Here we go once again. School is out for me, but I leave around the 18 of June for school, so I hope to g et some ore chapters up by then, but I do have lots of packing to do. We'll see. Until then, enjoy!
Also, please note that Vaun's fight scene this chapter is a bit strange. I've never written such a scene before, and so it may seem a bit awkward. Anyway, enough delay. On to the end of Kevin's last Battle City duel before the Finals!
Chapter Sixteen: Dragons Rage
"Yes, Kevin Hunter. Prepare to lose. Your Blue Eyes White Dragon, your girlfriend, and your life! Go Dark Scorpions, attack his monsters and what little Life Points he has left!"
As one the eight thieves charged Kevin's lone three creatures. First to die was his Different Dimension Dragon (1400/1500), as all of Seiji's monsters now had far more than 1900 attack points, falling victim to Meanea's snapping whip. Next was Kevin's Lord of Dragons (1200/1100), who was stabbed in the stomach by Cliff. Finally, Masked Dragon was slain by Cantara's pickaxe. Now there was room for the last three Scorpions to finish the job. However, before they could a new dragon, this one blue scaled.
"What's this?"
"You've activated my Masked Dragon's special ability!" Kevin responded, returning his deck to his Duel Disk, his having removed it going unnoticed by Seiji during the Rare Hunter's attack. "When it was destroyed I was allowed to summon one Dragon from my deck whose attack was 1500 or less, so I chose Surge, the Torrential Ryu (1500/1500), who can't be destroyed in battle by a monster whose attack is over 1900!"
"It makes no difference!" Seiji countered. "You'll still lose from the overflow damage!"
"I would," Kevin admitted, his voice level and cold. "If I didn't have this card in my hand called Oppression, which can activate from my hand to switch my monster into defense mode if it is special summoned!" Instantly, before the last few attacks could hit, Surge fell into a crouch, pulling his wings around him and forming a shield of ice all around him, blocking out all attacks. "So now I'm safe."
"I end my turn." Seiji ended, drawing his card from Cantara's effect, leaving him with just that one.
"I'll draw my card, giving me a hand of five." Kevin began. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done." he continued. "I play Pyre!" Kevin's newest card displayed a large alter of crumbling stones, charred black by the blazing red fire all around it, burning up piles of oil-soaked wood. And rising from this swirling fire was a large dragon, covered in flames. "This card allows me to revive one Dragon monster from my Graveyard for every card I discard. So, I'll discard one card to revive my Different Dimension Dragon (1400/1500) in attack mode."
"You really think that will save you?" Seiji laughed, eying his face down cards, as well as his Dark Scorpion Lair. "I'm untouchable. Each of my monsters has well over two thousand attack points. It's hopeless for you to have summoned that monster."
"We'll see. I'm going to bring your Lair down right now!" Kevin shouted. "I play my Wingbeat of Giant Dragon card, which will return my level five dragon to my hand, but in exchange all magic and trap cards on the field will be destroyed. I don't have any, but you do." Kevin pointed out as he lifted his monster from his Duel Disk and the image disappeared. On Kevin's field emerged a large wyvern of fire, which struck Seiji's field, burning his face down cards as well as his Lair.
"No!" Seiji shouted as the underground hideout burned down all around him. "Damn you, Kevin Hunter! You'll pay for that. I swear you'll pay!" (Don-1400, Gorg-1800, Meanae-1000, Cliff-1200, Cantara-1300, Ata-1500, Aldin-1600, Firyal-1100)
"I'm not interesting in your threats right now." Kevin countered, his voice dripping with hate. "Now that your Lair is gone, you have to send three of your Dark Scorpions to the Graveyard, since you no longer can play them in your magic zone." Gritting his teeth, Seiji picked up Ata, Cantara and Cliff and placed them in his Graveyard.
"Now I play Silent Doom to revive my Lord of Dragons in defense mode!" Kevin's armored monster reappeared, crouching with his arms over his chest. "Now I play Polymerization, fusing my Lord of Dragons with my Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1500/1000) from my hand to form the monster that's going to win me this Duel!"
From the fusion vortex emerged what appeared to be the Lord of Dragons, only from his waist down was a long, golden serpent body. His armor seemed to have changed as well, now possessing a golden sheen and spiked at a few points. "Meet King Dragun (2400/1100)!"
