The Darkness civilization had changed over the years. Gone was the skull moon which once gloomily shone above its desolate grounds. Now it was replaced with a dark sun which had poisonous rays to anyone who did not belong to that forsaken realm. Since the other civilizations had all moved into a 'World Pillar', that left the entire planet to the expansion of Darkness. When it came to inner affairs, the rule had also changed. Gone were the once mighty Demon Command Dragons, they had now been replaced by the slick Mafi Gangs.
In the civilization's former capital, Demon Wolf, which was a wolf-shaped castle located on a mountain's edge and looking as if it were howling to the moon, the few survivors of the older races dwelled, most of whom refused to integrate with the Mafi Gang race. One of the bottom floor's doors opened and loud music echoed from inside. The Funky Knightmares, a race of sentient plush toys who loved partying and suicide followed by a quick sowing, were throwing one of their wildest celebrations yet. A lone plushie walked out, but soon a voice called out.
"Bochiborof, where the hell are you going? We're having a booze drinking contest in an hour or so!"
"I'm out to get some air, Ninjariban! Y'all can start it without me!" And thus he slammed the door shut.
Bochiborof had a pretty short stature when compared to some of the stronger Funky Knightmares. He was a purple wolf plushie who wore brown shoes, a pair of black pants, a golden belt, a pair of red boxing gloves, a golden chain on his neck and a red bandana on his forehead. His hair had grown long, reaching his feet, and two golden spikes were on his shoulders, matching his belt and chain. His blue eyes were tired, betraying not only drunkenness, but also rage. Just before leaving that party, Duenyan Emperor, the self-proclaimed leader of his race, had beaten him in a wrestling match. It was a pretty humiliating defeat too. Just thinking of that black cat's smug smirk was enough to make him want to punch something hard.
"When I'll get my hands on that good for nothing fat cat, I'll knock him and his entire family of dumpster divers into oblivion! Nobody orders me around when I've been this civilization's hero for such a long time! Just who the fuck does this lard ass think he is to call himself 'leader' out of nowhere, huh? Actually, just how retarded can my brothers be to accept him?" Bochiborof ranted to himself as he descended the mountain, wandering its deep dark forests. "Now that I think about it, they must be very retarded. Over half a decade all we've done is party like no tomorrow and not do anything for our civilization. I never thought I'd grow tired of having fun…" He took a deep breath and looked through the tree branches at the dark sky. "Oh, how I long for the good old days with Demon Subaru-sama. Back then we both tapped into the highest powers of the Darkness civilization and brought it to the very top. Why, we were almost ready to take over the universe itself! But then they had to stop us," he spoke with a tone of loathing. "No draghearts, no Demon Command Dragons, I feel so useless now. If only the master were still in the human world, maybe those ugly Mafi Gangs would've known better than to take over our proud realm!"
All of a sudden, the short plush toy bumped into a tall humanoid dressed in an elegant purple robe and having a grey hat cover his dark face from which only the shining red eyes were distinguished. Angered by this inconvenience, Bochiborof got up and was quick to shout, "Hey, watch where the hell you're sitting, fat ass!"
Georges Bataille, who was relaxing after a hard day of politics with the other six kings of the Darkness civilization, did not bother to acknowledge the little wolf's presence. This only served to fuel Bochiborof's rage, who kept yelling at him.
"Don't you dare ignore me like you're too high and mighty! Why in my day, the likes of you would've kissed the ground that proud warriors like me walked on! All that you can do is sit down all day and move your trap like no tomorrow, if that were so effective then why the hell are we now on the bottom of the barrel?!"
The noise was beginning to slightly annoy the Mafi Gang leader, so in the end lowered his head and coldly gazed at the Funky Knightmare.
"You want a fight, big guy?" Bochiborof jumped in a battle stance, his boxing gloves ready for punching. "Come at me, I'll show you that even without draghearts or any special powers, I'll kick you out of the Darkness civilization with my bare fists!"
Georges Bataille said nothing and simply watched the smaller creature punch his leg with no effect whatsoever. Such small fish were only good for physical labors, but the one sitting in front of him was anything but obeying. As such, he was of no use to him. The Mafi Gang picked up the wolf plushie by his long mane and raised him to his head's level, speaking in a calm yet ominous voice:
"You wish to be useful?"
"I am a thousand times more useful than you!" Bochiborof proudly claimed as he aimlessly punched the air.
