DARK OF NIGHT AND MORNING'S LIGHT
by: KiddyGrade8
Dawn broke silently over the city of New Domino. The sun rose in an array of beautiful colors that shone magnificently across the darkened city. A flock of birds soared high above the city, gliding on the updrafts and currents that flowed. A crisp, cool breeze swept widely along the plains just outside the city boarders and across the city from Satellite. Two figures stood in the field, overlooking the awe-inspiring city. One dressed in a cloak blacker than a moonless night, while the other wore a cloak of the brightest white emblazoned with gold. The wind caused their cloaks to ripple wildly around their feet. The one in white opened his mouth to speak. "So…This is the famous New Domino City. Is this our destination?" The one in black nodded, not saying a word. White sighed. "Rudger has gotten out of hand. He crossed a line in releasing the Earthbound Immortals, and he still has the audacity to taint the innocents with his corruption…" He sighed. "At least we don't have to worry about him anymore." He turned to Black. "Why are we here, anyways? Rudger is dead. There's not much more damage he can do anymore." There was a silence between the two. "Ah. Oh course. Our fallen brother is here, isn't he? Shinji…" He groaned and massaged his temples. "Let's see what notable duelists are in the city. Maybe we can get some time off to relax after this assignment." He pulled a small hand-held device out of a pocket on the inside of his cloak and flicked in on. He scrolled down through lists of cities and their latest census counts. "Ah, here we go. New Domino City." He paused for a minute. "Hmmm…Fudo Yusei, Izayoi Aki…" He whistled. "There's an American here named Jack Atlas. Don't see too many Americans in this part of Japan anymore. Until recently, he was classified as the Duel King. It appears that Fudo Yusei has taken his place, hmm…There's a 'Crow the Bullet' Hogan and twins who are only listed in here as 'Lua' and 'Luca'. It doesn't give their last names. Hmm…So many promising duelists…This might turn out to be interesting after all."
Black became more attentive as White read off the list. He watched as White put the device back into his pocket. "Let's go, then…We don't have too much time to linger." He hesitated only for a moment before speaking again. "You know, you would probably get father in life if you spoke more. Now we must move, before the Dark Signers are alerted to our presence." He strode forward, only to stop a few meters later. He turned back to Black, who remained completely motionless except for his cloak flapping in the wind. "Come on! We don't have all day! We must-"
"…No…"
His voice was naught but a whisper. White paused, and then sighed deeply. "Alright, alright…What is it, now? What's got you so riled up? I haven't seen you this excited in…ever."
"Izayoi…Aki…" White had a puzzled look on his face. "Izayoi Aki? You know her? Is she an ex-girlfriend or something? You never seemed like the dating type…or the people type…or even the sentient being type." He glanced at the clock on his pocketed device. "Well…I guess we have enough time to swing by and say 'hi'. DO you know where she lives?" Black said nothing, which frustrated White. "Dammit, man! I'm not a mind reader! If you won't tell me what's on your mind, I can't help you! What's going on?"
Black looked up at White, who recoiled slightly. From within the shadows thrown across the man's face by his hood glared a menacing eye. It glowed a vicious red. He visibly wore a maniacal grin which made White think that his partner truly was insane.
"…Black…Rose…"
"Ummmm…Are you okay, man? You're not gonna…go nuts and kill everyone again, are you?" Black dashed past White as if he didn't even notice he was there; cloak fluttering behind him, his metallic black duel disk glinting in the morning sun. White briefly remembered when he got that duel disk. He had requested it be custom-made, to represent his pride in his favorite card; but the company refused. He had raise total hell with that deck until they gave in. Naturally; they gave his partner, the man who was now dressed in white, a custom duel disk of his own. He subconsciously placed his hand on his disk and felt its smooth texture in the shape of his own signature card. He shook his head violently, snapping himself back to reality. He turned and ran after Black. "HEY! STOP, MAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! IF YOU KILL 'EM ALL, YOUR DOING THE DAMN PAPERWORK!"
The city continued to sleep; unaware of the cloaked figures crossing its borders, one trying to stop the other. A bank of fog began to ominously drift in.
