Princess Rose - New Harbor
Trumpets sounded off in the morning, announcing the coming of Prince Hector and his men. The lords and ladies who usually flocked to the great hall to dine in the hall parted to let Hector through to his throne. They bowed and said: "My Lord," as he passed by.
He was surrounded by six tall and strong knights, whom he chose to serve in his own round table to mock the one in Rassay. The one who chose as his champion was the fifty-year-old veteran, Ser Baxter the Iron Wolf.
His eyes were icy gray and there was a large scar going down the left side of his face from his temple to the chin. They called him the Silver Lion for the emblem of a silvery lion Duel Monster called Leogun. He was a wandering knight and found his new home under Hector's command.
A tournament was held in the town's amphitheater in honor of Hector's rule over the entire coastal region of Tor Point, which fell to his forces in a short matter of weeks.
Men traveled to joust against one another to see who would serve as Hector's sentinel in the castle. Before the games, Hector announced that the men would be fighting to the death. Any who dared back out were ordered to be executed. Some were forced to fight a team of lizard beast-warriors called Garoozis and Rude Kaiser for the amusement of the crowd, while others were thrown into the sea where they were eaten by shark monsters called Great Whites.
Ser Baxter fought viciously with his tremendous greatsword; he cut the opposition in two with great ease, gaining Hector's favor quickly.
Ser Baxter proved to be a wise sentinel for Hector since he took over New Harbor months ago, for he was a seasoned veteran who battled Orcs and mountain wild men since he was sixteen. He became the commander of the army of a petty kingdom called Grenton when he turned twenty-one, and since then has traveled Termnnia, offering his services to anyone who needed him, granted they had the star chips.
He trained those willing to join Hector's army and even ended a revolution seeking to usurp Hector from The Rock during the early weeks of spring. The would-be revolutionaries were hanging from one of the castle's bridges for all to see. The officers were to suffer worse fates. One of them was the former lord of Castle North Star, Lord Walter Calhart.
It was he who rallied three Houses to stand up against Hector. So motivated was he by the heroics of the young heroes in Master Yugi's alliance that he too began his own movement to take back the castle. After months of planning and gathering and making deals with other lords, he finally had an army to retake his lands and, most importantly, his daughter, Rose.
The battle was a disaster.
Now their rotten corpses were being picked by crows and sharks eagerly swam in circles underneath the choppy surface of the sea. As for Lord Calhart, Hector hung him upside down in the town's square, naked, alongside the commander of his rebel force. They were both sentenced to death. Calhart was to be killed first.
Hector, in a terrible act of cruelty, forced Princess Rose, to watch as her beloved father was sawed in half by two men. She just stood there unable to scream. Unable to cry. Her face turning as pale as the mists in the sea.
It took her many weeks to recover from that gruesome sight.
She said her first words just this morning, but she still found it hard to walk or breathe. The sounds of her father's screams of anguish haunted her every night and she cried and cried until her head hurt and she sobbed so much she began to vomit. She no longer found sleep at night. She did not even want to eat, she just stayed alone in the tower living the same routine day after day. Sleep and weep, sleep and weep. Each time she slept, it was heavy and dreamless. Piles of plates with food had piled outside her door until it spoiled and the servants took it away.
The maids tried to talk to Rose, but she sat in the corner sniffling and didn't answer. Hector's patience waned and he sent a physician to exam her. He came with a basket of potions and instruments inside a leather briefcase. One of Hector's knights stripped her when she refused to undress and held her down as the physician touched her and examined her thoroughly. He was not a kind or gentle person. His hands were rough and uncovered so he could feel her silky skin. Hector threatened to send him back up if she didn't show up to court the next day.
The following morning, she dressed and bathed herself and went to the great hall to sit by him in the salts where her Lord-Father once sat proudly.
Hector gave a heavy sigh and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. For a moment there was silence, save for the seagulls in the sky and the waves crashing against the walls of the castle's foundation. Beams of sunlight shot through the narrow windows over the dining hall, now decorated with the banners of Hector's new Family.
Rose stared at her murky reflection in her chicken soup. Francine bit into a buttered scone and watched her. She saw the big tear dripping down her nose and plopping into the soup, making the broth ripple. Francine sniffed the air. Something foul lingered around the table. In no time at all, she discovered that the smell was coming from Rose. She was dressed in the same fine blue, velvet dress she had on the day her father was evicted from the castle and declared Hector's 'property'.
Rose's head was down the whole time she sat next to Hector. She did not want to look at him. She remembered him rolling around his throne in the town square, laughing at her father's execution as though he were watching a comedy. And Francine drinking wine as red as the blood pouring out of her father's mutilated corpse.
