It had been a few hours since the Tournament Duels had ended and since most of the classes had ended for the day most of the students had returned to their respective dorms including Chelsea Cunningham.
"Chloe, are you in here?" Chelsea called out as she entered the dorm room the two girls shared, her clothes were sweaty as her last class was PE with Jeff and because of a smart ass remark she made he made her run the obstacle course twice. "Chloe?"
"Over here." Chloe responded as she got out of the bathroom. "Your laptop bag's on the coffee table and I kept an eye on it whilst you were out."
"Thanks." Chelsea answered as she started getting changed out of her clothes. "You had any trouble from Cameron, Jessica or Thomas?"
"Thankfully not, I don't think they even know where our dorm room is otherwise I think we would've had a visit by now." Chloe sighed in response as she sat down on the bed. "What about you?"
"Thomas was in Duel Theory but he kept his distance from me, not sure if he wanted to avoid trouble from Martin or getting his ass kicked by me but either way I was relieved by that." Chelsea responded as she put another top on, a Slayer top that exposed her stomach, and grabbed a pair of jeans. "Did anyone come looking for me?"
"Beth did since you didn't answer her e-mail, she left after I told her that you were in class." Chloe answered and Chelsea nodded as she started unpacking her laptop. "Hu stopped by as well. Apparently you had left something behind after leaving Martin's classroom."
"I did?" Chelsea asked with a confused look and Chloe nodded. "Did he say what?"
"He said that it was a card that you forgot to pick up after losing to Theresa." Chloe said and Chelsea frowned. "You didn't take that loss well I take it?"
"Nah but since it was Theresa I lost to I kept my temper mostly in control." Chelsea said with a frown before noticing the card on top of her laptop bag. "That's the card I left I take it?"
"Yeah, that's the one." Chloe nodded as Chelsea picked up the card and, after looking at it, returned it to her deck. "What is it?"
"You didn't look?" Chelsea asked and Chloe shook her head. "It's one of the new Watt monsters, Wattcanine." Chelsea responded as she started setting up her laptop. "I finally got my hands on it just after today's duels ended."
"Yeah I heard that there were new Watt Monsters coming out." Chloe responded as Chelsea sat down at her laptop. "Wattcanine and two others, right?"
"Three others, I should know, I've been bugging Wattchimera about them." Chelsea commented earning a confused look from her roommate. "Remember when I got my hands on Lightning Recharge right before the Expulsion Duels? Wattchimera acquired it and the other new cards in my deck for me thanks to his contacts in the spirit world, obviously the fact that they work on my duel disk means that it's worth the wait."
"Err, are you sure that's wise?" Chloe asked with a gulp. "I mean, there's still a lot we don't understand about the Duel Spirit World."
"Chloe I've been using Lightning Recharge for a couple of months now and I only just started using the other cards. If there was a problem with it I would've noticed by now." Chelsea responded as she continued to surf the internet on her laptop. "You know what? Why don't we ask our resident expert on the subject, Silent Magician?"
"I guess it's worth a shot." Chloe nodded as she closed her eyes. "Silent Magician, are you there?"
"I'm always here Chloe." Silent Magician answered. "And I heard your conversation with your roommate Wattchimera's activities do concern me."
"So there is something wrong with a Duel Spirit Guide giving his/her protégé cards from the Spirit World?" Chloe asked and Silent Magician shook her head.
"Yes and no, it's a touchy area and whilst they sometimes work fine as in Chelsea's case there have been times when something goes wrong during the transfer process." Silent Magician answered and Chloe nodded. "At best these incidents can cause serious injury, at worst they can kill the protégé and the spirit guide would be held responsible, however I must stress that these incidents are a rarity."
"Right, thanks Silent Magician." Chloe nodded before turning to Chelsea. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"
"Give me the bad news first." Chelsea answered and Chloe nodded.
"Okay, bad news is that there have been times when the transfer process has gone wrong, best case scenario is serious injury and I think you can guess what the worst case scenario is." Chloe answered and Chelsea nodded with a shudder as she got the idea. "Good news is that they are rare."
"So as long as Wattchimera's careful I'll be okay?" Chelsea asked and Chloe shrugged.
"From the way she worded it sounded more like a case of Russian roulette with duel monsters instead of bullets." Chloe responded and Chelsea nodded. "But you've been lucky so far since Wattchimera became your Spirit Guide so there is that."
"That's true, but I guess I can understand your concern." Chelsea nodded in response. "Besides, those cards have served me well since I got my hands on them and who's to say the same thing won't happen again…..you know what? I'm going to shut up before I end up jinxing myself and something like that does happen in the third round!"
"Or when you next face an Orichalcos Duelist, either way jinxing yourself is probably not a good idea." Chloe responded and Chelsea shuddered.
"Okay, I need something to take my mind of off that possibility and I'm not in the mood for a duel so I may as well do the homework Tracy gave me." Chelsea responded as she booted up her laptop and waited for it to load. "Yes, I really did just say that sentence you can pick your jaw up off the floor Chloe." Chelsea added with a grin as her roommate closed her mouth.
"Are you feeling all right? Or are you an imposter and the real Chelsea's buried alive somewhere?" Chloe asked and Chelsea laughed for a good minute at that.
"You know what? I'm not even going to answer that question!" Chelsea said once she stopped laughing and picked up her USB. "And hopefully my homework progress won't be impeded by this laptop being stolen again!"
"Well, since the technicians have that laptop and those bastards haven't tried to steal it from there yet I don't think that's going to happen." Chloe responded and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Come to think of it, has there been any progress since we turned it over to them?"
"I've been asking Tracy about it at every opportunity." Chelsea said as she turned to her. "They've been backlogged by the actual computer problems that staff and students alike have been experiencing since then but they've made a bit of progress, she just didn't say what."
