Chapter 2
Chaos Emperor Dragons and Whatnot
(A/N: I'm back! I had writer's block for the last few weeks and could not figure out what to write. I finally settled on adding a bit of altoshipping to the story, because I don't think that just the first chapter did it justice. So here goes.)
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Ash stretched and yawned, then looked around dizzily at the unfamiliar environment as the events of the night before came back to him. He had come back to Altomare, and the Soul Dew had gone out, with no negative effects on the city. He swung himself out of bed and threw on his jacket. Descending the stairs, he entered the dining room, expecting to find Bianca or Lorenzo. That's when things began happening really fast. A huge dragon flew at him with a deafening roar. Ash jumped back, tripped over his own feet, and toppled to the ground. "Ash, you okay?" Bianca's voice came from somewhere above him. He got to his feet and looked around wildly for the creature that had lunged at him two sentences before. It was nowhere to be seen. However, something seemed to calling him over to a chest of drawers.
"Ash?" Bianca said confusedly at the strange behavior of her friend. Ash paid no notice and opened the chest to see a golden box, shining dimly through the dust that covered it. He blew the dust off of it and opened it. He nearly dropped the box when the dragon he had seen appeared within it. "Wait…" He looked closer and realized he was staring at a playing card, titled the Chaos Emperor Dragon. "What's this?" He asked Lorenzo, pulling out the card and showing it to the gondola driver, who was currently in the kitchen, making pancakes. Lorenzo did a double take, and his eyes widened.
"WHOA!" He yelled, lunging at Ash and grabbing the card. He threw it back in the case it had come from and tossed that in the drawer. He slammed the drawer closed and panted for breath. "Let me just make this clear. Don't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever touch that card under any circumstances."
"Why?" Ash asked. "Is it cursed or something?"
"Yes." Lorenzo said. "Millennia ago, two of the most powerful creatures on the planet fought a duel. They were the Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End, and Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning. The clash grew so brutal, that it threatened to destroy the earth. A brave sorcerer used his magic to seal the souls of the two creatures within cards. I found the Chaos Emperor Dragon thirty years ago, when I was about 49. I was digging out in the garden, wanting to plant a tree, when I struck something hard. I dug it up and found the box that you have just seen. I opened it and found the Chaos Emperor Dragon card. I had heard of its power, and vowed never to use it, though I have been tempted many times. I locked it in the drawer, and decided to forget about it. At least, I thought I had locked it." He said thoughtfully, glancing at the closed chest. "Maybe the lock failed." He turned to Ash and Bianca and gave them both a piercing gaze. "I want you two to swear to forget about the card, and to never mention it again."
"I promise." Bianca said instantly. Ash was silent.
"Ash?" Lorenzo looked at him.
"Yes, Lorenzo." Ash said finally. The group forgot about the incident, and day went without a hitch. The night, however…
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Ash crept downstairs in the middle of the night holding a pin. He walked quietly over to the chest containing the powerful Chaos Emperor Dragon. He reached out with the pin to pick the lock.
Click.
Ash stared confusedly at the lock, which had apparently just clicked open on its own. "Weird." He shook off this fact and opened the drawer. There sat the golden box. The boy reached out and picked it up. He held it up to the light and opened it up. There sat the cursed card. Ash picked it up. "Cool." He turned and came face to face with a very angry Lorenzo. "Yeep!"
"I trusted you, Ash. I trusted you, and you deliberately disobeyed me." He said flatly, devoid of any emotion, in complete contrast to the unadulterated rage that gripped his expression.
"Lorenzo…"
"I told you that card was cursed! It is too powerful! I thought you would have the responsibility to adhere to my wishes, but oh, no…" Lorenzo said, this time a little angrier.
"Lorenzo…"
"I can't believe that you would go and do this!" Lorenzo roared. "Now I want you to put that card away, pack your things and GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
Ash was silent for a few seconds. "No. I don't think I will." He said finally. "I like this card, and I think I wish to keep it."
Lorenzo turned white, then red, and then purple. "I said to give me that CARD!" He yelled, lunging. Ash braced himself, but suddenly his hand came up of its own accord. Lorenzo was lifted into the air by some invisible hand. Ash realized that he was no longer in control of his body.
"Chill out, Lorenzo." His mouth said. "Don't want you to have a coronary. I think that it would be better if you forget this ever happened. Mind Delete!"
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"Ash…Ash…Ash!" Bianca said, lightly slapping the trainer's face. Ash sat up.
"What happened?" He said groggily.
"You were sleepwalking and took a tumble down the stairs." Bianca said. Lorenzo went over to the chest of drawers and tried to open it. It was locked, and Lorenzo sighed with relief.
