My Little Duelist Volume 4

by Baldwin17

Some time after Yugi Muto had defeated Anubis and saved the world, for the third time, it seemed things were getting back to some semblance of normal in the city of Domino, but little did anyone know that an evil far more ancient than the Shadow Games and the Millennium Items would arise, and the King of Games would be called upon once again to save mankind from destruction.

2. Chapter 1: A New Throb of Darkness

MLD Volume 4 Chapter 1

A New Evil: Part 1

A New Throb of Darkness

Out on the open sea, a research vessel was moored. Its crew were on an important research assignment, to find something down in the mysterious depths of the sea. "This is home base to Poseidon 3, do you copy?" said a voice over a radio. "This is Poseidon 3, proceed." a voice responded. "Our sensors indicate you're approaching a depth of 35,000 feet. You are strongly advised to pull back. Repeat, stop your descent!" home base replied as Poseidon 3, an exploration submarine, continued down into the ocean.

"Absolutely not, we may be on the verge of the greatest discovery man has ever known! We must continue." the captain responded. "But Professor Hawkins! With all due respect, the water pressure at that depth is too dangerous!" home base said, worried that the sub and its captain, Professor Arthur Hawkins, would be crushed under all the pressure. "This is my life's work, and I've come too far to turn back now! Over and out." Prof. Hawkins replied as he approached a sunken temple.

He piloted the sub into the temple itself and turned on the lights once he found a place to surface. "This is strange. The ocean waters have barely penetrated this region. I must have a closer look." he said before exiting the sub. "Let's see." he said before turning on his flashlight. Once he did, he got the surprise of his life. "Those look like Duel Monsters!" he said, realizing that the concept of the Shadow Games was practiced far beyond Egypt. "But how?" he wondered.

Some days later, at Domino City, a news report told of the discovery that Professor Hawkins had made while also stating that the temple was clearly 10,000 years old and had sunken in the North Atlantic Ocean. As the report went on, ex-regional champion Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor bumped into each other, both with Duel Disks ready. "Walk down the street much, or is this your first time?" Rex asked, rudely, before realizing he was talking with Weevil, and vice versa.

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other. "Didn't you hear? Battle City ended a long time ago, so why do you have your Duel Disk?" Rex asked. "Simple, I'm looking for a duel. Wouldn't anyone else? But what brings you to town, my former regional championship opponent?" Weevil responded. "I'm also looking for a duel." Rex replied before they both started walking the way Rex was walking.

"Let me guess, you're gonna try and do what that mob of Duelists did that one day and try to duel Yugi for his Egyptian God Cards, aren't you?" Weevil theorized. "Why on Earth would you think that?" Rex asked before he started walking faster. "Then I guess you won't mind if I challenge Yugi for those Egyptian God Cards." Weevil replied. The two started walking at the same pace before their walking turned into striding, and then into running as they RACED each other towards Kame Game.

"Eat my dust, you termite!" Rex shouted before they saw a cloaked man standing in the middle of the sidewalk. "Look out!" Weevil shouted before they both came to a stop. "You're lucky neither of us ran into you, so why don't you step aside?" Rex asked. "They say blocking foot traffic is a bad idea." Weevil added. "It would be a problem, but then again, you shall have a problem when I strip you two fools of your souls." said the hooded man.

"You supposed to be the grim reaper or did you just raid his wardrobe?" Rex asked before the man said an incantation in another language. "What did you say?" the Dino Duelist asked. "I don't know if he's mad or insane." Weevil stated. "Rise to you feet, and duel." the man demanded before activating his Duel Disk, only his was of a MUCH different design.

Elsewhere, at Domino High School, Fluttershy was up on the roof looking out over the town. 'It's not like Yugi to just skip class. I hope everything's alright. And on top of that, Twilight told us of a nightmare she previously had, one about ancient Egypt and the Egyptian God Monsters.' she thought, worried. "Hey, Fluttershy!" Tristan called before she turned to see the rest of her friends walking towards her. "Have you seen Yugi? He wasn't at his locker." Spike said.

"I think he left right before algebra class started." Fluttershy replied. "Well, you can't blame him." Rainbow said before Twilight elbowed her. But Fluttershy was still worried. Elsewhere, Yugi had merged with Yami and he started to cross the street. 'What's the deal? We've never switched places between classes like this.' Yugi pointed out. 'You did bring the Egyptian God Cards today, didn't you?' Yami asked. 'Yeah, I did. Wait! Did you manage to figure out what we're supposed to do with them?' Yugi replied, hopeful that his ancient friend found a solution.

