The shadow duelists part 1
It was a dark and gloomy night. The moon hang over Duel Academy, though it was obscured by the clouds that diminished the light that reached the island. In a more remote part of the island within the forest, was an old, creepy and abandoned building. It had broken windows, vines creeping up its walls and other signs that no one had lived in it for a long time. Despite its condition, it still stood from end to end. As lonely as the place was, someone frequently visited ever since she came to the island. That someone was Alexis. And right now she was standing at the front gate and placed a red rose on the ground before it.
'Be at peace brother, Wherever you are.'
Meanwhile at the Slifer red dorm, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley were telling ghost stories. Andrew (who by the way was wearing a Ra yellow jacket) was invited as well. They were sitting around a table in the common room. They had a single candle lit on the table as well as a stack of duel monster cards.
"And underneath the moon I see a path leading to a cavern that seems… abandoned." Syrus said taking his turn.
"Oh really?" Jaden asked interested. "Then what?"
"Then at the back of the cavern, I see a mysterious lake. So I go in to look very carefully. And under just the right angle of light, at the very bottom of the lake beyond my reflection, I see a rare and powerful card. Naturally I go to get it. But when I reach out for it… an arm shoot out of the water, grabs me, and begins to pull me into the lake. AAAAAHHHHH! HELP ME! NOT THE WATER, ANYTHING BUT THE WATER!"
Syrus had been so immersed in his story that he had his arms in the air, waving them around as if he was living it out.
"Water's not so scary." Jaden said.
Andrew almost chuckled at this.
"Uhh? Dirty swamp water? Syrus asked before he sighed. "Oh, you're right. Only a chump would be scared of that." He failed to notice Chumley who was standing at the corner, shaking in fear.
"Still, good story," Jaden said picking up a level four monster called Earthbound Spirit. "Mid-level scares for a mid-level card. But me, I hope I get a high-level…" But the card Jaden drew was a level one monster called Sinister Serpent.
"Aww, you lucked out. You hardly have to scare us at all with that low card." Syrus said. Chumley walked back to the table.
"All right. Well, I think I have a story that'll do the trick." Jaden said putting the card down. "Actually it's more like a memory. Back when I was a kid, I used to hear sounds. But I'd only hear them really late at night. I'd think I was dreaming, but then… They sounded like voices, but not ones I recognized. I would go to check it out, but every time I did, there was nothing, nothing there at all. Except my cards."
"And…?"
"And that's the end of the story."
"That's it?" Syrus and Chumley asked with a disappointed tone in their voices.
"Well, at least the story fit the level." Andrew admitted.
"But you want to hear something strange?" Jaden asked. "Lately, I started to hear them again."
"Whoa, really?" Andrew asked. 'Come to think it, I remember hearing a voice during my duel with Jenny. Then I heard it again during the promotion exam.'
"Yeah, But I'm always wondering why I hear them. Well, I'll probably figure it out someday. Anyway, how about you tell the next story Andrew?"
"Sure, why not?" Andrew replied, as he was about to draw a card. But then...
"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" A laugh came behind from Jaden and Andrew. "Hey, I want to join in on the fright fest."
It was Professor Banner and his cat Pharaoh.
"GYAH!" Syrus and Andrew fell out of their seats. Chumley ran back to the corner. Jaden was the only one on his seat, but wasn't less frightened than the others.
"You just did." Andrew said, getting up.
"Yeah, we're kind of on the edge of our seats here." Jaden added.
"Or at least we were." Syrus added. "But since you're here now, why don't you draw a card? The tougher it is, the scarier your story has to be."
"Oh well that certainly sounds easy enough. Let's see here." Banner drew a card. It was the Five Headed Dragon. A monster with the highest level possible.
"Whoa, that's a level 12 monster." Jaden said.
"Get ready to have nightmares for days." Andrew added.
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go to bed now." Syrus said.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. What is wrong? Don't you want to hear about the abandoned dorm at the end of the island?"
"Abandoned dorm?" Jaden asked interested.
"Yes. No-one talks about it, but there was once a special dorm set at the edge of the forest. It was shut down after several students mysteriously went missing."
Syrus gulped. "Where did they all go?"
"Well, that's the mystery of it. But the rumor was that it had something to do with shadow games."
"Thanks, you can stop now!" Chumley pleaded from behind another table, still frightened.
"I've heard about shadow games." Andrew spoke up. "As I recall, shadow games are duels played with powerful mystical items."
"Millenium items right?" Jaden almost sounded bored. "I've heard about this, but it's not true."
Banner laughed and adjusted his glasses. "Yes, that is what most people say. But I find that most stories, well they generally have to come from somewhere." Pharaoh meowed. "Well I think that's my cue to get back home." With that said, Banner left.
"Later."
"I think I should get back to my dorm now." Andrew said as he got up.
"But you haven't told us a story yet." Jaden said.
Andrew shrugged. "True, but it's getting late. Maybe some other time. See ya tomorrow."
"Yeah, see ya."
After Andrew left, Syrus decided to tell his friends about something he knew about. "You know, there is this creepy building I saw in the forest once."
"Ah sweet." Jaden said. "Then you can lead the way for us tomorrow night."
