Inner Apocalypse
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or it's characters! I only own my OC's, and the fanfic! I'm not getting any money out of this! Ok, back to the story…
Chapter 1-Struggle of Heart and Reason:
How did I get myself into this mess? I glanced at the ground beneath me. It all happened so fast. My leg was caught on a rope, and, dangling me in the air upside down, beneath a tree. My hair hung down, and my hourglass, strung on a silver string around my neck, threatened to fall off at any moment.
"Oh great, just what I needed! I can't believe I fell for this freaking trap… Knowing my luck, Lucifer probably set it up." I groaned. My bag and dueling glove with my ten star chips lay on the grass below, just waiting to be taken by any passerby. Now how did this all happen?
~Flashback~
I shook my head, re-reading the letter… It was almost too perfect. A chance to get back what I lost all those years ago.
Dear Roxanna,
I'm holding a Duel Monsters tournament, and guess what? You're invited! It would be splendid if you could come!
Sincerely,
Maximillion Pegasus
I haven't had to chance to duel anyone in a long time… But if it's a Duel Monster's tournament, then Lucifer would definitely be there… All I have to do is go and find him!
I packed up all the things I needed in my blue backpack, and checked to make sure my outfit was ok to go outdoors in. I wore a dark green t-shirt that had gray paint splats all over them, a dark blue jacket, army shorts that had multiple pockets, a belt with my deck sheath, and black boots.
Good to go.
I slipped on the glove that was sent with the letter, and stuffed the cards that came with it in my bag. I placed the two stars into the indentations on the side of the glove. The ship would leave any minute now. I clasped on the Millennium Hourglass. It was about the size of my thumb, and in the middle of the hourglass, was a golden Egyptian eye… A gift from my adoptive father, before he was killed.
I ran down the stairs, and stepped into the bookshop part of the store. It wasn't huge, but was filled with almost any type of book imaginable. But half of the entire store was filled with books on Ancient Egypt, a subject my adoptive father was obsessed with. Apparently, he got me into it too. I took one last look at my home, before walking out. I turned the sign to CLOSED, and locked the store door shut. "I won't forget… Ever. That day, changed me." I murmured, and walked away from the bookshop. The only sound was the click clacking of my boots against the concrete floor, which echoed into the night.
I arrived at the harbor, where a huge ship was. A whole crowd of people were there, probably all of them ready to go into the tournament.
"Attention, duelists, welcome to this event sponsored by Industrial Illusions. You received with your invitations, the star chips that will grant you entry into the contest. You are all elite, invited by us after close observations of your past duel monsters contests. You each have a fair and equal chance to win. It just comes down to how well you've chosen your cards, and how well you play. Now then, duelists, cross the ocean, and enter the Duelist Kingdom!" a guy announced. After that, I had tried to quickly board the ship, but I was caught off guard by some yelling.
"Hey, you, get out of here! Only official contestants are allowed on board!" A guard yelled, and with the help of another guard pulled a blonde boy to the side.
"How do you know I'm not official?" The boy growled.
"Because official duelists wouldn't try to sneak in through the lower hatchet!" The guard sighed.
A boy with spiky, tri-colored hair standing in front of me gasped, "Joey, what the?" and ran over to the scene.
"Only people with a star chip can get on, there are no exceptions!" the guard insisted.
I sighed, and walked over. If they didn't solve this problem, the ship would take so long to take off. "I really don't want to wait for you guys to finish sorting this out in an hour. He needs a star chip to get in right? He has one now." I shoved one of my stars into the blonde boy's hand. "Tah, tah!" I muttered, before any of them could say a word, I walked away.
Why did I do that? It's not like it matters if he gets aboard or not, it has nothing to do with me… For once, I felt my judgment waver, before I sighed, and boarded the ship. No. No friends for me today. Or ever.
The ship took off, and I walked towards a quiet spot, where it seemed nobody had been yet. I leaned on the railing and gazed at the rolling waves, a sight I hadn't seen in a long time. "Dad… I'm gonna get revenge on that creep for killing you!" I muttered, and pulled out a candy bar, to munch on. Being angry makes me hungry.
"Yugi, look at all these good cards I traded for!" I heard that familiar Brooklyn accent. It was that blonde guy from before.
"Hey, let me see- Wait, aren't you that girl from before!" the kid with the tri-colored hair walked up to me, and the blonde dude followed.
"Yeah, so?" I bit into the chocolate bar.
"Hey, thanks for helping me out there, I owe you one! By the way, I'm Joey Wheeler." The blonde kid stuck out his hand.
"My name's Yugi." The other kid smiled.
I stared at Joey's hand, before answering. "Roxanna Hylkio." I didn't even bother to put my hand out.
Joey look confused, but let his hand fall to the side.
