Attack of the Rogue Spirits
A/N: Card Pool does not match OCG release dates.
Red Hat and Yuma walked around the city until they made to the public park, which was currently empty at the moment. Searching for a place to sit down, Yuma insisted to sit on the grass field that was farther away. Nodding in agreement, the duo continued until they found a good enough spot to sit down.
Yuma laid down on her back with her hands behind her head. Red Hat sat down next to her, crossing his legs.
"I don't come here very much, but it's always a great place to relax when you just want to be left alone." Yuma giggled, not minding feeling the soft touch of the grass beneath her.
Red Hat looked around the field and nodded in agreement. "It's certainly feels that way. Nice and quiet at times compared to the city."
Yuma stared at him, trying to figure him out. "You don't talk too much, do you?" She said, more as a statement.
"I don't talk to people very often. Often, I can't hold a conversation…" He replied, refusing to look at her.
Yuma gave him a confused look. "You don't look anti-social. Why don't you speak often?"
"Nothing special really. I don't speak much unless I have something to say. Nothing personal." He simply stated, staring down at the field.
"Oh, I see. So, you're one of those type guys."
"Well, enough about me. What's your story? Specifically, what made you play HEROs? You don't have to tell me, if you don't have to." He asked, curious to know more about her.
"Well funny story about that. It all started when I was just a little girl." Yuma explained, remember why she decided to play such a deck.
Flashback
It was late into the evening as a young girl was walking alone through the city to get back home. However, as soon as she came up to an alleyway, she spotted three strong men attacking a young man, trying to steal his stuff. Not knowing any better, a young Yuma decided to throw a rock their way.
This did not sit well with them. "Hey! What the…" The three men looked in the direction where the rock was thrown only to spot a little girl. "Get out of here girly! This doesn't concern you!"
"Leave that man alone!"
All three laughed at her response. "Who's going to stop us? A shrimp like you? Get real!"
"Hey boss, let's capture her and use her as ransom!" One of the thugs suggested.
"Good idea!" The boss agreed. "Let's get her, men!"
As the three thugs began to charge right at the young girl. They were stopped rom what appeared to be a muscular alien warrior with pupilless blue eyes, had white armor with red streaks on it, and had a blue orb on the middle of its chest
"What the? Out of the way freak show!" The boss of the thugs demanded.
"Let them go!"
The three men turned around to spot a young man in a red jacket. His eyes were glowing orange and teal?
"Well well, what do we have here? Another freak show coming to the party!" The boss laughed. "Sick him, boys!" The two men charge right at the other man with the red jacket.
Glaring, the red jacket man retaliated. "Neos, attack them!" listening to his command, the alien warrior leaped away and karate chopped the two thugs. Knocking them out in the process.
This angered the boss as he noticed the man had nothing but a duel disk activated. What attacked his men was a duel monster? How can that be? Duel monsters are nothing but holograms. Just what kind of magic trick did he pull?
Not taking any chances, the boss took hold of a metal pipe and charged forward. "You're going to regret you ever tried that, freak show!"
The moment the thug's boss came close, he was grabbed in the head by a demonic arm, and suddenly, a demonic figure emerged. Still holding onto the thug in question. Unbeknownst to him, the red jacket man had another monster on the duel disk.
"Nightmare Pain!"
The thug began to scream as his head was first shocked with some sort of black electrical charge before being consumed by dark energy. Once he was weakened, the red jacket man elbowed the thug in the stomach and punched him in the face with enough force, knocking him out. He then tied up all three thugs together using a piece of rope that he found. For good measure, he even tied up their arms and legs.
Still standing at her spot, Yuma was amazed at what she just witnessed. It was like she watched super hero come to not only her rescue, but to save that poor young man. Completely oblivious to the two duel monsters suddenly vanishing, and the red jacket man eyes returning to normal as he deactivated his duel disk.
"That was so cool, Mister!" The Yuma cheered, walking up to him.
The red jacket man turned around and smiled at her. "I'm just glad you and this man are okay." He then gave her a stern look. "That was stupid you know? You shouldn't have tried to play hero like that. Who knows what those thugs could have done to you."
Yuma looked at her shoes, feeling down. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it. It wouldn't be right to let that man keep getting hurt."
"Still, you shouldn't have taken matters into your own hands. Being a hero is very dangerous and being a hero means nothing if you put yourself at risk. I should know, I've been traveling around the world helping people. That's not the kind a life you would want." The red jacket man explained.
"But then why do you do it, Mister? Is that like your job or something?" Yuma asked, now looking at him confused.
"That's a path I have already chosen for myself." He completely left out why he was doing what he was doing. He didn't want to burden the little girl with such depressing details. "Anyway, enough about me. I noticed you're into super heroes."
Yuma smiled and nodded. "Yeah! I like watching super heroes take action and take out the forces of evil! It's always so cool watching them save the people from the forces of evil." Yuma made a pose, pretending she was a hero.
This amused the man in the red jacket. "Your enthusiasm reminds me when I was a kid."
"Really?!"
"Sure does." The man reached behind his pocket and took out a card and handed it to her. "Why don't you take this card. Something tells me you'll like it."
Yuma happily accepting the card given to her, seeing it as some sort of honor. Flipping over the card, the card revealed to be a fusion monster. "An Elemental HERO monster? There's hero duel monster cards?"
"That's right. I long stopped caring that other people use hero decks like me. I realized the hero decks they make will never be the same as mine. Why should I stop them from enjoying hero decks too, right?"
The red jacket man turned around and notice his duel monster spirits emerged from behind him. 'I noticed she's willing to help those in need. She may need our help, something wrong may happen to her in the future.'
"You think so?" The red jacket man said quietly.
'I'm certain for sure. If you don't mind, you would allow us to accompany her for until she's able to handle things on her own?'
"If you say so… I trust your judgment." The red jacket man took out three more cards from his deck and gave them to Yuma. "Why don't you take these. Something tells me, they want to accompany you."
Yuma took a look at the cards and her eyes widened. One of the cards was the same monster that she just saw. Was this the monster that saved her? Naw, that can't be right, monsters just don't come to life… Do they? The other three cards were Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, Elemental HERO Neos and the fusion that required both monsters, Elemental HERO Grand Neos.
"You really want me to have these cards? It's a bit much, I don't think I deserve such a gift, mister." Yuma said, wanting to decline her gift.
The red jacket man denied her request and insisted. "Want to know a small story. I made the designs of those two cards when I was a kid. I was lucky my designs were chosen to be real cards. I'm entrusting them to you because I believe you can use them effective and build your own style of a hero deck." The red jacket man left out a lot of troublesome details, but was best never to bring them up.
"Really?" Yuma giggled at his explanation. "So, I can build a hero deck like you? Awesome, this will be so much fun! I'll take good care of them, mister."
The red jacket man chuckled. "Not exactly like mine, but your heart is in the right place. Have fun building a hero deck that matches your style. Remember, while duels are meant to be fun, there's a time and place for having fun and being in a serious situation. Remember that, okay?"
