The Queen of Games

Waking the Dragons

Chapter 34: Rooftop Showdown with Raphael- Part III

Previously on The Queen of Games, after Raphael play the Seal of Orichalcos, things got harder for Yami and Daisuke. And it got worse even Raphael's favorite monster, Guardian Eatos was corrupted by the dark power of the Seal. After surviving a few close calls, Yami and Daisuke combined the powers of their legendary dragons to destroy Eatos, only for Raphael to unleash an even more sinister monster, Guardian Dreadscythe. In his anger, Raphael sacrificed his monsters to power it up and destroyed Timaeus and Asta. Despite the fact that the odds were not looking good for them, Yami and Daisuke continued on with the duel, and it was then that Yami unleashed the power of Underworld Circle in the hopes of showing Raphael the consequences of his actions. Can Yami and Daisuke show Raphael the error of his ways? The conclusion of the duel starts now.

Lightning struck the dome as everyone watched.

"Yugi and Daisuke are trapped in that dome with Raphael" Tristan said.

"But how did it happen?" Anna asked.

"It happened when Yugi played Underworld Circle" Mokuba said.

"Let's just hope they're ok" Jun said.

In the dome

Yami and Daisuke were walking through a fog, and as they were walking, they saw headstones on the ground.

"Where are we?" Daisuke asked.

"I think we may have been transported to the card graveyard" Yami answered.

"I don't think so. This is a regular graveyard where people are buried" Daisuke said.

"And you're correct" A voice said as Yami and Daisuke turned to see Raphael in the distance.

"Raphael? Where are we?" Daisuke asked.

"This is where my family was buried. We were on a cruise ship, celebrating my birthday. Things were peaceful, until our ship was capsized by a rogue wave. A few hours later, I washed up on desert island. It was just me and only me. No one else survived. But I wasn't alone. I had my cards with me. They kept me company and I took great care of them. I knew I couldn't stay on this island forever, so I built a raft and set out to find any hope of civilization. It was then I heard Dartz's voice. I thought it was an illusion, but little did I know I would meet him sooner than I thought" Raphael said as he thought back to when he was a kid and what happened to his family and how he survived.

Just then, a younger version of Raphael ran past the trio.

"That's you, when you were a teenager" Daisuke said.

"But what were you doing here?" Yami asked.

"Just watch" Raphael said as his younger self stopped at a certain spot and started digging. A few minutes later, young Raphael unearth 2 human skulls and the sight of them made him cry.

"In case you're wondering, those 2 skulls were my little brother and sister. They didn't survive when the rogue wave hit. I tried to save them, but I was too late" Raphael said.

"It's time to let go of the past" A voice said and Dartz soon appeared. "Your future is buried right here. All you have to do is dig deeper" Dartz said as young Raphael started to dig some more and soon a huge hole was right where young Raphael was.

"That's it. You're almost there" Dartz said as young Raphael kept digging and soon, he unearthed an Orichalcos Duel Disk.

"Now, take that duel disk and activated it. You're almost done" Dartz said as young Raphael put on the duel disk and activated it.

"Now the card from your deck and activate it" Dartz said as young Raphael drew the first card form his deck but was stopped when Guardian Eatos appeared.

"Eatos?" Young Raphael asked.

"Forget about that monster, it's part of your past. Now, activate the card" Dartz said as young Raphael said put the card into the field slot of his duel disk and soon it began to glow, and Raphael started to scream in pain.

"Don't fight it. Let the Seal do its work" Dartz said as Eatos was affected by the Seal and was set ablaze and sunk into the ground, which caused Raphael to turn around in shock. "Forget that creature, it was holding you back. Now meet your new guardian" Dartz said as Dreadsycthe emerged from the ground. "You and your new monster are now forever bonded" Dartz said as he laughed madly.

"Now do you see? Dartz opened my eyes to the truth. The world is a cruel and selfish place, and no one cares about anyone but themselves" Raphael said.

"Then why do you keep defying him?" Daisuke asked.

"Daisuke's right. This power that you have is slowly affecting you. It's causing you to make rash decisions. You're not thinking straight" Yami said.

