He sat alone in the dark, smiling grimly. He didn't move, didn't speak. You could barely hear him breathe. His hands were slick with blood. Not his own, of course, because to bleed you have to be human.
He knew the person behind him. He knew why she was here. But he did not acknowledge her. Not until he was ready.
Why should I rush? I might actually enjoy myself."You want to challenge me?"
He was using Leon's voice, mimicking it perfectly. He and Taylor stared at each other. Her, bristling with barely suppressed anger, he as frigid as ice.
I can understand Leon's fascination with this one. She's certainly attractive enough.
She nodded. Her face was serious, set almost like a mask. He rubbed his hands together, like a miser about to count his money. His eyes were lively- two chips of ice, if not for the way they moved. He withdrew a deck from his coat and shuffled it. A duel disk appeared on Taylor's arm, complete with her deck. Its silver colouring was an interesting match to her near-albino skin tone. He smiled at her fierceness.
"Ohhh, I see…for him? I'm surprised he let you come…I didn't think he'd want to risk his precious lady, least of all to me. I'll be sure to have my way with you, after I win. It's not everyday such a foxy woman falls into my lap."
"Save it, you monster." she replied darkly. "I'm not interested."
He licked his lips.
"Oh, but I am. Thanks for the compliment- you're warming to me already."
"Quit the mind games." She snapped.
He merely laughed. "Why? Don't you like being complimented? Perhaps our arena will loosen you up a bit."
He clapped his hands. The blackness surrounding him began to shimmer and spin, causing the whole world around them to rotate nauseatingly fast. She closed her eyes, trying to avoid vomiting. She couldn't hear anything. She didn't know where her opponent was. Eventually, it slowed to a crawl, and then stopped.
"We have arrived. I would advise you not to look down- I'd hate for your beautiful body to get damaged."
She opened her eyes and gasped. She was standing on a stone platform. It hung, high in the sky, amid a thick carpet of white cloud. A pale sun hung like a single, golden eye amid the brilliant blue sky, light reflecting off the clouds. Her opponent was stood on an identical platform some distance away, the single black spot in this picture of light and hope. Taylor looked around suspiciously.
"Come up here often?"
He armed his duel disk. Seeing this, she did the same.
"Leon does. Perhaps you should ask him about it some time."
"Maybe I will. Now, if you're ready…"
"Of course. You know, I'm think I'm really going to enjoy this."
"DUEL!"
(???: 4000/Taylor: 4000)
He smiled at her mockingly.
"After you, my dear."
She nodded.
"Gladly."
She drew, eyes flickering over the cards in her hand.
Excellent. Left Leg of the Forbidden One- one fifth of the way to victory already.
She quickly made a choice.
"I activate a Field Spell- The Sanctuary in the Sky!"
A gigantic stone temple appeared behind Taylor, seemingly built of white marble. Statues of angels adorned the front, topping the great pillars on either side of the entrance. A white light streamed out of the entrance, forming a protective shield around her. She relaxed a little upon feeling the familiar aura.
"Then I set one monster in defence position."
Her card's silhouette appeared in the precipice between them, forming another shield between he and she.
"Your turn."
Her opponent smiled upon seeing his drawn card. He toyed with his hand briefly before deciding on his card of choice.
"A friend of mine would like to play with you. Say hello to Salvo Spider (1500) in attack position!"
His newest monster was a dark, mechanical, arachnid-like creature. It carried a bank of missile pods on its back. Six black legs grew from the creature, ending in pincers. It clicked its fangs, hissing at Taylor. She flinched, much to the amusement of her opponent.
"Don't worry. He won't hurt you…much. Attack her monster!"
A rocket blasted out from the launcher on the spider's back, colliding with her monster and incinerating it. She took the card off her duel disk and held it up.
"Shining Angel. When this card is destroyed in battle, I can special summon a Light attribute monster with fifteen hundred points or fewer in attack mode. Another copy of itself should do the job (1400)."
Another winged angel appeared in play. Her opponent laughed.
"Predictable. Salvo Spider, activate your special ability and roast it!"
