15 Spirit Battle

Clay was frustrated when he received the message from Alexis. He was in the middle of interacting with the duel spirits in the well and now he had to go rescue Alexis from Titan. This was such an inconvenience right now.

"Alright guys, I need to go help a friend so we are going to need to speed this up. If you want to come with me then I need you to quickly turn into cards." In a matter of moments the rest of the spirits morphed their forms into cards, leaving Clay to reach down and pick them all up.

"Congratulations champion, you now have a small army of duel spirits ready to serve you." The deep voice of Anotherverse Dragon spoke within Clay's head.

"The name's Clay, and how the heck are you talking in my head?" This was the first time that Clay had experienced any type of telepathy so this was a first for him.

"We spirits are able to communicate with our bonded with telepathy, but only after obtaining a portion of their dueling energy. I already had a surplus of energy because I was a strong being, but the others are weak and are unable to communicate with you for the time being."

This made sense, spirits were beings made of energy so if they didn't have enough of it they wouldn't be able to operate at full capacity. There was something that Clay didn't understand however about this whole energy share thing.

"How do you guys take dueling energy?" Clay made his way to the ladder as he spoke with his new companion.

"If you play our cards during a duel then we will be able to absorb the energy that you passively emit." The process seemed simple but there was still a concern on Clay's mind and the dragon seemed to know this. "Don't worry, there is no danger to you. The energy that you emit is generated by you, it is not part of your being so absorbing it will not affect you in any way."

"That's a relief, so what will happen when the other spirits absorb enough energy?"

"The other spirits will be able to talk to you telepathically and they will be able to interact with the physical world to a certain extent. Their influence on the world depends on how strong the spirit is." Anotherverse Dragon happily explained all the details of duel spirit existence, talking enthusiastically, thankful for the chance to speak with another being again.

"So you would be able to do what exactly?" Clay was curious as to the abilities his new companion had. The other spirits were able to pick up cards but they were only weaker spirits, Anotherverse Dragon was on the stronger side so surely he could do some amazing stuff.

"For now I can probably hold someone or something in place for a short while. When I absorb more dueling energy then I will be able to do more things, such as allowing you to ride me across the globe or creating a dimensional portal."

Clay stumbled and almost lost his grip on the ladder rung. Allowing Clay to ride him and OPENING A DIMENSIONAL GATEWAY were two very different things, yet here this dragon was talking about it like it was nothing.

"And why would I need a dimensional gateway?" There was no reason for him to open a portal anywhere. This wasn't the Arc-V universe so he didn't need to go to the fusion, xyz or synchro dimension, and he didn't even know if he could get to Astral or Barian world so there was nowhere for him to go.

"You are the Champion of Time, do you really think that you are going to only save this world from disaster?" Another bomb drop from the spirit dragon as if this was a regular thing. "Do you not know of your duties as the Champion of Time?"

"This is the first time I am even hearing about the Champion of Time, let alone going to different dimensions. I know that they exist, you spirits are proof of that, but how am I meant to save the different worlds?"

"Hm, do they not teach you about this anymore? How disappointing." Anotherverse Dragon went silent, clearly thinking about something. Clay had finally reached the top of the well, climbing out and looking around.

"Soitsu, do you know the way to the abandoned dorm?" Clay looked to his oldest duel spirit companion. Soitsu flew into the air and looked around, searching for a landmark he could use for directions.

"Yeah, if you head in that direction you'll eventually reach the dorm." Soitsu pointed into the distance, now flying back down to Clay. "Want me to guide you?"

"Please." With the approval, Soitsu began speeding off into the forest, weaving through the trees with an unmatched speed. Along the way Clay had an idea he wanted to put to use.

"Hey, Anotherverse Dragon, you said you could immobilize someone for a few seconds right?" A fun idea came into his head as he planned how he would deal with Titan.

***

Clay entered the abandoned dorm, not trying to hide his presence from anyone who could be around him. His footsteps echoed throughout the halls, thundering without a care in the world. Reaching the door to the large central room, Clay could see two people within.

