Yu-Gi-Oh!: Return of the Shadows (IC)

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"Ah, In beer there is strength, In wine there is wisdom..." Apostolos waned on, before taking a sharper and colder turn in his speech,"In water there is bacteria." Apostolos clasped his hands together and began rubbing them together, "Oh, a nice Long Island will quench my thirst." He then removed his hands from a clasped position and clapped, "So, what have you been up to Mechazawa?"

Apostolos glanced at Pat, "Hm, do you come here often? Or have you just learned of this local watering hole? Lenny's is quite the respectable establishment."
 
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Pat took a sip, then stared at Apostolos. "I don't drink" he responded, downing his beer then crushing the can before throwing it off somewhere that definitely wasn't a trash can. Pat took his deck out of his duel disk and looked it over. He seemed to have some strange affection with the cards, almost as if he had painted each and every one of the cards in the deck by hand and was admiring his work. As he searched through, however, there was a somber look on his face. It was as if something was missing.

"How can I fit Dark Magician Girl in here?" he mumbled to himself. Then Pat looked back at Apostolos. "I only come to duel. Dueling is love. Dueling is life. It's like Shrek. It's not ogre until it's ogre."
 
Apostolos took his Long Island, as he took a drink from it. "Ah, that's a good drink." Apostolos took a larger drink from it, then smiled at Mechazawa. "Again, I thank you for putting this on your tab." Apostolos looked at Pat and smiled, "Ah, yes dueling is a very powerful way in order to learn about the soul... But there is so much else in life besides playing the duel." Apostolos glanced at his Long Island Iced Tea, as he took another drink.

"Alcohol, for one. It allows you a different glimpse of the world, showing it in a new light!" he took another small sip. "It is a wonderful beverage, which allowed for mysticism, and rituals to be formed. Yes, it is a life-blood, a drink that can provide another useful glimpse of life! I admire your passion for dueling." Apostolos smiled at Pat.

"It is a good thing to have something like Dueling in your life. And for you, that is the thing for life. Others have other things that they adore to such an extent. Whatever you love, you need to chase after it."

Apostolos glanced at his Long Island, "Oh yes, this is quite the drink."
 
WIP Posted early by accident.

Lars took his last icy breath. The last remaining life force, something so precious, left his body, alongside his soul. Did Lars really deserve this death? He had been cruel, yes, but true evil did not lie in his heart. Lars had friends he supported, parents he cared for, a boy friend he loved. And yet now his body had gone cold, never to move again. All of his thoughts, memories, and emotions were gone. Terrel watched as Lars' body went limp... And laughed. Terrel cackled at Lars' death, as if there was no worth in his existence. Lars' death had been very ironic, so who could help but chuckle at his passing away.

Terrel laughter faded away when he saw Lars' body disappear...alongside his duel disk. Terrel had been hoping to scavenge it- he'd have been able to get a fair amount of money for it. Too late now though. Terrel still had a chance with the other duel though. Terrel stood next to Benjamin, also observing Cain's duel.
 
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The cultist, at this point, was laughing with a touch of insanity, heaving with her breaths. "Heh heh... I hate to break it to ya, but I think you're out of options! No monsters, no spells; Nothing to save you!" Nisa wailed in triumph, brandishing a commanding arm. "Do it! Draw you last pathetic card! I'm looking forward to ANNIHILATING YOU!"

Impossible.

Somewhere, Cain woke up.

Immediately, he saw he was not on Earth. The flow of strange shadows and twisted prismatic images filled the area. He flung his vision around in panic, and very quickly discovered a massive, black void. It appeared to be foreign even to this area, as the edges of each force surged in struggle against each other. From the rift, a pair of sharp, red lights glowed with power. Draconian eyes.

"You..." Cain spoke, in a mix of wonder, fear, and anger.

With more force than normal, Cain yanked a card from the top of his deck, and glanced at it. "...I end my turn."

