A Lying Legend
Late at night, in a large, dark crypt, torches were lit by a number of strange figures wearing painted masks and robes. All of them were gathered around a platform. And on top of that platform was a large sarcophagus. Two of the figures grabbed hold of the lid and pulled it away.
Inside the sarcophagus, lay a pharaoh dressed in blue and gold, holding staffs, adorned in resplendent jewelry and wearing a golden mask. The pharaoh rose up from the sarcophagus as the robed people knelt down at his presence.
"Why has my slumber been disrupted?" He demanded.
A ball of shining light appeared high above, from which came a voice. "To fulfill your duty to the shadows."
The millennium symbol on the pharaoh's mask glowed brightly before he stepped out of his sarcophagus and stood tall above his servants. "Ready my vessel!"
Another day at Duel Academy, another class. And today, they were listening to Banner, who was talking about famous duelists. He even had two sketched pictures of two certain duelists. "You all know Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba as dueling legends, far in the way the very best of their generation."
"And best looking too." An Obelisk girl said.
"They're total dreamboats." Another girl agreed.
"I like Mai Valentine." A guy added.
"But you do realize, class, that there were other great duelists, well before all of them." Banner continued his lecture.
"How is that Prof?" Jaden asked. "I mean, Duel Monsters hasn't been around all that long."
"You really should stop sleeping in class, Jaden." Andrew called out. "They used to play back in Egypt. In ancient Egypt to be exact. And they used stone tablets instead of cards."
"That's right." Banner nodded. "And one of the best way back in those days was a powerful pharaoh named Abidos III." He showed everyone another sketch. It was one of a young man in robes and a headdress with a mask. "Abidos was undefeated."
"Undefeated? That's so sweet! He must've been something else." Jaden commented. "Of course, it's a good thing he's not around today, cuz then that undefeated record would go adios."
Chazz smirked at his words. "Hmph! Sure it would, Slacker. And then you'd probably take down Yugi and Kaiba too."
"You think?" Jaden turned to him with a smile on his face. "Well thanks! I had no idea that you believed in me so much, Chazz!"
The black Slifer was obviously getting annoyed by Jaden's obliviousness. "It's sarcasm, got that!?"
"Sure, but if you want to change your name, Chazz, you could do a lot better than 'sarcasm'."
"You know what I mean!" Chazz snapped and grabbed Jaden in a headlock.
"Hey, come on guys, you're gonna get us in trouble!" Syrus said worriedly
"Want to see trouble!?" Chazz asked before pulling Jaden's ears, causing him to yelp in pain. " Fine! How about this!?"
"Stop! He's gonna hear us!"
"He sure will." All three of them went silent and turned to Banner, who spoke up. "You can continue... in detention."
"Aw man. Fifth time this week!" Syrus groaned.
"Those guys aren't so lucky." Andrew muttered.
"Oh geez." Shiori, who sat next to him, sighed and shook his head.
Once it was over, the students left the classroom, except for Jaden, Syrus and Chaz who got detention... again. Andrew and Shiori were walking together in the hall.
"So what are you up to now?" Shiori asked.
"The usual, I guess." Andrew replied. "Making sure my deck is prepared. There are 3 Shadow Riders left now."
"That's true. We have been through a lot while fighting them." The ritual duelist said. But then, he frowned. "Of course, I didn't do so much dueling against them. All I did was to duel Mahiru and free her from Camula's control."
"It was a very tough duel though, and you did great there." Andrew comforted him.
"I guess. But at the same time, I'm a little worried. Ever since the Dark Scorpion incident, I haven't sleeping so much. After all, you never know when the enemy strikes next."
"Yeah, I admit that I'm a little worried as well. But that doesn't stop me from relaxing during the free time. You should at least try to do that."
"Not sure it's that simple." Shiori simply said.
"It might be more simple than you think." A female voice spoke up. The boys turned and saw Cynthia approach them.
"Hey Cynthia." Andrew greeted.
Shiori almost looked away, nervous. "What's up?"
"I couldn't help but overhear you guys." She replied, walking up to the ritual duelist. "So your job to protect the world is stressful for you, huh?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Well, there are many ways to deal with stress. I, for example, like to sit in a garden, enjoying its scent and beauty."
