Cool. I'm updating on a Sunday for the first time in a while. Yay!
Anyway, thank you to StrawHatLuffy94, bobmanv2.0, Guest, dragonrider90, Cloud4012, DarkZorua100, SuperNeos2, decode9, Sorcerer of the Stories, EndlessNight025, Lightclaw's Shadow, iloveyugiohGX93, Kamen Rider Sting and a1993 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.
And, as usual, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader and very good at writing up duels.
This chapter is the first of a four-part chapter, separated by other 'filler' chapters that are necessary for the plot. The next two chapters do not have duels in them but they are very important for this story as well as for the seasons to come.
I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
9
Revenge, Part I
Alexis groaned, lifting her head slowly off the ground. She didn't remember much other than being grabbed as suddenly as she had been. There had been a searing pain and then darkness and now she had no idea where she was. She slowly pushed herself to her feet and gazed around; the floor seemed to be empty with shafts of sunlight streaming in from the windows.
"You're awake," a cool voice said and Alexis whirled around to find a dark figure gliding soundlessly toward her, stepping into a shaft of sunlight so that she could make out his features. He was tall with shoulder-length lavender-colored hair framing his lightly tanned oval-shaped face and dark-green eyes that were hard and cold like ice.
"Who are you?" Alexis demanded.
The man smirked, folding his arms across his chest. "Didn't you hear your precious boyfriend greet me by name?" he said, curling his upper lip in a sneer.
The Cyber Girl duelist narrowed her eyes. "So you're Kaage Naka," she said.
The man bowed mockingly. "At your service, beautiful lady," he purred.
Alexis felt the sudden urge to smack him in the face. "Where am I? And why did you bring me here?" she demanded.
"Simple." Kaage held out his arm and Alexis watched as a Battle City-styled duel disk came to life; the sunlight caused the golden bracelet around his wrist to glisten.
Wait, that looks like a Shadow Charm, she thought warily. "You want to duel me?" she said.
"Of course," Kaage said with a cool smirk, his free hand fingering the necklace that Alexis noticed was hanging around his neck; crystals in the shape of diamonds, six of which were glowing with an inner golden light.
"Why?"
"Tsk, tsk. Why would I tell you that?"
"If you don't, then I see no reason to duel you," Alexis snapped. "And besides, your brother tried to kill my boyfriend's mother."
"And your precious boyfriend murdered my brother and my friends and nearly me," Kaage snarled back.
It wasn't him, not exactly, Alexis thought. She didn't think Kaage would care about that, or believe her anyway, but she had to know a few other things, based on what happened recently. "Why attack those others, then? The Princetons, those four random people?" she said.
Kaage shrugged. "It was fun," he said.
Wow, he's a psycho. Alexis folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not dueling you, though," she said firmly.
Kaage let out a cool chuckle. "Oh, I had the feeling you would say 'no' so, this time, I was prepared." He walked over to the wall and flicked on the lights and Alexis gasped, eyes widened with shock when she spotted the brown-haired boy she recognized in an instant tied to a chair nearby.
Atticus!
"What did you do to him?" Alexis shouted, turning her gaze from her unconscious brother to the lavender-haired psycho who was now leaning against the wall, watching her.
"He's only unconscious," Kaage said dismissively. "I took him to ensure that you agreed to duel me. It's rather simple, Alexis, you duel me and your brother lives, you refuse to duel me, and your brother dies." He waved his hand toward something and Alexis followed his gesture to see something dangling above Atticus's head; a crate of some sort.
She swallowed. She didn't want to know what was in that crate but, at the same time, she didn't know if Kaage was bluffing or not. "You're bluffing," she said, turning back to Kaage.
"Am I?"
The Cyber Girl duelist bit her lip. She didn't know, but she couldn't risk the fact that Kaage might not be bluffing. It was just a duel but, at the same time, Alexis didn't know what else Kaage had planned.
"So, what's it going to be? Duel me or watch your brother die?" Kaage said coolly.
