Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: Shadowchasers

[Dark Sage]

Attention, I have an announcement to make... Is this thing on? Thanks...

Ahem.

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Thank you.

[Dark Sage]

Author’s note: This chapter uses the Japanese name for an important card. As for why, well, you’ll see why later.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

You may have noticed that before Jinx and I went to go fight that Arcane Golem, and before Gears went to handle Lukas, we were all tipped off about them by the same source – Shichiro.

Where was he? Well, he was holding down the fort, for good reason. Our possession of the Silver Hemisphere was the only thing keeping DaPen from doing whatever he planned to do with the Regalia of Day, so leaving the townhouse without anyone on duty was not an option. So, while Jinx and I were training and Gears was on patrol, he was watching television and keeping a close eye on the docket.

He wasn’t complaining… There were harder parts of his job. Still, he was bored.

Things were about to get more exciting fast.



Shichiro changed the channel on the TV. He remembered how his father often said that the common complaint in his time was, how there could be two-hundred channels and still nothing good on.

Things were a little different for Shadows and Awares. If you paid a small monthly fee to any digital television or satellite provider, you could be hooked up to the channels that only they had access to. Some called it STV (Shadow Television) but it was not just one network. On these channels, Shadowkind could provide entertainment for their own, provided they knew enough about broadcasting.

Some of the soap operas that one elven producer had put together were interesting to say the least…

Right now, Shichiro was clicking through the channels while Sorsha was watching behind him. He had turned off Dances With Werewolves halfway through. (The name should have tipped him off.)

He stopped as he saw the opening sequence for Dr. Time Space and the Continuum.

Eh, the show for science nerds… he thought. I always wondered what Maskent saw in this…

“Oh, Shichiro?” said Boris’s voice.

“What’s this?” asked Shichiro, as the skull held up a plate of brownies.

“I’m trying something new,” said Boris. “Taste it…”

Shichiro picked one up and bit into it.

“Interesting…” he said.

“Uh huh,” said Boris. “I found the recipe for these escargot brownies on the internet…”

Shichiro looked at the brownie.

“Escargot?” he said.

“Uh huh,” replied Boris.

“So, in other words,” replied Shichiro, “snails.”

“Yup,” said Boris. “Oop, better go check on the cake I had in the oven…”

As Boris turned around, Shichiro tossed the brownie underhand and backwards, and Sorsha caught it.

We have got to start limiting his internet time… he thought.

Then there was a beeping noise from a device next to the computer on the desk.

“What the?” said Shichiro, getting up.

He looked at the device, and typed in a command on the screen.

“Wanted Shadowchasers criminal in the immediate area?” he muttered. “Who…”

He looked at the results.

“Well, well, well…”

He picked up his Duel Disk, and looked out the front window.

Sure enough, someone was standing about a block down the street who didn’t seem to fit in, mostly because he was wearing an academic robe. A frown crossed Shichiro’s face.

He walked outside, and the man made a slight smile.

“Hello, Shichiro,” he said, calmly. “Long time, no see…”

“Well, well, Professor Frank…” said Shichiro. “The infamous Dueling Counselor… I never figured we’d see you again…

“You’ll be glad to know that the halfling you took on as a patient responded quite well to your treatment. She sure lost weight, like she wanted to… Unfortunately, she became so anorexic, she might have wasted away if we hadn’t gotten her to a more competent psychiatrist!”

“One can’t expect success all the time in my business,” replied Frank. “In fact, when one method fails, that’s how one develops better methods.”

“And the people you hurt while discovering your ‘better methods’ are of no consequence to you,” replied Shichiro. “We saw the stunt you pulled at the Fortune Cup. We figured that after that, you wouldn’t be capable of feeding yourself any more, let alone getting back into business.”

“True…” replied Frank. “I was rendered almost completely comatose, due to my attempt to delve into a mind of a Duel Spirit of incredible power. Godwin committed me to some psychiatric ward where I couldn’t do much except stare at the wall.

“But… One day a new doctor came in, or at least someone who had convinced the other doctors that he was one. This person used psionic surgery to repair my maimed mind, bringing me back to normal.”

“As normal as you ever were, I guess,” replied Shichiro. “Let me guess, that ‘doctor’ was Louis DaPen.”

Frank nodded.

“Too bad he couldn’t do anything to cure that annoying grin,” added Shichiro.

“Well, I always pay back my debts,” replied Frank.

“You have no idea what you’re dealing with, Frank,” said Shichiro. “DaPen is not the type of person you’d want to work for. He’s far worse than Godwin.”

“Why?” asked Frank. “Because he’s an illithid?”

Shichiro looked at him with a dumbfounded look.

“He… Told you?” he asked.

“No,” replied Frank, “but it was hardly something he could keep hidden from me. So he’s some tentacled mutant with weird powers and an eating disorder. He doesn’t scare me, I’ve dealt with worse. Know what he reminds me of? He reminds me of those old H.P. Lovecraft stories I read when I was a kid. Heh, I really loved those old books…”

“That explains a lot,” said Shichiro. “You’re either very brave, or very foolhardy, Frank. I really don’t know what to make of you… What are you, a psychiatrist, or a nut?”

Frank chuckled a little.

“Why can’t I be both?” he asked. “Maybe you could call me a psychiatry nut, or a nutty psychiatrist. In the grand scheme of things, Shichiro, not everything is always viewed in terms of black and white. The great Sigmund Freud knew that well… That’s why he suggested that there were three aspects that defined the human mind rather than two: one good, one evil, and one that was a mediator between the two.”

“You realize that most psychoanalysts these days regard Freud’s theories as obsolete?” asked Shichiro.

“True,” said Frank, “but like I said before, wrong theories are often as beneficial as correct ones. When a theory is debunked, good theorists form new ones. Freud is to be commended for getting the ball rolling, so to speak.”

“Let’s stop beating around the bush, Frank,” said Shichiro, getting annoyed. “Just what do you want?”

Frank held up a Duel Disk.

“To take you down,” he replied.

Shichiro activated his own Duel Disk.

“So, you’ve become nothing more than a common assassin?” he said. “Well, fine… You’ll find me much harder to defeat than some little girl who uses pixies and unicorns…

“And by the way, don’t think you can hypnotize me like you did her, because you won’t succeed.”

“Duel!” they both exclaimed.

(Shichiro: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Frank: 8,000)

“My draw, Professor,” said Shichiro, sarcastically.

He drew a card.

He set a card on his Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.

“That’s all for now.”

“Then the turn goes to me,” said Frank, drawing a card.

“And I will summon…”

He played a card.

“…Symmetry Rorschach!”

A large blob of ink appeared in the air, and it turned into a wide, flat, symmetrical shape, much like one of the images shown to a patient during a Rorschach test. (1,200 ATK)

“Now, Shichiro,” said Frank, still in his calm tone of voice. “Take a look at my Rorschach and tell me… What does it suggest to you?”

Shichiro sighed.

“Frank, I’ll tell you the same thing I tell every shrink who gives me a Rorschach test,” he replied. “It looks like a puddle of ink.”

“Are you sure?” asked Frank.

“Frank, the whole concept behind the Rorschach is dumb,” said Shichiro. “I defy you to deny that half of the patients that take this test don’t say that most of the ink blots look like butterflies.”

“Humph…” said Frank. “You’re gonna be a tough case…

“Spiral mind…”

Symmetry Rorschach started to pulse and convulse, and Shichiro’s facedown Monster shuddered. Then his Skelengel shattered.

“Thank you,” said Shichiro. “Now I get to draw one card…”

He went to make a draw.

“Hold it,” said Frank.

Shichiro paused.

“According to the rules of Duel Monsters,” said Frank, “a Monster is destroyed before its Flip Effect occurs, so Symmetry Rorschach’s effect occurs first.

“That means I first get to see the top card on your deck. So, if you would…”

Shichiro flipped the top card on his deck. It was Queen’s Knight.

“Excellent,” replied Frank. “NOW you may draw.”

Shichiro drew the card, which was Queen’s Knight.

Frank looked at the other five cards in his hand.

I may not be able to hypnotize him, he thought, but I can still read his actions and anticipate his moves.

He has Queen’s Knight, so he’ll likely summon her on his next turn, so that he can attempt his Poker Knight combo.

He took a card from his hand.

Well, I’ll be ready…

He fit a card in his Disk, and a facedown card appeared.

“It’s your move,” he said.

Shichiro drew another card.

“I summon Queen’s Knight!” he shouted.

With a battlecry, Queen’s Knight leapt onto the field, waving her sword. (1,500 ATK)

“Impressive,” said Frank.

His facedown card lifted.

A Trap? thought Shichiro. What is it? Bottomless Trap Hole?

“Since your Queen is a Light Monster,” continued Frank, “I can activate Guiding Light to the Inner Depths. First, some bad news. You send the top five cards from your deck to the Graveyard.”

Shichiro frowned. He took five cards off of his deck, and discarded them.

“Next, good news,” continued Frank. “You get to draw the next card.”

Shichiro frowned again, and made a draw. He looked at it.

“Then, more bad news,” said Frank. “If you do not play the card you drew this turn, you lose 2,000 points of damage.”

Shichiro looked at the card again.

“Whatever you say, Frank,” he said, fitting it into his Disk. “I Equip Queen’s Knight with Synchro Boost!”

Queen’s Knight glowed with a soft light.

“It gives my Monster 500 more Attack Points, and increases her Level by one.

“Now… Splatter his Rorschach!”

Queen’s Knight leapt at Symmetry Rorschach and made a swipe with her blade. It was torn to shreds like cloth, and the shreds dissolved.

Weirder and weirder, thought Shichiro.

(S: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 7,200)

“My move…” said Frank, drawing a card.

He chuckled as he saw the Monster on the card.

“Here’s a little trick I learned from Bommer,” he said, as a Spell Card appeared.

“Star Blast?” said Shichiro. “That lets you downgrade the Level of a Monster, right?”

“Correct,” replied Frank. “So long as I pay 500 Life Points for each Level I want to lower it. So I’ll pay 1,000 Life Points to downgrade this Level 6 Monster to Level 4.

“Which means that I can instantly summon… Id, the Super Demonic Lord!”

With a roar, and an explosion of energy, a fearsome beast appeared next to Frank. It looked like a giant wolf or other predator, made entirely of dark, crackling energy, with sharp claws and horns. (2,200 ATK)

“Gee, Frank,” said Shichiro, “I didn’t know you were a fan of Forbidden Planet.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a ‘fan’,” replied Frank, “although I did watch it once. Yes, that old cult classic did have something called the Id Monster that looked similar to my Monster. And like this one, it was formed out of the concept of Id, the part of the psyche which Freud identified as the basic inherent part of the human mind that drives the most savage instincts. A man’s evil side, if you will.

“But anyway…

“Attack. Violent egotism.”

Id appeared to grow bigger as it loomed over Queen’s Knight. It slammed down its mighty claw, crushing her in one swipe. Shichiro growled.

A facedown card appeared behind Id.

“I’ll end with a reversed card, and then you can go.”

(S: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 6,200)

Shichiro made a draw.

The only way to permanently destroy that thing is via battle, he thought. At least he can’t summon any other Monsters with it on the field.

He looked at his hand.

But anyway… I’ve got just what the doctor ordered…

“I summon Junk Synchron!”

With a flourish, the cute robot leapt onto the field. (1,300 ATK)

“And thanks to him, I can bring Skelengel back from the Graveyard.”

The winged cherub appeared, crouching in Defense Mode. (400 DEF)

“Now, let’s show this shrink some Synchro action!”

Junk Synchron grabbed its ripcord, and gave it a yank. Both Monsters flew into the sky, and faded into five glowing stars.

Junk Warrior descended, and spun around in mid-air. (2,300 ATK)

“Your Junk Warrior is very interesting,” said Frank. “It seems to be cobbled together from spare parts and old machinery to make a powerful fighter.

“In other words, it’s a Gestalt… A whole that is different than the sum of its parts.”

“Will you stop with the psychological bibble-babble?!” shouted Shichiro.

“Why should I?” asked Frank, as his facedown card lifted up. “What I just said fits the current situation perfectly. I activate Gestalt Trap.”

A large clamp flew at Junk Warrior, and clamped around its waist. It roared, as its Attack and Defense Scores both fell to zero.

Shichiro growled.

“I end my turn!” he shouted.

“Then I draw,” said Frank, drawing a card.

“Next, I Equip Junk Warrior with Immortal Homeostasis,” he said, as a Spell Card appeared on his side of the field. “As the name suggests, this makes Junk Warrior immortal.

“Now, my Monster attacks.”

Id loomed over Junk Warrior, and brought his claw down, smashing Junk Warrior to pieces.

“ERGH!” grunted Shichiro.

Then the shattered pieces reformed, and Junk Warrior appeared again.

“I set a facedown card,” said Frank, as a new reversed card appeared, “and I end my turn.”

(S: 5,600) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 6,200)

This guy’s more annoying than the gas you get from eating baked beans, thought Shichiro. And I have a pretty good idea what that facedown card it.

I’d better draw something good…

“I draw!” he exclaimed, making a draw.

“That means the other effect of Immortal Homeostasis activates,” replied Frank. “Since Junk Warrior’s Attack Score is not its base score, you lose 300 Life Points.”

Shichiro frowned as a red aura surrounded him. He looked at the card he had drawn.

“I play a facedown,” he said, as a reversed card appeared, “and then I move him to Defense Mode.”

Junk Warrior knelt, and crossed his arms over his chest. (0 DEF)

“Then I set another Monster in Defense Mode.”

A set Monster appeared.

“And I end my turn.”

(S: 5,300) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 6,200)

Frank drew a card.

“I first move Id into Defense Mode,” he said.

Id sat, and shielded itself with its claws. (800 DEF)

“Now I activate a new Trap,” he said, as his facedown card lifted up. Zero Gravity. Now, all Monsters on the field switch Modes.”

Id reared up into Attack Mode again. (2,200 ATK) Junk Warrior stood up as well. (0 ATK)

“Now, Id, attack Junk Warrior again.”

Id loomed over Junk Warrior a second time…

“That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d do, Frank,” said Shichiro. “I have a Trap of my own! Go, Malevolent Catastrophe!”

His facedown card shot up.

“Now, since you declared an attack, all Spell and Trap Cards on the field are wiped out!”

A look of fear crossed Frank’s face.

“Not again…” he moaned.

Gestalt Trap and Immortal Homeostasis shattered into shards. Junk Warrior roared as its Attack Score shot back up to 2,300.

“Junk Warrior, show that demon some Scrap Fist action!” shouted Shichiro.

As Id tried to take a swipe at Junk Warrior, the Synchro punched it hard. Id, the Super Demonic Lord let out a bellow, and shattered into black shards.

For the first time, Frank looked a little angry.

“I set a card, and then play The Dark Door,” he said.

A reversed card appeared, and then a Continuous Spell appeared.

“And so long as this Door remains, both players may only attack with one Monster per round.”

“Then it’s my move,” said Shichiro.

He made a draw.

“I summon Marauding Captain,” he said.

The armored, battle-scarred Warrior appeared, holding his two swords. (1,200 ATK)

“Next, I use his effect to summon Hayabusa Knight.”

He played another card, and the hawk-headed, rapier-wielding swashbuckler appeared. (1,000 ATK)

“Next, I flip Axe Raider into Attack Mode.”

His facedown card flipped up, and Axe Raider appeared with a howl. (1,700 ATK)

“I can see you have a lot of pent-up aggression,” said Frank. “However, thanks to my Dark Door, you can only release it in small doses.”

“I’ll show you aggression,” said Shichiro. “Junk Warrior, attack him directly!”

Junk Warrior flew at Frank, socking him in the chest and knocking him over.

“Ouch…” he said.

(S: 5,300) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,900)

He got up, which wasn’t the easiest thing to do, considering what he was wearing. His calm demeanor was quickly fading.

“My draw,” he said, in a low snarl.

He drew a card, and looked at it.

He set a card on his Disk, and a reversed Monster appeared.

He nodded.

Curses, thought Shichiro, drawing a card. If it weren’t for that Dark Door, I could have beaten him last turn.

But I just have to try to do my best…

Junk Warrior flew at the card. Morphing Jar appeared on the card and shattered.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for Shichiro. He now had to discard five of his cards, two of which were Tuners. Frank, on the other hand, didn’t have to discard any.

They both drew five more, and Shichiro looked at his.

“All right, mind-wrecker,” he said, “I’m setting a card facedown.”

A reversed card appeared.

“And it’s your move…”

Frank made a sixth draw, and looked at his hand.

“First I’ll set a Monster,” he said. “Then, I’ll play the Continuous Spell Card, Wave of Ill-Intent.”

The set Monster appeared, and then the Spell Card appeared. Shichiro was a little shocked by the appearance of the Spell, which depicted a bloated, demonic face.

“It’s my move!” he shouted.

He made a sixth draw of his own.

“Junk Warrior, crush his Monster!”

Junk Warrior flew at the facedown card yet again. This time, the Monster that appeared was a multicolored wreath with feathered wings.

“You destroyed my Nova Summoner,” said Frank. “Now, I get to Special Summon a Light-Attribute, Fairy-Type Monster with 1,500 Attack Points or less. Like another Nova Summoner.

A second Nova Summoner appeared. (800 DEF)

“And that’s not all. Since my Monster was destroyed, Wave of Ill-Intent activates, and you lose 300 points of damage.”

Shichiro growled.

My Mystical Space Typhoon is in this deck somewhere… he thought.

“I end my turn!” he shouted.

(S: 5,000) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,900)

Frank chuckled as he drew a card.

“I’m sick of defending…” he said. “Time to be a little aggressive myself…

“Do you remember when I said that Freud outlined three parts of the psyche? The Id was one, and there was also the Superego. The Superego was the opposite of the Id. It represented a person’s morals and ethics, his restraint. It was the positive where the Id was negative.”

He chuckled a little.

“Do you know those cartoons you used to watch as a child, where a character considers doing something bad, and a little angel appears on his shoulder trying to persuade him not to do it, while a little devil appears on his other shoulder trying to persuade him to do so? Most folks don’t know it, but that is a simplified version of the struggle between the Id and the Superego.”

“And does this actually go anywhere?” asked Shichiro.

Frank grinned evilly.


Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“I sacrifice Nova Summoner…” he exclaimed.

Nova Summoner vanished.

“To call forth Superego, the Super Celestial Lord!”

In another explosion of energy, a new Monster appeared. It suggested Id at first glance, but it was made of golden energy, and suggested a large lion, rather than a wolf. (2,200 ATK)

“Good lord…” said Shichiro.

“Attack his Marauding Captain!” shouted Frank.

Superego, the Super Celestial Lord breathed a beam of pure light from its jaws, and Marauding Captain was reduced to vapor.

(S: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,900)

Frank played a new card.

“I next play Card pf Safe Return,” he chuckled. “It’s your move…”

Shichiro quickly drew a card.

“Come on out, Command Knight!” he exclaimed.

He played the card, Command Knight appeared in a burst of flame. (1,200 ATK)

“Now, all my Warriors receive 400 more attack points.”

Junk Warrior rose to an Attack Score of 2,700, Hayabusa Knight rose to 1,400, Axe Raider to 2,100, and Command Knight herself to 1,600.

“Junk Warrior, attack!”

Junk Warrior punched Superego, and the huge Fairy exploded into shards of light. Frank cringed a little.

“So much for that,” said Shichiro.

“And you lose 300 more Life Points from Wave of Ill-Intent,” replied Frank.

Shichiro groaned.

“I end my turn…” he said.

(S: 3,700) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,400)

“I draw!” laughed Frank. “And now, guess who’s back?”

In an explosion of light, Superego reappeared. (2,200 ATK)

“HOW?” shouted Shichiro. “I destroyed it via battle!”

“Exactly!” laughed Frank. “Superego is the opposite of Id in every way! Id is a Fiend, Superego is a Fairy… Id is Dark, Superego is Light…

“And Id can revive itself if destroyed via card effects… Superego can do the same if destroyed via battle!

“And due to Card of Safe Return, I now get to draw one card.”

He made a draw.

“Now, I activate Curse of Aging.”

His facedown card lifted up, and he discarded a card in his hand, a second Curse of Aging. All of Shichiro’s Warriors gasped. Junk Warrior started to rust and corrode, while wrinkles appeared on the faces of the others. Their Attack Scores all fell by 500 points.

“Superego, attack Junk Warrior!” commanded Frank.

Superego shot forth his beam of light, and both Junk Warrior and Superego were eradicated.

“Now, you once again lose 300 Life Points from Wave of Ill-Intent,” said Frank.

“Ergh…” groaned Shichiro.

“I set a facedown, and end my turn.”

A reversed card appeared in front of him. The wrinkles of the faces of the other Warriors vanished, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

(S: 3,400) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,400)

“My draw, Frank,” said Shichiro, making a draw.

He drew, and looked at the card.

“Hayabusa Knight…” he said.

Then Frank’s facedown card flipped up.

“I activate Threatening Roar!” he exclaimed.

A loud bellow echoed over the field.

“Now, there’ll be no battle this turn.”

“You’re gonna run out of shields soon enough,” said Shichiro.

His own facedown card lifted up.

“I activate Wicked Rebirth. Now, I’ll drop 800 Life Points to bring back Junk Warrior.”

With a flash of energy, Junk Warrior leapt onto the field again. (2,300 ATK) –> (2,700 ATK)

“The catch is, he can’t attack.

“Now, I’ll move my other Monsters to Defense Mode.”

Axe Raider knelt and held his Axe in his lap. (1,150 DEF) Hayabusa Knight sheathed his rapier and knelt. (700 DEF) Command Knight crouched behind her shield. (1,900 DEF)

“I’ll set a card facedown, and end my turn.”

A reversed card appeared behind his Warriors.

(S: 2,600) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,400)

Frank drew a card.

“Once again, Superego returns,” he said.

Superego appeared again. (2,200 ATK)

“Once again, I draw once due to Card of Safe Return…”

He made a draw.

Then he laughed. He laughed in a voice that didn’t sound sane.

“I can tell you just drew a powerful Monster, Frank,” said Shichiro. “But how will you summon it? That thing on your field keeps you from summoning any other Monsters.”

“I’ll show you,” said Frank. “But first…

“Superego… Attack Junk Warrior!”

“Huh?” said Shichiro.

Superego blasted its beam, and Junk Warrior simply swatted it aside. Superego roared, and burst into pixels.

“Now, you lose 300 more Life Points from Wave of Ill-Intent,” continued Frank. “Plus, I’m able to play Mental Contamination.”

He quickly played a Spell Card.

“Since my Monster was destroyed, I get to destroy one Spell or Trap Card, like Wicked Rebirth.”

The Trap Card shattered, and so did Junk Warrior.

(S: 2,300) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 2,900)

“And Superego won’t be coming back next turn… I’m removing it and Id from play to summon my mightiest beast…

“As I said, Freud outlined three parts of the psyche… The third one was the most powerful and most vital, for it was the mediator between the Id and the Superego, the one which kept each one in check, and kept each one from gaining complete dominance over the other…

“I now summon my third psychoanalytical being! Come forth, Ego, the Concordant Lord!”

There was a rumble, and a huge, monolithic form rose next to Frank. It stood twenty feet tall, and resembled a statue made of seamless brass, shaped like a muscular, androgynous human, with a completely blank expression. (3,200 ATK)

“Uhm…” said Shichiro. “Okay, that’s certainly… big…”

“Of course,” said Frank, “my Battle Phase is finished for this turn… And I can only us his effect during my first Main Phase. So… I think I’ll just end my turn now…”

Shichiro nervously drew a card.

Jutte Fighter.

He looked at his three Monsters. He didn’t have the right combination of Levels right now to summon Colossal Fighter. Not that Colossal Fighter would do much good anyway.

Slowly, however, a plan started to form, but it would take a lot of luck.

“Okay, Frank,” he said. “I’m setting a Monster and a reversed card facedown.”

He set Jutte Fighter and another card from his hand, and both appeared facedown.

“Do your worst.”

“My worst, eh?” laughed Frank, drawing a card. “Your wish is my command.

“During my first Main Phase, Ego has the ability to destroy any card at all. So Command Knight is about get shock treatment.”

Thunder rolled, and a bolt of lightning flashed out the blue, striking Command Knight. She screamed right before being blown to shards.

“Now, I’ll discard one card so that my Concordant Lord can attack.”

He discarded one card.

“Destroy Hayabusa Knight! Attack with brain wave!”

Ego barely moved, but waves of powerful energy blasted from its forehead, blowing Hayabusa Knight to bits.

“I doubt you can summon a Monster stronger than mine,” continued Frank, as he played a Spell Card, but just in case, I’m playing a second Immortal Homeostasis. Only this time, I’m Equipping it to my own Monster.

“And with that, I end my turn…”

It’s now or never… thought Shichiro.

He drew a card.

Well, he thought, guess it’s time to call in a specialist.

“I play the Warrior Returning Alive,” he said, as he quickly played it. “Now, I can retrieve a Monster that you forced me to discard with your Guiding Light to the Inner Depths.”

A card slipped out of his discard slot.

“But before I summon him, I’m flipping Jutte Fighter into Attack Mode.”

His facedown Monster flipped up, and Jutte Fighter appeared. (700 ATK)

Then, he glowed with energy, and Ego knelt down and crossed its arms. (2,500 DEF)

“My Monster!” shouted Frank. “It’s moving into Defense Mode!”

“That’s right,” said Shichiro. “And now I sacrifice Axe Raider and Jutte Fighter…”

Both Warriors vanished into pixels of light.

“To summon Gilford the Legend!”

In an explosion of energy, the mighty Gilford appeared, holding aloft his enormous sword. (2,600 ATK)

“Have you forgotten about my Immortal Homeostasis?” asked Frank. “That big lug can’t destroy my Monster!”

“Who needs to destroy it?” asked Shichiro. “I activate Gilford’s effect, which lets me Equip him with the two Equip Spells in my Graveyard…

“Synchro Boost… And Big Bang Shot.

“You already know what the first can do. Big Bang Shot gives him 400 more Attack Points and a trampling effect.”

Both Equip Spells appeared behind Gilford. (3,500 ATK)

Big Bang Shot? thought Frank. When did that go to his…

Oh… It must have also been one of the five cards that I sent there with Guiding Light to the Inner Depths…

“Big deal!” he shouted. “I’ll survive, and thanks to my own Equip Spell, so will Ego!”

One of Shichiro’s facedown cards lifted.

“I activate Micro Ray!” he shouted. “This reduces Ego’s Defense Score to zero.”

Frank turned pale, as his Monster’s Defense Score fell to nothing.

“I hate to end this, Frank,” said Shichiro, “but your hour is up.”

“HEY!” shouted Frank, “that’s MY line!”

“Gilford…” ordered Shichiro, “attack the Concordant Lord with legendary blade!”

Gilford let out a roar, and slammed his sword into the huge statue. Professor Frank let out a loud scream…

(S: 2,300) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 0)

Shichiro caught his breath as the holograms vanished.

Then he saw Frank running away, down the street.

Oh, no, pal, he said. You don’t get away that easily…

As Shichiro started to chase him, Frank ducked into an alleyway, where he tripped over his long outfit.

“Damn academic robe…” he cursed. “How the heck do the pros duel all the time in those ridiculous costumes?”

Then his mobile rang.

“WHAT?” he shouted, answering it.

“Hello, Professor,” said DaPen’s voice.

“Uh, Mr. DaPen!” said Frank, nervously. “Uhm… The plan hit a snag…”

“Yes, I know,” said DaPen. “I was watching the whole thing. I found it very interesting.

“What I found most interesting was the part before the duel, the part where you referred to me as a ‘tentacled mutant with weird powers and an eating disorder’. Yes, that was very interesting.”

Frank turned pale.

“Mr. DaPen…” he gasped. “I… I meant it as a compliment…”

“Regardless,” said DaPen. “You miss the point. I don’t know how you saw me for what I am, but I simply cannot trust a human with your questionable stability with such knowledge. If word of this got out to rank-and-file Awares and Shadowkind in my organization, it would be bad. I can’t take that risk.”

“You can’t keep it a secret forever!” pleaded Frank. “The Shadowchasers know!”

“Do you actually believe that anyone in the DaPen Syndicate would believe a Shadowchaser?” asked DaPen. “Goodbye, Professor…”

Then Professor Frank clutched his head, and collapsed to the ground.

Shichiro ran up to him.

Frank’s eyes were open, and his face was frozen in a grin. Shichiro snapped his fingers, but he was apparently comatose.

“Clearly, DaPen has the ability to take back whatever he gives,” muttered Shichiro.

He saw the phone on the ground. He picked it up.

He raised an eyebrow. Whoever was on the other end hadn’t hung up yet.

Did DaPen expect him to make a threat again?

Shichiro spoke into it.

“I know you’re listening,” he said. “These games… They’re getting annoying…”

He hung up.



Yes, they were annoying. But Shichiro didn’t know that DaPen had decided that today was the day he would stop playing. His next attack, which would take place before the day was out, would be a true show of his strength. It would be directed towards one of us, and his intent would be, quite simply, to kill the target. None of us knew the danger that we were in, and as the clock moved towards three o’clock, the time to the attempt cam closer.

But it was now only about twelve-thirty, and before it happened, I would finally get my chance to do the Limit Reverse test. I was as ready as I’d ever be, and as anxious as ever to do it, and pass it.



SYMMETRY RORSCHACH (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Light
Level: 3
ATK: 1,200
DEF: 1,200

Card Description: When this card destroys an opposing Monster as a result of battle, confirm the top card of your opponent’s deck.



IMMORTAL HOMEOSTASIS (Spell Card)

Equip Spell

Image: Maha Vailo surrounded by a dark aura.

Card Description: The Equipped Monster cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. During the Standby Phase of the Equipped Monster’s controller, if the Equipped Monster’s ATK is different than its base ATK, inflict 300 points of damage to the Life Points of the controller of the Equipped Monster.



WAVE OF ILL-INTENT (Spell Card)

Continuous Spell

Image: A hideous, bloated, demonic face.

Card Description: Each time a Monster on your side of the field is destroyed as a result of battle, inflict 300 points of damage to your opponent’s Life Points.



MENTAL CONTAMINATION (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A man holding his head as an evil shadow looms behind him.

Card Description: You may activate this card during a turn in which a Monster you control is destroyed. Destroy one Spell or Trap Card your opponent controls.



GESTALT TRAP (Trap Card)

Continuous Trap

Image: A large, metal clamp.

Card Description: Upon activation, this card is treated as an Equip Spell that is Equipped to a Monster controlled by your opponent. Reduce the ATK of the Equipped Monster to zero, and negate its effect.



GUIDING LIGHT TO THE INNER DEPTHS (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A man on a pathway in a void, looking towards a glowing portal.

Card Description: Activate only when your opponent Summons a LIGHT Monster. Your opponent sends the top five cards from his deck to the Graveyard. Your opponent then draws the next card and adds it to his/her hand. If he/she does not play that card this turn, he/she receives 2,000 points of damage.

Note: The proceeding six cards were first used by Professor Frank in the multi-part “Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s” episode “Return to the Spirit World”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



SUPEREGO, THE SUPER CELESTIAL LORD (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Fairy/Effect
Attribute: Light
Level: 6
ATK: 2,200
DEF: 800

Card Description: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, during your next Standby Phase, Special Summon this card and destroy all Monsters you control except this card. While you control this face-up card, you cannot Normal Summon, Flip-Summon, or Special Summon. You can only control one “Superego the Super Celestial Lord”.



EGO, THE CONCORDANT LORD (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 10
ATK: 3,200
DEF: 2,500

Card Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card can only be Special Summoned from your hand by removing from play one “Id, the Super Demonic Lord” and one “Superego, the Super Celestial Lord” in your Graveyard. Once per turn, during your Main Phase 1, you may destroy one card on the field. You must discard one card from your hand to attack with this card. While you control this face-up card, you cannot Normal Summon, Flip-Summon, or Special Summon. You can only control one “Ego the Concordant Lord”.



Coming up next:

No justice system is perfect. Now and then, a criminal beats the system, and gets away with what he has done. It isn’t right, but that is the downside of running a fair and just system. It is no different for the Shadowchasers.

Next episode, Jinx and Ember encounter one criminal who beat the system, and he just can’t help but gloat in Jinx’s face. At least Ember now gets a chance to do her final official test. And it’s time to go to the mystic lands of Arabian Nights, in a chapter I call “Desert Sunlight”, coming soon.


Shadowchaser Files

The Silent Walkers, the Power of Thought in Silence


The Arcadia Movement is not the only psychic organization in the world, and is definitely not the oldest. That distinction goes to the Silent Walkers, a group that has been around in Japan since long before Tokyo was called by that name.

The Silent Walkers dates back to the early 1600’s. On the surface, it seems like little more than a monastic group dedicated to the extremely difficult martial arts form called Shikuza Ni Ugoku (“Moving in Silence”). Students are taught a rigorous code of honor that was derived from the original samurai code of Bushido, and dissent is not tolerated.

The truth of the matter is, the Silent Walkers use their martial training, mental discipline, and philosophical beliefs to harness the hidden power of the mind. They believe that through the perfection of the mind, body, and spirit, one can be granted psionic powers. Some members of this organization actually achieve success. However, they also believe that anyone who obtains these powers via other means is an affront to the gods.

The Silent Walkers oppose three groups of people: natural-born psychics (Aki and Divine are both on their list), those who obtain psychic powers via artificial means, and rogue members of their own group. Collectively, they refer to all three groups as “oni”, and attempt to hunt down and slay them. However, they have toned down this goal in recent years, only enforcing their desire to hunt down the first two groups within the borders of Japan. They now feel that psionics elsewhere in the world are none of their concern. However, turncoats are the most dangerous oni, and if such enemies travel to other nations, they are often pursued by psionic assassins. The Silent Walkers spare no expense to keep their secrets hidden.

One difficulty that has arisen among Shadowkind is the fact that the word “oni” can literally be translated to mean “demon” or “monster”. This makes many Shadows believe that the Silent Walkers want to hunt them down for no good reason, and has made the Silent Walkers many enemies. The Silent Walkers are knowledgeable of Shadowkind, and they know that dueling is their preferred method of combat. They have taken up this form of battle in recent years much like most Shadows have.

For now, the Silent Walkers are an enigma, but remain a threat to anyone, Shadowkind or otherwise, who happens to be psychic.


Story Ideas: Any story involving the Silent Walkers is going to involve psychics in some way. Paranatural beings are not common, but they may be hiding in remote areas, and this secretive organization considers all of them a blasphemy. They might be considered benign if they targeted an illithid or another psionic ne’er-do-well, but it would be a mistake to trust them, as there are many honest psychics. This is one case where Shadowchasers would have to protect Shadowkind, rather than fight them. And should a Shadowkind himself be psychic, he too may be a target, even if he doesn’t know it.


Deck Ideas: A Psychic Deck is certainly possible for a member of the Silent Walkers, but that is not the only possibility for a member of this order. Another possibility might be a Six Samurai Deck, or perhaps one that uses Master Monk as a weapon.

Whatever deck a member of the order uses, it is possible that some of the more powerful members are skilled in Psychic Dueling, the strange reality-warping effect that both Aki and Divine are able to manifest during a duel. In fact, some members may be even better at it than they are and better at controlling their powers. This can make can make confronting them in a duel incredibly dangerous, and a risk to life and limb.

[Shuppet Master]

Great, a chapter update!

I'm surprised Shichiro was stupid enough to leave the base unattended by chasing Frank down. He clearly forgot that DaPen could have used this as an opportunity to steal the Silver Hemisphere.

Great duel, though. It was interesting to see Luna's tormentor get his again.

[Dark Sage]

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

When you think of old stories, you can’t get much older, than the Arabian Nights, a collection of stories that date back to the 14th Century, which supposedly originated in Persia but have Indian influences.

The stories are bound by a common thread, involving the Sultan Shahryar. After his first wife is unfaithful to him, he has her executed, but the experience causes him to hate women, believing them all to be unfaithful. He thus goes on to marry a succession of versions, only to have them executed the night after.

Things change after the vizier’s daughter, a beautiful (and clearly very smart) girl named Scheherazade volunteers to marry him. On their wedding night, she tells him a story, but does not finish it. Anxious to hear the ending, Shahryar postpones her execution. The next night, she finishes the story but begins a new one, again not finishing it. This goes on, night after night.

The stories vary widely. They depict genies, magic, and legendary places, and are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally. Common protagonists include the caliph Harun al-Rashid, his vizier, Ja'far al-Barmaki, and his court poet Abu Nuwas, despite the fact that these figures lived about two centuries after the fall of the Persian Empire in which core story is set.

This goes on for a thousand and one nights. In the meantime, Shahryar has children with Scheherazade, and she remains faithful to him. He realizes he has fallen in love with her, and grants her a pardon.

What does this have to do with me? The game of Duel Monsters spans every nation, and the legends of all those nations. I’m up against a Shadowkind who might have appeared in one of Scheherazade’s stories himself, and who uses cards that may have been inspired by them.

And now… The Limit Reverse test has begun…



Jinx drove slowly down the street with Ember jogging behind her. She heard Ember panting for breath.

She slowly stopped. She pulled up in front of a place called Taste of the Tropics Juice Bar.

“Want to take a break, Ember?” she asked.

Ember caught her breath, and nodded.

Jinx turned on the security device on her D-Wheel, and dismounted. They both walked into the juice bar, whose décor was made to resemble a tropical paradise.

As they did so, someone by a jukebox watched them enter. He grinned.

He reached into his pocket, and took out a one-hundred yen coin. He dropped it in the jukebox, and made a selection.

As Jinx and Ember walked up to the bar, the music started to play. It was an old song by They Might Be Giants called “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”.

Jinx noticeably cringed when it started.

“I take it you don’t like this song?” asked Ember.

“I used to like it,” muttered Jinx. “But it was the favorite song of a guy I really, really don’t like…”

“You called?” said a voice behind them.

They turned, and saw a very tall, very muscular, intimidating man. He was bald, with a short goatee, and had slate blue eyes. He was dressed in a navy blue business suit.

“What are you doing in a place like this, Omar?” asked Jinx, with a scowl.

“I own it,” said the man. “I had some money put away, so I invested it in this little place. And I’m doing good business too. Summer is a great time for kids buying fruit smoothies.”

“How nice…” scowled Jinx. “Ember… Let’s go somewhere else…”

“Please, please!” protested Omar. “How could I turn you away after all we’ve been through, Jinx?

“Now I insist… Order whatever you like… It’s on me.”

Jinx growled a little as he grinned and turned away, but she sat down at the bar.

“He’s a Shadow, right?” asked Ember.

Jinx nodded.

“He’s a djinn,” replied Jinx. “A type of genie of elemental wind. His kind are known for their enormous egos.”

“I take it there’s some bad blood between you two?” asked Ember.

Jinx’s voice sank to a whisper.

“This is all off the record, because it was never proven,” she said. “He was going to be my biggest bust, just three months after I officially became a Shadowchaser.

“You see, he used to be the biggest fence in Neo Domino. He wasn’t the type who’d deal stolen car stereos or watches. He dealt in fine art and jewelry… No matter how hot an item was, he’d find a buyer.

“I spent two weeks hunting him down, and then closed in to get him…”

“So what happened?” asked Ember.

“He surrendered!” exclaimed Jinx. “Gave up without a fight. But the thing is, he knew I was coming all along, and got rid of the most damning evidence. I couldn’t arrest him for fencing the most valuable things that had gone through his hands… The only charge I could make stick was some lesser charge that he later plea bargained so that he’d be out of jail in two months.

“That guy more than likely made billions of yen by trafficking stolen goods, and he practically got away with it.”

“Hmm,” said Omar’s voice behind them. “I can see that my customers aren’t happy… What’s wrong, Jinx? I offer you a free smoothie, and I still can’t make you smile? Some things never change…”

Jinx turned around, and saw that Omar was wearing a Duel Disk now.

“So, you do duel,” she said.

Omar chuckled.

“I know you were expecting a duel way back when,” he replied. “I was so sorry I had to disappoint you… Why don’t we make it up now? You and me, no strings attached?”

Jinx looked around.

The bar was crowded, and several of the customers were Shadowkind. They likely knew that she was a Shadowchaser.

She wasn’t stupid. She saw through Omar’s plan. He wanted to duel her and win, so that he could prove he was better than she was. Defeat her so he could laugh in her face again.

Two can play at that game, Omar, she said.

“Sorry, Omar,” she said, “I’m not one to duel for someone’s amusement…

“But… I’m pretty sure that Ember might be willing to duel you?”

“Eh?” said Ember.

“Limit Reverse…”whispered Jinx.

Omar chuckled.

“Taking students now, Jinx?” he said. “You must have gotten somewhat better…”

Ember sighed. She stood up.

Jinx held her by the shoulders.

“Be careful now,” she whispered. “Remember the conditions… “

Her voice sank to a whisper.

“And even if you can’t, try to win anyway. The last thing we need to do is feed his ego even more.”

Ember stood up to the large djinn. Her Disk activated.

“All right, buddy,” she said. “I’m gonna blow you away!”

“Duel!” they both said.

(Ember: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Omar: 8,000)

“The first move is yours,” said Omar, narrowing his eyes.

Ember drew a card, and then looked at the six cards in her hand. Then she looked at Omar.

So, what can I expect from this guy? he thought. He is a wind spirit of some sort… But Harpies wouldn’t exactly be a genie’s style…

She chose two cards from her hand.

“I set a card facedown, and then summon Tenkabito Shien,” she said.

In a bonfire of flame, Shien appeared astride his fiery horse. (1,500 ATK) Then a facedown card appeared behind him.

“It’s your move.”

“Then I draw!” exclaimed Omar.

“I will summon…” he said.

He threw a card on his Disk.

“Arabian Camel!”

There was a gust of wind, and a large dromedary camel with a colorful, decorated saddle on its hump appeared in front of him. (1,600 ATK)

“Here’s a useful bit of trivia if you ever want to travel in Saudi Arabia,” he continued. “Camels are, like all herd animals, herbivores. However, they have nasty tempers. Make one angry, and it will attack with the ferocity of a wild wolf.

“But anyway… I now play the Spell Card, Creature Swap.”

“Uh, you positive you want to do that?” asked Ember, as the Spell Card appeared. “You do realize that your Monster is stronger than mine, right?”

“Yes, I am positive,” said Omar.

“Whatever you say,” replied Ember, as Shien and the Camel switched places.

“Next,” continued Omar, “I play another Spell Card, a Continuous one called Arabian Palace.”

As he played the card, a large, golden palace of Persian architecture appeared behind him.

“I should point out at this point the useful effect that Arabian Camel has,” he continued. “If an opposing player uses any card with the word ‘Arabian’ in its name, such as Arabian Palace, he takes control of it.”

“You mean…” gasped Ember.

“That’s right…” said Omar. “I’ll take back my Camel now…”

Arabian Camel vanished, and reappeared back on Omar’s side of the field.

“And as for what the Palace actually does, it gives all Monsters with the word “Arabian’ in their names 300 more Attack Points, and moves all Monsters on the field to Attack Mode.”

Arabian Camel glowed with golden light. (1,900 ATK)

“I’m not sure what your facedown card is, but I happen to know that Shien is immune to Trap Cards. So… Shien… Attack her directly!”

Shien galloped forward towards Ember, and she screamed in pain as he slashed at her with his flaming nodachi.

“Now my Beast attacks as well,” continued Omar.

Arabian Camel snorted, and rushed at Ember.

“I’ll bet your Camel isn’t immune to Traps!” shouted Ember. “Activate Draining Shield!”

Her facedown card shot up, and the Camel slammed its hooves into an invisible shield.

Ember breathed a sigh of relief.

“In that case, young lady,” said Omar, “I end my turn.”

(E: 8,400) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 8,000)

Well, at least he’s polite, thought Ember. Maybe he comes from some royal house in some sultanate somewhere…

She drew a card.

“I play… Mystical Space Typhoon!” she shouted.

She played the card, and the cyclone blew across the field, blowing Arabian Palace to shards. The Camel fell down to its original Attack Score.

“Now, I’ll summon a herd animal of my own…” she said. “Great Angus!”

She quickly played the card, and a large, muscular, flaming creature with the head of a tusked, hornless steer appeared. (1,800 ATK)

“Angus steer are known for their steaks, but with this one, cook it before it cooks you!

“Attack his camel! Flaming rage!”

Great Angus roared, and blasted a cone of flame from its jaws. The Camel bellowed, and then shattered into pixels.

Omar frowned.

(E: 8,400) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 7,800)

“It’s my move…” he said, drawing a card.

He looked at it.

“I’ll set a Monster, and then move Tenkabito Shien to Defense Mode.”

A set Monster appeared, and Shien sheathed his sword. (1,000 DEF)

“It is your move.”

Okay, be careful, Ember, thought Ember, as she drew a card. Don’t forget, you have to reduce his Life Points to exactly zero. No more…

“I summon Molten Zombie,” she said.

She played another card, and the hunched over, decayed Pyro appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“Sorry, Shien,” she said, “but you’re either with me, or you’re against me.”

Molten Zombie blew its cloud of flame, and Shien was vaporized.

“Great Angus, take out the other Monster!”

Angus blew its own breath weapon. Another camel, this one with three humps, appeared on the card before it was blown to shards.

“Good grief,” exclaimed Ember, “are all your Monsters beasts of burden?”

“That was a 3-Hump Lacooda,” replied Omar. “Technically, camels with three humps do not exist, and ones with two, called Bactrian camels, are not found in Saudi Arabia. But, I have a weakness for certain cards.

“You’ll see just what it can do later.”

“It’s still my turn,” said Ember, “and I’m removing Tenkabito Shien from play in order to Special Summon Inferno in Defense Mode.”

The card slipped out of her discard slot, and Inferno appeared, crouching in defense. (1,900 DEF)

“That’s all for me.”

Omar drew a card.

“I will summon Arabian Mercenary!” he exclaimed.

A gust of wind blew onto the field, and a tall man in black robes, turban, and a veil covering the lower half of his face appeared in front of Omar. He held a long, sharp scimitar. (2,000 ATK)

Okay, there’s gotta be a catch here… thought Ember.

“Destroy Molten Zombie!” commanded Omar. “Assassin’s strike!”

The Mercenary made a slash with his blade, and Molten Zombie burst into a cloud of cinders.

“Now, I’ll pay 500 Life Points for the attack,” continued Omar.

Oh, thought Ember.

“That’s all for now…” said Omar.

(E: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 7,300)

Ember slowly drew a card.

“I’ll set a Monster, and then move Great Angus to Defense Mode,” she said.

A set Monster appeared, and then Great Angus knelt and shielded itself. (600 DEF)

“That’s all I can do.”

“Then it’s my move…” said Omar, with a chuckle.

He looked at the Trap Card.

“I sacrifice my Mercenary…”

Arabian Mercenary vanished in a whirlwind of dust and sand.

“To summon Arabian Vizier!”

Another man of noticeably Arabian origins appeared where the Mercenary had been. This one was older, and wore decorated, rich clothing and jewelry. Clearly, he was one of the nobility of the Persian Empire. He held a large kopesh sword. (2,000 ATK)

“Hold on, time out!” shouted Ember. “I’ve never even heard of these Arabian cards!”

“They’re perfectly legit,” said Omar. “When Pegasus was designing his game, his desire to create knew no boundaries.

“He traveled the world, exploring the legends of every culture and civilization he could find, searching for ideas for new and wonderful cards. And while doing research in a library in Saudi Arabia, an old version of The Arabian Nights caught his eye, inspiring him to create this series of cards.

“For now… My Vizier attacks Inferno!”

The Vizier brought his sword down on the large, fiery creature, and it burst into an explosion of flames.

“It is your move…”

Ember sighed, and drew a card. She looked at it.

“I pass,” she said. “There’s not much I can do.”

“Suit yourself,” said Omar, as he reached for his deck.

He paused.

“Actually, I’m not going to draw,” he said, taking his deck from the holder. “You see, with my Vizier on the field, I can forfeit my Draw Phase to instead search for any Monster with the word ‘Arabian’ in its name.”

He looked through his deck until he found what he wanted. He looked at the Level 8 Monster and made a small smirk. Then he shuffled his deck.

“Continuing,” he said, “I set two reversed cards…”

Two facedown cards appeared.

“Then I Equip my Vizier with Arabian Carpet.”

He played another card, and a decorated, flying carpet appeared in mid-air. The Vizier climbed onto it.

“This Equip Spell lets my Monster attack directly, so long as I cut his Attack Points in half.”

Arabian Vizier flew into the air on his carpet, right over Ember’s Monsters. Then, he dive-bombed, his Attack Score fell to 1,000, and he slashed at her with his sword, knocking her over.

“It’s your move,” said Omar, with a grin.

(E: 7,000) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 7,300)

Ember made a draw.

Then she smiled.

“I sacrifice my facedown Monster…” she said.

Her reversed Monster vanished.

“…to summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!”

In a bonfire of flames, Thestalos appeared with a roar. (2,400 ATK)

“Not him!” gasped Omar.

“Now,” said Ember, “one card in your hand is destroyed, and if it’s a Monster, you lose Life Points equal to its Level times 100.

“And since you only have one card in your hand…”

That one card appeared in front of Omar. It was a Level 8 Monster called Arabian Sultan. Omar groaned as it shattered.

“You’ll pay for that…” he growled.

“We’ll soon see,” said Ember. “I move Great Angus back to Attack Mode.”

Great Angus stood back up. (1,800 ATK)

“Thestalos, fricassee his Vizier!”

Thestalos shot a wave of super-hot flames from his hand, and Arabian Vizier groaned before exploding into pixels.

“And I’m not done with you yet! Great Angus, teach that crook a lesson! Attack him directly!”

Omar hollered as Great Angus blew a cone of flames at him, knocking him down.

(E: 7,000) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 4,300)

Omar slowly got up.

“Calling me a crook, are we?” he asked, with a hint of anger in his voice. “You folks wouldn’t want a slander lawsuit on your hands, would you?”

“Go ahead,” said Jinx, speaking up. “Jalal has excellent lawyers.”

“So, what are you gonna do now?” asked Ember, putting her hands on her hips. “Those two facedown cards of yours apparently can’t stop an attack, and you have no cards in your hand.”

“That will change soon,” replied Omar. “It’s my move!”

He drew a card.

This will be useful, he thought, looking at it.

One of his facedown cards lifted up.

“I activate Limit Reverse,” he said. “Now, I can bring back a Monster from my Graveyard, so long as its Attack Score isn’t more than 1,000. So I’m bringing back 3-Hump Lacooda.”

In a flash of light, the three-humped camel appeared. (500 ATK)

“Next,” he said, as his second facedown card lifted, “I activate Inferno Reckless Summon. I can now summon my other two copies of 3-Hump Lacooda.”

Two more Lacoodas appeared. Ember scowled. She didn’t have another copy of either of her two Monsters to summon.

“Now I activate my Lacoodas’ effect,” continued Omar. One 3-Hump Lacooda can’t do anything, but when I have three of them on the field, I can sacrifice two of them to draw three cards.”

Two of the three Beasts vanished. (Omar was careful to sacrifice the one that was summoned with Limit Reverse along with another one.) He made three draws and looked at the three cards.

“I next play Monster Gate,” he said, playing a Spell Card. “First, I sacrifice my last Lacooda.”

The final Lacooda vanished.

“Then, I pick up cards from my deck until I reach a Monster, and then I summon it.”

He picked up one card, and then another. The third one was a Monster.

“I summon Arabian Thief in Defense Mode,” he said.

A seedy-looking highwayman, dressed in makeshift clothes and a turban, holding a long knife appeared. He crouched and shielded himself. (900 DEF)

“Next, I’m summoning this Warrior in Attack Mode,” he said, taking a card from his hand. “Arabian Guide.”

He played another card, and a weather-beaten man with leathery skin, dressed in travel clothing and a white turban, holding a walking staff appeared. (700 ATK)

“Arabian Guide knows the routes to secret places and mystic sites,” continued Omar. “To wit, when he’s summoned in Attack Mode, I get to take a specific Field Spell from my deck.”

He took what he wanted from his deck, and then reshuffled.

“Next, I play the Spell Card, Double Summon,” he said, as another Spell Card appeared. “Now I get a second Normal Summon. And I think I’ll use it to set a Monster.”

He set a card on his Disk, and a reversed Monster appeared.

“And with that, I end my turn.”

He didn’t use that Field Spell, thought Ember. What’s he up to?

She drew a card.

“I summon Familiar-Possessed Hiita!” she explained.

She played the card, and Hiita appeared, spinning her flaming, ruby-tipped staff. Her fox leapt up in front of her. (1,850 ATK)

“Thestalos, destroy his Guide!”

The Firestorm Monarch shot his wave of fire, and Arabian Guide was burned to a cinder.

“ERGH!” grunted Omar.

“Ember, be careful!” urged Jinx.

She lowered her voice.

“Remember…” she said.

“I’m… working on it,” said Ember.

I just have to draw the right Monster, she thought. In the meantime…

“Hiita, take out Arabian Thief!”

Hiita blasted a bolt of flame from her staff, and the Thief was incinerated.

“Now, Great Angus, destroy his last Monster!”

Great Angus exhaled a cone of flame again. Crouching on the card was a portly, bearded man, wearing white robes and a turban. (2,000 DEF)

The flames simply bounced off.

“You activated the Flip-Effect of my Arabian Merchant,” said Omar. “Now, I get to take a specific Equip Spell from my deck.”

He got what he wanted from his deck, and then reshuffled.

Ember looked at her other three cards.

She placed one in her Disk, and a reversed card appeared.

“Mmm!” she said.

(E: 6,800) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 2,600)

“I draw one card,” said Omar.

He made a draw.

He quickly placed it in his Disk, and it appeared facedown.

“I end my turn.”

Ember drew a card.

He couldn’t have been lucky enough to draw a Mirror Force at right that moment, she thought.

“Thestalos, attack his Merchant!” she shouted.

Thestalos blasted his fire again.

“Not so fast!” said Omar, as his facedown card flipped up. “I activate Shield Spear!”

A large shield with a spear blade in the center appeared in the Merchant’s hand.

“This increases both his Attack and Defense Scores by 400, so it seems that the battle will be a draw.”

The Merchant’s Defense rose to 2,400, and the blast of fire simply glanced off of his shield.

Ember took another card from her hand.

“I’ll set a Monster,” she said, “and that will be all.”

“My move, then,” said Omar, making a draw.

“Hmm…” he said.

He took another card from his hand.

“First, I set this card,” he said.

A reversed card appeared behind the Merchant.

“Then, I sacrifice my Merchant…”

Arabian Merchant vanished in another whirlwind of dust.

“…to summon Arabian Charmer.”

A new Arabian Warrior appeared. This one was an old man, dressed only in a ragged pair of trousers and an old turban. He carried a very elaborate-looking instrument that looked like a flute made out of a gourd. (1,700 ATK)

Okay… thought Ember, a high-Level Monster that weak likely has a powerful effect.

“Next,” said Omar, as the Field Slot on his Disk opened, “I play this… Cave of the Arabians!”

With the same dramatics that heralded any Field Spell, the backdrop of the whole room changed. They were transported to the interior of a large, cavernous grotto, filled with gold, jewels, and precious things, arranged in urns and caskets.

“I… know this place…” said Ember.

“Certainly you’ve read the tale of ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’,” replied Omar. “The story of how a woodcutter named Ali Baba discovers this cave… The lair of a group of bandits who not only rob and steal, but also command dark magic.

“And as for what this Field Spell does, it grants every Monster with the word ‘Arabian’ in its name 200 more Attack Points.”

Arabian Charmer glowed with golden energy. (1,900 ATK)

“Plus, neither player is allowed to make direct attacks… Under most conditions.”

“Under most conditions?” asked Ember.

Be careful, Ember… thought Jinx. It’s his card, and I’m sure he knows the exceptions to that rule…

“For now,” continued Omar. “My Charmer will attack your facedown Monster.”

The Charmer played a shrilling note on his flute. The card shuddered, and then Morphing Jar appeared on it, and was blasted to dust.

“I thought so,” continued Omar. “Now we must discard all the cards in our hands, and draw five more.”

Omar had no cards to discard. Ember, on the other hand, discarded two, Spirit or Flames and Double Attack. Both of them made two draws.

“Very well,” said Omar, looking at his five cards. “I will now play… Pot of Avarice.”

He played the card, and took all three 3-Hump Lacoodas, Arabian Mercenary, and Arabian Thief from his Graveyard. He reshuffled them into his deck, and made two draws.

“I’ll set one more card, and end my turn.”

A second reversed card appeared next to the other one.

Ember quickly drew a sixth card.

Martyr’s Flame? she thought. How would that work if he can’t make direct attacks?

