Yu-Gi-Oh: Sister of Anansi

[Dark Sage]

Well this wasn't too bad, a bit of a filler.

This Ares guy... He's no doubt that spy working for Pisaro. He's obviously going to break Gwen's heart into tiny pieces when the truth is revealed. One of the most callous tricks in the book.

I've got to see more. Write more!

- Venusaur

[Shadow Djinn]

Wow, my character's an ass XD. I never expected Ares to be a spy or get Gwen to like him o_O;. Gwen's gonna be really sad when Ares reveals himself. Whee, I love my evil character. ^^

EDIT: Um, one question. Why is Ares' looks all different? o_O;

[Shuppet Master]

I seriously apologize,Shadow Djinn. I didn't read your description good enough. PM me the description again and I'll fix it.

Okay,here's the next chapter,the first 1/4-final duel! It's PG for some euphinisms in the first scene,and there's bad karma and a gross description at the end,so if you are offended easily,avert your eyes! Enjoy!

[Shuppet Master]

Yu-Gi-Oh Jr.: Sister of Anansi
A Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic-crossover fanfic by .hack//BELLOSSOM

Chapter 25: Convulsion of Nature

Ultimate Baseball Kid tapped his shoe with his bat, spit on the floor, and assumed a batter’s stance.

Clive just stared for a minute. And then he burst out laughing. Peter and Mary laughed too, but not Yugi.

“That’s a Monster?!” said Clive. “He looks like my girlfriend’s kid brother! Oh, look out, it’s the attack of the sandlot slugger!”

“You won’t be laughing for long,” said Etna, who was still smiling.

* Yu-Gi-Oh Jr.,The Mandate of Heaven;"Tremendous Fire" *

A shadowy figure entered the chamber where Pisaro and Circe were enjoying another breakfast served by Kitsune. "Forgive me, Pisaro and...Lady Circe." He bowed.

"Well, you sure know how to treat a lady," smirked Circe. "What's up?"

"I came to report," said the figure, stepping into the dim light to reveal his identity. It was Ares. He smirked. "I was smooth as the butter you are spreading on your muffins. You're right, my lady, I can treat a girl nice. I managed to form an...intimate relationship with the girl I was asked to get close to. She is starved for love. It was so easy to make out with her. Of course, I had to stop before I ended up getting in her shorts, or else Lina and her friends might have chewed me out for taking advantage of her." He chuckled. "But she probably would have gotten naked and let me deflower her. She was envious of her friends for owning trophy boys and I was sure she wanted to lose her..."

"Ahem," said Circe, coughing. "That is enough. I don't need to know the details of your sex life. I've already had my fair share of sexual conquests...and turned those who refused to give their heart and soul to me into the animals they were." She chuckled a bit. "They're probably out there now, laughing up a storm at my fall."

"Don't worry, I'll personally turn each and every one of them into a blackened skeleton once we destroy Yugi and his friends," grinned Pisaro, sipping his fruit cider from a crystal goblet. "So, Ares, are you going to be going to the finals with Doppler?"

"Of course, sir, it's my duty," said Ares, bowing. "Of course, may I ask a request? If Gwen is the one who wins and we use her to seal Yugi's soul, can you give her soulless body an airheaded personality and give her to me as a lover? I'm..."

"I know exactly what you want, you are enamored with that girl," grinned Pisaro. "It won't be the same as having her safe and with soul, but at least she won't hate your guts as you use her body in any way you desire. I promise, I will give Gwen a suitable demon spirit for her body once I am through with it." He chuckled. "You may go."

"Thank you, sir," said Ares as he walked off. I didn't really want to voice my words fully, for fear that he would seal me in the Orichalcos like he did Magus, but...I eagerly desire to possess Gwen. Even if she hates me for it, I'd rather feel the sting of her hand on my cheek and her spittle on my face. He sighed and shook his head, then walked off.

"Now, let's finish our repose and get ready to watch the wonderous battles of might and magic in Duelist Camp, shall we?" asked Pisaro as he wiped his lips with his napkin.

"Let's," said Circe with a sly grin. She clapped her hands. "Kitsune! Bring me more juice!" The red-haired former fox carried a crystal pitcher and filled her goblet. "Good girl."

~~+~~

Diane woke up and looked on her desk. She jumped up with a strange alertness and squealed as she took the beautiful silver duel disk. It was sleek and stylish and had a dome for a deck slot, with a beautiful LCD life point meter. She slipped the disk on her wrist and clamped it over her wrist, then pressed the button. The trays flung out like scythe blades and clamped together with a loud KA-CHING! The disk trays spread out like a ferm frond unfolding, and the disk came to life. The discard slot, removal slot, and each slot for the magic, field magic, and monster zones glowed with an eerie blue luminesence that could be called esoteric.

"Awesome," Diane cried, grinning slyly. "I'll be sure to take the show with this device!" She turned it off, unclamped it, and got dressed for the big event coming up.

~~+~~

At seven-thirty in the morning the next day, the campers were lining up in droves in front of the Great Auditorium to get good seats for what would be the first of several exciting duels.

Peter(not the Team Supreme member) and Kate arrived first. "Well, this is it," said Peter. "The big Camp of Duels Finals. I can't wait to see the duels!"

"You said it, mrow," said Kate, mimicking a cat licking its paw.

"Uh...Kate, I'm sorry. Again," said Peter, scuffling his foot in the dirt of the trail they were standing on. "I mean, it should have been you in the finals instead of Sonja or Norus." He scowled. "Norus is a big bully who just likes getting high off of others' misery."

"Oooh, yeah," said Kate, nodding. "Katnappe does not like Norus. He is wicked."

"Uh...are you okay?" asked Peter.

Kate turned to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You are forgiven, darling. Katnappe can land on her feet after any bad dueling encounter."

Peter blushed. "Well, Gwen told me you were a total wreck after I beat you!"

"It's okay," said Kate. She grinned as she held up her X-960 duel disk. "At least I got a cool new duel disk as compensation." She then saw Janice and Ralph appear, arm in arm. "Oh, you two are getting cozy!"

The two blushed and let go of each other. "So, ready to watch the champions duke it out?" asked Janice.

"You bet," said Peter. "And I bet the rest of the camp is gonna be there too."

"You bet we will," said a voice as Johnathan - wearing a very sexy garter-strap tank top and skirt - approached. The others shivered in disgust. "Darling, don't hate me because I'm beautiful."

"Uh...whatever," said Ralph, sweatdropping. "So, you gonna watch the duels too?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, especially young Bethany," said John.

"Well, I was hoping you'd be there, your awesome VWXYZ robot really wasted me," grinned Peter.

"I would have won had Sam not played those three cards together," sighed Johnathan. "Ah well, que sera sera." He shrugged as some counselors arrived.

"Hey, what are you guys doing standing around?" asked Jessica, the Shining Friendship counselor. "Like, the first duel is about to start any minute! Come on, let's go!"

"Sheesh, don't be so pushy," said Ralph. "We're going...to support everyone except Norus!"

"Yeah, I hope Norus gets his fat butt kicked out of the tournament," laughed Kate.

The counselors escorted the campers inside as Lina and Twilight approached. "Well, this is it," sighed Lina. "The big first duel of the finals. It's out of our hands."

"Yes, and we will wish them all well," said Twilight. "Even Norus, though I think he is being cruel."

Lina noticed something amiss. "Twi, where is your necklace? Did you forget it?"

"Ah, yes! I did," laughed Twilight sheepishly as she rubbed her bare neck slowly. "I guess I was so excited to see the duels I forgot to put it on."

"Say, how does a person with your...condition...see a duel?" asked Lina.

Twilight grinned. "Some secrets are meant to be mysteries."

"You're one weeeeeird girl, Twi," sighed Lina, rolling her eyes.

Twilight chuckled to herself. And I could say the same of you, my friend. You have every bit of silliness that your foster father had.

~~+~~

The eight finalists were gathered into the Great Hall for a final briefing. "Now, here is something you kids will need," said Keyla - who was now in clerical attire - as she handed the kids headsets. "The duels will be in a small stadium and a lot of people will be cheering and drowning out your voices, so these headsets will amplify your voices over the crowd. If there is something you wish to say that you don't want to be heard, tap the button on the mike to turn it off and then tap the other button over it to turn it back on. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," said the kids, nodding.

"You'll be placed in the back row box across from Lillith and watching it via close-camera monitor when you aren't part of the action," said Keyla. "Oh, and one more thing, there will be a special way in the way the duels are conducted, so don't freak out when you see it. Any more questions before we begin the first duel of the finals?"

The kids shook their heads.

"Well then, good luck to all of you, and duel with honor," said Keyla, smiling. "Come with me."

~~+~~

Ares and Doppler, who was wearing a female camper's form this time, were watching from the back balcony. Doppler gestured and made a staff with a white crystal orb on the tip appear. The images of Circe and Pisaro were reflected inside, as they watched through the crystal.

"Well now, the finals are about to begin, my dear," grinned Pisaro. "I hope you enjoy the show."

"I will, and when the winner is decided, then he or she will become our little pawn," giggled Circe. "I can't wait to get my revenge by turning Yugi's lifeless body into roast duck!"

"You'll get your chance soon enough," smirked Pisaro. "Doppler, Ares, you know what to do."

"Yes sir," said Ares. "Loud and clear."

~~+~~

The Time Wizard clock rang eight times and the auditorium grew dark. The TV screens flared into life as pictures of heiroglyphics were shown.

"Long ago, before mankind civilized the world, they had mighty battles with vicious beasts and even more vicious spells.

Paintings of battles, castles being stormed, and monsters being summoned by ancient Egyptians were flashed on the screens.

"For years, mankind battled others of their kind with these Shadow Games, and soon they were sealed away by an ancient Pharoah. For 1500 years, they were silent...until a man by the name of Maxmillion Pegasus brought the beasts back to life through a card game.

The profile picture of Maxmillion Pegasus appeared and rotated to show his face. Then it showed kids playing Duel Monsters.

"While the game of Duel Monsters, which we all know and love today, is but a pale shadow of the dark games played aeons ago, it still has impacted society all across the globe! And we, the company of Industrial Illusions, have kept Pegasus' dream of Duel Monsters alive to this day!"

The images changed to show many duels in progress, frozen in time.

"And today, we see the tradition continue in the new generations of young duelists! Behold the legacy of Duel Monsters in the Camp of Duels...FINALS!"

Suddenly, the images came to life as duelists called out attacks and monsters obeyed, firing breath weapons or spells or pouncing on other monsters. Footage from videos of Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, Duelist Labyrinth, and other tournaments erupted in brilliant color as the darkness was split by strobe lights and beams of color. The audience oohed and aahed as the God Cards appeared and unleashed their dreaded attacks. Then the Duelist Camp Logo appeared as the beams of light centered on the arena below and the lights rose up.

"And now, your host and guest referee, the owner of Industrial Illusions, the one who had been with Anastasia Pegasus during the Duelist Labyrinth, HEEEEEERE'S LILLITH!"

The black-haired woman entered the balcony overhead, where a roulette wheel(sort of like the type you see in festivals) entered. She was wearing a beautiful silver cape and diamond diadem, looking like a queen or empress over her business suit. Everyone cheered as two men in black flanked the door she came in from. A silver throne rose up in the fog.

