Authors notes: Happy New Year
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Emissary of Extinction
Chapter 9
Gaze At The Past
A harsh thud was the only sound Xiaolang made when he hit the ground.
"XIAOLANG!" Judai ran towards the downed child. "His energy is draining fast!"
The energy that Xiaolang was losing to becoming one with the dark power that flowed from the still visible image of Draygor
Draygor laughed. "NOW I WILL BE FREE!"
Ritan raised his arms, releasing his own power. "Let the Dawn of Extinction, begin!"
Judai was too busy trying to wake Xiaolang, but Yubel watched as Ritan and Draygor's auras fused, becoming one mass of dark power.
The Gateway to Extinction still stood, but the darkness was changing, an image was forming inside of it, it showed a place in an another world.
A world that held another gateway. The true gateway.
"Xiaolang! Xiaolang! Wake up! Wake up!"
Xiaolang weakly coughed. His eyes opening slightly, a tear fell from his eyes. Judai felt his blood freeze as he stared into the boys eyes.
They were the eyes of someone at death's door.
Someone who was nowhere near ready.
Xiaolang's body convulsed with coughs once more. His mouth opened. He had one last request to part to the world of the living.
"Ju...dai...kill...him...now...he...cant...defend..."
The boy's eyes closed. His already weak breathing slowing down.
"...Xiaolang." The boy's energy was slipping away, it wouldn't be long. Judai's shoulder's rised and fell as his breathing picked up pace. "RITAN!" He rammed his hand into his deck box. "NEOS!" The Neo Space Elemental Hero appeared already gathering energy in his hands.
Ritan and Draygoy had their hands raised as their powers mixed, the vision in the Gateway becoming even more clear. Ritan open his mouth to speak.
"It's not too late for the boy you know." Ritan chuckled. "To my shame he's not that close to deaths door." The dark energy began to flow into the portal that the false Gateway had become, flowing into the monster world. "But if you choose to fight!" The flow of darkness became stronger. "I doubt the boy's body could take it. What's it gonna be?"
Judai stopped. Neos still stood, the energy gathered in his hands.
"Judai. I won't attack unless you tell me to, what should I do?"
Judai held the life of one in his hands. But if he chose to try and save it then...
But if he didnt...
"Judai! You Idiot! Didn't you come here with us to save Johan? But you acted on your own from start and didn't care about us at all in first place!"
"Ahhh! Big Brother! Why do you mean to sacrifice us in order to save Freed's friends?"
"It's painful. This isn't only physical pain, but the pain whose spirit is betrayed by a friend!"
"I have to carry the sadness of being betrayed by you..."
Judai gripped the boy tighter. "I cant leave another friend to die..."
"Kill...him..." But Xiaolang was willing to die for this.
"Neos, Atta-" He stopped as another's words hit him
"It doesn't matter who is sacrificed as long as it's good for the goal!"
"Judai! Attack him!" "Judai."
Judai tried to control his breathing, he could feel the boy's life force draining from him little by little. Saving him was uncertain, fulfilling his lest request could be a certainty. All he had to do was start the battle. He could stop this... "Neos..." Judai's teeth slammed shut, his brain was telling him to 'attack'. But his past was telling him otherwise. "Is the goal all there is?"
Ritan started to laugh. "Yes! This is it!"
As Judai watched his mind's eye bore the image of another alongside Ritan. He too surrounded by dark power, willing to slaughter countless numbers for the good of his goal. He saw the golden eyes of this manifestation look down on him. "If you want to defeat him, be like him."
Judai stood up, holding the first year in his arms. He looked at both Ritan and the image of Haou. "I wont be like you."
Judai turned, running with all the strength his legs had.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As Judai ran, he failed to notice his passenger open his eyes ever so slightly. They saw Ritan and Draygor, channelling dark power into the gateway.
"Dammit...Judai..."
His eyes closed once more.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ritan turned to face the true seal. "Now, Gateway! Open!" He threw out his hands, forcing all of his energies to converge on the gate.
By now the gateway was completely covered in darkness. All of it's power focusing on the doors.
"I'll be free, I'll be free! I WILL BE FREE!"
The seal on the gateway began to glow. First glowing pure gold, followed closely by the six inner circles each glowing a different color.
"No! Dammit! I wont be stopped by you again! Ritan! NOW!"
Suddenly the darkness fused from both their power shot itself at the gateway in a single blast. They were going to blast that Gateway right open.
