Yu-Gi-Oh! DE, Book One; The Paths You Choose. TEMPORARY HIATUS

[senron]

Whoot awesome new chapter!:D

What did he . . . NO!:(

Was that the Emperor? And I thought those Order people collect souls. You know I think that was the first person to actually die in one of your yugioh fanfics. Is he? And Is he going to be the last?

[legendhiro]

Whoot awesome new chapter!:D

What did he . . . NO!:(

Was that the Emperor? And I thought those Order people collect souls. You know I think that was the first person to actually die in one of your yugioh fanfics. Is he? And Is he going to be the last?

 

addressing everyone who is asking this question, yes, james is dead, and no, he's not the first death. john killed exodus after their duel in book five so that he would never be able to regain his power and threaten the world again. and no, the order doesn't collect souls. yami marik collected souls to fuel his power until he could gain possession of the Duelist's Souls. with yami marik gone, the order has gone to collecting shadow items, since, for normal humans, more shadow items means more power, and more souls means nothing.

 

and as for this powerful duelist's relationship to emperor, you'll have to wait and see. also, there's something important about the Shadow Rod that was stolen as well. can anyone guess what it is?

[Nexev]

Millennium Rod.

 

Which means mind control will be involved.

[legendhiro]

not quite, but close. think pale shadow item recreation, but still frighteningly powerful. not mind control, but mental manipulation. the power to dredge up peoples' darker aspects and guide them in the direction you want. the weapon that yami marik used to form the order, lost after his battle with john, until now.

 

someone wants it for there own purposes now. and worse than that, this isn't the only shadow item with power rivaling a millennium item.

[legendhiro]

here's the next chapter. it should answer a few of you guys' questions.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Seven]

 

Loss

 

 

I couldn’t believe it, but I forced myself to. James was my friend, but the others had known him longer. If I couldn’t handle his death while there was still work to be done, they might break down too. So I tried to be strong so that the group could keep things together. Still, I’d never seen something like this before. I’d seen peoples’ spirits ripped from their bodies, but never this.

 

I stood up, hardening my expression, and I looked around. The Order thug was already gone. Where to, I couldn’t tell you. Who was this guy that he could take down an Elite veteran like James? From what I’d heard, James never lost at anything, especially Duel Monsters. He was at Pro level, in the league of any member of the Duel Force at least. Whoever this particular thug had been, he was more than just a generic minion.

 

Maybe Prof was right. Maybe something was happening within the Order’s ranks.

 

I tried to think what that could be.

 

I couldn’t think.

 

That’s when Rachel and Charlie walked in.

 

“Mission complete,” Rachel began. Then she saw James. I thought that I saw a look of pain in her angry eyes for a second, but when her expression didn’t change, I figured that I’d just imagined it. She stood there in the entrance to the exhibit room, unmoving. Charlie, his often-stoic face full of concern, rushed toward James, but I stopped him.

 

“It’s too late,” I said. “He’s gone.”

 

Charlie nodded, and the he did what I’d done. He knelt down beside his fallen ally, “James was as strong as any of us. No simple thug could do this to him.” Charlie lifted up James’ sleeve and reveled his Shadow Item, a dark-colored metal band, “They didn’t even take his Shadow Item.” Charlie unclasped the band, and removed it. “That’s as much as we can do for him,” he said. “As much as we’re allowed to do.”

 

He stood up. Rachel stepped in close to us, “We don’t have time for this. That guy is getting away with that Shadow Rod.”

 

I was stunned, “Are you kidding? Yeah, that’s a big deal. But your friend is dead. That’s important too. The least you can do is pretend that you care!”

 

“For one thing, Rocky,” Rachel spat, getting up in my face, “my attitude, my behavior, is none of your business. And for another thing, James was my team mate, not my friend. Team mates die. It happens. I’m going after the Rod. Come with me or don’t. I don’t care.”

 

She turned and stormed toward the entrance to the exhibit. Charlie followed. I frowned and I went after them. There was nothing more that I could do for James other than find his killer.

 

 

I caught up with Rachel and Charlie quickly. We turned one corner, and then another, and we found ourselves watching a duel between Prof and the dark-haired Order Duelist. He was holding the Shadow Rod under his arm. He also wore a triangular, flat pendant around his neck. His entire field consisted of the red and white mecha, ‘Perfect Machine King’ and the Spell card ‘Machine Assembly Line’ (PMK: 2900). Prof controlled the mighty hodge-podge battle robot ‘Giant Kozaky’ and two face-down cards. ‘Giant Kozaky’ wasn’t destroying itself, which meant its effect was negated. Its Attack was up four hundred, which meant ‘Forbidden Chalice’ (G. Kozaky: 2900).

 

“Is this guy telling the truth?” Prof asked. “Did he kill James?” Prof looked in bad shape. He was bruised and scorched and his cloths were tattered. I glanced at his LP readout. Only three hundred points.

 

“Yeah,” said Rachel, “he’s telling the truth.”

 

“Well,” said Prof, his eyes dark, “that means I don’t have to feel bad about what I’m about to do. I reveal ‘Backup Soldier’ to return ‘Kozaky’, ‘Ancient Brain’, and ‘Charcoal Inpachi’ to my hand, and I activate ‘Double Attack’, discarding ‘Charcoal Inpachi’ to give my monster the power to attack twice. I reveal ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’ to destroy ‘Assembly Line’, and I attack.”

 

‘Giant Kozaky’ crushed the mighty machine (ATK: 2700) with his hammer (5350+2700-2900=5150), and then stabbed the young man in the side with his drill. I saw the drill slice his flesh, blood running from the wound (5150-2900=2250).

 

The young man smiled a wicked, bloody smile, “I’ll live. You won’t. At the end of the turn, your monster’s effect returns and he self destructs, blowing you away.”

 

“Wrong,” said Prof. “I play ‘Shien’s Spy’, giving you my monster until the End Phase,” ‘Giant Kozaky’ moved to the enemy’s side, “and I end my turn. I get to choose which of my effects ends first, ‘Chalice’ or ‘Spy’. I choose ‘Chalice’. ‘Kozaky’’s effect returns while he’s still under your control.”

 

“No!” the young man exclaimed, but it was too late. ‘Giant Kozaky’ exploded, and the Young man was thrown hard into the wall behind him. He fell to the floor, slumped into a sitting position, his head down. Prof walked over and stood over him, scrutinizing the Rod and Pendant.

 

“I was right,” said Prof, “and this is one time when my being right is a very bad thing.” He reached for the Rod, which had fallen to the floor, but the young man snatched it up. Both Items glowed, and the young man cried “ALL HAIL EMPEROR!” He pressed the two items together, and they disappeared, transported away. The young man fell forward, dead.

 

“This is bad,” said Prof. “Worse than I imagined. We have to go. Now.” He was pale, his eyes glittering with fear. The kind of fear that cripples you. Prof strained and his Shadow Item glowed so bright that we had to look away. When the glow faded, the four of us were back at HQ, standing in the middle of one of the duel fields in the midst of a duel. Prof nearly passed out right there, but Charlie and I caught him. He let us support him for a few seconds, and then he straightened up, walking briskly away.