Izayoi Aki, age 18, woke up groggily to the incessant buzzing of her alarm clock. She lay almost face-down in her pillow, barely able to breathe in the stale morning air of her apartment. It took her a few moments to realize what the hellish noise that woke her was; but she eventually dropped her right hand onto the cold plastic and fumbled around on the top of it, feeling for the "OFF" button and, being unable to find it through groping, was forced to prop herself up on her elbows so that she could see what she was doing. It was only 7:30 in the morning. Aki cursed her schedule as she quite literally dragged herself out of her bed and tumbled to the floor, where she remained in her lingerie for about a minute, trying to not fall back into the blissful throws of slumber. She was eventually able to muster up enough strength to lift herself off of the floor and stumble into the bathroom for a morning shower. She shed herself of thong and bra and trudged into the glass box.
The hot water felt good against her skin this unusually cold morning. She sat there under the running fluid for some time, feeling the warm water run down the curves of her body and running through her schedule today in her head.
10:00 – Jack wanted her to help test his new Duel Runner design.
11:30 – Carly wanted to meet her at the local café for an early lunch. Ever since Jack had dumped Carly for Mikage, she had been all over Aki. Either Carly was trying to make Jack jealous, or Aki had done something that REALLY turned the reporter on. Either way: she didn't care. She had never had a relationship. Guys rarely ever noticed her, girls were terrified her. It didn't matter. She was open-minded. Dating another girl was worth a shot, no matter how apprehensive she was.
12:20 – Meet Yusei for reasons unknown. She figured that she might as well skip that last one. Hang with Carly all day, see what happened that night.
When she had everything sorted out, she actually began to wash herself. She grabbed the brush hanging from the showerhead and quickly scrubbed herself off, taking her time washing between her legs. She quite enjoyed the sensations that the bristles sent through her body. On several mornings she had pleasured herself with the handle of the brush, and she briefly considered doing it today; but she figured that she didn't have time right now. She lathered the shampoo in her hair and thoroughly rinsed it out. She never bothered with conditioner and, as a result, her hair always felt like sandpaper. She didn't care. Nobody noticed her anyway. After all, she was the Black Rose Witch.
She turned the water off, wrapped a towel around her seductive figure, and stepped out of the warm shower into the cold morning air. She absolutely hated that feeling, and she wondered why it was so cold in the middle of July. She walked back into her bedroom and opened her closet, pausing briefly to look in the mirror on the door before she opened it. She dismissed he feeling and opened the closet and grabbed one of her outfits, which were all the same; save for her old academy uniform (Her hand lingered over it briefly. She wondered why she had kept it.) and a dress she saved for very special occasions. She had yet to find an appropriate occasion. She closed the closet and screamed when she saw someone standing behind her, clad entirely in black. He remained perfectly motionless, even though a breeze that rolled in through the open window. The hood of his cloak cast a shadow over his face.
"…Izayoi…Aki…?" He whispered the two words, but they seemed louder than the roar of a train.
"Wh…Who are you? Why are you here? How did you get in!" He never answered her question. He whispered something else to her, then turned and walked over to her window and placed one foot on the edge. "Where do you plan to go, you fool? We're on the fifth floor!" The man briefly looked back at her. She could have sworn she saw something glowing some shade of red. "Don't…be…late…" He leapt out the window and dropped out of sight, cloak trailing behind him. Aki rushed to the window and looked down just in time to watch a black shadow swoop down and catch him; and then he was gone. She stepped away from the window and slid it shut. That was perhaps the oddest experience she had ever had.
Town center…noon…
His words still rang in her ears…Whatever did he mean? She shrugged it off and proceeded to dress herself. She pulled fresh undergarments out from her dresser and slid them on quickly. Apparently orange was her color today. She quickly pulled on her usual outfit and was about to curl her bangs, also like usual, when there came a frantic knocking at her door. "Damn. I appear to be really popular today." She strode from her bedroom through the kitchen to the front door, and called "Who is it?"
The person on the other side seemed to be out of breath and in a rush. "Please, ma'am. I need your help. The city's in terrible danger." Aki unlocked her door and opened it enough to where she could see the man. He looked almost exactly like the freak that had leapt from her window, only this one was clad in white. It seemed like her emotions showed through to her face, as the man immediately said: "Oh, so you have seen him. Could you tell me where he is?" She stuttered for a bit before se found he words to express herself. "Uhh…He broke into my apartment as I was getting out of the shower, spoke to me very briefly, and jumped out the window in my room. Why? Who are you people?" A look of surprise flashed across the man's face, but it was gone as quickly at it had come. "He spoke to you?" She nodded. "…So…You must be Izayoi Aki-san. Whatever he said to you, I'd suggest you listen to it. If you don't, he might just wipe this city off of the map. I'm not sure he's all there anymore. When he gets like this…" He trailed off. "If you'll excuse me, ma'am, I have a partner to catch." He ran off down the hall towards the stairs, and she watched the tail end of his vibrant cloak disappear into the floor and he hustled down the stairs, yelling the word "Black". Aki stood in the doorway, staring down the hall for some time afterwards wondering what had just happened. She shook her head and closed the door behind her as she walked back into her apartment.
