28The Queen of Games
Waking the Dragons
Chapter 37: Dartz's Endgame- Part III
Previously on The Queen of Games, Yami, Kaiba, and Daisuke were treated to a look of Atlantis 10,000 years ago. It was also the day the Orichalcos arrived, and a war broke out between the soldiers of the Orichalcos and the Duel Monsters with no victor decided. Then, Dartz brought out Orichalcos Deutoros, which powered up his life points by 500 for every monster on his side of the field. Next, he brought out Mirror Knight Calling, which let him summon four Mirror Knights to the field. But thanks to a combo attack by Daisuke and Raidramon, Mirror Knight Calling was destroyed, but not before its destruction shattered the knights' helmets, revealing them to be Yugi, Sora, Mai, and Pegasus. Can Yami, Daisuke, and Kaiba find a way to beat Dartz without putting the others at risk? Let's find out.
"What the hell?" Daisuke asked.
"This can't be" Yami said.
"Cut the magic act, Dartz and let's duel" Kaiba said.
"We are dueling. We're just dueling by my rules. And if you want to win, you'll have to attack your friends, but I'm confident none of you have the courage to do so" Dartz said.
"You twisted monster. Give Sora back! You have no idea who you're messing with, you demented psychopath!" Tai shouted in anger as Matt and TK held him back.
"Tai, be careful. We don't know what Dartz is capable of and angering him is not going to help Sora or our case" Matt said as he tried to calm his friend down.
"You should listen to your friend, Tai. You don't want to say the wrong thing" Dartz said. "Now I believe it's my turn. Mirror Knight Yugi, time to attack your other half" Dartz ordered as Yugi struggled to keep his sword down.
"Come on, Yugi. Fight it. You're stronger than Dartz" Yami said.
"Well, isn't this touching. Even after being betrayed, he's still loyal to you, but that will soon change. My turn is over" Dartz said.
"And that starts mine" Kaiba said as he drew a card. "I'm not about to let Dartz scare me, just because he put a few familiar faces on his monsters" Kaiba thought. "I play the magic card, Cost Down. By discarding one card, I can lower the levels of all the monsters in my hand for this turn" Kaiba said as he discarded a card from his hand. "Now I call my Different Dimension Dragon to the field in attack mode" Kaiba said as the green, four-winged dragon appeared with a growl. (Attk: 1200) "And my dragon can't be destroyed by monsters with 1900 attack points or less. And speaking of my monster, Kaiser Glider, attack Mirror Knight #3!" Kaiba commanded as Kaiser Glider fired a fireball at Mai.
"That's Mai" Tea said.
"If she's destroyed, we'll lose her" Jun said.
"Kaiba, stop!" Yami cried.
"I'm not about to let this punk scare me. I've come too far, and I'm more than prepare to do whatever it takes to get my company back. Can you do the same for your friends?" Kaiba asked.
"You must be desperate to get your company back, Kaiba" Dartz said.
"I built Kaiba Corp on my own terms, and I'm not about to back down from taking back what belongs to me" Kaiba said.
"Only if hurting an innocent soul bothers you" Dartz said.
"Take a number and get in line, I hear that speech everyday" Kaiba said as the attack neared Mai and her shield was destroyed.
"Mai's shield is gone" Tristan said.
"That means one more attack, and she's gone" Joey said.
"I place one card face down. My turn's over" Kaiba said as Daisuke drew a card.
"If we're going to beat Dartz, we have to attack. It's risky, but we don't have a choice" Daisuke thought. "I play my own Cost Down, to discard one card from my hand to lower the levels of all the monsters in my hand by 2 for this turn" Daisuke said as she discarded Electromagnetic Turtle from her hand. "Now I sacrifice Raidramon to summon Guardian Eatos" Daisuke said as Raidramon vanished, and lightning struck the field and Eatos appeared. (Attk: 2500)
"Next, I play the magic card, Black Pendant. This increases Eatos' attack points by 500" Daisuke said as a necklace appeared around Eatos' neck.
(Guardian Eatos: 2500-3000)
"Now Eatos, finish what Kaiba started and attack Mirror Knight Mai!" Daisuke said as an orb of energy appeared in front of Eatos' mouth before it fired. "I hope you'll forgive for this, Mai" Daisuke thought as the attack neared and suddenly, Sora jumped in front of the attack and blocked it with her shield, before it was destroyed.
"Now Sora's shield is gone" Kari said.
"It seems friendship does conquer all, and thanks to my knights, I've found a way to conquer you all" Dartz said.
"We'll see. I place one card and I end my turn for now" Daisuke said as Yami drew a card.
"What can I do? If I attack, we risk losing the others. If I don't, Dartz wins. I can't afford to put everyone else in harm's way" Yami thought.