 

 

We all knew that Prof and Gregory were discussing something important. We weren’t allowed to interfere, and none of us wanted to. Rachel headed off on her own, claiming that someone dying is no reason for her to fall behind on her training. Once again I was disgusted by her lack of feeling, but I said nothing. Not long afterward, Charlie and I drifted off toward the Artificial Environment. Charlie jumped up into his tree with experience. I sat at its base. Charlie was the first to talk.

 

“I’m pretty distant, I know it. But James was still like a brother to me.” I looked up at him. He was turning the Shadow Band over in his fingers, again and again, studying it with interest.

 

“He was a good guy,” I said. “He was my first friend here, and I let him down. I walked away and let him go forward. If I’d taken the other opponent, maybe he’d be alive.”

 

“Yeah,” said Charlie, “and maybe you’d be dead instead. You didn’t let anyone down. It was just bad luck.”

 

I nodded, but I didn’t reply. He was right, but I felt that it would be an affront to James to admit that his death was nothing but a bout of bad luck. It needed to be more, to be worth more.

 

Charlie and I sat in silence for several minutes. Again, Charlie broke the silence, “Don’t hate my sister, okay?”

 

My face darkened, “I’m way beyond hating her,” I said.

 

“She’s not heartless,” Charlie argued. “She feels things more than anyone I know.”

 

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

 

Without warning, Charlie dropped from his perch, “Come on, I want to show you something.”

 

I followed Charlie. He led me into the section of HQ that housed the members’ quarters. I followed Charlie to a room in the back. The door was pulled to, but it wasn’t shut tight. Charlie swung the door open a couple of inches and motioned for me to look through. The room was dark, empty except for a bed, a trunk of clothes, and a punching bag. It was Rachel’s room. She was sitting on the bed with Timothy Hendriks. Their backs were to us, but it was clear that she was sobbing. I stumbled back, looking as shocked as I felt, I’m sure. Charlie pulled the door shut, and he turned and walked away. I followed.

 

“You see,” he said, “she feels. She just doesn’t like to admit it. She’s been through a lot. She and I both have, but she’s been through more. Rachel’s Item is a Shadow Necklace. A necklace that used to belong to my mother. She wore it as a normal piece of jewelry. She had no clue about its power. But the Order did. They wanted it. Three Order agents broke into our house one night. Our parents heard them and moved to defend their home and family and possessions. The Order agents killed them.

 

“I didn’t see it. I slept through it. But Rachel woke up. She saw three men kill her parents over a necklace. She picked up that necklace, and she found its power. She killed those three men right there. She’s never been the same since. When we lost our parents, I was hurt. I vowed to do something meaningful with my life. I taught myself to fight and stay strong. To move quietly against my enemies. But all the while, I built bonds between myself and others. Rachel on the other hand was broken. She took things a step further. She decided to never, ever show weakness again. She vowed to stay strong so that no one that she cared about would ever be hurt again. She vowed to protect everyone, and to destroy the Duelists of the Order. The only person that she’s connected with since then is Timothy Hendriks. She trusts him, and only him, with her deepest secrets and her emotions. And he’s good enough to let her lay all of that on him.

 

“I’ve entrusted Timothy Hendriks with the task of rebuilding my sister, because he’s the only one who can.”

 

I nodded, “I see. I get it. I was wrong. Really wrong. Sorry.”

 

Charlie frowned. We were about half way back to the AE now. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Just don’t let Rachel know that you saw her like that. And don’t show either one of us any sympathy. I don’t need it, and she doesn’t want it.”

 

I nodded, “Yeah, okay.”

 

Just then Gregory Hendriks’ voice chimed over the intercom, “I need to see my brother and the members of Team Two in my office now.”

 

“Team Two is us,” said Charlie. “This sound big. Let’s go.”

 

 

“First off,” said Greg once everyone was present, “I want to express how sorry I am about your team mate. But we have bigger issues to discuss here. There are questions that I'm sure you all want answered, about the what the Order wanted with the rod that they stole today, and about the Shadow Pendant that you saw, that scared Prof so much. There is a story known among only a few of us here in the Elite. Only a few know it, because it’s dangerous knowledge, but I believe that it is time that you all were told. Three thousand years ago, an Egyptian Pharaoh and his priests created seven mythical items, the Millennium Items, to combat a threat to his kingdom. Not long after, the Millennium Items were sealed away. They had immense magical power, far greater even that the power of the twelve Duelist’s Souls. They were hidden to shield the world from that power. The Millennium Items resurfaced a few years ago, and the disappeared. My sources tell he that they were destroyed.”

 

“Nice bedtime story,” said Rachel, “but what does any of this have to do with the Shadow Rod?”

 

“Simple,” said Prof, picking up where Greg had finished. “After the Millennium Items disappeared the first time millennia ago, sorcerers and priests all over the world learned of them and tried to recreate them. The results of these attempts are the Shadow Items. No Shadow Item ever possessed the same degree of power as the Millennium Items, but one series of Shadow Items came close. Seven were made, the same number as the Millennium Items. These particular items even shared similar forms to the seven Millennium Items, as well as similar capabilities. Today only a few of these items are known. All but one were thought to have been destroyed, until today. The items we saw today were the Shadow Pendant and the Shadow Rod. The Rod has the power to manipulate weak or vulnerable minds, and the Pendant has the power to unite the others, increasing their power. All of the Items give the wielder magical abilities from teleportation to telekinesis. The man I fought today used such a teleportation spell to send away the Items in his possession, and the strain of the spell on his injured body killed him. Also, based on what we saw today, I think there are still more of there Shadow Millennium Items out there, just waiting for the Order to find them.”

 

“Prof thinks,” said Greg, “that this Emperor person somehow discovered that the Items still existed. He, and now I believe that Emperor is collecting the known Shadow Millennium Items in an attempt to gain power enough to rule the world. With even four, maybe five of the Items, he would have power enough to nullify every Shadow Item. The Elite would be nothing to him.”

 

"And to make matters worse," Prof added, "the more Shadow Millennium Items the Order has, the easier it will be for them to find the tombs of the others."

 

"This doesn't make sense," I said. "Why did that Order guy kill James? What did he ever do to them?"

 

"It's understandable that you'd be confused," said Charlie. During your time as a member of the Duel Force, you knew the Order under a different leader. Yami wanted the spirits of strong Duelists because their energy kept him in this world, and so he often disregarded the physical bodies of those Duelists. It probably doesn't sound like it, but taking someone's spirit without killing their body takes far less effort that taking their Spirit and killing their body. His minions weren't always strong enough to do both. Or they just thought it would be more fun to leave the victim's friends with some hope."

 

"But things are different now," said Greg. "Without Yami directing them to collect spirits and search out the Duelist's Souls, members of the Order have been fighting without limits to collect Shadow Items and increase their power. Now that they no longer have to preserve the spirits of their foes for Yami, they have started letting their intentions alone determine their enemy's fate in a Penalty Game."

 

"James must have made his opponent very angry," suggested Tim, "to bring on as harsh a Penalty as death."

 

Either that or that guy just really likes killing people, I thought, not wanting to think that James might have somehow caused his fate. Everyone was silent for a moment, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken. Then something occurred to me.

 

“Wait,” I said. “You guys mentioned that these Shadow Millennium Items can shut down other Shadow Items, but what about a Soul?”

