YU-GI-OH!
A New Generation of Duelists
Lost In A Virtual World
By Dan Kuhlmeyer
"What's happening?" Kaiba asked as he looked at the computer. It showed digital images of the kids and showed that they were in danger. He looked at another computer that showed several serial numbers.
"I didn't design this. And why are the safety precautions turned off? Those kids will die with the game like this."
He began typing: "Access File KVG. User: SKaiba. Password: Katherine. Command: Shut down program."
After pressing "Enter", the words "Access Denied" appeared.
"Oh no. Someone rewrote the program and changed the game's password. But how? Only Derrick and I know the password. There's no way they could have had access."
Kaiba thought for a moment of how he could change the program.
"Of course! The back-up systems."
With that, he left the room.
Brian woke up and found himself outside a cave in a desert. As he looked at the entrance, he thought maybe he should enter. He didn't like the fact of wandering in a desert. It may have been a virtual desert, but it really did feel hot.
So he walked through the entrance. He was at first going through saber- shaped rocks, but the floor started to become smoother as he went through a dark hallway, where the light only came from torches hanging from the columns holding the ceiling. After going through another entrance, he found himself staring in amazement at an enormous labyrinth.
It seemed like the only way to the other side was through the maze. But it seemed like too big of a gamble. He was ready to leave but the doors behind him slammed shut, locking him in.
He took a deep breath and looked back at the maze.
"Well, I guess I have to solve this labyrinth."
So he walked to the start of the maze.
Derrick shook his head as he woke up and found himself in a forest. He suddenly heard a loud roar and thousands of people screaming. He ran to where the noise came from and found a village. He looked around and saw several building being burned by dark fire and several villagers running for their lives.
He heard the roar again. He turned to where it came from and saw a gigantic Tri-Horned Dragon looming over the village, breathing its black fire at the huts. Hundreds of knights riding horses tried to pierce it with lances, but the dragon kept slapping them out of the way with its enormous claw.
No longer standing the sight, Derrick ran straight towards the dragon. It snarled at him as he stood there facing it, not showing any fear what-so- ever.
"Run, boy!" a knight called out. "We ourselves can't fight this dragon."
"I'm not going to flinch. I can't stand by and watch this monster do terrible things."
He took out a card and held it in mid air.
"Go Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared and used its white lightning to destroy the Tri-Horned Dragon. Everyone stared in awe at Derrick as the dragon disappeared back into his card. The very same knight who told him to leave walked up to him with amazement in his face.
"A Duelist! I never thought I'd get the chance to meet one. Especially one so young and brave who had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"Thanks. But I need help. One of my friends has been kidnapped and I've lost my other friends."
"Don't worry, young sir. Our queen may be able to help."
One of the other knights brought Derrick a horse. He climbed on to the horse's back and followed the knight out of the village while the villagers were all waving goodbye to their new hero. They both rode their horses through a forest and stopped as they stared at an enormous, pearl-white castle.
"This is Creal," the knight told Derrick, "where our queen Katalyn awaits us."
They rode to the castle. After they past the gates, several servants and other knights greeted them. They jumped off of the horses as they stood before a woman dressed in gold.
"Has the dragon been destroyed, Sir Galentar?" she asked the knight.
"Aye, Your Majesty. But it is this young man who deserves the credit. He's a duelist and he fought the dragon with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
She turned from Galentar and stared at Derrick with awe.
"You have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Well if you saved us, then I am in your debt."
As her emerald green eyes stared into his eyes and her black hair was flowing with the wind, all the blood left Derrick's veins like he saw a ghost.
She looks like my....mom!
"Terrific!" Trevor complained as he and Amy were shivering in the snow. "Why couldn't we have crashed somewhere else? For virtual snow, it sure feels real."
"Seriously," Amy agreed with him. "I hate the snow. I spent my Spring Break in Alaska and I hated every minute of it."
Trevor kept shivering until an idea came to him.
"Wait a minute! If this snow feels like real snow, perhaps my Pyro Monsters can really feel hot."
So he took out a card and his Flame Cerebrus appeared. Trevor and Amy sat next to it and its fire made them feel warm. They rested for a while until they saw several Eskimos surrounding them with spears pointing at them.
After binding their wrists together, the Eskimos took them to a colony of Eskimos. One of them was speaking to an older one dressed in a more decorated fur coat in a bizarre language.
"You think they'd complain about us in English," Trevor mumbled.
"Maybe they don't know English."
