Ruler of the Gentle Darkness (Chapter Thirteen)
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
Once Jaden had managed to control himself he walked over to the spot where Marco once stood; all that was left of him was The Wicked Dreadroot card. Jaden bent down and picked up the card and felt the darkness flow through the card into him and heard a deep voice.
"Forgive me my king; I couldn't break free."
Jaden knew it was the spirit of The Wicked Dreadroot 'Do not worry about it' Jaden responded back mentally. 'Together we'll crush the light and banish it to the deepest, darkest corners of the universe where no light will ever reach it again.'
With that Jaden turned his golden gaze to Reiner and mouthed 'You're next' before slashing his throat with his finger indicating when they dueled Jaden would kill him. Reiner scowled as his henchmen was destroyed and a second Wicked God card was out of his possession.
Nervously the MC announced "That is the end of the quarterfinals; the Semi-Finals and Final duels will take place tomorrow at exactly 10:00. The four finalists are Serenity Taylor, Jesse Anderson, Jaden Yuki and Reiner. Duelists you have the rest of today to yourselves."
Immediately Jaden's friends walked up to him as he began to walk away "Jaden –" Jesse began.
"I want to be alone" was all Jaden said before walking off. His friends could do nothing, but watch as Jaden walked off.
SCENE CHANGE
No one had seen Jaden at all that entire night even when a couple of his friends went to his room to check on him. No one answered the door and whenever they tried calling him the phone would hang up after one beep showing he knew they were calling, but didn't want to talk.
Jaden was standing silently at the beach staring out at the ocean from his bed. The stars twinkled off the crystal blue waters and the full moon reflected the farthest parts of the ocean. Alexis' words flashed through his mind.
"I want to have our honeymoon in a place like this" she had said. "A place away from dueling."
"That sounds wonderful" he had said.
"Alexis" Jaden whispered as his golden eyes filled with tears. Footsteps behind Jaden made him turn around and standing there was Jesse with a soft, sad look on his face. "Tell me… why did I have to inherit this power? Why is it causing everyone I love to die?" Jesse didn't say anything "Alexis… I'm sorry" he choked out through sobs and tears. Jesse finally walked up to Jaden as Jaden just let it all out on Jesse's shoulder. "Damn it… damn it" Jaden cursed as he sobbed. Jesse just held his friend in his arms silently so he could let it all out. Sometimes in situations like this words wouldn't do anything so Jesse said nothing and just supported Jaden so he could let it all out.
NEXT MORNING
Compared the cosmic dark storm Jaden unleashed yesterday everything was all nice and sunny; once more everyone was outside in the back arena waiting and watching as the Semi-Finals of the Ultimate Tournament was about to begin. Jaden looked to be much calmer than he was yesterday, but his eyes remained gold in color and the others kept staring at him wearily concerned if he would blow a gasket again.
The MC finally stepped up "Attention Duelists; the Semi-finals of the Ultimate Tournament will now commence. Once more the Four Duelists that are in the finals are Reiner, Jesse Anderson, Serenity Taylor and Jaden Yuki."
All four duelists were in the center of the arena standing side by side "Like the previous rounds the semi-finals will be determined by random matchup and the Deck Master chosen by you in the previous rounds will be selected again. Any questions?" No one said anything "Good then we'll pick the names for the first Semifinal match."
The screen flashed through names again and they all watched waiting for the names to pop up. Finally after a minute everything stopped.
Jesse Anderson vs. Reiner
Jesse gulped when he saw his name come up to face Reiner. Jesse had never felt afraid of a duel in his entire life, but right now he felt downright terrified. His friends gave him similar nervous looks and Jaden gave Jesse a small pat on the shoulder and a small nod.
Jesse nodded back and gulped before stepping to his side while Jaden and Serenity walked back to the sidelines. Finally Jesse and Reiner were the only ones left in the field with their duel disks activated and their Deck Master's summoned.
Reiner chuckled making Jesse frown "Just what's so funny?"
"I find it funny that fate seems to always be smiling on me" Reiner responded. "Every duelist I've faced is dearest friends or loved one of the Supreme King. I, and my former subordinate, have taken nearly everything from him. First Axel, then Aster and then his love Alexis. And now you will be taken from him as well, his best friend."
"That ain't gonna happen" Jesse said fiercely. "Now stop running your mouth and start dueling."
"As you wish" Reiner smirked. "And I think I'll start this out." Reiner drew a card "And I'll start with activating White Devil's Deck Master Ability." Jesse prepared for anything "For the Duration of the entire duel I can summon Level 5 and 6 monsters to the field without a sacrifice. In exchange I can't play Field Spell Cards."
