As the storm settled in, everyone kept their eyes glued to the duel that was occurring in the Duel Arena. You could cut the tension with a knife, and with each passing second, it felt harder and harder to breathe. What is this feeling of foreboding that I feel, and why does it seem like this duel is a lot more dangerous than the others?
"Alright, teach. Make your move!", I said, looking over at Neferti. "Alright, you asked for it! I summon the Tuner monster The Fabled Cerburrel!" Onyx's eyes widened when he saw Neferti play her monster. "Another Tuner monster? This is bad! She has monster materials to Synchro Summon a Level 12 monster!", Onyx stated. Yukiko frowned as Neferti stated, "I tune my Level 2 Cerburrel with my level 8 Stardust Dragon and my two Level 1 Doppel Tokens! I Synchro Summon…..SHOOTING QUASAR DRAGON!" As Neferti's dragon emerged, it roared loudly as it looked down on Valarie and I. 'Shooting Quasar Dragon? That's the final form of Stardust Dragon, Prof. Fudo's ace monster. The Noroi kid has definitely got her work cut out for her. Her and Mom alike.', Dash thought as he looked down at the field, grinning widely. Ben looked back at Dash as Robin said, "Do you guys think Crystal can overcome this monster?" Mikey shook his head and said, "No idea. That's definitely one powerhouse of a dragon. We can only hope her deck won't let her down." Jessie stood to her feet and said, "You can do it, you guys! Take Ms. Shade down!"
Neferti looked up towards Jessie and grinned as she saw her and the others. "Looks like you got some good friends, Crystal. Even the Anderson kid seems to be cheering for you two to win. But unfortunately, I shall be winning this one! Due to the fact that I used two Non-Tuner monsters to summon Shooting Quasar Dragon, my monster can attack twice! So, my dragon, attack The Last Celestian!", Neferti stated. 'She's targeting Retsu?!', Crystal thought as she saw the dragon get closer and closer. "I activate my facedown Spell, Enemy Controller! With this, I shall switch your monster into Defense mode and end your attack!", Valarie stated, activating the Spell she placed facedown at the beginning of the duel. Neferti clicked her teeth and said, "Not bad, Madame Butterfly. Not bad at all." I sighed softly and looked at Valarie and said, "Thanks for that, Mrs. Anderson." Valarie scoffed and said, "You can thank me by winning this game, brat." Neferti giggled and said, "Ah well. Guess I'll end my turn now. Your move, Mrs. Anderson."
Valarie frowned as she said, "Alright then, I draw." She looked at the card she drew and thought, 'Effect Veiler. This card will allow me to negate the effects of my opponent's monster during their Main Phase. This won't be enough to keep her down. I need to get THAT card out. So, in order to do that….' Valarie looked at Neferti and said, "I shall activate the Spell Card Pot of Duality! With this card, I can reveal the top 3 cards of my deck and add one card to my hand, then shuffle the other two back into my deck." Neferti raised an eyebrow and said, "Trying to get a card, huh? Alright then, let's see what you got!" Valarie nodded as holograms of her top three cards appeared above her. She drew her first card and said, "Alright, the first card is Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. My second card….is another Kagetokage! My last card….is Butterflyoke! I choose Butterflyoke to add to my hand! Now, I shall activate my Papilloperative's special ability. By using its last Overlay unit, I can target one Defense position monster on the field and switch it to Attack mode, and once I do, it'll lose 600 Attack points!" Leslie grinned and said, "Alright! With Papilloperative's special ability, Shooting Quasar Dragon's attack power will drop to 3400! It'll be weaker than Silent Magician Lv 8!" Onyx's eyes widened even more and said, "That's wrong, Leslie! Mrs. Anderson just walked into a trap!"
