And we open to the next chapter with the theme song, Stronger Than Death.
Darren rolled over and moaned. There was a loud ringing filling his head. His eyes shot open and darted around their sockets. Darren clasped his hands to his ears. He looked at the alarm clock next to his bed. It had been set for eight o' clock. Darren growled as he shifted the clock to its quiet mode. A harsh pounding came from the other room.
'What in the hell is that noise?' Darren thought. He pushed himself off of the giant bed and grabbed the Millenium Medallion. He walked out of the room and looked at the front door. The banging grew louder as he drew near.
"Mr. Fantasy?" a man in a blue suit asked. Darren rubbed his eyes before answering.
"Yeah that's me. What's up?" he asked. The man looked up from a clipboard.
"Don't you know you're late to the tournament. The pairings are starting in ten minutes, you might want to get ready". Darren's eyes spread across his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you for waking me up". Darren slammed the door in his face and ran into the bedroom he had thrown his backpack in. He pulled his duel disk out and ran out. He followed the suited man down to the lobby and darted across the street, into the building the tournament was being held in. He arrived with a few minutes to spare. He walked over to the section with seats and sat down to catch his breath.
'You realize you left all of your stuff back in your room, right?', Arcturas thought to his host.
'I've got my deck and my duel disk. That's all I need right now. I can get everything later', Darren responded. He took a final deep breath to steady his pace and looked up to find the pairings on the board. He scanned the board, looking for his own name.
"Rex Raptor? Now why does that name sound familiar? I feel like I heard it recently", Darren thought out loud. His memory raced over the last couple of days to the card shop yesterday.
/Flashback/
"Excuse me, I would like to purchase both of the new deck leader cards".
The woman smiled. "The Ancient Spiner and Queen Widow. Okay, here they are". She set two plastic cases on the counter. "You must be a rich little boy". Darren looked down at the prices on the cases and almost went into cardiac arrest.
"2500 dollars each. I can't afford even one", he shouted.
"Well then, move over for someone who can", said an annoying buzzing voice. A person behind him pushed Darren to the floor. Darren stood up and dusted himself off. The person that pushed him was slightly taller than him. He had short blue hair that looked like a beetle and yellow framed glasses resembling bug eyes. He wore a green T-shirt with a black picture of a bug and a pair of green pants. Next to him was a taller man with long brown hair that was dyed white in the front. On his head was a ski cap. He wore a pair of dark pants along with red vest over a brown jacket.
"Who do you think you are", Darren demanded. The men glared at him.
"I'm Weevil Underwood, the world champion bug duelist", the first boy said with his buzzing voice.
"And I'm Rex Raptor, the dino duelist", the other man said. "Now leave us. We must buy these cards so we can win the Kingda Ka tournament". The men both pulled out checkbooks and wrote checks for enough to buy the cards.
"Now if you don't mind, we have a tournament to win", Weevil said. The two men walked toward the exit. Darren watched angrily as they left.
/End Flashback/
"That's who it is!" Darren burst out. "Now where is that pompous fuck?"
"Maybe, that pompus fuck is right behind you". Darren whipped around to see the man from the card shop the day before. "You! You're the kid from the card shop yesterday. I thought I recognized your picture on the monitor". Darren noticed the deck sitting in Rex's duel disk.
"Yeah, you bought the Ancient Spiner I wanted", Darren said. Rex grinned confidently.
"Well when you're a wealthy professional duelist like myself, you can afford all the best cards", he gloated. Darren glared at the dinosaur duelist. "What's the matter, dino got your tongue?"
"No, I was just happy knowing I'm the one who'll be taking you out of the tournament. Now shuffle your deck dino breath", Darren remarked. He lifted his own deck from the slot and shuffle it. He stopped for a second and searched his cards. He stopped at one and took it out.
'Good thinking Darren, it wouldn't be a good idea to pull Thanatos out. Especially since you're dueling someone with a broad library of cards', Arcturas thought. Darren grunted in agreement. He slipped Thanatos into the deck box on his belt.
"I'm a generous guy", Rex stated as he inserted his deck back into his duel disk. "And I'm sure it must be an honor to be playing me. So I'll let you go first", he said. Darren had an annoyed look on his face.
"Gee thanks". Pulling the top six cards from the top of his deck, he started the duel. I'll begin with Blast Magician (A1400, D1700) in attack mode. Then I'll set one card face down and end my turn".