'Yes. I can't explain it, but its as if the cards were calling out to me. Leading me to the museum, wherein lies the secret to unlocking my lost memories, and the powers I once possessed.' Yami stated. In no time, Yami arrived at the Domino Museum. 'Soon, the mysteries surrounding my living days as the pharaoh, will be clear.' he thought as he neared the steps. Suddenly, all of his/Yugi's friends showed up and flagged him down. "We've been looking everywhere for you." Tea said when they finally caught up with him.

"Tea's right. Why'd you leave school right before your next class?" Twilight asked. "There's something I need to do, and it may be dangerous. I just didn't want to put any of you in harm's way." Yami answered. "Listen, we're a team. What affects one of us, effects all of us. Tea and Twilight have been giving this whole friendship spiel for the longest, didn't it sink in yet?" Rainbow replied. "Rainbow's right, so are we gonna do this or not?" AJ asked as she put out her hand.

"Right. If Yugi needs us, he needs us." Joey concurred as everyone else put their hands over AJ's. "Right, so what do we have to do?" Pinkie asked. "Just follow me, guys." Yami said with a smile. Elsewhere, in some sort of temple, a hooded man was at an altar. "Great deities of domination, I call upon thee. Use the pharaoh's force to penetrate the dominion of the beasts and liberate the fury of 10,000 years." he said. Meanwhile, at the Domino Museum, the group came to the Tablet of Lost Memories.

"I may be stating the obvious here, but that looks just like Yugi." Joey said. "That sign says its known as the Tablet of Lost Memories." Tristan pointed out. "Yes, that pharaoh, was me." Yami said. "This part always confuses me." Joey admitted. "Not me, it's really simple. Short and cute Yugi, is the present day boy we know and love. The taller and serious Yugi, THAT'S the pharaoh." Pinkie said with a goofy grin while Yami looked at the Egyptian God Cards.

'All of your questions will soon be answered, Pharaoh. We, the God Monsters of Egypt, shall assist you. Give unto us your complete faith and the knowledge you seek will be yours.' said a voice, mentally. 'You sure about this?' Yugi asked. 'Yes.' Yami replied with a nod before pointing the three Egyptian God Cards at the tablet, causing a great energy to manifest within the stone. "Do you guys see what I see?" Joey asked, shocked.

"Yeah, that just proves that this tablet has true and ancient magic within." Twilight replied. Back at the temple, the robed character got what he wanted as he sensed the energy. "You have served the deities of Egypt well, Pharaoh." he said before laughing wickedly as the tablet itself became encased in ice while dark energy started to come out of the three Egyptian God Cards, harming Yami. "Yugi, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, worried.

"I, don't know! I feel, as if a dark presence is draining the power of the Egyptian God Cards!" Yami replied. "First thing's first, drop those cards." Rarity advised. "I, can't let go of them." Yami replied before they heard a loud scream coming from outside. They all headed outside to see Duel Monsters all over the place. "You've got to be kidding me!" Joey shouted. "Its like what happened in there made the whole city into a tokusatsu, kaiju, monster movie!" Rainbow shouted.

"Someone's Duel Disk must've gone haywire!" Tristan suggested. "Tristan, it'd take more than one malfunctioning Duel Disks for those holograms of Duel Monsters to be going anywhere and everywhere across the city. There's likely more to it." Twilight replied. "Well, the only way to find out is to go to the source, so let's head over to KaibaCorp." AJ suggested, to which Yami agreed.

Over at KaibaCorp, the help and maintenance phonelines were ringing off the hook as technicians and operators answered multiple phone calls. Out on the street, the group rushed on. "This is crazy, the whole town is overrun with Duel Monsters!" Spike shouted. "Hey, what's with those two?" Joey asked as they came across none other than Weevil and Rex.

"You two okay? The city's under attack, so why are you just standing there in a daze?" AJ asked. "The age of destruction is here." Weevil said. "Soon, your souls will be offered to the Great Beast." Rex added, which brought a look of terror into Twilight's eyes, as she remembered that a creature of that description was in the dream she had. "Did you say souls?" Yami asked. "They must be in a state of shock or something." Tea figured before she noticed Twilight. "Twilight, are you okay?" she asked. "Huh?! Oh, yeah, sure." Twilight replied. "Don't try playing that game with me, Twilight." AJ said, giving her a suspicious look.

