Episode 79. - Inevitable Arrival Of Villain

It had been nearly two weeks since their return from the World Championship tournament, and Remni Yokura, along with Hikari's mother, had been becoming increasingly worried about the girl's odd behaviour. Today, with the Saturday tournament at their local gaming store set to begin at eleven a.m. sharp, Remni's black 3000 GT pulled up in front of Hikari's place of abode. He stepped out of the vehicle, and entered the building...

Hikari's mother, a kindly looking woman who many often said looked nowhere near her age, let him in, as she always did, with a smile of greeting. She was quite fond of her daughter's choice in mate, and was as close to Remni as his own mother, if not moreso. Therefore it was no surprise when she not only welcomed him, but yelled for Hikari on his behalf.

What she got in 'response' surprised Remni, but not so much the older woman. She had been there the whole time this sort of thing was going on. A disheveled Hikari wandered out of the bedroom, her hair a mess, wearing a big old T-shirt and rusty looking cutoff jeans. Not a very flattering presentation. In fact, were either of them less tactful, they would have been perfectly justified in telling her that she looked like a mess.

Despite this, Hikari's mother's tone did not waver from gentle encouragement.
"Honey? Remni's here to pick you up... aren't you two going out today?"

Hikari regarded her blankly, then her expression changed very slightly to one of dazed confusion. She spoke with equal confusion in her voice.
"Remni...?"

Her mother had closed the distance between them by now, and was smoothing Hikari's hair back into place as she spoke.
"Yes dear, your boyfriend Remni, remember? You two were planning to go to the mall today for a tournament. Why don't you go get ready?"

"Alright," Hikari answered emptily, turning to return to the bedroom. Once she had gone, the elder lady took Remni into the living room area, where they sat, and she confided in him...
"Honestly, Remni, I don't know what's wrong with her. She's been like this ever since you two got back from that World Championship. I had no idea she would take it so hard. I have to even remind her to eat... I hope you can cheer her up, I'm getting really worried."

He nodded, an attempt to reassure her, but did not reveal his concerns. Even now the entire thing seemed too farfetched, and his own memory of the events was hazy. Trying to explain it was likely to just make things worse.

Hikari did not take long to get ready, and emerged looking as good as she usually did, but Remni still found himself desperately wanting to hug her and put some sort of life back into the dull eyes she now regarded him with. She followed him out to the car with no fuss, and sat quietly in the passenger seat for the entire trip, barely responding to the things he said, and not even bothering to change the station from what she usually regarded as his 'over the top music'.

Once at the mall, things did not improve much. She simply sat on one of the benches near the store, after they had registered, and looked down with the same blank expression at the deck in her hands. Remni's mind whirled with attempts at finding something to say or do to break what seemed to be her deep depressed state.

"I know. How about some ice cream, then, Hikari? That always cheers you up."
He waited for the answer, but none was forthcoming. His thought processes regarding what else he could try were interrupted a moment later by a familiar voice calling his name...

"Yo! Remni!"
To say that the approaching female was attractive was usually considered an understatement amongst her admirers. They preferred the use of the term 'stunning' in reference to Taimi Crane. She had more gold streaks than usual in her otherwise deep purple hair, on this particular day. She was also dressed much less provocatively than usual, though the form fitting jeans and "If You Bite Me I'll Bite You" top she wore, did not actually call any less attention to her.

"Now there's a face I haven't seen in awhile. What's up, kitten?"

"Oh hi, Taimi... yeah, long time..." he replied as she walked up to him, instantly drawing attention to him as well, since he was one of the few people she deigned to speak with.

"Well, that was enthusiastic..." she muttered, putting hand on hip, "You could at least--"

She stopped here, suddenly, for no clear reason, and turned to Hikari, "What the--?"

Remni was immediately on alert. Taimi seemed to be very interested in something about Hikari right then, and he was almost sure it was connected to the state she was in.
"What? What is it?"

Taimi leaned in closer, looking into Hikari's eyes. Remni found himself vaguely aware of dark 'tentacles' of psychic force now projecting from her, poking and prodding Hikari's own unmoving psionic shape. She prodded a bit more, then said, in a slightly wary voice:
"Someone broke this kid's mind... you know her, Remni?"

