Hey guys, sorry about the delay. For those of you who follow this story only and not me, it was because I wanted to finish my full six on six Pokémon battle, Rivals Collide. It's a work that's been a year in the making, I just never got around to it til recently. Feel free to check it out, fellow Poke-fans. Anyways, without futher ado:
The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfiction. Yugioh, Yugioh GX, Yugioh 5D's, and Yugioh Zexal are all owned by Konami, 4Kids Entertainment, Toei Animation, Studio Dice and Kazuki Takahashi. Please support the official release!
Chapter 14: Duel in the Coliseum
Yusei looked around warily at his new surroundings. The room looked just like a Roman coliseum, complete with a roaring crowd and weapons lying scattered about. A man dressed like a Roman praetorian guard in full armor, pulled out a Roman short sword and pointed it at the group. He was obviously in peak physical condition, standing over six feet tall with muscles to spare underneath that armor. Bright red hair stuck out from under his helmet here and there.
"No one gets past me unless they manage to defeat me in single combat!" the man boasted, hefting his shield. "Choose your champion so that I may vanquish him for the Master!" The man did a curious thing then, pulling another sword out from the other scabbard on his left hip and placed it on his right arm. The sword stuck to his armor, changing shape and growing until it became a fully functional Duel Disk.
"So, who wants to Duel?" Yugi asked conversationally. He glanced at the rest of the group, then continued. "Cuz I'll go if nobody else wants to Duel."
"I'll Duel," Yusei offered, "You and Kaiba have already had Shadow Duels today, no need to let you guys do all the work."
Kaiba shrugged. "Whatever. Just beat this guy so we can get a move on." He stalked over to the wall of the arena, leaning against it to observe the Duel.
"So, Mr. Gladiator," Yusei said, turning his gaze towards the armored man. "Do you have a name?"
The man nodded. "Gaius Julius Octavian the Seventh, better known as Julius the Warrior!" He clanged his sword against his shield a couple of times for emphasis. "If you are to lose this Duel, Fudo, then I will have the pleasure of ending your life personally." Julius performed a complex salute with the sword, then threw the sword at Yusei. It fell well short, point down in the sand a couple of yards in front of the Head Signer, who glanced at it warily. When nothing else happened, Yusei put on his Duel Disk and settled into a ready stance.
"More of the Chaos Morons," Kaiba groaned. "Can you just take us to the Master so we can get this over with?"
"Perhaps, if you were facing one of my less stalwart comrades like Alex or Louis, you might be able to coerce him to grant your request," Julius answered, drawing a third sword from the sheath on his back. "Pick up the sword, Fudo! We will duel with swords before we will duel with cards, in order to decide who goes first!"
"That's crazy!" Luna shouted, "Why would you do something like that?"
"Because, little girl, the strong shall survive and the weak shall perish!" Julius shouted, pointing his sword at Yusei. "On guard!" Julius charged, holding his sword up over his head.
"Watch out!" Luna cried. Yusei dove forward, grabbing the sword and raising it in time to block the overhead slash from Julius. The power from the slash was jarring, as Yusei could feel the blow rattle his entire body. Stumbling backwards, it was everything Yusei could do to defend himself from the onslaught. Despite his fighting skills developed from growing up on the Satellite, Yusei was hopelessly outmatched. The brief duel ended with a knee to Yusei's gut, causing the Head Signer to drop his sword. Julius held his blade to Yusei's throat, savoring the victory briefly before lowering his sword and returning to his position on the other side of the arena.
The crowd was going nuts, though Kaiba suspected this was more trickery from the Master. While Yusei and Julius engaged in their barbaric clash, he examined their surroundings. Most of the objects within the arena were real, but the crowd, the sky, and the arena were fakes. Kaiba's trained eyes could tell what was a hologram and what was real and he admitted grudgingly that the setup here would fool almost anyone. Almost.
"You are a warrior, Fudo, that much I can tell from our brief duel," Julius said as he sheathed his sword, "one who is not afraid to lay it on the line for his friends. However, I too am willing to lay it on the line for my fellow warriors of the Chaos Movement. We shall see whose loyalty is stronger in our Duel."
