.
-O-
Raven ran to the front door as Kaomi walked in. “Kaomi!” He
stopped right in front of her. Alan-Tax breezed past both, “I know it’s only
been a few hours, but-“
“I missed you too. A lot happened, eh?” Kaomi walked past him toward the shop.
“You know, just one second of delay on your part
and you wouldn’t be here.” Raven smiled, “But I had faith right down to the
stroke of.”
“What time is it now?”
Twelve
fifteen.”
“I’m off to bed after I trade in my credits.”
“Me too.”
-O-
Sevanos
stood in his office. He took a moment to ensure that he was alone, and slid
aside a large painting behind his desk. It revealed another room, empty save
the walls, which had exact images of ancient tablets on them. Egyptian tablets.
The far wall contained three tablets. The Sacred Tablet, on display at Domino
Museum, which displayed the
struggle between the Pharaoh and Sorcerer. The one on the right displayed Tiamat, one of the Pharaoh’s High Priests, raising a small
armada to destroy a cell of ancient magical terrorists. The final tablet on
that wall displayed a great dragon, the Final Incarnation of Tiamat, setting the cell ablaze, save its leader, Seros, who the dragon decapitated. There depicted was Seros’ final vow: he would return for vengeance. Death was
only the beginning, after all. Sevanos approached the
three tablet images. None was more than paint on the dark walls of the room,
but each felt so real. He placed his hand upon Seros’
Tablet, the one on the left.
“All proceeds as planned, my
liege.” Sevanos reported to an invisible leader.
“Good. And, you understand how
this will work. You must loose these upcoming finals to Raven Vaniver. Only then can I begin to corrupt his soul.” Replied a voice in Sevanos’ head.
“Once that is done, he will take care of my vengeance for me! It’s only a
matter of time. Fate is on our side, Sevanos!”
“Yes, Master Seros.”
“What is that saying, ‘the apple
doesn’t fall far from the tree’? Well, we can be thankful for that, can’t we?”
laughed the voice. “Let the finals begin!”
-O-
A call rang in Raven’s suite. He
answered it.
“Wake-up call by order of Lord Sevanos. It’s nine-thirty and breakfast is available in the
Rose Room.
If you’d like, we’ll just call you back in an hour to proceed to the arena.”
“Thank you, but no. I think I’ll
enjoy some breakfast.” Raven hung up and left his room.
-O-
No one spoke above a whisper at
breakfast. Tension was thick. Kaomi and Raven left
the room for a more private conversation. They walked to the elevator.
“Kaomi,
I doubt there’ll be time to talk between phases of the finals. There’s
something I want to explain.” Raven began. He told her of Shadi,
Sevanos, the ancient past, and what happened to Mike.
“I see. I could almost sense it on
you.” She explained, “Some sort of power.”
“There’s something else. Losers of
these ‘Shadow Games’ are banished to the darkness of the Shadow Realm.” Raven
sighed, and stopped walking, “Kaomi, I’ve been
meaning to tell you something, and since I’m probobly
only three hours away from another plane of existence, and I may never be able
to talk to you like this again, I might as well say it now.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Kaomi,
if I don’t make it, know that I loved you all along.” He paused, ”And know that I cannot let you face Sevanos,
because I cannot loose you, even if I’ll loose myself soon enough anyway.
Promise me, you’ll stay in this realm, and I promise you I’ll come back.”
“It’s a deal.” Kaomi
closed her eyes, “I would like a bit of time to put everything together in my
mind.”
“You’ve all the time in the
world.” Raven continued to the elevator, and turned back, walking backward so
he could face her, “Of course, if you and I should face off downstairs, we
won’t let this talk get in the way.”
“Of course.”
Kaomi watched him turn away again and enter the
elevator.
-O-
Raven entered the arena. Hw must have been the last save Sevnos,
Kaomi and Aura to arrive.
“Time?” he asked.
A woman with long dark hair, blue
highlights in the front, and a slightly blue forehead, with eyes an inhuman hue
of blue, dressed in combat armor, and, as several other finalists were, wearing
a pendant of a small, black metallic cube replied, “It matters not. At any time
we may begin and at any time I may hail victorious.”
“And you are?” Raven shot her a
glance.
“Illarya, God-King of the Primordium.” She replied.
“Impressive
title.” Raven sighed.
-O-
Kaomi
and Aura walked together. Aura looked at her, “Something wrong?”
“It’s Raven.” Kaomi
sighed, “If he looses against Sevanos, he’ll be
banished to some Shadow Realm or something. All I know is I may never see him
again. I guess I’m just now realizing how bad that’d be. I don’t think I could
go on without him.”
“So, you two care for each other?”
“Well, yeah. I guess…”
“So, let that hold you together. A
solid bond like that can take the rigors of long-distance. Well,
transdimensional, I’m not sure, but I’d imagine it would work.” Aura suggested.
“You’re a good friend, Aura.” Kaomi smiled, “Let’s head down.”
-O-
Sevanos
entered the room last. He addressed everyone. “Alright, in an effort to speed
things up, the first round will consist of four double-duels. The team
breakdown is as follows, selected randomly by my personal assistant Alan.” Sevanos paused, “Kaomi Itai and Aura Leathe versus Lios Helos and Arkith Panzer.” The four stepped aside, “Raven Vaniver and Shuyin Beolve versus Willow Rose and Avron
Sesna.” One of the people, a male, with the cube
pendant, stepped aside with Willow,
Raven, and Shuyin. “Xavier Dyson
and Edmond Duke versus Cid Orlandu and Alexander Retta.” Two men with pendants stepped aside with Cid
and Alex. “And finally myself and Illarya-“
“God-King of the
Primordium.” She added.
“-God-King of the
whatever she said, verses you two.” He pointed to a man and a woman with
those dammed pendants. “Kaomi and Aura v. Lios and Arkith, you’re up.”
As the other twelve took seats in
the stands surrounding the playing platform, Alan-Tax, took a central position.
He would be the Executive Arbiter of these finals. Of course, all rulings and
so forth would be done electronically, but Alan would bring a human presence,
and would serve as a master of ceremonies, more or less.
