Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. Can I stop saying this now?
Author's note: From now on, I'll reply to reviews and possibly put my notes at the end of the chapter. Also I noticed a slight mistake in my last chapter and have corrected it.
Two days has passed since the incident on the train, and the group had traveled a number of leagues, bringing them closer to Georgia. They had some problems, which was to be expected. To start things off, Ryan never did manage to tame his horse; therefore the herd master had to saddle him with an experienced horse, one that had been ridden before. That should have been the end of that problem. Unfortunately the horse turned out to be extremely frisky, and just had overwhelming desire to bite someone-Ryan in this case. To make things worse, Ryan has never ridden before, and he was not a natural rider like Lyn either. Therefore he filled the air with annoying complaints and the extremely grating question of "Are we there yet?"
The next problem arose when they were several miles down the road. No one knew the way to Georgia. As things turned out however, Kain had brought a map with him. There was one problem with that. He never used it before. Thus the task of navigating fell into George's hands and he wasn't happy about it. As it turned out, his unhappiness was soon shared by the group, but for different reasons.
It was nighttime, and the moon hung like a giant sickle over the group. They had somehow managed find themselves deep in a forest. Lyn looked around nervously, half-afraid that a monster was suddenly about to leapt at her from the darkness of the woods. Somehow she knew that her nervousness had conveyed itself to her horse, for it was shivering slightly as well.
"I hate this," Ryan muttered, half to himself. "I absolutely hate this."
"What's there to hate about it?" Kain asked. "It's only dark, unless you have nyctophobia?"
"No, I'm not afraid of the dark. It's just so dark I can barely see my hand even if I held it in front of me."
George half-listened to the conversation as he held his torchlight and consulted his map. It was all so annoying-their petty conversations, the rustling of the leaves above him, the chirping of the insects.
There was a sudden movement above Lyn's head and she nearly shrieked in fright.
"Don't worry, it's just an owl," Kain told her.
"Can we get out of here yet?" she asked nervously.
"We can as soon as our glorious leader over there tells us which way to go," Ryan informed her.
That was another pebble in George's shoe. Apparently, as soon as the job of navigating fell into his hands, so did the responsibility of leadership. George had little experience in navigating before and, truth to be told, he had less experience leading. The latter was because of two very simple things he observed as a child. One: everybody loves to bring their trouble to the leader. Two: if anything goes wrong, it's the leader's fault. The second proved to be very true when Ryan took an almost childish delight in blaming George for every wrong turn they took.
"Will you guys be quiet there?" he snapped. "I'm trying to find our way out of here."
"Fess up, George. You got us lost again didn't you?" Ryan accused him.
"Of course we're not lost," he retorted. "I just haven't exactly pinpointed exactly where we are at the moment."
"George, that's what the word lost means."
"Nonsense, I think we go north from here."
"Wonderful. And which way exactly is north?"
"Umm," George seemed unable to give a definite answer at the moment. "That way." He pointed at a random direction.
"George, that's exactly the way we came from," Ryan told him.
"I thought you can barely see."
"That's right. I can however, see that you're pointing right at me. And if in front of me is the direction I was going, then behind me must be the direction I came from."
"Okay. I admit it. We're lost," he admitted.
"Guys, maybe we can ask the camp up there," Lyn said, pointing somewhere to her left.
They turned in their saddle and sure enough, there was a dim light there. They nudged their horses towards the light.
The small fire stood in the middle of a clearing and a young woman sat there. She had blond hair that rolled down her shoulder. She wore a white shirt that reflected the light of the fire and a pair of trouser of the same color. There was a Duel Disk strapped to her arm, and a Duel Band on the other arm. What caught their eyes however, was the sheathed blade beside her. Upon seeing them she had hastily got up and yelled, "You'll not take me back."
George, who was pondering her identity when he saw her, jerked up in shock and tried to explain. "Miss, we're not what you think we are," he said but she wasn't listening. Jerking her sword out of the scabbard, she rushed at Lyn, the blade held in front of her.
