Force of Darkness, hear my cry

by Noble Paladin

Chap. 46: The end of the beginning is here! Yami, Yusuke, Joey, and Kagome face their deadliest opponents yet, but what is Hiei planning with a certain dark entity? The time's getting close for war!

42. A Dark Horizon: Kikyo's Truth

Disclaimer: All the usual, with a side note as to how I do not own Mortal Kombat.

Ok, in Chapter 41 the duel between Inuyasha and Raphael came to an explosive conclusion, while Roger's began. At the same time, the tag team and Kagome's duel heated up, Yusuke reveals his dueling history, Enzeru showcased his personality, and Vera continued her plots.

Chapter 42 will finally end the duels of Kaiba and Kagome, while continuing those of Roger and Joey. Inuyasha is absorbed by the Orichalcos, Naraku continues their diabolical plans, and Enzeru finds something that shall not prove pleasant.

Let it commence.

Chapter 41: The Hand of the Devil and the Truth of Kikyo

Joey vs. Jin

Ever since he had first picked up a Duel Monsters deck, Jin had been somewhat aware of the existence of cards that were so excruciatingly hard to find that only the best were in possession of them. He was also aware that in spite of its essential weakness, the Red Eyes Black Dragon was one of these cards.

It didn't really matter to him how Joey got his hands on such a card, just what he was going to do against it.

"You're in for it now, Jin! Red Eyes, come on out and strut your stuff!"

The most powerful of Joey's standard dragons lifted itself up from the chasms of the Demon World from whence it came, revealing a monstrous wyvern clad in pitch black armor befitting its name. Blade-like talons and a vicious tail gave it even more carnal strength, as did the beast's jagged maw which reeked of death. But the most unsettling aspect of this monster was the characteristic blood red eyes which were its namesake, reflective of the dragon's personal bloodlust and dementia. (2400/2000)

"You've got a bit more kick in ya than I thought, bucko. Lessee if you can use it."

"Didya forget that I was second place at Duelist Kingdom? And this just happens to be one of the cards I used to get that title."

"Well, I'll give ya that. However, you've forgotten somethin: our monsters have equal attack strengths, so odds are my Zaborg's gonna stick with us for a turn or two."

"Nope. I activate the second face down card I had, Metalmorph! It may seem like a Trap, but it works like an equip, giving 300 extra attack points to Red Eyes!"

For Joey, the royally pissed look on Jin's face was more than enough to warrant the risk in his move, but watching the Red Eyes become encased in a cybernetic powerhouse of armor was an added bonus. Every joint and muscle became kinetic, a heart was replaced by a high-powered generator, and dragon fire was usurped by a particle cannon built into the back of the dragon's throat. (2700/2000)

"Uh oh."

"Not a lot you can do, huh?"

Not for the first time, Jin became gripped with panic as he stared at Joey's latest monster, wondering exactly what he could do in the situation. There was no way for him to switch his Monarch into defense mode now, and the Dragon would have no trouble wiping out a sizeable portion of his life points in his next attack.

"I'll just end my turn."

"Meaning that it's back to me, and I know just what to do! Red Eyes, let's give his majesty a royal ass kicking. And in case you forgot, my Dragon now gets half the attack power of a monster you hold that I strike!" (3900/2000)

The mechanized wyrm, responding to its biological and synthetic programming, triggered the firing charge of the high-powered weapon, sending an orb of red and black energy that swept over Zaborg, reducing him to a smear upon the pavement. And as the life points were counted, Jin began to regret paying those 1000 life points so early in the match. (3600/1500)

"Stupid blighter."

"Don't be a hater. I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

Another card. I'd best be getting me life points back…

"Not a whole lot for me to do now. I'll just place a monster in defense mode, along with one card face down. That oughta serve for the moment."

"Man, that's weak." Still, Joey thought, Jin was doing pretty well for himself. But in this game, that wasn't enough.

"Ok, now I think it's time to step things up. I summon Exiled Force to the field in attack mode!" Joey's next monster was, in actuality, a faction of monsters, a unit of tired and grizzled defectors who were armed to the teeth in rusted armor and various melee weapons. (1000/1000) "Next, I'll activate the effect of my Exiled Force, which lets me sacrifice it to destroy any monster on your side of the field, so say goodbye to your defense!"

Upon the activation of the effect, the disgraced corps charged forward, screaming out some kind of battle cry as they fell upon the defense mode monster, lancing its anonymous form with spears and blades of varying sizes and shapes, until such time as the monster in question, a giant insect Joey recognized as Flying Kamakiri #1, was reduced to a quivering mass of chitin and internal organs. Having accomplished the deed, the soldiers rescinded back into their exile for fear of the royal guard locating them again.

"And now it's Red Eyes' turn! Attack his life points directly with Flash Flare Blast!"

The metallic dragon opened its maw once again, and launched a second cannon blast aimed directly at Jin's head, but this time it would not reach its target.

"I activate the card I played last turn, Draining Shield, which'll negate your attack and add your dragon's attack points to me life points!"

Almost immediately after the attack was launched, a barrier was erected to intercept it, spreading out the power so that they only effect was a slight vibration on the surface, which was channeled to Jin's Duel Gauntlet. (3600/4200)

Christ, this guy is good.

"I'll end my turn with one card face down."

"My move again, and I'll activate Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards. I'll then activate the card known as Spell Mirror, to pay 500 life points and activate Pot of Greed once again." (3600/3700) "Next, I'll summon Selene, the Silver Unicorn, in attack mode, and activate Lightspeed Summoning to sacrifice her for Flash Phoenix!" (3600/3200)

Jin's latest monster was, as its name implied, a silver horse with a long, curling horn, (1800/1200), but it was soon replaced by a much deadlier beast, a massive golden phoenix consumed in flames so intense that even Sol had to look away in shame. (2400/2100) "Of course, my monster has only begun to fight, so I'll equip 'em with Stealth Wings; this will increase me monster's attack by a whoppin' 1200, cuz it boosts his offense by 200 times its level. And as an added bonus, he can attack twice per turn!" The grand phoenix, once equipped, now had wings of the deepest black, provided a sharp foil for the fires that wrapped about them. (3600/2100) "Now, attack his dragon!"

It was at this point that a crucial glitch in the dragon's armor became all too apparent to Joey, for its power boost effect would only respond if the equipped monster was the one attacking. So he was forced to watch as the great phoenix let fly a storm of blazing feathers which wrapped around the dragon, slicing through the heavy metal alloy and burrowing deep into the Red Eyes Black Dragon's vitals. This resulted in the wyvern literally melting from the inside out, as indicated by the thick sludge of blood and organs pooling out of the wounds. (2700/3200)

"Looks like this be the end! Phoenix, direct attack!"

"I ain't done yet! Reveal Quick-Play Magic card, Hyper Fresh! Because your monster's total attack points are higher than my life points, and I have no monsters, this card can double my current life points!" (5400/3200)

"Still, me Phoenix can attack you directly and put one ringer of a dent in you!"

And the phoenix delivered such pain, this time flying directly at Joey and clipping him with one of his wings; it was a swift attack, but it hurt like nothing else. (1800/3200)

"Ok, I'm done, and because of the effect of Serpent of the Lightning, I have to remove Sanga, Zaborg, and the Serpent from play."

Joey drew once more, and from the looks of things he was not in the greatest of positions. However, if he could somehow stave off Jin's attack for the time being he could walk away from this in one piece.

"I think I'll play my own Pot of Greed, and from those cards I'll play Scapegoat!"

Once again did Joey call upon his legions of hideous goats to protect his life points, but they would not hold for very long. What he would need to do was draw out at least two more monsters…along with an extraordinarily powerful Magic card. (0/0 x4) "Your move."

"And I know quite what to do with it. I activate the Magic card, Card of Sanctity!"

As both duelists drew the required cards, Joey's expression became one of slight panic, as Jin's became one of outright jubilation.

"It's been fun, Joey, but I don't think you'll be around for too much longer. Now I summon Penumbra Pegasus, then I'll pay 500 life points to summon Thunder Nyan Nyan at the same time!" (1800/2700)

Jin's next monsters were, respectively, a second silvern horse with a set of white falcon wings, and a tribal faerie with a triple set of drums which basically created thunder once struck. (1900/1100) (1900/800) "I'll then place a card face down, and have all three of my monsters wipe out your goat advantage!"

The Pegasus was the first to strike, sending a gust of golden winds to slice the Scapegoat in half. Next was the thunder maiden, who with one moderate tap sent a jolt of lightning against the second token. And with one swipe of his wings, the Flash Phoenix dispatched of the remaining defenses.

"Ok, Wheeler. That'll satisfy me fer the moment, but just fer laughs, I'll activate the Raimei card to deal you 300 points'a damage."

A small bolt of lightning, as stated, hurled forth from an unseen cloud and smashed into Joey, taking with it a handful of life points. (1500/2700)

At this point, Joey was not in the greatest position, but at least with this draw he would be able to gain hand advantage…or so he thought. But Jin had other plans.

"Activate face down card, Feather Darts, which'll knock out three of your cards if I discard a Winged Beast from my hand, and I know just which one to ditch."

And although Jin kept the name of this monster anonymous, its effect was painfully apparent as a trio of burning feathers sliced through three of Joey's cards.