I just noticed then, that Yugi had a weird upside down golden pyramid with the same Egyptian eye symbol on my hourglass hanging around his neck. "That wouldn't be a Millennium Item, would it?" I poited at the pyramid.
"Yeah, my Puzzle… You have one too don't you?" Yugi nodded towards my hourglass.
"Yeah…" I said.
"Oh, I forgot to give this to you Joey!" Yugi handed Joey a card.
"Thanks! Oh and Rox, thanks again." Joey grinned, and my eye twitched. God, I hated nicknames!
"No problem, I didn't do it for you, I did it so that the ship could take off faster." I mumbled.
"Ah, Yugi we meet again!" Another kid, wearing abnormally big glasses, and short bluish green hair, walked over to us.
"Weevil!" Yugi gasped.
"You used the Exodia cards in the duel with Kaiba right? Those are the strongest cards of them all. Could I possibly see those legendary cards?" Weevil begged. My hourglass glowed, and everything went blank.
*Vision*:
"Those are the Exodia cards my grandpa gave me!" Yugi gasped.
"I'll get them!" Joey jumped overboard.
"Why, you little creep!" I grabbed Weevil by his collar, choking him. "There's nothing I hate more than liars and traitors." My grip tightened, as he tried to escape. I finally let him go. He glanced at me, his eyes full of fear, and ran off. I looked over the railing. Yugi had jumped into the ocean, after Joey looked like he was drowning.
"Come on!" A brunette girl hissed, and dragged a guy with pointy hair out. They looked at me, before throwing a ladder overboard.
"Guess there's no need for me now…" I grumbled, and walked away. Too many people near me made me queasy.
I glanced out of my window, and caught the view of an island, with the sun rising. That must be the Duelist Kingdom. I pulled out a very old, grey I-pod. And when I get there, I'll make sure to make him pay! I stuffed the I-pod back into my pocket, before heading out of my room, taking extra care to avoid being seen. The ship docked, and I exited quickly, and gasped in awe.
The castle was huge, and long staircases lead to it. Pegasus sure knows how to stand out. I walked up the stairs, to front the castle. Pegasus stood above the rest of the duelists who gathered around the castle, and prepared to make a speech. "Welcome, all duelists to the Duelist Kingdom! This tournament will test your skills like never before! Each of you have been given a dueling glove and two star chips! In each duel, you wager your star chips. If you get ten star chips, that will allow you to enter the semi-finals, in the castle. Dueling arenas are spread all around the island, and there are new dueling rules in action. You have one full hour, before the fireworks are set into the sky, and that's when the duels begin!" Pegasus walked away, as the cheers sounded.
So… I'm betting that Lucifer will be there, in the finals. All I need to do is get those ten star chips. The fireworks went into the sky, and signaled the start of the tournament.
"I'll take that star chip." I walked up the person who lost to me. He handed me that last one I needed. I placed it in the glove and smiled. Ten, enough to enter the castle. I glanced at the night sky, and decided to set up camp, in the forest. I walked into the forest, and stepped on something.
"Huh?" I looked down on the floor. "AH!" and just like that, I was up in the air, the rope wrapped around my right ankle.
"Boy it sure got dark in a hurry." A familiar voice sighed.
"Maybe we should- AH!" a person walked up to me, and screamed.
"Hey, I'm not that scary, you know." I crossed my arms over my chest, very offended that the girl was scared of me.
"Tea, what are you screaming at?" a boy with pointy brown hair walked up to me, with two familiar people.
"Rox, watchya doing hanging up there?" Joey asked.
"Meh, I fell for a trap, what does it look like?" I shrugged, and felt my hourglass slipping off again. "Now can someone help me down?"
The foursome helped undo the knot, and I fell onto the floor.
"Ouch." I rubbed my head, before grabbing my bag, and slipping on my glove. "Thanks."
"Oh right, guys, this is Roxanna. Roxanna, that's Tea, and that's Tristan." Yugi introduced.
"That reminds me… Here, take this back." Joey handed me a star chip.
"Nah, unless you want me to have eleven of those things keep it. Anyway, you repaid me by helping me down." I replied, placing the star back into his hand.
"You got ten already?" His jaw dropped. I felt that familiar feeling, that I wanted to throw up again.
"Yeah." I muttered. "
Come on, you can hang out with us!" Tea smiled brightly. "No, I uh…" I protested, but was dragged away by Tristan and Joey. "This is going to be soo fun." I didn't even try to hide my sarcasm.
"And when they finally pulled over and look to see what was in the backseat of the car, it was over twenty pepperoni pizzas with double cheese and meatballs!" Tristan smiled.
"Oh please, what kind of ghost story is that supposed to be!" Tea laughed.
"Psh, I've seen things one hundred times scarier than that!" I smirked.
"Yeah, like what?" Tristan asked. My face fell, as I recalled that day.
"If I don't get some food in me, I'm going to turn into a ghost!" Joey groaned, thankfully changing the subject for me.