-O-
In a control room on the
twenty-first floor, the girl, named Opaka, and Barbas sat at computer consoles.
“Virtual systems ready.” Opaka reported.
“Activate holographic projectors
and uplink duel disks into central computer.” Barbas
ordered
“Projectors on, uplink engaged.”
She replied.
“Set Life Point counters to 4000.”
“Set.”
“Cameras on; raise lights.”
-O-
As the four duelists took
positions on the floor of the arena, a ring of light on the floor around them
lit, shining up at them.
“Ambiance
lighting. How nice.” Lios
smiled, “Someone likes to put a bit of mood in their duels.”
“Trust me,
no amount of light in the world will change the mood of a duel with Sevanos.” Kaomi shot Sevanos a cold stare.
“What are we waiting for?” Arkith called impatiently.
“Let Round One commence!”
Sevanos called from the stands, causing holographic
fireworks above the field.
“That!” Aura drew, “Let’s rock, Kaomi.” She turned her glance to Arkith
and Lios, “Here goes nothing. First, I play this
field spell card, Portal of Millennia. This gives all my millennia-old monsters
a bonus.” A bright Eye of Anubis appeared on the floor in the center of the
arena, “I’ll throw this face-down and I’ll defend with this monster. Go, Arkith.”
“I will” Arkith
drew, “I’ll just play a defensive monster for now. Go.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be as passive,
Arkith.” Kaomi smiled,
deviously, “Go, my Skilled Dark Magician! And I’ll play this Spell card, Red
Medicine. Raising my Life Points to 4500.” One of the
three gems on the Skilled Dark Magician’s robe lit.
“What just happened?”
“I just got a Spell Counter.” Kaomi explained. “I place two cards face-down and have my
Magician attack Arkith’s monster!”
“HA!” From the defending card rose
a stone solder.
“What’s so funny, Arkith?” Another of the three gems lit, and the blast from
the Magician’s rod turned the Giant Solder of Stone into rubble. “You see, my
Magician cast a little spell, this one.” Her fase-down
card revealed a Rush Recklessly. “I’ll play two more cards face-down and end my
turn.”
“What happens if you get all three
Spell Counters?” Lios demanded.
“Believe me, you don’t wanna know.” Kaomi grinned.
“Then I won’t let it stay long
enough to find out.” Lios drew, “I play Dark Hole!” A
vortex began to form.
“Reveal my card, the Ancient Rod
of Silence!” Aura activated it, sending a magician’s rod made of solid gold
into the vortex, causing it to collapse.
“I’ll pass.” Lios
grumbled.
“In that case,
now’s the time!” Kaomi said, just as Aura went
to draw, “My Skilled Dark Magician is a bit less skillful that some. For
example, the spell it’s about to cast will give it great power. Dark Magical Transformation!” Kaomi
watched her Magician change forms into her mighty Dark Magician of Chaos. A
card slid out of Kaomi’s graveyard, “By my new
magician’s effect, I get one spell from my Graveyard now too.”
“And it’s still my turn. I reveal
my Bubonic Vermin. I’ll now get two more defensive rats and sacrifice the first
for my Millennium Shield.” Aura smiled as the ancient shield appeared; its Eye
of Anubis shined brightly as it’s defensive value
soared to 3700.
“My turn.”
Arkith smiled, “I play five cards face-down and end
my turn. Itai, you’re on.”
“Wow. You’ve got nothing. I think
it’s time to roast you, Arkith. I’ll play my Rush
Recklessly. Now, Dark Magician of Chaos, Reckless Silence!”
A series of orbs crashed into Arkith with a red-hot
force.
“Hehehe. Thank you, Itai.”
“Thank me, Arkith?
You have 500 Life Points left!” Kaomi laughed.
“Monster
Reborn!” Called Lios,
laughing, “And Dedication through Light and Darkness!” He revived the
Dark Magician and instantly transformed it, “And I’ll return Monster Reborn,
and re-revive the Dark Magician.” Next to his Dark Magician of Chaos, Kaomi’s Dark Magician reappeared. “My Magicians will
destroy Aura’s rats.” The magicians launched attacks, shattering the rats.
Aura smiled, “It’s time to see one
of my favorite strategies. I set two cards face down, switch my Millennium
Shield to Attack Mode, and play the Shield and Sword spell card. Now, roast the
Dark Magician of Chaos!” The Millennium Shield slammed into the Dark Magician
of Chaos, and shattered it. Lios’ Life Points fell to
3100, “Go, Arkith.”
“Your shield returns to normal,
meaning it only has 700 Attack points right now, so here comes
my Gale Lizard. Gale Lizard, blow that shield out of existence and deal 700
damage.” Arkith ordered.
“Reveal trap card, Mirror Force.”
cried Aura, activating her card.
“Reveal Zero Gravity.” Arkith saved his monster and his partner’s by switching
them to Defense Mode.
Kaomi
drew. My Dark Magician of Chaos is stuck in Defense Mode like their
monsters, so all I can do to attack is summon another monster. She thought.
Then she got an idea. “I play a monster in defense mode and set two cards
face-down. Go.”
“Pass.” Lios
stared intently at his hand.
“I place my Opticlops.
Now, my monster will destroy the Gale Lizard.” A large fiend sliced up the
lizard.
“Reveal trap
card, A Hero Emerges, summoning my Sword Hunter.” He grinned, “Now on my
turn, Sword Hunter will attack you!” The knight sliced and diced the Opticlops, and its attack power rose to 2600 as Aura’s Life
Points fell to 3400.
“Mi turn.
My Dark Magician of Chaos will go on the offensive, and the monster I reveal is
my Dark Blade, which I sacrifice to summon Ryu Kokki. Kokki, destroy the Dark
Magician, and Dark Magician of Chaos roast that Sword Hunter.” Kaomi smiled, “Isn’t that 300 Life Points now, Arkith?”
“I’ll begin. I play a monster in
defense mode. Go.” Lios shot Aura a glance.
“What are you doing!”
Arkith screamed.
“Have faith.” Lios
smiled.
“I play Monster Reborn, and
sacrifice my tow monsters to summon the Millennium Sword.” Aura smiled, “Slash
away, and finish Arkith.”
