In the Darkness is the Light

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

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"You guys just left him there?! He was our guide to the Manor!"

"Hey, don't bite my head off, Chrissy, I'm not the one who volunteered him to stay behind! He was!"

"Bullcrap!"

Azuryu growled slightly, he and the children were moving back to the mouth of the cave, Khamille ahead of them by a few feet. The Blue-Eyes growled again, hearing Christina's and Siho's argument, "So annoying...,"

"Tell me about it," Chazz muttered under his breath, "Can't get rid of them...believe me, I've tried,"

"Just like we've tried to get rid of you, Chazz, now shut up!" Jordan snapped.

Azuryu did his best not to rip off the boys' heads as they walked. He walked up to Khamille, "So, tell me, human, what did you see?" he asked as they approached the cave's entrance.

"Something that'll probably give me nightmares for awhile...,"

The clan leader was about to ask her again, but when they came to a complete stop, he and everyone else saw what Khamille thought they needed to see. Dragons, dozens of them! Most of them were laying motionless on the mountain, wounds covering their bodies, while the rest were falling from the sky.

"The Southern Clan!" Azuryu growled, eyes going dragonic, "So, they've come, eh?"

"Now, before you go all Godzilla on us," Khamille tapped his shoulder, pointing upward into the sky, "Ya might wanna see...that,"

Everyone looked up and their eyes widened at the sight that was above them. High in the sky, was a familiar sight. It was the dragon they all had seen back at Evan's villages, the one that routed the Dark Dragon invaders. On the back of the dragon, was the familiar sight of the robed Lord Revastan, who was facing what appeared to be a human in dark armor with wings growing out of his back.

"What da hell?" Christina blinked, "Dude!"

Chazz smirked at the sight of the Lord, "Looks like the dork came to us,"

"But who's that with him?" Jaden asked, pointing to the dark armored person.

"Kuroryu...," both Shiryu and Azuryu muttered together.

Christina looked at them, then up at the sky, "The Southern Clan leader?"

Azuryu nodded, "The one who killed our brother!"

Before anyone could ask anything more, a loud explosion flashed in the sky and a deafening boom echoed all around them, making them cover their ears.

"THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Siho shouted.

"Guys!" Alexis pointed back up to the sky.

Everyone looked up again, but this time, they saw the person in dark armor fall to the mountain, leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

"Brother, at that angle and speed...," Shiryu turned to Azuryu, "He'll land right at-,"

"Damn him! Even with him dead, our brother is attacked! Come, Shiryu, we must finish this fool off and win the war!"

Both of them pushed off the ground and flew off in the direction of the falling clan leader.

Christina cursed, "C'mon, guys, we gotta follow 'em!" she shouted, taking the lead, "Move it!"

The group of young duelists ran after the dragon brothers, following them to a large, open area on the side of the mountain. On one side, the fallen leader of the Southern Dragons lay on the rock, smoke rising from his armor, while on the other side, a mound of rocks sat, taking the shape of a small dragon.

Must be where their brother's remains are... she thought, looking back at the brothers, who quickly advanced on Kuroryu. Everyone watched as Azuryu reached down, grabbed the wounded dragon's throat and lifted him high enough up for them all to see. When the children saw his face, their jaws dropped and their eyes widened...especially Christina's.

"NO EFFIN' WAY!"

Bastion shook his head, "I'm not that surprised, but then again...,"

Kuroryu, with the exception of a head full of black hair, looked exactly like another famous duelist. Joey Wheeler, to be more specific.

Jaden pointed to Kuroryu, looking at his friends, "How come he looks like Joey?"

Most of them could only shake their heads in silence, unable to answer at the moment.

Bastion chuckled, "It's obvious, isn't?"

"No...that's why I asked,"

"Ah, of course, well, you see," Bastion pointed to the Blue-Eyes brothers, "Both of them are modeled after Seto Kaiba and their dragon form is that of the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"It's the same for him," Bastion nodded to Kuroryu, "If he is modeled after Joey Wheeler, who many people thought was a rival of sorts to Kaiba, then his well-known dragon is his dragon form!"

"You mean...,"

Bastion nodded, "Yes! The Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Who else is perfect to portray the enemy of the Blue-Eyes, as well as being the Southern Dragon clan leader?"

