Chapter 4: Stride of the Paladin

"So how did the talk go?"

Robert held the phone to his ear as he paced Jake's hospital room. He stopped, looking out the window at the setting sun. It's been some time since Luke contacted them through the K-VYZR that Jake was found with, and tensions were high.

"As expected. CJ's following the lead that you sent the other two on." Nate replied. "And Jake?"

"Resting. He woke up some time after you all left but I told him to take it easy and that we'll talk when he's feeling up to it."

"Speaking of, our conversation never ended."

"I'm fully aware with it. I took the liberty of informing Roman on our progress. He expects us first thing in the morning."

There was a pause. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. To be honest I was hoping things wouldn't have escalated as far as they did."

"Believe me, none of us did." Robert turned to his son who laid asleep in the bed. "But like it or not, we couldn't turn back time then and we can't do it now."

"Whatever happens from here on, I don't think I could live with myself if these kids are burdened with our sins."

"Believe me, you get used to it after a while."

There was another pause. "Call me if you hear anything."

"You do the same." Robert then hung up.

"I screwed up, didn't I?" Jake said, eyes wide open and fully conscious.

Robert looked over to his son. "In some ways, but ultimately you played your part for now."

Jake sighed heavily. "If only I didn't let my anger get the best of me…"

"If you want my opinion, I don't believe it's that emotion that stumbled you."

Jake watched as his father began to leave the room. "As you know I have an early meeting with Roman. I must get home to prepare."

"What about the others? Are they going to be okay going up against Jonah?"

"You have my word. They'll be here to visit you. I've already seen to that myself." With that Robert walked out the room and closed the door behind him.

Those words didn't make Jake feel any better if he was being honest with himself. He was still worried about his friends. He was especially worried about Jamie's wellbeing. And being laid up in this bed didn't make him feel like the 'White Knight', that Luke called him before.

He felt like a failure.

Jamie's eyes peered open, following the sound of typing among the silence of her dark surroundings. Her head was throbbing, and she felt like she was hit by a truck. What happened exactly? The last thing she remembered was talking with Jake and then…

That duel…

Jamie jumped up but the pain of her headache brought her back down. She turned over and saw the illuminated screen and the person typing away. The person across from her stop and her heart skipped.

"Well well, was wondering when you were gonna come to." Luke said, turning around in the chair.

"It's you…" Jamie said.

"Yup, the one and only." He gave her a smile that made her feel even more uneasy. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you want?" Jamie ignored his question.

"For one thing, to know how you're feeling. Any headaches or…?"

"So what, not only are you're a kidnapper you're a doctor too?"

"Both of us know you would've came here of your own accord regardless of what I would've done." Luke noted. "Now back to my question, do you have a headache?"

Jamie hesitated to answer and slowly nodded. "What does that matter?"

Luke looked over to the capsule on the workstation where the Bolshack Dragon card resided. Upon realizing, Jamie reached for her deck, only to realize that was confiscated as well.

"Well I don't know if you realized but your Bolshack Dragon and you are synced. Which means, that you might have some slight side effects while I work."

"What are you doing to her?!" Jamie shot up off the couch, but the headache struck back, causing her to clutch the side of her head and fall back onto the couch.

"You wanted power didn't you? I never said it would be easy."

"Give…her back…" Jamie gritted her teeth as the pain worsened.

"I will. After I'm finished." Luke said, turning back to continue typing. "In the meantime, just lay back and try to relax. You cooperate, you'll have your stuff back and you'll be able to go free."

Jamie begrudgingly laid back. As bad as she wanted to do something, this headache would keep her planted. "Once my friends find out about this—"

"Oh trust me, two of them are here as we speak." Luke said, diverting from his work to pull up the security footage of Karon and Dylan in their respected duels. "To be honest they're putting up a better fight than I expected."

Jamie felt reassured by that comment. Her anxiousness subsided and she began to relax. "That's because those two are geniuses in their own ways. If anyone can do this I'm glad it's them.

Luke chuckled, sliding back from the keyboard to prop his feet up. "Okay, you got me curious now. Let's just see how these two fare against my friends then."

