I don't get sick easily. It's a little blessing I've had since I was a child. Oh, I got chickenpox like every other kid, but that was about it. I think I've had one cold in my entire life, I've never had the flu, and most of the other seasonal diseases pass by me.

You think I'd make a segue into the Darkness Infection from here, wouldn't you? But that isn't the important factor at the moment. You see, there are two diseases of note in this city right now. One is the aforementioned Darkness Infection, and the other is the Dark Snake Syndrome. I have no idea why Industrial Illusions printed that card - it may be the most disturbing burn card in the game.

I can see why Laura lost. Dealing with this card could break anyone, especially used by someone like this. How Degas and Alexander can stay sane working with him I will never know.

But like I said, I don't get sick easily. If I lose to him, not only will I have succumbed to the Darkness Infection, but I will have let Laura and Gerald both down. This I will not allow!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Contamination

An hour after Gerald Laxina's party had entered the Mall of America, Chad Montmelier collapsed onto a hard plastic bench, feet aching. He doubted that he had missed a single spot in Camp Snoopy, and yet he had not seen any signs of the Pillar of Darkness, aside from the large number of Darkness Infected slumped about the place.

Glancing over to his left, he could see a line of unconscious people stretched out in front of the entrance to the Ghost Blasters ride. A small, square wall in front of the ride usually played a video explaining the ride's premise on a continuous loop, but when Lucifer had turned the power on it had failed to turn on the video as well.

Chad then wondered where Lucifer had gone after the lights had turned on - the Beloved of Fire had not returned from wherever he had gone to turn on the lights. Thinking of Lucifer caused Chad's mind to segue to Vivienne, and the artist smiled, leaning back against the bench as he thought about the girl.

After all this is done, he thought, I wonder if she'll go back to France. Maybe she can stay a while if I ask... assuming Lucifer doesn't immolate me just for asking. He briefly shuddered before thinking, She does seem to like me. That may just be me reading too much into her enthusiasm - she seems to feel that way about everything. However... we only met the other day, so I need to give it some time...

The chain of thought broke off as Chad heard three low booms, off towards the southern entrance to the park. He pushed himself to his feet, expression grim, and adjusted his Duel Disk. "I know that sound," he muttered, heading towards the source.

0000000

The man in green and the man in black walked back into the mirror room, the former carrying a thin notebook. He finished making notes before handing it to the other man.

"At this rate, the other projects will be complete by tomorrow night," Degas noted as he studied the notebook. "Adjusting the growth rate was a wise idea, as it prevents them from burning out their dark energy supplies. However, we'll still need more in order to finish the maturation of the later three..."

Alexander wrote down his partner's words as they moved to their chairs. "It would also come in handy to complete our... other plan. After all, I only have so much energy at any given time." He then scowled. "Not to mention it would hurt much less coming from a source that isn't my body."

Shaking his head, Degas flipped through his notes, musing aloud, "There are several ways we could harvest enough energy to perform the necessary actions. Most of the major sources are already being tapped by particularly powerful beings, though..."

"Such as?" the Dark Conduit asked.

"The contact points between our world and the Abyss, for example, are under the control of the Maeljin Thuriforge. Do you want to be the one to chase him off?"

Involuntarily, Alexander shivered.

"Exactly," the Hand of Darkness said. "Let us consider ourselves lucky he rarely deigns to leave the Shadow Realm. However, there is one way for us to gather the necessary energy to finish the projects. Do you recognize this man?" He handed his notebook to Alexander.

Taking it, the man in green studied the pages for a second before his eyes widened. "Are you serious about this, Degas?"

The man in black simply said, "Yes. This morning I cast a spell to pin down his location. Once we know where he went after the Monster Island incident, we will send Hanzaki to... recruit him."

One of Alexander's hands moved to hide his frown as the other snapped its fingers, turning on the mirrors. One showed Mako Tsunami's unconscious form, while another showed Chad Montmelier wandering through Camp Snoopy. A third showed Sol Kilkarn laying comatose in the food court, and a fourth revealed Gerald Laxina on patrol.

"It appears Demetrius Lark remains undefeated," Alexander noted as he saw the image of the defeated Mako.

