Silver Dragon: NEW REVIEWS!!!!!
Devil's Wyrm: Yes, and do not forget about the NEW CHAPTER!
SilverD: Oh don't get your tail in a knot, I remember.
DWyrm: Good.
SilverD: I'm glad people are enjoying our work; I was kind of worried at first.
DWyrm: We are doing fine; to the readers: what do you think will happen?
SilverD: Yeah, give us your opinions.
DWyrm: The suggestion box is always open.
SilverD: Do you think we should invite some characters over to chat some time?
DWyrm: I think that could work out.
SilverD: Maybe next time a guest character might step in.
DWyrm: Anyway, on to the story! -)^;;^(-
SilverD: Enjoy! ^_^
Disclaimer: We only own what we created; the rest is not ours.
Notes:
You already know about Yugi mind speaking to Yami, Nabe mind speaking to Sebak, original cards, dreams/visions, etc.
{. . .}: Ryou mind speaking to Bakura.
{{. . . }}: Bakura mind speaking.
[. . . ]: cards in hand/ face down cards/ stats.
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Ch. 5 Enter the Maelstrom
BEEP! BEEP! BE- Nabe smacked his alarm clock into silence. He had been awake for at least an hour, staring at the ceiling fan turn, thinking about the tournament. He slowly got up, dressed, and made breakfast, savoring a Monday morning without school. Soon afterwards, Katsuro joined him at the kitchen table. "I can't wait to see you slap around those other duelists, Nabe," piped the little brother, his mouth full of French toast. "You're gonna knock them all down like dominoes!"
His older brother nodded in agreement but did not otherwise reply. Seeing that Nabe was not in a talkative mood, Katsuro finished eating in silence. After they were both done and the kitchen was cleaned, the two headed out the door, Nabe with his Duel Disk and deck belt strapped to him, Katsuro with his camera hanging from his neck.
Fireworks lit up the morning sky as the participants of Battle City converged to the heart of Domino. They milled about anxiously, sizing each other up, waiting for Kaiba to announce the start of his tournament. Nabe was leaning against a building nonchalantly, watching the other duelists as a lion surveys his prey. Katsuro was standing impatiently beside him, fumbling with his camera. Just as he was about to go nuts from the waiting, a huge shadow passed over them, drawing everybody's eyes upward. Floating above the town square was a gigantic blimp with a large TV screen hanging from its bottom. On this screen was a well-known face: Seto Kaiba. "Greetings Duelists, welcome to Battle City."
This caused everyone, duelist and non-duelist alike, to stare up at Kaiba's face. Laughing sarcastically at the crowd, the CEO of Kaiba Corp. continued: "It's time to put your dueling skills to the test. I hope none of you entered my tournament looking for friendly competition. Battle City is going to be an all out war."
Nabe looked up at Kaiba without a care, he already knew all about the new rules: sacrificing for higher level monsters, giving up your rarest card if you lose, having 4000 life points instead of 2000, the tracking chips, and the locater cards, his personal invite had explained everything. Now he waited for the special words, which would begin the excitement. "Now get ready duelists, let the tournament begin!"
As soon as Kaiba said those words, the duelists began to spread out, challenging each other almost immediately. While he was also moving away from the square, Nabe thought he saw Yugi in a duel. 'It's not my concern,' he thought, 'He can take care of himself.'
Unfortunately, the brothers knew nothing of Joey's run in with Rare Hunters, merciless duelists who love nothing more than taking powerful cards from unsuspecting kids. They continued to walk, Nabe determined not to challenge anybody but to let them challenge him. Sure enough, as they were passing a dark alley, a voice called Nabe's name. And not just any voice, a female voice. Hoping for a challenge, Nabe stepped into the alley, much to Katsuro's protest. Inside he found a short robed figure, the only things visible were a Duel Disk and the lower part of a girl's face. "You called?" asked Nabe, amused at this girl's costume.