What was that? Who were those people? They almost looked like Dark Signers…Especially…that one. These thoughts kept swirling around in her head, ending up back on the hooded figure. Who was he? What did he want from her? How did he get into her room? The door was locked. She had to unlock it for the man who had knocked on her door. But he jumped out the window. She lived five floors up! What was that thing that caught him? It kind of looked like some sort of duel monster, but they didn't exist! Unless…
She placed her hand on her mark. It felt oddly warm. Could those two really be like her? Could they also materialize their monsters?
No…That couldn't be…Could it? The whole situation left her with an intense feeling of unease.
They had just built a new café not too far from Aki's apartment complex. Three blocks south, two blocks east. That's where Carly wanted to meet for lunch. Unfortunately, Jack had her going to the stadium on the other side of town and sent her back and forth trying to pick up the parts he needed. All the little things he used to ask Mikage to do he was now asking her. It was beginning to frustrate Aki. She was going to ask him to start paying her if he was going to make her his new secretary. Aki raced her Duel Runner in between pedestrians and cars, the loose cloth on her ensemble fluttering in the wind behind her as she continued to speed down the roads. The intercom that was built into her helmet began buzzing. It was not very loud, but it was loud enough to be hear over the thrumming of her Runner. She gently tapped the button on the side of her helmet and tried to speak clearly enough to be understood. "Izayoi Aki. What is it?" Carly was on the other end.
"Aki…I'm sorry, but we're going to have to postpone our date. Something really big is going down in Central Park. I need you to come here. Let the others know. Something about this is screaming 'Dark Signer'." Aki slammed on the brakes and pulled to a stop just outside her apartment. "What! I thought we got rid of them all!" Carly's voice seemed fainter. Apparently she had to pull the phone away from her ear to prevent herself from going deaf as Aki yelled into her headset. "I know, I know. You all keep telling me this, but I still don't remember anything about it. Still…Some kind of shadowy apparitions have chased everyone out of Central Park. They're now standing guard at all the entrances, and even patrolling the skies. Aki…They look like dragons. You don't think that a dragon colony has come to settle in the city do you?" Aki was stunned. "Carly…You know that dragon's don't really exist, right?"
"I know, but if that's really the case: These are some pretty vicious birds. You'd better get down here quick. And please let the others know." Aki was silent for a minute, deciding what she should do. "Alright. I'll alert the others. What entrance are you at?" There was silence, then a response dotted with static. "I'm in the clothing store not far from the northern entrance." I'll wait for you here." Aki nodded, and then remembered that Carly couldn't see her. "Got it. I'll be there shortly."
"Please hurry…" The phone clicked silent. Aki was forced back to reality by the sound of cars honking behind her and obscene names being shouted at her, along with other things. She gave them a display of her own and opened the throttle, zipping away before they could respond. She clicked open a communications channel on her headset that was designed to communicate specifically with the other signers' phone and broadcast her voice through the speaker. "Guys. It's Aki. I need you all to get to the clothing store near the northern entrance of Central Park. We…" Luca responded from her end. "Are we going shopping, Aki-san? Are you finally deciding to be more social and actually spend time with us?" Aki barely managed to hold her temper. She's twelve…She's only twelve…
"No, Luca…We're not going…shopping. We have possible Dark Signer activity. I'll meet you all there. Over." Aki sped up to the northern edge of the city and swung around the buildings, approaching the store from the north and doing her best to avoid detection. She broke through the perimeter that the Securities had set up, and they were about to pursue her before they were stopped by Tetsu Ushio. "Leave her be, men."
