Who is that masked man? Oh, it's just that guy.
Chapter FiveRe-evaluation
“What just happened?” Thomas asked, taken aback.
“John,” Karen asked, “are you okay?”
I rose slowly to my full height and answered, “Yeah, I’m fine.” But I wasn’t fine. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself that I was fine, I just wasn’t fine. Ten minutes ago I'd been better than fine. My life couldn’t have gotten any better. But in the span of only one duel, everything had changed. My life couldn’t get any worse. I’d lost the duel and my favorite card, the only Monster card that had been a part of my deck since I’d built it, and no matter how many times I milled it around in my head, I couldn’t figure out how.
My strategy hadn’t been any weaker than it had in my previous duels, and I was sure that my opponent hadn’t cheated. I had no idea what had gone wrong.
Karen and Thomas hadn’t moved once since the end of the duel. They seemed as shocked as I was.
“John, dude,” said Thomas, “I’m really sorry. If I hadn’t told you about this Card Taker thing, then you’d still have your card.”
I shook my head and forced a smile, “It’s alright. It’s just a card. Now come on. We should get back to our rooms. It’s late and we’re supposed to be under curfew.”
Without another word, I turned toward the distant High Dorm and started walking.
Karen knew that the last thing I needed was someone talking to me, but Thomas didn’t know me as well as Karen, and the kid really did feel like my current situation was his fault.
“I really am sorry,” Thomas repeated, following us still, despite the fact that his dorm was in the other direction. “You fought great though. That guy just got lucky is-.”
“Thomas-,” Karen began.
“Thomas, really,” I said, “it’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I was weaker than my opponent. I deserved to lose.”
“Come on John,” said Karen, “this isn’t a big deal. You’ll get ‘Megacyber’ back.”
“How?” I snapped, stopping abruptly and clenching my fists. “If I couldn’t win with ‘The Fiend Megacyber’ in my deck, how can I win without him?”
I forced myself to relax, and I started walking again. “Seriously,” I said, “I’m fine. Now can we please drop this?”
“Yeah,” said Karen, “sure.”
Thomas didn’t answer. He seemed deep in thought.
We walked together in silence. Thomas broke off a few minutes later, finally heading back toward Low Dorm. Karen and I said goodnight and continued on our way.
“You really okay?” Karen asked.
“No,” I answered, “but it’s okay.” I shot her a smile that I hoped didn’t look as false as it was. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure this out. I always do.”
We walked the rest of the way to High Dorm in relative silence, making sure to make our way into the building as quietly as possible. If we were caught out of bed so late at night, we would be facing detention at the very least. We did have the shadowy powers of the Soul of Darkness to conceal us if anyone came close to seeing us, but thankfully we didn’t need it.
We said our goodnights to each other. Karen kissed me, but I barely noticed. Then we split off and headed into our own rooms. Despite the late hour, I knew I wouldn’t sleep. I lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling, still dwelling on my loss.
I really wish Hiro were still around, I thought, remembering the ancient spirit who had once shared my mind with me. He’d be able to help me, but he’s long gone. It’s all up to me now. And from what I experienced tonight, I’m just not up for any of this. Maybe it would be better if I gave up now and went home.
I spent the night lying there, the same thoughts running through my mind again and again. I waited until the sun had been out for an hour or so, and then I got up, got dressed, and grabbed my things, heading for the school. I sat out in front, on the base of a stone depicting ‘M-Warrior #1’, until other students started to arrive. It was about then that I realized that class wasn’t really what I needed. I decided to skip class and take a walk in the woods instead, and I slipped away carefully, making sure not to be seen.
I wandered along the edge of the forest for a couple hours before I noticed that it was already getting dark. I scowled. I had been in enough shadow games to recognize when one was beginning. I hadn’t been paying attention, and now someone with a Shadow Item had trapped me in the edge of the Shadows. I barely noticed that this time felt a little different than most.
I transformed my black Academy Disk into the Neo Dark Disk and prepared to draw my blade if needed. All the while, I probed the Shadows around me for any weaknesses through which I could escape. Per usual, there were none. Whoever was attacking me was strong.
That’s when I saw him. He was standing in the deep shadows. All I could make out was a dark silhouette. He was wearing some kind of cloak.
“You’re feeling sorry for yourself,” the figure said in a gruff monotone. “That makes you weak. Don’t you realize that, as a Soul Guardian, you aren’t allowed to show weakness? It makes it so much easier for interested parties to take the Soul from you.”
“Who are you,” I demanded, “and what do you want?”
“I want to duel,” he replied. “If I win, the Soul of Darkness is mine.”
“What if I refuse?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
He answered, confirming my fears, “If you refuse, you die.”
I shrugged, trying to save face as much as possible, “Fair enough. I accept your challenge. Make your move.”