Luna was perplexed. "He could grasp all that from him flailing away at Yusei for a few seconds?"
Yugi allowed the Pharaoh to take control, as Yami wanted to watch this Duel firsthand. "You'd be surprised how much people can learn about each other from seemingly pointless motions. Julius here seems to have a gift for understanding people through combat."
"Indeed I do Yugi," Julius agreed, "Combat reveals a lot about a person. It can show the true colors of anybody. Any person can say they will do the right thing, but put their feet to the fire and more often than not you'll see what really happens. Just look at the bureaucrats who claim they know how to run a country. Most of them were given their position, they never had to earn it; they lied and cheated and used their ill-gotten power to control an ignorant population. It caused the downfall of the Roman Empire, the American Empire, the Russian Empire; every civilization in history has its rise and fall. The ones that last the longest had the lightest grip on the reins when it came to population control. That is why I fight for the Master! To rid the world of weak politicians and allow the strong to rule the weak as has been done since the dawn of time!" The gladiator held up his fist, the Japanese symbol for warrior appearing on the back of his hand with a crimson red glow. Red fire sprang up along the walls of the arena, trapping the group once again within a ring of fire. The warrior symbol appeared in the sky as well, adding an eerie red ting to the otherwise bright arena.
"Our world isn't perfect," Yusei admitted, "But that gives you no right to hurt others to get your sick and twisted version of paradise! Let's Duel!"
Yusei LP: 4000 Julius LP: 4000
"Since I defeated you, I'll be going first," Julius said, drawing a card. "And I'll summon Test Ape in Defense Mode!" A part cyborg monkey appeared in the sand in front of the gladiator, putting his metals arms in front of him protectively.
Test Ape: Atk 700, Def 300, LV 2
"I'll end my turn with two facedowns," Julius announced. "Your move Fudo."
"My draw then!" Yusei said, drawing a card to add to the five in his starting hand. "And I'm summoning Speed Warrior in Attack Mode!" A quick little man in white armor appeared in front of Yusei and began glowing a light blue aura.
Speed Warrior: Atk 900, Def 400, LV 2
"On the turn Speed Warrior is summoned, his Attack points are doubled," Yusei added.
Speed Warrior: Atk 1800
"That's a neat ability," Yugi thought to Yami, who nodded, purple eyes never leaving the field.
"Now Speed Warrior! Take out that Test Ape!" Yusei ordered. Speed Warrior charged, the jets on his back giving him an added boost as the warrior began spinning along the ground to deliver a shattering kick (literally) to the Test Ape. Speed Warrior then zoomed over back to Yusei's side of the arena as the parts from Test Ape began glowing, forming a portal.
Julius grinned. "When you destroyed my Test Ape as I'd hoped, you paved the way for one of my fellow Gladiators to rise. I special summon Gladiator Beast Dimacari from my Deck!" Through the portal stepped a blue Minotaur armed with spiked metal guantlets. Dimacari roared at Speed Warrior's retreating form and stood ready for battle.
Gladiator Beast Dimacari: Atk 1600, Def 1200, LV 4
"Anything else?" Julius asked.
"Just two facedowns," Yusei answered, "Your move."
Jungle Room
While Dani was helping Akiza corral her long bangs back into its organized little roll, Crow and Jack were having an animated discussion on how to move on.
"I'm telling you, we need to head that way!" Crow said, pointing down one of the pathways that branched off from Melissa's clearing. The two Signers simply could not agree on which path to take.
"And I'm telling you that you're nuts!" Jack answered, "Look at the way the firewall scorched the ground. From where I was standing during the Duel, right where we entered, the correct path is that way!"
"No way man!" Crow countered, "I just know we have to move my way!"
"How could you possibly remember which way to go when you were knocked out by the Black Rose Dragon?" Jack retorted. The argument escalated while Dani finished rolling Akiza's bangs up and finished Akiza's normal hairdo.
"Boys," Akiza grumbled as she held up her little compact mirror, inspecting Dani's handiwork. "Nice job Dani."
Dani grinned. "No problem, though one of these days we're gonna get those bangs trimmed. I don't know how you like them so long."