Lyn would have probably gotten three feet of steel in her gut had she stayed still. But Kain had reacted instantly, driving his horse's shoulder against hers. The smaller horse-Lyn's in this case-lurched to one side and the woman stumbled pass them. Righting herself immediately, she shouted a battle cry and rushed at Kain this time. Kain, who had swung off his horse, sighed irritably. He easily slapped the blade away and landed a solid kick to her gut. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her but still held onto the blade.
And then Ryan came to the rescue. Swinging off his saddle, he approached the woman slowly with his hands held in front. "Wow, miss, we're not who you think we are," he told her. She looked at them suspiciously, her blade held high. "I'm Ryan," he said, thinking some introduction might reinforce his statement. "That's George. The girl you were attacking is Lyn and the guy who just made a footprint on your shirt is Kain." The last proved to be a wrong thing to say as she looked at her shirt, saw the footprint, and glared at them. But Ryan continued anyway. "We're just a group of travelers and we just happen to wonder if we can ask some directions."
The woman's look was still suspicious, but she had lowered her blade and activated her Duel Disk instead. "The truth of your words cannot be determined," she said. "Therefore, I challenge you to a duel to obtain the truth."
"Trial by combat?" George asked, a little startled. "That's a little old but if that's what you want. Okay, Ryan. You duel her."
"Me? Why me?" Ryan asked without thinking.
"Because you're the one she challenged. Now get to it."
Muttering some uncomplimentary remarks about George, Ryan readied his Duel Disk and summoned Ryu. "This is Ryu, Paladin of White Dragon," he introduced his Soul Monster.
Ryu, noting the woman's sword, held his sword and greeted her. "Greetings, great warrior. May your blade remain keen and your mind sharp."
Oddly enough, the woman also held her sword up and returned the greeting. Shuffling her deck, her hand came to a card which she held up in the air. A bright light shone from the card, forcing the group to shield their eyes. When the light subsided, the group carefully opened their eyes and saw an armored warrior standing beside the woman. His armor was dark blue in color, as was his shield, and both were trimmed with gold. In his hand he held a golden curved sword. Recognizing Ryu's status as a warrior, he bowed in silent greeting.
"Ready?" the woman asked.
"Aren't you at least going to give me your name?" Ryan inquired.
She hesitated a moment before saying, "My name is Ryumi Nanakase. My Soul Monster is Tachi, Black Luster Soldier."
Lyn saw George's eyes widen momentarily before he pressed several buttons on his Duel Band, which opened various options in it she had never known before. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Finding her dueling record," George replied. "You can do it with your Duel Band." He frowned as he saw the results. "Not bad. Not the best I've seen but not bad. Nine duels, seven wins and two loses. She could cause Ryan some trouble."
"We're about to find out," Kain said as the pair activated their Duel Disks. They shifted to one side to give them some space.
Ryan: 8000
Ryumi: 8000
"As the one challenged, I get to go first," Ryan said as he drew his hand. He looked at his hand before grabbing one of the cards. "I'll have to thank Lyn for these," he said absently. "One set monster and one face-down card. Your turn."
Ryumi drew her cards and fanned them out. "If I win, all of you leave at once and forget that you ever saw me. Agreed?"
"What's all the secrecy about?" Ryan asked. "Fine, but if I win, you have to help us."
"Very well. Command Knight (1200/1900) in attack mode." A warrior wearing extremely expensive and elaborate clothing appeared on the field. "This monster increases the attack of all Warrior-Type monsters by 400 points as long as it is face-up (1600/1900). Attack. Command Blade!" The knight drew his sword and slashed at the set card, revealing a purple winged dragon with two heads as hands and destroying it. "End turn."
The dragon suddenly appeared on the field again. However there appeared to be numerous wounds on its body and blood were slowly dripping from them. One of the hands-or heads-appeared to have been severed.
Ryan: 8000
Ryumi: 8000
"Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) is special summoned at the end of the turn it is destroyed. The only downside is its stats are reduced to 1000 (1000/1000)." Ryumi nodded. "My turn then, draw!" Ryan glanced at his drawn card and his face practically glowed.
