A New World

Zeon activated his disk, and drew his 5 cards. Zeon looked at his hand. This hand... he could do it next turn! "I summon Ally of Justice Garhalog in attack mode, set one card and end my turn. "What is the shadow realm exactly?" he asked Ami.

Ami smiled as she drew her card and began her turn. Not exactly the starting hand she'd like, but it was definitely doable. "I'll start off slow....I'm just going to set a spell or trap and one monster. With that, I'll call it a turn." The two face down cards appeared before her in the apartment and her disk signalled the end of her turn.

"The shadow realm is a dark realm....much like hell. Some duelists are controlled by it, and it gives them the power to start a Shadow Game. This sends the controlled duelist and his or her opponent to the shadow realm to conduct the duel. In such cases....the pain inflicted is real...and many duelists die during these games." Ami paused for a second, unsure if she wanted to continue this conversation. Her experiences were not pleasant, and remembering what it was like was like opening old wounds. "It takes a great act of nature or a severe loss to bring a shadow duelist back to reality. Until then, that duelist continues on a duel rampage, dueling anyone he or she sees fit, condemning souls to the shadow realm for eternity. Of course, some have returned from the realm...but its not too common."

"My turn, I draw." Zeon stared at his hand for about 15 seconds, while thinking *I could summon my ace monster and win this duel really easily. But that card does physical damage like the Rules of Engagement and the Shadow realm. But with the condition my deck is in, I'm not sure I could win. But...* He glanced at a card in his extra deck for a few seconds, then turned to Ami." I attack your monster with Garhalog. Lightkiller Slash!"

"I activate threatening roar before you can attack, which prevents you from attacking this turn."

Zeon grimaced. He could have avoided that trap if was thinking straight. But the fact of the matter was, he was a bit less tense then he should be. Definitely not a good idea to fall into this manner of thinking.

"I end my turn." Zeon noticed her hesitation when talking about the shadow realm. Was she one of those duelists who was controlled by the shadows? It would explain why she knew so much about it. He wouldn't inquiry farther though. *If she wants to talk about it in her own time that's fine. Besides, I've done things that I'm not proud of either.*

Zeon didn't inquire any further about the shadow realm, and though she was glad he wasn't uptight about the duel, she was also glad that he seemed to be focusing a little more on it. She breathed a small sigh of relief and drew her card. Perfect!

"I'll flip my face down! Reveal yourself, Hand of Nephthys!" The brown rectangle disappeared and out jumped a petite young girl wearing headdress and clothing of a priestess. The girl lifted her hands and held one out, palm facing her foe. "Now, I'll summon a tuner! Plaguespreader Zombie! But don't worry, I won't be tuning. Instead, I'll be summoning a good friend of mine...the Sacred Flame....Hand? Let's turn up the heat!" Though she wasn't supposed to be going so hard on him, it was a little hard not to. If she didn't summon some strength, she would ultimately lose, and she wasn't about to just hand him a victory.

Hand of Nephthys glowed and knelt to the ground, mouthing a silent prayer. Plaguespreader Zombie began to glow and both monsters disappeared. A whirlpool of fire began to form and a large, bird-like figure began to rise. "Come forth, the Sacred Flame....Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!" Ami could not contain her pride in this instance as her pride and joy came forth with a loud screech and a burst of flame. The great phoenix unfolded her wings and beat the air once in challenge.

"Go, Nephthys! Attack his monster! Sacred Flame Blast!" The phoenix screeched once more and a burst of flame shot from her beak, striking the Ally of Justice monster. Ami smiled softly as her opponent's life points dwindled by a fraction. "Alright....I think that's enough for one turn. Your move, my friend."

(Zeon, life 7200) "My turn, I draw." This hand would have only worked if he summoned his ace, and she had already gotten Nyphthys out.

"I'll just set one monster and end my turn." This duel was going about as well as a duel with a prodigy at this point.

"Its my turn." Ami drew her card. She felt kinda bad for Zeon. This was supposed to be for fun...but she could already hear the defeat in his voice. But, she couldn't go too easy on him.

"I'll send one card to the top of my deck in order so special summon my Plaguespreader Zombie from the grave." The ugly little chimera of a zombie jumped from the graveyard and onto the field, giving an ugly little groan. "And he's not alone. Because i summoned a monster from my grave, I can summon a friend from my hand. Come on out, Doppelwarrior!" A thin little warrior appeared as she placed the card on her disk. "And now i will release these two monsters for....LIGHT AND DARKNESS DRAGON!!!"

The two monsters disappeared, and in their place a great dragon of half light and half dark shades appeared, letting out a mighty roar. Ami smirked slightly. Now she had him in a lockdown...if he tried anything funny.

