Chapter 3
Ripples in the Water of Light
Kyte inspected the church doors in question. What IS going on here? I know this place; this church was built a few months ago. But, Kyte thought as he looked at the growing moss on the wooden doors, its as if this place was here since forever. He let out a sigh. "Well, guess I'll find out what's going on here then." He adjusted the Duel Disk on his arm, gathered his thoughts for a moment, and then pushed one of the doors inward. He slowly walks inside, his eyes wandering about. Plants were growing on the rusty floors. He looked to the side of the door, usually where the holy water was placed. The bowl has aged as well but the water inside still reflected his image. Kyte realized the water was fresh. He dipped his two fingers in and does the "sign of the cross." He started to walk foward.
As he walked on, he sees that some of the stain-glass windows were shattered. Pews were misplaced everywhere in the church. "Oh, man. This place looks like a ruin now," he said as he placed his hand on one of the pews. He looked straight, expecting the Holy Cross upon the wall. He sighs in relief. The large cross that holds a man was still placed on the wall, a few cracks upon it. Kyte, then, looked up, the sun shining on his face. The wooden ceiling he once knew was also gone. He looks down and sees a small rose by his left foot. He smiles and takes a step back from it. He walks into a row of pews and sat down, arching his head back, the blue sky in his view. Everything seems so calm after that duel, he thought as his eyes started to feel heavy. But, where's Jasin? Rena? Alyss? I just hope they're all okay. His fist clenched as a thought of the man he dueled appears in his head. It must be his fault. It has to be! Who knows what he did to this place...And to my friends. Suddenly, a soft voice interrupts his thoughts. "What are you doing here!"
Kyte's eyes burst open in surprise and sits up correctly. "Huh?" There, on the altar, stood a young girl that seems about a late teen. She had long white hair that probably went as low as her hips. She wore a white dress which caused her blue eyes to sparkle. She had her hands on her hips, demanding, "I'm not gonna ask again. What are you doing here?" Kyte stood up, scratching his hair nervously, searching for an answer. "Well, I just woke up outside and I found myself clo--" The girl interrupts with a blunt question, "Oh, are you a drunkard?" Kyte almost falls down onto to the pew. "No! I know this church, but I wanna know what happened to this place!" The girl crosses her arms over her chest. "You really are a drunkard." A drop of sweat falls from Kyte's cheek.
"But," she said as walked towards the closest pews, "you gotta pay for trespassing." She bends down to her knees, reaching under the pew as if to grab something. Is she nuts? How can I trespass THIS place? Kyte thought as he watched her. The girl stands up and had a device in her hands that was also very familar to Kyte. "Hey! That's a Duel Academy Duel Disk!" He remembers when his cousin, Jaden, showed him the disk when he was ten-years-old. The girl looked at him in a weird way. "Um, 'Duel Academy'? Guess you had one hellova morning sickness." She covered her mouth and turned to the decrepit cross and bows. "So sorry!" Kyte wondered who this girl is. "Hey, what's your name?" She turned back towards him. "Katria. C'mon! We'll duel right here and now as your punishment," she said loudly as she puts the disk onto her wrist. The disk activates and so does Kyte's. "Atleast I might get some answers."
Katria 8000LP
Kyte 8000LP
"Ladies first," Katria said as she drew six cards from her deck. After inspecting her hand she picks one. "I summon Warrior of Zera." She placed a card onto the disk as a warrior in green armor and a red badanna around his neck appears onto the field. ATK/1600 DEF/1600 "Then," she sets a card into the Spell/Trap Zone, "one card down and end my turn." He'll be in for a unpleasant surprise.
