Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Magic
Mark of the Rosary
Chapter 1
It's been three years since Princess Crystal had defeated a figment of Zork Necrophades' power. Since then, she had trained the rest of her time with her magic and improving her own deck. She has even grown fond of the cards she had acquired throughout her card collecting days. Since she had come a long way since her adventures in Egypt, she felt that she needed a break from all of this nonsense, and focus on protecting her home from incoming onslaughts.
We see Crystal walking alongside the busy street in Tacoma City, her current outfit consisting of a white tank-top with a Millennium Eye on it, with a black, medium-sleeved shirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans with a flare bottom, and a pair brown, high-heeled boots. She carries the Millennium Rod in one of her belt-loops. She continues to walk for a few blocks, thinking about what the future holds for her. In the meantime, a spirit of one of her cards is floating beside her. This one is the Dark Magician Girl, whom the elder princess had called Mana after the girl that once owned her as a spirit monster.
"You seem content with the world around you," said Mana. "Are you positive that there is no other person that would cause any harm?"
"As sure as I can be, Mana," said Crystal. "Ever since Zork-face's power was completely wiped from existence, there hasn't been a single person on Earth trying to do the usual world domination thing. And the same can be said about when I fought alongside Magic Heart to fend off the Dark Empire, and killed off the evilest of all evil." She twirls around in a circle while she says this. After that, growling can be heard, and she looks below at her mid-section.
"And, suddenly I have an empty stomach," she said disdainfully, as Mana giggled while the elder princess' brown, blonde streaked hair wilted downward. "Well, that just leaves me to find someplace to chow down." She then walked into the direction of a nearby restaurant, with Mana following close behind.
"Perhaps so," said Mana, winking. "Maybe then you would think straight and true when in battle." Crystal snickered a little, looked at her with a smile and a wink, and said, "Well you know the old saying. Never fight on an empty stomach." As she said this, there appears to be a commotion outside the restaurant they are going to. During this time, another spirit monster, this one being the first Harpie Lady Sister, whom Crystal called Airo, looked into the direction of a scuffle. After a brief moment, Crystal is inside, and only after she is finished eating that she paid her tab, and walked outside the restaurant. The elder princess then looked at what the locals were gossiping about. There is a poster on the restaurant window saying that there is a tournament to be held in the Seattle Convention Center. Those who want to enter are to sign up, and some are invited personally by Maximillion Pegasus via letter or telephone.
"Well, how about that," said Crystal. "A Duel Monsters tourney in my state." Mana also reads the poster, and says, "Participants are to sign up at the library before the tournament begins. Otherwise, they would be unable to compete." Crystal had a look of interest in her eyes, and she had her finger and thumb on her chin.
"Sounds like a plan," she said to Mana. Suddenly, Airo, flying as swift as the wind, come right behind her, and tapped her on the right shoulder, "Hey girls, something strange is going on." Crystal and Mana look into the direction she is pointing.
"Take a look over there," said Airo, pointing towards the scuffle. Crystal, Airo, and Mana, can see that a few people are getting humiliated by some magic power, one which Crystal herself is familiar with.
"Okay," said Crystal, angrily, "whoever's using Dark Magic with evil intentions is gonna get a rocket to the face!" Suddenly, a young boy, about one year younger than her, came running towards her, wearing a black jacket, a white tee-shirt, a pair of light-blue pants, and a pair of black boots. His long, frayed, black hair was flowing in the wind as he ran towards her.