"Then go bother the humans," Georges Bataille dismissively replied and tossed him into a portal.
Demon Subaru hid in an alleyway's shadows and watched how the police and forensics were inspecting his latest crime scene. The couple he had murdered a few hours ago lay with their insides out on the cold sidewalk. Besides his way of killing, he laid no clue that would ever help them track him down. Their desperate efforts amused him, and the fear that they tried to suppress was feeding his power ever so well. Yes, the new body that he had was getting stronger and stronger. Who knew, maybe with time he would have been able to manifest his demonic powers with ease, or maybe even reveal his true form. But until then, he had to focus on the present. Ahead of him lay two choices: following Hajime or starting to collect All Over The World's parts. While he was curious to see if Hajime would have been able to grow stronger as a duelist and eventually find him, the prospect of regaining the power of all five civilizations was equally appealing.
Pow!
Something fell into a trash can. It disturbed his thoughts. Demon Subaru turned around and inspected the alleyway. If someone had been spying on him, his claws were ready to paint another crime scene. All of a sudden, a familiar purple head with a white face popped out of the garbage of a trash can. The travel had sobered up Bochiborof, who was quick to get out of the mess and attempt cleaning his body. But as he looked around, he had the pleasant surprise of witnessing a figure that was twice taller than him. Despite the newly-acquired hooded black jacket, he would have recognized that face in a thousand. Immense joy flowed through his plush body, he felt as if he were flying. Demon Subaru himself was also surprised to see that creature, it had been so long that he had almost forgotten how he actually looked like, then again the Funky Knightmare's looks did change.
"Master, it's really you!" Bochiborof happily screamed and jumped to hug him.
He was soon silenced by a swift punch in the head which threw him into the ground, a lump growing out of his scalp. Demon Subaru leaned to him and whispered, "Stay quiet, we don't need to attract the cops' attention."
"Understood…" the dizzy creature moaned.
That was indeed an unexpected turn of events. Demon Subaru took Bochiborof in his arms and carefully snuck out of the alleyway, making his way through the night. They headed to a safer place where he was sure that the authorities would not stick their nose in, for the moment at least – the park near the college. He placed the toy on a bench and gave him a moment to recollect his thoughts. The purple wolf inspected their surroundings and realized that secretly he longed for the concrete jungle of the human world and the cleaner air of their nature.
Demon Subaru initiated their conversation, "Why are you in this current state? Last I recall, you had different looks, Hellborof."
"I don't go by that name anymore. You may call me Bochiborof," the creature corrected him.
"How so?"
"I've weakened significantly since the Devil Corrupt King abandoned me. I've also grown bored back home since I'm no longer needed by the current establishment. So you can say that I've pretty much… thrown myself back here."
"I see."
"What about you, Demon Subaru-sama? How did you manage to return?"
"Keh, not even the Abyss is strong enough to keep me in eternal slumber. Somehow I've managed to escape it and reincarnate back here in a human body, one that is identical to Subaru Geki's youthful form."
"What?! You mean to tell me that you are now separate from him?!"
"Yes, and now that I am back, I seek to regain the power which I have lost and recover all five pieces of All Over The World. That won't be a hard task since the chosen duelists are all too old to even attempt stopping me."
"Why that is great news, master! This time around it will be a piece of cake for you to claim what is truly yours!"
"There is however a human who is fascinating me. He is the grandson of the former chosen duelist of Light."
"Hah, to think that those fools actually reproduced, let alone have grandchildren…"
"I know. But still, before I fully unleash my plans, I want to test the boy's intelligence and see if he can find me."
"Wherever you'll go, master, I swear I will loyally follow you!" Bochiborof claimed as he got up from the bench. "That is, of course, if you allow me to serve you once more."
"Keh, fair point." Demon Subaru slyly smiled as he took out his deck. "How about you prove your worth to me this time in a duel?"
"A duel?!"
"Why not? After all, only the strong are allowed to follow my path."
The offer was quite unexpected. Bochiborof had never dueled against someone who was not part of his own kin. Still, if that was the way for him to once more be at the top of the world, he had no other choice. Taking out a deck from his pants' pockets, he walked to the park's dueling table and jumped on it, beginning to set his cards. Demon Subaru went to the opposing side and set his own cards as well. Even though it was going to be a normal duel, none of them took it lightly.
"I summon BloodRayne, Start Dash." Demon Subaru was the first to place a card into the battle zone.
