Chapter 38: The Ghost and the Darkness
It was a difficult situation to be in. Rory had a Cyber Dragon in her Deck Master position and nothing in her hand except Cyber Dragon Zwei and Overload Fusion. Her opponent, by contrast, used Naturia Butterfly as a Deck Master, meaning every attack she tried was foiled by the simple act of discarding two cards. As such, the only real damage she dealt was incidental whenever the opposing Naturia monsters committed suicide in order to activate effects that continued to devastate the duel. Over time, Rory now faced down Naturia Exterio (10/2800/2400), a fusion of two separate Synchro monsters that effectively prevented Rory from using Spells and Traps. On top of that, she dealt with Splendid Rose (6/2200/2000) for her ability to attack continuously, and Naturia Leodrake (9/3000/1800) for no reason other than he had a lot of attack power.
And Rory felt the pressure mounting even before the duel began. It was the last day of the GX Tournament, which just made it all the more stressful for her not to fail now. On top of that, she was up against a man only two years older and without the academic duel training she had. He didn't even start dueling until five years ago.
Ignacio Velez-Menendez—who introduced himself as Iñaki—was a native Costa Rican and an avid nature goer. As a kid, he spent his time admiring the flora and fauna of his home environment: The oropendolas swept from tree to tree in flocks, their tails streaming behind them like sunbeams; morpho butterflies dotted walls of greenery electric-blue like spots of sky. He grew up working with his father on a coffee plantation, giving him the ability to identify the proper soil environment by the existing flora. The plantation was purchased by Titus Industries by exchanging a healthy sum of money for the soil treatments Iñaki's father used to build the most perfect richness Joseph Titus ever tasted.
Iñaki 's father recently fell ill, diagnosed with cancer and physically unable to work. To keep the owner of the soil treatment working hard, Titus met with Iñaki over Starbucks and Duel Monsters. When Iñaki asked why give money to Starbucks, Titus informed him that the only way to succeed in a business is to know the competition, even if they made mud compared with Titus's brilliant beans. And that mantra is what made dueling the young Velez intriguing. Without any prior experience in the game, Iñaki left Titus with only 1000 Life Points before the game ended.
"That was your first time?" Titus verified.
"It was. That was fun."
Titus couldn't help thinking he had a foothold for future plans. "I'll make you a deal. Study this game. Work the local tournaments, duel all the experts I can find for you. If you help me turn Titus Industries into a Duel Monsters powerhouse, I will provide your father with the best health care money can buy."
By the time the GX Tournament began, Iñaki was confident, but he worried about dealing with students who did nothing but duel and study dueling all day. Maybe some of his success was luck, but maybe sometimes a true adept comes along who's capable of proving that hard work does not always produce desired results. Even he recognized the name of Matthew Luther—Limitations Tournament winner, former Number One student, nicknamed "Godslayer"—but he played like a guy more worried about what was going to happen on this week's episode of Psych than with the duel cards right in front of him. After defeating Luther, Iñaki didn't feel so worried about his performance.
Rory, on the other hand, was struggling to figure out what she might do to stop the Naturia Butterfly. The pink insect had a proclivity for exchanging Iñaki's deck for attack negation. With her falling Life Points, she felt like it was a conservative estimate that this may be her last turn.
"Who taught you how to duel?" Rory asked, trying to buy time while she thought things through.
"Joseph Titus himself," Iñaki confessed. "The man may be young, but he's surprisingly inteligente. His strategic ability is unmatched by anyone I ever met, though I have been impressed with your efforts so far. I know the score is stacked in my favor, but you have destroyed a great number of my monstruos despite being unable to attack."
"I guess I'm lucky he's not participating directly."
"As am I that Señor Kaiba duels no longer. It would be an amazing loss."
"You've got that right," Rory agreed. Rumor had it Seto Kaiba not only softened over the years but also suffered the occasional bout of dementia. Even so, it was pretty widely accepted as fact that anyone who accepted a duel against him would suffer a devastating loss. She wished Kaiba would look to her hand right then and give her some advice.
Being able to play Overload Fusion would make things interesting because she dumped a whole pile of machines in the Graveyard already, plus Cyber Dragon Zwei could initiate the fusion of a powerhouse Chimeratech Overdragon. But the instant she played Overload Fusion, Iñaki was going to negate the effect with Naturia Exterio's effect.