"Too bad there aren't any gardens around here." Shiori stated.
But Cynthia smiled. "Actually... there is a garden in the forest. Specifically... in the area where I dueled Alexis and Jenny when I was under the influence of the Shadow Riders."
"Really?" The boys asked at the same time.
"Yeah, Chancellor Sheppard had some people plant nice flowers there. They are still working on it, but it is a decent place so far. It's especially pretty under the starry night sky." As she explained, she turned to Shiori. "So, would you like to go there together tonight?"
"Me?" Shiori pointed at himself. "Going with you? I... uh, don't think..."
"He certainly want to!" Andrew stepped in, much to Shiori's disbelief.
"Great!" Cynthia replied brightly. "I'll meet you outside the Ra dorm tonight. See ya!" At that she walked away.
Shiori gave Andrew an annoyed look. "What the hell, man!? What were you thinking!?"
Andrew just smiled. "I was just thinking about helping you out. Like I said, you should try to relax a bit."
The ritual duelist turned away and grumbled, while pulling up his black scarf to cover the blush on his face. "Sometimes you're a little too serious when you want to help others..."
Andrew just gave him an amused smile. He then turned away and noticed Clover from far away. He was about to call out to her, but she quickly turned to a staircase and walked away. He frowned when he noticed the look on her face. It had a slight hint of depression.
Later that night
Alexis was standing by the lighthouse. As she was looking out at the sea, Zane, Jenny, and Andrew walked onto the dock until they stood right next to her. "Thanks for coming." The blonde girl said gratefully. "I just needed someone to talk to."
"No problem." Andrew replied.
"That's what friends are for." Jenny added and patted her on the shoulder. Zane merely nodded.
"I thought having my brother back would make everything okay again, but it seems like there's even more questions than ever now. And then with these Shadow Riders... I just don't know what to do."
"Yeah, nor do I." Zane replied. "But know that right now... you're safe, Alexis."
"And that's all that matters." Andrew added.
"Yeah, thanks." Alexis said.
"Ya know..." Zane spoke, addressing Andrew. "I didn't expect you to join us."
"Yeah, I expected you and Jenny to be somewhere else." Alexis added.
"I'd figured that you needed some comfort, but I didn't want to leave Andrew alone." Jenny answered.
"And normally I would be with the others. Jaden's is unable for obvious reasons. Michael is helping Professor Banner out with carrying some documents, and Shiori's heading out with Cynthia."
"Is that so?" Alexis said in slight interest. "Guess you two won't be the only new couple we know."
"Yeah." Jenny smiled with a slight blush.
"What about Clover?" Zane asked. "She is your childhood friend, right?"
Andrew frowned at his question. "That's true. However, I've learned recently that she wanted to become more than that."
"She had feelings for you, didn't she?" Alexis asked knowingly.
Andrew nodded. "After talking it over, we agreed that we'd still be friends. Although, she's been a little distant for the last few days. Guess she still doesn't take it so well. I'm not sure what to do."
Jenny placed a arm around his shoulder to comfort him. "Just give her some time. I'm sure things between you two get better soon."
"I hope so... what the...!?" Andrew said calmly before suddenly exclaiming as the ground shook a little. And then, spider-web cracks appeared in the concrete, from which several mummies rose up. The girls gasped in horror. In an effort to protect them, the boys stepped between the mummies and the girls.
"Not good." Zane muttered.
Meanwhile in the forest, Shiori and Cynthia just arrived at the garden she mentioned. And just like she said, there were a few flowers planted around the area. There were also a few benches at the corners. "Well, there you have it. What do you think?"
Shiori looked around and smiled. "You were right. This place is quite nice."
"Told ya." She walked over to some of the flowers and sniffed on them.
Shiori looked to the side and scratched the back of his head, not sure what to do. When he turned back, he almost jumped when Cynthia was right in front of them.
"Don't just stand there, silly. Come on." She grabbed his hand, making him blush. But before she could drag him, a horde of mummies rose up from the ground. "AAAHH!"
"What the hell!?" Shiori exclaimed.
