Author's Note:
So after a very long delay I finally present "The Kingdom [be]Comes" Chapter 18!
I really have to apologize for taking so long to write this... school and work overwhelmed me in December and I could barely do anything. BUT I give you not only this chapter but also a whole bunch of additional updates.
Updates (18/01/2011):
Chapter 18: new.
Part I: I decided to separate this fanfic into 3 unofficial parts – rather than make separate sequels – so everything from Chapter 2+ so far is Part I. This is not an actual 'chapter' and just contains an overall quote for Part 1.
Chapter 9: major changes starting from the middle – this is the chapter I was always most unhappy with and so I made lots of adjustments. Basically Yusei and Aki still have their first kiss and it all ends the same, but there are lots of dialogue and behaviour changes leading up to it.
Chapter 13 and 14: added one or two sentences of dialogue for the sexy scenes but, overall, nothing eventful.
I want to thank everyone for reviewing, for asking questions or for favouring this story and for being such supportive and patient readers. I hope you like this Chapter although, I should warn you, it doesn't have Yusei (and, thus, no sex...) and is mostly about Aki and Mahdi (my evil OC) and some mysteries.
Thank you for reading!
NineInchNailed.
"Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil."
~Friedrich Nietzsche
Aki stood, embracing her arms to keep herself from shaking from anxiety and cold, as she waited for Mahdi in the middle of an abandoned parking lot. Even though it was located just at the back of the "Free Duellists' Association" stadium and was well lit despite all the scrap junk, Aki could not shake off her fear. She was alone in the middle of the night and about to duel a man who appeared to be connected to numerous deaths...so naturally she was afraid. Her D-Wheel was an arm-length away from her, reminding her that there was always a quick escape.
Occasionally, her hand sneaked to her forearm and she held to it, hoping over and over that the Crimson Dragon would protect her should anything go wrong. There were instances when the Crimson Dragon had physically made a celestial appearance, either to save someone or to prevent something, and Aki hoped that it could happen for her too. At the same time she reassured herself that her psychic powers would be there as a backup in that case as well: sometimes making a frightening monster materialize outside of a duel was more effective than anything.
It had been long past the ten minutes that Mahdi promised to meet her in. The whole meeting was rather nerve-wrecking too: she managed to catch him outside of the FDA head office barricade and challenged him to a duel, citing revenge as a reason for herself as well as an incentive for him. He recognized her on the spot, too, as a psychic duellist who screwed up his duel with Crow and as a member of 5D's team from WRPG's, as well as one of the six Signers. "I accept the challenge," he mused, "That duel had never been properly completed. And since you were the one who stopped my duel, you will be the one to pay should you lose."
Death, Aki thought of the implication of his words but she still accepted the conditions. She wasn't going to lose, she just knew it. She had safety nets for any case: her psychic powers, the Crimson Dragon as a means to interfere, and her Signer bond with her friends who would arrive wherever she is should she truly need them. She hoped to use her Signer bond only as a last option – she did not want her friends, and especially Yusei, to know about any of this until it was over. She didn't want to unnecessarily worry them.
Then Mahdi told her that he'd only duel her if they duel outside and not inside of the stadium. "You're a psychic duellist and I know you won't hold back on trying to hurt me. And this place is not my own to do as I wish: I cannot allow any damage to occur to it or to disrupt its reputation," he told her. When Aki attempted to intervene and say that she wasn't going to use her psychic powers on him – even though she actually considered it – he stopped her, "What nonsense: I'm not stupid. If you want to duel me we'll have to duel outside. I'm not risking this."
Finally, he told her to meet him outside at the parking lot in ten minutes and disappeared in the control room.
And here Aki was now, waiting at three in the morning to duel somebody who might be involved in mass murders. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she kept repeating in her head, Couldn't come up with a better plan yourself and had to accept any conditions he'd set! But because he has to duel Yusei later on today this is the only way.
"There you are," a chilling baritone called out from the distance and Aki jumped, twirling around to see the sickly thin white-haired man turn the stadium corner and begin walking towards her. "That took awhile and I apologize: I needed to assemble my deck," he said.
"That's fine," Aki answered, controlling her voice and hoping that her response came off as determinant and not as a terrified little girl she felt like inside.
Mahdi reached the parking lot and, thankfully, stopped a significantly far distance away from her thus making her feel a bit safer. "What are the conditions we settled on, again?" he inquired as he manually shuffled his deck, "Although you are a psychic duellist and I expect you to hurt me, I doubt you're the type who'd wish death upon another..." he smiled at her then, "This is if, of course, I manage to lose to you by some miracle."
Aki felt confused by his words. "I don't understand. Are you saying it's possible to control the conditions of those sacrificial duels?" she asked, "How can it be? It's an eye for an eye, is it not?"
"It is possible, of course. You just have to know how," Mahdi said, "And it just happens that I know how. So what are your conditions? Set them. Unless, that is, your end result is to kill me. Then we'll play as default."
"And then the loser is bound by those conditions? No avoiding?" Aki asked, needing to hear the confirmation.
"Yes," he nodded firmly.
Aki felt a brief wave of relief wash over her. Her original plan was to question Mahdi throughout the duel and then end it with her psychic powers before the completion of her win would take his life. But this, if it was true, seemed as a good alternative even though she'd still keep her own plan in mind.
Her relief didn't last too long, however. Instantly, doubt and suspicion crept into her mind: how was it that he could control the conditions of these duels? Could everybody control them or did he have some special power? Could some things be not as they seem?
"Hurry up, I don't have all night," Mahdi sighed.
"Um..." Aki fought off her alarming mistrust to make a decision, "If I win you have to answer all my questions. Anything I'd ask you, in full truth. You have to tell me everything you know. And then I go free."
"You're assuming I know anything..." he smiled, sounding presumptuously innocent, "But alright, it's a deal."
Of course he knows something, Aki thought. "Deal," she echoed him.