Shit! Well, at least I still have four cards to work with, but none of them are what I need!

"Ok, Jin, I'll place this monster on the field in defense mode, along with one card face down. Your move."

"Indeed it is, Wheeler, and I'm gettin' a smidge bit bored, so I'll just wrap this up real easy like. Now I summon Spark Soldier to the field, and for the last time I'll activate Lightspeed Summoning, paying 500 life points to sacrifice him for my rarest card, Rekka, the Wind Empress!" (1500/2200) Jin's latest monster was another soldier of the lightning, this time a golden armored character with a whip made of a superconductor cable that was charged so as to have an electrical effect. (1500/1000) However, this creature was soon abandoned for an ancient master of the winds and the sky, a slender figure whose face was masked in a hawk-shaped malachite helm, and the rest of her body was covered in thick armor similar to that of Zaborg, but this time was carved of jade. But the most noteworthy characteristic of this monster was the set of four wings planted upon her back. (2400/1000) "And because of Rekka's effect, I can wipe out one face down card for every monster on the field. I count four, so say goodbye to your face down card and monster!"

Rekka, mumbling some ancient language that is to this day only spoken by the wind, began to beat her great wings, slowly at first, but with increasing intensity, until such time as, with one final gust, twin streams of wind coursed from the wings and bent the earth.

The gusts also shattered Joey's face down cards…which is exactly what he wanted.

"Sorry, Jin, but you just gave me a clean shot. When you wiped my face down monster, you destroyed my Neko Mane King, and because it was destroyed by an effect you have to end your turn."

"Ah, you're the luckiest man alive, Wheeler. Ok, take your turn; it'll be your last."

Joey now drew the deciding card, and saw almost immediately that Jin was right.

"All right! Now it's time to end this, and it'll start with my playing Monster Reborn to summon the Insect Queen that you discarded earlier!" In a most uncharacteristic move, Joey saw fit to ignore his Red Eyes in favor of the hideously oversized crimson insect ruler favored by the late Weevil in many of his duels. (2200/2400) "I'll then summon Blue Flame Swordsman to the field in attack mode!" Joey's second monster was more fitting, as it was a cerulean rendition of his Flame Swordsman, including the hue of the burning sword he held. (1800/1600)

There was only one card left to play; he could only hope it worked.

"And now to welcome the last part of the puzzle. Let me introduce a card you'll never forget…the Legendary Dragon, Claw of Helmos!"

Aftermath of Inuyasha vs. Raphael

Raphael had known for some time that he shared a name with a Biblical archangel, a name which basically translated into "God has healed."

To him, this seemed a fairly appropriate name, for by his hand the world would be healed, and the godless heathens would know the meaning of judgment. But before such divine wrath could be administered, there were still many of the darkest to purge.

Such was the fate of the impure demon Inuyasha, guilty of the sins of both human and demon.

"Stop the truck."

Varon may have been a whiny brat from time to time, but at least he knew how to follow orders, which was more than could be said for many of his colleagues.

But even as the flatbed pickup drew to a halt, Raphael was more focused on what was held on the truck, the defeated Inuyasha, prone near one end of the Seal, stunned and incapable of motion. Ironic, considering that this was similar to how he had first been released.

"He really thought that he could defeat me, didn't he?"

The Seal was already beginning to contract upon the defeated hanyou, slowly drawing close so as to lock away his soul.

Varon, his part of the job being completed, popped quite expectedly to Raphael's side and leaned against the cab. "So this is considered a good soul?"

"Not a good soul; in humans and demons there's no such thing. However, there are powerful souls, and in spite of his mediocre talents in dueling Inuyasha has a spirit of some level of strength."

But that spirit won't mean a thing compared to the others. Inuyasha was the first, and the weakest.

Still, at least his wicked heart would be of some use to the world.

In a desperate but futile attempt to save himself, the dog demon began to rise, barely able to stagger to his knees as the Seal's inner edge came within a foot of his body. Eyes that still held the blood of demons, but were now blank and glazed, locked with the cold blue of the hand of Dartz.

"Well, how the mighty have fallen. You kneel before me now, a broken man, if you can be called that. Every ounce of power you once held has been corrupted by the Seal you were stupid enough to think you could use, and for what? A brief glance at the power of full youkai?"

He said nothing, just gurgled a little bit.

"It seems that once again justice prevails over the sins of the darkest heart, and through the medium of Orichalcos you have shown yourself your own reality. You now have seen both halves, human and demon, and you'll have the rest of eternity to contemplate the grim truth of what you are, and what your greed shall create of you."

Again, no words, or any indication of cognizance save for a shuddered whisper.

"I bid you adieu, Inuyasha."

And with those crushing words, Raphael saw with a semblance of pride the final part of the Orichalcos effect, as the power of ten thousand years fused with Inuyasha's spirit energy as it rose into the sky, painfully extracted his soul in the process as he let fly a tormented shriek that split the ears of those who could hear it.

Varon, horrified by the awful yelp, clasped his ears, but Raphael and Tea did no such thing. The former enjoyed those screams as much as he enjoyed the process through which he got them, and the latter was in a deep shock at what had happened, rendering her immobile.

Just as soon as it had started, the soul extraction ceased, leaving behind a shell face down on the floor and his former girlfriend.

"So what are we gonna do with 'em, Raph?"

"We take back what's ours from the dog, and we ditch the cheerleader somewhere safe so she can find the Pharaoh."

"I'm on it."

Raphael allowed the younger one to pick up Gardner, praying that he wouldn't attempt to feel her up. But he couldn't think too much on that; it was time to reap the rewards of his venture, or his cut, rather.

As he was about to do this, Raphael noticed something very unusual: for some unknown reason Inuyasha's hair had turned black. Also, the dark influence of the Seal of Orichalcos had taken with it almost all forms of a demonic aura. In fact, from the looks of things every vestige of his demonic soul had vanished, leaving what seemed to be a normal human…

It didn't matter, though. If what he thought would occur had actually come to pass, then he was ready. And so he took back the Seal and the tournament key he had won.

"Ok, Raph, she's tucked safe and sound. Let's get moving."

"You go on ahead. I have to deal with something."

"Alright, but don't get angry if Dartz loses it."

"I don't intend to."

Varon was as confused as ever as he looked at Gardner, safely concealed in a small nook that even Hiei would not delve into. Still, Raphael seemed to know what he was doing in any event, and he was not the kind of guy to piss off. He'd seen the superior duelists in more than a few fistfights, and it was hardly ever fair.

"Go ahead. I'll be a minute."

Varon, unsure of what Raphael was going to do but aware that it did not involve him, hopped onto the motorcycle that was waiting for him on one side of the truck, gunned the engine, and screeched off to parts unknown. Raphael's tough, but he sure is strange…

For a moment or so, the Guardian duelist watched Varon speed off. As far as he was concerned, this was something that the loudmouthed delinquint was not meant to get involved in. This was no ordinary fight.

This was a grudge match.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

Raphael did not need to turn around to see what was happening behind him, for he knew that the dog demon was lifting himself up, amber eyes turned into dark But then again, he really couldn't call Inuyasha a demon anymore, could he?

"I have a motto, Raph: never say die."

It was both impressive and sad at the same time, for as Raphael turned to the man he had shamed he could see that, in spite of his confidence, he could not back any of his threats. Barely able to stand, the bastard son of the most powerful dog in history looked as though he was just cast from the grace of God.

"You know you can't beat me, right?"

"Just one slash of the Windscar is all I need to hit you with, and you're done. The way I see it, your Orichalcos Shockwave will only hold a few times, and I haven't even shown you everything this sword can do."

Inuyasha had no idea of what had truly happened to him, no idea that in spite of his escape, he had lost almost all of his advantages. But Raphael expected that this lack of knowledge would not last for too much longer…especially since the former half-breed was now drawing out the Tetsuaiga in which he placed so much faith.

"You really think that will help?"

Inuyasha's face betrayed his recovering arrogance. "It's worked before."

For a moment, the hanyou seemed ready to attack, ready to call upon the Windscar, or perhaps a more powerful technique if he so chose. But in order for him to summon those techniques, he would need the blade to take on its true manifestation, and from the looks of things the rusted sword was in no mood to do anything of the sort.

"What the hell! Work, damn it!"

"It seems that the Tetsuaiga has a mind of its own. While it will not respond to those of full demonic heritage, it also seems not to hold full humans in the highest regard. Apparently only bastard sons of demons and humans can create the proper effect."

Inuyasha, as always when presented with something that went over his head, gained a confused look upon his features, unsure of what his latest enemy yet was implying. At least, this was the case until he looked by random chance into the reflection made by a sheet of metal nearby.

It was then that he saw himself, stripped of all demon powers or any semblance that he was a demon at all, left with nothing save the clothes on his back, his Duel Gauntlet, a useless sword…and his human shell.

He could not believe it. Even without the intervention of the new moon he had become full human. Unable to do anything else, he sheathed his sword

"How…how did this happen?" With nothing to vent his mounting ire upon, Inuyasha turned upon the man that had done this to him, bristling with hate and violent fury. "What did you do to me!"

"I did nothing save defeat you. It is the Seal of Orichalcos that you should accredit your newfound vulnerability to, for it obviously decided that your demonic soul was worth more than your human one. Therefore it was that soul, and your power, that became one with the Leviathan."