“Negate Attack!” Arkith revealed one of his cards.
“Go.”
“YES!” Arkith
laughed as he played the card he drew, “Reversal Quiz!” all the cards on Arkith’s field exploded, “Now, Kaomi,
if I can guess what kind of card this is,” he gestured to the top card of his
deck, “you and I will trade Life Points.” He paused, “Trap” he grew it, and
revealed it to the rest. Final Countdown.
“My turn.”
Smiled Kaomi, “I play Nimble Momonga in attack mode, and I attack Arkith
directly!” Kaomi ordered the assault.
“You idiot, you cost us this
duel!” Lios screamed at him.
“Now, Kokki,
destroy his defensive monster and Chaos attack him directly.”
Lios
drew as his Life Points hit 300. “No way…”
“That’s all from you. Millennium
Sword, finish him off!” Aura ordered. Lios fell to his knees as the great sword sliced away the
last of his Life Points.
“The winners!” screamed Alan-Tax,
“Kaomi Itai and Aura Leathe!”
-O-
Raven,
Shuyin, Willow
and Avron took their places.
“Begin.” Sevanos
called.
“Ok, I will.” Raven smiled, “I
summon my Breaker the Magical Warrior. I’ll throw these face-down as well.”
Raven smiled.
“I defend and set two cards
face-down.” Willow waved Shuyin on.
“Time to kick
this up a notch.” Shuyin drew, “Start your
countdown to demise. I play the Twilight Mage in defense mode and three cards
face-down. Go.”
“Wow. I’m shaking.” Avron drew, “Have a try at my Gemini Elf.” Two elves lunged
at the Mage.
“Negate Attack.” Shuyin smiled.
“My turn.”
Raven drew.
“Activate Covenant of Growth,
transforming my Twilight Mage into an Apocalyptic Sage.” Shuyin
watched his caster become more aged and menacing.
“And I play Fissure.” The ground
opened and swallowed the Skilled White Magician. “Breaker,
attack!”
Willow
drew as her Life Points fell to 2100. “I
place one card face down and activate Card Destruction.”
No! Raven wanted to scream,
My Dark Magician!
“And reveal my face-down Monster
Reborn.” She shot a glance at Breaker, “And to make sure that thing gives me no
troubles, reveal Exhausting Spell.” The Dark Magician Girl appeared on Willow’s
field. “Dark Magician Girl, attack Breaker with Murky Burning.”
Raven’s Life Points fell to 3300.
“Time for me to
clean house.” Shuyin drew, “Now, Apocalyptic
Sage, destroy the Dark Magician Girl.”
“Reveal Magic
Cylinder.” The Dark Magician Girl held a cylinder in front of her.
“Reveal Seven Tools of the
Bandit.” Raven called.
“Reveal Shift.”
Willow searched frantically for
another option, “Direct at Gemini Elf!”
“WHAT!” Avron
screamed.
“Shut up and take it like a man, Avron.” Willow
yelled, “It’s only 600 points of damage.”
“See, not even that matters.” Shuyin smiled, “Activate Higher Power. Transforming
my Apocalyptic Mage into my Ultimate Magician. And now, here is your
end. I play the Forbidden Spell – Ultima.” Shuyin laughed, “Ultimate Magician, use Ultima
Magic!” From the tip of his magician’s rod, a green orb flew to the center of
his opponents’ fields. “My Ultima is an instant
victory spell.” The orbs exploded, reducing both players to zero.
“Holy mother of-“
Raven watched the explosion grow more bright and intense until the
holograms shut down and Willow and Avron fell to the ground.
“Have a nice day.” Shuyin left the arena.
“The winners!” announced Alan, “Shuyin Beolve and Raven Vaniver.”
-O-
The next four took positions.
“Let’s make this quick.” Alex
nodded to Cid.
“Yeah.
Let’s toast and roast these suckers.” Cid smirked.
“Orlandu and Retta v. Dyson and
Duke. Begin.” Called out Sevanos.
Alex drew, “Oh, yeah. We’re gonna rock the broccoli. I play the Black Luster Ritual,
discarding these two, and activate Monster Reborn on my Gaia the Fierce Knight.
Set two cards face-down. Go, Edmond.”
Alex smiled.
“I’ll play Dark Hole.”
“Magic Jammer.” Alex threw another card out of his hand.
“Defend. Go.”
Orlandu
drew. “I play a monster in defense mode and allow Alex to reveal his card-“
“-Polymerization.
Fusing Gaia the Fierce Knight and-“
“-Curse of Dragon-“
“-to from Gaia the Dragon
Champion!” They both called as Gaia
mounted the mighty Curse of Dragon.
“Set three cards. Go, Dyson.” Orlandu smiled.
Dyson drew. “I’ll play the Little Windguard.” The tiny guardian appeared in front of him. “Attack
the defensive monster.”
“You attacked Troop Dragon. You
should know this about my dragons, they replenish.” As the one Troop Dragon
exploded, another rose to take its place.
“Windguard,
defend.”
“Now, my monsters; destroy
theirs!” Alex ordered.
“My turn.”
Duke drew. “Defend.”
“I play this monster, and activate
Pyro Clock of Destiny allowing me to flip it.
Revealing my Summoner of Illusions! This monster will
transform one monster into something else for a turn. Something
truly great.” The Troop Dragon began to glow brightly and transform.
Another Troop Dragon appeared as the first finished its transformation. It
became the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. “Now I activate Polymerization combining
my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon-“
“-and my
Black Luster Solder-“
“-to form Dragon Rider!” both
called.
“And another Pyro
Clock will let me attack. Dragon Rider, finish Dyson.” From each Blue Eyes
mouth shot a powerful blast, and the Black Luster Solder shot a fourth blast of
energy, knocking Dyson right out of the arena. Orlandu
turned to Duke, “Just give up.”
“No way!”
Duke threw another monster in defense mode.
“Whatever you say…” Alex shook his
head, “Snatch Steal!” one monster moved to Alex’s field, “And I’ll sacrifice it
for the Lava Battleguard. Lava, destroy the last
monster. Gaia, attack directly.
