Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Silenced Legacy ❯ Past Allies: Come Raikoukou, Part 2 ( Chapter 17 )

Episode #17- Past Allies, Part 2

Joey kneeled on the bedside of his room. Serenity slept soundly on his bed, only because no one can awake without a soul. Ashley stood feet behind Joey without the bowling ball bag in her grip.

"Joey..." Ashley softly spoke, "She won't come to her senses."

"I know." Joey replied in the same tone, "It's just like when Pegasus took Mokuba's soul back on Duelist Kingdom. Now I know how Kaiba felt, this sort of thing doesn't happen everyday. It happens so rarely that you think it won't happen to you." Joey explained in a serious tone.

"But, who exactly IS this character you keep talking about with Yugi and Miranda, this Yami Marik guy?" Ashley asked while still standing in the middle of the room.

Joey still kept himself to the floor and looked up to The Bowler, "It's kinda hard to say. But I guess the easiest way to put it is that Yami Marik is Marik's darker half, though I don't see how Marik could get any lower than taking Tea and me under his control." Joey replied, his hand rested on the edge of the bed, "But after we were freed, Yugi said that she had to switch with Miran, the spirit of the Sword."

"Whoa, Joey, time out." Ashley stopped him, "If Miranda and Miran had to force a switch, why is Miranda and Miran both on the same side of the Sword?"

"Huh?" Joey gave Ashley a blank stare.

"I mean...you've mentioned Miranda and Miran like Yugi and the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle and that the spirit resides INSIDE the Millennium Puzzle." Ashley clarified, "If both of them are outside of the Sword, then what is inside?" A long silenced swept over them, both were trying to figure out the fiasco of the Millennium Items.

"Because one of them is probably not real, that's all I can come up with." Joey broke the silence.

"Oooookay." Ashley emphasized with uncertainty.

"I guess I forgot to mention. Somehow Miranda managed to get out of the Shadow Realm, and that was while Yugi and Miran was at a tag-team Duel." Joey answered, "Even Kaiba got ticked that TWO Miranda's were seen in the city. One of them has to be real human flesh and the other is somewhat of a ghost."

"But I still don't get something. If one of them is a ghost, couldn't we tell? I mean, both of their Duel Discs are pretty solid to me. Even if Miranda's is different for the others, she's a left-handed Duelist (Left- handed meaning draws from the Deck with the left hand)." Ashley questioned further. Another silence plagued them both.

* * * *

"Well, are you done?" Miran waited impatiently, "Your monsters don't seem to have enough attack power to pass through my blockade of Warriors. And on the turn that your Swords are out of play, my monsters will begin the assault."

'She's right, the moment the Swords are broken, her monsters will be on top of us.' Yugi panicked in mind.

'Not quite, I still have a plan.' Yami replied, "I'll end my turn here Miran, but you can't attack until your next turn." Yami proclaimed. Miran made her draw, The A. Forces.

"And one turn is all I need, Yugi. For this turn I play one of my most favorable magic cards to full prepare my assault." Miran exclaimed, "I play The A. Forces. This card powers up all of my Warriors by 200 time how ever many are on my side of the field."

"Then that means..." Yami trailed off in shock.

"Their attack points will climb even higher." Miran finished as her card was revealed. "The A. Forces will act as the guidelines for my army's teamwork. As strength comes in numbers, their attack power will increase by 1000." Miran explained as her forces grew stronger.

"Her monsters are too powerful!" Mai spoke up.

"This will end my turn." Miran stated and the light swords faded, and her squadron prepared to attack on the next turn, "But I can assure you, this Duel will be over."

"It will..." Yami agreed in a low tone of voice, "But I refuse to lose!" Yami claimed and drew his card, Alpha the Magnet Warrior, "Miran, this is it. I play Alpha the Magnet Warrior in attack mode." He declared as a third magnet monster appeared.

"You're asking for it, aren't you?" Miran teased.

