All right, sorry on the delay on the last chapter...I hope it won't happen again.
But enough about that, we're nearing the end of this story and it's time for another duel!
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Between my Brother and Me
by Green Phantom Queen
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Chapter 25-The Curtain of Peril Rises
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"Can this thing go any faster?" exclaimed Tristan. "We have to find where Joey and May sped off to."
"This is the best I can get it at," Kaiba snapped back. "We're carrying five unconscious bodies in the back and one of them is of a person I don't want!"
"It's not like we could just leave Alister back on the road, Seto!" Mokuba remarked. "But the fact that he was being brainwashed after his soul got returned..."
"We know, and we saw it with our own two eyes." said Yami. "Although, I'm also worried about something."
"What do you mean, Pharaoh?" asked Téa.
"If Dartz is bringing back the souls of his followers, then that means we only have two more people to face." Yami answered. "Mai and Arkana."
"Arkana will be going after me, that's for sure." said Max, staring at his Dark Magician. "He'll want to get his deck back...and he'll want vengeance on how I humiliated him."
"Mai will be going after May then." Mokuba added. "After all, thanks to Manaphy, May was able to escape having her soul taken."
"But Raphael got to her and hurt her!" Mokuba growled, his eyes shining with bolts of white light. "When I get my hands on him, he'll pay for hurting May!"
As he stated that, black feathers began to sprout from his back, as if to respond to his anger. The Defender of the King was grinding his teeth in anger at the thought of Raphael going as far as attacking the poor girl and stealing her soul.
"Calm down, Mokuba." said Tristan. "We're just as upset as you are about this whole incident, but grinding our teeth and making death threats won't solve anything!"
Kaiba immediately pressed the breaks on the RV, catching everyone's attention. He left the driver's seat and exited the vehicle.
"Kaiba, what are you doing?" asked Yami. "We have to..."
"Find where May and the mutt went off to, I know." said Kaiba, interrupting the King of Games. "But I found one of the people we were searching for."
Yami looked outside, seeing Joey's unconscious body lying against the road. At the side of the road was the white motor scooter he and May took to reach Dartz.
"I was right..." Mokuba whispered. "Raphael defeated Joey and now he has May! He's going to pay..."
The black feathers began to expand, becoming small feathery wings as the Defender of the King began to clench his fists. Meanwhile, Kaiba was going through Joey's deck.
"Strange..." He murmured. "There's no dragon."
"Hermos must've been taken by Raphael and May went to follow him!" Téa suggested. "Or maybe...maybe May had it, tried to escape and Raphael captured her!"
"Either way, we're in trouble." said Yami. "If Dartz has May, then he'll use her power to bring the Great Leviathan out. And once Dartz has the last Egyptian God..."
"Dartz isn't going to get it!" Kaiba snapped. "Not if we can get to him first!"
Suddenly there was a loud roar. Everyone looked up, seeing Hermos flying over head in the night sky.
"W-what's going on?" Tristan exclaimed. "I thought Hermos couldn't be summoned without Joey."
"Which means someone was able to summon it, and that means Hermos will lead us to wherever May and Raphael are!" said Max. "Come on!"
"Hang in there, Joey." said Yami, as he and Kaiba carried his unconscious body into the RV. "We're going to get your soul back...we promise..."
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May was running, still trying to figure out how the heck that happened. She was just faking it...hoping that it would scare Raphael off, but it worked. While the Swordsman was distracted, she ran, praying that Raphael didn't decide to follow her. Previously placing Hermos in her deck
How the heck did that happen? May asked herself. I never pulled the sword out of the dragon...but now Hermos is in my possession, and I was still able to summon it...it was weird. But I can't think about that, I have to figure out a way to escape Raphael before...
Her thoughts were interrupted when her vision was covered by white smoke and she began falling down a hole. She closed her eyes, expecting her falling to her death...
When she was slowly descending down from the sky and onto the rooftop of a building. Once her feet hit solid ground, May opened her eyes, finding herself at an unusual place.
"Wha...how did I get here?" She asked to herself. "And where am I?"
"You're on my stage now, Goddess of Joy." answered a voice. "And soon enough, your soul will be there to feed the Great Beast!"
May turned around, seeing Arkana appear, a malicious grin on his face, with green pinpoints staring at May behind his mask. She snarled as she pointed a finger at him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. "I thought my brother sealed you away!"
"Ah, he did. But a magician always finds a way to escape." Arkana answered back. "And this magician got something precious of yours."
"What do you mean by that?" asked the Coordinator. "Ra and Hermos are with me, and-" she pointed to her Duel Disk. "I don't see a card missing from my deck. So stop filling my head with lies."
"Very well then." said Arkana, bringing out a deck from his sleep and placing it into his Chaos Duel Disk. "But I hope you're ready, the curtain's about to fall on your dueling career!"
"We'll see about that." said May, as both of their decks were being shuffled by their Duel Disks. "It's time to duel!"
(Arkana: 4,000)
(May: 4,000)
"As the presenter, I'll go first." said Arkana. "I'll first start off by summoning Dark Coston onto the field in Attack Mode."
Two black ghosts connected by an energy cord appeared, sticking their blue tongues at May. (1,700/1,600)
"Then, I'll play Double Summon and sacrifice Double Coston for something more appropriate for the two of us."
"What, you're summoning a Dark Magician?" asked May.
"A mighty suggestion, but I'm not using him this time. However, the monster I'll use might be someone familiar to you, Goddess of Joy. For now I sacrifice my Double Coston to summon Dark Horus onto the field!"
"What did you say?" May screamed, seeing Double Coston being replaced by her faithful dragon. Dark Horus let out a mighty screech, unfurling its wings as it stared at May with its cold, yellow eyed glance. (3,000/1,800)
"Amazed, right?" asked Arkana. "But enough about that, I'll be placing one card face down and end my turn. You're up, and try to impress me."
May gulped as she drew a card. Dark Horus and Double Coston were part of a strategy she used when she dueled against Bandit Keith...was Arkana using a different deck that used her old strategies against her? Or was there something, something horrible and something that made her terrified, something that she didn't want to admit, that was making her nervous?
Stay calm, May... She told herself. He must've gotten those cards back at that place you got yours while stuck at Paradius...yeah, that's it...so just stall for now.
"I'll be placing one monster face down in defense mode, and one card face down." said the Goddess of Joy, two cards appearing on her side of the field. "Your move."
"A weak start, but soon enough, the stage will be set." said Arkana, drawing a card. "And now, I shall play my Pot of Greed. With it, I draw two cards."
"I know what that card does." May snapped back as Arkana drew two more cards. "Everyone in the whole world who plays Duel Monsters knows what Pot of Greed does."
"But you're one of the only people who knows what this card does, don't you?"
Arkana smirked as he showed May one of the cards he had drawn—the Seal of Orichalcos. Soon enough, the Seal was placed and expanded beneath both of the competitor's feet, while a miniature seal appeared on the magician's forehead.
"Scared yet?" asked Arkana. "Because thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos, my Dark Horus gains an additional 500 Attack Points!"
