Chapter 33
A Duel with Dartz: Part 1
"Dartz vs Yami and Kaiba"
"If its not an earthquake, then the building's about to collapse!" Tea shouted as the Paradius headquarters began to crack. "All of you, get out of here while you can. You don't have much time before the building comes down." Raf said, willing to go down with his former master's hideaway. "But what about you?" AJ asked as the ground started to crack. Next thing they knew, the entire roof SPLIT OPEN, separating the group from the elevators.
"It's too late! We're trapped!" Fluttershy shouted as the elevator shaft crumbled and the doors outwardly flew off. "Now how do we get down from here?!" Rarity asked in a panic. Suddenly, they heard a voice calling out to Seto. It was Roland in the KaibaCorp transport chopper. "Boy, am I glad to see Roland's face!" Rainbow said as the chopper landed on the helipad.
"Come on! Follow me!" Mokuba instructed as he headed for the chopper. "You heard my little brother, move!" Seto said as they all followed behind the Kaibas. Yet AJ and Yami were trying to help Raf. "We're almost out of these, Raf, just hang on." AJ said. "I'll try." Raf replied. "Everyone aboard?" Roland asked. "AJ, Yami and Raf aren't." Spike answered. Suddenly, the stairs started to give way.
"Yami!" Fluttershy shouted. "We got to pull them up here!" Rainbow said, urgently before the helipad started to crack. "The building's getting too dangerous to be standing on, we have to depart!" Roland stated. "But we can't just leave them!" Rainbow stated. Suddenly, without warning, Raf tossed AJ and Yami onto the helipad. "What are you doing?!" Yami asked as he and AJ reached their only means of escape. "Raf, are you alright?!" AJ called.
They looked down and saw that he was hanging on to a small edge. "Hang on! We won't leave without you!" Yami called, but Raf pulled something out of his trench coat. "Take this!" he called as he tossed what turned out to be an SD card, which Yami caught. "Don't lose it! You'll need it if you plan to take out Dartz!" Raf instructed. Soon, the chopper started to whir to life and lift off the ground. "Take my hand!" Yami shouted. "Mine, too!" AJ added.
"Don't worry about me. Go while you can." Raf replied before the ledge crumbled and he fell to his death. "No!" AJ shouted. "We'll mourn for him once we're safe." Yami said before the read of the helicopter hovered in front of them, with Twilight and Tea asking both Yami and AJ to jump in through the open cargo door. They soon did, just before the helipad crumbled. The chopper soon took off as the entire Paradius structure came tumbling down.
"Rafael..." Yami said, full of sorrow as the chopper flew away. But as the building crumbled, another building was revealed to have been within the whole time. "Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or was that temple hidden INSIDE the Paradius building this whole time?" Pinkie asked. "My guess is that's what the building really looks like. What we just escaped from was just a shell." Twilight theorized.
"I can't say I'm surprised. I think that there's more to Dartz than meets the eye, as well." Yami stated. "Kaiba, you better take a look at this." AJ said as she handed Seto the SD card. "What's that?" Seto asked. "Some sort of memory card. Rafael gave it to us." Yami answered before Seto took it and put it in his PDA. "It looks like a map." the millionaire said at last.
"But to where?" Rarity asked. "Likely to where Dartz is." Yami figured. "Roland, give the pilot this map and have him take us to the location." Seto instructed before handing his PDA over to Roland. "Right away, sir." Roland replied. Suddenly, they found other helicopters flying around them in an escort formation. "More company. Just great! What, does Dartz have his own private air force?" Rainbow said, clearly not happy.
"The pilot of one of the helicopters wants us to follow them all. They're escorting us." Twilight said. As they flew on, far off in the distance, they saw a dark cloud or mass approaching Phoenix until Fluttershy recognized what it was. "That's a swarm of locusts!" she said in alarm. "No, not any swarm of locusts, I think that may be the Duel Monster called Swarm of Locusts." Spike corrected, remembering the level three, Dark attribute insect/effect monster with 1000 attack points and 500 defense points of the same name.