Edmond Duke’s Life Point display
read 1400. “I can at least buy myself another turn. Defend against the Dragon
Rider’s assault.”
“No, you can’t. Remember my final
Troop Dragon and my Summoner are
still here. Well, I’ll sacrifice them both for my Red Eyes Black Dragon! Red
Eyes, attack! Dragon Rider, OBLITERATE!” Duke was thrown from the arena.
“The winners!”
Called Alan, “Cidofolos Orlandu and Alexander Retta.”
-O-
“Time to show
you the meaning of pain.” Sevanos laughed,
“Embrace the darkness, fools!” A cloud of shadows surrounded them, “Let us
begin.”
The four drew.
“I’ll go first.” Sevanos reached for his deck.
“It is pointless for us to
continue.” Illarya looked at him, “I will commence my
turn by playing this.” She placed the Left Arm, the Left Leg, the Right Leg,
the Right Arm, and finally Exodia himself.
“Oh, great Illarya,
why do you do this to your own servants?” One of her opponents cried as the
great colossus began to form.
“You are weaker than I. This is a
victory for the Abyss.” Illarya turned from them.
“The ‘Abyss’…” Sevanos
shot her an odd glare.
“It is none of your concern.” Illarya walked off as the shadows faded and consumed their
opponents.
“The winners…” Alan shrugged, “Illarya and Sevanos.”
-O-
A voice came from the announcement
system: “There will be a half hour break before the quarter finals. During that
time, the next arena will be prepared and your respective opponents will be
selected.”
-O-
Sevanos
entered the control room for the tournament to see Opaka
and Barbas at computer terminals. “I need
information, Barbas.”
“On what?”
Barbas called up a search engine.
“You’re going to use Google?” Sevanos asked.
“Everything is on Google.” Barbas shrugged.
“Find information on a group known
as the Abyss. And cross-reference with the name Illarya.”
Sevanos ordered.
“I’ll have everything for you by
the semi-finals.” Barbas reported, pleasantly.
-O-
“Raven!” Kaomi ran up to him. “I don’t know what to say about
earlier. But I do know that I’m not about to loose you to that psychopathic Sevanos. That much is for certain. So, I’m going to stand
by you. Whatever you are about to face, I’m gonna
face it with you.”
“Kaomi,
that means a lot. But I can’t let you. This is my fight.”
“Screw destiny,
Raven! Let me help you!” Kaomi screamed at
him.
“If all goes right, stay away from
the finals, Kaomi.”
“Raven…”
“Please.”
-O-
“Remaining finalists, report to
Floor Thirty for the next round.” The much-anticipated announcement came.
-O-
“Alright, people.” Alan stood in
front of a large pair of metal doors, “Past here is the stairs to the roof.
There is an arena set up there for the remainder of this tournament. Hope your not afraid of heights. When your not dueling, you’ll be
in this room watching on these monitors,” he gestured to television screens,
“Now, the first match will be Shuyin versus Ilarya. That’ll be followed by Alex versus Raven, Kaomi versus Sevanos, and Cid
versus Aura.” Alan walked through the large doors, Illarya
and Shuyin right behind them.
Each duelist shot a glance at his
or her opponent.
Raven then approached Kaomi, “Be careful.”
“Like you need
to tell me.” Kaomi closed her eyes and let
memories consume her:
“Kaomi, I’ve been
meaning to tell you something, and since I’m probably only three hours away
from another plane of existence, and I may never be able to talk to you like
this again, I might as well say it now.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Kaomi,
if I don’t make it, know that I loved you all along.”
He paused, ”Also know that I cannot let you face Sevanos, because I cannot loose you, even if I’ll loose
myself soon enough anyway. Promise me, you’ll stay in this realm, and I promise
you I’ll come back.”
“It’s a deal.”
“We had a deal, didn’t we?” Kaomi asked, visibly ill at ease.
“I suppose we did. Sadly, it seems
fate got in the way.” Raven looked depressed, “If he does anything to you, I
swear I’ll banish him forever, and I’ll get you back. I swear it.”
More memories flooded Kaomi:
“Something
wrong?”
“It’s Raven.” Kaomi sighed, “If he looses against Sevanos,
he’ll be banished to some Shadow Realm or something. All I know is I may never
see him again. I guess I’m just now realizing how bad that’d be. I don’t think
I could go on without him.”
“So, you two care for each
other?”
“Well, yeah. I guess…”
“So, let that hold you
together. A solid bond like that can take the rigors of long-distance. Well,
transdimensional, I’m not sure, but I’d imagine it would work.” Aura suggested.
“You’re a good friend, Aura.” Kaomi smiled, “Let’s head down.”
“Raven, I care about you a great
deal. No matter what happens, let knowing that strengthen you. Duel for me.” A
tear formed in her eye, “If that turban dude, Shadi
or whatever his name was, was right, I’m going to loose this duel. And then I go to that Shadow Realm place like
those two guys who lost to Illarya and Sevanos.”
“I’ll save you.” Raven clenched a
fist. “Damn fate. Damn destiny. Damn it all! I’ll save you, Kaomi.”
-O-
Shuyin
smiled, peering at his hand. “This’ll be fun.”
“Indeed.” Illarya
replied.
“I’ll go first. I activate Dark
Designator.” A shadowy hand reached into Illarya’s
deck, “This will add Exodia the Forbidden One to your
hand. Now, I play Card Destruction.”
“Not bad, mortal.”
“And now, here goes my Cannon
Solder in defense mode. And a little something face down. Go.”
“I play Vorse
Raider.” Illarya said, emotionless. “Attack.”
“Zero Gravity.”
Shuyin smiled, “Something I picked up watching other
duels.” He drew, “This’ll hurt ‘em. Scapegoat!” four
small goats appeared before him, “And sacrifice all my monsters wilth my Cannon Solder, including my Solder himself. Cannon
Solder, inflict 2500 points of damage! And, go.”
“I will” her Life Points fell to
1500. “Set one card and have Vorse Raider attack.”
“Ouch.” Shuyin
replied, sarcastically, as his Life Points fell to 2100. “I play Mystical Elf
in defense mode.”
