o_o I'm getting so many reviews! OMG! Not like I'm complaining… ^_^
Martial Arts Master: Yeah, I am actually surprised that nobody has complained about that… but that's not a bad thing. Yeah, the Redwall books are excellent, be sure to read more! -_^
The Rose Duelist: Yep, gotta love Kuribo. _ Of course, Demon Rue hates the little fur ball… I wonder why? _
LunaticChaos: Thanks for the kind comments! Obelisk, huh… maybe. Then again, it could be those Blue Eyes, or maybe something you've never even heard of! And as much as I like you trying to help, I prefer to build my own decks. *Looks in file that has a deck for every character in fic* Yup… _;;;
Artemis of the Moon: I'm glad you like him… he's one of my favorites. ^_^ A trilogy? Nah… I'm planning on at least five versions, maybe more. _;;;
*Chapter 6: Opposite of Darkness*
Miles shut off his Duel Disk with a wince. "Ouch! I was beaten pretty brutally, huh? Alright, I'm a man of my word." He took the decks out of the bag he carried, and handed each one to its proper owner. "Nice talking to you all. Now I'm out of here."
"You aren't going anywhere," Rue declared. "I think we all want to know why you stole our decks. What did you mean, you don't want to kill us? And how did you know about Max nearly dying?"
"Well…" Miles turned around to face them. "I should have known it would come to this… all right. I'll give you a little info, but not much. Soon you guys are going to be dueling with higher stakes; your lives. You lose, you die, that simple. Some like me are more soft-hearted, but not all are. You want to find out more? Too bad, it's highly classified information. Even threatening to kill me won't exactly help you. No, if you want to find out more, you're going to have to let me come with you."
"And why would we trust a thief?" Will inquired.
"Hm… good point. Alright then…" He reached into his bag, and took out his cell phone. He then proceeded to drop it on the ground, and stomped on it. A loud snap echoed through the clearing, causing Hope to jump.
"That won't make me an instant friend in your books, but now I have no way to contact anyone but you. If you are really that worried, Gen'll take off for now as well."
"But why become a traitor?" Claire inquired.
"...I have my reasons," Miles stated, looking at Max. "Ones I'd prefer not to disclose."
"Hm… we can't trust you, but we need all of the data on our next opponents that we can get…" Rue pondered. "What do you guys think?"
"Give him a chance," Hope shrugged.
"I agree that we need more information," Will commented.
"Same as Hope said," Claire decided.
"As long as we are careful, I guess…" Brandi still didn't seem to trust him.
"I'm fine with it," Larka threw in.
"…" As usual, Fell had no opinion on the matter.
"It's settled then," Will concluded. "You can join us, but not lightly… we'll be watching."
"I guess I can't blame you for that," Miles replied. "Ah well… so, where are you all going anyway?"
"We were trying to find the one who injured Max," Claire explained. "So who did this, and how can we find him or her?"
To their surprise, Miles laughed at that.
"Find him? Not much chance in that. Forget about him-you'll understand why later."
Brandi glared at him, but said nothing.
"What should we do then?" Perseus asked.
"Your pal over there still doesn't have a Duel Disk," Miles pointed out, indicating to Fell. "Shouldn't he get his own?"
By this time, Fell had taken off Hope's Duel Disk, and handed it to her. She accepted it.
"Yeah, we should register you two… oh, forgot to mention it in the excitement, but thanks Fell," Hope said.
"…I dislike being in debt," he stated, turning away.
"You also dislike talking," Miles joked.
"…"
"My point exactly."
"What I want to know is how he acquired a deck, and how he learned to duel," Gaston pondered.
"That other guy… he left, didn't he? He taught Fell, and had the cards. Fell made two decks; one for me, and one for himself," Larka explained. "Then Fell taught me how to play as well. Apparently, he thought it would be necessary, and I can see why now."
"So you too know how to duel?" Claire asked. "We haven't seen your deck… how about a duel? Not for stakes, just a test run? To make it fair, I won't have Perseus be my Deck Master."
