Yu-Gi-Oh: Dueling's Demise
Chapter 9: Power With a Price! The King of Boulders Rises!
Pulse began to fly higher and higher into the sky until he was hidden behind the clouds. He stopped for a moment to sit on a cloud, still carrying Nero. He placed Nero next to him and pulled out a first aid kit from Nero's pack. Pulse looked at the medication in his hand and shrugged off the notion to use it. He tossed it out of his hand where it hurtled towards the ground where it hit the head of a Marauding Captain. Pulse's hand started to glow a green light, which he placed on Nero's newly teared up chest. Slowly, the chest started to patch itself back up. The unconscious Nero slowly started coming to. He blinked his eyes as he slowly turned his head in multiple directions to see his new surroundings.
Finally, Nero asked, "Pulse...how the hell are we sitting on a cloud?"
"Anime logic.", Pulse responded quickly.
"But we're not in an anime...we're in a story-", Nero began, before he was cut off by an exasperated Pulse.
"We're a story BASED off of an anime, now stop breaking the fourth wall.", Pulse interrupted.
"But what walls are you talking about? We're in the goddamn sky if you haven't noticed. I mean, we're sitting on a cloud.", Nero objected.
"WE ARE SITTING ON A CLOUD HEALING YOU BACK UP. END. OF. STORY.", Pulse angrily spat back.
"Cripes man, sorry. Didn't mean to hit a nerve there...", Nero apologized.
"Ugh...it's fine. Sorry, I'm just tired.", Pulse explained. "That last battle where we got a new slit opened wasn't really as climactic as I thought it would be."
The two sat in silence as Pulse continued healing up the giant chest gash and other minor wounds they suffered in their last battle. After he was done, Pulse picked a sleeping Nero back up and descended towards solid ground. They touched down just as Nero was beginning to wake up.
He started rubbing his chest, muttering, "Fahk. Getting your chest sliced into mincemeat hurts like a mother."
"You're telling me.", Pulse replied with annoyance laced in his voice.
Meanwhile back at the Arena, Eclipse was furious. He had blackmailed Gottoms into winning for the Dragon Rulers. He even had the master power up his sword for him, yet he STILL lost. Eclipse wasn't just furious. He was as outraged as a Halo player dying because of lag. He grumbled something and disappeared in a puff of black smoke. He rematerialized in a wasteland. There were next to no natural features, save for some dirt mounds, some piles of rocks, and a couple of tumbleweeds that rolled almost endlessly in a straight line. However, there was one feature that made the place somewhat interesting – a giant cave opening. Eclipse inched towards its opening where was met with an echoing grumble from the back of the cave.
"Um...Redox? Please don't be angry with me, but master needs you!", Eclipse squeamishly shouted down into the cave's maw.
"Master...why has HE called upon me? Why did he send YOU to do his dirty work?", a voice retorted back in rage.
"The child has beaten Gottoms...Master is requiring YOU to clean up this mess.", Eclipse responded, now with a bit of confidence in his still squeaky voice.
Redox thought about this for a second before responding, "Is he still weakened?"
"He is most surely! Gottoms sliced his chest open with the sword!", Eclipse shouted back reassuringly.
Redox pondered this for a moment – he could finally be free of this wretched wasteland he was forced to call "home". In this case, "home" was about as good as a prison cell. He could finally get the man the rest of his kind called, "Master" to leave him alone once in a while to do some work himself.
Finally, Redox responded, "Fine. But let him know I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it to get the hell out of here.".
In the back of the cave, a deep crater began to form around Redox that caused him to start sinking into the earth.
Meanwhile, Eclipse was twiddling his fingers together in a stereotypically evil fashion. He knew that even if Redox would somehow fail, Nero would still have hardships ahead.
Nero and Pulse were now exploring the Arena they had just battled in. Now, there was no one left there. The stands were empty and barren. The once greatly filled arena had become a ghost town. The duo were looking around, trying to see if anything there was worth it for them to stay. Suddenly, a deep voice behind them shouted, "Earth Shackles!"
Clumps of the ground hardened around Pulse's ankles and wrists.
Nero shouted in distraught, "Pulse!"
The voice called out, "Oh, and to make sure you can't escape...Boulder Trap!"
At the same alarming rate that the chains appeared, the ground started to create a dome around Pulse. In almost an instant, Pulse was trapped inside.
Nero pounded on the dome shouting, "Pulse! Are you alright?"
"Why yes I am! I'm doing just FAN. TUCKING. FASTIC.", Pulse sarcastically remarked.
Nero started to snicker loudly. "Hey Pulse...", he began
"Do not do what I think you're about to do Nero. I swear to God, if you make a rock pun I will strike you down as soon as I get out of here!", Pulse threatened.
"Looks like you're stuck between...a rock and a hard place!", Nero jockingly mocked aloud.
"GODDAMNIT NERO!", Pulse shouted in anger.
"Well, better introduce myself!", the voice chuckled aloud. Nero was then face to kneecap with a giant behemoth. It stood at an alarming height...like, taller than Everest. Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. Anyways, its back was full of jagged rocks jutting out of his body. Near his head was what looked like two giant tree stumps. He had a row of pristine, whitened teeth that were stuck in a lockjaw grin. His tail was made up of rock segements, where it tipped off that the end with more jutting rocks. Its hands/front legs were rough and burly. Each hand/paw/thing held a set of massive claws that seemed to also be made from the boulders it seemed it eat for breakfast. It's menacing red eyes were small and beady. Despite their size, they were still intimidating on a giant mass of rock.