They all watched as the locusts swarmed around Phoenix, but they knew they had no time to think about what damage those insects could do. So they kept flying along with their escort. Meanwhile, back in Phoenix, Duke, Rebecca and Professor Hawkins came to a stop. "What's with slamming on the brakes?!" Rebecca asked. "See for yourself!" Duke replied before they both saw several Orichalcos Soldiers, all looking up to the sky.
"Oh, no. We're surrounded!" the young prodigy said in alarm. She then activated her Duel Disk and got out of the truck, despite Duke's protesting advice against it, but the creatures ignored her challenge. In Dartz's island temple, he was communicating to his warriors. "Soldiers of the Orichalcos, return to me at once." he instructed before all the soldiers both in Phoenix and all over the world disappeared right as the Swarm of Locusts flew over the capital of Arizona.
"Yes. Come home, my army, we must prepare for the next phase of our battle." he said with an evil laugh. Meanwhile, Rafael was walking out of the ruins of the temple exterior with Mai's comatose body in her arms. As for the KaibaCorp chopper, it was being led out towards the Atlantic Ocean. "Mr. Kaiba, it appears the choppers are leading us to a US Navy aircraft carrier." Roland said. Soon, the chopper landed.
"So, you're with the US Navy? How'd you get involved in all this?" Tristan asked. "The governors of the United States reported strange attacks on citizens that coincided with attacks on people across different parts of the world, which were reported by members of the United Nations. We also intercepted video footage of the creatures perpetrating these attacks being defeated by individuals wearing Duel Disks, as crazy as it sounds." the admiral answered. "You're right. Someone is using the Duel Monsters card game to their own ends, we suspect it ties to a cult known as Doma." Yami replied.
"They force individuals to either serve their cause or be put in a coma should they lose a duel." Twilight added. "Furthermore, the leader of this cult is the president of Paradius, a financial corporation that acts as a front for Doma's cult activities." she added. "And since this all began with sightings of these Duel Monsters creatures appearing around the world, I feel it's best to let two of the best players handle this situation." the admiral stated.
"So I'm guessing the US Navy isn't properly equipped to take care of this?" Seto asked. "You're right. The FBI was tracking Paradius' financial activity as soon as they started to buy out Industrial Illusions and KaibaCorp. As soon as they somehow found out that Paradius was a front for a cult, they figured that their leader, Dartz, could be anywhere, that includes out at sea, which is how the US Navy got involved. But once the attacks started, this became a global emergency with the governments of the world sending out a worldwide manhunt for Dartz." the admiral answered.
"But so far, neither the US Navy, the British Royal Navy, the JMSDF, the French Marine nationale, the Royal Australian Navy, the Egyptian Naval Forces or the Chinese PLAN have been able to find him out at sea. This is why we need any information about him you have. We HAVE to find him." he added. A bit later, Seto had given the admiral and his crew the map provided to them by Rafael and had sailed as close as they could get to Dartz's location, which had a storm system surrounding it.
"I'm afraid this is as far as our ship can get us. The rest is up to you all. Good luck in there, and remember, the entire free world is depending on you. And thank you, you're doing your own country and the world a great service." the admiral said. "The others may be in this to stop Dartz, but I'm only doing this so I can get KaibaCorp back." Seto pointed out. "That may be, but if you manage to stop this Dartz character, I feel you may be doing more than just saving your family business, Mr. Kaiba." the admiral replied.
"Roland, start up the chopper." Seto instructed before the copter took off and headed toward the storm system, though not without turbulence from said system. "Roland, Fuguta, we should've arrived at the island by now." the millionaire said. "We're trying to navigate through and around these cyclones, Mr. Kaiba." Fuguta replied. Meanwhile, Dartz was still at the altar of his temple. "Before the age of Atlantis is ushered in, the mighty sea shall rise and the sky shall fall! Only then will paradise return!" he declared.
