Hello everyone, Jiro here. I do hope you enjoyed the last chapter of this, as it was the first thing I wrote in months. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well, and that you had a wonderful Holiday Season, and that, since this prolly won't be out in a week, a wonderful New Year's as well. I appreciate all you've done for me in 2015, and I thank you all for reading. Thanks, Jiro 'The Ghetto Shaman' Uchiha, OTF inc.
Ankh sighed as he sat on his bed, leaning against the wall as he looked about his room. Wolfguard sat in a corner, curled up comfortably with a pillow from Ankh's bed, making him smile. Milla sat next to Ankh, leaning on his healed shoulder, smiling as she slowly began to doze off. Ankh looked to Dharc, who sat on the floor with his arms folded, frowning as he looked out of the window. Ankh smiled, exhaling. "Are you going to keep a foul demeanor the whole time?" he asked, and Dharc looked to him, exhaling as he turned his body to face a different direction. Ankh slid forward on his bed, laying Milla down as she grumbled. "Don't go…" she trailed off drowsily, Ankh smiling. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, making her groan and smile before he dropped down to sit across from Dharc.
"Are you going to continue to act like a spoiled child or are you going to become the intelligent asshole I kicked the shit out of?" Ankh asked, Dharc ignoring him. Ankh sighed. "There is an issue in the Spirit World that is grossly affecting Spellcaster monsters. I wish to figure out what this issue is and take care of it with my friends' help. Will you be an ally of mine or a nuisance?" he asked, and Dharc looked to him, exhaling. "I will be of assistance to you, you aggravating human." He said, Ankh smiling and patting his shoulder. "That's good to hear, you aggravating Charmer." He said, and Dharc sighed.
"All of our bickering and sarcasm aside, I am glad that Milla found someone like you to befriend." He said, and Ankh smiled. "Thank you. Perhaps we can be friends someday." Ankh said as he stood, walking to the door. "I'm heading out to get something to eat and to check on Hades. You want me to get you anything?" he asked, and Wolfguard perked his ears up. "Meat." He said, Ankh smiling at his Duel Spirit. "Of course Wolfguard, I'll get you some kind of meat." He said, the wolf wagging his tail as he put his head back down. Milla rolled over and frowned at him, grumbling. "Get me something. I don't care what. Just bring me fries." She said. Ankh glanced to Dharc, who shrugged. "Something. I've never had human food before." He said, and Ankh chuckled as he left.
When the elevator opened, both Hades and Okami blinked in surprise. Instead of a simple rooftop, the roof of his building had palm trees, a large pool with crystal clear water and a large, sandy dueling field. A large group of people lounged around, and some of them turned to the newcomers. A man walked up to them, his shaggy facial hair not matching the hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry he wore across his arms or around his neck. The man was fairly pudgy, his expensive shirt left unbuttoned so you could see his large stomach. Hades rolled his neck, exhaling as he stared down the taller man. "Are you the one who wants to duel me for the Chronicle Dragon?" he asked, and Hades nodded. "Are you going to duel me, or are you going to have someone behind you do it?" he asked, and the man put up a bedazzled hand, a smile on his face.
"Relax homie, we mean you no ill-will. Take a moment to relax. My name is Darius Janother Khalington the 1st. Is Hades Fukumaden Umu your real name?" he asked, and Hades folded his arms. "No, it is not. However, I will respectfully decline telling you my real name." he said, and Darius nodded. "That's fair." He said, gesturing for Hades and Okami to follow him. He walked them over to the dueling field and sighed, gesturing for one of the many exotic women to bring him his Duel Disk, which was unsurprisingly solid gold, and even his deck was sprinkled with gold dust. Rich people confuse me. Why spend so much money to bling out your deck of all things? Hades wondered as he secured his Duel disk onto his wrist, sliding his deck of choice into the duel disk, Darius looking over to him. "Before we start, what are you putting into this bet?" he asked, and Hades sighed. "If I lose this duel, I will forfeit one of my favorite decks, which is arguably the best Red Eyes deck in the world." He said, and Darius smiled.
"I like that. Your Red Eyes deck against my Chronicle Dragon. It's a deal. Now let's duel." He said, both duelists engaging their duel disks as Okami stepped back. He glanced back to her. "Don't worry. I got this." He said, winking to her as Darius drew his first card. "I'll go first. I'll activate the spell card 'Pot of Greed', which let's me draw two cards. Then, I activate the spell card 'Double summon' which will allow me to summon an additional time this turn." He said, glancing to his hand. "First, I'll summon Gem-Knight Sapphire in attack mode." He said, the armored Knight rising from the card, his blue armor staying true to his name. "Next, I'll summon another one." He said, a second Gem-Knight Sapphire appearing on the field. "Now I'll activate the spell card 'Scroll of Bewitchment'. This will allow me to change the attribute of one of my Sapphires to Light." He said, one of the Gem-Knights beginning to glow.
"Next, I activate the spell card 'Gem-Knight Fusion' to fuse both of my Gem-Knight Sapphire into Gem-Knight Seraphinite!" he called, the two Gem-Knights morphing together and vanishing, a gem adorned, female Gem-Knight arising from their union, wielding a rapier, her cape billowing in wind that Hades couldn't feel. "Next, I'll banish one of my Sapphires to return Gem-Knight Fusion to my hand and then end my turn." He stated, Hades sighing.
"A good start. I can tell this will be a fun duel." He said, and Darius smiled. "I can tell that you smart. I'm going to enjoy this too." He said, Hades ignoring his slightly mistaken grammar as he drew. "I summon Red Eyes Tracer Dragon in defense mode." He said, the young dragon rising from the card, glancing back to Hades as he smiled. "I activate my Tracer Dragon's special ability. I can sacrifice him to summon another Red Eyes monster in addition to my normal summon or set. I'll sacrifice him to summon Red eyes Wyvern in defense mode." He said, summoning an armless Red Eyes dragon with near identical points to the original. "Next, I'll place two cards face down and end my turn." He said, and Darius chuckled as he drew again.