 

Prof smiled, “I told you he’d see it Greg. Yes Rocky. If Emperor succeeds, You will be the only Elite member with any power against him. If he manages to unite all seven Shadow Millennium Items, he will possess a power equal to the combined power of the Souls.”

 

“Which is why we aren’t going to let him find the others,” said Greg. “That’s why you’re here, Tim. I’m sending Team One to seek out the other two known Shadow Millennium Items; the Shadow Eye and the Shadow Key. You will find them, and you will bring them back here where they will be safe.”

 

“And in case you fail,” said Prof, addressing Greg as much as us now, “I’ll be getting my team ready to fight back.”

 

I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. Tim, Charlie and Rachel didn’t look much better off. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. There was a power out there that was as great as the Souls, and the Order might be on the verge of acquiring it?

 

And that’s when something hit me, “Prof, you said something just now about the Shadow Rod. That it can manipulate weak or vulnerable minds. Is it the same Shadow Rod that -.”

 

“Yes, Rocky,” Prof cut in, “this particular Shadow Rod is the Rod that you have heard so much about; the weapon of choice of the late Order founder Yami.”

 

Greg dismissed us, and Prof walked away, leaving me feeling even worse, if that's even possible.

 

[spoiler=Card of the Day]

One of Prof's strongest and most dangerous monsters is the "Giant Kozaky". When used incorrectly, he will likely backfire and kill his master. But used correctly, he is a powerful weapon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Chapter Marco

 

A young man arrives at Elite HQ. He has no Shadow Item, but he clearly has power over the Shadows. What are is intentions? And what is the source of his power?

[senron]

You answered some questions but left just as many.

First if the Elite's shadow items are going to be useless if the emperor gets those shadow items then shouldn't they try to make plans to gather up more members of the duel force? Maybe John of Max?

Second if the Pendant can help you find the other shadow items and the rod influences people's minds then how did that person teleport them away.

Third how did he die? I thought they were just going to wipe his memory.

Fourth what do they do with all the shadow items they get? Do they destroy them, store them away, use them? You don't exactly explain.

[legendhiro]

i'm not going to explain everything yet. as to how the guy teleported the items away and why he died, the Shadow Millennium Items give their wielders magical powers in general in addition to their individual powers. i did mention that, but it's easy to miss. the guy used what strength he had left to cast a spell that sent the items away, and the strain killed him. prof and the others are preparing for the worst and assuming that emperor has the items now.

 

the shadow items collected by both sides are protected from the other, and when someone new who doesn't already have a shadow item joins either team, they are supplied with one. that's how everyone on both sides seems to have a shadow item.

 

as for calling in john or max or the others, that will be addressed soon.

[legendhiro]

Yu-Gi-Oh! DE, originally twenty-five chapters long, has been officially reduced in length to only twenty chapters. This may seem disappointing at first, but I assure all of my readers that this is for the best. It has allowed the story to flow better, and re-writing it has given me the chance to beef up the plot considerably. I think you will all like it.

[Ryno Dorcus]

Sounds cool, I missed a few chapters, and they were really well written.

[legendhiro]

thanks

[RyanAtlus]

Our fanfics contradict each other.

How cruel :'(

 

But your version of the what-after-the-millenium-items-were-lost story is better.

[legendhiro]

thanks. yours is great too. i need to catch up with it...

[legendhiro]

wanted to bump, and to say that a new chapter will be up soon. in a day or so.

[legendhiro]

so, i'm aware that i've been away for awhile. finals have been coming up, and i've had no free time. so i want to apologize and promise a special treat next week after the quarter ends; three new chapters, maybe more, including the first major plot development, involving an all out attack on the leaders of the Duelists Elite!

---

as an additional treat, here is my latest card, which will appear in my fourth and likely final series, the futuristic Yu-Gi-Oh! DFR:

 

 

obviously in honor of the Machina Mayhem Structure deck recently released, which isn't half bad.

 

 

 

also, a bit about my next set, which will contain monsters that are literally produced from field spells, and a whole new type of synchro monster that uses the color spectrum instead of sound waves!

[Stigma_Horrizone]

bump, anything new?

[legendhiro]

another period of unexpected delays later, and i finally have the first of the three chapters promised for this book. i'll be working my ass off to get the next one up tomorrow morning.

 

so without further ado...

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Eight]

 

Marco

 

 

Prof was just out the door of Greg's office when something occurred to me. I caught up with him, calling, “Wait a minute. Something’s not making sense. If a Soul is the only thing that can resist the power of the Shadow Millennium Items, why not just ask some other members of the Duel Force for help? Some members, like Max, would be really hard to find, but John hasn’t left for school yet, and there’s always Sarah and the others. Any of them would be willing and able to help.”

 

“Rocky,” Prof answered, “don’t you see? My equations were correct after all! Even I was beginning to believe that I was wrong, but now I’m sure!”

 

“Are you talking about the equations that predicted the rise of Emperor?” I asked, confused.

 

“No Rocky,” Prof replied. “Along with that prediction came another. It was the most beautiful set of numerical formulae that I’ve ever seen. So perfect that I didn’t dare believe it entirely, since it bordered on miraculous. That prediction was that you would be needed, but it was also more than that. It told me that the Shadow Millennium Items would come into play. This was something that I thought impossible, you see. More so, it told me that you, and only you, would be able to stop the man who united the Items. Again, seemingly impossible. But now everything else has come true, and I’m sure. You are the key. Somehow, you are the only one with the power to defeat Emperor. You and only you.”

 

“So when Emperor appears,” I guessed, “I’ll beat him?”

 

“Oh, of course not,” said Prof. “You can defeat him. That doesn’t mean you will. Your chances would still be very slim.”

 

“Wow, you know how to make a guy feel better.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Prof said. “Thanks to my calculations Greg has sent Team One to find and gather the Shadow Millennium Items. Team One is made up of the Elite’s strongest. They’ll succeed.”

 

“Is Team One really that strong?” I wondered.

 

“Oh yes,” said Prof. “Any one member of Team One could fight you and I to a standstill, two against one. No need to worry. Now, we’re all tired. I’m gonna get some rest. You should to.”

 

Prof gave me a supportive slap on the shoulder and walked away, leaving my head spinning full of questions, but still leaving me feeling more confident than before. So I decided to take Prof’s advice and get some sleep. I walked to my room, fell heavily onto the bunk, and passed out.”

 

 

I woke suddenly to the sound of alarms blaring, echoing throughout the cavernous chambers of Elite HQ. I jumped up. Prof had told me about the alarms. They meant that an intruder was present within HQ. Something that had never happened before. Something that could easily mean the end if it was an attack. The Elite was made of Duelists with greater skill that those in the Order, but the Order had strength of numbers far greater than the Elite could ever hope to muster. I was still fully dressed and wearing my Duel Disk, so I just ran, my Disk transforming almost instantly into the Shield Duel Disk. As soon as I was out of my room I looked around. I didn’t see anything. I ran down the corridor and turned the corner into the Duel Room. A crowd was present near the far end of the room, facing the corridor to the concealed landing strip/runway above. I pushed my way through the crowd and found Charlie, Prof and Rachel and about another dozen Duelists all with their Duel Disks out and ready, facing a boy of about eleven or twelve with dark, olive-colored skin and bushy black hair. He wore an olive green long-sleeved t-shirt with a maroon stripe across the chest and navy blue jeans. He also wore a Duel Disk, but he carried it at his side, de-activated and non-threatening.