Dark Horus let out a roar, the Seal appearing on its forehead, and its eyes turning from bright yellow to a deep blood red. (3,000/1,800) -) (3,500/1,800)
"And I'm not done." Arkana grinned. "Presenting the first magician to perform, I announce the arrival of Seth-Priest of Dragons to arrive!"
"W...what did you just say?" May asked, this time, in a soft and scared voice. Out of all the cards she didn't want to see be in play...it was one of her own monsters. "No...No, you couldn't have!"
"But I had no other choice." Arkana replied. "I lost my old deck, so I had to replace it with the closest one I could find. So with a sleight of hand, I was able to get this mighty deck."
"But that means..." May gasped as it was being pieced together. "OH NO!"
"Appear to me, Seth and become fused with the Orichalcos!" Arkana screamed. "Show me your true power against your weak and pathetic Goddess of Joy!"
Arriving in a burst of light, May could only gasp as she saw the High Priest appear on Arkana's side of the field. He let out a roar, gripping his head in pain before letting his arms collapse to his sides. The Orichalcos appeared on his forehead, a red tint on his blue eyes and a wicked grin on his face. (1,700/1,600 -) (2,200/1,600)
"And that's not all," Arkana continued. "Seth, summon three 'White Dragons' and absorb their power right now!"
"As you command." Seth replied, raising his rod into the air. Soon enough, three white dragons appeared, crouched in Defense Mode and all with the Orichalcos on their foreheads. (0/0) -) (500/0 x3). Even more so, Seth's attack strength went up by 1,500, raising it to 3,700.
"It may have cost me 1,500 lifepoints, but it's more than a price to pay in order to defeat you." Arkana grinned. "And now the first attack!
"Dark Horus, attack your former mistress with Dark Flare Blitz!"
Dark Horus opened its jaws, releasing a gout of black flames that incinerated May's face down monster. The card flipped open, revealing Mystic Tomato. (1,400/1,100)
"You destroyed my Mystic Tomato, Arkana." said May. "And because of that, I'll summon another Mystic Tomato onto the field."
Another grinning tomato appeared, in place of the previous one. (1,400/1,100)
"No matter." said Arkana. "I still have a magician to use. So Seth, attack with your Goddess of Joy with White Light!"
"Seth...don't do it!" May cried, seeing the Dragon Priest, raising his arm into the air. "Please...open your eyes..."
Seth ignored her as he fired a beam of magic at the Mystic Tomato, causing the Plant monster to become nothing but pulp.
"I activate Mystic Tomato's effect once more." May stated solemnly. "I'm summoning Gravekeeper's Curse onto the field in Defense Mode!"
The Gravekeeper appeared, his black crook levitating in thin air. (800/800)
"And when Gravekeeper's Curse is Special Summoned onto the field, you lose 500 lifepoints."
Gravekeeper's Curse chanted something as a bolt of black lightning hit Arkana square in the chest. Needless to say, the magician wasn't laughing.
"You can try and resist believing in what you're seeing. But your cards don't listen to you anymore, Goddess of Joy." sneered Arkana. "And before I end this turn, I activate your—or should I say, my—Elemental Absorber!"
The face down card lifted, revealing four wire diamonds with four orbs in the middle of them, as bolts of lightning ran through them.
"Oh no..." May gasped. "If you remove from play a monster in your hand, I can't attack with any monster that has the sacrificed monster's attribute!"
"Exactly." replied Arkana. "And by removing this pathetic creature in my hand...then every single monster in your deck that has that attribute can't attack!"
Arkana showed the card to May, revealing that it was her Kuriboh. The Coordinator stared in shock as it was placed into one of the Magician's sleeves.
No... May thought to herself. That means every Dark Monster in my deck can't attack...and my Gravekeeper's deck relies on Dark monsters!
"I'll end my turn at that." said Arkana. "Now are you going to sit there and look like a trout out of water, or are you going to duel?"
"I'm going to duel." May replied, drawing a card. "We're just getting started."
(Arkana: 2,000)
(May: 4,000)
May gulped as she saw her monsters...out of all the dirty things that Dartz had to pull, this was it. She let her guard down and let someone who sided with the Orichalcos take her deck and was now using it for his own evil needs. Two of her faithful monsters now under the Orichalcos...it was terrible.
Free us...
May gasped, looking up to see Seth grasping onto his head in pain. The Orichalcos was on his forehead, but the look of hurt and sorrow and confusion on his face was what hurt her the most. The fact that she could just sense that he was being tortured was hurting him even more.
All of us...save us, Goddess of Joy...this man plans on summoning it...please...stop him before it happens...
May wanted to ask what it was, but kept her mouth shut, slowly nodding her head. She had to save all of the cards in her deck, before the Orichalcos tainted them.
All right... May thought to herself, seeing the cards in her hand. The monster in my hand is immune to Arkana's Trap...but I have to be very lucky to summon it...it's hard to summon Level 7 monsters if you don't have a spare monster on the field. Here goes...
"I activate the Magic Card, Interpretation of the Oracle." May cried. "And it goes like this: I call the name of a card—be it Magic, Trap or Monster—if it's a Monster, I summon it onto the field and destroy one of your monsters. If it's Magic, I gain 1,500 lifepoints. If it's Trap, then I get to draw two more cards.
"However, if I'm wrong, I lose half of my lifepoints and must send my hand to the graveyard. Are you ready?"
"Risking your life for a stupid trick like that? You really are at the end of your rope." said Arkana. "Let's see what you've got."
The Magic card appeared, showing Atem about to slay Jouno with his sword, which was actually a vision seen in a pool of water. May grasped onto the top card of her deck and closed her eyes.
"I call Monster!" She announced, drawing the card. May slowly opened one eye, eyes full of shock at what she drew.
"Well?" asked Arkana. "What was the result?"
"This!" May cried, placing a card on her Duel Disk. "I summon Dharc the Dark Charmer in Defense Mode!"
A swarm of shadows rose as a young boy with brown hair dressed in a tan cloak, a handcuff wrapped around his left wrist, black rolled up jeans, white bandages around the legs and boots appeared, a bored look in his eyes. In his hand was a black staff, topped with a skull of some Winged-Beast Monster, and on his shoulder was a Meda Bat. Surrounding him were wisps of darkness. (500/1,500)
"And because I summoned Dharc, I can destroy one monster!" May continued. "So Dark Horus goes into the graveyard!"
Dharc raised his staff into the air, staring into the eyes of Dark Horus. He then grinned as a stream of fire struck the titanic dragon, Dark Horus melting from the flames.
"And with two monsters on the field, I sacrifice them both to summon Nefertem, Lord of the Dark Lotus onto the field in Attack Mode!"
Both Spellcasters raised their staffs as a storm of Lotus petals camouflaged them. Then they dispersed, revealing a man with long black hair dressed in a silver tunic, clutching a black lotus flower in one hand, a calm look in his grey eyes. (2,900/1,100)
May tried to hide her blush when she saw Nefertem turn to his Goddess of Joy and got on one knee, taking her hand into his own and kissed it gently.
It is nice to see you again after all this time, Goddess of Joy. A soft and gentle voice rang in her mind. I am glad that I can serve you once more...
"Okay..." May replied, her face turning a deep shade of red. "And now, I attack!"