Back aboard the helicopter, everyone kept an eye on what was in front of them. "Stay calm, everyone. I have the feeling Dartz wants us to reach him." Twilight advised. "You're right, because there's an island temple straight ahead." Spike pointed out. "No point or use in turning back, now." Yami said, ready to roll. "Right. Let's go." Seto replied. Soon, the chopper landed.
"Not to sound overdramatic or anything, but this place seems, forbidden. Sinister. Evil." Rainbow said. "If that's your way of saying you have a bad feeling about this, I agree, but we have no choice, remember?" Seto replied as everyone but Roland and Fuguta entered the temple. "Okay, I think Rainbow was right when she said she had a bad feeling about this place." AJ said. "Makes me miss Pegasus' castle." Rarity admitted. "Something tells me Dartz likes snakes." Pinkie said. "What was your first clue?" Tea asked, sarcastically.
"Why can't the rest of you wait outside and let me and Yugi handle this?" Seto asked, seemingly annoyed. "No, I say we're better off in here because sticking together is the only way to make sure nothing happens." Twilight replied. "You're right. Dartz may have some unexpected surprises in store." Yami concurred. Soon, they all started wandering down the halls before they came to a large room with the walls covered in pictures of people, all chiseled in stone. "What's with all these pictures of people chiseled into the stone walls?" Pinkie asked.
"I don't think they're just random people. Look ahead!" Tea replied before they all did and saw the carvings included Mai, Weevil, Rex, Alister and Valon. "This must be what happens when you lose a duel to a member of Doma, and not just your body ending up in a coma." Twilight figured before they saw a carving of Pegasus, and next to it, a carving of little Yugi. "Yugi..." Yami and Fluttershy said at the same time before they all entered the chamber further.
"What a touching reunion. It's a shame that your friends and foes alike all turned out to be a bunch of stiffs." said an all-too familiar voice before the owner of said voice appeared from some fire... Dartz. "Were you expecting someone else?" the madman asked. "Well, due to the carelessness of my followers, or I should rather say faithful employees, I'm all that's left of Doma. It seems you just can't find good help these days." he said.
"Look, I want my company back. It's of no use to you so can the small talk." Seto said, bluntly. "Is that so? Well, we all want something in life. As for me, I want your souls for my wall. I even have two blank spots picked out for you." Dartz replied. "Save it, Dartz. It'll take more than a few party parlor tricks to scare me." Seto said, clearly still not buying into the whole magic idea even though he dealt with living, breathing creatures at the US headquarters of KaibaCorp.
"Now, for the last time, release those you had captured." Yami demanded. "That's not possible. You see, they've already been put to use. As we speak, their life energy provides power to the most devastating creature that ever lived." Dartz replied. "The Great Leviathan." Fluttershy said. "Correct, my dear. My 10,000 year old collection is almost complete. Once I defeat you two, the beast will finally rise." Dartz replied. "You don't look 10,000 years old, so how can you claim this collection goes back that far?" Yami asked. "Oh, this collection contains MILLIONS of lives offered to the Great Leviathan, and each one of them deserved their fate. Take a moment and look around, won't you? Some of my favorite conquests are in this very room. And since it took me so long to amass this collection, it's actually quite the history lesson." Dartz replied.
Soon. the entire room was lit up by torches to reveal the walls COVERED in stone carvings of people from across ten millennia. Among them were people from Greece, Egypt, Europe and so on. "How can all these people be people who lived so long ago?" Rarity asked. "Allow me to explain; ever since the Great Leviathan was laid to rest, I've been gathering the life energy necessary to fuel its rebirth. You can see warriors aligning these walls, from all sorts of conflicts across history." Dartz replied.