"Wait a sec. What do you mean 'us'?" Chumley asked right behind Syrus, startling the latter.
"It will be fun."
"Yeah fun." Chumley said sarcastically.
"Aw man."
Crowler was outside the room and heard the entire thing. "This is just the opportunity I've been waiting for." He said excitedly. 'I think it's time the shadow games made a comeback. Millennium items and all.'
In a dark alley in a city, a duel was about to come to an and. The losing duelist was a bald man wearing black glasses, a t-shirt of the same color, a pair of army pants, a duel disk on his arm and clutched his heart with one hand.
The other man was clad in a black trench coat with a grey belt, a circular hat, and a strange mask over his face. He had a different shaped duel disk on his arm and a chest piece that went with it. In one hand he held a golden pyramid shaped puzzle with an eye on the front.
"Ok ok, you won! Please, just take anything you want and go!" The bald man pleaded.
"What I want, is your soul." His puzzle shone brightly as the masked man talked.
"No please! Show some mercy!"
"Some mercy? What is that?" The gold light turned white as the bald man screamed and fell over, scattering the cards in his deck. "Rest in peace, in the Shadow Realm." Just when he approached the fallen opponent, his cell phone rang. "Speak." The person on the other end of the line spoke briefly. "Duel Academy? Tomorrow Night? I'll be there."
The next day during class, Jaden and Syrus slept away as Banner gave his class. "The philosophy of dueling went through a second renaissance with the rise of what some historians dub, virtual dueling."
At the same time, Crowler was looking at them through a small opening in the classroom's doors. 'Sleeping yet through another class. But you'll have a make up lesson soon enough. A lesson in the shadow games.'
Later that night, Andrew was inside his dorm room, laying on his fairly sized bed. The dorm room also had a desk and drawers for the clothes. It even had a bathroom near the entrance. While laying on the bed, Andrew was thinking about the story Banner told him and his friends.
'An abandoned dorm where some students mysteriously disappeared. If it's true that shadow games has something to do with that, then what could have been used to cause that? From what I've heard, the seven millennium items disappeared a few years ago.'
Andrew thought about it for a couple of minutes before letting out a sigh. "Ah, I need some air." With that said, he went outside the dorm building. He was staring at the sky and was starting to feel calm by its starry beauty. But then he suddenly heard footsteps nearby. He turned to see his Slifer friends walking into the forest.
"Jaden, Syrus and Chumley? What are they doing here?" Andrew asked. But after seeing them enter the forest, he widened his eyes. "Could it be they're trying to find the abandoned dorm? I better follow them to be sure." And so he went after them, while keeping a safe distance between him and the trio.
Meanwhile, Crowler stood by the lighthouse at the end of the pier when the fearsome masked man walked up to him.
"So you're the one they call the 'shadow duelist'?"
Fog seeped from around him, encircling both men. "My opponents call me many things. Most of which are hard to discern through their shrieks of sheer terror. But enough small talk, what's the job?"
"I want you to frighten someone so intensely, that he leaves this academy and never comes back. Up to the challenge?"
"Of course. I never turn my back to a challenge."
Crowler darts over to the side and the shadow duelist instantly turns to face him. He tried a few more times but the shadow duelist never turned his back toward him. "Oh. My my. You are good."
"I'm better than good. And I'll prove it, not just by scaring this someone…" The man zoomed backward and away as though hovering, the fog followed him. "but by banishing him to the Shadow Realm."
Crowler scoffed. "Well, all right. If you insist."
Unbeknownst to them, someone else was nearby. A dark figure had been watching and listening to the conversation. "A shadow duelist? Hmph, what does he know about shadow games? I'll show them the true terror from the Shadow Realm, not just a bunch of cheap tricks."
"I mean, you could look at it as being lost," Jaden commented, as he and his friends were wandering in the forest, each carrying a flashlight. Chumley was also wearing a backpack. "or you could just say that we found a couple of places where it's not."
"Yeah well we've been finding places for over an hour now. But I guess it could be worse for Sy."
"For Sy?"
"Yeah, we could be near a lake of dirty swamp water."
"Very funny. But you were the one who refused to take a bath because you were scared of the bath water last night."
"Well if you cleaned it once for a while, it wouldn't look so swampish."
"Maybe if you grew up and started to take showers."
After a while, they eventually arrived in front of an old abandoned building.
"Hey guys, check it out." Jaden pointed his flashlight at a rose on the ground in front of the gate.
"Check out what's behind it." Syrus said
"The abandoned dorm."
"And probably lots of ghosts too."
"Relax guys. There's nobody here." But as soon as those words left Jaden's mouth, they heard a loud snapping sound.
"So what's that?" Syrus and Chumley exclaimed while hugging each other in fright.
Jaden turned around and watched Alexis and Jenny step into his flashlight. "Oh, hi Alexis."
"Alexis? Jenny? What are you two doing here?" Syrus asked, having calmed a little.
"That's funny, we were about to ask you guys the very same thing." Alexis answered.
"We heard about the abandoned dorm and wanted to check it out."
"Well that's not very intelligent." Jenny said.
"I couldn't agree more." A voice spoke up, startling the group. They pointed their flashlights to the direction the voice came from. The owner of that voice turned out to be Andrew.
