I have good news. Besides just saving fifteen percent on my car insurance by switching to Geico, I have a new computer! So my virus computer, the dreaded Dell with Windows ME, is now gone. I still have a Dell, but it has Windows XP. Score! Now I can finally finish this arc!
Captain Obvious: I'm betting that the British will suddenly arrive and gun down both Sarius and Juno… ok, maybe not.
John: You know, I've never done a three way duel. That'd be interesting…
Demon Fan: Light actually has a Deck Master, but she did not use it out of wanting to be fair.
Erestor Telemnar: Heh, nice to see you again too. I am sad about Fell leaving as well, but that's the way it goes.
Epyon: You be quiet, Mr. I Hide In Plain View. Go practice your dice rolls.
Chapter 24: Final Confrontation… For Now
The group did not know what was going on, but Sarius and Juno did not exactly look like they were about to fill them in. So they went over to Larka, cautiously watching the two Emissaries facing each other. She was kneeling beside Julian, who still seemed petrified, and Fell, who was focused on the scene.
"Larka, what's going on?" Hope asked as they arrived next to her.
"Juno attempted to kill him," Larka said, nodding to Julian. "It appears that he is the second Limiter."
"No way!" Rue exclaimed. The others seemed to be pretty disbelieving too.
"That's what Sarius and Juno believe, and they know better than we do," Larka reminded them. "There isn't much we can do but watch and see what happens."
"Yeah," Miles agreed. "Sarius has the best chance of taking down Juno. Let's hope he can pull it off."
Malon sniffed Julian cautiously, and then began to whine. Noticing the puppy's actions, Zack asked, "How is the boy himself?"
"Shaken but unharmed, from what I can tell," Larka answered. She turned back to Julian. "It will be all right. Just trust us, please."
"...O-ok..." Julian said shakily, stepping a bit closer to Larka. Out of all of the new people that had arrived, she seemed the safest to him.
Seeing that he was trembling, Larka put an arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry. We'll make sure you get through this safely."
Julian nodded slightly, feeling somewhat better from how calm Larka was acting.
Sarius was gazing at Juno. "What way do you wish to go about doing this?"
"The old fashioned one," Juno replied. He glanced over at his Maverick. "Light, go back to the lake. Bolt, Flame, and Gale are waiting there. Tell them I will return shortly."
"Yes, Master Juno." Light backed away slowly. At the edge of the trees, she gave one last smile to Julian before she went into them, vanishing within the forest.
Julian had smiled back faintly, and was content with the knowledge that Light had seen it. He got the feeling they would probably never meet again. That saddened him, but the knowledge that he still had her card helped ease some of the pain of the farewell.
Sarius and Aya watched Light leave but did not react. There was an unsaid rule that they did not try to harm Light as long as she was not fighting against them. Light was one of the more agreeable members in the Mavericks for Sarius' group to deal with, and she had never given them a reason to want to try and hurt her. It was easier for them to let her be.
When Light was gone, Juno brought out his sword and immediately lunged at Sarius. In response, Sarius parried with the Shibien, and tried to strike Juno. However, Juno easily dodged the blow, and responded with his own. Sarius sidestepped, barely avoiding him, and struck again. This time, Juno brought down his sword onto the Shibien in a block. Sarius and Juno remained in that position, struggling to overpower each other.
Sarius was the one who at last had to give in, jumping back towards the group. He turned to the Child. "I cannot win in my condition. A power boost is necessary."
The Child gazed up into his eyes, and nodded. "Hai, Tirran-sama." Then the Child turned to the group, and smiled softly. "Sayonara, minna."
"What did he just say?" Gen asked Will, who seemed disturbed by what the Child had just said.
"It means goodbye, usually for a long time," Will replied.
"Why would he say that?" Claire wondered.
She got her answer when the Child suddenly began to glow white. He turned into what seemed to be a liquid light, and began flowing to Sarius.
At the same time, Cyrus became the same substance and went into Raid. He hissed while the light was absorbed.
As the liquid light from the Child gathered onto Sarius' back, they saw a large wing form on the left side of Sarius. For the briefest instant, they also saw a dark wing on his right.
The light flashed once, burning their eyes. While it did, they heard Sarius whisper, "Join with me once more… Thomas…"
When they looked up, the wings were gone. But Sarius looked much stronger. He stood up straighter and had his sword in front of him with a more confident expression.
Juno did not seem surprised by what had just happened, but was more on guard. After Sarius and Juno stared at each other for a moment, they sprung into action at the same time. Their swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere. This time, they did not try to overpower each other with one attack. They continuously struck at each other, the metal ringing whenever they connected.