Dylan, trying to ignore his fear of the ghost serpent that devoured his Aqua Guard just now drew and set mana. "I summon a second Aqua Hulcus, and draw a card. Then, I cast Spiral Gate to bounce Bloody Squito back to your hand. Aqua Hulcus, Emeral, break his shields!"

A second Aqua Hulcus appeared behind Dylan and crossed it's arms to release a torrent that blew back Squito. The first Hulcus and Emeral then heeded Dylan's call and took out two of Brian's shields, as there was no defense for him to use.

Brian

Shields: 5-3

The shards came back to Brian and he allowed them to regenerate into his hand. "Well well, isn't this lucky? Shield triggers: Ghost Touch and Locomotiver! Each of them discard a card from your hand, which means both of those cards in hand are going straight to the grave."

From the darkness a whistle rang out and a red train, with the front car the shape of a black skull with gold spiral tusk rode in.

Locomotiver

Civilization: Darkness

Power 1000

Locomotiver blew its whistle loudly, knocking a card out of Dylan's hand, from the vibrations, while a pair of skeletal fingers picked the other card out of his hand.

Now unarmed and vulnerable, Dylan braced himself for Brian's turn which was coming up.

Brian drew and set mana. "You know, the fear in your face is priceless. I haven't even gotten serious and you're scared out of your mind."

Dylan scoffed. "Oh please, I'm trembling with excitement."

He lied. He was terrified. Not so much about the duel itself but of the situation. No clue who this guy was all about, and with Jamie missing, with no idea of her wellbeing, has him scared. Karon and him did talk about what to expect and they knew how serious things were. Yet what they imagined isn't what its turning out to be. Just one duel against these guys nearly got Jake killed.

No matter. He was determined to win this duel no matter what. He had to be strong for everyone's sake. Now was not the time to be scared of what's might come from this.

Brian tapped his mana. "I summon a second Gray Balloon and Squito. I attack Aqua Hulcus with Jack, and then Emeral with Locomotiver!"

That took Dylan aback. Emeral and Locomotiver have the same power, why have them kill each other off?

It took Jack to shoot past him and take down Hulcus to realize it.

Emeral threw up shields to block Locomotiver, but the dark train rammed through Emeral's defense and self-destructed upon impact. Dylan lost his balance from the explosion and once he regained it, he looked on Brian's side, seeing Jack Viper's card illuminate in a purple light, followed by Locomotiver being shrouded in similar fashion before bouncing up and landing in Brian's hand.

"By that look I guess you figured our Jack's ability."

"When one of your creatures is destroyed, it returns to your hand instead of the graveyard…"

"Which means that unless you find a way to get rid of Jack, my creatures are virtually immortal, coming back to life while your creatures rot." Brian laughed, revealing the core strategy of his deck.

Dylan draws and to his disappointment it doesn't help the situation he's faced with, so he sets it in mana.

Brian draws once more. "Don't tell me you're giving up. Guess you were scared after all."

Dylan waved his finger in the air. "Unlike you, I'm not spoiling the my secrets."

Brian's amused expression toned down as he set mana. "Devour everything you see fit. Unleash your hunger upon the world: Gigaberos!"

The ground behind Brian broke apart under his feet and from underground a chimeric quadruped white beast with multiple mouths rose up. It turned to Gray Balloon and Squito and devoured the both of them as Brian continued to smile at Dylan's shocked expression. The pair of purple orbs hovered in place of the two creatures, with Jack taking them into itself. The cards that represented the pair of blockers bounced back into Brian's hand.

"When I summon Gigaberos, if I destroy two of my other creatures he's allowed to stay in the Battle Zone. If not, then he destroys himself."

"And with Jack, you don't lose anything because your destroyed creatures return to your hand." Dylan figured. "It's such a simple yet powerful strategy."

"Heh, has it taken you this long to figure out I'm not just any old duelist you'd find in a local card shop? Trust me kid, my team and I are leagues ahead of whatever you guys have coming our way."

Dylan smirked. "I wonder about that…"

That comment not only caught Brian off guard but made him grit his teeth. "Jack, break his shield!"

Jack slithered ahead and shattered another shield on Dylan's side, the shards flying towards him as the card returned to his hand.