"On the contrary," said the older Eskimo, "we understand English perfectly. Few of us speak it well. I am Erig, the chief of this colony. Answer why you have invaded our lands."
"We didn't invade it," Amy told him. "We were just dropped off here by accident."
Erig just stared blankly at them.
"One of our friends has been kidnapped," Trevor told him. "We tried to catch up to her but we got caught in a Dust Tornado and ended up here. We don't even know if our other two friends are alive."
Erig continued to stare at them without saying a word.
"I believe you are lying," he said to them. "You will be executed tomorrow at dawn."
With that, he spoke something to the Eskimos who captured them and they dragged them to a nearby igloo.
Brian continued walking through the maze without seeing anything. But he suddenly heard something that sounded like a drill, one that was coming closer. He turned to where the noise came from and saw what looked like a blue tank with a large drill moving quickly towards him.
"A Labyrinth Tank!" he gasped before he started running from it. He stopped running when he saw another one coming towards him.
Brian kept looking from one to another, afraid to do anything.
Brian, he heard Yami's voice, let me take over. I think I can handle this.
Alright.
The Millennium Puzzle glowed and Brian turned into Yami Brian. He drew a card.
"Go Magical Hats!"
A large hat covered Yami Brian. The tanks charged at the hat and destroyed it, but there was nothing there.
Yami Brian came out of a hat that was on the other side of the wall and continued running down the path. He suddenly stopped as a hideous green creature appeared before him.
Yami Brian then drew two cards. "Feral Imp! Attack with Horn of the Unicorn!"
The Feral Imp appeared with Horn of the Unicorn on its forehead. It shot out a blast of electricity and destroyed the Wall Shadow. Yami Brian continued running and was excited to see the exit. But once he was outside the maze, an enormous monster with a mix of gold, emerald, and sapphire slowly moved towards him.
The Gate Guardian! Brian gasped. I defeated this monster before. But back then I had Trevor's help. Without the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I can't create the Black Skull Dragon.
I know another way to defeat it, Yami said to him as he reached for his cards. I just hope Yugi still kept it in his deck.
He drew two cards and smiled at them.
"First, I summon Celtic Guardian and Feral Imp."
The Celtic Guardian and the Feral Imp appeared between Brian and the Gate Guardian.
"Next, I'll use this Magic Card: Black Luster Ritual."
A stone tablet with two swords carved into it and two torches on each side of it appeared behind both monsters. Each one was sucked into a torch.
"I'll offer both monsters to summon a powerful monster: the legendary Black Luster Soldier."
From the stone tablet, a warrior dressed in golden armor holding a wicked sword appeared and faced the Gate Guardian.
Wow! I never knew my dad had anything like that. But there's no way that can beat the Gate Guardian.
That's because I wasn't finished.
"Third, I will decrease Gate Guardian's Attack and hold it with Spell- Binding Circle."
The Spell-Binding Circle appeared and held the Gate Guardian in its place.
"And finally, Black Luster Soldier, destroy the Gate Guardian with Vengeance Strike!"
The Black Luster Soldier slashed its sword at the Gate Guardian and it shattered into several pieces.
A couple minutes later, Yami Brian found his way out of the cave. He stared in awe at the amazing forest he was standing in as he averted back to Brian.
"You there!" a voice called out.
Brian turned and saw a few knights on horse.
"Are you Brian Motuo?"
Michelle slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a dark chamber. She was beginning to feel hot when she noticed the lava pool surrounding the stone platform she was on. Once she noticed the stone bridge that led to two metal doors, she was ready to run to them. But she suddenly noticed she was chained to a gigantic boulder.
"So you've finally awaken," a sinister, feminine voice called out. She looked in front of her and saw what looked like the Mystical Elf, only dark.
"Dark Elf," Michelle sneered. "You're behind this?"
"Technically, no. I was, however, designed to have the very same personality as the master of this game."
"The master? You mean this is just the difficulty level Kaiba designed?"
The Dark Elf laughed. "No. Kaiba is no longer in charge of this game. My master is now. And her orders are to summon the Mythic Dragon. To do that I need a double offering."
"And I'm guessing that I'm one of the offering. But who's the other one?"
The Dark Elf snickered. "Isn't it obvious?"
Michelle thought for a while. Then it came to her.
"Your master is this force behind Mage and the other offering is Brian. At least we know our opponent's gender. But if you want Brian, why did you capture me and use that Dust Tornado to get rid of him and the others."
