Yu-Gi-Oh! Codex of Shadows [IC/PG-16/Always Accepting]

EpicBoss99 · July 11, 2016

"After the effect of Electrum Charity, Electrum Temple's effect activates since I have no cards in my hand! I now draw four cards since I ran out of cards in my hand! However, I can't Special Summon, but I have something to get past that, just you wait!" Yoichi eerily foreshadowed as he drew four cards.

TURN 2

"Right, my turn again!" Yoichi commented as he drew another card. "Awesome, awesome." He paused for a moment to check his opponent's field. "He'll probably want to remove my Synchro monster if I commit to making it, so I need to be careful here...." Yoichi thought carefully on his next move. After thinking of a strategy, he activated his trap card. "I activate my Trap Card, Reckless Greed! This lets me draw two cards but skip my next two draw phases!" Yoichi announced, adding two cards to his hand, making a seven-card hand. "Right. I activate the effect of Thunder Sea Horse in my hand, discarding it to add two Electrum Phoenixes to my hand!" Yoichi declared, performing the action he said he was going to do. Lightning coursed through his deck until the two cards shot out as orbs of electricity which traveled to his hand. "Now, I tribute my Electrum Wall to summon the tuner monster Electrum Spark!" Yoichi revealed as the thundercloud on his field formed into an orb of pure electricity. "Now normally, I wouldn't be able to Special Summon anymore, but Electrum Spark's ability treats a Synchro Summon as a Tribute Summon! Now I'm tuning Electrum Tiger with my Electrum Spark to perform a Synchro Summon!" Yoichi triumphantly expressed as his monsters transformed into green spheres of energy.

"Blue dragon of divine lightning, protect all that is just and smite down the evils before us!

SYNCHRO SUMMON!!!!

Behold, in all its glory! Level 9! ELECTRUM DRAGON!" Yoichi chanted, a majestic blue dragon appearing before his opponent.

"Some intro you got there. Too bad your monster's going down the drain! Reveal Trap Card! Torrential Tribu-"

"Not so fast! I chain Electrum Dragon's ability to your Torrential Tribute, Revealing Electrum Phoenix in my hand to negate it!" Yoichi was quick to reply. His dragon fired a breath of pure lightning, destroying the card. "And with Electrum Phoenix's ability, it returns to my deck and I add Electrum Tiger back to my hand!" Yoichi said. "Now after setting two cards, Electrum Dragon! DIRECT ATTACK! CHAIN LIGHTNING!" Yoichi commanded. Yoichi's dragon threw a blindingly fast but weak ball of lightning at the Hunter, dealing direct damage. Afterwards, a face-down card appeared on Yoichi's side of the field.

"Ugh! Like that hurt at all! My turn!" The Hunter greedily cut in, drawing his card. "I activate the magic card, RAIGEKI! Time to fight lightning with lightni-"

"Electrum Dragon's effect activates! Negating your Raigeki by revealing Electrum Tiger in my hand!" Yoichi interrupted yet again. For the second time, the Hunter's card exploded in a ball of lightning.

"COME ON!" The Hunter yelled in frustration. "Fine, then! I'll defeat you with brute force! I summon Gladiator Beast Darius! BATTLE PHASE-"

"Like I'm going to let that happen! I activate my trap card, Threatening Roar! You can't attack this turn!" Yoichi interrupted for the third time.

"IT'S CALLED MY TURN FOR A REASON, PUNK! I SET ONE AND END MY TURN!" The Hunter furiously roared.

[spoiler=Cards Used]

Thunder Sea Horse

Level 4/LIGHT/Thunder-Type/Effect

1600 ATK/1200 DEF

You can discard this card; add 2 Level 4 LIGHT Thunder-Type monsters of the same name with 1600 or less ATK from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Thunder Sea Horse" once per turn. You cannot Special Summon during the turn you activate this effect.

Electrum Phoenix

Level 4/LIGHT/Thunder-Type/Effect

1000 ATK/500 DEF

When this card is revealed in your hand by the effect of an "Electrum" card, shuffle this card into the Deck, and if you do, you can target 1 "Electrum" Monster or Spell Card in your Graveyard; add it to your hand. You can only activate this effect of "Electrum Phoenix" once per turn. This card can attack your opponent directly. This card cannot be used as a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Material, except for the Synchro Summon of an "Electrum" Monster.

Electrum Spark

Level 5/LIGHT/Thunder-Type/Tuner/Effect

0 ATK/1500 DEF

If you control only 1 "Electrum" Monster and your opponent controls more than 2 monsters, you can Normal Summon this card without tributing. If this card is revealed in your hand by the effect of an "Electrum" card, shuffle this card into the Deck, and if you do, you can inflict 500 damage to your opponent. You can only activate this effect of "Electrum Spark" once per turn. If this card is sent to the Graveyard as a Synchro Material Monster, the Synchro Summon is treated as a Tribute Summon instead of a Special Summon. Cannot be used as a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Material, except for the Synchro Summon of an "Electrum" Monster.

Electrum Dragon

Level 9/LIGHT/Thunder-Type/Effect

1400 ATK/2000 DEF

1 "Electrum" Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuner "Electrum" Monsters

This card can attack your opponent directly. Cannot be destroyed by card effects. During either player's turn, when a card or effect is activated that would cause an "Electrum" monster you control to leave the field; you can reveal 1 "Electrum" card in your hand; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. If you revealed an "Electrum" Spell/Trap Card with this effect, this effect can only be activated once during that turn.

Yoichi Nagata: 4000 LP

[Reckless Greed: 2 Turns Left]
Cards in Hand: 4

Monsters on Field: Electrum Dragon [1400/2000, Face-Up ATK]

S/T on Field: Electrum Temple, 1 Set Card

Cards in Graveyard: Terraforming, Electrum Charity, Reckless Greed, Thunder Sea Horse, Electrum Wall, Electrum Spark, Threatening Roar

Rare Hunter: 2600 LP

Cards in hand: 3

Monsters on Field: Gladiator Beast Darius [1700/300, Face-Up ATK]

S/T on Field: 1 Set Card

Cards in Graveyard: Gladiator Beast Laquari, Torrential Tribute, Raigeki

◇ Void ◇ · July 12, 2016

Yami Tomoya meditated in his new throne, surveying Tomaya’s defenceless mind and piecing together what he knew. “Oof!” He moaned, as a pile of fresh clothing was thrusted upon him by Tilda, who stood above him with an icepack on her wrist. “There. Found some stuff that might fit you.”

“Hmph. Next time you do that, I’ll rip your throat out.” Yami Tomoya scorned his lieutenant, taking the pile of clothing away with him to a secluded storage room to change in, with the Codex of Shadows under the pile.

Yami Tomoya returned to the platform just ten minutes later, now in more casual attire that consisted of a grass green T-shirt, darkened normal cut jeans and skater-style black and red sneakers. He also adorned a dark grey, felt longcoat with lapels: Almost identical to Tomoya’s own one back at his apartment, only less dirty. “Much better. I don’t feel like I have a blade against my skin now.” He commented, adjusting the edges of the coat. “We have the information you ask for.” A Rare Hunter directed Yami Tomoya to a folding table, which was crowded with schematics and documents around the edges, while a blueprint of the KaibaCorp tower dominated the centre.

“Why did you want them, if I mind asking?” Tilda raised an eyebrow.

“Because for the ritual, we’re going to need souls. About 100 of them, to be precise. Problem is, that 5000 Years ago, resistance against the Pharaoh’s army was futile. But now, the city’s police will catch us trying to drag bodies. A new method is required.” Yami Tomoya quickly answered without even turning away from the blueprint. Picking up a Sharpie pen, he began to roughly sketch in a blueprint of what was under Kaibacorp.

“Such as…?”

“It is not exactly the souls we need: Just the darkness inside them, as that is what the alchemical process. Using cards tainted with Shadow Alchemy to extract the darkness from the population will be much more discrete.”

“So… you want some cards? We could provided them without...” Tilda was not impressed with the idea, giving a light sigh. Turning away, she reached into a pocket in the dress under her Hunter robes, extracting a cigarette and a lighter, and ignited the former with the latter. “Not normal ones, Mortal. I need empty vessels to work with: You don’t create a masterpiece with the leftovers of someone else’s work. And who else would have blank cards then a company who will be prototyping with them?” Yami Tomoya scorned back, giving a imposing death stare to her back.

“This mortal had limited clearance into the KaibaCorp Development Facility. Particularly, a vault. It was where all the artefacts you stole where being kept until the gala. It also contains briefcases of cards, both before and after printing.” The Rare Hunters shivered with anticipation at robbing thousands of rare cards from under the gaze of Seto Kaiba.

“Yes: You can take as many cards for yourselves. Consider it a bonus.” He sighed, finishing the sketch by circling the location of the Vault, tossing the pen aside thereafter. The Hunters nodded, with one picking up the map and taking it with them. Tomoya went the opposite thing, approaching Tilda with a strong face of disapproval and a hand reaching out towards the back of her neck.

“Gyah!” Tilda jumped, dropping her cigarette. “I’ll take this. Feels only right that I get a hood of my own if you’re forgoing it.” Yami Tomoya reached around to the front lapel, detaching the upper portion that made the cape and hood from the rest of Tilda’s robes with a single hand. It came swiftly off, with Yami Tomoya wrapping it around himself swiftly, raising the hood with both hands: and all while still carrying the Codex of Shadows underarm. Tilda cracked a smile as she turned around to see the new leader of the Rare Hunters, now in an attire that somehow suited him: A blend of casual duellist and sinister undertone that inconspicuously disguised a 5000 Year old spirit.

“Excellent." Yami Tomoya softly spoke. "Let the games begin."

EpicBoss99 · July 12, 2016

TURN 3

"Hey, dude! I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you were kind of a pushover!" Yoichi joked, getting ready for his turn. "From my hand, I activate the Spell Card, Electrum Thundercloud! Now I can reveal an Electrum card in my hand once per turn! I reveal Electrum Crow and use his effect to destroy your set card!" Yoichi strategically announced. Clusters of clouds harboring electricity surrounded the Hunter's set card, and a bolt of electricity in the shape of a crow pierced through it, destroying it. "Now that that's out of the way, I Normal Summon Electrum Tiger in Attack Mode!" Yoichi cheered, placing Tiger onto the field. Blue bolts of electricity flew from Yoichi's disk as a bright blue tiger made of lightning joined the dragon.

"Hah! You think you can do anything with those weak monsters? Darius has more ATK than both of them!" The Rare Hunter snickered. Yoichi's lack of reaction, or rather his laughter at what the Hunter said, made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Did I mention they can attack............directly?" Yoichi dramatically revealed as he made a really cliche grin. The Rare Hunter screamed in horror after hearing this news. "Don't worry, dude. I'm not gonna kill you or anything. You're just gonna go to prison where you belong! Electrum Tiger and Dragon, DIRECT ATTACK! CHAIN LIGHTNING!" Yoichi commanded. The two monsters rapidly shot bolts of electricity at the Hunter until he fainted. "Man, that was kinda disappointing...but hey! At least I got the chance to duel someone again!" Yoichi cheered as he called the police and told them about the unconscious hunter that he found. Afterwards, he went into his music app and turned the volume to maximum and made a victory lap to his car as his phone blasted inspirational music from afar.

"YOU'RE THE BEST...ARROUNDD! NOTHIN'S GONNA EVER KEEP YOU DOWN!" Yoichi sang along, speeding along the road in search for another person to duel. After going down the streets of Domino City for about twenty minutes, and also picking up a pizza, Yoichi remembered a certain place where he used to duel his friends. "Hey, maybe people will be at the park today!" He thought, switching his course and heading back in the direction he came from.