"You son of a-"
"Don't get me started." Kevin seethed. "Now my monsters special ability activates, allowing me to special summon one Dragon from my hand." Picking the last card from his hand, Kevin slapped it onto the field and his four winged Different Dimension Dragon (1400/1500) reappeared yet again. "Now it's time to make you pay, starting with an attack from my Different Dimension Dragon, destroying Meanae the Thorn!" In a burst of rainbow lights, the raven haired Dark Scorpion was dissolved, screaming as she disappeared.
Kevin-2100/Seiji-3000
With a nod from its master, Kevin's King Dragun raised his hand, palm outwards, releasing a beam of fire which completely consumed Gorg.
Kevin-2100/Seiji-2400
Grinding his teeth in frustration, Seiji drew his card, giving him a hand of two. "I'm growing annoyed with you Kevin. So now, I'll set one card face down and then I'll play my Life Slashing Treasure, which will allow me to draw five cards, but I must discard my entire hand in five turns." Renewing his hand, Seiji glared at Kevin. "I swear, Kevin, that you will lose in five turns. Now, let the count begin!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
The clanging of swords echoed throughout the bare room as Vaun blocked yet another side slash by dropping his katana over the back of his hand on the right side. With a grunt of disappointment, Takamori jumped back and took a new stance, Vaun doing the same.
"You know you cannot defeat me, Vaun." The Rare Hunter chuckled. "You still hold to the fighting ways of Saito and Okita, in which I am well versed. There isn't an attack you could launch that I wouldn't recognize, and therefore counterattack."
"You think so, you treacherous hound?" Vaun responded, still full of power and energy, yet cold and focused. "You couldn't be more wrong. Your family left the Shinsengumi long before either leader managed to completely develop their style." With this, Vaun turned his body so that his right shoulder was facing Takamori, shifting his sword to his left hand and bending his left elbow back, leaning his weight backwards, lifting his right foot until only his toes rested on the ground, and reached forward, using his right arm to stabilize the tip of his blade.
"Gatotsu?" Mudo raised an eyebrow. "Could you have chosen a more pathetic move to use against me? Didn't you hear me when I said that Saito's skills were nothing to me?"
"Shut up." was Vaun's choice reply. "It was enough to kill off your brother when the two of your attacked my house twelve years ago. You took advantage of my fathers turned back after your brother fell, and you slew my mother as she fled, clutching me in her arms. If the monks had not arrived the instant they did at the temple steps I would have died myself." Vaun closed his eyes in remembrance and reverence as he relived this memory, but maintained his stance. "But they did arrive on time, and so I lived, and now my life has led me to this moment."
"Those monks were weak, and they died in the end." Mudo responded, a cruel smile on his features.
"Yes, you did kill the four Masters that night, but at the cost of the remainder of your family. I remember it well, as I stood on the top steps of the temple, watching you and four others fight against the five masters of the temple Saito left in Kyoto before passing on. In the end, Master Kido, Master Issumi, Master Hitana, and Master Shiro all died, as did your four companions. You used deception of trickery to slay them, but you failed to defeat Master Heero, and so you retreated."
With eyes now open, Vaun focused on his target, the man who had taken everything from him...Twice! And he had done so with no honor. In fact, it was that absence of honor which had begun this war three hundred years ago, back when the Meiji Era began and the treachery of the Mudo family realized.. "I completed my training shortly thereafter, and Master Heero died last summer." Crouching lower, Vaun prepared to strike. "Now, let use end it."
Kicking off of his back leg, and using his front foot as a spring to direct his attack, Vaun began the deadly thrust developed by Hajime Saito. The wind whipped by, causing his hair and clothes to flare out, but it went unattended. Vaun didn't care about anything except this mans demise.
However, true to his word, Mudo was prepared and with ease he side-stepped the strike. However, that was not the end, as Vaun came to a brisk yet fluid halt and with a quarter twist of his wrist, switched to a side sweeping attack, which Mudo blocked by hanging is sword vertically in front of him. They held there for a moment, their blades vibrating with the struggle.
"You will lose, Vaun."
"And you will die!" came the young mans replay. With blinding speed his stabbed his blade forward, his hilt striking Mudo's blade and pushing it out of the way, throwing the murderous dog off balance, allowing Vaun to drive his shoulder into his opponents stomach. Jumping back, he quickly executed a second Gatotsu, this one stabbing downward, which Takamori blocked by hanging his sword yet again, but this time twirling so as to throw Vaun's momentum sideways and giving Mudo an opening to Vaun's back, but was stopped by Vaun using his momentum to increase his speed and simply alter his strike, completing the spin much faster the Mudo had expected, and using his upper body springs to thrust forward at point-blank range. "Gatotsu Zero Style!" This time, the strike nearly completed, grazing Mudo's right shoulder, having been pushed slightly off course by Mudo holding up his sword directly in Vaun's path, pushing the attack to the side slightly.