"I activate Shooting Quasar Dragon's special ability!", Neferti stated. "Say what?!", Valarie exclaimed, only getting a giggle from Neferti. "Once per turn, my dragon can negate the activation of a card or Monster effect and destroy the card in question. Which means, your Photon Papilloperative is officially fired!", Neferti stated as Valarie's monster got destroyed. Valarie snapped her fingers in annoyance as she said, "Fine then. I shall place one card facedown. That's it for me. Your move, kid." I looked at my deck and said, "Heart of the Cards, don't fail me now." I placed my hand on my next card and flinched as I felt another heartbeat coming from the card. I gasped slightly as I drew the card and looked at it, my eyes widening at what I saw. At the same time, Onyx winced as he placed a hand to his right eye. "Onyx, you alright?", Raksha asked as he heard the wince. "I-I'm fine. Just something in my eye.", Onyx said, rubbing his eye even more. 'What was that? That definitely did not feel normal.', Onyx thought to himself as a voice whispered in his ear that said, "This duel has to end." Onyx looked around and said, "Did you just say something, Mikey?" Mikey shook his head and said, "No, I didn't say anything. You must be tired, Onyx!" Onyx frowned as his attention returned to the duel field as he thought, 'I definitely was not hearing things. Someone was just here…'
I looked down at the card I had and thought, 'This is….Retsu's Sadistic Rage. In all the time I have been dueling, I have never drawn this card at all. This Trap card can only be used if Retsu is in the graveyard alongside Mina Taimukipa. With it, I can Special Summon Rage-Induced Retsu Taimukipa from my Extra Deck. This card cannot help me at all right now.' My attention returned to the duel as I said, "Alright then, for my move, I shall place both Retsu and Silent Magician in Defense mode and place one card facedown. That's it. Your move, teach." Neferti grinned and said, "Looks like you didn't get a card you can use this turn. So, allow me to make this duel even harder for you! I draw!" Valarie immediately stated, "I activate the effect of Effect Veiler in my hand! Now, you cannot activate your monsters special abilities!" Neferti grinned and said, "Wrong again! I activate my monster's ability to negate your monster's ability and destroy it! And now, Shooting Quasar Dragon! Attack both Silent Magician and Retsu Taimukipa!"
"Looks like you fell for it this time, Neferti! I activate my trap, Butterflyoke! I target Shooting Quasar Dragon and switch it to Defense position! Also, this trap card acts as an Equip card, and I can use it to switch the battle position of your monster during the Main or Battle Phase of your next turn!", Valarie stated. Neferti frowned and said, "Very good, Mrs. Anderson You protected Crystal's monsters from my attack again. But the next turn will not be so lucky. I'll end my turn with a facedown. Your move." Valarie nodded and said, "Alright then, my turn. I draw!" She looked at her card and thought, 'Forbidden Lance. This Quick-Play Spell card allows me to target one face-up monster on the field and it'll lose 800 Attack points. I could use this to lower Neferti's dragon down to 3200, but she'll activate its ability to negate the effect. I guess I'll play it facedown and see what happens.' Valarie looked over at me and thought, 'This brat looks spooked for some reason, and I think her facedown card is the source of it all. Is it really that bad of a card? Only one way to find out.' Valarie looked back to the field and said, "I shall place a card facedown and end my turn."
Dash leaned forward as he thought, 'This new teacher has both my mother and the Slifer slacker backed into a corner. Very interesting. I just wonder how they will get out of this predicament!' I looked at my deck and said, "My turn now. I draw!" I looked at my card and thought, 'It's Axe of Despair! Perfect! If I equip this card to Silent Magician, it'll be stronger than her Shooting Quasar Dragon! That facedown card of Ms. Shade's definitely gives me a bad vibe, but if I don't take the risk, we'll never get to her Life Points!' I nodded and said, "Alright, I activate the Equip Spell Axe of Despair! With it, I shall equip it to my Silent Magician, bringing her Attack points to a total of 4500! Now my mage, attack her dragon!" Valarie immediately stated, "And to help her out, I shall activate my Quick-Play spell, Forbidden Lance! It'll drop your dragon's Attack power by 800!" Neferti sighed as her dragon's monster dropped by 800, resting at 3200. "Come on, hit!", I exclaimed. Neferti grinned and said, "You fell for it. I activate my trap: Magical Arm Shield." My eyes widened when I saw that card get activated. "No way! Your facedown card was Magical Arm Shield?!", I exclaimed. Neferti nodded and said, "I bet you yourself own this card, so you should know what's coming next! I shall steal your Last Celestian and your attack will now be launched at her instead!"
