Chapter 20 - Duel of the Shadows Part I

"It's time to Duel," Raiya announced. Yugi looked at her with more determination than he had ever had in his life. His grandpa, his friends, and his very soul depended on this Duel. If he had to Duel to get back those souls, he would. Raiya was evil, and Yugi excused no one from committing such acts as she had.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Raiya. He hated her for what she had done to Mokuba, since it was she that held his soul captive for the moment. He had dedicated his life to protecting his little brother, and Raiya would pay for intruding.

Crimson bit her lip as she and the others drew five cards, their Life Points climbing to eight thousand. She didn't know about Yugi and Kaiba, but she had faced Raiya before. Not in a Duel of cards, but a Duel of power. Crimson had tried everything to learn about her constant recurring dream, and she had even traveled to the Shadow Realm to do it. Lord Ryu and Mistress Raiya ruled the Shadow Realm like hunters watching their prey, eagerly searching for anyone to torture. Unfortunately, inexperienced first-timer Crimson had not fared so well against the two of them. If she hadn't tripped and fallen through a Mortal Realm portal, she would now be a soulless shell.

Enough thoughts about the past. Focus on the present for it determines your future. Jeez, I sound like a fortune cookie. Crimson smirked. Nothing like a little humor to add levity to a situation that needed it most.

"I think I shall start first," Kaiba declared, drawing a card and setting one face down in Defense. "For the moment, this is all I can do..." He looked over to Crimson and nodded. His card glowed on the field.

"Okay then," she announced, "I think I shall copy what Seto just did and add my own Defense to the field." A glowing, rectangular card appeared on her field. Raiya sighed and drew her card.

"The two of you are boring," she commented. "I think I'll play a monster named Lexi the Witch on the field and end my turn. After all, I'm not allowed to attack until everyone has a monster on the field." Raiya turned her piercing eyes on Yugi, who felt a shiver of fear he tried to ease away. "Your turn." The way she said it, in a soft cutting tone, seemed to imply that she was not enjoying the Duel so far.

"As you wish," Yugi said, drawing a card. He studied his cards; his young mind quickly thinking of a strategy. He could sense the spirit of his Puzzle encouraging him in the back of his mind. "I think I shall end my turn by simply placing a monster face down." Like Kaiba and Crimson, Yugi now had a yellow, shimmering rectangle in front of him. Raiya narrowed her eyes, her cold glare piercing both Crimson and Yugi. Kaiba was amused that a woman could imitate his trademark expression so well.

"Well, this is a very interesting Duel," Kaiba said sarcastically. He drew a card and placed it face down. "Another Defense, and then end my turn." Raiya's cold expression did not waver. Crimson smirked. Maybe they could annoy the wits out of Raiya, but she was likely to take action soon.

"I draw and place a monster face down." Crimson looked at her newly drawn card, Polymerization. She remembered when she had selected it. I wonder when fate will let me use it... She crossed her arms and looked over at Raiya, who still looked as irritated as ever.

"Okay then," Raiya said in a very annoyed voice. "Since everyone now has a monster, I believe it's time for a little action around here. I know that you are planning to annoy me, but it's not going to work." Raiya smirked with a flash of her black eyes. Kaiba shook his head slightly. Girls were too flashy with their smirks. The expression was meant to be threatening, not attractive.

"Bring it on," he whispered. Raiya drew her card and shrugged, placing it in her hand casually.

"I have some tricks up my sleeve," she said. "And they are not to your advantage for the moment. Lexi... let's see what you are made of. Go and attack Crimson's face down monster now." The Witch obeyed instantly, for being a creature of the Dark she knew the danger of defying her Mistress. Raising her star-crested wand, she sent waves of Dark magic toward the card. Crimson was thrown back slightly as her card vaporized. Raiya rolled her eyes.

"What I expected from an amateur," she said. She bit her lip and raised her eyebrows with contempt. "Nice try." Lexi returned back to her place, looking fearfully at her Mistress. No one who looked twice at Raiya's expression would dare step out of place. Crimson felt vulnerable without a monster, but Raiya's rule protected her for the time being. Not like Yugi and Kaiba were really going to attack her anyway.

"My turn," Yugi said, drawing his card. "It is unwise to place a monster with only twelve hundred points on the field. My Beaver Warrior that I have just drawn will crush it easily." Raiya flashed her special smirk.

"Foolish..." Raiya chuckled, her voice sounding even eerier. "That's a good way to describe you, Yugi."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I told you the rules? Let's see... there's one about not being attacked more than once before your next turn, another about not attacking one person more than once without attacking all the rest, and then another about sharing cards... oops, must've forgotten a very key rule that makes this Duel all the more special."