"Well, that's just great!" Chloe grunted as she folded her arms. "Did you press the issue?"
"Chloe, did you suddenly forget who you're talking too? Off course I did!" Chelsea responded with a big grin on her face. "Not that it did me any good, no matter how many times I pointed out to her that not only where students being targeted by those bastards but three students are in the infirmary as well! Not to mention the fact that Andreas got his soul stolen at the start of the Battle City Semi-Finals!"
"What about the IT Techs?" Chloe asked as she shifted her weight. "I mean, alongside making sure that the servers work properly their job is to ensure the safety of the students by maintaining the duel disks and if you ask me there's nothing more threatening than the Orichalcos!"
"I agree and that was my next stop after Tracy literally kicked me out of her office." Chelsea sighed as she turned to her roommate. "They refused to disclose the details even though we had gotten it from the Orichalcos duelists and whatever's on that thing can be crucial to bringing them down, they said that doing so would pretty much be career suicide."
"There's obviously something on that laptop that Kaiba doesn't want getting out." Chloe responded with a frown. "But we'll need that info if we are to beat them."
"The way I see it we have two options." Chelsea responded after thinking for a couple of minutes. "We are going to need that thing before we leave for Summer Break, there's no doubt about that, and as far as I'm concerned the options are either we persuade Martin to get the technicians to hand it back over to us or we do something that might result in a second expulsion duel for us, if we're lucky."
"You mean steal it?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded. "Do I even need to say which option I prefer?"
"Nope, it's obvious that you want to steal it." Chelsea joked and Chloe rolled her eyes. "Seriously though, I think we should get Theresa and Tyler in our plan, Theresa's one of Martin's top students and Tyler's the stepson of the guy whose company funds the academy, if he'll listen to anyone it's them!"
"And given the circumstances I think Tyler won't be showing any loyalty to his dad." Chloe responded before thinking for a bit. "I think our best bet will be to ask them over the weekend since the only thing that will be taking place is the promotion duels which according to Tyler will take up the whole day including the welcome parties."
"Sounds like Sunday will be our best bet then." Chloe commented and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Think you could shoot them an e-mail about it?"
"That's just what I was thinking." Chelsea responded before she opened up her e-mails and started typing a message. "Okay, the e-mail is being sent to Tyler but I'm including Theresa's e-mail as a CC that means that it should go to both of them providing their inboxes aren't full."
"And they should hopefully reply soon." Chloe responded and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Are they in any classes right now?" Chloe asked and Chelsea thought for a moment.
"I did see them at the main building when I was on my way back from my last lesson of the day and I said hi to them, nothing much besides that because they told me that they had a class to get too." Chelsea responded with a nod. "That was twenty minutes ago so they are probably still in class unless it got cut short for whatever reason."
"What was their class?" Chloe asked and Chelsea checked the online schedule.
"Duel Theory, yeah I don't think it's going to get cut short." Chelsea responded with a frown. "Whilst you guys where in Battle City there was a Duel Disk malfunction during Duel Theory the left a student injured, he was taken to the infirmary but the class continued."
"If Martin doesn't stop the class for that then there's nothing he'll stop it for." Chloe reasoned and Chelsea nodded. "Was he okay?"
"Minor injuries at best, mostly because I was his opponent and the duel disk malfunction happened just as I did a direct attack with Wattcobra." Chelsea responded and Chloe sweat-dropped when she heard that. "The worst part was, besides the injury that is, is the fact that it my first turn of the duel and my initial hand was crap!"
"You were using Wattcobra in an attempt to improve it?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded. "So what happened after that?"
"I was investigated off course." Chelsea responded with an annoyed sigh. "But I was ultimately cleared for one thing the malfunction came from my opponent's duel disk." Chelsea added as she shook her head and turned her attention back to the schedule. "Shit!"
"Is there something wrong?" Chloe asked as Chelsea hurriedly unpacked her laptop.
"You could say that! I'm ridiculously late for my IT Class!" Chelsea responded as she packed up her laptop and quickly stood up. "We'll have to continue this chat later Chloe but if you excuse me I have some running to do!" Chelsea added before she left the dorm room the two girls shared and ran down the hallway barely avoiding the other students in the process.
*meanwhile*
Whilst Chelsea hurried her way to the class that she was late to a certain group had something sinister in mind for her and the other students, namely the Orichalcos Duelists.
"Dr. Schwartz, I'm assuming that this plan of yours is going to work." Victor commented as he entered the German Scientist's laboratory with Jack and Sarah following him in. "Your experiments to date have been a failure."
"Yes I do know what I'm doing and no, I don't consider the experiments a failure." Dr. Schwartz responded as he worked at the machine. "It's all about psychological warfare these fools won't know when or how we're going to strike next until it's too late."
"The effect may be diluted with each time they manage to defeat us!" Jack pointed out with a frown. "It's already happening each time we send an agent to the damn island!"
"Yes, that is true but we haven't attacked them like this." Dr. Schwartz responded as he glanced up at the trio. "This time I'm targeting Chelsea Cunningham, I realize that she was already targeted yesterday and whilst I wasn't aware of the duel that happened last night it plays into my hand all the same." Dr. Schwartz added as he typed away at his desktop.
"She's the lesbian with the short temper, right?" Sarah asked as she approached the machine. "It should be easy enough to use against her." Sarah added and they nodded.
"If all goes to plan we'll have one less pest to deal with." Dr. Schwartz responded with a nod. "And it'll all begin tonight as soon as she retires to the bunk bed that she shares with Richardson."
"You realize that you just made it sound like she's cheating on her girlfriend with her roommate, right?" Jack asked and Sarah gave him a dirty look. "What?"
"Just shut up." Sarah grunted before storming off leaving Jack looking confused whilst Victor chatted with Dr. Schwartz.