 

“What’s going on?” I asked.

 

Charlie was the one who answered, “We have an intruder, but he claims that he’s not here to fight. In fact, he claims that he’s here to help.”

 

“I am,” the boy said, a bit pleadingly. Despite the youthfulness his voice conveyed, his voice also conveyed an edge of maturity beyond his years. “I’ve seen what the Order can do myself, and I want to help fight them.”

 

That’s when Greg appeared. The crowd of Duelists parted, and he was there, emerging intimidating from within it. “What proof do you bring to back up your claim?” he asked, crossing his arms. Two more figures emerged from the crowd behind him. One was an average-looking young man with brown hair. The other was a tall, strongly-built man with short blond hair. I recognized them as Marcus and Raphael, Elite special agents, and the most experienced members behind Greg and Tim. They were both incredibly strong and well-versed in Shadow Magic. They used to branch out and infiltrate the Order’s ranks, relaying information back to the Elite. But Prof had told me that, with the Order’s ranks thinning, Marcus and Raphael had been recalled. Now they acted as Greg’s personal and often-unseen bodyguards.

 

“I have no proof,” the boy said, “but I know you guys have lots of types of Shadow Games at your disposal. I know you can use one type to tell if someone is lying. Test me in one of those Shadow Games and see for yourselves.” He looked right at Greg, one of the most intimidating people I’ve ever known even to this day. Looked right into his eyes without so much as flinching. There was a fire in the boy’s eyes.

 

Greg seemed about to speak when Charlie beat him to it, “I’ll test you. I’ll test the sincerity of your heart with the power of my Shadow Item.”

 

The boy nodded ad turned to face Charlie, “The name’s Marco.” He activated his Duel Disk, “Be ready. I don’t have a Shadow Item, but I can be pretty dangerous in my own way. So just be on guard.”

 

I wasn’t sure, but Marco sounded almost like he was worried. Not for himself, but for Charlie. At the time I didn’t think anything of it.

 

Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out an ancient-looking coin made of dark gray metal. A silver eye was etched into one side. His Shadow Item. It glowed with a faint light, and the Shadow Game began. Not a deadly Shadow Game, but one capable of divining the truth.

 

“I’ll start things off,” said Charlie. “I place one card face-down and summon ‘The Six Samurai – Yaichi’ in attack mode.”

 

A man in sturdy, full-body samurai-style armor appeared, a bow in hand and arrows in a quiver on his back (ATK: 1300).

 

“I equip my monster with the powerful ‘Legendary Ebon Steed’, giving my monster an additional two hundred Attack.”

 

A large black horse in black armor appeared at the samurai’s side. The samurai archer climbed onto the horse’s back (1300+200=1500).

 

“I end my turn,” said Charlie. I was a bit surprised by the simplicity of his move.

 

“My turn then,” said Marco. He looked determined and a little bit nervous. “I summon ‘Masked Dragon’ in defense mode.”

 

A red dragon with a low stance and broad gray wings and a gray face like a mask appeared on Marco’s field at his side. It crossed its strong arms over its chest, taking up a defensive stance (DEF: 1200).

 

“I set a card and pass,” Marco concluded.

 

These guys are both good, I realized. They’re keeping their plays simple and feeling each other out while building up their strategies. It’s impressive. You’d expect someone as young as Marco to be more reckless.

 

Charlie saw what I saw, “So it looks like we’re both building up to something bigger. Let’s see who can complete their strategy fastest, shall we? Not to sound arrogant, but I’d bet it’ll be me. How will you handle my combos? Let’s find out. I summon ‘The Six Samurai – Irou’, which means I have two ‘Six Samurai’ monsters with different names in play. That unlocks the effects of my monsters.”

 

An tall man in black armor with long black hair wearing a visor and a tattered black cloak across one shoulder appeared, wielding a long black-bladed sword (ATK: 1700). As soon as he appeared he was ringed in a blacklight purple aura and his armor began to glow with the same light. At the same time, ‘Yaichi’’s armor lit up yellow, and he was ringed in a yellow light. Their effects were activated.

 

“I activate ‘Yaichi’’s effect. Instead of attacking, he can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field.”

 

‘Yaichi’ notched and arrow and let it fly, piercing and destroying Marco’s face-down card. I watched him discard it; the Trap card ‘Negate Attack’.

 

“Now I attack,” Charlie commanded, “with ‘The Six Samurai – Irou’.”

 

The black swordsman struck down the dragon.

 

“You were confident that your combo would be completed first,” said Marco, “but you were wrong. My monster has an ability too. When ‘Masked Dragon’ is destroyed by battle, I get to summon any dragon with less than fifteen hundred attack from my deck. A dragon like ‘Armed Dragon LV3’.”

 

A small dragon with an oversized head and massive lower jaw, its body covered in stubby spikes, appeared at Marco’s side (ATK: 1300).

 

“I set a second card,” said Charlie, “and I end.”

 

Marco smiled, “Good. At the beginning of my turn, my dragon levels up to Level Five.”

 

The small dragon grew until it towered over the two samurai. Its back and the outsides of its arms became a bright red-orange color, and its stubby spikes grew into drill bits and blades of various sizes (ATK: 2400).

 

“Next up,” Marco continued, “I play ‘Level Up!!’, increasing the level of my monster yet again, to Level Seven!”

 

The dragon grew larger yet again, its skin hardening into armor-like plates. Its various blades and other sharp appendages grew longer and more dangerous. The dragon roared (ATK: 2800).

 

“I can discard a monster,” Marco said, “to give my ‘Armed Dragon LV7’ the power to destroy every opposing monster that’s weaker than the one I discarded!”

 

As he spoke, Marco sent the powerful ‘Dragonic Knight’ to the Graveyard from his hand, and the ‘Armed Dragon’ wound up his bladed arms, swiping across Charlie’s field. Charlie seemed less than impressed. The ‘Armed Dragon’’s claws gouged the ground, throwing a cloud of dust and debris into the air, obscuring Charlie and his field from view. When the dust settled only ‘Yaichi’ remained, minus the black steed.

 

“When a monster equipped with ‘Legendary Ebon Steed’ is an instant from sustaining fatal damage, the valiant steed will take the hit in place of his master.”

 

“Then I’ll defeat your archer in a more conventional way,” said Marco. “My dragon attacks.”

 

‘Armed Dragon’ slashed, reducing ‘Yaichi’ to pieces (8000+1300-2800=6500).

 

“I place two cards face-down and end my turn.”

 

I’m pretty impressed, I thought. This kid has almost entirely seized the field in his second turn.

 

I looked over at Charlie. Behind his focused expression he looked impressed as well. But I’d heard what people said about Charlie. He was an expert strategist. If the rumors were true, he would have something planned.

 

“At the end of your turn,” Charlie announced, “I reveal the Continuous Trap ‘Swiftstrike Armor’. Now if I draw a ‘Six Samurai’ monster in my draw phase, I can Special Summon it immediately by revealing it to you. I draw,” he pulled his card and revealed it. “I drew ‘The Six Samurai – Yariza’. I summon him now with my Trap card’s effect.”

 

A new samurai appeared, carrying a spear. He twirled his spear elaborately (ATK: 1000).

