Chapter 38
A Duel with Dartz: Part 6: Finale
"Infinite Attack Power!"
"Divine Serpent, end this duel!" Dartz commanded before the attack rushed toward Dark Magician Girl. "Legendary Knight Hermos, activate your Sword of Renewal and absorb the power of my Obnoxious Celtic Guard!" Yami commanded before the knight's sword began glowing. Then the aforementioned warrior appeared and its power was transferred into Hermos' blade. "I will protect you, my pharaoh!" the warrior declared before saving Dark Magician Girl.
"Thanks to the power of my Obnoxious Celtic Guard, Hermos is safe from any monster with 1900 attack points or more. "We'll see." Dartz replied, defiantly. "In the name of Atlantis..." Timaeus said. "We shall defend..." put in Critias. "He who has released us!" finished Hermos, to Dartz's chagrin. "Your serpent shall be stopped!" Yami declared as he drew. "Well, so much for infinite strength. Lesson one in Duel Monsters, attack points don't mean everything." he said with a familiar look, though Dartz chuckled.
"You dodge one blast and you think you're still a king. Please!" he replied. 'Alright. This is my last chance to win this duel and both free the souls in this chamber from captivity and both this world and the Dominion of the Beasts. Please, Heart of the Cards, guide me.' Yami thought as he put all his faith into this last move.
"Critias and Hermos, prepare to attack. Take down his Divine Serpent!" he commanded, to which Hermos agreed before jumping into battle with Critias, who struck first. "Feel my Sword of Wisdom!" he declared. "Feel my Sword of Renewal!" Hermos added as he struck next. "They're too weak." Dartz claimed. "Are you sure?" Yami asked, catching Dartz off-guard before he looked closer. "What's this?! Your knights should've been destroyed the moment they collided with my Divine Serpent!" Dartz said in shock.
"Wrong! Has your memory faded after all these years? Each one of these knights has a hidden power." Yami replied. "Now, Critias, absorb the power of the Attack Guidance Barrier trap card!" he commanded before Critias' blade absorbed said power. "This allows Critias to transfer his attack to any other monster on the field, so the new target of his Sword of Wisdom will be Hermos!" he declared before the attack bounced to Hermos, though Dartz didn't understand what was going on.
"It's time for Hermos to activate his special ability, now. But first I must sacrifice Alpha, Beta and Gamma, my Magnet Warriors, allowing Hermos to triple the strength of Critias' attack!" Yami continued, while Dartz trembled and worried as he suddenly knew what was going on. "And now I can send the attack right back!" Yami added. "You can't!" Dartz shouted. "He just did!" Rainbow shouted.
"Now both knights are reflecting their attack back and forth as its strength increases to match that of the Divine Serpent!" Twilight shouted, realizing what Yami's plan was. "What's the point of all this?! That attack is just stuck in an endless loop!" Dartz shouted. "Hold on, Dartz, I'm not done yet. I still have one knight left." Yami pointed out. Right then and there, the two knights left the head of she serpent with the burning attack loop on it. "Now, Timaeus, merge together with Hermos and Critias!" the ancient one declared.
"Your Divine Serpent may have infinite attack strength, but that matters not! For there's a creature far greater than that of your snake!" he continued before a new knight, which was a level ten, Light attribute warrior/fusion/effect monster with an unknown amount of attack and defense points, appeared. "Behold, Timaeus the Knight of Destiny!" he declared. "A power greater than the Divine Serpent?! Impossible!" Dartz shouted.
"See for yourself!" Yami retorted. "Knight of Destiny, attack his reptile with your Sword of Justice!" he commanded. Then with one slash, the Divine Serpent was slain and Dartz finally, FINALLY, lost the duel. In the void where the souls of all those who were defeated within the Seal of Orichalcos were kept, the captives saw a gash in the fabric of the void. "Hey, is that an opening I see?" Joey asked. "It just might be a way out!" he added.
Back at the duel, Dartz was in shock. "You lose, Dartz. Your 10,000 year quest, is finally over." Yami said at last. "It can't be! I've come too close!" Dartz said as the fragment of the Orichalcos stone he wore on his head cracked. "All I need is one more powerful soul and the Great Leviathan will arise from the depths of the Earth!" he continued. "Too little, too late. Your serpent is no more!" Twilight declared as Geh faded away. "And with that, our duel comes to an end." Yami added.
As the one knight separated into three, the Mane 7 stood by Yami in triumph. "Now, release all the souls you captured." Yami demanded. Then, the island began to quake again before the Great Leviathan itself came through the gash and captured Dartz! All the while, both Roland and Fuguta worried about their employer's well-being outside the temple. They both looked behind them and saw a massive whirlpool develop. "Now what's going on?" Fuguta asked. "What kind of whirlpool is that?" Roland asked, worried.