“Reveal Destiny
Board.” She said, still emotionless, as F appeared above her. “And with
that, let us take our game to a new level.” A cloud of darkness consumed them.
Shuyin
cursed reputedly under his breath.
“Now, sacrifice Vorse Raider for the Summoned Skull.” A skeleton emerged on
her field, “Skull, attack.”
“No…” Shuyin
drew, “Wait, yes! Go, Heavy Storm!” A gust tore away the set cards on the
field, and blew the Destiny Board into the realm of shadows. “And I play
Tribute to the Doomed, discarding my Big Burn to destroy the Summoned Skull.”
He smiled, “Go.”
“You have finished yourself. You
no longer have a hand.” Illarya commented. “I summon Yata-Garasu. My Yata attacks, and you can no longer draw. You’re locked.” She
reported, as Yata struck him endlessly. The shadowy
world faded, Shuyin with it.
-O-
“I promise you, Alex, this won’t
take long.” Raven stood opposite Alex, “Let’s Duel!”
“I play my Goblin Attack Force! Your move.” Alex grinned.
“Wipe that stupid grin off your
face.” Raven ordered, “Activate Soul Exchange and Tribute Doll so I can bring
forth the tyrant Dragon!” Raven smiled. “What are you waiting for? Go already.”
“Okay. I defend. Go.”
“Summon my Dancing Fairy. Fairy,
attack him.” Three tiny faries blasted away the
defending warrior, and the fireball from the great Tyrant Dragon followed.
“That’s not nice!” scowled Alex as
his Life Points fell to 1100. “Defend.”
“Spell card, Stop Defense.” Raven
slid onto his field The Big Shield Gardna rose. “Tyrant, finish him!”
“Wow…” Alex watched the fireball
plow through his monster, “I must really suck to loose this bad.”
“Yeah…” Raven nodded. “Better
rework your deck.”
-O-
Sevanos
laughed manically as he drew his first cards. “Let’s follow Miss Illarya’s shining example.” Shadows surrounded them.
“Bring it!” Kaomi
drew. “No? Than I will. Go Swords of Revealing Light.” Swords flew at Sevanos, binding him. “And send out my Dark Blade. Fair to
warn you, your Shadow Games can capture you too.” Kaomi smirked.
“Fine, then.” Sevanos
drew. “I play a card face-down and my Jinzo #7!
Little Number Seven can attack you directly. Of course, I can’t attack, so go.”
“Okay. Dark Blade, attack!”
ordered Kaomi.
“Reveal Gravity
Bind!” The Dark Blade was unable to move. “Now, to enhance my Jinzo, I play the spell Seven Completed. This raises my
monster’s attack power by 700. Still can’t attack, so go.”
“I play a monster in defense mode.
End my turn.”
“That’s right. Here’s another
Seven Completed.” Sevanos laughed.
“Shut up,
maniac.” Kaomi shot a glance at her hand. It
was a long shot, but it would work. “I play Cost Down, allowing me to summon my
Patrician of Darkness! And now, I play these two spell cards, Demotion! Each
lowers my Patrician’s level by one, meaning it’s not bound. Destroy J-7.” Kaomi ordered.
“Not bad.” Sevanos’
Life Points fell to 3900. “But you won’t get much farther. Heavy Storm will
blow my bind away, and these two cards-” he set tow traps face-down, “-will
ensure my victory.”
“Nice bluff, Sevanos.
If both my monsters attack, you’ll be down to 100 Life Points. So, do it!” Kaomi ordered.
“No bluff, fool.” Sevanos laughed. “Reveal my two traps, Mirror Force and A
Hero Emerges, bringing forth my mighty Wingweiver!” A
six-winged angelic figure fizzled into existence. “And this wonderful Winged
Messenger will attack you.” A beam struck Kaomi down.
“These holograms are a bit too
realistic for my taste.” Kaomi coughed.
“Itai,
you fool! They’re not holograms anymore.” Sevanos
laughed, “In this realm they’re very real. And there ready to consume your
mind.”
“Let me feed ‘em
something else.” Kaomi struggled to her feel. Her
Life Points at a tiny 1250.
“You realize it is fated that you
loose this.” Sevanos shrugged.
“Screw fate. I make my own
destiny.” Kaomi drew. Nothing.
“You see? Call it whatever you
will. Fate. Destiny. Karma. Whatever you believe, believe this. Life runs along
a proper course. This course in unchangeable. This course in infallible. You
fate is to be consumed by these shadows. You can’t fight it. Why try? It only
causes stress, and gets you nowhere. Just follow your course. As long as fate
isn’t fought against, life runs smooth.” Sevanos
lectured, as he drew, “It is all predetermined. To do anything that isn’t your
fate is pointless, not to mentionimpossable.”
As Sevanos
drew and examined his hand, Kaomi’s mind turned to
more memories.
Raven and Kaomi
walked into the game shop selling the Duel Disks.
“Kaomi
Itai. Let’s see.” The man typed away, “Three stars, Seiyaryu is the rarest card. Approved.”
“And him?” Kaomi
asked.
“Name?”
“Raven Vaniver.”
“We have no records of him.”
“He’s good. Better than me. He
has Tyrant Dragon.”
“Tyrant Dragon? Well, we can
make an exception.” The man grinned slyly.
A smile spread across Kaomi’s face. A light charged in the hands of the great
angel, but she swam in her sea of memories.
The
cloaked stranger drifted up. "Duelist Itai."
his voice was deep and forceful. His face was shrouded in shadow. "I saw
you on the boat to Duelist Kingdom. You were trading with a man named Lios. Lios was my friend, and
told me of a good deck. I searched for you on the island, but I only met you on
the mainland. Now is my chance to see your amazing deck."
"No." Raven stopped him, "I am a duelist,
too. First you beat me, then you beat Kaomi!"
"Raven!" Kaomi felt
pure shock.
"How will I be respected as a Duelist if I never
duel?" Raven asked her.
“Raven!” Kaomi
cried as the blast grew to full charge, “Raven, if you can hear me, I do love
you!” tears shot from her eyes, “RAVEN!” The blast crashed into her. Kaomi was thrown back, and she vanished into the abyss.