"I'm sorry for bothering you with this, Michael." Banner apologized as he followed the dark duelist out of the Slifer Red dorm. The Slifer headmaster was carrying his cat as usual.
"No worries, Professor. I don't really mind at all."
"How kind of you. I'm just..."
"MEOW!" Pharaoh jumped in fright and landed on the ground.
"Pharaoh, what's wrong?" Banner asked.
Michael looked forward. And then, he paled. "Um, Professor?"
"Huh?" The Professor turned to the Obelisk boy, who pointed his finger to something. When he followed it, he saw a bunch of mummies approaching them. "OH DEAR!"
"I spend more time in detention than I do in class." Syrus whined as he, Jaden and Chazz were heading back to their dorm. "My mom's not gonna be happy."
"Just blame 'Sarcasm'." Jaden cracked.
Chazz was of course angered by that comment and grabbed Jaden in another headlock. "Okay, the joke's old!"
"At least things can't get worse." Syrus muttered. And it was right after those words the trio heard a panicked scream and stopped what they were doing.
"What was that!?" Jaden wondered as they all ran to the edge of the path and looked in the direction the scream came from. Their landed on the docks, where Andrew, Jenny, Zane and Alexis were surrounded by mummies. "Alexis!"
"Zane!" Chazz called out.
"Mummies!?" Syrus exclaimed.
Andrew heard their voices and turned to them. "Save yourselves!"
"No way! You need..." Jaden began as they all ran towards their friends, only to be stopped by more mummies that erupted from the ground. "...help?"
"Give us the spirit key." One of the mummies murmured.
"My key?" Jaden said in surprise.
"Shadow Riders?" Chazz asked.
A bright light then broke through clouds as something descended from the sky. It looked like a strange boat, with a glass dome on top and a body structure made entirely of gold. As it came down, it began to shine brightly, making everyone cover their eyes. "Duelists!" A voice from above called out to them as the light became brighter and brighter. "I have come for you!" And then, it became so bright that everyone's vision went white, and they lost consciousness...
Eventually, Andrew and Jaden slowly opened their eyes and found themselves lying on a golden floor. "What happened?" Andrew muttered. It was then he noticed, Syrus, Chazz, Alexis, Jenny, Michael, Shiori, Cynthia and Banner sitting nearby.
"Glad to see you guys are with us." Michael greeted.
"What the..." Jaden muttered before turning to Banner. "Professor?"
"I was with Michael when those mummies attacked us." He explained.
"My key must have led them to us." Michael assumed.
"The same thing happened to me and Cynthia." Shiori added.
"Yes, that must have been how they found all of us." Zane said.
"And from the looks of it, I believe we're on that golden airship we saw earlier." Jenny noted.
A sound rang across the entire ship. The sound resembled a traditional gong. They all turned to a heightened platform in the center of the ship. They approached its edge and looked up, seeing Egyptian guards and soldiers surrounding it. At the other end of the platform, they saw someone sitting on a golden throne. The figure appeared to be an Egyptian pharaoh wearing a golden mask
"Hello there..."
Yelling in shock and fear, Banner fell down on his back and fainted.
"What's wrong with him?" Syrus wondered.
"I don't know. Looks like he's seen a ghost." Chazz commented as Pharaoh the cat poked at his master.
The masked pharaoh stood up from his throne. "What's this?"
"Hey! What's the big idea!?" Jaden demanded.
"That's not how one should address an Egyptian pharaoh." The masked man answered calmly and stepped forward.
"Egyptian pharaoh?" Andrew repeated, surprised.
"He looks just like the picture Professor Banner showed us in class today!" Michael noted.
"Abidos?" Alexis said.
"The undefeated pharaoh?" Jenny remembered.
"No way." Cynthia muttered.
Abidos looked at the Obelisk girls. "You three will make fine palace girls, my beautiful doves.
"In your dreams!" Jenny snapped.
"Yeah! What she said!" Cynthia added, completely unaware of the angry look Shiori gave the pharaoh.
"The name's Alexis, you masked weirdo! Now what's going!?"
"He's a Shadow Rider." Zane stated. "After those Sacred Beasts, like the rest."
"Of course he is." Michael muttered.
"And it seems like the punk's got us outnumbered." Chazz added, noticing the guards standing behind Abidos.
