AI: Hey guys, so I wasn't 100% happy with how Chapter 7 ended up, so I decided to re-write it now whilst I had the time! Not much has changed in terms of the story and plot, so nothing much is being missed if you don't read this!
COLD: And don't worry about Chapter 8, it's on its way. A lot's been going on with me at the moment but it will get done!
AI: And because of that, I'll be doing Chapter 9 and then Chapter 10 after that as well! Enjoy the rewrite!
AnotherIdentity and I don't own anything except our OC's and any OC cards you don't recognize.
Chapter 7: Clean Sweep
"What's the problem, Jacob?" Etain asked.
"Its Craig. Despite my initial worries he would burn himself out on his own power, he seems to be fine, and if anything, gaining more. He's got four white cards now, and now I worry he poses a genuine threat," Jacob explained.
"But you can still defeat him, right?" Viper asked.
"If our plan succeeds, with the right cards, easily. But if not, that dragon card is way too powerful for normal cards to stop," Jacob said.
"Alright, what can we do to stop that, then?" Etain asked.
"I recommend proceeding with our original plan," Jacob responded.
"We ditched that because if it went wrong he'd be unstoppable," Viper said shrewdly.
"Unfortunately it's the only way, give me the Deck and I'll make sure he burns himself out so badly he'll be annihilated from this island," Jacob replied.
Viper got off his chair, and inputted a code into a safe behind him and pulled out one of ten Decks.
"If this goes wrong, this is on your hands to stop," Etain said.
"I get it," Jacob replied, putting the Deck into his pocket and walking off.
…
Craig now, having easily defeated three students who had challenged him in the hope of obtaining his Tail of Griaule, had five cards, and was progressing his way around the island to proceed answering questions at the stations, to give himself a headstart. He knew currently he was ahead of the competition in terms of cards gained, and only needed one more. It was dusk and Craig was walking around slowly, wary of any competitors. Despite his powerful dragon card, he was on the lookout for those looking to take him down, Taniya, Flo, Ryan, the list was endless. He was by no means scared to face them, but opening a duel to one of them potentially opened it up to many of them.
Craig saw a dark figure by the Duel Tower, standing in the shadows, as if waiting for him. Craig got close and parked up his Runner, immediately recognising the figure.
"Its good to see you again," Jacob said, facing Craig directly, hands in pockets.
"Shame I can't return the compliment," Craig replied, voice still slightly deeper than his original. Craig maintained his Slifer outfit in an attempt to blend in, although his red streaks in his hair remained and the red mark in his eye was still there, although fading.
"Really wasting your time trying to blend in there, kiddo. You've got a red line in your hair, it's pretty obvious it's you," Jacob said.
"What do you want," Craig asked sharply.
"Actually, I'm not here to attack you for a change, merely here to assist you," Jacob offered.
"You, assist me?" Craig responded.
"I know what you're looking for Craig. Power. You've shown it well in that dragon card of yours. It's powerful, and so are you," Jacob said.
"So what?" Craig asked, "Who doesn't want power,"
Jacob grinned under his breath, pulling a Deck out of his pocket and throwing it to Craig, "Take a look through that,"
Craig ran his fingers through the cards, examining them, "How did you get these?" he asked.
"You don't need to know that," Jacob replied, "Powerful, no?"
"Extremely. Why are you giving me these?" Craig asked sharply, still wary of Jacob.
"Oh, I'm not giving it to you. You'll have to do a favour for me first," Jacob said.
"What is it?"
"A bit of a hitlist," Jacob said, "We want you to take four people out of the tournament for good,"
"Names?" Craig said quickly in response.
"Flo and Taniya from the Singles first. Then, we'll give you a partner, and you can annihilate Hayley and Bastion from the tournament as well," Jacob explained, "If you do that, you can keep the Deck,"
Craig looked at the Deck for a second, and then back to Jacob, "Why do you want them gone?"
"Simple. I have my reasons for wanting to win this tournament, and my partners to win the Doubles. We consider those four to be the ones who pose a genuine threat," Jacob responded.
"Why not Ryan and James?" asked Craig.
Jacob laughed to himself, "Like I said, genuine threat. I don't think those two pose much of a threat,"
"Alright. You got a deal," Craig said, "Don't think this is a team up though. Once I've got rid of those four, I'm coming for you,"
And just as swiftly as he'd arrived, Craig hopped back on his Runner and vanished out of Jacob's sight.
"Too easy," Jacob said, walking off.
...
There was still little sign of a return from Craig. Whilst he'd always seemed that he was with the team, it seemed perhaps, this change was permanent, there seemed to be no way to get him back, Flo thought to herself as she walked towards the Slifer dormitory, Taniya had called them back together once more, them being Taniya, Ryan, Hayley, Bastion and Flo herself. Flo, having recently ended her relationship with Craig after a couple of years, still blamed herself for the events of a few days ago, where Craig had dueled Jaden and defeated him with an extremely powerful Dragon card, of which no-one was sure how he got. She arrived to see Hayley and Bastion arriving together at the same time as her, all three of them having just finished their classes an hour ago.
"How're you doing?" asked Hayley.
"Yeah, not bad… You?" replied Flo.
Before Hayley could respond, the door was opened to Taniya's room and Ryan was in the doorway.
"It's about time, we've been waiting," he said impatiently. Ryan had been a lot more hostile towards the three of them recently, which was understandable due to his brother vanishing from his sight.
They entered and Taniya stood around a table, "Welcome you three, it's good to see you again, I have some news," introduced Taniya.
"Have you found Craig?" asked Flo eagerly.
"Not exactly…" replied Taniya, to their disappointment, "However, a few days ago I requested access to the data on Craig's Bio Band to be sent to my PDA. It only just got accepted today but any duel Craig does now, or any attempt he has at answering one of the station's questions around the island, we get notified of. Issue is, we're a bit too late," she said.
"How come?" Hayley asked.
Ryan interrupted, "Since his duel with Jaden, Craig's dueled three other students, and won. That means he now has five cards, meaning so long as he gets one more card and all the questions right, he's in the finals, which we don't want until he's back to normal," he finished.
"The rules state if you fail getting a question right, you cannot use that station again for two days. According to this, Craig's already used four of the stations despite not having all six cards, and apparently, got them all wrong," Taniya explained.
"That's my brother," said Ryan.
"That's what I thought," Taniya nodded, "Even so, in the end, he'll probably get the questions right sooner or later, and no-one else has six cards yet, the most one person in the singles has is four currently, except Craig, so he's got a while still. However, the two stations he has left to use is the one by the Duel Tower and the one by this dormitory," she said.
"Can you get it so it notifies us when he's using a station? We can catch him perhaps and duel him?" asked Hayley.