"I'll never forget that mister. Thank you!"
"You're welcome, and take care!" The red jacket man would soon call the police to take the thugs away.
Yuma began running back home with the new cards she had. Excited that she got to meet a real hero. She wanted to make a hero deck in honor of the man she met. She would eventually show everyone the power of heroes.
"I hope she does well in the future, Neos, Grand Mole. We'll meet again someday." Mumbled the red jacket man as he took off in the other direction.
Unbeknownst to Yuma, she would never see that man in the red jacket again for a long time.
Flashback End
"And that's my story. Pretty wild huh? Sadly, never saw my hero ever again." Yuma said solemnly.
Red Hat was rather surprised by her story. Thanks to her mysterious savior. She was inspired to not only make a hero deck, but also having a sense of justice. Although, she was still very naïve about this. He hoped she wasn't taken advantage of while she was growing up. Although, it doesn't appear as she was. Perhaps her peers helped her out in that regard? He didn't have a clue.
"That's one way to gain inspiration, I guess. Quite the story you have."
Yuma smiled at him. "Pretty cool huh? Since then, I've been wanting to help people and I like seeing goodwill from people."
'Still, by always trusting others, good or bad. That will lead you to trouble. As they say, never bite off more than you can chew.' He thought, looking at her with slight concern.
They would remain silent for a short while, before they would get interrupted.
"Found you!" A voice said from behind.
Yuma immediately stood up and turned around. Knowing full well whose voice that was. It was none other than the chairwoman Bright, but she wasn't alone. Her loyal follower Hana also came by with her.
"Why are you all the way out here?! Not only did you skip practice sessions, you also lied and started hanging out with this guy?!" Hana questioned her, albeit with a bit of uncertainty.
Yuma sweat dropped at her claim. "No no, you've got it all wrong! I went to find out what happened last night and I just so happen to stumble onto this guy."
"Yet you still skipped practice sessions! You know better than to skip class for your personal reasons!" Hana scolded her.
"We technically dueled and she won, so can it really be called a waste of time?" Red Hat spoke up, uncertain how he should handle the situation.
"That's not the only problem." Bright spoke up, glaring at the duo. "Quit pretending that you're some kind of hero, Yuma. You'll only get yourself into more trouble."
Yuma lightly waved at her, denying such a thing. "I haven't gotten into any trouble yet. Besides, it's always possible to reform somebody."
"You're so naïve." Bright adjusted her glasses before turning her attention to a familiar face. "Never thought I'd see you again. Why is it when there's something strange going on, I run into you?"
"I have no idea what you mean." Red Hat question, finding just a scenario very unlikely.
"You know this person, Reika?" Hana asked.
"Hardly…" She scoffed. "I stumbled upon him a few weeks ago during the time of a practice tournament. He dueled against Reyna in the first round and lost. He believed something was up so he decided to follow her. That's when I ran into him. Never saw him since."
"Eh, so you're one of those guys, huh?" Hana accused.
"Don't start throwing mindless accusations. I just wanted to know what was up with her, that's all. Something about her dueling didn't sit well with me, so I had to know. When she refused to give me answers, I let her be, that was before I met your friend Bright."
"You shouldn't be interacting with us in the first place. What are your intentions anyway? Last thing these girls need is a distraction from their studies. How old are you anyway?" Bright asked, finding it suspicious someone like him would care this much for some random school girls.
Red Hat glared at her, but kept his composure. "I'm just some duelist that wants to duel strong opponents. That is all. Was part of the pros, but dropped out due to some circumstances I couldn't control. I don't plan on returning until my problems are resolved."
Bright had a skeptical look. Why would a pro duelist quit so early if his career barely started at all. What could he possibly be involved in that would cause him to leave? "You still haven't answered my question. How old are you even?"
"Age? I'm only 18 years old. To say I gotten an early start is an understatement." He replied, turning his back on her, while crossing his arms. "Why all these questions anyway?"
Bright glared at his aloof attitude. "That aside, I warn you to stay away from Duel Academy students. They already have enough problems as it is. They don't any further distractions from you."
"Should we tell on him, Reika?" Hana asked, feeling a bit uncertain about this boy.
"There's no point. We don't have evidence of him doing any evil deeds or unwarranted advances… yet." Bright adjusted her glasses before continuing. "I'll leave you be for the time being. Don't give me a reason report you. I won't allow the students to be distracted from their studies because of you or anyone else." She then turned her attention to Yuma. "For the last time Yuma, stop pretending you're some kind of hero. Last thing I need is to bail you out of serious trouble. If I see you flunking, you will be punished."
"I'm sorry, Bright. I'll try harder to do better." Yuma bowed in respect.
"I'll be holding you to that." Bright replied. "Hana, let's go. We have unfinished business to attend to. This is why I advocate for all women schools." She muttered that last part to herself.
"I'm coming, Reika." The duo would soon take off leaving Yuma and Red Hat alone for the time being.
"Bright, she so strict sometimes it's hard to do anything fun." Yuma sighed, falling to her knees.
"She's a real piece of work. Though, you can say she cares about the students' futures. You don't see that very often in this day in age. Perhaps that's why she's so tough on you girls, even if she's a bit overbearing." Red Hat commented.
"Well, her parents are also lawyers, so no one wants to get on her bad side either." Yuma stood back up, dusting herself off. "She means well, it's why many girls like her. Hana, especially admires her and considers Bright her idol."
"Interesting to say the least." He took a look at the sky and noticed the sun was about to set. "It's getting late. It's time we head home."
"Oh, I live near the coastal region not too far from here." Yuma giggled. "You can take me there if you want."
Red Hat raised an eye brow at her suggestion. "You sure that's a good idea. You seemed to be doing well yourself."
"I know, but it's more fun walking back with company."
"Very well… You lead the way."
"Okay!" The duo left the park fields and made the way to the coastal region of New Domino city. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by something in the shadows.
New Domino City, Costal Region
Red Hat has been following Yuma for quite some time now. Even though the sun had fully set and turned dark. The streets lights and the glowing lights from the city did not make him feel any better. He had other things to worry about.
'I hope Lara is doing okay. Even if she lived in the Satellite for so long, it's hard not to worry. Even if this city is 'safer' by comparison.' He thought, worrying about Lara the upcoming threats he was warned about.
Yuma on the other hand, had her own thoughts as she was walking along. 'To think he'd be some early starting pro. Can't believe my luck. He must be so strong if he used to be a former pro. Though why did he quit? Personal responsibilities, family, or other issues I guess?'
Their thoughts would soon be interrupted by a loud scream in the distance.
"That does not sound good. Follow me!" Red Hat ordered as Yuma followed right behind him.
His spirit partner Winda floated right next to him. 'Master, I'm detecting a dark presence surrounding this part of the city. It's probably duel spirits rising at night,'
'Fantastic… Just what I needed, monster spirits going rogue.' He sarcastically thought, running as fast as he could, Yuma barely being able to keep up with him.