"I summon School Man and destroy both him and BloodRayne." Bochiborof countered his opponent's very first move.
"I summon Hell Mission, Dark Armor."
"My master is also using Dark Knightmares now? I feel kind of insulted."
"Just play." Demon Subaru waved dismissively.
"Hmph, I cast Bone Dance Charger." Ninjariban, Dragon Edge and Memento Guardian Shrine, Prison Court of D both landed into the plushie's graveyard.
"You're using Light? Now I'm the one feeling insulted that a minion of mine would do such a disgrace."
"Just play." Bochiborof waved back in the same dismissive manner.
"Very well, I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation."
"Trying to stall me? Sorry to say it, master, but it won't help you for long – I summon Tigernitro, Explosive Devil."
"Kehehe, what a misplay you've done! I have just one card left in my hand, Tigernitro's Mana Arms 5 discard will be for nothing!"
"Don't worry, Demon Subaru-sama, the game has just begun!"
"Yes, for me, that is! I summon Vader, Dark Armor. I end my turn and use Vader's effect," Jenny, the Dismantling Doll fell into his graveyard and he drew a card.
"It's time for me to show my true form!" The purple wolf excitedly tapped five mana cards and placed a new card on the field. "I summon Bochiborof, Aloof Fighter!"
Demon Subaru blinked and looked better at the card which resembled Borof's latest incarnation.
"It has slayer and when it's put into the battle zone you put the top 3 cards of your deck into your graveyard and return a creature to your hand. A slayer Honenbe?"
"Don't be quick to dismiss it!" his opponent confidently replied as he put Hayabusamaru, Lightfang Ninja, Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge and Magnum, Allshot Doll into his graveyard. "I take Magnum back to my hand and end."
"Whatever you're planning, I'll be sure to deal with it before you even start it! I summon Ninjariban, Dragon Edge and bring out Demon Wolf, Soul Eating Moonlight Castle. I end my turn and once more use Vader's effect." Savage, Forbidden U went into his graveyard and he drew again.
"I summon Magnum, Allshot Doll. Turn end."
"Keh, that's it? You disappoint me, Bochiborof. I'm afraid it's time for me to show you true power – Dragsolution! Demon Wolf becomes Minagorosseo, Wolf Demon Dragon! And now…" Demon Subaru placed his hand on the top card of his deck, which began to glow purple. "Let the true duel begin!" He quickly drew and slammed the card on the table, cracks beginning to grow in its middle. "I summon Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge!" A small purple light emanated from the card and then a winged and horned wolf plushie wielding a scythe emerged out of it, howling as the dueling table eventually broke in two.
It was then that the five shields of both players materialized along with their creatures. A purple armored knight wielding a sword and a shield, a fat ghost with a big mouth in its stomach, a grayish brown knight with a large shield, a blue ninja plushie and a dark blue demonic wolf building joined Hellborof on Demon Subaru's side, while a yellow tiger plushie holding two pieces of dynamite and an armed blue cowboy doll were on Bochiborof's side along with a copy of himself.
"Hellborof's effect, I put the top two cards of my deck into the graveyard and bring out Welcome Hell, Supreme Devil King Palace!" Death Hands, Misfortune Emperor and School Man fell into Demon Subaru's graveyard as a winged demonic palace descended from a hole in the sky, bringing out another blue ninja plush as well, this one holding a red shuriken. "Welcome Hell's effect, I revive another Ninjariban and equip him with Migawari, Nightmare Swastika!"
"Magnum's effect, whenever you bring out a creature without paying its cost, you must choose and destroy one of your creatures!" Bochiborof intervened.
"Keh, I choose Hell Mission." Demon Subaru crossed his arms and watched the cowboy doll shoot his purple knight. "When Hell Mission leaves the battle zone, I destroy one of your untapped creatures, so I'll take down Tigernitro too!" One of the knight's swords came out of the shooting's explosion and stabbed the yellow tiger plushie, destroying it as well. "Ninjariban, attack and Welcome Hell revives Jenny, the Dismantling Doll!" The white haired doll wearing a dark red dress and wielding a razor weapon arose and forced Bochiborof to reveal the only remaining card in his hand, which was Duenyan Emperor, and he was forced to discard it. "Then with your Magnum's effect, I'll destroy my attacking Ninjariban and stop his attack!" Once more the cowboy doll aimed its gun and this time it shot down one of the blue ninjas.
