I'm back. This chapter will feature a duel...well technically two, but I've split them into two parts so we kind of bounce around a little bit. Bare with it and enjoy.
Chapter 8:
Of Light and Dark
"Welcome back, duellists to the final duel of the day," Mr. Phool announced over the speakers. "We started out with forty-eight duellists and now we are down to sixteen. Please take your positions for you last duel."
These words brought Pearl back from her daze as she headed to the area in the zoo where they had the train tours. It was a small train with no roof and box cars that could only fit two people. It would be a slow ride, so the risk of falling off was lessened from the rollercoaster idea, but they still had harnesses ready as a precaution. Pearl stared at these preparations for a long time before someone walked up beside her.
"It's amazing the lengths they'll go to just to attract a crowd," the girl said.
"Not really," Pearl said. "People want to be noticed and they'll quite often do anything to get it." The girl beside her smiled.
"I'm Dara," she said, holding out a hand.
"Pearl," Pearl greeted, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Dara said. "I hope this will be one exciting duel."
"Oh, it will be," Pearl said.
"Alright, we're ready for you," one of the maintenance men called. The two girls headed to their separate cars to get themselves strapped in.
Meanwhile, Jaden had made it to the location of his last duel of the day; the Haunted House. He was excited and didn't wait for his signal to enter, but just plunged inside ready for his next battle. There, standing across what appeared to be a chasm was another boy with a duel disk.
"Hey bro, you ready to duel?" Jaden called.
"Oh, so you must be my opponent," the boy said. "My name's Maurice. What's yours?"
"Jaden," Jaden said. "This is going to be a sweet duel!"
"Agreed," Maurice said.
"Duellists, take your positions," Mr. Phool said. Duel disks were activated and rides started as everyone waited for their signal to start. "Ready…set…duel!" came the call.
"Let's duel!" everyone said.
"Get your game on, Maurice," Jaden said. "I'll go first. Draw!" Jaden took a moment to gaze at his hand. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode." Sparkman – ATK: 1600. "I'll also set one card and end my turn. Now, show me what you've got," Jaden challenged.
"Oh, so you're a hero fan, are you?" Maurice asked.
"Ya, heroes are so cool," Jaden said.
"I'm afraid that I'm not like that," Maurice said as he drew his card. "I like the villains, so I'll start with Dark Scorpion Gorg the Strong in attack mode!" Jaden was surprised to see the familiar big, dark skinned man with a scar that went down across the right half of his face at an angle. Gorg the Strong – ATK: 1800.
"Like him?" Maurice asked.
"I've met the Dark Scorpions before," Jaden admitted. "They're pretty cool monsters, but I'll stick with my heroes."
"Sorry, but your heroes aren't going to stick with you," Maurice said. "Gorg, attack Sparkman!" Gorg charged and brought his giant metal club down causing Sparkman to explode and Jaden took two hundred points of damage.
"Now, due to Gorg's second effect, you have to send the top card in your deck to the graveyard," Maurice said. Jaden obliged and was more than happy to when he saw Necroshade. "Also, during my second Main Phase, I'm going to activate a spell card called Gravekeeper's Servant. As long as this card remains active on the field, you have to send one card from the top of your deck to the graveyard in order to declare an attack," Maurice explained.
"Say what?" Jaden asked.
"You heard me," Maurice said. "I'll set one card and end my turn. You're up, Jaden."
"Be careful Jaden," Yubel said. "You realize what kind of strategy he's using, right?"
"Ya, ya, I got it. Unfortunately, I'm just going to have to deal with it until I can get rid of his strategy, which won't be easy I can tell," Jaden thought.
"I draw," Jaden said. "I summon Clayman in defense mode." Clayman – DEF: 2000. "I'll also set another card facedown and end my turn."
"That's all?" Maurice asked. "I watched the recordings of your other duels I this tournament and you did way better than this."
"Someone did his homework," Jaden said.
"That's more than I can say for you, slacker," Yubel teased.