Dylan

Shields: 5-4

Dylan drew and set mana. "It's about time. Now that I know the basics of your deck I can finally formulate a counterattack."

Brian perked up. "Counterattack? Is this a joke?"

Dylan tapped his mana and threw the card into the air, allowing it to spin. "Stride across the waves, dashing through the impregnable defenses!" He caught the card and revealed it. "You're not the only one with more than one trump card. Ride on, Crystal Lancer!" he set the card on Aqua Hulcus and the creature began to glow with a blue light.

In place of Hulcus stood a green-colored centaur armed with a spiral, water-based lance and a shield. It stood at the ready, awaiting Dylan's command.

Crystal Lancer

Civilization: Water

Power: 8000

"Given that look on your face I'm guessing you know of Lancer's ability to get around your blockers. So unless you manage to get rid of him, Squito, Gray and whatever defenses you have in your hand won't stop me from breaking through and saving my friend!"

Brian kept silent, knowing that factor well.

"Crystal Lancer, attack Jack Viper!" Dylan ordered.

Crystal Lancer acknowledged the order and leapt over Dylan, coming down on the serpent who rose to the challenge. The ghost serpent coiled around Crystal Lancer like a predator and came down on him, however using his might he used his lance to break free, and in Jack's imbalance Crystal Lancer pierced the creature with its blade, unleashing a hiss of pain from the serpent as it faded away in a purple mist.

With his trump destroyed, Brian drew a card and set mana. "You're gonna pay for that. I swear on it!" He tapped mana and revealed his newly drawn card. "I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Crystal Lancer!"

Dylan watched helpless as the legion of dark hands rose from behind Brian and captured Crystal Lancer, crushing it into a spectacle of diamond dust.

"And now, Gigaberos, Double Break!"

Gigaberos howled and charged ahead, the monster using its disfigured claws to slash away two of Dylan's shields.

Dylan

Shields: 4-2

The shards returned to him and after retrieving them he flipped one of them. "Shield Trigger: Aqua Surfer to the Battle Zone!"

Aqua Surfer

Civilization: Water

Power 2000

The shards reformed into a blue-colored humanoid with a rainbow-colored surfboard behind Dylan. The Creature began to move too and from as a wave was summoned under him riding over Dylan and crashing into Gigaberos, causing it to wash away.

"When Surfer arrives in the Battle Zone, I choose one creature in it and send it back to your hand. It's obvious what my choice is." Dylan said as Surfer returned to him.

"Lucky trigger." Brian scoffed.

"You haven't been paying attention have you?" Dylan asked him.

"What was that?"

"What, did you forget about Emeral? What use do I have for a cost 6 creature that early in the game?"

It was then Brian realized what he meant. "You set Surfer into your Shield Zone from the very beginning."

"In the event you had something as nasty as that Gigaberos. Good to know of its little handicap. Now all I need to do now is make sure you don't get more than two creatures out for him to pig out on. As long as I keep that from happening, then he poses no threat to me."

Brian gritted his teeth. "Why you little…"

"My turn." Dylan smirked, drawing. He set mana and tapped four. "I cast a second Brain Serum and draw two cards. Following that, I summon a pair of Aqua Guards as well."

The two Aqua Guards materialized alongside Surfer ready to brace for whatever Brian had coming.

Aqua Guard

Civilization: Water

Power: 2000

"Now Surfer break his shield!" Dylan ordered and once again Aqua Surfer made his way towards Brian and broke yet another shield.

Brian

Shields: 3-2

The shield came back to Brian and he held his hand out as it regenerated. "Shield Trigger: Critical Blade. I destroy one of your blockers." He said, directing the trigger towards one of the Guards.

Blades materialized and darted towards one of the Guards, hitting them head on, and causing it to explode.

With nothing else to do, Dylan passed the turn over to Brian who drew. He set mana and tapped, revealing the cost 8 creature in his hand.

"I summon Gigargon."

The room felt as if it was shaking once more as a fortress-sized beast rose from behind Brian. The giant creature towered over them, its snake-like tentacles whipping back and forth as their eyes locked on Dylan and his squad of creatures. Gigargon's roar shook the room further causing two purple orbs to elevate from Brian's Graveyard and shoot into his hand.