*later that night*
"99 Mystical Sheep…..100 Mystical Sheep…..ugh, it's still not working!" Chelsea yelled out as she threw her hands up in frustration, it was late at night on Duel Academy Island and the girls had gotten their nightly dorm checks a few minutes earlier, despite that Chelsea couldn't get any sleep. "What the hell? I'm usually asleep by now!"
"Let's see, we've tried counting Mystical Sheep, listening to boring music not made by Nickleback, actually listening to Nickleback….." Chloe trailed off as she read her copy of The Lord of the Rings and Chelsea shuddered. "Hey you where the one who suggested that last one!"
"Yeah, out of desperation!" Chelsea responded as she glanced at her roommate. "Getting told off by Tracy for showing up late was bad enough but this?"
"Just be glad you weren't late for Duel Theory." Chloe responded with a grin and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Besides, I'm a bit concerned about this if I can be honest."
"Concerned about what? That I'm having trouble getting some sleep?" Chelsea asked with a raised eyebrow and Chloe shook her head. "Wait, you're talking about the dream attacks aren't you?"
"Yeah, that's right, I had trouble getting some sleep the night I was attacked and Andreas told us that the same thing happened to him." Chloe responded with a nod. "And then there's the voice you heard earlier."
"Thanks, I was hoping to forget about that." Chelsea deadpanned as she leaned back on the top bunk of the bed, neither of the two girls said anything else for a few minutes but the silence was broken was Chelsea started snoring indicating that she was asleep.
"About time, hopefully my hunch about why she was having trouble getting to sleep was incorrect." Chloe thought as she put a bookmark in the pages of her book and closed it before putting on the bedside table and before long Chloe was asleep as well.
*in Chelsea's dream*
"Okay, what the hell's going on?" Chelsea asked as she glanced around, her surroundings could best be described as a dark void with the only thing possessing any color being her outfit which was the same one she had worn after hey Gym Class. "Usually I dream about one of two things, winning battle city or sex with Beth, this is just weird."
"Chelsea! Wake up before it's too late!" Wattchimera's voice rang out and Chelsea looked around trying to find her Duel Spirit Guide but she had no luck.
"Wait a minute, inability to get any sleep, dark void, a warning from my duel spirit guide…" Chelsea's thoughts trailed off as it her like a ton of bricks. "Okay, so it's another dream duel! Bring it you bastards! I'm not scared of anything you have in store for me!" Chelsea called out to the void but no answer came, without hesitation Chelsea activated her duel disk and waited. "Wattchimera, what's the scoop here? You have any idea what they are going to throw at me?"
"I'm afraid not but if you want to sort this out be my guest, I have contacted Chloe's Duel Spirit and she should be with us momentarily." Wattchimera answered and Chelsea nodded before a giant version of a Spell Card appeared on the field.
"Wait, that's one of the Spell Card's Chloe's dad used against her." Chelsea realized as she recognized the Spell Card's artwork. "Sad Story – Dreadful Day, what are they playing at?"
"I don't know but be ready for anything!" Wattchimera's voice responded and Chelsea nodded as the scenery changed to a living room, Chelsea quickly recognized it as the living room in her home back at Chicago and also recognized what was going on.
"This…..this is when I came out of the closet!" Chelsea realized as her eyes narrowed. "That wasn't exactly a dreadful day unless you count my dread towards how my parents would react." Chelsea added before glancing around, the scene was practically playing out the same way it did in real life as her parents where sat down on the couch whilst Chelsea and her first girlfriend, a girl called Kaylee, were sitting next to each other on a pair of seats.
"Chelsea, I know you have something to tell us but can you make it quick?" Her dad asked and Chelsea turned to her fifteen year old self, she didn't have the streaks in her hair at the point, those where added when she was sixteen, but she still had her nose piercing. "I've got places to go, we both know that."
"Okay, you guys know that I haven't exactly found Prince Charming, right?" The younger Chelsea asked and her parents nodded whilst the older Chelsea face-palmed.
"Oh god, what the hell was I thinking with that corny line?" Chelsea moaned as she watched the scene.
"Well, I've found someone else." The younger Chelsea said before glancing at Kaylee who glanced back. "And it's another girl." The younger Chelsea finished and her parent's jaws dropped in shock.
"Okay, if I remember correctly then they should remain like this for another ten seconds before accepting my life-style choice sure my dad had problems accepting it at first but…." Chelsea's train of thought was cut off when her mom started sobbing and her dad got angry. "Wait, what?!"
"How could you do this to us? We raised you better than this!" Her dad shouted at the younger Chelsea who was clearly taken aback by this. "Pack your bags! I want you and your girlfriend out of my house by tomorrow!" Her dad added and Chelsea ran up to her room crying whilst Kaylee glared at them before storming out of the house, the scenery changed back to the dark void again leaving Chelsea shocked.
"What the hell was that?!" Chelsea said after a few moments of silence. "That's…that's not how it played out at all!"
"I don't know Chelsea but Chloe's duel spirit should be here momentarily." Wattchimera's voice responded and Chelsea nodded before another giant version of a spell card appeared in front of her. "It's another Sad Story card!"
"Yeah, Sad Story - Sorrowful Memories, I don't like this!" Chelsea thought with a frown as the scenery changed again this time showing her parents pacing back and forth outside a door. "That's my room all right! I'd recognize that Slayer poster anywhere!"
"Eddy, don't you think you where harsh on her?" Her mom asked as she stopped pacing and Eddy did likewise. "It's her life-style choice and for all we know this could be just a phase she's going through."
"Yeah, a phase that's lasted for two years and has shown no signs of slowing down." Chelsea thought as she watched her parents talk.
"It's not just that Samantha! We are a Christian family and whilst I was willing to tolerate her listening to metal music I can't tolerate this!" Her dad responded and Samantha sighed in response. "But maybe we should talk it over with her." Her dad admitted and her mom nodded in response.
