"Harpy Lady Sisters attack!" shouted a young woman. In front of her the
three winged feminine beasts combined their energy and blasted a triangular
wave of energy and eradicated the Opticlops on her opponent's side of the
field. The woman watched with pride as the opposing Life Points dropped to
zero. "Nice try," she said. Without even waiting for a response she stepped
down from the Duel Arena as a few cheers rose up from the gathered
audience.
"Are you sure that's her?" Jaina asked Evo from where they stood observing high on the catwalks of the abandoned factory that had been transformed by these rag tag duelists into a part of their underground duel league.
"You're the one with the visions of the future," he replied. "You tell me."
"Her victory in the match was assured. She's got skill, that's obvious; but I don't see anything special about her. Nothing that would make her a better protector of Obelisk than any other elite duelist." Jaina closed her eyes and focused on the power of her Millennium Necklace. When she re- opened her eyes she immedietly started looking around the factory.
"What is it?" Evo started to ask but his question for lost in the sounds of an explosive wave. Everyone in the factory turned their attention to the entryway to see a robed figure entering.
"Mya Wheeler?" the stranger's voice called into the room. As she asked this the eyes of all the gathered duelists turned to the young woman who had just stepped down from the arena.
"That's me," Mya called back. "Can I help you?"
"You have something I want."
"And?"
"And I challenge you to a duel for it."
Mya scoffed and adjusted the pink bandana and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Not interested, thanks."
"I did not ask."
Up on the catwalks, Evo and Jaina tensed. "Sin..." Evo said under his breath.
"If you want to duel against me," explained Mya. "You have to prove yourself against the rest of these guys first."
There was no warning for what happened next. The robed stranger's shadow, cast by the ambient light bleeding in from outside began to stretch across the entire floor of the factory; reaching out to bizzare lengths, spreading until it was resting underneath all of the other duelists. In the blink of an eye the shadow began reach, crawling up the bodies and dragging the other players down into the darkness like quicksand.
Evo held Jaina back as they heard the victims cry out and get dragged into nothingness. He shook his head. "Don't Jaina," he told her. "There's nothing we can do for them. We have to wait." Jaina stepped back from the edge of the catwalk and continued to watch in horror. In another few seconds the factory was completely empty except for Jaina, Evo, Mya and the stranger who now stepped into the factory completly, approaching Mya slowly.
"Is that sufficient proof of my abilities for you?"
"What they hell did you do? Where are they?" Mya shouted as she backed away.
"You cannot run," the stranger continued. As Mya watched shadows reachede up and streched even further now so that they were covering the doors and windows. The entire factory was pitch black, with only the over hanging fixtures casting a dim light in the room. "I could dispose of you just as easily as I did those others, but as I said, you have something I want and though I may wish to simply take it from you, I can't. I have to defeat you for the right to claim it."
"Obelisk," whispered Mya.
"Obelisk," the stranger echoed.
"How did Sin know where the God Soldier was?" Jaina asked Evo.
"It doesn't really matter," he replied. "He knows."
"We have to step in."
"No. The last time I challenged Sin I was defeated. I'll let him duel this girl for the God card. He will hopefully exhaust enough energy in this endeavor to make him more vulnerable afterwards, then we can claim both Obelisk and his life."
"What about the girl? She'll die."
"Most likely, yes. But if she does then it was meant to happen." Evo looked back down at the young woman. She looked so much like her grandmother. If she was the holder of the God card he believed that her will was stronger than the average person's. He hoped that it would be enough to save her soul."
"Are you ready to accept my challenge or not?"
"You already said that I have no choice," Mya replied. "Step up on the platform and let's do this."
"How quaint," the stranger said as they rose up the lift and locked into place up on the duel platform. "I didn't think anyone still played by these rules any more."
Mya grinned with the thoughts of her advantage. "Welcome to the underground. We like to play by our own rules."
"Your own rules? Your own rules haven't been used in a hundred years."
"If you're worried I can explain them to you."
"Hardly."
"There's one more thing. Enough of this mysterious stranger routine, I want to know who you are."
The stranger pulled back the hood of the robe to reveal not the grey haired features of Sin, but instead the cold beauty and black haired visage of a young leather clad woman. "My name is Discord," she said as she removed the rest of her robe and tossed it to the goround behind her, where it was quickly swallowed by the shadows. Evo and Jaina looked at each other with concern. "Can we begin already or did you have any other questions?" Mya shook her head. "Then let me explain something to you. I may be dueling by your rules, but you'll be dueling by some of mine." Mya hadn't even realized it but the shaodws had continued to spread and were now covering the floor of her dueling platform. Suddenly black chains shot out of the shadows and wrapped themselves around her legs, binding her in place.
"What the hell?" she shouted. "What's going on?"
