Dream Duel

By Metal Overlord 2.0

Hello everyone! I thought that in between working up the motivation to get back into the swing of writing new chapters for my Teen Titans fanfic I'd whip up something that I've wanted to do almost as much. Interestingly enough I was inspired to do this latest story when out of a combination of heavy nostalgia, curiosity and boredom I started a mini story in my reviews of my fellow writer and good friend Illidan the Half-Demon (If you haven't read any of his stories I HIGHLY recommend reading at least 'Tournament of Power'). What was supposed to just be a quick gag quickly grew into almost a full fledged story in its own right, I even had myself a fan in the form of the anonymous reviewer Nathan who gave me props for such an entertaining side story. In fact he was so impressed he recommended I turn that story into its very own fanfic and well, here we are. For those of you who have been wondering if I hadn't dropped off the face of the Earth yes I'm still doing 'The Girl Who Loved a Monster' and have no intention of abandoning it. Hopefully working on this will reawaken my passion and entertain a few more folks out there to boot. Enjoy!

Ever have one of those dreams that feels so real you actually can't quite tell if you're asleep or not? I seem to be having one of those only in my case its not a dream, its an out of body experience thanks to that car that hit me while I was crossing the street. Of course it's not REALLY the driver's fault that he hit me, especially considering that the traffic light was green, and I wasn't paying attention, and I had my face glued to my Game Boy Advance while I was walking. Silly me for deciding that trying to summon a monster to break through the computer's defenses before it assembled Exodia was more important then checking what color the traffic light was. Nope, not his fault at all. In case this sounds like its something out of a bad soap opera where the main character gets into a coma and throws the lives of his loved ones into utter ruin relax, this story has a happy ending, provided I make it through my current predicament. When some people get knocked unconscious or put into a near death experience some get the proverbial light at the end of a tunnel, others see loved ones that have passed away to offer them words of wisdom or encouragement. Me? I have to duel for my sanity against one of the most deranged and sadistic villains in 'Yu-Gi'Oh'. Confused? I thought so, I better back up a bit before things get ugly.

You know you need to reevaluate a few things in life when your almost 20 and still have a shoebox full of Yu-Gi-Oh cards hanging around your room. Well okay, it's a bit more then JUST a shoebox. For me my card game fad went through four phases: Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Duel Masters, then back to Yu-Gi-Oh. From my first handful of throwaway commons given to me by a friend in school who didn't want them anymore to the latest promotional card tucked into the corners of 'Shonen Jump' I've amassed more cards then I know what to do with, which makes it all the more annoying that I have yet to find anybody these days to use them with. I loved the card game, I love the show, I love almost everything about Yu-Gi-Oh frankly (well except for some of the crappy game adaptations they've made, 'Duelist of Roses' made about as much sense as trying to cut down a tree with a fish). So it only makes sense that, when I ran out of real people to play the game with I turned to my Game Boy and the collection of Yu-Gi-Oh games I had on it, which is why I'm in the mess I'm in right now.

I'm standing in…well I guess you could say it's a sort of arena. Really nasty place too, roughly based on the kind where Roman gladiator's used to fight to the death but with what looks like a few dump trucks worth of slime and decay thrown in just to make things even more unpleasant. Compared to the guy I was unfortunate enough to meet here however the place might as well be the land of pixies and unicorns. "Of all the people I could have met in an out of body experience exactly WHY did it have to be Yami Marik?" I groan aloud. Yep you heard me, my companion in this sickly den of muck and rubble is the darkness incarnate of Marik Ishtar, complete with spiky hair, thick veins all over his face, and of course the completely insane look in his eyes. "Afraid boy?" Yami Marik purred looking at me like a predator that's stalking its helpless prey. "Well you might as well scream while you can. When I'm done with you you'll be BEGGING for death." He cackled. Most people in this scenario would be terrified, or confused, or both. For me its all of the above but I'm also annoyed. "Okay hold it, now I'm sure you don't need a logical reason to kill me being you're a complete lunatic forged from pure evil given flesh and blood but I wouldn't mind knowing WHY you have the sudden urge to bump me off." I reply crossing my arms and giving him what I hoped was a withering look.

Yami Marik pauses at this blinking before that amused leer returns to his face. "Hmm, defiance, I like that, I suppose I might as well fill you in on why were here. Your currently at a nexus between the mortal world and the afterlife. In most cases by the time you enter this plane of existence your body is already beginning the process of passing on to the next world, however," He added noticing my panicked expression. "Your not quite dead yet. In fact you stand a rather reasonable chance of recovering from the little coma your in…provided I don't rend your soul to pieces." "You just HAD to add that last part didn't you?" I sighed suddenly feeling a great deal of sympathy for Yugi and all the other people that had to deal with this nut case in the show. Yami Marik merely sneered. "Like you even need to ask? But on to business, in case it hasn't sunk in yet boy the two of us are souls cast adrift between life and death and the only escape for either of us happens to be your body." He explained taking a few steps towards me, to which I responded by taking a few steps back. "Okay I'm officially getting freaked out, but if you need a body to escape…wherever we are, couldn't you have done better then a nineteen year old who still lives with his parents?" I asked.