"Why do you like your ponytail?" Akiza shot back, mirth in her eyes that Dani picked up on immediately.
"It's simple and doesn't get in the way," Dani answered. "That and I don't have much time to worry about fancy hairstyles. That's life in the Satellite for you. Crazy giant creatures and insane chaos causers. Just another day in the life of Dani."
Akiza frowned as part of her recognized what Dani was talking about. "Giant creatures? Do you mean the Earthbound Immortals?"
"Is that what those things were called?" Dani asked.
Akiza nodded. "We had to fight these Earthbound Immortals to prevent five thousand years of darkness. According to a vision Jack had while fighting his Dark Signer, it would have been the end of life as we knew it."
Leo popped up between them, starling both women. "Tell her about the time I faced an Earthbound Immortal!"
"Where did you?" Dani began, then stopped herself. "Leo, I'd love to hear this story some other time. First things first, yeah, I saw the Immortals. It happened when I was Dueling this one woman, her name was Mika I think. Yeah, it was Mika. She mentioned something about looking for her brother. I had my Azure-Eyes against her Dark Strike Fighter and things were really starting to heat up when all of a sudden, this wave of black mist appeared. I couldn't see anything for a minute or two, then just as quickly as it appeared, the mist disappeared."
"You mean the black mist didn't suck you up?" Akiza asked with a bit of wonder.
"Should it have?" Dani asked, confused, "I mean, once the mist cleared, everyone was gone. I thought they cleared out because of the mist, you're telling me they got sucked up? Sucked up into what?"
"Alright, Dani, let me explain from the beginning," Akiza sighed patiently, "While the boys figure out where to go, we might as well pass the time." She winced as her Signer mark began glowing more fiercely. "And I guess Yusei is Dueling again."
"Let's hope he's doing alright," Dani said.
"Of course he's doing alright!" Leo said, a bit exasperated, "I haven't seen Yusei lose a Duel yet!"
Roman Arena
"My draw then," Julius said, "and since your turn is over, Speed Warrior's Attack points return to normal." The blue aura surrounding Speed Warrior disappeared, the extra zip Speed Warrior had leaving as well.
Speed Warrior: Atk 900
"Now that Speed Warrior is coming off of his high, I'll summon Gladiator Beast Torax to the field in Attack mode!" A bloated fish-man covered in spikes and holding an odd staff appeared next to Dimacari.
Gladiator Beast Torax: Atk 1400, Def 400, LV 3
Kaiba had to contain a snicker. "For all his tough talk, his monsters sure are pathetic."
Julius shot a withering glare at the Kaibacorp president before returning his gaze to the Duel. "Now I'll attack your Speed Warrior with Torax!" The fish-man charged with his staff outstretched. The fish jumped and brought his staff slamming down onto Speed Warrior, destroying the little man. Yusei growled as he felt pain lanced through his arm from the damage he took.
Yusei LP: 3500
"And next, Torax's special ability activates." Julius declared, "Since he battled, I can return him to the Deck in order to draw one card. Torax, Tag Out!" The fish-man turned into a blue orb of light that flew over to Julius' Duel Disk. Julius drew another card before placing Torax in the Deck, his Duel Disk automatically shuffling his Deck.
"Interesting," Yami said to himself, "These Gladiator Beasts seem to rely on attacking to activate their ability. I wonder if Yusei can turn that against Julius."
Luna overheard his comments and turned to face him. "Yusei's one of the best, I'm sure he can beat this guy."
"That may be, but even a slight mistake can prove costly," Yami admonished softly, "One slip-up on my part nearly cost me everything." His eyes turned skyward as he recalled how he slipped into the tempting call of the Seal of Orichalcos, costing Yugi his soul. It proved only temporary, but Yami swore he would never walk towards that dark path again, no matter what. Luna could sense the regret coming from the Pharaoh, but wisely stayed quiet.
"Now Gladiator Beast Dimacari, attack Yusei directly!" Julius yelled, throwing a fist at Yusei. The minotaur charged at Yusei, hefting its mighty gauntlet covered arms in an intimidating manner.
