The girls were practicing for their big night. The music was blasting from the stage's sound system. It was an edgy tune, full of tension and an air of danger. The main stage had five girls on it.
The foremost girl had long, messy black hair with brown streaks and sapphire blue eyes. She had one of those microphone headsets on her head and a guitar. Her figure was tall, boyish, but her body gave off an air of purpose. She and the girls on her right and left had a guitar and an electric string bass each.
The girl to the black haired girl's right had short spiky, red, yellow and black hair with long, golden bangs. Her hair had been cut so that a long fringe dangled down her back and she had pulled this back into a ponytail.
The girl to the black haired girl's left had long, platinum blonde hair. She appeared to be the oldest of them, about seventeen years old. She was missing an eye, which had been replaced with a metal eye of silver. In fact, she bore a family resemblance to Maximillian Pegasus, which was because he was her only family member left actually. Her hair had been pulled back with a band of embroidered silk tinted red and gold.
Behind them, on the drums, was a girl with long brown hair and light eyes. She had a silver shock of hair that hung between her eyes. She was dressed in punk gear with a black and silver choker with gold studs. Her t-shirt said, "Do not meddle in the affairs of dinosaurs, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup."
Next to her, on the synthesizer that her brother had built sat a girl about sixteen years old with long, pale green hair and large black eyes that sparkled like stars. She wore silver glasses with butterflies carved along the sides, a narrow, emerald green slitted skirt and a shirt with a red necktie, sort of an, Aviril Lavigne look, but with longer skirts.
The black haired girl gave the cue. "And a one, and a two, and a one, two three four!" And the band began it's opening.
The black haired girl and the other two with her began to play. The tune was harsh, threatening, tense but thrilling all the same. The green haired girl had written it with exactly that effect in mind. Then the cosplayers came on stage.
The Rose Cosplayers were a theater group famous for reenacting famous duels. Their best actor, dressed in costume as a dark magician, led his fellow players onto the stage. His sister, dressed as a dark magician girl strode at his side. And a boy dressed as a Celtic Guardian, with blonde hair dyed blue at the tips, scurried to keep up on the other. Wolves, monsters, dragons, warriors, and magicians alike took their places onto the stage.
Then, as the music became more menacing, more thrilling and exciting, more players, dressed as Rare Hunters, came charging out onto the stage. The Players/Hunters began to battle the monsters, both sides using the hand to hand combat moves that they'd been taught by their Leader, the white haired girl. Exactly as they had blocked the moves on stage, the Hunter/Players cornered the monsters/players, which put on an exaggerated mien of panic. Then the dark magician/player, a determined look on his face, motioned for his fellow monster/players to charge the Hunter/Players.
As the Monster/Players charged forward, and, with a mournful sequence in the tune, the Monster Players began beating back the Hunters, sending them running back to the stage, fighting for every inch of ground they had taken. With a few exhilarating bars of music, the Rare Hunter/cosplayers retreated off the stage and the monster/players cheered.
"Cut!" The black haired girl cried.
The Hunter/Players came back on stage and the monster/players removed hoods and helmets from their costumes. They came to the foot of the second level of the stage at Domino Convention Center. "That was perfect!" The girl exclaimed. "Do that on show night and we'll sock 'em dead!"
"Thank Rex for putting together the weaponry!" Said the one dressed as a dark magician girl.
"Mmm hmm. And thank Maeko for the good fishrolls!" Said the kid dressed as a Celtic Guardian. "They were yummy!" His stomach rumbled. A collective giggle ran through the crowd of players.
One of the girls, who was dressed as a rare hunter, loosened the special corset that kept her breasts bound flat. Several of the female players used them when playing male roles. "It's that sequence with the Egyptian God Cards in the Shadow Games Song that I'm worried about. Are you sure that Weevil and Rex can finish the wiring and painting in time?"
"They've never let me down yet." The girl in the skirt and tie, who had been playing synthesizer replied.
"I think, boys and girls, that that is that for today."
"I can't WAIT to get out of these robes." Said the Dark Magician Girl/Player. "I can't wear my Reflection Ankh with the costume because it would show, but I feel naked without it. And then there's the issue of cleavage..."
"Another time Nneka." The Dark Magician/Player replied.
"But Chuck, I'd much rather be the Flaming Swordsman. That way I don't have to show off my body. I can hide my bucking boobs at least."
The black haired girl rolled her eyes. "That's enough for today, all of you. We'll go over the Shadow Games song tomorrow." She put on her coat, grabbed her backpack, and headed for the door. Maybe she'd find something to eat.
She turned the corner from the theater onto the nearby avenue where there were plenty of shops and restaurants along the seaside. That was when a figure in dark blue stopped her. He wore a cloak with chains and there was a symbol on the top, a millennium eye symbol. He was a rare hunter!
The girl took a deep breath. There was nobody about that time of day. Nobody could see them from the shops at this angle. She looked up into the face of the rare hunter. He was actually a lot more attractive than most of the bunch. He had kohl lines drawn underneath both eyes. His skin was a lovely golden tan. His hair was long and blonde and the girl could see a golden necklace as well as several golden bangles underneath the collar and sleeves of his robe.
"Well well Mr. Hunter, what brings you to my door?" She asked with a quirk of a smile, meant to tell him that he had not caught her off guard. This was as much a play as the performances off which she made her living.
"I've been looking for a new member of my group Dragonheart. And I think you'd do admirably." Dragonheart, that was what the other duelists called her, because the girl's deck was made up of burn cards, dragon cards, and bird cards. She was the only duelist in the world to own the actual blue eyes ultimate dragon card. Seto Kaiba had to fuse his blue eyes white dragons to form his. In addition, Pegasus had given her a Toon World and Blue Eyes Toon Dragon for her last birthday gift. Her deck was incredibly powerful, and her services would be invaluable to somebody like the Rare Hunters.
"You rare hunters sound dreamy, but I'm not about to give up my soul somebody like you're organization, not when I have everything going according to my dreams and ambitions, not when my life is going exactly the way that I want it to go." The girl replied.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice Dragonheart!" The Hunter replied, pulling something from beneath his robes. The Millenium Rod! Marik, Ishizu's brother!
"Marik!" The girl cried, backing away.
She tried to run, but Marik shouted. "Stop my mindslave!"
The girl found herself frozen in place. There was something, something creeping into her head, pushing her mind aside.
HIKARI!! The girl's spirit cried.
The black haired girl's Millenium Item, the Millenium Crystal, began to glow silver with power. Marik cried out in surprise.
Remember yourself! The girl's spirit cried. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!! REMEMBER YOUR NAME!!!
I am... I am Nyassa! I AM NYASSA! The girl cried.
With that, Marik cried out in shock. His hold on her was broken. Exhausted, the girl found her way to a nearby thicket of bushes, out of sight of anyone on either the beach or the road, and blacked out.