.
"I don't think so!" said Rebecca, activating her face down card. "I activate my Mirror Force Trap Card!"
A shimmering barrier appeared in front of Duke and Rebecca, but Valon smirked either way.
"That card is useless!" He exclaimed, as the barrier shattered into pieces. Rebecca only looked in shock as Valon landed a punch at Diamond Dragon. The mighty beast let out a roar as it was destroyed, sending a beacon of light as a signal of its destruction. Duke and Rebecca screamed, their lifepoints dropping to 0.
"Looks like I win." said Valon, his Armor cards disappearing. "And now Great Leviathan, feast on these souls...and let me see Mai Valentine once more!"
The Seal began to shrink, taking the souls of his opponents. Duke and Rebecca didn't scream as they collapsed onto the ground. Then, all was still.
Valon smirked as he got back on his motorcycle, but as he did, he saw something peculiar. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him...but he saw May smiling at him. She let out a laugh then started to run away.
I've found you at last... said Valon, turning the ignition of his motorcycle on. It won't be long before I get my revenge...
He soon kicked on the gas, and began to follow his target, his eyes blazing with determination for his prey. No matter what happened, he was going to take May's soul away and finally complete his revenge. Then he and Mai would face Joey Wheeler together, then they were off to fight the world...
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ten minutes passed and eventually, May stopped running. She had her back to the motorcyclist as Valon soon released the brakes on his ride. He got off and removed his helmet before walking toward her.
"So, you decided to give up." said Valon. May didn't reply but stayed in silence. This caused Valon to become a little impatient.
"Will you at least look at me when I'm talking?" He asked, turning to her around. Unfortunately, that was a fatal mistake. May's face had a childish smile on her face, but her eyes were washed in a crimson glow. She let out a laugh as shadows wrapped around her body, dyeing her blue clothes into a dark shade of black, and the white parts of her outfit were bleeding in a shade of red. Valon stepped back, not liking the look in the young girl's eyes.
"W-who are you?" he asked. The girl giggled in response.
"I'm a shadow of the girl you're chasing after." She answered. "So I guess you can call me Shadow."
Valon instantly lifted her up into the air, but Shadow didn't mind. She still had that smile on her face, and she was laughing.
"You're going to pay for what you did to Mai!" Valon snapped at the girl. "So take your medicine!"
At that, Shadow stopped laughing, but she still had that smile on her face.
"Isn't it wrong for you to attack a poor defenseless girl like that?" asked Shadow. "But if you want to beat me, why not do so in a duel?"
"A duel?" asked Valon. "And why should I duel you?"
"Because," said Shadow. "If you duel me and win, then you do whatever you please. Attack me, punch me, kick me...I promise not to scream at all."
"And if you win?" asked Valon, eyeing the girl suspiciously.
"Well...we'll just wait and see, okay?" asked Shadow. "Now come on, let's duel!"
Valon dropped the girl onto the ground and activated his Duel Disk. Shadow did the same thing once she stood up.
"Let's duel!" said the two, as their lifepoint counters were set to 4,000.
"I'll go first!" said Shadow, drawing a card from her deck. "And I'll be starting off with the Magic Card known as Chaos Offering!"
A Magic Card appeared, depicting Miracle Flipper wrapped in tendrils of darkness in front of an altar.
"What the heck does that do?" asked Valon.
"It's simple really." Shadow replied. "I remove from play one card from both of our decks. So I'll sacrifice my Pot of Greed..."
She placed the green grinning pot into her waistpack (which Valon noticed that it was colored grey instead of yellow).
"And I'll get rid of...let's see..."
She soon saw a holographic display of Valon's cards. Scanning through them, she eventually giggled when she found it.
"Here it is!" She said. "I choose Psychic Armor Head!"
Valon's eyes widened. Without Psychic Armor Head, there would be no way to use any of his Armor Gravitation Cards. There would be no way for him to use all of his Armor cards. Plus, he never put any cards in his deck that returned cards that were removed from play back onto the field!
"And now that that's done." Shadow continued. "I'll be playing Shadow Banshee in Attack Mode!"
A gust of black feathers emerged and the monster soon appeared. She looked similar to the infamous Harpie Lady, but she was now dressed in a white tunic with chains covering her body, black feathery wings and soulless grey eyes...
But what really scared Valon was the fact that the monster looked so eerily close to Mai Valentine. No...it was Mai Valentine that was on Shadow's side of the field. (1,800/400)
"This can't be real!" Valon exclaimed. "How did you...is that really..."
