Disclaimer: Thunder is owned by Chuck ZFB, not me.
Before we begin what I am sure I will enjoy in my later days of writing in this three-chapter saga of Tokyo Tournament, I'd like to let everyone know about a Matrix fic I've recently started, entitled The Matrix Revamped. As of now I only have one reviewer, so please check it out. Also, a few review responses are in order.
First off- SulliMike23, that was Jinzo #7, not Jinzo. Jinzo # 7 is a 500 attack monster that can attack directly, if you don't already know.
Also, Yoshimo: You'll have to wait for a while until you find out who those duelists are. Secondly, I have currently lost interest in my other fics and am placing them on hiatus until I finish this story. Finally, your threats mean nothing to me, since I don't read Megaman fics.
Tokyo Tournament
Chapter Twelve-Evils, Allies, and Others
Also Entitled: Yep, That's a Good Smorgasbord of People Right There
Two figures stepped towards each other in the otherwise empty hallway. Both wore Duel Disks, but they were not here to battle.
"You weren't supposed to come here," one said to the other.
"Oh come on, you think I'm going to let you have all the fun here?" the other replied.
"Your little stunt on the plane was bad enough, but do you have to go around toting that card about? People aren't even supposed to know it exists."
"Oh, come on, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Remember the last time you said that?"
"Hey, there aren't any explosives involved this time."
"No," the first agreed, finally calming down. His tone became much more serious, "Something much more powerful is involved this time."
- . . . Elsewhere . . . –
A figure sat in front of a bright screen in an otherwise pitch black room. He watched the numerous duels with interest. But they lacked a great deal of something. What was it, though? The man pondered a few moments. Ah, yes, significance. He turned towards the man standing beside him. "Tell those duelists to find the Pharaoh and his bodyguards. I need a bigger show than this."
"Yes, sir."
- . . . The Cafeteria . . . –
It is a wonderful thing, food. Food provides energy that all animals require to survive. Out of all of these species of animals, none is luckier than the human. Humans eat not just for energy, but also because they enjoy eating. The tongue receives as much treatment as the stomach. Dishes are prepared not to satisfy hunger, but to satisfy taste. However, in the wake of those who don't eat in periods of six to eight hours, this theory vanishes as the hunger overpowers the brain and begins the process of what is commonly known as pigging out.
Such was the case for five young men who now threatened to lower the surplus problem in the area by several notches. Joey, Tristan, and Yugi were doing your basic scoffing, stabbing numerous bits of food with their forks, shoving said bits in their mouths, and doing so again before the previous batch was even half chewed. Giyan lifted bowl after bowl of rice to his mouth and emptied them rapidly with several movements of the chopsticks he wielded. Lin went at his smorgasbord of sushi like a Japanese chef, swiftly and repeatedly chopping his food with two knives and flipping the bits into his mouth. The slices were flipped so rapidly that one lodged itself in his throat before he could catch it in his mouth and Yamato had to beat his back until he coughed it up. He slowed down after that.
Surprisingly, Yamato was not a big eater despite his size. He simply took out a blue bottle and drank from it through a small gap in the bandages that covered his face. Term, even more surprisingly, only drank a glass of water. Tea and Serenity watched the boys eat with different expressions. Tea's face seemed to say "You're pathetic," but Serenity watched with a sort of admiration. Bakura ate very little. This was, in part, due to the voice inside his head. Well . . . sort of . . .
/Hello, Bakura/
No, no, not you!
/Oh, come now, you ought to know by now that no matter how many times I am sent to the Shadow Realm, I always return. Now then, I have important matters to attend to right now, so why don't I take over from here? /
The Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck glowed briefly, then Bakura's eyes seemed to darken and he grew slightly in his chair. No one noticed this, as five people at the same table pigging out provided a pretty good distraction. Yami Bakura, the thieving spirit of the Millennium Ring, smirked briefly as he silently watched Yugi. It seemed right now that it would be impossible to separate Yugi from all the others. But today Fate seemed to smile on the ancient thief . . .
"Ah," Joey let out a sigh as he set aside the shell of a lobster, "now dat's good chow."
Tristan ripped the meat off a chicken leg, set the bone aside, chewed for three seconds, swallowed, and belched. "Oh yeah," he agreed.