Francine was eyeing Rose with a cold and seductive smile from across the table. She wore a tight black corset damasked in red. A black fur-trimmed hood clamped to the straps with blackened steel brooches with glowing red gems. Her hair was curled, a red rose tucked on the right. A circlet on her forehead in the likeness of a flock of ravens with red eyes. Her silk skirt was as black as the shadows and her high-heeled boots were adorned with engraved blackened steel plates. The Millennium Necklace shimmered when the light touched its golden surface.
Rose would not dare look up at her either, for Francine, also called the Shadow Lady by the people, had eyes that were like an endless abyss. Once she was caught in their gaze, there was no getting out.
"To hell with that damn Alliance!" said Hector. "They've stopped Forrest and now Prince Stas and Prince Jon guard the borders to Upper Emboldor. We're never going to make any progress before summer. If my cousin gets sent to Aurelia he will gain some impressive combat skills."
"What makes you say that My Lord?" asked Ser Baxter.
"Yuri is to be trained by the Imperial Aurelian Legion," Francine said, her lustful eyes still glued to Rose. "They are the only army in the known world to have never lost in battle. They would have conquered Termnnia long ago if we did not have the Divine Beasts in our arsenal."
"His training will be all for naught," said Hector. "Once I find my Ancient Beasts, I will duel Yuri and take away the Divine Beasts from him. And then I will be the Lord of Termnnia."
"Indeed you will, my king," said Francine. "My necklace has given me many glimpses of your glory. And last night, I saw Yuri being engulfed by the shadows. His time in this world seems to be drawing to a close."
Rose gave a heave, almost dropping her spoon into the broth. Could the Goddesses be so cruel to her?
The floor seemed to tremble as Hector's second-best knight approached.
That horrid face was all she could think of while she sat beside the boy.
The ghastly ridden face of Hector's newest knight who was named Ser Mero the Monster of Erikshire. He was a giant of a man with broad shoulders, a left arm that was smaller than his right and he walked with a heavy waddle as his leg bones were ruined since birth. He had dark gray hair that covered his sickly, yet sad-looking face. He had a messy beard and mustache unkempt and wild, and bushy gray-black eyebrows that almost covered his eyes for his brow seemed to be lowered in a look of disdain.
But that was not the face she feared, for in his neck a second face was growing. Its eyes were closed, its nose nothing but a lump, and its mouth arched in a sickly grin as if the dead twin on Ser Mero's neck was pleased to see her.
Rose felt as though the face would talk to her at any moment. Ser Mero was dressed handsomely in steel plate armor with big pauldrons and a red surcoat of crimson trimmed with black and bearing the three fire-breathing behemoths of Hector's newly formed House. His armor was dented and scratched from all the battles he fought in. He wielded a giant flamberg the size of a man called Backbreaker and his secondary weapon was a spiked ball and chain with a handle of polished ash that was hanging on his sword belt made of leather.
Next to him was a grizzled man in the lavender armor of the Templars. Guy de la Tierra Sainte a man they called the Duelist Hunter. He wore cards around his neck, most of them stained with the blood of their former owners. He rode to New Harbor all the way from Naralia. He still looked fatigued from his trip, but he kept his hunger and his thirst quenched with a bag of wine and chips which he crunched loudly. Some flakes stuck to his orange-white beard.
His companion, not from Hector's order of knights, was a man named Godfrey, a man who claimed he once tamed the Summoner of Dragons and made her his wife. He was here to get her back, but that seemed an impossible task, for she was a thorn in Hector's side. His forces were at a standstill ever since the Spring of Heroes, the time when Yugi Muto's Alliance began to rise and expel Naralian forces back to the homeland and limiting the power the Church of Yeyu had in the governments across the continent.
How she wished she could be with them. Witnessing all that greatness. Prince Jon and his divine axe of lighting. Prince Stas and his jeweled armor and his pegasus steed, Naraxas. Lady Jasmine summoning Levia-Dragon Daedalus and Alexis patrolling the streets of Domino with Zane the Cyber Knight.
Three soldiers from the New Harbor Guard entered the throne room with a message.
"My Lord!" the leader shouted happily. "I just received word that we have taken the Iron Lands and House Noble has surrendered all the mines to you. Almost all of Lower Emboldor is under your control."
Francine slapped Hector lightly in the arm, congratulating him for the accomplishments he was making. He now had a force of 800,000 strong, which was almost half of Emboldor fighting at his side. And the iron mines from House Noble would surely increase his coffers tenfold. But he was still not pleased.
"Any news of my monsters?" Hector asked impatiently.
The leader's smile faded. There was still no news.
"Bah!" scoffed Hector. "I should have them by now! And you!"
He shouted at a young boy, only sixteen years old sitting with his little brother at the table enjoying a feast of bacon and eggs. It was Ser Jack of Pennyhill, the boy who stared angrily at Avi in Devlinshire.
"You assured me your brother could take care of that bitch with the dragons!"