"My move," Kyte declares as he drew his hand of cards. "I'll set a face-down card," he says as a Set card appeared, "Then I summon Silent Swordsman LV3!" A miniature swordsman appears onto the field but suddenly disappears. Kyte's face turned to a surprised expression, "My monster!" A sly smile stretched across the girl's face. "I used the Trap Card: Forced Back! It negates a Normal Summon or a Flip Summon and sends that monster back to your hand." Kyte started to feel a bit uneasy. There goes the usual combo. "I end my turn," Kyte declared. Katria nodded and draws a card from her deck. This guy is really easy. I'll finish him off quick before he comes, Katria thought as she placed a card on the Monster Card Zone. A sphinx-like creature appeared on the field but it didn't have any fur at all. Instead, it's entire body is covered in metal. "Meet my Majestic Mech-Ohka!" ATK/2400 DEF/1400 At that moment, Kyte held his fist up, demanding, "Hey wait! That Fairy is a six-star monster! Zera should've been a Tribute!" The girl smiled innocently, "Its because of it's effect: Ohka can be Normal Summoned without a Tribute." She then winks at him. "Cool effect, huh?" Kyte gulped in worry, feeling a slight blush on his face. "Now, where were we? Oh yeah," she said as she lifted her hand to the air, "I was gonna kick your butt! Attack him directly, Ohka!" Kyte gave her a sly smile. "Sorry, but I use my face-down: Waboku!" A golden barrier surrounded Kyte, keeping him safe. "On second thought, I don't feel too sorry," he said as he crossed his arms behind his head. But his calm expression suddenly turned shock as Katria discarded two of her cards from her hand. "Um, what are you doing?" Katria winks at Kyte again. "I'm just discarding a card known as Herald of Purple Light and another Fairy-Type monster." Kyte wanted to ask why but it became obvious. The barrier that once protected him as faded away. Kyte griddled his teeth, realizing that her herald has an effect to negate a Trap Card. A burst of energy makes an impact on Kyte, causing him to feel a burning sensation on the wound on his chest. He held his chest with his hand, his eyes shut tightly.
"Looks like I made you sorry," a proud Katria said to him.
Kyte 5600LP
Katria 8000LP
"I'll end my turn 'cause I don't want a kid to collapse here." Kyte growled through his teeth. S-She's toying with me! Well, I'm gonna show her not to underestimate me! Suddenly, the Majestic Mech disappeared. "Let me guess," Kyte said, "if it was Normal Summoned without a Tribute its sent off to the Graveyard." He started to focus once again, ignoring the pain on his chest as he drew a card. Katria seemed a little surprised. Hey, this kid has some spark to him...How fun. "I summon this card," he said as he played a card onto the Field. A white ninja appeared with a huge sword in her hand, holding it on her shoulder. "D.D. Assailant!" ATK/1700 DEF/1600 "Next, I play the Spell Card, Premature Burial, to bring back Silent Swordsman LV3 at the cost of eight-hundred points." At those words, the small warrior reappears on the field. "Dimension Slash!" Kyte commanded as the white ninja threw her blade towards Warrior of Zera. The blade danced in the air and went right through the warrior, sending it to oblivion, and returns back to it's weilder. "Attack, LV3!" The young warrior slammed the sword deep into the ground, causing blue shockwaves running to Katria. As she was hit, she let out a small growl through her teeth. "You got lucky, kid." Kyte responded with a care-free smile, saying, "Well, a kid that knows has to fight back." He then sets a face-down Spell/Trap card.
Kyte 4800LP
Katria 6900LP
Playtime's over, Katria thought as she drew a card from her deck. Just then, a smirk appeared across her face. "I'll show you why some people call me 'Lady Luck'. I summon Warrior of Zera." The same creature she once played reappeared onto the field. "Deja Vu," Kyte muttered. At the corner of his eye, he noticed a small slot popping out of her Duel Disk. That's the Field Spell Zone...Does that mean she's gonna play a Field Spell? Katria picked a card from her hand, giving small glances around the church. "Maybe we should give this 'sanctuary' and upgrade, wouldn't you think, you drunkard?"
"I ain't drunk!"