"Maybe that's the way to go," she realized. "I'll summon Cyber Dragon Zwei (4/1500/1000)." A metallic serpent with yellow markings hit the field and coiled like a snake. "By revealing Overload Fusion in my hand, Cyber Dragon Zwei becomes a legitimate Cyber Dragon." All that changed in her monster was its aura—from yellow to black—but the possibilities skyrocketed. "And now I'll activate Overload Fusion to summon Chimeratech Overdragon."
"Tome chichi, but you must have seen this coming." Naturia Exterio, a large tiger with bark-covered legs and a crown like an open dragon's skull, thrust its front paws into the ground. A card disappeared from his Graveyard while another fell from his deck to replace the banished card. As a result, the sparks started by Rory's Spell faded without producing an effect.
"I did," Rory admitted. "So here's what I'm trying instead. Cyber Dragon has a second Deck Master ability. Other than its Special Summon ability I used earlier, it has another ability that activates on the field."
"On the field?" Iñaki repeated.
"That's right. I am actually summoning my Deck Master to the field." Her Cyber Dragon slithered from the space beside her to the field beside her yellow Cyber Dragon. "When this particular monster is summoned from the Deck Master spot, it can banish any cards from my field or Graveyard from play to summon a Fusion monster that lists Cyber Dragon as a material monster. I choose Chimeratech Overdragon." Three Cyber Dragons (including Zwei), Cyber Valley, Cyber Twin Dragon, two Jade Knights, and three Cyberdark machines merged in an explosion of machines. The result was a serpentine body that had a body like a splitter, with ten holes for Cyber Dragon-like heads to emerge.
"This strategy should work much better," Rory confessed as her Overdragon (9/+8000/+8000) finished forming. "I lose all Deck Master effects this way, but since my Deck Master wasn't destroyed but was instead fused, this card acts as my Deck Master. Overdragon gets to attack once for each material monster used in the fusion. So here it goes."
Chimeratech Overdragon snapped out with one extendable neck toward Exterio (2200), but Naturia Butterfly began flapping its wings and spreading a defensive spore to prevent the attack from landing. The process repeated eight times. With one attacks remaining, Naturia Butterfly stopped flapping.
"Salado," Iñaki complimented her. "My deck has run out of cards, so I cannot activate Naturia Butterfly's effect again." The kicker was that his monsters weren't strong enough to resist the Overdragon. The tenth and final lunge destroyed Exterio, but it didn't remove all of his Life Points. "Still in it, huh? Yet the game is over, anyway."
Rory smiled. "I was hesitant to summon my Deck Master, but you didn't leave me much choice. Risk big, win big." To herself, she thought, I can't believe it took me that long to think about emptying his deck by attacking continuously.
The duel was over as soon as Iñaki's turn began and he was unable to draw. With a friendly smile on his face, he shut down his Duel Disk and collected his cards. "Pura vida. You have skill," he said as he shook Rory's hand. "And luck. Both together make a champion. Congratulations."
"I appreciate your words. Do you happen to know how many more of your colleagues remain in this tournament?"
"I do. I was the last one. Sad for me, Kaiba wins this contest. Congratulations again."
Rory accepted the news readily, but it took her a moment truly to comprehend its meaning. If no more members of Titus Industries remained, then Kaiba Corp. won the tournament because of her. Admittedly, she didn't take out all of the duelists, but it did feel pretty good to be not only the last victorious duelist, but to make her final duel against the same man who knocked Matt out. Her friends present at the event swarmed her to congratulate her.
Despite feeling a bit overwhelmed with a feeling of accomplishment, Rory noticed her cell phone buzzing in her pocket. She checked it to find a text message sent from the Duel Academy administrative office. It read: Congratulations for being a finalist. Bring your deck to the north end of the quad at 1300.
She hummed to herself. "I wonder what that's about."
Yeah, he's definitely in there, Matt thought as he tip-toed to the door, crouched to ensure he couldn't be seen through the windows. I can hear him on the phone.
Matt pressed his ear up against the crack of the door frame and listened. Part of him was alert enough to hope no one else in this apartment complex happened upon him, spying on a second-floor tenant as he was. But the majority of his thoughts were focused on overhearing what the so-called "Ghost Duelist" was planning.
"The pieces are perfectly in place." Officer Michael Potter's voice was difficult to hear through the door, but it was plain as day as far as Matt was concerned. He wasn't using his bold, strong voice that helped subdue rowdy teenagers. He spoke with that soft, ghastly voice he used to hide his identity. "The piece of my soul I embedded within Death is resonating. Within the hour, the seal will be broken.
"It will not fail. I sent Death to the one man whose spiritual power is guaranteed to break the seal. As soon as it does, the final ritual will commence and the fifth seal will be broken. At the height of the sun tomorrow, the sixth seal will break.