"That's exactly what my plan was, I can send this data to your PDA's and set it up so you're notified the moment Craig makes any move, even if it's against staff rules to give you this data, I get the idea it's for the best," Taniya said.
"Except there's one issue, one we've addressed before," Ryan said, "People in the Singles tournament can't duel people in the Doubles, meaning myself, Hayley and Bastion can't touch him, our Duel Disks would cut out."
"That leaves…" Flo began, slightly worried.
"Yeah," Taniya said, not even needing to finish her sentence for her, "But, just leave it, I'll take him on."
Flo nodded, not willing to argue with Taniya at a time like this.
Taniya sent all the data to their PDA's and left their gathering at that, and they all returned to their respective dormitories and rooms.
"You can't put yourself forward like that," Ryan said.
"And why not?" asked Taniya.
"You saw what he did to Jaden, the kid's still in the hospital recovering; I think we're still underestimating the power of Craig right now. If he does the same to you what he did to Jaden, then…" began Ryan.
"Then I leave this dormitory in your capable hands, Ryan," interrupted Taniya.
"But…" Ryan started again.
"No buts. Ryan, you defeated me yourself in a Duel back in the day, if anything you should be leading this dorm. You've seen power beyond its belief with Karādorein, and I never faced that. You're more than capable," Taniya said confidently, "And I need to mention something else to you,"
"What's up?" Ryan replied.
"I found this in Craig's room the other day, on his bed," Taniya replied, passing a deck over to Ryan.
"Is this…" Ryan began, Taniya nodded, "I can tell, some of this cards are worn out, he's been using some of these cards for years,"
"I'm sorry," Taniya said.
"He even ditched Valkyrion…" Ryan said, "Do you think he's actually changed forever?"
Taniya smiled, it was weird, Ryan very rarely showed a compassionate side to his brothers, Taniya was surprised to see a genuine concern for Craig from Ryan, she always thought Ryan believed Craig could handle himself, "I'm certain it isn't. We'll get him back,"
Ryan nodded, "We need to know what this new Deck of his is before we can begin to stop him,"
"I think we're gonna find out in battle I'm afraid," Taniya said. Ryan didn't respond aside from a nod and returned to his separate room.
Xxxxx
Flo, sleeping in the Obelisk Girls room, was awoken suddenly by a buzzing from her PDA. It didn't take her long to guess what it was about, and her fears were confirmed when she found Craig had activated a question station by the Duel Tower. She reached into her drawers next to her bed and pulled out a couple of extra cards that she'd never used before and added them to her Deck. Jumping up quickly, she got changed, put her Duel Disk on and her Deck inside, and on her way out her door, trying not to wake anyone around, she took a quick look at herself in the mirror before she left.
"Here we go then," she said to herself, "I'll see you later."
Xxxxx
Taniya and Ryan ran towards the Duel Tower. They, in comparison to Hayley, Bastion and Flo, were further away from this station, so they expected to be there last, but hopefully not too late.
"Where is he?" asked Taniya loudly, spotting the station along with Hayley, Bastion and Flo.
"I think we're too late," replied Hayley, "He must be using his Runner to get around quickly, the tracks show him driving away," she deduced.
"Dammit!" yelled Ryan, getting angered by their failed attempt.
"We'll get him next time, sometime in the next 24 hours; he'll use the station near the Slifer dormitory. That's right next to me, he won't get away. We'll take a Runner from the workshop just in case he tries to make a getaway," Taniya explained, "Get back to bed, you three. If you're caught out, Viper will make you regret it."
Taniya and Ryan turned to return back to the Slifer dormitory on the spot, with no further words.
"I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Flo," said Hayley, turning with Bastion and returning.
Flo was about to respond when she stopped for a second in her own head, 'I know Craig…' Flo thought, 'He's not patient, he's going to go for the Slifer dormitory station first, I can tell…'
Xxxxx
Craig drove his Duel Runner around the island, heading for the Slifer dormitory. He had to stop for a moment at the workshop quickly just to tighten a few nuts and bolts on his Runner, although it was nothing serious. He headed towards the Slifer dormitory, seeing it in sight, but as he got closer, and saw the station just past it, however, a small figure was also standing just outside the Slifer dormitory, although Craig couldn't make out who it was. He pulled up his Duel Runner and left it standing against a tree, dismounting it and removing his helmet.
"Well, if it isn't the little one," Craig said.
"This has to end Craig," James replied.
"End?" Craig said, "Kid, its only just started,"
"And I'm going to end it, Darkstorm Dragon, attack!" James ordered, as a large black dragon arose behind him, revealing its wings and blasting its attack down at Craig.
"Now its getting interesting. Anti Valkyrion, strike him down with all your might!" Craig said, placing a card on his Duel Disk and watching as it arose from the ground in front of him. It was the size of regular Valkyrion, and was black instead of the general white colour it originally maintained.
The black warrior withdrew its sword, at least three times as long as Valkyrion's dagger, and ran over to James' dragon and struck him down with one swing, before attacking James head on as well, before disappearing.
"That was easy," Craig said.
James slowly rose up, clutching his stomach, the attack doing some serious damage to him.
"James!" someone yelled as Ryan ran towards his little brother, "What have you done?"
Craig looked up, and saw Taniya, Hayley and Bastion all in tow. He knew he was at the very least outnumbered, and jumped back on his Duel Runner, and speeding it down the hill towards the beach and the rocky layer beyond it towards the ocean.
"Follow him, he's mine!" Taniya said.
"James, I'm taking you inside," Ryan ordered, helping his brother to move.
"But I want to stay, I can help fight," James replied.
"Hey," Ryan said, looking down at his little brother, "It's great you want to help, it really is, but honestly, there's nothing you or I can do here. You need to go inside in case things get rough out here and you get hurt more,"
James looked accepting of the demands his brother placed on him, "But you're gonna stay out here?" he asked.
"A giant dragon blasting us all to hell? Wouldn't be the first time," Ryan said, helping James up to his room.
…
"How could you, strike your own brother?" asked another invisible figure, who emerged from behind the station when Craig reached the bottom of the hill.
"Out of my way," Craig said angrily, "Who are you? Show yourself!"
The figure walked closer and showed herself in a white and blue shirt, with dirty blonde hair and equipped with a Duel Disk.
"Flo, don't even think about it…" said Ryan quietly, just arriving onto the scene having left James.
Taniya ran out as well, "Flo, leave it, he's mine," she said.
Flo refused to shift, "No. I got him into this and I'll get him out."
"Don't be stupid," Taniya said.
