Midnight rules
chapter 1. tunnel tales
Darkness...
Darkness was all Midus had seen for four years. four years locked in side a cell he could bearly stand up in. four years locked inside cell alone with his thoughts and past memories, every moment filled with anger, regret and glimpses into his soul. That was the way Midus had expected to live out the rest of his days. that changed the day he heard a heavier set of footsteps crossing the ward of his cell. footsteps unfamiliar to his ears, those unlike the prison guards who taunt his fellow felons and mock him for his lack of freedom. and then it happened, a few murmurs outside his cell followed by the turning of gears and then... light-
The hub, the bottom of the barrel, a labrynth of gothic architecture and sub human shanty towns accessed through the intertwining connections of elevated roads and pipelines. this night the roads are empty and desolate, the people of the hub have learned in recent weeks that it is not safe for those out before the minutes of midnight. Even those who flee to the safety of the dark and debauchery of its walls have something to fear. And then...
Silence is broken in the form of a roar, man made in its nature. High beems light up the road from a distance, breaking the peace and disturbing the tranquility of the open road. And the driver though insolant in his nature rides to save himself from a fate worse than death..
"keep moving idiot, gain distance and stay alive"
The rider accelarated through the roads, unknowing wher to go taking any exit he could. After three minutes he began to slow down and checked his rearview mirrors to see if anyone had followed him. A sigh of relief passed in his breath as turned through another exit and then he saw it. Subtle in its nature as it trailed alongside, compressed to the floor mimicking his own shadow until it began to gain speed and accelarated in front of him and in thise few seconds of recognition the feeling of utter disbelief came upon the rider as the shadow began to rise and in one swift motion cut through the frame of riders chopper.
The front wheel kept moving and sparks flew as the remainng pieces of metal trailed on behind igniting the floor, but the rest of the bike and its rider began to spin and fall and eventual after being pulled across the road for what seemed like a lifetime collided woth the barrier and stopped.
"Up. Get up. GET UP NOW",
the voice roared inside his mind an the figure slowly began to roll on his feet. His black jeans and bikers jacket partially inbedded into the tramac of the road offerd little protection against the cold. His hands rand over his belt and onto a small black box attatched.
"still there".
He looked alongside both directions of the road. A mist had appeared and cut him of from the city around him. And then he saw n the distance movement. Unnatural, barbaric and beastly. Figures running on all fours and surrounding a manlike shape. This one untainted by madness as he walked upright and steadily, unaware of the chaos around him. All of the natural survival instincts screamed at the ride. They told him to run and flee form the lone man surrounded by monsters, but every fibre stood to attention unable to move.
"RUN IDIOT, RUN".
And the rider looked at the strecth of road ahead and without thinking all rational thought ht erider disconnected a metal pannel from the wreckage of his machine and leaped over the barrier into the darkness. The figure stopped at the barrier and looked down and thought of only one word, "interesting".
And the rider fell through the darkness, clinging onto his piece of curved metal as he slameed into pipes until he stopped and began to slide down a rusted pipe and into an opening. The rider crashed into the epmty pipe. His body spalshed into the patches of water left in the pipe and lay there. His body ached and cried out for rest but his mind became calm at the thought of safety until he heard them. Footsteps, calm and steady. Shoes echoing in the rusted tunnel and the rider stumbled upwards, his hands outstretched aganst the metal walls for support. The footsteps came closer untle the outline of the figure was in sight. A tall man wearing white pants untainted by the grime of the tunnels. He wore no shoes or shirts and the rider saw that the figures skin was blue, but what caught the riders wasn't the mans blue skin or white or even the fact that he was 7 feet tall with the body of a god. It was the eyes. There was nothing there except a swirling vortex of darkness.
"Of all the people i have taken into my fold, why do you resist. How do you resist", he began. "But maybe, yes it could be", and the the man in blue looked down at the riders belt and the machine in his arms. "yes if i cannot persaude you to join ,me then i will have to tame you soul", and in a flash of light the man in blue had on his right arm a gleeming steel duel disk with a deck inserted.
The rider stared in disbelief but realised what his opponent meant. A duel for his soul. Despite his body battered and torn the rider attatched his duel disk and inserted his deck and in union both players yelled "Duel", and rew their opening hands.
R(8000) B(8000)
"i'll start,", said the man in blue as he drew. "and i'll set one monster in defence mode and lay 2 cards face down, turn end". With this said two vertical holographic cards appeared before the blue man along with a horizontal boarder.
"you know i expected more form a creepy guy like you but oh well".
Oh well's right, he gave nothing away so i don't know how to plan my strategy. But there is away i can deal some damage without worrying about his face dwon cards.
"My go, draw", the rider paused for a moment as his body stalled, his heart pumped weakily and his body swayed from left to right.
" stay focused. i'll start off by summoning wish dragon in attcack mode , (700/100)". As the cards where played two eggs sprang up in front of the duelist and then a small green dragon with tusks apeared over the eggs defending them. " then again 1 dragon really isn't my style so i guess i'll have to go ahead and activate his effect, you see i can tribute him to summon two dragon tokens". The green dragon bursted into pixels and the eggs behind him started to hatch in the forms of two baby dragon.
