Disclaimer/Author's Note
Cool, hoping you liked that duel. It took me a while and I'm trying for a weekly update schedule. That is, chapter four is on the site, but I won't upload it until next Saturday. This system will be insurance so that if I for some reason miss a week then it's still okay. A one-chapter pillow, but if things get really bad I might have to fall back to a bi-weekly schedule. If that happens then I'm going to try to get the cushion back before I resume a weekly update.
Leo is a character submitted to me by a friend, and Orion is my own character.
YuGiOh: Hallowed Darkness
The Hunter's Hunters
"Wow..." was all Aarion could muster. Mystic had brought the group back to his apartment where he was staying. The Australian government had paid for the room, which was closer to a penthouse in size and accommodations.
"The government paid for all of this. I'm not an exchange student," Mystic explained.
"Well then why are you here?" asked Aldrai.
"Ehh...it's kind of confidential, but if you promise not to tell anyone..."
Aarion, and Aldrai all nodded vigorously.
"Well, it's because I can duel well."
The other three in the room kind of...keeled over in shock. "Wait, so since when did the government pay for an entire HOUSE just because you can play a card game well?" asked Aarion.
"Because there's going to be a worldwide competition soon. They sent me here to investigate the competition. I've got seven tournaments scheduled in the next two weeks."
"A worldwide tournament?" asked Adriel.
"Exactly. And even though it's going to be kids, every nation wants to be on top. It's going to be a really big deal. This place is a shack compared to the rooms for the finalists, or so I hear."
"Really?" asked Aarion.
"Yeah. Each continent is paying for its representative's lodgings."
"Wait, I thought you said nations?" asked Aldrai.
"Well the way I heard it works is that there's one giant tournament, then when a certain number of people qualify for the finals on their continent, there's a continental mini-tournament. Antarctica is obviously not participating because no one lives there. So that's North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia. The winners of each continental tournament all go to the finals. In the finals, there are three duels with two participants each, and then there's one battle royale at the end. Opponents are chosen at random.
"So I not only have to compete with Japan, but all of Asia to just make it to the finals?!" said Adriel.
"Exactly. But it's not like two people from every nation compete. There's a set limit of competitors, no matter what country they hail from. Then you just have to beat them to get into the finals."
"And the prize?" Adriel asked.
"Uhh...for getting into your continental tournaments you get a box of any set of cards you want, plus a random card from an assortment of promos made especially for the tournament. For getting into the finals, you get a copy of every card ever made in addition to the entire set of tournament promos, and if you win it all, you get a KC unique disk with an entire deck of unique cards."
There was silence in the room. "How much would all that be worth?" asked Aarion.
"I don't know. A lot. If you win it all then the final prize alone will be worth millions to hardcore players and collectors." Mystic answered.
"Wow..." muttered Adriel.
The next day at school, the group of four wandered into the courtyard at lunch, searching for duels. "Hey...why does no one have their disks today?" asked Adriel.
Mystic stopped moving and his face paled. "Because the Hunter is returning today."
Suddenly, a chant was heard through the air; a battle cry of sorts.
"He's here..." whispered Adriel.
The Hunter walked through the gates, followed by two more duelists. Today, the Hunter was dressed in all black to complement his black hair perfectly. Black, baggy cargo pants, black tee shirt, black trenchcoat, black gloves, black sunglasses, and a DuelDisk which was apparently sprayed black. With charcoal gray card pads. Wait... "That's my disk." muttered Adriel.
The Hunter's two followers were both equally as sinister. For all anyone knew, they could have been brothers. Both of them had black hair like the Hunter's. The first grew his hair out longer, and it was limp by his cheeks. The second boasted a full head of spikes, close to the Hunter's Caesar style cut.
They both wore identical black trenchcoats that were the preferred garb of the trio. The first wore orange tinted sunglasses and the other a similar pair with a blue hue. They both held identical disks, the popular Wyrm model. Also in the shadow color scheme.
"We're back," said the Hunter.
"All hail the Hunter, master of the cards!" said the guy in the orange sunglasses.
"Shut up, Leo." snapped the Hunter. The other boy snorted.
"You too, Orion." the Hunter added. "Anyway, we're here to challenge you all again. And this time, I want to duel the champion of the school, not a bunch of wimps."
"Then duel us!" shouted Aarion.
"Quiet..." muttered Mystic.
"Are you good enough? Who are you?" asked the Hunter.