The blast slammed into the gate, like waves crashing on the shore the darkness spread over it, instantly rendering it undetectable to the naked eye. Both were pushed back from the force of the attack. But at least they had opened the gateway.
Hadn't they?
"...no...NO!"
Draygor was looking at the real gateway, which was now becoming visible to the naked eye. Despite all the power they had gathered, all the effort.
The Gateway was still closed.
Draygor roared. Howling out a single world.
"SHIEN!"
Ritan watched with widened eyes as the portal began to fade, his ally with it. The gateway was still closed, so the beast was still bound to him. "That should have worked. I did all the calculations. Defeating Xiaolang should have been enough. Absorbing his will should have been enough. He wanted to to defeat me-!" His train was thought was violently derailed. "I see. You didn't want to defeat me. You were just fighting. You useless brat. Can't even this one thing right." Ritan frowned. "I need to come up with something else it would seem." Ritan turned around, walking out of the cave himself.
He wanted some air.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Judai felt the air stab at his lungs as he ran, the boy still lying in his arms. Xiaolang's breathing hadn't gotten any slower, but it wasn't getting any faster either. Judai kicked through the door in front of him.
A now enraged Emi Ayukawa turned to face the door. "Judai YukI! What are you-!" She stopped when she noticed the boy in the graduate's arms.
"Help him!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It would be a long night.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Judai sat outside the emergency room, his head resting on his thumbs as he had his hands clasped together in front of him. It was close to midnight now, and Xiaolang was still in surgery. Chances had been slim to start with, but Judai felt that with every second, chances of Xiaolang surviving were growing slimmer still.
Judai was furious with himself. "I let him fight. I let him fight knowing he was in danger." He sighed. "Don't die, Xiaolang."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Ritan looked out at the sea. Standing with his arms crossed as the waves crashed against the cliff he stood atop of. "You survived. And I dare say you'll make it through the night. You are...much stronger than I thought you would have been kid. But alas, you are a failure even so."
He frowned. "You're an eternal pain in my side, kid."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The sun slowly rose up through the sky. Lighting the grounds with it's glow. On such a beautiful morning it might have been possible to forget the troubles that lingered in the shadows. But very few would take that luxury.
But the weather did bring some new hope.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Judai stood just outside the door as it opened. Xiaolang's surgery was complete.
A clearly exhausted Emi came out, given Judai an exhausted frown. "We stabilized him..."
Judai felt the chill creep down his spine. "But?"
She signed. "Come with me."
She walked Judai into the operating room, to his surprise, Judai couldn't see any surgical tools. And a quick look at Xiaolang was enough for him to guess that the boy hadn't gone over a knife either. But it was enough to conclude one other thing.
Xiaolang was lying down, clearly unconscious, as multiple machines were connected to him, most of them on his upper chest as the machines showed various data on the boys body. But what struck Judai most was the breathing mask he was wearing, Judai could hear the slow, steady breathing of the boy as he slept. He'd made it, hadn't he?
He turned to see Emi, she looked so tired, and so sad. A tear slipped down her cheek as she spoke.
"He may never wake up."
"What? But can't you-?"
"I tried everything, Judai." She sighed. "It doesn't make sense. He doesn't have any injuries, but when he came in it was like his entire body was shutting down. His heart rate was dropping, and his breathing...it was one of the scariest things I've ever seen here. We almost lost him...so many times. He fell into a coma within the first hour. The rest of the time...was just trying to get his heart to work..."
Judai understood after a few seconds that Emi was not going to continue. "Did you do it?"
She nodded. "But I want to keep him here, just in case." She stumbled slightly. "I'm going to tell the Principle, he'll need to-" She suddenly stopped as Judai placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll do it, you should go to bed, you're exhausted."
"Thank you."
A minute later Judai and Xiaolang were left in the room. Judai walked over to the boy.
The boy's breathing was stronger than it had been the day before. Now coming in long, steady movements of the boy's chest. He still required a breathing mask, but it was preferable to the alternative. Judai could see so much wrong with the image before him that he barely knew where to start. It brought back memories of his own first year, back when he was in a life and death battle. "But I never got hurt like this." Judai's eyes changed. He had to check to see if anything out of place with eyes more suitable than his own.
"Nothing." He frowned at that, that meant there was nothing he could do. His eyes caught something else. He turned to face a small table.