I’ll figure it out later…

“I summon Flame Ruler,” she said.

She played the card, and the fiery Pyro in the decorated jacket appeared. (1,500 ATK)

“Thestalos,” she exclaimed, “attack his Charmer!”

Thestalos shot a blast of flame again.

“Not this time!” shouted Omar, as a facedown card shot up. “I activate Sakuretsu Armor!”

Thestalos groaned, and then shattered into shards.

“Ho boy…” said Ember. “I’ll just move Angus and Hiita to Defense Mode, and that will end my turn.”

Great Angus knelt and crossed its arms. (400 DEF) Hiita knelt, and held her staff in her lap. Her fox curled up by her feet. (1,500 DEF)


Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


“I draw!” exclaimed Omar.

He whipped a card off of his deck.

“I play The Warrior Returning Alive,” he said, as a Spell Card appeared. “Now, I get to retrieve a Warrior from my Graveyard.”

A card slipped out of his discard slot.

“Remember this guy?”

“He’s Level 8,” said Ember. “You need two sacrifices to summon him, and you only have one.”

“That’s where my Charmer comes in,” replied Omar. “I can activate his effect, simply by tossing one card.”

He discarded a card, Gozen Match, and the Charmer started to play a haunting melody. Then, two large cobras appeared next to him. (800 ATK x2)

“He can summon these two Snake Tokens,” continued Omar. “Next, I sacrifice both of them…”

The two Snake Tokens vanished in other burst of wind.

“…to summon my Arabian Sultan!”

In another large whirlwind, a new Arabian Monster appeared. He resembled the Vizier at first glance, but his clothes were even finer, he had even more jewelry, and he wore a crown over his turban. While the Vizier was nobility, this Warrior was clearly royalty. (2,500 ATK) –> (2,700 ATK)

“Uh, impressive…” said Ember.

“Wait until you see his effect,” said Omar. “Sultans tend to be very rich, and since they have a lot of enemies, they spend their wealth to protect themselves. They always have a few bodyguards nearby. In game terms, I can now Special Summon two Arabian Monsters from my hand.

“So, I’ll first summon my Mercenary again.”

In a gust of wind, Mercenary appeared again. (2,000 ATK) –> (2,200 ATK)

“And also… Arabian Girl.”

In another gust of wind, a young woman dressed in a green harem girl outfit appeared next to the other three Warriors. (1,300/900) –> (1,500/900)

“Of special note is Arabian Girl’s effect,” continued Omar. “She gains 200 more Attack Points for each Arabian Monster in my Graveyard. And since I have three of them there right now…”

(2,100 ATK)

“Next, I play The A. Forces,” he continued, as a Continuous Spell Card appeared. “This grants each of my Warriors 200 Attack Points for each Warrior present. So they each gain 800 Attack Points.”

The Charmer rose to an Attack Score of 2,700, the Mercenary to 3,000, the Girl to 2,900, and the Sultan to 3,500.

“Now, my facedown card,” he said, as his facedown card lifted. “The Equip Spell, Arabian Saber. This gives the user 500 more Attack Points. That bonus is going to Arabian Girl.”

A scimitar appeared in the Girl’s hand. (3,400 ATK)

At least they can’t attack directly… thought Ember.

Can they?

“I play one more Spell Card,” said Omar, as another Spell appeared.

“Arabian Password! Open Simsim!”

With a rumble, the back wall of the cave opened, revealing a passage to the outside.

“I thought that the password to this cave was ‘Open Sesame’,” replied Ember.

“Heh, heh, heh,” chuckled Omar. “That is a mistake that is often made when the story is translated into English. The true password is ‘Open Simsim’, simsim being the plant from which the sesame seed comes from.

“And what my Spell Card does is, for this round only, negate the prohibition on direct attacks.”

“Ember!” gasped Jinx, getting up.

“Arabian Girl, the Flame Ruler is yours,” said Omar.

Even though she was wearing a gossamer veil, it was easy to see that she was smiling. She leapt at Flame Ruler, and slashed at him with her saber. He fell backwards and shattered.

“Ergh…” groaned Ember.

Then the Charmer blasted the same shrill note on his pipe, blowing Hiita to shards. Arabian Mercenary drew his sword, and slashed at Great Angus, cutting it in two.

“I now have to pay 500 Life Points for the Mercenary’s attack,” continued Omar.

“Sultan… Direct attack!”

Arabian Sultan’s eyes glowed with green energy. Then he fired bolts of lightning from his fingertips, hitting Ember squarely. She screamed, and fell down on her rump.

(E: 1,400) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 2,100)

“Well…” said Omar. “I guess I have to end my turn…”

Ember held her chest as she got up. Her hand shook as she drew a card.

Then her facedown card lifted up.

“I activate my own Pot of Avarice, pal,” she said.

She quickly took Inferno, Spirit of Flames, Great Angus, Thestalos, and Familiar-Possessed Hiita from her Graveyard, shuffled them into her deck, and drew two cards.

“I set a Monster, and then throw down four facedown cards,” she said.

A set Monster appeared, and then four reversed cards flashed into existence.

“That’s my turn.”

“Four reversed cards?” laughed Omar. “Meh… Odds are they’re all bluffs…

“I activate the other effect of Arabian Saber… If I sacrifice a Monster during my Main Phase, the Monster using it may disregard the effect of Cave of the Arabians and attack directly during the Battle Phase.

“So, I sacrifice Mercenary.”

Arabian Mercenary vanished.

“And don’t forget, with each Arabian in my Graveyard, my Girl gets stronger.”

Arabian Girl fell to an Attack Score of 3,200, but increased to 3,400 again.

“All right!” said Omar. “Sultan… Obliterate her last Monster!”

The Sultan fired his bolts of lightning at the card. A monkey with fiery hair on its head and wrists appeared on the card before it was blown to pieces.

“That was my Flamvell Paun,” said Ember, taking her deck from its holder. “And when it’s destroyed in battle, I get to search my deck for any Monster with a Defense Score of exactly 200.”

Omar gave her a look.

“Just how many Monsters fit the bill?” he asked.

Ember got what she wanted, and then reshuffled.

“Admittedly not many,” she said, “but most of the Flamvell Monsters do, and that’s what matters.”

“It won’t matter in a minute,” said Omar. “When I heard about that effect, I thought you were searching for Kuriboh… But anyway…

“Arabian Girl, attack her directly!”

Arabian Girl lifted her sword, and leapt at Ember.

“Go, facedown cards!” shouted Ember, as two of her reversed cards shot up.

“First, Dust Tornado! I’ll use it to wipe out The A. Forces!”

The Tornado shot across the field, and the Spell Card was blown to pieces. All three of Omar’s Monsters lost 600 Attack Points.

“Now, Emergency Provisions!”

Her other facedown card glowed, and her Dust Tornado, Martyr’s Flame, and Prepare to Strike Back all vanished into grains of light.

Then she cringed as the Girl’s sword slammed into her.

“Close but no cigar, pal,” she said, holding her chest and gasping for breath. “I gained 3,000 Life Points just before your Monster attacked.”

“Ergh…” muttered Omar. “I end my turn!”

(E: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 2,100)

“Getting frustrated now, are we?” asked Ember, making a draw.

She looked at the card.

“I play Monster Reborn!” she shouted. “Flame Ruler, return!”

Flame Ruler appeared in a fiery burst. (1,500 ATK)

“Now, I sacrifice him…”

Flame Ruler vanished.

“…to summon Infernal Flame Emperor!”

In an inferno of flames, the king of Pyros appeared in front of Ember, and let out a mighty roar. (2,700 ATK)

“Now, I use his effect,” continued Ember. “For each Fire Monster in my Graveyard that I remove from play, I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card.”

Flamvell Paun and Great Angus slipped out of her discard slot, and she pocketed them. The Saber in Arabian Girl’s hand was blown to pieces, and Cave of the Arabians around them crumbled into a pile of shards. Both the Sultan and the Charmer fell to their original Attack Scores of 2,500 and 1,700, respectively, while Arabian Girl fell to 2,300.

“Omar, your Arabian Girl is clearly a bad girl,” said Ember with a grin, “and I’m going to punish her.

Arabian Girl simply bowed her head…

Infernal Flame Emperor threw a ball of flames, and she was incinerated. Omar looked at Ember with a scowl.

(E: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 1,700)

“It’s your move, Omar,” said Ember. “Looks like we can wrap this up soon.”

I hope… she thought. I need to draw the right card, or I won’t pass the test!

Omar made a draw.

“No choice!” he exclaimed. “I have to move both my Monsters to Defense Mode, and hope for the best!”

The Charmer sat in the lotus position and held his flute in his lap. (1,800 DEF) The Sultan knelt and crossed his arms over his chest. (1,400 DEF)

“My move,” said Ember, drawing a card.

Got it! she thought, looking at it.

“I play… Fire Back,” she said, as a Spell Card appeared. “Now, by sending one Fire Monster from my hand to the Graveyard…”

She discarded Flamvell Archer, the card she gotten with the Paun’s effect.

“…I can Special Summon another Fire Monster from it. So I’m bringing back Molten Zombie.”

Molten Zombie appeared in another burst of flames. (1,600 ATK)

“Now I get to draw one card,” she said, making a draw.

“Next, I summon Blue Flame Swordsman!”

In another flaming burst, the blue-armored twin of Flame Swordsman appeared. (1,800 ATK)

Jinx got up. NOW she saw Ember’s strategy.

“Now, I use Blue Flame Swordsman’s effect,” continued Ember. “I reduce his Attack Points by 100, and give them to Molten Zombie.”

Blue Flame Swordsman’s Attack Score fell to 1,700, while Molten Zombie rose to 1,700.

“Eh?” said Omar.

“Molten Zombie,” ordered Ember, “take out his Sultan!”

Molten Zombie breathed its cloud of flames, and the Sultan groaned before going up in smoke.

“Emperor, you next.”

Infernal Flame Emperor hurled a ball of fire, and Arabian Charmer was incinerated.

“Now, Blue Flame Swordsman, attack him directly and finish him off! Flaming sword of battle!”

The Swordsman charged, and struck Omar with his blade, knocking him backwards and over. He fell on his back.

(E: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 0)

Ember lifted her arms in triumph.

Success! she thought.

As she thought this, Jinx caught her in a hug.

“You did it again, Ember!” she laughed. “I don’t know how you keep doing it, but you keep doing it!”

“I don’t know how either…” said Ember. “So… I guess now I’m ready to do the Rite of Passage?”

“We’ll… talk about that later,” said Jinx. “For now, Omar promised us some free smoothies, which I don’t believe we’ve gotten yet…

“Aw, heck, forget smoothies… This calls for chocolate malteds!”

Omar groaned.

* * * * * * * * * *

After drinking two malteds apiece, Jinx and Ember walked outside the juice bar, feeling more satisfied than they were in a long time.

“So, once we digest it,” said Jinx, “we can go back to the townhouse, and I can finally start teaching you with a real sword. You’ve earned it, Ember. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jalal hasn’t made plans to forge you one already…”

Then she noticed that Ember was looking up.

Three black balloons were floating down.

“Huh?” said Jinx.

Then they all burst. The two of them covered their heads.

Ember frowned, and picked up something that they had dropped.

It looked like a business card. On the front was a symbol: a golden letter D inlaid with diamonds.

“The symbol of the DaPen Syndicate…” muttered Jinx.

She turned the card around. On the back was the name of a business. Makira Fish Processing.

“A fish cannery?” asked Ember.

“The past returns,” said Jinx. “In America, an old stereotype about the New York mob was that they controlled the fish business.

“It seems that DaPen might want to challenge us in a place where organized crime traditionally has power.”

“So are you going?” asked Ember.

Jinx looked at Ember.

“Yes, and you’re coming with me this time,” she replied.

“HUH?” said Ember.

“I can’t keep you sheltered forever,” said Jinx. “I think it’s time you got serious. You’ll come to assist me.”

“I thought you’d never ask!” exclaimed Ember.

The two of them mounted Jinx’s bike, and they started it up, heading downtown towards the docks.


Jinx meant well, but we were about to enter a dangerous situation. Jinx was the target of two assassins who were waiting at that cannery, who had orders to kill her. DaPen had decided that it was time for a true show of his might, and he would resort to more lethal methods. Why wouldn’t he? He had a lot of blood on his hands, and killing a Shadowchaser wouldn’t change much.

Fortunately, Jinx wasn’t going in clueless. But if I hadn’t come along, there’s no telling what might have happened…



ARABIAN MERCENARY (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
ATK: 2,000
DEF: 800

Card Description: This card cannot attack your opponent directly. When this card attacks, pay 500 Life Points after the damage step.



ARABIAN THIEF (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 2
ATK: 500
DEF: 900

Card Description: When this card attacks directly, look at your opponent’s hand. Select one card from his/her hand and discard it to the Graveyard.



ARABIAN GUIDE (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 2
ATK: 700
DEF: 800

Card Description: When this card is Normal Summoned in Attack Position, search your deck for one “Cave of the Arabians” and add it to your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.



ARABIAN CHARMER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 5
ATK: 1,700
DEF: 1,800

Card Description: When you control this card, you may discard one card from your hand to Special Summon 2 “Snake Tokens” (Reptile/Wind/Level 3/800 ATK/0 DEF) in Attack Position. You cannot have more than 2 “Snake Tokens” on the field at one time. “Snake Tokens” cannot be Tributed except to Tribute Summon an “Arabian” Monster.



ARABIAN VIZIER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 6
ATK: 2,000
DEF: 1,000

Card Description: When you control this card, during your Draw Phase, you may add one “Arabian” Monster from your deck to your hand instead of drawing a card. Then, shuffle your deck.



ARABIAN GIRL (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 3
ATK: 1,300
DEF: 900

Card Description: This card gains 200 Attack Points for each “Arabian” Monster in your Graveyard.



ARABIAN MERCHANT (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 3
ATK: 600
DEF: 2,000

Card Description: Flip: Search your deck for one “Arabian Saber” and add it to your hand. You may not use the searched-for card in the same turn. Then, shuffle your deck.



ARABIAN CAMEL (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Beast/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
ATK: 1,600
DEF: 1,400

Card Description: This card gains 300 Attack Points for each face-up “Arabian” Monster you control except this one. If the opponent of the controller of this card plays a card with the word “Arabian” in its name, control of this card shifts to the control of its controller’s opponent. (If the opponent does not have a free space in his Monster Zone at the time, this card is destroyed.)



ARABIAN SULTAN (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 8
ATK: 2,500
DEF: 1,400

Card Description: When this card is Tribute Summoned, you may Special Summon up to two “Arabian” Monsters from your hand, except for an “Arabian Sultan”.



CAVE OF THE ARABIANS (Spell Card)

Field Spell

Image: The interior of a cave, full of chests and pots overflowing with gold.

Card Description: “Arabian” Monsters gain 200 Attack Points. Neither player may make direct attacks.



ARABIAN PASSWORD (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A man in a turban chanting outside a cliff wall.

Card Description: Activate only if a player controls a face-up “Cave of the Arabians”. During the turn this card is activated, you may disregard the effect of “Cave of the Arabians” that prohibits direct attacks.



ARABIAN PALACE (Spell Card)

Continuous Spell

Image: A beautiful Arabian-style palace made of gold.

Card Description: All “Arabian” Monsters gain 300 Attack Points. All face-up Defense Position Monsters are switched to Attack Position, and cannot be switched to Defense Position, except with a card effect.



ARABIAN SABER (Spell Card)

Equip Spell

Image: Arabian Mercenary drawing a curved blade from his belt.

Card Description: Equip only to an “Arabian” Monster. Increase the ATK of the Equipped Monster by 500. If a player controls a face-up “Cave of the Arabians”, the Equipped Monster may disregard the effect of “Cave of the Arabians” that prohibits direct attacks if the controller of the Equipped Monster Tributes a Monster during his/her Main Phase 1.



ARABIAN CARPET (Spell Card)

Equip Spell

Image: Arabian Merchant levitating on an ornate woven carpet.

Card Description: Equip only to an “Arabian” Monster. If your opponent controls at least one Monster, the Equipped Monster may attack directly with its ATK halved.

Note: The Arabian cards were created by fellow fanfic writer jkBAKURA. Credit goes to him.



FLAMVELL PAUN (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Pyro/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 1
ATK: 200
DEF: 200

Card Description: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you may select 1 Monster from your deck with a DEF of 200 and add it to your hand.

Note: “Flamvell Paun” was released in Japan for the “Duel Terminal 2: Invasion of Worms!!” set. It has not yet been released in the United States.



FIRE BACK (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A large, fiery, nuclear cloud.

Card Description: Discard 1 FIRE Monster from your hand to the Graveyard. Special Summon 1 other FIRE Monster from your Graveyard.

Note: “Fire Back” was first used by O’Brien in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “Triple Play (Part 2)” Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



Coming up next:

You know those two big brutes that DaPen uses as bodyguards? Vincent and Albert, in case you didn’t get their names.

Well, as a wise man once said, everybody has a story, and the same is true for these two Shadows, who aren’t nearly as dumb as they present themselves. Next chapter, Jinx and Ember are forced to team up against them in one of the most difficult of duel battles.

“Delinquent Duo” is coming soon.



Shadowchaser Files

Donny Lewison, Disciple of St. Cuthbert

Across the United States and Europe in the past five years, particularly in areas of intense poverty, overpopulation, and homelessness, new shelters, food banks, clinics, and other free services have opened, all under the name of St. Cuthbert’s House. Anyone working at one of them will gladly tell you that they all started with a kid from the wrong side of the tracks named Donovan Lewison, known to most as simply Donny.

Donny was once a violent and troubled youth who ran with gangs in the inner city of New York. During a botched liquor store robbery, he was seriously wounded, and managed to stagger into a nearby alley before collapsing. But he lacked the strength to do anything else, even yell for help. Lying in a pool of blood and ready to die, Donny could do nothing as a strange man emerged from the darkness and shuffled towards him. The man healed his wounds simply by touching them. He then told Donny, “St. Cuthbert has found you worthy,” before disappearing back into the darkness.

Shichiro believes that it is impossible for a Mundane to be made Aware by a conscious act, but apparently, this was a special case. No sooner did Donny walk out of that alley than he found that his eyes had opened to things he couldn’t see before. He tried to find the man who had saved him, but could find no trace whatsoever. However, he did find some references to the name St. Cuthbert. A saint that the Vatican does not recognize (or has even heard of) St. Cuthbert is a deity worshiped by some benign Shadowkind as the god of retribution, exacting revenge and meting out punishment upon those who break the law or take undue advantage of the helpless. Donny’s life would never be the same again.

Renouncing his criminal past, Donny became a crusader on the tough streets of the city, mixing the streetwise savvy he always had with the compassionate and generous side he had acquired. He brought hundreds of people together under the auspices of the charity organization that he dubbed St. Cuthbert’s House. Acting as a combination of a homeless shelter, food bank, and neighborhood watch, Donny’s recruits started to not only feed and house the needy, but protect them from criminals and the dark side of Shadow.

What makes the Shadowchasers wary of this otherwise-noble cause is that sometimes, Donny and his students take this a little further than the local police would like. All too often, St. Cuthbert’s House has engaged in vigilante activities. If a drug dealer or mugger becomes too much of a problem, members of the house might decide to chase him away using bats, bricks, and sometimes even swords. Unfortunately, the people who live in these neighborhoods are so tight-lipped that it is often impossible to find a witness willing to corroborate the stories of the frightened and injured would-be predators. The Shadowchasers have even arrested Donny once after he and two members of his group assaulted a gang of orcs, but there was virtually no evidence except the word of the orcs, who continually insulted him in his first court appearance. After they were held in contempt twice, he was acquitted.

St. Cuthbert’s house continues to expand, adding more and more locations. Donny will likely move his influence to Africa and Asia in some way in a few years. His plan is to make the organization worldwide. With a little faith, he might succeed.


Story Ideas: If there’s one thing that Donny didn’t lose after being saved by St. Cuthbert, it’s his street cred. He still has a reputation in his hometown, the inner city of New York, and people there regard him as a local hero, much the same way Yusei is regarded as a local hero of Satellite. (Donny may or may not have a D-Wheel – that’s up to the author.) Any story set in the Big Apple could involve him in some way. Having street cred means it’s incredibly easy to get information through the grapevine, and Donny is an excellent source of such.

It’s entirely possible that St. Cuthbert’s House’s darker side – its vigilante activities – could cause trouble for them. This is the one weakness of a group that otherwise seeks to do good. A possible part of a story could involve the Shadowchasers not seeing eye-to-eye with Donny for a few chapters, which could make things even more interesting.


Deck Suggestions: Donny’s early life is a good example of what Jonouchi might have become if Yugi didn’t set him on a better track. As a result, Donny’s deck might be similar, only not as dependent on gamble cards. Other ideas would include Donny’s knack for not being subtle, such as a deck that uses Goblins (as in Level 4 Monsters with very high Attack Scores) or Vanilla Beatdown (a deck that uses all Normal Monsters with 1,900 Attack Points, or more).

[Shuppet Master]

Another great chapter, and Ember has finally passed all her tests - and s about to get into serious danger! Oh noes!

I like how you are using fan cards from other authors. Those Arabian cards are pretty powerful. Limit Reverse isn't much of a test - there are plenty of ways to reduce an opoonent's life points to exactly zero. But then, it's not my story.

The Shadowchaser File was awesome. I like St. Cuthbert and this file shows that it is possible for Mundanes to become Aware, but it requires a special case. If I decide to do my Australian Shadowchaser fic, I will keep this in mind.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

I liked the Arabian cards. The djin was kinda predictable, though.

Glad that Ember finished it. I'm wondering what this Rite of Passage involves. Curious.

Double-battles next chapter. Awesome.

[Dark Sage]

Author’s note: The following chapter features a team duel. Now, there have been several interpretations of how this kind of duel works in the anime, and I have used several in many of my stories. However, in this version, I will use the actual rules set forth by Konami. These rules were used with anime applications in the Judai/Asuka versus Kenzan/Rei duel in Season 4 of GX.

And I hope I didn’t screw it up.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

There are many times when the myths and legends that we know of are contradicted by what I learn as a Shadowchaser. I’ll give an example.

The legend of the Minotaur is a well-known part of Greek mythology. Before he ascended the throne of Crete, Minos fought with his brothers for the right to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of approval by the gods for his reign. His side of the bargain would be to sacrifice the bull as an offering, and as a symbol of subservience. A beautiful white bull rose from the sea, but when Minos saw it, he coveted it for himself. He instead sacrificed an ordinary bull, hoping it would please Poseidon. Of course, it was a foolish act – you don’t double-cross the gods.

Poseidon punished Minos by making his wife fall madly in love with the bull. Minos still would not kill the bull, and would not even halt this strange relationship, and he finally realized the extent of his folly when his wife gave birth to the savage Minotaur. Minos didn’t dare kill the Minotaur, for fear of angering Poseidon further, but the monster was far too dangerous to let roam free. He commissioned the great architect Daedalus to build the Labyrinth, a maze-like prison where it could never escape from. But because this monster only ate human flesh, Minos was forced to wage wars and force other countries into horrid treaties just to supply it with victims. This went on until the hero Theseus slew the beast.

Now, why does this legend contradict what I know as a Shadowchaser? Well, you would think that the Minotaur was a unique creature, a one-of-a-kind. But it isn’t. It seems that minotaurs are actually a whole race of Shadowkind. And this is not the only instance where this is the case. Quite possibly, the myths we know of were inspired by stories of exceptional members of these races.

In a way, our job will be harder than that of Theseus. He only had to deal with one minotaur. Fortunately, there’s two of us too…


The Makira Fish Processing factory was one of many fish canneries on the docks, and it was more automated than most. Robots and machines did most of the work, which was good, as working with fish tended to be unpleasant for humans. Just being in a place like this for any length of time made the smell of fish stick to you.

Today, the owner had given the few human workers the day off. The robots still worked the conveyor belts as fish was brought in from boats unloading their catches…

And in the middle of the loading bay, DaPen’s two bodyguards, Vincent and Albert, stood guard, watching the door, armed with two heavy duty firearms.

“Hey, Vince,” said Albert, “being around all these fish kinda makes me hungry…”

“Breathing makes you hungry…” muttered Vincent.

“Say,” said Albert, not noticing the remark, “what say we both go out for fish and chips when we’re done here?”

“Albert, don’t you ever think of anything besides your four stomachs?” asked Vincent.

“Well, sure,” replied Albert. “Sometimes I think of the stuff I like to put in them.”

Vincent sighed.

“Cheeseburgers…” continued Albert. “Chili dogs… Pancakes… Fried clams…Oh, and mozzarella sticks… Don’t you just love mozzarella sticks dipped in marinara sauce, and…”

“Alright, enough already!” shouted Vincent. “Now you’re making ME hungry!”

You may think that Albert should have spent his time thinking about things other than food, but he couldn’t help it sometimes. After all, ten years ago, things like cheeseburgers and fried clams were luxuries that he could never have afforded.

Mundanes saw the two brothers, Vincent and Albert Schumer, as two hulking, muscular humans, but they were, in reality, minotaurs, reflections of the mythic beast slain by Theseus. They were both born on Earth, and as a result, were more acclimated to life here than any Shadowkind émigré. Their names were rough phonetic translations of their minotaur names, which were unpronounceable by humans.

The twins were born in Satellite, the sons of a minotaur and a human woman (which is always the case; there’s no such thing as a female minotaur for some reason, and to reproduce, they have to mate with females of other races). They were abandoned by their parents at an early age, and soon experienced the usual problem that bestial creatures do fitting into society. As children they became notorious as bullies, and as children are usually Aware, most human children steered clear of them. At age thirteen, as minotaurs grow fast, they set out on their own, and made a living shaking down others for cash and valuables. They met with some success – most of their victims were quite willing to give the hulking muggers what they wanted to avoid trouble, but it was still difficult getting enough food to feed two young, growing minotaurs.

Their luck changed one day, when they tried shaking down a very well-dressed man who seemed quite out of place in Satellite. The man was actually Louis DaPen, newly arrived from beyond Shadow, who was trying to stake a claim for himself in this new world. Instead of turning the young minotaurs’ brains into tapioca, he spared their lives, and offered them jobs. They’d been his personal bodyguards ever since, and were incredibly loyal to him.

“So…” said Albert, “what do we gotta do again?”

Vincent sighed again.

“Look, I’ll explain it one more time,” he said. “The boss says that the Shadowchaser dame is gonna come here. Once she does, we smoke her. Simple, right?”

“Uh, yeah, except for one thing…” replied Albert. “What if she smokes us first?”

“Don’t worry,” said Vincent. “In case something goes wrong, your brother has a plan-B…”

He motioned to some crates behind them.

They didn’t know that Jinx and Ember weren’t about to go in through the front door yet. Both of them had moved a big box under a window, and were looking in.

“Those are minotaurs, right?” asked Ember.

“Yeah,” said Jinx. “And this could be trouble…”

She hopped off the box.

“Hold on, Jinx,” said Ember. “You told me that when I was trained, I’d be able to take a minotaur on in a fistfight.”

Jinx opened the compartment next to the seat on her D-Wheel.

“A fistfight, yes,” she replied. “In case you didn’t notice, those two are packing automatic assault rifles.

“And that’s really strange… Most minotaurs have trouble using a weapon more advanced than a hunk of pipe. Clearly, these are exceptional ones.”

She took something out of the compartment. It was an old, beaten leather jacket, with a flaming skull on the back, covered with spikes, studs, and chains.

“Jinx, that looks like something that the Hell’s Angels would wear,” said Ember.

“Remember what I said about Sorsha’s owner?” replied Jinx. “The hellfire warlock? He gave us this. It’s called a demonic biker’s jacket.”

“It’s magic?” asked Ember.

“Yup,” said Jinx. “Let’s just say that if the Hell’s Angels had jackets like this, their group’s name would be much more literal. Help me get it on…”

Three minutes later, Jinx zipped the front of the jacket closed, and walked up to the front door. She handed Ember her Duel Disk.

“Hold this,” she said. “And stand back… Don’t get too close to me…”

Then she kicked the door open. The two brothers were somewhat surprised to see her simply charge in.

“Looking for me?” asked Jinx.

“Get her!” shouted Vincent.

Ember was horrified as both of them opened fire, and apparently hit their mark. Jinx didn’t make a sound, but was knocked over as about seven rounds hit her in the chest.

“JINX!” screamed Ember.

And then she and both the brothers were shocked as Jinx simply stood up, with a wicked glint in her eye. There was no sign of any wound.

Jinx took a deep breath, and the skull symbol on the back of the jacket literally started to burn. She held up her hands, and they became shrouded in dark fire.

“Don’t just stand there!” screamed Vincent, as she started to walk towards them.

They opened fire again, but this time, they didn’t even halt her progress. Jinx lifted her hands, which had now grown into fiendish claws. The two brothers stopped shooting, and their hands quivered…

“What’s the matter, boys?” asked Jinx, in an inhuman voice. “Scared?”

She made a slash with her right claw, and tore through Vincent’s suit. Albert turned, dropped his gun, and dove behind the stack of crates.

“Wait for me!” shouted Vincent, following him.

“You can run but you can’t hide, assassins,” said Jinx.

“Shadowchaser!” shouted Vincent’s voice. “Truce!”

Jinx paused.

“Uh…” said Vincent. “The guns were uncalled for, I guess… But… We can handle this the way the way you normally do it if you want…”

“You ditch the guns, I ditch the jacket,” said Jinx, “and then we duel?”

“Uh, yeah?” said Vincent.

“Why not?” asked Jinx. “Throw away the guns and come out.”

Vincent tossed his rifle away, and two automatic pistols followed. Then they walked out, holding Duel Disks.

Jinx unzipped the front of the jacket, and gasped for breath as she started to change back to normal. Ember walked up to her.

“You had them!” she whispered. “Why did you…”

“Shh!” said Jinx.

She pointed to a label inside the jacket.

It said, “Caution: Using for longer than five minutes can cause recklessness and abandonment of moral restraint.”

Ember handed her back the Duel Disk, and she put it on her arm.

“So, boys,” said Jinx. “I can’t exactly duel both of you at once… Who’s it gonna be?”

Albert looked at Vincent.

“Uh…” he said. “Rock, paper, scissors?”

The two thugs shook their fists, and then threw them down, both coming up rock.

“Darn…” said Vincent. “We’ll… try again…”

They did it again, but both of them came up rock again.

“Oh, this always happens!” groaned Albert.

“You two are doing this on purpose!” shouted Jinx, starting to get annoyed.

“Hey, Jinx,” said Ember. “Uhm… If I may make a suggestion… Does everyone here know how to team duel?”

Vincent and Albert looked at Ember.

“I’m kinda surprised that you do,” replied Jinx.

“My cousin kinda taught me…” said Ember.

Vincent let out a soft chuckle.

“Okay, beautiful…” he said. “We’ll duel you two-on-two! We’re betting we learned from someone better than your cousin…”

“Fine!” said Jinx.

Simultaneously, four Duel Disks activated. Ember stepped forward to face Vincent (a formality, because Jinx would actually get the first move on their side).

“Be careful,” said Jinx to Ember, from behind her. “I don’t trust these two goons any farther than I can likely throw them.”

“I’m being careful,” said Ember.

“Duel!” they all said.

(Jinx & Ember: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Vincent & Albert: 8,000)

“My draw…” said Vincent, drawing a card.

He added it to his hand, and then opened the Field Slot on his Disk.

“To start,” he said, “I’ll play the Field Spell, Mausoleum of the Emperor.”

He placed a card in the slot, and the whole factory changed. The backdrop transformed into an ancient temple, with altars behind each set of duelists with a flaming brazier in each center and two guards armed with spears flanking them. A dark pit spanned by a bridge separated the two.

“Ember…” said Jinx. “We may be in trouble…”

“What?” said Ember. “I know what it does… It lets you Normal Summon high-Level Monsters by paying Life Points rather than making sacrifices…”

“Yeah, Ember, but the thing is,” continued Jinx, “this Field Spell is a very common card for team duel strategies. I have a feeling that these guys were prepared for this all along.”

“Maybe, maybe not!” chuckled Vincent. “I don’t think I’ll actually use its effect yet… Instead, I’ll set a Monster, and then a reversed card.”

Two facedown cards appeared in front of him, one horizontal, and one vertical.

“I’m finished…”

Jinx and Ember quickly switched places.

“Then it’s my draw!” said Jinx.

She made a draw.

“Come on out, X-Saber Airbellum!” she shouted.

With a feral roar, the bestial, clawed X-Saber appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“Attack his Monster!” she shouted.

Airbellum snarled, and leapt at the facedown Monster…

Then, Gear Golem the Moving Fortress appeared on the card. (2,200 DEF) Airbellum let out a shriek, and fell backwards.

“Crud…” said Jinx.

She took three other cards.

“I set two cards, and then Equip him with Soul Saber.”

Two facedown cards appeared, and the large, steel sword appeared in Airbellum’s hand.

“That’s all for me.”

(J & E: 7,400) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 8,000)

Albert switched places with his brother, and drew a card.

“I think I’ll use the effect of the Field Spell now,” he said, with a chuckle. “I’ll drop 2,000 of our Life Points to summon the mighty Sengenjin!”

With a low, guttural roar, a hulking, blue-skinned ogre with a single eye, dressed in furs, appeared on their side of the field. It carried a variety of weapons slung on its back – swords, axes, maces, and spears. (2,750 ATK)

That guy’s a regular Swiss army knife, thought Jinx.

“Crush X-Saber Airbellum!” shouted Albert.

Sengenjin roared, and leapt at the X-Saber.

“I activate the effect of Soul Saber!” shouted Jinx. “If my Monster gets rid of it, he isn’t destroyed!”

Airbellum blocked Sengenjin’s fist with the sword, and the sword shattered.

“I also get to draw one card,” said Jinx, making a draw.

“Then it’s your move,” muttered Albert. “Or rather, it’s your lackey’s…”

“Lackey?” shouted Ember. “Hey…”

“Don’t listen to him, Ember,” said Jinx. “You take it from here… Use what I gave you, and show them what you’re made of.”

(J & E: 6,250) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,000)

Ember stepped up, and made a draw.

Use what she gave me? she thought. What…

She looked at X-Saber Airbellum.

Of course! Airbellum is a Tuner Monster. If I just have the right non-Tuner…

She looked at her hand.

Let’s see… Blue Flame Swordsman, Molten Zombie, Blazing Inpachi, and Little Chimera… Darn, I don’t have any Level 3 Monsters here…

She paused. She looked at the field.

Wait… Jinx’s facedown cards!

“I summon Molten Zombie,” she said.

In a burst of flame, the undead Pyro appeared. (1,600 ATK)

Then she waved her hand, and one of the facedown cards lifted.

“Next, I activate Miniaturize! This Trap causes one Monster to lose 1,000 Attack Points.”

“Better check the math,” chuckled Albert. “Sengenjin will still be stronger than that ugly thing.”

“You got a lot of nerve calling our Monsters ugly,” said Ember. “Look in the mirror lately? And I’m not using it on Sengenjin… I’m using it on Molten Zombie.”

Molten Zombie shrank to half its size. (600 ATK)

“Then, I chain Emergency Provisions,” she said, as the other facedown card lifted.

Miniaturize vanished into grains of light.

“You may wonder why I’m doing this… Well, it’s because Miniaturize also reduces Molten Zombie’s Level from 4 to 3.”

“So what?” asked Albert.

“She’s making a Synchro Summon, lead-head!” scolded Vincent.

“Oh…” said Albert.

Then X-Saber Airbellum and Molten Zombie flew into the air over the Mausoleum, and faded into six glowing stars. In a flaming burst of energy, Flamvell Urquizas descended. (2,100 ATK)

“Now I play… Salamandra!” continued Ember. “This makes Urquizas even hotter!”

Urquizas burned fiercely. (2,800 ATK)

“Attack Sengenjin!” she shouted. “Fist of flame!”

Flamvell Urquizas roared, and flew forward, striking the ogre in the gut. Sengenjin groaned, and shattered into shards.

“And now Urquizas gains 300 more Attack Points.”

(3,100 ATK)

“I end my turn.”

“Not before I activate this,” replied Albert with a sneer.

The facedown card his brother had set lifted up.

“The Continuous Trap Card, Life-Absorbing Machine.

“Okay, bro, she’s all yours…”

(J & E: 7,250) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 5,950)

Vincent stepped up, and drew a card.

“Thanks to that Trap Card,” he said, “we now gain back half of the Life Points we spent last turn…

“And I’m playing Mystical Space Typhoon!”

The card appeared, and the cyclone blew across the field, blowing Salamandra to pieces. Urquizas fell to an Attack Score of 2,400.

“Next, I think I’ll sacrifice Gear Golem…”

The Moving Fortress vanished.

“…to summon Metal Shooter.”

A new robot appeared, one that looked similar to Gears’s Ally of Justice Light Gazer. It had the same inverted pear shape, same blasters for hands, and also levitated on an energy field. (800 ATK)

“Only 800 Attack Points?” asked Ember.

“Yes, but by Normal Summoning it, it gets two counters,” replied Vincent, “and each one gives it 800 more Attack Points.”

(2,400 ATK)

“And I’ll give it even more, by playing the Equip Spell, Big Bang Shot!”

He played a card, and the Machine glowed with energy. (2,800 ATK)

“Trust me, this is really gonna make a big bang! Attack! Pulse cannon!”

Metal Shooter fired a bolt of pure energy from its blaster, and Ember shielded herself as Urquizas was blown to bits.

“Urquizas…” she said, sadly.

“I end my turn,” said Vincent.

(J & E: 6,850) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,950)

“Take a breather, Ember,” said Jinx, as she drew a card.

She stepped up, and looked at her hand.

She set a card, and a reversed Monster appeared.

“That’s my turn, fellahs,” she said.

Albert stepped up with a sinister chuckle. He made a draw.

“I summon Enraged Battle Ox!” he said with a laugh.

The armored, horned Beast-Warrior holding an axe materialized. (1,700 ATK)

“He kind of looks like you two,” said Jinx, “only he’s a lot handsomer.”

“Oh, you are asking for it…” growled Albert. “Battle Ox, attack!”

“Albert, wait!” shouted Vincent.

Enraged Battle Ox charged at the facedown card…

Then it was thrown backwards, as Roulette Barrel appeared on the card. (2,000 DEF)

“Nice one, bro,” said Vincent, in disgust. “How many times has the boss told us, attack with the stronger Monster first!”

“Eh, I wanted to attack her with the stronger Monster…” muttered Albert. “Aw, spit… Metal Shooter, destroy it!”

Jinx cringed as Metal Shooter blew the Machine to metal scrap.

(J & E: 6,050) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,650)

“Ember…” said Jinx. “Take them out…”

Ember stepped up, and made a draw.

Not bad, she thought, looking at it.

“I play… Monster Reborn!” she exclaimed.

The holy ankh appeared, and Molten Zombie appeared again. (1,600 ATK)

“Now, I get to draw one card,” she continued, making a draw.

“Next, I summon Blue Flame Swordsman!”

In another bonfire, the fiery Warrior appeared. (1,800 ATK)

“Slay his Enraged Battle Ox!” she shouted.

Blue Flame Swordsman made a slash with his trusty blade. The Beast-Warrior groaned, and then shattered.

“I throw down a facedown,” said Ember, as a facedown card appeared, “and I end my turn…”

(J & E: 6,050) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,550)

“My move!” snarled Vincent, making a draw.

“Metal Shooter… Destroy Molten Zombie!”

Metal Shooter aimed its blaster…

“I activate… Sakuretsu Armor!” shouted Ember, as her facedown card shot up.

“Nice try!” laughed Vincent. “But whenever Metal Shooter would be destroyed by a card effect, it can survive by ditching one of its counters!”

“Uh, Vince?” said Albert. “If Metal Shooter ditches one of its counters, won’t it lose 800 Attack Points?”

Apparently, Albert was correct. Metal Shooter fell to an Attack Score of 2,000.

“It’s still strong enough to blast that Zombie!” shouted Vincent.

Metal Shooter fired…

“I activate Blue Flame Swordsman’s effect!” shouted Ember. “I’ll cut 500 points off his score, and give them to Molten Zombie!”

“Hey, not bad!” said Jinx, with a grin.

Blue Flame Swordsman fell to an Attack Score of 1,300, while Molten Zombie shot up to 2,100. As Metal Shooter fired its blast, Molten Zombie swatted it aside. The robot fell backwards sparking, and then exploded.

“Ergh…” grunted Vincent.

He took one of the two cards in his hand.

“I’ll set this, and then you go.”

A reversed card appeared.

(J & E: 6,050) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,450)

“My move!” shouted Jinx, walking up and drawing.

She looked at the card.

“I summon X-Saber Galahad!” she shouted.

In a burst of energy, the toad-like Warrior in bronze armor appeared. (1,800 ATK)

“Molten Zombie, attack Vincent directly!” she shouted.

Molten Zombie grunted, and blew a blast of flame at the minotaur…

Vincent snarled, and his facedown card flipped up, revealing a Negate Attack card. The blast was halted by a dome of energy.

“Darn,” said Jinx. “I’ll set a facedown card, and then move Blue Flame Swordsman to Defense Mode.”

A reversed card appeared, and then the Swordsman knelt and held his sword down. (1,600 DEF)

“My move!” chuckled Albert, making a draw.

“I summon the Pitch-Black Warwolf,” he said with another chuckle.

In a shadowy aura, a fierce-looking werewolf appeared, dressed in a loincloth and fur cape, holding a sword. As its name suggested, its fur was pitch-black. (1,600 ATK)

This is seriously odd, thought Jinx. At first, these two seemed to be prepared for team duels… Using Mausoleum and Life-Absorbing Machine…

But Vincent seems to be using Machines, while Albert is using Beast-Warriors. What’s the common thread?

“I throw two cards facedown, and end my turn,” said Albert, as two reversed cards appeared.

“Be careful, Ember…” said Jinx, as Ember stepped up to face him. “The fish smell better than this…”

Ember looked at Jinx’s facedown card, and then made a draw. She added it to her hand.

“I summon Blazing Inpachi!” she shouted.

In another burst of flame, the huge wicker man made of burning logs appeared. (1,850 ATK)

“Attack his Warwolf!” she shouted.

Blazing Inpachi lunged at the lycanthrope with a burning first.

“I activate… Rush Recklessly!” laughed Albert, as one of his facedown cards shot up. “This gives my Monster 700 more points!”

The Warwolf rose to an Attack Score of 2,300.

“Oh yeah?” said Ember. “Well, I have a facedown card too, that my partner set… Skull Dice!”

Her Trap Card shot up, and the little imp appeared, it tossed its die.

The die skipped and bounced, and then came up a four. Pitch-Black Warwolf fell to an Attack Score of 1,900.

“It’s still stronger than your Inpachi!” laughed Albert.

Pitch-Black Warwolf slashed with its sword, and the Inpachi burst into an explosion of flaming logs.

“But not stronger than Molten Zombie!” replied Ember.

Molten Zombie blasted its breath weapon, and the werewolf howled before it was incinerated.

“Now, X-Saber Galahad attacks you directly!”

Albert had nothing left to protect him. He hollered as the X-Saber slashed at him across the chest with his sword.

“Grr…” he grunted.

(J & E: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 4,450)

“I end my turn,” said Ember.

“You take over, bro,” said Albert.

Vincent stepped up, and made a draw.

“Time to use the effect of the Field Spell again,” he said. “I’ll pay 2,000 Life Points, to summon the all-powerful Emes the Infinity!”

An eruption of light burst on the two thugs’ side of the field, and an impressive-looking robot appeared in front of them. It was made of gold and silver, designed to look like royalty. It had a metal, serpentine trunk instead of legs, and four arms, which held four different weapons, a sword, shield, scepter, and spear. (2,500 ATK)

“Now, I’m going to make sure you don’t use that guy’s effect again,” he said, pointing to Blue Flame Swordsman. “Emes, take him out!”

Emes the Infinity loomed over the Swordsman, and its sword crashed down with force so strong, the whole room shook, smashing Blue Flame Swordsman to pieces.

“Ergh…” said Ember. “I activate his other effect… And summon the regular Flame Swordsman to the field.”

“In a burst of flame, the true Flame Swordsman appeared in Defense Mode. (1,600 DEF)

“And Emes’s effect activates,” replied Vincent. “He gains 700 more Attack Points.”

(3,200 ATK)

He took his last card, and fit it into his Disk. A reversed card appeared.

“There… That should do it…”

(J & E: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 2,450)

Jinx stepped up, and drew a card. She looked at the three cards she had, and then chose one.

“I play… Gift of the Martyr!” she exclaimed. “Now, I’ll send Flame Swordsman to the Graveyard, to give his Attack Points to X-Saber Galahad.”

Flame Swordsman vanished, and Galahad rose to an Attack Score of 3,600.

“And guess what?” asked Jinx. “When Galahad attacks a Monster, he gains 300 more Attack Points!

“You two are through! Galahad, destroy Emes the Infinity!”

Galahad’s Attack Score rose to 3,900 as he charged. He made a savage slash with his blade, and the huge Machine groaned. It sparked, and then exploded into pieces of hot metal.

“Ergh…” groaned Vincent.

“Molten Zombie, end this duel!” shouted Jinx.

Molten Zombie started to breathe its flames at Vincent.

“We aren’t done yet!” shouted Vincent, as his facedown card shot up. “Activate… Scapegoat!”

Four fluffy, multicolored sheep appeared in front of the two minotaurs. (0 DEF x4) Molten Zombie’s flames incinerated one of them.

Jinx sighed.

“I have to end my turn…” she said.

(J & E: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 1,750)

Albert made a draw.

“First, we gain 1,000 Life Points due to Life-Absorbing Machine,” he said.

“Then I’ll set a Monster, and end my turn.”

A reversed Monster appeared.

(J & E: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 2,750)

Ember stepped up, and drew a card.

Ooh! I drew Infernal Flame Emperor! she thought.

Now, let’s see… I could use the Field Spell to summon it…

No, wait, I can’t do that… If I do, it wouldn’t count as Tribute Summoned… And I have to Tribute Summon it in order to use its effect.

Oh well…

“I sacrifice X-Saber Galahad and Molten Zombie,” she said.

Both the Monsters in front of her vanished into plumes of fire.

“…to summon Infernal Flame Emperor!”

In a great bonfire, the giant, centaurian, winged Pyro appeared, and let out a loud bellow. (2,700 ATK)

“Now I use his effect,” she continued. “I’m removing three Fire Monsters in my Graveyard from play to destroy your Spell and Trap Cards.”

Molten Zombie, Blazing Inpachi, and Blue Flame Swordsman slipped out of her discard slot.

“Well, before it’s too late…” said Albert.

His facedown card shot up.

“I activate Gift of the Mystical Elf! Now, my partner and I gain 300 Life Points for each Monster on the field. There are five right now, so that’s… uh… that’s…”

“1,500 Life Points…” sighed Vincent.

“Oh, yeah…” said Albert. “I was never too good at math…”

Life-Absorbing Machine shattered into pixels, and the whole Mausoleum crumbled into rubble, returning them to the fish cannery.

“Yeah?” said Ember. “Well here’s some subtraction! Attack his facedown Monster!”

Infernal Flame Emperor hurled a ball of fire at the reversed Monster. Soul Tiger appeared on the card, and was burned to ashes.

“That’s all I can do…” she said.

(J & E: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 4,250)

“It’s my draw,” said Vincent.

He stepped up, and made one draw.

“Okay, Shadowchasers,” he said, playing a Spell Card. “I play Card of Variation.

“Here’s what it does. I get to draw two cards now…”

He made two draws.

“Now I’ll use one of them… Swords of Revealing Light!”

He played the card, and the shower of swords fell down around Ember.

“Crud,” she said.

“Don’t worry, Ember,” said Jinx. “With two of us, those Swords will expire faster than normal.”

“All right, I end my turn,” said Vincent. “And since I played Card of Variation, I have to toss a card now, or we lose 3,000 Life Points. So I guess I’ll get rid of this one…”

He discarded the other card he had drawn, Battle Footballer.


Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


“My move,” said Jinx, as she switched places with Ember.

She made a draw, and looked at her three cards again.

“I summon Alligator’s Sword,” she said.

With a flourish, the reptilian Beast wielding its sword appeared. (1,500 ATK)

“And I end my turn.”

Albert stepped up, and drew a card.

“First I play Monster Reborn,” he said, playing the card.

The glowing ankh appeared, and Pitch-Black Warwolf appeared again. (1,600 ATK)

Huh? thought Jinx. He chose to bring that back and not Emes the Infinity?

“Now, I sacrifice it,” continued Albert.

The Warwolf vanished.

“…for Minoan Centaur!”

A new Beast-Warrior appeared where the Warwolf had been. The best way to describe it was to say that it was a combination of a minotaur and a centaur. It had the lower body of a horse, with goat-like legs, and the upper body of a muscular, bestial human, dressed in a deerskin, with bull-like horns and a black beard, holding a battle-axe. (1,800 ATK)

“Next, I play the Spell Card, Token Thanksgiving,” he continued, as a new Spell Card appeared. “This destroys our Sheep Tokens…”

The three Tokens burst.

“…but we gain 800 Life Points for each.

“I end my turn.”

(J & E: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,650)

Huh? thought Jinx. Why didn’t he attack Alligator’s Sword?

And what effect does this Minoan Centaur have? A Level 6 Monster with an Attack Score that weak has to have a pretty powerful one…

“Be careful, Ember!” she warned.

Ember made her draw carefully. She considered the three cards in her hand.

“I summon Tenkabito Shien,” she said.

In a burst of flame, Shien appeared astride his coal-black horse. (1,500 ATK)

“It’s… your move…” she said, slowly.

“I draw one card,” said Vincent, as he stood forward.

He made a draw.

“And I’ll summon it… Meet Machine Lord Ür.”

In a beam of light, a weird Machine materialized. It looked like a robotic chess bishop, made of crimson metal, with long, clawed arms, hovering in mid-air. (1,600 ATK)

“I end my turn,” he said.

Jinx paused and made a draw.

Something is seriously wrong, she thought. Machine Lord Ür and Minoan Centaur are both stronger than two of our Monsters, but for some reason, these two don’t want to attack. What are they waiting for? These Swords are only going to last until the end of this round.

She looked at the card she had just drawn, which was Maximum Six.

Think I’ll wait before bringing this guy out…

She chose another card.

“I’ll set a Monster,” she said as she set the card on her Disk, “and then move Alligator’s Sword and Shien to Defense Mode.”

Shien shielded himself with his blade. (1,000 DEF) Alligator’s Sword knelt and held its sword down. (1,200 DEF)

“I end my turn, which means your Swords go away.”

The Swords of Revealing Light faded and disappeared.

“Then it’s my move!” laughed Albert, standing forward.

He quickly drew a card.

“First, I activate Minoan Centaur’s effect. First, I sacrifice it…”

Minoan Centaur vanished into grains of light.

“…and in return, I can Special Summon two Beast-Warriors from my deck, so long as both of them are Level 4 Normal Monsters.

“So… Here comes Vorse Raider and Gene-Warped Warwolf!”

Two savage creatures appeared. One was the armored, axe-wielding brute that Seto Kaiba often used. (1,900 ATK) The other was a four-armed, tattooed wolfman with snow-white fur. (2,000 ATK)

“Now…” continued Albert. “I sacrifice all three of our Monsters…”

Vorse Raider, Gene-Warped Warwolf, and Machine Lord Ür vanished into grains of light…

“Three sacrifices??” shouted Ember.

“That’s right!” laughed Albert. “All to summon Beast King Barbaros!”

With a savage, primal roar, the most ferocious Beast-Warrior yet leapt onto the field. It was also centaurian in shape, but its lower body was that of a great lion, and its upper body was a savage, muscular human. It carried a long lance in one hand, and a shield in the other. (3,000 ATK)

“I knew you two were up to something!” shouted Jinx.

“That’s right, beautiful,” said Albert. “And since I used three sacrifices to summon this guy, he wipes out every card on your side of the field.”

Jinx covered her head as an explosion ripped through her side of the field, blowing Infernal Flame Emperor, Tenkabito Shien, Alligator’s Sword, and X-Saber Anabelera to shards.

“Get her!” shouted Albert.

“JINX!” screamed Ember.

Ember could only watch as the Beast King stabbed Jinx in the middle of the torso with his lance, trying to run her through. He was a duel-created hologram, so he didn’t succeed, but Jinx was still knocked over onto her behind.

(J & E: 3,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,650)

“Heh, heh…” said Albert. “That ought to do it…”

Ember helped Jinx get up.

“Ember, we gotta try to work together here,” said Jinx. “It’s your move… I might have something that can take that thing out, but I can’t do it alone…”

Jinx looked at Albert.

“Right…” she said.

She drew a card.

“I throw down a facedown,” she said, as a reversed card appeared, “then I remove Shien from play to Special Summon Inferno in Defense Mode.”

The card slipped out of her discard slot, and Inferno appeared, crouching in Defense. (1,900 DEF)

“It’s your move…”

Vincent chuckled, and made a draw.

“Beast King…” he ordered, “put out that fire!”

Barbaros charged at Inferno…

“I activate… Martyr’s Flame!” shouted Ember, as her facedown card shot up. “This Trap turns your attack into a direct attack, and cuts the damage in half!”

Then she shrieked as the lance stabbed into her, knocking her over.

“Heh, heh,” chuckled Vincent. “Suit yourself…”

He set the card he had drawn on his Disk, and a reversed Monster appeared.

“Your move, beautiful,” he said.

(J & E: 1,500) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,650)

“Ember…” said Jinx, as Ember got up.

“I protected Inferno as best I could…” sighed Ember. “Now… Take it from here, Jinx…”

Jinx looked at the two cards in her hand, Maximum Six and a Trap Card.

Okay… she thought. Now I really need some luck…

She made a draw.

Yes!

“I sacrifice Inferno…” she said.

Inferno vanished into grains of light.

“…to summon Maximum Six!”

With a roar, the muscular, six-armed brute appeared. (1,900 ATK)

“Maximum Six?” laughed Vincent. “You think he scares us? You’d have to roll exactly six to make him stronger than Barbaros, and no-one’s luck is that good!”

Jinx ignored him, as a die appeared, it rolled, skipped and bounced.

It came up a five. Maximum Six rose to an Attack Score of 2,900.

“OOH!” gloated Albert. “So close… So close, but sadly, not close enough…”

Then he stopped as Jinx played the card she had just drawn.

It was Graceful Dice.

The teddy bear appeared, and tossed its die. It bounced, and it landed on the four. Maximum Six rose to an Attack Score of 3,300.

“You were saying?” asked Jinx. “Maximum Six, clobber their Beast King!”

Maximum Six roared, and threw a punch at the Beast King. Barbaros bellowed, and then shattered into pixels.

The two brothers glared at Jinx and her apprentice in anger as Jinx looked at the last card in her hand.

This would be incredibly risky… she thought, but I might as well set it.

She placed it in her Disk, and a reversed card appeared.

“It’s your move…”

Maximum Six returned to an Attack Score of 2,900.

(J & E: 1,500) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,350)

“Draw!” said Albert, drawing a card.

He grunted, and then threw a card into his Disk. A reversed card appeared in front of him. He snarled at Ember.

“I take it that means it’s my move…” said Ember.

She made a draw.

“Maximum Six, attack their mystery Monster!” she shouted.

Maximum Six lunged at the facedown Monster. Morphing Jar appeared on the card, and was smashed flat.

“I’m sure you know the drill,” said Albert.

He discarded one card, and Ember discarded two. Both of them made five draws.

Ember looked at the five new cards.

“Uh… I set one Monster, and end my turn…” she said.

A reversed Monster appeared next to Maximum Six.

Vincent stepped forward and made his draw. He was more than a little upset… He had been hoping to use that Morphing Jar’s effect himself.

He set the card, and a facedown Monster appeared in front of him.

“That’s all,” he said.

Jinx drew a card.

D’oh! she thought. My Polymerization card? Just the card I DIDN’T want!

Oh well…

She looked at the defensive Monster that Ember had set.

Better leave that in Defense Mode for now, she thought.

She pointed, and Maximum Six charged at the facedown card. A second Gear Golem the Moving Fortress appeared on the card and was blown to pieces.

“That’s all for me,” she said.

Albert stepped forward and drew.

“Hey, bro!” he said. “I drew… it.”

“It?” said Jinx. “What’s ‘it’?”

“I have a feeling I’m not gonna like ‘it’,” said Ember.

“You want to know what ‘it’ is?” chuckled Albert. “Well, ‘it’ is our most powerful and rarest Monster…

“To summon ‘it’, I have to remove from play one Machine and one Beast-Warrior from either my field, hand, or Graveyard. And since in the rules of a team duel, partners share each, I can remove one Beast-Warrior from my Graveyard, and one Machine from my brother’s…”

Vorse Raider and Machine Lord Ür appeared behind him, and then vanished into ripples of light.