Aki screeched to a halt in front of the store and dismounted her Duel Runner. She set her helmet on the seat and, crouching, snuck up behind the car closest to the park and peered through the window. There were definitely shadowy figures perched in the middle of the walkway. Though she couldn't make them out clearly, they certainly did appear to be some form of dragon. "Pretty creepy, isn't it?" The sudden break in the silence caused Aki to jump. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, Aki-chan." It was only Carly. Aki breathed a heavy sigh of relief and placed a hand across her heart. It was beating insanely fast. "Yeah, creepy…but…I've felt this feeling before. Earlier today, in my room. There was this guy…"
"Dressed in black?"
"He's in there?"
"Yup."
"Damn." Just feeling the energy emanating from the Central Park sent a chill down Aki's spine. It was dark and…what? She wasn't sure how it felt. Just…bad. It was bad. Something about it wasn't right. It was a twisted energy. The last time she had felt something like this was when…She gasped. She was well aware of how her fear displayed across her face. It caused Carly to panic as well. "What? What's wrong?"
"I…I recognize this feeling. The energy radiating from the park. It's almost the same as it was when I dueled Misty." Now Carly looked confused. "Misty? Do you mean Lola Misty?" Aki felt stupid for a fraction of a second. "Right…amnesia. Sorry." They heard a howling roar and the thunderous sound of an explosion. They both stood up and looked over the car to find one of the beasts swiftly following something that was hidden behind a line of trees. The roaring sound of a Duel Runner engine quickly became very apparent, as both Jack and Yusei roared past Aki and Carly with one of the beasts trailing behind them. As soon as it left the courtyard surrounding Central Park, it disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Jack and Yusei noticed that their pursuer had vanished and they slowed their bikes down, turned, and pulled up next to Aki and Yusei. Jack was the first to voice everyone's question. "What the hell was that?" His question remained unanswered. It was Yusei's turn to ask questions next. "Has anybody heard from Crow or Luca? Do you know where they are?"
"They're fine, Yusei." Crow's Duel Runner pulled up from behind with Luca riding shotgun. "Unlike you two idiots, I did the smart thing and skirted around the bad guys. You morons could've gotten yer asses fried by that thing." Crow and Luca climbed off of the Runner and tossed their helmets aside. "Hey, Luca. Where's Lua?"
"He got stuck in detention at the academy. He couldn't get out of it." Crow started laughing. "Hehehe…Ahhh…Oh, that kills me. The mighty Lua's gotten caught by his teachers. The arrogant little punk got cocky." Nobody else laughed. "Crow, keep you head on what's going on-AH!" Yusei yelped as the mark on his arm began to burn, searing through his jacket. "What…What's going on? It's never burned like…this…before!" He instinctively grabbed his arm in pain, slumping to the ground while the mark began to burn through his glove. Aki's arm began to glow next, followed by Jack, Crow, and finally Luca. Their marks began to smoke and sizzle, and the smell of burnt flesh began to fill the air. "Why…?"
There was a burst of brilliant light, and the marks (and the pain) vanished. "What was that?" Tears filled the corners of Luca's eyes. The pain had been almost too much for the young girl.
"Go…My part ends here. This is out of my hands now." The five Signers and Carly turned. Not ten feet away stood the man with the white cloak. Yusei's rage bubbled up. "Why are you dong this! What are you after!" The man raised his hand. "I am not after anything. It is my partner you seek. We were sent here on a mission to stop a calamity from happening in the near future. One that could change history and the world. My cohort merely seeks a duel with the legendary Black Rose Witch…One Izayoi Aki-san. As much as I detest his methods, they appear to be quite effective. I don't think Miss Izayoi would have shown up under any other circumstances. You five who were in agony…You are the legendary Signers, yes?" They nodded.
"How do you know about us? I find your story very suspicious." Jack glared at his through squinted eyes. A gentle breeze ruffled the man's cloak. "It is our job to know about anything and everything that has to do with the timeline. Thousands of years ago, in ancient Egypt, when the magic of Duel Monsters was very much real, our organization was a group that served directly beneath the Pharaoh. We fought against the demon Zorc Necrophades in his campaign against everything. We had almost lost. We would have; had it not been for our mighty Pharaoh and our gods. With the power of the three gods combining into the almighty Horakhty, Zorc Necrophades was vanquished. Ever since, our select group has been assigned to protect the timeline from any fluctuations or disturbances." He reached up and slowly pulled back his hood. His skin was tanned and he had a large scar, as if he had had a blade of some kind dragged across his face. Emblazoned upon his forehead was a symbol that neither of them had ever seen before in their lives. It appeared to be an ancient eye symbol. The symbol of the Millennium. He pointed to his scar. "Not all of us…escaped unscathed."