"That means he can't activate that Offering to the Stars field spell card" Syrus said
"But it also means he can summon more powerful monsters to the field" Chazz said. "It means tougher opponents for Jesse to face."
"And so I summon to the field White Villain – The Kidnapper in attack mode." On the field appeared a white haired man dressed in casual clothes with a disarming look to him, but sinister eyes (2200/2000). "And with that I place one card facedown."
"Oh man, a monster with 2200 attack points in one turn" Syrus said nervously.
"My move" Jesse said drawing a card. Looking at his hand Jesse was amazed at what he saw before he smirked. "Alright Reiner let me show you that you're not the only one who can summon a powerful monster on the first turn."
"Hmm" Reiner hummed.
"First I activate Crystal Tree" Jesse said. Jesse's Crystal Tree appeared on the field. "Next I activate my spell card Rainbow Blessing. With this I can place Crystal Counters on my crystal tree. In order to do that I must give up live points times 1000 for each crystal counter I put on it."
"That's a real gutsy move" Mai said. "Giving up life points to give himself a lead in monsters may backfire."
"I give up 2000 life points" Jesse said wincing as he lost life points.
Reiner: 4000
Jesse: 2000
"And now I place two Crystal Counters on my Crystal Tree" Jesse said. Two branches on his tree glowed. "Now I activate Crystal Tree and send it to my graveyard in order to summon two Crystal Beasts cards from my deck to the field. I summon Crystal Beast's Cobalt Eagle and Sapphire Pegasus." On the field an eagle with a sapphire gem appeared (1400/800) and a Pegasus with a sapphire horn appeared on the field (1800/1200).
"Your crystal beasts will be shattered" Reiner smirked at him. "My Kidnapper has 2200 attack points and your strongest has 1800, which means you're about to feel unbearable agony." Reiner thrusted his hand at Jesse and Jesse gasped when a white thread came from his chest and connected to his monsters.
"What the… what is this" Jesse demanded.
"A duel the likes of which you've never faced before" Reiner smirked. "That energy stream connected to your monster is connected to your life energy. When you lost a monster you lose your life energy and soon you will be drained dry and your soul sent to the stars."
Everyone stared in shock at the effects of the game. Joey, especially, was clenching his fists and Yugi, Kaiba and Mai noticed. Joey's fists were clenched tight, his teeth grit and his eyes narrowed fiercely; this was just like his duel with Marik back in the original Battle City Tournament.
While Jesse felt even more nervous he braced himself "If that's how you want to play then I hope you have a high pain tolerance" Jesse said. "I continue with my move; I activate Sapphire Pegasus' special ability. An ability that lets me take a crystal beast from my deck and place it in my spell/trap card zone. And the crystal beast I choose is Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise." Jesse placed his monster in his spell and trap card zone and an emerald crystal appeared on his field.
"You think that will make any difference" Reiner said smugly. "Nothing will help you."
"I beg to differ" Jesse said taking a card from his hand. "I now sacrifice both Crystal Beasts in order to summon Rainbow Magician." Both Crystal Beasts disappeared in a rainbow light and on the field a monster dressed in the usual magician clothing and magician hat, all white in color, with many jewel studs along it. The magician carried a white staff with a clear orb on the end with blue eyes (3200/2800).
Reiner growled slightly at the card "Alright, another new card of Jesse's" Syrus cheered.
"And with my Rainbow Magician, I'll gain an early lead" Jesse said. "Attack with Celestial Rainbow." Rainbow Magician thrusted his staff at Reiner's monster and it was enveloped and destroyed.
Reiner: 3000
Jesse: 2000
Reiner winced slightly and everyone could see a white energy beam flow out of his body briefly. Reiner glared at Jesse "Nice try Anderson, but I knew you would make that move, which is why my facedown card is White Threads of Destruction." The trap card depicted a monster wrapped up in white threads "Since you destroyed one of my monsters this trap card destroys the monster that destroyed it." White threads shot from the trap card and went towards Jesse's monster "Say goodbye to your monster." Rainbow Magician then twirled his staff so rapidly a shield of rainbow energy appeared and destroyed the white threads and the trap card. "What" Reiner said shocked.
"Sorry Reiner, but my Rainbow Magician's magic powers are so mighty he can stop the activation of trap cards like your White Threads and destroy them" Jesse explained. Seeing Reiner's scowl made Jesse smirk "So I guess I'll end this turn with one facedown card." Reiner went to draw a card "But before you draw that card let me tell of Rainbow Magician's second special ability."
