It was almost as if time slowed down before the duel started. Harry could only watch, waiting for Nightshroud to make a move. He didn't dare even think of a message to his spirit companions lest he miss out on anything and he couldn't bear to see the look of worry on his best friend's face. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only a minute. Nightshroud's arm twitched, or so it looked. Harry could see the sixth card that had joined his previous five in his hand.
The duel had begun. Darkness had made its move.
Harry:4000/ Nightsroud:4000
"I play Red-Eyes baby dragon in defense mode." As the card touched Nightshroud's disk, flames a large black scaled egg rose from the molten lava beneath the two. Passing through the barrier they stood on in a flash of red light, it stood between the two for only a brief second before exploding. When the dust settled, Harry could only describe the dragon as a small and adorable Red-eyes Black Dragon.
ATK / DEF: 1200 / 700
"It's… cute" Alexis could be heard from behind the barrier.
"No Alexis" Harry called back as Nightshroud played three cards face down, signaling the end of his turn. "It's a free ticket to Red-Eyes, if I destroy it he gets to summon any level seven Red-Eyes from his deck."
Harry drew his card to start his turn before examining his hand. His deck may not have been used in nearly a month, but his spirits were ready and willing to fight for him.
"To start with I play the Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode" Harry called as the eye of Anubis appeared on Harry's forehead as he began to take part in the shadow duel. From a summoning circle came the skilled Dark Magician, who nodded to Harry as he waited for a command.
ATK / DEF: 1900 / 1700
"Next I play the spell card Magician's Circle." The magician's circle appeared around him making him look even more formidable than before. "This is a special spell, it allows me to pick up the top three cards of my deck and add either the Dark Magician, or any spell or trap that contains his name to my hand."
Picking up the top three cards, Harry smiled to himself as the card levitated and flipped to reveal the Dark Magician.
"Look at that; it must be my lucky day." The card flew from one hand to the other. "And not only do I get to add him to my hand but I get to choose the order of how the other two go back. But that won't matter because this" Placing the other cards back on his deck Harry picked another from his hand and played it. "Pot of Greed." He called as the grinning pot appeared on the field before exploding. Drawing the two cards he had already seen, Harry grinned.
"See I really wanted those cards." Harry explained as he played another card. Behind him, a seal appeared before spinning out of existence. "That was the emblem of the dragon destroyer. It allows me to bring the one and only Buster Blader from my deck to my hand."
"Are you going to end your turn anytime soon?" Nightshroud's dual layered voice sounded. "Or are you just going to keep stacking your hand with cards too powerful to use?"
"That's what you think." Harry called. "You might have been able to force the others into playing a quick duel. But since I'm here I can cancel out any of your tricks leaving only mine. I play Polymerization. Fusing together to the two cards I just collected to form one of my strongest cards, Dark Paladin come forth!"
The Dark Magician vanished from Harry's side before appearing on the field next to the Buster Blader. A vortex appeared behind the two pulling them in until they vanished. A dark storm began to build up above their heads as the portal opened once more and from it stepped the Dark Paladin in all his armored glory.
ATK / DEF: 2900 / 2400
"Not only does he give me control over your spell cards, he also gains five hundred attack points for every dragon in the field and in the graveyard."
Dark Paladin Attack: 2900-3400
"And let's not forget about my skilled Dark Magician, he gained a spell counter for every spell I just played and now that he's locked and loaded, he gets to skip town and bring back the Dark Magician that just hit the graveyard."
Mahad's final student returned to the field before turning to Harry. "Be careful" He warned. "You're using more of your powers than ever before; make sure you have enough to defend yourself."
"I'll be fine." He muttered. But he knew he was right. Maintaining the force field protecting Jaden and Alexis, the barrier protecting Syrus and Chumley, and his earlier theatrics he was beginning to feel the strain. He knew he could keep it up but he also knew that Nightshroud wouldn't go quietly into the night. His attacks would force him to use more power.
"Time to take a dent out of your forces," Harry muttered. "Dark Magician Attack his Red-Eyes Baby Dragon with Dark Magic attack!"