"Andrew? What brings you here?" Jaden asked.
"I saw you three earlier and decided to see what you were up to. With that said, I think you should head back to your dorm. I mean, do you guys actually want to go in that dorm after hearing the story about the missing students?"
"Come on. Do you actually believe that stuff?"
Alexis looked at Jaden with a frown. "It's true. Believe me I know. Why else would the academy make this place completely forbidden. They catch you and expel you Jaden.
"Yeah sure. Ok, so then why are you here?"
"I have my reasons! That's why!" she replied rather loudly to Jaden's inquiry.
"Whoa Alexis, no need to snap. We just came here to look around. But hey, we'll stay out of your way. Don't worry about it."
Alexis turned around and walked a short distance away. "Look, it's just that…"
"It's just what?" Syrus asked.
"One of the kids who disappeared here… was my brother." Jenny placed an arm around her friend's shoulder to comfort her.
Jaden looked away and stared at the rose on the ground. 'Oh, that explains the rose.'
He looked back to see her and Jenny walk away.
"If Alexis' brother disappeared, then the rumors aren't just rumors. I say we go back Jaden."
"Yeah? Well I say we go in."
"What!?"
"You can't be serious." Andrew said.
But Jaden ignored what he said and went towards the building along with Chumley. "See you later, you guys! Don't disappear on us!"
"Disappear? Oh wait up." Syrus ran after them.
Andrew sighed. "I can't just leave them alone." And so, he went after them.
The Obelisk girls watched as the boys went inside the building. "I hope they know what they're doing."
"Don't worry Alexis. They'll be fine." Jenny tried to reassure her. At that moment, a tall man appeared right behind Alexis. Just as Jenny tried to warn her friend, another person knocked her out from behind. Both girls lost consciousness.
The man frowned as he looked at the other figure. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The person was wearing a gray cloak, with the hood over their head, so he couldn't tell how they looked like. But one thing he noticed was that the stranger's hands had purple scales. The figure was wearing a black glove on the right hand with a strange insignia inscribed on it.
"Who I am doesn't matter. You're lucky that I have no time to show you that the Shadow Realm is more than a couple of tricks." The figure said with a deep voice which would make anyone assume that the he was a man.
The masked man stood stunned by the figure's words. "H-how did you?"
"Unlike you I am the real deal. A real shadow duelist with true shadow powers, and not some pathetic party tricks. But luckily for you, I'm planning to have some fun with the one wearing yellow jacket. So I'll let you have the brown haired kid for your plans. But if you get in my way, then I'll show you how it's really like to be trapped in the Shadow Realm." And so, the man faded into the shadows along with Jenny.
The boys were now inside the abandoned dorm, exploring around. It was more run down inside than outside; looked like an inside storm hit the rooms and halls.
"This place is sweet!" Jaden exclaimed. "You know, a little paint, a couple of cardboard boxes, maybe a throw rug and we could so totally move in here."
"What? Are you kidding?" Syrus asked. "This is even worse than the Slifer dorm. I mean, what's all the stuffs on the walls?" He pointed his light to nearby wall. On it, was a large amount of symbols and letters carved or painted on.
"Do you think it has something to do with the shadow games?" Chumley asked.
"Jaden don't stand so close! Are you nuts?"
But Jaden ignored Syrus as he was examining the wall showing certain items. "Hey. I think it shows the seven millennium items." He then turned his flashlight towards another wall, on which was a picture of a handsome boy with brown hair and an Obelisk blue blazer. "And that shows someone I've never seen before."
As Jaden was examining the picture, Andrew stood in front of the wall showing the millennium items. He moved his hand along the tablet, looking closely at all the details. But then the wall rotated itself. It happened so suddenly that Andrew didn't react in time and so he was on the other side of the wall.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"Andrew? What happened?" Jaden asked from the other side.
"I was just looking at the millennium item drawings when the wall just turned on itself and now I'm stuck on the other side."
"Try pushing on your left and we'll push on the other side." Andrew placed his shoulder on his end of the rotating wall and pushed while the Slifer trio did the same from the other side.
In another part of the dorm, Alexis woke up in a coffin with her wrists and ankles tied together.
"Where am I?" She wondered.
Then she suddenly heard a sinister laughter. "On a hook, dangling, baiting your friends into my trap."
"Jaden…" She gasped. Then she saw a golden eye flash in front of her.
Jaden and the others were still trying to get Andrew out of the other side of the wall. But then...
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
"That sounded like Alexis." Syrus exclaimed.
"Jaden! You guys can go and save her. I'll find a way out of here."
"Are you sure Andrew?"
"Yes. Now go!"
Following Andrew's request, they all ran in the direction that they'd hear the scream. They ran into another room where they spotted an object on the floor. When they got close, they could tell that it was a duel monster card. Jaden picked it up and saw it was a monster card with the name Etoile Cyber. "This is Alexis' card."
"Well there's only one way that she could have gone." Chumley pointed in the direction of a tunnel that looked like one from a mine.
"Then that's the way we're going."