"HA! I change The Dark Creator to attack position!" Nisa retorted, drawing a card and aiming for the figure of her enemy. "CREATOR, KING, DESTROY HIM AND HIS WEAK TOTEM!"

"This is YOUR fault!" Cain cried out in anguished rage.

"You would do well not to provoke me," The darkness replied, eyes narrowing.

"No! You're USING me for your purposes! I can't allow this!"
"And neither can you disallow it."
Cain growled in frustration. Getting this monster under control was going to be nigh-impossible. How could his own father leave him with such burdens-!?

A powerful force roared through the area, shaking the world around to the verge of collapse. Cain tried to protect himself to no avail, as he felt himself being obliterated. His grasp on existence, all the feeling mentality he had, was rapidly slipping away in the force of this attack.

When it was over, Cain could barely keep his vision open. He had barely any power of his own left, and remained unable to retort as the darkness spoke again:"I have no use for your death, boy. You will remain here until I see fit."

Reduced to a mere 800 LP, Cain appeared to be barely clinging to life, yet he still remained standing. Once more, he drew a card from the deck...

"Go ahead, fool! Anything you want! ANYTHING to delay your DEMISE!" The female cultist taunted, and her monsters chuckled maliciously in reply.

Cain's eyes flicked upwards towards Nisa, his blood-red irises were shining more than ever. "...There is a Red-Eyes Wyvern in my Graveyard. By banishing it, I can directly summon another Red-Eyes Dragon from the grave!"

A perishing cry of a dragon was heard as another shadowy blob appeared. Black claws jabbed out, preceding the limbs, tail, head and wings as the Black Dragon once more morphed into existence. The crimson highlights of the dragon's dark-plated form pulsed with renewed force as the Dragon materialized in full, letting out a roar of battle.

"Hah! You're doing this AGAIN? Nice try, you fo-"

"Next, I play Inferno Fire Blast, which will allow the Black Dragon to attack you directly!" The Red-Eyes dragon rapidly gathered energy, generating a huge core of dark energy in its maw. When the dragon unleashed the blast, it soared right past Nisa's monsters to attack Nisa herself, the orb exploding into a blazing radius of shadowy flame. [1600 LP]

The cloaked figure strained to right herself. "Nngh...! Lucky draw, but it's still not-"

"Then, by tributing the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I can Special Summon its superior..."

Nisa's eyes widened to tea-saucers in shock. It couldn't be true; there was no way he could have-!

No sooner had it arrived than did the Black Dragon revert its form, dissolving into red and black swirls of energy. The darkness in the dome around them began to distort, shadow winds whipping hard against the battlefield as they swirled into the hurricane of dark magic.

Cain slapped down the last card, then thrust his hand out with vigor. "Come forth, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

The dark dragon erupted from the conglomeration of shadow power, with massive multilayer blades topped with crimson jewels acted as wings keeping it aloft. An armored body, ornate spiking and trails of scarlet magic highlighted the Dragon's power. The remainder of the waves of shadow turned into ominous clouds, from which vague illusions of deceased dragons flickered and fueled the Red-Eyes dragon. [4200 ATK]

"Time to end this. Blast through her Dark Creator!"

"N-no! Wait! I-I surrender!" The cultist pleaded, dropping to her knees and begging at the sight of this ultimate dragon. "This isn't worth it, please! I'll do anything!"

"I have no need for such material devices. You are nothing but a rat to me."

Wait, you can't just kill her like this!

"Oh- god no! Please, have mercy-!"

Stop it! Let her go!

All cries went unanswered as the Darkness Dragon charged the final attack. The King of the Skull Servants shivered in frightful anticipation, and the Dark Creator could only set up a weak guard. An incredible beam of dark energy shot forth, blasting clear through the shadowy construct and surging through Nisa fatally. The remnants of her life force disintegrated entirely, leaving nothing but a pale husk in scorched black robes.