"It's about time!" Chelsea thought as her dad opened the door however what she saw caused her eyes to widen and water. "No! This…..this….."
"Chelsea! No!" Her dad yelled out in shock at the site, his daughter had hung herself using one of her belt buckles as the noose and a small stall lay to the side having been kicked away. "Samantha! Call an ambulance now!"
"This…..this….." Chelsea thought as she dropped to her hands and knees and started sobbing her eyes out as the scene cut to a pair of paramedics trying to revive Chelsea to no avail, eventually she clenched her fists and stood up. "THIS IS ALL A FUCKING LIE!" Chelsea yelled out and the scene shattered into a million pieces, Chelsea took several deep breaths as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Those bastards have crossed the line!"
"I can't help but agree!" Wattchimera's clearly disgusted voice rang out before they heard a pair of footsteps approaching them. "Chelsea, you must wake up now! You're in no condition to duel!"
"I can handle whatever they throw at me!" Chelsea asserted as she took another deep breath and waited for whoever was going to emerge from the void, however nothing could prepare her for what she saw next. "What the fuck….."
The figure that emerged from the void was easy enough to identify, it was Chelsea or rather the younger version that had committed suicide moments ago, her body was clearly decaying and her clothes where tattered but most shocking off all was her head as the neck was broken apparently from the hanging, her hair was tattered and her eyes where bloodshot with a cold, dead look in her eyes. "I've been waiting for you Chelsea."
"That voice…..it's the same one I heard earlier….." Chelsea realized as her eyes widened. "What…..what do you want?!"
"I want to kill you." The younger Chelsea answered as a duel disk appeared on her arm, it didn't take Chelsea long to recognize it as it was her first ever duel disk which, like it's owner, was showing signs of rust on the body. "We will duel right now! Whoever wins survives to live another day!"
"And if I refuse?" Chelsea asked with a gulp and the younger Chelsea grinned before snapping her fingers. "What the….." Chelsea's expletive was cut off as a long, iron linked chain shot out from the darkness and wrapped it's self around her neck, she struggled to breath for a few minutes eventually dropping to her knees before the younger Chelsea snapped her fingers again causing the chain to unwrap itself and retreat into the darkness. "Strangulation, is that really the best you've got?"
"I never said that you would die like that, next time the chain won't unwrap it's self instead dragging you off to the creatures on the other end and…..let's just say that the beings in this void are a lot less merciful than I am!" The younger Chelsea answered as Chelsea got back to her feet glaring daggers at the being in front of her.
"Wattchimera, what's the ETA on Silent Magician's arrival?" Chelsea asked as she forced herself to her feet.
"I do not know." Wattchimera answered and Chelsea frowned at that. "Be careful Chelsea, this being is a lot more dangerous than she looks."
"No fucking shit!" Chelsea snapped at her duel spirit before drawing her opening hand and the being did likewise. "What the hell am I supposed to refer to you as anyway? You're definitely not me for starters!"
"What makes you so sure?" The being asked and Chelsea's eyes narrowed.
"Because no matter how tough things get for me suicide is the last thing I'd ever consider!" Chelsea responded with a glare and the being remained silent for a few moments.
"Aelsehc," The being answered and Chelsea blinked. "It's your name with the words switched around much like I am you if your parents didn't accept your homosexuality! I can't think of a more fitting name, can you?"
"Yeah I'm just going to call you Ael rather than try to pronounce that." Chelsea responded a deadpan expression on her face and Ael said nothing before drawing her opening hand.
"Call me whatever you like! This night, you die!" Ael answered as she drew her opening card.
"I'm not even sure how that decaying arm of hers is holding up that duel disk but I guess she's making the first move!" Chelsea thought as Ael set the card she had drawn face down on the field.
"I end my turn with this facedown card!" Ael announced and Chelsea blinked before drawing her card.
"One trap and no monsters, either she has something like Gorz in her hand or that facedown card is something that can negate Battle Damage." Chelsea thought with a frown before looking at her drawn card. "Okay, I have Beckoning Light, A/D Changer and Electromagnetic Turtle in my hand, with any luck I'll be able to pull off the same combo I used in the tag team duel!" Chelsea thought before playing a card. "I summon Wattcobra!" Chelsea played the card and the electric colored snake appeared on the field (4/1000/100). "At this point I'd normally explain that Wattcobra can attack directly even with a monster on your side of the field but…..you don't have any and I just explained it anyway, Wattcobra, attack!"
"I already knew about that monster's effect, not that it'll help you!" Ael responded as her trap card flipped up.
"Defense Draw, I should've known!" Chelsea responded with a frown as Wattcobra bit onto Ael's arm but she took no damage, Wattcobra tried to let go but instead ended up ripping off a piece of flesh. "WHAT THE FUCK?" Chelsea yelled out as Wattcobra quickly spat out the piece of flesh and jumped back to Chelsea's side of the field.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that this is a shadow game?" Ael asked sarcastically as she drew a card thanks to Defense Draw. "The rules of this game are simple every time we take an attack we get injured."
"Don't tell me, when our life-points hit zero we'll die?" Chelsea asked with a nervous gulp and Ael shook her head.
"No, but you'll wish you were dead." Ael answered as she pointed to the dark void. "Trust me you don't want to know what the creatures that lurk in the void do to their victims, especially female victims."
"What about you?" Chelsea asked as her eyes narrowed and Ael laughed, it wasn't exactly a pleasant laugh either as it was the kind that sent a shiver up Chelsea's spine.
"You can't kill what's already dead." Ael stated matter of factly with a devilish smirk that unnerved Chelsea to no end.