"Finally," The Dark Magician called before raising his arms and charging purple energy between his palms much like Harry had done before the duel. When he released the energy, it flew towards the diminutive dragon that was vaporized instantly on contact.
"You said it yourself." Nightshroud whispered but even over the bubbling lava of the volcano Harry could hear his dual layered voice. "When you destroy my Red-Eyes Baby Dragon I'm allowed to bring out any of his family and I think I'll choose his Daddy! The Red-Eyes Black Dragon in defense mode. And then Red-Eyes Baby Dragon equips itself to him giving him an extra three hundred attack points."
Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack 2400-2700
"That doesn't matter; because you played another dragon my Paladin gains another five hundred more points. Take down Red-Eyes now!"
The Dark Paladin raised his sword in the air where waves of dark energy erupted from it, each one slicing through Red-Eyes before it finally exploded.
"You're forgetting about my Baby Red-Eyes, when he's destroyed while he's equipped to a monster, I'm allowed to take a level 1 dragon type monster from my deck and add it to my hand. And I choose this one, the Black Stone of Legend."
"I've forgotten nothing" Harry hissed. "You bring out as many dragons as you want. I'll keep knocking them down."
'And hopefully' The Black luster Soldier whispered inside his mind. 'We can force whatever possesses that body to completely take over.'
Harry nodded as he set two face downs and ended his turn. 'The shadow game knows who's in charge' he agreed. 'Whatever is holding him will face the consequences. I am not going inside a card.'
'It's not so bad' The Chaos Magician 'you can talk to a spirit sensitive no problem and you never have to worry about sleep, or food for that matter.'
'Are you actually trying to tell me' Harry began as Nightshroud drew his card 'that being inside a duel monsters card as a result of losing a shadow game can be in any way comfortable. And for the record I happen to enjoy food and sleep.'
'We'll keep you company' All of his monsters chorused in reply.
Somehow, Harry was even more determined to win.
"I play The Black Stone of Legend in attack mode."
Molten lava rose once more from the volcano and splashed against the barrier the two duelists stood upon. Inexplicably it began to harden to form a stone mound which, as it cooled, it began to crack and break apart to show a dragon egg held between the stone.
"Bugger me." Harry muttered softly.
"He won't be around for long. You see, this stone truly is legendary. Simply by sacrificing it to the graveyard, I'm allowed to bring out a level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster from my deck. Since my Red-Eyes Black dragon is chilling in my graveyard I'll chose something even cooler. My Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning"
The dark storm that began when Harry played polymerization gained even more ferocity than before. Lightning began to flash above the duelists heads. One particular bolt struck the ground in front of Nightshroud, blinding the spectators but Harry could see clearly a shadow of a monster appearing from the light. An amateur duelist would confuse the new monster for the summoned skull. At one point, during the design for the monster, Harry had mad that same mistake, until his father had pointed out the glowing red eyes and, naturally, the wings adorning the archfiend's back.
"With only twenty five hundred attack points, he might not be up to snuff, but thankfully I brought a little back-up, I activate my trap Red-Eyes Fang with Chain!"
The trap card rose face up revealing what would be kunai with chain, if not for the dragon shaped kunai with glowing red eyes. The chain sprung forth from the card face and wrapped itself around the arm of the Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning whose grin became even more sinister.
"This is a handy card to have. All I have to do is send it to the graveyard and I get to equip one of your monsters to mine. So I choose your Dark Paladin, get over here."
The Dark Paladin on Harry's side of the field was wrapped in the chains before being pulled slowly to Nightshroud's Red-Eyed monster. As he got closer, The Dark Paladin's energy could be seen channeling through the chain into the Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning who began to grow and snarl even more menacingly as his attack points rose.
Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning attack 2500-2900
"A small increase I know but now that you're most powerful card is out of the way, I can destroy your Dark Magician. Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning, attack the Dark Magician with conductive fire blast!"