They ran down the tunnel, shouting Alexis' name in the hope that she would hear them. They eventually got to a wide open circular space that had strange lines on the rock floor and walls. An eerie fog was spread across most of the floor. Opposite of them, was Alexis, except she was in a coffin propped against the wall.
"Alexis!"
An unknown voice spoke from the fog. "HAHAHAHAHA. She can't hear you. She's far away, locked in the Shadow Realm."
"Who's there?"
The masked man rose up from the fog. "Your worst nightmare come true."
"Oh gimme a break." Jaden said.
"Then let me prove it to you… in a shadow game."
"We gotta get Alexis back." Syrus said.
"Yeah! Hand her over right now or you'll be sorry."
"The only way I will free her, is if you beat me in a shadow game."
"He's not looking at me is he?" Chumley asked.
"Look I'm not afraid of dueling you, but shadow games don't exist."
"The others didn't believe in the shadow games either, but they were soon convinced. For you see, when you lose in a shadow game, you don't just pay with your life points, you pay with your soul."
"So you're the one behind all those disappearances. Well you're not getting us, especially Alexis."
"Unless you win, she'll be mine forever and so will you."
Jaden turned to see Chumley holding a duel disk he had taken out from his backpack and then placed it onto his arm.
"Alright, get your game on."
A part of the man's arm extended to form a duel disk. "Shadow Game that is."
Jaden inserted his deck into his own duel disk. "Just hang on Alexis. I'll get you out."
"Duel!"
Jaden: 4000
Shadow duelist: 4000
After both duelists grabbed their opening hands, the shadow duelist drew his sixth card. "Prepare you fool to enter into… the shadows. I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend in attack mode." A monster with blue hair, beige claws, wings and horns appeared on the field, screeching. It was decked in a purple robe and its torso was covered in strange red and beige armor. (ATK: 900 DEF: 1500 LV: 4)
"An Archfiend monster?"
"Yes and now that this card's out, each and every monster with 'Archfiend' in its name gains one thousand attack points."
This made Chumley and Syrus worried. "Careful Jaden."
The Infernalqueen glowed purple as it powered itself. (ATK: 900-1900)
"Uh yeah, actually, I already knew that. And I also know that to keep those archfiends on the field, you gotta pay life points during every standby phase of your turn."
"Hmhmhm. No I don't. Not after activating the spell card Pandemonium." As he inserted the named card his duel disk, it started to shine so brightly that Jaden and the others covered their eyes. When they opened their eyes, the room was replaced by a chamber with bone statues of horrid monsters, bone-laced walls and a lava pool in the middle of the field.
"Pretty cool." Jaden commented.
"And it doesn't just change the scenery, it changes the rules. Now I don't have to pay any life points for my Archfiends and if they're ever destroyed outside of a battle, I get to put another fiend right into my hand. I know what you're thinking, your little friend is all but sealed. Well you're right." Alexis' coffin closed itself and sunk into the ground.
"Alexis!"
"That's not fair."
"Yeah! What have you done?"
The man scowled at Jaden's friends. "The same thing I will do to the both of you, should you continue to pester and annoy me."
"Hey! Just leave my friends out of this. My draw." Jaden drew and looked over his hand. 'I don't have any card that can go up against 1900 attack points. But maybe…'
"Elemental HERO Avian, I summon you out in attack mode." The winged green hero appeared, ready to fight. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "And I'm gonna throw down two face downs as well."
"Too bad you won't have a chance to use them. I summon Terrorking Archfiend in attack mode." A muscular red and beige fiend with wings appeared beside the first with electricity sparking around its body. It also had a red king's crown on his head. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "Now you have two vicious Archfiends to contend with. And thanks to the special ability of the Infernalqueen, the Terrorking's attack points automatically increases by a thousand, making him an even more fiendish force to be reckoned with." More purple aura surrounded the Infernalqueen, which spread to the other Archfiend monster. (ATK: 2000-3000)
"3000 attack points!?"
"That's right! And now I'm going to put them all to use. Terrorking Archfiend, attack Avian. Locust Storm Barrage." The Archfiend's chest opened up into a vortex and a swarm of locusts flew out of it, heading straight to Avian.
"No way. You forgot about my facedown card, Mirror Gate." A blueish white light appeared in front of Avian, pulsating outward like water with a rock dropped into it. "This trap card causes our monsters to trade places. My Avian for your Terrorking. So now all those 3000 attack points are gonna be going to work for me."
The shadow duelist simply smiled at this. "You really thought you could bait me into a trap? Look around you and tell me who's trapped."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean your trap won't work against my Terrorking. It simply activates his special ability. An ability that will determine our monsters' fate by a way of chance." Six different colored balls with numbers rose from the lava pool and arranged themselves in a circle next to the shadow duelist's head. "You see, when he's targeted by an opponent's effect, Terrorking's special ability gives me a gambling chance. A number between one and six is selected at random. And if it happens to be a two or a five, then your trap's destroyed and my archfiend stays to fight on my side. So, let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happens shall we?" One of the balls was surrounded by fire which moved around the circle.
"It's okay. The odds are way in Jaden's favor."
"You flunked math Chumley."
"No. I got a 54."