"We did what we could My Lord," said Jack, not afraid of Hector's tantrum. "But she had help from her friends and was able to call her dragons to stop my brother's Fiend Kraken, Posidion , before it could finish her."
Francine rolled her eyes.
"Now what did I do?" snapped Hector.
"Now you're sending people to kill the Summoner of Dragons?" she scoffed. "My Lord do you want to be king or do you want to die? Making all these hasty moves will only get you killed."
"But your visions!" said Hector, furiously standing up from his throne. "You said you saw me sitting on the Diamond Throne."
"And now that vision grows fainter and fainter with each depraved choice you make, child. If these shadows continue to distort my visions, then they will fade for good."
Hector sat back down on his chair.
"This is taking too long!" he shouted. He flailed his arms and legs in the air and screamed. "I WANT MY MONSTERS NOW!" he roared. His high-pitched voice whipped across the halls. "I WANT THE DIAMOND THRONE NOW! I WANT THE GOD CARDS NOW! I WANT TO BE HIGH KING NOW!"
Ser Mero grumbled and slowly shook his head from side to side. The guards and soldiers looked at the young boy in shock and embarrassment.
"I rode from Naralia to deal with this?" Guy muttered to himself. "I should be in the House of Flowers by now suckling the tits of a whore."
"I should be on the field of battle," Ser Mero replied while Hector shouted and screamed in his throne. "They promised me I would fight, not babysit a brat."
"STOP THIS!" Francine shouted, slapping Hector hard on the forearm. Hector stopped at once. "By the Goddesses above, my Millennium Necklace must have given me the visions of another. I saw a conqueror and a king, not a spoiled little boy!"
"You cannot strike me!" he shouted. "I am going to be the High King! I could have you punished! I could…"
Francine slapped him hard in the face, almost knocking off his crown from his curly black-haired head. Hector fell back on his throne and rubbed his cheek. His lips trembled. Rose had never felt such joy in her life since the day Hector ordered her father sawn in half. She felt a rush of satisfaction seeing little tears run down the puny tyrant's horse-shaped face.
"You listen well, child!" Francine snarled standing over him. "You will get what's coming to you. The Millennium Necklace never lies. You should be thankful you even have a future in the eyes of the Necklace. I know this is taking longer than it should, but for every foolish move you make, you fog the vision. The future can be changed little Hector. And yours definitely will if you continue making enemies like this."
Hector remained quiet for the remainder of the afternoon. He felt embarrassed for the way he acted and for the strike Francine gave him before his subjects. As he sat there on his throne he conjured up ways to punish her.
Hector's face began to glow bright red. But he sighed, exhaling out his frustrations.
"Patience. I must have patience."
Francine's eyes widened, her mouth open in glee as she gave a nod. "Good."
"I have an army large enough to take on House Dragonheart now. And I will soon put Yugi's' head on a pike right next to Yuri and his princely friends after I have found my beasts and claimed my throne. And speaking of Dragonhearts."
"Oh, do let me guess," said Francine. "You wish to claim Princess Alexandra?"
"Of course, I do. Alexandra is the most beautiful maiden in Serania. I'm going to have my fun tormenting her as I see fit. She'll look good as a chambermaid next to that girl with the dragons don't you think."
"Girl with the dragons?" said Ser Baxter.
"Wait! You wish to capture, Lady Avellana?" asked Ser Jack. "I thought you wanted my brother to be your Summoner."
"I don't want Avellana for her dragons," said Hector. "My Templar friend here will see she never Summons again."
"Ah," said Ser Jack. "You wish for them to perform the Cleansing?"
"That I do," said Guy. "She will no longer be a threat to us once I am finished with her."
"That is, only if she refuses to side with the rightful king," said Francine. "She and her dragons could prove very formidable weapons for us."
"Indeed," sneered Hector. "But, dragons or no dragons, I hear Avellana is quite the looker. She and Alexandra will make fine additions to my collection of Termnnian beauty." He looked at Rose. "You won't be alone long, love. After my conquest, you'll have some lovely playmates to keep you company."
"It sounds wonderful Your Grace," Rose whispered sadly.
"I'll even let you have some of the fun, Monster ," Hector said to his new knight.
"You honor me, My Lord," Ser Mero replied taciturnly with a weedy and cracked voice. He didn't care for women. He desired to fight.
"Do we have any info on my monsters?" Hector asked.
"Yes, My Lord," said the silver lion. "When our forces captured the town of Glenmark, there was an academy for magic there, and it had a library filled with maps and ancient documents from an era unknown. My men forced the scholars to look at them. They discovered a ruin in the Starka Cliffs which are just a day's ride north from here. They had a sketching of an old tablet and it contained this."
The hedge-knight gave Hector a roll of parchment from one of the many bandoliers on his belt.
Hector snatched it from his grip and unrolled it.
"LOOK!" he cried.