Winner: Yoichi Nagata

[spoiler=Cards Used]

◇ Void ◇ · July 12, 2016

Chapter 2: Materialization

The weather was miserable, only allowing a few glimpses of sunrise to glimmer though an eternal wall of grey clouds and light drizzle. Mokuba looked out from the back car window as Emfur’s car drove up alongside the empty pavement, stopping outside the main entrance. He immediately got out, almost getting in a tangle with the seatbelt, signalling the two men who had given him a lift to follow.

He went through the main doors of the tinted glass tower with a pace, knowing they were always unlocked in corporate buildings like this. The security guard at the main desk lifted his gaze up from the plate of fast food he was munching on: Eyes widening in fear as he saw Mokuba approach with a look that mimicked his brother whenever he was displeased.

“M-Mr. Kaiba Sir! How can I help?” The security officer came to stand to attention, not prepared for such an early arrival. “You can help by first cleaning yourself up!” Mokuba barked, pointing at a mustard stain on his front pocket. He panicked, quickly reaching for some napkins and turned his back to the furious heir, brushing it off as much as he could. “AND THEN, unlock the command centre here for me and my friends, will you?” Mokuba calmly requested, assuming that Emfur and the others where behind him. The officer, still jarred, scrambled to the computer and deactivated the security door on the right-hand side of the lobby.

“T-there you go…” The officer stop, noticing that Mokuba had left for it without even saying a word thereafter.

Pacing though rooms, Mokuba escorted himself to the Control Room: the same one that Seto used during Battle City to monitor for the God Cards. It was much like a lecture hall at a large university, but with the stage area replaced with a giant monitor, and the student seating replaced with desks and computer terminals: All dark as the system had been abandoned for years. Mokuba hoped up the stairs, bounding two at a time to save time, to the uppermost platform, where at the centre was the main control console. Swinging himself into the seat, he reached for a glass case with warning tape around it. “WARNING: Master Power Switches” It read beside it. Flipping the case, Mokuba lifted up two bright toggle switches.

The room began to hum, as the hundreds of monitors in the room began to light up, before the titanic monitor at the front sprang up with “KAIBA CORPORATION MASTER OS” in bold cyan lettering.

“I’m going to catch these bastards. Nobody screws us around and gets away with it!” Mokuba thought as he ploughed through the antiquated start-up procedure of pressing buttons and twisting dials.

Upstairs on the forty-second floor was the vacant office of Seto Kaiba, just beginning to get the day’s first rays of sunshine to illuminate the contempory layout. His desk was a giant bulk of metal, with a sophisticated holographic computer and communications system integrated into it. A flash of light appeared from nowhere on the edge of the desk, which spat out incandescent symbols of an arcane nature, before spitting out a gold and amber cube with a triangular-cut corner. Parallel angular patterns on the edge shon like sunlight for fleeting moments as the power that had displaced it back onto Earth dissipated.

Sluggaholic · July 13, 2016

The soft sound of the rain thrumming against the car's roof had nearly put Emfur to sleep. After all, it wasn't everyday that you witnessed a full-scale robbery-- gunshots, wounded, and all-- and escaped to tell the tale. Truth be told, he was completely bushed-- wiped out. The only thing that kept him awake was the fear that at any moment, a car could ram them. It was an illogical fear, but one that'd stayed with him ever since he'd first gotten the news. He could never hope to get a good rest in a car. Rest his eyes, maybe, but sleep? No. He swallowed, and from around his neck, he pulled his necklace into view. It wasn't much unlike the one Seto Kaiba had of himself and his little brother as kids, but alas this necklace was clear-- showing the card sealed within. The Legendary Dragon Vanquisher. That card always brought a smile to his face. Leaning back into his seat, he let himself relax a little more. By this time, he could see the KaibaCorp tower rising into view, its unique design standing out well from the dull, grey skyscrapers that surrounded it like a mob.

"Hm. A company building that I've never been to before." Emfur muttered, an amused tone finding its way into his voice. "What a bother. Ah, Mokuba wait for me!" In the short time that he'd been musing, they'd already arrived at the building, Mokuba leaving immediately. Emfur quickly climbed out of the car as well, before a thought crossed his mind that might as well have been an afterthought. Turning to Dextrio, he nodded to the old man. Immediately, he took it around the corner. Dextrio would follow along in due time. He had ways of making sure people knew who he was, and who he worked for.

And it seemed that Mokuba knew these ways as well. Emfur didn't say it, but he was more than impressed with Mokuba's ability to command his subordinates. The instant that word crossed his mind, however, Emfur shooed the thoughts away. Those weren't the thoughts of a benevolent company owner, like himself. He needed to think more... friendly-like. Kid friendly, even. Emfur completely ignored the frantic guard, his mind instead on following Mokuba to... wherever he was headed. He could tell this was not a place normal people were allowed. He was flattered. And to say he wasn't surprised to find the backrooms so mazelike would be just about right. His own building was like this-- both the one he lived in, and the one he worked in. At the thought of that building, he thought of his flat, south of the Schwartzwald. And of his mother. He wondered how the old woman was doing these days.

"I ought to visit her. Hm." He rested his chin between his thumb and index finger, mind drifting back, temporarily to those more... calm times. He'd almost let his mind fade all the way into dreamland before a stern clap on the shoulder brought him back to reality. Dextrio. "Thank you, Dextrio." He offered the old chauffeur an annoyed look. "But next time, a little less forceful, please." Dextrio simply rolled his eyes, and gestured for his master to follow Mokuba. After a low grumble, Emfur did as was suggested. And he was glad he was. This back room that Mokuba had led them to... it was... extraordinary. Emfur's eyes darted from this screen, to that screen, to that one, and that one, and that one. It was a literal smorgasbord of screens-- them filling up the entire wall, creating a massive, intimidating set. "...Amazing..." He muttered, standing behind Mokuba, admiring the screens. And as Mokuba got down to business, setting the massive machine up, he was even more impressed with Mokuba's ability to operate the set like it was a child's toy.

"Mokuba... how old did you say you were again?" He inquired, eyes finding it impossible to focus on any one monitor at a time. "I've seen skilled technicians with less ability to control technology like this than you..." Dextrio, silent as always, stood vigilant-- a sentinel.

◇ Void ◇ · July 13, 2016

“Fifteen.” Mokuba simply said, not turning away from the console. The front screen changed, turning to a simple GUI with various programs. Mokuba took control of a dusty mouse, scrolling the pointer to the one that read “Shadowplay Engine” and double-clicked, causing the entire screen to turn black.

“Initialising City Render…” It then read, as thousands of small dots began to render themselves on the screen in seemingly random positions, before then lines streamed themselves between them, compiling a birds-eye view of Domino City in wireframe. Pings began to flood the screen as red dots across the city, concentrating in metropolitan public spaces, like the City Square and Kame Game.

“This is the Shadowplay Network. It was the original operating system that KaibaCorp developed to manage duel disks during Battle City. Monitors everything, from monsters summoned to counters counted, and etcetera. We still keep it operational in the background in case the current OS falls apart.” He commented. “It also tracks the GPS signal these disks transmit. Now, because this system is older, it hasn’t been updated to follow some laws regarding data protection: Particularly how long we keep that GPS Data. So, I think I can rewind the system to a few hours ago…”

The wireframe shifted around the city to the Chateau, while a little clock in the corner began to wind back to the incident a couple of hours ago, until about 6 red pings where identified. “Gotha!” Mokuba chirped, highlighting the pings with a drag-click, before navigating into an options menu and double-clicking Live Tracking. The screen shot around the map, until it focused in on the main motorway, where the six pings where closely packed together, moving along towards Domino City’s commercial sector.

Yami Tomoya found himself sitting in the back passenger seat of an old Range Rover, eyes shut, resting back and the Codex of Shadows open in his lap. Tilda sat in the front passenger seat, adjusting a new, plain duel disk with padding to reduce the strain on her arm, while a random Rare Hunter drove silently. “How do you expect us to get inside? They’ll lock the place down as soon as they see us, won’t they? I know for sure they have me on file.” Tilda asked Yami Tomoya, hinting at her involvement with the R.A Project a few years back.

Yami Tomoya opened a single eye, raising the eyebrow above it.. “I’ll go in first. The security staff won’t have deactivated this mortal’s Pass yet, so I’ll get to the vault. Then you’ll storm in.”

“And if something goes wrong?”

“It won’t.”

Sluggaholic · July 13, 2016

"Younger than me..." Emfur muttered, rubbing his chin. Well, it's not as if he should be entirely surprised. After all, this was the younger brother of the infamous Seto Kaiba-- dueling and business extraordinaire. He supposed it was only natural that Mokuba would be so smart: he had a lot to live up to in case anything had ever happened to Seto Kaiba. Speaking of the man, where was he? He should've been there with Mokuba at the party. Was he simply too busy with management to bother? Or, was something else up? Curious, Emfur knew that if he was sitting in this room, he'd get nowhere. He'd have to look about for himself. Maybe ask that guardsman the best places around. See if he couldn't weasel his way into this thing or that. When Emfur's mind was brought back to the present, Dextrio was giving him a quizzical look. That man always could tell when something was up. Emfur tapped the pocket which held his phone, relaying a secret message to Dextrio. Should anything come up, he should call him. The old butler nodded.

"You handle this front, Mokuba. The people are generally the best people to ask about these things." He said, as he turned to the door. "I'll be back after asking people around town. Dextrio's got my number. If anything comes up, feel free to have him call me. Dextrio," he turned to his butler on last time before slipping out the door. "while I'm gone, you're to treat Mokuba as your master. Advise him as you'd advise me, and if he asks for anything get it for him." The old butler sighed, but nodded, showing he understood. Nodding back, Emfur then took his leave. After walking back the way they'd came, Emfur then decided that these back rooms were, indeed, important, but that guard'd know more. "Time to find things out myself..." Emfur muttered, stepping back into the lobby.

He made a beeline towards the guardsman, and when he reached him, he cleared his throat. "Hello there. I was just wondering, guard..." he looked around the vacant lobby, unimpressed. "Where is everyone? I understand that this is a company building, but I'd expect paparazzi to be surrounding this building, even with the drizzle outside. After all, Seto Kaiba's a world-reknowned name. Legend, even." Cocking a thin eyebrow at the guard, Emfur continued. "Something didn't... happen to him, did it?"

EpicBoss99 · July 13, 2016

It was around the evening time when the disappointed Yoichi arrived back at his house. He was extremely heartbroken that nobody was a the park, and so he had to head home early. He locked his front door as soon as he got home and ran straight into his room. He pulled his disk out of his backpack and plugged it into his computer. Yoichi then began to browse the internet for cool modifications that he could make to his disk. "Maybe I could add a speaker for music or something!" Yoichi said to himself, checking around the internet to see if anyone did the same thing. When he found a way to do such a thing, he wrote it down in his to-do list. Afterwards, Yoichi saw one person that was working on a device that would connect with a motorcycle so that a person could play on the highway. "Heh, card games on motorcycles, huh? Doesn't sound like it would work out...cool idea though!" Yoichi deduced, shoving the last slice of pizza in his mouth while continuing to see new ideas that people had. About thirty minutes later, Yoichi ran into a news article showing the Rare Hunter that he defeated being arrested along with the one that his father shot in the arm. "Man, all this crazy stuff started to happen ever since I went to that weird party thing..!" Yoichi realized. "At least i've been able to duel more people, I guess!" After getting bored of that, Yoichi plugged in his external hard drive and started to play video games for a long period of time.

◇ Void ◇ · July 13, 2016

“Right. I have your number on my records, so keep your phone on if I need you.” Mokuba replied. Focusing on the monitor, Mokuba felt tense as he realised the pings where heading for KaibaCorp.