Remni found himself at a loss for words as the gravity of what Taimi had said, now sunk in.
"... That's my girlfriend..."

She broke into a grin, standing up again and giving him a congratulatory clap on the shoulder.
"Haha! Wow! Lil' Remni has a girl... friend... oh... Ohhh... that's bad..."

Remni disregarded her response, getting straight to the heart of the matter.
"So... wait... you know what's wrong with her? You've seen this happen to people?!"

Taimi chuckled slightly, leaning down to check Hikari again.
"Kitten, I've done this to people. Whoever did it to her is a real bastard, though. She's kinda stuck like this... You know who did it?"

"Yes! It was a regular looking duelist guy at the World Championships. He had... greyish eyes, and sandy... kinda dirty, blond hair, pulled back in a ponytail. He wore a grey jacket with a white emblem on the back. Not the leather kind of jacket... kind of a--"

Taimi's lips curled into a vicious sneer, as if she disliked whoever Remni was describing.
"Yeah, I know that guy. Allen Juravis. I know him quite well. Never thought he'd get dangerous enough to do this sort of thing to anyone and get away with it..."

"So... then you can help her?" Remni now asked, his voice clearly carrying his hopefulness, "Undo what he did to her?"

Taimi shook her head sadly.
"Sorry. I only know how to do it, not how to undo it. You'll have to find that out on your own somehow. I guess Juravis himself is the best place to start..."

Remni's face darkened, and his insides began to seethe with rage. Now that he knew this had been done on purpose, his previous feelings of fury and frustration were rising within him again. He was going to do something about this. Immediately.
"Where can I find him...?" he growled...

Despite the efforts of both Hikari's mother, and his own, to dissuade him from the course of action, Remni remained resolute in his decision. Allen Juravis was going to tell him how to return Hikari to normal, even if he had to do it through a mouth full of broken teeth. Nothing could deter him from the path, especially not now that Taimi had been able to give him a relatively clear idea of just where Allen Juravis could be found. He drove practically the whole night, and slept in his car, waking the next morning to keep driving. His determination paid off. Surely enough, at the hobby shop she had mentioned, even as he watched from a table at the coffee shop across the street, Allen Juravis stepped out of an equally black car, and stepped into the building.

"This is going to be easy. I didn't have any trouble finding him. He definitely can't get away from me now..." Remni noted to himself, getting up and making his way across the street to the same shop. Inside, very few people were there. Juravis was quite early, and it was a Sunday. Most people would not show up until later, if they bothered to show up at all. This would have made it far easier, had not for Juravis' potent Kaijudo instantly reacting to his presence. Azaghast... had not forgotten him.

"What are you doing here?" came the question into his mind. Remni shuddered slightly, as he again found himself physically unable to move. Juravis was backing him, giving the impression that he was looking through a binder of cards, to those around. None seemed to realize what was actually happening.

Remni did not exactly know how to answer such a question, mentally or otherwise. It seemed unwise to him, even in his furious state, to be making threats to someone who could immobilize him with the power of their mind alone. Finally, he managed to stammer out the only thing that seemed feasible, and likely to move the situation into one he could handle better. The words known to nearly every duelist.
"Allen... Juravis... Ket-tou... da..."

Remni could feel Azaghast 'grin'. Juravis turned, with a human version of that grin on his own face, and nodded to Remni, then motioned to one of the tables nearby. The boy that was sitting there immediately scrambled out of his seat, hurriedly picking up his cards. Juravis took that seat, and Remni managed to get himself into the other, with minor difficulty.

"So what brings you all the way here, mister...?"
He paused, as usual, waiting for Remni to fill in the necessary information.

"You didn't seem to need to know who I was before. You also should remember my name from there anyway. Don't act so smug. You know why I'm here. I want you to fix what you did to Hikari!"

"My my. Such accusatory tones," Juravis laughed, deploying his shields, "And here I thought you had come for a friendly game of Duel Masters..."

Remni was about to respond when he found himself dragged into the darkness of Allen Juravis' mindspace, and forced to bring himself to equilibrium quite quickly. He could feel the darkness around him moving... alive... yet not alive. The distinct mental image of a Wisp Howler floated by. Remni felt his mind cramping in on him again, then a blast of fury, and he was free, and able to right himself in the dark world that he was now apparently trapped in. He placed his five shields from the top of his deck, and drew his cards.