On it was Xiaolang's Duel Disk, Oblivion was still in the monster card zone. Judai walked over to the card, picking it up. "The Aura's gone. It's almost hard to believe that it had that much duel energy in it, Xiaolang must have had this card for years." Judai felt another presence in his mind make itself known. "But now the energy is gone, from his entire deck. Likely Draygor absorbed it all." Judai nodded. "He's lucky. Oblivion had enough duel energy to take most of Draygor's second attack. If it had been another direct one..." "He'd have died, Judai. And if you hadn't been there to drag him out of there he'd be dead now." Judai frowned. "I'm glad he's only in a coma, he won't fight this way." Yubel did not state she agreed, but Judai felt she did. He emptied Xiaolangs graveyard, then shuffled every one of his cards, placing it back in the deck holder. He turned around, walking to the door. He opened it. But not before turning around to face his friend.
"Don't wake up. Don't wake up until this is all over."
Judai closed the door behind him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Duel!"
Kenzan's eyes changed. It was another class duel, the class objective of the duel was to try and summon higher level monsters without tributes, or less tributes if possible. Kenzan didn't really care.
He just wanted to beat senseless, anyone who was using Extinction Armor.
"Draw-don!"
His opponent would be in the medical ward before too long.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8! Direct Attack!"
Sorano smiled as he watched the Dragon breathed down a river of black fire down on his opponent, two cards face up in front of him. His opponent fell to his knees, his life points falling to zero.
Sorano smiled. "Horus absolute lock down, success!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On the other side of the hall...
"Felgrand Dragon! Battle!" (ATK/3600) The Extinction Armored monster roared.
It's target was a Chainsaw Insect. It's metallic pincers already running. (ATK/2400 Owner's LP/1200) And it's Duellist was prepared. "Reverse Card Rising Energy! By discarding a card, a monster of my choosing gains 1500 attack points until the end phase!" He discarded his only card. (Chainsaw Insect ATK/3900) "You lose! I chain Extinction Armor!" The Insect's body was cut open as the Ribcage burst from it, a spine growing along it's back. In second it's face had been covered, except for it's saws which poked out from beneath the jaw. It roared. "You lose, Kenji!" (Kenji LP/800)
Kenji would not be caught of guard so easily however. "Reverse Card Open! Falling Higher! For the remainder of the turn, each of our monsters gain attack power equal to their level times 200 points."
(Felgrand level/8. ATK/5200)
(Chainsaw Insect Level/4. ATK/4700)
Felgrand Dragon's tail swiped out, quickly wrapping around it's opponent, cracking the spine with it strength of it's grip. It pulled the insect in, grasping it by the skull it now wore, it pulled the mouth open with it's claws. It took a deep breath, before unleashing a river of golden and black fire into it's opponent's mouth. The victim screamed. It's body thrashing in vain against it's captor as the heat bore down on it.
The creature exploded. (Duelist LP/0)
His opponent fell flat on his face. Kenji smiled. "I'll get stronger, much stronger. Then I'll crush you, Xiaolang!"
He couldn't see as dark energy left both copies of Extinction Armor.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Back in the cave Ritan smiled as dark energy surrounded him again. "It would seem I'll have to gather a lot more power. I will open that Gateway. I won't be stopped." He held out his arms as more dark energy approached him. "The Emissary shall come."
"But why have I not already, Ritan? You said that fighting the boy would give me what I need!"
"It would have been. Had the boy truly wanted to win."
"Don't speak in mysteries! Explain!"
Ritan chuckled. "This creature really is amusing." "It's simple, Draygor. You sought to feed on Xiaolang's will to open the gateway. And his despair upon his defeat. But you only had the former, not the latter."
"What do you mean, Ritan?"
"He wasn't fighting to win. So losing was not an emotional thing for him. You didn't have the despair to feed off of, so he was useless to the goal."
"You said he would be useful!"
Ritan shrugged, "He should have been, but he wasn't. Not something we need to be concerned about. If he's not dead by now then at least he won't be moving for a while. He's one pest I don't have to crush. But still. I wonder, what made him change? He should have wanted to defeat me..." He thought back to the start of the duel. "Ahhh." He chuckled. "Judai Yuki. My, my. Xiaolang you little bastard, so that's what you were up to." He laughed. "Smart. Hazardous, but smart."
He stood up, walking out of the cave one more.
He had a new plan to create.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Judai lay alone in his old room, on his old bed. Thinking back on the duel he'd witnessed the night before. "Should I have stopped him?"