The security officer jumped around to face Emfur swiftly, giving a sigh of relief as he realised that Mokuba was not with him “Sorry, I thought for a second that Mr. Kaiba was with you.” He took a second to recompose himself, sitting back into his chair. “This place doesn’t run twenty-four seven. Offices are closed between 8PM and 7AM; the press won’t start gathering for another hour I’d say, so Mr. Kaiba was smart enough to come in early with you to avoid the press. And for well, I was told not to talk about this, but since you seem to know Mr. Kaiba there… his big brother, the CEO, had a major accident. Been in hospital for days now. Not the first time either.” He answered nonchalantly.

The Rare Hunters cars where now in the heart of the commercial centre of the city, where the KaibaCorp tower was in sight a few blocks away. Yami Tomoya felt something go through the ether in front of him, like a bolt of lightning in pure darkness, and opened his eyes without warning, slamming the Codex of Shadows shut. “What in the...?” He murmured to himself, leaning forwards so his head reached the space between the front seats. Tilda turned around after hearing the Codex slam shut. “Something wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know is not exactly the answer we need from our new leader” She spat back, insubordination in her tone. Yami Tomoya was not impressed, giving an intimidating ‘death stare’ with both his physical eyes and the glowing symbol on his forehead. “I felt something. Must have come from the top of the tower.” Yami Tomoya responded back, pointing at the extended red and yellow precipice of the KaibaCorp Tower. “Change of plans.” He reached into his jeans’ pocket, extracting an identification card to hand over. “You’re going to the vault instead.”

“What? I…”

“Do as you’re told, Tilda.” Yami Tomoya interupted, not letting her get a word in edgeways. “Now, punch me.” He asked without warning. “WHAT?!" She exclamated. “Punch me.” Yami Tomoya repeated with displeased undertone. Tilda just stared as the metaphorical cogs in her head grinded to a halt. All the meanwhile, the driver was buried deep into his seat, avoiding the conflict at any cost by focusing on the empty roads ahead.

“I SAID PUNCH ME!” Yami Tomoya barked aloud, with strong violence in his voice, and Tilda swung without warning so not to suffer any consequences. Striking Yami Tomoya directly on the left side of his head, he reeled back into the back seating area: lip bleeding, while a good portion of the side of his head was now either bruising or had splatter on it. “WHY IN THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU MAKE ME DO THAT?!” Tilda cried, cringing both fear for magical reprocussions, along with the compounded pain of punching with the hand with an already bad wrist.

“Because…” Yami Tomoya paused, taking a sample of blood from his lip to taste with his tounge, with a sinister smile on his face. As he did, the Eye of Wadjt faded from his forehead. “…Because I need to look like I’ve just been beaten up by some Rare Hunters.”

Sluggaholic · July 14, 2016

Emfur's eyes narrowed, and the pink glinted in the light from the ceiling. "I'm surprised you speak of your superior so casually. That's a death flag if I've ever seen one." Emfur sighed, and shook his head. It couldn't be helped, as unfortunate as that was. He was really looking forward to meeting the one and only Seto Kaiba. After all, they both had similar stories. Maybe he could've given him some tips on how to maximize the profit he'd gain from changing over from military to card making. Of course, there was no guarantee of profit, but if KaibaCorp had done so well, then his own company could do so as well, or so he figured. Remaining silent for a moment, Emfur stared at his fingernails as thoughts ran rampant through his mind. He was wondering what-- exactly-- could've happened to Seto Kaiba that'd result in the man being sent to the hospital. For weeks, even. Emfur narrowed his eyes. He wasn't a detective. He shouldn't bother with things like this that didn't pertain to him.

"How did Seto get to his office anyways?" He thought out loud, not knowing he'd done so. "Stairs seem too tiring, and an elevator seems to obvious. I wouldn't mind seeing it myself. Must have a killer view." After a moment of silence, Emfur's eyes lit up as he realized that he'd been speaking aloud. A light pink made its way to his cheeks as they burned with embarrassment. "My apologies. Don't mistake my words for having any malintent-- as a fellow business owner, I'm not interested in espionage. Take it more as... burning curiosity." He was silent for a moment as he stared outside once more, watching the slate rain splatter onto the pavement below.

"Is there any way I'd be able to be let into his office?" He looked back to the guard, staring him in the eye, to show he was serious. "I doubt you'd get in trouble with your superiors, if I spoke on your behalf. I know it's nosy, but as I said: this is curiosity. Not espionage." In the back of his mind, though, Emfur was sure that he'd never be let in the Kaiba office unless he was specifically called for to enter. Or, of course, he snuck in. But he was no sneak-thief. He'd never allow himself to fall to such a low level.

Dova · July 14, 2016

A black limousine pulled up a block away from Kaibacorp tower, parking neatly between two other cars. It wasn’t exactly a normal thing to see on a day like this, but then again, there was nothing particularly special about it either. Black all over, with no eloquent or even simple designs inside. The windows weren’t even tinted that much. Those which actually took an interest in it looked away a few moments later, with nothing holding their gaze there.

A few minutes later, the vehicle finally stopped idling, and almost immediately three doors on it opened; two in the front and one further down near the end. The people which came out were virtually identical, wearing black jackets, grey jeans, and similarly coloured shoes. The shadows created by their long-fronted caps combined with high turtlenecks on their tops made it difficult to get a good look at their face without seeming awkward, and their large sunglasses did nothing to prevent this. The only difference between the two who came out of the front and the third was black hair peeking out from the top of the cap of the latter as opposed to the brown of the first.

After meeting together on the side of the car, the three people started walking towards the huge building created and owned by Kaibacorp. While they looked like they had a clear idea of where they were going, the few who turned to look back these man could see nothing strange about them, other than their similar attire. One had his hands in his pockets, another had his arms tightly around his chest, and the third let his arms swing casually. Nobody looked a third time.

Toshiro smiled under the articles of clothing covering most of his face. This was almost too easy. The fake IDs programmed into the Kaibacorp system had been tested earlier today, and nobody was on the lookout for him, as it had been months since his last great escapade. This was merely a less than legal entrance and exit if all went well, and if the opportunity arose to take something, well, all the better for them. Although, he had to admit, this wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the slip he had been told about early this morning...

Toshiro had been shutting down most of his system when Daniel, his secretary, had led in a ruffian who looked somewhat familiar to crime head, although he could not be directly placed. Perhaps a mercenary who had been involved in a lesser scheme. Daniel had nodded at Toshiro, then left the room, prompting the other man to speak.

“Ah heard ya had been lookin’ for some info on tha stuff that happened earlier.” Toshiro winced at his drawl. Clearly someone who didn’t care how they sounded. “And ah may know somethin’ ‘bout that, as, ya see, ah was originally part of that.” The man waggled his eyebrows at Toshiro, causing another, less pronounced wince. “Ya willin’ ta pay?”

Toshiro scribbled out a check, then slid it forward towards the now seated guest. He snatched out for it, but Toshiro held on to it for another moment, while adding, “As long as you get to point.”

“Ahright.” The other man placed the flimsy piece of paper into a breast pocket then continued, “Some guy went and asked ah bunch of us ta go on ah job. Heck, ah was wasted, but tha message got thru’. Goes by tha name of PaniK ‘round these parts. Wanted revenge or somethin’, both last night and this one. Ya must’ve heard of him.”

“That I have.” Not a wince this time, merely a tightening of the jaw. “How can I trust this information?”

“Mah friends just happen tah have ah calling card.” It was his turn to chuck something across the desk, although this was a piece of plastic. Settling to face him, Toshiro looked down at the writing. Men for hire, with a barely legible number beneath it. Brilliant.

“Do they know you’re here?”

“Nah, wouldn’t tell them unless ah have ta.”

“Good.”

The gunshot had been incredibly quiet compared to the loud voice it had just silenced. A look of confusion had started to spread across his face before the bullet had impacted and lodged itself in his skull. He started to topple forward, but was caught by Daniel, who had entered just as the shot was made. The secretary grimaced up at Toshiro, who was putting the recently draw Beretta away. Egyptian manufacture. Fitting.

“Did you have to kill him?”

“Not necessarily, but it was one of the easier options,” Toshiro replied, before standing up and moving around his desk. “Now, it’s time we arranged an operation to meet this person.” He chuckled.

“Sir?”

“Oh, I just never expected PaniK of something like this. The whispers I had heard of him didn’t put him in that good of light. I would’ve expected the Schroeders before something like this.” Another chuckle. “Most likely someone using him as cover. But whatever, I would like to meet him. A two-headed organization means twice as many people to take down, and twice as much power behind it. And, considering another operation was mentioned…”

...it would probably be in Kaibacorp tower. Finishing of the sentence in his mind, he was struck at the ludicrousy of the whole affair. He was trusting the information of someone who claimed to have been drunk when he had received it, and hadn’t even confirmed it with the given contacts to keep suspicion low. Then again, he was planning to give this place a visit just like the chateau, so why not now, even under the guise of a guess.

Toshiro glanced at the slight bulge under his jacket, just under his breast pocket. Considering the sight of Duel Disks last time, he had been sure to bring it to this event. You never knew, after all. It might not have been necessary, as both of his bodyguards were also very skilled when it came to the game. At least, they liked to say so, and with their motivations he was inclined to believe them. One was working for him while his family was put under protection...from Toshiro’s own secret forces. The other was in it for his ever increasing paycheck, but he was cheap and careful, and so never used enough to discover that some of his cash was counterfeit.

The building looming ahead of them forced him to settle on his ever spiralling thoughts. Even since the start of his research into the Codex his mind had never been still. Coincidence? Toshiro certainly thought so, as he believed in the supernatural only to the point of how much they could do for him. Short-sighted? Maybe, but it had gotten him this far.

And it might get him further.

◇ Void ◇ · July 14, 2016

“Sorry sir, I can’t let you in there.” The officer affirmed. “Not even Mr. Kaiba is allowed into Mr. Kaiba… Uh, Mr. Seto Kaiba’s office, without a good reason. Can I help with anything…?” The Guard stopped abruptly as the loud screeching of tires echoed though the cavern-like lobby, followed by a barrage of screaming. “What in earth?!” he exclaimed, leaping around the edge of the security desk and jogging to the glass panel doors.

The officer’s tired, aged eyes widened in a mixture of horror and surprise at what he witnessed: A young man, bloodied and beaten, being thrown out of a moving vehicle and into the pavement besides the building. “Jesus Christ! Are you ok!?” He shouted, shooting though the doors, before jogging down the concrete stairs at pace. Yami Tomoya laid on the pavement motionless while the Range Rover accelerated away and around the corner, screeching the tires as it maintained grip on the slippery roads. Yami Tomoya’s cloak has been removed and screwed up beside him, to seem like he had just dragged it off a hunter while being thrown out.

“Ugghhh…” He moaned, rolling over onto his back, reeling his torso upright cautiously. The black jacket and jeans he wore where moistened by the wet ground, blurring the blood stains on them to match his freshly-imprinted head wound. He cringed, gritting his teeth, while his right hand clawed onto the spot where Tilda had punched him, acting away to seem he was in pain when in fact the Spirit of the Codex probably had never experienced such a sensation: It was just a very good performer.

“Are you ok!?” The officer reached him, and offered his hands to help Yami Tomoya up, who played along, offering the hand he had just had on his wound, while the other cradled the Codex of Shadows tightly. Yami Tomoya's eyes turned from confusion to terror, acting like he had just come to his sences. “P-Please, get me somewhere safe! They might come back at any moment to kill me!” He cried to him, putting on a face of panic. “Okay, okay! Hold on.” The officer complied, putting his arm around Tomoya’s back to help him limp up the stairs and into the building.