"Hey, slow down! I can't run that fast!"
The duo would soon made their way to a dark alleyway where they supposedly heard the scream. Looking around the unpleasant area. They noticed the place was eerie quiet. Almost like nothing happened at all. If it wasn't for the moon providing some light into the alleyway, it would be pitch black.
"Just what happened here…" Red Hat said in a low voice.
"This doesn't look good." Yuma said, taking out a flashlight she had in her bag. Turning it on, she looked around for some sort of clue.
"Convenient to say the least…" He commented, taking a look around. One thing was for sure, he hated alleyways. "Winda, now would be the perfect time to explain things."
'There seemed to be a large amount of duel energy present in this place. Monster spirits can't live in this realm without someone feeding them duel energy or a higher power brought them alive. A duel of darkness is also how a duel spirit can materialize in your world.' Wind explained, trying to find traces of leftover energy.
"Just great… So, is this a phenomenon that already existed before hand?" He whispered.
'Always has for the longest of times. You'd be surprised by the many stories there is to tell.'
"Red hat, come here!" Yuma called out, snapping Red Hat out of his thoughts. He came over to see what she found.
Yuma pointed her flashlight close to the ground and noticed someone familiar from Duel Academy. Aside from the usual school clothing. The girl had short brown hair, much in a similar fashion to Yuma's only a bit more well-kept. "That's Nadia, but what is she doing here? Who did this to her?"
"I don't know, but it looks like we're going to get our answers soon enough."
A sound, completely foreign to the duo, came from behind them. They flashed the flashlight at the sound and notice something they never thought they'd see. Two monsters showed themselves from a purple mist. The two indistinguishable monsters were revealed to be two purple ghouls. Its stomach could be seen to be slightly opened up.
Yuma blinked twice, trying to process what she just witnessed. "Eh duel monsters? Is someone pulling a prank."
Red Hat narrowed his eyes. "No, this is real. Real duel monsters… I think that's what got Nadia."
"How can duel monsters be real? Aren't they supposed to be holograms?" Yuma asked, now completely confused.
"If what the story you told me was true, then your hero used real monsters. It wasn't just him that helped you. It wasn't just his own strength." Red Hat reminded, recalling Yuma's story.
"Eh? You really think so? Is there such a thing as real duel monsters?" This information was enough to make Yuma's head spin.
Red Hat lightly chuckled, now facing the ghouls. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true." He then readied his duel disk.
"What are you planning to do?" Yuma asked.
He didn't answer her. 'Winda… mind telling me how am I supposed to take down monster spirits?' He asked his partner in a low voice.
Winda appeared next to him, glaring at the ghouls. 'You have the power to take down monster spirits and make certain cards real. You didn't realize it. You need your duel disk to perform such a task first.'
'Is that so… Is there a way to do so without relying on the duel disk?' He asked again in a low voice.
'As far as I'm aware, you humans don't have such privilege unless you somehow can create a duel of darkness at will.' Explained Winda. 'That will require you to obtain power in shady ways.'
"Fantastic…" He muttered as he looked through his deck. 'Last time I activated or use my duel disk to hold off security was to hold them back, not actually defeat spirits.' Before he could make a play, the ghouls approached him punched him with their somewhat bulky hands, knocking him back.
Standing up and brushing off his wound. "Alright, enough fooling around… Caam, Serenity of Gusto, emerge and attack The Ghoul with an Appetite!" He placed the card on his duel disk, and Caam emerged onto the field with a gust of wind.
'Rouge spirits… Leave it to me, I'll take these ghouls down.' Caam said as she charged up a green energy orb from her staff and launched it at one of the ghouls. The orb collided with one of them, causing an explosion.
"Is it gone?" Yuma asked, hoping for at least one of the ghouls to be defeated.
As the smoke cleared, it revealed that the ghoul that was attacked was down, but still around. In retaliation, both ghouls attacked Caam, causing her to disappear from the field.
"That should have beaten them… What's going on?" Red Hat asked confusedly. He took a closer look at the ghouls and noticed a purple glowing gem inside the ghouls open stomach. "What is that?" The second ghoul took hold of him with its bulky hands, and punched him away.
Red Hat slid back a bit by the attack before slamming near the wall.
Yuma flashed the flashlight back at him in shock. "Are you okay, Red Hat?!"
Slowly standing back, Red Hat readjusted to his surroundings. "I'm fine, I take the attack." He took a look at his duel disk and notice his LP has dropped to 2100 LP "What is this?"
Winda approached him with a worried expression. 'If your LP reaches zero, that will mean bad news. You must not lose this fight.'
'Then that means I'll destroy those ghouls before they get the chance.' He took a closer look at the ghouls and noticed something glowing in their open stomachs. As he got closer, he noticed a purple crystal inside. "That must be what's powering them up. If I'm correct that must be the Violet Crystal. Boosts zombies attack power by 300."
"Eh? Actually, equipping themselves? Just how are they doing that? Assuming they're real of course?" Yuma asked, now feeling uneasy about the situation.
"Don't know and I don't want to know yet." He draws and looks at his hand. If what he believed was true, he would be able to stop the ghouls. "I play the spell Foolish Burial I send Gusto Gulldo to the grave. Only to summon Pilica, Descendent of Gusto! (LV3 Atk: 1000 Def: 1500)" Pilica emerged onto the field and began a chant. "Her effect brings back a wind tuner from the graveyard, so Gusto Gulldo returns. (LV3 Atk: 500 Def: 500)" The gusto bird remerges back onto the field next to Pilica.
"Time for a little trick I tune level 3 Pilica and level 3 Gusto Gulldo to synchro summon!" The Gusto bird turned into three stars that circled around Pilica before turning into circles of green light. Both their bodies turned transparent and revealed 3 starts and lined up before creating a ray of light. "Support me, level 6 Daigusto Sphreez! (LV6 Atk: 2000 Def: 1300)" The powered Gusto woman emerged onto the field. "Sphreez bring down those ghouls!"
'Yes, my lord!' The spirit of Sphreez responded as she launched powerful winds and blown away one of the ghouls as it was reduced to purple dust.
"One down, one more to go!" One of the ghouls became enraged as it grew in size, doubling its power.
"It just got bigger! He's much stronger now!" Yuma gasped.
"Nothing I can't handle. Sphreez attack that ghoul!" Sphreez charges in to attack the ghoul, only for the ghoul to retaliate and grab hold onto Sphreez. The ghoul soon swallowed her into her stomach. "Wait for it…"
The ghoul tried to savor its meal, only for it continuously bloat bigger and bigger. Eventually the monster's stomached burst open, releasing Daigusto Sphreez. Sphreez blasted the ghoul within its stomach with continuous winds and are beam. The ghoul began to expand until it burst, splitting its corpse around the alley.
"When Sphreez is attacked, all the damage is taken to the opponent instead and Sphreez can't be destroyed in battle. It was a lose lose situation for him." Red Hat explained. "Sphreez attack the second one!"