"What a runt-a-saurus", Rex commented. He looked at the mage standing in red armor, wielding a scythe. "I'll make sure that monster becomes extinct. I summon Armored Lizard (A1500, D1200) in attack mode. Now attack his magician with Armor Claws". The blue lizard leapt into the air and sank its claws into the Blast Magician. Darren watched his monster's data bits return to the projectors. "I'll end my tossing out a card face down".
Darren- 7900LP
Rex- 8000LP
Darren drew his next card. "My last magician couldn't stand up to your lizard, but let's see how this one does. Go Rapid-Fire Magician (A1600, D1200)". The projectors spat out a purple-haired magician clad in purple robes and dual-wielding staves. Different colored orbs floated around the monster. "Next I reveal my face down trap card, Pitch-Black Power Stone". A round, black orb appeared on the field. Engraved on the stone was a upside down yellow triangle. The corners of the triangle emitted blue glows.
"What does that card do?" Rex asked.
"What? You, the great Rex Raptor doesn't know what my card does. You must be kidding me. Well if you don't know, then I suppose you'll have to find out. But for right now, I attack with Rapid Fire". The magician raised its left staff and the orbs ignited. The balls of fire rained down on the lizard.
"You know, not all falling fire balls can destroy my monsters. Go, Reinforcements trap card", Rex cried. The lizard growled as its attack jumped. "This handy little trap card pumps my monster up by 500". The lizard leapt through the fireballs and scratched the magician. Like the one before it, it burst into pieces. "Now your field is wide open".
Darren scowled as the lizard landed back to its post. "I'll drop another card face down and end my turn".
Darren- 7500LP
Rex- 8000LP
Rex smiled with glee. 'He's just like everyone else. No one but me respects dinosaur monsters. They're aren't many, and there aren't many cards made to help them. But once I win this tournament, I'll make them see how good my dinos are. When Rex became the world champ, everyone wanted a stupid insect deck. But this time, I'll be the champion', he thought to himself.
"I summon Black Stego (A1200, D2000) in attack mode. Then I'll place a new card face down. Now hit his life points directly Black Stego". The crazed stegosaurus charged at Darren and smacked him in the chest with the spines on its tail. "Next Armored Lizard will attack your life points directly". The reptile monster jumped at Darren again with its claws extended.
"Reveal face down trap card, Spellbinding Circle. This card will stop your monster from attacking and from changing battle position". A circle with strange designs formed around the lizard and dragged him back to Rex's side of the field.
"I end my turn", Rex said grumpily.
Darren- 6300LP
Rex- 8000LP
Darren picked up his next card. "Activate Pot of Greed. This will give me two extra cards". Darren picked up two more cards. "Now, I summon my Skilled Dark Magcian (A1900, D1700) in attack mode". A monster in dark robes took form on Darren's field. Now I'll have him attack your Black Stego with Dark Magic Attack". A streak of black magic flew across the field at the stegosaurus. The dinosaur monster held its tail up and stopped the attack. "What's going on?"
"Well isn't it obvious?" Rex asked. Darren shook his head. "When Black Stego is attacked, it switches to defense mode. And since its defense points were high enough, it was able to withstand your assault".
"That'll do it for my turn".
Darren- 6200LP
Rex- 8000LP
Rex pulled the next card from his hand. "The next monster I call to my field is my Black Ptera (A1000, D500) in attack mode. Then I switch my Black Stego to attack mode. I end my turn". A dark pterodactyl took flight next to Rex's other monsters.
Darren drew his next card. "I summon my La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (A1800, D1000)". Darren's big, green genie came out of its lamp.
'He must want me to attack. Why else would he switch his monsters to attack. All of those monsters are weaker than mine'. Darren glanced over at the face down card. 'That must be another card like his reinforcements. And I don't want to clear my own field'.
"I end my turn Rex".
Rex grinned and drew his top card. "Perfect. I sacrifice my Black Ptera and my Black Stego to summon the Black Tyranno (A2600, D1800). Next I pull my Black Ptera back to my hand since it wasn't destroyed in battle. Now Black Tyranno, attack his magician". The Tyrannosaurus ran over and ate the magician in one bite. "I end my turn.
