//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Knowledge is Power // Story: Dueling is Magic! Many Futures // by Wolfgang //------------------------------// Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Chapter Ten Knowledge is Power /*********************\ It was raining heavily. A week had passed since Jack’s duel with Crow. Morale had fallen throughout the resistance movement. Though Jack still walked tall, he was constantly angry, losing his temper at the slightest things. Most had learned to stay out of his way. Most. Leo still followed Jack around the base. “Come on, Jack! It’s not the end of the world,” he would say. “So you lost to Crow, it’s not that bad! You said yourself he had a new card that you didn’t see coming. You’ll get him next time!” It finally reached a head when, one day in the mess hall, Jack spun around, grabbed Leo by his collar, and yelled at him. “This isn’t just about my defeat, Leo! Crow has returned, but he’s our enemy now! And Yusei... Yusei is still alive and he’s in KaibaCorp. Tower, but he’s probably been brainwashed by the Black King!” “Jack...” Leo grunted. “If the Black King controls Yusei AND Crow, then we’re finished! Do you hear me, Leo?! FINISHED!” “Jack, put him down!” Ushio ran up and pulled Jack away from Leo. “Let me go!” Jack roared. He broke away from Ushio’s hold and stormed off. Twilight walked up beside Ushio. “Will he be okay?” she asked. “I don’t know, Twilight,” Ushio said. “I’ve never seen him this angry before.” “Me neither,” said Leo. ***** One week earlier... Jack glared down at the console screen in front of him. His hands gripped the handles of his D-Wheel so hard that they hurt. Rainbow Dash landed beside him. “Jack, what happened?” she asked. “He lost is what happened,” said Crow. “Lost?!” Dash cried. “So, Jack, I won,” said Crow. “You coming with me or what?” “No,” said Jack. “I’m sorry, what was that?” Crow asked. “I said no!” Jack yelled. “I’ll go to Yusei when I’ve earned the right.” “And you think you don’t have that right? Jack, we’re your friends!” “Yusei accused me of trying to destroy the city. I’m trying to save it from the Black King!” “Yeah, Yusei said you’d say that,” Crow sighed. “Look, Jack, there’s no ‘Black King’ or whatever.” “The entire city saw the broadcast, Crow!” “You’re delusional, Jack. Yusei told me you’ve been spouting that nonsense since the last time you stormed the tower!” “We’ve never gotten NEAR the tower!” Jack roared. “So I guess you ARE calling Yusei a liar,” said Crow. “I suppose I am!” Jack snapped. “Listen to me, Crow. Something strange is happening here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it. But if you or anyone else tries to stop us, then we will consider you an enemy.” The Wheel of Fortune roared to life and Jack sped off. Rainbow Dash looked back at Crow for a moment, then took off after Jack. ***** Jack sat in his favorite chair, the back tilted back so that he could recline and stare at the ceiling. It doesn’t make any sense, he thought to himself. We all saw the broadcast. The Black King is real. So why would Yusei tell Crow that he doesn’t exist? And what’s more, why would Crow believe him? Unless... Jack thought back to the World Riding Grand Prix tournament. Their first match in the preliminaries was against Team Unicorn. But their battle didn’t begin during that first round. It began long before then. Unless he’s playing the long game. It was a closed-circuit broadcast, isolated to Neo Domino City. The whole place has been on a sort of lockdown since the Black King appeared, maybe before. No one outside of Neo Domino would have heard about this if news never got out. This means that, whoever he is, the Black King is at least as smart as Yusei or Jean. But what about Crow? If Crow had never heard about the Black King before but Yusei had, why would Yusei lie about it? What am I missing?! Jack slammed his fist against the arm of his chair. A framed photograph fell from its place on the wall, the glass shattering as it struck the floor. Jack sighed and stood to pick up the mess. As he knelt down and grasped the frame of the picture, he saw which picture it was. It was a commemorative photo, taken after the announcement of the Fortune Cup tournament. The tournament where I lost to Yusei, he thought. The day that I officially lost my title as King. Jack sighed again and placed the picture on his desk, then went to find a broom and