"Actually, I only need one more card to have enough to qualify, so if anything; it's my choice who I duel…" Craig said, "And I'm not too eager for a long match, so I'll take Flo," Craig said, activating his Duel Disk and facing Flo, just as she did the same.
Both Taniya and Ryan looked on in dismay as the idea of Taniya taking on Craig faltered. Hayley and Bastion themselves were more concerned for Flo.
"Now what do we do?" asked Taniya.
"Let it take its course… I don't really think we've got a choice…" replied Ryan.
"We duel on the rocks," Craig said, pointing towards the rocks by the sea, "Its rather breezy tonight, Flo, are you sure you're gonna be able to stay on and not tumble into the water below?" Craig asked, laughing.
Flo kept a straight face, not allowing Craig to intimidate her, "It's not me you need to be concerned about," she said, stepping onto the rocks, Craig following onto the opposite side.
Both duelists placed their Decks into their respective Duel Disks and drew five cards.
"Its time to sink or swim, Flo. Be prepared for the hardest Duel you'll ever see!" Craig said.
"I'll start things off," Flo replied calmly, trying to remain in control.
Flo: 4000
Craig: 4000
Flo drew, "I'll Summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in Attack Mode. And when he's first Summoned, he gets a Spell Counter, immediately raising his Attack by 300 points!" Flo said, as the hooded warrior appeared in front of her. (BTMW 1600/1000 – 1900/1000)
Craig smirked, "That's cute, now let's see what my Deck has in store for you. I start by activating Hinotama!"
…
"Hinotama?!" Taniya said, back on the beach, "How did he get such a rare card…"
"If Hinotama's what he's starting with, what else has he got?!" Ryan worried.
…
Flo was immediately struck by a fireball from above, inflicting her damage and knocking her to the floor.
Flo: 3500
Craig: 4000
"Still with us?" Craig asked, laughing.
"You won't defeat me like that, I've still got many Life Points left…" Flo groaned.
"Let me help with the defeat then, to my frontline I Summon Anti Gamma the Magnet Warrior!" Craig said, as in front of him, what was expected to be the usual fat red warrior what the opposite, a much thinner warrior, in a much darker shade of red, wielding a much larger sword, as opposed to the usual dagger. (AG 1800/1500)
…
"What are these Anti Magnet Warriors?" Hayley asked to Bastion.
"I've heard rumours. A powerful set of cards with essentially the reverse points of the original. Although the points aren't much different, they can supposedly do a lot more damage," Bastion replied.
"Is that what that thing that attacked James was? An Anti-Valkyrion," Ryan asked to Bastion.
"I think so. Flo's in for a rough match," he replied.
…
"And luckily, I can boost him up with a little bit of Invigoration, boosting his Attack by 400 and reducing his Defence by 200," Craig added(1800/1500 – 2200/1300), "Now Anti Gamma, strike her warrior down!"
Before she could even prepare, Flo was struck down by the attack of Craig's Magnet Warrior and knocked down to the ground.
Flo: 3200
Craig: 4000
Flo slowly rose up again, "That attack did a lot more damage than it should…" she said, confused.
"It's the Bio Bands, Flo," Craig said, "A much more powerful device than you all think. With it, I channel my power into my monster's attack and obliterate you with every strike!"
"Excellent, to give myself a bit of time, I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" She activated her card and the luminous green swords surrounded Craig's field, leaving no change of emotion with her opponent.
"Just delaying the inevitable…" Craig said.
"Whatever you say, I activate Gemini Elf in Attack Mode, play a card face-down and end my turn," she said.
(GE 1900/900)
"My turn," he said, as he drew his card, "I play a face down,"
"I'll play Skilled Dark Magician in Attack Mode and activate Magical Dimension, which allows me to sacrifice one of my monsters, such as my Skilled Dark Magician, to bring out a Spellcaster from my hand, and I choose my favorite monster, the Dark Magician!" Flo said, as her purple-clothed magician appeared in front of her, aiming his staff at Craig's monster. (SDM 1900/1400) (DM 2500/2100)
"That means nothing, I'll destroy everything you Summon," Craig replied, still confident.
"If you want me to make it worse, Magical Dimension also allows me to destroy one of your monsters, so adios Anti-Gamma!" Flo added, as Anti-Gamma got destroyed by a magical blast from Dark Magician.
"No!" yelled Craig in anger, "You'll pay!"
"His field's empty…" Taniya said, "This is… over?"
"No way…" Ryan said, stunned himself.
"Dark Magician and Gemini Elf, finish him! This reign of terror, is over!" Flo attacked.
"You're wrong…" said Craig quietly.
"I doubt that," replied Flo.
"It's only just begun!" he yelled mockingly, laughing at Flo's attempts, "Activate face-down, Nutrient Z! When you're about to inflict more than 2000 Life Points, I get an extra 4000 before the damage is done!"
Despite Dark Magician's and Gemini Elf's powerful attacks hitting him, he remained on the ground, only flinching slightly.
Flo: 2400
Craig: 3600
"So close…" said Hayley.
"I think we knew that wasn't the end of it," added Ryan.
"My turn again then!" he said, "After that pathetic attempt, I'll just watch you try again with a face-down,"
Flo, looking suspicious, drew her card, "I'll sacrifice Gemini Elf, to bring out another monster, Dark Magician Girl and because Dark Magician's on the field, she gains an extra 300 Attack and Defense points!" (DMG 2000/1600)! (DMG 2000/1600 – 2300/1900)
"She's got her two favorite monsters on the field, Craig's got nothing…" Hayley said, "She's gonna win, right?"
"I don't put anything past my brother. There's still that dragon he has…" Ryan replied.
"Taniya, what d'you think?" asked Hayley.
Taniya didn't respond, she had a face of worry and anger on her face, both opinions directed at Flo.
"Now, Dark Magicians, attack him directly!" she ordered, as her magicians powered up a double attack.
"Negate Attack," predicted Ryan before the attack had launched.
"Not happening… Negate Attack," replied Craig, putting zero enthusiasm into his activation of his counter Trap.
"Told you so," said Ryan.
"Way too obvious… She's never going to beat Craig if she's doing predictable moves like that…" Bastion said, worried for Flo.
"Never mind then…" Flo said.
"My turn again then," he said, "I play another two face-downs, and that's been three turns, so there goes your Swords of Revealing Light,"
"That's it again…" Hayley said.
"He's toying with her," Ryan replied.
"What do you mean?" Bastion asked.
"He's obviously got a monster card in that hand somewhere, he's just trying to prove he can beat anyone how he likes… Right now, successfully," Ryan explained.
"My turn, if you won't play a monster, I will, from my hand, I fuse Delta and Eta the Magnet Warriors together to form… Depsilon the Magnet Warrior!" Flo said. (DMW 2500/2100)
"What?" Taniya asked, surprised herself, breaking her silence.