Gigargon

Civilization: Darkness

Power: 3000

I return up to two creatures from my graveyard to my hand. I return Gray Balloon and Jack Viper." He said, adding the retrieved cards to his hand. "I'm done playing. It's time we finish things."

Dylan nodded. "Couldn't agree more." He drew and set mana. "I end my turn."

Brian drew and set mana. "I summon Bloody Squito, Gray Balloon, and evolve Balloon into Jack Viper. And then, I attack with Jack and Gigargon!"

After the creatures joined alongside the giant chimera, Gigargon unleashed a purple gas that over took Dylan's side and forced one shield to corrode from its poisonous capability. Jack followed and slithered through the mist to break another shield on top of it.

Dylan

Shields: 2-0

Dylan, shielding himself from the mist allowed the cards to build in his hand, taking the risk of keeping Guard intact. And when he saw the contents of his hand, he was glad he did so.

Brian crossed his arms. "This is your last chance to turn the tides of this duel."

"Ha, you made a pun." Dylan noted, much to Brian's annoyance. "Gotta tell you this was fun, but you're right about that. It's time we finish things. My friend is waiting for me upstairs. Shield Trigger: Aqua Jolter to the Battle Zone."

Another Liquid People Creature materialized, taking the form of a soldier with a pair of lances on both arms.

Aqua Jolter

Civilization: Water

Power: 2000

On that note, Dylan drew. "I evolve Aqua Jolter into Crystal Lancer." Dylan set the evolution creature on top of his newly summoned creature and Jolter took the power and reformed into the centaur-like lancer.

Brian shook his head. "No matter the case, I still have two blockers and two shields on top of it. Even if Lancer can take out both of my shields, he's the only one that can get past my Blocker safely."

"Knew you'd say that."

"What?"

"Which is why I've saved my real trump card. Lancer is nothing more than a high-ranking soldier in his army. Now, Vanguard of the Seven Seas, arise and lead your army to victory! I summon you: Crystal Paladin!" he slammed the card onto Aqua Guard and the creature took a hold of the newly materialized Evo Crystal. Aqua Guard reformed into a White Centaur armed with a crystal, hive-like shield and a sword.

Crystal Paladin

Civilization: Water

Power 5000

"Now, Lancelot! Blow his blockers from our path towards victory!" Dylan commanded.

Brian's eyes widened from the shock as Squito was bounced back. With no defense, his reliance was solely on whatever shield triggers were within his shields.

"Crystal Lancer Double Break!"

Crystal Lancer dashed on and sliced the last two shields to bits. Brian retrieved the cards and looked at them, and to his disappointment, nothing that could save him from the forces of the white Paladin, charging ahead.

Brian

Shields: 2-0

"Crystal Paladin, Finish it, Direct Attack!

Crystal Paladin charged and pulled it's bladed arm back and thrusted it forward, knocking Brian back on his back. with the final attack, the creatures faded away and the scenery returned to normal.

"Well well, didn't expect Brian to be beaten. Looks like you guys do have some skills under your belts after all. Think they can go two-for-two?"

"Wow, not gonna lie even I didn't see that coming…" Jamie walked up to Luke. Her eye trailed to the deck sitting nearby and the card locked within the tube. A window was opening in front of her, all she needed to do was to figure out how to get through it. "He's really been holding back around everyone at TCG Towers." Her eyes kept locked on as she slowly moved towards her deck.

"We Water Duelists can be manipulative, giving off a false impression to force our opponent to let their guards down. And if I'm being honest, Brian's not the type to sit and be analytical, so from the start he didn't realize how futile his efforts were…" He looked over, "…kinda like you right now."

Jamie felt her arm pulled back from somebody behind her and instinctively her free arm swung back and attempted to retaliate against her captor. Cindy kicked Jamie's knee in before she made contact and Jamie dropped to the floor.

"It'd be wise to stop now before you get burned, don't you think?" Cindy knelt down and got a hold of both her wrists.

Jamie struggled fiercely, yet amused by her struggle, Cindy pressed her knee into Jamie's back and forced her to the floor. She looked over to Luke, who sighed.

"Cindy, I can take it from here." Luke tapped a key on the keyboard and with a shriek, Jamie fell unconscious once again. Her arms fell limp in Cindy's hands and the girl looked at Luke as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Cindy asked.

