Yeah, John is literally kinda a dick.
Chapter ThreePairings;
The Mysterious Sixteenth Duelist Revealed!
The bus pulled up at the end of the street at 9:50. We opened the compartments in the side of the bus and loaded our bags, keeping our smaller carryon bags with us. The doors opened and we piled inside. Sarah recognized the driver, “Hey, Mr. Wilson! I didn’t know you drove busses.”
The elderly Wilson pushed his heavy glasses back up his nose and smiled a gummy smile, “Sure do! I drove busses for a few years before opening my store. None of ’em as nice as this one though. I told Johnny about it once, so when he needed a bus driver, he came to me.”
“Sweet,” said Sarah as she found her seat. My mom climbed in last and sat in the first seat, across the aisle from Wilson. I thought I saw an odd look of apprehension pass between the two of them, but then it was gone, and I figured I was just imagining things. Either way, Mom was asleep fast, leaning her seat back as far as it would go. It was only a few hours to Columbus, but it was late and we were all prepared to sleep if the need arose. We had a big day coming up.
Christopher sat on the opposite side a few rows back. He sat quietly and traded between staring out the window and stealing glances at Jen, who was fully gothed out today. The rest of us sat in the back and spent our time goofing off, but soon several of us drifted off to sleep as well. It took us less than three hours to arrive at the newly opened Kaibaland Resort. The third shift check-in lady was really nice.
We piled into our rooms. I changed into some old sweats and climbed into bed. I needed to sleep. Tomorrow was going to change everything.
“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Grand Opening of Kaibaland Columbus!” The voice of the tournament announcer rang over the speakers and the crowd which filled the entire stands cheered. I marveled at how many people had come to see the Duel Force compete, and said to my friends, “When Kaiba Corp. hosts a tournament, they don’t pull any punches.”
“We didn’t do this,” said a suited man, a Kaiba Corp. representative, who was with us in the stadium’s back room, “the name Duel Force sold itself. We just put it out there. They’re all local, too, seeing how out-of-towners didn’t really have time to get here given the short notice.”
“You mean people saw that the Duel Force was throwing this tournament and it sold this many seats in two days?” I asked disbelievingly.
“Exactly,” the man, a buff, middle-aged ex-military type, said, smiling at me politely. “I’m not nearly as impressed as you all seem to be. It’s almost like you guys don’t know how famous you are. In fact, I expected this many people. I’ve been a fan of yours for years.”
I was more than a little stunned, but I smiled and said, “Thanks.”
I looked thoughtfully around the plush and comfortable sitting room where we would wait and watch the others duel. There were several seats, all situated to give those seated in them a good view of the large monitor that displayed the stadium outside. I didn’t know if this was transmitted to the waiting room alone, or if it was the same feed that was being transmitted around the world.
“For today’s event,” the announcer continued, “we have a special treat. Welcome to the Great Duel Force Tournament!”
The crowd cheered again.
“Now allow me to introduce the participants in this tournament,” The announcer said, and the image on the interior monitor switched to the one displayed on the massive overhead monitor in the stadium outside. An image of my face popped onto the screen, and the announcer said, “First is John Sieger, the leader of the Duel Force and the current World Champion!”
The cheering increased in both volume and intensity.
The image changed, showing Christopher this time.
“Next is Christopher Johnson, the undisputed King of O.T.K.!”
One by one the image changed, showing each member of my team, introducing them and their decks one after another. It went on for several minutes until Jenna’s name came up.
“And introducing Jenna, a new rising star on the tournament scene. Her style is different, so much so that it can’t be adequately described. I guess you’ll just have to see for yourselves.”
The announcer paused and then continued on, sounding confused, “There’s a sixteenth slot, but we don’t seem to have the name of whoever is supposed to fill it. I guess it’s a surprise. Anyway, our computer has randomized and paired the names of every Duelist competing.”
He announced the pairings: it would be me vs. Karen and Rocky vs. Christopher in the first block of the first round, Lawrence vs. Tucker and Sarah vs. Max in the second block, Jen vs. Kris and Monty vs. Amanda in the third block, Kimi vs. my mom, who was also Kimi's old dueling teacher, and finally Jenna vs. the mystery Duelist in the final block of the first round. I didn’t know for sure how things would progress after that. It all depended on how much work Kaiba Corp. had put into the thing.
“Now,” the announcer continued, “would the competitors please step out onto the stadium floor?”
“Alright,” said the man in the suit, “it’s time for your first appearance. Just step outside and let the camera get a look at you.”
So we stepped outside through a large door that led straight onto the stadium floor. The cheering grew even louder.
