Yu-Gi-Oh: Tilting the Balance

[Master of Paradox]

Good whatever-time-it-is. You may call me the Master of Paradox. If you're reading this, you know the story's title, so I won't waste our time repeating it. But I welcome you anyway.

The rules this story will use are simple: to my fullest understanding, they will follow the rules of the real TCG. 8,000 Life Points, Tributes for monsters of Level 5 or higher, monsters must be Set to be played in Defense Mode, Rituals and Fusions require the proper Ritual or Fusion Monster card, Fusion and Ritual Monsters don't need to wait a turn before attacking, and so forth. The only true divergence is the Image system, which will be explained on its first appearance.

Because I hate the term "Spell Card", I'm calling cards of that type "Magic Cards", as per the old name.

Most real cards will have their real effects. The prime exception is Card of Sanctity, which uses its show effect. Other exceptions may occur. (Allow me to take this opportunity to apologize in advance if I fudge a card's rulings.)

I will be using show and created cards from time to time. All stats for such will appear at the end of the chapter in which the cards first appear.

Under the MPAA system, this story would be rated PG-13; by and ESRB standards, it would be rated T. It contains explicit language, violence (both hologrammatic and physical),adult themes, and religious themes that may offend some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

I think that covers everything, so I'll shut up and let the story do the talking. Strap in, my friends...

Go ahead and call me what you want. I’m used to it by now.

They call me Gerald Laxina, the Laziest Duelist Alive. To be honest, I guess it’s a fair assessment. I am the only duelist ever disqualified for falling asleep in the middle of a match, after all.

But I wasn’t born lazy. I was a fairly active kid… but when my parents started to move around a lot, my life started to go far too fast. My instinctive reaction was to put on the brakes. I learned the value of patience at a young age – just relax, and let life do its work, and everything comes together. Everything’s eventual.

Or so I like to think. It’s my motto.

There are two famous stories about me, and both are true. The first story is that I got into the dueling business when another duelist, having lost to a Yata-Garasu lock, threw his deck down and it landed next to me. The second is that I lucked into my strongest card when it turned out to be a bookmark in someone’s library book.

I’m one of the strongest duelists in the United States, having won state championships in sixteen of the continental forty-eight by the age of nineteen. Everything seemed about normal…

And then the Monster Island tournament came about.

Yu-Gi-Oh: Tilting the Balance

Written by Man Called True

A sequel to "Yu-Gi-Oh: The Thousand-Year Door" by Cyber Commander

Prologue: The Laziest Duelist Alive

The place: Trenton, New Jersey.

The time: 4:43 P.M.

The event: The New Jersey State Duel Monsters Championships, final round.

On one side of the field was a revved-up teenager named Lawrence Nobel, a boy in blue shirt and pants who was staring at the field with a look of hatred. He currently had three monsters in play: Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Beta the Magnet Warrior, and one monster facedown. He had no facedown cards, and his current Life Points were 5,600.

And strapped to his chest was a small box with the number 5 in bright red lights on the center.

Across the field sat a young man with mussed brown hair, leaning forward in his chair. The young man wore gray clothes, and he had slid his feet out of his loafers. Currently, his field consisted of a Wall of Revealing Light at 3,000, a facedown monster, and two facedown cards. He had 2,300 Life Points left.

At the moment, he was snoring softly.

“Gerald Laxina, you have thirty seconds to make your move or be disqualified!” declared the loudspeaker.

Gerald raised his head, shook it to clear the cobwebs out, and said, “Oh, sorry about that.” He took a card from his hand and set it on the Disk. “One monster in facedown Defense Mode. End turn.”

The counter on Lawrence’s chest clicked to 4.

“You punk! Two more turns is all I need to finish this!” Lawrence drew and then smiled. “I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior in Attack Mode!”

The Magnet Warrior rose into play, hefting its sword. (1500/1800) Its brother Magnet Warriors looked to each other and nodded.

“I suppose you’re going to summon Valkyrion now?” Gerald said, his usual tired drawl developing a bored edge.

Lawrence snickered. “You bet!” he replied. “I sacrifice all three of my Magnet Warriors to summon the mighty Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!”

The three Magnet Warriors disassembled, their pieces spinning around each other. Somehow, from this chaotic start, they began to form a complete being, one much larger and more powerful than the sum of its parts. A moment later, from the chaos descended Valkyrion, blade at the ready. (3500/3850)

One of Gerald’s eyebrows rose. “Impressive,” he muttered.

“You know it!” Lawrence answered. “And she’s more than powerful enough to beat your Wall of Revealing Light! Valkyrion, attack with Magnetic Pulse Blade!”

Valkyrion raised her mighty sword, turned it point-down, and impaled Gerald’s left facedown monster. The Magician of Faith appeared on the end of the sword for a second before shattering.

“Well, so much for her,” Gerald thought aloud. He showed the Pot of Greed he was retrieving to his opponent and slid it into his hand.

“That’s it for my turn,” Lawrence stated. The number on his chest went down to 3.

Looking at his latest draw, Gerald said, “I play the Pot of Greed.” He drew his two cards, glanced to them, and then said, “My turn ends now.”

The counter clicked to 2.

Sweating, Lawrence drew another card, and then set his hand down and pumped his fist. “You are so finished! First, I activate Valkyrion’s special ability!”

“That thing has a special ability?” Gerald asked.

Suddenly, Valkyrion exploded into her component parts, which began to rebuild into the Magnet Warriors.

“Forget I asked…” Gerald muttered.

Lawrence grinned and explained: “By sacrificing Valkyrion, I can bring back the three Magnet Warriors I gave up to bring her out! Next, I play Monster Reborn to retrieve Valkyrion herself!”

Even as he said it, the Magnet Warriors were back in full force, weapons raised. From the ground beside them rose Valkyrion, who slid the flat side of her sword along her palm.

“And finally,” Lawrence declared, “I can Tribute the Magnet Warriors for another Valkyrion!”

Once again, the three Magnet Warriors shattered into their component parts, which whirled about before reforming into the Magna Warrior herself.

Gerald looked to his Duel Disk and then shrugged. “This is your last turn,” he said. “You have no choice but to attack.”

“Damn straight!” Lawrence said. “First Valkyrion, attack his facedown monster!”

The Magna Warrior raised her blade and slammed it into Gerald’s facedown monster. It briefly appeared as a shiny turtle before shattering.

Laughing, Lawrence declared, “And now, second Valkyrion, attack his Life Points directly and win this duel!”

But even as Valkyrion raised her sword to land the finishing blow, a sudden wave of electricity filled the room, temporarily blinding the audience. It also blinded the referee, the sponsors, and Lawrence. The only person in the room who looked away at the right time was Gerald.

As the light cleared, Lawrence blinked several times, clearing his vision. He then looked to Gerald’s Life Point counter.

It still read 2,300.

“How did you survive that?” Lawrence yelled.

”The monster you destroyed was Electromagnetic Turtle,” Gerald answered in his usual drawl. “When it is sent to the Graveyard, I can end your Battle Phase that turn whenever I wish. And I chose right when you attacked me with the other Valkyrion.”

The truth of the situation sank in. “I lose,” Lawrence whispered. “I can’t do anything to beat you now.”

“Is that your turn?” Gerald asked.

Numbly, Lawrence nodded.

Drawing again, Gerald sighed. “I shouldn’t do this to you,” he said, “but I can’t resist. I play the magic card named Special Hurricane.”

As he played the card, gale-force winds tore across the field. Lawrence shivered, and then a gust decapitated his Valkyrions. “What happened?” he called out.

“By discarding one card from my hand,” Gerald explained, “I can destroy all Special Summoned monsters in play. Valkyrion can only be Special Summoned, and thus this spells the end for both of them.”

The wind cleared, and the scattered pieces of the Magna Warriors shattered. Lawrence gulped.

Taking a deep breath, Gerald exhaled and said, “I end my turn, so the Final Countdown reaches zero. I win.”

The box on Lawrence’s chest reached zero, and a computerized voice declared, “Final Countdown complete. Duel end.”

With that, the box exploded, throwing Lawrence to the floor as his Life Points fell to zero.

There was a pause, and then the audience roared its applause.

“The winner of the New Jersey State Duel Monsters Championship is… Gerald Laxina!” the loudspeaker blared.

As the applause died down, a very familiar noise filled the room…

The loudspeaker paused, and then said sheepishly, “Would someone please wake up the champion for the awards ceremony?”

0000000

The place: Ewing Township, New Jersey.

The time: 8:21 P.M., same day.

Striding through the door of the latest house his family was renting, Gerald Laxina took another look at the trophy he’d carried under his arm. It resembled a number of his other acquisitions, but this one had the New Jersey state flag engraved on the front.

“This makes ten states and six regional,” he said under his breath. “And yet I’m never around to defend it the next year…”

He set the trophy down on the kitchen table with a thump. Even as he did so, his mother walked in, still drying a dish in one hand.

“Oh, you’re back? It took you a while,” she said.

Glancing to a clock, Gerald shrugged. “The awards ceremony ran long.”

Reaching up, Gerald’s mother tugged one blonde curl. “The awards… you won?” She then dropped the dish.

Having expected that, Gerald shot a foot out, catching the falling flatware on the toe of his loafer. “Yes, mother,” he said. He then twitched his foot, sending the plate into the air.

His mother caught it, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek. “Well, congratulations,” she said. “By the way… there’s a package on the table addressed to you. It came in the mail today.”

”All right,” Gerald said. Turning to said table, he picked up a golden envelope. “’Sydney Meyers, Rogueport, Monster Island’? Interesting…”

Slitting the envelope open with his thumbnail, he slid out the contents.

0000000

Somewhere in the world, two men reclined in their chairs, watching Gerald reading his invitation to the Monster Island tournament via a strange set of mirrors. One wore black, the other green.

The one on the left, in the black, tapped the bridge of his sunglasses. “Mind telling me why we’re spying on the lazy guy and not on the Three Heroes?”

“Because he may yet be a threat to us,” the man in green, on the right of the mirrors, said, cracking a smile, “while the Three Heroes will actually be a benefit.”

“How so?”

“Remember what I told you about the Balance?”

The man in black shut his eyes for a moment, and then grinned. “Oh, you are devious, my friend,” he said. “So, so devious…”

“I was taught by the best,” the man in green replied.

0000000

The place: just off Chesapeake Bay.

The time: 12:01 P.M, some few days later.

All throughout the ship, duelists were chatting, making friends, declaring threats, and the usual activity of a social mixer… with one exception.

Gerald Laxina had swiftly occupied a deck chair, and was dozing calmly, his sleep aided by the gentle rocking motions of the ship.

0000000

The place: Rogueport.

The time: 9:43 A.M.

After the debriefing, Gerald, understandably, didn’t rush off to find a duel. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t rushed anywhere. He was currently leaning against a building, napping briefly.

Unbeknownst to Gerald, an old man with frizzy gray hair stopped his secretive movements and looked at him.

“Oh, ho, ho… Y-You w-won’t find m-much here, Mr. L-Laxina,” the old man whispered, “b-but destiny has s-something s-special p-planned for y-you...”

With that, he slid away unnoticed.

0000000

The place: Glitzville.

The time: 11:51 A.M., two days later.

“Final Countdown complete. Duel end.”

An explosion was barely audible above the usual background noise, but when the smoke cleared, a terrified young woman stared at her opponent, legs shaking. Her Life Point meter took a dive to zero.

“That’s my victory,” said Gerald, leaning back against the bench he was sitting on.

The young woman blinked, and then screamed, “How could I lose to a lazy bastard like you?” Throwing the Crystal Card at him, she turned and stormed away, audibly crying.

Taking the card, Gerald fanned out the other four in his possession and slid his latest acquisition into place. “That makes five,” he muttered.

Securely locking up his deck, he fell asleep once again.

0000000

The place: the edge of Twilight Town, in the woods.

The time: Late afternoon, several days after that.

Under a tree, Gerald was once again sleeping. Unfortunately, his luck had failed him between the duel with the young woman and this point, and he’d gone down to four Crystal Cards… but his luck had returned, and he’d just won two more off a now-dazed teenager. As usual, he had taken a nap afterwards.

The nap came to a crashing halt as a fairly high-pitched male voice yelled, “Who wants some of Andy Markova?” Gerald blinked awake and sat up, turning in the direction of the yell.

He had seen those three before. They traveled almost as a pack, and he’d caught glimpses of each of them dueling. The one in the back, Stan Mason, irritated him irrationally – perhaps it was just jealousy. The girl, Francesca whatever-her-last-name-was, simply terrified him. It was the deck, he was sure of it – he found her and her theme to be overly militaristic.

But the one who had just yelled, Andy… he liked him. The boy seemed different than the other duelists on this island. Gerald couldn’t put his finger on how.

Shrugging, he leaned against the tree again, blinked…

…and woke up to the sound of Andy yelling, “Hey, Rip Van Winkle!”

0000000

The time: Thirty minutes later.

Gerald woke up, shaking the cobwebs from his mind. Taking the Crystal Cards from his pocket, he sighed. “Five again,” he said.

Just then, he heard a series of footsteps. A man dressed like a samurai was tramping through the forest. Gerald asked, “Excuse me, who are you?”

“My name is Ushio, and I seek an opponent,” he replied. “And you are?”

Gerald grinned. “Gerald Laxina. Care to bet two Crystal Cards?”

0000000

The time: twenty turns later.

“Final Countdown complete. Duel end.”

And there was yet another explosion. Gerald Laxina was now eligible for a Crystal Star.

0000000

The place: the Wonky Circus, in front of a sold-out crowd.

The time: early evening, the same day as before.

Not for the first time in his life, Gerald Laxina was in over his head. He had a 3,000-point Wall of Revealing Light, a Spell Sanctuary, and a Grand Tiki Elder on the field in Defense Mode, but none were doing him much good. The reasons were self-evident – the Sanctuary had a Mask of Dispel stuck to it, and the Grand Tiki Elder was stuck with a Mask of the Accursed. Gerald’s Life Points were currently at 2,100, and sinking fast.

On the plus side, his opponent had furnished him with a very comfortable chair.

Across the floor from him stood an individual in a white, circles-for-eyes-and-mouth mask. Said individual, known as the Shy Guy General, had two facedown monsters – and his magic and trap zones were full. There was a Mask of Dispel, a Mask of the Accursed, a Mask of Restrict, and two facedown cards. His Life Points were at 4,500.

On the General’s chest sat the Final Countdown, with eight turns to go, but that no longer mattered.

“Will you make a move?” the General asked.

“I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn,” Gerald said, sighing.

Nodding, the General declared, “I draw!”

Both the Masks struck Gerald with energy beams, causing his body to jerk spastically and dropping his Life Points to 1,100.

“Next,” the General continued, “I activate my Emergency Provisions, sending my Mask of Restrict to the Graveyard and gaining 1,000 Life Points.”

A weird mouth emerged from the Emergency Provisions card, snapping the Mask of Restrict in half. The Shy Guy General’s Life Points rose to 5,500.

“With that out of the way,” the General continued, “I Tribute my facedown Grand Tiki Elder and Melchid the Four-Faced Beast for Masked Beast Des Guardius!”

The two facedown monsters shattered, and from where they had sat a gigantic silhouette rose to its feet. It had a gigantic set of claws on either hand, and over its face sat a blank white mask. Flexing its muscles, the creature howled. (3,300/2,500)

Gerald began to sweat. Even unenhanced, Des Guardius was more than powerful enough to break through his Wall of Revealing Light. He glanced at his own copy of the card, sitting useless in his hand.

The Shy Guy General tapped a button on his Duel Disk. “Next, I activate Final Attack Orders, forcing the Grand Tiki General into Attack Mode!”

A horn blast filled the air, and the Elder staggered to its feet, hands holding the Mask of the Accursed.

“Finally,” the General said, “I equip my Des Guardius with the Mask of Brutality, granting it 1,000 extra Attack Points!”

A hideous mask appeared in Des Guardius’s hand. Lowering its head, the beast took off its own mask and slid the Mask of Brutality onto its face. Its muscles bulged, and it roared at the top of its lungs. (4,300/2,500)

Steeling himself, Gerald shut his eyes and curled into a ball.

“Des Guardius,” the Shy Guy General declared, “attack with Claw of the Masked!”

Raising one claw, the Masked Beast Des Guardius brought it down hard, shattering the Grand Tiki Elder into a thousand pieces. Gerald’s Life Points plunged to zero.

The crowd let out a roar of approval.

When it was all over and the holograms vanished, the Shy Guy General walked up to Gerald’s chair. The young man was asleep once again.

“Huh. Most duelists just cry,” the General said.

0000000

The place: Rogueport.

The time: early the next morning.

One hand tangled in his unusually-mussed brown hair, Gerald glanced at his milkshake. It was half-empty now, and it was also his second since breakfast. Getting kicked from a tournament in one fell swoop was not something he was new to, but the circumstances were a true downer.

“Usually my audience is smaller than that,” he muttered, sipping the milkshake again afterwards. “And usually it’s not an all-or-nothing affair.”

Seeing a similarly-dismayed young man walking past, Gerald signaled to him. “What’s gone wrong in your life?” he asked.

“I lost a Crystal Star duel…” the young man replied.

Gerald sighed. “Join the club,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“Aesop.”

“Sit down and relax, then, Aesop. Have a milkshake if you want… I’m buying.”

And thus did Gerald find himself at the center of a support group.

0000000

The place: somewhere at sea.

The time: 12:35 P.M., after the tournament’s completion.

Most of the duelists aboard the ship home were cementing whatever friendships they had started on the island, cursing their luck, or otherwise reminiscing before it was time to rejoin the real world.

There was one exception.

Gerald Laxina, of course, was the exception. He had found the deckchairs again, and was asleep once more.

0000000

And somewhere in the world, the man in black and the man in green watched this last image on the array of mirrors before the man in black snapped his fingers, turning them off. “And so that’s that,” he said. “Now, remind me why we’re so concerned about one lazy young man.”

“Because the Light’s interested in him,” said the man in green. “But enough about him…”

The man in green snapped his fingers, and the mirrors showed another image entirely.

They showed the death of the Shadow Queen.

Both of the men smiled at that. “Oh, what little fools the Three Heroes are,” the man in black said. “Don’t they know that when you destroy something that steeped in Darkness, you throw the initiative to the other dark sources?”

The man in green shrugged. “They didn’t know about the Balance,” he answered. “This, of course, is music to our ears.”

Pushing his sunglasses back up on the bridge of his nose, the man in black nodded. “Shall we begin the preparations now?”

”Of course. But relax…” the man in green said. “We have all the time in the world.”

ELECTROMAGNETIC TURTLE
Type: Effect Monster
Stats: ?/?
Image: A turtle with two magnets, one positive and one negative, on its shell.
Effect: If this monster is sent to the Graveyard during your opponent’s turn, you may end your opponent’s Battle Phase at any time during that turn.

Note: This card was used by Yugi in the original series episode “Clash in the Coliseum, Pt. 3”. All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode. (I was unable to locate its statistics.)

Coming next chapter: One year has passed since the events on Monster Island. Gerald’s life seems to have stabilized, and his biggest concern at the moment is dealing with the rude duelist who’s interrupted activity at his job. But life can’t always be peaceful… Keep an eye out for Chapter One, “His Life as a…”.

[Master of Paradox]

The Monster Island Tournament was a year ago. I can’t remember who won… probably one of those three kids. When you lose a tournament, the winner’s identity no longer matters to you.

My own life resumed its usual hyperactive pace, much to my regret. In case you haven’t noticed, I prefer a slower-paced life. And I finally got it about eight months ago.

So, here I am, in a place I love, doing a job I love. My life has finally settled down.

This is not going to last, but I can pretend.

Chapter One: His Life as a…

Augusta, Maine is one of the quieter state capitols in the United States of America. Even the city’s own website doesn’t have a lot to say about it.

This was why Gerald Laxina liked living there. He preferred quiet.

One month after the Monster Island Tournament, his family had packed up and moved once more, as his parents were reassigned to another job. In Augusta, they had settled as lightly as usual… but Gerald had dug in.

On his first week in town, while wandering, he’d found a bookstore named Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies. As the name implied, it had a special emphasis on Duel Monsters, but there was plenty of other information to be found. And there was a Help Wanted sign in the window.

Before the day was out, he had a job.

Four months later, his parents were reassigned once more, but this time Gerald stayed behind. He moved into an apartment just down the street from the bookstore, and for eight months afterward he’d held down the job at Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies. It was a quiet life, the kind he’d wanted for ages.

Of course, his life wasn’t all book sales and sleeping. He still had hobbies.

He was the State Duel Monsters Champion of Maine now, too.

0000000

At 7:00 A.M., the alarm clock in Gerald’s bedroom went off. For the seventieth time in as many mornings, he hit the snooze button.

Five minutes later, it went off again. This time, for the first time in ages, he got up instead of hitting the snooze button again. Sighing, he took a pen and checked one column on a piece of paper next to the alarm clock – the column marked “Restless Sleep”.

Moving now to his closet, Gerald opened it and looked over the options. All but two of his shirts were gray. “I need better taste,” he muttered as he took today’s outfit off the hangers.

Breakfast was, as usual, a subdued affair. Between bites out of his bagel, Gerald carefully studied his latest addition to his collection of bonsai trees. He spent nearly a half hour carefully determining which ways to make it grow.

Finally, he lifted the scissors and made two cuts. After another moment, he smiled.

Once that was done, Gerald turned his eyes to the clock. “Time’s up,” he said to no one in particular (there wasn’t anyone there anyway). “Best be off to work.”

He didn’t rush out the door – Gerald Laxina never did anything fast. It was more of a slide.

0000000

Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies was a fairly small store, compared to most of the bookstores Gerald had seen. There was a decent sketch of the demonic researcher on the front window, just under the name of the store.

As usual, Gerald had taken his time getting to the store – he arrived five minutes before opening, which, given that he had the keys, was cutting it a bit close. He unlocked, turned the lights on, and slid behind the counter in short order.

Five minutes later, the store was open and he had dozed off behind the register. As the owner was out for the week at a trade show, nobody was there to complain. In addition to that, he’d put out a bell on the counter next to a sign saying, “If the clerk is asleep, hit the bell”.

And yet, somehow, he’d managed to keep the job for eight months now.

Half an hour later, someone hit the bell. As expected, Gerald lifted his head, blinking repeatedly. “How may I help you?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

“For starters, you can buy some No-Doz,” the bell’s ringer replied.

The clerk spun on his chair, eyes narrowed… and then relaxed. “Oh, it’s you, Chad…”

0000000

The story of how Gerald Laxina and Chad Montmelier had met was a fairly interesting one.

It began in a park just outside Augusta. While admiring the scenery, the lazy duelist happened across a man selling paintings – landscapes, for the most part. One of them caught Gerald’s eye, and he purchased it on the spot for twenty dollars.

Even as he was walking away, Gerald noticed the painter being drawn into a game of Duel Monsters… which he swiftly lost. His opponent snatched the twenty dollars out of the painter’s pocket, laughing – apparently, they’d made a bet.

Sidling back over, Gerald set the painting down, put on his Duel Disk, and won his money back in short order. He then returned it to the artist, and the two began to talk. As it happened, the two had more interests in common than Duel Monsters and art.

After that day, the two rapidly became the closest friends either of them had – Chad possessed all the energy that Gerald lacked.

On a side note, the landscape painting Gerald purchased that day was currently hanging over his bed in the apartment.

0000000

“Some days I wonder how you keep that job,” Chad said, grinning. He was a tall fellow, taller than Gerald’s six feet, with short blonde hair and a nearly insect-thin frame. As usual, Gerald noted, Chad had once again copied the style of a foregone age – today, judging from the leather jacket, beat-up jeans, and white T-shirt, he’d gone with the ‘50s tough.