Sphreez did as she was commanded and attack the second ghoul with a laser beam from her staff. As the ghoul consumed the beam, it expanded as it soon blew up, leaving behind traces of its corpse. The corpses turned to purple mist and disappeared from sight without a trace.
"It's over, for now anyway…"
"I don't even know what happened… This has to be the wildest night I ever had." Yuma said, rubbing her eyes making sure she wasn't dreaming. "It's safe right?"
"It's safe alright. Hey, check up on Nadia and see if she's okay." Red Hat remined her.
"Oh, right?!" Yuma walk up to the currently unconscious Nadia and checked up on her again. Gently shaking her by the shoulders.
Slowly standing back up the school girl opened her eyes, only to smile wickedly at the duo. Catch on, Red Hat immediately notice something was wrong. He pulled Yuma closed to him and got away from Nadia, who began to activate her duel disk.
"I never thought I'd be in this person's body. Not exactly what I wanted, but this will do." Nadia said as she took a look at herself.
"Eh? Are you alright? You don't look to good." Yuma said, shocked to see Nadia acting like this.
"Oh, I'm feeling better already." Nadia said with a wicked look on her face. "Now, the master requests more souls and energy. You'll be my next victim."
'The master? What does she mean by that?' Red Hat took a closer look and noticed Nadia had a slight mark on her cheek. "Yuma, Nadia must be possessed by one of the monster spirits. You have to fight her in a duel to free her from the spirits clutches."
Yuma looked at him with widen eyes. "Eh? Do you really think that's going to work? What if it doesn't?"
Red Hat wasn't going to budge. "You saw how I handled the spirits, right? A duel with her will cause the duel monster spirit to lose energy and once defeated will be forced to leave. That's when I'll come in and take the spirit down."
"If you say so." Yuma took a deep breath and look at the now possessed Nadia, reading her duel disk. "Okay, I'll take you on and free her."
Duel
Yuma Miyata: 8000 LP
Nadia: 8000 LP
"Ready to become my victim? My turn, draw!" Nadia draws.
Hand 6
"Ready for pain? I play the field spell, The Gates to Dark World!" The field of the alleyway was soon transformed into realm of darkness. Behind Nadia appeared a large, black gateway with many murals of fiends on it. The gateway was slightly opened as dark energy was emitted from it. "While this is card is on the field, all Dark World monsters gain 300 attack and defense points."
'Dark World… why does such a name giving a bad feeling? I know what the deck does, but this is something else.' Red Hat thought as he observed the field spell. He knew what the field spell does as there was new cards released to support Dark Worlds. However, something about it gave him some bad vides, yet couldn't figure out why. What would be the meaning behind this uneasy feeling.
"I'll set this monster facedown and end my turn. Come at me, if you dare." Nadia ends her turn.
Hand 4
"Fight on! It's my turn, I draw!" Yuma draws.
Hand 6
"I summon Elemental HERO Prisma in attack mode! (LV4 Atk: 1700 Def: 1100) The Prisma-like warrior emerged onto the field. "I'll use his effect! I reveal a fusion monster from my extra deck, then I send one of the materials whose name listed on card from my deck to the graveyard. I'll reveal Elemental HERO Grand Neos and send Elemental HERO Neos to the graveyard!" Yuma reveals her fusion monster and checks her deck to send Neos to the graveyard. The deck then auto shuffled itself. Prisma soon transformed into a copy of Neos in every aspect.
"Battle, Neos, attack that facedown monster!" The Neos look alike leaped forward and karate chopped the facedown monster, revealing to a fiend covered in red armor, Scar, Scout of Dark World. (LV2 Atk: 500 – 800 Def: 500 – 800)
"When Scar is destroyed in battle, I can add a level four or lower Dark World monster from my deck to my hand. I'll choose this one, Ceruli." Nadia added said card to her hand as the deck was auto shuffled.
"Tch, it had to be that card. I know that's what gets your plays going. I set two cards facedown and end my turn. Prisma returns to normal." Yuma ends her turn. Prisma transformed back to his original form.
Hand 3
"My turn, I draw." Nadia draws.
Hand 6
"I activate the field spell's effect. By banishing a field type monster, I can discard a field monster then draw one card. I banish Scar to discard Snoww, unlight of Dark World from my hand." Nadia banishes said monster and discards Snoww, trigger her effect as her graveyard glowed for a bit as she drew her card. "Snoww's effect now activates. Since it was discarded by an effect, I can add any Dark World monster from my deck to my hand. I'll add this card, Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!" Nadia smirks as she adds said card to her hand and her deck was auto shuffled.
'Grapha? Not good…' Red Hat thought. If he was thinking of the play she was going with. Yuma would be in big trouble. He hoped her backrow would help.
"I play the spell card Dark World Dealings! We both draw one card then discard one card." Nadia draws her card and discards Ceruli. Yuma draws and discards Elemental HERO Ocean.
"The card I discard was Ceruli, Guru of Dark World. When discarded, it special summons itself to your side of the field." Ceruli appears onto Yuma's side of the field. The small fiend wielded a staff with a blue orb and wore a blue garb around him. "Ceruli's effect makes me discard one card since it's on your side of the field."
"Yeah, I know what it does…" Yuma commented.
Nadia discards a card and smirks as a specific card was discarded. "The card I discarded was a special monster called Lucent, Netherlord of Dark World! Return to the field! (LV6 Atk: 2400 – 2700 Def: 0)" A bulky demon with horns, wings and a skull-like face emerged onto the field from a cloud of purple mist. Its armor was made partially of bone and reptilian scales. His armor was shiny and reflective. "His effect allows me to special summon a Dark World of any level from my deck. I'll choose a second Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World! (LV8 Atk: 2700 – 3000 Def: 1800 – 2100)" A loud roar was heard from above. The duo looked up and saw the ferocious dragon. It had a skeletal-looking head with horns near its mouth, attached to a long, bony neck. It also had a sharp tip. It flew down the field and landed beside Lucent.
"I'm not liking this… Nadia is pretty tough." Yuma commented, sweat dropping at the sight of the two monsters.
"Next, I play the spell card Dark World Lightning! I destroy a set card on your field then I discard a card! Your left facedown card is destroyed!" Goldd appeared onto the field and launched powerful purple lighting at Yuma's facedown, revealing to be Hero Signal. Goldd then disappeared from sight. Nadia discarded her second copy of Grapha to the graveyard. "Grapha's other effect activates. Since this copy was discarded from my hand, I can destroy one card on your field. You're second facedown card is destroyed!" The second Grapha emerged onto the field destroyed the facedown card with its tail, before disappearing.
"Stand strong, Yuma. This is going to hurt." Red Hat called out.