Soon, the whirlpool expanded. But on the Atlantic Ocean, as clouds across the world were being pulled toward it, the aircraft carrier the group were aboard before they went to Doma Island, the USS Courage, received a message. "Central command to USS Courage, we've received word that a massive storm of unknown origin is spreading across the globe and heading towards the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Upgrade all units to yellow alert status immediately and maintain your current position until further notice." said the voice on the radio.
Soon, inside the void where the souls were kept, the voice of Timaeus boomed. "Legendary Duelists, by the power of Atlantis, we release thee!" In mere moments, Joey, Yugi and Kaiba's soul-selves were released. "Best of luck, you three. And remember, we're all counting on you." Pegasus said as the three left the void. "Now, Duelists of the prophecy, by order of the Knights of Atlantis, cross into the human world!" Timaeus commanded before all three souls entered the human world and their respective bodies.
"They're back!" Fluttershy said in tearful joy. Soon, Seto got up and saw his little brother next to him. "Mokuba. Wake up, are you alright?" he said as his brother stirred to life. "Seto, you're okay." Mokuba said as the two brothers embraced. Soon, Tristan and Tea woke up, too. That's when they noticed Yugi was short again. "Yugi? Is that you?" Tea asked before walking towards him. "That can't be him. Its Yami." Tristan replied. "No, Tristan. It's Yugi. He's shorter than Yami, remember?" Pinkie pointed out before they turned to see it was Yugi.
"Tea?" Yugi asked before Tea started crying tears of joy before hugging her dear friend. "We were worried we'd never see you again." AJ said. "Someone tell me what's going..." a familiar voice said before they all saw it was Joey, up on his feet. "Joey?!" Rainbow said in surprise. "Guys!" Joey shouted before reuniting with his dear friends, particularly Yugi. "Man, I missed that spikey little head." the underdog said as he hugged his closest friend.
"Look like the gang's back together." Spike said with pride. Then, Twilight approached Seto. "Mr. Kaiba... Thank you. For everything." she said before extending her hand. "Not often do people thank me. But I'll accept it." Seto replied before shaking her hand. Within Yugi's mind, he and Yami reunited. "Yugi. The legendary knights set you free." he said. "Does that mean you beat Dartz?" Yugi asked. "Yes, but as soon as the duel ended, he seemed to have vanished into a vortex and I have a bad feeling the worse is yet to come." Yami answered.
"But at least we'll face it together." he added. "Question, if you three were brought back, what about Rex, Weevil, Mai and the Swordsmen? Were they freed?" Rainbow asked. "Guess again, bud. Not everyone is up on their feet." Joey replied before pointing to Raf. Then, Roland came running in. "Everyone, something's going on with the ocean!" he shouted. Everyone headed outside to see that something was coming out of the sea.
"No way..." Seto said in bafflement. "What is that?" Tristan asked. "Whatever it is, it's HUGE!" Joey replied. "Don't tell me... That must be..." Rarity said in shock, realizing what it was. "Atlantis." finished Twilight. They all watched as the ancient sunken city rose from the sea. "Are you sure that thing's Atlantis?" Tristan asked. "Well, it's not Laputa from Castle in the Sky, that's for sure." Joey replied. "Whatever it is, Dartz is still out there and likely not looking to give up. I just hope he's alone." Yugi stated.
"But you beat him, didn't you?" Joey asked. "Well, he sure wasn't inside that chamber, but where could he have gone?" Mokuba wondered. "That's what the rest of us want to know." AJ replied. Back on the USS Courage, the admiral and crew kept watch. "How's it look out there?" the admiral asked. "The storm isn't letting up, sir. That strange underwater disturbance has triggered a giant hurricane! It's over 6,000 miles in diameter and its sending a 656 foot wave toward the Atlantic coastline as we speak!" the lieutenant replied.
"How long until it makes landfall?" the admiral asked. "Approximately one hour, sir." the lieutenant answered. "That could wipe out the entire east coast!" the admiral said in shock. Back at Doma Island, Seto made a decision. "I don't know what that thing is, but I'm heading up there to find out." he said. "I doubt you'd be able to make it there and back." Tristan replied. "Hold on, I'll go with him." Yugi said. "You're doing WHAT?!" Rainbow said in shock.
"Not without me you're not. Three dragons means three Duelists." Joey stated. "You three are just gonna walk into Dartz's hands again?!" Tea said, thinking that they were all thinking crazy. "Don't even think about telling them to walk away, Tea. And same with us, because we're going, too." Twilight replied. "If we turn away now, we'll never live it down." AJ pointed out.
