Nitpicker: I've reread the chapters and I do make a lot of mistakes, I have gone back and edited it a bit, hopefully my grammar didn't get too much in the way of you reading my fic. As for the beta reader, I don't think I'll be able to get one but I do read over and edit my chapters to make up for it (I guess I just need to do it more). Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Everyone else: The chapters before this one were actually partially written already, so I only had to edit them before uploading them. Now that my uploading has caught up to my writing however, I may take a bit longer to upload. (not that much longer though, 1 upload every 1 or 2 days)
If you've read this far, thanks very much for reading my fic, it means a lot to me. (I'll get out of your hair now)
Deep within the forest of Academy Island a two figures met under a moonless sky.
"The master is not pleased." The tall one said by way of greeting.
"He seldom is." The shorter one replied.
"You know as well as I that Miss Graves bears Duel Academy no hate for being put in a lower ranked dorm. Without sufficient hatred to awaken her inner darkness she will be useless to us."
"I agree. We may have underestimated her. Reports show that she is stubborn, quick to anger, and even quicker to violence. But she seldom feels hatred."
"Then we will have to awaken that hatred, the only question is how."
"I believe it is time for action, this sulking about beneath the shadows is displeasing to me."
The tall figure let out a cackle of laughter which frightened the owls from a nearby tree.
"Then it is agreed. We will begin a campaign of terror the likes of which this academy has never seen before! And when she is scared, hopeless, and desperate, we will reveal ourselves and force her into a duel, one where we will prod her into unleashing her true power!"
. . .
Richard stepped gingerly into Kisara's room, uncertain on how he should conduct himself in the presence of an actual female friend.
When he finally decided to enter, Richard was awestruck by the sheer grandeur of the Obelisk Blue dorms. With a size ten times that of Richards own room –one that he shared with a roommate- Kisara's room was fitted with every conceivable necessity Richard could dream up. From the flat screen t.v on one side, the miniature fridge by the microwave, and to the massive honest-to-god chandelier that hung from her ceiling.
Richard did his best to play it cool.
"K…K… Kiss… Kisara!" Richard finally stuttered out.
"Richard." Kisara replied from her bed.
Richard hopped from foot to foot.
"Uhh, you invited me over."
"Yeah, I did." Kisara watched him for a bit. "You don't have to stand by the door, you know."
"Oh," Richard said eloquently.
Sighing, Kisara plonked herself down onto the couch and motioned for him to join her.
"You're awestruck by my room." She stated.
"Yeah, a little bit." Richard admitted.
"How long will it take for you to get over it?"
"Just a bit longer," Richard blinked rapidly and then rubbed his eyes, "Okay, I think I'm over it."
"Good." Kisara took out her cards and began playing with them, "Do you know who Alaindra Graves is?"
"No…" a moment later, Richard said. "Yes."
Kisara decided not to grace that with a reply.
"I think I saw her after my application duel, so it's understandable why my memories might be hazy. While I was still recovering from that defeat Damien served me, he challenged a black haired girl to a duel. I think the match was pretty close until the end where she pulled off this combo that completely destroyed him."
"I see." Kisara said.
"I think she runs a Red Eyes deck, it's really powerful."
"I know."
"She was so cool!"
"I know."
"You should have seen it, that dragon of hers was so powerful. When she attacked Damien he had this look on his face-"
"She defeated me in a duel." Kisara interrupted him.
"Oh…"
"That's why I asked you here." Kisara laid out her cards. "I need your help to improve my deck."
. . .
Professor Ernest Cameron stepped into the room of his favorite student. "You called me here?"
"Yes. Yes I did." Damien Oscott replied. "I don't know if you've heard but... I've lost a lot of prestige."
"And you plan on gaining it back."
"Yes, the only way I can. By proving to the world that my loss was a fluke. I have to beat Alaindra in a duel."
"Do you want me to help you improve your deck?" Professor Cameron asked.
Damien laughed darkly, "No. I need you to scout the competition. What cards she uses, how she uses them, the weaknesses to her strategies."
Professor Cameron licked his lips. "I'm a teacher Damien. I cannot show favoritism among my students."
Damien tossed a roll of bank notes towards the professor.
"If anyone asks, we never met today." Professor Cameron said.
"Of course teach."
. . .