Shrugging, Gerald turned to an incoming customer and began to ring up their purchases. “Luck, I guess. Old Hendricks seems not to care what I do as long as I don’t rob the till and nobody complains. We have security cameras, so I don’t have to watch the crowd...” He stopped and looked to the customer. “That’ll be $6.77.” Taking the payment, he made change and turned back to Chad. “In short, it’s the perfect job for a lazy man. How’s your life going?”

Chad let out a sigh, hunching up his jacket. “I can’t seem to get my paintings bought anywhere,” he answered. “Let me tell you, being a starving artist anywhere is bad enough, but in Maine it’s just embarrassing. At least in New York there’s a certain vibe…”

“Yes, the vibe of ‘Give me all your money and you won’t get hurt,’” Gerald answered, his usual drawl picking up a sarcastic edge. “I lived there between the ages of ten and eleven, and trust me - it’s not as glamorous as Hollywood likes to say. Granted, I lived in L.A. from age eight to age nine and it’s not that nice either…”

With a nod, Chad leaned against the counter, glancing towards the ceiling. “Well, that as it may be, I still pray I make it big. If I have to work in the hardware store another month, I swear to the Muses that I’ll go insane.”

“Go ahead,” Gerald said. “It probably wouldn’t hurt your career.”

“Har-de-fricking-har, Gerald.”

Another customer moved up to the counter, and Gerald proceeded to ring up her purchases. “‘Rendezvous with Rama’, Arthur C. Clarke – that’s a classic… ‘The Mote in God’s Eye’, never read that one myself… ‘Foundation’, Isaac Asimov, brilliant… ‘Beginning Duelist’s Manual’, where was that when I got into the game…” He smirked at the girl across the counter. “Do I sense a machine deck on the horizon?”

The girl merely blushed.

“Speaking of Duel Monsters,” Gerald said, looking to Chad, “how’s ‘All Creatures Big and Unpleasant’ coming along?”

Chad smirked, adjusting his jacket as he answered, “It’s finished and tested. I waltzed through some of the guys at the local game shop.”

“That’s good to hear…” Gerald then sighed and took his deck out from under the counter, spreading its cards out.

“Something wrong?”

After letting out another sigh, Gerald nodded. “I think it’s time to retire the Final Countdown deck,” he said. “I’ve dueled with it 176 times. 154 wins, twenty-two losses… That’s a pretty good record, and now I’m tired of it. It’s time to move on.”

Chad shrugged. “Your choice, I guess. Any ideas what you’ll play next?”

“Well…”

Before Gerald could finish his thought, the door swung open and trouble walked in. In this case, “trouble” was a young woman in bright red tube-top and black jeans, with a pair of sunglasses balanced on the tip of her oddly long nose. Her hair was short and blonde, and she moved like she had a grudge against the ground she walked on.

Moving up to the counter, the girl shoved Chad aside and leaned forward, staring across at Gerald. “Remember me?”

“Sadly, yes,” the clerk answered. “You would be Valerie Pemgast, the ‘poor little rich girl’ who I caught shoplifting last Tuesday. Refresh my memory…” He yawned. “Didn’t I ban you from coming back here for the rest of your life?”

Valerie laughed behind her hand, and then shifted her sunglasses. “Why should I let your word stop me? This is a free country.”

“Because I happen to work here and you don’t?” Gerald drummed his fingers on the counter, eyes narrowing. “Now be gone before I have to make a few phone calls.”

This time Valerie didn’t even bother to hide her laugh. She looked around, and then spotted the girl whose purchases Gerald had rung up a few minutes ago. Swiping the top book off the pile, she snorted. “‘Beginning Duelist Manual?’” she said derisively. “If you have to learn from a book, why bother?” She set the book back on the pile and then shoved the girl to the ground.

Most of Gerald’s patience had evaporated when Valerie walked through the door. The last grain disappeared at the sight of the girl hitting the ground. Reaching under the counter, he took out his Duel Disk.

The rich girl smiled. “Oh, so now you want to duel me?”

“Should you win,” Gerald said in answer, “you may stay here. If you lose, however, you must immediately leave and never return. Or I will call the cops.”

Taking a cell phone-sized piece of metal from her pocket, Valerie pressed a red button on the side. The metal suddenly expanded and unfolded, revealing a wafer-thin Duel Disk when it was done.

Chad whistled. “A Pocket Disk,” he muttered. “Those do not come cheap.”

The girl who Valerie had pushed scrambled to her feet and moved aside, inadvertently joining the crowd – as usual, the idea of a duel had attracted publicity.

Meanwhile, Valerie smirked, hissing, “I know your strategy – I was at the State Championships. Your Final Countdown won’t even reach ten turns!”

After a moment’s thought, Gerald took another deck out from under the counter, sliding it into his Duel Disk. Taking a few cards from his old deck, he slid them into the new one, withdrawing a few as he did so.

With a nervous twinge in his voice, Chad asked, “Is that the challenge deck we were working on?”

Having regained his composure, Gerald answered in his usual drawl: “I might as well. I was already bored with the old deck, remember?” He then shifted on his seat and said to Valerie, “Let’s duel.”

Both Life Point counters went to 8,000.

That challenge deck isn’t finished! Chad thought to himself. It’s got 40 cards, but we never settled on a strategy for it! Man, I hope Gerald knows what he’s doing…

“I will begin,” Gerald said, “by setting one monster face-down in Defense Mode and setting a card facedown. My turn ends.” His played cards appeared on the field.

Laughing, Valerie drew. “Let me show you a real opening play! I summon Hydrogeddon in Attack Mode!”

What appeared to be an ankylosaurus made of flowing mud rose into view, burbling as it did so. (1600/1000)

“I see,” Gerald said. “You do realize I can predict every move you’re going to make from here on out, right?”

Valerie laughed again. “Be that as it may, you can’t stop them! Hydrogeddon, attack with Hydrogen Cannon!”

Inhaling, the dinosaur let out a blast of brown water from its mouth. It splashed harmlessly off of the target… which seemed to be an effigy of a man made from burned-out logs.

Shaking his head, Gerald explained, “You just attacked my Charcoal Inpachi, the ultimate barbeque grill. That’s 2100 Defense Points, so not only did the attack fail, but you just hurt yourself.”

Valerie’s Life Points sank to 7,500. She hissed and set a card facedown, waving for Gerald to go.

Drawing his next card, Gerald smiled and said, “I tribute my Charcoal Inpachi for a face-down monster, and set another card facedown. That’s it for me.” The Charcoal Inpachi vanished, replaced by another face-down monster.

“I won’t be tricked!” Valerie declared, drawing again. “Now I use the ability of Gilasaurus – I can Special Summon it from my hand, but it lets you Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard. I’m not afraid of a little hibachi, so I don’t care!”

A small, thin dinosaur skittered into view. (1400/400) Meanwhile, on Gerald’s field, the Charcoal Inpachi rose back into the game in Defense Mode. (0/2100)

Glancing at her hand, Valerie took two cards. “I set one card facedown, and then I summon Balloon Lizard in Attack Mode!”

There was a moment’s pause, and then a bloated lizard floated down from above. (400/1900)

“And that’s it,” Valerie concluded.

As he drew again, Gerald nodded to Chad, and then said, “I summon Inpachi in Attack Mode.”

Several logs clattered onto the field, and then pulled themselves together. The end result was a humanoid figure made of cut logs, which made a hollow noise as they thumped together. (1600/1900)

In mock fear, Valerie cried out, “Oh, crap! I summoned Balloon Lizard in Attack Mode!”

A low sigh escaped Gerald’s lips before he explained, “I’m not an idiot, Valerie. If I attacked Balloon Lizard, you’d activate a trap to defend it so that you could exploit its effect when I did destroy it. However, I’m guessing you’re not so concerned about your Gilasaurus. Inpachi, attack Gilasaurus with Wood Clobber.”

Marching forward, the wooden man spun its arm twice and then brought it down hard on the Gilasaurus’s head, smashing the raptor to the ground. It struck again and again until the monster exploded into triangles.

“I guessed correctly,” Gerald said, smirking, as Valerie’s Life Points slipped to 7,300. “Your move.”

Drawing again, Valerie hissed as she opened the field slot on her Duel Disk. “You’ll wipe that smirk off your face soon enough! I play the field magic card Wasteland, granting all dinosaurs an attack bonus!”

All around the two duelists, the ground began to dry out and crack. Slowly, the tile floor transformed into a parched landscape, steam raising from it as though the sun beat mercilessly upon the ground. The Hydrogeddon let out a sound of satisfaction as its power rose. (1800/1200)

“Now, how much punishment can your wooden man take?” Valerie asked. “Hydrogeddon, attack the Inpachi with Hydrogen Cannon!”

Inhaling, the Hydrogeddon fired a blast of water at the log creation. The impact scattered the Inpachi into its component logs, one of which struck Gerald in the stomach. His Life Points slid to 7,800.

“Now that my Hydrogeddon has destroyed a monster in battle,” Valerie continued, “its special ability calls out another Hydrogeddon from my deck!”

Indeed, even as she said it, a swirl of fairly unpleasant-looking water dripped from her deck, solidifying as another Hydrogeddon. (1800/1200)

Looking over the twin Hydrogeddons, Chad said, “I’ve always wondered what those things are made of. I’m probably better off not knowing…”

After a quick overview of her field, Valerie waved for Gerald to move.

With a nod, he drew his next card and weighed his options. “Hmmmm…” He then grinned, and played his next card. “I play Dark Designator. Now I can name one monster, and if you have it in your deck, you have to add it to your hand. And I’ll name Oxygeddon.”

Everyone turned and stared at Gerald, with the occasional murmur of, “Is he crazy?” passing through the crowd.

Even Valerie was confused at first, but she quickly answered, “That I do have,” and took her deck out of her Duel Disk, searching for the named card and setting it into her hand.

“Now I set one monster in Defense Mode,” Gerald finished, “and that will be my turn.”

Looking at her cards, Valerie groaned. Well, I have the three main pieces to my best move, she thought, but I’m missing the trigger. “Since you gave it to me, I might as well play it,” she said aloud. “I summon Oxygeddon in Attack Mode!”

A gust of wind gathered a bunch of clouds together. After a moment, they took the shape of a pterodactyl, which cawed at its opponent. (2000/1000)

“Bad idea,” Gerald said at that point, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. “I activate my face-down card, Karma Cut. Now, by discarding one card from my hand, I can remove one monster on your field from the game. I think I’ll choose Oxygeddon.”

A portal swirled into being behind Oxygeddon. Slowly, it drew the dinosaur into itself… and then a giant heart appeared on Valerie’s field. It beat twice, and then the third beat shut the portal down, freeing the gaseous dinosaur.

“You set off my trap, Jurassic Heart!” Valerie yelled. “It negates and destroys traps that try to affect my dinosaurs!”

“Ah.” Gerald was now regretting his earlier move.

Cursing to herself, Valerie glanced over Gerald’s field and then said, “My turn ends for now.”

Gerald drew and said, “I pass.”

On her next draw, Valerie glanced at her card, and then broke into laughter. Her laughing continued, until she nearly doubled over where she stood.

“That is never a good thing,” Gerald said to himself.

After regaining her self-control, the girl held up the card she’d just drawn… one with a beaker in its picture. She then declared, “I play Bonding H2O, which lets me sacrifice one Oxygeddon and two Hydrogeddons to summon, from my Deck, my all-powerful Water Dragon!”

Everyone in the crowd took two steps back.

Continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

On a bizarre impulse, the Hydrogeddons stepped close together. The Oxygeddon descended onto them, and then the three melted into each other. For a moment, there was merely an unidentifiable blob, and then it flashed into one long chain of water. The water rose around Valerie, and suddenly Gerald was looking up at a massive, serpentine dragon made entirely of water. It roared. He shuddered. (2800/2600)

“Water Dragon,” Valerie ordered, “destroy his Charcoal Inpachi!”

The rush of water drowned out all other noises as the sea serpent moved to obey her order. It charged forward, and in one tidal surge, the Charcoal Inpachi’s frame was obliterated. The resulting pieces of coal were swept away by the water.

“Bad luck for you that was in Defense Mode,” Gerald noted.

Valerie smirked as she replied, “Not that it matters. All I have to do is pummel away until you can’t defend any more. My turn ends now.”

Drawing his next card, Gerald blinked twice. Well… just the card I needed for the situation. “I set a card face-down and end my own turn,” he declared.

After drawing, Valerie said, “I set one monster in face-down Defense Mode, and order Water Dragon to take out your left face-down monster!”

Which one is that? Gerald asked himself. After a glance to his Duel Disk, his eyes widened. That’s exactly what I needed to happen.

The Water Dragon roared, and then launched itself across the field again. This time, its rampage tore apart a man-shaped set of logs held together with iron plating, throwing pieces of them every which way.

Gerald clucked his tongue. “Bad move, Valerie,” he said. “Very bad move.”

“How so?” she asked. “I just trashed your Woodborg Inpachi.”

“I needed it trashed,” he replied, activating one of his face-down cards; it showed a Pendulum Machine exploding and Mega Thunderballs emerging from within it. “Because now I can activate my trap card, Spark Gathering.”

That card wasn’t in the deck before! Chad thought. He must’ve added it when I wasn’t here. I wonder what strategy he built the deck around…

Gulping, Valerie asked, “What does Spark Gathering do?”

“This trap only works when a Machine-type monster of Level Five or more is destroyed by any means,” Gerald explained, searching his deck. As he withdrew three cards, he continued, “Now I may Special Summon up to three Thunder-type monsters of Level Three or less from my Deck in Attack Mode. So it’s time to greet the Batterymen AA.”

Three sparks bounced around the field, moving too fast for any details to be seen. Finally, however, they slowed to a stop, landing on Gerald’s field next to his face-down monster. All three had an AA battery for a body, with a bulbous head and thin limbs that terminated in clunky hands and feet. (0/0 x3)

Valerie stared for a moment, and then giggled. The crowd joined her, and soon there was a round of riotous laughter. Gerald just took it stoically, watching as a wave of electricity passed between the Batterymen.

“I should note,” he finally said loud enough to be heard over the laughing, “that if all Batterymen AA on my field are in the same mode, they gain 1000 points to that mode for each Batteryman AA.” The laughter came to a halt. “So since I have three Batterymen AA in Attack Mode, all three have 3000 Attack Points.”

The electricity hit its maximum level, and the Batterymen were surrounded by blue coronas of power. (3000/0 x3)

Valerie was now unable to laugh. “I… end my turn…”

“As you would have to,” Gerald said, drawing. He then declared, as he flipped his face-down monster, “I switch my Dimension Jar into Attack Mode. Its flip effect allows us to both remove up to three monsters in our opponent’s Graveyard from play. I’ll let you pick first…”

As he did this, a bizarre-looking metal box rose into view. Several panels flipped open, revealing an unearthly light. (200/200)

After first kicking herself, Valerie sighed and said, “I only have three choices. Get rid of your Inpachi, Charcoal Inpachi, and Woodborg Inpachi…”

“As you’ve probably guessed, I’ll remove both of your Hydrogeddons and your Oxygeddon,” Gerald replied.

Once the decisions were made, the Dimension Jar flashed, and then began to rumble. The named monsters were drawn from their owner’s graveyards and sucked into the machine, which closed up its panels and went silent.

“Next,” Gerald said, “I’ll summon Blazing Inpachi in Attack Mode.”

The monster thus summoned looked like Gerald’s previous Inpachi monsters, but it was burning with might… and fire. It took several poses before slamming its wooden “hands” together. (1850/0)

As it came out, however, the Water Dragon spat at it, causing the flames to go out. The still-smoldering creature promptly fell over, as did Chad in the crowd. (0/0)

“Have you forgotten that Water Dragon reduces all Fire attribute and Pyro-type monsters’s Attack Points to zero?” Valerie asked, now more confident.

“Have you forgotten that I have my Batterymen AA on the field with 3000 Attack Points each?” Gerald answered.

Valerie’s confidence wilted away.

Smiling, Gerald noted, “Judging by your reaction, your facedown card is not something that can save you. Now… my first Batteryman AA, destroy Water Dragon with Thunder Jolt.”

The Batteryman in question surged upwards, and then came down as a bolt of lighting through the Water Dragon. The electricity channeled through the dragon, conducted by its watery nature. The serpentine creature roared in pain, the electric waves shattering the bonds that held it together, before finally breaking apart and returning to its original, watery state. The result was a miniature tidal wave that flooded the space between the duelists for a moment.

Valerie’s jaw dropped as her most powerful monster evaporated into nothing. She didn’t even register that her Life Points were now at 7,100.

With the Water Dragon’s death, the Blazing Inpachi shook off the water and slammed its “hands” into its chest. After a few moments of this, it reignited, its power restored. (1850/0)

“Next,” Gerald ordered, “I’ll have Blazing Inpachi deal with your face-down monster. Attack with Kindling Smash, Blazing Inpachi.”

Marching over to the face-down monster, the burning wooden man raised its hands and began to rhythmically pound on it with its arms. After a few hits, the opposing monster was revealed to be a small dinosaur with a long, flat-ended nose. (1500/1200 - 1700/1400)

One more hit from the Blazing Inpachi shattered it into a thousand pieces, but as it died its head was left behind. Confused, the wooden man knelt to examine the head… and then to everyone’s shock, the head bounced up and hit it square in the chest. The Blazing Inpachi flew through the air, landing back in its card. At that point, Gerald’s Duel Disk beeped.

Once the shock had worn off, Valerie explained, “The monster was Hyper Hammerhead. When it battles an opposing monster and that monster survives, it returns the monster to its owner’s hand.”

Even as he added Blazing Inpachi to his hand, Gerald ordered, “My second Batteryman AA, attack Balloon Lizard… which she never bothered to switch into Defense Mode…”

“I never had to! Activate Desert Sunlight!” Valerie announced, her facedown card flipping up. “This switches all my monsters to face-up Defense Mode!”

The Balloon Lizard lowered, switching to Defense Mode. It was perfect timing, as the Batteryman shot up into the air and came down as a lightning bolt. And as it hit the Balloon Lizard, the reptile popped loudly, causing everyone’s hair to blow back.

As the noise stopped, Valerie smirked and said, “When Balloon Lizard is destroyed, you take 400 points of damage for every Standby Phase that it was in play. That makes 1200 points, all aimed at -”

“You,” Gerald interrupted. “Activate Barrel Behind the Door, which switches the damage to my opponent.”

The antique golden gun rose into view, absorbing the shock from the Balloon Lizard’s death. It then fired, the blast flooring Valerie and sending her Life Points down to 5,900.

That… stings… Valerie thought as she stood up. And the worst part is that the turn’s not even over yet. She braced herself.

After a moment’s pause, Gerald nodded. “Dimension Jar, attack her directly. Once that’s done, my third Batteryman AA, you will also attack directly.”

Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, and then the young man sighed. “Chad,” he said, “give the Dimension Jar a good kick in Valerie’s direction, if you please?”

Stepping out of the crowd, Chad shrugged and kicked at the hologram. To his surprise, it flew across the field and hit Valerie in the gut, lowering her Life Points to 5,700.

“Thank you,” Gerald said. “Now run for it.”

The artist vacated the field just as the third Batteryman AA surged with power and shot into the sky. A moment later, a bolt of lightning struck Valerie, causing her to scream as her Life Points fell to 2,700.

“That’s all I can do,” Gerald said.

While drawing her next card, Valerie thought, Time for damage control. If I can’t get some very good defenses up, he wins on this next turn. Once the card was in her hand, she played it immediately. “Pot of Greed!”

Even as she drew two more cards, Gerald began to nod off where he was sitting.

“Stay awake, you loser!” the girl yelled, shocking her opponent back to full wakefulness. “Now I summon Armored Lizard in Attack Mode!”

The resulting monster was not a very impressive sight – it looked like a blue, humanoid gecko in armor. (1500/1200)

”What is that going to do, bite my ankles off?” Gerald asked.

“Actually,” Valerie replied, “it’s the key to my recovery, because now I play Ultra Evolution Pill!” The magic card shimmered into play. “I simply need to give up one Reptile-type monster on my field, and I can Special Summon any Dinosaur-type monster in my hand!”

Taking the pill, the Armored Lizard swallowed it. It then began to convulse, its body swelling and making unnatural popping noises as it began to expand outward. Its skin turned a deep, unholy black…

Chad saw what was coming, and his eyes narrowed. On its own, what Valerie’s summoning isn’t strong enough to deal with Gerald’s forces. But she has so many cards in her hand that she must have a plan to go with it.

The lizard was done evolving, and now it stood over Gerald, growling and dripping saliva down from its maw. It was a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex, its jaws filled with an endless array of razor teeth. Drawing power from the Wasteland it stood on, it roared in satisfaction.

“Meet the Black Tyranno,” Valerie said simply. (2800/2000)

Looking up, and up, and up, Gerald looked into the dinosaur’s eyes. “So… how is this supposed to deal with my Batterymen?”

Holding up another magic card, Valerie slid it into her Duel Disk and announced, “I play Block Attack on one of your Batterymen AA, switching it to Defense Mode! They all have to be in the same position to gain points, and that means…”

Gerald’s eyes went wide. “… that they’re all powerless.”

One of the Batterymen knelt in Defense Mode, and their electric field died. (0/0 x3)

“Now, Black Tyranno,” Valerie ordered, “devour one of the Attack Mode Batterymen AA!”

Stomping up, the Black Tyranno sniffed at a Batteryman AA, and then gulped it down in one bite. Gerald’s Life Points dove to 5,000.

“That’s it for my turn,” the girl announced.

Drawing, Gerald shot Valerie a glare, and then played one card from his hand. “I play Thunder Crash. This magic card allows me to wipe my field clean of monsters, and then hit you with 300 points of damage for each one. That’s 900 points, in case your math skills are as bad as I think.”

A bolt of lighting coursed through Gerald’s monsters, shattering all three, and then shot across the field and into Valerie. She shook with the pain as she was electrocuted, her Life Points hitting 1,800.

“Next,” he said, as he played another card, “I play Graceful Charity. So now I’ll draw three…” He did so. “And discard two.” After doing so, he announced, “I play Monster Reborn, to bring back a monster I just discarded – my second Woodborg Inpachi, in Defense Mode. Remember them?”

The Woodborg Inpachi rose into view, arms crossed. (500/2500)

“Finally,” he said, sliding the last card from his hand into his Duel Disk, “I set this facedown and end my turn.”

Drawing a card, Valerie laughed in triumph. “Your defenses are worthless! Black Tyranno, eat up that Woodborg Inpachi!”

Charging forward, the dinosaur took a massive bite out of the Woodborg Inpachi, leaving it sparking before it exploded.

“Activate a second Spark Gathering,” Gerald said calmly, activating his face-down card.

Blinking, Valerie then protested, “No way! Why would you play two of them? You can only have three Batteryman AA monsters in your deck, so another Spark Gathering is worthless!”

“Now, who said I only played Batteryman AA?” Gerald replied. “I bring out my three Thunder-type monsters for this play… my Batteryman C group.”

Three little balls of lightning landed on Gerald’s field. They looked a little like the original Batterymen Gerald had played, but these were smaller, and didn’t have the same electric field as before. (0/0 x3)

Valerie’s jaw dropped. “They have no Attack Points? Sheesh! I end my turn!”

“And you didn’t play any other monsters or facedown cards,” Gerald noted as he drew. “Overconfidence will now destroy you. I play Pot of Greed…” He drew two cards, and then continued, “And Pot of Avarice. By shuffling five monsters into my deck, I can draw two more cards.”

Moving to the edge of the crowd, Chad peeked at Gerald’s cards as the clerk drew. What he saw astonished him. He’s won.

“Now,” Gerald said, “I summon Inpachi in Attack Mode.”

Another pile of logs fell on the field, and again gathered into the log-man. (1600/1900)

Valerie snorted, saying, “Waste of time…” But she was cut off as something strange happened.