-O-
“Kaomi!” Raven watched on the television. “KAOMI!” Raven’s
pendant began to shine brightly. He clenched his fists and let out a scream His
scream the sum of all the rage and anger and sadness felt by all of mankind.
His fists became as the righteous weapons of a divine avenger. “Kaomi!” he violently released his hands, aimed at the
screen. The screen instantly exploded in a small fireball. “I promised to save
you.” He breathed heavy as he fell to the ground. “I’ll save you.” He lost
consciousness.
-O-
Raven awoke to see Kaomi standing above him. “Raven?” she stood above his bed.
“The Semi Finals will happen soon. It’s almost six o’clock.” She explained,
“You’ve been out for a good five hours.”
“Kaom-“
he struggled to form a thought.
“She’s gone.” Raven blinked. It
was Aura. Not Kaomi. Raven sighed.
“He’ll pay.”
“You and I square off in the
semi-finals.” Aura pointed out, “I’ll try not to hold back, but…”
“Don’t. If anything, I’ve got to
hold back. If I give it my all, that might happen again. So, why so long
between phases?”
“Well, you totally destroyed the
deck monitor with that Shadow Blast of yours.” Aura explained.
“What?”
“Something I read after a Google
search for ‘Shadow Realm’.”
“Oh.”
“You’ve got some power, Raven.
Just focus it. Save Kaomi.” Aura closed her eyes. “I
can’t beat you, you know that.”
“Yes.”
“Are you ready to go topside?”
Aura offered him a hand.
“Sure.”
“OH!” Aura pulled out her deck
box, and drew five cards. “Seiyaryu, Dark Magician of
Chaos, Dark Blade, Millennium Shield, and Thunder Dragon. She told me you’d
need these should anything happen to her in her duel with Sevanos
and asked me to deliver them too you.”
Raven held the cards, and tears
formed again, but these tears subsided to a great blazing fire in Raven’s eyes.
“He’ll pay.”
-O-
“So, what have you got on her?” Sevanos sat in a chair next to Barbas
at his computer.
“Here we go.” Barbas
pulled up a web page. “It says; ‘The Abyss. A group believing in a connection
between mystic powers of ancient Egypt and Duel Monsters. Their goal is to
unify the two, and they believe the resulting power will bring about the end of
the world. And during this total destruction, the Agents of the Abyss, their
twenty-one leaders of this organization, can save the world from ruin and make
it theirs to command.’ As for Ilarya; ‘The one who
presides over the Agents of the Abyss, the first of the twenty-one, is know
simply as Illarya. She has earned the self-appointed
title God-King of the Primordium. Those in the group (borderline cult) known as
The Abyss regale her as the ultimate mistress of the Shadow Arts of Egypt. The
abilities taught to the ancient sorcerers.’ It also says the Abyss is
characterized by small black metal cube pendant things. Several finalists had
those.”
“This is big.” Sevanos
read with great interest.
“And if it’s right, you’re in deep
trouble.” Barbas looked up at him.
“I can defeat a God-King.” scoffed
Sevanos, “What of Vaniver?”
“Did a search on that nifty
ability of his. ‘Shadow Blast’. Creates a massive surge of energy. Used
normally to summon monsters into the Shadow Realm and isn’t supposed to be
useable in this realm.’ So how did he use it?”
“In his emotional state, his power
goes uncontrolled.” Sevanos smiled, “All the easier
to corrupt.”
“Yeah, corrupt away, but put a cap
on his power-o-meter. That thing isn’t meant for this world. What if he summons
a monster into this realm? Huh? Destroys the HQ?” Barbas
grew concerned.
“I’ll get the Mystics right on
it.” Sevanos walked out of the room.
“Fifteen minutes till six.” Opaka reported.
“New monitor on-line?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
-O-
Raven stood in the room outside
the Arena, pure rage in his eyes. He stood wearing a black T-shirt, black
jeans, and a black leather trench coat.
Sevanos
entered, smiling. “Hello, old man.”
“Let’s get this over with, peroxide-head.”
scowled Raven.
Illarya
merely stood aside, “Are you ready, Sevanos?”
“Are you, Miss God-King?” scoffed
Aura.
“Let’s get this over with. Raven
versus Aura.”
“No.” Aura deactivated her Duel
Disk, “I can’t stand in Raven’s way.”
“Duel me.” Raven almost commanded.
“Alright…” Aura reluctantly
drifted onto the rooftop arena.
-O-
Raven launched his disk, “Expect a
quick defeat. I have to end this fast. Fast and honorable. So let’s duel!”
“I can’t in good conscience stand
in your way.” Aura drew, “But if you want honorable…” she shook her head, “Go,
Millennium Shield and Sword, allowing me to add the Millennium Sward to my
hand. Now I play my Dark Elf in attack mode. Go.” A dark-skinned elf rose
before her.
“Set two cards face-down and play
Exchange!” Raven and Aura met at the center of the field “I’ll take your
Millennium Sword.”
“I’ll take your Dark Magician.”
“Fine. Your mistake.” Raven
smirked. “Go.”
“Dark Elf! I pay 1000 of my Life
Points to allow you to attack! Assault him now!” Aura’s counter fell to 3000.
“Reveal Negate Attack!” Raven
smiled, “Here goes a monster in defense mode. Go.”
“Sacrifice my Dark Elf for
Millennium Shield in defense mode.” Aura sighed, “Go.”
“Reveal my Bubonic Vermin. As any
good plague, my Vermin multiply!” Three Vermin appeared on his field, “And
sacrifice two to summon Millennium Sword. Now, my Millennium Sword is fine
alone, true, but here is a little added support. Activate Rush Recklessly. Now,
my sword, attack!” The Millennium Sword sliced through the Millennium Shield.
“Now, to ensure my Magician remains safe, Card Destruction.” He threw his hand
away, “Go.”
“Spell card; Dark Hole!” Raven
guarded himself as the Millennium Sword was swept off the field. “Defend.”