"Of course it isn't Mai, silly." Shadow giggled. "But don't worry, my turn's almost over. I'll just be placing this one card facedown and end my turn."
A facedown card appeared behind the female monster, her eyes staring at Valon coldly. The spiky haired Swordsman drew a card from his deck. He was in trouble; he relied on Psychic Armor Head to help him out, but now he wouldn't be able to do anything without it. All he could do was stall for time.
"I'll be playing Black Hole Shield in Defense Mode." He stated, playing the card. "And that's all."
A silver and blue metallic arm soon appeared in front of the Armor duelist. (0/0)
Shadow only laughed at the site.
"That's it?" She said. "Oh well, if that's what you have to do..."
She then drew a card.
"Then you're going to suffer!" said Shadow. "I'm playing Card Destruction! So now both of us have to discard our hands!"
Valon scowled as he discarded his entire hand, drawing five new cards. Shadow, on the other hand, only had to draw four.
"Next," Shadow continued. "I'm activating my facedown card!"
The facedown card flipped open, revealing a girl dressed in a white dress with silver hair and red eyes singing upon an island in the ocean. Surrounding her were the wrecks of many ships.
"This is my handy Siren's Song Magic Card!" said Shadow. "And this can only be activated if I have a Dark Monster on the field! It lets me take control of one monster until the end of your next turn!"
"What?" Valon exclaimed. "But that means..."
"Shadow Banshee," said Shadow. "Take control of that arm!"
Shadow Banshee closed her eyes and let a note escape her mouth. Valon had to cover his ears to block the sound as his Armor monster vanished. It soon covered Shadow's right arm.
"And I'm not done!" she added. "I'm sacrificing this arm for my Penumbral Gunner!"
The Armor card vanished as a new monster emerged from the shadows. It was dressed in a red shirt with a black trench coat with many belts strapped on them, along with leather pants with silver lining—Valon thought that it looked like there was barbed wire wrapped around his legs—and black boots. What made him scary was the fact that he had a black sniper rifle in his hands, and that he also looked like Alister. The only difference was that the monster had some sort of robotic eyepiece covering his right eye and the left side of his face looked like what one could find underneath some sort of human android. (1,600/2,000)
"And now you have a card based on Alister?" asked Valon with some fear in his voice. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" asked Shadow. "I am the one who shall take revenge for everyone who harmed me! And you shall be first!
"So now...Shadow Banshee, attack with Cross Slash, Penumbral Gunner blow him away with Waning Blast!"
Shadow Banshee flew into the air, slashing Valon with her claws. It was then followed up by a bullet to his stomach, causing the Swordsman to clutch onto it in pain. His lifepoint counter stated that he only had 600 lifepoints left.
"That's 3,400 lifepoints down the drain!" said Shadow. "But I'm not done yet! I'll be playing Double Summon to play one more monster!"
A third monster appeared dressed in a black robe and a blue cape with a strange headpiece covering her platinum blonde hair. In her hands were switches, and a smirk was on her black lips. (1,700/1,600)
"Meet my Shadowpriestess of Ohm!" Shadow continued. "And she has an interesting effect! If I sacrifice one Dark monster on my side of the field, I can inflict 800 points of direct damage!"
"But if you do that, that means..." Valon's eyes widened as Shadow laughed.
"Game over!" said Shadow. "So now, I sacrifice Shadow Banshee to end the duel!"
Shadow Banshee vanished as Shadowpriestess of Ohm soon rushed toward Valon. Valon screamed as the Spellcaster blasted him with dark magic, his lifepoints dropping to 0.
"I win!" said Shadow, clapping her hands. The monsters soon vanished as Valon slowly started to stand up.
"You cheated..." Valon hissed at her. "I want a rematch!"
"Sorry," said Shadow. "But we made a deal, and I'm going to keep it that way."
She snapped her fingers as a figure emerged behind Valon. He gasped as he saw what it was: it was him, dressed in armor like one found on a knight with a red Eye of Horus emblazed on his chest. He had crimson eyes and three small horns on his forehead, his brown hair was spikier than his counterpart's and on the back of his hands were two red, crescent moons. Surrounding him were five swords floating in mid-air.
"Eclipse Knight," said Shadow. "Be a dear and keep him onto the ground. This shouldn't take long."
"As you wish." said the Warrior. Valon didn't know what to do when he was pushed onto the ground, while tendrils of darkness pinned his arms and legs, making him unable to move. Shadow took this time to remove the Swordsman's deck from his Duel Disk and shuffle it.
