Part 95 Shadowcobra's Betrayal

"How nice it is to see you again," Toros chuckled as he spoke to the three Knights.

"Where are the others?" Draco demanded

Toros snickered, "Temper, temper, Draco. Don't worry, coz your friends are safe with us." He moved to the side to reveal the Titans in a special energy barrier prison and chained to the wall. "The chains are to make sure they won't be able to use their powers, a nice touch by Mad Mod. The energy barrier is just for assurance," Toros explained to them.

"What do you want?" Pluto asked.

Toros smiled under his helmet, "Straight to the point, I see. Well, Pluto, we thought that the game has been going a little to slow. So, we brought you here to speed things up so you can come and meet us much faster," Toros answered. "Only one of you can go through that door, alive. The rest have to die. The prize will be the safety of your friends." Toros' voice turned menacing, "In other words, you have to duel to the death and the one left standing wins and can save your friends."

"You're crazy!" said Draco, "There's no way that we'll fight each other!" Draco yelled. "No way!" he repeated.

Shadowcobra was standing behind the two of them silently. He saw Raven in the prison and was worried about her. He drew a card from his belt and stared at it. At the same time, the words of Yoshido echoed through his mind,

Ten lives in one hand and one life in the other, which would you choose to sacrifice?

If you want your greatest wish to come true, you must defeat the other Knights.

Fight…Fight…FIGHT!

Because in the end there can be only one.

Toros challenged, "Are you both really so sure of that?"

"Of course we are. We're a team and we won't betray one another," said Pluto.

Toros added with a laugh, "Well, don't you remember that in the end there can be only one?"

Shadowcobra inserted the card into his scepter. "Sword Vent." At hearing this, Pluto and Draco turned

"Um, Shadow?" Draco began asking, "What are you doing with that sword?"

"Forgive me," he said softly before he swung his weapon down and slashed Draco over the chest, sending sparks flying and him reeling.

"SHADOW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Pluto yelled before he was elbowed in the face and then kicked in the side, sending him flying across the room.

Shadowcobra then grabbed Draco by the head, lifting him up, before simultaneously kneeing him in the gut and elbowing him in the back. He then went into a reverse roundhouse kick, smashing his heel into Draco's faceplate.

All the Titans gasped as they watched Shadowcobra ruthlessly attacking Pluto and Draco.

"What is he doing?" Robin exclaimed.

"Friend Shadow! Please Stop!" Starfire begged.

"Perfect…" was all Vermin said.

Raven was angry and confused. She gritted her teeth and glared angrily at the Gamemasters amusement and the viewing screens. Why was Shadowcobra doing this?

Draco held his Dragon Saber and went into a defensive pose, "I don't want to fight you, Ichijyo! So just stop!" Draco blocked one of Shadowcobra's swings, but was then swept off his feet by a sweep kick under his legs. Shadowcobra was about to bring his heel down on Draco but Pluto came running behind him with his lance and brought the weapon down. Shadowcobra jumped out of the way and the weapon hit Draco instead.

"Aaahh!" Draco screamed.

"Sorry Leo!" Pluto apologized. He helped Draco up and they both turned to face Shadowcobra.

"Fight me," Shadowcobra said before he drew another card and inserted it into his scepter, "Now! Trick Vent." His armor turned black and his shadow separated from him to form a duplicate. They both rushed to attack Draco and Pluto.

Draco and Pluto parried with their weapons. The twins then leapt over the two and slashed the pair diagonally over the back. Sparks flew and they both screamed. Draco and Pluto quickly turned to see the twins gone.

"Where are they!" Draco asked Pluto. They were both standing back to back.

"I think they're invisible," Pluto replied.

Draco felt something slam into his stomach. He gasped, "No, you think?"

"Watch out!" Pluto yelled as an invisible force pulled them apart and slammed them against the wall.

The two Shadowcobras had turned invisible and were beating the crap out of Draco and Pluto. Draco was being punched repeatedly in the face and stomach while Pluto was being held in a chokehold.

