Yay, I finally got around to making villains! Can't have a good story without the bad guys, can we? _
*Chapter 11: The Villains Are Finally Revealed!*
Hope looked frantically around the clearing, but there was no trace that anyone had even been here.
"What the hell was that?!" Rue shouted.
Max shook his head, and Will shrugged. Ruecian stared grimly at where they had been. Olympion stood as still as always. Neo growled deeply in his throat. Gaston looked confused, angry, and nervous all at the same time.
"Gaston… I noticed you were staring at that golden ball the kid was carrying. Is something wrong with it…?" Hope asked worriedly.
Gaston sighed tiredly. "I sensed something emitting from it… a great power…"
"As did I," Neo stated. "I have never felt anything like it."
Max stayed quiet for a minute or so, and then spoke. "Olympion has not either."
Ruecian sheathed his sword, still looking at where they had been.
"It will do us no good to worry," Will said. "I don't know what these forces that Sarius talked about are, but why be a nervous wreck just because of something one guy said?"
"I suppose you have a point," Rue admitted. "Let's make a fire, and camp here. We can continue tomorrow."
They all agreed that this was a good idea. Rue grabbed some rocks, and tried to make a fire, only to have a random spark hit a tree and start burning it. After some chaos, Will finally found a water bottle in his back pack and put the fire out. Max grabbed the rocks in a disgusted manner, and soon had a smaller fire going.
"Not my fault that I don't camp out often," Rue muttered.
Max just sat back under a tree and stared into the sky. Rue got out his deck and began making some arrangements. Will was reading something out of a text book.
"Will, what are you reading?" Hope asked.
"I have a test tomorrow for Computer Science," Will answered without looking up. "I have to study for it." He showed her the book: JAVA An Introduction to Computer Science & Programming (Third Edition).
Hope stared at him, and then slapped herself. "OH NO!"
"Now what?" Rue inquired.
"I forgot that school is tomorrow!" she cried. "Dang it! I have a collage I HAVE TO DO BEFORE TOMORROW! DANG IT ALL!"
Rue sighed. "I have school off tomorrow; teacher's conference. In other words, it sucks to be you."
"Shut up," Hope grumbled. "Will, when do your courses end?"
"By noon usually. I will be back around then."
"My school's time ends at three-thirty. So I'll be in Teknisk Wereld around that time. Rue, what about you?"
"My school is always done by at least three. So it looks like you will be the last one on!"
"Unfair!" Hope complained. "I have to go NOW! Or I'll never get that collage done in time! Gaston, do you want to stay here?"
"I suppose I will," Gaston responded. "Please come back as soon as you can, though."
Hope nodded. "Sure thing! How about we meet outside the hotel?
"That will work," Rue said.
See you guys tomorrow!" She pressed the Duel Disk menu button, and then the blue button. She then vanished.
Rue shook his head. "What a piece of work she can be."
Will shrugged, still not looking up from his book. "Indeed."
*****
Hope sat up in her bed, confused, and then blanched. Hunger gnawed at her stomach, and her whole body ached from lying there for so long.
"Ow ow ow… I need to eat first…" Hope went downstairs, and was greeted with another note.
Hope,
I went to the grocery store and got soup, so you can have that. Crackers are in the cabinet. I went to a party some friends of mine are having. Get to bed early. I will be back at around two AM. I hope you had fun in the virtual world!
Love,
Mom
PS: Don't forget to brush your teeth.
Hope sighed in relief. "Good, I have time." She looked at the clock. "Yes! It's only ten! I can get a collage done by probably eleven!"
After Hope ate the soup, she began to search for magazines. When she was finally done with her collage, she looked at the time and resisted the urge to swear.
"One?! Aw man!"
Hope brushed her teeth, ("Mom would kill me otherwise…") and got into bed.
*****
It was seven AM when Hope's mom yelled up to her to get up. Grumbling in just plain sleepiness, she got up and began collecting things. At about eight, she ran outside. Half way to the school, she realized she had forgotten her collage. Snarling violently, she ran back home and got it. Dragging along her cornet, she ran into the school. After putting up the trumpet-like instrument, she ran to her locker, flung her things inside, and ran into her homeroom just as the bell rang. Panting slightly, she sat down in her desk, sighing in relief.
"Hi Hope!" It was Julia, one of Hope's best friends. She was just a little older than Hope, having gotten into Teknisk Wereld about a month ago. Her Soul Monster was the Harpy Lady; not too surprising, seeing as her deck was built around Harpy Lady.
"Hi! I got access into Teknisk Wereld yesterday, but didn't see you. Why?"
"I was busy; sorry I couldn't make it," Julia apologized.
"That's ok. I've already made some friends; they showed me around." She paused. "Will you be on anytime this week?"
"Actually, Samuel wants to take me to the movies Saturday," Julia confessed. "I'll be busy helping my parents too; it's about to be my sister's birthday, and I want to help." Samuel played a Guardian Deck, which his Soul Monster, Weapon Summoner, went perfectly with. He was dating Julia, but nobody knew if Julia loved him or not.
