Episode 10. - And Lo, There Was Light

Bald head. Dark chocolate skin. About six feet tall. Grey jacket and white vest. This was the description most people would have given of Jared Sykes. Today, though, he was 'the duelist with the Guardians'. Jared was now sitting quietly after his last match. He had come quite close to losing, and was currently frowning slightly at his deck, wondering what his mistake had been, if anything. Peering carefully at his cards... trying to feel it out. In the midst of his concentration, a man in a crisp black suit placed his hand on Jared's shoulder.

"Excuse me. Master Magnus is ready to duel you now."

Jared looked up, wondering what this was about, and looked over his shoulder to the table where he had just been dueling. Standing in the spot where his last opponent had been, was a teenager that looked to be about five feet tall. Auburn spikes made up his hair, and his eyes were hidden by reflective sunglasses. His clothes instantly betrayed his, or his family's, obvious opulence. As if the 'bodyguard' that had alerted Jared had not been clue enough. Jared slowly walked over to the table. The other young man looked impatient, but courteously refrained from saying anything. Obviously he was a bit more used to getting things when he was ready for them, but he was also apparently polite enough to know that things did not always go that way.

Jared rubbed his chin, noting the stubble that was there. In his hurry to get to the tournament this morning, he had forgotten to shave. His opponent did not look like he was old enough to have needed to shave a day in his life. Jared estimated the boy to be at least five years his junior. About fourteen years old. He extended his hand to shake that of his opponent.

Kyle T. Magnus looked at the offered hand, then met it with his own black-gloved one and shook it firmly. The two duelists nodded almost knowingly at each other, and prepared for the duel. Jared noted that Kyle stopped his companion from shuffling his cards, preferring to do it himself. As his hands randomized his deck, small blips of Kaijudo began to make their impact on Jared Sykes' mind. A perplexing thing to him. Jared had so far never consciously controlled his own Kaijudo, nor had he been in a Kaijudo clash. He had been invited due to one incident which he did not even consciously remember. In fact, he was not really sure what he was doing here at all...

When first turn was awarded to Kyle, he smiled broadly. Jared again felt the strange rising influence from his opponent. Something was making Kyle very happy. Just from being allowed to go first? Only when he played his first card did Jared suddenly realize what he was getting into. Pyrofighter Magnus into the mana zone.

"I summon Deadly Fighter Braid Claw."

Jared's eyes widened. Fire. Fire with Braid Claw. This could be bad. Very bad. Kyle smirked and adjusted his sunglasses, the warmth of his Kaijudo already causing Jared to feel uncomfortable. He had come out 'blazing' from the very beginning of the duel. Jared looked at his cards, and drew his sixth. He sent his Dimension Gate to his mana zone, and began to perspire slightly.

Kyle Magnus stretched out his hand and cricked his neck slightly. He needed to relax. His opponent already seemed intimidated, and he had not even really begun yet. He charged Darkness mana, and summoned Rikabu's Screwdriver. Instantly, naturally, he dragged Jared into that dim plane of the mind where Kaijudo duels took place. Jared looked around, startled, with his mind's eye, and began to shudder.

"Wh-what's going on? Where am I?"

Kyle smiled at him, and put one finger over his own lips, gesturing to Jared to shush his fearful mouth.
"Relax. Just go with it. You're going to try to stop me from scaring you out of the duel, and you're going to try your best to deal with me, hm?"

The teenager laughed then, which probably reversed his previous attempts at putting Jared slightly at ease, but at this point, Jared was already trembling. He had felt this before. He could not ignore the odd feeling of being enclosed, and of something inside him trying to get out.

"Braid Claw. Ikei."

Jared picked up the card, for once hoping that it was not one of his Shield Triggers. It was not. He breathed a sigh of relief. Had that Braid Claw really dashed at him just now, though? He shook his head. This was too weird. He drew his card, charged Light mana, and played a Faerie Life. Taking the Dimension Gate card off the top of his deck, he noted it, put it into his mana zone, and ended his turn. That was not so bad. Nothing strange had happened this time, in the odd world that seemed to be overlaid upon his normal perception.

Kyle drew his card, and charged more fire mana. He did not summon this time. Jared was not too surprised at that. Fire decks often had less resources than others, even if they did burn you up so fast that it might not matter.
"Braid Claw, ikei--" Jared triggered another Faerie Life, picked up a third Faerie Life from the top of his deck, and put it into his mana zone, "--Screwdriver, ikei." The third shield did not trigger. Jared was sweating profusely now. It was only the third turn. He was already half defeated. His eyes were burning already. Kyle signaled the end of his turn. Jared noted his opponent's mana. Three now. He would have to hurry with a defence before something worse happened.