She placed a Spell Card into the Field Spell slot and the disk takes the card inside, causing the small blue Life Counter to glow. Kyte looked down at his feet and noticed a white fog. "Huh?" He looked out one of the broken windows but doesn't see a fog outside at all. As he slowly turned his attention towards Katria, his eyes widened at a gorgeous sight. A stone temple has appeared behind her, views of actual mountains behind the building. Kyte suddenly realizes that its not a fog, but actually clouds, or atleast images of clouds. "Sanctuary in the Sky, right?" The girl smirked and returned a nod. "You better believe it, pal. The Spell Card that prevents me from getting any Battle Damage that has to do with my fairies. But its not just because of that effect." At first, Kyte didn't understand her words, but then it came to him. Her Warrior of Zera was about to transform into a much powerful monster. "I tribute my Zera to summon my own guardian angel!" The a golden light swallows the warrior inside of it. A cool breeze of wind blows past the worried Kyte. Out of the light comes a powerful being. It was Zera, but this time he seems almost divine. His red badanna was no covering his jaw, almost as if it were keeping his identity a secret. In his hand held the same sword as it once did. A small feather blows in the wind as two, mighty wings spread out from the warrior. Katria smiled proudly at her new monster, as the words espaced from her lips, "Archlord Zerato." ATK/2800 DEF/2300 A small drop of sweat ran down Kyte's face. Her..guardian angel..? Katria was looking up at her creature, almost dazed in his appearance. "You always come for me at the right time, Zerato," she whispered. Kyte raised his eyebrows and asks, "You really do respect your monsters, don't you?" Katria nodded her head and a soft smile appears on Kyte's face. "I like that." A small blush appeared on her cheeks and she shook her head, remembering that she's in a duel. With crossed arms, she says, "You're not gonna sweet-talk me through this punishment, 'sweetheart'." She discarded a card from her hand. "I'll use Zerato's effect. I discarded Kaiser Sea Horse, a Light-Attribute monster, to destroy all of your monsters!" Kyte clenches his teeth as he looked at his two warriors.
The sanctuary that resides behind Katria started to glow with a bright aura. Zerato rises into the air, his sword lifted up to the sky; the sword shined with the exact same aura. Then, in a blink of an eye, Kyte's monsters evaporate into spectrums of light. Thoughts of loss started to cross into his mind. Katria smiled proudly, "And now, Zerato attack with Holy Sword!" Zerato's sword glows with a bright light as it was pointing towards its target. The sword suddenly flew out of Zerato's hands and goes through Kyte's chest. He lets out a groan of pain. That attack felt so real..It burned me in the inside. Kyte holds his chest with both hands, trying his very best not to fall down to his knees. "Katria..this isn't over just yet. Not by a long shot!" Katria lets out a giggle but then she notices that his facedown Trap, Call of the Haunted, was activated. She looked to the right and sees a small warrior standing by the boy's side. He used Call of the Haunted after my attack? Does that mean he didn't want to see his monster die a second time?
Kyte 2000LP
Katria 6900LP
Kyte draws a card and, to Katria's surpise, he still seems very confident. "Now that its my Stand-by Phase, I offer my Silent Swordsman LV3 to summon LV5!" The miniature warrior drasticly grew to an adult, his sword became a huge blade but the swordsman held it with ease. ATK/2300 DEF/1000 Katria raised her eye brows. "He'll be easy to beat with that one thousand-point defense." A smile slowly appeared on Kyte face, despite he felt weak. "Yeah, but his attack is much greater which is why he's in attack mode. " Katria's mind was filled with questions. In attack mode? Does he have a way to beat Zerato? Kye slipped a card into his Spell/Trap slot. "I equip my warrior with a new sword! Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" The mighty sword in the Silent Swordsman's hand transforms into a long, thin blade and he points it towards Zerato's direction. ATK/3100 The girl's eyes widened, realizing that he does have a way to destroy Zerato. Kyte feels his legs start to tremble. "Silent Swordsman! Attack Zerato with--" He could no longer keep his strength. The world, in his eyes, started to fade as he falls his knees. "With--" He collapses to the floor, as he heard a man's voice.
"Seems like he was close in beating your Archlord, Kat." Kyte's eyes closed, wondering who that was.