"We do want Brian and we can't have Kaiba's lone-wolf son and that idiot cousin of yours getting in the way. But why we captured you: that's for my master to know."
She kept cackling until she vanished into nothing.
"Good thing these Eskimos aren't very smart," Trevor said as he rubbed the ropes tied to his wrists against a spear. "Otherwise they wouldn't leave sharp tools with their prisoners."
"Think you can hurry up?" Amy asked him. "It's almost dawn."
That's when they heard a bone-chilling roar. It was followed by several people screaming.
"I wouldn't be worried about dawn," Trevor told her as he kept rubbing the ropes to the spear. The ropes were finally cut and Trevor's hands were free. He then used the spear to cut the ropes that bound his ankles together and finally freed Amy. They ran outside the igloo and saw a gigantic green dragon destroying igloos as several Eskimos ran from it.
"A Luster Dragon?" Amy spoke with surprise. "I read they eat emeralds not people."
The Luster Dragon saw Trevor and Amy and roared as it walked up to them.
"Tell him that," Trevor told her as he took out a card. "Its time to end this. And when I say time..."
Amy got what he was talking about when he held the card in mid-air. The Time Wizard appeared and pointed its time roulette at the Luster Dragon. The hand was spinning until it landed on a time machine. The Luster Dragon suddenly got older until it was fossilized.
Everyone started cheering as Trevor stood there with pride. Amy quickly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him in the cheek. Trevor was suddenly shocked.
"If I do that again, would you kiss me again?"
Amy just giggled. Erig and several Eskimo hunters walked up to them and knelt before them.
"You have saved our people. Please forgive us."
"I always say," Trevor stated, "always forgive and forget."
"We cannot thank you enough. But to start, we know how you might find the friend you say was kidnapped. She might have been taken to the Dark Island, where she might be sacrificed to summon the Mythic Dragon."
Amy and Trevor were shocked when they said Michelle might be sacrificed.
"But don't worry. Until they have the other sacrifice, she'll be fine."
"But how are we going to get to this island to save her?" Trevor asked.
"On the other side of the mountains, there is a ship frozen in the glaciers. If you can get it out, you shall be able to sail to the island. Keep going south once you set sail."
Two more Eskimos gave Trevor and Amy each a fur coat.
"To keep you warm until you get there," one of them said to them.
They took the coats and covered themselves with them.
"Thank you." Amy said to them.
"Farewell, my friends," Erig said to them. "We shall never forget you."
Trevor winked his eye. "Same here, buddy."
With that, Trevor and Amy headed off. Everyone waved as they shouted "farewell". And they smiled as they waved back at them.
Derrick told Queen Katalyn about his friends and she already began sending a search party for them. It relieved Derrick that he might see his friends, if they were still alive.
But it was hard to believe how much Katalyn resembled his mother. He almost hoped that she was brought back from the dead, but it was obvious that she was actually a virtual character designed by his dad.
"You are thinking about a loved one that you lost, aren't you?" he heard Katalyn's voice. He sadly nodded his head. "I know because several people lost loved ones. I have seen that look several times."
"Some people who hated my dad tried to kill him. They got my mom instead."
She looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. "You obviously miss her."
"I can't remember a second when I didn't think about her."
Galentar then entered the room.
"My Lady, Sir Derrick, pardon me but I have found Brian."
As he spoke, Brian came in. With excitement in there faces, both friends ran to each other and gave each other a high-five.
"I'm glad you're alright, Brian."
"Same to you, Derrick. But do you have anything on Michelle?"
Derrick's face then became worried.
"Unfortunately, I do. A bunch of monsters from a place called Dark Island is planning to summon a powerful monster called the Mythic Dragon. To do that, they need a double offering. They have Michelle and if the brains behind this is who we think it is, they want you for the other offering."
"Then we need to get to Dark Island and free her."
"It's risky, though. The entire island is guarded by hundreds of monsters. They could even overwhelm my Blue-Eyes."
"We have to get to that island." A grin then spread across his face. "I have a plan."
"Then I hope it's a good one."
Katalyn walked up to them. "If you two are going to battle, then perhaps I can interest you in wearing the battle armor of our history's greatest warriors."
Brian and Derrick were taken to a small room where they changed into different suits of armor. Derrick wore silver armor on his chest and a blue cape on his back. Brian's armor was golden and his cape was purple.
"Not bad," Derrick complimented himself as he looked at a mirror.