"I guess you're right. Just like what Yami said at Battle City." Tea said, remembering the moment before he went out to face Kaiba. "I promise, we'll be fine." Rarity said. "Mr. Kaiba, more bad news!" Roland shouted. "What now?" Seto asked, annoyed. "There's a 656 foot wave heading right for the eastern coast of the US! It's being created by a 6,000 mile wide hurricane and it'll make land fall in less than an hour!" Roland answered. "A hurricane?" Seto asked, perplexed. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going up there to find Dartz." he added.
"Kaiba, you can't go up there alone." Yugi said. "Don't do me any favors, Yugi. I'm perfectly capable of handling this myself." Seto replied. "Kaiba, only three Duelists were picked to wield those dragons, not one. Where one leads, the others follow." Spike stated. "And here I thought you were the dragon master, meaning others would follow you." Seto claimed. "I'll pretend that's a joke." Spike responded before Yugi, Joey and the rest of the Mane 7 joined them.
"Yugi?" Tea asked, causing Yugi to stop. "Let me guess, you wanted to wish Yami luck, right?" Yugi figured. "Actually, I was gonna say that to you. I know that you'll be back like you promised, now head up there and take Dartz down." Tea replied. Yugi nodded. "We'll be back soon." he added before running off to join the others. Mokuba tried to go, but Tea stopped him. "Your brother will be fine, Mokuba. Trust me." Tea said. Inside the temple, Yugi noticed that the Millennium Puzzle was glowing. "Huh? The Puzzle's reacting to something." he said.
"I think I know what. Look!" Rarity said before pointing towards the altar. Yugi ran up to the altar and found the Egyptian God Cards. "Well, what do you know? This is where Dartz kept the Egyptian God Cards." AJ said. "Finally, they're back where they belong." Yugi said as he picked up all three. "Yes, but I feel they may be powerless. I bet Dartz transferred their power into the Great Leviathan." Twilight pointed out. "Hopefully, when this is all over, they'll be back to their full strength." Yugi replied.
Soon, Yugi and the Mane 7 joined Kaiba and Joey inside the chamber where Dartz was defeated. "Is it me, or was this chamber covered in people chiseled in stone when I first came in here?" Joey asked. "How can something carved in stone just vanish after a few minutes?" Rarity asked back. "Joey, Kaiba, I believe these are yours." Yugi said before handing each Duelist their respective dragon. "Hermos!" Joey said in surprise. "And Critias!" Kaiba added. "Looks like you three are back in business. No offense, Kaiba." Rainbow stated.
"All we have to do now is find that snake. He couldn't have gone far." Kaiba figured. "Right you are!" Dartz declared before they saw a giant projection of his head appear behind the portal he was taken through. "Come in, ladies and gentlemen, the party's just begun." he added. "That answers Kaiba's question." AJ said. "Are we going or what?" Joey asked. "What do you think, genius?" Kaiba replied. "I detect a bit of sarcasm." Pinkie pointed out.
Soon, they all entered the portal and found themselves within the now-floating city of Atlantis. "This gives ruins a whole new meaning." Joey said as they looked around the dilapidated area. "So, where should we start looking for Dartz?" Yugi asked. "I think I have a hunch." Kaiba answered before they all looked forward and up. "Okay, if that giant beam of green light is where he is, something tells me he WANTS us to find him." Rainbow figured. "Well, this is it." Yugi said before letting Yami take over. "Let's go." the ancient one said before they all headed into the structure the light was beaming up from.
They headed inside and found what looked like someone sitting on a throne. "I think I see something ahead!" AJ shouted. "Me, too. I bet that's Dartz." Rainbow replied. "Then he better not go anywhere, we're ready for him." Joey added. However, they got closer to the spot and discovered that it was a crystal statue of Dartz sitting on a throne. "Wait... There's something not right about this. I can feel it." Pinkie said. They approached and Yami touched the statue, only to see it crumble immediately.
"Crystal statues don't just crumble, do they?" Rarity asked. "I don't think that was a statue at all." Yami replied. "Then what was it?" Fluttershy asked. "Maybe just another of his cheap tricks." Kaiba figured. "Is that really your answer to everything, Kaiba? You really need to open your mind a bit more." Dartz said, but no one could actually see him. "Where are you?" Yami asked before they looked up and saw his head projected on the ceiling of the pagoda.
"I'm right here with the Great Leviathan." Dartz answered. "Wait a minute! You said the Great Leviathan required the souls of the three Chosen Duelists to awaken!" Twilight pointed out. "Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Well, I've substituted your souls for an equally strong and powerful one." Dartz replied before Yami and the Mane 7 realized what he meant. "You mean yours?" Yami asked, shocked. "Precisely!" Dartz answered before the beam of light split and headed under the city before rejoining and shooting down toward the ocean, creating a whirlpool.