Darren- 5500LP
Rex- 8000LP
Darren drew his card for the turn. "I summon my Breaker the Magical Warrior (A1600, D1000)". The red armored warrior with a shield and sword appeared. "When he is summoned, he gets a counter that strengthens him by 300. But I'll remove that counter to destroy your face down card". Breaker's sword gleamed red and fired a bolt of energy at the face down card. "Then I'll attack your Armored Lizard". The warrior flew across the field and cut the lizard in half. "I end my turn with one card face down".
Darren- 5500LP
Rex- 7900LP
Andy was walking on top of a building. Next to him was the colorful sign of the Rainbow Club. He looked down onto the street below. Darren had a Millenium Item. And the Paradox brothers were able to call the power of the Shadow Realm. But how? The Shadow Realm needs a Millenium Item and I didn't sense Darren doing anything'. Andy turned his head and something caught his eye. Something glistening red shimmered slightly from between the cracks in the street.
/Flashback/
"That brings it back to me", Arcturas said excitedly. He drew his card and pointed at Heads. "Thanatos, attack Heads again and wipe out Para's life points", he ordered. The monster raised its scythe again and cut through the same monster. Its strength jumped up to 8700. Para screamed and held his head. The Shadow Realm withdrew into the ring along with Para. The ring fell to the ground and shattered.'
/End Flashback/
'The ring', Andy thought. He jumped off the side of the club and walked into the middle of the street. "Yes, I feel it now. The ring is what allowed the idiot brothers to use the Shadow Realm". He closed his eyes and his necklace began to glow and the needles stuck out straight. Red dust particles lifted off the ground and floated around Andy. He held his hand out and the red dust made a big pile in his hand. "It needs souls. The Shiek Ra tournament is filled with powerful duelist souls". He turned and began to walk down the road.
Rex drew his card. Darren had finally hit his life points. "I summon my Black Ptera back to the field. Next I'll attack your Breaker with my Black Tyranno". The prehistoric monster devoured Breaker as well. "But since my Black Ptera is nowhere near as powerful as your La Jinn, I'll end my turn.
Darren- 4500LP
Rex- 7900LP
Darren picked up a card. "That's more like it. It's time to turn this duel around. I activate my Dark Magic Ritual. I'll tribute Dark Magician from my hand and La Jinn from my field in order to summon the Magician of Black Chaos (A2800, D2600)". The powerful spell caster leapt from the seal on the floor. "Next I'll revive my Breaker with Call of the Haunted. Now Magician of Black Chaos, attack the Black Tyranno with Chaos Scepter Blast". The mage blasted a ball of black lightning at the dinosaur monster.
"Not so fast kid. I reveal my face down card, Graceful Dice. I can roll a die and my monster is powered up one hundred times the number it lands on". The blue die bounced on the ground and came to a stop, revealing one dot. Darren used everything he had to refrain from laughing. "What? A one? What are the chances of me getting a one?" The ball of lightning crashed into the dinosaur.
"But I'm not finished. Breaker, attack his Black Ptera with Breaking Blade". The warrior darted across the playing field and cut through the flying monster. "Now I end my turn".
Darren- 4500LP
Rex- 7200LP
Rex had a look to kill on his face as he drew his card. Destroys my Tyranno on a luck draw. He's just like that punk Wheeler. And it's bullshit that my Graceful dice crapped out on me', he thought. He looked at his card and a shit-eater grin worked itself across his face. "Are you still mad that I bought the Ancient Spiner? Because if you are, then you'll be furious with this next move. I summon my Balloon Lizard (A500, D1900) in attack mode. When he comes into play, he too gets a counter. So first I'll remove the counter, dealing you 400 points of direct damage". A lizard that was inflated to look like a ball with legs and a tail. "Then I'll activate my Ultra Evolution Pill. This will sacrifice my lizard so I can special summon the Ancient Spiner (A3000, D2400)". The monstrosity roared its way into existence. "When it's summoned, it sends every card in my hand to the graveyard, so I lose my Twin-Headed King Rex. But its sacrifice was not in vain because my monster gains an additional 300 points for each dinosaur card in the graveyard. Plus he can't be targeted by magic or trap cards".
'Now would be a very nice time to draw Thanatos', Darren thought.
'It wouldn't be of any help if you drew it now. Remember, you need to sacrifice three monsters to summon it. You only have one', Arcturas replied.