"Of course. During the final hour, the seventh seal will open, and the End of Days will begin."
Who's he talking to? Matt wondered. If he could only get hold of that phone. But what approach to take? Of course it's tough to come up with a plan. I don't know what I'm dealing with. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one saw him spying, and then he slowly turned the knob and slid the door open.
The instant the door was open enough for Matt to see Potter's apartment, Potter jumped to his feet and ran to the back. Surprised, Matt shouted "Hey!" and gave chase through the room—oddly well-furnished for a guy plotting the end of the world. (The tapestries were a bit over-the-top, but the leather couch added just the right ambience.) Through the kitchenette and out the sliding glass door onto the wooden balcony, Matt followed Potter as he hurled himself over the veranda to the grass below, performing a smooth roll as he hit and took off running in the direction of Duel Academy.
"He's quick," Matt muttered to himself as he hurdled over the veranda and landed rather well on his feet, dropping one knee to absorb some of the impact. Shocked, he laughed, "Holy crap! I did it!" But his excitement passed and he was on Potter's tail again. Potter was not an officer out of an old sitcom: He was lean and agile, though he did show signs of age that Matt didn't suffer. The distance between the town of Kazuki and Duel Academy's campus wasn't far.
Fearing for the safety of the students, Matt poured all his motivation into his feet and pulled his legs with as much fervor as he could possibly muster. He hadn't felt his muscles burn like that in a long time. But the pain paid off. Despite Potter's impressive stamina, Matt caught him just as they crossed the property line onto Duel Academy soil. He grabbed Potter and tried to shove him into the ground, but Potter stopped abruptly, ducked, and pushed Matt into a roll along the grass instead.
Matt wheezed for just a moment as he caught his breath. Rolling to his feet, he offered Potter a respectful scowl. "You're a pretty good runner," he said between panting. "Especially with a Duel Disk on your arm."
"I could say the same of you," Potter wheezed, nodding toward Matt's Duel Disk.
"I started including this bad boy on my morning jogs around campus as soon as I realized people here were ready to duel at the drop of a hat. I don't even feel it anymore." He opted not to flex his arm and show off right then so he wouldn't be proven a liar. He could lift his arm if he needed to, but he was much too tired then to hold it up and flex.
Potter offered another nod and an affirmative grunt, but then he took off again, this time headed along the property line into the woods that spread from the southern side of the island all the way around the eastern end. Matt moaned loudly to express his annoyance, but he didn't let himself fall far behind.
This time, chasing Potter was difficult because there were obstacles everywhere. The officer had the noted advantage of knowing where he was going whereas Matt had to react quickly to every individual tree that tried to hop in between him and his target. He lost track of how far they'd run after no more than a minute of weaving. It felt like Potter was leading him in circles on purpose. Was he just trying to lose the tail, or did he have a specific destination in mind?
Matt got his answer pretty quickly. Not a minute later, he found himself in a small clearing with Potter standing firm on the opposite end, just waiting for an opponent. Had he given up so soon? Maybe he was too out of shape to keep running much longer. Or maybe this was exactly where he wanted to be.
"I expected you sooner when you shined that flashlight in my face," Potter taunted.
With a conceding nod, Matt replied, "Yeah, well, finding your address wasn't terribly easy. The police don't believe you're the Ghost Duelist, and I couldn't exactly find any Yellow Pages. Do they even still print them anymore?"
"They do, but people mostly use them in unfamiliar territories to research business locations and hotels."
"Makes sense." Matt took a deep breath and felt ready to go again. "Why are we here?"
"You followed me," Potter pointed out. "I simply came to the location of my next move. This is the location of the fifth seal of the Apocalypse. Once this is broken, my plan will all be downhill."
"What seals?" Matt asked. "You mentioned them before. What does that mean? What do these seals do? I assume they don't balance beach balls on their noses."
With a sneer, Potter answered, "They are mystical safeguards placed to prevent God from returning to our world."
"Who would want to prevent God's return? Isn't that supposed to mean the salvation of mankind or something?"
"Yes! That's exactly what God's return would mean for this world," Potter replied with the first semblance of positive emotion beginning to show in his face. The excitement dwindled a bit as he admitted, "The interpretive line between salvation and destruction is fine, however. The herald of eternal life for one man can bring eternal suffering to another. It all comes down to sin."
Matt laughed nervously, confused and uncertain of a more appropriate response. "That sounds like an excellent reason not to let you break the rest of the seals, then."