He drew his card, and charged more light mana. It felt like there was already so little he could do. He summoned two La Ura Giga, and the ships appeared on opposite sides of him. Startled by this, he nearly dropped the cards in his hand, but their presence quickly calmed him, and, realizing this, he instantly felt the need to surround himself with as many of them as possible.

"I c-cast Dimension Gate... to retrieve another La Ura Giga. E-end turn."

Kyle smirked, drawing his card.
"You don't have to be nervous. You're not going to get hurt doing this. Probably just a little tired, heheh. Now... Let's see... this should do the trick."

The heat became almost overwhelming to Jared at this point. People were already beginning to take notice of his sweat-stained clothing. More people turned in his direction after the half-faint he experienced when Kyle played his next card.
"I cast Magma Gazer on the Deadly Braid Claw."

The small eruption had shaken the foundations of Jared's mental stability, and the enhanced Braid Claw was standing menacingly before him now as he staggered to his feet and leaned on the table to steady himself.

"I tap my Screwdriver to dismantle your Sky Guardian--" Kyle declared, forcing Jared to place one of his protective creatures into his graveyard, "--and I attack your final two shields with Braid Claw. Ikei."

Even if he had wanted to block the attack, Jared found himself too scared of the charging Dragonoid to actually do so. He yelped and backed off a bit as the Braid Claw broke his last two shields, and carefully picked them up. Neither of them had triggered. All of his shields were already gone. The duel was practically over and he had not managed to do anything at all, really. The heat was choking. It did not subside when Kyle ended his turn, either. He drew his card, and shakily charged more Light mana. The more blockers he had, the less pained he felt, so he felt it was best to summon more of them.

"I summon La Ura Giga, and Snork La, Shrine Guardian."

He instantly was able to breathe a little easier. Snork La appeared in front of him, shielding him from the heat of Kyle's Kaijudo.
"Um... I attack your Screwdriver with my other La Ura Giga. I-ikei..."

Kyle seemed to accept this. The La Ura Giga now took down his Screwdriver much as the Screwdriver had taken down its counterpart. Jared was already too overwhelmed by Kyle's influence to be much danger. Jared ended his turn. Kyle drew his card, and sent his now unnecessary Snake Attack card to his mana zone.

"I summon Mini Titan Gett."

The small humanoid's appearance on the field was hailed by another small eruption. The other duelists in the area all turned almost instantly. Strong Kaijudo plus the arrival of an 'avatar' was enough to get their attention. Kyle frowned. Despite the effectiveness of his power, it was, as usual, uncontrollable.
"Braid Claw, ikei."

Jared breathed a bit easier once his La Ura Giga blocked and disposed of the Dragonoid. He had not even really had to tap the card. Mentally, the Guardian had moved even before his hand had moved toward the card. Since there was no real 'choice' in the matter anyway. To refrain from blocking would mean the end of the duel. Kyle ended his turn. It was just a matter of time now. Either his rush would pay off, or he would somehow meet his end in the next few turns. He smiled again. He always found the rush, the uncertainty, to be exhilarating.

By now, the champ was watching the clash. Though, admittedly, Yodaz was far more interested in the effect that Kyle's Kaijudo was having on Jared, who was obviously quite inept at channeling his own. Yodaz himself usually refrained from using his Kaijudo on duelists who did not have their own. His deck alone was often enough to do the job.

"The classic struggle," came the thought of Yodaz's avatar, "Light and Nature fighting Fire and Darkness. All of it pointless, since, in the end, we can outdo them all."

"True," Yodaz responded, "However, it is interesting to see this much of an advantage in Kaijudo in a duel. The Light duelist is almost helpless, and in this case it does not seem to be because of his choice of Civilization. He's simply outclassed."

Corile had already faded away. Uninterested.

Jared had been staring blankly at the cards in his hand for nearly a minute now. Kyle had been trying his best to be patient, but finally he decided he had to say something.
"Excuse me. I think there's a time limit on your turns. Are you giving up?"

"What? N-no. No. I was trying to remember how to do that... thing you're doing... with your mind. I did it once. Because of one of my cards. I'm wondering if I can do it again."

Yodaz's ears practically perked up at this. So the dark-skinned duelist hadn't simply been invited 'by mistake'?

"Do you have the card in your hand now?" Kyle asked Jared.

"Yes, I do, but--"

Kyle sighed, taking a water bottle from his bodyguard and taking a swig of it before speaking again, "Then just play it and let us see. The worst that can happen is that you will lose the duel, and if you cannot handle me, I am quite sure you won't be comfortable dueling many other people here."