It called out in a booming voice, "I am Redox, the Dragon Ruler of Boulders. I will be the first and last Dragon Ruler you face, Nero. Now, bow down to me and I won't take your life!"
Nero was dumbfounded. Little could he figure out why a mountain had just chained up his friend and put him in a glass dome (minus the glass), but now he was surprised that the mountain was talking to him. Despite this, he retained his cool.
"Sorry Redox, but I'm making sure the Dragon Ruler's reign of total control ends here. I will not bow down to you, and you will surely NOT be the last Dragon Ruler I face.", Nero called out to the dragon. "I wasn't afraid of Blaster, and I'm sure as hell not afraid of you. But please, get down here and stop blocking out the sun fatass!"
Redox was significantly surprised by the "fatass" comment.
His voice boomed out in anger, "What did you call me you runt?!"
"You heard me.", Nero reassured him as he stood his ground. "Oh wait, maybe you couldn't since you're the height of Mount FUCKING Everest. Lay off the fast food and maybe you could hear better."
"I will NOT be mocked by some stupid, ignorant child!", Redox called out again. "Besides, you couldn't take a Dragon Ruler down by yourself. The only reason you beat Gottoms was because of your chained up friend. Oh, by the way Pulse, I love how you're reenacting the plot of The Simpsons Movie."
"Well FUCK you too Redox.", Pulse called out from his cell. "Although, maybe you should grow down to human size. I mean, being the size of Mount Fuji trying to take down someone less than one 64th the size is like trying to catch dust mites in a jar."
Redox thought about the suggestion. He seemed to have liked it, because now he was shrinking down to a more manageable size. Now, he still stood above Nero, but only by about a foot or two. He also looked much more human in figure and not the freak of nature that he was earlier.
His red, beady eyes glared at Nero as he commanded, "Well, pick your weapon."
Redox held out his hands as the earth began to form around them. The rocks and dirt became two long rapiers whose handles conformed around his wrists. Nero held his hand out as light seemed to be attracted to it. The light began to take shape and become the Star Saber he had used against Gottoms. Now, it was slightly longer and seemed to curve near the end like a katana. Its blue aura had now turned into a deeper cobalt shade and its handle was now a dark shade of gray.
Redox was confused and asked, "How did you make your weapon appear? You aren't fused with anyone."
Nero shrugged. He didn't even know. Maybe he still had some remnants of power left in him. As he looked around for any possible explanation, he saw a figure walking through the stands. He wore a brimmed almost cowboy-like hat that covered most of his face. His body was covered in a cloak, but Nero could faintly see the shape of a gun around his hand.
Redox snapped Nero out of sightseeing tour, asking, "Well, are you ready to die?"
Nero turned back to face his opponent with a wild grin, replying, "More than I'll ever be." He readied his weapon and yelled, "En garde!"
Redox, despite his size, moved at great speeds. His sword slammed into Nero's with incredible force. At one point, Nero was afraid his sword might break from the force applied. Either way, Nero struggled to fight against Redox and his brute force. It was almost like his recent battle against Gottoms, except he was now in the X-Saber's shoes. Nero was sorrowly outmatched, and he was quickly disarmed. Redox didn't go into in for the kill. Instead, he held out his blades in front of him.
He called out, "Revive, Grande!" The earth started to slowly form around Redox. When the remaining earth fell away, he had no longer looked like a dragon. He was mighty figure whose very body seemed to rise out of the earth. "I don't think you know my true form. I am the Elemental Lord! Grandsoil!" He created two giant boulders out of the ground and threw them at Nero, shouting, "Time for some target practice!"
Nero sidestepped the first stone and slid under the first. However, this was only the first in a giant barrage of boulders that were targetted at Nero. He was able to sidestep some, but was grazed by others. One was chucked right at him, and he ducked. He took cover behind some boulders that had left openings in the stands. His breaths was shallow and short. His disarmed weaponry had seemingly dissapeared within the piles of boulders that now littered the stadium. He could see Redox/Grandsoil holding a huge hammer in his hands banging all the boulders. As soon as a boulder was hit, it would dissolve into dust. Nero could see his life flashing before his eyes. His scene was interrupted by the same cloaked man he saw earlier. He recognized the hat, the cloak, and the eyes from when he would play his Six Samurai deck.
"Gagaga...Cowboy?", Nero asked.
"Bingo kid.", he replied. "Now fuse with me. It's going to be the only way you can take him down. With my powers added with your still stored light powers, we can take him down together."
Nero was hesitant to go with his plan. "How do I know I can trust you?"
The cowboy shook his head, saying under his breath, "I'm offering to help while you're about to be killed. Yeah, I'm totally a bad guy."
Nero pondered the thought before nodding towards Gagaga Cowboy. Cowboy's eyes lit up with glee. He gripped Nero's wrist as a brown light surrounded the two. When the light faded, Nero came out from his hiding spot to face Redox/Grandsoil. He now wore Cowboy's outfit, except instead of a cloak he wore a black leather longcoat. His trigger fingers were itching, ready to fire. He no longer wanted to hide. He was back to being cool and collected. He was finally ready to face his opponent.
Well, here we go! Nero's finally ready to take down the Elemental Lord with the help of Gagaga Cowboy. So what happens now? Find out next time on Dueling's Demise! Oh, and I've been trying out different episode titles. I'd like some feedback, if you guys can, on what you like. Would you like to see titles like from the previous chapters, or titles like one from this chapter? Respond in the comments below. Besides that, tell me what I can do to make the story better. We've gone through ten chapters so far (woot!) and I'd like to say thanks for the support! Let's see if we can keep it going and make it better! So until next time, later people!