"You did that to keep me without cards in hand…"
"Exactly. And now I end my turn and use Vader's effect." Black Psycho, Revenge fell into Demon Subaru's graveyard, causing him to draw. "Dragsolution! I destroy Ninjariban, Minagorosseo, Vader and Jenny and flip Welcome Hell to Deathgoros, Supreme Devil Corrupt King! Ninjariban stays and Migawari flips directly to Utsusemihenge, Blame Demon Dragon!" The winged palace fired two beams from itself upon the remaining blue ninja, wolf demon, brown knight and white haired doll, destroying all except for the ninja, and the shuriken transformed into a black ninja Demon Command Dragon, after which the palace cracked open and revealed a dark purple Demon Command Dragon with a horned serpent head and a red scythe in its hands. "With the effect of Deathgoros, I destroy your Magnum and Bochiborof!" The red scythe was tossed like a boomerang and its blade slashed to pieces the remaining opposing creatures.
Bochiborof stepped back as he looked at the five creatures on his opponent's field. There was no way he could hope to recover from such a situation. Drawing his next card, he quickly did his move.
"I summon Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge and send the top two cards of my deck into the graveyard, then I bring out Welcome Hell, Supreme Devil King Palace and with its effect I evolve Hellborof into Duenyan Emperor! Turn end."
"That won't help you much, I summon BloodRayne, Start Dash. Deathgoros, attack and I revive Ninjariban, Dragon Edge which brings out Demon Wolf, Soul Eating Moonlight Castle. Deathgoros, triple break his shields!" Demon Subaru ordered and the demonic dragon used its scythe to slash away three opposing shields.
"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Ninjariban, Dragon Edge whom I equip with Migawari, Nightmare Swastika!"
"It's for naught! Hellborof, break his final shields!" Another order came from Demon Subaru and the winged wolf plush flew towards the remaining two shields and slashed them with its own scythe.
Silence befell upon the scene as Bochiborof checked those cards. He needed just a certain piece to be in the right place, and from then on he would have been safe. His entire future relied on it. Gulping, he raised both to his face. And then his eyes widened with surprise. Demon Subaru tapped his foot and passively asked, "Well?"
"Shield trigger activate!" Bochiborof shouted, his relief ever so obvious. "I summon Holy, Flash Guardian!"
"What the…?"
"With its effect I tap all of your creatures!"
A white jet creature descended from the skies and fired a bright beam upon all of Demon Subaru's creatures, binding each of them, their owner scoffing.
"Tsh, I end here. Let's see what you can do now. You're simply on borrowed time."
"I beg to disagree." The little wolf slyly smiled, which caught his opponent's interest. "My turn, I summon Magnum, Allshot Doll! Demon Wolf gives slayer to each of your creatures, right? Then I attack one of your Ninjaribans with Duenyan Emperor and both die!" The black cat plush lashed at the blue ninja plush, both of which disappeared in an explosion. "When Duenyan is destroyed, I can revive all Funky Knightmares under it, so I bring back Hellborof and mill two cards from my deck. Then I equip Hellborof with Go To Hell, Annihilator Blade and with its effect I can revive a Funky Knightmare that costs 5 or less, so I evolve Hellborof into Duenyan once more!" The fat black cat reappeared once more, this time wielding a bone scythe. "Magnum's effect, I brought out two creatures for free, so I destroy Ninjariban once, Migawari flips to Karakurigaeshi, Ninja Mansion and he stays, then I destroy Ninjariban a second time for good and Karakurigaeshi flips to Utsusemihenge, Blame Demon Dragon!" The cowboy doll fired two shots at the ninja, destroying him and causing his shuriken to become a black ninja Demon Command Dragon. "Duenyan, attack another Ninjariban and Go To Hell revives my own Ninjariban with Fanbai, Dragon Flower Fan!" A blue ninja reappeared, this time wielding a blue fan, after which the cat lashed at an opposing ninja, both of them disappearing in an explosion. "With Duenyan's, Hellborof's and Go To Hell's effects, I reset my creature! I brought out three creatures for free, so Magnum destroys Holy and targets Utsusemihenge twice. Utsusemihenge's effect, it stays and I return eight cards from my graveyard back into my deck!" The cowboy doll now blew the white jet with one of its bullets and then it shot the ninja dragon twice, but the latter resisted its attacks. "Now… I attack with Duenyan and Go To Hell revives Bochiborof, Aloof Fighter which mills three cards from my deck! Magnum destroys Duenyan and I reset it, Hellborof mills two more cards, and then Magnum shall also destroy Bochiborof and Utsusemihenge!"