Brian also looked in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad at all. I think I look pretty good in this"
Derrick snickered as he elbowed Brian. "Yeah. And look at it this way: Michelle's being held prisoner in that dark and creepy castle, waiting for her knight in shining armor to rescue her and take her away on his white stallion."
Brian started blushing when Derrick called him "her knight in shining armor".
"Well the only difference is we're taking her away on a white dragon."
Brian looked at the pile of clothes on the floor and saw a leather wallet sticking out of Derrick's trench coat pocket. He took a look inside and saw a picture of a woman who looked exactly like Katalyn.
"Derrick, this woman in the picture, is she...?"
Derrick looked at Brian in shock. But his eyes sadly closed and he nodded his head.
"I've had that picture in my wallet ever since it happened. Every time I look at it, I remember how much fun I had when she was around. As well as how much I miss her."
"It must be hard to talk about her."
"Nah! It actually feels good. It was keeping it inside that made my pain worse. Sharing it with someone actually makes it feel better."
Brian took another look at the picture. "She looks just like Queen Katalyn. Your dad must miss her as much as you do if he based such a cool character on her."
Derrick smiled at him. "I guess I have to agree with you there. But enough of that. We'd better get going."
With that they both went out the door and headed outside the castle, where Katalyn, Galentar, and several knights and villagers waited for them. The knights and villagers cheered for them.
"We wish you luck in your quest my young heroes. Please return safely."
Both boys nodded.
"We will."
Derrick took out a card. "Go Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared and Derrick and Brian boarded it. It flapped its enormous wings as it lifted off the ground and headed to Dark Island.
Trevor and Amy finally made it to where Erig said the boat was.
"I don't see anything but ice," Trevor complained.
"Well he did say it was buried in the glaciers."
"Well that makes it easy to find," he said to her sarcastically.
Amy turned around and saw a red pole sticking out of the snow.
"Trevor!"
"You'd think they'd leave us a clue to where the ship is buried."
"Trevor."
"At least an 'X' to mark the spot."
"Trevor."
"We're going to be standing here all day looking for that ship."
"TREVOR!"
"WHAT?"
She pointed at the pole. "Do you think your Mr. Volcano can melt that ice?"
Trevor looked at it with embarrassment. But then he took out a card. Mr. Volcano appeared and shot out a stream of lava that melted the ice. It revealed a cave where a Skull Mariner was hidden. Once Trevor and Amy were aboard, Mr. Volcano used another stream of lava to melt the ice below the ship. The ship started setting sail. Trevor and Amy then turned and saw the Eskimos waving at them and they waved back as they headed for Dark Island.
"I've been thinking," Derrick told Brian.
"About what?"
"If our unknown foe managed to re-write the program, making the game totally difficult, what's stopping him from turning off the safety precautions?"
"Meaning...?"
"Once our life points are gone, we're really dead."
"So we need to be completely cautious. I just hope Trevor and Amy are okay."
"Me too. But what I want to know is how this happened. All of the files are password protected and only dad and I know the password. Not to mention they were programmed with a level ten shield, making it perfectly safe from hackers. The only way to access it is with the password. How could our unknown foe re-write the program?"
"For that matter, how did he know we were going to try that game?"
"I have absolutely no idea."
As the fog began to clear, they saw a horrifying island with a dark castle in the center.
"There it is, Derrick. Dark Island."
"And here comes the cavalry."
Hundreds of winged monsters began charging towards them.
"Alright, Brian. I think its time for your plan."
Brian took out a card.
"Go Swords of Revealing Light!"
Several glowing swords appeared and all of the monsters were frozen.
"Good plan. That'll hold them for a while."
Brian looked in a different direction and saw a large jar with a dragon head on it.
"But what's stopping that Dragon Capture Jar?" he yelled.
The jar sent out smoke and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon vanished. Brian and Derrick then began plummeting towards the water, but a Whip-Tailed Crow quickly grabbed Brian while Derrick was still falling.
"DERRICK! HELP!"
"BRIAN!" Derrick screamed until he crashed into the water.
As all the monsters left with their prey, Derrick swam to the surface.
"Great. Now they have both Brian and Michelle and will be able to summon the Mythic Dragon. Things just can't get worse."
That's when a loud roar echoed across the ocean.
"Sounds like things just got worse."
A large Roaring Ocean Snake came out of the water and roared as it loomed over Derrick.
"Looks like it too."