This is it… thought Jinx. This is the common thread…

“I summon…” exclaimed Albert. “The mighty Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür!”

In a blast of digital ones and zeroes, a new Beast-Warrior appeared. It looked like the original Barbaros, albeit with blue skin and affixed with cybernetic implants. Its weaponry was now far more modern – instead of a lance and shield, it now held a laser cannon in each hand. (3,800 ATK)

“Dear lord!” shouted Ember.

“This is what happens when Beast-Warriors go bionic,” chuckled Albert. “Okay, big guy… Wipe out Maximum Six! Flashing destructive bullets!”

Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür fired his weapons, sending several rounds of hot, destructive death at Maximum Six. The Warrior roared before he was obliterated.

Strangely, though, Jinx didn’t feel a thing…

(J & E: 1,500) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 6,350)

“Our Life Points didn’t go down?” asked Jinx. “Not that I’m complaining, but…”

“Of course they didn’t,” replied Albert. “This Monster has a drawback… Its attacks don’t inflict any battle damage.”

Jinx and Ember looked at the two brothers.

“Of all the stupid…” said Jinx. “How are you supposed to win that way?”

“Because, he still has 3,800 Attack Points, meaning he’s practically unbeatable,” replied Albert. “Most duelists who have this card use it in Skill Drain Decks, but in this case, he’s here to keep you occupied while we finish you with this!”

His facedown card lifted up.

“I activate the Trap Card, Final Countdown!”

“What are you talking about?” said Ember. “Everyone knows that Final Countdown is a Spell Card!”

“This is a different Final Countdown,” explained Albert. “While it’s on the field, we can’t use any Spells or Traps… But we can set one each turn. When we finally decide to drop the bomb, so to speak, we send all the cards in our Spell/Trap Zone to the Graveyard.

“Then you get blasted for damage depending on how many there are; 500 points for two, 1,500 for three, 3,000 for four, and 5,000 for five!”

“So…”

He set a card in his Disk, and a reversed card appeared. A detonator appeared next to him, and it went up to 500.

“On my brother’s turn, he’ll be able to finish you two off but good… Make your move…”

The two minotaurs chuckled.

Ember’s hand shook as she drew a card. She looked at it.

She waved her hand, and the Trap Card that Jinx had set lifted up.

“I activate The Paths of Destiny!” she shouted.

“Ember!” shouted Jinx. “If you miss the toss, we lose!”

“Yeah, but if I don’t make it, we lose anyway!” replied Ember.

A coin appeared in her hand.

“Start hoping some of your luck ran off on me…” she said.

She tossed the coin, and her heart stopped. It fell to the ground.

She breathed a sigh of relief as it came up heads, and their Life Points went up.

“Oh, terrific!” grunted Vincent. “Now we need five cards to finish them off with that Trap!”

“Hold your horses!” replied Albert. “I get to toss too, remember?”

He tossed the coin.

Then he laughed, as it also came up heads.

“Looks like we’re still far ahead of you two!” he laughed.

“Don’t count your chickens yet,” said Ember. “I set a new Monster, and then three facedown cards.”

A concealed Monster appeared, and then three reversed cards flashed into existence.

“Your move, bud,” she said.

(J & E: 3,500) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 8,350)

Vincent made a draw. He chuckled a little.

“Do you actually expect me to attack while we’re so close to victory while you have three facedown cards on the field?” he asked. “I’m not as dumb as I look, ladies…

“I’ll just increase the power of our Trap Card…”

He set another reversed card, and the detonator went up to 1,500.

“It’s your move, beautiful,” he said.

Jinx stepped up, and made one draw. It was Baby Dragon.

She looked at the three facedown cards Ember had set, and the two Monsters she had set.

Slowly, she came to understand Ember’s strategy… Would it work? It would take perfect timing…

She set Baby Dragon on her Disk, and it appeared facedown with the other two defensive Monsters.

“Your move…” she said.

Albert chuckled, and made a draw.

“I’m not going to attack either,” he said. “I’ll simply juice up my Trap Card even further…”

He set a third card, and the detonator rose to 3,000.

“On my brother’s next turn, it will be able to inflict 5,000 points of damage… Then… Boom. Game over. Make your last move.”

Here goes nothing… thought Ember.

She deftly drew a card.

She looked at the two minotaurs.

One of her three facedown cards lifted.

“First, I activate DNA Transplant,” she said. “Now, I can change the Attributes of all Monsters on the field to Fire.”

“Knock yourself out,” laughed Albert. “Making Barbaros a Fire Monster won’t help you destroy it.”

“Destroy it?” asked Ember. “I’m taking it!

“I flip Hiita the Fire Charmer into Attack Mode!”

One of her reversed Monsters flipped into Attack Position. It was Hiita, in her youngest form, dressed in her green jacket, and holding her staff, with her fox at her feet. (500 ATK)

“By doing so, I get to take control of one Fire Monster. Barbaros… Get over here!”

Hiita started to chant, and Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür was pulled over to Ember’s side of the field.

Then the two brothers burst out laughing.

“So take Barbaros, you fool!” laughed Vincent. “What are you going to do, attack with it? It can’t deal any damage, remember?”

“Yes it can, once I help it,” replied Ember.

Another of her facedown cards lifted, a very fancy Trap showing the image of Hiita sitting in a magical circle.

“It’s Hiita’s favorite Trap Card… Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai. Now, I can sacrifice a Fire Monster, and then you get walloped for damage equal to its base Attack Score.”

A look of shock crossed Albert’s face.

“Say what?” he said.

Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür turned into a blazing ball of fire. It shot right towards the minotaur assassin, and exploded around him in a blazing conflagration.

(J & E: 3,500) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 4,550)

Albert was still standing, but he was stunned, and staring into space.

“Bro?” said Vincent. “Uhm… Are you all right?”

“Pain…” muttered Albert. “Terrible… Agonizing… Pain…”

“I’m not done!” continued Ember. “I Flip-Summon Baby Dragon and Little Chimera!”

Both facedown Monsters flipped up. Baby Dragon leapt into Attack Position (1,200 ATK), and then a small, white cat with bat-like wings did the same. (600 ATK)

“Little Chimera increases the Attack Scores of all Fire Monsters by 500 points!”

Hiita’s Attack Score increased to 1,000, Baby Dragon’s increased to 1,700, and Little Chimera’s increased to 1,100.

“Finally…” continued Ember.

She opened her field slot and fit a card into it.

“…I play Molten Destruction!”

There was an explosion of flames, and a flow of lava covered the whole factory floor. The Attack Scores of all three Monsters increased further, Hiita rising to 1,500, Baby Dragon to 2,200, and Little Chimera to 1,600.

“Wait…” said Albert. “Wait… WAIT!”

“Everyone…” said Ember. “Attack directly!”

The three Monsters charged, spewing flames from their mouths (in the cases of Little Chimera and Baby Dragon) or her magic staff (in the case of Hiita). Albert screamed, and fell on his stomach.

(J & E: 3,500) - - - - - - - - - - (V & A: 0)

Jinx looked at the two brothers.

“It’s all over you two,” she said. “You’re under arrest. Put your hands in the air.”

Albert slowly got up. He reached into his jacket, and pulled out a switchblade, which he snapped open.

“Oh, please,” said Jinx. “Do you really think you can take me down with that?”

“Vince…” said Albert, “your plan-B bombed… You got a plan-C?”

“Uh…” said Vincent.

He quickly reached into his coat, and took out a small object. It looked like a small, metal cube, a different color on each face.

Edmund had given him this, and called it a Cubic Gate. He had told him to use it only in an emergency. This was an emergency if he had ever seen one.

“You like Chinese food, Albert?” he asked.

“Oh yeah!” said Albert. “I like Mandarin chicken, lo mein, moo-goo-gai-pan…”

“Enough fooling, you two!” said Jinx, holding up her gemstone. “Time to take you in…”

Vincent pressed his thumb down on one side of the cube. Then both he and Albert started to fade away.

“HEY!” shouted Jinx.

“You gotta admit…” said Vincent, as they disappeared, “the fringe benefits for being one of Mr. DaPen’s top enforcers is great!”

And then they were gone.

Jinx sighed.

“Just perfect…” she said. “They give us all that trouble, and then they get away.”

“Well, at least we won,” said Ember.

Jinx smiled at Ember.

“And I couldn’t have won without you,” she said.

“Ember… You’ve been my apprentice for a while now… But you’re more than that now…”

She held out her hand.

“Now I can call you a partner.”

They clasped hands.

“Now let’s get home and take showers so we can get this fish smell off of us, eh?”

* * * * * * * * * *

DaPen was sitting in his office, his brow furrowed with anger, as Edmund watched.

“Where did your Cubic Gate send them?” he asked.

“From what I can garner, Hong Kong,” replied Edmund.

DaPen scowled, and picked up the phone.

“All right…” he muttered. “I’ll wire them the money so that they can fly home via Hong Kong International Airport… And then I’ll discipline them.”

“Don’t be so hard on them, my friend,” replied Edmund. “We were sidetracked by that plan anyway…

“We’d best put more attention towards our primary goal… Getting our hands on the Silver Hemisphere…

“For once we have it, our true plan can be put into place… And our reach will extend farther than it ever has before…”


As you might expect, I was very anxious at this point to do the Rite of Passage, and become a full-fledged Shadowchaser. And little did I know, an opportunity would come the next day. The next day would be a little hectic for all four of us, actually, as a plan was being made that would give us a world of trouble. It was time for us to relax and rest, and we needed to… four criminals who desired our deaths would be heading our way in the morning…



BEAST MACHINE KING BARBAROS UR (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Beast-Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 8
ATK: 3,800
DEF: 1,200

Card Description: Remove from play from your hand, your side of the field, or your Graveyard one Beast-Warrior-Type and one Machine-Type Monster to Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card battles, battle damage to your opponent is reduced to zero.

Note: “Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür” is a Japanese card that has not yet been released in the United States.



CARD OF VARIATION (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A Duel Monsters card floating in clear water.

Card Description: Draw two cards from your deck. At the End Phase of the turn, discard one card from your hand. If you do not, take 3,000 points of damage.

Note: “Card of Variation” was first used by Kenzan in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “Primal Instinct”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



FINAL COUNTDOWN (Trap Card)

Continuous Trap

Image: A time bomb with its counter at 007.

Card Description: While this card is face-up on the field, you cannot activate any Spell or Trap Cards, or set and Spell or Trap Cards except via the effect of this card. Once per turn, you may set one Spell or Trap Card. During your Main Phase, by sending this card and all cards set by this effect to the Graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the following amount corresponding to the number of cards sent to the Graveyard: 2 cards: 500 Points; 3 cards: 1,500 Points; 4 cards: 3,000 Points; 5 cards: 5,000 Points.

Note: “Final Countdown” was first used by Ushio in the “Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s” episode “The Take Back (Part 2)”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode. (Note that, in Japan, the name of this card is different than the Spell Card “Final Countdown”, which spells “Final” using kanji and furigana. This anime-only card spells it using katakana.



METAL SHOOTER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Light
Level: 5
ATK: 800
DEF: 800

Card Description: When this card is Normal Summoned, place two counters on it. This card gains 800 Attack Points for each counter on it. If this card would be destroyed by a card effect, remove one counter to prevent it from being destroyed.

Note: “Metal Shooter” will be released in the United States in November in the “Dark Legends” set.



Coming up next:

The Shadowchasers are going to have their hands full tomorrow. An old enemy with a bad-on for one of them hacks into the security system of the prison at Shadowchaser Headquarters, and four dangerous criminals escape! Where do they go? Guess. Fortunately, there’s four Shadowchasers too, but it’s going to be a long day finding them all. Next chapter, Shichiro is forced into a confrontation with one of them, who tends to play dirty.

“Blast Asmodian” is coming soon.



Shadowchaser Files

The Sons of Tyranny, Warriors of Hextor

Not all the deities from beyond Shadow are as benevolent as St. Cuthbert. For example, Hextor is purported to be the god of war, conflict, and destruction; not exactly the type of god for whom a local church would start holding bake sales, but the kind whom a disaffected youth might turn to. Such is the case with the Sons of Tyranny, a “one-percenter” motorcycle gang (outlaw gang) that now threatens to replace the Hell’s Angels as the most notorious one-percenter gang in the United States.

The group started as a small motorcycle gang of no more than eight members, who drove up and down the west coast of the United States, terrorizing every small town they passed. One day, as gang legend has it, they drove into a town that was prepared for them. The local sheriff had called in the State Police, and they cornered the bikers in an abandoned gas station. For the eight punks, it seemed hopeless.

Just then, a six-armed, ten-foot-tall giant of a man appeared in front of them. He wore a leather jacket and pants, had a flaming tire chain strapped to his hip, and spoke with a voice like thunder. The being said that if the gang swore allegiance to Hextor, he would not only get them out of the situation, he would make them the most feared gang in the country.

They agreed, and the six-armed man touched each of them on the heart. They felt strength flowing through their bodies, and a surge of power that begged to be used for violence.

Newspaper reports nation wide reported the next day of the massacre in which nearly one-hundred police officers were killed by a murderous gang of outlaws on motorcycles. The Sons of Tyranny were born.

The group grew, as every ne’er-do-well with a motorcycle begged to join. The group became too large, so it split into two, and then into four. At this point, there’s no telling how widespread the gang has become, and how many of them are wearing Hextor’s symbol on their jackets or tattooed on their skin: a black gauntlet clutching four red arrows.

One joins the Sons of Tyranny for the same reason one joins similar groups. Abuse, neglect, pure selfishness, or a sour outlook on the establishment has made one angry, and made one want to lash out at society. The difference between them and similar groups is, they have a deity as a patron, and they are aided by divine magic. A member’s leather jacket might be enchanted to protect him as well as a flack jacket. He may carry brass knuckles that make him as strong as ten men, or a studded chain that can shroud itself with flames upon command. And a few might even wear one of those demonic biker jackets that Jinx used against the Schumer brothers.

Some Shadows may join the Sons of Tyranny, as Hextor is not picky about who worships him. Gnolls sometimes join, as do a few bugbears. Orcs might join, but an orc would have to be incredibly angry and direct most of his anger towards other orcs to consider worshipping any god other than the one that orcs usually worship. Indeed, the Shadowchasers have come across whole clans of orcs that were slaughtered by these bikers, likely under the direction of a previous member of the clan who was abused by them.

Regular law enforcement are scared to death of the Sons of Tyranny, and any who are allied with the Shadowchasers know enough to call them right away when they drive into town. Some Sons of Tyranny own Duel Disks, and some own D-Wheels, but they care little about the Treaty and typically only use Duel Monsters when they think doing so would be fun. The Shadowchasers know this, and meet the Sons of Tyranny heavily armed, ready to show know quarter. The Shadowchasers have managed to take out a few individual gangs this way, but the Sons of Tyranny continue to spread, and continue to grow…


Story Ideas: The Sons of Tyranny could make an ideal group for the primary villains of a story, for the most part, at least. Their existence begs one question: does Hextor put all his chips on such crude and uncouth worshippers? After all, Hextor is a god of war, and crime is not the same thing as war, no matter how brutal it is. If Hextor has smarter and more powerful minions, the Sons may be unknowing pawns of a greater scheme.

For ideas on using the Sons of Tyranny, one can look into the history of real “one-percenter” motorcycle gangs, which more-or-less means the Hell’s Angels in a real life setting. This can be hard, though, because members of that group keep their origins and most of their traditions secret. Keep one thing in mind, however: the Sons of Tyranny are actually more lax in whom they allow to join them than some real groups. Female members are welcome to join, and members of any ethnic group are welcome, things that are unheard of in a real one-percenter. Also keep in mind that this is one group that The Rolling Stones would never hire as bodyguards. (But some Shadowkind might, especially those who don’t mind what happens to anyone who tries to mess with them.)


Deck Ideas: The Dark Attribute is common among worshippers of Hextor, and so are Warriors, and for this faction, Machines. One possible deck idea would be the Scrap Motor Deck used by Keith in “Yu-Gi-Oh R” (find an alternative for The Wicked Eraser). Other ideas would be decks full of Dark, sinister Machines, like Bowganian, Drillago, Brave Scizzar, and possibly Gatling Dragon. Another possibility is a RFG deck that uses Chaosrider Gustaph and Diskblade Rider as the main offensive forces.

[Shuppet Master]

Pretty nifty duel and nifty file, Brian. I never really thought about the Hell's Angels as I have never lived anywhere they roam, but this is quite an eye-opener.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Good duel, I love double battles and this was a good one. I didn't really like the Decks, way to standard. BUT the general battle was well thought-off and nicely written.

That Shadowchaser file rocked my socks.

[Dark Sage]

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

“Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.” So says Richard Lovelace. Of course, these days, prisons use concrete and titanium, but you get the idea. No matter how secure a prison or jail may be, it is never truly escape-proof.

Alcatraz Island was supposed to be the escape-proof prison, and in its twenty-nine years of operation, it claimed that there were indeed no successful escapes. Some inmates tried, however. Thirty-six prisoners were involved in fourteen attempts, two men trying twice; twenty-three were caught, six were shot and killed, and two drowned…

And the remaining three? These three were involved in one of the most intricate escape attempts in corrections history. Although the official report said that they drowned, their bodies were never recovered. Some items that they used in their escape, however, including plywood paddles and the remains of a raft constructed from raincoats, were recovered on nearby Angel Island. As they were presumed dead, no effort was ever made to locate them. Whether they truly drowned or whether they succeeded… Well, the world may never know.

You would think that the prison at Shadowchaser Headquarters is even more secure than such modern high-security prisons as Colorado State Penitentiary and the military penitentiary at Leavenworth. After all, in this facility, magic is woven into the steel and concrete, and golems patrol the halls. But you have to remember one thing: The prisoners that are kept in this facility are not normal. In other words, when a convict is super-strong or has magical powers, it can be hard to keep him behind bars.

Especially when something unexpected happens…


“More French toast, people?” asked Boris.

“I tell you, Boris,” sighed Jinx, “if we didn’t burn off the calories while working, your cooking would make us too fat to do it.”

It was eight o’clock the next morning, and an overcast cloud cover had blanketed Neo Domino. Something was up, but the Shadowchasers were focused on the here and now.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Shichiro. “Edmund is still out there, and he’s still a major threat…”

“Edmund will have to wait, people,” said Jalal’s voice from the other room. “An emergency has just come up.”

Everyone turned.

“The lounge, people,” said Shichiro, putting down his napkin.

The four Shadowchasers ran to the lounge with the ever-burning fireplace, where Jalal’s holographic projection was waiting.

“An emergency, boss?” asked Gears.

“A crisis has occurred at Headquarters,” said Jalal. “It happened just an hour ago, and I just managed to get the specifications.”

“What time is it in Britain now?” asked Ember.

Shichiro looked at his watch.

“Midnight,” he said.

“Yes,” replied Jalal. “Usually, prisoners wait until lights out before enacting an escape.”

“There’s been an escape?” asked Shichiro, surprised.

“Four dangerous criminals who were recently brought in, three of them by your team,” replied Jalal. “Fogg, who apparently orchestrated the escape with outside help, Hebi-Na, Zweig, and Dmitri.”

“The vampyre that Sofia caught?!” gasped Jinx. “For the love of… You would think that an ophidia and a vampyre who were both awaiting trial for multiple murders would be under tightest security!”

“They were!” replied Jalal. “Fogg was the only one who actually had to leave his cell. He got to the portal room, and opened a portal with four entrances, three of the entrances opening in the others’ cells. From what I understand, Hebi-Na, Zweig, and Dmitri didn’t even know what was going on, but thought that the opportunity was too good to pass up.

“Anyway, we traced the portal, and it apparently led to Satellite. The four of them might still be together, or they might have gone their separate ways.”

“They had outside help, you say?” asked Gears. “From who?”

“We’re trying to figure that out,” replied Jalal. “For now, it’s up to you to find and recapture them.”

“No problem…” said Shichiro. “I have a feeling that the reason Fogg wanted to come here might have been to find us…”

“Be careful…” said Jalal, as he slowly vanished.

Gears reached for his jacket, and took his sword off of its hook.

“Well, I got an idea where one of our fugitives might be…” he said.

Then Shichiro’s mobile rang.

“Yeah?” he said, answering.

His brow furrowed.

“No, no I didn’t…” he said. “Yes, yes I can… Okay…”

He hung up.

“Who was that?” asked Jinx. “What did that guy say?”

Shichiro reached for his own jacket.

“Nothing,” he said. “It was a wrong number.”

“What did the wrong number say?” asked Ember, in a suspicious tone.

“Look, I have to go somewhere…” he said.

And then he ran out the door.

Jinx got up.

“Well, while he’s doing that, I have leads of my own to check,” she said.

Ember watched Gears and Jinx leave.

She looked at the computer.

* * * * * * * * * *

Half an hour later, Shichiro drove his D-Wheel into a large parking lot. He quickly dismounted and took off his helmet.

“Y?” he called out. “Y, are you here?”

Then he heard a soft laughter.

“Are you always this gullible, pal?” asked a voice. “Little wonder we’ll always be one step ahead of you…”

Shichiro’s eyes narrowed.

He turned around, and gave a quick kick, just as Dmitri lunged at him.

“Rule number one about making a sneak attack, fellah,” said Shichiro. “Don’t gloat before doing it!”

He looked at the vampyre, who hadn’t bothered to change out of his prison uniform. He got the idea now. Vampyres were masters of voice mimicry.

“No, I’m not always that gullible,” he said. “Are you always this ugly?”

“Stuff it, Shichiro!” shouted Dmitri, “I’m in a really bad mood!

“I stood to make a lot of money from that assassination. But all because of that bimbo and her Wind Monsters, I lost the money, my D-Wheel, and almost my neck!”

“Looks like someone here didn’t get what he wanted last Christmas…” muttered Shichiro.

“I don’t observe Christmas!” replied Dmitri. “I’m not too crazy about Easter either…

“I am rather fond of Thanksgiving, though, seeing as all you really have to do then is eat and watch football…”

“Then why did you come here?” asked Shichiro. “We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.”

“Believe me, I didn’t want to come here,” replied Shichiro. “I wanted to go back to the States and find that harlot. But I had to take the portal that Fogg gave me. Letting him lead us out was a mistake, but what are you gonna do?

“Well, I’ll get back and kill her soon, you can bet on that. But right now, I gotta take out my anger on someone, and you’ll have to do!”

He held up a Duel Disk, and it activated.

“So, you gonna duel me, or do you want me to find someone else to take my anger out on?”

“Fine,” said Shichiro, as his own Disk activated, “and I’m sending you right back to the cooler…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Ember sighed as she went through the fourth search engine.

“Nothing…” she muttered. “Isn’t there any place where a Shadowchaser can do research on the net?”

Sorsha hopped up on the desk.

“Go to Google,” she said.

“Say WHAT?” said Ember.

“Serious,” said Sorsha. “You can find the Shadowchaser library through Google if you’re an actual Shadowchaser. Trust me.”

It sounded ridiculous, but nonetheless, Ember clicked on Google. Then she input the word “Shadowchasers”.

Then a small window came up.

It read:

“Please enter your Royal Bank of Scotland pin number.”

“Royal Bank of Scotland?” said Ember.

She took the check card out of her wallet. The one that let her access Jalal’s account.

“So… My pin for this account is also a password for the Shadowchaser website?”

“You’re learning, smarty,” said Sorsha.

Ember quickly typed in the number.

She was shocked as a website she had never seen came up.

“Welcome, Eiko Michiko,” said the header.

Ember looked over the website carefully. It was a database with several categories that could be cross-referenced for specific hits.

She clicked on regions, and chose Asia, then Japan, and then Neo Domino.

Then she clicked on Shadowkind races.

It was a long list, but she quickly found the one she was looking for.

She paused for a minute.

Then she clicked on it: Ophidia.

* * * * * * * * * *

“So, just how do you intend to get back to the States anyway?” asked Shichiro. “Even if you beat me, even if you somehow get on a plane, which you can’t do without a passport… Once you somehow get there, you can be sure that there’ll be a whole squad of Shadowchasers waiting for you when you get off.”

“I’ll cross those bridges when I come to them,” said Dmitri. “For now, I’ll deal with you.”

(Shichiro: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Dmitri: 8,000)

“Duel!” they both shouted.

Shichiro drew a card.

Not a bad start… he thought, choosing one.

He set two cards in his Disk, and a reversed card and a reversed Monster appeared.

“That all?” asked Dmitri, making a draw.

“I’ll also set a Monster and a facedown card, and end my turn.”

The same arrangement appeared on his own side of the field.

Shichiro made another draw.

Not much happening yet, he said.

“I flip Skelengel into Attack Mode,” he said.

His facedown card flipped up, and the winged cherubim with its bow and arrow appeared. (900 ATK)

“Now I get to draw one card,” he said, making a draw.

“Next, I summon Queen’s Knight.”

He played another card, and the lovely, female Warrior appeared. (1,500 ATK)

“Attack his Monster!” he shouted.

Queen’s Knight brought her sword down on the reversed card, and a diabolic-looking treasure chest appeared on it. She sliced it in half like it was made of foam rubber.

“That was Dark Mimic LV1,” said Dmitri. “And it has the same effect as your Skelengel.”

He made a draw, and looked at it.

“Well, I’m not done with you,” said Shichiro. “Skelengel, get him!”

The Fairy fired its bow, and Dmitri flinched a little.

(S: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,100)

“My move now…” said Dmitri.

He drew a card.

He smirked a little when he saw the Equip Spell. He added it to his hand, and chose another.

“I play Mystical Space Typhoon,” he said, quickly playing the card. “But I’m not going to destroy your card… I’m destroying mine…”

The cyclone encircled his side of the field, and the reversed Spell Card was blown to pieces.

“That was Ojamagic!” exclaimed Shichiro.

“That’s right,” said Dmitri, “which allows me to take Ojamas Yellow, Green, and Black from my deck.”

Three cards appeared in his hand.

“Next, I set one card…”

A facedown card appeared.

“Then, I summon Ojama Red in Attack Mode.”

In a small burst of energy, a weird-looking imp appeared. It was – obviously – red, with a head shaped like an inverted tulip bulb, and wearing a yellow scarf. Otherwise, it looked similar to the other Ojamas. (0 ATK)

“Ojama RED?” exclaimed Shichiro. “I never heard of that one…”

“This is one of two previously unknown Ojamas,” replied Dmitri. “He and Ojama Blue are the odd men out, because they, unlike the more familiar Ojamas, are Effect Monsters.

“What’s his effect you might ask? By Normal Summoning him, I can Special Summon as many Ojamas as I’m able to in Attack Mode.”

In bursts of yellow, green, and black, the three more familiar Ojamas appeared. (0 ATK x3)

“I end my turn.”

Four Monsters with zero Attack Points, and a facedown card… thought Shichiro.

He made a draw.

An open cage planted near a gorilla herd baited with bananas would be less obvious…

But I have a surprise for him…

“I play Bait Doll!” he exclaimed, playing a Spell Card. “If that facedown card is a Trap, it forces you to activate it now!”

“As you wish…” said Dmitri.

The Trap Card lifted, and a loud bellow echoed over the field.

Threatening Roar? thought Shichiro. Smarter than I thought…

“It’s still my turn! As per the second effect of Bait Doll, I get to shuffle it back into my deck instead of sending it to the Graveyard…”

He quickly shuffled his deck.

“Next, I play Reinforcement of the Army. Now I can search for King’s Knight.”

He played the Spell Card, and took the card from his deck.

“Then, I summon him.”

King’s Knight appeared in a flash of light. (1,600 ATK)

Then Jack’s Knight appeared in another flash of light. (1,900 ATK)

Shichiro looked at his own facedown card.

He’s obviously planning to use Hurricane… he thought. Well, I got another surprise for him…

“I end my turn…” he said.

“My draw…” said Dmitri, drawing a card.

“I sacrifice two Ojamas…”

Ojama Red and Ojama Yellow vanished.

Huh? thought Shichiro.

“I summon Barrel Dragon!” shouted Dmitri.

In an explosion of flames, the huge Machine made of black metal with three cannon barrels appeared in front of Dmitri. (2,600 ATK)

“Good lord…” said Shichiro.

“Now…” continued Dmitri, “I activate its effect…”

Three gold coins appeared in front of it.

“If two of these tosses come up heads, I get to destroy one of your Monsters!”

The coins all flipped. They fell, and spun…

They were heads, tails, and tails.

“Ah, well…” said Dmitri. “At least I still have its normal attack…”

Barrel Dragon fired its three guns, blowing Skelengel to particles.

“ERGH!” groaned Shichiro.

(S: 6,300) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,100)

“Now that I’m done with that,” continued Dmitri, “Green, Black, take a load off your feet.”

Ojama Green and Ojama Black knelt and crossed their arms. (1,000 DEF x2)

“My… move…” muttered Shichiro.

He drew a card.

“I throw down a facedown, and move my Monsters to Defense Mode,” he said.

A new reversed card appeared. Queen’s Knight knelt and held her shield up (1,600 DEF), King’s Knight followed suit (1,600 DEF), and Jack’s Knight did last. (1,000 DEF)

“My move?” chuckled Dmitri, making a draw.

He laughed as he looked at the card.

“I play Polymerization!” he exclaimed. “I’ll fuse together my Barrel Dragon with Blowback Dragon…”

The smaller artillery Machine appeared on the field, and both Machines were drawn into a portal.

“I summon… the mighty Gatling Dragon!”

A huge, ugly Machine rolled onto the field. It was a giant mechanism on large wheels, with three gatling guns on flexible tendrils. (2,600 ATK)

“Next, I play an Equip Spell,” he said, as he fit a card into his Disk. “It’s called Sniper Scope.”

“What does that do?” asked Shichiro, not really wanting to know.

“Sniper Scope can be Equipped to Barrel Dragon, Blowback Dragon, or this Monster,” explained Dmitri. “It works like this… When I activate the effect, I make the tosses twice. Then, out of the two, I choose whatever result I want.”

“You got to be kidding!” exclaimed Shichiro.

“Oh, I’m not…” said Dmitri.

The coins appeared again, and flipped.

They were heads, heads, and tails.

Then they flipped again.

This time, they were all heads.

“Think I’ll choose the second one,” said Dmitri. “And that means I can destroy three Monsters!”

Gatling Dragon blasted its guns, and all three of Shichiro’s Knights were atomized.

“Attack him directly!” shouted Dmitri.

Gatling Dragon aimed its guns again…

“I activate… Defense Draw!” shouted Shichiro, as the machine guns fired at him.

His Trap Card shot up, and the blast was halted.

“Now, the damage is reduced to zero, and I get to draw one card.”

He made a draw.

“Fine…” said Dmitri. “I end my turn.”

Shichiro drew a card slowly.

He set a card, and a set Monster appeared.

“I end my turn…” he muttered.

Dmitri chuckled as he drew a card.

“You know, I could use my Monster’s effect,” he said, “but why bother? I summon Snipe Hunter.”

He played the card, and the nasty, winged imp holding the toy pistol appeared. (1,500 ATK)

“Now, I’ll use his effect!”

He discarded the last card in his hand, Tribute Doll, and Snipe Hunter cackled. It spun the roulette wheel on its pistol…

The number that came up was a six.

“HA!” laughed Shichiro. “Your Snipe Hunter missed!”

Dmitri was fuming with anger.

“Gatling Dragon…” he shouted, “annihilate his Monster!”

Gatling Dragon blasted its guns. Big Shield Gardna appeared on the card, and the blast bounced off. (2,600 DEF)

Then Gardna stood up into Attack Mode. (100 ATK)

Dmitri growled again. He pointed, and Snipe Hunter fired its weapon, obliterating the Warrior.

(S: 4,900) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,100)

“Make your move…” growled the vampyre.

Shichiro quickly drew a card.

“I play… two Spell Cards!” he exclaimed. “First, The Warrior Returning Alive, which lets me recover King’s Knight from my Graveyard.

“Then, Dark Factory of Mass Production, which lets me recover two Normal Monsters. So I’ll get back Queen’s Knight and Jack’s Knight.”

The two Spell Cards appeared, and three cards slipped out of his discard slot.

“Lovely,” said Dmitri, sarcastically. “You have the Three Stooges again.”

“Don’t underestimate them,” said Shichiro. “I play my own Polymerization!”

The Spell Card appeared, and the three Knights appeared on the field.

“I’ll fuse my three Knights together…”

The three Warriors dissolved into grains of light.

“…to summon the ultimate Warrior!”

With a roar, Arcana Knight Joker leapt onto the field. (3,800 ATK)

“Thirty-eight hundred Attack Points??” gasped Dmitri.

“And I’m not done,” continued Shichiro. “I’ll also Normal Summon Axe Raider.”

He played another card, and the axe-wielding barbarian appeared. (1,700 ATK)

“Then, I play Monster Reborn!”

The golden ankh appeared, and Jack’s Knight appeared again. (1,900 ATK)

“Jack’s Knight, destroy Snipe Hunter!” he shouted.

The Fiend squealed as the Warrior struck it with his sword. It burst into globs of darkness.

“Axe Raider, destroy Ojama Green!”

Axe Raider made a chop with his blade, and the Ojama was blown to pixels.

“Now, Joker, destroy Gatling Dragon with celestial blade!”

Arcana Knight Joker brought its sword down on the huge Machine, slicing it in half. The remains exploded, and Dmitri screamed.

(S: 4,900) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 2,900)

“Huh?” said Shichiro. “You shouldn’t have lost that many Life Points…”

“Sniper Scope has a little side effect…” muttered Dmitri, as he stared at Shichiro. “If the Equipped Monster is destroyed, the controller takes damage equal to its Attack Score.”

Shichiro chuckled.

“So it has a catch after all,” he said. “Well… I end my turn…”

Dmitri growled as he drew a card. He quickly played it.

“I play Pot of Avarice!” he shouted.

He quickly took Ojama Red, Yellow, and Green, Snipe Hunter, and Gatling Dragon from his Graveyard, and shuffled them into his deck.

He drew two cards. Then he quickly set both of them, and a reversed card and a reversed Monster appeared.

“I guess it’s my move,” said Shichiro.

He drew a card.

“I summon Warrior Dai Grepher!” he exclaimed.

In a burst of energy, Grepher appeared. (1,700 ATK)

“Destroy the last Ojama!” he ordered.

Grepher made a slash with his steel sword, and Ojama Black was no more.

“Axe Raider, take out his last Monster!”

Axe Raider charged at the card. Morphing Jar appeared on the card, and was slashed to ribbons.

Shichiro chuckled. He discarded the one card in his hand, and made five draws, while Dmitri made five draws.

“Joker, finish him off!” shouted Shichiro.

Joker charged at Dmitri.

“Not so fast!” shouted Dmitri. “I activate… Fires of Doomsday!”

His Quickplay Spell lifted up.

“This summons two Doomsday Tokens to defend me.”

Two wispy imps made of black flames appeared in front of Dmitri. (0 DEF x2)

Shichiro pointed, and Joker and Jack’s Knight cut them both down.

Shichiro looked over the five cards in his hand, and then at the facedown card he had on the field, which had gone unused all this time. He sighed.

“I end my turn…” he said.

Dmitri chuckled again, and made a draw.

“I play Overload Fusion!” he exclaimed, as a Spell Card appeared in front of him. “Now, by eliminating Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon from the game, I can summon Gatling Dragon again!”

He quickly pocketed the two cards, and Gatling Dragon rolled forward again. (2,600 ATK)

Go ahead and try, thought Shichiro. You don’t know about Joker’s effect. Since Gatling Dragon’s effect is a targeting effect, if you try to use it on him, I just have to discard one Monster from my hand to blow that thing to scrap.

“Attack Warrior Dai Grepher!” shouted Dmitri.

Gatling Dragon fired, blowing Grepher to bits.

Okay, so maybe you do know… thought Shichiro.

“I set two reversed cards,” said Dmitri, as two facedown cards appeared, “then I play Fairy of the Spring.”

The glowing fairy holding two swords appeared behind him.

“Now I get Sniper Scope back from my Graveyard,” he said, taking the card from his discard slot. “But, I have to wait until next round to user it. So, I’ll end my turn there.”

(S: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 2,900)

Shichiro nervously drew a card.

What am I worried about? he thought, looking at his hand. If either of those facedown cards is a Trap that can destroy Joker, I can discard this to negate it.

“I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!” he exclaimed.

In another wave of energy, Gearfried appeared. (1,800 ATK)

“Joker, destroy Gatling Dragon!”

Joker charged at the huge artillery again.

“I activate Rising Energy!” shouted Dmitri, as his facedown card shot up.

“WHAT?” shouted Shichiro.

“So I toss one card,” said Dmitri, as he discarded a card, “and my Monster gains 1,500 Attack Points!”

Gatling Dragon’s Attack Score shot up to 4,100. It blasted its guns, and Joker screamed as he was blown to shards.

Rats… thought Shichiro.

“I set a facedown,” he said, “and then move Axe Raider and Jack’s Knight to Defense Mode.”

A reversed card appeared, and then Axe Raider knelt and held his weapon in his lap. (1,150 DEF) Jack’s Knight did the same. (1,000 DEF)

(S: 3,700) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 2,900)

“My move!” laughed Dmitri, drawing a card.

“I think I’ll Equip my Dragon with Sniper Scope again!”

He played the card.

Then the three coins appeared and tossed. There was one head this time.

“Again!” laughed Dmitri.

The coins tossed again, and this time, there were three heads.

“Think I’ll choose the second again,” he laughed.

Gatling Dragon fired its guns, and all three of Shichiro’s Monsters were blown to pieces.

“Oh, and Shichiro?” he said. “In case you’re thinking of that facedown card you just set helping you this time…”

His own facedown card shot up, revealing Dust Tornado.

“Forget it.”

The tornado ripped across the field, blowing Shichiro’s Birthright card to pieces.

“Now…”

Shichiro looked at the huge Machine…

“Attack him directly!”

Shichiro was thrown backwards as the Monster’s gunfire plowed into him. He skidded on the pavement, scraping the skin on his back.

“Ow…” he said.

(S: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 2,900)

“I set one more card facedown, and end my turn,” said Dmitri, as a reversed card appeared.

Shichiro got up.

It’s now or never… he thought. If he uses that thing’s effect again, I’m finished…

He drew a card.

“Time to end this,” he said. “I summon Freed the Brave Wanderer!”

A beam of light struck from the heavens, and the heroic form of the young General Freed appeared, clad in his glowing armor. (1,700 ATK)

“So sorry to disappoint you, Shichiro…”said Dmitri, with a sinister grin.

His facedown card shot up.

“I activate Bottomless Trap Hole!”

He started to laugh hysterically…

…and then he stopped short, as the Trap Card was blown to bits.

“What?” he said.

Then he noticed that Shichiro had activated his own facedown card, one that had remained unused since the start of the duel.

“A Counter Trap??” gasped Dmitri.

Shichiro breathed a sigh of relief.

“Destruction Jammer,” he said. “In exchange for one card from my hand, it negates an attempt to destroy a Monster.”

“WAIT!” shouted Dmitri. “You mean to tell me that you could have negated my Monsters’ effects at any time??”

“No,” said Shichiro. “I’m not that stupid.

“Destruction Jammer, along with its Spell counterpart, My Body as a Shield, have some specific rules. One of them being, they can only counter effects that will definitely destroy something. Your Machines and Snipe Hunter all have a chance of failure, regardless of how slight, so Destruction Jammer can’t counter them.

“Bottomless Trap Hole, on the other hand… It has no chance of failure, so long as it isn’t countered. So I could use this.

“And by the way… Freed the Brave Wanderer is another card whose effect can destroy a certain type of Monster with no chance of failure…”

“Oh no…” gulped Dmitri.

“I remove two Light Monsters in my Graveyard from play…” said Shichiro.

King’s Knight and Queen’s Knight appeared behind him, and then faded into ripples of light.

“…and Freed can destroy any Monster that’s stronger than he is.”

Freed made a slash with his longsword, and the great Machine shuddered. Then it exploded into fiery debris.

“And thanks to Sniper Scope, you lose 2,600 Life Points again.”

Dmitri screamed again.

“Freed, finish him off! Brave sword attack!”

Dmitri hollered again as the Brave Wanderer slammed his longsword into him. The vampyre collapsed in a heap.

(S: 1,400) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 0)

Shichiro walked up to the criminal.

“I’m afraid you won’t get that rematch with Sofia after all,” he said, as he lifted the gemstone. “But tell you what… Next time I see her, I’ll tell her you sent your love.”

Dmitri looked up at him.

“I hate you…” he snarled.

“I can live with that,” replied Shichiro.

Then the gemstone glowed, and the escaped fugitive vanished.

Shichiro sighed.

One down, three to go, he thought. I wonder how Jinx and Gears are faring?

* * * * * * * * * *

Regardless of how they were, Ember was hard at work studying on the website. She was copying careful notes as Sorsha watched her.

“Uh, Ember, listen…” said Sorsha. “If anyone asks, you aren’t gonna say I put you up to this, right?”

“No, Sorsha, I’m not,” replied Ember. “Just keep your mouth shut until I actually go to do it.”

“It seems kinda dangerous, babe,” said the cat.

“I’m going to have to do something like this sooner or later,” replied Ember. “And I want this to be done with a bang, not a whimper.

“Besides… This time, I have a plan…”


We were off to a good start. One fugitive was in custody, and Gears and Jinx were following leads on two others.

As for me, I was working on my own project. I hadn’t gotten permission, like was the case when I went after Max, but I really didn’t need permission this time. I wanted to take the final step, to officially leave my apprenticeship behind and become a Shadowchaser in more than name. And I wanted to leave my mark in a spectacular way.

It seemed I had developed a great deal of guts in the relatively short time I had been in this group. We would soon see it if they paid off.



SNIPER SCOPE (Spell Card)

Equip Spell

Image: A Snipe Hunter at the controls of a Barrel Dragon, looking at a crosshairs.

Card Description: This card may be Equipped to a “Barrel Dragon”, “Blowback Dragon”, or “Gatling Dragon”. When coin tosses are made to determine the result of the Equipped Monster’s effect, make the coin tosses twice, and choose either set of tosses to determine the result. If the Equipped Monster is destroyed, its controller loses Life Points equal to the Equipped Monster’s base ATK.



Coming up next:

Gears corners Dr. Zweig, only to find that the criminal junk dealer has been waiting for him. Zweig demands a rematch, and has learned from his past mistakes, creating a deck that almost no-one is able to master! But Zweig seems more than willing to make the attempt to obtain the power that this difficult archetype can grant to those who successfully master it.

“Big Core” is coming soon.



Shadowchaser Files

The Painter; Faded Memories in Oil on Canvas

The elves are a race that values their freedom. Their history is one that can recall days when they were as wild as the woodlands and as unspoiled as the skies. One might imagine that they value their ability to express themselves.

Case in point, The Painter, as she is called by everyone who knows of her. Up to one year ago, she was just a young elf who was working her way through school in Great Britain. Then she realized that she wanted to paint. No, she really, really wanted to paint. And paint she did. She painted scenes that showed warriors, strange creatures, and beautiful princesses. At first, her work seemed like typical fantasy artwork (although critics noted that the female characters in her work tended not to show as much skin as was common in that genre).

But when Shadowkind observed her work, they saw strange things. Oddly enough, they saw familiar places and scenes in the landscapes, and familiar faces in the characters she had painted. Her paintings seemed to bring back memories that the viewers had lost long ago, fleeting thoughts that had faded back when they were thrust into this world. As incredible as it seemed, some came to the conclusion that her paintings were depicting places, people, and events from the homeworld of Shadow!

The Painter could not explain her talent. The images in her paintings had come from her sketchbooks, like any artist, and those had come from her creative process, which had come from her imagination. She hadn’t used any supernatural help to see the images – they had come to her like any creative process had. But still, she soon attracted a small entourage of artistic Shadowkind who hoped to do the same as she did. Most of them were fellow elves, with a few gnomes and halflings.

The Painter continues to paint, and her works are in high demand, mostly from Shadowkind buyers. She rarely displays her works in galleries any more, doing original paintings for collectors and special commissions. Her first calendar will be available this coming September, and is sure to be a hit among fantasy art lovers.


Story Ideas: Many Shadowkind desire to find a way back to the home realm of Shadow. Some have noble reasons for doing so, others have selfish ones. They thus pursue every lead and research every clue towards that goal. The Painter, knowingly or not, can see the world of Shadow through her art, and that makes her of interest to anyone who seeks this goal.

This opens a lot of possibilities in a story. A group who seeks such a goal might want to recruit her, and might have very little luck with simple persuasion. She just wants to paint. If the group is one that won’t take no for an answer, the Shadowchasers might have to step in to stop a kidnap attempt, or perhaps undertake a rescue attempt. As the saying goes, such power is dangerous only in the wrong hands.


Deck Suggestions: The Painter is an artist, and as such, she only uses Monsters that are beautiful and that have a mystical quality. She might use a Silent Deck, one which focuses on using both Silent Swordsman and Silent Magician.

[Shuppet Master]

Nice chapter and nice Shadowchaser files. You are being pretty descriptive, with showing Shichiro scraping his back after that direct attack. Ouch! If it weren't an hologram, I'm sure he would have been dead.

So, we have rematches with various characters. I have a big hunch I know who Ember's going to hunt down for her final apprentice battle. <_<

[Dark Sage]

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Answer quickly: What are the two most powerful Attributes in the game of Duel Monsters?

If it took you longer than three seconds to answer Light and Dark, you don’t play the game. Those two Attributes spawn the most powerful Monsters, and the most support. Some of the highest-tier players are so egotistical, and so proud of their mega-powerful Light and Dark cards, they go so far as to assume that all other Attributes are worthless. Of course, I saw most of the Fortune Cup, either live or on tape. Although I know that Atlas’s strongest Monster is indeed Dark, I know that Yusei’s strongest is Wind, and the key Monster of the other finalist was Fire.

Anyway, it was for this reason that some “anti-meta” cards were created to keep them in check. Trap Cards like Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror and Royal Oppression are two examples.

As Shichiro was dealing with Dmitri, Gears was about to go up against someone who had built the ultimate anti-meta deck. And in case you hadn’t realized it by now… Gears uses Dark Monsters…


Smoke obscured the sky, as Gears drove his D-Wheel down the dirty street in Satellite.

He pulled up and dismounted in front of a familiar building. The very same building where he had apprehended Zweig the first time.

He knew that only the stupidest of fugitives would actually go back to the same place, but Gears figured that Zweig wasn’t willing to abandon this place just yet. He had a feeling that the self-titled “Wizard of Walnut Town” was working on something here.

Just what, he didn’t know. Maybe a D-Wheel with a weapons system? Whatever it was, Gears figured that this place had something in it that was too valuable to abandon.

Gears entered slowly, looking from side to side. No-way Zweig was going to catch him by surprise this time. He slowly passed by the stacks of junk and the old D-Wheel frames.

“You’re late,” said Zweig’s voice.

Gears spun around, and saw the old junk dealer standing there.

“Get caught in traffic?” asked Zweig. “I expected you fifteen minutes ago.”

“So you did have a secret weapon here,” replied Gears, “and you were going to test it on me.”

“Oh, you bet, Gears…” said Zweig, in a sinister voice.

Then he lifted up something in front of his face…

Gears was surprised. It was a deck of cards.

“That’s it??” said Gears, with a look of shock. “You were working on a deck??”

“Not just a deck,” replied Zweig. “The perfect deck, one that can defeat anyone!

“You see, you were wrong about me. All my copycat decks were actually temporary. All this time, I was working on getting the right cards for my true deck. These cards are very hard to use, and require just the right combination of quantity and support.

“Before you arrested me, it was almost done. I only needed one more card. After I escaped and got back here, it was waiting with a messenger genie.”

He slipped a Duel Disk onto his arm, and then shuffled the deck.

“I just completed the final dry run, and it works like a charm! Now Gears… I can debut this deck for real, and you will be the first duelist I crush with it!”

“We’ll soon see about that, old man,” said Gears. “I’m a lot harder than any simulation.

“So, what is it? Tele-DAD? Lightsworn?”

Zweig laughed out loud.

“Both of those decks wouldn’t stand a chance against this one!” he laughed.

Both Disks activated.

“Duel!” they shouted.

(Gears: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Zweig: 8,000)

“All right, Zweig,” said Gears, “I’m drawing!”

He made a draw.

“First, I set a Monster.”

A reversed Monster appeared.

“Then, I’ll set this, for later. And I’ll end my turn.”

A facedown card appeared.

Better than Tele-DAD and Lightsworn? he thought. What am I up against?

Zweig chuckled as he made his first draw.

“I summon Sangan in Attack Mode,” he said.

With a chittering noise, the three-eyed Fiend appeared. (1,000 ATK)

“And I’ll also set a card facedown.”

A reversed card appeared behind Sangan.

Not many surprises yet, thought Gears, making a draw.

“I flip Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive into Attack Mode,” he said.

His facedown Monster flipped up, and Dekoichi appeared, blowing smoke out of its stack. (1,400 ATK)

“That means I get to draw one card.”

He made a draw, and added it to his hand.

“Next, I play the Spell Card, Take Over 5. Now, I send five cards from my deck to the Graveyard.”

The Spell Card appeared, and he discarded five cards.

“Next, I summon Dark Resonator.”

He played another card, and the Fiend dressed in a foolscap holding a tuning fork appeared. (1,300 ATK)

“But I’m not done,” he said, as another Spell Card appeared. “I play Double Summon. This lets me summon my Quillbolt Hedgehog.”

The furry rodent with bolts in its back appeared next to the Fiend. (800 ATK)

“Now, I Tune them together!”

Dark Resonator struck its fork with its hammer, and a low pitch echoed over the room. It and Quillbolt Hedgehog dissolved into five shimmering stars…

Then Ally of Justice Catastor descended. (2,200 ATK)

“Oh dear, a Synchro Monster,” said Zweig, sarcastically. “Whatever will I do?”

“Catastor… Attack Sangan!” shouted Gears.

“I activate a Trap Card!” exclaimed Zweig, as his facedown card shot up. “Magical Hats!”

A big, purple top hat with a question mark on it appeared, and covered Sangan. Then, two more identical top hats materialized next to it.

Gears paused.

Crud… he thought. The cards he used to create the decoy hats are obviously Dark Coffins… That’s the only reason anyone ever plays Magical Hats.

But… I know how this works. If I attack and hit the empty “Hats”, they’ll be flipped face-up, and the effect of Dark Coffin will be rendered invalid.

“Catastor, attack the Hat on the left!”

Catastor fired its platinum prism blast at the Hat. A Spell Card, yes, Spell Card, appeared where the Hat had been, and shattered into pieces.

That wasn’t Dark Coffin! thought Gears.

He paused again.

“Dekoichi, attack another Hat!”

Dekoichi sped forward towards a second Hat. This time, Sangan appeared, crouching in Defense Mode. It was run down.

“I use Sangan’s effect,” said Zweig, taking a card from his deck.

Gears sighed.

“I set this, and end my turn,” he said, fitting a card into his Disk.

A facedown card appeared, and then the final Hat burst. But nothing happened.

“Neither of them were Dark Coffin?” he asked.

“Nope,” said Zweig, drawing a card. “Not Dark Coffin.”

“Then what was the point?” asked Gears.

“Both of them were special Spell Cards called Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru,” explained Zweig. “And I wanted them in my Graveyard. Now that I’ve buried them, I can more easily use them.”

Koa’ki Meiru? thought Gears. Wait… Jinx mentioned those words once… A friend of her father used Monsters with that name…

“I summon Koa’ki Meiru Ice!” exclaimed Zweig.

In a blast of arctic air, a giant Monster appeared in front of Zweig. It was a huge statue chiseled out of ice, holding a large, sharp icicle in one hand like a spear, and a shield shaped like a snowflake in the other. (1,900 ATK)

“My Trap Card activates!” said Gears, as one of his facedown cards flipped up. “DNA Transplant. Now, all Monsters on the field are Light, meaning your oversized ice cube can’t defeat Catastor.”

Zweig chuckled.

“Light or not, Gears,” he laughed, “my Koa’ki Meiru Ice is going to crush your creature! You see, I only need to toss one card…”

He discarded a card, Good Goblin Housekeeping.

“…and it can destroy any Monster that was Special Summoned.”

Oh no! thought Gears. Synchro Monsters are Special Summons!

A blast of snow blew at Catastor, and it iced over, and then shattered.

“Now, my Monster attacks your Locomotive,” said Zweig. “Chilling blast!”

Again, the arctic blast blew, this time at Dekoichi, and it froze and shattered to pieces.

(G: 7,500) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 8,000)

“You see, Gears…” he continued. “Koa’ki Meiru Monsters are incredibly powerful… But the downside is, they all have a weakness in common, due to their unstable cores. During my End Phase, they are destroyed unless I pay one of two costs.

“The first cost is the same for all of them. I have to discard an Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru from my hand.

“But the second cost is different for each one. In Ice’s case, I have to reveal a Continuous Spell Card in my hand.

“So… I end my turn, and I’ll reveal this card to keep Koa’ki Meiru Ice.”

He flipped a card in his hand around, which was Banner of Courage.

Okay, Gears, thought Gears. You can beat it… Sure it’s powerful… But you’ve dealt with worse…

He drew a card.

“I activate the second effect of Take Over 5,” he said. “I remove it from play, to draw one more card.”

He quickly pocketed the card, and made another draw. He looked at his hand.

Then his other facedown card lifted up, and was revealed to be Soul Resurrection. Robotic Knight appeared, crouching in Defense Mode. (1,800 DEF)

“Now, I sacrifice it for Ally of Justice Rudra!”

Robotic Knight vanished, and the large, robotic wolf appeared. (1,900 ATK)

“Time to break the ice!” he shouted. “Attack that Koa’ki Meiru!”

Rudra pounced at Koa’ki Meiru Ice, and its Attack Score shot up to 2,600. It slashed with its claw, and the statue smashed into shards of ice. Zweig frowned.

(G: 7,500) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 7,300)

“I end my turn,” said Gears.

Zweig made a draw.

“Humph…” he said, looking at the five cards in his hand.

He set four of them on his Disk, and three reversed cards and a reversed Monster appeared.

“That’s all,” he said.

Got to be careful, thought Gears as he made a draw. I’m still not clear on how these Koa’ki Meiru cards work.

“I summon Ally of Justice Garadholg,” he said.

He played the card, and the bronze fox with a glowing mane appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“Attack!” he shouted.

Garadholg pounced at the card. The creature that appeared on the card looked like a small dollop of whipped cream, with eyes and an upside-down smile on the top of its face. (500 DEF)

“Marshmallon??” shouted Gears.

“That’s right!” laughed Zweig. “It can’t be destroyed by battle, and since you attacked it, you lose 1,000 Life Points.”

“Ergh…” grunted Gears, as a red aura surrounded him. Marshmallon grinned at him with its funny face.

“I have to end my turn…” he said.

(G: 6,500) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 7,300)

“Then I draw,” said Zweig, drawing a card.

He looked at the card he had drawn.

“And, during my Draw Phase, I can ditch a Koa’ki Meiru Monster from my hand to recover an Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru from my Graveyard.”

He discarded one of his two cards, Koa’ki Meiru Crusader, and took one of his two Iron Cores from his discard slot.

He took the other card that had been in his hand.

“I set a new Monster, and then end my turn.”

A new set Monster appeared next to Marshmallon.

“My draw…” said Gears, drawing a card.

He smirked as he looked at it.

“Time to take out that cream puff!” he exclaimed. “I summon Nanobreaker!”

He played the card, and in a flourish, the beautiful, sword-wielding, female android appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“Sorry…” said Zweig, “but she’s the one that will be leaving…”

One of his facedown cards lifted up.

“A Trap?” gasped Gears.

“Automatic Laser!” laughed Zweig.

A large laser gun that seemed to have come from an episode of Dr. Who appeared in front of Zweig. It aimed at Nanobreaker.

“I merely have to reveal one Iron Core in my hand,” said Zweig, flipping the one card in his hand around, “and…”

The laser fired, and Nanobreaker screamed as she was hit and vaporized.

Gears growled.

“Rudra, attack his facedown Monster!” he shouted.

Rudra pounced on the hidden Monster. Morphing Jar appeared on the card, and cackled before it was crushed.

Gears frowned. He discarded the two cards in his hand, and Zweig discarded one. They both drew five.

Gears looked at the five cards in his hand, and sighed.

“I end my turn,” he said.

“My move…” chuckled Zweig, drawing a card.

“And I summon Koa’ki Meiru Doom!”