The duel was brought to a close as corpse fell over limply, her Duel Disk deactivating as it hit the ground. Cain's own life force returned to him, his health and spirit restored to normality. The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon faded away in the meanwhile, no longer tangible but still very real, with the air of the Shadow Realm distorting around the dragon's image.[/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr]
 
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How, why, and what was Terrell doing here were the first questions that came to Benjamin's mind when he noticed that the guy was standing next to him. Had he been watching the duel from a distance? Probably not, that option was easily ruled out considering the dome of shadows that was present during the Shadow Duel prevented anyone from seeing anything with clarity. So... Terrell was either sneaking around the area and present when the Shadow Game was initiated, or he himself had an ability similar to Lars that allowed him entry into the Shadow Realm. Neither of these options helped Terrell's image, as Benjamin marked him as a suspicious character because of them. Benjamin gave Terrell a stern and questioning glance before returning his attention to the duel. He'd ask him stuff later, but right now he needed to see how Cain's duel would end.

The Dragon of Darkness is not easily held back...

The voices were still whispering and commenting in his head. Benjamin knew it was the the Iswarm monsters within his deck... so many things were different now, but the strange thing was is that Benjamin didn't even seem to be shocked or confused. Almost like the hindsight bias phenomenon, the duelist felt as if he always knew there was something more to Duel Monsters and the monsters, something powerful, ancient, and dark. When the Cult had begun to become more active within Aria City, something inside of him began to accept such an idea, and now with this Shadow Duel...

As Benjamin observed Cain's duel, a question came to his mind. It was clear that this Cain was much different from the Cain that had made his first impression about half an hour ago. He seemed possessed by something, and judging by the key card of his deck and the words of the Iswarms, Benjamin figured that the Red Eyes Darkness Dragon was responsible for his change. So that asked the question... how much influence would his monsters have over him? So far, all they seemed to be doing in his head is make suggestions and comments. Nothing particularly harmful to be sure, but what other things could come from this new connection. On top of that... Benjamin was apparently in communion with more than just one monster, so what would come out of all of this?

The voices were silent to this question, as expected. He'd have to try and talk to them himself later.

"The dark dragon prevails," Benjamin muttered as the Red Eyes Darkness Dragon blasted away the rest of Nisa's lifepoints. The Shadow Realm slowly began to fade away now, and Benjamin approached the duelist.

"You survived then. Good, because the voices in my head tell me you know exactly what all of this is. Of course, they've told me themselves... an actual Shadow Game...."
 
Cain won the duel like Terrell had expected him, although the use of Red Eyes Darkness Dragon surprised Terrell a bit. As the Shadow Realm began to fade away, Terrell dived at Nisa's dead body. Soon she would be gone, but before she was, Terrell was determined to take her Duel Disk. Those things cost too damn much for it to just disappear into the depths of the Shadow Realm for all of eternity. Terrell made it just in time- as soon as he'd yanked the Duel Disk off her pliant arm, Nisa faded away for good. The dark mist surrounding them dissolved away, and warmth returned to the air. It was like stepping out of a cellar into a summer's day, despite the time of day it was now. Now that the Shadow Games were over, Terrell had a new problem to deal with: what to tell Benjamin and Cain.

"You survived then. Good, because the voices in my head tell me you know exactly what all of this is. Of course, they've told me themselves... an actual Shadow Game...." Benjamin uttered, seeming still shocked by the fact he'd taken part in a Shadow Game. Terrell had to stifle a laugh when Benjamin mentioned the voices in his head. To an onlooker he sounded completely nuts. "A reliable source, that is," Terrell mused mockingly, "I often trust the omniscient voices in my head on matters of life and death." He kept his thoughts to himself though, knowing that he wasn't exactly in a good position right now. In fact, it was probably better if he brought it up now, rather than let it be used against him later.

