Chapter 24:

The hallway that led to the underground arena had gotten more stains since the last time Blake had been here. He didn't know if it they were left intentionally, but they brought back some unpleasant memories. It'd been what, two years, maybe three since his stomach had last turned after a duel? All the stress that came with the shocks, the screams, the cheers, and taunts. The scenes flashing in his mind disgusted him, and he hoped that soon he wouldn't have to return here anymore. Then again, he wouldn't let someone else claim what was his just like that. He'd fought tooth and nail, so there's no way his pride would allow anyone to take his achievements from him. Especially by a notorious cheater.

He rolled his shoulders and stretched upwards, both to get his mind of that thought and to sooth his strained muscles. It had taken all day yesterday and today to put together a new set of shelves, fix the coffee machine, and change tires on Katherine's car. He'd have some time for himself after tonight was over and he doubted his guardian could put much more work on him than that. But it was only fair for him to pay her back for everything she'd done. He didn't want to imagine where he'd be without her, or if he'd ever gotten the chance to get anywhere without her help. At least they'd stopped at a few cards stores before. While he blew most of the money he'd made over the past two months, now that he didn't have to worry about tuition anymore, he was confident he'd perfected his deck with the given roster of cards available. If only he could get his hands on some chaos cards, then his deck would become truly unbeatable, but those cards were so rare there weren't even prices online.

He grabbed the wrist of his left hand to stop the spasms that intensified with every step he took towards the arena, brushing over his open scars as he did. Since the shock collars were going to be put over them anyway, he didn't see a reason to put anything on to hide them. Katherine had even told him to stop hiding them altogether, something along the lines of him 'being proud of what he'd achieved', but she'd a weird tone when she told him, almost like Kami when they'd first met. Maybe she's right, but before he'd change that he'd have to clear up some things with the rest of his … friends.

The audience up in the stands greeted him with a mix of clapping, cheers, and boos. He pushed up his hat with a sole finger to take a brief look as one of the workers put the collars on him. After what'd happened with Panik they'd changed the procedure so they couldn't be messed with anymore, no doubt fearing that their intended winner would take too much damage from any tempered gadgets. It looked like around half of the audience was against him, maybe more. He liked those odds, reminded him of the blue-wearing shitheads. On the opposite site, a tall man with dirty blonde hair and a matching full beard entered the arena. On his head was a bandana with the colours of the American flag on it, a pair of sunglasses hid his eyes, some weathered blue jeans and a roughed up brown coat over more blue completed the look. The man hadn't aged well, but at least the beard gave him some dignity, probably the only one he had.

"Ladies and gentleman, tonight we have a spectacle waiting for all of you! Defending his title is the young man that defeated our previously undefeated champion; some call him a dueling prodigy, others call him a real moneymaker. But we here at the Abyss Arena have another name for him; the vicious Hound!" The sharply dressed announcer shouted and the response was the same as when he'd entered. It was a good thing he hadn't eaten much, as his stomach already started to turn and the scene overlapped with the first time he'd walked into this arena.

"Coming for the title of the Abyss Arena's champion and true king of the underworld is a man that has made his rounds all across the land and conquered every arena he came across to collect them like jewels for his crown. Now he's come here to collect his final one, but cane he claim this last gem from its rabid owner? I present to you; the Bandit King!" The man in question grinned, the audiences' cheers resounding louder and longer for him. He sized up his shorter opponent while the collars were put on them, before he spat out to the side.

"What, you're telling me the great champion of this arena is a little brat?" The man laughed as he started their pre-duel banter. "Shouldn't you be in bed like the good little puppy you are?"

"Then who'd kick your ass back in the dirt where it belongs, gramps? What's it called again, America?" Blake shot back disinterestedly, unimpressed by the lame opening. "Quite the worthless kingdom you've got, but that's to be expected if someone like you managed to get to the top."

A vein on the man's forehead popped visible and his tone got louder. "That's a lot of bark without bite. Aren't you the scared little mutt here? You're already shacking, I doubt it'll take long putting you down for good."

"You're right, this won't take long at all." Blake sneered back as he reeled in his shacking arm. He doubted that someone like his opponent would be able to make a dent in the plan he had for this duel. "Good thing you're used to being beaten by children at every turn, right, Keith?"

His opponents' muscles bulged underneath his cloak as he whipped up his arm to activate his duel disk. Blake had to hold back his laughter; the man was so easily riled up. "Hit a nerve, mister Bandit? Did you remember how you lost to a random nobody who barely knew how the game worked back in Duelist Kingdom? Or was it the time a child beat you with simple written instructions in the middle of your duel?" He readied his own duel disk and waited for the announcer to leave the arena.