"Remind me to get her a present," Hope said. "And please tell me when you plan on being there."
"Sure thing," she said.
*****
After a rather dull day of school, (although she did get full marks on the collage; the one highlight of the day) she began to walk home, muttering to herself. She was about half-way there.
Gotta get there quick… or else they might leave without me… dang it! I'm almost there… just a little bit… hey, who's that guy?
A man in very long, black cloak stood in the middle of the sidewalk. Hope couldn't distinguish any details about him; he was completely veiled by the cloak.
Hope slowed down, advancing cautiously. "Hello? Excuse me sir, could you please move? I need to get home."
"You won't be going home ever again, little girl," the man said. Hope started.
"What?"
"You will be going alright… going with me!" The man grabbed Hope and pressed a cloth to her face. Hope's mouth was blocked by the man's hand, so all she could do was struggle, feeling herself get weaker. An unpleasant scent came from the cloth, and she felt herself getting tired… so tired…
*****
Damn it! Where is she?!" Rue complained.
"Remember what happened last time you said that?" Will said distractedly, reading Loamhedge. He had passed his test with flying colors, and was back to reading his favorite books.
"You be quiet," Rue grumbled.
It was four thirty, and they were waiting at the Electric Beacon. It was an hour overtime; what was keeping her?
"I'm really worried," Gaston said, looking tense. "I would be able to feel if she entered, but she must be still in the real world."
Max didn't say anything, but truthfully, he was worried too. Olympion just looked on, looking bored.
Ruecian and Neo came back.
"Reporting back, Will. I found nothing."
Ruecian nodded.
"This is bad," Rue stated. "She would have probably sent a note to the hotel if she couldn't make it… so I don't know…"
"We don't have all day," Will said. "We can't stay here forever; the hotel manager thinks we are drug sellers."
Rue looked at Will. "Are you kidding?"
"I heard him say it inside. More sensibly though, it will get dark soon."
Max shook his head. "I suppose we should just…"
"Wait!" Gaston exclaimed. "I… I feel something… no!" He immediately ran off.
"Where the heck are you going?" Neo asked, bewildered, but Gaston was already gone.
"He might have sensed Hope entering," Rue said. He grabbed his back pack. "Let's follow him!"
*****
Hope felt tired. She didn't want to get up. She just wanted to lie there forever, never moving again, letting sleep claim her…
"Hope! Hope! Please, get up! Say something! HOPE!"
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Gaston, looking extremely worried.
"Thank goodness! I was really worried; you didn't move for at least ten minutes!"
"I'm ok… I think," Hope said. Gaston helped her up, and she looked around the area.
It was a cave, dark and cold. Stalagmites and stalactites were everywhere. Water dripped onto the ground. The floor's dampness was explained by that. There wasn't much to see though; just darkness.
"What happened?" Hope asked. "What is this place?"
"It's a cave inside the mountain; I sensed you enter Teknisk Wereld. You're really late; it's five!" Gaston said, evidentially still worried.
Hope stared. "What? I didn't enter Teknisk Wereld! The last thing I remember was a man in a black cloak… he stuck a cloth in my face…" She remembered the scent, and gave a disgusted look. "Chloroform. That has to be it."
"What is that?" Gaston asked.
"It's a drug that can knock out people by its scent," Hope explained. "But how did I enter Teknisk Wereld?"
"That's easy to explain. I attached the Envoyant Machine in your bag and transmitted you here."
Hope and Gaston spun around. The man in the black cloak faced them. By his side was a Soul Monster that Hope did not recognize.
"It's you!" Hope shouted. Gaston jumped in front of her, drawing his sword. The man laughed.
"Save your energy; I'm here to duel, not fight."
"Why should I?" Hope demanded.
"Because I am not giving you a choice," the man replied. He took out a switch, and pressed a button. Long, steel bars sprang up on one side of the cave.
"You're escape route is blocked. That is the only way out. To get rid of the indestructible Nightmare Steel Cage, you must defeat me."
Hope winced. "But…"
"We don't have any other option," Gaston said. "You have to defeat this guy! You can! No, you will! I know it!"
Hope thought. "Thanks Gaston…" Then she turned to the man. "Why do you want to duel me? And what does the winner get?"
"My reasons are none of your business. As for the latter, the winner gets freedom. The loser… dies."
"What?!" Hope yelped. "Are you insane?!"
"Not at all. That is the way we play. You must be eliminated early; yes, you and your pitiful friends."
Hope gritted her teeth. "Fine… I accept. One more thing though; who are you?"
The man strode forward, and threw off the cloak. He wore a long-sleeved royal-blue shirt, and black pants. He also had dark brown boots and matching gloves. His black hair went a little beyond his ears, and he wore a curious golden necklace. It had an orb that glowed red, as if flames danced inside it.
"My name is Zenith. I am one of the Generals of Hell!"
To be continued…
