Chapter 12: Darkness (Pt. 1)

'Father King!' exclaimed the small girl as she hurried along the aisle to give a warm embrace to her father. 'Where have you been? Little Seraph's been looking for you all day!'

The man put down the watering pot in his hand and welcomed his beloved daughter with his arms wide open. 'Come here, my dear Seraph.'

Her eyes widened with joy. Although she was just a small girl, she already knew what 'paternal love' is all about. She hugged her father tightly, indulging herself in a world where only she and her father were present. She liked the warmth of her father's body very much.

'Little Seraph missed you, Father King. Where have you been?' she whined.

'Look at this, my dear Seraph,' her father pointed to a young shoot in front of them. A few pieces of tender, green leaves had already sprouted out of it. 'I've been watering it all day.'

'Watering? Why do you need to water the tree?'

'Because only then it will grow, my Seraph,' explained her father. 'Plants need water to grow.'

'Just like Yami?' she asked.

'Correct, Seraph, just like Yami,' said her father.

'And you are the water that will make Yami grow tall and strong?' little Seraph asked in an ignorant tone. She played around with the shoot, trying to catch the butterfly flapping her iridescent wings near its young leaves.

'No, Seraph, no,' denied her father. 'You will be the water that make Yami grow tall and strong. You, my dear princess, Seraph O John.'

'Why? Why, Father King?'

'Because I'm only fit to be the watering pot,' said the father, pointing a finger at the container on the ground. 'You, Seraph, will be the water inside that makes Yami to grow tall and strong.'

'But why? Why can't you be the water?' little Seraph realized something was wrong from their seemingly childish and innocent conversation. Her father was clearly hiding something from her.

The next week, their palace hidden in the mountains were barged into by a group of masked men. Seraph could still remember that day. It was etched deeply in her mind.

'No, Father King, no, don't leave me!' screamed little Seraph, as she lied down under a wooden chair to avoid being seen by them. She could not do anything. She could only watch at a corner, witnessing her father being shot in the leg, handcuffed and brought onto an armed truck by the masked men.

Her big palace was completely turned into ruins that day. The group of masked men destroyed everything in their path as they rummaged through the place. They killed all the people who served her father. Stabbed all the maids. Shot her old housekeeper ruthlessly with a rifle. They even murdered her father's friends and the bodyguards who tried to protect her at all costs. Blood splattered all around the house. Adults were shouting and running away from the uninvited guests.

The young shoot that her father grew at the garden last week was dead. Trampled and crushed over by the big feet of those 'evil men'. She begged to God that the plant would not be harmed, but it could not be fulfilled eventually.

'My Mistress!' Somebody suddenly grabbed hold of her and rushed her away from the palace. It was Fate Ingris; one of her father's most trusted helper. A mere twelve-year old teenager at that time who had sworn to serve her father till eternity.

'Why? Why are these people…? Why do they take Father King away?' wailed little Seraph.

Holding her in his arms, Fate did not say anything. He ran and ran, out of the palace, down the mountain, through the dark, creepy forest in the valleys, until a small wooden hut deep in the woods. A few of the masked men followed them, but luckily they lost track of them afterwards.

'Those were the United Nations' people,' explained Fate, as he washed his dirty suit beside the river. 'They thought Yami is evil, so they come to take your Father King away.'

'Yami is not evil!' insisted little Seraph. 'Father King said he wants everyone to join Yami so that the world can be a better place!' She sat down on the bank sadly, dipping her feet into the clear river water. Her father would bring her to this river for a swim whenever she felt down.

'Yeah, but those guys won't listen to his ideologies.' retorted Fate. He walked over to little Seraph and bent down to look at the pendant on her neck. 'That Sacred Talisman… It's your Father King's possession, right my Mistress?'

'Yes, Father King gave it to me,' replied little Seraph. 'He said it would be useful in the future.'

'He left me a note last night,' said Fate, taking out a crumpled piece of paper from his shirt pocket. 'He also reminded me to look after the Sacred Talisman for you, since it holds the key to Yami's powers.'

'What powers?' asked Seraph, holding onto her pendant.

'He tells me in the note that…' Fate started to read out the note. '…You must go to the Shaman when you're six to receive training on…' He stopped at the last word.

'On? On what?'

'He didn't write anymore after that,' said Fate, revealing the piece of paper in his hand.

