Ba-Ku-Ra!
By: Miss-DNL & RenagadeRexRider
BKR! Chapter 33: Wrath of a Broken Half
Akefia had seen the gleam in the goon's eye even before the grin broke, the fact made Akefia tense against his binds, 'Oh shit…' Keeping his eyes trained on Seeker as if his glare alone would deter the oncoming action he addressed his host, an underlying urgency hidden in his wrathful tone, "Tell me these swords prevent both of us from attacking…"
Ryou felt his jaw tensing, more sensing than actually hearing Akefia's tone, 'No it doesn't… he can still attack.' Quickly Ryou shook the foreboding sensation as he looked to his facedown. The tension was mounting quickly, but now was by no means the time to buckle! He quickly spoke to Akefia who distinctly didn't take the news well, 'But I have something in place to keep our monsters safe.'
Not waiting for a response, Ryou drew his card, "My turn! I sacrifice Earthbound Spirit and summon Diabound Kernel!"
In a gusting flurry, Earthbound Spirit vanished and was replaced by the imposing form of Diabound who flexed its wings in preparation for battle. Upon seeing its opponent however, a visible stall crossed snow hued monster before a viciously angry hiss of fury erupted from not only the serpent headed tail, but the main humanoid head as well, perfectly mirroring its master's radiating rage. Diabound flexed its claws, ready at a moment's notice for the command to attack.
As it teased this thought however, a strange sensation pulled Diabound from its wrathful glare, the sensation beyond familiar and downright vital… a sensation that was not unlike the draw of his master. Honing in on the sensation, Diabound's crimson gaze locked onto its opponent's deck, its hiss now low.
Akefia easily sensed his Ka's emotions, easily melding into the creature's rage making it his own. But sensing a pulling desire and seeing the creature's gaze Akefia grit his teeth, "That's right Diabound… The rest of you lies with him… Don't you worry." He added, his voice a deadly calm, "We'll make you whole again…. And we'll make this diseased vermin pay for this insult!"
Movement drew attention back into the moment and its weight full tilt as Seeker drew his card, "My turn, I play Monster Reborn! In order to bring back Beast of Talwar!"
At his declaration the discarded green, blue winged demon with long pointed ears bearing a large imposing sword in each hand rose onto the field almost triumphantly, its intense gaze boring into its opponents.
/Beast of Talwar: Attack: 2400 Defense: 2150/
"Talwar, attack his Diabound!" Seeker called firmly, grin looking absolutely sick against his yellow skin.
Ryou's eyes flashed and immediately responded, "Reveal trap card!" he called, his facedown rising in response revealing itself. As Spirit Shield revealed itself, the haunting image of many spirits rushed out in a torrent and swiftly formed a shield before Diabound, guarding the monster from the demon's assault.
Seeing his powerful monster's attack come to an absolute stop prompted a look of surprise from Seeker, "WHAT?!"
The play likewise seemed to startle the Thief King, the image striking a haunting familiarity in his mind somehow as the scene played out. For the briefest moment, Akefia could have sworn that the image just erupted out of his own mind and into reality before him, 'Ah?! What is….?' He snapped his eyes closed and shook the sensation, 'Worry later. FOCUS!' he snapped angrily to himself wrenching himself back to the moment. Right now was not at all the time to be dragged into some déjà vu.
Ryou exhaled a brief relief before looking back to his adversary, "Spirit Shield, at the cost of one zombie or fiend monster in my grave, protects my monsters and ends the battle phase. Your Graceful Charity cards left plenty of them in my grave." Ryou explained, grinning inwardly as Seeker gave him an irate glare.
"Then I end my turn." Seeker growled.
Akefia felt a grin flick onto his face at the response, but more so at his host's cunning, "An excellent save Ryou. That should help immensely~" he commented as the teen began his turn.