The Batterymen C huddled together, charging up an energy field around themselves. They then launched the field into the sky. A moment later, two bolts of lighting struck Inpachi, which raised its fists in victory. (3100/1900)

“When all my Batterymen C are in the same mode,” Gerald said, waving to his Inpachi, “all Machine-type monsters on the field with them gain 500 points in that mode for every Batteryman C. Inpachi’s a very primitive machine, but a machine nonetheless. Next, I play Double Attack and discard a Labyrinth Wall…”

Valerie screamed. “NO! Now Inpachi can attack twice! I’m finished!”

The clerk smiled. “Perceptive. Inpachi, Wood Clobber the Black Tyranno.”

The wooden man charged, leapt into the air, and bashed the Black Tyranno over the head. The dinosaur staggered, and then collapsed, shattering into pieces. Valerie wept as her Life Points sank to 1,500.

“And now, Inpachi,” Gerald ordered, “attack Valerie for the win.”

Marching past the defeated Black Tyranno, the wooden man stood in front of Valerie. She tried to grin sheepishly, only to get a wooden fist to the gut. Her Life Points fell to zero, and the duel ended.

There was a pause, and then the crowd went wild.

Shutting off his Duel Disk, Gerald yawned and then pointed to the door. “The exit is that way, Ms. Pemgast. Now fill your end of the bet and leave the premises.”

Valerie’s only response was to sulk as she shut off her Pocket Disk and walked out of the bookstore.

By the time she was out of the building, Gerald was asleep again.

0000000

Somewhere in the world, the man in black and the man in green had seen the entire battle on the array of mirrors.

The man in black, on the left, snapped his fingers, and the mirrors went blank. “Entertaining,” he said. “I’m beginning to understand why you consider him a threat. To use a deck so original and come out ahead requires more than his share of skill.”

“Exactly, Degas,” the man in green, on the right, said. “It is for that reason that we will lure him in and dispose of him. I presume everything is in place?”

The man called Degas smiled, pushing his sunglasses back up. “Indeed, Alexander. Our flight is ready, and we’ve already begun the plan in the city. The Four Pillars are awaiting orders. Soon we will have all the strings in place for the big puppet show.”

The man in green, Alexander, adjusted his coat. “And if I know how the Light works,” he said, “they should get the ball rolling this night. It’s such a glorious feat when you can use your enemy’s moves to your advantage.”

A tone of concern slid into Degas’s next words as he asked, “Are you sure we can trust him to react as you say he will?”

Alexander merely smirked. “If he is the same man I think he is, that will not be a concern.”

0000000

The rest of the day was uneventful, and so it went on to the evening. Setting his alarm, Gerald Laxina lay down on his bed, stared at the ceiling, and sighed.

Ever since the Monster Island tournament, for reasons he could not understand, he’d had trouble getting to sleep at night. The rest of the day, he could (and did) drop off to sleep at the blink of an eye (often literally); but once he tried to sleep for the night, it was time to start tossing and turning.

Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered why he, the laziest man alive (he didn’t try to fool himself), was suffering insomnia. It didn’t make any sense. Aside from dueling, it was the only thing he was good at.

As Gerald pondered these things, his temples began to throb.

Before he could begin to contemplate that, a splitting headache struck him. He grabbed his skull and rolled off the bed, gasping…

And then the vision started, and the world became a kaleidoscope.

JURASSIC HEART
Type: Normal Trap Card
Image: A large heart, presumably human.
Effect: Negate and destroy one Trap effect targeting a Dinosaur-type monster you control.
Note: This card was used by Rex Raptor in the original series episode “On the Wrong Track, Pt. 2”. All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

SPARK GATHERING
Type: Normal Trap Card
Image: A destroyed Pendulum Machine spitting out sparks, at the heart of which are Mega Thunderballs.
Effect: You may only activate this card when a Machine-type monster of Level Five or higher that you control is destroyed. Special Summon three Thunder-type monsters of Level Three or less from your Deck in face-up Attack Position.

Coming next chapter: A vision from otherworldly powers has set out what Gerald has to do. Other events are going to cement that path for him. There’s no duel next chapter, but there’s a great deal of activity just as important. Get ready for Chapter 2, “World Gone Mad”…

[Dark Sage]

Whee! I'm the first reviewer!

First off, the stats for Electromagnetic Turtle are (0/1,800)

Now that we've handled that, I liked the chapter. Gerald's Batteryman Deck was impressive, and a duel in a bookstore was something I'd have never thought of.

I can't say much for now, but I hope the next chapters are just as good. I await chapter two.

- Dark Sage

[jkBAKURA]

“The winner of the New Jersey State Duel Monsters Championship is… Gerald Laxina!” the loudspeaker blared.

As the applause died down, a very familiar noise filled the room…

The loudspeaker paused, and then said sheepishly, “Would someone please wake up the champion?

You have no idea how much I laughed at this. It's practicly become the tagling, and we just might have a best quote nomination for the next awards. Anyhow, I love how oyu've taken some of the predictable moves, and actually made the cast aware of them, instead of the limitless "suprise" reactions in other fics, to combos that the entire YGO fanbase knows about. I know the anime worlds are different, but it gives us something to relate to.

Other gags are priceless too. I'll give Paradox something, he has a way with words. In any case, even though the author and I are friends, even I am left in the dark to the majoridy of this story, so suprises will come to me just as much as everyone else. And aparently Gerald had a Des-Guardius... seems out of theme to me, but hey, I didn't create him.

I have to wonder many things, among them the identity of Geral'd Soul Card, but I won't clutter the board with questions that will be shrugged off and answered later anyway. This and Dark Massiah are going to be an interesting pair to be posted alongside each other. I hope I don't get them confused.

[Perfect Chaos]

Very nice intro MoP

Yes, that quote by the loudspeaker indeed should be nominated for quote of the year and definitely is this story's tagline. This story seems to have a very interesting theme behind it. Let's see how much of a "hero" Gerald really is.

Oh, and nice work with the girl. You gave her a theme that actually threw me off completely. I was actually expecting Fairies or something of that sort, but you gave us all a pleasant surprise using a deck that mainly males use.

Look forward to the next chapter.

-Sean

[Mookie]

Holy hell! I liked that! (Especially the Dimension Jar attack. :biggrin

The duel was pretty unpredictable. I love the Inpachi monsters and I didnt expect the Batterymen. The opponent had also somewhat surprising deck theme. Dinosaurs. Hehe.

I'll keep reading. Its a good fic. :smilie:

[Mystic_clown]

Hmm, interesting deck theme, MoP. I never would have guessed it. I agree with everyone else, I'm really liking this so far.

[starjake]

Gerald is funny, as always. And I'm in full agreement with the saying of the year thing.

I have little time to say much of anything; I'm off to enjoy the Friday night I've been given. However, in general, I like it. Get a new chapter up soon!

[Shuppet Master]

I really begin to understand how you became such a great person who knows about fanfiction, Paradox. Your story is quite interesting. The fact that you had Gerald retire his deck for a Batteryman deck is most interesting. I was contemplating using one myself, but now that's impossible(it would have been one of Cyrus's decks - that was a spoiler).

I can't wait to see what's going to happen next, keep up the good work.

[Blademaster]

So, this story is finally started, eh?

Well, I'll admit, Paradox, for a guy with no sense of humor whatsoever, you can be pretty funny. :biggrin:

I noticed a few minor stat errors, but otherwise, it was a good start. I like your attention to detail, too, like when Water Dragon got destroyed.

Anyway, I don't have too much to say (for once), but if you keep-a writin', then I'll keep-a readin.' Easy! :smilie:

Well, see ya later.

-Blade

[Master of Paradox]

Shuppet Master: Feel free to use the Batteryman Deck. Gerald called it a "challenge deck" for a reason - he's got a different deck theme in mind for his permanent deck.

We are in 2006... You are still in front of the computer and I inside, good morning! Time for a new chapter!

(This intro openly stolen from a French puppet.)

I knew it was all too good to last. Yesterday, I was living a normal life.

Today, I seem to have stepped into a well-disguised layer of Hell.

It started with the vision I had when I was trying to sleep. I would call it an acid trip, but having never taken lysergic acid diethylamide in my life, it wouldn’t be an accurate description.

And now, I’m standing in the ruins of what was my life a few minutes ago, and all I can think is that I will make several people pay for all this.

…well, that, and I’m still trying to work out what “Kanlon” means.

Chapter Two: World Gone Mad

The room Gerald Laxina now laid prone in was not his bedroom. For starters, his bedroom was about 1/20th of this size.

As his sight cleared, Gerald tried to stand up. This was a very bad move, as he proceeded to sink up to his ankles into the floor.

The entire room was a bright, psychedelic pink, like he was trapped inside a lava lamp. Above his head, a series of white lines began to form a diamond shape, about a thousand square feet in area.

“So… when do I get an explanation as to where I am and why I’m here?” Gerald asked. On not receiving a response, he asked, “Can you at least tone down the décor?”

The room turned to a dark gray, far easier on the eyes but dark enough for the white lines to be visible. In addition, the floor let go of his feet. As his bed was gone, he laid down on the floor to see the lines better.

The white lines drew four circles, one at each point where the sides of the diamond met. They then drew a circle in the center, before drawing four lines out from it to the other four circles.

Gerald yawned, his usual reaction to lying down – falling asleep – beginning to catch on. At that point, a voice in his head said, “Listen closely,” and he cried out in shock.

”Mind warning me before you chime in?” he said under his breath.

“Sorry,” the voice in his head said. Gerald realized it sounded exactly like his own thoughts. “Either way, it’s in your own best interest that you pay attention to what you’re about to see.”

“All right… but why do you sound like my thoughts?”

“Would you really have felt more comfortable if a stranger’s voice popped into your head?”

“Touché.”

One by one, words began to appear in the circles above Gerald. The circle on the left was labeled “Light”, the circle on the top labeled “Dreams”, the circle on the bottom labeled “Shadow”, and the circle on the right labeled “Darkness”. The center circle stayed unlabeled.

Taking a chance, Gerald asked aloud, “What is the significance of that diagram?”

As he’d hoped, the voice spoke again. “That is the Balance,” it answered him. “It is a manifestation of the four morals that guide the universe. At this point, it is in equilibrium, and all is right with the world. Now watch…”

As Gerald watched, the Darkness circle slid inward, pulling on the lines around it. The Light circle moved outward, disrupting the Dreams circle, and soon the lines themselves cracked and splintered.

“What just happened?” Gerald asked, but the voice refused to answer. Several minutes passed, and then he let out a huff and stood up again, looking closely at the circles.

To his amazement, the young man could see people in each circle. Some looked small and weak, while others were tall and powerful. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the unlabeled center circle, but the others were full of people.

In the circle labeled Darkness, seven people stood far stronger than anything in the Light circle. This, Gerald reasoned, was the source of the imbalance, and was why the lines were broken and the circles out of alignment.

Suddenly, all seven of those people vanished at once; whether dead or merely weakened, Gerald couldn’t tell. The circles briefly moved into their proper places once more…

…and then the Light circle moved inward towards the center, pushing the other circles aside. The young man could tell why without looking – the loss of the people from the circle of Darkness had unbalanced the sides in the opposite direction; Light was now more powerful.

And then two people appeared in the Darkness circle. Two people who seemed vaguely familiar, although Gerald couldn’t place them. They smiled.

The center circle was finally labeled. The name was “Chaos”.

All three of the other circles went flying as the Darkness circle slammed into the center, and the diagram shattered.

By that point, Gerald was holding onto his head, trying to figure out what had just happened. Finally, he just asked it: “What on Earth was that?”

“You must learn what happens when the Balance is unequal,” the voice answered. “We cannot answer the question for you, nor can we restore the Balance. Gerald… This is on your shoulders.”

There was a pause, and then Gerald sighed. “Can I at least start getting some sleep at night in exchange?”

“Perhaps,” the voice said. “Now our time to converse is up… but you should remember this word.”

“What word?”

“Kanlon,” the voice said before it went silent.

There was a pause, and then Gerald said, “What the hell does that mean?”

0000000

The entire world flashed, and then Gerald was back on his hands and knees at his bedside. His head felt like several small explosives had all detonated at once within his skull.

Grabbing his bedpost, he pulled himself upright and took several deep breaths. “That was weird,” he said to himself.

And then he fell onto his mattress and fell asleep.

0000000

“Even by my standards, that’s a weird tale, Gerald,” Chad said the next day at Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies. He was still in the ‘50s tough outfit, and looked like someone had stretched a young Marlon Brando on the rack.

Gerald leaned on one arm, the other holding a glass of water. Even with the aspirin he’d taken the next morning (his sleep had helped him, but not by much), his head still throbbed. “By mine as well,” he replied. “However, I saw something during that headache. I know migraines can cause hallucinations, but I was never prone to them before…” He sipped the water and sighed. “I keep feeling like someone just drafted me into something beyond my experience.”

Chad muttered, “Well, they did say it was on your shoulders…”

“The million-dollar question is what they put on my shoulders and why.” He paused, and then added, “And what ‘Kanlon’ is supposed to mean, if anything.”

“I have to say I’ve never heard that word before, either.” Chad shut his eyes in thought. “‘Kanlon’… odd word. Maybe it’s someone’s name?”

“Probably a last name,” Gerald answered.

At that point, a young woman stepped forward. “I think I might know what that word means,” she said.

Both Gerald and Chad turned to look at the newcomer. She was several inches shorter than either of them, but her figure was the most athletic of the three. Her hair was long and red, and she had dark green eyes that looked like they could see just where to hit you. Currently, she was wearing a green sweater and light gray pants.

Amused, the clerk said, “Well, serendipity is real. But first, what’s your name?”

“Laura Vesnic,” she answered. “Now, it’s probably not what you’re looking for, but…”

0000000

During the conversation, three men were gathered in a nearby alleyway, huddled around a handheld radio.

One of the men was a living mountain of a person, easily eight feet tall and covered in muscles. He wore an iron mask with several holes in it, several leather straps around his waist, and a pair of leather pants. At his side was a massive gun, .50 caliber at the least.

To the muscled man’s right, incongruously, there was an older man in a black suit, a white collar around his neck and a cross dangling from a chain under that. His hair was only beginning to turn gray, but his face looked much older than the rest of him. He wore bifocals, and his expression suggested he wasn’t happy with his company.

Holding the radio and standing between the two, the third member of the group tugged his sleeves back into place. His outfit was… confusing, to say the very least. Every square inch of his body was covered with shiny silver Lycra, making it hard to look at him for long. The only part of him visible was his eyes – both of which were a bright red.

The radio ordered, “Ogre, begin Part A now. Father Young, move into position for Part B; Hanzaki, wait for our command before initiating Part C. Remember, we need him alive for now – no challenges or killing allowed.”

Ogre, the man wearing the iron mask, sighed and picked up his gun. Readjusting his collar, Father Young nodded, and Hanzaki snickered before asking, “And what about you, Degas?”

“Alexander and I are en route to the area as we speak,” the voice answered. “Just carry out the parts as assigned. And Hanzaki?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Once the plan is complete, contact Klaus and let him know the next step.”

The radio shut off. Ogre set off at a run, while the priest followed him at a walk. Hanzaki, meanwhile, simply flexed his hands.

0000000

Before Laura could finish her sentence, the door to Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies went flying into the building, knocking a customer to the floor. A gigantic man stormed in, carrying the largest gun anyone had ever seen, and he fired several rounds into the ceiling as he walked through the doorway.

As per the usual reaction to large men with even larger guns, everyone in the book store fled. There were three exceptions: Gerald didn’t leave his seat, Chad moved to one side, and Laura just stared the man down.

Gerald was fairly unimpressed, although Chad had slid behind a shelf almost immediately. “I take it you’re not here for books on gardening,” he said.

The giant stopped and gave it a moment’s thought. “Maybe later,” he said, before storming up to Laura.

Faster than Gerald’s eyes could follow, the girl spun on one heel and delivered a snap kick to the muscleman’s solar plexus. In response, he grabbed her foot, swung the butt of the gun around, and drove it up into her abdomen. She was unconscious before the gun even broke contact.

With one swing of his arm, the giant set Laura over his shoulder and ran out of the building, leaving only several bullet holes in the ceiling and a shattered door in his wake.

Immediately afterwards, Gerald slid off of his chair, muttering, “Oh, why must I run?”

Chad emerged from behind the shelves, saying, “You’re going to chase after him, aren’t you?”

“If I ever want a clue as to what ‘Kanlon’ means, then yes, I have to,” Gerald answered, stretching briefly. “Of course, I’m not happy about this in the slightest…”

Chad smirked, a look that Gerald returned with a glare, and the two young men ran out the door – although for Gerald, it was more of a slouch.

0000000

To Gerald’s surprise, the street was empty when he and Chad stepped onto it. The only person within several yards was an older man in a priest’s outfit.

“Excuse me, father,” Chad asked, “but have you seen a very large man in a metal mask carrying a red-haired girl? That might sound strange, but…”

At first, the priest didn’t seem to notice the other two. His head was down, and one hand was over his face.

Gerald tried next: “Father, pardon me, but has anyone resembling the Humungous passed by recently?”

It took a minute for the priest to respond. Finally, he said, “God has judged you, my children.”

This was not a response that either Gerald or Chad had expected. They looked at each other, and then at the priest, Chad asking, “What was that, father?”

“He has judged you… and you are not worthy.” The priest looked at both of them, the air around him turning black. “Feel His wrath!”

The priest waved his hand, and the ground shattered at Gerald and Chad’s feet. A fissure opened up, and spread at incredible speed, forcing both young men to run backwards. Eventually, Chad had to yank on the back of Gerald’s shirt to get him away from the crack in the earth.

“My old gym coach was right…” Gerald gasped. “I really couldn’t run if my life depended on it…”

As they watched, the fissure continued to spread out, eventually making its way under Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies. In time, gravity took its toll, and the entire building toppled from its foundations, falling headlong into the crevice and disappearing from sight.

Gerald’s jaw dropped. All he could think was that this definitely had to qualify as an Act of God on the insurance forms. That, and the simple fact of his unemployment, now consumed his thoughts.

On the other side of the priest-made canyon, the gigantic man in the metal mask stepped out of hiding, Laura still slung over his shoulder. Looking over the priest’s work, he grunted and said, “Damn it, Father Young, overkill’s my job!”

“We needed them alive, Ogre,” the thus-identified Father Young replied. “I deliberately set the fissure so that they could outrun it. Destroying the bookstore was an unfortunate side effect.”

“Whatever. How long do we have to wait?”

The priest pulled his sleeve up and checked a silver watch on his wrist. “Not long now.”

And then a helicopter roared down from above. It had a slightly elongated look to it, and its colors were a mix of green and white. Two men could be seen within it – one at the controls, one in the back.

Examining it, Ogre whistled through his mask. “A Westland Scout,” he said. “I didn’t know there were any of those left…”

The door slid open, and a man in black clothing kicked an emergency ladder out of the side, watching it fall into reach. “Hurry up, both of you!” he called over the noise of the rotor. “We have a refueling appointment to keep!”

Grabbing the ladder, Ogre hauled himself up it with one hand, the other arm holding the gun in its hand and Laura over his shoulder. Father Young followed him, glaring again at Gerald and Chad as he rose.

The man in black clothing suddenly turned, and apparently held a brief discussion with the pilot. A moment later, the pilot slid from his seat (the man in black took over the controls), waited for Ogre and Father Young to get all the way in… and then leaned out the door.

Unlike his apparent partner, this man wore green clothing. He had a mocking smile on his face, and he looked directly at Gerald.

Even as Chad watched, Gerald fell backwards, the blood drained from his hands and face as he could do nothing but stare. It was the largest reaction Chad had ever seen out of his usually lazy comrade.

The man in green laughed, leaned back into the helicopter, and slammed the door shut before it flew off into the distance.

Gerald laid on the ground for several minutes after the helicopter was out of sight, taking deep breaths and recovering the color in his face and hands. His eyes shut, and for a moment Chad thought he’d fallen asleep… but soon he was back on his feet, dusting off.

“So… who was that?” Chad asked.

With an unusual hint of bitterness in his voice, Gerald muttered, “I don’t want to discuss it.” He then looked to where the helicopter had hovered, eyes narrowed.

There was an awkward silence, and then the lazy man sighed, glancing to the massive hole in the ground where Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies had fallen into the earth. “Old Hendricks is going to kill me,” he said, back to his usual bored drawl.

“That assumes those guys don’t come back and do it first,” Chad replied. “What did they want Laura for, anyway?”

Before Gerald could answer, the air blurred on the other side of the man-made fissure, and a very… interesting-looking man stepped out. His body was entirely covered in silver Lycra, including much of his face. Only his nostrils and his red eyes were exposed to the air, and he had a circle interlaced with a bizarre pattern of lines drawn on his chest in what Gerald hoped was red paint.

The man looked around at the carnage, laughed, and said, “Cripes, the bosses really know how to start a party, don’t they?”

“And you are?” Gerald asked.

Bowing, the man answered, “You may call me Hanzaki. I’m here on the behalf of my employers – the guys who were piloting that helicopter, Degas and Alexander.”

On hearing the second name, Gerald recoiled slightly, but he silenced Chad with a glare before the other man could say anything.

“I see you’re familiar with them,” Hanzaki continued, looking to Gerald. “Now, my employers would like to assure you that, for the time being, Miss Vesnic is perfectly fine. For the time being…”

Gerald replied, “So, why did they take her in the first place?”

Hanzaki shrugged. “They didn’t tell me, so your guess is as good as mine. If you want to find out, you’ll have to play their game… a little game of hide-and-go-seek. The only problem is that their playground is the city of St. Paul, Minnesota.”

At that, Gerald and Chad both looked to each other in abject confusion. After a moment, Chad looked back to Hanzaki and said, “How do you expect us to get to St. Paul? You took out his job, and I make squid-all at the hardware store!”

In response, Hanzaki merely laughed, answering once he was under control again, “The employers have that all taken care of. You see, the real game is in St. Paul, but the qualifying rounds all take place here.” He spread out his hands. “Come to this spot at dawn tomorrow and the game will begin. Win that round, and you’ll find a way to get to the city in question. Lose… well, I don’t suggest losing.”

Having said his piece, Hanzaki made a cryptic gesture with his hand. The air blurred again, and he was gone.

“Do you think he was telling the truth?” Chad asked.

Gerald yawned, and then said, “If he wasn’t, we’re screwed. We’ll find out at dawn tomorrow. See you here.” He then headed off toward his apartment.

Chad blinked twice. “Well, that was quick.” He then headed towards his own home.

0000000

On his bed, Gerald looked over three piles of cards.

The pile on his left consisted of his original, Final Countdown deck, the one he’d nicknamed “Tick Tock”.

The pile on his right was the challenge deck, the deck of Inpachi and Batterymen.

And in the center were the rest of his cards – a massive collection, kept in several plastic, tray-lined boxes.

The Final Countdown deck is really showing its age, Gerald thought, sliding several of the important cards (including Spell Sanctuary) out of it. Its days have passed.

He then slid several cards out of the challenge deck, thinking, And I can’t count on getting Woodborg Inpachi and Spark Gathering every time, so I can’t trust this deck, either.

A memory came to him – a memory of what the deck had comprised when it first landed at his feet, five years before. He took one card out of his collection at random.

It was the Servant of Catabolism.

The deck was poor when I first found it, he thought. I can make it what it wanted to be… but better. Far better.

Half an hour later, the deck was finalized, and Gerald was fast asleep. The clock read 12:46 P.M.

0000000

In the center of Chad’s apartment, the artist sat on his cot, surrounded by his works in progress.

Everyone expects an artist, especially a painter, to use a Toon deck, Chad thought, turning over each card in his deck in sequence. But I have other interests as well. Not only does this deck reflect my heart, but it’ll take whoever I face by surprise.