His monster shot off another rocket. Her angel didn't even have time to cry out. Taylor frowned and slipped the card into her Graveyard.
"So it lets you attack every monster on the field…"
"Correct! Now, you going to summon another monster?"
A third Shining Angel took its position in play.
"That answer your question, you body-snatching freak?"
I can use his monster's effect to my advantage…
A confused expression crossed her opponent's face as he realised something.
"Why didn't you lose any Life Points?"
She smiled and gestured to the clouds. "My Sanctuary negates all battle damage involving a specific type of monster."
He raised an eyebrow. "Fairies? Ah well, c'est la vie. Crush it!"
Another rocket was launched from his spider. Taylor didn't flinch as her monster was wiped away.
"No damage, and I get a new monster. My Nova Summoner (1400)."
A winged, teal-coloured bauble descended from the skies. Taylor smiled.
"The effect of my Nova is the same as the angels you've destroyed. So bring on your spider, you parasite!"
His face darkened. "So be it. Attack, my Spider!"
Despite losing a fourth monster in one turn, Taylor was not concerned. Her Life Points were safe thanks to her Sanctuary, and her monsters could replicate themselves.
So far, so good…"I summon a second Nova Summoner."
He nodded to his creature, giving it the signal to attack again. The last Nova Summoner took the place of the destroyed one, and it too was torn apart by the spider. Despite losing six monsters in one turn, Taylor was unharmed due to her field spell.
"Time for a change of plan. When my Sanctuary is in play, I may summon Airknight Parshath, (1900) when I lose a Nova Summoner."
Her angelic centaur let out a battle cry as it leapt from the card, standing on the air. It unsheathed a sword from its side and took a practice slash.
Her opponent hissed through his teeth.
Why would she let me destroy all her monsters? It makes no sense! Unless she…He looked at her deck, then at his own. And then, it came to him.
"You're an Exodia duellist…and to think I had forgotten. You tricked me into destroying your cards to thin out your deck!"
Taylor tapped her nose. "I was beginning to think you'd never get it. For someone wearing my friend's body, you're nowhere near as intelligent."
He grinned. "But far sexier, right?"
She flushed. "S-shut up!"
He laughed. "You can't hide it from me. You- or rather what you represent- are clearly attracted to him. And since I basically am him, it's only natural for you to be smitten by my charm. Animal magnetism and all tha-"
"I said shut the hell up! I draw, and I play Toon Table of Contents!"
A large book appeared and flicked open to the contents page. Taylor moved through her deck, adding another copy of the card to her hand.
"Had I used this on my first move, you'd probably have figured out my strategy. I play my next Toon Table of Contents."
Another book appeared, moving the third copy to her hand.
"My last Toon Table moves my Toon Gemini Elf to my hand (1900). Now its time to say hello to my friends, body-snatcher!"
The twin elves somersaulted, taking their position in attack mode. They smiled dazzlingly, but he was unaffected.
"Lovely choice of monster, but you're far more pretty."
She shook her head, embarrassed. "Don't you ever stop?"
"Being your opponent doesn't make me any less human." He pointed out.
"No. Love of torture and psychopathic tendencies tend to do that job well enough."
He whistled. "Ooh, feisty! I'm really going to enjoy spending time with you- after I finish Leon, of course"
"Somehow I doubt that's going to happen. Even if I don't win this, he would crush you."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
"Yes."
"You think either he, or you, could win? Then what? Get married and live happily ever after? Let me tell you something- Leon doesn't want to be normal. He clings to the fairy-tale ending, but deep down that's not what he wants. As for what he does want…well, that should be obvious. Not that I blame him, of course. Who wouldn't want to be able to touch you? Feel those soft lips against his own and that lovely body against his in the nigh-"
"Don't even go there!"
He smiled, like a predator. "Can't a man admire art when he sees it?"
She glared at him.
It isn't Leon saying those things. It's just an impostor, and I can't let him distract me. It's not Leon, it's not him, it's not him…"Airknight, attack his Salvo Spider with his Celestial Blade!"
His monster was skewered on the end of the knight's lance, exploding in a pile of scrap iron.