"…Did you guys just see what I thought I saw?" Rue said in disbelief.
"If you saw the Child become a wing on Sarius' back to accompany another one, then yes, we did," Draken answered.
Julian was watching the battle with wide eyes, now clinging onto Larka's arm. As the two continued to exchange blows, Julian whispered, "He's an angel…"
"An angel? Impossible!" Miles exclaimed.
"Yeah, they don't exist. Neither does Satan, right?" Neo said sarcastically.
"…Shut up," Miles muttered.
"You know you just got owned horribly when Neo of all people does it," Rue snickered.
Miles glared at him. "You're lucky this battle is taking up all of our attention, or your body would be a mass of pain."
Larka spoke to Julian as Rue and Miles argued. "You have a good point. Sarius certainly looked like one for a second."
"Sarius?" Julian glanced at Sarius and Juno as their swords hit each other again.
"The one with the wings is Sarius. The other is Juno," Larka explained to him. After a moment, she added, "Sarius is trying to help you."
"But why?" Julian asked nervously. "Have I done something wrong?"
"No, nothing!" Larka assured. "Sarius and Juno want something that you have inside of you. It is very important to both of them. Sarius wants to take it from you, but in a method that will not harm you. Juno wants you to die, so Sarius is trying to defend you."
"Are you sure it was ok to tell him all of that?" Miles asked, coming out of his fight with Rue. "He's just a kid; it might be hard for him to handle."
"It would be worse if he was left in the dark," Larka told him. "He's part of this now, so we might as well explain what is happening." She turned back to Julian. "You never gave us your name, did you?"
"Julian," he said softly, looking down.
Larka tried to make him feel more at ease by smiling at him. "I'm Larka. If we have time, I'll introduce you to everyone else later."
"Do not mind what Miles said," Zack said, coming next to them. "He is only trying to think in your best interests, although he is probably going about the wrong way of doing it."
"Yeah, put down everything I say, Zack," Mile sighed.
A roar caused them all to look up. Raid was combating Zork as well, sending dark and light blasts to counter Zork's black magic.
"This is a little extreme, don't you think?" Gaston commented as they watched Sarius and Juno brutally crash into each other.
Nobody responded as they watched the battle continue. It seemed to last for a long, long time; yet in reality, it was a mere few minutes when Sarius and Juno landed on their opposite sides of the field.
"Another draw," Sarius stated as Raid descended next to him. "We have no choice but to duel now."
Juno regretfully sheathed his sword. "If that is the only way about it." Zork came to his side as well.
Sarius put his Shibien away before turning on his Duel Disk. "The final fight for this world, then. You are aware that it will probably end as they all do, right?"
"I know that it's likely that I will lose!" Juno snarled. "But I'll take you down with me, Tirran!"
"We will see," was all Sarius said as he drew his cards. Juno did the same.
Aya was also watching them. It is impossible for Juno to be the winner. He knows this too. Nevertheless, he will fight Sarius, and continue to do so, never stopping… how irritating it gets.
Sarius: 8000
Juno: 8000
Sarius thought for a moment, and then looked over at the group. "Does anyone have a method of deciding who goes first?"
Julian wordlessly picked up his quarter and threw it to Sarius.
"Thanks," Sarius said, catching it. "Juno, call heads or tails."
Juno watched impatiently as Sarius flipped the coin into the air. "Heads."
The coin landed on Sarius' palm. "It's tails. I'll go first," Sarius announced. He tossed the coin back to Julian without looking back. He was accurate though; the coin went right into Julian's hand.
"I summon Twilight Zone Survivor," (2300/700) Sarius said. "I assume I do not need to explain Raid's Deck Master ability again?"
"He increases the stats of all your Light and Dark Main-Types by 500?" Juno asked.
"Right. It seems you remember our last duel well enough," Sarius commented. "I lay a card face down and end my turn."
"I summon Sonic Bird. (1400/1000) Using his effect, I find a ritual in my deck and place it into my hand. That is it," Juno said.
Despite the fact that Juno only had a monster on his field, Sarius was not about to let his guard down. Juno would not have left himself that vulnerable unless there was a good reason for it. Still, this was an opportunity he was not about to pass up.
"I summon Twilight Zone Female Warrior. (2000/2100) Twilight Zone Survivor attacks Sonic Bird, and Twilight Zone Female Warrior attacks you directly. I'm done," Sarius said.
Sarius: 8000
Juno: 5100
Juno indicated to Twilight Zone Female Warrior. "She has an effect, correct?"