"Then let's start this," Mahdi concluded and placed his card deck into the duel disk so it could get shuffled automatically now and Aki did the same. He then casually pulled out a large Swiss knife out of his pockets, instantly making Aki feel nauseous and causing her to look away – even though she'd expected to see this – and then pressed it into his palm, cringing as he drew his own blood. Then he knelt down and silently touched his bleeding hand to the ground.
In an instant, the ground began to shake as a colossal circle began forming around them, its boundaries and symbols glowing blood-red. It enclosed them in a sealed vacuum with impenetrable walls. Finally, the mysterious Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs appeared inside the Sutekh Sacrificō seal and the ground finally seized to shake.
Aki saw that something was odd and didn't correspond to the usually observable pattern. "You didn't cut your wrists. Your eyes did not turn red within red nor did you chant to create this seal. What gives?" she inquired with apprehension. The conditions were different this time, true, but she still needed a coherent explanation.
"The conditions have changed, haven't they?" Mahdi shrugged while he casually tied a handkerchief around his bleeding hand, "Why would I unnecessarily endanger my own life for this? My wounds still haven't healed since my duel with your friend. I almost died that day. I don't need to do this again."
"But..." Aki stuttered.
"I'm nice," he interrupted her, "So I'll let you take the first turn. Go for it."
Aki temporarily shook off her suspicions to draw a card.
[Aki Izayoi]
[Beginning of Turn One: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"I summon Violet Witch in Defence Mode," Aki announced and a Level 4 fairy wearing purple robes appeared on the field; the monster's attack points were at 1100 and defence points at 1200.
"I then place one card face down on the field and end my turn," Aki concluded and one hidden card showed up.
[Aki Izayoi]
[End of Turn One: Violet Witch (Lvl.4) ATK1100/DEF1200 in Defence mode; 1 Card on Field; 4 Cards in hand; LP4000]
Play defensively to see what he does first. Then try to summon Black Rose Dragon before he manages to pull out the Anti-Synchro card, Aki confirmed the strategy to herself.
"My turn," Mahdi declared on his side of the field and drew a card.
[Mahdi]
[Beginning of Turn One: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"I summon Makyura the Destructor in Attack Mode," Mahdi said and a menacing Level 4 monster with sharp claws on its arms appeared. Its attack was at 1600 points and defence at 1200 points.
Then, all of a sudden, he looked back at her and lighted with a smile. "Tell me...how is your friend Crow doing right now?"
"What?" Aki stared at him, taken aback by his question.
"I'm just curious. Did he suffer? Is he in some pain after what happened?" Mahdi continued asking nonchalantly.
Aki flinched at his horrible words. "Go to hell," she answered under her breath, feeling disturbed.
"I hope he suffered," he went on, still smiling with that self-satisfied smirk, "And I hope that he feels much more pain in the future. After all, it's only fair after what you caused to happen to me. Anyway, Makyura the Destructor, attack her Violet Witch!" he ordered and watched as his monster went for an attack.
Even though Aki was beyond distressed by what he'd just said she did not lose her concentration with the duel. "I activate my Trap card, Rose Blizzard," she interrupted and opened her face down card, "When a monster I control is selected as an attack target, I can switch the attacking monster to Defence Mode. So Makyura the Destructor can no longer attack."
"Okay, then I set two cards face down and end my turn," Mahdi concluded and stifled a yawn.
[Mahdi]
[End of Turn One: Makyura the Destructor (Lvl.4) ATK1600/DEF1200 in Defence mode; 2 Cards on Field; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"My turn," Aki announced and drew her card, feeling hatred boiling inside of her. She couldn't wait for this duel to be over and she knew she could do it once her Black Rose Dragon was out. She only wished that he wouldn't provoke her further or else she'd begin losing some control on her powers and he'd be sure to regret it.
But...at the same time, didn't he actually deserve getting hurt?
[Aki Izayoi]
[Beginning of Turn Two: Violet Witch (Lvl.4) ATK1100/DEF1200 in Defence mode; 0 Cards on Field; 5 Cards in hand; LP4000]
Aki looked at the cards in her hand, deliberating on a decision and trying to calm her intense feelings of hostility, when Mahdi spoke to her again.
"So you really are one of those Signers, aren't you?" he questioned her.
Well, obviously, Aki thought, Why is he asking me what he already knows? She nodded, rigidly.
Mahdi looked away with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You're the third person out of the six of you to come after me. Which is good: not only does it mean that I was right coming after you special and heroic snowflakes to begin with...but it also means you're narrowing down my search."
Aki swallowed in a throat suddenly dry. "What?" she asked. What did he just say? What search?
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Carry on with your turn," he answered and returned his gaze to her. Then, abruptly, he smiled at her with a slow and intimate smile as if they were lovers who had just spent the afternoon in bed together.
Suppressing her feelings of abrupt worry and disgust, Aki concentrated on the duel because the sooner this was done the better and then she could question him about everything. He had two face down cards and one of them could have been Discord, the trap card that prevented Synchro Summoning. Aki decided that she would clean his field first before attempting at Synchro Summoning and missing her turn in case he blocks her with that cursed card.
"I play a Magic card, Heavy Storm!" Aki announced and activated the card. It was a very useful Spell that she knew she should probably save up but she wanted this done and over with. "Heavy Storm destroys all Magic and Trap cards on the field. Which just means yours, Mahdi," she said and watched as a heavy tornado swept away her opponent's cards into oblivion. For a split second in time she saw, pleased, that one of his Trap cards turned out to be Discord and another was an unknown one.
Even though Aki wasn't deliberately trying to materialize the effect of her Magic card, the Solid Vision of the tornado still blew the heavy wind from which Mahdi had to shield himself. It seemed like, since he provoked her, her emotions were now getting the best of her...and Aki realized that it wasn't a bad thing. She felt some satisfaction in making him witness her powers.
