"Now, I'll get my Warrior of the Dark Aura - Kirud to attack you directly!" Arlene screamed at the top of her voice as Hayden's monster sliced at her.

Arlene: 1500
Hayden: 1000

What's wrong with me? Why am I so scared? It's only a hologram! Despite her self encouragement, Arlene couldn't shake her fear. Just...just think rationally and you'll be fine! Arlene nervously picked up her card.

"I...I'll..." Arlene stuttered and became very conscious of everyone staring at her. "I...p...play two Dian Keto the...C...ure Master, to bring my life points up by 2000 in t...total."

Arlene: 3500
Hayden: 1000

"That changes nothing." Hayden told her darkly. Arlene turned white when he spoke, and struggled on with her turn.

"I'll summon m...my Balance Warrior Vimetu (0900/2100) to the field in d...defence mode. Then I'll play my...own Artificial Aura!" Arlene was visibly shaking at this point.

I'm NOT scared! I can do this!

"Artificial Aura a...allows me to add one Light or...D...Dark Aura..." Arlene stopped and looked at Hayden's monster. "I surrender." The announcer shook his head.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't..."

"I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER!" Arlene screamed, but the announcer shook his head again.

"If you want this duel to be over," Hayden spoke up, "then end your turn." Arlene blanched with fear.

No...if I end my turn, he'll attack with...K...Kirud. The thought proved too much for Arlene and she passed out.

"What got into the girl?"

"I don't know. When Hayden summoned that monster she started screaming that she wanted to surrender." Arlene recognised the man's voice - the announcer. She couldn't tell who the other one was though.

"So what's been done?"

"We put that up as a loss for her. She's out of the tournament now."

"I see. Well I guess it was the best option. After all, she might have been faking her fear to change opponents!"

"Mm. Well, I've been here long enough. The tournament must go on! Now let's see who's next up..." There was the rustling sound of paper. The last sound Arlene heard before she lost consciousness.

"And now for the final match! It's Hayden versus Fay!" Fay glowered at Hayden, who did nothing in response.

"Let us begin." Hayden said quietly as they drew their cards.

Fay: 4000
Hayden: 4000

I can't let this guy win. Not after what he did to Arlene! Fay thought to herself.

"Alright then! I'll start by summoning my Kelbek (1500/1800) in attack mode! Then I'll place one card face down!" Hayden drew his card.

"I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon on your face down card." Fay was impassive as her card was destroyed. "Then I'll summon my Balance Warrior Kirud (1500/1500) to the field. Then I'll play the magic card Darkness Rising. This means that from now on, all magic cards release Dark Auras instead of light ones, including this one." A Dark Aura started to swirl around Kirud. "Next I'll play the magic card Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards, provided I discard two cards in my hand afterwards." Hayden picked up three cards and then selected two cards to send to the graveyard, and another Dark Aura circled Kirud. "I'll then play Meteor of Destruction, inflicting 1000 points of damage to you." Fay shielded herself as a Meteor smashed into her.

Fay: 3000
Hayden: 4000

Will this guy end his turn already? Fay wasn't scared by Hayden, but she was wary.

"Now that Kirud has three Dark Auras on him, I'll play Disrupting the Balance, sending Kirud and his three Dark Auras to the graveyard, in order to bring out Warrior of the Dark Aura - Kirud (2500/1500) from my fusion deck." Fay watched as Kirud started transforming, until he was a darkened image of his former self. "I'll now play my Poison of the Old Man magic card, allowing me to inflict 800 points of damage to you." Fay winced as her life points went down.

Fay: 2200
Hayden: 4000

"Since Darkness Rising is still on the field, Poison of the Old Man releases a Dark Aura. However, since Kirud is now consumed by darkness, whenever he would gain a Dark Aura, he gains two." Two Dark Auras started swirling around Kirud, but they looked different from normal Dark Auras. They now seemed to move with purpose, and Fay was sure that she saw hollowed eyes in the Auras. "And now for Kirud's effect. Once per turn, I can remove a Dark Aura to inflict 1000 points of damage to you." An Aura detached from the Warrior of the Dark Aura and raced towards Fay, going right through her before shattering.

Fay: 1200
Hayden: 4000

"Now, Kirud will activate his second effect. During battle, he gains 500 attack points for every Dark Aura he has. So Kirud, attack Kelbek and end this duel."

He's going to beat me after one turn? No way! Fay watched as the Dark Aura powered up Kirud (2500/1500 - 3000/1500) before it sliced Kelbek cleanly in two.