To Be Continued....
A New Generation of Duelists
Lost In A Virtual World
By Dan Kuhlmeyer
"What's happening?" Kaiba asked as he looked at the computer. It showed digital images of the kids and showed that they were in danger. He looked at another computer that showed several serial numbers.
"I didn't design this. And why are the safety precautions turned off? Those kids will die with the game like this."
He began typing: "Access File KVG. User: SKaiba. Password: Katherine. Command: Shut down program."
After pressing "Enter", the words "Access Denied" appeared.
"Oh no. Someone rewrote the program and changed the game's password. But how? Only Derrick and I know the password. There's no way they could have had access."
Kaiba thought for a moment of how he could change the program.
"Of course! The back-up systems."
With that, he left the room.
Brian woke up and found himself outside a cave in a desert. As he looked at the entrance, he thought maybe he should enter. He didn't like the fact of wandering in a desert. It may have been a virtual desert, but it really did feel hot.
So he walked through the entrance. He was at first going through saber- shaped rocks, but the floor started to become smoother as he went through a dark hallway, where the light only came from torches hanging from the columns holding the ceiling. After going through another entrance, he found himself staring in amazement at an enormous labyrinth.
It seemed like the only way to the other side was through the maze. But it seemed like too big of a gamble. He was ready to leave but the doors behind him slammed shut, locking him in.
He took a deep breath and looked back at the maze.
"Well, I guess I have to solve this labyrinth."
So he walked to the start of the maze.
Derrick shook his head as he woke up and found himself in a forest. He suddenly heard a loud roar and thousands of people screaming. He ran to where the noise came from and found a village. He looked around and saw several building being burned by dark fire and several villagers running for their lives.
He heard the roar again. He turned to where it came from and saw a gigantic Tri-Horned Dragon looming over the village, breathing its black fire at the huts. Hundreds of knights riding horses tried to pierce it with lances, but the dragon kept slapping them out of the way with its enormous claw.
No longer standing the sight, Derrick ran straight towards the dragon. It snarled at him as he stood there facing it, not showing any fear what-so- ever.
"Run, boy!" a knight called out. "We ourselves can't fight this dragon."
"I'm not going to flinch. I can't stand by and watch this monster do terrible things."
He took out a card and held it in mid air.
"Go Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared and used its white lightning to destroy the Tri-Horned Dragon. Everyone stared in awe at Derrick as the dragon disappeared back into his card. The very same knight who told him to leave walked up to him with amazement in his face.
"A Duelist! I never thought I'd get the chance to meet one. Especially one so young and brave who had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"Thanks. But I need help. One of my friends has been kidnapped and I've lost my other friends."
"Don't worry, young sir. Our queen may be able to help."
One of the other knights brought Derrick a horse. He climbed on to the horse's back and followed the knight out of the village while the villagers were all waving goodbye to their new hero. They both rode their horses through a forest and stopped as they stared at an enormous, pearl-white castle.
"This is Creal," the knight told Derrick, "where our queen Katalyn awaits us."
They rode to the castle. After they past the gates, several servants and other knights greeted them. They jumped off of the horses as they stood before a woman dressed in gold.
"Has the dragon been destroyed, Sir Galentar?" she asked the knight.
"Aye, Your Majesty. But it is this young man who deserves the credit. He's a duelist and he fought the dragon with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
She turned from Galentar and stared at Derrick with awe.
"You have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Well if you saved us, then I am in your debt."
As her emerald green eyes stared into his eyes and her black hair was flowing with the wind, all the blood left Derrick's veins like he saw a ghost.
She looks like my....mom!
"Terrific!" Trevor complained as he and Amy were shivering in the snow. "Why couldn't we have crashed somewhere else? For virtual snow, it sure feels real."
"Seriously," Amy agreed with him. "I hate the snow. I spent my Spring Break in Alaska and I hated every minute of it."
Trevor kept shivering until an idea came to him.
"Wait a minute! If this snow feels like real snow, perhaps my Pyro Monsters can really feel hot."
So he took out a card and his Flame Cerebrus appeared. Trevor and Amy sat next to it and its fire made them feel warm. They rested for a while until they saw several Eskimos surrounding them with spears pointing at them.
After binding their wrists together, the Eskimos took them to a colony of Eskimos. One of them was speaking to an older one dressed in a more decorated fur coat in a bizarre language.
"You think they'd complain about us in English," Trevor mumbled.
"Maybe they don't know English."