Sure enough, they saw people who wore uniforms and armor from different points and conflicts in history. Including the Battle of Thermopylae, the Peloponnesian War, the Qin campaign against the Xiongnu Tribe during the Chinese Qin dynasty, the Roman Civil War, the Abbasid Civil War, the Viking Invasions of England, the Crusades, the Granada War, the Italian Wars, the Ming-Turpan Conflict, the Battle of Mimaomote, the Spanish War of Succession, the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolution, the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the American Civil War, the British Expedition to Abyssinia, the Klang War, the First World War, the October Revolution, the Second World War and even the Bosnian War.
"Come on. You expect us to believe you?" Seto asked, not buying into any of it. "Ye of little faith, just duel me and I promise to make a believer out of you." Dartz replied before stepping forward. "For when you lose, there will be no denying my power." he added as a Chaos Disk appeared on his arm. "Then let's stop talking and start dueling." Seto suggested. "Not alone you won't. This lunatic is far too dangerous for a single skilled Duelist." Yami said, stepping up to battle Dartz in a two-on-one handicap duel.
"Then why not join him? Because when I defeat you, I'll have two souls for the price of one." the madman said before activating his Chaos Disk while his two opponents activated their Duel Disks. "Alright. Ready, Kaiba?" Yami asked. "I'm way ahead of you." Seto replied before they both inserted their decks. Meanwhile, Raf found Valon's comatose body and put him in the back of a jeep with Mai sitting in the passenger seat. "Don't worry. I'll save you both. Mark my words, Dartz is gonna pay." Raf said before climbing into the vehicle and driving away.
Meanwhile, all three players had drawn their hands and their life points set to 4000. "Gentlemen, let the games commence." Dartz said. "This is it." Rainbow said as everyone braced for the duel. "I'll go first, so let's do this." Seto said before drawing. "I activate the White Dragon Ritual magic card!" he declared. "This allows me to send my Vorse Raider to the graveyard, in order to summon Paladin of White Dragon!" he added before his creature appeared.
"And now comes the best part. I sacrifice my Paladin to bring out my ultimate fighting machine. Meet the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" he declared before his ace monster appeared. "As much as I'd love to blast you, this was my first move so I can't attack. So I'll let my partner take over." he concluded, ending his turn. "Don't mind if I do. Here goes!" Yami replied before drawing. "First I'll activate my Black Luster Ritual!" he declared. "I use it to sacrifice Valkyrion the Magna Warrior and summon my Black Luster Soldier!" he added before his best warrior appeared. "I set a card face down to end my turn. That should give you plenty to think about." he concluded.
"Now we're talking! Two major-league monsters on their opening turns? Dartz has no idea WHO he's messing with!" Rainbow said in awe. "Those pathetic creatures may work in your little card tournaments, but I'm afraid I play a very different game." Dartz said before drawing. "A game in which the winner takes all and the loser pays the ultimate price!" he declared. "This card was born from darkness itself!" he bellowed as the torches around the room blew out from the wind.
"Behold a power that has existed since the dawn of time, the very power that shall strip you of your souls!" he added. "Oh, great." Seto said. "The Seal of Orichalcos." Yami added as the forbidden field spell encircled them all. As soon as Dartz looked at them with an insane look in his eyes, everyone around the room, especially Yami and Seto, felt something. "Any of you feel that?" Mokuba asked. "If you mean the sudden drop in temperature and the evil vibes in the room, then yes, we are." Tristan replied.
"Now that I've set the proper tone for this duel, allow me to continue. Now, arise, Orichalcos Gigas!" Dartz declared before his behemoth appeared, only with 900 attack points. "I've faced this beast before, and it was impossible to destroy." Yami pointed out. "That's because you likely faced it alone and didn't have anyone to lend a hand." Seto figured. "Next I'll give up 500 life points to special summon my Orichalcos Kyutora in defense mode." Dartz continued as his life points lowered to 3500 and his new monster, a level three, Light attribute rock/effect monster with 500 attack and defense points, appeared, but now with 1000 attack points due to the Seal.