"I see that you have something planned for Darius. Too bad it won't work." He said, glancing at his hand. "I summon Gem-Knight Alexandrite in attack mode." He said, the masculine, white armored knight rising from it's card. What's he planning? Surely he couldn't be planning to attack without thinking about my facedowns? Hades thought, Darius inhaling. "My Gem-Knight Seraphinite allows me to summon a second time each turn." He said, looking to the Knight. "Thank you Seraphinite. You loyal." He said, his grammar causing Hades' eye to twitch. "I summon Gem-Knight Garnet in attack mode." He said, the red armored Knight with a flame covered fist rising from it's card. "Next, I activate Gem-Knight Fusion to fuse my Garnet and my Alexandrite to Summon Gem-Knight Ruby." He said, the two knights beginning to morph together, a bright light overtaking them.
When the light faded, a ruby armored knight with a purple cape stood in their place, wielding a polearm as he stood proud next to the other Gem-Knight. What's he going to do next? Depending on what he does, I may choose whether or not to use that. Hades thought, quickly glancing to the card on the right that he placed facedown on the previous turn. "Next, I'll activate the special ability of my Gem-Knight Ruby. By sacrificing my Gem-Knight Seraphinite, My Ruby will gain all of her attack points." He said, the feminine Knight fading away as he smiled. "Now, with a grand total of 4800 attack points, my Gem-Knight Ruby will attack your Wyvern." He said, Hades gritting his teeth together. Which trap do I activate? Shit Hades, think. He thought, torn between using his left, or right facedown. He sighed, slapping himself in the head. Of course, I can't use the right facedown because I don't meet the activation criteria. He said, quickly activating the left facedown.
"I activate the trap card Sakuretsu Armor! This trap card negates your attack and destroys the attacking monster!" he called out, a phantom like suit of armor covering his Wyvern, the Gem-Knight's attacking bouncing off of it as it shattered, Darius cursing under his breath. "Very good. I remove from play my Gem Knight Garnet to return Gem-Knight Fusion to my hand and end my turn." He said, Hades breathing a sigh of relief as he drew his next card. "That's a relief. I almost didn't know what facedown to use." He mumbled to himself as he glanced over his hand. "I activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards." He said, discarding the used spell as he pulled two more cards from the top of his deck, hesitating when he saw one of them. Of all the things to draw. I must've picked the wrong deck. Although, I have yet to test out any of these. He thought to himself, humming as he glanced at his hand over one more time.
"It looks like your Gem-Knights are going to be a big problem for my Red Eyes monsters, huh?" Hades asked casually, Darius nodding with a prideful smirk on his face. Hades chuckled. "Let's see if I can't do something about that." He said more to himself than anyone else. 'I activate the spell card Cards of the Red Stone. This spell card allows me to discard one Level 7 Red Eyes monster from my hand to my graveyard to draw two cards," Hades began, discarding the used spell and another card to draw two cards. "… and then I can send another Level 7 red eyes monster from my deck to my graveyard, which I will." He said, a card being ejected from the deck as he slid it into the graveyard slot. "Next, I activate the spell card Double Summon, which will allow me to summon an extra time this turn." He said, pulling a card from his hand.
"I sacrifice my Red Eyes Wyvern to summon the Gemini Monster, Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning." He said, the Wyvern dissipating as it was replaced with an oddly familiar black archfiend, lightning cackling around it's body. "And I'll use my second summon to give my Archfiend it's special ability." He said, exhaling. "And then I'll attack you directly with my Archfiend of Lightning!" Hades called out, the Archfiend calling out in a sinister tone as it launched a large lightning bolt at Darius, who cursed as he was struck, his lifepoints dropping to 5500. The jewelry adorned man chuckled as he breathed heavily, a smile on his face as always. "Good job. I appreciate how skilled you are." He said, Hades shaking his head. "I place one card facedown and end my turn." He said, ignoring the odd statement from his opponent, who adjusted the chains he wore around his neck before drawing his next card.
"I activate the spell card 'Pot Of Greed', which allows me to draw two cards. Next I activate the spell card Monster Reborn. This spell card will allow me to bring back my Gem Knight Seraphinite in defense mode." He said, the rapier wielding Gem-Knight returning to the field before taking a kneeling position and turning blue. "Next, I'll use her Special ability to summon Gem-Knight Emerald in defense mode." He said, the emerald armored knight rising from it's card before dropping to a kneeling position and turning blue as well. "Next, I activate the spell card Sacred Sword of Seven Stars. This beautiful spell card allows me to banish a Level 7 monster from my hand or field to draw to cards, like the Gem-Knight Crystal in my hand." He said, drawing two cards. "First, I activate the Continuous Spell Card Precious Cards from Beyond, which allows me to draw two cards whenever I use two or more monsters for a tribute summon, understand?" he half asked, half stated. Hades narrowed his eyes, humming.
Darius chuckled as he pulled another card from his hand. "I activate the Spell Card Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding one card, like my Gem-Knight Fusion, I can target one card on the field and destroy it, much like your Archfiend of Lightning." He said, the Archfiend shattering as Hades frowned. "Next, I'll banish my Gem-Knight Alexandrite to return Gem-Knight Fusion to my hand and end my turn." He said, and Hades hummed as he drew. "Two turns and My Red Eyes aren't doing very well, huh? I don't know, I'm getting kinda desperate." He said to himself, looking through his hand with a careful eye. "First, I activate my facedown trap card, Red Eyes Spirit. This card allows me to Special Summon any Red Eyes monster in my graveyard that isn't Red Eyes Black Chick, Like my Red Eyes Black Dragon." He stated, the dragon rising to his left, making him feel slightly more comfortable with one of his favorite monsters on the field.
"Next, I'll activate my other facedown card, which is another Red Eyes Spirit, which will allow me to bring back another Level 7 Red Eyes monster, like my Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon." He said, the metal variant of his favorite monster appearing on the field. "Damn, I thought I'd be able to go a bit longer without doing this." Hades said to himself as he picked up both cards from his duel disk and laid them one on top of another, a large black pool erupting under the feet of the two duelists.
