Music from Warriors Begins to Play:
All is black, and suddenly a sparkling light begins flying towards you.
"yureteiru omokageni bokura no negai eien ni hateshinai"
(Within the swaying traces of memories...our desires have no end)
The light flies by at incredible speed, but as it grazes the screen, letters in silver print appear, and leave behind the letters DDL.
The Letters spread apart from one another and words appear.
Dark Dragon League, Saga 2, the Trial of Warriors
"itsushika ukiru tameni okisarinishita shiawase"
(Sometime ago, for the sake of living, we left behind our happiness)
The scene changes to the castle of Dragons, the view shooting by quickly as it enters the castle, to show Ashley, Vic, Kuro, Kevin and Joseph.
"itsuwaru koto de sugatte ototteta tadano maboroshini"
(We deceived ourselves, clinging to this mere illusion as we danced...)
Each's Duel Brace unfolds in turn, as they draw cards from their decks.
"hitomitojitashikai no atede kimi no ega o sagashiteta"
(With closed eyes, I sought out your smiling face at the edge of the horizon)
Hovering over each of them appear, Shinato King of a Higher Plane, Theinen the Great Sphinx, The Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, The Blue Eyes Metal Dragon, and the Thousand Eyes Restrict.
But then everything vanishes in a bright flash!
"yureteiru omokageni bokura wa yume hidakidakenuketeku sou"
(Within the swaying traces of memories...we embrace our dreams and continue on...)
The scene returns to an urban surrounding as the background, Kyle raising his hand, appearing around him are the Magician of Black Chaos, the Dark Sage and the Dark Magician. But drifting to his side is Paul, who raises his hand also. Appearing around him is Breaker the Magical Warrior, The XYZ Dragon Cannon, and the Light Magician. To the south of them, Appearing behind Justin is Kozaky, Fiend Scorpion and Moke Moke, and to his left, Mike holds up a trio of cards, appearing beside him is the Mystical Elf, the Double Coston and the Skilled Dark Magician.
"itsunohika munenishimatteta kono omoi moichido nigirishimete ima"
(Someday, I will once again grasp hold of these feelings I have locked away in my heart...Now)
The scene switches to a rooftop, Josh holds up a card, and The Snake Chief Vistaki appears in a flash of purple, green, and yellow gas. Richard jumps in beside him, and surrounding him appear Inaba White Rabbit, Yata-Garasu, Yamata Dragon and Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. They stare down the opposite side the roof, where a figure draped in darkness awaits, with the Winged Dragon of Ra hanging above him.
The scene changes to show a desolate area of town, flying over it slowly till it reaches an abandoned hotel.
"koyoi mo ore o nashite tatakai oeta senshitachi"
(Tonight also, the warriors have finished fighting)
Flying in through a window, you see Amy holding a newborn infant, tears flowing down from her eyes.
"itsunotoki mo koereba kotae o bokura wa mitsukeruno?"
(How many eons must pass before we can find it?)
Standing outside a doorway is Nick, Sarah and Kristen, looking sad as well.
"tooisora no mukou ni tsutsuku mihatenuyume ga naiteru"
(Far beyond the edge of the sky, our limitless dreams are weeping...)
Suddenly many different Warrior monsters come barreling up the stairwells.
"yureteiru omokageni bokura no negai eien ni hateshinai sou"
(Within the swaying traces of our memories...our desires have no end)
Nick and Sarah Pull cards from their duel braces, and appearing out of them come Don Zaloog, Meanae the Thorn, Magical Marionette, Ancient Elf, Sorceress of Light and Wing Weaver. Kristen pulls out a few cards and appearing before her is Nightmare Penguin, Mermaid Knight, and Mobius the Frost Monarch. And appearing around Amy appear the Dark Magician Girl, Injection Fairy Lily, and the Pharaoh's Guardian.
"koboreteku ikutsumononamida nuguttewa ashita o mesashiteiku"
(As we wipe away our falling tears, we reach out for tomorrow )
However, on the roof, Kathryn stands up; appearing behind her is the Holy Night Dragon, its skin reflecting brightly in the sunlight. And to her side is Dan, his Gate Guardian standing fast. On the other side of the roof stood another ominous figure, with the silhouette of Obelisk behind him.
The scene changes back to the castle, Jordan, Raikoo, and Chuck stand behind a ring of dark energy, Vaurnut is inside and facing down an opponent with a large number of monsters.
"itsuka ienakattakoto kyoowa kimi ni sasagetai"
(Someday, I will offer to you these words I could not say)
Vaurnut's face is raked with confusion, determination, and guilt, but he reaches for his deck and draws a card.
The scene flashes back towards a small lake side town.
"yureteiru omokageni michibikarerumama kakenuketeikou"
(Guided by the swaying traces of our memories, we'll continue on)
Dalin jumps into the frame, appearing around him are Cat's Ear Tribe, Winged Sage Flacos, and the Mystical Knight Jackel. The scene pans over to Josh, his Exodia Necros stands high above him, his Black Skull Dragon and his Vampire Lord float over him.
"sou munenishimatteta kono omoi moichido nigirishimete ima"
(I will once again grasp hold of these feelings I have locked away in my heart)
And alongside the Beach, Jacob stands in the sand with his Gilford the Lightning behind him, storm clouds roaring in the sky. Tobias stands with him as well, the Five God Dragon roaring with its many heads. And across from them lies a figure draped beneath the shadow of Orisis the Sky Dragon.