Larka glanced at her brother quickly. "I don't have a Duel Disk though…"
"You can borrow mine," Hope offered. "I've already lent it out once, why not again?"
"Thanks. In that case, I accept!" Larka inserted her deck into the Duel Disk, and was soon ready to begin.
Claire: 8000
Larka: 8000
"I'll go first, if you don't mind," Claire decided. "I play Sanctuary of the Sky, a field magic. I also play Stealing Goblin. This raises my Life Points by 500, and lowers yours by the same."
Claire: 8500
Larka: 7500
"Now I lay one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
Larka examined her hand. "A field magic? Then this should overrule it… I play Shine Spark. This is a field magic as well, so that means yours is destroyed, right?"
"Shoot… yeah, that's right…"
"Well, it powers up all Light Main-Type monsters attack by 500, and lowers their defense by 400, just so you know. Now I summon Blade Knight. (2100/600) Blade Knight attacks your set!"
"You have destroyed my Saint Magician. (800/0) Her reverse effect allows me to get one magic card back from my Cemetery."
"Not with Blade Knight! As long as he is my only monster, any monsters with reverse effects that he attacks are negated."
"Rats… is it my turn?"
"After I lay down one card, yes."
"Well, I summon Mudora! (1500/1800) For every Angel Sub-Type in my Cemetery, my monster gains 200 attack. (1700/1800) Now I equip Mudora with Dagura Blades! With it, Mudora gains 500 more attack points! (2200/1800) Mudora attacks the Blade Knight! Oh, and a side effect of my Dagura Blades are that I gain the Life Points you lose. I'll lay one card down and end my turn."
Claire: 8600
Larka: 7400
"That was a lot of effort for just one monster, wasn't it? I summon Dunames Valkyria! (2300/650) Now I will have her attack your Mudora!"
"I activate Holy Barrier-Mirror Force. Your Dunames Valkyria is destroyed!"
"Drat! I lay one card down…"
As Claire drew her next card, Hope was distracted by a tap on her shoulder. She looked behind to see Brandi indicating to the forest. Curious, Hope nodded, and followed her out. Nobody noticed them leaving as Claire played her next card.
"My Angel's Gift will let me draw three cards, and then discard two, so I discard Magic Guardner and Heavenly Knight Perseus. With another Angel in the Cemetery, my Mudora gains more attack. (2400/1800) Mudora attacks directly!"
"I activate Destruction Ring in response to your command! Not only is your monster destroyed, but we both lose Life Points equal to its attack!"
"Ugh… in that case, I lay one monster in defense mode."
Claire: 6200
Larka: 5000
Once out of sight, Hope turned to Brandi curiously. "What's the matter?"
To her surprise, Brandi was slightly blushing. "Well…"
"…Does this have to do with Matt?"
Now Brandi seemed shocked. "…Yeah… how did you guess?"
"It's actually obvious… you're in love with him, aren't you?"
"That's part of it… well, we came down to Illinois together to see Max, right? On the way here, Matt confessed that he loved me. It was then that I discovered that I loved him too…"
"That's great!" Hope congratulated. "I'm happy for both of you. But why only tell me?"
"I felt like I needed to share this with someone," Brandi replied. "I don't know… you just seem like a good listener… that's all. I'll tell the others when I'm ready, preferably when Max regains his memories… so would you keep it secret please?"
"Sure thing," Hope assured. "Nobody will know until you say it yourself."
"Thanks..."
"No problem. Hadn't we best be getting back?"
"Probably."
When they got back, they were relieved to notice that nobody had noted their disappearance, besides Gaston and Mana, who they told that it was nothing to be concerned with.
While they had been gone, Larka had managed to summon another Blade Knight (2100/600) and attack the defense monster, which had turned out to be a Kelbek. (1500/1800) Because of its effect, the Blade Knight had been sent to Larka's hand, and now all she had was one card face down on the field.
"I play Raise Dead, to revive Perseus! (2400/1000) Perseus attacks you!"
"In response, I flip over Emissary of Harmony! This trap negates your attack!"