"Mokuba?" she said, recognizing the boy as soon as he approached her. Mokuba is Seto Kaiba's younger brother and vice president of Kaiba Corporation. He stopped to take a breath, and Crystal approached him, placing her right hand on his left shoulder, and saying, "What's going on, kiddo?" Finally, Mokuba caught his breath, and said, "Crystal, come quick! It's an emergency!" Crystal couldn't understand what he meant, but she agreed to go with him. Meanwhile, a crowd is gathered around to witness someone using Dark Magic on the local people of Tacoma. Among them was Seto Kaiba, brother to Mokuba, and the CEO of Kaiba Corporation. He was wearing his usual attire from the time he hosted the Battle City Tournament. As he looked on, a woman wearing a white sun-dress, magenta sandals, and a magenta scarf was pouting for her loss against another duelist. She had carried a duel disk, but was unable to win. As such, the mysterious female figure in a red hoodie, wearing a pair of white pants, and a pair of black loafers, raised her hand, and a shot of red lighting touched the girl's dress, and to her horror, it had transformed into an ugly brown dress with green lines.
"Aggh! You-" she screamed, "you heartless beast! This shade of brown should only be used for accents!" Kaiba cringed at her and her dress, as she fainted, and was caught by one of her friends.
"Come on, people," said her other friend. "She needs a new frilly dress, STAT!" As soon as the girls dragged the losing duelist away, Crystal and Mokuba push through the crowd, hoping to find out what is taking place. Kaiba looked over to them as soon as they made it through the clearing, with Mokuba holding onto her wrist, helping her through to the other side.
"Thanks for bringing her, Mokuba," he said to him, as the younger Kaiba pulled himself into the clearing.
"Hey, no problem, Seto," said Mokuba, trying to get Crystal through. As soon as she's out in the open, he lets go of her wrist, with her looking around, saying, "What's going on here?"
"Well, well, well," said the winning duelist, her voice sounding like a familiar female. Crystal looked at the winner in stunned silence, her eyes shrinking a little upon hearing her tone. The winning duelist walked a little bit towards Crystal, and said, "If it isn't-" She paused and removed the hood from her head, saying, "Princess Crystal." Crystal looked her with a blank look on her face, saying, "Mary Diamond, really?"
"That's right," said Mary. "You can't deny it any longer. Someone recognized my talents as both a Spellcaster and a duelist at the same time, and had asked me personally to deal with your little magic. So, I hereby decree a Duel Monsters Duel between you and me. Winner stays in Tacoma; loser is banished from this one lady town FOREVER!"
"You came all the way to my hometown just for a retry in a duel?" Crystal said with a blank look on her face.
"Yes," said Mary, in a tone of anger. "And it's all because you showed me up during the Mirage Tournament in Domino City! Because of your goody-two-shoed little strategy with your deck, I was a laughing stock! Even though my magic was real, the people I perform my real magic with judged me to be fake compared to you!" She then pointed out to Crystal with a demonic looking grin, and said, "You can try to back out if you want, but you don't have a choice in the matter. And I will keep casting spells on your peers until you agree to duel me." Crystal shook her head in disappointment, saying, "So you're still sour about me beating you fair and square at the Mirage Tourney." She looked at her with a blank look again.
"Honey," she said to her with a tone of wisdom, "clinging to the past is not gonna make you a better person. Sometimes, you gotta let go and move on. And besides, you were cheating your way to victory with the other duelists too. So I had to step in and put an end to all of that."
"See!" shouted Mary. "That's what infuriates me! You broke my winning streak, even though I had you on the ropes from the very beginning! Well not this time! This time I will clobber you to dust!"
Upon hearing her remark, Mokuba said to her, "She's been acting strange ever since she came to Tacoma City to battle you." He pointed to something that Mary was wearing around her neck.
"We think it may have something to do with that necklace she's wearing," he said. "You see, she's been wearing it for a long time, and since that time, she started getting darker and darker by the minute."
"I see," said Crystal, staring at the necklace around Mary's neck. She then closed her eyes, and she can sense a black aura coming from it. As she opened them, her eyes were glowing yellow, and she stared at the necklace from afar.
"Well, Crystal?" said Mary with an arrogant remark. "Do we have a duel?" Crystal continued to look at the necklace, and realized that it was the cause for Mary's attitude towards her. She then blinked and ended her Aura Sensory.