Inuyasha did not listen to this. All of his attention was focused on the full reality of what had become of him. He was human, and this reminded him very much so of what he had dreaded for so long in feudal Japan. But this time, it was not Naraku that he feared would discover his secret, a strange irony because the fused demon was still an evident threat.

However, Inuyasha was now more frightened of Hiei realizing his one true weakness, and if this was to be avoided, he would need to reclaim his dark mind from the Seal and the man who had given it to him.

"Tell me how to get my demon half back, you son of a bitch."

"I don't think so. Even if I wanted to help you, only Dartz or one of the three Legendary Dragons could release a soul from the Orichalcos. And from the looks of things, I don't think that the Pharaoh or any other wielder will help you in that department."

It was no surprise to Raphael that Inuyasha did not know what he meant by this.

"The Pharaoh? What does he have to do with it?"

"Never mind. In the meantime, I have better places to be, and better people to confer with."

The DOOM Soldier turned upon his heel and prepared to walk away, but he could still sense Inuyasha's presence, his mounting wrath, bubbling just beneath the surface and threatening to erupt in one great blaze of ignorant violence.

It was just as he had planned; he had known that with or without his piercing words, the hound would have resorted to Neanderthal methods to reclaim his soul, which was just what he wanted.

"You're not gonna escape that easily, Raphael. Not until you start talking."

"And what makes you think I'll talk?"

The rhythmic slap of calloused feet against cement answered the question perfectly.

With a sweep of his arm, Raphael loosed the heavy trenchcoat that hung over his shoulders, and sent it flying at where he estimated Inuyasha was attacking him from. Granted, he didn't hope for the ploy to succeed, but he did not want it to, either, which was why he leveled himself to face his opponent just as he forced the garment out of his path.

"So, it seems that you have not lost any of your unwarranted confidence. However, what makes you think that you can fight without your demon powers to back you up?"

"Ok, you talk way too much, so just shut up!"

And with that said, Inuyasha heaved his right arm into a haymaker, indicative of a passing familiarity to the art of boxing. However, he misjudged his swing and his own girth, which resulted in him losing balance. Luckily for him it did not allow Raphael enough of a timeframe to counterattack, and so he lighted back upon his feet.

"Not bad at all, half-breed, but I've got one better."

It was now Raphael's turn to go on the offensive, and given the oppurtunity he would seize it. Darting forward, he leveled two swift jabs from the left at Inuyasha's head, both of which were easily dodged, but they opened the path for a second, much stronger blow which crushed itself into the ex-demon's stomach as he tried to recover balance from the other strikes. Doubled over in searing pain, Inuyasha was unable to block the sweeping low roundhouse that slammed into the side of his head, sending him tumbling to the floor of the alley.

"Get up. I have no interest in killing a man while he is on his knees, even though I doubt I can actually call you a man to begin with."

Once more did Inuyasha stagger to his feet, but this time a dribble of blood forced itself from the corner of his mouth, and with a disgusting wheeze more blood followed in its wake. This isn't working at all! How am I supposed to fight this guy without my demonic powers?

He would have to try.

Luckily, even as a full human Inuyasha was able to take more punishment than most, a trait which allowed him to run forward again and swing his fist towards his adversary. This time, however, he successfully kept balance and was able to sock Raphael in the jaw. It wasn't a critical hit, but it would do for the moment, and to follow it up he performed a jump kick which found a haven against his enemy's chest. This hit proved more fruitful, as it knocked the wind out of his adversary.

Knocked backwards by the strike, Raphael seemed to lose his cool for a moment, almost surrendering to his darkness, the black secret he had kept hidden in his soul for years. But this would not be allowed, and so he was able to maintain the control he would need to strike at Inuyasha, who was again charging him.

Keep track of the fists. Don't bother with the feet too much, but watch them; kicks can easily be blocked, but can take you by surprise…A punch from the left, one that he was able to pull away from. The punch connected, but it wasn't enough to hurt him significantly. It was followed by a fist from the other side, and this time he blocked with the corresponding arm. The punch stung, but he could handle it enough to use that arm in a brutal uppercut. And as was often the case with uppercuts, the attack failed to strike its target. However, it allowed him some surprise factor for a quick succession of four right jabs, two into Inuyasha's gut and the remaining two across his face.

The hanyou struggled desperately for breath, and was cut short by Raphael's own haymaker, which levelled him to the ground. Now pouring blood from his nose and mouth, Inuyasha seemed almost completely helpless, but not enough so to prevent him from swiping at Raphael's legs with his own.

The attempt failed, but Inuyasha was able to get enough time to stand once more. It was by no means an unwavering stance. In fact, he had lost so much blood that it was all he could do to stay remotely conscious.

But with reckless abandon he staggered forth one last time, unable to accept the defeat that was inevitable. He would reclaim his power, or die trying.

It was now almost laughably easy to swerve by the increasingly sloppy punches that Inuyasha launched, each one falling inches short of the target, and each growing weaker as time went by. His breath became labored, his motions ragged, and his constant stream of violent curses now drew silent. He wobbled drunkenly, head swimming, body aching with the pain of a thousand swords.

Inuyasha was now basically a walking target.

"You know why you lost, don't you?"

The dog demon could not answer, for he did not know himself.

"It's simple. You've been fighting using your demon energy for so long that you grew dependent on it. Instead of empowering both sides, light and dark, you focused all your power on your demonic strength, ashamed of your humanity and frightened every time it came to light. Whenever even an ounce of human soul emerged you hid away, praying no one would find out your weakness, when you could have trained yourself to avoid those weaknesses. But you didn't, and because of your arrogance you have lost both your demon power and your human strength."

"Damn you…"

Whatever else he had to say could not be said, for with one great swing Inuyasha was sent in a flash of pain into a brick wall, and he knew no more.

Roger vs. Espa Roba

Roger could not say he was completely devoid of his brief "memories" as a meandering bum in a pristine Paradigm City, and as such he remembered quite clearly what the city had looked like.

The card Espa Roba had played reminded him strongly of that metropolis…or how it would look at night, anyway.

From what once was a seductive lounge now burst forth an army of skyscrapers and city streets, department stores and residential apartments, businesses and vendors, and most amazingly, people. To be fair, their holographic programming was somewhat primitive compared to the monsters, but it was capable of illustrating fear and excitement to a degree.

It was an almost exact replica of that dreamland Paradigm.

"Interesting card, Roba. I assume you had good reason to play it."

"Actually, yes. This card is basically the reason that my Elemental Heroes exist, for it is the city they have sworn to defend with their life. And it also provides for an interesting field capability, for it grants them 1000 extra attack points each time they are engaged in "

"So basically your monsters have the perfect attack advantage."

"Pretty much. Anyway, I end my turn."

"My draw." Perfect. "Unfortunately for you, Roba, my face down monster was unaffected by your Magic card, and I'll use it on an offensive level, presuming I can draw what I need using the King's Ransom Magic card." (3000/3000) "And I think I've drawn just the three cards I needed. First off, I'll flip up the monster I had played earlier, Supply Merchant Zoidochi, unaffected by your Magic because he is a Rock-type monster!" Roger's next monster was a haggard and worn old man, barely able to keep sane as he rose up from his management of the Makai trade routes. (200/850) "And because he is the only Dark monster on my side of the field when he is Flip summoned, I can draw two cards. Next, I'll activate the Magic card, Change of Heart, which I'll use to control your E-Hero Flaming Wingman!" As dictated by the divided spirit the card invoked, the devilish E-Hero was drawn to serve Roger. "Finally, I'll sacrifice these monsters to summon Antique Gear Golem in attack mode!"

Within an instant, the merchant and the hero were offered up, but the creature mentioned did not appear immediately. In fact, it took so long for the beast to arrive that it almost seemed that it was just a farce.

But as with any great device, a certain amount of preparation time was required to call it out.

After a moment, that time was up, and one of Roger's deadliest automatons rose from the concrete, a towering golem of gears and mechanics that looked strangely anachronistic, on the part of the aged iron and the Spartan helm that protected its main computer console. (3000/3000)

"Good job, negotiator, but not good enough. Even with your monster's power and the weakening of my own, the effect of Skyscraper will allow Edgeman to conquer your oversized toy soldier!"

But as was his capacity, Roger Smith had a few more tricks up his sleeve.

"Who said my turn was over? I still have this card to activate, the Equip Magic card known as Weapon Upgrade, which increases the attack of my Antique Gear Golem by 700 points!" To enhance his basically primitive combat capabilities, the Gear Golem was outfitted with two shoulder-mounted ballistic missile launchers and a heavy machine gun cannon built into the right hand. (3700/3000) "In other words, even with your Skyscraper card in effect, my Gear Golem will still eliminate your hero!"

The Antique Gear Golem, upon hearing these words, triggered the missile launchers that it now held, and fired a volley directly at Edgeman. The E-Hero, in turn, attempted to dodge these missiles as his attack was increased (3100/1600), but even his newfound power could not save him from the final missile, which tore through his thick armor before detonating, reducing Edgeman to a smear of blood and soot upon the ground. (3000/2400) "The way I see it, it would have been best to remove the strongest monster first, and deal with the rest later. So I'll place one card face down, and end my turn."