"You're not helping, Yubel," Jaden retorted.
"Whatever, it's your funeral," Maurice continued. "I draw and summon Command Knight in attack mode!" Command Knight – ATK: 1200. Jaden was slightly surprised to see that Command Knight was a girl. "She's more than just a pretty face," Maurice continued.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaden asked.
"It means that all warrior type monsters I control gain four hundred attack points thanks to her effect and as long as she's not the only monster on my field, she can't be attacked," Maurice explained.
"Oh boy," Jaden said. Command Knight – ATK: 1600. Gorg the Strong – ATK: 2200.
"That's not good for you. Gorg, attack Clayman!" Maurice said.
"I activate a trap; Mirror Gate," Jaden said. "Now our monsters switch sides and the battle continues."
"That's not true, because I activate a trap of my own," Maurice said. "It's called Dark Illusions and it activates when you activate an effect that has a dark attribute monster as a target. Your trap is negated and destroyed!"
"Well that's no fun," Jaden said. "Luckily, that's not the only trap I have. This one's called Clay Charge! When Clayman is targeted for an attack, I destroy the attacking monster and you get hit with eight hundred points of damage." Gorg exploded and Maurice's life points took a dive to thirty-two hundred.
"Well, looks like you got me there," Maurice said. "I'll activate Allure of Darkness. With this effect I draw two cards and banish one dark monster from my hand. So I'll choose Dark General Freed and then activate the Warrior Returning Alive to bring back Gorg the Strong to my hand. I'll end with two cards face down."
"This might take longer than I thought," Jaden mussed to himself.
Pearl and Dara stood three cars across from each other on the slow moving train ready to begin their duel. Each one was strapped securely in the brightly colored box cars, respectively.
"The first move is yours, Pearl," Dara said. "Show me what you've got."
"Ask and you shall receive," Pearl said. "I draw. I'll start with Gem-Knight Garnet in attack mode." Garnet – ATK: 1900.
"Ah, so it's Pearl of the Gem-Knights," Dara said. "I knew there was a reason this duel was going to be interesting."
"If you say so," Pearl said. "I set three cards and end my turn."
"Oh, I say so and you'll see after this. I draw," Dara said. "I summon Constellar Pollux in attack mode." Constellar Pollux – ATK: 1700.
"Constellar?!" Garnet and Pearl said at the same time.
"As in the Knights of the Stars?" Pearl asked.
"You understand now, don't you?" Dara asked. "The Constellar were called on by the Gem-Knights in the face of battle for assistance."
"Dara of the Constellar," Pearl said, grinning. "I knew there was a reason I liked you." Both girls bowed respectfully to each other. This would be a great duel.
"My turn's not over yet," Dara said. "When Pollux is summoned, I can normal summon once more this turn. So say hello to Constellar Acubens." Constellar Acubens – DEF: 2000.
"So cool," Pearl said.
"That's not all," Dara said. "When Acubens is summoned, all Constellar monsters on my field gain five hundred attack points for this turn." Pollux – ATK: 2200.
"Garnet!" Pearl said.
"Pollux attack!" Dara said. Pollux struck with his twin blade sword and Garnet exploded. Pearl only took three hundred points of damage, but losing Garnet was a bigger blow to her.
"I end my turn," Dara said. Pearl drew her card and glanced through her hand.
"I could've activated Justi-Break last turn when she attacked, but I want to see what she's got and destroying her monsters before she can show me is pointless," Pearl told herself. In her hand, Sardonyx's spirit spoke to her.
"Milady, allow me to get revenge for Garnet," he said. "His sacrifice will not be in vain." Pearl nodded and a glint returned to her eye.
"I summon Gem-Knight Sardonyx in attack mode," Pearl said. Sardonyx – ATK: 1800. "Next I equip him with Supervise."
"What's that do?" Dara asked.