On Doma Island, everyone took notice. And then, the Great Leviathan FINALLY rose from the sea. "Fueled by the power of my own soul, the Great Beast has returned!" Dartz declared as the creature coiled around the floating city. "This is craziness!" Joey shouted before they saw the head of the creature looking down at them. "That thing could pick its teeth with one of the Egyptian God Monsters!" Rainbow shouted. "This is what he wanted to unleash in order to destroy mankind." Twilight added. "Wait, what's that in the middle of its nose?" Spike asked.
They looked and saw that it was Dartz, he had become ONE with the Great Leviathan. "Is that Dartz?!" Rarity asked in shock. "It appears that when I defeated him in our duel, he somehow merged himself with the Great Leviathan." Yami figured. "Yes, it's true. Nothing seems to get past you, Pharaoh." Dartz replied. "That does it! I'm not standing here to talk with some mutated hood ornament! I'll simply blast you into next week!" Kaiba shouted, but Dartz laughed. "I'd love to see you try!" he declared before the Leviathan roared.
"Alright, bring it on, you oversized snake-in-the-grass!" Joey shouted as he and his teammates activated their Duel Disks. "Let's do this! I summon the Dark Magician, the Summoned Skull and Kuriboh!" Yami declared as his three monsters appeared. "I summon the Flame Swordsman, Jinzo and good ol' Red-Eyes!" Joey added as his three creatures appeared. "My turn! I call forth the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Gadget Soldier and Vorse Raider!" Kaiba declared before his creatures appeared.
"Now, we call forth Timaeus!" Yami declared. "Critias!" Kaiba shouted. "And lastly, Hermos!" finished Joey before all three dragons appeared as the three commanded them to arise. "Now I play Legend of Heart, to reveal their true forms!" Yami declared before the three dragons became the legendary Knights of Atlantis. "You're kidding me! Those three dragons were really knights?" Joey asked in surprise.
Right on cue, the Mane 7 called for the their own creatures. Twilight summoned Cosmo Queen, Magician of Black Chaos and Zera the Mant, Pinkie summoned Valkyrion, Stone Dragon and Dokurorider, Rainbow summoned Punished Eagle, Turtle Bird and Blast Magician, Rarity summoned Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, Hyozanryu and Wingweaver, AJ summoned Garma Sword, Ushi Oni and Fiend Megacyber, Fluttershy summoned Chimera, Flame Cerebrus and Darklord Marie, and Spike summoned Black Skull Dragon, Tyrant Dragon and Tri-Horned Dragon.
"Now, monsters, attack!" Yami commanded before each creature with a weapon or claws charged in while those who could use distance attacks opened fire. "Exactly when do you plan on launching a REAL attack?" Dartz asked before laughing as the Great Leviathan uncoiled from the base of the city. "Now do you realize what you're dealing with?" he asked. "Timaeus, absorb the power of the Multiply magic card and attack with the force of 10,000 knights!" Yami commanded before Timaeus raised his sword and absorbed the power.
"Behold my Sword of Justice, for I end this, now!" the warrior declared before striking. Soon, the beast was engulfed in an explosion of light. "Direct hit, and its game over!" Rainbow shouted. However, the light faded to show the Great Leviathan was still alive. "Could've fooled me!" Dartz declared. "No way! All those attacks and not one scratch?! That makes no sense!" Kaiba shouted.
"Things are about to get worse, I think that fiend is ready to attack us!" Spike added. The creature let out a powerful roar before charging an attack. "If that thing hits us, we're done for!" Joey shouted. The attack soon fired, prompting Yami to act. "Go, Timaeus, absorb the power of Big Shield Gardna and create the Full Barrier Shield!" the ancient one commanded. With one stroke of the sword, the shield was formed. But while Yami and the other humans were safe, the monsters, save for the Knights of Atlantis, were destroyed.
"The Leviathan is too strong!" Rainbow shouted. "And our monsters are gone!" Pinkie added as they watched the Leviathan gain altitude. "But we still have the Knights of Atlantis." Twilight pointed out. "For now, but the Leviathan's gearing up for another attack. And we may not be so lucky when it comes." Joey figured. But just as everyone braced for another attack, an aurora appeared in the sky above, one that everyone on the island took notice.
"I recognize those lights!" Mokuba said in surprise. "So do we." Tristan added. "It's just like that night, when the gateway to the Dominion of the Beasts first opened." Yami said, remembering that this was how the entire quest truly started.