Chapter 2: A New Declaration
To say that the imperial continent of Rondeval was large and vast would be a serious understatement. Traveling from the northernmost point of Vaxi Island to the southernmost point of the forbidden stretch of Sygh-Varths on foot, as most of the citizens are forced to travel, would take almost three months. For this reason, unless they had a transport vehicle of some sort, most of the common folk wouldn't even try to travel far from their hometown. Unfortunately, due to inconceivably high taxation, most of them couldn't even dream of affording a means of transport.
In the entire continent, the region with the largest proportions is the province of Nonnber, which was the continent's capital city until about fifteen years ago. Despite losing part of its former glory, though, the region has still managed to hold together during these difficult times. The reason for this may have something to do with a powerful imperial figure that lives within the castle in the northwestern part of the region…
Inside the castle, three imperial soldiers watched as one of the staff, a huge, muscular man with long orange hair, was rummaging through his quarters, looking for something. He had a match to attend in just less than five hours, and since the trip to the Colosseum on foot took about that long, he had no time to waste. If only his commander hadn't taken the last of the transports, he wouldn't have to rush so quickly to prepare.
"Sir, relax!" one of the soldiers spoke up. "He said he'd be back from his errand in time to get you to the Colosseum!"
"Bah! Are you kidding?" the large man roared, causing the soldier to back up slightly. "Did you forget how long it took last time? I'll be lucky if he gets back by next week! Now, where did I put my…"
Just as he resumed looking, a fourth soldier appeared at the entrance to the large man's quarters. "Excuse me, sir," he spoke up after a few seconds of bewilderment at his commander's rushed state. "There's someone here to see you."
The large man didn't even stop to turn around. "I don't have time to waste squabbling! I got to be somewhere in a few hours!"
The guest walked into the room anyway. "Hey Mammoth, guess who?"
Mammoth recognized the voice immediately. He promptly spun around to confirm his suspicions as to the voice's owner. He looked down…
And saw Gizmo staring up at him.
"Gizmo!" he shouted ecstatically as he picked up his miniature acquaintance with enough force to throw a house ten feet into the air. "You're out of the hoosegow already? That means…"
"All right, calm down, Mammoth," a voice spoke up. Mammoth adjusted his view and spotted Maryaka also at the door to his quarters. "Didn't I already tell you I wouldn't be long?"
"Well, yeah, but-"
"But nothing! I'm not going to let you miss your match. After all, I have tickets for Gizmo, Jinx and myself to go see your match." Maryaka flashed two tickets and handed one up to Gizmo, who was beginning to turn blue in the face from lack of oxygen.
"Oops! Sorry about that, little man." Mammoth gave a sheepish laugh as he set Gizmo back on the floor. "Anyways, it's a relief knowing how quickly you got him back, Prince."
"Thanks," Maryaka replied while placing his hands into the pockets of his coat, "because I'm really not sure how much longer I can-"
"Hey! Everyone!" A fifth soldier, who came barreling down the hall towards the group, a flustered look upon his face, interrupted Maryaka. "Come quick! The Emperor's got an announcement to make in five minutes! He's got a new law to enact!" The soldier then raced back the way he came, wheezing as he took each step.
"Huzzah," Maryaka flatly cheered as he and the others made their way to the large television-like screen in the castle foyer.
Little did any of them suspect that in five short minutes, their lives would become more complicated than ever before.
Everyone in Castle Nonnber was clamoring in the lobby by this time, eagerly waiting to hear what new law the Emperor was going to add to his mile-long list. Maryaka and the group from before had achieved choice spots at the front of the crowd, and another person – a girl with pale-white skin and purple hair that was tied upwards on either side of her head by one of two black bands – had since joined them. Most of the crowd had their eyes glued to the giant screen on the wall just above the castle entrance, while a select few were twiddling their thumbs waiting impatiently for the announcement.
"Geez, how long does that guy expect us to wait?" Gizmo griped. "This is boring!"
"Relax, Gizmo," Maryaka said in response. "Hopefully, it won't be too much longer."
"I told you guys we should've brought snacks," Mammoth complained. "I'm so hungry, I could eat at least twelve whole turkeys right about now!"
"Stop whining," the girl said to him. "You're always hungry. What makes this time so special?"