Demon Subaru narrowed his eyes as he saw his opponent repeat the last moves over and over. He was sacrificing five cards from his deck and then recovering four, basically milling a card with each cycle. And to top it off, Magnum kept destroying his attacking Duenyan, thus rendering useless any opposing block, ninja strike or shield trigger. Whatever Bochiborof was planning, Demon Subaru would not be able to stop it. During the loop of destruction in which the royal cat was shot down by the cowboy doll, only for the winged purple wolf to use its bone scythe of revival to bring the proud feline back from the dead, causing the cowboy to turn its guns to the ninja dragon that could not be harmed, he noticed that at one point Bochiborof did not focus on emptying his deck, but instead he had evolved that Fanbai-wielding Ninjariban into a second Duenyan Emperor. The whole graveyard-filling trick was but a distraction to his true intentions, which lied in those three particular cards. Bochiborof had noticed the suspicious look that Demon Subaru was casting him, so he decided to distract him some more, by momentarily pausing the loop and sacrificing his Duenyan equipped with Go To Hell on the weaker BloodRayne and Time Tripper, which still had slayer from Demon Wolf. His opponent decided to play along and faked being oblivious. As more time passed, his patience was beginning to wear off, so eventually he snapped in a calm passive aggressive manner.
"How long do you think you can keep on with your cheap tricks?"
"I'm almost there." Bochiborof wiped the sweat off of his face and checked his deck. "Yes, I have five cards left! Pay attention, Demon Subaru-sama, you'll love this!"
"Keh, let's see what you've labored so much to set up."
"I attack with Duenyan and Go To Hell revives Bochiborof. I mill three cards… and return a third Duenyan from the graveyard to my hand!"
"Ho? That's new."
"Magnum destroys Duenyan and then by its own effect as well as Hellborof's and Go To Hell's, I reset it. Magnum targets Bochiborof and Utsusemihenge. Then I attack with my other Duenyan and use Fanbai's effect to mill your deck!" The second royal cat meowed aggressively and waved its blue fan, causing the top card of the opposing deck to fall into the graveyard. "Invasion, I evolve that Duenyan into a third one! Then with Magnum's effect I destroy it! The third Duenyan's effect resets Ninjariban with Fanbai and the second Duenyan. Magnum targets Utsusemihenge twice and I return eight cards from the graveyard back into my deck. And now… I've reset my field."
"Impossible… you'll keep doing this loop over and over until I deck out." Demon Subaru widened his eyes in a rare display of genuine shock.
"Exactly, this is my power, master," Bochiborof proudly claimed. "Duenyan, attack and Go To Hell revi-"
"I've seen enough."
Much to the surprise of the wolf plushie, his opponent started packing his cards and called off all of his creatures.
"Demon Subaru-sama, what are you doing?"
"It's clear when I've lost, there is no point in continuing."
Thus Bochiborof called off his own creatures as well. As he packed up his deck, Demon Subaru walked by his side and spoke with a surprisingly proud tone in his voice, "Good job, I never expected such skill from you."
Bochiborof paused and stared at him with his now big blue eyes.
"Master…"
"You've proven your worth." Demon Subaru one shortly nodded, keeping a neutral expression.
"So does this really mean that I…?" Bochiborof was at a loss for words, he felt so happy that he was almost on the verge of tears, so he shook his head to compose himself and was quick to offer his deck to the other. "Here, this is a token of my loyalty."
Demon Subaru was also taken aback by the gesture. He never expected to be gifted with such a strong deck, but while he probably would not have used such a boring loop, the cards themselves were indeed tempting, so in the end he accepted the offer and slid it into his jacket's free pocket. His minion then broke the silence once more, this time by posing a question, "What is our next move?"
"We're headed to the college, tomorrow's a busy day."
"Understood!"
The late night's moon shone upon them as they both walked out of the park. With Demon Subaru by his side, Bochiborof had finally regained his purpose, and he would have done whatever it took to make sure that the two of them achieved their goals. With Bochiborof by his side, Demon Subaru had regained a loyal servant, and while at first he was indifferent to the idea of cooperating with others, he could not deny that in a way he was glad to have that little wolf keep him company like he did fifty years ago.