I apologize for the long wait! I meant to write a ton on Spring Break, but instead I slacked. But now I'm back into the writing mood so expect more updates!
John: Thanks for the compliments, but no thanks for the lame April Fool joke.
Captain Obvious: Points? Yay. I think.
Erestor Telemnar: That's fine, I took a pretty long break too as you can see. As for the suspense, sorry, you'll have to deal with it for a few more chapters!
Demon Fan: Thanks.
Chapter 10: Loyal Follower
"How long have we been walking?" Rue complained as they continued to cross the plains.
Draken looked up at the sky. "For a long time."
"Thanks for telling me what I already knew," Rue said sarcastically.
"Anytime."
Ruecian had not seemed to be hindered from his injuries, and Darche had no problems with keeping up, of course. But the two teens were having difficulties with continuing after walking for so long.
"Something about this is bothering me though…" Rue said.
"Gee, I wonder what. Maybe the pain in our bodies of continuing this trek for so long? Or the fact that we're so exhausted that we won't be able to go on much longer? Or maybe it's the fact that we could be ambushed by a Maverick any second and then die! How about that splendid idea?"
"Must you make everything we talk about a joke? Hey… wait… that's it!" Rue exclaimed.
"What? The fact that we might die any second?"
"No, not that!" Rue said impatiently. "It's the Mavericks. We've already defeated Gale around this area. Why would there be another Maverick here? From what we've heard, these Mavericks are elites. So there probably aren't that many. They wouldn't all be remaining in one area. Gale was probably the only one here."
"Wow, I'm impressed," Darche stated. "You're actually thinking for once. But be careful, or you might hurt yourself. We wouldn't want your amazing mind to be affected."
"Quiet you," Rue grumbled.
"But if you're right… then that means we've wasted the whole day looking in this area for nothing!" Draken groaned, slapping his head against his forehead. "Thanks for making your great deduction when it's practically worthless by now."
"Anytime," Rue mimicked.
"It gives us a good excuse to head back now though," Darche pointed out. "By the time we arrive at the mountains, it should be nightfall. We can rest there, and fly to the meeting place in the morning."
"That'll work," Draken agreed. "Too bad it means more walking though."
"Can't we at least rest for a few minutes?" Rue requested.
Ruecian turned around and began walking back towards the mountains.
"Sometimes he can be such a slave driver," Rue sighed as they followed.
It was around nightfall when they finally arrived at the base of the mountains. Rue and Draken instantly collapsed, too tired to even look for a decent place to rest.
Darche sat down as well. "Even I found that hard to keep up with. Your endurance is remarkable, Ruecian."
Ruecian shrugged, and then walked away.
"He's probably going to try and find a location to stay in for the night," Rue explained when he got his breath back.
"What kind of steroids did you give him?" Draken said in disbelief. "I've been on long treks before, but at that pace?"
"Must be the urgency of this," Rue replied. "I've never been pushed that hard by him."
A few minutes later, Ruecian returned.
"Did you find anything?" Rue asked.
Ruecian nodded.
"Cool. Lead the way then," Rue said as they got up.
But Ruecian froze. Then he lifted his staff, looking around cautiously.
Draken watched him warily. "Something wrong?"
"There must be someone nearby," Rue explained, reaching towards his deck in case they were attacked.
Then Ruecian turned to the base of the mountains. They looked over there to see the person who had been sensed.
He wore a light green, sleeveless shirt, with a brown belt that crossed over it. Strapped to the belt was a sword sheath, with what seemed to be a broad sword. His pants were white until they reached down to his knees, in which they became a dark green that matched the colors of the wristbands he had on each of his arms. His brown, casual shoes were the same shade as the belt he wore. He also had a dark red cape with a high collar. It completely concealed his right side, but the clasps on the left were undone, exposing that side. His short, dark brown hair was rather messed up, as though he tended to not try to straighten it. His eyes were brown too, but were lighter than his hair.
Draken eyed the sword he wore. "Looks like you spoke too soon about there not being any more Mavericks, Rue."
"You think I'm a Maverick? That's highly insulting," the young man said. "Actually, I'm with Master Tirran. Call me Adene."
"Master Tirran?" Draken muttered. Luckily, Adene did not hear
"So why are you here?" Rue asked. "If it's about finding a Maverick here, we already took care of him."
"Well, it's good that you did, but that isn't why I'm here," Adene stated. "You could say I'm here to test you, to see if you're ready for what's ahead."
"So in other words, you want to duel with one of us," Draken inferred.
"Since that seems to be your method of fighting, yes."
"You're dueling him," Rue immediately said to Draken. "I fought Gale, so it's your turn."
"Fine," Draken said. "I doubted I would be able to get out of this one anyway."
"You beat Gale? Remarkable," Adene commented. "Gale is often considered the third strongest of the Mavericks."
"Yikes," Rue said. "I didn't know he was that good..."
"Wow. Am I actually feeling respect for Rue? Nah, that can't be," Draken joked, turning on his Duel Disk.
"You can't even complement me in my one moment of triumph?" Rue inquired.
"Nope. Because that would mean I'd be admitting that you're good at something, which would mean the apocalypse is coming."
