Chapter 2: Skulls and Duelists

Syrus groaned as he sat down next to the stream, splashing water on his face. He didn't know how he managed to wind up where he was, but he knew he was hopelessly lost.

"Leave it to me to wind up in the middle of nowhere. I seriously hope this is just a bad dream."

As he bent down to get more water, another reflection appeared in the water. Curious, Syrus turned around…

Only to come face to face with a grinning skull in a purple cloak.

"Who are you?"

"Um, I'm Syrus. Sorry if to bother you, I'll just be on my way."

"Wait…"

The Skull Servant lifted a bony hand and pointed at Syrus's duel disk.

"You are a… duelist?"

"Uh, yeah. Are you?'

The Skull Servant said nothing, only raising his own duel disk, challenging Syrus.

"Alright, I guess we can. What's Jaden always say? Oh yeah, Get Your Game On!"

"Duel…"

Syrus: 4000

Skull Servant: 4000

"I'll go first…I draw. I summon Dragon Zombie…set two cards face down. End turn."

Syrus suppressed a gag as a decaying dragon emerged, acid drooling from its mouth. After composing himself, he drew his card, glancing over his hand before making his move.

"Alright, I'll start with Pot of Greed, letting me…"

"I activate… Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell. Discard spell card…negate Pot of Greed. Now you cannot use it for the rest of the duel."

Syrus groaned at the convenience but continued his turn.

"Then I'll summon Steamroid (1800/1800) in attack mode and have him take out your Dragon Zombie! And when he attacks your monster, he gains 500 attack points (1800-2300), so knock him out!"

With a sharp whistle, the cartoon train raced right over the zombie before driving right over Skull Servant, knocking him over.

Skull Servant: 7300

Syrus watched as his opponent picked himself up, twisting his head back into place as if this was a daily occurrence.

"Okay… I set two cards face down and end my turn."

"I activate my trap card… Shattered Axe. Now during each of my Standby Phases, your train will lose 500 Attack Points."

Syrus gasped as a dilapidated hatched buried itself into Steamroid's funnel. Skull Servant chuckled before drawing his card.

"My turn…I draw. Shattered Axe drains 500 attack points from your monster."

The axe began to break more, causing pain to Steamroid as it lost power (1800-1300).

"I summon… Armored Zombie (1500/0) in attack mode. Battle…attack Steamroid."

"I activate Supercharge, meaning I get to draw 2 cards."

The putrid warrior shambled towards its prey, swinging its sword blindly. Between the axe embedded into it, along with its own effect (1300-800), Steamroid didn't stand a chance, going down without a fight as Syrus shielded himself from the back blast.

Syrus: 7300

"I end… my turn."

"Thanks. I draw!"

Perfect!

"I summon Submarineroid (800/1800) in attack mode! And his special effect lets me attack you directly!"

Syrus's cartoon machine slipped under the ground, only emerging to conduct a sneak attack on the skeleton, causing to moan in pain.

"Augh…"

Skull Servant: 6500

"Feeling the pressure, yet? Don't worry, after he attacks Submarineroid goes into defense mode, so I'll end my turn."

The Skull Servant slowly picked itself up before starting his turn."

"I draw…activate Shield Crush. Destroy Submarineroid…"

"What?!"

Syrus could only watch as his only line of defense exploded. Unfortunately, Skull Servant wasn't quite done."

"Activate Book of Life…banish Submarineroid, summon Dragon Zombie. Then…I summon Clown Zombie (1350/0) in attack mode. My monsters attack…you directly."

The horde of zombies shambled towards their opponent, striking him with their sword, scythe, and toxic breath, respectively.

Syrus: 2850

"I end…my turn."

Syrus grunted, drawing his card and grinned. He had everything he needed.

"To start, I activate my face down Cyber Summon Blaster! Next, I activate Monster Reincarnation, adding Steamroid back to my hand. Next, I activate Power Bond, sending Steamroid and Gyroid to the graveyard to Fusion Summon Steam Gyroid with double his attack points (2200-4400/1600) in attack mode! And when a Machine is Special Summoned, my Blaster deals you 300 points of damage!"

Skull Servant grunted as the strange device zapped him, draining him of 300 life points.

Skull Servant: 6200

"Next, I play Limiter Removal, doubling his attack points again (4400-8800)! Steam Gyroid, attack his Armored Zombie and end this duel!"

With a mighty blast of his whistle, the strange train-helicopter hybrid charged forth. Its target, having no sense of self preservation, stumbled drunkenly into its path, and was soundly ripped to shreds as the attack continued and hit Skull Servant, sending the zombie flying and ending the duel.

Skull Servant: 0000

Syrus wins!

Syrus sighed as his duel disk powered down, relieved that the duel was over.

"Too bad he didn't stick around. I could've asked him how to get home."

"Syrus? Is that you?!"

Syrus was shaken out of his wallowing by a loud boisterous voice. He looked up to see a large, muscular Ra Yellow bounding down the road.

"Hassleberry! Boy am I glad to see you!"

"Ten 4 on that, little buddy! Any idea where we are?"

Syrus shook his head.

"I don't know, I just woke up here."

"Come on then, we better start looking for a way back home!"

"Wait, if we're both here, is it possible that any of our other friends got sucked in here too?"

Hassleberry thought for a minute, considering Syrus's inquiry.

"Hmm, that's a good point. Alright, we'll keep an eye out for them as we go. There's strength in numbers."

With that, the two made their way through this strange world, hoping that if their friends were trapped here as well that they were alright.