"Is it possible that you're eating a little too much?" Tea queried with a raised eyebrow. "After all, you guys sure seem to rush around a lot during tournaments. Plus you might not even have the energy to duel after gorging yourselves like that."
"No need to worry," assured Giyan as he set down his twenty-seventh bowl, "most of this food will provide more energy than fat, we'll be fine. Well, except maybe for Joey . . . "
"What? I only had three burgers."
"Triples," Yamato mentioned as he took a swig from his bottle, "with extra cheese."
". . . Shut . . . up . . . ,"
Yamato seemed to grin under his bandages as laughter erupted around the table.
Yugi smiled after the laughter subsided, "Well, I'm sure we'll all do fine in whatever circumstances. We've all done well so far, and I have confidence that we all have some wins ahead of us."
Yugi's speech might have continued into one of those "inspiring" dialogues that we have all come to know all too well in watching the show, however such an occasion was spared as Lin began gagging.
"Damn it, Lin!" yelled Term as he pounded his friend's back, "Quit trying to show off!"
Giyan's eye twitched. It was something that happened to people every day, but it the movement caught everyone's attention to the extent that no one paid heed to the sushi that Lin coughed up.
Giyan stood up, "I have to go, there are a few . . . business matters I have to attend to."
"Okay," Yugi acknowledged with a smile, "I guess we'll see you later."
Joey, Tristan, Tea, Serenity, and even Yami Bakura nodded. But Yamato, Lin, and Term all seemed to react strangely. Yamato's expression was unreadable, but Lin and Term's eyes seemed to be . . . uncertain about something. They seemed worried.
Yami Bakura, on the other hand, grinned inwardly. This made the job circumstantially easier. And now Fate's smile widened.
Joey got up and stretched. "Well, guess it's time to get going."
Yugi stood up as well, "You're right, there's plenty of dueling we all still have to do."
Joey's eyes opened as he felt a sort of breeze blow past him. He looked at his left wrist and found that his KS was missing. "WHAT THE-," his eyes turned into dinner plates momentarily before he sighted a short, slim man wearing all black. The man twirled Joey's KS around his finger before dashing off through the crowd of duelists. "Why that little . . . GET BACK HERE!" Joey commanded as he sprinted after the thief. And the eight behind him soon joined the chase.
The thief was fast. He streaked around a corner without slowing down and continued to tear up the floor. Joey followed on the thief's heels and the others came from behind like an avalanche. Yugi was following up in the rear, and no one noticed as Yami Bakura slowed down slightly to come even with the owner of the Millennium Puzzle. Still no one, other than Yugi, noticed as he was tackled by the thousands-year-old thief into a portal leading into the Shadow Realm . . .
As Joey almost reached the thief, his prey pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it to the ground. Tea, Tristan, and Serenity coughed as the gas filled their lungs momentarily before dissipating. When this happened, Joey, the thief, Yamato, Lin, and Term were nowhere in sight.
. . . The Elevator . . . –
"This is the slowest elevator I have ever been on," complained Joy as the indicator blinked from 7 to 6 after several minutes.
"We have to be patient," said Kirbin, though frustration seemed to be dripping from his mouth.
"Yeah, well, later I'm going to find the guy who made this thing and rip him a new a-," Joy's comment dropped short. Everything around Kirbin stopped. The indicator was halfway between 6 and 5. He was the only thing in the elevator moving. The push of the elevator's momentum was gone.
Kirbin looked around. Nothing about him seemed to have caused the stop. The twin metal doors glowed blue and opened. A black void was beyond the doors. Kirbin's eyes narrowed. It was obvious that someone was luring him into a trap. It was also obvious that he really had nothing better to do, and he walked into the darkness.
- . . . The Shadow Realm . . . -
Term and Lin looked about the room. The brown stone walls were covered in the scriptures of the ancient Egyptians. Monsters were everywhere on the walls, every one of them a mighty battler. Some were magnificent to look upon, others were hideous and unholy beings.
"So," said Lin, almost casually, though a bit of stress hindered the effect, "what do we do now?"
"It would seem that we must walk," Term replied, and he set off down the corridor, with Lin following.
Soon, the two came to a fork in the hallway. Two different paths branched off from the slightly larger one Term and Lin had come from. Above one of the halls, an ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life, was carved. A pentangle was carved above the other.
"Looks like we have to make another choice here," commented Lin.