In a gust of foul wind, a new Monster appeared on the field, which was almost as big as Koa’ki Meiru Ice. It looked like the atypical Fiend, with horns, wings, and a tail, with iron scales all over its body. (1,700 ATK)

“Doom here has a powerful effect,” continued Zweig. “It negates the effects of all Light and Dark Monsters that activate during the Main Phase.”

“I have news for you,” replied Gears. “Rudra and Garadholg’s effects both activate during the Battle Phase.”

“Then I’m getting rid of Rudra, at least,” said Gears, as one of his facedown cards lifted up. “I’m activating the Continuous Spell Card, Banner of Courage. Now, for my Battle Phase only, my Monsters gain 200 Attack Points.”

“Not gonna do it,” replied Gears.

Zweig’s other facedown card lifted.

“I also activate Shrink,” he said.

Rudra was reduced to half its size, and an Attack Score of 950.

“Koa’ki Meiru Doom, attack!” shouted Zweig. “Atomic hurricane!”

Koa’ki Meiru Doom lifted its arms, and a hurricane of strange wind blew about the field. Rudra rose to an Attack Score of 1,650, but Doom rose to 1,900, and Rudra was eroded into silvery dust.

(G: 6,250) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 7,300)

“I end my turn,” said Zweig. “And to keep Doom, I either have to discard an Iron Core, or reveal a Fiend-Type Monster in my hand. So, I’ll reveal this one.”

He flipped a card around.

Gears was a little shocked at the sight of the card.

That’s a Level 8 Monster! he thought. If low-Level Koa’ki Meiru Monsters are powerful, high-Level ones must be…

He paused.

Calm down… He needs two sacrifices to summon it… At least I think he does… I just have to make sure he doesn’t have them…

He drew a card.

“I summon Ally of Justice Unknown Crusher!” he shouted.

He threw the card on his Disk, and the robotic pachyderm with the glowing node on its trunk appeared. (1,200 ATK)

“Attack Marshmallon!” he shouted. “Particle beam!”

“Hasn’t it sunk in yet?” asked Zweig. “Marshmallon can’t be destroyed.”

“My Monster isn’t destroying it,” replied Gears, “it’s removing it from play.”

Unknown Crusher fired a blast of energy from its trunk, and Marshmallon vanished into nothing. Zweig’s eyes opened wide.

“Garadholg, destroy Koa’ki Meiru Doom!” shouted Gears.

Garadholg leapt at the Fiend, and its Attack Score rose to 1,800. Koa’ki Meiru Doom howled as the Machine raked its claws against its hide, and it exploded into raw slag.

(G: 6,250) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 7,200)

“Okay, Gears,” said Zweig, as he drew a card. “I’m done playing nice!

“I summon Koa’ki Meiru Powerhand!”

With a whir, and a burst of digital symbols, a ten-foot-tall robot appeared, one that was covered from head to toe in heavy-duty armor, which seemed to have metal drills for hands, shoulders, and a cranium. (2,100 ATK)

“A Level 4 Monster with 2,100 Attack Points??” gasped Gears.

“You got it!” laughed Zweig. “And now it’s time to drill the point home! Attack!”

The drill on Powerhand’s right arm started spinning, its Attack Score rose to 2,300, and it plunged it directly into the center of Unknown Crusher’s face. Gears braced himself as his Monster exploded into scrap.

“Eh, I hope it was worth it…” said Gears, gasping for breath. “My Trap Card makes your Monster a Light Monster, and all Light Monsters that battle Unknown Crusher are removed from play.”

Zweig laughed.

“Notice that Powerhand isn’t disappearing, Gears,” he said.

Gears looked up. To his shock, Powerhand was still there.

“Powerhand negates the effects of all Light and Dark Monsters that it battles which apply during the Battle Phase,” said Zweig. “Your Unknown Crusher’s effect was worthless.”

(G: 5,150) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 7,200)

“I end my turn,” said Zweig. “And to keep Powerhand, I must discard an Iron Core, or reveal a Normal Trap Card in my hand. So… I’ll reveal my Good Goblin Housekeeping.”

He flipped the card around.

I’m beginning to see what he meant when he said this deck could beat Tele-DAD and Lightsworn, thought Gears. All of these Monsters are ‘anti-meta’. They can beat some of the most powerful cards in the game.

Still… This power comes with a price… A very stiff maintenance cost for each Monster. If I can just take these things down one at a time, he might not be able to pay the costs, and I might be able to beat them.

He drew a card.

That’s it…

“I play… Monster Reborn!” he shouted.

The golden ankh appeared, and Rudra appeared again. (1,900 ATK)

“Next, I summon Ally of Justice Unlimiter!”

He threw the card on his Disk, and the small, mosquito-like drone appeared. (600 ATK)

“Now, I sacrifice it,” he said, as Unlimiter vanished, “and Rudra’s Attack Score is doubled!”

Rudra glowed with shadowy energy… (3,800 ATK)

“Sure, Powerhand will negate its effect,” he continued, “but it really doesn’t need it.

“Rudra, crush his Powerhand!”

Rudra pounced, and took a swipe at the huge drilling Machine. It sparked, and exploded as its core ruptured.

“Ergh…” muttered Zweig.

“Garadholg…” said Gears.

“Uh… oh…” said Zweig, as he saw Garadholg leap at him.

He cringed as the Machine slashed at him with its claws. He fell on his seat.

(G: 5,250) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 3,900)

Gears took a deep breath.

“I end my turn…” he said, as Rudra returned to an Attack Score of 1,900.

Zweig scowled, and made a draw.

Then he chuckled evilly.

“I play Mystical Space Typhoon!” he shouted, playing it.

The cyclone ripped across the field, and Gears’s DNA Transplant was blown to pieces.

“Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system,” he continued, “I summon a new Koa’ki Meiru… The Koa’ki Meiru Drago.”

A very strange Dragon appeared, hovering in the air on Zweig’s side of the field. It seemed to be sculpted completely out of blue energy, with four wings, and shimmering, smooth skin. (1,900 ATK)

“And Drago here has a very potent effect,” continued Zweig. “While he’s around, neither of us can Special Summon Light or Dark Monsters.

“Now… Attack his Rudra!”

Koa’ki Meiru Drago roared, and its Attack Score rose to 2,100. It breathed a blast of pure energy from its jaws, and Rudra was blown to bits.

“I throw down a facedown, and end my turn,” said Zweig, as a reversed card appeared. “And to keep Drago, I’ll reveal a Dragon-Type Monster in my hand…”

He flipped a card around.

“…like a second Koa’ki Meiru Drago.”

(G: 5,050) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 3,900)

Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


Gears started to sweat a little. He made a draw.

Hmm… he thought, looking at the card. Bone Temple Block… This might have possibilities…

He fit it in his Disk and it appeared as a reversed card. Then he turned the card already on his Disk, and Garadholg shielded itself in Defense Mode. (400 DEF)

“Your move…”

Zweig made a draw. He looked at the card.

Then his facedown card lifted up.

“I activate Good Goblin Housekeeping,” he said. “Now, I get to draw one card, plus an additional one for each Good Goblin Housekeeping in my Graveyard.

“Since I discarded one to use Ice’s effect, I get to draw two.”

He made two draws, and looked at them.

“Then I must send one card from my hand to the bottom of my deck.”

He chose one of his six cards, and slid it under his deck.

“Now, Drago… Attack!”

Drago breathed its energy breath, eradicating Garadholg.

“I end my turn, and I’ll reveal this card again.”

He turned his second Drago around again.

Gears quickly made a draw.

Okay… he thought, looking at it. Now I’ve got a plan…

He added it to his hand, and then played another.

“I play Silent Doom,” he said. “Now I get to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode.”

“Forget my Drago’s effect?” asked Zweig. “You can’t summon Dark Monsters with that card.”

“I know,” said Gears. “Fortunately, I have one Monster in my Graveyard that I can summon.”

Robotic Knight appeared, and crouched in Defense Mode. (1,800 DEF)

“Oh…” said Zweig. “I forgot about him…”

Then Gears’s facedown card lifted up.

“Next, I activate the Trap Card, Bone Temple Block,” he said.

“Bone Temple Block?” asked Zweig. “What the sam-hill is that?”

“First, I gotta toss one card from my hand,” said Gears, as he discarded Ally of Justice Cosmic Closer.

“Then, I first get to Special Summon a Level 4 or less Monster from your Graveyard. And I think I’ll summon Koa’ki Meiru Doom.”

In another burst of stale wind, the tall, muscular Fiend appeared on Gears’s side of the field. (1,700 ATK)

“Then, to even the playing field, you get to summon a low-Level Monster from my Graveyard.

“Of course, thanks to your own Monster on the field, you have only two options: Nanobreaker and Quillbolt Hedgehog.”

“Then I choose Nanobreaker,” said Zweig. “Defense Mode.”

Nanobreaker appeared on Zweig’s side of the field. She knelt and crossed her arms. (1,800 DEF)

“I really don’t know what good Koa’ki Meiru Doom is going to do you,” he said. “He can’t beat Koa’ki Meiru Drago, and don’t forget, he’ll be destroyed when you end your turn unless you discard an Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru or reveal a Fiend-Type Monster in your hand.

“You can’t do the first… And even if you can do the second, Nanobreaker can defeat him when my turn comes around, because I know that Nanobreaker can defeat any Level 3 or lower Monster!”

“You think too small, Zweig,” said Gears, taking another card from his hand. “I don’t intend to keep Doom much longer. I’m going to sacrifice him and my Robotic Knight…”

Both of Gears’s Monsters dissolved into grains of light.

“…to summon Perfect Machine King!”

In an explosion of flames, the enormous King of Machines loomed over the field. (2,700 ATK)

“ERK!” gasped Zweig.

“And he gains 500 Attack Points for each additional Machine on the field,” continued Gears. “That includes Nanobreaker.”

(3,200 ATK)

“Wipe out Koa’ki Meiru Drago!” shouted Gears. “Mega missile assault!”

Twin hatches on Perfect Machine King’s shoulders opened, and a volley of missiles shot at the Dragon. It shrieked before exploding into a burst of pure energy.

Gears sighed.

“That’s all I can do,” he said.

(G: 5,050) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 2,600)

Zweig snarled again, and made a draw.

“I set one Monster, and one facedown card!” he growled, as a reversed Monster and a reversed card appeared. “And I end my turn!”

“That means the side effect of Bone Temple Block kicks in,” said Gears. “The Monster you summoned with it is destroyed.”

Zweig gasped as Nanobreaker shattered into pixels.

“My move,” said Gears, drawing a card.

He looked at the Trap Card.

Darn, I was hoping for a Monster, he thought. Well, I’ll have to make do…

“I set this card facedown,” he said, as a reversed card appeared, “then I attack!”

Perfect Machine King fired its missiles again. Dark Mimic LV1 appeared on the card, and was blown to pieces.

“Thank you,” said Zweig, drawing a card.

“Make your move,” said Gears.

“Oh, I will,” said Zweig. “I draw one card…”

He made a draw.

“And, during my Draw Phase, I discard this to recover an Iron Core.”

He discarded Koa’ki Meiru Drago, and an Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru slipped out of his discard slot.

“So, tell me, Gears… Last time you avoided losing with your Overwhelm Trap Card… Tell me… Is that the same card you have facedown right now?”

“Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t,” said Gears.

He was very nervous. He knew that it wasn’t.

“Well, let’s find out…” said Zweig. “I play a Spell Card. It’s called Urgent Synthesis.”

He played the card, and the second Iron Core slipped out of his discard slot.

“By sending this other Iron Core back to my deck, I am able to Special Summon a low-Level Koa’ki Meiru Monster from my Graveyard. So… I think that just for the hell of it, I’ll bring back Powerhand.”

Powerhand appeared once again, striking a pose. (2,100 ATK)

“Just for the hell of it?” asked Gears. “That thing’s a Machine! Don’t you realize that you just made my Monster stronger?”

“That’s exactly why I’m going to sacrifice it!” laughed Zweig. “This Monster you are about to see is the mightiest of the Koa’ki Meiru… And although it’s a Level 8 Monster, I can summon it with one sacrifice, so long as said sacrifice is another Koa’ki Meiru.

“So, I sacrifice Powerhand…”

Powerhand vanished in a plume of flame.

“…to summon… Koa’ki Meiru Valafar!”

A pit of lava erupted in the center of the floor, and a tall, muscular creature, the size of an ogre, rose out of it. It was a Fiend with a hide that seemed to be made of cooling magma, with flaming wings on its back.

It let out a roar of bloodlust… (3,000 ATK)

“Good lord…” said Gears.

“And in response to summoning it,” said Zweig, as his facedown card lifted up, “I activate Torrential Tribute.”

“Say WHAT?” shouted Gears.

He was interrupted as a tidal wave of water swamped the field. Perfect Machine King sparked, and then exploded into pieces of sputtering machine parts that dissolved into pixels.

“Heh…” chuckled Zweig. “Guess it isn’t Overwhelm after all.”

“That was the stupidest…” started Gears.

Then Gears looked up and realized something horrible…

Zweig’s Trap Card had not harmed his own Monster at all. Valafar was still there, looking, at Gears with an evil smile.

“Speechless, huh?” asked Zweig. “Valafar here cannot be destroyed by Trap Cards. He laughs at Mirror Force, Sakuretsu Armor, Bottomless Trap Hole, and any other Trap Card that would be lethal to a Monster.

“Too bad your Perfect Machine King couldn’t do the same…

“Valafar… Attack him directly!”

Koa’ki Meiru Valafar lifted his arms, and formed a huge ball of flame. The Banner of Courage glowed, and his Attack Score rose to 3,200.

“Activate… Half or Nothing!” shouted Gears, as his facedown card flipped up.

“Huh?” said Zweig.

“Now you gotta…” started Gears.

“Yes, yes, I know what it does,” chuckled Zweig. “But this time, I choose not to stop!”

Valafar’s Attack Score fell to 1,600, and it hurled its ball of flame at Gears. He cringed, and braced himself.

“I set one card, and end my turn,” said Zweig, setting one of the three remaining cards in his hand. “Now, unlike the other Koa’ki Meiru, Valafar only has one option when I end my turn. I must discard an Iron Core. So I’ll do so.”

He discarded the card.

(G: 3,450) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 2,600)

Gears started to sweat again. He made a draw.

Okay, this might help… he thought.

“I activate a Trap,” chuckled Zweig, as his facedown card lifted up.

“It’s called Grave of the Super Ancient Organism. With this Trap Card on the field, Level 6 Monsters that are Special Summoned can’t attack or use their effects.”

Which means that almost all Synchros are out of commission, thought Gears. Good one, Zweig…

He looked at the card he had drawn again.

“I play Pot of Avarice!” he shouted.

He played the card, and then took Garadholg, Nanobreaker, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Rudra, and Catastor from his Graveyard. He shuffled them back into his deck, and made two draws.

He set two cards in his deck, and a reversed Monster and a reversed card appeared.

“That’s all,” he said.

“Then it’s my move,” said Zweig.

He reached for his deck.

Then he paused. He looked at the last card in his hand.

“Tell you what…” he said. “Here’s something you might not have expected… I’m not going to draw. See, if an Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru is in my Graveyard, I can not only discard a Monster during my Draw Phase to recover it, I can skip drawing altogether to do so.”

The Iron Core slipped out of his discard slot, and he took it.

“Next, I summon Koa’ki Meiru Crusader.”

With a hoarse roar, a knight in shining armor appeared next to Valafar. But while most such knights were sleek and streamlined, this one was rather hulking, and carried an oversized sword. Its face was gaunt and fiendish. (1,900 ATK)

“Not another member of the Nineteen-Hundred Club,” groaned Gears.

“Oh, yes,” said Zweig. “Most Koa’ki Meiru are members.

“Attack his Monster!”

The Crusader let out another hoarse roar, and slammed its sword towards the facedown card. Sangan briefly appeared before it was smashed to pieces.

“I activate Sangan’s effect…” said Gears.

He took Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator from his deck, and looked at it.

“And I activate Crusader’s effect,” replied Zweig. “Whenever it slays a Monster, I get to recover any card with the words ‘Koa’ki Meiru’ in its name from my Graveyard.

“And I think I’ll recover the other Crusader that I tossed earlier.”

The card slipped out of his discard slot.

“Valafar… Attack him directly!”

Valafar roared again, and he formed another ball of flame. His Attack Score rose to 3,200, and it hurled the ball at Gears. Gears screamed as the almost-real fires exploded around him.

He struggled to keep standing. He took deep gasps of breath.

(G: 250) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 2,600)

“Good grief, what are you made of?” asked Zweig.

Gears didn’t reply.

“Humph,” muttered Zweig. “I end my turn. To keep Valafar, I’ll discard my Iron Core…”

He discarded the card.

“…and to keep Crusader, I have to reveal one Beast-Warrior in my hand. Good thing I used its effect to search for one, right?”

He turned the card in his hand, the second Crusader, around.

This is it… thought Gears.

He drew a card.

He smiled.

“Why are you grinning?” asked Zweig.

“Because I’m going to beat you, Zweig,” said Gears, “and a mistake you made is going to make it possible.

“Your Trap Card, Grave of the Super Ancient Organism, may have seemed like a good idea at time, but now I can actually benefit from it.”

“If you can benefit from this Trap Card, I’ll eat my hat!” laughed Zweig.

“I send Grave of the Super Ancient Organism to the Graveyard to Special Summon Trap Eater!” exclaimed Gears.

Zweig gasped as his Trap Card vanished, and the Tuner Fiend that was almost all mouth appeared. It let out a throaty chuckle. (1,900 ATK)

“So, should I get you some ketchup?” asked Gears, as his facedown card lifted. “Next, I activate Birthright, to Special Summon Robotic Knight again.”

Robotic Knight appeared again. (1,600 ATK)

“Next, I summon Mechanicalchaser.”

He played another card, and the hunter droid appeared. (1,850 ATK)

“Now… I Tune Robotic Knight and Trap Eater together…”

The two Monsters flew towards the ceiling, and melted into eight glowing stars…

“Synchro Summon… Jalal the Dragonborn!”

The radiant form of Jalal’s avatar landed, a powerful, noble knight, in stark contrast to the bestial one on Zweig’s side of the field. He drew his glowing sword. (2,600 ATK)

“Next, I activate his effect,” said Gears. “I pay half my Life Points, to remove Bone Temple Block in my Graveyard from play.”

The Trap Card slipped out of Gears’s discard slot, and the Rune Counter appeared on Jalal’s sword.

“Now, I’ll use the effect of Bone Temple Block. I’ll discard this to do so…”

He discarded Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator.

“And summon Koa’ki Meiru Powerhand from your Graveyard.”

Powerhand appeared on Gears’s side of the field. (2,100 ATK)

“And I use that effect to summon Dark Resonator from yours!” shouted Zweig.

Dark Resonator appeared on his side of the field, crouching in Defense Mode. (300 DEF)

“So just what are you going to do, Gears?” he asked. “None of your Monsters are powerful enough to defeat Valafar, and you have only 125 Life Points left! One attack on my turn, and its over!”

Gears closed his eyes.

“There won’t be a next turn for you, Zweig,” he said, taking the last card in his hand. “Know why I chose Powerhand this time?”

He played the card.

“I may not know much about these Koa’ki Meiru… But I know a Machine when I see one.

“I play Limiter Removal!”

Zweig gasped in fear as Koa’ki Meiru Powerhand rose to an Attack Score of 4,200, and Mechanicalchaser rose to 3,700.

“Mechanicalchaser!” ordered Gears, “destroy that sorry excuse for a knight! Attack!”

Mechanicalchaser’s blade’s spun wildly, and it slashed into Koa’ki Meiru Crusader. The bestial knight howled, and shattered into shards of grey slate.

“Now, Koa’ki Meiru Powerhand… Attack Koa’ki Meiru Valafar!”

The drill on Powerhand’s right arm spun, and it charged at the lava Fiend. It stabbed the beast right in the chest, drilling a hole clear through the center of its torso.

The look on Valafar’s face was one frozen in utter shock. Then, cracks started to appear all over its hide…

Then an explosion obliterated the creature as its core ruptured, and Zweig was thrown to the ground, his cards scattering.

(G: 125) - - - - - - - - - - (Z: 0)

Zweig looked up, and saw Gears standing above him, holding the gemstone.

“Why… Why can’t I beat you…” gasped Zweig.

“Zweig…” said Gears. “The problem with you is, you go to extremes.

“A good duelist isn’t a copycat like you were before. Neither does he build a deck that tries to defeat every established deck, like the one you just used.

“A truly good duelist takes the middle road. It may be harder than either of the other two paths, but only by mastering the middle road and building a deck that reflects who he truly is, one that is a reflection of his very soul, can a person become a truly great duelist.

“I wonder if you’ll ever learn that…”

The gem glowed, and Zweig vanished.

Gears let out a sigh, and looked around…

* * * * * * * * * *

Ember had just switched off the computer.

She put her notebook into her purse, then shuffled her deck, then checked all the cards in her side deck, and then strapped her Duel Disk onto her left arm.

“Ember, look,” said Sorsha. “Are you absolutely sure this is a good idea? My master had to deal with these things numerous times… He knows better than anyone, they don’t play fair!”

“I’m sure,” said Ember.

“Any chance I can get you to tell me exactly where you’re going this time?” asked Sorsha.

“I’m going to look around, and ask a few people for information,” said Ember.

“In other words, hit the street, question the local stool pigeons, check with tipsters,” sighed Sorsha.

“Well, it won’t be so random,” said Ember. “The website helped. I found information on a place where such a person might go after just getting out of jail.

“You see, the food in prisons isn’t too good, and inmates aren’t allowed to drink alcohol. So once they get out, they either get drunk or go to some restaurant and order steak.”

“So are you gonna check every bar and steakhouse in town?” asked Sorsha.

“It’s ten AM, Sorsha,” replied Ember. “It’s too early for dinner.

“But I think I know where she might go to buy liquor… And I might get information there.”


In case you’re so dense as to not realize it yet, my goal was to complete my Rite of Passage by finding Hebi-Na and bringing her in. It would be my greatest challenge to date, and would be incredibly dangerous, if even half the things I had heard so far about ophidia were true. But I was willing to take a dare and confront this snake who had tried to kill me, as I wanted to prove to my co-workers, prove to Jalal, and above all, prove to myself that I had what it took to become a Shadowchaser worthy of the name.

I also might have wanted to thank her for helping me open my eyes. I wasn’t sure whether I would get a chance, however.


Coming up next:

Before Ember finds Hebi-Na, Jinx finds, or rather is found, by her old enemy, the insidious Dr. Fogg. And this time, he’s managed to get a D-Wheel and a revamped deck. Were you wondering about the mysterious Monster that he wasn’t able to summon in their first duel? In the Turbo Duel that ensues, he may get a second chance. “Thunder Crash” is coming soon.



Shadowchaser Files

Cirque de Moitié, a Carnival of Shadows

One of the most difficult problems facing intelligent Shadowkind who suddenly find themselves living in our world is how to support themselves. Many of the skills and abilities that were highly prized in their former lives have no applications (no legal applications, that is) in the Mundane world. Some, however, find that their natural talents have unexpected outlets.

Such is the case with Cirque de Moitié, a collection of halflings who have formed a troupe of acrobats, jugglers, and clowns that Mundane audiences have dubbed “The Greatest Little Show on Earth”. It was started in 1860, by a halfling named Waldo Stubble, who had originally worked under the great P.T. Barnum. Most of Barnum’s customers, and Barnum himself, assumed that Stubble was only a midget performer, like Barnum’s more popular attraction, Charles Sherwood Stratton (aka General Tom Thumb). However, Stubble soon became disgusted with Barnum, as most of Barnum’s attractions were fakes, nothing more than mockeries to fool the gullible. He resigned, and invested his money to create his own traveling troupe, hoping to create a show that did not have to con audiences with fake acts to be entertaining.

Cirque de Moitié grew slowly, starting as a sideshow, but then expanding. Today, under the direction of Stubble’s great-great-grandson, it has become famous worldwide for its precision acrobatics, sets, and music, which are often described as “otherworldly”, and routines so fantastic that spectators often swear that they must be magical.

The truth is, of course, that they are magical. The troupe built their shows using not only the halflings’ natural agility, but also their knowledge of the arcane. They also employ a good number of gnomes to build sets and a few dwarves to do strength and stamina-based acts (like smashing through brick walls or mock swordfights while covered with flames). A few taller Shadowkind are occasionally hired by Cirque, but in general, most of its members are Shadows who are short in stature.

Among Shadowkind, Cirque de Moitié is considered one of the greatest success stories of adapting to the Mundane world. Other Shadows like elves do not find the acts awesome in the same way that Mundanes do, but they still flock to the performances in droves to applaud the halflings’ success.

And they are indeed successful. Children under ten and college students get a discount on admission, after all.


Story Ideas: It seems that all science fiction and fantasy TV series have an episode that takes place in a carnival or circus. Cirque de Moitié might fulfill that role if one is needed for a Shadowchasers story. Trouble can pop up at the most unexpected of places, and a traveling circus is clearly an unexpected place.

Remember, one of the purposes of the Shadowchasers is to protect Shadowkind. If Cirque de Moitié is having trouble from someone who dislikes them for some reason, a team of Shadowchasers might have to work overtime as security at the circus. It’s even possible that a villain could operate out of the circus itself; halflings make unlikely villains, but that might just be part of this one’s cover. It’s always the one you least expect.


Deck Suggestions: The halflings of Cirque de Moitié pride themselves on their small stature, so when it comes to dueling, big, bad Monsters are not their style. Smaller ones are more likely, so a Human Wave strategy might fit one or more of them nicely.

[Shuppet Master]

Again, you outdo yourself, Brian, and I didn't expect to see a set of monsters which shuts down most metagaming decks, especially Chaos. This would be a beast in Traditional, where many of the broken monsters are used.

And it's up to the signature card of the Shadowchasers to save the day. Not that I am complaining, but if it takes a fan-made card to win against these guys, that shows how powerful they really are!

Anyways, the Shadowchaser file sounds cool. Halflings are my favorite demi-human race.

[Dark Sage]

Author’s note:

There are a few changes to announce in the names of some of Jinx’s cards, as some of them are being released in the United States. I will use the American names when I can.

First off, X-Saber Anabelera is now known as X-Saber Anu Piranha.

While Allsword Commander Gatmuz has not been released in the States yet, the Trap Card with his picture, Gatmuz’s Urgent Orders, has been released with the name “Gottoms’ Emergency Call”. Thus, the Monster will be called Gottoms from now on.

CHAPTER FORTY

Now, I’m guessing that most of you reading my story are from the States. I know that in your corner of the world, the legal drinking age is twenty-one. In Japan, where I’m from, it’s twenty. Not much of a difference, really. I’ve heard that in some countries, it’s only eighteen, and in a few it’s as low as sixteen. In a few countries, the age is different depending on whether you’re getting the stuff in a bar or in a store (you have to be older to get it in a bar), and in others you can drink beer at a younger age than you have to be to drink stronger stuff. Ireland, where they just love their liquor, has the lowest drinking age; children as young as twelve can drink in public, and there is no minimum age for drinking in private.

Anyway, the legal age in Japan is twenty for everything, and I was still too young to drink, so I wasn’t one who’d usually be hanging around a liquor store. But now was a special case. My search for information led me to downtown, to a place that seemed to be a typical liquor store. It sold wine, spirits… The usual stuff that you get in such a place.

However, the online site I had been using for research told me that this store was owned by a Shadowkind, and that it often catered to certain Shadowkind… Shadowkind of a certain taxonomic class. I was pretty sure that I would find the information I needed here, or at least a lead on where to find it…



The liquor store in front of Ember looked rather ordinary. The sign on the front simply said, “Gloria’s Wine and Spirits”.

Ember took a deep breath. She walked in, and a little bell rung to announce her entrance.

“Hello!” said a cheery female voice from behind the counter. “What can I do for you?”

Now, a Mundane who looked at the woman would have seen nothing sinister. He would have seen an attractive woman with a shapely figure, with a golden tan, and blonde hair arranged in long, thick braids. She wore a green dress, and thick, dark sunglasses.

However, Ember, who was Aware, saw through the veil. The woman’s perfect tan was actually skin covered with dun brown scales, and her braids were actually live snakes, that slithered around on her scalp.

Ember paused in fear.

“Yes?” said the woman.

“Uh, hi,” said Ember. “Are you Gloria?”

“That’s me,” said the creature. “So, what can I get you? Uh, I think I’m gonna need to see an ID…”

“Uhm…” squeaked Ember. “I, uh… You’re a medusa, aren’t you?”

“Uh, no, I’m a gorgon,” replied Gloria.

“I see…” said Ember.

“Medusa was a specific gorgon,” continued Gloria, “the one that Perseus killed.”

“I see…” repeated Ember.

“But don’t feel too bad,” said Gloria, “a lot of people confuse the two names.”

Ember slowly felt her courage returning. Since this gorgon hadn’t tried to turn her to stone yet, she figured she’d go on with what she came here for.

“I’m not going to buy anything,” she said. “No drinks, anyway. I was hoping you could help me. I hear that you deal with the ophidia… from time to time.”

Gloria frowned.

“Well, reluctantly,” she replied. “You see, I’m the only liquor store in town that’s licensed to sell viperwine.”

“Viperwine?” asked Ember.

Gloria bent down behind the counter, and then lifted up a whisky bottle. Its label had a picture of a hooded snake on it, and the liquor inside it was green.

“This stuff,” she said. “It’s a whiskey made from the venom of the Indian viper. Reptilian Shadowkind, like me, adore it.

“I’ve heard that demons like it too, but none of them have ever come in here. Heh, heh.

“The problem is, it’s a lethal poison to mammals, like you. So you need a license from the Shadowchasers to legally sell it. And boy, that license is hard to get!”

“But you do have a license,” said Ember.

“That’s right!” laughed Gloria. “And since I do, I can charge far less for this stuff than the black market does. So any reptilian Shadowkind who want it usually come to me. Unfortunately, that includes the ophidia.”

“Uhm, well, I’m looking for a specific ophidia,” replied Ember. “Her name is Hebi-Na. She’s a dangerous fugitive…”

“Can you describe her?” asked Gloria. “I don’t bother with names all that much…”

Ember took a deep breath. This would be easy. She would never forget what Hebi-Na looked like.

“She has the upper body of a woman,” she said, “and the lower body of a serpent, and stands about six feet tall. She has reptilian eyes and fangs. She has long, black hair tied in a long ponytail. She wears a halter top, dark sunglasses… kind of like yours, and when she poses among humans, she wears a very long skirt to cover her inhuman half.”

She took another deep breath.

“Oh yeah!” said Gloria. “She came in here two hours ago… Kind of stood out…

“First she went to the ATM…”

She pointed to the machine in the corner.

“…then she bought a flask of this stuff, and then drank it all right on the spot. That certainly got my attention.

“At that point, she was a little tipsy. She started talking about how she was going to challenge someone to a battle of Duel Monsters, and how she was going to get a new deck, one that was far more terrifying than her last one.”

Ember looked at the gorgon.

Far more terrifying… she thought. I wonder…

* * * * * * * * * *

In the meantime, Jinx was driving her D-Wheel down the streets of the Daimon Area.

She had checked Fogg’s office, but he wasn’t there, of course. He was likely a lot smarter than Zweig ever was. So she was exploring all of her leads.

She had just shaken down an underworld tipster named “Peanuts” Musaka, and learned that someone matching Dr. Martin Fogg’s description was indeed in the area. Exactly where, however, he didn’t know.

Jinx figured that if she simply combed the streets, he’d turn up eventually. The tracker on her D-Wheel was set to detect any ophidia presence, and snakeblooded humans could be detected by anything that could detect an ophidia. From a biological and magical point of view, snakeblooded humans were ophidia. They could use any artifacts or spells that normally only ophidia could use, and anything that worked on ophidia also worked on them.

Come on, Fogg, said Jinx, keeping one eye on the tracker. Come out, come out, wherever you…

She stopped short.

…are?

The tracker had picked up something, and it was heading towards her from behind, much faster than anyone traveling on foot could come.

Jinx swerved to avoid the D-Wheel as is rushed past her. But she couldn’t avoid a kick from the driver as he passed.

The driver of the very high-tech D-Wheel stopped in front of her, and lowered the visor on his helmet.

“Fogg??” shouted Jinx. “Where did you get a D-Wheel? You’ve only been out of jail for four hours!”

“It’s something I’ve been keeping in cold storage,” replied Fogg. “Now I can truly face you on equal terms… If you’re willing to accept my challenge.”

“Fine!” shouted Jinx. “I beat you before, and I’ll do it again!”

The two Speed World cards appeared on the dashboards of each D-Wheel.

“Duel Mode engaged,” said Jinx’s D-Wheel.

“This time, Jinx,” said Fogg, “you won’t be so lucky….”

They sped down the streets of Daimon.

(Jinx: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Fogg: 8,000)

“Age before beauty, Shadowchaser,” said Fogg.

He drew a card.

“I’m going first.”

He threw two cards on his console.

“I set two cards…”

Two facedown cards appeared in a flash in front of his D-Wheel, and then faded from view.

“Then, I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior.”

A blue portal opened, and one of Yugi Mouto’s famous Magnet Warriors emerged. This one was the grey robot with a head shaped a magnet pointing backwards, holding a sword and a shield. (1,400 ATK)

“Going for the classics this time, huh Fogg?” asked Jinx.

“It’s your move,” replied Fogg.

Jinx made a draw, and both Speed Counters rose to one.

“Come on out, Alligator’s Sword!” she shouted.

The portal opened behind her bike, and Alligator’s Sword flew out. (1,500 ATK)

“Attack his Monster!” she shouted. “Scimitar slash!”

Alligator’s Sword flew towards the Magnet Warrior with his blade held high…

“I activate a Trap!” shouted Fogg, as one of his facedown cards spun around. “It’s called Zero Guard! This reduces Alpha’s Attack Score to zero for this round… But prevents him from being destroyed in battle.”

Alpha’s Attack Score plummeted down to nothing as the Beast’s scimitar slammed into it. Fogg grit his teeth, as his D-Wheel teetered.

“Now I activate my other Trap!” he shouted.

His second facedown card spun around.

“Death Accel! Now, I don’t lose any Speed Counters from your assault. Rather, I gain one for every 500 Life Points I lost from it.

“I assume you can do a simple division problem…”

Fogg’s Speed Counters shot up to a total of four. He shifted gears, and sped ahead of Jinx.

“Very clever,” said Jinx. “I end my turn.”

(J: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 6,500)

Fogg made a draw. His own Speed Counters rose to five, while Jinx’s rose to two.

“I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior!” he said.

He played another card, and another of the Magnet Warriors appeared. This one was the cute, yellow one, with two horns resembling a magnet on its head and magnets for hands. (1,700 ATK)

Okay, we’re in trouble now, thought Jinx.

“Beta, wipe out Alligator’s Sword!” ordered Fogg.

Beta blasted a bolt of electromagnetism from its two hands, and Alligator’s Sword was blown to particles.

“Alpha, direct attack!”

Alpha flew to the front of Jinx’s D-Wheel, and slammed its sword into the front. Jinx cringed as her Speed Counters fell down to only one.

“I set a new card facedown, and end my turn,” said Fogg, as a new facedown card appeared.

(J: 6,400) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 6,500)

Jinx drew, and her Speed Counters rose to two again. Fogg’s rose to six.

I can see where his strategy is going, she thought. And I have to stop it, quick…

“I summon X-Saber Ana Piranha!” she shouted.

She played the card, and Ana Piranha leapt onto the field, lashing her bladed whip. (1,800 ATK)

“Take out Beta!” she shouted.

Ana Piranha cracked her whip at the droid, and it burst into particles.

“I set one card,” she said, as a facedown card appeared next to her bike, “and that will be all.”

(J: 6,400) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 6,400)

Fogg made a draw, and his Speed Counters rose up to seven.

“I play Speed Spell – Shift Down,” he said, as the Spell Card appeared in front of him. “Now, I’ll cut my Counters all the way down to one…”

His Speed Counters plummeted, and his D-Wheel slowed down. He started to lose ground.

“Then I draw two cards…”

He made two draws.

Then he smiled.

His facedown card spun around.

“I activate Birthright,” he said.

Beta the Magnet Warrior reappeared in front of him. (1,700 ATK)

“Next, I’ll bring out Gamma the Magnet Warrior.”

The portal opened again, and the blocky, pink robot with a magnet for a collar, wings on its back, and the letter S on its torso appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“But three’s a crowd, as they say. I sacrifice all three of my Monsters…”

All three of the Magnet Warriors split apart into little pieces.

“Come on out, Valkyrion, the Magna Warrior!”

The pieces melded together, forming a giant fifteen feet tall, that was composed of all the pieces put together. It held a large sword, and radiated an aura of electric energy. (3,500 ATK)

Okay… thought Jinx. This had better work…

“Execute her X-Saber!” shouted Fogg. “Attack!”

Valkyrion flew at Anu Piranha, preparing to lop her head off…

“Go, Fairy Box!” shouted Jinx.

Her own Trap Card spun around, and the loony music started playing.

A golden flash shot out of the back of her D-Wheel.

“Heads!” she shouted.

The coin spun on the street in front of her.

Then she cheered as it came up heads.

Valkyrion’s Attack Score plummeted to zero, and Anu gave it a swift kick, blowing it to little pieces. Fogg grunted, as his D-Wheel wobbled again, and his Counters fell to zero.

(J: 6,400) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 4,600)

“So much preparation for a big waste,” said Jinx, with a grin.

“Not quite,” said Fogg, with a hint of bile in his voice. “You might recall, Jinx, that in our last duel, you defeated me before I got a chance to summon my ultimate beast…

“Well, now is the time! To summon it, I simply have to remove from play two Monsters in my Graveyard with the word ‘Magnet’ in their names…”

Alpha and Gamma appeared behind him, and then faded into ripples of light.

“And here it is! Come on out… Magnet Warrior Polaris!”

Lightning flashed, the sky darkened, and a large, armored figure appeared above Fogg’s bike. It was clad head to toe in black, robotic armor, with two horns on its head resembling the curves of a magnet. It held a long staff, one end of which was tipped with a magnet marked with an N, the other end tipped with a similar magnet tipped with an S. It let out a roar. (2,400 ATK)

“North is up,” said Fogg, “south is down, the perfect storm blew into town!”

“Oh, just lovely,” said Jinx. “You’ve turned from annoying, know-it-all intellectual to annoying poet. I think the time in the joint affected your mind.”

Fogg looked at the last card in his hand. He slowly set it on his console and it appeared face-down.

She’s right, he thought. I can’t act like some maniacal villain here. I can’t lose sight of the goal.

After all, Jinx might think that Dmitri, Zweig, and myself only had revenge on our minds when we broke out, but we have to concentrate on the true plan…

We just have to keep these do-gooders from finding Hebi-Na, so that she can do what the boss wants.

I may not like her or the other ophidia too much… But for the amount of money I was offered, I’d even do freelance work for the All-Seeing Orbs.

“I end my turn,” he said.

Jinx made a draw. Her own Speed Counters rose to four, while Fogg’s rose to one.

“I pay 500 Life Points to keep Fairy Box,” she said.

She looked at the four cards in her hand.

Lovely, she thought. I don’t have anything that even comes close to beating his Magnet Warrior.

“Anu, switch to Defense Mode,” she said.

Anu shielded herself with her arms.

“I don’t think so,” said Fogg, as his facedown card spun around. “I activate the Trap Card, Final Attack Orders.”

Anu quickly stood back up into Attack Mode.

“Well, in that case,” said Jinx, “let’s go for the gusto!

“I summon Abare Ushioni! Remember him?”

With a loud snort, the three-eyed, tattooed bull stampeded onto the field. (1,200 ATK)

The glowing flash shot out of Jinx’s D-Wheel again.

“Heads!” she shouted.

The coin spun around and around…

It came up heads. Fogg groaned as the blast of energy shot and hit him.

“I end my turn,” said Jinx.

(J: 5,900) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,600)

“My move,” said Fogg, drawing a card.

His Speed Counters rose to one.

“And during my Standby Phase, I can activate Magnet Warrior Polaris’s special effect. I can change its Attribute to whatever one I desire.

“So… I choose to change it from Light, to Wind.”

“What’s the point?” asked Jinx.

“You’ll see,” replied Fogg. “I’m not stupid enough to try attacking your Monsters with that Fairy Box there, so I’ll set this, and end my turn.”

The facedown card appeared, and then faded from view.

“My move!” shouted Jinx.

She drew a card, and her Counters rose to six.

“I’ll pay 500 Life Points to keep Fairy Box…

“I activate the effect of Abare Ushioni again! Heads again!”

The coin shot out of her D-Wheel, and spun again.

It was heads again.

“Not again!” shouted Fogg, as the blast hit him.

(J: 5,900) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 2,600)

“Seems my luck hasn’t run out, Fogg,” said Jinx.

“But it runs out now,” replied Fogg. “Take a look at your Monsters.”

“Huh?” said Jinx.

To her shock, both Anu Piranha and Abare Ushioni were rushing towards Magnet Warrior Polaris. Jinx glanced at her monitor, and saw that she was in her Battle Phase, even though she hadn’t wanted to enter it.

“HEY!” shouted Jinx. “STOP! I didn’t tell you too…”

“They can’t help themselves, Jinx…” said Fogg, with an evil smile.

The two Monsters lunged at the armored creature, but it made a mighty blast with its staff, blowing them both to atoms. Jinx cringed, and her Speed Counters fell one point, to five.

“HOW?” she shouted. “How did you make them attack?”

“Remember what I said in our last meeting?” asked Fogg. “How some things were defined by their opposites?

“In the game of Duel Monsters, Attributes have opposites. Dark opposes Light, Fire opposes Water, and as far as you’re concerned, Wind opposes Earth. My Monster can compel any Monster of its opposing Attribute to attack it.

“Now do you see why I changed it to Wind?”

Jinx grunted, and reached for a card.

“I set a Monster and a facedown card, and end my turn,” she said.

A reversed Monster and a reversed card appeared, and faded from view.

(J: 3,600) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 2,600)

“My move!” shouted Fogg, drawing a card.

His Speed Counters rose to two again.

He set the card on his console, and it appeared facedown.

Two facedown cards, thought Jinx. One of them is likely Light of Intervention…

But what’s the other one?

“I draw!” she shouted.

She drew a card, and her Speed Counters clicked up a notch, to seven.

Then one of Fogg’s facedown cards spun around. It was, as Jinx had presumed, Light of Intervention.

“I sacrifice my facedown Monster…” she exclaimed.

The reversed Monster vanished.

“…to summon Allsword Commander Gottoms!”

The portal opened, and the hulking Beast-Warrior in plate armor holding his greatsword appeared. (2,100 ATK)

“Now, I activate my Trap,” she said, as her facedown card flipped up. “Skull Dice!”

The little winged imp flew out onto the field, holding its die.



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“I need at least a three to take out that oversized tin can of yours,” she said. “What do you think my chances are?”

“Zero percent,” replied Fogg. “I activate Dice Try!”

His other facedown card spun around.

“This Counter Trap negates the activation of any card that requires a die roll,” said Fogg. “I put it in my deck especially for you.”

The little imp shattered into pixels.

“Aw crap…” muttered Jinx.

“And because your Allsword Commander is an Earth Monster…” continued Fogg.

Gottoms charged at Polaris, but it twirled its staff again, and blew him to particles.

Jinx sighed.

Well, that plan was a bust… she thought.

“I set a facedown card, and end my turn,” she muttered.

A reversed card appeared in front of her.

(J: 2,700) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 2,600)

“I draw!” said Fogg, drawing a card.

His Speed Counters rose to four, while Jinx’s rose to eight. He looked at the card. It was his second Valkyrion the Magnet Warrior.

Ah, this is no good, he thought.

“Attack her directly!” he shouted. “Electromagnetic bolt blast!”

Polaris flew at Jinx, with its staff glowing…

“Go, Fairy Box!” shouted Jinx.

The coin shot up again.

“Heads!” she shouted.

The coin spun around again.

To her horror, it was tails.

Jinx screamed as the electromagnetic blast ripped through her and her bike. Her Life Points plummeted, and her Counters fell to six.

(J: 300) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 2,600)

“I end my turn,” said Fogg. “Need I remind you that you no longer have enough Life Points to pay for Fairy Box.”

Jinx drew. She looked hard at the card.

This may be my last chance… she thought.

“I may not have enough Life Points to pay for Fairy Box,” she said.

Fairy Box burst into shards.

“…but I have what I need to beat you right here. I summon X-Saber Airbellum.”

With a snarl, the savage Beast leapt in front of her bike, bearing its claws. (1,600 ATK)

“Next,” she said, as her facedown card spun around, “I activate Gottoms’ Emergency Call. With one X-Saber on the field, I can Special Summon two from my Graveyard. So say hello to X-Sabers Anu Piranha and Palomlo.”

With two flashes of energy, Anu Piranha appeared again (1,800 ATK), and the small lizard man carrying an axe appeared as well. (200 ATK)

“More of your barbarians?” asked Fogg. “They’ll just be more fun to destroy.”

“I don’t think so…” said Jinx. “you see, now that I control at least two X-Sabers, I can Special Summon one of their elite members…”

She took the last card in her hand.

“I summon one of the double-X’s! XX-Saber Faultroll!”

The portal opened, and a very intimidating Warrior flew out. He looked far more modern than his more primitive comrades, wearing cybernetic armor, a high-tech visor, and a large sword that seemed to have been made for use with two hands. Nonetheless, he held it in one hand. (2,400 ATK)

“ERK!” shouted Fogg. “If that guy attacks Polaris, they’ll kill each other!”

“Sorry, Fogg, but you don’t get off that easily,” said Jinx. “First, it’s time for a Synchro Summon. I Tune Passiul and Anu Piranha together…”

The two X-Sabers flew into the sky, and faded into five glowing stars. The galloping of hooves was heard again…

X-Saber Wayne appeared, flying beside Jinx’s bike, and holding his bladed six-shooter. He tipped his hat to Faultroll. (2,100 ATK)

“Next,” continued Jinx, “I activate Faultroll’s effect. I get to bring back an X-Saber from my Graveyard.”

The portal opened again, and Anu Piranha appeared again. (1,800 ATK)

“Finally, since you worked so hard to summon your ultimate beast, I’m going to summon mine! I Tune together X-Saber Airbellum and XX-Saber Faultroll…”

Thunder flashed from the dark sky, and both Airbellum and Faultroll flew towards the clouds. They dissolved into nine glowing stars.

“Synchro Summon…” shouted Jinx. “XX-Saber Gottoms!”

With a bellowing roar, the biggest X-Saber of all landed on the field of Speed World. He looked like Allsword Commander Gottoms, but even more hulking, with even more elaborate plate armor. He held a huge sword that he swung like it were light as a feather in his hands. (3,100 ATK)

“HOLY…” shouted Fogg.

The word he said after that is not printable.

Jinx simply pointed, and XX-Saber Gottoms made a savage cut with his mighty sword. Sparks flew from Magnet Warrior Polaris, and it burst in an explosion that lit up all of Speed World.

“Now, both of you,” ordered Jinx, “finish him off!”

Fogg screamed as Wayne fired his six-shooter and Anu slashed with her whip. His D-Wheel went into a tailspin, and skidded to a stop.

(J: 300) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 0)

Jinx walked up to Fogg’s D-Wheel, where Fogg was slumped over the controls, snoring like a baby. She sighed.

“Unbelievable,” she said, as she lifted the gemstone.

* * * * * * * * * *

As Jinx started up her D-Wheel again, the monitor flashed, and both Shichiro and Gears appeared on it.

“Guys?” said Jinx. “I got Fogg. He didn’t go quietly, though.”

“Same with me and Dmitri,” replied Shichiro. “But I took care of him.”

“Zweig was pretty tough too,” said Gears. “He was playing a Koa’ki Meiru Deck.”

“Koa’ki Meiru?” asked Jinx.

“Yeah,” said Gears. “Don’t you know someone who uses those cards, Jinx?”

“I might,” she replied. “I’ll see if I can look him up on the way back…

“Maybe we can get some answers…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Far removed from the Daimon Area was the part of town where people on the other end of the social ladder lived. It was known as “uptown”.

And in the heart of uptown, there was the Black Hat Club, one of the most upscale clubs in town. You couldn’t get into this place unless you were a member, and they were very picky about who they let in.

Several celebrities were members of the Black Hat Club, including Godwin himself, although he didn’t come by all too often. Misty Lola was seen here from time to time, but she had been seen less frequently lately.

Jinx’s father was a member, and that made her a member by association. She was able to get in, but she rarely came here unless her dad was holding a party that she really had to go to. She really didn’t like this place, as everyone who was a regular were snobs, and the place had washroom attendants (something she really hated).

As she walked in, she saw that she hadn’t come here for nothing. The person she wanted to see was here. Sitting at a table sipping a scotch on the rocks was a tall man in a formal military uniform; he was completely bald (he had shaved his head for the past fifteen years) and had eyes the color of slate.

Jinx made her way to his table.

“Well… Kaede,” he said, when he saw her. “This is a surprise… I haven’t seen you since you turned twenty.”

“General Ross,” said Jinx, “I believe we agreed never to speak of that again.”

“Oh… Right…” he said. “Well, how’s life been treating you, Kaede? Still with that… special club you joined?”

“More or less, Ross,” she said. “Something odd came up. We came across a guy who uses the same cards that you do… The Koa’ki Meiru cards?”

“Oh?” asked Ross. “A pro?”

“A criminal,” replied Jinx.

Ross shrugged.

“If you want to know how he could have gotten the cards, all I can tell you is, I certainly didn’t supply them.”

“How does one get cards as rare as yours?” asked Jinx.

“Depends,” said Ross. “I personally ordered them online through legitimate channels. They were expensive, but I had the money.

“But sometimes the cards that unsavory characters use aren’t what they seem.

“Yugi Mouto dueled some spook who used Exodia cards in the first round of Battle City… They were bootleg cards. Fakes.

“Card ghouls use tricks like that to make money, not particularly caring what happens ultimately. The black market is expensive, but anyone who’d buy from there is probably not going to use what he gets for simple recreation.

“And then there’s the matter of custom cards. Some of the nuts that opposed the great duelists over the years use some method to make their own cards, which no I2 designer ever thought up. Exactly how they do it, I don’t know…”

“So what you’re saying is,” said Jinx, “any ne’er-do-well with the right resources can get any card he wants?”

Ross shrugged.

“It’s not only criminals with resources,” replied Ross. “I’m pretty sure that Yusei Fudo’s finances or contacts weren’t the best when he lived in Satellite. Having said that, I have absolutely no idea where Stardust Dragon came from.”

At this point, Jinx’s cell phone rang.

“Yeah?” she said, answering it.

“Jinx, it’s me,” said Shichiro.

“Come back to base… And hurry…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Twenty minutes later, Jinx rushed into the townhouse. Shichiro and Gears were standing in front of Sorsha in the room with the fireplace, who was nervously looking around, as if looking for an opportunity to escape.

“What’s the problem?” asked Jinx. “What happened?”

“Sorsha…” said Gears. “You want to tell Jinx what you told us?”

“I keep telling you guys, it wasn’t my fault!” protested Sorsha.

“What wasn’t your fault?” demanded Jinx.

Sorsha sighed.

“Ember went after Hebi-Na on her own,” she said. “Something about doing her Rite of Passage.”

Jinx looked at the cat.

“Someone take my sword away from me…” she said in a low voice.

“Mercy please!” screamed Sorsha. “How was I supposed to stop her?”

Jinx sighed.

“I guess you have a point,” she said. “But the three of us had better stop her before she gets herself killed.”

“At the risk of sounding contradictory, Kaede…” said a voice.

Jalal’s holographic form slowly materialized.

“…the three of you will do no such thing.”

“Jalal?” said Jinx, in shock. “But…”

“The rules of the Rite of Passage are clear,” said Jalal. “An apprentice has the right to choose whatever task she desires. No-one may choose it for her, and no-one may revoke her decision.”

“Jalal, not to question your decisions,” said Shichiro, “but Hebi-Na is an ophidia! And she was awaiting trial for five murders that we know about! Plus, she tried to kill the apprentice that just went after her!”

“All valid concerns,” replied Jalal. “But I must support young Michiko’s choice.”

He sighed.

“Kaede, you may find her if you desire… If she succeeds in defeating Hebi-Na, you will have to make the arrest. But the rules of the Rite of Passage are very strict.”

“I know, I know,” said Jinx. “No help from me…

“Sorsha, do you have any idea where she went?”

“Eh, she talked about going somewhere where Hebi-Na might go to buy booze,” replied Sorsha.

Gears sat at the computer.

“Figures,” said Shichiro. “A fugitive who just gets out of jail usually wants to drink.”

“Gears, are there any places in town that are run by Shadows and licensed to sell viperwine?” asked Jinx.

“I’m way ahead of you,” said Gears, as he typed up a few things on the computer.

“Seems there’s only one place that can legally sell the stuff in Neo Domino. This place downtown owned by a gorgon named Gloria Swift.”

“Then that’s where I’m going,” said Jinx.


While all this was going on, I was learning more from the tipsters on the street. You probably know that cities have certain bars and clubs that cater specifically to certain kinds of clientele. There are lesbian bars, New Age cafes, and places that are even more exclusive.

Shadowkind had those clubs too. In Neo Domino, there was, for example, Rivendell, a nightclub frequented by elves. Then there was Stonehome, a bar and grill where most of the patrons were dwarves. And somewhere in the Daimon Area was the Meat Locker, a nightclub for orcs, bugbears, goblins, and a few ogres. If you aren’t a member of those races, you are discouraged from going there, but reports said that the place offers the strongest ale in the city, as well as boxing and wrestling matches between patrons, often with bets being placed.

The ophidia had a place like this, and I had it on good information that Hebi-Na was going to be there. I was nervous about going into a nest of snakes… But I had to get the job done…



DEATH ACCEL (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A Duel Runner driver with an orange helmet and a stern look on his face.

Card Description: Activate this card when you take battle damage. For each 500 points of damage taken, increase your number of Speed Counters by 1. When this card is activated, the effect of "Speed World" to remove Speed Counters is not applied.



ZERO GUARD (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: The image on this card is unclear.

Card Description: Activate when your opponent declares an attack against a Monster in Attack Position. Reduce the attack target’s ATK to zero until the End Phase of the turn. It cannot be destroyed in battle this round.

Note: “Death Accel” and “Zero Guard” were both used by Mukuro Enjo” in the “Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s episode “Surprise, Surprise”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



MAGNETIC WARRIOR POLARIS (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Thunder/Effect
Attribute: Light
Level: 8
ATK: 2,400
DEF: 1,000

Card Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card can only be Special Summoned by removing from play 2 “Magnet” Monsters in your Graveyard. During your Standby Phase, you can change the Attribute of this card. This card cannot be targeted for an attack by a Monster with the same Attribute as this card. This card gains 1 of the following effects, depending on its Attribute:
● LIGHT: Opposing DARK Monsters in Attack Position must attack this card if possible.
● DARK: Opposing LIGHT Monsters in Attack Position must attack this card if possible.
● EARTH: Opposing WIND Monsters in Attack Position must attack this card if possible.
● WIND: Opposing EARTH Monsters in Attack Position must attack this card if possible.
● FIRE: Opposing WATER Monsters in Attack Position must attack this card if possible.
● WATER: Opposing FIRE Monsters in Attack Position must attack this card if possible.


(“XX-Saber Faultroll” and “XX-Saber Gottoms” will be released in the “Ancient Prophecy” set.)


Coming up next:

Can Ember finally cross the threshold from apprentice to true Shadowchaser? Next episode, she makes the attempt, as she challenges the Shadow who set her on the path in the first place. But Hebi-Na won’t go quietly, and she strikes back like an angry viper, with a far more powerful deck. All Shadowchasers know one axiom of the world of Shadows… Never turn your back on a snake.

“Poison Fangs” is coming soon…



Shadowchaser Files

Madelyn Trainer, Skeptic of Shadows

Most people are Mundane, and a select few are Aware. But still others fall into an in-between area called Sensitive, which a tough place to be. You see a little, but not enough to get the whole picture. You can learn about Shadow, but since you don’t see it all, you can become a skeptic.

Madelyn Trainer was the daughter of two Los Angeles police officers. As such, she learned at an early age to respect the law, and believed that no-one was above it. She didn’t choose to become a police officer herself, but pursued a law degree. Once she had it, she rose up the ranks until she was elected the county district attorney of Los Angeles.

The problem was, Madelyn was Sensitive, and always had a funny feeling when Shadows were around. It was her Sensitive nature that led her to even realize that the Shadowchasers were anything more than a dueling club.