"The power that Dartz gave me will help restore the world to the paradise it once was, and I'm going to unleashed it on the 2 of you" Raphael said as Dreadscythe appeared. (Attk: 5500)

Back on the rooftop

The purple fog cleared and Yami, Daisuke, and Raphael were still standing.

"Look, they're back" Jun said.

"Thank goodness" Tea said in relief.

"What's Dreadsycthe doing here?" Daisuke asked.

"When I played Underworld Circle, it should have destroyed every monster on the field. Next, we remove every single monster from our hand and decks for the rest of the game. The only monsters we have are the ones in our graveyard" Yami explained.

"So why is your monster still standing?" Daisuke asked.

"By removing one card from my hand, my monster can revive itself. It was created to be indestructible, so not even I can destroy it" Raphael said as a card vanished from his hand.

"No monster is indestructible, and Dreadscythe is no exception" Daisuke said.

"That's right. And thanks to Underworld Circle, Daisuke and I have access to every monster in our graveyard, but thanks to Guardian Dreadscythe's ability, your graveyard is off limits" Yami said.

"I don't need those pathetic monsters. There's only one creature I need" Raphael said.

"There has to be a way to destroy Dreadsycthe, we just need to hold on for a few turns" Daisuke thought.

"The power of Underworld Circle lets me bring back my Dark Magician" Yami said as his favorite monster appeared. (Attk: 2500)

"And I'll bring back Blizzard Princess" Daisuke said as Blizzard Princess appeared. (Attk: 2800)

"They may just have a shot after all" Kaiba said.

"Let's hope so" Tai said.

"Those monsters can't help you and it's my move" Raphael said as he drew 2 cards.

"Not while my magic card is still in play" Yami said. "It lets me bring back Jack's Knight" Yami said as his knight appeared. (Attk: 1900) "Next, I place one card face down and end my turn" Yami finished.

"I'll use Underworld Circle to bring back V-Girl" Daisuke said as V-Girl appeared. (Attk: 1000)

"Nice. Yugi and Daisuke can even summon monsters on their opponent's turn" Joey said.

"Kick his ass, you 2!" Yolei cheered.

"Don't celebrate so soon. Dreadscythe, attack!" Raphael commanded as his monster charged.

"Activate trap card, Zero Gravity. This switches all monsters on the field from attack to defense mode" Yami said as the 5 monsters got down on one knee.

"Not for long. I reveal my trap card, Spirit Hunting. Now my monster can pick up where I left off" Raphael said as Dreadscythe stood up and charged at Yami and Daisuke's monsters and destroyed them.

"He wiped out all 4 of their monsters" Tristan said.

"Come on, guys" Tea said.

"It's my move" Yami said as he drew a card. "And my Underworld Circle magic card lets me bring back my King's Knight" Yami as the bearded warrior appeared. (Attk: 1600) "Next, I play the magic card, Altar of Restoration. By discarding 2 cards from my deck, I can rescue another card from my graveyard" Yami said as he discarded 2 cards from his deck and took a card from his graveyard.

(Daisuke: 4000)

"And the card I choose is the Eye of Timaeus" Yami said as the legendary dragon appeared with a mighty roar.

"My turn and I'll use Underworld Circle to bring back my Dark Magician Girl" Daisuke said as she drew a card and her favorite monster appeared. (Attk: 2000) "Now, I'll fuse Dark Magician Girl with Timaeus to create a new monster" Daisuke said as a pillar of light consumed the 2 monsters and soon, Timaeus appeared with Dark Magician Girl in knight's armor, and she was wielding a sword and shield. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dark Magician Girl, the Dragon Knight" Daisuke said as Timaeus roared. (Attk: 2600) "Now I activate my monster's new ability, by discarding a card from my hand, my dragon can destroy any one of my opponent's monsters, regardless of the difference in points. Now, destroy Guardian Dreadscythe!" Daisuke commanded as she discarded a card from her hand and Timaeus fired a beam of energy from its mouth and Dark Magician Girl fired a pink energy beam from her sword and the 2 attacks combined and a huge explosion occurred.

"Nice one, Daisuke" Joey cheered.

