Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Walking Another's Path

Chapter 2: Wandering Dragon

Bracing for impact, the young man prepared himself to plow headlong into the other man, which would lead to an argument of right of way, manners, etc, and possibly, if the other man had enough of a temper, a duel. Yet much to the man's surprise he did not collide with the on-comer. It was as if the other man had been able to completely step to the side in a fraction of a second and keep going as if they had never been on a collision coarse.

However, even if this was the case, the man had been unable to get to the side as much as he had hoped, and the two brushed their shoulders against one another with a light tap, but that was all. Muttering a faint "Excuse me," the two walked on their ways.

Amarai barely paid the other boy more than that. He had too many things on his mind to worry about a brief encounter with a random guy. ("No, I have to keep moving. I'm still being trailed by those men…") He glanced very carefully over his shoulder and knew instantly that something was wrong with the shadows in a couple of nearby alleyways. They were too large and too distorted. ("Shadow Trackers?") For a fleeting moment he smiled at the possibility that 'he' had sent these men. ("No…his method of dealing with his problems has always been straightforward and to the point. He wouldn't bring out a pair of assassins just for me until it became necessary.")

Maybe he was just putting too much importance on his own life though. Dodging past a couple holding hands and looking up at the sky, Amarai mentally berated himself for using Flash Step again. ("Stop that…people find it strange when you just seem to avoid running into them out of the blue. Stop using Flash Step…stop using Flash Step…")

"Is that the guy?" A dark-cloaked form spoke from behind a nearby parked car, his body blending perfectly with the shadows created by the vehicle's position. "The descriptions of him describe a silver-haired boy with bronze eyes that looks about 20, right?"

Looking at the boy they had been trailing for the last few hours, Cerin clenched his fist in the thought that his triumph was soon approaching. The boy fit all of the descriptors, and the eyes and hair were unique enough as to say that something about this boy wasn't human.

"Indeed…it might be him. We could be making a mistake. And we must, of course, be weary of the possibility that if it is him, he could be dangerous." Another dark-cloaked form, this one standing atop a street lamp, spoke into his small communicator. "As a dragon demon, he is definitely capable of massive amounts of destruction if he wished it. And if he did cause that kind of destruction, then you and I would most likely die."

"You worry too much, Repir." The car-hidden form seemed to fade out of existence. "After all, the worst he could do is reveal himself as the demon he is, and then the authorities would take him down in one shot. No…this one won't be acting very threatening, nothing beyond what you and I can handle with our teamwork."

"Enough, he's turning the corner and going into some kind of gaming store right now." Repir leapt up to the roof of the building and kneeled down so that his cloak concealed him within the sea of black coverings on the roof. "I leave it to you, Cerin. Flush him out."

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The store keeper, a young man who couldn't have been any older than twenty-five, smiled as he heard the door to his store open. "Welcome!"

A young man wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans walked in, his shimmering silver hair catching the light from the lighting fixtures and refracting it slightly. "Hi. I was wondering if this gaming store had the latest Shonen Jump in?"

"Shonen…" Smiling, the man pointed over at the comics rack. "Right over there. Be sure to ask if there is anything else you want."

Amarai felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Yes, where is your bathroom?"

"Right in the back. It's unlocked and marked, so go right ahead and use it." The store keeper watched as the boy walked out of sight right as he heard the door to his store open. "Welcome!"

The next man to walk in wore a brown sweater and a pair of beige khaki pants, with a short crop of brown hair and a pair of deep blue eyes. "Excuse me, but did a young man with silver hair walk in here about a minute ago?"

"Yes, he just went into the back." The store keeper watched in more than a little interest as the man started to head towards the back of the store. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"He's my son, and at the moment he's in a lot of trouble. I just need to bring him home, that's all." The man held up a hand reassuringly. "This should only take a minute." He started to walk towards the back, and then stopped as he felt someone approaching. ("Planning on facing me in the open? Wise choice…but if you think this store owner will be able to help you by calling the police, you are in for a big surprise.") He had a small loaded handgun in his pocket, and if it came to it he had no qualms with blowing the man's head off.