"Greetings all of you," she said, bowing. The applause and cheers died down. "I'm glad to be here, and I sure you are all glad to be here to witness the toughest duels you've ever seen in your life. I'm sure you have all met or dueled the eight who will be facing off briefly. But joining me in watching the duels will be none other than Machus, your headmaster! Let's hear it for the man who made all this possible!" She clapped and the applause grew again as the headmaster, wearing a nice spiffy navy blue suit, appeared in a box next to Lillith's.

"Welcome," said Machus, bowing. "Now, before we begin, I wish to explain a little thing that will be taking place during each duel. Borrowed from Anastasia's own design during the Duelist Labyrinth finals, we will be changing the scenery of the auditorium to provide a marvelous battle interactive arena for our duelists to battle in. The setting will be chosen by the roulette you see next to Lillith, and each will be different. Also, each of the finalists is equipped with an X-960 Mach-3 Duel Disk, which is equipped with all the latest slots for discard, removal, and drawing of cards, as well as a brilliant LED life point meter which will be shown on screen, so you don't miss a bit of the action, as well as a few surprises borrowed from Siegfried's Duelatopia duel disks!" He chuckled. "And now...let's get this show on the road!" He sat down and sighed heavily, knowing what was to happen.

"Thanks, and as he said," said Lillith. "Let the finals commence!"

~~+~~

"Well, that's our cue," said Jake, nudging Donald in the ribs. "Let's have a clean fight."

Donald smirked. "It'll be clean, all right - my deck of aquatic wonders will wash you away! Everyone knows water is powerful against fire!"

"I may surprise you," grinned Jake wickedly. The two boys walked off.

"Good luck!" shouted Diane and Bethany in unison. They turned and smirked at each other.

"Wanna bet my Jakey wins?" asked Bethany.

"Your little boyfriend is about to be washed out," chuckled Diane.

"Oh boy," said Shanna, rolling her eyes sadly.

"Wanna bet that Donald and Jake aren't going to be the ONLY ones fighting in this duel?" sighed Gwen as Norus chuckled evilly and Sonja shrugged.

~~+~~

"Let's introduce our first two finalists!" said Lillith. "First, from San Andreas, California, we have the grandson of a former KaibaCorp worker. Even though the stories about Mr. Krump and his fellows in the Big-5 are infamous, this boy has gained his fame legitimately. DONALD KRUMP!"

Fireworks went off as the screen focused on Donald's pudgey face and blue eyes and fireworks went off over the door he had entered from. His stats were shown on the screen - his name, age, cabin, hometown, and favorite Duel Monster.

"While Donald's deck - which he named 'Aurora Borealis' - can send shivers of cold down your spine, his opponent can warm you up! Hailing from Yorkshire, Maine, related to the Duelist Champion of Italy, Etna Prometheus, his claims to fame are tried and true, unlike his aunt's!" Laughter filled the arena. "JACOB FORESTOR!"

The same thing happened as Jake walked under the door - fireworks went off and his face graced the screens, along with his stats of his hometown and favorite monster.

"His deck has been named 'Vesuvian Dreams', and you'll see why when you see his fiery beasts!" said Lilith. The two boys entered the stage. "Now, it's time to decide who will start this duel off." She took out a card. "This card, The Card of Plenty, is from the old Duelist Labyrinth. There were only four of these cards, but anyone owning one would be set in meals for the entire time he was in the maze. Yugi Mouto's friend, Mary Wheeler, won one such card from our cafeteria head, Jackie. But that is all in the past, and this time, this card will decide who goes first in each duel."

She showed the card's face, which was marked with a golden cornucopia overflowing with fruits and vegetables. "This is HEADS, and this is TAILS." She flipped it over to reveal the blank back. "Which one of you boys wishes to call it?"

"I will," said Jake.

"Fine, here goes!" Lillith inserted the card into a gyroscope and spun it about.

"HEADS!" shouted Jake as the gyroscope slowed down and landed, ejecting the card on one face. He grinned as the pictured side was shown.

"You won the call, so you can decide who goes first," said Lillith.

Donald sighed, but Jake grinned. "I'll let Donald go first, if you don't mind."

"Very well, then," said Lillith as an ivory table rose up from the center of the stage. "Now, shuffle and cut your opponent's deck. The counselors Lina and Twilight will see if you make any false cuts and force you to do it again."

"I do not intend to cheat when the numbers are in my favor," grinned Donald as he handed his deck to Jake, who did the same to him. The two shuffled each other's deck and placed them on the table, then cut them in thirds and put them back together. They then handed the decks back to each other as the table went back down.

"Shake hands, get into position, and plug your Duel Disks into the port you see," said Lillith.

The two shook hands and smiled at each other, then went to circles marked on the stage and, pulling out a cord, they plugged it into the port nearby. The disks activated automatically, with the trays flipping into position rapidly and formed a small tray that seemed to be like a miniature dueling mat.

"And now, before we begin," said Lillith, going up to the roulette. "Let's see where our two boys will be dueling! Start the roulette!" She pulled down the wheel and it rolled like a madman. Everyone waited with baited breath as the wheel slowed and stopped at a red area. "Well this is interesting! It will be a place where both duelists can use their decks to the fullest asthetic effect! I give you the graceful tropical paradise of...MAGU MAGU ISLE!" She pressed the button.

The change of the auditorium was marvelous. At first it looked like the walls had begun playing "The Matrix" movies, with their green data streaming down, but then it exploded into life and the area was transformed into a beautiful island where half of the seats were hovering over the ocean near the shoreline and the other half was sitting in the dunes. The sunset cast a golden glow over everything, including the nearby jungle and smouldering crater beyond.

"Whoa," said Diane, eyes wide. "Keyla wasn't kidding!"

Lillith's and Machus' thrones had changed as well, becoming composed of bamboo as illusionary hula girls waved their palm fans over them. The two sat down. "And now, insert your decks and draw your first hands."

The two boys did so and their life meters were displayed under the screen at 8000 each. Jake's was on the left and cast in red, and Donald's was on the right and cast in blue. The two drew their first hands of the duel.

"And now...ALLEZ JUENE!" cried Lillith, wving her hands down. A gong nearby sounded.

"Guess that means the duel's officially begun," said Jake. "May the best man win."

"And that will be me, firebug," grinned Donald as he drew his card. "Hmmmm...since my chances are about 50/50, I'll start by setting a monster face-down and ending my turn."

The card appeared, floating on the waves by his feet.

Diane and Beth both watched the duel with baited breath, silently rooting for their crush.

"A mere monster in defense mode?" smirked Jake as he shifted his feet in the hot sands. "Well then, you just reduced your chances greatly!" He drew a card and added it to his hand. "I play the field card, Molten Destruction!" A small CD-drive like slot slid out of the side of his duel disk and he slipped the card into it and shoved it back in. The card appeared. "I hope you like the heat, because it's about to get REAL hot soon!" The card exploded into light.

Then chaos broke. The ground shook and the sky turned red as the crater erupted. Screams and hysteria broke out as the volcano's ash and flaming rocks peppered the crowd.

"Don't worry, folks! This is all illusion!" said Machus rapidly, who jumped in his seat as a flaming rock grazed his chair and landed with a steaming splash into the ocean below. "Whew!" He wiped his brow rapidly. "A bit TOO realistic!"

Soon, the jungle caught on fire as lava poured down the mountain and into the beach, filling the area with steam as it touched the water. Eventually the place turned into a lava-filled wasteland.

"As you know, Molten Destruction raises the attack power of all fire monsters by 500 at the cost of 400 defense," said Jake. "But I don't intend to stick my monsters in defense any time soon. Now, I summon the monster Flame Dancer to the field!" He slapped the card in one of the five slots on his monster tray.

The effect was marvelous. The card briefly appeared and then it crumbled into pixels, but the monster remained and leapt down from mid-air. It was a grotesque red-bronze skinned pygmy with one eye and a painted face, with a flame for a lock of hair and swaying side to side with his jeweled golden bracelets and leg bracelets. (450/500)

"And, being a fire monster, Molten Destruction increases his attack by 500!" The pygmy jumped into the lava nearby and danced in it briefly before jumping back out, his skin glowing red. His attack rose up to 950 and his defense dropped to 100. "Then I'll set a card..." The card appeared between him and Flame Dancer. "And attack your face-down monster. Flame Dancer, use Burning Dance of Death!"

"Are you so crazy to attack without knowing WHAT my monster is?" grinned Donald.

"I'll risk it," said Jake. "Attack!"

The pgymy whooped and cast his hands into flames, then fired balls of fire into the face-down monster, revealing a penguin swordsman as it was cooked. The soot-covered bird exploded.

"That was my Penguin Soldier you just destroyed," laughed Donald. "You were a fool to take such an uncalculated risk! When it gets attacked, I get to send back up to two monsters from the field back to their owner's hand, so your Flame Dancer is banished for the time being!"

The ghost of Penguin Soldier appeared, quacked, and clamped onto Flame Dancer, who howled as he vanished in a flash of light. Jake sighed and put the card back into his hand.

"That was close," said Lillith. "No blood was lost, but that will change most likely."

"Oh no, he's vunerable now!" said Bethany.

"Yeah! Go Donnie!" cried Diane. "Kick his butt!"

Bethany glared at her. "Diane..."

"Hey, it's just a game," grinned Diane.

Shanna shook her head. "A game with very high stakes."

"My turn now," said Donald, drawing a card. "First, let me just say that my grandfather was not as evil as you think, and here is his avatar! NIGHTMARE PENGUIN, IN ATTACK MODE!"

The card appeared and, just like Jake's monster, it crumbled to reveal the tuxedo-wearing bird. It squawked a laugh as it clutched a golden rod in one wing. (900/1800)

"Why didn't you put THAT monster down first?" demanded Jake. "You could have done some damage to me!"

"True, but he wasn't in my hand at that point, I just drew him," grinned Donald. "But what's great is that he gives 200 attack to any water monster on my side of the field, and that includes himself!" The penguin's attack rose to 1100. "Next, I'll equip him with Heart of Clear Water." The teardrop-shaped pendant appeared in a flash around the bird's neck.

"Oh no, that's the same tactic he used against you!" said Bethany.

"That's right!" giggled Diane.

"And now that I got rid of your monster, I can go for the jugular!" said Donald. "Nightmare Penguin, attack Jake with Aristocrat Ice!" The penguin raised his rod and a beam of blue shot from it, slamming into Jake and covering him in a crystal of ice. It exploded violently and Jake's life meter dropped to 6900.

"First blood goes to Krump!" grinned Lillith. "That boy sure knows how to give a cold shoulder!"

"He's not the only one," growled Bethany at the cheering Diane. Gwen shook her head.

"Very well," said Jake with a sneer. "I know I can't destroy your Nightmare Penguin, but I can still get to your life points! Or did you forget that Heart of Clear Water doesn't protect you from battle damage?" He grinned at Donald's reaction. "I start by bringing back Flame Dancer!" The monster returned in a flash and the pygmy danced on the lava again. "But that's not all! I equip him with Salamandra, a favorite card amongst the Wheeler clan! It increases any fire monster's attack by 700!" The pygmy grabbed a giant flaming sword as it leapt out of the lava. (1650/100) "And now, Flame Dancer, attack that arctic Nightmare!"

The pygmy gave a battle cry and slashed Penguin Nightmare in the chest, but the pendant glowed and protected him. However, Donald groaned as his life points dropped to 7450.

"See? You can't protect against damage done to you by being attacked by a stronger monster," grinned Jake. "And with that, I end my turn. Your move, penguin boy."