dustpan. ***** Twilight and Leo walked down the hall toward Jack’s room. Jack emerged from behind the door, closed and locked it behind him, then looked up and saw the young man and mare. “What do you two want?” he asked. “We just wanted to see if you were okay,” said Twilight. “No, Twilight, I am not,” said Jack. “We know nothing about our enemy except how he operates, and now we are fighting a war on two fronts. Until I know what it is we’re dealing with, I will not be okay.” He stormed off in the other direction. “Jack!” Twilight called. “Let him go,” said Leo. “He’s calmed down a bit, but he still needs to clear his head. A walk should do him some good.” Twilight and Leo turned around and headed back to the mess hall. “Jack said we don’t know anything about the Black King,” said Twilight. “Is there anywhere we might could find out something?” “I don’t know,” said Leo. “But if there were, I’d go there in a heartbeat.” “Then it is fortunate that I found the two of you,” came a voice behind them. Leo and Twilight stopped and looked behind them. “Yeager!” said Twilight. “What do you mean? Is there somewhere we can go that will tell us who the Black King is?” “I don’t believe you can find that information anywhere but in KC Tower, which is strictly off-limits due to obvious dangers at this time,” said Yeager. “However, there may be other useful information that could be gleaned elsewhere. Walk with me.” Twilight and Leo looked at each other before falling into step behind Yeager. “There are many mysteries surrounding our world, Miss Sparkle, and humans are far from solving them,” Yeager said. “Oddly, many of these mysteries, ancient though they may be, are connected to the Duel Monsters card game. All such information, for a very long time, was found and compiled into a secret library by a group known as Yliaster. Its location has been moved throughout the ages as danger always befell it. The burning of the Library of Alexandria, the Crusades, the Nazi conquest of World War II and their various book burnings... but each time, the library was saved.” Yeager stopped and turned to look at Twilight and Leo. “This will be a classified mission. The two of you are to go to the library, find anything you can that might help us in this war, and bring it back here.” “Why is it classified?” asked Leo. “Because, dear boy,” said Yeager, “the Black King is playing the long game. He has been since long before his appearance. Jack will surely have realized this by now. I suspect that there are spies within our ranks.” “Then why trust me with this information?” asked Twilight. “For all you know, my friends and I could have been brought here by the Black King to spy on you.” “After witnessing your duel against that Dark Trooper, and hearing of Rainbow Dash’s duels, I do not believe that is the case,” said Yeager. “If you were agents of the Black King, you would be here to lull us into a false sense of security. Though morale has improved considerably since your timely arrival, you have done nothing but help us improve our security and have constantly reminded us to keep our guard up. Furthermore, I don’t think he has the technology to travel to an entirely different world wherein dwell brightly colored equines that speak English. In short, Miss Sparkle, I have no reason to distrust you, but every reason to believe you are an ally.” “I... thank you, sir,” said Twilight. “We won’t let you down!” “I know you won’t,” Yeager replied. “I will meet you two in the garage with the location of the library. Be there in thirty minutes.” “Yes sir!” said Leo with a salute. ***** Leo’s D-Wheel slowed to a halt. “Hey, I recognize this place,” he said. “This is Rex Goodwin’s mansion! Or what’s left of it.” “Who’s Rex Goodwin?” Twilight asked as she hopped down from the blue D-Wheel. “He used to be in charge of Neo Domino City,” Leo explained. “He gathered Yusei and the other Signers to fight against the Dark Signers. Um... did Yusei ever tell you about that?” “A little,” said Twilight. “What are ‘Dark Signers’?” “Pretty much the exact opposite of a Signer,” Leo answered. He dismounted the D-Wheel and took off his helmet, placing it in a compartment under the seat. “Instead of having a mark from the Crimson Dragon, they have a mark from an evil monster called an Earthbound Immortal. After we beat all the other Dark Signers, Goodwin went nuts and became one himself, then tried to take control of the Crimson Dragon’s power