The person who stepped out of the back rooms of the store though wasn't the one he had been expecting. It was a silver-haired person with bronze-colored eyes wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but it was a girl. She was short, and rather cute-looking, if Cerin was into younger women…but something about her didn't radiate that same aura he had sensed from their target. "Oh, excuse me." The girl walked past him casually, without the slightest hesitation.

Cerin narrowed his eyes when he heard the store keeper's sound of confusion. ("A disguise? How foolish!") Spinning, he pulled out his handgun and without wasting any time blew a hole right in the head of the shop keeper.

The girl screamed and stumbled away from the corpse that was now slumped over the counter. She moved back as far as she could towards a wall, eyes wide in terror at Cerin. "What…why…"

This brought the Tracker more than a little doubt. ("Wait a second…if it's a demon it shouldn't be afraid of blood or death that easily…") He growled and aimed the handgun right at the girl. "The games over, Amarai. I know it's you, and I know that there's no way you can hope to escape me. Now surrender quickly or I'll kill you."

The girl had tears staining her cheeks, and she was almost trying to climb the wall she had her back to. "Amarai? No…my name's Amesia…"

"Do I look stupid to you?" Screaming out that last part, Cerin fired his gun right above her head, leaving a bullet hole just a few inches from her skull. "Show your true form to me already. I'm not in the mood to play with you…" He could heard crackling coming from his communicator, and that worried him. It should have been silent unless something on the same frequency as his communicator was locked in the 'on' position. ("What's going on upstairs?")

"Real form…what do you mean?" The girl dropped to her knees and put her hands over her head, quivering in fear. "I'm not Amarai!"

"I've heard just about enough out of…" Cerin froze as he heard a thud from the back of the store. "Who's there?"

"Cerin…" Repir, his cloak stained with blood, stumbled into view. "Amarai…Amarai…"

"He's right here, trying to disguise himself stupidly. And what the hell happened to you anyway?" Cerin barely flinched as his business partner collapsed to the ground, dead. "Cheh, what a fool. Anyway Amarai, you had better face me or else I'll just shoot you and leave it at that."

Amesia tried to crawl away, and felt the wall above her explode as another bullet was pounded into it. Screaming, she curled up into a ball and prayed that she would be okay.

Cerin aimed the gun right at her head. "That's enough playing around. Die, Amarai." Right as started to pull the trigger, a powerful bright spotlight shined in through the store window and nearly blinded both him and Amesia. "Damn, it's the police! They respond faster here…"

"This is the police, come out with your hands up and your gun down." A very stern voice yelled out through a megaphone.

"Cheh, this is far too troublesome for my tastes…fine then, little missy, I'll just use you as a…" Cerin looked back over at where Amesia was, and found himself staring into a pair of intense bronze-colored eyes that were so strong in ferocity he felt himself unable to move. "W…W…"

Amarai slowly stood up and looked around the store quickly, taking in the situation. "You killed the store owner?" His hand snapped out and knocked Cerin's gun away with ease. "That's low…even for how some of you Trackers operate."

"W…Where'd…" Cerin was truly confused now. Was the target just pretending to be a girl and be afraid until his attention was off of him?

Amarai kept his eyes averted from the spotlight shining in the window. "I'm going to kill you, just to make sure that you don't ever do this kind of horrible thing again."

"Kill me?" Cerin snarled and the spotlight was cut off as a surging orb of darkness formed around them. "Fool, I've got you just where I want you!"

"A darkness game?" Amarai tilted his head back and sighed. "Very well…" A bronze and silver duel disk materialized onto his arm, and he pulled a Duel Monsters deck out of his back pocket. "Though if you thought that this kind of thing was meant to trap me, then you are dead wrong. My powers are far beyond whatever yours might be, regardless of your preparations."

"Foolish dragon, you can't argue the fact that I've got you right where I want you. In this game, you cannot injure me at all with your mighty powers, and if I win I can deal with you in any way that I so choose." Cerin removed a Duel Disk from underneath his cloak and strapped it onto his arm. "Prepare yourself for battle!"