'Bang!' someone fired a gun from faraway. The ear piercing sound it made echoed in the mountains.

Little Seraph was scared. She began to cry. 'Father King, Father King…!'

'Hush, hush, my dear Mistress…' consoled the young servant. 'I believe he is still alive, my Mistress.'

'Father King instructed me to become the water that makes Yami grow tall and strong…' wailed Seraph, rubbing her red, swollen eyes.

'Yes, my Mistress, you'll become the water. You will lead Yami to become tall and strong, my Mistress…' said Fate, hugging little Seraph. Slowly she calmed down.

'I swear to God, that I'll kill those United Nations men, in the name of Yami!' asserted the little Seraph, her eyes red with fire. She had made her determination. 'I will not forgive them! I will make Yami known to the whole world, and I will not let my Father King down!'

The previous night.

'Sir Neo, the Akira Report has arrived.'

'Great,' the darkness covered the man like a veil; nothing could be seen of him. He clasped his two feeble hands together, making a vague noise that echoed throughout the black room. Following, there was a click sound and a silhouette hurried over to him.

'Here it is, Sir Neo.'

The silver moonlight that now penetrated through the glass ceiling revealed a bald man in his early fifties, bowing his head at another person. He was seated comfortably on what seemed to be like a wheelchair.

'Good job,' commended Sir Neo with his usual deep voice. There was the noise of paper being torn. 'I appreciate the help you have provided for me over the past two decades.'

'It's nothing, Sir Neo.' The bald man was flattered. 'Now if you may refer to page thirty-eight of the Report…' He offered to flip the pages over for his employer.

'Hgn?' Sir Neo snorted as he glanced through the page. 'Fate Ingris? The name's familiar.'

'Yes. He is the right-hand man for the dead Ronald O John, as you can see. According to Soteria, he is currently working for Ronald's daughter, Seraph O John, the leader of Al-Magnum.'

'I already knew that,' said Sir Neo. 'Bring me to the actual point.'

'However…' the man paused for a few seconds to take a deep breath, and continued. '…Fate Ingris has already been found dead two years prior to the establishment of Al-Magnum. So…'

'Sacred Talisman's purposes may be more than we thought, Sir,' he coughed a little and proceeded with his explanation. 'Just as your Testament predicted.'

Sir Neo gasped for a moment. 'Sakura…' he mumbled with a faint voice.

'What, Sir?' the bald man seemed to hear something.

'...'

'Sakura… Kendai…'

'Onii-chan! Amaya has done it!' The brown-haired girl smiled broadly. 'Moonlight Raider, destroy that monster! Lunar Beam!'

There was a sudden flash of light and the next moment, Rin and Rei's Life Points went down to 800.

Amaya smirked as she put on a victory pose. Having absolute confidence with herself after the training in Europe, she thought her triumph would only be a matter of time.

'Now…' she said to herself, ignoring the pilots of the two Darkness Units whining like idiots behind. '…Let's see how would the Yuchi bugger handle his duel.' She pressed a button on her keyboard. The screen buzzed and showed a broadcast of the battle on the other Duel Lane.

'My turn!' Yuchi shouted as he pulled out his card. 'It's here!' He smiled.

'During this turn, Angel Gardna is destroyed,' he announced, putting his faithful monster into his Graveyard slot. 'Thank you,' he whispered to the card.

He proceeded with his next strategy. 'Flip Summon!' he pointed at the set monster on his field. 'Hand of the Light.' Rather than being a fairy like Yuchi's other monsters, this Hand of the Light looked more like a fairy's pet. It was a tiny dragon with white wings and a long tail.

'Hand of the Light's flip effect,' Yuchi explained. 'By paying 1000 Life Points, I Special Summon one Fairy-Type Tuner Monster from my hand.'

'Really?' laughed Honda.

'You want to lower your Life Points just for that?' agreed Toyota.

Yuchi's Life Points dropped to 2000. 'I Special Summon the Level 3 Magical Fairy Apprentice.'

'And then,' Yuchi picked out another card from his hand. 'I tribute Hand of the Light to Advance Summon the Level 5 Sapphire Angel!' Two of Yuchi's favorite monsters emerged, moving proudly alongside his Unit.

'Sapphire Angel's effect! I draw one card from my deck!' cried Yuchi. He looked at it and let out a grin. 'Thank you, my cards.'