Alexis ground her teeth together. She didn't have a choice. She couldn't risk it, not when Atticus's life was on the line. "Fine, you psycho," she growled.
"I knew you would see things my way." The psycho walked over to a crate and pulled out a duel disk before tossing it across to Alexis, who caught it. She had her deck with her but she hadn't brought her duel disk with her to Hawaii.
Kaage then pulled out a phone; it took Alexis a moment to realize it was her phone. "Let's see if he can find us before this ends," he murmured, typing something on the phone before tossing it on top of a nearby crate.
"Shall we get started?" he added.
"Fine. When I win, though, Atticus goes free," Alexis said, wondering what he had just done, but she decided against asking.
"Very well then."
Alexis strapped on the duel disk and inserted her deck before looking toward her brother's unconscious form. "I'll get you outta here, Atty," she said quietly before she turned to Kaage as her duel disk turned on. "Let's get this over with."
"Let's," Kaage agreed with a smirk.
"Duel!" The two of them drew their opening hands.
Kaage: 8000
Alexis: 8000
"I will start," Kaage said calmly, drawing his sixth card. "And I will set this card in facedown Defense Mode and end with that. Your move, girl."
A horizontal facedown card appeared at his feet.
"Fine, check this out," Alexis said, drawing a card and then picking a card in her hand before placing it on the duel disk. "I summon Cyber Tutu in Attack Mode."
Her pink-haired ballerina spun onto the field (A: 1000/D: 800).
"Now, Cyber Tutu, attack Kaage's set monster, Pounding Pirouette," Alexis ordered and her ballerina spun across the field before kicking the facedown, causing it to flip up to reveal a creepy blue jar with a creepy grin showing yellow teeth and a single, large red eye (A: 700/D: 600).
"This is my Morphing Jar. Flipping it up activates its effect. We discard our entire hands and then draw five cards," Kaage said.
Alexis bit her lip in irritation as she discarded her hand and drew five new cards as Cyber Tutu returned to her side of the field and Morphing Jar shattered; Kaage also drew five new cards before he smirked.
"And, because I discarded him from a card effect, I can now activate Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World's effect to Special Summon him to the field in Attack Mode," Kaage added, retrieving the card from his Graveyard and placing it on his duel disk.
A pale-blue and white fiend with its skull exposed wielding a white sword appeared on the field, holding his sword as if ready to attack (A: 1600/D: 1300).
"And Broww, Huntsman of Dark World's effect also activates, allowing me to draw one card," Kaage added and drew one card.
"Fine, I place one card facedown and end my turn," Alexis added and a vertical facedown appeared at her feet.
. . .
Jaden was, understandably, concerned and would not stop pacing. Only about ten minutes had gone by since Alexis was taken and Jaden was wringing his fingers, trying to figure out what to do. He had to find his girlfriend before something happened to her. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.
"Judai, pacing is not going to help," Raiden said.
"I have to find her," Jaden said.
"Pacing is not going to help us find her, though."
Jaden sighed. "I know," he said. "But I have no idea where she can be. She won't answer her phone," he said. "But I don't understand. He wants me to find her. How am I supposed to find her when I don't even have an idea of where to look?"
A phone beeped and Jaden glanced toward it as Raiden picked up Jaden's phone and opened it. "It's a text from Alexis's phone," he said.
Jaden's eyes widened and he immediately moved forward. "What does it say?" he asked.
Raiden opened up the message. "It's instructions," he said, "to someplace here in Honolulu, I'm guessing. That's probably where Alexis is."
"Well, let's go, then," Jaden said immediately, grabbing his phone out of his brother's hands and his deck.
"Slow down, Slacker. We don't even know if Alexis is really there," Chazz said.
"Chazz is right. You could be walking right into a trap," Kasumi said.
Jaden shook his head. "Kaage said he wanted me to watch what happens to Alexis," he said. "She needs help. If she ends up like Slade, Jagger, and the others…" He trailed off, hand gripping into a fist. "I've gotta find her before that happens."