Darius seemed confused, and Hades chuckled. "Haven't seen this before, have you?" he asked, and Darius shook his head. "Well, what I just did was overlay my two level 7 monsters so that I may XYZ summon. I overlay my Level 7 Red Eyes Black Dragon and my level 7 Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon to XYZ Summon… Red Eyes Flare Metal Dragon!" Hades called out, the flaming, yet metal black dragon erupting from the pool with two gold orbs orbiting it's shining body. Hades smiled as he looked at the dragon. "He may not look like much, and his points may seem a bit low for something that requires two level 7 monsters, but his ability is pretty neat." He said, patting the dragon's leg as it looked down to him and grumbled. "Next I activate the spell card 'Graceful Charity'. This card allows me to draw three cards at the cost of discarding two." Hades explained, glancing at the cards he drew before discarding a pair. "Next, I place one monster in facedown defense mode and end my turn." Hades said as the card appeared to his left.
Darius drew, looking at his hand with an expression Hades couldn't determine. He sighed, looking up at the sky and then back down to the field. "It looks like it's almost night time. I normally eat dinner right now, but it looks like Darius will have to post pone his meal." He said, Hades narrowing his eyes slightly as the odd usage of his name in the third person. "I summon Gem Knight Sapphire in defense mode." He said, the light blue knight appearing before kneeling and turning blue.
"I forgot to mention, my Flare Metal Dragon's special ability deals 500 damage to you everytime you activate a card or effect, much like your Seraphinite's effect or your recycling of Gem-Knight Fusion. However, this ability only lasts as long as my Dragon has XYZ material." He said, gesturing to the glowing orbs that rotated around the dragon like moons. Darius chuckled. "Looks like this is going to be a challenge for Darius." He said, sighing as he looked up. Darius looked Hades in the eyes, something that caught him off guard. "Are you sure you want to continue this fight?" he asked, and Hades frowned. "Of course I do." He said, and Darius smiled and nodded, bowing slightly. "I appreciate you." He said, making Hades become unnerved. Why would you appreciate someone for wanting to finish a duel they started?" He wondered.
Ankh sighed as he walked out of the fast food restaurant, bag in one hand, drinks in the other. He was on his way home, hoping that Dharc wouldn't be too much of a pain and that Wolfguard would avoid getting too much food on his relatively new carpet. Mom would have a fit if I stained that carpet. He reminded himself as he continued on. He thought to Dharc, wondering if he should've just simply killed him. He's not that bad. He's just childish. All he had to do was follow Milla and remain on the good side of the Spirit World's law. He thought shaking his head. Nope. I was in the right to leave him alive. Besides, he makes Milla happy, so that's a plus. He said, smiling as he decided. As his right foot hit the ground, his body froze and he spun, the sounds of a crinkling bag and sloshing soda lost on him as he stared up at the huge tower he felt an enormous presence come from, sweat dripping from his brow.
There's no fucking way I'm sensing this. If that's Hades up there, I should check on him. He thought, glancing about and noticing very few people. He sighed, using his magick to make the food he brought with him float. He darted in the opposite direction of the tower, caring enough to check on Hades, but not enough to forget about feeding his Duel Spirits. Hades you aggravating son of a bitch, you better not get fucking destroyed before I get there.
"Well then, I couldn't care less about your ability, because the next card I play will be the last card that matters." He said, and Hades rose a brow. "You see, all my life, I wondered what I was missing. And then I realized that all I ever wanted my whole life, was 'more'." He said, Hades making a confused face. Why won't he just play the damn card? He thought as Darius continued. "When I ate an apple, all I wanted was another one. When I bought a car, all I wanted was another one. When I counted my money, every time I reached a million, all I wanted to reach was another one. When I counted out my Employee's pay in hundreds, all I wanted to give them was another one. And when I saw a card that had only one copy printed? Guess what? I wanted there to be another one. That's why I care about sacrificing monsters so I can have another one, another one, another one, and after I sacrifice my Gem Knight Seraphinite, Emerald and Sapphire, I'll win the duel. And after I have your deck, I'll sell the cards I don't want, and when I count the money in hundreds, I'll have another one and another one." He monolouged, Hades growing more and more tired of his speaking as he drawled on.
"Just play the fucking card already." Hades said, and Darius chuckled. "Okay. I sacrifice my trio of Gem Knights," he said, and Hades froze. That energy. It can't be. He thought as the sky grew dark and cloudy. Darius slid the cards into the graveyard slot and held up a single, solid gold card as his lifepoints fell for using his Seraphinite's ability. "And I summon Slifer the Sky Dragon." He said, slamming the card down as thunder began to rumble in the sky as the clouds cracked, a long, scaled serpentine crimson body making it's way through the clouds, seeming endless to Hades, who stumbled back in shock as he faintly heard Okami scream in shock and horror. There's no fucking way. Hades thought dumbfounded as the huge, double mouthed head of Slifer slid down to rest behind Darius, steam coming from both of it's jaw's. Hades began to pant, but then slapped himself in the face. Snap out of it. It only has 1000 attack and defense points. He said. "Next my Precious Cards from beyond activates, which allows me to draw two more cards." He said, his lifepoints being chipped away at as Slifer's attack and Defense points rose higher, surpassing that of Hades' Flare Metal Dragon. Hades blinked.
"I activate my Flare Metal Dragon's special ability. By removing one of it's XYZ material, I can special summon a Red Eyes Normal monster from my Graveyard, such as my Red Eyes Black Dragon!" He called out, shakily removing the card from under his Flare Metal Dragon and sliding it into the graveyard as the Normal Type Red Eyes dragon slid out, being placed on the field in defense mode. Then, Slifer's second mouth opened up, a blast of intense energy flying out at the dragon, damaging it heavily. AS long as I summon monsters with over 2000 attack points, I can cause Slifer's ability to wear down his lifepoints to nothing. He thought, smirking as he exhaled. I can do this. I have to do this. He thought to himself, glancing back to Okami, who had remained silent the entire time. "Hey Okami, you enjoying this!?" He shouted to the girl, who was still in shock at the massive God that seemed to be staring her down. Hades shook his head, looking back to Darius and his Egyptian God card, glancing at his deck, reassuring himself that he could win.
When Ankh reached his house, he noticed that his mother seemed oddly complacent, an almost soothed look on her face as she looked at the God that wrapped around the huge tower. "It's beautiful." She said, and Ankh took a second to calm down and glance out at the dragon. "I'm jealous to be completely honest. I would love to face an Egyptian God card." He said, shaking his head before heading upstairs, turning the knob to his room as he sighed. When he entered the room, he noticed that Wolfguard's hair, and he himself, were on edge, frightened by the intense, dense presence of the God. Ankh sat down, placing the bags of food on the ground as he glanced to Milla, who whimpered in fear as the God's presence weighed down on them.