"I summon Broww, Huntsman of Dark World! (LV3 Ak: 1400 – 1700 Def: 800 – 1100)" Another dark world fiend emerged onto the field. This one held a bow and arrow as it's weapon. "But he won't be staying on the field for long. I return him to the hand to activate Grapha's effect from the graveyard to summon him back!" the huntsman body began to glow and transformed back into a card and was added to Nadia's hand. In exchange, a dark portal appeared, and out of it came Grapha with a powerful roar. (LV8 Atk: 2700 – 3000 Def: 1800 – 2100)
"Brace yourself, Yuma!" Red Hat warned.
"Battle, Lucent attack Ceruli!" Lucent approached the smaller fiend and took hold of him with his bare hands. Lifitng him off the ground, Lucent slammed Ceruli onto the ground, destroying him in the process. "The first Grapha, attack Elemental HERO Prisma! Dark World Hellfire!" The dragon unleashed a breath of silver flames at the hero.
Yuma Miyata: 8000 – 6700 LP
Yuma than felt strong pain in her stomach as she fell to her knees. "Agh! W-what is this pain? Aren't these duels just holograms?"
Red hat narrowed his eyes that the situation. He then remembered something he was told before. 'Duel spirits can manifest into the human world by a duel of darkness or if large amounts of duel energy is present.' If what he was told was true, and the added information he got from Winda. Then, this entire duel and battle he had earlier, was a duel of darkness and he didn't realize it.
"Yuma! This duel is a duel of darkness! Every battle between monsters and life point loss is real now! You'll feel real pain the more LP you lose even when your monsters are destroyed. You must not lose this duel!" Red Hat explained.
Nadia laughed at them as her mark glowed for a bit. "Too little too late. Once she loses, she'll become one of us. You can't stop the master from achieving his master plan."
Yuma getting back on her feet. "I don't know what you mean, but I'll rescue Nadia from your control… whoever you actually are!"
Nadia chuckle at her comment. "How noble! The second Grapha attacks you directly! Hellfire!" The second Grapha attacked Yuma directly with a breath of silver flames.
Yuma Miyata: 6700 – 3700 LP
Yuma fell to her hands and knees, panting and coughing after being blasted by the intense flames from the dragon. "Duels are never this painful… I don't even know if I can keep fighting like this."
"Don't give up Yuma! You have to get up and fight!" Red Hat tried to run up to her, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier. "Come on! You said you wanted to save her, then get back on your feet and fight back!"
"No one interferes with the Master's order. This barrier will make sure of it." Nadia stares down at the down Yuma. "Come, get up so I can put you down again."
Coming from underneath the ground outside the barrier. Many old monster corpses became reanimated and started to slowly walk towards Red Hat. Some of these zombies Red Hat was familiar with, but they were old vanilla monsters the days of old. The question was, who was reanimating these zombies and why are they here? Something isn't right here.
'There has to be some kind of Necromancer involved, but who can it be?' Red Hat thought, not knowing how someone can even perform necromancy. No human had the power to do so, and which spirits that can do were rare. 'The possessed Nadia mentioned the Master… Can it be Zombie Master that's reviving these corpses? If so, then what's his goal?'
No wanting to be consumed by corpses. Red Hat reactivated his duel disk and began to fight back against the zombie horde that was coming at him. He may not be able to help Yuma right now, but he still had to protect himself. He can't save anyone if he can't save himself, from monster spirits or otherwise anyone else.
Yuma slowly stood back up and glared at the possessed Nadia. "If my hero saw me like this, I would never live it down! I won't let people down! I fight until the very end!"
The possessed Nadia laughed manically at her. "How noble! I'll put you out of your misery then! Turn end." Nadia ends her turn.
Hand 2
Struggling a bit and fighting off the pain. "Ugh… save me my hero! My turn, I draw!" Yuma draws.
Hand 4
"I play the spell card E Emergency Call! I'll add an Elemental HERO from my deck to my hand. I'll choose Stratos, and I'll summon him right away!" Yuma searches said monster as her deck was auto shuffled, then proceed to summon Stratos. (LV4 Atk: 1800 Def: 300) "Stratos effect allow me to search for an Elemental HERO, I'll choose Elemental HERO Ice Edge!" she adds said monster to hand as her deck was auto shuffled. "I play the spell card Polymerization! I fuse Elemental HERO Stratos with Elemental HERO Ice Edge!" Stratos, alongside the icy clad kid were absorbed into a vortex. Yuma clasp her hands together, then, a blizzard occurred which than died down and revealed the mighty, white armored warrior. "Fusion Summon! Come out my favorite hero, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero! (LV8 Atk: 2500 Def: 2000)"
"Is that all you got? Your hero is nowhere near strong enough to destroy my monsters." Nadia pointed out with a smirk.
"Who said I was done? I play the spell card O Over Soul! With this, I bring back Elemental HERO Neos back from my graveyard! (LV7 Atk: 2500 Def: 2000)" The white armored alien hero broke out from the ground and landed onto the field. "Now, for my final card, I play the quick play spell Mask Change! With this, I send an Elemental HERO Absolute Zero to special summon a Masked HERO of the same attribute from my extra deck! Come on out! Masked HERO Vapor! (LV6 Atk: 2400 Def: 2000)" In Absolute Zero's place, Vapor emerged onto the field, reading his double pointed spear.
Nadia merely laughed it off. "You replaced your monster with an even weaker monster? How quaint."
"Nadia wouldn't make that assumption. I can tell you're just possessing her." Yuma pointed out.
Nadia looked towards where her monsters were. A blizzard occurred and surrounded all three Dark World monsters, and then, they were destroyed. "Where did my monsters go?!"
Yuma lightly chuckled. "Didn't you know? When Absolute Zero leaves the field, all monsters my opponent controls are destroyed. That leaves you wide open!"
"This can't be!"
"Oh, it can! Battle, Vapor attack her directly Steamline Blast!" Vapor leaped forward as he readied its spear. He structed down at Nadia with his spear as it released a powerful blast of water vapor.
Nadia: 8000 – 5600 LP
"Neos, attack her directly! Cosmic Crush!" Neos leaped forward and karate chopped Nadia directly, causing her to stumble.
Nadia: 5600 – 3100 LP
"Agh! This doesn't change a thing! I'll tear you apart!" Nadia screamed as her voice began getting distorted by the spirit.
"You're losing control of her. I can tell because her voice is being distorted by whoever you are! I end my turn here." Yuma end her turn.
Hand 0
"If you think I'll let the master down, you're crazy! My turn, I draw!" Nadia draws as her voice returns to normal, despite being possessed.
Hand 3
"I banish Snoww from my graveyard to discard Broww and draw one card!" Nadia banishes said monster and discards Broww and drew her card. Her graveyard glowed for a moment. "Broww's effect when discarded allows me to draw one card." She drew her second card. "I play the spell card Dark World Dealings! We both draw a card, then discard a card, since you don't have a hand, you have to discard the card you draw!" Nadia draws her card and discards her second copy of Ceruli. Yuma draws and discards Hero Blast. "Ceruli has been discarded, so it goes to your field." Ceruli emerged onto Yuma's side of the field.
"Oh great, this again…" Yuma muttered to herself. She took a look outside the barrier and notice Red Hat was fending off as many zombie monster spirits as he could.