"Let's take the ankh," Term decided as he walked to it, "a hallway labeled 'life' seems pretty safe." Lin began to follow him into the hallway. But as Term stepped beyond the ankh carving, a stone wall shot from the ground just behind him and cut off the two hallways from each other. "Well," muttered Term, "guess I might've been wrong." Alone now, he walked down the corridor.
At the end was a large room that seemed to be a tomb of some sort. Standing on the altar was a brown-clad man wearing a Duel Disk. He grinned at Term as he was approached. Term recognized him as Exodus from the plane. "What are you doing here?" queried Term threateningly.
"NOW," said Exodus in an inhuman voice the reverberated off the walls, "THAT REQUIRES A BIT OF AN EXPLANATION. YOU SEE, MY MASTER SENT OUT A NUMBER OF SKILLED DUELISTS TO DESTROY YOU AND YOUR COMRADES. ONE OF THEM WAS CHALLENGED BY MY CURRENT VESSEL, WHO LOST SPECTACULARLY. HIS SOUL WAS SENT TO THE SHADOW REALM. HOWEVER, HIS RARE CARDS AND ABILITY TO CONTROL A VERY POWERFUL MONSTER IMPRESSED MY MASTER, AND SO HE GAVE ME CONTROL OF HIS BODY TO USE IN THIS DUEL AGAINST YOU. HE HAS PROMISED ME THAT IF I WIN THAT HE WILL RELEASE ME FROM THE SHADOWS OF MY PRISON."
"And just who are you?"
Exodus grinned, "I am the monster that my vessel wields."
"Very well," said Term as he activated his DD2, "let's get this over with so I can get out of here."
"OH, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT," Exodus smirked, "YOU WON'T EVER GET OUT OF HERE, SO THERE'S REALLY NO RUSH."
"Let's see you back up those words."
. . . The other hallway . . . –
Lin came to a large circular room decorated with many pentagrams. In the center of the room, a man wearing a black leather jacket decorated with pentagrams on the arms stood with his arms crossed. A metal pentagram dangled from his neck, and a black pentagram was tattooed on his forehead.
Lin decided to keep things simple, "Who are you?"
"Pentan, the last person you'll ever see."
"Really?"
"Yep," Pentan activated his DD2.
"Looks like the conversations over," Lin activated his DD2.
"Yep."
. . . Somewhere else . . . –
Yamato was annoyed. The room was covered in abstract art depicting a whole ton of . . . clowns. Yamato hated clowns.
One of the clowns moved and stepped away from the wall, his grin outshining the red one painted on his face. "Welcome," he said lightly, "to your eternal prison. I'm Ciom, and I'll be your guard until you die."
"Right," said Yamato, "and how do you plan on keeping me here?"
"Oh, that's quite simple," Ciom said in an almost eager manner, "if you actually manage to break through the walls, you'll fall straight into the Shadow Realm. The only way out is to defeat me in a duel, in which case you will be released. However, if you lose to me, you will be dropped from this room into the shadows, where your soul will rot for millennia to come."
"Right," Yamato said, sarcasm threatening to take him over, "let's duel."
"Well, I certainly hope you've never been to Las Vegas," Ciom commented, "that would have been oh so costly for you."
. . . Another part of the Shadow Realm . . . –
"I have been waiting for you," a voice said to Kirbin, "but then, I have been waiting a very long time for this moment to come."
"Who are you?" Kirbin asked the darkness.
A blue light appeared ten feet in front of him. Ten feet beyond the source of light stood a young man. He wore black pants and a black vest over a white shirt. His hair was a mass of black spikes with yellow streaks. His left eye was white, while his right eye was black. "I am Thunder," he answered, "and I have a message that you must deliver to a friend of yours."
"Why not tell him yourself?"
"Because he does not remember me, but he knows you very well, and he trusts you. He may not accept what I have for him."
"Alright," Kirbin accepted, "so what do I have to do?"
"Before you deliver what I have to give to him, you must defeat me in a duel."
"Fair enough."
"We will each wager a fusion monster and its fusion material monsters."
"I don't see the point of that, but I guess I don't really have any say." Kirbin closed his eyes. When they opened again, they glowed yellow, and his hair spiked up in an electric gold. "Thunder against Lightning, this should be interesting."