Ankh gestured for her to join him and Wolfguard on the floor, his gaze traveling to Dharc, who Ankh could see was trying to hold back from visibly quivering in fear. Wolfguard crawled over to Ankh, sitting in his lap as Milla leaned against him, the boy throwing his arm around her. He glanced to Dharc, a slight smirk on his face as he chuckled. "You can join us you know." He said, and Dharc scoffed, a sound that Ankh knew was forced. "Cuddle with a flea ridden dog and a fatherless wretch? Don't make me laugh." He said, Ankh holding his left arm out. "You don't have to act tough. I can smell the fear on you. Come on, we don't bite." He said, Dharc grumbling as he crawled across the floor and sat next to Ankh, the almost fearless boy using his telekinesis to bring the food over to them. "Let's eat, shall we?" he asked, opening the bag as he handed out food. My mother was enthralled by Slifer. Not afraid, but enthralled. Something's off about that.
The Signers stood outside as they stared up in shock and wonder at the large, red, serpentine dragon, unable to explain why they were seeing a card that belonged in Yugi Moto's deck. "I don't get it. How is Slifer the Sky Dragon here?" Jack asked, and Akiza shook her head. "I don't know. Do we know who's controlling him?" she asked, and Leo cursed. They turned to him as he came running up to them with a laptop in his hands. "Take a look at this. The owner of Slifer is a very rich man named Darius Janother Khalington the 1st. I figured it was just him showing off until I looked at his collection." He said, scrolling to a different page. He brought up a single card, and Yusei cursed under his breath.
"Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon." He said, and Crow blinked. "Isn't that connected to the Stardust Spark Dragon Okami uses?" he asked, and Akiza nodded. "Okami went out to get the card with that Hades boy." She said, her eyes locked atop the tower. "My daughter is up there." She said, and Yusei hugged her. Jack growled. "You're telling me that the runt that beat Pierre is battling a God!?" He shouted, the concept causing him to grow angrier. Luna sighed. "There's nothing we can do except hope they come out of the duel alright. Weird things happen when Egyptian Gods are summoned." She said, hoping for the best.
Hades watched Darius as he smiled up at Slifer. He looked back to Hades as he held his arms out. "What do you think?" he asked, and Hades looked up at the God and smiled. "I'm impressed. I wasn't expecting this when I came here today, and I'm excited to finish the duel." He said, Darius chuckling. "My Slifer will attack your Red Eyes Black Dragon." He said, and Hades blinked as the God's larger mouth opened, a huge burst of energy destroying his Red Eyes. "Why not attack the Flare Dragon? It's in attack mode and it's effect is dangerous?" he asked, and Darius chuckled. "Because, your Red Eyes use the original as a focal point. If I keep the original down, all of the work the others do will be useless." He said, and Hades hummed. "Good point." Hades said as Darius ended his turn.
Hades drew as he glanced at his hand. "First, I switch my Red Eyes Flare Metal Dragon into defense mode." He said as the dragon put it's arms up and turned blue. "Next, I activate the Spell Card Double Summon, which allows me to summon an extra time this turn." He said, a smile on his face. "I summon Red Eyes Wyvern in attack mode." He said, the dragon appearing briefly before it was destroyed by the special ability of Slifer, which caused Darius' lifepoints to drop again. "Next, I summon Carboneddon in attack mode." He said, the same process being repeated as before, Darius' Lifepoints dropping again, Hades noticing that his opponent's lifepoints were at 3500. I'm getting there. Just a couple more turns He thought, rolling his neck as he hummed. "I place one card facedown and end my turn." He said, and Darius chuckled as he drew, his Dragon's attack and defense points rising to 4000 each. "First, I summon Gem-Knight Emerald in defense mode." He said, the emerald armored knight rising proudly before crouching down and turning blue. "Next, My Slifer will attack your Flare Metal Dragon." He said, and Hades smiled. "I activate my Dragon's ability. By detaching an XYZ material, I can bring back another Red Eyes Black Dragon." He said, the metal dragon being destroyed as the original red eyed dragon rose, his attack points being cut by 2000. "Very impressive. I'll end my turn." He said, and Hades blinked. Because of the steady increase in power and defense Slifer has, He won't activate many if any other cards. Why? With Slifer's secondary ability, he'd only need two or three cards in his hand. He thought as he drew, glancing at his hand before realizing the combination he could use.
"First, I activate the Spell card Inferno Fire Blast. This card deals damage to you equal to the original attack points of my Red Eyes Black Dragon." He said, the Dragon unleashing a large fire ball that struck Darius, who chuckled as he dusted of his jewelry as his Lifepoints dropped to 1100. "Next, I activate Change of Heart, which will allow me to take control of your Gem Knight Emerald." He said, the Knight sliding over to Hades' side of the field. "Next, I activate the spell card Star Blast. Now, by paying 1500 lifepoints, I can reduce the level of my Red Eyes by 3." He said, exhaling as his lifepoints fell to 6500. "Next, I'll place one card facedown." He said, the hologram appearing as he picked up two cards, the pool under him appearing again. "Now, I overlay my two Level 4 monsters to XYZ summon… Outer Entity Nyarla!" he called, a horrifying, fiendish monster made of sickly limbs, tentacles, and huge, sinister jaws rising from the pool with two golden orbs rotating around it as it turned blue.
"And, because my Nyarla has 0 attack points, Slifer's ability won't work on it." He said, exhaling as he ended his turn. Darius chuckled as he drew, Slifer's attack and defense points rising back to 4000. "You smart. I like that." He said as he glanced at his hand. "Although, I gotta ask, why not take my Slifer? You could've won the duel the turn much quicker." He said, and Hades hummed. He shook his head. "Nah. The Gem-Knights are too swarm based for that. I'd have to swarm you with Dragons, and, based on my hand and graveyard, I couldn't do that even if I wanted too. Taking your Emerald to summon Nyarla was my best bet, cause that buys me more time to defeat Slifer." He said, and Darius chuckled. "You a Genius. I like that." He said, and Hades shrugged, not arguing with that statement. "Alright, my Slifer will attack your Outer Entity." He said, and Hades exhaled. "I activate my Trap, My Body as A Shield!" he shouted, the purple card flipping up.
