Episode 4. - Unsubstantiated Rumors

It was an interesting district. There was lots of activity, most of it very shady, but nothing to substantiate the rumours that had reached Yodaz's ears. Rumors of a duelist with Kaijudo so strong that no one who faced him could even remember the duel afterward. Finally, he had dismissed it as just another foolish story, spread and exaggerated by duelists with a bad track record. Now he was sitting in the combination restaurant/youth center where the neighbourhood kids hung out, twirling his pasta around the fork, bored. Then, a teenager's voice broke through his haze.

"Come on. You have to teach me to play so I can at least try to get in. It sucks being the only one out of the loop like this."

Yodaz turned, and his eyes narrowed at the sight. In the corner booth, two boys who he was certain would have to be brothers, judging from their similar round features and identical spiky dark brown hair. The younger seemed to be begging the older for help, whilst the older boy nonchalantly shuffled his cards.

"I'm telling you, Ernie, you don't want to get into that group. It ain't just dueling with them. It messes with your head. You get nightmares and everything."

The younger pleadingly reached for his brother's cards.
"But you do it! At least show me how to play, huh? I'll just play with you, until I'm much better at it."

The older boy sighed. Something told Yodaz that this was a conversation he needed to hear. He tilted his head slightly so he could hear better, and concentrated, focusing on his auditory senses, slowly filtering out the environmental noise. These two would lead him to what he was looking for. Somehow, the duelist was sure of that.

"All right..." the older boy finally sighed, "I'll show you how to play, using Pai Lon's deck. I can show you how it's built, too. He showed me. You gotta promise not to tell anybody. This is just a lesson in how to build decks, okay? Not all decks are exactly like this, but I'll show ya the basics this way. This is a simple Darkness deck..."
He reached into his backpack and retrieved a small blue soapdish-like item. From this, he produced a small deck of cards.

"Pai Lon is the youngest of the Dragons, but he teaches new members how to build. This is a replica of his deck. I was supposed to study it and give it back today. I guess I can show you some stuff from it before I give it back..."

"Thanks, Luke. I knew you wouldn't let them keep me out." The younger boy was all smiles now. His brother Lucas groaned. As usual, Ernest didn't get it, nor did he heed his older sibling's warning. Yodaz simply observed, wondering how long he would have to wait until one of them let slip the information he needed.

"Okay, first, you need at least four creatures that only cost two mana. You gotta choose these creatures according to the Civilization your deck has the most of, so you can get 'em out quick if you need to. Sometimes you need to be ready to attack on the third turn. It's not so bad to have more than four, either. Pai Lon's deck doesn't worry about the Civilization since he's one of the Dragons and only plays Darkness... so here we go... four Writhing Bone Ghouls and four Bloody Squito. The Bloody Squito are blockers..."

At this point, Lucas went into an explanation of blockers. Yodaz growled softly to himself. This was probably going to be a long deckbuilding lesson.

"Then we're gonna put in some low cost spells too. This time we'll use Dark Reversal cause it brings back creatures from your graveyard. Then we'll use some three cost creatures. There's usually about eight of these. Pai Lon uses four Horrid Worms and four Stinger Worms."

Yodaz raised an eyebrow. Stinger Worms? Surely the kid was joking. Who would possibly use Stinger Worms nowadays?

"You can't use the Stinger Worms when your enemy is using Water. Remember that, okay, Ernie? You gotta put them in the mana zone. Now here's where it gets interesting. The cards that cost four. See this one?"

Lucas held up a card, and Ernest leaned forward to read the effect on it.
"Wow! A double breaker! That's good, right? I mean, I've seen your cards, and I think you have one like that. Vile Mulder, Wing of the Void, huh? Isn't yours called something different?"

"Yeah, mine's a little different from Vile Mulder. Now check this out. He's got four Gregorian Worms. Those are shield Trigger creatures, and he's got four Death Smoke to slow people down and get rid of their blockers. Last, he's got four Shadow Moon, Cursed Shade. Those power up his dark creatures. I don't think he plays them when he's up against the other Dragons, though, because it doesn't really change anything... they all use Darkness."

Yodaz's interest was piqued now. Now he was getting somewhere. That was what he had heard about the odd duelist he was tracking, too. He and his cronies only used Darkness cards. This was unlikely to be them, though, if this was the kind of simplistic deck that they were teaching people to use.

"Then he's got two Chaos Worms, which can kill your opponent's creatures, but you have to evolve them from one of the other worms, so sometimes it can be tricky to play them. Then there's four Terror Pit, which costs six, and kills creatures too. It's even Shield Trigger."

