Chapter 17: Tag Duel Tournament Part 1 - Envoy Of Darkness Appears!
"Not you... anyone but you" I say gazing on the sight of a both hated, and lethal enemy.
I suddenly inhale sharply as I realise no one else is there. Looking around in terror, everyone had dissappeared. Tidus, Yuna, Tara, everyone even the crowds had gone. It looked like the whole of Luca had suddenly vanished... But someone was left.
Sephiroth... Standing on the gangplank still, his eyes were piercing directly into my body. I tried to move, but felt frozen to the spot in pure terror at the demon before me. With a sadistic smirk that seemed to last forever, he finally spoke.
"Good to see you... Kaiser" He smiled.
I suddenly felt feeling come back in my body as I immediately draw my sword to defend myself, but seconds later it turned out to be for naught, as Sephiroth had drawn Masamune and charged me, striking my blade with his, feeling like a truck had crushed me. As he lunged for another strike I brought my sword up weakly and with a clash was sent hurtling across the dock to slide into a heap next to a cargo crate. Gritting my teeth, I stagger to my feet, now angered.
"Now I know who has been coming to me in my sleep" I sneer
Walking casually along the dock stalking me like a lion stalking a deer, he smirked once more.
"True enough" He spoke.
"What do you want?!" I demand.
"I suffered long and hard to get here" Sephiroth spoke, walking and looking out at the water, not caring I was there. "A whole other life to get me here where I carefully orchastrated my own demise... to reach the shining paradise of Spira to rule... just as I said I would with my mother... and on this soil I will build my own paradise, with the power you posess and the power of Sin..."
"You wont while im here!" I retort.
"Well..." He smirks, moving back towards me. "Thats up to you... Kaiser"
I then knew his intention as we both moved forward and clashed blades. With renewed strength I blocked his attack as we met face to face.
"I remember a time when..." He smirked. "No, thats for another time"
"Hey Kaiser, you alright?" Tidus asked shaking my shoulders.
I shake the haze from my eyes and realise im sat on a cargo crate, with Tidus looking concerned before me. Everyone has returned, and I realise that what I had gone through must have been some sort of vision... from Sephiroth.
Sephiroth for his part had ceased his stare, and making his way onto the gangplank had turned around to kneel and make the Yevon prayer gesture, as the elderly Mika had emerged before him.
"People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome." Mika intonted "Rise, Maester Sephiroth. And all of you as well. I present to you... the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a Maester of Yevon"
Sephiroth stood up at this point to address the crowd, and I couldnt help but notice his stare towards me... and Yuna.
"I am Sephiroth Guado. I am honored to receive the title of Maester. In life my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as Maester to the best of my abilities."
At this point the crowd starts to give the Yevon prayer sign as Wakka nudges Tidus and me.
"You, too! Bow your head!" Wakka whispered.
Tidus complied, but I did not and I didnt care. I would not bow to this monster for no one, not know, nor ever. I didnt care if they branded me a heratic right now. It simply wasnt happening. No one appeared to notice as a few seconds later Mika and his associates moved off the boat to leave, while Sephiroth followed, giving a parting glance to Yuna and me before leaving.
"Really psyches you up, ya? All right! The duel tournament will begin soon, you two best get ready ya?!" Wakka said towards Tara and I, as he then addressed the Aurochs. "Aurochs! Lets get a good seat ya! We need to cheer our team on to bring us luck for our victory! Now hustle!"
The next few minutes had been a blur, as I had been led by the group towards the entrance of the Blitzball arena. My mind was racing at the thought of Sephiroth loose on Spira, with not a single soul strong enough to resist him. How he had gotten here was anyones guess, but the fact was that he was, and now I had to deal with him and whatever plan he was enacting on Spira. The group parted ways at the stadium entrance. Tara had to effectively drag me towards the registration area for the tournament, while Yuna and the others headed towards the stands. Nomi had also joined us and wished me luck to win, although in my state I hadnt acknowledged him. A few moments later after registering, Tara and I were in an antechamber reserved for each team so they couldnt see the other teams duel and thier decks. A monitor was on the screen awaiting us to be called. Sitting down on the edge of a table, Tara gave a huff.
"Alright, what in Sins the matter with you?" She demanded. "You've been acting wierd since we saw the Maester's, now spill it! Because we have a tournament to win and you need to be on your game!"
Stunned by her outburst, I struggled to give an answer.
"Its just... the Maester, reminded me of someone I know... it threw me off" I say.
Raising an eyebrow, she seemed partially satisfied.
"Who?" She asked. "Least its good your memories are returning"
"Im not sure" I say. "Im not sure who, thats what ive been thinking about"
"Well forget about it for now" She said springing to her feet. "We're up in the first round" She said pointing at the monitor
Looking round at the monitor, I see its a sixteen team single elimination tournament. Various names littered the screen that I didnt recognise, although I saw that the winners progressed to a Championship Title match against Orion and Alessa, our current goal to head for. Finding our names, I see we are in the first round as Tara had said, facing a team from the Djose region. Of note I also noticed interesting rules for this tournament. Each player had four thousand life points, and to win, both team mates had to be eliminated, meaning it could potentially turn to a two on one match. Each team takes a turn after each other, and you can attack a player directly if they possess no monsters, while there team mates did. It seemed to be an interesting set of rules.