"That's right. So just leave your keys and walk away." Abidos warned them. "You don't want to duel me."
"Guess again, pal!" Shiori said and climbed up on the platform. "I'll duel you! And I'm gonna break your record!"
"What!? But I wanted to duel him!" Jaden complained.
"Jaden!" Syrus' head fell forward.
"Um, Shiori?" Andrew tried to talk to his friend, but he ignored him.
"Now bring it on! I'll show you how we duel in the twenty first century! And you're going to wish that you never left your dirty grave!"
"You can't talk to me like that!" Abidos said in disgust.
"You can't talk to him like that." One of the guards repeated.
"Shiori, you realize this is will be a shadow game." Zane said.
"He's right. Your soul's on the line!" Alexis added.
"And this guy's undefeated." Syrus pointed.
"Not for long!" Shiori replied firmly. "I'll send this guy flying all the way back to Egypt!"
"Dude, I've never seen him so fired up before. Where did this come from?" Michael wondered.
"Who knows?" Jenny replied. She then glanced at Cynthia. 'But have my suspicions.'
Shiori turned to the pharaoh. "Alright Abidos, are you ready or what?"
"I'm always ready." He replied. "Now, prepare yourself, key keeper, for-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it!" Chazz interrupted. "Not our first shadow game exactly! Catch!" He tossed a duel disk to Shiori.
Syrus looked at the duel disk, and the to the opened back pack he was wearing. "Hey! That duel disk looks just like mine!"
"Thanks." Shiori said and activated it, while Abidos activated his own duel disk. The one he had was made of gold, encrusted with jewels and a large scarab sitting on top.
"DUEL!"
Shiori: 4000
Abidos: 4000
"Let's see. First..." Abidos drew his sixth card. "I think I'll summon Pharaonic Protector in defense mode." A purple-skinned man wearing blue/gold Egyptian garb, a headpiece, and a white mask with only eyes appeared kneeling in front of him. (ATK: 900 DEF: 0 LV: 2)
"No defense points?" Syrus questioned.
"Not exactly the best monster to defend with." Michael commented.
"And I'll lay down a facedown, your turn." Abidos concluded as a card appeared at his feet.
"Then here I go!" Shiori declared and drew.
"Not before I activate The First Sarcophagus!" Abidos interrupted and revealed his facedown trap card.
"I've never heard of that card before." Shiori admitted.
"Well, after this match, you'll never forget it, though you may want to. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait until I bring out another two sarcophagi before you se why, key keeper."
"Two more?" Syrus said worriedly.
"That doesn't sound good." Andrew added.
"Whatever." Shiori shrugged. "Can I make my move now. The sooner I kick your butt, the better."
"Put your monsters where your mouth is." Abidos said impatiently.
"You asked for it! I summon Armored Zombie in attack mode!" Shiori slapped his card onto his duel disk, allowing the zombie in samurai armor appear. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 0 LV: 3) "Now take down his Pharaonic Protector!" The zombie drew grabbed his sword and sliced the masked enemy in half. "I end my turn with a facedown card and the spell card, Heart of the Underdog!" A facedown card and a spell card appeared behind the zombie. "Looks like the dueling's not what it used to be, huh, Old-Timer?"
"No, it's much tamer now." Abidos replied calmly as his trap card was glowing. "But let me give you a taste of the old school. I play The Second Sarcophagus!" A spell card appeared. "And once the third is played, this duel and your soul will be mine!"
"What's it do?" Cynthia wondered.
"I don't want to know." Syrus whimpered.
"Next I play..." Abidos paused and drew his next card. "My Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two more cards from my deck." He drew his extra cards. "And I think I'll play one right now. Go, Tribute to The Doomed! Now by discarding one card from my hand, your zombie is destroyed!" After Abidos discarded one of his cards, a whirling pit of sand appeared underneath Armored Zombie, followed by a pair of mummified hands that grabbed him and dragged him down.
"Uh oh." Jaden said.
"And next I'll play Pharaoh's Servant in attack mode!" A dark-skinned man appeared before Abidos, wearing a headdress, white mask and skirt, and wielding a spear with a point at one end and a crescent blade at the other. (ATK: 900 DEF: 0 LV: 2) "Now, stick him!" At his command, his servant dashed forward and stabbed Shiori with his spear. The ritual duelist cried out in pain.