"Hold on." said Arkana. "You may have a strong monster, but it's a Dark type. And as long as Elemental Absorber is in play, he can't attack!"
"I agree with you, Arkana." said May. "Nefertem is a Dark Monster...but only if he's in my hand or graveyard!"
"W-what did you say?" gasped Arkana.
"You heard me!" said May. "Nefertem is a Light monster when he's on the field, and that means he's immune to Elemental Absorber! I doubt you have a Scroll of Bewitchment on you, right?"
"H-how do you know?" asked Arkana.
May frowned, anger and fury blazing in her blue eyes.
"Who else created that deck?" She asked. "I know just about every card in that deck and which cards that aren't in it. But you should know that if you lose something, you keep a backup. I usually used my Ancient Pharaoh deck for duels, but kept my Gravekeeper's for such an occasion. You may have taken my deck, but you aren't going to say that its yours.
"Nefertem, slice one of those dragons down with your Blade of the Lotus!"
The lotus in Nefertem's hand began to grow a blade as lotus petals wrapped around his body and became wings. Nefertem's eyes began to glow red as he flew toward one of the White Dragon tokens. With a clean cut, the dragon disappeared, and Seth's Attack Score went down by 500.
"I'm ending my turn at that." said May. "Your move."
"You sound so confident for someone so broken." Arkana replied drawing a card. "You say that you can handle all of this, but words mean nothing when it comes to action."
"What are you getting at?" asked May.
"I'm just getting your seat warm for when I summon one of your precious monsters." Arkana answered. "Because when I sacrifice one of these tokens, I'll be bringing out your beloved angel!"
May gasped, eyes widening in surprise as one of the White Dragon tokens vanished. In its place was Belial-Marquis of Darkness. (2,800/2,400) -) (3,300/2,400)
"I'm not done." Arkana continued. "If you're thinking that your face down cards will save you, think again! I activate the Magic Card, Anti-Magic Arrows! And with this card activated, you can't activate your facedowns until the end of my turn!"
A Magic Card appeared, revealing arrows heading toward a Duel Monsters Card. Then, hundreds of arrows flew from the card and stabbed at May's face down card.
Oh no... May thought to herself. I'm going to lose 3,100 lifepoints from this attack! I can't save myself this time!
"Belial, attack Nefertem now with Divine Blade!" Arkana shouted.
Belial smirked and swooped into the air and brought his sword down on Nefertem, the Lotus Lord screaming in pain as he vanished.
"And Seth, show me your loyalty by attacking your Goddess directly!"
Seth slowly raised his rod into the air. His eyes, although tinted with red, were blank to represent that the real priest was no longer there...instead, there was nothing but a shell of his former self.
"Don't do this..." May whimpered, knowing that nothing could save her.
"Ah, the little girl tries to save herself by using words of nothingness." Arkana snickered. "But those words are exactly worth nothing. Seth belongs to me, and I am his master. And I command him to attack directly!"
May's eyes widened as a blast of white light was fired from the rod. She didn't even use her Duel Disk to block the attack...
As she let out a scream when the attack hit her stomach.
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Mokuba screamed in pain, tossing and turning on the bed as he tried to calm himself down. There was nothing but darkness...darkness that was choking his soul and wanted nothing more than to devour it whole until there was nothing left.
"We have to do something and fast." said Max, pressing a hand on Mokuba's forehead, the Defender of the King being restrained by Kaiba and Téa (Tristan was driving the RV at this time), and Yami bringing out a bucket of water and washcloth from the bathroom. "Mokuba can sense spikes of darkness, but at the same time is also more susceptible to it. If we don't find May soon, we're going to be in trouble."
Mokuba's breathing started become quick, his heart pounding in his chest as he saw some sort of vision...May being trapped in the Orichalcos...but had been attacked by Seth-Priest of Dragons. Then there were voices...voices that were tempting him to take in the darkness and to become their Vessel. He couldn't let that happen, letting his mind concentrating on memories of happiness he had in his past. But the darkness was tainting them, and even with Khonsu on him, it was still hard to resist.
Defender, you can't defend your loved one you know! You failed when Raphael kidnapped May and therefore caused her to be in pain. And just look at Alister; you made him lose his soul to the Orichalcos! Can you live up to your title if you can't save those two?
Go away! Mokuba replied in his mind to the voice. You're not welcome! Go away and leave!
You don't understand, Defender. I AM you! I'm that part of you who just wants to destroy and tear and massacre...the side Khonsu had when he was still guiding the Pharaoh. The 'devourer of hearts', who gave up the organs of his Pharaoh's enemies for his placenta. Khonsu was—and is still—that blood thirsty cannibal of a god. And because you're his Vessel, you share his sins. Khonsu's only using you to vent out all of his anger and frustration...he doesn't care for you at all.
You lie! Khonsu's not like that! He's not like that...just leave me alone!
I can't leave and I won't leave, Mokuba... The voice calling the Defender of the King by his real name. Just give in...you can't withstand this torture forever...you're going to give in, or have you not noticed the wings your back?
The wings? What wings?
They're the symbol of your status...your ancestor Moka had them when he died, because of a wish that he would not die and fly amongst the stars...but in doing so he laid a curse on you...the wings on his back is a sign of darkness...and with you siphoning out energy it makes it even better...Moka betrayed you, he thought about himself and this is what results in his greed.
"NO!" Mokuba screamed, eyes starting to become red. "I'm not going to believe your lies! So get out of my head and leave me alone!"
The thrashing were fiercer, and more frequent, Mokuba going back and forth from growling, swearing in an ancient tongue and just screaming for someone to stop this pain. Shadows wrapped around his body, his eyes wide open and slowly turning crimson.
"Mokuba, hang on!" said Kaiba, hand clasped in his own. "It's going to be alright."
"This is so not good!" said Max. "Tristan, floor it!"
"I'm trying to, but it's not working!" Tristan replied, pressing on the gas.
"Then make it work!" Max snapped back. "My sister's most likely in trouble and Mokuba might not make it! MOVE IT!"
"You try driving and keeping an eye out on those freaky monsters we fought earlier!" Tristan snapped.
"Fine!" Max replied, drawing a card. "Masked Enchanter Houdini, make this RV move faster!"
In a puff of smoke, the tuxedo dressed Magician appeared with a bow. He waved his staff into the air as a purple aura surrounded the RV. In no time, the vehicle began to speed up.
"I didn't mean it like this!" Tristan screamed. "It's going TOO fast!"
"The faster the better." Max stated. "We need to get to May before something bad happens!"
"Even with this speed, where is May?" asked Téa. "Mokuba isn't a GPS system, you know."
"My...compass..." Mokuba muttered. "My compass can give directions to whatever I ask for."
Kaiba looked up, seeing a compass looped through a length of rope around the boy's tunic. The CEO untied the rope and took the compass into his hands.
Show us where May's at... Kaiba thought to himself, the needle soon pointing Northwest.
"Northwest, Tristan." said Kaiba. "And keep going."
"I'm on it." said Tristan, swerving the RV to the left and taking a sharp turn.
"Is May going to be alright, Yami?" asked Max. "Is she?"