"Those were Craig's cards, right?" asked Hayley, "What are they doing with Flo?"
"No idea…" said Ryan.
"You dare use my own monsters against me!" said Craig in anger.
"You gave me Delta and Eta, as well as Zeta and Omicron in the summer break in exchange for my Dark Magician of Black Chaos and its Summon card… We exchanged those cards to know that even if we weren't there in person in a duel, we were there in spirit and in heart..." Flo explained, "Don't you remember that?"
…
"I just realized," said Flo, "Despite everything between us, there isn't a card in my Deck that reminds me of you!"
"Is that important?" asked Craig, as the two of walked along.
"Of course, stupid," replied Flo.
"Well then, let me change that. Here, take these," Craig said, searching through his Deck and pulling out seven cards.
"Jesus, I wasn't talking about giving me any," said Flo.
"You said you wanted something to do with me, so use these," he said.
"These are some of your most powerful cards," replied Flo.
"Not really, they're some of my most important and you're one of the most important people in my life, so take them," he explained.
"If we're working like that, then here, take these," Flo replied, giving two of her own cards back.
…
"Yes, but it's not as if I care," Craig said with little care.
"I see what, she's trying to remind Craig of old times between them in an attempt to bring him back," Ryan figured.
"It's not working," replied Hayley.
"Obviously… Craig's only going to return with his defeat I think," Taniya said.
"Now, I have three monsters with more than 2000 Attack Points, you have nothing, so, my three monsters, triple attack!" she ordered again.
"Threatening Roar," said Craig, activating his Trap card, "Ends your Battle Phase immediately,"
"Predictable…" added Ryan again.
"She's got to attack just to keep pressure on, just to show him she's not letting up, besides, there might be a time where he literally can't do anything," added Hayley.
"Luckily for you, I can't use my ultimate beast, as I currently don't have it in my hand… However, if you're going to use my cards against me, then why don't I do the same to you, I activate Dark Magic Ritual, sending X-Head Cannon and V-Tiger Jet to my Graveyard to bring out, the Dark Magician…Of Black Chaos!" he said eagerly, bringing out the dark blue magician, facing off against Flo's two magicians and her warrior. (DMBC 2800/2600)
"Now Craig's got the strongest monster…" Hayley said.
"How the tables have turned… Dark Magician of Black Chaos, attack her Dark Magician Girl with Black Magic Attack!" Craig attacked, the magician powering up its blast and sending it towards Dark Magician Girl.
"I activate my Trap Card, Draining Shield! This blocks your attack and absorbs your monster's Attack Points into Life Points for me!" replied Flo, looking slightly more pleased at her re-taking of the lead.
Flo: 5200
Craig: 3600
"Have all the Life Points you want, nothing will stop me from eventually destroying you!" Craig said.
…
"It's my turn!" Flo said, "I switch all my monster's into Defence Mode and end my turn,"
"Unfortunately I have to say no," replied Craig.
"Huh?" Flo asked.
"I activate my Trap Card, Final Attack Orders. This forces every face-up card on the field to switch into Attack Mode! You can't hide!" Craig announced, as Flo's monsters were all forced to take up an offensive stance again.
Flo prepared herself for the attack as Craig drew his card, "Dark Magician of Black Chaos, strike down her Dark Magician Girl!"
The large black warrior repeated his attack from before, taking out the female spellcaster with little effort shown, Flo defending herself from the onslaught with her arms.
Flo: 4700
Craig: 3600
"Make your next move, there's nothing you can do to protect yourself! I play a face-down to end."
Flo drew her card, smiling slightly when she saw it, "Excellent, I activate the Spell Card Dark Hole!"
"No way are you that lucky…" Craig muttered, as the dark hole appeared above the field and sucked all the monsters all the field into it.
"Afraid I am, unfortunately I have no monsters to attack you with this turn, I can rectify that though, now I'll activate Card Destruction!" Flo said, also activating another Spell Card and discarding her whole hand and drawing the same number of cards, Craig doing the same, smiling slightly, "You won't be smiling for long, I Summon Magician's Valkyrie(1600/1800)!"
The spellcaster appeared on the field open in front of Flo, before Craig pressed a button and a card opened up in front of him.
"I activate Bottomless Trap Hole, unfortunately, your attempt is useless as your monster is trapped in the bottomless pit forever!" Craig replied, as the magician disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.
Flo watched on as her field emptied again and Craig laughed on as Flo searched who her hand for a way out.
"I… end my turn," Flo said, worriedly.
Craig grinned to himself, "Your Card Destruction was the last thing you should've done… Luckily, I drew this in my new hand… Dark Factory of Mass Production! When you used Card Destruction, you allowed me to discard Anti-Beta the Magnet Warrior, meaning using my Spell Card I can bring back Anti Gamma and Anti-Beta to my hand, and thanks to you, I drew the last one with Card Destruction… Anti-Alpha…"
…
"So he combine them like with the original cards?" asked Ryan.
"Yes," Bastion said, "Anti-Valkyrion… An extremely powerful monster, unfortunately for Flo, a lot more powerful than the original…"
…
"Now watch, as the three original beasts combine to form the most powerful monster you'll ever fight!" Craig said, "Anti-Valkyrion, show yourself!" (AV 3850/3500)
The empty field soon changed and was only occupied by the large black warrior in front of Craig. It was the same human-size as the original Valkyrion, looked the same aside from where it once had light colours now was the darker colours of the more evil warrior.
"In front of you stands the true ultimate Magnet Warrior! My new warrior will take away any remaining hope you have of winning!" Craig announced.
Flo looked extremely weak on the other side of the field, staring at the warrior and looking consigned to her position.
"Anti-Valkyrion, show her your power! Dark Flame Strike!" Craig said, as the black warrior withdrew a large sword, which was surrounded by dark blue flames, before it charged directly at Flo and struck her, knocking her far down.
Flo: 850
Craig: 3600
Flo stood still for a moment, looking shocked at the power of the attack, her clothes slightly burnt, her eyes wide open, before her legs gave in and she collapsed on the rock which she stood on.
"This is too easy, make your last move!" Craig boasted.
Flo showed no sign of rising again, Craig waiting impatiently with his hands in his pockets for his opponent to stand up.
…
"Can she stand?" Hayley asked worriedly.
Ryan showed no response, only him and Taniya who took one look at each other and knew their next move.
…
Flo, after a minute, still remained on the ground, Craig getting more and more impatient.
"Tournament rules state if the opponent can no longer battle, they automatically surrender," Craig said, "I'm not going to wait much longer,"
"Amazoness Queen, blast him!" an order came from the side.