"So whats our plan?" Tara asked.
"Plan?" I reply puzzled.
"You know, duel plan! With how we are gonna pair our decks up!" She smiled.
"I dont think theres a problem with that!" I chuckle back. "We both use Fusion plays, we pretty much both got each other covered"
"True" She says satisfied. "Just remember to watch my back and ill watch yours" She says
"Sounds good to me!" I say
"Right, lets go!" Tara said dragging me towards the elevator.
In the stands, Yuna and the group had managed to get good seats after all while they were waiting for the start of the tournament. Tidus and Nomi were beginning to make spectacles of themselves
"When is it gonna start!" They both complained.
"Soon I think" Yuna chuckled.
"I wanna see Kaiser duel!" Nomi said
"Me too!" Tidus echoed.
"You could be polite enough to at least include Tara" Lulu said shaking her head.
"Yea her too" Tidus said sheepishly, while Yuna giggled.
"I wonder if Kaiser will... ya know... play that soul monster of his" Wakka said unsure of who was listening.
"You mean his Blue-Eyes? I hope so" Nomi said suddenly.
"How do you know about that?!" Wakka asked shocked.
"I saw his wings" Nomi said, suddenly frightened of Wakka's outburst.
"When?!" Wakka demanded.
"Back off big guy" Tidus said suddenly, defending Nomi. He then smiled at the young boy to comfort him. "We would like to know though" He said.
"It was when he dueled that bully" Nomi said relieved of being saved. "As soon as I saw those wings I knew what they were, I've seen them before in books"
"He speaks of the Grimoire of Duel Monsters" Lulu spoke. "It contains refernce to all known Duel Monsters, including the Blue-Eyes White Dragon"
"Yea thats it" Nomi said.
"So Kaiser used his Blue-Eyes in a duel to save you" Yuna spoke up.
"No, he used his Hamster!" Nomi said with glee.
"Hamster?" Yuna said.
"Dogs too, the kid said earlier" Tidus said.
"Here we go!" Wakka interrupted. "Maester Mika is ready!"
In his private booth, Maester Mika stood up and walked to the balcony to address the crowd, throwing his arms in the air, his image was projected across Luca by the cameras filming his speech. At his side, Sephiroth was sat casually watching without a care in the world.
"Today, on this glorious day, players from all over Spira have assembled here... to participate on this great contest of bravery, skill, and strength. All of these fine teams, equally renowned, deserve to win the cup today, whether it be that of Blitzball or Duel Monsters! Such is the nature of this contest. Let us, the spectators, play our role accordingly. Let us sing to the glory of the winners, and applaud equally the valor of the defeated. Contestants, may Yevon be with you, and for now we begin our Tag Team Duel Monsters tournament!"
Making the Yevon gesture, the crowd errupts in cheers as fireworks errupt around the stadium signallilng the beginning of the tournament. A large square platform was beginning to emerge from the bottom of the stadium for the duel arena as two platforms on either side emerge to give the players a way onto the arena.
As a door opened before us, I hear the roar of the crowd as I see a platform appearing infront of us to take us into the stadium.
"Just remember our team moto" Tara says taking my hand.
"May we live and duel forever" I say kissing it for luck.
"Of course" She says blushing.
"Ready partner?" I say with a smile
"Ready" Tara says returning the smile as we head out into the light.
The crowd cheers as the first teams begin to head out into the stadium, with Wakka pointing in glee.
"Thats them!" He exlcaims.
"Go Tara! Go Kaiser!" Yuna shouts.
Tidus quickly puts his finger in his mouth and whistles loudly, and funnly enough, he seemed to get someones attention...
"Yea yea you loud mouthed idiot" I snigger looking over my shoulder at Tidus.
"Yep, he saw us" Tidus smiled.
"What was that?" Yuna asked amazed after his whistle
"In Zanarkand, we do this to cheer on duel and blitz players." Tidus says before whistling again "You try it, too! Put your fingers in your mouth like this" He says almost gagging.
"Like...this?" Yuna said, her mouth now full of her fingers
"Uh-uh, not like that, like this." He says, showing her the correct finger position "Then, you just blow."
Yuna gave it several tries, although she failed each time.
"It's not working" She sighed
By this time, Nomi had already begun trying himself, and he was also failing miserabley.
"Practice!" Tidus shot back.
"Okay." She said
"Hey, use that if we get seperated sometime. Then I'll come running, okay?" Tidus said, but then realised what he had said "Well, guess we should just stick together then, till you can do it?"
"Yes, sir!" Yuna smiled.
"The match is about to begin" Lulu spoke up suddenly.