"I don't know, Max." The Pharaoh replied. "But May is a great and powerful duelist...she'll find a way out of her situation."
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(Arkana: 2,000)
(May: 900)
"HA HA HA HA HA!" Arkana laughed as May placed a hand on her bruised ribs. "Grovel before me, the great Arkana! You're out of luck and your monsters don't care about you at all. So why not just give it up?"
"Because I won't!" May replied. "You may have my monsters, but that doesn't mean you can take me down! I'm going to beat you and get my friends back no matter what!"
"Tough words, but can you back them up? If not, then let me just end my turn at that."
"Fine." said May, drawing a card. She stared at the two cards in her hand...she really needed a miracle at this point.
"I activate Reasoning!" The coordinator announced. "You know the rules."
"I know." said Arkana, recalling how Max used it to bring out Miracle Flipper. "I choose four once again."
"Why do they always say that?" asked May, drawing cards from her deck. She had gone through three cards before drawing the fourth, a Monster.
"You know, Max was right. You don't rely on luck so much because you stink at it."
May revealed her card—Level 7, a Beast-Warrior and of Light Attribute.
"I summon onto the field my Mystical Knight of Jackal, in Attack Mode!"
With a howl, the warrior appeared, a tan jackal standing on two legs, with a green headdress, armor and a blue shenti and cape. On his right arm was a drill-like weapon (his left arm was covered in shadows) while glowing red eyes glared at Arkana. (2,700/1,200)
"My Beast-Warrior is a Light Attribute monster, and therefore able to bypass your trap, Arkana." May spat out. "Mystical Knight of Jackal, attack that last White Dragon Token with Anubis Drill!"
The Jackal howled once more as he let loose his drill upon the token, destroying it. Seth's Attack Score was now at 2,200 without the tokens.
"I'll end my turn at that." the Coordinator stated. "Your move."
"Now we're getting somewhere." said Arkana, drawing a card. "But it appears I don't have a full house on me...so I'll just play Card of Sanctity to replenish my hand!"
May didn't say anything as she drew five cards—Arkana drawing six. The magician grinned when he saw the cards in his hand.
"Now, I shall summon my Doomcaliber Knight onto the field in Attack Mode!"
With a whinny a skeletal knight rose onto the field, riding a coal colored horse with red eyes, the knight brandishing a skeletal sword and shield with a black tattered cape draping his shoulder. The horse snorted as both the knight and horse had the Orichalcos branded on their forehead. (1,900/1,800) -) (2,400/1,800)
"And you're right, I don't have a Scroll of Bewitchment, but I have something else."
The magician revealed a card in his hand, the image making May gasp in horror.
"Next, I think I'll play Shadow's Grasp which gives me the ability to permanently change the attribute of one monster on the field to Dark." Arkana announced. "Now Goddess of Joy, which monster is not like the other?"
The Magic Card appeared, revealing Khonsu being embraced by the shadows, as if asleep. A black aura began to wrap around Seth, changing the Light monster into a Dark creature.
"Finally, I think I'll play a card that's been so dear to you. I activate the powers of Revenge of the Dark King!"
NO! May thought in her mind. Now all of Arkana's monsters will gain 900 Attack Points, and an extra 300 for every Dark Monster he summons!
The Continuous Magic Card appeared, revealing Atem on his dark throne. Arkana's monsters had their Attack scores raised by 900, Doomcaliber Knight now at 3,300, Belial at 4,200 and Seth had 3,100.
"Time to make you disappear forever!" Arkana laughed. "Everyone, attack directly!"
Doomcaliber Knight pointed his sword at May, instructing the other two monsters to strike. There was silence as May saw orbs of darkness fired toward her...
"You did a very bad thing, Arkana." She growled. "I activate my facedown card, Elemental Eruption!"
"What?" Arkana gasped out. "What is that card?"
May didn't say anything as she sent one card into her graveyard. At the same time, her Trap Card was flipped over, revealing Rapid Fire Magician surrounded by six orbs. Soon enough, a dome appeared, surrounding May's side of the field and reflected the attacks back at Arkana's monsters, each of them being destroyed by their own attacks.
"Elemental Eruption destroys all monsters on the field who have the same attribute as the monster I discarded from my hand." May explained. "You may say that it's the destruction version of your Elemental Absorber. And since the monster I discarded was A Cat of Ill Omen—a Dark Attribute monster—then all three of your monsters are no longer on the field. So much for ending this duel early."
Arkana growled, seeing his plan backfiring on him. He placed one card facedown and ended his turn.
"My turn!" said May, drawing a card. "I'm placing one card face down."
A face down monster appeared beside Mystical Knight of Jackal.
"All right, Mystical Knight of Jackal, attack directly and end this duel!"
The jackal growled, his drill-like weapon starting to spin as he charged toward the magician...only to be stopped by a giant totem pole with speakers on the wings.
"Not Command Silencer!" May exclaimed. "That means..."
A high pitched squeal escaped the speakers, causing Mystical Knight of Jackal to howl in pain and stop his attack. Arkana smirked, drawing a card into his hand.
"It's like you said, 'So much for ending this duel early'." said the Magician. "Now what are you going to do?"
May snarled as she placed one card face down, ending her turn.
I never thought I could be such a difficult opponent to face. The Coordinator thought to herself. I have to stop Arkana before he summons whatever Seth was warning me about...and I better do it soon. The Great Leviathan is growing stronger and stronger with every minute.
"Back to me." said Arkana, drawing a card. "I'll just set one card face down and end my turn."
"Hiding behind facedowns, Arkana?" asked May, drawing a card. "For a magician, you're being pretty sloppy in keeping your audience entertained. But I won't matter either way, I'm going to defeat you and it's my turn!"
The Coordinator stared at her hand, now expanded to six cards. She smiled as a strategy came in mind.
"I Flip Summon my A Cat of Ill Omen." May began.
A black cat appeared with a cartouche strung around his neck and glowing red eyes. It let out a meow. (300/500)
"And when my little cat is Flip Summoned, I can take one Trap Card from my deck and either place it on the top of my deck or place it in my hand. But since Necrovalley isn't in play, I'll have to put it on the top of my deck."
Taking the deck into her hands, May scanned it, finding the right card. Once she did, May placed the Trap Card onto the top of her deck.
"I'm not done." May continued. "I sacrifice my cat for Gravekeeper's Chief in Attack Mode!"
The cat let out a meow as it was replaced with the black robed and cowl Gravekeeper, eyes glaring at the magician. (1,900/1,200)
"And when Gravekeeper's Chief is summoned, I can Special summon a Gravekeeper's monster from my graveyard onto the field. So let's have have a rousing cheer for my Gravekeeper's Curse!"
The Gravekeeper appeared, crouched in defense. (800/800) He muttered a spell under his breath and a bolt of black lightning struck Arkana in the chest.
"And now, I attack!" May cried. "Mystical Knight of Jackal, attack directly!"
The proud Beast-Warrior readied his drill, ready to end the duel once and for all. But Arkana smirked.
"I activate Fires of Doomsday!" Arkana announced. "And with this, I can summon..."
"Two Doomsday Tokens onto the field." May finished. "I know."