Richard left Kisara's room, humming a little tune to himself. He had stayed with her for the better part of the day. She hadn't actually needed much help with her deck, most of his ideas being stupid, but she had seemed to enjoy his company anyway. After they had finished deck building, Kisara had let him stay for dinner, so Richard had stuffed himself with burgers and chocolate cake. Perhaps a little too much, as when Richard looked up at the sky, it was almost pitch black.
As he crested the final hill before the Slifer Red dorm, two shadowy figures stepped out of the darkness. One tall, the other less tall.
"So our reign of terror begins, Bal." The tall one said.
"Indeed it does Gorst." The shorter one replied.
"Tell me Slifer, how would you like to perish?" the tall one, Gorst asked.
"Maybe another day, thanks for asking." Richard attempted to step around the two figures, but Gorst stepped out of the shadows and clamped a bony hand onto Richards arm.
Biting his tongue to stop his yell of shock, Richard took his first good look at Gorst.
Lanky thin, and almost impossibly tall, Gorst's gentlemanly attire draped over his skin like cloth on a frame. Looking at his face, Richard saw a sunken mouth and two ghastly eyes, highlighting the way his leathery skin stretched over his skull.
"I'm going to cut to the chase Slifer, we are busy men. You can either run, and we will catch you, and hurt you."
"Or," the shorter man, Bal said, "You can duel him, and take it like a man."
Thinking to himself for a moment, Richard activated his duel disk. "Let's duel."
Gorst's grin stretched impossibly across his face. "You have made me a happy man, Slifer."
"We'll see how happy you are after I beat you." Richard drew his card.
"For my move I'll set a monster face down." The monster card appeared on the floor in front of the two duelists. "Then I'll place two facedowns and end my turn."
Gorst drew his card as a dark mist seeped from his body, swallowing him and Richard inside of it.
"W…What is this?" Richard asked.
"You didn't think that we were only having a friendly duel, were you?" Gorst asked. "The Master has grafted a demon onto my soul, allowing me to summon shadow games at will." Gorst threw his head back and barked with laughter. "If you lose this game little Slifer, then we'll do a lot more than simply hurting you."
Richard gritted his teeth. "It's your move."
"Fine, have it your way." Gorst drew a card. "I'll start by activating Tribute to The Doomed, allowing me to discard one card to destroy your monster." A stone sarcophagus pushed its way through the dirt to stand between the two duelists. Suddenly, dozens of bandages burst out from the sarcophagus to flip up Richards facedown monster, wrapping around the androgynous boy and dragging him into the darkness.
"No! Dharc the Dark Charmer!" Richard cried as his monster was destroyed.
"There's more," Gorst interrupted, "I'll be activating Book of Life, allowing me to banish your Dharc to bring back the zombie monster I previously discarded. Despair from the Dark!" (8/2800/3000). An even darker shape took form within the black mist, creating a space behind Gorst that hurt to look at. All of a sudden, the shape sprouted claws, horns, and then a ghastly smile.
"This duel is over Slifer, I'll now normal summon Zombie Tiger to the field." A one eyed feline with rotten bandages took shape from the shadows (4/1400/1600).
"Despair from the Dark and Zombie Tiger, attack him directly."
The two monsters rushed forward to do their master's bidding, but Richard flipped up a trap card.
"I'll counter with Waboku, canceling all battle damage you do to me this turn." A group of blue cloaked nurses rose in front of Richard, absorbing Gorst's attacks.
Gorst smiled. "Battle damage yes, but not effect damage. I activate Ectoplasm. This card makes it so that both of us must sacrifice a monster each turn, and when we do we can deal half that monster's attack points as damage to our opponent." Gorst snapped his fingers. "Despair from the Dark, go die for your master."
The creature of dark shadows let loose a bloodcurdling shriek and dissolved back into the mist, releasing a stream of energy as it did so. The energy passed right though the blue cloaked nurses and hit Richard in the chest, making him involuntarily scream.
Richard: 2600
Gorst: 4000
"I..It hurts."
"This is a shadow game, child. Do try not to collapse, if you do I automatically win." Gorst smiled. "I'll play one card facedown and let you make your move."
Shaking slightly, Richard drew a card.
Think Richard, think. He destroyed his more powerful monster, but why? Yes, he's overconfident, but he must have some way of summoning it back, like he did with Book of Life.
Richard looked at what he had drawn. Bottomless Trap Hole.