"And now," she went on, "I-"
Mahdi suddenly broke out into laughter. "Well done," he complimented her and one of his destroyed Trap cards appeared out of his Graveyard, "When this Trap, Kozaky's Self-Destruct Button, is destroyed, 1000 points of damage are inflicted to the Life Points of the player who destroyed it."
Aki frowned and stood, unmoving, as 1000 Life Points were drained away from her. This left her at 3000 now.
"Frustrated?" Mahdi inquired, looking very pleased with his disruption.
"Not in the least," Aki muttered, "You've got only one monster and no other cards to defend you. So I summon Twilight Rose Knight to Attack Mode." A Tuner monster (Level 3) in a form of a small knight made an appearance, its attack and defence points both at 1000.
Mahdi was watching her with a blank expression on his face.
"And now I tune my Level 3 Twilight Rose Knight to my Level 4 Violet Witch," Aki announced and began chanting, "Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"
As a stunning Level 7 rose-like dragon materialized, its attack at 2400 points and defence at 1800, Aki smiled because luck seemed to be on her side now. The appearance of her dragon sent genuine gushes of wind in every direction.
"And now, Black Rose Dragon, destroy his Makyura the Destructor!" she ordered and her stunning dragon charged into the attack, annihilating Mahdi's monster into nothingness. This time she relaxed and no longer withheld her power: Mahdi told her that he wanted Crow to have suffered...and so now he'd experience the taste of his own medicine.
The broken monster shards of Solid Vision flew towards Mahdi and he quickly had to cover his face from their impact lest he gets serious damage. "Amazing...just amazing..." Mahdi mumbled under his breath as he lowered his now slightly bruised-up arms.
Aki found herself feeling rather content both with the psychic phenomenon and the situation. She felt like she had this duel to her complete advantage: he no longer had any monsters or cards on his field and she had her ace monster shining on her side.
"So finally-" she began carrying on with her turn when Mahdi interrupted her with another rather harsh laugh.
"What's so funny?" Aki inquired in anger. The metallic Arcadia pin in her hair was now vibrating lightly, threatening to break away. Aki could inhibit her powers just fine without the pin's support but if she was pushed that far she could go completely ballistic, if needed.
"You've just done such a favour for me," Mahdi explained the source of his amusement, "During the turn Maryura the Destructor is sent to the Graveyard, I can activate a Trap card from my hand this turn. So I choose..." he looked thoughtfully at his hand, chuckled, and showed her one of the cards, "Meteor Flare. When my opponent has 3000 or more Life Points, I can inflict 2000 points of direct damage by discarding two cards from my hand."
As Mahdi sent the remainder of his hand to the Graveyard, Aki felt dismayed: additional 2000 Life Points were depleted from her, leaving her at measly 1000. "In that case, I'll set one card face down and end my turn," she quickly concluded, fighting off her panic. She had made a daring move and attacked him only to have 3000 of her own Life Points lost and none of his as a result. Concentrate, just concentrate, she told herself firmly.
[Aki Izayoi]
[End of Turn Two: Black Rose Dragon (Lvl. 7) ATK2400/DEF1800 in Attack mode; 1 Card on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP1000]
"Just how I wish I was a psychic duellist," Mahdi suddenly said.
"What?" Aki asked, startled by his comment.
"Why do you act so surprised?" he raised his eyebrows, "Didn't you see what you can do? It's such a great power...It would make so many matters simpler. You're so lucky to have it."
"You're insane," was Aki's reply. It would probably work for him if he used it for his own wicked purposes and it sickened her. And he obviously could never understand how horrible this power was, how much it hindered her and just how much it ruined her life until Yusei came along and saved her.
"Perhaps," Mahdi slowly smiled at her, "Doesn't change the fact, though. You should do it more. Try not to lose the duel yet, I want to see you do more."
Aki had to draw in a deep breath to control her outrage with his taunting. It wasn't like she was planning to lose this duel, especially not with the terrible risks and conditions they set. She simply would not lose.
"I can also tell that you're holding back from unleashing your whole power," Mahdi added as he placed his hand on his deck of cards, preparing to declare his turn.
"You know nothing," Aki mumbled even though he was right. She decided then that on her next turn she would show him the full extent of her power. He wanted to see it but she'll make him regret ever asking for it.
"You'll see," he said with a smirk, "My turn!"
[Mahdi]
[Beginning of Turn Two: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 1 Card in hand; LP4000]
"Hmm, let's see," he hummed as he looked at the only card in his hand. But then, instead of making a decision, he looked back at her with another enigmatic smile, "Izayoi Aki...do you want me to tell you a little something interesting that I know about you?"
Aki felt a jolt of fear pass her but she instantly suppressed it. He's bluffing, she convinced herself. "No thanks," she dismissed him, "Carry on with your turn."
"Considering you wanted to ask me some questions at the end, I'm doing you a favour right now," Mahdi pointed out with amusement, "Perhaps you should take advantage of this. You never know what you could learn."
Aki gulped a knot in her throat. She wanted to resist, knowing that he might be baiting her, but morbid curiosity still took the best of her. "Fine," she gave up, "What is it?"
"You see, the time you interrupted my duel with Hogan Crow was my first encounter with a psychic duellist. I mean, I heard about you guys before but there was never any reason for me to delve into this topic of interest," he said and then sighed, "But this time it was personal. I was curious. So I did some pretty thorough research on psychic duellists and found so many interesting things. So many different coincidences...hypotheses."
Aki pursed her lips as she listened to him. This was ridiculous. He was wasting her time and she never should have agreed to hear any of it: she knew more about psychic duels than anyone, being that it had always been a large part of her life. There was nothing he could tell her that she wouldn't already know.
"Am I boring you?" he inquired, as if reading her mind, "Then perhaps you already know why some people are capable of psychic duelling and some aren't, right? You know exactly why it happens and about the abrupt appearance of this phenomenon?"
Aki flinched and stared at him, suddenly feeling dumbfounded.
"Ah yes," he smiled, "I take it that you don't. I'm sure you wondered, besides the source of your own abilities, why it is that psychic duelling did not exist until pretty recently, right?"