"Yes," she replied, opening her robe with a flourish of her arm, "I am Rhona, Rare Hunter, and servant of the true pharaoh. You possess a card my master wants, I plan to win it from you."
"You, a little girl, wish to duel me for my rarest card," mocked the challenged. "I don't care who you are or who you serve, but hey, if it's that important to you, I'll duel you."
"Good, prepare to face defeat."
With that the two opponents activated their Duel Disks, the little hollow projectors launching themselves from the Disk. Katsuro stood back, camera ready to record his brother's first Battle City duel.
Sebak was also watching, keenly interested in the "Rare Hunter". 'I wonder what she meant by "true pharaoh",' he mused. 'Maybe defeating this girl will lead to some answers.'
As the dragon spirit looked on, Nabe drew his first hand. [Rainbow Phoenix*, Trap Hole, Banner of Courage, Crimson Knife Beast*, Firewing Pegasus] "Ladies first."
"Fine, the sooner I will crush you," said Rhona as she drew her first hand and card. [Prevent Rat, Forest, Rush Recklessly, Dark Zebra, Bean Soldier, War-Lion Ritual] 'Excellent, I have drawn War-Lion Ritual on my first turn; now all I need is Super War-Lion and a few more monsters and this duel will be mine.' "I set one monster [Prevent Rat: 500/2000, beast] and place one card face down [Rush Recklessly], you may go."
He nodded in recognition as he drew [Ookazi]. "I set one monster [Rainbow Phoenix] and place one card face down [Trap Hole] too. Then I play Ookazi, which takes 800 life points away from you."
As Nabe played his magic card, a giant house materialized around his opponent then burst into flames, falling in on Rhona.
The tall teen smirked at the girl's discomfort. "What's wrong," he teased, "don't like fire? Well tough, I'm a fire duelist and you'll just have to get used to the heat. Go ahead and move."
"You will be the one uncomfortable when you face my forest nightmares," Rhona retorted as she drew another card [Rainbow Flower]. "First, I play my field card Forest, which raises the attack and defense of all beast, beast-warrior, plant, and insect type monsters by 200. Next I summon Rainbow Flower [600/700, plant] and attack your life points directly because of its effect."
Huge trees sprouted all over the playing field as she played her magic card. Then a little flower appeared next to her set monster and fired a rainbow beam at Nabe. [N: 3400, R: 3200]
Unfazed by the blow, Nabe drew. [Fire-Starter Wolf*] "First, I'll summon my Crimson Knife Beast [2100/700, beast-warrior] and flip-summon my Rainbow Phoenix." [1500/1800]
The two monsters materialized onto the field, one a giant rainbow winged firebird, the other an armored cat wielding two long, glittering blades.
"I'm not done," continued Nabe, "I now attack your annoying Rainbow Flower with my Rainbow Phoenix."
The phoenix flapped its multicolored wings, sending a wave of fire-tinged light through the holographic trees into the little potted plant. The rainbow crowned flower shattered at the impact.
"Then I attack your set monster with Crimson Knife Beast."
Lunging forward through the leaves, the blood red feline slashed at the brown card, only to strike a heavily armored rat.
"Fine, play defense. I can't do anymore." [N:3300, R:2300]
Smirking at Nabe's reckless move, Rhona drew. [Sengenjin] 'My rarest and most powerful monster! Nabe will not know what hit him after I summon this all-powerful card. But I still need a few more monsters.' "I summon Dark Zebra [2000/600, beast] and—"
"Not so fast little girl, I activate Trap Hole, which destroys your zebra," countered Nabe.
Just as the unicorn horned zebra appeared on the field, a giant hole opened up right underneath it, swallowing the poor horse.
"Good move for a novice as yourself, I was not expecting you to counter so. I end my turn."
"Novice? Look at the scores, I have 1000 more life points than you, and you're the one who played that pony when you knew I had a facedown card," argued the boy as he drew. [Burning Wind*] "I place one card facedown to replace the one I just used [Burning Wind]," the familiar brown card appeared above the forest floor. "Then I sacrifice Rainbow Phoenix for a horse of my own, Firewing Pegasus [2450/2000, beast], which will destroy your Prevent Rat."