"He's got it," George said suddenly.
"Got what?" Lyn asked in a puzzled voice.
"His favorite monster. Watch."
"Time to bring out the big guns," Ryan declared. "I tribute Twin-Headed Behemoth to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)." The legendary dragon replaced the behemoth on the field, expanding its wings and gave a thunderous roar.
"Wait a minute. Blue Eyes White Dragon is a level 8 monster which requires two tributes. How can you summon it with only one?" Ryumi asked.
Ryan merely gestured at Ryu who bowed low. "My ability allows all Light attribute monsters to be summoned with one less tribute, with the exceptions of those which requires one tribute," the Soul Monster explained.
'And now," Ryan pointed at the Command Knight, "Blue Eyes, destroy that one with Burst Stream!" The white dragon gathered energy in its mouth and let loose a stream of pure power towards the monster. It was destroyed instantly. "End turn."
Ryumi drew. So he plays a dragon deck. I have the perfect card for that but I need to wait a while. "Fine, Marauding Captain (1200/400) in attack mode." A blond warrior carrying two swords appeared on the field. "When he is normal summoned I can special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my hand. So another Marauding Captain." Another monster shimmered into the field. "End turn."
Ryan grimaced as he saw the two monsters. Now I have to wait until I can find a way until I can destroy one of those monsters. What's she stalling for anyway? She can't seriously believe there's a monster stronger than Blue Eyes. He looked at the card he drew. Just in case⦠"One face-down card and my turn ends."
"I draw." She snapped the card off her Duel Disk and smiled. "Get ready to lose, because I've drawn the card that will bring you down."
"Owh?" Ryan's look grew challenging. "Show me."
"First, Skilled White Magician (1700/1900) in attack mode." Lyn gasped as she saw the white-robed magician on the field.
"What's the matter?" George inquired, puzzled at her behavior.
"She's going to summon Buster Blader," she told them.
"That's right," Ryumi said in confirmation. "Now I play Mystical Space Typhoon on your left face-down card." The wind suddenly picked up and formed a tornado. It headed towards the set card when a hexagram formed at its base and dispersed it.
"Magic Jammer negates the activation of your card and destroys it," Ryan told her as he held up the card. "All it requires is a card. So I discard one."
"Not a bad play. But not good enough either. I play Raregold Armor on Marauding Captain." The warrior's green armor was replaced by a white one trimmed with gold. "Now you cannot attack any other monsters than that Marauding Captain. Next I play Graceful Charity which lets me draw three cards but discard two." She hastily drew three cards and discarded two of them. "Then I play The Warrior Returning Alive to return one Warrior-Type monster from the graveyard to my hand. I'll take the Command Knight I discarded."
Ryan blinked as he saw the orb on Skilled White Magician's staff flicker from black to bronze to silver and finally to gold.
"Then I tribute Skilled White Magician and the three tokens it gained from me activating magic cards to summon Buster Blader (2600/2300) in attack mode." The legendary dragon slayer arose from where the magician once stood, brandishing his massive two-handed sword.
Ryan visibly shrank back when he saw the monster but when he saw the monster's stats he snickered. "What good is he going to do? He's weaker than my Blue Eyes." Everyone else smacked their forehead at this point.
"They say 'ignorance is bliss' but it your case ignorance is going to be pain. Buster Blader's attack is increased by 500 points for each Dragon-Type monster on your field and graveyard (4100/2300)." She was slightly startled to see her monster's attack rising 500 points higher than she thought. He must have discarded a dragon. "Attack!" The monster charged at the dragon, his blade held high.
Ryan immediately slammed a button on his Duel Disk and the monster's sword came down on the shield of a blue-armored warrior who suddenly appeared. "Draining Shield negates the attack and increases my Life Points by the same amount of your monster's attack points."
Ryumi nodded and shifted her two Marauding Captains into defense position. She gestured for Ryan to continue.
Ryan: 12100
Ryumi: 6600
Even though he was leading, Ryan desperately drew his next card. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." He drew two and seemed disappointed. "I'll play Heavy Storm." The Marauding Captain's armor was swept away and replaced by his original armor. "Two card face-down. End turn."