The two combatants stepped back from each other, panting slightly to reclaim the breath which they had just spent on such a rapid exchange. Brushing a bit of hair out of his eyes, Vaun smirked as the small smear of blood on his blade, and turning his gaze upon Mudo, who was nursing the wound.
"Well played Vaun. I hadn't expected you to be that fast. But, that is your last. As you can see, no Gatotsu can strike me directly."
"At this rate, you'll die from blood loss first." Vaun explained. "Besides, I have a few more attacks I can try."
"Are any of them like this?" Takamori asked, charging in, his sword angled slightly to Vaun's left, preparing for a diagonal slash. Raising his own sword to defend himself, Vaun stood ready and cut back, trying to intercept the attack, but was surprised to have it retracted back, arched over his head, and then repeated, this time aiming for his right shoulder, but was again pulled back, this time circling backwards and cutting up towards Vaun's groin. However, the young samurai was much faster this time, holding his horizontal sword down, pushing the attack back. However, Takamori merely used the counter blow to increase the force of his final strike in the combination, this one pulling back and arching up and cutting down with lighting speed for Vaun's head, coming in too fast and too hard for Vaun to block with his katana.
"Die!" Mudo screamed...And was shocked to hear the clang of metal, followed by the feeling of his sword sliding down and sideways!
Pulling back, Mudo saw what had happened, and nearly threw a tantrum at it. Vaun had grabbed the sheath of his wakizashi and used his thumb to trust the small sword up, the small weapon's head pushing Mudo's attack off course.
"If that's your best Mudo, then I do weep." Vaun finally said, recovering from the shock of the combination which had nearly killed him. "I weep for every person you killed, because they fell to someone so weak that he must rely on trickery to win."
"Don't judge me, you little whelp! I'm many times the swordsman you'll ever be!" Mudo shouted back.
"No you wont." Vaun stated matter-of-factly. "In fact, I'm going to finish you here and now by combining Okita and Saito's favorite attacks." And again, Vaun took the basic stance of the Gatotsu, but this time with his right hand grasping his sword, and so his entire stance was turned around.
"It cannot be done!" Mudo laughed. "Saito's attack is a single high-powered thrust. Okita's is three small thrusts completed in lighting succession. You can't combine them!"
"We shall see. Now, take your stance." Vaun calmly replied.
"Prepare to die." Takamori responded, holding his sword directly in front of him, pointed straight up.
"The devil take thy soul!" Vaun shouted, springing forward.
For an instant, time seemed to freeze for the two fighters. All sound was lost and the wind halted as they charged each other. Vaun began to push his right arm forward, extending his blade for the kill. Takamori twisted his blade to the slide less than an inch, pushing the blade ever so slightly to the side...
...Directly into his shoulder! Then Vaun spun, slashing the blade outwards, completely cutting the bone and muscle tissue of Takamori's shoulder, and then ending the spin with a lightning fast thrust into the other shoulder, and then one last one into the center of Mudo's chest.
"No!" Takamori coughed as the blood began to surge to his mouth. "How could I-"
"Because you are impure. Because you are a traitor. But mostly because Hell wants you now!" Vaun spat, driving his sword up to its hilt into Takamori's chest. "Now die!"
"I may die, but I die knowing that I nearly killed the entire Hiten line."
"Go to Hell!" Vaun shouted, kicking Takamori Mudo's limp body off of his blade. He then walked over to the corpse and cut off a length of fabric, which he used to white his sword off. "Now rot. You will simple be left to crumble to dust. I will not send your ashes onto reincarnation, nor will I allow even the most pathetic dog to devour your flesh."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Let's move." the Rare Hunter ordered his two subordinates, one of which was carrying Sakura Haeru on his shoulder, bound, gagged, her eyes bloodshot from tears, and her body limp with a loss of hope. No one was coming for her, and soon they'd kill her. And what for? She hadn't done anything to them. Why would anybody be so cruel?