"I….I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Chelsea set the two cards down and Ael said nothing as she drew another card. "I listen to death and thrash metal on a daily basis and I'm a big horror movie fan, hell I met Beth thanks to our mutual love for the Horror Genre…" Chelsea thought before shuddering. "But that…thing is way scarier than any horror movie villain!"
"Don't let her get to you Chelsea! She may be scary to look at but no-one is unbeatable!" Wattchimera encouraged her and Chelsea grit her teeth.
"I activate a Spell Card, Pot of Forbidden Spells!" Ael played the card which depicted Exodia, the Forbidden One reaching for the Pot of Greed. "With this Spell Card all I need to do is discard one Spell Card at random from my hand….." Ael added before discarding a spell card. "And I get to draw three cards."
"Yet another broken card, why am I not surprised?" Chelsea asked before flipping up one of her trap cards. "I chain it with Beckoning Light! I toss the rest of my hand….." Chelsea trailed off as she discarded the three cards in her hand. "And I get a fresh start!" Chelsea added before drawing three cards at the same time as Ael.
"Don't think you're going to get off that easy!" Ael scoffed before looking at one of her drawn cards. "I summon Berserk Gorilla!" Ael played the card and the large, angry gorilla appeared on the field (4/2000/1000). "Berserk Gorilla, attack Wattcobra!" Ael commanded and the gorilla let out an angry howl before charging at Wattcobra…..
"I activate the effect of Electromagnetic Turtle from my graveyard!" Chelsea responded as she retrieved the monster from her graveyard and pocketed it. "By removing it from play during the same turn that it's sent to the graveyard I can end the battle phase just like….." Chelsea trailed off as she went to snap her fingers but stopped herself short.
"You're worried that you will signal the beings of the void, aren't you?" Ael asked and Chelsea gritted her teeth before nodding. "Don't be, only I can do that, as a demonstration….."
"Oh fuck, not this again!" Chelsea moaned as Ael snapped her fingers and the chain shot out, this time it didn't wrap around her neck for very long as Ael ordered it to let go after a few minutes. "I'm not complaining but….." Chelsea said in between deep breaths. "Why even bother with the duel? Why not have the creatures just use the chain and drag me off to whatever horrible fate they have in store for me that I'm sure I've seen in one of my many horror films?"
"Don't push your luck." Ael responded with a sadistic grin. "You want to know the real reason? I like to watch my opponents squirm! And another thing, don't even bother comparing what the creatures have in store for you to what Hollywood churns out every Halloween, not even the Saw franchise can match what they do to female victims!"
"I'm not even a fan of the Saw franchise!" Chelsea responded before retrieving another monster from the graveyard. "And speaking of monsters I activate A/D Changer's effect from the graveyard! With this I force Berserk Gorilla into defense mode!"
"And thanks to Berserk Gorilla's effect it gets destroyed!" Ael responded as the Gorilla shattered into pieces. "But what if I told you that I wanted that to happen?"
"Don't tell me…." Chelsea trailed off as Ael's life-points dropped to 7000 and another piece of flesh dropped off, soon afterwards Green Baboon, Defender of the Forrest appeared on the field in Berserk Gorilla's place (7/2600/1800). "Are you copying Andreas's deck or something?"
"Oh please, you acting like he's the only one who ever thought about including Green Baboon and his counterparts in a Beast Deck!" Ael said as she rolled her eyes, literally into the back of her head before they were reset. "But no, I'm not, you'll see soon enough! I set one card facedown and end my turn." Ael set the card down and Chelsea drew her card.
"She's not running a beast deck despite the fact that she's running Green Baboon and Berserk Gorilla, so what the hell is she running?" Chelsea thought with a frown before looking at her drawn card. "Maybe she's running an Exodia variant? Two of her cards so far have been drawing cards and she's gone out of her way to make sure that she has a monster on the field, well two can play at that game!" Chelsea thought before setting her drawn card in defense mode. "I set a monster in defense mode! Now Wattcobra, as much as I'll end up regretting the results, attack her life-points directly!" Chelsea commanded and the cobra hesitated before leaping towards Ael…
"I activate my trap card Spirit Barrier!" Ael activated the trap and Chelsea's eyes widened as Wattcobra bounced off of the force-field. "Ah yes Chelsea, I had the foresight to include the one card that is considered to be the bane of the existence of every duelist who runs Watt Monsters."
"Just because you run it doesn't mean you'll beat me!" Chelsea asserted with a growl. "Damn it, if I had used Trap Stun before attacking then I would be at an advantage!" Chelsea thought as she looked at her facedown card. "Do you worse!" Chelsea taunted her and Ael grinned before drawing her card. "Wattchimera, Silent Magician's ETA would be really handy right now!"
"I know Chelsea and as soon as I know you'll know." Wattchimera responded and Chelsea bit her lip as Ael looked over her hand. "I must say, you've been taking this whole thing really well."
"I've been taking it as well as a seventeen year old lesbian can take the site of a zombiefieid version of herself complete with a broken fucking neck after seeing her commit suicide!" Chelsea responded as Ael played a card and a monster she recognized appeared on the field. "Alexandrite Dragon?" Chelsea asked as she stared at the dragon (4/2000/100). "Don't tell me you're actually running my old beatdown deck?"
"I'm running an improved version of it you never had cards like Green Baboon or Spirit Force in it!" Ael corrected her and Chelsea's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah because when I was fifteen those cards where really fucking expensive!" Chelsea snapped at her and Ael said nothing in response. "You know, I had my doubts but this seals it for me! You're working with the Orichalcos Duelists aren't you?"
"I guess the cat's out of the bag." Ael said with a sinister smirk. "If you think this is bad just wait until you see what they have in mind for your roommate and Nicola!"
"Leave Nicola out of this you bitch!" Chelsea snapped at her as her eyes narrowed. "Not only is she innocent but she's autistic for fuck's sake! Is there no low you won't stoop too?" Chelsea added with an angry growl Ael grinned.