'That's what she was waiting for!', I thought, looking at my mage and said, "Hold your fire, Silent Magician!" Neferti giggled and said, "It's too late now! Say goodbye to Retsu!" My eyes widened as I saw Retsu get destroyed in front of me, watching as Neferti's Life Points dropped down from 4500 to 2500. I dropped to my knees and said, "Lady Retsu….no…come back!" Ben shook his head and said, "That's it. Her spirit's shattered." Jessie sniffled as she held back her sadness and said, "Poor Crystal! To see her ace monster get destroyed like that, how horrible!" Onyx stayed silent as he looked down at his sister, rubbing his eye again. "Something's wrong.", Onyx stated. Everyone looked at Onyx when he said that as he said, "This isn't like Crystal. She doesn't break that easily. Something is DEFINITELY wrong." Yukiko looked at her son and gasped as she noticed something peculiar: half of the Sacred Seal had replaced his right eye, and it was glowing a pale blue. 'No way….it couldn't be. Could Cryssi too have gotten touched by the Will of Amaria as well?', Yukiko thought as Dash said, "Look at that! She's getting back up!"
I stood to my feet as I looked at Neferti angrily, not realizing the change to my left eye at all. Neferti smirked as she noticed my left eye and said, "Well then, looks like you finally hit me! Congrats! I had at least thought that once you fell, you were giving up." I shook my head as I said, "I never give up. In fact, I have to say thank you. Because of you….I finally get the chance to take my dueling skills to the next level." Valarie looked over at me and said, "Kid? You alright? You are acting strangely." I nodded as I said, "With Retsu gone, I can finally activate the Trap card I have had facedown all this time." Mikey's eyes widened as he said, "A trap card? Onyx, what do you think it could be? WHOA, what's up with your eye, man!?" Onyx looked over at Mikey and said, "What are you talking about, Mikey? Nothing's wrong with my eye." Mikey looked at everyone and said, "I am not seeing things, am I?! Why is there half of the Sacred Seal enveloping Onyx's right eye!?" When Mikey said that, Jessie and his friends looked at Onyx and gasped slightly, Raksha and his father looking as well. Dash looked down at the group when he heard mention of the Sacred Seal and thought, 'Half of the Sacred Seal? Then where's the….no way, could it be!?' He looked down at me as I said, "I activate the Trap card, Retsu's Sadistic Rage!"
Neferti grinned and said, "I've never heard of that card. What does it do?"
Before I could answer that question, however, the entire arena went black from a power outage….
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?!", Yukiko exclaimed. Everyone in the arena started to get annoyed over the power outage but Yugi stood to his feet and said, "Calm down, everyone! The lightning has gotten a bit severe, so the power gave out. The reserve power should come on any second." As Yugi stated that, the power came back on immediately. He returned to his seat, only for Yami to finally walk up behind him and whisper in his ear gently. "What was that?", he asked. The Exodia teacher looked with a face of worry as he repeated what he said. Yugi looked back at the Duel Field and said, "Sorry, everyone. According to Prof. Nomura, the storm is going to get worse, so I must call this duel to an end. By amount of points, the winners are Crystal Noroi and Valarie Anderson!" Yugi turned to Kaiba and the other teachers and told them what Yami had said, and they immediately left the Duel Arena for their next destination. Onyx hopped out of his chair and immediately ran over to me, catching me before I fell from exhaustion. "Cryssi! Cryssi! Wake up!", Onyx said as I faded out of consciousness, his eyes widening as he noticed the other half of the Sacred Seal vanishing from my left eye, my eye returning to its normal shade of red. He sighed softly as he looked in my hand and saw I was holding Rage-Induced Retsu Taimukipa tightly.
Raksha walked over to Onyx and said, "Come on, Onyx. Let's get Crystal back to the dorm room." Onyx nodded as he stood to his feet and carried me out of the Duel Arena, the remainder of our friends going their separate ways while the rest of the Reds followed behind.
Meanwhile, back at The Grand Mansion….