"Good duel bros," Terrel congratulated, "Congrats on not dying or anything. Not that you would, not with your skills. Anyway, I guess you might be wondering what I was doing, or why I was in the Shadow Realm, huh?" Terrell kept his voice nonchalant as usual, and distracted himself with brushing dirt off what had been Nisa's Duel Disk.
 
"You've more than just that to explain," Benjamin said coldly, "Because last I checked, I left you back at the card shop when I came to check out the Prime Pillar."

Unless Terrell had teleportation powers, that would mean he would have followed him and Cain here. Benjamin was growing more suspicious of Terrell by the minute. The guy seemed relaxed... way too relaxed for what just happened. Maybe he was a cultist and was only trying to put on a facade to just seem like a random, ordinary kid.

"Also, put down that duel disk. That's being confiscated and turned in to the Department."
 
Terrell had been perfectly happy until Benjamin had asked him to put the Duel Disk down. Terrell had been hoping to sell the duel disk so he had enough money for some new clothes, but he'd have to go without now. He sighed, dropping the Duel Disk carelessly to the ground. He'd been rather looking forward to the idea of wearing an outfit that didn't look like it'd been to been to hell and back- he was so careless he'd wrecked most of his clothes. Still, he'd rather not get in trouble with Benjamin or this 'department' he was referring to.

"I followed you, course, how else I'd get here? What, do you think you are, you two even, the only ones after the Cult?" Terrell sneered, "Well, I'm also studying my own sorta investigation. Seeing I can get to the Shadow Realm, seems I'm doing better than you, too. So, when I was watching you head to the pillar earlier, I thought you might somehow be parta the Cult. Seems the case isn't that though." Terrell wish he'd been able to put it better. He'd thought up the excuse while watching the duels, and it was a sound enough reason for investigating them. But it was useless if he wasn't able to explain it to Benjamin and Cain.
 
Apostolos continues drinking his Long Island. "And of course, this delicious nectar allows in help of a creative spark." Apostolos tapped his temple with his right index finger as he took off his satchel. He opened it and rummaged past his duel disk, as he pulled out a pen, and placed it on the table. He then took out a text-book, and opened it to a random page. As he was turning to this random page, a series of papers that were stapled together fell through the text-book.

Apostolos quickly took the sheets and placed them back in his satchel, and closed the satchel. Apostolos began thumbing through the textbook and reading the pages, and drinking his Long Island.

"A good drink, among friends, and a good book." Apostolos gave a small chuckle, "Ah, those good things life offers."
 
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Benjamin picked up the duel disk and held it under his arm before looking back to Terrell. Apparently he could get into the Shadow Realm too...

"And just how exactly do you manage to enter this Shadow Realm?" Benjamin asked him with prying eyes. Even if Terrell didn't answer, he would take him and Cain back to the Department Station to act as witnesses to what had happened at this Prime Pillar just now. With their accounts, the Commander ought to start taking the cult more seriously and actually send capable officer duelists to handle the situation in the areas the Cult had begun to grow in.
 
Terrell scowled as Benjamin picked up the Duel Disk. He might have given it up, but he was still annoyed when Benjamin took it. "And just how exactly do you manage to enter this Shadow Realm?" Benjamin inquired. Who did he think he was, taking the Duel Disk, then questioning Terrell without so much as an introduction?

"I'm not gonna be telling you that until you at least gimme your name. Or tell me what this department thing is," Terrell demanded, "And before you get off saying the same, I go by Terrell." Terrell felt obliged to stick out one of his grubby hands at this point.
 
Benjamin shook Terrell's hand before introducing himself.

"My name is Benjamin, I'm an officer from the Department of Law Enforcement," he said as he crossed his arms once more. He then demanded the same question once more.
 
Apostolos continued reading his textbook as he glanced at the others. "You know..." Apostolos finished up his Long Island, "There has been talk about some new batch of delinquents vandalizing property, trying to claim it as their territory." Apostolos rolled his shoulders upwards, as he raised his arms up. Apostolos interlocked his fingers together, as he stared upwards at the back of his hands for a couple of moments.