Ryou looked at his draw and furrowed his brow, 'Nothing…' he thought stiffly. Better act now, "I play Pot of Greed." He declared playing said card before drawing two more cards. He blinked at his draw, 'Mirror Tablet…' looking from it to the other card already in his hand he hummed, the beginnings of a plan beginning to take root. But for the moment Ryou's turn had made its round, "I end my turn."
Far from the present orchestrated duel, the orchestrator Malik was making his way to his hideout with Jonouchi and Anzu coming along "kindly" behind him. Step one to his current plan in check, he'd since turned his attention to the Ring bearer's duel and now wore a mused smirk at the results. The duel had scarcely even begun and already the Ring bearer was well into the heat… and seeing the reaction of the true Diabound, it was scarcely hidden that the thief was enraged. He smirked; might as well toss them into the fire. With a maintained grin he spoke to Seeker via Scepter link, 'Time to let the thief see his beloved pet Seeker, time to summon it!'
Seeker grinned at the command as he played his magic card, 'As you wish Master Malik.' With that he turned his gaze back onto the teen, "I play Painful Choice!" he grinned seeing the confused look that then emerged onto the young boy's face, so he explained, "I select five cards from my deck, show them to you and pick only one to add to my hand. The rest are discarded to my grave." Seeing a distinct bristle from his opponent he smirked wider, "I'm sure you know which I'm after though."
With that he removed his deck and selected five after a quick shuffle and flashed them to Ryou, who bit back a gulp seeing the predicted card in plain view, Diabound: the God Monster, which was then removed before the remaining cards were banished to the grave. Ryou then felt a stone in his gut as Seeker then began to make his move, a flood of wrath rushing from the Ring in response.
"NO DAMN YOU!" Akefia screamed, his wrathful protest falling only on the ears of his host, who winced at the force of it.
"Now I sacrifice all three of my monsters and summon Diabound: The God Monster!" Seeker called triumphantly as he set down the card. As it rose, Moving Fortress and Beast of Talwar were drawn into a void before Diabound Kernel itself was taken in, prompting a noteworthy flash of light. The card then began to turn a dark shifting shade of purple before beginning to take on a much larger shape, the dark glow growing stronger only momentarily before fading away at last into the massive final form of Diabound.
Ryou could only stare up at the monstrous form before him, eyes wide in what was likely fear as he was paralyzed by the sheer pressure of the creature's power, unable to speak. The only thing that seemed to register beyond the pressure was the radiating sensation from the Ring. The teenager could feel Akefia's emotions solidly and could scarcely comprehend the sheer anger radiating from him, the Ring itself actually trembling against his chest, the spirit actually silent as if all manner of words were nonexistent to express himself.
Ryou felt his heart pound and mind race; could he possibly face this creature? Slowly, he forced his acing mind back to the duel he had almost forgotten was in progress and looked over the creature once more… it was then that he noticed something foreboding. The opposing monster was simply sitting still, almost as if it were as empty a shell as the copy that had helped forge it. The contrast of the image to the pressure presented itself as something alarming in Ryou's mind. Something was not right.
As if confirming his thoughts, in a very sudden display, Diabound the God Monster suddenly let out an impossibly loud booming roar, a sound that the game should not be able to produce, startling both players into covering their ears. Heart racing in his throat now, Ryou looked up to see that the God Monster was now emitting a deep shadowy aura that seemed to be distorting its appearance… and before he could begin to wonder what was happening, the monster began to fire blasts indiscriminately in random directions between screeches that bore a tone that to Ryou, sounded as if they were in pain, 'What's going on!?' he screamed inwardly.
"DIABOUND!" Akefia cried, his voice strained.
From within his hideout, Malik watched through his lackey's startled and rightfully fearful gaze, 'Interesting…' he mused in vague surprise, 'Seems the fake Diabound didn't agree with the half of the real thing that resided in the card.' He chuckled to himself, 'This is hardly a hologram, someone could get hurt.' A vicious grin split his face, 'A PERFECT punishment for taking my revenge from me! Kah-HAHAHAH! Destroyed by his own Ka!' he thought gleefully.