By now, Ernest was as impressed as Yodaz was unimpressed. He stared at the cards laid out on the table before him, eyes shining with excitement, as Lucas laid out the last five cards. Two Ultracide Worms and three Vampire Silphy.

"Hey, wait a second, Luke. This Double Breaker worm is really cool, but why would you play this Silphy chick? Won't she kill all the worms?"

Lucas looked at the cards in front of him also.

"Yah, I guess so. I think you're supposed to play a Shadow Moon first or something. I don't know. I've never seen Pai Lon have to use that card..." As he said this, Lucas put the deck together again and began to shuffle it. Yodaz decided that if he was going to learn more at this point, he would have to do so more directly. He put the last fork's worth of linguini into his mouth and wiped the napkin across his lips, getting up. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted one of the busboys making the rounds. He would clear away the table. Yodaz moved over toward the two boys, as Lucas handed the Darkness deck over to his brother.

"Think you can play this one, Ernie?" Lucas asked, shuffling his own deck now, "Give it a try. Let's see how you handle it at least."

Yodaz approached the table now, trying to look both non-threatening and inconspicuous at the same time. "Mind if I watch?"

Lucas and Ernest looked up simultaneously, slightly startled. Lucas actually fumbled and nearly dropped his cards.
"Wow... you're stronger than Pai Lon..." Lucas finally managed to say. Yodaz was visibly surprised. He hadn't consciously used any of his ability. Yet the boy seemed to be able to gauge the difference in ability between himself and this "Pai Lon" person.

"Yeah, sure, you can watch," Ernest piped up, without waiting for his brother's input. He deployed his five shields, and left Lucas to do the same. The older boy muttered something about nosy strangers and bad ideas, but Yodaz paid no attention to that. He was too busy formulating a plan to discover if he was indeed looking for people with significant Kaijudo, or if this was just another hoax glorified by these small town duelists.

A few seconds later, the duel was underway. Ernest drew his cards, and charged the only form of mana he could. Darkness. His brother charged water mana, and Ernest continued, simply by charging mana again. Lucas generated nature mana now. Ernest charged his third mana card, and summoned the Horrid Worm.

"Nice move, Ernie. That's how you start."

Yodaz sighed at the naiveté of the two boys. It wasn't as if he could have done much else, and in any normal duel, a Crimson Hammer or blocker would easily deal with such a situation. Neither of them had any signs of worthwhile Kaijudo, either. This was just going to be a match between two intermediate duelists. He decided to focus his attention on the deck Ernest was using. Perhaps if he could find Pai Lon and defeat him, he would find out more about these 'Dragons'.

Lucas charged darkness mana of his own, and summoned an Aqua Hulcus. Ernest charged more mana, and summoned a Gregorian Worm now.

"Umm, let's see. I don't think I should attack, because I might lose the advantage if I do, right?" Ernest thought out loud, looking up at Yodaz, apparently wondering if the spectator would offer him any tips. Yodaz said nothing, though he did think to himself that it was probably the right call, on the youngster's part. Ernest passed the turn to his brother without attacking. Lucas charged more nature mana and summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe, easily charging yet more darkness mana and summoning a Bloody Squito. Yodaz shook his head slightly. This wasn't going to take long. The darkness deck was too simple, as all mono-decks were. It did not do anything in particular, and therefore would not take too long to fall apart.

Ernest drew his next card.
"Let's see. I should put this to mana, that's what you said, right, Luke?" The card he held up to show his brother was the Stinger Worm. Lucas merely nodded, watching Yodaz distrustfully out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't think I can do anything else really, so I end my turn now," Ernest said. Lucas nodded again, charged darkness mana, and played a Brain Serum, drawing two cards, and ending his turn.

"Amateur error," Yodaz noted to himself, "He should have started disrupting the kid's plans right away. He knows what's in this deck... he should try to stop it faster..."

Ernest drew his card and sent the Vampire Silphy to the mana zone. Yodaz reached up and rubbed his eye. Something seemed to darken as the younger boy's mana zone grew. Yet he was quite sure that there was still no detectable Kaijudo in either of them. No beginner could mask their ability that well.