"I activate my Trap, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei said, "Now I can negate your attack and flip this card facedown once again for later." A metal scarecrow materialized in front of Yusei, intercepting Dimacari's fists with a mighty clang, sending the beast back to Julius' side of the arena. "My Life Points are safe.
"For this turn, perhaps," Julius said. "I'll end my turn."
Yusei drew a card quickly, eyeing his hand. He then plucked a card from his hand and showed it to Julius. "In order for me to call on this little sharpshooter, I have to send one monster from my hand to the Graveyard. By discarding Level Eater from my hand, I can special summon Quickdraw Synchron from my hand!" A little robot cowboy with blue armor, brown boots, and one eye peeking out from under his ten-gallon hat and over his red bandana appeared in front of Yusei, ready to draw and fire instantly.
Quickdraw Synchron: Atk 700, Def 1400, LV 5
"Next, I can activate my Level Eater's special ability from the Graveyard, an ability that lets me summon Level Eater out of my Graveyard simply by lowering Quickdraw Synchron's Level by one!" Yusei said as a little ladybug-like bug zipped out of Yusei's Graveyard and flew right through Quickdraw Synchron. The robo-cowboy gave a little start of surprise as a star appeared on the red bug's back.
Quickdraw Synchron: LV 4
Level Eater: Atk 600, Def 0, LV 1
"Not bad," Yami commented, "He could sacrifice both of those weaker monsters to Summon a powerful monster now, since he hasn't used his Normal Summon yet."
"I think Yusei is going for a Synchro Summon," Luna pointed out, "I saw him use this combo against Roman not too long ago."
Yami nodded, accepting the small rebuke silently. 'Synchro Summoning.' He thought to himself. 'Interesting.'
Yugi appeared next to the Pharaoh, 'Perhaps we should look at learning this Synchro Summon.'
"Now I summon my Quillbolt Hedgehog to the field in Attack Mode!" Yusei said. The little hedgehog with bolts replacing the spikes on his back appeared next to Level Eater. It hopped about a couple of times, eager to help out.
"Impressive swarming strategy," Julius observed, "Now what will you Synchro Summon?"
"You're about to find out!" Yusei answered as a wheel appeared in front of Quickdraw Synchron, cards of various Synchron monsters arranged in a neat little circle. "Because Quickdraw Synchron can take aim at and absorb the abilities of one Tuner monster." The wheel began spinning rapidly, the cards a blur. Quickdraw Synchron wiggled his fingers, ready to take a shot. An instant later, Quickdraw Synchron was holding a smoking pistol, the wheel having stopped the instant Quickdraw fired. "It looks like Quickdraw Synchron is taking the abilities of Junk Synchron! So now it looks like Quickdraw Synchron can give Level Eater and Quillbolt Hedgehog a well-deserved tune-up!"
Yami watched the process intently. 'Here we go!'
"I tune level four Quickdraw Synchron with level one Level Eater and level two Quillbolt Hedgehog in order to Synchro Summon an old favorite of mine," Yusei announced, "Gathering anger becomes an entranced warrior born from a brutal god! Become the path its light shines upon! I Synchro Summon, Junk Berserker!" Quickdraw Synchron dissolved into four green rings that surrounded Quillbolt Hedgehog and Level Eater, who dematerialized into three more shining stars. The stars and rings aligned briefly before a red light erupted from the rings. When the light disappeared, a stout warrior covered in red armor and wielding a humongous axe was standing where Yusei's three monsters had been not too long ago.
Junk Berserker: Atk 2700, Def 1800, LV 7
Julius grinned. "Now this is the battle I was expecting. Come at me with everything you've got!"
"I intend to," Yusei replied, "Go Berserker, attack that Dimacari with Scrap Iron Rage!" A red aura surrounded Junk Berserker as it hefted its huge axe. The red warrior charged, bellowing a wordless battle cry.