Shiori: 4000-3100
"Shiori!" Andrew cried out.
"My undefeated record will be staying intact, but you will not. But don't worry key keeper, after I play this facedown..." A card appeared at Abidos' feet. "...it's your turn again, if you have the strength to play it, that is."
"If you think I'll give up just like that, think again! My move!" Shiori drew. And his spell card glowed. "And now I activate the effect of Heart of The Underdog. Whenever I draw a normal monster from my deck during the draw phase, I can reveal it and draw another card." He held up the card he drew. "I got Thousand-Eyes Idol, so I draw again." He drew another card. Then he took another one from his hand. "And next I summon Dragon Zombie!" The purple zombie-like dragon appeared. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 0 LV: 3) "And now I activate the trap card, Cry Havoc!" His facedown card flipped up.
"What's that do?" Syrus wondered.
"By removing a monster in his graveyard from play, Shiori can summon another normal monster from his hand." Zane explained.
"That's right, so I'll remove Armored Zombie..." The named monster appeared briefly before disappearing. "And summon forth Blazing Inpachi!" A wooden figure burning flames rose up next to Dragon Zombie. It had number 18 engraved on its chest. (ATK: 1850 DEF: 0 LV: 4) "And now I play the spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon!" The spell card appeared and started to create a whirlwind. "Now I can destroy one spell or trap card... like The First Sarcophagus! Looks like we're not gonna see what it does! Too bad for you!"
"I don't think so!" Abidos countered and discarded one of his cards. "Go, Magic Jammer!" His facedown card flipped up. "This card turns your typhoon into a cool breeze!" He said smugly as the trap card unleashed a dark purple aura that ran into Shiori's spell and destroyed it.
"Didn't see that coming." Shiori said. "Talk about getting ahead of myself."
"You should be talking about getting some new cards for that weak deck." Abidos spat.
"Oh, he shouldn't have said that." Jaden commented.
"Yeah, bad call." Michael agreed.
"Weak?" Shiori narrowed his eyes. "Let's see if you still think it's weak after this! Blazing Inpachi, Dragon Zombie, let him have it!" The dragon zombie exhaled green smoke that enveloped Pharaoh's Servant, causing him to explode.
Abidos: 4000-3300
And then, the fire figure slammed its right arm on the ground, sending a wave of flames to the pharaoh. The flames made him cry out before he fell to his hands and knees.
Abidos: 3300-1450
"You... can't attack me!" He protested.
"I can't?" Shiori raised an eyebrow. "Hate to break it you, but yeah, I can. That's how you play the game. Check the rulebook, you whiner."
"But I am Abidos! The greatest duelist ever!"
Jaden looked at him. "The greatest? Um, I'm not sure about that. To tell ya the truth, you haven't been dueling that great. I mean, for someone who's undefeated, I was kinda hoping for, ya know, some super-sweet monsters or wicked rare cards... but so far, I've been kinda underwhelmed, and I'm not even dueling you."
"Yeah, his cards are hardly better than a starter deck." Syrus noted. "For a legend, this guy is a bit of a letdown."
"Looks like Shiori's gonna win this one easy" Chazz said.
"I'm starting to wonder if he really is as legendary as the history states." Andrew muttered.
"Your move, Abidos." Shiori called out. But to the ritual duelist's confusion, he was just sitting, without uttering a single world. "Hello? Hello...?"
Flashback
In the throne room, in the mighty palace of the pharaoh in Egypt, a group of priests stood silently as one of their own stood across from Abidos, both of them wearing a strange, golden armlet on the wrist.
"I attack with Sinister Serpent!" Abidos declared, and a big, green serpent leapt out of a stone tablet and bit into the priest, causing him yell in pain.
"And I win another match!" A black humanoid figure with a serpentine body and a snake head sticking out of its back struck another priest down with its sword.
"I cannot be beaten!" A giant Hercules beetle came out of a stone tablet and tackled another priest.
This kept on going, and Abidos kept winning.