Donald huffed as he drew a card. "That's gonna cost you." He looked at the card he drew and grinned. "Starting by displacing your field card with one of my own! I activate Umi!" He slapped the card in his own field slot and Jake's field slot opened up and removed his card as a tidal wave rose up and swamped the place, causing more screams in the crowd. The sky turned back into its sunset amber color as the smoke died down from the crater, and the tidal wave had put out the flames in the jungle and covered the beach with a layer of seawater. "I may lose my Heart of Clear Water, but it's worth it, because this card not only increases my Nightmare Penguin to 1300 attack..." The penguin shook his feathers dry as the Heart of Clear Water shattered. (1300/2000) "It also weakens all pyro monsters, and your Flame Dancer is clearly a pyro!" Flame Dancer's body and sword diminished in fire as its attack dropped to 1450.

"Now that thing's tough in defense!" said Shanna. "If he shifts it to defense, he's untouchable, even without the Heart of Clear Water."

"While I could shift Nightmare Penguin to defense and wait you out," grinned Donald. "I'll make a much better profit by simply sacrificing him for a stronger monster! I tribute Nightmare Penguin for Arctic Terror!" He switched cards and the penguin heard a low cry on the sea. He turned and squawked as a giant walrus gobbled him up. (1800/2000) => (2000/2200) "Now, my Terror! Annihilate that pygmy warrior with Blizzard Breath!"

The creature honked and exhaled a foul-smelling ice storm that covered Flame Dancer in frost and extinquished the Salamandra sword. Then the pygmy was extinguished and exploded. Jake's life points dropped to 5850.

"Ha, you activated my trap card, Backfire!" said Jake, flipping up his card. It showed an ogre punching a blazing golem. "Whenever a fire monster on my field is destroyed in battle, you lose 500 life points!" Flames erupted from the card and singed Donald, covering him in burns and setting fire to his clothing. His life points dropped to 6950.

"Bah, that's not going to save you," said Donald.

"You wanna bet? This is a continous trap," said Jake. "So any time you destroy one of my fire monsters in battle, you'll just feel the burn."

"Oh no," said Diane.

"Yes!" giggled Bethany. "Jake is starting to bounce back!"

"Interesting," said Doppler with a sly grin. "That Jake boy is so much like his aunt."

"Fine, I set a card face-down and end my turn," sighed Donald. The card appeared before him.

"My turn now," said Jake, drawing a card. "I play Pot of Greed to gain two cards from my deck." He slid the card into his disk and the wicked green jar appeared and spat out two cards into the air as it vanished. Jake drew two cards. "And now I'll play Premature Burial, sacrificing 800 life points to revive my Flame Dancer once again!" The sands before him formed a sinkhole and Pygmy Dancer leapt out of it as the sands closed up. Jake's life points dropped to 5050.

"What's he up to?" asked Sonja, cocking a brow.

Donald chuckled. "That was a stupid move, Jake. You know that you weakened your life points, and if I find a means to destroy your Premature Burial, your Flame Dancer goes back to the graveyard and you lose even more life points! And it's very weak without your magic cards!"

"True, that's why I am not keeping it!" said Jake. The pygmy got a question mark over its head. "I tribute it to bring forth another flame monster, which is also the Wheeler clan's signature warrior!" He swapped cards and the pygmy exploded into flames as the familiar red-armored warrior appeared, bronze sword in both hands. (1800/1600) "FLAME SWORDSMAN!"

"Well big deal, my Umi..." said Donald.

"Won't weaken him," said Jake. "You should get your sub-types right. Flame Swordsman may be a creature of fire, but he's a warrior, not a pyro, so Umi won't weaken him."

"Oh," said Donald sheepishly. "But he's still weaker than my Arctic Terror!"

"Well then, let's even the odds, shall we?" asked Jake, slapping another card into the magic slot. "I equip Flame Swordsman with Lightning Blade!" Suddenly, the bronze blade turned into a steel sword that crackled with electricity. "You said water was strong against fire, but lightning is powerful against water! When my warrior wields the Lightning Blade, he gains 800 attack and your water monster loses 400 attack!" Lightning crashed around the field and electrified the ocean, making both boy shiver as electricity wracked their bodies a bit.

"Oh no," said Diane in horror as Flame Swordsman rose to 2400 attack and Arctic Terror dropped to 1600. "This is not looking good for Donnie!"

"Now, Flame Swordsman, stormy blade of battle!" cried Jake. The warrior grunted and stabbed at Arctic Terror, but suddenly a whirlwind surrounded it. "What the...?"

"Ha ha ha! You just activated my Tornado Wall trap card!" laughed Donald, showing his card. "This card activates if I have Umi on the field. As long as the ocean is around, I can create a wall to protect my monsters and me!"

"Yes!" cried Diane giddily, glad that Donald was turning the duel around.

"Fine, I end my turn," said Jake.

To be continued...

[Dark Sage]

So many things to mention.

Ares is starting to become interesting. I think he truly loves Gwen. Even though he asked Pisaro to make her into his love slave, I have a feeling he may double-cross the villains before this is over...

What the heck happened to Twilight's Necklass?! A Millennium Item isn't something you misplace! Methinks she lost is on purpose for some reason. Hmmm...

The fight between Diane and Beth was classic. You had me worried for a minute, but thank goodness they came to their senses.

The duel? I think it was one of the best you've writen in awhile. The details were excellent.

A few notes on Twilight's comments. I liked when she became scared after Donnie used the card that forced Yami to use the Seal (truth be told, I shivered a bit when I read that part). Of course, how was Donnie to know about that?

However, there was one teeny-tiny mistake. Twilight said that both Yugis used De-Fusion. Um, no. Yugi Sr. used that card often, but Yugi Jr. never did, and I don't intend for him to ever use it.

But anyho, a great chapter, and I await the next.

- Venusaur

[The Blue Avenger]

What the heck happened to Twilight's Necklass?! A Millennium Item isn't something you misplace! Methinks she lost is on purpose for some reason. Hmmm...

I'm thinking she didn't like the visions and took it off.

Anyway, I really liked the past few chapters. Nice detail, good duels overall, and Ares is shaping up to be a devious character. Urg, but it was kinda graphic at the end of the recent chapter.

Laterz.

[mr_pikachu]

Well, that was a good duel by both parties. Brilliant clinching move by Jake; I didn't see the Trap coming, either! Of course, that's probably because I forgot that he had two face down cards on the field... Nice portrayal of the characters, though I think the catfight may have been a teeny bit too much. Then again, I don't profess to know even close to everything about the behavior of women. The chapter prior to that wasn't bad either, although it was only a filler. I'll get to my thoughts on that one momentarily.

The settings were done pretty well in this last chapter. Great work with the transitions, and good job in making the point of the audience's reactions. That made everything a lot clearer and far more interesting. The relationships between the characters were shown pretty well, too. Good development of Twilight's character, too; perhaps she detests that Necklace even more than she thinks...

In the chapter before that, you did a good job of adding content to make the filler worthwhile. (No, not that kind of content!) There were the expected tournament announcements, the courting of the girls, a little refresher on a few of the eliminated duelists, and of course the thickening plot ot Gwen and her false romancer.

There were things in those chapters, though, that I believe could have been better. I, for one, am of the opinion that some of Norus' thoughts are a bit too much. (Before you assume you know what I mean, please read my explanation.) Most villains similar to Norus, in both real life and literature, do not think themselves to be evil. They find justification for their actions, no matter how irrational. So thoughts like "At the least, I can get a sick satisfaction of seeing Bethany turn against her former friend!" go a bit too far. I doubt he'd consider the satisfaction "sick"; he might instead refer to it as sweet justice or, perhaps, revenge. But "sick" indicates that he is in the wrong, and I doubt the little creep would ever admit to that. Make sure you don't overdo your characters' traits, or else you risk making them seem unrealistic.

The same sort of thing took place in the chapter before that with Gwen (and was mentioned... thoroughly... in the most recent update). I won't go into the details of what you said, but again, her actions seem kind of out of character. I understand that some people do participate in... uh... "acts" at very young ages. But Gwen never appeared to be the type of girl who would need that type of thing at age 13. (That is her age, right?) Those people who do things like that at that point in their lives are usually very, very tormented by something. Since nothing even approaching that degree of angst has been mentioned regarding Gwen, it just doesn't seem to fit her character. Plus, even if she was suffering, her life would have improved drastically with her two new friends by her side. ...Okay, and watching from the bushes, but let's not get into that. Just make sure you don't over-exaggerate your characters.

Overall, though, you're doing fine. The filler was good enough to keep our attention, and the duel was stellar. It'll be interesting to see if you can top that in the future. I look forward to your efforts in that matter. Anyway, see you next chapter!


P.S.

What the heck happened to Twilight's Necklass?! A Millennium Item isn't something you misplace! Methinks she lost is on purpose for some reason. Hmmm...

Perhaps it has something to do with this:

"We will," said Twilight, rubbing the Necklace. An idea formed. For tonight at least, I wish to be free of this nightmares... maybe someone else can bear their burden. As much as it scares me, I want to be free for one night.

[Shuppet Master]

Venusaur: I seriously apologize,I just realized that I GOOFED! I forgot to add in the scenes with the Necklace in them. I'll edit Chapter 24 ASAP with the proper scenes.

And Yugi Jr. never used De-Fusion? My bad.

BlueAvenger: Well,when Venusaur created his Duel Disks and had direct attacks show physical damage to the duelists,I did the same thing for the new Duel Disks. It's not my fault that explosions do such...damage. I know,I once saw a war veteran who looked like Hell because he had stepped on a landmine,and the scars didn't go away. Trust me,explosions do a LOT of damage. (If you want,I'll edit that part a little to make it less graphic.)

Mr. Pikachu: You have a point. I guess I got so swept up by my characters' moods that I forgot about the realism. Norus and Gwen are both young teens of about thirteen and I doubt that they'd ever think about things like that. Here I am,bashing some author for writing a raunchy Ash/Misty lemon set just after the very third episode of the first season,and I'm having my character - which are only a year older - thinking about things like rape and passionate love-making. It would have worked better had I aged them all by three years.

Looks like I have a LOT of rewriting to do,especially the Arnold/Diane duel.

EDIT: To everyone,I've come up with a decision. Instead of picking through every piece of the thread and implanted revised chapters,I'm going to do two things. I'll still keep plugging new chapters here,but for my revised chapters...

(1) I'm going to put a website that houses all my chapters in TXT/HTML format,so I can work better with it. (I'd put it on Fanfiction.net because the Edit Chapter function is so much easier,but Venusaur warned me not to do so until Mandate was completely put up on there.) I'll PM the link to anyone who is interested,but not until the site is well-entrenched. (I'm grabbing clip art and other goodies for the site right now and I have a server on Yahoo!)

(2) I'll start a new thread for the revised chapters and,when I get all the revised chapters up on that thread,I'll shut this thread down and you can post your comments on the new thread.

[Dark Sage]

Venusaur: I seriously apologize,I just realized that I GOOFED! I forgot to add in the scenes with the Necklace in them. I'll edit Chapter 24 ASAP with the proper scenes.

Your forgiven about the goof. Just add the new scene ASAP, and let us know when it's been added.

- Venusaur

[Shuppet Master]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

I just wanted to get this off my chest, before you readers start to ask questions and clear anything up about this fanfic.

I will continue to add chapters to this fanfic when I can. However,I am also working on fixing the fanfic itself. I have gotten a lot of complaints,and discovered a lot of errors in plot and the duels,so I plan to put up a new thread with a new version of this story once it's well-revised.