The lights dimmed and now only highlighted the battlefield between them. No flamethrowers came out of the ground this time around, which was nice. The coinflip made Blake go first, so he drew for turn. 'I doubt there will be any problems with the collars this time around. The only problem that could and most likely will arise is that fucker trying to cheat his way through the duel.' He looked at the attire of his opponent once more. The brown cloak gave plenty of hidden space with its sleeves reaching down to his opponent's hands. That together with the low light and the audiences attitude gave him the feeling that they wanted him to lose. He'd been on their payroll for a while and neither he nor his guardian were easily played by the arena's managers, so he understood that. It didn't mean that he'd give them what they wanted, however. (Blake 4000 / Bandit 4000)

"I summon Armageddon Knight and use its effect to send a Dark monster from my deck to the graveyard." His monster appeared and shot a blast of dark energy at his duel disk to set up his regular defence (1400/1200). "Then I set a face-down and that's it. You got all of that or should I repeat myself a bit slower?" He mocked and ended his turn.

His opponent scoffed at him. "I've been doing this longer than you're alive, mutt. You better keep your mouth shut before I take more than just your title."

"You've been dueling for that long and still suck that hard? Man, you really should retire."

"I summon Twin-Barrel Dragon in attack mode and activate its effect to-" Keith announced only to see the bipedal mechanical raptor with a gun for a face fall into a seemingly bottomless hole.

"Yeah, no you won't."

The man gritted his teeth but even in the low light Blake could see him smirk right after. "Well, with your little trap out of the way I activate Pot of Greed! Next, I activate Ancient Rules to summon Zoa from my hand!" Whether Keith actually drew from his duel disk or his sleeve wasn't so easily seen as the smirk, but he was quickly hidden behind a self-unfolding scroll that held the picture of a fiend which sprung out of it immediately to reveal the blue-skinned demon (2600/1900). "Crush that puny monster!"

The demon dashed forward and slammed its giant claw down on its target, shattering its image instantly (Blake 2800 / Bandit 4000). The crowd cheered as the sparks flew right off the shock collars, but Blake barely noticed them, wondering if they'd changed the output on those things. Keith then ended his turn with a face-down himself.

'He set Metalmorph, 100 percent. Not like it'll do him any good.' Blake thought as he went over his options. 'Since he's most likely going to go even bigger, why not let him blow up himself?' He wordlessly put down a monster and two new cards for his backrow and passed back.

"That's what I thought. Hide away with the tail between your legs. You should thank me for putting you out of your misery once I'm done crushing you." His opponent barked but didn't go for the play Blake had anticipated. "Watch me clean-up those puny traps with this; Snipe Hunter!" A purple imp-like demon clothed in a black appeared, a laser gun with a roulette wheel on top of it in its gun, and its face grinning in anticipation with his long tongue flopping out (1500/600). "Now I'll just discard a card, target another, and let my monster spin the wheel. Anything but a 1 or 6 destroys the target."

Although annoyed he wouldn't get the results he wanted this turn, Blake couldn't help but laugh at his opponent. "Really? Are you so salty about losing to Wheeler that you copy his strategy? If you can call gambling a strategy to begin with."

"You won't be laughing when I mop the floor with you, punk." Keith growled back and discarded one card, the roulette landing on a 3 resulted in the first backrow blowing up. The process repeated itself with a 2 this time, and another time with a 4, leaving Blake's whole field empty, just like his opponent's hand. "See how outclassed you are now? I'd offer you to surrender, but I think your smart mouth needs some fixing. I activate Metalmorph and equip my Zoa with it, which allows me to send both of them to the grave to summon Metalzoa from my deck!"

The fiend got enveloped in a hue of shiny metal before its whole body morphed into a mechanical form, that replaced its flesh with cold hard metal (3000/2300). "Tremble before the might of a monster equal to that of the legendary Blue-Eyes! Now, put that dog down for good!" the mechanized demon shot forth in a burst of smoke, its claws cackling with dark lightning as it went for the killing blow, but it was obvious that its owner didn't check the graveyard beforehand.

"Nah, I banish Necro Gardna from my graveyard to stop your attack. For someone who's played for this long I would've thought you knew to check all your opponent's resources." Blake said in response to the attack, not happy about the position he's in now but nonetheless confident that his plan would come to fruition. 'And Metalzoa is not equal to Blue-Eyes, look at all the cards you wasted for that piece of scrapmetal. The only thing worse would've been the Red-Eyes Metal Dragon.'

"Snipe Hunter, attack!" Came the frustrated shout of his opponent, a laser following right after. (Blake 700 / Bandit 4000)

Blake shrugged off the sparks from his collars and prepared the final act of the duel. "I activate Monster Reborn and summon your Zoa to my side of the field." He could've chosen something else, and was briefly surprised at what he found on his opponents' graveyard, but played ignorant to what he assumed would be coming next. The blue demon appeared once again (2600/1900) and snarled at its upgraded form before it followed its next order. "Snack up that little shit over there." The gunslinging imp was devoured soon after. (Blake 700 / Bandit 2900)

The mighty Bandit King twitched as the shocks hit him in response and let out a strained groan. "Stealing my monster won't save you, it's over!"