"Hold on…You said that you were here to prevent something from happening. What did you mean?" Crow couldn't take his eyes off of the symbol on the man's forehead. "One of our superior leaders believed that Duel Monster should have never been created. That is was cursed thousands of years ago, and that it is cursed now. He seeks to steal one of your Dragons of Legend cards to use it to go back in time and prevent Pegasus J. Crawford from recreating the game. We cannot allow this to happen, as time would alter the timeline horribly." His black hair swayed gently in the breeze. His blue eyes were extremely clear and focused. They were not the eyes of a madman. "Which dragon does he need?"
"We do not know at this time."
"But what about your partner. He seems pretty unstable." Aki looked backed at the park. A pitch-black fog had swallowed it so that it was impossible to see inside. "He is fine. Duel him and he will calm down. I have worked with him forever. This is the only time he's ever acted like this. He never even speaks. I suspect that he only wants to acknowledge you, Aki, as a true duelist. You do not yet know it, but he relates you to himself more than anyone. He's just like you. He grew up in fear. He would have been executed by the country, but he used his most precious card and fought off the entire Pharaoh's army when they came for him. In spite of this, he saved us all in the Great War, and we admitted him into our ranks. Just like you all, we both own a dragon of legend; though ours are much older. Looking at the stats, mine is much stronger; but the way he handles his…It's like it is part of him. I would not be surprised if it actually was a part of him. Now go. We've wasted enough time. I'll be looking over you all. Should things get out of hand, I will step in and fend him off so that you all can escape. He cannot kill me."
Crow laughed at him, long and heartily. "And how do you expect us to get in there with those nasties killing anything within a hundred feet of the place?" The man walked over to Yusei, to which Crow didn't understand, and placed a gentle hand on the smooth surface of his Duel Disk. He slid his hand to the deck, which began to glow a beautiful white, and drew a card. It was Stardust Dragon.
"Trust yourselves to the Dragons. They will protect you." He handed the card back to Yusei. "Hurry." The wind picked up into a gale, and the man vanished; his voice echoing on the wind. I will be watching you. The five Signers looked at each other. "Well…I guess we should go…" Again, Crow butted in. "What the hell do you mean 'We', Aki? I don't know if you've forgotten, but I don't have a dragon! Those things'll eat me alive!"
"Then stay here with Carly. I'm sure she doesn't want to be left alone. Besides…He wants me. Not you." He stopped and looked at her, then at Carly. "Ummm…Alright. I guess that works. I'll wait for you all here. Good luck…And take care, all right?" He turned to Carly. "Come on Nagisa-san. Let's get into the building. It'll be safer there." He took Carly by the shoulders and carefully led her inside and out of the way of danger. Aki turned to the other three who remained with her. "How many of you want to come with me? I would be…grateful…for your company." They looked amongst each others quickly. Yusei stepped forward and placed a still-smoldering glove on her shoulder. "Aki…We're all in this together. We stand together, or not at all."
"…Thank you, Yusei…"
The fog loomed before them like a great barrier that would not allow them to pass. Aki took a deep breath and stepped in first. The others were not far behind her. There was a load roar and the ground shook beneath them. None of them could see far enough ahead to see what had caused the ground to shake. Luca clung to Yusei in fear. "Can anybody see it?"
"…No…" Jack was hesitant to answer and kept his hand on his duel disk. Out of the darkness loomed a gigantic figure, darker than the fog itself. The most prominent figure was its glowing red eyes. Aki raised her duel disk to it and her deck began to glow a brighter enough shade of black that the others could see it through the fog. "Begone, shade, and allow us passage." The glow from her deck got bright enough to the point where it felt like they should close their eyes; then, with an explosion of black light, her Black Rose Dragon appear before her. The shade vanished and the fog lifted slightly. Enough so that they could see where they were going. Together, they slowly treaded the path to the obelisk that stood at the center of the park. "All right. I'm here. Where are you? You wanted to duel me?" There was no response. "Aki…try attacking his pride." Jack was working under the assumption that the cloaked figure was like him. Hell…It was worth a shot.
"Do you fear me? Is that why you refuse to show yourself? You go out of your way to summon me here and to make sure that I come, yet you do not reveal yourself to your foe? Does the legacy of the Black Rose Witch scare you!"