He quickly returned his hands to the book, "Now then, I don't know about you fellows, but those delinquents do not have this territory, and they won't have this territory. If you are willing, and are not busy, perhaps we can mark over their markings, to inform them that they won't have the territory they crave." Apostolos grinned slyly, "Perhaps we can create some good murals over their..." Apostolos stopped as he began tapping his temple with his right finger, "Unimaginative designs." Apostolos returned to reading his books, as he swiveled his left hand and did a small backwards wave, "Of course that is just an idea, perhaps we could just return to our respective hearths after we finish conversations with each other."
 
"Department of Law Enforcement?" Terrell thought, "Oh s**t, what have I gotten myself into?" So now Terrell was lying to an officer in the Department if Law Enforcement about being in the Cult of Shadows after spying on a Shadow Game the officer was in. What an ideal situation to be in. Terrell didn't have much of an option but to answer Benjamin's question.

"Well...you sorta start by doing this thing," Terrell explained, making a pose, "And then you kinda focus this energy stuff from the rune-y things while doing, um, you have to try and do this, and you have to think about, concentrate on...THE REALM! That is it! Oh, and there's something else I'm positively sure that you have ta do, but I can't really remember it." Terrell tried making hand gestures to help demonstrate what he meant.

---

Madora ended up not being able to find who she was trying to, much to her frustration. However she'd come up with another solution instead. She could just go back to the pillar that she had engraved earlier today, take a photo of the symbols, then copy the photos onto another pillar. Hopefully she could do it without getting noticed. But in case she did encounter somebody, Madora decided to make some quick edits to her reflecting the last duel she was in. She pulled out one Cauis and a Mobius card, replacing them with another Majiosheldon plus a Jester Confit. With that done, Madora grabbed her Duel Disk and set off towards the pillar.
 
"Okay. There needs to be some way I can keep you under control."

"I have no interest in your life outside of duels. You are free to do as you wish then."

"And what if YOU want to get in a duel?"

"That shall not become necessary until the duel comes to us. Do recall we are hunted."

"...So I don't have a choice in the matter."

"I shall be the one to determine when my presence is necessary."

Cain himself finally snapped back to reality, blinking and testing his movements to insure he really was in control of his own body now. The pocket of the Shadow Realm that had enclosed around the Prime Pillar and the duelists was long gone. But everything that happened during the duel... Cain somehow remembered those thoughts and actions as if they were his own.

Of course, Cain figured, While he's using my body, he's using my brain, too. The duelist immediately shuddered, wishing he had not quite remembered those moments so vividly.

"My name is Benjamin, I'm an officer from the Department of Law Enforcement. I'll ask you again, just how exactly did you manage to enter this Shadow Realm?"

That was Ben's voice. So there really was a higher motive to what he was doing. And apparently he suspected one other kid, Terrell, of having a similar situation, except with the Cult of Shadows. Cain glanced once more at Ben's Duel Disk, with the main light designed in the emblem of the Iswarm, and a spark of confusion struck him. Why would a law enforcer of any kind be using such a corrupt deck of monsters?

It would appear not all is as it seems, The Darkness Dragon hummed. Right, because I'M one to talk, Cain had to remind himself.

"Well...you sorta start by doing this thing, and then you kinda focus this energy stuff from the rune-y things while doing, um, you have to try and do this, and you have to think about..."

Oh god, is this kid serious? Cain groaned inwardly. He'd met autistic people with FAR more cohesion than what this kid was displaying. And somehow he had managed to enter the Shadow Realm where the duelists were playing? I'm surprised the Cult would even CONSIDER a guy like this.[/hr][/hr]
 
"You make absolutely no sense," Benjamin told Terrell as his duel disk deactivated and reduced itself to the size of a bulky forearm ornament. The disk was still rather light even like this though.