"Am I not living proof of the fact that the answer's no?" Ael asked and Chelsea's eyes narrowed even further. "That's a trick question off course! After all, it implies that I'm still alive!"
"You're not dead either! You're just a figment of my imagination!" Chelsea snapped at her before getting an idea and grinning. "In fact I have a solution to this! I'll just imagine you away!" Chelsea said before closing her eyes for a few moments and concentrating really hard, however a sharp pain in her head broke her concentration and caused her to fall to her knees.
"You honestly thought that would work? Please, not even a vivid horror fan like you has this twisted an imagination and even if you had there are forces at work here that you can't understand!" Ael answered with a scoff before pointing to her monsters. "Kill her monsters now!" Ael commanded and Green Baboon charged towards Wattcobra before squashing it with his club bringing Chelsea's life-points down to 6400 whilst Alexandrite Dragon incinerated her facedown Magician of Faith (1/300/200). "Before you even think about using your magician's effect, take a moment to look at your right arm!"
"Huh?" Chelsea asked before looking at her arm, indeed there was a large gash on her arm presumably from the two attacks. "You think that's supposed to scare me?" Chelsea said defiantly as she got back to her feet and retrieved a Spell Card from her graveyard which she had discarded for Beckoning Light. "I'm a girl who put up with bruised ribs and having my arm broken on my third day in juvenile hall! So no, this doesn't concern me!" Chelsea added before tearing off a piece of her shirt and using it as a makeshift bandage.
"No but I can think of one way to scare you." Ael answered before motioning around her. "Remember the beasts? By now they've had a good look at your body and they like what they see."
"You couldn't get me interested in those…..things if you offered me a million dollars and every duel monster card in existence!" Chelsea interrupted her as her eyes narrowed.
"How cute, you think they care about your opinion." Ael answered back with a sadistic grin. "You're not exactly their first female victim Chelsea and let me tell you, once they get ahold of you the only time you'll stop screaming is either when you wreck your vocal cords or when they rip them out, they haven't had a female victim in a long time so you're out of luck there!" Ael answered before picking up a card. "But that's enough stalling! I set this facedown and end my turn." Ael announced and Chelsea quickly drew her card.
"Wattchimera, can't you do something about those things?" Chelsea asked as she casted a worrying glance towards the area behind her, she couldn't see the creatures but she could hear them and what she heard sounded terrifying.
"If I could have done something I would've done it from the moment she first had them use that chain on you." Wattchimera answered and Chelsea frowned as she drew her card not liking that answer one bit. "Remember, you may be behind on life-points but you're not out of it yet!"
"Damn right I'm not!" Chelsea responded before playing the Spell Card she retrieved last turn which depicted a thunderbolt coming down from the heavens. "I activate Gift from Zeus! At the moment I have three light type monsters in my graveyard which means that I can use this to shuffle them back into my deck." Chelsea responded before taking the cards and shuffling them into her deck. "And as an added bonus I get to draw two cards." Chelsea added before drawing her cards. "Oh yeah, that's the ticket!"
"What are you up too now?" Ael asked impatiently and Chelsea grinned.
"I'll show you! First I activate my Trap Card Trap Stun!" Chelsea activated the trap and Ael's eyes widened as electricity washed over Spirit Barrier. "Her other facedown's a Spell Card? It's probably a Quick Play." Chelsea thought as she sent her Trap Card to the graveyard. "And now that the path has been cleared I summon Wattcobra back to the field!" Chelsea played the card and the electric colored snake returned to the field.
"As predictable as ever I see!" Ael scoffed and Chelsea's eyes narrowed before she turned to her monster.
"Wattcobra, I don't like this as much as you don't but I need you to attack her directly to get the lead." Chelsea explained to him and the snake nodded before leaping over her monsters and biting Ael, once again removing some of the decaying flesh and bringing her life-points down to 6000. "I set two cards facedown and I call it a turn at that." Chelsea set the card down and Ael drew her card. "She didn't activate her facedown card, I don't like this."
"Yes and neither do I." Wattchimera agreed with her as Ael added her drawn card to her hand.
"Why waste any time? Alexandrite Dragon, take out that Cobra!" Ael commanded and the dragon did just that incinerating the cobra and bringing Chelsea's life-points down to 5400. "Now I could just attack and be done with it…..but where would the fun be in that? I activate my Quick Play Spell Card Rush Recklessly!"
"Oh shit!" Chelsea winced as Green Baboon's attack shot up to 3300.
"Don't worry it'll be over soon, your suffering on the other hand?" Ael said before grinning sadistically. "It'll begin as soon as the chain wraps around your neck! Green Baboon, attack her life-points directly!" Ael commanded and the baboon raised its club high before slamming it down, Chelsea rose her drawing arm instinctively but that proved to be a big mistake because as soon as the club connected with her arm a sickening crack echoed through the void and Chelsea cried out in pain as her arm fell limp bringing her life-points down to 2100 and causing her to drop her hand. "Well, it seems like I won't have to attack again to defeat you."
"Wattchimera, what's the damage report?" Chelsea asked as she clenched her limp arm in pain and fell to her knees. "It doesn't feel broken!"
"It's not but I can confirm that the attack dislocated your shoulder." Wattchimera answered and Chelsea grunted as she gritted her teeth in pain. "Any other time I'd recommend surrender….."
"And that's what she wants! Besides I'm sure the pain I'm in right now will be nothing compared to the pain I'd suffer if I'm dragged off towards those things!" Chelsea thought before getting an idea, she removed her good arm from her blazer and bit into the sleeve as she moved her hand into position. "This is gonna suck!" Chelsea thought before popping her shoulder back into place with a muffled cry, she took several deep breaths before forcing herself back to her feet and giving her arm a shake to check that she could use it before gathering up her cards and returning her arm to her blazer.