"I need some air." He said. "Keep an eye on her."

"You can't be serious."

"Make sure she stays secured. No one must enter this room unless I give the say-so, understand? The fate of this conflict rests on whether she stays put." Luke ordered her. With that he exited the room, leaving the girls alone.

Cindy gritted her teeth and got Jamie back onto the couch. "It should be me… I should be the one who wields its power, not you…" She looked over at the Bolshack Dragon in the capsule and walked towards it.

"I…I will be the one who wields its power…"

Dylan removed his headset and was greeted to the familiar basement-like setting he was introduced to. He looked over to Brian, who sat up. He removed his D-VYZR and looked at Dylan who towered over at a distance.

"Can't believe I lost to someone like you." Brian said, annoyed at his defeat.

"Yeah, well believe it. Turns out there's a brain behind this good-looking face of mine." Dylan pointed at himself. Normally don't like to show it off my intelligence, but when it comes to dueling, its allowed to roam free and do whatever is necessary to defeat my opponent. Especially when one of my friends is held hostage."

Brian stood up and dusted his pants off. "Better watch what you say kid. You're dealing with forces you can't even imagine."

"I don't care. My friend's life is in danger. You really think we didn't think this through?"

"As a matter of fact I don't…" a voice suddenly announced through the D-VYZRs.

Dylan and Brian looked at the with the voice continuing.

"Personally I believe you brats didn't think hard enough, of what you were getting yourselves into. By coming here you have sealed your fates."

"Is this…?" Dylan began to ask

"That's correct. This is the voice of Jonah Collins. I felt it appropriate to introduce myself."

"What's the occasion? Do we have to beat you too before we can get our friend?"

Jonah laughed. "I'm afraid not. For you will not be leaving here alive."

"And why's that?"

"Because you have broken the most fundamental principle of life on earth: Survival of the Fittest; in short, by throwing yourselves recklessly in harm's way to protect someone who is in her own right seeking a path towards survival, you yourselves have forfeited your right to survive. And in which case, as nature decrees, your punishment is death."

The vents in the room suddenly spewed out a visible purple gas that quickly filled the room. Almost immediately Dylan began to choke from the gas. Struggling to find a window or some sort of opening, he couldn't help but collapse during his frantic search. As everything began to go dark, he looked at Brian, who walked towards him, wearing a gasmask himself, saving him from the gas that has subdued him.

As his eyes shut, he admitted defeat. His fear of the unknown overtaking him. Whatever happened afterward, he just hoped that Karon could succeed where he failed…

CJ walked into Twilight Café after circling the block once and confirming that the address was right. The fact that it was something as casual as a coffee shop of all things threw him off. He looked around, yet there was no sight of his friends anywhere.

"Good evening." The voice of the greeter caught his attention and startled, he stammered through a greeting of his own.

"Um, do you happen to know if anyone with a Fiona Academy uniform stopped by today?" CJ asked, continuing to look around.

The greeter let out a small giggle. "I'm afraid you have to be more specific than that. You see our shop is pretty popular amongst students in the area."

CJ nodded. "Okay, umm… one was a Spanish kid, blue sunglasses, another one was a tall dark-skinned guy."

The greeter pondered for a moment, trying to think if she saw anyone who fit the description. "I think I saw someone who looked like that in passing, but to be honest I don't know if they left already or not."

Was he too late? No that can't be the case, because he would've heard something from someone. "Well in that case, do you mind if I wait for them in case they pop up?"

"Not at all. You can have a seat at one of the booths." She turned. "I'll have someone attend to you in a minute."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." CJ agreed. The greeter lead him to a booth and handed him a menu. "Just be a moment."

"Yeah, sure." He said. As she walked off to attend to more guest entering, he opened the menu, stood it, and set Fighter Dual Fang onto the table, allowing Tsume to materialize and be hidden behind it.

"You're sure this is the place?" CJ whispered.

"No doubt. I can sense Blaze and the others in here, somewhere." Tsume said, beginning to pace. "Only thing is I don't have the faintest idea on where they could be."