"Shut up, Jinx. I'm starving like heck, and instead of eating, I'm waiting for this stupid announcement to take place!"
"All of us here would much rather be doing something else, you big crybaby, but we have to listen to this new law or risk accidentally breaking it. And trust me, the Emperor has zero tolerance for lawbreakers, accidental or otherwise."
"I know, but if it's so important, why doesn't he just-"
"Shush!" one of the soldiers behind him said. "It's starting."
The foyer was now deathly quiet as the Emperor's menacing visage flashed upon the screen. In his left hand was a golden scepter decorated with rubies and emeralds, which he always carried with him in case someone decided to make a move against him. A single blow in the right spot, and the insurgent would be unconscious - and as good as dead. Few people ever did so, however; the few people who didn't fear him respected him as a deity – and aside from the soldiers, that was an infinitesimally small number of people.
The Emperor cleared his throat after a few seconds of fanfare, and then began with his announcement.
"People of Rondeval! Your exalted leader has a new law to set into enactment, so be silent and listen well! It has recently come to my attention that some of my officers feel the need to bring garbage duelists back into my glorious Empire. This ridiculousness is what motivated me to create this new law. As of today, nobody can be released from the Sygh-Varths maximum-security prison without my prior consent! Anyone caught attempting to do so without my permission shall be executed on the spot, and whomever they were trying to release will have their execution date moved closer. Your Emperor has spoken!"
After a few seconds of additional fanfare, the screen went blank, leaving mixed feelings in its wake. Maryaka was disgusted that the Emperor would go to such lengths to eliminate any weak duelists in the Empire just because they were weak. Gizmo began to despair as it dawned on him that there would no longer be any second chances for him; given his dueling record, he had good reason to be. Mammoth and Jinx, as well as an assorted few others among the Empire, became rather nervous for the same reason. At the same time, however, they were confident in their dueling abilities much more than Gizmo, so they felt somewhat more at ease than he did. As for the soldiers, they were for the most part indifferent to this new law, save for one…
Meanwhile, at the Sygh-Varths prison, Lee Headcutter was having the time of his life knowing that that insufferable Maryaka could no longer keep Gizmo away from the massive guillotine in the catacombs of the building. Lee wasn't the only one that was ecstatic about this latest development, though. In Gizmo's entire career as a Red Dragon duelist, even though there were a great many people whom his obnoxious demeanor annoyed, only one person truly despised him for what he was – a fellow machine monster-user named Bliman. Unlike Gizmo, whose career had gone down the tubes upon reaching Red Dragon status, Bliman was a well-known and skillful machine duelist for all his time in the employ of the Dark Dragon army. As soon as the new law went into effect, a wicked grin crossed Bliman's face as he went to his chambers in the secret Dark Dragon base to prepare for the day when he would defeat Gizmo and finally put an end to his "disgraceful use of the greatest blooming monsters this card game has ever produced", as he put it.
Realizing the degree of the dire situation at hand, Maryaka wasted no time in proceeding to solve the problem that was Gizmo's sub par dueling. As he made his way to his private quarters, Gizmo rushed after him, hoping he could find some way to improve Gizmo's chances of never again returning to the prison.
"Gizmo," Maryaka addressed the young follower as he reached the door to his room, "bring your deck to the dueling chamber in half an hour. It's high time we did something to prevent your execution from ever taking place."
"All right, Prince," Gizmo uncertainly replied as he turned to leave.
I hope this works, Maryaka thought to himself as he entered his chambers. After all, his next match will be his last chance, and if what he says is true, I better make sure he wins.
The Sygh-Varths Duelist Colosseum – the one area in the whole Empire in which, because most of the duels fought here are purely for entertainment reasons, one could lose a duel without worrying about execution. One such match was a mere half hour away – a match in which Mammoth, the reigning champion, would be defending his title against challenger and former champion Slade Headcutter. Both sides could hardly wait – Mammoth for a rematch against his long-time rival, and Slade for his chance to shine once more.
As the two opponents anxiously waited for their cue, Maryaka, Gizmo and Jinx took their seats at the side of the ring, also eager to watch their man in action. But not all was well in the Colosseum this fine day. As Gizmo gazed around at the numerous spectators that nearly filled the stadium to capacity, he noticed something that made his blood run icy-cold. Seated directly across from him on the opposite side of the stadium was none other than Bliman, his greatest rival and enemy. Bliman took notice of Gizmo as well and grinned menacingly at him, which caused Gizmo to shrink into his seat.