“Defend all you want. Here goes my
spell. Monster Reborn! Come on back, the Seiyaryu I
just discarded!” The shining pink dragon appeared before him, “For all of the
rage of mankind. For all of the vengeance to be served. For Kaomi.
I stand strong! Seiyaryu, attack!”
“Millennium Crusader! Replace
yourself!” A solder wearing Eye of Anubis-adorned armor vanished, being
replaced by a facedown card. “Now I’ll reveal it. Allowing me to create a chain
of Crusader Summoning, filling my field.” Five slight variations on a single
theme of solder appeared.
“Aura, this is it.” Raven smiled,
“Activate Change of Heart and Tribute Doll, allowing me to summon my Barrel
Dragon in defense mode, and switch Seiyaryu to
Defense as well!” The great metal dragon rose.
“I can still keep my defenses up!”
“Sure you can. Set this and end my
turn.” smirked Raven.
“I play Opticlops
in Defense-“
“Make that Attack, go Zero
Gravity! And to really make you mad, Staunch Defender! All your monsters must
attack Seiyaryu. Meaning, that each is destroyed, and
their suicide runs affect your Life Points. You’re done.” Raven smiled as the
Crusaders each attacked, and each fell to Seiyaryu’s
Mystic Flame.
-O-
Sevanos,
in his flowing white robes matching his snowy-white hair, stood opposite the
odd Illarya. “I’ll have you know, my good God-King,”
he began, “I’ve researched you. I know about your ‘Abyss’, and I gotta say, you’re a crappy leader. You take out two of your
own to forward your own cause. You freak.”
“Prepare to eat your words!” A
world of shadows consumed them, “But this Shadow Game shall show you just how
powerful I am. No parlor tricks like you pull. This will be a quality Shadow
Game. As we each summon monsters, a unique strain will be placed upon our
minds. As monsters are played, and attacks are made, the strain will increase.”
Like a truck, a light hit Sevanos. He floated alone for a moment and heard a familiar
voice. It was Seros. Allow me to take over! Screamed
inside Sevanos’ head. “No!” Sevanos
clutched his head, screaming back, “I can take care of myself. And once this is
over, I will be free of you! To live my life as I see fit!” Never, Sevanos, The voice replied, because after this,
you’ll cease to be. Sevanos screamed in pain as
the more powerful Seros took over, transforming Sevanos into his most powerful from. His hair jet out at
odd angles and seemed longer. A glowing Eye of Anubis formed on his forehead.
He seemed to radiate power and both good and evil at once. Most odd, wings of white light appeared on
his back. He had become his ultimate form, Yami Sevanos.
This new being, not man nor
spirit, stood opposite a stunned Illarya. “You shall
not get between me and my fate.” He roared, in a harmony of Sevanos’
and Seros’ voices.
“What did you do?” demanded the
startled Illarya.
“I embraced those outside myself.”
Replied the harmony of voices that was the voice of Yami
Sevanos.
“It matters not. We shall duel.”
“That sounds about right.” laughed
Sevanos, as he drew, “Here goes my first move,
Hysteric Fairy!” A mad laughing angel appeared before the Yami.
“I defend with this monster.”
“I defend with this monster.” The Yami replied, mockingly, as he defended, “Fairy, attack!”
An arm, bound by a chain, shattered.
“I play Gemini Elf! Gemini Elf,
destroy the defending monster.” The elves hit the Arsenal Summoner.
“Fool, you have guaranteed your
defeat. That card allows me to obtain my Guardian Angel Joan.” The Yami laughed manically, “I’ll set one card face down and
play Card Destruction! Now I activate Monster Reborn!” from his Graveyard, the
Guardian Angel Joan formed on the field, “Joan, attack!”
“Pass.”
“Activate the Autonomus
Action Unit, returning your Elf, and sacrifice it and my Fairy for Wingweiver,. My Angels will obliterate you! And with your
Life Points, go your mind!”
“How did you survive the strain of
those monsters?” Illarya stared in shock as the
angels flew at him.
“You underestimate the power of my
new form. My Yami form is supreme in power,
God-King.” Yami Sevanos
laughed as he exited the arena. Illarya was no longer
in the arena.
-O-
“That’s a Yami.”
Explained Aura, “According to what I’ve read, it is a mergence of a
millennia-old being with oneself through use of Shadow Powers.”
“Looks dangerous.” Raven watched
on the screen.
“It is.” Aura sighed, “Look,
you’re going to have to use this power to defeat Sevanos
now. So you better focus.”
“Got it.”
“Then it’s time.” Aura escorted
Raven to the metal doors, “Let ancient energies flow through you. And may
fortune favor the foolish.”
“Right.” Raven nodded. He exited.
-O-
“Ahh!
The Pharaoh’s Servant.” Yami Sevanos
looked over his shoulder, shadows now dissipated.
“I’m no one’s servant.” Scowled
Raven, “It’s time, Sevanos, to get Kaomi back!” he screamed. The shadows reformed. Raven’s
eyes radiated a bright glow as his hair seemed blown by an unfelt wind. An Eye
of Anubis began to glow on his forehead, and wings of darkness shot from his
back. His voice did not change, but found courage, determination, and strength
like none Raven had ever felt. He was now a Yami as
well.
“You’re not as weak as I thought, Tiamat.” Sevanos laughed
manically.
“It’s Raven now.” Raven’s stare
was full of hate.
“Then let us go!” Sevanos launched his disk. “I place a monster in defense
mode and end my turn.”
“Fight like a man.” Raven
demanded, “I play Soul Exchange, offering your monster to summon my Millennium
Shield, a gift from the woman you heartlessly stole from me!”
“Cowering behind memories and big
sheets of metal.” Sevanos scoffed. “I pass my turn.”
Raven carefully examined his hand.
He found a sudden ease in forming stragities, and
seeing combinations he had not before seen, “Graceful Charity!” He drew, not
looking at the cards, hoping for a high-powered monster. No such luck. “Go.”
“Defend.” Sevanos
smiled.
Raven drew again. Marie the Fallen
One wasn’t going to help him. “Summon my
Dark Blade. Go.”
“Go? Okay. I’ll defend and set
this face-down.”
