Team Zero: Orichalcos

Chapter 41: Last Man Standing

Beads of sweat poured from Ronin's brow. He felt a sense of hopelessness drift over his whole body. An uneasy feeling in his stomach made him want to vomit, and didn't help the dizziness already in his head from the sudden jerks of energy from his body.

"I don't even have to do a thing. You guys kill yourselves off!" Chime chortled in amusement, laughing uncontrollably.

Reku's move just backfired on him, taking the last of his life points and leaving Ronin standing alone against Chime. The odds were more fair now, but Ronin felt severely out matched.

"Its my move...Chime." Ronin spit out as he reached for the next card on his deck. "This isn't so bad, I can do some major damage this turn. That is good." Ronin examined each card in his hand carefully to make sure that he wouldn't screw up. "Magic card go! Dual Summoner! This magic card will allow me to summon two level four or lower monsters from my hand to the field this turn. I chose these two." Ronin held up two cards from his and, then flipped them over so that their face were pointing towards Chime.

"Ohh..so pretty." Chime sarcastically stated as Ronin slapped the two cards onto his duel plate.

"I summon a second Hydrogeddon (1600/1000) and my Oxygeddon (1800/800) in attack modes!" Ronin cried out as a second brown, four legged beast appeared next to its crouched over brother. Next to that, a teal colored pterodactyl type monster appeared. Made of moving air molded into a solid being, the monster gave out a shrill screech. "Well Chime, watch as I play this magic card, Bonding H2O! Its time to put together my two Hydrogen component and my Oxygen component to make, water!"

"Water?" Chime smirked at how pathetic that sounded. "Your going to fight me with a puddle? Don't make me laugh."

"You'll learn to fear this water." Ronin said, all most smirking as he talked. "Oxygeddon, and my two Hydrogeddon, fuse together to make; Water Dragon (2800/2600)!" As the three beasts crashed together, their mixing of their skins made a aqua blue liquid that poured onto the ground. From this liquid, a dragonic form began to rise. Towering over the field, a large dragon made entirely out of water, sent out a roar of power.

"Ok, that's a bit more believable in power." Chime said, looking up at the massive dragon monster.

"See, I told you." Ronin smirk, extending his arm forward. "Water Dragon, direct attack. Water Blast!" Ronin bellowed out, causing the dragon to roar again. Opening its jaw wide, the beast sent a stream of water bursting out of its mouth towards Chime. Enveloping her in a tidal wave, she disappeared behind the wall of water for a second. When the water passed, she had been knocked to her butt. A little shaken andl looking a bit sick, but otherwise she was unharmed.

Chime-3100 LP
Ronin-2000 LP

"Now, I end my turn." Ronin yelled, whiping his arm through the air. He felt a bit more confident. He had his massive dragon on the field, one set card on his field, and two hand cards. Chime had nothing but the glowing green circle around them. He watched as she quickly pulled herself to her feet.

"Now that I will credit as a semi-good move." Chime mocked, drawing the top card from her deck. "You know, you would have done more damage if you hadn't bonded them." Chime's comment made Ronin slap his forehead.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Ronin felt stupid for not catching such a thing. He could have bonded them after they had attacked, dealing more damage, and still getting a powerful monster.

"You are just as pathetic as I've been saying. Now I set this face down." Chime slid her drawn card into her duel disk and looked back up at Ronin. "And end my turn." Appearing in a ripple of light, the brown rectangular card formed in front of her feet.

"Oh well, either way I am still going to beat you! Draw!" Ronin yelled out, snapping the top card off his deck and whipping it around the air. Sliding it into his hand as it was no use to him at present, he pointed to the Chime. "Water Dragon, direct attack now! Water Blast!"

Again, opening its jaw wide, the liquid dragon produced a raging stream of water. Rushing out towards Chime as fast as ever, the stream of water threatened to overwhelm her again.

This time though, Chime's expression changed. She whipped her arm around her body letting it stop stretched completely out far behind her body. Her fingers stretched out wide. Taking in a deep breath of relief, Chime looked anxious and over joyed that Ronin had called the attack.

"Trap card open!" She yelled, letting her set card flip up. The purple bordered card rested upright, glowing slightly. The cards image was solid black with a blank sliver outline of something. It looked to be in a ghost shape. From the image, a soft metal looking ghost emerged, its tail still attacked to the card image. "Collapsed Soul! This trap is a trap and a monster, a trap monster if you will!"

"Trap Monster?" Ronin looked on confused. His massive blast of water crashed into the strange monster, splashing off, and dripping to the ground beneath it.

"Right, this is both a trap and a monster, and its immortal." Chime explained, motioning to the monster. It hadn't moved, even from the force of the attack. It was dripping wet now, but unmoving. "The only way to defeat it, magic and trap removal. It can't be destroyed in battle. It is a good defender, no? (0/0)(500/0)"

"Uh..." Ronin was at a loss of words. Chime drew the exact thing she needed to defend herself. How could she be that lucky? "I...end my turn." Ronin said, letting his hands fall to his sides.