He turned and immediately left the hotel room, heading toward the elevator.
"Judai! Wait up!" Raiden called, running after him with Kasumi, Chazz, Kyle, Arina and Celina just after him. He caught up with Jaden just as he reached the elevator. "I'm going with you."
"Me, too," Kasumi said.
"I'm going, too. Alexis is my cousin," Kyle said.
"Alexis is our friend, too," Arina said and Chazz nodded in agreement.
Jaden gazed at them. "I won't be able to talk you outta coming with, huh?" he said.
"Nope," Kasumi said, shaking her head.
"All right, fine but let's get moving." Jaden slipped into the elevator followed by the rest of the gang and Celina, though no one thought to ask why Celina was going with them.
. . .
"My draw," Kaage said calmly, drawing a card before placing it on his duel disk. "And I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World in Attack Mode."
A crazy looking blue fiend with green skeletal-like arms in a dark-blue robe appeared on the field with a mad cackle (A: 1800/D: 400).
"Brron, attack Cyber Tutu," Kaage ordered, and his Fiend, with a cackle, shot forward and struck Cyber Tutu, destroying her.
Kaage: 8000
Alexis: 7200
"And since I dealt battle damage to you, I can now discard a card," Kaage said, discarding a card before adding, "and because I discarded my Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World by a card effect, I can now target one card on your field and destroy it."
Alexis's facedown shattered.
"And now Beiige, attack Alexis directly," he ordered and his vanguard fiend shot forward before slashing its sword across Alexis's chest, causing her to scream in agony.
Kaage: 8000
Alexis: 5600
She fell to her knees, gasping, her eyes wide with shock and pain. I felt that, she thought before lifting her head to look at Kaage, who was chuckling, eyes alit with glee. "This is a Shadow Game," she whispered.
"Indeed it is," Kaage kept on snickering as he ended his Battle Phase. "I activate the effect of Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World. When he is in my Graveyard, I can return one Dark World monster on my field to my hand in order to Special Summon him straight to the field. So I return Beiige back to my hand."
He removed the card that was placed on the duel disk and then retrieved a card in his Graveyard before placing it on his duel disk.
"Now, come forth, Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!" Kaage declared.
Alexis gasped as a fiendish dragon-like creature appeared with a roar onto the field behind Kaage; it was a metallic gray color with large dark-gray wings and glowing orange eyes (A: 2700/D: 1800).
"I end my turn," he purred.
Forcing herself to her feet, Alexis winced, resting a hand on her chest. "I…It's my turn," she said, drawing a card and smiled a little when she saw what it was. "And I start by activating Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater in my hand in order to summon Cyber Blader in Attack Mode."
Her skater with the purple jumpsuit and her red-haired dancer appeared momentarily before they fused together to create Alexis's blue-haired Fusion Monster (A: 2100-4200/D: 800).
"And, check this, her effect depends on the number of monsters on your side of the field. Since you have two, her attack is doubled," Alexis explained.
Kaage's brow creased, but he otherwise remained silent.
"Cyber Blader, attack Brron with Whirlwind Rage!" Her Cyber Blader immediately spun across the field before a foot lashed out and connected with Brron, causing the Fiend to growl in pain and shatter.
Kaage: 5600
Alexis: 5600
"And since you only control one monster now, Cyber Blader can't be destroyed by battle," Alexis added. "I will end my turn with that." (A: 4200-2100/D: 800)
. . .
"There is still no sign of where Atticus can be," Detective Coral said, glancing at the three adults who were seated around her.
Matt sighed, snaking an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Do you think that Atticus is right about what he told Emily? That the psycho who is behind all these attacks was the one that kidnapped him?" he asked.
"I do not know," Coral said. "But it's possible."
"If Kaage really does have Atticus, then he's in a lot of danger," Kaede said. "But I don't think he'll do anything to Atticus."