There was a rather noticeable twitch in Yami Marik's eye at this. "If I had a more suitable opportunity I would have taken it. Your one of the only humans I could find in your present state that had any form of link to take advantage of. Its taken most of what little command of the Shadow Realm I still have to even maintain a physical form in this plane of existence. If I fail to take control of your body I'll no longer be able to postpone my descent into…well, you figure it out." He growled. "I suppose that makes sense, in a really messed up sort of way, but what kind of link would the evil half of the heir to the Tomb Keeper clan have with a Caucasian American fanboy?" I wondered. "Simple actually, you have in your possession an item that was the greatest symbol of my power when I was alive." Yami Marik explained suddenly breaking into a toothy grin as though he knew something about this that I didn't and found it hilarious. "Uh, well lessee, I don't have spiky hair or a glowing eye in my forehead so its not looks. The closest thing I have to your Millennium Rod is a metal tipped wooden cane and last time I checked the only way I could influence anybody's mind with that is with severe brain damage. So that really doesn't lave too many possibilities except possibly for your g-" I stop in mid sentence the answer hitting me like a kick to the head and with it an almost overwhelming feeling of disbelief. "Oh you've got to be kidding me." Was all I managed to say. Yami Marik threw back his head and roared with laughter. "I was wondering when you'd remember that you possess a copy of my dear friend the Winged Dragon of Ra."

"YOUR HAUNTING ME BECAUSE I HAVE A FAKE COPY OF RA?! THE FREAKING THINGS NOT EVEN WORTH THE CARDBOARD ITS PRINTED ON!!" I squawked in outrage that such a stupid twist of fate had brought this guy to my neck of the woods. "Real or not, even that inferior replica of Ra contained the barest whisper of the true God Card's power. It was that small amount of power that drew me to you and now just as Ra rose from the grave time and time again I will use your body to return from the grave and begin anew in YOUR world!" He laughed triumphantly. For a second or two I just stood there, then, to Yami Marik's surprise I smirked. "Well in all honesty you wouldn't be much worse then the folks already running the world. Still I rather like my soul just were it was so I think we have ourselves a little problem." I retorted feeling my confidence peek out from under the rock it had been hiding. If the only way Yami Marik was able to hang onto the living world was a counterfeit trading card then he was obviously clutching at straws, and maybe I had a better chance of making it out of here with my soul intact then I first thought.

Yami Marik's triumphant sneer faltered and was replaced by a scowl. "Grr, your lack of fear is beginning to irritate me. A little boy like you should know better then to mock someone who has the power to kill him without lifting so much as a finger!" He spat. "Yeah, except for the fact that A) You don't have the Millennium Rod, B) Your in the same position as I am stuck here and C) You come from a world where outcome of a children's card game influences the fate of an entire planet on a regular basis. Not seeing too many reasons I should be wetting myself sorry." I said cleaning out my ear and flicking my finger.

For a second it looked like Yami Marik was going to throw a fit when he stopped an insane grin cracking his face from ear to ear. "Hmm, interesting point. Well then, perhaps we should settle this matter in a way both of us are rather familiar with, like say a certain 'children's card game' perhaps?" He asked. "Your challenging me to a game of Duel Monsters?" I ask my newly regained courage starting to look for another rock to hide under, considering that it took Yugi every single card in his deck, which included two Egyptian God Cards, to take this guy down I wasn't too sure that I'd last more then a few turns. "That's right, no Heart of the Cards, no God Cards, just you and me in a duel with our souls on the line. To make things fair I won't even use the same deck that I chose as my weapon of choice against the Pharaoh and little Yugi in the Battle City Finals. Do you accept?" He asked arching an eyebrow in amusement knowing damn well that I didn't have any other choice.

I thought about it for a moment knowing that even without his god card or his original deck Yami Marik was a deadly foe. But then I thought about the people I'd leave behind to grieve if my soul was lost. Mom, dad, my stepfather, my little brother, my girlfriend Jenny, I'd be abandoning them and leave them nothing but a brainless vegetable for a person at best and at worst have a monster be reborn in my flesh and blood to carry out who knew what in the real world. "I have just two things to say Marik." I said looking at him intensely. "Oh? And what would that be?" He asked in mock curiosity. Closing my eyes and calling upon whatever forces were at work here I willed a Duel Disk into existence strapped to my arm. Forty cards, selected and shuffled in the time it took me to blink, loaded into place the tray extending and sliding into place with a whir holding it out in front of me like a shield ready to see this through to the bitter end. "Bring it."

And that, ladies and gents, if the first chapter to what I hope to be my first successful foray into Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction! For those of you that read my original mini fanfic in the reviews of 'Forgotten Guardians' I've decided to build upon the duel I had there and revamp the coming conflict so don't be surprised if you find cards, combos and strategies not seen in the duel I wrote about then. As the first bit of writing I've posted in a WHILE on this site I'm very excited to see what people think of my idea for a fanfic and don't worry, there will be plenty of dueling next chapter. Don't forget to send some feedback and thank you everyone who decided to give this story a look. Tata for now!