"Just shut up," Rue muttered.
Adene looked over at Darche. "That's your Soul Monster?"
"Yeah. He's a Knight of White Dragon, but you can refer to him as Darche."
"Tell me, who would yours be?" Adene asked Rue.
"He's a Super Magical Swordsman-Black Paladin, who goes by Ruecian," Rue answered. "Why?"
"I thought both were kind of ironic," Adene said. "You probably won't understand yet why I think Darche is, but Ruecian… well, see for yourself." Then he brought out his own Soul Card.
The Soul Monster that appeared was humanoid in structure, but that was all they could tell. He was completely covered by purple armor with orange lines that created designs on a few certain areas of the armor. A section behind his head was raised, almost like a hood that protected the back of his neck and head, but not much else. The helmet he wore had two antenna-like things coming from it, which added a curious touch. His eyes were a vivid red. He carried an enormous sword. The sword had only one sharp edge; the other was lined with gold, like the hilt, and had a few large, blue gems in it.
Ruecian tensed, gazing at the monster. The others recognized it instantly as well.
"Buster Blader!" Rue exclaimed.
"Yes, although he goes by the name Bowen. I believe he is one of the components for fusing the Black Paladin?"
"That's right," Rue agreed. "Of course, as far as I know, Soul Monsters can't fuse, but in the card game that applies."
"This isn't good," Draken muttered. "If his Soul Monster's Deck Master ability is anything like Buster Blader's card game effect, I can pretty much forget any thought of winning. But either way, I can't back out now!"
Draken: 8000
Adene: 8000
"Since you challenged me, I have the right to go first," Draken stated. "I lay one monster in defense mode, and one card face down. It's your turn."
"I draw, and on my standby phase, I declare Dragon," Adene said.
"Huh?"
"It's Bowen's Deck Master ability," Adene explained. "On each of my standby phases, I declare one Sub-Type. If any of my monsters battles that Sub-Type, then your Sub-Type is automatically destroyed after the damage step."
"Blast it," Draken growled. "And I gave away earlier that pretty much all my monsters are Dragons…"
"An error on your part."
"Way to go," Rue snickered.
"Shut up," Draken muttered.
"Anyway, I summon Manju God," (1400/1000) Adene announced. "He allows me to search my deck for a ritual monster card or a ritual magic card from my deck and put it into my hand. Alright, I've found it. Now Manju God attacks your face down monster."
"My Sapphire Dragon…" (1900/1600)
Draken: 8000
Adene: 7800
"Even though its defense is higher than my attack, it's still destroyed."
"You don't say," Draken said sarcastically as he put it into the Cemetery.
"Ah, but he does," Rue said.
"I'd like to be able to concentrate, thank you," Draken snapped.
"I lay two cards face down and end my turn."
Draken looked his new card and shrugged. "Worth a try. First, I summon Knight of White Dragon. (1900/1200) Then I'll activate Stomping Crash on the card to your left!"
"What does it do?"
"It destroys one face down magic or trap card, and causes you to lose 500 Life Points."
"Alright, the Life Points I could care less about, but I need that card. So I activate my other one, Magic Drain. This counter trap negates your magic card, unless you can discard another one."
"Fine by me. I discard my useless Dragon Calling Horn," Draken stated.
"Drat. That was my Trap Jammer."
"Trap Jammer? Ah well. At least your field is practically open now," Draken said. "I now activate Knight of White Dragon's effect. By sacrificing him, I can special summon a Blue Eyes White Dragon from my hand or deck-in this case, my deck! (3000/2500)"
"That seems to be a bit cheap," Adene commented as the Blue Eyes hissed at him.
"Well, Knight of White Dragon has a few side effects normally. But Darche's Deck Master ability negates them. So it's just as cheap as you destroying my Dragons every turn."
"Point taken. Are you going to attack?"
"Yep. My Blue Eyes attacks your Manju God!"
Draken: 8000
Adene: 6200
"That's it for me."
"Not bad," Adene stated. "But I can't leave that Blue Eyes out. I declare Dragon again. Then I use Early Burial. By paying 800 Life Points, this equip brings back my Manju God in attack mode." (1400/1000)
Draken: 8000
Adene: 5400
"It attacks your Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
"A suicide attack? I won't let you!" Draken declared. "I activate Attack Nullification, so your attack is negated. It also ends your battle phase."
"On to plan B then," Adene said, not seeming concerned about the set back. "I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"I summon Kaiser Seahorse! (1750/1600) Then my Blue Eyes attacks your Manju God!"
Draken: 8000
Adene: 3800
"After that, Kaiser Seahorse attacks your face down monster."
"It's my Army Dragon," (700/800) Adene said.
"Dang it! Not that annoying thing!" Draken complained.
"What does it do?" Rue asked.
"Every time one of those pests is destroyed from battle, he can special summon another one from his deck in face up attack or defense," Draken said in disgust.
"That's the gist of it," Adene agreed. "So I bring out another one in defense mode. Anything else?"
"I'm done," Draken sighed.
"Hm… I think I'll pass," Adene stated.