"Those two and their stomachs, huh Yugi?" Tea laughed.
Joey stared hungrily at a wild mushroom. "My meal ticket!" Joey licked his lips, and was about to eat the thing, when I threw a book at him that read: Poisonous Plants. It bounced off his head, and he fell backwards, on his back.
"Ow, what did you do that for?" Joey growled.
"If you ate that mushroom, you would die, it's poisonous." I replied.
"So do us a favor, and let him eat it!" a girl with blonde hair walked over.
Great, just what I need, more people…
"Now what do you want Mai?" Joey growled.
In response, the girl bit into a chocolate bar. The others looked absolutely hungry.
"That's it, you can duel me, you can insult me, but you're not eating in front of me!" Joey walked up to her, obviously angry.
"Give me your star chips, and I'll give you some food." Mai taunted him.
Joey's mouth hung open, saliva dripping down, before he shook his head rapidly. "Forget it, potato chips, I mean star chips are priceless!" Joey growled.
"I was only kidding. I'll be more than happy to share if you can ask politely like a gentleman." Mai smiled.
"Right, so then you can make fun of me?" Joey pouted.
"Look, by tomorrow, I'll be able to go to the castle, so there's no point to keep an entire knapsack of food with me." Mai shrugged.
"How do we know this isn't another trick? Give me one good reason to trust you." Joey crossed his arms over his chest. "Cause it's either me or that mushroom." And at that, the whole group had nothing to disagree on.
Meanwhile, I had taken out a bag of potato chips from my bag and were munching on them. "Hey, you had food all along?" Joey gasped.
"Yep. *Crunch* So? *Crunch*" I talked while eating.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Tristan complained.
"Cause, *Crunch* you never asked." I replied, and fished out an apple, which I bit into.
"Look at all this stuff, candy bars,"
"Dibs on the candy bars!"
"Potato chips,"
"Dibs on the chips!"
"Canned fruit… Soda!"
"Dibs on the soda!" While Yugi looked at all the food, Tristan and Joey kept on calling dibs on whatever they wanted.
"No dibs on anything, until you complete your chores. Yugi, go look for some firewood, and you two boys can fetch us some water." Mai ordered. The three of them nodded, before walking off. "What are your names?" Mai asked.
"Tea."
"Roxanna."
"Well, there's a makeshift shower over there, if you want to freshen up a bit." Mai pointed in a direction.
"You can go Tea, I had a shower on the ship." I nodded.
"Ok." She walked away. "Hey, wasn't it only the champions that were allowed to have rooms with showers?" Mai asked.
"Well… Yeah, I was a champion a few years back." I replied.
"Really? I don't remember reading or hearing anything about you." Mai looked impressed.
"Yeah, it was a while ago, so nobody really remembers." I shrugged.
"Uh, Joey, I don't think you're supposed to cook the candy bars…" Yugi sighed.
"Back off, I know what I'm doing." Joey said quickly.
"Joey, you'll give us all food poisoning." I smiled, the slightest bit.
"Hey!" He protested.
While Tea was taking a shower, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi were attempting to cook something.
"Wow, sure smells good!" Tristan complimented.
"I still say it'll poison us all." I muttered, but ate it along with the rest of them. "Joey, I'll give you this. When I die, it's at least after I ate something decent." I smirked, and watched as he grew mad. But he quickly calmed down.
"Not bad! How's yours Tea?" Yugi asked.
"Four stars!" Tea smiled.
"Speaking of stars, how many do you have Mai? Is it eight, or nine? However many you have, it sounds like you're doing great." Yugi smiled.
"Don't think you're going to fool me with your nice guy routine, it's only a matter of time before you-" Mai said.
"Can we forget about the tournament for one night?" Tea pleaded.
"Let's make fun of Joey instead, that's always fun!" Tristan grinned.
"Yeah, I can feel myself dying already." I fell against the floor, and let my tongue stick out. "Food poisoning…" I gasped, and winked.
"Hey, that's enough, the food isn't that bad!" Joey growled.
"Fine, so long as everyone is crystal clear about one thing, any duelist that gets in my way, is going down!" Mai stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go on a walk." She walked out of sight. I sat up, and winced. It sounded like Mai knew what it was like to be all alone… Just like me
"Mai's been gone for a while…" Tristan sighed.
"Maybe we should check on her." Yugi suggested.
"Nah, it's probably just some trap." Joey shook his head.
The bushes started rustling, and Tea screamed. Joey and Tristan ran to the front, apparently trying to 'protect' us. "Bet you she's been hiding there the whole time! Come on out Mai!" Joey yelled, and the person who emerged from the bushes was definitely not Mai…
Author's Notes:
Right, if you've read the ones I have on Quizilla, you'll see I changed things a bit, but that' to make it better. Please comment, and give me tips.