"You go first..." Juravis offered, still grinning. Remni did not hesitate to take advantage of this, quickly drawing his five cards and placing his Crystal Paladin into his mana zone as his first mana card.

"Tell me how to fix Hikari! Tell me how to undo what you did!"
The words echoed only in their minds. No one else could hear. In response, Remni received the same mocking grin from the Tyrant of Shadows.

"I did nothing to your little girlfriend. Whatever happened to her is a result of her own mind. I suppose you can say I applied pressure. If she cracked, it's her weakness, not me, that caused it. You're 'barking up the wrong tree', little dog."
Juravis drew his sixth card, and placed his Galek, the Shadow Warrior, into his mana zone. Remni drew his Bronze-Arm Tribe and placed it into mana. Juravis did similarly with his Megaria, Empress of Dread.

"Scarlet Skyterror to mana. Summon Pyrofighter Magnus. Ikei!"
There was no hesitation in Remni. If this was what he had to do to get Hikari back, he would crush this man, swiftly. The shield did not trigger.

"Well then, I can see you're going to be a rough one to handle. Bat Doctor, Shadow of Undeath, to mana, summon Wisp Howler, Shadow of Tears."
The creature now swirled past Remni again in the shared mindspace, adding to the eerie feeling that still swirled around him. What Remni did next in response was a bit unexpected to the few spectators that were present.

"Pyrofighter Magnus to mana. Summon Bronze-Arm Tribe."
The Beast Folk increased Remni's power, shifting the amount of it he had for use against Juravis. He cast Spiral Gate on the Wisp Howler, with the new power.

Remni found the words coming into his mind again, rather than from Juravis' lips.
"Hasn't it occurred to you that defeating me, or beating me, won't do a thing towards your goal? Didn't I mention before that I'm not even a good duelist really? What good is you defeating me possibly going to do? You think you can shatter some incredible confidence? I don't really have that. When it comes to dueling I'm average. Run of the mill. Hardly worth an expert player's notice. You're achieving nothing here."

"You can mess with people's heads. My friend told me all about what you did to Hikari. You're going to tell me how to undo it."

"Ha. Don't fool yourself this way, child, it's not going to end well."
Juravis drew his card. It caused his Kaijudo to surge incredibly against Remni's. He had drawn an Azaghast. He weighed his options for a bit, placed the Wisp Howler into his mana zone, then summoned Hazaria, Duke of Thorns.

"Not only is it going to end just fine, it's going to be over quicker than you know it."
Remni's voice carried a cold determination that even he was unused to feeling from himself.

"I do hope so," Juravis noted, as he ended his turn, "Long duels tax me when I actually have to work and think too much about all my moves."

"Pyrofighter Magnus to mana. Summon Pyrofighter Magnus. Ikei!"
The second shield shattered with no trigger either. Juravis seemed to take that in stride, but frowned when the third shield, attacked by the Bronze-Arm Tribe, also gave him no defense trigger card. He drew his own Pyrofighter Magnus, and considered a bit, then placed it into his mana zone.

"Hazaria, destroy the Bronze-Arm. Ikei."
The first Dark Lord now leapt into action, sending a hail of poisonous barbed roses at the Beast Folk. The Bronze-Arm did not last long under that assault, and fell easily. Juravis smirked slightly. Whether or not Remni could see it, he now had very few options remaining.

"Your efforts are strong and brave and valiant and all those things that a heroic young man doing his best to save his trapped beloved should be. The problem, boy, lies in the fact that you don't have the slightest clue what I am doing now, furthermore what I did then. Even if I were to explain the entire process of how to reverse her condition, to you, you would not be able to actually do it anyway... would you now? End turn."
Oddly, Juravis had said all this out loud, totally confusing everyone within earshot, with what seemed to be a very strange and extremely off-topic monologue. Only Remni stood even the slightest chance of understanding.

"I know your type. Guys like you think you can talk your way out of anything, but not today. Phantom Dragon's Flame, to mana... and I summon... Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny!"
Remni felt something powerful and strange stir within him when he declared his move. For a moment, Allen Juravis seemed taken aback, as if something had surprised him. He did not bother to mask this either.