Once I get the chapters I've put up so far revised,I plan on shutting this thread down so I don't have two threads on the same story. I'll warn you people before-hand.

However,because of this,I don't plan on putting up many more new chapters right now. Maybe just finish up the finals and leave you all at a cliffy. Mwa ha ha... :badsmile:

Regardless,Venusaur is helping me beta-read the chapters,which I am uploading to a secret fanfiction site I've been working on. As each chapter is edited and polished,I'll convert it to a format that can be posted up on this board, and then I'll post the chapters once at day,at average,so that that revision catches up quickly to this thread.

In the meantime,be patient. The next chapter,the rematch between Diane and Shanna,will be up on this thread this coming week,as well as the third duel,between Norus and Sonja.

[Dark Sage]

Let me just say that this will in no way effect my own fanfic. It will continue as planned.

I already read .hack's revised prologue, and it is a good deal better than what he already had.

- Venusaur

[opaltiger]

*dies*

*types random sites in attempt to find hidden fanfic site*

Yes. I'm wierd. Yaysies, Jake won. Umm. I'm wierder than I thought. I think I'll just go now.

I hope you'll still write a few mroe chapters. Must read finals. XD

[Shuppet Master]

Forget it, the chances of finding my website before it's finished are worse than findnig a shiny Skitty with all 31 IVs.

Don't worry. I intend to keep putting up new chapters. In fact, I've just finished the next duel of the finals. It's a rematch between Shanna and Diane. Enjoy.

Oh, and opaltiger, weird is the one expection to the 'i before e' rule.

[Shuppet Master]

Yu-Gi-Oh Jr.: Sister of Anansi
A Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic-crossover fanfic by .hack//BELLOSSOM

Chapter 26: Double Spell

“Terone, you really should throw away that creepy Death Eater cloak,” said Clive. “It may give people the wrong idea…”

“I know,” said Terone. “But even if Remi gave this thing to me, it makes a good accessory for a J.K. Rowling fan such as myself. And it totally freaks out my opponents. Some of them actually think I’m a Rare Hunter and I’m going to mug them for their cards!”

Terone chuckled inside. And having cards as rare as I do doesn’t hurt the façade either.

Yu-Gi-Oh Jr., Mandate of Heaven;"Mage Power"

It is said that sometimes owls can be trained to become diurnal - they could be active during the day. The legendary boy wizard Harry Potter and his friend Ron Weasely certainly had to have trained their owls that way, otherwise Hedwig and the other owls who sent wizard mail wouldn't have been able to function properly.

The importance of this seemingly meaningless Rowling knowledge was the fact that one of the two campers who was in the next duel of the Camp of Duels quarter-finals was an avid Harry Potter fan, much like her cousin Terone. Of course, she had other fantasy fiction interests too.

Shanna Mersail seemed to be a spitting image of Hermione Granger, save for hair color. She was just as smart as her idol, and did as much research as the legendary Granger girl, especially on Duel Monsters, her second passion. Her deck reflected Rowling mythos as much as her cousin Terone's. She was eager to reach the Duelatopia finals.

Not to see her cousin duel in the Duelatopia finals. A friend of her cousin's, a girl who was related to Jade by the name of Amber, e-mailed her and told her the horrid news. Her cousin had been trounced by an Eliminator who was as skilled in the Dark Magician monsters as both Yugis, a venomous Gorgon by the name of Echidna.

Shanna, despite being a lover of fantasy, was still firmly rooted in reality and had sent Terone an e-mail reprimanding him for being a coward - if Harry Potter could face down the Baslisk, he could face down a snake-woman. She also said that it was very unlikely that, even if she was real, that she would do anything if such power to petrify was real. Terone replied and apologized for his behavior, but said that if he had been turned to stone, then Shanna would never have seen him again. Shanna had giggled at that whole idea, but did not remark through the wire.

Shanna was very proud of herself, for she had succeeded where her cousin had failed - she had reached the finals of a Duel Monsters tournament and was eager to win it. With the rare cards she'd get, she could share them with her cousin and, come the next year's Duelatopia, the two cousins would go there together. Shanna planned to challenge Echidna as soon as the tournament started, or at least as soon as she was able to find the same Marauder's Map that had led Terone to her, and duel her on the spot. She wasn't afraid of any mythical Grecian demoness, and she would serve Echidna a taste of revenge for spooking and threatening her beloved cousin.

There was one problem though. To complete her goals, she would have to get through the one girl who defeated her...Diane Arachne. But this time, she wasn't about to lose so easily. She had Jareth, the wicked goblin lord of the Labyrinth...and she had a mighty dragon to aid her.

The story of her obtaining the card was as amazing as Harry Potter's adventures. It had happened while Terone was being defeated by Yugi Junior two year ago in the New York tournament. She had participated in a Duel Monsters tournament of her own in Sydney, Australia. She had gotten to the semi-finals but lost to a girl called Cleo Roba. Still, she got a prize, a rare card which had just been printed. It was beautiful and had a long and interesting story behind it. She couldn't wait to spring it on Diane.

She looked up at the Time Wizard clock. "It's time," she smirked. She kissed the card and shuffled into her deck. "Time to even the score and obtain that Dark Magician Girl. Once I do, Echidna will soon feel the TRUE power of that sorceress..."

~~+~~

The campers filed in rapidly so as not to miss the next exciting duel. The counselors called role to make sure everyone was here. Bethany and Jake stole a kiss as they entered. "You were marvelous, Jakey!" giggled Bethany. "You tore apart Diane's boyfriend just like that! I knew he had no chance against you!"

"Well, he was pretty tough, you might recall," grinned Jake as Donald came in. "I was surely done for when he sprung that DNA Transplant on me, but I survived."

"You'd better take good care of that card, or you'll be given a VERY cold shoulder!" said Donald with a smirk.

"Don't worry, I will," laughed Jake. "Say, Don, where's your Esmeralda?"*

"She's prepping for her duel," said Donald. "It's gonna be nerve-wracking watching my girl out there, fighting Shanna."

"Hey, don't you think Beth and Diane were nerve-wracked when WE dueled each other?" chuckled Jake. "Relax, it'll be fine."

"I apologize, I got carried away and started trading fists with your girlfriend," mumbled Bethany.

"It's okay, it's different when you are watching the duel and when you are in it," grinned Donald. "I was cool as a cucumber. Although I admit that these new disks are a bit TOO realistic."

"Yeah," said Gwen as she entered. "When you got blasted by Jake's trap, you looked like a zombie on drugs. It was awful!" Bethany nodded and covered her mouth.

"I'm really sorry I had to do that," sighed Jake. "That was overkill."

"Nah, you had no other option," said Donald. "Had I destroyed your monster with Lava Golem, you would have lost."

"That's for sure," said Sonja as she entered. "You're the legacy of your aunt."

Jake rolled his eyes. "I wish I wasn't."

"Oh, you hate her?" asked Sonja.

"Well, not so much hate as strongly dislike, and I'm the member of the family with the most tolerance towards her." He shook his head. "The problem is that she is such a braggart that she pulls me down. I can't express my fire deck when she makes fire duelists look bad."

"You weren't anything like Etna," said Donald. "I did a bit of research of her and she was like night to your day."

"My grandmother tells me that there are eight virtues in the world and eight vices," said Gwen, smirking as she sat in the seat where she would watch the duel to come. "Your aunt suffers the vice of pride, but you temper it with humility, its counter-virtue. As one author said, 'pride goeth before a fall.'"

"And she sure fell!" laughed Jake. "But I strongly doubt that she'll learn her lesson. One tiny event and she makes a volcano out of a campfire." He chuckled and then saw the stage lighting up. "Well, it's starting. I wish your girlfriend good luck, Donald. She's gonna need it."

"Geez, you guys are making me sick!" said Norus as he came up. The group glared at him. "I hope your little girlfriend gets the best of luck...BAD LUCK, that is! Har har har!!!"

Gwen scowled. "She's beaten that girl before!"

"Lightning never strikes in the same place twice, cutie pie," said Norus, earning a slap from Gwen. "OW!"

"You may have a restraining order from Diane," hissed Gwen. "But don't expect to get fresh with me!"

"Grrrr..." Norus walked over to a place far from the girls and flopped down in disgust. "Girls."

Sonja snorted. "Do you want me to prolong his squirming or just end it?" she whispered to Gwen.

Before Gwen could answer, the music signaling the next duel began, distracting everyone.

Donald gulped. Good luck, Diane sweetie...you're gonna need it!

~~+~~

Ares and Doppler took their places. During the intermission, they had been checking out the remaining finalists and found that each had potential for crushing Yugi Junior. Doppler knew about Beth and Diane's possession of the dragon cards that were banned from this tournament, and Gwen's Mythic Dragon would certainly give Yugi Jr. trouble, considering that the famous teenager had very little knowledge of that beast other than the stories told by his parents.

Doppler thought that Norus was weak, but Ares thought otherwise. He was still mad that his fellow camper had lost the first duel, but that only meant one cabin had eliminated from consideration. That left Twilight's cabin, Lina's cabin, and Arnold's cabin, and all three had skilled duelists.

Norus had a bit of potential, but he was very paranoid about his deck and he didn't reveal anything which could be of use as of the moment, other than Goblin King. If Norus won, there wouldn't be any need to seal his soul - he would probably be eager to mop the floor with Yugi Mouto and steal his Dark Magicians for his dark spellcaster-fiend deck. But if that was not the case, then the boy could be tempted to help out anyways.

Norus' fellow camper showed much potential, especially with that combo he had used on Donald to win the duel. Ares had heard tales about Mary Wheeler's father being subjected to that beast, from stories that Circe had been told by Remi. Circe had viewed Marik's duels as part of her Duelist training and had seen the duel between Joseph and Marik in the Battle City finals, and she had mentioned a Lava Golem being used on the Wheeler. The thought of Mary going into cardiac arrest if Yugi was trapped by that monster's cage would be interesting, to say the least.

Then there was Sonja. Another story Circe had mentioned was how one of Remi's minions, a magician called Mephisto, had used the same five-card set of the Forbidden One against Yugi. Of course, while the idea of Sonja dueling was an option, it wasn't the best option considering that Mephisto had failed, even when he had summoned Exodia Necross, the undead behemoth that had nearly crushed Yugi the Second. Obviously, Yugi had many cards that could counter an Exodia deck. But Sonja could have some surprises that the younger Yugi was NOT prepared for. Another duel with the girl would tell.

And then there was Terone's cousin. Circe had told about Terone, the Duelist of Hogwarts, and how he had been a pawn of Remi. While the boy did duel well, Yugi was much more skilled. Ares had checked out Terone, who was in Duelatopia as well, and found that he had been Eliminated, despite having several powerful culture-related cards in his deck. But having checked Shanna's deck, Ares had found a couple of powerful cards himself. With these cards, Shanna might have been able to stand a chance. However, the only way to tell was by watching the following duel.

"You really think she might be the one we are looking for?" asked Doppler, smirking her feminine smile.

"Probably, but we'll have to see if she can take out Diane," grinned Ares. "Of course, it will be a challenge to kidnap her, considering that Twilight is her counselor."

"Ah yes, the blind woman," grinned Doppler. "That WILL be a difficult task, considering her powers. But Pisaro can help us if need be - her magic is no match for his."