"Here's what we're going to do." said Shadow. "I'm going to be drawing cards from your deck, and for every Armor Monster I find, a surprise will happen! This will be fun!"
"You psycho!" Valon screamed at Shadow. "Give me back my deck!"
Shadow ignored the cry as she drew a card. She then showed it to Valon.
"First off, is your Active Guard!" She stated. "And this is where the fun begins!"
Valon didn't understand what he meant when he suddenly felt a blow to his stomach. He then felt another punch to his ribs, then the feeling of someone kicking them. He grit his teeth in pain as Shadow drew another card.
"Second is Advanced Shield."
Valon soon felt like something ran through his arm. He looked at his left arm, seeing blood falling down his wrist from a cut.
"The next three are as follows: Psychic Armor Head, Over Boost and Buster Knuckle."
Valon gasped when he felt invisible arms choking him, then he felt someone deliver a kick to his legs. Finally he felt something slice deep into his right arm, blood pouring out of the wounds. He took a deep inhale of air as he looked into Shadow's eyes.
"Do you understand now?" asked Shadow.
"I understand that you're crazy!" Valon screamed at her. Eclipse Knight frowned at this as he leaned down and began to choke his counterpart once more. Valon began to gasp for air as the monster tightened his grip.
"We're giving you a taste of your own medicine." The knight hissed at him. "Each Armor monster represents part of the body. And for every Armor monster that my mistress draws, you'll feel it. Every slice, every punch, every kick...until we reach the last monster."
"And we have ten more to go!" Shadow giggled. "This is going to be so much fun!"
As Eclipse Knight released his grip on Valon, for the first time in his life, he understood what fear was...
It was standing right in front of him and it wasn't going to go away that easily.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kaiba was sitting on one of the chairs in one of the Kaiba Corp. jets that was flying across the sky to Florida. He was going over his deck, making sure it was ready for when he fought the thugs that caused Yami to lose his title of King of Games. But at the same time, something occupied his mind...back at his office he was angry that Yami lost his title...but then that message rang into his head.
"Yami's not the disgrace, you are!"
That girl—Mokuba said her name was May, if he recalled—actually stood up to him. May stood up to him, gave him a good argument on why his rival lost his title and not once looked as if she was begging or pleading with him for some of the stupid 'hocus pocus' that Yugi would always blab on about. He had to admit that aside from the King of Games, no one else had ever bothered to even twist those words around. And even if there were people that did change his mind—like Ishizu or Joey—their words would go to the surface, but weren't enough to penetrate through. The CEO quickly noted that May was someone to remember for future encounters should the need arise.
Suddenly, he heard a thud. Standing up, he walked to the room behind him, seeing May sprawled out on the floor, sweat pouring down her face. He was about to ask her how she got on the plane (As the plane was in the air and the only people who were on it at the time were him and the airplane crew), but stopped when he saw all the wounds on her arms. He immediately got on his knees and turned her to the side, seeing that she was on the verge of passing out. His blue eyes trailed down the arms—slashes were shown on both of them, one of the arms were clutching her ribs.
Placing a hand on her forehead, Kaiba felt that she was burning up. The open cuts on her arms were attracting bacteria, and it looked like she had been out in the sun for so long, making her look terrible.
"What happened?" He asked himself. "How did she get all of these wounds? It looked like she got into a giant brawl with other people."
May moaned a bit, her vision being blurry so she couldn't see anything. Everything was a mesh of light and it was hard to focus. She knew she was on something solid...but she didn't know where she was.
"Where...am I?" she moaned before leaning toward the CEO, eyes completely shut. She then became silent once more. Noting the wounds, Kaiba pressed a gentle finger on one near the Coordinator's wrist. At the touch, May's eyes jolt open as she tried to sit up, but the bruises on her ribs prevented her from doing so. She was trembling, trying to say something...but instead, she only squeaked in pain.
"Don't worry..." said Kaiba in a soft and gentle tone. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to bandage you up."
"You...are?" asked May, her voice very minute.
"Yeah, I will."
Kaiba gently picked the Pokémon Coordinator up, cradling her in his arms as he brought her to the sofa on the plane. He gently lowered the hand that was clutching to her ribs, lifting the shirt to see if there was any damage. His eyes widened when he found a large purple-blue colored bruise near her ribs...most likely from someone punching her. He then noticed her legs...her knees were splotched with bruises from someone kicking them. From the looks of it, it must've happened at least under an hour ago, maybe even two.