 

“Next,” said Charlie, “I play ‘Graceful Charity’ to draw three cards,” he drew, and his face almost imperceptibly lit up, “and discard two. I follow that with the Spell card ‘Card of Sanctity’. We each draw until we hold six cards.”

 

Charlie refilled his hand and continued without hesitation.

 

“I Normal Summon ‘The Six Samurai – Nasashi’,” Charlie declared, and a second samurai carrying two semi-short blades appeared (ATK: 1400). “Just like before, this activates my monsters’ effects.”

 

‘Nasashi’ lit up with a green light, and ‘Yariza’ was surrounded by a blue light.

 

“Also,” said Charlie, “because I control two different ‘Six Samurai’ monsters, I can call forth the leader of the ‘Six Samurai’ forces,” a man wearing the armor of a samurai shogun, colored red, with a flame painted on the chest and a flame crest on his helmet appeared, wearing a violet cape, “the ‘Great Shogun Shien’ (ATK: 2500)!”

 

‘Shien’ drew his katana and stood ready to strike.

 

“While I control ‘Shien’,” Charlie explained, “you can only activate one Spell or Trap card each turn.

 

“Now, I finish up with two Spell cards; the Equip Spell card ‘Fusion Sword Murasame Blade’, and the Field Spell card ‘Shien’s Castle of Mist’.”

 

‘Shien’’s sword grew straighter and the armor on his arm grew over his hand and joined with the blade (ATK: 2500+800=3300). But even more impressively, behind Charlie a thick mist appeared. Spectators parted as an ancient Japanese palace rose from the mist, towering over the field. The mist crawled forward, billowing out and around Charlie and his monsters. As I watched, the three samurai seemed to fade into the mist, becoming little more than shadows.

 

“I place another card face-down,” said Charlie, “and ‘Shien’ attacks your ‘Armed Dragon’.”

 

As Charlie spoke, the shogun sprung forward from within the mist and decapitated the dragon with one solid swing of his blade (8000+2800-3300=7500).

 

“Now my other samurai attack directly. ‘Nasashi’’s effect allows him to attack twice in the same turn, essentially doubling his offensive power.”

 

‘Nasashi’ and ‘Yariza’ sprung from within the mist and slashed Marco across the chest in unison (7500-(1400x2)-1000=3700). The three samurai receded into the mist.

 

“Your monster was defeated,” said Charlie, “and I control the mighty samurai lord ‘Shien’. Also, any monster that you summon will have to attack through the veil of the mist, cutting its attack by five hundred during the Damage Step. You are at the ultimate disadvantage. I end my turn.”

 

It seemed like Charlie would win this for sure. His strategy was superb, leaving little room for a counterattack. But Marco possessed a power that, to this day, is one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. A power that easily rivals any I’ve ever faced. A power that resonated not from a Shadow Item, but from deep within Marco himself.

 

“It’s a shame that I can’t win without calling on him,” said Marco, “but I guess you all do deserve to see this before you make your decision about me. Or should I say us. But first, as your turn ends, I reveal ‘DNA Alteration’,

paying one thousand Life Points and declaring an attribute (3700-1000=2700). While I control this card, all monsters in both Graveyards become the selected attribute. The attribute I choose is Dark.

 

“Now prepare yourself agent of the Elite, because the other me isn’t as nice as I am.”

 

He raised his Duel Disk above his head, and it burned with a dark power. That power poured over him, and I watched in awe as he began to change. His black hair billowed upward, as if caught in an updraft. Color drained from his black hair until in was ash white with black highlights throughout and it stuck up in spikes. His eyes glinted fiercely and his lips curled into a wicked grin.

 

“It’s a Yami!” cried one of the spectators, and suddenly everyone was on guard, including me

 

“Yeah yeah,” said Marco, his voice deeper and with a harsher edge than before, “I’m the manifestation of Marco’s dark side, which makes me what you all would call a Yami. But I’m not like other so called ‘Yamis’.” He looked seriously right into Charlie’s eyes, “The other Marco and I have an understanding. We both hate the Order, he because they are evil, and I because they’ve used me and threaten my power. So years ago, when we escaped the Order, or I should say I escaped the Order, we made a sacred pact to work together. Now I surface when Marco needs me, since I’m the only one with the power to draw and summon our true Spirit Monster during a Shadow Game.”

 

He drew, “I play ‘Soul Release’ to remove Marco’s ‘Dragonic Knight’ and ‘Masked Dragon’ in our Graveyard from play, leaving only three monsters in our Graveyard. Three Dark monsters. This let’s me Special Summon our Spirit, ‘Dark Armed Dragon’!”

 

Dark Marco placed a card on his Duel Disk. The card burned with a dark light. A pillar of dark fire rose from the ground, and from it emerged a fierce black and silver duplicate of the ‘Armed Dragon LV7’. It spread wide its massive arms and roared (ATK: 2800).

 

“I remove a Dark monster in my Graveyard from play, a monster like ‘Armed Dragon LV3’, to destroy ‘Shien’.”

 

‘Dark Armed Dragon’ spun its claws in black fire, which he flung right at ‘Shien’, parting the mist along its path. But a moment before ‘Shien’ would have been incinerated, ‘Yariza’ jumped in the way of the flame and took the hit. Marco didn’t look surprised. After all the ability of ‘Six Samurai’ monsters to sacrifice themselves for each other is their best known power.

 

“Your ‘Shien’ isn’t safe yet,” said Dark Marco. “I remove ‘Armed Dragon LV5’ from play as well, activating my monster’s effect again.”

 

‘Dark Armed Dragon’ released another burst of fire, this time intercepted by ‘Nasashi’.

 

“And one more time,” Dark Marco commanded, his face bright with a desire for battle. ‘Dark Armed Dragon’ fired again, this time hitting its mark. ‘Shien’, the last monster under Charlie’s control, was destroyed.

 

“I play the Spell card ‘Dimension Fusion’,” Dark Marco continued, “paying two thousand of my Life Points (2700-2000=700) to summon four of my monsters that are removed from play.” The air above Marco’s head opened, and four monsters emerged, “I summon ‘Masked Dragon’, ‘Armed Dragon LV3’, ‘Armed Dragon LV5’, and ‘Dragonic Knight’ in attack mode!”

 

The two weaker dragons emerged at Dark Marco’s side. ‘Armed Dragon LV5’ appeared alongside his larger, considerably more evil counterpart. Beside the two massive forms appeared a fierce Dragonic warrior in coral-colored armor, carrying a sword and shield (ATK: 2800). The new arrivals roared, and ‘Dragonic Knight’ brandished his sword.

 

“I attack with all of my dragons,” Dark Marco declared. The dragons attacked as one, releasing various energy blades and flames in a swirling tornado of hellish destruction. It looked like Charlie had lost, until…”

 

“Reveal,” Charlie commanded, a confident smile playing across his lips, “the Trap card ‘Backs to the Wall’. I pay all but one hundred of my Life Points (6500 -> 100) to summon back five ‘Six Samurai’ monsters from my Graveyard in defense mode.”