too. Yusei, Jack and Crow beat him, though.” “What happened to him?” Twilight asked. “Well, most of the other Dark Signers were brought back to life,” Leo said, “but Rex and his brother Rudger- he was a Dark Signer too- they decided to pass on to the next life.” “I see,” said Twilight. She and Leo pushed open the tall double doors and entered the mansion. Inside, it was dark. Faint sunlight streamed in through dust-covered windows. Twilight lit up her horn and started moving forward. She and Leo moved around the wide staircase in the center of the room, walking toward the back wall. Leo opened the first door they came to. Behind it was a narrow and dark corridor. “Yeager said it was a secret passage right behind the stairs,” said Leo. “We shouldn’t be too far from it then,” Twilight replied. she moved through the door and turned right. “Feel around the wall. If the door isn’t airtight, then there might be some air moving through the cracks.” “Good idea,” Leo said. He placed his hands on the wall and started sliding them across it. Moments later, he yelled, “Aha! Found it!” “Good,” said Twilight. “Stand back.” Her horn began to glow brighter and brighter. Leo stepped back quickly. A burst of magic shot away from Twilight’s horn, blowing a hole in the wall in front of her. “Was that really necessary?” Leo asked. “Yeager said that the power might be out, so the secret switches wouldn’t work,” said Twilight. “Besides, it worked, didn’t it?” “Yeah, I guess it did.” “Come on, let’s go find that library!” Twilight’s horn lit up again and she bounded through the hole she made in the wall. “Hey, wait up!” Leo called after her. Several minutes passed and the stairs seemed to have no end. “Who puts this many stairs in one place?” Leo asked, panting. “Someone with a lot of secrets,” Twilight answered. “But I can’t wait to see them!” “It’s a library, Twilight. Besides it being secret, there’s nothing exciting about a library.” “Are you kidding? I LIVE in a library! It’s so much fun being surrounded by so much knowledge!” “I’ve always been more into dueling than reading books. There’s some things you just can’t learn from turning pages.” “Don’t I know it! I still have to remind myself of that all the time. But still, there’s always something to learn from a book, even if it’s just a concept or a theory.” “If you say so, Twili- oof!” Leo fell backwards onto the stairs. “Leo!” said Twilight. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” said Leo. he stood up and rubbed the side of his face. “Ouch... what’d I run into?” Twilight aimed the light of her horn straight ahead. “I think it’s a door,” she said. “Yes, it is! Here’s the handle!” Leo reached out and grabbed the handle, pulled on the lever and opened the door. A dry, musty smell hit their nostrils. “Wow,” said Leo. “This place hasn’t had many visitors, has it?” “I guess not,” Twilight said. “I’ve never been in an abandoned library before.” “Where should we start looking?” Leo asked. “Hmm... I think we should try to find an indexing system for the books,” said Twilight. “If there’s a card catalog, or something like it, we can skim through titles and maybe even subjects. It’ll be a lot easier to pick out useful items that way.” “Good thinking, Twilight.” Leo pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on. A powerful beam of light shone ahead of him, clearly illuminating his path. “Hey! You had a light the whole time?” said Twilight. “Yeah, but it runs on batteries,” Leo answered. “It’s a good light, but the batteries don’t last long, so it’ll go dead after about an hour.” “Then I guess we’d better hurry,” said Twilight. “Let’s split up and try to find some kind of card catalog. If your light goes out, just call for me and I’ll find you.” “Okay,” said Leo. He and Twilight turned in different directions and began walking along the walls. Twilight watched the walls and the shelves she passed as she walked. The shelves were unmarked, save for numbers and letters that were lost on her. At the very least, they told her that a catalog existed. The walls were decorated with portraits of humans and Duel Monsters, most of whom she did not recognize. But she passed a few that she knew were familiar. “Rainbow Dragon... Blue-Eyes White Dragon...” she muttered with a smile as she passed their paintings. She noticed that the paintings had small plaques underneath them. She began reading their names. “‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’... ‘Elemental