At first, she believed they were simply a deluded group, much like a gang of Trekkies. But then, someone suggested to her that these “Trekkies” were “monster hunters” who had the authority to make arrests under certain conditions. Madelyn thought otherwise. To her, only the police had that authority.

She started an investigation into this group, a difficult and grueling one that lasted five months. Finding any witnesses to any Shadowchaser activities was hard, as most people who were interviewed were Mundane, and the few Awares and Shadows who were questioned knew enough to keep shut when questioned by anyone who couldn’t see who they were. But slowly, she began to build her case. A few Shadows were willing to say a few things about the methods of the Shadowchasers, which led her to believe that they were engaged in vigilante activities and unlawful arrests.

Finally, Madelyn believed she had enough evidence to make the charges stick, and obtained a warrant to make the arrest. She wasn’t naïve, of course. Some folks had told her that the Shadowchasers had powerful allies, but she was certain that her authority in the matter would be enough.

Unfortunately for Madelyn, only half an hour after they had made their one phone call, she got an angry phone call herself from her boss, the state district attorney. He told her in very unkind words that he was overriding her authority and dropping the charges, and that her department would be reprimanded if she pursued the case further. He refused to listen to anything Madelyn said; she was forced to throw away five months of work.

Madelyn wouldn’t give up so easily. She knew that the average vigilante group couldn’t have bought someone in such a high level of government, so she knew something bigger was afoot. But calls to government agencies were referred to other agencies, and the ones who seemed to know anything told her to keep quiet about it.

Madelyn now realizes that the Shadowchasers are much bigger than she once thought. She refuses to fall into the conspiracy theory trap, knowing that there must be a logical purpose behind them. However, she remains a skeptic, and thinks that they are up to no good. She keeps a close eye on them, but they keep careful watch on her as well.

Madelyn’s problem is, she fails to understand the true power of magic, or the capabilities of Shadowkind. She believes that all that is truly needed to apprehend a criminal is handcuffs, pepper spray, and a police-issue revolver. She doesn’t realize that many denizens of Shadow would simply laugh at all three of them. Still, Madelyn is a concern for the Shadowchasers in her area. They’d prefer to have the police as allies, not enemies, but as long as Madelyn is suspicious of them and remains a skeptic, that will not happen.

In her mid-thirties, Madelyn would likely be attractive if she wasn’t so formal. Her strawberry-blonde hair is tied up, and she wears glasses (which actually have a weak prescription – she likely wouldn’t need them, but they make her look distinguished). Her clothing is stylish and expensive, but very formal, and usually black. She has a deep, husky voice, which can be intimidating when she is doing her job in a courtroom setting.


Story Ideas: Having to oppose the police is a tough job for any hero who wants to do the right thing. A character like Madelyn can turn up anywhere to give the heroes of a fic a hard time, and even if she eventually realizes the truth, she’d likely be too proud to admit it.

Madelyn isn’t one to let one defeat stop her. She might run for state district attorney herself, or even for governor, threatening the Shadowchasers with an enemy in an even higher position. A foe on the wrong side of the law is easy to deal with, one on the right side is much harder.

A lot of politics are involved in the position and title of DA, and Madelyn will likely show up at any political rally or fundraiser involving a candidate for her party. This may prove interesting if the candidate is someone whom Shadowkind have an interest in (for good or bad), or if the candidate is a Shadow himself…


Deck Suggestions: Madelyn likely doesn’t duel in any serious sense, as she does not consider it a proper way to solve a problem. That is not to say she doesn’t have a deck, and couldn’t duel if she was forced to, but if that happened, she may have problems using a Disk at first. One idea for a deck would be the low-Level Fusion Deck used by Johnson against Jonouchi in the Virtual Nightmare Arc. (But lacking a Deckmaster like his, it would take some adjusting.)

[Shuppet Master]

Nice update, Brian.

The file was interesting. I am planning up a Shadowchaser fic myself, and one of the main characters is the little sister of the first main character, and she's a Sensitive. But unlike Maddie, she's more accepting of the ways of magic because she and her brother share the same love of magic and fantasy. The fact that Maddie is a lawyer is very interesting to say the least.

[mario72486]

An interesting set of chapters. Once again the phrase "Divide and Conquer" rings true; while the main characters are occupied, Hebi-Na is free to carry out whatever DaPen has planned.

Personally, I was not expecting Zweig to use a Koa’ki Meiru deck. To be honest, based on his statement about his deck being able to beat both Tele-Dad and Lightsworn, I was expecting something along the lines of Little City with Thunder King Rai-Oh thrown into the mix. The chapter title should have tipped me off.

As for today's chapter, while it was nice to see a classic theme revived with new cards added to spice things up, the duel itself seemed pretty stale. Maybe it is because it felt like the duel went by quickly; that's how I see it, at least. It would be nice if a card like Polaris was made available, since his effect would crush both Light and Dark decks if used properly, and in conjunction with other support cards.

The one thing I did expect from this set of chapters was Ember going off in pursuit of Hebi-Na. Correct me if I'm wrong, but will our 'favorite' ophidia be using a deck inspired by a new theme soon to be introduced in Stardust Overdrive? I've seen a partial spoiler for the set, and those cards look like they can do serious damage...

[Dark Sage]

You mean the Reptiless Monsters?

Well, I won't confirm or deny anything in regards to my own writing, but I will tell you that those cards are used by an important villain in the second season of 5D's (the anime, that is). What I have planned for the next chapter... Well, you'll just have to see for yourself. I promise you something good, though.

[Dark Sage]

Author’s note: The events of this chapter take place in the late afternoon a couple of hours before the events of Ep. 37. By this time, Rua’s duel with Divine has occurred, but more importantly, the two Earthbound Gods Aslla Piscu and Ccarayhua are preparing to bestow their gifts upon their chosen ones. Before the night is out, the Dark Signers will be a complete team…

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

You all are likely thinking, “What the Hell is wrong with you, Ember? What ever possessed you to go after Hebi-Na when you knew that the others couldn’t help you?” Well, my job would be hard, but I wasn’t the only young apprentice that had chosen a difficult Rite of Passage.

You already know that Jinx went after a redcap. Shichiro defeated a sahuagin mutation. (Sahuagin believe that members of their race who are born mutations are blessed by their gods, and these incredibly powerful sahuagin usually act as the race’s leaders.) Gears defeated a skinwalker for his Rite of Passage. (You’re probably better off not knowing what that is.)

Still, I was about to take on a member of a race that considered themselves enemies of humans by culture and tradition. To the ophidia, humans were only good for slaves, or even better, for food. The Shadowchasers were likely the only ones who kept them from hunting humans in the same way that wolves prey on lambs.

And before the night was over, I would come face-to-face with a horror from another reality, who would show me a deep, dark abyss of terror and try to shove me into it…


“Jinx, please!” protested Gloria. “I didn’t do anything to her! I don’t want any trouble…”

“Then I won’t give you any,” said Jinx. “I just want to know where she went.”

“I don’t know…” moaned the gorgon.

“TALK!” shouted Jinx.

“You don’t know what it’s like…” sobbed Gloria. “Whenever Shadows and Awares come in here for the first time, they don’t dare look me in the face. They’ve all heard legends of gorgons who turn victims to stone, and then use them to decorate their lairs like a ghastly museum…

“A gorgon would have to be dumb to display her victims like that… It would give her away!

“But I don’t do that, Jinx! I’m just a merchant who runs this store, that my poor mother opened with the money she scraped together in the five years after she was pulled into this world…”

“But you deal with the ophidia,” replied Jinx. “You sell viperwine.”

“And do you know how hard it was to get that license?” asked Gloria. “I had to go to Shadowchaser Headquarters in person three times! They grilled me, did background checks, lie detector checks, found out stuff about me that even I didn’t know! They wanted to make absolutely sure I wouldn’t try to profit by offering it to someone who couldn’t survive drinking it!

“Yeah, I deal with the ophidia… Jinx, if some mob boss goes into a café and orders a hamburger, and the waiter gives it to him, does that make the waiter a bad man? Everyone’s gotta eat, and if someone wants to buy liquor, I’m the one who sells it.”

She sighed.

“All I know is, Ember said that she might try to find a place where ophidia like to go.”

“Any idea where that might be?” asked Jinx.

“How am I supposed to know?” asked Gloria. “I’m not an ophidia.

“I might know where to find some you can ask, though… Although they aren’t as nice as I am…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Four PM.

Ember slowly walked through the entertainment district.

Her eyes moved to the place where the tipster had directed her to, although she wasn’t sure if she trusted him. She was almost certain she had heard a sinister snicker from him when she had turned away.

The bar had a large sign shaped like a cobra about to strike above the entrance. The sign called the place The Den.

Seems like a place where snakes would hang out, she thought.

She took a deep breath and went in.

She was shocked as she went in. She had been right.

About half of the patrons looked human. The other half, like Hebi-Na, were half-snake in some way. However, not all of them were of the same design that she was, with a human upper half and a serpent’s trunk in place of legs.

Some had snakes’ heads. Others looked like humans with scales all over their bodies. Some had both legs and tails. Some, most shocking, had snakes in place of arms. And most had combinations of all of these features.

Ember shuddered in fear. Then she swallowed hard.

Take it easy, Ember… she said. There are humans here… You can see these creatures for what they are, but they don’t know that you can.

She was a little worried about exactly why there were humans here. She wondered if they didn’t work for the ophidia, willingly or not.

She slowly made her way up to the bar. The bartender was human, but two male, muscular ophidia with colorful tattoos on their scales were there, drinking some sort of beer.

“Eh, it isn’t viperwine,” said one of them to the other, “but it’s good stuff.”

Ember sat down at the bar.

So what now? she thought. What do I…

“Hey, Francis,” said a familiar voice next to her. “Let me buy my friend here a drink…”

A chill ran down Ember’s spine. She slowly turned her head. She shivered as she saw that smile again.

“I’ll have a martini,” continued Hebi-Na. “Ember?”

“Diet Coke…” said Ember, softly.

“Heh,” chuckled Hebi-Na. “You come to a bar and order Diet Coke?”

“I’m underage,” replied Ember.

“Do you really think that someone would card you in a place like this?” asked Hebi-Na.

As the bartender put the drinks in front of them, Hebi-Na’s voice sank to a low whisper.

“You’ve got a lot of guts, kid,” she said. “You think you’re safe because the other ophidia here don’t know that you’re not one of our servants?

“Well, guess what kid… I know that you’re not, and that you’re also a Shadowchaser in training. Know what would happen if I stood up and told everyone? They’d tear you apart.”

Hebi-Na grinned evilly at Ember, and panic started to rise in her bones. Hebi-Na sipped her martini.

“Not gonna do that, though…” said Hebi-Na. “You coming here was a bit of good fortune…

“I could use a hostage when your friends finally come after me.”

“You were expecting them to come after you?” asked Ember. “What are you planning?”

Hebi-Na tapped the Duel Disk on her left arm.

“You came here wanting a duel,” she said. “I’ll give it to you… But if you lose, you agree to surrender your Disk and deck and become a cooperative hostage from this point on.

“I doubt you’ll have much fight left in you after see what’s in this deck anyway.

“And by the way, agreeing is the only way you’re getting out of this place alive.”

“How can I say no?” asked Ember, with a nervous grin.

Hebi-Na finished her drink, and threw a bill on the counter.

“Then let’s take this outside,” she said.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ember stood at the end of the alley. Hebi-Na was in front of her, so she wasn’t getting out that way. The ophidia was shuffling her deck.

“I don’t get it, Hebi-Na,” asked Ember. “Why?”

“Why what?” asked Hebi-Na.

“Why do you guys hate humans so much?” asked Ember. “What ever happened that made you so cold-hearted and dark?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” said Hebi-Na.

“I have nowhere to go,” replied Ember.

Hebi-Na sighed.

“Let me explain it to you…” said Hebi-Na. “Life on Earth is torture for predators like us. The Treaty we’re forced to live under is like an abomination to us.

“When I first came to this world, only two years ago, I lost most of my memories, like most Shadowkind. But at first, I thought I was in paradise. I was in a place full of humans who couldn’t perceive me as an ophidia. I thought I could hunt at my leisure, and they wouldn’t know they were in danger until my hands were around their necks.

“But then, another ophidia found me and told me I didn’t dare, due to a treaty that humans and folks like me had agreed to.

“I was shocked. Since when did ophidia ever make deals with humans? I asked him why we didn’t tell whoever had written the Treaty to go to Hell. Then he told me the story of one ophidia who had tried.”

Ember started to listen closely.

“Five years ago, a very powerful ophidia clan leader named Saramanda got fed up,” continued Hebi-Na. “She got tired of all the years of having to give up raw human flesh and eat boring roast beef. So she announced that she was going to openly defy the Treaty, and any ophidia who was also sick of it was welcome to join her. To live life as true ophidia.

“About three hundred ophidia flocked to her side, and she started to make plans, daring the Shadowchasers to stop her. For three days life had meaning again for the ophidia… They hunted as my race was meant to, and they were feared.

“But the Shadowchasers took action. They gathered a group consisting of all their members from all the neighboring geographic regions. Saramanda told her followers not to worry, and her army armed themselves. She promised that the Shadowchasers would be defeated in a battle that would make the heavens weep in anguish…”

Hebi-Na sighed.

“But there was no battle… Saramanda had made a dire error. She had assumed that all humans wouldn’t dare disregard their precious Rules of Engagement. What she didn’t realize was, the Treaty more-or-less is the Rules of Engagement as far as Shadows are concerned. Since she had decided to defy it, she forfeited all the benefits it allotted her.

“The Shadowchasers didn’t confront them directly and didn’t present them with a target they could fight back against. The fair fight clause was now null and void, after all. They directed a squad of iron golems to smash down the fortified gates of Saramanda’s compound. The ophidia’s weapons couldn’t scratch them. A few of the ophidia threw down their weapons and surrendered, but the golems knocked them aside to get to the ones who were trying to fight back. No mercy is shown to anyone who thinks they’re above the rules.

“The ophidia panicked. Saramanda was about to give the order to retreat, when the golems flooded the whole compound with a cloud of powerful alchemical gas, specially designed to paralyze the muscles of reptiles. Five minutes after the assault started, all of Saramanda’s forces had been subdued. Not one of them escaped.

“Saramanda didn’t even get a warrior’s death. She was shamefully led away in handcuffs.

“But it didn’t end there… Oh no… At her trial, she and her top aids were charged with the murders and terrorist acts they had committed during her insurrection by a special tribunal. Since they had defied the Treaty, they weren’t allowed to choose any part of the defense team that represented them. Like I said, when you defy the Treaty, you lose the benefits it gives you. That’s one of the ways Jalal and Maskent enforce it.

“Not that any defense team could have done much. The case that they had against her was overwhelming. What was her defense, that ophidia were supposed to prey on humans? As Jalal is fond of saying to many criminals, in another place and time, they wouldn’t even get trials.

“All ophidia assumed that Saramanda would remain defiant and die as a martyr. But she wouldn’t. As soon as the death penalty was proposed, she turned into a frightened coward. She changed her plea to guilty, and begged for her life, saying she would do anything if she only wasn’t executed. Jalal accepted her offer.

“She became one of the Submitted…”

“Submitted?” asked Ember.

“It’s like states’ evidence for Shadowkind!” growled Hebi-Na. “In exchange for everything she knew about illegal activities, she would live. To some criminals, it’s the best offer they can get.

“Overnight, she turned from champion of the ophidia to traitor. She told the Shadowchasers about every ophidia activity she knew about. Drug running, smuggling, blackmail, slave trading, illegal religious rituals. She even went so far as to give all the details of a sacred ritual that the ophidia elders had been preparing for three centuries, which would be completely ruined a week later when Shadowchasers stormed the stronghold where the preparation was being conducted. Within a month of this, hundreds of ophidia in positions of power were apprehended, and to this very day all ophidia clans who followed them are forced to agree to stricter rules and sanctions if they want to stay out of jail as well. It has been worse for us all since then than it ever was before. All because one of them dared to defy the Treaty.”

Hebi-Na sighed again.

“No-one knows where Saramanda is now. Powerful ophidia everywhere have bounties on her head, but according to legend, the Shadowchasers keep the Submitted at some secure stronghold in some remote area that no-one can even locate, let alone go to, without Jalal’s personal permission.

“Once I heard the whole story, I knew I wasn’t in the paradise I thought I was in… I was in the darkest of hells…”

“It’s no wonder most Shadows don’t defy the Treaty,” said Ember.

“Stuff it!” shouted Hebi-Na.

She took her glasses off and looked at Ember with those frightening reptilian eyes.

“Ophidia can’t live like true ophidia because of it. I’ve almost forgotten what the sweet, tender taste of your race’s flesh is like, I’ve gone so long without it…”

Her Disk activated.

“And once you’ve outlived your usefulness to me as a hostage, I just might try to find out again…”

Ember gulped, and activated her own Disk.

“That’s it, little girl,” said Hebi-Na. “Duel me… I promise you a duel like you’ve never had before, and fight unlike any you’ve ever experienced!”

Lightning flashed…

(Ember: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Hebi-Na: 8,000)

“By all means,” she continued, “make the first move…”

Ember nervously drew.

“I… set a Monster…” she said, “and then a facedown card…”

Two reversed cards, one in her Monster Zone, and one in her Spell Zone appeared.

“That’s all.”

Thunder rumbled as Hebi-Na made her first draw. The ophidia looked up at the sky.

Odd weather… she thought.

She looked at her deck.

It’s too soon for the power in my deck to be causing it… Something else is brewing somewhere in the city…

Ah, well… At least it will unnerve Ember…

“I summon Venom Snake,” she said.

In a dark shadow, a Monster appeared that was, well, it was a snake. That was the best way to put it. It was rather large, and its fangs indicated that it was poisonous, but Ember had certainly seen nastier snakes. (1,200 ATK)

“Afraid?” asked Hebi-Na.

“Heh…” said Ember, nervously. “Afraid of that? You’re scarier than some dumb snake with low Attack Points.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Hebi-Na. “I’ll set one card, and end my turn.”

A facedown card flashed into existence behind the Snake.

Ember made a draw.

“I call out Blazing Inpachi!” she shouted.

A bonfire appeared in front of her, and the flaming wicker man rose from the flames. (1,850 ATK)

“Stomp that Snake!” she shouted. “Attack!”

Blazing Inpachi threw a punch at the serpent. It hissed, and was blown into shards.

(E: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 7,350)

“Thank you,” said Hebi-Na. “You’re too kind…”

“Huh?” said Ember.

Then she noticed Hebi-Na’s Trap Card, that she had activated.

“You might remember this from my duel with Shichiro,” she said. “Damage = Reptile. Now, once per turn, I can Special Summon a Reptile from my deck, with equal or less Attack Points than the damage I took.”

“You only took 650 points of damage,” said Ember. “What sort of Monster could you…”

Then she stopped short.

“I’m summoning one with zero Attack Points!” laughed Hebi-Na, as a large, shadowy figure rose beside her. “Meet Vennominon, the King of Poisonous Snakes!”

The snake that appeared this time was ten times larger than the first, and about a hundred times more frightening. It had two masses of smaller snakes that served as arms, wore a royal cape, and a crown shaped like a cobra’s head decorated by two smaller golden cobras. (0 ATK)

“But he doesn’t stay at zero for long,” said Hebi-Na. “His Attack Score becomes 500 for each Reptile in my Graveyard.”

(500 ATK)

“With only one there, that isn’t much,” said Ember.

Hebi-Na drew a card.

“Well, I’ll just have to put some more in there,” she said. “I play the Spell Card, Snake Rain!

“Now, I toss one card…”

She discarded a card, Rivalry of Warlords.

“…and I get to discard four Reptiles from my deck, making his majesty even stronger.”

She quickly discarded four cards, two more Venom Snakes, one Venom Boa, and a Venom Serpent. Vennominon glowed with evil magic… (2,500 ATK)

“Now, your highness… Attack her Blazing Inpachi! Fang venom!”

Vennominon hissed, and shot a spray of foul venom at Blazing Inpachi.

“Go, Martyr’s Flame!” shouted Ember. “This turns your attack into a direct attack, and cuts the damage in half!”

“A foolish choice…” replied Hebi-Na.

Ember screamed in pain as the poison soaked her, and burned her skin like acid.

“It burns!” she screamed. “It burns!”

“Did you expect my King to treat you with kid gloves?” asked Hebi-Na. “I’ll set a Monster and a facedown card, and my turn ends there…”

A reversed Monster and a reversed card appeared.

(E: 6,750) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 7,350)

Ember gasped for breath and looked at Vennominon.

What is going on? she thought. How could this be a Shadow Game? Hebi-Na may be a murderer and a snake-woman… But she’s not an honest-to-goodness magician.

Something is helping her… Some dark presence somewhere else…

But who? Edmund? Are he and DaPen behind this whole thing? Did they engineer the whole jailbreak and give Hebi-Na these cards?

She made a draw.

I have no idea… But I have to fight on…

“I summon Little Chimera!”

In a small burst of flame, the small, white cat with black, bat-like wings appeared. (600 ATK)

“And when it’s on the field, all Fire Monsters gain 500 Attack Points.”

Blazing Inpachi rose to an Attack Score of 2,350, while Little Chimera rose to 1,100.

“Not good enough, I’m afraid,” chuckled Hebi-Na.

Ember played a Spell Card.

“I also play Double Summon,” she said. “Now, I can make a second Normal Summon. So I sacrifice Blazing Inpachi…”

The Inpachi vanished in a plume of flame.

“…to summon Flamvell Devil!”

In a stream of violet flames, the fiery Fiend appeared, and roared with anger. It exchanged looks with Vennominon… (2,100 ATK) –> (2,600 ATK)

“Attack the King of Poisonous Snakes!” she shouted.

Flamvell Devil belched a cone of blue fire at the large Reptile. The King groaned, and was blasted into pieces.

“And since I have one Pyro in my Graveyard,” she continued, “you lose an additional 200 Life Points.”

“Heh, heh,” said Hebi-Na. “So be it, but you can’t defeat Vennominon that way…”

One Venom Snake slipped out of her discard slot.

“All I need to do is banish one of his subjects in my Graveyard from the game…”

The card melted into glowing residue.

“…and he makes his triumphant return…”

Vennominon appeared again. (2,000 ATK)

“True,” said Ember, “but he’ll come back weaker each time.

“And I’m not done with you…”

Little Chimera shot a bolt of fire at the facedown Monster. A Morphing Jar appeared on the card, and was burned to ashes.

“You know what that means,” said Hebi-Na.

She discarded her two cards, while Ember also discarded two. They both drew five. Ember looked at them.

“It’s still my turn,” she grumbled. “I play a facedown.”

A reversed card appeared behind Flamvell Devil.

“Now you go…”

(E: 6,750) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 7,050)

Thunder rumbled again, as Hebi-Na drew.

She chuckled as she opened the Field Slot on her Disk, and placed a card in it.

“I activate Venom Swamp!” she exclaimed.

The whole alley darkened, and then the backdrop transformed into a dark sanguine swamp, full of dead trees and vines. Ember looked down, and she was in stagnant water up to her knees.

“Ho boy…” she said.

“This swamp is so choked with poison,” said Hebi-Na, “that at the end of every turn, all Monsters except ones with the word ‘Venom’ in their names get a Venom Counter, which reduces their Attack Scores by 500. And this effect is fatal if it reduces the Attack Scores to zero.

“But I doubt your Monsters are going to last that long…

“Vennominon, destroy Little Chimera! Fang venom!”

Vennominon shot its venom stream at the small Beast, melting it into sludge. Ember started to sweat, and Flamvell Devil fell to an Attack Score of 2,100.

“I set a new card facedown, and end my turn,” said Hebi-Na, as a new facedown card appeared. “And that means my Field Spell activates.”

A small snake leapt out the swamp and bit Flamvell Devil on the arm. He groaned, and his Attack Score fell to 1,600.

(E: 5,850) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 7,050)

Okay, let’s see… thought Ember. How did Judai beat this thing?

Oh yeah… His plan was to defeat it with Elemental Hero Wildedge… It might have worked, but…

She shuddered as she drew a card.

She looked at her own facedown card.

Well… at least I might be able to get rid of this swamp…

“I play Monster Reborn!” she shouted, as she played a card.

In a burst of flames, Blue Flame Swordsman leapt onto the field. (1,800 ATK)

“Now, I use his effect. I cut 1,000 points off of his Attack Score, and give it to Flamvell Devil.”

Blue Flame Swordsman fell to an Attack Score of 800, while Flamvell Devil rose to 2,600.

“Attack Vennominon again!”

Flamvell Devil blew its flames at the King of Poisonous Snakes again, and it groaned again before exploding.

“And by the way, I have two Pyros in my Graveyard now. I discarded a Flame Ruler when I flipped that Morphing Jar.”

“It doesn’t matter!” shouted Hebi-Na. “Because first, in response to taking damage, I use the effect of Damage = Reptile to summon my second Vennominon!”

A twin of the first Vennominon appeared in front of her.

“Then, in response to the first Vennominon being defeated, I remove one Reptile from play to bring him back too!”

The first Vennominon appeared beside the second. (1,500 x2)

“Now you have double-trouble!”

“Not as much as you think,” said Ember.

Her facedown card shot up.

“I wanted you to Special Summon him back. Now, I can activate Demise of the Land. This lets me take a Field Spell from my deck, and activate it! So I’ll burn down your Swamp to play Molten Destruction!”

The Venom Swamp went up in flames, and the dead trees went up like kindling. A flow of lava covered the field. Blue Flame Swordsman rose to an Attack Score of 1,300, while Flamvell Devil shot up to 3,600.

“Very clever,” said Hebi-Na. “But you aren’t safe yet…”

One of her facedown cards lifted up.

“I activate Venom Burn. That Venom Counter may not be hurting your Fiend any more, but it’s still there. And now it’s going to hurt you.”

The snake leapt off of Flamvell Devil and leapt onto Ember’s arm. She froze in fear…

Then she screamed as it sank its fangs into her wrist.

Ember’s hand shook as she reached for a card, and set it on her Disk.

“I… I set a Monster…” she groaned. “And I end my turn…”

A second reversed Monster appeared.

(E: 5,150) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 6,050)

“My move,” said Hebi-Na.

She looked at the card.

“I sacrifice both my Kings…” she said.

Both of the Vennominon vanished.

“…to summon a third one.”

A third Vennominon appeared where the two had been.

“Why did she make such an odd move, you may ask?”

“Because with the first two in your Graveyard, the one on the field is 1,000 points stronger,” replied Ember.

(2,500 ATK)



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


“Smart,” replied Hebi-Na as she played a Spell Card. “And does this Spell Card look familiar? I have a Double Summon too. I think I’ll use it to summon Gagagigo.”

With a flourish, the tall lizard man with scaly skin and a long tail appeared. (1,850 ATK)

“Now, another Spell Card,” she said, taking another card from her hand. “Enemy Controller! I’ll move your Devil to Defense Mode.”

The Spell Card appeared, and Flamvell Devil knelt and crossed his arms. (800 DEF)

“Gagagigo… Take it out.”

The lizard man lunged, and made a swipe at Flamvell Devil. The Fiend burst into an explosion of soot.

“Now, Vennominon, destroy Blue Flame Swordsman! Fang venom!”

Vennominon shot his stream of lethal poison again, drenching the Warrior. He screamed, and dissolved into ichor.

“I use his effect!” shouted Ember. “I summon the real Flame Swordsman!”

In a burst of fire, the actual Flame Swordsman appeared, kneeling in Defense Mode. (1,600 DEF) –> (1,200 DEF)

“Your move…” said Hebi-Na.

(E: 3,950) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 6,050)

Ember drew a card.

She quickly set it in her Disk, and it appeared facedown.

“Next,” she said, “to avoid any other creepy surprises, I play Mystical Space Typhoon!”

The Spell Card appeared, and the cyclone tore across the field. Damage = Reptile was blown to bits.

She glared at Hebi-Na.

“That all?” said the ophidia, drawing a card.

She looked at it.

“Gagagigo, attack the facedown Monster on the left!”

Gagagigo charged at the facedown Monster. Flamvell Paun appeared on the card, and was ripped to shreds.

“I activate its effect,” said Ember, taking her deck. “I now get to search for any Monster with a Defense Score of exactly 200. That, by the way, includes most of the Flamvell Monsters.”

She got what she wanted, and added it to her hand.

“Then let’s continue,” said Hebi-Na. “Vennominon, destroy Flame Swordsman!”

Vennominon shot its fang venom at the Warrior…

Then Ember’s facedown card shot up, revealing Negate Attack. The foul liquid was halted by an invisible shield.

“Still hanging on to dear life, aren’t you child?” asked Hebi-Na. “Very well… Make your move…”

Ember whipped a card off of her deck.

“I flip Guard of Flamvell into Attack Mode!” she shouted.

Her other facedown Monster flipped, and the small Tuner Dragon appeared. (100 ATK)

“Now… Guard of Flamvell… Flame Swordsman… I Tune you both together!”

The two Monsters leapt up, and flew into the sky. Lights flashed, and they faded into six glowing stars…

“Synchro Summon… Flamvell Urquizas!”

With the crackling of a bonfire, Urquizas leapt down onto the field. (2,100 ATK) –> (2,600 ATK)

“Next,” continued Ember, “I Normal Summon Flamvell Archer!”

In another burst of flames, a fiery, bare-chested archer with a flaming bow, and fiery hair and a beard appeared next to Urquizas. (1,000 ATK) –> (1,500 ATK)

“With Archer on the field, I can sacrifice a Pyro-Type Monster to increase the Attack Score of a Monster with the word ‘Flamvell’ in its name by 800 points for one round.

“And since Flamvell Archer itself is a Pyro-Type Monster…”

Flamvell Archer vanished, and Urquizas burned even fiercer. (3,400 ATK)

“Attack!” shouted Ember.

Urquizas socked Vennominon with a flaming fist, and the evil monarch was blown to pieces.

Hebi-Na quickly took a card from her discard slot, and Vennominon rose again. (2,000 ATK)

“I don’t care how many times I have to smash it!” shouted Ember. “I will defeat you, Hebi-Na!”

She took some deep breaths.

“Urquizas gains 300 Attack Points from his effect… I end my turn, and Archer’s effect wears off.”

(2,900 ATK)

(E: 3,950) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 5,150)

“My move…” said Hebi-Na.

She drew. She looked at the card.

She gave a slight smirk.

“I set this facedown,” she said, as a facedown card appeared next to her other one.

“Gagagigo, attack Flamvell Urquizas.”

“Huh?” said Ember.

Gagagigo lunged at the Pyro, but Urquizas punched it hard, blowing it to bits.

“Ergh…” groaned Hebi-Na.

Vennominon glowed with the same evil power again. (2,500 ATK) Urquizas burned with flames. (3,200 ATK)

“It’s your move…” said Hebi-Na.

(E: 3,950) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 4,100)

“Draw!” shouted Ember.

“Urquizas, crush Vennominon!”

Urquizas flew at the wicked king…

“I activate a Trap!” shouted Hebi-Na.

One of her two facedown cards shot up.

“Offering to the Snake Deity! Now, I can destroy my Monster to destroy two of your cards!”

“HUH?” gasped Ember.

Vennominon was blown into his component atoms, and then Urquizas exploded. Then the Molten Destruction Field Spell shattered into pieces.

“And now…” said Hebi-Na, as her other facedown card shot up, “I activate Rise of the Snake Deity, to summon the guest of honor… Come forth… Vennominaga, the Deity of Poisonous Snakes!”

Ember stepped back in fear as a much bigger, looming creature that exuded an aura of pure evil materialized onto the field. Ember had read about this Monster… Judai Yuki had spent a great deal of one chapter of his autobiography describing it.

But it seemed that no amount of second-hand description could truly prepare one for seeing this demonic creature in person. The mere sight of the female creature with a thick, snaky trunk in place of legs with huge snakes for arms had Ember rooted to the spot in terror.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ember was in a dark place. Lightning flashed in the sky. Hebi-Na was gone, but Vennominaga was looming in front of her, three times the regular size, looking ready to swallow her whole. The snake goddess’s eyes glowed with evil light, and Ember couldn’t look away. She heard the demon’s voice in her head, a voice that sounded like nails on a slate.

“You will die, little girl,” goaded the demon. “You and your whole pathetic race are doomed…”

“No…” gasped Ember.

“The cataclysm will cover the world,” continued Vennominaga. “Clouds will blot out the sun… Tsunamis will drown the cities. Mountains will tumble into the sea. The ocean will boil and rage, whole continents will slide into the abyssal depths, and the whole planet will shudder…”

Then Ember noticed that the demon’s coils were slowly constricting around her.

“NO!” she screamed.

“Why should I bother trying to bring about the Age of Serpents,” asked Vennominaga, “when I can bring the ophidia back to the glory of their past?”

Then the demon lunged at her. Ember screamed…

* * * * * * * * * *

Then, in the next instant, she was back in the alley. Vennominaga had not yet attacked, was back to her normal size, and Hebi-Na was back beside her.

Ember held her chest. Her heart was pounding.

“Oh, did you just have a waking nightmare?” asked Hebi-Na. “So sorry… That tends to happen sometimes when this Monster is summoned…”

Ember took some deep, gasping breaths.

“But anyway,” continued Hebi-Na, “the real nightmare is about to begin, because she inherits both of Vennominon’s effects. She has 500 Attack Points for each Reptile in my Graveyard, and that total has grown by one.”

(3,000 ATK)

“It’s still my move!” shouted Ember, taking a card from her hand.

“I remove Little Chimera from play to Special Summon Spirit of Flames! Defense Mode!”

Spirit of Flames appeared, and crouched in Defense Mode. (1,000 DEF)

“My move!” laughed Hebi-Na, drawing a card.

“I summon my Des Feral Imp!” she exclaimed.

In a burst of shadow, a demonic reptile with jagged claws and spines all over its body appeared. (1,400 ATK)

“Destroy Spirit of Flames!” she laughed.

Des Feral Imp lunged with its claw, and Spirit of Flames shattered.

“Now, Vennominaga… Get her…”

Ember was close to panic. She wanted to run, but Vennominaga and Hebi-Na had cut off her only escape. She screamed in agony as the goddess’s claw grabbed her by the waist and squeezed. Fiendish laughter echoed through her head.

She fell to her knees.

(E: 950) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 4,100)

“HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!” laughed Hebi-Na. “How do you like that, little girl? How does it feel to taste the wrath of Vennominaga?”

Ember panted for breath.

“Y’know…” she snarled, “I’m beginning to see why so many folks don’t like you guys!”

“Sticks and stones, little girl,” said Hebi-Na. “By the way, each time she inflicts damage, she gets one Hyper Venom Token. Once she gets three, you’re dead. Still, I doubt you’ll even have any Life Points left at that point.

“So move if you can…”

Ember got up, stumbling a little as she did.

She looked at the three cards in her hand.

She closed her eyes as she reached for her deck.

She quickly drew a card. She looked at it.

“I throw down a facedown,” she said, as a facedown card appeared. “Then, I play Fire Back! I’ll toss one Fire Monster…”

She discarded Ultimate Baseball Kid.

“…to bring Flamvell Urquizas back from the Graveyard!”

Urquizas appeared, and struck a pose.

“Defending with that loser again?” asked Hebi-Na.

“Defending?” asked Ember. “Take a closer look… Urquizas is in Attack Mode.”

(2,100 ATK)

“Destroy Des Feral Imp!”

Urquizas socked Des Feral Imp with his fist of flame, and the Imp was blown to shards. Urquizas rose to an Attack Score of 2,400, but Vennominaga rose to 3,500.

(E: 950) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 3,400)

“I think Vennominaga’s poison is messing with your brain,” chuckled Hebi-Na. “That guy won’t survive one more round against my goddess. Or do you think that facedown card is going to defeat her? Well, I have news for you… It won’t. Vennominaga is immune to all card effects. She’s invincible!”

“Make your move…” demanded Ember.

“As you wish,” said Hebi-Na, drawing a card. “Vennominaga, destroy them both!”

The snake goddess lunged at Flamvell Urquizas…

“That’s the problem with thinking you’re invincible, Hebi-Na,” said Ember. “You get careless.”

Her facedown card shot up.

“I activate Samsara Dogma!”

“Samsara Dogma?” said Hebi-Na. “What does that do?”

“It works like DNA Surgery,” replied Ember, “but instead of affecting Monsters on the field, it affects Monsters in both Graveyards. That means I can turn all the Monsters in both Graveyards into Pyros.”

Hebi-Na’s eyes widened in horror.

“But that means…” she gasped.

“No Reptiles in your Graveyard now, Hebi-Na…” said Ember. “Which renders your goddess powerless.”

Vennominaga’s Attack Score plummeted all the way down to zero. She couldn’t stop her attack, but Urquizas made a mighty punch, blowing the snake goddess to oblivion.

“And also,” continued Ember, “no Reptiles in your Graveyard means none to remove from play. So her reviving effect can’t be used.”

Hebi-Na stared at Ember in horror, and dropped her cards.

“I suspected from the start that your new deck had Vennominaga lurking around in it,” said Ember. “And I knew that she was immune to all card effects. So I knew I had to attack indirectly, and deprive her of her power source.”

Hebi-Na slumped down on her coils.

“How… How could you have known?” she sobbed.

Ember drew a card.

“Hebi-Na…” she said, “there’s an old saying… ‘Loose lips sink ships’. And lips become looser after they’ve had a flask of whiskey. Once I heard that you had boasted about making a ‘more terrifying’ deck after you had drunk a whole flask of viperwine, I simply put the pieces together.

“Urquizas… Finish her off…”

Hebi-Na whined as Urquizas struck her with a direct attack. The once-proud ophidia collapsed like a wet bag.

(E: 950) - - - - - - - - - - (HN: 0)

Ember took some deep breaths.

“I’m done,” she said. “You can come out now…”

Jinx slowly stepped out of the shadows.

“I can’t believe it Ember…” said Jinx. “You not only defeated Hebi-Na… You defeated the embodiment of Seghulerak.”

“So I wasn’t imagining things?” asked Ember. “Seghulerak was manifesting herself through that Monster… Talking to me through that waking nightmare…

“She said some terrible things… About cataclysms destroying the world… About ‘bringing the ophidia back to the glory of their past’.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” said Jinx. “But for now… You’ve done it!”

She hugged Ember.

“All the tests are passed. You’re a Shadowchaser now.”

Ember breathed a sigh of relief.

“So, what about Hebi-Na?” she asked.

Jinx looked at Hebi-Na. She lifted the gemstone.

“Hebi-Na won’t be a threat any more,” said Jinx. “She used a card to channel the power of her goddess, and lost. She’ll be an outcast among her people from now on. She’ll realize that jail will be the safest place she can be.”

The gemstone glowed, and Hebi-Na vanished.

“For now… Let’s go home… We’re both hungry…”

Lightning flashed again. Jinx looked up.

Odd… she thought. Seghulerak’s avatar has been defeated… And yet nature still seems to be restless…

Clearly something else will happen before the night is out… But what?

I have a feeling that we won’t like whatever it is…


I hadn’t felt this proud since I graduated from high school. My thoughts were now on what sort of formal ceremony this would entail. I wanted to invite so many people, and I wondered if I would be allowed to, seeing as most of them were Mundane.

Of course, there were still many unanswered questions at this point. We still didn’t know who had engineered the escape of those four. Nor did we know who had supplied Hebi-Na with those incredibly powerful cards, which were capable of channeling an actual goddess, nor what she was actually planning on doing with them. She had only wanted to defeat me to use me as a hostage for some greater plan, which we didn’t know the details of.

Answers would come, but not before true terror struck the streets of uptown this very night. A war was starting in Neo Domino which we couldn’t directly interfere in, but we would do our best to provide the minute help that we could…



FLAMVELL ARCHER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Pyro/Tuner/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 3
ATK: 1,000
DEF: 200

Card Description: Once per turn, you can Tribute 1 Pyro-Type Monster you control to increase the ATK of 1 “Flamvell” Monster on the field by 800 points until the End Phase of the turn.

Note: “Flamvell Archer” was released in Japan for the “Duel Terminal 2; Invasion of Worms!!” system. It has not yet been released in the United States.



SAMSARA DOGMA (Trap Card)

Continuous Trap

Image: The face of a figure who is a handsome, young man on his left, and a mechanized android on his right.

Card Description: When this card is activated, declare one Monster Type. All Monster Cards in each players’ Graveyards are considered the declared Type.

Note: “Samsara Dogma” was first used by Hell Kaiser in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “Tough Love”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode. (Note that this card was called “Rebirth Judgment” in the dub.)



Coming up next:

Jalal finds out who helped the four fugitives escape, and he’s someone who one of the heroes knows. The problem is, he’s made it all the way to California by now. We take a break from Ember and her friends as Sofia pursues this criminal into Redwoods National Park to find answers, because something is definitely up.

“Survival Instinct” is coming up next.



Shadowchaser Files

Sultan Yasuf Alrahad, Lord of the Empire Beneath the Waves

The relations between humans and Shadows must be enforced among aquatic races, too. The sea holds far more life than land, and undersea Shadowkind populate the oceans of the world. Crabmen and locaths populate shallow waters, while merfolk, nereids, and tritons can endure greater pressure, and populate the depths beyond the continental shelves.

Villages and cities of aquatic Shadowkind dot the sea floor, each one typically home to one race. The exception to this is the Citadel of Ten-Thousand Pearls, the biggest undersea city, which lies in the center of the Pacific. The commerce and culture center for undersea Shadowkind, it has been a melting pot for a dozen undersea races for hundreds of years… All except the sahuagin. They were kicked out of the city long ago, and are considered its enemies.

In the past hundred years, the sultans of the Citadel have been fops who obtained their nobility status via birthright. (The sultanate of the city is not an inherited position; sultans are elected.) Twenty years ago, the sahuagin came under leadership of a violent warlord who was intent on conquering the Citadel. The current sultan could not deal with this crisis, and a vote of no confidence was leveled against him by the other nobles.

A new election was held, and the people looked for a new, stronger leader. They found that leader in Yasuf Alrahad.

Alrahad is a marid, a type of genie of elemental water. He mastered the magic of water centuries ago, and is likely the most powerful water elementalist on the planet. Though he is said to have a rotten temper (the rumor that he deals with people who insult him by throwing them to his pet devil sharks has not been proven), he tolerates no nonsense, and said from the start that he would not negotiate with any crude warlords.

As soon as he was elected, Alrahad got busy. His first order of business was to send diplomats to form a more active alliance with Jalal, something that former sultans were to egotistical to do. He quickly began recruiting an army, and fortified the perimeter of the Citadel. When the sahuagin eventually started to make offensive maneuvers, they were crippled by a pre-emptive strike.

Alrahad has ruled the Citadel ever since, but concern over the duration of his rule has begun to worry him. His term of office actually expired two years ago, but he has applied special conditions to extend it. He knows that as soon as he retires, the Citadel’s enemies will see an opportunity, and that can lead to disaster.


Story Ideas: Any story that deals with undersea Shadowkind should involve Sultan Yasuf Alrahad. He is the most influential source of power under the ocean waves, a powerful ally and a terrible enemy. The Shadowchasers count him as an ally for now, mostly because doing otherwise would give them a foe that was incredibly difficult to stop.

A good story idea would be dealing with the approaching problem of his term of service needing to end. In American history, new leaders are often tested. John F. Kennedy was mistaken for a weak President, which is why the Russians attempted to move nuclear missiles to Cuba when he took office, starting the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Shadowchasers might have to work to make sure that whomever takes over for him doesn’t cause a similar crisis.


Deck Suggestions: It comes as no surprise that Alrahad uses a Water Deck. However, he is a purist when it comes to what Monsters he uses. He won’t use Machines, like Amphibious Bugroth MK-3, or even Fish-Type Monsters that look like Machines, such as Shark the Crew or Fishborg Gunner. One possible idea would be a deck centered on Fish that uses Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth.

[Shuppet Master]

Gears defeated a skinwalker for his Rite of Passage. (You’re probably better off not knowing what that is.)

I Wiki'd that - it's a Navajo witch/warlock who gains evil powers by killing one of their family and spend most of their life as an animal. Pretty nasty stuff. I think the name comes from the fact that they the only clothing they wear is a coyote or wolf skin.

So yeah, sorry to enlighten everyone Ember. I hope you're not mad at me.

Needless to say, I envisioned you in that duel and man, you're one tough chick.

Anyways, to your creator, Brian - that was one epic chapter. I think you should consider seriously writing a novel or something! I really got inspired to start plans for writing a Shadowchaser fic of my own. I will follow the rules and give you a better proposal than the last one, although I really wanted to have a pre-teen involved in that stuff. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Oh yeah, the Shadowchaser files was pretty good too.

[Dark Sage]

Heh. You know, Chris, I had a feeling that someone would be curious to look up exactly what a skinwalker was. Yes, it's for all practical purposes, a Native American werewolf, although a skinwalker becomes one on purpose via an evil act of murder. We can assume that in this world I have created, their powers are Shadow-related.

Kudos for doing so.

[Dark Sage]

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

While Jinx was driving me home, folks were busy in Satellite. A meeting was about to get underway, and it didn’t bode well for us.

Illithids normally think of all other races as good for nothing but slaves, food, and chattel. DaPen was just as egotistical as the next illithid; however, he figured it was time to break tradition. He had very big plans, and he knew that one crime syndicate wasn’t prepared to carry them out. There was strength in alliances, and DaPen was going to try to form them.

He knew it would be a hard sell, seeing as very few Shadows would ever trust an illithid. But he had made it to the first step… The folks he had invited were at least willing to listen.



5 PM. Satellite.

In DaPen’s headquarters, a large conference table had been set up in the largest room.

Da Pen walked in, with the two Schumer brothers behind him, once again heavily armed, and Edmund behind them. The folks at the table could easily see through any disguise he tried to use, so he didn’t bother using one now.

DaPen’s true form was hideous. No pencil sketch could do it justice. It was clear that the constantly moving beard in his veiled form was actually his tentacles lashing about. Like all illithids, his mauve skin glistened with slime. He still wore an expensive, grey business suit, but it appeared several sizes smaller now. He was much thinner in his true form; you’d never see a fat illithid, as their diet wasn’t very fattening, and they didn’t eat all too often anyway. He still puffed on a cigar, a habit he had picked up a long time ago.

At the table were five Shadowkind clan leaders, all of whom ones the Shadowchasers kept close watch on. Behind each of them (most of them, that is) were their bodyguards.

Chief Gruupen sat closest to the end. He was a powerful orc, the leader of the largest clan of orcs in the region, and the most influential among orc-kin in Neo-Domino. He wore old-fashioned chain mail and a helmet made from a skull (belonging to the former chief of his clan) and carried a bastard sword, a very difficult weapon to master. He also had a Colt M1911 on his belt, in case his sword wasn’t sufficient to get his point across.

Behind him were his bodyguards, two orogs. Orogs were half-breeds, the offspring of male orcs and female ogres. They were stronger than true orcs, and these two were trained in use with special weapons called orcish double-axes, heavy two-handed weapons with a battle-axe on both ends.

Opposite Gruupen was someone who had little influence in Neo Domino itself, but a lot of it offshore. His name was Sslenic, and he was a sahuagin mutation, the leader of the largest sahuagin clan and the most powerful authority figure among the aquatic clans in the waters surrounding Neo Domino. As a mutation, he was a frightening sight, with a shark-like mouth and four arms. Behind him were his bodyguards, two normal sahuagin armed with magical tridents that were enchanted to channel electricity.

Next to him, standing up (a chair would likely break if he sat on it) was the Arcane Golem named Blueslash. This Golem got his name from the mark that a human made on him with a blue laundry marker, after the human found it hard to tell the Arcane Golems that he dealt with apart. He was never told to wash it off, so he never saw reason to do so. Unlike the one Jinx had fought, Blueslash controlled the element of fire, and was stronger than most Arcane Golems. He eventually became their leader, mostly by default. No bodyguards were with him, as he could handle most threats on his own.

Opposite Blueslash was the verdant prince named Lord Aderan. The most powerful dark fey in the wilderness outside of Neo Domino, he was the ruler of the evil fairies, mostly because he was the only one who wanted to do the job and who was powerful enough to control such chaotic creatures. He was intimidating, resembling a tall, muscular, sinister-looking elf, dressed in animal furs, and wearing a headdress made with antlers. Behind him were two females that looked similar to Mistle, but with black hair, and sinister, dark eyebrows, dressed in the clothing of a harlot. These were dark nymphs, and were both his bodyguards and concubines. Most dark nymphs seduced men in order to enslave them, but these two were likely practitioners of much more destructive magic.

Finally, there was Hylanus, the clan leader of the gnoll clan of Neo Domino, and high priest of the King of Ghouls. He was a rarity among gnolls, one able to channel divine magic. His clothing was similar to that of a primitive shaman, made up of skins, bones, teeth, and other parts of formerly-living creatures, and he carried a simple wooden shillelagh. His two bodyguards behind him were more heavily armed, with long knives and revolvers tucked in their belts.

“Are we all here?” asked DaPen.

The door opposite him opened, and one more Shadow came in. It was an absolutely gorgeous dark elf, with long, white hair down to her waist, dressed in a halter top, loincloth, a dark cape, boots, and gloves. The two male dark elves behind her were more modestly dressed, in leather suits and sunglasses, and they carried assault rifles, which they’d be more than willing to use if anyone made the slightest move towards the female.

This was Matron Drizzera, a sorceress who was likely the most powerful dark elf in this part of the world. Rumors stated that her mother had been the former leader of her clan, but when Drizzera was only fourteen, she challenged her mother to mortal combat for leadership, killed her, and took over. This incredible act of betrayal at such an early age was unusual even for a dark elf, but she was still admired for it.

She hated DaPen with a passion, because before he had shown up in Neo Domino, Shadowkind on the wrong side of the law came to her. DaPen had changed all that. Because of him, she now placed second in the world of Shadowkind crime.

She glared at DaPen and sat down opposite him at the end of the table.

“This had better be good, DaPen,” she said. “I had to cancel my manicurist appointment to come her, and I don’t like coming to Satellite at the best of times.”

“Drizzera, stop thinking about your constant beauty treatments and listen up,” said DaPen. “I’m gonna make you all an offer you wouldn’t be wise to refuse…”

“I think someone here has watched The Godfather one time too many,” said Hylanus.

“And let’s face it, DaPen,” said Aderan. “You’re no Don Vito Corleone.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen The Godfather,” replied DaPen, “and I realize that Vito Corleone was an abnormality among mob bosses – he survived long enough to retire, alive and out of jail. He did so because he had folks he could trust, he had family…”

“I doubt you’ll survive then, DaPen,” said Sslenic. “Families are a foreign concept to illithids, or so I’ve heard.”

“Granted, but I still can establish trust,” replied DaPen. “All of the people in this room are folks I have a history with… Some of you I once thought of as rivals… Others I once thought of as more than rivals…”

“To Hell with the ‘rival’ junk, DaPen!” shouted Gruupen, standing up. “You tried to have me killed!”

Everyone growled at this. DaPen had sent assassins after all of them at one point or another.

“Maybe so,” said DaPen, calmly. “But we’re more alike than you think, as strange as that is.

“There are many strange things in this world, you know. There was once a guy named Al Capone. During the Prohibition Era in the States, he was the biggest crook there was. And he used to mock the IRS, saying that they couldn’t touch him, because you didn’t file earnings that you made illegally.

“Well, you know what was strange? When they finally caught him, he didn’t go to jail for bootlegging, or smuggling, or murder, or anything like that. The only charge they could make stick was tax evasion.”

“Get to the point, DaPen,” said Hylanus. “Assuming you have a point to get to. I had to record two of my soaps to come here, and if my DVR records the wrong channel one more time…”

DaPen sighed.

“I will,” he said. “See, there was once a time when Shadowkind could do as they pleased, and they weren’t hampered by any rules that said they couldn’t. I’m sure all of you, and the folks that work for you, would love a return to those times.”

“Oh sure, DaPen,” muttered Blueslash. “Let’s all defy the Treaty just like Saramanda did.”

“And look what happened to her,” added Sslenic.

“You know what I think?” said Aderan. “I think Jalal and Maskent used her as an example of what happens to anyone who doesn’t like their little system. What happened to her was their way of saying, ‘Our way or no way’.”

“True, true,” said DaPen. “But Saramanda made a mistake. She may have had three-hundred ophidia on her side… But the Shadowchasers had several dozen clans of Shadowkind that were loyal to the Treaty on theirs, each of them with hundreds of members. That’s how they were able to move a squad of iron golems without being detected. That’s how they found out when the guard watch at her compound would be the lightest. That’s how they got gallons of anti-reptile gas. Saramanda was foolish to think she stood a chance. They had help, while her group stood alone.

“The way I see it, no one player can stand alone if he wants to stand against Jalal and Maskent. But I had this vision… What if everyone who hated that Treaty worked together?”

“Are you suggesting an alliance?” asked Blueslash.

“More like a company,” replied DaPen. “A business.”

“A business?” said Drizzera, with a laugh. “You’re serious?”

“Know what the difference is between a criminal and a businessman?” asked DaPen. “Not much, really, except that a businessman’s methods are more accepted. For instance, if I run a factory, and my workers go on strike, and I hire a group of strike breakers to bust up the picket line, I’m a crook, right? But, if I hire a lawyer to find some law that convinces a judge to break up their picket line, I’m a businessman.

“And say I want to build a house on a nice piece of land in a tropical paradise, but it’s owned by a government who won’t sell it. Now, if I hired a group of armed mercenaries to charge in there and take it for me, I’d be a terrorist, right?

“But, if I hired a politician to dig up some obscure clause in a diplomatic agreement that was signed two-hundred years ago that would force that government to sell it to me, what would I be?”

“Then you’d be a businessman,” replied Gruupen.

“You’re learning,” said DaPen. “So I say we all form a company. A big company, spread out across Neo Domino. Like any company, we expand. We use our influence to gain more influence, until we have enough to make a united stand against Jalal. Everyone in this room would be the board of directors…”

“And you’d be chairman of the board, I assume?” asked Drizzera.

DaPen chuckled a little.

“Well…” he said. “If anyone else here expresses interest in that position, I’ll gladly give that person the floor so he or she may state his or her case.”

There was a long pause. Looks of doubt appeared in all the Shadows present, and none of them spoke up.

“No one?” asked DaPen. “I didn’t think so. You’re all afraid of what would happen if it didn’t work. You remember what happened to Saramanda too well. Well… I’ll gladly take that responsibility.”

“Even if we joined forces,” replied Blueslash, “the clans of Shadowkind in Neo Domino that like the Treaty have us outnumbered astronomically! It wouldn’t work! There are five clan leaders I know of who would be dancing in the streets if I were arrested.”

“You can add me to that list, Blueslash!” answered Drizzera. “You guys think that everything that carries a raw enchantment already belongs to you! You’d take anything that wasn’t nailed down if you could.”

“Heck, they’d take things that were nailed down,” added Aderan, “and take the nails with them.”

“Oh, so I’m a thief, am I?” shouted Blueslash.

“Calm down!” shouted DaPen. “Let’s not fight among ourselves, people! And it wouldn’t work now, maybe… But we have an ace up our sleeves that will even the score dramatically…

“Once the Regalia of Day are complete, which my good friend Edmund here says will happen very soon, we’ll have the power we need to tip the scales of power in our favor and keep them there… It’s only a matter of time…”

“There’s another problem too, DaPen,” said Hylanus. “You may well not be the strongest force in this part of town anymore. The flux of dark magic coming out of the B.A.D. Area keeps getting stronger. If the group behind it keeps growing in power…”

Then Edmund spoke up

“That is indeed a concern,” he said. “I’m looking into the power fluxes coming from B.A.D. as we speak, and if this group becomes a threat, we will deal with them as well.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely…” said Aderan. “It will be a three-way conflict! Us, the Shadowchasers, and whoever these black sorcerers are that are turning the B.A.D. into a chill-grill!”

Sslenic got out of his chair.

“I’ve heard enough,” he said. “Unless I see some concrete proof that this master plan of your actually works, DaPen, you can count me out.”

Gruupen got up too.

“I’m with him,” said the orc. “No proof, no alliance. So we suggest you get proof, and get it fast…”

DaPen and his group watched as they all packed up and left. The illithid crossed his arms.

“Don’t worry…” he said. “They’ll be back…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Shichiro, Gears, Jinx, and Ember were gathered around the kitchen table in the townhouse. Mistle was sitting there too, as she had been invited.

“A toast,” said Jinx, raising a glass of V8. “To our newest member…

“She has passed all the tests, overcome every pitfall, and triumphed over every obstacle put in her path. Ember may now truly call her herself a Shadowchaser!”

“Here, here!” said Gears.

Ember blushed.

“Uh, Gears…” she said. “Now that we’re all friends and all… I want to give you something…”

She handed him an envelope.

