GX - Into the Darkness

Aozora · January 19, 2008

Note: When I put GX into the title, that merely means that the story takes place mainly around the Duel Academy introduced in the series. The actual characters from GX will be referenced, but not actually put in the story (unless someone want them to guest-star for a bit. Then I might.)

Second Note: The first chapter is kind of dark. It won't always be like this, I just wanted to give a certain character a dramatic arrival, as well as show the more disturbing part of his personality. It won't appear too much, only while he duels. Additionally, Darkness Game is used, in this fic, as a broader form of Shadowgame. The Shadowgame is a specific part of Darkness game - the loser loses thier soul. But the punishment for losing a Darkness game can be anything. It will be further explained in later chapters.

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Chapter One: Duel in the Dark

A girl stood on a moonlit path, deep in thought about something. Staring at the moon, she didn’t notice that a figure was approaching her.

“What’s a cute girl like you doing out here so late at night?” Turning to face the newcomer, she noticed it was a guy wearing a cloak, the hood covering his eyes, and his Obelisk Blue uniform partially hidden by the garment.

Sighing, the girl spoke to him. “If you’re going to flirt with someone, at least take off the hood, or tell them your name.” This was answered by a slight laugh.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do either at the moment. Anyway, how about you and me have a little duel?” She could see his gentle smile transform into a smirk.

“Let me guess. If you win, I have to go out with you.” She frowned. “’cause there’s no way that’s going to happen.” A full blown laugh came from this.

“Yeah, right. Like I’d ever make a bet like that. Dueling is a good way to get to know people,” At this, she observed his smile become almost demonic for a split second, and then return to normal. “so when I did win, if I didn’t like what I learned from how you dueled, why would I want to go out with you?”

The girl got slightly angry at this. “Confident you’ll win, huh? That’s it, you’re on!”

Pulling out their duel discs, they realized that in this spot, there was no way for them to be seen by anyone looking from the dorms. There was a small patch of forest that obscured Slipher, Ra wasn’t within sight range, and Obelisk Blue had their dorms on the other side of the building.

The girl paused, thinking carefully. That was the girls dorm near them, she had come from it herself. The boys dorm was even farther away, so what was this boy doing over here?

“So, let’s flip a coin.” The kid said, pulling his deck out of his pocket, and inserting it into the duel disc. “What do you call?” Withdrawing his hand from his deck, a coin seemed to appear in it.

“Heads.” The girl called, and the boy flipped, catching it in midair and pressing it against his wrist.

“I’m sorry, but this time it looks like I’ll go first. It’s Tails.”

?LP - 4000

GLP - 4000

“I’ll begin by activating the spell card, Partition of the Shadows!” Inserting the card into his graveyard, the lower half of his face contorted into a sneer. “This card awakens your worst nightmare! I call a Shadowgame!”

An orb of Darkness blotted out the entire area, and the girl felt a chill descend upon her. “What is this thing?” She asked, and the boy smiled.

“Oh, nothing - just think of it as a field spell.” He replied, and placed a monster on the field. “I summon the Nightmare Warrior - Captain Deathblade!” (1800/1300)

A man in a long red trench coat appeared on the field, wielding a black blade which seemed to be dripping a red liquid. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was. The girl shuddered, and the boy smiled. ‘She’s that repulsed by my first monster? I’m going to have a lot of fun… probably the most fun since I arrived at this academy.’

“I’ll end my turn with one facedown card.” He said, and both duelist and monster gave a slight bow to indicate that their turn was done.

‘Oddly polite for having such a horrific monster.’ “I’ll draw!” she pulled the card of the top of her deck, and smiled. ‘What I need to get rid of that creepy monster once and for all.’ “I’ll activate the spell card, Wrath of the Goddess! By paying one thousand life points, I can destroy one monster on the field, and monsters with the same name can no longer be played!”

