Chapter 12

Fate of the Pharaoh: Part 1

"Yugi vs Rafael"

Out in the desert that was Death Valley, a vast expanse of rock that spanned from California to Nevada, Duke, Joey, Tristan, Spike and Rainbow rode on to try and find Yugi. "Who needs roads when you have an off-roader like this baby?" Joey asked. "Only those who like to go off-road. Now step on it, Duke!" Rainbow replied. "Yeah, we got to find Yugi and fast!" Spike added. "Then buckle up, gang, and hang on!" Duke responded before he shifted into another gear.

Meanwhile, in another part of Death Valley, Rafael awaited for his opponent to arrive. 'The pharaoh should be arriving shortly. For his final duel.' he thought before Yami arrived upon Capernicus. "Let's do this." the ancient one said before he and Capernicus slid down the side of the mountain and jumped off a ledge before Yami jumped off the back of the horse and landed before the bridge.

"Very impressive, cowboy, but you'll need more than a few rodeo tricks to get out of this." Rafael said as Yami crossed the bridge. "You see, while my associates are satisfied with stealing the souls of your friends, I'm not." he added before Yami came to a stop. "I did my part, now release the professor as you promised." the ancient one demanded. "I'm two steps ahead of you, he's already been set free. But since you've come all this way, you might as well stay a while." Rafael replied before removing his coat, revealing his Chaos Disk and his deck ready to go.

Next thing Yami knew, Raf threw a couple of hatchets at the bridge, cutting the ropes holding it up and making it collapse. "So you're gonna stick around, right? Cause like I said before, Pharaoh, the souls of your friends aren't good enough. I need to capture the wandering soul known as the Nameless Pharaoh so I can save the world." Raf added.

"Save the world? Don't you see that what you, the Swordsmen and Dartz are doing is going to destroy it? Or are you so insane that you can't tell the difference?" Yami asked. "I'm just fine upstairs, it's you who's blind to what's going on. You're fighting on the wrong side." Raf answered. "Explain yourself." Yami demanded. "This world's a dark and lonely place to live, it's been poisoned by mankind. All I'm trying to do is fix what's been ruined by people like you, and I'll do it by forcing you out of that borrowed body of yours and locking you away for good." Raf explained.

"Who do you think your are?" Yami asked, unamused. "Look, the name's Rafael and I called you out here to duel, not shoot the breeze. I've waited for this moment long enough and I have no intentions of putting our fight off for another minute. Keep in mind, I don't want your silly title as World Championship Duelist, I'm after your soul, so let's go!" Raf answered before the sun began to rise. "You've given me no choice, but no this; in the end, righteousness will prevail and justice shall be served." Yami said. "That's just what I'm hoping for." Raf retorted before both men activated their Duel Disks. And with an equally confident 'Let's duel!', both players' life points set to 4000 and the duel began.

'Something seems, different about this guy.' Yugi pointed out. 'I agree, Yugi. He has some sort of hidden power.' Yami concurred. "I'll start things off, if you don't mind, with a magic card known as Guarded Treasure." Raf said as he drew and activated his magic card of choice. "This allows me to draw two new cards as long as I discard the five that are in my hand. Plus as long as Guarded Treasure remains on the field, I can draw two cards every time my turn begins." he explained before discarding his hand and drawing twice.

'I don't understand, why would he discard his entire hand just to be able to draw twice each turn?' Yugi wondered, but then he realized what was going on. 'He's looking for the Seal of Orichalcos!' he mentally shouted. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and set one more card face down on the field. That ends my turn." Raf said as he finished his move. "You oughta be thanking me, Pharaoh. I just gave you a head start. Since I played the two cards I just drew, my hand is empty." he added.

'He may be toying with me, but he does have a point. If I destroy his defensive monster, I can take in early lead.' Yugi thought. "Here goes." Yami said before drawing. "I fuse together Gazelle and Berfomet together by means of Polymerization in order to fusion summon Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast!" he declared before his fusion monster appeared. "Your defensive monster won't stand a chance against the claws of Chimera! Go, my Mythical Beast, attack!" he shouted before Chimera charged.

However, it was suddenly stopped in its track by the defending monster, a level four, Dark attribute warrior/effect monster with 500 attack points and 2200 defense points, prompting Rafael to laugh. "Now what were you saying about my monster not standing a chance?" he asked. "That's Backup Gardna, and it has more than enough defense points to stop your monster!" he added before Chimera was pushed back, causing Yami's life points to lower to 3900. "Back to me." Raf said before drawing. "I activate the equip spell called Gravity Axe!" he declared.

"With Gravity Axe in the hand of my Backup Gardna, it gains 500 extra attack points. But more than that, it stays in defense mode and gets an ally to join it on the battlefield without me having to sacrifice anything, since it's the only card in my hand. So, meet Guardian Grarl!" he continued before Backup Gardna's attack points rose to 1000 and Guardian Grarl, a level five, Earth attribute dinosaur/effect monster with 2500 attack points and 1000 defense points, appeared alongside it.