"Raiya!" Crimson growled. Raiya had forgotten on purpose, of course! It made sense. Raiya would do anything to surprise her opponents.

"Well... you see, notice that my monster is Dark and so is the world around us?" She motioned to the endless black of the Shadow Realm with the hand that held her cards. "It would make obvious sense that the Realm should support its children. Every Dark monster gains five hundred attack points for every attack they participate in." Raiya grinned as her monster's attack went up to seventeen hundred.

"Hmf!" Crimson huffed to herself. "That's a lot more than Raiya seems to convince us it is with her calmness. We need to destroy Lexi fast!"

"Okay then," Yugi continued. "I guess I'll just play my warrior in Defense and end my turn."

"I guess it's my turn," Kaiba said, drawing a card and looking down at it. "I think I shall play this face down." He placed his card on the field, and a glowing card appeared behind his other monsters. It was Polymerization, and was key to his master plan.

"Well, my turn again!" Crimson drew her card. It wasn't very useful, so she kept it in her hand. And, to keep on the pattern, she copycatted Kaiba. Polymerization is a useful card; I think I'll play it face down. I wonder what Kaiba placed on the field...

"Boring!" Raiya said sarcastically. "Face down, face down!" She lowered her tone to a hushed voice. "I may have to use other means to lure you out of that protective shell you are making." She drew her card and placed it face down, looking at it with a sly grin. Mystical Space Typhoon - an excellent choice for protection. She turned her glare back on and looked at Yugi. "Your turn!" Lexi twirled her wand with a wave of her navy blue cloak. Strings of black magic hit bulls-eye on Yugi's face down monster, sending him sliding back a few inches. It was destroyed instantly.

"Pathetic!" she said warningly. Yugi paid no heed as he drew his card, placing two face down on the field behind his remaining monster. He motioned for Kaiba to start his turn.

Kaiba drew a card and looked warily over the four-Duelist field. Everyone had at least one monster and one card face down. The game was going pretty smoothly and quickly so far. He meant to keep it that way.

"Okay, I'm ending this soon!" Kaiba announced. "I flip Lord of Dragons and use Flute of Summoning Dragon!" The Lord of Dragons appeared on the field, brandishing cape and horn. Holding it to his lips, he gave it a big blow. Raiya looked nonchalantly at it, deciding not to use her card at the moment.

"Now!" Kaiba declared. "I can summon two Blue-Eyes from my hand to the field!" As he spoke, flashes of light burst from his cards. Two identical heads and bodies formed, silhouettes of power unimaginable. "And lastly, I use my face down Polymerization to fuse them together to create the Double Dragon!"

"Uh-uh-uh!" Raiya clicked her tongue. "I counter with my Mystical Space Typhoon." Her card rose up on the field, emitting a swirling blue tornado that crashed through the Polymerization. Kaiba cursed under his breath, and Crimson mouthed "no".

"Oh well, that's a minor setback. I can still attack you with my Blue- Eyes!" Upon his command, the majestic Dragon rose into the air and launched a sting of White Lightening at Lexi. She was destroyed and Raiya's LP dropped to 7200. Kaiba smirked at her. She returned a sly smile. Her opponents were so naïve.

"You would think," she started. "That the Shadow Realm would do more than just strengthen its Dark creatures..." She sent her smirk towards Kaiba, never faltering. "Wouldn't you?" Kaiba's smirk turned into a scowl.

"And what would that mean?" he asked coldly. Raiya chuckled slyly and pointed to his Dragon.

"Are you sure he is as powerful as you think he is?" Kaiba looked down at his Duel Disk. Sure enough, his Dragon had only 2500 attack points.

"How dare you..."

"In addition to helping Dark monsters, this Realm will decrease all Light monsters attack power by five hundred for every attack!" Kaiba growled, and Yugi and Crimson gasped.

"That's unfair!" Crimson sputtered. "You can't tell us all these rules only at the time of your convenience!" Raiya turned to her, eyebrows raised.

"This is my Realm, my Duel, my rules! You are playing for my favor, unless you haven't noticed. It is my choice whether your friends' souls will be returned. I suggest you make use of what I am telling you." Crimson took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She then drew a card to start her turn.