Francine got up to see what had caused Hector to cry out so excitedly. "My prince!" she declared. "There are three behemoths on the left half of the image. And look to the right. It's them! Slifer!"
"And Obelisk and Ra!" gasped Hector, his eyes beholding the poorly carved ancient images of the Divine Beasts. "They are fighting the monsters on the other side of the tablet.
"And those human-like silhouettes at the bottom are the Celtra," smiled Ser Baxter. "They are begging the beasts to stop their quarrel, for they are destroying the world. There was a tale of a great conflict known as The War of the Giants, in which the Divine Beasts fought against an ancient enemy for control of Termnnia. The Ancient Beasts wanted to rule Termnnia, while the Divine Beasts wanted to keep Termnnia for Men. The battle was so fierce it caused Termnnia to break into the continents we know today. Eventually, it took the Divine Beasts to make a pact with Exodia to fight those monsters off. The scholars came to a stunning discovery. This tablet is a map, which leads to a hidden ruin said to hold markers detailing the locations where the monsters sleep. And that ruin is in the Starka Cliffs."
"We must ride there at once!" said Hector. "My beasts are so close I can already feel their power!"
"Patience, my prince, patience," said Francine. "We have much to do today before we find them."
"The festival can wait!" declared Hector. "I have to find them now!"
Rose whimpered. Hector was so close to achieving his goal. Would the Goddesses be so cruel as to allow this little monster to fulfill his dark desires?
"Do we upset you, dear girl?" Francine asked.
Rose gave a timid gasp and continued to eat her soup.
"I am to understand you have a Duel Monsters deck," Francine said to her again. "You run frogs, am I correct?"
"Y-yes, yes," Rose answered.
"Frogs?" Hector asked. "What for?"
"My father..." Rose's shoulders trembled as she remembered him. She missed him terribly. "My father read me a story from the other world called The Frog Prince ."
"What a charming little tale," Francine interrupted blissfully. "I remember reading that when I was a child. Do you like it?"
"Oh, it's my favorite," said Rose. For once the Shadow Lady's smile gave her comfort. "Whenever father would take me to Rassay, I would walk to every card shop to search for frog monsters. I used to think that each one was a handsome prince."
"May, I have a look?" Francine asked, holding out her hand.
Rose took her deck out of a compartment in her right sleeve and handed it to Francine. They were shielded by card sleeves with extravagant floral designs.
Francine flipped through the deck spotting creatures such as Frog the Jam, Treeborn Frog, and Des Frog."
"Your Des Frogs have names on them?" Francine said spotting the names in gold ink written above the sleeve. "Jeffery...Roosevelt...and Percival?"
"I'd rather not say why," Rose said bashfully. She hunched her shoulders and her face turned pink.
"Do let me guess," Francine said with a grin. "You would think they were your princes."
"Yes," the Eldori princess answered shyly.
Francine gave a beautifully warm laugh. Rose couldn't help but laugh in return.
Hector rolled his eyes and called for his desert.
"How wonderful. I must say, you have a vivid imagination, young lady."
"Thank you," said Rose.
"And it stops now!" Francine gave the deck to Ser Baxter.
"What are you doing?" Rose cried. "My cards!"
"You are far too old for these childish fairy tales," said Francine. "Until you mature and be a big girl, I will hold on to your cards. Ser Baxter!"
"Yes, My Lady!" the sentinel said taking the deck to an iron box on top of a drawer near the table. "They will be safe in here." He locked the box with a key.
"No!" Rose protested. She quickly stood up only to be sat back down forcefully by one of Hector's soldiers.
"You will get them back—" said Francine. She had one of Rose's cards in her fingers — one of her Treeborn Frogs. Her face was still twisted in that horrible smile. "—when you show me you've become a woman. Have an outburst like that again—"
Francine poked the frog card with her fork. She then held it over a candle. "—and they will end up like this one."
She burned the card before Rose's eyes.
"And, from henceforth, you are to refer to Prince Hector as Your Grace. And you shall refer to me as My Lady. Am I understood?" she asked again.
"Y-yes," Rose sobbed.
"YES!"
"Yes...My Lady. I'm sorry, My Lady"
"Good. Now away and take a bath. You've worn that dress since we expelled your father, and you reek of the sea. Hop to it. Or I'll burn another card."
"Yes, My Lady," said Rose.
"I expect to see you down in ten minutes," Francine commanded. "And I want your properly dressed for the festival commemorating His Grace's rule of Tor Point."
"Yes, My Lady. I shall be quick." Rose ran down the hall sobbing. Her cries echoed across the halls growing feint as she disappeared down a corridor.
Aquarius - Earth
Summer break had finally begun. And with that, it marked the end of Yuri's time through grade school.
"Say cheese!" Mrs. Montgomery said holding up her phone to take a picture of Yuri, Patty, Natalya, Nick, Tyson, and Carter in their caps and gowns.