"The dragon is still safe and sound." Said Lorenzo. "Who wants pancakes?"
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Ash walked out into the garden after breakfast and looked around. The garden seemed peaceful and quiet, but Ash couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. He didn't have to think about that, though. Latias flew through the trees towards him. She flew in front of him and let out a happy cry.
"Hey, Latias!" Ash said. Latias answered with another call. "Latias, I was thinking, maybe we could hang around Altomare for the day. I mean, I didn't stay for long after, well, after what happened a week ago…" He didn't have to say any more. Latias transformed into her human form and grabbed Ash's hand, pulling him to the portal. Little did they know that they were being followed…
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Latias and Ash walked over one of the many bridges in Altomare, taking in the incredible scenery. The Water Capital of the world seemed untroubled, and unaware of the fact that a legendary Pok'emon was right under its nose. Latias pointed out many wonderful sights in the city, but Ash had other things on his mind. Something seemed to nag at the back of his mind, as if there was another him inside of his mind. This personality, however, seemed stronger, and more confident. Something brought him out of his thoughts however, as he realized for the first time something was in his pocket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck. On top of the deck, and in pride of place, was the legendary Chaos Emperor Dragon. Lorenzo's pancakes seemed to plunge to the bottom of his stomach. How did the cards get in his pocket? He quickly slipped the deck back into his pocket as Latias turned to look at him. Ash stared into her eyes, and a strange feeling started in the pit of his stomach. 'I'm human, she's not, I'm human, she's not…' He mentally repeated. He was interrupted when Latias leaned forward slightly, as she did a week before…Suddenly she looked behind Ash and gave a silent gasp. Ash turned to see a strange, cloaked figure standing there. The figure stared at them for a few seconds and then ran off. "Hey!" Ash yelled. "Get back here!" He ran after the fleeing figure, Latias hot on his heels.
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Left, right, right, left, left, right, left, right, right, left…Ash lost track of the twists and turns as he and Latias chased the strange being. At last, the two cornered the being at a dead end. "Gotcha!" Ash said triumphantly. The being paid no attention, turned, and walked into the wall.
"Oh no!" Ash yelled. "He got into the garden!" He ran into the portal, followed by Latias. Ash ran out of the tunnel to see the cloaked thing standing in front of the Soul Dew's fountain. Ash ran as fast as he could down the stairs and over to the cloaked one. "Mark my words, if you lay one finger on that crystal, then so help me, I'll…"
The figure turned slowly and stared at Ash with burning red eyes. Ash took a step back. "…let you go free! Hey, who am I to tell you what and what no to do?"
"Rest assured, Ash Ketchum. I have no interest in the Soul Dew. But what I do wish to know is why you are going out with a Pok'emon when you are a human."
Ash shrugged. "Why not? I like her, she likes me, so it all works out, right?"
"Eeengh! Wrong-o!" Said the cloaked being. "It isn't meant to be, Ash, and now I am going to prove that fact in a duel!" The being threw a part of his cloak off of his arm and revealed a strange device. He pulled a deck, similar to the one that Ash had found in his pocket a few paragraphs ago, and put it in the device. The device seemed to activate in a way, creating a strange tray of panels.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ash said, waving his arms in a time-out signal. "You mean I'm supposed to play a card game to see if I can still go out with Latias?"
"Yes, Ketchum, now you're catching on! If you accept..." The cloaked figure held up a hand and another device appeared out of nowhere in his palm. He threw it at Ash, and the trainer caught it. "…Then you will have no problem using this to do so."
Ash placed the device on his arm and locked it in place. Then he took his deck out and placed it in as the being had done, and the machine activated in the same way.
"This is a duel-disk." Said the being. "And it acts as a portable table on which to duel, so people with these devices can duel anywhere, anytime. I trust that you know how to play? Knowledge of this game will be invaluable now, because there is quite a bit at stake here."
Latias stared at Ash in shock. 'He accepted a game that he doesn't know how to play!' She was about to protest, but Ash interrupted her.
"It's strange, but ever since last night, it's like I know exactly what I'm doing!" He said, more to himself. "All right, I don't know who you are, but you are in big trouble now!" Ash held up his duel disk and the number 8000 appeared on a monitor on the disk. The cloaked being held up his disk, and the same thing happened. As if on some invisible cue, the two said a two-word sentence that rang throughout the garden like a giant gong;
"LET'S DUEL!"
(A/N: Sorry that the cloaked figure had to ruin the 'moment', but heck, I wanted to get to the action! Dueling will start in the next chapter, and trust me, it will rock your world! See you in chapter 3!)