"How the hell are you still standing?" Ael demanded as Chelsea activated her traps.
"I'm still standing because I refuse to lose like that! I activate my trap cards Shock Draw and Damage Condenser!" Chelsea activated her traps and drew four cards before discarding one of them to the graveyard and summoning Wattcobra back to the field. "As long as I have life-points left I will fight to the end! I won't be defeated by you, you cu….." Chelsea was cut off as the chain wrapped around her neck again.
"Finish that sentence and I'll win this match by technicality, the technicality being that my opponent was subjected to a horrible fate at the hands of the beasts of the void!" Ael warned her as the chain unwrapped and retreated back into the void and Chelsea took several deep breaths. "I end my turn." Ael announced and Chelsea drew her card as soon as she was back on her feet.
"If I take one more attack like that and I won't get a chance to pop my shoulder back into place, hell my shoulder would probably be devoured by one of those beasts in a few hours!" Chelsea thought with a gulp before looking at her drawn card. "Perfect!" Chelsea thought before picking up the card. "I summon the tuner monster Wattfox!" Chelsea played the card and the monster appeared on the field. "Next, I set three cards facedown and end my turn." Chelsea announced and Ael said nothing before drawing her card.
"Just to prolong your suffering I activate Upstart Goblin!" Ael played the card and Chelsea sighed in relief as her life-points increased to 3100 whilst Ael drew a card. "I summon Enraged Battle Ox to the field!" Ael added as the angry Minotaur appeared on the field (4/1700/1000). "Alexandrite Dragon, Enraged Battle Ox, kill her monsters!" Ael commanded and the two monsters prepared their attacks…..
"Gotcha, activate Trap Card Mirror Force!" Chelsea activated her trap and Ael's eyes widened as the attacks were reflected back at her three monsters destroying them all one by one. "You may be running my old deck but from where I stand you don't even have a fraction of my skill!" Chelsea added with a grin on her face as Ael glared daggers at her. "I'm turning this duel around whether you like it or not!"
"Just take your turn already!" Ael demanded and Chelsea drew her card. "It doesn't matter what she does, I have more than one way to bring back Green Baboon in this deck and as long as Spirit Barrier is on the field she can't touch me with her Watt Monsters."
"Sorry to disappoint you Ael but your Baboon isn't coming back!" Chelsea said as she played a card. "I activate Gravedigger Ghoul! This may be an old card but I included it to get around cards just like Green Baboon, so I select Green Baboon and Berserk Gorilla and remove them both from play!" Chelsea added and Ael tossed the cards aside. "Huh, normally I just pocket them."
"Do I look like I have pockets?" Ael asked as she motioned to her outfit which was completely devoid of pockets however Chelsea could not bear to stare at her decaying body for more than a few minutes before shaking her head.
"Forget I said that!" Chelsea added with a shudder as she pointed to her monsters. "Guys, I don't like this either but it's this or…." The sounds from the bests rang out again and she shuddered, that was all the monsters needed as motivation as the two monsters charged at Ael before hitting their attacks causing more damage to her and bringing her life-points down to 4200 and once Chelsea resolved Wattcobra's effect she activated another trap. "Now I activate another trap card! My old favorite Urgent Tuning!" Chelsea activated the trap and the two monsters leapt into the air, minutes later Wattchimera appeared on the field ready for battle (6/1400/1200).
"Chelsea, are you hurt?" Wattchimera asked and Chelsea took a couple of deep breaths before shaking her head.
"My arm hurts like hell but I'll survive!" Chelsea responded with a nod as she activated her third and final trap. "And now to take out that pain in the ass trap card of yours, I activate my last trap card! Go Judgment of Thunder! My target is Spirit Barrier!" Chelsea announced as lightning struck the trap card's hologram destroying it. "Get her Wattchimera!" Chelsea commanded and the monster leapt towards her before slashing her with his claw bringing her life-points down to 2800. "And now I have you where I want you!"
"What do you mean?" Ael asked as more skin rotted away and Chelsea's grin.
"Here are the facts, each time Wattchimera successfully pulls off a direct attack his effect activates which moves one card from your hand to the top of your deck!" Chelsea added and Ael's eyes widened as she moved a card. "And that means I have you in a loop!"
"I think the pain's getting to your mostly empty head!" Ael snapped at her and Chelsea's eyes narrowed.
"I've been paying attention to your moves Ael and let me tell you something! Whenever you summoned another monster it was always fresh of your deck, Berserk Gorilla, Green Baboon, Alexandrite Dragon, Enraged Battle Ox, all of them where fresh draws!" Chelsea responded with a grin. "You know what that tells me? The rest of your cards are either high level monsters that lack Green Baboon's effect or they are all cards that you can't use, admit it!"
"I'll never admit that!" Ael snapped at her and Chelsea grinned.
"That's all the confirmation I need!" Chelsea responded as Ael glared at her. "Off course you could surrender!"
"NEVER!" Ael shouted at her and Chelsea's grin grew wider.
"Then take you turn!" Chelsea responded and Ael drew her card but had to pass, the loop continued for two more turns and as more rotting flesh fell off the angrier Ael get until her life-points dropped to zero. "You know what Ael? For all your fucked up imagery and your sadistic streak, underneath all that you're just a mediocre duelist who relied too much on a single card." Chelsea said as she glared at her. "And now that I've beaten you you'll disappear like the rest!"
"I don't think so!" Ael shouted out before snapping her fingers one final time and the chain shot out again, this time it didn't choke Chelsea instead dragging her back towards the darkness. "I never intended to let you live Chelsea!"
"You…..bitch!" Chelsea managed to blurt out as she was dragged towards the darkness, she tried to resist but whoever was pulling her was too strong, she looked behind she saw several sinister looking sets of red eyes in the darkness which she quickly identified as the beasts. "Shit! Shit! I'm not going out like this! I'm not!"