Much like Summoned Skull, the Red-Eyes simply raised his arms and growled to summon forth powerful bolts of electricity, tainted red by the powerful magic used. It raced towards the Dark Magician who prepared his wicked staff to defend.
"I activate my trap!" Harry called, holding out his hand, the action mirrored by the Dark Magician. On both their hands a dark aura clouded their palms as the trap card rose. The electricity stopped just before reaching the Dark Magician and stayed there, as if time stood still. "Magician's Selection stops your attack and redirects it to the weakest monster on your field. But since you only have one on the field, it will have to do."
The dark aura that surrounded the hand of the dark magician grew bright and brighter until it turned the once red lightning almost completely black. Once it was, it flew towards the Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning, reducing it to ashes on impact leaving Nightshroud's field empty.
"I'm sorry" Harry whispered as the energy that was being drained from the Dark Paladin suddenly surged backwards causing his monster to explode.
"You think I'm down, but I'm not!" Nightshroud hissed. "This duel is taking too long. I've got another six key keepers to get through when I'm done with you." A black aura began to overtake the armored man, enveloping him completely until all that could be seen was his red eyes. "This power may be a match for you, but mine, my power is greater than you could imagine."
"I doubt it, I'm an artist." Harry commented, unfazed by the turn of events.
"Enough." The hulking mass of a shadow commanded. "I activate the special ability of the Red-Eyes Retro Dragon from my hand." A smaller version of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared hunched over on the field in front of Nightshroud. Where it not for the clockwork cogs sticking out from it's extremities, Harry wouldn't be able to tell the difference. "When one of my Red-Eyes monsters is destroyed, this card automatically summons itself to the field in defense mode. And then, it uses it's powers to reverse time and bring back the destroyed monster." The air rippled beside the dragon and from the tear in space and time, came forth the Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning once more.
"Now finish what you started and destroy his Dark Magician." Nightshroud commanded.
Red lightning soared towards the Dark Magician once more who smirked before brandishing his staff and parting the arcs. They charged either side of him but did no damage.
"What?" Nightshroud hissed.
"I activated my second trap card. Dark Illusion." Harry called from behind the now face up trap card. It depicted a shield being guarded by the Dark Magician's staff. "This protects the Dark Magician for one turn. But not your Archfiend! Return fire, Chaotic Magic Attack!"
Charging the purple energy between his hands, Harry's spirit partner destroyed the Red-Eyes monster once more. Harry expected Nightshroud to be angry at the loss of his monster. And while he couldn't see his face anymore due to the shadows, he could hear the laughter.
"Let's see how you handle this." He chuckled, revealing his own trap card. "Red-Eyes Burn."
"He's nuts" Harry cried as a ring of fire appeared around both of them.
"What's going to happen?" He could hear Syrus calling out in confusion. He was surprised, however, when it was Chumley who answered.
"It deals damage to both of them equal to the Red-Eyes Archfiend's attack points."
"But why would he do that?" Alexis asked. "With his field empty he'll be defenseless."
Harry knew better, but as he opened his mouth, the explanation in his throat gave way to a blood curdling scream as the ring of fire spontaneously combusted. Black fire consumed Alexis's vision leaving nothing to see of her friend, even the dark outline he normally possessed was clouded by fire.
"Harry!" Everybody screamed. Even Zane could be barely heard from his position on top of the volcano.
A sound of shattering glass tore them from their worry. Syrus and Chumley began to scream instead as the protective barrier that Harry had formed shattered into purple wisps of smoke leaving only hat would have been left of Nightshroud's barrier which, given the lengthy time of the duel, was not much.
Standing on only a flat disc of white energy Syrus and Chumley clung together even as their friend shouted for them to be okay. So engrossed in their worry and fire they did not notice a hand break through the wall of fire. First an open palm, the hand closed into a fist before pulling back sharply into the fire. As it did, Syrus and Chumley began to float off their barrier ever so slightly before they were pulled towards the larger and more stable one, as if fired from a cannon.
