Here's where the theme song opens up.
The old woman gasped and her eyes squinty eyes opened as wide as they could. She grabbed the card from Darren. "I wondered how long it would take before you came. A boy your age came here many years ago with a book and told me that I could only give to whomever had this card. I had no idea that it would take this long. Please, follow me". She led Darren to a back room where few books were held. She took a cloth from on top of a safe and performed the combination. She took out a book with a black cover and the same picture as on the card.
"This book will help me find Atemu?" Darren asked, his heart pounding against the inside of his chest.
"I am afraid I don't know. I have never looked in the book myself. The boy that brought it in said I must keep it shut. But I suppose he wanted you to read it. Here". She handed Darren the book and took him back to the library. Darren walked to a table and opened the strange book.
'To whomever should receive the card that is required to read this book, I must advise you to read this in privacy unless accompanied by one of the remaining three Emblem Knights. It is important that you never let anyone else read what is in this book', is all that the first page said.
Darren snapped the book shut, making several nearby readers jump. He ran out of the library. He streaked down the sidewalk toward his house. People jumped in every direction to avoid being hit to the ground. He was nearly to the apartment building when he was stopped. There were police barricades across the entire street. But what caught Darren's attention was a girl standing in the middle of the road. She had a cute face glistening with two brilliant brown eyes. And her light brown hair was pulled into a small ponytail. She wore a gray T-shirt that said "She Devil" with very short shorts that matched the sky. Darren noticed that there was a duel disk on her left arm.
"What is going on? What's up with those road blocks?" Darren asked. The girl smiled, flashing pearly white teeth.
"That book of yours, I must have it. If I don't bring it to my master, I'll be in big trouble. So you can either be a good boy and give me the book or I can take it from you when I lock your mind in the Shadow Realm. I would prefer you choose the first one", she said. She had a bittersweet voice that Darren wanted to trust, but felt that he shouldn't.
"I can't give you this book. I guess you'll just have to try and take it", he said. The girl made a very high-pitched laugh.
"I hope you have enjoyed your life, because it isn't going to be a very long one", she said. The duel disk on her arm launched two hologram projectors to show the Duel Monsters cards she was playing. Darren's eyes opened wide in surprise. He thought that she wanted to fight him. This seemed to be a lot better. He did the same to his duel disk and set his deck in the designated slot.
"Aren't you taking this whole dueling thing a bit far. I mean, I don't see how I'm going to die from a card game", he said. The girl laughed and drew five cards from her deck.
"Oh don't worry, you will. Now, I'm going to start this duel. I summon my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (A1400, D1200) in attack mode. Then I play two cards face down and end my turn". As she placed cards on her duel disk, the monster in her card came to life. A blonde and muscular elf stood nobly clad in brown and green armor, armed with a diamond-bladed sword in his right hand.
Darren did the same to start his turn. "I set one card face down and call my first monster, the Gemini Elf (A1900, 900). I will have my monster attack yours with Twin Spell. I end my turn", he said. From his hologram projector formed two women with long hair and dresses. Both women had strange markings on their faces. Plus they had pointy ears. They formed balls of magic in their hands. One of the balls was green and the other blue. "Fire my elves", Darren ordered, but the magic just faded away in their hands.
"I figured you would attack. My elf is immune to attacks from monsters with 1900 and more. Now that it's my turn, I summon my Celtic Master (2200, 1400)", the girl said. This monster wore the same monster as her first one, but this monster had short red hair and a beard. "Now my two monsters can do damage and leave you defenseless. Celtic Master, attack his elves with Breaking Diamond Sword". The bearded warrior swung his great sword and cut both of Darren's creatures in half. "Now Celtic Guardian, attack with Diamond Blade Strike. I end my turn", the girl said. Her first monster leapt at Darren and slashed him with his sword. Darren's life point meter dropped to equal how many points he had left.
Darren- 6300
Girl- 8000
Darren drew another card. "I summon Newdoria (A1200, D800) in defense mode and end my turn", he said. This monster was an orange demon with green hair. He was dressed in green pants and a black vest with a spiked band across his eyes.
The girl looked at the monster in disgust. "That is the ugliest monster I have ever seen. Not like my adorable Celtic Guardian. Anyway, I combine my Celtic Master with the Metal Silver Armor. Now my Celtic Guardian is protected from your Newdoria's effect. Now Celtic Master, attack his Newdoria". Newdoria was split in half and the halves shattered. Then the bearded man now wearing black armor with silver spike sticking out everywhere burst into pieces as well. "Next Celtic Guardian will attack your life points directly. I end my turn". The smaller monster struck Darren with his sword again.
Darren- 4900
Girl- 8000
Darren drew a card again. This time he grinned when he saw what it was. "I summon my second Gemini Elf. Then instead of trying to attack, I'm going to activate my Tribute Doll magic card. By offering a level four or lower monster, I can special summon a level seven monster. So I sacrifice my Gemini Elf for the Dark Magician (A2500, 2100)". The Dark Magician was intelligent looking monster with long blonde hair. He wore a purple armor with red trim. He also held a green staff in his right hand. "Since my monster can't attack this turn, I'll end mine".
The girl was surprised at Darren's monster. "That is a nice strong monster that you've got, but it still can't attack my Celtic Guardian. So I summon Celtic Archer (A1600, D1300) in attack mode". An exact twin of the Celtic Guardian shot from her projector. The only difference was that this monster had a bow and arrows. "His special ability is whenever her is on the field, he can destroy a card in your hand every turn". The Celtic Archer fired an arrow at Darren's hand and he placed a card in his discard pile or graveyard. "I end my turn", she said.