"When my monster is destroyed in battle, I take a thousand points of damage. And now you draw a card via Airknight, correct?"
(???: 2600/Taylor: 4000)
She nodded. She put her hand on her deck, preparing to draw.
Roughly half my deck's been thinned, and still only one piece of Exodia in my hand. Lady Luck, don't fail me now!
She flicked the card into her hand. Her eyes widened.
Right Leg!"Thank God…" she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Your move."
She noticed he was staring at her face.
"Something wrong?"
He shook his head.
"Your eyes…they burn with resolve. Such strength…such beauty. I can truly see why he loves you."
She looked up, startled.
"What did you say?"
He laughed. "You heard me. That deluded fool doesn't even realise it, but it's obvious to me. Are you telling me you didn't realise it either?"
There was no response. He sighed, as if disappointed.
"Alas, you are in my way, and so I must kill you. It is a pity. Once I finish Leon, I wonder how long it will take for her to fall in love with me…all that's left of her shining knight?"
"Get on with it." She spat.
He drew a card. He was oddly calm, almost like he was completely sure of his victory.
"As you wish. Now I play the Spell, Wyrm Summoning. With it, I may choose one dragon with fifteen hundred points or fewer from my deck and summon it to the field in attack mode. I choose my Red-Eyes Black Chick (800)."
A small, scarlet egg appeared. It cracked, crimson eyes glaring out of the dark. The tiny dragon crawled free from its binding, a miniscule fireball popping from its fangs.
He's going to sacrifice it! She realised in shock.
"I play my card's ability. I send it to my Graveyard to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400)!"
His dragon glowed with black light, increasing in size and ferocity. Its wingspan grew to easily triple what it had been, in proportion to the rest of its body. It screamed in rage, teeth opened to devour her monsters.
"Attack her Airknight- Inferno Fire Blast!"
A fireball erupted from his dragon's mouth, incinerating her centaur. Despite this, her Life Points remained at full thanks to her Sanctuary in the Sky.
"That's all for the moment."
She drew her next card.
"I play Dark World Dealings. Now we each draw one card, and discard one card. But the card I'm throwing out is my Ojamagic, which moves the Ojama Trio into my hand."
She added the three normal monsters into her hand, silently counting the number of cards left in her deck. She was having trouble concentrating. An image of Leon- the real Leon- flashed through her head.
Not long left…but there's still three pieces to go. I have to keep focused, and not let him distract me."I switch my Elf into defence mode (900), and set a facedown card. That's all, so I discard an Ojama to bring my hand down to six cards and end there."
"Pathetic." He scoffed. "I expected more."
She shrugged. He picked up his next card.
"How interesting. I play a favourite Spell of mine- Inferno Fire Blast! Now you lose twenty-four hundred points, no questions asked!"
Her eyes widened. His dragon spat out another blast of flame, punching straight through her Sanctuary's aura.
"D-damn it…"
(???: 2600/Taylor: 1600)
She collapsed, shaking. Her hands and face were badly burnt.
"Can't handle the pain? I'm not surprised. Sky Sanctuary has no practical purpose in an Exodia deck. I know you, Taylor. You've been so hurt and scared over the years you're terrified of pain, any pain at all! That's why you built your whole deck to prevent you from taking damage!"
She didn't respond, but she knew he was right.
It hurts…but I…I…I gotta keep going. He needs my help…have to keep going…
"Trap card open. Exchange of the Spirit… switches all cards in the deck with those in the Graveyard."
(???: 2600/Taylor: 600)
He didn't seem surprised, or even bothered. He simply swapped his cards around calmly, while she could barely manage it due to the burns. She was standing- barely.
"End turn."
She drew Right Arm of the Forbidden One. She checked her hand. Three of the five Exodia pieces were in her hand now.
Dark Factory of Mass production and Monster Reincarnation…I dropped the rest of the Exodia pieces in the Graveyard with my trap. I…I can win!
"I p-play…play my Dark Factory of…"
He waved a hand. "I know what it does. Pick up your two normal monsters."
She slid the last normal Exodia piece and an Ojama into her hand, not realising the trap.