"What's wrong with you?" Jinx inquired as she saw her companion wedged uncomfortably in his seat.
"Uh…nothing," Gizmo tried to assure her. "I just got stuck in my seat, that's all."
"Okay…" Jinx rolled her eyes, unconvinced by Gizmo's remark.
"I'm going to get some food," Maryaka stated as he rose from his seat. Once he was out of view, Gizmo again glanced towards Bliman's seat – and found it empty. He nervously looked back and forth hoping to locate his fearsome foe, which didn't happen for a while…until he had approached Gizmo's seat.
"Waah! Bliman!" Gizmo panicked, catching the attention of several nearby spectators.
"Jolly good that you remember my name, little snot," Bliman remarked snidely as he leaned in close. "I have one piece of advice for you: Give up dueling now, and maybe I won't have to squash you like a Basic Insect. Got that, lad?"
Gizmo cringed. He hated Bliman almost as much as Bliman hated him, but as much as he would love to finally mop the floor with this pretentious creep, he wondered if even with the intensive training he underwent with Maryaka just a few hours ago, he had what it took to do so.
"Hey! You!" A sudden shout caused Bliman to glance in the direction of the voice to find Maryaka and Mammoth approaching with two popcorn containers, four hot dogs and three soda cups in tow. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Bliman said nothing and took off towards his seat, turning around once halfway there to grin at Gizmo, who cringed as he did so. Maryaka watched him as he took his seat, recognizing him after a moment. He then glanced down at the nervous wreck that was seated right next to him.
"Ignore that guy, Gizmo," he told his young colleague. "After the special training you've been put through recently, you might just have a chance of beating that guy, even more so once we get that new monster tomorrow."
"What new monster?" Jinx, who had been listening in on them, was curious as to what kind of a monster could make a duelist of Gizmo's caliber a champion.
"A legendary machine-type monster," Gizmo spoke up. "Apparently, some guy at Anker-Hill has one on sale, and the Prince is going to get it for me tomorrow."
Jinx scoffed. "How come you always give Gizmo special treatment? Don't I or anyone else matter to you at all?"
"You guys don't need my help half as much as Gizmo does," Maryaka replied. "That's not to say that you, Mammoth, or any of the other Red Dragons don't matter at all to me. It's just…well, you get the picture."
"Yeah, yeah," Jinx grumbled. "You mind if I come with? My Duel Disc has been acting up recently, and I need someone to look at it. Please?"
"Knock yourself out."
"All right!" At this point, Jinx wondered if Gizmo didn't seem to care about her going; usually, he'd have said something either way. She looked down at him and found him eating one of the hot dogs Maryaka had gotten for them. Feeling a bit famished herself, she motioned for one of the other hot dogs, which Maryaka promptly handed to her.
"How much longer?" she asked after swallowing the first bite.
Maryaka checked the silver watch on his right-hand wrist. "About ten more minutes."
Jinx groaned. Waiting is so boring, she thought. Next time, I'm bringing something to kill time.
Eventually, the ten minutes passed, as evidenced by the intensified cheering as the referee entered the stadium. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this afternoon's championship match! The Colosseum's filled to capacity, and for good reason – two champion duelists are about to do battle with each other for the championship crown! With the monsters and strategies these two have displayed throughout their careers, this match promises to be a real spectacle! And so, without further ado, let's bring out the challenger!"
The referee held his arm out towards the southern entrance to the stadium, and everyone else followed suit and turned their attention in that direction. "The previous holder of the championship crown has returned for a second shot at the big time! Please welcome the Dark Destroyer, Slade Headcutter!"
As the referee finished the introduction, the large iron doors opened up, revealing a man with a sturdy build and a general aura of dauntless might, as opposed to his lanky brother, who was not exactly the picture of confidence or strength. In addition, whereas few people had any sort of respect for Lee, this man's very presence instigated vigorous cheering from the audience. He waved to them as he stepped into the stadium.
"Why does this guy have to be related to Lee?" Gizmo had once asked Maryaka.
"I don't have the slightest clue," Maryaka had answered.