"Come on, Yami. If we're going to stop Dartz, we have to attack" Daisuke said.
"I end my turn" Yami said.
"I figured he would do this" Kaiba said.
"I can't really blame him" Daisuke said.
"It seems you had a chance to attack but didn't take it" Dartz said as he drew a card. "First, I get 2500 life points, thanks to Orichalcos Deutoros" Dartz said.
(Dartz: 11,950)
"Next, I place one card face down, and then I play the magic card, Twin Bow Centaur" Dartz said as a face down card appeared, followed by a centaur with two front ends, no heads, each with a bow and arrow. "Here's how it works. I get to pick a monster from my side of the field and a monster from my opponent's side of the field. Which monster is picked is removed from the game. And I'll pick Mirror Knight Sora and Kaiba's Kaiser Glider" Dartz said as the centaur aimed its' arrows at its targets.
"If that arrow lands on Sora, we'll never get her back" Jun said.
"And if Kaiba's monster is destroyed, he'll lose most of his life points" Tea said.
"Somebody do something" Mokuba said.
"It's time to choose. Who will it be? Kaiba or Sora?" Dartz said as he snapped his fingers, and a fireball was aimed at Kaiba's monster. "It seems you're the unlucky one, Mr. Kaiba" Dartz said as the arrow was fired, and Kaiser Glider was destroyed, and the result of the attack sent Kaiba back.
(Kaiba: 600)
"Are you ok?" Daisuke asked.
"I'm fine, just focus on winning this duel" Kaiba said.
"Just so that things don't end on a sour note. Using Twin Bow Centaur requires me to end my turn, but first I place one card face down" Dartz said.
"Good, now I can pick up where I left off" Kaiba said. "Different Dimension Dragon, attack Mirror Knight Sora!" Kaiba commanded as his dragon fired a rainbow blast of energy at Sora, only for Yugi to block the attack with his shield, before it was destroyed.
"Now Yugi's shield is gone" Tea said.
"That means one more attack, and he's gone" Tristan said.
"It's Daisuke's turn now" Veemon said as Daisuke drew a card from her deck. "First, I play Goblin's Secret Remedy. This magic card lets me increase the life points of any duelist on the field by 600. And like it or not, I choose you, Kaiba" Daisuke said.
(Kaiba: 1200)
"Next, I reveal my face down card, Jar of Avarice. This trap card lets me pick 5 cards to bring back from my graveyard to my deck and shuffle it. After that, I draw one card" Daisuke said as she took 5 cards from the graveyard and into her deck and shuffled it. Soon, she put her deck back into her deck slot and drew one card. "Now I play Kaiser Sea Horse in attack mode" Daisuke announced as the sea serpent hybrid appeared with its spear and shield. (Attk: 1700)
"Attack Mirror Knight Sora!" Daisuke commanded and her monster charged toward Sora, but Dartz was ready for it.
"I reveal my facedown card, Negate Attack" Dartz said as a barrier shielded Sora from Daisuke's attack.
"That's it for now" Daisuke said as Yami drew a card.
"I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Twin Bow Centaur" Yami said as a typhoon blew through the field, destroying Dartz's magic card.
"I don't really need that card anymore, so you wasted a turn destroying it. But this card, I do need" Dartz said as he drew a card. "I summon Orichalcos Malevolence" Dartz announced as a monster made of rock and magma appeared on the field. (Attk: 1500-2000)
"Now I get 3000 life points" Dartz said.
(Dartz: 14,950)
"Now, attack Kaiba's dragon! And with only 1200 life points left, the odds don't look so good for you. But don't worry, I'll make sure your soul is put to a very good use" Dartz said as his monster slammed it's fits into the ground, sending a shockwave towards Kaiba.
"Kaiba's about to lose" Joey said.
"I don't think so. I reveal my face down card, Attack Guidance Barrier. This lets me redirect the attack to any monster on the field and increase its defense points by 600. And I choose Yugi's Big Shield Gardna" Kaiba said as the attack changed direction toward Yami's monster and the attack hit it, but it wasn't destroyed.
(Big Shield Gardna: 2600-3200)
Just then, Big Shield Gardna stood up. (Attk: 100)
"Why did Yugi's monster stand up?" Patamon asked.
"It's special ability. Whenever Big Shield Gardna is attack in defense mode, it automatically switches to attack mode, and with only 100 attack points, even the weakest monsters can destroy it" Mokuba explained.
"I place one card face down. My turn's over for now" Dartz said as Kaiba drew a card.