The energy blast that made way for Nyarla changed trajectory, striking Hades directly as he was knocked back, losing his footing and sliding back to the edge of the roof as his heart lurched and Okami screamed in shock. Vaulting back to his feet, Hades panted in shock as his lifepoints dropped by 1500 per the effect of his trap, leaving him with 5000 lifepoints. Darius chuckled as he watched the shocked duelist make his way back to the field. "Scary, wasn't it?" he asked, and Hades gulped as he caught his breath. His head jerked, Hades slapping his chest as he inhaled hard, recovering from the shock and the odd muscle spasm he just had that caused his head to jerk.
Hades chuckled as he glanced at his hand, rolling his neck as he calmed down. "That actually hurt you know. Slifer isn't just some cheap hologram." He said, glancing to the dragon as he glanced back at his hand one more time. Darius chuckled, putting his hand out, signaling the end of his turn. Hades drew his next card, a smile on his face as he did so. "I want to ask you. How did you get the Chronicle Dragon?" Hades asked, Darius chuckling. "It was simply a beautiful golden Dragon, and since it was one of few, I had to have it. I paid a pretty penny for it. That card cost me nearly fifteen thousand dollars." He said, and Hades whistled, glancing back to Okami. "You sure you want to keep it? The resell value would be enough to buy almost any Fairy monster you could ever want." He said, and Okami folded her arms, frowning at him. "I didn't come here to sell the thing." She said.
Hades laughed as he turned back to Darius. "I was curious to see how much the card I was winning was worth is all, especially with the whole jump off the roof thing. By the way, any way I can get out of that?" he asked, scratching his head. Darius laughed. "I like you. I'll permit you to take the elevator back down to the ground only if you can defeat me. And when it comes to our turns? I cannot take Another One." He said, Hades' eyebrows raising. "So I have to beat you this turn huh?" he asked, glancing to his hand for a third time. "Deal." He said, pulling one of the cards from his hand. "First, I activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards!" Hades shouted, discarding the spell and quickly replacing it, sighing in relief.
"Next, I activate the spell card Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards but discard two." Hades said, following the cards instructions as he explained them, seeming to pick the first card he discarded very slowly, as if he wanted Darius to know that card was somehow important. He sighed. He looked to Okami. "You sure you don't want to sell the thing? We could get something nice to eat and I can buy parts for a sidecar on my Duel Runner." He said, wiggling his eyebrows in her direction. Okami sighed loudly, Hades chuckling as he smiled. "You better become a good enough duelist to defeat your father with this card." He said, pulling a card from his hand. "I activate my Outer Entity Nyarla's ability." He said, pulling the XYZ material off the Entity.
"You see, by removing the XYZ material from my Nyarla, I am allowed to target one monster in my graveyard and attach it to it. But, Nyarla's type and attribute change to match the monster I chose. And the Monster I chose is my Lord of Dragons." He said as the fiendish creature consumed it's orbiting golden orbs, it's form morphing into a silver skinned man wearing a suit, carrying a cane with a spell counter design on it, signaling its transition into a spellcaster, the Entity's black top hat bearing the face of the Lord of Dragons. Darius frowned, wondering exactly what Hades was planning. He lifted the original card and shook it before placing it on his duel disk. "Finally, I activate the spell card 'Rank-Up Magic Astral Force'." He said, Nyarla erupting in a blinding light as Hades seemed to glance to his side and whisper before pulling a card and placing it, gently, on his Duel Disk.
"Using this spell card, I can use Nyarla as XYZ Material for a monster with the same type and attribute, but two ranks higher. Thanks to the fact that I managed to mill through my deck with all of my card draw and discard effects, I discarded my Lord of Dragons and was only stalling to draw the Astral Force as soon as Nyarla came to mind a few turns back. And since my plan managed to work, I can rank up my Outer Entity Nyarla and summon my Magi Magi Magician Gal." he said, the light fading as the seemingly disinterested female magician stood where the Entity was, a single golden orb orbiting her waist horizontally. Hades smiled at her, the girl looking back to him and scowling as he waved his last card at her.
"You need to calm down so we can win this." He said, and she folded her arms over her breasts. "Don't tell me to calm the fuck down." She said, and Hades laughed. "You're a riot. I'm surprised you haven't come to blows with Milla yet." She said, and the Magician girl snickered as she turned back to Darius and Slifer. "I can't fight a Time Magician. I like being young." She said, and Hades laughed. "Young?" he said mockingly, the girl whipping around and launching Hades to the edge of the roof with a swing of her hand. Hades cursed as he jumped to his feet, shaking his head. "You coulda killed me you know. Then who's gonna help you stop Slifer?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes. "You make stopping a God sound simple." She quipped, Hades humming, noticing her point. "I mean, stopping Slifer is impossible right now. But winning the duel?" Hades trailed off, pulling Nyarla from his duel disk. He glanced back to Darius. "Sorry for making you wait. Just wanted to prolong the duel and have some fun." He said, Darius nodding calmly.
"I activate my Magician Gal's special ability. By removing one of her XYZ material and banishing one card from my hand, I am allowed to use one of her multiple effects. And I'm choosing her first effect, the effect to take control of one of your monsters." He said, Darius seeming to freeze for a split second before his posture relaxed. The golden orb orbiting the Magician Gal vanished as she looked up to Slifer. "Hey Tomato-Face, get over here." She shouted up to the dragon, who merely uncoiled itself from the building enough to face Darius. Hades smiled. "I appreciate you. You smart. But when it comes to wins? I need Another One." Hades said, signaling to Slifer and Magician Gal to attack, the Magician looking up to the monster dragon, who had already opened it's mouth. Hades blinked. "You have to attack too, Slifer has no Attack points." He mentioned as she facepalmed, the large energy blast Slifer released doing nothing to Darius or his lifepoints.