Cerin- 4000

Amarai- 4000

Cerin slid the top card off of his deck and the darkness throbbed. "I begin with one card face-down on the field. Then I special summon my Consumer of Magic (1600/1000) to the field without sacrifice." A red and black leech-like monster appeared on the field. "This monster can be summoned without sacrifice by offering one magic card I have on the field as a tribute. I offer my face-down Back to Square One as an offering!" The leech turned and chomped down on the set card, destroying it immediately. "Also, for every magic card in my graveyard my Consumer gains 100 attack points." (1700/1000) "Beyond that I place a single card face-down on my field for an added barrier against your attack. End turn."

Amarai checked his body over once more. ("Good, he didn't hurt me while I was in that state…") Drawing the top card of his deck, he threw it down onto the field. "I special summon my Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) without sacrifice!" A metallic serpent-like dragon appeared on the field and roared in anger. "Go Cyber Dragon, Evolution Burst!" A blast of fire shot out of the dragon's jaws and rocketed towards the leech.

"Reverse card open!" Cerin's face-down card flipped up and lightning slammed into the Cyber Dragon, forcing it to fade away. "Counter Lightning is a trap that triggers when the opponent attacks. If the attacking monster is stronger than the monster being attacked, I can send the attacking monster back to your hand and force you to discard the top six cards of your deck." A line of lightning shot in and hit Amarai's deck, the top six cards of the boy's deck disappearing into his graveyard slot.

Amarai looked down at his returned Cyber Dragon and then at the rest of his hand. ("Well that sucks…but at the same time…") He reached into his graveyard and pulled out the six cards that were there, looking at each one in turn and then returning them to the slot. ("With this setup, I can actually use this combo.") Sliding a card into his disk, he glanced over at Cerin's field and the Consumer of Magic. "Your leech won't last much longer. I set one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

"You have no monsters in play." Cerin drew. "I set one card face-down and special summon another Consumer of Magic without sacrifice." His face-down card disappeared as another of the red and black leeches appeared on his field. (1800/1000x2) "Consumers, attack his life points directly!"

"Wait!" Amarai's face-down card flipped up. "Go Morbid Gameshow!" His face-down card flipped up to reveal a trap with a picture of a bunch of zombies on a gameshow. "This card activates when the opponent declares an attack against me. My opponent must guess what the bottom card of my graveyard is, whether it be monster, magic, or trap. If he guesses right my graveyard is removed from the game, but if he guesses wrong them I may activate and use one card from my graveyard right now."

Cerin knew that he had a one in three chance. "I call…magic!"

Amarai smiled slowly and his graveyard spat out a card. "Actually, it's a Cyber Dragon! The card is added to my hand and can be played at this time. Since I have no monsters in play and you do, I special summon my Cyber Dragon without sacrifice!" There was a flash of light as the metallic serpent-like dragon appeared on the field. "Now what will you do?"

Cerin slid two cards into his disk. "I place two cards face-down on the field and then I end my turn."

Amarai drew. "During my standby phase I activate the effect of the monster you sent to the graveyard through the effect of your Counter Lightning! Cyber Serpent (300/300) when in my graveyard during my standby phase, allows me to remove it from the game to add one Cyber Dragon from my deck to my hand." Fanning out his seven cards, he looked at the two Cyber Dragons he was holding and then at the one on his field.

Cerin felt a couple of drops of sweat on his forehead. This was a risky gamble he was taking, relying on his two face-down cards to keep him safe.

"I activate Polymerization!" Amarai held up the magic card and two more Cyber Dragons appeared on his field. "Fuse the three Cyber Dragons together now!" The three steel monsters were sucked into a swirling vortex, and when that vortex cleared there was a towering and powerful three-headed metal dragon on his field. "Fusion summon Cyber End Dragon!" (4000/2800)

"That's very impressive, but it won't finish me off if you do successfully strike me. I know all about the powerful strategy of the Cyber Dragons, foolish lizard." Cerin started to smile, but when Amarai smiled he stopped. "Is there something that you find amusing?"

"I activate the equipment magic card Spread Shot Attachment!" The middle head of the Cyber End Dragon was replaced by a metal dragon head with numerous gun barrels coming of it. "This card can only be equipped to a monster in play that has both Cyber and Dragon in its title. That monster loses 100 attack points, but gains the ability to attack all monsters on your field with its attack." (3900/2800) "Cyber End Dragon, Spread Evolution Burst!" The middle head of the composite monster was the only one to move as it unleashed two blasts of burning flame.