Jared nodded a bit nervously, then took a very deep breath and released it very slowly. Kyle sighed, his impatience becoming more apparent. Jared muttered a quick 'Sorry' and tried to compose himself. Yodaz was completely intrigued now. A teenager had reduced a young man to a trembling mass of fear, nothing like his former semi-confident self, just by playing a Magma Gazer on a Braid Claw.

"All right. Here goes. I evolve La Ura Giga into Arc Bine, the Astounding!"

A blinding light appeared on Jared's side as the evolution took place, bathing the entire area in illumination. Jared's Kaijudo surged and pushed Kyle's back, for the first time yet. His eyes seemed to glow now, as he reached out to tap his evolved Guardian. The energy blast from the creature stunned the Mini Titan. Kyle tapped that card also.
"Snork La. Ikei. End turn."

Kyle looked at the creature in relative disbelief. The duelist did have Kaijudo. He did have an 'avatar'. He had the one avatar that Kyle could currently do nearly nothing against. He drew his card, but did nothing, putting his effort into keeping his Kaijudo up against the surprise showing from Jared.

Yodaz himself was totally amused at this point. The best part, in his opinion, was the sheer suddenness of the shift in the balance of power. He looked at the evolved Guardian, and something in him stirred. This feeling reminded him of something. Kyle's helplessness was somehow familiar to him, but he could not place why. A tap powered evolution creature, and a situation that the opponent could not get out of.

"Why is this so familiar to me?" he wondered to himself, realizing that he, too, was starting to perspire. It did not feel as if it was as a result of the heat, however. Something else about this scenario was haunting him.

Jared drew his card. He did not seem at all like the same duelist that had been cowering under the effect of the youngster's Kaijudo for the last ten minutes. Almost like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, Jared seemed to have evolved as much as his La Ura Giga. He charged more light mana, and summoned Phal Eega, Dawn Guardian, to retrieve and play his Faerie Life. The card's effect charged more nature mana from the top of his deck for him. A Sword of Benevolent Life.
"I end my turn."

Kyle drew his card. He made an effort to be brave, but things did not look good for him now. He sent the Tornado Flame to his mana zone as his fifth mana card. There was no way to play it and rid himself of the building threat on the other side of the battle zone. Yodaz found himself sympathizing with the boy momentarily, before remembering that it was 'all his fault' for attempting to use a substandard mono-fire-creature deck. The situation could have been easily avoided with a good Corile to get rid of the evolved Guardian, and return Jared to the almost whimpering duelist he had been two turns ago.

Still, the champ found himself stressed somehow. This situation was reminding him too much of something. A helplessness he had once felt. Was it an opponent that he had done this to? Someone who had suffered a similar fate and their Kaijudo had imprinted upon his? His memory regarding any such occurrences was hazy, and he found no answers or relief as Jared drew his next card...

"I evolve my other La Ura Giga also. Again, into Arc Bine!"

Yodaz felt his mind contract painfully, as if it were trying to shrink away from the horror before it. He could not understand his own violent reaction to the Kaijudo that the card seemed to bring out of its wielder. Staggering back slightly, he found a table to lean against for a moment whilst he tried to recoup. His mind was spinning, and Jared's effect was, as his creature's name implied, astounding.

"Phal Eega. Ikei--" there was no trigger to respond to his assault. Kyle simply picked up his shield and nodded, "--Arc Bine, ikei--" again, nothing to slow Jared down, "--and second Arc Bine, ikei!" The third shield held no threat for the Guardian duelist.

"Roberto..." Kyle managed to squeak out, "Help me... I can't move."

"Master Magnus?"
The bodyguard seemed immediately very concerned. Almost frightened. He had previously had no experience with Kyle Magnus losing at anything. For his employer's son to suddenly act as if paralyzed in the middle of a card game was a new and decidedly unpleasant experience to him.

"Draw my card for me and show me what it is, Roberto. That's all."

The bodyguard almost meekly obeyed. Kyle managed to reach out and take the card from him, apparently freed from the paralysis by the sight of the Tornado Flame that his guard held for him. He placed his Armored Blaster Valdios into the mana zone, and cast the spell, the flame whirlwind rushing straight for the card he pointed out. Phal Eega, Dawn Guardian. His Kaijudo fluttered, wavering, but could not push back the radiant waves emanating from Jared. He dropped back into his defensive mental state, still without creatures, and hoping for something more dangerous than that.

