Here we go again. From the sparseness of Rexburg, Idaho, more specifically the college campus of BYU-Idaho, I bring you the kickoff chapter to the Battle City Finals! The good news: It's an update! The bad news: It's only about three pages long. More good news: It's still an update!
I've been settling into college life, going to classes, taking tests, reading books, registering for Fall classes, and all sorts of crap. Also, I didn't even know I had Internet access to sites like till earlier this week. But now I'm back, and with a vengeance!
Finally, after sixteen excruciating chapters we're here. But the question is, where is here, and what is it that's amiss? And what about Tenken's warnings? Only one way to find out, and that's to push on!
Chapter Seventeen: Gathering
The sun was just beginning it's slow descent by the time that Kai, Kevin, and Sakura approached the crumbling boardwalk of what was once the Domino Peer. This was the location their Locator Cards had indicated as the home of the tournament Finals, so all that was left was to wait for the other Duelists to arrive.
Not so surprising, however, was the fact that there was already someone sitting on a bench, a Duel Disk on their arm in its standby position and deck inserted for safe keeping. Upon further inspection it was realized by Kai that the figure was female, with long brown hair, fair skin, khaki female slacks, blouse, and a blue trench coat which seemed to have been designed for her more slender body.
Once the trio was close enough she quickly rose to her feat and approached them, her features silent and firm with determination. As she drew closer, Kai noticed an air of apprehension emanating from Kevin as he released Sakura's hand from his own and swallowed a little.
'The fact that someone could stir this kind of anxiety in Kevin, despite the power he displayed a little over an hour ago. She definitely isn't some ordinary opponent, and that should be expected from a Battle City Finalist, but still…." He allowed his thoughts to trail on.
"Kevin Hunter, I hope you haven't forgotten about our score." She stated rather flatly, her gaze never leaving him as if she were trying to bore something out of him with her firm glare.
"I haven't forgotten, Serena." Kevin responded, his body instantly beginning to calm just with the sound of his own voice. "But, Miss Kaiba, before it's over, I'll be the one with two Blue Eyes White Dragons, not you."
"Kaiba!" Kai half shouted in shock, his eyes sweeping over her frame again. "Yes, I can see it now. You look, dress, and carry yourself much like your great-grandfather did Serena." Kai stated, earning himself her hard stare.
"What would you know of that?" she grumbled.
"I'm a historian." Kai explained. "I've seen a few videos of the last Battle City Tournament, and from what I observed of him, Seto Kaiba carries himself much like you, and you like him." At this, Serena blushed slightly, whether it be because she felt flattered at being compared to her ancestor, or because Kai's ability to so easily interpret her had embarrassed her no one completely sure of.
"Regardless, I'm just as good, if not better than he was, but that doesn't mean that I don't need the Blue Eyes White Dragons. They belong in my families care, and I wont let some kids get in the way. Especially when he doesn't even understand how it is he got his."
Upon hearing this, Kevin's face stretched in shock, and was about to ask what Serena knew when her attention suddenly snapped up and past the three to observe something behind them, which they themselves turned to see. It was a black limousine, it's fine design keeping it rather quiet and so it had gone undetected by Kai, Kevin and Sakura. Coming to a stop a few feet away from the first four duelists the automobiles engine was cut and the doors burst open and out burst four more figures, three girls and one boy, each with a Duel Disk on their arm.
"Well, it seems that we're a bit late," a voice from within the limo commented, pulling everyone's gaze away from each other and to one of the car doors as out stepped a man with white hair and wearing a fine suit. A man Kevin and Kai both recognized from the day before. The tournament organizer, Ouja Monotori. "I had thought picking up the last four Finalists on my way here would speed things up," with that he waved his hand at the four who had sprung from the car. "But it seems you four beat us here." He continued, addressing Kai and his group along with Serena. Straightening his tie and emitting a low cough he prepared to give them their directions.
"Welcome to the Battle City Tournament Finals. I am Ouja Monotori, and I will be directing this last stretch."
"Skip it." One of the young duelists who had come with this man demanded.
"As you wish." Ouja responded, nodding to someone in the car, who must have responded, but none of the competitors could be sure because of the tinted windows. However, and doubt they had was swept away as the water along the peer began to bubble and rumble. Slowly the duelists began to make out the roof of a structure of some sort that was beginning to emerge. They watched in awe as the full building appeared, standing several stories high. It was seemingly impossible because such a structure would have cost millions, if not billions to build, something unheard of since the events that had decimated the Earth.