He set his deck down and turned to his latest project – a self-portrait of himself in his ‘50s-era gear, surrounded by fire. He’d already concocted a backstory for the portrait involving a burning building; in truth, he’d gotten the idea after accidentally singeing his sleeve on a candle.

0000000

On top of a building, near where Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies had once stood, a very elegant man in a white suit placed one hand on his chin and evaluated the situation. He then began to speak, his words making their way across the dimensional divide to… somewhere.

“This is more serious zan we thought,” he said quietly, a French accent weaving through his words. “Ze Darkness has chosen very powerful agents for its latest attempt. As for ze Light… well, once again I have to question what zey were thinking when zey chose Monsieur Laxina…”

One of the man’s feet tapped, and he shut his eyes. “But ze Light had its reasons, of zat I am sure. What zose reasons are…? Zat I cannot tell. I will continue to monitor ze crisis until further notice. Allumette out.”

In a burst of fire, scorching the ground beneath him, the man vanished.

0000000

The rest of the day passed fairly quietly after its tense, violent start. Chad and Gerald (after the latter woke up again) spent the rest of the day tidying up loose ends and readying for a possible trip out of state. This was far easier for Gerald than Chad; neither had family in the area, but Chad still had a job.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Augusta, a man shuffled the cards of a tarot deck. One of the man’s eyes was covered with a silver patch, but the other intently watched the shuffle. His body was wrapped in violet silks, and he seemed fairly young despite his experienced hands.

Setting the deck down, he drew the top card and smiled. “The Hermit reversed,” he said. “He who seeks answers but cannot be taught, he who guides but does not teach… I will have a visitor, it seems.”

True to the man’s statement, the air in his room blurred, and Hanzaki emerged in front of him. “Ah, still reading the cards, I see,” he said.

“They tell me things I need very badly to know,” the one-eyed man said. “They predicted your arrival, for one. What do you wish of me, Hanzaki?”

“The masters have someone they’d like you to deal with. Two someones, in fact. Do us a favor and deal with these interlopers, will you?”

Nodding, the man shifted a pile of clothes at his side until he found what he was looking for. He picked up a Duel Disk and looked it over with his good eye. “Shall I make it a full Duel of Darkness, or is this merely a social battle?”

“The latter would be preferred,” Hanzaki answered. “We don’t want to kill the foolish lads, merely to test them. But if you can find a way to deal with them without destroying them…”

“I understand.” The one-eyed man returned the Hermit card to his deck and resumed shuffling. “What are their names?”

“Our major concern is named Gerald Laxina; his friend is Chad Montmelier.”

“When and where?”

As he made the cryptic gesture with one hand, Hanzaki said, “Dawn tomorrow, at the bookstore we discussed previously. Until then, Klaus…” And with that, he vanished as the air blurred.

Under his breath, Klaus muttered, “Gerald Laxina,” drawing the next card from his deck. He set it down and smirked. “The Hanged Man… one who is in a transitory state between what he was and what he will become. This could be interesting.”

With a whisper of “Chad Montmelier”, Klaus pulled another card and set it down. His good eye narrowed. “The Nine of Swords… he has some suffering in his future, I see. But this is the card of the martyr; he can and will rise above it.”

Setting the tarot cards aside, he took up a different deck and sorted through it. “Sorry, children,” he said to himself. “But no matter what your fate, it shall turn unpleasant at dawn tomorrow.” He slid this deck into his Duel Disk.

0000000

At 5:23 A.M. the next morning, two figures strolled through the streets in the dim light of false dawn.

In the lead of the two walked Chad Montmelier, Duel Disk strapped to one arm. He was now dressed as the spitting image of James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause”, but taller and without the self-destructive tendencies.

Behind him, staggering and looking like Hell itself, Gerald Laxina nursed a Styrofoam cup of coffee. He was in the same clothes as he’d worn the day before, and he was carrying his Duel Disk under one arm. “In the name of all that’s holy,” he gasped between sips of his coffee, “who ever decided on dawn as the time? And when can I kill them?”

Putting a hand to his forehead, Chad muttered, “Gerald, you’re going to make us look bad…”

“I can’t help it,” Gerald replied as he finished his coffee. “I was not built to wake up this early in the morning. The insomnia doesn’t help, either…”

“Insomnia shouldn’t affect someone who can go into REM sleep during a midday nap.”

Sighing, Gerald said, “The things I do to find out what ‘Kanlon’ means…”

Finally, the two arrived at the fissure. Gerald slumped to the ground, and the two waited for their challenge to arrive…

Coming next chapter: The first true battle takes place. Klaus, master of the tarot cards, challenges Chad to a game with a different set of cards. What sort of deck does Chad use, and can it stand against the tricks of a master fortuneteller? Find out in Chapter Three, “Dark Fortunes”…

[Dark Sage]

If I had to guess, I'd say that Klaus's strategy consists of something involving the Trap called "Ominous Fortuntelling", probably with soemthing like "Respect Play".

Or maybe he uses a deck based on "Destiny Board" - what with the ouja board animation in the anime.

But I could be wrong.

I'm sure the result will be interesting. Keep it up, and update soon.

[jkBAKURA]

Ok, I am now officially impressed and confused all at once. While I do have a bare-bones outline, there are many things I do not know, and this chapter ptoves it. I had a time keeping track of who was who, but other then that, it's even better then I expected. Don't take too long to update, ok?

[Shuppet Master]

I am enjoying this story as it goes, Paradox. If my place of work was torn to bits, I'd be rather PO'd myself.

As for Klaus, I have a feeling his deck might surprise us all. Interesting he uses a tarot deck. The major villian of GX's second season also uses a tarot deck to foretell the future, and his Duel Monster cards have similar properties...

Anyways, I have a feeling I know what Gerald's permanent deck is going to be, but I won't spoilt it here. The card he showed was a major clue. I can't wait to see what Chad's deck is. I know that I wasn't expecting a Toon deck, though.

Keep it up, Paradox.

[Blademaster]

Wow, that was fast...

One minute Gerald is dueling some Dino-Diva with a bad attitude...

...The next, his boss's store gets ripped apart in front of him! Oy...

Now, as for the two big questions on everyone's mind...

1. I honestly have no clue what this tarot guy's deck is gonna look like... I doubt DS is right - Paradox is too intricate to be that predictable...

2. 'Kanlon'... I'm gonna Google that, I am! I'll be back later with an answer!

-Blade

[Master of Paradox]

Something I forgot to clarify beforehand: this story takes place a year after "Yu-Gi-Oh: The Thousand-Year Door". In the show chronology, KC Grand Prix has taken place, but not Pharaoh's Memories.

My name is Chad Montmelier. I’m 22 years old, an artist by trade and hardware store clerk by necessity, I’ve played Duel Monsters for some four years so far… and for the first time in my life, I’m regretting my choice of friends.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think Gerald’s a good guy, but ever since he had that vision the other night, it seems like the entire universe is out to get him. First that girl gets kidnapped, then someone destroys the bookstore, and now it’s just after dawn and I’m in a very strange game of Duel Monsters.

You know, I didn’t believe in Shadow Games, but the guy I’m facing right now is enough to make the legendarily skeptical Seto Kaiba believe in them. And his deck is just the sort I never wanted to see.

Gerald, you owe me. You so owe me.

But my only concern at the moment is surviving long enough for you to pay me back…

Chapter Three: Dark Fortunes

Dawn came swiftly, the first beams of sunlight playing their way across Gerald Laxina’s face. He blinked twice and then sat up, rubbing his head. “Sleeping on paved roads is not a good way to rest,” he said, yawning as punctuation.

He rose to a sitting position, looking around himself. After a moment, he saw Chad, staring down into the fissure that Father Young had created the previous day. Stretching out (which took about three minutes), the lazy young man rose to his feet, walking up to his friend.

“I wonder if any books survived the fall,” he asked rhetorically.

“Given that they fell some sixty feet into a jagged crack in the ground created by unnatural powers… no, I don’t think they did,” Chad replied.

Gerald shrugged, holding one hand to the sunlight. “It looks like it’ll be a clear day today, if nothing else…”

And then a set of dark clouds rolled across the sky, obscuring the rising sun. Gerald and Chad looked at each other, and then both sighed.

“If you’ve ever seen a bad omen…” Chad began.

“…this would have to be it,” Gerald finished.

The sound of footsteps reverberated up the street, and both young men turned to look.

Coming up from the side of the street on the opposite side of the fissure was a very disturbing-looking gentleman. He wore a purple silk shirt, purple silk pants, and an oversized black jacket; strapped over it was a Duel Disk – from the looks of things, a Battle City Model. His hair was long, black, and tied into a ponytail, wrapped around his neck. One eye was covered in a silver eyepatch, and the other was a deep blue. From his faces and hands, the man seemed to be about thirty.

The two merely stared, and then Chad said, “Let me duel him, Gerald.”

“Are you sure?” the younger man said, his expression one of disapproval. “I have more experience…”

“Trust me, I can’t fail.” Chad then stepped up to the fissure’s edge and said, “Did Degas and Alexander send you?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gerald flinch.

The stranger bowed and replied, “That they did. You may call me Klaus Engel… or just Klaus, if you wish. I am to be your opponent this morning. You would be Chad Montmelier, would you not?”

“How did you know that?”

“It is written all over you in invisible letters,” Klaus answered. “You look the spitting image of a Nine of Swords…” He then snickered. “Your tragedy is soon to be upon you, and you cannot evade it. How sad.”

Chad’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean, ‘my tragedy’?”

Suddenly, Klaus slapped his forehead. “Blast! Said too much. I must not give away what the cards have told me…” He then shrugged. “Forget I said anything.”

Despite his foreboding, Chad held up his Duel Disk. “I presume you were sent to duel one of us. I’ll take the challenge.”

After a moment, Klaus nodded, turning his Duel Disk on and taking his position. “I expected as such,” he said. “I would prefer to duel the Nine of Swords rather than the Hanged Man, anyway.”

Gerald moved to one side and sat down, yawning. I suppose I’m just the audience this time, he thought.

The duelists stared at each other, and then both said, calmly, “Let’s duel.”

0000000

Somewhere in the city of St. Paul, the man in black clothing known as Degas took his seat to the left of the mirror array. “Is everything ready?” he asked the man in green, Alexander.

Taking his seat on the right, Alexander nodded. “Ogre has taken Miss Vesnic to the holding area, Father Young is awaiting orders, and the primary plan is already underway. We have time to enjoy the entertainment.”

So saying it, he snapped his fingers, turning on the array of mirrors. An image of Chad and Klaus beginning their duel came into view.

“Are you sure we can trust him?” Alexander asked. “I’m iffy about anyone whose loyalty we haven’t… assured.”

“He can be trusted,” Degas answered. “The pure strain of Darkness in his soul is rare, but used properly… it is a very effective weapon.”

0000000

Taking a coin from his pocket, Klaus showed both sides to Chad. “Call it,” he said, throwing it in the air.

“Heads!” Chad called.

The coin landed in Klaus’s outstretched hand, and he showed it to Chad. “Tails. I will begin.”

Their Life Point counters moved to 8,000.

Drawing his opening hand, Klaus took three cards from his hand. “I set two cards face-down and set one monster in Defense Mode. Your turn.”

Chad drew his own opening hand, smiled, and declared, “I summon Chiron the Mage in Attack Mode!”

A centaur rode into view, bearing a staff and with the human portion of his body armored. (1,800/1,000)

Glancing at his hand, Chad thought, I could invoke Chiron’s effect, but if those cards are bluffs it would be a waste of good Magic Cards. Aloud, he said, “Chiron, attack his face-down monster!”

Drawing power into his staff, Chiron was just about to launch his magical attack when Klaus hit a button on his Duel Disk. Instantly, a circle of blazing energy surrounded the centaur, freezing him in place.

“You seem to have hit my Spellbinding Circle,” Klaus said calmly.

Maybe they weren’t bluffs, Chad thought in embarrassment. “I set a card face-down and end my turn.”

With a laugh, Klaus took a deck of tarot cards from the pocket of his jacket. “Now that the duel is fully underway, I invoke the Tarot Circle Rejecting!” he declared. He threw the deck in the air.

The cards divided into two sets, one set forming a circle around him and the other forming a circle around Chad. Both circles glowed.

“What’s going on?” Chad asked.

Klaus smiled. “Degas taught me this little trick when they hired me. Simply put, those cards are a conduit to a world of darkness outside this one. Now, should one of us lose, the darkness will consume them from within, destroying every piece of them that could be considered ‘human’ and replacing them with a nightmarish parody.” He shrugged, adding, “In my case, I doubt anyone could tell the difference.”

As a test, Chad tried to step out of the circle, and was promptly thrown to the ground.

“That would be why it’s called the Tarot Circle Rejecting,” Klaus said, smirking. “You can’t step in or out of the circle while it’s active, and it will be active until this duel is over.”

Chad sighed. Great. The Tarot Cards of... what did the rumors call it? Ori-something?

0000000

Degas’s eyebrows furrowed. “I can’t help but think Klaus is being foolish,” he said. “He was ordered not to destroy those two…”

Alexander, by contrast, had merely leaned back in his chair. “Relax, my friend. If Klaus wins, the game isn’t over – Chad simply becomes one of our tools. If Klaus loses, at least we can still use him…”

“You have a point, Alexander,” the man in black replied. “Still, if Klaus makes it out of this duel alive, he and I will have a little talk about when and how to use the big guns…”

0000000

Drawing a card from his Duel Monsters deck, Klaus tossed a card onto his Monster Zones. “I summon Malice Doll of Demise, in Attack Mode!”

What looked like a wooden puppet with a giant axe fell from the sky, stopping just before it would fall into the fissure. It stood up, its joints shaky, and raised its axe. (1600/1700)

Chad raised an eyebrow. “Weird,” he said under his breath. “It can’t kill Chiron…”

“Next,” Klaus said, “I play the Continuous Magic Card known as Ectoplasmer.”

Gerald sat up straighter. I know this combination. Oh, Chad, you’re in trouble now…

“I now move to my End Phase,” Klaus said. “During our End Phases, we may sacrifice a monster on our fields to Ectoplasmer and deal the other player half of its Attack Points in Life Point damage. So farewell, my Malice Doll of Demise!”

The Doll suddenly stiffened up as Ectoplasmer drew out its soul, and then shattered. The drawn-out energy fired across the field and slammed hard into Chad, sending his Life Points to 7,200.

Klaus concluded with, “Since that was my End Phase, it’s your turn.”

The other duelist shuddered slightly, holding onto his stomach. That was like having my internal organs put through an ice bath! he thought.

Exhaling, Chad drew his next card, tucking it into his hand. “Since the Spellbinding Circle doesn’t stop me from using monster effects, I discard a Magic Card to use Chiron the Mage’s effect – and I’ll destroy that Spellbinding Circle with it!”

Fighting the Circle’s influence, Chiron raised his staff and brought it down. The Spellbinding Circle exploded in a flash of light, freeing him.

“Now,” Chad declared, “I summon Berserk Gorilla in Attack Mode!”

With a cry of rage, a massive gorilla knocked Chiron aside and stormed around Chad’s field, searching for a victim. (2000/1000)

“Trying to hold him back is futile,” Chad said, “so I won’t bother trying. Berserk Gorilla, attack Klaus’s face-down monster!”

The gorilla pounded its chest and stormed across the field, bringing its fist down on Klaus’s face-down monster… and the fist was held back by a tiny skeleton in purple robes. (300/200)

Chuckling for a moment, Klaus regained his self-control and explained, “That would be Spirit Reaper, which is indestructible in battle. The perfect guard for now, wouldn’t you say?”

Chad sighed and kicked a stone into the fissure between them. “I suppose…” He took a card from his hand and slid it into his Duel Disk. “I set one card face-down, and now I’ll use your Ectoplasmer with my Berserk Gorilla. Take it out on him, Mighty Joe Young!”

The Berserk Gorilla took one last breath, and then let out a massive scream of frustration. Its spirit left its body, and as the beast shattered, the spirit took the form of a giant gorilla. This unleashed rage charged forward, knocking Klaus to the ground and sending his Life Points down to 7,000.

Even as he got to his feet, Klaus laughed. “Very amusing,” he said. “But now I’d like to show you a little trick the Malice Doll of Demise can do. Doll, return from your grave!”

From the abyss between the duelists, the various parts of the Malice Doll of Demise flew into sight, assembling once more into the axe-wielding puppet.

“Okay… how does that work?” Chad asked.

“Simply put, the Malice Doll of Demise automatically resurrects itself the turn after it’s destroyed by a Continuous Magic Card,” Klaus said. “This includes Ectoplasmer. Now…” He took a card from his hand and set it in the Duel Disk. “I set a card facedown, and enter my End Phase. I sacrifice the Malice Doll of Demise again to Ectoplasmer!”

Once more, the spirit was sucked out of the doll, which collapsed and shattered into pieces anew. The spirit swirled about, and then flowed through Chad’s body, sending his Life Points to 6,400.

Once his shuddering was over, Chad drew his next card.

“In response to your draw,” Klaus announced, “I activate my face-down card, Ominous Fortunetelling!” The card lifted to reveal an evil-looking crystal ball, a skull made of smoke visible within it.

Chad waited… but nothing seemed to happen. “Does that card have an effect?” he finally asked.

“Not until my next Standby Phase, so continue your turn,” Klaus answered.

Exhaling, Chad looked at his hand. There wasn’t much there. “I set a monster in Defense Mode, and go to my End Phase. Now I sacrifice Chiron the Mage to Ectoplasmer! Get him, Chiron!”

Setting his staff in the ground beside him, Chiron concentrated. His spirit flowed out of him and took physical form as a lance of pure energy. Even as Chiron’s body collapsed, his spirit hurled itself into Klaus, dropping his Life Points to 6,100.

“You’re taking more damage from Ectoplasmer than I am,” Chad noted.

Klaus shrugged. “I presume it’s my turn,” he said, drawing a card. “Now Ominous Fortunetelling activates!”

The smoke inside the crystal ball began to stir worryingly.

Klaus explained: “During my Standby Phase, I choose one card in your hand and guess whether it’s a Monster, Magic, or Trap Card. If I’m correct, then you take 700 points of damage to your Life Points. Let me guess…” He thought for a second, and then said, “You’d play any Magic Cards and set any Trap Cards you had, so I’ll say the card on my right is a Monster!”

Chad glanced at his hand and groaned; the card in question was Mad Dog of Darkness. “You’re correct,” he said.

The smoke within the crystal ball rotated rapidly, and then suddenly seemed to escape. It became a pair of jaws, which “snapped” at Chad; although it couldn’t hurt him, being hologrammatic smoke, he came out of the jaws coughing. His Life Points were now at 5,700.

“You don’t want to see the Magic and Trap versions of that effect,” Klaus said, hiding a laugh behind his hand. “And since my Standby Phase is still in progress…”

For a second time, the pieces of the Malice Doll of Demise pulled themselves from the fissure and reassembled themselves.

“Oh, dear,” Gerald said from the sidelines.

“Exactly,” Klaus answered. “As long as I have the Malice Doll of Demise and Ectoplasmer, I’m guaranteed 800 points of damage a turn – 1,500 if I succeed at Ominous Fortunetelling, and I have a card in my deck that can guarantee that. While Ectoplasmer may cause me some pain at first, I have unlimited ammo. How many monsters can you afford to destroy for it, Mr. Montmelier?”

He’s right, Chad thought in annoyance. In the end, this standoff only benefits him. Once I stop drawing monsters, my offense will shut down completely!

“Now…” Klaus continued. He glanced to his hand and cursed. “Pathetic,” he said. “I need better cards. So I’ll activate Pot of Greed, and then chain my facedown card, Serial Spell!”

The giant, unholy-looking pot came into view, and then a whirling vortex of magic appeared next to it.

“By discarding all the cards in my hand – in other words, this one,” the one-eyed man explained, “Serial Spell becomes an exact copy of the card I chained it to. And since chains go in reverse order of cards played, I didn’t lose anything from the Pot of Greed. So, put simply, I draw four cards!”

The vortex became another Pot of Greed, and both pots chuckled simultaneously. Behind them, Klaus drew four cards and smiled. “Perfect. I set one card facedown, put one monster in Defense Mode, and enter my End Phase. Malice Doll of Demise, I give you to Ectoplasmer once again!”

Even though Chad was used to this by now, it still didn’t feel right when the doll’s spirit, torn from its body, passed through him. His Life Points sank to 4,900.

Shuddering slightly, Chad drew his next card…

“I activate my Trap as you draw,” Klaus declared. “Respect Play! Now during our turns, we must show our opponent our hands!”

Even as Chad turned his hand around, revealing his Mad Dog of Darkness, De-Fusion, and newly-drawn Graceful Charity, he muttered, “He’s doing more during my turns than I am…”

On the side, Gerald shook his head. That combination… it feels too much like my deck. I’m getting very bad vibes from all this.

“Since I don’t have a choice,” Chad announced, “I play Graceful Charity.”

The angel descended over his head as he played the card, and then he drew his three cards, sliding De-Fusion and Gigantes into his Graveyard.

Looking at his newly drawn cards, Chad grinned. “I know Spirit Reaper’s weakness,” he said. “So I’ll target him with Snatch Steal – since he’s targeted, he dies!”

The Snatch Steal effect tried to envelope Spirit Reaper, but the spirit let out a scream and exploded instead.

“Next,” Chad said, “I switch Des Kangaroo into Attack Mode!”

His facedown monster turned into a green-skinned kangaroo with boxing gloves and a purple vest. It took a couple of warm-up jabs and then spat. (1,500/1,700)

“Finally,” he finished, “I summon Mad Dog of Darkness in Attack Mode!”

The eyeless, rabid dog stalked into view, growling low as it clawed at the ground. (1,900/1,400)

Both Gerald and the one-eyed man dueling Chad were fairly impressed by the combination. Neither of them said it, though – Gerald didn’t feel like it and Klaus refused to admit it.

“Mad Dog of Darkness,” Chad ordered, after catching his breath, “attack Klaus’s face-down monster!”

The dog howled, and then hurled itself forward, savaging the face-down monster. It was revealed to be a large black cat seconds before its destruction. (500/300)

Klaus chuckled, searching his deck. “How appropriate that a dog destroyed a cat,” he said. “Unfortunately, the cat it destroyed was A Cat of Ill Omen, so now I search my deck for a Trap Card and place it on top. Rules say that I have to show you the card…”

He held up the Trap Card as he found it.

Chad gasped and Gerald sighed. The Trap Card in question showed a ghost holding the letter “F”.

That’s the Destiny Board! So THAT’S the point of his deck! Chad thought.

How does he plan on playing that when most of his Magic and Trap zones are full? Gerald thought.

Even as they thought it, Klaus set the card on top of his deck.

Once his opponent was done, Chad glanced to his face-down card. If I activated this, he thought, I could smash his Life Points to almost nothing. But then I’d have nothing to bluff with, and one good defender on the part of Cyclops over there would put us back in the same boat as before. I should hold onto this for now.

“Des Kangaroo,” Chad said out loud, “attack his Life Points directly with Dreamtime Combination!”

With one good hop, the boxing kangaroo was right in front of Klaus. It tapped its fists together and proceeded to punch him multiple times in the solar plexus. Even as Klaus fell to his knees and his Life Points went down to 4,600, the Des Kangaroo returned to Chad’s field.

“Finally,” Chad said, “in my End Phase, I sacrifice Des Kangaroo to Ectoplasmer!”

The kangaroo spread its arms and shut its eyes. Its spirit floated out of it, wound up for the punch, and delivered a sharp uppercut to Klaus. He stumbled back, his Life Points sinking to 3,850.

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

But even as Klaus recovered, he was laughing. “It’s my move,” he said, drawing a card and turning his hand around due to Respect Play. “Now, in my Standby Phase, Ominous Fortunetelling activates.”

