Chapter 10: The Tragedy Beneath the Mask
Millennia Stadium/The Top of Millennium Mountain: Some 20 Minutes later.
Tragic entered Milell's giant stadium with its lights shinning down on his black mask, his pitch black eyes glaring in them. Milell was standing in on the center floor, staring.
"So this is where your having the finals of what you call a tournament?" Tragic asked.
"Yes, it is." Milell answered. "Well its come to this Tragic. You and me locked in a duel of epic proportions. You'd better be ready to lose."
"Don't forget Milell I still have the three Egyptian God Cards you gave me. Not to mention their fusion card." Tragic explained.
"Well I would be a bit nervous if you actually had all the God Cards." Milell said crossing his arms.
"What do you mean?" Tragic asked.
"Check your deck." Milell answered. "You'll find that The Saint God Dragon of Osiris no longer resides in there."
Tragic searched his deck and found no trace of Osiris. "What, where did it go!"
"It is now in the possession of Ramsey Keya." Milell said. "Supposedly you dropped it on your way back into the caves and Ramsey mistook it for one of his cards."
"Great, well then I won't be needing this." Tragic said as he held up the fusion monster Osiris the Tormenting Dragon of Ra. "Well since I have no use for it anymore."
Tragic turned the card sideways and tore it in half. Milell's eyes went wide open. "You just destroyed the most powerful monster in all of Duel Monsters!" He yelled. "How did you do that? Infinite power was in your hands and you threw it away."
"I have no use for infinite power. All I want is my friend released!" Tragic yelled.
"Is that so." Milell said. "Well the last time I checked he was more than just your friend. He was your brother. Just like the other two."
"Don't you dare drag Vengeance and Terror into this!" Tragic said. "Besides Silence they were the only family I had and you took them away from me! That is why I came back, to release my brother and avenge my others!"
"How did you four ever come up with names like those?" Milell said. "I know you all named yourselves, but why Tragic, Silence, Terror, and Vengeance?"
"That's none of your damn business! The ten year old grudge you and my family has had against each other will end. Whether the outcome is good or bad I will still defeat you Milell." Tragic said.
"How so?" Milell asked.
"I know what you're planning to do Milell. Your going to open that door and unleash what is behind it on the world. But as long as I walk any part of the physical cosmos you will not escape my wrath." Tragic answered.
"You're not going to do anything. Don't forget, Silence is under my control. If you so much as interfere with my plans Silence will suffer the same fate Terror did." Milell said.
"That depends." Tragic said. "By the way, I wager is final correct. If I win you release Silence from your control."
"And if I win, you are banished to the shadow realm." Milell replied.
"Fine then. Now lets settle our score." Tragic said with is duel disk turning on.
Area 5, The Field Area: The Same Time
Vaughn sat at the base of a tree, thinking. "Why? Why does he want the Centennial Items? What does he want with them? Man I could really use your help right now dude."
"Your request has been accepted." A figure said as he appeared out of nowhere sitting on the other side of the tree.
"Whats going on? Why am I destined to stop Sennen when I don't even know what he is plotting?" Vaughn asked the figure.
"Milell holds the power of the thief. He is trying to carry out the same objective. The same objective he has tried to achieve for five millennia." The figure said.
"What objective." Vaughn asked.
"He wants to gain ultimate power, and to unlock the door." The figure answered.
"What door?" Vaughn asked.
"The door that locks away the shadow game. The door that contains the power that was sealed away by the Pharaoh five thousand years ago. If it is unlocked the shadow game will return, the traps, the magic, the monsters, they will all be real. And if he gets his hands on the three Egyptian God Cards he will rule the world with an iron fist. And now he is on the verge of obtaining two of those cards as we speak." The figure answered.
"Where? How?" Vaughn asked as he stood up.
"At the top of Millennium Mountain. Tragic. If Tragic loses this duel he will lose more than just the Egyptian God Cards Obelisk the Tormentor and The Winged Dragon of Ra. He will be banished to the shadow realm." The figure answered.
"Well then I have to stop him. And with the spirit of my Centennial Shield we can stop him, right?" Vaughn asked.
"Well we can at least try. But we are much to far away, we might not make it in time."
"Well come on then Shadi let's go." Vaughn said.
"Very well." Shadi said as he returned to the Centennial Shield and Vaughn darted off toward Millennium Mountain.
