Hey readers, I chose to put a theme song in this fic and it is liable to change. But until then, imagine it starting off as a zoom out of a guitar so you can see Darren standing on top of the Empire State Building. Then through the song you see scenes from later in my fic ands characters (both good and bad). And the song I have chosen to portray Darren's life in NYC is Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'n' Roses
Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money honey
We got the disease
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your shun n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed
Welcome to the jungle
We take it day by day
If you want it you're gonna bleed
But it's the price you pay
And you're a very sexy girl
That's very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights
But you won't get them for free
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpantine
I wanna hear you scream
Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here everyday
Ya learn to live like an animal
In the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see
You'll take it eventually
You can take anything you want
But you better not take it from me
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your shun n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed
And when your high you never
Ever wanna come down, so down, so down, so down, YEAH
You know where you are
You're in the jungle baby
You're gonna die
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your shun, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n knees, knees
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpantine
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your shun, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n knees, knees
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
It's gonna bring you down
Ha!
A boy with spiky blonde hair with green in the front and dull gray eyes walked down a small flight of stairs. Behind him was a large white building made of marble. Engraved across the top was Library. "Well that was useless. There wasn't a single damn thing about any Pharaoh named Atemu. Arcturas, if he truly is from 5000 years ago, he's apparently full of shit. And now I'm going to be late getting to the registration booth at City Hall", he muttered to himself. He was walking faster than anyone around him.
He came to a crosswalk and the light told him to stay. He closed his eyes and thought loudly in his head, 'Arcturas, there was nothing about a Pharaoh called Atemu. Are you sure that you've got the right name? It has been 5000 years after all'. He waited a few seconds before hearing a deeper voice echo throughout his mind.
'I am positive that the Pharaoh Atemu is the one that I seek. I swore my life to protect him. You'll just have to find a new source of information. And you might want to open your eyes', the voice responded. The boy opened his eyes to see that the light had changed. He dashed across the street. He walked along a sidewalk for just a short time until he came to another white building, only this one was bigger. He walked up the larger flight of stairs and opened the heavy doors. He felt a breeze from the air conditioner.
"Leave it to the mayor to give himself the comfort of being nice and cool while my ass is baking back at the apartment", the boy said to himself. He walked up to a woman in a tiny skirt and a tight blouse. She had long, shiny, brown hair. She flashed her dazzling teeth at the boy when she saw him.
"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" she asked cheerfully.
The boy had a dulled look on his face. He looked into the woman's eyes and she gave a slight twitch as a shiver ran down her spine. "My name is Darren Fantasy. I want you to fill out a form so Mayor Dipshit knows I'm entering the Kingda Ka Duel Monsters World Tournament". He watched the woman's smile lessened.
"I'm sorry sweetie, but registrations for today are over. But you can try again tomorrow. Just remember to be here before 3:00. Have a nice day". Darren's dull expression changed to an annoyed one. He walked out of the building. He looked down at a trashcan with an ashtray on the top. He kicked the trashcan and it fell to the ground with a loud sound of metal on concrete. People passing by looked up at Darren with disgusted looks. Darren reached the ground and turned to walk home.
A man passing by shrugged his shoulders and muttered to himself, "There's always something wrong in this city. The nerve of the kids around here, kicking over trashcans". Darren overheard this and turned around.
"What's that bitch. If you don't like that I'm kicking down trashcans then why don't you run home to your mom like the pussy you are and ask her to complain to Mayor Stupid Fuck", Darren yelled after the man. The man continued walking the other way. "Damn straight bitch", Darren muttered. He was walking down the nice street where he bought the red True Tone two years ago. There was a card shop on this street. He looked in the card store's window at a sign saying 'Rare Cards at Cheap Prices'. Darren walked in and began looking around. "These cards aren't cheap. Ten bucks for a holo Man-Eater Bug. I got mine for $1.50". He was about to leave the card shop when he heard a TV commercial.
A man dressed up like a king from Medieval England was advertising the tournament. "Do you have what it takes to be crowned the Kingda Ka? Can you out duel all other great duelists in the world? Test you skills in the cards during the greatest tournament since Seto Kaiba's Battle City. Signup now". The commercial ended and Darren left the store. He walked back to the apartment that he and his mom lived in. When he arrived, he sat down with all of the windows open and watched TV until his mom got home. She arrived around six and began preparing dinner. She walked into the living room and bent over her son. Sabrina Fantasy had been working at the insurance company for the past thirteen hours. She put her hands on his cheeks and made him look up at her and she kissed his forehead.