Once more, the crystal ball’s smoke began to whirl.

“You have one card in your hand,” Klaus noted, “and I saw what it was. So… the card in your hand is a Magic Card, Polymerization to be exact!”

Damn, Chad thought. “That’s correct.”

The smoke billowed out, and took the form of a massive lightning bolt. It struck Chad, leaving him coughing furiously and sending his Life Points to 4,200.

“And I think you know what else happens during my Standby Phase,” the one-eyed man continued.

Yet again, the pieces of the Malice Doll of Demise rose from the abyss and reassembled themselves.

That doll’s starting to irk me, Chad thought. He noted the cards in Klaus’s hand – he recognized Destiny Board and what appeared to be Earthbound Spirit, but the last card in the group was something he’d never seen before.

“I set one monster in Defense Mode,” Klaus said, “and then… well, you know what’s coming next…”

For what seemed to Chad like the thousandth time, the Malice Doll of Demise’s soul was sucked from it and went flying into him. His Life Points dropped to 3,400.

Gerald sighed, watching from his seated position. Klaus hasn’t attacked once, and he still has Chad on the ropes…

Breathing heavily, Chad shut his eyes, trying to regain his focus. And then he heard something terrifying.

Ten thousand voices were whispering in his mind, and none of them sounded particularly happy to be in his head.

What did that one-eyed maniac say about this Tarot Circle Rejected of his? he thought. If I lose, everything that makes me what I am will be consumed by darkness… those whispers must be the darkness, then. I’d better draw a good card, or something tells me those voices will have my self for lunch…

He drew, and then smiled. It was probably the best card he could get.

“I activate Card of Sanctity!” he called out, setting the card on his disk. “Now we both draw to six cards!”

Both Chad and Klaus drew – Chad drew five cards, Klaus four.

As they drew, Klaus paid attention to Chad’s cards. One in particular made him gasp.

Finally! Chad thought.

“Next,” Chad announced, “I activate Heavy Storm!”

“NO!” Klaus cried.

The hurricane let loose, tearing through every Magic and Trap card on the field. Chad’s facedown card, revealed as a Wild Nature’s Release, went flying and shattered; however, the true devastation took place on Klaus’s field, as Ectoplasmer, Respect Play, and Ominous Fortunetelling all broke into thousands of pieces and vanished into the wind.

“Unless I’m mistaken,” Chad said, turning his cards with their backs to Klaus once Respect Play shattered, “that’s your entire strategy down the pipes. Now I’ll summon Pitch-Black Warwolf, set a card facedown, and end my turn.” I’d attack, he mentally added, but I don’t have anything yet to defeat an Earthbound Spirit.

As he said it, a facedown card appeared in front of him, and the sword-wielding lycanthrope emerged on his field, snarling. (1,600/600)

Even as he drew, though, Klaus chuckled. The chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh, and he finally had to take a moment to regain his breath.

“Have you forgotten already,” the one-eyed man said, “that what you’ve seen was not my primary strategy?”

Both Gerald and Chad were confused for a second, and then it hit both of them what Klaus meant by that… they’d seen what his primary strategy was.

“First,” Klaus said as he drew, “even though the Continuous Magic Card I sacrificed it to was destroyed, it was still sacrificed to it… so for the last time, I call back the Malice Doll of Demise.”

As the doll put itself back together this time, it seemed aware of the changed circumstances. Its expression almost made Chad pity it.

“Next,” Klaus continued, “I summon a monster known as Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, in Attack Mode!”

A gust of smoke marked the entrance of a sickeningly ugly, gargoyle-like creature. As far as Chad could tell, the thing did have 10,000 hands, but he wasn’t about to count. (1,400/1,000)

“When Manju is Normal Summoned, I may use his special ability,” Klaus went on. “It lets me search for any Ritual Magic or Ritual Monster card. I have the monster, but not the Ritual, so I’ll search for that…” He did so, and then set it on his Duel Disk. “And now I play the Ritual Magic Card I searched for, Dreams of the Foul Sage!”

A mysterious castle formed behind Klaus, with a number of torches surrounding it. Something stirred within it, and the dark whispers in Chad’s mind increased in volume, as if drawn to the castle.

The one-eyed man kept going: “To activate the ritual, I must give up a number of monsters with Level Stars equal to at least five. So I’ll sacrifice Manju and the Malice Doll of Demise to fulfill this contract…”

Two dark specters descended from the castle, grabbing Manju and the Doll. They did not struggle, accepting their fate as they were dragged into the castle bodily.

“With that done,” Klaus finished, “I may summon a monster you’ll wish you had never met… the Oracle Lich!”

The castle suddenly exploded with dark energy, and a man stepped out of it. The dark energy flowed into his body, and he grew in size in one massive burst, becoming twice as large as Chad. As he grew, the man transformed – while he’d seemed normal before, he was utterly skeletal except for a shock of green hair at full size, and he had no lower body. The lich was clad only in a rotting purple robe, and he laughed in a deep, unearthly voice as the transformation finished. (1,900/1,400)

Chad blinked, and then shook his head. “Big overture, little show,” he said. “That’s rather weak, wouldn’t you say?”

“Not for long,” Klaus said, taking another card from his hand. “For now I equip the Oracle Lich with Ritual Weapon – only Ritual Monsters of Level Six or less can wield it, and he’s Level Five. This makes his Attack and Defense Points 1,500 points higher!”

Drawing the weapon from within his own body, the Oracle Lich laughed again. (1,900/1,400 – 3,400/2,900)

Chad glanced to his facedown card and prepared to trigger it.

“But that’s not the point of the Oracle Lich, so I won’t be attacking with him,” Klaus added.

In the back of his head, Chad uttered a number of profanities.

The one-eyed man held up one card and smiled evilly, setting it in one of his Magic and Trap Zones. “With that in place, I’ll activate the true key card for my deck: the Tarot Circle Inverted!”

A number of Tarot Cards flew into place from nowhere, spinning and whirling around Klaus’s body before gathering in a circle in front of him. Said circle looked a good deal like the ones restraining both duelists, but the positions of several cards were altered from where they were in the Tarot Circle Rejected.

“To unleash this card, I need to spend 1,000 Life Points and discard the top five cards of my deck…” Klaus’s Life Points sank to 2,850, and he flicked five cards from his deck to the Graveyard slot; to Chad’s annoyance, none were Spirit Messages. “…but now the Tarot Circle Inverted counts as three Magic and Trap Card zones for the purposes of a certain card. Finally, I’ll set one card facedown and end my turn.” And Klaus did so.

Reaching for his deck, Chad drew his card…

“And now I activate the Destiny Board!” Klaus yelled, flipping the card face-up.

The world turned dark again, and a giant Ouija board appeared behind Klaus. The pointer was over the letter “F”, and a white flame burned the letter into the ground at Klaus’s feet.

“You know how this card works if you’ve ever seen the Battle City Finals,” Klaus said, smirking. “At the end of each of your turns, I call forth another Spirit Message. Once I have all the letters in the word ‘FINAL’, the game is over, I am victorious… and you get replaced by a dark parody of yourself.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Chad answered, “but if any part of the message is destroyed, then they’re all destroyed. So what are the odds of getting them all out?”

“Fairly good, when you take the Oracle Lich’s effect into account. While the Oracle Lich is face-up on the field, cards named ‘Destiny Board’ or ‘Spirit Message’ are immune to card effects – I couldn’t destroy them if I wanted to!” Klaus burst into laughter.

Gerald put his head in his hands. This makes Dark Sanctuary look sick.

Groaning, Chad said, “I set a monster in Defense Mode and end my turn.”

As his turn ended, Klaus snapped his fingers. A white flame came from his deck, the Oujia board’s pointer moved over the letter “I”, and the flame burned the letter into the ground… inside the Tarot Circle Inverted.

“One more thing,” Klaus said. “As I told you, the Tarot Circle Inverted counts as three Magic and Trap Card zones for certain cards. The only cards I can play to it are the Destiny Board and Spirit Messages… but that leaves me two Magic and Trap Card spaces for whatever I like. That means Ritual Weapon won’t disrupt my plan in the slightest.”

Oh, perfect, Chad thought in despair. As long as it has that Ritual Weapon, I can’t do a damned thing to fight back. The only consolation is that he won’t attack me, but in three of my turns I’m done for anyway.

“Now for my turn…” Klaus studied his hand, and then made one adjustment. “I switch Oracle Lich to Defense Mode, set a card facedown, and end my turn.” The Lich crossed his arms and settled slightly in front of his master.

Growing more frustrated by the moment, Chad reached for his deck.

“Activate Time Seal!” Klaus declared, as the facedown card flipped up.

Pushed to the breaking point, Chad muttered, “Damn it. I pass.”

As his turn ended, the Oujia board moved to the letter “N”, a second Spirit Message took its place in the Tarot Circle Inverted, and a white flame burned the letter into the ground at Klaus’s feet. “Two turns left, Mr. Montmelier,” the one-eyed man taunted.

“I know that,” Chad hissed.

Drawing his next card, Klaus tucked it into his hand. “End turn,” he declared.

This time, as Chad drew, his draw was fairly tentative. However, his opponent did nothing to interrupt it, and so he completed the draw and studied his hand. Five cards and none of them will help me in the slightest! “I have to pass again,” he said, sighing.

As the white flame emerged from his deck and burned the letter “A” into the ground, Klaus let out a long, drawn-out laugh of victory. He then drew his next card and said, “I pass once more. Make your final moves.”

Gerald leaned forward, his face locked in an expression of worry. “Chad…” he whispered.

Chad drew… and then visibly relaxed. “I play Reload,” he said, “which makes me shuffle my hand back into my deck and draw that many cards!” He did so, drawing back up to five cards… and then he couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so amusing?” Klaus asked.

“Simply that I’ve drawn what might be the most ironic card I could have drawn,” Chad answered. “I play Spiritualism!”

On the sidelines, Gerald yawned and began to nod off.

“What does your card do?” the one-eyed man asked.

Chad replied, “Simply put, I choose one Magic or Trap card on your field and send it back to your hand. I know that your Destiny Board and Spirit Messages are untouchable… but you never said the same for the Tarot Circle Inverted!”

A cloud of ghosts burst free from the card and began to make their way across the fissure, towards Klaus’s field and his card.

“Never!” Klaus declared. “I activate Magic Jammer!” He tossed a card into his Graveyard as he said it.

The Magic Jammer came to life, sending out its anti-magic fumes… but the ghosts passed through it without so much as a blink.

“What just happened?” the panicked Klaus yelled.

“Spiritualism cannot be negated by any means,” Chad said. “So, what happens if Tarot Circle Inverted leaves play?”

Klaus began to weep from his good eye, muttering, “Any cards on it are removed from the game…”

The ghosts reached the Tarot Circle Inverted and pried it apart, tugging the cards out of position. As they did so, the Oujia board cracked in half, the pointer falling to the ground, and the burned letters faded into nothing in seconds. When the Destiny Board was nothing but a shell of memory, the ghosts flew into Klaus’s hand, setting the Tarot Circle Inverted back into it.

“Now to bring this game to a halt,” Chad declared. “I summon Enraged Battle Ox!”

An axe slammed into the fissure’s edge directly in front of him. With a snort, a large minotaur walked up and pried it out of the ground, growling as he swung the weapon twice. (1,700/1,000)

“Next, I play Wild Nature’s Release,” Chad added, “which allows me to add a Beast or Beast Warrior-type monster’s Defense Points to its Attack Points for the turn, but kills it at the turn’s end. I choose the Mad Dog of Darkness.”

The dog in question let out a massive howl, its muscles bulging as it did so. (3,300/1,400)

“And one more thing, my one-eyed friend…”

Klaus groaned. “Was that statement really necessary?”

“My apologies.” Chad shrugged. “Either way, the Enraged Battle Ox grants all the Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged Beast monsters I control the power to deal damage through defense as long as he’s face-up. Finally, I’ll hit your facedown monster with Nobleman of Crossout!”

The nobleman drew his sword, shrugged, and rammed it through the facedown monster. The Earthbound Spirit appeared for a moment, and then warped out of sight.

Chad grinned. “Simply put, goodbye. Now Mad Dog of Darkness, attack the Oracle Lich!”

The Mad Dog barked, hurled itself across the fissure, and clamped its jaws into the Oracle Lich. It thrashed about in a frenzied state, tearing a massive piece out of the zombie. Emitting a scream of frustration, the Oracle Lich threw his hands in the air and shattered. In the process, Klaus’s Life Points dropped to 2,450.

Pointing, Chad whistled. “Enraged Battle Ox, Pitch-Black Warwolf, finish him!”

The two Beast-Warriors crossed weapons, and then leapt high into the air. They came down axe and sword first, plowing Klaus to the floor and sending his Life Points to zero.

0000000

Degas and Alexander, watching it all, shook their heads.

“It seems Gerald will not be our only difficulty in this game,” Degas said, adjusting his sunglasses.

Alexander smiled. “We never assumed he would be, though,” he answered Degas. “Either way, shall we retrieve Mr. Engel?”

His partner nodded. “Even a dark and corrupt version of him may still have some use. And while you’re at it, give Hanzaki a call…”

0000000

Chad shut off his Duel Disk and tucked his deck back into his pocket. He then glanced to Gerald, and was not surprised to see his friend was asleep again. “Every time,” he muttered.

The tarot cards around his feet shifted, and he kicked them away, stepping out of the circle and stretching his legs. He then glanced across the fissure to his opponent.

Klaus was standing rod-still, hands at his sides and eye glazed over. Slowly, he shut his good eye, and then opened it anew… to reveal it was now a solid black.

Before Klaus could do anything further, however, a circle of darkness opened at his feet, and he disappeared into it.

Confused, Chad gently kicked Gerald in the ribs. The lazy duelist woke up, looked up at Chad, and said, “Good game.”

“Do you always fall asleep when a duel ends?”

“Usually. You know, I have to ask… why a Beast deck?”

Chad snickered slightly. “I thought you’d ask. Beasts may have little to do with art… but they embody the wild spirit, which is essential for the artist. They are part of my heart as much as painting is. That and I like animals.”

“I see…” Gerald murmured.

As they conversed, the air blurred nearby, and the Lycra-covered form of Hanzaki stepped out near them, applauding several times. He had an envelope tucked between two fingers of his right hand. “Good job, Mr. Montmelier! Mr. Engel didn’t stand a chance against you!”

Both Gerald and Chad looked to him, and Chad answered, “Thanks, but… what are you doing here, anyway?”

In response, Hanzaki held out the envelope. “What? Don’t you want your prize? I told you if you won you’d find a way to get to St. Paul, Minnesota…”

“Oh, yeah,” Gerald said, suddenly recalling it. “I assume that’s it?”

The Lycra-encased man nodded. In turn, Gerald slowly rose and took the envelope from him.

“See you there!” Hanzaki said, far too much enthusiasm coming through in his voice. He then danced backwards, the air blurred, and he disappeared.

Gerald opened the envelope and took out its contents – two plane tickets. “First class to St. Paul; the flight leaves today at noon from Gate 14 in the Portland International Jetport.”

Chad nodded. “You packed last night, I presume?”

“During the brief period I was awake, yes. To your place, then?”

“Since you don’t have a car, I assume so.”

And so the two set off to retrieve their transportation.

0000000

Meanwhile, in the Portland International Jetport, a certain young man’s cell phone went off. He stepped into a quiet area and answered it.

“Hello?” he said. “Yes? I understand. Gate 14, correct? All right. As you wish, Alexander.”

He hung up the phone, rubbed idly at the black marks on the sides of his neck, and headed for the gate in question.

TAROT CIRCLE INVERTED
Type: Continuous Magic Card
Image: A series of tarot cards formed in a circle; at their center is the Major Arcana tarot called The World.
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points and discard the top five cards of your Deck to the Graveyard. This card counts as three Magic/Trap Zones. Only cards named "Destiny Board" or "Spirit Message" may be played to these Magic/Trap Zones. If this card is negated, cards on it do not count as in play. If this card is destroyed, remove all cards on it from play.

DREAMS OF THE FOUL SAGE
Type: Ritual Magic Card
Image: A giant, floating palace, with a man holding a book standing at its door and looking skyward.
Effect: This card is used to Ritual Summon “Oracle Lich”. You must also offer monsters whose total Level Stars equals 5 or more as a tribute from the field or your hand.

ORACLE LICH
Type: Ritual Monster
Statistics: Dark/Zombie/5/1900/1400/Ritual/Effect
Image: A giant human skeleton with no lower body and a shock of green hair on the top of the skull, wearing rotting purple robes.
Effect: This monster can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Magic "Dreams of the Foul Sage". You must also offer monsters whose total Level Stars equal 5 or more as a Tribute from the field or your hand. As long as this monster is face-up on your field, cards named "Destiny Board" or with the words "Spirit Message" in their names cannot be negated or destroyed.

Coming next chapter: It’s time for Gerald to demonstrate his new deck, as he is forced to battle an old acquaintance ordered not to let him on the plane. But something’s wrong with his opponent physically. Gerald doesn’t have time to figure out what, though, as his opponent’s strategy is one that prods holes in his defenses! Keep an eye out for Chapter Four, “Unfriendly Skies”!

[Silencer]

Am I the only one that finds it ironic that Gerald used the battery men? they are so energetic and he is so lazy...

Also beast/beast warriors have alot of potential so that will be intresting

[Dark Sage]

Looks like I was right about Klaus's deck.

Chad's deck, however, has potential. It could have a lot more to it... Beasts and Beast Warriors... Maybe Panther Warrior, Lei Lei, Master of Oz... A great deal more...

I find it ironic that someone playing a deck like Klaus's was defeated by someone using Spiritualism.

I don't really have much to say. Get the new chapter up soon.

[Shuppet Master]

That was a great chapter, Paradox! I was not expecting a beastdown deck for Chad, but that was just awesome.

I can't wait for the next chapter.

[Blademaster]

Looks like I was right about Klaus's deck.

Uh, heh heh... Oops.

So, Chad's got a Beastdown Deck, huh? Interesting...

And I'm glad to see that Spiritualism appeared, too - I like that card because it's one of those cards that doesn't see much play, but it should.

BTW, I Googled 'Kanlon,' and I didn't find anything that fit this story, unless the world is being threatened by an electronics company.

Anyway, I guess a Destiny Board deck made sense for that Klaus guy to use, what with the fortunetelling and all...

On a slightly negative note, that Tarot Orichalcos card wasn't too impressive, but whatever. It's your story.

Yeah, not much to say this time. Keep writing, and I'll keep reading.

Peace out!

-Blade

[Perfect Chaos]

I liked this chapter very much

Nice way to show off Chad's dueling skills than by having him go up against a Tarot/Ouija deck. As you know, I'm a big fan of Bakura and how he used his deck, so kudos to you for building up the suspense at one point.

So Chad's deck is a Beastdown huh? Haven't seen a hero use a Beast deck in a LONG time, so its a refreshing thing to see one.

Until next time

-Sean

[starjake]

On a slightly negative note, that Tarot Orichalcos card wasn't too impressive

Correct me if I'm wrong, Paradox, but it seemed to me that the Orichalcos-esque effect wasn't a regular game card; it looked like Klaus used an entire deck of actual Tarot cards to create those circles, completely separate from the game itself. 'Tarot Circle Rejecting' appeared to be the name of a magical effect, not a card.

Interesting chapter, to be sure. I was partially expecting some of Saiou's deck to make an appearance, but this worked just as well. Though I was a bit surprised at Chad's Deck; after the comment on Toons in the previous chapter, I was expecting Toons + something else. Nice surprise.

I haven't the foggiest idea what's coming next, so I won't make any predictions. This is turning out very well, and you can be sure I'll tune in next chapter!

[Master of Paradox]

Correct me if I'm wrong, Paradox, but it seemed to me that the Orichalcos-esque effect wasn't a regular game card; it looked like Klaus used an entire deck of actual Tarot cards to create those circles, completely separate from the game itself. 'Tarot Circle Rejecting' appeared to be the name of a magical effect, not a card.

You are quite correct. I could have made that clearer... The Tarot Circle Rejecting was an effect created via use of Tarot cards, not a Duel Monsters card.

[Master of Paradox]

I’ve known a lot of people in my life… which is a given, as I’ve spent most of my life moving from place to place in the name of my parents’s employment.

You know how you promise to keep in touch with people when you’re separated from them? I never bothered to do that. It always seemed a waste when I would never see them physically again.

But now, for the first time in the entire time I’ve lived, I’ve run into someone I knew in my past again. In fact, it was someone I considered a good friend during my time in his hometown.

Just my rotten luck it’s under circumstances like this…

Chapter Four: Unfriendly Skies

It was just after 10:00 A.M. when Chad’s Ford Windstar pulled into the airport’s parking structure. (The young man in question would have preferred a smaller, more fuel-efficient car, but being nearly as tall as most basketball players meant he wouldn’t have fit in one.)

After putting his car into park, he reached over and smacked Gerald on the shoulder. The lazy man woke up, blinked twice, and then yawned. “I’m guessing we’re there now,” he said.

“Yeah, we are. You did bring the tickets, right?”

Reaching into his jacket (which was grey… just like his shirt and pants, and for that matter everything he wore), Gerald produced the envelope in question. “I don’t forget important items,” he said. “This is why I’m wearing my Duel Disk, after all.”

Unbuckling, Chad slid out of his seat, saying, “It’s not that you forget things, Gerald, it’s just that I doubt they ever got into your memory in the first place. Your memory is as lazy as you are…”

“That was somewhat unnecessary,” Gerald mumbled as he got out of his own seat, slouching around to the back and dodging the rising rear door. Finding his suitcase, he hefted it and made his way towards the airport proper.

Shaking his head, Chad took his own suitcase and followed his friend.

Just after they left the parking structure, a fire-red Jaguar XK8 with the top down pulled into the parking spot next to them. Its driver, a man in an elegant white suit, set one hand on the door and vaulted himself out of the car, landing cleanly in the space between his car and Chad’s.

Examining the Windstar’s license plate, he shook his head. “So zey’re already here,” he said to himself. “Ze Darkness is guaranteed to already be after them. I’d best hurry to their gate…”

A common phrase used to refer to people running is “They ran like a streak of fire”. In the case of the man in the white suit, he literally was a streak of fire as he ran.

0000000

In the mirror room within their lair, Degas clapped once. The array of mirrors glittered, and then the image changed from the airport parking structure to Gate 14.

“Our man is in place,” Alexander said, reclining against the cushions of his chair. “I wonder how he’ll fare against those two.”

Degas shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” he answered, signaling for a glass of wine. It appeared on the armrest of his chair, and he sipped it. “These are just the warm-ups, after all. If those two lose now, then they never deserved the Light’s attention in the first place. If they win… well, we’re saving the real fun for when they get into town.”

After a moment, Alexander chuckled. “I do admire your taste, though,” he said. “I mean, choosing the opponent you did for them…”

“It was sheer luck he was in town when we began the set-up phase. Sometimes I’m convinced fate is in Darkness’s portfolio.”

0000000

By 10:45, Gerald and Chad had made their way through the check-in process and security clearance, and both were idly heading towards Gate 14.

“Duelists always get such a hassle when they’re going through airport security,” Gerald said, sipping the truly horrible coffee he’d picked up at one of the terminal’s restaurants. For some reason, airport food was always several times worse than he assumed it would be.

Glancing to his Duel Disk to make sure all the pieces were intact, Chad shuddered a bit. “It’s like they think we transport bombs in these things.”

“Pity any player with D.D. Dynamite or Cemetery Bomb in their decks, then.”

The two duelists arrived at Gate 14 and settled into chairs, waiting for the flight to be called. Unzipping his luggage, Gerald fished out a well-worn copy of War of the Worlds and began to flip through it, while Chad retrieved his copy of Books of Blood and set about his own reading.