Nadia discarded a particular card in her hand. "The card I discarded was Reign-Beux, Overlord of Dark World! Since he was discarded by your card effect, I can special summon him!" A large muscular fiend with grey wings and grey armor around its torso and lower legs emerged onto the field. He held a demonic staff. (LV7 Atk: 2500 – 2800 Def: 1500 – 1800) "Now his second effect, I can destroy all monsters you control because he was summoned by his own effect! All your monsters are obliterated! Go, Light of Erasure, Hells Ray!" Reign-Beaux launched a rainbow-colored beam from his chest armor and blasted away all of Yuma's monsters. As the smoke cleared, Masked HERO Vapor remained on the field. "What?! He wasn't destroyed?!"
"Masked HERO Vapor can't be destroyed by card effects. Want to get rid of him, battle him or banish him. But you already knew that, didn't you Nadia?" Yuma explained with a smug look on her face. Knowing Nadia wouldn't make this mistake.
"Grr, I want be mocked by you! I summon Beige, Vanguard of Dark World, only to bounce him back to my hand to resummon Grapha from the graveyard!" A fiend holding a spear emerged onto the field, only to immediately disappear and get replaced by Grapha. (LV8 Atk: 2700 – 3000 Def: 1500 – 1800)
"This again…" Yuma muttered, knowing what's going to come.
"Battle, Reign-Beaux attack that Masked HERO!" Reign-Beaux launched black lightning from his staff and blasted away the Masked HERO, leaving Yuma wide open.
Yuma Miyata: 3700 – 3300 LP
"Grapha, send her to her doom! Dark World, Hellfire!" Grapha attacked Yuma directly with a breath of silver flames.
Yuma Miyata: 3300 – 300 LP
Yuma collapsed onto the ground, struggling to get back up. The pain from the duel of darkness was too much for her.
Nadia laughed manically at the collapsed Yuma. "That's that you'll cower and beg for mercy. Surrender now, and I'll let the master spare you!"
Red Hat looked behind his shoulder and noticed Yuma collapsed. "Yuma! Get back up and fight!" He looked at his front and noticed more zombie spirits began spawning in. 'Damn, more keep coming in… What are you trying to pull Zombie Master? You're wasting your time trying to capture me.'
Red Hat continued to hold off the zombie spirits with his own monsters. Since his had more power, the other zombie spirits were unable to break through despite also powering up. He had to hold them off as long as he could until Yuma was able to get back up and win the duel. He didn't want imagine what would happen if Yuma losses to the possessed Nadia. Some matters he didn't quite comprehend. 'I may not know what he wants. But, for now, I'll just have to stop this mess right now.'
Yuma slowly woke up and looked at her surroundings for a bit before realizing what happened. Despite being in pain, she got onto her hands and knees, knowing she was still in the duel. Fighting back the pain, she stood back up, albeit struggling.
"You're continuing? Fine, I'll put you out of your misery! I set one card facedown and end my turn." Nadia ends her turn.
Hand 1
Struggling, Yuma stared at her Nadia. "I won't give in that easily. My turn…! Yuma thinks before drawing. "I believe somebody will save me! Draw!" Yuma draws, while they couldn't see it, Red Hat noticed a slight white glow.
'Destiny draw? Thought that was just a myth… guess not…' Red Hat thought with a faint smile.
Hand 1
"I play the spell card Fifth Hope! I target five Elemental HEROs in my graveyard, I shuffle them back into the deck then draw 2 cards!" Yuma shuffles back Elemental HERO Stratos, Ice Edge, Absolute Zero, Prisma, and Ocean back into her deck and extra deck, the deck was auto shuffled, then she drew her cards. "Since I controlled no other cards and had no hand, I draw three cards instead!" She drew one last card.
"You're only delaying the inevitable. What good will that do you?"
"You'll see right now! I play the spell card A Hero Lives! By paying half my LP and controlling no face-up monsters, I can special summon a level 4 or lower Elemental HERO monster from my deck! Take to the skies, Elemental HERO Stratos!" Via a wormhole, Stratos flew back onto the field. (LV4 Atk: 1800 Def: 300)
Yuma Miyata: 300 – 150 LP
"Stratos allows me to add an Elemental HERO. I'll add this clutch of a card, and I'll summon him right away. Appear, Elemental HERO Blazeman! (LV4 Atk: 1200 Def: 1800) A red armored warrior with flames on his head appeared. "Blazeman allows me to add a Polymerization spell from my deck to my hand when normal summoned." Yuma adds said spell card to her hand. "I'll play Polymerization. I fuse Elemental HERO Blazeman and Stratos!" Stratos, alongside Blazeman were absorbed into a vortex. Yuma clasp her hands together, as flames began bursting out of the vortex. "Fusion Summon! Come forth, Elemental HERO Nova Master! (LV8 Atk: 2600 Def: 2100)" The flames were then absorbed by a warrior wearing a red and orange armor with a red cape.
Nadia merely smirked. "So what? My monsters are still stronger."
"Who said I was done? For my next move, I play the spell card Miracle Fusion! I banish Elemental HERO monsters from my graveyard to special summon a fusion monster! I fuse Elemental HERO Neo and Stratos!" Neos alongside Stratos, were absorbed into a vortex. Yuma clasp her hands together, then, a powerful whirlwind came out of the vortex. "Fusion Summon! Appear, Elemental HERO Great Tornado! (Lv8 Atk: 2800 Def: 2200)" The whirlwind died down and revealed a warrior in green, black, and yellow armor with a tattered cloak hanging over his left shoulder.
"Just what do you intend to do?"
"Don't you know? What am I saying, of course the spirit wouldn't know. Great Tornado's effect activates. When fusion summoned, it halves all your monsters attack and defense points! Go, Down burst Tornado!" The hero raised his right fist and created a fierce tornado. Nadia's monsters were then trapped within it. All of her monsters fell to their knees due to their loss of power. (LV7 Atk: 2800 – 1400 Def: 1800 – 900) (LV8 Atk: 3000 – 1500 Def: 1800 – 900) "Now I play the spell card R – Righteous Justice! Since I control two Elemental HERO monsters on the field, I can destroy exactly two spells or traps on the field! Your facedown card and the field spell are destroyed!" Both Nadia's facedown and the field spell were destroyed. The field returned to back to the dark alleyway they were currently in.
"This won't change a thing! You will lose!"
"We'll see about that! Battle, Great Tornado attack Grapha, Supercell!" The yellow parts of the hero¿s armor glowed brightly. Then, the tornado was surrounding Grapha, which roared in pain before exploding.
Nadia: 3100 – 1600 LP
"Nova Master attack Reign-Beaux, Meteor Stream!" Nova Master held up one of its arms and created a large meteor of fire, once it grew large enough, he launched it at Reign-Beaux, burning him down, before exploding.