Craig was struck in the side by a blast from the beach, standing there was Taniya with her Amazoness Queen in front of her.
"Stay out of this, this is my match!" Craig said, "You're not allowed to intervene!"
Taniya smiled at Craig's frustration, not needing to say anything, Craig looked back to Flo, who was now not on the rocks opposite him, looking back towards the beach, Ryan had grabbed Flo and taken her to safety, and was now tending to her.
"If she can't battle, then I get her white card!" Craig ordered.
"Not precisely, because she was never at zero Life Points," replied Taniya, calmly stepping opposite Craig and his Anti-Valkyrion.
"But she can't fight," Craig reminded.
"But I can," responded Taniya.
…
"Taniya!" worried Hayley, stepping out to defend her sister.
Bastion pulled her back, "No. This is our last chance to get Craig back,"
Hayley allowed herself to be withdrawn, still extremely scared for her sister.
"Please, I was one turn away from winning, why would I now reset the duel to fight you?" asked Craig.
"Because she's going to offer the same to you that you did to me," Ryan said, now standing up next to Flo, who was rested down on the sand.
"What are you talking about?" said Craig through gritted teeth, wanting this over and done with.
"Remember Karadorein's castle?" Ryan said.
…
"You'll have to get through me then," said Craig, staring down Ryan, refusing to show fear.
"You're right, I do. However, I happen to know that Bastion was led to Hayley through his corridor. Both are reasonably weak strength-wise, Bastion having fought a load of physical battles and Hayley because of the position she's been in recently. Why couldn't I go and duel them instead, that would be much easier, as they're weak. Why shouldn't I go and crush your friends and then come back to finish you off when you're emotionally shattered, giving me an easy victory," said Ryan, as Craig realized that Ryan had this planned all along.
"Because I'm going to make you an offer I know you won't refuse. You never reduced Taniya's Life Points to 0. I offer you this, we resume the duel from the same Life Points, with me taking over Taniya, but we reset our Decks," offered Craig, slotting his Deck into his Duel Disk, knowing what Ryan's answer would be.
…
"And after all, you've shown such a comeback is by no means impossible…" said Taniya.
…
"I'm sorry Ryan, but there's no other way, Red Super-Kinetic Magnetic Warrior, attack his Dark Red Demon now!" said Craig, as the red warrior jumped up swiftly towards the enormously sized demon, withdrew its weapons, and plunged them directly into the demon, which knocked it, and Ryan down.
…
"So what, it means nothing," said Craig, as Taniya placed her Deck in her Duel Disk.
"We'll see. We reset our Decks, but keep the same Life Points from before, if you win, you can have both my white cards as well as Flo's," Taniya replied.
"No pressure…" muttered Ryan, still checking Flo.
Taniya: 850
Craig: 3600
"Let's see if you can face off against the awesome power of my Deck!" Craig said, drawing his first five.
"I'll have the first move," said Taniya, "And I'll Summon the Amazoness Fighter in Attack Mode, and that'll be all." (AF 1500/1300)
"How weak," Craig laughed under his breath, "I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to discard two cards to draw three!" he said, discarding Anti-Alpha and Swords of Revealing Light, "Not bad… I then activate Card Destruction, forcing us both to discard our entire hand and draw a brand new one!"
Both players discarded their hands with differing looks, Taniya remained calm and eager to see how this played out, whereas Craig had a look of guaranteed victory on his face.
"Excellent… I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production again, allowing me to return two Normal Monsters to my hand, like the Anti-Alpha and Anti-Gamma the Magnet Warriors I recently discarded, and this is where its gets fun, for I just so happen to have Anti-Beta as well, allowing me to combine the three into the monster that will win me this fight!"
Taniya looked anxious that Craig had already brought out his Anti-Valkyrion, concerned for how she would win this.
"Anti-Valkyrion, rise up and win me this match!" Craig said, power in his voice, as the dark warrior rose, staring towards Taniya, withdrawing its large sword, "My warrior is eager to strike you down, Anti-Valkyrion, Dark Flame Strike!" (AV 3850/3500)
Once again, blue flames engulfed the warrior's sword and Taniya could only watch on as Amazoness Fighter ignited upon contact with the weapon.
"Luckily, when Amazoness Fighter is destroyed, I take no battle damage," Taniya responded, looking bleak.
"Lucky for you indeed, your move next," Craig said, ending his turn.
Taniya drew her card, opening her eyes to look at it, hoping for something useful.
"It's a shame your Anti-Valkyrion won't have the time to finish me off," Taniya said.
"What are you talking about?!" Craig asked, confused to Taniya's comment.
"I Summon Amazoness Chain Master to the field in Attack Mode!" Taniya said, as her chain-covered amazoness appeared in front of her, to Craig's confusion. (ACM 100/1300)
Craig began laughing hysterically, "That doesn't stand a chance! Just give me your cards me now and save my time!"
Taniya placed her next card in her Duel Disk and Craig watched as it revealed itself, "Amazoness Spellcaster. It allows me to switch the Attack Points of our two cards for one turn, and one turn will be all I need," (ACM 1500/1300 – 3850/1300) (AV 3850/3500 – 1500/3500)
"No way…" Craig said, "You can't take down Anti-Valkyrion!"
"Watch me," Taniya said, "Amazoness Chain Master, destroy that warrior for good!" she continued as her monster launched a barrage of chains towards Anti Valkyrion, suffocating it and eventually crushing it and sending Craig flying.
Taniya: 850
Craig: 1250
"That evens up the field a bit, I'd say," Taniya said, looking happy with the destruction of Craig's warrior.
"Evens it up?" Craig responded, rising quickly, "You think because you destroyed Anti-Valkyrion you've taken the match? I still have the most powerful card in my Deck to come yet!"
Taniya grunted, he was right, he unfortunately still in the lead by a distance and had the Tail of Griaule to go.
"Whatever you say, kiddo. I end my turn," Taniya said, as Amazoness Chain Master resorted to its original power. (ACM 3850/1300 – 1500/1300)
Craig drew his card and grinned, "Unfortunately nothing in my hand can destroy your Amazoness Chain Master, luckily I can still go at your Life Points," Craig said, "I activate Hinotama!"
Using the Spell Card again, Taniya was rained down upon by fireballs from above, shielding herself from the damage.
Taniya: 350
Craig: 1250
"Won't be long now, I activate Different Dimension Capsule, allowing me to remove a card from play for two turns, at which point it returns to my hand. I think you know what's in this capsule…" Craig said, "I play a face-down to end," Craig said.