"I'm Aarion and I challenge you to a duel!" Aarion shouted.
"Never heard of you. Leo, Orion, you can take this one." the Hunter said casually.
"That's not fair!" shouted Aldrai.
"You want to join him? Fine. Leo, Orion, a two on two. However, we're playing by my rules. So none of your 'protect your friends' trash, you have to defend yourself." the Hunter commanded.
"Right," said Leo and Orion as they activated their disks.
"Duel!" shouted Aarion and Aldrai, activating their own disks.
"I'm going first," Leo said definitely, drawing six cards. "So I'm going to set this monster in defense mode and lay down two cards on the field. Your move...Aarion." Leo said, picking one of his opponents.
Aarion drew. "I summon Warrior Dai Grepher in attack mode!" (1700/1600) "Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn."
Orion drew a card. "I'll bring out Armed Dragon LV3 in defense mode!" (1200/900) "And then I'll end my turn."
Finally, it was Aldrai's move. "Alright! I set a monster on the field and also lay down two cards. Back to you, Leo."
Leo drew excitedly. "Hah! Now I'll flip my V-Destructive Sword into attack mode!" A glowing black sword appeared on the field. (1800/100) "And then I'll summon Z-Metal Tank in attack mode!" (1500/1300) The yellowish tank appeared next to the black sword, and it was fairly obvious what was about to happen. "Finally, I'll remove my monsters from play to special summon VZ-Sword Tank in attack mode!" (2400/1800) The sword flew under the tank and with a burst of electricity, the two fused together. "Now then. I'll attack Warrior Dai Grepher with my sword tank! Go!" From under the tank, the sword began to crackle with electricity and a bolt of energy flew from the blade at Aarion's warrior.
"Not so fast!" shouted Aarion. "You set off my trap, Enchanted Javelin! So I gain 2400 life points before my monster is destroyed. Then, since I only lose 700 life points, I essentially gained 1700. Thanks!" Aarion's life points rose to 5700.
"My move," Aarion said, drawing. "Now I'll summon the Obnoxious Celtic Guard in defense mode!" (1400/1200) "End turn."
Orion drew his card. "You didn't attack my dragon! Too bad, because now it levels up!" Suddenly, Orion's small dragon began to glow, and it grew larger. "Meet Armed Dragon LV5!" (2400/1700) "And this new monster has enough power to take out your guard! But it's not fair that you get attacked twice in a row while your partner stays safe. So Armed Dragon, attack Aldrai's facedown monster!"
The dragon let loose what looked like a stream of molten iron, striking Aldrai's facedown monster and destroying it. An old man was seen running around for a split second before exploding, but his staff flew into the air and landed in the crevice between Leo's monster's two components, effectively breaking it. Leo's monster exploded.
"You destroyed my Old Vindictive Magician, which let me destroy any monster on the field. And I chose the VZ-Sword Tank!" Aldrai said.
"No matter," said Orion confidently. "Because since I destroyed your magician, I can send my dragon to the graveyard to bring out its final evolution, Armed Dragon LV7!" (2800/1000) "However, I must now end my turn." said Orion.
"Which means that now it's my turn! Meaning I can go in for a direct assault!" Aldrai claimed, drawing a card.
"This monster card will do nicely. Come out, Maha Vailo!" (1550/1400) A blue-robed magician burst forth from Aldrai's card in a meditative position. "And this monster's special effect comes into play once I equip it with a card. So I'll use Twin Swords of Flashing Light-Tryce!" Aldrai's monster grasped two swords that appeared in front of it. "Normally, this card reduces the attack power of the monster it's equipped with by 500 points. But Maha Vailo's effect raises its attack power by 500 points for each equipped card. So the negative effect of my spell is cancelled out, and Maha Vailo can attack twice! Go Maha Vailo! Attack Leo twice in a row!"
As Maha Vailo moved in for the assault, it was stopped in its tracks. "Can't have that," said Leo. "So I activated Negate Attack. Your battle phase is over." Aldrai scowled and ended his turn.
"And now it's my turn again. So I'll defend myself by summoning W-Wall Shield in defense mode." (1500/1900) "Your move, Aarion."
Aarion drew a card. "I'll bring out Goblin Attack Force!" (2300/0) "This monster can only really attack once, but that'll be enough. Because I'll also play Black Pendant to raise its attack by 500, giving it 2800 attack points! So now I'll kamikaze my monster and attack your dragon!" By the Hunter's own rules, all Orion could do was watch as the attack force launched itself into his dragon, both monsters destroyed.
