Marcel
He floated on the choppy cold waters of the Bay of Lendas. King's Rock was now distant. The salt in the water stung his open wounds.
"I'll keep holding on," he sang Yuri's favorite song. "I'll keep holding on, Yuri. I'll keep holding on."
Marcel had no idea he was being preyed upon by a Deepsea Shark (ATK/1900 DEF/1600), a purple shark Duel Monster with a big purple eye on its head. It had a bioluminescent underbelly that was glowing red.
"I'll keep holding on."
Water poured into his mouth. Marcel, spit it out.
"Don't worry, Yuri." He coughed out more sea water. "I'll keep holding on."
The Deepsea Shark circled around him. The scent of blood in the water excited the beast.
"I'll keep holding on, Yuri."
The shark swam to Marcel and opened its mouth. But it missed. Marcel was grabbed by the collar of his leather jacket and dragged onto a boat.
He shivered from both pain and the sting of cold air. His savior put a blanket over him.
Marcel's lips trembled and his eyes tried to make out the man who rescued him.
It was an Eldori by the looks of it.
"Who…"
"It is not your time to die my friend," the man said. He had an accent of the Rjel, the Sun People from the land of Sobek. He wore white robes and a matching turban. Three gold triangles shimmered on his tan-skinned face.
Something gold was shimmering around his neck. A key.
"Master Shadi?" Marcel groaned.
Alexandra
With word that Jon and the other Princes would soon be captured, there was a great celebration taking place in the grand throne room of the Spire. Lords and ladies, knights and squires, all attended the party. They raised glasses, congratulating Hector for his victory. But with Lady Avi still out there, and Yami as the head of the fighting force who led the princes in their alliance, the rebellion was not yet over.
Still, three champions were now in his grasp, and the other under his control. For it was Prince Ryon who delivered Hector the maps.
As Alexandra sat in front of the great iron doors of the throne room she wondered what could have caused Ryon to betray his brothers like this. With a bond so great, it had to take more than gold, and Ryon was a prince so money could not have been an issue for him. Something sinister must have happened in order for Ryon to turn his back on them. Or, perhaps Ryon was indeed a traitor to Yuri and his friends from the start.
She wished for a way to get in contact with them, but Hector and her uncle prohibited her from sending letters and if she received any, it had to be supervised by one of the castle guards.
She could not believe she had been played like this. All the suffering that had happened for the past few days, the murder of High King Yuri, the invasion from Naralia, the sudden boost of power of the Church of Yeyu, the execution of Maximillion Pegasus, the capture of the Princes of the Old Alliance and the death of two of them; Marcel and Michael. Perhaps she had something to do with Prince Ryon's betrayal as well. Possibly another of her uncle's schemes.
Now Hector sits on the Diamond Throne and holds the God Cards and will soon wield the Ancient Beasts. One of them, Ancalagon the Black Mountain prowls the countryside, guarding Rassay.
Alexandra sighed, her pale blue eyes locked onto the steel of the great iron doors. She wore a black hooded cloak and she carried the golden plaque where the cards of Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra were resting.
She shivered; for underneath the cloak, she wore nothing. Her skin was covered in gold dust by the maidens.
"You should smile, Your Grace," Francine the Shadow Lady said, coming out of the shadows. The Millennium Necklace shimmered in the lights of the candles on their stands in the halls.
Alexandra shot her a poisonous look. Her cheeks began to glow hot pink and her eyes twinkled with tears.
"You'd best not ruin your King-Husband's mood, Your Grace. Stand up straight. Keep your chin up. And smile for the love of all that is Holy, woman!"
She lightly swatted her cheek, brushed the gold dust off her hand and walked away.
Alexandra stood alone, save for the two Buster Bladers guarding the iron door. For a while, listening to Hector give lordship of the fallen kingdoms to members of his House and Alexandra's House.
Her uncle, Marron of Maplewood would be taking the kingdom of Skyhold since Marcel and his family had been…. dealt with.
Then, Hector's uncle, Lord Fernando del las Nuves, would take Riftgaard as soon as a strong fighting force from the Church and Naralia arrived from the East, for the Berja would defend their land violently.