“Uhm, thanks Ember,” said Gears. “But… My birthday isn’t until February.”

“No, no, you don’t understand,” said Ember. “I’ve had this card for a long time, but it’s always been a mystery to me… I never understood its effect.

“But… Now that I’ve seen you duel, it’s all clear to me. I think you can use it.”

Gears opened the envelope and took out the card. He gave it a strange look. Then he read the effect.

Interesting… he thought.

Then Boris flew to the table and placed a large pan on it.

“Enough talk!” he said. “I say we celebrate in style! I made something that I call two-triple lasagna!”

He lifted the pan cover, and the sumptuous aroma of pasta and marinara sauce filled the room.

“I call it that because it has three kinds of cheese, and three kinds of sausage!”

“WHOA!” said Ember.

“It sounds great, Boris,” said Mistle. “But, uh… I’m a vegetarian…”

“Ah…” said Boris with a smile.

He lifted another plate.

“One garden salad for our guest, no expenses spared.”

“Is that crème fraîche dressing?” asked Mistle, getting excited.

“Homemade crème fraîche dressing!” replied Boris. “Gears told me it was your favorite.”

Ember sighed.

“This is all great, guys…” she said. “But… As good as Boris’s cooking is, I kind of expected more fanfare…”

“Oh, don’t worry…” said Shichiro. “Jalal always goes overboard when a new Shadowchaser joins the organization. He’s likely already starting to decorate the banquet hall at Headquarters for your initiation.”

“Indeed I am,” said Jalal’s voice.

Jalal slowly appeared.

“I came to congratulate young Michiko,” he said, “and also to tell you all that we have made progress in investigating the prison break.”

“Who was behind it?” asked Shichiro.

“That we are not certain yet,” replied Jalal. “But we learned the identity of the mercenary who was hired to sneak in and give Fogg access to the portal room.

“Someone whom I believe Gears knows… A wererat named Maccal.”

“You’re kidding!” shouted Gears. “Ooh! That sneak did it to get even with me because I won that card from him!

“When I find him, I’m gonna make ratatouille!”

“Calm down, Gears,” said Jalal. “He fled to California. We believe he’s hiding out in Redwood National Park. Sofia is tracking him down.”

Gears thought for a minute.

“Jalal you might want to warn her,” he said. “When I dueled him, he was using some Kuriboh deck, but he said he was working on a Dinosaur one.

“The weird part is, he didn’t want the Ultimate Tyranno I offered him. He said it was the wrong type of Dinosaur.”

Jalal scratched his chin.

“A Dinosaur deck that has no use for Ultimate Tyranno…” he mused.

“Do you have any idea what he was talking about?” asked Gears.

“I have a general idea,” replied Jalal. “But I think Sofia can handle it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

In California at this time, it was sixteen hours earlier. One AM of the same day.

The old growth forests made up of giant redwoods had once covered over two million acres of northern California. But logging had greatly depleted the ancient trees, destroying 96% of them. Roughly half of the redwoods that remained were now protected by law, within the confines of Redwood State and National Parks.

Sofia slowly rode her D-Wheel down the road under the canopy of huge trees, towards the picnic area. Getting access to the park this late had been hard, but she had managed. Her sensors showed her that a lycanthrope was in the general area, but she didn’t know exactly where.

She stopped her bike, and looked up at the sky, through the trees, towards the night sky.

It was a full moon. All lycanthropes would be at their strongest tonight.

She dismounted, and hit the command to disengage the Duel Disk. It detached, and clamped onto her gauntlet.

She looked around, and simply didn’t understand. Why would a wererat try to hide out in an ancient forest? A moon elf or a hill gnome or any fey creature who was on the lam could likely hide here for years… But wererats were urban Shadowkind who had adapted to city life. They would stick out here like sore thumbs.

As she was thinking this, she caught wind of a foul odor.

As he pounced, she spun around, and socked him in the face. Of course, she had come prepared. Her fist was armed with a device similar to brass knuckles, except made with a silver alloy instead of brass.

Sofia glared at him as he fell backwards.

“Folks like you should know better than to try to sneak up on someone who’s downwind from you,” she said.

Maccal rubbed his jaw and got up.

“Can you blame me for being careless?” he grunted. “I’m a marked Shadow!”

“Marked?” asked Sofia. “I’m not going to kill you. Not unless you…”

“You just don’t get it, do you, Shadowchaser?” asked Maccal.

Sofia then noticed the hint of fear in his voice.

“You guys aren’t the only ones after me…” he said. “I agreed to sneak into that prison and help those four out because I wanted to get even with Gears… Well, it was the worst mistake I ever made, and likely my last…

“Now I know too much! The one who hired me to do it is after me to silence me, and once it finds me, I’m dead!”

“Who’s after you?” asked Sofia. “DaPen?”

“You actually expect me to say its name?” asked Maccal. “It will just find me faster!”

“Look, Maccal…” said Sofia, extending her hand. “Why don’t you just turn yourself in? If you know so much, you can make a deal with Jalal. You can become one of the Submitted… You can get protection… No-one in history has ever been able to reach one of the Submitted. They’re untouchable.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” asked Maccal.

He activated his Duel Disk.

“Once the plan is put into motion, no-one will be safe. I doubt I’ll be able to hide if I go to Mars. The best I can do is take down as many of you folks and as many of its folks as I can before someone gets me…”

Sofia sighed.

“Fine…” she said.

Her Disk activated.

“If you want to do it the hard way, Maccal, I’ll do it the hard way… But you brought this on yourself.”

(Sofia: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Maccal: 8,000)

“My draw!” exclaimed Maccal.

He quickly made his first draw.

“I summon Jurak Vello in Attack Mode!”

A blast of flames shot up in front of him, and a man-sized figure stepped out of the fires. It was a fiery Dinosaur, resembling a raptor, with a hide that was bright orange, green, and metallic blue. (1,700 ATK)

“I end my turn.”

“A Fire-Attribute Dinosaur?” asked Sofia.

“Yeah, a Fire Dinosaur!” said Maccal, getting impatient. “It’s called a Jurak. Juraks are all Fire.

“I said I ended my turn, so let’s keep moving already!”

“Okay, okay,” said Sofia, drawing a card..

“I summon Ptarmigan of Mist Valley,” she said.

In a gust of wind, the large bird that looked like a rooster with lightning bolts on its feathers appeared. (1,100 ATK)

“Next, I’m going to Special Summon my Mist Condor,” she said. “But to do that, I have to send one of my Mist Valley Monsters back to my hand. Like Ptarmigan of Mist Valley.”

Ptarmigan vanished, and the card appeared back in Sofia’s hand. In its place appeared a big, ugly bird of prey, with dark blue feathers and an amulet shaped like a skull around its neck. (1,400 ATK)

“Since I summoned it with its effect, Mist Condor gains 300 Attack Points.”

(1,700 ATK)

“And, since I returned Ptarmigan to my hand, I get to Special Summon it.”

Ptarmigan of Mist Valley appeared again, covering itself with is feathers in Defense Mode. (700 DEF)

“Now, I play the Spell Card, Shrink!”

The Spell Card appeared, and Jurak Vello shrank to half its size, and an Attack Score of 850.

“Mist Condor, destroy it!”

Mist Condor swooped upon the shrunken Dinosaur, and tore it in half.

“Ergh…” muttered Maccal. “You activated Vello’s effect… When it goes down in battle, I get to Special Summon another Jurak from my deck, so long as its Attack Score isn’t more than 1,700.

“So, I Special Summon Jurak Iguanon.”

Another burst of flame appeared in front of him, and another flaming Dinosaur appeared. This one looked like a bigger, bulkier version of Jurak Vello, with a sail on its back. (1,700 ATK)

(S: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 7,150)

“I draw!” he shouted, making a draw.

“First I summon Jurak Protopus in Attack Mode.”

Another flaming dino appeared. While the first two looked like fiery raptors, this one looked more like a fiery triceratops. (1,700 ATK)

“And due to its effect, it gains 100 Attack Points for each Monster on your side of the field.”

(1,900 ATK)

“That isn’t good…” said Sofia.

“I’ll make it worse,” said Maccal, opening his Field slot. “I play Molten Destruction!”

The whole forest seemed to go up in flames. A lava flow covered the field, and the two Dinosaurs roared. Jurak Iguanon went up to an Attack Score of 2,200, while Jurak Protopus rose to 2,400.

Iguanon spit a ball of flame, roasting Ptarmigan of Mist Valley like a cooked chicken. Then Protopus spit another ball of flame, reducing Mist Condor to ashes.

(S: 7,700) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 7,150)

“I end my turn…” he said.

Sofia drew a card. She looked at it.

Sweet…

“I remove Ptarmigan of Mist Valley from play to Special Summon Silpheed,” she said.

In a gust of wind, the elegantly-dressed Wind Fairy appeared. (1,700 ATK)

“Next, I summon Dancing Elf.”

She played another card, and the little sprite with gossamer wings appeared. (300 ATK)

“Next, I play the Spell Card, Summon Storm. I’ll pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon Soldier of Mist Valley from my hand.”

She played the Spell Card, and the winged soldier dressed in a blue tunic and scarf appeared, holding his daggers. (1,700 ATK)

“Now, I Tune all three of my Monsters together!”

The three Monsters flew towards the sky, and burst into nine glowing stars…

“Uh… oh…” muttered Maccal.

“Synchro Summon…” said Sofia, “Mist Wurm!”

With a roar, Mist Wurm appeared on the field, with mist pouring from the vents on its back. (2,500 ATK)

“Now, I can send three of your cards back to your hand!” she continued.

Mist Wurm roared, and both of the Juraks vanished, and the lava flow disappeared.

“Ho boy…” said Maccal.

“Attack him directly!” shouted Sofia. “Freezing fog!”

Mist Wurm belched a cloud of chilling fog, and Maccal hollered as he was knocked over.

(S: 6,900) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,650)

Slowly, he got up.

“That hurt…” he said.

“Yes,” said Sofia. “I’ll repeat my offer… Just give yourself up. Make a deal with Jalal and tell us what this is all about. I’m more than certain he can protect you from whoever wants to kill you.”

Maccal sighed.

“Twenty-four hours ago, I might have believed you,” he said. “But then I saw what this thing was capable of doing, and saw the might it possessed. You have no idea.

“If I side with Jalal and tell you this thing’s plans, I’m only guaranteeing myself a much crueler death when it gets me.”

He drew a card.

“First, I’ll play Molten Destruction again…”

He played the card, and the lava field returned.

“Then, I’ll play the Spell Card, Living Fossil. This lets me bring Jurak Vello back from the Graveyard so long as I Equip it with this card.”

Jurak Vello appeared again, crouching in Defense Mode. (1,000 DEF) –> (600 DEF)

“Sure, it loses 1,000 Attack Points and its effect, but I don’t intend to keep it. I’m going to sacrifice it to play Big Evolution Pill.”

He played another Spell Card and Vello vanished into grains of light.

“This Spell Card stays on the field for three of your turns. During that time, I don’t have to make sacrifices to Normal Summon high-Level Dinosaurs.

“Not even this one… The Jurak Titan!”

There was a fierce explosion on his side of the field, and a huge, twenty-foot tall Dinosaur loomed over the lava wasteland. It was just as big as Ultimate Tyranno, with a similar shape, but is hide had the texture and consistency of cooling lava. (3,000 ATK)

“Three-thousand attack points?” gasped Sofia.

“And the Field Spell makes it even stronger!” replied Maccal.

(3,500 ATK)

“You can’t target my Titan with any Traps or Effect Monsters that target,” he continued, “and it has another effect…

“I can remove a low-Level Jurak in my Graveyard from play to power it up even more!”

He took Jurak Vello from his discard slot and put it his coat. Jurak Titan burned with flames… (4,500 ATK)

“Incinerate her Mist Wurm!” he shouted.

Sofia covered her head as Jurak Titan let loose a burst of fire that looked like a volcano erupting. It hit Mist Wurm, blowing it to pieces in a deafening explosion that lit up the whole forest.

Sofia couldn’t believe it… Her best Monster… Beaten?

(S: 4,900) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,650)

“It’s your move, Shadowchaser,” snarled the wererat, as Jurak Titan’s Attack Score returned to 3,500.

Sofia could honestly say she had never been in a mess like this before. She had no cards on the field, none in her hand, and her best Monster had just been blown to Kingdom Come. And this thing in front of her not only had an incredible Attack Score, it was resistant to Traps and Effect Monsters. If she didn’t draw something she could defend with, she was finished.

She slowly drew a card.

Without a word, she set it on her Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.

“That all?” asked Maccal, drawing a card.

“You remember Protopus, don’t you?”

The flaming triceratops appeared again. (1,700 ATK)

“Don’t forget, it gains 100 Attack Points for each Monster you have, plus 500 from the field Spell.

(2,300 ATK)

“Attack!”

Protopus blasted its flame at the facedown Monster…

Dandylion appeared, crouching on the card. It was incinerated instantly, but Sofia smiled. Two Fluff Tokens quickly sprang up in front of her. (0 DEF x2)

“Seems I’m safe for now,” she said.

“For now…” said Maccal.

Jurak Titan simply blew at one of the two Tokens, and it was blown away.

“My move!” shouted Sofia, drawing a card.

“I play Pot of Avarice!” she shouted.

“Eh, lucky,” muttered Maccal.

Sofia quickly took Soldier of Mist Valley, Mist Condor, Dancing Elf, Silpheed, and Dandylion from her Graveyard, combined them with her deck, reshuffled, and made two draws.

“I play Monster Reborn!” she shouted, playing one of the cards.

With a roar, Mist Wurm appeared on her side of the field again. (2,500 ATK)

“Big deal!” laughed Maccal. “I’ll just destroy it again!”

Sofia frowned, and opened her own Field slot. She placed the other card in it.

“I play Rising Air Current!” she shouted.

“Eh?” said Maccal.

The lava field vanished, and the forest returned, this time with a brisk wind blowing through it.

“This Field Spell does for Wind Monsters what your Field Spell does for Fire Monsters,” she said.

All of a sudden, the Attack Scores of all the Monsters on the field changed. Mist Wurm rose to 3,000, while Jurak Titan fell to 3,000, and Jurak Protopus fell to 1,900.

“Its Attack Score is the same as Titan’s!” laughed Maccal. “You attack it, they’ll both die!”

“That’s the general idea,” said Sofia, quietly.

“Huh?” said Maccal.

Then he screamed when he realized what Sofia intended to do. Mist Wurm blasted its freezing fog at Jurak Titan. Jurak Titan belched its fire back at Mist Wurm. Both duelists were knocked off their feet as the two Monsters were incinerated.

Sofia picked up her hat, which had fallen off, and put it back on. She got up.

“I end my turn…” she said. “That’s all I can do…”

Maccal frowned, and made a draw. He looked at his hand.

“Time for Jurak Iguanon to make its reappearance!” he shouted.

In another burst of flame, Iguanon appeared again. (1,700 ATK)

“Destroy the other Token!” he commanded.

Protopus belched flame, incinerating the other Token.

“Now, attack directly!”

Iguanon belched a similar blast of flame, and Sofia screamed as it burned her. She fell on her seat.

“It’s your move.”

(S: 3,200) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,650)

Sofia got up, with sweat running down her brow.

He’s really toasting my weenies, she thought. I’d better draw something good…

She made a draw.

She smiled when she saw who it was.

“Guess what, pal?” she said. “Mist Wurm may be my most powerful card… But the gal I just drew… She’s my favorite!

“I summon Falcon of Mist Valley!”

In a gust of wind, a sleek, slim, female figure appeared in front of Sofia. It was easy to see why this Monster was Sofia’s favorite – she was a dead ringer for Sofia herself. Same hair, same smile, although her outfit was different, consisting of a black, leather halter and pants, both decorated with feathers. She carried a wooden shield decorated with totem symbols, and a glowing sword. She had beautiful, golden, eagle’s wings. (2,000 ATK) –> (2,500 ATK)

“A Level 4 with 2,000 Attack Points?” asked Maccal. “What’s the catch?”

“The catch is, she can’t attack unless I return one card I control back to my hand,” replied Sofia. “So I’ll return my Field Spell back to my hand so that she can take out your Protopus!”

The windy Field vanished, and Falcon fell to an Attack of 2,000. She made a swipe with her blade, cutting Protopus in half.

“Now I replay Rising Air Current,” said Sofia.

The windy Field reappeared, and Falcon went up to 2,500 Attack Points again.

“And I end my turn. That means your Big Evolution Pill goes away.”

The Spell Card vanished.

(S: 3,200) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,450)

Maccal made a draw.

“I set a Monster,” he said, “and then I move Iguanon to Defense Mode.”

A new reversed Monster appeared, and Iguanon shielded itself in Defense. (700 DEF)

He nodded.

Sofia made a draw.

It was her second Rising Air Current

Darn, she thought. I’m at a big disadvantage here…

She looked at the facedown Monster.

I wonder…


Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


“I return my Field Spell to my hand, so that Falcon can attack again!” she shouted.

The Field vanished, Falcon fell to her base Attack Score, and she rushed at the facedown card. Morphing Jar appeared on the card, and was cut in half.

“I thought so!” she laughed.

She discarded both Rising Air Currents, and made five draws. Maccal discarded the one card in his hand, which was Gozen Match, and made five draws.

Sofia looked at her five new cards.

“I guess I end my turn,” she said.

“Then I draw!” said Maccal, making a draw.

“Then I summon Jurak Monolov.”

He played a card, and another fiery Dinosaur appeared. This one didn’t look very dangerous, resembling a baby version of Jurak Vello. (1,500 ATK)

“That guy?” asked Sofia. “He’s actually kind of cute…”

“A cute Tuner!” replied Maccal.

“Tuner?” said Sofia, getting nervous.

Clearly, Maccal had at least one Synchro of his own.

“Now, I Tune both my Dinosaurs together…” he said.

Jurak Monolov and Jurak Iguanon flew into the sky, leaving trails of flame in their wake. They dissolved into seven glowing stars.

“Synchro Summon… Jurak Giganot!”

With a roar, another large Dinosaur landed on the field with a tremor. It looked like a large T-Rex, with smooth, blue scales that slowly turned to orange towards its upper body, which bore a flaming mane. (2,100 ATK)

“That’s not very strong for a Level 7,” said Sofia. “I’m guessing it has a pretty good effect.”

“It does,” replied Maccal. “While it’s here, all Jurak Monsters on the field gain 200 Attack Points for each one in my Graveyard.”

The phantoms of Titan, Monolov, Protopus, and Iguanon appeared behind him. (2,900 ATK)

“Now, attack!”

Jurak Giganot blasted a bolt of flame, incinerating Falcon of Mist Valley. Sofia staggered backwards.

“It’s your move…” said Maccal.

(S: 2,300) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,450)

Sofia took some deep breaths. She slowly made a draw.

“I’m not going to let you win, Maccal!” she shouted.

Falcon slipped out of her discard slot, and she pocketed the card.

“I’m removing Falcon from play to Special Summon Garuda the Wind Spirit.”

In a blast of wind, the winged elemental spirit with the hawk’s head appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“Now, I Normal Summon Shaman of Mist Valley.”

In another burst of wind, the oddly dressed female Shaman appeared. (1,200 ATK)

“Next, I’ll pay 600 Life Points to play Winged Repayment.”

She quickly played a Spell Card.

“I get to draw one card for each Winged Beast I have. But I can’t use them until next turn.”

She drew two cards. Then she put them aside, and chose another one.

“I set this, and end my turn.”

A facedown card appeared.

(S: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,450)

“I draw!” laughed Maccal.

“And I’m taking your birds out! I play Mystical Space Typhoon!”

He played the Spell Card, and the cyclone shot towards Sofia’s facedown card.

“I chain it!” she shouted. “Threatening Roar!”

A loud bellow echoed across the field.

“Humph,” said Maccal. “I’ll end with this.”

He set a card in his Disk, and it appeared facedown.

“That means I can use Garuda’s effect,” she said.

Garuda beat its wings, and Giganot struggled under the wind. It knelt in Defense Mode. (1,800 DEF)

“My move!” shouted Sofia, whipping a card off her Disk.

“I summon Watchkeeper of Mist Valley!”

In another gust of wind, a tall man dressed in what looked like a Native American hunting outfit, with taloned hands and feet, came into view. (1,500 ATK)

“All right!” she shouted. “Shaman… Watchkeeper… Let’s summon the big guy!”

Shaman of Mist Valley and Watchkeeper of Mist Valley flew into the sky, and this time formed into seven glowing stars.

“Synchro Summon… Thunder Lord of Mist Valley!”

With a mighty roar, a hulking, bestial creature landed. It looked like an eight-foot-tall ogre with a blue, muscular torso covered with tattoos, large, hawk-like legs, taloned arms, and huge, feathered wings on his back. (2,600 ATK)

Maccal grit his teeth.

“Attack Jurak Giganot!” she ordered. “Sacred lightning!”

Thunder Lord threw up his hands, and called lightning to them. He hurled the lightning forward…

But to Sofia’s surprise, it just glanced off of the Dinosaur’s hide.

“Eh?” said Sofia.

“Forget about my facedown card, huh?” asked Maccal. “It’s a Spell called Class System. Since your Thunder Lord isn’t a higher Level than my Monster, its attack was deflected.”

Sofia looked at the cards left in her hand.

She fit two of them in her Disk, and two reversed cards appeared. Then she turned a card on her Disk, and Garuda crouched in Defense Mode. (1,200 DEF)

“That’s all,” she said.

“My move!” laughed Maccal.

He made a draw.

“I’ll move Giganot back to Attack Mode…”

Giganot stood up. (2,900 ATK)

“And then I’ll summon Jurak Guivre in Attack Mode.”

In another burst of fire, a new flaming Dinosaur appeared. It looked like another raptor, but had a longer neck, and sharper claws. (1,700 ATK)

“And thanks to Giganot, it gains 800 Attack Points.”

(2,500 ATK)

“Giganot, roast her Thunder Lord!”

Flames formed in the larger Dinosaur’s mouth.

“I activate… Staunch Defender!” shouted Sofia, as one of her facedown cards shot up. “Now, all of your Monsters must attack, but they must attack the Monster I choose.

“And I choose Thunder Lord!”

“My pleasure!” laughed Maccal. “Giganot, turn it to ash!”

Giganot charged forward, towards Thunder Lord, causing the ground to tremble…

Then what happened next came as a shock to Maccal. Thunder Lord socked the Dinosaur hard, and Jurak Giganot screamed. It shattered into fiery embers.

“Why was my Monster destroyed?” screamed Maccal. “It was stronger!”

“Take another look,” said Sofia.

Maccal looked at Thunder Lord…

(3,100 ATK)

“Thunder Lord has a special effect,” said Sofia, holding up a card. “I can return one of my cards to my hand, like my other facedown card, to give him 500 more Attack Points for the round. And I can do it on your turn as well as mine.

“And don’t forget… Due to my Staunch Defender, your Guivre, who has now lost the bonus it got from Giganot, has no choice but to attack Thunder Lord.”

Jurak Guivre looked confused. It looked at Thunder Lord, and then made a rush at him. The ogre growled, and blasted lighting at the Dinosaur, vaporizing it.

Maccal grunted. He took two cards from his hand.

“I toss two cards facedown, and end my turn!” he said, as they flashed into existence.

(S: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 2,850)

Sofia drew a card.

“I sacrifice Garuda…” she said.

The Wind Spirit vanished.

“…to summon Executioner of Mist Valley.”

With a clap of thunder, a new Monster appeared. It looked like a muscular human with violet skin, again dressed in Native American-style clothing. He had taloned hands, and huge, black wings. (2,100 ATK)

“And when Executioner is summoned, all Spell and Trap Cards on the field are returned to their owners’ hands.”

Maccal screamed as his two Trap Cards, which were Draining Shield and Fossil Excavation, were blown off the field.

“Now, it’s time to end this,” said Sofia. “Executioner, Thunder Lord…

“Attack!”

Both of the spirits of Mist Valley gestured, and lightning flashed. They called it from the sky, and it struck the wererat. He screamed again.

(S: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 0)

Maccal was still on his feet. He started gasping for breath.

“It’s over Maccal,” she said. “You’re under arrest. If you won’t tell me now who’s after you, you can tell Jalal.”

Maccal coughed. Then he reached into his coat. Sofia reached for her sword, thinking he was pulling a weapon.

It wasn’t a weapon. It was a card. Maccal coughed again.

“It is… over…” he gasped. “But… only for me… For everyone… else… It’s just starting…”

Then he clutched his chest in pain. He collapsed.

Sofia ran up to him. She bent down, and felt for a pulse.

Then she was struck with fear, when she didn’t find one.

“In the name of the Father…” she whispered.

She made the sign of the cross over her chest.

She quickly took out her cell phone, and hit a speed dial number.

“Jalal?” she said. “It’s me… I found Maccal but it’s too late… Someone was pretty intent on keeping him quiet… He’s dead… Some sort of curse must have been cast on him to kill him if he was in danger of being captured.”

She picked up the card he had tried to give her. It was Cloudian – Altos.

“And, uh… Something else that might mean something, but I don’t know what…”

* * * * * * * * * *

In the industrial district of Neo Domino, a small, unassuming warehouse stood.

Only five workers worked here. Their job was simply to load deliveries off of trucks and onto three freight elevators. A supervisor whom they never saw controlled the elevators from below. They were told not to ask questions, and never bother the people who came into and out of the private elevators that you needed a keycard to use. They didn’t really know the meaning of their job, but their employer, whoever he was, paid them triple the amount that most loading dock workers got, so they followed the rules.

The freight elevators and private elevators actually led to an underground complex that was home to a clan of about two-hundred dark elves. They hid here from the sun during the day, only coming out at night.

The hub of this community was their shrine. It was a dark, foreboding temple to their dark goddess, decorated with a spider motif. Spiders were a dominant symbol in the dark elf religion. (They had certainly taken notice of the fact that one of the Nazca Lines which had recently vanished was the Spider, and were trying to determine whether it had anything to do with their goddess.)

For now, nightly services were scheduled to take place in an hour, but a delay was threatening them. In the temple, an acolyte was losing her patience with someone on the phone who kept calling.

“For the third time,” she shouted into the receiver, “she doesn’t want to talk to you!”

Then Matron Drizzera stormed in, incredibly angry.

“I changed my mind,” she scowled. “Gimme that phone…”

She grabbed the receiver.

“Now you listen to me, you tentacle-faced freak,” she said into it. “I’m not part of your group yet, and we told you the conditions. If you think that any of my people are going to risk going to jail by waltzing right up to the Shadowchasers’ front door and making a challenge, you’re crazier than I thought you were!

“So stop calling me!”

She hung up.

In DaPen’s headquarters, he also hung up.

“I hate than bitch…” he said.

“You hate everyone,” said Edmund, who had been listening. “Come to think of it, I think you hate yourself.”

DaPen took the cigar out of his mouth and glared at Edmund.

“I’ve disemboweled people for saying less than that,” he replied.

Edmund chuckled.

“You can’t disembowel me, Louis!” he laughed. “I have no bowels!”

“Here we go…” sighed DaPen. “You’re going to remind me that I can’t kill you…”

“That’s right,” said Edmund. “I only agreed to work with you because I knew that your psionic powers only affect beings with complex nervous systems, and I have none. My mind directs this colony of worms that makes up my body purely by spiritual manifestation, so your powers are worthless against me. The only reason I do what you say is because the one who sent me requires it.”

“And don’t you forget it,” said DaPen.

He sighed.

“So now what? Someone has to go there to mess with them a little tomorrow morning…”

“Uh, how about me, boss?” asked Vincent.

DaPen looked up at the minotaur, who was standing by the door.

“Vincent, you’re on thin ice as it is,” he said. “You already messed up one job…”

“Yeah, well I can do better when I don’t have Albert with me,” replied Vincent.

He held up a deck.

“See, I got my real deck, and I’ve put some new surprises in it. I can handle it on my own.”

DaPen crossed his arms.

He didn’t want Vincent to screw up again… But on the other hand, not many of his men were loyal enough to go to that townhouse and make an open challenge.

“Very well…” said DaPen. “Why not? I’ll expect you there at six AM sharp…

“Don’t screw up…”


What he had thought would be a simple revenge plan had caused Maccal to pay a terrible price. Still, his death raised many questions. Both DaPen and Edmund were busy in Neo Domino at the time, trying to unite the clans that they wanted to ally themselves with. They were nowhere in the vicinity of Redwood National Park… Was it possible for either of them to kill someone from across the Pacific?

We didn’t think so. That made us wonder whether they were the ones behind the jailbreak at all. There was something we were missing, something that we just didn’t get.

The only clue appeared to be the Cloudian cards that kept turning up. What was their purpose? We had to take the next step forward… Unfortunately, DaPen intended to as well…



JURAK PROTAPUS (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dinosaur/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 4
ATK: 1,700
DEF: 1,200

Card Description: Increase the ATK of this card by 100 for each Monster your opponent controls.



JURAK VELLO (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dinosaur/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 4
ATK: 1,700
DEF: 1,000

Card Description: When this Attack Position card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon one “Jurak” Monster with 1,700 Attack Points or less from your deck.



JURAK MONOLOV (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dinosaur/Tuner/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 3
ATK: 1,500
DEF: 1,200

Card Description: This card can attack each Monster your opponent controls once each.



JURAK GIGANOT (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dinosaur/Synchro/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 7
ATK: 2,100
DEF: 1,800

Card Description: Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Dinosaur-Type Monsters

While this card is face-up on the field, the ATK of all “Jurak” Monsters you control is increased by 200 for each “Jurak” Monster in your Graveyard.

Note: The proceeding four Jurak Monsters were released in Japan for the “Duel Terminal 4: Demon Roar God Revival!!” set. They have not been released in the United States.



JURAK IGUANON (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dinosaur/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 4
ATK: 1,700
DEF: 700

Card Description: When this card destroys an opposing Monster as a result of battle, you can return one set card your opponent controls to your opponent’s hand.

Note: “Jurak Iguanon” was released in Japan for the “Duel Terminal 5: Champions of Chaos!!” set. It has not been released in the United States.



JURAK GUIVRE (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dinosaur/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 4
ATK: 1,700
DEF: 400

Card Description: If this card destroys a Monster as a result of battle, you may Special Summon 1 “Jurak” Monster with an ATK of 1,700 or less from your deck. A Monster Special Summoned by this effect may not declare an attack during the same turn.



JURAK TITAN (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dinosaur/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 9
ATK: 3,000
DEF: 2,800

Card Description: This card cannot be Special Summoned. While this card is face-up on the field, it cannot be targeted by the effects of Spell or Trap Cards. Once per turn, by removing from play 1 “Jurak” Monster in your Graveyard with 1,700 ATK or less, this card gains 1,000 Attack Points until the End Phase.

Note: The proceeding two Jurak Monsters were released in Japan for the “Duel Terminal 6: Dragunity of the Hurricane” set. They have not been released in the United States.



WATCHKEEPER OF MIST VALLEY (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spellcaster
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
ATK: 1,500
DEF: 1,900

Flavor Text: Generation after generation, it continues to watch the Mist Valley.



MIST CONDOR (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Winged Beast/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
ATK: 1,400
DEF: 400

Card Description: You can return 1 “Mist Valley” Monster you control to your hand to Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned this way, its base ATK becomes 1,700.

Note: “Watchkeeper of Mist Valley” and “Mist Condor” were released in Japan for “Duel Terminal 2: Invasion of Worms!!” system. They have not yet been released in the United States.



EXECUTIONER OF MIST VALLEY (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Thunder/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 5
ATK: 2,100
DEF: 1,600

Card Description: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned, return all Spell and Trap Cards on the field to their owners’ hands.

Note: “Executioner of Mist Valley” was released in Japan for the “Duel Terminal 3: Justice Strikes Back!!” system. It has not yet been released in the United States.



FALCON OF MIST VALLEY (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Winged Beast/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
ATK: 2,000
DEF: 1,200

Card Description: This card cannot declare an attack unless you first return one card you control to its owner’s hand.



THUNDER LORD OF MIST VALLEY (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Thunder/Synchro/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 7
ATK: 2,600
DEF: 2,400

Card Description: Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner “Mist Valley” Monsters

Once per turn, you can return one card on the field to its owner’s hand to increase the ATK of this card by 500 until the End Phase of the turn. This effect can be used during your opponent’s turn.

Note: “Falcon of Mist Valley” and “Thunder Lord of Mist Valley” were released in Japan for the “Duel Terminal 4: Demon Roar God Revival!!” system. It has not yet been released in the United States.



LIVING FOSSIL (Spell Card)

Equip Spell

Image: A cartoonish Dinosaur wearing a tuxedo and top hat, holding a cane.

Card Description: Special Summon one Monster from your Graveyard and Equip it with this card. The Equipped Monster’s ATK is reduced by 1,000, and its Effect is negated. If this card is removed from the field, destroy the Equipped Monster.

Note: “Living Fossil” was first used by Misawa in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “The Duel-Off (Part 1)”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



SUMMON STORM (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A ninja inside a glowing tornado.

Card Description: Pay 800 Life Points. Special Summon a WIND Monster from your hand that is Level 4 or less.

Note: “Summon Storm” was first used by the spirit of Harpie’s Brother in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “A New World Order”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



CLASS SYSTEM (Spell Card)

Quickplay Spell

Image: A man in noble’s clothing on a decorated pedestal, as a commoner bows before him, with a guard standing by.

Card Description: Activate when your opponent activates the effect of an Effect Monster that targets and destroys a Monster you control, or declares an attack on a Monster you control. If the opposing Monster is not of a higher Level than the targeted Monster, it is not destroyed, and battle damage, if any, is reduced to zero.

Note: “Class System” was first used by Marik in the original anime episode “The Final Face-Off (Part 4)”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



Coming up next:

It finally happens! Gears finally gains the courage to give that card to Mistle! Unfortunately, he gives it to her to defend herself in a duel when Vincent comes to the townhouse looking for trouble, and she insists on dueling him to defend her honor. What happens when Mistle duels while free of DaPen’s brainwashing? Tune in to find out. “Fairy of the Spring” is coming soon.



Shadowchaser Files

The Beloved; The Aristocrats of the Occult

When one thinks of the occult and evil rituals, one usually thinks of maniacal doomsayers leading groups of runaway youths and drifters in bloody rampages. Do they ever think of groups of rich, well-off youths educated in such places as Harvard and Princeton? No… But many members of the Beloved, a religious cult that has slowly grown in secret, are currently in their Senior college year at those and many other prestigious schools.

The world knows this group as Epsilon Alpha, a private fraternity/sorority for students and professionals involved in business and management. They only allow the best students in a class to pledge, and in the end only accept one or two of the applicants. It is not uncommon for a chapter to not accept any applicants for one or even two years in a row. Epsilon Alpha is very selective, and you won’t find more than ten to fifteen members even at an Ivy League school.

The truth of the matter is, Epsilon Alpha is the recruiting arm of the Beloved, a secret cult of Aware humans and Shadowkind, and the connection between the cult and the fraternity is deeply hidden. Members of the Beloved worship Wee Jas, a Shadowkind deity whose portfolio includes magic, knowledge, and death. As one might expect, many full-fledged members are sorcerers, and a few are necromancers. Wee Jas traditionally promises power and dominion over the masses in exchange for blood sacrifices. As the worshippers make their way into the world and show more grit, the goddess demands more gifts. But the Beloved will not kidnap innocent victims and strap them down to an altar to offer them as sacrifices… Not when they can make offerings on a far greater scale.

It is rumored that half of all toxic landfills, industrial spills, and hazardous materials accidents are actually premeditated attempts to offer grand gifts to Wee Jas. Most of her worshippers are more subtle, though. They give their blood tithe through promoting (or more often, simply feigning ignorance of) design flaws in consumer goods, promoting international discord, or subsidizing illicit activities. And they are very good at covering their tracks.

Split into several cabals with perhaps one in each city, the Beloved stays clear of the Shadowchasers using legal means when they can. They are the aristocrats of the occult, intelligent, educated, and connected, and even Jalal admits that investigating something that is rumored to be connected to them is always a big headache.


Story Ideas: Members of the Beloved might be described as the darker twins of the average upper class youth. Most members join because they crave something different than what they’re used to, and gaining magical power from a divine source is certainly something different. They really don’t care who they hurt when making their blood tithes, making them incredibly selfish. The Beloved is clearly a symbol of status taken to the extreme.

Heroes who investigate their activities and try to oppose them are going to be met with fierce resistance. Just getting into a position where one can oppose someone with this much influence, let alone make something stick, is going to be incredibly hard. These folks are used to the good life, and will betray anyone or commit any crime to avoid trading it for a jail cell.

Clearly, any story that involves the Beloved will have to have several levels. Paths might lead in several directions while tracking them down, and only a few will lead to anything useful. Don’t forget to give them a grandiose goal that they are working towards, such as trying to get a new snack food that might contain harmful ingredients past the FDA.


Deck Suggestions: As worshippers of a goddess of magic, the Beloved make no mistake about their favored theme in Duel Monsters – they prefer Spellcasters. Spellcasters have a variety of possibilities, and all of them might be used by the Beloved. They might use Magical Citadel of Endymion, or a lockdown deck using Secret Village of the Spellcasters. Note that members tend to be incredibly rich, and may even be able to make a deck based on Dark Magician, as rare as that card is in the anime world. (A member is far more likely to use Pandora’s version than Yugi’s.)

[Shuppet Master]

I apologize for not commenting, Brian - the forum marked your thread as a read thread, so I didn't notice you update with your next chapter.

I enjoyed the whole chapter. It's interesting that DaPen is trying to get some Shadowkind to help him out. The problem is, getting that proof he needs is going to be impossible, if I know my narrative tropes good enough.

Also, we start seeing a third party in the whole Shadowchaser war, one who leaves Cloudians as calling cards. I bet we're going to see a new enemy rise up when the fic is winding down and lead off to a possible sequel.

Anyways, the file was okay. It's Independence Day and I won't have much time on the computer because I have to attend a BBQ my sister is throwing, but I like the chapter. Good work, Brian.

[Dark Sage]

This point in the story begins right after the events of Episode 39. The Dark Signer abilities of both Misty and Carly have awakened simultaneously, and both Ccarayhua and Aslla Piscu have been summoned at the same time. The resulting two Shadow Duels have left Divine presumed dead, Aki in the hospital, and the whole Arcadia Movement in ruins. The supernatural activity in Neo Domino is now overwhelmingly dominated by Evil, and most Shadowkind who do not benefit from this shift in power are frightened.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Ever hear of “the shot heard round the world”? There were actually several. The term was used to describe several events that have changed the course of human history.

The first one, the case where the term was first used, was the battle at Old North Bridge at Concord, Massachusetts on April 19th, 1775. This was the battle that began the American Revolution.

Much later, the term was applied to the Gavilro Princip’s assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, one of the principle causes of World War I. (Princip actually fired two shots, so the term isn’t a hundred percent accurate here.)

Some also apply the term to the October Revolution, the beginning of the Communist Revolution in Russia. And less violently, the term is used for great moments in sport’s history, like Bobby Thompson’s walk-off home run that clinched the 1951 National Pennant for the New York Giants.

Why do I bring this up? Because the night when I formally became a Shadowchaser, humanity witnessed the arrival of a dire threat to its very existence… The Earthbound Gods had made their first attack.

It was truly a shot heard round the world…


Paris, France. Two o’clock in the afternoon.

A crowd had gathered under the Arc de Triomphe, where a duel was happening. Only Hank, one of the two duelists, knew how serious the matter was, or that his opponent was a hobgoblin. Hobgoblins were related to goblins, but bigger and meaner.

The hobgoblin had an impressive side. He had Dark Snake Syndrome, Messenger of Peace, Prohibition (set to Fossil Fusion), two facedown cards, Des Wombat (1,600 ATK), Servant of Catabolism (700 ATK), and 3,000 Life Points remaining. Hank had Stone Statue of the Aztecs (2,000 DEF), Giant Soldier of Stone (2,000 DEF), and 4,000 Life Points remaining.

The hobgoblin chuckled, and made a draw.

“You should have left well enough alone, Hank,” he said (in orcish, so the crowd couldn’t understand).

His Life Points went down to 2,900 to pay for Messenger of Peace.

“The boss-lady paid a lot of bread for that necklace, and she doesn’t want to give it back.”

“She should have known it was stolen when Al-Rashid offered to sell it to her for one-fifth what it was worth,” replied Hank.

“So you say,” said the hobgoblin. “By the way, my Des Wombat protects me, but you lose 1,600 Life Points this round from Dark Snake Syndrome.”

Hank groaned as his Life Points fell to 2,400.

“Then I attack directly with Servant of Catabolism! Electric tendrils!”

Hank grunted as the mollusk flew at him and grabbed him in the face. His Life Points fell again, to 1,700.

“Not that I really need to do this, but I think I will anyway…”

One of his two facedown cards lifted up.

“I activate Minor Goblin Official. And that’s all for me.”

“And it’s my move,” said Hank, drawing a card.

He made a draw.

“And you lose 500 more Life Points from Minor Goblin Official!” laughed the hobgoblin.

Hank groaned as his Life Points fell again.

“All right, chuckles…” he said, “you’ve had your fun…

“I sacrifice both my Monsters to summon Earth Giant Gaia Plate!”

Both of the Rock Monsters shattered into shards, and the titanic form of Gaia loomed over the field. (2,800 ATK)

“Now, I remove one of my Rocks from play to Special Summon The Rock Spirit.”

With a rumble, a muscular, stony humanoid dressed in Spartan armor appeared, holding a ruby staff. (1,700 ATK)

“Talk about worthless,” said the hobgoblin. “Those two can’t get by my Messenger.”

“One more Monster coming up,” said Hank. “I remove two more Rocks from play to Special Summon my Gigastone Omega.”

With another rumbling noise, another Rock Monster appeared on the field. It looked like a huge, rocky cross between a dragon, dinosaur, and turtle. (1,000 ATK)

“Notice that it only has 1,000 Attack Points,” said Hank. “That means it can get by your Messenger of Peace!

“And it will… Once I play Shrink!”

The Spell Card appeared, and Des Wombat shrank to half its size. Its Attack Score fell to 800.

The hobgoblin gasped.

If I lose Des Wombat, he thought, the Dark Snake Syndrome will take us both out next turn!

But I’m prepared…

The last card in his Spell Zone shot up.

“I activate Offerings to the Doomed!” he shouted. “Now, I can destroy that… thing.”

Lighting flashed. Gigastone Omega was blown into shards of rock.

“Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh,” laughed Hank.

“Why are you laughing?” demanded the hobgoblin. “You’ve lost!”

“No, you have,” replied Hank. “That was just what I wanted you to do. See, when Gigastone Omega is destroyed by a card effect, it takes all my opponent’s Spell and Trap Cards with it.”

The hobgoblin screamed as all the remaining cards in his Spell Zone were blown to pieces.

“Still my Battle Phase, I believe,” said Hank. “And since your Messenger is gone… Rock Spirit, destroy Des Wombat!”

The Rock Spirit fired a ray of energy from its staff, and the small Beast was blown away.

“Now, Gaia attacks Servant of Catabolism, which means your Monster loses half its Attack Score.”

Gaia lifted its hand, and Servant of Catabolism fell to an Attack Score of 350. The giant brought its hand down, squashing it flat, and knocking the hobgoblin off of his feet as his Life Points fell to zero.

“You won’t be the one collecting that bounty,” said Hank. “And as soon as Al-Rashid’s testimony is presented, it’s not gonna be worth much anyway.”

Then there was a loud clap of thunder.

Hank looked up. The sky had turned dark.

Something’s wrong… he thought. This storm… Evil is afoot…

His cell phone rang.

“Travis?” he said, answering it. “What?”

“Hank, you’d best watch the news,” said his friend on the other end. “Something big just happened in Neo Domino.”

“Any particular network?” asked Hank.

“Uhm, I kinda think this will be on all of them,” was the reply.

* * * * * * * * * *

The night passed slowly. At four in the morning, Edmund stood in DaPen’s office, watching a spider crawl up the wall.

He started to sing an old children’s rhyme.

“The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout…

“Down came the rain, and washed the spider out…”

Then he crushed it with his thumb.

“Interesting analogy, Edmund,” said DaPen, “but we both know that there’s a very big spider out there, and it’s going to take a lot of rain to ‘wash it out’. You said you were looking into the…

“Okay, I’ll be the first one to say it… The Dark Signers. Any news yet?”

“Well, they seem to be occupied with the true Signers for now,” replied Edmund, “and they appear to have the advantage. Yusei is recovering from his duel with one of them. Divine is dead, unless he had a way to survive a twenty-story fall onto pavement.”

“Humph, that’s good news, I always hated him,” replied DaPen. “Did Aki manage to survive?”

“For now,” replied Edmund. “She was also targeted, and she’s in the hospital. Whether she’ll recover as well as Yusei did, only time will tell. But even if she does, she and Yusei are broken, and like a piece of broken pottery that is mended, I doubt they will hold as well as before.”

DaPen crossed his arms.

“So then,” he said, “I assume the plan is to let the Dark Signers finish off the true Signers, and then deal with them.”

“Uh huh,” said Edmund.

“Oh, brilliant!” said DaPen, sarcastically. “They’ll likely be at the peak of their power by then!”

“Don’t underestimate my power, Louis,” said Edmund. “If any of them challenge us, I will deal with them personally.”

“You said yourself that they’ve already beaten Divine and two Signers,” noted DaPen. “What chance do you have?”

“All three victims lost for the same reason,” replied Edmund. “They were unprepared. I won’t be.”

He held up his gloved hand, and worms started crawling out of it.

“You forget, Louis, I am a master of infiltration. I can send the worms that make up my body considerable distances, and observe things through their eyes. Thus, I witnessed all three duels with them none the wiser, even though two of them happened at the same time.

“And they can be defeated… All it takes is going in prepared…

“Take Kiryu for instance. His Infernity Monsters only gain their effects when he has no cards in his hand. His One-Hundred Eye Dragon copies the effects of the Dark Monsters in his Graveyard. Thus if he has even one card in his hand, it is nothing more than a very ugly twin of one of Kaiba’s Dragons.

“Yusei destroyed the Dragon by activating a card whose cost required Kiryu to draw a card, leaving it unable to use any effects. Unfortunately for Yusei, he took advantage of this weakness too late to prevent Kiryu from summoning Ccapac Apu.

“Now… Just imagine if Kiryu’s opponent had a deck full of cards that required him to draw… A Greed Deck, say.”

“His Monsters would be powerless,” said DaPen, scratching his chin.

“Exactly,” replied Edmund. “So if he becomes a threat, I can defeat him long before he summons Ccapac Apu. I’ve developed counter strategies to deal with Misty and Carly as well. Demak will likely reveal his strategy soon, and I can do the same with his. Rudger will be harder, but he might surprise us. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that Demak probably uses Beasts, and Rudger’s deck has something to do with Insects.

“And worst-case scenario… If the Earthbound Gods actually come to full power, I’ve already gauged a weakness in them as well. Their power comes from the very land itself.”

DaPen lit a cigar and took a few drags.

“So what you’re saying is,” he said, “if our true plan works…”

“The Dark Signers will be helpless,” said Edmund, evilly, “because their precious Gods will be cut off from their power source. They will be unable to draw power from the land, and will suffocate trying to.

“With both the Signers and the Dark Signers out of the picture, and our true plan underway, the Shadowchasers will be easy to defeat…”

“Very well…” said DaPen. “Vincent is ready to make his move…

“Go finish what you started…”

Edmund turned and left the room. DaPen sat at his desk and turned on his laptop.

He typed in a command, and “Viva la Vida” started playing again.

* * * * * * * * * *

One and a half hours later, at the townhouse.

Shichiro was pacing back and forth in the living room. Everyone else was sitting on the couch in front of the television, watching classic comedy shorts on one of the basic cable channels.

“I can’t believe this” moaned Shichiro. “We’ve got a crisis on our hands, and you people are watching The Three Stooges?”

“Not only that,” said Ember, “it’s an episode with Shemp in it.”

Mistle sighed.

“Who was it that said that the only difference between men and women was that men find this show funny and women don’t?” she asked. “I think I see his point…”

“People, focus!” shouted Shichiro. “As you know, Neo Domino has a… small problem on its hands…”

“A small problem??” replied Gears.

“Shichiro,” said Jinx, “if Godzilla and Rodan flattening the Arcadia Building is your idea of a ‘small problem’, I’d hate to see your idea of a big problem!”

“Fine,” said Shichiro. “It’s a very big problem, and I think we have to…”

Then the television turned off.

They all turned, and saw Jalal, who looked very upset.

“Yes,” said the half-dragon. “It is a big problem… One which will threaten the whole world…

“However… As of right now… We are not to get involved.”

“WHAT?” shouted Gears.

“Jalal, what are you saying?” asked Shichiro. “Now we know that there are three of these humungous demons out there…”

“Five,” said Jalal, interrupting. “There are five that we currently know about, possibly more.”

“Even worse!” shouted Shichiro. “They wrecked uptown… God only knows what happened to the people who disappeared when they showed up…”

“Not to mention that one of these… Dark Signers murdered Divine,” added Jinx.

Jalal raised his hand.

“True, Carly likely killed Divine,” he said. “But we must look at the circumstances leading up to that. It was his fault that she became a Dark Signer in the first place, due her falling victim to his cruel act of murder. In a way, he is to blame for Carly’s situation, and any evil that she may commit.”

He sighed.

“But much as I dislike saying so, in this conflict as it stands, the Shadowchasers stand no chance. The Dark Signers will be battled by the ones who are meant to do so, and I have faith that the darkness will be overcome.

“I am already making plans, should the true Signers fail…”

Shichiro looked at him.

“Wait…” he said.

He chuckled.

“Oh, I get it! This is why you insisted on bringing the Regalia of Day to Neo Domino! You wanted to use it as a contingency plan against those things!”

“Yes,” said Jalal. “I believe a spell might exist that might be able to banish the Earthbound Gods to some alternate dimension or parallel universe. Or possibly even to whatever Hell they originally came from. But to banish beings this powerful, we would certainly need an amplifier. I felt that the Regalia of Day might do the job.

“That is why it is imperative that the pieces be recovered. Something strange is going on. Maccal’s autopsy was just completed.

“As hard as it is to believe, he drowned.”

They all looked at him.

“Drowned?” asked Gears. “Hold on… He was dueling Sofia in the middle of a forest… He was nowhere near a body of water…”

“Regardless, he died as a result of his lungs filling with water,” replied Jalal. “It was clearly some sort of deadly magical attack, but we have no idea how it was actually done.

“Now, you must…”

He stopped.

“Evil draws near…”

“Huh?” said Ember.

“I feel it too!” said Mistle, getting up. “Something bad is coming.”

“Edmund?” asked Gears.

“No…” said Mistle. “Someone less… cultured…”

All of them ran to the breezeway, and looked out the entrance. Vincent was there, casually smoking a cigarette.

“Ah, what a beautiful morning,” he said, looking up at the dark, grey, overcast, sky.

“Oh, lovely,” said Jinx, as she opened the door. “It’s one of the two Bad News Bears.”

“I’m no bear,” replied Vincent. “I’m a bull.”

“If you want to start trouble, my friend…” started Gears.

“Gears!” interrupted Mistle. “I know this guy!”

Vincent smirked. He clearly recognized Mistle as well.

“DaPen had two minotaurs with him when he broke into my greenhouse to…”

She shuddered.

“Did this guy hurt you?” asked Gears.

“No…” muttered Mistle. “But he said awful, degrading things to me…”

“So, Gears…” asked Vincent. “Is this your bitch?”

He flicked the cigarette forward, and it hit Mistle in the chest.

Gears fumed with anger.

“If it’s a fight you’re looking for, my friend…” he started.

“Gears, honey…” said Mistle. “Lend me your Disk…”

“What?” asked Gears.

“I want to duel him,” replied Mistle. “He called me such terrible things… I have to defend my honor, Gears… I have to stand up for myself…”

“But Mistle…” said Gears.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mistle,” said Shichiro. “I know this guy’s type. They play dirty.”

“Ahem,” said Jinx. “Guys, being a woman who’s endured her own share of chauvinism, I think Mistle has a valid argument.”

“Yeah,” said Ember. “If Vincent wants to duel, let Mistle teach him not to pick on girls.”

Mistle looked at Gears and Shichiro.

“I think we have you outvoted,” added Jinx.

Gears looked at his Duel Disk. He slowly took it off his arm, and handed it to Mistle.

Mistle slipped it on her own arm, and then shuffled her own deck.

“Mistle!” shouted Gears. “Wait!”

He opened a pouch on his belt.

“Mistle, honey…” he said. “I’ve wanted to give you this for days… But every time the time was right, I got cold feet…”

He handed her the card.

“It’s a present to you from me.”

Mistle looked at it. She smiled.

“This is so cute, it’s disgusting,” growled Vincent.

Mistle put the card in a special slot in the Disk. Then Gears handed her three other cards.

“Here,” he said. “Put these in your deck too, so you can actually use that card.”

Mistle looked at the two Monsters and one Trap. She went through her deck, made the necessary replacements, and shuffled again.

“If we’re all done with this mushy stuff,” said Vincent, “I’d like to get started. After all, I came here to duel, not watch some chick flick.”

“Then I accept your challenge, you unwashed ape!” replied Mistle.

“I’m not an ape!” replied Vincent. “I’m a bull! Can’t you guys tell one animal from another?”

Both Disks activated.

“Duel!” they both exclaimed.

(Mistle: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Vincent: 8,000)

“I’ll even show you that I can be chivalrous when I want to be,” said Vincent. “Ladies first…”

Mistle made her first draw.

“I summon Floral Knight Tulip,” she said.

She threw down the card, and the female, teenage Floral Knight wearing pink armor and a helmet with a floral design appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“Okay, I definitely remember the Floral Knights,” said Gears. “She used them when DaPen was controlling her.”

“And I have more surprises in my deck this time,” said Mistle, taking another card. “I’ll set this, for later.”

A facedown card appeared with a flash.

“Humph,” said Vincent, drawing a card. “I’ve thrown up scarier things than that.”

Both Mistle and Tulip gave him a dirty look.

“Heh…” chuckled Vincent, taking two cards from his hand. “I’ll set these…”

Two facedown cards appeared.

“And then summon my Enraged Battle Ox.”

With a loud bellow, the armored, axe-wielding Beast-Warrior appeared. (1,700 ATK)

“He kind of looks like you,” said Mistle, putting her hand on her hip, “except that he’s handsomer.”

“Oh, you’re asking for it…” growled Vincent. “Attack! Crush her flower fairy!”

Enraged Battle Ox charged, and slammed his axe down, blowing Tulip to pieces.

“Trap activate!” shouted Mistle, as her facedown card shot up. “Floral Arrangement! Now I can Special Summon as many Plant-Type Monsters from my hand as I want…

“So long as I pay 100 Life Points times their Levels. So, first, I’ll pay 400 Life Points to bring out Floral Knight Sunflower in Attack Mode.”

In a burst of verdant energy, the male, armored Floral Knight holding his circular blade appeared. (2,000 ATK)

“Next, I’ll pay 400 more to bring out Gigantic Cephalotus.”

In another wave of verdant energy, another, more bestial Plant appeared. It looked like a large pitcher plant on legs, with a large tongue. (1,850 ATK)

“And finally, I’ll pay 300 to Special Summon Lonefire Blossom in Defense Mode.”

A smaller Plant sprouted, this one a vine-like flower with a twisted stem, serrated leaves, and a large bulb for a blossom. (1,400 DEF)

“Good, Mistle!” encouraged Gears. “Way to swarm the field!”

“Eh, I end my turn,” said Vincent.

(M: 6,800) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 8,000)

Mistle made a draw.

She smirked. She fit the card in her Disk.

“I play The World Tree,” she said.

There was a rumble, and the whole street shook. Then, it seemed that the townhouse behind them vanished, and the biggest, most majestic tree in all creation appeared where it had been. It didn’t seem very happy under the overcast sky, but it was clearly healthy, with emerald leaves, a thick trunk, and flowering blossoms in its branches.

“Playing this card always awakens the poet in me,” said Mistle. “With due apologies to Joyce Kilmer…

“I think that I will never see, a Duel Monster that is a tree;
However, I know very well, there is a tree that is a Spell.”

“Unbelievable,” muttered Vincent. “So what does your big tree do?”

“Let’s just say that if you take out my Plants now,” replied Mistle, “something will happen.

“Next, I use Lonefire Blossom’s effect. By sacrificing a Plant, I get to summon another one from my deck.

“So, goodbye Sunflower…”

Floral Knight Sunflower vanished.

“…and hello Botanical Lion!”