"…Silence…"
The voice came from behind them all and caused them to jump. Aki turned and, sure enough, the man clad in the black cloak stood between them and their way out. "Here I am. What do you want with me?" The wind whipped up around them and made escape impossible. The creatures of shadow appeared to be pulled back into the man. Slowly, the right side of his cloak lifted and was brushed to the side. A Duel Disk was mounted on his arm. He grabbed it and pulled his deck out, shuffling it. Aki got his drift and did the same. When they finished, he walked over to her holding out his deck and his empty palm. She didn't understand what he wanted.
"…Formalities…"
As if by magic, that one word seemed to tell her what he was doing. He was offering his deck to her to shuffle, and that he wished to shuffle hers. To prevent stacking their decks. She cautiously placed her deck in his empty palm and received his deck in turn. They spent about ten second shuffling each other's decks in the dense fog before returning them to their owners. Aki placed hers in her disk, and the man did the same. A whirlwind began to pick up around them, sucking the fog in and dispersing it. For the first time, Aki got a clear look at the man's duel disk. The main body was shaped like a dragon's head. It looked so familiar, but she could not remember where she had seen it before. His deck was placed in the dragon's mouth, and it looked as though the Graveyard was just below the deck. The two plates that hooked together to form the field were in the shape of dragon's wings; but that head. She knew she had seen it somewhere before. The history book at the academy? Could that have been it? The whirlwind evolved into a full-blown tornado surrounding them.
"…You…first…"
Aki drew six cards and observed her starting hand, which consisted of 'Wall of Thorns', 'Torrential Tribute', 'Twilight Rose Knight', 'Tytannial, Princess of Camillas', 'Lord Poison', and 'Thorn of Malice'. She thought her moves through and decided to save her dragon for later. "All right. I start off by summoning my "Twilight Rose Knight" and by activating its effect, I Special Summon my "Lord Poison" to the field in attack position. I'll end my turn by setting two cards face-down. I pass my turn to you.
Aki: 8000LP
?: 8000LP
He drew a card and wasted no time in making his move. To the field, he summoned a small black dragon to the field. "Now…Tremble, Black Rose…" His little dragon began to glow and began to grow in size. In a burst of light, his little dragon caused Aki great fear. She now remembered where she had seen that dragon. A fabled dragon of immense power and supreme versatility. The fabled Red-Eyes Black Dragon, said to have once belonged to a duelist named Katsuya Jonouchi. Its large black wings spread wide as it settled to the ground. Its elegant, slender, skeletal appearance gave it a truly frightening appearance. Its eyes reflected power. In seeing such a legendary dragon, she panicked; and missed her chance to activate her face-down "Torrential Tribute". "…Now…" He took a card out of his hand and showed it to her, though she was unable to read it. "…Go, my beloved dragon…Inferno Fire Blast!" Flames began to spew out the sides of the dragon's mouth as it slowly opened its mouth and spat out a raging ball of flames that struck Aki at full force, causing her to scream in pain. It shocked her to find that her clothes were actually burning. It must have been that spell…and what was that attack? This doesn't seem like the shadow duels I'm used to, but I really felt that attack.. He set one card down and ended his turn. She knew she had to put that dragon down as soon as she could. She put out the flames and stood up. "Draw."
Aki: 5600LP
?: 8000LP
Aki's hand now contained her 'Tytannial', 'The World Tree', and a 'Copy Plant'. "Now…Behold a TRUE dragon. 'Twilight Rose Knight' and 'Lord Poison'. I tune them together…" Her 'Rose Knight' vanished and 'Lord Poison' began to change. "…To bring in my trump card: the Black Rose Dragon!" Her dragon burst forth with a mighty roar, as if it wanted to protect her. The petals that lined its body fluttered as the gale of the cyclone grew stronger. "Feel the wrath of my dragon! Eliminate everything, my dragon!" The dragon exploded into a shower of rose petals and smoke. Aki laughed at her opponent through the smoke. "How is your precious dragon when it's been destroyed?" It took the smoke clearing to notice that her dragon was the only thing missing. "What!" He flipped his one face-down card, 'Divine Wrath'. Aki almost felt her heart stop. He had shut down her dragon. Nobody had ever done that before. Not only that; but she was now left wide open, and had no choice but to end her turn.
