Chapter 35
A Duel with Dartz: Part 3
"The Captive Mirror Knights"
Outside on the steps to the temple, Rafael continued to ride. Meanwhile, inside the temple, the duel continued. "Tell me, gentlemen, what do you think of my Mirror Knights now? I'm sure there's no need for any introductions." Dartz said. "That's not funny, Dartz." Yami replied, irked. "Maybe not to you." Dartz replied. "That's enough!" Yami snapped. "Just drop the magic act and let's duel." Seto added. "But we are dueling, you insensible twit. We're just playing by my rules, that's all. Since I now control the souls of your former friends, and foe, I thought it would be fun for them to play along with us." Dartz replied.
"Leave them alone!" Fluttershy shouted. "What did they ever do to you?!" Rainbow asked, angrily. "You lot really should be thanking me." Dartz simply said. "Why's that?" Yami asked. "I'm giving you one last chance to see your companions, before they're erased from existence forever." the madman answered. "You'll never take anything away from us, Dartz!" Yami shouted. "Good, Pharaoh, let your anger consume you. You feel the darkness still lingering in you starting to spread again? The stronger your rage, the more powerful the Great Leviathan will be when it absorbs your soul." Dartz said, pleased with what he saw.
"Now where was I? Ah, yes. Mirror Knight Yugi, it's time to attack your other half." he continued, deeply concerning Yami. "No, Yugi! Fight it! I know you can hear me!" Fluttershy shouted. Surprisingly, it seemed to work as Yugi struggled to fight against Dartz's command. "What's this? My knight is still loyal to that young lady? How touching. Even though the Nameless Pharoh turned his back on you and your beloved, you refuse to seek revenge. But that will soon change." Dartz said. "We'll see." Yami replied.
"Let's move on. I'll set a card face down to end my turn." Dartz said. "Let's see what you've got, Kaiba." he added. "My pleasure." Seto replied before drawing. 'I'm not gonna be hesitant and intimidated just because he somehow altered the holograms of those Mirror Knights by putting a few familiar faces on them.' he thought. "First I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw twice more." he said before doing so. "Next I'll activate my Cost Down magic card. This will lower the power level of one monster in my hand so I can summon it without tributing." he continued. "And so, I call to the field, the Different Dimension Dragon!" he declared before his new beast appeared.
"And thanks to its special ability, my dragon can't be destroyed by any monster with less than 1900 attack points. And don't forget, my Kaiser Glider can't be destroyed by your knights either." he continued. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Dartz asked. "Kaiser Glider, attack Mirror Knight number 3!" Seto commanded. "But that's Mai!" Spike said in shock. "Kaiba, as great a Duelist you are, Dartz may have something up his sleeve." Yami warned. "I appreciate the compliment, but I'm not letting some mind tricks stop me from winning this duel. That cult lunatic took control of my company and I'm prepared to do whatever I have to to get it back! Do I make myself clear?" Seto replied.
"I understand, but he still may be hiding something." Yami pointed out. "Whether or not that's the case, he's probably stalling. And this tactic won't work on me, so it shouldn't on you." Seto replied. "Very well." Yami said at last. 'What are we supposed to do? If we let Dartz win he'll capture us and the whole world will suffer. But if we fight back, my friends will be lost forever.' the ancient one thought.
"So you have a small platoon of knights wearing the faces of people I know. Am I supposed to not think of attacking?" Seto asked. "Well, only if destroying an innocent life concerns you." Dartz replied. "Well, as president of KaibaCorp, I won't stoop to murder. But this is only part of the card game, isn't it?" Seto replied. "Now, Kaiser Glider, continue your attack on his third Mirror Knight!" he commanded before the creature went on the attack.
However, only the shield was destroyed. "Looks like Dartz sacrificed Mai's mirror shield to spare her." Mokuba said. "That means one more attack, and he's gone!" Rarity added in horror. "Different Dimension Dragon, attack the third Mirror Knight as well!" Seto commanded before the attack fired. Everyone watched on helplessly as Mai seemingly neared her permanent end, but at the last minute, the Mirror Knight with Joey's face saved her by sacrificing his own mirror shield.
"The Mirror Knight wearing Joey's face protected her!" Spike said in surprise. "I don't know if that was Dartz's doing or not, but now both Mai AND Joey are vulnerable." Twilight added. "Yes, and it seems that your little attack plan backfired, Kaiba." Dartz said. "I still don't know how Joey's face is on that knight, but at least he won't be able to save himself should I decide to attack on my next turn. I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Seto said.