Three seats down, another young man looked over his newspaper and noted the two of them. He folded the newspaper, set it down, and took a deck from his pocket, sliding it into his Duel Disk.

Glancing over the top of his book, Gerald sighed and said, “We’re about to have company.”

Chad saw it and nodded. The two set their books down and waited.

Soon enough, their “company” arrived. It was a man about Gerald’s age, with short blonde hair and a fairly willowy physique, dressed in canary-yellow shirt and slacks.

Something didn’t seem right, and soon the two realized what. There were large black marks on either side of the man’s neck and on the back of both his hands, and each time he blinked, they could see that the veins in his eyes were black as well. In addition, he didn’t seem to have pupils – his irises had taken over that space in his eye.

After a moment, Gerald stood up and looked the interloper over before finally saying, “My God… Aaron Torlar?”

“Glad to see you remember me, Gerald,” the apparent Aaron Torlar said in return. “I thought seven years would have completely erased your memory.”

Chad looked between them and said, “Gerald, you know this guy?”

“Yeah,” his friend answered. “I went to school with him in Detroit when I was thirteen. We were very good friends until my family moved out of town again…” He shrugged. “I never could keep a friend for very long. So, Aaron… what are you doing in Maine?”

In response, Aaron raised his Duel Disk. “You and I are going to duel, right here and now.”

Sighing, Gerald rubbed his temples. “Let me guess. You’re working for Degas and Alexander, correct?” He winced slightly on saying Alexander’s name.

“Exactly.” Aaron took a small device out of his pocket; it looked like a nail clipper. “If you lose, I’ll click this, which will set off small incendiary devices attached to your tickets and destroy them. In other words, your flight will be canceled… not that you’ll care.”

Despite his curiosity at what Aaron meant by not caring, Gerald asked instead, “And if we win?”

“You go to St. Paul. Oh, and if you attempt to ignore this challenge, the tickets go up in smoke anyway.”

Chad leaned over to Gerald and whispered, “Think he’s bluffing?”

“I doubt the masterminds behind all the chaos would resort to bluffing,” Gerald answered. “Guess this is a necessary fight.”

“We’ve only got an hour,” Chad said. “Think you can get this done that quickly?”

Gerald smirked. “Final Countdown wouldn’t have, but this deck is a bit faster than that.” He then sat down and said aloud, “Let’s duel, my old friend.”

“We stopped being friends when you left Detroit.” Aaron activated his Duel Disk.

Gerald shrugged, activating his own Duel Disk. “So you say.”

Their Life Point Counters rose to 8,000.

“You may have the first move,” Gerald said.

Aaron drew his opening hand, examined his choices, and then said, “I set one card facedown and one monster in Defense Mode. That ends my turn.”

Gerald drew his own hand and said, “I set two cards facedown and summon Jinzo #7 in Attack Mode.”

A humanoid robot stumbled into view. It looked a little like an early version of Jinzo, but with the number 07 stamped onto metal plates on its chest and shoulders. (500/400)

One of Aaron’s brows lifted as he asked, “So, what does that thing do? It has to have some effect, or it would be worthless.”

“Its effect is quite interesting,” Gerald answered. “It can attack your Life Points directly no matter the situation. Jinzo #7, attack with Cyber Glitch.”

Raising one hand, Jinzo #7 gathered a ball of purple energy and threw it over Aaron’s face-down monster. The attack slammed into Aaron, and his Life Points lowered to 7,500.

“That ends my turn,” Gerald said.

The other inmates of the airport began to gather around, the answer to their boredom having apparently come out of nowhere.

Aaron shook his head, drew a card, and said, “I switch my Flying Kamakiri #1 into Attack Mode…”

Something much like a bipedal fly rose from Aaron’s face-down card and buzzed loudly, wings beating fast. (1,400/900)

“Next,” Aaron said, “I summon Harpie’s Brother in Attack Mode!”

From the sky, a dark-skinned male with large red wings swooped down, glaring at Gerald as he readied the talons on his feet. (1,800/600)

Gerald’s response to the glare was to tap one button on his Duel Disk. The ground under the Harpie’s Brother collapsed, and a yellow arm grabbed the birdman’s ankle. Try as he might, the Harpie’s Brother couldn’t escape, and he was pulled down into the pit.

“Trap Hole?” Aaron asked.

“Trap Hole,” Gerald confirmed.

“That doesn’t prevent my Flying Kamakiri from attacking, though. Flying Kamakiri #1, attack Gerald with Buzzing Scythe!”

As the Flying Kamakiri #1 attempted to take to the air, Gerald said, “Despite being an airport, this is a no-fly zone. Activate Gravity Bind.”

The silvery orb bobbed into view, and it sent off waves of visible energy, flooring the bug. It struggled, but couldn’t rise off the ground.

Grunting, Aaron declared, “I end my turn, then.”

Gerald nodded, drew, and said, “I set a card facedown and summon the Servant of Catabolism in Attack Mode.”

What appeared to be a cross between a snail and an ammonite flopped into view on Gerald’s field, tentacles waving. (700/500)

As it emerged, however, something odd happened. The Jinzo #7 looked to the Servant and saluted. Gerald’s eyebrow went up – that wasn’t supposed to happen.

“So is your theme ugly monsters with low power?” Aaron asked.

“Actually,” Gerald answered, “this monster shares a special ability with my Jinzo #7. Both can attack you directly, and they will now. Servant of Catabolism, attack with Electric Tendrils.”

Leaping straight over Aaron’s monsters, the snail-like creature grabbed hold of Gerald’s opponent and sent some ten thousand volts of energy into his body. The willowy man let out a cry of pain as his Life Points sank to 6,800.

Shrugging, Gerald said, “Jinzo #7, continue the pain with another Cyber Glitch.”

Charging up again, the machine lobbed a ball of energy at Aaron. It impacted, causing him to sink to his knees. His Life Points hit 6,300.

“I now end my turn,” Gerald declared.

Straightening up, Aaron snapped the next card off of his Duel Disk and tucked it into his hand. After a moment, he nodded and said, “Your defenses will now crumble. I summon Harpie Girl in Attack Mode!”

There was a fluttering of feathers, and then a very short girl landed in front of them. She had pink-feathered wings, long blonde hair, and the cutest smile. Gently, she waved to the assembled crowd. (500/500)

Everyone in the crowd went, “Awwwww…”

The one exception was Gerald, who tilted his head and said, “I can see how she could slip under the Gravity Bind, but her power isn’t quite enough to bring down my Servant, and she’d die fighting the robot.”

“That’s why I’m equipping her with Gust Fan!” Aaron replied.

“Oh.”

The fan fell from above their heads and landed in the Harpie Girl’s hands. She opened it, waved it twice, and giggled. (900/300)

Gerald could see what was coming, and so he just held his breath and waited.

“Harpie Girl,” Aaron ordered, “take out the Servant of Catabolism with Fan’s Winds!”

The Harpie Girl lifted the fan over her head and waved it several times, whipping up a small tornado. It blew across the field, hitting the Servant of Catabolism and tearing it to pieces. A piece of its body struck Gerald in the head, and he glanced at his Life Point counter as it changed to 7,800.

To Gerald’s surprise, the Jinzo #7 turned and shook its fist angrily at Aaron.

“In response to that, I activate my trap, Attack and Receive,” Gerald said as he hit the button. “If I take damage, I can trigger this to deal 700 points back to you.”

A soldier leapt from the card as it lifted. He let out a yell, charged at Aaron, and slashed him across the stomach. He gasped as his Life Points went down to 5,600.

Well, I see Gerald found a theme that works, Chad thought as he watched the duel. He’s got Aaron down to the five-thousands, and this is only Aaron’s third turn. I wonder where he got the idea for that deck, though…

After a moment, Chad pulled up sleeve and glanced to his watch.

Fifty minutes left before boarding. Don’t drag it out, Gerald!

Shaking his head repeatedly, Aaron said, “That’s it for me.”

Gerald drew, wiping a bit of what was once the Servant of Catabolism off of his hair, and then examined his options.

“I set one monster in Defense Mode…” he began.

Aaron laughed, saying, “You know, this isn’t Mai Valentine’s deck, but I couldn’t resist running one of her old cards. Activate Shadow of Eyes, forcing that monster into Attack Mode!”

As Aaron’s card flipped up, there was a hint of perfume in the air. Suddenly, a massive gust of wind blew through the airport, and the air around both duelists turned a bright pink. Gerald’s face-down monster turned over, and a large turtle with an island on its back rose from a sudden wave. (1,100/2,000)

“And the best part?” Aaron said, grinning evilly. “Your Island Turtle’s a Level Four, so it’s pinned by your own Gravity Bind!”

True enough, the orb sent off several shockwaves, forcing the turtle to the ground.

Damn, Gerald thought. “In that case, Jinzo #7, Cyber Glitch him.”

For a third time, the robot drew in its energy and blasted Aaron with it, knocking him to 5,100 Life Points… and also knocking him to the floor. He stood up, spitting.

“I end my turn,” the seated duelist finished.

Aaron got up, glaring daggers at Gerald as he drew his next card. On drawing it, though, he smiled and played it immediately. “I summon Eagle Eye!” he declared.

A large, black-feathered bird of prey with a golden head flew in from above them, its wings blowing Gerald’s sleeves about. (1,300/1,200)

“When I Normal Summon this monster,” Aaron explained, “you can’t trigger traps to it. Of course, you don’t have traps… but I still have an advantage from this monster, because it’s only a Level Three!”

“Oh, dear,” Gerald answered.

“Exactly. I set a card face-down, and then I attack with my Eagle Eye! Destroy the Island Turtle with Mountain’s Talons!”

The bird took to the sky, and then dive-bombed the turtle with a hard strike from its talons. With a low groan, the amphibian shattered. Gerald sighed sadly as the turtle died, taking him to 7,600 Life Points.

“Now, Harpie Girl,” Aaron continued, “shut down the Jinzo #7 with another Fan’s Wind attack!”

The little winged girl giggled and whipped another tornado into life with her fan. This one picked up the Jinzo #7 and dashed it into pieces, raining gears and bolts on Gerald’s head. His Life Points moved to 7,200.

At first, the lazy young man didn’t think much of it… until a black mark showed up on his hand. Arching an eyebrow, he tried to rub the mark off, and when that didn’t work, he held up his hand to Aaron and asked, “What’s with this?”

Holding up his own hands, which were stained with the same marks, Aaron explained, “The infection has begun. You see, I’m currently the host to a nasty little disease we call the Darkness Infection. It’s spread through defeat – if I defeat you, you’ll be the next to come down with it. And once that happens…” He then giggled in near-insanity. “You’ll be on our side, like it or not. Your good side is locked away by the Darkness Infection, and everything bad about you will be drawn to the fore.”

“That’s why you said I wouldn’t care about my flight if I lost…” Gerald said, the realization coming like a baseball bat to the forebrain. “I don’t think I’ll be losing today, though.”

“Try as you like,” Aaron said. “My turn ends here.”

Taking a deep breath, Gerald drew again. He then steeled himself and said, “I set a card facedown, a monster in Defense Mode…”

After a moment, he decided that Aaron hadn’t set another Shadow of Eyes and relaxed.

“That’s all I can do,” he added.

Even as he drew, Aaron thought, I know whatever he has in play is too strong for me to bring down with anything I’ve got at the moment. And since my one real anti-magic trick isn’t in my hand, the cursed Gravity Bind will make dealing with the blockade even more difficult. Let’s see what I get… He looked at his card and smiled. This will help.

“I activate Pot of Greed!” he declared out loud.

Even as the chuckling piece of earthenware appeared, Aaron drew his two cards. His eyes went wide. This is… I’ve got him now!

“Draw something good?” Gerald asked.

“Something perfect, actually,” Aaron said. “First, I play the card known as Harpie’s Hunting Ground!”

The airport around them vanished as the hologram flared to life. They were now on a windswept plain, although the area the two duelists stood (or, in Gerald’s case, sat) in was barren of any vegetation. Off in the distance, they could see mountains, which various winged creatures swooped about.

“Not a very good picnic spot,” Gerald noted, “but I doubt that’s the point. What’re we here for?”

“First of all,” Aaron said, “Winged Beasts gain 200 Attack and Defense points in this place.”

Aaron’s monsters stretched out their wings and let out chirrups of satisfaction. (Harpie Girl: 900/300 – 1,100/500; Eagle Eye: 1,300/1,200 – 1,500/1,400)

“Next,” he continued, “I summon Harpie Lady 1 in Attack Mode!”

One of the winged creatures in the distance suddenly turned their way and swooped onto Aaron’s field, landing directly in front of him. She had the usual arm-wings of the traditional Harpie Lady, but instead of the bluish skin and suspenders of that group, this one wore a purple body stocking, and her hair was long and red. She still had the talon feet, though. On landing in the Hunting Ground, she smiled wickedly. (1,300/1,400 – 1,500/1,600)

“They made a new set of Harpie Ladies, I see,” Gerald said, his boredom growing ever more evident. “I heard they had individual effects…”

Nodding, Aaron explained, “As the eldest sister, Harpie Lady 1 has the most powerful effect – she gives all Wind monsters 300 extra Attack points.”

The Harpie Lady 1 raised her wings, and all the monsters on Aaron’s field (even the Flying Kamakiri #1, who was still struggling to keep upright) looked up as if inspired. (Harpie Girl: 1,100/500 – 1,400/500; Eagle Eye: 1,500/1,400 – 1,800/1,400; Flying Kamakiri #1: 1,400/900 – 1,700/900; Harpie Lady 1: 1,500/1,600 – 1,800/1,600).

Gerald shrugged. “Fat lot of good it’ll do her. Remember my Gravity Bind?” He gestured to the silvery orb… only to see it was becoming cracked and letting out an odd whining noise. “All right, what’s happening to it?”

“That’s the other effect of Harpie’s Hunting Grounds,” Aaron finished. “Whenever I summon a Harpie Lady or Harpie Lady Sisters, I can destroy a Magic or Trap card on your side of the field, so the Gravity Bind is gone.”

As he said it, the Gravity Bind shattered, causing Gerald’s eyes to widen. The Flying Kamakiri #1 rose to its feet, and the duelist stared at his opponent’s monsters.

“Get him!” Aaron yelled, and his monsters surged forward.

“Negate Attack,” Gerald answered, flipping over his other facedown card.

A giant transparent wall flashed into view between Gerald and the attacking monsters, and they halted in place, hammering on the barrier.

Even as his monsters returned to him, Aaron said, “It doesn’t matter. On your next turn, you will be destroyed utterly. I hope you weren’t looking forward to your trip very much, as it will swiftly be canceled. My turn ends.”

Chad grimaced. Oh, this will not be good… And we only have about thirty-five minutes left. Gerald, you have to turn this around…

Drawing his next card, Gerald quickly slapped it down. “I play Pot of Greed.” He drew two more cards, and then sighed loudly. “I set two cards facedown, place one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn.”

It was Aaron’s draw, and he did so, still smiling evilly. Glancing at the card, he looked to his hand, and then laughed. “Do you believe in the Heart of the Cards, Gerald?”

“I take the Fifth,” the seated duelist replied.

“Odd answer… Either way…” Aaron showed him the card he’d just drawn. “I now activate Elegant Egotist!”

The entire crowd, Chad included, let out a gasp at that. Gerald just winced.

A spinning kaleidoscope of mirrors appeared in front of Aaron as he explained: “Elegant Egotist requires that I have a Harpie Lady on my field to use it. Harpie Lady 1 fits the bill nicely. With that being the case, I may Special Summon one of two monsters from my hand or Deck – either another Harpie Lady, or what I’m about to summon…”

The Harpie Lady flew in front of the mirrors, letting them reflect her. As the mirrors did, however, her reflections changed – they took on the form of three other harpies, each one wearing shiny yellow armor and each with a different hairstyle. They descended to the field as one, standing with the other monsters in Aaron’s army.

“Meet the Harpie Lady Sisters!” Aaron cried out. (1,950/2,100)

Continued in the next post..

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

The sisters admired the Hunting Ground around them, and then the Harpie Lady 1 flapped her wings, granting them a bit of a breeze that they truly appreciated. (1,950/2,100 – 2,150/2,300 – 2,450/2,300)

Great, Gerald thought. The winged women in the suspiciously spiky outfits are Winged Beasts and Wind-types as well… At least I have my facedown- Only then did he remember what the Hunting Ground did. This is not good at all.

“Finally,” Aaron declared, “the effect of Harpie’s Hunting Ground triggers when I summon a Harpie Lady Sisters – I can destroy a Magic or Trap card on your field. I choose the one on the left!”

His chosen target shattered to pieces, and Gerald cursed silently. That was my Mirror Force…

Taking a deep breath and savoring the moment, Aaron shouted, “Harpie Lady Sisters, destroy his first face-down monster!”

The three harpies nodded, took to the sky, and came down in a tight spiraling formation, their talons digging into parts of Gerald’s Humanoid Slime and throwing its remains every which way.

“Now, Harpie Lady 1, take out his other monster!” Aaron ordered.

Drawing her wings in, the bird-woman swung out with them, sending a razor-sharp wind through Gerald’s monster. An Amazon Archer fell out of the card, cleaved in half, and shattered to pieces.

“In response to her death,” Gerald announced, his usual bored drawl beginning to take on a hint of panic, “I activate my face-down Scapegoats.”

The card flipped, and four tiny goats wandered onto the field, oblivious of their certain doom.

“Fair enough,” Aaron answered. “Flying Kamakiri #1, Eagle Eye, Harpie Girl, slice up three of those goats.”

The Flying Kamakiri descended on one of the goats, cutting it in two with a sweep of its scythe arm. The Eagle Eye grabbed hold of another goat and tore it open with its beak, while the Harpie Girl swung her fan and blew the third goat past Gerald’s head.

“That will be it for me,” Aaron said.

Reduced to top-decking, Gerald muttered to himself, “This had better work.” He drew his card, looked at it, and added, “Well, it’s not perfect, but…” He then said audibly, “I activate Spell Sanctuary.”

As he set the card on his field, a temple of light glimmered into view on the very peripheral of the Hunting Ground. The Harpie Lady 1 and Harpie Lady Sisters glared at this intrusion on their hunting ground.

“So what does that do?” Aaron asked.

“Its immediate effect is that we both search our decks for a Magic Card of our choice and put it in our hand,” Gerald answered, searching his deck as he did so. “The other effect lets us activate any Magic Card we please as a Quick-Play, regardless of what its type really is.”

Shrugging, Aaron began to dig through his own deck, finally settling on one card in particular and tucking it behind the other card in his hand.

After finding the card he’d searched for, Gerald said, “I set this card facedown and have no choice but to end my turn.”

Aaron drew his next card and then grinned evilly. “I play Share the Pain!” he announced. “Now I give up one of my monsters, and in return you have to give up one of yours. I sacrifice my Flying Kamakiri #1, and then you have to give up that last Scapegoat!”

A sword came into being just above the fly-mantis hybrid, and then plunged down and impaled it, causing it to shatter. At the same time, a sword appeared above Gerald’s last defense and impaled it as well.

He’s going to summon another Harpie Lady, Gerald thought to himself. He can’t be planning otherwise if he’s opening up a space on his field. I hope he falls for it…

“Next,” Aaron said, “I summon Harpie Lady 2!”

Another monster broke off from her flight around the mountains and landed next to the Harpie Lady 1, smiling as she landed in the Hunting Grounds. Her hair was short and a fiery orange-red. Soon enough, she was caught up in the wind of her sister’s special ability. (1,300/1,400 – 1,500/1,600 – 1,800/1,600)

“And as usual,” Aaron continued, “when I summon a Harpie Lady, I can destroy a Magic or Trap Card on your field.”

Fall for it… both Gerald and Chad thought.

Aaron thought for a moment, and then said, “Nothing you could pull from the deck can save you without it, so I’ll destroy your Spell Sanctuary!”

Perfect, Gerald thought. Aloud, he declared, “I’ll chain to the activation of Harpie’s Hunting Grounds’s effect by activating my face-down card, Messenger of Peace.”

Even as the Spell Sanctuary began to crack and crumble, a calm-looking man in a white robe stepped out and extended his hands towards Aaron’s monsters. They all looked at him reverently… except for the Harpie Girl, who was busy playing with her fan.

“Aagh!” Aaron yelled. “I change the effect’s target…”

“You can’t now,” Gerald said. “The chain has already resolved. Now none of your monsters with 1,500 or more Attack Points can attack me, although I do have to pay 100 Life Points a turn to keep it active. I was hoping you’d go for the Sanctuary and ignore what I got from it.”

“So be it,” Aaron said. “My Harpie Girl only has 1,400 Attack Points, so she slides right under the effect. Harpie Girl, attack him directly with Fan’s Winds!”

Giggling, the little winged girl swung her fan, sending a tornado right into Gerald. He winced as the cold winds sliced into him, sending his Life Points to 5,200.

“That’s my turn,” Aaron announced.

Noticing that he’d developed a matching black mark on his other hand, Gerald drew, cursing his luck at what he’d drawn. The Messenger of Peace won’t protect me forever. If he gets another Harpie on the field, I’m sunk. “I pay 100 Life Points to maintain the Messenger of Peace and end my turn.” His Life Points went to 5,100.

Aaron drew as well, sneering at the results. Worthless! “Harpie Girl, attack Gerald again!”

Once again, the Harpie Girl waved her fan, and once again the cold wind bit into Gerald’s body. He shuddered, and his Life Point counter dipped to 3,800.

We have less than half an hour… okay, less than twenty minutes, Chad thought as his eyes flicked from the duel to his watch. You have to win this one, Gerald! And fast!

Gerald shut his eyes, concentrating hard. I have to get the final ingredient to victory on this draw, or I’ll never draw a winner in time. He drew his card, announcing before he even looked at it, “I pay 100 Life Points to keep the Messenger of Peace active.” His Life Point counter moved to 3,700.

Turning the card over, Gerald looked at it. He then looked to his other card and exhaled. “First,” he said, “I play Pot of Avarice. By shuffling five monsters from my Graveyard into my deck, I draw two cards.” He took the five monsters from his Graveyard slot and showed them to Aaron – Servant of Catabolism, Jinzo #7, Amazon Archer, Humanoid Slime, and Island Turtle.

What looked like the Pot of Greed’s goofy cousin descended into view as Gerald drew his two cards. He then smiled.

“I summon Mucus Yolk in Attack Mode,” he said next, his bored drawl back to life.

The ground at his feet bubbled, and then purplish ooze worked its way into existence. It lay there, slowly growing larger, until it was about the size of a small birdbath. At its center floated a pink nucleus. (0/100)

Aaron looked at it, and then laughed uproariously. He took a moment to catch his breath before saying, “You mean that little pile of toxic waste is supposed to be dangerous?”

“First,” Gerald went on, “I have to equip it with the Axe of Despair…”

As he said this, the Axe slurped into the Mucus Yolk’s form, and it shuddered slightly. (1,000/100)

“And haven’t you guessed my deck’s theme yet, Aaron?” Gerald finished, lifting one hand.

It took Aaron a moment to work out what Gerald meant, but when he did his jaw dropped. “Don’t tell me that thing can…”

“Mucus Yolk, attack him directly with Damaging Form: Axe,” Gerald ordered.

The ooze lifted itself off the ground, took the shape of a giant axe, and began to spin rapidly. Once it had reached its maximum RPM, it threw itself at Aaron, slicing into his stomach and making him cry out. His Life Points hit 4,100.

As the ooze landed on Gerald’s field once more, the seated duelist added, “And each time it hits your Life Points – directly or in battle – it gains 1,000 Attack Points.” The ooze grew slightly. (1,000/100 – 2,000/100) “I set one card facedown to finish my turn. Your move.”

Now somewhat frantic, Aaron snatched the next card off his deck. He glanced at it and thought, Okay, this’ll work… and if it doesn’t work, I’m through! I have to drop a few Life Points for this, but a sacrifice is a sacrifice!