"But I'm not finished; I will merge my warriors together." Yami continued, "When Alpha, Gamma, and Beta combine. They'll become Valkyrion the Magna Warrior." The Magnet Warrior disassembled themselves until they were nothing but a bunch of floating metal parts in front of Yami. They all soon clashed in the middle, fitting together perfectly like a puzzle. The transformation was complete as now Miran faced a monster more powerful than any of her Warriors. Valkyrion floated in the middle of his Celtic Guardian and Kuriboh.

'No, this cannot be true.' Miran thought.

"Yeah Yugi!" Tristan cheered from the sidelines.

'Miran's Command Knights are the ones that are powering up her monsters. Yugi drew his conclusion.

"Go Valkyrion, attack her Command Knight." Yami declared as Valkyrion followed through and began its aerial attack.

"Heh, big mistake, Pharaoh." Miran smirked. In one clash, both of Miran's Command Knights stopped Valkyrion in mid air, their swords crossed over and holding off Valkyrion's steel blade.

"How is that possible?" Yami shocked as Valkyrion withdrew bad to its side.

"Yugi, there is another tidbit you must know of the mighty Command Knights. They are the Generals of my army and the only way you can defeat the Generals is to beat their soldiers first. Your attack proved failure, though you succeeded in damaging my Life Points." Miran explained as her Life Points dropped to 7000, "You would have been better off in attacking Makyura, Don, or my Troop Commander. And now it's my turn." Miran drew her next card.

__________

I finally came to...in the Shadow Realm. I felt weakened, probably from that demon which still resides in my soul. My arms were weighed down by the black shackles still cutting into my wrists. My surroundings were not the black I'm used to; I awoke in the Rare Hunter base, leaning against one of the walls with a pair of torches burning above my head. My SR Duel Disc was still around my right arm, buckling down on the shackle. The surviving links on my bonds lay on the floor. For once, nothing seemed to come to mind.

I concentrated mainly on the silence around me, only the crackling of the torches kept the silent ringing out of my ears. I lost my train of thought when a thought shot through my mind, Miran. 'What the?' I thought to myself as images slowly began to pour into my mind and new scenes stirred in front of my eyes. My first vision was a small, wooden boat sailing upstream of a wide river. I could almost make out the sailors, Miran...and an unrecognizable creature. Miran's company looked like it was an actual Duel Monsters monster out of its card. It had sleek, forest creature features under its frost white fur and deep blue stripes with nine tails waving continuously.

I shook it away when footsteps entered my thoughts. My eyes reverted back to the autumn color of the hall as Yami Marik drew himself out of the shadows. He had a smile, not a good sign.

"Well, I've seen you've come to, though not expected in this place." He smirked and slipped the Millennium Rod back behind him. I still stayed on the concrete ground with my eyes on him, "No comment?"

"Would I have any?" I replied, "So why the smile? You usually have that grin on your face after you torture someone." I kept myself lying low for any surprises.

"Actually, what has just happened should tear everyone apart; especially that Wheeler kid." Yami Marik replied; my eyes winced at his response, "Though I have to admit, both you and Serenity have been through a lot."

"It's not enough you destroy Marik's family and torture my living relatives, but you're also corrupting Joey's, too?" I asked in an accusing voice, "By the sounds of it, you took Serenity's soul away."

"I thrive on chaos and sorrow; you ought to know that by now. However, you seem one that's hard to break." Yami Marik waltz to his throne; I still stayed on the floor. "Which really is a problem in our relation."

"I've learned never to get too close to my family." Was my simple answer and looked away.

"What about your cousin? Ashley, yes?" Yami Marik asked. He caught my attention again. "Maybe she'll be my next target."

"You wouldn't." My resentment grew inside me.

"Miranda, you have to realize that even the worst can come from a relation such as yours and your cousin's." Yami Marik chuckled a little bit as he turned his head to one side with a hand on a hip, "Quite often will a connection that strong be destroyed by a tragic event. But you have to take them as they come, knowing them or not." He returned gaze on me with his dark eyes, "You need to relax, and that's why I offered the early lights-out. But your mind is still restless." He paused, "And just because I live off of one's suffering doesn't mean I don't need a little downtime myself." He seated himself with his ankles crossed-over one another. The head of the throne seemed to shrink in height until it matched his head.