"Back to me." Yami said. "Yugi, you know what you have to do for us to win, stop all four of his knights." Seto advised as Yami drew. 'No. I can't endanger any of them.' the ancient one thought. "It doesn't matter which one you target, because its likely the other two will jump in to defend them. So if you have a monster with enough attack points, then go for it." Seto insisted before Yami remembered when Joey, Tristan, AJ, Spike and Rainbow saved him and Yugi from that warehouse fire, how Joey saved Yugi from drowning after their forced duel at Battle City, the parting words Mai gave after she surrendered to him at Duelist Kingdom, how he saved both Joey and Mai from being obliterated by The Winged Dragon of Ra at Battle City, Pegasus' message at Industrial Illusions and how Yugi sacrificed his own soul to save Yami's.
'I refuse to put my friends in harm's way.' the ancient one thought. "Alright, Dartz, I have no monsters in my hand to play that can attack your Mirror Knights, so I have no choice but to pass this turn." he said at last. "Are you sure you don't have any monsters?" Seto asked. "Big Shield Gardna is my only one, and he's nowhere near strong enough to attack either of them." Yami answered. "I hope Yami's doing the right thing." Rarity said.
"He's the King of Games, Rarity. He always has a plan, doesn't he?" Pinkie replied. "You didn't even have a chance to attack at all, did you?" Dartz asked before drawing. "Very well, it's time to pick up where I left off. I'll start by gaining more life points, compliments of Orichalcos Deuteros." he continued before his life points increased to 12,500. "Now, if you can't choose which knight to attack, then I'll choose for you. By using this, a magic card known as Twin Bow Centaur!" he declared.
"This allows me to pick two monsters, one from my side of the field and one from yours. Then my headless centaur will choose to remove one of them from play. My targets will be Kaiba's Kaiser Glider and Mirror Knight Joseph!" he explained. "If the arrow pointed at Joey fires, we'll never get him back." Tristan said, worried. "And if it hits Seto's monster, he'll lose most of his life points as per the effect of Twin Bow Centaur." Mokuba added. "Kaiba, or Joseph? Who will take the shot?" Dartz asked with a cruel smile before snapping his fingers.
Suddenly, the arrow pointing at Kaiser Glider was set alight. "Looks like you're the unlucky one this time, Mr. Kaiba." he said before the arrow fired, removing Kaiser Glider from the game and then GREATLY dropping Seto's life points to 600. "I wouldn't want to end things on such a sour note, so allow me to share with you the upside to this tragedy. Using my Twin Bow Centaur requires me to end my turn." he concluded. "That is good news. Now I can do what your headless, conjoined donkey twins should've done." Seto replied before drawing.
"Different Dimension Dragon, attack the knight disguised as Joey Wheeler!" he commanded. "Kaiba, you forgot about the two knights that still have shields!" Yami shouted. "That's the plan. Get rid of all the shields and they won't be able to save themselves!" Seto replied as the attack fired. Right then and there, the Mirror Knight wearing Yugi's face sacrificed his own shield to save the targeted knight.
"Perfect." Seto said at last. "Some plan, it nearly gave some of us a heart attack." Rainbow said as the madman chuckled. "Well, now. I suppose friendship does come through. And thanks to your friends' loyalty to one another, I'll be able to conquer you both!" Dartz declared. "That's enough. I won't let you use anyone I care about for your own selfish scheme." Yami said before drawing. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, to remove your centaur from the field!" he declared before the Twin Bow Centaur was destroyed.
"That ends my turn." he concluded. "You poor fool." Dartz replied before drawing. "You just wasted your turn destroying a card I didn't need. And wait till you see what I'm about to summon next. I call forth Orichalcos Malevolence!" he declared before his new monster, a level four, Fire attribute rock monster with 1500 attack points, now increased to 2000, and 1000 defense points.
"And thanks to the second layer of the sacred seal, my power increases by another 3000 points." he added as his life points increased to 15,500. "That guy's got over 15,000 life points?!" Spike said in shock. "Worse yet, my brother only has 600, one more attack and he'll be history." Mokuba added. "I think we both know what has to happen now, Mr. Kaiba. But don't fret, because I'll make sure that black and greedy soul of yours is put to good use, just as soon as its mine." Dartz stated.
"Orichalcos Malevolence, attack!" he commanded before the creature slammed the ground, sending a stream of fire at Seto. "It's been a real blast." Dartz said. Meanwhile, outside the temple, Rafael jumped into the view of Roland and Fuguta before riding right into the temple, despite the protests from both men. Back in the temple, the duel kept going. "Not so fast, Dartz! I activate the trap card known as Attack Guidance Barrier!" Seto declared as his trap sprung. "This causes your attack to be redirected at another monster on the field and raise its defense points by 600!" he explained before turning to Yami, who nodded.
"And I know exactly which one to pick, Yugi's Big Shield Gardna!" he declared before the attack veered toward the mighty defender and was nullified as Gardna's defense points increased to 3200. "Very impressive, but my life points are safe thanks to Kyutora. And that pathetic Gardna is forced to switch into attack mode as per its own effect." Dartz said as his one-eyed creature absorbed all the damage meant for him while Big Shield Gardna stood up.