The Pegasus floated down through the trees on wings of burning feathers and charged at the rat, shattering it.
"I draw, if you are finished?" said Rhona in an emotionless tone.
"Go ahead, you still won't win."
She looked at her hand. [Giant Rat, Sengenjin, Bean Soldier] 'I need monsters on the field if I am to summon Senegjin; this will help.' "I set one monster [Giant Rat] and end my turn."
"Fine, I draw." [Apocalypse Flame] 'YES! This will seal that wanna-be's fate. "Rare Hunter," what the hell is that anyway?' "I summon Fire-Starter Wolf and attack your set monster with Firewing Pegasus."
As the second rat to be destroyed broke into a thousand shards, another monster [Witch of the Black Forest] appeared in its place.
"Ahh man, I was hoping for a direct attack but get stuck with this stupid effect monster. Oh well, I'll just attack the other one and get it over with."
The fire-furred wolf struck the Witch of the Black Forest and shattered her. Its effect let yet another monster to be summoned to the field.
"Arg, another monster! Geeze, just, just move!"
'Stupid boy, forgot about his other monster. His loss,' thought Rhona as she drew. [Change of Heart] 'Now I can summon my ultimate weapon, he will be sorry he called me names.' The robed girl slid the card into the recognition slot. "I play Change of Heart to take your Firewing Pegasus."
The magic card appeared on the field and a strange half angel half demon came out of it and took control of the Pegasus, moving to Rhona's side.
"Then I sacrifice it along with my Forest Nymph for Sengenjin!" [2950/2600, beast-warrior]
A huge ogre-like monster rose out of the trees, wielding a large mace and axe. The blue skinned giant swung its long, muscular arms in front of him, the silver gauntlets and gold, spiked shoulder bands shining in the morning sun that somehow made it into the alley.
"Now my savage beast, attack Nabe's Fire-Starter Wolf!"
The creature removed its axe from its back and sliced the flaming wolf in half. As the blade came down, Sebak noticed the Millennium symbol emblazoned on the side of it. Now sure that this girl had some sort of connection to the ancient pharaoh, he seized control of Nabe's body, locking his vessel's mind in its soul room. [N:2150, R:2300]
It had come unexpectedly for the teen, Nabe was staring at the powerful monster when suddenly he felt as if he had been grabbed from behind and then thrown into a dark room. Turning to see who grabbed him, the puzzled duelist saw only a plain wooden door. When he tried the knob, he found it locked. After pounding and yelling for some time, Nabe gave up, resigning himself to the fact that he was trapped. Soon becoming bored watching a door, he groped along the wall for a light switch and found one. Curious, he flipped the switch.
A few blocks away, Ryou was walking along, watching other duelists in their matches. Then the Millennium Ring started to glow and Bakura took control, suddenly sensing a magical presence nearby. Hoping for another Millennium Item to steal, he strode quickly towards the source.
Sebak had resumed the duel while Nabe was locked away. He smiled to himself thinking, 'If that puny mortal girl could not sense my take over, the pharaoh will not either. Now, let me see how I can get my vessel out of his predicament so I can learn more about this "true pharaoh" from this Rhona.'
He looked up at Rhona. "If you're finished, I'd like to go," said the imposter, trying his best to sound like Nabe.
"Yes, go on, if you think you can win."
"Oh, I think I can." The dragon spirit drew. [Swords of Revealing Light] 'Ah, this will buy me the time I need.' "I play Swords of Revealing Light, which means you can't touch my last monster which I move to defense mode. I'm through."
"Ah, so you do remember your Crimson Knife Beast. I was beginning to worry you had forgotten about it," said the girl as she drew. [Gardener's Oath*] 'This will help me later, but first I need a plant monster on the field.' "I summon Bean Soldier [1600/1500, plant] and place one card facedown. [Gardener's Oath] I end my turn."