"I'll activate the Trap Defensive Tactics!" Julius shouted over Berserker's war cry, "Since I control a Gladiator Beast, my monsters can't be destroyed by battle and I take no damage for the turn!" The bull-man held up his gauntlet covered arms defensively and absorbed the strike from Junk Berserker, getting send skidding backwards several yards in the process, but staying alive. Junk Berserker stomped back over to Yusei, his attack over. "Not only that, but instead of going to the Graveyard, this Trap is placed on the bottom of my Deck."
"Fine, your move," Yusei said.
"And so it is!" Julius boomed, "My draw!"
"So let me get this straight," Yami said to Luna, "To perform a Synchro Summon, one needs a Tuner monster and a couple more monsters that add up to the level of the Synchro Monster?"
Luna nodded. "Yeah, though different Synchro Monsters sometimes have more specific requirements. Some need a specific Tuner, others need a certain type of Monster, and some just need a Tuner and another monster."
"Specific monsters?" Yami said, mind running in fourth gear, "Like what?"
"Well, Yusei needs Junk Synchron to summon most of his Junk Monsters, though sometimes he uses Quickdraw Synchron like he did to summon Junk Berserker," Luna explained, "And he has to use Stardust Dragon if he wants to Synchro Summon the Majestic Star Dragon. You don't have any Synchro monsters though, why are you so keen on learning about Synchro Summoning?"
"It helps to know how your opponent works in order to defeat him or her," the Pharaoh answered.
"I'll activate Gladiator Beast's Respite and send two Gladiator Beasts from my hand to my Deck in order to draw three more cards," Julius said, "So I'll send Gladiator Beasts Spartacus and Murmillo back to the Deck." He placed the two cards in his Duel Disk slot, waited for the Disk to automatically shuffle the Deck, then drew three more cards.
"That's a lot of cards in his hand," Yugi commented, "What does he have planned?"
'I have a feeling we're about to see,' Yami thought back to Yugi.
"Now, since I control a Gladiator Beast, I can Special Summon a Test Tiger directly from my hand," Julius said, "But luckily for me, I drew both my Test Tigers from my Deck! Take to the field my beasts!" Two tigers covered in brightly colored armor appeared on the field, both growling like only a tiger could.
Test Tiger: Atk 600, Def 300, LV 3
"Next, I'll summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus from my hand in Defense mode!" Julius announced. An anthromorphic rhino in heavy white armor appeared, a myriad of shields floating around it as it crouched down in Defense Mode
Gladiator Beast Hoplomus: Atk 700, Def 2100, LV 4
"These monsters don't have enough Attack points to do anything," Kaiba murmured to himself. "If these monsters' abilities rely on battling without getting destroyed, how can they do anything?"
"I'm sure you're wondering why I summoned all these monsters," Julius said, "Now I'm going to show you. I'll activate the first of my Test Tiger's ability! In order to activate their special abilities, my Gladiator Beasts need to battle and tag in others to use them to their full effect. However, with a Test Tiger on the field, if I sacrifice that Tiger, then I can activate my Gladiator Beast's Tag-out ability without having to battle. Watch! Dimacari, Tag out!" The first Test Tiger turned into an orange orb of energy that flew over and struck the Minotaur. It growled before it was sucked back into the Deck. A portal opened up where Dimacari disappeared.
"What?" Yusei gasped.
"Now I can special summon another Gladiator Beast directly from my Deck," Julius explained. "Souls of the gladiators burn, champion of the light arise, fight for your emperor! Battle Tag! I summon Gladiator Beast Alexander!" An anthromorphic lion in shining golden armor stepped through the portal, two wing-like extensions protruding from the sides as the mighty beast roared its challenge at Yusei and Junk Berserker.
Gladiator Beast Alexander: Atk 2400, Def 600, LV 6
"Now for my other Test Tiger to help Hoplomus Tag Out!" Julius yelled. The second Test Tiger repeated the actions of the first, and like Dimacari, Hoplomus was sucked back into the Deck. Julius grabbed a card from his Deck and threw it on his Duel Disk before his Deck was automatically shuffled. A bright orange portal appeared beside Alexander. "Souls of the gladiators burn, champion of the earth arise, fight for your emperor! Battle Tag! I summon Gladiator Beast Spartacus!" An anthromorphic gray dinosaur in brown and golden spiky armor stepped through the portal, wielding a large poleax as it too thundered a challenge at Yusei.