“Waddaya know?” said Tucker. “We do have fans!”
“Okay John,” said Sarah, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at me sternly, “give it up. You said you got a sixteenth guy. Who’d you get?”
“Is it Yugi?” Jen asked.
“You guys know him,” I said, “and no, it’s not Yugi. Just wait. You’ll see when he gets here, and he’ll be here soon.”
The arena was open to the sky and lit by the light of the sun. The air had been mild all day, but suddenly, out of the blue, a dark cloud rolled in overhead. A single bolt of lightning flashed, and the crowd gasped as it struck the ground in the stadium center. The lightning faded, and the clouds parted, and there, where the lightning had just struck stood a figure in a light gray jacket, white shirt, and light khaki cargo pants. His hair was dirty blond, but as unruly as mine. His eyes were an amber color, and his expression was confident. He wore a duplicate Soul of Darkness around his neck.
Though his face was unique it was also eerily similar to mine, and if he were to speak, it would be clear to everyone present that he and I sounded alike as well.
“That’s not fair,” said Jen.
“Yeah,” said Tucker, “You don’t really expect us to fight him do you? I mean, he’s the Forgotten Duelist. Do you really expect us to duel Hiro?”
“Who better to test your strength,” I asked, “than the Legendary Forgotten Duelist himself?”
“That’s a little selfish,” said Jen.
“How so?”
“You’re forcing us to fight someone that we have little if any chance of defeating just because you want to fight him yourself.”
“You’ll live,” I said, and I stepped forward to meet my counterpart and shake his hand.
“You ready?” I asked.
He smiled, “I’m just glad this worked. Trying to reproduce what happened when Blackheart cast me out of your body to give me a body of my own was a long shot, but it looks like it paid off.”
The crowd was still in awe. Not only had someone just appeared in a flash of lightning, his face as it appeared on the overhead display was similar enough to mine that we could be twin brothers. They didn’t know what to think, and they were eating it up.
Christopher walked up and stood nearby, “I’ve always had a feeling that that crystal around your neck was more than it seemed, but now I hear that you use it to ask this guy for help when you duel.” He crossed his arms and gave me a look that said he was genuinely angry.
“He’d ask for my help on occasion,” said Hiro, “but only against cheaters and criminals. Never against anyone who he considered a worthwhile opponent. With the exception of Yugi, but that's Yugi. It's different."
I looked at Christopher with suspicion. I'd known for a time that he was aware of the Shadow Games, but did he know about the Souls, too? Seeing my expression, he smiled and said, “Your mom filled me in.”
I nodded with a frown, “Of course she did.”
“Well,” said the announcer, a little desperately, like a government agent trying to cover up a terror attack, “what a show! As always Kaiba Corporation spares no expense in entertaining its guests. Now let’s begin. Will the first Duelists please step up to their respective platforms!”
I looked over at Karen. She looked me in the eye and I saw a fire there that I hadn’t seen since the first time she and I had dueled. She was finally ready for our rematch.
Karen
Yesterday, when I was working on my deck, I’d realized something. I’d thought that John was being selfish in pushing me to fight. That he was trying to make me into a Duelist. But I’d realized that he wanted the same thing I did, he just wanted to see how much I’d changed since the day that we’d met, and the only way he knew how to do that was to face me in a duel. After all, whether I become a designer or a Professional Duelist, I’ll still be a Duelist, and the best way for a Duelist to learn about another Duelist is to duel.
So as much as I didn’t want to fight, I steeled myself up and stepped out onto the arena floor. It was all set up much like the arena at Kaibaland New York, but with only two Duel Disk platforms set up side by side, rather than three arranged at the points of a triangle. I stepped up onto the platform located on the right. If John wanted to see that Karen again, then I'd show her to him. I was prepared to bare my soul on that battlefield.
Christopher
My opponent was Robert “Rocky” Stone. He was the least known member of the Duel Force, having only competed in a few low rung local tournaments. I knew nothing about him, except that everyone who faced him said he was strong. In fact, one of my fellow members of Team Beatdown, a more than competent Duelist, had faced him once, losing in the second turn. Afterward he’d said that Robert “Rocky” Stone might even be stronger than me. I intended to prove this theory wrong.
John
When we had each reached our positions on the respective platforms, they rose about twenty-five, maybe thirty feet into the air, and were surrounded by small holographic screens, much like the ones that had surrounded the final stage platform at Kaibaland New York during my duel with Yugi. “And now,” said the announcer, as the raised platforms clicked to a stop, “let the opening day ceremonies begin!”
Next Chapter >>
No comments:
Post a Comment