"What was that?" The Rare Hunter leader asked, turning his eyes to the front door, which he was sure he'd just heard rattle with a knock. Quickly he bustled up to it and began to fiddle with the small window. "Yes-" he began to ask, but was quickly silenced by a fist crashing through the miniature door and colliding with his face. As his body rocked backward, the same fist reached forward, opened, grabbed a fistful of the purple cloak, and then pulled-hard-smashing the Rare Hunter's head into the door, rendering him unconscious.
In alarm, the other two Rare Hunter's turned towards the door, which was sliding open, and was young man, about eighteen years old with black hair standing there. In his left hand was a golden stick with a ball on the end and two wings on either end of it. His face was stern and hard, and his eyes were two separate colors, one blue and the other brown.
"Let her go." he declared, a warning tone glazing his voice. "Now."
"Why should we?" One asked. His response came in the form of a small blast of golden lightning striking the floor right in front of him, having come from the golden shaft in the mans hand. Without further reasoning, the two Rare Hunters placed their captive on the ground and began to back away slowly.
Kai rushed over to Sakura and pulled the sheath from his Millennium Rod, revealing the gleaming triangular blade, which he easily slashed through her bonds with. He then pulled the gag from her mouth, and was then rewarded with a grizzly hug from the sobbing girl, her entire body shaking. Kai tried his best to sooth her, rubbing her back in a parental manner and cooing into her ear, but was having trouble getting past how awkward the situation was, since Sakura was actually Kevin's girlfriend.
However, the moment of awkwardness was quickly ended when Kai's alertness peaked as one of the two large Rare Hunter's charged him, using Kai's moment of distraction against him. However, said Rare Hunter was halted by a sword hilt being driven into his face by a blue of white and blue which had leaped from the doorway to intercept him.
Landing in a crouch, Vaun glared at the last Rare Hunter, who was looking in horror at his unconscious comrade, and then at Vaun.
"You should be dead." He stammered, pointing at Vaun. "Master Mudo said you would die."
"He was wrong." Vaun declared. "Now, if you want to go see your master, I can arrange that." Vaun cooly stated, using his thumb to push his blade out about an inch.
At this declaration, Kai's eyes widened as he started at Vaun, shocked to hear that the boy had actually killed his rival. Beaten was one thing, killed very different. Even in his greatest rage, Kai had been unable to kill, yet Vaun had done so, and seemed to passive about it as well. He then turned to the Rare Hunter, who decided that the odds were very much stacked against him, and dashed to the other side of the room, jumping into a cell, and locking himself in.
Without a word, Vaun turned and began to leave, Kai following, supporting Sakura as he went.
"We need to hurry." the bi-eyed Duelist explained. "We have to get to Kevin before he does something reckless."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Now, to really begin my turn." Seiji sneered, looking at his field and then his hand.. "First, I will activate my Dark Scorpion-Aldin the Assassin." The sly thief smirked as he raised both of his jagged daggers which he hurled at Kevin's Different Dimension Dragon and King Dragun. "By sacrificing my battle phase, I can instantly destroy two monsters you control!"
"I don't think so." Kevin countered, a cruel and hateful smile crossing his features. "You see, my King Dragun has retained Lord of Dragon's special ability, and so he will protect my dragons from your effects!" The two knives kept spinning through the air, but were suddenly deflected by a barrier which appeared around Kevin's monsters.
"Very well, I'll switch my monsters to defense mode, and end my turn by playing my Nightmare Steel Cage." Don Zalog and Aldin both fell to crouching positions in front of their master, and a large metal cage emerged around Kevin's field.
"I draw!" Kevin shouted, pulling a new card free and sneering at the metal bars, and grimacing at the high level monster in his hand, which he decided not to summon for now. "I pass this turn."
"Thank you." Seiji responded, drawing a fifth card. "I play the magic card, Forty Thieves and end my turn." On Seiji's field appeared the holographic image of a magic card displaying group of men sitting around a bunch of tables, drinking meed while fires crackled all around them.
"I pass again." Kevin growled. "Now your Cage is gone and so next turn you'll lose."
"Yes yes." Seiji responded, sounding rather annoyed. "Now I'll set one card face down and then play my second Nightmare Steel Cage and end my turn. Two more turns Kevin." he pointed out, waving his five cards in front of his face as a new set of bars appeared around Kevin.
"Shut up." Kevin snarled. "Just shut up and Duel. None of this arrogant threatening or anything else. Just Duel!"
"Why? You've been just as smug." Seiji pointed out. "And if that's the way you feel, than why don't you take your own advice and Duel?"