- . . . The physical world . . . -
Joey stood blocking the thief's only exit. He had the rat now! "Alright, hand it over," he demanded.
The thief grinned and tossed the KS back to Joey, who caught it and put it on. "I aught to pound your skull, but I'll let you off for now 'cause I'm in a hurry."
Joey turned to leave, and immediately felt something sting his right arm. He pulled the hollow dart from his arm and turned to the thief with his eyes blazing.
"You never let me introduce myself," the thief said, "I am Assanto, a very skilled thief and assassin. That dart that just punctured your arm contained a very fast-acting poison, which should kill you within half an hour."
"WHAT!?" Joey cried.
Assanto smirked, "Yes, half an hour to live. You should be feeling the earlier symptoms now." He was right, Joey was already seeing spots in his vision and a pounding dizziness. "The only way for you to live is to defeat me in a duel, which I'm sure will prove impossible. I know you can't deny my challenge, so let's just get started," he activated his DD2.
Joey activated his DD2 as well and concentrated on keeping focus. He could very well be living his last few minutes . . .
- . . . The Shadow Realm . . . -
Yugi looked around him at the bleak darkness. "Not again . . . ,"
"Yes," said Yami Bakura, "again."
The Millennium Puzzle flashed, and Yami took Yugi's place. "You again!" he exclaimed, "I thought you were gone for good!"
"Oh, come now, Pharaoh," Yami Bakura said in a mocking tone, "I'm really quite surprised at you. To think you would believe that after all the times I've come back that I wouldn't do it again. I'm disappointed." He smirked, "You know, it's almost like a bratty child. No matter how many times they're scolded or punished, the punishment ends, and they are unrestricted again, free to do whatever they wish. After a while, the punishments are no longer very punishing, and have no effect whatsoever on the child, so he is free to do what he wants without even worrying about the punishment that may follow. I have gone into that phase now. So, let's get right down to it. A duel for the Millennium Puzzle, and the loser will be banished to the Shadow Realm." Yami Bakura's smirk grew, "Even if you do win, I'll be back before you know it, and we'll duel once more. Prepare to lose that Puzzle, Pharaoh, because someday it will be mine!"
Next chapter: the three-part saga continues as all six duels begin! Read and review!
Before we begin what I am sure I will enjoy in my later days of writing in this three-chapter saga of Tokyo Tournament, I'd like to let everyone know about a Matrix fic I've recently started, entitled The Matrix Revamped. As of now I only have one reviewer, so please check it out. Also, a few review responses are in order.
First off- SulliMike23, that was Jinzo #7, not Jinzo. Jinzo # 7 is a 500 attack monster that can attack directly, if you don't already know.
Also, Yoshimo: You'll have to wait for a while until you find out who those duelists are. Secondly, I have currently lost interest in my other fics and am placing them on hiatus until I finish this story. Finally, your threats mean nothing to me, since I don't read Megaman fics.
Tokyo Tournament
Chapter Twelve-Evils, Allies, and Others
Also Entitled: Yep, That's a Good Smorgasbord of People Right There
Two figures stepped towards each other in the otherwise empty hallway. Both wore Duel Disks, but they were not here to battle.
"You weren't supposed to come here," one said to the other.
"Oh come on, you think I'm going to let you have all the fun here?" the other replied.
"Your little stunt on the plane was bad enough, but do you have to go around toting that card about? People aren't even supposed to know it exists."
"Oh, come on, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Remember the last time you said that?"
"Hey, there aren't any explosives involved this time."
"No," the first agreed, finally calming down. His tone became much more serious, "Something much more powerful is involved this time."
- . . . Elsewhere . . . –
A figure sat in front of a bright screen in an otherwise pitch black room. He watched the numerous duels with interest. But they lacked a great deal of something. What was it, though? The man pondered a few moments. Ah, yes, significance. He turned towards the man standing beside him. "Tell those duelists to find the Pharaoh and his bodyguards. I need a bigger show than this."
"Yes, sir."
- . . . The Cafeteria . . . –
It is a wonderful thing, food. Food provides energy that all animals require to survive. Out of all of these species of animals, none is luckier than the human. Humans eat not just for energy, but also because they enjoy eating. The tongue receives as much treatment as the stomach. Dishes are prepared not to satisfy hunger, but to satisfy taste. However, in the wake of those who don't eat in periods of six to eight hours, this theory vanishes as the hunger overpowers the brain and begins the process of what is commonly known as pigging out.
