This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author AaronCottrell97 for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown

WARNING: Again, the story is rated T (13-plus) for moments of violence, bloody moments, and some suggestive themes. Chapter is also noted for some nudity, brief language (including the series' only use of the F-word), some gropping on a female character (by a male character), some near rape, and even attempted suicide (as a result, the chapter is rated M). Viewer discretion may be advised.


Emily could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"M-My...monsters!" The dark green-haired girl stuttered in fear. "They're... they're..."

"They're much more powerful now." finished Airknight Parshath. "That is the gift of darkness." He then corrected himself. "Actually, my mistake, Fairy Archer is much weaker now that its effect has been rendered useless!"

"Useless?"

"With no light attribute monsters, Fairy Archer's effect cannot be activated!" The centaur-like monster pointed out (LP: 200). "That means I'm safe from your attempt to defeat me!"

Emily never said a word back. She was starting to hear familiar voices in her head from a very long time ago... the voices belonging to Gordon and James when they bullied her.

"You? Tell on us? Did you hear that, Gordon?" - (Young James)

"You were right. She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale." - (Young Gordon)

"Oh yes... No likes a tattletale...like you." - (Young James)

"Goody-goody tattletale...!" - (Young Gordon / Young James)

Poor Emily collapsed to her knees once more. The bad memories of her past were returning once more to haunt her, and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Make it stop!" Emily cried to herself. "Make it all STOP!"

Airknight Parshath, however, knew that his opponent wasn't completely broken just yet. He needed a special way to make it happen. But how? Unknown to him, that way would soon come...

(elsewhere...)

Back inside the praying chamber, Wingweaver slowly managed to get to her feet. She had seen her best friend's murder of Darklord Zerato, and was a little surprised to see Guardian Eatos looking upset over doing the deed.

"Guardian Eatos..." The angelic-like monster whispered. "Are you-?"

"Why... why did I do that?" whispered Guardian Eatos in shame. "I... I killed him."

Still very weak from the beating she took, Wingweaver limped over and laid a hand onto her friend's should.

"You did what was necessary."

"I'm a monster..." Poor Guardian Eatos went on. "Now I know how Nathaniel felt when-"

Just then...

"Did someone mention a Nathaniel?" snickered a familiar voice (male).

The two female Duel Monsters spirits turned around... and gasped at what they saw.

"NO!"

It was Gozaburo Gresley, and with him was...a captured Nathaniel.

"You know, it's never a good idea to leave your son in the middle of a war." said Gozaburo in a sadistic tone, wagging the index finger of his right hand. "You never know what could happen to him."

"Nathaniel!" cried Guardian Eatos.

"Who are you?!" demanded Wingweaver in a hostile tone.

Gozaburo chuckled. "My name is of no concern. However, you will do me a favor and surrender this whole palace to me! ...or else, this boy will meet an untiming end."

To prove a point, he cocked and motioned a gun to the black-haired young man's face, ready to open fire if needed.

"Your choice."

"Let them kill me, Mother!" cried Nathaniel. "For the good of you and everyone here at the temple, I would rather die than let this shrine fall to darkness! Besides, this way, I will atone for my crime."

But Guardian Eatos did not want to let her adopted son die. If she did, then her one promise to Wingweaver would be broken, and she would never forgive herself.

"I..."

"Well?!" shouted Gozaburo, quickly losing patience. "What is your choice? Surrender and let the boy live? ...or allow him to be killed...?"

At last, Guardian Eatos spoke... "Alright, you win! I'll stand down."

With that said, she dropped her Celestial Sword onto the ground. Wingweaver, because she was still very weak from her wound and beating, was left with no other alternative but to stand down also.

"I'll stand down, too." The angelic-like monster added.

"Smart choice." grinned Gozaburo. He then pushed his prisoner forth. "Here, you can have him back."

Nathaniel nearly fell onto his face, but managed to remain on his feet. Guardian Eatos and Wingweaver both ran over to the black-haired young man.

"Nathaniel!" exclaimed Guardian Eatos, hugging her adopted son tightly. "My son... thank heaven you're safe."

"Mother... I'm sorry." said Nathaniel sadly. "I had tried to fight the enemy off, but I got overpowered."

"All that matters is that you did your best." Wingweaver reassured. She then scowled and gazed back at Gozaburo. "Alright... we've surrendered. What now?"

"Hmm..." mused Gozaburo. "That's a good question... and I have an answer for it!" He aimed his gun up at Nathaniel. "You know something? I never actually said he'd be released...alive."

(elsewhere...)

In the middle of the hallway...

*BANG!*

(elsewhere...)

Gozaburo was smiling in a twisted and insane way, and his gun was smoking from the shot. Wingweaver could only whisper something in paralyzing shock...

"No..."

A certain someone couldn't either...

"MMMMOOOOTTTTHHHHEEEERRRR!" screamed the voice...of Nathaniel.

Yes... Guardian Eatos had been shot fatally in her heart. Originally, the shot was meant for the black-haired boy, but Guardian Eatos quickly got in the way and took it for her adopted son. She was now lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

"Mother! Mother!" panicked Nathaniel, kneeling down and holding his adopted Mother in his arms. "Speak to me! Please, speak to me!"

Guardian Eatos, slowly dying, managed to open her eyes.

"Mother..." whispered Nathaniel, struggling not to cry. "Why did you do that?"

"You're my...son." said Guardian Eatos slowly. "And...I want to see...that you are kept...safe."

"Guardian Eatos..." whispered Wingweaver in a heartbroken tone.

"Mother, you can't leave me!" begged Nathaniel, tears finally coming down his eyes. "I've already lost my parents... I don't want you to go, too!"

"Even in death... I will always be with you."