"Ancient Spiner, attack his Magician of Black Chaos with Roar of Fury", Rex called out. The monster leaned forward and opened its mouth. A red burst of energy streamed at the magician, destroying it. "I end my turn".
Darren- 3000LP
Rex- 7900LP
Darren looked up at the terrible beast that loomed over him. Should I just give up Arcturas? Not even my Shadow Sorcerer could stand up to this monster now. And I can't hit it with a magic or trap card'.
'No, you must never give up. As long as you have a life point, you still have the power to win'. Darren looked at his deck and got a confidant look on his face.
"I'll beat you Rex, somehow", Darren told his opponent. Rex cocked an eyebrow. Darren drew his card. "Time to take one of my new cards out for a test drive. I summon Neo the Mystic Swordsman (A1700, D1000). Then I activate Polymerization. By fusing Neo and Breaker, I form a new monster with an ability that will leave you extinct. I fusion summon Walker the Mystic Warrior (A2600, D2200). Like Breaker, he gets a counter when he's summoned. But this one doesn't increase Walker. However I can remove it to weaken your monster by 1000 attack points". Walker looked like Neo in Breaker's armor without the helmet and the armor was dark blue. He held a sword with a blue aura in one hand and a shield in the other. The aura turned red and Walker fired a beam of light into the Spiner.
"Big deal, my monster still has 600 more attack points than your weak little swordsman", Rex insulted Darren's monster. Darren grinned.
"You seem to have forgotten my Pitch-Black Power Stone. This card creates three tokens that I can place on any monster. So I'll move all three tokens to Walker". Walker's aura turned red again and the stone cracked an shattered. Now Walker, launch your tokens at the Ancient Spiner". Walker fired another bolt at the opposing monster, dropping its attack by 3000. "Now Walker, attack his monster". The knight fired a ray of blue energy through Ancient Spiner, destroying it. "I end my turn", Darren announced.
Darren- 3000LP
Rex- 5300LP
Rex drew his next card, giving him one in his hand. "I set Sabersaurus (A1900, D500) in defense mode. I end my turn", he said dreadfully.
Darren drew his next card. "I set one card face down and then I attack your monster with Walker", Walker blew another hole in Rex's monster. "I end my turn".
Rex drew another card. "I summon another Black Stego in defense mode and that ends my turn". The stegosaurus came into play.
Darren drew his card and smiled. "This is it Rex. It's time to end this game. I set one card face down. Then I send Walker to attack your monster". Walker cast another wave of blue energy into Rex's monster. "Then I reveal my race down De-Fusion magic card. This will Walker apart and back into the two monsters that made him". Breaker and Neo took the field. "Now attack his life points directly my monsters". Both swordsmen swung their swords and blasted waved of energy into Rex. "And now I activate my Dark Renewal. I sacrifice Breaker to special summon my Dark Magician (A2500, D2100)". Rex's jaw dropped. "Dark Magician, attack his life points and finish him off". The magician attacked and blasted away the rest of Rex's points.
"Dammit. How could I lose to someone like you. It's just like Duelist Kingdom all over again. And Battle City. And the KC Grand Prix. You're just like that no talent Joey Wheeler. He became a famous duelist because of luck. And that's the only reason you won. Next time we meet, you won't be so lucky". Rex reached into his graveyard and pulled out a card and threw it at Darren's feet and stormed out. Darren picked up the card.
'Alright, my Ancient Spiner. I guess it was a good thing I didn't give up'. Darren thought.
'I'm proud of you Darren. You really did good in that duel', Arcturas congratulated. Darren grinned stupidly.
'Celebrate while you can keeper of the book! You won't be able to win forever!' echoed an unforgettable voice though Darren's head.
'Who are you?' Arcturas asked.
'I am the one who knows of everything that ever happened to the Shadow Powers. I am the only person to read the scriptures of the darkness. If you want a name, call me Cairo'.
'Where are you?' Arcturas asked. There came no answer. 'Coward'.
Darren put the Ancient Spiner in his deck box and walked over to one of the walls. He flopped down in a chair and began to shuffle his deck.
Andy drew six cards from the top of his deck. He looked across the special arena at his opponent. There was a crowd of onlookers in the domed arena. His opponent had short, spiky black hair with a white band tied around his head. He wore a gray robe-like T-shirt and a pair of long gray pants. There was a pair of those Japanese sandals that are wood with straps. The necklace glimmered and Andy seemed to be a different person all together. "I'll star things off with my Scarr, Scout of Dark World (A500, D500) in attack mode. Then I set one card face down and end my turn". Andy's strange red beast flew from a dark vortex.