"What" Reiner said.
"At the end of each of my turns as long as Rainbow Magician is on the field you lose 400 life points" Jesse said. Reiner widened his eyes before grunting as he lost more life points.
Reiner: 2600
Jesse: 2000
"Now you can make your move" Jesse said with a smirk.
"Cheeky brat" Reiner scowled drawing a card. Then he smirked "Your monster may not be affected by trap cards, but what about monster effects? I activate The Kidnapper's special ability; when he's destroyed I can simply banish him from my graveyard and summon a new White Villain monster. I now summon out White Villain – The Assassin." On the field a monster shrouded in a white cloak with armor underneath the cloak appeared on the field (2800/2400).
Jesse frowned "You seemed so happy just to be able to summon that card, but its 400 points weaker than my monster" he said.
"Ah, but don't you know the ultimate power of Assassins" Reiner said as if lecturing a child. "They never fight fairly or face to face." Jesse widened his eyes when he realized what this meant. "I sacrifice 1000 life points and now Assassin can attack your life points directly."
Jesse: 2000
Reiner: 1600
"Oh no, Jesse only has 2000 life points left" Jim gasped. "If this attack hits he's done for."
"There's nothing he can do; his soul will now join the others in the stars" Reiner laughed victoriously.
"I don't think so" Jesse shouted. "Go trap card; Rainbow Life." A rainbow barrier appeared around Jesse as Assassin struck from behind. "This trap card activates when you attack; now instead of losing life points I gain life points."
Jesse: 2000+2800=4800
Reiner: 1600
"Alright Jesse, nice save" Syrus cheered for him. Jaden still had his arms crossed with his eyes gold, but he did smile and nod to Jesse.
"It seems that Anderson has no problem" Kaiba said to himself watching Jesse's move.
Reiner grunted "You may have stopped the initial attack, but every time Assassin attacks, whether it's successful or not, you take damage equal to ¼ of his attack points." Jesse winced as he lost life points.
Jesse: 4100
Reiner: 1600
"I place two cards face down on the field" Reiner said.
"My draw now" Jesse said drawing a card. "Rainbow Magician attack his Assassin; Celestial Rainbow Attack." Rainbow Magician launched a massive attack at The Assassin.
"You predictable child" Reiner sneered. "I activate my facedown card White Swipe." The trap card revealed The Assassin swiping an object inside a glass case. "This trap card activates when you attack The Assassin. Now I can swipe one card from my deck and add it to my hand."
"That means nothing; your monster will still be destroyed" Jesse called.
"Not if I play the card I swiped" Reiner said. "Go White Ninjato." The spell card depicted a small short sword with a white handle.
"White Ninjato… what does it do" Jesse asked.
"White Ninjato can be equipped to The Assassin when he attacks or is attacked by a monster stronger than him." The Assassin gripped the sword as it appeared on the field "And in return he gains 800 attack points." The Assassin glowed as his powers rose even higher (2800+800=3600/2400). "And since it's too late to stop your attack your precious Rainbow Magician is destroyed." The Assassin charged through the attack and slashed through Rainbow Magician destroying it.
Jesse: 3700
Reiner: 1600
The effects of the duel hit Jesse hard as he gave a scream of pain before grasping his chest panting. Out of his back a blue energy stream shot from him as he fell to his knees shuddering with wide eyes. Reiner chuckled evilly "It hurts doesn't it; the feeling of having the very energy that keeps you alive being drained from your body. It's only going to get worse."
Jesse stood back on his feet with a grunt. 'Damn that hurts' he thought drawing a card. "You think you have a lead because you destroyed my monster; don't think so. I banish Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle and Sapphire Pegasus from my graveyard in order to summon Rainbow Mechanic." On the field a new monster appeared with this one being a machine monster all white in color with gem studs all over its body wielding a wrench in one hand and a crowbar in the other (2500/2000).
"Just what do you plan on doing with that weakling" Reiner mocked.
"Watch me" Jesse grunted. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Jesse drew his two cards. "Next I play E Force. With this I can special summon Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise from my spell/trap card zone to the field." Emerald Tortoise appeared on the field in defense mode (600/2000). "Next I place one card facedown and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn again" Reiner said drawing a card. "And since my Deck Master special ability is still activated. I can summon a level 5 or six monster without a sacrifice. So I summon out White Sorceress." On the field the same White Sorceress that Marco used in his previous duels appeared (2100/1500). "Now Assassin destroy his Rainbow Mechanic and bring him more agony."