Taniya drew her card, suspicious of Craig's face-down, "If that card is nothing, I win with a direct attack, but he's way too confident for this to be a normal card, although if it is a powerful card, I could be screwed. But I have to do something, in two turns he gets his Tail of Griaule, and then I'm really in for it," she thought, looking down at her card, "I switch Amazoness Chain Master into Defence Mode, and add Amazoness Paladin to my ranks in Attack Mode, and she gains 100 Attack Mode for each Paladin on my field!" Taniya said, as another amazoness appeared in front of her. (AP 1700/300 – 1900/300)
Craig chuckled under his breath at Taniya's field, "How pathetic,"
"We'll see about that, Amazoness Paladin, attack his Life Points directly!" Taniya ordered as the paladin sprintd at Craig, swinging down her sword.
Just as Taniya thought her attack hit, her paladin was flung back, and in its way stood a giant stone fortress.
"What the…" began Taniya.
"Let me fill you in, meet my good pal Stronghold the Moving Fortress, he's what's known as a Trap Monster, and he's automatically brought out in Defense Mode, blocking your attack and bringing your Life Points even lower," said Craig. (SMF 0/2000)
Taniya: 250
Craig: 1200
Taniya groaned in annoyance, "I end my turn,"
"Yeah you do," Craig said, drawing, "I'll pass this turn, better make this one count Taniya,"
"Better hope for the best," Taniya muttered, drawing, "Drat… Nothing, seems like I'd better prepare for the worst…"
"Hurry up Taniya… Only so much time to waste," Craig said.
"I switch my Amazoness Paladin to Defence Mode and end my turn…" Taniya said.
"Excellent," Craig replied, drawing, "Now, as this is my second Standby Phase since the capsule was activated, that means one thing…" he said.
The capsule creaked open on the field, the card inside floating over into Craig's hand, "You fought well Taniya, but for now, it ends! I fuse the Tail of Griaule with my Stronghold, the Moving Fortress!"
Craig lofted the card up into the air, laughing heavily as his red mark in his eye became more prominent.
A large glow came from Craig's field which slowly faded to reveal a giant stone dragon behind him, letting out a ferocious roar that scared the whole field and its spectators.
"Stare closely at the last monster you'll ever see! Stronghold Dragon, arise to destroy those who oppose me!" Craig said, laughing down at Taniya who stared at the dragon in shock. (SD 0/2700)
…
"He's brought it out again…" Hayley muttered, scared for her sister.
"This one is even bigger than the last time he used it, and the victim then has only just got out of the hospital!" Ryan said.
…
"It's got no Attack Poin… there's a special effect, isn't there," said Taniya.
"Yes, by discarding my entire hand, I can swop the Attack and Defense Points of my Dragon for one turn, now Stronghold Dragon, annihilate her Amazoness Paladin, and take her with it!" yelled Craig, eager to finish Taniya off. (SD 0/2700 – 2700/0)
The dragon again, just like it had in different forms against Jaden and Flo, powered up its attack in its mouth, and the blast was released, and went straight through the Paladin, tearing it down, as well as sending Taniya falling.
"Taniya!" yelled Hayley.
"Ha! And you actually thought you'd be able to win! And I believe that makes me the victor as you can't continue!" said Craig, "And with no-one else to intervene this time, I guess I'll take my white cards,"
Craig began walking over to get his white card, before an interruption from the sideline came again.
"Feel almighty yet?" asked Ryan.
"I'd be quiet if I were you, after all, I've just eliminated the head of the Slifer dormitory, so if I want something from there, you're the only thing in my way!" yelled Craig threateningly.
"Don't tempt me," replied Ryan.
"I beat you before and I'll beat you again whenever you want, but for now, time to secure my entry to the finals," said Craig, continuing his walk.
"But my Life Points aren't at 0 yet," said Taniya, still on the ground.
"What?!" said Craig in surprise, "How are you still able to battle, your body should be entirely exhausted from that attack!"
"Get back to where you started Craig, because, this match, is only just starting…" said Taniya, rising herself up from the ground, breathing heavily slightly still from the exhilarating attack.
Craig smiled and walked back slowly to his position, "I think you barely lasted that attack, what on earth will you do when he strikes you again?!" said Craig.
"Do what you did in Karadorein's castle, get up and continue fighting," replied Taniya.
Craig laughed, "Just make your move, I end my turn, and if you were thinking of striking my dragon now he's been moved back into Attack Mode and his Attack Points are back at zero again, too bad, I'm allowed to switch him into Defense Mode at the end of the turn."
"As you wish," Taniya said, drawing her card, "I think I'll keep you under cover for now, so I'll play Swords of Revealing Light, meaning you can't attack for three turns, as well as activating the Amazoness Village Field Spell, meaning all Amazonesses get 200 more Attack Points."
"Great, bolster a defense, only for my monster to strike all your creatures down," said Craig, laughing at Taniya.
Taniya ignored his remark, "I'll pass this turn,"
Craig drew his card, having discarded his hand this meant he only had the one card, "Nothing useful, I'll pass with a face-down,"
Taniya drew again, "I'll place another monster in Defense Mode,"
Craig drew also, "Getting quite boring now. That's two turns gone under your hideout."
Once more, Taniya ignored the attempts from Craig of agitation, "I'll play yet another monster, face-down in Defense Mode,"
Craig sighed, "And there was me thinking I'd be having fun in this match, I'll pass again."
Just as Craig ended his turn, the swords he was stuck under disappeared and freed his monsters again.
"Now your swords are gone I can attack freely next turn, where I can launch an onslaught of you with my dragon, more than likely to knock you down again, perhaps this time permanently," reminded Craig, "Hurry up so I can finish you off,"
"I Summon the Amazoness Tiger in Attack Mode!" said Taniya eagerly, as her tiger appeared on the field. (AT 1100/1500)
Craig laughed, "You've got one turn left, and that's what you do? Hilarious! If you want to surrender you can just drop your Duel Disk and walk away."
"I have no intention of surrendering Craig, for my Amazoness Tiger, gains 400 Attack Points for each Amazoness on the field," explained Taniya. (AT 1100/1500 – 1900/1500)
"This is the best you all have to offer? A tiger, which is way too weak for me even to bother using my dragon for!" insulted Craig.
"In case you forget, I've played two more monsters face-down throughout the last few turns," added Taniya.
"I'm not following…" said Craig.
"Let me introduce to you, Amazoness Scouts and Amazoness Sage, and with another three Amazonesses, my tiger gets more powerful," continued Taniya. (AS 500/1100) (AS 1400/700) (AT 1900/1500 – 2700/1500)
Craig stopped for a moment and watched the tiger grow until it stopped, and laughed again, "Take a look Taniya, in case you've forgotten, your tiger's equal in offence to my dragon's defense, you've done nothing!"