"How do you figure that?" Emily asked.
"I think he might be using Atticus to draw me and my family out. Atticus is one of Jaden's and Raiden's friends, after all, and if Kaage was smart, he did his research before he came here."
"That's supposing he is going after you and your family," Matt said. Granted, you do know him so it is likely, he thought. He was always good about keeping a level-head while in the middle of a crisis. It wasn't as if this was the first time that Matt had ever dealt with a crisis. Like Kaede, he did work in law enforcement, and still worked there, and so had handled situations like this. This one hit closer to home though because his niece and nephew were in the middle of it but Matt wasn't about to let that prevent him from thinking over things rationally.
"And we don't know for sure if he is doing that," Matt added, thinking about everything they knew. "You and your family have no connection with the others who were attacked, after all, with the exception of the Princetons, and that's only because Chazz is one of your children's friends."
"Yeah, but he's a psychopath. Who knows what a psychopath is thinking at any given moment?"
And yet you didn't warn any of us that this could happen, Matt thought angrily before taking a calming breath. Concerned though he was about his niece and nephew, getting angry with Kaede wouldn't make matters any better.
"He's got a point," Coral said. "So we have to consider the fact that Kaage Naka could be going after Mr. Yuki's family? Are they still at the hotel?"
"They should be," Matt said.
"We should call to be sure," Emily said, already pulling out her phone. She dialed the number and it rang several times, but no one answered. "Alexis isn't answering." She tried Kyle while Kaede pulled out his phone and called Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi.
"My children aren't answering, either," he said worriedly as he hung up.
"Neither is Kyle," Emily said, dialing Keith's number and putting the phone to her ear.
"Hello?" Keith's voice said.
"Thank God you answered, Keith," Emily said, relieved.
"Mom? What's the matter?" Keith asked.
"Where's your brother and cousin, Keith? And their friends? They're not answering their phones."
"I don't know. I went to take a walk. Kyle's not answering?"
"No."
"Hold on. Bakura, can you call Celina? No one else seems to be answering their phones."
"All right," a quiet voice said in the background.
"Bakura's calling Celina now. She was with them when I left," Keith said. "But what's the matter, Mom?"
Emily hesitated and then said, "We're just checking to see if they're still at the hotel."
"She answered, Keith," Bakura said in the background.
"Where is she? And where are the others?"
There was a moment of silence, then: "She sounded out of breath. She said something about finding Alexis and that it was hard for her to talk and run at the same time, so she hung up," Bakura said.
"Finding Alexis?" Keith echoed.
"Finding Alexis?" Emily echoed at the same time. Oh God, is she missing too? she thought worry filtering through her at the thought of her niece being gone like her nephew.
"That's what Celina said, Keith."
"Did she say if she was with the others?"
"I heard someone in the background, so I think she was," Bakura said.
"Okay, thanks, Bakura. I'm sorry, Mom, but I think they all left the hotel," Keith said.
"Okay, thank you, Keith. Please, stay in the hotel for now. We'll find everyone else," Emily said.
"Okay," Keith said and hung up.
"Keith thinks they left the hotel," Emily said, lowering her phone.
"And you said something about finding Alexis," Matt said.
"That's what I overheard Bakura saying Celina—you know that girl that Kyle became friends with?—said. I don't know what he meant, though," Emily said. Oh I hope she's all right, she thought.
. . .
Jaden, Raiden, Kasumi, Arina, Kyle, Chazz and Celina dashed across the street toward the warehouse that was their final destination. It had taken a little while to find the warehouse following the instructions Kaage had sent. Thankfully, they were rather straight forward and the gang was able to take a few taxis to an area close to the warehouse's location. They ran the rest of the way.
"This is it," Jaden said, gazing at the warehouse.
"Looks…like…it," Kasumi gasped, bending over and resting her hands on her knees as she struggled to get her breath back.
"Sorry, Kas," Jaden said, glancing at his sister worriedly.