Raiya is a cheater. We have to win, or I'll never forgive myself. At the rate the Dragon looses points, we won't be able to get enough attacks in, even alternating the attacks between the two. Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon would be a good thing right now, but he no longer has Polymerization. Crimson looked down at her own face down card and monster. Unless... we can share cards! But, I can't just give him my Poly. I need to merge it with one of my own monsters... and I think I know which one. Crimson placed a monster face down and signaled the end of her turn.

"Again with the boring face downs?" Raiya inquired coldly, a glare at Crimson's field. "I thought Kaiba's Polymerizing attempt would be the start of some more exciting Dueling. I guess I'm the only one here with some real talent." Crimson bristled, but said nothing. Raiya drew a card and shrugged.

"I play a card face down and summon Ugo the Dark Warrior to the field." Raiya motioned to Yugi. He drew a card. Dark Magician. This will be a perfect comeback for Raiya's plan. Unfortunately, I can't use him unless I have two monsters to Tribute, and I only have one. Yugi placed one monster face down and ended his turn. Kaiba drew his card.

"Well, since I would be only foolish to attack my own teammates, I'll end my turn." Kaiba looked over at Crimson. She placed her finger on the Deck to draw her next card. Suddenly, she heard a roar from deep within her mind. An image of flashy white scales and puissant blue eyes crossed her eyes. A Blue-Eyes. She looked down at her card.

"Draw already!" Raiya ordered impatiently. Crimson stared at the card. Could it be? Crimson drew a breath and saw for herself. Just as she had thought, a Dragon stared back from the card.

"Need excitement?" Crimson exclaimed, looking at Raiya. "Then watch carefully... I sacrifice my two face down monsters to summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The two monsters on the field vanished in columns of smoke, replaced by a giant white Dragon.

"So you have Kaiba's last Dragon?" Raiya queried with another of her sly smiles. "What is it, a love gift?" Kaiba rolled his eyes calmly, but Crimson was about to blow. A love gift? What the hell? Well...was it a love gift...of course no! It was a pity gift. Kaiba thought I couldn't take care of myself.

"Very funny, Raiya. It was a Kick Raiya's Dark Ass gift, and that's what I'm going to do with it. But before that, I think I shall activate my face down Poly to merge my monster with Kaiba's. It's perfectly legal, thanks to your rules." Crimson looked at Raiya to see whether she was cringing or horror-struck at letting such a thing happened. However, Raiya calmly nodded to acknowledge that she did indeed state that rule.

Polymerization rose up on the field. Stars emerged from it and surrounded the three Dragons, creating an immensely bright light that blanketed the entire area. A single Dragon rose into the air, and the head split into three. With a mighty roar, the new Ultimate Dragon settled back down into Crimson's field.

"Now, since Kaiba and I both own this monster, it can switch from my field to his at anytime we wish between turns. But for now, it's staying with me because I'm attacking you with it!" At her command, the Dragon rose into the air and launched a nuclear blast at Raiya. She calmly pushed at button on her Disk.

"I activate Wobaku to protect my monster and my Life Points." Her card activated and the Dragon's attack disintegrated. Crimson cursed as its attack went down to 4300. Oh well, it's still high.

"My turn, it seems," Raiya said as she drew her card. She rearranged some of the cards in her hand before finally settling on one. "I think I shall use Raigeki. Now I can choose one person's field and rid it of all monsters. I'll choose Yasmine..."

"No!" Crimson cried. It was too late. A large black cloud appeared above her. A single golden lightening flash struck Ultimate Dragon, and it melted to the ground. Crimson was horrified. She had no monsters and no face down cards.

"Now... I can't attack you, even though you're defenseless, because of my own rule. How unfortunate, but I must adhere to my own rules." Raiya's sly smile seemed to indicate otherwise. "Anyway, I'll sacrifice my weak Ugo to summon this face down card." Crimson raised her eyebrows. She knew Raiya was planning something, again.

"My turn," Yugi announced. He drew a card. "I choose to summon my Dark Magician!" His two face down cards melted and a purple figure leaped out from the Shadows, cocking his helmet and twirling his staff. "Now... let's see what you are hiding, Raiya. I attack your face down card!" Raiya smirked as the attack merely bounced back.

"I reveal my Millennium Shield. Nice try, Yugi." Yugi looked down at his LP - 7500 - and looked back up determinedly. His Dark Magician had 3000 attack power.

"At least we know what we're facing now." He rechecked on his two face down Trap cards and ended his turn. Kaiba drew his card.

"I think I'll just switch Lord of Dragons to defense and end my turn." Crimson began her own turn by drawing a card, still angry that she had led to the Dragon's destruction.

"I'll place a monster face down and end my turn." Raiya drew her card.