~~+~~

A Sonic Maid, Muse-A, and Spirit of the Harp appeared and played a rendition of Swan Lake as the lights changed color to signal the next duel. They disappeared as Lillith and Machus entered into their balconies. Applause filled the auditorium. "Welcome back, campers and friends! It's been two hours since our first fiery duel, and I do mean FIERY!" Everyone laughed as they recalled who was dueling back then. "I hope everyone's here because we aren't going to wait any more! It's time for the second duel of the quarter-finals!"

Cheers erupted through the crowd as the two sets of doors opened below.

"First, from Lorado, Nevada," said Lillith. "We have the little sister of one of Siegfried's most beloved Duelatopian duelists. She's cute, she's clever, and she's deadly when crossed! DIANE ARACHNE!!!"

Everyone cheered as Diane's face came on screen and the door she came through burst with fireworks. Bethany and Gwen cheered her on and Donald waved at her. She winked as she took to the stage and her stats were printed on the screen.

"Her deck, which she coined 'Divine Protection', is a powerful deck based on one of our oldest sets of monsters, the Guardians! Even though they need their weapons on the field to be summoned, they are nothing to sneeze at!" Lillith flashed a smile as Diane reached the stage. "And her opponent, from Brighton, Maine, is also related to a powerful duelist known as the Duelist of Hogwarts! This girl just might be his successor...SHANNA MERSIAL!!!"

The cheers erupted again as Shanna walked out of the exploding door and up to the stage to face Diane, nodding at her. The stats of her biography and deck were printed on the screen as well.

"Her deck, a little ditty known to her as 'Euclid Fantasia', is filled with all sorts of magical beasts and spells. Be careful not to blink, or you may miss them!" Lillith chuckled. "And now for the coin toss and shuffling of decks." She took out her Card of Plenty card to call the coin toss.

"Will you hurry up and start the duel already?" stammered Donald, trying not to chew on his fingernails.

"I second the motion!" roared Norus. "This is boring!"

"Shut up!" shouted everyone else, making the bully cringe.

Shanna had the right to call and won the toss, declaring she'd go first. The two shuffled and cut each other's decks.

"Okay, I want a clean duel," said Lillith. "Diane, no Oaths of Order. Shanna, no Unforgivable Curses." The girls giggled and several others laughed. "Now shake hands and prepare to duel!"

The girls shook hands. "Time for the rematch, Diane," said Shanna. "Don't expect me to be any more merciful than I was last time I dueled you. I've been tweaking my deck."

"I wouldn't want it any other way, and don't expect to even the score either," grinned Diane wickedly as the two unclasped their hands and took their positions.

Lillith approached the roulette. "Now it's time to see where our two ladies will be duking it out! START THE ROULETTE!" She spun the roulette wheel and, after a while, it stopped on a black wedge. "Well, this is really interesting. Ladies, your dueling arena will be none other than...THE CASTLE OF ILLUSIONS!" She pressed the button.

The effect was the same as before, the screens around the auditorium flared into life and suddenly exploded, revealing a dark and gloomy castle hallway. Mist filled the hall and bats flew overhead, squeaking loudly. A crescent moon hung in a nest of clouds outside, and stars twinkled like diamonds in the sky. A low howl was heard and some of the girls squeaked.

"Creepy!" cried Bethany, clamping onto Jake.

"Don't worry, I'll protect ya," grinned Jake, folding his arms around her.

"Jeez, it's not even real," sighed Sonja.

"Yeah, I'm not afraid of no..." Another howl made her jump. "Eek!"

"Ha ha ha," laughed Norus. "I love spooking you girls out with wolf impressions!" The girls all glared at him angrily.

Lina shivered, recalling her duel with Katherine over a month ago. The duel took place in a castle just like this one, crafted of Shadow Energy.

Shanna smirked. "A perfect clime for my deck, Diane! You ready for terror?"

"No way, my Guardians will protect me from danger," laughed Diane.

"Well, seems our two duelists aren't showing any fear whatsoever!" said Lillith. "Well then, if there is nothing else..." She waved her flag down. "ALLEZ JEUNE!"

The two plugged in their decks, making the life meters rise to 8000 each. Shanna's was in purple and Diane's was green. With a swift motion, both girls had five cards in their hand.

"Let's begin this Tri-Wizard Tournament, shall we?" said Shanna smugly as she drew her first card. "To start, I'll lay a monster in defense mode and a card face-down." The cards appeared, blanketed by a thin veil of mist. "Your turn."

Diane drew and frowned. Drat! This hand is horrible! All I have are Guardian Weapons and one monster. Well, best make do with what I have and hope that face-down monster isn't a tough one. "I summon Celtic Swordgirl in attack mode." The green-haired elfling emerged from the card. (1000/800) She looked about and cringed in terror, holding her tiny sword.

"Wow, what realism!" said Beth in awe. "That poor thing is scared stiff!"

"Reminds me of you before you got your trump card," grinned Gwen, earning a glare from her friend.

"Don't worry, Swordgirl!" said Diane, playing a magic card. "I'll give you a much stronger weapon...Gravity Axe!" The axe appeared and the elf girl sheathed her sword and hefted it up, nearly falling backwards from the weight. (1500/800) "I have to discard a card to use it, but it's worth it." Diane threw a card into the discard pile. "Because now I can summon another monster to the field, thanks to its effect. By sending it from my hand to the discard pile..." The card popped out. "I can summon it now! Fear From The Dark, arise!" She slapped down the card.

The black ghost rose up and freaked out the elf girl, who squealed in terror. (1700/1000)

"It's okay, you two are allies," said Diane. "Now Fear From The Dark, destroy that monster!"

The ghost laughed and flew forward, but the card flipped up and revealed a metal jar with a glass eye and fangs. (900/900)

"Oh no! A Cyber Jar!" cried Lina.

"A powerful magical artifact," grinned Shanna. "You know the rules..."

The jar's eye glowed red and it opened its mouth, sucking in Celtic Swordgirl and Fear From The Dark, who screamed as they were sucked into the jar's mouth and devoured. Then the jar exploded and Diane's life points dropped to 7200.

As Diane discared her set cards, the two girls drew five cards each and played all the low-level monsters. Diane cursed as she played the only two monsters she could summon, Mystical Elf(800/2000) and Ancient Elf(1450/1500), both in defense.

Shanna's field, however, blossomed with monsters. Blindly Loyal Goblin(1800/1000) and a Dark Elf(2000/800) came up first in attack mode, followed by a Mystic Horseman(1300/1550) and Gruesome Goo(300/500) in defense. "As you know, the Forbidden Forest is home to many wild centaurs like Mystic Horseman," remarked Shanna.

"Man, that was sneaky!" said Sonja. "I never thought that she had such a powerful card in her deck!"

"Hmmm," said Jake, hugging Beth tightly. "And if Diane loses, I'll have to deal with it."

Gwen sighed. "I surely hope that's not the case."

Diane shook her head. Blast it, just my luck to have Guardian Grarl in my hand now after I lost the Gravity Axe! Way to go, Diane you idiot! Well, nothing I can do about it now. I'll just to defend. And hopefully next turn I can get out Tryce. "I'll end my turn by equipping these magic cards to Mystical Elf." She placed the cards in her magic zone and Mystical Elf equipped one hand with the ivory Rod of Silence and the other with one of the Flashing Swords of Light. The second blade was in a sheath on the elf's back. She also glowed green. "Malevolent Nuzzler, Twin Swords of Flashing Light, and Rod of Silence to increase my elf's defense by 1200!" (1000/3200)

"I'm afraid that won't help you come next turn," grinned Shanna.

"Well then, make your move," said Diane with a smirk.

"Very well then," said Shanna, drawing a card. "I sacrifice my Gruesome Goo to summon Labyrinth Wall in defense mode!" The gooey brown monster vanished and was replaced by the stone maze. (0/3000)

"Why did she do that?" asked Gwen in confusion.

Machus paled. She's going to summon Jareth! If that happens, I'll lose my job!

"Is something wrong, Machus?" asked Lillith, cocking her brow.

"Uh...no," said Machus, taking his kerchief and wiping his brow rapidly.

"And now..." said Shanna, tapping her magic switch. Her set card flipped up. "Polymerization!"

"No!" whispered Machus, paling.

"I fuse my Blindly Loyal Goblin and Labryinth Wall together to form...Jareth the Goblin King!" shouted Shanna. The two monsters melted into light and fused into a vortex that formed a puddle of brown goo. An owl flew out of the puddle and landed on it, and both transformed into the white-haired goblin lord. (3250/3000)

Lillith turned and gasped. "That card...Anastasia mentioned that it had been made by some mail room worker! But I thought..." She turned to Machus, eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"Uh...a funny thing happened to the vault," swallowed Machus, sweating.

"We will talk about your behavior and connection to the appearance of this monster card AFTER the duel," said Lillith coldly as she turned back to the duel. "I must admit though, the holographic image is a lot like David Bowie."

Machus felt nauseous. She's going to chew me out! As if I didn't have enough troubles!

Diane sighed. Here we go again, this jerk is back. I didn't expect her to summon it so fast, but then I didn't run into that Cyber Jar last time. I wonder why she didn't play it before... Shrugging, she spoke. "Is that all?"

"Not yet," said Shanna, taking a card from her hand. If she tries to destroy my Jareth, this card will stop her cold and take out a bit of her life points. "I set one card face-down and end my turn." The card appeared.

"This is boring!" heckled Norus. "Where's the action?"

"Norus..." said Jake. "Shut up."

Diane drew a card. "Okay, I play Pot of Greed to draw two new cards." The jar appeared and put two cards in her hand, whihc she drew from her deck(since the jar was an illusion). She looked at the two magic cards she had drawn and smirked. "First, I play Change of Heart!"

"Yeah, she's gonna take control of Jareth!" cried Donald in glee.

Shanna laughed. "I know what you are up to, Diane, and it won't work. Jareth has the same ability as Blindly Loyal Goblin. Being the lord of all goblins, he is far more powerful in mental will than that goblin, so you can't control him!"

"Who said I was taking control of your goblin king?" grinned Diane. "I'm using Change of Heart on your Dark Elf!"

The demon-angel flew into Dark Elf and her eyes went black as she vanished and reappeared next to Mystical Elf.

"I don't see how that will help you," said Shanna. "As you know, Dark Elf drains you of a thousand life points if you attack with her, and all you can attack is my Horseman, so you'll end up wasting a thousand life points just to eliminate my Mystic Horseman. Hermione would be disgusted at you."

"Once again, you're making false conclusions," said Diane. "I'm about to use my own Polymerization!" She held up the card.

"What can you possibly fuse?" grinned Shanna. "All you have are my Dark Elf, your Mystical Elf..."

"Exactly," interrupted Diane. "I'm fusing THOSE two!"

"Impossible, you can't fuse those two," said Shanna.

Diane played the card and it activated. "I just did," she said wickedly.

The two elves floated into the air and clasped hands, bowing their heads. A beam of light erupted from their hands and engulfed the stage, revealing a tall beautiful elf maiden with silver marking on her fair pink cheeks shapes like leaves. Her eyes were green as emeralds and her blonde hair fell to her ankles. She wore a beautiful silver robe and a headdress that looked like the Dark Elf or Mystical Elf, only it was larger and had more creases. (3000/3000)

"Behold my Empress Elf!" announced Diane.

Everyone was stunned. "Wow," said Sonja. "I never expected your friend to own THAT!"

"Me neither," said Bethany in awe.