"How was your day sweetheart?" she asked. Just as the words left her mouth, the answer came from the TV.
A news reporter that was slightly bald said, "And yet another day goes by with violence occurring outside the Mayor's office. Today a High School Student kicked over a trashcan". The TV showed the scene of Darren's tantrum. His mom looked disappointedly at her son.
"Why do you have to do this Darren? I know you're mad that you had to move to the city, but you could at least try to behave a little bit". Darren's gray eyes looked up at her. She had long blonde hair with watery brown eyes. She had the pretty face of a teenager herself. Even though she was his mom, Darren would even admit that she was good looking. He pierced her eyes with his own and she had to look away. "Don't do that. I hated it when you're father did that and his eyes were worse. Beautiful, but worse". She walked into the kitchen and Darren sat silently. It wasn't often that his mom talked about his dad.
At dinner he asked her, "I've never asked this mom, but what was dad like?" His mom made a small smile.
"It's been years since I've described him. Well, we met when we were about you age. He was a great duelist. He would spike his hair up too but it was silver. He had stunning blue eyes. You know how yours make people shutter, well his were beautiful but when he looked into your eyes it would make people begin to shiver. He was very caring about everybody, but I learned that he could be a dangerous person if you were on his bad side. He literally saved my life twice. He would only wear black". At this, Darren looked down at his black Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour T-shirt and blackjean shorts. "He was incredibly fast. Once, he actually outran police cars. He could be reckless. He also had a…um…tattoo on his right hand. He and his friends all had them. But I never met his family. He never visited them or even talked about them. Well, after we finished High School, we got married. It was funny but sad to see less than ten friends on his side of the church. I can show you some pictures of the wedding in a photo album that I have. Well, he died in an accident before we knew about you". She had tears running down her face.
Darren had been picturing everything in his mind. "What was my dad's name?" he asked.
His mom wiped her eyes on a napkin. "His name? That's something that I will never be able to forget. Your father's name was…Karl".
Darren lay awake in his bed. The light was still on. He was looking through the photo album his mom had given him. There was white lace surrounding the entire thing. He gazed at the pictures of his mom's relatives dressed in black clothes. Even his mom's wedding dress was black. He recognized everyone until he got to a picture of his mom kissing someone. From the description he was given, he guessed that this was his father.
'Tomorrow, you are going to find a new place to look for information on Pharaoh Atemu', echoed a voice in his head.
'Hell no, you are not bothering me about that now. I'll look for whoever when I'm good and fucking ready', Darren replied. He took off his necklace and through it into his closet. He looked back at the book. After turning the page, he saw his dad and looked into his eyes. He recoiled when he shuttered. He looked back at the picture of his dad in a tuxedo with three other men. One of them had short curly brown hair and a menacing face. Next to him was a man with dirty blonde hair that stopped just short of his glasses that slightly magnified his eyes. On the other side of his father was a man with shoulder length black hair and mournful face. His father and the other three all had a strange tattoo on their right hands. Next to the picture was an older one of a boy about Darren's age. He had long brown hair coming down to his chin. He was wearing a dark blue sweatshirt and blue-jeans. There was a duel disk on his left wrist and on his right hand was a tattoo. Darren looked back at the other picture. All of the tattoos were different but the curly-haired man's was just like the boy's.
Underneath the picture of the boy were words written in black ink, saying, "James, a great friend and loyal ally up until his death, caused by his own darkness. May James rest in peace with all those that came before him". Darren put a bookmark on this page and closed the book. He turned out the lights and went to sleep.
For the past year, Darren's dreams were where he could talk to Arcturas. But since he had the necklace off, he had a different kind of dream. Darren looked through darkness to see an image of his father the way he looked at the wedding. He ran to the image and it smiled.
'Darren, I've waited so long to see you. I didn't even know your mother was pregnant. You truly have my eyes. Well, sort of. I don't know where the gray came from. And in your mother's prayers, she tells me that you're an accomplished duelist and you play a guitar. I am very proud of you son. She also tells me you are aggressive because she forced you to move to the city. But you mustn't be mad at her, she did what she thought was best. Try and move on with your life", his father said. He placed his hand on Darren's shoulder. Darren noticed a purple light on his shoulder and looked to see that it was coming from his father's hand. The same purple light surrounded his father and he began to change into the kid that Sabrina had described.
'So… you're the amazing kid that grew up to be my father. Why as your tattoo glowing?' Darren asked in his mind.