With a sigh, Degas replied, "As expected. Remind me to have Hanzaki drop him off on Okinawa later. Speaking of which, where is our Lycra-clad manservant, anyway?" He then paused and added, "And where has your girlfriend gone off to, while we're on the subject of mysterious disappearances?"

"Bethany said she needed something from the Twin Cities, so I had Hanzaki take her out there," Alexander said. "It shouldn't take her long."

Degas scowled. "Just make sure she doesn't seriously interfere with our plans." He then glanced to Sol's form and commented, "Reston has done well - that makes one free radical and one of Gerald's party he has brought down so far. And from the looks of things, it will be two of Gerald's party shortly."

The interest drained from Alexander's face, and he laid back in his chair, sighing.

0000000

As Chad approached the Tree Swing, near the south entrance to Camp Snoopy, he broke out into an uncontrollable cold sweat. Massive shivers ran unbidden down his spine, and he felt like he was going to explode if he didn't scream. Pillar, he thought, and swallowed hard.

Despite every instinct that told him to do otherwise, he stepped forward... and the feelings evaporated. With a sigh of relief, he moved closer to the Tree Swing.

The Pillar of Death was standing in front of the entrance queue, arms crossed. He had already put on his oxygen mask, and his coat was pulled tighter around his body as he stood there, occasionally twitching. His eyes glanced into Chad's, and the artist recoiled slightly.

And then Chad thought back to a news article he had read several months before, and he frowned. "Paul Arthur Eckhart, the Wandering Hospital Reaper," he said, hand to his chin. "So that explains where you went after the transport crashed."

"Now going by Reston," the sick man said before breaking into a vicious cough. The inside of his oxygen mask spattered with blood before he pulled a syringe out of his pocket and jabbed it into his neck, hand slamming down on the plunger. Once the coughing stopped, he pulled the needle out, wiped it on a piece of tissue, and tucked it back into his pocket before removing his mask, shutting off the flow, and wiping it out.

"You still have the Feinglory's?" Chad asked, head tilting. "I would think becoming a Pillar would cure that."

Shaking his head, Reston replied, "Just suspended it. Cure not forthcoming until after job complete. You part of job." He then put the oxygen mask back on, adjusting the straps. "Hope you prove greater challenge than Laura. Girl fell too quickly. Did not get to test true combo."

The mention of Laura made Chad wince, his mind flashing back to her appearance after the duel. He then lifted his Duel Disk and activated it, loading his deck. "Allow me to assure you - I won't disappoint you. But you are not going to win."

"Test hypothesis?" Reston replied, holding up his arms. Black lightning danced around them, gathering on his right arm. Soon the lightning became a sheath of unearthly light, which faded to reveal a pale Duel Disk. He lowered his arms, and then waved his left hand towards Chad.

The mall began to blur and transform around them, and the tall man asked, "What are you up to?"

"Changing to more appropriate battlefield."

0000000

A feeling of sheer wrongness struck all three of the other non-Infected in the Mall of America.

In contrast to Chad's worries, Lucifer had not actually left the power room once the lights came on. Instead, he had spent some time turning on the other switches, restoring full power to the building. Working out the panels had taken a good hour, and as soon as the job was finished, he could feel it within himself. "Ze Pillar has found Monsieur Montmelier," he whispered. "Ze Divine help you... and don't you dare break my Vivienne's heart..."

Demetrius Lark was on the third floor when he felt it. He dropped his cane as the feeling struck him, muttering, "Oh, bother..." Retrieving it, he headed back to the first floor, saying, "Nothing I can do but wish him good luck."

And as Gerald rounded the Macy's corner, he tripped when the feeling erupted in him. With a gasp of "Chad...", he took off running toward the southern entrance to Camp Snoopy. By the time he got there, however, the two duelists were gone, replaced with an orb of darkness...

0000000

Once the world stopped going crazy, Chad stood up, head aching slightly. He then assessed the current location, confused.

The Mall of America was gone, and now he was standing in the middle of a dried, desiccated field. The grass was dead all around him, and the sky was a sickly gray. Reston stood across from him, still standing before the Tree Swing - but the tree was now real, its leaves blood-red, and the swings...

The tall man could not resist gagging. Every one of the swings had vanished, replaced by a corpse swaying from a noose. None of the corpses looked particularly fresh, either.

"Nice touch," Chad murmured as his stomach turned over, "but did you have to be so dramatic?"