"I accept your challenge, Miss Diamond," she said to her, confidence brimming in her voice. "But on one condition. If I win the duel, not only will I see you in Seattle for the next Tourney, but you will have no choice but remove the rosary around your neck." Mary then gasped, and looked at her necklace in shock, saying, "You-you'll take away my beloved rosary?!"
"It's your choice," said Crystal, her hands off to the said, and palms upward. "But I have to warn you, that rosary you have is pretty much the whole reason why you've been lashing out at other people. But since you love the thing so much, I'll let you keep it if you win."
"Fine by me," said Mary, angry at Crystal's proposition. "But I am not giving up my rosary once I'm done with you." She then prepares her duel disk, and the two holograms zoom off to the side, each assembling each other ready to project the monsters.
"Come on up and face me so that I can end your sorry excuse for magic," said Mary arrogantly. "It'll be over before you even began."
"I've just about had enough of your ego, missy boo," said Crystal with her eyes closed. She then began to walk to her side of the field, but was stopped when Kaiba put his hand on her right shoulder. Crystal, surprised by this, looks up at Kaiba, and said, "What is it, Kaiba?"
"Be careful in this duel, Crystal," he said to her in a serious but concerned tone. "I have witnessed the previous duel myself, and she has indeed improved since the last time you defeated her. If you can find a way to bring her back to her senses, even when she has that rosary around her neck, she will understand. All I can say for now is good luck." Crystal nodded and continued to her position. You will need it, Kaiba thought.
As soon as Crystal made it to her position on the field, she brought out her own duel disk. This one was made by one of Pegasus' workers and given to her for portable dueling pleasure. After she puts it on her left wrist, she spins the star-shaped rod on the circular dome outward and the field on the disk folds out as if they were angelic wings. Two star-shaped holograms blast out from the side of the circular area, and off to the sides, where they form satellite like holograms on the field. Both duelists insert their respective decks into their disks, and the life point counter activates.
"Duel!" both girls say in unison. Both girls begin the duel at 8000 life points each. Kaiba and Mokuba look on as the girls draw their first five cards. Mary Diamond has already been disqualified from the last tournament because she kept using the same power Pegasus had once wielded, thought Kaiba. She may have improved her skill since that time, but I know for a fact that she hasn't changed a bit. Besides, Crystal had already beaten her once, and I am certain that she can win again.
Meanwhile in the Duelist Kingdom Castle, a man in a suit, known as Croquet, walks inside a dining room where Pegasus is enjoying the last moment of a duel on the TV Screen, holding a wine glass. A male duelist has just been beaten by Atem. As his opponent walked away with a smile on his face, Atem nodded, and also went his way, clutching his deck in satisfaction.
"My, my, what an honorable duel that was," said Pegasus, beaming. "As usual, the Pharaoh Atem has won without the need of cheap tactics."
"Master Pegasus," said Croquet, trying to get his attention. Pegasus looked into his direction, with Croquet saying, "A thousand pardons for the interruption, sir."
"Oh no," said Pegasus. "Actually, you were right on time, Croquet. The duel was already over before you walked in."
"That is exactly why I am here, sir," said Croquet. "A duel between Princess Crystal and Mary Diamond has begun."
"Really now," said Pegasus, smiling. He then placed his wine on the table, and took a remote from underneath the table itself. Holding it up to the screen, he said, "Let's have a look, shall we?" He then pressed a button on the remote and the screen changed to Crystal and Mary about to begin.
"This is it, Crystal," Mary shouted to Crystal. "Once I beat you, you'll be the laughing stock of the century!"
"We shall see about that, Mary," Crystal said with a look of confidence.
"Oh, Mary-dear," said Pegasus, with his only eye closed, and his two left fingers above it in disappointment. "It seems you still have yet to learn good sportsmanship." He then smiled and looked up at the screen and looked directly at Crystal. Even without my Millennium Eye, thought Pegasus, I can still see that the duel itself is going to end the same way. What a splendid show that this would make.
To be continued…