Back at the Stadium:
"Lets begin Milell. And be warned, in this duel I will show no remorse. And now after ten years of waiting, the very person you scared both mentally and physically will destroy you. You will regret the day we met! That fateful day in the warehouse when you hired me and my brothers to find you the seven Centennial Items!" Tragic yelled as he began to undo the latch on his mask.
"That's it, lets see that face of yours." Milell said as Tragic's mask fell to the ground.
Tragic began to breath heavily. Long strands of black hair dangled over his face. His pitch black eyes staring at Milell and a scar that went from his the top of his left temple to the bottom of his right cheek kept Milell staring back.
"See what you turned me into Sennen!" Tragic yelled in a more intense voice. "I'm a monster because you slashed me with that sword of yours. And I'm going to make sure that the scar on my face haunts you for the rest of your natural born existence!"
"Well we will see what happens Tragic." Milell said. "But I think a duel of this magnitude needs to be held somewhere special."
"Where?" Tragic asked.
Milell pulled his Centennial Sword from the sheath on his belt and held it out. "Bringers of the shadows, take us to your realm!" He yelled as the eye on his sword handle began to shine. Then a dark fog began to take shape. It continued to flow throughout the entire stadium until it was completely enshrouded in the fog.
"Where are we?" Tragic asked.
Milell put the sword back in its sheath. "Welcome to the Shadow Realm Tragic."
"The, Shadow Realm." Tragic said. "No matter. I'm not going to be scared by your cheap parlor tricks."
"Then shall we begin?" Milell asked.
"Very well." Tragic answered. "You first."
Milell- 8000 Tragic- 8000
"As you wish." Milell said. "For my first turn I will summon Lajinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000) and set one M/T face down. Your turn."
"I will play Opticlops (1800/1700) and equip him with Dark Energy, raising his attack power by 300. Now Opticlops, attack Lajinn!" Tragic yelled as the hideous cyclops slammed its hands on the ground and ruptured Lajinn to nothing.
Milell- 7700 Tragic- 8000
"Very good move Tragic, but though your attack still went through you activated my trap in the process." Milell said. "Magic Thorn. As long as this card remains face up on the field you must pay 500 life points when the effects of traps, magic, or effect monster cards force you to discard."
"Big deal." Tragic said. "Wait a minute whats happening to you? Your body is fading."
"Yes it is." Milell said. "Don't forget, we are in the Shadow Realm. And when you lose life points your body slowly fades away. If you win you return to normal. However should you lose you will become a scrap of nothing and you soul will be banished to the shadows."
"Well then. Your turn." Tragic said.
"Ok." Milell said as he drew his card. "I play Ookazi dealing you 800 points of direct damage. Now I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) and set this M/T card face down. My turn is over."
Milell- 7700 Tragic- 7200
Tragic drew and smiled as he began to fade away. "I set this monster face down and end my turn." "No attack huh." Milell said. "Well it's going to be your down fall. I summon another Vorse Raider (1900/1200) and set this M/T card face down. Your turn Tragic."
"All I will do is draw." Tragic said.
"Ok then." Milell said drawing his next card. "I will summon Inaba White Rabbit (700/500)."
"That monster has hardly any attack points." Tragic said.
"Yes that may be true." Milell replied. "However it can attack you directly. Now Inaba, attack Tragic's life points directly."
Milell- 7700 Tragic- 6500
"Oh well." Tragic said. "I'll just destroy it on my next turn. Along with a chunk of your life points."
"No, that's not going to happen." Milell said. "Because Inaba White Rabbit is a spirit monster and because it is a spirit monster it returns to my hand at the end of my turn. Which happens to be now."
"Fine then, I'll just have to take out my rage on your Vorse Raiders." Tragic said. "Now observe as I tribute my face down card for Dark Ruler Hades (2450/1600). And now I will activate the magic card Graceful Charity. Sure I will lose 500 life points due to the effect of your magic thorn but it will be worth it. Next I will remove three fiend monsters in my graveyard from play and special summon Dark Necrofear (2200/2800). Finally I will have Dark Ruler and Opticlops attack your two Vorse Raiders!"
Milell- 6950 Tragic- 6500
"Very interesting move. I have some strange felling that I've made the same move in the past. However I never recall using Dark Necrofear in my life. Maybe its some sort of repressed memory." Milell said. "However your field will be empty once I get the right card but for now I will just activate another Ookazi, dealing you 800 more points of damage. Your turn."
Milell- 6950 Tragic- 5700
"He's finished." Milell thought. "Sooner or later he will summon Obelisk the Tormentor and then my plan will begin to fall into place. I already have two of the four cards I need to bring him down and once I obtain the last two and he summons Obelisk, this duel will be mine!"