"An interesting theory, Roger Smith. But I'm afraid that it will only help me. My move." Espa Roba, upon seeing his latest card, was almost exultant in joy. "This duel is over! I activate the Magic card, Miracle Fusion, which I'll use to remove from play my Flaming Wingman in my grave and the Sparkman you were too proud to destroy! This will allow me to summon a hero you won't defeat, the E-Hero Shining Flare Wingman!"

Even as Roger watched, the sacrificed Flaming Wingman and the final surviving hero became combined, their molecular structures fluctuating and combining into one singular entity, one that the negotiator had neither seen nor heard of before.

But there it stood, a towering soldier from the heavens that appeared to be the Flaming Wingman clad in silver armor that emitted its own divine light, as did the dominating wings that were a fusion of futuristic technology and the power of the angels. (2500/2000)

"I know what you're thinking, negotiator, and while it may seem that my monster is too weak to stand against your Gear Golem, it has an ability that shall allow it to overcome that weakness. You see, my monster gains 300 extra attack points for every E-Hero that is in the graveyard, which allows my creature an extra 1800 attacks points! From where I stand, that's more than enough power to take down your machine." (4300/2000)

Espa Roba, however, was not a complete idiot, and he knew that Roger's face down card could be a problem, so he saw fit to wait for a moment, until he was absolutely certain that the card was not a threat.

That confirmation came after only a moment: it was a bothersome card, but not a particularly dangerous one.

"Ok, let's wrap this up! Shining Flare Wingman, destroy his monster with Divine Wing Swipe!"

The seraphic defender, upon command, took to the light polluted skies and charged forward to defeat his mechanical foe. The foe in question, in a final desperate attempt at salvation, began to swing wildly at the E-Hero, but in the end his desperate strikes were quelled by one crackling arch of divine power that shattered the golem into his varying components. (2400/2400) "And I'm afraid that the battle is not done, for when my Shining Flare Wingman destroys an enemy monster, that monster's attack strength is deducted from your own life points!"

"Not this time! Reveal face down card, Trap of Board Eraser! You see, I expected that a duelist like you would have some kind of burn effect in the works, so I decided to counteract that effect using a card which negates damaging effects of exactly that kind! And normally it would remove a card from your hand, but it looks like you've pretty much done that to yourself."

"I have to say I'm impressed. But I don't think you'll be able to hold out against me for too much longer…at least that will be the case if my prediction holds. For now, I end my turn."

"Don't try and blindside me with your delusions and irrationality, Roba; I've met many people who have a higher power, and you're not one of them. My move!"

Not too bad, although a monster could have served me better. "I'll place one card face down, and end my turn. Your move."

"Well, from the looks of things, you're pretty desperate. But then again, if you had been able to summon a monster it would only have helped me out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to confer with an associate of mine, but it's no human associate."

He waited for a moment, expecting a name of some kind, until…

"Sorry, bro. We couldn't figure out what he held in his hand."

Panic became the definition of Espa Roba's countenance at that moment.

"What? You're kidding me!"

His whispers were not perceived by any of the others around him, fortunately.

"He held it funny. We couldn't see a picture or a name, but we do know it's a Trap."

Shit. Now I don't know what to expect from this moron…

"You're getting off lucky, Roger. I'll place a monster in defense mode and end my turn." And privately, he hissed a warning of "Don't screw this up again!"

"That's fine with me. I draw." Roger looked at his card for a moment or so, and realized he knew exactly what to do. "I activate the card I had face down, Jar of Greed, to draw a card from my deck."

Jesus Christ! I could have ended this in my last turn!

"I'm not done yet. Next I'll place a monster in defense mode, and end my turn with one card face down. You're up."

"Indeed I am. My move." The radio in his ear buzzed into life again, and this time there was an accurate report on the monster. The face down card was as yet unknown, but they were certain that it was not anything in the manner of a Mirror Force or Magic Cylinder.

Nothing I can't handle."Your monsters don't mean anything to me! I'll take them apart one by one, and my face down monster will help me with that! I flip up the monster known as E-Hero Wildman!"

Espa Roba's next monster did not seem to fit the breed of the other heroes, nor any civilized being for that matter. Appearing to have lineage in Aborigine bloodlines, the savage hero was clad in tribal fittings and elaborate tattoos of the same nature. (1500/1600) "Next, I'll activate the card I just drew, E-Hero Archives, to draw a number of cards equal to the number of E-Heroes I have on my side of the field, as well as one more card because one of those heroes has eight stars, so I can draw three cards. I'll then follow that up by activating my second Miracle Fusion, to fuse E-Hero Wildman and the E-Hero Edgeman in my graveyard into E-Hero Jaggyman! And although it may cost Shining Flare Wingman 300 attack points, it will only benefit me in the end!" (4000/2000)

Once more did Miracle Fusion work its magic, combining Edgeman and Wildman into a second powerful hero, which appeared to be Wildman clad in a fragmented form of Edgeman's armor. (2600/1900) "Next, I'll play Metamorphosis, which allows me to sacrifice a monster on my side of the field, and special summon a fusion monster with the same number of stars, so I'll offer up Jaggyman to summon E-Hero Tempester to the field!" Just as quickly as he was called forward, Jaggyman was sent into oblivion in exchange for a second dominating hero, a heavily muscled warrior with the fittings of E-Hero Sparkman and the head and altered wings of E-Hero Featherman. (2800/2800) "Finally, I'll activate the Hero's Reunion Magic card, which allows me to resurrect an E-Hero that was sent to the grave during this turn, and also draw a number of cards equivalent to half that monster's level. However, if I use this effect I cannot attack during this turn."

As Roba said this, the disgraced E-Hero was reborn, and the fraudulent psychic now had four more cards to work with. "I've got one more play to make. I'll place one card face down, and then I'll activate my third and final Polymerization, to fuse the Sparkman and Clayman I've drawn into E-Hero Thunder Giant, which grants Shining Flare Wingman an extra 600 points!"

The final fusion of the turn resulted in a dominating titan of a hero, a thickly muscled golden warrior that appeared to be a steroid-enhanced Sparkman with a set of electrically charged claws. (2400/1500) At the same time, the divine leader of the heroes gained extra strength from the fall of two others of its troupe. (4600/2000)

The situation had worsened beyond anyone's belief. Not only was Roger incapable of using any strong monsters successfully, but he now had to stare down four of the strongest monster in the game.

There was not a lot of hope to be had, and it looked as though the manipulated heroes would take the day over memories.

Tanzanite Avenue

There were three thousand duelists in the godforsaken city of New Paradigm, most of them unworthy and incompetent in the game for which they had been abducted. However, there were a small few in the tournament that could be considered the best in the world; some, like Kaiba and Yugi, were household dueling names, while others, such as Genkai, were almost mythical dueling legends. And there were a minimal few in the city who were completely unknown, but whose skills were on par with world champions.

Naraku fit the third grouping exactly, and it was a talent he had always used to his own advantage.

For thirty-five years he had trained in the game, gaining knowledge and insight into its thousands of strategies that Pegasus himself was not privy to. He developed many counterattacks and hundreds of debilitating moves to defeat almost every deck archetype, and had even gone so far as to create the ultimate Wind deck, which was the basis of decks used by Mai Valentine and others.

But even those accomplishments were not enough. Naraku knew that for every plan he created, Hiei Jagenshi and his own army of duelists would have another lying in wait, fully prepared to eradicate every step of progress he had made.

This was why he had spent every spare moment for the past decade in two ventures: the creation and fine tuning of a Duel Monsters deck that was beyond defeat, and the collection of his own personal organization, which included the ten humans before him dressed in business suits and shuffling through miscellaneous papers.

Officially, Naraku and his partners were a legitimate trade company known as Muso and Associates, but in reality the office was a vice ring, involved mainly in drug trafficking illegitimate gambling institutions, and contraband arms distribution. Granted, it did not have the clout of the Black Shadow or Paradision, but Naraku's particular circumstances did not call for any great level of power, just enough to endure the toil of his modern day operations.

He was an adaptable creature, and he knew that fear would not be enough to defeat his enemies in this arena.

"I assume that you have produced something of worth today, gentlemen?"

They had only been with him for a few years, but already Naraku had grown tired of the merchants and their gross incompetence. Like himself, they were lucrative and manipulative, but they also had the notable flaw of being total idiots.

"Well, we do have a few boycotts in mind so as to take down the Union's economic standing, and we've begun to monopolize the local small weapons industries."

"Anything else?"

"Actually, we've just received a shipment of methamphetamines and cocaine. It's not much, but it will succumb the local markets until we can gain more."

Overall, Naraku had a firm grip on his temper, a trait which had come very much in handy while he battled Inuyasha, but that control was beginning to give way to violent rage. He did not want this garbage; he knew very well what his current assets were, and he wanted results.

"Tell me, do you have anything useful for me, or are you simply going to read statistics all day?"

"Sir, this is the daily business as it has been for six years; whatever do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I am very much aware of what has been going on in our ventures. We have not turned up anything of worth for some time, and I want to know why."

There was silence all around. No one wanted to speak, for fear of inciting his wrath any more than they already had.

"Speak, or I swear I shall dismember each and every one of you."

Again, none dared opened their mouths. All knew of Naraku's reputation, they knew what would become of them if he discovered their activities.

But none were aware that he had known all along about how they had been stealing from the company's coffers.