With the last of her strength, Guardian Eatos braced her hand onto her adopted son's chest and started glowing all white, making him glow white also.

"Good...bye... Nathaniel..." whispered the female Guardian-like monster.

With that said, her eyes closed, her body went limb, and she then faded to particles of light and vanished. Nathaniel, absolutely devastated by the loss of his adopted Mother, stood back up and turned to face Gozaburo as rage burned in his blood.

"You scum!" he seethed, unaware that someone was sneaking up on him. "I'll-!"

Before the black-haired young man could finish, someone bobbed him in the back of the head. Nathaniel then fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Nathaniel!" cried Wingweaver, before someone else bashed her in the back of the head.

The angelic-like monster blacked out and collapsed onto the ground, as well. Gozaburo smiled as he saw that two Vorse Raiders were shown to have done the deeds of knocking the opposition out.

"You'll thank me for that later, boy." insisted Gozaburo, leering down at the defeated Nathaniel. "With that pathetic Guardian Eatos now dead as a door-nail, your true potential can now be unleashed." He then turned to the Vorse Raiders. "Grab him and let's go."

One of the Vorse Raiders obeyed the command, lifting and carrying the unconscious black-haired young man over its shoulder.

"Let's get out of here... We've done our job!"

(elsewhere...)

Before long, as the army of darkness retreated with their new prisoner, The Sanctuary in the Sky was left in complete ruins. Many humans and monsters were either dead or wounded, and the statues and holy shrines were also badly damaged. What's worse, when a certain dark green-haired girl found out about the attack...


Title: The Angel Trapped in Darkness, Part 4


Back in the forest of flowers, both Airknight Parshath and Emily had witnessed the events through the crystal ball.

"So, you've gotten what you need?" asked Airknight Parshath to the crystal ball.

The crystal ball was showing an image of Gozaburo, and he was smiling in a truly evil way.

"Yes, The Sanctuary in the Sky has surrendered." The evil man confirmed eagerly. "And we also have the boy, Nathaniel. We're taking him back to the castle to perform some experiments on him."

Airknight Parshath nodded. "Great! I'll return once I have the girl in my possession." The Court of Darkness member obeyed.

The crystal ball dimmed. Emily, meanwhile, as she collapsed to her knees, could only stare on in disbelief and sorrow as more tears leaked from her eyes over what had happened to her new friends at The Sanctuary in the Sky. The one place she briefly found herself at peace... The many friends she successfully made there... It was possible that they were all dead, and there wasn't anything she could do about it, now...

"How could you..." she whispered, slowing raising her voice. "How could you do such a horrible thing?!"

Airknight Parshath raised his head. "Hm? I'm sorry, but you'll have to speak more loudly than that, please."

That sickening taunt from the Court of Darkness member had done it... Emily had truly reached her breaking point, and she couldn't take it anymore. The dark green-haired girl, shaking hard, slowly rose to her feet, not uttering a single word at first. She then turned around sharply, and her tears and sadness had been replaced with a dark expression full of nothing but fury, hatred, and pure malice towards the fallen angel that was her opponent! ...that, and her eyes were flashing crimson red from the dark influence inside her heart.

"PARSHATH!" Emily screamed in rage, with a dark aura now beginning to surround and burn around her body.

The power of the teenage girl's shout was strong enough to release a shockwave and actually push Airknight Parshath back slightly. The Court of Darkness member, however, merely chuckled lightly without any sort of care, despite being pushed back. Witnessing the seige on The Sanctuary of the Sky, the destructions of the whole palace, and the deaths of so many innocent monsters—particularly Guardian Eatos—and the capture of Nathaniel, had successfully allowed Emily to fully embrace and unleash all of the darkness within her heart! ...and it would soon lead to her downfall.

"Prepare yourself, you son-of-a-bitch! Thanks to Darklord Ixchel's effect, you've dug your own grave!" thundered the usually friendly dark green-haired girl. Her voice and tone had both become unbelievably dark, menacing, and venomous, thus perfectly replicating her expression. It was as if any trace of Emily's true self had been eliminated upon witnessing the battle and deaths at The Sanctuary in the Sky. "My Wingweaver's attack points are 2750, your Darklord Ixchel has 2500 attack points, while you only have 200 Life Points left! One single attack from my monster, and you're through!"

Airknight Parshath briefly flinched as he realized that Emily was right. One attack would end the duel, and possibly his life. With Emily so immersed in her darkness and hatred for Airknight Parshath, she would gladly attempt to murder him without any resistance or hesitation.

"Wingweaver - annihilate Darklord Ixchel, and kill this fucking bastard for good!" cried Emily, having used a VERY strong swear word in her sentence (shockingly). The now dark attribute Wingweaver, meanwhile, obeyed and began to prepare her attack that would end the duel with Emily's victory. "With this coming assault, you will pay for your actions, AND ROT IN HELL FOR THIS BETRAYAL OF YOUR KIND!"

Crying out in nothing but fury, Wingweaver finally unleashed her attack, striking Darklord Ixchel with an orb of darkness and creating a large explosion that clouded Airknight Parshath's field. Emily, breathing hard from her terrifying fit of dark rage, watched as the black smoke began to spread over to her side of the field.

"Wingweaver, Guardian Eatos... you've both been avenged... The one who betrayed you is finally dead..."

Then, Emily flinched, as from the smoke she heard a sinister chuckling that turned into equally sinister laughter... The smoke soon cleared away and revealed that Airknight Parshath was still alive.

"What?!" Emily flinched, taking a step back out of reflex. "You-?!"

"Oh please... Did you honestly think you could actually defeat me like this?" The Court of Darkness member asked in a taunting tone. "Your reckless action led you into this trap."