"Monster Reincarnation. Discard Pot of Greed…to return Exodia's head to my hand."
She revealed the other four pieces.
"Game over..."
She looked down at her duel disk. The head of Exodia was nowhere in sight, not coming out of her Graveyard. She stared stupidly for a moment.
"What's going on?"
Her opponent cleared his throat loudly. He held a card up, showing her.
"D.D. Crow removes one monster in your Graveyard from play. Exodia's head is gone."
"No…"
He's won…I tossed out my Burial from a Different Dimension with Exchange of the Spirit, and I can't hold him off next turn. It's over…
"I assume from your silence that you are done. Now, I play my Spell card, Fairy Meteor Crush. This adds a piercing effect to my Red-Eyes- it will damage your points even though your Toon is in defence mode."
She shook her head in despair. She could barely hear her opponent. All she could hear was the voice in her head. It was Leon's voice, full of sadness and anger. She could see him now, his back to her.
Walking away.
You failed.
"Inferno Fire Blast."
Her world was consumed in a pillar of fire and ash. She might have cried out for Leon, might have screamed. She didn't know. She wouldn't remember. The pain was as all-consuming as the flames. Nothing escaped.
(???: 2600/Taylor: 0)
She fell to the floor, quivering uncontrollably in shock. Her glasses fell to the floor and smashed. Her red hair was burnt almost completely away, her skin black from the burns. She heard nothing, saw nothing. Felt nothing. The image of Leon vanished as silently as it came, leaving her alone.
Leon…I'm sorry…
I'm so, so sorry.
The field of clouds vanished, as did the sanctuary. He moved over to her, grabbing her by the throat. He began to whisper softly. His every word was coated with venom, but she didn't react. She couldn't.
"You know what happens now? I'm going to sit right here and watch your life burn away. And when you're dead, I'll nail your damn carcass to the wall as a warning to your boyfriend. He'll follow you soon enough. I accepted your challenge to hurt him. I'd wager that when he finds out, he'll go insane. Just like when he lost you before."
He propped her head up with a finger, stealing a kiss.
"Such a rare flower…so beautiful. Yet so fragile."
He let her head fall. She dropped to the floor, dead weight. Limp, unresponsive, but he knew she lived yet.
But not for very much longer. He thought with a grin.
He withdrew a silver stopwatch from his coat and set the timer.
"Let's see how long you last. Shouldn't be hard for you to beat Anima…the vamp didn't last a minute."
He crossed his legs and sat down, watching her slowly slip away..
He would enjoy watching her spirit crumble.
10 minutes to go.
Leon was alone. It had begun to rain softly, the water dripping down his clothing. Despite this, he didn't move. His mind was occupied with other things.
"Yo, boss! You look a little depressed. You ok?"
He fished a card out of his deck. One of his Nimble Momonga cards was speaking to him. Nick, by the sound of him.
"Nothing. I'm fine."
It raised an eyebrow. "Real funny boss. We ain't dumb- we know something big's gonna go down soon. Just wanted you to know the guys and me'll be there for you come the end. You're not alone boss- you've been too good to us for us to let you down now."
"Too good to you?" he repeated incredulously. "I put you through hell!"
It winked at him.
"Better then not being used at all. Now, how about you go beat that freaky dude behind you? He's looking pretty angry at ya."
He resisted the temptation to look.
"Sure."
He turned around, relaxing at the sound of the voice.
"Demon."
A grotesque monster had appeared in the treeline. It was huge, twice as tall as him. Six leathery wings grew from its back. Its skin was green-brown and mottled, like metal that had been struck with a hammer. Its arms were long, hanging down by its sides like a gorilla's. Attached to its left one was a duel disk that matched his skin colour. Five short, sharp claws extended from each hand. Glistening red eyes stared out of a large, horned head. Ichor dripped from its mouth as it bared its teeth at him. It spoke in a voice that was neither male nor female, but combined elements of both.
"Lovely to see you again, slave. I trust that you remember me?"
"How could I forget the thing that little children fear? The nightmare king?"