The kid grinned and said, 'That's not something that you need to know right now. But please behave. I know that my temper wasn't always under control, but I did everything I could to make the world a better place. Maybe someday, I'll be able to tell you about it. Your mom told me about your Millenium Item. I think there's something about it you should know it. Inhabiting it is a spirit of an ancient Egyptian spirit. His name is Arcturas. He is supposed to be the greatest duelist that ever lived and was impossible to beat. That's all I know'. Darren's face dropped and the kid looked at the ground. Then he pulled a green deck box off of his belt. He pulled out a deck of cards and began flipping through them, obviously looking for something.
'I suppose that would be the greatest deck that mom has ever seen. What are you looking for?' Darren asked with a puzzled expression on his face. The kid form of Karl pulled a card in a purple case out of his deck. 'That's weird, I'm missing a few cards. Well son, I want you to have this card. I have a feeling that if you show it to someone at the library, they can find the book that you're looking for. Take care Darren'. Karl faded away and Darren slowly woke up.
That morning, Darren's mom didn't have to go to work as early so she sat at the table as Darren ate his breakfast. The photo album lay next to his food. He opened it up to the page of his father's friends. "Hey mom, who are these guys with dad?" he asked. Sabrina took the picture that Darren handed her. She smiled and tears formed in her eyes.
She took a napkin from the dispenser on the table and wiped her eyes. "The one with curly hair's name is Mitch. He was kind of annoying and your father didn't like him that much, but he was a good friend. The one with long black hair is Nick. He and your father used to hate each other and he even caused you father and I to… fight. But he too was a great guy. And the last one with glasses is your father's best friend. He didn't talk much but he and your father had been friends forever. He's the only friend your father had before we met". She gave the picture back to Darren.
Her son put the picture away and handed her the album. "And this guy James, who was he?". Sabrina looked at the picture of the boy and gasped. Tears ran down he face as soon as they were formed.
"James was your father's other best friend. He was funny and loyal and would always help until the job was finished. But his loyalty and determination to finish something is what got him killed. Your father and I watched as he collapsed down next to us. And the only thing he said before he went was that he was sorry for not finishing his job".
"What was his job?" Darren asked.
"That's not important honey", Sabrina responded.
Darren looked puzzled. "Well, what does it mean that he died to his own darkness?".
His mother looked at the message and closed the album. "I think we've discussed this enough. I have to be getting to work", she said and took the album with her as she left.
Darren arrived to City Hall around noon. There were three people before him in line, so he got to the receptionist quickly. There was a new one today. She too was wearing a small skirt and a tight blouse. But she had very bright blonde hair and a dangerous smile. "Hello, how may I help you?" she asked.
Darren wasted no time as he spoke very quickly. "I am registering for the Kingada Ka World Tournament. My name is Darren Fantasy and I am to be placed in the fifth level". The receptionist looked at him funny before writing this down.
"I'm sorry, but your level is determined by the rare card you put up for a bet. Everyone must select the card that they are betting and the better it is, the higher you get to be. Mind you, level five is the highest so you'll need a good card to get into it", she said with a fake frown on her face.
Darren took out his deck from the deck box on his belt. There were cards in red and black cases. His eyes widened when he saw his first one. It was the powerful card that his father had given him. "My bet is my Magician of Black Chaos. It is a level five card. Look, I have to go so see ya", he said. The receptionist had a surprised look on her face as he took a box with a duel disk from behind her desk and ran out the door.
'Arcturas, I have some good news for you' Darren thought as he raced up the library steps. He walked into the cool building and walked up to the librarian's desk. "I think I found a way to look for Atemu'.
Arcturas' thought came quickly and loudly. 'What! How did you find a way for us to get information? You've looked in all of the books here'. Darren took the card his father had given to him out of his deck and handed it to the librarian.
"Here, I was told that if I showed you this card, you could help me find what I'm looking for", he said. The librarian looked at the card and frowned. She was and old woman and her skin sagged off of her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, but my eyes aren't what they used to be and I can't read these letters. Could you possibly read them for me?" she asked. Darren took the card from her hand and read the title of the card.
"Um okay… it says Seal of Breaking Darkness".
Yeah I know, there still isn't any dueling. But there will be, just as soon as the Kingda Ka World Tournament starts up. Then there will be dueling all over the place. But until then, please be patient. By the way, for those of you that want to know, in my story, Kingda Ka means Greatest of Kings. Also, the characters in the album and Sabrina all come from a different story. It is called Emblem of the Duelist and I wrote it. Check it out sometime.