He motioned to one of his activated facedown cards. This one was shown to be...

"Draining Shield!"

Emily, as her red-eyes widened, gave a gasp of shock.

"As you know-" continued Airknight Parshath, gaining life points (LP: 2950). "-this Trap card negates your attack and raises my life points by the current attack power of your attacking monster... Like, for instance, Wingweaver... She has 2750 attack points, and that means I gain that much life points and get my score set to 2950."

"Grr... Goddammit!" cursed Emily, feeling enraged that her final attack had failed to defeat her opponent.

Unfortunately, Airknight Parshath wasn't through just yet...

"And now, I shall put your Wingweaver out of further use!" he continued, just before motioning his right hand towards his second set card. "Facedown card, open!" The facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Continuous Trap - Shadow Spell, activate!"

Suddenly, Wingweaver found herself bound by many chains, weakening her attack strength by a fair bit (ATK: 2750 - 2050).

"Wingweaver!" cried Emily, just before directing her anger towards her opponent once more. "What the hell have you done to her?!"

"As I've mentioned in activating it, Shadow Spell is a Continuous Trap card." explained Airknight Parshath. "So long as it remains face-up on my field, your monster becomes constricted and unable to attack or defend itself. In addition, it receives a 700 attack point deduction while being trapped." He then chuckled cruelly. "Your own ace monster has become a victim of your dark lust for revenge, Emily!"

Emily growled in annoyance as she took and readied two cards from her hand.

"Your smart-mouth will be the end of you yet." The dark green-haired girl hissed, slotting the cards into her Duel Disk. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Two facedown cards materialized on the field behind the trapped Wingweaver.

"So now, take your turn, Parshath!"

"With pleasure." nodded Airknight Parshath, drawing his next card. "Draw!"


Turn Eight: Airknight Parshath (LP: 2950)
Deck: 27
Current Hand (2): Darklord Ukoback and Graceful Charity


His drawn card was the Graceful Charity Spell card. The Court of Darkness member, due to it being the standby phase, then opened his arms in welcome...

"Since we're on my standby phase, Darklord Marie's effect will again activate!" Airknight Parshath reminded.

With that said, the centaur-like monster's life points increased yet again (LP: 3150), much to Emily's further anger and frustration.

"And now... to continue your downfall!"

He selected from his hand (which contained Darklord Ukoback and Graceful Charity) the card on the right and held it out.

"I'll first activate Graceful Charity!" announced Airknight Parshath. "This Spell Card lets me draw three additional cards from my deck, so long as I discard two cards from my hand afterward."

He drew three cards (Spiritualism, Darklord Amdusc, and Darklord Nasten) from his deck before choosing which ones to discard. One was a Spell card, and the other two were monster cards. Presently, Airknight Parshath discarded the two monster cards.

"I'll send these two cards to the graveyard!" declared the Court of Darkness member, showing his opponent the two cards. "Darklord Amdusc and Darklord Nasten! With them added to my graveyard, Darknight Parshath gains 200 more attack points!"

Darknight Parshath grew stronger (ATK: 2600 - 2800). Scowling, Emily held her left hand to one of her set cards...

"Facedown card, open!" she cried, ust as the set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Graceful Tear! By giving you exactly one card from my hand, I'll gain 2000 life points!"

Airknight Parshath nodded. "By all means."

Emily glowed in an aura of light as her life points increased (LP: 2175). She then looked at her last card before hurling it like a shuriken to her opponent, who caught and looked at it.

"Miraculous Descent..." mused Airknight Parshath. He then smirked at his darkness-induced opponent. "I see no use for it. Actually, your facedown card disturbs me a little bit... so I think I'd better deal with it before I attack you."

Emily only glared at the Court of Darkness member fiercely. Her flashing red-eyes made her look pretty frightening for such a beautiful-looking girl.

"From my hand, I'll activate the Spell card Spiritualism!" announced Airknight Parshath, holding his next card out. "Now one Spell/Trap card on your side of the field is returned to your hand!"

One of Emily's only remaining facedown cards was, much to her shock, returned to to her hand.

"How does it feel?" asked the Court of Darkness member. "How does it feel that you've finally embaced the darkness?"

Emily said nothing. She could feel her darkness and rage continuing to build up to boiling levels.

"No matter what-" continued Airknight Parshath. "-you can't escape darkness once you've embraced and unleashed it!"

"Shut up!" screamed Emily, as the dark aura around her burned more fiercely and powerfully.

Seeing as he wasn't going to get anywhere else, Airknight Parshath entered his battle phase...

"Darklord Ixchel-" he commanded. "-take down Fairy Archer, now!"

Darklord Ixchel obeyed, lunging forward towards the defenseless Fairy Archer.

"There's nothing I can do to save my monster!" Emily thought to herself, helplessly. She then remembered something... "It's like I can't seem to do anything right..."

A flashback began.


FLASHBACK

Inside Sodor Middle School, Young Emily was at her locker again, when suddenly it slammed shut on her.

"Huh?"

It was Young Gordon who did the deed, and Young James was standing beside him.

"What did you do that for?" Young Emily asked in surprise, but got nervous when she saw that the taller boy was smirking deviously. "W-What's the meaning of this?"

"Lookie what we have here, James." said Young Gordon.

"Yeah..." agreed Young James, also smirking. "Someone who doesn't appreciate someone as handsome as me..."

"And someone who dares to interrupt my time when I was busy listening to music."

Young Emily was again annoyed. "Oh, you two are still upset about-"

Suddenly, Young Gordon roughly shoved the young dark green-haired girl until her back smashed into the locker. Young Emily wasn't hurt, but she was feeling scared, right now. But what really made her upset...was where she was touched for the shove (her chest, that is).