"You have no choice in the matter. Thanks to the resources of the Hellfire Club, I made contact with God's messenger Aiwass. He showed me the future, and then gave me the power to ensure it comes to pass. By tapping into the power Aiwass offered me, I could not only uncover the Seven Seals, but I could place them strategically to facilitate breaking them."
"The Hellfire Club," Matt repeated curiously. "Cary mentioned that, too. What are they?"
"The Hellfire Club is a secret society comprising students, future businessmen, and fanatics who obsess over the existence of powers greater than what can be seen and heard. Many of the organization chapters begin in universities because of youthful open-mindedness. Most students use the secret society as an excuse for parties and death-defying acts, but the society extends far higher than in universities. Though their identities are closely guarded, rumors abound that the Hellfire Club dominates professional dueling."
"Like a card mafia?" Matt chuckled to himself.
"If that helps you, moron."
That was the cue that Matt goofed around enough. Drawing on the knowledge he gained from Cary, he asked, "Are you Lorn Kruse?"
The color instantly drained from Potter's face—so much that he looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Where did you hear that name?"
"He was a student at Glasgow with the two people teaching Lucy's abroad course. Supposedly, those two also seek the Rapture. I figure that can't be a coincidence. And the fact that all of you decided to enact your plans now couldn't be a coincidence, either. What's going on?"
"More than you realize," Potter grumbled. "They were contacted by a false god."
"A false god? You mean there are more entities sealed away from our world?"
"Of course. The universe is not merely limited to the physics of this plane. A parallel universe existing alongside this one gives rise to several beings with delusions of divinity. My reaction to the competition is how the true God determines my suitability for the task. Only a man pure of sin can break the seventh seal."
"And you're free from sin?" Matt asked, not really believing Potter's claim. "How'd you manage that?"
"I created personifications of sin from those among your classmates who so tightly cling to their own sins."
Matt clenched a fist as he resisted the temptation of wrath welling within him. "You're the one who broke Kasumi's spirit and turned her into that envious monster."
"Her spirit was broken when I got to her, a product of your fine work, as I understand it." That comment stung, but it didn't stop Matt from placing blame for all of Kasumi's stress on the monster masquerading as mankind's savior. "That's enough waiting. The time is nigh for the fifth seal to break."
"I don't think so," Matt countered. He snapped his Duel Disk into position.
"I suspected that was the route you wished to take. But I lack the time, and your participation will only interfere."
All Matt saw was a single thrust of Potter's hand and a pulse of black energy slap him in the face.
Dr. Arbus was unique among the professors of Duel Academy when it came to interior design. He had a small, framed picture of two little boys on his desk, but where the other professors had dozens of familial pictures, he had artistic paintings; where other professors kept the office lit and open, he worked in the dark; where the others had shelves full of books, his were bare. Sure, he hadn't been a professor for two months yet, but he didn't even have a plant in his office. It looked about as barren as anyplace Cary had ever seen that was actually inhabited by humans.
"Ms. Strickland," he noticed from the instant she laid her knuckles on the door. He had a British accent, which further settled Cary when he spoke. She enjoyed the accents offered by Duel Academy's diversity. "Do come in. Just a warning: I have a class in twenty minutes so I need to be out of here in five."
"It will be pretty quick, I think. I just have some questions."
"Oh? What about? You aren't taking any of my classes. Are you perhaps curious about my involvement with rebuilding the Medici Building?" He noticed Cary's awestruck expression and explained to her, "I've seen you with Mr. Ishihara. You have an investigative look about you, and the last time he was here, that was the topic we discussed."
Still a bit surprised, she handed him a copy of the picture she printed. It showed Dr. Arbus walking with Leona Moxley, the exotic owner of the Denkard Hotel and Casino in Gathas. She wore a silky, blue dress and had her arm draped around the sleeve of his white tux. "I just wondered how you know Leona Moxley?"
Dr. Arbus looked at the picture fondly for a moment. He clearly recognized the moment, and seeing Leona's image elicited some sort of positive emotion. He couldn't hold back that charming little smile he had. "Where'd you get this?"
"Matt and Bryan went to a tournament in Gathas freshman year. This is the corner of a picture of Bryan dangling Matt over the fountain from the mezzanine."
"Oh, yes. I believe I caught sight of that event. A lot of spirit in those two."
"Some might call it 'childishness.' They had pretty much the same reaction when thinking about Leona that you did."
"She's an enchanting woman," Dr. Arbus admitted. "Our relationship was not romantic, however disappointed I might be to admit that."