Such was the case for five young men who now threatened to lower the surplus problem in the area by several notches. Joey, Tristan, and Yugi were doing your basic scoffing, stabbing numerous bits of food with their forks, shoving said bits in their mouths, and doing so again before the previous batch was even half chewed. Giyan lifted bowl after bowl of rice to his mouth and emptied them rapidly with several movements of the chopsticks he wielded. Lin went at his smorgasbord of sushi like a Japanese chef, swiftly and repeatedly chopping his food with two knives and flipping the bits into his mouth. The slices were flipped so rapidly that one lodged itself in his throat before he could catch it in his mouth and Yamato had to beat his back until he coughed it up. He slowed down after that.
Surprisingly, Yamato was not a big eater despite his size. He simply took out a blue bottle and drank from it through a small gap in the bandages that covered his face. Term, even more surprisingly, only drank a glass of water. Tea and Serenity watched the boys eat with different expressions. Tea's face seemed to say "You're pathetic," but Serenity watched with a sort of admiration. Bakura ate very little. This was, in part, due to the voice inside his head. Well . . . sort of . . .
/Hello, Bakura/
No, no, not you!
/Oh, come now, you ought to know by now that no matter how many times I am sent to the Shadow Realm, I always return. Now then, I have important matters to attend to right now, so why don't I take over from here? /
The Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck glowed briefly, then Bakura's eyes seemed to darken and he grew slightly in his chair. No one noticed this, as five people at the same table pigging out provided a pretty good distraction. Yami Bakura, the thieving spirit of the Millennium Ring, smirked briefly as he silently watched Yugi. It seemed right now that it would be impossible to separate Yugi from all the others. But today Fate seemed to smile on the ancient thief . . .
"Ah," Joey let out a sigh as he set aside the shell of a lobster, "now dat's good chow."
Tristan ripped the meat off a chicken leg, set the bone aside, chewed for three seconds, swallowed, and belched. "Oh yeah," he agreed.
"Is it possible that you're eating a little too much?" Tea queried with a raised eyebrow. "After all, you guys sure seem to rush around a lot during tournaments. Plus you might not even have the energy to duel after gorging yourselves like that."
"No need to worry," assured Giyan as he set down his twenty-seventh bowl, "most of this food will provide more energy than fat, we'll be fine. Well, except maybe for Joey . . . "
"What? I only had three burgers."
"Triples," Yamato mentioned as he took a swig from his bottle, "with extra cheese."
". . . Shut . . . up . . . ,"
Yamato seemed to grin under his bandages as laughter erupted around the table.
Yugi smiled after the laughter subsided, "Well, I'm sure we'll all do fine in whatever circumstances. We've all done well so far, and I have confidence that we all have some wins ahead of us."
Yugi's speech might have continued into one of those "inspiring" dialogues that we have all come to know all too well in watching the show, however such an occasion was spared as Lin began gagging.
"Damn it, Lin!" yelled Term as he pounded his friend's back, "Quit trying to show off!"
Giyan's eye twitched. It was something that happened to people every day, but it the movement caught everyone's attention to the extent that no one paid heed to the sushi that Lin coughed up.
Giyan stood up, "I have to go, there are a few . . . business matters I have to attend to."
"Okay," Yugi acknowledged with a smile, "I guess we'll see you later."
Joey, Tristan, Tea, Serenity, and even Yami Bakura nodded. But Yamato, Lin, and Term all seemed to react strangely. Yamato's expression was unreadable, but Lin and Term's eyes seemed to be . . . uncertain about something. They seemed worried.
Yami Bakura, on the other hand, grinned inwardly. This made the job circumstantially easier. And now Fate's smile widened.
Joey got up and stretched. "Well, guess it's time to get going."
Yugi stood up as well, "You're right, there's plenty of dueling we all still have to do."
Joey's eyes opened as he felt a sort of breeze blow past him. He looked at his left wrist and found that his KS was missing. "WHAT THE-," his eyes turned into dinner plates momentarily before he sighted a short, slim man wearing all black. The man twirled Joey's KS around his finger before dashing off through the crowd of duelists. "Why that little . . . GET BACK HERE!" Joey commanded as he sprinted after the thief. And the eight behind him soon joined the chase.