The Magic Card was soon replaced with the one-eyed wisps of black fire which crouched in defense as the Orichalcos appeared on their foreheads. (0/0 x2) -) (1100/0 x2)
Mystical Knight of Jackal's drill punctured through the one token,, but May didn't have any other monster to attack with..
"I'll end my turn at that." said May. "Your move, Arkana."
(Arkana: 1,500)
(May: 900)
Arkana drew a card, staring at them curiously. Then he smiled.
"You've been pretty good holding your own." said the Magician. "But you monster's won't last long...not when I summon another friend of yours!"
There was a rumbling of the Earth as a sarcophagus rose onto the field. The lid opened, revealing a freshly bandaged mummy.
"No...please don't..." May gasped. "Not him!"
The bandages unraveled, revealing Khonsu-Child of the Moon. He grasped his head in pain, trying to fight off the influence of the Orichalcos...
But it was all for not when the Orichalcos appeared on his forehead, and saliva fell down his lips, hungry for blood. (1,200/800) -) (1,700/800)
"And thanks to me having one Dark Monster on the field." said Arkana. "Khonsu's Attack Score goes all the way up to 3,700! So now my monster, feast upon this monster!"
Khonsu stared at the Doomsday Token with interest, licking his lips. He took the token into his mouth and swallowed it, his Attack Score going up by 2,000.
"Khonsu, attack Gravekeeper's Chief and end this duel!"
"Of course my master." Khonsu hissed, eying the Spellcaster as if it was a piece of meat. "After all, I'm very, very, hungry..."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Get me out of here! Please! Khonsu...stop this!'
That was what Mokuba was crying out in his soul room, in an attempt to escape from the dark thoughts in his mind. Unfortunately, Khonsu—who was comforting the young child—immediately placed the Defender of the King into a Sarcophagus and closed its lid shut. Mokuba was panicking, scared of the true horrors that he was about to face.
"Please...let me out...I'm scared..." Mokuba whimpered, banging on the sarcophagus lid. "Khonsu...why are you doing this?"
"Because you're weak!" Khonsu hissed. "I haven't seen you do anything that's been as beneficial as Moka."
"But Khonsu..."
"SILENCE!" Khonsu roared, opening the lid once more. Mokuba stared in horror, seeing Khonsu's kind eyes now replaced with a red sheen and the Orichalcos on his forehead. "You will not speak to me in that tongue you worthless piece of trash!"
Bandages appearing from out of nowhere wrapped around the young Defender of the King, making him resemble a mummy.
"What are you going to do to me?" asked Mokuba with fear in his voice.
Khonsu replied with an evil laugh, his hand pulsing with a green glow.
"This..." he whispered as he placed the hand on his Vessel's forehead...
And what happened next was a terrible scream, as Mokuba's eyes soon glinted with red sparks...
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Mokuba's barely hanging on at this point." said Téa, seeing the young boy's cries turned to moans and whimpers. "How much longer?"
"...We're here." said Max, seeing the compass. "Tristan, stop the RV right now!"
"Finally!" Tristan cried, slamming the brakes. With a loud screech, everyone toppled over, landing with groans and thuds from the momentum. "But...where is May?"
Max walked toward one of the windows. Looking up, he saw a green glow illuminating the top of a building.
"There." he replied, pointing to the top of the building. "That's where May is...she's dueling."
"Then we have to get going." said Yami. "If she loses her soul, then all hope is lost."
"Your hope is already diminished Pharaoh...so why not give it up?"
Yami turned around, seeing Mokuba staring at him, black wings unfurled to around seven feet, and eyes glowing a shiny red.
"Mokuba..." Kaiba gasped out, unable to comprehend what's going on. "What's happened to you?"
"You're not actually going to believe that by wishing for something it comes true." said Mokuba, ignoring his older brother's question. "You wished for something to help you defeat Raphael...but all that did was cause the darkness in your heart to grow...it's been stalled, but it's still there."
"What are you talking about now?" asked Tristan. "And who are you?"
"I'm the Defender of the King, mortal." Mokuba giggled. "And you and this whole world shall be reborn as our Lord permits..."
"You're insane!" Kaiba screamed, grasping onto Mokuba's shoulder. "Now whoever you are, you are going to leave my brother's body!"
"And I suppose that's going to work?" Mokuba replied coolly. "Oh sure...that worked with the Goddess of Joy and her darkness. What about yours, Seto Kaiba?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kaiba snapped back.
"Ah, denial...always that special ingredient that backlashes when acceptance comes into play. But when you see what's going on, then you'll see the truth. Better yet, why not show you?"
Mokuba began chanting under his breath as the scenery began to change. The floor of the RV began to glow, revealing the scene of May dueling her opponent.
"Arkana?" Max exclaimed. "But he got sealed away when I...oh no...NO! Arkana's got my sister's deck!"
"That's cheating!" Tristan exclaimed. "There has to be a way to get to them!"
"There's no way to stop an Orichalcos duel, you fool." Mokuba giggled. "The Goddess of Joy shall suffer in the hands of her old allies...and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"
Kaiba growled and did the unthinkable...he slapped Mokuba across the face. Everyone turned, unable to comprehend what happened...Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp. and wielder of the Fang of Critias, had slapped his own brother.
"Shut up." Kaiba growled. "Shut up and leave right now..."
Mokuba just laughed, a hand on his cheek.
"I'll leave if your little Goddess of Joy wins." Mokuba hissed. "But what are the chances of that happening?"
"May's gonna win!" Max replied. "There's no denying that."
"We'll just see..." Mokuba smirked as everyone watched the duel.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Khonsu licked his lips as he lunged at Gravekeeper's Chief, mouth widening as he was about to devour the Spellcaster.
"I activate Shift!" May exclaimed, her Trap Card flipping over. "Now I direct the attack to Gravekeeper's Curse!"
Khonsu leapt toward Gravekeeper's Curse, devouring the Spellcaster until there was nothing but bones and disintegrated from the field.
"Your pathetic cards can't save you forever." Arkana stated. "But for now, I'll play my own facedown card and end my turn."
Khonsu moaned, his Attack Score going down back to 1,700.
"Fine." said May, drawing a card.
FINALLY! I FINALLY drew that card!
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" May announced. "And I'll use it to finally destroy that Elemental Absorber Trap Card of yours!"
The Quickplay Magic Card appeared, a blue tornado of energy swirling and crashing into the Continuous Trap Card and destroyed it.
"Oh this will be fun." May replied. "I now summon Gravekeeper's Priestess in Defense Mode!"
The female Gravekeeper's emerged, hand on her staff as she knelt in Defense Mode. (1,000/1,500) -) (1,400/1,900) She stared at Gravekeeper's Chief, his Attack and Defense raised by 400.
"And now..." said May, pointing to Khonsu. "Gravekeeper's Chief, attack Khonsu with Spirits of the Dead!"
Gravekeeper's Chief bowed at the Child of the Moon before raising his staff. An orb of light escaped the staff and hit Khonsu directly at his chest. The Child of the Moon gasped before the Orichalcos vanished from his forehead and a sad smile was on his face.
"Thank you..." He whispered before vanishing. May just replied with a nod, a tear falling down her eye.
"Mystical Knight of Jackal, attack directly!"