"This looks pretty intimate," Cary said, pointing out the part where Leona's arm was draped around his.
"That is a strategy many attractive women use when they wish to manipulate the actions of wealthy men." Offering Cary a friendly smile, he clarified, "I am the chairman of a grant foundation. She is the owner of a casino. She flattered me and used her allure in order to separate me from a large portion of my money."
"That's all this is?"
"That's all." He motioned his arm toward the door, indicating his need to leave for class as he slipped his bag over his shoulder.
Cary exited the office, but she had a follow-up while Arbus locked the door. "You have no deeper connection to a woman whose ex-boyfriend just recently abandoned the job post you now fill?"
"Oscar? He and Leona did more than simple courting. They were married."
"I and the leadership of both organizations extend our thanks to all participants for making this competition truly amazing," Dr. West announced to the cameras. Putting a small grin behind his bushy mustache, he continued, "But countless votes among the tournament's organizers agree that once the teamwork is complete, we all wish to announce a single champion, and so we turn to the final remaining duelists: Aurora Ruiter, a sophomore here at Duel Academy, and Justin Nussbaum, currently a data center technician at Kaiba Corp.'s Seattle headquarters and a two-year graduate of Duel Academy himself."
Deep breaths were key as she took her position on the quad and engaged her Duel Disk. Rory couldn't believe she was being asked to duel against a recent graduate in front of the entire school plus Titus's dueling employees. It was a lot of pressure to put on a big-city girl accustomed to being overshadowed by drunken celebrities and misspelled street signs.
"You look nervous," Justin told her as he shook her hand. He wasn't an intimidating guy in appearance—thin body, glasses, very thin beard growth. But he took out the guy with the god cards that knocked Synthia out in the first round. His smile made him look like kinda cute, though. "I'm guessing this is your first time."
"I've been nervous lots of times," she corrected him.
He realized what he said versus what he meant to say and got a laugh out of it. "That's very good. If I had to guess, I'd say you've spent a fair amount of time with Bryan and Matt."
"You know them?"
"Of course I do. Bryan and I were Guardian Duelers together for a while."
"He told me about that group," Rory noted. "That means you used to have a God Card, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Then this duel should be a nice challenge."
He chuckled. "Maybe this isn't your first public championship after all. You seem pretty confident."
"Being nervous doesn't mean I lack confidence. It just means I acknowledge you as a talented duelist who might possibly be capable of defeating me."
Now Justin's grin turned into a smirk. "Now that's some educated trash talk. Do you wish to take the first turn?"
"So polite of you to ask. No, I do not. But I don't mind playing my Deck Master first. I've chosen Cyber Phoenix," a mechanical bird with rigid wings shimmering red with would-be flames.
"A cyber card," Justin noted. "I know someone here who uses cards like that. Let's just say I understand why you would want to go second."
"Do you?" Rory replied dryly.
"Indeed. I've grown rather fond of Snoww, Unlight of Dark World as my Deck Master." His was a woman with purple skin that shone in the sunlight. She wore a white cape and carried a staff by her side. "For my turn, I'll set two cards and a monster."
"Good start," Rory complimented. "A defensive monster and two cards to deter an attack. I'll start by playing Foolish Burial to send Hunter Dragon from my deck to the Graveyard. I'll summon Cyberdark Horn (4/800/800)." This was a metallic monster with a body like a spinal column, wings like blades, and four horns on its framed jaws. A Hunter Dragon—a sleek dragon with razor-sharp scales—emerged from Rory's Graveyard, and Cyberdark Horn (+2500) attached to the dragon's body to draw its strength. "I'll attack."
"Your monster deals Piercing damage when it attacks," Justin noted, not as a question but as a statement of knowledge. "You pretty handily destroy Scarr, Scout of Dark World (2/500/500), but believe it or not, I expected to take this much damage. I thought you might summon a Cyber Dragon and achieve a direct attack."
Rory's chuckled. "You clearly know Matt pretty well. I have never met another Cyber Dragon user who got a Cyber Dragon in his opening hand as often as he did."
"Did? Does he not use them anymore?" She shook her head. "That's too bad. Anyway, destroying Scarr lets me move a Dark World monster to my hand."
"No Trap?" To herself, Rory muttered, "That scares me more than if you blocked my attack." Aloud, she said, "I'll end my turn."
Rory 8000: Justin 8000 – 2000 = 6000.
"I'll start by setting another card, and then using Card Destruction." All the cards in each players' hands fell to the Graveyard as each player replaced them with the same number of cards.