"You are the greatest, O Pharaoh..." One of the priest praised.
"All hail, Abidos..." Another priest cried.
"Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!"
Abidos smirked and retreated back to his throne, completely unaware of the things his servants were whispering to each other.
"You know, I'm getting really sick and tired of having to lose to this spoiled brat every time."
"But if we don't he'll probably feed us to the lions."
Flashback end
Abidos may not have heard anything what they said, or even cared about it, but after thinking about his past duels really carefully, a thought crossed his mind. "Wait... could it be all my servants let me win?"
Shiori was shocked when those words reached his words. "Let you win?"
"Wow, what a giant loser this guy is." Chazz scoffed.
"You know what? I wouldn't mind having servants like that." Admitted Syrus.
"But his whole life has been a lie." Alexis stated.
"I'm starting to feel sorry for him." Cynthia said, while Jenny nodded as if agreeing with her.
"So does that mean... you never really dueled?" Shiori asked, starting to feel the same as them.
"I guess not..." Abidos replied ashamed.
"Then get up and start dueling for real, right now!"
"What?" Abidos lifted his head, looking at Shiori, who nodded, smiling.
"You heard me right. If I want to defeat you, then I want you to give everything you got! But if this is gonna be your first real duel, then let's do this right and ditch that mask."
Slowly, Abidos rose to his feet and then removed his mask. And to everyone's surprise, he had a normal, handsome face with tan skin and blue-gray eyes.
"Wow! I was expecting something scarier than that!" Jaden commented.
"I think we all did." Michael replied.
"Shiori, just promise me you'll give it your best." Abidos pleaded.
"That's all I ever give." Shiori replied. "Now let's duel! I end my turn with a facedown card." A card appeared at his feet. "Alright Abidos, your move!"
"Very well! I activate The Third Sarcophagus!" Abidos' deck glowed as another spell card appeared between The First and Second Sarcophagus.
"I didn't expect Shiori of all people to give a Shadow Rider some pep talk." Andrew said.
"Yeah, the only person here who would be dumb enough to do that is Jaden." Chazz replied.
"Hey, that guy just wanted to be a duelist." Jaden shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."
"I just hope Shiori's gonna be okay." Cynthia said, slightly worried.
"And I... sacrifice all three... to finally summon... Spirit of the Pharaoh in attack mode!" All three of Abidos' cards glowed lit up like a wildfire.
"Spirit of the who-what?" Jaden muttered in confusion.
The three cards disappeared and were replaced by a large, golden sarcophagus. With creaks and groans, the sarcophagus slid open, letting a big, tall man with dark-blue skin stepping out from his slumber. He was wearing an orange and blue pharaoh outfit with several animal symbols, had an orange cape draped over his back and held a sword and hooked staff. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 6)
"He sure looks pretty cool." Shiori commented. "But to be honest, I expected a little more than 2500 attack points..."
"I'm not done!" Abidos snapped. "A pharaoh is nothing without his servants! You see, whenever he's summoned, I get to call up his friends, up to 4 level 2 zombies from my graveyard!" As he explained this, two Pharaonic Protectors and two Pharaoh's Servants appeared alongside the tall pharaoh. (ATK: 900 DEF: 0 LV: 2) x2 (ATK: 900 DEF: 0 LV: 2) x2 "And now, my draw!" He looked at the card he drew and smirked. "And it looks like I drew a very useful spell card."
Shiori widened his eyes.
"I activate the powers of Thousand Energy! Now all level 2 monsters on the field gain 1000 attack points!" The four servants surrounding their pharaoh were powered by bright energy. (ATK: 900-1900) x2 (ATK: 900-1900) x2
"No way!" The ritual duelist said.
"Aw man." Syrus moaned.
"Aw man is right." Banner spoke up. "If all of those monsters hit, then it's over for Shiori."
"Come on, Shiori. I know you can win this." Andrew muttered.
"Now attack my servants!" The two Pharaoh's Servants dashed forward and stabbed their respective opponents, shattering them to pixels. First Dragon Zombie.
Shiori: 3100-2800
Then Blazing Inpachi.
Shiori: 2800-2750
"And now I'll attack with my Pharaonic Protectors!" The two named monsters dashed forward. The first one landed a punch on Shiori, who cried out before falling down on his back.
