Episode 61: The Darkness Within Part 2

Seto and Scourge are in the middle of a duel. Yuni is watching. It has just been revealed that Scourge has placed cards in his deck specifically to defeat Seto. Scourge asks, "So are you going to give up now, or prolong your suffering?"

Seto declares, "If you think that one measly spell card is going to intimidate the great Seto Ossius, then you're completely wrong! I'll never surrender to the likes of you! So go ahead and finish your pathetic turn, and then I'll show you what I think about your card!"

Scourge sighs. "Such powerful words Seto. But tell me this, what are words without actions? Meaningless. But fine, if you want to be stubborn, be my guest." Scourge returns his focus to his cards. "I'll first set a card, and then summon Phantom Nebula - Stingray (Dark/Level 4/Fish/Effect/ATK 1600/DEF 1300)." Onto the field glides a stingray-shaped nebulous cloud of gas. "since I control no other monsters, Stingray allows me to special summon two Phantom Nebula Tokens (Dark/Level 1/Fairy/Token/ATK 0/DEF 0). I'll then activate the effect of Phantom Nebula - Owl (Dark/Level 2/Winged-Beast/Tuner/ATK 300/DEF 500), allowing me to special summon it by tributing one of my Phantom Nebula Tokens." The next monster is a nebula shaped like a large owl. "Now I have my level two Phantom Nebula - Owl tune my level four Phantom Nebula - Stingray and level one Phantom Nebula Token in order to Synchro Summon Phantom Nebula - Shadow Snake (Dark/Level 7/Reptile/Synchro/ATK 2800/DEF 2600)!" The new monster is a shadowy nebula in the form of a massive snake. "The effect of Shadow Snake allows me to call forth one Phantom Nebula Token every turn, which I shall do now. That concludes my turn (Scourge's hand: 2)."

Seto draws and says, "You may have shut down my deck's strategy, but you made one miscalculation, I still have my Cosmic Plasma Dragon, fully able to battle. Go Cosmic Plasma Dragon, attack with Plasma Stream of Destruction!" Seto's monster unleashes a torrent of plasma energy at Scourge's monster.

Scourge objects, "Wrong again Seto! I activate my facedown card, Celestial Ruin! Now as long as I control this card, your level five or higher monsters can't declare any attacks!"

Seto exclaims, "What!?"

"That's right Seto! Now you are completely shut down!"

Seto is shocked. "This is madness!"

Scourge scolds, "Now, now Seto, you were the one who agreed to this duel."

"Fine, but there's more than one way to beat a monster. I activate Plasma Burst! Since I control a plasma monster with more than five levels, I can destroy one monster on the field. Say good bye to your pathetic Shadow Snake!"

Scourge objects, "Not yet! As long as I control a Phantom Nebula Token, Shadow Snake can't be touched by card effects!"

Seto looks annoyed. "So be it (Seto's hand: 3)."

Scourge draws. He states solemnly, "Seto…I'm your friend, and I want what's best for you. I highly suggest that you give in now, you may not like what has yet to come."

"If you wanted what was best for me, you'd give me back my brother!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Seto. I said that I wanted what was best for you, not worst for me. The Disciples still need your brother." Scourge shrugs. "Just don't say that I didn't warn you. I activate the effect of Shadow Snake and summon another Phantom Nebula Token." Another token spontaneously appears on the field. "Then, I perform an Evolution Summon!" Scourge's monster glows harshly. "I evolve Phantom Nebula - Shadow Snake into Phantom Nebula - Dark Horse (Dark/Level 8/Beast/Evolution/ATK 3200/DEF 2800)!" The new monster is a majestic, but menacing horse, made purely from shadowy stellar material. "Like its previous form, Dark Horse can special summon a Phantom Nebula Token. Now I'll activate its second effect, which by tributing one Phantom Nebula Token, it can halve the attack of one monster on the field." Dark Horse absorbs the cosmic debris of one of the tokens, and then unleashes a beam of energy at Cosmic Plasma Dragon (ATK: 1500).

Seto complains, "Not my dragon!"

"Yes, your dragon! Now Dark Horse, attack and destroy Cosmic Plasma Dragon!" The monster fires another beam of energy to destroy the other (Seto's LP: 2300).

As soon as Seto takes damage, a cry of intense pain is heard. Both Seto and Yuni frantically look around for the source of the cry. They quickly realize that its coming from the holographic screen next to Scourge, that's projecting an image of Seto's brother. He is writhing in pain, and crying out. Seto demands in furry, "What are you doing to him!?"

Scourge fakes ignorance, and says, "Oh, I'm sorry, did I forget to mention that I wanted your brother to be part of this duel? You see, I thought that he might want to be there right next to you, so how to do that better than have him share your pain?"

Seto's brother continues to shout in agony. Seto demands, "Stop it! Stop it right now!"