Magician Gal tightened her grip on her staff, spinning it over her head and swinging it in Darius' direction, an invisible shockwave knocking the large, bedazzled man back, reducing his Lifepoints to Zero. Magician Gal glanced to Hades. "Never call me to face a God again, you hear me?" she scolded, pointing to him before vanishing. He rose his brows, thinking about doing the opposite. He turned to Slifer, who had yet to fade away, the God Dragon instead opting to lean down to Hades, the duelist's heart throbbing in his chest as he was inches away from the mammoth bottom jaw of the beast, his love of dragons making him unable to resist reaching out and touching the warm, bright red scales of the God, who grunted before pulling back, shooting up into the sky as the sky began to clear, Hades being left staring after the Dragon.
He shook his head, walking over to Darius, who chuckled, signaling to one of his many party-goers to bring him the Chronicle Dragon. "That was a hard fought duel. I enjoyed it." He said, holding his hand out to Hades. Hades shook his hand as a man handed a small case to Okami, who had ran over to Hades' side. Darius smiled at the girl as he put his hands in his pockets. "Please Cherish that card. I sprinkled gold dust on it after obtaining it. It's worth much more than the fifteen thousand I paid for it." He said, and Okami smiled, thanking him. Darius turned back to Hades. "No one has ever taken Slifer from me. I salute you for that. Your innovation is a major key in becoming a great duelist." He said, and Hades nodded in thanks.
"I thank you for our duel. The chance to use my Magician Gal and face a God card is something I won't find often." He said, shaking Darius' hand one more time before they departed, Darius staring after them. The man who gave Okami the case leaned over to him. "What do you think of them Mr. Khalington?" he asked, and Darius chuckled. "One time, I was in front of a closed door. I didn't open the door. I tore it down and walked inside. There was a boy inside, and I put the hinges in the boy hands. I put the hinges in the fucking boy hands. Hades is that kid. He took the hinges, melted them down, and created a key. The Key to Success." He said, shaking his head as he headed back to his large rooftop pool.
Ankh sighed as the fear seemed to drain out of his duel spirit companions, the young duelist reaching out to his friend with telepathy. Hades, can you hear me? He asked telepathically. Yeah, what's up? Hades responded, Ankh suppressing a chuckle at the casual response. I see you managed to win that duel. How are you? He asked, and Hades hummed before he responded. Weird. Beating a God is one thing, but doing it for a girl? And using XYZ monsters? It's all very odd to be honest. It was exhilarating as well. I was so worked up I started twitching. And my opponent was actually a pretty good dude too. He explained, and Ankh nodded to himself. When one of us twitch, it's normally something serious. I sensed a surge in your power. Did you interact with Slifer personally? He asked, and Hades gave an affirmative grunt. Ankh chuckled.
I'll let you enjoy your time with Okami. We'll talk more about that when you get back later. He said, receiving an affirmative grunt from Hades before cutting off their connection and looking back to his duel spirits, who all had become comfortable. Wolfguard's rhythmic pants let Ankh know he had recently fallen asleep, his sleepy companion laying on his lap. He looked to his right shoulder, where Milla had begun to doze off. "Why don't you crawl into bed?" He asked softly, and she grumbled, a sound Ankh knew well. He looked to his left, where Dharc had begun to fall asleep as well, Ankh knowing full well that he enjoyed being in everyone else's company. The young duelist glanced to the small werewolf, scratching behind one of his ears, catching his waking attention long enough to gesture next to the bed with his chin, the wolf crawling over to the spot and curling back up.
Moving slowly as he stood, Dharc slid along his arm carefully, making soft contact with the floor as Ankh picked up Milla and put her in the bed, covering her over as she rolled away from him, the young duelist chuckling as he rubbed her arm gently before turning back to Dharc, who seemed to quiver in his sleep. Ankh walked back to the wall where he sat, picking Dharc up and leaning the sleeping Charmer against him like he was, leaning his head back and inhaling deeply. He looked down, opening his palms and watching as sparks formed in each hand, his shoulders jumping lightly as he laughed. I'm using most of my power to hold these three to this world. For someone like me to be without my power isn't a good thing. He thought, glancing to the sleeping Milla, the curled up Wolfguard, and finally to Dharc, chuckling. I will do everything I can to keep these three safe. Even if it means that I have to sacrifice myself. He said, knowing that he would do the same for Hades, his brother like friend on his mind for a moment, Ankh being briefly filled with jealousy, wishing he could have fought a God instead.
"That was incredible!" Okami shouted as they left the large tower Darius owned, Hades laughing as they began their journey to Okami's residence. "Really? It didn't seem like anything more than a normal match to me." Hades said, jokingly downplaying his victory, something that Okami laughed about. "What turn did using that Outer Entity creature pop into your head? You made it sound like you planned it in advance." she mentioned, and Hades hummed. "I did. When he summoned Slifer, I realized that I'd need an effect like my Magician Gal's to stop it. Using Nyarla was just me being a smartass just to see if it would actually work." he said, and Okami blinked. "You haven't used that Nyarla combo before?" she asked, and Hades glanced to her. "You mean to tell me your deck is filled with the same cards all the time? Limits the fun to me." He said, glancing about.
Okami sighed. "I like knowing all of my options all the time. I'm not a whackjob who plans brand knew things turns in advance." she said, and he hummed. "But yet the whackjob beat Slifer to get that card for you." he said, shrugging his shoulders in confusion. Okami rolled her eyes and sighed. Hades glanced to her. "Don't tell your parents about my attitude during that duel. If they know I was running off of adrenaline and hype while fighting Slifer they might get worried that I'll continuously get you into danger." he said, and she blinked. "You weren't scared?" she asked, and Hades looked to the sky, as if he was contemplating whether or not he was. He soon shook his head, smiling. "I want to become a great duelist. I can't be a great duelist if Slifer scares me. I need to be as fearless as possible." he said, and she blinked. He thinks being a fearless lunatic makes you a better duelist? She wondered.
Hades glanced to her. "Lunacy and passion are often confused." he said, as if he could hear her thoughts. She was slightly confused how he knew what she was thinking, and he glanced to a small fast food restaurant on a nearby corner. "I've got some spare change on me. Let's get something quick to eat on the way back." he said, and she nodded. When they walked in, Hades glanced about, noticing that the place was nearly empty, except for a few elderly people enjoying a coffee and a newspaper. Hades noticed one man sitting off to the side with a small cup of coffee, his clothing looking ragged and his scent being strong enough that Hades didn't even have to strain his nose to smell him. Walking up to the corner, taking a route that Okami found very odd, choosing to weave through booths instead of taking a clear cut path, Hades glanced at the menu.