"I'm okay," Kasumi assured him as she straightened.
The gang walked into the warehouse after that and Jaden immediately gazed around, until he spotted his girlfriend. "Alexis?" he called, jogging forward.
"You should stop before you get too close, little monster," Kaage's voice sneered and Jaden skidded to a halt before glaring at the man standing across from Alexis; lavender-purple hair, wild dark-green eyes; he looked very much like he had when Jaden last saw him.
"Kaage," Jaden said coolly.
Kaage's lips pulled back into a sinister grin. "You got here just in time to watch your little girlfriend fall, little monster," he said.
Jaden growled. "Let her go, Kaage," he snapped, golden eyes flashing.
Kaage smirked and shook his head. "Once a Shadow Game begins, little monster, it cannot end until someone wins," he said with a smirk. "And you cannot interfere. If you do, it will be considered an automatic forfeit on your precious girlfriend's side."
Jaden growled, though he knew Kaage was right.
"It's worse, Jaden," Alexis said.
"What?"
Alexis pointed and the gang turned to find Atticus tied to a chair, unconscious.
"Atticus," the gang gasped.
"What did you do to him?" Jaden demanded.
"Relax, little monster, he's just unconscious," Kaage said with a sneer. "Now then, shall we get on with the duel, beautiful lady?"
Jaden's hands clenched into fists and Raiden, noticing, placed a calming hand on Jaden's arm.
"It's your move, psycho," Alexis said coolly.
"Very well then," Kaage said, drawing a card. "I activate the Field Spell: The Gates of Dark World," he added, inserting the card into his Field Spell slot. The ground shuddered and a giant gate rose up from the ground behind Kaage and Grapha and fog swirled around his feet while lightning crackled around them.
'Dark World cards. That's a surprise,' Haou murmured.
Why? Jaden thought.
Haou seemed to be deep in thought and didn't respond.
"With this in play, all Fiend-type monsters gain 300 Attack and Defense," Kaage said as his Grapha was surrounded by lightning and he growled as his power increased (A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100).
"I'll now activate my Field Spell's additional effect," he went on. "By banishing a Fiend-Type monster in my Graveyard, I can discard one Fiend-Type monster in my hand and then draw a card."
With that, he removed Broww in his Graveyard from play, discarded Beiige from his hand, and then drew a card.
"And since Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World was discarded from my hand due to a card effect, he's once again Special Summoned to the field."
The sword-wielding pale-blue and white fiend returned to the field (A: 1600-1900/D: 1300-1600).
"Next, I'll summon Zure, Knight of Dark World in Attack Mode," he said.
A fiendish knight with a tattered black cloak around his shoulders appeared on the field (A: 1800-2100/D: 1500-1800).
"But since you now have exactly three monsters on your field, my Cyber Blader's third effect, Shining Cyber Light, activates, which negates all of your Spell, Trap, and monster effects," Alexis cut in as Cyber Blader's body started to glow with a bright light that overpowered Kaage's Field Spell, returning the Attack and Defense of his three Fiends to their original values.
"A minor annoyance, but not one I'll have to worry about for long," Kaage smirked. "Grapha, destroy Cyber Blader!"
Grapha roared and lashed out with its claws and struck Cyber Blader, destroying her in an instant.
Kaage: 5600
Alexis: 5000
With Cyber Blader now gone, the darkness from The Gates of Dark World returned, empowering the Fields on the field once again (Grapha A: 2700-3000/D: 1800-2100) (Beiige A: 1600-1900/D: 1300-1600) (Zure A: 1800-2100/D: 1500-1800).
"Now, Beiige and Zure, attack her directly!" Kaage ordered.
The two remaining Fiends charged forward and struck Alexis with their weapons, causing her to scream in pain as she was sent flying to the ground as a result.
Kaage: 5600
Alexis: 1000
"Alexis!" Jaden cried.
Kaage laughed in glee as Alexis remained on the ground. "I knew this would be entertaining," he said, still laughing.