"mekurumeku jidai no naka korekaramokitto aruiteikudarou"
(As the ages come and go, we will walk on forever more...)
And lastly the scene changes to the Soul Stone Chamber, Aaron stands up towards a figure dressed in heavy metal armor. He takes on last look at Erin, who gives him a nod, and dives forth, his body changing to Gearfried the Iron Knight.
He swings with all his strength and a powerful shockwave is thrown from the blade.
The scene pauses there as the song finishes, and all turns dark again.
Chapter 34: The Journey begins.
Several weeks had pasted since the day that Roy had given the new orders of the DDL, but so far nothing had really changed.
Aaron's body was healing rapidly; he had roughly less than a week before he'd be ready to leave the tube. Ashley meanwhile, was making excellent progress herself. Over the Weeks, Kuro had taught her many basic battle maneuvers and Vic had trained her well with her choice of monster cards, not much was left to each her before she was a professional herself.
And since the battle at the Golden Gate Bridge, the Daikai had remained perfectly quiet, so the DDL was left on standby till the orders to separate to the different Leagues were cleared.
However, that has soon coming to an end, the Council of the Sacred Dragon was sending a convoy of representatives to the castle that morning, and the castle was a buzz, preparing for the arrivals.
"This is inhuman!" Jordan wailed in grief. The man was dressed in a janitor uniform, and looked at his assignment for the day. "I have to dust the entire main hall before Noon?"
"So?" Sarah wondered, she was stuck wearing a maid's uniform and wasn't in the mood for any of Jordan's antics or commentary.
"SO? The place is big enough to install a hockey rink and a football field, and enough room left over for the parking garage!" Jordan called out, the echo rang through the massive room. The room itself was made for the obscenely large Duel Monsters that lived in the world to step inside and plead their case, but the room's dimensions were still staggering, the single room took a good third of the castle, and hadn't been cleaned for over 60 years, let alone 600.
"Jordan, deal with it, I have to clean the mess you left in the Library last night, and I'm not feeling too happy about it." Sarah miffed, as she turned around, and headed for the mess of magazines and dried food that awaited her.
Jordan grumbled for a second, but looked at the very attractive sight that was heading away from him; his face softened up and turned into a blissful stupor.
"Jordan, you're having perverted thoughts aren't you?" Sarah said, stopping dead in her tracks.
"Absolutely," Jordan blurted out, but then the words registered in his brain. "NO! Wait! I didn't mean it!" He raised his hands, trying to take it back.
"TOO LATE!" She said in a voice that could freeze a person's soul, she spun around; her face was that of a psychopath, her right fist sprang open.
In a powerful "WHACK!" across Jordan's face, she sent the janitor flying into the air, and smashed him against the roof of the Hall, a good 10 stories in the air!
"….ow." Was all that Jordan could muster.
"Consider this a blessing in disguise Jordan. Now you don't need a ladder." Sarah piped in, as she and her French style uniform strolled out of the hall.
In the arena, Kuro watched from the balcony, observing the bout between Ashley and Vic. Ashley had amassed 9700 life points, her field consisted of a Mystical Shine Ball, a small floating bubble in the air (500/500) and a trio of facedown cards, she had one card in her hand, and it was Vic's turn.
"Draw," He said, taking his next card, currently he only had his Freed the Wanderer on the field, (1700/1200), and a facedown card, 4 cards left in his hand. His life points stood at 7300, and he announced his next move, "I activate my trap, Pyramid of Light!" He said, as the card flipped up, the arena was enveloped in the haze of a blue pyramid of light, "And now I sacrifice 1000 life points and special summon my Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia."
His lifepoints dropped to 6300, but appearing before him appeared the twin sphinxes, the massive brute with the head of a lion that stood on two legs, (3000/2500) and the beast that had the body of a cat, but the face of a woman, (2500/3000)
"Freed the Wanderer attack! Pop that balloon!" He commanded, as the monster charged in for the kill.
"Activate trap card, Soul Recall!" Ashley called out, as her trap card flipped up, her monster vanished into a card and returned to her hand, "This trap negates your attack and allows me take a monster off my field, then I can special summon one level 4 monster from my hand. I choose my Gearfried the Iron Knight." She said, as she placed the card on the field, and in a flash of light, the familiar black armor warrior appeared to protect her. (1800/1600)
"Nice, but its still going down, Sphinx Teleia attack the Knight!" Vic said, as the cat jumped into the air to crush the metal clad warrior in a single bound.
"Open facedown card, Blast with Chain!" She called out as the facedown card flipped up, and a bundle of dynamite strapped itself to Gearfried.
"I choose to destroy your Pyramid of Light!" She said, as Gearfried swung the explosive straight at the wall of blue light that surrounded them.
The dynamite exploded with a thunderous blast, shattering the pyramid. As it did, the two sphinxes began to fade away along with the pyramid.
"Not bad, Ashley, but it's not over yet. I sacrifice another 500 lifepoints to special summon my Theinen the Great Sphinx!" He called out, pulling a card from his deck and slammed it on the brace, appearing in the wake of the destruction of the Pyramid was the dual form beast, half Andro and half Teleia, but all Sphinx, it roared as loud as the explosion that had brought it to life. (3500/3000)
"And lastly, I pay 500 life points to fuel this boy's attack power to 6500! Now Theinen, finish Gearfried once and for all!" Vic commanded, as the Sphinx charged for the Knight.