Then, Alexandra's ears picked up the sound of feet on the marble floor.
Rose came out of the dark, candlelit halls wearing the same black hooded robe. She carried a golden plaque inlaid with rubies and diamonds. The plaque held the card of Ancalagon. The other two were empty slots, but Alexandra had a feeling they would be filled soon. She had a suspicion that Rose, too, might have been naked under that cloak, for her neck and chin glimmered with gold dust.
"Where is Jocelia?" Alexandra asked.
"She's in bed," Rose answered immediately and sharply. She did not make eye contact with anyway. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and shame when it dawned on her that she would be used as entertainment for a young boy.
"Do you find the Diamond Throne beautiful, Lady Rose?" Alexandra asked.
"Yes."
"Just keep your eyes on it. Nothing else. Oh, look at the statues of the three warrior kings surrounding the throne. They are made with such detail you can see the handsomeness they once bore thousands of years ago. Do you have a favorite?"
Rose was silent for a moment. She even bit her lips shut to keep from answering. Years of learning to be a lady had caused her to break her silence. She could not find it in her heart to ignore Alexandra.
She cleared her throat and finally said, "The statue on the back, High King Rufio the Golden Sword. They say his hair was like sunlight and that he had a face carved by the Goddesses. He rode into battle atop a platinum-armored True Dragon called Gandora the Dragon of Destruction against his half-brothers in the Waltz of the Kings. Maidens from all over would purposely get into trouble just so he could rescue them and possibly marry them. Lady Jennifer, the Baronetess of Red Rock got herself captured by bandits just to have the honor of being rescued by him."
"Any chance a handsome knight in golden armor riding a dragon will come down and save us?"
"You had one, Lady Alexandra. His name was Yuri. Now he is dead. And because of you, we are about to shame ourselves."
"Rub salt on the old wound, why don't you?" said Alexandra. "I got played like a toy. My mind was clouded."
"Fucking your uncle can do that," said Rose.
"Watch it, Rose," said Alexandra. "I was starting to find myself liking you."
"I can do without your love!" Rose snapped back, with fiery anger. "You betrayed your king and your friends. Who's to say you won't betray me and baby Jocelia?"
"I would never betray her, you cunt!" barked Alexandra. "I love her!"
"If you truly love the princess, you would have warned Yuri and Pegasus of your uncle. Had you, they both would be alive. Termnnia would still have its savior and Jocelia would still have her father."
They stopped fighting once they heard silver trumpets on the other side of the door. Two Spire maids came out of the shadows with Francine.
She smiled and snapped her fingers.
The two maids bowed and slowly walked to the two women and undid the cloaks which fell to the ground in a heap around their ankles. A third maid took a brush and swayed it in a jar of gold dust and dabbed a little more on their flesh. They fixed their hair, added more blush on their cheeks and picked up the cloaks.
The Buster Bladers opened the iron gates.
Rose grimaced as the light illuminated her nakedness. She could already feel the eyes of the people in High King Hector's court glaring at her and she had not even stepped foot into the throne room yet.
"Remember, keep your eyes on your knight,"' whispered Alexandra.
"I can handle myself, thanks," Rose whispered back. She pouted as she looked to the right and squared her shoulders.
"Ah, Rose," sighed Alexandra. "You may survive us after all."
"Presenting the lovely wives of his majesty, High King Hector of the House Ironclaw. The Queens of Termnnia, Lady Rose of North Point and Lady Alexandra of Dragon's Nest."
"Go!" snapped Francine.
One of the maids had given her a sword resting on a red jeweled pillow. A new weapon forged for Hector. Rose and Alexandra took deep breaths and slowly walked into the throng of the richest, most corrupt politicians in Termnnia. Fat, old men jeered at their bodies, covered in gold dust and raised their cups.
A band began to play music as they walked across the large halls of the court. Rose hesitantly did what Alexandra suggested and kept her eyes on the statue of High King Rufio the Golden Sword. He and the High Kings Tiberius Pendragon and Norman the Conqueror the Supreme King formed a triangle formation with their swords drawn as if guarding the Diamond Throne and their High King.
