Author notes:
Well first of all I'd like to thank you peeps for the wonderful feedback. I didn't think that this fic would do too well but it's turning out to be more popular than I thought it would be ^^. I originally planned to keep this a short 3 chappie fic… but now I'm tempted to make it a little longer… so…tempted! Looks like I'm going to have to postpone LB's Yugi/Anzu battle a little (LB: *sniffs*) Hmm… keep to 3 chappies or make it longer? Decisions, decisions…
random thought I was listening to Malice Mizer while I wrote this chappie… I wonder if that affected the style… Eh hem. Anyway please keep the reviews coming.
More reviews = TM happy = More chappies.
*clears throat* On with the fic!
Chapter 2 by The Muffin
The Celtic Guardian was surprised at how easy it was for him to escape the barriers of the deck. No ritual, no spell, no bizarre composition of body movements. All it took was an insatiable desire to leave and a little focus to create a rip to the outside world. No wonder the Dark Magician forbade anyone to even attempt leaving. If they all knew how easy it was, then there wouldn't be any cards left for Yugi to duel with. With one last glance around to check that he wasn't being observed, the Celtic Guardian closed his eyes and stepped through the opening created by his own determination, which, just as soon as it had appeared, closed behind him.
The warrior's eyelids flickered open revealing a small blue room. The Celtic Guardian remembered it from back in the early days, the days when Yugi would sit on his bed and look at each individual card over and over again, taking in their intricate colours, his dark eyes, scouring each smooth surface, full of emotion. Not anymore though. Now that privilege was reserved solely for his better cards and particularly for you know who.
The long slender ears of the elf pricked as he heard movement coming from outside the room. The familiar chorus of voices revealed that it was in fact his master, Yugi, and his friends coming upstairs to check out Yugi's newest game. The elf panicked and looked frantically around for a place to hide. How on earth would he explain himself if they caught him? Suddenly, a small breeze caught his scattered attention. The window was open. The Celtic Guardian ran over to the window and peered uncertainly over the ledge. His master's room was on the top floor so the drop was pretty far. The elf's muscles twitched in hesitation as the height below seemed to increase the more he looked down upon it. Then the door handle began to turn and he knew he was out of time. With a bolt of desperation, the renegade spirit scrambled up onto the window ledge and threw himself into the breeze of the outside world. With agility that surprised even himself, the elf landed gracefully and unnoticed on the grass below. He glanced back up at the window above and hesitated for a moment trying to collect his thoughts.
The afternoon sun shone brightly as the spirit made his way out into the streets of Domino.
#*#*#*#
The world of his master was quite different to what the Celtic Guardian had been expecting. For starters there were a lot more people and they were all… moving. People passed before him and around him seemingly with no real destination… just…walking. There were also a lot of unfamiliar sounds, such as sirens and motorbikes, that caused the warey elf to keep his guard up. Many people stopped in their tracks and stared in bemusement at the passing elf though soon lost interest and carried about their own business putting it down to a private costume party of some sort or another. However, the Celtic Guardian was oblivious to the attention he was receiving as he continued to amble down the street gazing in awe at the passing cars and various advertising boards.
"I place Worm Drake in attack mode!"
The command stopped the Celtic Guardian in his tracks and he spun round quickly to see where the voice was emanating from. Before his eyes loomed a large flat screen bearing the image of two duelists seated either side of a large arena. The slivering form of a Worm Drake uncoiled itself in front of a rather arrogant looking boy and took its position next to the face down card beside it. The Celtic Guardian took a step towards it only to find himself being repelled by some invisible force.
"Now my reptilian servant!" the boy snarled superciliously, "Attack the face down card on the left!"
Obediently, the Worm Drake charged for the face down card and took it out in one hit. The squat form of a High Tide Gyojin appeared and just as abruptly shattered into pieces. The opposing duelist, a fair-haired girl with thick-rimmed glasses, grimaced as she watched her card's destruction.
"You might as well give up now, little girl!" the owner of the Worm Drake jeered haughtily. "Let us real duelists have our space!"
The female duelist shrugged off her opponent's tauntings then drew her next card, hesitating slightly before peering down at card through her circular lenses. A broad smile lit across the girl's freckled face as she added the new card to her hand.
"Hah! You've had it now!" the female duelist declared triumphantly as she turned over her other face down card to reveal the Magical Ghost. "Now, I play the magic card soul exchange, and sacrifice your face down creature and my Magical Ghost to bring out… the Dark Magician!"
The Celtic Guardian frowned as the Magical Ghost was discarded and replaced with the card the duelist had just acquired. The materialisation of the green skinned spellcaster triggered a barrage of cheers and hollers from the spectators as it launched into a full on attack. The crowd then let out a fanatical cheer as the form of the Worm Drake crumbled before the onslaught of the green skinned dark magician.
The observant warrior emitted a low growl of frustration as he pressed his hands and face against the glass separating him from the screen. It wasn't just his master; even out here the Dark Magician was unjustly praised. The Celtic Guardian glowered at the close up of the magician's smug face when a sharp tug distracted him.
"Wow! Cool costume, Mister!"
The Celtic Guardian's bright yellow eyes fell on a small human boy who was yanking excitedly at the deep purple cloak that trailed freely behind the powerful looking warrior.
"Costume?" the elf blinked bewilderedly.
"Oh cooool!" the child squealed ignoring the elf's puzzled expression, "Is this a real sword?!"