'Clearly Ouja Monotori's resources surpass all expectations.' Kai concluded, for he alone amongst those gathered, save Ouja himslef, understood what a marvel this was.
"Now," Ouja began, breaking the silence and drawing everyone's attention from the impressive sight. "You will be given two hours to wander freely throughout the compound. You may eat, sleep, adjust your decks, or anything else you think would help you prepare for the Finals. Also, be aware that your current Duel Disks will not be used here." This information earned several quizzical stares from the group. "Understand that this is to serve two purposes. First and foremost in my mind is to prevent foul play in the Finals." This explanation alone seemed to please the masses, but Ouja went on in his explanation anyway. "It is also as part of a test of a newer model my company has designed in cooperation with Kaiba Corp." This news seemed to bring an excited rustle to the crowd, with the exception of Kai, who instead looked to his side to check Serena's reaction, which was simply an impatient stare.
"Now, let us enter my Duel Fortress, and may the countdown begin!"
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Nearly an hour had passed since the finalists had entered the Fortress, half the time they were being given. The latter four Duelists had quickly dispersed throughout the building in excitement. The one boy and two of the girls, it had been learned, were in the fifteen to sixteen year old range, much like Kevin and Sakura, and had been the ones to instantly start hunting down a dining room. The last girl, whose name had been Katrina, was in Kai and Serena's range of seventeen to eighteen, and had declared she was headed for her room so she could take a shower. Serena had also opted to head for her room, but what for no one knew. Kevin and Sakura had stopped in a room with a full entertainment center and were having a mini-date, apparently, and had chosen to put in a nice movie.
As such, Kai was left to himself, and had gone to his room after eating a small portion of food-suchi and miso soup-where he was busy at work fiddling with a small black box, using his thumbs to push the mini tiles across its lid.
"Come on." He grunted in frustration as he tried another pattern. However, the image of the puzzle wasn't very detailed and seemed to have large holes in it. In fact, some of the blocks that did have markings on them seemed to be completely detached from anything else, making it that much more frustrating. "Mother, father, please help me." He begged. If he could at least figure out what it was he was trying to make, he may be able to decipher the pattern. However, as it was, he never would get past this barrier.
Despite the many changes his deck had undergone through the tournament alone, there were two factors now pushing Kai to try and break the lock on the last gift his parents had left him with. First of all was the fact that the competition would now be naturally much stronger, and he had to better organize the deck. But even more importantly was the fact that his deck was changing on its own. The Duel with Tenken had awoken something within him, and whatever it was it was changing Kai's deck, whether he wanted it to or not, and he was opting to be in control of most future changes.
"A duelist who doesn't know their deck doesn't know their true strength." He mumbled allowed as another combination failed. "Wait….True strength?" Kai wondered to himself as he began to recall everything Tenken had said about his true strength. "My true strength….My true power was…." In excitement the puzzle came together in Kai's mind. He could clearly see with his inner eye the different tiles coming together to form a single image.
Without hesitation Kai began to slide tiles back and forth, left and right, and in less than a minute had cracked the code, and the box opened. The expression on Kai's face as he slowly opened the seemingly plain case may have resembled something from a movie long forgotten about buried treasure, when the hero of said story would be setting eyes for the first time on the gold and jewels. Only it wasn't precious stones and metals that Kai was met with, but a stack of cards set neatly into the box, which he pulled out with great anticipation, looking over their names and effects. Indeed, they were powerful cards, and rare ones as well. Without thinking, Kai pulled out his deck and pushed the treasure chest aside, the face of a sundial or clock with a thin cross making up the hands painted in gray upon the lid stared up at the ceiling.
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If the excitement before entering the Duel Fortress had been tense, then it was quite possible that the anxiety of the competitors gathered in the small circular room was causing the entire structure to quake. All eight of them waited in anticipation of what was only moments away. Some were shuffling through their decks, some gibbering excitedly, and the last few (namely Kai and Serena) just waiting patiently for the start.
Kai himself was multi-tasking, part of his brain racing through strategies, some, many new, while the rest of him simply chose to stare up at the high ceiling, which wasn't even really a ceiling, but actually a massive circular skylight, allowing the light of the recently risen moon to sine through, strengthening the light already being given by the numerous lights mounted in the walls. It was a beautiful site, and so he was rather displeased when he was shaken from his thoughts by Serena Kaiba who was approaching him, a question obviously hanging on her mind.