 

‘Irou’, ‘Yaichi’, ‘Yariza’ and ‘Nasashi’ appeared in a flash of light alongside a new monster, ‘The Six Samurai – Zanji’, a samurai with a blade-ended staff whose armor glowed with an orange light (DEF: 1300). The five monsters stepped back, forming a human shield that absorbed all of Dark Marco’s attacks. They were all five destroyed, but Charlie was safe for the time being.

 

“So,” said Dark Marco, “you managed to hang on. If that’s the case, I’ll protect my weaker monsters by equipping my ‘Dark Armed Dragon’ with the Equip Spell ‘Raregold Armor’. Now you have to go through my strongest monster before you can even attack the others.”

 

The silvery parts of ‘Dark Armed Dragon’’s armory skin turned gold.

 

“Not that it matters,” said Charlie. “Looks like it’s my move. I draw.”

 

He pulled his card, and he selected a card from his hand.

 

“I play ‘Pot of Greed’,” he declared, drawing two cards, “and I follow that up with the Spell cards ‘Six Samurai United’ and ‘Gateway of the Six’.

 

Within the mist surrounding the castle a circular gate became visible. It was part of the castle that we hadn’t seen before.

 

“I summon ‘Hand of the Six Samurai’,” a young woman in a blue cloak and a white hood appeared, carrying a knife (ATK: 1600), “and I remove two ‘Six Samurai’ monsters in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon ‘Enishi, Shien's Chancellor’,” an elderly man with graying black hair and a graying beard appeared, wearing a green vest, his sword at his waste (ATK: 2200). “Because two ‘Six Samurai’ monsters have been summoned, I can send ‘Six Samurai United’ to the Graveyard to draw two more cards.”

 

He drew again and continued.

 

“From my hand I Special Summon ‘Grandmaster of the Six Samurai’!”

 

A second older man appeared in weathered armor, his sword drawn (ATK: 2300).

 

“And now that three ‘Six Samurai’ monsters have been summoned, I can activate the effect of ‘Gateway of the Six’, summoning ‘Shien’ back from the Grave.”

 

The gate behind Charlie opened. Standing in the open gateway with his arms crossed defiantly was ‘Shien’. He stepped forward, joining his allies, and drew his blade (ATK: 2500).

 

“This duel is over,” said Charlie, “as soon as I play this; ‘Gift of the Martyr’! I tribute ‘Enishi’ to increase the attack of ‘Shien’ by twenty-two hundred, an amount equal to ‘Enishi’’s Attack!”

 

‘Enishi’ disappeared, and ‘Shien’ burned with a fiery aura as his power rose (ATK: 2500+2200=4700).

 

“‘Shien’ attacks your ‘Dark Armed Dragon’, Bushido Master Slash!”

 

‘Shien’ swung his sword, unleashing an energy blade that tore through the ground, gouging a path all the way to the dragon, gouging him across the chest. The dragon roared in pain and split in half (700+2800-4700=0).

 

The shockwave from the destruction of the ‘Dark Armed Dragon’ knocked Dark Marco onto his back. He sat up as the remaining monsters and other holographic effects faded away. As he did, his hair darkened and fell back into place. He was Marco again. Charlie walked over to Marco and helped him up. He shook Marco’s hand, “You had me worried there for a second, but you check out. Both of you.”

 

“And you’re strong,” said Greg, “and since you already know where we are, you might as well stay. Welcome, Marco, to the Duelists Elite.”

 

[spoiler=Card of the Day]

I don't think this one needs explanation, do you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Chapter A Distress Call, Part One

 

bad things begin happening. well, worse things than usual...

[Nexev]

So Marco is Good Bakura.

 

Fair enough.

 

But wouldn't DNA Alteration be the featured card?

 

It is the only reason Dark Marco's strategy can be used.

 

Without the card Dark Armed Dragon is useless.

 

And it seems to be the card that triggers the transformation to Dark Marco.

[legendhiro]

 

...wouldn't DNA Alteration be the featured card?...

 

 

maybe, but dark armed dragon is just so cool and shiny...

[legendhiro]

hey all. i'm updating from a friends computer, since my dinosaur of a PC has finally died with no chance of being revived. i'm going late next week to purchase a new computer. i'll post the rest of my updates then.

[Stigma_Horrizone]

okay then

[RyanAtlus]

You're a bastard, but you'll have to wait a few more days for the explanation.

Anyways, decent chapter. A few typos here and there, but they didn't really bother me.

[Ryno Dorcus]

Loved chapter 8, Marco looks really cool.

[legendhiro]

sorry again for the delay. i had some serious personal stuff come up. new update in my other fic tomorrow (i hope), and more updates regularly after that...

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Nine]

 

A Distress Call, Part One

 

 

Of course Prof wanted to pick James’ replacement himself. When he saw the new kid, Marco, duel against Charlie and access Shadow Magic without the need for a Shadow Item, Prof was intrigued. He asked Marco to fill the open position. I couldn’t tell if Prof fully trusted Marco, but Charlie definitely trusted him, so I kept an open mind. I tried to get to know Marco. He was a little distant, very smart, and very quiet, but he seemed nice enough. He was almost the exact opposite of his dark side, who was open, abrasive, arrogant, and full of swagger. I’d planned on taking the next few days; long enough to form a real opinion, but I didn’t have the time. The next morning Team Two was called to Greg’s office.

 

“What’s going on?” Prof asked as soon as he arrived. The rest of us were already waiting for him. He still looked tired. His teleportation trick yesterday had really taken its toll.

 

“I’ve received a communication from my brother,” said Greg.

 

“That was fast,” I said, letting my enthusiasm get the best of me. “When do they get back with the next item. It was the Shadow Key, right?” Maybe Prof was right, I hoped. Maybe whatever destiny he calculated for me can be prevented after all!

 

“The news isn’t quite so good I’m afraid,” said Greg. That’s when I noticed the anxiety flashing behind his purposefully unexpressive eyes. Something was very, very wrong. “Tim sent me a message via his Shadow Item. I’d like to show it to the five of you.”

 

Greg removed a pendant from behind his shirt. It was a dark metal ring with an inverted triangle inside and two slightly curved spikes hanging from small loops on the sides. In the center of the triangle was a symbol I recognized: a slightly stylized silver Egyptian Eye.

 

“This is a big deal, Greg,” said Prof, “showing them your item.”

 

“Desperate times,” said Greg.

 

“Wait,” said Rachel, “are you kidding? Is that really-?”

 

“The Shadow Ring?” Greg said. “Yes, it is. The Shadow Millennium Item with the power to connect its wielder’s spirit with inanimate items and manipulate them. It is how I control so many computers at one time. How I manipulate so much information so easily. It is also how I manage to observe so many places and watch for shadow items, a task that requires dozens upon dozens of Order scouts to accomplish for the other side. I go around, planting a bit of myself into the places that I need to observe, and for as long as I live, it’s like I have a small presence there. I use the ring to connect those pats of myself with the part in my computer mainframe, creating an extensive data link. It is physically draining, but it allows me to keep track of everywhere that I have ever been.”

 

I looked at the screens on the wall of Greg’s office, at the images and data dancing across them. Hundreds and hundreds of instances of information every few seconds. They were each a piece of Greg’s consciousness relaying information back to him.

 

“Greg is very fortunate,” said Prof. “His I.Q. is very high. A bit higher than mine actually. If his mind were any weaker there is no way that he would be able to keep up with so much information in real time. I can barely follow a third of it myself.”