"BEASTS BEGONE!" And with that loud shout a flash of light hit all off the beasts and they screamed in pain before disappearing and the chain stopped pulling Chelsea, seconds later the chain was snapped and Chelsea looked up to see her savior. "Chelsea, I'm sorry I couldn't arrive sooner." Silent Magician said as she helped her up.
"What…..what did you just do!?" Ael yelled out as she stared at the magician.
"I killed the Beasts of the Void and quite frankly it should've been done long ago." Silent Magician said as she glared at Ael before pointing her staff at her. "No creatures that sadistic or bloodthirsty should be allowed to roam this earth or any other planet, and that goes for you as well."
"Wait….." Ael pleaded but it was no use as Silent Magician killed her with a blast from her staff disintegrating her.
"So, what was she exactly?" Chelsea asked once she caught her breath.
"She was an evil spirit that wonders the globe looking for troubled teenagers to target they bring out their worst fears and make them a reality." Silent Magician said as she turned to Chelsea. "Whoever is orchestrating these dream duels must've gotten in contact with one of them and a deal must've been struck."
"Look, as long as I don't experience that ever again I'm not complaining." Chelsea said before glancing towards the void. "And those beasts…."
"They were as terrible as she described, I rarely agree with one of those beings but you don't want to know the extent of their cruelty." Silent Magician explained and Chelsea shuddered. "As for what they did to female victims, obviously there are firsthand accounts as the only ones who have ever seen them are their victims but they do have a particular taste for female victims."
"And that's all I want to know." Chelsea responded with a shudder. "But still, what I saw before the duel? That's was some really fucked up shit!"
"You're referring to the visions." Silent Magician responded and Chelsea nodded. "Let me help." Silent Magician said as she casted a spell and a third massive version of the Sad Story Spell Cards appeared in front of them.
"Sad Story - Unwavering Truth? No thanks, I've had enough of those Spell Cards." Chelsea said as she folded her arms before realizing something. "My arm, it's…."
"Not hurting as much?" Silent Magician asked and Chelsea nodded. "When I saw the extent of your injuries I casted a healing spell on you, give it until tomorrow the pain should pass."
"Even my dislocated shoulder?" Chelsea asked and Silent Magician nodded. "So why haven't you used this on Chloe's scars?" Chelsea asked and Silent Magician sighed.
"I'd love too, I really would, but unfortunately the spell is most effective on recent injuries like yours rather than old injuries like hers." Silent Magician responded and Chelsea sighed to herself. "I'm afraid that it would have little to no effect on her."
"Can't blame me for asking I guess, so what about the vision?" Chelsea asked and Silent Magician nodded.
"Give it a few seconds." Silent Magician answered as the scene cut to one that she quickly recognized as it was the moment when she came out of the closet for the first time to her parents. "I'm aware that Ael as you know her used a twisted version of this memory against you."
"Yeah, she…..it did….." Chelsea trailed off before turning to Silent Magician. "Do those things even have genders?"
"Technically they don't but they often adopt the appearance of their target when attacking." Silent Magician added and Chelsea looked at her curiously. "Not many people have seen their true forms, not even myself." Silent Magician added as the scene played out up until Chelsea came out of the closet, the original point of deviation.
"Are you certain that this is what you want Chelsea?" Her mom asked and the younger Chelsea nodded without hesitation. "Are you sure that you not only to date someone so soon after breaking up with Drake but to date another girl?"
"I'm certain mom." Chelsea nodded as she started holding Kaylee's hand. "I didn't rush into anything with Kaylee as I've known her for a while now we only made it official last week."
"I'm a bit uneasy with it if I can be honest." Her dad answered and Chelsea and Kaylee exchanged uneasy looks. "But if it makes you happy then I won't stop you, just be sure to adopt a child once you and your partner are old enough, we still want grandkids from both you and Jamie!"
"You got it dad." Chelsea said happily and Kaylee nodded in agreement before the vision disappeared just as the two women kissed.
"Oh man, I needed that." Chelsea sighed in relief as she turned to Silent Magician. "Thanks for that, I don't even want to think about what would've happened if you hadn't arrived when you did."
"Chelsea, Chloe may be my protégé but I'm also the most powerful Spellcaster of the group, trust me, the pleasure is all mine." Silent Magician assured her and Chelsea grinned at that. "You should be waking up soon but you will need to tell the others as soon as possible, this kind of attack can't go ignored."
"I definitely agree there." Chelsea said with a nod as she started walking towards the spot she had started from. "I just hope that this won't happen again!" Chelsea added and Silent Magician nodded before a bright flash enveloped the scenery.
*in the real world*
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Chelsea yelled out as she shot up in bed, she looked around the room and confirmed that she was back in her dorm room safe and sound, well besides the fact that she was aching all over. "Oh man, oh man, that was fucked up….." Chelsea added with a shudder.
"Chelsea, what the hell," Chloe's clearly tired voice rang out and Chelsea leaned over seeing her roommate sitting up in her bed. "Do you have any idea what time it is!?"
"No but I'm guessing it's late." Chelsea responded with a shudder and Chloe quickly caught on.
"You were attacked in a dream?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded, she was clearly shaking and this worried Chloe. "This wasn't the kind of attack that I and Andreas suffered through, was it?"
"Trust me, it wasn't." Chelsea responded as she took a deep breath. "I need to tell the others, you included, but I don't want to give you nightmares either."
"Tell me in the morning then, in fact it might be best if we talk about it when we meet up with the others for the Tag Duels in Tyler's dorm room." Chloe responded as she leaned back on her bed. "I know it's hard, but try to get some sleep."
"Yeah, I'll try." Chelsea responded with a nod before leaning back in her bed.