The thought occurred to Aki a few times but she had never really delved into it. Divine always described it as a very special gift that only the most fortunate possessed. And she, herself, always maintained that it was a curse since it basically ruined most of her life.
"You never wondered?" Mahdi seemed surprised, masterfully reading through her silence, "The answer is so obvious, though. Of course it has everything to do with Momentum energy source."
"Momentum…?" Aki whispered, feeling something beginning to sink inside of her.
"Oh indeed, the very invention that had already changed so much...but also impacted so many more things than realized just yet," he confirmed.
Aki felt a hollow feeling suddenly suffocating her. So, according to him, not only did Momentum bring about Zero Reverse, which killed innumerable people and ruined countless lives... and then the conflict with future-changing Arc Cradle which almost caused Yusei to die... but it also gave her the psychic powers that she dreaded so much? She suddenly began wondering if Yusei knew anything about this...and, in case he didn't, if he should ever find out. Would she ever want him to feel any additional guilt over Zero Reverse especially since he always consoled her when she suffered over her power?
But maybe Mahdi was lying. Maybe none of what he was saying was true. "So how did Momentum impact psychic duelling?" she asked, needing to hear more of what he knows before she could accept it.
"You know, of course, that the Momentum consists of M-gamma rays: at 399 nanometres M-gamma rays are borderline invisible to the human eye. The thing is, the M-gamma rays' short wavelength frequency interacts in various interesting ways with human brainwaves. So the moment Momentum had activated for the first time a little over twenty years ago, it emitted with itself an energy which caused some of these interesting reactions," he said.
That scientific breakdown began frightening her – it all sounded so simple and completely devoid of any mysticism she was used to. "And yet why did Momentum energy affect some individuals and not others? How did it give psychic abilities?" she questioned quietly.
"It's all in the capacity and potential," Mahdi said, "I found out that the research conducted by the late Arcadia Organization shows that psychic duellists have a higher neural brain connectivity in the cerebral cortex and the occipital lobes, compared to 'normal' people. Thus, the radiation of the Momentum affected the people with that higher neural potential and not others. It's a form of mutation then but, personally, I think it should be called…" he paused and smiled, "Evolution."
Aki felt a dizzying wave of nausea after his mention of Arcadia. It always came back to Arcadia, to Divine...to how he hid everything from her, to how he used her. "How does that make any sense?" she asked, still holding on to some doubt and somehow hoping that what he was saying wasn't true. A radiation...a mutation? she thought in revulsion.
"Well think about it in this way," Mahdi went on explaining, "Think about Solid Vision: it is basically a hologram and a hologram is an advanced projection of light. All visible light as humans perceive it are wavelengths between 400 and 700 nanometres. So the concentration of psychic brainwaves as interlaced with Momentum energy consists of the ability to pick up on the wavelengths of Solid Vision and manipulate them as they see fit, including the more rare ability for materialization. It looks quite interesting on the neural level too – kind of like a helix of intertwined rays."
Aki had to avert her gaze to the ground, feeling sick. She couldn't believe that he had just revealed to her the very process and foundation of her power…her curse. The very thing she had always tried to understand and which, apparently, Arcadia somewhat figured out but Divine never bothered revealing to her. She felt tainted and disgusting, like there was always something fundamentally wrong with her...and there was because apparently there was something different in her brain.
At the same time it suddenly made sense why her psychic powers had gone away during the times of WRPG and the Arc Cradle – that was when the largest Momentum source was going through some instability.
But some things still didn't make sense: the few rare times she was capable of healing minor wounds with her powers and the fact that her own emotions always played a big part in her abilities. Emotional stability allowed her to concentrate and to control her power and none of this seemed to have much to do with Mahdi's structural breakdown.
"Mahdi, why are you telling me all this? What's the point?" she finally asked. He claimed to know something about her...but all this was general information and not particularly about her, no matter how important and shocking.
"I'm telling you all of this because it's all about that potential!" he answered, repeating his case in point, "I wish I had such your ability but, unfortunately, it is impossible. But you, you, on the other hand, do it so easily and effortlessly! And do you know something else? The potential of the psychic power is related to impulse control: this is why some people are better and stronger at this – like you – and others fall far behind."
Aki gasped, understanding that he had just answered the correlation between her emotional control and her power.
"So...I told you all of this because it basically comes down to this: I think you have an untapped potential. I think you can be so much stronger and do so much more," he responded, "So show me what you've got because you've definitely tapped my curiosity."
Aki gritted her teeth. She wanted to hurt him, sure...but apparently he wanted to feel pain to satisfy some interest. This was both creepy and ridiculous.
"Okay, I think I've said enough," Mahdi looked back to the only card he was holding in his hand. He glared at it thoughtfully for a few more seconds before he shrugged.
"I end my turn," he announced.
[Mahdi]
[End of Turn Two: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 1 Card in hand; LP4000]
Aki felt vines of shock enveloping her. "You have an open field?" she asked in disbelief, "No monsters or cards to protect you? What are you trying to do, Mahdi?"
"Maybe I just haven't drawn what I want yet...I do have one card after all," he answered and then slowly smiled at her, "Or maybe...maybe I just want to see what you can do, Izayoi Aki. So give me your best shot."
She bit her bottom lip, torn with indecision. "Shut up," was the only thing she could say, under her breath, and drew her card.
[Aki Izayoi]
[Beginning of Turn Three: Black Rose Dragon (Lvl. 7) ATK2400/DEF1800 in Attack mode; 1 Card on Field; 3 Cards in hand; LP1000]
What should I do? Aki was thinking, Should I refuse to do what he wants? Is this all just a trap?
On his side of the field, Mahdi stretched and slowly cracked his neck.
Or do I go all out and make him beg for mercy? Aki continued wondering, Should I make him feel pain for ever hurting Crow? Should I weaken him before the end of the duel and make him more prone to answering my questions?
