Episode 1. - Shapes In The Darkness

The sound of soft breathing was the only disturbance in the dimly lit hotel room. Evening. The tournament would be starting in the lobby in another twenty minutes. Throngs of players were probably already down there. For the one that lay on the bed in this room, however, there was no reason to rush down amidst them. He had more important things to focus on.

His dream state was one he had been in many times before. He stood in the darkness of his own mind. Waiting, for his counsel to appear. Then, floating to him out of the darkness, came the one. The purple shape moved into view as if gracefully gliding through water, swirled around him once, and came to rest, floating just behind his left shoulder...

"What is it? Why are you troubled...?" streamed the thoughts into his mind. He answered similarly, but in thought shapes, not in words. The being seemed content with his answer, and placed one strange flipper-like appendage on his shoulder to calm him. It too, answered him only in thought shapes. There was nothing to fear. None knew the truth, and so many of the true Kaijudo warriors now came to regular tournaments, there was little risk. Something else stirred in the darkness, beyond his consciousness. The purple shape seemed to be alerted to the development, and floated off, leaving him. Suddenly, everything disappeared in a white flash, and his eyes shot open. He was awake. Blue lines glowed momentarily, in the eye that his dark hair hid. He sat up, and picked up his deck from the dresser. It was time. He smiled, a sinister thought crossing his mind. He wondered how many he could infect today...

Half an hour later, the duels had begun. Beginners and experts alike were here. The duelist wandered amongst them, since he would not be even required to play until the finals. He was the 'bonus' match. The winner of the tournament would be allowed to face him, to see if they could get the extra prize, and a chance at further consideration for his title. Closing his eyes somewhat, he began to send out psychic 'feelers' into the room, searching for those who had begun to unlock the truth.

The cards they used were part of a game. Designed for a game, nothing more than a game to most at all. But somehow, over the last two years, people had begun to show... special abilities... developed through the form of concentration that the game required. Latent psychic abilities had been awoken in many duelists. Whatever the original creators of the game had intended for it to be, it was quickly becoming something else, and Kaijudo itself, was becoming very real.

It was this that prompted the champion now to scan the room. For other Kaijudo waves. For other duelists who were beginning to show signs of the effect. Inwardly, he scoffed. Just another open tournament. Hardly anyone here could actually see beyond the cards. He would have to affect most of them through skill alone. But he would get at least one. Duelists without Kaijudo nearly never won tournaments. He would end up facing... at least one. He watched and waited. Until the final match, where the duelist he had been watching the whole time, believing to be the biggest threat, and possibly one of the easiest to convert, lost brutally against a scruffy looking teenage girl with a totally sassy attitude. He had watched the duels, but they had been over so fast, there was little to be learnt from them.

"How could you get destroyed so easily by someone like her?" he scoffed, a remark he dropped to the other duelist as they shamefully collected their cards, "Do you have any idea how bad it looks for a rush deck to defeat you at this level? I suggest you go home and carefully think about what happened here today..."

The other duelist was about to retort with a biting remark, when something in the eyes of the champion made him suddenly feel very small.

"Yes sir, I understand," he said meekly, hanging his head, "I will do that."

The announcer presented the trophy, and the main prize, to the girl, whose name was, apparently, Maze Damarona. Then, the crowd cleared around to leave the big circle free again, for the final duel. Maze leapt down from the podium, and strode confidently up to her spot, tossing her wild, brown hair defiantly.

"And now, for the final event! Maze Damarona will face the Duel Masters' Constructed Tournament World Champion--" the crowd fell to a hush at this point... "Yodaz!"

The moment could only have been more eerily dramatic had they decided to give him spooky entrance music. The duelist seemed to almost materialize out of the crowd. His dark blue jacket and slacks only a shade lighter than the jet black hair on his head. His hair fell down across the right side of his face, covering one eye. He cricked his neck slightly, took his deck up, and put it onto the table, eyeing her with disdain.

"Champ, huh?! You're going down, Mr. Big Shot Yodaz! I've got the fastest deck anywhere. It's like Miracle Gro, baby! You'll never stop me in time."

Yodaz hardly so much as batted an eye. "Are you finished, or is there more to your little speech?"

His psychic energy rose again, but to his surprise, Maze's own shot up as well. Like him, she had been hiding her Kaijudo from the other weaker duelists there. She was nowhere near his level, but it was enough that he wouldn't be able to throw off her concentration early on. He would have to wear her down as the duel went on.