"This can only be equipped to a Gemini monster and allows it to use its effect," Pearl explained. "Next I activate my spell card Banner of Courage. This means that during my battle phase, all my monsters gain two hundred attack points. And that means trouble for you. Sardonyx, attack Pollux!" Sardonyx – ATK: 2000. Sardonyx struck with his chain mace and Pollux was destroyed. Their scores were tied at thirty-seven life points each.
"I salute your knights," Dara commented. "They truly live up to their name and their reputations."
"Thank you," Pearl said. "I must say, after all I've heard, I've been waiting for a chance to meet the Constellar. Guess this battle is to decide which of us holds the better knights."
"I guess so, but I should warn you that the light always prevails," Dara said.
"I trust my knights," Pearl said.
"And I trust mine," Dara agreed. "Prepare yourself, Pearl of the Gem-Knights, this will be the greatest duel of your life."
"Bring it on, Dara of the Constellar," Pearl said. It was clear that these two girls would hold nothing back in this duel of the earth and stars.
"I draw," Jaden said. "This is where it gets serious. I activate Polymerization. With this I fuse Avian with Burstinatrix in my hand and fusion summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" Flame Wingman – ATK: 2100.
"You really are a hero fan, aren't you?" Maurice asked.
"You know it. Heroes are the best!" Jaden said.
"You'll accept that I disagree," Maurice said.
"You're opinion," Jaden said. "But let's see if I can change your mind. Flame Wingman, attack Command Knight! Flame Wingman attacked and easily destroyed Command Knight, giving Maurice five hundred points of damage.
"Ouch," Maurice said.
"It gets worse, because when Flame Wingman destroys a monster, you take that monster's attack points as damage, and with Command Knight's effect to raise her attack points, you take all sixteen hundred points," Jaden explained. Maurice was left with only eleven hundred life points left.
"How'd you like that?" Jaden asked.
"Actually, I was waiting for that," Maurice admitted.
"You were?" Jaden questioned.
"Ya, cause now I can do this!" Maurice said as he drew his card. "I summon Don Zaloog in attack mode." Don Zaloog – ATK: 1400.
"I know what's coming next," Jaden admitted.
"You're right to be cautious," Maurice said. "I activate the spell card Mustering of the Dark Scorpions. Now I can summon all other Dark Scorpion monsters from my hand so say hello to Chick the Yellow, Gorg the Strong, Meanae the Thorn and Cliff the Trap Remover." Chick the Yellow – ATK: 1000. Gorg the Strong – ATK: 1800. Meanae the Thorn – ATK: 1000. Cliff the Trap Remover – ATK: 1200.
"That's some army you've got there," Jaden complimented.
"Don't seem impressed, cause it's bad news for you when I activate my trap card Dark Scorpion Combination," Maurice said. "Now all my Dark Scorpions can attack you directly, but you only take four hundred points of damage for each attack."
"And face the wrath of their special abilities," Jaden thought. "These guys didn't go easy on Chazz when he fought them."
"Well boys and girl, get one with it," Maurice said. Jaden took all their attacks and the two thousand points of damage that came with it.
"Now for their abilities," Maurice said. "By Gorg the Strong's effect, I return one monster to the top of your deck. Flame Wingman, it's been real."
"Oh now, Wingman!" Jaden said as his favorite monster disappeared.
"Chick the Yellow allows me to return one card to your hand, so Clayman has to say goodbye," Maurice continued.
"Clayman," Jaden said, returning the card to his hand.
"Don Zaloog makes you discard one card from your hand to the graveyard," Maurice stated. Jaden discarded Clayman with a sigh. "Cliff the Trap Remover takes the top two cards in your deck and sends them to the graveyard." Jaden checked the top two cards in his deck.
"Partner," Jaden said as he discarded them.
"And finally, Meanae the Thorn lets me add one card from my graveyard to my hand, but it has to be a Dark Scorpion card. I know just the one too," Maurice said. "I set two cards and end my turn."
"I know which one he added too; Dark Scorpion Combination. A dangerous trap for me, even if I can keep a monster on the field, he can use it to attack me directly and with my life points already down to eighteen hundred, I don't stand a chance against them. There has to be a way to win this in my next turn," Jaden said to himself.