He could smell it, their fear and their trepidation, as they slowly began to descend into the madness in which they had cocooned themselves. And by this he reached a decision, that he was fully capable of managing his affairs without the help of the deceitful before him.

"It seems to me as though you thieves and charlatans use silence as a shield; a clever move, one used by those such as yourselves for millennia. But unfortunately for you, it is a shield I have easily crushed before, and it is time to use it against you."

There was a brief moment of perplexity on the merchants' part, as they began to look about themselves like frightened rabbits, searching for what Naraku meant.

"Yes, silence is your fortress…but it shall also be your grave."

At that very moment the door to the meeting room opened.

In a mad panic, the businessmen drew out firearms of every conceivable type, from a pair of derringers, to a light semiautomatic, to a large magnum, and even a shotgun with a sawed-off barrel was present.

All were pointed at Naraku's head, and all were fully loaded.

He was not impressed or even surprised by this sudden display of human banality, and if he was in a better mood he might have laughed. But in this case, he simply folded his arms and leaned back in the chair, mildly curious as to which one of them would shoot first.

The guns roared into life, all unloading at once and scattering discarded shells all over the floor. Bullets and shotgun spray flood the atmosphere, and terrified yells went up from the assailants as they kept firing and firing. However, they did not continue their bombardment for the sake of vengeance.

It was simply that no amount of ammunition was able to break the demonic barrier he had set up around himself, a singular glowing bubble of spirit energy that absorbed the bullets as if they were flies.

"H…he's not human…for the love of God, RUN!"

Their self-control giving way to instinct and fear, the board of directors ran from their chairs, knocking them and the table over in a mad rush for the exit. Stumbling over each other and forcing any that stood before them to the side, they eventually tumbled through the threshold and into the hall.

Now it was only a matter of time.

He heard the first attack fall almost immediately, a gruesome crack of the rending of bone. A shriek rose up in response, only to be reduced to a bloody gargling. There were then three consecutive slaps of fist against flesh which ended in dull thumps against the hardwood, and finally what could only be the swipe of a sword decapitating the rest.

And then there was silence once more.

In the end, all the money and all the power these men controlled could not save them from death. A lesson you should hold close, Jagenshi.

From the darkened hall came footsteps, the tread of the slayer who could not hear the screams of his victims or utter his own. The man who embodied the dark silence, who had lived in it his whole life.

"Impressive, Noir. Your skills have increased dramatically since your last training session."

The man in question entered, a frail, almost ghostlike figure with skin that was literally paper white and that stretched over his bones so as to create the perception that he was little more than a skeleton. Covering that sickly frame was an ensemble of clothing that hung loosely upon it; the outfit comprised of a black silk suit, a tattered midnight blue overcoat, and a sloping jet fedora that barely allowed one to see his impossibly dark sunglasses and the graying black hair upon his head. Attached to his arm was a Duel Gauntlet, but it had a small speaker system built into it near the lifepoint counter.

In one hand was a blood-soaked wooden katana, and in the other a set of five ordinary playing cards that were similarly stained. With a single flick of the wrist, the cards were set onto the floor before Naraku, revealing a royal flush of spades.

And with a series of quick motions of fingers Noir spelled out a message in an adapted form of sign language.

'You know what they say, Naraku. The house always wins.'

Kagome vs. Yami no Marik

The end was near, and everyone knew it.

For the second time in this duel Yami no Marik was drawn deep into Ra's power, allowing his entirety to become one with the reincarnated god's own. Blood fused with ichor, soul blended with spirit, and blasphemy merged with doctrine as the strongest creature to ever walk the earth regained his lost power. (24799/24799) (2300/1)

"What shall you do now, Kagome, now that your only defense against Ra is vanquished? My monster now has more attacks points than all of your outcasts, and with that power shall I destroy you. Winged Dragon of Ra, it is time to end this duel! Attack Kagome's Angel of Judgment!"

For what was to be the final time, Ra summoned his ancient fury and formed it into an orb of shadow fire that would send even the angels to an early grave. All present could smell the death coursing from the dragon's gullet, which now became an overpowering reek that brought the angels to their knees.

Only Saturn had the willpower to stare into the eyes of the darkness, and instead of struggling for breath, he clasped his hands in silent prayer.

"Your prayers mean nothing! STRIKE HIM DOWN!"

The blast was fired once more, and it seemed that Kagome's miracles would finally falter. All eyes fell upon it, and all saw within that shot the new beginning; none knew why, but every one of them knew that once this duel was over, the tournament would never be the same.

But for now, it was time for Kagome to act.

"Reveal face down card, Shield Spell!"

And at that moment, Saturn's prayers were answered, for from the point where his hands connected materialized a shield made entirely of glass. It appeared to be fragile and priceless, as though a single whisper could break it to pieces. However, it was indeed capable of absorbing the attack of Ra, as well as becoming a glistening fairy dust which swirled about Kagome and rejuvenated her. (14700/1)

"WHAT!"

"It's pretty simple to understand, Yami no Marik. The Quick-Play Magic I just used can negate your attacks, and increase my lifepoints by half of the attacker's defense. Rounded up, that figures out to 12400 extra points."

The spirit's face was beyond livid, the empty space where his eye would be oozing blood and spirit energy as his entire face warped in outright hate. His god had been bested again! How did it keep happening?

"DAMN YOU, KAGOME! YOUR TRICKS MAY HAVE SAVED YOU IN ANCIENT EGYPT IN YOUR FIRST INCARNATION, BUT THEY WILL NOT SAVE YOU HERE! I'LL FIND A WAY TO PIERCE YOUR SHIELDS; YOU'LL RUN OUT OF TRAPS AND QUICK-PLAYS EVENTUALLY, SO IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME! AND I JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!"

The truth was out. Yami, who had been made aware of this earlier, was not horribly surprised. But Kagome did not believe it.

"Ancient Egypt? Is that what you've been talking about this whole time?"

"Quite correct. To be fair, however, you should have been able to figure it out a long time ago."

"Ok, please explain to me how I was supposed to figure out that I have a second past life as an Egyptian Kikyo!"

With a world-weary look upon his face as though he had to explain death to a child, the demonic soul looked at the Pharaoh. "Must I explain everything to her, Atem?" He then turned back to Kagome. "At any rate, it is indeed true that in the land of the Pharaohs you were once a priestess. However, in those days you were no mere shrine girl. No, you were a High Priestess of the god Osiris!

"Long ago, before you or the Pharaoh's host were born, Atem's lands were split asunder with the battles of the Shadow Games. The rivers ran red with blood, villages fell to those who controlled the darkness, and the fate of entire cities often fell to the victor in one of these games. Chaos ruled the nation, and beasts of unimaginable power roamed under the leash of those who could rein them in.

"For this reason, many priests and priestesses were summoned forth to attempt and quell these warlords, but in the end, it was the High Priestess Kikyo that realized what needed to be done. So she herself took up the Shadow Games, and at the same time tempered her inner soul to create the powers that you and she now control. Using this newfound power she defeated hundreds, and her name became synonymous with victory.

"It was for this reason that Atem summoned her and others like her to his palatial abode, when an even greater darkness was summoned for him and his own priesthood to do battle with. The full knowledge of that battle is unknown, but what we do know is this: the memories that he holds are nothing without the battle which brought Kikyo into his arms!

"And that is the true knowledge I wanted you to find, Kagome, the revelation that shall bring me the crown of Egypt! Didn't you ever wonder why Yami fell for you as quickly as he did? Didn't it ever occur to you that one such as he would have greater taste? And did you not ever ponder as to why he fell so readily for the modern Kikyo? It's simple. He didn't love you; he loved your past life! You were merely a reincarnation of his true love, a meager substitute to take her place when she was not around! Destiny brought you together, but in fact it brought the Pharaoh and the Priestess together! And when the true Kikyo came into his world he discarded you like a piece of meat! Admit it, you're nothing more than a placeholder for his lover, something to hold him over until the real thing enters and takes your place! He will never love you; he will always love Kikyo!"

With this Yami no Marik let loose a screeching cackle, no matter how much it caused his wounds to smart. He took comfort in knowing that the old wounds she had were causing her a pain far greater than his own.

And in that moment Yami himself began to panic. The kiss of the priestess had driven a wedge between him and Kagome before, and he could not let it happen again.

"Don't listen to him, Kagome. Every word he speaks is a lie."

"Is it, Atem? The Messenger of Hiei came to you through Yugi, did he not? He told you that Kikyo existed in olden times. How could you possibly know whether you fell for her in the olden times?"

And for the first time, Yami fell silent, unable to counter his claim.

"Speak, oh great Pharaoh! Enlighten us with your silver tongue! Do regale us with the great and wondrous story of how you defied five thousand years of locked passion and rejected Kikyo for an inferior imitation! Or perhaps you cannot. Perhaps after all this time you see that it is the true Priestess that you love…"

"Enough!"

It was not Yami that called for silence; strangely, it was Kagome.

"I don't know what happened in Egypt all those years ago, and frankly I don't care. If I ever needed proof that Yami loves me more than her, it's that he came back. And besides, do you really expect me to take your word over his?"

Yami no Marik's body began to tremble again, but in a fit of violent rage.

"It's time someone teaches you a lesson, Higurashi! But for now, I shall end my turn."