"Interesting," the champ noted to himself, "Looks like you're a bit more serious about this then you seem. Let's get this show on the road then, shall we?"

The coin flipped into the air. Maze won the toss.

"Shields deployed! Let's go!" she exuberantly cried, "I'll charge mana, of course, and summon Sniper Mosquito!"

Yodaz calmly drew his card, charged Fire mana, and dismissively waved his hand, prompting Maze to continue. She charged Nature mana, and summoned a Poisonous Mushroom, activating its effect. Yodaz felt her thought waves spike dramatically. This was one of her better hands, from this deck. Not surprising. She could already attack him, without even falling behind in her mana.

"Hah! Sniper Mosquito! Ikei!"

It was at that moment that Yodaz felt the shift... his consciousness closed up. To him, the only things in existence were himself, the cards, and Maze. He picked up the shield, and flipped it over. Natural Snare.

"Sniper."

In Maze's mind, the same event occurred. Even faster than with Yodaz. And with that, the link was created. The outside world seemed to vanish as the images took form in her mind. Her Poisonous Mushroom still floated serenely as the imagined vines ensnared her Sniper Mosquito. Her luck had already taken a turn for the worse, but Maze did not seem to be of that opinion. Her resolve became solid now. There was nothing but the duel.

"You go, Maze! You can still do it! He's probably helped you out with that one!" one of her supporters called. Maze did not react at all, quite unlike her. No thumbs up, no smirking grin... her gaze remained fixated on Yodaz.

"Shh, quiet!" one of her other friends admonished, "I've seen this before... she's in the zone now... she won't understand you at all. Just... don't break her trance, okay?"

Yodaz drew his card. Rush was easily dealt with. He charged water Mana, and summoned a Hunter Fish. Maze responded without bothering to play mana, and summoned another Sniper Mosquito and a Torcon. Yodaz started to calm his breathing more. She was surely not just any rush duelist. She knew how to control her mana zone. But it would not be enough against him. He simply charged Darkness mana, and let her continue, waiting for the right moment, safe for the time being.

Maze's voice was different now when she spoke. Still exuberant, but now, more in defiance of Yodaz's crushingly potent Kaijudo, than out of confidence. She charged more Nature mana. Yodaz groaned to himself. He had not been wrong. It was a Mono-Nature deck. How could the fool before him have lost to a mono?

"I evolve Sniper Mosquito into Gigamantis. Ikei!"

Yodaz calmly allowed his shield to be broken, and ignored the smug look on her face. He charged Nature mana of his own, and played an Emeral, swapping his shield. Maze was in for a horrible surprise if she thought she could overrun him as easily as she had the last one. Her hand was already empty. She posed no threat.

Maze charged no mana on this turn either. She simply played a Dimension Gate to get another Sniper Mosquito and summoned it also.

"Gigamantis, Ikei!" --this, Yodaz allowed-- "Torcon, ikei!" -- this time Yodaz blocked, but this evoked a smile from Maze. Almost like an early warning signal, he heard the 'thought voice' of his counsel in his mind. There was more to that move than there seemed to be-- "And now Poisonous Mushroom, ikei!" --yet another of Yodaz' shields gone, leaving him with only one. The crowd began to cheer, sure that Maze would soon finish him off.

"I am coming. We will deal with this one together..."

Yodaz drew his card, and smiled. He charged Fire mana first, then gently placed one Water creature on the field, declaring, as the target of its effect: "Gigamantis..."

Maze had been expecting this, yes, but the incredible spike in Yodaz's psychic energy when he played the card made her head spin momentarily. She was used to Corile, but there was something... different, about the feeling the card brought when the champion used it. She would have to recover quickly, before he could turn it around. He was already almost finished. The problem was that the last shield, was a trap...

"Emeral. Ikei..." Yodaz continued. The Poisonous Mushroom and the little Cyber Lord clashed, the battle seeming to occur in the minds of both duelists. Without the Gigamantis' 'protection', the Mushroom went to the grave just as Emeral did. Maze was slightly worried now. Her numbers were gone. Yodaz was already affecting her mind, and she could not afford to make mistakes now. She drew her card, and evolved her other Sniper Mosquito into Gigamantis yet again.

"Gigamantis, ikei."

She desperately hoped that it was another Natural Snare that he had set to destroy her. She had no such luck.