"I draw," he said. He checked his card and his hand and smiled, he could win. "You're strategy to get me to discard cards is about to be turned against you."
"What do you mean?" Maurice asked.
"When you activated Gorg's effect, you had me send Necroshade to the graveyard. Well when he's in the graveyard, I can normal summon a high level elemental hero monster once, so say hello to Elemental Hero Neos!" Jaden said. Neos – ATK: 2500.
"Oh boy," Maurice said.
"It gets worse, cause I activate Contact Soul," Jaden said. "This lets me summon a Neo-Spacian from my hand, deck or graveyard and I choose Flare Scarab." Flare Scarab – ATK: 500. Jaden was ready for his finishing move. "Neos, Flare Scarab, contact fusion!"
"What are you doing?" Maurice asked.
"Neo-Spacians don't need a Polymerization card to fuse, so say hello to Elemental Hero Flare Neos," Jaden said. "He gains four hundred attack points for every Spell and Trap card on the field." Flare Neos – ATK: 2500 + 800 = 3300.
"Oh no," Maurice said.
"That's right, so Flare Neos, attack Don Zaloog!" Jaden said. Flare Neos attacked and easily destroyed Don Zaloog, dishing out nineteen hundred points of damage for Jaden's win.
"That's game," Jaden said. "You're a great duellist."
"I guess I still need some practice," Maurice said. Jaden grinned. He was in the finals.
"Because Sardonyx destroyed your monster and sent it to the graveyard, I get to add one Gem-Knight card from my deck to my hand," Pearl said. "Your turn."
"Thank you, I draw," Dara said. "I summon Constellar Siat in defense mode. I set one card and end my turn." Siat – DEF: 1600.
"Aw, isn't he cute," Pearl said, gazing at the little machine type monster carrying a pitcher that was almost twice his size.
"He's many things, but cute isn't one of them," Dara said. "Are you going to take your turn?"
"Right," Pearl said, drawing her card. "First I'll activate Pot of Greed to add two more cards to my hand." Pearl drew two more cards and glanced through her hand.
"Milady, use me," Sardonyx said. "Return Garnet and send me in his place." Pearl was impressed with his willingness and her only response was a solemn nod.
"Alright, I activate Gem-Knight fusion!" Pearl declared. "I send Sardonyx and Emerald to the graveyard to fusion summon Gem-Knight Citrine!" Citrine – ATK: 2200. "However, because Supervise was sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one Gem-Knight normal monster from my graveyard and I choose to re-summon Gem-Knight Garnet!" Pearl said. Garnet – ATK: 1900.
"I'm in trouble aren't I?" Dara asked.
"That depends," Pearl said. "Citrine," Citrine – ATK: 2400. "Attack Acubens! Molten Citrine!"
"I activate–"
"No you don't," Pearl interrupted. "When Citrine attacks, you can't activate any spells or traps until the end of the damage step." Acubens was easily destroyed. Pearl paused here and looked at the facedown card Dara possessed. "I'll set a card and end my turn."
"Very well, play it safe then," Dara said as she drew her card. "I'll sacrifice Siat to summon Constellar Virgo." Constellar Virgo – ATK: 2300. "When Virgo is summoned, I can special summon one level five or higher Constellar monster from my hand, so say hello to Zubeneschamali." Zubeneschamali – ATK: 2100.
"That's a mouthful right there," Pearl said.
"Took me forever to pronounce his name, but I finally can," Dara said. "When he's summoned I can add one Constellar monster from my deck to my hand. Now for my attacks. First I activate my trap card, Constellar Meteor."
"What's that do?" Pearl asked.
"It's simple, when a monster battles a Constellar monster, during the damager step, that monster is returned to the deck and the deck is then shuffled," Dara said. "Virgo, attack Citrine." Virgo did as she was told and Citrine exploded.
"No Citrine," Pearl said.