Shiori: 2750-0850
"Shiori!" Cynthia cried out.
"And now you're finished!" Abidos declared as the other Protector raised his right fist...
"I activate Draining Shield!" Shiori grunted as his facedown card flipped up and created a barrier that protected from the attack.
"A trap card?" Abidos questioned.
"With this I can stop your monster's attack and regain life points equal to its attack points."
Shiori: 0850-2750
"Then I suppose it's a very good thing I still have my Spirit of the Pharaoh. Attack!" The tall pharaoh rushed to Shiori and struck him with his sword, making him cry out again.
Shiori: 2750-0250
"Shiori!" Syrus cried out.
"Are you okay?" Michael asked.
"I'm... perfectly fine." He replied.
"Now I think I'll sacrifice one of my monsters to activate a little card I like to call Soul Guide!" One of the Pharaonic Protectors disappeared as a spell card appeared on Abidos' field. As he explained, a light purple aura surrounded him. "It gives me life points equal to the attack points of the card I lost."
Abidos: 1450-3350
"But, it's about to get a whole lot better. Soul Guide also lets me put a copy of the card I just sacrificed right back in my hand. And even though... Thousand Energy will most certainly destroy my monsters..." The three remaining servants of the pharaoh shattered into pixels. "From how your life points will turn out, it will be worth it! My record shall stand!"
But to his confusion, Shiori chuckled.
"What's so funny? You know you're about to lose your soul."
"Not yet!"
"Is that so?"
"That's right, and you're about to see why!" Shiori drew his next card, and his spell card glowed again. "Once again, I'll use the effect of Heart of the Underdog!" He revealed his new card. "I've drawn Tri-Horned Dragon! Now for my next card!" He drew another card and revealed it. "Alexandrite Dragon!" He drew again. Now he held up a spell card. "Now I play the spell card, Trade-In. By discarding a level 8 monster, like Tri-Horned Dragon, I can draw two more cards." He discarded the named card and drew two new ones. "Next I activate Card of Demise! Now I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." He drew more cards. And after looking over his new hand, he smirked. "Perfect!"
"Huh?" Abidos looked at him curiously.
"I activate the spell card... Polymerization!"
"Polymerization?" Jaden repeated. "I thought Shiori was a ritual guy."
"He is." Andrew replied, smiling knowingly. "But out of all the ritual monsters in his deck, there is one particular monster that can be fused with another monster."
"And the monsters I'm gonna fuse are Thousand-Eyes Idol and Relinquished!" A creature with a green, round creature with arms and legs and countless eyes on its body appeared, along with the golden eyed ritual monster. They then entered the fusion vortex. "Now say hello to... Thousand-Eyes Restrict!" Everyone watched as a new monster came out of the vortex. It looked similar to Relinquished. But its body had a nasty purple color and tons of little eyes. And the part of the body where it would have been Relinquished's grey circle was a mouth with sharp teeth. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1)
Abidos grimaced. "That is the most grotesque creature I've ever seen!"
"If you think it's scary now, just wait until my monster uses its ability! He can absorb your monster and add its attack and defense points to his own!"
"What!?"
It was then Shiori's fusion inhaled strongly. In fact, it was so strong that it created a vacuum effect, causing the Spirit of the Pharaoh to getting sucked into its mouth. And then, its back started to bulge and morph. This went on for a moment before it the shape of the pharaoh's upper body. (ATK: 0-2500 DEF: 0-2000) "And for my next move, I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!" The majestic dragon appeared next to it. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 100 LV: 4) But then, Thousand-Eyes Restrict unleashed blue lisghts from its many eyes, and the dragon was suddenly frozen in place.
"What just happened?" Syrus asked.
"This is Thousand-Eyes Restrict's other effect. As long as he remains on the field, all other monsters can't attack or switch modes."
"Then summoning your dragon was meaningless." Abidos stated. But that earned him a grin from Shiori.
"Actually... I summoned my dragon to the field because I needed it for my spell card, Gift of the Martyr!" The named spell card appeared behind the dragon. "For starters, this lets me sacrifice one of my monsters..." The dragon's body turned into a ball of light. "But there's more Abidos! That monster's attack points are added to another monster!"