"Discarding cards," Rory noticed. "I expect you will spend much of this duel doing just that."
"Indeed I will, because doing so often lets me summon new monsters like Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World (4/1600/1300)," a blue-skinned, muscular demon wearing bone armor. "And discarding Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World, I can destroy a monster on your side of the field. But you have other plans, don't you?"
"You know Cyber Phoenix's Deck Master ability?"
"I work in programming and I study a lot. I know every Deck Master ability used in this tournament. By discarding a card, you negate a targeting effect and get to keep your monster."
"That's exactly what I'm doing," Rory confirmed. Her Deck Master hopped behind Cyberdark Horn and created a cocoon with its metal wings, blocking the suicidal bombing by Kahkki.
Justin nodded. "Good. Then I'll play The Gates of Dark World." A wall appeared on the field, blocking Justin from Rory, but this wall was shaped like a tome, and it opened to provide a passageway to rejoin the field. "With this field, all fiends gain 300 attack and defense points. Additionally, I can banish Scarr from my Graveyard to discard Grapha from my hand and draw one card." A black dragon with horns out of every node on its body burst from the ground as if fighting for survival against quicksand. "When Grapha is discarded, he destroys a card on the field."
"And Cyber Phoenix will protect Cyberdark Horn again," Rory said as she discarded.
"Looks like I'm not the only one discarding a lot," Justin commented. Rory just shrugged. "By returning Beiige to my hand, I can revive from the Graveyard Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World (8/+3000/+2100) from the Graveyard." Erupting from the Graveyard was a black dragon covered with so many shiny horns that a hug would kill even an armored monster. "And for my Normal Summon, I'll bring Beiige (+1900) back to the field." He smiled. "No more targeting effects now. Just attacking." Grapha reared, let out a tremendous roar, and tore the Hunter Dragon from the Cyberdark Horn.
"My monster isn't destroyed by this battle. Only the Equip Card is destroyed."
"Yeah, but I get another attack." Beiige thrust his spear into the mechanical monster and shorted its circuits. "That ends my turn."
Rory 8000 – 500 – 1100 = 6400: Justin 6000.
"Well," Rory said, "I'll play this turn with Future Fusion." A green-and-white swirl of energy appeared on the field, drawing five dragons straight from Rory's deck. "In two turns, I'll summon Five-Headed Dragon to the field. But you expected that, didn't you?"
"I did a little. It's a popular card."
"And a threatening one, even in the Graveyard. I'll play Trade-In and discard Felgrand Dragon to draw two new cards." A holographic exchange appeared on the field, showing two faceless men exchanging a statue of a golden dragon for two unseen cards. She huffed when she picked up those cards. "Lucky me: Pot of Greed means I can draw two more." A green pot appeared with a goofy grin that showed off its decaying teeth. The pot tipped over to provide two more cards to Rory. "Now I'll play Cyberdark Impact!"
"There it is," Justin said. "In all honesty, I expected Overload Fusion. I've seen Matt dominate a few duels with it, plus I understand Chimeratech Overdragon helped you finish the tournament this morning."
"It would be helpful," Rory admitted. "Are you planning to stop me?"
"Right. Sorry. I'm playing Dark Deal. I pay 1000 Life Points, and then your card changes its effect. Instead of letting you summon Cyberdark Dragon, it forces me to discard a random card from my hand." He placed his cards on his Duel Disk and watched the system light one card in the middle. "I'm discarding Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World (5/2300/1400)," a tall, muscular demon equipped with gold armor and a gold partisan in hand. "When he's discarded, he gets summoned to the field. When you discard him, he's summoned with a grudge." Goldd swung his mighty polearm at the distorted space in front of Rory and caused it to dissipate. "He would destroy two cards on your field, but Future Fusion is all you have. I guess you won't be summoning Five-Headed Dragon after all."
"I've been in worse situations. I've dueled Matt multiple times."
"How often did you win?"
"Maybe a dozen times over two years. But that was before he started using his Darklord deck. I haven't dueled him lately."
"That's too bad. Think of it this way: I'm giving you good practice for him. And I almost forgot to tell you this part: When you discard a card from my hand, Snoww's effect activates. I get to move a Dark World monster to my hand and you lose a card from yours." The fiendish woman slammed her staff on the ground, sending sparks that struck Justin's deck and Rory's hand.
"Geez." Rory sighed as she watched a card disappear from her hand. "Having only one card left sure limits my options. I'll set this and end my turn."
Rory 6400: Justin 6000 – 1000 = 5000.