After a few seconds of waiting for the audience to settle down a bit, the referee went to introduce the reigning champion. "And now, let's bring out his opponent, the Beastly Brutalizer and reigning champion of the Colosseum, the mighty Mammoth!"
The iron doors on the northern side of the stadium began to open up now, with Mammoth standing right behind them. As he entered the stadium, he flexed his arms in a showing-off manner, garnering loud cheers of his own as well as a few whistles from some of the girls.
The combatants approached one another. "You ready for this?" Mammoth asked, determining whether his opponent was raring to go or having second thoughts about the match. "It's not too late to turn back, you know."
Slade shook his head. "No way. I came this far for a reason. I'm not about to back out now."
"Suit yourself," Mammoth said in a warning tone of voice. "Just know that I'm not going to let up during this match."
"I wouldn't want you to," Slade retorted. "I want to crush you at your best."
Mammoth gave a soft chuckle as the referee approached them with a quarter in hand. "It's time for the coin toss to determine who takes the first move. Mammoth, your call."
"Heads," Mammoth chose as the referee tossed the coin and pressed it on the back of his left hand with his right. He removed his right hand and saw that the coin had landed on tails. "Sorry, Mammoth. Slade's pick."
"Ah, he can go first." Slade's remark confused Mammoth for a second or two, but he shrugged it off quickly; Slade had a knack for confusing the opponent like this.
"Very well, then," said the referee before turning on his microphone. "The first move goes to Mammoth! Now, duelists, take your places, shuffle your decks and draw your hands!"
The audience watched in silence as the two duelists moved to their designated spots, marked by red circles on the floor. Gizmo started to wonder which of these two would end up winning; he knew how strong Mammoth was, but his opponent was also powerful. Maryaka felt the same way; in his opinion, the duel could go either way.
"And…begin!"
Originally, Alexis had planned on attending Mammoth's match that afternoon with Maryaka, but after her meeting with the Emperor a few hours ago, she just wasn't in the mood to go anymore. She opted instead to watch the match from her castle at Maryah-Denn, at which she had arrived moments ago. Some of the stress stemming from the meeting had dissipated, but she was still dispirited about having to challenge Maryaka for his position. She never had any feelings of resentment or malice towards him; much less believe that she'd be the one to bring him to his doom. What am I supposed to do? she thought to herself. I only have three days to either get him killed or get myself killed. Why…why did this have to happen to me?
"Lady Alexis?" A sharp knock on the door and the voice of her newest follower, Mizumi, snapped Alexis out of her dark train of thought. "Are you okay?"
Alexis took a second to pull herself together and tried not to sound despondent in her reply. "Yes, I'm fine."
It didn't work. "You don't sound fine," her acquaintance noted. "You've been pretty down ever since a few hours ago. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing…"
"I doubt that. Come on, tell me what's wrong."
Alexis quietly thought for a while. It was obvious that Mizumi wouldn't leave her alone unless she knew why her leader was so downtrodden. Looking back, she realized she was the same way with Maryaka on numerous occasions. A small smile turned up on her face as she remembered how she kept poking her nose into Maryaka's matters whenever he seemed gloomier than usual. At one time, she overheard him referring to her as "something of an annoyance". I wonder if this is how Maryaka feels about me, she mused to herself.
"Milady? Are you still there?"
"Yes," Alexis told her. "All right. Come in. I'll tell you everything."
Promptly, Mizumi opened the door to Alexis's quarters and sat down on the bed next to her disheartened leader, who then proceeded to tell her of the events that took place just a few hours ago. Mizumi listened eagerly as Alexis told her of the meeting with the Emperor and of the task he sent her to accomplish that brought about this drastic change in her demeanor.
Unbeknownst to both of them, a third person was also listening to this rundown of events.
Positioned within a few thick bushes below the second-story window in Alexis's chambers, Joel was using a listening device to hear every word she spoke. Unlike her, he had no problem undergoing the mission bestowed upon him by the Emperor, which was to make sure she got her job done within three days. For reasons few people seem to understand, Joel was committed to clearing every one of the missions the Emperor assigned him to, no matter how tedious or ridiculous, and this one was no different. Still, after a few minutes that seemed like hours listening to this constant chattering about what he already knew, he couldn't help but yawn. As he did so, a mosquito that was buzzing around like crazy trying to get a drink of Joel's blood ended up going straight into his throat, causing him to choke slightly. The resulting rustling of the bushes caught Alexis and Mizumi's attention, and after a couple of shocked squeals, they rushed to the window to see what was going on.