 

“Moving on,” said Greg, speaking loudly and making clear that the conversation needed to get back on track. He held up his Shadow Millennium Ring, and the random images and data cleared from the screen, making way for a new image. It was Timothy. He was in a chamber connecting with a tunnel, the walls littered with hieroglyphics. Some kind of Egyptian ruins. The light was dim and inconsistent, like torch light. Even in the weak light I could see the barely controlled fear in Tim’s eyes.

 

“Greg,” he said, “I’m sending this to you in a burst that I hope those magic computers of yours will catch. We were closing in on the Shadow Key when we were ambushed by a group of four Duelist, calling themselves the Emperor’s Four. They already got Marshal and Cook. Jeff and David are trying to hold them back until I can finish with this, but they won’t last long. These guys are good. Their name suggests that they’re Emperor’s personal squad. The guy that Prof beat at the museum was probably part of this group before he was killed, and we all know how strong he was. These guys are twice as strong at least! Greg, you gotta get someone here to help us. I don’t know if Prof found a new fifth yet, but either way we could really use Team Two’s-.”

 

He was interrupted by an explosion of fire from within the tunnel behind him. The flames tossed a tall, muscular African-American man into the chamber with Tim. The man stood and lifted his duel disk just in time for a red-skinned, spiked-club-wielding demon to hit him across the left side of his face. The man fell and didn’t rise.

 

“Jeff!” Tim cried.

 

There was a crackle and the image faded away.

 

I couldn’t help but glace over at Rachel. She was trying to look blank and uncaring, but it looked like she was about to choke. I looked away quickly, looking a little embarrassed I’m sure.

 

“Tim asked for Team Two,” said Greg. “He believes that you can help Team One. Unfortunately Tim did not get the opportunity to tell us whether or not he was able to retrieve and secure the Shadow Key. We must assume that he had it when he was attacked, which is why we absolutely cannot allow him to be captured. That’s why I’m sending you five to find my brother and the Duelists who defeated Team One.”

 

“Wait a second,” I demanded, “how can we beat a group of Duelists who can defeat the strongest Duelists in the Elite?”

 

I was worried, and I could tell that the others were worried as well. Especially Marco, the only member of the team with less experience in the Elite than me, and Rachel, who had a very personal stake here.

 

Greg looked sad as he answered my question, “You are not the Elite’s strongest, but you are our most resourceful. You will have to figure out a way. You are Team One now.”

 

 

"With my help," said Greg, a few minutes later, once we had prepared to leave, "you can pool your strength and transport directly to the ruins you saw in Tim's transmission. You all, save our newest recruit, experienced the power of teleportation when Prof brought you back from your last mission using nothing but magic. I must stress how rarely this power is used, and why. Teleportation is dangerous. It threatens to drain the caster. When a team does use teleportation, they usually do so by pooling the energy of their entire team to cast the spell. This takes several seconds longer than if the spell is cast by a single person, but it is much safer. Also, teleportation is only ever used to make a hasty return to base. There are security protocols in place here, created through the magic of my Ring, which prevent anyone who has never been here from teleporting in, and anyone inside from teleporting out, so as to make it harder for prisoners to escape us. However, I can lower the defenses, allowing teleportation from within the base. Of course, this lowers all other base defenses as well, including the magical intruder alarm. This makes our current course of action particularly dangerous."

 

He stressed his point so many times that I could immediately sense how desperate he felt. This really was a desperate move, and one that Greg hated even suggesting. I decided to step up my game. I didn’t want to let this man, who was putting everything on the line, down. So as soon as we appeared outside of the ruins, I reached out into the ruins with my Soul, trying to sense if anyone was there. It was a long shot, but worth it.

 

“Whoa,” I said.

 

“What is it?” Prof asked.

 

“My Soul,” I answered. “It’s like I can feel everything that the rock in the ruins touches. Like a radar or sonar of some kind. Its fuzzy and I’m not sure how to make sense of it yet, but its something.”

 

“Can you tell if Tim’s okay?” Rachel asked, trying valiantly to hide her desperation.

 

I strained, trying to sort out the images flowing through my head.

 

I wish I had some of Greg’s high I.Q. right about now, I thought.

 

“I don’t think anyone’s moving in there,” I answered, “but I could be wrong. I’ve never used this power before. I can’t really make heads or tails of what I’m seeing yet.”

 

“Okay,” said Prof, “Rocky, keep to the front, and keep that shield of yours up. We need to be ready for anything we might find in there. Rachel, I need you to focus. Your Shadow Item has the most offensive power. I’m counting on you to handle counterattacks. Marco and Charlie next. I’ll take up the rear and focus on repelling any attacks coming from behind.”

 

Prof finished, and the four of us nodded. We lined up and started moving. The tunnel was dark. Prof lit up the red crystal in his pendant and held it up over his head, providing some light. Still, we couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of us. We were all on guard. Everyone was quiet. Even Prof, who likes talking. Though, to be fair, he seems to enjoy exchanging information in general. I looked back at the faces of my team mates. I barely knew anything about Team One’s strength, and I was scared of the ones who had beaten them, so I could only imagine how Charlie, Prof and Rachel felt. Marco was probably even worse off. He didn’t know a thing about Team One. He probably considered them legends. I don’t know of a single person alive who isn’t afraid to fight someone who can kill a legend.

 

Not to mention the simple fact that we were in a tunnel in Egypt looking for a group of allies who were likely killed by a group of villains who used magical items to turn trading cards into weapons. Not for the first time I wondered if I was insane.

 

But sadly I’m not.

 

I’d been so deep in thought that I hadn’t noticed the light up ahead until we had already reached the chamber. It was huge. Shaped like a rounded rectangle. The floor was littered with valuable artifacts made of gold and silver that came in every shape and size, glinting in the light of the remaining torches.

 

“It’s a form of defense,” said Prof, glancing around at the treasure that surrounded us. “The people who built this ancient vault filled this chamber with unbelievable treasures hoping that this treasure would satisfy anyone who came plundering, preventing them from entering the next room. Proof that something of extraordinary value is, or was, hidden here.”

 

But treasure wasn’t the only thing hidden in the room, as we were about to find out.

 

“Hey, over here!” cried Rachel, who had pushed ahead. She was standing behind a pile of gold coins, looking down at the floor. The rest of us moved to stand by her side. There we found a mousy little Asian girl, probably Chinese or Korean, slumped unmoving against the pile.

 

“Cook,” said Prof. “She’s a member of Team One.”

 

Charlie bent down and checked her pulse. “She’s gone,” he said. “It doesn’t look intentional. More like someone tried to remove her soul in a Penalty Game, but her body couldn’t take the shock. It’s rare, but it happens.”

 

“I found another one,” said Rachel, who had moved off again. We joined her by one of eight tunnels that branched of from this chamber. She was standing over a tall, slightly heavyset young man with sandy blonde hair. His eyes were open, and he was breathing, but it was obvious that his soul was gone. It was creepy, those empty, hollow eyes, so I reached down and closed them.

 

“This would be Marshal,” I reasoned. We’ll find David in this tunnel, and Jeff in the room at its end. Tim too, if he fell like the others.”

 

“Tim didn’t fall,” said Rachel with absolute conviction. Though I was sure she was worried.