The child reached out to touch the sheathed weapon when with lightning fast reflexes, the Celtic Guardian leapt back and grabbed the hilt of his sword instinctively. The child stared at the elf in astonishment then let out an excited squeal.
"Wo---ow!! You even have the part sorted! Please, you have to come and meet my friends!"
Before he knew what was going on, the Celtic Guardian found himself being dragged in the direction of the arcade across the street where four boys were crowded around a large box with strange noses emanating from it.
"Hey guys! Guys!" the child called as he approached the group dragging the confused Celtic Guardian behind him, "Check this out!"
Irritably, the boys pulled their attention from the box and turned ready to yell at the boy who had dared to interrupt their enjoyment. However, once their eyes fell upon the tall, muscular form of the armoured elf, their expressions quickly changed from that of frustration to that of utter disbelief. Within moments, the bemused card spirit found himself surrounded by poking fingers and awed gasps.
"See? See?" the boy who had dragged him over was harping on, "I told you I saw the Celtic Guardian!"
The Celtic Guardian shuffled uncomfortably. He wasn't used to getting all this attention at once and he found himself wondering if the Dark Magician ever felt this exposed when he was being showered with praise by the other cards. The Celtic Guardian shook his head quickly. How could he think of the Dark Magician now? All that was behind him. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the tallest of the boys, who the Celtic Guardian assumed to be their leader, asking if he had made the outfit himself. Not knowing what else to say, the Celtic Guardian cleared his throat then shakily replied with a yes and an incline of his head. This response seemed to please the boys greatly and the Celtic Guardian sighed with relief.
"You wanna play?"
The voice was that of the first boy. He was looking up hopefully at the Celtic Guardian's face and pointing to the large box that chimed and bleeped constantly.
"P-Play?"
"Yeah, you know, a computer game."
The Celtic Guardian peered at the screen inquisitively. The words 'Duel Monsters: Final Bout' where highlighted in bold red letters with the 'insert coin' message flashing beneath it.
"What is it?"
This innocent question was met with sniggers by two of the boys but they were soon silenced by the cold glare of their leader who had decided to take command of instructing their new cosplaying friend in the ways of gamming.
"It's Duel Monsters the video game… a beat 'em up." He stated matter-of-factly. The Celtic Guardian's expression remained the same. The leader sighed helplessly. "Here, let me show you."
The boy stood in front of the box and placed his hands on the small set of controls. He selected Giltea The Knight from the character screen then proceeded to show the Celtic Guardian the basics. The elven warrior was speechless as he watched his old companion, Giltea, defeat monster after monster with a few carefully placed swings of his weapon.
"There, you see?" the leader beamed as he finished beating the life into the digital form of The Witty Phantom. "Nothing to it. Now you try."
Hesitant at first, the Celtic Guardian took his place in front of the controls and stared blankly at the screen before him.
"Right… now you need to select your character." The bewildered warrior cautiously tapped the stick in front of him then jumped in surprise as the icon on the screen moved along in accordance to it. The boy patted the armoured shoulder of the elf reassuringly "Great. Now just move it over who you want to play then press that button there."
Obediently, the Celtic Guardian moved the select icon over the varying characters then came to a stop over his own.
"T-That's me!" he gaped and without a seconds thought he was pressing the button indicated to him by the boy earlier.
"Excellent." the boy grinned encouragingly. "Now I'm sure you know what to do from here. Just like I showed you."
The boys huddled around the Celtic Guardian peering at the screen with intensive eyes, eager to see which character the game would chose to be the beginners first opponent.
"The Dark Magican?!" one of the boys gaped as the cool blue eyes of the renowned spellcaster appeared on the screen before them, "Tough luck!"
"Yeah" the boy the Celtic Guardian had first met chimed in, "The Dark Magician isn't an easy one to beat."
"Maybe you should restart and get a different opponent?" the third boy suggested.
"Not on your life." the warrior growled. Bitter feelings of rivalry began to well up inside of him as he glared at the digital image of the purple clothed mage looking as emotionless and uncaring as he did in real life. The Celtic Guardian's eyes narrowed with determination. Now was the chance for payback.
The count down ended…… and within seconds the Celtic Guardian was KO'd on the ground, Pegasus' belittling laugh floating up from the speakers. This however only worked to harden the warrior's resolve….
#*#*#*#
Half an hour later and they were still crowded around the game, the Celtic Guardian beating away at the controls.
"Amazing!" one of the boys breathed in admiration. "Not only did you manage to wipe the floor with the Dark Magician, but you've also managed to clear practically every single level…on hard mode even!"
"I taught him everything he knows." the leader boy stated proudly.
"Ahahahahaha!! Take this, Gaia! A mere elf, am I? I'll show you!" the Celtic Guardian's challenge was followed by the whimsical sound of Pegasus' voice declaring "KO" and the resounding cheers of the young onlookers.
"Senpai, you rock!"
"Why thank you, Subaru-kun." the Celtic Guardian smiled brightly at the first boy he met, only taking his focus off the screen for a second. "As soon as you master the balance between pressure and speed while exerting the quarter circle back, combo moves are simple!"
The Celtic Guardian was well on his way to obtaining another victory when one of the boys tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, CG-san, is that a friend of yours?"
"Huh?" The Celtic Guardian paused the game then turned to see who the child was referring to. Across the other side of the road, oblivious to people around him pointing and muttering, his cool blue eyes transfixed on the muscular form standing amidst the group of young boys, stood the imposing form of the Dark Magician.