"Reveal face-down card!" One of Cerin's cards flipped up. "I use the power of my Demon Wall to negate your attack because I have two demon type monsters in play!"

"And I negate it with my Cyber Calculations quickplay magic card." Amarai slid the drawn card into his disk. "This card activates when the opponent attempts to negate an attack of my Cyber monsters…that negation is negated, and the attack continues." The two blasts of energy slammed right into both of the Consumers of Magic, blowing them into nothingness.

Cerin- 800

Amarai- 4000

Amarai lifted his eyesbrows slightly, wondering why his opponent was still standing. Then he figured it out. "Your other face-down card was Emergency Provisions, which allowed you to sacrifice your Demon Wall to gain 1000 life points. Impressive defense…but wouldn't you say that the hunter has now become the hunted?"

"That's your opinion." Cerin was about to draw but he saw Amarai hold up his hand. "What?"

"I am activating my Time Capsule magic card. From my deck, I select one magic, trap, or monster card and remove it from play. In two turns that card will enter my hand, and until then my Time Capsule remains on the field. If you can destroy it until then, that card will remain removed from the game. Also, I place one card face-down. End turn." Amarai seemed infinitely calm, a trait very common amongst the enigmatic dragon demons. They were incredibly calm, and rarely did they lose their tempers.

Clenching his fist angrily, Cerin drew. When he looked at the drawn card though, his eyes widened. "Ha…" Dropping to his knees, he laughed long and hard at how much fate was smiling upon him. "You…you're about to lose!" Slowly, he stood up and held up the drawn card. "Go Nightmare Fusion! This magic card allows me to remove fusion material monsters from my field or graveyard to special summon a demon type fusion monster from my fusion deck to the field!" There was an explosion of fire as a giant leech appeared on the field. "Magic Vortexer (?) is special summoned to the field!"

"It has no attack or defense points yet…so what are the determining…" Amarai gasped as his Cyber End Dragon and Time Capsule began to shake. ("I've heard of this monster…")

"I'm sure you realize that my monster removes all magic cards in play and cards that those cards are equipped to from the game. In other words, your Time Capsule, Spread Fire Attachment, and Cyber End Dragon will leave the game! Then I give my monster the statistics of one monster in either player's removed from play pile!"

"Reveal Cyber Xerox!" Amarai's face-down card flipped up and a large futuristic copier appeared on the field. "I may now copy any card you have played since last turn! Go Emergency Provisions!" His Cyber End Dragon's Spread Fire head disappeared and was replaced by its normal head, and his Time Capsule dissipated into mist. Then he grimaced as his Cyber End Dragon dissolved into slime that was sucked up into the body of the Magic Vortexer.

Cerin- 800

Amarai- 6000

Cerin sneered as his Magic Vortexer let out a bellowing roar as it absorbed the powers and abilities of the Cyber End Dragon. (4000/2800) "You may have saved yourself, but take this! Magical Burst!" A blast of glowing purple energy shot out of the leech's body and slammed right into Amarai's chest, dropping him to one knee from the pain.

Cerin- 800

Amarai- 2000

Amarai slowly stood up, and he checked his chest to make sure he was alright. "Is that all?"

"Act as calm as you want. Don't forget that you have no cards in your hand and no cards on your field. Also, whatever precious card you looked for with Time Capsule is lost forever." Cerin pointed at Amarai. "Take your turn!"

"Gladly." Amarai drew and a card shimmered into his hand. "The card I removed from the game was a magic card called Treasure from the Different Dimension. During my standby phase, if this card is removed from play, it comes back into my hand and both players draw two cards." Sliding two more cards off of his deck, Amarai waited patiently for Cerin to draw his two as well.

When the Tracker did, the dragon demon continued his move. One look at his hand told him all he needed to know. "This duel is over for you. I have a way to summon a monster with enough attack to wipe you out."