"Draw." Chime spoke slowly, letting the pain of Ronin's constant failure sink deep into his skin. Looking at the card, she decided that it would make for all the more punishment. Whipping it through the air, she slid it into her duel disk. "Now feel this, Banishment of Tricks! This card destroys a face down magic or trap card. Also, you're going to lose half your life points for trying to use trickeries like that."

Shielding himself, Ronin watched from just under his right arm as his set card began to shake violently. Cracks began to spider web their way across the back of the card, making a very beautiful design. With a loud crack, the card shattered into small pieces, like breaking glass.

Chime-3100 LP
Ronin-1000 LP

Ronin fell to one knee again, a sharp stabbing pain burning through his chest cavity. His energy flowed out of his body uncontrollably, leaving him very weak when it finally seemed to stop.

Sitting on one knee, Ronin panted from his loss of air. Looking up, his vision was blurred for a second, but soon came back into focus. An incredibly loud ringing sound was all Ronin could hear at first, then his ears popped and he could hear the silence around him.

"Hello boy." Chime said, watching Ronin get back to his feet slowly . "I ended my turn, but I'm not sure if you heard me."

"My move,...draw." Ronin cautiously pulled a card from his deck and held it up to his face. Sighing, he slid it into his hand. "I end my turn."

"Lovely!" Chime was thrilled with hearing this. She placed her hand on her deck. "Lets see what my deck has to torture you with this time. Draw." Pulling a card off her deck, she looked anxiously at the face. Seeing the card, she just handed it off to her left hand with a shrug. "Nothing good enough. I shall end my move."

"Now she gets a crappy draw!" Ronin yelled in his head. Breathing deeply in frustration, he reached for his deck. "If I can't get past that thing, she will be free to build up her hand. And with all the deadly cards she seems to have, I may be screwed." Drawing a card, he bowed his head down to look at its face. "End turn." He grumbled out under his breath, disappointed with his draw.

"That bad huh?" Chime this time tried to sound comforting, but still was using an incredibly mocking voice to taunt Ronin. Sliding her card off her deck for her draw, she added it to her left hand causally. "I'll end too."

"I..." Ronin placed his finger tips on the edge of the card that rested on his deck. Breathing deeply, he looked deep into the cards back. Wishing, hoping it was something that could help him.

"Will you give up already?"

This comment from Chime made Ronin's head snap up. Looking at her in almost surprise, he became speechless. Chime crossed her arms across her chest, looking at him in a very serious face. The most serious Ronin had seen her this entire duel.

"You don't stand a chance, and deep down, you know it." Chime's voice was dropping, becoming very serious as she spoke. "What do you have left, look around you. I'll give that your friends were loyal till the end, but look now. They sacrificed themself just so you could be left alone."

Ronin looked around, to his right lay Reku's motionless body. Akina's soulless body on his left hand side. He felt a cold chill running up his spine as he realized just how alone and cold it felt on his side of the field.

"What is going on with me?" Ronin questioned, pressing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "This is no different then the hundreds of times I've faced opponents. I never had anyone beside me then."

"Come on, give in." Chime prodded, trying to get Ronin to surrender. "You see how alone you are. They looked out for one another, but not you. They left you, they only cared about each other."

Tears began to swell in the corners of Ronin's eyes. "What if she's right...what if..." Closing his eyes, Ronin tried to concentrate on his own thoughts.

"Ronin!" A female's voice rang out from behind him, breaking his concentration. Turning around suddenly he saw Sachiko. Standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to the dueling platform, the woman he loved stood with her fingers interlaced hanging down in front of her. She looked as if she was about to start crying. "Ronin, your not alone. You can win. Don't listen to her."

The silence that followed was only a few seconds long, but it seemed like forever to Ronin and Sachiko.

Sighing, Ronin turned back around, giving her a smile before his face vanished from her view. Facing Chime, Ronin placed his fingers back on the top card of his deck. A proud look in his eye was apparent to Chime who went back to her serious expression.

"Your right, Chime." Ronin began, talking slowly but confidently. "Reku and Akina do care about each other. More than anyone else. Akina sacrificed herself in battle for the team, and Reku sacrificed himself for her. But even with those two loving each other, neither of them forgot for a second that we all are on the same team. What they did was their best to defeat you Chime." Pressing his fingers down on the top card, a strange light from deep in the deck began to move up towards the top. Moving quickly, soon the top card of his deck was glowing. "My turn Chime. Draw!"

Chime felt afraid. She hadn't felt afraid in this whole duel until now. An aura was sent out as Ronin drew his top card that made Chime started to shake in every bone. Something felt very wrong to her. Watching as the card made its arch through the air, Chime watched as a sapphire blue streak was trailed off behind the card.

"Magic card activate, Oracles Rage Incarnate Seal of Power-Sapphire Crystal!" Ronin yelled, slamming his crystal card into his duel disk behind his large hydro dragon.