"Fine. What they said reminded me of that nightmare I told you guys about." Twilight replied with a sigh. "Come on, let's get going." Spike said before they all continued on their way to KaibaCorp. At said business, reporters were swarming the front door asking question after question with Roland addressing them. "Please, one at a time." he said, exasperated.

"Is KaibaCorp responsible for all this?" asked a reporter. "The people of Domino City deserve to know!" added another. "I just got off the phone with Mr. Kaiba and he assured me that neither this company nor its products are to blame. We have no further comments at this time." Roland replied before security ushered the reporters back. "Mr. Kaiba will be holding a press conference from the United States later today." he added. But the reporters wanted answers right then and there.

"Whoa, its a total circus at the door of the building!" Joey said in surprise. "I think I heard Roland say Kaiba's still in the United States and he's gonna hold a press conference later. Let's hope that we'll get some kind of answers." Rarity pointed out. Later that night, at Kame Game, Solomon Muto had the TV on while making sure the Egyptian God Cards were kept in pristine condition while the group watched the report upstairs. "In the last 24 hours, monsters have been appearing across the world, including a sighting of the Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress perching on the Taj Mahal. These creatures are believed to be holograms associated with the popular card game from Industrial Illusions known as Duel Monsters." said the news anchor.

"Man, this whole monster mess is happening all over the world." Spike said. "Let's hope that Kaiba's press conference will air." Fluttershy said. "We now take you live to a KaibaCorp press conference in the United States where company president Seto Kaiba will make a statement." the anchor continued before the press conference came on. "Its about darn time." AJ said.

"We've done extensive testing of our holographic simulation systems, so I can now confirm without question that these sightings are unrelated to KaibaCorp nor to any of our Duel Monsters-related products. Our state-of-the-art technology is working perfectly." Seto said. "There you have it, Seto Kaiba claims his company is not responsible for today's events." the anchor concluded. "I wonder if its a cover up. I mean, who else has holographic technology to project monsters in all the corners of the world?" Tristan figured.

"Unless those monsters aren't holograms." Fluttershy pointed out. "I was just thinking the exact same thing, Fluttershy. Perhaps, the force I felt in the museum somehow triggered the emergence of these creatures. Which could mean that these Duel Monsters are real." Yami said. "I wonder if that's what Rex and Weevil were referring to when we saw them today." Twilight figured before remembering what they said.

"Wait a minute, are you telling me we're under attack by actual monsters?" Joey asked. "I'm not sure what to think right now." Yami replied before they suddenly heard Sol down in the shop grunt before shouting no, prompting them to rush downstairs and see the place had been trashed and Sol asking how it could've happened. "Grandpa! Are you alright?" Yugi asked. "Mr. Muto, what happened?" Fluttershy asked, worried.

"Yugi, they're gone." Sol said as his grandson helped him up. "Who's gone, grandpa?" Yugi asked. "Not who, Yugi, what. The Egyptian God Cards, they've been stolen!" AJ shouted. "What?! Someone stole the Egyptian God Cards?" Yugi asked, shocked. "Who did this?" Joey asked, quite upset. "I didn't see their faces." Sol replied. "I'll check outside." Joey replied. "Wait for me, Joey!" Rainbow called before they both headed out the door.

Suddenly, they looked up and saw Obelisk the Tormentor appear. "What's Obelisk doing out here?!" Joey asked. "Guys, you might want to come out and see this!" Rainbow called before they all did so. "Obelisk the Tormentor?!" Spike said in shock. Soon, the other two Egyptian God Monsters joined it. "Slifer and Ra, too?!" Twilight asked in shock as she got another flashback to her dream. "What kind of madman would steal all three of the Egyptian God Cards and then summon them in the middle of the city for everyone to see?" Rarity wondered.

Suddenly, they were blinded by a bright light. "You blokes want those cards back?" asked a voice, indicating that the lights were headlights. "You got that right, they belong to the King of Games." Pinkie replied as they all saw they were confronting bikers. "All you got to do is get past us." said another biker. "But it's only fair to warn you, we've been known to fight dirty." added another. "That's right. So, what's it gonna be, mates?" asked the first biker.

