Level Rising: Dark Times
Level Rising: Dark Times
By: Copper Thrice
Well readers, I've decided to finish out this little fic and finish out the Jaeden and Ellie storylines. I want to focus more on Jake's story. So, this chap will set up Level Rising: Finality. Think of it as kind of a prologue.
First, let's check in on Ellie's duel.
--
EW: 4000
SB: 4000
The robed Salma giggled once more and it was really starting to tick off Ellie.
"Hey, what did that card do?" Ellie yelled.
"Well, if you must know," said Salma, "Soul of the Duelist does quite a few things. One, It fuses me to my monster and gives it a 1000 attack point bonus. Two, I can scrap that bonus and gain a special ability in exchange. I'll do just that."
Salma's power level rose and fell back to normal.
"The only downside to this card is if the monster I'm bonded with is destroyed I automatically lose," Salma grinned. "But my new ability makes it so that I can't be destroyed, but spells that require tributing can still work on me."
"What?" said a very confused Ellie. Salma laughed loudly.
"Don't worry Eleanor," crooned Salma, "You'll see soon enough. I end my turn by putting two cards facedown."
"Alright…" said Ellie drawing.
Hmmmm, thought Ellie, I may not be able to destroy her monster, but I can still do damage. Ellie grinned. And she didn't say anything about being removed from the game. Oh, yeah. Ellie pulled a card from her hand, grinning. This'll work.
"I summon my D.D. Warrior Lady!(1500/1600)" Ellie proclaimed. A blonde woman in light armor appeared in front of Ellie. "Now she'll attack. Get ready to go, Salma, cause when my monster fights an enemy monster, she can remove it from the game! Go!"
"I activate my trap: Spiritual Wind Art – Miyabi." Said Salma as a trap was revealed. "It allows me to take one monster on your side of the field and pt it on the bottem of your deck."
A torrent of wind shot out form the card and blew the Warrior Lady back towards Ellie where she returned to card form and Ellie, grudgingly, put it back in her deck.
It was then that Ellie realized something.
"Wait, Spiritual Arts Cards require a tribute of a certain monster element to be used. I know Elemental Mistress Doriado is a four-element monster, but shouldn't she have been sacrificed to use that card?" Ellie asked.
"Usually, that is the case," said Salma smiling, "But when I fused with my card and gave up my attack bonus, I made it so that I can't be sent to the graveyard, but can still be tributed. Weren't you paying attention earlier? Now let's see my other trap card shall we?"
Salma held out her hand and her other trap rose, Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai.
"This allows me to do damage to you equal to my tributed monster's attack points." Salma said innocently, "Here you go!"
A pillar of fire came out of the trap and engulfed Ellie.
EW: 2800
SB: 4000
Ellie sighed and ended her turn.
"My move!" yelled Salma enthusiastically. "Now I'll attack you directly!"
Salma rushed forward with great speed and delivered a kick to Ellie's stomach lauching her to the ground.
"What did you…" Ellie stammered catching her breath.
"Well, I'm not a hologram am I? I attacked you, so you felt it." Salma laughed. "Don't worry, This'll al be over soon. Look at your Life Points."
Ellie watched with clenched teeth as her points dropped again.
EW: 1600
SB: 4000
"I'll set two more cards face-down and end my turn." Salma then giggled relentlessly.
"That laughing…" Muttered Ellie getting back on her feet, "I'm gonna put a stop to it!"
Ellie began to draw.
"Uh uh uh," said Salma waving a finger, "I activate my traps." Two cards flipped up.
"My Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai and Spiritual Water Art – Yoi. You take more damage with Kurenai and my Yoi discards a card of my choice from your hand."
EW: 0400
SB: 4000
"I'll discard… your D.D. Assailant!" yelled Salma after looking at a projection of Ellie's hand.
Ellie grunted as she put the card in her graveyard.
"I am NOT going to lose to this little girl." Ellie muttered. Then she looked at the card she drew and took a deep breath.
I have to trust my deck, Ellie thought, Jake's faith paid off, so why not mine…
"I activate my Card Destruction!" Ellie said activating her spell card. "Now we discard our hands and draw five new cards!"
As the Duelists followed the card's instructions, Salma shook her head.
"Now, Eleanor…" she crooned, "How is this gonna help you… I bet if you had just used the cards you had as a Society Duelist you might pose some threat, but--"
Ellie started laughing.
"What's so funny?" pouted Salma.
"You see if you had just challenged me yourself," Ellie began with a smile. "I might have used my normal cards and you might have won."
"What?" Salma responded.