"D-Did you just touch my-?" Young Emily began, getting red in the face.

"Keep quiet!" threatened Young James, cutting off what the girl was about to say. "Because of what you said to both of us, Gordon and I don't like you."

"W-Well...I-I don't like you either." retorted Young Emily, trying to remain brave...but her eyes were getting wet with tears. "Now leave me alone or I'll report you both to the principal."

This only caused Young Gordon and Young James to burst out laughing.

"You? Tell on us?" chortled Young James. "Did you hear that, Gordon?"

"You were right." laughed Young Gordon. "She is a nothing but a goody goody tattletale."

"T-Tattletale?" Young Emily spluttered.

"Oh yes..." The young red-haired boy confirmed. "No likes a tattletale...like you."

With that said, Young James went and shoved Young Emily back into the lockers (touching her clothed chest in doing so) as he and his older friend both walked off laughing, unaware of what they would eventually be responsible for. Feeling humiliated, threatened, violated, and hurt, Young Emily finally started to cry as she ran down the hallway towards one of the girls' bathrooms.

(new scene...)

Later after school, the door to the Sterling residence had opened... and a glum-looking Young Emily walked into the house.

"Emily!" called the young dark green-haired girl's Mother from the living room. "How was school today?"

Young Emily only grew sadder from being asked that question. She really wanted to talk to her parents about her being bullied... but was far too afraid to tell anyone about it. With that thought on hand...

"It... it was a good day!" lied Young Emily. She then walked towards the kitchen sink to get herself a glass of water. "It was a good day..."

Mrs. Sterling soon walked into the kitchen. The woman was smiling bright and cheerfully.

"I'm so happy to hear that." commented Mrs. Sterling pleasantly. "Glad to see you're enjoying yourself."

Oh, if only she really knew...

END FLASHBACK


The flashback ended.

"Why did I have to be too afraid to tell her?" Emily thought to herself.

Darklord Ixchel soon struck and destroyed Fairy Archer.

"Fairy Archer has been destroyed!" declared Airknight Parshath.

Emily barely noticed the damage she took (LP: 1075).

"Now then... Once I've taken down Wingweaver, you'll have no chance of beating me!"

Darknight Parshath readied his sword, ready to end everything...

"Take Wingweaver down!" commanded Airknight Parshath.

Darknight Parshath obeyed, charging towards Wingweaver. Emily, too full of regret, darkness, despair, and anger to notice the attack, was about to lose everything she had worked so hard to obtain—well, she would have lost everything, had it not been for a voice speaking up...

"Emily! You must hurry and stop the attack...!"

Emily suddenly snapped out and looked around in surprise.

"Huh?" The dark green-haired girl blinked. "What?"

Darknight Parshath got closer and closer...

"Trap card, open!" shouted Emily, just as her remaining facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Nitwit Outwit!"

Airknight Parshath frowned. "Nitwit Outwit?"

"By discarding a monster card-" explained Emily, readying a card from her hand. "-one monster on the field loses attack points by the attack of the discarded monster."

On cue, a monster card called Mystical Shine Ball materialized face-up briefly before fading away. Darknight Parshath's attack lowered by 500 points (ATK: 2800 - 2300).

"The monster I've sent to the graveyard is Mystical Shine Ball." Emily continued. "Its attack stat is 500, meaning Darknight Parshath's attack of 2800 is lowered to 2300."

Darknight Parshath sliced Wingweaver clean-in-two with his sword, causing her to fade away in particles of darkness... Emily also took more battle damage (LP: 825).

"It wasn't enough." Airknight Parshath pointed out. "And now, my monster's effect will activate! Whenever Darknight Parshath inflicts battle damage to you, I'm able to remove one dark attribute monster from my graveyard to draw one card from the deck."

A card slid from his graveyard as the Court of Darkness member drew a card. Darknight Parshath's attack stat went down (ATK: 2300 - 2200). On cue, a facedown card materialized on the field.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." finished Airknight Parshath. He then smiled widely. "And now... Sacred Arrow's effect activates! I didn't lose any monsters at any time this turn, but you've lost two of 'em..."

"No...!" thought Emily, looking towards the face-up Sacred Arrow Trap card.

Two large arrows shot from the card, striking Emily. Time seemed to freeze all-around her for some reason... The reason because she remembered one converstation she had with Thomas years ago...

"You alright, Emily?" - (Young Thomas)

"I'm fine. Now go and make that bottom half! The snowman won't build itself, you know." - (Young Emily)

"There's no reason to be so bossy. I'm just concerned with this new attitude of your's. Lately you've been bossing the others around and getting into trouble for it. Why are you acting like this, anyway?" - (Young Thomas)

"I said I'm fine!" - (Young Emily)

"Rubbish! Please, Emily, just tell me what's-" - (Young Thomas)

"I SAID I'M FINE, YOU LITTLE TWIT!" - (Young Emily)

Time then resumed normal, and Emily collapsed to a knee as she took 800 more points of damage (LP: 25).

"Now do you see?" asked Airknight Parshath. "You have no chance of defeating me. Your darkness has blinded your senses, and your anger has clouded your better judgement."

Emily, her eyes still flashing all red, only glared silently and hatefully at her opponent.

"Why don't you just surrender? The sooner you do so, the sooner I can return you to the Castle of Dark Illusions."

Getting back to her feet, the dark green-haired girl only looked to the sky and gave another ear-piercing scream of rage as the dark aura around her grew bigger and bigger.

"There's nothing you can do to stop this, Emily Sterling." pressed Airknight Parshath, unfazed by the scream. "The darkness is stronger than you will ever be. Stop resisting and just accept it!"

Emily only drew her next card silently and fiercely.