"Now for Garnet, Zubeneschamali, he's all yours," Dara said. The second Constellar monster attacked and Garnet was returned to the deck while Pearl took three hundred points of damage. Neither of them were dishing out much damage. Both girls still had over three thousand life points. All around them, duels came to their conclusions and winners were announced. Pearl realized that if she didn't do something major this might take a long, long time to finish.
"You're turn, Pearl," Dara said. "Show me what the knights of the earth can do."
"I will, with this," Pearl said, drawing. Incidentally, she unleashed a small amount of her power causing a strong breeze that ruffled Dara's hair and caused her eyes to widen. The train was almost back to its starting location. Pearl had to finish quickly, but with two strong monsters staring her down and no monsters on her field, she had very little to work with. Pearl looked at the card she'd drawn. It was Gem-Knight Tourmaline, a knight with sixteen hundred attack points.
"Even with Banner of Courage, he doesn't come close to her monsters," Pearl thought. Tourmaline's spirit appeared from the card then.
"You have all the cards you need to win this, milady," he said. "The Constellar are powerful and our friends, but they are not unbeatable and for you, we will win."
"But how?" Pearl asked. "All I have on my field is…" Pearl stopped as she remembered her facedown cards. She looked at her hand and smiled. Everything was there.
"We are with you, milady," Tourmaline said.
"Thank you," Pearl said. The she turned her attention to the duel.
"Alright, here's how this is going to work," Pearl said. "First, I'll activate Monster Reborn to re-summon Garnet to the field." Garnet – ATK: 1900.
"Him again?" Dara asked.
"Yes, again," Pearl said. "Next I activate my trap card Take One Chance. With this, one random card is added from my graveyard to my hand, but I have to use it right away no matter what."
"That's a pretty big risk," Dara said.
"Why do you think the card is called Take One Chance?" Pearl asked. The card appeared and Pearl was incredibly thankful to her deck for making the right choice. "I activate the Gem-Knight Fusion I got back from my graveyard. With this I'll fuse Garnet with Tourmaline in my hand and Fusion summon Gem-Knight Topaz!" Topaz – ATK: 1800.
"He still can't beat my monsters, even with your Banner of Courage," Dara pointed out.
"You forget, Dara of the Constellar, I have one more card on my field," Pearl said. Dara gasped as Pearl activated the card.
"It's called Burden of the Mighty and it lowers your monster's attack points by one hundred points times their level," Pearl explained.
"Oh on," Dara said as her monster's attack points were lowered. Virgo – ATK: 1800. Zubeneschamali – AKT: 1600.
"Oh and before I attack," Pearl said. "You should know that Topaz can attack twice during a battle phase. Topaz, go for it! Double Topaz Thunder Shock!" Dara watched both her monsters die in battle and was a little shocked when Pearl deactivated her duel disk and the train slowed.
"Wait, I have life points left," Dara said.
"No you don't," Pearl said. "Topaz's final ability means that you take damage equal to your monster's attack points that were destroyed this turn." Dara's life points diminished and she laughed.
"I guess that's the end of Dara of the Constellar," she said.
"Not at all," Pearl said. "That was an amazing duel and I'm glad to have met you."
"Same," Dara said. Both girls detached themselves from the train and approached to shake hands.
"I hope to meet you again sometime," Pearl said.
"Same goes for you," Dara said. "Listen Pearl; the reason I joined this tournament was to see if the Steelswarms were trying to make a comeback. I thought that me and my Constellars could ensure that they were kept down, but the Gem-Knights know of their evil."
"They know it all too well," Pearl agreed.
"If the Steelswarms are here, can I count on you to destroy them?" Dara asked.
"Anything for a fellow knight," Pearl said. Dara smiled.
"I knew I'd like you," she said. "I'll see you at the finales." With that the blonde haired girl hurried away and left Pearl feeling accepted.
"You see, milady," Garnet said to her. "It's not hard to make friends when you have something in common."