"Prove it." Cerin sneered coldly, because he had plans to protect himself with the magic card that was sacrificed to his second Consumer of Magic. It would only work in the graveyard, and that was perfect for his deck.

"Go Power Bond!" Amarai held the card up and smiled. "This card allows me to fuse things together to create a machine type fusion monster."

"You have such cards in your hand?" Cerin sneered right up until he saw Amarai hold up a card. "That's…"

"Cybernetic Fusion Support! This quickplay magic card lets me pay half of my life points to remove my three graveyard Cyber Dragons as the cost for Power Bond's fusion!" There was an explosion of lightning behind him as the giant form of Cyber End Dragon appeared on his field. (4000/2800)

Cerin- 800

Amarai- 1000

Cerin glanced over at his monster. "Considering our monsters are equal…"

"We're not even close to equal! Power Bond doubles the attack of the monster it fused!" (8000/2800) Amarai closed his eyes. "Any last words?"

("Power Bond, at the end phase of the turn it is activated, deals the activating player damage equal to the original attack of the fused monster if it is still in play.") Cerin knew the card in his graveyard would end this duel immediately. It would negate the attack of the Cyber End Dragon, and then at the end phase of the turn his opponent would be destroyed. "No…not a single last word at all."

Amarai opened his field magic card slot. "Then let me play my last card! Go Cyber Civilization!" All around them the darkness twisted and morphed into a huge silver cityscape. "Within this place, all Cyber monsters gain 200 extra attack points!" (8200/2800) "This is the end for you! Go Cyber Evolution Annihilation!" Roaring, his triple-headed titan unleashed three separate jets of fire that tore towards the leech.

"Fool! From my graveyard I remove five cards from my graveyard to activate my Sanctity of the Buried! With this magic card, your attack will be negated and you'll have to lose!" Cerin started to laugh…until the blast tore right through his fusion monster and blew it to pieces. "I…Impossible! How did you…but…"

Cerin- 0

Amarai- 1000

"Cyber Civilization…" Amarai lowered his head slowly. "Prevents my opponent from activating or accessing their graveyard. Also, they cannot activate cards from their hand during my turn." He held up his hand as the field faded away and caught the handgun that Cerin has used. Tossing it across the field to the Tracker, he emotionlessly snapped his fingers. "Pick it up."

Cerin felt his hand reach down and wrap around the weapon's handle without him telling it to do so. ("No…no…")

Amarai tapped the side of his head. "Aim here."

Cerin wanted to scream, but he couldn't move at all. All he could do was feel the cold metal of the weapon's barrel as it pressed against his head. "No…please…"

"Fire." Amarai didn't flinch in the slightest as the Tracker pulled the trigger…but nothing happened except for a nearly silent click. Holding up the weapon's clip, the dragon demon burned his eyes right into the other man's. "You will spend the rest of your life in prison. When the police arrest you, you'll confess to every single crime you have ever done in your entire life, and when they convict you you'll plead guilty. That is your punishment game." Turning away, the dragon demon walked right through falling darkness…and was blinded as he walked right into the burning circle of the spotlight. ("Damn it!")

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"It's been thirty minutes…we're going in!" The head policeman pointed at the store's entrance. "Go!"

Right before the first policeman could kick down the door, it opened slowly and a pale-faced man in a brown sweater stumbled out into the moonlight. "I…I surrender! I did it…I…" And then he started to recite a very long list of crimes…

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Amesia sat with her back pressed against the wall of the alley. She had woken up to this incredibly painful light circle that was burning her eyes. And out of fear, she had run to the bathroom and snuck out the window as quickly as she could. She didn't know why she kept passing out…and she still had no idea who she really was. ("It's all a blank in my head…") Reaching into her pocket, she took out a small bundle of money with a money clip holding it together. ("I…I guess I should at least go find something to eat. There must be a restaurant near here…")

To be continued…

Next Time, from the mind of Seeker of the Soul…

Demons and humans do not coexist, they cannot coexist. They live in separate civilizations, practically separate worlds. But for some that separation isn't enough. For some, demons are lower than the low, the scum you scrape off the bottom of your shoe. One such person has set his eyes upon Amarai, and such attention can prove deadly…