"You came to attack us, but you didn't count on Lord Revastan being in the area, eh?"

Everyone looked back to see Azuryu clutching the Dark dragon by the throat, his fingers squeezing more and more by the second.

Jaden frowned, This isn't right...

"Hey, hold on!"

Azuryu looked over his shoulder at Jaden, who didn't look very happy, "What?"

"You're not trying to kill him, are you?!"

"Of course, I am! Why not? He's weak and he killed our brother, starting this damn war! Because of him, we lost our brother and now, our sister is dying!"

Kuroryu reached up and grabbed Azuryu's wrist, "I...didn't...kill...him...," he gasped.

"LIAR!" Azuryu roared, his eyes flashing, "We know the two of you battled, and we know that you killed him!"

"I...battled him...yes...," Kuroryu wheezed, pulling at the fingers around his neck, "But...I left ...him alive...wounded but alive...! It was you...who provoked us...into war!"

Jaden and Christina ran up to them.

"Stop this right now!"

"Listen to him! You're angry, we get that, but will killing him really bring your brother back?"

"No, but-,"

"But what?!" Christina half-shouted, "If you kill him, more and more of his kind will come, wanting revenge themselves! Violence begets violence, pal! If you kill him, you will have a never ending cycle of pain and loss! Humans and monsters are already dying in the crossfire of this war, you really want this to keep going? Lose more of your kind every day?! Think about Aoiryu! She may be dying, but do you really want her last days in this world to be filled with hate and bloodshed?! Think of your family!" she pointed to Shiryu, "What if you fall and he's the last ruler the clan has? Or, what if Shiryu gets killed and you're left with nothing but more pain for losing another brother!"

The other duelists who were watching stared at her.

"Wow...," Alexis blinked a few times, "Christina may be a ditz at times, but when she gets serious, she really goes all out, huh?"

Siho nodded, "When it comes to certain things like fighting and dueling, she's serious!"

"Explains why she always has that 'don't-screw-around-with-me' attitude when she duels," Khamille thought aloud.

Christina and Jaden stared hard at Azuryu, who seemed to be battling with his thoughts. They were relieved, and a bit surprised when Azuryu dropped his rival clan leader.

"Thank you," Christina murmured as Jaden rushed to the other dragon's side.

Azuryu snorted, "Doesn't matter if I choke him or not...he's too badly wounded anyway. He's dying,"

"WHAT?!"

Kuroryu coughed, "He's right...I'm not long for this world, though I thank you for your attempt to save me, humans," he looked up at them, "But before I die, you should know the truth about what happened to your brother, you two,"

"The truth is that you killed him in battle, you sonofa-,"

"Hey, hear the guy out!" Jaden interrupted, "Least let him get this off his chest, will ya?!"

Azuryu growled, "Fine...I'll let the liar tell whatever story he wishes before his life ends,"

Kuroryu coughed again, hand over the area of his armored chest where his heart would be, "It's true, that I did battle Azushiryu, and I did beat him with a stroke of great luck, but when I left the battlefield, he was alive! His wounds weren't too serious, he could've recovered, but he didn't,"

"Why not?" Azuryu glared at him, "If your fable is true, then tell me why he didn't survive!" he pointed to the mound behind him, "Tell me why his remains are buried there, then!"

The Southern Clan leader shook his head, "I dunno...I don't have that answer-,"

"But I do!" a loud, deep voice boomed, startling the group.

Kuroryu's eyes widened as he looked around, "What's he doing here?!"

Jaden looked at him, "Who's here?!"

The answer came in the form of a very large, and very horrific sight. A dragon, far larger then Azuryu and his brother in their natural forms, appeared from behind a nearby mountain wall. The dragon had not only a huge body, but a wingspan to match! It's entire body, as well as it's wings, were covered with dark green scales and bone-like armor. Needless to say, it didn't look very friendly, though it looked pleased.

Jaden stared at the dragon, "I know who that is! That's the Chaos Emperor Dragon!"

"Like that rare card that was banned from dueling because it was so powerful?!" Christina's jaw dropped, "We're boned...,"

The large dragon chuckled darkly as it looked at the carnage around them, "My clan seems to have taken casualties, but sacrifices are meant to be in war," he looked at Kuroryu and Azuryu, "You called my loyal warrior a liar, but when in reality, he was telling the truth!"