If he does I'll be ready.
"I too shall play a facedown card. Then, I shall summon Familiar Possessed Hiita to the field." A girl with flaming red hair and a fiery fox spirit lit up the darkness. (4/1850/1500)
"Hiita, attack his Zombie Tiger." With a burst of flame, the spellcaster incinerated the undead tiger.
Richard: 2400
Gorst: 3550
To Richard's surprise, Gorst continued to laugh.
"Thank you… your reckless attack allowed me to trigger my trap, Malevolent Catastrophe. Allowing me to destroy every spell and trap on the field."
"But that means…" Richards eyes grew wide as Bottomless Trap Hole and Shift, as well as Gorst's Ectoplasm were pulled into a massive storm, destroying all three of their cards.
"I take it from your silence that it is my turn?" Gorst waited patiently.
When, Richard's head dipped slightly, Gorst drew his card.
"I'll begin by activating Pot of Greed, so that I can draw 2 more cards." Gorst drew again, and chuckled.
"I'll begin by activating Monster Reborn, to bring back Despair from the Dark." The incorporeal monster materialized again. (8/2800/3000)
"Then, I'll tribute it to summon my monster Il Blud." A morbidly obese prisoner lumbered forward, complete with the iron ball around his leg. (6/2100/800).
"Why…why did you sacrifice a stronger monster for a weaker one?" Richard asked.
"So that I can use his special ability, but because Il Blud is a gemini monster, I need to summon him twice to activate it. Fortunately, I have the spell Double Summon, allowing me to summon Il Blud again." The prisoner began to frantically dance around until suddenly, he doubled over and a grotesque face burst from his stomach.
"Now I can use Il Blud to special summon Despair from the Dark again!" Staggering slightly, the face inside of the prisoner's stomach stretched and morphed until a dark shadow escaped past him, forming into Despair from the Dark again. (8/2800/3000).
"Il Blud, destroy Hiita." The prisoner grabbed the fiery sorceress, and wrapped his arms around her, ignoring her fiery attacks and crushing her into pieces.
Richard: 2350
Gorst: 3550
"Despair from the Dark, attack him directly and finish this shadow game."
The dark monster reached forward and struck a claw into Richard, grasping something he could not quite see. When he tried to struggle free Richard found that his limbs would not respond to him.
Then, with one more squeeze Richard let out a scream and collapsed into the ground.
Richard: 0
Gorst: 3550
. . .
"Attention students, I request that you all please calm down?"
To Alaindra it looked like the entirety of Duel Academy had been stuffed into the assembly hall. As far as the eye could see were students in red, yellow, blue, and even pajamas, jostling around as they wondered why they had been woken up so early in the morning.
Tapping the microphone a few more times, Sheppard at last managed to gain some semblance of order.
"I am well aware that this is not an ideal time for most of you. But I would not have called you here had this not been important. Last night, around midnight one of Duel Academy's students was attacked." Sheppard said. Immediately, the crowd went silent.
"He was found a few hours ago atop the hill near the Slifer Dorm with the area around him showing signs of a recent duel. Crowler and I have concluded that there is a maniac on Academy Island challenging people to dangerous duels."
Someone from the crowd piped up. "What do we do now, Chancellor?"
"You will continue to your classes as always, but you are advised to go in pairs and not stay out late. Because of this, we have decided on a 10pm mandatory curfew. I will have no heroics from you students. We will be the ones who bring this maniac to justice."
Another student from the crowd yelled something.
"Who was it that was injured?"
"I will not divulge this person's name, but you can rest assured that we are doing all we can to help them."
Near the front row, the crowd surged forward and a blue haired girl asked. "Cut the crap Sheppard. Who was hurt?"
"Kisara, I understand that you are upset, but this information is need to know only."
"Tell me." Kisara demanded again.
"No."
Snorting in disgust, Kisara stalked off angrily, her footsteps ringing in everybody's ears long after she was gone.
Turning to the gathered students, Sheppard gave them a smile.
"I believe that's enough drama for the day. You all have classes today so I won't keep you. But rest assured, no matter what it takes, we will bring whoever did this to justice.
Author's note: Sorry for the shorter chapter/duel again. For some reason writing long Richard duels are very hard for me (I guess he's just not good enough to go longer than a few turns.) But now that this is done, I can move on to the duels of other characters, which will hopefully be longer.