Another brown card appeared on the forested field as a large bean shaped warrior popped out of the ground, wielding a shield and sword.
"Cute, I think I would serve that with a nice hotdog as dinner, not as a monster," teased the spirit, holding up his act.
"This little bean is going to look a lot bigger in few more turns," retorted Rhona.
"Whatever; I draw." [Seed of Fire*] 'This will bring her demise! With this card, my vessel's best monster will be unleashed.' "I summon Seed of Fire [1000/1000] and end. Go."
The little blue flame burst into being beside the Crimson Knife Beast.
"Humph, such a little thing could not do much," she said; she drew. [Trent] 'Not exactly a strong monster but better than Bean Soldier.' "I sacrifice Bean Soldier to set a monster. [Trent]
"You have sealed your fate," said Sebak, slipping from character, "I draw, [Sword From Dark Fire*] then according to Seed of Fire's effect, I can sacrifice it to special summon a level five or greater monster from my hand. I choose Apocalypse Flame [2900/2500]; my strongest monster will burn you alive!"
The "sky" grew dark around the duelists as a holographic cloud of ash spread over the field. Out of this cloud, a huge ball of fire fell, crashing into the forest, burning several fake trees in the process. The sphere of flame took shape, transforming into an erect body with two arms, two legs, and a pair of black wings that covered all of "Nabe's" side of the field. The whole monster was made of twisting, shifting fire that somehow stayed in form. The only solid parts were a couple of cloven-hoofed feet, five long, molten metal claws on the end of each arm, and a bestial skull serving as the head complete with a pair of devil horns.
"That is the card I must take from you. It cannot even defeat my Sengenjin, it has fifty points to few," said Rhona, awed but confidant she could beat this monster.
"For now, but I play Banner of Courage, which gives all my monsters 300 extra attack points during my Battle Phase, and I play Sword of Dark Fire on my Apocalypse Flame, boosting its attack and defense another 300 points. Finally, I activate Burning Wind, which removes 1000 of all your monsters attack points for this turn."
"WHAT!"
Bakura came upon the alley just as the Banner of Courage was raised above Nabe's side and the mammoth beast gained its sword of black flames. He too was struck into staring by the breathtaking monster. A wall of fire swept across the field, singing the trees.
"Now my mighty flame, smite Sengenjin; send him and his Millennium Item to the Graveyard!"
Apocalypse stepped forward through the trees, burning a path right to the other giant. Reaching out, the flame demon grasped the blue ogre by its stumpy neck, digging its claws into the blue flesh, and brought the Sword From Dark Fire down on the savage, cutting it clean in two. The remaining parts of Sengenjin shattered into countless pieces like every other monster destroyed in battle. Apocalypse, with a single down sweep of its smoky wings, returned to its master. [N: 2150, R: 750]
"I haven't forgotten you, Crimson Knife Beast. Attack her set monster!"
The armored cat once again sprang from its waiting place and sliced through the brown card, destroying the Trent.
"You have no more monsters with which to defend you. Go, make your last move."
Shocked at this new revelation, Rhona hesitantly drew. [Super War-Lion] 'What! No! I just needed one more monster to summon my ritual beast! I truly have lost, but I will not quit.' "I pass."
Sebak, having dropped the act all together, drew. [Pyroclastic Explosion*] 'Ha, this will ensure my victory. It will take care of the remaining magic cards so my Flame can attack uninhibited.' "I play Pyroclastic Explosion. It destroys all cards on your side of the field!"
A bubbly mass of flaming ash swept across the field, destroying everything on Rhona's side. When the dust had cleared, her two set cards and Forest were gone.
'My, talk about salting a wound,' thought Bakura as he watched. 'I wonder who holds the magic power I felt.'
"And now it is time for you to lose," said Sebak triumphantly. "Flame, attack her life points directly!"
Apocalypse Flame flew up into the air, fire spreading from its body, and thrust the Sword From Dark Fire at Rhona, a stream of black fire shot at her as she stood her ground.