"What's there to think?" he called out to her, "I'm giving you a free shot. Can you deplete 4000 Life Points in one turn? Or will you pass on a golden opportunity?"
Aki looked at the cards she held and then back up at him. She had decided. "You've made a big mistake, Mahdi. You'll regret doing this and not having anything to protect you," she threatened him. He was provoking her but she no longer cared.
"I sure hope so," he shot back, appearing infuriatingly amused, "Do your best, would you?"
"No mercy," Aki whispered to herself as she removed the metallic Arcadia pin form her hair, "No mercy." She returned her gaze back to her cards, calculating her strategy. She realized that if only she had drawn "Wonder Clover" Magic card then she could have simply chosen her Black Rose Dragon to attack twice. And then it'd be all over and she could return to Yusei.
If only. But she would do as much as she could without Wonder Clover.
"I will play my Thorns of Hatred magic," she said and activated a green card on her duel disk, "I can equip it to Black Rose Dragon so it could gain extra 600 attack points." A thorned green vine framed around her monster and the dragon screeched as its attack points went up to 3000, sending a gust of wind around the parking lot.
Mahdi shielded his face from the shockwave but remained standing. "Scary," he commented with that same smirk.
"And then I will summon Woodland Sprite in Attack position," Aki went on, trying to control the feelings of agitation and anger in her voice as he kept her insides boiling with loathing. A small green fairy (Level 3) appeared on her side of the field, its attack points at 900 and its defence points at 400. She had only one card left in her hand now but it was a Level 5 monster she couldn't summon.
"Here we go," Mahdi remarked and planted his feet firmly as if preparing himself.
"First, Black Rose Dragon, attack him directly!" Aki exclaimed and concentrated on her dragon. She watched as the majestic monster released a piercing screech and sent a powerful attack blow at her opponent.
Mahdi clenched his teeth and shielded his face with his arms but the sheer force of Black Rose Dragon's attack sent him flying back as if he was a rag doll. He hit the invisible barrier of the Sutekh Sacrificō seal and fell face down into the ground, now motionless.
Aki stood there, breathing heavily with the adrenaline rush of the materialized strike, finding in herself some satisfaction that he had suffered. She wasn't going to hurt him lethally, of course, but anything to get him to swallow his laughing; to show him that she was stronger than he could ever imagine and to get him to shut up.
Mahdi didn't remain immobile for too long. Seconds later, he twitched and began scrambling back up to his feet. He looked rumpled with some light bleeding cuts on his face and the black oversized hoodie he wore might have been concealing the bruises on his torso. Nonetheless he seemed completely unfazed by his injuries and laughed with delight. "That was fantastic," he told her as he slowly walked back to where he originally stood, "This is what I'm talking about!" His Life Points went down to 1000 now, equalling hers.
Aki felt frustration overwhelming her. "Shut your mouth..." she mumbled under her breath, giving him a serious warning. Her Black Rose Dragon fed on her fury and let out another inhumane screech, flapping its wings and sending powerful rushes of airstream. Various junk and scrap metal – scattered all over the parking lot – was now sent flying in different directions and Aki actually wished that one of the especially heavy garbage parts could hit her enemy.
Mahdi managed to avoid some debris with surprising agility and remained standing in his spot, looking entertained. "Go on," he urged her.
Aki wanted nothing more than to wipe the ugly smile off his face. Breathing heavily, she pointed in his direction and shouted, "And now, Woodland Sprite, attack him directly!"
Mahdi continued standing in his spot with that same disturbingly joyous expression and unwaveringly covered his face as Woodland Sprite charged at him. Unlike the distant power blows of the Black Rose Dragon, the small plant monster physically smashed into him and the actual impact once again threw him back. He slammed against the impenetrable seal boundaries and then dropped to the ground.
And then, instantly this time, he stood back up to his feet even though he was noticeably shaking from the harsh collision. "Magnificent...just magnificent. Did you see what you just did?" he asked her while staring at her with that same ecstatic expression. His Life Points decreased to meager 100.
"Shut up!" Aki screamed, now completely overtaken by rage and frustration. Bitter and unimaginable loathing pumped black through her veins. He sounded like Divine...so, so much like Divine. That same sweetly tone, that same admiration and acidic awe of her. At that point she wanted nothing more than to destroy him, to simply annihilate him into nothingness.
"What power...what elegance," Mahdi continued appreciating her, unbothered by the fact that she basically had a violent vortex of air surrounding her, threatening to blast him to oblivion, "You are magnificent, Izayoi Aki. And what a pity it is that I'll have to put an end to you... to such being with such potential."
"I'll...make you...swallow your words," Aki managed to say between her ragged gasps, "You will lose."
"Unless you have another attack up your sleeve, I think I still have a turn, don't I?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows, "So do you? Do you have the means to deplete my remaining points?"
In a sudden moment of clarity Aki looked down at the only card in her hand and realized that this was all she could do. God damn it...damn it... she thought in agitation, biting her lips. He was right, she couldn't do anything else...but it didn't matter. She was still in the lead by 900. She had two monsters, including her ace, out on the field and he had none. And she also had an additional trap to protect her. Thus, on her next turn it would be over before he'd have a chance to do anything.
"I..." Aki drew in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Slowly, she began feeling exhaustion catching up to her... she realized that she was emotionally and mentally drained after she had done so much psychic manifestation, after she tried going so far. After all, it had been a long time since she had been pushed to the edge like this and an impossibly long time since she had practiced for such powerful psychic extent. "I...end my turn," she finished.
[Aki Izayoi]
[End of Turn Three: Black Rose Dragon (Lvl.7) ATK3000/DEF1800 (Equipped with Thorn Malice) in Attack mode; Woodland Sprite (Lvl.3) ATK900/DEF400 in Attack mode; 1 Card on Field; 1 Card in hand; LP1000]
Mahdi let out a profound sigh. "Too bad it had to end like this," he said, sounding almost...unhappy.
"Just make your turn," Aki hissed.