"That may be true, but thanks to Kaiba's trap card, your turn is done." Yami pointed out. "Must you explain everything? I'm well aware of what that trap does." Dartz replied. "You better hope nothing happens to me, cause you can't do this alone." Seto said before drawing. 'I only have 600 points left and not a monster in my hand to summon.' he thought. "First I'll switch my dragon to defense mode and then I'll end my turn by setting two cards." he said aloud.
"It's up to me, now." Yami said. "If you want to make sure this duel goes to us, you'll have to attack those Mirror Knights." Seto stated. 'No. I can't turn my back on Yugi again.' Yami thought. "You have to attack. It's the only way!" said a familiar voice, it was the Mirror Knight that wore Yugi's face, much to the shock of everyone present. 'How can it be talking? Holograms of Duel Monsters CAN'T TALK!' Seto thought. "We'll be fine. If you don't attack, you'll lose. And too many people are depending on you." Yugi said.
"But Yugi, if any of you are attacked or decide to attack, your souls will be lost forever." Yami said. 'Trust me.' Yugi said to his friend, mentally. "I don't know if we're all going crazy, but how can a hologram with your head on it speak?" Seto asked. "Kaiba, once again, your clueless, so please stop asking questions." Yami replied. "Come now, your majesty, everyone is waiting." Dartz taunted. "First I'll switch my Big Shield Gardna back to defense mode. Then I'll set a card. I still have no monsters to summon that can attack, so I'll end my turn." Yami replied.
"Looks like the luck of the draw isn't with you." Seto said before Dartz laughed. "It's quite apparent that there's nothing either of you can do to stop me. So let's put you both out of your misery, shall we?" he said. Suddenly, Rafael rode in and came to a screeching halt, to everyone's surprise. "You don't look happy to see me. And after all we've been through. No need to talk, I've heard enough lies from you. The Pharaoh opened my heart, eyes and mind to the truth. You're the one who tricked me into digging up the remains of my family and burning them to ashes." he said to his former master.
"Oh, really?" Dartz asked. "You heard me. Thanks to him, I was able to escape the Seal of Orichalcos with my soul still inside me, unlike them, and everyone else you've used. Now set them free before you end up on that wall!" Raf replied as he looked at the four Mirror Knights and the carvings of his former Swordsmen allies. "Your soul may have been spared, but it seems to me the Orichalcos took what was left of your brain." Dartz claimed. "What's that supposed to mean?" Raf asked, offended.
"It means you're more gullible than ever. Do you honestly think the darkness that once controlled you is gone?" Dartz replied. "It has to be. It worked for the Nameless Pharaoh since he was able to summon Timaeus in the Stone Wilderness on the mainland, he only did that after conquering the darkness inside him." Raf pointed out. "So he did. Guess its fair to admit that you're not the only one I've tricked into joining Doma." Dartz replied.
"I know what you're doing. You're just playing mind games!" Raf shouted. "You're just like everyone else in this world. All you have to do is look around you, Rafael! Each one of these poor fools gave in to their dark side and was taken by the Seal of Orichalcos. They were evil! Just like all humans! Which is why I was chosen to wipe them out. And you're no different, neither were your fellow Swordsmen. You can't just walk away from the darkness, it's part of who you are. That's why I brought you into Doma, along with Valon and Alister, to form the Swordsmen. Your rage made you the perfect candidate to be one of the Swordsmen to carry out my plan." Dartz replied.
"In case you didn't find out, I've made peace with my past. I even did away with Guardian Dreadscythe to prove it. The Nameless Pharaoh and his allies showed me what loyalty and trust are all about. I used to be like them, before YOU came into my life and poisoned both my mind and heart with your Doma rantings and both the Seal of Orichalcos card and the stone you had placed around my neck." Raf stated. But Dartz just laughed.
"What's the joke?" AJ asked. "He's the joke, my dear. The Orichalcos didn't poison his heart and mind, it exposed what he truly is on the inside, a corrupt human being with anger, just like everyone else in this room. Including you and young Mokuba Kaiba." Dartz answered. "Why, I'd NEVER!" Rarity shouted, offended. "Then what does that make you, Mr. Perfect?" Rainbow asked. "You might say I'm a pioneer, chosen by the Orichalcos stone to bring about a new world. And my task is nearly done. Soon I'll have enough power to awaken the Leviathan and rebuild civilization!" Dartz declared.