"Hopefully that's the end of that freak of nature" Tristan said, but as the smoke cleared, Dreadscythe was still standing.

"You weren't listening. Dreadscythe is indestructible" Raphael said.

"Daisuke had to know to that" Mokuba said.

"She did. She must be trying to uncover its weakness" Veemon said.

"Let's hope she figures it out soon" Patamon said.

"I place one card face down and end my turn" Yami said as a face down card appeared.

"Your plan isn't working" Raphael said.

"Don't count on it. I use Underworld Circle to bring back Big Shield Gardna in defense mode" Yami said his shield wielding monster appeared. (Def: 2600)

"And I'll bring back Giant Germ" Daisuke said as Giant Germ appeared. (Attk: 1000)

"Those cards can't help you. Now watch this" Raphael said as he discarded Monster Reborn to the graveyard, which did not go unnoticed by Daisuke. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can activate the Orichalcos Sword of Sealing" Raphael said as a sword fell from the sky and struck Timaeus' left claw and the dragon roared in pain.

(Daisuke: 4500)

"That should keep your dragon from using its special ability. Dreadscythe, attack!" Raphael commanded and his monster swung its scythe and sent a shockwave at Timaeus.

"This is going to hurt" Daisuke said in worry as Timaeus and Dark Magician Girl were destroyed and Daisuke screamed, feeling the effects of the attack.

(Daisuke: 450)

"Daisuke!" Joey said.

"Are you ok?" Jun asked.

"I've been better" Daisuke answered.

"What happened?" Raphael asked.

"I activated my trap card, Reduction Barrier. Now the number of life points Daisuke lost is reduced to 10%" Yami said.

"That was too close" Tristan said.

"We're not giving up just yet. The duel's still on, and we're going to keep fighting till the last point is gone, and that I can promise" Daisuke said.

"Suit yourself, you won't be around much longer anyway" Raphael said.

"We'll see. My move" Yami said as he drew a card. "Thanks to Underworld Circle, I can bring back Queen's Knight to the field" Yami said as the female warrior appeared. (Attk: 1500)

"You're going to run out of monsters sooner or later and my guardian will be waiting" Raphael said.

"Don't write your victory speech yet, it's my move" Daisuke said as she drew a card. "I use the power of Underworld Circle to bring back Cyber Harpy" Daisuke said as Cyber Harpy appeared. (Attk: 1800) "Next, I play Pot of Greed, which lets me draw 2 cards" Daisuke said as she drew 2 cards, and her eyes widen when she saw she drew Double Spell and the Claw of Hermos. "I was waiting to draw these cards" Daisuke thought.

(Daisuke: 950)

"It's time to face the music, Raphael, and I have just the cards to do it. First, I play Double Spell. By discarding one magic card from my hand, I can take a card from my opponent's graveyard, and I know which card to choose" Daisuke said as she discarded a magic card, and a card flew out of Raphael's graveyard, and she caught it. "Monster Reborn. Now I'll use it to bring back a monster from your graveyard, one that you thought the world of, and the next you betrayed her" Daisuke said.

(Daisuke: 1450)

"What monster are you talking about?" Raphael asked.

"Watch. I play Monster Reborn to bring back Guardian Eatos" Daisuke said as a bright light came from Raphael's graveyard, and soon Eatos appeared with her wings unfurled and her arms extended out. (Attk: 2500)

(Daisuke: 1950)

"What are you planning?" Raphael asked.

"You'll see" Daisuke said as she looked towards Joey. "If we're going to win this, I'll need your help, Joey" Daisuke thought. "I play the Claw of Hermos" Daisuke said and the legendary dragon appeared with a growl.

"Isn't that Joey's dragon?" Veemon asked.

"But how did Daisuke get her hands on that?" Tea asked.

"I think I know" Jun thought as she looked towards Joey.

"And now, I fuse Hermos with Queen's Knight to create Goddess Bow" Daisuke said as Hermos and Queen's Knight swirled around, and soon a bow appeared. "This doubles Guardian Eatos' attack points" Daisuke said as Eatos took the bow into her hands.