"I'm disappointed, I have to say," he continued his taunting, "You still held back. You could have done so much more. And now this has to end without you showing me what I think you're actually capable of."
"Shut up..." Aki whispered as she pressed her hands to her temples and closed her eyes, telling herself to calm down. Her long hair fluttered around her in a red cascade as the jets of wind exuded from her Black Rose Dragon. "Just shut up..."
"My turn," Mahdi smiled at her and drew a card.
[Mahdi]
[Beginning of Turn Three: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP100]
Mahdi looked at the new card in his hand and let out another sigh. "This was good while it lasted," he commented, fixing his pitch black eyes on her again.
Aki bit down on her bottom lip, deciding that regardless of her anger she would simply no longer acknowledge him with an answer. He was provoking her, that's all he was doing and that's all he wanted from her for his own disturbing masochistic enjoyment. She never should have let it out of her control and she should have resisted his bait. But at least he felt some pain...that was her consolation.
"And didn't I tell you about impulse control? That it's a big deciding factor in variation of your abilities?" Mahdi asked, "You saw what a big difference it made, didn't you? The uncontrollable impulse of emotions?"
Aki said nothing.
"Stunning," he sighed again, "And I mean it so it's just too bad this has to happen. So for starters, I will play a Magic card - Card of Demise. It allows me to draw cards until I have five in my hand." He played the card he's held in his hand since his previous turn and casually drew four additional cards from his deck while Card of Demise disappeared into his Graveyard.
Aki realized that he could have played Card of Demise from the beginning and had drawn more cards all along...and so he had truly skipped his turn on purpose. To test her and to taunt her. Aki forced herself to keep taking deep and controlled breaths, still concentrating on diminishing her power a bit.
"It wasn't really necessary for me to do that," he said, referring to his card-gathering Magic, "But I thought I'd make things at least somewhat fair."
Fair? Aki thought in outrage, Is that what he just said? He's trying to make things fair?
"And then I will play another very special Magic card. Hinotama!" he declared and activated it on the duel disk.
Aki looked up as the night sky parted and a fireball began rapidly tumbling down towards. As the violent Magic effect slammed into her, Aki remained completely still and unaffected by the Solid Vision. But as the direct attack Hinotama drained 500 Life Points from her, she frowned and involuntarily thought about how bad this card could be if it were ever used by a psychic duellist. The physical impact of it could be agonizing.
"I'm not done," Mahdi snickered, "Here is another Magic card – it's called Tribute Burial."
Aki then suddenly understood his duel deck type and his strategy. He was nothing like Jack who would assemble the most powerful monsters in his deck and find the means of summoning them; and he was nothing like Yusei who would early and strategically build up to a victory using simple but structured means, preferring Synchro monsters and traps above all. It seemed like Mahdi was more like her in using Magic cards in achieving his means. Except that, while for her the Magic cards actively aided her in summoning and then protecting her Black Rose Dragon, Mahdi saturated his duel deck with destructive Magic cards in order to help him inflict additional damage to his opponent here and there. He was sneaky and passive.
"Tribute Burial activates," Mahdi went on with his turn, "By removing from play one monster from each of our Graveyards, I can Summon a Level 5 or higher monster from my hand without Tribute. So I remove from play my Makyura the Destructor and your Violet Witch to summon a fantastic representation of power like no other – La Magra!"
The ground beneath them began quaking as a colossal shadow appeared on his side of the field. It hissed and whispered as it smoothly and continuously flowed like blood water before scattering into dark fog and then solidifying into an indistinguishable shape. Its attack and defence points were both at 3000.
Aki felt fear threatening to take over her as she looked upon the horrible monster but she fought against that incapacitating emotion. She had nothing to be afraid of. She still had the way of defending herself and winning this duel.
"A beauty..." Mahdi whispered, watching La Magra with captivation and, what seemed like, pride, "And, lastly, I will set my final card face down on the field and begin to put an end to all this."
Aki looked back from La Magra to her Black Rose Dragon equipped with Thorns of Hatred, knowing that both monsters were equally matched in attack. So then he would obviously attack her weaker Woodland Sprite and thus deduct her remaining 500 Life Points. But it was okay and she was prepared: she had a trap card – Negate Attack – which would negate the attack of La Magra and end the Battle Phase, giving her time to recuperate for her next turn.
"What do I want to do..." Mahdi thoughtfully deliberated, as if purposefully dragging something that was obvious. "Alright, here goes," he finally decided and...pointed to her Black Rose Dragon, "La Magra, attack that hideous screeching bird."
"What?" Aki gasped in shock. Both of those monsters were matched and they would both be destroyed! Why would he want to self-destruct his own monster unless – she quickly looked to the hidden trap card on his field – unless he had some kind of a trap that would accumulate extra damage after an attack.
Just as she had figured out his possible plan the claw birthmark of the Crimson Dragon lit up bright red on her forearm and begun steadily pulsating. Nani? Aki stared at it in confusion, What's going on? Why is it active now? At that very instant her heart sank: if she was feeling this then so were the other five Signers...including Yusei. He'd see she was gone now and the Signer mark could lead him to her.
La Magra seeped into the ground and then reappeared in front of her Black Rose Dragon, extending its shadowy tendrils to swallow it up.
Aki panicked, shaken from her thoughts. "Stop!" she exclaimed and activated her face down card, "Trap card open! I activate Negate Attack – when my opponent's monster declares an attack I can negate it and end the Battle Phase." She decided to use her trap now and end this before, she predicted, he'd have a chance to use his trap after the turn. He wouldn't destroy his own monster without a reason, right?
The mark of the Crimson Dragon suddenly began pulsating with higher intensity and Aki grabbed onto her arm. Why are you doing this now? she questioned the Crimson Dragon, Am I...in danger? Are you trying to warn me and my friends? Is this why you lit up during Crow's duel with Mahdi...because something is wrong? Something is dangerous?