Inside his soul room, Nabe found himself staring at a paradise, at least for him. A large waterbed lay in one corner, a beanbag in front of it facing a giant widescreen TV. Bellow the TV sat a GameCube, XBox, Play Station 2, and every game ever made for all three. The white walls were covered in posters of every movie, band, show, and idol he ever liked. Car, airplane, and Gundam models were placed in a bookshelf next to the bed. A huge stereo leaned against another wall, stacks of music CDs next to it. With a little-boy-in-a-candy-store look on his face, Nabe delved into his personal chamber's treasures.
Sebak stood over the loser of the duel: Rhona. She was lying on the ground face down. 'Pathetic mortal could not take the blast of a holographic monster; she would surely parish if she faced a real one in the Shadow Realm.' He shuddered inwardly at the mention the horrible prison in which his brethren were confined. "Well, I won. Aren't you going to give me your locator card and rarest monster?"
She remained face down on the pavement. Bakura edged closer to the pair.
"Hello? Come on, a little blast like that shouldn't knock you out cold."
Becoming aggravated, Sebak reached down and pulled the girl to her feet. She seemed to liven up at this so he let her go. "Now, are you going to play by the rules and give me what I asked for?"
Rhona looked up weakly. "No master, no! Don't punish me! I tried my best! PLEASE!! Don't send me to the Shadow Realm! PLEASE! NOOOooo…."
Sebak and Bakura stared at this in amazement. 'The true pharaoh must have a Millennium Item,' thought the dragon spirit. 'I hope I get a chance to meet him.'
'Her master looks like someone I would get along with,' considered Bakura. 'Maybe he has a Millennium Item I could steal.'
Rhona swayed, then slumped forward but remained standing. The Millennium eye symbol glowed on her forehead for a moment then disappeared; the girl then fell softly to the pavement again. Bakura stepped up to Sebak, both unaware of the other's dark presence. Hiding behind their hikaris' faces, they faced each other. "Well, that was sure strange," said Bakura pretending to be Ryou. "At least you won; I hope she's all right."
"Yeah, now all I need is her locater card and rare monster and I'm ready to go," replied Sebak pretending to be Nabe as he reached for Rhona's deck. "Here they are. Now what're we going to do with her?"
"I say we take her to the hospital," said Bakura. "She doesn't look so good."
"Okay, I'll take her, you can come if you want Ryou," said the masquerading dragon. "Let's go Katsuro."
Katsuro hopped off the trashcan he had been watching from and followed his brother and Ryou.
*****
After they had taken Rhona to a hospital, the two brothers went their own way, leaving Bakura to as he wished. 'Nabe was not himself back there. I wonder what caused the change. It must have been the magic I felt earlier, but that could have come from the girl. And who was that girl's master, the one who sent her mind to the Shadow Realm? He has to have a Millennium Item, but what about Nabe? He does have that interesting gold manacle, could that be another Item? No, it is not. I would have recognized it. But still, I did feel a presence in him. I will watch and wait. Fate will decide when I get answers.'
Bakura headed down an alleyway, lost in thought.
*****
Satisfied with his victory, Sebak sat down on a park bench and told Katsuro to go play in the playground for a while. He needed time to talk to his vessel. Releasing his hold on the teenager's body, the ancient dragon ventured into the dividing hallway of their shared mind. Opening his vessel's chamber door, he found Nabe playing the PS2 and listening to rock on the stereo. The gamer glanced up when he heard the door unlock and jumped up when he saw himself enter the room. Well, almost himself. What he saw had his body but the face from the reflection he had seen in what seemed like years ago. Nabe gazed frightened but secure at the spirit, into his burning black eyes. "You, you trapped me here. Didn't you, Sebak. Why?"
"Always asking questions, vessel. The answer is simple: I had reason to intervene in your duel,"
"I had things under control, just because she summons a good monster doesn't mean I'm going to lose. Why did you have to but in?"