Turn Nine: Emily Sterling (LP: 25)
Deck: 31
Current Hand (4): Kuribon, Celestial Transformation, Wings of Misdirection, and Cards from the Sky


The card was a Spell card called Cards from the Sky.

"Cards of the Sky..." Emily thought to herself.

Currently, her hand contained Kuribon, Celestial Transformation, Wings of Misdirection, and the added Cards from the Sky.

"There has to be a way... There has to be a way to stop the darkess... Maybe it's in my deck somewhere?"

On cue, the Cards from the Sky Spell card flipped face-up and revealed itself.

"I activate Cards from the Sky!" announced Emily, as a card slipped out of her graveyard before fading away into oblivion. "By removing one light attribute fairy-type monster from the graveyard, I'm able to draw two cards from my deck."

Airknight Parshath, watching as the dark green-haired girl draw two cards, raised an eyebrow at his opponent's persistence to keep going. Emily, meanwhile, saw she had drawn two monster cards (Hanewata and Consecrated Light); one of which was just what she needed.

"I summon Consecrated Light in defense mode!"

A small yellow ball of light with a face appeared to the field (Level: 1/DEF: 0).

"Consecrated Light?" frowned Airknight Parshath.

"This monster prevents either of us from summoning dark attribute monsters." explained Emily. "Not only that, but it can't be destroyed by dark monsters either, and I take no battle damage." In her thoughts... "With this out, I can buy myself some time until I can figure a way out of my mess."

Unfortunately...

"We can't summon dark attribute monsters thanks to that thing?" scoffed Airknight Parshath. "Sorry, but that simply won't do."

"What?!" cried Emily.

"I play a Trap card!" announced the Court of Darkness member, just as his last set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Darklord Rebellion!"

All of a sudden, Consecrated Light was destroyed.

"My Consecrated Light was destroyed!" gasped Emily. "B-But how?"

"By sending one Darklord-named monster card from my hand to the graveyard-" explained Airknight Parshath, discarding a card from his hand to the graveyard. "-I can destroy one card on the field! ...like your Consecrated Light."

Emily shut her eyes tightly. That monster was the only thing left that could help her find a way out of this situation. With it now destroyed, there was no hope left to try for a miracle in surviving.

"And, seeing as your monster was destroyed-" Airknight Parshath went on. "-you know what happens once your turn ends..."

Emily didn't say a word back. She knew exactly what would happen at the end phase. But at this point, the dark green-haired girl didn't care about the duel anymore. All she wanted was for the pain and suffering to end...

"Tommy..." Emily whimpered.

"Thomas is gone!" exclaimed Airknight Parshath harshly. "He's never coming back! And even if he found you now, would he like of what he saw you as?"

Emily still said nothing, but inside her mind...

(elsewhere...)

Inside a world of darkness, Emily felt cold, lonely, and very depressed. She had given into the darkness during the duel, and it had cost her big time... It possibly even cost her the whole duel.

"This is all my fault." Emily said to herself quietly, shivering. "I had given into my anger, despair, and darkness, and now look what has happened... If I hadn't been such a coward as a child, perhaps things would have turned out better. Oh, Thomas, I'm so sorry..."

"Emily... there's still hope..." echoed a new voice (female).

Standing up in surprise, Emily started looking around the world of darkness for the source of the voice.

"That voice..." she whispered. "What could it-?"

Suddenly, Emily saw a young woman walking towards her. Although she couldn't see who it was at first, as the new arrival got closer and closer, Emily's eyes widened with shock at who it was.

"It...can't be possible!"

This young woman...looked like an older version of Emily! ...only she was dressed in a beautiful emerald green gown, and had long, brunette-colored hair.

"Who... who are you?" asked Emily in bewilderment.

The Emily look-alike smiled grimly. "I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you my name yet."

Emily was surprised by the young woman's voice. It sounded so much different than her own voice and even had a slight Scottish accent to it.

"What I can tell you-" The brunette-haired young woman continued. "-is that your Thomas is still alive."

"He is?!" gasped Emily, completely shocked to have been told this spec of info. "How do you know?"

"Again, I cannot tell you... But what I can tell you, is that your Thomas is currently fighting his darkness."

Emily was growing more and more shocked. "His darkness? Then, please, you MUST take me to him!"

"Are you sure?" asked the brunette-haired young woman, sounding very hesitate. "Because if you do see him, you might never be the same again."

"Please, show me!" begged Emily. "I NEED to see him!"

Frowning, the young woman complied and made her hands glow all white. Emily covered her eyes as the whole area was covered by the blinding light.

(new location...)

When Emily opened her eyes, she noticed that she was still in the world of darkness. This time, however, she was not alone...

"Thomas?"

Nearby, lying on the ground, with a scar on the left side of his face, was none other than...

"Thomas!" exclaimed Emily, running over to the body. "Thomas, wake up! It's me, Emily!"

Slowly, Thomas began to open his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Thomas?" whispered Emily. "Are you okay?"

The blue-haired boy sat up, and looked towards Emily. Then, to the dark green-haired girl's surprise, Thomas spoke...in a completely different voice.

"There is no Thomas... There is only the 'Evil One' Diablon!"

All of a sudden, 'Thomas' started clutching his chest like he was having a heart attack. What's more, a dark aura began to form all around him.

"Tommy?!" Emily cried out. "What's happening to you?!"

Thomas never answered the question; his dark aura exploded, blowing streams of darkness around himself. The force of the darkness caused the chain holding the Millennium Puzzle around his neck to fly off and head towards Emily, who watched in absolute horror as the Millennium Item hit the stone floor and shattered into its many pieces. The very puzzle that Thomas and Emily reassembled together, with their own hands was back to it's original disassembled state. Unfortunately for the dark green-haired girl, things got even more terrifying as Thomas let out a deep ferocious roar! ...and it finally happened...