"You want anything?" he asked, Okami shrugging. "I don't normally eat fast food." he said, and Hades rolled his eyes. "Right. Forgot. Anything to drink then?" he asked, and she hummed. "Something fruity I guess." She said, Hades chuckling. He glanced to the cashier, smiling kindly. "Let me get Ms. Thing here a strawberry-banana smoothy, medium. I'll have one of those dollar menu cones, and let me get a quarter pounder with everything. Bacon, chicken, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, mushrooms, everything." he said, glancing about the menu. He inhaled sharply through his nose. "And a large coffee, no creamer, four sugars." he said, and the cashier nodded, telling Hades his total as employees in the back scattered to complete the simple order. Hades pulled out a small wad of cash, enough that Okami wouldn't call it 'spare change', handing the cashier the paper bills and telling him to keep the change. As they moved over to the other side of the counter, Okami leaned in to whisper to Hades.
"Where'd you get that kind of money?" she asked, Hades blinking as if he had no clue what she was talking about. "I said I had some spare change on me." he said, and she blinked, mouth slightly agape. Hades reached out with his index finger, pushing her mouth shut and smiling as he grabbed the tray and the ice cream cone in separate hands. Walking over to the ragged man, he placed the tray with the burger and coffee down, picking up Okami's smoothie and handing it to her, the man looking up at Hades. The young duelist smiled, simply patting the man on the shoulder before walking out of the building with Okami behind him, the girl glancing back to the man, who opened the box with the burger and pulled out the wad of cash Hades had. Okami turned back to him, and Hades laughed.
"How far away from your place are we?" he asked, and she tilted her head slightly. "Five minutes, why?" she asked, and he shrugged. "Just wondering." he said, humming happily. "You just gave that man your sandwich and all of your money." she said, and he blinked. "First off, it was a burger, not a sandwich, there's a difference to me. Second, he needed it more than I did. I could hear his stomach over the people making the damn burger. Third, I didn't give him a single penny of my money." he said, and Okami blinked, her jaw dropping slightly when she realized what Hades meant. "We took that long way to the counter so you could pickpocket people!? That's illegal!" she said, and he noticed her house in the distance. "You've already drank half of the smoothie I bought you with pickpocketed money, so I'm not really seeing your point." he said, Okami noticing the cup was infact half empty.
"That's not the point Robin Hood!" she said, Hades biting into the cone he bought before responding.
"How about you relax before Robin Hood pickpockets that Chronicle Dragon and gives it to someone less fortunate." he said as they came up on her house, the girl tossing the empty cup in a nearby trash can before walking inside. Hades followed her in, noticing all of the Signers sitting in the large living room. Hades glanced to Okami. "I hope you enjoyed yourself today. I sure did." he said, and she sighed. "As crazy as you are, I did enjoy myself. You were really impressive." she said, Hades smiling at the compliment. "I'll see you in school then." he said, bowing respectfully to Okami before glancing to the Signers. He saw the mixed looks on their faces, something that made him snicker as he walked out, sighing as he looked at the sky before heading back to Ankh's house.
Ankh glanced to Milla, smiling as he heard soft footsteps coming up the stairs. Soft knocks followed before his mom cracked open the door, looking to him before smiling. "I just wanted to check on you before I went to bed honey." she said, and he nodded, smiling. "Of course. I'm perfectly fine. You should get some rest." he said, his mother slowly closing the door when something came to Ankh's mind. "Mother?" he asked, and she hummed as she peeked back into the room. "You were very calm, almost soothed by Slifer's appearance. Why?" he asked, and she sighed. "Seeing Slifer reminded me of when I met your father. When I first met him, someone was in a duel with a titanic monster. It brought back good memories." she said, and Ankh nodded. "I see. Thank you for letting me know. I was worried about you." he said, smiling as his mother closed the door, his eyes traveling back up to the ceiling.
"It always goes back to my father, doesn't it?" he asked himself, sighing. "Perhaps you should find your father and confront him." he heard, glancing to Dharc, who groggily wobbled off Ankh's shoulder, sighing as he rubbed his eyes. "I've met him. He's not a person I feel comfortable around." Ankh said, and Dharc frowned. "Why?" he asked as he yawned. "Because I think about all the pain he put my mother through, and the fact that he never came to visit even once, and it makes me angry. I try my best to keep control of myself, and he pushes the limits of my control." he said, and Dharc hummed. He froze momentarily. "I sense another large presence approaching." he said, and Ankh smiled. "That's my friend Hades. He's harmless." he said, Dharc groaning as he fell over, colliding with Ankh's arm again. "Another one of you. Great." he said, and Ankh chuckled as the knob of his door rotated, Hades walked in.
Hades blinked when he saw all of Ankh's spirits out, including a new spirit who was leaning against him. Hades walked over and sat down, Kuriburn materializing and sitting on Hades' lap, Magi Magi Magician Gal leaning against a far wall, glaring at Milla, who rolled over and gave the black clad the finger, causing her to grind her teeth. Ankh smiled lazily as Kuriburn, who made noises when it was noticed. "How was your day?" Ankh asked, and Hades laughed. "Quite engaging good chap, quite engaging if I do say so meself." he said, putting on a fake accent. Ankh laughed as he leaned forward. "Battling Slifer? That must've been insanity." He said, and Hades nodded. "It was. My adrenaline was off the charts. Luckily I managed to form a strategy with Ms. Uptight over here and pull it off." he said, gesturing to the Magician Girl. "Fuck you too runt." she said, and Ankh noticed that Dharc had a slight look of fear in his eyes. What is it? He asked Dharc telepathically. That girl. She wears the same armor as the man who told me about Milla. He said, and Ankh glanced to her, noting her armor. Are you sure of this? He asked, Dharc nodding slightly. Hades blinked.