“Quick! There’s a First Aid case under desk!” The officer asked Emfur from across the entrance as he re-entered the building with Yami Tomoya.

Sluggaholic · July 14, 2016

Emfur sighed, an annoyed grin growing on his face. He'd figured as much. Well, there wasn't anything he could do about it now. He might as well try and--

"Woah!" He cried, as he was forced to slide to his right to dodge being hit by the leaping guard, who practically sprung from his post like a frightened bunny, as he dashed after what appeared to be an injured young man. "What in the Wald...?" He muttered, his accent slipping through, him pronouncing his 'W' like a 'V'. He bit his tongue afterwards, to tame its wild nature. He'd have to watch himself. He winced at the pain, but swallowed it. He wasn't ever going to truly get used to it, but at least he wouldn't cry like he used to when his father had taught him the trick as a child. Lots of things... his father had taught him lots of things, hadn't he? How to appear composed when completely at someone else's mercy, how to manage a multi-billion dollar industry, how to (literally) hold one's tongue, and first aid. And more, of couse. His father always loved teaching.

And it seemed as if his father's teachings would finally come in handy after so many years of being languid knowledge. "Fine. But don't assume you can order me around..." Emfur spat back quietly, though if he would be honest with himself for but a moment, he'd realize just how much he was looking forward to this. That man seemed to have had some kind of injury to the head. Probably nothing major-- if he was just picked up by the guard and seemed conscious-- but still. It would always be good to check. Concussions were no laughing matter after all.

"There's plenty in here other than aid, guard..." He muttered as he tossed aside some rather risque magazines, and he got to the goods: a silver box with the staple, recognizable red cross in the middle. "There we go." He nodded, and quickly got to his feet. Turning on a dime, he quickly jogged to the guard, careful to handle the silver box with care. "Guard. Set him down on one of the couches. And tell me what his injury is. What it looks like." Rolling up his pristine white sleeves, Emfur fiddled with the first aid's box's clamp. "If he needs stitches, I'll be sure to administer them. Don't worry, both of you," he let his eyes drift from the guard to the injured man. A wave of deja vu washed over Emfur, but he ignored it for the time being. He needed to worry about this man right here. "my hands are as steady as a doctor's blade."

Dova · July 16, 2016

“What in earth?”

That was certainly one way of describing it. A vehicle just pulled up, dumped somebody, then drove away. Why? They could easily be followed if any witnesses got onto the police fast enough, and this certainly wouldn’t be a ransom drop, as the speed of the dumping land rover indicated a rushed action and didn’t leave time for collecting anything. Unless it had been already delivered, of course.

As he neared the building, quickening his pace at the sight of this event, Toshiro got a closer look at the person who was now being attended to. While his face, in fact, most of his body, was badly beaten up. The face rang a bell. Thinking back, he remembered the man standing by at the chateau, observing the people moving forward into the gallery. But hadn’t he been taken by Rare Hunters, tied onto their vehicle? If so, what was he doing back here?

Gesturing to his companions, they stopped moving just far enough away to catch threads of the conversation. The two bodyguards turned with their backs towards the incident, to look as though they were just standing around, giving Toshiro a clear line of sight directly towards the unfolding events. Not that it did much, the victim merely seemed to be regaining his sense. By his erratic actions, it was evident he certainly wasn’t going to be making sense any time soon.

Toshiro was struggling to come to a sensible answer himself. What reason would they have for taking him and dropping him back less than 24 hours later? There surely hadn’t been enough time since the whole disaster at last night’s event to issue a ransom demand, let alone for it to be delivered. Perhaps a mistaken kidnapping, and they had meant to take someone else. More questions arose. Why didn’t they just keep him as a material advantage, and why would they have wanted to take someone in the first place? Toshiro rubbed his forehead. He simply didn’t have enough information yet.

Lifting up his hand, the crime lord froze. The recently disposed man was being helped up, which allowed Toshiro to get a better look at him, or, more specifically, at the clothes he was wearing. Those looked nothing like what Toshiro remembered that man wearing, and even if he was at fault in terms of his recollection, those were certainly not formal clothes. What, swap his clothes? What for? These certainly weren’t bad, and the other ones were surely beaten up after his struggle before being kidnapped.

Toshiro grimaced. Something was afoot here. This was definitely above the rumors he had heard of PaniK. Had he created false impressions? Or was he right in his assumption that someone else was on top?

◇ Void ◇ · July 16, 2016

Yami Tomoya played along beautifully, continuing the illusion he was a dazed and confused Tomoya. He stumbled himself onto one of the lobby’s black leather sofas with the help of the Security Guard, who looked strained to carry most of his weight. “Thanks. Now, let’s have a look at that head, if you don’t mind.” He asked, carefully putting his the tips of his fingers of each hand on the top of Tomoya’s scruffy brown hair and freshly-shaven chin respectfully. Yami Tomoya cautiously turned his head left without question, revealing the wound on his right side: A sizable flesh wound, but not deep enough to require stitches. The area around it was already swelling up, as his body flooded the area with platelets to prevent infection.

“Hmm. I think we won’t need stitches” The Guard said to Emfur. He turned his attention to Yami Tomoya’s hands, which where convincingly shaking with fear, but otherwise where just had the occasional red scratch lines as they clutched tightly onto the robe-covered Codex. The guard knelt down to Tomoya’s eye level, clicking his fingers to get what little attention he had. “I’ve seen you around here. What’s your name sir?” The officer spoke softly, trying not to panic him.

“T-Tomoya. I-I work for the P-P-Pegasus Centre…” Yami Tomoya shuddered out, perfectly imitating Tomoya’s normal voice. “Right. Tomoya, do you think you can walk a little bit, until we get you somewhere safer?” Replying back, Yami Tomoya just stared at him with dilated eyes, nodding three times. The officer was completely convinced with the fear in those blue eyes, and therefore helped Yami Tomoya back onto his feet, shouldering a sizable portion of his weight and stepping himself and his ‘patient’ to the elevator. The doors slid open, with them sliding in as well. Assuming that Enfur was right behind them with the medical case, the officer tapped the button marked floor 42.

“Doors closing” The tannoy announced as the 2, silvery metal panels sealed the elevator, before the feeling of motion was felt as it accelerated upwards. “We’re going to get you something to calm your nerves. The last thing you need is a bunch of cops quizzing you.” The elevator dinged, before sliding the doors open. The pair slowly moved out and around the corner, into a plush executive lobby of glass tables, leather sofas and exotic potted plants. Passing by the empty secretary desks, the guard reached into his pocket and extracted a small chain of keys, using the same hand to slide the key for the large wooden doors in front of them.

A golden plaque was affixed to the left door; “Seto Kaiba, Chief Executive Officer of KaibaCorp”

Sliding the key in, the lock disengaged and the doors flung open to Seto Kaiba’s office. Yami Tomoya was escorted to one of the leather sofas in the casual seating area at the centre of Seto’s office, being laid down cautiously. “There you go.” The officer reassured him, turning his attention to a glass drinks cabinet in the corner of the room. “Mr. Kaiba doesn’t allow alcohol on the premises, except in his own office. I don’t think he would mind seeing one glass or two disappear in the name of medical attention.” He chuckled, extracting a crystal decanter filled with a clear brown beverage, along with 2 plain whisky glasses, beginning to pour a single shot into each.

“What is that then?” Yami Tomoya thought, noticing a small golden cube on Seto’s otherwise empty desk.

Sluggaholic · July 16, 2016

Ah. So that's why he remembered that man. He was the same man who'd announced that they were to be heading into that hall. Most interesting. He'd been kidnapped by the Rare Hunters, if he recalled, instead of Mokuba. Perhaps, then, they'd meant to grab Mokuba instead? But if they had... then why'd they just drop him off here? He was a witness, after all. It would've made more sense to kill him, or keep him hostage in case they could use him for an exchange. Sure, this might just be a fear tactic, but to have two in a row, just hours a part? What, exactly, was going on here... Though Emfur would willingly follow, he felt a chill run down his spine as he was forced into a tight space with himself, the injured, and the guard. He felt that, at any moment, something could go wrong. He felt tense. Perhaps something much worse than he thought was afoot in this building.

As the elevator rose up the building, he got a better look at Tomoya now. He hadn't noticed before, but he'd certainly had a change of clothes since the kidnapping. A tactic, maybe? At least they seemed clean... besides the muddy spots on them. Emfur opened his mouth to question Tomoya on his change of clothes, but before he could utter a word, a ding chimed. It seemed they reached their destination... and that Emfur would have his wish come true. "Well well well..." He muttered, a small grin growing on his face as he read the golden plaque. "Looks like I'm going to get to see the room anyways. Though," he glanced at the guard and Tomoya as they went ahead to the doors. "I wish the visit was under less pertinent matters."

While the guard went ahead and poured himself and Tomoya shots (he wondered if THAT was the real reason he'd been brought up here), Emfur strolled up to the large bay windows that overlooked the rest of the city from Kaiba's office. The natural light that shined into the room was pleasant enough, even on a grey day like today. Emfur crossed his arms as he stared out, letting his gaze slowly travel from rooftop to rooftop, taking in all that he could see. It was interesting to watch the city's spectrum-- from the left to the right, poor to the rich, respectfully-- and watch it turn from docks to urban. It was a magnificent sight indeed. Even his own building didn't quite have such an amazing view. "The lucky bastard..." He muttered under his breath, an annoyed grin growing on his face. "What. A. Bother." With that statement and a sigh, Emfur quickly turned from the view, and rushed over to the injured Tomoya and guard. "Done pouring shots, I see. Good." Opening the first aid kit once more (not having any trouble with the clamp this time) he searched for the cotton swabs. The gauze was easy enough to see, but he wanted to address the wound immediately. Grabbing a sterile towel, he mopped up the blood around the wound quickly, and handed it off to the guard. "Take this and toss it out. We have two more, and I don't think we want to replace this used towelette right away, and we definitely don't want to contaminate the others." Taking the alcohol next, he poured it, carefully, onto the cotton swab.

"Brace yourself." He whispered to Tomoya before applying the swab to the injured area directly. He knew it would sting to have something applied to a fresh wound, especially alcohol, but he'd apply that first. Generally, his father told him, it was better to use hydrogen peroxide, but if you didn't have any, alcohol would have to do. "Oh, and guard," he turned to the man in question. "you'll need to get Mokuba to buy some hydrogen peroxide for your medical kit. It's missing, or has been used." After he was finished, he then handed the guard the used cotton swab, which was brown and red from having been applied directly to an open wound. Next, would be the gauze. He worked quickly, but carefully, wrapping the gauze all around Tomoya's head, whilst moving his hair out of the way, so it wouldn't A.) get in his wound, or B.) disrupt the gauze and let germs get in.

"Done and done." He grunted, using his hand to wipe up the excess blood, which he then shook into Kaiba's garbage. His hand was still a little wet when he went to the window and begun staring out. "Before you thank me, I'd like to know your name. You look like someone I've met before, but I doubt you'd be him. He was-- he's gone." If he wasn't Tomoya, then it would be best to not mention that he'd be kidnapped. No need to frighten a bystander.

- - = = + = = - -

Different Streets, Same City

"Today's a cold day." Flint grunted, staring up at the steel clouds above, whose menacing cover was just a bluff. The only thing that dropped from the cloud cover above was a slight drizzle, leaving a haze of moisture in the air that wet his white car outside. He'd had it imported from America-- a Ford Fusion-- since he was too attached to his old home to just let it go. "Still can't wrap my head 'round it'." He sighed, running a hand over his bald head. "Dat I moved from de Motor City to de technological capital of the world. Jus' 'bout, anyways." He sniffed, and ran his hand on his chin, a scratching sound echoing throughout his empty garage. He was already in a glum mood from the news this morning-- Rare Hunters, attacks, a kid shot in the foot and more-- but this? This was just a kick in the nads. His frown deepened, and he let out an annoyed grunt as he got to his feet. Two more cars-- one his, and one he was working on-- were in the garages adjacent to his own. He'd left his car outside yesterday for old time's sake. Now he'd have to wash it again. Just great.