"I don't think so I activate my facedown card Prism Wall" Jesse shouted. "With this spell card I can switch your attack to a new target. Now your Assassin attacks Emerald Tortoise." Assassin shot forward and attacked Emerald Tortoise. "And as per effect of Prism Wall now we both take damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points."
Jesse: 3100
Reiner: 1000
Reiner growled "You little pest; you won't have any defense after this; I activate my other facedown card White Burning." This spell card depicted White Sorceress with a hand full of white magic. "With this card White Sorceress gets an attack point increase of 1000." White Sorceress got an attack point increase (2100+1000=3100/1500). "Now my White Sorceress attack his Rainbow Mechanic."
White Sorceress launched a massive attack that hit Rainbow Mechanic. Jesse screamed in agony as the effects of the game hit him hard.
Jesse: 2500
Reiner: 1000
"I hope a little dose of pain has reminded you of where you are right now" Reiner said with a smirk. "Does it hurt Jesse, the pain of the light?"
Jesse grunted slightly panting as another stream of blue energy left his body draining him of even more strength. "I… I'm not done yet" Jesse said with a grunt of pain. "I activate Rainbow Mechanic's special ability; whenever he's destroyed he can put himself back together as long as I remove one crystal beast from play in my graveyard. So I remove from play Emerald Tortoise and in exchange Rainbow Mechanic comes back with Emerald Tortoise's defense points added to his own."
Rainbow Mechanic appeared back on the field with splotches of emerald built into his armor (2500/2000+2000=4000).
"A 4000 point defense will keep Jesse in the run for a long time" Yugi commented. "A good strategy."
"Once more you just delay the inevitable" Reiner said. "I end my turn with a facedown."
"I'm not delaying anything" Jesse said drawing a card. "I'm fighting the duel of my life to stop your madness. You've brought nothing, but pain to everyone including my best friend. And I will not let you take anything else from him; NEVER AGAIN."
"Jesse" Jaden whispered as he felt a tear come to his eye.
"Your love for your friend is admirable" Reiner said. "It makes me sick; make your move."
Jesse looked at his hand before spotting a card. 'Fusion Gem… I could use that card to take his monsters out, but I need one more card for that.' Looking at the card he just drew he thought 'This could come in handy, but I need to play my cards right.'
"Alright Reiner, I play Graceful Charity" Jesse said. "Now I draw three cards and discard two." Once Jesse did that he had four cards in his hand. Looking at his hand Jesse grinned "I told you I would stop you and now I'm going to."
Reiner grunted 'What's he up to?'
"I activate Fusion Gem" Jesse said slamming the card on the field. "With it I fuse my Rainbow Mechanic and my Rainbow Knight in my hand to summon a new monster." Both monsters briefly appeared on the field before merging together and forming a monster that was all machine with gem stuffs, but carried a cybernetic shield and a gem sword (3700/3400).
"Say hello to my Rainbow Cyber Knight" Jesse said with victory in his eyes. Reiner scowled at the monster "And now it's time to end this: Rainbow Cyber Knight attack his White Sorceress and end this duel."
"Not so fast Jesse" Reiner shouted. "Go facedown card; Attack Guidance Armor." A set of evil looking armor appeared and latched onto his Assassin.
"A trap" Jesse gasped.
"Very observant, now your trap is diverted" Reiner smirked as his Assassin was destroyed as was his equip card.
Jesse: 2500
Reiner: 900
"And since the Assassin was destroyed I can now summon to the field my most powerful villain" Reiner smirked. "Say hello to White Villain – The Murderer." On the field appeared a monster dressed in all white like his other monsters, but this one had a psychotic grin on his face with two knives in each hand and a gun at his waste (3500/3000).
Jesse scowled slightly 'That monster may be powerful, but my Rainbow Cyber Knight is stronger. I just hope he doesn't have an extra backup plan.' "I end my turn with one facedown" Jesse said with his hand no empty.
"Good, then it's time for me to crush you" Reiner said. "I play my own Pot of Greed so I can draw two cards." Reiner drew his two cards and his smirk was downright diabolical. "I now discard one card from my hand to activate The Murderer's special ability. I can now sneak into your deck and banish two monsters from them."
Jesse grunted in anger as his deck monsters were displayed to Reiner. "Hmm, Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle and Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth are banished." Both monsters appeared before vanishing and Jesse reshuffled his deck. "And next I activate his other special ability, but sacrificing one monster on my field the Murderer gains 1000 attack points."
"What" Jesse shouted.