He drew, and held up another spell card. This one she knew: 'Heavy Storm'. Aki watched as her lifelines were blown away and his dragon began to morph again. This time, the behemoth lost its arms, but its wings grew in size and its body grew blacker. Red markings began to appear on its body and more black fog began to settle in around them, almost hiding the new dragon completely. She knew that the beast had gotten worse. Its attack points grew from 2400 to 3000. The new dragon settled to the ground and lurched forward, assuming a quadrupedal stance by folding its wings and substituting them for its now absent forelegs. He summoned another dragon. One that she was unfamiliar with. It appeared to be all muscle covered with armor plating and wings made of bone. Both of his monsters attacked her directly. Aki growled in frustration at both his luck and his apparent ability to be able to shut down all her combos. It was her turn.
Aki: 1100LP
?: 8000LP
Aki placed her hand on her deck, pleading for anything that could help her defeat her opponent. She drew. 'Fragrance Storm'. That was it. She couldn't do anything. She was helpless. "I…end my turn…" She slumped to the ground, hanging her head, and waited for the blast she knew was coming. The blast that would finish her off, and would probably end her life. "I…lost…" Tears almost began welling up inside of her. "Why…?" She stood up and looked at her opponent. "Why are you so strong? How could you shut me out so quickly? Why is there such a difference in our level of skill? He said nothing until after he made his draw. He added the card to his hand and lowered both of his arms to his side. They disappeared beneath his cloak. For the first time, he spoke in a tone louder than a whisper. "You want to know why, Aki? Do you really?" He reached up for his hood and gripped it lightly, he hesitated. "The reason you cannot defeat me, Izayoi Aki, is…" He lowered his hood and the gale of the cyclone reached its climax. His cloak fluttered wildly in the gale before coming loose and getting whipped away. The man's blonde hair whipped around in the gale. His crisp, blue eyes were so sharp that they seemed to cut through her. They were surrounded by rings of black. Unlike his partner, his flesh was unmarred and perfect. He did not appear as if he had gone through the same war that they had allegedly experienced. "…That you have not bonded with your cards enough. The bond I share with my Red-Eyes Black Dragon is unshakable. It saved my life back in Egypt, and it helped me save the lives of many others. Neither of us would be whole without the other."
"Why did you come after me?"
"Because we are the same, Aki. We grew up in solitude…Alone…Like I have bonded with my dragon, you have bonded with yours. The difference between us is that our bond is centuries old. Yours is not even 20. My Red-Eyes and I have fought through wars together. I will give you credit, though. You managed to stop one of the Earthbound Immortals created by our enemy, Zorc Necrophades. But you can't beat me. I'm sorry, Aki. You tried valiantly; but we have guidelines for our duels. Those who lose, die."
"A shadow duel?"
"Yes. Now!" His eyes began to glow a vibrant red, the same as his dragons'. "Wait! Can't you do something! You seem reasonable! Isn't there anything you can do to interrupt the duel?"
"No…There is nothing I can do." He bowed his head. "Forgive me, my descendant." Several flashes of light caused Aki to go blind temporarily. When she regained her sight, she saw that her friends were standing between her and her opponent, their dragons before them."
"We won't let you harm our friend! Your rules state that the loser of a one-on-one or a tag duel shall die, but how about a four-on-one? We're stepping in." The light cast upon the man caused him to step back briefly, but he held his ground. "Do not tempt me, Fudo Yusei!" The light became dark all of a sudden as three more dragons appeared. One of them looked like the pitch-black dragon that had caused Aki to collapse, only it appeared to be rotting away. The third looked like the first two, only made entirely of a metallic substance. The fourth looked like his signature Red-Eyes, only plated in steel. You all may have four of the five Dragons of Legend, but my Red-Eyes outnumber and out power your monsters! Behold! A magic circle appeared around the first metallic dragon and, as it stepped outside of the circle, his Red-Eyes Black Dragon materialized within. "Stand down! This was my test for my great-descendant, and I have deemed that she failed!"
"That is not yours to judge, 41." A brilliant flash of white, brighter than that cast by the legendary Synchros, enveloped them all and destroyed all but one of the man's dragons. The pitch-black one remained. From the heavens above drifted down the man who dressed in white on the back of his Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon. Its elegant, flawless wings beat effortlessly against the gale. "You know full-well that you can call your duel off." The man called '41' growled at him. "Stay out of this, 16! This is not your duel!"