"Screw dat." He muttered, pulling the keys from his pocket, and pressing unlock. "I'm gon' go get it washed. I ain't fixin' to work so hard 'gain after my work was ruin'd." He rolled his shoulder, hit the 'Close' button outside his main garage, and went and hopped into his car. "Now, where was dat shop 'gain?" He muttered, closing his eyes a moment to recall the last time he'd gone and visited his main car wash. "...Gotit." Jamming his key in, he pulled into reverse, backed out, and drove off into the hazy rain. If he recalled correctly, he'd have to head through the same neighborhood in which that kid who was attacked lived. Maybe he'd stop by, give his condolences, or something. Being shot in the foot's not fun. He didn't know the family, but it would be the neighborly thing to do. After all, if it weren't for the fact he was a mechanic, he'd probably live close to the kid.

Plus, even though Flint was a grump, he loved meeting fans. And this might've been a chance to meet one.

◇ Void ◇ · July 17, 2016

Yami Tomoya twinges as Emfur treated the wound that Tilda had purposefully inflicted upon him, while the guard gave him his shot of Whiskey. “Should null the pain a bit.” The officer said. Cautiously, he took a sip: barley managing to get a few drops down as his hands shook. Yami Tomoya’s face immediately turned from hesitation to disgust: “Bleh! I hate the stuff.” He moaned, scraping the top of his tongue with his upper teeth to get rid of the taste, making Emfur’s fitting of the gauze a bit trickier. The officer smiled, taking the empty glass and slotting it into his empty one.

“At least we know your sense of taste is working fine.” He quipped, returning to the cabinet to put them back.

When Emfur asked the question of who he was, Yami Tomoya’s heart skipped a beat, thinking he had been rattled. His thoughts turned to subduing them both and taking the Cube: he could pull it off: he had the Codex’s spells and the life force to fuel it, but knew the risk of compromising the mission that Tilda and the other hunters where performing was too great. Without those cards, extracting the souls and darkness he needed would be torturous. He’d have to continue the charade and reinforce his faux identity, so, Yami Tomoya devised a collection of answers for the inconsistences, before assembling them into a carefully orchestrated sentence.

“I-I said. Tomoya. Tomoya Yagi. The hunters… they took me from the event at the Cha-Cha…. The event at Pegasus’ home, ok.” He gave a second to pause, composing himself. “They took me to some room, told me to change into these, and then they threw me into that car. Next thing I know, I’m on the pavement. I have no idea why… they did get physical, so maybe they wanted to get rid of any evidence?

All the meanwhile, four Rare Hunters and Tilda where huddled around the security panel of a gararge door behind the back of KaibaCorp. Tilda held Tomoya’s identification card and slid it once though the magnetic slot, igniting a green light. The doors shuddered as they were wheeled upwards by a loud motor, with the Hunters ducking under as it was half-way open, finding themselves in a underground warehouse loading bay, filled with shelves of dusty shipping crates, battered boxes and shiny shrink wrap.

They blurred across the asphalt and onto the upper concrete loading platform to the next door, which was much more sophisticated: Heavy steel with reinforced locking bars. Tilda strides towards the lock behind the others and slipped the card in again. A little LCD monitor popped out, along with a number pad. “Drat…” She murmured, realising that Yami Tomoya had not disclosed the fact they would need a security code: Maybe it was not on Tomoya’s surface memories?

However she was quickly relieved when she turned to the back of the card, where below the magnetic strip was a piece of masking tape with a six-digit code written in biro pen. With the pin tapped in with her blood-red nails, the door slid open. Down a ramp, the Rare Hunters where now in the R&D department of KaibaCorp, following a contained glass walkway above a huge metal hall.

Looking down, Tilda could observe a series of projects involving Duel Monsters, with engineers monitoring the varying degrees of success. Some involving children, wearing egg-shaped devices on their heads, while another was working on some kind of modified motorcycle. But she was not here to watch, but to rob. Pulling out her phone, she flicked though some shots of the crude map that Yami Tomoya drew, and directed the Hunters around a few corridors to a dead end, where a bank vault door blocked the way. Repeating the lock process once again, with the card sliding and keypad pressing, the door made a dramatic unsealing, with bolts clunked out of their sockets and a big circular handle in the center unwinding, before the entire door reversed into the vault. Their eyes opened wide, as a treasure trove of silvery cases laid out on tables was revealed: Some being open to reveal bundles of rare and powerful cards.

As the others rejoiced, clambering for as many cases as they could carry, Tilda remained level headed, turning around to a shut case on a shelf. Pulling it out, she flipped the tabs to release the top. The case was filled with thousands of cards, with only their backings printed and the front covered with the holographic film and corner authenticity stamp.

“Jackpot” She declared, breaking a smile. “Quickly! Pack as much as you can and get it back to the car!”

SpasmicUnitato · July 18, 2016

Hirai was walking down the sidewalks of Domino City, after the event had ended the previous day, Hirai had to wait for his father to leave. Not exactly how Hirai wanted to spend his afternoon of the previous day, he had to leave while disappointed.

Although the little show that the Rare Hunters put on did humoured him a bit, although they didn't stay long enough for Hirai to get enough joy out of watching them than the amount the boring feel of the actual event. Hirai wanted something fun to do, although there wasn't much. He could go pick on some kids that want to be like some of their favourite duelists, but then again, he might not get that much joy out of it.

Hirai wished that something like the Rare Hunters popping up again would happen, and he also wished they would stay enough so Hirai could get a nice laugh out of whatever they were attempting to do. All this sneaky stuff was boring to watch, if he even could watch it.

Hirai stopped walking for a bit and sat down on a bench near the side walk. It was a normal, boring day. Nothing exciting was happening, nothing that gave him even a hint of joy.

◇ Void ◇ · July 19, 2016

Yami Tomoya focused his thoughts on the cube. The peculiar design only intrigued him more while the energy it radiated entranced him: It felt familiar to him, back from a time when Pharaohs had just begun to rule the land of Egypt. “Ugh… I think I’m…” Yami Tomoya put a hand over his mouth, jumping up from the soft and charging past Emfur, pretending to be looking for a waste bucket to vomit in, bringing him close to Seto’s desk. With eyes focused, Yami Tomoya put his fingers around the Quantum Cube: A decision he would immediately regret.

The Eye of Wadjt ignited on the cut corner. “What the… GRARRAAAHAHHHHHH!” Yami Tomoya screamed as the hand ignited with purple flame, ethereally burning the flesh away from the fingertips to the wrist in an unbearable moment, with pain the Spirit of the Codex could not bear. Legitimately panicking, Yami Tomoya attempted to shake it away: His other hand unable to be used as it cradled the Codex of Shadows. It would be futile as the cube had fused with the deformed flesh.

It was not Tomoya’s skeleton underneath the charred flesh: The flames where not a simple chemical reaction, but the manifestation of some cosmic power, revealing a small portion of the Spirit’s true form: a large, primal claw that appeared to be constructed from bone, adorned with gold bands. His face turn to sheer unbridled anger, and his eyes glowed Incandescent to match the fury of the spirt, all the while screaming in horrific pain. The eye continued to glow until it blinded everyone in the room, with the body of the Quantum Cube also shimmering at an alarming rate, until it reached critical mass. In a single moment, a powerful concussive blast of energy and white fire to expand at an inescapable pace.

The windows where the first to blow, shattering to release an explosive fireball: Unlike if a bomb had been detonated. The room’s furniture shifted, while the knickknacks and decorations where thrown around and shattered like a bull had a field day in a china store. The officer fell down, bashing himself against the cabinet after watching the spectacle in horror, then to the floor motionless. The Quantum Cube dislodged itself with the blast from Yami Tomoya’s revealed hand, blowing him into the corner besides the perilous edge of shattered glass and banging his own head against the wall. The cube’s power faded as it flew away from him: Towards Emfur.

Darkmyre rose from his seat and covered his eyes, as his copy of the Tomoya card: now equipped with the Codex of Shadows, began to spark with similar ethereal power. “Gah! What in Oblivion is happening!?” He demanded an answer from his brother Sol, but he only watched in surprise, unable to convey even a theory to explain the sudden volatility of the Quantum Cube. The sparks where smothered out quickly, Darkmyre using one of the ends of his technoweaved longcoat.

The tower rocked with the power of the explosion, causing the automatic Earthquake protection to activate, as Domino City was situated in a geologically-active region of the country: Fire doors slammed shut and alarms began to ring across the building. Mokuba felt the blast first, his chair rocking and the power supply for the Shadowplay console failing, causing the room to go dark and silent. “S***, what was that?!” Mokuba cried out, leaping from the seat and to the doors. Tilda and the Rare Hunters felt it next, down in the hallways as they moved the briefcases into the Land Rover, which had been reversed into the docking bay entrance. Hunters fell to the floor, dropping cases that spilt out the precious cards: Tilda cradling the blank card case like it was her child. “I think that might be a sign to get out of here! Double-time!” Barking as she took the wheel, while multiple hunters scrambled to pick up the cards from a sheer flat surface, without long nails.

Sluggaholic · July 20, 2016

Emfur didn't like how hesitant 'Tomoya' was in answering his questions, but if what he said was indeed truthful, he wouldn't exactly be able to refute him. After all, he knew for a fact that he too would be a bit shaky after being kidnapped by some strange thugs, not to mention beaten and being stripped. Plus, if they really did want to get rid of evidence, or at least make 'Tomoya' less recognizable, then making him ditch his old clothes would make sense. For ametures, anyways. And looking at the heist that those hunters pulled yesterday, they certainly didn't seem like ametures. Emfur's pink eyes narrowed, honing in on every bit of 'Tomoya's' face. He seemed shifty. Was this really the man who ushered them all in at that party yesterday, or was it someone else entirely...?

Emfur opened his mouth to ask 'Tomoya' another series of questions, hoping to drill the truth out of what he was beginning to think was an impostor, when the man shoved him aside, looking extremely ill. Well, better he toss his lunch into a waste bucket and not onto his outfit. He rather enjoyed having said shirt clean. However, it became very obvious that his shirt wouldn't stay nearly as clean as he'd like for it to, for, instead of charging for the waste bucket by Seto's desk, 'Tomoya' charged for some object on the desk itself-- an action he, the guard, and Emfur would all soon come to regret.

Explosive Artillery

"Was angesagt ist?!" Emfur cried, in his terror slipping back into his native tongue. The ethereal purple light that bathed the room mixed with golden light exuding from the cube which had burnt 'Tomoya'. Along with this, an incandescent light emerged from 'Tomoya' himself, or so Emfur thought, mixing together with the previous two lights to nearly blind him. But, just before the blast which would occur after the cube split from 'Tomoya', Emfur could've sworn he saw something... inhuman which was a part of 'Tomoya', though he couldn't exactly tell what it was. However, he saw that inhuman piece for but a moment, before a blinding light filled his vision, and a concussive blast sent him slamming into the sofa by which he was leaning, having previously been leaning to take care of 'Tomoya'.