"You see…" Ellie put her hand on her Duel Disk. "I never wanted to use those cards again after Jake helped me, but when I thought I had the opportunity to beat Saartorius with his own cards. Heh heh, I couldn't resist!"
"You mean you--" stammered Salma.
"Yep, I activate my Shinato's Ark ritual spell!" Ellie discarded a high level monster from her hand and summoned her new creature of light. "Now I summon my Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!" (3300/3000)
A robed, god-like figure with great wings appeared and filled the room with light.
Salma backed down and thought fast.
It won't matter, right? Even if she attacks I'll have plenty of LP left. I'll scramble her next turn.
"Now I'll play Monster Reborn to Special Summon the monster I just discarded, Gilford the Lightning!" (2800/1400) A large warrior carrying a great sword and wearing an orange cape appeared.
Salma's mouth opened wide.
"Now to top it off!" Ellie pulled one of her last cards out of her hand. I summon my Hoshiningen!" (500/700) A small star-like monster with a grinning face appeared between Ellie monsters. It paled in comparison to its allies. In fact t looked (and was) downright pathetic.
"Why'd you summon that thing?" yelled Salma worriedly.
"It's a special little monster that boosts all Light element monsters attack by 500 points. Now…" Ellie crossed her arms. "Eat this."
The small star monster closed its eyes in concentration and its body gave off a pure light that blinded Salma and made Ellie squint.
Hoshiningen: 1000/700
Gilford: 3300/1400
Shinato: 3800/ 3000
"No, wait," stammered Salma, "That means…"
"Yep, you're done," said a grinning Ellie, "Now, Shinato, Gilford, ATTACK!"
The swordsman and angel rushed forward and attacked.
Shinato went first and threw a charged burst of light magic at Salma. She screamed and was thrown high up into the cave because of the inpact.
She opened her eyes as she was airborn…
Only to see Gilford with his sword raised high.
Gilford gave a deep yell and brought his blade down sending Elemental Mistress Salma rocketing back to the cave floor.
EW: 0400
SB: 0000
The holograms of Ellie's monsters and Salma's monster form faded and so did the black circle that surrounded the two duelists.
"Hey, you all right?" asked Ellie looking at the form of Salma lying in the crater made by her impact.
Slowly, Salma rose up, her black amulet dangling from her neck. She was muttering words Ellie thought girls her age shouldn't know.
Suddenly, her pendant glowed and a voice filled the room. It was a calm, authoritative voice that commanded respect and Salma's expression turned to horror as it spoke.
"Salma…" said the voice, "It seems you have failed us."
"It's not my fault, Lord Oracle!" Salma yelled at the black stone. Ellie backed away from the girl, intently listening to the voice. "Please, don't take away my Blessing!"
Her what? Ellie wondered.
"I'm afraid that…" said the Dark Oracle's voice dripping with false concern, "That the Master has no need for failures. I shall take back your Blessing of Everlasting Life."
"No!" Salma screamed with trembling lips. "No, No, No, No, No!"
She looked at her hand and it aged rapidly. First, it shrank, became covered in scaly, pale skin. Then liver spots formed and the bones became brittle.
Ellie could hear the cracking of bone from where she stood. Her mouth dropped in shock as the rest of Salma's body aged. Her beauty and youth flowing out of her like sand through her fingers.
"It's was such a simple task," the Oracle almost whispered. "Defeat a child in a card game and reign by my master's side eternally." The Oracle sighed, "You only have yourself to blame."
Salma gave one last glace at Ellie.
Ellie gasped as she saw the pain and terror in her eyes.
Then, almost as quickly as it started…
Salma turned to dust.
Aged to death.
Ellie froze where she stood and stayed there for quite a while.
Slowly, she walked over to where Salma once stood.
All that remained was her dress, her duel disk, and the black gem which promptly disintegrated.
Ellie knelt by the dress in silence. She felt a great deal of pity for the woman, even though she had tried to capture Ellie. Ellie reached over to the duel disk and plucked out a card.
Ellie held out the card, Soul of the Duelist in front of her.
Shepherd will want to see this, she thought as she began to return to the cave's entrance.
As she left the cave, she looked out over the forest and the ocean beyond it.
Laying a hand on her right arm, she wondered about Jake.
Salma had tried to capture Ellie to get to Jake.
What had Jake gotten himself into?
--
As Ellie was worrying about Jake, Jaeden was waiting at the Duel Academy Docks for Alexis.
She had asked Jaeden to meet him here, but didn't say why.
Jaeden sighed and recounted what happened when he had gotten back to the Academy after the Society incident.