The fire cleared, the first damage of the duel had taken place, but they were no longer on an even footing. Already tired from his antics and protecting his friends, Harry used what was left of his considerable power to save Syrus and Chumley and keep his body somewhat safe from harm. Light burns littered his face and hands as he collapsed to his knees.
"He saved us." Chumley whispered in awe. "He risked himself to save us."
The others looked to the laid back, if well informed, slifer red duelist each coming to terms with what had just happened. It had taken only a few seconds, but for them it was an eternity.
'You fool' each of his duel spirits shouted in his mind.
'Can you even stand?' The Dark Magician of Chaos asked him gently, appearing by his side in his spirit form yet still wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
Jaden looked as one of the shadows he had seen following Harry appeared beside him. He knew it was a duel spirit. But he also knew it wasn't the Dark Magician as he originally thought due to that current monster spirit being present on the field. The shadow peeled away slightly to reveal the blinding light just as before, the light manifested into the shape of an arm that wrapped itself around Harry's shoulders, no doubt in an effort to help. But Harry didn't even so much as twitch.
"Take me!" He shouted to the shadows with glowing red eyes. "You've done enough, take me instead. I wager my key and my soul."
"You fool" The shadows hissed, "Don't you see that I've broken his body and his mind. He may not have suffered as greatly as an ordinary man should have but I assure you he felt all of the pain thanks to his little stunt. This duel is over; I will have your soul soon."
Alexis ran to Harry's side. Not even noticing as the shadow barrier protecting them from the affects of the duel collapsed. Had she have done so she would have seen the energy flow back to Harry. But as she ran to Harry and wrapped her arms around her best friend she saw none of this.
"Please get up" She whispered in his ear. Tears falling down her face once more at seeing her friend in pain. "Please, you have to get up. You're strong. You can beat him."
But she received no response.
"Then how about both of our souls?" Alexis challenged as she stood tall, still keeping a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Duel both of us, our three keys and our two souls, but you leave him alone." She offered.
"Interesting, you care for him enough to wager everything for his soul." Nightshroud mused, no hint of a dual layer in his voice. What would have been considered a charming voice was now nothing but a monotone. "Very well…"
"No." A weak voice sounded from beside Alexis. "I have to save him."
"Harry" Alexis breathed.
'Harry listen to me.' The Dark Magician of chaos whispered in the opposite ear that Alexis was whispering in. 'Listen to her' He pleaded. 'You are the wielder of chaos. You protect those who cannot protect themselves. You are a chosen of the gods themselves. You always have power.'
'Come on kid.' The Black Luster Soldier said as he too appeared beside his friend. 'You need to snap out this. Forget about the host. Forget about the Gods. Do this because you're the strongest there is and nobody can take that from you.'
"No." Harry said weakly. "I have to save him."
He heard Alexis say his name beside him. Standing with her help he lifted his duel disk once more.
"Clever trick." He gasped once he was standing upright. "You can't beat me so you burn me. But this duel isn't over and I'm about to win."
"You think you can beat me?" Nightshroud hissed. "Let me show you the power of darkness." A card rose from the ground in front of him. "I activate Red-Eyes spirit. This allows me to bring back any Red-Eyes monster from my grave and I choose my Red-Eyes Black Dragon just so can I sacrifice him to bring out the true being of the dark, The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon."
The shadows stretched and darkened the playing field as the molten figures of the destroyed Dragon's appeared behind Nightshroud, pouring their dark energy into a void that had appeared above his head making it widen until it was big enough to fit its purpose. A dark and colossal dragon appeared behind above Nightshroud's head. Spreading it's wings it let out a roaring cry before breathing fire into the sky, high enough to break the cloud barrier above their heads.
ATk/DEF: 2400/2100
"This dragon gets three hundred attack points for every dragon on my field making it the strongest card out. But just for kicks, I equip him with the Black Metal Dragon, giving him an extra six hundred attack points. Can't you see when he attacks next turn, this duel is over. I play a face down and end my turn." Placing the last card in his hand into his disk, Nightshroud then lowered it.
Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon Attack 2400-3000
"Then I guess I better make the most of my turn then." Harry muttered as he drew a card. Nodding to his spirits, they both vanished in preparation. "I play the spell Graceful Charity, this allows me to draw three cards so long as I discard two. Next I play the spell card dedication through light and darkness. By sending my Dark Magician into the void he emerges once more, tainted by the powers of both light and dark, I give you the Dark Magician of Chaos."
The Dark Magician vanished into the cosmic void for a brief second before the Dark Magician of Chaos stepped out of it to take his place.
"When my faithful friend steps out of the void he allows me to take one spell card from my grave and add it to my hand. I choose the Pot of Greed only to play it once more."
"Next I activate the spell card Reasoning." Harry declared. A card showing an angry man pointing in declaration appeared in front of him. "It's simple. You declare a level, I draw until I find a monster I can summon. If you guess it right, I discard it. If you guess it wrong, I summon it."
"Are you so desperate for monsters that you choose to lose your own cards?" Nightshroud asked in favor of choosing.
"No." Harry vehemently denied. "I would never be so careless. I know the next card in my deck is a monster. I can feel my cards calling out to me every second of every day and when I duel? It's like a chorus of cheers right beside me. I can feel it in my bones that the next card is a monster, and when you guess. I win. So go ahead."
"Very well," Nightshroud acquiesced. "I choose level 5."
"Thank you." Harry said as his fingertips touched the card. "Because you were right, the card on top of my deck is Jack's Knight, a level 5 monster, now he goes to my graveyard." As he placed the card in the graveyard slot, the card was taken in only for a blinding white light to shine from the same place. "My graveyard had only Dark Monsters." Harry admitted. "Chaos requires both darkness and light in order to thrive. By placing one light monster in my graveyard I'm allowed to remove it, and any of my dark monsters, in this case my Dark Paladin, and with their combined energy comes the envoy of the end, The Black Luster Soldier!"
The light shone brighter, breaking the clouds above their heads whereupon a beam of light shone down right beside the Dark Magician of Chaos. Floating down from the sky was Harry's warrior spirit, the Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the End.
"Sorry I'm late." Harry's monster called as his feet touched the ground. "Had to make an entrance."
"Go ahead and attack." Nightshroud challenged. "No matter how powerful a monster you summon you cannot beat my dragon."
"First off." Harry replied. "It's not your dragon. You tainted the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and turned him against his host. That abomination," He pointed at the malevolent beast in front of him, "is going down right now! I don't have to attack. As a matter of fact, so long as my Black Luster Soldier stays right where he is, he's allowed to banish any one monster on the field. And guess who's just itching to be banished. Black Luster Soldier, take down the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and drag him from the game!"
With a nod, the warrior of Chaos raised his sword high into the air with both hands where both duelists and spectators alike could see the air begin to ripple and distort as it seemingly flowed into the sword. The sword began to glow a brilliant white light and shake of it's own accord before the Black Luster Soldier slammed it into the ground where the blade pierced the barrier they stood on with ease.
The tip of the blade reappeared above the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon through a portal of black and white light. Tendrils of energy came through the portal alongside the blade where they grabbed the colossal dragon and began to drag him through the portal. As it was dragged through, it let out a threatening roar and tried to breathe black fire. But just as the flames escaped its maw, it's head was dragged through the portal, cutting off the jet just as it started. The rest followed soon after.
And that was that. The Dragon of Darkness with gone. Despite the light show and epic display his exit had provided, it was rather anticlimactic.
"This duel is over Nightshroud." Harry whispered softly. "There is nothing you can do to stop me." Placing a spell card into his duel disk, he declared as a purple miasma began to cover the field "I play Dark Magic Veil. At the cost of one thousand life points. I can bring back one Dark Spellcaster from my grave. And I choose my favorite of them all, the Dark Magician." The fog grew darker leaving nobody with the ability to see, before it cleared leaving Harry's ace monster on the field once more.
