The Shadow Duelist, Part 2

In the basement of the abandoned dorm, Ryan and Titan's duel was still underway. Watching from the sidelines were Jaden, Syrus and Chumley.

He had just sent Terrorking Archfiend to the graveyard.

Titan: 4000

Ryan: 3000

"I activate the effect of my second Desrook Archfiend. Now Terrorking returns to the field." Terrorking was placed back in the Monster Card zone on Titan's Duel Disk.

"Your destiny is set, boy! Soon my Archfiend deck will finish you and my Millennium Item will finish off your soul." Titan gloated, holding it up.

"Ah, shut it." Ryan demanded. He didn't believe a word Titan was saying right now.

"I use Pot of Greed to draw two new cards. I'll place one of them face down and summon Bazoo the Soul Eater in attack mode."

Bazoo the Soul Eater: 1600/900

"Too bad he won't be enough. Time for you to see a real card." Titan drew a card. "Terrorking, Locust Storm Barrage!"

"You fell into a trap. I play the face down Mirror Force! Now your Archfiends are destroyed."

"Now that's a trick!" Jaden smiles.

"Totally lishious! If he keeps this up we'll be out of here in no time and with Alexis." Chumley smiles.

Titan watched as both Terrorking and Infernalqueen were destroyed by his trap. "How dare you!"

"Quiet down already." Ryan shot back.

"Well now you have this coming!" Titan took a card from his hand. "I activate the effect of Desrook Archfiend! By sending it to the graveyard I can resurrect Terrorking back to the field." Titan inserts the card into his graveyard and onto the field Terroking appears.

Terrorking: 2000/1500

"Now thanks to the effect of Pandemonium. It allows me to add a new Archfiend to my hand as long as it's power is less than my Terrorking, but he has more than enough power. Now let's try this again, Locust Storm Barrage!"

"Ah geez will this storm ever let up?" Chumley asks.

"Oh man this is going to hurt." Syrus said as the locusts attack Ryan.

Titan: 4000

Ryan: 1600

"Are you okay?" Jaden asks as the Shadow Game took it's toll on him.

"I can still stand." Ryan said.

"Is that so?" Titan pulls out his Millennium Item. "Well I hate to tell you this, but you won't be standing for much longer. In fact, you won't be moving much of your body at all." Titan's Millennium Item glowed as shadows covered his legs, arms and most of his body.

"Man I can barely move. I gotta make this turn count." He drew his next card and smiled. "I activate Lightning Vortex. By getting rid of a card in my hand, both of your face up monsters are destroyed. This time for good."

"Bazoo attack."

Titan: 2400

Ryan: 1000

Jaden, Syrus and Chumley looked to see Titan's right arm and leg were dissolving away.

"He's disappearing too!" Syrus said.

"Think that could work on my waistline?" Chumley asks.

"It doesn't matter at all! I have Monster Reborn in my hand and I'll use it to bring back my Terrorking! There is no escaping him, boy." Titan said as Terrorking appeared back on the field for the 3rd time.

Terrorking: 2000/1500

"That guy is really overstaying his welcome." Jaden said.

"You got that right." Ryan stated in agreement.

Titan drew his next card. "Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I sacrifice my Terrorking to summon Skull Archfiend of Lightning!"

In Terrorking's place an Archfiend that resembled the Summoned Skull monster appeared.

Skull Archfiend of Lightning: 2500/1200

"You wanted my worst? Well you got it and every last super charged bolt of it!" Titan roared as Skull Archfiend blasted Bazoo the Soul Eater with a lightning bolt destroying him.

Titan: 2400

Ryan: 100

Titan's Millennium Item glows again. "Look into my Millennium Item and feel yourself drifting further into the shadows!" Titan said as he struggled to keep his vision. "That's it boy. Your life points are all but gone and soon you will be nothing more than a soulless hollow shell. Feel yourself drifting away boy…feel yourself."

*'Is this all I've got.'* Ryan thought to himself.

*'No.'* He growled, standing back up.

"I'm not done yet." He stated with determination. "And it's about time we put a end to this phony Shadow Game."

"Phony Shadow Game?" Chumley questioned.

"What does he mean?" Syrus asked.

"I'm about to show you. But first I play Mystical Space Typhoon. Say goodbye to Pandemonium!" A cyclone kicked up and destroyed the field spell.

Gritting his teeth Titan held up his Millennium Item. "So what? You haven't destroyed this!"

"Not yet I haven't." Ryan grabbed a stone off the floor and threw it at the Millennium Item, causing it to shatter into pieces.

"What…What did you do?!" Titan cried as his body returned to normal along with Titan.

"Alright, you got your body back!" Syrus shouted happily.

"What do you mean? I never lost it in the first place."

"Man what a sham, this guy must be some out of work carny." Jaden said.

"Shut up! I could get my job back anytime I want and in case you forgot I still have the girl." Titan said.

"Oh please. Like you really have Alexis's soul." Ryan scoffed. "Give her back already."

"Yeah along with all the other kids you snatched!" Jaden adds.

"Other kids? I don't know what you're talking about and because of that Carny comment you can find your friend by yourself!" Titan threw a smoke bomb to the ground and made a run for it.

"Hold it." Ryan ran after him.

As he chased after him dozens of beams of light appeared from all direction and merged together in the middle of the floor creating a huge golden eye.

"Uh what trick is this?" Jaden asks.

"I didn't do this." Titan said when all of a sudden a wind picked up and swirled around the room like a tornado covering the two of them in smoke.

When the smoke covered the both of them the smoke was replaced with a sphere of darkness.

"Ryan!" Jaden said, running over.

"No Jaden!" Chumley said stopping him. "We might get trapped in there ourselves!"