"The Dark Resign….here, of all places? And you said that it was piercing the War of Paradoxes Monument?", Yugi stated as Yami nodded and replied, "Yes sir, Mr. Muto. It definitely matches the description of the same blade that Arufunu used back in the war. As we speak, some of our top students is tending to the repairs of the statue while the Headmaster is searching for any leads on why this has happened. My best guess, however, is of the worst scenario: Arufunu the Shadow is definitely on the island." Kaiba frowned when Yami said that. "What rotten timing. Then again, whispers in the wind has been saying that Arufunu would escape that prison of his sooner or later. Has any word of this reached out to the Celestial Guard yet?", Kaiba asked. The nekoboy shook his head as he readjusted his glasses and said, "Not even a whisper. It seems that President Obama has tightened his grip on accusing the Celestial Guard for acts of terrorism against the United States. We are completely cut off from them."
Mokuba sighed and then asked, "Yugi, why did you say that the power was knocked out from the storm? We all know that a storm of this strength isn't enough to take out our power generators." Yugi frowned as Mokuba said that. He was just about to get to an answer when a loud boom was heard. He looked out the windows from his office and saw a cloud of dust nearby the front of the Mansion. "What in the name of Amaria is it now?!", he exclaimed as Joey burst into the room. "Yugi, we've got trouble!", Joey stated. "Can it, Wheeler! We've got a bit of a crisis on our hands! What just exploded out there?!", Mokuba stated. "That's why I came up here! Jaden, Tea, and the rest of the staff were on our way back from overlooking the repairs to the monument when that thing crashed down on top of us! Except, it wasn't a thing! It was a person! Come outside, quickly! This is truly not possible!", Joey exclaimed as he ran back downstairs. Yami looked at Yugi and said, "It couldn't be him. Could it?"
Yugi grabbed his jacket and immediately ran out the door, being followed by the Kaiba brothers and Prof. Nomura. Faster and faster the four went as they emerged out the door, Tea jogging up to her husband immediately said, "Yugi, you got to see this!" Yugi's eyes widened as he said, "Is it him? Is it the Aelitatrix bearer?" Tea shook her head and said, "Just look!" Yugi and Kaiba looked towards the crater that was in front of the rest of the staff, their eyes widening as they saw a young teenager unconscious in the crater sporting Egyptian garb. What stood out the most, however, was an all too familiar pyramid-shaped necklace strapped around his neck. "That's…IMPOSSIBLE! Pharaoh! Pharaoh Atem!", Yugi said, running over to the teenager, shaking him slightly. He placed a finger to Atem's neck and said, "He's still breathing. Joey, Jaden, Tristan! Get Atem into the medical room inside the Mansion! Hurry!" Joey and the others nodded as they lifted the teenager up and carried him inside, the other members of the staff following leaving Yami and the Exodia Headmaster alone. Yami stated, "First the Sacred Seal appearing on the Sairenji-Noroi twins in the Exhibition Duel, now the King of Games is back in the realm of the living. The Will of Amaria is working overtime tonight, Sanji." Sanji nodded in agreement as she looked up to the sky, seeing a lightning bolt strike across the clouds. She turned away from Yami as she walked back towards the Exodia Purple campus, Yami vanishing as well.
Meanwhile, back at the Slifer Red dorm….
Onyx looked at me as I slept soundly, running a hand through my hair and said, "That duel completely drained her." Mikey wiped his lips with a napkin as he said, "That's to be expected, especially since she was channeling the power of Lady Retsu herself within her." Onyx looked at Mikey and said, "Mikey, what are you talking about? Whatever this thing is that my sister and I have, it's the very first time this has happened to us. Ever." Yukiko looked at Raksha and said, "Our kids being touched by the Will of Amaria. It can't be any sheer coincidence that you two use the Celestial Guard archetype. Everything has a reason." Raksha nodded and said, "Your mother's right, Onyx. Whatever happened in Crystal's duel awakened something within you two that can only be described as abnormal, at least from me." Onyx looked over at Mikey and said, "Do you know more about this Will of Amaria, Mikey?"