La Magra stopped with the activation of Negate Attack and began retreating to Mahdi's side of the field.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face. "If that's the case then I'll activate my Riryoku Field Counter-trap card!" he announced and flipped up that single card on his field, "I can negate the activation of a card that targets one of my monsters and then destroy it." Aki's Negate Attack shattered into pieces of Solid Vision before Mahdi ordered, "So please, carry on with your attack, La Magra."
What is he doing? Aki was frantically thinking. And then a chilling realization abruptly donned on her. She had a Trap that would have negated his attack at her Woodland Sprite if he had chosen to attack it instead but...his Counter-trap would have still enabled that attack to go through. She would have lost the duel right then and there if he had only attacked the obvious weak monster...but he still chose to go after Black Rose Dragon.
"What are you trying to do, Mahdi?" she shouted at him as La Magra re-appeared next to her dragon and began enveloping it. Aki's heart clenched painfully in her chest when her dragon let out a cry before it completely drowned in La Magra's bleeding shadow, "They're equal and you're destroying them both without avail!"
Mahdi said nothing and simply watched as the strokes of light broke out within the darkness of the fog and then an explosion occurred as both monsters self-destructed, sending powerful shockwaves throughout the parking lot. Mahdi lost his balance and had to scramble back up while Aki tried to keep her tears from escaping after the horrible fate her Black Rose Dragon suffered. As if adding more insult to her injury the Signer birthmark began burning now with increasing intensity and Aki groaned in pain, clutching desperately to it. What is it? What are you trying to warn me of? she continued pondering as thoughts raced in her head, He has nothing left on his field and I still have a monster! Why are you calling others?
"Phew, that was intense," Mahdi mumbled as he regained his composure and smoothed his rumpled clothing, "And now...at last...for my grand finale, I'll activate La Magra's special effect!"
"What are you talking about? What special effect?" Aki asked while still cringing from the aching pain in her arm. She only knew from Yusei's duel with the boy named Takashi that one of La Magra's effects enabled it to possess all of the Monster attributes, so Dark, Light, Water, Earth, Fire and Wind, all in one. But she had no idea that it had another and, if it did, then why this was the first time that she had ever witnessed it.
"A special effect that only the original La Magra possesses, not any of the duplicates," Mahdi explained with a wide smile, "Up until now you've faced pitiful copies of this monster. Consider it your honour that you're facing the true one now. The one and only."
What's happening? How does he have the original and why? Aki was thinking hysterically while clinging to her arm but now bending over nearly in half as it throbbed now almost delibitatingly painful. Quickly a chilling sensation suddenly began framing about her and she felt like she was slowly being dunked under ice cold water...almost as if in slow motion... Somehow...she suddenly had a feeling that it didn't matter why Mahdi had the original or not... She just knew that it no longer mattered... A sudden feeling of almost precognition, probably bestowed on her by the Crimson Dragon...because of what was sure to come next.
"When La Magra is destroyed – and if I, of course, still have remaining Life Points – I can select one Magic card from either my deck or Graveyard and play it," Mahdi elaborated, looking pleased and ignorant of the horrible turmoil swelling inside of her.
"Oh...no...no..." Aki whispered in complete realization. He...played me...there was no way for me to win...and so he simply toyed with me... she thought in numbing horror, feeling a cold and slithering feeling form deep in the pit of her stomach, forming an unspeakable void.
"Ah..." Mahdi sighed as he looked down at his duel disk, "So many to choose from! I think I'll pick my personal favourite...that is, Hinotama." A green card appeared out of his Graveyard slot upon command and he activated it. He then slowly raised his eyes back to her and smiled with that same enigmatic and all-knowing smile, "I did say it was going to be over, Izayoi Aki, didn't I?"
"It...can't be..." she whispered, looking up as a fireball appeared out of the skies and plunged towards her, "It...can't..." Crimson Dragon, is that why you didn't light up when I was fighting any of my other blood-duels? she thought about her agonizing birthmark, Because, no matter how dire the situation was, you just knew that I had the means of winning? And...is that why you're burning now, warning me and my friends? Because I...lost...?
The Hinotama fireball slammed into her and Aki collapsed to her knees as her Life Points depleted to zero.
[Winner: Mahdi]
What...did...this mean? Did this mean that this...was the end?
"I...lost...?" Aki whispered inaudibly as she sat on her knees and looked at the gray asphalt of the ground. She was still holding to her throbbing Signer mark, feeling her eyes dry but burning with unstoppable pain. Is it over...? Am I...dying? she thought in numbness.
"I heard somewhere that death is considered to be the road to awe," Mahdi said as he neared her and Aki made an attempt to look up at him but for some reason she couldn't. She could only see his dirtied round-toe shoes in her field of vision. Papa...mama...all my friends...if this is it, if this is the end, then I never got a chance to say goodbye, she was thinking, And Yusei...Yusei...I never told you how I really felt for you. And I've let you down...I've let you down so bad...please forgive me.
"Will you let me know how that goes?" Mahdi asked her and snickered.
Aki made another attempt to look at him but understood then that she was paralyzed from the neck down. It was probably the way to keep the losers of the blood duel from simply running away. She was entirely frozen in her position and could only move her eyes and keep clinging to her terribly burning arm, feeling as if her flesh was peeling off. If there is a way out of this then Crimson Dragon...I need your help now before it could become too late, she was thinking, My friends may not get here on time. If there is a possibility then I beg you to give it to me, to help me.
Mahdi crouched in front of her and grabbed her chin, tilting it so Aki had no chance but to stare at him. His hand was large, rough and frozen cold, sending additional jolts of fear to the centre of her already terrified heart. She wanted nothing else but to run away from him and so she struggled to pull away from him but her body refused her.
"Are you listening to what I'm saying?" he inquired with a content smirk, "You can talk, you know."
"Go to hell," Aki instantly answered, still cringing from her Signer birthmark.
But instead of replying to her in a way she expected him to – either by taunting her or by physically hitting her – Mahdi remained strangely silent. He simply continued staring at her very attentively and his amusement had vanished without a trace.