He began to transform into a monstrous form resembling a mixture between a human and a demon. His body turned grey and became bulkier, with spikes protruding from his shoulders, arms, and ankles, ripping his jacket, sleeveless shirt to shreds due to the enlarged muscle mass and the large pair of black demonic wings now sprouting from his back, leaving him in nothing but his belt and jeans which were now tattered at the cuffs. His face became even veinier and his ears were replaced by wing-like appendages. His hair became black in color and his shoes were also torn as his feet expanded and became spiked as well. His pupils became slits and his irises continued to glow a luminous crimson. Finally there was a severe long scar that ran straight down from the left side of his face; from the center of his forehead, down straight through his left eye and running down his veined cheek to the bottom of his top lip. Just a few inches under his eye, the scar ran horizontally across the top of his cheek, about the width of his eye, giving the scar a cross-like look.

As the darkness surrounding Thomas died down, Emily gasped in horror with tears in her eyes as she witnessed her friend's transform into the demonic monster right before her very eyes.

"T-Thomas...?!" The dark green-haired girl spluttered, as her voice began cracking with emotion. "What's happened to you?!"

The demonic Thomas let out a spine-chilling chuckle as the darkness surrounding him died down.

"Thomas? That's right... the boy whose heart of anger and darkness has become the food for my eventual revival."

Emily blinked through her tears. "Revival?"

Then, the dark green-haired girl came the horrifying realization that what Wingweaver had told her was true. The demonic figure smirked sadistically as he realized by the growing expression of fear on Emily's face what she was thinking.

"Is it beginning to sink in yet? I am the devil they call 'The Evil One'! ...although, I must confess, 'The Evil One' is a severely lackluster title for the supreme ruler of darkness, wouldn't you say so, Emily, my dear? My true name is Diablon..." The 'Evil One' chuckled sinisterly. "And I have so much to thank you for."

Emily, though clearly shocked, remained quiet as Diablon began to explain...

"The source of Thomas's anger and darkness, and the reason they are so powerful, and hence why my influence over him is so strong, is...you. All because of his deep, unadulterated love for you... Love so strong and pure that he is willing to risk his life and suffer any form of pain for you, no matter how dangerous it is all to protect his beloved angel from darkness and death. However, such devotion to you has caused Thomas to become dependent on your safety and state of being... From there, should anything happen to you, that alone is fatal to him. Emily, you aren't even aware of how crucial you are for containing Thomas' emotions."

"W-What?" spluttered Emily.

"From the moment you were captured, the seal that locked Thomas's darkness away in his heart was finally broken." explained Diablon. "Emily... that seal was you! But thanks to my humble servant, Witty Phantom, the moment any harm came upon you, Thomas lost control of that darkness, and once you were sent to this world, there was nothing Thomas could do to stop the darkness from spreading, allowing me to take refuge and begin my revival in his heart and soak in the limitless anger and rage."

All of a sudden, the darkness within Thomas's heart began to draw itself towards and engulf the 'Evil One'.

"In so little time, I have almost returned to my full strength. Without you, Thomas's spirit grows dimmer every single second as the light of his soul diminishes further and further. As he's desperately been searching for his beloved, he has killed many souls and fallen deeper under my influence."

"Stop! Please, stop!" Emily begged, her face was stained with tears and her heart was ever so close to breaking.

But Diablon didn't stop. "And to think all this time, I had previously thought love was merely a delusion... But it would seem the undying love you both share for each other is the very thing that will allow me to continue what I once started, this time with Thomas and I as one complete being!"

Poor Emily could no longer take anymore of what was happening. Her mind flashed back to the words of Fallen Angel of Roses and Airknight Parshath. Everything they had said, everything they had tortured her with about her being the reason for Thomas, the boy she loved more than anything else, the one person who wanted to pull her back from darkness into the light, his own descent into darkness, the prospect she tried to deny and caused her to sink back into her own darkness... All of it was the terrible truth. Emily fell to her knees, and at the moment broke down completely.

"Tommy... it's all my fault... Because of me, you've... you've turned into a demon... All because you loved me with all your heart...!"

At last, the poor dark green-haired girl's heart finally shattered into pieces.

"THOMAS!" Emily screamed in the black-filled area. "I'm sorry! I'M SO SORRY!"

She laid there crying her eyes and broken heart out.

"Do not cry, my dear." soothed the voice of Diablon.

Emily looked up to see Diablon kneeling in front of her. Then, to her great surprise, the demonic version of Thomas began to run one of his hands through her hair. His touch sent a spine shivering sensation through the broken girl's body, more so when he started caressing the left of her face with his other hand.

"You do not have to say farewell to your beloved. In a matter of time, Thomas and I shall become one being and together we shall rule this world as I once did...as its Supreme King. However, I think you need to know something important..." His hand then began to run down Emily's tear-stained face, along the side of her neck. "Every King must have their Queen, and I need to see if you are Queen material..."

Emily immediately blushed and gasped as the male demon started slowly moving his hand down the teenage girl's chest until he pressed his palm down over her heart, which also happened to be directly over her...breast. The 'Evil One' even started gripping and squeezing it roughly and sexually.

"I'd say puberty has been inordinately kind to you."

The dark green-haired girl felt extremely uncomfortable and violated right now, even wanting to say something about it... Unfortunately, Emily was unable to say anything due to feeling so afraid right now. It got especially frightening when the demonic figure suddenly leaned his head back and moaned sensually and licked his lips.

"I can feel it... the darkness within your heart. Oh, so much darkness." sighed the 'Evil One' emotionlessly. "Such vast darkness that only a young woman like you deserves to be the Queen of the Supreme King should have." He then leered his prey carefully. "But I do wonder what is truly underneath your layers...?"