Ryumi didn't even bother to look at her drawn card. "Buster Blade, attack!" The monster lifted his blade but a vortex appeared in front of him. Ryumi looked across the field and saw Ryan holding up his Negate Attack trap card. "Until when are you going to stall?" she hissed in annoyance. "End turn."
Ryan drew and finally let out an explosive sigh. "Finally. I thought I was never going to draw it." He looked at Ryumi apologetically. "Sorry miss but you're going to lose. First, I sacrifice my Blue Eyes on the field to summon my last and final Blue Eyes White Dragon."
Last Blue Eyes, Ryumi thought? She frowned in confusion. "What good will that do?" she asked Ryan. "And by the way, you're only making my monster stronger (4600/2300)."
"Patiance Ryumi. You don't mind if I call you Ryumi do you?" Without waiting for an answer he continued his move. "Then I activate my face-down Call of the Haunted to revive the Blue Eyes I sacrificed." The dragon rose from the grave to join its brother. "Then I play Monster Reborn to revive the Blue Eyes I discarded." The third and final Blue Eyes joined its brethren on the field.
Ryumi only grew more confused as she saw the dragons being revived. It wouldn't matter if he used Polymerization to fuse them together. Her empowered Buster Blader could still destroy the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
"And finally," Ryan said as he held his final card high before sliding it into his Duel Disk, "I play Delta Attacker. This magic card allows my monsters to directly attack you if they are all of the same name."
Ryumi gasped as the dragons formed into a triangle formation. "No!" she cried out as the dragons unleashed three Burst Streams at her simultaneously.
Ryan: 12100
Ryumi: 0
George laughed and clapped as the duel was concluded. Everyone except Ryumi and Kain gave him a peculiar look. "What's so funny?" Ryan asked.
"Congratulations Ryan. You just found our guide to Georgia." George said, still laughing.
"What?" Ryan exclaimed.
"Nanakase is one of the noble families in Georgia," George explained. "The person you just defeated is Ryumi Nanakase, Sir Ronald Nanakase's only daughter. And she most definitely knows the way to Georgia. Now then Miss Nanakase, since we won, I'll have to ask you to be our guide to Georgia." He looked at the sky. "Since it's very late already, why don't we get some shut eye?" He brushed his hand as if he just closed off a good deal and proceeded to unhook and laid his sleeping bag on the floor.
Ryan stared at George, then at Ryumi who had gone pale, then at George again before finally unhooking his own sleeping bag and went to sleep. Lyn was also staring at Ryumi before unhooking her sleeping bag and unrolling it on the floor. Giving Ryumi a last stare, she went to sleep.
"Here," Kain said, giving his sleeping bag to Ryumi. "I don't need it."
Ryumi nodded dumbly and unrolled the bag on the floor before going to sleep.
Kain approached George and lightly tapped his shoulder.
"What?" George asked sleepily.
"I'll stand guard tonight," Kain told him.
"We won't be attacked by wild animals, Kain."
"That's not what I'm worried about. I think Miss Nanakase there ran away from home. She might try to steal our horses and run away while we sleep."
"Whatever you think best," George muttered before going back to sleep again. He felt another light touch on his shoulder. "Now what?" he snapped a bit irritably.
"Standing guard is easy. You have a problem however. If we do get to Georgia and her father finds her in our company, I'm sure she will have a very colorful story to tell-one that will most probably put us in the worst light possible. So, you have to start coming up a way to either explain or shut her up." That said, Kain leaned on one of the trees and stood guard.
George looked at him a moment before trying to get back to sleep. But that was difficult when you spend all the time inventing new swear words for a certain somebody.
Rex the emerald dragon: No problem. Thanks for reviewing mine. You keep up the good work too.
DarkFictionWizard: The Isis in my story is similar to the one in the anime because they are the same person. I was too lazy to think of a new name or character :P And you're right about their decks.
john: Now that I think about it, isn't a Dark Magician Deck a dark deck as well? And thanks for the compliment.