Nadia: 1600 – 400 LP
"Agh! It doesn't mean a thing! Still have four hundred LP left! Next turn, you're going down as I bring back Grapha!" The possessed Nadia sneered; her voice being distorted by the spirit.
"Hold your horses! Did you forget Nova Master's effect? When he destroys a monster in battle, I can draw one card. So that means, I still have a chance!" Yuma corrected.
"Fine, draw your last card so I can end this. You can't be saved now!"
"We'll see." Yuma draws her card. She took a look at as she lowered her head. Nadia smirked, thinking it was her win, only to realize Yuma was smiling. "Here's the last card I pulled, the quick play spell Mask Change! I'll activate it and use it on Nova Master! Transform now! (LV6 Atk: 2200 Def: 1800)" Nova Masters' body glowed and was then surrounded by a pillar of fire. Once it died down, he was replaced by the masked hero in red and black armor. "Goka gains 100 attack points per HERO monster in my graveyard. There's only one but more than enough for you!" The hero glowed brightly (LV6 Atk: 2200 – 2300 Def: 1800)
"This can't be!"
"Release Nadia from your clutches, you lose! Goka attack her directly!" The hero jumped in the air, ignited his right foot and landed a burning kick on Nadia who was knocked back. He then threw a powerful punch knocking her unconscious.
Nadia: 400 – 0 LP
As Nadia was defeated, the spirit came out of her, revealing to be the third Ghouls with an Appetite. The damaged caused by the previous attacks caused him to lose power and vanish. Once he vanished, the rest of the undead began to disappear and the barrier was lifted. Yuma fell to her knees, panting and feeling exhausted.
Red Hat deactivated his duel disk and quickly approached her. "You okay Yuma?"
"I think, I'm alright…" Panting, she took a glance at Nadia and noticed she was unconscious. "Is Nadia okay? I didn't hurt her, did I? All those attacks really hurt for some reason."
"It's a long story involving spirits and what not." He said. 'Although, this is a strange phenomenon alright… I'll try to get to the bottom of this. Don't want to cause panic.'
Slowly crawling up to Nadia. Yuma checked up on her, hoping very minimal damage was caused by the duel. Checking her pulse, least she hoped she was doing it correctly, to see if she was alright. When she noticed Nadia was breathing, she sighed in relief.
"She's okay. I'm glad…"
Nadia stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Being in a daze, she blinked a few times getting a better view of her surroundings. It was then she noticed Yuma Miyata was right next to her
"Yuma? Ugh…. What are you doing here…" Nadia clutched her head, feeling a migraine coming in. "Ugh, ow my head. Why do I feel so much pain. Was I dueling?" She asked, noticing her duel disk was still on, despite the life point meter was already at 0.
"You were dueling, but you weren't in control. You were possessed by a monster spirit." Red Hat explained as he approached the duo.
"Possessed by a monster spirit? What are you talking about?" Nadia looked up and noticed someone she never met before. She raised an eyebrow at his questionable appearance. "Who are you? I don't think we've ever met before."
"Sorry for not introducing myself. Just call me Red Hat…" Red Hat said. "To make a long story short, Yuma was heading back to her place once it was nightfall. I was just accompanying her until we heard a scream in the alleyway. We came rushing in until we found you unconscious. I know it's hard to believe but we encountered something far beyond your understanding."
Nadia groaned for a bit and rubbed her forehead a bit. "This is already making my head spin. But that doesn't answer my question. Was I dueling, cause the duel disk is activated. So is Yuma's Did I actually duel her?"
"Not at your own free will, but you did. Yuma dueled you to snap you out of the trance you were in." Red Hat explained, leaving out the detail of being possessed, hoping not to freak her out or cause further panic.
"I find it hard to believe. I'll just have to take your word for it. Because I don't see any other way to rationalize me dueling for no reason and not remembering." Nadia said, glancing at Yuma. "You always were one to play hero. Well thanks for the help, for once."
"Hey, I always ty to help people when I can!" Yuma pouted, not liking how she was thanked only for her to imply it was a fluke.
"More often than not, you cause uncertain mayhem when you do help. Just thought I point that out. You really aren't good at this hero thing, Yuma." Nadia teased with a nervous look on her face.
"Aww, give me some credit at least." Yuma pouted again, turning away.
Red Hat chuckled at their antics. "Nice to see you two getting along. Come on, it's getting late. It's not safe here. Think you two can walk back?"
Yuma and Nadia slowly stood back up. Nadia's knees wobbled a bit, but stood her ground. Yuma had a more difficult time as she was injured by the duel of darkness she had.
"I think I can make it back home. I hope my sister doesn't worry where I was." Nadia said.
"I'll be fine… I think… No need to worry too much about me." Yuma assured them.
Red Hat was skeptical about their inquiry, but decided not to call them out on it. "Alright, but we should hurry back. We'll be caught with suspicious activity if we don't get out of here." He helped them out a bit as he placed one of their arms and wrapped around his neck. "I'll help you two get back home most of the way. From there on, you two are on your own, okay?"
"Right!" The duo shouted in unison, not minding that Red Hat was helping them on this matter as they leave the alleyway.
Meanwhile
Zombie Master was standing on the rooftops nearby where the duo currently left. He watched the trio leave the alleyway, seemingly unscathed. He was not happy with the current state of affairs.
"That boy in the red hat is more of a threat to my plans than I thought. He somehow knows more about us spirits than I realized." Zombie Master muttered to himself.
Zombie had hoped to use the ghouls that he revived to possess some civilians to spread his influence and create a large following of undead. Yet, it not only failed because of the Red Hat, but also that meddling girl. If he had any hope of controlling the spirits while controlling more people, he'll have to get those two away from his minions. He can't afford to lose more minions. He would not be hunted down.
"The only reason he would know is if he had connection to spirits and knowing about us, or me. If I have any hope of keeping him off my affairs. I'll have to attack him in other ways, just not direct confrontations." He muttered to himself. Rather than fight him, he'll figure out some other way.
Zombie Master jumped down to the other side of the building where Reyna was standing still near the wall in a different part of the alleyway. She took a look at her master with a blank stare as her duel disk was activated, showing Zombie Master's card was on the duel disk slot.
"Master?"
"Reyna, change of plans. In order to continue my goals, we'll need the girl. Otherwise, they'll never come to pass because of meddling." Zombie Master explained, keeping his composure.
"I still don't understand what you intend to do? Why do we need her and why should I let the boy come to me? Not that I mind… just curious… It's kind of pointless, don't you think?" Reyna asked flatly. Confused as to why her master would go through so much lengths just for something very contrive.
"You're going to try and get close to him. After observing him, he's interested in you for some reason. Taking the girl is the only way we'd be able to get our plans going. You'll have to get yourself involved more."
Reyna stared at him with a blank stare. "You still haven't answered my question… What do we gain from this… not just you, master?"
"Have I steered you wrong before?"