When he returned, he found out that Cyrus had left to go find his brother, so the year didn't start out so well. Jaeden still hung out with Alexis, Hassleberry, Chazz and Bastion, though.
Then, as the year continued, Chazz received news that he had to return home since his brothers were in prison for some crime or another. To be honest, he wasn't missed much.
Then Hassleberry had to return home because he got drafted. He was actually a little older than his friends thought.
After that, Bastion received news that a famous scientist wanted Bastion to be his protégé. Bastion almost stayed, but eventually left.
After that, Jaeden and Alexis, just, sorta fell in together. She was the last friend that Jaeden had. He lost most of his old cheerful spirit and found less of a thrill to dueling.
Life just wasn't the same.
Jaeden had even thrown away many of his old cards, just because he thought of them as "Too Weak".
Alexis stood behind a pier building. She had actually been there for a while, thinking up on how to help Jaeden.
She finally came up with something. It was risky, but it should work. She walked out to meet Jaeden.
"Hey," said Jaeden with a rare smile, "How's it… What's wrong?"
Alexis opened her mouth to take a breath and began to talk.
--
Minutes later on the pier Jaeden was alone, cradling his head in his left hand and a card Alexis had given him in the other.
"She dumped me?!" Jaeden said almost yelling, "How could she just…" Jaeden almost through the card Aexis gave him in rage, but then stopped and looked at it.
Winged Kurriboh
This card's duel spirit had been with Jaeden since he entered the academy. The little fuzzball made him laugh, encouraged him… even stayed with Jaeden until…
Jaeden looked down at his Obelisk Blue Blazer.
I get it… He thought. This is what Alexis, Shepherd, and Kurriboh tried to teach me.
Jake took off his Obelisk uniform and held it in his hand.
He'd lost his love of dueling, he'd forgotten why he went to the academy in the first place.
Jaeden looked out over the ocean.
If his friends could see him now… Jaeden wouldn't blame him if they'd leave him in the dust too. He always looked back on his duels in sorrow instead of looking to the future in hope.
A giant grin grew across his face.
"It's time I go," Jaeden said aloud, "I'll come back, but if I stay here, people will just treat me like I did them." Then something caught Jaeden's eye, "What the…" Jake turned to see a small, wooden boat, seemingly without pilot, drift towards him
Just then, a familiar face popped out of the boat and flew over to Jaeden.
"Winged Kurriboh!" Jaeden yelled as the mass of fur and wings flew over to sit on Jaeden's shoulder. "Good ta see ya, buddy! Looks like ya never left after all!"
"None of us really did, Jaeden," said a voice from behind Jaeden. He turned to see Alexis holding a bundle of clothes and a pack.
"You, see," Alexis began as she walked up to Jaeden. He looked at the clothes and recognized his old Slifer Red uniform. "None of us ever left. Not Cyrus, not Zane, not even Chazz. We all stick with you."
"Huh, really," Jaeden cupped a hand over his eyes and looked around, "Where, I don't see em'." The two shared a laugh. It was a bad joke, but the first Jaeden made in a while.
"You know what I mean," Said Alexis hading Jaeden the pack. "That should get you started." She took a deep breath, "Just come back, okay."
Jaeden stepped into the boat and smirked at Alexis, "Hey, don't worry about it. Jake promised he'd come back and I'll do the same! See ya!"
With Kurriboh on his shoulder and Alexis waving goodbye, Jaeden set off.
--
Near the center of Rome, near evening, a motorcycle with two riders drove up to the ancient Roman Coliseum.
Odion stopped and let Jake off.
Jake removed his helmet and walked towards the entrance.
"Sure you don't require help?" Odion said to Jake. Jake shook his head.
"The Dark Oracle asked for me alone," Jake said firmly, "I don't want anyone else involved."
Jake took a few more steps, looked own, and faced Odion.
"Listen, uh…" he began, "If I don't make it back…" Jake sighed, "Tell Ellie Watcher that I'm sorry. That I couldn't keep all of my promises."
Odion nodded and drove off into Rome's streets.
As the howl of the bike faded, Jake took a deep breath and entered the arena.
Over the pit that was the original coliseum, a pair of intersecting bridges had been constructed to give visitors a view of the inner workings of the arena. Jake walked across on walkway, Duel Crystal in one hand, deck on his belt.
In the opposite direction, a man wearing a long, black robe with an eye on its drawn forward hood approached Jake.
This was the Dark Oracle.
He was seemingly unimpressive, but Jake knew that this guy had been the source of a lot of grief for him.
The two stared each other down for a while, and then Jake spoke.