The thief was fast. He streaked around a corner without slowing down and continued to tear up the floor. Joey followed on the thief's heels and the others came from behind like an avalanche. Yugi was following up in the rear, and no one noticed as Yami Bakura slowed down slightly to come even with the owner of the Millennium Puzzle. Still no one, other than Yugi, noticed as he was tackled by the thousands-year-old thief into a portal leading into the Shadow Realm . . .
As Joey almost reached the thief, his prey pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it to the ground. Tea, Tristan, and Serenity coughed as the gas filled their lungs momentarily before dissipating. When this happened, Joey, the thief, Yamato, Lin, and Term were nowhere in sight.
. . . The Elevator . . . –
"This is the slowest elevator I have ever been on," complained Joy as the indicator blinked from 7 to 6 after several minutes.
"We have to be patient," said Kirbin, though frustration seemed to be dripping from his mouth.
"Yeah, well, later I'm going to find the guy who made this thing and rip him a new a-," Joy's comment dropped short. Everything around Kirbin stopped. The indicator was halfway between 6 and 5. He was the only thing in the elevator moving. The push of the elevator's momentum was gone.
Kirbin looked around. Nothing about him seemed to have caused the stop. The twin metal doors glowed blue and opened. A black void was beyond the doors. Kirbin's eyes narrowed. It was obvious that someone was luring him into a trap. It was also obvious that he really had nothing better to do, and he walked into the darkness.
- . . . The Shadow Realm . . . -
Term and Lin looked about the room. The brown stone walls were covered in the scriptures of the ancient Egyptians. Monsters were everywhere on the walls, every one of them a mighty battler. Some were magnificent to look upon, others were hideous and unholy beings.
"So," said Lin, almost casually, though a bit of stress hindered the effect, "what do we do now?"
"It would seem that we must walk," Term replied, and he set off down the corridor, with Lin following.
Soon, the two came to a fork in the hallway. Two different paths branched off from the slightly larger one Term and Lin had come from. Above one of the halls, an ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life, was carved. A pentangle was carved above the other.
"Looks like we have to make another choice here," commented Lin.
"Let's take the ankh," Term decided as he walked to it, "a hallway labeled 'life' seems pretty safe." Lin began to follow him into the hallway. But as Term stepped beyond the ankh carving, a stone wall shot from the ground just behind him and cut off the two hallways from each other. "Well," muttered Term, "guess I might've been wrong." Alone now, he walked down the corridor.
At the end was a large room that seemed to be a tomb of some sort. Standing on the altar was a brown-clad man wearing a Duel Disk. He grinned at Term as he was approached. Term recognized him as Exodus from the plane. "What are you doing here?" queried Term threateningly.
"NOW," said Exodus in an inhuman voice the reverberated off the walls, "THAT REQUIRES A BIT OF AN EXPLANATION. YOU SEE, MY MASTER SENT OUT A NUMBER OF SKILLED DUELISTS TO DESTROY YOU AND YOUR COMRADES. ONE OF THEM WAS CHALLENGED BY MY CURRENT VESSEL, WHO LOST SPECTACULARLY. HIS SOUL WAS SENT TO THE SHADOW REALM. HOWEVER, HIS RARE CARDS AND ABILITY TO CONTROL A VERY POWERFUL MONSTER IMPRESSED MY MASTER, AND SO HE GAVE ME CONTROL OF HIS BODY TO USE IN THIS DUEL AGAINST YOU. HE HAS PROMISED ME THAT IF I WIN THAT HE WILL RELEASE ME FROM THE SHADOWS OF MY PRISON."
"And just who are you?"
Exodus grinned, "I am the monster that my vessel wields."
"Very well," said Term as he activated his DD2, "let's get this over with so I can get out of here."
"OH, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT," Exodus smirked, "YOU WON'T EVER GET OUT OF HERE, SO THERE'S REALLY NO RUSH."
"Let's see you back up those words."
. . . The other hallway . . . –
Lin came to a large circular room decorated with many pentagrams. In the center of the room, a man wearing a black leather jacket decorated with pentagrams on the arms stood with his arms crossed. A metal pentagram dangled from his neck, and a black pentagram was tattooed on his forehead.
Lin decided to keep things simple, "Who are you?"
"Pentan, the last person you'll ever see."