"Cheese!" they all called out.
There was a bright flash from the phone.
"Ahh-ahh!" croaked Nick, blinking to get rid of the light floating over his gaze.
"Good job you guys, well done!" Mr. Montgomery said approaching the group. "I've seen you youngsters since you were young kids and now that you're here on this day, it just brings a tear to my eye."
"Aw group hug!" Tyson said coming up from behind his friends and embracing them in a gigantic bear hug.
"Accck!" groaned Yuri.
"No!" cried Natalya.
"Tyson!" croaked Nick.
"Ooo! Oooo!" Nikki howled in agony.
"Ow, my boobs!" cried Patty.
Mr. Montgomery took them to the park after their ceremony for a barbecue to celebrate their graduation. But as the group laughed and joked and even shed tears, Yuri was looking up at a tree. His food growing cold on his red plastic plate.
"Yuri?" Crystal said.
Yuri turned and saw Ren and Crystal behind him also donning their cap and gowns. Theirs were colored in deep crimson, the colors of the academy they went to.
"You okay, buddy?" Ren asked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Yuri looked back up the tree. I saw somebody up there once. Was it just a dream?
After the party in the park was done, Yuri invited his friends to hang out at his house. It was elven o'clock and still the friends were playing the Dragon Ball Z video game.
"They're never going to stop, are they?" Patty asked.
"Nope," Crystal answered. "Honestly, this was not how I was expecting to celebrate the night of my graduation."
"Wanna escape and go to the clubs or something?" Patty asked.
Crystal looked up from her phone and grinned. "I like the way you think, girl. We can head to my place and dress up. Let's escape now while we have the chance."
And they snuck out, leaving their friends behind in the basement. Patty and Crystal first stopped to get a bite to eat at Burger World, then proceeded into town to go club-hopping.
By four in the morning, they were tired out and decided to head home, Crystal suggesting that they stay at her new apartment. They had to walk past the mega-arcade downtown to get there. They were suddenly stopped by two friendly-looking duelists who were standing outside.
"Hey, you're Crystal Anderson right?" one of them asked. He was a tan-skinned youth wearing an open vest and green and brown camo pants. A chain went around his neck and he was wearing a standard-issue Duel Disk.
"I am," said Crystal.
"And are you the girl with the Fiend monsters?" asked the other duelist, an African American in a black hooded sweater and baggy jeans.
"Patty McKnight, that's me."
"Sweet!" the guy in the camo pants said, balling his fist. "I'm Cid, and this here's my boy, T.J. Do you have some time? Why don't we have ourselves a tag team duel?"
"Tag team?" Patty asked.
"So do you think you're up to it?" asked Cid.
"Are you?" Patty asked.
Crystal cracked her knuckles. "I still have some energy in my, babe. Come on, let's have a quick duel."
Cid and TJ high-fived and cheered. "All right, there's an arena inside the arcade. Come on."
Patty and Crystal followed Cid and T.J into the noisy arcade. There were some rowdy-looking youths in there, shouting and cheering and having an all-around good time. Gunshots filled the air along with the sound of beeps and jingles and alarms wailing announcing new points being earned or records being broken. The two guys then led them to an oversized dueling arena sprayed with graffiti and lit by black lights making everything shine in bright neon colors.
"Just a second, ladies," said T.J. "We're going to go around and start to get everyone making bets."
"Bets?" Patty asked. She held herself close to Crystal, her pink highlights glowing in the black light over the arena. Her bright blue contacts were illuminated as well.
"You look, like Yuri," joked Crystal.
T.J and Cid came back.
"Okay, the match is set," said Cid. "You ready to play, girls?"
"Yeah, we're set," said Crystal.
"Great, I'll go get the ring set up."
Cid dashed away.
"He looks really excited," said Crystal.
"I don't like the looks of this place," said Patty. "These guys look way too rowdy."
"Don't be scared, babe. This is the central island. And there are kids in here, too. How bad can this place be?"
Having said that a little kid, probably twelve, sitting on a stool in front of his arcade booth was lifting Patty's skirt with a wooden stick to get a peek.
"Yeah, you're right," said Patty. "I guess I'm being paranoid."
"Hey girls, come on!" called T.J. "It's time to duel!"
"Let's go!" said Crystal.
Patty followed, leaving the kid grinning and victorious.
"How are we supposed to Duel with this?" Patty asked.
There was only one platform on each side of the arena.
"There isn't enough space for my cards and Crystal's cards."
But then a girl with wild pink hair smashed a button on the wall and suddenly a second platform rose out of the cement, graffiti-covered wall. A second platform also rose out on the other side of the field. T.J happily jumped in.
The Life Point counter above turned on and displayed their 2000 Life Points.