"Terror Pit. Trigger," Yodaz calmly announced. Maze watched in near horror as her Gigamantis was destroyed. She had her ways of getting it back, so she set herself for the long haul. After all, no one could resist a final attack forever. It was just a matter of time. What bothered her was that Yodaz did not seem fazed at all. She was up five-nil in the shields department, and he only had one blocker... how could he be so totally unworried?

Yodaz drew his card, charged Darkness mana, and did nothing more than summon a Phantom Fish. Now she would have to get past two obstacles, without her Gigamantis to help her. Maze drew the Sniper Mosquito Corile had returned, and summoned it. Yodaz sighed slightly. He had won. It was almost sad. She had made it too easy. He drew his card, and summoned his second Corile...

Maze nearly fainted. Her vision, both mental and physical, blurred, at the effect that the second summon had on Yodaz. His psychic output towered over hers now, and it was more than a little disconcerting. She struggled to regain composure as she put the Mosquito on the top of her deck, the effect seeming much more profound in her mind. On her own turn, she could do nothing more than draw and play it. Yodaz scoffed as he drew his card.

"Die now, insect," he whispered... or did he whisper at all? Maze found herself unable to tell. She heard a voice, but could it be only in her mind? She tried to discern that when the next word came... "Burn."

Before he played the card she knew what it was. Meteosaur. The lava engulfed the Mosquito, and Yodaz did nothing more. Maze drew her card, and looked longingly at it. Not a creature. A Mana Nexus. She placed it sadly into her mana zone, and let Yodaz continue his onslaught. He drew his card, charged Darkness mana, and summoned the 'helper' of his Corile. Illusionary Merfolk. Drawing his three cards increased his output even more. Maze began to feel nauseous. Yodaz ended his turn.

"Why won't he attack me?" she wondered to herself, drawing her card. She summoned the Bronze-Arm Tribe, and it gave her another Mana Nexus in her manazone. Yodaz sighed. With the threat eliminated, all there was to do now, was break her spirit. He drew his card, and summoned again. Corile.

Maze's hand flew to her mouth. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep her lunch down. Something wracked her consciousness with pain as it attempted to flood her with despair. Her strength won out for now, however, and she managed to steady herself, her breathing ragged and painful sounding. Yodaz dismissed his turn with a wave of his hand again. Still no attack. She drew the Bronze-Arm and summoned it again, sending one of her Torcon to mana.

"That one... may burn also," came the words. To Maze, the Meteosaur crashed onto an astral battlefield, and spewed lava from its mouth to incinerate her unfortunate Bronze-Arm. Her hands trembled now, awaiting the end... but Yodaz was not ready yet. He summoned an Aqua Hulcus also, and drew a card, then merely ended his turn as he had so many before, leaving her shakily standing there, her hands trembling as she reached for her next card. Another Bronze-Arm. She tried to calm her breathing. He had to be running out of ways to stop her by now. There were blockers, but she would find a way. If he was going to refuse to attack her, she would find a way to finish him. She summoned the Tribe, and charged the extra mana, and ended her turn.

Yodaz charged Water mana, and summoned another Hunter Fish. He did not even have to say anything this time. His will was already invading her mind. She could feel the heat before he even summoned the card, and averted her eyes from the scorching of another Bronze-Arm. The third Meteosaur seemed to sneer at her evilly, in her mind's eye. Despair. Despair and die. She shook off the thoughts, and drew her card. Enchanted Soil. At least she could give her creatures a proper burial. Perhaps even more than that. She played the spell, sending her Sniper Mosquito and Gigamantis to mana.

Yodaz was almost impressed at the resilience of her mind. He drew his card, and did nothing, curious as to whether or not she could even be broken at all. She drew her own card, and charged it to mana. He felt her resolve weaken then. Her deck was not fast enough. He smirked slightly, drew his card, and summoned his own Bronze-Arm Tribe. Maze looked at her manazone, and a strange thought crossed her mind.

"If only I had an Invincible Abyss now..."

Somehow, as if he heard her thought, Yodaz responded, "Yes, but then you would no longer be a 'proud' mono-Nature player. Have you lost your faith in your 'Miracle Gro'?" His laughter hurt her somehow. She was not sure if it was all in her mind. She drew her card. Another Brutal Charge. She sent it to mana, and stood helplessly.

Yodaz was in no hurry. He had everything under control now. "I evolve Meteosaur into Doboulgyser, Giant Rock Beast.... and play Mana Nexus, to send my Natural Snare to my shield zone."