"I will play the magic card Harpies Feather Duster." Tragic said.
"Activate trap card." Milell began. "Gryphon Wing! It counters your Feather Duster and destroys all your magic and trap cards instead of mine!"
"All I lost was my Opticlops' Dark Energy." Tragic said. "Opticlops, Hades, Necrofear. Attack Milell's life points directly!"
"Activate my other trap card." Milell interrupted. "Negate Attack will protect me."
"Not for long." Tragic said. "I will set one monster face down and end my turn."
"I play Swords of Revealing Light. Not only does it reveal your Wall of Illusion, you are forbidden to attack for the next three turns. My turn is over." Milell said.
"What is he doing?" Tragic thought. "He still has that Inaba White Rabbit in his hand. Why doesn't he attack me directly with it?"
"Are you going to draw or are we going to stand here forever." Milell said. "I do have a tournament to run you know."
"There will be no tournament when I'm finished with you." Tragic said as he drew his card. "I summon the Bistro Butcher (1800/1000) and end my turn."
Milell drew. "Ha." He thought. "Now all I need is my Misplacement of Soul and for him to summon Obelisk. Once he does I will destroy it. Then I will play Monster Reborn and destroy him with it in the most humiliating way possible."
"Now you're the one who is day dreaming." Tragic said. "Stop screwing around and duel!"
"As you wish." Milell said. "I summon Inaba White Rabbit (700/500) and attack you directly with him. My turn ends and my Rabbit returns to my hand."
Milell- 6950 Tragic- 5000
"I will just draw." Tragic said. "Now there is only one more turn until I am freed from your Swords and I crush you with my onslaught of fiends"
"We'll see Tragic." Milell said. "I will only summon my final Vorse Raider (1900/1200)"
"Your funeral." Tragic said as he drew. "Ha! Be prepared Milell because on my next turn I will crush you with the very monster you handed me! Now watch as I tribute Opticlops, Wall of Illusion, and Bistro Butcher for the second of my two Egyptian God cards, Obelisk the Tormentor! (4000/4000) My turn is over and your swords shatter."
"At last." Milell thought. "The stage is set. All I need is my magic card Misplacement of Soul and he will suffer the biggest defeat of his life!"
Millennia Stadium/The Top of Millennium Mountain: Some 20 Minutes later.
Tragic entered Milell's giant stadium with its lights shinning down on his black mask, his pitch black eyes glaring in them. Milell was standing in on the center floor, staring.
"So this is where your having the finals of what you call a tournament?" Tragic asked.
"Yes, it is." Milell answered. "Well its come to this Tragic. You and me locked in a duel of epic proportions. You'd better be ready to lose."
"Don't forget Milell I still have the three Egyptian God Cards you gave me. Not to mention their fusion card." Tragic explained.
"Well I would be a bit nervous if you actually had all the God Cards." Milell said crossing his arms.
"What do you mean?" Tragic asked.
"Check your deck." Milell answered. "You'll find that The Saint God Dragon of Osiris no longer resides in there."
Tragic searched his deck and found no trace of Osiris. "What, where did it go!"
"It is now in the possession of Ramsey Keya." Milell said. "Supposedly you dropped it on your way back into the caves and Ramsey mistook it for one of his cards."
"Great, well then I won't be needing this." Tragic said as he held up the fusion monster Osiris the Tormenting Dragon of Ra. "Well since I have no use for it anymore."
Tragic turned the card sideways and tore it in half. Milell's eyes went wide open. "You just destroyed the most powerful monster in all of Duel Monsters!" He yelled. "How did you do that? Infinite power was in your hands and you threw it away."
"I have no use for infinite power. All I want is my friend released!" Tragic yelled.
"Is that so." Milell said. "Well the last time I checked he was more than just your friend. He was your brother. Just like the other two."
"Don't you dare drag Vengeance and Terror into this!" Tragic said. "Besides Silence they were the only family I had and you took them away from me! That is why I came back, to release my brother and avenge my others!"
"How did you four ever come up with names like those?" Milell said. "I know you all named yourselves, but why Tragic, Silence, Terror, and Vengeance?"
"That's none of your damn business! The ten year old grudge you and my family has had against each other will end. Whether the outcome is good or bad I will still defeat you Milell." Tragic said.
"How so?" Milell asked.
"I know what you're planning to do Milell. Your going to open that door and unleash what is behind it on the world. But as long as I walk any part of the physical cosmos you will not escape my wrath." Tragic answered.