Kaiba placed a hand on her forehead as he stood up, traces of the fever still lingering on. He then went to one of the cabinets and pulled out a first-aid kit. In his mind, he was wondering how she got all of those wounds; but it didn't matter. What mattered at that point in time was getting those wounds disinfected and making sure that she got the bruises checked.
He soon returned to May's side, pulling out a couple of bandages, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and some cotton balls onto the floor. He then pulled out a box of cooling strips and brought one out before placing it on May's forehead. May noticed something cool was pressed on her forehead and slowly opened her eyes. She turned to her left, seeing the CEO grasping onto her left wrist. At the site of that, she tried to pull away, memories of Raphael snatching that same wrist playing over and over in her mind. She was imagining that it was tight, so that no matter how hard she pulled and tugged, it wouldn't let go. At the same time, it was only aggravating the wounds she had on her arm.
"Don't...not again..." May whimpered. "Please...don't..."
Noticing May's reaction, Kaiba lowered his hand so that it was now grasping onto May's own. The Coordinator saw this and her breathing had calmed down.
"Is that better?" asked the CEO. May nodded her head in reply, a small smile on her face. Kaiba took this as a sign.
"All right," He stated. "I'm going to start working on bandaging our arms. Can you manage?"
May nodded her head in reply. Kaiba placed a hand on her forehead, noting that it wasn't as warm as beore. Now that the fever was starting to cool down, the first thing that had to be done was getting the cuts disinfected. He removed the cap of the bottle of rubbing alcohol and dabbed one of the cotton balls in the disinfectant. He the placed it on one of May's wounds...
May cringed at the touch, eyes shut as tears began to fall down her face. She was trembling in fear...but Kaiba grasped onto her hand to calm her down. Those teary blue eyes...Kaiba recalled Mokuba having those same type of eyes whenever he was hurt. But with a hand grasping his own and the sincerity of someone telling things that it would be all right, the younger boy would feel much better.
"It's going to be all right." said Kaiba. "Can you trust me?"
May slowly nodded her head as she grasped onto his hand once more. Kaiba took it as a signal to continue, so he did.
"If they start to hurt, tell me." said the CEO. "Squeeze my hand if it'll help you out."
He lightly rubbed the alcohol covered cotton ball on the wounds. They stung, but when they did, May would reply by squeezing onto the CEO's hand. Eventually, both arms were disinfected, and all that was left were the bandages.
"Can you sit up?" asked the CEO. May nodded her head, one hand on the cooling strips as she sat up. Kaiba then took the time to wrap the bandages around her left arm, the linen hugging the skin. It was if Kaiba was mummifying her arms as they went down to her gloved hand before tying a knot to keep the bandages together.. Kaiba then repeated the procedure for the right arm—May used her newly bandaged left arm to grasp onto the cooling strip—until he could no longer see any of the wounds. Now they were safe from harm.
"For this next part, I need you to remove your shirt." said the CEO after some time. "Can you do that?"
May hesitated, and she quickly shook her head.
"I just want to bandage your bruises. If I don't, then it would probably worsen if you go through anymore physical stress.
Slowly, May nodded her head in reply and placed the cooling strip to the side. She then grasped her shirt, pulling it over so the CEO could get a good look at her frail torso.. As the blue shirt went over her neck, Kaiba saw the bruises that were inflicted onto the young girl's body that was under a grey sports bra. He gently applied pressure to the wound, but that only caused May to grit her teeth and closed her eyes...but she soon relaxed when the pressure disappeared. Kaiba then pulled out a roll of athletic tape.
"Now try and exhale as much as you can, that way I can place the tape around your ribs."
May took in a deep breath, then let out a long and lengthy exhale. Once she had stopped exhaling, she held her breath as Kaiba began to wrap the tape around her ribs. It circled once...twice...three times before it was tied. May—adjusting to the feel of the bandages on her stomach—began to breathe once more. She lowly reached for her shirt, but Kaiba took it for her, helping her get her arms through her sleeves. Then, she grasped onto the cooling strip and laid her head on the sofa.
"I'll be back with some ice for your knees, so stay put." said Kaiba, packing the first-aid kit away. "Will you be all right?"
May nodded her head before looking at the top of the plane. After all that she went through, all she wanted was to rest.
"...Thank you." She whispered to him. Kaiba only nodded his head as he removed his trenchcoat, handing it to the girl. May looked at it curiously.