"Gyaargh!" He cried, as his body was forcefully slammed into the couch, perhaps saving him a few broken bones. Covering his eyes to prevent further blindness, Emfur loosed another terrified cry, as he was nearly knocked off the couch by a second blast. However, as he lay, sideways, upon the couch, he could've sworn he'd heard a whistling through the ringing in his ears. Luckily for himself, his hands were covering his face, for that whistling grew louder, until it was obvious that it was headed towards himself. And, as a cube-shaped object collided with his open palm, Emfur felt his hand preemptively close around the foreign object, at the moment having no clue as to what it could be.

- - - - - -

The blast rippled through the building, like a stone tossed into pond, until it reached Mokuba and Dextrio, the former of which acted immediately. However, Dextrio was slow on the uptake, letting his mind travel, thinking on where that blast could've come from. He'd trained for situations like this for all 80 years of his life, and though his body was still strong (thanks to more than a few enhancements done by Dextrio's old master), he was still frail in some areas. The mind, was not one of them. His old, grey eyes widened as he realized just where that blast must've come from. He grit his teeth, worry lines making his already wrinkled face more raisin-like. His hand darted to his phone, his thumb then dancing across the number pad until his master's number was present upon the screen.

One ring. Two. Three. No answer. "...Nicht gut..." He muttered to himself, pocketing the phone. Strolling up to Mokuba, he glared down at the young man. "Mr. Kaiba. Can you get the door open, or is it locked?" He had a feeling it was the latter, but if that door opened, he knew exactly where he was headed. To the other Kaiba's office.

- - = = + = = - -

Flint's eyes widened as his car slowed. Far above him, he could see smoke curling from the KaibaCorp tower. And where there was smoke, there was fire. Most likely caused by some kind of explosion. Holy crap. "What in the world...?" He grit his teeth, and floored it, whipping around corners and blowing through stop signs, until he slammed on the brakes, skidding to as top in front of the house: the house where he was sure that kid who was hurt lived. First Pegasus's event was targeted, and now Seto Kaiba's office was attacked? This couldn't have been a coincidence. And if it wasn't... well the closest people with info on what happened at the event last night just happened to be the people he was planning on visiting. What a coincidence.

"You Don't Mess With Me!"

His fist rapped rapidly on Yoichi's family's home's door. He knew he was being rude by knocking so loudly and quickly, but it was an emergency. He needed to talk to the family immediately. He wasn't usually one to be so concerned with the going-ons of the world around him, unless it had to do with him, but with his ties to the underground market no doubt making him a target for police, he'd need to act quick, and show authority he was on their side. He genuinely hoped he wouldn't be a target, but people weren't machines: they were irrational and stupid. That he knew too well.

"C'mon! Open up!" He whispered, desperation in his voice as his eyes drifted back to the KaibaCorp tower. He needed info. Now.

◇ Void ◇ · July 20, 2016

As Emfur would catch the Quantum Cube, the cosmic power within it activated again, though not in the hostile action it had inflicted on a now incapacitated Yami Tomoya, who was skiving away in the corner by the shattered windows, grasping around the wrist where the skeletal gauntlet and flesh met. The world in his eyes would begin to fade away into nothingness, leaving just a white void that was deathly silent.

"Game of the Chronoarcs"

Sol would reach out for Emfur’s player card as it twinkled away into stardust without warning: Not a normal gameplay mechanic for Transdimentional Senet. “Emfur just dropped off the grid.” Sol commented, turning his eyes to Darkmyre as he extinguished the last of Yami Tomoya’s card flames: the Ka bar on it lowered to about half way. “Impossible. The entire board is quantum entangled to that parallel: The only way that any of them could disappear is if they fell into the Void.” The two paused, pondering. “I think Player 3 might have just entered the game.”

"Destiny"

“Don’t worry.” A soft voice emanated from a distance behind Emfur. “You’re not dead.”

Behind Emfur was only a single man, about six foot tall. He looked young, about in his mid-twenties and standing six foot tall. His skin was paler then the average person, with silver eyes that glowed incandescently with a power not beholden to mortals. His hair was layered into two: the front portion being a front of silver hair with a bang sliding down each side of his face down in parallel, and a neat mullet of long, mahogany hair that had symmetrical downward spiking three times on each side, until cutting off at the shoulders. A luminous mark ran under his left eye, depicting the Kanji symbol for LIGHT, and a golden headband ran around his head, just below the silver hairline, bejewelled with a single, amber orb that had the Kanji symbol for DIVINE etched into it.

His attire was beyond futuristic: A closed, lightly chromed trenchcoat that was etched with circuit-board lines that shimmered with a rainbow of colour, not unlike the Quantum Cube’s patterns, then layered with brushed-gold armour pieces. The gorget was golden, embossed with an abstract design that resembled the Emperor’s Key, stretching around the area below the neckline. The pouldrons where sharp, rounded triangles that did not extend much beyond the shoulder, and each had an amber orb in the top of each. The lower half was exposed with the trenchcoat tails going back, exposing coat matching tassets and a yellow fabric loincloth that was decorated with a circular symbol: A central circle, with two sets of three lines running parallel into both the top and bottom, with the middle lines a little longer. White cloth trousers where then layered with polyems that matched the pauldrons, and greaves matching the coat, before a pair of sabatons completed the set.

On his back was a pair of mechanical wings that where about two meters long, where from a set of five chrome protrusions projected each one projected five, feather shaped rays of gold light, sparkling in the pristine, sterile void. Around the waist was a simple leather belt, holding a sword sheath, the handle being an ornate design of gold and ivory.

“You’re not exactly anywhere.” He said, floating closer. “I’m Kana, and welcome to the Void. In very, very simple terms, this place is the physical manifestation of the boundary space between one universe and another. The only things that exist here are the fundamental laws of the multiverse and me.” He spoke again, putting on a friendly smile as he floated closer to Emfur using the light jets that emanated from the wings, putting them into reverse to stop just in front of him.

“You’re probably going to have thousands of questions, but we don’t have the time. It is not safe to keep someone here in the Void unprotected for long, and I can’t do that right now for many complicated reasons. So I’m going to have to make this as swift as I can.” Kana reached out, grabbing the cube for but a second.

“The Cube brought you here, and that may be good or bad, as I don’t know yet who made it or for what purpose. All I know is that it was made using the power of at least two High Cosmic Gods, one of which is perpetrating to be me in a past life. But don’t worry about that, for now you have to deal with that spirt possessing Tomoya.”

Kana closed his eyes, blinding the eye glow and put two of his fingers into the position that they would be when drawing a card, putting them to the cube’s edge. Slowly pulling, the transcendental being drew forth a spell card forth from the Quantum Cube, handing them both back to Emfur. “Take these and find the rest of those destined to defend your world. The Cube will guide you Emfur.” He clicked his fingers, igniting the Cube’s power.

“Good Luck.” With that, Kana began to seeming shrink away, and the world began to reform around to the moment where he had been extracted.

“Please succeed Emfur. Only you can stop the Retroarc now.” Kana thought to himself, stuck in absolute oblivion.

“I don’t know: That blast might have shut down the elevators, and my big brother’s office is on the forty-second floor.” Mokuba replied to Dextiro, thinking on what to do. Before a metaphorical light bulb appeared with an idea. “Get out of here and call the emergency services. I have an idea.” Mokuba asked, sprinting along red-lit corridors towards the lobby, pulling out his mobile and tapping keys rapidly.

“Kaiba Control, this is Baby Dragon. Scramble Dragon 1 to HQ now!” Mokuba requested across the line.

Sluggaholic · July 21, 2016

Plain of Nothingness

Emfur's eyes blinked open, the oppressing light gone, and replaced instead with a vast emptiness of white. He had to blink several times to make one hundred percent sure that he wasn't imagining things, and even after that he still wasn't sure that he wasn't imagining what was going on before him. Or, rather... what wasn't. There wasn't anything he could see, for miles and miles on end. For an infinite distance, he imagined, there wasn't anything. And that thought sent shivers down his back. There wasn't... anything? Why? Where was he? What happened to him? ...No... He couldn't be... He wasn't... dead, was he?

“Don’t worry. You’re not dead.”

Emfur twirled in place, turning to see a tall, odd, winged man. A god, perhaps? It would make sense: what with the glowing eyes, wings, odd get-up, and symbols tracing his face. He couldn't read much Japenese, but what he'd learned from Dueling Monsters had taught him well enough to recognize those odd symbols that were etched into the odd man's skin and into the headband that traced his hairline: LIGHT and DIVINE, respectfully. Emfur swallowed, staring at the man. As if he didn't already have a million questions before... now he had a billion.

“You’re not exactly anywhere. I’m Kana, and welcome to the Void. In very, very simple terms, this place is the physical manifestation of the boundary space between one universe and another. The only things that exist here are the fundamental laws of the multiverse and me.”

Well... that certainly answered many of his questions. Kana... a very light name. Easy enough to say, yet like a balloon tied to a stone, it was a grounded, airy sound. A name befitting such an odd person. And an even odder realm for such a person to... govern? Was that right? For some reason, he didn't get that feeling from the man in front of him. He didn't seem like the governing type, at least not on first glance. So, inhabit? That'd have to do, for now. Though how any could live in this 'Void', where there was nothing (confirmed by the odd man) was beyond Emfur's realm of understanding: much like how or why he was brought here.

“You’re probably going to have thousands of questions, but we don’t have the time. It is not safe to keep someone here in the Void unprotected for long, and I can’t do that right now for many complicated reasons. So I’m going to have to make this as swift as I can.”

He was very, very off. He had much more than a thousand questions. But it would seem that Emfur had not the time to ask any of them. Emfur's brow furrowed some, as his pink eyes grew a bit darker with worry. Why... why wasn't it safe for him to be here? Was this place similar to the vacuum of space, where after a while, all the gases in his body would rush out of him, turning him into a fine, red mist? He quickly debunked that theory. He'd probably been here too long for that to happen, assuming time still existed here. So, what then? Would he slowly turn into dust here instead? It was an illogical assumption, but not as illogical as this place existing... A fabric of reality between realities... Who could've thought such a thing existed? Such ideas were so often dismissed that he'd never even given something like this thought. He bit his lip, curling it inwards. Maybe he should have.

“The Cube brought you here, and that may be good or bad, as I don’t know yet who made it or for what purpose. All I know is that it was made using the power of at least two High Cosmic Gods, one of which is perpetrating to be me in a past life."

The Cube? He stared at the golden object that was clasped supernaturally tight within his left hand. Though it was easily coaxed out of the hand by Kana's presence, who took the Cube from him. So... that's what brought him into this strange place, huh? That... Cube. Now that he thought harder about it, why was he able to grasp the Cube without any real harm, whilst Tomoya was burned alive? And for that matter, why had it brought him here. Just... more questions... It was like every time one questioned was asked, it hid another three to be asked in its place. And what was this talk of lying gods, and past lives. It was just... too much to take in all in one moment. However, upon hearing a familiar name, Emfur snapped back into reality.

"But don’t worry about that, for now you have to deal with that spirit possessing Tomoya.”

Emfur frowned. He figured something was wrong with that Tomoya... He wasn't sure before, but now that he thought about it... the man did seem much less physically inviting than before. When he'd seen him at Pegasus's event what he assumed was last night, he seemed to be a very welcoming individual, with soft features, but an adult air around him. Now... those soft features were gone: replaced with hard edges, and a silently malevolent intent poisoning the air around him. A spirit... then was that spirit the reason that Tomoya was burned like that? The reason that Emfur had seen that bony cl--

“Take these and find the rest of those destined to defend your world. The Cube will guide you Emfur.”