"My addition to our little game," Discord explained. "As your Life Points drop, the shadows will spread, crawling up your body until it covers you completely in darkness."
"I didn't agree to this; let go of me!"
"The chians will only dissappear if you defeat me. It is part of the burden you must carry for protecting a God card."
"I don't know how you found out about that card, but you'll never get it from me. I swore that I would protect that card."
"Then there's nothing mroe to be said."
Mya: 2000, Discord: 2000
"You made the cahllenge so I'll make the first move," said Mya.
"By all means."
"I set this monster in defense mode. And this card face down. Your turn."
"I summon Shadow Gemini (1900/900) in attack mode, and I'll attack your face down monster."
"You destroyed my Birdface (1600/1600)," Mya told her as the half bird, half man was destroyed by the pitch black elves. "It allows me to search my deck for a Harpy Lady card and add it to my hand."
"Then I'll just lay this card face down and let you make your move."
Mya drew her card. "I don't care who you think you are, but I've never been defeated."
Discord just scoffed. "I'm sure your mother must be very proud of you, except of course that she's dead, isn't she?"
Mya's face went pale and her hands began to tremble. "H-How...How did you know that? Nobody knows that."
"It's the first rule of battle, little girl: know your enemy."
Mya concentrated and tried to shake of her discomfort. "It doesn't matter. knowing about my past isn't going to help you duel. I play the Harpies Feather Duster to destroy your face down card."
"Lucky you. You destroyed my Bekon to the Darkness card."
"Now I'll summon Cyber Harpy (1800/1400) and I'll equip it with the Rose Whip magic card to increase it's attack by 500. Harpy attack Shadow Gemini!"
Mya: 2000, Discord: 1600.
"And I'll lay another card face down," she finished. "Your turn."
"I already know why you think yourself so skilled; you judge yourself based on the pathetic competition you've faced so far. You're in for a rude awakening. I summon the Shadow Skull (2500/1200) and it will attack your Harpy." The black hulking demon spread it's wings and lurched forward with a slashing sweep of its claws to tear apart the Cyber Harpy.
"Mirror Wall!" Mya shouted. The demon's attack was cut short as its claw hit the newly formed wall, and its attack dropped dramatically by half. "No rude awakening yet., I'm still not impressed. "Harpy Lady, rose whip attack!" with a sharp crack of her whip, Mya's Harpy destroyed the Shadow Skull and decimated Discord's Life Points.
Mya: 2000, Discord: 550.
"You're going to have to play harder than this if you want to be in my league," said the over confident girl.
"This match isn't over yet; it has barely begun, and I promise you that when it's over, Obelisk the Tormentor will be mine and your screams will echo through the night for all time."
"Are you sure that's her?" Jaina asked Evo from where they stood observing high on the catwalks of the abandoned factory that had been transformed by these rag tag duelists into a part of their underground duel league.
"You're the one with the visions of the future," he replied. "You tell me."
"Her victory in the match was assured. She's got skill, that's obvious; but I don't see anything special about her. Nothing that would make her a better protector of Obelisk than any other elite duelist." Jaina closed her eyes and focused on the power of her Millennium Necklace. When she re- opened her eyes she immedietly started looking around the factory.
"What is it?" Evo started to ask but his question for lost in the sounds of an explosive wave. Everyone in the factory turned their attention to the entryway to see a robed figure entering.
"Mya Wheeler?" the stranger's voice called into the room. As she asked this the eyes of all the gathered duelists turned to the young woman who had just stepped down from the arena.
"That's me," Mya called back. "Can I help you?"
"You have something I want."
"And?"
"And I challenge you to a duel for it."
Mya scoffed and adjusted the pink bandana and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Not interested, thanks."
"I did not ask."
Up on the catwalks, Evo and Jaina tensed. "Sin..." Evo said under his breath.
"If you want to duel against me," explained Mya. "You have to prove yourself against the rest of these guys first."
There was no warning for what happened next. The robed stranger's shadow, cast by the ambient light bleeding in from outside began to stretch across the entire floor of the factory; reaching out to bizzare lengths, spreading until it was resting underneath all of the other duelists. In the blink of an eye the shadow began reach, crawling up the bodies and dragging the other players down into the darkness like quicksand.
Evo held Jaina back as they heard the victims cry out and get dragged into nothingness. He shook his head. "Don't Jaina," he told her. "There's nothing we can do for them. We have to wait." Jaina stepped back from the edge of the catwalk and continued to watch in horror. In another few seconds the factory was completely empty except for Jaina, Evo, Mya and the stranger who now stepped into the factory completly, approaching Mya slowly.
"Is that sufficient proof of my abilities for you?"
"What they hell did you do? Where are they?" Mya shouted as she backed away.