"You're sick!" Kasumi shouted, clenching her hand into a fist to the point that it started to heat up, but she managed to control her anger before she lashed out.
"How can you laugh at this?" Arina exclaimed.
"He's a sadistic bastard," Chazz growled.
"I end my turn with that," Kaage said with a smirk. "Can you even continue? Hmph, no surprise the little monster chose a weak girl like yourself as his girlfriend."
Jaden growled.
"I am…not weak and I…am still in this," Alexis gasped out as she pushed herself to her knees and slowly started to get to her feet. "It's my turn. I draw." She drew a card and looked at it before inserting it into her duel disk.
"I activate Card of Sanctity so that we each draw until we are holding six cards in our hands," she added and the two of them drew until they had a full hand.
"And next I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Cyber Blader in Attack Mode," she added and her blue-haired skater spun back onto the field (A: 2100/D: 800). Her light once again began to shine, rendering all of Kaage's card effects useless since he still had three monsters on the field.
"I'll then play The Warrior Returning Alive and use it to add Cyber Tutu back to my hand," Alexis went on as she did just that.
She then proceeded to Normal Summon the aforementioned monster, the leotard-clad ballerina took a bow as she retook the field (A: 1000/D: 800).
"And since all of the monsters on your field have Attack Points that are higher than Cyber Tutu's, she's allowed to wage a direct attack on you! Pounding Pirouette!"
Cyber Tutu launched into the air, performing a graceful front flip layout before landing in front of Kaage to give him a spinning back kick right on the shoulder.
Kaage: 4600
Alexis: 1000
"I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Prima Light," Alexis announced, holding out another card in the midst of her Battle Phase. "With this, I can tribute Cyber Tutu on my field in order to Special Summon Cyber Prima from my hand in Attack Mode."
Cyber Tutu was surrounded by a bright light before she vanished to be replaced by a white-haired woman with a red mask over his face in a silver bodysuit with yellow hoops around her shoulders, wrists and waist (A: 2300/D: 1600).
"And when Cyber Prima is summoned to the field, all Spell Cards on the field are destroyed," added Alexis. A bright light erupted from Cyber Prima, surging across the field and obliterated Kaage's Field Spell.
"Next, I'll have Cyber Prima attack Beiige!"
Her monster surged across the field before kicking the designated Fiend into oblivion.
Kaage: 3900
Alexis: 1000
"And now that you're down to two monsters, Cyber Blader's Attack Points are once again doubled," the Cyber Girl duelist noted, as her Blader's Attack rose to 4200.
She then ordered her remaining monster to attack Zure. Cyber Blader immediately obeyed, spinning across the field before roundhouse kicking the dark knight, blowing him clear off the field. She knew there was no point in going after Grapha, though it was the bigger threat, because Kaage could still revive it from the Graveyard since he still had Dark World monsters on the field.
Kaage: 1500
Alexis: 1000
With only one monster now on Kaage's field, Cyber Blader's power dropped back down to its original value.
"Finally, I'll set one card and end my turn," she ended, inserting a card into her duel disk.
Meanwhile, Atticus groaned and blinked open his eyes. He had to blink several times before they finally adjusted to the dim light around him. His head was throbbing, making him wonder how many times the psycho had hit him in the head, and his hand was still hurting from his broken fingers.
His eyes finally adjusted and they widened when he spotted Alexis standing across from the psycho; a duel disk on her arm was on and she had Cyber Prima and Cyber Blader floating in front of her.
"Alexis?" Atticus mumbled and then, raising his voice, called, "Alexis!"
"Atticus!" Alexis gasped. "Are you okay?"
Atticus groaned. "My head and hand hurt, but I'm fine," he said.
Alexis looked relieved.
"So touching," Kaage sneered as he drew a card. "I activate Dark World Dealings so now we each draw one card and then discard one card." He drew a card and discarded one of the cards in his hand just as Alexis did the same.