"Sorry Vic, but this ends here! Ring of Destruction!" She called out as her facedown card flipped up, and a ring of grenades snapped around Theinen's neck!
"Uh oh!" Vic muttered as he threw up a Rema barrier as the Sphinx exploded in a ball of immense flames!
Ashley breathed a sigh of relief, "That was close eh?" She asked the Knight in front of her. However, all the Gearfried managed to do was give her a slight smile, before fading away back into the card.
A small frown came upon her, as she picked the card up, "What I'd give to have the real one come back."
"Way to go Ashley! You rock girl!" Kuro cheered from the balcony.
"Hey! Don't forget who trained her you know!" Vic growled.
"Thanks for the duel Vic." Ashley said, as the arena closed back up and the floor was reassembled.
"Not a problem Ash, you're really a quick learner, I'm glad I had a part in raising you." Vic said, holding out his hand.
"You're a pretty good teacher Vic." She said, shaking it.
"Hey hey, Keep it up Vic and Aaron's gonna skin ya alive!" Kuro chimed from her perch.
"Excuse me Ash, I got a Chicken to pluck." Vic said, taking off out of the arena.
Ashley gave a slight chuckle and headed out of the arena, as she went she looked at her deck, a finely tuned weapon she had made her own with the help of Aaron's card collection as well as a few gems Kuro had given from the Vault. She began to pick through it, Aaron's cards were quite diverse and she could have picked anything at all to work with, but the St. Joan he had given her lead her down the path of dueling she now played. "I wonder how long till I get a card of my own, Aaron's got his On Iron Wings, Kuro her Amazonite and Vic his Drifting Dream, I wonder what I'll get?"
It was at that moment, she crashed into Jacob, he wasn't watching where he was going either, but I suppose that's to be expected.
"Sorry!" Jacob sprang to his feet, raising his hands in a frantic defensive maneuver.
"It's alright, I wasn't watching where I was going. What's with the hands?" She asked, picking herself off the ground.
Jacob suddenly realized he wasn't going to be sent flying down the length of the hallway, and put his hands down, "Heh... force of habit." He muttered.
It was then, that Ashley noticed what Jacob was wearing, he was wearing his usual blue jeans, and his mezuzah around his neck, but he had on a black, white, and silver jacket. It looked like a combination of a uniform and a flight jacket, on the shoulders were patches that had the emblem of the Sacred Dragon Council on the left arm and the Dark Dragon League on the right. At the base of each shelve was a small patch that looked like it could be rolled under the shelve, Jacob had done so on his left arm so that his Duel Brace could fit, and on his left breast was his name tag and the Badge with his Gladiator title on it. He also had on a pair of black fingerless gloves with silver fabric covering the tops of his hands.
"Jacob what are you wearing?" She asked.
"Each Dragon League has a uniform style accustomed to it; it can be just about anything as long it gets the point across that you belong to that dragon league. For us its stuff like this, mainly jackets, black or silver pants, gloves, and shoes if you want, but I just stick with this." He explained.
"But why are you wearing it?"
"The Council will be sending some representatives, to decide which of us go to which league, but we have to greet them with respect, so every league member is going to have to put on one of these things." He said, "But before they get here I was going to check on Aaron's condition. Care to join?" He asked.
"Sure." She said, putting her deck in Aaron's Duel Brace and followed Jacob to the infirmary.
Up at top the spire of the Castle, Kyle and Dalin looked out towards the horizon, the hour had just reached noon and the sky was shining with the high sun. "I wonder how the visit is gonna do? Jacob has no tolerance for Jeff." Dalin said.
"Knowing that is still no grantee that he's gonna show up. The EDL refuses to acknowledge him as a good duelist, and they don't really give a damn about us either." Kyle added on.
"Well either way, the other two leagues are gonna show up and we'll have to deal with the aftermath. HDL and SDL both get along with us for the most part, but they get along with the EDL as well as we do." Dalin said, holding a suitcase in his hand.
"Hey what'd you doing with that?" Kyle asked.
"Watch and you'll see." Dalin said, as he left the suitcase on the roof, and headed back downstairs.
"Hey!" Kyle said, as he took off after him.
Back on in the infirmary Jacob and Ashley had just came in to see Vaurnut over by the tube looking at the body stuck inside, "Hey V, what's up?" Ash called out to him.
"Oh, hello, I was just keeping him company, that's all." V said, looking over from his chair.
"How's he doing?" Jacob asked as he stepped along side him.
"His body is just about repaired; I give him 3 days or so. Then it's up to him to get himself out of there." The Doc said, coming towards the tube also.
"Any sign of him making another one of his phone calls?" Jacob asked V.
"No luck. I'm wondering how he did it the first time, but all I know is that it worked when this card slapped to the side of the chamber," V said, pointing at the Gearfried card that had been duct taped to the glass.
"Aaron would not be happy." Ash stated at the offense taken towards one of his favorite cards.
"No doubt." Jacob chimed in.
"Well it was like this when I found it here this morning. I have no idea who framed his monster." The Doc testified.
"Well Aaron's not gonna be happy to see it like this." She said, reaching for the tape.