"I'm sorry Craig, but…" began Taniya, smiling slightly.
"The Field Spell…" muttered Ryan from the side, realising what had happened and smiling to himself.
"YES!" cheered Bastion and Hayley.
"You're in my terrain Craig, and in the village of the Amazons all Amazoness monsters gain 200 more Attack Points," reminded Taniya. (AT 2700/1500 – 2900/1500)(ACM 1500/1300 – 1700/1300)(AS 500/1100 – 700/1100)(AS 1400/700 – 1600/700)
A sudden look of shock appeared on Craig's face as he realized what the math added up to. Taniya laughed at his shock, "You had a good run."
"No!" yelled Craig, "I activate my face-down card, Torrential Tribute!"
Taniya smiled further, "I have one card left in my hand and I'm sorry, but, I counter activate Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your Torrential Tribute," she said.
Craig fell to his knees, the red mark in his pupil slowly fading away as he knew what had happened.
"It's done Craig, Amazoness Tiger, destroy his Stronghold Dragon!" ordered Taniya.
Taniya's tiger leapt towards Craig's rock-like dragon, and Craig could only stare up at his beast as it was torn down for the first time, in shock. It crashed to the ground piece-by-piece, causing cracks in the rock formation the two were standing on as it did.
"You know what happens next," said Taniya.
Craig showed no response.
"You couldn't control that dragon because you were so angered with yourself at the time you obtained it, and so in the end, it took you over and made you obsessed with power, and now it's been defeated, I declare its reign of terror, over! My remaining monsters, attack him directly!" Taniya ordered, as all three of her remaining Amazonesses charged at Craig and knocked him one-by-one.
Taniya: 250
Craig: 0
Taniya fell down, exhausted from the duel, Ryan, Hayley and Bastion immediately running on to support her.
"We got you," Ryan said, laughing to himself, "You did it, Taniya,"
"Yeah…" she muttered, "We got him…"
Beneath them suddenly, a large crack was heard over towards Craig, who was still standing in shock.
"The dragon, it was so heavy when it fell it started breaking the rock formation, we gotta do something!" Bastion said.
"Anti-Valkyrion… And Griaule…" Craig muttered to himself, in shock. The large crack, which he was yet to realise, was the rock beneath them cracking, as the rock split in half, Craig standing on one side, his side becoming disconnected from the rest of them and the remainder of the land, and the others still safely connected to the beach.
Everyone else looked on in horror and rushed to help as Craig remained staring down at his Duel Disk, his Tail of Griaule card now on the floor in front of him, still frozen to the spot as he began separating off the island on his own small rock formation.
"Craig!" Ryan yelled, staring at his brother who was frozen, trying to grab his attention.
"Jump, Craig!" Hayley called out to her friend.
It was no good, Craig remained frozen in shock at his loss. He knelt down to pick up the Tail of Griaule, staring at it in anger.
"It can't be, there's no way I could've lost…" Craig said, holding the Tail of Griaule, as more parts of his rock formation broke off into the ocean, his small little floating island becoming smaller by the second, "Not you… You were so strong… You were supposed to be the best, but you're just a loser, a loser with no power, just like… me…" Craig muttered to himself, as the others watched on, helpless if he wouldn't make a move to jump.
Craig was struck by a sudden realisation, "Those guys never lost…" he said to himself, "Individually, they have losses, but altogether, they always win…". He stared up at the four on the island, beginning to realise his errors.
"Jump already!" yelled Taniya.
"Do it!" yelled Ryan.
Craig stared up at his former friends in embarrassment and self-anger, "Go away… Leave me be…" he said, water starting to come onto his island now, his island floating a few metres from the others, separated by the deep water below.
Taniya knelt down on her formation and offered out her hand, "Craig! Just forget everything, just grab my hand!"
"Hurry!" Bastion said.
"You really want to save me?" Craig asked, in shock he was still being offered help, "All the things I did, all those I hurt, the damage I caused…"
"We'll talk later, now shut up and grab!" Taniya ordered.
"He's not gonna do it…" Hayley worried.
"Sure he is," Ryan said, "He's finally coming to his senses, the power that card had on him is wearing off!"
"Even if you have done wrong, it doesn't matter, just take my hand!" Taniya repeated.
"I…I don't know," Craig worried, the water reaching further up his leg, the rock sinking lower with Craig weighing it down, "I don't know if I can come back after everything…"
"Come on!" Taniya yelled, the others also yelling words of encouragement, "I won't let a team-mate down!"
"Team…" Craig said to himself… "That's right… We were a team…"
"That's right, now jump!" Ryan ordered
Craig put his cards back into his Duel Disk, "Hey guys… I'm… I'm so sorry…" he said.
With a sudden burst of energy, Craig leapt from the rock and grabbed Taniya's hand, landing slightly off the rock still, and with the help of Hayley, Bastion and Ryan, they pulled him up, the weight pushing them to the ground, Craig kneeling down and looking back at the rock, which broke off into the sea just as Craig left it, looking on in shock.
"I can't believe I came that close to…" he uttered, standing up.
"So… What do you say?" Taniya asked.
"We could sure use you in the finals if you get there…" Bastion said.
"Scratch that Craig, we need you for the finals!" Hayley added, as Craig began walking back onto the beach, staring for a second at Flo, who was slightly sitting up now, still exhausted and resting, "Craig?"
"You OK, Craig?" Taniya asked, as the others began standing up, watching the back of Craig.
He stopped for a second and looked back at his friends, "I gotta make things right," he said in acceptance, and continuing to walk.
"We get it," Ryan said, "Don't forget this," he added, taking a Deck out of his pocket and throwing it gently to Craig, who looked back and caught it, looking at it curiously, "I think Valkyrion would be happier to be back with you,"
Craig continued staring at the Deck for a second, before smiling back at his brother.
"Besides bro, dragons never really were your type anyway," he added.
Craig looked back at his brother and smiled, raising the Deck in gratitude and continued walking.
"I think Craig's gonna be just fine," Hayley said, putting her arm around Bastion's waist in happiness.
At the top of the hill, they watched Craig jump back onto his Runner and speed off into the distance, unsure of when they would see him next.
"Flo?" Ryan asked, helping her up.
"Is it over?" she asked.
"We did it," Taniya said, "And we couldn't have done it without your help,"
Flo smiled to herself, "You did great out there," Ryan complimented.
"You still look a bit injured," Taniya said ironically, who was still battered and bruised herself, "And its too late for you to head back to Obelisk now, you should stay in Slifer the night,"
Flo nodded, "Thanks,"
The three set off back to the Slifer dormitory, Hayley and Bastion separating off to their own dormitory. It had been a long night, but they all knew the worst was yet to come.