"In that case, I'll take out your annoying defenses this turn and defeat you on my next one! I attack your Army Dragon with Kaiser Seahorse!"
"I take another and place it in defense mode once more."
"And my Blue Eyes destroys it. Then, on my main phase two, I activate Fusion!"
Adene raised an eyebrow. "Are you fusing what I think you are?"
"With the Blue Eyes on my field and the two in my hand, I can form the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! (4500/4200) Next turn, you're pretty much screwed unless you have a back up plan," Draken told him. "I end my turn."
"Ouch. He's about to get slaughtered," Rue commented.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Darche stated as Adene looked at his new card and began to laugh again.
"What is it this time?" Draken asked.
"Another coincidence," Adene said with a grin. "One I find highly helpful. First, I activate a magic card, Brain Control!"
"Brain Control? What's that?" Draken inquired.
"I pay 800 Life Points."
Draken: 8000
Adene: 3000
"In exchange, I get to take control of one of your face up monsters until the end of my turn," Adene explained. "Take a wild guess at what I want."
"Ouch," Draken winced as he watched his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon move to Adene's side.
"Then I activate a monster's effect from my hand. It's The Marsh Guardian King. (500/1100) His effect lets me place him from my hand into the Cemetery to search my deck for a Fusion magic card and place it into my hand. Then, I activate it, to fuse your Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and the Chaos Soldier in my hand!"
"I get the feeling this isn't good," Draken said as he watched the monsters vanish in a white flash of light.
Then they emerged again. The Chaos Soldier now rode on the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon's middle neck. All three heads glared at Draken, hissing, screeching, and roaring.
"Meet my Master of Dragon Knight," (5000/5000) Adene introduced.
"I'm not pleased to make his acquaintance," Draken said.
"Doesn't look good for you," Rue commented.
"I'll be fine," Draken stated, eyeing the new monster tensely.
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"
"Both," Draken confessed. "But at least he can't finish me off this turn."
"Actually, I can," Adene said. "First of all, my Dragon Knight's attack is raised by 500 for each Dragon Sub-Type on my field. (5500/5000) After that, I equip him with the magic card Twin Swords of Flurry-Toraisu. I have to discard my Rebirth of the Dead to be able to, and my Dragon Knight's attack is lowered by 500, but it is worth it. (5000/5000) For now he can attack twice!"
"…Damn it," Draken muttered.
"He attacks Kaiser Seahorse, and then attacks you directly!"
Draken braced himself as the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon's heads combined their power to form a ball of white energy. The Chaos Soldier brought up his sword, which began to glow rainbow colors. Then they released their power at the same time so the two beams mixed together, tearing through the Kaiser Seahorse. Before Draken could get over the shock of the powerful attack, they released another, which crashed into him and caused him to fly backwards.
Draken: 0
Adene: 3000
"You alright?" Darche asked, offering Draken a hand.
Draken accepted, pulling himself up. "Ow… yeah, I'm ok, thanks. My pride is hurt more than anything."
"Looks like you got served," Rue snickered, coming over to him.
"Let's see you do better," Draken retorted.
"I actually would, since you basically provided him with the one monster he needed," Rue pointed out.
"Well… I can't argue with that… ok, fine, I screwed up badly!" Draken said in exasperation. "You happy now?"
"Why yes, thank you," Rue grinned.
Draken was about to make another comment before Adene cut in impatiently. "This is amusing to listen to, but I really do not have the time to listen to your bickering. So let me finish my business here."
"Oh yeah. Since I lost, you get to kill me, don't you?" Draken gave a resigned shrug and stepped forward. "Alright, but do me a favor and make it quick. I heard you can live for a few minutes if beheaded, so how about a stab through the heart? That looked like a pretty fast way to go."
Adene gave him a look of disgust. "I'm not going to kill you. My orders from Master Tirran were to test you with a duel to see how prepared you were. Judging by that match, you aren't ready for the obstacles ahead yet."
"Denied!" Rue told him.
"You will be too if you keep annoying me. You've already had a broken leg; don't make me give you another one," Draken threatened before turning back to Adene. "Ok, so I failed. Was that my only opportunity to take this test?"
"Perhaps you can have a second chance if I feel you have improved," Adene stated. "But next time will be the real thing. If you lose, you will suffer the consequences of death."
"So you could say that duel was a pretest," Draken said.
"Pretty much. So use this time to study for the vital test," Adene replied. "Now, I must go. Master Tirran is expecting me."
"You're pretty polite when it comes to Sarius," Rue commented.
"I don't see any problem with that," Adene shrugged before turning and going towards the mountains. Soon he was lost in the shrouds of night.
"I can thank my lucky stars for living through that one," Draken said with a sigh of relief.
"And then you can prepare yourself for next time, so you have a better chance at living," Rue pointed out.
"I know, I know! Now that I know what his strategy is, I'll be able to beat him next time. Right Darche?"
"Yeah. It'll work out in the end," Darche agreed.
"Well, one can hope," Rue said. "But in the meantime, I'm exhausted. Ruecian, you were going to lead us to a location to rest in?"
Ruecian nodded, and the four of them set off to get some much-deserved rest.
To be continued…