"That's right; White Sorceress be gone" Reiner barked. White Sorceress vanished and The Murderer glowed before laughing psychotically as his power rose (3500+1000=4500/3000).
"Oh man, that's more powerful than my monster" Jesse gasped.
"That's right Jesse" Reiner smirked. "Murderer, attack his Rainbow Cyber Night with Bloodlust Death." The Murderer charged forward with a psychotic laugh and stabbed through Rainbow Cyber Night destroying it. Jesse screamed even louder in pain as the backlash hit him.
Jesse: 1700
Reiner: 900
"Come on Jesse, fight it" Jaden shouted.
"I-I activate a facedown" Jesse gasped. "Crystal Summon." The spell card depicted a crystal being summoned to the field. "When a monster of mine is destroyed I… I can summon a Crystal Beast in defense mode. A-And I summon Topaz Tiger." Jesse's Topaz Tiger appeared on the field in defense mode (1600/1000).
"Then I'll see your spell card with one of my own" Reiner shouted. "Go Wicked Summoning." This spell card depicted a single dark sphere rising from over a horizon. "I can activate this card when you special summon a monster to the field. Now I can summon a monster back from my graveyard and I choose the card I just sent to the graveyard. My great beast, the final and most powerful of the Wicked God cards."
"No way" Triston said shocked. "You mean…"
"He's going to summon…" Mai continued.
Yugi clenched his fist "A Wicked God card."
"Rise from the grave my beast; come forth The Wicked Avatar" Reiner roared. From the light behind him a single being rose from the depths. What appeared was a massive sphere (?/?).
"That's The Wicked Avatar" Kaiba gasped.
"The Wicked Avatar may not look imposing, but it is the most powerful Wicked God and I will show you now" Reiner shouted as power glowed from his body. His face then began to bulge with veins "The Wicked Avatar's attack and defense points are automatically 100 points higher than the strongest monster on the field."
"Stronger than the strongest monster" Joey gasped. "No way."
"That makes The Wicked Avatar's attack and defense points 4600 and 3100 respectfully" Jim realized with growing fear. The Wicked Avatar's attack points rose (4600/3100). "And now you're finished."
"Oh man; Jesse's done for" Syrus said scared for his friend.
"Not quite" Chazz said getting the attention of the observers. "Since The Wicked Avatar is a God Card spell cards like Wicked Summoning would only work for one turn and Wicked Summoning's effect demands a sacrifice at the end of the turn it was activated to summon The Wicked Avatar in the first place. If Jesse can survive this turn and draw the right card he'll win the duel."
"You hear that Jesse" Joey shouted to him. "Just survive this one turn and you'll win."
"He'll never survive" Reiner shouted. "Wicked Avatar wipe out his tiger and send his soul to the stars." The Wicked Avatar descended down on Jesse and launched a massive beam of dark energy. The attack hit and Jesse screamed the loudest and agony filled scream anyone had ever heard.
"FIGHT IT JESSE" Jaden screamed to him. It wasn't just Jesse, but Topaz Tiger screamed as it was destroyed as well.
"Do you feel all of your life energy leaving you Jesse" Reiner shouted over Jesse's screams. He laughed cruelly and victoriously until the attack finally stopped. "When the smoke clears you will be an empty shell and your soul gone. At least your friends won't be alone." The smoke begun to clear and Reiner widened his eyes in shock as Jesse was still standing, smoking and injured greatly, but still standing. "This can't be, no one can withstand the fury of a Wicked God, NO ONE."
"Jesse's still standing" Jim gasped in shock.
"But for how long" Chazz said gravely. Jesse weakly looked up; his emerald eyes were blank.
"You can't, you should be wiped out" Reiner shouted.
"In… you're… dreams" Jesse croaked out. Speaking of dreams Jesse just felt like he entered one because instead of staring at Reiner he was staring at Jaden as he was before everything happened. "Jaden" he said weakly.
"What are you looking so slouched for; our duel is about to begin" Jaden said with his duel disk activated and his playful grin present.
"What… but I'm in a duel with Reiner now" Jesse said confused.
"Don't you remember, you won" Jaden said. "Your will power overcame him and now it's our turn to duel in the finals. Get your game on Jesse."
Jesse found the last bit of strength he had and was back in the real world "I… must win" Jesse croaked out. "It's time… to end you."
Reiner growled with a face of fear "If he succeeds I'll lose the duel, my Wicked God and everything."
"It's… my turn now" Jesse said before coughing violently. He looked up weakly "And you're wide open." The Wicked Avatar and White Villain – The Murderer vanished.