"Combustion!" Draco exclaimed, enveloping himself in flames and throwing the invisible assailant off of him. Pluto drew a card and inserted it into his sword, "Nasty Vent!" releasing a powerful sonic screech that neutralized the Shadowcobra clone that was attacking him. The real Shadowcobra held his ears in pain as he narrowed his eyes. He then summoned up a pair of shadow claws and sent them to attack his opponents.

"Good, they are beginning to fight," said Toros.

Robin spoke, "You want them to destroy each other, don't you?"

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" Dagger laughed, "Of course we do!"

"Why?"

"Because we're Zodiac Knights!"

"That's not an answer!"

"Good enough for us," said Mad Mod.

"You see, Boy Wonder," Toros began to explain, "The Knights' true purpose is to fight. It is for our survival and we must destroy one another."

Astra added, "In other words, Survival of the Fittest."

Draco inserted the card into his gauntlet. "Shoot Vent!" he aimed his flamethrower at Shadowcobra and fired. Shadowcobra dodged and then teleported. He reappeared next to Pluto. Pluto yelled, "Draco! STOP!" Draco opened fire and Shadowcobra pulled Pluto in front of him, using him as a shield. Pluto screamed as he was being pummeled by fireballs.

"PLUTO!" Draco yelled.

"Worthless," Shadowcobra hissed as he dropped Pluto and then went on the attack on Draco. He drew a card and inserted it into his scepter. "Copy Vent!" he created a duplicate of Draco's Dragon Cannon and started blasting at Draco.

"At least fight with all your might!" Shadowcobra yelled, firing a stream of flames at Draco. Draco rolled out of the way and used his pyrokinetic abilities to force the fire back at Shadowcobra. The Dragon Cannon overheated and blew up. Shadowcobra held his damaged hand and glared at Draco. "Very good." He drew out his battle staff and drew a card, sliding it in. "Mighty Vent!" He charged at Draco, swiping Draco across the chest. Sparks flew.

"You see, Titans, your three friends were destined to kill each other from the start. This would've happened sooner or later. It was just a matter of time," Vermin explained.

"Why, you bastards," Cyborg swore.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me," countered Vermin. He huffed, "You people will never understand."

"Quiet!" Astra spoke, "We're in for the Grande Finale!"

"Why are you doing this?" Draco asked, holding up the injured Pluto. "We promised to stay united to the end," he continued.

"This is the only way to save the Titans," Shadowcobra answered, "I'm sorry." He drew out another card and inserted it into his scepter. "Steal Vent." Pluto's K-9 Lance was pulled away from his hands and ended up in Shadowcobra's hand. Shadowcobra charged forward and, before they could dodge, did a fierce diagonal swing and slashed both Knights across their chests. Sparks flew when the lance made contact with their chestplates as they screamed. Shadowcobra slashed them again across the chest before using the lance like a baseball bat and sending flying them towards the wall. Both Draco and Pluto crashed and collapsed on the cold hard ground, groaning.

Shadowcobra dropped the lance and reached for his deck. He drew out a card. "Forgive me…" he whispered softly.

"If that's how it is then…" Pluto said grimly, drawing out his Survivor Card: The Right Wing of the Phoenix, "Then so be it."

"Pluto?" Draco questioned.

"This is how it has to be, Leo," Pluto told him, standing firmly on his own two feet. "Remember that in the end, there can be only one…"

"Very well," Draco drew his Survivor Card: The Left Wing of the Phoenix, as well. "No matter how I hate this, we have to do this."

"Remember why we are doing this," Shadowcobra told them, revealing his card to be the 3rd Survivor Card: The Heart of The Phoenix. "There is no turning back now."

Energy whipped around them as all their card readers morphed before they slid in their Survivor Cards.

"SURVIVE!"

To be continued…

Chromedragozoid: Destiny's a bitch, ain't she? Anyway, the darker parts of the Knights past has been revealed. Draco, Pluto and Shadowcobra were destined to kill each other from the start. Man, talk about surprises. Anyway, please R and R.