"True, but she still doesn't know about my powers," Pearl said. "I almost lost control back there, I could feel it."
"But you didn't and that's a good sign that you're gaining control," Garnet said. He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked at her beyond his helmet that covered his eyes. "We are proud to serve you, milady."
"Thank you, Garnet," Pearl said. The red armored knight disappeared and a voice came over the park's PA system.
"Would all finalists please report to the duel stadium," Mr. Phool said. Pearl didn't waste any more time as she hurried in the direction of the stadium.
Pearl wasn't surprised to see Jaden on the stage with six other finalists waiting for what was to come next. The Slifer Red boy greeted her with a smile.
"Hey Pearl, glad to see you made it," he said. "We might get our rematch in the finals."
"Don't expect me to go easy on you," Pearl teased. Mr. Phool glanced at the competitors who stood behind him and nodded in approval. This would be an interesting finale.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," he greeted. "May I present to you your finalists; Samael Barrett, Lux Dalton, Ophir Frost, Nazar Haight, Pearl Lite, Arlen Palmer, Jaden Yuki and our returning champion for three years, Fay Robbins!" The cheers from the crowd almost deafened Pearl, but she stood tall and smiled. Jaden was waving his arms like he was a celebrity and Pearl chuckled to herself. He certainly wasn't one who was easily embarrassed.
"Wish them luck as they embark on their final journey tomorrow at noon," Mr. Phool said. He then turned to the contestants and smiled. "Good luck," he said.
"We'll need it against Fay," the boy named Arlen said.
"You boys are way too negative," said the girl, Lux. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that she jumped off the stage and hurried into the crowd. Pearl gazed at the competition and wondered which one of them could possibly hold a deck of Steelswarms. They all seemed nice enough, although she did sense something was wrong with at least one of them. However, she didn't dwell as Jaden started to pull her off the stage, saying something about being hungry. Pearl grinned and followed him off the stage and into the swarm of people. Everyone was trying to get out at the same time and Pearl finally lost sight of Jaden.
"Jaden," she called through the ruckus. "Jaden Yuki where are you?" An arm grabbed hers and started to pull her away from the crowd. Pearl had no idea whether it was Jaden, but she didn't care at that moment. She felt like she was being trampled and only wanted to get away. Finally, the crowd thinned and Pearl could stand still without being bumped and pushed.
"Thanks," she said. When she looked up, she was surprised to see that the person who had grabbed her was not Jaden, but a beautiful fortune teller that she'd seen the other day in a booth.
"You have to be careful, child," she said. "You never know who could find you."
"Thank you for the advice," Pearl said, respectfully. The woman grabbed her arm and gazed at her palm.
"Yes, you must be very careful," she said. "You will face many hardships in your life and a future that is not as you expect."
"Tell me something I don't know," Pearl said, pulling away from her.
"You will be betrayed by one who is shrouded in darkness," she continued. "Yet you will not realize it until it is too late. Take this warning my dear. Beware the one you trust." Pearl was startled by this. Could what the strange man had said yesterday be true? Was Jaden going to betray her? What was she supposed to do? Pearl looked back and tried to find the woman, but she had disappeared and Pearl was left alone…or rather thought she was. Pharaoh suddenly brushed up against her leg and Pearl picked him up.
"There you are, Pearl," Jaden said, hurrying up behind her. "I lost you back there. Are you alright?"
"Ya…I'm fine," Pearl said, staring at the spot where the woman had been. "Let's get something to eat."
"I'm way ahead of you," Jaden said. With that he led the way across the fair with Pearl following deep in thought. She now had two warnings from two different people. Were they connected? Or perhaps there was more than one person she needed to worry about.
Well, did you like it? Send me a message and tell me what you think. Also to Shadgirl2, for some reason I can't message you back, so if you have any suggestions, don't be afraid to send them. All are welcome. I'll upload soon...hopefully, or maybe I'll just keep you in suspense for a while! Hhhmmm, I like that idea...be patient, it shouldn't be that long.