(Guardian Eatos: 2500-5000)

"And since Eatos is out of the graveyard, Dreadscythe loses 500 points" Daisuke added.

(Guardian Dreadscythe: 5500-5000)

"Now our monsters' attack points are tied, they'll destroy each other, but mine comes back" Raphael said.

"I wouldn't count on it" Daisuke said. "Eatos, attack Guardian Dreadscythe now!" Daisuke commanded as Eatos fired an energy arrow and Dreadscythe sent an energy slash. "Now I activate Goddess Bow's special ability, now when Dreadscythe revives itself, Eatos can attack as many times as she can" Daisuke said as the energy arrow broke though the slash and multiple energy arrows appeared and stuck Dreadscythe and the monster was set ablaze, and Raphael's cards vanished one by one.

"Now I know what Daisuke's doing. Whenever Raphael discards a card from his hand, his monster can revive itself, but thanks to Eatos, Raphael has to keep discarding cards from his hand and once he runs out of cards..." Mokuba trailed off.

"His monster can't come back" Tristan finished as Dreadscythe was consumed by the fire, leaving only its mask behind.

"The dark flame of Guardian Dreadscythe is extinguished" Daisuke as the mask disintegrated. "Now do you see? At one point, you thought the world of your monsters. But then Dartz came along and brainwashed you into hating the world, but I know the real you is still in there somewhere, fighting to break free" Daisuke said.

"There's just one problem, Daisuke. The Seal of Orichalcos needs a soul, so let's finish this duel and see who goes" Raphael said causing Yami and Daisuke to widen their eyes.

"Raphael, please" Yami pleaded.

"My move" Raphael said as he drew 2 cards. "I'll use Underworld Circle to bring back Guardian Grarl" Raphael said as his monster appeared. (Attk: 2500-3000) "Next. I play the magic card, Soul Charge. This lets me summon more monsters from my graveyard" Raphael said as Backup Gardna, Guardian Elma, and Guardian Ka'yest appeared.

(Daisuke: 2450)

(Backup Gardna: 500-800)

(Guardian Elma: 1300-1800)

(Guardian Ka'yest: 1000-1500)

"Oh man, he's got 4 monsters on the field. How are Yugi and Daisuke going to deal with them?" Tristan asked.

"Look, any duelist knows that using Soul Charge can't attack until next turn. So, they're safe." Kaiba said.

"That's it for me. My graveyard is empty" Raphael said.

"That's true, but what now?" Daisuke asked.

"As you know, using Soul Charge to bring back every monster from my graveyard costs me 500 life points" Raphael answered.

(Raphael: 0)

After his life points dropped to 0, the Seal began to shrink around him. It looked as though Raphael accepted his fate, when he saw a bright light.

"We never left you, Raphael" A young girl said.

"We'll always be there for you" A young boy said, and Raphael recognized them as his family as he saw his parents were there as well.

"It's time to let go of the past" Raphael's dad said.

"It's not your time. You still have a life to live" Raphael's mom said.

"I still miss you" Raphael said.

"We know, but we'll always be there" Raphael's sister said.

"It's time to go back, but always remember. We'll never be that far away" Raphael's mom said as the light faded and the Seal vanished, but Raphael was still standing.

"How is Raphael still standing?" Joey asked.

"The good in his heart came through. He's free" Daisuke said.

"There's one more thing I need to do" Raphael said as he handed Daisuke Guardian Eatos. "I want you to have Guardian Eatos. She deserves a better home" Raphael said.

"Why?" Daisuke asked.

"It's time for me to let go of the past. My family's never really gone, they'll always be with me" Raphael said as Guardian Eatos glowed, and the card was as good as new.

"Amazing. I'll take good care of Eatos" Daisuke said as she put the card in her deck, then suddenly the ground began to shake.

"What the hell's going on?" Jun asked.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good" Daisuke said.

To Be Continued

With Guardian Eatos in Daisuke's deck, it looks like the gang is one step closer to taking down Dartz. Now they just have to escape as it looks like the building its about collapse around them. Can they do it? The first part of the duel with Dartz is coming up. Don't miss it.

A/N: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Digimon. Just Asta and her fusion forms. Enjoy the new chapter.