Gladiator Beast Spartacus: Atk 2200, Def 1600, LV 5
"Now, Gladiator Beast Spartacus' special ability activates!" Julius shouted, "I get to add a Gladiator Beast specific Equip Spell from my Deck to my hand, allowing me to set up the combo I need to defeat your Junk Berserker!"
"What do you mean?" Yusei asked, eyes narrowing at the declaration.
"I mean this!" Julius thundered, pulling a card from his Deck. "Gladiator Beast's Battle Manica! I'll activate it now and equip it to Alexander!" A shining metal gauntlet extending from the wrist all the way to the shoulder appeared on the lion man's left arm. A ruby sparkled in the light as Alexander examined his new gear momentarily before returning his steely gaze back towards Yusei's Junk Berserker.
"It did nothing to help the Gladiator Beast's Attack," Luna said, confused.
"There's more to Dueling than just Attack points," Yami said.
Julius smiled a predatory smile. "Quite right Yugi, as Battle Manica prevents Gladiator Beast Alexander from being destroyed in battle. Just like the man this card is named after, Alexander cannot fall in battle! It will take some form of trickery to defeat this mighty beast! Alexander the Great, according to the history books, was fallen by some strange Indian disease. However, I believe he was betrayed by one of his minions, poisoned until the damage was too severe. Who knows how far Alexander would have conquered if his cowardly subordinate hadn't undermined him at his moment of triumph?"
"Talk about getting side-tracked," Kaiba groaned, "Will you just shut up about ancient history and Duel?"
Julius shook his head. "Your arrogance blinds you, Kaiba. History has always been doomed to repeat itself. Why else would Hitler start a land war in Asia when Napoleon provided a prime example as to why NOT to do so? ARROGANCE! There are so many parallels in empires throughout history: Macedon and Mongolia, America and Rome, Napoleonic France and Hitler's Germany, it isn't hard to grasp! BUT! I will get back to Dueling, as I am eager to crush Fudo for the Master and gain eternal glory!"
"Don't be so sure," Yami said quietly, "I sense Yusei has more than one trick up his sleeve."
"I'll activate my other Gladiator Beast Equip Spell," Julius yelled, "Gladiator Beast's Battle Gladius!" A short golden sword appeared in Alexander's right hand. "This gives my Beast an extra 300 Attack Points, making it equal to your Junk Berserker in strength!"
Gladiator Beast Alexander: Atk 2700
"That's not good!" Luna cried, "Now if Junk Berserker and Gladiator Beast Alexander battle, only Junk Berserker will be destroyed."
"Correct!" Julius agreed, "Go Alexander, destroy that Junk Berserker and open the path for Spartacus!"
"I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to block your attack!" Yusei said quickly, letting the metal scarecrow appear in front of Junk Berserker.
"That may have worked last turn, but not this turn!" Julius exclaimed in triumph, "I activate the Trap card Parry!" The purple trap card flipped up revealing a picture of Gladiator Beast Dimacari slashing at an opponent in a defensive manner. "Now, by shuffling a Gladiator Beast from my hand back into my Deck, I can negate and destroy your Trap!" Return, Gladiator Beast Retiari!" A shadow image of a green lizard man wielding a wicked silver trident appeared ahead of the charging Alexander and used the trident to slash Scrap-Iron Scarecrow into several pieces, clearing the path for Alexander to charge through the dissolving shadow-image of Retiari and use his gladius to strike at Junk Berserker. Both titans dueled briefly, appearing evenly matched before Alexander came in low while Junk Berserker swung high. Alexander deflected the giant axe using the gauntlet on his left arm and stabbed Junk Berserker right where its heart would be, shattering the red behemoth. Alexander returned to Julius' side of the field while Spartacus stepped up.
"No way!" Yusei shouted in shock.
"Spartacus, it's your turn, attack Yusei's Life Points directly!" The dino-man leaped high into the air, spinning the large poleax before slashing right at Yusei's head. Yusei managed to get his Duel Disk in the way, but the tip of Spartacus' poleax managed to cut Yusei right on his left cheek.