"My options aren't as limited as yours. I'll use The Gates of Dark World again to banish Kahkki and discard Gren, Tactician of Dark World." A demon wearing a green cape moved to dismantle the facedown card in front of Rory.
"You can't destroy it if I use it," Rory pointed out. A powerful, hearty bellow echoed across the field. "Threatening Roar prevents you from declaring an attack this turn."
Justin had a confused look on his face. "What made that roar?"
Rory winked. "You'll find out."
Head throbbing, ears ringing, his eyes felt heavy, but slowly Matt awoke. He felt achy, his arms were numb, and his legs felt heavy. The discomfort felt unnatural. His brain naturally deduced that he passed out, but why did his feet feel so heavy? Even if he passed out on his feet, all the blood in his body shouldn't be dripping to his toes without taking a side trip to his fingers. After wriggling a bit—about all he could muster—he realized his hands were tied above him, his body dangling just enough to keep him on his toes. He tried to pull the rope over the tree branch, but it was caught on a knot, and he couldn't get past it with his arms feeling so numb. Why?
He was still in the woods. The Ghost Duelist was nowhere in sight. What happened to their duel? Did Matt lose already? Is that how he got tied up?
"Oh, my god! Are you okay, Matt?"
Every neuron in Matt's brain said he shouldn't hear that voice. Squeezing his eyes shut and opening them a few times to ensure adequate blood flow, he turned and saw Lucy Mercer. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman at Duel Academy, even with that look of shock and horror from seeing Matt in such a position. She hugged him briefly and touched his cheek before reaching up and helping him work the rope past the knot in the tree branch. She had to climb his shoulders a bit to pull the branch forward enough to even reach the rope.
"How can you be here?" he asked incredulously.
"I had a feeling you were in… trouble!" she edged out as she managed to work the rope past the knot. The branch dipped forward and deposited Matt on the ground. He was too weak stand at the moment. Lucy dropped to his side and held him tenderly. Her touch felt amazing. "I took an early flight back here. It seems like I got back just in time."
Stop it, he told himself. She's in love with your best friend.
But even so, it was hard not to feel something for her. Lucy was the first person Matt tried to date at school here. She was fun, smart, a little self-conscious, but she was just about perfect. She was slightly bigger than most of the women at school, but she was well proportioned and her skin was flawless. And she was dating Bryan pretty seriously, as far as Matt knew.
"I guess I could use some help," Matt admitted. "I had Potter, but I passed out and lost him. He's the one who tied me up."
"We'll get him," she assured him with another gentle touch to on the cheek. "Kiss me."
What? Matt's expression conveyed his inability to give voice to his incredulity. What word could possibly describe how wildly inappropriate that question was?
"Just a quick one," she requested. Looking a bit shocked herself, she said, "I just want to be sure before Bryan and I get any closer." She leaned in closer. "You're…"
"Not interested," he lied, turning away. "Sure, I've wondered, but you're potentially a sister to me. I could never hurt you like that."
Suddenly Potter appeared out of a cloud of dust, directly behind Lucy. He reached around her neck with both arms, and then both disappeared in a second dust cloud, almost like they disintegrated.
"Lucy!" Matt reached out to where she once stood, but she was gone. Potter got her! Matt clenched a fist and slammed it on the ground. No matter how much that move hurt, he couldn't believe Potter kidnapped Lucy right in front of him. That bastard…
"Matt? Are you here?"
Hopeful Potter didn't get far with Lucy, Matt turned to see Rory rushing toward him through the trees. She dropped down and wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she'd ever given him. "Thank god. I thought maybe the Ghost Duelist got to you."
"He's around here somewhere," Matt warned her. "He just grabbed Lucy and disappeared."
"He did?" She sounded terribly frightened. "I can't believe it. He's so powerful."
"Apparently more than we realized. He's like a real ghost."
Rory buried her head in Matt's arm. "I can't take this," she said, her voice muffled by his sleeve. She pulled her head back and looked into Matt's eyes. She still clung to his arm through his sleeve. "Let's leave now."
"What?"
"Let's just go somewhere far away, somewhere the Ghost Duelist will never find us."
"He's trying to destroy the world!" Matt pointed out. "We can't just run away from that."
"He's too powerful. We can't do anything against him, anyway. But we can run away together. It'll be just the two of us. We'll get so far away we won't have to deal with all these world threats, and even the Apocalypse can't take us. Please?" She was so pretty, and Matt really wanted to do nothing more than hold her and stop her shaking.
"No," he said. "I can't just run from this. Maybe I can do something."