Yuchi closed his eyes, took a deep breath and declared, 'I tune my Magical Fairy Apprentice and Sapphire Angel together!' The large green rings descended from the sky and enclosed the two monsters.

'The lord of paradise, descend from the sky! Flap your great wings, and bring me to victory! Synchro Summon, my faithful ace, Supernova Angel Knight!'

'When Magical Fairy Apprentice is used as a Synchro Material Monster, I add one Equip Spell Card from my Deck to hand,' announced Yuchi as he searched through his deck to find a suitable card. 'Here it is! I activate my Equip Spell Card, Axe of Despair! Supernova Angel Knight gains 1000 Attack Points!' The white warrior let out a loud battle cry.

'From my hand, I equip another Spell Card to my Supernova Angel Knight,' Yuchi smiled. 'Wings of Hope.'

The wings on Supernova Angel Knight gradually turned golden in color. It gleamed with a bright light under the afternoon sun.

'Supernova Angel Knight attacks Geb the Earth Guardian!' declared Yuchi. 'Your Trap Card has lost its effect, so Geb's Attack is now back to 2800.' The white warrior held its sword high above his head, ready to slash the bull-headed beast in front of him.

'I won't let you!' cried Toyota, suddenly accelerating his Darkness Unit. 'I activate Nud the Wind Guardian's effect. When Geb the Earth Guardian is targeted for an attack, I can change that target to Nud,' the emerald phoenix soaring above the sky descended and protected Geb from the sword-slashing attack with its giant wings.

'And then, as long as Geb the Earth Guardian is on the field, Nud the Wind Guardian cannot be destroyed by battle! I won't let you destroy the bonds of us brothers! Not by a little bastard like you, Yuchi Kendai!'

'The effect of Equip Spell Card, Wings of Hope activates. By sending this card to the Graveyard, Supernova Angel Knight gains 1000 Attack Points and can attack once more this turn,' Yuchi ignored the twin's cries and continued with his brutal assault. 'Your Nud's effect can only activate once per turn, am I right?'

Toyota screamed as if he had seen a ghost, but Honda remained calm and collected. Supernova Angel Knight's Attack increased to 4500 and it held its sword up again to prepare for another attack.

Slash! The white warrior ruthlessly sliced the bull-headed demon into half and destroyed it. Honda and Toyota's Life Points went down to 2300.

'Toyota, activate your Trap Card! We shall let him witness the power of us brothers,' snorted Honda.

'Y… Yes, brother! Trap Card, Rage of Wind! When Geb the Earth Guardian is destroyed while Nud the Wind Guardian is on the field, you receive 1000 damage!' A shockwave shot out of the two Darkness Units and it struck Yuchi, reducing his Life Points to 1000. But Yuchi retained the smile on his face.

'A real duelist thinks of how to utilize his own strategy well…'

'His own strategy…'

'His own strategy…'

'Yeah, Tenshi…' Yuchi whispered to himself. 'It's not about my opponent, it's about me!'

'It's still my turn!' declared Yuchi. 'I activate the Normal Spell Card, Ragnarok Stream!'

A gust of strong wind blew as Yuchi played his card. The pilots embraced themselves, as they were exposed to the open.

'Sorry, Supernova Angel Knight! I select and destroy my monster!' the white warrior let out his battle cry for the last time as he slowly disintegrated into shining sparkles.

'Huh?'

'Why would you destroy your own monster?'

'Because if I don't do so, I would not be able to destroy your monster,' laughed Yuchi. 'Ragnarok Stream's effect! I destroy Nud the Wind Guardian and inflict damage to both of you equal to its Attack Points!'

'You shall not do so!' cried Honda. 'I activate the last Trap Card on my Field, Earthbound Wishes!'

As a hurricane started to blow, accompanied with flashes of lightning in the sky and thunder roaring, the emerald phoenix was gradually turning into stone. Eventually, it could no longer move; it was motionless, hanging in the sky until the strong wind began to corrode it into pieces.

'Earthbound Wishes activates! It halves the damage caused by a card effect.' The twins' did not lose. Their Life Points still remained at a steady 1100.

'And then, I draw a card, and if it's an EARTH-Attribute monster, I can Special Summon it to the Field!' jeered Honda. He pulled out a card from his deck. Yuchi gasped.