Just then, the card's face flashed, and a red hologram of Aaron tried to come out, but was being pulled back. "HEY! WHAT THE HELL?" He managed to blurt out before he was sucked back into the card.
"AARON!" The 3 called out at once as they pried the tape off the card and waited.
After a few seconds the card flashed again, and this time the hologram remained stable. "That was not fun." He muttered.
"Aaron, it's great to see you." Ash greeted, Aaron's fatigued face lit up at the sight of her.
"Aaron what happened? You look like you've gotten into a fight." Jacob deduced.
Aaron's clothes were far more worn out then when they last saw them, the edges ripped up and patches were torn, his skin was filthy and was sweating, his glasses were slightly bent and his normal flattop had gone through a major problem, the hair had grown longer, but it appeared he failed at cutting it himself, resulting in it looking like a slope from his brow to the back of his skull.
"Training does a body bad." Aaron stated looking at the poor shape he was in.
"And I thought my training was bad." V said, looking at the burns on his left knuckles.
"Oh those, piece of advice, when running for your life during a volcano running test, never tick off the Lava Golem that lives at the bottom of the crater." Aaron grimaced.
"Volcano running test? What the heck is she trying to do? Kill you?" Ashley accused.
"Sad to say this, but it was my fault, in order to get out this place I must duel Erin and win, then she'll let me take the final challenge that will let me leave this place, problem is I have to win tests to get my cards to duel; however, the stronger the card, the harder the test. That little lava test got me my Dragon back." Aaron said, taking his deck out of his pocket, and held up the Tyrant Dragon card.
"And how much longer till you finish your deck? I assume you must have gotten up to 40 cards now." V inquired.
"Actually 1 more card, I've been able to assemble almost every card I use in my deck, however, I made few changes to it, and need one last card to assemble it here in this place. I called to say that if I pass this last test I will be able to try and get out of here, if I fail the final test, I'm afraid I'll be bedridden for a while longer." He said a sound of reluctance in his voice.
"Aaron, what's wrong?" Ashley asked, in a more serious tone you normally found in mothers when their children are holding back something.
"If I screw up I don't get another chance for 30 weeks." He let go.
That kinda time line put a damper on Jacob and V's spirits, and the Doc too, since he liked his infirmary vacant, but Ashley's confidence didn't shake in the least.
"I believe in you Aaron, you'll do it and come back to me."
"You don't know how much that means to me Ash." Aaron said, tears forming in his eyes.
Just then, a loud horn blew out, the echo ringing through the halls.
"What's with the noise?" Aaron asked.
"The Convoy, they must be coming in. Ashley you better get going to the Locker room and change into uniform." Jacob said.
"Alright then, Bye Aaron, I hope to see you soon." She said as she waved good bye and ran down the length of the room.
"Maybe sooner than she thinks," Aaron said, then glancing at Jacob, "I got a few things to tell ya about spirit merging, Erin's quite the expert."
"Do tell." Jacob said, as he and V stepped in closer.
As Ashley ran down the hall she heard a loud scream of anger, it was coming from the Girl's locker room. She ran inside to see a very angry Sarah roaring at the room, the locker doors had been all opened and several had been raided.
"This is a disaster!" Amy said as she came in as well.
"Somebody is gonna need a body bag." Kuro growled, Vic was lying on the floor, he was out cold.
Back at the Main Hall, Dalin, Kyle, Paul, Josh, Nick, Jordan, and Chuck were present in a line. Chuck took the front, he wore a pair of black dress pants and shoes, wore a uniform coat that was coal black with silver buttons running up the sides, his collar was secure around his neck with a pair of insignia, on his shoulders were clasps and on his shelve was a Red Eyes Black Dragon Duel Brace.
Behind him everyone wore similar gear to Jacob. Paul, Nick and Josh wore the jacket and black pants, however none wore the gloves. All the others wore a vest, black ones with silver clasps with there name and their badge over their left side breast pocket.
Jordan wore his over his blue hoodie, but kept everything else the same. Kyle wore the vest and had a black T-shirt under it and Dalin the same, but both wore black shorts. For Kyle it was for style, for Dalin it was for lack of pants that could fit.
Jacob soon entered the hall, looking around and quickly noticed something. "Hey where are Vic and the girls?"
"No clue." Paul said.
"Haven't seen 'em." Josh said.
"I spent the better part of the morning lodged in the ceiling." Jordan confessed.
"I don't know, what about you D?" Kyle asked.
"Nope, I got no idea." Dalin said straight faced, a little too straight faced for Kyle's liking.
Just then, Vaurnut came in the hall, dressed in his uniform and carrying with him Aaron's Hologram, still being projected from the card.
"Well the gang's all here, or not? Hey, where the girls?" Aaron asked, looking at the loss of about one quarter of the league.
"You got us." Jacob stated shrugging it off.
Just then coming down the halls came the girls, however they were proceeding at a speed that exceeded the sound barrier.
Aaron squinted to make out the distant figures, but then recognized the situation, "EVERYBODY DOWN!"
He shut his eyes, covered his head and crouched on the floor. V, upon realizing what he was doing followed suit, with Paul in close pursuit.
"What?" Josh wondered.
"Uh oh." Jordan murmured.
Coming in at break neck speed were Sarah and Kuro, they were in rather 'interesting attire.' Both were wearing matching Black and Silver Bikinis, sandals, and what resembled brass knuckles, all with the DDL logo on them.