"I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. My move." Kagome, as dictated, drew her card, and her eyes lit up in victory. "It's over. I activate the Magic card, Spell Mirror, which allows me to activate one Magic card from my graveyard, but I must pay 500 lifepoints to use the effect. And from the look on your face, you must know exactly what card I intend to use! Return to the field, Sanctuary of the Sky!" (14200/1)

No! How could this have happened to me?

The final Magic card Kagome would have to play was, as the name implied, an overly ornate golden mirror, seemingly forged in the ancient smithies of legend, and deep within the mystical confines of this mirror was contained a blank Magic card. After a moment or so, the card took upon itself the image of Kagome's principal Field Magic, and activated it, thus causing the ancient citadel of the angels to return to the field.

"No! This isn't possible! How could this…this harlot have defeated me? It must be a trick!"

"No tricks this time, except maybe the one you set up here. And now, it's time to end this. I sacrifice Saturn-Angel of Judgment, to inflict damage to you equal to the difference between our life points!"

It doesn't matter if he loved Kikyo or not; I love him anyway.

Saturn, the final Judge of the dark soul, rose above all others, climbing up into the dark rafters of the Shadow Realm and emitting his divine light onto the duel. As his glory ascended, the dark monstrosity Yami no Marik had first called down began to shrink back into the nightmare from whence it had been summoned.

"You can't do this to me! I am to be the next Pharaoh! I am of the bloodline of the gods!"

"Then I guess you'll be going back to the gods! SATURN, ACTIVATE YOUR EFFECT!"

Once those words slipped off of Kagome's tongue, the ruler of the heavens instantly took on his true form, abandoning his manifestation of the human world and becoming a shapeless mass of ethereal light that was only capable of existing in the higher plane of God himself. And once the mortal shell had been discarded, it was clear that the angel had transformed into a being beyond even Ra.

"The soul of the true duelist…", Yami intoned to himself.

"By the power of God, I condemn you to Hell!"

With that, the being lifted his hand from within the shimmering incandescence, and sent a beam of that indescribable light upon Yami no Marik, who attempted vainly to shield his eyes from the glory which was to be his downfall. And after a moment he and Ra were wreathed in the searing power, while the monster he had called rescinded into the shadows; it knew that any feeding done today would only destroy it.

In the end, his own darkness, the darkness which stemmed from blood and dementia, would not stand before the light. But he knew that by his hand the seeds of their defeat had been sown.

"Do you really think that this proves anything, my dear, this little victory of yours? Well, I wouldn't enjoy it for very long; Kikyo's presence shall never be far behind, and her soul shall haunt you for the rest of your time together. Every kiss that you share, he will be thinking of her. Every time you see each other, he will instead see the Priestess. And do not think for a moment that he will ever grow to love you, for that is merely naiveté and delusion. Yes, I may have lost this duel, but I can die knowing that you will lose something much greater!"

Even as he said this, the light began to take its effect, causing Ra to steadily dissolve into the shadows, crumbling into oblivion as the sun god was damned. And soon enough, Yami no Marik's body fell to the light, perishing with the beast he had fused himself with; what was strange was that a single perverted grin was stamped across his face in the final instant of his life.

But she paid it little mind. He could grin all he wanted in the bowels of the Shadow Realm. (12400/0)

And besides, I'm way too tired to think about any of it. I've had enough of Shadow Games and Ancient Egypt for one day…

Kagome, her spirit and miko energies exhausted by the prolonged exposure to Ra and the Heart of Darkness, wobbled drunkenly about for a minute as she tried to find her bearings in the mortal world in which she found herself again.

She did not even feel herself collapse into Yami's arms.

"Kagome, are you alright?"

Her eyes slowly worked their way up to his; they were bleary and exhausted, but not quite as much as Joey's had been in his confrontation with Ra.

"I…think so. He's dead, right?"

"Of course. He'll never hurt you again."

It was then that Kagome felt the slight weight in her hand, which felt strangely like a key of some kind. Apparently this was the indicator of tournament victory that everyone was so keen after.

"And the Winged Dragon of Ra?"

"I don't know. Either the card was destroyed, or it was a counterfeit of some kind, meaning that the real Dragon is still in this city somewhere. But that doesn't matter right now."

Yami could care less about the God Cards at that moment, though in the back of his mind he felt as though he should. Kagome was by his side again, and this time she would not slip through his fingers.

Thank you, Kikyo.

"What he said, it isn't true, is it?"

"It's hard to tell. I don't know everything that happened to me in those days, even with the Puzzle's memories woken, but I'm here with you now, and that's all that matters."

The reborn priestess did not answer him in words, but with a gesture which basically meant the same as a hundred sentences: a single kiss on the cheek.

"Yami, can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything."

"Could you just…hold me, for a moment? I'm too tired to walk."

"It's ok. So am I."

"Thanks."

But it was quite obvious that neither were interested in whether they were able to move, a truth made clear when Yami drew her closer to him, and clearer still when she squeezed his shoulders in response. For the second time, nothing else mattered.

After all those years, Yami no Yuugi and Kagome Higurashi were both at peace, simply by holding each other in a loving embrace of reconciliation. And this time, there would be no one who could tear them apart.

Small Restaurant, Slums of New Paradigm

Cheap beer and cheaper tobacco. It seemed as though that was the range of odors in most of the restaurants in New Paradigm, but this particular dive seemed to magnify the disgusting rancidity by at least a hundred fold. The reek was not the only problem, however; the paint was slowly peeling off the walls, as though the manager could not afford to repaint anything. The tables were barely recognizable beneath the layer of inked obscenities, the taps were rusted, the bathrooms were horrific beyond description, at least half of the chairs were coated in blood, and the only patrons were the pushers and junkies that the New Paradigm City Council had vainly attempted to sweep beneath the rug.

Normally the man known simply as Enzeru would never have even considered entering such a den of inequity, but in his case it was an unpleasant necessity.

"So, ya want something to drink or are ya gonna just sit there?"

"I'll pass."

"You gotta buy something, or I'm gonna hafta ask ya to leave."

With a look of quiet disdain upon his face, Enzeru looked up at the man who had been pestering him, a heavyset Slavic of some effect with greasy clothing and a half-empty bottle of gin in his right hand.

"As I said, I'll pass." Enzeru did not feel particularly inclined to fight at that moment, but he was expecting to anyway.

"And as I said, buy something, or get the hell outta my store!"

"I'm afraid I must insist you keep a level of self control. Now, I shall not be having anything for the moment, but I'll pay you for your hospitality once I'm finished here."

He knew the type of man he was dealing with very well, and he knew how much longer it would take to quiet him. The only question now was exactly what kind of weapon the man would use.

"BUY something, you fucking hick!"

Enzeru, who had by this time grown tired of the bloated sin peddlar and the thick reek of alcohol on his breath, simply held his tongue.

And right on time, the owner snapped and pulled out a lengthy Bowie knife, a surprising weapon for such a corpulent man, which he brought within inches of Enzeru's neck.

"Now, ya gonna buy something, or not?"

The Guardian decided that it was time for his actions to do the speaking for him, and so he lifted the table upwards, knocking away the blade and the owner with it. Somehow able to keep his balance the drunk charged, making sloppy and misplaced strikes at every point except for Enzeru's body, until the warrior clamped onto his adversary's arm.

Enzeru, in one swift motion, snapped the bone in half.

It was an awe-inspiring sight for most of the other patrons: the rude and obnoxious manager sobbing like a baby with his arm twisted at an unnatural angle, with part of the bone jutting out just beneath the skin, and the enigmatic soldier calmly sitting down to finish what he was doing.

The expected whispers began to generate, and Enzeru continued what he should have finished much earlier, which was why he had begun to thumb through a manila folder he had brought with him.

As he had anticipated, the information contained therein was not great, but it would serve his purposes.

So according to this document, the main control of this city falls into the hands of four specific people: Vera Ronstadt, Naraku, Dartz, and Hiei, each with their own specific grasp on power. Vera operates through the Union, Naraku through Muso and Associates, Dartz through the Paradision Corporation, and Hiei through the Black Shadow Syndicate.

He had been aware of this for some time, unfortunately, since he had monitored most of their activities over the past year or so. However, the documentation he had been allowed did grant him some heretofore unavailable data.

Apparently the Union has the most control of the city, and from the looks of things the other three depend on Vera to keep their actions secret and legal. But the Union itself is involved in some very shady dealings; something to do with the defense of the city, but from what?

Muso and Associates is pretty straightforward, a mercantile business which uses its shipping permits to transport drugs and weapons to and from the rest of the world. It's also responsible for the bulk of the Union's shipping interests as far as narcotics are concerned.

Paradision mostly tweaks the finance of the city; it has the most control of the New Paradigm stock market, which explains why Raphael was there at the time of the failed bombing. Dartz may have had a hand in that, but why?

But it's the Black Shadow that has me worried. It supposedly came into existence about two weeks after Hiei rose to power. No one knows how or even where it operates, and every person who has tried to locate its headquarters has ended up dead. But what is known is that Hiei and a group of subordinates run the operations, which basically cover every profitable crime in the book.

It would explain how Hiei had been able to orchestrate such a tournament as this, and also why Vera had been conferring with him on an almost weekly basis. Apparently the main accomplices of the demon were the reporter Michael Seebach, the ninja Akuren, and most recently the "sorceress" Kagura.