"Well, this place does seem to be quite a few stories… think there's an elevator that leads to an office floor? Maybe for the management?"

"If that's so then it must be somewhere towards the back, like in the kitchen or something. Only problem is sneaking back there to access it."

"Good evening," A voice made CJ jump, causing his head to dart up at the waiter before him.

"Uh, hi!" he exclaimed, closing the menu quickly and slamming it down to hide the card.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The waiter laughed. "Just checking to see if you want anything to drink?"

"Oh uh… a coke, I guess?"

"Coke…" he jotted the word down on his pad. "Okay, got it. I'll be…" he caught a glimpse at the bottom part of the card hiding under the menu. "Hey is that…?"

CJ looked down and quickly ripped the card from the menu. "What's what?"

"No way, you play DM?"

"D…M? Oh, you mean Duel Masters?" CJ realized.

"Yeah! My little brother loves the game. I used to play it too back when I was in Junior High but I kinda grew out of it. To be honest I'm surprised to see a High Schooler playing it."

CJ's face turned red slightly. "I lost a bet."

The waiter laughed, "No man, that's cool, I respect that. To each their own right?"

"Yeah… I guess."

The waiter looked at his watch. "Wow, my shift's just about over."

CJ, unsure of why he would mention that silently went along.

"I'll be right back to get your drink. Then afterward, why not have a quick match?"

CJ looked up. "What happened? I thought you said you grew out of it."

"I said 'kinda'. I don't play as often as I used to, but I keep my deck in my bag in case I get the urge to, y'know, 'own the zone.'"

An awkward silence came between them and the waiter laughed it off. "…Right, I'll be back."

As the waiter walked off CJ re-opened the menu and Tsume came back. "A warning would've been nice."

"Sorry, he caught me off guard." CJ looked back. "Why do I get the feeling something's off about him?"

"Because I have feeling myself." Tsume answered. "For now, go along with the duel. If my gut's right, he might be tied with Jamie and the others."

It took CJ a moment to process that. "Wait for real?"

"I said 'might'. It could be nothing but just keep your guard up." Tsume told him, to which CJ nodded.

The waiter came back out of his uniform and sat down at the booth, with CJ's coke and his glass of water. "So, mind me asking how long you've been playing?"

"About a day." CJ answered honestly.

"Well don't feel bad, I'm pretty rusty myself." The waiter shuffled his deck, set the shields and drew his hand.

CJ did the same, setting the shields and drawing after shuffling. "Guess you can go first."

The waiter nodded. He set a Water Civilization card into his mana zone and tapped it. "I summon Marine Flower." He set the card on the table. "Over to you."

CJ drew and set mana. "Pass to you."

The waiter drew and set mana. "I summon Emeral, and using his ability, I add a card from my hand into my Shield Zone, to exchange it with another card."

CJ drew and set mana. "I summon Burning Mane. Kinda cool, this is the first time I've faced the Water Civilization."

"Really? Then I intend to make it worth your while." He nodded. "By the way, some friendly advice when going about this. Water Duelists are known to master strategists, setting traps and stalling their opponents to try and outsmart them. In the lore of the game, they ally themselves with the Light and Darkness Civilizations, seemingly filling in the role of the medium between the forces of Good and Evil. While their tactics and methods compliment the focus on justice and upholding the peace that the Light promote, the Darkness also like to make fair use of their intellect, pushing their dark machinations and plans even further than they would dream of themselves."

"Whoa… that's pretty cool. So in other words, their intentions aren't known except to those of the civilization themselves."

"Bingo." He nodded. He drew and set mana. "I summon King Coral."

Suddenly CJ's odd feeling came back in full force. Something changed in that moment, but he couldn't figure it out. Just what happened all of the sudden to make him feel so uneasy?

"You know, I just realized we haven't introduced ourselves. What was your name again?"

CJ hesitated to answer. However considering the situation, he swallowed and grew the courage to speak. "Christopher Henderson. But everyone calls me 'CJ'."

"Henderson… Well, it's a pleasure." He held his hand out to shake. Uneasy, CJ decided to go for it.

And the feeling he had grew worse once they made contact. His grin matched the similar intensity that CJ felt in terror.

"My name is Luke Collins… I'm glad to finally meet you."