A cold draft rushed over my body and covered me like a blanket, down to my fingers. Every nerve ending in my being sensed the icy wind; I brought myself to at least grunt in resistance before it fell over me completely and froze even my voice. I was lifted to my feet by some invisible supports with the chains slinking up with me.

"Miranda, can I ask you a favor?" Yami Marik shifted his eyes towards me. I took a step towards the throne. My mind resisted but my body showed I wasn't even trying; I wanted to argue though my voice was locked down. I looked back as I took another step, my Katana sword was still on the ground. I kept pacing towards him with the draft still in presence around me, my heart twisting tighter in each footstep. I paced silently to the throne and behind it. This is as close as I wanted to get. I tried resisting my movements again, futile.

Yami Marik pulled the cloak off of him with one hand, revealing tensed muscles outside and under his shirt, and tossed it to one side. He leaned back again with his arms resting on the throne's and his head resting on a groove carved out on it.

My hands slipped over the head of the throne after I made it behind him. I wanted to stop myself and actually save my sanity for once, still I couldn't break away. My hands journeyed further down until my fingers touched his shoulders, human flesh. Yami Marik gave a slight sigh as my palms were next to feel the shoulder muscles underneath his black shirt. 'What the Hell am I doing?!' I thought to myself, but it felt like my thoughts echoed throughout the hall. Yami Marik looked like he ignored it; his eyes were closed as he gave a smile of some accomplishment. My fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt deeply by the tips and pressed hard in pulses.

"That's it..." Yami Marik breathed to himself. My face grimace behind his platinum spikes.

My mind began to resist again, though my voice and body kept to his whim. Yami Marik appeared relaxed in front of me. His muscles slowly eased up while I kept to his "favor."

"How about now?" Yami Marik lifted is head until his left eye sighted me. I stayed silent, my voice was still locked, "You need to clear your mind before the next Duel, but one focus of thought helps as well. Just relax."

I suddenly felt my voice release and the first thought became my first words in this charade, "How can I relax with the situation I'm in now?" A split-second afterwards made me realize I just said it out loud. Yami Marik's smile turned into a small grin. My hands still soothed the tension in his shoulders, I had no control.

"Your soul is weak. That's why." Came his response, "You're powerless to resist. And out of all the Zodiacs I've seen, you're just about a runt with nothing to lose but your soul." I wanted to argue, but Yami Marik was beyond unpredictable. "Then again, you don't know a whole lot about your past as one of the Clan, do you?"

I had no comment, even if I was permitted to speak freely.

"Thought so." Yami Marik waited several seconds. He lifted his right hand and laid it on his left shoulder and my fingers. I still couldn't pull away but I stopped. "You have no Future if you don't know your Past. But I may deliver you from your blank future..."

I swear I did not want to hear anymore from him.

__________

The Duel stood as it was. Yami's Valkyrion failed to strike Miran's forces since its target was her Command Knight. Miran made her draw. 'What luck, I drew Novox's Prayer! And with Skull Guardian in my hand, I'll have no problem getting it to the field.' Miran thought strategically. "Alright, this turn I'll summon another monster to the field by tribute. Introducing the Ritual Magic Card, Novox's Prayer!" Miran declared.

"What kind of monster will come from that?"

"I'll show you. By sacrificing my Don Zaloog and Troop Commander, I summon one of my more powerful Warriors to the field, Skull Guardian." Miran briefed as two monsters disappeared and one took Troop Commander's place next to Makyura. Lightly colored armor shielded every part of its body and two lethal scythes replaced its hands. "And thanks to my Command Knights and The A. Forces. Skull Guardian will get its attack power increased by 2400. Though it decreases my Warriors current attack by 200, it's a small price to pay."

'It's more powerful than Valkyrion now!' Yugi panicked.

'Stay strong, I have a plan.' Yami encouraged.