The boy smiled as a beam of light came out of the top of the dome, engulfing his monster, and leaving no trace behind. GLP: (3000)

“I’ll - what?” The girl had been about to play a monster, as the Nightmare warrior pulled itself out of the ground, and brushed dirt off of it’s red trench coat. (1800/1300) “That thing can’t come back! What happened?” She then noticed the lack of a face-down card on his side of the field.

“Let me explain.” The boy said, a creepy smile appearing on his face. “The facedown card was called Nightmare Negation. I can send that facedown card and one card from my hand to the graveyard to negate one of your spell or trap cards that affects one of my Nightmare Warriors.” There was a pause, as he placed one card from his hand in the graveyard, and then he smiled. “But never mind that. Please, by all means, continue your turn.”

The girl placed the card she was going to play back in her hand. It wouldn’t be able to beat that monster. Placing a different monster face-down, and two spell/traps, she ended her turn.

The boy pulled a card off of his deck. “Time for you to see the power of a true field spell! I play Field of Nightmares! Now, whenever a monster is summoned, it gains a nightmare counter! The dome of shadow’s inside changed, the ground becoming visible, as a field of bones. The boy sighed. “It’s really not as impressive with the Shadowgame in effect. The dome is about ten to twenty yards across, so that’s all you can see of it - whereas without it, the graveyard extends as far as the eye can see. It’s really an impressive sight.”

The girl shuddered, wondering why someone would want cards as terrifying as these. “I’ll… I’ll have to take your word for it.” She barely managed to say this, as an overwhelming terror was building up inside of her.

‘Ah, yes… I see she’s becoming susceptible to the powers of the Darkness Game. She held our for such a long time, I was almost worried. Hmph. No girl can withstand both my field card and a Darkness Game.’ The boy laughed in his mind, until a glowering figure appeared in his mind.

‘Oh, yeah. That one.’ There was a pause in his thoughts as he remembered their encounter. ‘She scares me. And that’s saying something.’

“I summon Nightmare Warrior - Bloodletter!” A man with two bloody knives appeared, and grinned wickedly. (1200/1200)

The girl’s stomach churned again, and the boy smiled. “Now, attack her facedown monster, Deathblade Slash!” His first monster cut through the monster, revealing a Magician of Faith, that then blew into shattered fragments. “My Captain gains one hundred attack points every time a monster is destroyed as a result of battle.” (1900/1300)

“Now, strike directly! Bloodied Blades!” His next monster rushed across the field, and stabbed the girl in the stomach. She collapsed, holding her wound, as blood began to stain her uniform.

?LP: 4000

GLP: 1800

“B…but… It’s only supposed to be a hologram.” She said, somewhat in a state of disbelief, not wanting to accept that there was now a large gash in her stomach.

The mysterious boy laughed. “Stand up! If you lie there too long, you’ll lose the duel, and believe me, you don’t want that to happen!” Staggering to her feet, the girl withdrew her hand from her side, gritting her teeth to try and block out the pain.

“Good girl.” He commented, and took a glance at her side. Seeing the blood start to seep through her uniform, the boy licked his lips. There was something about watching her bleed that looked just so… delicious. “I’ll throw one card facedown. That concludes my turn.”

The girl noticed the look on the bottom half of his face. ‘Just what is this kid?’ She thought, before pulling one card off the top of her deck. “I activate the spell card pot of greed!” She hastily pulled the top two cards off her deck in desperation. If she didn’t draw something that could protect her… she was finished.

“I’ll summon Spirit of the Harp, in defense position.” (800/2000) There was a jolt of pain that wracked her body, and she fell to her knees, clutching her side. ‘Damn! I can’t hold out much longer… brother… please forgive me.’

The boy licked his lips again, his stare perverse in nature. As she got back to her feet, he smiled. They could play a little longer. “I…I activate the continuous spell, Spell Economics! This makes it so I don’t have to pay life points to activate magic cards. Go, Wrath of the Goddess!” the same beam of intense light came down form the top of the dome, obliterating his Captain.

“Well done. You’ve destroyed one of my monsters… that’s more than I expected from a mere first-year, even one in Obelisk Blue. I’ll be sure to repay you in kind.” The girl set one facedown card, and ended her turn.