"What?!" shouted Orion as his life points dropped to 3500.
"That's the effect of my spell. When it's destroyed, you lose 500 life points. And now it's your turn." Aarion pointed out.
"True," Orion said, drawing. "And now I'll seal your fate. I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4!" (1600/1000) A small, almost chickenish looking monster burst onto the field.
"You're going to take us out with that puny thing?" Aldrai joked.
"No, I'm going to take you out with this!" shouted Orion, playing a magic card. "Observe the magic of the card Level Up!. It makes my monster stronger." The four players watched as Orion's dragon crackled with orange energy and began to grow. "Now, observe as my monster is evolved into Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6!" (2300/1600)
"Oh," said Aldrai.
"And I'll take out your Maha Vailo with my new monster! Go, Horus dragon! Attack now!" With a burst of black energy, Maha Vailo was no more, and Aldrai had lost 750 life points.
"At least it's my turn again," said Aldrai.
"Not quite," said Orion, watching bemusedly as his dragon crackled with electricity once more.
"What?!" shouted Aldrai.
"I destroyed Maha Vailo. So now my dragon reaches its final evolution, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!" (3000/1800)
"Fine," said Aldrai, drawing a card. "I play Monster Reborn on Maha Vailo and then sacrifice it for this monster face down!" Monster Reborn appeared, pulling Maha Vailo back to the field before it left again, a face down monster guarding Aldrai.
"My move," said Leo. "Now I'll summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode!" (1800/1500)
"Let me guess, you're going to combine it with your shield." said Aarion.
"Not quite," said Leo, flipping a card on his field. "I flip Ultimate Offering to pay 500 life points and summon Y-Dragon Head to the field as well!" (1500/1600)
At last, everyone's life points were changed in some way. Leo had brought himself down to 3500, Aarion's had risen to 5700, Orion was at 3500, and Aldrai's were the lowest at 3250.
"Now I'll play Premature Burial from my hand to pay 800 life points and revive VZ-Sword Tank!"
The wheels in Aarion's head began to turn and he realized what had happened. "All five of the letter monsters are on the field!" he shouted.
"That's right," said Leo triumphantly. "And now I'll summon my most powerful monster."
The VZ monster separated itself into its five parts, and Aarion and Aldrai watched in horror as first, the Y-Dragon Head attached itself to the bottom of the X-Head Cannon, raising its attack to 2200 and its defense to 1900. Then, the Z-Metal Tank attached itself to the bottom of the Y-Dragon Head, raising the monster's stats to 2800/2500. The V-Destructive Sword attached itself to the underside of the fusion, raising its stats further to 3500/3200. Finally, the W-Wall Shield attached itself to the front of the monster, shielding the X-head's torso, raising the stats to a final 4000/3900.
"This monster is so powerful, it's rarely ever summoned. In fact, I've never even summoned it until this very moment! Its name is long, so while you say it to yourself, you have a few more moments to ponder your doom. Meet the VWXYZ-Artillery Warrior!"
Aarion stared in shock. "We're doomed..." he said.
"Not quite," said Leo. "This card can only attack every two turns, but when it happens to hit you in defense mode, it'll continue its attack straight to your life points. Unfortunately, I have to wait until next turn to attack you."
Aarion sighed in relief. "That's good...and now it's my turn." He closed his eyes and drew a card. "Well, why not..." he muttered, playing his card. "I play Magnetic Metal! This card lets me take one spell card from another player's deck. Now let me see your deck, Leo."
Leo gave Aarion his deck, annoyed. Aarion began to search through it. "I choose this one," he declared, showing Leo a card called Assembly of Parts.
"And now I activate Assembly of Parts! This card lets me-" Aarion began.
"Take a card from your deck or fusion deck that requires the tribute of specific monsters and summon it at the cost of 500 life points times its level, ignoring summoning requirements. Then, you can't attack with that monster." finished Leo.
"...yeah." replied Aarion. "I summon Radioactive Valkyrion!" (4000/4350) Aarion's monster appeared on the field as his life points dropped to 1700. "Then, I activate its effect!" he shouted as Valkyrion separated and his life points further fell to 200. "Valkyrion has separated into Nuclear Warrior Alpha, Nuclear Warrior Beta, and Nuclear Warrior Gamma!" (1600/1000 1900/600 1700/1200) Valkyrion's three composite monsters appeared, each with one colored orb flying around them on a specific trajectory. "And now I'll activate their effects by discarding five cards from the bottom of my deck to the graveyard!"