"Perhaps my dad can explain a little more. It was he who told me the story when I was younger.", Mikey said, looking over at his father who was sitting in on the couch. Jonathan looked over at Onyx and said, "Well, first off, the Will of Amaria can only be described as magical. Have you ever experienced anything that seemed impossible or strange?" Onyx placed a hand on his chin and said, "Well, there is that time I was in Uncle Yami's classroom and he was teaching us about the Shadow Games. It is sad that in ancient times, these Games were played with real monsters and genuine magic that could destroy the world. He also mentioned that Chancellor Muto and Chancellor Kaiba has taken on many duelists that were practitioners of the Shadow Games. Is that how it works?" Jonathan nodded and said, "To an extent, yes. The Will of Amaria is basically the will of the very multiverse itself. The Celestial Guard follows its will while doing what it does best: protecting the peace. And of course, the Celestial Guard's two top warriors are the Aelitatrix bearer and the Last Celestian, Retsu Taimukipa. It is said that the Will of Amaria works in many peculiar ways: sending visions of the past, present, or future across the multiverse to the Celestial Guard or connecting the souls of many to one being. There is still the biggest mystery of all: the legend of the Living Paradox. However, neither of these applies to what has happened here. It is safe to say the Will of Amaria has touched you and your sister, but how and why, I do not know."
Onyx frowned, then he reached over to my Duel Disk and pulled the three top cards from my deck to see him facing Retsu, her Rage-Induced form, and Retsu's Sadistic Rage. "Crystal reacted once that trap card was in her hand. Dr. Redheart, has there ever been a time when the real Lady Retsu has ever reacted in a way similar to Crystal today?", Onyx asked. Jonathan rubbed his chin and said, "According to my knowledge, it has only happened twice: when Amaria fell the first time and when the Aelitatrix bearer was struck down by Arufunu. So, this is just a guess, but perhaps these cards allows Crystal to feel that pit of rage that Retsu has felt?" Onyx looked at the cards again and returned them to my deck and said, "No idea. However, I can say this…..I am definitely excited to learn more about this power me and my sister have!"
Raksha smirked when Onyx said that. "Typical Onyx. He can find something good in something bad. Do be careful though, kid. The Will of Amaria always works in different ways, some of them may turn out bad too." Onyx grinned as he said, "Whatever the case, we'll figure out more about it!" Yukiko stood to her feet and said, "In that case, let's put that aside and do something important: feeding those empty stomachs. Dr. Redheart, mind helping me in the kitchen?" Jonathan nodded as he stood to his feet and walked into the kitchen with Yukiko, Raksha turning his attention to the TV as Mikey returned to his laptop. Onyx, however, returned his attention to me and said, "Don't worry, sis. We'll figure this thing out together."
Meanwhile….
Yugi sat down next to the hospital bed where Atem slept. He held the young Egyptian's hand and said, "It's been too long, old friend. I thought….I thought that after that last duel, I never would've seen you again. Why? Why did you come back? Could it be that the Will of Amaria brought you back for some important mission?" A gentle hand was placed on both of his shoulders as he looked back and saw his friends looking back at him. Joey stated, "Whatever the reason he is here for, he is definitely back. Isn't that great?" Tristan nodded and said, "Joey's right, Yugi. Mission or not, Atem came back to us." Yugi nodded as he tightened his grip on Atem's hand and said, "We've got to set him up as a student here. He can't stay within the Mansion all the time. Tea, can you handle that?" Tea nodded and said, "He'll have to be a Slifer Red. That's how it works for new students. He can start classes as soon as we get him up to speed with everything that is going on right now."
"Thank you. Now please, leave us alone for now.", Yugi stated. Tea nodded as her, Joey, and Tristan left Yugi with Atem in the medical room. He tucked Atem in warmly and said, "Don't worry, partner. Just like before, you won't be doing this alone." He walked towards the door only to stop when he heard Atem say, "T-Thank you…Yugi." He smiled as he turned the lights off to the room, closing the door behind him with a silent click.
As I slumbered and slept, none of us had a single clue on what was going on outside of the dorm. Why did we react to my duel like that? Why was the Sacred Seal active within our eyes? Why did Atem, the King of Games from so long ago, return to the realm of the living? And who was that mysterious figure that defaced the War of Paradoxes Monument? More and more questions arose as the night crept by slowly, inching itself closer to a new dawn….
The newest chapter of Duel Monster Saviors is up and live for your reading entertainment! In this chapter, Crystal delves further and further into the mystery of the appearance of Retsu Taimukipa. Also, we are reunited with another familiar figure! Who that can be? *looks at title* .....I think I'll let you guys figure out. Read, review, enjoy, and Allons-y!
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monster Saviors is a collaborative project between