Reston shrugged, holding up his Duel Disk. "Begin game."

Glaring at his opponent, Chad nodded, and both Life Point counters shot up to 8,000. The duel was underway.

"I begin," Reston said, drawing his six cards. He fanned them out, those inhuman eyes flicking over them. "Set one monster in Defense Mode," he then said, the hologram appearing before him, "and card facedown. Play Dark Room of Nightmare."

As the Continuous Magic Card appeared, the field began to break up around Chad. Four pillars slowly rose from the ground, locking into place in the four corners around the young man. Fields of darkness came into being between them, but Chad could still see his opponent, who calmly looked back.

"End turn," the Pillar of Death concluded.

Dark Room of Nightmare... that adds 300 points to any Effect Damage I take, Chad thought as he drew his opening hand. It only works if you play a lot of Effect Damage, so he's either using monster effects or a Burn Deck. Either way, he won't attack much. "I summon Exarion Universe!" he shouted as he played his first card.

For a moment, the dismal skies overhead turned into a starry night, and in a blur, the green-skinned centaur appeared, upper body concealed in thin blue armor and face masked. He held up his hand, and a beam of starlight fell on it, transforming into a javelin. Spinning this weapon, the Exarion Universe stamped his forefeet. (1,800/1,900)

"I set one card facedown," Chad said, thinking, Even if he doesn't attack very often, every deck takes a shot when it can. He then paused, doing some mental math, before declaring, "I activate Exarion Universe's effect, lowering its Attack Points by 400 to give it a trampling effect until the end of the turn! Attack his monster with Stardust Javelin!"

Green energy crackled out from the centaur's arm, covering his javelin. (1,800/1,900 - 1,400/1,900) He sprang backwards into the air, arm whipping about and throwing the weapon down at Reston's monster. It made impact, striking home... but then a linen-wrapped hand grabbed it out of the sky. The monster was revealed as two mummies in decaying purple wrappings, exhaling noxious fumes. (1,000/1,800)

"Ah... Poison Mummy," Chad noted, right before they threw the javelin back at him. It struck him through the stomach, causing him to shout in pain as the energy discharged throughout his body. His limbs twitched, and he staggered on his feet as his Life Points dropped to 7,600.

To add to the pain, Reston noted, "Effect. When turned face-up, 500 Life Points lost." He went silent, whereupon one of the mummies tore open its stomach. A cloud of purple smoke rolled out from the opening and covered Chad, causing him to break into a fit of coughing. He hacked for several moments, sinking to one knee and resting one hand on the ground as his Life Points went down to 7,100.

And then energy shot between the columns of the Dark Room of Nightmare, and dark lightning struck into his body from all four. Chad convulsed as it ran through his system, and he fell to the ground, breathing hard as his Life Points finally set at 6,800.

He pushed himself back onto his knees, coughing again before saying, "That... will do it for my turn." In front of him, Exarion Universe snapped his fingers, causing another javelin to appear in his hand.

Drawing his next card, Reston slid his finger over the tops of his hand before picking a card out and playing it. "Summon Exiled Force."

A small army of men in armor appeared on the field, carrying various weapons and gear. They looked haggard, as if their time traveling had left them worn out and beaten. Several of them had glazed eyes, and all of them wore bandages.

Blinking, Chad wondered around, "I've never understood why exactly they were exiled."

"Plague dogs," Reston replied. "Banished to avoid infecting rest of army. By sacrificing them, can destroy one monster on your field. Will do so to destroy Exarion Universe."

The soldiers suddenly turned much more menacing. Every one of them adopted a foul grin, and the bandages fell away to reveal open sores and draining wounds. They marched across the field, their bodies melting until finally all that was left was a rolling black cloud. This fell over the Exarion Universe, which suddenly grabbed at his throat as if he couldn't breathe.

In front of Chad's eyes, as he stared in shock, the Beast-Warrior melted where he stood, his green flesh rolling away as the skin and muscle fell away from the bone. Nothing was left after thirty seconds.

Reston watched the scene without any real interest. Instead, he slid a card into his Duel Disk and announced, "One card facedown. End turn."

Once his hands stopped shaking, Chad drew his next card, adding it to his hand. He sorted his cards and then declared, "I set one card facedown, and summon the Mad Dog of Darkness in Attack Mode!"