"All I can do is end then."
Larka looked at her next card, and nodded in satisfaction. "This seems good. I summon Wandering Hero, Freed! (2200/700) Now I activate his special ability! By removing two Light Main-Type monsters from my Cemetery, one of your face up monsters with a higher attack than his is destroyed! Therefore, I remove Blade Knight and Dunames Valkyria! Now Freed gets a direct attack! Then I lay one card down."
Claire: 4000
Larka: 5000
"Not bad. I lay one monster in defense mode, and end."
"I'll attack it with Freed!"
"You attacked my Marshmallon! (1000/0) When you attack this monster in face down defense mode, you receive 1000 Life Points of damage."
Claire: 4000
Larka: 4000
"Also, Marshmallon can't be destroyed in battle."
"Hm… I set one monster, and end…"
"I pass."
"I summon Blade Knight (2100/600) again. That's all for me."
"Finally, something I can do! I will first play Jar of Greed, and then play Terra Forming to add Sanctuary of the Sky to my hand. Then I play it, removing your Shine Spark. (500/300) (1700/1200) (1600/1000) Now I summon Warrior of Zera! (1600/1600) Then I sacrifice him to special summon Archangel Zeraato! (2800/2300) By discarding Agent of Power, Mars from my hand, I can use Zeraato's ability to destroy all of your monsters! Now Zeraato attacks directly!"
Claire: 4000
Larka: 1200
"I haven't lost yet! I summon Mimic Illusionist! (0/0) When I summon this monster, it gains the base stats of one of yours, so I will have it copy your Zeraato! (2800/2300) Now I lay one card, and attack Zeraato, destroying both of our monsters!"
"That suicide attack will cost you… I play another Warrior of Zera! (1600/1600) Attack for the game!"
"I counter with Magic Cylinder! Your attack is negated, and damage equal to the attack is done to you!"
Claire: 2400
Larka: 1200
"Now it's my turn, right? I will summon X-Head Cannon! (1800/1500) He attacks Warrior of Zera!"
Claire: 2200
Larka: 1200
"That won't save you. I sacrifice Marshmallon for Agent of Judgment, Saturn! (2400/0) He attacks your Cannon!"
Claire: 2200
Larka: 600
"My Life Points may be severely low, but I think I still win."
"What?"
"I play Cry of the Living Dead, reviving Wandering Hero, Freed! (1700/1200) By removing my Mimic Illusionist and X-Head Cannon, he destroys Saturn! Now I attack with Freed! Then I lay one more card down…"
Claire: 500
Larka: 600
"That doesn't make you the winner…"
"Actually, it does! I activate Solar Ray! This card does 600 Life Points damage times each face up Light Main-Type I have face up on the field, so that's 600 damage!"
Claire: 0
Larka: 600
Claire sighed in regret as she straightened her deck. "Oh well… I guess I can't win them all. For a first duel, that was really good!"
"Thanks! Now that I have the hang of this, I really would like to get a Duel Disk soon. Oh, and a Soul Monster wouldn't hurt either."
"True…" Hope thought for a few minutes. "How about this? We all exit for now. Miles, you need to get ready to stay in here for a while, so take advantage of the… three hours or so that you have."
"Gotcha. Where do we meet up?"
"The hotel. Meet us there."
"Sounds like a plan. Let's move out Gen." He then teleported away.
"I still don't like him," Rue muttered.
"He'll be back. Remember that his target is us, so whether he likes it or not, he's going to be tagging along," Will explained.
"Good point," Claire agreed. "Well, if we are to be back in three hours, we'd best get moving!"
That being said, they left as well. Since Fell and Larka had no Duel Disk, they tried holding onto Hope's Duel Disk as she teleported out. It seemed to work, for they vanished with her.
*****
"We don't all need to come to register Fell and Larka," Hope pointed out. "You guys can rest up while I take them to registration."
"Sure thing," Rue replied.
"Be back soon!" Hope ran to the guest door, and knocked.
Larka opened the door. "We're ready to go. Just lead the way."