Scourge simply says, "Sorry."

Yuni shouts from the sidelines, "Stop it! Can't you see your hurting him!?"

The shouting stops. Scourge says, "The time that your brother feels pain is relative to how much damage you take. Hey, I warned you that you should have quit."

Seto is gazing at Scourge with pure hatred.

Yuni thinks, I don't like this. I sense a lot of darkness pent up inside of Seto. This is getting dangerous for him.

Scourge states, "And I'm afraid that I'm not done yet. I activate Nebula Blaster! This card inflicts 600 points of damage to you for every Phantom Nebula Token that has left my field this turn!" A blast of rainbow energy bursts around Seto (Seto's LP: 1700).

Seto's brother cries out in agony again. Intense fury radiates off of Seto's face.

Scourge says, "And as you continue to take damage, your brother continues, down below us, to hurt. You know what Seto, you're not that good of a brother." Seto's fury increases.

Yugi comments, Did you hear that? Seto's brother is below us. I think its time to even the odds a little.

Yuni responds, I would go and try, but I don't want to leave Seto alone. He's drifting dangerously close towards Darkness.

Yugi realizes, You don't have to yourself! Remember what Apep said? If you ever need help, just ask, and a member of the Society will come.

Good idea! Yuni takes a deep breath. He commands towards no one, "Lux, Nox, I require your assistance!"

In a flash of black and white, the two ninjas appear before Yuni, bowing. Lux states, "So it is true. The boy is the new Lord of Chaos."

Nox asks, "In what way may we serve you my lord?"

Yuni says, "Down below this room," Yuni points towards a stairway, "there is a prisoner being held. I need him up here a soon as possible."

Lux says, "It will be done my lord."

Nox adds, "We will not fail you." The two dash off towards the stairwell. Yuni returns focus to the duel.

Seto is saying with rage, "You will pay for this! No one hurts my brother and gets away with it! I will destroy you!"

Scourge waggles his finger and scolds, "Temper, temper Seto. But fine, if you think that you can do something, be my guest." Scourge looks as if he's about to end his turn, but then he adds, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I can tribute a Phantom Nebula Token in order to prevent Dark Horse's devolution. I'll also set a card." Scourge does just that (Scourge's hand: 1)."

Seto draws angrily. He says, "I'm through playing games! I activate Plasma Boost! By banishing the Plasma Star from my grave, I can draw two cards!" Seto draws again. "Then I activate the effect of Plasma Flow! By discarding a card from my hand, I can special summon Plasma Sentry from my hand (Light/Level 6/Warrior/Effect/ATK 2000/DEF 0)! When I special summon a Plasma Sentry, I'm aloud to summon another straight from my deck! Now, since I control two level six monsters, I can special summon Plasma Wall (Light/Level 6/Thunder/Effect/ATK 0/DEF 2500)! Now that I have three level six monsters, I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz summon Plasma Emperor (Light/Rank 6/Warrior/Xyz/ATK 3400/DEF 2100)!" Seto's Xyz monster has a regal form, wearing armor and holding a sword and shield. It's made out of a bright red plasma. "I activate its effect and remove an Overlay Unit in order to special summon Cosmic Plasma Dragon from my grave in defense mode, but its defense is reduced to zero (OVL: 2)!" Plasma Emperor raises its sword towards the sky and absorbs its Overlay Unit through it. Cosmic Plasma Dragon reappears on the field, in a defensive position (Light/Level 8/Dragon/Effect/ATK 3000/DEF 2500) (DEF: 0). "Now Plasma Emperor, attack Phantom Nebula - Dark Horse!"

Yugi realizes, Oh yeah, I forgot, Xyz monsters have ranks, not levels. That means it can still attack, despite Celestial Ruin.

Yuni answers, Exactly.

Seto's monster charges in at Scourge's. Scourge declares, "I activate my facedown, Nebula Conversion! This card stops your attack, and as a bonus, gives me another Phantom Nebula Token!" Seto's attack is halted, and another token appears.

Seto grunts. "Fine. I end my turn (Seto's hand: 1)."

Scourge draws. "First I'll summon another Phantom Nebula Token, and then immediately activate Phantom Formation! This card allows me to draw a card for every Phantom Nebula Token that I control!" Scourge draws four cards. "Now I'll activate my favorite card! I activate Corruption of Darkness! You know what that means! Go, Darkness Evolution!" Scourge's monster becomes cloaked in shadows. "I evolve Phantom Nebula - Dark Horse into Darkness Evolution: Dark Phantom Nebula - Dark Knight (Dark/Level 10/Warrior/Evolution/ATK 3500/DEF 3200)!" The shadows part to reveal the same horse as before, but now being ridden on by a shadowy knight, also made of cosmic material. "I activate the effect of Dark Knight, by tributing a Phantom Nebula Token, I can special summon a Phantom Nebula monster from my deck or grave! I'll tribute all four of my tokens in order to summon Phantom Nebula - Cat's Eye (Dark/Level 6/Beast/Effect/ATK 2000/DEF 1300), Phantom Nebula - Butterfly (Dark/Level 4/Insect/Effect/ATK 1700/DEF 0), Phantom Nebula - Crab (Dark/Level 1/Aqua/Tuner/ATK 500/DEF 1400), and Phantom Nebula - Stingray!" Scourge's four Phantom Nebula monsters swarm the field. "Now, Dark Knight, attack and destroy Plasma Emperor!" The monster gallops at Seto's and slashes through it (Seto's LP: 1600).