When the fire stopped, it had landed on the two. "It seems as though chance has favored the Terrorking Archfiend. Mirror Gate is shattered." The light around Avian broke apart. "Locust Storm Barrage, finish him!" Avian howled in pain as the locusts covered every part of his body, tearing at him at a feeding frenzy before exploding into a puff of smoke.
Jaden: 4000-2000
"Well that stinks. But at least it activates my other trap. Hero Signal." A beam of light appeared from Jaden's trap that shone an 'H' on the ceiling. "When my monster is destroyed in battle, this trap card allows me to automatically summon a monster from my deck or my hand with 'Elemental HERO' in its name. And I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in defense mode." The stone hero crouched down in front of Jaden. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4)
"Way to duel!"
"That Clayman should keep Jaden safe."
"I don't think so. At least not from this." The shadow duelist pulled his pyramid shaped puzzle from his. Light shone from it as it dangled from his hand. "Now the shadow game has truly begun. Don't your life points seem so utterly insignificant now when it's your very life that's at risk?"
"Jaden!"
"No!"
Jaden looked down and saw that a part of his arms and chest were gone, as if someone had dragged an eraser across him. "Hey! My arm."
"Hmhmhm. It is the way of the shadows, transcending the game, attacking your body."
Jaden frowned and tried to reposition himself but couldn't. He looked down and tried to move his legs, but was unable to. "Ah. Hey, I can't move my feet."
"Of course not. As the shadow fog rolls past, you all will feel the darkness take into its grasp, completely."
Chumley and Syrus began to cough and their hands went to their throats as the fog came around them. "The air… getting tough to breath." Chumley said
"You are at the mercy of the night now."
"I can't feel anything." Syrus said.
"Treasure the numbness, for it will not last. Soon you will be drawn into an infinite chasm of eternal darkness where every waking moment will be filled with-"
"Oh gimme a break." Jaden interrupted. "How bad can it be? So what? Back at our dorm we got blackout curtains so we can sleep in later. I'm not scared at the dark. It's great."
"But your black out curtains do not wield the same kind mystic power as my millennium item does. It's your move. But make it count. It maybe your last."
'Wow. Millennium items, a shadow fog. Who could ask for a better challenge.' Jaden thought, smiling slightly.
The shadow duelist frowned at him. 'What's he smiling about?'
"Alright Jaden. Get your game on."
"Here goes buddy. For my move I play the spell card Pot of Greed." And so, Jaden drew two cards. "And I'll fuse this Elemental HERO Sparkman with Clayman on the field." Sparkman leapt into the air, quickly joined by Clayman and the two of them swirled together to form a new monster thanks to Polymerization. "Now say hello to Elemental HERO Thunder Giant." A fork of lightning struck on the ground, from which rose a new monster. A huge man in purple and yellow armor, arcs of electricity sparking about him. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500 LV: 6)
"And now I'll use his special ability which allows me to destroy a monster whose original attack points are lower than his. Now Thunder Giant let loose Static Blast!" A stream of electricity erupted from the palm of his hand and flew towards Terrorking.
But before the attack reached the target, the masked man chuckled.
"Uh oh."
"I activate Terrorking's special ability once again, Spin Roulette." He declared as a fireball on the set of colored balls next to him.
"Oh no, it just can't land on a two or a five again." But Syrus couldn't be more wrong, because when the fire stopped, it was on a five.
"Hahahahahaha. I win again. It seems as though even fate isn't on your side half the time. And now you will pay the price."
The blast of electricity turned around and struck the monster from where it came from. "This stinks. Talk about a run of some really rotten luck."
"Jaden."
'This is totally anti-lishus. No matter what Jaden does, that shadow duelist's Archfiend deck can use that Roulette to save himself, and this choking dark fog isn't exactly helping much either. I mean, Jaden first came here to save Alexis, but it looks like he might not be able to save himself.'
"Your destiny is set. Soon my Archfiend deck will finish off all your monsters. And my millennium item will finish off your soul."
"This match isn't over yet. Iv'e still got a few cards up in my sleeve. Like this one, Mirage of Nightmare. And I'll throw down a couple of facedowns while I'm at it."
"Don't waste my time. Your life points won't last long enough for you to use anymore of your cards. Alexis' soul will soon be gone and so will yours. It's my turn."
"Hold on. I think you're forgetting something. Mirage lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand." With his empty hand, Jaden drew the full four.
"So go ahead. You could have four million and it wouldn't defend you against the crushing power of my monsters. Allow my Terrorking Archfiend to give you an example. Attack with Locust Storm Barrage." The archfiend's rib cage split open once again to shoot out a swarm of locusts.
"Talk about butterflies in your stomach. Good thing I played a trap card. Mirror Force. Say goodbye to all your monsters in attack mode."
"Totally lishus." Chumley pumped his arm. "If Jaden keeps this up, we can finally get out of here. And with Alexis too." A glass like wall materialized in front of Jaden. The locusts slammed into it and bounced back in flames that wiped out the two archfiends.
"How dare you!?"
"How. Cuz I'm daring I guess."
"Well let's how daring you are after this. I'm using Desrook Archfiend's special effect. It allows me to resurrect Terrorking Archfiend by sending this card to the graveyard" He said as he discarded a card from his hand. "Say hello to a not so old friend." The named monster appeared on the field once again, though without the extra attack points. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4)
"Him again?"