Upon viewing the situation, Josh and Nick fainted and collapsed on the floor, However Dalin, Jacob and Jordan's noses was running with blood and their faces was dazed over.
"You idiot!" Kyle said, as he cut the feet from under Jordan causing him to crash on the ground. He didn't have time to save Jacob, so he covered his eyes and hopped for the best.
The girls came in and in under 2.8 seconds, nailed Jacob in the face with a swift kick, sending him sailing cross the floor and crashing into the railing, and spun around and smashing their brass knuckles into Dalin's waist and sent him crashing into the wall. Then with out giving him time to react, they pinned him against the wall.
"DALIN! What the hell did you do with our uniforms?" They demanded, their death grip on his esophagus wasn't helping matters though as he struggled to breathe.
"He left them on the roof, silver brief case. Hurry, the convoy will be here any second." Kyle said, keeping his face covered.
The girl's looked at each other and nodded, they let go of his throat but before they left they double kneed his gut, leaving the man out of breath in kneeling over in agony.
Paul lifted his head, "Is it over?"
"When is it ever?" Vaurnut said, as he got back on his feet, "Aaron you can get up."
Aaron's holo looked around before getting on his feet, "What the heck goes through that man's head?" He wondered, looking at Dalin's huddled over body.
"A lot of untamed thoughts that get everybody else in trouble." Jacob said, rubbing his wounded face.
A few moments later, Ashley and Amy were bringing in the unconscious Vic into the hall. Both of the girls wore similar jackets to the guys, black shoes, and the fingerless gloves. However, Ashley wore a skirt of black cloth, with a silver belt with her deck pouch resting on her left side. And Amy wore a pair of jeans, silver streaks ran on the black fabric on the bottoms, her normally spiky hair was combed down, and a pair of dark sunglasses rested on her head.
"Not a bad look on you Ash." Aaron complemented.
Ash looked to her side, her face blushing slightly.
Just then the doors of the great hall began to open slightly; a vessel was sailing straight into the hall!
Sarah and Kuro both descended back into the hall, clad in their uniforms, and every one lined up behind Chuck, one way or another in some cases.
The vessel in question was a large wooden boat, a good quarter mile long, and about 3 stories tall. Arrowshaped, and stream lined, it was quite a daunting figure to come flying towards them. Atop its deck was a mast, tied to it was a huge sail made of a white material that flapped in the air like it was a wave on the ocean. The mast pulled in its sail and descended beneath the hull, and it floated into the grand chamber.
"Whoa! How can it float on the air?" Aaron wondered.
"It's a magic ship, duh." Jordan blurted out.
"Jordan, that wasn't nice." Ashley shot him a disapproving look.
The vessel came to a halt, and a plank extended from the bow, landing on the edge of the stair case. A small compartment rose up from under the deck, a door opened from it and a steady stream of people came up from under the wooden planks.
Coming up in front was Roy, he wore a simple garb of black and dark blue clothes, with a large dark blue cape flowing over his shoulders, his duel brace shining as though it had just been polished.
Following up behind him were two others in similar garb. One was a young woman dressed in a red and light pink garb, her hair was tied back in a ponytail, her green eyes were expressionless, and she wore a Divine Dragon Ragnarok duel brace on her left arm. The other was another guy, but he wore gold and white, his skin was a dark tone, he was a little jollier than his two companions, and his duel brace was that of a Serpent Night Dragon duel brace.
"Who are they?" Ash asked, looking at the 3 as the disembarked the vessel.
"They are called the Senvas, the name means Divine Sentinels, there are 4, each represents one of the 4 aspects of dueling combat, Offense, Defense, Focus and Justice. Along time ago these we're the toughest warriors on the planet, each of them today is trained effectively in the ways of combat and dueling, they train members of the Dragon leagues to be the best in the world. Jacob was trained under Roy, the Inferno Duelist and the Senva of Offense; the other two up there are Casey, the Star Burst duelist, the Senva of Focus, and Patrick, the Dragon Teeth Duelist, and the Senva of Justice." Sarah said, as they walked on to the red carpeted floor, and lined up along the railing of the floor, parallel to the Dark Dragon League members lined along the back side of the wall.
Coming down the plank next were men and women of similar ages to the DDL, a quartet of them came down and greeted the DDL with smiles on their faces. The first of them were all men, each wore similar colored outfits to the DDL, silver and black, but the balances were off. Where the black was prominent on the DDL, Silver was for the new warriors.
The first of them was a young man of about fifteen; he had on a cheerful expression on his tanned face, his light blue eyes shinning brightly, his hair was a bright blonde that waved slightly in the breeze from the open gate in the hall. He wore what looked like a dress uniform, more for fashion than function, red ribbons rested on his shoulders and gold thread was woven on the cuffs of his pants and shelves, on his right arm was what looked like a Blue Eyes duel brace but it looked more metallic. "Hey there, the name's Kevin Hunter, The Full Metal Dragon Duelist. Been a while Paul." He greeted.
"Sure has." Paul said, his gaze becoming a tad more emotional, Aaron noticed his voice was calmer than usual. Amy breathed a slight sigh.
The next was another man in his latter teens; he stood reasonably firm, his outfit was almost identical to Kevin's, save for the color of his ribbons were a dark green instead of red. His face was quiet still and pretty expressionless, his hazel gaze behind his small glasses didn't waver, nor did the hair of his goatee or short dirty blonde hair in the breeze. On his arm was a Petit Dragon Duel Brace. "Hello, my Name is Justin, the Sentinel Duelist." He said quite simply.