'Why's he acting like that? There's barely any voltage on those things. Did he cheat away his previous opponents so quickly he didn't get hit or never had them turned on before?' Blake wondered. "You can have it back, I got something better. Say bye-bye to Zoa and hello to Caius the Shadow Monarch." A dark portal opened behind the stolen blue fiend, out of which came an armoured boot that crushed it underneath the regal demon taking its place (2400/1000). "Caius' effect activates and banishes your little toy, and since it's Dark attributed you get a fat slap as well."

Metalzoa was hit by an orb of darkness that quickly pulled it in and shattered it. The left-over energy hit Keith in the chest and had him squirm under the shocks followed right after. (Blake 700 / Bandit 1900)

"I set my last card and end my turn. What's wrong, King? Is the shock therapy not to your liking?"

"You'll pay for this, right now!" His opponent snarled in response and made it rather obvious he didn't draw from his deck this time. "I activate Overload Fusion: I banish Blowback Dragon and Barrel Dragon from my graveyard and summon Gatling Dragon!" His opponent shouted at him with a strained voice. The two machines appeared and clashed together in a cloud of smoke, bits and parts flying off left and right before revealing a new monster. Its three heads were nothing but gatlings already trained at its opponent, the rest of its body made of black and red metal, and the legs of its previous forms switched out for a pair of big, spiked wheels. "My monster's effect activates! I flip a coin three times and the number of heads is the number of monsters on the field that'll get destroyed!"

Of course, the results were exactly what Keith needed to get rid of his opponents' monster, with only one of its guns firing and tearing apart the opposition. "Gatling Dragon, make Swiss cheese out of that little shit!"

"Didn't you forget something?" Blake asked with a smirk as he pointed at the set card in front of him, not caring about the three gun-heads beginning to spin while targeted at him. "I've got a little surprise left for everyone. Gatling Dragon, meet Ring of Destruction."

The three heads of the monster got squished together as a black ring appeared and stopped its attack. Flames began to light up all around the ring, to which Keith cried out in shock. "No!"

'Hooray for pre-errata cards.' Blake thought to himself before the explosion went off and ended the duel in a draw. His challenger was kicked of his feet and squirmed on the floor as the electricity ran through him, his cries of pain the only sound ringing through the stunned arena.

Katherine laughed loudly on their ride back. "You should've seen their faces up in the stands! If looks could kill then some heads would've rolled tonight, yours and mine included. With all those idiots either betting on you or that loser winning, none of them expected a draw. That'll be our biggest payout to date!"

'That it is, but …' "You think they'll get back on us for that?"

"Oh, they'll try, but they'll have to deal with the consequences of today first. People aren't happy about the results, so they must do a lot of damage control. With all the money from the winnings already in my account, that underground ring has served its purpose." She looked at him with glee as they stopped at a red light. "If they're foolish enough to go against us, we'll push your reputation a bit. Get rid of them altogether, and make even more money."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And how do you expect me to do that?"

"You're a prominent student in that academy of yours, with its head knowing about you and your history. Underground dueling is illegal, so what do you think would happen if you were to expose them to a high enough authority?" She gloated as a sinister smile ran across her face.

"They'll shut the whole thing down the first chance they get." He surmised, a devious grin crossing his face as well. "If we're lucky and Kaiba's in a good mood he might reward me as well. No better backer than Kaiba Corp if I'm to go pro after school."

"Then we'll have those guys off our backs, a shitload of money, and even more connections than before." She said and focused back on the road. "I'll handle the talk with Kaiba Corp and have your name come up in the news about that whole ring going down. With that, we can spin what happened into a tale of the tragic hero getting back on his tormenters after years of abuse, which'll surely give us even more in return. You can continue playing around on that island and build up your power for what comes afterwards."

'I knew that she was cunning, but if she planned all this and played the arena like a fiddle then I wonder what other plans she has.' Blake thought and laid back in his seat. 'I hope I'll never have to see that hellhole again after tonight, but if we do this then there won't be any more underground arenas around. How will we make money then?' He voiced his concerns but was quickly waved off.

"But that's nothing for you to worry about just yet. All you must do is play your part when things go down." She answered, keeping him in the dark until it mattered as usual. "But I doubt they'll try anything for the time being, they'll first have to deal with all the loses they made and with that failure they boosted to take you down."

"Mhm …" he hummed in response and thought back to when he and the others had split up a few days ago. Just how was he-

"Thinking about how to clue in your little friends?"

With a flinch, he straightened in his seat and saw how Katherine side-eyed him with a knowing smirk. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, she continued.