Abidos gasped as the ball of light was swallowed by Thousand-Eyes Restrict. (ATK: 2500-4500)
"Now attack his life points directly! Thousand-Eyes Blast!" The empowered monster fired energy beams from all of its eyes. They went in all directions. But the only who got by a beam or two was Abidos, who cried out and fell down again.
Abidos: 3350-0000
"Gotcha!" Shiori said as the holograms disappeared.
"Now that was a sweet comeback!" Jaden cheered.
"Yeah, nice one, Shiori." Cynthia said.
"Big fat hairy deal." Chazz said, crossing his arms. "Ojama Delta Hurricane is just as good."
"Abidos doesn't look so hot." Syrus noted, looking towards the beaten Shadow Rider.
Shiori approached Abidos, who was sitting on the floor quietly. "Hey, what's the matter?"
He lifted his head and looked at the ritual duelist. "I used to think I was the best duelist of all time. But now I know... I need a lot of practice if I want to be a true dueling legend."
"Hey, we all do." Shiori replied. "I wouldn't be the duelist I am today without practice."
Abidos smiled at him and stood up. "Well, I was thinking right now..."
"Thinking about what?" Shiori asked in confusion.
The pharaoh then grabbed his hand. "Shiori, you could come back with me."
"Huh?" Shiori widened his eyes. And everyone was as surprised as him. Both academy students and the pharaoh's servants.
"You are too good for this place. Listen, come back to my kingdom, and I promise you power and fame."
"Now hold on a moment!" Cynthia protested.
"That's a nice offer." Shiori admitted. "But I prefer it right here. But hey, drop by if you want to duel again."
"Yeah, I would like to have a crack at ya!" Jaden pitched in.
"Same with you." Abidos nodded. "That is, if you ever find a time vortex warping loophole. Or... you what, I'll just call you."
Moments later, everyone was back on the ground and watched the golden airship flying up into the sky. "Farewell!" Abidos called out before the ship disappeared in a flash of light.
After that, they headed back home. "Ya know, Abidos wasn't such a bad guy. I mean, look what he gave me." Shiori held up a golden bracelet with a millennium symbol and wings. "A nice item don't you think?"
"Yeah, we're starting to get quite a collection." Jaden commented. "But where's the Shadow Rider with a skateboard?"
"I don't see why you guys get all the free stuff." Chazz complained.
"Probably cuz he defeated a dueling legend." Michael replied with a grin.
"OH SO NOW HE'S A LEGEND!? CUZ HE BEAT HIM!?" Chazz exclaimed.
"Well Chazz, that is what the history books say. Right?" Cynthia gave the ritual duelist a smile, making him blush.
"Well we know the truth! He was a sham! A fake!"
"By the way, Shiori..." Jaden turned to him. "That Thousand-Eyes Restrict was super sweet! Will you trade for it?"
"Not a chance! Stick to your heroes!" He snapped.
"Really Jaden?" Andrew shook his head.
"You're bo fun." The brown-haired Slifer pouted.
"Still..." The blue-haired Ra spoke up. "Just because Abidos was an easier opponent than the others, doesn't mean we should expect the remaining Shadow Riders being easy pickings."
Unbeknownst to the gang, Professor Banner was watching from a hill not far off. "How right you are, Andrew. Because soon... you and Jaden will face your true test."
I bet some you are wondering why I had Shiori duel against Abidos. Well, it's because of the number of times Andrew and the other oc's had a duel with the Shadow Riders involved:
Andrew dueled against Kaito/Death and The Black Knight.
Jenny teamed up with Alexis and dueled against Cynthia/Black Thorn and then dueled against Kang.
And Michael dueled against Jonathan and the dueling robot that kidnapped Bastion.
In short, each of them dueled two times, and I figured it would be fair to have Shiori be the same.
Now then, as I mentioned, I'm going to start working on my 5D's story now. And in case you are wondering about my writing schedule, I've decided this:
I'll be writing 3 chapters for the 5D's story. Then I'll write 3 more chapters for this story. Then 3 more for 5D's and... yeah, you get idea.
Okay, until next time.