"And now I activate the effect of the field spell card Pandemonium. Its powerful magic allows me to draw a new archfiend, if one of my Archfiend monsters is ever sent to the graveyard by an effect. Of course this new Archfiend can't be as powerful, but then my Terrorking Arcfiend is already packing more than enough power as it is. Now let's try this again. Locust Storm Barrage!" Again the Terrorking's rib cage opened to let loose a storm of locusts.
"Will this storm ever let up?" Chumley asked.
"Go Emergency Provisions! This spell card allows me to sacrifice another spell or trap card and give back a thousand life points for each one. So I choose my Mirage of Nightmare card."
Jaden: 2000-3000
Jaden put his duel disk in front of him before the locust swarm made contact.
Jaden: 3000-1000
"You still stand?"
"As long as Iv'e got two good legs."
"But your legs are not good. And now with this latest strike on your life points, neither are your arms." More parts of Jaden faded as the millennium item shone.
"Aww man. Jaden is fading really fast."
'Talk about hanging on by a limb. Better make this turn count.'
Alright. I use the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive, which brings back Elemental HERO Avian. Now fuse with Burstinatrix and create the Elemental HERO Flame wingman." The green and red heroes merged and in their place was Jaden's headliner; A green skinned man with only one white feathered wing on his back, a red tail and his right arm being a red dragon head. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1200 LV: 6) "Now what do you say we turn up the heat in here wingman? Attack with Infernal Rage." The Flame Wingman burned the archfiend by shooting fire from his dragon shaped arm. "Oh by the way, did I mention his super power? Your monster won't be the only one hurting, you will too. You take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points."
Electricity sparked from the shadow duelist's gear as he felt the pain of the battle and effect damage.
Shadow duelist: 4000-1900
After taking the damage, parts of his body disappeared. "Parts of him are starting to disappear now too Chumley."
"You think that could work on my waist line?"
"It matters not. Because I have yet another Desrook Archfiend. I simply discard him to bring back my Terrorking. There's no escaping him. Rise again Terrorking." the muscular Archfiend monster appeared once again from the graveyard. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4)
"This guy's really overstaying his welcome. Iv'e gotta find a way to get rid of him somehow. But first I'm gonna protect myself with Dark Catapulter." A gray and purple machine monster kneeled down in front of Jaden. It had a snake like neck., a red half orb on its forehead and what looked like antlers on its shoulders. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "Now come on and do your worst."
"You want my worst? You should be careful what you wish for. Because you just might get it. Especially when this card is in the midst. I sacrifice my Terrorking Archfiend and call forth the Skull Archfiend of Lightning." The Terrorking was replaced by another Archfiend monster, with bolts of electricity crackling over every part of its body. It looked like Summoned Skull, but darker and more terrifying. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
"You wanted my worst? Well now you have it. Every last supercharged volt." The new archfiend hurled forward a stream of lightning which destroyed Jaden's hero.
Jaden: 1000-0600
"Aw man."
"Jaden!"
'I gotta hang on… for Alexis.'
"Look into my millennium item and feel yourself drifting even further into the shadows." The shadow duelist said, trying to lull Jaden into unconsciousness as his millennium item shone. "You are defeated, your life points are all but gone. Soon you will be nothing but a hollow soulless shell. Feel yourself drifting… drifting… drifting."
'I-I can't see anymore. What's happening to me?' Jaden fell to one knee, feeling too weak to stand.
"He can't even stand up."
"Jaden!"
'Hehehe. Look at him suffering.' The masked man. 'The shadows are a powerful indeed. Even the ones simply in your mind. If only he knew.'
Jaden was down on the floor and couldn't see anything but the shadows surrounding him. But then, hid deck glowed and a ball of light formed and flew around him.
"Coo!"
Jaden looked up to the ball of light.
'Hey. Is that you Winged Kuriboh? What is it pal? Are you trying to tell me something? Whoa stay steady would ya? With that bright light you're gonna hypnotize me quicker than help me.'
Jaden suddenly woke up as he figured out what his furry friend was trying to say. 'Wait. That's it. That's what you were trying to tell me. We're not playing in the shadows, he's playing with my mind.' Jaden stood up. "Well no more. I got this shadow game scam figured out."
"Did he just say 'shadow game scam'?" Chumley asked.
"What's he mean?" Syrus added.
"I mean, my soul is not on the serving plate anymore. Let's keep going."
This was definitely not what the shadow duelist expected. 'What's happening? Why isn't he scared anymore?'
"My turn." A small ball of light appeared on Catapulter's forehead as Jaden drew his card. "First I'm gonna activate Dark Catapulter's special ability. It allows me to remove one card from my graveyard, for every turn Catapulter was in defense mode. Then for every card removed, I get to destroy one trap or spell card out in play. So seeing as he's been in defense mode for one turn, I'll remove Avian and now I'll destroy your Pandemonium card. Storm Shower Blast." A ball of energy formed between Catapulter's antlers and speed towards the masked man.
"Uh oh." Before the blast hit him, the shadow duelist held up his duel disk to shield himself, and this caused the field to crumble and resume its original appearance and without the fog.