"I'll place a card face down and end my turn." Yugi drew his card. Raiya looked over at him as he though about his next plan of attack.

"What should I do..." Yugi whispered.

"You know, Yugi, you can attack me if you want," Raiya offered. "I don't really care, since it won't hurt either of us." Yugi looked at her suspiciously. "But... it will help your Magician become stronger. What do you say, this is a limited time offer..." Yugi looked over at Crimson, who shook her head furiously. Kaiba merely looked at him.

What do I have to lose? I have two face down cards just in case.

"Okay, Raiya, though I think you have something planned. Nevertheless, I'm ready for it." Raiya grinned. Yugi let his Dark Magician unleash an attack upon Millennium Shield, even though it resulted in a draw. Raiya merely looked calm as Dark Magician gained five hundred attack points. The big plan the other three anticipated never came.

"Your turn, Kaiba," Raiya said. He narrowed his eyes while he drew.

"I think I should do something instead of just sitting here. If I ever want to attack you again, Raiya, I better attack Crimson and Yugi so I can get my second chance." He looked at Crimson. "It's only a face down monster, no danger right?" Crimson nodded.

"I don't really care," Crimson said. "Just attack me. I have more monsters to put down. It will get you closer to attacking Raiya." Kaiba nodded, and switched his Lord to attack mode. He attacked Crimson, and the face down card was destroyed. Lord of Dragons now had seventeen hundred attack points.

"That was so interesting," Crimson said sarcastically. The Duel was starting to get rather boring. She hoped Raiya would kick things up a notch soon. "I place a monster face down and end my turn." Crimson turned to Raiya, who drew a card and signaled Yugi to begin his Duel.

"Go ahead and attack me again," Raiya said in a bored tone, though anyone could detect her sly smile. Yugi drew a card and looked at the Shield. Raiya's knows her monster will be destroyed this time. She's definitely going to use her card, but I don't want to miss this chance. I'll use my cards in case anything comes up.

"I will Raiya, but only for the sake of lightening up this Duel." Raiya smirked. The Dark Magician rose into the air and destroyed the Shield.

"Just what I wanted! I activate Enchanted Javelin! I get 3500 extra LP." Crimson was outraged.

"How dare you use my favorite card, or even have it in your evil deck!" she exclaimed angrily. Raiya smirked at her. Yugi, however, was smirking as well.

"Did you not see me activate my card, Raiya?" he asked. Raiya's smirk quickly faded.

"What?"

"I activated Bad Reaction to Simochi. This card lets me reverse the effect of your Enchanted Javelin, making it hurt your LP instead." Raiya's eyes widened as the javelin appeared before her, turning into a knife with the help of putrid, green smoke. Suddenly, it rushed through her. Raiya fell to her knees, knife through her stomach in pain. Black blood poured from her wound.

"All monsters and cards are real!" Crimson gasped. The knife soon vanished. Raiya's LP was now 3700, while Kaiba and Crimson still had their original amount. Yugi had 7500. Raiya got to her feet, radiating in fury.

"You will pay!" she vowed. Kaiba drew his card.

"I'll keep my face down monster in defense and switch my Lord to defense as well. Crimson, your turn." Crimson nodded, happier. Raiya was nearing defeat. It wouldn't be long now.

"I place another face down monster and end my turn," she said. She turned to an enraged Raiya.

"You...will...pay..." Raiya drew a card, her glare softening into a sly smile yet again. "Now I will get my revenge!" Raiya slapped two cards onto her Duel Disk. "I summon Black-Eyed Enchantress to the field! Then I play, Reocu!"

"Oh no!" Yugi cried. "The Paradox brothers used that on Joey and me once."

"What does it do?" Crimson queried.

"You'll see..." Raiya said darkly, her chuckle turning into a cackle. She raised a finger to the sky and three orbs floated down. With a flash, they sent a string of energy towards Yugi, Kaiba, and Crimson. They moaned, falling to their hands and knees as half their energy was absorbed. The collected energy transferred to the Enchantress, who drank up the power.

"What?" Crimson said weakly, struggling to look up.

"I can take half your LP and use it for my own monster..." Raiya explained.

"What?" Crimson cried. "No!" Thunder and lightning flashed. Raiya stood triumphantly in front of her powered up monster.

"This is what you get for messing with me!" Raiya pointed to her monster, now equipped with 13550 attack points! Crimson and Kaiba had four thousand LP, with Yugi a little behind them.

"This is the end!" Raiya burst into laughter yet again, and the Shadow Realm celebrated around her...