"If you think Grarl is strong now, just wait, because now I activate Backup Gardna's effect to transfer my Gravity Axe over to Grarl!" he added before the axe left Backup Gardna's hand, bringing its attack points back to normal, and appeared in Grarl's hands, increasing its attack points to 3000. "It has 3000 points already?!" Yami asked in shock. "Now, Guardian Grarl, attack Chimera!" Raf commanded before, with one swing, Chimera was destroyed, lowering Yami's life points to 3000.

"Chimera may be gone now, but its special ability allows me to bring forth what was used to make it! Observe!" Yami declared before Berfomet appeared. "Big deal, your two headed pipsqueak left behind one of the even weaker monsters used to fusion summon it. Forgive me if I'm not shaken." Raf mocked. "I'm afraid you're gonna have to do better than that, cause I have a deck full of Guardian monsters and each one is more powerful than the last." he continued. "What do you mean Guardian monsters?" Yami asked.

Meanwhile, at the camper, Twilight was calling for Professor Hawkins to wake up, only to find he was still sleeping. "Something tells me the professor has the right idea. A few extra Zs wouldn't hurt." Pinkie said. "Not me." Rebecca stated. "I've been doing some research online and I think I'm on to something." she said. "Wait a sec, you aren't trading Duel Monsters cards, are you?" AJ asked, suspiciously. "No, I found this strange article. It's about a cruise ship that sank about 12 years ago and one of the passengers was a boy who saved himself by swimming to an island." Rebecca answered.

"Oh, dear. How long was he there?" Rarity asked. "He spent three years of his life all alone on that deserted island. And according to what he said to the news reporters covering the story, he did nothing but practice his Duel Monsters skills over and over until he was rescued." Rebecca answered. "What was his name?" Fluttershy asked. "Rafael." Rebecca answered, causing Fluttershy to gasp. "That's the name of the guy who challenged Yugi!" she said. "Exactly. I have to go get him!" Rebecca replied before she started to head to the door.

"Hold up, sugar cube. Let's let Yugi take care of this feller." AJ said as she gently grabbed Rebecca's shoulder. "You sure?" Rebecca asked, thinking AJ was making a mistake stopping her. Meanwhile, the duel continued. "You could never understand the connection I have with my cards, Pharaoh." Raf said. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I also share a bond with my deck. I trust and respect every one of my cards." Yami replied.

"Oh, yeah? Take a close look at the two cards I have on my Chaos Disk right now." Raf said before Yami saw the two cards were worn. 'Whoa. His cads are almost completely worn out.' Yugi thought. "I've played these cards hundreds of times, and even though they may be on the verge of falling apart, I'll never replace them. I swore to protect them like how they protected me. You see, twelve years ago, these cards saved my life!" Raf stated.

"When I was a kid, like many others, I genuinely believed that the world was a happy place, but I discovered the truth; that nothing in life is fair and no one gets what they truly deserve." he explained. "What a sad way to view the world." Yami said, solemnly. "Yeah, well, life is sad and the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be. I oughta know, I was born into a life of luxury and had just about anything a kid could ever want. That is until one night, when everything was taken away from me." Raf replied before remembering the night the cruise ship he was on sank, the night of his birthday.

"As soon as I felt the ship rocking around, I knew something was wrong. We were heading straight for a tidal wave and there was no way to turn around in time. It was the last time I saw my family." he continued before his memory changed to when he washed up on a deserted island. "The tidal wave and the storm that accompanied it vanished just as quickly as they appeared, from what I heard years later, my family managed to get on a life raft and save themselves, but as for me, I washed up on a deserted island. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me when I first woke up and saw one of my Guardian cards, Guardian Eatos, standing before me, but back then, I was foolish enough to think someone else was on the island other than me." he continued.

"It didn't take long for me to realize I was alone. Everything I once had was gone, I had no one to watch over me. All I had were the clothes on my back and my Duel Monsters cards. I had two choices; sit around and feel sorry for myself while I slowly died of starvation and dehydration, or toughen up and move on so that I could save myself. If I wanted to survive, the decision was simple, there was no time for weakness. I learned at a young age that the world was cold and lonely. I lost my childhood, but I gained something more important; the truth, and an undying trust for the only family I had, my Guardian cards. These Duel Monsters cards were everything to me, still are." he continued.

"They kept me strong, and sane. They saved me from losing my mind and I owed it to those cards to keep them safe. We shared a powerful bond. Guardian Eatos, Guardian Grarl and Guardian Kay'est. These monsters saw me through the three hardest years of my life and they continue to protect me." he continued before his flashback ended. "Rafael, if you truly respect your cards, then why do you use them to do something as evil as capture the souls of others?" Yami asked. "You think what we do is evil, Pharaoh? What you consider evil, Dartz, the Swordsmen and I see as saving the planet from falling apart at the hands of people like you and your friends. Its my destiny." Raf answered before another flashback began.