"Tell me if this is a good move, okay, brother? I evolve Gregorian Worm into Ultracide Worm, to attack and double break your shields! Ikei!"
Lucas didn't actually answer, at least not that Yodaz heard. What Yodaz was focused on was the alarming spike in Kaijudo from somewhere to his left, behind him. Someone else was here. They were watching the duel, though he could not understand how. He turned his attention back to the boys, waiting for the spike to happen again and reveal the one responsible for it. Lucas had not blocked the Ultracide Worm, but neither of his cards had been shield Triggers either. Ernest ended his turn. Yodaz quickly analysed it. Though the Ultracide Worm was generally in no way a terrifying card, it was true that there were few ways to get rid of it. In the current situation, even Corile would only be a temporary solution. After all, there was another Worm.

"Of course, if this was my deck, that first worm would have been long gone by now..."

Lucas drew his card and charged more darkness mana of his own. He played another Brain Serum, and summoned his own Horrid Worm. Yodaz noted this. Obviously the boy lacked enough removal cards to handle something as simple as an Ultracide Worm. It was easy to think the mono-dark was good, when your own deck was not much better.

Ernest drew his card, and played it instantly. Death Smoke, to destroy the Horrid Worm. This time, Yodaz felt the Kaijudo spike behind him again, but it was masked better this time. Fuzzy, as if it could be coming from anyone in the general vicinity.
"Ultracide Worm, ikei!"

"Bloody Squito blocks the attack," Lucas responded, tapping his blocker and putting it in the grave.

"Do I have you on the run now, Luke?" Ernest laughed, "Told ya I could handle this."

"You're not winning yet, Ernie. I charge nature mana and summon another Bronze-Arm Tribe. With the darkness mana I get, I cast Terror Pit to destroy your Ultracide Worm."

Ernest slumped now, visibly less overjoyed, his bottom lip protruding slightly as the loss of his double breaker sunk in. He drew his card.
"Oh yeah? Well take this, bro. I evolve Horrid Worm to Chaos Worm, to destroy your Bronze-Arm Tribe."

"Too early..." came the thought from behind Yodaz. The older duelist did not spin, he merely tried to pinpoint the person's location as quickly as he could, tracking the 'source' of the darkness that seemed to be augmenting Ernest's dueling skills, even if only slightly.

"Chaos Worm, ikei!" Ernest declared. He was determined to get as much use out of his evolved worm as possible. Yodaz grudgingly agreed with the tactic in this case. The worm still would not be hard to get rid of, but the options were still reduced.

"You gotta be more careful, Ernie, you played your Chaos Worm too early," Lucas scolded gently, as he charged even more nature mana and summoned his Bronze-Arm Tribe, "I evolve Bronze-Arm Tribe into Fighter Dual Fang! And use the extra mana to summon another Horrid Worm! Dual Fang, destroy the Chaos Worm. Ikei!"

Ernest moaned and grumbled at the loss of his second evolution creature. Lucas did not attack further. Behind Yodaz, the dark aura seemed to die down, but not before Yodaz noted the similarity between it, and that of the duelist he had met the other day. The girl Taimi. Somehow, however, this one was more controlled in its reaction toward the darkness. Almost reverent, somehow. He kept up his efforts to pinpoint the source.

"Um... okay... what can I do?" Ernest muttered to himself, looking at the card he had just drawn, and the one that was in his hand. Yodaz felt it this time. He was sure that someone behind him now influenced Ernest to place the Vampire Silphy in the mana zone, leaving him with only the option of summoning the Horrid Worm, since he could not have summoned Silphy anyway. Ernest scratched his head and shrugged. This was all he could do, so it was Lucas' turn. The elder brother wasted no time in what he thought would be the finishing setup of this duel. He drew his card, summoned Barkwhip, the Smasher, and cast Terror Pit on Ernest's lone creature. Yodaz felt the Kaijudo dim again, to a gently humming feeling that buzzed in the room.

"Fighter Dual Fang, ikei. Double break," --Ernest picked up a Death Smoke and a Shadow Moon-- "Horrid Worm, ikei," --Ernest discarded the Shadow Moon and picked up a Horrid Worm of his own-- "Barkwhip, the Smasher! Ikei!"

"Hey, look, Luke! I got a shield trigger! Terror Pit. That makes your Aqua Hulcus go to the graveyard, right?"
Lucas sighed, agreeing, and completed the effect of his brother's antagonistic card. It was the end of his turn. There was no way for Ernest to recover now, however, or so he thought. Yodaz was of the same opinion, until Ernest drew his card and smiled.

"Wow, how lucky is that, huh? I send Death Smoke to my mana zone, and summon Horrid Worm, and I evolve it into Chaos Worm right now! To destroy your Fighter Dual Fang!! Chaos Worm, ikei! Destroy his Horrid Worm."