Seeker, however, was not sharing in his master's amusement and stood stricken with fear, cowering before the monster that he was now certain was more than a trick of light and cried out to Malik for help, 'Master Malik, the creature is out of control!'
Malik merely chuckled in amusement of his lackey's fearful observation, 'Oh I'm well aware of that Seeker~. Just sit tight and let the monster do it's work.' With that, Malik's gaze fell to his Scepter which glowed in response, and instantaneously, Seeker found his body unable to move.
'I CAN'T MOVE!' Seeker cried in confused panic, 'Master Malik please! It'll kill me!'
Malik began laughing at the panicked plea, 'Kah-ha-ha! I know!' he declared, toying with his Scepter absentmindedly, Seeker's fear rising as Malik spoke, 'I can't have you stop this duel! You've served your purpose Seeker~. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be quick and painless.'
Akefia didn't know what was worse, watching his beloved Ka writhing in pain, or feeling it. The second Diabound's final form had been summoned, he'd felt something very wrong, like a knife just against the skin waiting to pierce at a mere twitch. And true to that same feeling, he'd felt it sheer straight into his core, helpless to do anything to it but watch. Only his anger kept him in check, and, ripping his gaze from the now rampaging monster he glimpsed Seeker… visibly struggling but unable to move. The sight had Akefia's hair on end shaking in rage knowing well what had happened, "That….Gelded….COWARD!" he snarled through clenched teeth.
An instinctual motion to act wrenched Akefia back to his position, and instantly he was reminded of his host who was still fixated on the creature before him, unable to move. Without a second thought Akefia manifested beside the teen and looked to him firmly, his eyes still intense in pure fury enforcing his words, "RYOU! This portion of Diabound has power to rival the gods themselves, I KNOW you can feel it!" Seeing an acknowledging glance, he continued, "This is no mere game anymore, his very being has been torn in half, he's in pain and out of control! He can kill Seeker," he grit his teeth, "Even you…"
Baring his teeth angrily he glared out towards Seeker, who was still struggling in vain, the gesture meant for Malik, "And that castrated low lying pig sucking scum of a servant boy doesn't care how this duel is won…" he growled, fists shaking as he looked towards their portion of Diabound, who looked just as distressed as he, and then back to the rampaging monster, very real disdain now seeping through his words, "He's still bound by this damn game!"
Gritting his teeth as he looked up at the creature he knew was suffering he gave him a silent promise, voice hollow as he spoke to Ryou, "If you have any way to stop him… ANY way at all…Do it."
Ryou could barely allow himself to look away from the wrathful monster, afraid that in doing so might be a dire mistake, but he listened carefully to Akefia as he spoke, the spirit's final words sounding almost pleading.
Heart beating impossibly fast now, pumping an insane amount of adrenaline throughout his body, he finally allowed himself to look down at Diabound Kernel who seemed to be bracing for an oncoming attack, and then back up at the larger form. He cringed as it bellowed once more, now able to hear its pain, and swallowed thickly. Akefia was asking him to end it; as if he knew he had the ability to do so.
Reigning his fear as best he could, he finally looked back to his cards, mind racing as he looked for a plan. Gripping tightly to his cards, his eyes fell on the two tablets in his hand. Eyes dancing from one to the other a moment he blinked as he felt an idea take root. Immediately he did a quick math check in his head and slowly felt his tension ebb, 'I think… I have a plan! It should work…'
Akefia gave a grim nod, "Good…"
Reinvigorated and encouraged by both adrenaline and Akefia's request, he straightened himself and drew his card, continuing the duel, "My turn…. I set two cards facedown and switch Earl of Demise to Defense mode and end my turn."
Hearing Ryou speak drew the rampaging Diabound's attention, and with it its blind rage. It then seemed to finally notice its other half, its stance immediately recognized as an attack stance, prompting the God Monster to recognize the form as a threat in its momentary madness. Without hesitation Diabound the God Monster fired a huge spiral blast down on its own smaller form, which stood no chance and was destroyed instantly.