Rory's expression sunk, then she screamed when Potter appeared behind her. In a single swipe, he grabbed her. Matt felt her fingers fade from his arm not as a loosening grip, but as a disappearing person. She wasn't just being pulled away; Potter was making everyone disappear.
"Why are you doing this?" Potter materialized in front of him. He wore that silver hair characteristic of the Ghost Duelist, and he carried a big smirk on his face. Matt growled at him, "Where are you taking them?"
"It doesn't matter, does it?" Cary sauntered up behind Potter and shot her own sneer. "Whatever he's doing, whatever he's planning, you'll stop him," she said to Matt. "You always do. You are Duel Academy's true guardian. Anything he can do, you can undo."
What was going on here? Where did Cary come from just now? Was she hiding back there the whole time? And what was she saying? Duel Academy's true guardian…
"You captured all the God Cards," she continued. "You won the School Duel as a freshman. You hold the title for an international tournament. There is an entire store of power deep inside you that you can draw on at any time to become stronger. Nothing in this world can stop you when you put your mind to it. This Ghost is a mere shadow against you."
Matt scoffed. "That… may or may not be true, but I never took any of those challenges lightly, even if I joked otherwise. I just… do what I can, you know?"
Instantly, Potter jumped on Cary and made her disappear in a third cloud of dust. Matt reached after them, but he exerted much less effort than before. He was noticing a pattern here, not limited to the fact that he couldn't stop Potter from disappearing with all his friends.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Don't worry, bro. I got your back."
He didn't even need to turn to recognize Bryan's voice. His sworn brother stood behind him, standing tall with his arms folded to accentuate his biceps. "As soon as that bastard shows his face again, we'll show him what-for." He tilted his head down to give Matt a good view of his grin. "You go low and I'll go high, just like back on the field, yeah?"
Confusion with a level of realization pushed Matt to his feet. Logic was beginning to take root, and this whole place felt less real—even his pain. "How in the hell could you possibly be here?" he asked. "Santa Barbara is several hours away even by helicopter, and I just got a text from Mitsuro an hour ago about your challenge with Salman Rushdie or whatever his name is. There's no way you're really here, and so full of wrath. Seriously, what good would it do us to tackle Potter if he had the ability to disappear and reappear?"
Slipping away like he was made of dust, Bryan faded from view without being attacked. Matt was right. Everything he saw since awakening here was false.
"You can come out now," Matt shouted. "I know this is a game. Playing on the lust I once felt for Lucy, slothfully running away with Rory, Cary stroking my pride more than I've ever heard from her, and Bryan pushing me to vent my frustration physically. What's the problem? You didn't have a nice steak to tempt me with?"
"The problem is I could not find enough steak to tempt you. Your gluttony already knows no bounds." Potter stepped up to Matt from behind, his real form this time. "Recognizing temptation is not enough to change yourself. Your life is filled with confusion and pensiveness."
"I get by," Matt growled. "I can't be too bad off if I beat your game."
Potter laughed. "You envy the drive I have in my life. A simple life with an obvious goal would relieve so much of your tension. Lost, you drift from place to place. You haven't stopped to enjoy college life. Too many life-threatening events give you a hero complex. You desire a more peaceful existence where the only chaos is that which you, yourself, introduce through childish pranks... everything the world won't give you, in other words. Don't you see it?" He leaned in and sneered. "You hate everything."
The words hurt Matt to hear. Was that how others saw him? As difficult as life had been—adoption, abuse, an uncreated spirit dwelling inside his body—he never truly felt so negatively about everyone else. Sure, other people seemed to have it easier, but life was just something each person had to deal with; they all had their own challenges maybe Matt wouldn't be able to handle as well. But maybe moping around demonstrated a whole new, erroneous façade to other people. It was time to stop moping and deal with his emotional distress head on, and maybe with a little help from his real friends.
"Get out of my head."
First off, tremendous thanks to tiramisu19 for helping me script Rory's duel with Justin. Writing it out is so much easier when the moves are already in place.
Next time: Matt suffers from residual effects of the Ghost Duelist's mind game and can't react while the villain prepares to break the fifth seal. Is Potter really who he says he is? Rory and Justin continue their duel evenly-matched, but which will be crowned the tournament champion?
Weekly trivia: The life lesson Matt learns this week wasn't scripted. It's an example of the characters telling me how the story is supposed to go.
Credits:
Ignacio Velez-Menendez...tiramisu19
Tai Ishihara...ZAFT Prime
Mitsuro Itachu...Titanic X