The whole situation was sordid beyond belief, and before continuing with it Enzeru rubbed his eyes for a moment.

As far as anyone knows, Hiei Jagenshi was to be executed by an order of Koenma, due to unscrupulous actions that would have involved the toddler prince in an elaborate scandal had he survived. But somehow he had obtained the Sennen Eye, Scales, and Ankh and was able to eliminate Koenma. From what is recorded this gave him the opportunity to destroy his prison cell and take the Spirit World by force. After a month of this he had coerced the Demon World to side with him, and with a few exceptions he had their total loyalty. He then began work in the human world, convincing Seebach and others to side with him, but leaving no one behind that could specifically point him out. The last known strike that Jagenshi made was the raid on Tokyo where he kidnapped that Kagome girl and absconded with her few remaining shards of the Shikon no Tama. However, this was preceded by a similar attack against Naraku in feudal Japan.

It did not list any possible leads that would allow him to find Hiei; most of his higher-ups did not have any contacts that could be traced, and the soldiers that would talk were dead or in hiding. Kagome and Kikyo, the only ones capable of tracking jewel shards, had not been able to sense him, and rumor had it that the elder priestess had died. No paper trails or credit ledgers were to be found, since most of the operations used to pay for the Black Shadow's massive assets were clandestine and never monitored. Spirit World was all but inaccessible, Makai did not take too favorably to spies, and the Citadel of Chaos had no way of tracking his movements or his fortress. The option most readily available to him was the leviathan of a cruiser that Hiei used, but that was so heavily guarded that it would take ten armies to enter.

It appeared that there would be only one way to find Hiei: track him down personally. The others were nominal at best, and would likely wipe themselves out before it was said and done. But unless the fire and ice demon was hunted and destroyed he would obtain a power unimaginable, and no one would be able to defeat him.

The time had begun to start the hunt, but where exactly could he begin? His Tempus Astrum was all but useless in locating a being of such strength, and none of the Pharoah's friends could locate him.

There seemed, as always, to be no path to the dark heart, merely circular roads that only brought the walker back to where he started. And then it struck him, the path he would need to take to become victorious. He would seek out Hiei, yes, but ultimately he would not need to.

For Enzeru knew that eventually, Hiei would come for him.

Kaiba and Botan vs. Tsubaki and Pegasus

"So this is where it ends, Pegasus. I never did repay you for what happened to Mokuba under your twisted hands, so now I think it's time to make good on my promise of destroying you! And this particular Ritual monster will make short work of that!"

"Oh really?", sneered the dark priestess, whose voice was dripping with venom. "Remember that Pegasus controls the strongest monster on the field, and I myself control the strongest Magic card on the field! And even if your monster could defeat us, Pegasus's Gravity Bind card shall prevent it from attacking!"

Pegasus knew otherwise, and his eyes grew wide in terror as he realized what was to become of him.

"It's time to end this duel! I sacrifice Obelisk the Tormentor to activate Throne of the Dragon, which shall allow me to summon Onaga, the Dragon King!"

From the Magic card zone on his field emerged what appeared to be an ancient throne of some kind, seemingly hewn from the bones and skulls of dead humans, demons, and dragons. At the end of each armrest was a jewel-encrusted crystal egg which was presumably based on the eggs of dragons, and set into the back of the throne was a trio of skulls.

Botan had seen many expressions on Kaiba's face in this duel, each one indicative of a different facet of his personality. She had seen confidence, pride, victory, compassion, and, to her at least, sensuality. But the look in his eyes was completely different as he looked upon the throne of his latest monster. His face reflected one of mankind's most primal emotions, one that Hiei created and that Schwarzvald fed upon.

Kaiba, for whatever reason, was terribly frightened, though only she could see it.

Obelisk, whether by programming, knowledge, or perception of his soverign's own fears, displayed an equally subtle sense of dread as it was drawn onto the throne, unsure of exactly what would occur. Even by the standard of the gods the throne had an incredible level of dark energy flowing through it, like the spirit of a trapped devil.

The Egyptian God Monster had only to sit in the ancient chair for a moment before the black soul that was locked inside the throne awoke, and Obelisk reacted in kind. It was an unusual sight to behold: the Dark Colossus wracked with spasms and foaming at the mouth, clawed hands grasping onto the armrests with such intensity as to draw blood from between the fingers, bellowing throaty curses at the top of its lungs, until the twin eggs began to emit a repulsive green light which consumed the entirety of the throne and blotted out everything else on the field.

And when the light dissipated, Obelisk was gone, sent on to another world, but in his place was a creature equally as strong.

Standing up from the heathen throne was a wicked behemoth that appeared to be of a forgotten breed of dragon and demon, with thick green scales and lengthy taloned claws. Its muscled frame was partially covered in copper and brass armor, and on its back was a set of great pinions that would allow it to sear the very skies. As for Onaga's countenance, it was not exactly a pleasant thing to behold, for behind its grand crest of horns was a set of sickly yellow eyes which displayed a great level of arrogance. (3600/3000)

"Pegasus, what exactly are we dealing with here? It seems that all he did was summon a powerful monster."

"He's done much more than that, I'm afraid…"

"You're quite correct. By summoning Onaga the Dragon King, I am allowed to destroy up to two monsters on the field, two magic and trap cards on the field, and discard two cards in your hand. And because we're using him in a tag team duel, he is allowed to use his effect on both of your fields! So in this case, I'll use the effect to destroy Toon World, Gravity Bind, Dark Snake Syndrome, and Soul of the Dark Serpent! I'll also discard two cards from the both of you, but I'll pass on the ability of destroying monsters, because the way I see it there would be no point in doing so."

Once the effect was activated, Onaga drew from an unknown source a set of Chinese blades, one made of an almost gossamer crystal glass, and the other of unobtrusive and crude granite. Almost immediately after they were called from the other side, the swords began to pulse with the dark magic that had allowed him to control Outworld, at which point the draconic emperor began to whisper to them. This continued for a moment or so until the swords themselves rose into the sky and burst into thousands of burning daggers which rained down upon the field, punching through two cards apiece in the other duelists' hands. At the same time, a set of these fragments crushed the gravity spell set on the field, along with the source of the phantom serpents.

Pegasus's Toon World was the next card to go, and for the fourth and perhaps last time the infamous Magic card was dethroned, punctured by the hail of sharpnel and scorched into little but a burning hard cover with a pile of ashes which once were pages. And by the fall of the cartoon back also came the long-awaited defeat of Toon Obelisk, the first and last of his kin, for even with his distorted fury he was still a Toon, and depended on that same text to survive. It was thus that Toon Obelisk the Tormentor went the path of the book from whence he came, bursting into a singular jet of fire which consumed him in his entirety and left nothing but a thin layer of soot and two bulging red eyes which inexplicably sprouted feet and walked off to parts unknown.

"No! My precious Toon God! How could you do this? You…you…YOU BIG MEANIE!"

It was not at all what Botan or Tsubaki expected from such a powerful duelist, indicated by the reaper's befuddled glance and the priestess's seething grimace. But Kaiba had expected it, and he knew that in summoning his most hated creature, he had also played into the lunatic's hands.

"There's something you're not telling me, Pegasus. I've known you for far too long, and I can tell quite easily the difference between your poker face and legitimate despair. So you may as well tell me now: how did my destroying your "God" Card benefit you?"

Pegasus, for the first time, did not answer, even in a riddle. Tsubaki, however, did respond, and in a bizarre and altogether disturbing way.

"WRONG, KAIBA!"

Her voice, unlike her usual reserved and bitter tone, now reached a harsh crescendo of victorious madness which grated heavily on the eardrums of everyone involved in this duel. Those who could transcend that, however, were able to see her true feelings all too clearly.

"Did you really believe that the effect of Soul of the Dark Serpent was limited only to the effects it had on the field? If that is the case, then you are indeed the supreme moron on this world. After all, the effects you have seen so far, powerful as they might be, are as of nothing compared to its final use."

As she spoke these words the Magic card that she had indicated was shattered into nothingness.

"By destroying this card of mine, you have called forward its most devastating power; for when Soul of the Dark Serpent is sent from the field to the graveyard as a result of an opponent's effect, I am allowed to summon its true form: Accursed Serpent of the Ninth Hell!"

In that instant, Kaiba realized exactly what they were up against, and Botan as well. Both knew what card Tsubaki was speaking of; most professional duelists did, in fact, though most brushed it off as the ravings of the drunken card players who claimed to have seen this card. From what little could be determined of such ramblings, the Accursed Serpent did not even have a test run. It was so incredibly broken that a prototype was never designed, the plans and dies for the card were destroyed, and any evidence of the card's creation was erased from memory. However, many of those that theorized about the lost card were convinced that a copy had in fact been designed, and was in fact kept with Soul of the Dark Serpent as a support card.

Kaiba had never really believed in any of this. True, some cards had never been mass produced, and he knew that most of them belonged to the fruitcake in front of him. But to actually consider that Pegasus had created a card which had not even been approved for testing was absolutely ridiculous.

And yet here it was, a card that should never have seen the holographic light of day, about to be summoned in a duel which had seen its share of oddities.

From the space where Soul of the Dark Serpent had once stood now emerged a solitary black portal, about three inches wide and two feet in height, and even if one could see into the vortex it would be impossible to determine what was contained therein.