Darren was glad to finally be on the offensive. "I summon my Bazoo the Soul Eater (A1600, D900) in attack mode". Darren's monster was a purple baboon with golden streaks on its back. "Now I have a monster capable of destroying your Celtic Guardian. Attack her guardian Bazoo". The baboon grabbed the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, ripped a rainbow orb out of it, and ate the orb. "Next my Dark Magician will attack your archer. I end my turn". The Dark Magician raised his staff and blasted the girl's last monster to bits.
Darren- 4900
Girl- 5300
The girl's arms were in front of her face to shield her eyes from dust. "You…you destroyed my beautiful Celtic Guardian. I'll make you pay. We're taking this to the Shadow Realm", she said angrily. Darren thought he saw tears in her eyes. She took a red ring out of her pocket and placed it on her left index finger. The ring gave off an eerie glow and a black mist billowed from it and surrounded the duel.
'It is so hard to breathe in here. What is she doing? Arcturas, do you have any idea of what's going on?', Darren thought.
'Yes, this is a place called the Shadow Realm. It is the most terrible place in the world. It is created by nothing but darkness and too long exposure can be dangerous. Why not let me handle this now. I have been here so many times in the past', Arcturas answered. Darren nodded his head. The Millenium Medallion emitted a golden glow and a golden aura surrounded Darren. When the light faded, Darren's hair was black and more spread out. He was taller and his eyes were no longer the piercing gray ones of Darren, but the cruel, empty black ones of Arcturas.
"Now that you're done with that light show, I would like to start my turn", the girl said impatiently. I play the Warrior Returning Alive to bring back my Celtic Master. Next I play my Legendary Sword to increase his attack points to 2500". The older man reappeared in his green armor, only with a bigger sword. "Now I attack your Bazoo the Soul Eater with Legendary Sword". The armored elf swung his charged at Bazoo when three woman wearing light blue dresses and red pendants appeared and blocked the attack.
"Your attack is negated by my Woboku trap card", Arcturas said. He felt a small sense of pride at the look on the girl's face.
"I end my turn", she said.
Arcturas drew a card. "Alright, this is where I hit your life points so hard, you'll have no way of coming back. I summon the Neo Bug (A1800, D1700)", he said. This creature was a large green dragonfly with sharp pincers. "Next I activate Bazoo's special ability by sacrificing three cards from the graveyard. I'll throw away my Waboku, Dark Necrofear, and Tribute Doll to increase his attack points to 2500. Now Bazoo, attack the Celtic Master and eat his soul". Bazoo pulled an orb out of the monster and ate it. But the two monsters shattered at the same time. "Because our monsters were equal, they were both destroyed. Now Neo Bug, attack her life points directly". The bug flew at her and bit her around the waist. "Now my Dark Magician will attack to end my turn". The Dark Magician blasted at the girl with his staff again.
Arcturas- 4900
Girl- 2800
The girl drew her card and smiled, revealing the bright white teeth again. "Whenever my Celtic Master is sent to the graveyard from battle, I can special summon my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian from the graveyard and increase his attack points by 500. Now he can't be attacked by any monster", she said excitedly as her first monster reappeared on the field. "Next I activate my Warrior Soul magic card. By offering my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's soul, I can special summon my strongest monster, the Buster Bladder (A2600, D2300)". The Celtic Guardian transformed into a larger man in purple and gold armor. His sword was also now larger than he was. "And because he has the soul of the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, he can't be destroyed by monsters with 1900 or more. Now attack the Dark Magician with Dragon Slayer Blade". The Dark Magician was slashed in half by the giant sword.
Arcturas- 4800
Girl- 2800
"I set a monster face down in defense mode", Arcturas said as he placed a card on his duel disk. "Then I switch my Neo Bug into defense mode. I end my turn".
The girl was glad to be back on the offensive. She looked at her new card and looked at Arcturas with an unfriendly smile. "Now to make my Buster Bladder stronger. I play Monster Reborn on your Dark Magician. Next I use my Polymerization magic card to combine them", she said. The Dark Magician rose out of the ground and then the two monsters swirled into each other and formed a Dark Magician with blue armor and a large blade atop his staff. "I end my turn because fusions can't attack on their first turn".
Arcturas drew a card. He looked at the girl's monster with a frustrated look on his face. "I set one card face down and set a monster face down in defense mode", he said. He set the cards on his duel disk and they appeared on the field.
The girl started her next turn. "My Dark Paladin (A2900, D2300) can attack this turn. I summon my Dark Fire Soldier #2 (A1700, D1200) in attack mode", she said. A man in white robes holding flaming samurai swords rose out of flames that jumped out of the darkness representing the ground. "Dark Paladin, attack the Neobug". The fused monster blasted a white wave of energy from his staff the cut through the bug. "Next my Dark Fire Soldier will slice through one of your face down monsters". The robed man struck one of the cards with his swords and a brown bug with large claws grabbed him and squeezed him to death. "What was that nasty bug that destroyed my soldier?" she asked.
Arcturas responded by saying, "That was my Man-Eater Bug. When he is flipped up, he can destroy one monster on your side of the field. I think I'll start my turn". Darren drew a card, giving him one in his hand. "I summon Gagagigo (A1850, D1000)". His monster was a man-like lizard with spikes on its arms. "Next reveal my Swarm of Scarabs (A500, D1000) to destroy your Dark Paladin. Next I attack your life points directly with Gagagigo. I end my turn". An army of beetles crawled all over the girl's monster. Then the lizard punched her.
Arcturas- 4800
Girl- 950
The girl drew her card and grinned at Arcturas, her white teeth flaring away. "I hope you don't think that just because you destroyed my strongest card, that I can't create a monster more powerful than everything that has been played. I activate my Black Luster Ritual", she said.
Well there, I'm getting into dueling. I've also brought in the first of many characters working for the bad guy. And if anyone is confused, just wait. I will reveal everything eventually.