Azuryu and Shiryu stared, "WHAT?!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon chuckled, "You Lights are supposed to be so intelligent, but it seems that's just fiction. You see, it was me who killed your eldest brother, boys! I knew Kuroryu battled with him at times, so on his last fight, I followed him and when I saw that he had a chance to slay that fool, but didn't take it, I was enraged! However, I was able to use that to my advantage. I killed the wounded Blue-Eyes, and let Kuroryu take the blame!"

"But why?!" Kuroryu shouted, causing himself to cough again, "Why did you do it?"

"Foolish Kuroryu...you were always a loyal soldier, and a decent leader for the clan, but you were always too stupid to see the big picture!"

Chazz nodded, "That fits Joey Wheeler alright-OW!" he cried out as a rock hit him in the forehead. As he rubbed the lump, he saw Christina dusting her hands, "Why you-,"

"Chazz, shaddup, bad guy dialogue's going on, and that's something you should never miss!" Jordan cracked, "Hush!"

The large dragon climbed over the rocky terrain and approached them, "For a long time, we've had this damnable truce between the clans. We've always had a patch of territory for our own, but that wasn't enough for me! When I saw that glorious opportunity, I slaughtered that fool of a Blue-Eyes!"

Kuroryu frowned, "I don't understand...,"

"It was a coup," Bastion answered.

Christina nodded, "My thoughts exactly,"

Jaden looked at them both, "Huh? You two lost me...,"

"Yeah, you lost all of us," Alexis agreed, a confused look on her face.

"Bastion, you explain, that's your thing,"

"Very well, Christina," Bastion cleared his throat, "To put it simply," he pointed at the Chaos Dragon, "He was power hungry, so given the opportunity, he killed the Northern Clan leader and in doing so, started this war,"

Jaden scratched his head, "I'm still lost,"

"That upset the balance between Light and Darkness," Bastion continued, "During the war, there would be battles, battles that would have casualties from both sides. However, he didn't really care about his losses, he just cared if the Northern Clan suffered. If they were weakened enough, he would take over and rule over both North and South regions,"

The Chaos Emperor laughed heartily, "That human has quite the mind! He figured it out way before you two," he glanced at the Blue-Eyes', "You're not all high and mighty as you claim...but that doesn't matter! My time as ruler has come, I've waited long enough! I'll cleanse this mountain and claim in it my name!" he roared as he took flight, rising higher and higher into the air.

"Cleanse the mountain?" Jaden repeated, "I don't like the sound of that!"

"EVERYONE! GET OUT OF HERE! RUN!" Kuroryu screamed, "He's going to burn everything on the mountain to ashes! There'll be nothing left!"

"WHAT?!"

"I don't think so!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon snapped his head to the side to see Lord Revastan speeding towards him on his dragon, his wicked blade held tightly in his hand.

The true leader of the Southern Clan chortled, "Ah, the mighty Lord Revastan! So glad you could make it. You may have taken down most of my clan, but it gives me a chance to kill you and take over this entire land completely!"

Lord Revastan smirked under his hood.

"Now, witness the true power of the Dark Dragons!" Chaos Emperor opened his mouth wide and everyone watched as a bright green light appeared in the back of his throat, dozens of small lights being pulled into it.

"Everyone, take cover!" Jaden shouted, wrapping Kuroryu's arm around his neck, "Run for it!"

Kuroryu coughed violently, "There's no chance for any of us...,"

They watched as the light in Chaos Emperor's mouth grew and grew, the intensity of his power rising to a new level.

"Well, as I said before," Christina sighed, "We're boned!"

After gathering as much energy as possible, Chaos Emperor finally fired off the giant ball of energy from his mouth and watched in glee as the orb of green light descended upon the mountain range.

"DIE!"

"I don't think so!"

Chaos Emperor, as well as the ones below him, watched in much surprise as the ball suddenly vanished from existence. They also watched as Lord Revastan and his dragon hovered in front them, looking unusually calm.

The Lord patted his dragon, "Good boy, Felgrand...thanks for canceling that out," he looked up at Chaos Emperor, "Your evil intentions has plagued this land for long enough, Emperor! I will not let you run rampant anymore, and I sure as hell won't let anymore innocents suffer! Felgrand, use your other power so we can free this land!"