This time, as the eyeless, yellow-furred dog trotted onto Chad's field, it wasn't snarling or growling. In matter of fact, it did nothing to live up to its "mad dog" title. Instead, it seemed scared, whimpering as it stepped onto the dead grass. (1,900/1,400)

It was an unnerving sight, and so Chad took a deep breath before playing his next card. "I really think you've picked a bad battleground," he said, his voice on the verge of shouting, "so I'm going to change the scenery! I play my Forest Magic Card, giving all Beasts and Beast-Warriors 200 extra Attack and Defense Points!"

But as the ground shook and a multitude of trees pushed their way out from underground, it was clear that whatever power Reston had invoked to create this desolate arena would not be denied. For the trees were not the healthy deciduous trees that Forest usually created, the lush oaks and cedars of the deep woods.

These trees were skeletal, leafless elms and willows, branches brittle and reaching out as if trying to skin both duelists. They struggled to force their way into view, and even as they rose up the hanging tree behind Reston glowed black, its presence sucking even more life from the plants so that their trunks were warped and gnarled.

But as dead as the forest was, it still had power, and its presence calmed the Mad Dog of Darkness. (1,900/1,400 - 2,100/1,600)

No need to risk that trap yet, Chad thought. "I end my turn."

"Yes," Reston replied as he drew a card. He then shook his head and slid a card into his disk. "Play Magical Mallet to shuffle hand into deck and draw new cards." Taking his two remaining cards, he slid them back into the deck and drew anew. He only gave them a moment's glance before taking one and saying, "Set one monster in Defense Mode. End turn."

A chill wind crossed the field as Chad drew, and he shuddered, thinking, I can't allow this duel to get to me or I've lost already... He then held out one of his cards before playing it with a shout of, "I summon my Enraged Battle Ox in Attack Mode!"

Just leaving Chad's hand seemed to have sapped most of the Battle Ox's rage from it. The armored minotaur had a very tight grip on its ax as it emerged, muscles tense and weapon held close. Its boots scuffed along the ground as it moved through the dead trees. (1,700/1,000) Soon, however, it adjusted to the environment, baring its teeth. (1,700/1,000 - 1,900/1,200)

Taking a deep breath, Chad let out a yell of, "Enraged Battle Ox, attack the Poison Mummy!"

One of Reston's hands went to his ear as he said, "Why yelling? Standing right here."

"Sorry," the tall man replied, suddenly sheepish. "Trying to ease my nerves..." He then frowned, thinking, Yeah, TELL the Pillar you're scared. Brilliant, Montmelier.

Regardless of its master's faux pas, the minotaur charged through the dead woods, hefting its axe. It brought the weapon around in a furious arc, the blade cleaving through the purple-wrapped mummies. Both exploded into a cloud of toxic dust, but before it could even reach him the Enraged Battle Ox had leapt back.

To its misfortune, the Enraged Battle Ox landed directly on a crack in the earth. The crack widened in seconds, becoming a gaping wound in the landscape, and the minotaur plunged to its death, axe hanging in the air for a moment before it followed him.

"Michizure," Reston explained as the activated trap faded away. "Destroy one of your monsters when one on this side destroyed in battle."

Chad narrowed his eyes, a growl leaving him as he turned to the Mad Dog of Darkness. "Destroy his facedown monster, Mad Dog of Darkness."

The eyeless canine ran through the dead forest, heading for Reston's monster. It jaws opened wide, and it clamped them shut on the targeted foe, which was revealed as a large mass of blue gelatin in a rough X shape. (800/1,000) Pieces of it flew everywhere, and the dog let out a yelp of pain, spitting a piece of it out.

Part of the slain monster flew through the air and hit Chad's cheek. He raised an eyebrow, and then let out a scream as it burned into his skin before falling away, leaving a large red mark. After a moment, he tentatively raised a hand to it and then winced as he pulled his hand away, Life Points left at 6,000. Around him, the Dark Room of Nightmare ran electricity through his body again, sending him to 5,700 Life Points.

As before, Reston explained: "Acid Slime. Deals 800 Life Points of damage when destroyed."

Taking a few breaths between clenched teeth, Chad said, "I end my turn."

To be continued next post...