"The fact still stands however, that you CAN do this. Where did you learn this from?" He demanded sternly, even angrily. Before anything else could happen though, Benjamin's communicator began emitting a signal to alert him of someone from the Department trying to contact him. He sighed and answered the device.

"What?"

*Castellar, the commander wants to see you back at the station*

"Good, because there are a few things I want to speak to him about too."
 
"So we got a gang war now?" Pat asked Apostolos. He generated a spray can out of thin air and shook it up and down. "Great, I guess I can help tag our territory. What do you wanna write?" There was a slightly excited look in the boy's eyes, as if there was something cool that he wanted to do desperately but never had the chance to.

"I was thinking of putting 'nothing personal kid', and that'd be my catch phrase!" he said before putting his head down. His leg wobbled a bit. As it seemed, Pat was drunk.
 
Apostolos smiled at Pat, "Yeah, we've got a Gang War, those delinquents are carving up those special pillars, well mostly focusing on the pillars, at least from what I've heard." Apostolos paused for a moment, before speaking again "Ooh... "Nothing Personal Kid" is a good one. I'd personally want to write..." Apostolos cupped his chin in thought, as he quickly snapped his fingers, as he extended both his hands outwards! "Beauty is a short-lived tyranny." Apostolos swiveled his head around for a bit, before shaking his head side to side.

"Of course, we can also mark various drawings on our territory besides written compositions." Apostolos grinned from ear to ear, "But yes, I don't plan on letting these new guys try to take our turf..."
 
"You make absolutely no sense," Benjamin commented. Terrell was fairly sure Benjamin said some other rubbish after that, but Terrell didn't listen to any of it- couldn't would actually be a better word. Every single time somebody said it, the words still hurt. Terrell knew he wasn't any good at expressing himself, he didn't need it to be pointed out to him every single day. He tried, he honestly tried. But trying didn't change reality. The iron-hard truth of it was that despite his efforts, Terrell was useless with words. The rest of him was perfectly fine- he could think just as well as anybody else, and actually Terrell had more street smarts than most people. Yet everybody took Terrell for a fool simply because he couldn't talk as well as they could. Benjamin probably didn't mean anything personal with the comment- they rarely did. Benjamin was just being honest, in his defense. That didn't make Terrell feel any better though. The lack of malicious intent didn't stop the pain.

If you looked at Terrell, you wouldn't know how he was feeling. He seemed to be his usual casual self. Because over the years Terrell had learnt how not to show his emotions- it him saved a lot of trouble. Now it was natural for Terrell to hide behind the facade of a snickering delinquent. No, it wasn't entirely a facade, some of his personality shone through like a flame. Except if Terrell was being entirely sincere, this wasn't who he wanted to be. The person that Terrell dreamed to be wouldn't have to deal with constant complaints, because that person would be confident enough to tell people to shut the hell up when they complained about something that Terrell couldn't help. Terrell wanted somebody who wouldn't be scared to admit how they really felt, who could communicate their emotions. But oh wait. That was part of the problem, wasn't it? The best part about all of this was that the very nature of the problem stopped Terrell from solving it. Because Terrell had literally no idea how to say he hated people protesting about the fact he didn't know how to say things. How wonderfully ironic.

Due to Terrell being distracted by Benjamin's first comment, he'd utterly missed everything else Benjamin had said. Terrell was now vaguely aware that Benjamin was busy chatting to somebody via a communications unit. Not wanting to make Benjamin any madder than he already seemed to be, and not being in the mood to speak, Terrell decided to wait until Benjamin was done talking to whoever it was he was talking to. Terrell crossed his arms, and glanced over at the other guy, Cain. Then he looked away, since Cain seemed to be in an equally cheery mood to Benjamin. "What a bucketful of fun," Terrell thought.

((I swear I didn't mean to turn it into a sob story. It just... did.))
 
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