Emfur was snapped out of his mental lock by the feeling of a pair of objects being pushed into his open, waiting palms: the Cube back in his left hand, while a card-- A Spell card, in fact-- was placed into his right hand. Confused, Emfur looked back up at Kana. How did this odd man know his name? And what did he mean 'find those destined to defend the world'? None of this made any sense! And this Cube guiding him? What was it, a tracking device? Emfur was about to open his mouth to ask Kana, to release a torrent of nigh infinite questions, but before he could speak, a feeling of vertigo overtook him, as the entire world bent away from him, as if being pulled away from his eyes like a strip of wet paper stuck to his eyes. The last thing he saw, and heard, before returning to his world was the odd man, once again speaking to him. And though he couldn't hear exactly what he'd said... he'd be a fool to not get the message.

“Good Luck.”

+ - - + - - +

Explosive Artillery

His eyes didn't necessarily... open when Emfur was returned to this world. They just kind of... existed? It was weird: too weird to explain correctly. All he knew was, he'd had a serious out of body adventure. And that he had no time to waste. That explosion earlier must've done some kind of damage beyond blowing out those windows... There was no way that everything was just 'okay' after an explosion like that. There had-- just HAD-- to be something more. As Emfur moved his arms away from his eyes, he was able to perceive the damage. And... he was surprised. Though there were plenty of broken bits and pieces here and there, there didn't seem to be very much destroyed: at least Kaiba's desk was in tact. Though, his once pristine white shirt was stained black and brown with soot and spilled liquor, respectfully. He grimaced, and sat up on the couch. Lucky he was tending to Tomoya like he was... otherwise he'd end up blown away, and hurt.

"The guard!" Emfur realized, shooting up, before forcefully plopping back down on the sofa, his head pounding. So it seemed the blood in his body wasn't quite adjusted to him, yet. He needed to rest before helping the guard, otherwise he'd just injure himself. It was about then he realized that his hand was still clenched tight as a vise. Looking down at his lap, he was, funnily enough, both surprised and unsurprised to see the Cube and the Card in his left and right hands, respectfully. So, it seemed that encounter with Kana... it wasn't just a dream. It'd all... really... happened. He frowned, deeply, setting aside the Cube for one moment, while he pulled his necklace free from the confines of his shirt. Pressing the unlock button, he was greeted by the grimacing, all too familiar face of the Legendary Dragon Vanquisher, his favourite card. He frowned, mimicking the Vanquisher's expression. "Sorry, old friend. But I'm going to have to set you aside. Got something more important to keep close to my heart..." Removing the card from its holder, he replaced it with the spell card that Kana had gifted him, quickly closing and hiding it in within his shirt. the Legendary Dragon Vanquisher was put back into the Black Box he carried around, which doubled as both a deck case and as a prototype duel disk. It was the first of his creations that he'd made to change his father's business, and though he still had to finish the final design, it was all but finished, technology-wise.

Replacing the Cube in his left hand, his fingers automatically making a vise-grip around the object, he stood, and shuffled his way to the guard. His left leg was still asleep, so he didn't want to put too much pressure on it as he walked over to the unconscious guard. Bending over to check his vitals, Emfur sighed a sigh of relief to see that he was still alive. Good. He needed to get this guard downstairs, pronto. It'd be best he wasn't around in case things got ugly. And for whatever reason, a feeling in Emfur's gut told him there was a good chance it would. So, after a bit of cursing and adjustment, Emfur managed to shoulder the older, larger guard, though it was a chore and a half. "T-tch... What a bother..." He grunted, stumbling through Seto Kaiba's open office doors, which'd been blown open by the blast. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to reach the call pad for the elevator, and to press it. Looking over his shoulder, Emfur surveyed the office once more.

"...Tomoya, if you know what's good for the both of us, I sincerely hope you stay down..." He muttered to himself, though with the emptiness and silence of the room, the statement would no doubt carry on.

- - - - -

"Understood, Sir." Dextrio responded, bowing deeply as the young boy ran off. Yes, he's call emergency services alright... but first he needed to do a little... surveillance. Resting his forefinger and middle finger on his left temple, Dextrio looked directly up, towards where he figured Seto Kaiba's office on the 42nd floor must've been. A soft clicking could be heard from the room, as Dextrio's left eye began to glow with a soft blue aura, and the mechanical eye opened, a camera's lens clicking open, and scanning the area above him. Dextrio's old body loosed a sigh as his fears were put to rest. Three fresh, live heat signatures from the floors above.

Wait... three? Why was there three? Emfur and the guard would make two that he'd expect to be up there... but who could've been the third? Was it the one who set off the bomb?! If he was alive... then Emfur wouldn't likely be a heat signature for long. Grimacing as the camera returned to its natural position within his mechanical eye, and as said eye reset itself, Dextrio then pulled the phone up, and dialed emergency services.

"Yes, hello? This is a member of KaibaCorp calling. We've had a bomb go off in the main KaibaCorp tower. The 42nd floor: Mr. Seto Kaiba's office. You cannot miss it. No, I do not know if this was a planned attack. No, I do not know if there are any injured. Thank you for your time." Closing the phone with a click and a sigh, Dextrio turned on his heel and strode out into the red light-lit hallway. Turning the way that he'd come, he followed Mokuba out into the lobby, and out of the building.

"Mr. Kaiba. I'm going to bring the car around front. Please stay out of harm's way." With that, Dextrio strode off into the fine mist, noticing the gathering crowd, and ignoring them as he made his way right, towards the are where the car was parked.

◇ Void ◇ · July 21, 2016

Millennium Magic

“Ugghhhhhh…” Yami Tomoya moaned, pulling himself together as the pain of the flames subsided, grimacing at the claw that now was his right hand, turning it around to see the forehand and backhand of what was the spirit’s true corporal form, connected by a thin smoky line that connected to Tomoya’s forearm, giving a horrible tingling sensation. He was not strong enough to make his true form corporeal, with the hand alone burning away waves of dark energy, needing to be swiftly patched.

Cautiously winding past the collapsed cabinet he leaned across, Yami Tomoya found himself back into the remains of Seto’s seating area and rose to his feet: Much of his body still aching following the Cube’s assault, but apart from that and a few scorches on his jacket, the claw remained the only serious issue. Taking care, he used both the claw and his other hand to reattach his Rare Hunter cloak around his neck, with the cape end flapping around with the strong breeze blowing into the office. It didn’t help as the pages fluttered in the Codex of Shadows, turning to an arcane section with primitive diagrams of human anatomy. His irises shone bright as he cast the spell, in an archaic, reverberating language.

T͏͢͜͡ó͟҉̵ ̵͜͟ì̡n̵͜v̴̢ơ̶͠ḱ̸̀̕͞e̶̵̢͞ ̴̧̕͟͝t͘͠͝h̷͞e̶҉̷͞ ̡͜͏̧͢h̢͝͠į͞v́é̢-̕͠͞m̵̵̢͘ì̵̧͡n̨͟d̶̛ ̴̢͠r̸͏e̢͞ṕ̵r̴͠e̸͟͞ş̧̀͘͢e҉̧n̷͘t̢͘i̴͏̸͞n̡͜͝g̵̢̢͡͝ ͏̴c̴̡̢͡h̶̴͜a͏͏̕͜o͏̨̨ś̷͡.͏̷̢͟͜
̴̡͟͟I̵̵͟͟͏n͏҉̷v̵̴o̵̡k̢͢͡͝i̛͘n͠͞҉g̷̡͘ ̶t̶̴̀h̛͏̸e̡͡͏̶ ̴̛f̡̡e̡͢͝è̢̧ĺ̛͏̕͞i̛͜͡n̷̵̷̶̛g̢͞͏͏ ̸̨o҉̀̀̕f́͜ ̡c̛ḩ̀à̵̛o̵̕̕͞s̢̕.̶͝
̷̴̴̕͏Ẁ̕̕͡į̷̵͘͜t͘̕͞͞ḩ̵̢̡o͜͜u̶̡͘͜͢t̷̛̀̕͢ ̶̧̛́o҉̸͘͞ŗ̸̵͡d͏͝e҉́͢r͜͞͠.́́
̷҉̷̕Ţ̵́͢͠h̵͏̴͠è̡͘͢͏ ̶̸̷̧̨p̴͜ę̴́r̡̡̧͢s҉̕͝͠o͠ņ̸͞͞i͠f̸̧͡i̶͠c̶̛͘͡a̛͠t̢͘͘͢ì̸͜͞o̢͜͜͝͡n̷̛ ́͘͡ǫ͟f͘̕͟ ̶̕͟͏͠s̕҉ḩ̵̷̧̛à̕͠҉d̷̨́͘o̸͏̧҉̛w̨͟͢,́̕͘ ͢T̴̀͞҉͘h̨͢͝͝e̵̴͟͞ ͠͏̕͘G̷̷̛̛e҉̛n̸͏t̨̀́l̴̸̷̕e̷͝҉͠ ̛͏̴̢D̛̕͢͝a͟͝ŗ̴̷̛͠k̛͏̴̀͞ņ҉e̶͞s̨̧͟͡s͘͞
̛́͟͟͠H̕͢҉e̡͢ ̴҉͟w̸͞h̶̕͘o̵̧ ́҉̧̀͏s̶̛͜͞͡t͏̶́͘ą̛́͝n̴̶̨͞͏d̢́̀ş̷̕͟ ͘͡͏͘b̴̛e̢͟h̸̡̕҉i̴͠ǹ̶͞d̵̀͜͝ ̷̨̕͢͞t̷̨h҉̵é̢̕҉͡ ̶g̛͝l̡҉̕͟҉o̴͏̷̀͘ŗ̷̸̨͞y̸͢͠ ̵̶̡̛͠o̷̢͘͟f͏̀ ̴̷̀́͝ǹ̷̢̛͞o̢̧͢͞t̨͢͜͏h̀̀̕͝i̧͘̕n̷͜g̶̡͟͡.͞͡҉̶̸
̵̀͏G̵͢e͏̴̨̛̕n̡͟͠͞t͘͠͠l͢͞è͝ ̀͢D̸̡́͘a̶͢͏͠ŗ́͡͡k̶̵̀͢͞n̕͝é̷͢s̵s̸̴̶̛̀,͢ ̀͠҉͡ŕ͞͠e̷͘͝ş̨t̸̢̨͜ò́̕͟͝ŗ̵̛͝͠e̢҉̧͝͠ ̧̧̀͘҉t̸̸͘h̷̨͜y̨͟ ͟͏f̵҉̴́ǫ̷̕͠͞ŗ̴̸̧͢m̛̀̕͟!҉͏

The demonic claw was encapsulated in supernatural mist, disguising the veins and arteries beginning to weave over the skeletal structure, which itself was retreating extraordinarily back into a normal human hand. Muscle and skin quickly followed, wrapping themselves over like Clingfilm onto cold meat, to be completed with the fingernails popping into place and the mist dissipating. Yami Tomoya stretched all the fingers and the thumb out, happy to see that his spellcasting was still perfect.

Walking confidently into the lobby area, Emfur was hopelessly attempting to get the lift to work, so that himself and the officer could escape. However he had failed to notice the same message on the LCD display above: “Emergency Lockdown - Elevators Disabled.”

“Neither of us are going anywhere!” Yami Tomoya demanded, entering the lobby area from the wrecked doors, his cloak dramatically blowing from the gusts. The Eye of Wadjt reignited on his forehead as he forgoes the last piece of the façade that failed, slamming the Codex shut to slide it under his right arm. He then lifted his left arm, which was equipped with Tilda’s Black Duel Disk: The card sensor bars burst into a shimmering rainbow, the Life Point meter popping up a value of 4000. Then the world around them grew cold and silent, with colour fading from everything apart from them, and only to be replaced with swirling mists of purple and black. The Shadow Ream had descended upon them.

“Duel me. Win and you can escape: Lose, and I’ll take both that cube and your Soul!” Yami Tomoya eyes became psychotically open, much like when Yami Bakura starred to lose control of himself, giving a unnerving stare that would make some think that he could actually see Emfur’s soul.