"This can't be happening" Reiner ground out in anger and fear.
"He did it" Syrus cheered.
"Alright" Triston, Serenity and Mai cheered. "All he needs to do is summon a monster with enough attack points and he wins" Mai said.
"And then he'll advance to the finals" Serenity added.
"Make your move Jesse and end this madness" Jaden encouraged him.
"Here… goes something" Jesse weakly drew a card and held it up to his face and through blurry vision he saw the card. 'Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat. She's got just enough attack points to end this' he thought.
"What did he draw" Chazz said with anxiousness.
"Alright Reiner" Jesse said with as much strength as he could. "I summon… Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat." Jesse's Amethyst Cat appeared on the field (1200/400).
"Alright, his Amethyst Cat has just enough attack points" Joey said with a grin.
"Make your move Jesse; go" Jaden shouted to him.
"I…" Jesse croaked before coughing violently. A glob of blood fell from his mouth getting horrified looks from everyone before Jesse fell forward collapsing onto his knees before falling onto the ground.
"JESSE" everyone shouted in horror.
"This duel is over" Kaiba roared to the MC. "Call the medics immediately."
"Yes sir" the MC said pulling a phone out and dialing for the medics while Jaden, Syrus, Jim and Chazz ran to Jesse.
"Jesse, Jesse you okay" Syrus asked with wide eyes.
"Jesse, you better wake up now" Chazz shouted at Jesse, but Jesse didn't move.
Jim put his hand under Jesse's nose and his single eyes widened "He's not breathing" he said getting horrified looks "WHERE ARE THOSE MEDICS" he roared at Kaiba.
"We're here" a group of medics called running over to them. Two of them rolled out a stretcher while another assessed Jesse. He went wide eyed "He has no pulse" he said making everyone else gasp. "This is very serious; he has ten minutes at best. We need to get him to the emergency room now."
"Stand back" another medic barked as they loaded Jesse up on the stretcher and ran to the emergency room. It was like slow motion as everyone watched Jesse be wheeled past them silent, pale and unmoving.
"Jesse" Jaden whispered. His mind flashed back to Jesse's brave dueling. No matter how much pain he was in he kept fighting and no matter how hopeless the situation was he kept fighting strongly and even after being devastated by The Wicked Avatar's attack Jesse still had enough strength to summon a monster.
Reiner smirked at Jaden "There goes another soul to the stars. I'll admit this one was tough –" Reiner coughed and gagged slightly sweating heavily. "– But not tough enough. How many more must die before you face me Supreme King?"
Jaden turned and glared harshly at Reiner before walking up to the pile of blood that Jesse had spit out overexerting his body. Bending down Jaden ran his fingers through the blood before gripping his hand into a fist "On the blood of my best friend…" Jaden turned to Reiner and held his hand out with it dripping with Jesse's blood. "… I vow to end you."
Seeing Jaden make a blood vow showed everyone how serious Jaden truly was. To swear on blood, especially the blood of a friend, was nothing to scoff at.
Jaden then began to walk away "First I will make sure Jesse is okay and then… I'll deal with you."
SCENE CHANGE
Jaden stood with everyone else in the medical room as Jesse was hooked up to various machines "How is he doctor" Jim asked.
"His breathing is feint, but steady" the doctor responded. "We've stabilized his heart we're monitoring him around the clock until he awakens. The injuries he's sustained were serious, but not critical, but right now it's his mind that we're concerned about."
"His mind" Chazz said confused. "What do you mean?"
"I've worked for Mr. Kaiba for over twenty years now" the doctor explained. "And during that time I've received patients who have suffered from shadow games. The body is usually unharmed, but it is the mind that suffers extensively, but we have no way of curing it or knowing where the cause is. Such is the case with Mr. Anderson. His brain waves are normal right now, but at any moment they could dip to low scales. If it reaches below a certain point… then there won't be anything we can do for him."
"So in other words… it's all up to Jesse's willpower" Jaden summarized.
"That's basically it" The doctor confirmed.
"Then there's nothing to worry about" Jaden said turning to walk away.
"What do you mean" Syrus asked.
"If Jesse was strong enough to withstand The Wicked Avatar while suffering damage beforehand and still summon a monster to the field then he has enough will power to break through this" Jaden said simply. "We just have to believe in him. Now… I have a duel to get to… and a world to save."
SCENE CHANGE
While Jaden and the others were with Jesse in the emergency room the others were back outside discussing everything. "This is definitely Marik all over again" Joey said with a scowl. "And I thought dealing with him was bad, but to just sit on the side and do nothing while these kids fight and die is infuriating."