The third man to step off the bow was about the height of Dalin, 6.4 making him the tallest guy in the room. His uniform was as big as he was, a large black cape flowing down is back, and sticking out of his pocket was a golden chain, the size of which resembled the ones that are attached to pocket watches. His brown hair was a mess, flop sided with red bangs in his eyes, which were blue with hazel speckled around the iris. He had a relative patient look on his face, and around his right arm was a Red Eyes Black Dragon Duel Brace. "Hey, Raikoo the Dark Dragon Duelist at your service."
And lastly, the final member stood forth. He was another Teen, about the same age as Kevin. His uniform stood out as much as Chuck's did from the rest of the DDL, therefore noting that this guy was the leader. He wore black slacks, silver material shoes, and large silver jacket that had a dark blue cape flowing from the back. He had on his right arm a Duel Brace that shined brightly, a Horus the Dark of Black Flame. He was grinning like an idiot but it was out of joy, he wore a pair of small framed glasses over his brown eyes, his curly brown hair was covered by a Jack Skellington Beanie, and he held out his hand, "Josh, The Rising Duelist and the Leader of the Silver Dragon League, Nice to see you Chuck, you look as bad as I feel in this get up."
"You haven't changed, and it's still a pleasure to see you in the same boat I am again." Chuck chuckled shaking his hand.
Aaron looked over to V and asked, "What's going on? Why do they look so different from us, and why is Chuck wearing that?" He was pointing at Chuck's Duel Brace.
V quickly responded to Aaron's barrage of questions with quick replies of his own. "This is the Silver Dragon League's representatives, they are here to present there opinions at the meeting. Their uniforms are different from us because of our backgrounds, back when the dragon leagues were founded; groups were created from different backgrounds. The Dark Dragon League was founded by commoners and craftsmen and women, the Silver Dragon League was founded by Royalty and they were all men. Our outfits are similar but we all carry the past, and our uniforms reflect the past traditions. Another of our Traditions is that the leader of the league must wear the dragon that represents the league as their duel brace. Chuck had to use the Red Eyes, just as Josh did with Horus, both of them use different monsters as their braces but this is for the meeting."
"How many other leagues are there?" Ash asked.
"2, and here comes the next representatives." Nick said, as a pair of ladies came down the plank.
The first was quite petit, she was about 5 feet tall, but exuded the presence of a grown woman. She was thin and her skin had a pale complexion, but her face was full of life. Her deep, blue eyes shown as though they lead to the great ocean and her shoulder length brunette hair floated peacefully in the breeze. She wore a rather unique outfit, it was a combination of silk like robes of azure and cerulean that wrapped around her. It flowed around her waist and dangled around her knees, up and around her neck and hung on her shoulders. In her hair was a small sapphire brooch, shaped in the form of a clam shell with a drop of dew, and hanging on her arm was a Leviadragon- Daedalus duel brace. "My name is Kristen, or Snodin, I'm the Tsunami Duelist, pleasure to meet you." She greeted.
"She's nice." Kyle stated, Jacob nodding in agreement.
And following right behind her was another woman, but this one was quite a sight as well. Her hair was a ghostly white! Her appearance was that of a woman of 25, 5.7, and about 128 pounds, but she drew the presence of someone who was over a hundred years old! Her toned body was only clad in a bright yellow robe that barely covered her at all. Her face was pleasant, but her amber gaze was as fierce as a lion's. Her white locks were tied in a ponytail that stretched to the base of her spine and ended with a golden ring. On her arm was a duel brace of the Seiyaru, and she held out her hand to Chuck, "Kathyrin, The Dawn Duelist, and Leader of the Holy Dragon League, It's a pleasure to see you again Chuck, it's been a while."
"Oh yeah, at least what? 5 years?" He smiled as he shook her hand.
Aaron turned to V for answers. "The Holy Dragon League is an entirely female division of the Dragon leagues; they are the ones who deal with the more personal duel monster issues." He said.
"Issues?" Ash wondered.
"Some monsters like Vampires come after humans directly, and the HDL's task is to protect and aid the victims of such actions. The SDL and the DDL are both leagues that protect the general public from the reality of what's really going on, but the HDL ends up having to take care of what slips past us." Nick said, glancing towards Kuro, who was looking down at the floor, avoiding the sight of the HDL members.
"Uh, what about their… um, uniforms?" Aaron tried to get out.
"The HDL's beginnings were founded by women, but back then the only real jobs for women were as wives, nurses, and prostitutes, and like our uniforms represent our leagues beginnings, so do they." Joshua said, glancing towards the bow of the ship, and clinched his fists.
The final convoy of duelists came up; there were 3, each of which seemed to have an attitude problem by the looks on their faces.
"Oh joy, they bothered to show up." Jordan smeared.
Aaron leaned his head over to V, "I assume they aren't very friendly."
"What gave it away?"
The first of them stepped up and off the plank; it was a young man of about 16. He looked as though he had spent the better part of his life as a body builder. He wore an army camouflage jacket on it were a few medals, under it was a black t-shirt with the words "Shoot First, No Questions Later." in bold white. He wore gray pants, and black army issue boots, and on his arm was a Duel brace of a Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, "Name's Joseph, the Binder Duelist, don't wear it out." He said smugly.