Tilda hammered her boot down onto the accelerator pedal, screeching the Land Rover’s wheels into life. The vehicle leapt fast off the tarmac, launching into the air as it hit the end of the ramp that exited onto the public roads. The passengers thudded and bounced, colliding with each other as the wheels made contact with the road surface again. Tilda grinned as she realised their escape was just in time, as in the rear-view mirror was the flashing of Police and Ambulances turning towards Kaibacorp.

However, she knew that Yami Tomoya was probably still in there. As soon as she could unload the cards, she would be rushing back to potentially save him.

Sluggaholic · July 22, 2016

"Come on, come on! Work, dangit!" Emfur muttered, feeling a cold sweat run down his back as he head shuffling behind him: no doubt the fake Tomoya. "Gah! Why aren't you... working?" Looking up, Emfur felt an embarrassed and blood curdling sweat run down his neck as he stared up at the flashing error message above him. So he figured. Of course something like this had to happen... He grit his teeth, and set the guard down beside him, before taking a step back, and charging forward, ramming the shut doors. To no avail. Just as he turned around, desperately searching for some kind of other exit, a familiar, and yet not-so-familiar figure shrouded the lobby in shadow.

Taknight

"Tomoya." Emfur muttered, glaring up at Yami Tomoya with his pink eyes. He grit his teeth to see the burning eye of Wdjat-- or eye of Horus to most-- on Tomoya's forehead, shining with a shimmering light. For some reason, Emfur could feel adrenaline pumping through his veins, and a grin begin to grow on his face. He wasn't a fan of danger, but these circumstances... they were something straight out of a movie! Besides the whole, spirits and possession thing, of course.

“Duel me. Win and you can escape: Lose, and I’ll take both that cube and your Soul!”

"Sorry, Geister Tomoya--" Pulling his black box from his pocket, Emfur set it carefully upon his left wrist (whose hand still clenched the cube tightly). "--but I don't think I'm going to let you have the cube! Or my soul, for that matter!" Though Emfur's eyes were trained on Yami Tomoya like a hound, he still noticed the drastic change in scenery. He didn't know it then, but Yami Tomoya had yanked both himself and Emfur into the Shadow Realm, where Emfur would be lucky to survive. Though Emfur could feel his free hand tug towards his chest, he knew better than to reveal the spell that Kana had shown him. It was better if this Geist thought he only had ONE magic relic... no need for him to be after his cards too.

"Flugschreiber! Activate!" He called, the black rectangle on his wrist responding immediately. With sharp, metallic clang, five blade-like protrusions with flat, rectangular pads shot out of the side of the Black Box like a swiss army knife, before spreading apart to very much obviously resemble the blade of a Duel Disk. A sharp clanking was heard from underneath the box as a pair of metal clamps secured the box itself in place. various metal arks shot across the top of the box, until it had the rough size and shape of a KC Duel Disk, though stripped. Metal bits, wires, and blinking lights all monitored various things: from the box's current heat index, to its functionality, the number of cards left in Emfur's deck, and most importantly: his Life Points. Speaking off, a soft pinging was heard throughout the Shadow Realm as Emfur's 4000 LP blinked on a black background with neon green numbering.

"Shuffling Deck. Deck shuffled. Duel mode, engaged. Ready when you are, Emfur." The boy nodded, his grin returning.

"Don't worry. This isn't a standard issue KC duel disk, but it's still plenty to duel you with. Plus, I bet our surroundings don't exactly play by the rules, so I guess my custom Black Box Duel Disk ought to work well enough." Emfur decided to leave out the part where it was unfinished, as it wasn't important. What was, was that he needed a strategy to overcome this foe before him. What was his best bet...? "Guess I better wing it." Emfur grunted, drawing his hand of five.

=== + === + ===

DUEL!

Emfur Sherman vs. Yami Tomoya

4000 LP --- == --- 4000 LP

Turn 1

==+==+==+==

"I'll start this duel off, Geister! Draw!" Pulling his sixth card from his deck, Emfur studied his hand. It was... decent. Not his best draw hand, but a few familiar faces ought to make this duel interesting. Might as well start off strong! "First, I'll be summoning my Marauding Captain in attack mode!" A grizzled knight with blonde hair and a shining pair of blades appeared on the battlefield, bursting forth from his card with a triumphant cry. However, he wasn't done. Slamming his blades together, he let out a rallying battle cry, and before both of their eyes, a second card appeared, having been played automatically from Emfur's hand. "As you can see, Marauding Captain's quite the rambunctious guy! And with his special ability, he calls forth a second monster from my hand, so long as it's level 4 or lower! So, come forth, Daybreaker!"

However, it was not one, but two monsters that shimmered forth. A twin pair of warriors burst forth from the Daybreaker card Emfur played, both clad in pristine, opal-white armor, both with long, crimson capes, and both standing at attention behind Marauding Captain. "Three monsters for the price of one." Emfur grinned, proud of his ability. Of course, that left his hand sorely lacking, but he'd remedy that soon enough. "Now, I'll set one card from my hand, and pass it to you, Geister." He grinned, his pink eyes glinting. "Try and keep up."

==+==+==+==

TURN END

Emfur Sherman vs. Yami Tomoya

4000 LP --- == --- 4000 LP

[Emfur Sherman] - Hand: 2; Field: 4 (Marauding Captain, Daybreaker x2, 1 face-down Spell/Trap card)

Graveyard: Empty

Deck: 34

[spoiler=Cards Used]

Marauding Captain

Level 3 - EARTH - Warrior-type Monster

Effect: Your opponent cannot target face-up Warrior-Type monsters for attacks, except this one. When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand.

ATK 1200/DEF 400

Daybreaker

Level 4 - LIGHT - Warrior-type Monster

Effect: When this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Daybreaker" from your hand.

ATK 1700/DEF 0

◇ Void ◇ · July 22, 2016

"YAMI NO GAME!"

Emfur Sherman vs. Yami Tomoya

4000 LP --- == --- 4000 LP

Turn 2

“Hmph. Merely a wall of mediocre monsters.” Yami Tomoya drew himself, sliding it into the rest of his starting hand. The selection was not the greatest for him, though he had some draw power to work with, depositing a Spell Card into one of the empty secondary slots. “I start with the spell card, Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards, then discard two from my hand." The tone was theatrical, as was the swift extraction of the top 3 cards into his hand. Emfur was probably not expecting however Yami Tomoya to throw the two cards he must discard across the field and magically into the graveyard of the Flugschreiber.

“Don’t be too scared, but the two cards now residing in your Graveyard are part of the Gravespire architype, and as such, have an effect where under any circumstances that would send them to my Graveyard, they go to yours instead.” As he explained, a few roars and groaning sounds began to emanate from there. “You’ll beg me to retrieve them soon enough.”

“Next, I’ll use Double Summon! Now I can Normal Summon twice this turn! So I bring forth Gravespire Andrealphus and Gravespire Azrale!” Andrealphus flowed out of its card and onto the battlefield: It was half a charred skeleton with a cloak and scythe, where anything where and below the hips where replaced by a large amethyst crystal ball. In the heart of the cube, a blue flame erupted as it connected with the monsters in Emfur’s Graveyard.

[Gravespire Andrealphus' ATK: 0 --> 600]

The second one ascended from above: A glorious robed angel in gold-trimmed, pure white armor cradling an oversized claymore in its gauntlets. An orb of blue fire ignited underneath the hollow hood as it absorbed power from the fallen Gravespires.

[Gravespire Azrale's ATK: 0 --> 800]

“But they won’t remain for long. I use Andrealphus’s Special Ability; by tributing itself and 1 other Gravespire I control, I can add 1 of their kind from my Deck to my hand. Oh, and yes, they do go to your Graveyard.” Yami Tomoya confirmed as they both charged into Emfur’s Graveyard as bolts of energy, while he flourished his deck from the Duel Disk’s slot and extracted 1 monster to his hand. The deck was then slotted back in, to be automatically shuffled thoroughly by the slot’s in-built mechanism.

“One more spell now: ‘Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!’” Yami Tomoya declared. The room rumbled as 4 pillars emerged from the polished floor, flowering with vines and roses. Crimson velvet curtains drew between the spaces behind and besides Yami Tomoya, before two statues and a stone throne erupted behind him: Yami gracefully leaning back into the latter without looking. “While I control this card, if I don’t control a single monster on my side of the field, I can Special Summon 1 Fairy-Type from my Hand. So, come forth Gravespire Mephistopheles!”

A dark and slender figure, cloaked in cross-weaved leather robes flourished onto the field from a circle of light, igniting pale blue irises as it finished summoning itself. As it did, Emfur’s graveyard roared, granting the new monster 600 ATK for each of them in the Graveyard.

[Gravespire Mephistopheles ATK/DEF: 0 --- > 2400]

"Now, Gravespire Mephistophles, attack Marauding Captain with your Blight Claw!” Yami Tomoya gave the order to attack from his throne. Mephistophles lept up high into the air, retracting sharp claws from its fiendish hands. It pounced onto the captain, who could only look in terror as the attack succeeded and slashed the man’s face open: All the gore avoided as the hologram shattered.

[Emfur’s LP: 4000 -- > 2800]

“I finish with one card face-down. Try and keep up, won’t you please?” he taunted with a sly grin, sliding one of the last cards in his hand into an open spell/trap slot, face down.

TURN 2 END

Emfur Sherman vs. Yami Tomoya

2800 LP --- == --- 4000 LP

[Yami Tomoya]

Hand: 3; Field: 3 (Gravespire Mephistophles, Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen, 1 face-down Spell/Trap card)

Graveyard: 2 (Graceful Charity, Double Summon)

Deck: 30

[Emfur Sherman]

Hand: 2; Field: 3 ( Daybreaker x2, 1 face-down Spell/Trap card)

Graveyard: 5 (Gravespire Andrealphus X2, Gravespire Azrale X2, Marauding Captain)

Deck: 34

[spoiler= Cards Used]

Graceful Charity

Double Summon

Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen

Gravespire Andrealphus

DARK / Fairy / LV 3

[ATK ? / DEF ?]

This cards ATK and DEF are both equal to the number of "Gravespire" monsters in your opponent's Graveyard x 300. While you control this card: You can tribute this card and 1 “Gravespire” monster you control; Add 1 level 4 or lower "Gravespire" monster from the Deck to your Hand. When this card is destroyed or sent to the Graveyard, send it to your opponent's Graveyard instead. While in the Graveyard: At the end of the graveyard controller's turn, they must send the top card of their Deck to the Graveyard.

Gravespire Azrale

DARK / Fairy / LV 4

[ATK ? / DEF ?]

This cards ATK and DEF are both equal to the number of "Gravespire" monsters in your opponent's Graveyard x 400. This card is unaffected by the effects of monsters that do not include “Gravespire” in their name. When this card is destroyed or sent to the Graveyard, send it to your opponent's Graveyard instead.While in the Graveyard: At the end of the graveyard controller's turn, they must send the top card of their Deck to the Graveyard.

Gravespire Mephistopheles

DARK / Fairy / LV 7

[ATK ? / DEF ?]

This cards ATK and DEF are both equal to the number of "Gravespire" monsters in your opponent's Graveyard x 600. While you control this card: “Gravespire” monsters cannot be banished from any Graveyards, and you can only Special Summon 1 “Gravespire” monster from your Hand or Deck per turn. When this card is destroyed or sent to the Graveyard, send it to your opponent's Graveyard instead. While in the Graveyard: At the end of the graveyard controller's turn, they must send the top 3 cards of their Deck to the Graveyard.

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Codex of Shadows [IC/PG-16/Always Accepting]

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