Seto's brother cries out in pain, but quickly stops. Seto tenses upon hearing it.

Scourge continues, "Now I'll activate Nebula Scorch! I can't attack directly the turn I activate this card, but it inflicts damage to you equal to the number of Phantom Nebula monsters I control times 300!" A blast of energy is sent from each of Scourge's monsters to Seto (Seto's LP: 100)."

Seto's brother once again cries out in intense pain. Seto begins to shake with anger.

Scourge shouts to be heard over the screaming, "I end my turn (Scourge's hand: 3)!"

Yuni thinks, Hey! Something's fishy here. Scourge could have attacked directly and won the duel! He could have at the very least destroyed Cosmic Plasma Dragon, and still be able to activate his card, what's up!?

Yugi points out, Yuni, look!

Yuni looks up to see Seto. A dark, shadowy aura has surrounded him. He is extremely enraged.

Scourge thinks, Perfect, all according to plan…

The screaming from Seto's brother finally stops, and Seto shouts with rage, "I'm though with you!" He screams with rage. The top card of his deck also becomes covered in a shadowy aura. Seto draws it. He shouts, "I activate Dark Cosmic Seduction! This card allows me to perform a Darkness Evolution!"

Yuni shouts in disbelief, "What!? Seto, no!"

Seto shouts back, "Shut up Yuni! This is between Scourge and me! First I'll activate the other effect of Dark Cosmic Seduction, which can make one of my Cosmic monsters count as an Evolution monster! That means I can Darkness Evolve my Cosmic Plasma Dragon! Go, Darkness Evolution!" Seto's dragon becomes cloaked in shadows. "Power of Darkness, scourge of the Universe! Corrupt my dragon and unleash its astronomical power! I call upon you, Darkness Evolution: Dark Cosmic Void Dragon (Dark/Level 11/Dragon/Evolution/ATK 4000/DEF 3500)!" The monster that emerges is completely changed. While still maintaining its draganoid appearance, its body proportions appear more humanoid. It is now made out of a swirling mass of dark purple and black plasma. In the center of its torso is a large, swirling black hole.

Scourge thinks, And a Disciple of Darkness is born. I'm so proud.

Seto continues, still in rage, "When I summon my monster, its effect activates and banishes all other cards on the field! Go, Singularity Vortex!" All of the monsters on Scourge's side of the field, along with his spell and trap cards are ripped apart into a stream of particles that are sucked into the black hole of the dragon.

Scourge objects, "But that would destroy your Dark Cosmic Seduction, which would destroy your own monster!"

"No it wouldn't! Dark Cosmic Seduction is unaffected by any effects of cards that I control! To make things better, for every monster my dragon banished, it gains 200 attack points (ATK: 5600)!"

Scourge says, "I activate the effect of Phantom Nebula - Red Spider and summon it from my hand in defense mode since I control no monsters (Dark/Level 3/Insect/Effect/ATK 600/DEF 1700)!" The monster is a large spider made out of red stellar debris and dust.

"You just wasted your card! My monster can't attack the turn its summoned, but during each of my End Phases, my monster banishes all other cards on the field, except of course my Dark Cosmic Seduction, which by the way, prevents my monster from devolving. Once more, Singularity Vortex!" Scourge's monster is sucked away (Seto's hand: 1).

Yuni thinks desperately, I don't like this, I don't like this at all. I have to check… He shouts aloud, "Chaos Judgment!" A yin is projected over Seto. It's almost entirely black, with practically no white. Yuni thinks, This is very bad. Darkness is taking over Seto. Where's Lux and Nox? We could really use the help of Seto's brother to calm him.

Lux and Nox are sneaking there way through an underground tunnel. Lux states in a whisper, "These tunnels go on forever. It mustn't be too much further."

Nox shushes him and points ahead. There is a doorway with two Disciples of Darkness standing guard on either side. Lux nods in confirmation. They exchange several non-verbal communications. Both nod in agreement.

Nox holds up his hand, and dark shadows fall over the area around the door. Lux sneaks in, once behind the guards, unleashes a blast of light, that stuns them both and causes them to fall to the ground. Nox walks up to the door, unleashes a shadowy blast that destroys the doorknob, and he walks in.