"So what? You still haven't destroyed this." He held up his millennium item.
"You gotta be careful what you wish for. You might just get it." Jaden flicked his Avian card which flew towards the shadow duelist and stuck into the puzzle.
"What did you do!?"
With that done, Jaden's body reverted to normal.
"Alright Jaden. You got your body back." Syrus shouted happily.
"I never lost it . This whole shadow game was just a big fake. It was all just hypnosis. A whole lot of smoke and mirrors to make me think I was losing my soul. This guy is a complete sham. I mean, he's probably just some out of work carnie."
"I'm not out of work." The man protested. "I can get my job at the fair back anytime I want!"
"Yeah, I'm sure that you could. And I'm sure that paper mache millennium item goes over real well with the kiddies." Jaden added.
"No, be quiet! It's real. I'm real."
"You're a sideshow phony."
"You fool you forget…"
"Huh?"
The shadow duelist smirked. "The girl."
"Alexis?" Chumley asked.
"Hehehe. That's right, imprisoned in a shadow tomb, her soul festering in the dark recesses of the Netherworld. That proves that my Millennium Pendant is real!" He cried triumphantly, holding up his cracked item. "What do have to say to that?"
Chumley and Syrus looked at each other with worried looks.
Jaden on the other hand smirked. "Besides that you're a big dunce?"
"Huh?"
"See, all the Millennium items were scotched on the inside of this dorm. And yours would be called Millennium Puzzle, not 'Pendant'."
The masked man started to sweat.
"You don't have Alexis' soul. You never did. So hand her over and hand all the other kids you snatched."
"Other kids? I don't know what you're talking about. And because of your earlier carnie comment, you can find your friend by yourself." He threw a ball on the ground which exploded into smoke.
"No way! You're not getting outta here that easy. Come here!" Jaden rushed into the smoke. But what he didn't notice was that spheres of light appeared in the mouths of the snake statues carved in the walls around them. It then flowed into the middle of the room, dispelling the smoke, monster and creating an eye on the floor like those on the Millennium items.
"Whoa! How'd you do this trick?"
"I didn't."
All of a suuden, A bunch of dark smoke appeared swirling around and quickly covered the two duelists. The smoke was then replaced by a sphere of darkness, crackling with energy.
"Jaden!" Syrus called out to his friend.
Inside the sphere
The two duelists could see themselves clearly. All around them, there was only a strange darkness as far as their eyes could see.
"What is this place? Where am I?" The shadow duelist asked, completely confused.
"Come on! Enough tricks already."
"A trick? I can't do something like this."
Then from out of nowhere, a mass of black blobs appeared. Many of them swarmed the masked man.
"Help! They're attacking. Jaden save me-" a blob launched itself into his mouth, muffling his scream.
"What in the-" Jaden looked and saw that he was surrounded by the same kind of creatures. He then heard a voice coming from his duel disk. He looked down at his deck and was surprised to see Winged Kuriboh squeezing its way out. "Now that's weird. First I hear you, now I see you. What in the world's going on here?"
"Coo." Winged Kuriboh flew down and shooed the blobs away.
"Hey, way to show them who's boss Kuriboh."
Some of the other blobs swarming the archfiend duelist dived into his mouth.
"Too bad he doesn't have a friend like you."
When the blobs stopped, the masked man's eyes glowed red. "Jaden Yuki." He spoke up in a more sinister voice. "The shadows pang for a soul. Only one shall survive."
"Oh come on now! Red contacts? You've really went overboard setting up for this huh."
"This duel shall now continue in the Shadow Realm." The blobs dispersed to form a circle around the duelists and their monsters reappeared.
Jaden: 0600
Shadow duelist: 1900
"So your sticking with the Shadow Realm thing. Fine, at least we get to finish our match. I play the spell card Monster Reincarnation. Now by discarding one card, one of my graveyard monsters comes back. And I choose everybody's favorite golden boy Sparkman. You remember him, don't ya?" The blue and gold hero kneeled beside Jaden's other monster. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4)
"Very well. My turn."
"But don't forget Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary, without your Pandemonium field card, having an archfiend out costs you 500 life points per turn." As Jaden said this, smoke came out of the shadow duelist's mouth because of the life point loss.
Shadow duelist: 1900-1400
"500 life points is nothing compared to a soul. Skull Archfiend Attack!" The skeleton like archfiend let out a torrent of electricity that struck Dark Catapulter directly, blowing it to bits. Jaden nearly felt the bits fall on him as he guarded with his duel disk.
"Whoa! You're really pulling out all these stuffs, don't ya?"
"I now place one card facedown and summon the Desrook Archfiend in attack mode to end my turn." A new Archfiend appeared alongside the other. It was made of bone and red flesh and looked like a small tower, also a face was grinning right at Jaden. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1900 LV: 4)
"Coo." Kuriboh looked at Jaden who smiled.