"Joey" Mai said softly knowing what he went through. Having to watch it again, but happen to someone else, must have upset him more than she thought.
"I agree Joey" Yugi said. "But there's still hope; Jaden can still defeat him."
"I don't know if you've noticed Yugi, but Jaden isn't exactly the definition of sane right now" Kaiba said.
"Can you blame him Kaiba" Yugi said seriously. "He's had to watch as his friends were defeated one by one; even the one he loved the most vanished right in his arms. Tell me Kaiba would you be able to stay calm if you were in his position?" Kaiba didn't say anything "I didn't think so."
"Do you think he can do it Yugi" Triston asked.
"I do" Yugi said confidently. "He can do it… because he's already done it before."
SCENE CHANGE
Now Jaden stood out in the arena facing Serenity Taylor, the only one of the duelists from Yugi's generation to make it to the semi-finals. The twenty-five year old woman stood as confidently as she could, but the golden eyes of Jaden were making her nervous and she knew what was on the line. Privately she had confided to Mai about forfeiting, but her sister-in-law would have none of that and convinced Serenity to continue.
Secretly, unknown to Joey, Mai, Yugi, Tea, Tristan and Serenity their children were secretly watching the events from the safety of some hidden trees outside the dueling arena. The three of them, despite their young age, knew that something bad was going on
"I know dad told us stories about crazy things happening when he was dueling, but I didn't think it was actually true" Michael said.
"Yeah I agree with you there" Thomas said. "Who would've thought and now it's like the world's ending."
"Poor Jaden though" Allison said sadly as her violet eyes stared at Jaden. "All of his friends keep getting taken from him."
"I know; I feel bad for him" Michael said. "And Thomas, now he's dueling Aunt Serenity."
"I know" Thomas said staring at his mother with his brown eyes. "I want mom to win, but… I don't know." The three young children huddled together watching the duel that was about to take place. Jaden and Serenity shuffled each other's decks before handing them back and walking to their own squares. Once there their duel disks activated and they faced each other summoning both Yubel and Goddess with the Third Eye behind them.
'I can't waste time on her; I'm going to end this quickly and then move onto Reiner' Jaden thought.
'I know this guy is strong and he's got a lot of things he's fighting for, but I'm going to do my best' Serenity thought.
"GAME ON" they both shouted. "I'll start" Jaden said drawing a card. "First I summon Trueman in attack mode" Jaden said summoning out Trueman to the field (1900/1000). "Next I activate Trueman's special ability. I can take a card from either my opponent's deck or my own. In exchange Trueman can't attack the turn I use this effect." Jaden shuffled through his deck before taking a card out and then reshuffling his deck.
"Next I activate the spell card Sub-Space Battle" Jaden said. The surrounding area glowed a dark purplish-blue color. "Now each player takes three monsters from their decks and reveal them to each other one by one. The player who has the highest monster can add them to their hand while the weaker one is sent to the graveyard and the player with the weaker monster suffers 500 points of damage."
Both of them pulled their decks out and plucked three cards from their decks before reshuffling and putting their decks back in their disks. "Now behold my three monsters" Jaden said.
"And behold mine" Serenity said. All of their monsters appeared on the field with Serenity summoning out Shinto, King of a Higher Plane (ATK: 3300), Guardian Angel Joan (ATK: 2800) and Yamata Dragon (ATK: 2600).
Jaden's monsters also appeared and they were Darkness Neosphere (ATK: 4000), Nightshroud (ATK: 3750) and Mirage Neos (ATK: 2800).
It was clear that Jaden had the advantage "Darkness Neosphere, Dark Eye Attack." Darkness Neosphere struck Shinato. "Nightshroud, Dark Blast Attack." Nightshroud struck Guardian Angel Joan. "Mirage Neos, Cosmic Mirage Attack."
All three of Serenity's monsters were destroyed in a massive blast.
Jaden: 4000
Serenity: 2500
"I send my three monsters to the graveyard" Serenity said discarding her cards.
"And I add my three to my hand" Jaden said adding his cards to his hand. "Next I activate the card I got to my hand because of Truman; Dark Shroud Ritual."
"A Ritual Card" Serenity gasped.
"Yes" Jaden said as a portal of darkness appeared on the field surrounded by black totem poles. "And with it I'm going to summon out a new monster of mine. I send Darkness Neosphere from my hand to the graveyard and in return I summon out Nightshroud." Out of the dark portal appeared Nightshroud looking just the same as when Jaden defeated him only completely under control now (3750/3500).