Scourge draws. He states, "Seto, you are a fine Disciple of Darkness."

Seto shouts, "I am nothing like you!"

"Tell yourself that all that you want, it won't change the facts. You are now a Disciple. I'll make this turn short and simple. I activate Nebula Insurance! Since I had five monsters on my field at the end of my last turn, and no monsters now, I can summon five Phantom Nebula Tokens! That is all (Scourge's hand: 3)."

Seto, still enraged, and still cloaked in shadows, draws his card. This card also glows with shadows as he draws it. "You're through Scourge! I activate Dark Cosmic Devastation! By discarding one card, I can allow my dragon to attack each of your monsters once each, and I get to inflict 800 points of damage for each one destroyed! Before I start attacking, you should know, every card that my monster destroys by battle is instantly banished! Now, let's go Dark Cosmic Void Dragon, attack his first token with Event Horizon Pulse!" The dragon roars, and releases a pulse of dark energy from its black hole. The moment the pulse hit's the first token, it is broken down into particles and sucked into the void. "Now for the damage!" A red shockwave of damage is sent at Scourge, it hits him, and he is forced back by the attack (Scourge's LP: 3200).

Yuni thinks in shock, That damage was real! Seto's rage is making the damage real!

Scourge has barely gotten back up when Seto commands, "Attack again!" Another blast, another 800 damage (Scourge's LP: 2400). "Again (Scourge's LP: 1600)! Destroy this thorn in my side (Scourge's LP: 800)!"

Scourge looks completely beat-up, and hopeless. He begs meekly, "Please…no…not again…"

Seto shouts, "You should have thought about that before you kidnapped my brother!"

Yuni thinks, Not good, not good!

Seto points towards Scourge and starts to command, "Go, attack once-!"

He cut off by a child's voice crying, "Seto, please, no more!"

Seto drops his hand and freezes. He slowly turns to see his brother standing on the other side of the room. His brother is short, and probably only eight years old. He has very long, and puffed hair, reminiscent of Mokuba Kaiba's. He is dressed in beat up and torn rags. He's crying. He pleads, "Seto, please, you're scaring me. Stop."

The shadow aura around Seto subsides. He runs over to him and says in disbelief, "Kodane, is it really you?"

Seto's brother, apparently named Kodane, runs and meets Seto halfway. They both hug, and tears are shed from both. Seto says under his breath, "I was afraid that I would never see you again…"

Kodane says, "I'm so happy to see you again."

Yuni smiles. He thinks, How touching.

Yugi comments, It sort of reminds of another pair of Kaiba siblings.

Yuni looks towards the back of the room, were Lux and Nox are standing, and nods towards them. They nod back and vanish.

Seto looks towards Scourge, who is still whimpering on the ground. A flash of anger crosses his face. Kodane pleads, "Seto, it's not worth it. Don't worry about him."

Seto shakes off his anger. He says, "You're not worth my time anyways. Come on Kodane, let's go home." The two walk off, and the AR display of the duel turns off.

The Duel Computer announces, "The duel has been prematurely canceled. Seto has earned no points for quitting. Scourge has been awarded with 52 points for a total of 316 points."

As Seto is exiting the room, Scourge says, "The Darkness within you has been unlocked. There is no going back. You are a Disciple of Darkness now Seto, whether you like it or not." Seto ignores him and walks off. Scourge looks up to Yuni and smiles. He simply says, "You're next…" and turns into a shadow before dashing away.

Yugi thinks, I'm glad Seto got his brother back, but I'm worried about what Scourge said. Has he really escaped the Darkness?

Yugi answers, Don't worry about it for now. Come one, its been a long day, and its been three days since you slept in a bed. Let's go home.

Yuni runs into his house, he sees his grandfather sitting on his favorite chair watching the holovision. The holovision is saying, "…reports are now filing in that support the rumors. The monster seen only two hours ago was indeed the legendary Slifer the Sky Dragon. Why has the legendary Egyptian God Card suddenly reappeared, and is it in any way connected to the other real Duel Monsters seen over the past several days? More on this story as it comes."

Yuni's grandpa turns to see him and says, "Why Yuni, you're home late."

Yuni runs up to his grandpa and gives him a big hug. He says, "I love you Grandpa." Yuni runs to the escalator.

Yuni's grandpa says to himself, "Well what has gotten into that boy? You'd think that he hasn't seen me in days."

Yuni makes it upstairs and goes into his room. Too tired to get ready for bed, he just lies down on his bed.

Yugi says, Hmm…interesting.

Yuni asks, What is it?

I just noticed the irony in today.

Yeah, and what's that?

The Grand Prophecy of Chaos. It stated that one hero would be a controller of Chaos, and the other a disciple of Darkness. In just today alone, you became the Lord of Chaos, and Seto gave into Darkness.