Maze probably had not heard the second part. After the evolution, it was almost as if something inside her had broken. Tears instantly rolled down her face, but she stood silently, not a sound of distress or pain.

"Doboulgyser, Ikei."

One of the shields was a Poisonous Mushroom. The other, felt like a life-giving wind.

"Trigger!" Maze cried out, her voice spiked with both defiance and fear, "Mana Nexus!"

Yodaz raised an eyebrow at her sudden renewed confidence. What was with this girl? It would not help her win...

"And I will use it to put another Mana Nexus there. Do your worst, Yodaz!"

"I always do," he smiled, nodding slightly in response, "Aqua Hulcus, ikei." --striking the Mana Nexus generated yet another-- "Meteosaur, ikei." --and another-- "Bronze-Arm Tribe, ikei." --and finally, a Natural Snare. Maze's breathing was ragged now, but her psychic output had nearly doubled. She did not seem to be aware that she was still losing. Yodaz shrugged, and ended his turn. What could she possibly expect to do next turn?

Maze drew her card and played the Poisonous Mushroom, then a Dimension Gate, and a Sniper Mosquito. She shuffled her deck, and ended her turn. Yodaz was sure that she had snapped, and not in the way he had intended. Might as well finish her off. He had no use for those who lost their minds in duels. He drew his card, and summoned a Rumbling Terahorn. Maze already knew exactly what he would do. To overwhelm her now, he would have to summon...

"Corile. To send away your Sniper Mosquito."

Her mind screamed in pain, but she forced herself on. All she cared about now was lasting, mentally, until she lost the game. Yodaz, however, was not about to allow her that. He had realized that she was, indeed, still resisting the despair, clinging to the belief that her deck was still good enough, that she had lost, like all duelists eventually do, just because... sometimes you lose. He ended his turn. She was not broken yet.

Something happened inside Maze at that point. Something intense. A wave of something that she could not understand. She drew her card, and looked at it, blinking in disbelief and confusion. It was... not a Sniper Mosquito? She moved as if to put it back.

"What are you doing?" Yodaz asked sharply, "Play the card in your hand, you can't get another!"

"B-but... it's the wrong card."

"It can't be 'the wrong card'. I just saw you draw it. Play what is in your hand!"

"Y-yes..." Maze tapped three mana, and gently placed her beloved Silver Axe on the field. The crowd that could see, let out a unified gasp. The ones that could not see, struggled to see, buzzing trying to figure out what had happened.

"That's... impossible..." Yodaz said, "I saw you place the card down. There was no way you could have..."

"I know..." she said, but then she fell silent. In her mind, the creature stood behind her. Slightly to her right. Its thoughts mingled with hers.

"It's all right, Maze. We've lost. We cannot defeat this particular monster. Relax. We are fine... Just let him finish..."

She nodded, and ended her turn. Yodaz's spirit seethed with a strange sentient rage. She was calm again. Her spirit survived. This was unacceptable. He drew his card, and decided to give one more last shove, to push her over the edge.

"I cast... Searing Wave."

"NO! What'd you do that for! You didn't have to do that! My Silver Axe didn't do anything!"

The crowd watched, confused by her words. Only she and Yodaz understood the significance of the play. The Silver Axe and the Poisonous Mushroom were gone... scorched into nothingness. He had left her with nothing but mana and a full grave.

"Bronze-Arm Tribe, ikei." -- Yodaz watched unemotionally as the Natural Snare captured his Doboulgyser-- "Meteosaur, ikei." --another Snare brought down his Merfolk-- "Corile, ikei." --no reaction-- "Phantom Fish, ikei."

"What?" came the unanimous cry from the crowd. Maze perked up instantly, her eyes shining with a defiant light.

"I'm sorry, what was that, Mr. Yodaz?" she sneered. So he was not quite invincible after all. This duel had taxed his concentration too.

All Yodaz did was glare at the crowd, extending his influence over them all also, instantly wiping their minds of any memory of that moment. They returned to their babbling. Maze somehow was aware of what he had done. She could not figure out how, but she did not care. She would remember. He would not be able to affect her mind that way at this point. Yodaz sighed. She had escaped him.

"Corile... Todomeda."

In Maze's mind, the purple shape swirled toward her, and placed its flipper-limb on her forehead. Defeated, she slumped to her knees. The Corile seemed displeased. She had not been crushed. Only defeated. Another Kaijudo duelist would walk away to recover. Another flawed deck would survive...