The Beast-Warrior prepared his drill once more and charged toward Arkana. This time, there was a direct hit.
"Game over, Arkana." said May. "Time for you to...HUH?"
The smoke cleared, revealing Arkana's face down card...Nutrient Z.
"NO!" May exclaimed. "That means you're still in the duel!"
"How very observant." Arkana said with a smug smile. "And your turn has now ended, right?"
"Not yet." May replied with a growl, before playing two cards face down. "Now it has."
(Arkana: 2,800)
(May: 900)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
When Khonsu was destroyed Mokuba let out a cry of pain and got on his knees. He had a hand on his head as the wings on his back began to shrink and the red coloring on his eyes vanished.
"Mokuba!" said Max, placing a hand on the Defender's forehead. "Mokuba, are you alright?"
"Ugh..." Mokuba replied, slowly opening his eyes. "What...happened?"
"You got corrupted by the Orichalcos." Kaiba explained. "And from the looks of it, things aren't going so well."
Mokuba looked down, gasping in surprise when he saw May dueling against Arkana inside the Orichalcos.
"Wh-what's going on guys?" asked the younger Kaiba.
"Arkana's using May's own deck against her." Téa exclaimed. "And he's winning..."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arkana drew a card, a malicious grin on his face as he stated, "This shall be the end of you Goddess of Joy. For I'm playing the very card that shall spell your doom!"
"I have many cards that spelt doom to other duelists." May replied. "What card are you playing?"
"The Ritual Magic Card known as Pharaoh's Prophecy!" Arkana exclaimed, making May's blood run cold when those words escaped his lips. The Ritual Card to summon Atem...no...but had to be a lie.
But as Arkana stated he was sacrificing Jouno-Soothsayer of Dreams to the graveyard and the monster obeying that command...the Ritual Magic Card depicting the Tablet of the Pharaoh disintegrated as Atem, the Ancient Pharaoh appeared.
But then the Pharaoh screamed in pain, the Orichalcos appearing on his forehead and eyes more sinister than ever. (2,400/1,700) -) (3,200/1,700)
"Arkana, what did you do?" May exclaimed.
"I just summoned the monster that will take care of your monsters and send your soul to the Great Leviathan!" Arkana laughed. "And once it's gone, and Dartz has control of this world, my beloved Katherine will come back to me. How could she...all I was trying was talk to her and console her and what did she do? She ran away, screaming that I was a monster...but now...now she'll return! She'll return to my side with this move! A HA HA HAHA HAHA!"
Atem brandished his weapon, ready to strike.
"And now, Pharaoh." Arkana announced. "Attack that overgrown dog with Dark Slash!"
"Atem..." May gasped. "Please wake up...you fought the darkness before and you can do again...don't do this!"
There was some silence as it looked like the Pharaoh contemplated May's words...but it was all for naught when Atem rushed toward Mystical Knight of Jackal and sliced him in half. The Beast-Warrior could do nothing except howl as it left the field, taking some of May's lifepoints with it.
"That's all for now." said Arkana, playing one card face down and emptying his hand. "Your move."
(Arkana: 2,800)
(May: 400)
May drew a card from her hand, a worried look on her face as she saw the situation. Atem was now working for Arkana, and she was powerless to stop it. As the duel went on, it felt as if Arkana was the puppet-master controlling all of May's cards and showing her how ruthless she could become. She had to do something quick; the next opening Arkana had would be all that was needed to end the duel.
"I'm summoning my Gravekeeper's Descendant onto the field in Defense Mode!"
With a laugh, the blonde haired, dark skinned Gravekeeper emerged, a smirk on his face. (1,500/1,200) -) (2,100/1,800)
"And what will that do?" asked Arkana. "All of your monsters are too weak to destroy my all powerful Warrior. And Atem's special ability will help him remain on the field even if you did manage to bring out a monster that was strong enough to defeat him."
"Who said I was going to destroy him in battle?" asked May. "Atem's ability only works in battle, not by a monster's effect."
"Say what?"
"With the sacrifice of Gravekeeper's Priestess, Gravekeeper's Descendant can destroy one card you control. Since the Orichalcos can't be destroyed by card effects, then it goes to one of the other cards on the field.
Gravekeeper's Priestess vanished as Gravekeeper's Descendant began to glow. He pointed his staff at Atem and fired a beam of magic that struck the Pharaoh's chest. Atem let out a roar and was destroyed, leaving Arkana's field without monsters.
"Let's try this again." said May. "Gravekeeper's Chief and Descendant, attack!"
The two Gravekeeper's nodded their heads and crossed their staffs together as a giant orb of dark energy was formed. Then, the two hurled it at the magician...
But the attack was then stopped by a shield, Arkana glowing with energy.
"W-what did you just do?" May exclaimed.
"I just helped myself." Arkana replied, revealing his Trap Card. "My Draining Shield negated the attack of your Gravekeeper's Chief but I had to lose 1,500 lifepoints from your other Gravekeeper. Oh well..."
"I end my turn!" May exclaimed. "Make your move."
(Arkana: 3,200)
(May: 400)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"This is unfair!" Max exclaimed. "May's at a total disadvantage with Arkana using her deck like that."
"Your sister's deck is actually formidable, but Arkana has sunk to a new low." Yami snarled. "Not only stealing a person's deck, but letting it be corrupted under the Orichalcos...it's not right not only to the duelist but to the deck itself."
"Yugi, if you're going to go through that whole 'Heart of the Cards' thing, forget it." said Kaiba. "I truly believe that's the case in May's mind right now...she's most likely thinking about how to escape that Seal with her life."
"But Seto, those cards are important to her!" said Mokuba. "Those very same cards aren't just cards...they're spirits who comforted May when she was little, and in return comforted them...it's as if part of her own soul was taken from her."
"We know." said Yami, closing his eyes. "But right now, they are under control of darkness, and even if May could do something about it..."
"May will do something about it!" Max retorted. "She's been in tougher situations before, and she'll get through it...I know..."
"I just hope you're right, Max." said Yami.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Arkana drew a card and stared at the situation; if he didn't draw a good hand, then he would be taken away to the Orichalcos once more. And he couldn't let that happen.
"I play Card of Demise!" announced the Magician, playing the Magic Card. The Magic Card revealed a deck of cards about to be chopped in half in a guillotine run by an executioner. "And with this, I draw until I have five cards in my hand. Once five turns have passed after I used this card, my hand goes into the graveyard.
"But I don't have to worry, because in a few short turns, you will be done."
"You wanna bet on that?" asked May as Arkana drew five cards.
"I do. Because I'm playing another familiar face. Guess who?"
With a laugh and a swirl of the shadows, Kura appeared, his eyes red and his grin showing someone who was completely insane. (1,800/1,600) -) (2,600/1,600)
"Next," Arkana continued. "I remove from play one Dark Monster from my graveyard to bring back your Pharaoh onto the field! And who else than his old ally?"
Slipping out of the graveyard was Seth-Priest of Dragons which Arkana pocketed in his sleeve once more. Emerging onto the field was Atem, the Ancient Pharaoh who soon had the Orichalcos on his forehead once more. (2,400/1,700) -) (2,900/1,700)
"And don't forget. With Revenge of the Dark King in play, both monsters gain an additional 600 Attack Points!"