With a loud roar, a new Plant Monster sprang onto the field. It was a lion with a body made of bark, and a mane that resembled a rose. (1,600 ATK)

“And he gains 300 Attack Points for each Plant on the field.”

(2,500 ATK)

“Not good…” said Vincent.

“And that’s not all,” continued Mistle. “Since I just sent a Plant-Type Monster to the Graveyard, my Cephalotus’s effect activates, and it gains 200 more Attack Points.”

Cephalotus growled. (2,050 ATK)

“Cephalotus, devour his Enraged Battle Ox!”

The large plant charged at the Beast-Warrior, and with one might chomp, bit him in two.

“Well, fine…” said Vincent. “Now I can use my Trap Card…”

One of his facedown cards lifted up.

“It’s called Animal Trail. Since you destroyed my Monster, I get to take any Beast I want from my deck.”

He quickly looked through his deck, and got the card he wanted.

“Too bad it goes to your hand and not to the field,” said Mistle. “Botanical Lion, attack him directly!”

Mistle’s supporters cheered as the vegetable lion pounced at the minotaur and tackled him. Vincent was a big guy, but the Monster was plenty big too, and it knocked him over.

(M: 6,800) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 5,150)

The bodyguard slowly got up. He looked at Mistle.

Without saying a word, he took the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and transferred one directly from the pack to his mouth. He flicked a lighter, and lit the cancer stick.

He took a couple of drags on it, and then spoke.

“That hurt…” he said. “It hurt bad…

“You know, babe… At first I was gonna cut you some slack ‘cause you were a girl. I got some scruples, after all…

“But now I know better… I’m taking you down hard.”

He drew a card.

“I’m summoning Berserk Gorilla.”

With a loud roar, a very angry gorilla with red fur appeared. It howled in rage and beat its chest. (2,000 ATK)

“Next, I play a Spell Card,” he continued as a card appeared. “It’s called Wild Nature’s Release. Now, my Monster’s Attack Score is increased by its Defense Score.”

Berserk Gorilla looked even angrier. (3,000 ATK)

“Turn that Cephalotus to mulch!” he ordered.

Berserk Gorilla rushed at the Plant, and grabbed it with both hands, tearing it asunder.

“You activated the effect of The World Tree!” replied Mistle. “Whenever one of my Plants is destroyed, it gets a Flower.”

A huge blossom sprouted in the branches of the giant tree.

“And you made a big mistake, fellah,” said Jinx. “When you end your turn, the side effect of Wild Nature’s Release will kick in, and destroy Berserk Gorilla! You’ll be defenseless!”

“I’m not done!” said Vincent.

His facedown card shot up.

“It’s a Trap called Beast Soul Swap. Now, I can return a Beast on the field to my hand…”

Berserk Gorilla vanished, and its card reappeared in Vincent’s hand.

“…so long as I then Special Summon a Beast that’s the same Level in its place. And I can Special Summon the exact same Beast if I want to.”

Berserk Gorilla appeared again. (2,000 ATK)

“And since it counts as a new Monster, it won’t be destroyed by Wild Nature’s Release. And my Battle Phase isn’t over yet…

“But, before it attacks again, I’m going to play a Quickplay Spell…”

A Spell Card appeared.

“Shrink will cut your Lion down to size.”

Botanical Lion was reduced to half its size, and an Attack Score of 1,400.

Berserk Gorilla charged again, and tackled it. Botanical Lion was blown to splinters.

“And The World Tree gains another Flower,” added Mistle, as another huge blossom appeared on the tree.”

That was a pretty clever strategy, thought Gears. I hope Mistle isn’t in over her head.

“My turn is over,” said Vincent.

(M: 5,250) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 5,150)

“I draw!” said Mistle, drawing a card.

“I summon Nettles!”

A nasty-looking weed with a sinister face appeared next to Lonefire Blossom. (1,200 ATK)

Gears lifted an eyebrow. That was one of the three cards he had given her to help her use the big one. But she couldn’t use it right now…

“Now, I use Lonefire Blossom’s effect,” continued Mistle. “I sacrifice Nettles…”

The weed vanished.

“…to bring out Floral Knight Lily.”

In another burst of verdant energy, the archer of the Floral Knights, clothed in her green armor and carrying her mahogany bow, appeared. (1,800 ATK)

“She can’t beat my Gorilla,” said Vincent.

“She doesn’t have to,” replied Mistle. “The World Tree has three effects, which I can use depending on whether I remove one, two, or three of its Flowers. If I remove two, I can destroy one card on the field.”

The two Flowers vanished, and a mass of blossoming vines sprang out of the ground, seizing Berserk Gorilla. They constricted the furious primate, and it shattered into pixels.

“Lily, attack directly!” shouted Mistle. “Black arrow!”

Lily leapt up, and fired her bow. Vincent grunted in pain as it struck him.

(M: 5,250) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 3,350)

“This is why I don’t like dames…” he said.

“My move!”

He drew a card.

“Your pal Jinx will remember this card… Swords of Revealing Light!”

He threw the card in his Disk, and a shower of swords fell around Mistle and her two Monsters.

“That will hold you,” he said. “Next, I summon Des Kangaroo.”

The Monster that appeared was indeed a kangaroo, but not a typical one. It had green fur, wore boxing gloves, a purple vest, and red sneakers. It took a few warm-up jabs. (1,500 ATK)

“Take out that Lonefire Blossom!” he ordered.

Des Kangaroo threw a punch at the Blossom’s big bulb, and it burst into sparks.

“I don’t like this,” said Jinx.

“Me neither,” said Shichiro. “I’m guessing that whatever he searched for with Animal Trail is pretty powerful, and he’s buying time until he has enough Monsters to summon it.”

“How many times do I have to remind you about the big, two-hundred-foot-tall tree behind me?” asked Mistle. “Each time you mulch one of my Plants, it powers up!”

Another Flower grew on The World Tree.

“I end my turn,” said Vincent.

Mistle drew a card.

“I summon Cactus Fighter…” she said.

She played the card, and a mean-looking cactus with arms and legs appeared next to Lily. (1,900 ATK)

“That’s all I can do.”

“Then it’s my move!” laughed Vincent.

He drew a card.


Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


“I’ll drop 800 Life Points to play Brain Control!”

The Spell Card appeared, and the huge, fiendish brain appeared in front of him. Two arms reached out, and Lily screamed as they grabbed her and pulled her over to Vincent’s side.

“LILY!” screamed Mistle.

“She’s mine now,” replied Vincent. “And now I’m gonna sacrifice her and Des Kangaroo…”

Mistle looked at the minotaur with a look of pure hate as Lily vanished, along with Des Kangaroo.

“I summon the Mosaic Manticore!” shouted Vincent.

As far as mythical monsters went, the Manticore wasn’t as commonly known as most. The legends surrounding it were Indian in origin. Its name meant, literally, “man-eater”, and it was supposedly a fierce carnivore with the body of a lion and the head of a man (similar to the Grecian Sphinx in some regards) with three rows of teeth along each jaw and spikes at the tip of its tail, with which it could not only defend itself with at close quarters, but hurl like an archer’s arrows at distant targets. More than likely, the monster was actually a mythical interpretation of a tiger, an animal that the locals of India dreaded at times, altered by superstition and exaggeration.

The Monster that Vincent had just summoned was clearly an exaggeration of even that myth. It looked like a demonic lion with armored plating, fiendish, batlike wings, and a long, scorpion’s stinger for a tail. (2,800 ATK)

“Ho boy…” said Mistle.

“Incinerate Cactus Fighter!” shouted Vincent.

Mosaic Manticore breathed a gout of violet flames from its jaws, and Cactus Fighter was burned to a cinder. A second Flower appeared on The World Tree.

(M: 4,350) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 2,550)

“Talk about dumb,” said Ember. “Now Mistle can use the tree’s effect to destroy that thing.”

“Well, Vincent doesn’t seem all too worried about it,” replied Shichiro.

“Make your move,” said Vincent. “You want to use that overgrown carnation to destroy my Manticore? Fine. I won’t stop you…”

Mistle drew a card.

“I don’t think so…” she said, taking the last two cards in her hand. “Instead, I’ll set a Monster, and a facedown card, and end my turn.”

A set Monster and a reversed card appeared in front of her.

“Your funeral,” said Vincent, making a draw.

He looked at the card.

“Since I summoned Mosaic Manticore this turn,” he said, “its effect kicks in this turn. I get to Special Summon the two Monsters I sacrificed to summon it.”

Des Kangaroo appeared, crouching and crossing its arms. (1,700 DEF) Then Lily appeared, kneeling and holding her bow down. (1,700 DEF)

“Of course, they can’t attack, and they don’t have their effects,” he continued, “but I can still defend with them.

“Mosaic Manticore, destroy her Monster!”

The Manticore blasted its flame. An odd-looking fruit with eyes and a fanged mouth appeared on the card, and was burned to ashes.

Darn… thought Mistle. That wasn’t exactly the right time to defend with my Cursed Fig…

A third flower appeared on The World Tree.

Vincent took the last card in his hand, and placed it in his Disk. A facedown card appeared.

“That’s all for my turn,” he said.

“Then it’s my move,” said Mistle.

She drew one card.

“I use the effect of The World Tree again,” she said. “But this time, I’m removing three Flowers. By doing so, I get to Special Summon a Plant from my Graveyard.”

All three Flowers vanished. Then Lonefire Blossom appeared in front of her again. (1,400 DEF)

“Now I play… Fragrance Storm!” she said. “Now, I can destroy one Plant on the field. Then I get to draw one card. And if the card I draw is also a Plant, I can show it to you to draw another card.”

“Oh, sure,” chuckled Vincent. “You’re going to get rid of your only Monster on the hopes that the card you draw is something that can defeat my Manticore?”

“I’m not going to destroy Lonefire Blossom,” said Mistle, sadly. “There’s another Plant on the field…”

She looked at Floral Knight Lily, who was still on Vincent’s side.

“I hate to do this to one of my Floral Knights…” she said, “but she’ll be happier in the Graveyard than she likely is defending you!”

Indeed, that seemed to be the case. As a storm of petals and potpourri began to blow, Lily smiled. Then she shattered into shards.

“The World Tree gains one Flower…” sighed Mistle. “And like I said, I draw one card…”

She made a draw. She looked at the card.

“This isn’t a Plant…” she said. “But it is a Monster, so I’ll set it…”

A set Monster appeared.

“Now, I use Lonefire Blossom’s effect, and sacrifice itself… The time has come to summon one of my strongest Monsters…”

Lonefire Blossom vanished.

“I summon Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!”

The ground shook, and a huge, red camellia burst out of the ground. The huge flower opened, revealing a beautiful and intimidating woman, garbed in a dress made of leaves, vines, and flowers, wearing a crown that seemed to be one large rose. (2,800 ATK)

“Good gravy!” gasped Vincent.

Then he paused, and remembered.

“You can’t attack me!” he shouted. “My Swords last for one more round!”

“I end my turn…” said Mistle.

The glowing Swords vanished.

Vincent’s hand shook as he made a draw.

“Gears, is that the card you gave her?” asked Shichiro.

“No, I can honestly say it isn’t,” replied Gears. “And this is as much a surprise to me as it likely is to Vincent. I had no idea that Mistle had a Monster this powerful…”

“She’s incredibly powerful,” replied Ember. “My cousin told me about this card. He’s run into it a few times on the pro circuit. Let’s just say that she’s very had to beat. I think the only Monster that’s stronger that’s Plant related is that Synchro Dragon that the Black Rose Witch had at the Fortune Cup.”

“She called it Black Rose Dragon,” replied Shichiro. “And it seems to be related to Jack and Yusei’s Dragons in some way. There’s no mention of any of them in any catalogues or databases… I think they’re custom cards.”

Vincent grunted as he looked at the card he had drawn.

“Attack the facedown Monster!” he shouted.

Mosaic Manticore breathed its flames, and Morphing Jar appeared on the card. It laughed, and then exploded. Mistle smirked.

Vincent discarded the one card in his hand, and they both made five draws. Vincent looked them over.

“I play Poison Fangs,” he said, as a Continuous Spell Card appeared in front of him. “Now, when I dish out damage with a Beast-Type Monster, you lose an additional 500 Life Points.

“And I end my turn…”

Mistle quickly drew a sixth card.

“I activate, Plant Food Chain!” she shouted.

Her facedown card lifted up.

“This Trap Card Equips to Tytannial, just like an Equip Spell, and gives her Attack Score a little boost.”

Tytannial glowed with golden energy… (3,300 ATK)

“Hey, wait a minute!” shouted Vincent.

“Tytannial, destroy Mosaic Manticore!” exclaimed Mistle. “Petal storm!”

Tytannial’s eyes glowed, and then a whirlwind of flower petals filled the air. The Beast roared, and then burst into shards.

“Ugh…” muttered Vincent.

“To end my turn…” said Mistle, “I’ll summon Botanical Girl, and then set one card.”

In another flash, a slim girl who seemed to be dressed all in leaves appeared next to Tytannial. However, on closer inspection, it was clear that she was made of plant matter, and her head was crowned by a cowl resembling a flower and a ponytail made from a pitcher plant. (1,300 ATK)

Then a facedown card appeared in another flash.

(M: 4,350) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 2,050)

Vincent drew a card. He raised an eyebrow.

He fit three cards into his Disk, and three facedown cards appeared, one in each of his free spaces.

“Mmm!” he said.

Four facedown cards… thought Mistle. Not the best situation… But, I’ve got Tytannial’s effect in case something goes wrong…

She made a draw.

“I play… Monster Reborn!” she shouted. “It’s an old friend of yours…”

Floral Knight Lily appeared again. (1,800 ATK)

“Take out his Des Kangaroo!” she shouted. “Black arrow!”

Lily leapt up, and fired her bow.

“I’m real sorry, but I gotta cut this short!” interrupted Vincent. “I activate… Mirror Force!”

His facedown card shot up.

“Mirror Force?” gasped Ember.

“What a surprise…” muttered Jinx.

“And here’s another surprise,” replied Mistle. “The Counter Trap, Pollinosis!”

Her own facedown card shot up.

“It works just like Solemn Judgment, but I have to sacrifice a Plant Monster instead of cutting my Life Points in half. So I’ll sacrifice Lily to negate your Trap Card!”

“Oh yeah?” replied Vincent.

Another of his facedown cards lifted up.

“I chain-activate Emergency Provisions! I’ll send Mirror Force to the Graveyard to gain 1,000 Life Points before you can negate it!”

The Trap Card vanished.

“Fine,” said Mistle. “Now, let’s continue… Tytannial, you take out that Kangaroo.”

Tytannial’s petal storm blew again, eradicating Des Kangaroo.

Mistle simply pointed, and Botanical Girl leapt at Vincent, and kicked him across the face.

He grunted, and held his chin.

(M: 4,350) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 1,750)

“I’ll throw this facedown,” said Mistle, as a facedown card appeared, “and then you go.”

“You’re really starting to cheese me off,” said Vincent, as he drew a card, “but I’m not dead yet…”

He looked at Mistle’s facedown card.

A Trap Card, he thought. Let’s hope it’s a good one…

“I summon Mad Dog of Darkness.”

With a low snarl, a large, savage-looking dog appeared on the field. (1,900 ATK)

“Destroy her Botanical Girl!”

Mad Dog of Darkness leapt at Botanical Girl…

“I activate… Wall of Thorns!” shouted Mistle.

Her facedown card shot up, and a mass of thorny vines sprang out of the ground, and grabbed the Beast.

“This works just like Mirror Force, but only if you attack a Plant!”

The vines constricted, and crushed Mad Dog of Darkness.

“You know what this means?” asked Ember. “This means Mistle’s gonna win!”

“No she isn’t,” said Vincent with a chuckle. “You think I didn’t expect that? I was counting on it!”

He held up a card in his hand.

“Since you destroyed my Beast-Type Monster, I can pay 1,000 Life Points to Special Summon this little guy!”

With a roar, a huge, hulking creature materialized in front of Vincent. It was a huge ape standing ten feet tall, with green fur. It had a bushy, green beard, wore a leather vest, and carried a wooden club. (2,600 ATK)

“Little guy?” asked Mistle.

“And my Battle Phase continues,” said Vincent. “Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest… Destroy Botanical Girl! Hammer club death blow!”

Green Baboon let out a bellow, and brought its club down on Botanical Girl, smashing her to pieces. Mistle cringed.

“Don’t forget,” said Vincent. “You lose an extra 500 Life Points from Poison Fangs…”

Mistle clutched her chest.

“But I get to use Botanical Girl’s effect…” she replied. “I get to take a Plant-Type Monster from my deck with a Defense Score of 1,000 or less…”

She took a card from her deck, and looked at it.

“And don’t forget, my World Tree gains another Flower…”

“Not for long,” said Vincent, playing another card. “I’m sick of that stupid thing…”

Mystical Space Typhoon appeared in front of him, and the cyclone turned into a practical tornado, engulfing The World Tree. Mistle covered her head as the whole thing burst into fragments.

“I end my turn…” said Vincent.

(M: 2,550) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 750)

“You’ll pay for that…” growled Mistle, as she drew a card.

“Tytannial, destroy Green Baboon!” she shouted.

Tytannial gestured again, and the petal storm started…

“Go, Scapegoat!” exclaimed Vincent.

One of his remaining facedown cards lifted up, and four multicolored sheep appeared. (0 DEF x4)

“It’s still all over for your Monster!” shouted Mistle, as the petal storm started again.

“Or so you think,” said Vincent, with an evil smile.

His other facedown card shot up.

“I activate The Big March of Animals! Now, Green Baboon gains 200 Attack Points for each Beast I have!”

Green Baboon roared, and its Attack Score rose to 3,600. It slammed its club into Tytannial, blowing her to shards. Mistle almost fell over in shock at seeing her best Monster crushed.

The Poison Fangs card glowed, and she groaned.

Her hand trembled. She looked at the five cards in her hand.

She took three of them, and set them on her Disk. A reversed Monster and two reversed cards appeared.

“Your move…” she said, nervously.

(M: 1,750) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 750)

Vincent chuckled as he made one draw.

“I activate Token Thanksgiving!” he said, as he played it. “Now, I get to destroy these four sheep, and gain 800 Life Points for each…”

The four Tokens shattered.

“Now, my Monster attacks!”

Green Baboon rushed at the facedown Monster with its club. Lord Poison appeared on the card, and was smashed flat.

“I activate Lord Poison’s effect…” said Mistle. “I’m bringing back Floral Knight Tulip from my Graveyard.”

Tulip appeared, crouching in Defense Mode. (1,800 DEF)

“Huh?” said Mistle. “Why would she choose to bring her back and not Tytannial?”

“I have no idea,” replied Shichiro.

(M: 1,750) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 3,150)

“Now, it’s my move,” said Mistle.

She paused. She looked at Gears.

Okay, Gears… she said. I’m putting everything I’ve got into the card you gave me…

One of her facedown cards lifted up.

“I activate Revival Gift,” she said. “Now, I get to Special Summon a Tuner Monster from my Graveyard…”

Nettles appeared next to Tulip. (1,200 ATK)

“…and in exchange for that, you get two Gift Tokens.”

In two dark shadows, two weird creatures that looked like black frogs with floppy arms appeared on Vincent’s side of the field. (1,500 ATK x2)

“And just what am I supposed to do with them?” he asked.

“Anything you want,” replied Mistle. “They aren’t Ojama Tokens…

“But for now… I Tune together Tulip and Nettles…”

Nettles dissolved into two glowing stars, while Tulip turned into four. They flew into the sky and combined in a burst of light.

“Synchro Summon… Queen of Thorns!”

Similar to how Tytannial had made her appearance, a blooming, thorny briar grew up from the ground. Its blossoms opened, unfolding to reveal a woman dressed in serrated leaves and rose petals, surrounded by thorny brambles, with sharp pods for hands. (2,200 ATK)

“Uh, Gears?” asked Jinx. “Is that…”

“Uh huh,” replied Gears. “You know what they say about a rose… Its beauty hides sharp thorns underneath.”

“Big deal!” replied Vincent. “That bimbo is weaker than my Baboon!”

Then Mistle’s other facedown card lifted up.

“Plant Food Chain?” shouted Vincent. “You had another one?”

Queen of Thorns rose to an Attack Score of 2,700.

“There some sort of rule that says I can only have one?” asked Mistle.

“Ergh…” said Vincent.

Queen of Thorns lifted the pods that served as her hands, and they opened. A spray of thorns shot out of them with the force of a machine gun, literally filling Green Baboon with holes. The big ape collapsed and shattered.

“I end my turn,” said Mistle. “And by the way… Queen of Thorns has a powerful effect. While she’s on the field, you have to pay 1,000 Life Points to summon a Monster from your hand that isn’t a Plant.”

(M: 1,750) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 3,050)

Vincent snarled, and snatched a card off his Disk.

“I’m beginning to get angry!” he shouted.

“I activate Pot of Avarice! Now, I’ll take five of my Beasts and shuffle ‘em up…”

He took Des Kangaroo, Mosaic Manticore, Mad Dog of Darkness, Berserk Gorilla, and Green Baboon, and shuffled them into his deck.

“Then I’ll draw two times…” he made two draws.

“So… I gotta pay 1,000 Life Points, huh?” he said. “Fine… I’ll do that… And I’ll sacrifice both of these weirdoes…”

The two Gift Tokens vanished.

“To summon Behemoth the King of All Animals!”

With a roar that seemed to shake all of the Tops, a Beast that was twice the size of Green Baboon appeared looming over Vincent. It was a colossal creature that seemed to combine the worst features of lion, bison, and bear, with violet skin and a long, bushy mane. (2,700 ATK)

Queen of Thorns fired her salvo of thorns again, this time hitting Vincent. He groaned.

“Its Attack Score is equal to Mistle’s Monster!” shouted Ember.

“Not for long!” laughed Vincent, playing a card. “I’m going to blow that Trap Card away with Heavy Storm!”

Behemoth roared again, as a ferocious wind ripped though the whole field. Both Poison Fangs and Plant Food Chain were blown to pieces. Queen of Thorns fell back to an Attack Score of 2,200, and Mistle’s hair was blown in her face.

Mistle pushed her hair aside and glared at Vincent.

“I activate Plant Food Chain’s other effect…” she said, quietly.

“Huh?” said Vincent. “But I destroyed it!”

“Exactly,” replied Mistle. “When Plant Food Chain is destroyed by a card effect, I get to summon a Plant from my Graveyard.

“Guess who it is…”

With an explosion of leaves and vines, Tytannial, Princess of Camellias appeared again. (2,800 ATK)

Vincent was now almost beside himself with rage.

“Have it your way!” he screamed. “At least I can crush you boyfriend’s precious gift!

“Destroy that skank of a weed!”

Behemoth lifted one mighty claw, and made a savage slash at Queen of Thorns, ripping her in half. Mistle held her chest.

She took some deep breaths.

(M: 1,250) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 2,050)

“It’s my move…” whispered Mistle.

She drew a card.

“You aren’t a bull, Vincent,” she said. “Nor are you a bear or an ape…

“You’re a pig, plain and simple.”

She played the card she had drawn.

“So, you think Queen of Thorns is a weed, do you?” she asked. “Well, you know something, fellah? Weeds are very tenacious… They’re hard to get rid of when you’re growing a garden or a lawn… If you do manage to get rid of them, odds are you didn’t kill their roots, and they’ll grow back, stronger than ever…”

“I play Miracle Fertilizer. Now, I can bring a Plant back from my Graveyard one more time…”

Queen of Thorns appeared again. (2,200 ATK)

“Tytannial!” she shouted. “Overthrow his King!”

Tytannial’s petal storm blew again, and Behemoth howled in rage. Then it shattered into shards.

“Now, Queen of Thorns, attack directly and finish that pig off!”

Queen of Thorns fired an even more intense spray of thorns, and Vincent Shummer howled in pain.

Then, he toppled over, falling on his back with a crash.

Mistle took a deep breath, as the holograms vanished. Gears ran up and hugged her gently.

Shichiro walked up to Vincent, who wasn’t moving. Whether it due to pain or humiliation, it was impossible to say.

“We’ve had enough from you, my friend,” said Shichiro. “You’re under arrest.”

The gemstone glowed, and the minotaur vanished.

He sighed.

He picked up a card that had apparently been left behind. He looked at it.

It was Cloudian – Nimbusman.

“This was big, people,” he said. “He left behind a high-Level Cloudian this time.”

“HEY!” shouted Boris’s voice from inside. “Gears!”

“What is it, Boris?” shouted Gears, plenty annoyed.

“Telephone!” replied Boris. “It’s Soelma, and she’s in a panic!”

A look of shock crossed Gears’s face. He rushed inside, with the others close behind.

He grabbed the phone.

“Soelma?” he said into it.

“Gears, you gotta help me!” screamed Soelma’s voice. “He’s a madman… He’s…”

Then she was cut short.

“SOELMA!” shouted Gears.

“Hello, Gears,” said a familiar voice over the phone.

It was Edmund.

“You…” said Gears, in a voice thick with bile.

“I was just doing some early morning browsing in Soelma’s little shop,” said Edmund. “Quite a selection here, although I’ve never been much of a ‘reader’ myself except for spellbooks and scrolls.

“I notice that Godwin’s autobiography is out in paperback, and it seems to be a big seller…

“Of course, I’d wager my last dollar that everything in it is lies written by a ghost writer. If you Shadowchasers truly wanted to make society safe, you’d go after people like him.”

“Dealing with corrupt governments is not our business,” replied Gears. “There are many problems plaguing the world, and as much as we’d like to solve all of them, we can only do so much. As Jalal is fond of saying, it’s not a perfect world.”

“You like to quote that mongrel who leads you so much…” replied Edmund.

Gears couldn’t respond for a minute. That was crossing the line.

“I’d like to see if you’re brave enough to actually call him that to his face,” he whispered.

“Enough chat,” replied Edmund, not bothering to answer. “I have Soelma tied up here, and as of a minute ago, gagged as well. It will be another two hours before this bookstore is supposed to open, so no customers will be showing up. She’s completely at my mercy… Are you aware of the legend of the relationship between moon elves and silver dragons?

“According to legend, if a moon elf is slain by a single strike through the heart with a dagger made from the finest silver, she’ll be reborn elsewhere in the world as the child of a silver dragon.

“No moon elves in modern times have been willing to test this, I’m afraid…

“But if you aren’t here in thirty minutes, Soelma’s going to find out for herself.

“Bring your Disk. I’ll be waiting.”

He hung up.

Gears dropped the phone, and ran to a cabinet.

“He’s leading you into something, I hope you realize,” said Shichiro.

Gears opened the cabinet, which held neatly organized cards.

“Yeah, well…” said Gears, “I’ll be ready for him… I have just what I need make my deck even more anti-Worm.”

He took two Trap Cards out of the cabinet, and looked at them.

“Edmund is going to get what he wants… But this time, I’m going prepared.

“Everyone here, keep watching the perimeter. Edmund probably wants to draw me away so that someone else can come here and steal the Silver Hemisphere.”

Shichiro, Jinx, and Ember lifted their Disks.

“We’ll be ready for them,” said Jinx.

“Then I’m gonna hook me a worm,” said Gears.

He ran out to the garage, and leapt onto his D-Wheel. He donned his helmet, and started it up.

With a whir, he sped towards downtown.


Mistle had stood up for herself, and had regained the honor that DaPen had taken away. But it seemed that Vincent had succeeded in his mission after all – to keep us occupied while Edmund made his move to set up a battle of real importance. Gears seemed pretty anxious to actually face him, and I don’t blame him. After all, he had adapted the Allies of Justice deck to combat the Worms in case they had ever come back, and now was finally his chance to test them in that scenario.

But little did Gears know, Edmund was as much prepared for him as he was prepared for Edmund. Gears was driving straight into a deadly trap, which would lead him to a difficult and painful duel. After all, Edmund had no intention of facing his enemies on equal terms any more. The stakes had become far too great at this point.



ANIMAL TRAIL (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A forest path, with a pair of glowing eyes watching from up ahead.

Card Description: Activate when 1 of your Monsters is destroyed by battle. Search your deck for 1 Beast-Type Monster, and add it to your hand.

Note: “Animal Trail” was first used by Hayato in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “Magna Chum Laude”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



Coming up next:

Edmund lures Gears into a dangerous duel, with the odds completely in his favor. It’s not going to be easy, and Gears is going to have to use his wits and every bit of skill he has as a duelist to make it through.

“System Down” is coming soon.

On an unrelated note, Mistle’s poem is inaccurate. There are three Monsters in the game that resemble trees. Ten brownie points to the first person who can name all three.



Shadowchaser Files

The All-Seeing Orbs; The Eyes of Evil

In the past two decades or so, overpopulation and a lack of affordable housing has created a vast underclass of the homeless in virtually every city worldwide. Many of these people rightfully feel abandoned by mainstream society, and have decided to turn their backs on it entirely. Seeing this, a dark malevolent force has worked to turn these people’s bitterness to their advantage: a group of beholders who now lead a group of them called the All-Seeing Orbs.

Beholders, known occasionally as Eye Tyrants or Spheres of Many Eyes, are a race that is rare even in the homeworld of Shadow. Resembling large, floating, spherical creatures with eleven eyes (ten small ones on stalks and a large central one) and able to project deadly magical rays from these eyes, beholders on Earth find it difficult to hide behind the veil that hides most Shadows, so most simply keep to themselves in hidden enclaves in remote locations.

Not so for one group. This group has presented themselves to the vagrants and destitute of the cities, claiming to be a powerful force from beyond (which is technically true). They offered the disgruntled people power, protection, and a sense of community in exchange for their aid in bringing rightful retribution to the uncaring world. Those who agreed and did their jobs well were given magical gifts, and called the All-Seeing Orbs.

All-Seeing Orbs are practically indistinguishable from the other masses of homeless in any given city. They spend their days panhandling, walking the streets, visiting libraries or other public buildings, or simply congregating in any area where it is common to do so in a metropolitan area. Members of this organization, though, make sure to get within earshot of well-dressed, executive types. They eavesdrop on any important conversation that they can, gathering information about business, finance, politics, and other popular trends, and sending it to their monstrous masters via the magical devices that they carry.

The beholders, for their part, build safe, secure shelters for their minions, and protect them from the police, government agencies, and people who might harass them. Unfortunately for members of this organization, they don’t realize that beholders have huge egos and rarely help anyone for any form of charity. To them, the All-Seeing Orbs are slaves (or at best, pets) and are treated as completely expendable. They rarely tell their followers about the plots and schemes they are hatching, and make gruesome examples of Orbs that show too much of an interest.

Just what are the beholders’ goals? No-one is really clear on that. Beholders are known for being incredibly xenophobic, and don’t have much contact with other races, or even with other clans of beholders. If this group of Eye Tyrants seeks something as grandiose as subjugating humanity or even only Shadowkind, they’ll likely need more than an organization of vagrants to do so.


Story Ideas: Few creatures are more terrifying than beholders, and for good purpose. Their powers can vaporize a man just by looking at him. Clearly, any story that involves these monsters should be well thought-out.

When dealing with armies of evil minions, mobs of vagrants aren’t exactly what the heroes will expect. The All-Seeing Orbs may be slaves, but most would prefer slavery under the beholders with food and a warm place to sleep, as opposed to the slavery under society’s uncaring eyes, where they went to sleep hungry and out in the cold, which is what they had before.

It may be possible, however, that heroes might come across former members of this organization who realized that their alliance was a pact with the devil. Such defectors could be a wealth of information about these reclusive monsters. In fact, vagrants often have access to information that you can’t get anywhere else. Just watch any crime drama, and you’ll be sure to see a scene eventually where the main character gets set on the right track by some panhandler who pays attention where most people don’t. And not all bums in a city are members of this group. Heroes might have to pay for this information, but it comes cheap; a few dollars can go a long way for such folks.


Deck Suggestions: Oddly, the most popular deck for members of the All-Seeing Orbs is a Gradius themed deck. This is due to one combo they use with a specific Gradius Monster, Brain Golem, which has a slight resemblance to a beholder. They use Scroll of Bewitchment to turn the opposing Monster into a Light Monster, thus allowing the Brain Golem to nullify its effect, and allowing the Brain Golem to attack a second time after it destroys it. Naturally, their decks contain other Monsters from the video games, like Gradius itself, Solar Flare Dragons, Moai Interceptor Cannons, and Victory Viper XX03.

As for the beholders themselves, it would be incredibly hard for them to duel, even if they cared to. They can lift things using telekinesis, but without hands to use fine manipulation, it is impossible for them to use a Duel Disk. If a beholder wanted to duel, it likely would have to build some sort of technological or magical device that was designed with beholders in mind.

If they did so, than as far as a deck goes, beholders pride themselves on using the most bizarre and otherworldly creatures imaginable. An Alien Deck would not be unreasonable.

[Shuppet Master]

Great duel, I love the Floral Knights.

[Dark Sage]

Okay, brownie points all around!

It seems I was wrong, however. There are actually four Monsters in the game that are trees. The ones that were easy to get were Trent, Vampire Orchis, and Naturia Guardian. But I found out that there is an obscure OCG Monster called Ancient Tree of Enlightenment. You learn something new every day.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

My cousin was fond of telling me that having a good reputation as a duelist was almost as bad as having a poor one. He encountered it several times in the Pro League. A powerful duelist encounters an opponent who’s prepared for him, or thinks he is.

If a duelist uses a lot of Synchros, it makes sense for his opponent to come prepared with Royal Oppression. A deck that plays a lot of Dark Monsters can be countered with Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror. You play Gladiator Beasts? The Continuous Spell Card, Deck Lockdown and the Monster, G.B. Hunter can both stop them cold.

This practice can apply to any situation. Gears was rushing to face Edmund, thinking that he was prepared for him.

But he had made one tiny error…

Edmund was just as prepared for Gears…


Gears sped through the streets at high speed. He wasn’t too worried about breaking any traffic laws. The streets were deserted, anyway. Most of the citizens of Neo Domino were too scared to come out of their houses after what happened last night.

He stopped in front of the bookstore after only fifteen minutes.

He opened the door, and slowly went inside.

Soelma was at the far end of the store, tied to a chair and gagged, right in front of the door to the storage room. Gears slowly walked towards her.

“Mmm! Mmm, mmm!” she exclaimed, trying to say something through the gag.

The door behind him slammed shut, as he expected it to do. No matter. He didn’t want to leave right away anyway.

Then, he stepped back, as a glowing, sinister pentagram appeared between him and Soelma. As he watched, Edmund materialized in the pentagram.

The sorcerer took a pocket watch out of his robes.

“You’re early,” he said.

“Glad you approve!” said, Gears, clenching his fists in anger.

Edmund looked at Gears. It was hard to discern any sort of emotion in Edmund’s face, seeing as he didn’t have any face. Only the mask.

He bent over and pointed to it.

“Go on,” he dared. “Hit me right there, if you have the nerve…”

Gears glared at him. He wanted to do it. He was tempted to. But he knew better.

“And make contact with your worm-infested body?” he asked. “I don’t think so…”

“Then it seems if you want to apprehend me and rescue the woman behind me, you only have one option…” said Edmund.

He lifted his left arm, and the odd Duel Disk activated.

“Let’s cut all the small talk,” he said. “I know you’ve wanted this for a long time.”

“Oh, trust me,” said Gears. “I have…”

“Duel!” they both said.

(Gears: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Edmund: 8,000)

“First, I draw,” said Edmund, making his first draw.

He added the card to his hand.

“I’ll have this Monster defend me, and also set a facedown card.”

He placed two cards in his Disk. A reversed card and a reversed Monster appeared.

Typical, thought Gears.

He made his first draw.

If I can get by this Monster’s Flip-Effect, I’ve got something here that will ruin his whole strategy…

“I summon Nanobreaker!” he shouted.

In a flash, Jake appeared, holding the Nanobreaker sword. (1,600 ATK)

“Crush his Monster!” he shouted.

The cyborg made a slash with her weapon. A small, black cat appeared on the card, and was cut in half.

Huh? thought Gears. I was expecting a Worm…

“That was A Cat of Ill Omen,” said Edmund, as he looked through his deck. “Now, I can take any Trap Card I want from my deck…”

He got the card he wanted.

“…then I reshuffle…”

He shuffled.

“…then I put the Trap Card on top.”

He put the card on the top of his deck.

“Then,” he continued, “I activate my facedown Jar of Greed.”

His facedown card lifted up.

“Now, I get to draw that card instantly.”

He drew the top card from his deck.

Gears took two cards from his hand.

“I’m gonna set two more cards, and end my turn,” he said.

Two facedown cards appeared.

Edmund made another draw.

“I set these two cards,” he said, as two facedown cards appeared, “and then set a Monster.”

A reversed Monster appeared.

“And my facedown card activates!” exclaimed Gears.

One of his facedown cards shot up, showing the image of a man in decorated armor issuing orders to a battalion of knights.

“It’s called Royal Command, and it’s your deck’s worst nightmare! Now, Flip-Effects aren’t gonna work!”

Edmund chuckled evilly.

“What’s so funny?” asked Gears.

“Someone is very bright…” replied Edmund. “Gears, that is indeed a well-thought-out plan, and it would worry me… If I was using my Worm deck right now.”

“You aren’t?” asked Gears, getting nervous.

“No, Gears, I’m not…” replied Edmund. “I have something much more insidious for you this time.

“And by the way, it’s your move…”

Gears nervously made a draw.

“I, uh…” he said. “I summon Robotic Knight…”

Robotic Knight appeared, holding its rapier.

“Nanobreaker, attack!”

The bionic maiden made a slash with her sword…

The creature that appeared on the card looked like a vaguely humanoid mass made of blue gelatin, wearing a golden breastplate. (2,000 DEF) Nanobreaker’s sword bounced off of it.

“Humanoid Slime?” exclaimed Gears.

“That’s right,” said Edmund. “And now, it’s time to reveal my true plan…”

One of his Trap Cards lifted up.

“It’s called Last Machine Acid Virus.”

“A Virus card??” shouted Gears.

“That’s right!” replied Edmund. “Now, all I need do is sacrifice a Water Monster to infect your cards with a terrible infection of rust…”

Humanoid Slime vanished.

“Now, instead of destroying Monsters that are strong, like Crush Card Virus does, or ones that are weak, like Deck Devastation Virus, this Virus destroys all Machines!”

Gears gasped as Nanobreaker screamed as she and Robotic Knight were covered with corrosive rust, and exploded into dust. Then, the three Monsters depicted in the cards in his hand, Ally of Justice Rudra, Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator, and Ally of Justice Claíomh Solais, appeared on the field, and the same thing happened to them.

“That’s not all,” continued Edmund. “For each Monster my Virus destroys, you lose 500 Life Points.”

Gears screamed as searing pain ripped through him. He fell on one knee.

“And like all Virus cards, this applies to all cards you draw for three turns,” said Edmund.

Gears glared at his enemy. Then he gestured, and his facedown card shot up.

“I activate Birthright!” he shouted. “I’m bringing Claíomh Solais back to the field.”

“Not if I can help it,” replied Edmund.

His other facedown card shot up.

“I activate Jammer Slime,” he said. “Now, I just have to discard a Monster with the word ‘Slime’ in its name to negate your Trap.”

He discarded a card, and a blast of purple ooze splattered on Gears’s Trap Card, melting it into sludge.

“That’s not all, Gears,” he continued. “The Monster I discarded was a special one called Draw Slime. Since it went from my hand to the Graveyard, I get to make one draw…”

He drew a card and looked at it.

“Care to tempt fate even more?”

“I have to end my turn…” said Gears.

He was serious. That move had literally left him with nothing except Royal Command.

(G: 5,100) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 8,000)

Edmund made another draw.

“I play Mystical Space Typhoon,” he said.

He played the card, and Royal Command was blown to bits.

“I thought you weren’t playing a Worm deck?” said Gears.

“I’m not,” replied Edmund, “but I still need to use one more Flip-Effect.”

He played two cards, and a facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared in front of him.

“You see, Gears, I paid a lot for that Virus card, and I intend to get my money’s worth.

“I play Book of Taiyou.”

The Spell Card appeared, and Morphing Jar flipped face-up. (700 ATK)

“Now, we each ditch the cards in our hands and draw five more…”

Neither of them had any cards to discard, actually, but they both made five draws.

“Of course, thanks to my Virus,” said Edmund, “I get to check every card you draw. So let’s take a look…”

“See for yourself,” said Gears, turning the cards in his hand around.

The five cards were Limiter Removal, Battle-Tuned, Dark Resonator, Dark Tinker, and Overworked.

“How disappointing,” said Edmund. “Well… Let’s try again…”

The card he had just set lifted up.

“I activate Card Destruction. Now we must fold all our cards and draw an equal number.”

Gears growled, as he discarded the cards in his hand. Edmund discarded his: Acid Slime, Jam Defender, Jam Breeding Machine, Frog the Jam, and Metal Reflect Slime. They both made five more draws.

“Let’s see how we did this time, shall we?” said Edmund.

Gears growled, and turned his hand around.

This time, the cards were Perfect Machine King, Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, Ally of Justice Garadholg, Pot of Avarice, and DNA Transplant.

The three Machines appeared on the field, turned to rust, and then shattered. Gears screamed again.

“Not your day, is it?” asked Edmund.

Then he pointed, and Morphing Jar darted forward, hitting Gears in the stomach.

“You crummy…” growled Gears.

“I’m not done,” continued Edmund. “I play the Spell Card, Slime Vase.”

A Spell Card appeared on the field.

“Now, I get to Special Summon a Monster from my hand with the word ‘Slime’ in its name. So, I’ll summon Clone Slime in Defense Mode.”

A creature made of blue liquid, vaguely in the shape of a human, appeared, and shielded itself with two pseudopods. (0 DEF)

“My turn is over…”

(G: 2,900) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 8,000)

Gears drew a card.

He sneered. It was Bokoichi the Freightening Car. It rusted over and exploded, and he cringed again.

He sighed, and he looked at the remaining two cards in his hand, Pot of Avarice and DNA Transplant.

This is gonna be a big risk… he thought. But I gotta take it…

“I play Pot of Avarice!” he shouted.

“You sure you want to do that?” asked Edmund. “After all, if you draw any Machines with that card, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

Gears ignored him. He took Perfect Machine King, Dekoichi, Ally of Justice Garadholg, Ally of Justice Claíomh Solais, and Ally of Justice Rudra from his deck, shuffled them back into his deck, and made two draws.

He looked at them.

One was Monster Reborn. The other one…

Hey… thought Gears. This is the guy Ember gave me!

And not a moment too soon…

“Well?” asked Edmund. “Don’t keep me waiting, Gears.”

Gears smirked, and turned the two cards around.

“Sorry, worm-feast,” he said, “but Flamvell Magical is no Machine!

“And I’m summoning him now!”

In a burst of flaming energy, a fiery Spellcaster appeared in front of Gears. He wore leather pants and no shirt, and carried a burning scepter. His hair consisted of a red topknot and goatee, and he had glowing, red eyes. (1,400 ATK)

“Now, I bring back Robotic Knight with Monster Reborn!”

The holy ankh appeared, and Robotic Knight appeared again. (1,600 ATK)

“Robotic Knight, destroy Morphing Jar with gatling blast!”

Robotic Knight fired rounds of ammo from its left arm, and Morphing Jar was blown to dust. Edmund growled.

“Now, Flamvell Magical attacks your Clone Slime!”

The sorcerer burned with flaming energy. He blasted a fireball at the slime Monster…

“I activate Clone Slime’s effect!” shouted Edmund. “When it’s attacked, I get to switch it for a Slime Monster from my Graveyard. Like my Acid Slime!”

Clone Slime vanished, and a small, blue amoeba appeared in its place. (1,000 DEF)

The fireball struck it, and Acid Slime exploded.

“And now, due to it being destroyed, you lose 800 Life Points!”

Gears groaned.

(G: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 7,100)

He looked at his two Monsters.

Flamvell Magical is a Level 4 Tuner, he thought. That means I have what I need to Synchro Summon Ally of Justice Light Gazer…

But… If he has another anti-Machine card, it would leave me with nothing… I’d better wait.

“I end my turn,” he said.

Edmund drew a card.

Without saying a word, he set two cards on his Disk, and a facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared.

He nodded.

Gears drew a card.

“Well, let’s take a look,” said Edmund.

“Sorry, Edmund,” said Gears, turning the card around. “This is Trap Eater, and it isn’t a Machine.

“Now, Robotic Knight…”

He paused.

“Attack!”

Robotic Knight fired its guns again.

A second Humanoid Slime appeared on the card. The bullets bounced off. (2,000 DEF)

Edmund laughed cruelly.

“I can’t believe you made the same mistake twice, Gears!” he laughed.

Gears scowled at him, and set a card in his Disk.

“I’ll set this, and then you go,” he said, as a facedown card appeared. “And that was the third round, which means your Virus is now expired.”

(G: 1,200) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 7,100)

“It’s hurt you pretty much enough anyway,” chuckled Edmund, making a draw.

“I sacrifice my Humanoid Slime…”

Humanoid Slime vanished.

“…for Multiple Slime!”

The Monster that appeared this time looked like a large dog or wolf, made out of thick, orange gel. (1,500 ATK)

Then his facedown card lifted up.

“Next, I activate Curse of Aging. I toss one card…”

He discarded a card, a second Draw Slime.

“And your Monsters lose 500 points.”

Wrinkles appeared on Flamvell Magical’s face, and Robotic Knight started to rust and corrode. Their Attack Scores fell to 900 and 1,100, respectively.

“And thanks to Draw Slime, I get to make one draw.”

He drew a card.

“Now, attack Robotic Knight! Primordial ooze blast!”

Multiple Slime spit a blob of disgusting goo at Robotic Knight, and the robot melted into a puddle of sludge.

“I end my turn,” chuckled Edmund.

The wrinkles on Flamvell Magical vanished, and his Attack Score returned to normal.

(G: 700) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 7,100)

Gears made a draw. He looked at it.

He quickly set it on his Disk, and a reversed card appeared.

“Your move…” he said.

Edmund laughed, and made a draw.

“Multiple Slime, dissolve his Flamvell Magical!” he ordered.

Multiple Slime prepared to spit again.

“I activate… Half or Nothing!” shouted Gears, as one of his two facedown cards shot up. “Now, you can either end your Battle Phase, or continue, with your Monster’s Attack Score halved.”

“Then I’ll stop,” said Edmund. “And then I’ll move to my second Main Phase…

“I’ll set a Monster…”

He placed a card on his Disk, and a set Monster appeared.

“Then, I’ll play my second Book of Taiyou!”

The Monster flipped up, revealing an old, rotted, yellowing mask. (900 ATK)

“Mask of Darkness!” exclaimed Gears.

“Which lets me recover one Trap Card from my Graveyard,” said Edmund.

Last Machine Acid Virus slipped out of his discard slot, and he took it. He quickly placed it in his Disk. It appeared facedown.

“Sorry, Ed,” said Gears, “I went through three rounds of that, and I’m not going through it again!”

“I’d like to see you try to stop me,” replied Edmund.

“As you wish…” said Gears.



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


His other facedown card shot up.

“Go, DNA Transplant!” he shouted. “Turn all Monsters on the field to Light!”

“HUH?” gasped Edmund.

“You have no Water Monsters to sacrifice now, Edmund,” said Gears. “You can’t use your Virus card.

“And now, it’s my move…”

He drew a card.

Perfect, he thought.

“I summon Ally of Justice Thousand Arms!” he shouted.

He played the card, and the six-armed android armed to the teeth with weapons appeared. (1,700 ATK)

“And guess what?” continued Gears. “When there’s an Ally of Justice on the field, Flamvell Magical gains 400 Attack Points.”

Flamvell Magical glowed with a shadowy aura. (1,800 ATK)

“Thousand Arms….” Shouted Gears. “Destroy his Multiple Slime!”

Thousand Arms rushed at the Slime, and with one slash, sliced it in two.

“Ergh…” said Edmund. “When Multiple Slime gets trashed, it leaves behind a bonus… Three Slime Monster Tokens.”

Three small Slimes, looking like dollops of gel with eyes, appeared. (500 ATK x3)

“How convenient,” said Gears. “Because Thousand Arms gets to attack every Light Monster you have!”

“It does?!” gasped Edmund.

Edmund cringed as Thousand Arms’ blade slashed though all three of the Slime Monster Tokens, and his Life Points plummeted.

“Now for your Mask of Darkness!” shouted Gears/

Thousand Arms struck the Mask, and it exploded.

“Now, Flamvell Magical attacks you directly! Power of Flamvell!”

Flamvell Magical pointed his staff, and shot a burning ball of flame at Edmund. The Worm that Walked screamed.

Ember was right, thought Gears. This guy WAS a good idea.

(G: 700) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 700)

“Seems that evens up the score, pal,” said Gears. “I’ll end my turn with that.”

Edmund muttered a curse word as he drew a card.

“I’m not finished yet, Gears,” he said.

“I play Monster Reborn, to bring Multiple Slime back in Defense Mode.”

The ankh appeared again, and Multiple Slime appeared, sitting in a defensive position. (2,000 DEF)

“Next,” he said, playing the last two cards in his hand, “two Continuous Spell Cards.

“First, the Dark Door. Now, both of us may only attack with one Monster per turn.

“Second, Hurricane’s Nest. Now, if you Special Summon a Monster, I can destroy it by sending the Special Hurricane card in my deck to the Graveyard.”

Which means summoning Light Gazer is out of the question, thought Gears.

“It’s your move, Shadowchaser,” said Edmund.

Man… thought Gears. Neither of my two Monsters can break that Defense, and the only card in my hand is Trap Eater, which I can’t use right now… I can only attack with one Monster, and I can’t Special Summon…

He looked at his deck.

I need a miracle…

He drew.

His eyes opened wide.

Wow… he thought. I ask for a miracle, and I get the parting of the Red Sea…

“I sacrifice both my Monsters…” he exclaimed.

Flamvell Magical and Thousand Arms dissolved into pixels of Light.

“…to summon Ally of Justice Thunder Armor!”

With a roar, a much larger Machine rose on the field in front of Gears. It looked like a huge set of robotic armor, with a skull-like, robotic face in the center, two metal arms tipped with long energy blades, an engine on the back equipped with wings, and four spindly, mechanical legs. (2,700 ATK)

“You may have summoned a powerful Monster,” said Edmund, “but my Monster is in Defense Mode. So I won’t take any damage at all.”

Gears grinned.

“That’s what you think,” he replied. “When Thunder Armor is on the field, all Monsters with the words ‘Ally of Justice’ in their names gain a trampling effect.”

“But that means…” said Edmund.

“It means I’m ending this,” said Gears. “Thunder Armor… Attack with energy sword!”

Thunder Armor’s right blade was surrounded by an aura of blue lightning. It made a slash, cutting Multiple Slime in half. Edmund screamed…

And then he simply keeled over, and froze in place.

(G: 700) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 0)

Gears sighed as the Monster vanished.

“It’s all over, worm,” he said. “You’re under arrest.”

Edmund didn’t respond.

“Well?” said Gears. “Aren’t you gonna say something?”

Then Edmund’s body started to flicker and fade.

“Mmm! Mmm!” said Soelma.

Gears went up and tried to touch Edmund, but his hand passed right through the wizard as if he wasn’t there.

“A hologram?” he said, in surprise. “Was he even here to begin with?”

He rushed over to Soelma and undid the gag.

“The back room,” she said. “Someone’s in the back room!”

Gears quickly kicked the door down, and rushed into the storeroom.

What he found there was a surprise. Huddled in the corner was a frightened, little leprechaun, holding a Duel Disk.

“You?” asked Gears. “You were dueling me the whole time, through that hologram?”

“Have mercy, please, sir Shadowchaser,” begged the leprechaun. “I’m a member of a clan who lives in Satellite…

“DaPen threatened to destroy the tenement we lived in if I didn’t duel you using that deck… I had no choice…

“We’re poor folk, sir Shadowchaser… We couldn’t afford to lose our home…

“I tried to ‘unintentionally’ let you know… That’s why I had the hologram dare you to hit it… I hoped you would, and then you would realize…”

“A clan of poor leprechauns?” asked Gears. “I thought leprechauns were rich. That they had fey riches, pots of gold…”

“We used to be,” sobbed the leprechaun, “but we were wiped out by a string of bad investments. As far as leprechauns go, we aren’t very lucky, either.”

“Wait…” said Gears. “Where’s the real Edmund?”

“He left right before you came here,” replied the leprechaun.

Gears quickly turned on his phone.

“Shichiro, it’s me,” he said into it. “You having any problems?”

“No, not really,” replied Shichiro.

“Edmund’s trap was a farce,” replied Gears. “He isn’t even here. He might be trying to make an attempt to steal the Silver Hemisphere.”

At the townhouse, Shichiro looked at Jinx.

“Okay, I’m having Jinx go check on it,” he said, as Jinx went down to the basement. “How’s Soelma?”

“She’s safe, for now,” replied Gears. “But keep your eyes open. An attack can come at any…”

“Shichiro!” shouted Jinx.

Jinx ran up the stairs. She took the phone away from Gears.

“Gears, hurry back here,” she said. “We’re in trouble…”

“What?” asked Gears.

“The Silver Hemisphere…” said Jinx. “It’s gone…

“Apparently, Edmund has struck again…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Twenty minutes later.

“How could he have snuck into the vault?” asked Shichiro. “We had set up wards specifically against necromancy… He couldn’t have gotten in…”

“No, he couldn’t have,” replied Gears. “But maybe he could have used a portal to send a servant in to get it. Maybe a plain old animated zombie.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Ember.

Jinx typed some things into the computer.

“The townhouse’s equipment is now set to detect any major disturbances in the magical flow,” she said. “If anyone casts a spell that could clearly only be cast with the help of the Regalia of Day, we should be able to pinpoint the exact location.

“Let’s just hope that said spell doesn’t burn the whole city to the ground…”

* * * * * * * * * *

At this time, in the ruins of the Arcadia Building…

Edmund stood, with the fully assembled Regalia of Day, all three swords placed in the Silver Hemisphere, before him. Two flesh golems, the ones who had actually gotten into the vault to steal the Silver Hemisphere, stood behind him.

He felt the air. Then he spoke into a cell phone.

“My calculations were right on the money,” he said. “The lingering magical aura here is incredibly strong, left from the duels in which both Ccarayhua and Aslla Piscu were summoned simultaneously.”

“Fine,” said DaPen. “Then test it. Try to cast a spell that you couldn’t cast before.

“Try to cast something with a lasting effect that will impress those six fools.”

Edmund hung up. He thought for a minute.

Then he gestured, and a spellbook appeared in his hand. He opened it; the words on the pages were written in Old Gaelic.

He looked for a certain spell. Finding it, he started to read the instructions.

Then he started to chant. The swords started to glow…


The complete Regalia of Day was now in enemy hands. And now, Edmund’s test run would inadvertently have dire effects that not even he could have foreseen. You see, as Jalal would later tell us, artifacts like the Regalia of Day were always double-edged swords. They could bestow great power, but they always came with strings attached.

Edmund’s attempt at summoning something that was incredibly hard to summon would cause a very big mess, and guess whose job it would be to clean it up?

Yup, you’re learning…



FLAMVELL MAGICAL (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect
Attribute: Fire
Level: 4
ATK: 1,400
DEF: 200

Card Description: When you control at least one face-up “Ally of Justice” Monster, increase the ATK of this card by 400.

Note: “Flamvell Magical” was released in Japan for the original “Duel Terminal” system. It has not yet been released in the United States.



ALLY OF JUSTICE THUNDER ARMOR (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 8
ATK: 2,700
DEF: 2,200

Card Description: This card cannot be Special Summoned. When an “Ally of Justice” Monster you control attacks an opposing Defense Position Monster with an ATK higher than the opposing Monster’s DEF, inflict the difference in battle damage to your opponent’s Life Points.

Note: “Ally of Justice Thunder Armor” was released in Japan for “Duel Terminal 3; Justice Strikes Back!!” system. It has not yet been released in the United States.



MULTIPLE SLIME (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Aqua/Effect
Attribute: Water
Level: 6
ATK: 1,500
DEF: 2,000

Card Description: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon 3 “Slime Monster Tokens” (Aqua/Water/Level 1/ATK 500/DEF 500) in Attack Position.



ACID SLIME (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Aqua/Effect
Attribute: Water
Level: 3
ATK: 800
DEF: 1,000

Card Description: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, inflict 800 points of direct damage to your opponent.



CLONE SLIME (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Aqua/Effect
Attribute: Water
Level: 2
ATK: 0
DEF: 0

Card Description: Activate only when this card is designated as an attack target. Send this card to the Graveyard. Special Summon 1 “Slime” Monster from your Graveyard (except a “Clone Slime”) or one that is named “Frog the Jam” or “Revival Jam” in the same battle position as the “Clone Slime” was in before being sent to the Graveyard. Continue the battle normally with the Special Summoned Monster becoming the new attack target.