 

“Yeah, well,” I said with a slight smile, “either way we have to keep going. But no matter what, we’ll find Tim and bring him back.”

 

I expected Rachel to be angry, since I was very obviously speaking to her, but her expression actually softened, and she nodded.

 

I turned to Prof, “It looks like they went this way. What do you think?”

 

“I agree,” Prof said. He was staying close to Marco, trying to be supportive. Marco’s eyes were fierce and observant, but his hands were shaky. Still, he was handling this well for a kid. Prof held up his pendant and illuminated the tunnel. It curved not too far ahead. Sure enough someone else was visible, slumped over just before the curve. He had bushy red hair and freckles. He was breathing, but barely. He had a cut across his left shoulder, and his shirt was stained with blood, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

 

“He’ll be okay,” said Prof. “We need to keep going.” Prof took the lead, moving urgently. He knew what our chances were of finding Tim alive. Tim was, after all, the co-founder of the Elite. Our enemies wanted him dead. Emperor was likely no exception.

 

We pressed forward and soon found ourselves in a second chamber. It the rear of the chamber was a pedestal with a key-shaped indentation in it. The resting place of the Shadow Millennium Key, now missing. In the middle of the floor was the final member of Tim’s Team One, Jeff. No one else was in the room waiting. Tim was gone.

 

Prof walked over to the pedestal to examine it. Charlie knelt down beside Jeff to check him, and Jeff stirred

 

“Jeff’s still here!” Charlie cried, and instantly we were at his side. Charlie helped Jeff sit up, just as Jeff opened his eyes weakly. “You’re okay,” said Charlie. “We’re gonna get you outta here.”

 

Jeff coughed violently, and when he was able to he said, “They took ‘im. Tim used his Shadow Item to send the Shadow Key away, so they took ‘im. They only didn’t banish me so that I could deliver a message; we don’t get Tim back until we bring Emperor the Shadow Key.”

 

“Where did he send the Key,” Marco asked.

 

“Dunno,” said Jeff. And suddenly he was coughing again. He was in bad shape.

 

“Okay,” said Prof, “Charlie, take Jeff back to HQ and get him to medical, then check in with Greg. Let him know what’s going on here. The rest of us will continue to investigate the situation.”

 

Charlie nodded and helped Jeff to his feet. We put our hands on Charlie’s shoulders and focused, lending him our power, and he and Jeff disappeared in a cloud of shadowy black smoke.

 

“What now,” I asked Prof.

 

“Yeah,” said Rachel. “We need to get the Key from HQ and use it to get Tim back from Emperor.”

 

“Except,” said Prof, “that there’s no way the Key is at HQ. Based on what we saw in Tim’s message, he likely sent the Key away right after the connection failed. If he’d sent it to HQ, we would have known before we left.”

 

“Then where is it?” Rachel demanded.

 

“Only Tim would know,” Prof answered.

 

“Then what the Hell are we gonna do?!” Rachel cried. She wasn’t taking this well, and it was clear to everyone that she was about to snap.

 

“If they want us to bring the Key,” I said, “then they’ll have left us a way to find their headquarters, so as to make the delivery. Even if we don’t find the Key, we can find their base, and we will find Emperor, and when we do, I’ll go get Tim myself.”

 

“No, you won't,” said Prof, "because I plan to go with you."

 

“Me too,” said Marco, “especially if it means a shot at Emperor. The other me really wants to fight him.”

 

“You mean you guys really care that much about getting Tim back?” Rachel asked. “I figured that you guys would be more concerned with protecting the Items than about saving Tim. Why do you care.”

 

“I care,” I said, “because I’m your friend whether you like it or not, and you care.”

 

“Besides,” said Prof, “Tim’s one of our strongest members. Even if we do save the Key, we might still lose the coming battle without him. Having him around is good calculating.”

 

Rachel looked from me, to Prof, to Marco, and back to me, dumbfounded. We looked back at her with looks that conveyed varying levels of support and determination. Rachel didn’t seem to get why we would risk anything for her, but after a few moments she shook off her confusion.

 

“If you guys really wanna be stupid along with me,” she said, “then let’s go. Let’s find whatever we need to find to find Tim.”

 

She turned and began searching, and the rest of us followed suit.

 

 

Greg

 

 

I watched as Prof’s team disappeared, off toward their destination. I found myself feeling dizzy, which was expected after a strain of helping Prof and the others to make their trip. But I quickly shook it off. I had to reactivate the magical barrier that surrounded HQ, that acted as our alarm system, and as a barrier keeping anyone who didn’t already know how from teleporting into the compound. These things combined with the fact that the barrier made transport out of the compound impossible made my system almost perfect. But even though I’d created the system, I didn’t feel proud upon reinstating it like some people might. Instead I went right back to work. In only seven seconds the barrier was back up. It was almost impossible for anyone who didn’t already know a great deal about Elite HQ to teleport into the compound in seven seconds. In fact, it was so unlikely that I wrote it off as an impossibility.

 

I walked to my desk and sat down, closing my eyes and allowing myself some time to rest. I’d long since become accustomed to the constant strain that use of my Item put on my body, but additional strain was still enough to nearly push me over the edge. I allowed myself to drift into unconsciousness, and I remained that way for a few minutes before I sensed a presence in my office with me. A malevolent one. I opened my eyes and launched myself to my left, rolling to my feet, just in time to avoid a thrusting blade aimed right at my heart.

 

 

Marcus

 

 

Raphael and I were waiting in the shadows in the secluded section of corridor outside of Greg’s office when we sensed the presence of someone passing right by us, into the office, shrouded in Shadows. I turned along with Raphael and looked through the figure’s shroud just in time to see the train of his cloak pass through the door.

 

“We have to go in,” I said unnecessarily, but as my old friend and I took a step forward we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by deepening darkness. We turned around and found ourselves face to face with four cloaked figures, their faces shrouded in the darkness beneath their hoods. One of them, the shortest of the figures, stood in the front. He had long powder blue hair peeking out from beneath his hood. He was clearly the leader. Behind him stood two figures of average height and one very large, muscular figure, his build very similar to Raph’s. Based on their body types, they were all male.

 

“No more of you will get past us,” said Raph.

 

“We, the Emperor’s Four,” said the leader, “don’t need to get past you. We only need to prevent you from entering that room and interfering with our master’s plans.”

 

I tried to hide my shock, “So you’re saying that that was Emperor who just passed by us?”

 

“It doesn’t matter who ended up where,” said Raph confidently. “Our master can handle any one Duelist with ease. His skills are unmatched. And we can handle any number of lackeys.”

 

I smiled, “That’s right. And if it’s a Shadow Game you want, it’s a Shadow Game you’ll get.”

 

“Well,” said one of the average-sized foes, “this should prove to be exciting.” He and the leader stepped away from the other two and faced me. The others faced Raphael, and the duels began.

 

 

 

 

Next Chapter A Distress Call, Part Two

 

Greg, Raphael and Marcus fight for their lives!

[legendhiro]

really? no one wants to comment?

[Nexev]

Oh yeah, right.,

 

My bad.

 

So the Elite 4 guys are back, except that they are different people.

 

DUH DUH DUUUHH.

 

I wonder what the boss uses as his deck that macks him so powerful?

 

PRobbaly meta.