It roared with laughter. "How indeed. You remember the old game, I take it?"
Leon did not smile. "Of course. Let's get on with it."
Demon snickered, spraying ooze everywhere. "So confident, are you? You think you can beat the Devil, little man? I'll crush you like a bug!"
"You're not the Devil," Leon hissed, arming his duel disk and slamming in his deck.
"You're practice!"
(Leon: 4000/Demon: 4000)
It plucked a card from its vile duel disk, the claws reaching almost daintily for it.
"Now slave, I begin! Daemonic Warrior in attack position!"
The demon's monster stepped out of the air, clutching a monstrous axe. It was humanoid, with a dark blue skin tone. Its eyes were soulless and angry. It heaved its weapon into the sky and roared a battle cry.
(Daemonic Warrior: 1900)
"Then I'll play a facedown. Your move, slave."
8 minutes to go.
Leon did not reach for his deck. "I never understood something, Demon- why do you call me that?"
It sneered. "You think the title of "slave" ill-befitting?"
"Oh, no. It's perfectly fitting. But then, there's nothing wrong with that."
It glared at him. "How so?"
He sighed. He didn't speak for a few moments. Eventually, he spread his hands wide.
"People say it's better to die on your feet then to live on your knees. They couldn't be more wrong. The slave who lives on his knees may eventually choose to throw off his chains, whereas the man who died can't do anything to change. The slave can make the decision to fight for his freedom, the dead man can't. I should know- I lived that way for a very long time. But now is the time for me to remove my chains. Draw!"
7 minutes to go.
He examined his new card and gazed up at the object of his nightmares, defiant.
"Meet Dark Jeriod (1200). And now, keep an eye on your Warrior, Demon!"
Leon's monster wrapped a tentacle around the monster, leeching strength from it. It roared another battle cry, but it was feeble. It could barely lift its weapon.
"Dark Jeroid weakens your monster by 800 points upon summoning. Now, Jeriod attack it!"
Another tentacle snaked out and wrapped around the monster's neck. It constricted, choking the life out of it. Its windpipe was crushed to an impossible size, and then it exploded violently.
(Leon: 4000/Demon: 3900).
It growled fiercely at him, but Leon did not seem affected. Its left arm began to smoke. It yelled in shock.
"What the hell did you do to my body, you runt?!"
At last, he allowed himself a smile.
"In the centre of my heart, I make the rules. So I added a penalty for losing this game- the loser's body disintegrates completely!"
"WHAT!" it bellowed, the sound shaking the trees. "You tricked me!"
"No. You challenged me, but you neglected to ask what would happen if you failed to win. This isn't a dream- this is real. And when I win, you'll be nothing but a faded memory in my mind. Now get on with it!"
"Fine, slave! First, thanks to my Warrior's effect, your monster is destroyed!"
Leon grimaced as it exploded, leaving several, blood-stained tentacles behind. Demon reached for its deck.
"Now I…"
It stopped. Leon was grinning. A spell card had appeared before him. It depicted a demon whispering into the ear of a young girl, who walked toward a hungry dragon.
"Slave, explain yourself right now!"
Leon's body was smoking softly. Yet it did not seem to hurt him as it had the demon. He was beginning to disappear, his body vanishing into the ether. Only his left eye was left behind. Despite this, it was obvious he was still grinning.
"My new card is called, unsurprisingly, Willing Offering. Whenever one of my monsters inflicts damage to you, I may pay any amount of Life Points. This amount is then inflicted to you as direct damage. I pay thirty-nine hundred points, to deplete yours to nothing!"
The smoke rose, hanging in a cloud over his head. He laughed again.
"Game over."
At his command, it shot towards his opponent.
(Leon: 100/Demon: 3900)
5 minutes to go.
Leon's single eye widened in shock. "What the hell!"
It chortled, pus and ichor dripping from his jaws, standing behind a face-up Trap. A blue-white shield surrounded him, glinting with reflected power.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Nice try, slave! Damage Polariser stops all damage from a special effect, then we both draw one. So you've just weakened yourself to the point of death for nothing!"
Leon remained calm, his eye flickering across his new card.