"On the contrary," said the older Eskimo, "we understand English perfectly. Few of us speak it well. I am Erig, the chief of this colony. Answer why you have invaded our lands."
"We didn't invade it," Amy told him. "We were just dropped off here by accident."
Erig just stared blankly at them.
"One of our friends has been kidnapped," Trevor told him. "We tried to catch up to her but we got caught in a Dust Tornado and ended up here. We don't even know if our other two friends are alive."
Erig continued to stare at them without saying a word.
"I believe you are lying," he said to them. "You will be executed tomorrow at dawn."
With that, he spoke something to the Eskimos who captured them and they dragged them to a nearby igloo.
Brian continued walking through the maze without seeing anything. But he suddenly heard something that sounded like a drill, one that was coming closer. He turned to where the noise came from and saw what looked like a blue tank with a large drill moving quickly towards him.
"A Labyrinth Tank!" he gasped before he started running from it. He stopped running when he saw another one coming towards him.
Brian kept looking from one to another, afraid to do anything.
Brian, he heard Yami's voice, let me take over. I think I can handle this.
Alright.
The Millennium Puzzle glowed and Brian turned into Yami Brian. He drew a card.
"Go Magical Hats!"
A large hat covered Yami Brian. The tanks charged at the hat and destroyed it, but there was nothing there.
Yami Brian came out of a hat that was on the other side of the wall and continued running down the path. He suddenly stopped as a hideous green creature appeared before him.
Yami Brian then drew two cards. "Feral Imp! Attack with Horn of the Unicorn!"
The Feral Imp appeared with Horn of the Unicorn on its forehead. It shot out a blast of electricity and destroyed the Wall Shadow. Yami Brian continued running and was excited to see the exit. But once he was outside the maze, an enormous monster with a mix of gold, emerald, and sapphire slowly moved towards him.
The Gate Guardian! Brian gasped. I defeated this monster before. But back then I had Trevor's help. Without the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I can't create the Black Skull Dragon.
I know another way to defeat it, Yami said to him as he reached for his cards. I just hope Yugi still kept it in his deck.
He drew two cards and smiled at them.
"First, I summon Celtic Guardian and Feral Imp."
The Celtic Guardian and the Feral Imp appeared between Brian and the Gate Guardian.
"Next, I'll use this Magic Card: Black Luster Ritual."
A stone tablet with two swords carved into it and two torches on each side of it appeared behind both monsters. Each one was sucked into a torch.
"I'll offer both monsters to summon a powerful monster: the legendary Black Luster Soldier."
From the stone tablet, a warrior dressed in golden armor holding a wicked sword appeared and faced the Gate Guardian.
Wow! I never knew my dad had anything like that. But there's no way that can beat the Gate Guardian.
That's because I wasn't finished.
"Third, I will decrease Gate Guardian's Attack and hold it with Spell- Binding Circle."
The Spell-Binding Circle appeared and held the Gate Guardian in its place.
"And finally, Black Luster Soldier, destroy the Gate Guardian with Vengeance Strike!"
The Black Luster Soldier slashed its sword at the Gate Guardian and it shattered into several pieces.
A couple minutes later, Yami Brian found his way out of the cave. He stared in awe at the amazing forest he was standing in as he averted back to Brian.
"You there!" a voice called out.
Brian turned and saw a few knights on horse.
"Are you Brian Motuo?"
Michelle slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a dark chamber. She was beginning to feel hot when she noticed the lava pool surrounding the stone platform she was on. Once she noticed the stone bridge that led to two metal doors, she was ready to run to them. But she suddenly noticed she was chained to a gigantic boulder.
"So you've finally awaken," a sinister, feminine voice called out. She looked in front of her and saw what looked like the Mystical Elf, only dark.
"Dark Elf," Michelle sneered. "You're behind this?"
"Technically, no. I was, however, designed to have the very same personality as the master of this game."
"The master? You mean this is just the difficulty level Kaiba designed?"
The Dark Elf laughed. "No. Kaiba is no longer in charge of this game. My master is now. And her orders are to summon the Mythic Dragon. To do that I need a double offering."
"And I'm guessing that I'm one of the offering. But who's the other one?"
The Dark Elf snickered. "Isn't it obvious?"
Michelle thought for a while. Then it came to her.
"Your master is this force behind Mage and the other offering is Brian. At least we know our opponent's gender. But if you want Brian, why did you capture me and use that Dust Tornado to get rid of him and the others."