Fay: 0000
Hayden: 4000

"Hayden is the winner!" Hayden looked impassive as the announcer spoke. Fay walked away from the Duel Area to check up on Arlene.

A security guard had seen the duel and now pressed several buttons on his phone.

"Hello, sir. I'm just calling you to inform you that Fay Britt has lost a match. We await your orders." The guard paused as someone spoke on the other end of the line. "Again, sir?" The guard asked once the person on the other end had finished speaking. "But we already...ah, I see. So what should we do with...very well, sir. We'll carry out your orders." The man hung up and then called another phone. Within a few seconds the person on the other end had picked up. "We've received orders. Capture Fay Britt. Close up the card stalls and such and take the money. Knock out anyone who forcefully tries to stop these orders from being carried out. Once everything is safely packed away, get as far away from the island as possible. Then we torch it." There was sounds of protest on the other end of the line but the guard interjected. "I don't understand it either, but orders are orders. Are you going to question them?" There was silence. "Good." He hung up and buried his head in his hands for a few minutes before walking away.

Arlene woke up to the sound of screams. Her eyes shot open and stared at her surroundings.

Everything was burning.

The forest, the Dorms, the Academy Building...they were all covered in fire. Arlene looked on in horror.

What's going on? Why is everything...again? What's happening? Looking round, Arlene couldn't see anyone. Maybe they're getting off the island at the pier? I need to find out what's going on. Arlene raced off.

When she got there, all of the boats were ablaze. There were corpses scattered around, all looking charred. There were a lot of people still alive, and they were mostly screaming or curled up in balls, refusing to accept what was happening. Arlene looked around, but saw no signs of Fay or Bryon.

Where else could they be? The dorms? The forest? The mountains? Arlene decided to check the Dorm areas first.

Arlene found Bryon at the Slifer Red Dorm. He was staring up at the building as it burned to the ground.

"Bryon!" Arlene called out. Bryon turned and looked at her with surprise.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes round.

"I came to find you! Now come on, we have to find Fay!"

"That wouldn't be a wise choice." Arlene was puzzled.

"W...what? What are you talking about?" Bryon giggled insanely.

"Fay's running, but we'll find her! She can't get off the island, we made sure of that!" Arlene stared at Bryon.

"...Did you have something to do with the burning of the dorms?" Arlene asked quietly. Bryon laughed again.

"Burn the heart, and the whole building goes up in flames! Oh yes, Arlene. It was my job to make sure that Slifer Red burned to the ground!" Arlene just looked stunned. Finally she spoke.

"Who are you working for?"

"Now, now Arlene, that's classified information! Needless to say though, Erick Guerra's one of us. So's the boy who scared you so much, Hayden."

"And you held this tournament to set the island on fire?" Bryon smiled.

"Oh, silly Arlene, of course not! We also wanted to make some money!"

"You...BASTARD!" Arlene swore loudly and raced up to him. Bryon punched her right in the stomach, causing her to double up with pain.

"I wont fight you. I will duel you though. I want revenge after you beat me." Arlene stood up and glared at him coldly.

"I don't duel scum." She said venomously. Bryon's eyes hardened.

"I didn't give you a choice. Look at your stomach." Arlene felt her stomach and found there was a small electrical device. "It's just a little something to make this duel more interesting. Look, I have one as well!" Bryon pulled up his shirt to reveal the same device attached to his skin. "Lose all your life points and you lose your life. And if you leave before the duel's done...instant death. Now. Let's duel."

Fay was running for her life. The sound of footsteps behind her were the only things stopping her from collapsing on the spot. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

I can't run for much longer. She didn't know where she was running to, but all she knew was she had to find somewhere safe. Please...someone help! Bryon! Arlene! Anyone! No-one came to help her, and she collapsed, face down on the floor as the sound of footsteps approached.

Whew! A few revelations there. I'd also like to say that, with prelims looming (starting on the 2nd of February - argh!) updates on this story will be less frequent, meaning that there may not be any for a while. My prelims end on the 9th though, so I'll be able to continue with this at a regular pace. This doesn't mean that there wont be any more parts until the 9th of February, it just means that updates will be more unpredictable until the 9th. Thanks!

New cards...

Darkness Rising
Continuous Magic
Image: A Pot of Greed card releasing a Dark Aura.
Effect: While this card is on the field, all magic cards that you play - including this card - release Dark Auras rather than Light Auras.