"I play Pot of Greed. This lets me draw 2 cards" Kaiba said as she drew 2 cards. "Next, I'll place 2 cards face down and I'll switch Different Dimension Dragon to defense mode" Kaiba said as his dragon cover itself with its wings, while 2 facedown cards appeared. (Def: 1500)
"My turn" Daisuke said as she drew a card and she smiled at what she drew "I was hoping to draw this" Daisuke thought. "I place one card face down and I'll switch Guardian Eatos and Kaiser Sea Horse to defense mode" Daisuke said as a face down card appeared and Guardian Eatos got down on one knee with her wings covering her, (Def: 2000) and Kaiser Sea Horse also got down on one knee as well. (Def: 1650).
"That's it for me" Daisuke said.
"I draw" Yami said as he drew a card.
"Yami, I know this is hard, but if we're going to win this duel, we have to attack. If we don't, Dartz wins, and everyone loses" Daisuke said.
"I don't know if I can, Daisuke" Yami said.
"I've been where you were. A friend of mine was brainwashed a long time ago, and I was afraid to attack, because I didn't want to hurt them. But I realize that if I didn't, the situation would have been a lot worse for me and the others. I know you're afraid to hurt Yugi but think about what's at stake. And Yugi would do the same for any one of us if we were in his shoes" Daisuke said as she thought back to when Agumon was under the control of the Digimon Emperor, and how she didn't want to hurt him.
"It's not as easy as you think, Daisuke" Yami said.
"Take a look at Yugi, I'm sure he would agree with I said" Daisuke said as Yami looked towards Yugi who nodded.
"I place one card face down, and I'll switch Big Shield Gardna back into defense mode" Yami said as a face down card appeared, and the shield wielding monster got back on one knee. Daisuke shook her head in disappointment at this.
"Don't give your partner such a hard time, Daisuke. He knows there's nothing any of you can do to win this duel" Dartz said.
"You have no idea how wrong that sounds" Daisuke said.
"If you think what I said is wrong, then it's time you knew the truth. As you can see, I have been collecting souls since the beginning of time, but I knew that in order to get the required souls that I needed to awaken the Great Beast, I need some help. And that's where Alister, Raphael, and Valon came in" Dartz said.
"What do you mean by that?" Joey asked.
"It's simple, Mr. Wheeler. First, let's start with Alister. As you know, his family was under attack by Gozaburo Kaiba and his tanks, which lead to his brother's disappearance" Dartz said.
"Is that true, Mokuba?" Tea asked.
"It is, actually" Mokuba said.
"What Alister didn't know was that Gozaburo had nothing to do with the attack on Alister's camp. That was me. I needed Alister's anger and rage in order to ensure that my goals would come to fruition" Dartz said.
"That's sick" Tristan said with disgust.
"Next came Valon. He was framed for his first crime at a young age, what he didn't know was that I set him up for it" Dartz added.
"And finally came Raphael. His life was perfect. A little too perfect, so I made a few adjustments. It was I who steered his ship into the rogue wave. Ensuring that Raphael was the only one who survived. I need him to be angry at the world, convinced that everyone was evil, just like everyone in this room" Dartz said.
"And what does that make you? Tai asked.
"You might say I'm someone who wants to reset the chess board. Reviving the Great Beast is the only way to rebuild paradise, just as soon I as get the required souls. Just as we speak, the Great Beast is feeding on the souls that have already been captured, preparing for its arrival. But back to the duel. I activate Orichalcos Malevolence's special ability, I can choose to switch any of my opponent's monsters on the field from defense to attack mode and I choose Guardian Eatos" Dartz said as his monster glowed purple and Daisuke could see that Eatos was trying hard not to stand up, but in the end, she couldn't resist.
"But before I do anything else, I think it's time to raise the stakes even further. Go, Orichalcos Tritos! Welcome to level 3, ladies and gentlemen" Dartz said as a third layer of the Seal appeared.
"And what does this one do?" Kaiba asked.
"You'll find out soon enough. Next, I play the magic card, Axe of Despair. This increases my monster's attack points by 1000" Dartz said as an axe appeared in his monster's hands.
(Orichalcos Malevolence: 2000-3000)
"Hang on, both monsters have the same attack power. They'll wipe each other out" Joey pointed out.
"Yes, but Daisuke will be down to one monster, and soon her life points will be wide open. Go, Orichalcos Malevolence, destroy Guardian Eatos!" Dartz commanded as his monster slammed its axe into the ground, sending a shockwave towards Daisuke.
"Daisuke!" Joey yelled.
"This is bad" Kari said.
"I can't watch" Yolei said as she looked away.
"If I don't find a way to save Eatos soon, I'm going to end up wherever Yugi is" Daisuke thought worriedly as the attack was getting nearer.
To Be Continued
Can Daisuke find a way to Eatos before the clock runs for good? Find out next time.
A/N: Hope you enjoy the first chapter of 2023. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Digimon.