DRAW SLIME (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Aqua/Effect
Attribute: Water
Level: 2
ATK: 300
DEF: 400

Card Description: When this card is sent from your hand to the Graveyard, draw 1 card.



SLIME VASE (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A blue slime pouring itself out of a stone tower.

Card Description: Special Summon 1 “Slime” Monster from your hand, or one that is named “Frog the Jam” or “Revival Jam”



JAMMER SLIME (Trap Card)

Counter Trap

Image: A burst of purple slime.

Card Description: Discard 1 “Slime” Monster from your hand, or one that is named “Frog the Jam” or “Revival Jam”. Negate the activation of 1 Spell or Trap Card and destroy it.



LAST MACHINE ACID VIRUS (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: An army tank being burned by Acid Slimes.

Card Description: Tribute 1 WATER Monster. Check all cards your opponent controls, in your opponent’s hand, and all cards your opponent draws for the next 3 turns, and destroy all Machine-Type Monsters. For each card that is destroyed by this effect, inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent’s Life Points.

Note: The proceeding seven cards were first used by Inukai in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “No Pain, No Game”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



HURRICANE’S NEST (Spell Card)

Continuous Spell

Image: The image on this card was not clear.

Card Description: When your opponent Special Summons a Monster, you can send this card and 1 “Special Hurricane” from your hand or deck to the Graveyard to destroy that Monster.

Note: “Hurricane’s Nest” was first used by the spirit of Scarr, Scout of Dark World in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “Friend or Fiend”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



Coming up next:

Edmund succeeds in summoning something terrible, but doing so has repercussions that send the evil wizard running for his life. Now, the Shadowchasers must track down the new threat that has come to Neo Domino, one who is intent on finding and aiding the Dark Signers. Shichiro makes a bold challenge, with the possible fate of all creation riding on the outcome.

“Divine Wrath” is coming up next.



Shadowchaser Files:

Milton, the Mad Mechanic

There are some things that both man and Shadow was not meant to trifle with. Such is the case with the moon elf who calls himself Milton.

Milton was a wizard of average skill, who set himself apart from his fellow elves by his odd hobby – studying the lore of an artifact called the Machine of Lum the Mad. According to legend, many centuries ago, a bloody warlord named Lum owned this large and complex device, and used it to conquer many lands. However, he was defeated in battle by the treacherous general Leuk-O, and both he and the Machine vanished without a trace.

The Machine is said to be an enormous contraption, covered with switches, dials, and plugs. If one knows the proper combinations to set them, the Machine can conceivably do anything. Lum was clearly insane, and used the Machine to create many terrible monsters and cataclysms.

While doing this research, Milton learned a lot about combining magic with technology, and built several magical toys and contraptions, like model helicopters that actually flew, and small toy tanks that rolled about and made noise. Then one day, he excitedly told a college that he had made a breakthrough. He left, and didn’t return for a month.

When he did come back, he was a changed elf. He wasn’t as friendly as he once was, and not as respectful to his friends. He started a new project, and after two more weeks, a much larger robotic construct that he had created attempted to break into the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Fortunately, the Shadowchasers intervened, and stopped it. They hunted down Milton, expecting a fight, but were surprised when he simply gave up without a struggle.

However, despite being arrested and convicted, prison cannot hold Milton, due to another invention he had completed before being arrested. Apparently, the first thing he had worked on were a group of clockwork duplicates of himself, which he can somehow project his consciousness into from anywhere on the globe. He had placed them at several strategic locations worldwide, and quickly started using them to make more. Thus, he can do whatever he wants when he wants while still in prison, and thus his crimes continue, with more mechanized creations pursuing bizarre goals. And Milton has the perfect alibi in case anyone suspects him – he’s in jail.

Jalal and a few others are aware of this scheme, but there isn’t much they can do to stop him. The correction officers at the prison have tried sedating him and erecting every manner of magical barrier to keep him from controlling these constructs, but some greater force is helping him foil each attempt. Jalal has thus made an educated guess as to what is motivating Milton, and what his goals are:

Milton somehow found the Machine of Lum the Mad, and it somehow dominated him, forcing him to work as its slave. As for what its goal for Milton is, the story of the Machine mentions a second artifact called the Mighty Servant of Leuk-O, a powerful war machine that could defeat an army, which Leuk-O used against Lum in the final battle. The Mighty Servant is the Machine’s counterpart, and it wishes to be reunited with it. Jalal knows that the Shadowchasers must prevent this from happening, as it likely was the Machine’s influence that drove Lum insane in the first place. It likely is just as mad as he was.


Story Ideas: The idea that says that “metal men can’t duel” is common in fanfiction. It means, some people think that soulless robots and other creatures with artificial intelligence make poor duelists. (This is nonsense of course, as you’d know if you ever played a Yu-Gi-Oh video game.) In my various fanfics, I’ve presented many metal men who can duel, most notably the android Macros from Legend of the Sorcerer Kings. With a villain like Milton, you could create robots of any size and shape desirable, and many could be duelists.

Don’t fall into a cliché trap with Milton, however. Most robots in fiction are no different than the ones that have appeared several times before. When designing Milton’s creations, try looking at the old sketches for Leonardo Da Vinci’s machines, and then add knives and old fashioned guns to them. You might come up with something special. Also, Milton himself need not hide in the background all the time like most villains. His clockwork doppelgangers are expendable, and he can use them to confront the heroes at any time.

Any story involving Milton should involve the Machine of Lum the Mad in some way, which is likely the driving force behind him, a shadowy villain that is controlling him. This infernal device of pure Chaos hides in some alternate dimension or world, with incomprehensible goals. Possibly, if Milton is truly defeated, the next step would be confronting the Machine and ending the threat it poses forever.


Deck Ideas: Milton likes Machines, and might use ones that you wouldn’t expect a typical bad guy to use. Vehicroids are possible, and so are Gadgets. He might also like Ancient Gears, as he has a fondness for old machines, like the one that his hobby entailed.

[mario72486]

When I saw Humanoid Slime being used, at first I expected something similar to what Strings used during the anime's Battle City arc, including the Revival Jam/Jam Defender combo. When the new Virus card was revealed, I realized what deck was really being used.

I want so much to forget that duel between Kaiser and the pumped-up Slime Duelist. The duel was great, but the dub made the Slime guy sound like Elmer Fudd on helium, pronouncing his Rs and Ls as Ws. It was tough on the ears, but this duel is what inspired me to look at Chimeratech and use the deck for a while.

The rebirth of the Slime deck was a surprise, and a good one at that. The duel itself played out well, and I actually thought Edmund was going to go 2-0 against Gears. Since the Worms weren't used this time around, it makes you wonder which deck is Edmund's real one.

The twist at the end with a Leprechaun dueling in place of Edmund was another surprise, as was the fact that Edmund was able to steal the Silver Hemisphere despite all the precautions made. Then again, I guess we all knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

Can't wait to see what the next chapter has in store.

[Shuppet Master]

I knew it! I KNEW the bad guys would prevail and assemble the Regalia, as much as I didn't want them to. And now they're beginning to wreck havoc. Of course, something tells me that the Shadowchasers won't be able to stop them from unleashing their ultimate spell because they're busy handling the messes the Regalia leaves behind, starting with this demi-god that gets summoned.

Of course, considering that "The Bad Guys Win" is a poor ending for a adventure-fic like this, I bet you're going to throw in a big twist or two at the end to make things turn about.

The duel was pretty good. I was surprised that Edmund had used a toady to fake himself for the duel. I should have guessed that when Edmund was using a Slime deck instead of his usual deck, he wasn't the real Macoy.

And flesh golems - yeah, Edmund is more than your usual Maguffin, he's a very intelligent villian. I only hope Jalal has a hundred tricks up his sleeve or else this story is not going to end well.

EDIT: Take anything I say with a grain of sea salt. I tend to be overreactive at times.

[Dark Sage]

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Edmund was now in possession of all four components of the Regalia of Day. He had the power of a pretty potent artifact in his hands.

The problem was, all too often, artifacts are often double-edged swords. If used improperly, they can be as dangerous to their users as they are to those who fight them. You’ve certainly heard the old joke about the guy with the twelve-inch pianist, right? Well, artifacts are like that, only far more lethal. When you use the tools of the gods, you must take precautions and safety measures to make sure your intentions are not misinterpreted, and no unwanted side effects occur.

But Edmund, in his foolish pride, took very few precautions. And he was about to make a mistake which Gears had feared was waiting to happen…



Edmund dashed down the street, hardly even watching where he was going. He had managed to grab the Regalia and stuff it into a Bag of Holding before running for his life, but he had abandoned the spellbook he had used and most of his other equipment, and had left the two golems to their fates.

He had other spellbooks, and so long as there were corpses, he could build more golems. But not if he was dead.

He ducked into an alley, and started dialing on his cell phone.

“Louis!” he gasped into it. “Louis, are you there?”

“What’s the problem?” asked DaPen’s voice. “I can barely comprehend you.”

“I’m a little out of breath…” muttered Edmund.

“How is that possible?” asked DaPen. “You have no lungs. What on Earth happened?”

“Okay, first the good news,” said Edmund. “The Regalia works like a charm. I was able to cast the spell easily. I was able to make contact with something I was never able to before, and was able to convince it to come to this dimension. And the protective wards I set up held wonderfully.”

“I’m sensing that there’s bad news with this as well,” replied DaPen.

“Yeah…” said Edmund. “I’ll explain when I get back…

“In the meantime… You might want to call all the clan leaders you were trying to ally with… And tell them all to stay inside for a while…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Fifteen minutes later, back at the ruins of the Arcadia Building.

The equipment that Jinx had used to detect magical surges had worked perfectly. As soon as Edmund had cast his spell, the four Shadowchasers had honed in on this location, and five minutes later, they were on their way.

But nothing could prepare them for what they found when they had gotten here. The remains of a spellbook was on the ground, half burned to ashes, next to a chalk pentagram, its protective enchantment clearly ruined, and the bodies of the two flesh golems were on the ground, cut into pieces…

And a much bigger creature had perished as well…

“What is it?” asked Ember, who was stunned by the sight.

“I think a better question is,” said Shichiro, “what was it?”

The creature sprawled on the ground before them was clearly dead; it had been cut in half, after suffering numerous other wounds. By estimate, it had been about twenty feet tall when it was it one piece, and its muscular body looked like an atypical demon. It had horns, claws, tusks, and goat-like legs with cloven hooves. It had worn black, iron armor, which was now dented and broken, and it clutched the remains of a large sword in its claw, which had apparently been smashed to pieces by whatever weapon had been used by its killer.

“Pee-yew!” grunted Jinx. “Does it stink like that ‘cause it’s dead??”

Gears rubbed his chin.

“I’ve only heard stories about them…” he said, “but I think this was a deathdrinker, a very powerful demon. According to legend, deathdrinkers are somewhat of a class of nobles in the lower planes, known for their enormous egos. They love having lesser beings serve and admire them. To a deathdrinker, no amount of flattery is enough. As a result, they’re very hard to summon. Deathdrinkers despise having to serve other beings.

“But if they crave attention, they deserve it. One deathdrinker is the equal of a small army of lesser demons when called into battle.”

“Uh, Gears…” said Ember. “Forgive me for being so blunt… But if this thing was so powerful, what in the world killed it?!”

“Bad choice of words, Ember…” said Jinx. “I have a feeling that whatever killed it is not of this world.”

Gears took a device out of the pouch on his belt, and turned it on.

“That’s your PKE meter, right?” asked Ember.

“More or less,” said Gears. “It might help us identify just what did this… I’m assuming that Edmund summoned the deathdrinker using the Regalia… Whatever evil plans he had for it, we may never know…

“But apparently, once he did… Something went terribly wrong…”

He looked closely at the device, and some statistics started to appear.

“I’m picking up a total of five lingering auras,” he said. “Two of them are a day old. They register as Class 12 immortal beings, Overwhelming Chaos and Evil. Clearly that would be the two Earthbound Gods. Eh… Those auras will likely never completely fade…

“The rest are a half-hour old. The first is a Class 6 mortal being, Strong Evil and Necromancy. That’s likely Edmund. Then there’s a Class 9 immortal being, Very Strong Chaos and Evil. That’s probably the deathdrinker.

“The last one is very confusing. It has no mortality rating, only an aura that reads Very Strong Law.”

“No mortality reading?” asked Jinx. “Gears, only creatures that are living or once-living can have ethical auras. If it isn’t living or undead, it would have to be… a golem or something, and it couldn’t have any aura.”

Gears sighed, and his brow furrowed.

“Most golems can’t have auras,” he said. “I’m afraid that Edmund’s carelessness with magic has finally caused repercussions…

“A platonic has come to Earth. Clearly, it killed the deathdrinker.

“And it hasn’t left yet. It went towards the rural part of the city. Even worse, it isn’t chasing Edmund. He apparently fled in the opposite direction. This platonic has some goal other than hunting him down.”

“We have to find it,” said Shichiro. “Platonics are utterly without mercy when pursuing their goals.”

“Are you going to fight this… platonic?” asked Ember.

Shichiro gave a nervous laugh.

“Fight it?” he asked. “I wish. Ember, no mortal being has a prayer of confronting a platonic in combat and winning. Divine magic is used to teach them thousands of fighting styles from hundreds of worlds, and make them almost perfect in each one. In a boxing match, Muhammad Ali himself wouldn’t have been able to beat one in his prime.

“The most we can do is find it, find out what it’s planning, and somehow convince it to leave before more blood is spilled.

“Gears, can you get a fix on that aura?”

Gears plugged the device into his D-Wheel.

“Yeah…” said Gears. “It seems to be heading towards the Daimon Area.”

“Then that’s where we’re going,” said Shichiro.

They mounted their bikes, Ember getting on behind Jinx, and drove off into the seedier side of Neo Domino.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Daimon Area seemed a bit quieter than usual. Not as many folks who lived here were scared away by the events that happened the night before uptown, and there were still a few street duels happening here and there.

The three D-Wheels pulled to a stop.

“It’s close,” said Gears, “but I think it knows that it’s being followed. The tracker is having a harder time pinpointing the exact location.”

“Great,” said Jinx. “So where do we start looking?”

Then an explosion of energy shook the whole block from up ahead. It was followed by screams, followed by dozens of humans and Shadows running from the source.

“Uh, I think we should try over there…” said Ember.

They got off their bikes, and started running towards the point of the blast on foot. As they did, two orcs, one of which was Hisao, ran past them, and dove for cover behind some garbage cans.

“You guys gotta stop that thing!” screamed Hisao. “It’s some sort of crazy robot! It keeps saying stuff about something called Dark Signers!”

The four Shadowchasers looked at each other.

“Dark Signers??” they all said at once.

“We’ll take care of it,” said Shichiro.

I hope…

“Uh, Hisao?” said the other orc. “Do orcs go to Heaven?”

“I kinda doubt it…” replied Hisao.

The four Shadowchasers cautiously walked to the place where the explosion had come from. A humanoid form was standing in a cloud of smoke.

The creature was a mechanical construct, apparently made from clockwork parts. It wore elaborate bronze armor, a crimson cape and a white toga, and held a gleaming sword in its right hand. Its eyes were sparkling, green gemstones.

It looked at the four Shadowchasers without saying a word. Then Shichiro made the first move.

“Who are you?” he asked.

Then he paused.

Does that question even make sense to this creature? he asked.

“I am the twenty-fifth of the Obligatum series of platonics,” replied the creature.

Its voice was a monotonous tone with impeccable pronunciation.

“Fine,” said Shichiro. “We’ll call you Obligatum XXV. Now why are you here?”

“I came to this world when I sensed a vital treaty was violated,” replied the platonic. “A member of the Cabal of Pain arrived in the mortal realm, which it was forbidden to do as outlined by a diplomatic agreement made nine centuries ago.”

“Huh?” said Ember.

“The deathdrinker violated some of treaty by answering Edmund’s summoning,” whispered Jinx. “It probably didn’t think anyone would be strong enough to stop it. Apparently, interdimensional justice is far stricter than the Shadowchasers’.”

“However,” continued Obligatum XXV, “once I rectified that problem, I detected a new one of much more importance that needs immediate attention.

“I must find the Dark Signers and aid them in their goal… To free the Earthbound Gods from their imprisonment.”

The four humans gasped.

“Over my dead body!” shouted Jinx.

Obligatum XXV lifted its sword.

“Jinx, don’t say things like that!” warned Gears. “Platonics have a hard time understanding figures of speech…”

“Everyone calm down!” said Shichiro.

He turned to Obligatum XXV again.

“Begging your pardon…” he said. “May I inquire why you desire to free the Earthbound Gods?”

“Not that it is any of your business,” said the platonic, “but I will explain so that I may do so unmolested.

“Their imprisonment is the result of a serious breech of contract.”

“I don’t understand…” said Shichiro.

“Five thousand years ago,” explained the platonic, “a group of wizards who yearned to rule the People of the Stars first summoned the Earthbound Gods to the mortal world, as part of a verbal agreement. The Earthbound Gods would lead them in them their conquest in exchange for worship and sacrifices.

“But the wizards reneged on their side of the bargain. Once the Gods were summoned, their summoners decided that the price they had agreed to was too high. So they fled to the ones they had intended to conquer and pleaded for help. If not for their help, the Star Dragon King would have been taken by surprise, and the Crimson Dragon would have been outmatched.”

“Buddy, you’re missing the big picture,” replied Shichiro. “The reason that their summoners turned against the Earthbound Gods was because they realized they had made a terrible mistake by summoning them!”

“I am not interested in any extenuating circumstances,” replied the creature. “What happened was a breech of contract that I intend to rectify. The Earthbound Gods deserve release.”

“You have to listen to reason!” pleaded Jinx. “Do you have any idea what those things will do if they’re freed?”

“That is not my concern,” said Obligatum XXV. “Are you going to hassle me any longer, or should I continue what I was doing?”

“Uh, look, Obligatum XXV, was it?” said Gears. “You have a valid argument, and maybe we can even help you find the Dark Signers. Just give the four of us five minutes to discuss things, okay?”

“Gears?” said Shichiro.

“Five minutes,” said Obligatum XXV. “Not one second more.”

“Huddle,” said Gears.

The Shadowchasers went into a huddle.

“We aren’t really gonna help it, are we?” asked Ember.

“Of course not,” whispered Gears, “but I think I see what the problem here is.

“This platonic appeared in the ruins of the Arcadia Building, where Ccarayhua and Aslla Piscu’s auras were still strong. It learned of this ‘breached contract’ from the two demons’ fleeting thoughts.

“Now, most likely, whatever actually happened between the Earthbound Gods and their summoners is thus subjective to the demons’ biased view of the facts. But whatever the case, this created something incredibly dangerous… A misguided platonic. Its sense of Law has been perverted by the Earthbound Gods’ evil presence. It is completely uncaring about the repercussions that will result if its mission succeeds, and it doesn’t realize that rectifying this violation of Law will only cause more Chaos than it could ever imagine.”

“So what do we do?” asked Jinx. “We’re no match for this creature! And I’m willing to bet that the true Signers aren’t either. They’ll be slaughtered…”

“Well,” said Gears. “The only way to truly stop it from pursuing its mission at this point is to either trick it into finding a need to go home, or summoning more platonics. If it communicates with others of its kind, they will quickly discover that it has become misguided, and they’ll have its memory wiped. It won’t remember this mission any more.”

“Really?” said Shichiro. “You said that the Earthbound Gods were Class 12 immortal beings, right? Tell me, Gears, if a platonic was a living creature, how would it measure?”

“Uh…” said Gears, “probably around 10. Why?”

“Okay,” said Shichiro. “Wish me luck…”

He turned and stood up to Obligatum XXV.

“You seem to be very intent on seeing that contracts and agreements are not broken,” he said.

“That has been the primary purpose of the Obligatum series since the very first one was forged,” replied Obligatum XXV.

“Well…” said Shichiro. “I should tell you that the beings you wish to free have themselves committed many violations of an important contract that was drafted roughly five-hundred years ago, and have also blatantly directed their servants violate it.”

“Prove it,” ordered Obligatum XXV.

Shichiro took his iPod out of his pocket and pushed a few buttons, and the text of the Great Treaty appeared on the screen.

“I’ll scroll to Section Two, Article Four,” he said, “where you can see that beings in the class of the Earthbound Gods fall under its jurisdiction… Then you can…”

“No need…” said Obligatum XXV.

Its eyes glowed, and the text on Shichiro’s iPod started to scroll incredibly fast, as the platonic read the text of the entire Great Treaty at high speed. It took it less than a minute to read the whole document.

Once it was finished, it paused. It seemed very unsure of itself for the first time.

“You make a good case…” said Obligatum XXV. “The Earthbound Gods have indeed committed several serious violations of this contract…

“The task before me is thus clear…

“I must first rectify the older contract by releasing them from their imprisonment…

“And then I must rectify this one by vanquishing them.”

“That’s the craziest thing I have ever heard of,” whispered Ember.

“Misguided, remember?” whispered Gears.

“The problem is,” continued the platonic, “I lack the power to do it on my own…”

“Well!” said Shichiro. “Maybe you should just go home and recruit some reinforcements! I’m sure a group of you could manage.”

“True…” replied Obligatum XXV. “But I do not like leaving this situation as it is… I would need someone to make sure things do not get out of control… I would need a proxy to stay behind…

“But… I can’t get one without leaving…”

“The rock and the hard place…” said Jinx.

“Uh…” said Shichiro.

Think fast, Shichiro, he thought.

“You need a proxy, pal?” he asked. “I’ll volunteer.”

Obligatum XXV glared at him.

“How can I trust you with such a job?” he said. “How can I be sure that you can even handle such a task?”

“I don’t suppose you’d take my word?” asked Shichiro.

“Trust must be earned,” replied Obligatum XXV. “Not just in word, but in deed.”

“Uhm…” said Shichiro. “Tell you what… If I can prove to you that I’m just as skilled as you are in the form of combat used by the Dark Signers, will you trust me?”

Obligatum XXV looked at him.

“That seems fair enough,” he said. “What form of combat do the Dark Signers use?”

“You don’t know?” asked Shichiro. “Well, uh… Do you know anything about Duel Monsters?”

Obligatum XXV looked at him again and held its chin.

“No,” it replied. “But I am a fast learner.”

The platonic’s eyes glowed…

* * * * * * * * * *

At various parts of the city, everyone who owned a deck and a Duel Disk felt a small twinge of pain, like the shock you get from eating ice cream too fast.

The four true Signers felt it. So did the five Dark Signers. So did all their allies and rivals. Rex Godwin himself felt the same twinge. And so did every street-level duelist.

None of them realized that the sudden pain was caused by a quick scan by the platonic, who was using it to quickly learn this game that it had never heard of before.

In less than a minute, its knowledge of Duel Monsters had grown from nothing, to that of a pro duelist…

* * * * * * * * * *

“Quite interesting,” said Obligatum XXV. “Very well… I agree to those terms…”

It stashed its sword in a sheath on its side, and then lifted its left arm. Three golden cogs appeared on it, and then started to spin. The cogs vanished in a flash, turning into a golden and bronze Duel Disk.

A deck appeared in the holder.

“You know, this just might work,” said Gears. “Platonics are enchanted so that they can achieve perfection in all forms of combat… But Duel Monsters is technically a card game. And since it just had to learn how to play, this is one contest where a mortal can conceivably defeat it.”

“Conceivably?” asked Ember, nervously.

“I can’t exactly make any promises…” said Gears. “Platonics are so dedicated to Order, they can be confusing.

“At least with demons, you know what to expect.”

Shichiro held up his own arm, and his own Disk activated.

“Duel!” they both shouted.

(Shichiro: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Obligatum XXV: 8,000)

“The rules of a duel state that the one who was challenged chooses the weapons,” said Obligatum XXV. “Since you had to choose the weapons, logic states that you were the one who was challenged. I believe that also gives the honor to you.”

Shichiro looked at him. He made his first draw.

He wasn’t absolutely certain if that logic made sense, but if this being wanted him to go first, he wasn’t complaining.

He looked at his hand.

“I summon Queen’s Knight,” he said.

In a burst of light, the lovely queen in scarlet armor appeared. (1,500 ATK)

“…and I’ll leave it at that.”

“Then I draw,” said Obligatum XXV.

It clicked its thumb and middle finger, and its Disk beeped. A card slipped off of its deck, into its hand.

“I set one Monster, and one facedown card, and my turn ends,” it said, as a reversed Monster and a reversed card appeared.

Shichiro drew a card.

It looks like its running into trouble already, he thought. I can make a good lead if it isn’t as good as it professes to be.

“Come on out, King’s Knight!” he shouted.

In another flash of light, King’s Knight appeared. (1,600 ATK)

“And he’s followed by Jack’s Knight!”

Jack’s Knight appeared in another flourish. (1,900 ATK)

“All right!” cheered Ember. “His poker knight combo!”

“Queen’s Knight, attack!”

Queen’s Knight rushed at the facedown card, and a radiant man in a toga appeared, with feathered wings on his back, kneeling on the card. Queen’s Knight struck with her sword, and he shattered into shards.

“Shining Angel?” asked Shichiro.

“Yes,” said Obligatum XXV. “Now, I can Special Summon a Light-Attribute Monster from my deck with low Attack Points. I choose a second Shining Angel.”

Another Shining Angel appeared in front of the platonic. (1,400 ATK)

Obligatum XXV held up its Disk, and it shuffled the deck automatically.

“I want one of those!” exclaimed Jinx.

“The Disk was probably built by the same crèche forges that build the platonics,” replied Gears. “Those forges are capable of creating the finest machinery in the universe. It may have been a rush job, but it’s obviously better than anything KaibaCorp could ever make.”

Shichiro frowned.

“My King’s Knight attacks your second Angel,” he said.

King’s Knight made a slash with his blade, and the second Shining Angel shattered.

“I summon a third Shining Angel,” replied Obligatum XXV.

A third Shining Angel appeared. (1,400 ATK)

“Jack’s Knight, destroy the last one!” ordered Shichiro.

Jack’s Knight slammed his sword down, and the last Angel was blown to bits.

“I use the effect of my last Shining Angel to Special Summon Radiant Jeral,” said Obligatum XXV.

In a beam of light, an odd creature materialized. It looked like a cross between a holy idol and R2D2, made of green crystal. It had a glowing halo above it, and small, feathered wings in back, which kept it aloft. (1,000 ATK)

“Odd…” said Ember. “It’s using Fairies? I expected Machines…”

“It might not be a good idea to make presumptions here…” warned Gears.

Shichiro sighed.

“I end my turn,” he said.

“But first, my Trap Card activates,” replied Obligatum XXV.

Its facedown card lifted.

“Solemn Wishes. Now, I gain 500 Life Points whenever I draw a card.

“NOW I will draw.”

(S: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 7,300)

It drew a card, and a shower of gold fell upon it.

“I move Radiant Jeral into Defense Mode…”

The strange Fairy landed and folded its wings. (2,000 DEF)

“Then, I discard Zeradias, Herald of Heaven from my hand.”

It slipped a card into its discard slot.

“By doing so, I can take a specific Spell Card from my deck.”

It took the card, and the Disk shuffled its deck.

“Then, I play it… The Sanctuary in the Sky.”

The platonic placed a card in its Field Slot, and an overwhelming light permeated the area…

When the light subsided, they were all standing on a huge cloud, under a sapphire blue sky full of other clouds. Heavenly hosts filled the sky, and a huge, ancient temple, the Sanctuary itself, loomed behind Obligatum XXV.

“This isn’t good,” said Gears. “I’ve run into this Field Spell several times…”

“It reduces the battle damage from battles involving Fairies to zero, right?” asked Ember.

“Yeah,” replied Gears, “but there are numerous strategies involving this card, and none of them are easy to beat.”

Obligatum XXV played a card.

“I summon Warrior of Zera,” it said.

The clouds parted, and a Warrior appeared from within them. He wore blue pants, a green breastplate and helmet, and a red scarf. He carried a sword with a demonic face on the hilt. (1,600 ATK)

“Now, I sacrifice him…”

Warrior of Zera started to glow with radiant light. He grew to half-again his size, and huge, feathered wings sprouted from his back. His armor turned into gleaming, silver plate armor, and the helmet became three times as fancy. His scarf now covered the lower half of his face. He now held a sword that shone with blinding light.

“I summon Archlord Zerato.”

(2,800 ATK)

“This isn’t good…” muttered Shichiro.

“Now, I activate its effect…” continued Obligatum XXV. “I discard one Light-Attribute Monster…”

It discarded a card, The Agent of Creation – Venus.

Archlord Zerato lifted his sword, and the spire of the Sanctuary glowed. A lightning bolt shot from the spire, vaporizing the three knights.

“Attack directly,” said the platonic.

Archlord Zerato flew at Shichiro at full speed, and gripped his sword with both hands as he slammed it into him. Shichiro screamed as he was propelled backwards.

“Ooh…” he said.

“My turn is over,” said Obligatum XXV.

(S: 5,200) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 7,800)

“Aren’t you gonna gloat?” asked Shichiro, as he got up. “Kick me when you have the advantage?”

Obligatum XXV just looked at him.

Shichiro sighed.

I’m wasting my breath talking trash to this overgrown alarm clock, he thought.

He made a draw.

“I summon… Freed the Brave Wanderer!” he exclaimed.

With a flourish, Freed appeared, holding his glowing sword. (1,700 ATK)

“Now, I remove two of my Light Monsters from the game…”

Queen’s Knight and King’s Knight slipped out of his discard slot, and he pocketed them.

“And Freed can destroy any Monster that’s stronger than he is!”

Freed made a slash with his sword. Archlord Zerato made a look of shock, and then burst into globules of light.

“All right!” cheered Ember. “He beat Zerato!”

“And Zerato is a NOMI,” added Jinx. “Obligatum XXV won’t be able to bring him back.”

“I’m not done,” said Shichiro, placing a card in his Disk. “I play Synchro Boost! This Equip Spell gives Freed 500 more Attack Points!”

(2,200 ATK)

“Attack Radiant Jeral!” he shouted. “Brave sword attack!”

Freed made a great cut with his sword, and the strange Fairy shattered into shards of green glass.

“And that’s all,” said Shichiro, with a laugh.

“Shichiro’s gonna do it!” cheered Ember. “He’s gonna win!”

Obligatum XXV made a draw, and looked at the card. The shower of gold fell on it.

“I play Pot of Avarice,” it said, as a Spell Card appeared.

Zeradias, Zerato, Warrior of Zera, and two Shining Angels slipped out of its discard slot. It combined them with its deck, and the Disk shuffled it. It made two draws, and the shower of gold fell on it a second time.

Without missing a beat, it played a card.

“I play Monster Reborn,” it said. “I’ll bring The Agent of Creation – Venus back from my Graveyard.”

The holy ankh appeared, and a feminine form appeared. It was an angel in a golden dress, blonde hair, and golden wings, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes closed. Three orbs of light, one red, one blue, and one purple, floated in front of her. (1,600 ATK)

“Now, I use its effect, and pay 500 Life Points to Special Summon a Mystical Shine Ball.”

In a glowing light, a small orb of silvery, shining light with a calming aura appeared. (500 ATK)

“Now, I sacrifice both of these Monsters…”

The Agent of Creation and the Mystical Shine Ball vanished…

“…to summon Splendid Venus.”

The new angel that appeared stood over eight feet tall. She had four feathered wings, was dressed in elaborate golden raiment, and carried a long, golden scepter. She radiated an intense, intimidating aura. (2,800 ATK)

“I take it back…” moaned Ember. “He’s not gonna win…”



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“When this Monster is on the field,” continued Obligatum XXV, “all Monsters except for Fairies lose 500 points from both their scores.”

Freed fell to an Attack Score of 1,700.

“In addition, my Spell and Trap Cards cannot be countered.

“So let’s continue… Attack his Brave Wanderer. Holy feather shower.”

Splendid Venus flicked her wings forward, and a swarm of her feathers shot towards Freed like knives. He struggled against the onslaught, but was blown to atoms.

“It is your move…”

(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 8,300)

Shichiro looked at his deck. Then he looked at the four cards left in his hand.

He drew a card.

He quickly set two cards, and a reversed card and a reversed Monster appeared.

“I end my turn,” he said.

Obligatum XXV quickly made a draw. The shower of gold fell on it again.

“Attack his Monster,” it ordered.

Splendid Venus unleashed her feather shower again. Warrior Lady of the Wasteland appeared on the card, and tried to shield herself before she was blown away.

“I use Warrior Lady’s effect!” said Shichiro, taking his deck. “I get to Special Summon an Earth Warrior with 1,500 Attack Points or less.

“And the one I’m summoning is my Turret Warrior!”

With a flash, the large, blocky Warrior with gun turrets on its shoulders appeared. (1,200 ATK) –> (700 ATK)

“An illogical move,” said Obligatum XXV. “Since it was Special Summoned from your deck, its effect cannot be used.”

“But it has another purpose that will come into play soon,” replied Shichiro. “Do you end your turn?”

“I do,” said Obligatum XXV. “But that Warrior will be a poor defense as well. Venus reduces its Defense Score by 500, remember?”

“I don’t intend to defend with it either…” said Shichiro.

(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 8,800)

He drew a card.

“I summon Nitro Synchron!” he said.

In a small burst of flame, the propane tank with a funny face and two pipe cleaner arms appeared. (300 ATK)

“Now, I Tune my two Monsters together…”

Nitro Synchron’s eyes glowed, and the needle on its gauge moved into the red. It and Turret Warrior flew above the Sanctuary, and faded into seven glowing stars…

“Synchro Summon… Nitro Warrior!”

The fiery Synchro Warrior flew down to the field, a trail of flames in its wake. (2,800 ATK)

“Impressive,” said Obligatum XXV, “but you seem to forget about my Monster’s effect.”

(2,300 ATK)

“I didn’t forget,” replied Shichiro. “But before I respond to it, Nitro Synchron’s effect lets me draw one card…”

He made a draw, and looked at it.

“Now, I activate my Trap Card…”

His facedown card lifted up.

“Synchro Strike! This gives Nitro Warrior 500 more Attack Points for each Monster I used to Synchro Summon it!”

Nitro Warrior burned with flames… (3,300 ATK)

“Attack!” shouted Shichiro. “Destroy Splendid Venus with dynamite knuckle!”

Nitro Warrior flew at the Fairy in an aura of fire. It socked the giant angel hard, and an explosion of flames erupted from the point of impact.

“He did it!” cheered Ember.

“Don’t celebrate yet,” said Gears. “He may have destroyed Splendid Venus, but thanks to this Field Spell, Obligatum XXV didn’t lose any Life Points.”

“I have to end my turn there,” said Shichiro, as Nitro Warrior landed back beside him. (2,800 ATK)

Obligatum XXV drew a card, and the Solemn Wishes card glowed again.

“I summon The Agent of Force – Mars,” it said.

Dramatic music started playing over the Sanctuary, and an angel even more intimidating cast his shadow over the cloudy field…

Long before the planet was discovered, the name Mars had long been associated with warfare. Indeed, this seemed like the celestial messenger of the god of war. He was bare-chested, with red skin, his chest covered with the scars of battle. He wore violet pantaloons, and had feathered wings that were the same color. He held a long hammer with an iron head.

“Ho boy…” said Shichiro.

“Mars is completely impervious to Spell Cards,” said Obligatum XXV. “And so long as the Sanctuary is in play and my Life Points are greater than yours, its Attack and Defense Scores are equal to the difference.”

“Uh…” said Ember. “I don’t have a calculator handy, but I’m pretty sure that means Nitro Warrior is in big trouble…”

(5,200 ATK)

Obligatum XXV pointed, and Shichiro screamed as the Agent slammed his hammer into Nitro Warrior, smashing it to fiery residue. He fell to his knees.

“Shichiro’s hurt bad!” shouted Jinx.

“Even worse,” said Gears. “Since he just lost 2,400 Life Points, Mars just became that much stronger.”

(7,600 ATK)

“That’s crazy!” gasped Ember.

“I know,” said Jinx. “I didn’t realize it was using the Agents… Those are probably the cruelest, most merciless Fairies in the game.

“And if Obligatum XXV manages to summon Mars’s big sister, I don’t know what Shichiro is gonna do…”

“I set one card facedown,” said Obligatum XXV as a reversed card appeared, “and my turn ends…”

(S: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 9,300)

The device on Gears’s hip started to beep. He took it off of his belt and looked at it.

The words “Analysis Complete” appeared on the screen.

Shichiro struggled to get up.

Have to… Beat this guy… he thought. Can’t let it… help the Dark Signers…

He drew a card. He looked hard at it.

He threw two cards in his Disk, and a reversed card and a reversed Monster appeared.

He nodded.

Obligatum XXV drew a card, and the shower of gold fell on it again.

Then its facedown card lifted up.

“I activate Meteorain,” it said. “Now, all Monsters I control can inflict battle damage by attacking defending Monsters this round.”

“No…” cried Ember.

Mars flew towards the facedown Monster.

“Gotcha…” said Shichiro.

“I activate Malevolent Catastrophe!”

His facedown card lifted up, and lightning struck. The Solemn Wishes card was blasted to pieces, and then the whole temple behind Obligatum XXV crumbled into a pile of rock, and the cloudy Field Spell vanished.

“The Sanctuary is gone!” exclaimed Ember. “That means Mars’s Attack Score becomes…”

“Zero, zip, zilch!” added Jinx. “A big goose egg!”

Indeed, Mars groaned, and his wings sagged and molted. (0 ATK) Command Knight appeared kneeling on the card. (1,900 DEF) Mars made a futile attempt to hit her with his weapon, but she knocked him backwards with a simple backhand slap.

The platonic paused… It took one of the remaining two cards in its hand, and set it on the Disk. A reversed Monster appeared.

“My turn is over,” it said.

(S: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 7,900)

Shichiro drew a card.

“I move Command Knight to Attack Mode…” he said.

Command Knight stood up. (1,200 ATK)

“And due to her effect, all my Warriors gain 400 Attack Points.”

(1,600 ATK)

“Next, I summon Marauding Captain…”

He played the card, and the armored veteran with twin swords appeared. (1,200 ATK) –> (1,600 ATK)

“AND, I use his effect to Special Summon Hayabusa Knight!”

In a flash of energy, the rapier-wielding fencer with a falcon’s head appeared. (1,000 ATK) –> (1,400 ATK)

“Hayabusa Knight, destroy the Agent of Force! Peregrine saber slash!”

Hayabusa Knight made a slash with his rapier, and Mars groaned before shattering into shards.

“And guess what? Hayabusa Knight gets to attack a second time!”

The Warrior swung his blade towards the facedown Monster. Morphing Jar appeared, right before it was slashed to ribbons.

Shichiro nodded. Both he and Obligatum XXV discarded the one card they had, and made five draws.

“I’m not done with you,” continued Shichiro. “Marauding Captain, attack directly!”

The Captain lunged at Obligatum XXV and slashed at the platonic with his sword. The creature didn’t move in the slightest.

“Uh, yeah…” said Shichiro. “Command Knight, you too…”

Command charged at the creature, and slammed her sword into its armor. Again, Obligatum XXV didn’t even seem to care.

“He didn’t even flinch…” said Ember, in disbelief.

“It’s a construct,” reminded Gears, as he looked over the analysis. “It has no nervous system, no way to feel pain. Platonics are so dedicated to Order, they don’t adapt things that they deem unnecessary.

“A nervous system has no use in any of the platonics’ goals, so they don’t attempt to recreate one in any platonic models.”

Shichiro looked at his five cards.

He set one, and a facedown card appeared.

“Mmm,” he said.

(S: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 3,300)

Obligatum XXV made a draw.

“I play a second Sanctuary in the Sky,” it said, playing a card.

“Aw, crud,” said Shichiro, as the Sanctuary began to form again.

“Next, I set two cards,” continued Obligatum XXV, as two facedown cards appeared.

“Then, I eliminate two Light-Attribute Monsters from my Graveyard…”

Shining Angel and Radiant Jeral appeared behind it, and then faded into nothing.

“…to summon Soul of Purity and Light.”

A radiant, winged Fairy made entirely of light, almost transparent, appeared in front of it. (2,000 ATK)

“Now, I sacrifice it…”

Soul of Purity and Light vanished.

“…to summon The Agent of Judgment – Saturn.”

Lighting flashed, and a new angel appeared where the Soul had been. It was a tall, blue-skinned woman, who might have been beautiful if her face wasn’t so stern. She was clothed in a dress and a headdress colored white and blue, with jewelry that suggested Egyptian. She had large, blue, feathered wings. (2,400 ATK)

“Oh, no…” moaned Jinx. “I was afraid of this…”

“With the Sanctuary on the field,” continued Obligatum XXV, “and my Life Points higher than yours, I can sacrifice this Monster to inflict damage equal to the difference in our scores.”

“That will take Shichiro down to…” gasped Ember.

“100 Life Points…” said Jinx. “Unless it decides to attack first, in which case he’ll lose…”

“I sacrifice Saturn to use its effect,” said Obligatum XXV.

Saturn’s eyes glowed. Then she transformed into a blazing ball of blue fire, and shot towards Shichiro…

Strangely, Shichiro didn’t move in the slightest as the huge ball of fire hit him…

Shichiro gasped for breath, as the flames vanished.

(S: 3,300) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 3,300)

“He gained Life Points?” gasped Jinx.

“That’s right!” laughed Shichiro. “All because of my Trap Card, Rainbow Life! I just had to toss one card, and all the Life Point loss I would have taken this turn is turned into Life Point gain!”

The platonic looked at him closely.

“Surely, you are more than you seem,” it said. “I end my turn.”

Shichiro quickly drew a card.

He has two facedown cards, he thought. But I could win this duel if they’re bluffs…

“Hayabusa Knight, attack!” he shouted.

Hayabusa Knight rushed at Obligatum XXV.

“I activate… Miraculous Descent,” said the platonic, as one of his facedown cards lifted up. “Now, I can bring back a Fairy that I removed from play earlier.”

Radiant Jeral appeared to block the Knight’s path. (2,000 DEF)

“Did you think I was bluffing?” asked Obligatum XXV. “Bluffs are tools of illogical creatures.”

“Well, you can’t blame me for trying…” said Shichiro. “I end my turn…”

Obligatum XXV drew a card. It gave the card a long look.

“I summon a second Mystical Shine Ball,” it said, as it played a card.

Another of the glowing, silvery orbs appeared. (500 ATK)

Then it took the last card in its hand.

“And then, as I now control two Light-Attribute Monsters, I can Special Summon Guardian of Order.”

Shichiro stepped back, as a blinding light emitted from the sky of the Sanctuary. A powerful Warrior clothed in golden plate armor with a faceless helmet and large, flared shoulders flew onto the field, glowing with incredibly radiance. (2,500 ATK)

“Next, a Trap Card,” it continued, as its facedown card lifted up. “Solar Ray. This card inflicts 600 points of damage for each Light-Attribute Monster I command.”

A beam of scorching, burning light shot out of the heavens and struck Shichiro. He screamed as it burned his skin.

“That must have been how it intended to win the duel before Shichiro played Rainbow Life!” exclaimed Jinx.

“Now, Guardian of Order,” commanded the platonic, “attack Marauding Captain. Devastating dictum.”

Guardian of Order fired twin beams of pure light from its hands, and Marauding Captain was vaporized. Shichiro groaned again.

“I end my turn,” said Obligatum XXV.

(S: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 3,300)

Shichiro drew a card.

“All right, gearhead,” he said, “I play my own Pot of Avarice.”

He played the card, and took Nitro Warrior, Nitro Synchron, Marauding Captain, Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, and Turret Warrior, and shuffled all of them into his deck. Then he drew twice.

He looked at the two Spell Cards.

Time to end this… he thought.

“I play Heavy Storm!” he shouted, playing one of them.

A fierce wind blew across the field, and the Field Spell literally blew away. Miraculous Descent shattered, and Radiant Jeral burst with it.

“Now that I’ve done that,” continued Shichiro, “I play Silent Doom, to summon Jack’s Knight from my Graveyard.”

Jack’s Knight appeared, holding his shield up and his sword down. (1,000 DEF)

“Next, I summon Turbo Synchron!”

He played another card, and the cute, little robot that seemed to be half-car appeared next to Jack’s Knight. (100 ATK)

“Alright! Now give Jack’s Knight a Tune-up!”

Turbo Synchron’s headlights flashed, and then it and Jack’s Knight soared into the sky. Both of them faded into six glowing stars…

“Synchro Summon… Turbo Warrior!”

Turbo Warrior landed on the field, its engine running at full-blast, and smoke pouring from its exhaust pipes. (2,500 ATK)

“Turbo Warrior?” asked Obligatum XXV.

“That’s right,” said Shichiro, “and because it’s a Warrior, Command Knight gives it a boost.”

(2,900 ATK)

He took the other card he had drawn.

“And now, one of the Monsters in my Graveyard is going to help it even more. I play Battle-Tuned! By removing a Tuner Monster from play, like the one I discarded when I played Rainbow Life, Turbo Warrior gains Attack Points equal to hers.”

Hers? thought Ember.

Shichiro played the card, and Rose, Warrior of Revenge appeared behind Turbo Warrior, glowing with an aura of fire. Turbo Warrior shot up to an Attack Score of 4,500.

“Attack Guardian of Order!” shouted Shichiro. “Accel slash!”

Turbo Warrior’s engine roared, and it sped towards Guardian of Order with Rose close behind. It made a mighty swipe with its claw, and the Guardian shattered into golden shards.

“Command Knight, you next!” shouted Shichiro.

Command Knight slashed with her blade, and the Mystical Shine Ball shattered.

“And now, Hayabusa Knight will finish this!”

The falcon-headed Warrior rushed at Obligatum XXV, and made a swipe with its rapier. The platonic simply bowed its head…

(S: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (O: 0)

The Monsters vanished. Obligatum XXV didn’t say anything for about a minute.

“Never before has one of my kind met its match in any form of combat,” it said. “Once I return to headquarters, I must petition my superiors that Duel Monsters be studied so that we may obtain perfection in it as well.

“For now, I will uphold my end of the bargain. I will trust you to act as my proxy while I gather aid for the task before me.”

The platonic turned around, and a glowing portal appeared. With no fanfare at all, it stepped though the portal, which quickly vanished.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“We won’t be seeing him again!” sighed Jinx.

“Indeed,” said Gears, looking at the device, “but it seems we have a bigger problem now.

“I was taking some analysis of the magical auras surrounding the city in the past few hours. It seems that the spell that Edmund used to summon that deathdrinker was an epic level spell.”

“I’m guessing that’s bad,” said Ember.

“Incredibly bad,” replied Gears. “Let me explain…

“Most spells, rituals, and incantations cast by mortals are grouped into levels of power, similar to how Monsters are in the game of Duel Monsters. The weakest spells are level zero; those are what apprentices are taught. Kinda like what students would have learned in their first year at Hogwarts, to make a comparison.

“Then there are level one spells, followed by level two, all the way up to the very powerful level nine spells, which only certain magic-users can cast. Again, by comparison, only wizards with Dumbledore’s experience would be able to cast level nine spells.”

“But?” said Ember.

“But…” replied Gears. “Certain arcane and divine spellcasters can train themselves to become true masters of their craft, and learn how to research and cast spells even more powerful than level nine. Spells of this magnitude are referred to as epic level spells.”

“And by comparison?” asked Ember.

“No-one that Rowling could ever conceive,” replied Gears. “If Voldemort were able to cast them, he could have reduced Hogwarts to a smoldering crater with wave of his hand.

“In history, only a handful of archmages and hierophants have been able to cast spells this powerful. A magic-user who can manage it could move mountains… Literally.”

“Then it’s time to stop standing around and waiting to see what Edmund does next,” said Shichiro. “We’re gonna go pay DaPen a little visit before he can make his next move.”

“How?” asked Jinx. “He could be anywhere in Satellite! For all we know, he may be holed up in Team Satisfaction’s old headquarters…”

Shichiro looked at her.

“I’ll just have to talk to someone who might know,” he replied.

“You’re gonna go talk to our… uh, government contact?” asked Gears.

Shichiro mounted his D-Wheel.

“If I must,” he replied. “But first… I seem to remember that someone owes us a favor…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Tensions were high at the headquarters of Sector Security. Godwin was close to declaring martial law in Neo Domino, and once that happened, every member of the force would likely be working overtime.

Few were more worried than Officer Sako Gakushi. He had managed to get a safe desk job after that snafu with the wererat, but the whole situation had left him nervous. Right now, he was on his third cup of coffee, and was monitoring the security band.

He was quite shocked to hear Shichiro’s voice behind him.

“Gakushi?” said Shichiro.

Gakushi jumped.

“WHAT?” shouted the Security.

He frowned.

“How did you get in here?”

“I have my ways,” replied Shichiro. “So, ready to do me that little favor?”

Gakushi sighed.

“So long as it doesn’t get me fired…” replied Gakushi.

“I need to know where Louis DaPen most likely is hiding out,” said Shichiro.

Gakushi looked at him. Then he turned to his computer and brought up a screen.

“He wants to know where DaPen is…” he mumbled. “I’ll tell him where DaPen is…”

A map of Satellite appeared on the screen, and it zoomed in on one block.

“See that?” asked Gakushi. “That’s an old factory at the intersection of Cherry Tree Avenue and 45th. DaPen conducts his ‘business’ from there.”

“What?” gasped Shichiro. “You mean to tell me you guys know exactly where he is and you’ve done nothing?”

“We’ve done plenty!” replied Gakushi. “You ever hear of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang?”

“Yeah…” replied Shichiro. “That was an outlaw gang that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid belonged to in the Old West…”

“It was actually a group of several gangs,” replied Gakushi, “who all made their camp in Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Wyoming for mutual defense. And it was a very good defense.

“The law knew they were there, but every time a posse tried to enter, they were repulsed and had to withdraw. No members of those gangs were ever arrested that way.

“We’ve tried several times to raid that factory, and we’ve never even gotten to the front door. Sometimes we never even get within three blocks. Some unfortunate Securities wind up working for DaPen, after he uses some form of mind control.

“Last month, Godwin held a meeting with the other brass, to plan sending a sizable force into that area to apprehend DaPen. Then, one executive fell into a trance, and DaPen started talking through his mouth, apparently. DaPen said that he was more than able to control the entire population of Satellite and arm them to stand against a Security force that tried to root him out. Then the poor guy fell into a coma that he hasn’t woken up from since. DaPen might have been bluffing, but just in case he wasn’t, Godwin doesn’t want Satellite to turn into a war zone, so he scrapped the plan.”

Shichiro thought.

Bull, he thought. What really scares Godwin is the thought of heavily-armed Satellite residents.

He took a long look at the map.

“If you guys are going there,” said Gakushi, “good luck… You’ll need it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

It was now three o’clock.

The four Shadowchasers were in the living room of the townhouse. Sorsha was sitting on the mantle, while Boris was collecting glasses.

“So, what’s the plan?” asked Gears.

“I have an idea,” said Shichiro. “Anyone ever see Star Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope?”

Everyone nodded.

“Then, you remember how the Death Star plans got into the rebels’ hands…”

“Yeah,” said Jinx, “Leia put them into R2D2, and…”

“Yeah, well, here’s the point,” said Shichiro. “The Death Star was heavily protected from attacks by big ships. Giant battle cruisers and the like. But the rebels discovered that it had only minimal defense against small, one-manned fighter ships.

“Whoever designed the space station thought that small ships posed no threat. But the rebels found out about a vital Achilles heel that a one-manned craft could use to destroy the base.

“Anyway, DaPen has adequate defense against a large force. Attacking en masse might be a bad idea. But… One person going alone may be able to sneak up on him, at least enough to get to the building.”

There was a pause.

“It will be dangerous…” said Gears. “If whoever goes gets in trouble, he’ll have to get out himself.”

“I volunteer,” said Jinx. “Maybe a little luck will take me pretty far.”

Shichiro sighed, and nodded. Then Gears spoke up.

“If we don’t hear from you by seven…” he said, “I’ll come after you…”

Jinx nodded.

She picked up her helmet, and headed for the garage.


We had waited long enough. The time for standing around was past. It was time to confront DaPen and bring him to justice. My mentor was willing to make the attempt, and had only her free will to lose.

It was going to be a long and dangerous night, and before it was over, we would see horror in many forms. DaPen was as dangerous as a tiger, and we were going straight into his den….


Coming up next:

Jinx arrives in Satellite, and finds that DaPen’s headquarters is far from unguarded. Even worse, the one who shows up to challenge her is an old friend who has fallen under the evil illithid’s mind control powers. Can she break the spell?

“Assault on GHQ” is coming soon.



Shadowchaser Files

The Keepers, a Mystery of Time

Who are the Keepers? What do they want? No-one knows for sure, but this rare race of Shadowkind has aroused more suspicion in recent years than they ever have before.

Keepers are unusual even for Shadows. They appear as pale, bald, plain-looking humanoids, so thin as to be almost gaunt. They always wear black, and wear dark lenses over their eyes. They seem to have no emotion, and rarely speak unless it is vitally important. No-one has ever seen one eat or sleep. They never form clans, instead traveling in “companies” of three to five members.

No-one knows where the Keepers came from, but one researcher gave this theory. Long ago, before the Shadowchasers were founded, there was a powerful Incantifer who was obsessed with the concept of Time. He made many advances in studying it, and discovered something about the universe that mortals were not meant to discover. Many believe that he discovered a way to “find” whole worlds simply by imagining them. Knowing he needed servants to continue his research, he “found” a world where the Keepers lived, and summoned them to Earth.

He set the Keepers on several missions in pursuit of knowledge, geared towards the study of time. But eventually, he got sloppy. He told them, “Make sure no-one ever finds out how you got here”. And the Keepers obeyed, by killing him.

At that time, all the Keepers were working on several projects, gathering information for their master. Some believe that they are still driven by those ancient orders, and still pursue them to the best of their ability. They have adapted as the world has changed, but their minds are completely alien and beyond human understanding. Dealing with Keepers is difficult at best. They cannot be dissuaded from their missions, even if they are now futile, and oftentimes, force must be used to stop them from committing violence against anyone who tries to stop them. And it is impossible to take a Keeper prisoner; they are immune to mind control, and if a Keeper is about to be captured, its body dissolves into a puddle of inert goo, giving the Shadowchasers very little to work with.

To make things worse, the Keepers have become more active in recent years. Possibly, whatever their plans are, they may be close to a breakthrough in them. What the end result will be, no-one knows.


Story Ideas: The Keepers still pursue their strange goals, which seem to be connected to the study of Time in some way. They never seem to be able to complete their tasks for some reason, possibly because the death of their master made doing so impossible. But they will not give up.

Keepers may try to steal magical artifacts, silence researchers or sorcerers who make breakthroughs, or even more elaborate schemes.

It is possible that a villain may be able to direct the Keepers to hassle the heroes in a story, possibly by giving them false leads. Dealing with these beings can be a big headache. They can’t be reasoned with, cannot be bribed or threatened, and can only be fought and beaten.


Deck Suggestions: As creatures who research Time, a Keeper might use a Final Countdown Deck. It might also use a deck that deals with evolution and growth, like a deck that uses one or more sets of Leveled Monsters.

Keepers have a particular weakness while dueling: They can’t abide the chaos involved with cards that depend on chance. To them, such moves are illogical, and their use makes them flustered. Players that use gamble cards might distract them, causing them to make careless mistakes, especially if the gambler beats the odds with a lucky roll.

[Shuppet Master]

Great chapter, Brian. The whole scene where the platonic scans everyone's brain to learn the Duel Monsters game was very interesting and didn't disrupt the canon at all.

And platonics are the most extreme form of Law ever, even doing things that might end up with more Chaos unintentionally to fulfill some "contract." I don't know how long that platonic is going to be gone, but it certainly will be seen again, if I have a hunch, since it made an agreement.

Anyways, light fairies like the Agents are perfect sense for an extreme being of Law.

The file was interesting too. This is what happens when you make a vague order like that. "Make sure nobody knows how you came here", "OK", (kills the person who summons them), "Now what am I doing?"

I understand if you have a lot of work ahead of you. I don't expect DaPen to fall too easily and it might require a Crowning Moment of Awesome to end this fic.

[Dark Sage]

Keep in mind, Chris, that while indeed, platonics are the most extreme enforcers of Law, this particular platonic's sense of order was corrupted by the evil of the Earthbound Gods. If that had not happened, it likely would have realized that helping beings of such incredible Chaos would have been breaking more laws than it was enforcing, and would have left after slaying the deathdrinker. The Earthbound Gods are Evil incarnate, and their mere presence leaves a mark that takes some time to go away.