Rose smirked. Usually, when she saw the statues, they looked powerful and fierce, and even happy. But this night, they seemed sorrowful. The brilliant snowy white of their marble bodies had turned a boring shade of gray.
She could hear laughing and howling. Men attempted to lunge for her and Alexandra, but the Black Luster Soldiers kept them in line.
"Oy, lads, I've never seen gold nuggets that size before!" laughed Ser Karl Vaggio, the owner of the Emboldorian mining company that harvested the king's gold.
"High King Hector is a lucky lad!" said Ser Julius of Gray Creek.
"Hail the royal tits!" shouted a drunken nobleman of the high levels of the King's Mountain.
Alexandra started to hear Rose sniffling next to her.
"Stop that!" she said quietly. "They will only tease you more. This was not the husband I wanted either, but I'd rather this than living under a rock."
"My life is hell!" Rose quivered. "I'm married to a boy who ordered my father be sawed in half. And his second wife is the biggest traitor in Termnnia."
Alexandra heard Rose say traitor loudly. Alexandra scoffed, for it didn't matter what she said. The people in the throne room were all in Hector's pocket. Most likely they all knew of the plot against Yuri and his alliance.
"Be patient," said Alexandra. "Soon, I'm going to take what's rightfully mine. These monsters and that throne."
"Stop jesting, Alexandra," said Rose. "There are thousands of vipers in this den, and they are all full of poison and ready to strike you before you attempt to escape their coils."
"If they are vipers then I am a honey badger. I will take them all down. For like a honey badger, I don't care."
"Whatever it is your plotting in your head, leave me out of it," said Rose.
"I plan too," Alexandra said coldly, "the Diamond Throne can't seat both our butts."
They arrived at the throne and handed Hector the plaques. They bowed and stood beside him. The gold dust on their naked bodies sparkled in the bright lights of the chandeliers. Hector wanted to use his new monsters in a duel, so he got his Duel Disk ready and asked for an opponent.
One came out, the son of another high-level nobleman. They began, and soon, Hector had enough monsters on his side of the field to summon Obelisk the Tormentor from his hand.
"I sacrifice, Trakadon, Black Veloci, and my Uraby to summon my Obelisk the Tormentor!"
The castle began to shake. The lights flickered on and off. The candles blew out from the fierce gale that erupted across the hall.
Suddenly, lightning flashed in the skies. The Choir of the Gods started to sing. Their voices boomed louder than thunder and shook the halls of the Spire of the Kings.
"Something is wrong!" cried Francine over the loud song. "Stop the summoning, Your Grace."
"NO!" roared Hector. "THIS IS MY DESTINY!"
Outside, Ancalagon snarled, feeling the great burst of energy surging from the mountains and the song booming in the sky. The earth began to rattle. Something big was coming his direction. He turned and looked to see what was causing the earth to quake, for the only thing powerful enough to do that was him and him alone.
The lightning revealed the blue behemoth, Obelisk the Tormentor, sprinting towards him. His red eyes pierced through the night and the sudden downpour of heavy rain.
Obelisk roared, raised his fist and smashed it into Ancalagon's mouth with such a force that all the windows in Rassay shattered.
Hector ran for the balcony. His hands covering his ears to shield them from the thundering voices of the choir singing in the heavens. He gasped in disbelief, seeing Obelisk's punch, knocking the godly dinosaur into the mountains.
Ancalagon shook his head and attempted to strike back, but his neck was wrapped in Slifer the Sky Dragon's mighty coils. He squeezed them with all his might to take the fight out of Ancalagon.
The Ancient Beast focused all his power on the volcanoes on his shoulders and caused them to erupt in Slifer's face, burning his flesh.
Slifer roared in agony, raising his head to escape the molten blast. Obelisk hit Ancalagon with another powerful punch.
A metallic screech came out of the dark clouds. Hector and Francine searched frantically for the creature who made that sound. Lightning flashed and revealed the silhouette of the Winged Dragon of Ra.