Jared momentarily faltered himself, seemingly unsure that he had indeed taken control of the duel. His countenance was mentally illuminated by the two Guardian evolutions beside him, and his confidence bolstered again. Taking another deep breath, he allowed his Kaijudo to mellow out, rippling over the room, and drew his card.

"I summon Snork La, Shrine Guardian..."
Jared stood now, breathing slowly, looking at his opponent's two remaining shields before him. He didn't seem to be thinking, however. Rather, just a bit spaced out.

"What are you waiting for?" Kyle half-laughed. He coughed now, falling backward. Roberto caught and steadied him, looking even more concerned than before. Yodaz thought for a moment that perhaps it really was true, what Libra had told him a long time ago. That having Corile as his avatar was the only thing defending him from a lot of the other Kaijudo in the world.

In that instant, the champ's mind seemed to flicker back to a dark memory. A dimly lit room and a strange voice. A voice that shifted from soft to frightening, then back again. A creeping darkness that seemed to consume everything in its wake. Corile being swallowed up by this darkness... his Twin-Cannon Skyterror engulfed by it also. Finally, a very clear image of himself drawing a Bronze-Arm Tribe and desperately wishing that it had not been there. Wishing so much that he almost hated the card. Remembering Corile's sharp cry of frustration as the Bronze-Arm kept it away from the battle zone, where a writhing horror waited to be stopped. Then, many dark mouths, and blackness.

Yodaz clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle the shriek that threatened to accompany the flood of memories. This Kaijudo was affecting him oddly. Penetrating his dreams? Or his nightmares? Clearing away the shadows that covered that part of his mind. Revealing something he no longer needed hidden. Something had hurt him. Something had defeated him. All he could remember now, however, was the failing of the Bronze-Arm Tribe.

"We should get rid of them..." Corile hissed to him now as he composed himself, "They have failed us. They are a hindrance to us. They are nearly never useful, and prevent our progression..."

Yodaz reeled in disbelief and confusion, staggering away from the table where the duel was about to end. He would not be watching the end of this one.

Jared finally looked Kyle full in the face. He could not tell, behind the reflective lenses, if Kyle's eyes were open or not at this point, but in their minds, the fire duelist was wearing no such eye wear. He was looking his opponent straight in the eyes.

"Thank you," Jared finally said.

Kyle's brow furrowed, as he was seemingly confused by the words of the older duelist.

"You didn't consider me beneath your notice. Because of that, I was able to remember. To remember what it was like to feel more than just cards... to remember how to duel," Jared explained, "For that, you have my gratitude. Arc Bine, ikei!"

Kyle smiled slightly and nodded his head. He felt overpowered, but he was somehow glad that he had been able to help even an opponent. He picked up the targeted shield.

"Shield Trigger. Critical Blade. Destroy your summoned Snork La."

The triggered spell again destroyed the symmetry of Jared's battle zone. Jared nodded his acceptance, placed his creature in his graveyard, and declared his attack on Kyle's final shield.

Kyle picked up his card, then drew his next card, and, in their mindspace, his hair flared up, blazing with a synchronous flame. He looked down at his mana zone, blinked slightly, then the flaring hair died away. He had lost. One mana short of victory. Seven cards if he played mana now, and he would have needed eight.

"What? What is it? Have you won?" Jared asked, anxiously awaiting the conclusion of the duel.

"No. No I haven't. I would need one more mana card..."
He placed his Magma Gazer into his mana zone, and cast his final spell, to charge his Kaijudo and protect him from Jared's finish. Searing Wave. The heat obliterated the La Ura Giga and Snork La, but the two 'astounding' Guardians remained. Scorched, but victorious.

"I see," Jared noted, "The Speed Attacker. You cannot play it now. I'm... sorry."

Kyle laughed, his mood becoming boisterous and brave yet again.
"Oh, come on now! You'd better not be sorry. This is probably one of your best duels ever! Now finish it, and don't hold back. Make it look good, because I didn't come all the way here to lose like a kid!"

Jared nodded. Those who were aware of the situation put up their mental shields. Some of the more advanced duelists attempted to shield the minds of those near enough to them to benefit from such an effect. Jared's Kaijudo rose in a symphonic hum as the two Guardians became more and more luminous.

Kyle looked up at his bodyguard again.
"Roberto. I'm going to be unconscious after this. That's all right. Just take me home, all right?"

"Uncon--... But... I mean... yes, sir."

"Arc Bine, the Astounding... TODOMEDA!"

Kyle faced the creatures head-on, in his mind, and as he was engulfed by their hyper energy beam, everything went white for him. He vanished from sight with an almost cocky smirk on his face...