His dragon, Felgrand, roared and everyone watched as a sudden burst of white light filled the air before surrounding the beautiful dragon's body completely.

"What's going on?" Alexis gaped at the sight, "What's he doing?"

"...that's his power!" Azuryu murmured, "We've seen it in his duels, but never in battle! It's a rare sight, so don't blink,"

Everyone watched as Lord Revastan and Felgrand engaged the huge dragon. Felgrand fired off a blast of white energy from his mouth that collided with the dragon's chest, knocking him against the rocky slope of the mountain.

"Damn you, human!" Chaos Emperor screeched, glaring up at Lord Revastan, "I'll have your head for that!"

The cloaked warrior leapt off Felgrand and landed directly on the huge dragon's breast, the Sword of Dragon's Soul glinting in the sunlight. Lord Revastan plunged the sword as deep as he could into the breast of Chaos Emperor and twisted hard.

Instantly, a bright green light poured out of the wound, Chaos Emperor roared in agony, writhing in his place on the mountain, his scream of pain echoing all around the area for everyone and everything to hear. Everyone watched as Lord Revastan pulled out the blade, and seconds later, an explosion of light occurred, making them all cover their eyes.

Man, Kristerr sure likes to make a game with explosions! Khamille thought, wincing at the light, Tone it down a bit, bro!

The light only lasted a few moments, but when it died down and everyone lowered their arms, they were greeted with yet another shock. Lord Revastan was standing only a few feet away now, his cloak fluttering behind him, and his hood now lowered, revealing his face.

Jaden's eyes bulged, "EVAN?!"

"NO FRIGGIN' WAY!" Christina shouted, "Evan's Lord Revastan?!"

Chazz stared in silence as Evan walked past them all, heading straight for Kuroryu. He looked over his wounds, "I didn't mean to go that far, Kuro...,"

Kuroryu coughed again, "It's alright...you did what you had to, Dragon Prince. I don't hate you for it," he smiled a little, "I made a foolish mistake of challenging you, and now, I gotta pay the price,"

Evan looked at him for a few moments, then turned to the Blue-Eyes brothers, "I'm borrowing his remains," he said firmly before walking towards the mound.

"What?" Azuryu stormed after him, "What do you think you're going to do with my brother's remains? Can't he have peace in death?!"

"He's dead, but not gone," Evan looked over his shoulder at him, "His spirit is tied to this place, and I think he'd be happy to help out,"

Jaden looked at the others, "I'm lost...?"

"Got us," Alexis and Jordan shrugged.

Everyone watched as a bright orb of light appeared above the mound and floated towards Kuroryu, who had now reverted to his true form, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"Kuro," Evan walked over to the dying dragon, "There is a chance to save you, but in doing so, there will be some conditions,"

"What kind?"

Evan looked at Azuryu, "The clans will be united. No South or North clans. Just one big one...,"

"How the hell do you expect us to unite two clans that have been trying to kill each other?!" Azuryu barked, his eye twitching, "I won't have it!"

"It's not up to you!" Evan pointed to the orb, "That is the spirit of your brother, and through me, he has told you the condition of saving Kuro's life. If you want to let him die, even after you've learned the truth...," he shook his head, "You're no different then Chaos Emperor,"

Azuryu glared daggers at him, "Insolent-,"

"We'll do it!" Shiryu chirped, "We'll do anything, just save him!" he glanced at his enraged brother, "He deserves a second chance...,"

After a few moments of silence, Azuryu nodded and turned away. With that, the soul orb entered the dragon's body and immediately, it began to glow.

"Jeez, not again!" Christina covered her eyes, "Should've brought shades!"

The light died away and a new, beautiful dragon stood proudly in Kuroryu's place. It was a large dragon, but it was very strange looking as well. One side had pure white scales and matching tail, while the other half had black scales and another tail.

The new dragon looked over himself, then looked at numerous bodies of dragons that littered the mountain, "So much bloodshed...so much pain...all because of one who wanted power over peace," it shook it's head slowly, "Not right...,"

Azuryu stepped towards the new dragon, "...brother Azushiryu, is that you?"