"Get some rest." He simply told her. "We won't be going anywhere for a while. And when you're ready to talk about what happened, I'll listen."
May nodded her head as she closed her eyes, drifting off into a peaceful sleep.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Last card!" said Shadow, drawing one more card from the deck. "And this is your second Active Guard!"
Valon screamed as he was delivered another crushing blow to his ribs. He was in so much pain; his arms were cut and had blood pouring down, his body was bruised, he had been choked and throttled and pushed onto the ground. It hurt...
"Please..." Valon begged to Shadow. "I beg you, please end this suffering..."
"Sorry, Valon." said Shadow. "But we had a deal, and I'm going to finish it."
She pulled out a dagger from her waistpack. The blade was completely black, and looked pretty menacing.
"This dagger represents the blades that cut through me." She explained to Valon, ruby eyes staring into the scared blue orbs of the Swordsman. And with this, you shall be plunged into your deepest fears.
"And apparently, you're not a big fan of fire, are you?"
Shadow got on her knees, dagger raised into the air.
"Don't do this..." Valon whimpered. "Please...don't..."
"Bye bye!" said Shadow, plunging the dagger into his heart. Valon let out a scream that seemed to echo across the barren landscape before becoming silent. His face had a look of fear, his skin pallid, his body bruised...it was if he had been tortured before someone ended his misery by ending his life.
Shadow pulled the dagger out of Valon's chest, licking the blade slowly as if it were a delicious lollipop. She let out a nice 'mmm' at the taste; from what she could tell, Valon had the taste of something souldering of smoke. It made her hunger for more.
Eclipse Knight stared into the unfocused and lost eyes of the Swordsman. He could see what he was going through, Valon being consumed by flames that would not burn out, having his flesh sizzle and cook and melt away, and just when he thought he could die...the cycle would repeat again. It was ironic in a sense; the fire was used to help smelt metal for his own armor, but now it was used to melt away the 'armor' that Valon had. He truly was nothing more than a coward.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" asked Shadow. Eclipse Knight nodded his head. "Now let's get going...there are two other people that I need to feed on."
"Shall we bring the body with us?" asked Eclipse Knight. Shadow shook her head.
"Nah, let him rest against the desert sun." Shadow replied. "It should teach him a very important lesson or two..."
"When you play with fire, you get burned. And when you mess with me, you'll never be the same again."
The two of them vanished...and all that was left of the encounter was Valon's frightened face and his damaged body being warmed by the desert sun.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chaos Offering (Magic Card)
Type: Magic/Normal
Attribute: -
Level: -
Attack: -
Defense: -
Image: Miracle Flipper wrapped by tendrils of darkness upon a sacrifical table
Description: Remove from play one card from your deck and one card from your opponent's deck.
0
0
Shadow Banshee (Monster Card)
Type: Winged Beast/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 4
Attack: 1,800
Defense: 400
Description: If this card destroys a monster in battle, inflict damage to your opponent's lifepoints equal to half of the destroyed monster's attack ponts.
0
0
Siren's Song (Magic Card)
Type: Magic/Normal
Attribute: -
Level: -
Attack: -
Defense: -
Image: A woman with white hair and red eyes singing on an island. Surrounding the island are the wrecks of many ships
Description: You can only play this card if you have one Dark monster on the field. Take control of one of your opponent's monsters until the end of their next turn.
0
0
Penumbrl Gunner (Monster Card)
Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 5
Attack: 1,600
Defense: 2,000
Description: If you sacrifice one Dark monster on the field, you can remove from play one Magic or Trap card on the field. If you sacrifice two Dark Monsters on the field, you can remove from play one Monster card on the field.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
May: I hope we can figure out how to stop the Great Leviathan and soon...
Max: Well, all we can do now is hope for the best. Right now you're not the only one who needs to wake up.
Mokuba: We need to save May and stop the Swordsmen from getting Ra by any means necessary.
Max: What we need to do first is calm you down, Mokuba. You're in no condition to do anything if you're in a panic.
Mokuba: I'm not panicking! I'm fine!
Max: No you aren't!
May: Guys, stop arguing...if you want to settle this why not duel each other? You two need the experience.
Max: That's a great idea! That should ease our minds off of all this madness!
Mokuba: Next time, "Between my Brother and Me" chapter 18: "Getting Prepared for a War"
May: All right, it's time to go! Magicians vs. Celstial Spirits! Who shall win?
Max: Get ready, I'm about to blow you away!
Mokuba: Not unless I send you to the stars first!