“Harpie Girl,” Aaron shouted, “attack the Mucus Yolk!”

The only person in the crowd not confused by the willowy duelist’s order was Gerald. I can see what he’s planning, he thought. Too bad for him I’ve got it covered.

The littlest of the Harpie Lady family waved her fan at the Mucus Yolk, but the ooze never shifted.

“Mucus Yolk,” Gerald replied, “counter that with Attacking Form: Hammer.”

The ooze turned itself into a giant hammer, which raised itself off the ground and came down hard on the poor chick. Feathers flew, and Aaron’s Life Points went to 3,500.

“I needed the open slot for my next move!” Aaron said, laughing between words. “I go into Main Phase 2 and summon the last of the sisters, Harpie Lady 3!”

One more member of the group in the mountains fluttered onto Aaron’s field. This one had spiky blue hair, and looked younger than her siblings. She cooed slightly as the effects of the Hunting Grounds and Harpie Lady 1 kicked in. (1,300/1,400 – 1,500/1,600 – 1,800/1,600)

“So, which of my cards will you destroy?” Gerald asked.

“The Messenger of Peace!” the willowy duelist answered.

Lifting one wing, the Harpie Lady swung a current of air at the messenger. He was gutted, and gasped before shattering.

“Since I already attacked,” Aaron finished, “I’ll end my turn with that.”

Gerald drew, barely registering the card he’d drawn, and declared, “Mucus Yolk, strike him again with Damaging Form: Axe.”

For a second time, the Mucus Yolk rose off the ground, turned into an axe, and spun itself silly before colliding with Aaron. He grunted as his Life Points tumbled to 1,500.

Now that the attack was done, he looked at the card and smiled. “I set this card facedown, and that’s my turn,” Gerald said, as Mucus Yolk grew larger again. (2,000/100 – 3,000/100)

Even as he drew, Aaron tasted his future… and it tasted foul. This had better work. “I start by playing Mystic Space Typhoon on your Axe of Despair!”

The gust of wind temporarily splattered the Mucus Yolk. It reformed quickly, but part of its mass was gone. (3,000/100 – 2,000/100)

“Next,” Aaron declared in his triumph, “I activate Triangle Ecstasy Spark!”

Chad’s eyes went wide. So did the eyes of all the onlookers. Gerald, meanwhile, yawned.

“Don’t you know what this does?” Aaron said as his ire rose. “It makes my Harpie Lady Sisters’s Attack go to 2,700! In addition, you can’t activate traps for the rest of the turn and it negates all Continuous Trap Cards! Your Mucus Yolk is through, and you with him!”

Gerald merely flipped over one card on his Duel Disk, saying, “In response to Triangle Ecstasy Spark, I activate Compulsory Ejection Device and target the Harpie Lady Sisters, sending them back to your hand.”

Aaron snickered, and then outright laughed, saying, “You can’t activate traps, remember?”

“I said in response. I just made a chain.” Gerald laughed himself, a little softer than Aaron. “The Spark hasn’t resolved yet.”

There was a pause, as that fact sank into Aaron’s mind. He then screamed.

A large, cannon-like machine slid into place under the Harpie Lady Sisters. It launched several chains, pulling them into it despite their protests. The machine pointed straight up and then fired, launching them into the sky.

“They’re back in your hand, so the Triangle Ecstasy Spark doesn’t matter,” Gerald noted. “None of your other monsters have enough Attack Points to threaten my Mucus Yolk. Anything more you’d like to do?”

Aaron didn’t answer. Instead, the thin young man wept, head in his arms.

“Three… two… one… and your turn is forfeited,” Gerald then said. “It’s my turn.” He drew. “Mucus Yolk, finish him with Damaging Form: Shroud.”

The ooze floated over to Aaron one final time. It draped itself over the young man’s body and squeezed tightly, making all his joints pop at once. His Life Points hit zero, and the duel ended.

And as usual, Gerald was fast asleep in his chair before the attack even finished.

0000000

Elsewhere in the world, a force far greater than man or angel or demon saw the duel as it happened.

The force then thought inwardly, And so his path begins.

0000000

Chad walked up to his sleeping friend and waved a hand in front of his face. After a moment’s pause, he slapped Gerald soundly across the cheek.

The lazy duelist woke up and muttered, “Hmmmm? Oh, so I did win…”

“You did indeed,” Chad said, “and in about ten minutes it won’t matter. Get up! We have to get moving!”

Gerald nodded, and then looked to Aaron.

The willowy duelist didn’t seem to be registering anything. He just stared into the ceiling, his arms at his sides and the cards falling off his Duel Disk.

And then Aaron let out a short scream, the black marks on his hands and neck evaporated, and he collapsed to the floor.

The two young men ran (or, in Gerald’s case, ambled) to check on him. Chad put his fingers to Aaron’s neck, waited a moment, and then sighed in relief. “Still has a pulse.” He set his hand under the unconscious man’s nostrils and added, “Breathing just fine, too.”

Gerald, meanwhile, opened one of Aaron’s eyelids. “He’s got his pupils again,” he quietly reported, “and the veins in his eyes are red again. My best guess is that defeating someone with the Darkness Infection is an instant cure.”

“The airport staff can handle this better than we can,” Chad said. “Let’s go! We can’t afford to miss this flight… literally!”

They headed off to the plane, suitcases in tow.

0000000

Degas snapped his fingers, and the mirror array shut off. “Scratch Aaron off the list of servants,” he said calmly. “I suppose using old friends against him is no deterrent.”

“But remember, we never expected it to be,” Alexander noted. “If what I know of our mutual friend there is true, he never really cared about those he left behind after each move. It isn’t his style.”

“You make a good point,” Degas answered, finishing his wine after speaking. He savored it a moment, and then asked, “Are the forces ready in the city?”

Alexander nodded. “The next challenge is lined up, and we have a steady line of other duelists waiting on the streets. The Darkness Infection is a very handy tool that way…”

“That’s why Step One was spreading it throughout St. Paul,” the man in black interrupted. “But perhaps we need more insurance…”

“Shall we wake up the first of the Pillars?”

“You’re so adept at reading my mind it’s almost scary, my friend.”

0000000

The 12:00 P.M. to St. Paul, Minnesota left the Portland International Jetport on time. On board, aside from multiple business travelers, were two duelists – one engrossed in the in-flight magazine and the other asleep as soon as the altitude leveled out.

On the floor of the airport, the elegant man in white watched the plane fly, muttering to whomever he was communicating with. “I have caught a glimpse of ze deck that Monsieur Laxina now favors. It is not quite what I expected of him, but it makes some degree of sense when you consider it. He now heads to where ze Darkness has encamped, and I expect further difficulty when he arrives. As you requested, I now go to keep an eye on him. Allumette out.”

The man in white spread his arms, and then suddenly burst up into a sky in a bolt of fire. The fire turned itself towards the plane’s path and followed it, just far enough away to avoid panicking the pilots.

0000000

Deep within the heart of Degas and Alexander’s little hideaway, four pillars stood in the center of a pure black room. Each pillar was pure obsidian, and each had the faintest carving of a face upon one side. The room bore a tangible impression of utter darkness.

The two men, one in black and one in green, approached the southernmost of the pillars, admiring it from a distance. The face on this one was that of a young man, overconfidence clear in his smile.

“Shall we, then?” Degas asked.

“Of course,” Alexander answered.

They both touched the pillar at the same time, concentrating briefly.

And then both men turned to leave… and behind them, a spider’s web of cracks began to cross the pillar’s surface…

SPELL SANCTUARY
Type: Continuous Magic Card
Image: An ancient temple on a hill with a glowing portal of light overhead.
Effect: Each player takes one Magic Card of his choice from his or her deck and adds it to his hand. Each player then shuffles his or her deck. While this card is on the field, players can activate facedown Magic Cards during their opponent’s turns.
Note: This card was first used by Kaiba in the original series episode “Clash in the Coliseum, Part One”. All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

So what’s with that pillar? You’ll have to wait a bit for the answer to that…

Coming next chapter: After a bit of bad news on the plane, Gerald and Chad run into someone else Gerald used to know. This time, however, Chad deals with the blast from his friend’s past – and discovers that the past seems to be that one’s theme. It’s beasts versus relics of days forgotten! Find out what happens in Chapter Five, “Antiquities!”

[jkBAKURA]

Wow, I wasn't expecting another update so quickly.

Harpies have become popular recently it seems like, but this deck was fastly different from the one Dark Sage used. Knowing you, I knew the Dragon was probably not in sight, but I at least expected something like Kazijin for the kill move, but the Triangle worked just as well. I have a feeling from the title I know what's coming next.

And I have to admit, Allumete is now my favorite character (except of course for a certain someone you already know I favor) I hope he gets some Dueling screen time soon, if he even duels at all.

I don't quite understand Geral's mini-theme of high defense water monsters, and maybe it doesn't mean a thing. The main theme wasn't a suprise after chatpter 2 though. The Burn deck is both in character for Gerald, and a nice Yang to the Yin of Chad's meat-and-potatoes Beastdown.

Looking forward as always, JKB

[Shuppet Master]

So Gerald's permanent deck is a lockdown-burn, huh? That's one of the most evil decks in existence. (At least to regular duelists.)

Liked how the duel was being timed according to the plane departure. Just nice.

KEep up the good work, Paradox. You are the Bobby Flay of Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction.

[Master of Paradox]

KEep up the good work, Paradox. You are the Bobby Flay of Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction.

Does that mean I stand on a cutting board and bring down the wrath of half the cooking world?

(I know what you really mean, I just like to show off.)

[Dark Sage]

I had known for a while that Gerald would be using a direct damage deck. Good introduction. I know he's only scratched the surface of it.

Will we be seeing Aaron again? I know Gerald might not have kept in contact, but he did remember him.

I'm anxious to see how the story behind this turns out. You have a knack for making a good story behind a story.

So keep it up!

[Blademaster]

So, Gerry's using a 'Weenie Rush Deck,' huh? Interesting choice for a main character...

The Harpie Deck is a little old, I'll admit, but there wasn't anything too boring about it, especially considering what it was going up against.

One mistake I noticed was that you referred to Island Turtle as an amphibian; turtles are actually reptiles.

Other than that, good job - keep up the good work.

-Blade

EDIT: I dunno, Shup - I've always kinda seen Paradox more as the Simon Cowell of Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction.

[starjake]

The old-school weenie-burn, hm? I don't recall seeing a main character with that sort of deck before; the only word of caution I can give is that a deck like that runs out of originality really quick. Then again, I'm sure you have plenty of surprises waiting in the wings.

Being the pyro I am, I'm especially interested in this fiery man with the french accent. Who on earth is he, why is he here, and does his deck reflect his fiery finesse? I suppose those will be answered at some point in time, though not neccesarily soon. All in good time, I guess.

Until next chapter, then, this is StarJake, signing off...

[Pokemasterkatie]

First of all, great fic you've got going Paradox. Gerald was one of my favorite fan duelists from Thousand-Year Door.

Now this latest chapter...I'm gonna have to agree with everyone else that this is your standard run-of-the-mill Harpie deck. But there are a few new cards from Enemy of Justice that could've made it a bit cooler--

Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon: Aw, isn't it SO CUTE~! It's also better than its adult counterpart. Remember Blade Skater? Same thing, only this ferocious cutie can keep all three effects at once if there are three Harpies out.

Icarus Attack: For once, a nice dub name for this Trap card. By sacrificing a Winged Beast on your side of the field, two cards on the field are gone. Useful when you're in a tight pinch.

Swift Birdman Joe: When he's successfully tribute summoned(he's a six star monster), all the Spells and Traps on the field go back to the respective player's hand. He's not that useful, but I'm just saying...

[Master of Paradox]

Pokemasterkatie: I suppose I could have used those, but 1) I wasn't familiar with the Enemy of Justice cards and 2) I just didn't want to - I'm tired of the Pet Dragon in all forms and the other two wouldn't have fit in the outline. (Dark Sage, who has a main character using the Harpies, will be using all three unless I'm mistaken.)

[Master of Paradox]

Before we begin the next chapter, I have an apology to make.

In this chapter, I get the effect of Ancient Gear Castle completely wrong. In the real card game, the card itself must be Tributed for the Tribute Summon to work. Dark Sage made the same mistake back in "Yu-Gi-Oh: the Thousand-Year Door". This comes from writing the chapter before the card hit the American shores (and before the Camula episodes aired).

I will not make the mistake again.

Now, on to Chapter Five...

So, this is the city of St. Paul… I never thought it would be quite so big.

Of course, I haven’t seen much of the city yet. We’re still in the airport, after all. But what I can see out the windows is a bit of a shocker.

Still, I need to hold onto my senses. If Gerald’s vision on the plane is any sign, we’re not here for a vacation. In addition to that, this place just doesn’t feel right. I’m not sure if it’s the Darkness Infection or what…

I’ll have time to think about all this later. The first step is surviving the duel one of Gerald’s old friends just forced me into.

Gerald, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… you so owe me.

Chapter Five: Antiquities

By 2 P.M., the plane was nearing the city of St. Paul, Minnesota. Chad was fairly deep into his book by that point, the world around him disappearing as he sank into the text.

Gerald, of course, was asleep in his seat. He’d woken up only once, and that was when the beverage service passed by. Other than that, he was in his traditional near-comatose state, head back against the cushions. Were he awake to state his opinion, he would have declared first class to be the only way to fly.

However, shortly after 2 P.M., something caused him to wake up. He blinked twice, rubbing his eyes and glancing around him.

“Something wrong, Gerald?” Chad asked, his attention piqued. “Normally, you wouldn’t wake up until landing.”

“I don’t know,” Gerald answered, one hand going to his temple. “My head’s starting to hurt, though…”

And then a splitting headache overtook him. He grabbed the seat in front of him, breathing heavily as the pain hit him in a rush…

…and then he blinked, and the vision began.

0000000

The city of St. Paul was under him, and he floated high in the air, looking down upon it.

As Gerald looked down, confused, he could see a dark shroud pulling itself over the city. This, he decided, was the Darkness Infection that Aaron had talked about.

As he watched, the shroud suddenly descended, wrapping around one person in particular. When it receded, clinging now only to the person’s ankles, the person had the same black marks on their body that Aaron had when Gerald dueled him.

The vision flashed, and this person dueled another. The opponent lost, and the shroud wrapped around them. As the shroud pulled back, the defeated one had the black marks.

Again the vision flashed. Now the first person from before dueled another again… but this time they lost. The shroud released their ankles, and the black marks vanished.

And then the vision flashed one more time, and he could see the shroud wrap itself around one building in particular… a cathedral, it seemed. Standing atop the cathedral was a man.

The man smiled and snapped his fingers, and the shroud grabbed everyone around him…

With that, the vision went dead.

0000000

Gerald opened his eyes and sat up, holding onto his head. As usual, the vision had left him with a pounding headache. “Argh… you’d think they’d have a better way to communicate than this…” he muttered.

A moment later, Chad reached across and tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Aside from feeling like I just got off a week-long bender, yes,” Gerald answered. “Granted, now I have to work out what that vision meant. That will probably give me a worse headache than what I’m feeling now.”

The plane went into its final approach for landing.

Taking a moment to think, Chad then asked, “Did it concern Degas or Alexander?”

As usual, Gerald winced at Alexander’s name. “No… although there was a man in it, I couldn’t recognize him.”

“You still haven’t told me why you reacted so badly when you saw them…”

“Chad,” Gerald said, his voice grown suddenly cold. “If you’re truly my friend, you’ll stop asking about that.”

At that point, the plane landed, and the conversation came to a halt.

0000000

Somewhere in St. Paul, Degas and Alexander sat down before the mirror array, and Degas snapped his fingers.

The mirrors were cloudy at first, but then took on the image of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Next to the baggage carousel stood their servant.

“The Light has sent Mr. Laxina a message,” Degas muttered under his breath.

Alexander shrugged. “So let them,” he replied. “It couldn’t be anything of much concern to us. After all, rules are rules.”

Degas put a hand to his chin. “You mean the Reciprocal, I take it?”

“Yes. The Light can only help them if a certain amount of Darkness is purged… and the price changes depending on the vision.” A smirk crossed Alexander’s face. “One Darkness Infected doesn’t count for much by that rule.”

Both of the men chuckled, and then Degas adjusted his collar, his mirth gone. “We must remember, however, that they are in the center of the Darkness Infection. Should their luck hold, the Light won’t have much trouble aiding them.”

“That assumes their luck holds, friend.” Alexander leaned back in his chair. “But enough worries. Just enjoy the show for now.”

0000000

A few moments later, the passengers on Flight 22 from Portland to St. Paul disembarked, among them Gerald and Chad. The two duelists had their carry-on luggage and their Duel Disks at the ready.

Still holding onto his head, Gerald had just finished describing the vision to Chad. The artist tilted his head and said, “Any clue what all that meant?”

“As far as I can ascertain,” Gerald answered, “the shroud was the Darkness Infection. It seems we just walked into Ground Zero…” He then looked around and muttered, “Something’s not right about this place.”

“Yeah,” Chad said, looking around himself. “This airport is dead. Is there even any staff left?”

Gerald frowned. “I can only hope there are still people in this city other than Darkness Infected…” He then sighed. “Let’s get our luggage and hope for the best.”

0000000

Several gates away, a ball of fire descended from the sky, hovering outside a window. It formed two dark red patches, making sure there was no one in the room.

Thus assured, the ball of fire slammed through a window, melting it, before hitting the floor. Said fireball reformed into a man in an elegant white suit.

“Now to find Monsieur Laxina and his friend,” the man whispered.

0000000

As the two duelists approached the baggage carousel, someone stepped in their way.

The intruder was fairly short, maybe five foot six, and somewhat stocky. He had dark, curly hair, and wore a brown jacket over a tan shirt and pants. A chain led around his neck and under his shirt. Needless to say, he had a Duel Disk, as well.

As with Aaron, he had black marks on his hands and neck, the veins in his eye were black, and he had no pupils.

“Good afternoon, Gerald,” he said.

There was a pause, and then Gerald’s eyes went wide. “Sol Kilkarn,” he whispered. “The last time I saw you was the day before you moved to Duluth. I found myself thinking that I wasn’t the only kid in class who moved a lot.”

“Well, this is where I wound up,” Sol answered. “Granted, I didn’t expect anything like what’s happening in this city… To be honest, I think I should have stayed in Manhattan.”

“So… what happened to everyone else in this airport?” Chad asked.

“The bosses didn’t bother to tell me.” Sol shrugged. “They did tell me that unless you duel me and win, the same thing will happen to you.”

Gerald shrugged, and then turned to Chad. “I think it’s your turn. Besides…” He set one hand to the side of his head. “I still can’t think straight fully.”

Chad nodded, activating his Duel Disk. “Shall we, Mr. Kilkarn?” he asked.

Activating his own Disk, Sol nodded. “We shall.”

Tugging their suitcases off the baggage carousel, Gerald sat down between them, observing the duel.

0000000

The man in the white suit stopped in his tracks. He had reached the baggage carousel, but was too late… again.

“Zis is not good,” he muttered. “If zey are defeated… well, I can sense what has happened to zis place… I don’t know where zey will go, but I doubt zey will get out.

“Curse my alignment. Unless ze circumstances change, I cannot even help them directly.

“But I can wish zem well. Zat is all I can do for now…”

0000000

“I’ll allow you to have the first move,” Sol said.

Drawing his opening hand, Chad sighed. Can first hands get worse than this? At least I have a decent opening move… “I set a card facedown and set one monster in Defense Mode,” he said. “That’s it.”

Sol drew his own opening hand, grinning as he saw what was in it. “Okay, then… I begin by playing the Continuous Magic Card known as Ancient Gear Castle!”

The baggage carousel behind him disappeared, covered now by a hologram of a massive castle. Several cannons sprouted from it, and a battering ram slid out of the doorway.

“What does it do?” Chad asked.

Sol answered, “Its second effect puts a counter on it whenever a monster is Normal Summoned, and allows me to sacrifice those counters for Ancient Gear monsters. But for now, I’ll summon the Ancient Gear Soldier in Attack Mode!”

A strange creation rose up from the earth. It looked like a haphazardly constructed man made of gears and steel, holding a machine gun and glaring out of one white eye. (1,300/1,300)

A torch lit up in the Ancient Gear Castle, and then a series of chains flew out from the ramparts. They latched into the Ancient Gear Soldier’s body, tightening its gears. The monster stood up straighter. (1,300/1,300 – 1,600/1,300)

“The first effect of Ancient Gear Castle,” Sol added, “is that it gives Ancient Gear monsters a 300-point boost to Attack Points. And the Soldier prevents you from activating cards when it attacks! Ancient Gear Soldier, attack his facedown monster with Ancient Gear Gun!”

Taking aim, the Ancient Gear Soldier fired several bursts at the facedown monster. It flipped, and suddenly a green kangaroo bounced into sight, blurring as it dodged each and every bullet coming at it. (1,500/1,700)

Chad smiled. “That is my Des Kangaroo,” he explained. “Its special effect allows it to destroy monsters that attack it in Defense Mode but have a lower Attack score. So watch this…”

The Ancient Gear Soldier looked on in confusion, and then fired off one last burst at the kangaroo. The beast ducked under the first few bullets, and then punched the last one back at the machine. The bullet spun back at the mechanical soldier, smashing through its head.

As the carcass of his monster exploded into pieces, Sol just stared, his Life Points dipping to 7,900. “Okay, minor setback,” he finally said. “This card facedown will have to do for now. I end my turn.”

Obviously a trap, Chad thought as he drew. No need to go waltzing into it. “I summon Pitch-Black Warwolf in Attack Mode!” he announced.

A snarling wolf-man leapt down from the rooftop, wielding a sword the length of a man’s arm. He flexed one claw and growled. (1,600/600)

Another torch lit in the Ancient Gear Castle.

“And as long as this guy is in play,” Chad added, “you can’t activate Trap Cards during the Battle Phase – either of ours. Pitch-Black Warwolf, attack him directly with Lupine Blade!”

The wolf-headed monster howled, and then lunged forward, slamming his sword hard into Sol’s ribs. The duelist grunted as his Life Points shot down to 6,300.

“With that, I set a card facedown and call it a turn,” Chad said. I might have gotten off an early shot, he thought to himself, but this duel just started. Unless he’s a total fool, that’s the last easy hit I’ll land.

Grunting as he massaged his ribs with one hand, Sol took a moment to consider his hand. He then drew his next card and paused. “I set a monster in Defense Mode and one card facedown,” he announced. “That will be my move.”

Chad drew…

“I activate Rock Bombardment!” Sol announced, flipping his facedown card.

Off to the side, Gerald ducked and covered.

“Rock what?” Chad asked.

Sol took a card from his deck and slid it into his Graveyard, saying, “For this to work, I have to send a Rock-type monster from my deck to the Graveyard. Once that’s done, you take 500 Life Points of damage. So… incoming!”

A shadow appeared at Chad’s feet. He looked down… and then looked up.

To say he was surprised when the rock hit him would be an understatement.

After the hologram disappeared, he climbed to his feet, his Life Points now at 7,500. “Now I know how Wile E. Coyote used to feel,” he grumbled.

After a moment to catch his breath, the artist looked at his hand, and then at his field. “I summon Berserk Gorilla!” he finally said.

A rampaging gorilla pushed Chad out of the way and began to charge across the field, snorting fire from its nostrils. Chad whistled sharply, and the gorilla slumped back to his side, glaring at him. (2,000/1,000)

Three torches now glowed in the windows of the Ancient Gear Castle.

“As you can see,” Chad said, “trying to keep the Berserk Gorilla under control is a futile effort. So…”

If I flipped Des Kangaroo to Attack Mode, Chad thought, I could savage him this turn once the face-down monster was gone. But who’s to say I wouldn’t pay for it? He could have Ancient Gear Golem already, for all I know, and those counters are adding up. Best not to risk it.