"Really?"
"Yep," Pentan activated his DD2.
"Looks like the conversations over," Lin activated his DD2.
"Yep."
. . . Somewhere else . . . –
Yamato was annoyed. The room was covered in abstract art depicting a whole ton of . . . clowns. Yamato hated clowns.
One of the clowns moved and stepped away from the wall, his grin outshining the red one painted on his face. "Welcome," he said lightly, "to your eternal prison. I'm Ciom, and I'll be your guard until you die."
"Right," said Yamato, "and how do you plan on keeping me here?"
"Oh, that's quite simple," Ciom said in an almost eager manner, "if you actually manage to break through the walls, you'll fall straight into the Shadow Realm. The only way out is to defeat me in a duel, in which case you will be released. However, if you lose to me, you will be dropped from this room into the shadows, where your soul will rot for millennia to come."
"Right," Yamato said, sarcasm threatening to take him over, "let's duel."
"Well, I certainly hope you've never been to Las Vegas," Ciom commented, "that would have been oh so costly for you."
. . . Another part of the Shadow Realm . . . –
"I have been waiting for you," a voice said to Kirbin, "but then, I have been waiting a very long time for this moment to come."
"Who are you?" Kirbin asked the darkness.
A blue light appeared ten feet in front of him. Ten feet beyond the source of light stood a young man. He wore black pants and a black vest over a white shirt. His hair was a mass of black spikes with yellow streaks. His left eye was white, while his right eye was black. "I am Thunder," he answered, "and I have a message that you must deliver to a friend of yours."
"Why not tell him yourself?"
"Because he does not remember me, but he knows you very well, and he trusts you. He may not accept what I have for him."
"Alright," Kirbin accepted, "so what do I have to do?"
"Before you deliver what I have to give to him, you must defeat me in a duel."
"Fair enough."
"We will each wager a fusion monster and its fusion material monsters."
"I don't see the point of that, but I guess I don't really have any say." Kirbin closed his eyes. When they opened again, they glowed yellow, and his hair spiked up in an electric gold. "Thunder against Lightning, this should be interesting."
- . . . The physical world . . . -
Joey stood blocking the thief's only exit. He had the rat now! "Alright, hand it over," he demanded.
The thief grinned and tossed the KS back to Joey, who caught it and put it on. "I aught to pound your skull, but I'll let you off for now 'cause I'm in a hurry."
Joey turned to leave, and immediately felt something sting his right arm. He pulled the hollow dart from his arm and turned to the thief with his eyes blazing.
"You never let me introduce myself," the thief said, "I am Assanto, a very skilled thief and assassin. That dart that just punctured your arm contained a very fast-acting poison, which should kill you within half an hour."
"WHAT!?" Joey cried.
Assanto smirked, "Yes, half an hour to live. You should be feeling the earlier symptoms now." He was right, Joey was already seeing spots in his vision and a pounding dizziness. "The only way for you to live is to defeat me in a duel, which I'm sure will prove impossible. I know you can't deny my challenge, so let's just get started," he activated his DD2.
Joey activated his DD2 as well and concentrated on keeping focus. He could very well be living his last few minutes . . .
- . . . The Shadow Realm . . . -
Yugi looked around him at the bleak darkness. "Not again . . . ,"
"Yes," said Yami Bakura, "again."
The Millennium Puzzle flashed, and Yami took Yugi's place. "You again!" he exclaimed, "I thought you were gone for good!"
"Oh, come now, Pharaoh," Yami Bakura said in a mocking tone, "I'm really quite surprised at you. To think you would believe that after all the times I've come back that I wouldn't do it again. I'm disappointed." He smirked, "You know, it's almost like a bratty child. No matter how many times they're scolded or punished, the punishment ends, and they are unrestricted again, free to do whatever they wish. After a while, the punishments are no longer very punishing, and have no effect whatsoever on the child, so he is free to do what he wants without even worrying about the punishment that may follow. I have gone into that phase now. So, let's get right down to it. A duel for the Millennium Puzzle, and the loser will be banished to the Shadow Realm." Yami Bakura's smirk grew, "Even if you do win, I'll be back before you know it, and we'll duel once more. Prepare to lose that Puzzle, Pharaoh, because someday it will be mine!"
Next chapter: the three-part saga continues as all six duels begin! Read and review!