“Gladly,” The figure said. He drew a sickle-shaped Duel Disk from behind his back, beneath his cloak, and strapped it to his wrist. What little light there was glinted off of its golden edge. “I begin by summoning ‘Zombie Master’ in attack mode,” he began. “‘Zombie Master’ battles using fallen spirits as weapons.”
A white-skinned young man with black eyes appeared, wearing tattered gray garbs and a tattered black cape. He raised his hand, and purple energy strands fell from his fingertips, plunging into the ground. Out of the ground rose a fearsome skeleton, attached to the strings like a puppet (ATK: 1800).
“I set two cards,” my opponent said, “and I pass.”
“Then here goes,” I said. I was prepared to draw my cards, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Come on! I said to myself. This is no time to have a crisis. I have to fight, no matter what!
“I draw,” I declared, finally pulling my cards, looking at my hand. Okay, I thought, I can do this. “I summon ‘Giant Orc’ in attack mode, and I attack your ‘Zombie Master’ with club slam.”
A giant goblin carrying a bone club appeared (ATK: 2200). He raised his club and charged the other monster.
“Reveal,” my opponent declared, “the Trap card ‘Attack Reaping’, cutting the Attack of your monster in half.”
A hooded, ghostly grim reaper shot from the face of my opponent’s Trap, slashing my goblin (ATK: 2200/2=1100). ‘Zombie Master’ compelled the skeleton to attack. It crushed the ‘Orc’’s club and then sliced him in half with its bony fingers (8000+1100-1800=7300).
“You’re not half bad,” I said, feigning control.
“Interesting,” my opponent replied. “If only I could say the same of you. I’d heard good things. I guess what I heard was wrong.
“I draw,” my opponent said, beginning his second turn, “and I summon the ‘Goblin Zombie’.” A somewhat insect-like, brown-skinned, bipedal creature appeared, carrying a sword (ATK: 1100). “When ‘Goblin Zombie’ deals you damage, you have to discard the top card of your deck. ‘Goblin Zombie’, ‘Zombie Master’, attack!”
Both monsters struck (7300-1800-1100=4400). I discarded the top card of my deck without even looking.
This is ridiculous, I thought. I’m losing again. First I lost my favorite card, and now I’m gonna lose my Soul of Darkness, and maybe my life!
I drew, “I set a monster.” I looked over my hand. It was a collection of cards that were completely useless in this situation. I scowled, “I end my turn.”
“Draw,” my opponent declared. “I begin by tributing both of my monsters to summon ‘Despair from the Dark’.” His two monsters disappeared and were replaced by a massive shadowy torso with long, razor-sharp claws. “Next I reveal my face-down card, ‘Tribute to the Doomed’, discarding one card from my hand to destroy my own ‘Despair’, letting me activate ‘A Deal with Dark Ruler’, summoning my ‘Berserk Dragon’.”
The shadow monster reformed, becoming a skeletal brown dragon with tufts of hair coming off of the back of its head (ATK: 3500). It launched a fireball at my face-down monster. The monster was revealed as the green-skinned, pike-wielding motorcyclist ‘Chaosrider Gustaph’, just before it was destroyed.
“My turn ends,” my opponent declared, “and my monster is drained of five hundred Attack (3500-500=3000). If you were ever going to turn this around, it would be now.”
I drew a card, the Spell card ‘Monster Reborn’. I looked over the rest of my hand. All I had left was ‘Dimension Fusion’, ‘Summoned Skull’, ‘Return from the Different Dimension’, and ‘Polymerization’.
It’s over, I thought. I’ve lost again.
“Is this really it?” my opponent asked, shocked. “I thought you were supposed to be powerful. Able to fight at the level of any other Duelist. What happened? So you lost one duel. Big deal. Push through it and suck it up! There are bigger things in the world than losing one game of cards! Think, and maybe you’ll actually find a way to survive the next turn.”
Suddenly, it was like something in the back of my mind snapped into place. I realized that if my opponent could see how messed up I was, I should be able to see it too, and then I could! Things that had been hazy were suddenly clear. Nothing had changed, except my perception. I’d been so full of myself for so long that I’d started to make a habit of not noticing what was going on all around me! For one thing, even though the cards in my hand hadn’t changed either, a single previously-missed detail would be the key to turning this duel around in my favor. I checked the cards in my Graveyard, and I smiled.
“Sorry, but my luck’s about to change. It’s thanks to you, really. When you attacked with your ‘Goblin Zombie’, you sent my ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ to the Graveyard.
“I activate ‘Monster Reborn’,” I declared, “to call my dragon back from the dead, and onto the field.”
A glowing red ankh appeared, blossoming out and becoming the black dragon (ATK: 2400).