"Don't you worry Kuriboh. I'm totally still in this duel. Here goes." He looked at the card he drew. 'They say the best defense is a good offense. But what's cool about this card, is that it can let me have both'
"Sparkman, I'm putting you in attack mode." The electric hero rose from its crouching position. "And arming you with the spell card Spark blaster." A rectangular gun appeared in Sparkman's hand. "It has three blasts and lets me change the battle mode of any monster on the field for each of them. And I think I know just the monster to use it on first "
"So be it. Change the battle mode of my Skull Archfiend. His 1200 defense points should make for easy conquest, unless the Roulette negates your effect again."
"Sorry, but that's not the monster I was talking about. In fact my Sparkman's not gonna even use that blaster yet. He's attacking your Desrook Archfiend with Static Shockwave." Sparkman shot a blast of electricity from his free hand at the smaller fiend.
Shadow Duelist: 1400-0900
"Oh and as for who I'm gonna use this Spark Blaster on, the Sparkman himself. From offense, to defense." The hero aimed his weapon at his feet and fired it, causing him to kneel down.
"Coward. First you have your Sparkman attack my life points and then you have him switch to protect your own. but it matters not. Nothing can protect you from this, the trap card Batlle-Scarred. With it, the 500 life point per turn cost of my Skull Archfiend of Lightning affects not only me, but you too. And for as long as he's out on the field."
Jaden: 0600-0100
Shadow duelist: 0900-0400
"This is bad. I won't be able to last another turn."
"Coo." Kuriboh was still keeping the blobs at bay.
"Don't worry Kuriboh. It's all good. We've still got Sparkman."
"Wrong! Skull Archfiend, destroy that peon. Blast Stream of Fury." Another blast of destroyed Jaden's only monster. "Next I place a facedown card and activate the spell card Double Spell. Now, by simply discarding one of the spell cards in my hand, I'm allowed to use one of the spell cards from your graveyard. And I select Emergency Provisions. Now I sacrifice one meaningless card and regain a total of one thousand life points."
Shadow duelist: 0400-1400
"Your fate is sealed. You have not a single card remaining in your hand. Battle-Scarred will take your last life points next turn. Then you'll join the rest of the students I've taken. In the Shadow Realm."
Jaden looked down at the of slime creatures as Kuriboh fended them off. Better make this turn count. Cuz one way or another, it'll be my last. Here I come. I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode." The blue armored, white caped hero appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Now, Bubbleman would just burst if he's left alone. So if he's the last card in my hand when I summon him, I'm allowed to summon another monster. And there's more, if he's the only on the field when he's summoned, I get to draw two more cards. And what do you know? I drew his favorite Bubble Shuffle. Actually, it's more of a two step See, it works like this. I switch him and one of your monsters to defense mode, then I sacrifice Bubbleman and summon a hero."
"If my Skull of Archfiend's counter effect does not render your spell card useless that is. If this roulette lands on a one, three or six, your Bubble Shuffle fails to activate." The fireball spun around the numbered balls.
"Ah, I've had bad luck with this thing." But luckily for Jaden, the fireball stopped and landed on...
"Two!?" The shadow duelist grunted.
"All right. Finally I win." Both monsters on the field kneeled down. "Now let's give a big Shadow Realm welcome to Elemental HERO Bladedge." Jaden's Bubbleman disappeared and was replaced by tall hero covered completely in golden armor with blades attached to his arms and yet wings on his back. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1800 LV: 7) "I know what you're thinking, he looks pretty sharp. Well you're right. So sharp, that when he cuts though your defending monster, all extra attack points go to you. Now HERO Bladedge, show him how you got your name. Slice and Dice attack." The new hero dashed towards the crouched archfiend and passed though it. Cracks formed over it before exploding.
Shadow duelist: 1400-0000
"NOOOOOOO!" The shadow duelist screamed as he was once again, attacked by the blobs. He slowly began to sink into the floor and was nearly gone from sight when he began to fight back, head barley above the horde of blobs. "Get them off of me! Tell my kids… I love them…"
Jaden could only watch as the masked man disappeared along with the blobs. "Wow. Now those are some sweet special effects. So realistic."
"Coo." Jaden looked at his furry friend and saw an opening in the darkness. "Huh? Think that's an exit? Well, good enough for me. Let's make tracks."
Outside the sphere
Jaden, along with Kuriboh dived out of the crack.
"Jaden!" Syrus called out as and Chumley approached him.
"You okay?"
"Never better guys."
"What happened in there?" As soon as Chumley asked his question, the sphere of darkness started to implode itself. The process caused a huge wind to kick up almost blowing the coffin Alexis was in away. As the other held on for dear life, Jaden struggled to hold the coffin and Alexis down until the sphere burst onto particles.
Jaden stood up and clapped. "Awesome! I wonder what he does for an encore. Talk about a magic trick. There were little monsters and vortexes and…"
"Magic trick?" Syrus interrupted. "You don't think that was the real Shadow Realm?"
"Nah, it's all mirrors and fog machines, just like I said." Jaden scratched his head. "But I'd give my entire deck to know exactly how he did it. I've never seen anything like it."
"So now we can get out here, right?" Chumley asked.
"Not yet. Andrew might still be in this building. We better find him before we leave. Let's go!"
And just as I expected, this chapter became almost as long as the others. So I'll stop here. Next chapter starts from where Andrew was left off and follows him as he is forced to deal with the cloaked stranger.