Kyte can feel a booming headache as he started to wake up. He wanted to open his eyes, but was too scared if the world he was in wasn't a dream. He can hear two voices as he began to wake up. Then, he felt someone grab his hand, opens his clenched hand and dropped two small items into his palm. "Those should help your headache," a man's voice said. Kyte realizes its the same voice from before and slowly opens his eyes. The man was one one of his knees, carrying his arms on it, and his other leg was slightly laid. He was young with brown long hair, bangs on the sides of his face. He wore a jacket that has no sleeves and was the color of ash and wore a silver shirt underneath. His pants were as black as his boots. When Kyte looked up into the man's brown eyes, he tries to ask who he was but he didn't have much of the strength to do so. The man turns his head to look over his shoulder, saying, "Looks like your Zerato did a number on him, Katria." Kyte tries to stay awake as he bows his head down and looks at his hand. Two small pills were in his grasp. "Advil..?" The man turns his attention back to him. "'Least his memory is normal," he says as he stood up. Kyte looks up at the man, realizing he's about twenty-years-old. The mans turns his back on him and walks away. "Better take those before you get one hellova headache." Kyte turned his head and sees a small cup of water. He takes the pills with it. He looks like a cold guy but he's actually caring, Kyte thought as he finished the cup. He then stands up from the wooden floors of the church and looked up through one of the broken windows. It was night.
He felt a nudge on his side and looks over and sees Katria. "You snore when you're knocked out," she said calmly. Kyte raises his eyebrow. "I thought I was your 'enemy'." Katria winks at him. "Well you gave a great fight and all, so I decided to help you out."
"I did." Both looked and noticed its the same man, leaning on a wall with arms crossed. Katria glared at him. "Its rude to take all the glory from a woman, Jeck," she said with envy. Kyte couldn't help but to laugh but the laugh was cut short after remembering an important question. "What happened to this church? And why is there nothing but grass out there? Jeck and Katria looked at him in a funny way. "Its been like this for years," Jeck said as he uncrossed his arms, "How could you not know what happened?" Kyte started to feel uneasy. "No it hasn't! This church was built in May of 2006, and that was just a few months ago!" Katria looked at him curiously. "'Few months ago'? Its been fifty years since then." Everything came crashing down for Kyte. His heart were as if it fell through an elevator shaft. He backed up to a wall, his eyes were filled with disbelief.
Fifty years?..N-No! That's impossible! I won't believe in that bull!
Kyte clenches his teeth. "Don't mess with my head! Today's date is August 17th, 2006!" Both Jeck and Katria looked at him. "Kyte, was it?" Jeck asked him. "Its been fifty years since hell-on-earth began," he said calmly as he closed his eyes, "all thanks to Sinnar." The face of the man Kyte dueled popped into his head. "I had a duel with him," Kyte said in a low tone of voice, "fifty years ago." Katria's expression turned into shock. "Jeck! Remember when Grandma told us what happened in some stadium fifty years ago?" Jeck's eyes widened a little and turns to Kyte. "Fifty years ago, there were two contestants going at each other in the final match. But before the duel can officially begin, some sort of earthquake shook the stadium. When the crowds looked back to the arena, the two boys disappeared in thin air," Jeck explained to Kyte. "Then, they saw a man appear on the arena and that was the last thing they saw. The stadium was blown to oblivion."
Katria looked at Jeck curiously. "Do you think he was 'launched' in time or something?" Jeck shrugged.
Silence was disrupted by a loud thump. Katria and Jeck looked to where it came from. Kyte was the one respoinsible for the loud thump for he fell to his hands and knees. Katria quickly got onto her knees and looked at him. Her worried face suddenly turned into an expression of pity. Small droplets of tears fell onto the church floors. Sweat was gleaming on Kyte's face by the moonlight in a broken window. "A-Alyss..Rena," Kyte stuttered as his lips shook. The girl closes her half-way and pats his back. His whole life was taken away by that man, she thought as she watched him cry. Jeck turns his head away from the sight. "Be thankful that God showed showed mercy to you." Kyte wiped the tears off his eyes and slowly came to his feet, looking down to the floor the whole time. "Kyte?" Katria stood up as well, looking at him. She looks down and notices that his fist was clenched tightly. Jeck turned his attention back to the boy but his eyes widened. For a moment, he didn't see Kyte. Instead, he saw a young man whose spikey hair was black with red streaks, along with several blonde bangs. Jeck couldn't believe what he saw and blinked. As he did so, the man was Kyte once again. Jeck silently gulped and wondered to himself, Why did I see him? That image looked just like the man my father showed me once in an old poster. The alter ego of Yugi Motou.