"And with that I end my turn" Jaden said.
Serenity gulped slightly 'I didn't expect such a powerful monster and a ruthless strategy so soon in the game. He already sent my best monster's to the graveyard. I honestly don't have a monster in my deck that can stand up to that kind of power.'
Still with the bravest face she could Serenity said "My draw." Drawing her card she saw it was Monster Reborn; looking at her hand she widened her eyes slightly. 'This could work.' "Alright Jaden I play Monster Reborn to bring back Shinato, King of a Higher Plane." Shinato reappeared in a small flash of light (3300/3000). "Next I equip Shinato with Fairy King's Power." Her spell card showed a fairy monster accepting a golden glowing orb. "With this spell card I can increase one Fairy Monster's attack points by 700 and I give it to Shinato." Shinato glowed slightly and his attack points increased (4000/3000).
"Alright Serenity" Joey and Tristan cheered.
"Go mom/auntie" Thomas and Michael cheered from the trees.
"Shinato, attack his Trueman" Serenity ordered as Shinato charged an attack.
"I activate Nightshroud's special ability" Jaden said. "When I have more monsters on the field all monsters that attack have to attack Nightshroud before any others." Shinato's attack then changed to Nightshroud and the attack hit harshly destroying Nightshroud.
Jaden: 3750
Serenity: 2500
"She just took out the strongest monster he had on his field" Mai said. "And since he discarded that Darkness Neosphere card he doesn't have another monster that can equal Shinato in power. Serenity's got this."
"I wouldn't say that" Kaiba interjected. He ignored the curious looks and stared at Jaden; the boy didn't look scared, nervous or even afraid… just calm and collected.
"My turn then" Jaden said drawing a card. "I activate Cost Down" he said playing the spell card. "With it I discard one card from my hand." Jaden discarded Mirage Neos "And in return all monsters in my hand lose two levels for the rest of the turn. And since they lost two levels I only need to sacrifice Trueman in order to summon Elemental HERO Neos."
Jaden's signature monster appeared out on the field (2500/2000).
"But I'm not finished yet" Jaden said. He discarded one more card "But you are; I activate Super Polymerization." The entire area began to shake rapidly as the dimension itself seemed to warp around Jaden.
"Another fusion card" Yugi said surprised. "But how's he going to use it. His hand is empty and he only has one card on the field."
"I activate Super Polymerization and with it I get to fuse one monster on my side of the field with one monster on your side of the field" Jaden explained.
"What no way" Serenity gasped. "How could such a card exist?"
"The power of darkness created this card and it is that power that will end this duel" Jaden said. "Go Neos, fuse yourself with Shinato." Both Neos and Shinto were pulled into the air and fused together in a massive display of power. Out of that fusion appeared a brand new monster; a Neos monster with six large wings carrying a black staff while a headdress was atop Neos' head. The monster stood at a very tall, near colossal size (4500/3500).
"Say hello to the one and only Neo-Alius, King of Neo Space" Jaden said.
Serenity knew right then and there it was over; she had no spell or trap cards on the field and the ones in her hand wouldn't help her at all. Jaden saw this and ordered "Now King of Neo Space; attack with Royal Cosmic Wave."
Jaden's monster formed a massive ball of multi-colored energy before launching it. The attack hit Serenity head on and that was all she wrote.
Jaden: 3750
Serenity: 0
The monster on the field vanished leaving nothing, but silence. "Two turns… he won the duel in two turns" Mokuba said amazed.
"He just made Serenity look like a total amateur" Rebecca said just as shocked.
While amazed himself Yugi's mind was racing. 'It's as I thought. Jaden's powers are unique; as a duelist with that kind of power he is also a duelist with the power to control the spirits of duel monsters. So as such technically he could manipulate the cards in his deck as if they were arms and legs. Meaning he could possibly summon the right card he needs at any time during a duel.'
While sad that she lost the duel, and so easily at that, Serenity accepted the defeat. "Good duel Jaden" she said to him.
"Thank you" Jaden said simply.
"I think you're going to need this" she said handing him Shinato and the ritual card Shinato's Ark. "Call it a feeling."
"Thank you again" Jaden said taking the cards.
"No thank you and lots of luck in the finals" she said before walking off.
The MC, who until this point had been silent, spoke up. "With this duel over Jaden Yuki advances to the finals. There will be a half hour intermission and then the Final Round of the Ultimate Tournament will begin."
With that Jaden's golden eyes met with Reiner's silver ones and they both glared at one another with hatred. This was it; the final duel was about to begin.
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