Reyna gave him a blank stare. While she felt nothing of the sort for this mattered. She wondered why she follows the master's orders without question. Sure, he has helped plenty of times, even steered her in the right direction many times. She wouldn't have a roof above her head or even an income if it wasn't for her master. Still, sometimes she wonders what the master even does when she isn't around or he needs her for something. Summoning the dragon during the night for so-called souls was already questionable.
"No… you haven't, master."
"Good, now you know the drill, Reyna." Zombie Master ordered.
Reyna drew a card and summon a particular monster she doesn't actually use. Zombie Master, with his power, revived said monster that was on the duel disk and summoned it. The monster summoned soon disappeared and headed to a different location.
"Now, go and check up on her. Only observe and check the following affairs."
"Yes, master…" Reyna flatly said as she began to walk away. With her master's guidance, she followed the path to where the monster took off.
Reyna had yet to understand why she was doing this. One thing she wasn't aware of. Zombie Master had other plans for the people he wants to use and possess, and it's something she would never expect, giving how her master usually treats her.
Meanwhile with Lara
Lara has been walking around the city. Making sure she stayed away from the main roads. While she took a lot longer than expected. She finally made her way to the outskirts of the city. While mostly dark with only a few street lights to light up the place. Not counting the light coming from the city. She got closer to her destination.
'Almost there… Has Mr. Red Hat returned to his home yet?'
As she continues walking forward, she was soon surrounded by purple mist blocking her path. Frighten by the change in events, she tried to run away from the mysterious mist, only for it to follow her. Not sure what else to do, she stood in place and waited to see what would happen.
The mist slowly cleared, and inside the mist revealed itself to be another undead being. A vampire in a sorcerer outfit rose from the mist as it cleared out. "Finally found you!"
Taking a couple steps back, Lara kept her distance. "Who are you? What do you want?" Lara said, frighten at the sight of something so foreign.
"The master wants you. I've come to take you with me. They call me the Vampire Sorcerer." The sinister undead, now named Vampire Sorcerer told her, firing a crimson red energy bean from his bat-shaped staff next to her.
The beam caught Lara off guard as she jumped and fell onto her bottoms. Vampire Sorcerer fired another crimson beam at her, which she leaped forward to dodge again. Not believing something like this is happening to her. She didn't want to be hurt.
"End of the line. Give up girl and hand yourself to me." Vampire Sorcerer walked up to her, still aiming directly at her.
In an instant, her duel disk was activated as another undead being showed up, this time being the Weight King. Vampire Sorcerer too a closer look and noticed one of Lara's eyes was glowing red, signaling she was being possessed by another being.
"You will not lay your hands on this girl!" Weight King barked at the undead sorcerer.
Vampire Sorcerer chuckled at the sight he witnessed. "So, you've become overly protective of this girl haven't you now? Don't you remember it was the Master that revived you."
The Weight King roared at the undead sorcerer. The Weight King talked through Lara. "The Zombie Master doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's been abusing and disturbing the peace of the undead for far too long. You of all the undead should know this."
Vampire Sorcerer laughed at the duo. "Those that have been revived by the master serve him, or have you forgotten? You were revived by the Master, only you stopped following him a long time ago. I remined you of your place!" The undead sorcerer launched another crimson red beam at Lara.
Lara, now possessed by the Weight King, dodged by leaping away. She stared down at the Vampire Sorcerer. She pulled out five cards from her deck and sent them to the graveyard. This powered up the King of the Skull Servants that was currently the only monster protecting her from the Vampire Sorcerer.
"I had enough of this pointless game! Take this!" Vampire Sorcerer charged up a massive crimson red energy orb and fired it at the weight king attempting to blast him away and Lara together. The energy orb collides with King of the Skull Servant. As the smoke clears, the Weight King was standing stronger than ever as his attack was ineffective. Lara stood behind him, glaring as her red eye continued to glow.
"Now, it's my turn!" Lara, possessed by the Weight King, snapped as the Weight King that's been summoned conjures a dark energy orb. Much bigger than the one Vampire Sorcerer fired. He retaliated and blasted him away, causing severe damage to the vampire sorcerer as his form began to fade.
He chuckled and laughed it off, despite his body slowly disappearing. "So, this is how it's going to be? Very well, the master will not be pleased. He'll hunt you and the girl down. Hope you're proud of the freedom you made." Vampire Sorcerer disappeared in a cloud of purple mist.
The Wight King sighed in relief as his form disappeared from the field. He freed Lara from his temporary control as her eye returned to normal.
Feeling a bit dazed, Lara looked around at her surroundings and noticed she hasn't gotten any closer to her destination. She noticed the place wasn't how it was a minute ago. Smoke and slight burn marks can be seen on the ground. What happened here? Did something happen that she wasn't aware of? She took a look at her duel disk and noticed it was activated with her favorite card placed one the duel disk. She quickly deactivated her duel disk and returned her cards back to her deck box.
She turned around and caught Red Hat running up to her. "Mr. Red Hat!" She waved at him.
Red Hat closed in on her, with a sigh of relief. "Lara! I'm glad you're okay!"
"I'm okay! And you're here now, so I'm feeling much better now!" Lara assured him.
Red Hat wasn't too convinced as he saw the remaining residue of the area. "I heard an explosion from afar. I know it wasn't a natural formation so I rushed to get here."
Lara tiled her head as she thought about it some more. "Now that you mention it. I don't even remember what happened. One moment I was walking back, then I saw someone scary, then nothing…"
Red Hat gave her a concerned look. "Nothing? What do you mean by that? Someone scary? Who was it?"
Lara thought about it some more, but couldn't figure anything out. "After that… everything is haze. It's almost like I was in a complete daze. I don't think I imagined it either. Could I be overacting?"
The duo remained silent as Red Hat took in what she said. 'So, she was attacked… By a spirit no less, yet she has no memory of what happened? Perhaps it's a similar situation to Nadia, only it was helping Lara… Could it be him?' Red Hat thought about it some more as he tried to figure out who or what would protect Lara from her encounter. He was grateful that's for sure, but he was at a loss at trying to figure it out who it was. One thing was for certain, he had a lot to learn about spirits.
"Anyway, it's getting late, Lara. Let's head home and get some rest. I think we had enough for the day. Besides, we still have things to prepare for later on in the coming week."
Lara smiled and nodded. "Okay, Mr. Red Hat."
The duo would continue to walk back to their home, completely unaware they were being watched by Reyna from far in the shadows. Unbeknownst to them, their troubles were only about to get worse.
A/N: Had this planned for a while now. Was planning to be longer, but this has gone long enough. Funny cause I'm obsessed with large word counts, but oh well.
As for one of the comments. It's not so much the Tag Force girls are underrated. Rather it's cause no one outside the small Tag Force community actually supports the Tag Force characters, which to be honest, are often times more interesting than the main characters to some degrees. The ones that have become overrated, in my opinion, are Wisteria, Kami, and lesser extent Tasha. So, my focus is on the lesser known or less represented Tag Force characters, while trying to be as accurate as I can with their actual character and personality. All the while doing my own spin on things. Hope that's okay with everyone. See you next time.