Ancalagon raised his arm and smacked Slifer in the jaw with the back of his fist, knocking him out. Slifer groaned and tumbled to the ground. His coils undid themselves from the body of his foe and fell in a heap at Ancalagon's feet. Ancalagon then charged at Obelisk and rammed him hard in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Ancalagon roared in triumph, but his victory was short, for he was struck in the back of the head by a shower of golden flames.
The Winged Dragon of Ra flew down from the darkness and slammed his feet down on Ancalagon.
The Ancient Beast gave a roar while he fell. The earth quaked from the impact. Many houses in the city began to fall. A large cloud of dust erupted into the air.
The Winged Dragon of Ra charged another burst of flames, but he was struck in the back by the ax tail of Ancalagon. Ra tumbled forward while Ancalagon picked himself up. He slammed his massive foot on Ra's chest. Ra bellowed and kicked to get the monster off him then Obelisk came back with another powerful punch.
Slifer shook the cobwebs out of his head and flew into the sky firing his prismatic energy blast at Ancalagon's face. Obelisk charged up his fist until a blue aura enveloped it and then smashed it into Ancalagon's chest so hard he punched right through.
Ra rose from the ground and morphed into his Immortal Phoenix Mode then shot into the hole Obelisk made causing Ancalagon's volcanoes to erupt and lava to ooze out of his mouth like blood.
"They defeated Ancalagon!" gasped Hector.
The Ancient Beast turned into thousands of tiny gold orbs, which swarmed back into the card in Hector's deck.
Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra then thundered towards the Spire of the Kings.
Hector searched for the God Cards in his deck. Francine went to her knees and began to pray to the Goddesses for mercy.
As soon as she opened her eyes, all three Divine Beasts looked down at Hector. Obelisk peered into the Mausoleum of the High Kings. He broke through the ceiling with his fist and then began to search.
"What are you looking for?" shouted Hector. "Get back to your cards and stop this!"
The Winged Dragon of Ra screeched at Hector.
"You would disobey the High King!" shouted the Platinum Priest, who seemed to draw up enough courage to shout at the God Cards. "You are ordered to command the High King. That is why you were put on this earth!"
His speech was ended when Ra spit out a molten fireball that fell harmlessly to his feet.
"What's this?" the Platinum Priest said.
The ball burst in a fiery flash that seared away his robes and flesh, leaving behind a charred skeleton that stood for a few seconds before sprinkling to the ground as ash.
The destruction of Obelisk's search caused an explosion that lit the lower courtyard on fire which caused the Divine Beasts to glow in a dreary red hue.
Francine backed away on her hands and sobbed.
"This cannot be!" she cried out.
The fire. The Divine Beasts looking down at Hector. It was the vision the Millennium Necklace showed her.
But the Divine Beasts were looking at Hector not with obedience, but with defiance. They had hate in their eyes, not love.
Obelisk roared when he found what he was searching for. Slifer and Ra hissed happily as Obelisk pulled it out.
It was Yuri's body, still beautiful and preserved. The decay of time could not touch him.
"You can't!" shouted Hector. "I AM THE HIGH KING! NOT HIM! I COMMAND YOU! I OWN YOU!"
"NOOOOOO!" roared Obelisk.
Hector pissed his pants and fell on his butt which also spewed out excrement in his fear. The cards flew out of his deck and seemed to fly towards Yuri's body which was lying on the palms of Obelisk's hands.
Alexandra cowered behind the arm of the Diamond Throne. She peered over curiously to see the beasts.
Obelisk's eyes peered into hers, as did Slifer and Ra's.
Alexandra covered herself in shame as all three of them growled and snapped at her. They knew of her sins against their true master. The true High King. It took everything in their being to keep from killing her.
Slifer and Ra snarled one last time and flew into the sky. Their cards followed them as if sentient.
Alexandra sobbed, her pride, her honor, if she was capable of any, still being destroyed by Obelisk's burning red eyes.
"Puny human!" he growled.
He encased Yuri in his mighty grasp and took off into the night leaving Hector's city a flaming ruin.