…
Taniya woke up the next morning, jumped for a moment in surprise, wondering where she was, then remembered the events of the previous night, and looked at the time, it was midday, and her worries about missing her lessons and such were immediately stopped by a note on her bedside table.
'Thought you looked exhausted, so left you to it. Lessons all covered and students dealt with.
Ryan'
She smiled; pleased in the fact she knew she always had someone to rely on. She lifted herself out of her bed, and looked back to Ryan's note, and noticed there was another note, in an envelope, next to it. Opening the envelope, she read in letter, cautious of who it was from.
'Hi,
I imagine there's a lot you want to say. Obviously, I'm not in the Slifer dormitory right now. Why am I not at the Slifer dormitory? Well, I kinda imagine I need some time out, and well, Ryan's gonna kill me when he sees me again, he owes me that, so I'll leave that for another time.
If you wanna know when I became myself again, I'm quite sure it was the moment you took down my dragon. Or at least, I'm quite sure I'm myself again. Yes, I know what I did. I've seen Jaden out and about and it seems he's recovering at the very least, which is great, and I hope you and Flo are good as well, I'm sure you are, you're both fighters, or at least more of a fighter than I am anyway.
Like I said, I'm not at the Slifer dormitory right now (Took some supplies by the way, hope you don't mind!) You know where I am though; we met there before by chance. I'm taking time away and doing some 'training' so no matter what, nothing like this ever happens again. When you're all fine and dandy, come find me. I'll be waiting. And yeah, I'd prefer if my location remains between me and you, not even to my brothers, Hayley, Bastion or Flo and the like.
At the start of the year you put me in James' room with Matt and Drake because you thought I needed responsibility. So far, I think it's pretty clear I failed. You were right, I do need that responsible aspect to my personality, I imagine none of these would have happened if I had.
You know what, Taniya; you're not a half bad role model.
Thank you,
Craig.
P.S There should be six cards in this envelope as well. You've earned five of them and the sixth, if you don't mind, I trust you the most with it for now. When I return, I'll think about having it back.'
Taniya folded it back up again and placed her hand back into the envelope, like Craig said, she found six cards in there, and in there she found five white cards, Craig's wager on their match with her, which she knew put her in the finals but took Craig out of the tournament, and the sixth one, she saw the back of a Duel Monsters card, turning it over, she saw on the picture a red dragon. Taniya smiled at the card, and opened up a drawer and threw it inside. There, the Tail of Griaule would remain for now, where it would cause no harm.
She went down to the cafeteria, opening up the fridge inside, true to his word, Craig had taken some supplies, supplies being all the non-nutritious food and drink. All the fruit, vegetables and water were left well alone. She laughed to herself, just this small thing showed to her Craig really perhaps was back.
"Hey," came a voice from the door. Taniya turned around to see Flo.
"Oh… Flo. I forgot you stayed here yesterday," Taniya said, "Are you better?"
"Not so bad," Flo said, "Is it over? Is he back?"
"You miss him, don't you?" she said, smiling, "More than the rest of us…"
"We were together for a long time. It's not easy to move on from that…" Flo said quietly, "I doubt the decision I made at times but I made it, I'd still like to see him as a friend and that he's happy and safe though,"
Taniya moved away from the fridge, showing the empty shelf where the less healthy stuff was stored, even Flo laughed, "That answer your question?" Taniya said, the two laughing together, calm and relaxed for what seemed like the first time in an eternity, "How close are you to the finals?" Taniya asked.
"Three down, three to go, a while to go yet," Flo said.
"You'll be fine," Taniya replied, "I can tell. You just better hope you're not facing me at any stage,"
Flo turned around, ready to depart, "We'll see how that works out for you. Thanks for everything, Taniya,"
Xxxxx
Taniya finished the last set of stairs to the top of the Duel Tower, and stared at the machine in front of her. She entered a six-digit code into her Duel Disk, took out a red card, and placed it into the machine. There were two displays, each listing the first eight from each the Singles and the Doubles tournament, neither of which had any names on it, until Taniya saw 'Taniya Dupree' come up as the first name on the Singles tournament.
"You're in then," a voice said behind, Ryan had come up the stairs behind her, "I saw you heading up," he said, "So, where is he?"
"I won't say," replied Taniya, "He'll be back though."
"I guessed," said Ryan.
"He's out of the tournament as well, technically," she said again, "He gave me all his white cards in an envelope and snuck it in my room somehow," she said to Ryan's confused looks.
"Is that a good thing?" asked Ryan.
"I'm not sure, it gives Jacob more of a chance yet at the same time, the tournament is what got him where he is,"
"We've got you still, and Flo I guess, she's still in it," answered Ryan.
"You're right, however Craig has that… thing about him, which is a shame, because if this never happened I imagine he'd be in by now,"
"Perhaps it's good he's out…" commented Ryan, "Like you said, it's what got him where he is. Perhaps it's time he took a break from the whole looking for trouble thing. It's not good for him,"
"You underestimate your brother Ryan," said Taniya, smiling, "He's certainly trouble, and is for sure a bad news magnet, but day by day he surprises me in a brand new way, and today is one of those days, where I can say I'm proud to have him around. I think we still need him in this tournament, even though we can't, because honestly, I think him, especially with his track record, scares the crap out of Jacob, and that's what we need,"
"I guess, not many kids can do the things he does… said Ryan.
"You should perhaps be a bit more praising of him. He's going to return eventually,"
"From where though?" asked Ryan.
"That I can't tell you. However, if in the future you and I are both gone from the Slifer dormitory, I would trust no-one more than him to defend our students,"
"Craig, with responsibility, that'll be the day," joked Ryan, "And don't think we can't see you two."
Ryan, out the corner of his eye, had spotted Hayley and Bastion coming up the stairs.
"Don't worry, we weren't trying to scare you," said Hayley jokingly.
"Yeah, after what you two have seen, what scares you?" asked Bastion.
Ryan sighed after a moment of silence, "So, I guess it's back to the same old, same old?"
"Yep," said Hayley, turning around and walking back towards the stairs, "Practicing."
"Doing work…" replied Bastion, joining her.
Taniya smiled, joining the two, "And fighting evil wherever it may rise."
Ryan followed suite, "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Xxxxx
Over on the other side of the island, a figure looked away from the top of the tower, watching the four miniscule but recognizable features walk off the roof, and he turned to face away from the small tent he had set up. With his dark blonde, scruffy hair, dressed in training attire, he put his Duel Disk on and placed his Deck inside.
"You guys ready?" Craig asked to his cards, "Well then," he said, beginning to run at a quick pace, "Let's roll!"
Xxxxx