"Set one card. Turn end."
It drew its next card. Its face twisted into a grotesque smile.
"I summon Daemonic Bloodbeast (2200) in attack mode!"
A large, fleshy creature appeared. True to its name, it was soaked in blood. It was similar to a slug, a mound of crimson skin and organs underneath a hard, black shell. A long tongue flopped out and flicked around, tasting the air like a snake's.
"Finish it! Attack him directly!" Demon bellowed.
Leon's single eye winked at him.
"Perfect. You should have guessed by now that a straight offence gets you nowhere but beaten against me. Open, Agony Balance!"
His trap flipped open. The card art was of a pair of scales carved from bone. A severed hand lay in one side of the scales, with the other empty. In the background, two men can be seen. One has his arm bared, while the other presses a knife to his wrist. There was a flash of light, and the Bloodbeast retreated.
"Agony Balance negates your direct attack. More importantly, it combines our Life Points and splits that number in half. Then, our Life Points are fixed to that score. I have one hundred points, and you have thirty-nine. Added up, that's four thousand. Cut that in half, and we're now at…"
He winked again. "Two thousand each. Now cough up!"
Roughly half of Leon's body instantly re-appeared. The demon writhed in agony as his body sizzled, covering the area with the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh as it tore away from bone. Leon grinned.
"Now who's the weakling? Can't handle the pressure?"
"Silence! I end my turn!"
Leon nodded in acknowledgement and drew.
He's rattled…now's the time to strike.
He raised a hand, pointing to the skies.
"And now, I shall end you."
Little pinpricks of light could be seen in the dark skies, like shooting stars.
"History teaches us that, millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the earth as gods. But, as must all empires, it came crashing down. Yours is no different, despite how powerful it was. Despite all your power…the power to keep me from sleep. The power to make me afraid to even close my eyes.
"But I know what you are now. Just the figment of my mind conjured up by my fear and guilt. But you know that nothing lasts forever. Not my pain…not the dinosaurs… and not you. Look up, and see your defeat!"
In the sky, the pinpricks were growing larger and brighter. With a shout of fear, Demon realised what was coming.
A shower of meteors.
"I play the Spell card, Deepest Impact!"
They hit, blasting every monster in play to dust. Both players Life Points dropped by half, leaving them at a thousand.
Leon smiled. "Should I ask you to beg for mercy?"
"Never, slave! I'm going to crush you!"
"Then why do I see fear in your eyes?"
There was no response. He shrugged.
"Sticks and stones. Never is a long time, you know. As much you are deserving of an eternity of agony for what you did, it would be stupid to torture a figment of my imagination. However…"
He swiftly selected a card in his hand to do the job.
"D.D. Assailant (1700), end it."
The katana-wielding warring charged, bringing her blade to bear as she slashed the demon across the belly. He screamed as green-black blood poured out of the wound. The demon's body began to smoke and burn, flesh melting and fading away to nothingness. Before it disappeared completely, it screamed one last threat.
"I'll still be in your nightmares, slave! You may have won this, but it doesn't end here! It'll never end! You'll never be able to beat him!"
Leon remained still. He watched the monster- the enemy- roast alive.
"Burn in hell, Demon."
(Leon: 1000/Demon: 0).
Leon closed his eyes as his body returned to normal. He did not move, even to shut off his duel disk, but instead whispered to himself.
"Only one thing left."
Thunder roared overhead, as the rain drenched him to the skin. Lightning blasted across the sky in sheets, bringing light in brief flashes. He knew the cause. He felt it like a bullet wound in his heart.
She lost…He was alone now. His strange guardians- Anima, Taylor. Gone.
It's up to me now.
For him, it was simple. If he won, he could undo all the damage his other half had wreaked. He could bring her back. He wore a grim smile on his face.
"Bring on the night."
Deep in his mind, his darkness stopped the timer. He smiled sadistically and reached for Taylor's deck. He skimmed through, selected five cards and tucked them away in his coat. He dropped the remainder over her still form.
He began to laugh at the irony of it all.
"Ignorance may be bliss, but it sure is pathetic."