"Alexis, why are you dueling him? He's a psycho! There's no telling what he's gonna do," said Atticus.
"It's a Shadow Game, boy," Kaage said with a smirk. "And your little sister didn't have a choice."
Atticus glared at him. "You bastard. If you hurt her, I'll kick your ass," he snapped, struggling to break free.
"As I was saying," Kaage said, ignoring Atticus's words, "since I discarded my Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World with the effect of Dark World Dealings, I can now destroy one monster on the field. I'll go with your Cyber Blader."
A large, grey ape-like Fiend appeared from a dark void that suddenly opened up in the ground, seizing Cyber Blader in a vice grip before destroying her, taking her to the Graveyard along with him, making Alexis gasp.
"Next, I summon Snoww, Unlight of Dark World in Attack Mode."
A female Fiend with pale skin and white snaky hair appeared on the field, her shoulders draped in a white cloak (A: 1700/D: 0).
"Now, Grapha, attack Cyber Prima," the Dark World duelist said coolly and Grapha flew forward to attack.
"I activate my Negate Attack Trap," Alexis said, pressing a button on her duel disk to reveal her Trap, a barrier suddenly materializing in front of her monster to ward off Kaage's.
"You might have survived that round, but how much longer can you hold on, I wonder?" Kaage taunted as he inserted a reverse card into his duel disk before signaling the end of his turn.
"However long it takes to beat you, you freak," she snapped, drawing a card. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot so that we each draw three cards." They each drew three cards.
"And then I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown," the Cyber Girl duelist added and the mini-tornado spun across the field before sending Kaage's facedown flying into the air.
"Next, I'll summon Cyber Petit Angel in Defense Mode."
A little metallic pink angel with a golden halo around its head appeared on the field (A: 300/D: 200).
"And when this little fairy is summoned, I can add Machine Angel Ritual from my deck to my hand," she added, retrieving the card from her deck and then shuffling it. "I'll now activate it, Tributing my Cyber Prima and Cyber Petit Angel in order to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini!"
Cyber Prima and Cyber Petit Angel were surrounded by a white light before they vanished. In their place now stood a blue-skinned woman wearing a golden head covering over her crimson hair, orange armor, and black and yellow form-fitting tights, wielding two long swords and a fighting staff in her four hands (A: 2700/D: 2400).
"Cyber Angel Dakini's effect activates," Alexis proclaimed. "When she's successfully Special Summoned, my opponent has to select and destroy one of their monsters."
"I'll go with Snoww," Kaage growled before said creature was suddenly blasted off of the field.
"And finally I'll activate my Rush Recklessly to increase my Cyber Angel's attack by 700."
Dakini was surrounded by a light as her power increased (A: 2700-3400).
"Now, Cyber Angel Dakini, attack Grapha!" Alexis ordered and her monster shot forward before striking the dragon-like Fiend with her various weapons, destroying him.
Kaage: 800
Alexis: 1000
"I end my turn," Alexis finished, unable to do much else since her hand was now empty (Dakini A: 3400-2700).
"Keep it up, sis," Atticus shouted.
"You almost have him beat, Lex," Jaden said, satisfied.
Kaage laughed. "Don't think for one instant that I'm done," he said with a smirk. After he drew his next card, he grinned even wider.
"I don't like that look," Jaden whispered.
"And you are going to like this even less. I am going to enjoy this, though. I activate Lightning Vortex and, by discarding a card, all of your monster's are destroyed, Alexis," Kaage said, inserting the card into his duel disk and discarding a card. Strikes of lightning surged downward, crashing into and obliterating Dakini.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Gateway to Dark World, in order to Special Summon Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World from my Graveyard."
Out of a dark portal reemerged the draconic demon with a mighty roar (A: 2700/D: 1800).
"And now Grapha, attack the girl directly and end this duel!" Kaage ordered with a sadistic smile.