"Don't get smart, you thieving piece of crap!" Kevin screamed, giving him a hand of three cards. "I pass this turn again, but now your Cage will be gone next turn. Now go."
"Right, I will." Seiji chuckled. "I really don't have anything to do, so I too will pass."
"I set two cards and pass, and your Nightmare Cage expires." Kevin snarled, giving him a hand of three cards. "Also, you have to discard your entire hand for your Life Slashing Treasure.'
"No I don't, because Forty Thieves negates any card discard effect for me." Seiji explained. "Now I play my face down card, Thieves Spirit, which allows me to sacrifice my two Dark Scorpions and draw five cards, giving me a hand of ten." Seiji cackled. "Now, like I said, you'd suffer, so watch as I unleash the Dark Scorpions as a whole, with their powers maximized and you helpless."
"And so you send the only two you had on the field to the Graveyard?" Kevin asked, his eyebrow raised.
"Exactly." Seiji replied. "You see, my monster zone had to be empty before I could play this next card: Dark Scorpion Swarm!" Seiji's last face down card flipped over, revealing an image of all the Dark Scorpions attacking at one time. "By discarding five cards, I can instantly summon as many Dark Scorpions as I can hold to the field from my deck and Graveyard!" With great pride, Seiji shoved half of his cards into his Graveyard and then began to slap cards onto his Duel Disk. "And, because of Forty Thieves, I can have a limitless number of Dark Scorpions in my monster zones, so I summon Don Zaloog (1400/1200), Gorg the Strong (1800/1500), Chick the Yellow(1000/1000), Meanae the Thorn (1000/1800), Cliff the Trap Remover (1200/1000), Aldin the Assassin (1600/1600), Cantara the Curator (1300/2000), Ata the Code Breaker (1500/1900), Firyal the Subtle (1100/700), Nurra the Strategic (1850/1550), Neva the Greedy (1150/400) and, Reyla the Thrift (1150/400), all in attack mode!"
"Sadly, I'm still not that impressed." Kevin responded, eying his face down cards.
"Those can't help you." Seiji responded. "Have you forgotten about Ata the Code Breaker? He destroys any effect you could hope to block with." Throwing back his head, Seiji began to laugh hard, his entire body shaking with im while his Dark Scorpions joined him. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. I'll play a new Dark Scorpion Lair, meaning each of my Dark Scorpions gains 200 attack points for every Dark Scorpion in play, so each one now gains 2400 attack points! Then I'll play three Allied Forces magic cards, which grants every warrior on my field 200 attack points for every warrior or spellcaster on my field, and since all of the Dark Scorpions are warriors, that's another 7200 attack points, plus the 2400 from Dark Scorpion Lair, and that means each Dark Scorpion on my field has just gained 9600 attack points!" (Don-11000, Gorg-11400, Chick 10600, Meanae 10600, Cliff 10800, Aldin 11200, Cantara 10900, Ata 11100, Firyal 10700, Nurra 11450, Neva 10750, Reyla 10750).
"Now," Seiji began, his breath growing ragged with adrenalin. "Now, you lose. Dark Scorpions, attack!"
"Go face down cards!" Kevin shouted. "First off is Dragons Crosscut, which will instantly destroy Ata the Code Breaker and deal you 200 damage times his level!" In a flash, the nerdy member of the Dark Scorpions fizzled out of sight as Seiji's Life Points began to decline.
Kevin-2100/Seiji-1600
"It doesn't change anything!" Seiji explained. "Any one of my monsters could wipe you out, now die!"
"Go Mirror Force!" Kevin screamed as the blue barrier appeared around him, deflecting bullets, whips, hammers, swords, knives, axes, and other various weapons before shattering into hundreds of pieces of glass which then shot forward and pierced dozens of holes in each of the Dark Scorpions, killing them instantly. "I'm safe, and your monsters are all dead."
"No!" Seiji whispered in disbelief. "I can't lose! I'm the greatest Duelist in the Rare Hunters."