By the time they looked outside, Joel was long gone; he had heard their shouts of surprise and hightailed it as fast as he could. In his haste, however, he had left behind the listening device, which immediately caught their notice. Both girls turned pale-white as it sunk in that someone had been spying on them. Without a second thought, Alexis closed the window and put down the blinds to prevent any future spying attempts.
Mizumi shuddered. "That was so freaky! I think someone is trying to stalk you!"
"I know," Alexis confirmed, "but who…and why?"
"Don't know, but we have to do something! You can't just let this sort of thing go by the wayside, you know. Maybe we should get in touch with Marya-"
"No!" Alexis interrupted. "Didn't you hear a word I said earlier? I think we should stay away from him for a while, so I don't…you know."
"But you wouldn't...would you?"
No answer. Instead, Alexis turned her back to Mizumi.
"Lady Alexis…? You're not thinking of actually…are you?"
Alexis merely sighed.
"Milady!?" Mizumi started to panic. "You can't! I mean…" She stopped when she heard a soft sniffle come from her leader. "If you don't want to, then just don't. We'll figure out some way to keep you both alive. I promise."
Alexis turned her head slightly to look at Mizumi, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Really?"
"If that is your wish, then yes. We'll find a way to spare you both. Of course…" Mizumi grew concerned as she made a grave realization. "…It might get us in trouble with the Emperor, but still…"
"Mizumi…" Alexis stopped her for a second. "I know you want to help, but…the only way to avoid the Emperor's wrath that I can think of is to flee the Empire, which is pretty much impossible. Let's face it – one of us is going to have to die."
Mizumi groaned. "Come on, milady, I think you're giving up too quickly. Somehow, I promise, we'll…" At this point, she stopped speaking and quietly gazed at the window for a while, wondering what lied in store for them in the near future…
"Go, Lycanthrope! Tear apart his monster with Carnivorous Claw!"
At Mammoth's order, the gray half-man, half-wolf stood on its hind legs, preparing to strike the green human-shaped specter emanating from the golden genie lamp situated in front of his opponent. The red device on its chest, which because of the several wires keeping it in place suggested that this monster may have somehow been man-made, glowed fiercely with a red light as the beast lunged viciously towards its foe, ripping it to shreds with its silver claws and causing it to retreat back to its lamp, which disappeared shortly thereafter.
Since La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp was poised for attack, and was destroyed by a stronger monster, Slade ended up losing some of his life points as a result of the battle. The damage from Lycanthrope's attack brought Slade down to eleven hundred life points, so at first glance, it appeared that he still had a chance to make a comeback.
But Slade knew better. Being Mammoth's favorite monster, he knew full well what Lycanthrope was capable of. Whenever it causes battle damage to its opponent's life points, it inflicts an extra two hundred life points worth of damage for each Normal Monster card in its owner's Graveyard. And with seven such cards in Mammoth's Graveyard, Slade knew he was beaten…again.
Realizing that the match was over, the referee approached the center of the stadium with his microphone in hand. "The championship match is now over! It appears that the Beastly Brutalizer will remain as the Colosseum champion! Better luck next time, Dark Destroyer!"
The two duelists approached each other and gave a congratulatory handshake. "I was so close to actually beating you this time!" Slade informed his opponent. "If you hadn't gotten that accursed ace card of yours on the field when you did, I would've won!"
"Perhaps," said his opponent, "but you still lost. It couldn't be helped. Still, though, that was the closest anyone came without actually beating me."
"Yeah, well…good job anyway, pal. Enjoy the limelight." Slade gave a small shrug and turned to leave. "Keep in mind, though – I'll be back for the championship title soon!"
"I'll be looking forward to that!" As Slade continued to leave, Mammoth started parading his musculature again for the audience, whose cheering was by this time bordering on deafening.
Maryaka rolled his eyes at Mammoth's showboating. "Geez, no need to get a swelled head over one victory, you big goof."
Gizmo was amazed at how close his colleague came to losing, even more so that he actually won. "Wow…I wonder if I'll ever be that good."
Who knows, Maryaka pondered to himself. If things come to pass as he says they will, you may yet have your chance to make a name for yourself, Gizmo.