Five more orbs appeared around each warrior. "Go my warriors! Destroy them now!"
The orbs on each warrior split in half, and radioactive energy flooded Leo's and Orion's fields. "Now both of your monsters are gone, and neither of you have any more spells or traps on the field!" Leo and Orion stared in shock at the sudden emptiness of their fields.
"What's more, both of you have lost 2 cards in your hands. So I do believe that Leo has no hand, while Orion has three cards. Now to eliminate...Leo!" shouted Aldrai. "Alpha and Gamma will attack him, doing 3300 points of damage, enough to eliminate him. Then, Beta will attack Orion and bring him down to 1600 life points."
The former magnet warriors let off waves of energy, striking Leo and Orion. Leo fell, while Orion was severely damaged. "Fine," spat Orion. "But you have a mere 200 life points left, and it's my turn!" he said.
Orion drew. "Your magnet warriors will be your undoing! I summon Mystic Swordsman LV2 and play a second Level Up! to force it into evolving to the mighty Mystic Swordsman LV4!" (1900/1600) "And now I attack your Alpha, eliminating your life points and throwing you out of the duel!"
Orion's warrior charged Alpha, taking out the last 200 life points that Aarion had.
"It's up to you, now." said Aarion as Orion's monster leveled up to its final level. (Mystic Swordsman LV6 2300/1700)
Aldrai drew. I have to draw the right card...or I'll never be able to destroy his swordsman! he though. "Yes!" he called as he drew Shield and Sword. "I flip my Neo Aqua Madoor into attack mode!" (1200/3000)
"Why would you do that?" laughed Orion, noting that Aldrai's monster had 1200 attack points, while his had 2300.
"Because of this spell! Go, Shield and Sword!" Suddenly, the tables were turned. Aldrai's monster possessed 3000 attack points, and Orion's had only 1700. "And that's not all! I equip my monster with United We Stand, raising its attack to 3800! Now I attack your monster! Neo Aqua Madoor, Neo Ice Shards!"
A wave of ice crashed down upon Orion's monster, eliminating it and the rest of his life points. "No!" Orion shouted.
"We won!!!" shouted Aarion with glee.
"And according to your rules, Hunter, your two lackeys have to give up a card to my friends," added Mystic, rubbing proverbial salt into the wound.
"Who said? We didn't." answered the Hunter calmly.
"It's all in here," said Mystic, pulling out a piece of paper.
"What's that?" asked Orion.
"It's your code," replied Mystic. "The very one you read the first day you started terrorizing the school. And according to this," he continued, "The victor of the duel gets any card from his opponent's deck. And since both of you lost, you both have to give up a card."
"We can beat them up and leave," suggested Leo.
"No, we keep to the code. We're honorable." chastised the Hunter.
Aldrai snorted. "You have as much honor as a backstabbing thief," he accused.
"You wanna test that theory?" asked Orion, cracking his knuckles.
"Shut up and let them pick a card so we can leave," said the Hunter, tired of the squabbling.
"Fine," said Leo, slapping his deck into Aarion's outstretched hand. Orion followed suit.
Aarion and Aldrai thumbed through the two decks and picked cards, flashing them at their original owners.
"Assembly of Parts," said Aarion, showing Leo the card that he had taken. "It worked before, so I think it'll serve me well later."
"And I'll take this one, Forced Evolution." declared Aldrai, holding up a card that was never played in the duel.
"Fine," said the Hunter. "Now let's go."
He turned to leave, Orion and Leo following, but Mystic was standing in his way. "Move, punk. I can't duel you today, that took way too long. You're lucky I'm not in a horrible mood, or I'd just take your cards."
He moved to push Mystic away, and another arm blocked him. "You too? I've never even seen you before! How could you possibly be a threat to me?" the Hunter laughed, pushing Adriel out of his way.
"I challenge you!" Adriel retorted.
"Fine, get ready to give me all your cards!" the Hunter shouted.
"Adriel, no! When you duel the Hunter, you can lose your best card!" Mystic cried.
"Are you that worried about him? Then you can duel, too. But then you'll lose your best card as well." the Hunter said, prepared to play a two on one.
"Great. Let's duel." said Adriel, preparing his disk.