"You're not going to do anything. Don't forget, Silence is under my control. If you so much as interfere with my plans Silence will suffer the same fate Terror did." Milell said.
"That depends." Tragic said. "By the way, I wager is final correct. If I win you release Silence from your control."
"And if I win, you are banished to the shadow realm." Milell replied.
"Fine then. Now lets settle our score." Tragic said with is duel disk turning on.
Area 5, The Field Area: The Same Time
Vaughn sat at the base of a tree, thinking. "Why? Why does he want the Centennial Items? What does he want with them? Man I could really use your help right now dude."
"Your request has been accepted." A figure said as he appeared out of nowhere sitting on the other side of the tree.
"Whats going on? Why am I destined to stop Sennen when I don't even know what he is plotting?" Vaughn asked the figure.
"Milell holds the power of the thief. He is trying to carry out the same objective. The same objective he has tried to achieve for five millennia." The figure said.
"What objective." Vaughn asked.
"He wants to gain ultimate power, and to unlock the door." The figure answered.
"What door?" Vaughn asked.
"The door that locks away the shadow game. The door that contains the power that was sealed away by the Pharaoh five thousand years ago. If it is unlocked the shadow game will return, the traps, the magic, the monsters, they will all be real. And if he gets his hands on the three Egyptian God Cards he will rule the world with an iron fist. And now he is on the verge of obtaining two of those cards as we speak." The figure answered.
"Where? How?" Vaughn asked as he stood up.
"At the top of Millennium Mountain. Tragic. If Tragic loses this duel he will lose more than just the Egyptian God Cards Obelisk the Tormentor and The Winged Dragon of Ra. He will be banished to the shadow realm." The figure answered.
"Well then I have to stop him. And with the spirit of my Centennial Shield we can stop him, right?" Vaughn asked.
"Well we can at least try. But we are much to far away, we might not make it in time."
"Well come on then Shadi let's go." Vaughn said.
"Very well." Shadi said as he returned to the Centennial Shield and Vaughn darted off toward Millennium Mountain.
Back at the Stadium:
"Lets begin Milell. And be warned, in this duel I will show no remorse. And now after ten years of waiting, the very person you scared both mentally and physically will destroy you. You will regret the day we met! That fateful day in the warehouse when you hired me and my brothers to find you the seven Centennial Items!" Tragic yelled as he began to undo the latch on his mask.
"That's it, lets see that face of yours." Milell said as Tragic's mask fell to the ground.
Tragic began to breath heavily. Long strands of black hair dangled over his face. His pitch black eyes staring at Milell and a scar that went from his the top of his left temple to the bottom of his right cheek kept Milell staring back.
"See what you turned me into Sennen!" Tragic yelled in a more intense voice. "I'm a monster because you slashed me with that sword of yours. And I'm going to make sure that the scar on my face haunts you for the rest of your natural born existence!"
"Well we will see what happens Tragic." Milell said. "But I think a duel of this magnitude needs to be held somewhere special."
"Where?" Tragic asked.
Milell pulled his Centennial Sword from the sheath on his belt and held it out. "Bringers of the shadows, take us to your realm!" He yelled as the eye on his sword handle began to shine. Then a dark fog began to take shape. It continued to flow throughout the entire stadium until it was completely enshrouded in the fog.
"Where are we?" Tragic asked.
Milell put the sword back in its sheath. "Welcome to the Shadow Realm Tragic."
"The, Shadow Realm." Tragic said. "No matter. I'm not going to be scared by your cheap parlor tricks."
"Then shall we begin?" Milell asked.
"Very well." Tragic answered. "You first."
Milell- 8000 Tragic- 8000
"As you wish." Milell said. "For my first turn I will summon Lajinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000) and set one M/T face down. Your turn."
"I will play Opticlops (1800/1700) and equip him with Dark Energy, raising his attack power by 300. Now Opticlops, attack Lajinn!" Tragic yelled as the hideous cyclops slammed its hands on the ground and ruptured Lajinn to nothing.
Milell- 7700 Tragic- 8000
"Very good move Tragic, but though your attack still went through you activated my trap in the process." Milell said. "Magic Thorn. As long as this card remains face up on the field you must pay 500 life points when the effects of traps, magic, or effect monster cards force you to discard."
"Big deal." Tragic said. "Wait a minute whats happening to you? Your body is fading."