" then again despite there cuteness i'll have to trade it in for some power so i'll activate the spell card dragonic tactics", a card with dragons being used as chess pieces appeared before him. "with this i can trade out my tokens for a level 8 dragon from my deck so i special summon Burning dragon".(2500,2100).
The baby drgon exploded into pixels whitch reformed in the air giving shape to a large black dragon taking up the tunnel space in front of the rider. This dragons skin was made from magma and gave off steam in the cracks beneath its bones.
" and you see when burning dragon is special summoned i can destroy all spell and traps out in play". The dragon opened its mouth and two fire balss shot out destroying the blue mans face down cards. The man in blue smiled as he reached for his deck.
" the first set card that was destroyed is a spell known as repayment of loss whitch means that i can draw a card. And since two or more cards where destroyed in the same turn i can special summon penance soldier from my hand, (1900/1300)". With a flash of light a man appeared in front of the man in blue. He was dressed in a dark gothic robe with silver lines runnig vertically down his monster had a stern face and raised a silver sword into the air uttering words.
" you see when my soldier is special summoned i can activate a trap from my grave and i'll choose recept revolt". The soldier lowered his sword and aimed at the dragon and shouted.
"You see my trap can activate on the turn i special summon a monster and you have a monster in play with a higher attack. I can destroy that monster and both players take half of its points as damage". The soldier swords glowed and shot out a lightning beam engulfing the dragon whitch exploded and sent a shockwave across the tunnel tearing it apart. The resulting wave hit both players, the man in blue seemed obliviouse to the coming storm but the rider was thrown back onto the loor, his damage amplified by his past actions.
R(6750) B(6750)
Thats impossible, get up, get up or else.
The rider slowly began to rise stumbling and gasping for air.
" what just happened",.
"Oh that", he began and seemed surprised ti have forgotten about the damage."Think of it as a kind of after effect of my creation".
" that makes remotley no sense whatsoever".
"Don't worry i'll explain it all after you have joined my legion, now continue with you turn".
" fine one card facedown, and that's it". The rider fell to his knee's through exortion and slowly began to see a light emerging around the man in blue.
"i draw, first i set 1 card face down and flip summon the sabouter (500/500)". The horizontal card flipped face up to show a oil filled warrior encased in a red rusted furnace designed armour holding a fiendish grin. " when this monster is flipped face up it destroys two cards on my fieled and i choose my set card and penance soldier". The two card exploded and a large purple light took it's place. " during my turn, when two or more cards are destroyed i may special summon vis'ier guidence of light from my hand". (2700,2200) the purple light took shape in the form of a winged woman dresed kin battle armour hodinga steel katana.
"when Vis'ier is special summoned i may special summon one monster from my graveyard and i choose penance soldier whose ability activates allowing me to activate a trap form my graveyard like dust tornado". As the cloaked soldier returned a whirlwind erupted from within the tunnel destroying the riders face down card." Next i normal summon paladin of the glow (1900/1400)". A knight in gleaming silver armour appered between the two holding a broad sword. "Nowi attack directly with Vis'ier". The valkrye rose high into the air screeming and then began to crash down. The noise was defening and then was slowly over taken by abother roar, natural in it's making until the man in blue whio had been caught of gaurd at this moment realised what was occuring. The water flooded the tunnel in less than a second saving the rider from his attack and sparing his life.
Uknown to him whether he was going to live or die, the rider didn't care, the water had numbed his skin so he felt no more pain and his mind had since forgotten about the fate worse than death by the hands of the blue man.
The rider drifted alongunder the stagnent water of the hub and before he passed out , the rider could have sworn to have felt a single arm reach out and grab him.
The light was to see he was seized from his cell and into the smoke filled light. Pushed forward, barely able to keep up he moved, guided by hands and shouts from gaurds, always hearing the unfamiliar footsteps behind him and the smoke following his movement. And then he fell onto the floor, into another cell with the unfamiliar footsteps next to him. And then the closed and a forced pushed Midus and the smoke upwards. Soon he was able to rise and recollect that he was inside an elavator, an invention of the age he had tried to forget for the past four years. And then he turned and saw the unfamiliar footsteps in the full form of a man. Stood at attention unflinching and unmoving until the elavator jurked and the steel dorrs threw open revealing another sense of Darkness. The footsteps moved and Midas followed into the room until they both stopped in unison just beyond the breach of a black marble office table.
"Miller, or is it still Midas these days... decorated officer, founder of the man of war project whitch shut down shortly after you, convicted four years ago for the murder of a senator and sentenced to life in the pits. Did i miss anything".
And Midus just stood there staring at the table and the figure cloaked in shadow encurcled in the smoke of the room. And then his eyes fell down to the context whitch where before him, a single deck of cards, an old pin stripe suit and a black ravens mask...