"Just shut up and go to Hell!" Kevin shouted, drawing his card. "I sacrifice Surge and Different Dimension Dragon to summon my Tyrant Dragon (2900/2400) in attack mode!" The drown scaled monster he had won from Nick appeared, roaring with all ferocity. "Then I play my Pot of greed to draw two cards, and then my Dragon Armor, which will make the one monster in my hand a dragon type, which will allow me to use my King Dragun's effect to special summon Mystic Knight of Jackle (2700/1900)!" The Egyptian robed canine appeared, but his skin then began to shift to become green and scaley as his eyes became reptilian and his teeth grew. "Next I play my Revival of the Diamond Blade to sacrifice my Jackle to summon my Diamond Dragon, whose attack will be that of my Jackle, plus 1000 (3700/1900)!" Kevin's lizard-hound hybrid shattered and was replaced by a green scaled wyrm with diamonds covering his wings, back and forehead.
"Next will be my Cost of Greed, which will remove Surge, Magma, Divine Dragon Ragnarok, and Masked Dragon from play to allow me to draw four more cards!" As he said this, Kevin's for named monsters appeared for a second and then vanished as he slipped them into his pocket and then pulling four more cards free.
"I remove Lord of Dragons and Different Dimension Dragon from play to summon my Chaos Emperor Dragon-Messenger of the Apocalypse (3000/2500)!" The green scaled and bone armored dragon appeared, roaring in anticipation of destruction. "Now I play Monster Reborn on the monster you discarded with Gorg when this Duel began: Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!"
As one, the five massive and insanely powerful dragons stared down at Seiji's empty field, while Seiji himself looked about ready to pee his pants and cry. Kevin, on the other hand, was reveling in the fear and the pride in his five dragons.
"Now my monsters, attack his Life Points directly and end this!" he commanded. Each dragon opened his mouth and began to charge energy or flames. "Attack!" he bellowed, and the five blasts were released, throwing Seiji across the ally, into a wall, and proceeded to burn at his skin, the force holding him up against the wall.
The holograms quickly faded, dropping Seiji to the ground. Slowly he began to rise, rebelling against the judgement of his thrashed muscles. He was about half way to his feet when Kevin's fist connected with his stomach, forcing him to is knees. Then another fist to his jaw, and another to his eye, and then a kick to the ribs, and so forth.
"Where is she?" Kevin hollered. "Where!" Again he kicked, and then some more, each one being accompanied by the question 'where'.
"Kevin stop!" Kai shouted, running up behind the enraged teenager. Quickly Kai flung his arms up under Kevin's, pulling back on the boy, but his greater strength and size had little effect in halting the boy being fueled by so much rage and hate. "Kevin, please stop!" Kai shouted into Kevin's ear, but to no avail. "Kevin!" he shouted once more before flinging the boy to the ground, away from Seiji, who was clutching his sides in pain.
Kevin was back on his feet in a flash, and was about to run at Seiji again when a figure stepped in his way, clutching him in the middle. Kevin was about to run the person over, until he realized that it was not a hold in an attempt to stop him, but rather an affectionate hug. He looked down to see that it was Sakura, clutching him and sobbing into his shirt.
In shock, Kevin's body went lax, fearing that Sakura had just seen the monster he had just me. With a harsh brush, he turned away from her, closing his eyes as tears began to form.
"I'm sorry, Sakura." he began. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you, and that I'm not kind at the heart. If I was I-" he was silenced as he turned around and Sakura pressed her lips against his, having to push up on her toes to do it.
Back a few feet, Kai and Vaun stood side by side, arms folded as they watched the two youths kiss.
"So, you got your revenge Vaun. What now?" Kai asked.
"I will continue to train. Now I can start to look for love without fear of putting anyone close to me in jeopardy." he responded. "But first, I must continue to get stronger, and make the Hiten line unmatched." Sighing, he turned to his companion. "Tell me, how'd you fire that blast at that Rare Hunter just before I arrived?"
"Don't know." was the response. "I simply did. No idea how." Dissatisfied, but realizing this was the only answer he'd get, Vaun decided to drop the subject, and they turned back to the two lovers, who were now simply holding each other.
"I best be off." Vaun finally said. "I don't have any Locator Cards, and my revenge is complete. There's nothing left for me here." Turning to go, he left one last note. "Remember, after Battle City, you, me, tea and sake. Until then, farewell."
"Wait, Vaun." Kai called, reaching into his bag and flinging a set of cards at the boy samurai. "Those are your cards. I'm not using them, but you may." The warrior child opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly cut off. "Consider it payment for helping with Sakura. You didn't have to come back into the prison of the compound, but you did. Thank you." With a nod, Vaun was again off, leaving Kai muttering words he hadn't said in years, and that he had thought he'd never say again. "Goodbye, my friend."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Slowly, Seiji Misen rose to his feet, his body still wracked with pain. The four teenagers had all departed, and so he was left to go out on his own. Here he was, defeated, his soldiers crushed, and his leader dead.