"We do want Brian and we can't have Kaiba's lone-wolf son and that idiot cousin of yours getting in the way. But why we captured you: that's for my master to know."
She kept cackling until she vanished into nothing.
"Good thing these Eskimos aren't very smart," Trevor said as he rubbed the ropes tied to his wrists against a spear. "Otherwise they wouldn't leave sharp tools with their prisoners."
"Think you can hurry up?" Amy asked him. "It's almost dawn."
That's when they heard a bone-chilling roar. It was followed by several people screaming.
"I wouldn't be worried about dawn," Trevor told her as he kept rubbing the ropes to the spear. The ropes were finally cut and Trevor's hands were free. He then used the spear to cut the ropes that bound his ankles together and finally freed Amy. They ran outside the igloo and saw a gigantic green dragon destroying igloos as several Eskimos ran from it.
"A Luster Dragon?" Amy spoke with surprise. "I read they eat emeralds not people."
The Luster Dragon saw Trevor and Amy and roared as it walked up to them.
"Tell him that," Trevor told her as he took out a card. "Its time to end this. And when I say time..."
Amy got what he was talking about when he held the card in mid-air. The Time Wizard appeared and pointed its time roulette at the Luster Dragon. The hand was spinning until it landed on a time machine. The Luster Dragon suddenly got older until it was fossilized.
Everyone started cheering as Trevor stood there with pride. Amy quickly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him in the cheek. Trevor was suddenly shocked.
"If I do that again, would you kiss me again?"
Amy just giggled. Erig and several Eskimo hunters walked up to them and knelt before them.
"You have saved our people. Please forgive us."
"I always say," Trevor stated, "always forgive and forget."
"We cannot thank you enough. But to start, we know how you might find the friend you say was kidnapped. She might have been taken to the Dark Island, where she might be sacrificed to summon the Mythic Dragon."
Amy and Trevor were shocked when they said Michelle might be sacrificed.
"But don't worry. Until they have the other sacrifice, she'll be fine."
"But how are we going to get to this island to save her?" Trevor asked.
"On the other side of the mountains, there is a ship frozen in the glaciers. If you can get it out, you shall be able to sail to the island. Keep going south once you set sail."
Two more Eskimos gave Trevor and Amy each a fur coat.
"To keep you warm until you get there," one of them said to them.
They took the coats and covered themselves with them.
"Thank you." Amy said to them.
"Farewell, my friends," Erig said to them. "We shall never forget you."
Trevor winked his eye. "Same here, buddy."
With that, Trevor and Amy headed off. Everyone waved as they shouted "farewell". And they smiled as they waved back at them.
Derrick told Queen Katalyn about his friends and she already began sending a search party for them. It relieved Derrick that he might see his friends, if they were still alive.
But it was hard to believe how much Katalyn resembled his mother. He almost hoped that she was brought back from the dead, but it was obvious that she was actually a virtual character designed by his dad.
"You are thinking about a loved one that you lost, aren't you?" he heard Katalyn's voice. He sadly nodded his head. "I know because several people lost loved ones. I have seen that look several times."
"Some people who hated my dad tried to kill him. They got my mom instead."
She looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. "You obviously miss her."
"I can't remember a second when I didn't think about her."
Galentar then entered the room.
"My Lady, Sir Derrick, pardon me but I have found Brian."
As he spoke, Brian came in. With excitement in there faces, both friends ran to each other and gave each other a high-five.
"I'm glad you're alright, Brian."
"Same to you, Derrick. But do you have anything on Michelle?"
Derrick's face then became worried.
"Unfortunately, I do. A bunch of monsters from a place called Dark Island is planning to summon a powerful monster called the Mythic Dragon. To do that, they need a double offering. They have Michelle and if the brains behind this is who we think it is, they want you for the other offering."
"Then we need to get to Dark Island and free her."
"It's risky, though. The entire island is guarded by hundreds of monsters. They could even overwhelm my Blue-Eyes."
"We have to get to that island." A grin then spread across his face. "I have a plan."
"Then I hope it's a good one."
Katalyn walked up to them. "If you two are going to battle, then perhaps I can interest you in wearing the battle armor of our history's greatest warriors."
Brian and Derrick were taken to a small room where they changed into different suits of armor. Derrick wore silver armor on his chest and a blue cape on his back. Brian's armor was golden and his cape was purple.
"Not bad," Derrick complimented himself as he looked at a mirror.
