Dueling is Magic! Many Futures

by Wolfgang

Chapter 16: A Rare and Wandering Dragon

Kazama bent down and picked up the book. He flipped through it, but all the pages were blank.

“Where'd he go?” he mumbled.

“Hello?” Kazama turned around.

“Miss Sparkle,” he said.

“I heard something hit the ground,” said the unicorn. “Where’s Spike? Is he okay?”

“He dropped this book and I thought he went off to get you,” Kazama said. “I don’t know what would make him do that, though. This book is completely blank.”

“He was with you?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I was helping him with the shelves,” he said. “I’m Kazama. I noticed him climbing to get to the higher books and decided to help out.”

“Why was he climbing the shelves without a ladder?”

“He said the shelves were bolted down. That would keep them from falling over, but he could still fall and hurt himself, so I offered to give him a hand.”

“Well, where is he now?”

“I don’t know, but we should find him quick. We’re still at war, and we’re a bit far from home.”

“You can say that again,” said Twilight.

“Oof!” Air escaped his lungs as Spike hit the ground. He groaned and stood up, dusting himself off. He looked around. Wherever he was, it was barren.

There were no hills. There was no life. The sky, the ground... all of it was gray. The only living thing was himself.

“Where am I?” Spike said. “What is this place?”

A sudden hiss sounded behind him. He jumped and spun around, looking for the source of the noise. He saw nothing.

“Hello?” Spike called. “Is... is someone there?”

The hiss came again. Spike spun around again. Something stood before him. A figure cloaked in black. He looked up. The thing held its sleeves together. Its face was hidden in the shadows of its hood.

“Wh-who are you?” asked Spike.

The figure turned and walked away from Spike and began to walk away. But then it stopped and said over its shoulder, “Come, rare and wandering brother.”

Spike began to follow.

“Where are we going?” asked the baby dragon.

“Existence faces a crisis,” said the figure. “If it is to be saved, then the past must be known. I will show you the sin that tore a world asunder.”

“A sin?” Spike repeated. “What’s a sin?”

The figure stopped. It slowly turned, but stopped with its side to Spike. “You are a child yet. I will explain: A sin is a crime, a deed done in evil,” it said. Its voice was raspy and it sounded sad as it spoke. “A great sin was committed long ago.”

“What happened?” Spike asked.

“I will show you.”

It turned back and continued on its path. Spike ran to catch up to his guide.

Spike had been missing for over an hour. Twilight’s mane was in disarray. Her breathing was quick and her eyes were manic.

“Where could he be?” she muttered as she ran through the library.

“Twilight!” called Kazama as he came back down the stairs. “I told the Chief what happened and he’s got a search party going through the mansion.”

Twilight didn’t stop running.

“If he’s here, we’ll find him,” Kazama continued. “Twilight?”

Twilight was still running.

“Twilight, stop.”

Twilight ran up the aisle again. Kazama grabbed her.

“Twilight! Stop!”

Tears streamed from the unicorns eyes. “I can’t stop!” she said. “You don’t understand! Spike isn’t just my assistant, and he’s more than a friend! He’s like a little brother to me! I practically raised him!”

Kazama let go of Twilight and she sat down.

“Ever since the day Princess Celestia brought him to me, I’ve taken care of him,” Twilight said. “He could barely talk and he was so shy, but so cute too. I’ve looked after him ever since I was a young mare.”

“We’ll find him, I promise,” said Kazama. He smiled. “I’m a cop. It’s in my job description.”

Twilight sniffed and nodded.

Spike and the cloaked figure walked for a long time.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Spike said, “who are you?”

The figure remained silent.

“Sorry,” said Spike. “If you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s fine.”

“Who I am is something important that you must understand,” said the figure. “I was only contemplating how to explain my existence.”

“Oh.”

“Perhaps I am a memory. Perhaps I am a piece of something greater, a lost fragment left behind and forgotten. I have had much time to think on this. I will be honest with you, my rare and wandering brother. I am not entirely sure I understand what I am. But I do understand this: I feel incomplete. I always have.”

“Wow. I’m... sorry to hear that.”

“It is a part of who I am. Without that, I would be something else entirely. I am not sure I am ready for that.”

They walked in silence for a while longer.

“We are here.”

They stood at the crest of a hill. In the distance knelt a strange, pale figure. One made of bones...

“Nightshroud!” said Spike. He grabbed his guide’s cloak. “Come on! We’ve gotta get out of here before it sees us!”

“We are the only ones that can see,” said the figure. “What lies broken before us is but a memory, a vision of the past from my mind. It is nothing to fear.”

“What... what happened to it?” Spike asked. “When is this?”

“This is a time before the creation of many of the worlds you know,” said the voice in the cloak. “It is very early in the age of reality itself.”

Nightshroud sat upright and roared, screaming with its unearthly voice at the barren sky.

“A being of immense power and light tried to gain even more power,” said the cloaked figure. “As a result, it was corrupted, turning into a form of itself as barren as its surroundings. This being, what you now call Nightshroud, swore revenge.”

“Revenge? What for?”

“Come. I will show you.”

Kazama’s watch began to beep. “Not good...” he said under his breath.

“What is it?” asked Twilight.

“It’s time to wrap up,” said Kazama. “We’ve entered the last stage of the operation. We need to pack up what we can and get back to base.”

“But... but what about Spike?”

Kazama didn’t have an answer. He’d only just met the young dragon, but even he felt he couldn’t just leave him behind. Even so, a single delay could put everyone else at risk to an attack by Dark Troopers.