"Sacred Phoenix! Attack his face down!" A small machine appeared, then blew apart as Nephthys' fire slammed into it. That left him wide open for her new dragon. "Light and Darkness....attack directly!" She thrust a hand forward and the dragon let loose a bolt of light and dark energy mixed into one, and it struck him directly in the chest. "I know I said this was just for fun...but that doesn't mean i'm going easy on you." Ami smiled softly as she signaled the end of her turn. "Come on, Zeon....I know you can do it!"

*I could do it, if I could control my draws the way I used to be able to. For some reason the cards the Illuminati gave to me are not working properly. I suspect they are not in the card database in this world. But if that's the case then why are my monsters working? That can only mean that those cards exist in this world too. I suppose my ace card ignores that little rule though, since it is a one of a kind card.*

"I set one card, and then activate dark hole. With it I destroy both of your monsters."

"I activate my dragons special ability. Every time a card effect is activated, my dragon loses 500 attack and defense and negates the ability."

"What?! That's insane!" *This is starting to remind me of my first duel with a prodigy. Merari barely had to put out any effort. In fact, she could have killed my ace monster at the time easily, and didn't just to string me along on a leash. But with that dragon out, I can't do anything.*

"I set a monster and end my turn." Zeon was trying to hide his frustration.

"Ehe..." Ami gave a nervous chuckle at his exclamation. Apparently he'd never seen a Light and Darkness Dragon in play before. "Sorry...but...a game is a game!" She drew her card and decided to go for the victory. But...just in case...

"I'll set one monster face down. Now I attack directly with both of my monsters!"

"Hold it! I'll chain to that attack with this: DNA Transplant!"

Ami growled softly. So much for victory this turn. "Unfortunately, my dragon is forced to activate in response, saving you for a turn."

She smirked once the attacks finished. "Good thinking...you've got another turn to try to turn this around. Let's see what you can do then! Your move!"

Zeon drew his last card, and sighed. "I set one monster and end my turn."

Ami knew she had him for sure. This victory was hers. "I'll release Light and Darkness Dragon and my face down Spirit Reaper so summon The Creator!" Again, another large monster took the place of two monsters on her field. "I'll then activate the spell card, Trade-In, sending a level 8 monster from my hand allowing me to draw two cards." She smiled as she discarded her monster. It didnt' really matter what those two cards were....the was going to pull something she hadn't done in a long long time.

"The Creator allows me to special summon a monster from my graveyard at the cost of one card in my hand. And the monster I choose is......the one i just sent with Trade-In! I summon a second Sacred Phoenix to my field!" A tornado of flame swirled beside the Creator and exploded, revealing a second Phoenix. Now the Creator had an honor guard of two Phoenixes...and only one monster standing in their way. "Creator! Demolish his monster!"

Another machine exploded under the fist of the Creator. "And now, I'll finish you off with Sacred Flame Blast! Go, Sacred Phoenixes! Attack him directly!" The two Phoenixes reared back and shot blasts of fire at Zeon, finishing off the last of his life points. Once the counter reached zero, the holograms faded and Ami stepped forward, offering her hand to him.

"That was a good game. I'm sorry you couldn't get any kind of foothold in it though..."

Zeon took her hand and shook it. "It was my own fault. Although it is troubling. I have certain cards that made my deck run faster, and they don't work in this world. Well, with the exception of one."Zeon picked up a card from his extra deck. It was a black card with a picture of a monster that looked strangely human and mechanical at the same time. The text on it was unreadable at the moment, although it's attack and defense values were 4000.

"Good game. However, while this duel was just for fun, but if I met a shadow duelist like you said I am, with my deck crippled like this, I'd be easy prey for them. And it's almost impossible to find new cards. They're a really rare commodity, and I was lucky to get enough to make a deck at all. If it weren't for the factions supplying me with better cards, I'd be dead already." Zeon noted that she didn't need to do that to defeat him on the last turn. If he hadn't known any better, she was showing off.

Ami arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Rare commodity? Hold on one moment." She disappeared into her room, and reappeared with a small briefcase. "Here. See if you can use any of these." She rested it on the back of her couch and opened it for him, revealing hundreds of cards of all kinds of rarities.

"I don't know how rare they are in your world....but cards are pretty easy to get here. Granted, some cards are rarer than others....but you can buy packs at any store on just about every corner." She smiled and leaned against the couch with a cute pose. "If you want, I could spot you some money so you can get what you need."

Zeon stared at the large amount of cards that was displayed before him, wide eyed.