Brian also looked in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad at all. I think I look pretty good in this"
Derrick snickered as he elbowed Brian. "Yeah. And look at it this way: Michelle's being held prisoner in that dark and creepy castle, waiting for her knight in shining armor to rescue her and take her away on his white stallion."
Brian started blushing when Derrick called him "her knight in shining armor".
"Well the only difference is we're taking her away on a white dragon."
Brian looked at the pile of clothes on the floor and saw a leather wallet sticking out of Derrick's trench coat pocket. He took a look inside and saw a picture of a woman who looked exactly like Katalyn.
"Derrick, this woman in the picture, is she...?"
Derrick looked at Brian in shock. But his eyes sadly closed and he nodded his head.
"I've had that picture in my wallet ever since it happened. Every time I look at it, I remember how much fun I had when she was around. As well as how much I miss her."
"It must be hard to talk about her."
"Nah! It actually feels good. It was keeping it inside that made my pain worse. Sharing it with someone actually makes it feel better."
Brian took another look at the picture. "She looks just like Queen Katalyn. Your dad must miss her as much as you do if he based such a cool character on her."
Derrick smiled at him. "I guess I have to agree with you there. But enough of that. We'd better get going."
With that they both went out the door and headed outside the castle, where Katalyn, Galentar, and several knights and villagers waited for them. The knights and villagers cheered for them.
"We wish you luck in your quest my young heroes. Please return safely."
Both boys nodded.
"We will."
Derrick took out a card. "Go Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared and Derrick and Brian boarded it. It flapped its enormous wings as it lifted off the ground and headed to Dark Island.
Trevor and Amy finally made it to where Erig said the boat was.
"I don't see anything but ice," Trevor complained.
"Well he did say it was buried in the glaciers."
"Well that makes it easy to find," he said to her sarcastically.
Amy turned around and saw a red pole sticking out of the snow.
"Trevor!"
"You'd think they'd leave us a clue to where the ship is buried."
"Trevor."
"At least an 'X' to mark the spot."
"Trevor."
"We're going to be standing here all day looking for that ship."
"TREVOR!"
"WHAT?"
She pointed at the pole. "Do you think your Mr. Volcano can melt that ice?"
Trevor looked at it with embarrassment. But then he took out a card. Mr. Volcano appeared and shot out a stream of lava that melted the ice. It revealed a cave where a Skull Mariner was hidden. Once Trevor and Amy were aboard, Mr. Volcano used another stream of lava to melt the ice below the ship. The ship started setting sail. Trevor and Amy then turned and saw the Eskimos waving at them and they waved back as they headed for Dark Island.
"I've been thinking," Derrick told Brian.
"About what?"
"If our unknown foe managed to re-write the program, making the game totally difficult, what's stopping him from turning off the safety precautions?"
"Meaning...?"
"Once our life points are gone, we're really dead."
"So we need to be completely cautious. I just hope Trevor and Amy are okay."
"Me too. But what I want to know is how this happened. All of the files are password protected and only dad and I know the password. Not to mention they were programmed with a level ten shield, making it perfectly safe from hackers. The only way to access it is with the password. How could our unknown foe re-write the program?"
"For that matter, how did he know we were going to try that game?"
"I have absolutely no idea."
As the fog began to clear, they saw a horrifying island with a dark castle in the center.
"There it is, Derrick. Dark Island."
"And here comes the cavalry."
Hundreds of winged monsters began charging towards them.
"Alright, Brian. I think its time for your plan."
Brian took out a card.
"Go Swords of Revealing Light!"
Several glowing swords appeared and all of the monsters were frozen.
"Good plan. That'll hold them for a while."
Brian looked in a different direction and saw a large jar with a dragon head on it.
"But what's stopping that Dragon Capture Jar?" he yelled.
The jar sent out smoke and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon vanished. Brian and Derrick then began plummeting towards the water, but a Whip-Tailed Crow quickly grabbed Brian while Derrick was still falling.
"DERRICK! HELP!"
"BRIAN!" Derrick screamed until he crashed into the water.
As all the monsters left with their prey, Derrick swam to the surface.
"Great. Now they have both Brian and Michelle and will be able to summon the Mythic Dragon. Things just can't get worse."
That's when a loud roar echoed across the ocean.
"Sounds like things just got worse."
A large Roaring Ocean Snake came out of the water and roared as it loomed over Derrick.
"Looks like it too."
To Be Continued....