Glowing in a bright blue light, the Water Dragon's watery body began to slow down its movement. Starting at the tip of its tale, a sapphire crystal like shell began to form. Running up its body and all the way down its face. The monster was now a large crystal version of itself, visibly with a watery body under the shell. Large spikes began to burst out from the outer crystal layer, sticking out in all directions. On the beasts forehead, the circular mark appeared, glowing with a radiant light.

"Water Dragon Sapphire Mode (3800/2600)!" Ronin yelled out, rasing his arm high in the air. "Thanks to the Sapphire Crystal my monster is 1000 attack points higher, and is transformed into his true essence form." Ronin explained, snapping his arm down to point towards the metallic ghost monster. "Water Dragon Sapphire Mode, Sapphire Water Blast!"

Roaring loudly, the large gem monster opened its mouth like the Water Dragon had done on all its previous attacks. From inside, a sky blue beam of energy surged out towards the monster. Crashing into it, the burst of light reflected off in all directions. A very tranquil feeling filled the dome as the sky blue light from theattack filled the place.

"Pretty, but did you forget that my monster is immortal?" Chime asked, cocking her eyebrow with over confidence. "Your attack was a waste of time and energy."

"No it wasn't actually. It is all I needed to finish you." Ronin smirked, looking up at his crystal formed beast. "The Sapphire Crystal does one more thing to my beast. It is infused with piercing battle damage. Since your monster has zero defense, my monster deals its attack points directly to your life points. This is the end of it all Chime. You lost."

Chime-0 LP
Ronin-1000 LP

"What!" Chime couldn't believe that this kid had just beaten her. Her vision shifted very quickly to a bright, blinding light green. Screaming, she fell to her knees with a loud thump. Grabbing her head in her hands, she squeezed it as if she was in terrible pain.

"Your evil never would have won anyways." Ronin smirked, walking over to her, just behind the boarder of the Seal of Orichalcos that was enclosing fast around its last victim. "Now, I want my friends back. All of them."

The only response he got was her constant scream of pain. With a loud crashing sound, the seal locked into place around her body. A tall green pillar of light was shooting up, crashing into the ceiling of the dome. Within seconds, the light stopped, letting Chime's motionless and now silent body crash to the floor. Her duel disk created a loud thump when it hit the concert below.

From within her robe, the circular orb rolled out. Rolling around a little bit, the orb finally coming to a stop on some bumpy cement. Hair line cracks spider webbed across its surface causing the orb to break apart in a glass shattering way. Echoing across the entire dome.

Suddenly, everything was bright green. Warm and comforting to all.

Order suddenly stood up. She could feel the warm and comforting feeling as well, surging through her body. Smiling, she walked from her chair to the window in the large golden room. Looking out, she saw the beautiful fields outside.

"I knew that the three of them could do it. They were meant to do it." Sighing, she looked down at the palms of her hands. "The darkness in the Rinku family is finially gone. Chaos and Chime, you shall never plague us again." She said before turning to walk across the long chamber.

Opening a door at the far end of a room, Order slowly made her way into the dark floored chamber. Walking past puddles of white liquid that every so often would bubble up, sending a spherical bubble hovering in the air.

Stopping at a casket at the end of the room, Order looked in at the skeleton inside. A weak smile crossed her face as she thought about the man that once used to be.

"Gurabe, you weren't the most noble man. You didn't do everything that was necessarily correct. You used the new found life I had given to you in order for you to steal souls, to cause hate and discontent."

Reaching into the box, Order placed her hand on the skull. Patting it a few times she moved her hand back.

"But in the end, you gave you new life to do something honorable. You fought the good fight. The Orichalcos is now gone, and the spirits wonder. The collected souls you used now wish to know." Pausing, she looked deep into the dark holes that were the eye sockets. "You can now rest if you so wish. Or..."

Her voice trailed off. Looking up at the pitch black ceiling above her she looked to be on the verge of tears. Reaching into her robe, she pulled out the brown rectangular card that once belonged to the body. The Amber Crystal.

"Or...you could return the life to you. As a chosen one, the power of the crystals could reform you to what you were." Looking back down, she stared at the bones laid out in the coffin. "The choice is yours and yours alone to make."

Silence fell over the room. Order stood over the black casket, staring down at it intently. What seemed like a task in futility, strangely made Order nod. Turning, she began to walk back out of the room.

"I understand Gurabe. That is your choice, so be it."

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Well there you go folks. The next chapter. Ronin won the duel with Chime. Gurabe now faces an important choice, you'll find out what choice he made in the next chapter.All the goodness you have come to expect from me. Anyways, as per the new rules of the site I'll let it be known right here that I frankly don't care.I enjoyed talking to you guys here, but it didn't really matter. Most of the time I just made up something stupidtosay anyways. But I didn't notice anything stopping the author notes so I'll continue to put meaningless crap here for peoples amusement. Anyquestions, still feel free to email me orpm me on their new system.
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