"I had my reasons."
"Fine, I'd probably not want to know anyway. So are you here for a reason or are you just here to chat?"
"I have come to tell you that you can have control of your body now."
"Great, but how am I supposed to get control if I don't even know where the hell I am!"
"You are in your soul room. If you had not noticed, mine is across the hall from yours."
"That's nice, but how do I get OUT!"
"Concentrate, use the power of the manacle. It is how I forced you in here and how you can return."
"Okay, here it goes."
Nabe focused hard on the small connection he felt with the manacle. He felt a slight surge of power. When he opened his eyes, he saw the park.
/Where are we? \
//We are at Domino Park. After I won the duel, I took your opponent to the hospital with Ryou. After we did that I let your brother play so we could talk. \\
/Wait, you WON the duel? That's great! But…why did you take Rhona to the hospital? \
//It is hard to explain everything. I will just show you my memories of the event. \\
/Your memories! Cool! \
Sebak let his memory of the duel and afterwards flood into Nabe's mind. It took the teen a second to filter through them and understand. /Wow, you got my Apocalypse Flame on the field. You are good. Did they have Duel Monsters in ancient Egypt? \
//Of a sort, yes, I was a part of the games. \\
/Really, that's pretty neat. Thanks for helping me out in the duel, I think. \
//I had to help you to keep you from losing. \\
/Oh gee, thanks, I guess I'll get going. \
//Fine. \\
Nabe took Katsuro to look for some lunch; it was nearly noon. 'That trusting fool does not suspect a thing,' thought the dragon spirit. 'Now that I am playing the "good guy" my vessel is starting to warm up to me. No matter, all I need him for is to get close to Pharaoh Yami. If I can convince him I want to help him, he may indeed let me duel against the pharaoh. Then the fun will begin.'
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SilverD: Phew! *wipes sweat off hands on towel* That was a hard duel to write.
DWyrm: Yes, that took to long.
SilverD: Its pretty long, I hope it didn't get too boring or repetitive.
DWyrm: No, I do not think it did.
SilverD: Don't forget to give us your reviews!
DWyrm: Or your suggestions, prophesies, or flames.
SilverD: What do you think about the guest character appearances?
DWyrm: Tell us what you think of that.
SilverD: Thanks to all the reviewers!
Mina-chan AMD: Big thanks for telling me what aibou means. Keep reading, it only gets better from here.
LittleYugiBoy: We're glad you like our original cards. Keep R&R!
Shadow Guardian of the Gate: We're happy for your find in us. Keep looking for cliffhangers!
Kyuugi: We're happy to see someone that likes duels, understanding them or not! ^_^ You think Nabe is hot? We guess he could be. We try to make our characters so the reader can imagine them in their minds.
DWyrm: Thank you all reviewers. Read and review again soon, we will be writing again soon, hopefully. -}^;;^{-
Original cards:
Rainbow Phoenix: wind att., pyro type, 4 stars, 1500/1800
Crimson Knife Beast: fire att., beast-warrior type, 4 stars, 1900/500, Effect- If with no other fire monsters on second turn, witch to defense mode; stays until with one.
Fire-Starter Wolf: fire att., beast type, 4 stars, 1600/1200
Burning Wind: trap –1000 attack to all opponent's monsters during turn activated.
Apocalypse Flame: fire att., pyro type, 8 stars, 2900/2500
Seed of Fire: fire att., pyro type, 3 stars, 1000/1000, Effect- If attacked, can special summon one fire att. monster from deck. If face up on your side of the field by your next Stand-By Phase, can sacrifice it to special summon ine fire att. monster level 5 or higher from your hand.
Gardener's Oath: magic, Plant type monsters can attack directly during turn activated.
Sword From Dark Fire: magic equip, +300 atk and def to a pyro monster.
Pyroclastic Explosion: magic, destroys all opponent's cards, regardless of type or position.
(Any similarities between our cards and real ones are purely coincidental. Please tell us what you think about them.)