"The Empress Elf is the mother of Dark Elf and Mystical Elf," said Diane with a smile. "When the world of Duel Monsters was created, she was the first of the elf monsters to exist. She married a warrior who, later would give birth to Celtic Guardian and Celtic Swordgirl. In essence, the two Elf sorceresses are the half-sisters of the Celtic family! And if they need to, they can fuse their spirits to summon their mother back from the place where elfin spirits go to rest."

"Whoa," said Donald. "What a story."

Shanna was a little shaken, but smiled. "I hate to say this, but even so, your elf is still no match for Jareth."

"Oh really?" said Diane. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Celtic Swordgirl in attack mode!" The cute elfling emerged.

"What the?!" cried Norus as Empress Elf rose to 3600 attack.

"Empress Elf has an aura of authority around the elves," said Diane. "Whenever another elf appears by her side, she gains 300 attack points. That also includes the Celtic Guardians and Celtic Swordgirl, because technically they are elves. Just be glad that she's also a fusion monster, or I'd wipe the floor with Jareth!"

Shanna smirked. Not likely. My Mirror Force will prevent THAT from happening.

"And to make sure you don't try anything, I place two cards face-down and end my turn." The card was slid into the duel disk slot and appeared before her. "Your turn."

Shanna frowned. That face-down cards are a mystery, so I'd better be careful. She drew and grinned. Excellent! This should handle that card! "Here's a gift from Ravenclaw House! RAVEN'S FEATHER DUSTER!"

A black wind filled the arena. "Whoa!" said Machus, clutching his seat. "My old bones!"

"This card works like Harpie's Feather Duster, only it also inflict 500 points of damage to you for each card destroyed by it," laughed Shanna. "Say good-bye to your face-down cards!"

"Nice try, but I was ready for you!" said Diane, flipping up her trap card. "Activate Curse of Royal!"

"What? No!" cried Shanna in horror as her black windstorm faded.

"This card activates whenever a card is activated that can destroys trap cards!" said Diane. "This card then activates and counters that card, negating it! You won't be destroying my trap anytime soon!"

Shanna was red with rage. "Why you...well then, if I can't damage your life points by destroying your cards, I'll destroy your little swordgirl instead! Jareth, Crystal Sorcery!"

Jareth laughed and levitated his orb, firing a beam of light from it.

To be continued in next post...

* I don't know the name of the woman in the opera "Don Giovanni" who Don woos.

NOTE: I apologize for changing Raven's Feather Duster, but this will be fixed in the revised chapter where it is shown first.

[Dark Sage]

Uh hack, your text seemed to have been cut off before the end.

Fix it, and then I'll comment.

- Venusaur

[Shadow Djinn]

Um..the ending is screwed up, it's just 2 lines of characters. I can't really comment on it but from I read it's very interesting. Just one remark, Fear From the Dark can only be special summoned when your opponent activates a card that sends it directly to the graveyard.

[Shuppet Master]

I apologize. I don't know HOW the last part disappeared and got replaced by gibberish. Anyway,it's fixed now.

And is that the true effect of Fear, Shadow Djinn? If so,I completely screwed up all the chapters I used him in! I wanted to have Diane have a monster that she could bring to the field whenever she discarded it.

[Dark Sage]

Okay I liked it. Empress Elf and Daughter of Red Eyes are killer Monsters.

But one thing... Doesn't using Soul Exchange count as a normal summon? If so, Shanna made two normal summons in one turn, the Red Eyes and the Spear Dragon.

But aside from that little midtake, it was a good chapter. I can't wait for the next.

And don't worry about Fear From The Dark's real effect. Just claim artistic license.

- Venusaur

[Shuppet Master]

Okay,I will. And I'll claim a bit of license for Soul Exchange,because it's been a long time since I've examined that card's effect. If I recall,Kaiba uses it three times and sacrifices three opposing monsters for Obelisk.

I've always thought about Dark Elf and Mystical Elf - they look so much alike and their stats are simply inverses of each other. (2000/800) (800/2000) M-Warior #1 and M-Warrior #2 fuse into Karbolana Warrior and Roboyarou and Robolady fuse into Super Roboyarou/lady. I thought it would be nice to have something like that for the two Elves. In fact,I've been thinking about it before I started this fic.

And the next chapter will be good,I promise.

[opaltiger]

I was half expecting Diane to lose. Ah well, 'twould've been a nice plot twist. As forthe next duel, I vote Sonja. =D

[starjake]

Yes, I have been reading the whole time, and yes, I like what I see! You're doing a great job with the characters *coughgoJakecough* and you know when to thicken the plot; kudos to you!

That being said, there was a technicality in the Jake vs. Donald duel. Flame Dancer has 550 ATK and 450 DEF. Molten Destruction would have given him stats of 1050 / 50. Salamandra would give him stats of 1750 / 50, and so on. Since he did deal Battle Damage a few times, it does affect the math a little bit. Not that it really matters, and you can always claim poetic liscense and whatnot.

Other than that, I can't wait to see the next duel; it should prove to be rather interesting!

[Shuppet Master]

Okay,thanks for the stats,I really needed that. I promise to fix that in the revision. Oh,and be sure not to miss it when I put up the first semi-final duel between Jake and his opponent. Who is it? I ain't telling!

EDIT: Next chapter is up, between Sonja and Norus. Enjoy. :badsmile:

[Shuppet Master]

Yu-Gi-Oh Jr.: Sister of Anansi
A Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic-crossover fanfic by .hack//BELLOSSOM

Chapter 27: Contract With Exodia

“Call me Maligno,” said the boy. “Word has gotten around, Peter. People are saying you have a powerful Fiend deck.”

“Archfiend deck, pal,” said Peter. “They’re special Fiends.”

“All Fiends are special,” said Maligno. “I should know. My own Fiend deck made me the national champion of Ireland. And I’m willing to bet that my Fiends can beat yours any day of the week!”

Yu-Gi-Oh Jr., Mandate of Heaven; "Archfiend's Oath"

As the girls were having lunch at the cafeteria, Sonja approached Bethany and giggled, spooking her. "Don't do that!" Bethany hissed under her breath.

"Oh, that's just the tip of the torment iceberg I've got planned for you when we have our rematch!" said Sonja sweetly.

"You know, for someone who oozes cute," said Gwen, taking a sip of her soda. "You can be so blasted annoying. And what makes you think BETH will duel you? I'm facing her after your duel and I might defeat her."

Bethany turned to Gwen. "I don't intend to lose against you, Gwen, even though we're good friends." She smiled. "But I remember what you told us when I was going tooth-and-nail against Di in the first duel. You told us that we shouldn't let something like this break us apart."

"Yeah, I did," said Gwen.

"So," said Bethany. "When the next duel ends, and we face each other, I won't feel bad if I lose."

Gwen sighed. "Thanks, and I promise not to take it badly if I lose. You've really improved in your skills since we were attacked on the plane ride here weeks ago. Back then, your deck was nothing but wimpy monsters, but Lina breathed life into it."

Sonja snorted. "If you beat Bethany, you'll feel double the wrath from Exodia the Forbidden One, Gwen! I'll show NO mercy!"

Diane snorted. "Even if you win against Norus the Nasty and Beth wins against our friend, the staff will still sort us randomly, you might be dueling ME for all I know. And trust me, after what you just saw, I'm not about to let that Exodia pop up at all!" She smirked wickedly.

"I can defeat anyone here," snickered Sonja. "Exodia has NEVER failed me. Just because Bethany pulled out that stupid dragon last time we dueled doesn't me she can defeat me without it!"

"You'll still have to take down Norus," said Bethany."

Norus laughed from across the table. "You think you stand a CHANCE against me? I'll crush you come one-thirty!"

"He's rather...nasty, isn't he?" growled Sonja. She looked at her. "Norus, you had better watch yourself, because Exodia shows no mercy to anyone when he appears!"

"I'm ready for your stupid Exodia, brat," said Norus. He stuffed himself in a gross way with food. And if she thinks I'm going to sit around and let her summon her mega-god, she's in for a rude awakening! He chuckled and food spilled out of his mouth, making everyone around him get sick with disgust.

Diane patted her friend, Bethany, on the shoulder. "Don't worry, whoever wins this duel won't stand a chance against you. Beth, you beat this girl before."

"That was then, when I had been cocky," grinned Sonja. "This time, you don't stand a chance. I've been tweaking my deck hard for errors and now it's flawless. Well, see ya. I've gotta get ready to obliterate some stupid Marauder." She walked off and tipped Norus' soda onto his lap.

"Grrrr..." growled Norus, steaming shooting from his ears. "You'll pay for that, Forbidden Lover!"

"You know, she could use a few lessons in humility herself," sighed Gwen.

Sonja sighed and took out her deck, taking Exodia the Forbidden One from it. Father, I'll use these cards you gave me to make my dreams come true, like you wanted me to. And when I do, I'll give you credit for my victories. Just stay with me in spirit, even if we are far apart.

~~+~~

The music started up again and banished some holographic Ojama as they were doing an Irish jig in a pot of gold. Lillith and Machus entered their booths.

"Friends! Romans! Campers! Welcome back!" said Lillith. "I hope you're all finished with lunch, because we don't serve refreshments in this competition! Machus, the ball's in your court now!"

The headmaster nodded and smiled.

"Here goes, wish me luck," said Sonja as she waved and left the VIP box.

"Good luck, Sonja," grinnmed Diane. "Be glad that NOBODY is rooting for your opponent."

The group laughed as Norus walked out, a scowl on his face. "I think these giggling girls need to get a big shot of reality in their arms!" He grinned. "And I know how to do it. I was warned not to harm the duelists, but their cards...that's another matter!" He chuckled in his sleeve as he made his way to the doors.

The crowd cheered as the doors opened. "Let's introduce the battlers for Round Three of the quarter-finals today!" He waved to the left door. "Coming from Providence, Rhode Island, standing three-foot-ten and weighing eighty-five pounds, the Exodia Empress SONJA KLEIN!"

Sonja came in and giggled, taking a cute pose that drove the boys in the crowd(save Jake, Ares, and Donald) wild. She took to the stage as the screen displayed her stats.

"She's looking cute," said Lillith. "But under that schoolgirl visage is a deadly deck she calls 'Might of Forbidden Passion.'" She turned and gestured. "And our next duelist?"

Machus grinned and adjusted his glasses. "Her opponent, from Boston, Massachussets, standing four-foot-three and weighing one-hundred and thirty pounds, a youth with a heart of coal and a deck to match, NORUS CALNOR!!!"

Norus came in and held his arms up, whooping. The audience grew quiet and he scowled. "Heathens."

As his stats were displayed, Lillith spoke. "His deck has been named 'The Magic of Hades', and I can see why! His monsters are all fiends and spellcasters of sheer power."

Norus took to the stage and the coin toss was done. "I can't wait to see Norus get his arse kicked by the Forbidden One," grinned Diane.

"Me too," said Gwen.

"Me three," said Bethany.

"Although I'm part of his cabin, even I wish his opponent luck," grinned Jake. "Maybe he'll fall a few bars and eat humble pie. Of course, I doubt it. He's been prepping his deck pretty good. I recently heard last night that he plans to shut down Sonja's Exodia fast."

"I wonder how he can do it?" asked Shanna. "Card Destruction or a Morphing Jar?"

"That would help him too," said Diane in worry, recalling Norus' Dark Necrofear.

"It's starting," said Donald.

Sonja had won the coin toss and chose to go first. The decks had been shuffled and cut and now the two plugged in their duel disks, ready for the next phase.