Jon
King Ethan's troops retreated into the safety of the city walls and they slammed the iron doors of King's Rock shut barricading them with iron bars. Jaeyoung Shim came out of the throng of soldiers with his bow and equipped a magical arrow to his bow. He channeled magical energies from his body into the arrow causing it to glow bright green.
Stas and Jon and their armies cheered while Jaeyoung charged his magic arrow. Archers fire their arrow from the crenellations of the walls but to no avail for Lady Xifeng blocked each one with her twin kodachi blades. She was like a flash of lightning in the eyes of Jon, for with one blink she deflected three arrows. He had heard the tales of the inhuman training the warriors of the Emperor's Palace had to endure. The endless hours of training of the mind.
Jon thought himself a capable warrior, but the Uzumenese soldiers were almost magical and graceful when it came to combat.
Jaeyoung finally let go of the arrow and it blasted the door. The iron bars holding it down started to break as if made of wood. Jaeyoung began to charge another arrow. With this next attack, the gates would be brought down and the battle to reclaim Elleria would be won.
Dalaris Dragonheart suddenly got a message from her uncle. She bit her lip and nodded hearing his instructions and the news from Rassay.
"It will be done, father," she said with a heavy sigh.
She took a flare gun from one of her holsters and launched one into the air. Jon and the others saw the flare shooting into the gray sky and wondered why Dalaris wanted to launch such a thing. With their eyes glued to the flares, it was too late to see the anti-magic drones shoot out from the ranks of the Dragonheart army.
The machines sent out their horrid waves across the battlefield.
"ACCKKK!" Jaeyoung cried out in pain, feeling the drones drain away all his Mana. He fell to his knees.
Xifeng and Stas felt weakened as well. Jon turned to look at his Gearfried who was fading away. The drones that the soldiers of House Dragonheart sent out must have been a new model, for so powerful was their energy that they even severed the ties between the world of Men and the monster.
"Don't leave me!" Jon begged. "Fight it!"
Gearfried couldn't and he vanished.
"Your Grace!" shouted a Silver Priest, calling Ethan out of his room and to the balcony. "Look! The knights of House Dragonheart have started fighting the traitors!"
Ethan hurried to the balcony to see the new turn of events on the battlefield below. A swarm of red began to wash over the masses of black, brown, and silver. Dalaris and her men started massacring the army of the Old Alliance.
Ethan formed a huge smile on his face.
"They have acknowledged me as the true king of Elleria!" he cried happily and gave a jump of joy. "Summon my men-at-arms. Collect my armor. I'm going to go down there and teach the princes a lesson!"
"At once, Your Grace!"
Evelyn and Phoenix joined the Silver Priest on the balcony to watch the battle. Evelyn clasped her hand over her mouth in shock seeing the chaos in the Royal Hills. The once triumphant cheers she heard just minutes before had now turned into screams of agony.
"No," Phoenix said with a sad whisper.
"What was that you said about being rescued?" the Silver Priest said, followed by a cruel chortle.
Dalaris ordered her men to form a ring around the princes and the remaining fighting force of the Old Alliance. They were completely encircled.
The gates of King's Rock creaked open and cheers of triumph emerged when Ethan rode out dressed in the custom ebony armor and a sword he had enchanted with lightning. His men opened a path for his steed to gallop into the center of ring where the princes formed their line.
He let out a fearsome battle cry and raised his sword then aimed it down, pointing at the princes. Stas smirked, picked up a spear and hurled it at Ethan's steed piercing its throat.
The horse let out a whine and tumbled to the ground. Ethan cried out pathetically while trying to stay up before he too fell into the mud.
Jon's Berja soldiers blocked off Ethan from the rest of his men while Jaeyoung's Uzumenese soldiers desperately fought back Dalaris and her knights. Ethan got up from the ground. He gasped when he spotted Jon, Stas, Jaeyoung and Xifeng surrounding him.
"Don't hurt me!" he babbled. "No, no, don't hurt me!"
Stas grinned, feeling pleased knowing that if he were to fall this day, it would be against this racist, snot-nosed punk from school.