"You made it my duel when you synchronized yourself with that Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon of yours!" It was only when '16' said this that Yusei noticed how 41's dragon was also looking up. Its gaze appeared to follow the gaze of its owner. "Whenever you synchronize yourself with your dragons, you always lose yourself to them! The way I see it now, the bond you share with them is manipulative on their part! No…It is not your dragons…They…they grieve for you. What has happened to you?" The circles around 41's eyes began to glow black, and they seemed to suck in the light from the Blue-Eyes. "How did I not see it before? Shinji! Where are you? Release him at once!" There was an odd laugh the resonated as if they were deep within the confines of a cave. "Now why would I do something as foolish as that? He makes quite a good puppet." The words came from 41's mouth, though it was not his voice. "You have grown too complacent, 16. You assume that your dragon of light can defeat the dragons of the dark. The bond that they share with this human shall result in your defeat time…after time…after time." The figure of a human slowly materialized behind 41, though not completely. He remained nothing but a shade.
"None of you shall stop my quest. These beasts were a curse in Egypt, and they're a curse now. I shall obtain that Stardust Dragon, and I will murder Pegasus. Now perish!" Yusei's heart skipped a beat. Paradox! But we stopped him! 41's deck appeared to suck in all the light around it. Everything was going dark. "This is one of my cards, but I think I'll let this pawn borrow it for a little while. Prepare yourselves. You have two turns to live. Field Spell: Mausoleum of the Emperor." He set three cards face-down and ended his turn. "One left." His deck seemed to fade away into the void of black that spiraled into it. The Signers and 16 all drew a card and set one Spell/Trap card each. The four Dragon Synchros and the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon against a man whose power was still unknown. They attacked.
"Hahahaha! Impudent fools! So careless! Vanish!" He tripped one of his face-down cards. Mirror Force. "You're the fool, Shinji!" Yusei had to yell to be heard over the raucous noise of the whirlwind. "Stardust Dragon, special effect!" Shinji tripped another of his trap cards: another Divine Wrath. He discarded a single card from his hand, bolts of static leapt around the dragon briefly, and it exploded. The other monsters exploded into billions of tiny white particles and vanished into the air after it. They ended their turn. At least he only had one monster; but they still shared Aki's life points. 1100. That Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon had 4200 attack points. One of those face-down cards had better be worth something. "My turn. Bid yourselves farewell!" He drew a card. "From my hand: 'Axe of Despair'!" 5200 attack. "Go, mighty dragon! Vanquish our foes!" The dragon opened its mouth and spat an enormous ball of flames. 16 tripped his trap. "Magic Cylinder!" The blast was absorbed into one of the purple cylinders and a large blast was launched back at 41/Shinji. He grunted as it hit him full-force. "Is that the best you can do? You're pathetic, 16!" He had no choice but to end his turn. Draw. Jack and Luca both set a monster while Yusei summoned Junk Synchron, tributing it to special summon his Turret Warrior. They ended. 16 had one more trap card on the field. If it didn't reflect an attack, they were royally screwed. Shinji laughed. "You are such fools! Leaving yourselves wide open!" He drew and attacked Jack's set monster…and tripped another trap. 'Dragon's Rage'. "Begone, fools!"
"You have lost, Shinji. It is true that 41's bond with the Red-Eyes will always defeat us. However; that is when he is in control. You do not share that bond with them. And that is why you will always lose lose. Activate trap card!" 16's last trap was Dimensional Wall. Shinji screamed as he took the intended damage; and 41 fell to his knees and slumped to the ground, freed of the monster that held his mind. The whirlwind and the rings around his eyes vanishing as proof of that.
16 ran to his side, scooped up the cards that hand fallen to the ground when he collapsed, and hefted his friend over his shoulder after placing them back in his deck. He turned to the four Signers. "Would any of you mind letting him use your bed for a while? I don't know how long he's been possessed. Young Luca was the only one who stepped forward. "You can use our house, sir. Lua and I were the only ones who really lived there; but we're staying at the academy dorms right now." Yusei put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do that, Luca? The man just hurt Aki and tried to kill us!" She hung her head.
"I know…but…Ancient Fairy Dragon is telling me to trust them…and that it's best to forgive and forget. The shadow-man said that he wanted your Stardust Dragon. Maybe those two can help you protect it." Aki, struggling to remain on her feet, grasped Yusei's wrist lightly and shook her head. Yusei removed his hand. "If you're sure…then I won't try to stop you. I just hope that you're choice is the right one."