"Seriously, you had to pick tonight to show up?" His tired voice spoke out. "Me and my friends were just getting to know each other, then you show up and ruin our schedule."

"Finally, now I can get down to business." Titan moved away from Alexis and walked towards Clay, towering over him. "My associate was looking for you, but now that you have come to me we can begin."

"Associate?" Clay looked around the room, not seeing anyone else besides Alexis. "There's no one else here."

"Or is there..." A raspy, robotic-esque voice whispered into Clay's ear. Electricity could be heard crackling behind Clay, heating up the air a small bit.

"What the?" Before he could understand what was happening, an electric shock coursed through Clay's body, forcing him to drop to the ground. "ARGH!"

"CLAY!" Alexis screamed at the sight of Clay collapsing. He was clearly in pain from what he was experiencing. A few moments later and his pained screams came to an end, he had passed out.

"That... was easier... than I thought." The raspy voice spoke again, the figure of a tall man coming into view. He wore a green mask, covering any facial features that would make his face resemble that of a human. The mask was recognizable anywhere, as that of the monster Jinzo.

"What should we do with the girl?" Titan spoke out, pointing behind his back at Alexis, still in shock about what she was seeing right now.

"Leave her... she is of... no use." Jinzo turned around to leave, but not before giving Titan an order. "Pick him up... I will... need him."

Titan bent down to pick Clay up, completely believing that he was knocked out. Before he could get his hands on the boy, he felt his body being grabbed by something. Before he could understand what was happening he was flung to the side of the room.

"So being shocked by electricity hurts that bad huh?" Clay picked himself off the ground, dusting off his pants and front of his shirt. "The more you know I guess."

"How... how did... you throw... him away?" Jinzo didn't turn around to look at Clay as he asked his question. He had heard the crash as Titan smashed into the wall and he didn't need to see to understand who did it.

"You aren't the only strong duel spirit here." Clay moved to the center of the room, giving himself ample space for what he was about to do. "I don't think you are after me are you?"

At this, Jinzo finally turned around. He looked Clay in the eyes, trying to understand what the boy was about to do, wondering why he moved to the center of the room.

"You are after my spirits aren't you? After the friends I just made?" Clay held out his hands in a grand gesture. "Well allow me to introduce you to them." With a grand bow multiple figures could be seen, some on the ground, some floating in the air, some resting on Clay's shoulders.

"What is this... how do you... have so many?" Jinzo was aware that Clay was in possession of a few spirits, but seeing just how many he had, Jinzo didn't know what to think.

"Jinzo, we challenge you to a duel!" Clay declared this so everyone in the room could hear it. Titan was still a bit hazy after being tossed across the room, but he was able to hear the declaration. Alexis was in shock from seeing the monsters appear out of thin air that she didn't understand what was being said.

"A duel... fine... I accept." Jinzo waved his hand and materialized a large duel disk on his arm. It looked strange on his figure but no one was laughing right no. No one, that is except Clay.

"Who said it was a duel monsters duel? No, I challenge you to a spirit battle!" Clay pointed his finger at Jinzo and all of the spirits surrounding him charged forward. The small army seemed fearless in the face of Jinzo, a strong spirit that they would usually run away from at first sight.

Seeing the charge of the small army Jinzo was surprised. He hadn't expected this at all, his targets were offering themselves to him without any hesitation. His shock didn't last long though, if they were going to offer themselves then who was he to deny them.

Preparing his electric abilities, Jinzo was going to shock them all and absorb the energy that these spirits had. Before he could use his abilities though, he felt something grip around him.

"You're just another spirit, I don't need to exert any energy to keep you in place." Anotherverse Dragon spoke in a soft voice, but Jinzo was unable to see his captor or hear him.

With Jinzo being held captive, incapable of using any of his abilities, the other spirits were able to swarm over his form, like ants attacking their prey. His pained screams were drowned out by the sounds of the other spirits mauling their immobile prey.

"Dig in boys, we're feasting good tonight!"