Kura's Attack strength was now at 2,900, Atem was now sporting 3,500 Attack points.
"My third move will involve an Equip Magic Card...it's called Heart of Chaos!"
"You're insane!" May screamed. "How dare you use that card; it's almost as bad as the Orichalcos!"
"Really now? Then why would you, out of all the people in the world, use it? Remember your first duel? You used it to give yourself an edge against a certain 'Bandit Keith'."
"That was different! I had no choice...my monsters weren't strong enough."
"An obvious excuse for an obvious mediocre duelist. You don't know the potential in this deck and yet you use it. But since this was your deck to begin with, then you should know what this card is capable of, right?"
The Equip Magic Card appeared, replaced with a black heart. It split in half and each half lodged into Atem and Kura. Black wings grew from their backs and their Attack and Defense Scores raised by 500.
"And now here comes the fun part!" Arkana exclaimed. "If I have both Atem and Kura on the field, equipped with Heart of Chaos and Revenge of the Dark King, I can sacrifice them all to summon your deck's most powerful creature."
"What?" May gasped out. "What are you talking about?"
"Prepare to feel the wrath of the one known as Apep, Serpent of Chaos!" Arkana announced.
There was a wind that began to blow, shattering the four cards on Arkana's side of the field. Then there was a loud hissing sound as a dark shadow began to wrap around the Orichalcos. It soon emerged, revealing a black serpent around 40 feet wide coiled amongst the field and glaring at the Goddess of Joy with yellow eyes. (?/?)
Ssssssso...we meet again, Goddesssss of Joy...How lovely for usssss to ssssee each other again...
"Apep has an Attack and Defense Score equal to half of the combined score of both Atem-The Ancient Pharaoh and Kura-The Thief Lord. And he also gains 400 Attack Points for every Dark Monster in both graveyards. So half of the attack scores of your monsters is 3,700, and a Defense of 2,150, plus 400 times 15 Dark Monsters in the graveyard and an additional bonus of 500 Attack Points of the Orichalcos, and you get..."
Apep hissed, the Orichalcos appearing on its forehead, eyes shining like rubies. (?/?) -) (10,200/2,150)
"You have got to be kidding me..." May whispered, recalling Seth's warning about Arkana summoning 'it'. "That thing..."
"Is going to end this duel!" Arkana finished for the Coordinator. "Apep, destroy Gravekeeper's Descendant now!"
Apep slithered its upper body toward the Spellcaster, Gravekeeper's Descendant having a look of pure fear on his face, knowing the inevitable would strike.
"I activate my Trap Card!" May cried. "Sakuretsu Armor, appear!"
The Trap Card lifted, but was soon destroyed before it had a chance to activate its effect.
"What?" May gasped out. "H-how did that happen?"
"Easy," Arkana answered, revealing a Trap Card (which was Secondary Motive). "If Apep is the target of a card that destroys him, I can send one Trap Card in my hand to the Graveyard to negate and destroy it."
"But you won't be stopping me that easily." May cried. "I activate Mirror of Reflection and I'll use it to activate one of your Trap Cards!"
The Trap Card replicating card appeared, soon shifting into Draining Shield. Apep's head only bashed into a force field as May's lifepoints shot up.
Thank goodness for that. She thought to herself. Draining Shield negates and attack so that means Arkana has no choice but to end his turn. That'll give me enough time to figure out what to do.
"Not so fast." said Arkana, pulling a card from his graveyard and placed it into his sleeve once more. "Apep can attack again if I remove from play one Magic Card in my graveyard. However, I can only use it once per turn. So now..."
Apep hissed and swallowed Gravekeeper's Descendant whole. May could only look in fear as the monster took a chunk out of her lifepoints.
"Since I have no cards in my hand, it's the end of my turn." said Arkana. "You're up."
(Arkana: 3,200)
(May: 1,700)
I need a miracle... May thought to herself. I don't have any card in my hand that can stop this thing...so my next draw is my last draw...please let there be a God listening to me.
She drew a card and stared at it...it was a Card of Sanctity.
"I play Card of Sanctity." May announced. "So let's see what's in store for us."
"Drawing cards to save yourself, just like your brother." said Arkana, drawing six cards. "Well, this will be fun..."
May drew four cards and stared at them. This hand was her ticket out of here...and she had to use it now.
"I sacrifice Gravekeeper's Chief for Gravekeeper's Visionary!"
Gravekeeper's Chief vanished as the leader of the Gravekeeper's emerged, face camoflauged by the Jackal helmet and sat on his throne. He growled, facing the giant serpent with courage. (2,000/1,200) -) (2,800/1,200)
"Next, I activate Samiya, the Sea Crown! And to summon its special monster, I'll sacrifice my The End of Anubis and my last Gravekeeper's Curse!"
The Ritual Magic Card appeared, being replaced with a cluster of blue crystals. The spirits of May's Dark Monsters swirled and were absorbed into the crystals. They cracked open to reveal Manaphy, Prince of the Sea.
"Hi!" Manaphy cried. (1,500/100)
"That's your strategy?" asked Arkana. "A blue blob? That's even more pathetic than what your brother summoned. And thanks to you, my Serpent gains 1,200 Attack Points from the three Dark monsters you sent to the graveyard."
Apep hissed, his Attack Strength now at 11,400.
"Manaphy has a special effect when it's on the field. But I'm going to negate it with my Energy Swap Magic Card!"
A Quickplay Magic Card appeared, showing an Effect Monster Card slowly becoming yellow. Manaphy looked sad as it became a Normal Monster.
"What?" asked Arkana. "What are you going to accomplish with such a move like that?"
"Manaphy's ability would ruin my plan." May replied. "Because now I play my last card...I summon the Claw of Hermos!"
With that cry, a brilliant light appeared. The mighty dragon emerged, flapping its wings and staring at Arkana with anger.
"Mana?" said Manaphy, looking at Hermos with curiosity.
"You may have summoned Hermos, but it's all for naught!" said Arkana. "Even if you did make an Equip Magic Card with any of your monsters, it will all be for naught!"
"Really?" asked May. "Let's see. Because I combine The Claw of Hermos and my Manaphy, Prince of the Sea to create a new card!"
"Mana!" Manaphy cried as it was being sucked into Hermos. The dragon began to glow and shrink, before becoming a dark blue staff with a blue oval crystal that had a red orb inside of it. Seeing the weapon, Gravekeeper's Visionary took it into his hands.
"My Gravekeeper's Visionary is now holding an Equip Magic Card I like to call Jewel of the Nile! And with it, Gravekeeper's Visionary gains a new ability. Watch."
Gravekeeper's Visionary raised his staff into the air, the staff began to glow with a red aura. Then...both monsters on the field began to glow red.
"W-what's happening?" asked Arkana. "What are you doing to my monster?"
"Manaphy has an ability called 'Heart Swap'." May explained. "For us, it's switching people into different bodies or a short amount of time.
"But for here, I'm swapping abilities! Now Apep will get 200 Attack Points for every Gravekeeper's monster in your graveyard, but Gravekeeper's Visionary now has his Attack score raised by 400 for every Dark Monster in both of our graveyards."