He saw again as Xiaolang rose to his feet, looking close to deaths door, as he forced himself to fight on. Activating Last Battle. "I could have stopped him any time."
Xiaolang hitting the floor, seemingly dead. "But I stood there and watched. And now..."
He saw Xiaolang lying on a bed. A breathing mask attached to his face. "He barely made it." Judai frowned. "Please don't wake up yet Xiaolang. Let me finish this first."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later on Judai was asleep.
He dreamed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hundreds of people screamed as darkness reached out for them, only a few dozen were lucky enough to escape it's grasp, had they looked back they would have seen piles of clothing where their fellow citizens had been only seconds before.
The people continued to run, desperate for their lives.
"Run if you will! I'll find you in the end anyway!"
The people screamed, they knew the creature was right. There was no hope. No chance. Nothing could stop this creature.
Draygor laughed. "My power is unrivaled!"
"Is that so?"
Another wave of darkness appeared, one that rammed right into Draygor's own. The creature jumped back. Shocked. "Who goes there!"
The people, for the first time that day, smiled.
Draygor looked as a figure walked out from the shadows. He saw the figure of a young man, donned entirely in armor, walk out. His armor was mostly black, but with gold trims appearing at certain sections of it. The armor had six tendril like spikes coming out of it, two from the front of each of his shoulder, two more at the back, and two more poking out at tops of his arms. With gold eyes, and a face with anger that could have boiled the sea. That combined with the dark energy was releasing. Draygor had to admit the man before him was the most intimidating creature he had ever met.
Second only to himself.
"Name yourself!"
The man stopped, the smiling people scurrying past him.
"Defeat him, Nobel king!"
"We believe in you!"
"Long live the king!"
The man stopped walking. Looking down his opponent with out an ounce of fear in his eyes.
"Haou. And you are a danger of my kingdom."
Draygor released more dark power. "And what are you going to do about it?"
The king pulled out a sword, a pure black blade attached to a violet handle. It's guard in the shape of bat-like wings. "I will defend my kingdom, and my people, with my life. And if you are a threat, I will have to destroy you." He ran forward. "Name yourself so I know what to put on your grave!"
Draygor cracked the ground beneath his power.
"Draygor!"
Blade met Claw. Darkness met Darkness.
The clash of the Supreme King and the Emissary of Extinction had begun.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Judai's eyes snapped open.
"What was that? Yubel!"
"I saw it too, Judai."
Judai looked at the Yubel, she'd suddenly appeared. A sad look on her face. "Yubel what was that?"
She sighed. "A memory, Judai. One of Haou's"
Judai frowned. "His memories? He faced the Emissary?"
She nodded sadly. "Yes. Though I never knew until now, I was not present at that battle. He...he ordered me to handle the evacuation while he faced Draygor himself."
"So you left a man as evil as Haou to fight Draygor? What were you thinking? They would made the best of friends!"
Yubel's faced flashed anger for a moment, but as she looked into Judai's she couldn't remain angry. The boy had his reasons, and his rights to what he felt. She signed. "Judai. Haou was...different back then. Much different. He was noble, wise, caring. Judai, he was a lot like you are now. When I look at you, I see the man he once was."
"Once?"
Her eyes cast down. "He was...never the same after that battle...the seeds that grew into the king you know were sown that day."
Judai took a few seconds to compose what he was saying. "And you...stayed loyal to him."
"I...loved him...you don't understand what it's like Judai...to see the one you love..." Yubel began to shake lightly. Her eyes were closed, tears beginning to form on their edges. Her eyes suddenly widened as she felt a warmth embrace her.
Judai hugged the image of his most loyal monster. "No Yubel, I don't. But I don't blame you."
She raised her arms, wrapping around the reincarnated body of her king. "Thank you...Judai." She smiled. She really did love him. Not in the way, she realized, that she loved her king. But she'd trade her life for Judai's without a second thought.
He really was like the king she used to know.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
End of Chapter
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Today's Strongest Card
Felgrand Dragon
Light
8
Dragon/Effect
ATK/2800 DEF/2800
This card cannot be Special Summoned except from the Graveyard and only if it was sent there from the field. When this card is Special Summoned, select 1 monster in your Graveyard. This card gains ATK equal to the Level of that monster x 200.
Commentary: Kenji
"Send just a level 6 dragon, and Felgrand will have 4000 attack points!"