"Andy has started off light with a small monster. Let's see how his opponent Brett will respond", said an announcer.
Brett pulled six cards of his own. "I summon Sasuke Samurai #2 (A500, D500) in attack mode". His monster was a ball with tiny limbs and a ponytail. It pulled out a long samurai sword. "Then I equip him with the Legendary Sword, powering him up to 300. Next I'll set a card face down. Now, I activate his special ability. I sacrifice 800 life points to stop you from being allowed to activate any magic or trap cards until your next turn. So Susuke, attack his monster". The ball monster jumped in front of Scarr and slashed the monster in half. "I end my turn".
Andy- 4700LP
Sakuru- 4200LP
Andy whipped the next card into his hand. "I play my Archfiend Soldier (A1900, D1000) in attack mode. Now attack his monster with Vile Crusher". The demon formed a green gaseous aura around its right hand. It ran over to the little monster and scratched through it. "I end my turn".
Andy- 4700
Sakuru- 3100
Sakuru looked completely unfazed by losing so many life points. "My monsters may look weak with there small bodies. But like the ninja, they use their weapons right, and can attack multiple times in a time limit where most others would only be able to attack once. This is true especially for my Mataza the Zapper (A1300, D1800)". The monster was a man in a ninja costume.
"He's just another weak monster my Archfiend will strike down", Andy said without amusement.
"We'll see. I equip him with the Wicked Breaking Flamberge Baou. But to do this, I must discard my Two Pronged Attack. Then I play my Black Pendant, pumping him up another 500 points. Then I'll protect all of my other monsters by equipping him with the Metalsilver Armor. Now reveal face down trap card, Blast with Chain. This will now act as an equip card, giving Mataza 500 more points. Now Mataza, attack with Double Strike". Mataza disappeared and reappeared in front of the Archfiend and slashed him, then slashed Andy. "My Mataza has the ability to attack twice in one turn. Now go".
Andy- 1000LP
Sakuru- 3100LP
Andy rubbed his eyes to get the dust particles out of them. "I'll take my turn by simply sitting a monster face down in defense mode and playing the magic card Dark Door. This will keep your attacks to one per turn".
Sakuru felt stupid have fallen into such a lock. "Well I can't play this card yet, so I'll attack your monster and call it a turn". Mataza cut through the upside down card.
"Don't feel bad about falling into my trap. No one has ever been able to prevent it. I remove all three monsters from my graveyard to special summon my Dark Necrofear (A2200, D2800) in attack mode. I end my turn". The blue woman rose from the ground with a purple aura surrounding her body.
Sakuru drew his card and looked at the Dark Necrofear. "You fool, you left your monster in attack mode. Mataza, attack his monster". Mataza disappeared again and swung his sword through the Dark Necrofear. "I end my turn".
Andy- 400LP
Sakuru- 3100LP
Andy grinned as a purple aura surrounded Mataza, pulling the ninja to his side of the field. "Thanks to my Dark Necrofear, I get to take your monster to my side of the field. Here is where you lose. I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards. Since Dark Necrofear was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can activate my field magic card, Dark Sanctuary". A red cloud filled the arena. Millions of eyes formed in the mist and a white spirit started flying around Andy. "Next I play Return From a Different Dimension. I pay half of my life points to bring all monsters that I've removed from play to my field for one turn. Next I sacrifice all three monsters to summon my Great God Diabound (A3900, D0)". The gargantuan snake-legged monster flashed into existence from the Dark Sanctuary. "Now Diabound, attack his life points directly". Diabound punched Sakuru and the boy fell to the ground. The holograms faded away.
"And the winner is Andy Jones", the announcer shouted. The crowd went crazy with applause. And walked out of the coliseum and into a back room set up for duelists to work on their decks. He held out his hand, revealing the red dust. The necklace glowed and he dropped a blue ball from his other hand onto the dust. The dust glowed for a second then stopped.
'It must need more souls to rebuild itself. And it's a long tournament', he thought.
Yes, Andy's duel was considerably shorter. But come on, once that Diabound hits the field you already know who the winner is.