"When in battle, I can choose to remove her and the monster she engaged with," Sarius explained. "Why?"
"Because it sounds like a good effect to have on my side," Juno smirked. "I use Brain Control. By paying 800 Life Points, your Twilight Zone Female Warrior is under my control for the rest of the turn. (1500/1600) I summon Demon Soldier (1900/1500) and attack your Twilight Zone Survivor with your Female Warrior! Using her effect, I remove both, allowing me to directly attack you with Demon Soldier! I lay one card down and end my turn."
Sarius: 6100
Juno: 3500
"That was a good play, but you made two major errors," Sarius told Juno.
"Oh? What would those be?" Juno inquired.
"One is that you lost a large amount of Life Points for it. Another is that you did not ask about my Twilight Zone Survivor's effect," Sarius stated. As he said that, the Twilight Zone Survivor suddenly appeared on Sarius' field.
"How is that possible? I ordered that it be removed!" Juno said.
Sarius grinned. "That is where my Survivor's special effect kicks in. When he is removed from being face up on the field, he is special summoned to my field on the end phase. Now, I summon White Ninja. (2000/1300) Then Twilight Zone Survivor attacks Demon Soldier."
"I use Curse of Darkness on your Twilight Zone Survivor," Juno stated. "This stops him from attacking or changing positions, and lowers his attack by 700." (1600/700)
"All right, you can do that," Sarius shrugged. "I attack your Demon Soldier with White Ninja. Then I lay one card face down and end my turn."
Sarius: 6100
Juno: 3400
"Sarius has a good lead on him!" Rue said.
"True, but we all know just how quickly that can turn around," Darche replied.
"Must somebody always bring that up?" Miles complained.
"You know, practically every duel we watch, someone comments on the large lead the one we're cheering on has, and somebody else says it isn't over yet. Then the enemy gets a comeback on them very shortly afterwards. Do we jinx people when we say that?" Gaston wondered.
"I summon Senju God, (1400/1000) which allows me to use his effect. I search my deck for a ritual monster and add it to my hand. Now I activate Pact With the Dark Master!" Juno said with a cold smile. "By sacrificing Senju God and Mad Dog of Darkness from my hand to pay for the cost of the ritual, I special summon Dark Master: Zork! (2700/1500) Then I activate his effect. I roll a six sided die. If it lands on a one or two, all of your monsters are destroyed. If the result is a three, four, or five, you lose one monster. If I am unlucky enough to get a six, all of my monsters are destroyed."
The die appeared above the field, and then was dropped. After it rolled around for a few seconds, it landed on…
"A one," Juno said as the White Ninja and Twilight Zone Survivor were destroyed. "Zork attacks you directly."
Sarius: 3400
Juno: 3400
"…Will, would you please smack Gaston over the head with your book?" Miles requested.
"Sorry, but I do not want my book to fall apart when it hits his helmet," Will stated.
Gaston looked away sheepishly. "Sorry. But look on the bright side. Usually after that happens, the person we want to win makes a comeback of their own."
Julian once more had a tight grip around Larka's arm. "I know of that monster…"
"You do?" Larka asked.
"I once considered using him in my deck… but he made me too nervous to try," Julian shivered. "There is something wrong with him…"
Sarius did not seem concerned with the brutal attack he had just taken. "I remove White Ninja and Twilight Zone Survivor from my Cemetery for Chaos Sorcerer. (2800/2500) I use his effect to remove Zork from the game. Since I cannot attack after using that effect, I am done."
"I still want to hit you," Miles muttered at Gaston, who seemed relieved by the turn of events.
"I play Jar of Greed to draw two cards," Juno said. "Then I lay one monster in defense mode. That is it."
Sarius eyed the monster warily. "I lay a card face down and end my turn."
Juno looked at the card he had just drawn and sneered. "You know what my Deck Master ability is too, I take it?"
"Yes. When you draw a Dark Main-Type monster, you can pay 500 Life Points to destroy a monster on the field, regardless of position," Sarius stated. "Is that what you are going to do now?"
"Correct. I just drew another Dark Master: Zork," Juno said, showing him it. "So I will pay 500 Life Points to destroy Chaos Sorcerer."
Sarius: 3400
Juno: 2900
"Then I summon Manju God. (1400/1000) I can choose to search for either a ritual monster or a ritual magic. I will pick a ritual magic. Then I activate it, a second Pact With the Dark Master! I sacrifice Manju God and a Demon Soldier from my hand to special summon Zork! Then he attacks!"
"With that attack, I activate two of my trap cards," Sarius said. "The first one is Wicked Barrier-Dark Force. It removes any monsters that you have in defense mode from the game."