HERO Neos’... ‘Cyber End Dragon’...” She noticed that very few of the human portraits had plaques beneath them. But when they did, she read them aloud. “Jaden Yuki... Seto Kaiba... Maximillion- hey! I know that name!” Twilight brightened her horn. “So that’s the creator of Duel Monsters,” she said. “I’m sure Rarity would love to talk to him about his fashion sense.” Twilight chuckled and started forward again. But another painting caught her eye and she stopped. This one also had a plaque, but it was too faded and tarnished to read. But something about the human in the picture seemed familiar. “Those eyes!” she said. “I’ve seen them before!” ***** Leo wasn’t uncomfortable in the darkness. He’d fought against it before, and won. But it wasn’t always this way. He’d always tried to be brave, for Luna’s sake, but it was often her that was the brave one when the lights went out. But now he knew better than to fear shadows. It was never the shadows that were scary, but their inhabitants. And even they could be beaten. Leo moved his flashlight left and right. To his right, he saw only bookshelves marked with meaningless numbers. To his left were a few computer terminals, all nonfunctional. “I really hope that catalog thing isn’t in these terminals,” Leo muttered. “If it is and there’s no physical backup, then this mission was for nothing.” There was a noise coming from behind him. Leo stopped and turned around. “Twilight?” he called. “Is that you?” “Did you hear that?” came a man’s voice. “They are already down here. They must have blown open that hole in the wall.” Leo switched his flashlight off and hid behind a shelf. Another light came on in the distance, shining from the direction that he originally came from. Leo peeked around the corner of the shelf and saw a huge, burly figure appear, followed by a smaller, feminine one. “No way,” Leo said under his breath. “Aporia? Sherry?” “Let’s hurry up with this mission,” said Aporia. “We do not want to keep our master waiting.” “I don’t like this, Aporia,” said Sherry. “Somezing is not right about...” she stopped. “About him.” “I am glad you’ve learned your lesson about names,” said Aporia. “But have you learned the importance of our mission?” “Zee importance of our mission, he says,” Sherry muttered as she walked past the hulking figure. “I am not some robot programmed to obey zee Black King’s every whim, Aporia. I am still human. I have doubts about all of zis!” Aporia’s hand grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. Lights flared from his massive shoulders. “And what doubts might those be, my dear?” he asked. “I doubt zat humanity’s salvation lies in zee void!” she said. “I have seen zee hope for zee future, Aporia! It’s in-” “You know as well as I that this future you so strongly believe in is a whimsical fantasy and nothing more!” said Aporia. “By accelerating his evolution to unprecedented heights, Yusei Fudo doomed the human race two hundred years sooner!” “I refuse to believe zat!” said Sherry. “Zat is it! I have had it with you and zee Black King! He can call himself zat if he wishes, but I shall have no more part in zis mad scheme of his!” “I see,” said Aporia. “Then shall we take this outside? I believe a duel will settle this.” Oh man! thought Leo. I gotta find Twilight! He looked down at his flashlight. I’ll make it to the end of this aisle and then chance the flashlight. Leo slowly crept away from the wall, keeping his hand on the bookshelf next to him to guide him. Once he reached the other end, he looked back. Aporia’s lights hadn’t moved at all. Good. Leo took a step. Creak. “Oh, great,” Leo muttered. TO BE CONTINUED /*********************\ Next time on Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Leo and Twilight attempt to escape the underground library when they are discovered by Sherry LeBlanc and a resurrected Aporia, but it only leads to more trouble. Surrounded by Dark Troopers, Leo and Twilight are forced into a deadly duel for their survival! Chapter 11 Old Allies, New Enemies /*********************\ Featured Card Power Tool Dragon EARTH Level 7 Machine/Synchro/Effect 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters Once per turn: You can add 1 random Equip Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If this card would be destroyed while equipped with an Equip Spell Card, you can send that card to the Graveyard instead. ATK/2300 DEF/2500