"Alexis!" Jaden cried as the Fiend surged forward and struck Alexis hard, causing her to cry out in pain and sending her flying back to the ground.
Kaage: 800 WINNER
Alexis: 0
Kaage laughed as he raised his arm, the golden bracelet around his wrist glowed brightly and Jaden watched in horror as Alexis started glowing as well before a tiny orb of light came out of her body and surged toward Kaage. He, with his other hand, held up a diamond-shaped crystal that absorbed the tiny orb of light.
"One down, three more to go," Kaage said with a sinister grin as Jaden dashed to his girlfriend's side and knelt down beside her.
"Lex! C'mon, Lex, wake up!" Jaden shouted shaking Alexis's shoulders but she remained motionless, her eyes closed and her skin pale and covered in bruises and cuts from the attacks; she was breathing slowly and steadily, but remained motionless.
"Don't bother on trying to wake her up," Kaage purred, letting the crystal he had been holding fall back onto his chest. "She won't. I told you I would tear her soul from her body, and that is exactly what I did. She will not be the first. I will make you suffer before I kill you, little monster."
Jaden glared at him. "Not if I kill you first, you bastard," he snarled, golden eyes flaring.
"Try it. You will find that I am much more powerful than I was when we last met. Until we meet again, little monster." With another maniacal laugh, Kaage vanished into the shadows.
Jaden lowered his head and cradled his girlfriend's body close to him, feeling the tears he had been trying to repress—he refused to cry in front of the psychopath—start to fall from his eyes.
Chazz, Arina and Celina jogged over to Atticus and immediately freed him. He wasted no time running over to his sister's side as Kyle also knelt by Alexis, eyes wide with shock.
"Sis!" Atticus cried, dropping to his knees beside Alexis. "Oh God, sis!"
Jaden looked at Atticus and Kyle. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."
"It's not your fault," Kyle said immediately. "It's Kaage's. He's the one that took big sis's soul." He gripped his hand into a fist as he added, "And he will not get away with this."
Jaden continued to cradle his girlfriend's body in his arms, eyes closed as he took a few deep breaths, knowing losing control of his emotions was one of the reasons why all of this was happening.
"C'mon," he whispered finally. "We should…we should get Alexis to the hospital."
Raiden gazed at his brother, knowing full well that Jaden was trying to keep his emotions under control. He could understand why; it had been really hard to watch that.
Atticus pushed himself to his feet with one hand. "I should probably go to the hospital, too," he said, glancing at the broken fingers.
"Did he do that to you?" Kyle said.
Atticus nodded slowly.
"The bastard," Jaden muttered, lifting his girlfriend into his arms so that her head rested on his shoulder. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. I'll get you back, Lex, I promise you that I will. Kaage will not get away with this, he thought.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: wow, I do feel bad for what I put the Rhodes siblings through. Poor them
Bakura: it's your own fault
Blaze: shut it or I will go through with my plan to incorporate Darkshipping into my You're Not Alone story that I'm working on
Bakura: you wouldn't dare!
Blaze: actually, I've already decided to do that. I like that pairing
Bakura: how could you like me paired with that idiotic Pharaoh? I'd rather be paired with the tomb keeper!
Blaze: I like that pairing too
Marik: hi
Yami: hello
Bakura: (growls and yanks out chainsaw)
Marik: whoa, whoa, whoa, what did I do?
Bakura: not you, him! (Glares at Yami)
Blaze: (smacks Bakura with rolled up newspaper) no, no killing my favorite characters
Viper: hello
Slade Princeton: hello
Jagger Princeton: hello
Blaze: kill them instead
Bakura: (grins and charges after Viper, Slade and Jagger)
Viper, Slade and Jagger: (scream and take off running)
Chazz: I feel I should feel bad for them
Jesse: I pity all the characters that Blaze hates
Jaden: so do I
Blaze: well, that was chapter 9 and the next chapter, which is a non-dueling chapter, will be posted next Sunday or Monday and, as always, reviews are much appreciated.