"Yes it is." Milell said. "Don't forget, we are in the Shadow Realm. And when you lose life points your body slowly fades away. If you win you return to normal. However should you lose you will become a scrap of nothing and you soul will be banished to the shadows."
"Well then. Your turn." Tragic said.
"Ok." Milell said as he drew his card. "I play Ookazi dealing you 800 points of direct damage. Now I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) and set this M/T card face down. My turn is over."
Milell- 7700 Tragic- 7200
Tragic drew and smiled as he began to fade away. "I set this monster face down and end my turn." "No attack huh." Milell said. "Well it's going to be your down fall. I summon another Vorse Raider (1900/1200) and set this M/T card face down. Your turn Tragic."
"All I will do is draw." Tragic said.
"Ok then." Milell said drawing his next card. "I will summon Inaba White Rabbit (700/500)."
"That monster has hardly any attack points." Tragic said.
"Yes that may be true." Milell replied. "However it can attack you directly. Now Inaba, attack Tragic's life points directly."
Milell- 7700 Tragic- 6500
"Oh well." Tragic said. "I'll just destroy it on my next turn. Along with a chunk of your life points."
"No, that's not going to happen." Milell said. "Because Inaba White Rabbit is a spirit monster and because it is a spirit monster it returns to my hand at the end of my turn. Which happens to be now."
"Fine then, I'll just have to take out my rage on your Vorse Raiders." Tragic said. "Now observe as I tribute my face down card for Dark Ruler Hades (2450/1600). And now I will activate the magic card Graceful Charity. Sure I will lose 500 life points due to the effect of your magic thorn but it will be worth it. Next I will remove three fiend monsters in my graveyard from play and special summon Dark Necrofear (2200/2800). Finally I will have Dark Ruler and Opticlops attack your two Vorse Raiders!"
Milell- 6950 Tragic- 6500
"Very interesting move. I have some strange felling that I've made the same move in the past. However I never recall using Dark Necrofear in my life. Maybe its some sort of repressed memory." Milell said. "However your field will be empty once I get the right card but for now I will just activate another Ookazi, dealing you 800 more points of damage. Your turn."
Milell- 6950 Tragic- 5700
"He's finished." Milell thought. "Sooner or later he will summon Obelisk the Tormentor and then my plan will begin to fall into place. I already have two of the four cards I need to bring him down and once I obtain the last two and he summons Obelisk, this duel will be mine!"
"I will play the magic card Harpies Feather Duster." Tragic said.
"Activate trap card." Milell began. "Gryphon Wing! It counters your Feather Duster and destroys all your magic and trap cards instead of mine!"
"All I lost was my Opticlops' Dark Energy." Tragic said. "Opticlops, Hades, Necrofear. Attack Milell's life points directly!"
"Activate my other trap card." Milell interrupted. "Negate Attack will protect me."
"Not for long." Tragic said. "I will set one monster face down and end my turn."
"I play Swords of Revealing Light. Not only does it reveal your Wall of Illusion, you are forbidden to attack for the next three turns. My turn is over." Milell said.
"What is he doing?" Tragic thought. "He still has that Inaba White Rabbit in his hand. Why doesn't he attack me directly with it?"
"Are you going to draw or are we going to stand here forever." Milell said. "I do have a tournament to run you know."
"There will be no tournament when I'm finished with you." Tragic said as he drew his card. "I summon the Bistro Butcher (1800/1000) and end my turn."
Milell drew. "Ha." He thought. "Now all I need is my Misplacement of Soul and for him to summon Obelisk. Once he does I will destroy it. Then I will play Monster Reborn and destroy him with it in the most humiliating way possible."
"Now you're the one who is day dreaming." Tragic said. "Stop screwing around and duel!"
"As you wish." Milell said. "I summon Inaba White Rabbit (700/500) and attack you directly with him. My turn ends and my Rabbit returns to my hand."
Milell- 6950 Tragic- 5000
"I will just draw." Tragic said. "Now there is only one more turn until I am freed from your Swords and I crush you with my onslaught of fiends"
"We'll see Tragic." Milell said. "I will only summon my final Vorse Raider (1900/1200)"
"Your funeral." Tragic said as he drew. "Ha! Be prepared Milell because on my next turn I will crush you with the very monster you handed me! Now watch as I tribute Opticlops, Wall of Illusion, and Bistro Butcher for the second of my two Egyptian God cards, Obelisk the Tormentor! (4000/4000) My turn is over and your swords shatter."
"At last." Milell thought. "The stage is set. All I need is my magic card Misplacement of Soul and he will suffer the biggest defeat of his life!"