"Miis Kaiba, how may I help you?" he asked politely, but in his still stoic manner.
"You said you have some records of my families history?" she asked, a small streak of timidity coursing through her voice, while a bit more of her voice was given away to curiosity. Kai nodded. With enthusiasm, Serena pulled from her coat pocket a checkbook and began to scribble on it. "How much?"
Just as Kai was about to respond his attention was drawn up and to the side as a section of the wall in the area that would be considered the second floor began to lift, revealing a pleasant balcony, upon which stood Ouja Monotori. "After the tournament is over, ask me again." Kai quickly uttered to her. Irked, but satisfied, Serena pocketed the checkbook and turned to face Ouja.
"The hour has come, young duelists. Finally, after more than half a century, there shall be a new Duel King upon the earth!" This was met with a number of cheers -a good, strong roar for a group of eight, especially since only about five of them were cheering. "Now, the selection for the first round will be completely random." Ouja paused as everyone's attention darted to the walls as eight doors opened, seeming to have just appeared, as if cut from the smooth metal surface. "You will each enter a door. After each door has closed you will feel a small lurch- do not be alarmed. You see, you will be walking onto a platform which will then travel through a small labyrinth built into the walls, being driven by a computer which will randomize the direction you move in. When it comes to a stop you will exit into the first arenas and face whoever is deposited there. The winner will advance to the elevator in the back and be taken to the next room, and the loser will depart the same way they came. The final match will be held against myself in the top level, and be warned that I well practiced in this game." With a slight chuckle, Ouja raised his right arm into the air. "Duelists, enter the chambers!" On that command, each of the eight participants entered a different, and although they couldn't see Ouja anymore, they did hear the last thing he declared. "Begin!"
The doors closed and, with a small shock, the platforms were off.
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Up on his balcony, Ouja turned to some of his employees, narrowed his eyes menacingly, and and in a dark voice gave a simple order.
"Round up the Rare Hunters that remain. Without Takamori or Seiji, they're nothing. I never want to hear from them again."
To Be Continued...
There you have it. The kickoff to the Finals. But the question is, who is against who? Will old rivalries be settled? And if so, who will fate smile upon? Who will make it to the end? And still, what was Ouja's motivation for putting this tournament together in the first place? You'll find out over the next few updates, which I hope will come soon, but it's not like you haven't heard that before. Now, onto Author-Review Responses:
The Helldragon- Hey, betting Cyber Jar was your idea. I used to have one, but my deck fell out of my locker at school and so it is lost forever. Anyway, aside from that, I'm sure you would beat the piss out of someone who hurt the one you loved, but first you need to fall in love with such a person. And yes, I myself can see such a comic frame, which is amusing.
SulliMike23- I'm sure you would be.
Blue-Eyes White Knight- Don't get to comfortable. Kevin wont always get so lucky.
Noble Paladin- Correction: Now the Rare Hunters are no more. They were really screwed once Seiji and Takamori died, but now the rest are going to meet with some very unfortunate events, if you catch my drift. And yes, the fight scene was cool. In fact, I'm rather shocked that most of the reviews I got focused on Kevin trying to kill Seiji, whereas I had been expecting mostly comments on the fight.
MatrixFighter- Nikolas is cool like it's nobodies business. If you want to learn more about him, go read G.O.T. Nick's story, or go read Seeker of the Soul's "Shadowed Light of My Heart", which is infinitely better than mine. Just read his notes, because he'll tell you were you'll find his prequel (Which Noble Paladin really liked, as well as myself).
G.O.T. Nick- If you're not using that torture wrack, can I have it? I'll give you twelve cents and half a stick of gum.
I figured you'd thoroughly enjoy that. Seiji is dead and Nick's justice is fulfilled. And also, it was twelve monsters, not ten. Just making sure the facts are straight, that's all. Now, get me those Scorpion Cards as soon as is possible.
Seeker of the Soul- Yes, Nick is awesome. Of course, we can't even begin to imagine that we've scratched the surface that is Nikolas Selket. But soon, in the next Arc, we shall!
The White Mage- Yes, Seiji did get crushed, and then killed by Nick, which is always fun. What, you want more of a response? Then give me a bigger review so I have something to respond to!
WolfGeneral- I know Ryu would stomp Kevin, but still, it was quite the move, especially since Kevin isn't the brilliant general that Ryu is, nor does he have all the wickedly awesome fusions like Bahemut.
See ya!