"But what about him?" Jaden asks.

"Let's find Alexis and then see what we can do." Syrus said.

Inside the Shadow Dome Ryan and Titan were seeing darkness everywhere.

"What is this place?! Where am I?" Titan panics.

"What the hell is going on?" Ryan asked.

Looking over they saw a mass of blob like creatures heading towards them.

As the blobs attacked Titan screamed as the blob creatures started to cover every inch of his body. "Help me! Get these things off of me!" Titan yells when one muffles his scream.

The blob's then headed towards him.

As they here were about to attack a bright light erupts on his arm forcing the blobs to withdraw.

"Ryan..."

He heard a voice and saw Titan no longer covered in blobs, but something was different. His voice was more sinister and his eyes were glowing red behind his mask.

"The shadows long for a soul and only one will survive." Titan raised his duel disk and the army of blobs formed a circle around them making sure the duel continued. "The duel will continue here in the Shadow Realm and you will lose your soul!" He said as Skull Archfiend of Lightning and Bazoo appeared.

"That's what you think."

Titan: 3800

Ryan: 100

"I set a monster face down and that will end my turn."

"Very well…my turn." Titan said drawing a card.

"And with Pandemonium no longer on the field, you must pay 500 LP's every turn."

Titan: 3300

Ryan: 100

"500 points is nothing compared to a soul. Skull Archfiend of Lightning, attack!" Titan ordered as a skeleton in tattered clothing appeared on the field.

"That was my Spirit Reaper. It cannot be destroyed by battle."

"I place one card face down and I summon Desrook Archfiend in Attack Mode to end my turn." A new Archfiend appeared made of bone and red flash and looked like a rook piece.

Desrook Archfriend: 1100/1800

"I use the card I just drew Heavy Storm. Say goodbye to your face down card."

"Next I'll introduce you to Exiled Force."

Exiled Force: 1000/1000

"This can tribute itself to destroy 1 monster on the field and I select Skull Archfiend of Lightning."

Skull Archfiend's effect kicked in to try and negate Exiled Force, but it landed on a 5.

"Now Bazoo, attack Desrook Archfiend."

Titan: 2800

Ryan: 100

"I place a card face down and call it a turn."

"It's useless boy you have no cards in your hand and two weak monsters. However since I can't attack you with no monsters on my field I'll end my turn with this." Titan gloats.

"You know you shouldn't have mentioned that. Because now I summon Asura Priest."

Asura Priest: 1700/1200

"Then I switch Spirit Reaper to attack mode."

"And you know what comes next." Titan started to freak out as the combined attack points of all three monsters was higher than his life points.

"Finish him off."

Titan: 0

Ryan: 100

"NOO!" Titan screamed as the horde of blobs attacked him. "Help me! Get them off me! Tell my kids…I love them!" Titan said as disappeared under the blobs.

"Hey guys look!" Chumley points to a little cut and from it Ryan emerged.

"Ryan!" Syrus cheered

"I knew you could do it!" Jaden smiles.

"What happened in there?" Syrus asks.

Before he was able to answer, the dark orb that held therm imploded in particles.

"Oh my."

"Wow talk about a magic trick that was amazing." Jaden said.

"Magic Trick?" Syrus asks.

"Yeah it's like he said, it was all mirrors and fog machines." Jaden said.

Ryan looked at the sleeping Alexis and carried her out of the dorm.

"Time for us to get out of here." He insisted and the others followed him.

Later on, Crowler walked through the hallway of the Abandoned dorm. "Little Jaden must be paralyzed with fear by now. Oh, Titan where are you my friend? I'd like to hear every detail about what…" Crowler noticed a card on the ground and picked it up.

It was Pandemonium. "Titan would never leave this behind unless…he lost! Jaden Yuki and his friends have outwitted me again! But this is not over yet, not by a long shot!"

Crowler storms out in a huff.

When Alexis awoke, she found herself in the forest with Jaden, Ryan, Syrus and Chumley. "Where am I?" She asks.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Jaden said.

"What are you doing here?" Alexis asks.

"You call that a thanks?" Jaden asked. "We're here because Ryan fought a bad guy to save the damsel in distress."

"Oh yeah, that strange man snatched me, but how did you know I was in trouble?" She asks.

"We found this." Jaden hands her Etolie Cyber card.

"And I heard a scream when I was exploring the dorm." Ryan explained.

"Thanks." Alexis smiled.

"We're going to help you find your brother." Ryan vowed to aid Alexis any way he could.

"Besides we can't have you locked in anymore tombs." Jaden smirks.

"You were really worried about me, weren't you?" Alexis asks.

"Yeah, you're our friend after all." Ryan replied.

Behind them the sun started to come up.

"Looks like we better bail before anyone sees us! Ryan can you take Alexis back?"

"No problem." Ryan nodded.

"Hey. I want to thank you for what you did back there and what you said." Alexis said.

"Do you want me to lead you back to your dorm?" He offered.

"I'd like that." Alexis smiles.
As she walked towards him her foot gets caught in a tree root and she falls forward crashing into him.
Ryan's eyes widened he sees his lips touching Alexis' leaving both of them speechless. When she tripped his hands were on her back.

"Okay." He muttered.

"Would you mind doing me one small favor?" Alexis asked. "Mind moving your hands?"

"Why? They're on your back." He remarked.

He looked down a little more and saw his hands were now squeezing her rear.

"My bad." He casually remarked.

"No no it was an accident." Alexis said getting up.

For a few minutes there was an uncomfortable silence between them.

"Do you want to return to our dorms?" Ryan asked.

"Sure." Alexis nods.

The two of them walk back to the Obelisk dorms in silence with the Shiba siblings, but on the inside new feelings for the other rose from that simple accident.