Juno removed the one defense monster he had. "I lose my Cyber Pod. (900/900) That is not very threatening for me at this point."
"The second trap I use will make you wish that you still had it," Sarius told him. "It is Holy Barrier-Mirror Force. That destroys all monsters in attack mode."
"Damn!" Juno swore. "I end my turn…"
"Luckily for you, there is not much that I can do," Sarius informed him. "I activate Angel's Gift, drawing three and discarding two. I'll get rid of Black Warrior Werewolf and Turner of the Dead: Kaiku. Then I lay a monster in defense mode, finishing my move."
"I lay one card face down and end my turn," Juno stated.
"I do not have much else to do besides lay another monster in defense mode," Sarius said.
"Let's see if you will attack if I bait you," Juno smirked. "I summon Mad Dog of Darkness. (1900/1400) That is all."
Sarius hesitated, and then said, "I summon Swift Black Ninja. (2200/1700) He attacks Mad Dog of Darkness."
"Then I will activate my own Wicked Barrier-Dark Force!" Juno announced. "That will remove your two face down monsters."
"My second White Ninja and a Saint Magician are removed," Sarius stated. "But my Swift Black Ninja's attack still goes through. I end my turn after that."
Sarius: 3400
Juno: 2600
"I activate an equip magic card, Continue the Contract! By paying 800 Life Points, I special summon Zork from my Cemetery," Juno said.
Sarius: 3400
Juno: 1800
"Then I attack your Swift Black Ninja with Zork!" Juno declared.
"That I can't allow," Sarius said. "I remove my Black Warrior Werewolf and Kaiku from my Cemetery to activate his effect. He is removed from the field until the end phase of this turn."
"If you really want to take more damage from my attack, that's fine by me!" Juno stated as the Swift Black Ninja vanished. "Zork attacks directly! Then I lay one card face down and end my turn."
Sarius: 700
Juno: 1800
"Not good at all," Draken muttered.
"I don't understand why Sarius would remove his Swift Black Ninja," Perseus said as the monster in question reappeared.
"You will probably be shown the reason this turn," Kazel stated, watching calmly.
"Let's hope so," Larka said, glancing at Julian. He was completely absorbed in the duel.
Sarius slid a magic card into his Duel Disk. "I have been wanting to use this card for a while, but never had the chance. This seems like the perfect opportunity though. It is called Chaos End!"
As he said the name of the card, darkness and light consumed the field. A huge explosion occurred as the two elements combined. When they cleared, the Swift Black Ninja and Zork were gone.
"I have to have seven of my cards removed from play to use it. My Twilight Zone Female Warrior, Twilight Zone Survivor, two White Ninjas, Saint Magician, Black Warrior Werewolf, and Kaiku were all removed. It destroys all monsters on the field, so although I lost my Swift Black Ninja, your Zork is gone. I find the price to be well worth it, and I must thank you for helping me be able to use it with your Wicked Barrier-Dark Force."
The only response Sarius received was a hate-filled glare.
The expression did not even faze him. "I summon Blade Knight. (2100/1500) Then I attack with him."
"I use Attack Nullification to negate your attack and end your battle phase," Juno growled. "Is that it?"
"No," Sarius answered. "I also play Release of the Soul! This allows me to remove five cards from either of our Cemeteries from the game. I remove your two Demon Soldiers, two Mad Dogs of Darkness, and Manju God. Then I activate a permanent trap card, Wrath From Beyond the Grave! You'll see what this does on my next turn. Go ahead."
Juno looked at the card he drew and immediately activated it. "I activate another Continue the Contract for Zork. He attacks!"
Sarius: 100
Juno: 1000
"This will be the deciding play," Zack stated. "It all comes down to Sarius' move."
Julian was more concerned with how vicious Juno's appearance was. His eyes were flashing angrily, his hands clenched in tight fists of fury. Without thinking, his tight grip on Larka's arm began to loosen.
Sarius glanced at his card and smiled. "That's game. On my standby phase, Wrath From Beyond the Grave activates! It does 100 damage for each of your monsters that was removed from play. I believe you have seven, including the Zork and Cyber Pod that I removed?"
Juno's fiery eyes told him that he was right.
"So you lose 700 Life Points in all," Sarius stated.
Sarius: 100
Juno: 300
"Then I move Raid from my Deck Master position onto the field!" Sarius declared. Raid went onto the field and let out an ear-shattering roar. (3000/2500) "He attacks Zork, finishing the duel!"