"Before we begin, you know the rules," grinned Lillith. "I want a duel as clean as the Divine Archlord Zerato, understood? Sonja, no dark glares. Norus, no perverted comments. And no cheating from EITHER of you!"

"I don't need to cheat against a loser like this girl," grinned Norus.

"Hmph, I'm no cheater, only some Rare Hunter would do that," said Sonja.

"Fine, then it's time to choose the location of our duel," said Lillith. "Start the roulette!" She spun the wheel and, after a while, it landed on a golden slot. "Well well, this is going to be quite amusing...it's time for a little trip back in time...to the DESERT OF DESTINY!!!"

She pressed the button and the magic happened a third time. Those not in the VIP box were transported to a beautiful desert landscape with mirages on the horizon and shifting sands. A pair of pyramids and a sphinx were in the distance, watching the events unfold. For the thrones, they had turned into golden Egyptian affairs and two ancient Egyptian maidens waved paper fans.

Twilight sighed. This takes me back to my youth...

"And now...ALLEZ JUENE!" cried Lillith, flinging down her flags before taking her seat.

The only one who didn't mind care Sonja's losing was Machus. If Norus wins, then his death should make many of these campers happy. After the wretched bullying and nonsense he pulled recently, many would love to seem him perish. Still, I wish I didn't have to test the winner of the tournament in...that way. He wiped his brow.

~~+~~

Ares and Doppler were watching carefully. "I certainly hope Sonja wins," said Doppler. "Norus is a fool."

"Maybe so, but both have potential," said Ares. "The winner of this duel will face Diane, Jacob, and the winner of the next duel. On the plus side, if Norus wins the tournament by a quirk of fate, he'll be much easier to deal with than the others. We can probably skip a lot of the messy stuff, and Pisaro won't have to waste his..."

"Let's just wait and see," interrupted Doppler with a scowl. If Norus wins, it will be a lot harder for my plans to take shape, because of Norus' more evil nature. I just hope that he tastes the wrath of Exodia.

~~+~~

"Okay, loser, time to begin your destruction," grinned Sonja sweetly as she drew a card. "I play...Graceful Charity!" She showed her card and plugged it into the disk. It appeared and the golden angel flew up and showered Sonja's deck with golden light. "This card allows me..."

"I know what it does!" shouted Norus. "EVERYONE uses that card!"

Sonja frowned. "How rude." The angel vanished and she drew three cards, then discarded two. "And because I discarded Electric Snake from my hand, I get to draw another two cards!" She drew two more cards. "I set a monster in defense and then activate Infinite Cards!" The card appeared, showing a hand throwing up a hand of cards. "This card lets both of us have as many cards as we want in our hand at any time. I set a card and then end my turn." She looked at her hand. All right! I already got another piece of Exodia with Graceful Charity!

"Is that all?" chuckled Norus.

"Yep," said Sonja. "Your move."

"The tension is killing me," whispered Diane.

"Don't worry, Shanna has never failed in drawing Exodia," said Shanna.

"Except for that time when she dueled Beth," said Gwen.

"True, but Norus hasn't shown any special cards lately, so he's going to lose," said Shanna confidently.

"You sound pretty confident," said Donald.

"She's my cabin mate, of course I do," said Shanna, smiling.

"My turn," said Norus, drawing a card. "And I'll set the card I drew and play Coach Goblin in attack mode!" A hideous goblin wearing an eyepatch and grey sweater appeared, carrying a sock in his hand. (1200/1500)

"That thing is pretty weak," said Bethany.

"You may think my monster is weak, but it has a useful ability," said Norus with a grin. "Every turn, starting with this one, I get to give this guy a monster with no effect and he'll put it on the bottom of my deck. In exchange, I get to draw another card! So I'll send my Octiclops to the bottom of my deck!" He handed his monster to Coach Goblin, who grinned and showed the Octiclops before stuffing it in Norus' deck slot. Norus then drew a card.

"Wow," said Diane. "I wonder if Sonja uses that card. It would help her get Exodia out faster!"

"Not really," said Shanna. "The effect only works if you send non-effect monsters to your deck, and Sonja has packed her deck full of effect monsters. She only has a couple of non-effect monsters, and those help defend her life points."

"Yeah," said Donald. "A lot of monsters in her deck would make it harder to draw Exodia. I bet she's sticking to the minimum card size of fourty cards."

Norus looked at his drawn card and grinned. Perfect. This will keep Exodia girl from using her monsters to draw those pieces of Exodia. But I guess I could afford this turn to her, it's not like she's got four pieces right now... "Coach Goblin, sock that face-down monster with Stenchy Sock!"

The goblin cacked and swung its sock like a lasso, then smashed the card before it. It exploded and a three-eyed demon howled as it exploded. (1000/600)

"Thanks for destroying my Sangan, now I can get a piece of Exodia for my collection!" Sonja giggled as she took her deck, grabbed the Left Arm, and shuffled her deck before plugging it back in. "Be lucky I only have two other pieces in my hand, or this duel would be over."

"Heh, so you have three pieces so far, do you?" said Norus. "I intend to make sure you don't get the remaining two!"

"Big talk for someone so wimpy," snickered Norus.

Bethany scowled. "That jerk." She recalled how Jeff had been blasted earlier and sighed. Even though he's a jerk, I'd hate to be him. I almost ended up like that kid, but luckily Critias came through for me. It'll be harder for Norus because he doesn't have Critias, Timaeus, or Hermos, and even if he did, he couldn't use them here.

"I end my turn," said Norus with a smirk.

Sonja drew a card. Pot of Greed will get two new cards, and maybe both will be the remaining pieces of Exodia! Let's see how smug he'll be when the Forbidden One appears and hovers over his quaking body! She slid the card into her disk and it appeared. "I activate the magic card Pot of..."

"Ha!" cried Norus. "I was hoping you would do that! Activate my own magic card, Jar Robber!" He flipped his card up.

"What the...?" asked Lina in shock.

The Avatar of the Pot hopped out of the card and grabbed the grinning jar, which screamed in horror. "Whenever my opponent activates Pot of Greed," said Norus. "I steal the Pot of Greed and get one card from my deck! That means you lose your card and you can't draw two cards!" The genie laughed and ran over to Norus, rummaging into the jar and pulling out a card.

"Urgh!" said Sonja, snapping her fingers.

The genie handed the card to Norus and vanished. "I knew you had Pot of Greed, especially since Exodia decks rely on card drawing, so I had this card, ready to use it if you used Pot of Greed."

"Well, that's an interesting strategy," said Lillith.

"You may have stopped me from drawing cards, you jerk," said Sonja. "But you won't stop me from summoning Exodia!" She slapped a card on her disk. "I set another monster in defense mode and end my turn." The card appeared.

Norus drew another card. "Well, it's about time I got rid of your little monster and keep you stalled even further! First, I'll activate Coach Goblin's effect AGAIN, allowing me to send Mystic Clown to the bottom of my deck..." He handed the card to Coach Goblin, who stuffed it in his deck slot. "To draw a card." He drew a card and put it in his hand. He removed another card from his hand. "And now...I'll sacrifice Coach Goblin to summon Dark Ruler Ha-Des!"

Norus swapped cards and the goblin melted into darkness. The sky turned red and the sands melted like glass, splitting to form a chasm which a clawed hand came out of. It dragged out the rest of the body, a regally-robed demon with green skin and eyes that blazed like fire. His breastplate was decorated like a skull. The chasm shuddered shut as the demon finished pulled himself out, and then the demon chortled evilly. (2450/2100)

"Oh my gosh," said Diane. "That thing's hideous!"

"Yeah, and I never realized he had THAT fiend in his deck!" said Jake in awe.

"Like him?" chuckled Norus. "Dark Ruler Ha-Des, meet Sonja! Sonja, meet your demise! Dark Ruler, use Malice Hex!"

The demon raised his hand and powered up a beam of red light that shot forward and shattered the face-down card. A purple-haired witch screamed as she exploded. (1200/1100)

"Ha ha, you destroyed my Witch of the Black Forest!" laughed Sonja. "Now I..."

"Actually, you don't," grinned Norus wickedly. "You see, whenever my Dark Ruler destroys a monster with an effect, it automatically negates the effect!"

"No..." said Sonja in a miserable pout.

Twilight was pretty peeved as well, and not because it was her cabin's monster that was destroyed. Sonja has spent years building an Exodia deck to match any Exodia deck. I tried to help her, using the visions I had of Mephisto and the Rare Hunter who challenged Yugi Sr. at the beginning of Battle City. Even though both of them were evil, their decks had many powerful cards which benefit an Exodia deck. The fabled two cards which are capable of searching for the pieces of Exodia were key to Sonja's constant victories - the opponent didn't realize the dangers until he destroyed both of those cards. But somehow, Norus has found a means to stop that! I hope Sonja can recover quickly.

"This looks like it is going to be a long duel," sighed Machus.

"I hope it doesn't run into the next duel," said Lillith. "We may have to reschedule."

"My turn is over, Exodia Empress," said Norus, emphasizing "Empress" as it were a dirty word. "You're up!"

Sonja scowled and drew another card. She then played that very card. "I play the Shallow Grave to bring back Witch of the Black Forest!" she said. The card appeared, as did another card on Norus' field. Sonja ignored that as she continued. "And then I'll sacrifice it to summon Millennium Shield!" The witch melted into light and formed the golden shield. (0/3000) She grinned. "Even though you may have negated her effect in battle, Witch of the Black Forest's effect takes effect whenever it gets sent to the graveyard from the field, even if it's through tributing! So your attempt to stop me from getting the fourth piece of Exodia failed!" She pulled out her deck and removed the Right Leg, then shuffled the deck and put it back in. "As you can see, I'm almost close to ending this duel in my favor! You WILL feel the wrath of the Forbidden One!"

"Yeah yeah," said Norus with a yawn.

"She's about to wipe the floor with Norus!" cried Shanna. "Go Sonja! You can beat this jerk!"

"Yeah! Go go go!" cried Diane, hopping like a cheerleader.

"That's odd," said Jake under his breath. "Normally Norus would be freaking out by now. But somehow, he's not..."

"Who cares? He's just giving in to fate," said Gwen with a smirk.

Bethany frowned. "I'm with Jakey. If Gnasty Gnorus isn't wetting his pants by now, he must have some strategy to turn this duel around before it's too late."

Norus chuckled. Little does this little brat know that I did some changing of my deck just for her. I've got tons of cards that can take down any card she uses. And if she uses her backup strategy, and I think I know what it is, she is going to be in so much pain after I beat her to the ground!

"Did you hear me?" shouted Sonja. "I ended my turn already! MOVE!"

"Hmph," said Norus, drawing a card. "Fine. First, I'll summon Protector of the Sanctuary!" A ghostly creature made of heiroglyphs appeared next to the Dark Ruler. (1000/1900)

"Huh? What's he up to?" asked Donald.

"And then I play...Card of Sanctity!" Norus played the card and golden coins fell from the sky. "I get to draw cards until I have six in my hand." He drew four cards.

"Is he insane?" asked Diane. "He's helping Sonja!"

"You forget that I get to draw cards too," grinned Sonja. "And now I'll be able to..." She turned and saw the ghost reach out and grab her deck slot. "Huh?"

"Fool," laughed Norus. "Protector of the Sanctuary's special effect prevents you from drawing cards through card effects! That means that Card of Sanctity helps me but not you! If you want to draw cards, wait until your turn begins! Ha ha ha!"

Twilight frowned as Lina shook her head. Man, he's pretty good! He's effectively shut down Sonja's drawing options!