"Know what?" Jake said while crossing his arms, "I expected a really dramatic entrance from you."
The Oracle grunted, "I waste no time on such frivolity."
Jake could feel it in the man's voice. This guy had power, and knew it.
"Still kinda disappointed," Jake looked around, "Still expecting the Saar Kell or the Charles bros to show up, though."
"Saar Kell is but one of my master's pawns," The Oracle pulled down his hood to reveal a young man with snow white hair and a pointed face. "As for Yin and Yang… I assure you that their ends were quick and painless."
Jake's eyes widened for a bit, but then he returned his focus.
"I win and you and your flunkys disappear, got it?" Jake said firmly, "I'm tired of people like you stepping on other people. Not to mention I'm tired of sleeping in caves and getting shot at."
Jake slapped the Duel Crystal on his left wrist and it changed into a Duel Disk form.
"Fine, but when you lose…" The Dark Oracle began, unveiling his Duel Disk, "You will be the one to disappear… Forever!"
DUEL!
Oracle: 4000
Jake: 4000
"I'll go first!" yelled the Oracle, "I summon my Newdoria (1200/800) in attack mode!"
A humanoid, fiendish monster with long arms and very little armor appeared in the air above the arena floor.
"Then I set two cards face down and end my turn." The Dark Oracle slid two cards into his disk and two holo-cards appeared by his feet.
"My turn," said Jake as he drew.
Alright, he thought as he looked at his hand of cards. This is great! I'll beat him really easily with… Woah… Never thought I'd get used to dueling for my life.
"I summon my Armed Dragon LV 3 (1200/900) to the field!" proclaimed Jake as not a hologram, but a live, yellow, armored dragon was summoned to the field.
It turned and chirped at Jake, swishing its tail happily.
"Good to see you too," Jake grinned at the monster, "Wanna kick some bad guy butt?"
The dragon lifted its head and gave a roar that surprised Jake.
"I'll take that as a yes," Jake said.
"Amazing," stammered the Oracle with a look of astonishment on his face. "The Crystal can truly give life to spirits!" He smiled greedily. "When I win I'll take it and use its power to revive my master. The world will be his and I will stand by his side!"
"Hate to tell ya," Jake began as he pulled out another few cards from his hand. "But there is no way I'm letting you win!" Jake activated a pair of cards. "I use both of the Level Up cards in my hand! This takes Armed Dragon from level 3—"
The dragon glowed and grew in size until he almost took up Jake's side of the Arena. It's scales turned red, its armor shined and grew with the body. Its tiny roar faded, then grew so loud Jake wouldn't be surprised if everybody on the block woke up.
"To level 7!" (2800/1000) Jake yelled as his dragon extended its claws and clenched its teeth.
Even with creatures this powerful, the Oracle thought. The Crystal can sustain it… Remarkable.
"Now for the finale!" Jake pulled a new card from his hand, "I discard a card from my hand to level up my dragon again!"
The Oracle's eyes widened. Again!?
"Feast your eyes on--" Jake replaced his level 7 card for a new one. Armed Dragon stood on its hind legs and its muscles grew. Its height soared. Finally, it let out a roar that shattered the windows on nearby buildings.
Jake held his ears, "Yeesh, not so loud!" the dragon turned its silvery armored head in apology.
"Alright, meet Armed Dragon LV 10!(3000/2000)" Jake once again faced the Oracle who stared up at the Dragon in awe.
"Now his special ability comes into play and he can destroy all monsters on my opponent's side of the field when he's summoned!" Jake pointed at Newdoria. "You know what to do, partner."
The dragon nodded and brought his tail around, shifting it into a holographic form, sweeping away the fiend.
"Now, Armed Dragon--" Jake pointed at the Oracle. Then (after pausing for dramatic effect) spoke. "Sic em."
The Dragon breathed flames that surrounded, but did not scald the Oracle.
Oracle: 1000
Jake: 4000
"That's all the cards I got, your turn," Jake said trying to hold back the urge to jump up and down.
I gonna do it! He thought. I'm gonna beat the Dark Oracle and stop the Cursed One! I didn't do it alone either… Jake looked at his deck.
Images of his family, his monsters, The Ishtars, Odion, even Kaiba flooded into his mind.
I'm gonna win, he thought. And go to the academy.
An image of him standing on the bow of a Kaiba Corp boat heading to Duel Academy appeared in his mind. He saw hundreds of people standing on the docks waving and cheering him in. Ellie was a prominent figure in the crowd, standing on the closest dock and--
Jake's Daydream was interrupted by slow, rhythmic clapping.
The Oracle was applauding Jake.