"All right, girls, since we're gentlemen here, we're going to let you go first. Starting with Crystal. Then it's going to go to me. After my turn ends, it's your move, Patty. And then lastly it will go to T.J. Got it?"
"Oh, I see, it's cause I'm black isn't it?" T.J joked to which they all gave hearty chuckles.
"Yeah, simple enough," Patty said drawing the five cards for her hand.
"All right!" said Cid. "Let's duel!"
"This is going to be awesome, girls!" T.J said with excitement. "We never had pro-league duelists here. And who'd-a-thunk our opponents would be the Grim Reaper and the Queen of Dragons herself?"
"I'd like to say, this is a real honor, ladies!" said Cid.
"You guys are sweet," said Crystal. "And to start things off, I summon Alexandrite Dragon to the field!"
Crystal summoned a dragon whose gray rock-hard scales were covered in jewels. It had purple membranous wings and a white underbelly. But because of the blacklight, it came out in a crazy pastel of bright colors.
There was an oculus over the arena where spectators looked down to watch the duel from the floor above. The summoning of the dragon caused a frenzy. Players stopped playing their games and crowded around the arena to watch the match. Obviously, Crystal was the one who was garnering the most attention.
"The Queen of Dragons!"
"Aw, man, Cid and T.J are so lucky!"
"She doesn't look so tough," said a jealous girl with a pink Mohawk and piercings all over her face.
"I will end my turn," said Crystal.
"Now it's my move!" called Cid. "He drew his card. "I summon the Flame Manipulator in attack mode!"
"Untz!" shouted the fiery spellcaster when he came out of a spiral of flame. He was a monster that had dark skin, fizzled black hair and he wore a purple shirt with torn sleeves and blue baggy pants.
But Cid's Flame Manipulator had an alternate card art. This one was wearing a black combat vest, black cargo pants bloused into boots. And his arms were covered in tattoos and he sported fingerless leather gloves. He opened his hands. Blue flames erupted out of them.
Flame Manipulator
ATK/900 DEF/1000
"The Flame Manipulator?" Patty asked. "Why play him? You better be careful, Crystal. I think those guys are up to something over there."
"What makes you say that?" said Cid. "I place a card face down and end my turn. Patty! You're up, baby girl!"
"Right," Patty said sarcastically. "I summon Terra the Terrible in attack mode!"
"Heh, heh, heh!" laughed the fat green fiend wearing a maroon kilt and thick vambraces.
Terra the Terrible
ATK/1200 DEF/1300
"And now I boost him with Malevolent Nuzzler, which will increase his attack to nineteen-hundred! That's it."
"And now it goes to me!" T.J called out. "Boom! I'm summoning the Millennium Golem in defense mode!"
He summoned a beast made of ancient cinder blocks with a golden wdjat eye on its squared head.
Millennium Golem
ATK/2000 DEF/2200
"But that's not all! I'm going to use the field spell, Chorus of Sanctuary! This will boost the defense points of our monsters by five hundred points, thereby raising my golem's defense to twenty-seven hundred! And now I equip him with Ring of Magnetism."
An arcane circle of vermilion color formed around the golem.
"What does that do?" asked Patty.
"Oh, you ladies are going to find out soon enough."
"Well, looks like it's going to be hard getting to him," said Crystal. "My move! It doesn't look like we'll be getting past the golem, so I'm going to have to hit you hard by attacking that Flame Manipulator. Okay, Alexandrite Dragon, attack his Flame Manipulator!"
"I don't think so!" said T.J. "Ring of Magnetism, activate!'
Alexandrite Dragon was forced to attack the Millennium Golem instead.
"What gives?" said Crystal. Her Life Points dropped to 1300.
"The Ring of Magnetism forces your monsters to only attack the monster equipped with it," said Cid. "And since T.J's golem's defense is stronger than your attack, you lose seven hundred Life Points."
"Damn it," said Crystal. "So long as that golem is on the field that's the only monster we can attack."
"And now to bring the pain to Patty. I use the spell-card Fissure. This will destroy the monster with the lowest attack on your field. And since Terra the Terrible is the only one, say goodbye."
Terra the Terrible fell into a crevice.
"Oh, great," said Patty, looking down into the darkness of the crevice.
"And now it's my go!" said Cid. "I activate the Spell Card, Hidden Passage! Once per turn, this card allows me to make a direct attack on you, so long as my monster's attack is lower than the attack of your monster! Go, Flame Manipulator!"
The monster jumped up high over the field.
"Attack Patty's Life Points directly!"
The Flame Manipulator shot jets of blue flames at Patty. The illusion was so real, Patty even raised her arm over her head to cover her face from the flames. Her Life Points went down to 1100.
"Your turn, Patty!"
"I know," said Patty. "I choose to end my turn without playing anything."
"Okay, ladies," said T.J. "It's my go. I play one card face down and end my turn."