"Don't worry too much in that pretty little head of yours." She patted him on the head with faux concern, her eyes looked at him the same way a certain blue-haired girls did every time she gave him an order. "You did nothing wrong, didn't you? You tell them the same version we'll give the public and they'll eat it right up. And if they don't, well, in that case they aren't worth your time in the first place."

He felt himself nodding along and before long they arrived back home. 'She's right, there's nothing to worry about. Even if they don't accept me right away, they'll come around eventually. Bastion did, so why wouldn't they? And if they don't, they'll be as inconsequential as Syrus is. There's still Jaden and Kami in that case.' He went straight to his room and flung his clothes aside, before he threw himself into bed with a weird feeling. 'I know she's right, but why does it bother me? I was fine being along for years and now I'm suddenly so attached to people I have trouble even calling friends?'

'Funny, isn't it?' The voice of his draconic partner bellowed from above. 'Ever since the day before you got back here there was a teeny tiny speck of light underneath all the volatile darkness that is your energy. I think you've grown soft.' It added that last part with an amused snort.

'Since when can you read my thoughts?' Blake asked as he stared at the now visible spirit looming over him. 'And what's that about my energy?'

'I never said I couldn't, did I?' The dragon grinned. 'But it was harder before you started figuring out how DE works.'

'Tch, shitty lizard. I didn't even want anyone to hear this.'

'Maybe not consciously, but your energy's in turmoil about your little worries. It shouldn't be. That's a sign of weakness.'

'What did you want from me again? If this is all you've to say then kindly fuck off and let me sleep.' Blake growled at him.

The spirit laughed hoarsely. 'I came by to warn you. While you're save from those that trouble you at night for the time being, you can't let yourself be influenced like that. Not only is that babe playing you like a damn fiddle, that flicker of light is just the beginning. If you don't stabilise your energy, it'll become even more volatile.'

Blake once again cursed his partner for dropping so much on him at once, but especially the part about being played. 'You've no idea what you're talking about. I'm not being played, we're simply playing to our strengths. And how do you expect me to stabilise my energy anyway? I have no idea how to influence the nature of my energy, I've barely grasped using it to being with.'

'You could balance out the light and dark, but that'd a waste of time. Just squash the little thing, you've no need of that. No matter what those punks in the in-between might say, the darkness reigns supreme, as you can see with me.'

'… you mean the chaos monsters?' He wondered. No matter what the dragon told him, the chaos monsters were the strongest at this point in time, at least as cards. If he got his hands on those, he wouldn't have to worry about what would come in the future. And if he could attract them by balancing out his energy, rather than streamline it … but how would he even do that?

'Yes! Those pretentious fucks think they're the strongest and parade themselves around as they try to lead the other spirits. If I ever get my claws on one, I'll rip them apart!'

Blake scoffed, if battles between spirits had anything in common with their strength in a duel then the only one his partner could beat was the Chaos Sorcerer. And even that only in terms of numbers, effects were a whole different story. He's used to the dragon being ready to fight everything and everyone, but his partners fixation on darkness started to bother him. If he remembered correctly then darkness itself, or at least an entity of it, was be the final boss of the original story. So, was it really a good idea to stay the way he was? Banner was interested in both Jaden and him because of their energy, what if that energy could be used against them? Could he become another Nightshroud if he continued the way his partner wanted him to? After all, Atticus didn't have a bad bone in him and got possessed super easily if it happened like how he remembered. He himself on the other hand would be a much easier target, but for that to be a factor he'd have to encounter the current Nightshroud first.

He could, of course, take Banner's deal and play double agent. That way he'd be able to give the ones guarding the spirit keys intel on their opponents without having to come up with explanations on how he knew about them. That'd make it safer for everyone involved, but could also make changes he wouldn't be ready for. He'd come up with a solution in time, for now he focused on opening up to his female friends and hopefully having a good time at the next tournament.

And that's it. Sorry about the late post, I got blindsided by a sudden and long stay in the hospital. Unfortunately I died, but I survived! I originally wanted to post this chapter on the stories half-year anniversary, which how the story started and what happend this time I found it rather fitting, but sadly couldn't do so. That said, it was a pleasant surprise to see the story surpassing 300 follows when I got back and was fit enough to sit down and post this.

So, Bandit Keith wasn't much of a challenge, as was to be expected. One reviewer pointed out how he could've used a Machina-deck, but I felt that giving the man some cards that make it easy to cheat with would be more fitting, along with some throwbacks at the original show. With the way he's dealt with, the sub-plot with the underground dueling slowly nears its end while highlighting the way Blake and his guardian handle things.

We'll have one more chapter that'll deal with the girls and the little random-deck tournament that was brought up last chapter before going back to Duel Academy and getting the real meat of season one going. While the group adopted Dimitri last time, he won't be that important and more like an ally picked up early.

With that said, thanks everyone for reading and reviewing, and I'll hope to have you around next time as well! Peace ~