AN: Suggestions are welcome! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!
Chapter Two
The three started to protest betting everything. If the boy won, they'd be knocked out of the tournament for good but having limited options, Bonz accepted the boy's challenge. A purplish haze filled the graveyard.
"Hey, dis fog's as t'ick as a really t'ick soup!" exclaimed Zygor.
The duel began with the boy taunting Bonz with a ghost story. He actually had Akeno believing him until his duel monster popped out of the ground, scaring her half to death. She still wasn't used to these new holograms. Since she wasn't interested in Duel Monsters and therefore wasn't really exposed to its new duel disk projections. Now seeing them up close, she had to hand it to Kaiba Corp- the holograms looked so real! I swear if I was able to reach out, my hand would hit the cool armor of the boy's knight.
Being less than a novice, she wasn't sure if a good monster was played or if someone made a good move. She mostly counted how many monsters each other destroyed, frowning whenever the boy lost one. Akeno cringed at the monsters they summoned. They were all grotesque and looked like they belonged in a horror movie, being in a graveyard didn't help settle her nerves either.
Throughout the duel, he would glance over at her, an unreadable look in his eyes. Akeno knew that this stranger meant potential freedom and knew his intentions couldn't be worse than those three but she couldn't help but feel an uneasy knot in her stomach whenever he looked at her.
Bonz activated a trap card that made winning look bleak for the boy. Akeno bit her lip but noticed the boy shaking with laughter. He let out a mirthless cackle sending a shiver up her spine.
"Your trap card is meaningless to me and to prove it, I'll send every card in my hand to the card graveyard," he said slipping his cards into a slot in his duel disk.
But didn't Bonz say that would cost him points?
"What?" asked Bonz, caught off guard at his opponent's action.
"He must be mad as a hatter to make that move!" Sid grinned, "You can't lose, Bonzy!"
"Yeah," said Bonz, confident again. "Skull Invitation do your dirty work!"
The hologram came at the boy and wrapped itself around him. Akeno felt frightened for him but again was taken aback as the white haired youth laughed.
"Now what's so funny?" demanded Bonz.
"You'll soon find out." The boy growled, "Not only are you about to lose this duel but when I'm done with you, you'll lose so much more."
The boy brought back one of his monsters and made it stronger than before. It attacked Bonz's mammoth and sent him flying backwards. Wait, thought Akeno, since when could holograms do that?!
"The end is near," breathed the boy, a twisted look on his face. "And when I win, you and your friends will be trapped here."
"Wha' do ya mean by dat?" asked Zygor, voicing Akeno's own thoughts.
The boy let out a haughty laugh, "Just look around you, you fools! We've been dueling in the Shadow Realm. I've transported us here when I first arrived. What do you think?"
Looking around, Akeno spotted many human-like blobs crawling on the ground. She gasped as more and more appeared.
"What are those things?!" the trio cried.
"Those are lost souls, trapped forever in the darkness. And soon you will join them, your souls doomed to wander in the darkness of the Shadow Realm."
"No!" yelled Sid, backing up. "See ya later, lads!" He ran off, leaving his friends; had Akeno been free she probably would have joined the creep.
She stared as a figure came running from the opposite direction. She gasped, it couldn't be! The figure, Sid, tripped and ended up exactly where he had been.
"How did I end up back here?"
"Let that be a lesson. You cannot run from the Shadow Realm," the boy said. "Only by defeating me in this duel can you hope to escape its clutches."
No way, thought Akeno desperately. This can't be happening! He was supposed to be the hero!
"Bonz, whatever you do, don't you dare lose this!" yelled Sid, shaking Bonz by his shirt collar.
"Or we'll end up like dese guys!" finished Zygor.
Her heart pounded. Whoever wins, she's basically damned! There was no one to route for, she could only hope for a miracle but in the back of her mind, she knew one wouldn't come.
"I play the magic card, Nightmare Steel Cage!" Bonz shouted.
A giant cage with protruding spikes formed around the boy. She was somewhat glad that there was a barrier between them. Maybe if Bonz won, he and his friends would be too thankful for pulling out of this alive that they'd forget about me. It was a long shot but it was all she had.
The boy drew one card and frowned. Akeno perked up, maybe they could win!
"Aw disappointed cuz you can't move?" teased Sid.
"On the contrary," he started. Akeno's heart dropped and her hope began to fade. "I'm disappointed because this duel has to end and I wanted to prolong your misery."
He played a card which went through the cage and hit Bonz, wiping out the rest of his life points.
No!
"Stop your whimpering," the boy said as he approached the three, cowering at his feet. "Nothing can save you now, its over."
"You dueled me and lost. And now you must all wander the Shadow Realm until I choose to set you free."
The humanoid blobs formed into a mass and slowly engulfed them. The boy laughed mercilessly as their cries for help were muted out. There was nothing left of them but Bonz' duel disk. He stepped forward and removed the five locator cards from it.
Don't remember me, she begged. Please forget about me. Please! Even though her wrists and arms hurt, she didn't care. She'd gladly hang around like a piñata until someone else found her the next day. As long as that boy left her alone! Please! Please!
Her thundering heart skipped a beat as the boy turned towards her and smirked. He slipped the cards in his pant's pocket and approached her like a lion stalking an injured deer. She didn't hold back her tears; it was pointless, he could easily see and smell her fear. He eyed her hungrily. She was eye level with him since she was strung up but couldn't hold his gaze. She looked away. Please let this all be a nightmare!
"You didn't think I'd forget about you," he drawled, brushing tears from her cheek and turning her to face him.
"Out of locator cards and new souls for my collection, I'd have to say you may be my most valuable prize won tonight." He bared his teeth in a smile.
Then and there, Akeno knew that this wasn't a nightmare. It was only the beginning of one!