Aki felt sickened for looking at those pitch-dark eyes and simply averted her eyes from his when he suddenly shouted, "No, keep looking at me!" and again jerked her chin to him causing her to stare at him with alarmed terror. What was it that he wanted with her? How long until either her friends get here or the Crimson Dragon tries to save her?
"Your eyes...they're so peculiar and distinctive," Mahdi muttered, looking concerned.
Aki felt disturbed both by the arbitrariness and oddity of his claim. She had no idea of his sudden fascination with her eyes. She never thought of them as anything but ordinary.
"I know them," Mahdi said, narrowing his own eyes, "Yes...I do. I know them!"
"You're a madman," Aki whispered in horror and diverted her eyes just to have her whole face yanked to him again.
"What the fuck? Do you know who you are?" he suddenly demanded, "Is that why you're here? Is that why you've come after me?"
"What?" Aki gaped at him wide-eyed. She had no idea what he was asking or what was going on. Crimson Dragon...my friends...I trust you, she was thinking.
And then Mahdi simply smiled. Slowly, knowingly and inexplicably.
"You...don't know anything, do you?" he asked and, without waiting for her reply, suddenly ran his fingers through her hair. That simple action caused Aki to begin shivering in disgust.
"Pretty...pretty eyes," he said and sighed dreamily, now caressing her face, "So pretty. You know what? I think that before letting you die I'll play with you for awhile," he whispered suggestively, "You might enjoy it too but it won't make any difference for me."
Revulsion and fear became almost too much for Aki to bear and she barely prevented herself from gagging both at his horrible suggestion and his revolting freezing touch. In addition to that, her birthmark was throbbing with such excruciating pain now that it was inhumane effort for her to keep from screaming. Nonetheless, somewhere in the back of her head she found some calm and comfort because she had a feeling that, should any of this go any further, the Crimson Dragon would finally appear in its celestial form to save her if her friends weren't any closer. "Don't...touch me," she told him through gritted teeth.
"What is that supposed to do in this situation?" Mahdi abruptly asked and gestured to her right forearm, completely redirecting the topic, "The mark of the Crimson Dragon. I've done enough of research on the six of you to know what it can do. So what? Is it going to let you pull some farfetched Synchro cards to save you? Would it save you outside of the duels...save you from me and what I have in mind for you?" He chuckled in amusement.
Aki's stomach churned in revulsion. Still, she maintained her calm.
"It will save me," she told him determinedly, "It is capable of physically coming to my rescue should you go further. Choose your actions wisely, Mahdi. It may be in your best interest to let me go right now."
"I'm terrified," Mahdi responded uncaringly while his eyes travelled down to her cleavage, "And does your Signer mark also call your friends to the rescue?"
"Yes, it does. They will get here soon and you have no idea the trouble you're going to be in," Aki responded, trying to suppress her shaking.
Mahdi paused and locked his eyes on hers again. He seemed lost in his thought for a few more seconds before he abruptly asked, "And are you also calling him? Yusei, was it?"
What's with these strange questions? Aki wondered. "Yes..." she responded but hesitantly at this point.
Mahdi's smile suddenly grew wider and he began laughing, sending goosebumps down her spine. She understood that she was right to suspect that something was wrong because it was. Something was very wrong.
"Good..." he whispered, "Bring him to me."
"What?" Aki asked, feeling intense panic.
"You're more useful than I thought, Izayoi Aki," Mahdi said, "You're bringing him to me. You gave him out. And so I thank you."
"W-what?" was the only thing Aki could stutter, her voice practically nonexistent.
Mahdi stood up to his feet and looked down at her with a smile, "Now I know exactly what to do and you've helped me. All this time I was looking for him...and now I think I've finally found him. Thank you."
Aki winced, feeling something breaking inside of her and sensed like she was about to suffocate. I gave...Yusei out? Crow said that Mahdi was looking for the owner of the Sky Dragon of Osiris...and I had just somehow given Yusei out? I...put Yusei in danger? Aki thought in unspeakable horror, I came here to save him, to ease the weight off his shoulders, and instead I...helped the enemy?
"Even gods have their ignorance!" Mahdi was laughing now, uncaring for her response, "He was under my nose all this time and I didn't actually realize it until you've come along! And I probably would have missed him had I waited to duel him properly tonight!"
Aki couldn't comprehend anything Mahdi was saying but she understood that she could only do one thing right now. If you truly wish to help me now then you must release me, she began begging the Crimson Dragon, Stop the Signer bond. My friends must no longer know where I am. Please, you have to help me. Release me!
"I can't believe it!" Mahdi went on, appearing to be in his own world, "This is just too good to be true! And now...after helping me find him, Izayoi Aki, you will also help me to do something special. Something really special."
Release me, please! Stop the Signer bond! Don't lead Yusei to me, please! Aki was pleading in her mind as tears filled her eyes. This is the best way and so I beg of you! she thought, You have to do it now! Please! she nearly screamed outloud and...finally her insistently burning Signer birthmark stopped hurting. A millisecond later, the red glow of it disappeared completely.
Mahdi didn't seem to notice anything (or maybe he simply didn't care) and sighed happily, crouching in front of her again. His long freezing fingers found her chin once more and he forced her to look at him.
"Don't worry, Izayoi Aki," he said gently as if actually trying to console her, "I shall permit you a somewhat painless death once I am done with my plan. For I am merciful."
Hot uncontrollable tears now streamed down her face.
"But first..." Mahdi reached out and, mesmerized, touched her tearstained cheek, "First, you will help me kill Fudo Yusei."
Aki's lips parted and she let out a sobbing scream.
Cliffhanger!
Yeah, things are going to be kind of bad now for our protagonists. Let's hope they pull through!
So stay tuned for more depressing things and for some questions answered!
PS: I completely made up that scientific part about Aki's powers. The anime never really explained the source of them - aside from the emotional connection - and I figured that adding a connection to Momentum could create some possible angst for future chapters.