As they all talked, they held up the same design of Duel Disk the man who confronted Weevil and Rex had. "You don't scare us!" Joey said, bravely. "Those Egyptian God Cards are too powerful for anyone unaware of their strength to handle." Twilight warned. "Sorry to disappoint you, but they serve a new master, now. Get me, Pharaoh?" the third biker replied. 'No way. How does he know about Yami?' Yugi wondered.

"If you think you've got what it takes to win back the Egyptian God Cards, follow us." the third biker continued before telling his buddies to roll, which led to all of them riding off towards a building under construction. "I guess we have no choice but to follow them and get those cards back." Yugi said before they all did follow the bikers, all the way to the top.

"Figures those grease monkeys would lead us to this dump." Joey said before they head a laugh. "Who's there? Show yourself" Yami called. "I'm right above you, Pharaoh!" called a voice before they all looked up towards the crane. "Is that one of those bikers up there?" Rainbow asked. "Can't tell, he's too far away." AJ answered. "Hey, why don't you come down here and face us like a man?" Joey called. "Very well." replied the figured before he jumped down and revealed himself.

"I'll make this short, I'm Gurimo and I possess something you want, the Three Egyptian God Cards. And you possess something I desire, your soul!" the man said before removing his hood while Yami climbed up onto the lumber to face him. "Just hold on. Those cards don't belong to you, and they possess a power far more dangerous than you could ever understand. I suggest you hand them over before someone gets hurt." the ancient one said.

"I'm well aware of their ancient powers and if you want them back, you'll have to face me in a duel." Gurimo replied. "Alright. But just don't say I didn't warn you." Yami said before activating his Duel Disk. "Your soul is mine. Now let's duel." Gurimo said as he readied his own Duel Disk. "You're on." Yami replied as both of their life points set to 4000, beginning the game. "I'll start things off with this!" he declared before as he drew. "Beta the Magnet Warrior, come forth in defense mode." he commanded before Beta did appear.

"I'll set one card face down and end my turn." he added. "The duel is in your hands, now." he concluded. Up above, the three bikers were watching the duel. "So far, so good. He took the bait. The boss is gonna be thrilled. As soon as the pharaoh's life points hit 0, we get his soul." said the taller biker. "I hope that this guy doesn't use the Egyptian God Cards, not a single creature in Duel Monsters can stand up to them." Spike said. "Don't sweat it, Spike. There's a reason why Yugi's called the King of Games." Joey replied. "Here here, because he almost never loses." Pinkie confirmed.

"I summon my Marauding Captain." Gurimo said before his warrior appeared. 'Hey, that's one of my monsters.' AJ thought. "And this young man comes with a very special ability, he lets me automatically summon another monster to the field to join him, and I choose Shadow Tamer." Gurimo revealed before his second monster appeared. "I'm afraid the worst is yet to come. Ready? This card holds more power than all three Egyptian God Monsters, and its almost as old as time itself. The Seal of Orichalcos!" he continued before showing said card.

"The Seal of what?!" Spike said in shock, having never heard of it before. While Twilight got a look of horror on her face, as it was the same thing that entrapped the Egyptian God Monsters in her dream. "The magic infused within this card existed long before the sands of ancient Egypt were formed, Pharaoh! Now experience this power for yourself." Gurimo explained before the markings on his Duel Disk started to glow and cause the seal itself to be formed above the players before it came down upon the battlefield.

"What's going on?" Yami asked. "Tell me!" he shouted. "Your fate is now sealed." Gurimo replied before the seal set down upon the battlefield and the force of its formation caused the others on the sidelines to fly back a bit. "My friends!" Yami shouted, but he found that he couldn't exit the seal. "The Seal of Orichalcos prevents us from exiting and all outsiders from entering its sacred boundaries." Gurmio said. "When the duel is over, only the victor may penetrate the border, but the loser can never leave. His soul will remain locked inside the seal." he added before looking up at Yami, revealing the seal was on his forehead and on the medallion he wore around his neck.

"You'll soon see that the rules of the outside world, no longer apply." he concluded. "Alright. You should know that I'm no stranger to ancient magic. Observe, the power of my Millennium Puzzle!" Yami replied before his Millennium Puzzle glowed right in the centerpiece while the Eye of Anubis appeared on his forehead. However, the magic soon faded as quickly as it came. "What's this?" he asked. "The magic within the Seal of Orichalcos is older than your Shadow Magic and existed long before your puzzle. Your trinket is useless, and your victory is far out of reach. Sorry, but in here, the advantage is mine, for the Seal of Orichalcos was played on my side of the field, thus granting me unfathomable power and strengthening every one of my monsters by 500 points." Gurimo answered.