"I'm guessing that cards are made a lot faster in this world, and have a lot more variety since no one interferes with the production of them." Zeon looked through them, and picked out a few and placed them in his deck, and then took out some strange ones, like "Sacred Tomb of Enlightenment, Path to Enlightenment, Katos, keeper of the dark library, and 1, "Seal of Illuminatus." He placed those ones on the nearby table.

"So you're just letting me use these cards? And what when you say "spot", do you mean just get money?" He was feeling gratitude again, and for the same person no less.

"Use whatever you need, Zeon." Ami rested her head on the back of the couch, watching him. He looked like a cautious kitten who was eager to play, but wary of danger. She thought it was cute. "And yes, when I say 'spot', i mean lend or pay for you. If you really think you might run into a shadow duelist..." she breathed deeply and exhaled slowly but softly. "Then you're going to need to boost your deck. Trust me...they aren't ones to be trifled with."

*And she's just willing to hand out money to a total stranger? Either she's a saint or something's off.* "I'll think about the money lending thing. I'd have to see what kind of cards are out there before I decide to borrow money from you. I do think it's a good idea to prepare for the worst."
Zeon was looking away from Ami right now; it was harder to think when he was looking directly at her for some reason.

"So when is does that World Championship begin?"

Ami straightened herself then sat down on the armrest, hugging one of her legs to keep the skirt over it. "The Championship won't be for another month or so. I think there's one more nationals tournament and then the preparations begin." She smiled at him, but noticed he wasn't looking at her anymore. That was fine, except that he seemed to be purposely trying to avoid eye contact. She shrugged, figuring he was just trying to focus on the cards.

"I still have yet to decide what deck i will run...." she looked out the window, staring off into space. It had been years since she'd won that tournament against Allison...and she was positive that Allison's attack was not enough to satisfy the silent woman's vengeance. She was unsure if her main deck would be enough. She was also sure that if Obelisk decided to show himself, that the duel would bring back memories...and Allison would not be happy.

Of course....this was all assuming the two got pitted against each other. For all she knew, she wouldn't even have to duel her....not for the tournament anyways. She wondered if she should run her Exodia deck, just to be annoying.

Zeon looked at her and saw her keeping her skirt over one of her legs. *Is she hiding something under that skirt?*

"Just use what feels right to use." Great, now he was sprouting corney lines. This was so unlike him.

"That's the problem....I'm not quite sure what does feel right in this situation." She sighed and rested her chin on her knee. "You don't understand the rivalry i have with Allison Wonderland. It's....so much deeper than just high school rivals."

"I honestly think you should show her no mercy. If you hate her, then you should just bring your best deck. It is a tournament after all, and it's not like your cards do real damage." The Zeon of old would have done that for sure; show no mercy to your enemies. A long time ago, he was so consumed by rage that he did everything he could to get power, and if he got the opportunity, he would try to kill any Order of Solari member he came across, even the Prodigies. One member did die, although it was because he disobeyed his own Rules of Engagement and payed the price for it. Later on though, Zeon realized that not every one of them was evil. Some of them deserved mercy, and some didn't. He realized Ami was going through a similar thought processes, albeit on a lesser scale.

"I don't hate her. Not anymore." Ami shook her head and looked at Zeon. She grimaced as he mentioned that the effects of a duel were not real. If only he knew. "Allison, however....well...the last time we met, she put me in a coma and destroyed the school in an attempt to finish me off. I woke up months later with a bad memory loss and several injuries." She sighed. "I just recently regained all my memories...I don't really hold a grudge against her, but I am afraid of what she will do if she sees me again, still alive."

She hadn't expected him to pick up on that fact....but he seemed to have come to the conclusion pretty nicely. And quickly. He was a faster learner than she gave him credit for. "Uh....yes. It was a shadow duel. And technically, I should not have survived it because i lost. Anyone who loses a shadow duel is usually sent to the shadow realm. But i was protected somehow....even though i was knocked out of commission."

"I see. So you got lucky. I almost got screwed over by the rules of Engagement once when I lost. Fortunately the person worded her request wrong and I found a loophole in the way she issued her demands. You have to be very specific when it comes to the Rules of Engagement." Zeon looked at her carefully.

"So you want to go to the tournament, but you're afraid that she will spot you and things getting really ugly?"

"Yes. That would about sum it up." She rested her chin on her knee again. "I think i'm more worried about another shadow duel erupting between us. I'm not sure if I could handle that as well as i did last time." She left out the part that she was afraid she might fall back into her dark ways again. Granted, Allison had stolen all her powers from her...but she could still feel something. Not to mention...the nightmares....