"You cannot run," the stranger continued. As Mya watched shadows reachede up and streched even further now so that they were covering the doors and windows. The entire factory was pitch black, with only the over hanging fixtures casting a dim light in the room. "I could dispose of you just as easily as I did those others, but as I said, you have something I want and though I may wish to simply take it from you, I can't. I have to defeat you for the right to claim it."
"Obelisk," whispered Mya.
"Obelisk," the stranger echoed.
"How did Sin know where the God Soldier was?" Jaina asked Evo.
"It doesn't really matter," he replied. "He knows."
"We have to step in."
"No. The last time I challenged Sin I was defeated. I'll let him duel this girl for the God card. He will hopefully exhaust enough energy in this endeavor to make him more vulnerable afterwards, then we can claim both Obelisk and his life."
"What about the girl? She'll die."
"Most likely, yes. But if she does then it was meant to happen." Evo looked back down at the young woman. She looked so much like her grandmother. If she was the holder of the God card he believed that her will was stronger than the average person's. He hoped that it would be enough to save her soul."
"Are you ready to accept my challenge or not?"
"You already said that I have no choice," Mya replied. "Step up on the platform and let's do this."
"How quaint," the stranger said as they rose up the lift and locked into place up on the duel platform. "I didn't think anyone still played by these rules any more."
Mya grinned with the thoughts of her advantage. "Welcome to the underground. We like to play by our own rules."
"Your own rules? Your own rules haven't been used in a hundred years."
"If you're worried I can explain them to you."
"Hardly."
"There's one more thing. Enough of this mysterious stranger routine, I want to know who you are."
The stranger pulled back the hood of the robe to reveal not the grey haired features of Sin, but instead the cold beauty and black haired visage of a young leather clad woman. "My name is Discord," she said as she removed the rest of her robe and tossed it to the goround behind her, where it was quickly swallowed by the shadows. Evo and Jaina looked at each other with concern. "Can we begin already or did you have any other questions?" Mya shook her head. "Then let me explain something to you. I may be dueling by your rules, but you'll be dueling by some of mine." Mya hadn't even realized it but the shaodws had continued to spread and were now covering the floor of her dueling platform. Suddenly black chains shot out of the shadows and wrapped themselves around her legs, binding her in place.
"What the hell?" she shouted. "What's going on?"
"My addition to our little game," Discord explained. "As your Life Points drop, the shadows will spread, crawling up your body until it covers you completely in darkness."
"I didn't agree to this; let go of me!"
"The chians will only dissappear if you defeat me. It is part of the burden you must carry for protecting a God card."
"I don't know how you found out about that card, but you'll never get it from me. I swore that I would protect that card."
"Then there's nothing mroe to be said."
Mya: 2000, Discord: 2000
"You made the cahllenge so I'll make the first move," said Mya.
"By all means."
"I set this monster in defense mode. And this card face down. Your turn."
"I summon Shadow Gemini (1900/900) in attack mode, and I'll attack your face down monster."
"You destroyed my Birdface (1600/1600)," Mya told her as the half bird, half man was destroyed by the pitch black elves. "It allows me to search my deck for a Harpy Lady card and add it to my hand."
"Then I'll just lay this card face down and let you make your move."
Mya drew her card. "I don't care who you think you are, but I've never been defeated."
Discord just scoffed. "I'm sure your mother must be very proud of you, except of course that she's dead, isn't she?"
Mya's face went pale and her hands began to tremble. "H-How...How did you know that? Nobody knows that."
"It's the first rule of battle, little girl: know your enemy."
Mya concentrated and tried to shake of her discomfort. "It doesn't matter. knowing about my past isn't going to help you duel. I play the Harpies Feather Duster to destroy your face down card."
"Lucky you. You destroyed my Bekon to the Darkness card."
"Now I'll summon Cyber Harpy (1800/1400) and I'll equip it with the Rose Whip magic card to increase it's attack by 500. Harpy attack Shadow Gemini!"
Mya: 2000, Discord: 1600.
"And I'll lay another card face down," she finished. "Your turn."
"I already know why you think yourself so skilled; you judge yourself based on the pathetic competition you've faced so far. You're in for a rude awakening. I summon the Shadow Skull (2500/1200) and it will attack your Harpy." The black hulking demon spread it's wings and lurched forward with a slashing sweep of its claws to tear apart the Cyber Harpy.
"Mirror Wall!" Mya shouted. The demon's attack was cut short as its claw hit the newly formed wall, and its attack dropped dramatically by half. "No rude awakening yet., I'm still not impressed. "Harpy Lady, rose whip attack!" with a sharp crack of her whip, Mya's Harpy destroyed the Shadow Skull and decimated Discord's Life Points.
Mya: 2000, Discord: 550.
"You're going to have to play harder than this if you want to be in my league," said the over confident girl.
"This match isn't over yet; it has barely begun, and I promise you that when it's over, Obelisk the Tormentor will be mine and your screams will echo through the night for all time."