Jeck shakes his head, focusing on the situation. "It seems far-fetched to me that this kid was transported to our time. But considering of what's happening to world, people would believe." Kyte lifts his head enough to make eye contact with him. "Why? Is there something going on?" Katria looked down and nodded sadly in reply. "A war," she said in a low tone. Kyte stared at her in question. "A war between monsters and mankind," Jeck said with anger in his tone. "Ever since that man appeared fifty years ago, somehow, reality turned into fantasy. The card holograms became real." Kyte ponders of what he meant. "Basicly, monsters are now roaming the world," Katria explained to him. Kyte raises his eyebrows, "But that's impossible." A small smirk appeared on Jeck's face and replys, "When Sinnar came, nothing is impossible." Kyte looks down to the creaked wooden floors. A small flower was growing in one of the cracks. "So," Kyte said as he turned to Jeck, "how do you guys fight back?" Katria raised her hand up into the air, shouting happily, "Ooh! Ooh! I wanna answer!" Kyte blinked. Wow, she's got plenty of life. He smiles nervously and says, "Oh, um, okay."
Katria smiled happily and clapped her hands together. "Awright! Well, we fight back with the game, of course!" Kyte looked at her in a funny way. Jeck started to walk to the church doors. "He'll have to see it in his own eyes," Jeck explained as he walked outside as Kyte and Katria followed him. The night was very dark but the stars in the sky shined proudly in the night. Kyte smiled to himself. Atleast there's no smog for once. Katria looks around curiously as if looking for something. Then, after a few moments, Katria points to a bush and shouts, "Hey! There's one!" Kyte turned to the bush and was in disbelief. A small creature was standing by the bush. It was covered in brown fur and had small, green paws. It's eyes shined with yellow and purple and squeaks, "Kuri." Kyte took a step back and said, "Th-That's a Kuriboh!" Jeck nodded. "A very common monster in this area. Maybe Katria would take a shot?" Katria grinned. "Duh!" She drew a card from the top of her deck and places it onto her disk. "I summon Agido!" A red orb-like monster with small scythes appeared with the 'Eye of Anubis' on its body. The creature lunges towards the furry monster. Instead of fighting back, the Kuriboh panicks and hops away quickly. Small drops of sweat ran down the three humans' heads. Katria sighed as her monster disappeared. "Too bad they got no confidence what-so-ever." Suddenly, Kyte yells out, "We should go fight Sinnar ourselves!" Jeck looked at him in wonder. Maybe he does share something in common with the Duel King. Katria quickly turned to him and shouts, "Are you stupid? I mean, sure, Jeck and I are the best pro duelists in this area," she said in a proud tone, "but that doesn't mean we can get rid of Sinnar ourselves!" Kyte smiled at her. "Well, I'm the type of person that presses on, despite the odds. Besides, what can happen?" Jeck chuckles to himself, "Obliteration. But I do admire this kid's enthusiasm." Katria looks at him as if he said 'Let's commit suicide in the worst possible way'. Kyte pats Katria's shoulder with a grin. "C'mon, Kat." Katria looks over her shoulder. "First of all," she tugs at Kyte's ear and shouts into it, "only Jeck can call me 'Kat'!" Kyte screamed in pain and agony. But Katria's personality changed. "We can try and see if we can beat him." Kyte smiled, despite that his ear became sore. He raises his fist into the air. "Then let's go do this!"
(Please review and more will come soon!)