The dragon looked at the Blue-Eyes, "At one time, I was called that, and one point, I was also called Kuroryu...but no more do I carry either name,"

"Then what do we call you?" Evan asked, looking up at him.

"...I do not know, but for now, names do not matter," the dragon looked back to the cave den, "Aoiryu...,"

Azuryu and Shiryu both gasped, "Sister! We forgot about her!"

"Don't worry," Evan walked over to Felgrand, "She'll be fine. My healer friend is in there with her right now, tending to her, but...," he looked at the new dragon, "She may not recognize you right away, but she will be glad to see that you have returned,"

The dragon nodded, "Thanks to you, Lord Revastan. Perhaps in the future, we can have a duel like in the old days?"

Evan nodded, "I'd like that, but first," he looked over his shoulder, to the group of duelists behind him, "I believe some people are before you. What about it guys, still wanna duel?" he patted Felgrand on the back, "My friend here can carry all of you,"

The group turned from the dragons and huddled closely together.

"He took down a Chaos Emperor Dragon, should we still do it?"

"Why not? Jaden took down the Black Luster Soldier before, I'm sure one of us can take him on,"

"I'd really like to get this challenge over with and move to the next area, I think I've seen enough dragons to last a lifetime,"

"His dueling style does have me curious,"

"I'm all for it!"

"Same here, sounds like fun!"

"We got to if we want out of here, right?"

"Why are you dorks wondering if you should duel him? The Chazz is the one that'll clobber this guy!"

Alexis groaned, "So you've said...many times,".

They all looked at one another and after a few moments of silent debate, they all nodded and turned back around.

"Let's go!" Jaden smiled widely, "I can't wait to see this guy in a duel!"

Evan laughed and climbed onto Felgrand's back, "C'mon then, it's just a short flight to the Manor,"

As they climbed onto the dragon's back, Jaden felt something grab his leg. Slightly startled, he looked down to see Azuryu standing just below him, a large sack in his hand.

"What's up?"

Azuryu held up the sack, "Your friends forgot this back inside the cave, and Shiryu collected it before we came out. Also," he reached into the bag and pulled out a beautiful new duel disk, "You need a new one, if you wish to keep dueling, Jaden Yuki. This was once Azushiryu's before he died, but I think you need it more than him," he nodded to the new dragon as it lumbered into the cave.

Jaden stared at the disk as he took it from the Blue-Eyes' hand, "Wow...thanks, man," he slowly pulled it onto his arm and inserted his deck into it, "Thanks alot!"

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME, DAMMIT!"

Everyone looked back at the cave to see Noah running out of the cave, an annoyed look on his face.

Jaden reached out and helped him onto Felgrand's back, "Was wondering where you were...,"

"I got lost," Noah huffed, "...and I almost got left behind," he added, eye twitching.

"Chazz's idea!" Jordan said quickly.

"WHAT?!"

BONK!

Chazz doubled over, rubbing the lump on his head, "Ow!"

Noah dusted his hands, "Okay, I feel better now,"

-----

Back in the real world, Kairi sighed as she stared at the monitor.

"It's about damn time they met up with the Lord!" she glared at Kristerr, "You better not have made each journey to the rest as long as this one has, or I'm gonna pound you!"

Kristerr rubbed his eyes, "You do remember I'm filling in for Banner at school, right? Once summer vacation is over...,"

Kairi became silent and turned back to the monitor.

"Thought so," Kristerr leaned back in his chair, I just hope that the others were wrong about what's happening in the game...otherwise, we're screwed!

"Just so you know, though," Kairi looked at his reflection in the monitor, "The game's got some tiny plotholes in here, for the storyline,"

Kristerr glared at her, "It's my first video game, kid, cut me some slack!"

-----

In the dark room, the hacker watched the video of Jaden and the others as they approached Revastan Manor. Taking a drag of it's cigarette, the hacker grinned.

"I'll wait 'til they get there...then I'll make it permanent! Enjoy the duel, kids...because it's one of the last ones you'll ever see!"

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Kilnorc: Okay, I hope that chapter was enjoyable. Sorry if it seemed a bit lacking of details, but I've been under a bit of stress and I apologize if it was blah...but, I'll make up for it! Up next, the long awaited duel with the first Game Marshal! Hehehehe...