The detonation from Chaos End had been large, but Raid's attack was beyond that. He shot out a stream of light and darkness, tearing through Zork. The resulting explosion caused everyone to shut their eyes, and in most cases, cover their ears. All of their senses were temporarily gone as the blast went everywhere.
Then it finally cleared. They dared to look up, and saw that the Zork was long gone. All that remained was Raid, who snarled viciously at Juno.
Sarius: 100
Juno: 0
Juno stepped back towards the trees, glaring once more at Sarius. "For this world, it is over, Tirran. You can't win forever though. I will beat you; this you know as well as I do!" Then he went into the forest. All they could hear was his footsteps for a moment, and then they too were gone.
Sarius sighed tiredly. "I am glad that is over with."
"As am I," Aya said, coming to his side.
Rue sat down hard. "Whew! Just seeing that power is making it hard for me to stand!"
"For once, I agree with you," Draken stated, looking as though he wanted to fall too.
Larka's voice cut through their conversation. "He's gone!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Neo asked.
Larka gestured next to her side helplessly. "Julian. I kept him close to me to try and keep him from panicking from all of this, but he must have fled when Sarius brought out Raid."
"I don't blame him," Hope said sadly.
"Yeah. It must have been a lot for the poor kid to handle," Miles commented. "Should we try to find him?"
"That would be helpful. I still need to be able to obtain his Limiter powers," Sarius stated dryly.
But before anyone could begin to search, a group of about fifteen people they recognized to be officials suddenly came out of the forest.
"Um… hi?" Rue said.
One of the men, with gray hair and brown eyes, glared at Kazel. "So you are the ones who were flying after all!"
"Well, some of us did," Larka replied. "Is that a problem?"
"Is that a problem? Is that a problem? Of course it's a problem!" the official exclaimed. "One of the number one rules applied to Soul Monsters that can fly is that they are only allowed to go to a certain height in the sky! Otherwise you run the risk of running into airplanes, helicopters, and more!"
"Oops," Draken said sheepishly. "I've heard that rule before, but it slipped my mind…"
Kazel glanced away guiltily. "No, the fault is mine. It was my idea to fly to Fell and Larka. I completely forgot that was banned. I am sorry."
"Sorry? Is that all you have to say?" the official said in disbelief.
"Enough," another one ordered as he stepped forward, this one with black hair and hazel eyes. "They know better now, and will not do it again… right?" He gestured to the group, waiting for them to agree.
"Yeah, of course!" Draken said quickly.
"As long as there are no more incidents of it occurring, we will let this one slide." The official glanced at the mansion. "On a lighter note, are you aware that this is private property?"
"D'oh," Miles muttered, slapping himself over the head.
"We were not aware," Zack said.
"Well, it is. Therefore, we must escort you off it at once," the official told them.
"All right, we'll come, we'll come," Rue said, scrambling up. Sarius seemed irritated at this delay, but did not argue as they were lead away from the clearing.
"It's nice to see an official that doesn't want to arrest us instantly," Gaston commented as they went through the forest.
The man smiled at the comment. "Our new leader is much more understanding to such matters. In fact, she will probably wish to talk to you herself when she gets everything straightened out."
"She?" Gen asked. "Your new leader is a female?"
"Yes. She'll introduce herself in good time," the man assured as they stepped out of the forest, emerging near the condo. "This is where I will leave you. But I am sure we will meet again soon."
"Possibly," Hope agreed. "What is your name?"
"Helmer. I'm second in command to the officials," he replied. "So like I said, you'll probably see me when you meet our leader. Until then…" The officials walked away, the one with gray hair still muttering complaints. A blunt whack over the head from Helmer shut him up.
…
Julian stayed behind the tree he had run to even after he was sure everyone was gone. He knew he would not be able to walk very well, so he remained in his position, shaking.
He could hardly believe what had happened. Until this point, nothing of interest had ever occurred. He had known exactly two people, and never met anyone else. Now he had met what he considered too many people. He was also sure that they would return for him.
Julian looked down at the card he still held. The Holy Shine Soul still reminded him of Light. Despite all that had happened, he was glad to have met her. He had also liked Larka, and a few other members in the group that had arrived. If the whole situation hadn't been so confusing, Julian thought that he might have enjoyed talking to them.
But it was too dangerous to make any more contact with them. In fact, it was probably more hazardous to stay in this location. So he reluctantly got up and headed back towards the mansion. Knowing the lonely life that lay in it, he wondered if he really would prefer the safety it provided when compared to the duel he had just witnessed. At least in the heart of danger, he had had other people that seemed to care for him.
To be continued…