“I’ll talk to the Chief,” he said. “We definitely can’t stay, but we might still have some options. We’ll go over them as fast as we can and see what we can come up with.”

“Okay,” said Twilight as she tried to smooth out her mane. “I’ll keep looking for Spike.”

Kazama nodded, then turned and ran to the stairs.

“Spike... where are you?” Twilight whispered.

They stood in a void.

“Where are we now?” Spike asked.

“We are close to the source of all things,” said his guide. “In the beginning, a single card came into existence. How this card came to be is unknown; but what is known is that it is the source of existence. The code of reality is written in the essence of this card.”

A light appeared before the two travellers. Within were strange geometric shapes that rotated in sync. From the side, they appeared as fragments, separate from one another. But as they turned, they seemed to come together. They formed a single shape and a familiar pattern.

“It really is a card!” said Spike. “Is that it?”

“Yes. This is the Numeron Code.”

“Numeron Code?”

“Yes. As I said, this card contains the code of reality itself. All that you have experienced was possible because the nature of the myriad universes came from this card. But it is much more than that. It is a source of great power.”

“Because reality is written in it?”

“Because it is the first Duel Monsters card.”

Spike gasped. “The first card... but, wait, what does this have to do with Nightshroud?”

The cloaked guide said nothing.

“Look, you said I needed to understand the past if we were gonna save the world. So tell me what happened!”

“Oh, that I had the strength to speak of this tragic day.” The cloaked figure’s hood-covered head bowed and moved from side to side. “I have been here for what seems like an eternity, yet I cannot bear to remember what happened, even for the sake of a brother.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Spike asked. “Just who are you?!”

The figure sighed. “There is a final event I must show you,” it said.

Light suddenly filled Spike’s vision, but faded just as quickly. The scene had changed completely once again. All around him, Spike saw the horrors of war.

“What... what’s happening?” he whimpered.

“After Nightshroud became what he is, he ripped through the reality of the Duel Monsters Spirit World,” said the cloaked being. “The resulting schism in the fabric of space gave birth to creatures as dark as itself. Beings of intense evil were born, hating all things that existed and taking pleasure in death and suffering. They were perversions of life itself. The schism widened until part of the Duel Monsters Spirit World broke off and became its own world.”

Spike said nothing.

“It is your world, oh rare and wandering dragon.”

Spike’s eyes widened. His head shot up to look at the figure.

“What?!” said the dragon. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what I have said. Your world was once a part of the Duel Monsters Spirit World, but was separated from the whole by Nightshroud’s rage and malice.”

“I... I’m a Duel Monster?”

“The beings of your world are descended from the spirits, but are not Duel Monsters Spirits themselves. You are what you are. In your separation from your source, however, you have become more. This was necessary for your survival.”

“But... but I’ve been using them to fight!” said Spike. “They were my soldiers!”

“It is in their nature,” said the figure. “Though all things are connected to the Numeron Code, Duel Monsters Spirits are far closer to it than any other being. As the Numeron Code was the first Duel Monsters card, conflict is a part of its nature, though it was always intended as soulful competition rather than a tool for war. However, free will allows for many things, even the possibility of corruption.”

“I don’t get it... how could I use them like that?” said Spike.

“You are not so different from humans. Duel Monsters Spirits are born from the hearts of man, and so are just as much a part of them as they are of you.”

“How is that supposed to help me?!”

“When you duel, you do not lead soldiers to destruction. You fight with your soul. That is what the cards are- expressions of your soul.”

“So... now what?” Spike asked. “What do I do with all of this? I mean, there’s still some stuff I don’t get. Like, why did Nightshroud swear to get revenge? Revenge on who?”

“He tried to gain immense power and fell,” said the cloaked figure. Their surroundings began to fade into darkness. The cloaked figure turned and walked away from Spike.

“Wait!” shouted Spike. “Please, I still don’t understand!”

“I have shown you all that I can,” said the figure. “I have little power left. If I keep you here, you will never return to your loved ones. Go to them. Tell them. Save him.”

“Wait!” Spike shouted again. He looked around. He was back in the library.

“Spike?!”

Violet hooves scooped him up and a soft cheek pressed against his. “Spike! I was so worried about you!”

“Twilight?” said Spike.

“What happened? Where did you go? Why did you wander off like that?! Don’t scare me like that again! Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to yell, I was just worried, but you’re here and I’m glad you’re-”

“Twilight, I'm fine!” said Spike. “Come on, you’re rambling more than Pinkie Pie does! Put me down, will ya? We've still got a lot of books to search. I'll tell you what happened when we’re back at base anyway. Besides... there’s something you and the others should know.”

“We don’t have any more time to search the books, Spike,” said Twilight. “We’re packing up and heading back to base.”

“What? How long was I gone?”

“A few hours,” said Kazama. He was standing behind Twilight. “Twilight was going crazy trying to find you.”

“Well, I'm here now,” said Spike. “Let’s just head back, I guess.”

“Before we do...” said Twilight. Her horn began to glow. Every book in the room floated off of their shelves and formed several lines. “Okay, I think I’ve got all the books. Let’s get going.” She slipped her head underneath Spike and tossed him onto her back, then started walking up the stairs. The lines of books floating in the air followed behind her. Kazama whistled and followed the books.

Spike’s strange journey left him with new questions and a disturbing revelation. He discusses these things with his friends, but a fight breaks out when Twilight admits that she knew all along, and things only get worse when Jack overhears...

Blue-Eyes White Dragon
LIGHT
Level 8
Dragon-Type
This legendary dragon is a powerful engine of destruction. Virtually invincible, very few have faced this awesome creature and lived to tell the tale.
ATK/3000
DEF/2500