“Sacrifice Dark Blade and
Millennium Shield for Seiyaryu! Now, Mystic Flame!”
“Reveal Negate Attack!” Sevanos drew, “It’s been fun, old man.” He rose the card he
drew into the air, “Sacrifice Hysteric Fairy and Shining Angel to summon
Guardian Angel Joan!”
“No!” Raven clenched his fist.
“Joan, attack!” Sevanos ordered. Raven’s Life Points fell to 3700, as Sevanos’ rose to 6500.
“I activate Polymerization,
combining my Marie the Fallen One and Forgiving Maiden to from the Saint Joan!”
Raven called, an angelic warrior, similar to the Guardian Angel, but in combat
armor with a large sword, appeared before Raven. “And I play four cards face-down.
Go.”
“I will,” Sevanos
set three cards face-down, “Go, Raven.”
“I have to thank you for these new
packs, Sevanos, they are so useful. One more
face-down card. Go, psychopath.”
“I will. I set this card. Now, let
us see who was better prepared. Guardian Angel Joan, attack!”
“Go, my Negate Attack!”
“Activate Trap Bind!” A beam of
light trapped the Negate Attack card. “Now your Negate Attack is bound until my
trap is destroyed!”
“Then let’s destroy it. Dust
Tornado!” Raven called, his dark wings stretching.
“Not bad, old man, but here goes
Haste! Hast allows me to attack regardless of other circumstances. And my last
Trap, the Reinforcements, raises my attack by five hundred.” The Angel struck
down the Saint.” Sevanos’ Life Points soared to 9300.
“I still have three face-down
cards, Sevanos.” Scowled Raven, as his life points
fell to 3200.
“I have a lead of over six
thousand points on you, old man. It’s over.”
No, Sevanos.
Raven smiled, thinking to himself, My Self-Destruct Switch will lower us
both to zero as long as I increase your lead by at least another thousand, and
that lovely Heart Reborn card will raise my Life Points to 2000, meaning I’ll
win. “Activate!”
“WAIT!” Kaomi
screamed in his head. “Don’t lower yourself to his level!”
“It’s fate.”
“So what?”
“Activate my spell card Autonomous
Action Unit, reviving the Hysteric Fairy in defense mode.”
“Pathetic.” Sevanos
scoffed.
“Don’t do it, Raven. I don’t
want to see this man corrupt you.”
“And activate!”
“Please, Raven. I love you!”
“Activate?” Sevanos
cocked his head, his harmonic voice sounding a bit startled.
“This is it, old man, the end of
this duel. So activate your switch and your face-down card to defeat me.” He
laughed manically, “It is fate. Dare not stray from it. You must follow
through. Defeat me.”
“Why?”
“It is fate.”
“Activate Self-Destruct Switch,
and use my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy my Heart Reborn trap card. Now,
for the destruction.”
“But! You can’t! It’ll be a draw!
You can’t draw in this game!”
“A great person, one five thousand
times better than you’ll ever be, gave me the most sound advice I’ve received
to date. Screw fate.” A red button materialized on Raven’s Duel Disk,
“Good-bye, Sevanos.” He winced as he slammed his hand
down on the red trigger. From Raven’s disk a massive explosion consumed the
field. Both Duelists were knocked down, and both their Yami
forms wore off.
-O-
Raven did not wake within the
hour. Nor did Sevanos. Neither woke until early the
next morning. Raven slowly sat up in his
bed in the room he had prepared in the Star Building. He saw Aura beside him.
She shook her head. Without so much as a word, he bolted out of his room. It
was time to speak to Sevanos.
-O-
Raven breezed past security
straight into Sevanos’ empty office. He approached Sevanos’ desk to note a crack in the wall behind the
painting behind Sevanos’ desk. Raven approached it
and slid it aside. There, Sevanos stood. Alone.
“Raven…” Sevanos
looked at his hands, “All I’ve done was at his hand. I am sorry.”
“Who?” Raven asked.
“Seros.
My ancestor.”
“I see.”
“I meant you no harm. All souls my
ancestor claimed must now be freed.” Sevanos closed
his eyes.
“What of them?”
“All will forget my atrocities, if
that’s what you wish, Lord Vaniver.”
“Yes. This shall be none more than
a tournament. “
“To fabricate a past is hard,
Raven. We will both need to take care of it.”
“Agreed. And what of Seros?”
“He left me. Reeling from your
actions. He mentioned something about The Abyss.”
“The what?”
“The Abyss. Illarya’s
organization.”
“She’s insane.”
“Yes, she is.”
“She must be stopped.” Raven
pointed out.
“Mr. Vaniver,
are you purposing an alliance?” Sevanos smiled.
“The enemy of my enemy is my
friend, Sevanos.”
“Then may we be the best of
friends, Mr. Vaniver.”
-O-
Raven exited Sevanos’
office to see Kaomi. Instantly, they embraced.
“You stood strong. You didn’t cave
to the pressure.” Kaomi smiled.
“I didn’t care who won. I wanted
to save you. With no Sevanos, that’d been a bit
harder. But what about Shuyin?”
“Aura says he’s been back since Illarya went down.” Kaomi smiled,
“Raven, I…”
“Don’t speak. This is our moment, Kaomi.” Raven held her tightly, “I’ll not loose you again.”
“That’s right.” She replied,
shedding tears of joy. She composed herself, “So, what next?”
“Everything. The entire world.
Summer’s a week off, and we got quite the mission over the summer.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Later. Now, we return to life as
normal.”
“One last thing, Raven…” Kaomi looked deeply into his eyes, “Why do I remember, Aura
remembers, Illarya remembers, Shuyin
remembers, but that’s it?”
Sevanos
and I decided it was important to keep your memories in tact. Some others may
be reinformed later, like Orlandu,
but just you guys for now.”
“I see.”
“
“ class=SpellE>Kaomi.
What I said before the Finals…”
“Don’t speak. I know.”
“I do. I care too much about you.”
“And I, you.”
“Let’s go, Kaomi.
Off into the sunset, or whatever we’re supposed to do now…” Raven smiled as he
and Kaomi walked off.
End of Part two
Return to FanFiction