Yusei LP: 1300
Yusei winced as he touched the open wound on his cheek. A single drop of blood dripping down was absorbed by Yusei's glove. The Head Signer examined his glove briefly, feeling his flesh wound. It stung, but it wasn't too bad. "That could've been a lot worse."
"The worst is yet to come!" Julius said, "You're outnumbered and outmatched. Prepare yourself, for I will make your end swift."
Jungle Room
"So these Dark Signers with their Earthbound Immortals were responsible for all those shenanigans months ago, right before construction on the bridge to New Domino City was resumed?" Dani asked. When Akiza nodded, Dani continued. "And you Signers defeated all the Dark Signers, including Goodwin who was both a Light and Dark Signer?"
"Don't forget the King of the Netherworld was beaten!" Leo interjected.
"I know that, I watched the Crimson Dragon blow it up!" Dani snapped, "That's weird. Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?! What I don't get is why I wasn't taken by the mist? I mean, I'm not a Signer, I'm just another girl who loves Duel Monsters."
"You also use three of the most famous Dragons in Duel Monsters history," Leo pointed out, "That's gotta count for something!"
"I never heard anything about a Blue-Eyes White Dragon protecting people from crazy mystic stuff like that," Dani said, making a face at Leo. Leo returned the face, prompting Dani to smack Leo gently upside the head.
"Hey!"
"Don't worry, you aren't a Signer," Akiza said, smiling at Dani's worry, "The fate of the world doesn't depend on you, it depends on us Signers."
"You bet it does!" Crow interrupted. "What were we talking about?" He looked from Dani to Akiza back to Dani, looking for an answer.
"We're going this way," Dani said suddenly, pulling Akiza to her feet and pulling her along a path she chose.
"But me and Jack had decided on this path!" Crow called after them. "Wait!"
"Don't leave me behind!" Leo yelled. Jack simply rolled his eyes as he followed the group, not really caring what path they took so long as they got out of there. Meanwhile, in a nearby tree, perched a female figure, keeping a stealthy eye on the group. The woman swiftly climbed down the tree and landed, almost catlike, on the ground without a sound. Kuno Ichi smiled as she tracked her prey along the path, staying just out of sight of the group. The hunt was on, and Kuno enjoyed being the hunter. This was going to be fun for her.
Cliffhanger! I just love teasing youse guys. I'm going on a little backpacking trip to Dolly Sods tomorrow, so I may not be able to reply to everyone right away like I normally do. I'll be back by Saturday. I'm still pleasantly surprised the USA got out of the Group of Death, kinda sad the World Cup is over, congratulations to Germany for a spectacular team performance, despite the fact I wanted Messi to win, but hey, less than a year til the Women's World Cup! Can I get a shout-out from my fellow soccer hooligans?!
Alright, I'm gonna go with a fan-choice! In a few more chapters, there will be a tag-duel against two Six Samurai users. I had planned on a Yusei-Akiza pairing, but then my brain hatched an idea: I'm going to let you pick the tag duelists. It could be Kaiba and Yusei, Yugi and Jack, Akiza and Dani, anything! I'll listen to your suggestions and whichever pairing is the most popular, I'll write. How about that! I would recommend against a Yusei-Yugi tag, as that's going to be prominent in the final chapters.
Guest 2, I honestly have no plans to bring in the Big Five, it's an intriguing idea nonetheless.
Corina O, I honestly hadn't planned on adding anyone else to the Chaos Movement. However, I will make an exception for you because you've been so kind in working with me, but no one else. Mika is certainly one of a kind.
Darkfrost, We shall see what the fans choose.
Again, the reason why this chapter took so long was because of the Pokémon battle, Rivals Collide. Feel free to check it out, my fellow Poke-fans, as well as my other battle, Brother vs Brother. I am taking requests for other battles, if you so desire. {Shameless advertising? Perhaps, but that's fanfiction for ya }
Reviews are always welcome, as is any and all respectful criticism. As an author, I'm always looking to improve.
Until the next chapter my friends!
From your Nutty Buddy, the Eagle Nut