"He's a lot of laughs." Sarah said to Kuro beside her.
The next was a woman, about 19. She had platinum blonde hair that reached down to her waist in a ponytail, very braided. Her face was the kind you'd find on a supermodel, blue eyes highlighted and plump red lips but her expression was the kind that said, "Look at me the wrong way and I'll feed you your eyes." She wore a very small pair of shorts that had army issue colors, and small black t-shirt that looked 3 sizes to small. On her arm was a duel brace of a Catapult Turtle, and she greeted every one with, "Eva, the Trebuchet Duelist." And she joined along side Joseph.
"They seem like such nice people." Aaron muttered under his breath.
"They are the EDL, or Emperor Dragon League. Each of them is a soldier that fights as the offensive unit of the Dragon Leagues, they are frontline soldiers and use decks solely as weapons to kill and win battles. They were the first Dragon League to participate in the Tournament and won, they have used that sole victory to brag how good their league is. Their league was founded by the military of the times; as such they follow strict rules and brutal efficiency." Jacob answered, as the leader of the EDL stepped off the boat.
He stood proudly in front of the other league masters, he was roughly 5.9, had chiseled black hair in the form of a flattop, but riding atop that hair was a large golden headdress the kind used in the old wars of Rome and Greece. It was in the form of a Dragon's mouth that looked like it was gobbling up his head with emerald green eyes. He wore a breast plate over a black shirt, covering his shoulders were the remains of dragon claws that held a crimson cape with fur of a tiger lining it. He wore a pair of white trousers, and black boots polished to a blinding shine. Physically he was at his peak, far more developed than anyone else in the room, on his arm of bulging muscle was a Duel Brace of a Chaos Emperor Dragon. His cold black eyes fixated on Chuck, who returned with a somber glare, "Bryan, the Chaos Thunder Duelist and Leader of the Emperor Dragon League. So Chuck, how's the wimp doing?" He smeared at him.
"Fine Bryan, but it looks like you haven't changed one bit either." Chuck spoke up, clinching his fists.
Aaron and Ashley looked at the growing conflict between the two leaders, but then looked to see that both Josh and Kathryn had moved their gaze from the fight and towards their crowd, namely Paul and Kuro.
"That's enough." Roy stepped in, "The council brought you all here to work together, Not murder each other for your disagreements in the past or your own differences. Everyone is to head to the Hall of the Dragons on the double."
Everyone of the different leagues nodded and followed the 3 Senvas as they lead them towards the upper stories. However, Aaron's transmission was breaking up.
"Sorry Guys but it looks like I'm out of reception. I hope you'll get by without me." He said.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine." V assured him.
"I hope to see you in the flesh the next time we speak Aaron." Ashley wished.
"Yeah, OK take care!" He said as the hologram vanished and the Gearfried card in V's hand glowed.
He looked at it with a kind stare, and then held it out to Ashley. "Take it; I think he would want you to hold onto it for him."
"I'm sure he would, but I have one of my own, hold on to it for him, I'm sure the two of you will speak to each other sooner than I will." She said, politely declining.
V paused, but then pocketed the card and continued the trek with the group to the hall. But holding in the rear was Joshua, Kuro, and Paul, all of whom had faces that suggested the new arrivals had brought with them bad memories.
Back in the Soul Stone Chamber, Aaron got up from his meditation position and looked around. He had chosen a mountain peak to rest and attempt to communicate with the outside world. Looking out to the vastness of the fields, the single stone rising from the earth signified how desolate the interior of the chamber was.
"So how was your trip?" Erin's voice called out.
Aaron looked behind to see her slowly marching her way up the embankment. "Interesting, say, you wouldn't know anything about the other 3 Dragon Leagues would you?"
"The prima donnas, the rich brats or the muscle heads?"
"I'll take that as a yes. What's the deal with the EDL? They're all so full of themselves."
"Ever since they won the first tournament, they have developed a false sense of superiority. When the Dark Dragon League lost at the 4th tournament, they started to shoot up the rhetoric that there only needed to be one league, theirs. However, even after facing off against the Daikai in the 5th tournament, they didn't stand much longer than us when we fought them. But there feelings haven't changed over the millenniums." She said, stopping in front of him with a canoe over her shoulder.
"Pardon my frankness, but isn't that thing HEAVY!" Aaron shouted, his jaw dropped and pointing at the heavy wooden boat she had been holding with her left hand.
"Enhanced strength, a little trick I picked up back in Athens, a nice guy taught it to me by the name of Hercules. He was strong as an ox, but had the brains of a donkey."
Aaron was starting to lose it to the amount of nonsense was coming from today, and for that matter, the time from the day he showed up in the chamber till now, everything was strange, from the grass he ate that tasted like hamburgers, to the sun setting in the east and rising in the west.
"Ok then, so what's with the row boat? I'm gonna go diving off Niagara Falls?"
"The card you wanted to add to your deck has a special challenge that dwells in a portion of a cave covered by a water fall. If you intend to get there, you'll need to row." She said, "are you sure you want to go through with it?"
"Why do you ask that?" Aaron asked, his face was quite serene, as the wind began blowing about, the ragged clothes he was wearing fluttered in the breeze.
"You could have challenged me already, you have over 80 cards, why don't you wish to fight me now and leave?" She asked.