"What?!" exclaimed Emily, watching what Diablon was about to do. "No! Stop!"

It was too late! The 'Evil One' quickly raised his glowing hand upward... and a glowing Emily, with a pained shriek, felt her clothes being forcefully ripped from her own body. Within seconds, the 16-year old dark green-haired girl was now standing before the male demon while completely in the nude (Emily's breasts were fully exposed, along with her groin, butt, etc..), and she was far too scared to try and do anything to cover herself up.

"Yesssss..." whispered Diablon, looking at the poor teenage girl's exposed—and well-developed—body with dirty glee. "Puberty has graced you very well, indeed... Such beauty you've been keeping hidden from the eyes of everyone else around you... I like that very much—you will make a wonderful Queen, indeed..."

Emily, already feeling deeply frightened, exposed, and more violated, grew even more scared and uncomfortable when the 'Evil One' brought himself closer to her face, his demonic eyes piercing through her.

"You long to stand by Thomas's side for all eternity, don't you? Then let all of the darkness in your heart go free, and together, with your combined power, and the three Sacred Beasts at your command, you and Thomas can both destroy all that stands in your way and rule over this world and the human for the rest of time, with nothing but the power of darkness, and, of course, your love—or should I say 'our love'—my Queen."

And then, the Diablon pulled Emily's head closer, and...forcefully kissed the naked dark green-haired girl on the lips! Feeling terrified out of her mind right about now, Emily shrieked against the demon's hard and rough lips—but then felt a sharp pain in her heart that quickly spread to her head, causing her open her eyes sharply... But instead of her normal green eyes, they were the same demonic, crimson colored eyes as Diablon had. The 'Evil One' pulled out of the kiss and stood back up and smirked sadistically. His kiss had unleashed the darkness in Emily's heart and now it was beginning to envelop her in a thick aura. Emily unleashed a piercing cry of agony as she clutched her chest in a vain attempt to hold the darkness back.

"Do not fight it, my love." Diablon advised softly. "Let the darkness flow through you, embrace the power and blossom into your true beauty - as my new angel of darkness."

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" wailed Emily helplessly. "AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!"

The poor, broken, naked Emily could only continue to scream in agonizing pain as the darkness within continued to further consume her heart. Now clutching the sides of her head, she brought it down to her knees due to being unable to do anything to stop the excruciating pain from spreading even further. It looked like it was the end of her life and such.

"T-T-Thomas... my l-l-love... p-p-please...forgive me for...this..." The dark green-haired girl whispered, as a single tear fell from her now demonic eyes. "Good...bye... Tommy..."

However, just before Emily could be completely engulfed by the darkness, something startling began to happen... All of a sudden, shown dangling from Emily's neck, and then shown in front of her own eyes, was the heart-shaped locket Thomas had given her for her Birthday.

"T-This is...!" She grasped the locket in one of her hands and opened it, revealing the picture of her and Thomas when they were both younger... "M-My...Birthday present..."

A flashback began.


FLASHBACK

Around the table inside the dining room of the Sterling residence was Thomas, Edward, Gordon, Henry, James, Percy, Toby, Mavis, Stanley, Molly, and Rosie.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY!" cheered much of the gang.

"Sixteenth, that is!" added James.

At the head of the table was the Birthday girl herself... Emily Sterling, now 16-years old.

"Thanks, everyone." Emily smiled, just after blowing out her candles.

Thomas, meanwhile, was blushing almost crimson red as he nervously stood up and approached the dark green-haired girl with something behind his back.

"Um... Emily?"

Emily looked to the blue-haired boy. "Yes, Thomas?"

Thomas was shuffling his feet a bit bashfully as he struggled to find the right words.

"I, err, got this for you." he finally said, taking a small box from behind his back.

Curiously, Emily took hold of the box, unwrapped it, opened it up, and gasped.

"Oh, Thomas..."

Inside the box were two things; a Spell card called Swing of Memories, and a heart-shaped locket.

"Happy Birthday, Emily." said Thomas.

Emily curiously held the card up. "What is this card, Thomas?" she asked.

"It's called Swing of Memories." explained Thomas. "I found two copies of them in a booster pack, and I thought you would like one of them."

Emily had another curious look on her face. Thomas immediately cleared his throat and decided to explain something about that card... Not regarding its effect... but something more about it.

"This card actually represents the precious memories we've shared together." The blue-haired boy pointed out. "From we first met, and especially after you were saved from yourself."

"I...remember..." Emily muttered, recalling those good times.

Thomas smiled. "I've never forgotten those special times... and I bet you haven't either."

Emily smiled as she embraced Thomas in a hug.

"It's wonderful, Thomas." The dark green-haired girl said happily. "Thank you so much."

Thomas remained silent as he blushed harder than ever before.

END FLASHBACK


The flashback ended.

"Thomas's present..." whispered Emily. "I... I also remember the picture... It was taken by my parents shortly after Thomas stopped me from commiting suicide..."

A flashback ensured.


FLASHBACK

Young Thomas frantically searched the whole playground, but there was no sign of Young Emily anywhere. This was because she had a pretty big headstart in getting away from the school as the argument intensified.

"Where is she?"

(elsewhere...)

Young Emily, meanwhile, was sitting along and unwanted at the benches of the race track.

"I'm hated... no one here likes me anymore... They think I'm a horrid person... A monster." she weeped softly. It was then the young dark green-haired girl noticed some glass from a broken beer bottle lying around on the ground. "Huh? A broken glass bottle?"

Young Emily got up and carefully picked up a large shard of glass without cutting herself. It was then she started to remember the whole entire converstation Young Percy, Young Edward, Young Henry, Young Toby, and everyone else were having echoing about in her head...