"Now here is how the card works. When it is summoned by the destruction of Soul of the Dark Serpent, I am allowed to remove every monster in the graveyard that was Special Summoned from the game, and for every such removed monster this creature gains 1000 attack points. From that, the total level of the removed monsters is multiplied by 100 and added to the total originally created. I must then select one of the monsters I've removed, and place it at the bottom of my deck. The combined attack and defense total of that monster is doubled, and added to the total. Finally, that amount is tripled, and is added to the 500 original attack of the monster!"

Kaiba did a quick calculation in his mind, and it was with horrific clarity that he realized the attack total of the monster. It was enough to send him reeling.

From the portal called forward now emerged Tsubaki's final monster, a grandiose serpent that appeared to be carven out of shadows, with no real solid mass and only two harsh green eyes to indicate that it was even a creature. On occasion he let his mouth open, and when that occurred one could almost see into the bowels of the deepest nightmares where none dared tread, but Tsubaki did not seem to fear this monster. This was a mutual emotion, for the serpent seemed to coil around her, like a child on the mother's heels.

The only difference was that the child was a dark snake from Hell with unspeakable attack strength. (139100/150)

Kaiba and Botan were both struck dumb as their minds wrapped about the horrible number, a level of attack that was only surpassed by a handful of monsters. All of Kaiba's monsters put together could not begin to equal such force.

"Well, it seems that your pathetic attempts at salvation have come to a crumbling end, you whiny little bitches, and it shall only get worse from here. Once my monster's attack has been calculated, it will then allow me to prevent any of us from activating more than two Magic or Trap cards per turn, and any other normal summons are forbidden. Also, for each turn in which a monster is not summoned, the Accursed Serpent will gain an extra 500 attack points!"

"Impressive, Tsubaki. But I'm afraid that in your case the Serpent also has a serious drawback. Remember, because of your monster's effect you cannot summon any monsters for the rest of the duel, and you can only activate one Magic card per turn."

"A small price to pay for a monster of such strength, wouldn't you say? Besides, there is no way you'll be able to defeat me."

"Oh, but I will. Actually, in reality you've allowed me to end this duel."

Tsubaki eyes now slitted in a disgusting display of arrogance.

"You mean Pegasus? By all means, attack him if you want; he no longer has any purpose."

"I'm not talking about Pegasus; although I would like to see him suffer, he has lost any power to defeat me. You, on the other hand, are not so fortunate, and as far as I'm concerned you can burn in hell where you belong. But in order for me to do that I'll need to use your own monster against you, so I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

"HA! I knew that you could not defeat me! Your monsters have no power compared to mine, and once I strike you down there shall be nothing to rescue you from the damned! Accursed Serpent, destroy Kaiba's Onaga the Dragon King!" (139600/150)

At that moment, the serpent of blackest night rose from the safety of its twisted master, and carefully slithered over towards the imposing dragon emperor, gauging the situation and determining what had to be done. However, as far as the snake was able to tell Onaga did not have any hidden weaponry, and as such decided to strike. Thusly it lifted its great head and stretched open the wicked maws it held, to consume the life and soul of the Dragon King.

"Sorry, dark priestess, but I still have a face down card to use. Reveal the Trap card, Grave Spell! This lets me activate any Magic or Trap card in my graveyard, so long as I remove them both from play afterwards. And the card I have selected is Command Silencer!"

Once again the technologically advanced totem rose up and emitted its piercing yelps which prevented the beast from attacking, and at the same time giving clearance for Kaiba to draw his card.

"Curse you, Seto Kaiba! No one disgraces my beauty and gets away with it! You'll pay for your insolence with your life!"

"Pathetic narcissistic blather, nothing more. You just can't accept that I'm about to end this."

"HA! As if you could do anything to stop me! For now, I shall pass the turn to your pretty little girlfriend. Let's see if she can come through for you in the darkest hour."

Botan ignored the light jibe, and drew. (140100/150) It would be stupid to attack Pegasus; Tsubaki would just block for him and cause me to lose. Maybe I can use this Trap card to wipe them out…

But as the reaper looked at her latest card, an even better plan came to mind.

Seto, I might just have an idea.

Way ahead of you. Just hold on for one more turn, and I can end this.

"Fine by me, Tsubaki. I'll switch all my monsters into defense mode, place a card face down, and that'll be that."

Pegasus, in his turn, drew the next card, and panicked as he realized that he had nothing that could be summoned without Toon World. His other cards were worthless in the situation in which he had been forced. (140600/150)

"God damn. I have to pass this turn." Tsubaki had better not screw this up…

And it then returned to Kaiba, who drew in spite of having the winning card in hand. (141100/150)

"It's time for me to finally end this! I activate the Magic card, Creature Swap, which lets me switch control of one monster on my side of the field, but also lets me gain control of your monster!" Even as he spoke, the demonic serpent and the ruler of wyrms shifted positions so that the stronger monster served Kaiba.

"And now it's my turn! Reveal the face down card, Balder's Negotiations, which allows me to sacrifice one Valkyrie on my side of the field so that Seto can regain control of Onaga!"

Botan's Quick-Play activated almost as soon as Valkyrie Altest was sent from the field, whereupon the kind and friendly Norse god walked over to the disgusting dragon ruler and began whispering into his ear. Onaga, standing in quiet respect, listened for a few moments, decided that Balder was correct, and slowly trudged back to Kaiba's side of the field.

"Thanks, Botan. Now, it's time for some final retribution! Onaga and Accursed Serpent, attack Tsubaki and Pegasus directly to end this duel!"

So did the duel come to a close.

Onaga was the first to strike, once more drawing a sword from the world beyond, in this case a lengthy jade object which hummed with the souls of the dead that the ruler held dominion over, and having called this weapon he took to the skies and swept downwards, with one solid swipe slicing through Pegasus and instantly defeating him.

And finally, in a strange sort of irony, the Accursed Serpent now raised itself against the mistress who had called it forth, opening its jaws and lunging at her.

"Wait! What are you doing! STOP!"

"Sorry, dark priestess, but your time is just about up."

Her terrified yelps meant nothing to the snake, who sent a solid beam of hellfire crashing into Tsubaki's chest, thus knocking her backwards.

No…I was to stay beautiful…

And with that strike, the first tag team that Kaiba had been able to work with was successfully completed. (300/1200) (0/0)

Kaiba, for a moment or so, leaned back against the nearest wall to catch his breath. It had not been an easy match, to say the least, especially against two seasoned veterans such as them, but the question still remained as to why Tsubaki and Pegasus were working together in the first place. There was no love lost between them in that match, that was certain, and he was pretty sure that Pegasus had no dealings with Naraku, just with the locals of New Paradigm, seeing as he himself had been a native of the area. But that still would not explain what was going on…

After a minute of such ponderings, Kaiba decided that he may as well ask the man himself. Odds are that Tsubaki's snakes had ran off after their mistress had been vanquished, so he was likely still able to tell him what he wanted to know.

But as he attempted to move forward he was slammed backwards by a very welcome interference.

"Seto, you were incredible back there. I've never seen anyone duel like that before."

Botan's sultry whisper and the wild look of passion in her eyes as she pinned him against the wall revealed a confidence and carnal drive that he had never seen before in another woman, and it appeared that she was particularly aroused by his victory

Note to self: good duels turn her on.

"You weren't too bad yourself, seeing as you got me out of a few rough areas..."

Kaiba's words fell silent as the reaper crushed her lips against his, caressing his tongue and mouth ever so gently as she wrapped her arms around him. Unwittingly his hands fell to her waist and she gave out a shriek of pleasure.

"Oh God, what did I do without you?"

"I might ask the same question."

And so they continued to passionately embrace, caring little who saw them, only noticing the other one as they fell deeper into a trancelike state of sexual desire that fueled them and healed their wounds.

But both knew what had to be done, and it was with a painful sense of this knowledge that they drew themselves apart.

"So, shall we take our reward, my dear?"

"You haven't even begun to get your reward, Seto."

He expected that to be the case, even without her seductive expression as she spoke, hence the almost unnoticed skip in his step as he walked over to the fallen duelists.

As he had thought, Tsubaki was dead, likely from the shock of losing but more likely from a stroke; her true form, an ancient and sickly hag, had replaced the fairly attractive dark priestess. Pegasus, however, was still alive, and after taking his key and Tsubaki's rarest card he next picked up the flamboyant older man by the collar.

"I suggest you start talking, Pegasus, or this time I'll take your soul."

To Be Continued

Yes, I am aware that Hiei's segment was absent. But I wanted to update today.

Anyway, in our next chapter the duels of Joey and Roger finally end, as Shippo revives and speaks of what became of him. Yusuke encounters an old nemesis, Kaiba interrogates his old enemy, Hiei unveils his latest schemes as he develops a taste for wind, and Inuyasha recovers to a furious Tea. And all around there is a presence of cold times ahead. Don't miss it.

Anyway, onto original cards. Not too many new ones, actually. Spell Mirror and all of Jin's original cards belong to Time Mage, as does Grave Spell. The Accursed Serpent is mine (and yes, it is meant to be broken). Onaga (based on a character from Mortal Kombat by the same name) is Matrixfighter's. And Noir belongs to White Mage. Unless I'm mistaken, the other original cards are mine. If I made a mistake, let me know.

See ya later, then!