*****
"So this is the outside world…" Larka murmured, looking around. "It's much nicer than always staying inside. I feel more… I don't know, free out here."
That's right… they don't even really remember anything but that lab they lived in... I feel so sorry for them, and wish I could help… but I know I can't…
After a few more silent minutes, they reached the registration building. After Hope told the woman behind the counter what they wanted, they went to the necessary room.
"Two at once?" the man asked.
"Yeah. So what do they have to do?"
"A very long process that involves birth certificates and registration sheets…" He laughed at the disgusted look on Hope's face. "But if you don't have the time, you can do that later. I know you young types-always busy. Just make sure to come back at a more convenient time. In the meantime, here you go." He got out four boxes, which contained two Envoyant Machines and two Duel Disks. Then he got out another box that had too many Soul Cards to count, all blank. "I need each of you to pick one card from this box."
Larka stepped up and frowned uncertainly before sticking her hand in. For a few minutes, she searched, when she suddenly grabbed one.
"Um… I think I want this one…" She seemed surprised by something.
"Ok then. Now it's your turn," the man stated to Fell.
He walked up, and put his hand into the box. His expression did not waver as he selected one.
"So that's your choice? I wish you both the best of luck in Teknisk Wereld!"
After Hope and Larka thanked him, they walked back outside, in which Larka immediately asked Hope what was on her mind.
"Something odd happened! The card that I'm holding felt… warm all of a sudden! Now it's just cold though…"
"Then you probably picked the right one," Hope smiled. "That's how I got Gaston, and how everyone else acquired their Soul Monsters. The right one made itself known by warmth… did you feel the same Fell?"
Fell looked at the card he held. "…"
"Well? I want to know too!" Larka insisted.
"…No."
"Then why did you pick that one?" his sister asked.
"Maybe you're like Max? His Soul Card felt like a chill, that seemed to promise to guard him…"
"…I feel no security… just darkness that is right…"
"That's really weird…" Hope commented. "But as long as it seems right to you, then it must be ok."
"…"
*****
"SCORE! Take that Baal!" Rue said triumphantly as the demon on the screen was destroyed. "Finally dead! I'm so glad I won't have to go through THAT again… too close for comfort…"
Will was coming down then. He smirked as a wicked idea came to him. He ran into the family room, and before Rue realized what he was doing, turned off the PS2.
"Oh, that's the off switch?" Will pretended to be puzzled. "I could have sworn that was the save button…"
*****
Hope opened the door to her house. "Hey guys, we're back!"
"Hi Hope," Claire greeted. "Rue and Will should be back soon."
"Where are they?" Larka inquired as they stepped inside.
"Rue finally managed to beat this extremely hard boss in Disgaea, only to have Will shut off the PS2 before he could save." Claire laughed at the memory. "He got FURIOUS, and is now attempting to strangle Will with his bare hands. I'll feel sorry for Will if he is caught."
"…Indeed…" Hope replied. "They'd better be back soon…"
As she said that, the door opened, and Will ran in. "Shall we go to Teknisk Wereld now?"
"Um, sure… but what about Rue?"
"I'm here," Rue growled in response, closing the door behind him.
"I'm surprised Will isn't dead," Brandi commented.
"Well, I almost had him, but some old lady thought I was trying to kill him, so she beat me over the head with her stick," Rue complained. "Stupid woman…"
Hope had a good laugh at that as they walked upstairs, Rue grumbling under his breath. They entered Hope's room, but Claire seemed to be hesitating.
"Um, before you leave…" Claire shifted uneasily. "I'm going to be staying here."
"Why?" Rue asked, forgetting his problem for a minute.
"I know that Max and Fell are mostly recovered already, but I want to look over their wounds some more, to make sure they do not suffer more than necessary. I might manage to make it later, but not right now."
"That's fine… thanks," Brandi said.
"No problem… so, are you guys going?"
"I guess we should."
Fell and Larka went back to the guest room as the others readied their Envoyant Machines.
Hope was one of the last ones to press the green button.
To be continued…