He stumbled through the streets, wondering what he next course of action would be. They were desolate, the Finals on the verge of commencing. Those who had succeeded were on their way, and those that failed had left. As such, it was most peculiar what happened next.
"You vile dog." a voice accused, carrying on the wind. Seiji looked all around, unsure of where the sound was coming from, until a figure in a white robe walked up over the horizon, his left arm alight with a Duel Disk. "Prepare to Duel, and then to die."
"On what charges?" Seiji asked of the approaching figure.
"You dishonor the Dark Scorpions." was the simple reply. "And you are an unworthy thief. As such, I have come to judge you."
"And what gives you that right?"
"I am Nikolas Selket, the Thief of the Desert!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Anyone walking the eastern reaches of what was once Domino City that afternoon would have noticed the burst of light above the buildings, followed by a whip crack, something heavy hitting something else, a wooden object striking, a knife cutting, and then five gunshots. These sounds would be accompanied by screams of horror, then screams of pain, and then, moments after the first sound and one last scream, a thud on the ground would be followed by silence across Domino.
On the streets a few blocks away from where Kevin had faced the Dark Scorpions would be a figure in quasi-Arabic clothes would be seen draping a purple cloak over his shoulder while holding up a set of cards in disgust.
"Fakes!" he bitter spat while staring at the cards. "How dare he. He made an entire set of fake Dark Scorpions, hoping it would bolster their strength. Idiot. He should have known that they are strongest when it is merely the five of them." And with that, he tossed the cards into the air and slashed at them with his hand, causing them to falling in small pieces of confetti, his knife seen once his arm had stopped moving. "Fools!" He shouted into the night. "I am Nikolas Selket, and I will judge those who profane the title of 'thief'!"
And then he was off, trudging down the street, a lavender trophy on his shoulder, his own justice administered, impure blood on his hands, and his one eye focused ahead of him. That one eye which stood alone, its brother long dead and now buried under a triangle of Egyptian leather. And so would he stand alone, and no voice would ever stir him again!
To Be Continued...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Well, that was exciting. Man, enough attack points for all of you? Of course, as we all know, Vaun stole the show here. Again, I apologize for how choppy the fight scene was, but I've never done that before, so it was a new experience on my part.
Also, Nicholas Selket is not my character, He belongs to G.O.T. Nick, whose story, Tokyo Tournament, is very good and on the verge of completion. In fact, I hope this gives him a bit more inspiration, as it is dedicated to him, being the devout Dark Scorpion Duelist he is. Go Nick!
And now, for Author Review Responses:
Matrix Fighter- Yes, Kevin was screwed, but not anymore. And yes, here was your rematch, and as you can see, Vaun was the stronger fighter.
The White Mage- Seiji and Nick are two very different people, as you can see. Seiji just uses a similar deck, and happens to be a thief. But their philosophies and so forth are very different.
SulliMike23- As you can clearly see, Kevin not only won, but he nearly killed Seiji.
Seeker of the Soul- HOLY CRAP! I'VE UPDATED AGAIN! Obviously, I am still in one piece, but only because I've had to bribe Nick with oodles of punishment for Seiji, which, as you can see, did happen.
The Helldragon- Fork over the Cyber Jar...NOW! What? You lose the bet! Muahahahaha!
Noble Paladin- Most powerful plans? There ya go! That's it! That powerful enough for you!
G.O.T. Nick- Daggars? No no no. As you can see, there were other methods for that. And yes, it was a cool samurai Duel. But what do I do with the kudos you have given me? The people at the Federal Reserve say they're useless.
WolfGeneral- Dark Scorpions are fun. I myself am slowly becoming a fan myself. And, obviously, Kevin did win, with a combo that I think would make Ryu proud.
Original Cards:
Kevin: Oppression, Surge, Pyre, Magma, Dragon Armor, Dragon Crosscut, Cost of Greed
Seiji: Dark Scorpion Lair, Dark Scorpion Swarm, Forty Thieves, Dark Scorpion-Aldin the Assassin, Dark Scorpion- Cantara the Curator, Dark Scorpion-Ata the Code Breaker, Dark Scorpion-Firyal the Subtle, Dark Scorpion-Nurra the Strategic, Dark Scorpion-Neva the Greedy, Dark Scorpion-Reyla the Thrift,