"Because when I managed to collect the cards I had before I came here, I realized if I stay the same in the way I duel, why did I bother to train here in the first place? So now I intend to finish what I started, and become a true duelist." He said, as he stepped slowly towards her.
Erin looked at the boy in front of her, the unwavering tension in his eyes, clearly in his mind he was thinking about what had happened on the bridge, the pain of having body literally exploding.
He never once spoke of it, but it is clearly what's been plaguing his mind for the past month. The pain is what is driving him, forcing him to drive himself to the limit. She thought to herself.
As Aaron neared her, she glanced towards his deck in his hand, a large amount of cards indeed. He's completed more challenges in a month than most do in a year. Yet he still seems to be restraining himself, unwilling to use all that he possesses, something in his heart is holding him back.
She glanced once more into his eyes; the tan brown iris behind the glass seemed to have a slight sorrow, Fear. That's what is holding him back. But this kind of fear is not breed from insecurity, it is mortal dread. Something is scaring him day and night and now when he is on the verge of leaving, it is taking its toll on him. If he doesn't face this fear before his trail with the Gatekeeper, he will be doomed to a fate much worse than death.
"Are we ready to go?" Aaron asked his teacher.
"Yes. Follow me." She said, closing her eyes and turning around, He's more like him than I thought.
The two descended down the mountain path, and towards a long blue river. Aaron looked onward to the azure road, So this is it, the final card I need is on this path. I hope I really can defeat this final challenge; all I've worked for depends on it.
Back at the Castle, Everyone was sitting down around the statues, as the 3 Senvas stood up in the center of the room. "Everyone, we have all gathered here to address the threat of the Saparity, they have been on the move, spiliting there forces among the country. Its unconfirmed if they truly are after the Gods, but if they are we must face them with force. So till the situation dictates otherwise, The Dark Dragon League will be spread among the other remaining leagues." Patrick spoke up.
"And who will be going where?" Amy asked.
"Kuro, Vic and Ashley, The Tsubasa, the Aurora and The Icarus, These 3 will go with Joseph the Binder and Kevin the Full Metal Dragon, to find the whereabouts of Roger, the Horseman of Death." Casey spoke. Her cold gaze focused on Kuro, who was also looking at the Senva with mild contempt.
"And to protect this Castle for the time being, it has been decided That Raikoo the Dark Dragon will stand along side Chuck the Warlock, Vaurnut the Fervor, and Jordan the Sapphire. With the DDL spread so thin, the castle will be under great risk." Roy said.
"Now each of the remaining leagues will take in at the least 2 members of the DDL. The Silver Dragon League will take in Paul the Maigus and Kyle the Sorcerer. Josh, I hope you have no objections." Patrick inquired, looking at the Leader of the SDL.
"Nope. Do you Paul?"
"None." Paul said, glancing at Kyle, who simply nodded his head.
"As for the Holy Dragon League, you will take in Amy the Spitfire, Sarah the Passionate Soul, and Nick the Shadow Raider." Patrick continued.
"Couldn't we just stick with Amy and Sarah?" Kathryn asked.
"Hey! I'm standing right here." Nick argued.
"'Sitting' Nick, and no Kathryn. The HDL maybe an all female dueling sect, but Nick's expertise and experience as a professional duelist makes him a valuable asset. Treat him with respect." Roy stated to the Leader of the HDL.
"And lastly, The EDL will take in Jacob the Gladiator, Josh the Buster and Dalin the Strike." Patrick finished.
"Well well, so the wimp and the punk are going to be our house guests." Eva sneered.
Jacob quickly glanced over to Joshua, he was quaking, with fear or anger he didn't know, but being stuck with the EDL was definitely not going to make it much better. "Master Roy, I request that Josh be removed from the list."
"What's the matter? Running scared?" Bryan chuckled.
"I'm sorry Jacob, but it's been decided." Roy apologized.
"Then I hereby challenge you by right of Succession, If win, I'll take your place as the Senva of Offence. I only wish for Josh to stay out of the EDL, but if I must defeat you to do it I must." Jacob decreed, shocking a good portion of the crowd.
"Fine Jacob, your loyalty to your friend is very admirable, but if you lose, you'll have to follow all the commands set forth by Bryan. Are you ready?"
"If it means I have the chance to protect my friend from them, I will." Jacob said, his duel brace warming up.
Josh looked up at Jacob, "Jacob what are you doing?"
"Keeping my promise." He said, turning his attention to the Senva.
"So be it, Jacob, let's see how well you fare." Roy said, his duel brace armed and unfolded.
"DUEL!" They called out, the two men with equal focus, both knowing that both were willing to go all out, and there was only going to be one victor.
To be continued…
Next Time on the DDL:
An image of Aaron and Erin rowing the canoe down the river towards a waterfall appears.
It changes to show him looking at a strange looking wall, many panels clinging to its surface.
"This is the Wall of Dueling, if you want the card you seek, you must pass through it." Erin says.
The image changes to show Jacob and Roy dueling.
"You've learned much Jacob, but its time I showed how to finish your opponent effectively!" Roy says drawing his card.
The scene changes to show Richard, Dan and Tobias standing in the Hall of the Dragons, with the collective Dragon Leagues staring at them.
"We've to declare a Ceasefire." Dan says.
DDL Chapter 35: Roy, The Raging Inferno