Our opponents were two young male duelists from Djose as I had heard, named Guy and Dran. They seemed excited that they were facing off against two Temple Champions and were considered to be quite a good tag team, as well as refreshingley, quite friendly. Tara was making nice nice with them before the match was beginning, but I was absent from that. My stare was straight up at Mika's booth at Sephiroth, and the bastard was staring right back at me with that smirk of his.
"Just you wait, this is what im gonna do to you" I think.
Making our way to our respective duelist postions, the match began.
"DUEL!"
Kaiser 4000 Tara 4000 Guy 4000 Dran 4000
"Ill go first!" Dran said drawing. "I play Graceful Charity!" He said drawing then discarding. "Then I play Seven Coloured Fish in attack mode!"
In a water cascade, Drans monster appeared, exactly as it was described, it was, a large fish with sharp teeth coloured in the colurs of the rainbow.
7 Coloured Fish 1800/800
"I set two cards face down and end my turn"
"Then I draw!" Tara said. "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in defence mode!"
Tara's earth based hero appeared on the field, kneeling proudly with its arms crossed as a defensive wall
Elemental Hero Clayman 800/2000
"I also set two cards and end my turn"
"On to me!" Guy said. "I play Monster Reborn! And summon from Dran's graveyard, the Legendary Fisherman!"
In another watercascade, a war painted man riding what looked like a small dolphin appeared on the field, wielding a harpoon, he rode around on waves before stopping
The Legendary Fisherman 1850/1600
"I set a card and end my turn"
Even though I heard it was my turn, I hadnt moved. My eyes were still trained on Sephiroth. For what seemed like hours I continued to stare at him, and even the crowd had begun to murmour. In the end, Sephiroth stood up and addressed the crowd.
"It is your turn Kaiser" He declared. "You must make a move or forefit the match"
Tara and the other duelists were looking at me to see what I would do, and putting a hand to my deck to draw, I narrow my eyes.
"Ill give you a fucking move you monster" I think
"DRAW!" I declare, instantly drawing cheers. "I play Heavy Storm! All spells and traps on the field are destroyed!"
As a torrent of a hurricane appeared on the field from my magic card, to destroy the others on the field, the players shielded themselves from it while Tara was furious.
"What in Sin are you doing?!" She cried out
"Next I play Future Fusion!" I say not listening. "Selecting Chimeratech Overdragon to be fusion summoned in two of our standby phases, however I now have to send the materials to the graveyard! Three Cyber Dragons! Three Cyberdarks! Two Cyber Phoenix's! Three Cyber Valleys! Cyber Barrier Dragon! And Cyber Laser Dragon!"
Taking the thirteen monsters from my deck, I quickly place them in the graveyard before continuing.
"Next I play Overload Fusion! Removing from play all my monsters from my graveyard to summon Chimeratech Overdragon!"
The massive dragon appeared on the field, but unlike the duel will Leo, this time it had thirteen heads.
Chimeratech Overdragon ?/?
"When my monster appears, it sends all other cards on our field to the graveyard!"
Tara gasped as her Clayman dissappeared into pyreflies, before quickly turning to fury again.
"Kaiser! Are you even thinking of me in this duel!" She shouted.
"Overdragons attack stands at eight hundred multipled by the monsters removed so its attack is ten thousand four hundred!" I say continuing on.
Chimeratech Overdragon 10400/10400
"Overdragon can attack all your monsters with its effect! Attack and win! Evolution Resort Burst!"
Overdragons heads charged up energy rays from its mouths as two sets of heads converged them into two energy beams shooting across the field, the seven coloured fish and Fishermanwere destroyed in cries of agony at such an attack. As the overflow damage continued onward, both Guy and Dran were sent flying backwards to land in a heap on the ground.
Kaiser 4000 Tara 4000 Guy 0 Dran 0
"Whoa" Wakka said shocked.
"He beat them both at once!" Yuna exclaimed.
"Impressive display" Lulu added.
"Thats why he's the man!" Tidus exclaimed before whistling.
"Yea! Go Kaiser!" Nomi shouted whistling again and succeeding!
Across the stadium, a man was standing in what looked like a red coat with sunglasses, carrying a massive sword on his back
"So the Dark Warrior has already arisen" He intoned.
The crowd errupted in cheers at such a powerful monster and with a smirk of triumph on his face, Sephiroth called for silence.
"The winner of this duel in a sweeping victory is Tara and Kaiser!"
Sephiroth pierced me with his gaze as I pierced him right back, I could almost feel my face turning red with rage.
"Just you wait... much worse is coming for you" I think
Apologies if this chapter is a bit short, for there is a reason.
I now want some audience input! I know a few people are reading this and hopefully more to come, so a request is in order!
A review on how you want the next few chapters to proceed. I am more than willing to write duels for the full bracket of the Tag Duels with Tara and Kaiser, but if you want me to continue onward, I can skip ahead, otherwise ill do every duel. Let me know in a review!