Disappointed by the outcome, Honda put the card into his hand and proceeded to control his Darkness Unit. Yuchi let out a sigh of relief.

'You still have a lot to learn, Yuchi Kendai,' Honda said, putting on an ambiguous smile. 'While you have great potential, I can see that you are still undecided.'

'Why did he suddenly say all these to me?' Yuchi thought. He was confused by that last sentence. 'Undecided? Great potential? What does he mean?'

...

'My Mistress, everything has been prepared,' Fate reported. 'What's left is only your Sacred Talisman.'

'Excellent. Now I shall show the world again, the powers my father left to me,' lauded the pink-haired girl, as she stepped down her throne and moved towards her magic circle in the middle of the hall.

With both her eyes closed, she stood in the center of the magic circle, holding the pendant in her hand. The runes carved on the floor around the magic circle glowed in pink.

Seraph slowly picked up both her hands, and chanted something in her mouth.

'Mother of all Darkness,

I call upon thee.

Thy powers shalt be awakened,

Thy powers no longer bounded.

Thou shalt be released,

As the embodiment of curse and despair…'

The runes glowed even brighter. When the girl opened her eyes once more, they were no longer black like she had moments ago. They were red; deep, shining red like blood, with fire burning in them.

'My Mistress!' shouted Fate.

'I'm alright,' smiled Seraph. She closed her eyes once more and cried, 'Darkness, grant me access to the minds of the ten people!'

It was the second time Yuchi had seen such things happening in front of him.

The twins, Honda and Toyota, seemed to have been possessed by some kind of evil spirit. They struggled to regain control of their bodies, but no matter what their minds did not seem to listen to their commands. Their eyes were shining red, just like what Yuchi had seen before. Black mist shrouded their Darkness Units.

'I need to stay focus, I can't falter like this…' Yuchi reminded himself that he should not repeat what had happened before. 'The other pilots can be so calm, why can't I do that as well?'

'We meet again, Yuchi Kendai,' laughed Honda in a sharp, girlish voice again unlike his own. 'I am the leader of Al-Magnum, controlling these people as and when I wish.'

'Why?' shouted Yuchi. 'Why do you have to resort to such means near the end of each duel?'

'Because my pilots are no longer useful,' explained Toyota in the same voice. 'They have served me well, but still they disappointed me at the end.'

'Just because they didn't defeat me?'

'You're quite smart, Yuchi Kendai,' lauded Honda. 'During each of Al-Magnum's operations, when I see that my pilots are at the brink of defeat, I shall "help" them, by taking over their useless bodies as well as the duel.'

'What's your reason?'

'It gives me opportunities to test out my skills before the "big day" comes,' said Toyota. 'Now… why not we stop this pointless conversation and move on to the duel?' He ended with a hysterical laugh.

'You bastard…' Yuchi cursed, something that he would do only when he was extremely angry. 'I will not forgive you for all the mess you have done!' He grasped onto his controller tightly.

'DUEL!' declared the three duelists.

Don't miss the second last chapter in Part One of the story… Chapter 13: Darkness (Pt. 2)!

Card of the Chapter

Wings of Hope (Equip Spell Card)

Equipped only to a Fairy-Type monster. The equipped monster cannot be targeted by the effects of cards that lower ATK or DEF. During your Battle Phase, you can send this card equipped to a monster to the Graveyard. That monster gains 1000 Attack Points, and can attack once more this Battle Phase.

...

A Note from the Author

*sighs in relief*

Only two more chapters to go before Part One ends!

It has been an enjoyable time so far.

Thanks to this fanfiction, I now love writing as much as I love watching anime and manga.

I plan to enter the Writers' Corner once my high school starts in February.

Anyway, talking about my favorite chapters I have written so far.

It would be Chapter 7: Blood and this chapter.

Why? Because they give more insight to some of the characters I like very much.

In Chapter 7, we know more about Jun Higurashi and his sad past.

For this chapter, Seraph's backstory is explored, and it gives the readers a new perspective to her character.

We learn that she did not originally intend to become Al-Magnum's leader, and I myself feel pitiful for her after writing this chapter.

More about Seraph and her servant, Fate Ingris, will be explored in Part Two and Three of the fanfiction, so don't miss them!

Please continue to support my fanfiction! Arigatou ne!

- Project M.G.

P/S: There will be a Special Chapter in February after Part One ends. More details will be given at the end of Chapter 14.