Apep hissed, his body weakening as the red aura died down. Now, it was at 4,200 Attack Points. Gravekeeper's Visionary, on the other hand, had his Attack Score lowered back to 2,000...
Before it shot up to 9,200!
"NO!" Arkana screamed. "This can't be! I can't lose! My sweet Katherine, why did you run away? I pushed you away and have tried to save you. Marik gave me that chance and he failed me...but then Dartz came and gave me the power to bring you back to me...I won't let it be in vain!"
"Will you just shut up?" May exclaimed. "This Katherine you're talking about...did you really need Dartz and the Orichalcos to bring her back to you?"
"What are you saying? Of course I needed it!"
"You're wrong." May answered. "Instead of moping around and begging for your beloved to come back to you, why not go to her? Why not say 'I'm sorry, I beg for forgiveness' instead of stealing souls? By siding with Dartz, you're just running away from your own problems, not confessing them. You have to face her, or..."
May paused. What Arkana and Katherine were going through...she was mirroring it. She pushed Raphael away and was running away from her own problems...it wasn't right. She had to confront Raphael head on and forgive him, because running away would make things worse.
I'm a hypocrite... She said to herself. I talk about confronting your fears, but I never backed those actions up. Well, it's time to make good use of my word...
"Arkana." said the Coordinator. "I know how you feel...pushing people away, running away from my own problems...not asking for forgiveness. And I promise you, once I stop Dartz, I'll help you find a way to return to your beloved. All I ask of you is to have the courage to ask her for forgiveness."
"R-really?" asked Arkana, the green glow in his eyes starting to fade away. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because you love her, and Katherine still must love you. I'm sure that Katherine will forgive you soon enough."
Arkana took in May's words as the green glow disappeared from his eyes. He grasped his head in pain as sweat fell down his face.
"Finish me off..." He cried. "Just do it..."
May stared at Arkana sadly, then pointed a finger.
"Gravekeeper's Visionary, destroy that serpent with Flood of the Nile!"
Gravekeeper's Visionary raised the staff into the air, a wave of water washing down upon the serpent, destroying it. Apep let out one final hiss as Arkana's lifepoints hit 0.
(Arkana: 0)
(May: 1,700)
The Seal began to shrink as Gravekeeper's Visionary vanished, a smile on his face. May then walked up to Arkana, hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you..." Arkana replied. "Thank you, Goddess of Joy."
"You're welcome." May answered back, as the Seal faded. Arkana collapsed into May's arms as the Coordinator set him down. She then went to his Duel Disk and pulled out the Deck, searching through it. She sighed, all 40 cards were there.
Goddess of Joy, are you alright?
May turned around seeing Atem rushing up to hug her, tears falling down his face.
I'm so sorry, my Goddess. I was off my guard and that man took all of us and brainwashed us with the Orichalcos. I hope you have the heart to forgive us.
"I do." said May in reply. "But now, we must go...we must stop this menace before other innocent people are hurt."
Atem nodded his head and vanished in front of May's eyes. The Coordinator stared at her deck, then noticing a small pouch strapped to her tunic. Seeing no other alternative, May placed the deck inside the pouch and then brought out two Poké balls.
"Blaziken, Altaria. Come out!" She cried. The spheres opened as both of the Pokémon said hello.
"Blaziken, can you carry Arkana's body from up here down to the ground?" asked May. The faithful Blaze Pokémon nodded its head, scooping Arkana into his arms.
"Al!" cried the Humming Pokémon, descending into the ground for May to sit on top of. May looked up in the sky, seeing the silhouette of the Great Leviathan...she knew that she had to stop it.
"Let's get going." said the Goddess of Joy, a look o determination on her face. "It's time to go save the world."
Blaziken and Altaria nodded their heads as they soon left the building and flew into the sky.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Interpretation of the Oracle (Magic Card)
Type: Magic/Normal
Level: -
Attribute: -
Attack: -
Defense: -
Image: A reflection in a body of water depicting Atem about to slay Jouno
Description: Declare either Monster, Magic or Trap and draw the top card from your deck. Select one of the following effects when you call it right.
-Monster: Special Summon the Monster you drew and destroy one Monster on your opponent's side of the field
-Magic: Increase your lifepoints by 1,500
-Trap: Draw two cards
If you call the card wrong, you lose half of your lifepoints and must send your hand to the graveyard.
0
0
Nefertem, Lord of the Dark Lotus (Monster Card)
Type: Warrior/Effect
Level: 7
Attribute: Dark
Attack: 2,900
Defense: 1,100
Description: While on the field, the Attribute of this monster is considered as Light.
0
0
Shadow's Grasp (Magic Card)
Type: Magic/Normal
Level: -
Attribute: -
Attack: -
Defense: -
Image: Khonsu asleep in the grasp of a swarm of shadows.
Description: Select one non-Dark monster on your side o the field. Until the end of the duel, this monster's attribute is considered as Dark.
0
0
Apep, Serpent of Chaos (Monster Card)
Type: Reptile/Effect
Level: 10
Attribute: Dark
Attack: ?
Defense: ?
Description: This Monster cannot be Normal Summoned or Set Summoned. This Monster can only be Special Summoned on the field by sacrificing 'Atem-The Ancient Pharaoh', 'Kura-The Thief Lord', 'Heart of Chaos' and 'Revenge of the Dark King' on your field. This Monster's Attack and Defense score is half of the combined Attack and Defense scores of both 'Atem-The Ancient Pharaoh' and 'Kura-The Thief Lord'. This Monster gains 400 Attack Points for every Dark monster in both duelists' graveyards. If this card is the target of an effect that destroys this monster, discard one Trap Card in your hand to negate the effect and destroy the card. This card can attack twice in one turn by removing from play one Magic Card in your graveyard (this effect can only be used once per turn). During your Standby Phase, pay half of your lifepoints to keep this Monster on the field. If you cannot, this card is destroyed.
0
0
Energy Swap (Magic Card)
Type: Magic/Quickplay
Level: -
Attribute: -
Attack: -
Defense: -
Image: An Effect Monster Card slowly having its borders become yellow.
Description: Select one Effect Monster Card on your side of the field. Until the end of your turn, that monster is considered a Normal Monster Card.
0
0
Jewel of the Nile (Magic Card)
Type: Magic/Equip
Level: -
Attribute: -
Attack: -
Defense: -
Fusion Material: The Claw of Hermos + Manaphy, Prince of the Sea
Description: You can only equip this to a Spellcaster Monster. Select one monster on the opponent's field. While this card is on the field, the selected monster and equipped monster will trade Special effects (if one of the monsters has multiple effects, select one that will be chosen).
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
May: I never thought I could be so scary...and now it's getting scary.
Max: It's not going to be as scary as what I have to go through, someone wants revenge.
Mokuba: Now we have to get going, Dartz is getting stronger and stronger...
May: And Max is in trouble; his whole deck might go against him unless something happens.
Max: Next time, "Between my Brother and Me" chapter 26-The Storm that Blows Past Us
May: Whoever is dueling my brother better watch out...he's not the innocent boy from before.
Mokuba: Go get them Max!