As he said that the seal strengthened his monsters, Marauding Captain's attack points increased to 1700 while Shadow Tamer's increased to 1300, while at the same time, their eyes started to glow red and the Seal of Orichalcos appeared on their foreheads. "Thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos, my monsters reign supreme." he continued. "Now, my Marauding Captain, attack and destroy his Magnet Warrior!" he commanded before the warrior's swords sliced Beta in half. "You've triggered my trap, Soul Rope!" Yami declared as his trap sprung.

"This allows me to summon a four star monster from my deck, as long as I'm willing to give up 1000 life points in exchange." he explained as his life points lowered to 3000 and he took his deck out of the display drive recognizer to pick his new monster. "There's nothing in your deck that can stop me." Gurimo claimed. "Wrong, I have Gamma the Magnet Warrior." Yami replied before Gamma appeared in defense mode. "Sorry, but you're going to have to do better than that if you want to defeat me. I'll set one card face down." Gurimo said before doing so. "Why don't you try again, Pharaoh?" he asked.

"I plan to do more than try." Yami replied before drawing. "Feast your eyes on this, I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in attack mode. "Why, thank you. You've activated my Hidden Soldiers trap!" Gurimo declared as his trap card sprung. "Unfortunately for you, this card allows me to conjure up a creature of ultimate darkness. A monster that derives its very power from the deepest shadows. Makyura the Destructor!" he explained before his new monster appeared. "And, like all my monsters, its strength is enhanced by the Seal of Orichalcos." he added as his creature's attack points increased to 2100.

"Well, I, too, have a card to activate. Behold, The Shallow Grave!" Yami declared as his card was revealed. "It gives us both the power to access any monster we choose from our graveyard and summon it back to the field in defense mode. And I've chosen Beta!" he explained before Beta returned to the field. "And you know what that means, now I can tribute my Magnet Warriors to combine them together, fusing their electromagnetic energies together to form, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" he declared before his ultimate magnetic monster appeared.

"Since your graveyard is empty, you have no monsters to bring back." he added, to Gurimo's chagrin. "He better think of something quick, or the pharaoh's gonna kick his bum." said one of the bikers. "Relax, Valon. There's plenty of time left." replied another. "Now, Valkyrion, attack!" Yami commanded before the Marauding Captain was defeated. "Your Captain is gone." he added as Gurimo's life points greatly decreased almost by half, but stopped at 2200.

"Nice one, Yugi!" Spike shouted. "One down, two to go!" Rainbow called out. "That clown in a cloak has nothing on you!" Pinkie shouted. "Well played. I must admit, I haven't faced a challenge like this in quite some time. Its actually refreshing. Of course, in the end, you'll meet the same fate as all my victims. I'm afraid, it's just a matter of time." Gurimo said calmly. "That's an obvious bluff. Valkyrion has 3500 attack points, he's got nothing in his deck that can beat it." AJ stated. But then, she realized something. "Unless... No way! So THAT'S why they took the Egyptian God Cards!" she shouted, with Yami quickly realizing what she meant.

"No, you can't!" Yami shouted. "I can, and I will, Pharaoh. I'll destroy you, with one of your own Egyptian God Monsters!" Gurimo declared. "First, I'll bring my Marauding Captain back from the graveyard using the magic of Monster Reborn." he said before his Captain returned to the field. "Wait a minute! Only certain Duelists can control an Egyptian God Monster." Yami pointed out before pleading him to stop. "It's too late to stop me now! I sacrifice my three monsters..." Gurimo replied.

"No, don't!" Twilight shouted. "...in order to summon the Egyptian God Monster, Obelisk the Tormentor!" he shouted before Obelisk rose up behind him while he laughed. "Me and Twilight BOTH warned him." Yami said before the Seal of Orichalcos appeared on the forehead of Obelisk, increasing its power to 4500. "No. This can't be." Twilight said, worried. "The Seal of Orichalcos is on Obelisk's head!" Spike added. "Worse than that, it made it stronger." AJ pointed out.

"The power of the Orichalcos now courses through Obelisk, merging the most powerful creature that ever existed with the most incredible force ever imagined! You're trapped in my circle of doom, Pharaoh, and before long, your soul will be sealed away for all eternity!" Gurimo declared as Yami started the soldier of Serket in the face, unsure of what to do.