Yodaz was momentarily overwhelmed by what he considered to be the psychic equivalent of a huge grin. Now he knew exactly where the person was. Of course, that person was no longer attempting to conceal their presence at all, and was actually approaching the table where the two boys dueled. The boys were as yet, unaware of this, however, and so the duel continued, Lucas quickly attempting to recover from the slight setback that Ernest had managed.

"I play Dimension Gate to retrieve an Aqua Hulcus, which I summon, and draw... and now I play Natural Snare on your Chaos Worm."

Ernest fumed a little, frustratedly. This was happening too much. Every time he felt like he had a good rhythm going, something would stop him.

"Sorry, Ernie. Guess this one just ain't gonna go your way. Barkwhip, ikei!"

"Shield Trigger!" Ernest announced triumphantly, "Gregorian Worm!"

"Why's he so happy?" Yodaz wondered under his breath, "It's not going to help him win..."

The voice from behind him came in a whisper also, "As long as the card is there, he's going to feel like a winner anyway. Perhaps there is more he can do as well. You do not understand this deck, so watch and see what it does."

Yodaz turned to see a boy in his late teens, short and wiry, wearing a black jacket and dark blue pants. He stood there with his arms folded nonchalantly, as if he could predict what was about to happen. This one was the one with the Kaijudo. Not that strong, however.

Ernest drew his card and nearly danced for joy when he realized what he could do with it.
"I cast Dark Reversal to bring back my Chaos Worm, and summon it to destroy your Aqua Hulcus. Now, Chaos Worm, attack Barkwhip!"

As both cards were placed in their respective graveyards, Yodaz was aware of the strange bubbling Kaijudo that seemed to ooze darkly off the one standing next to him. Neither of the boys noticed the presence of the second spectator. They were intent on finishing their duel.

"You did pretty good after all, Ernie, I'll admit it," Lucas smiled, "So here's my ending for ya. I cast Dimension Gate to get a Horrid Worm, and I also evolve it into Chaos Worm! Chaos Worm, todomeda!"
The dark, watching boy stepped forward now and placed his hand over what remained of Ernest's deck.
"You win some, you lose some, Ernie. Don't get discouraged. You handled my deck pretty well, for a novice."

"Pai Lon!" Lucas exclaimed, suddenly nervous, "Hey, I'm sorry about that... the deck, I mean. It's just that he really wanted to learn, and--"

"Hey. It's fine," the jacketed duelist reassured him, accepting the cards from Ernest and lazily shuffling them before turning away. "Just don't let your little brother get too caught up in this until he can handle the fear... meeting's at seven tonight. Be there, Lucas."

Lucas nodded. Yodaz watched the entire exchange with disdain, yet still curious. Who was this person that seemed to command such respect around this area, and why? Obviously, as had been said before, this 'Pai Lon' was one of the 'Dragons' he had come looking for, but why would someone with Kaijudo of that kind use such a basic deck? At that point, Yodaz recalled some of the other duelists he had faced recently, and wasn't so surprised anymore. Neither Maze nor Libra seemed to have any good deck-building sense at all. They might not have been as basic, but neither of those decks had been all that effective either.

As Pai Lon opened the door to leave, Yodaz hoisted his bag over his shoulder and moved to follow him. The two boys no longer interested him. He had already seen what he needed to see. That duelist could get him where he needed to go, and he would not be difficult to defeat at all. There was nothing special or effective about that deck, once you could keep the worms down. His mind was already strategizing exactly how to do so.

A few minutes later, Pai Lon turned down an alleyway, and, as Yodaz turned in himself, he muttered angrily to himself as it seemed that his quarry had somehow disappeared. Entering the smaller street full of vendors and busy shoppers, it seemed that he would have no way of determining where Pai Lon had gone. Just as he was about to give up and turn back, Yodaz felt the rest of the world dim, and the voice spoke to his mind, from the other end of the street.

"Why do you follow me, stranger?

"I'm hunting Dragons..." was Yodaz's slightly snide, mental reply. The next part of the 'conversation' didn't bother with words, since Pai Lon was now sure that Yodaz could use his Kaijudo ability quite effectively. It was simply the mental command to follow. Yodaz smirked to himself. Another overconfident opponent. There was a good chance that he wouldn't even have to tax himself to reach the one who really had any power. Judging from the decks that he or she allowed their underlings to walk around promoting, they couldn't be that dangerous either.

The purple shape swirled in Yodaz's mind now. More victims. More trophies for the wall. They were all the same. Today, they would hunt Darkness' Dragons...