"Well done, well done," he said, "But the match isn't over. I draw." The Oracle regained his greedy smile. "I flip up my two trap cards, both are called Embodiment of Apophis! (1600/1800) They transform into two, four star creatures when activated."
Two soldiers who looked to be mostly like snakes appeared. They held wicked looking swords and hissed at Jake.
"Now I play Premature Burial!" The Oracle announced, "In exchange for 800 Life Points, I can revive a monster from my Graveyard. I choose Newdoria."
The fiend revived and the Oracle's points took a dive.
Oracle: 0200
Jake: 4000
"Now that I have three monsters, let me reacquaint you with an old friend." The Oracle grinned at Jake who stood confused.
"I'm sure the Charles Brothers introduces you a few years ago," The Oracle spoke as Jake's eyes widened.
"I sacrifice all of my monsters to summon… Dark Dreadroute! (4000/4000)" The Oracle yelled as he summoned his monster.
The arena quaked slightly and the sky grew dark. Jake watched horrified as a dark portal opened up beneath the bridge and black tendrils dragged the Oracle's monsters into the abyss below them.
A dull roar sounded from the depths.
"As you can see, Jake Parion," said the Oracle looking into the abyss, "Dark Dreadroute
is a creature much like your Level monsters. It has… substance…"
A green, bone-armored hand as large as a truck emerged from the portal. Soon the whole beast emerged, a green skinned demon with bone armor and spiraling horns emerged. Its essence spilled out into the arena and Jake could see his Dragon weaken from just being near the demon.
Armed Dragon Lv 10: 1500/1000
"No," Jake almost whispered. "No now. We're so close…"
"Now I activate Soul of the Duelist!" proclaimed the Oracle.
What, Jake thought. I've never heard of that spell.
"To keep its ability simple," The Dark Oracle began, "I will now fuse with Dark Dreadroute, obtaining power like you've never seen before!"
A flash of light covered the Oracle and his monster. Jake shielded his eyes and when the light faded he looked at the new creature in horror.
Dark Dreaded Oracle: 5000/5000
"Oh my…" Jake stammered looking at the Oracle
He was the same size as he had been; only now, instead of a black cloak he wore bone armor, with a bone helmet that bore curved horns.
"You're right to fear me, Jake Parion," the Oracle said holding out his left hand which still bore his Duel Disk, "I now activate my spell card Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce." Two swords made of blue metal flashed into the Oracle's hands. "I admit that I'm not much for light-based cards, but being able to attack twice in the same turn in exchange for 500 attack points makes them kind of irresistible."
The Oracle then brought one of his swords back and unleashed a wave of evil energy at the Armed Dragon. It whimpered for about a second and vanished, it's power demolished. Jake felt the aftershock.
No more holograms, Jake thought. This guy's power is real.
Oracle: 0200
Jake: 1000
The Oracle walked lazily over towards Jake with a smirk on his face.
Sweating heavily, Jake backed away from him, only to trip and land on one knee.
He looked up only to see the Oracle's second sword.
"You have two options now," said the Oracle, "You've been a pleasant distraction for me so you can give me the Crystal, surrender, and go back to whatever meager place you came from. You can even keep your deck. The other option: You are defeated and you are thrown into the abyss. Now I don't want that Crystal damaged so…" The Oracle held out his hand.
Jake looked up at his choices: An empty hand and future torment, or a sword and instant death. Jake stood up slowly, pulled his deck out of his Crystal Disk, and put it in his belt.
He then looked at the Crystal on his arm sadly and whispered a phrase.
"I'm sorry, Ellie, everyone…" Jake quickly turned to the side of the bridge and prepared to jump.
"Don't boy!" yelled the Oracle, "You and the Crystal will be consumed by Darkness."
But Jake had already jumped.
The Oracle screamed.
Jake felt free for a moment as he fell into the air, like all his burdens had been lifted.
Then he fell…
And Darkness surrounded his body.
--
Miles away, Ellie woke with a start and looked around.
She was still in her dorm room, late at night, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Ellie almost yelled as she saw a large figure at the foot of her bed.
"Who-what-where," Ellie stammered, "Who are you and what are you doing here. This is my room!"
"Ellie Watcher," said Odion with a hint of sorrow in his voice. "I have a message from a friend of yours."
"What happened to Jake?" Ellie said, almost choking on the words.
--
It's not so bad, Jake thought as he drifted through pure Darkness.
Not too hot, not too cold…
Haven't felt hungry…
I guess I could rest here for a while…
Maybe a long while…
I mean… I did save the world… right?
--
Coming soon: Level Rising: Finality