"For 10,000 years, I've been gathering the souls of mankind to amass enough energy to regenerate the Great Beast! But time was running out and I needed help." he continued. "So you found us. Me, Valon and Alister, and formed the Swordsmen." Raf figured. "I required three subordinates to become the Swordsmen and carry out my plan. They needed to be filled with enough anger to tap into the full power of the Orichalcos. They also needed a reason to hate the people of this world as much as I do. As soon as I encounter Valon, Alister and yourself, Rafael, I knew I had found exactly what I had been searching for." Dartz explained.
"Of course, it was necessary to influence certain events in your lives." he added. "What do you mean, influence?" AJ asked, suspiciously. "I see I'll have to spell it out for more than just Rafael. So let's start with Alister!" Dartz answered as he pointed toward the carving of Alister on the wall. "His family died in the Bosnia War at the hands of Gozaburo Kaiba and the tanks he produced for the Serbs in that conflict." he added. "What's your point?" Seto asked.
"Mokuba, did your step-father really sell tanks to the Serbs for use in the Bosnia War?" Twilight asked. "Unfortunately, Alister told us." Mokuba answered. "Of course, what Alister doesn't know is that Kaiba's adopted father didn't do a thing to influence the war. He didn't sell a single tank to the Serbs. The honor of ruining his childhood and removing his family from his life belongs to me." Dartz revealed, shocking everyone.
"You monster! You made Seto and Mokuba think their step-father had influence in a war and hid the truth away from a young boy whose family you MURDERED?!" AJ shouted. "Then there's poor Valon, who practically grew up in 13 different juvenile detention centers across England. Of course, the one who started the conflict that led him to be moved across all 13 aforementioned centers was yours truly." Dartz continued. "You mean YOU'RE the one who made him a ruthless fighter?!" Rainbow asked, shocked.
"Furthermore, he brought Mai into our group under my control, whether he knew it or not, by interfering in some way, shape or form in Mai's many duels. In fact, that's what led him to the first fight he picked in the first juvenile detention center he got sent to at the age of nine." Dartz added. "You heartless WRETCH!" Rarity shouted, but Dartz just laughed.
"And last but not least, we can't forget about you, Rafael. Remember that stormy night? The one that caused the cruise ship you and your family were aboard to celebrate your birthday to sink?" he asked. "Not that! You couldn't have!" Raf said in disbelief as he remembered the events of that night. "Your captain didn't accidentally steer the ship into that typhoon, it was I that led your ship astray." Dartz revealed. "No! You killed my family?! But why?!" Raf asked in horror.
"You really have to start paying attention one of these days. I watched you master of Duel Monsters at a young age, but I needed to unlock your inner fury. It was the only way to make sure you were strong enough. After all, I had The Three Legendary Dragons to contend with both then and now. And, quite frankly, your life was a bit too perfect, being born into wealth and prestige. So I made some, permanent, adjustments." Dartz answered.
"Rafael, don't listen to him!" Yami pleaded. "Its clear this guy is a maniacal, murdering, power-hungry lunatic, but now is NOT the time to let your own emotions take over." Twilight said, but their words fell on deaf ears. "Everything is all your fault. You murdered my whole family!" Raf shouted. "I needed your anger. Your thirst for revenge against the world that you thought wronged you." Dartz replied.
Raf finally SNAPPED and activated his Chaos Disk before it started to glow brightly. "YOU RUINED, MY LIFE! YOU MURDERER!" he shouted with a roar before Eatos appeared behind him and the Seal of Orichalcos appeared on his forehead. Dartz chuckled as everyone else witnessed the Seal of Orichalcos appear around Raf and start to expand. "Raf, don't! I know what it's like to lose family, but this isn't the way!" AJ shouted. "Never mind his emotions, how's he able to create the seal without playing the card?!" Spike asked. "That's what I'd like to know!" Seto stated before Eatos' sword materialized.
"Oh, no. Eatos has the Celestial Sword! Rafael, control yourself! Stop using the power of the seal!" Yami said, trying to get through to his former challenger. "You're wrong, Pharaoh. Like the rest of Doma, the Orichalcos lives within him and can never be extinguished! Its glow burns in his heart and I'm afraid there's no turning back now. His soul belongs to me." Dartz stated as Raf's soul was ripped from his body and Eatos was seemingly destroyed.
Raf then fell on his back. "Rafael..." Yami said in shock as everyone else checked on him. Dartz just laughed as Raf's soul appeared on the wall. "Another soul, another step closer to awakening the Great Beast." the madman claimed. "Alright. This ends now!" Yami said, not willing to tolerate Dartz's madness anymore. "How right you are." Dartz replied before drawing. "I'm just about done with you. Once I play this card, your fates will be sealed, gentlemen. For the Seal of Orichalcos is about to become even stronger." he continued.
"What are you up to, Dartz?" Yami asked. "Whatever it is, it can't be good." Seto figured. "And now, it's time to experience the third level of darkness! I play, Orichalcos Tritos!" Dartz declared.