"I always wondered why I washed up on that island, but after spending three years on that island, I finally got my answer. There was an island not far from the one I was on. How I missed it, I don't know. But it wasn't just an island, it was an entire city right off the coast. I was saved." he stated as he remembered paddling out to the city he thought he saw before it vanished as large wave started coming in. But then, he saw the city again just after he began to go under once the wave hit.

It was that moment, as Raf remembered, when he heard Dartz's voice. "Soon after, I woke up on a rescue boat. The captain said they found me unconscious and floating on a raft. I became the topic of discussion for newspapers and magazines all over the world. They called me a miracle once they heard I survived on that island by myself for three years. But when I rejoined civilization, if you could call it that, I found that my parents had died and my brother and sister had gotten married and moved on." he continued as his flashback ended.

"That island may have been deserted, but at least it was a peaceful place to live. And unlike the rest of the world, Pharaoh, there was no one on that island who would leave me for any reason, like how my family was ripped away from me." he continued before starting to shed some tears. "But I have a new family now." he concluded. "How can you blame mankind for what happened to you? It was a storm that took you away from your family." Yami stated.

"I just told you, people are evil. But it wasn't always that way. Once, the world was perfect, just as God above intended it to be. And when I returned to the civilized world from that desert island, I saw this paradise first-hand." Raf replied as he remembered the day he met Dartz for the first time before the flashback ended.

"I don't know what Dartz told you, but I know that no good can come from his plan." Yami said. "Don't worry, Pharaoh, you won't be around to see how our plan turns out." Raf responded. "Wrong, I'm not going anywhere." Yami replied. "We'll see." Raf said before, a long ways away, Rex and Weevil ended up finding Yugi and Raf. "That's the last time I'll ever suggest a shortcut through Death Valley." Weevil said before Rex looked up. "Hey, check it out! Yugi's dueling already!" Rex said.

"It's my move, Rafael." Yami said before drawing. "And now I activate the magic card known as Five Star Twilight!" he declared before Berfomet vanished. "Since Berfomet is a level five monster, Five Star Twilight allows me to summon five new monsters to the field! Now, say hello to a family of monsters with surprises galore, the five Kuriboh Brothers; Kuribah, Kuribee, Kuriboo, Kuribeh and Kuriboh!" he explained before the five brothers Kuriboh appeared, all with the same power level, attack and defense points as Kuriboh.

"My cat's coughed up more frightening things than those monsters." Raf scoffed. "Looks can be quite deceiving." Yami replied. "Go, my Kuribohs! Combine your powers together to form, Kuribabylon!" he declared before the five Kuriboh Brothers united to form Kuribabylon, a level five, Dark attribute fiend/effect monster with 1500 attack points and 1000 defense points. "Next I activate the magic card known as Pump Up to double my Kuribabylon's attack points for a single turn." he explained as his monster's attack points increased to 3000.

"Now, my beast, attack with Horn of Chaos!" he declared. "I don't think so, King Puff-ball! I activate Rescuer from the Grave!" Raf retorted. "What?! You can't activate a magic card from your graveyard!" Yami said in shock. "Correction, I can. And I did!" Raf replied before Kuribabylon's attack is deflected. "This powerful magic card can only be activated once its in my graveyard. Then comes the fun part, at least for me. It instantly stops your attack." Raf explained.

'That explains why he discarded his whole hand at the start of the duel.' Yugi thought. "I'll go ahead and end my turn by turning my Kuribabylon back into the five Kuribohs used to summon it." Yami said before doing so. "Good. Now, where was I?" Raf asked before drawing. "Oh, right, now I remember, I was destroying you, and preparing to seal you away, leaving the boy you possessed when he put the Millennium Puzzle together without his guide. But don't worry, you'll be put to good use by feeding the Great Beast until he's powerful enough to destroy all of humanity. But why stand here and talk about it when I can make it happen? The sooner I wind this duel, the sooner you'll be gone from this plane of existence forever. With that, I'll set two cards face down." he continued.

"And then I'll activate this, Purity of the Cemetery!" he declared before his card activated. "Here's how it works, Pharaoh. "You'll lose 100 of your life points each turn for every monster that remains in your graveyard. And as long as my graveyard is monster-free, my card stays in play." he explained. 'I have to send one of his monsters to the graveyard, or I'm a goner!' Yugi thought.

"Now I have one more thing you might be interested in knowing, I have no intention of playing my Seal of Orichalcos field spell." Raf stated, bringing a look of surprise to Yami's face. "But that doesn't mean your safe, not by a long shot. Your fate is still sealed and when you lose your soul, it'll be by your own doing. Look closely, Guardian Grarl has 3000 attack points while all five of your multi-colored pom-poms have a total of 1500, not even close enough to scratch him." he continued. "Now attack with your Gravity Axe!" he commanded.

Rafael laughed as his monster charged, ready to strike down one of Yami's Kuriboh brothers.