"Alright, I guess that'll do for now." he concluded. "Then allow me." Seto said before drawing and laughing upon seeing what he drew. "How sad. I thought me and Yugi were up against a talented Duelist until we witnessed your poor excuse for an opening move. You left two monsters out on the field with no protection. And thanks to this, they're about to be blown away. Perhaps you should've thought twice before challenging us. I'm president of the world's largest gaming corporation and Yugi is the greatest Duelist to ever play the game. You know why? Because no one has mastered the game of Duel Monsters like we have, so watch as I play Polymerization to fuse the two Blue-Eyes in my hand with the one on the field!" he declared.
In mere moments, the three dragons merged to form Seto's ultimate monster. "Show yourself, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" he commanded before the three-headed beast appeared. Yami smiled approvingly. "Alright, time to pick up where Kaiba left off. You'll never withstand the combined power of our decks and I'm about to prove it, Dartz!" the ancient one declared before drawing. "And that happens with this! I, too, play Polymerization to fuse Kaiba's dragon with my Black Luster Soldier to form the creature that destroyed the Five-Headed Dragon!" he continued as the two creatures became one.
"Behold, the Dragon Master Knight!" he bellowed as the beast was revealed. "No way! 5000 attack points?!" Tristan said in shock. "Just like when they took down the Big Five the first time!" Pinkie said with glee. "Now those two are what I call a dream team!" Mokuba said, excited. "Next I activate my trap card, Meteorain!" Yami continued before his trap sprung.
"With this in play, you'll lose the difference between the Dragon Master Knight's attack points and your own creature's defense points!" he explained. "If my math is right, that's a difference of 3500 points!" Tea said in delight. "That'll leave Dartz with nothing!" Spike added. "It's time to take you down and end your madness and this twisted game you've been playing." Yami said, ready to strike.
"Go, Dragon Master Knight, attack Orichalcos Gigas and wipe out what's left of his life points!" Yami commanded. "Destroy him with Dragon Saber Blast!" both Seto and Yami ordered before the attack launched and OBLITERATED Orichalcos Gigas. "That's it! The duel's over in just five turns!" Rainbow shouted. But Dartz just laughed, revealing he was still upright.
"Such a valiant effort, Pharaoh. Unfortunately, your attack was in vain, now watch this!" the madman said before a large and bright blast of light shot upward. "What's he doing?" AJ asked. Outside, Roland and Fuguta saw the blast pierce the roof of the temple and intensifying in size and power. Meanwhile, Yami and Seto found themselves in outer space. "You mind telling me why we're floating in space?" Seto asked.
"I wish I could." Yami answered before Dartz appeared. "Did you bring us here, Dartz?" the ancient one asked. "I suggest you take us back." Seto added. "Oh, we never left the temple. What you're seeing right now is a vision generated by the Seal of Orichalcos, which is how it communicates. It shows images of things as they were or might one day be. Look around, this is the darkness that has always existed in our universe." Dartz replied.
"What are you trying to prove with all of this?" Yami asked. "That human beings spent every second of their lives surrounded by dark energy. It has contaminated our entire planet! And so, at the core of every human heart, you'll find pure darkness. And when a human being crosses paths with the Orichalcos, the evil inside is set free. It was on this very day, 10,000 years ago, during the golden era of Ancient Greece, that I came into contact with this powerful force. And it opened my eyes." Dartz replied as they soon saw the planet Earth orbiting the sun.
"You mean it took over your mind, don't you?" Yami asked. "I should've expected such ignorance from you, Pharaoh. You choose to shut yourself off from the truth, just as my people did so long ago, when I ruled over Paradise on Earth." Dartz replied before they all saw a city in the middle of a body of water, connected to the land by a bridge. "What's that?" Seto asked in disbelief. "You're seeing a glimpse of the legendary Greek island city of Atlantis as it was 10,000 years ago, when I ruled as king!" Dartz replied.
"You? King?" Yami asked, perplexed. "Indeed I was. And I shall be once again. For when I defeat you both, paradise shall return!" Dartz replied, revealing his intentions this whole time were to bring back Atlantis and rule over it as king once again.