“Next,” I continued, “I activate ‘Polymerization’, fusing ‘Red-Eyes’ on the field with ‘Summoned Skull’ in my hand.” The skull demon appeared, merging with the mighty dragon, becoming a dragon with a thick, muscular, solid, skeletal-armored body and piercing red eyes. “Form,” I commanded, “the ‘Black Skull Dragon’ (ATK: 3200), and I attack and destroy ‘Berserk Dragon’ with Black Fire Meteor!”
‘Black Skull Dragon’ breathed a barrage of fireballs that blew the enemy monster away (7500+3000-3200=7800).
“Enough,” I said. I deactivated my Duel Disk, and my monster disappeared with a roar, becoming wisps of thick, black smoke. “You might as well show me your face. I know it’s you, Max.”
My surroundings grew brighter as the Shadow Game ended, if it had ever really been a shadow game to begin with. One of my biggest fears since losing to the Card Takers was that someone would force me into a shadow game before I could recover. Max has the power to make people’s fears come to life. The light hit my opponent, revealing his appearance as he stepped toward me. He was wearing a dark gray, almost black long sleeve t-shirt, black cargo pants, and a deep purple cloak. He wore a black cloth mask over his mouth and nose. The cloak was fastened around his neck by a golden clasp. Embedded in the clasp was the amber-colored Soul of Life.
He lowered his hood and pulled his mask from his face. His blond hair was shorter than it had been the last time I'd seen him, and it showed signs of having been self-cut, but otherwise, he hadn’t changed at all.
“Do you know now why you lost?” Max asked.
“Yeah,” I replied, “thanks. But how did you know?”
“Well,” Max answered, “I figured that I still owed you my life. When I heard that you were going to be attending a school filled with Duelists, I decided to come by. With so many Duelists around, something was bound to happen at some point that would give me an opportunity to repay my debt. In case you were wondering, we’re even now.”
“You sticking around?”
“No,” Max replied. Then he smiled and gave me a slight wave. “Say ‘hi’ to Karen for me,” he said, and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
I was filled with new purpose. I knew what was wrong, and I knew what I could do to fix it. I turned around, and I ran for the school.
I didn’t have a chance to meet up with Karen until after school, and despite the fact that I was the one looking for her, it was Karen who found me. I was looking around near the entrance to High Dorm as the twilight sunk in.
“Where were you?” I asked. “It’s getting dark. I was worried.”
“I was doing some work after class,” Karen answered. “I want to get ahead early on-.”
“Wait a minute, okay?” I cut in. “I have something important to say. I know what I did wrong now. I was self-centered, and it was affecting my perception of the game. I forgot how to respect my opponents and enjoy the game, and I lost because of it. But I’m back, and I’m gonna get my card back.”
“That’s great,” said Karen, “but if you’d let me finish, you’d know that, after class, as I was heading back here, I ran into Thomas. He was going on about feeling responsible for you losing your monster, and he said that he was going himself to get it back for you! I knew I couldn’t do anything to stop him, so I came to find you.”
No, I thought, that idiot! I told him it wasn’t his fault!
“We have to stop him. He’s too worked up. The Card Takers will tear him apart!”
I broke into a run, heading straight for the bridge, but I knew I wouldn’t make it. I was already behind, and I could see the flashes of light from various attacks in the distance, shining through the trees. The duel had already begun.
I wrestled for a moment with the possibility of using the Soul of Darkness to take me right to Thomas, but I was too distracted to make sure that no one was watching. I couldn’t let anyone I didn’t trust see the Soul in action. So instead, I ran faster, Karen at my heels.
We ran past Low Dorm, the sunlight growing dimmer, and the bridge coming into sight. We arrived at the bridge, just in time to see the Lightsworn Duelist summon ‘Judgment Dragon’ and attack for the win.
Thomas saw us, turned sorrowfully toward me and said, “Sorry John. I tried to get your card back, but I wasn’t strong enough.”
I started to reply, but it was at that moment that the Lightsworn Duelist stepped up to Thomas and said, “I think you have something of mine.”
Thomas held out his card, the ‘Flame Spirit Ignis’, but I swatted his hand down before the Lightsworn Duelist could take it. I stepped between Thomas and his opponent.
“Don’t bother,” I said. “If you take his card, it’ll just mean you’ll have to give it back later. I’m challenging you to a rematch.” I looked over the first figure’s shoulder at the second figure. “I’m challenging both of you, for mine and Thomas’ cards, and every other card that you’ve won.”
“We already have your favorite card,” the second figure stated. “What will you ante?”
I smiled, “Something you can’t resist. I ante every single Duel Monsters card I own.”
“What?” Thomas asked, surprised.
“John,” said Karen, “you can’t be serious!”
I smiled, “I am.”
“In that case,” said the Lightsworn Duelist, “let the rematch begin.”
Card of the Day:
Red-Eyes Black Dragon
Played by: John
I put this here mostly because John plays it all the time, and yet it's never made Card of the Day before, which is inexcusable as this is a classic monster. Technically "Black Skull Dragon" made a bigger impact, but ya know.
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