"My turn!" said Crystal. "I summon, Tyrant Dragon!"
The crowd oohed and ahhed when Crystal's newest monster appeared onto the field. It towered over the arena and had brown glimmering scales and membranous wings that were dark blue in color. It had a gray underbelly and a head crowned in white ivory horns and a glowing green gem embedded on its forehead.
Tyrant Dragon
ATK/2900 DEF/2500
"Wow, far out, Crystal!" Patty said in amazement.
"And he's more than a match for their Millennium Golem!" said Crystal. "Tyrant Dragon, attack his golem with your tyrannous flames!"
Tyrant Dragon reared its head, took a deep breath, and released a jet of flames at the golem, lighting the arena in a bath of orange light. Molten puss oozed out of its mouth.
"I don't think so!" said T.J. "Activate trap card, Castle Walls! This trap will strengthen the defense of one monster by five hundred points for the end of the turn, raising my golem's stats to thirty-two hundred!"
"Arrg!" Crystal growled. Her Life Points down to 1000. "I place two cards face down, and end my turn."
"So now it looks like it's my turn!" sneered Cid. "Here I thought you girls were going to be a challenge, but you're really disappointing me here. Now, I think I will trash more of Crystal's Life Points with my Flame Manipulator. Attack her Life Points directly!"
The Flame Manipulator jumped over Crystal's platform and blasted her with his blue flames.
Crystal yelled in shock. She was now down to 100 Life Points.
"And to cease any surprises from any more of your dragons, Crystal. I will use the Spell Card Yellow Luster Shield which will increase the defense of our monsters by three hundred points, raising our Millennium Golem's defense to three thousand!"
"Thanks, bro!" T.J said, giving his partner a thumbs up.
Crystal placed her thumb to her lips and nibbled on her nail. I've got to admit, that's a well-thought-out tag-team strategy . Using that golem as a magnetic wall so we don't strike at their Flame Manipulator who nibbles our Life Points away. If Patty and I don't come up with a strategy to get around that thing, we're finished.
"It's your move, Patty!" shouted Cid.
"You don't have to keep reminding me!" Patty retorted. "Okay, let's see here," she drew her card. "Perfect! I drew the Spell Card Mystical Space Typhoon!"
"Oh-no!" cried T.J.
"That's right!" said Patty. "Say bye-bye to your Ring of Magnetism!"
"Oh, I freaking love you, Patty!" Crystal swooned. "If we weren't four feet apart from each other I'd kiss you!"
"Save it for later, hon, because I'm not done yet!" said Patty. "I activate the Spell Card, Exchange, now I get to exchange a card from my hand with someone else. And I choose you, Crystal."
Crystal smiled and laid down her hand on the scanner above the field to show her hand to Patty.
"Yes, I thought I could make him out sitting in your hand. Mind if I swap you this card for your Cave Dragon?"
"Good eye, Patty. Go crazy."
"Here we go. I use Polymerization to fuse your Cave Dragon and my Lesser Fiend together."
The two monsters appeared to the field, hovering above their masters.
"Cid, this doesn't look good man!" cried T.J.
"FUSE TOGETHER!" Patty and Crystal shouted.
"Now our monsters have combined to become Fiend Skull Dragon!"
Patty summoned a vile-looking dragon with four arms. It had massive purple wings spiked near the bottom. Two goat-like horns protruded from its head. It was dark green on top and tan brown on the underbelly. It gave a furious growl and spread its wings.
Fiend Skull Dragon
ATK/2000 DEF/1200
"Ha! Sorry, Patty," sneered Cid. "But I've got this trap card. Bottomless Trap Hole to be precise."
"Don't even think about it," chuckled Patty. "Because if my dragon is targeted by one of your traps he can negate the effect and destroy it."
"Oh shit!" Cid cried out. "My Flame Manipulator!"
"Now, Fiend Skull Dragon, attack his Flame Manipulator!"
Fiend Skull Dragon heaved a jet of neon green flames at the Flame Manipulator, taking him out of the duel at last and taking a chunk out of Cid's Life Points.
Cid-900
"Cid!" T.J called out in concern. "I'll make them pay. HA! Look what I drew. I've got the rare and powerful, Raigeki! Now this will destroy all your monsters!"
"Good draw, T.J!" said Cid.
"Not good enough," said Crystal. "Because I activate my trap card, Magic Jammer. By discarding one card in my hand, I get to cancel out your trap's effect. So Raigeki is gone and our dragons are safe. Oh, and here's a little something extra. Because I negated your effect with a counter trap card, this little cutie comes into play. I get to Special Summon, Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord!"
Crystal summoned a humanoid dragon that towered above the field. He was dark violet mixed with hues of dark purple on the wings and arms. He had red glowing patterns all over his body and blue gemstones on his arms. He snapped his sharp teeth at the two duelists below. His glowing red eyes alight like a furnace from hell. Two horns encircled a blue gem on his forehead.
Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord
ATK/2800 DEF/2500
"Oh shit!" cried Cid. "Now look what you've done, T.J! You let her summon another one!"
"What I've done? I second ago you were cheering me on for my Raigeki spell. And I don't see you playing anything to counter his summoning."
"Now if you boys are done arguing with each other, my baby, Van'Dalgyon, is ready to serve you guys a treat. He has a number of nasty little side effects depending on the type of card I countered. Since I countered a Spell Card, Van'Dalgyon will inflict fifteen hundred points of damage to one of you."
"Augh!" Cid and T.J cried out.
"And I choose you, Cid!"
"NO!"
Van'Dalgyon flew into the air, flapping his massive purple wings. He held open his hands and two purple fireballs ignited over the palms of his hands. He threw the fireballs at Cid, blasting away at his Life Points, reducing them to 0.
"CID!" cried T.J.
"Think you can stand up to our wall of mighty dragons?" Crystal asked.
T.J scanned the field from left to right. Alexandrite Dragon, Tyrant Dragon, Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord and Fiend Skull Dragon stared at him, snarling and growling. T.J grinned and shook his head. He placed his hand over his deck.
"I've got nothing," he said in defeat. "Without Cid, I have no hope in taking out your dragons. You win, girls. I'm out."
The duelists collected their cards and the secondary platforms slid back into the walls.
"That was an awesome match, girls," said Cid. "Damn, Crystal, now I know why they call you the Queen of Dragons."
"And let's not forget Patty," said T.J. "She didn't make it to the semi-finals of the Millennium Tournament for nothing."
"Will you two come back?" Cid asked. "I hope we can do this again, sometime."
"You can count on it, fellas," said Crystal. She shook Cid's hand. "Good game."
Thunder bellow outside.
Crystal shrieked and clung onto Patty's arm.
"What's wrong?" asked T.J. "It was only a little thunder."
"It's a long story," said Patty. "We've got a long way to go before we get home. But thanks for inviting us here, guys. It's been real."
"You too, Patty," said T.J, fist-bumping her. "Come back any time."
Crystal and Patty waited for a while before the limo came to pick them up to take them home and call it a day.
Crystal walked down a pathway with a black and white tiled floor. Dark wooden pews were going on forever on either side of the path. A chorus was singing from nowhere (The Perfect Rule-Duelists of the Roses).
Their voices echoed in the vastness of the chapel-like abyss she was trapped in. She looked at the stained glass windows and saw dinosaur Duel Monsters displayed on them following her throughout her trek of the chapel. They all looked familiar and it wasn't until Crystal saw Black Dragon Jungle King that she realized the monsters on the windows were from Yuri's deck. Lightning flashed and thunder bellowed so powerfully the chapel shook. The iron chandeliers swung to and fro above her. Crystal sobbed and cowered on the floor.
Where am I?
The choir continued singing. Their song was never-ending.
As she walked farther and farther into the chapel, which seemed to go on forever, she saw a throne alight with candles. Someone was sitting on it. He was wearing a set of steel armor plate and a golden crown rested atop his brow. He sat casually on his throne sharpening a sword. She ran for the figure, calling out to him, but he didn't answer.
When the lightning flashed she could make out his facial features.
It was Yuri.
She dashed for him, relieved to see a friendly face, but he held out his hand ordering her to stop. She looked up and saw three massive stained glass windows depicting three beasts she had never seen before. The one on the right was a red two-mouthed dragon in a sky of dark blue. There were silhouettes of people begging for his mercy below him.
The one in the middle was a blue behemoth smashing the world with his two fists. People were on their knees praying for the beast to cease his carnage. And the beast to the left was a golden-winged beast radiating a divine light that burned the land around him. People were running about in flames.
Crystal wanted to speak, but not a word came out of her mouth.
Yuri got up. A door letting out a bright light opened up behind him encasing him in a blinding glow until only his silhouette could be seen.
"Now it ends," he said. "Goodbye, Crystal."
He turned to leave.
Crystal begged for him to come back. But he kept walking into the light and vanished. The door closed shut behind him. Crystal dashed for the door and sobbed smashing the door with her fist until she broke her hand. She clawed at the door until her fingernails scratched its surface and they cracked leaving her fingers bleeding.
She heard the clink and clank of mail behind her. She turned, weepy eyes beholding the knight from her dreams.
"Your friend will no longer be with you," the knight said.
Crystal shook her head no.
The knight raised his massive sword over his head.
Crystal gasped.
The knight struck her with a killing blow.
Crystal screamed into the night. Lightning flashed lightning up her room. The thunder shook the room like a violent quake.
"Yuri…" she whined. "No...no, not again." She sobbed and covered her eyes with her palms. "Please don't leave me."