"Emily has been nothing but trouble! I can't believe I was ever grateful she saved me from being run over!" - (Young Oliver)

"She's bullied me for no reason ever since I started coming here." - (Young Molly)

"She was so nice... now she is just a big bully." - (Young Percy)

"I hope Mr. Arkwright expels her for what she's done." - (Young Duck)

"She's a muckle nuisance!" - (Young Donald)

"Aye, not even the bullies at our old school were as bad as her!" - (Young Douglas)

"Look, Thomas, I know this is hard for you to accept, but we can't take anymore of Emily's bossy and, frankly, mean-spirited ways." - (Young Toby)

"No, she hasn't! Emily is not a monster! Do you hear me? SHE IS NOT A MONSTER!" - (Young Thomas)

"Thomas, knock it off! Emily is too far gone!" - (Young Edward)

For the longest of time, while doing some serious thinking, Young Emily looked at the razor sharp shard of glass in her hand before going and bracing it over her right wrist. Perhaps if the young dark green-haired girl used the piece of glass to slit herself enough, then she would be dead from the eventual loss of so much blood, and then perhaps the others (all of the other kids, her own parents, and the other adults) would be much happier... Especially Young Thomas, who Young Emily regretted hurting the most...

"Goodbye, cruel world..." Young Emily whimpered to herself, shutting her eyes tightly.

Suddenly, just before the poor young dark green-haired girl could start doing the terrible deed...

"STOP!"

Surprised by the loud voice, Young Emily dropped the large shard of glass—which then fell and broke into several dozen pieces. Young Thomas had arrived just in time to stop his friend from trying to kill herself.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The young blue-haired boy demanded.

Young Emily, finally coming to a haunting conclusion over what she tried to do to herself (suicide), collapsed onto her knees and had a complete breakdown.

"Everybody hates me, Thomas!" screamed Young Emily, as more and more tears flowed down her face at an astonishing rate. "Nobody at the school—my friends, even the teachers—wants me around anymore! They were right about me being a bullying monster! So, I've decided to put an end to my own life so that I would never bother any of them again!"

Seeing his troubled friend crying and looking so broken almost caused Young Thomas to breakdown into tears, too. Thankfully, he was able to keep himself together enough to speak up.

"Emily..." The young blue-haired boy spoke up at last. "What's going on? Why did you change? I just want to help you..."

"I don't deserve your help, Thomas... Everyone else was right about me; I'm nothing but a bully, a nuisance, a horrid person, a monster..."

"No, you're not!" protested Young Thomas. "You're not a monster! I never thought you were ever one, Emily. I've always felt as though something was upsetting you to no end." He then gave his broken friend a kind—yet stern—look. " Please, you have to tell me what it is, Emily, I really can't stand to see you suffering like this."

Young Emily looked into the younger boy's eyes. In them, she could see kindness and honesty. At last...

"It's time you learned the truth, Thomas."

And, with that said, the young dark green-haired girl finally told her friend all about Gordon and James's bullying, leaving not one bit of a detail out.

"Emily...!" gasped Young Thomas, just when his friend had finally finished. He was beyond shocked over all that had happened... "Why did you let them bully you so much? Why didn't you tell anyone about this when it started?"

"Because..." Young Emily sniffled sadly. "Because I was terrified... and I had a nightmare where if I did tell someone... I would be forever labeled as a goody-goody tattletale... And you guys would hate me for that..."

Young Thomas held Young Emily close. "Emily-" he began softly. "-reporting a bully does not make you a tattletale at all. It's called doing the right thing. What made you think we would call you a goodie goodie tattletale?"

"Gordon and James both said so." answered Young Emily, still shivering.

"Bah." snorted Young Thomas. "That's just something bullies say to keep their victims quiet so they can get away with their misdeeds. We would never think of you as a tattletale. As I said before, Emily, I would always try to help you. But by keeping your troubles a secret, I was worried that you didn't trust me."

Young Emily felt terrible. "I guess you must hate me for it..."

"I would never hate you, Emily." denied Young Thomas. He then narrowed his eyes and turned to leave. "The only people I hate right now, are Gordon and James for making your life so miserable for no good reason... But don't you worry, I'm going to make sure they pay for this!"

"No!"

Young Thomas was surprised by Young Emily's outburst, and turned back around to face her.

"Why not? They must pay for it!" The young blue-haired boy protested.

"Two wrongs don't make a right!" argued Young Emily. "Even though they were mean to me first, being mean to them back won't make it any better. It would make you look like a bully, as well!"

Young Thomas then remembered what he had said, and felt bad for thinking of using violence as the answer.

"You're right. I guess we should go and do the RIGHT thing."

"T-Tell the principal?" asked Young Emily hopefully.

"Yes." smiled Young Thomas, holding out his hand. "Now, come on... We'll go tell him, together."

The young dark green-haired girl, after taking a moment to calm herself back down, finally managed to smile slightly and accepted the hand. And thus, the two kids returned to the school to do something Young Emily should have done a long time ago.

END FLASHBACK


The flashback ended.

"Even when all hope seemed lost to me-" Emily mumbled to herself quietly. "-Thomas never gave up hope on me... He still saw me as a good person." She closed her eyes and released one last teardrop. "I won't give up... The darkness has no control over me!"

(elsewhere...)

Back in the forest of flowers, Emily, who was fully clothed once more, opened her eyes (which had returned to normal) fiercely. In addition, the dark aura around her body slowly died down until it was no more.

"W-What's happening?!" gasped Airknight Parshath.

Emily never said a word, but a confident smile soon crept onto her face. Yup, Emily had done it! Her darkness...was destroyed.


To be Continued!