"Go ahead." Nightshroud challenged. "By destroying my Black Metal Dragon I'm allowed to add one Red-Eyes card to my hand. And I choose another Red-Eyes Retro Dragon. So I'm going to survive."
"Wrong." Harry called. "When my Dark Magician was summoned. The Dark Magic Circle I played so long ago activated in the presence of it's creator. This allows me to banish the only monster you have left on the field. You're Red-Eyes Retro Dragon, preventing you from using the effect of the one in your hand." The arcane circle surrounding Harry began to spin in place before leaving the ground and hovering just over the Red-Eyes Retro Dragon. Lowering itself around it, the Dragon began to vanish as it passed through the circle before it was gone completely. The circle returned to Harry where it continued to glow as if nothing happened. "And just to be sure. I play the spell card Dark Magic Attack to destroy your face down." Harry returned, without any energy in his voice.
The Dark Magician waved his staff and the face down on Nightshroud's field rose to reveal another Red-Eyes Spirit trap card.
"And with only one monster out on your field. My two magicians have more than enough fire power to end this duel." As he said this, Harry sunk to his knees once more. Exhaustion finally setting in.
The two Dark Magicians, one of Chaos and one of birth, raised their staffs and angled them towards their counterpart's where they began to charge a ball of pure energy bigger than either would have managed on their own. Lowering the staffs and pointing them at the Red-Eyes Retro Dragon, the ball flew towards it, blasting it into a thousand pieces before continuing and destroying the shadows that covered Nightshroud's body.
When it was over. The three monsters looked towards their fallen friend in sorrow before fading away along with the spells in place on the field leaving only Harry, his friends, and Nightshroud.
Alexis lowered herself to the ground and wrapped her arms around her best friend once more to keep him from falling face first into the barrier while Jaden, Syrus and Chumley all ran towards them now that the duel was over.
But they did not get far as rings of fire began to surround the three groups, blocking them from moving while also blinding those who still had the capacity to see. When they finally managed to see once more they found themselves no longer inside the volcano. But rather at the bottom of it.
"Syrus!" Zane's voice could be heard as he skidded down the volcano. Grinding to a halt, he quickly ran and grabbed his brother into a fierce hug as if afraid that letting him go would make him vanish.
"I'm okay Zane." Syrus mumbled through tears of shock. "Harry kept us safe."
"I know." His brother returned. "I saw the whole thing."
Jaden and Chumley meanwhile ran towards their fallen hero as fast as they could in the hopes of helping him. Finding him in the arms of Alexis, unconscious, both were shocked having never seen Harry in anyway vulnerable before.
"This is what happens when you win a shadow duel?" Jaden muttered just as the other keepers of the spirit keys arrived.
"We felt the keys pulling us in this direction." Bastion explained as Chumley and Chazz took Harry from Alexis's arms and began to lift him towards the hospital. "What happened?"
"Nightshroud." Was all Jaden could say to start. Pointing at the also unconscious shadow rider who lay on his own away from the group. "He kidnapped me, Chumley, Syrus and Alexis. He wanted to duel me. But Harry showed up and took over. Things were going pretty well for a while but then Nightshroud played a card just to get to Harry. He gave everything he had to keep us safe and win the duel."
"A commendable effort." Crowler acknowledged as he bent over the fallen shadow rider. Zane picked up the card that the loser's soul was to be placed in and found no face inside. Instead he found only a mask, bound by chains but still appearing as malevolent. "Zane." Crowler gasped drawing the attention of the third year Obelisk. "Get Ms. Rhodes to the hospital now!"
Never before hearing the serious tone in his headmaster the obelisk obeyed without question. Taking Alexis by the hand he walked her to the hospital only feet behind her best friend.
"Slacker. Bastion. Get over here and help me." The doctor commanded once his Obelisks were out of earshot. "Make sure this man gets to the hospital in one piece. Alexis wouldn't want her brother harmed any more than these two seem to be."
Eyes widening at the realization. Both of them could only nod before the three lifted the now identified Atticus Rhodes, formerly known as Nightshroud. And brought him to the hospital.