“Now, let me introduce you to a spell card of mine. It’s a continuous as well. Dark Restraints! As long as this card is on my field, you may not activate more than one card per turn. However, I may not activate more than two cards each turn, or this card is destroyed.” Dark chains came out of the void behind her, wrapping around her wrists and ankles.

“To activate this, I must sacrifice one Nightmare Warrior, and give up half my life points, but it’s worth it.” His monster disappeared into a pit of shadow, and a black aura temporarily surrounded him.

?LP: 2000

GLP: 1800

“Now, let me introduce my final card this turn. Nightmare Warrior - Torturer!” A man with a long, curved knife appeared on the field, and calmly walked over to where he was in between the girl and her monsters. (700/500)

“He can’t attack, or be attacked, but he’s sure to cause you quite a lot of pain for the rest the game.” The boy commented, and nearly licked his lips in anticipation. “I’ll hand it over to you.”

The girl drew a card. “I activate Excavation of Mage Stones! This makes me discard two cards to add a spell from my graveyard to my hand!” The boy just smiled.

“Now, I activate - ahh!” The chains snapped tight, forcing her arms apart, as the rest of her body hung limply.

“You didn’t forget about my spell card, did you? One card per turn is all you’re going to get.” There was a perverted grin along with this, as the boy continued to stare at her bleeding body.

“But it’s my turn now, and Torture’s effect activates, dealing you two hundred points of damage!” The man ran his blade across her outstretched arm, drawing a small trail of blood. This, of course brought along another perverse thought from the boy, as she screamed in pain.

?LP: 2000

GLP: 1600

“My first card this turn will be Nightmare Confiscation! I may look at, and discard one card of the type that I call in your hand! I choose Spell!” Two cards were held up, one being her Wrath of the Goddess, which he had correctly predicted had been added back to her hand with Excavation.

“You Wrath of the Goddess is discarded, and you take two hundred points of damage.” He said, and a black aura lit up around her, as his monster slid her card into the graveyard.

?LP: 2000

GLP: 1400

“My next card is a monster! Nightmare Warrior - Dreamstealer, in attack mode!” A wraith-like man appeared on the field, strolling over to the girl. (1600/1500) “As long as Dreamstealer is on the field, we may not conduct our draw phases.”

“It’s over… you’ve lost.” The girl’s eyes widened as she examined her hand. It was right. There was no card for her to play that could get her out of this situation. Without being able to draw, she had lost.

“Just give up… there’s nothing for you to do anymore.” The boy ended his turn, followed shortly be the girl’s weak cry of submission. She had lost this duel - there was no way around it. “I… end.”

As it became the boy’s turn again, the monster ran it’s knife down her thigh but she barely seemed to notice the pain in her hazy state. From the boy’s point of view, he watched as her eyes dulled, and her limbs became limp.

The Nightmare Warrior - Dreamstealer had wrapped himself around her, his head next to her’s, and his arm on her shoulder, whispering things into her ear.

GLP: 1200

“It’s the end for you… don’t make it too hard on yourself. Just stop fighting it.” The monster whispered into her ear, and the poor girl’s spirit was on the verge of collapse. She could feel a slight pain ever now and then, as the other Nightmare Warrior ran it’s blade down her limbs, but it didn’t affect her at all. She was too far gone.

GLP: 600

“It’s done now… you may rest. There is nothing more for you to do here… not now, and maybe not ever. But we shall see. All may be useful to the end result. Until then… rest…”

The monsters faded away, along with the chains that bound her, as the orb of darkness, and bone yard reverted to their original state, the moonlit path that seemed so far away.

GLP: 0

“Goodnight, Aria.” The boy said, and walked down the path. As he left, Aria’s consciousness surfaced enough for one moment of clarity before it sank into darkness.

She had no wounds. There was no gash in her stomach, or trails of blood on her arms. Her eyes opened in shock, and the shadows claimed her.

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So, what do you think?

Aozora · January 19, 2008