A horn blew over the hills. A horn that made Jon cheer with triumph.
"That fat bastard!" laughed Stas. "Late as usual!"
Ryon and his army of magical swordsmen, mages, and magicians thundered over the highest hills and looked down at the chaos below.
"I'm going to knock his teeth out for this!" said Stas. "We were almost killed."
"I'm sure Ryon had his reasons!" said Xifeng. "Now we can fight again!"
Just then, a hum thundered over the cloudy skies. Airships descended from the gray and landed on the easternmost region of the hills outside of King's Rock. They bore the great grizzly of Naralia.
King Stefan had arrived. The doors of the airships opened and thousands of troops stormed out bearing guns, swords, halberds. There were mages in their ranks wearing a special exosuit called Mana-Tek Armor. The armor allowed them to cast spells with a combination of magic and advanced technology so the anti-magic drones could not affect them. And, since they were followers of the Church of Yeyu, the casting of this new technology was not sinful.
Some mages had dueling gloves and summoned monsters to aid them in the fight.
"I like the odds," said Jaeyoung. "Ryon and his forces will make this an even fight."
"Why does he just stand there?" asked Stas.
"Hang on, I'll call him!" said Jon, taking out a phone from his armor pouches.
"Ah, I see you're getting used to Domino City technology, Ryon."
"It's not so bad once you get used to it."
Xifeng kept her sword pointed at Ethan to keep him from fleeing.
"Ryon!" called Jon. "My friend it's good to see you."
"Indeed," Ryon said.
"Why does he not aid us?" asked Jaeyoung. He was getting rather impatient.
"My troops are all magic users," said Ryon. "Unless those anti-magic drones get destroyed, they will be useless."
"Got it, friend!" said Stas.
He and the others gave the command to destroy the drones. Stas kept an eye on the Naralians. They were not moving. He smirked, for he knew Ryon's magical army would annihilate them.
Ryon's kingdom, the Kingdom of Katina, was always the barrier between north and south. For many years, the magician army had kept King Forrest and the Church's armies from invading the south home of the three biggest kingdoms in Termnnia, Emboldor, Lorin, and Eredas.
Even with their technology, the Naralian forces showed fear of Ryon and his mages.
When the last drone went down, Jon made the call to Ryon again.
"Ryon, they are all down. Come down and help us!"
Ryon said nothing. Ryon did nothing. He and his magicians remained perched on the hill.
"Ryon!" called Jon. "Come down!"
Ryon raised his right arm and pointed at the air. He spun his arm around. To the shock of everyone below, Ryon and his forces turned and left.
"He's leaving!" shouted Stas.
"Ryon!" shouted Jon. "Come back!"
Ryon threw his phone over his shoulder. He could still hear Jon's shouts.
"Ryon please don't leave us! They're going to kill us all! Come back!"
A warhorse stomped on the phone and demolished it.
"RYON! RYON!"
When they were gone from sight, the Naralians sped down the eastern hills and slammed into the allied forces.
Jon fell to his knees. This was the end.
Xifeng hugged Jaeyoung and began to weep. "I thought…" she sniffled. "He was…my friend."
"We all did," said Stas.
Ethan's men broke through Jon's Berja soldiers. Ethan sneered and got up, picking up his sword. He slashed Jaeyoung in the back. The lightning enchantment coursed through his metal armor, briefly paralyzing him and Xifeng.
Jon and Stas readied their weapons.
Ethan began to back away, fearing their charge when Daralis's men formed a line in front of them.
"HA!" shouted Ethan. "This day will be written about and sung by the bards forever! This will be the day that I defeated the Princes of the Old Alliance and ended their rebellion!"
Upon saying those words, the skies ripped apart and a thunderous song rocked the earth. Hurricane-force winds blew all around them. Soldiers who did not anchor themselves to the ground were blown into the sky. Jon held his hands over his eyes as an orange portal opened before him. Suddenly, he and his friends were sucked into it. Jon was dragged into a horrible vortex of orange, sparking with yellow lightning. And then all was still.