/Diabound: The God Monster Attack: 3200 3450/
Ryou braced himself but was pushed back by the force of the blow, barely managing to remain standing, forcing him to adjust himself to stand back upright, panting a bit as he felt the intense pressure from the creature bare down on him.
/LP:2550/
Akefia reflexively shielded his face from debris that could not touch him, wincing as their Diabound was destroyed, 'Easy Diabound! It won't be much longer… The pain will stop soon.' He thought as if in a mantra.
Ryou took a deep breath to steady himself once more and continued the duel, "Trap card activate, Rebirth Tablet brings back Diabound Kernel!"
Said tablet, bearing and ankh, appeared on the field, and in seconds the ankh was replaced with an image of Diabound Kernel who then erupted from the tablet back onto the field once more. Ryou dared not hesitate and continued, "Next Mirror Tablet adds half of the original attack to Diabound Kernel."
/Diabound Kernel: Attack:1800-3425/
Seeing the attack raise, Ryou bristled in alarm, 'Just below enough!'
Diabound the God monster's gaze again locked onto its smaller form, prompted not only by rage but from the Mirror Tablet's effect, and in a blur its cobra tail lunged forward with a frighteningly angry and pained roar.
As the monster attacked, Ryou's racing mind quickly snapped to another card and immediately activated Black Pendant without a word, the dark item immediately appearing on Diabound Kernel's chest.
/Diabound Kernel: Attack: 3425-3925/
Attack boosted just enough; Diabound dodged the incoming cobra, the strike sending debris in all directions. In response to the attack Diabound Kernel flexed its wings and fired a spiral blast at its rampaging counterpart, nailing its open chest, the now much stronger attack blowing a hole straight through the monster's chest prompting the creature to let out a low wail before falling backwards with a loud reverberating crash, it's cobra tail trailing out in front of it snapping in all directions. After only a moment more, a low grumbling guttural noise slipped from the God Monster's throat as it closed its eyes in a peaceful manner before the form shattered.
/Seeker LP: 3525/
Ryou felt his shoulders slump in sheer relief as the pressure vanished, finally feeling that he could breathe again, 'I did it…' he thought almost disbelievingly.
Akefia had only to watch as Diabound managed to destroy his more powerful self, and slowly felt the creature's agony die away upon its defeat. Once gone, Akefia felt a familiar shiver shake his core, a sensation of some form of relief, allowing a breath reflecting the sensation to pass his lips. Slowly he nodded to Ryou, still visibly shaking, "Good work Ryou…." he then looked to the remaining form, 'Are you alright Diabound?'
Diabound could only nod despite the odd sensation of destroying its other half, 'I'm fine Master.'
/Attack: 3925-4125/
Malik looked on with a more bored than annoyed expression as the monster fell, 'Tch, damned beast didn't pull it off.' he snorted to himself, 'Hmph, at least he stalled long enough. Let the vessel take the card, I have no need for it. I have another puppet show to run~.' He mused.
Ryou blinked and looked on at Seeker who seemed still unable to move, either from fear or otherwise, "Don't think he'll be making a move…" he commented aloud.
Akefia merely stared out at the man, eyes half laden but having no lack of still present rage, "Neither do I…"
Hearing this and seeing no indication that he would do otherwise, Ryou continued the duel and drew his card. Immediately he smiled, "I play Monster Reborn! Come back Diabound: the God Monster!"
Akefia could not withhold the elated grin that broke onto his face at the command and laughed as the second half of his Ka reemerged behind Ryou with a powerful roar that slowly faded into a low grumble, now seeming calm now that it was freed from the fake part. He grinned as the cobra tail then wrapped protectively around Ryou, now able to sense his presence once again.
Author's Notes: Another apology for the wait. Hopefully the was worth the wait.
Me: Ryo, Malik, Seeker, Diabound
Renagade: Thief Bakura
This chapter was written by Renagade Rex Rider & edited by me