"Skull Guardian, attack now with Twin Scythes Strike!" Miran declared as Skull Guardian headed straight for Valkyrion.

"Go Multiply!" Yami declared as a swarm of Kuriboh instantly shot up to block the Guardian's strikes.

"No way!" Miran objected as her Guardian withdrew.

"By activating Multiply, my Kuriboh were able to expand and block your attack." Yami called.

"Very well, I'll switch Makyura and my Command Knights to defense mode to defend my Life Points." Miran ended her turn.

Yami acknowledged and looked to his hand.

'OK, Miran's Command Knights can't be destroyed by an exchange of battle, and Skull Guardian is much too powerful to attack directly.' Yugi analyzed the conditions.

'Our only shot is Makyura.' Yami included and drew Mirror Force, 'This might work.' "I'll place one card faced down and end my turn.

"No attack?" Miran questioned, "Oh, well. It'll probably cost you in the future." Miran drew her next card, but failed to recognize it. 'What in the world? I don't remember this card.' Miran studied the card pulled from her Duel Disc, 'Raikoukou of the Blue Lightning. Why does that card sound familiar, why does the name sound familiar?' She thought and read the text below it, 'If your opponent has any Dark monsters on the field, this card can be summoned with no sacrifices. As long as this card remains on the field, destroy all Dark monsters.' Miran finished reading and prolonged her turn.

"Hey, Miran, what's the hold up?" Duke got ticked.

"If you're gonna play that card, I suggest you do it now because it won't be long until Valkyrion heads for your Life Points." Mai included.

"OK." Miran breathed, 'It maybe a risk. Playing Raikoukou will destroy his Kuriboh, but it will also knockout my Makyura.' She thought and finally broke down, "I play Raikoukou of the Blue Lightning!" Miran declared as a blue lightning bolt crashed in front of her. Out of the light show came a beast with brimming white fur and midnight-blue stripes wrapped around its body, up to the nine tails waving rhythmically behind it.

"Raikoukou?" Yami questioned.

"What kind of monster is that?" Tristan asked.

"Don't look at me, Kaiba's the expert." Mai looked under the platform to Kaiba and Mokuba.

"Raikoukou may be a high-powered monster, a monster that would require a sacrifice. However, if my opponent possesses a Dark monster, then I can summon Raikoukou automatically. And then, all Dark monsters from here on out are destroyed, but that makes it more fun." Miran caught her upper hand as Makyura and Kuriboh were destroyed.

"Why's that?"

"When Makyura is destroyed, I can play one trap card from my hand. So I play this Trap Card, Widespread Ruin! This trap card will destroy your highest attacking monster, namely your Valkyrion." Miran declared as an explosion of fire wiped out Valkyrion, leaving only the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian remaining. Miran reviewed her hand, "Now, Skull Guardian, attack Celtic Guardian now!"

"Heh," Yami smirked, "Sorry, but my Celtic Guardian works just about the same as your Command Knight. It absorbs your Guardian's attack, but you were successful in damaging my Life Points." Yami briefed as his Life Points dropped to 5300.

"Well, if that's the case, then I can easily decimate your Life Points as without your Celtic Guardian." Miran replied, "Squadron, chain attack!" Miran commanded as one by one each attack Celtic Guardian. Both Command Knight attack Celtic Guardian and reduced Yugi's Life Points to 4100, and Raikoukou charged in last, plummeting Yami's Life Points further to 3300.

"Yugi!" Tea cried from the crowd.

"I'll end my turn by placing one card faced down." Miran exclaimed as a card aligned itself behind one of the Command Knights.

'No, I can't lose. The fate of the world depends on my victory in this Duel.' Yugi courage himself in mind behind Yami.

To be continued...

* * * * * * * * * * * *

New cards played

Raikoukou of the Blue Lightning: Beast/Light. Monster/Effect, 6/2200/1900. If your opponent has any DARK monsters on his/her side of the field, you can Special Summon this monster from you hand without a Tribute. While this card is face-up on the field, destroy all DARK monsters.