"What about you. You seemed to have an eventful day." he said, gesturing to Dharc. Ankh glanced down to him. "This is Dharc. Turns out that he's Milla's brother, and that a spellcaster in black armor told him about the fact that Milla and I planned on meeting at Maldoche Chateau." he said, and Hades blinked. "A black armored spellcaster? You don't think it was him do you?" Hades asked, and Ankh shrugged. "Most likely. He showed up here earlier." he said, and Hades blinked. "He showed up here?" he asked, and Ankh nodded. "He was looking for XYZ monsters." he mentioned, and Hades sighed. "I missed a lot more than I thought I would." he said, and Ankh chuckled. Dharc blinked, glancing between the two duelists. "You mean the guy that you got angry seeing?" he asked, and Ankh nodded. "I might have to search him out and see hat he's doing messing with my life." he said, Dharc feeling the muscles in Ankh's neck and arm tense up slightly.
"Surely you can't be serious. He's probably capable of demolishing entire City blocks with his magic. You stand no chance if he chooses to attack you." Hades said, and Ankh's hands balled into fists. "I've spoken to people in the Citadel about him. He only has the durability of the average concrete building. It'll be about who can strike first if necessary." he said, and Hades sighed. "For once, I'm being the reasonable one. You're telling me that because he made you confront the girly boy here and bought XYZ monsters from you that you're going to find him and what? Speedblitz him?" Hades asked, and Ankh sighed, looking to the ceiling. "I guess you're right. That was only two occasions. I should allow a third strike before I do anything stupid." he said, Hades humming as he nodded. Hades glanced to Dharc again, his attention shifting to the charmer.
"Hey kid. This guy that told you about your sister, what was he like?" he asked, and Dharc blinked. "He had white hair, black armor that looked almost flesh like, and he had this look in his eyes. Almost as if everything amused him because it was beneath him or something." he said, and Hades sighed. "Yep, that's him." he said, Dharc sitting up straight and sighing. "Who is he?" he asked, Ankh's jaw clenching before Hades answered. "That's none of your business kid." he said, and Dharc stood up, glaring down at Hades, who rose to his feet in a single fluid motion, a large aura coming off of him. "If you harm a single hair on his head I'll make you an old man with no bowel control." Milla said without rolling over, Hades turning to her and sighing. "Can you believe her Ankh?" he asked, and Ankh stood, rolling his shoulder, which had long since gone numb. "I can. If you tried harming one of my Duel Spirits, I'd have to kick your ass." he said, and Hades rolled his eyes.
Later that night, Pierre and Axel practiced constantly on an abandoned highway, their duel runners capable of moving at top speed on the long strip of asphalt. After one of their many duels, Pierre blinked, his duel runner engaging itself for another duel without Axel's doing the same. "Axel, did you engage Duel Mode on your Runner?" he asked, and Axel frowned, his face starting to fade from Pierre's screen. "No. Who are you dueling?" he asked, and Pierre froze, Axel's face, and their communication, being cut off. "I…. I don't know." Pierre said, noticing that Axel was nowhere to be seen. A black Duel Runner sped by him, and the duel began.
Axel cursed, immediately contacting his father. "What is it?" Jack asked, sounding angry, which he was. "Me and Pierre were out training and he was ambushed by another duelist. They're in the middle of their duel now, but I can't find him for some reason." he said, beginning to panic at the deeply cross look his father gave him. "Look for a signal, a sound, something. Keep searching while I contact Crow and the others." he said, cutting himself off before Axel could respond, the young duelist hearing a scream, identifying it as Pierre's, kicking his Duel Runner into Overdrive, a state where Dueling functions would shut down to increase focus on actual speed, and shot in the direction of Pierre's scream as fast as he could.
After Hades headed back to his own house, Ankh and his spirits had all settled in for the night, with Ankh actually falling asleep next to Milla, with Wolfguard laying on their feet. Dharc, however, found himself restless, and walked out of the room quietly, exploring the house before settling down on the living room couch. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned around to see Ankh's mother standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand. He hesitated, but soon stood up and walked over to her, the woman picking up his footsteps rather quickly. "Hello Dharc." she said, the Charmer nodding kindly in return. "Hello Ms. Kodomo. I just wanted to apologize for fighting with Ankh and injuring him earlier." he said, and she tilted her head slightly. "Ankh had no injuries. What did you do?" she asked. "If I remember correctly, there was a cut across his forehead, and his shoulder rotted away." he said, and she sighed. "He must have gotten healed somehow." she deduced, shaking her head. Dharc began to turn around before Ankh's mother stopped him. "What are your intentions with my son?" she asked, and he turned around.
"My initial plans were to kill him in his sleep and break the spell put on me, but after spending the day with both him and my sister, now I'm just happy to finally have people that care about me again." he said, and she smiled, nodding as he headed back out to the couch, curling up in the corner and soon falling asleep.
How the hell did I end up in this bloody situation? Axel asked himself as he glanced to his lifepoints, which were just one hundred. "After I defeat you, you will join your friend in eternal damnation." Axel heard, the cryptic words coming from his opponent, who had managed to take control of his Hot Red Dragon Archfiend in order to take control of the duel, which he had done almost as quickly as he did with Pierre. Axel cursed, realizing that he honestly had no chance of turning this duel around. "Who are you, and why are you doing this!?" he asked, and the man scoffed. "I am the voice of all of the abused Duel monsters in the Spirit World! Their world is in turmoil, and yet all you humans continue to do is call upon them over and over again with no regard for their well being! And for this, you all must pay! First with your friend who used Blackwing monsters, and now you, who dares to tarnish the legacy of the Hot Red Dragon Archfiends!" he shouted, his passion causing his words to bear down on Axel like an anvil. "And right now, my Dragon will secure victory for me, and I will have stopped another duelist from overusing the poor Duel Monster Spirits!" he shouted before the Dragon surged at Axel one final time.
Done! Thank you all for waiting lol. I would have been done sooner, but my ability to travel to the library was cut off by repetitive winter storms…. In FEBRUARY BREH, FEBRUARY! SMFH! But anyway, I hope you enjoy this. It took a lot of planning and a lot of sporadic thinking as well. If you have any questions or concerns, PM me, leave it in a review, or hit me up on Twitter Big_Boss_Flurb or on /JiroUchiha. Thanks for all of your consistent views and support, Jiro 'The Ghetto Shaman' Uchiha, One Twisted Fuck Inc.