“Get him, Berserk Gorilla!” Chad ordered.

The gorilla threw itself across the field, clasping its fists and bringing them down hard on the facedown monster. An ancient statue rose into view, and it absorbed the blow from the Berserk Gorilla without even chipping. (300/2,000)

“The Stone Statue of the Aztecs is more durable than that,” Sol said, laughing after the fact.

Chad merely pressed a button on his Duel Disk. “But it’s not durable enough for this! I activate Wild Nature’s Release, letting me add Pitch-Black Warwolf’s Defense score to its Attack!”

Gerald sat up, smirking as he watched the move.

The Pitch-Black Warwolf’s eyes went wide, and it howled at the top of its lungs, breaking its sword in half and throwing it away. (2,200/600)

“Oh, my,” Sol muttered.

Chad nodded, and then said, “Pitch-Black Warwolf, attack with Lupine Rage!”

The wolf-man snarled and hurled itself at the statue, smashing it with one sweep of its arm.

“That’s my turn,” Chad said, “and Wild Nature’s Release now destroys my Warwolf…”

With one last howl, the Pitch-Black Warwolf vanished.

Sol glared at his opponent, drawing his next card. He then said, “I’ll remove one of the counters from Ancient Gear Castle to summon Ancient Gear Beast!”

One of the torches in the castle went out. Much like the Ancient Gear Soldier before it, the Ancient Gear Beast rose from the ground. It looked like a large dog, but made out of metal and gears instead of flesh and bone. (2,000/2,000)

As with the Soldier, a set of chains flew out from the Ancient Gear Castle and attached to the machine’s body, tightening the gears within it and raising its power. (2,000/2,000 – 2,300/2,300)

“Attack, my Beast! Destroy the Des Kangaroo with Gear Fangs!” Sol commanded.

The Ancient Gear Beast lunged forward, bringing its fangs down hard on the green kangaroo and tearing it in two.

Chad blinked, and then thought, Oh, my… He could have attacked the Berserk Gorilla and hit my Life Points, but why do that when I’ll have to do it for him because of Berserk Gorilla’s effect? Now he’s guaranteed I’ll lose at least two monsters to that metal puppy…

“I set this card facedown and end my turn,” Sol finished.

As Chad drew, Sol declared, “I activate a second Rock Bombardment, sending a Giant Soldier of Stone to my Graveyard to deal you 500 points of damage!”

“Oh, not this again!” Chad yelled, covering his head with one arm. It did no good, as a second rock landed on him and knocked his Life Points to 7,000.

Maybe he could use a tiny umbrella, Gerald thought.

As the dust cleared, Chad stood up, busily sweeping off his shirt and pants. “Now that you’ve had your fun…” he muttered, and then examined his hand. Oh, this is pathetic. “I set one monster in Defense Mode, and switch the Berserk Gorilla to Defense Mode… which kills it.”

He wasn’t lying – the frustration of being forced to stop its attacks caused the Berserk Gorilla to explode in an angry fireball.

“That’s it for my turn,” Chad concluded.

Snatching up his next card, Sol grinned foully, a look not made any more pleasant by his Darkness Infection. “I begin by playing Pot of Greed,” he stated. As the evil pot floated before him, he drew his two cards. “Next, I set a monster in Defense Mode…”

Chad glanced to the Ancient Gear Castle, and exhaled in relief on seeing it only had two counters on it. Apparently, setting monsters didn’t count for its effects.

Sol continued, “And now, Ancient Gear Beast, attack his face-down monster with Gear Fangs!”

The metal dog lunged forward and bit into the face-down monster, which turned out to be a Mad Dog of Darkness. It thrashed about, ripping the other dog to pieces and sending bits of it everywhere.

“That’s it,” Sol said.

Come on, deck, Chad thought as he drew. Once the card was in his hand, he looked at it… and then looked at it again. Excellent! “I’ll start with my own Pot of Greed!” he said.

Gerald watched Chad draw, and caught a glimpse of his hand. This should be interesting.

“All right, now watch closely,” Chad continued. “I begin with Polymerization, letting me fuse two monsters from my hand. I choose Mystic Horseman and The Earth – Hex-Sealed Fusion, which can replace any Fusion-Material monster!”

Two monsters appeared on Chad’s field; one was the familiar centaur that was known as the Mystic Horseman, while the other was a vaguely spherical pile of rocks. They came together…

“With the power of Polymerization, I create the Rabid Horseman!” the artist cried.

When the traditional fusion lightshow ended, a vicious beast-warrior emerged. It had the lower body of the Mystic Horseman, but its upper half was the Battle Ox, and it was carrying the Battle Ox’s axe. It swung that axe and roared. (2,000/1,700)

“Next,” Chad continued, “I play Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your face-down card…”

The gust of wind flipped over Sol’s Sakuretsu Armor and shattered it to pieces.

“And finally, I equip the Rabid Horseman with Invigoration, raising its Attack Points by 400 at the cost of 200 Defense Points!” Chad concluded.

A burst of light came into being behind the Rabid Horseman, and it snorted as its muscles bulged. (2,400/1,500)

Chad smiled. “Rabid Horseman, attack the Ancient Gear Beast with Rabid Axe Strike!”

The minotaur/centaur crossbreed galloped forward, pulled to a halt, and then slammed his axe into the Ancient Gear Beast. It shattered into multiple pieces, a gear rolling by Sol’s foot.

The infected duelist glanced at his Duel Disk, which now read 6,200.

“Since my hand is empty, that’s it for this turn,” Chad said.

Sol frowned, drawing his next card and examining his choices. He then reached down and flipped over his facedown monster. “I flip Golem Sentry!”

For all intents and purposes, the resulting monster was a stone door holding a staff. (800/1,800)

“When this monster is flipped,” Sol explained, “I can send one monster on your side of the field back to your hand – or in the Rabid Horseman’s case, back to your Fusion Deck! Go, Golem Sentry!”

Suddenly, the Golem Sentry was standing behind the Rabid Horseman. The door in its center opened, and a hand grabbed the Horseman’s arm. Before it could react, it was drawn through the door, which slammed shut. The Golem Sentry moved back to Sol’s field, where it stared at Chad intently.

“And now,” Sol added, “I can use its other effect to switch it to Defense Mode again. How efficient can you get?”

Chad was too busy staring at where the Rabid Horseman had once stood to reply.

“Now I summon Ancient Gear Cannon!” Sol declared.

The floor in front of Sol opened up, and with a whirring of gears, a twin-barreled cannon rose from the floor, training its guns on Chad. (500/500)

Even as another torch lit in the window of the Ancient Gear Castle, chains slammed into the Cannon, tightening its gears. (800/500)

Continued in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Chad swiftly hit a button on his Duel Disk. “I activate Call of the Haunted, bringing my Mad Dog of Darkness back from my Graveyard!”

A haze came from the Graveyard as the Mad Dog rose into play, snarling.

With a gulp, Sol muttered, “I end my turn, then…”

Reduced to drawing his top card, Chad made a silent prayer and drew. He glanced at his card, and then grinned. Excellent! “I summon Enraged Battle Ox in Attack Mode!”

The monster that emerged was very familiar to all three duelists, as its upper half was identical to the upper body of the Rabid Horseman. This one, however, had its own legs… not to mention an insane glare. (1,700/1,000)

In the easily forgotten Ancient Gear Castle, another torch flared to life, making four.

“Mad Dog of Darkness, attack Sol’s face-down monster!” Chad ordered.

Gerald tilted his head, muttering, “Won’t that just get one of your monsters bounced?”

Shaking his head, Chad smirked. “I know the downside to Golem Sentry – that bounce effect only goes off if it’s Flip Summoned!”

“Clever,” Sol hissed.

The Mad Dog of Darkness pounced, raking its nails against the Golem Sentry’s door. The Sentry tried to hold it off with its staff, but soon enough the dog smashed open the door, and the Sentry collapsed.

“And thanks to the Enraged Battle Ox,” Chad added, “any Beast or Beast-Warrior I summon gets its trampling effect!”

Sol grunted as his Life Points sank to 6,100.

“Now, Enraged Battle Ox, attack the Ancient Gear Cannon!” Chad declared.

Just before the minotaur’s ax made contact, Sol announced, “I activate the Ancient Gear Cannon’s effect! By sacrificing it, I can deal you 500 Life Points of damage – and you can’t attack me again, because you already declared the target!”

One shot floored the Enraged Battle Ox, and then the cannon let off a loud whine and fired off the second shot, knocking Chad down and dropping his Life Points to 6,500.

After the shot, the Enraged Battle Ox limped back to Chad’s field, and the Ancient Gear Cannon exploded, filling the area with smoke.

“That’s my turn,” Chad muttered.

Sol smirked, pulling his next card into his hand. “I set a card facedown, set a monster in Defense Mode, and call it a turn,” he said.

“I call it pathetic,” Chad said as he drew.

Just as the card left his deck, Sol announced, “I activate a third Rock Bombardment, sending Dummy Golem to my Graveyard to activate it!”

As the third rock descended onto him, Chad whimpered. “You must be joking…”

On the plus side, Gerald thought as the dust settled from the rock’s impact, that was the last one. Sol’s used all three of his Rock Bombardment traps now. Doesn’t make it any less painful, I suppose, but he won’t be able to do that again.

“Forget my Duel Disk,” the artist said as he stood up, clutching his head. “I need a hard hat.” His Life Points now read 6,000.

More important, however, was the black mark on his right hand. Damn it, he thought. The Infection’s trying to get a foothold.

After a glance to his one card in hand, he said, “I play Poison Fangs. Now, every time a Beast-type damages your Life Points, it does 500 extra points. Enraged Battle Ox, attack his face-down monster!”

The minotaur leapt skyward, bringing his axe down on the target. Said target, a human-shaped stone figure, grabbed the Enraged Battle Ox’s arm, preventing the axe from making contact, and then threw it back into Chad, knocking both down. (1,000/1,900)

“My Mine Golem is a bit too strong for that,” Sol said.

Chad grimaced as his Life Points hit 5,800. “My turn’s over, then.”

Sol concentrated, his fingers resting lightly on his deck, and then drew his next card. Glancing to it, he snickered, and then began to laugh, before finally declaring, “I remove two counters from the Ancient Gear Castle to summon Ancient Gear Golem!”

Two torches went out in the windows of the castle. The floor of the airport seemed to shatter between the duelists, and then a gigantic metal man rose from the shattered space. It had two visible gears, both turning as it rose, and its right arm was much larger and more substantial than the left. One red eye glowed as it glared at Chad. (3,000/3,000)

Oh, dear, Gerald thought, staring up at the Ancient Gear Golem. That’s one of the rarest machines in the game… with good reason.

As if that weren’t enough, the castle launched several chains into the Golem’s back, tightening its gears. (3,300/3,000)

“Crap,” Chad said.

“Ancient Gear Golem,” Sol declared, “attack the Enraged Battle Ox! Ultimate Pound!”

Drawing its right fist back, the Golem brought it down hard, obliterating the Battle Ox and throwing Chad backwards, his Life Points plummeting to 3,200.

As Chad got up, he touched his neck… and felt a black mark come into being there. I have to do something quick, he thought, or I’m in for a nasty rash…

“I set this facedown,” Sol finished, “and end my turn.”

If the Golem is like the other members of the Ancient Gear family, Chad reasoned, then I can’t stop it with a Magic or Trap card. I need some other way to put this to a halt. He looked at the card he’d drawn. This isn’t fair!

“I set a monster in Defense Mode, switch my Mad Dog of Darkness to Defense Mode, and call it a turn,” Chad groaned. The Dog sat on its haunches.

Even as Sol drew, he smirked. “I forgot to mention that Ancient Gear Golem can damage your Life Points through Defense Mode, didn’t I?”

Chad and Gerald exchanged hopeless looks.

“Ah, well,” Sol said. “Ancient Gear Golem, attack the Mad Dog of Darkness with Ultimate Pound!”

For a second time, the mechanical menace drew its arm back, smashing through Chad’s monster and catching the artist in the gut. Chad merely groaned as his Life Points hit 1,300.

“That’ll do it for me,” Sol said.

Looking to Gerald, Chad pointed to his eyes. “The veins turn black yet?”

“Afraid so,” Gerald said, sighing.

The artist struggled to his feet, thinking, Last chance… He drew, and then thought, Not perfect, but it’ll save me for now! “I play Card of Sanctity!” he declared.

Both duelists drew, Chad drawing six cards and Sol drawing five.

“Next,” Chad said, “I’ll dispose of that cursed Ancient Gear Castle with a burst from Heavy Storm!”

Sol gasped, as the storm destroyed both his Ancient Gear Castle (the chains from which ripped out of the Ancient Gear Golem as it collapsed) and his face-down Mystical Space Typhoon. Chad’s Poison Fangs shattered as well, but he didn’t care.

“Now I summon Bazoo the Soul-Eater!” Chad continued.

A giant, purple-furred baboon leapt down onto Chad’s field, hooting. (1,600/900)

Glancing to his Ancient Gear Golem, Sol asked, “Mind explaining how that zoo reject could be a threat to my machine?”

Reaching into his graveyard, Chad removed three cards, explaining, “Bazoo’s called the Soul-Eater for a reason. By feeding it up to three souls – in other words, removing three monsters from my Graveyard – I can raise its Attack Points by 300 for each one consumed. That raises its Attack to 2,500!”

Digging into the floor, Bazoo retrieved a glowing orb, which it devoured. It did this again, and again, and then let out a loud hoot of satisfaction. (2,500/900)

“Still too weak,” Sol said.

“That’s why I have another Wild Nature’s Release,” Chad answered. “Gruesome as it is, Bazoo’s still a Beast.”

The baboon screamed in rage as the rush struck it. (3,400/900)

Sol took several steps back.

“Bazoo the Soul-Eater,” Chad commanded, “attack the Ancient Gear Golem with Soul-Gorged Rush!”

With a leap skyward, the baboon crashed down into the Ancient Gear Golem. It tore open the machine’s chest and began to rampage through the creature’s body. Finally, it emerged out the back before scampering to Chad’s side of the field. Wrecked beyond repair, the Golem toppled over, exploding.

Sol’s jaw dropped, and he just stared as his Life Points went down to 5,700.

“I set a card facedown and end my turn,” Chad said. “Now Wild Nature’s Release kills my Bazoo…”

With one last hoot, the baboon died.

Sol looked down at his hand. How can I have six cards and nothing to save me? Best try to knock the last few points off of him… “I switch Mine Golem to Attack Mode, and then summon another Mine Golem in Attack Mode!”

Another Mine Golem dropped alongside the first.

“Mine Golem on the left, attack Chad’s face-down monster!” Sol demanded.

“Activate Mirror Force!” Chad replied.

The Mine Golem hurled itself at the target, only to hit an invisible wall. It exploded, and its explosive force struck the other Mine Golem, detonating it in turn and leaving Sol’s field bare.

A look to his hand revealed nothing useful (how he could have five cards and nothing good was still beyond him), and so Sol muttered, “My turn ends.”

Chad drew his own next card, smirked, and played it. “I activate Monster Reborn, bringing back my Mad Dog of Darkness!”

The holy symbol shined above them, and then the Mad Dog of Darkness rose to life. (1,900/1,400)

“Next,” Chad declared, “I flip my Magician of Faith into Attack Mode!”

The weak spellcaster stood up, brushing off as she did so. (300/400)

“This lets me retrieve a Magic Card from my Graveyard,” he continued, “so I’ll bring back and play Poison Fangs. Next, I summon my other Berserk Gorilla!”

In front of Chad, a pair of green fangs came from nowhere. From behind him, the second gorilla charged into play, pounding its chest. (2,000/1,000)

“Finally,” Chad finished, “I play Forest, giving all Beast-type monsters 200 extra Attack Points!”

Around the duelists, the airport disappeared, replaced with a massive forest. Both of the beasts relaxed as they entered their favored environment. (1,900/1,400 – 2,100/1,600; 2,000/1,000 – 2,200/1,200)

Gerald began to doze off by the baggage carousel.

Stammering, Sol tried to back away, only to bump into a tree.

“Magician of Faith,” the artist began, “attack with Holy Crescent!”

The magician gathered some power, and then swung her staff at Sol, hitting him with a wave of energy and making him grunt. His Life Points went to 5,300.

Chad continued, “Mad Dog of Darkness, sic!”

The dog sprang forward, biting into Sol’s leg. Yelling, the ancient gear duelist shook it off. His Life Points went to 3,200, and then down to 2,600 as the Poison Fangs glowed.

“Finish him, Berserk Gorilla!” Chad declared.

The gorilla ran forward and slugged Sol in the gut, causing him to slump to the ground. His Life Points reached 400, and then clicked to zero as the Poison Fangs hit.

The duel ended.

0000000

The mirror array broadcast the end of the duel, but no one was watching it. Degas and Alexander had drifted away when Chad had played the Forest.

Instead, the two were in the pillar room, watching the final pieces of obsidian fall from the cracked southernmost pillar. The final shards fell…

…and the man within it opened his eyes. He was wearing a silver jumpsuit, a cape of the same color swishing around his shoulders, and his blonde hair came down to his shoulders. After a moment of getting his senses back, he smiled.

“Welcome back to the world, Mr. Viper,” Alexander said.

“So I am needed,” the man called Mr. Viper said, his voice deep and resounding. “What sort of situation requires a Pillar of Darkness?”

“We need you to deal with someone very important,” Alexander replied. “The Chosen of Light is in town.”

The smile on the Pillar’s face turned into a grin. “I understand fully. Shall I strike immediately, or do we have a trap to set?”

Degas pressed a photo into Viper’s hands. The man looked at it and gasped.

Alexander smirked. “That answers your question, I take it?”

“Indeed,” Viper said, much more serious than before. “I shall get straight to it.”

0000000

Gerald woke up, still sitting against the luggage. He looked between Chad, who was shutting his Duel Disk down, and the unconscious form of Sol, who now lacked any of the markings of a Darkness Infected. He’d fallen asleep on the last blow, as always, but it was pretty obvious how things had turned out.

“So that’s that,” Gerald said, using one of the bags to help himself up.

Chad nodded, and then the two heard applause. They turned in its direction, and then they saw who was applauding.

It was a man in a very elegant white suit, apparently in his thirties. He had pure white hair, parted on the left, and he wore gold rings on every finger on his right hand. His bearing was one of extreme confidence.

“I congratulate you, Monsieur Montmelier,” he said, a light French accent peppering his words. “You did very well against one of ze less pleasant decks I’ve seen… and I have seen plenty.”

“Thanks,” Chad said. “And your name is…”

“You may call me Lucifer Allumette,” the man answered. “I am also known as ze Beloved of Fire, but zat title means little to nothing at zis point. I am a servant of ze forces of Dreams.”

“Dreams?” Chad muttered.

Gerald explained, “There were four pieces in the Balance in my first vision – Light, Darkness, Dreams, and Shadow. Dreams and Shadow were across from each other…”

“And Shadow is my enemy, indeed, but Darkness and Dreams are not on friendly terms, either,” Lucifer finished. “When ze Darkness began to move, I was sent to keep an eye on it. Thankfully, so far, it seems ze Light knew what it was doing when it chose its servants for this job.”

Gerald and Chad shared a look. Both were thinking the same thing: Servants of light? When did the light make us its “servants”?

Finally, Gerald said aloud, “Is it like this all over the city?”

Lucifer replied, “Mercifully, no. Zis airport was struck with a much more virulent form of ze Darkness Infection that claimed everyone in it except for a handful of people in the control tower; zat form has died out. Ze rest of the city is currently under siege from ze form that Monsieur Kilkarn exhibited.”

“So in other words,” Chad said, “we won’t have to worry about needing to hunt for food because the stores are empty, among other things.”

“Speaking of which,” Lucifer said as he opened his coat, “ze forces of Dreams asked me to give you zis.” He took an envelope from an inside pocket and handed it to Gerald.

Gerald raised an eyebrow, and then withdrew a large bundle of cash, with something tucked into it. That “something” turned out to be a key. “This is a key from the Minneapolis Hilton,” he muttered.

“Some spending money and a place to stay,” Lucifer answered. “Ze room is paid up for the next two weeks. Since I cannot help you more directly, it is ze best I could do.”

“Wait a minute!” Chad interrupted. “What do you mean you can’t help us more directly?”

The man in the white suit sighed. “I am afraid zat servants of Dreams are forbidden to directly engage in conflict against ze Darkness. We are only allowed to directly interfere in cases involving ze Shadow. Unless ze Shadow joins hands with ze Darkness, I can only aid you indirectly, such as zat way.”

“Well, thank you,” Gerald said, tucking the money into his pocket. “But how will we get to the hotel?”

“Call a taxi, I suppose,” Lucifer answered. “I must now report to ze Dreams. There is one way I might aid you – if I find anything of interest concerning ze Darkness and its actions, I shall report it to you. Consider it my way of making up for having my hands tied. Good luck, servants of ze Light.”

And with that, he vanished in a burst of flame.

Once they had recovered from their confusion, Chad and Gerald looked at each other again. “Well, he seems honest enough,” Chad said.

“Perhaps… but something about him irks me,” Gerald replied.

The two then walked out of the airport, Gerald rolling the keys between his fingers.

0000000

It was about an hour later when Sol woke up.

He blinked twice, and then moved to his knees, taking a few deep breaths. It was some time before he realized what had happened.

Once the realization struck him, he put his head in his hands and groaned. Oh, God, what did I try to do to them? Infection or no infection, I threatened their lives! That sort of sin can’t be forgiven…

He tried to stand up, but another wave of guilt hit him, and he sank back down, cursing himself.

Suddenly, he remembered his Duel Disk. He looked to it, recalling how close his duel with Chad had gone.

The guilt vanished. That’s what I’ll do, he thought. I can’t forgive myself, but I can work to repay them for what I tried to do. I’ll find them… and I’ll help them defeat the Darkness.

Something else occurred to him, and as he stood up, he muttered aloud, “Of course, the first step to that is figuring out where they actually are…”

Coming next chapter: Once they’ve settled into St. Paul, Gerald and Chad begin to look for Laura. But the city is not quite what it seems, and there’s more to worry about than just the Darkness Infection. That, however, is still a threat – as Gerald learns when he’s attacked by someone whose need for speed has taken a decidedly unpleasant turn! How will Gerald deal with a Duel Monsters grease monkey? Find out in Chapter Six, “Streets of Fire”!

[Dark Sage]

Don't feel bad, MoP, I made the same mistake...

But you made another one: I don't believe that Ancient Gear Castle gets a counter when your opponent summons a Monster.

But anyway, not a bad chapter. The combination Medieval and Rock deck wasn't too bad, although it could have been better.

I hope to see the next chapter soon. I have no idea what the next duelist has up his sleeve. And this Mr. Viper? Is he human, or a demon of some sort? Dunno, but I can tell I'm gonna like him.

I await the next chapter!

[jkBAKURA]

A bit ofa plot hole that I noticed. Chad obviously knew of Aincent Gear Golem beforehand, so whi didn't he know of it's Piercing effect? Other then that, I liked this chapter. Chad used most of his previous cards, plus plenty of new ones, and the Rock Bombardments were simply hysterical. (to read, I'd rather not have it happen to me) It looks like Sol is going to get more screen-time later. I cn't remember who it was, but whoever made Kyle for Thousand Year Door should be happy. JKB, Out.

[Shuppet Master]

That was a great chapter, Paradox. It was Crowler vs. Chumley all over again, except with the rock monsters.

I also think that Ancient Gear Castle was played wrong, because when I saw it run(in GX), Crowler had to summon Ancient Gear monsters to get counters on the card. OF course, you can claim artistic license and swear not to do that again.

This Lucifer guy is going to be most interesting.