"Now that... I did not see coming..."

"Bombazar! Ikei!"
The Dragon of Destiny had already taken powerful form in the mental space they shared, and its strike easily obliterated the final two shields on Allen Juravis' side of the 'field'. Neither triggered. Remni felt powerful then. He could feel Juravis' power receding... retreating. He had one creature on the field and another Speed Attacker in his hand. Nothing could stop them both. This was over.

Allen Juravis laughed wildly at his situation, and continued to speak, apparently mostly to himself, but with Remni as 'captive audience'.
"Not only did I not see that coming... but sadly, it's almost assured that this will fail me..."

Remni found himself slightly dizzy at the strange rising power from his opponent. Something in Juravis' hand was apparently enough to give him at least a chance at winning? That was, as far as he knew, impossible. There was no card in all Duel Masters that could turn around a game that had reached this point...

"So be it then! Maybe luck will favor me as it seems to have favored you!" came the voice of Azaghast. Remni began to feel a strange building heat, flooding through the duelist's Kaijudo, surrounding him, penetrating his defenses, seeping into his mind despite his will...

"Pyrofighter Magnus, to mana! Cast Miraculous Meltdown!"
Now, Remni felt fear. True fear, as Juravis intended. All his effort had been turned against him in a single play. All his speed, turned against him in one play. Everything reversed. The only chance he now had, was that two of his shields would remove the Dark Lords and buy him enough time to finish the duel...

Superheated chains struck the first shield, and instantly a wave of liquid hope drove back Juravis' converging Kaijudo. Spiral Gate!

There was hope now. A very real hope. One more of those and everything would fall away for his enemy. He would not only win, he would win with her card. He would, as she had promised him, not fail.

The chains shattered the next shield. This one triggered also, but it was a Soulswap. The power of the card sent the remaining Duke of Thorns into the portal, and in exchange, brought forth a Bat Doctor, Shadow of Undeath, but the Ghost was now equally capable of landing the final blow. Remni's mind struggled powerfully against what was happening. All he needed now was one more trigger to win.

The second wave was far more overwhelming than the first. In fact, this wave instantly quenched the heat building in Juravis' Kaijudo. Even as the chains shattered the last two shields, the Aqua Surfer swept away the Bat Doctor. There was not even any need to wait for his opponent to end his turn now...

"Bombazar! Todomeda!"
The strike was delivered with all the rage and fury of the colossal dragon before him, yet Allen Juravis seemed totally without concern. In fact, a moment later, he simply laughed wildly, and extended his hand to Remni.

"Good game."
Remni could only stare at him in confusion and anger. He was treating this as just another card game! Hikari's mind hung in the balance and Juravis seemed to be completely disregarding everything that had just happened!

"What do you mean, 'good game'?! You think that's it? I defeated you!"

Juravis nodded, good naturedly.
"Yes. Incredible fortune for you, really..."

"But meaningless..." Azaghast finished, "Sad that you came all this way yet you still do not understand at all. What you have done to us is nothing compared to what we have done to her, or even to you. You have victory, but it is meaningless because you have no skill."

Remni's mind focused its rage, yet again, through the dank mist of Juravis' Kaijudo.
"What do you mean, no skill?! I just utterly overwhelmed you!"

"You were told before this began-- no... on the day that we met, even, that you would easily be able to defeat us with your girlfriend's powerful card. That is not the skill I am referring to, obviously. I am speaking to your mind. I am the Tyrant of Shadows, the mistwalker, the death in the darkness... What are you, little boy?"

"I am--! I am..." Remni's mind trailed off, unsure of what exactly the Dark Lord was asking.

"Just another duelist..." Azaghast finished for him, with that same sickening mocking grin, "The power I have... the power you need to free her, you know nothing of at all. That is why this duel meant nothing. Although I suppose it is a good thing that you won. I would have dealt with you the same way I dealt with your little girlfriend, had you not..."

Juravis smiled, getting up, and telling the others he had to leave early. Remni found himself unable to move or speak, yet again, as he watched his grinning enemy, simply walk away...