"Now for my next move," said Norus. "I play The Cheerful Coffin!" He played a card and a crazy undertaker appeared, holding a coffin. "This card allows me to discard up to three cards from my hand." He handed a card to the undertaker, who shoved it into his coffin and vanished.

Why did he do that? thought Diane, confused.

"And then I play this magic card, Deliquent Duo!" said Norus, playing a card.

Bethany gasped in horror. "That's the card Jackie used on me!"

"For a measly thousand life points," said Norus as his life meter dropped to 7000. "I get to discard one card randomly from your hand, and then you have to choose a second card to be sent to the graveyard. Imp #1, attack!"

The imp jumped on Sonja's duel disk. "Hey!" she cried as the blue imp grabbed her Left Arm of Exodia and threw it into the discard slot. "Oh no! My Left Arm of Exodia!"

"Heh, so much for your Exodia summoning," cackled Norus as the red imp appeared. "Now hand over your second card!"

Sonja looked over her hand and grinned. I'll just send the other arm to the graveyard. I can get both back with Backup Soldiers at any time! And even if that fails, I have a backup plan.

She handed over the Right Arm of Exodia and the imp took it and shoved it into the discard slot.

"Why did she do that?" asked Lina.

Twilight smirked. "She can bring back her Exodia pieces if she wants. Even if her plan fails, she has another one. I saw her deck myself and I know her strategies." She frowned. I just hope that Norus does not summon his Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, or else he can ruin Sonja's whole deck. She has few monsters with attacking capabilities, and none of them are capable of taking down the Dark Ruler as he stands.

"To end, I set two cards," said Norus as the cards appeared before him.

Sonja frowned as she reached for her deck. I'd better get rid of that annoying Protector before he shifts it into defense mode, or I'll be unable to get Exodia back before he finds a way around my Millennium Shield! She drew a card from her deck and laughed. "Ha ha ha! I just drew..."

"Activate trap card, Drop Off!" cried Norus, flipping up one of his face-down cards. "This forces you to discard the card you just drew from your deck!"

Sonja looked at him in horror, then at the card. It was Exodia the Forbidden One. "No...NO!" She screamed, slamming the card into her discard slot. "Damn you, Norus!"

"Hey, watch the language, miss!" said Arnold.

"Uh...sorry, sir," said Sonja, blushing.

Twilight sighed. From her reaction, that was Exodia's head she just lost. Now it will be much harder for her to bring out the Forbidden One the usual way.

"Looks like that card was important," said Jake.

"We'll never know what it was now," said Shanna in despair.

"Ooooh, did I get rid of something GOOD?" said Norus.

"You just wait, you will regret what you did," scowled Sonja, her face contorted in a tight not-cute sneer. "I summon Mystic Tomato in attack mode!" She placed her card on the field and a goofy cartoon tomato with a killer face appeared. (1400/1000) "And now I destroy your Protector of the Sanctuary! Mystic Tomato, Vegetable Bite!"

The tomato lunged at the ghost and chomped on its chest. The ghost exploded and Norus' life points dropped to 6600.

"And now that your Protector is gone, I can draw cards outside of my draw phase," said Sonja with a wicked smile. "But you're just lucky I don't have any effects to do that right now."

Norus snorted. "You've got a lot of work to do before you can get back your stupid Forbidden One, Sonja." He drew a card. "But now...I think it's time for a pop quiz!"

"A quiz? This isn't school!" said Sonja. "Nor is it a game show, unless I get a prize."

"You certainly will if you don't fail the quiz," laughed Norus, flipping up his other face-down card. "I play the magic card, Question!" The card showed a man with a goofy top hat pressing a button. A box appeared and a question mark appeared in the center of the screen that graced the front. Norus removed his discard pile and held it up, back facing Sonja. "Let's see how good your memory is. Guess what the monster at the bottom of my graveyard is. If you guess right, you win the prize and my monster will never appear in this duel. But if you guess wrong...you get the booby prize! Don't mess up!"

"Well, this is interesting," said Shanna.

Everyone waited with baited breath as Sonja pondered the question, then giggled. "You don't fool me, Norus. I know what the answer is! The first monster that was sent to the graveyard is...Coach Goblin!"

"Bzzzt! WRONG!" said Norus. The screen showed an "X" and buzzed loudly.

"B-But...that was the first monster sent to your graveyard!" shouted Sonja in horror. "When you tributed it for your Dark Ruler!"

"But you played A Shallow Grave," grinned Norus. "And since you were so airheaded, you probably forgot that the card allows BOTH of us to summon a monster from the Graveyard." He flip-summoned Coach Goblin back into attack mode and it appeared. "After all, it was the only monster in my graveyard at the time!"

"Oh," said Sonja sheepishly.

"And after you did that, I played The Cheerful Coffin, sending a card to the graveyard, and the card I sent there was a monster!" laughed Norus as he pulled the card from his graveyard and slid the cards back into his discard slot.

"Ugh, what a dirty trick," said Diane in disgust.

"Sonja never had a chance!" sighed Donald.

"And now, the correct answer is..." Norus slapped the card in the monster zone and a wicked horseman with a crested helmet emerged. (1900/1700) "Mephist the Infernal General!"

To be continued...

[Dark Sage]

Well, my character was beaten... oh well...

I could have sworn Exodia Necross was immune to Monster Effects too, but I might be wrong...

I'm truly beginning to go from "hate" to "despise" as far as Norus is concerned. I hope that whoever wins the next duel kicks his tail all the way to Timbuktu.

Gwen versus Beth next... I can't imagine what will happen...

Well, maybe I can, but my lips are sealed...

[starjake]

Wow. I'm gonna hafta agree with Venusaur on the Norus-bashing. He's as evil as the fiends in his deck!

As for Exodia Necross...

Exodia Necross
DCR - 020: Ultra Rare
Dark/Spellcaster/4 stars/ATK 1800/DEF 0
This card can only be Special Summoned by the effect of "Contract with Exodia". This card is not destroyed as a result of battle at any time or by the effects of Spell or Trap Cards. During each of your Standby Phases, increase the ATK of this card by 500 points. This card is destroyed when you do not have all 5 of these cards in your Graveyard: "Exodia the Forbidden One", "Right Arm of the Forbidden One", "Left Arm of the Forbidden One", "Right Leg of the Forbidden One", "Left Leg of the Forbidden One".

That is the text on the card. As you can see, Monster Effects are the only thing that can destroy it. Norus might be vile and wicked, but he is smart. *shivers*

Keep up the good work!

[Dark Sage]

There's another way to get rid of Exodia Necross...

Steal it with Change of Heart (or Snatch Steal, or something like that), and sacrifice it for another Monster.

See, Exodia Necross can't be destroyed by Spell or Trap cards, but cards that do things other than destroy it work just fine. It can be paralyzed by Spellbinding Circle, weakened and paralyzed by Shadow Spell, sent back to the owner's hand by a Penguin Soldier, and a lot of other things. It isn't as indestructable as most people think.

- Venusaur

[Shuppet Master]

Well,since Norus' deck is supposed to be one of the old Spellcaster/Fiend beatdown decks that were being played in the ancient days of Dark Magician and Summoned Skull being the best monsters in existence,I decided to make the guy wicked.

However,it just makes for a good rivalry for the girls if D.G.B. have another adventure in the future(strong hint,not implied ) and it will make for more shock and awe if any twists for him come up(another strong hint,again not implied ).

Don't worry,everyone,I've started writing the final duel of that day,and I promise it will be good and will have an unexpected ending.

[opaltiger]

Doesn't Necross get destroyed if you remove one of the Exodia pieces from the graveyard? If so, Monster Reborn could beat it. And wouldn't Change of Heart etc., not work on it?

[Shuppet Master]

I think that we all know the Monster Reborn strategy for getting rid of Necross, as well as Soul Release, etc.

ATTENTION: My next chapter is up. It's the first of two "Best of Duels, Best of Friends" duels! (Note that, because I used ideas from Mandate's latest chapter, some of the scenarios will change in the revision.) Enjoy!

[Shuppet Master]

Yu-Gi-Oh Jr.: Sister of Anansi
A Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic-crossover fanfic by .hack//BELLOSSOM

Chapter 28: Share the Pain

“Mary, I hope you realize, I expect the best from you. My kind prefers defeat to an easy victory – or even worse, one that is given to us freely.”

“I’m not about to give less than my best,” said Mary.

“And do not expect less than my best either,” said Jade. “We are friends now, and we will be once this is over… but I will do my best to slay you in this duel.”

Mandate of Heaven, "A Warrior Returning Alive"

In the back room of the auditorium, Lillith and Machus were discussing Norus.

"I say we disqualify him," said Lillith. "What he did was completely uncalled for!"

"But he won his duel fair and square," sighed Machus.

"The majority of the campers are with me, Norus has made himself a reputation of being a bully and jerk," said Lillith. "I was not very happy when I heard that he tried to hurt Diane two days ago."

"That was a serious mistake, true," said Machus. "But we must remember that what a person does outside of the arena and what he does inside of it are two different things! If we disqualify him..."

"Then Sonja will be given back her status and take his place," said Lillith.

"But Norus won FAIR AND SQUARE! He didn't cheat!" cried Machus. "I had him checked out, Arnold checked his deck - his victory was a legitimate one. Norus knew how to counter Sonja's deck, so just drop it!"

"Machus, is there a reason you are favoring Norus?" said Lillith coldly.

Machus paled and wiped his brow. "Me? Showing favoritism to a camper? O-Of course not! But we must..."

"We must exact proper protocol, you know that," said Lillith. "When Anastasia gave me the company, I had full authority to decide what happens to the people in Duelist Camp. If we allow this bully to continue his evil, parents will start looking into other summer camps and these children will hate Duel Monsters! Do you want to destroy an entire generation of duelists and quite possibly usher in an era where our signature game ends up in jeopardy because of one bully?!"

"I...er...uh...ah..." said Machus, his tongue tied.

"I have a feeling you are up to something, Machus," stated Lillith sharply. "Why keep a bully in the tournament?"

"He has his reasons," said a voice. Twilight approached. "As do I."

"You're supporting him?" gasped Lillith. "I always thought you and Machus were at odds, especially during our meetings."

"Yes, I do not have any love for this man...he is very duplicitious," said Twilight, creasing her brow. "And it is true that it was my cabin member he harmed. However, people like Norus demand attention, even negative attention."

"Huh?" asked Machus.

"Think of it this way," said the counselor, removing her shades to reveal the cloudy eyes behind them. "If we expel this boy or imprison him just for several minor threats, the consequences will be far worse than if you let him have his way."

"You sure seemed angry and eager to see him fall before," said Lillith.

"I am not supporting his evil," said Twilight. "I am only saying that disqualifying him now would just give him what he most desires, infamy. Have you talked to his parents about the Diane incident?"

"Yes, both were very angry at his behavior," said Machus. "They said that as soon as the Duelatopia tournament was over and the resort shut down for clean-up, they would march over there and pick him up for severe punishment."

"That is fine, but remember that they can't punish him now because of the situation," said Twilight. "The best that could be done would be to incarcerate him in the detention center, but he wouldn't care. He would enjoy his spotlight of infamy. Then, after his punishment, he would simply wriggle out and cause more trouble. This vicious cycle would continue until he turned to crime and evil."

"And what happens if we let him stay?" asked Lillith.

"Even if he defeated all the other campers," said Machus firmly. "He will still duel me...and then he will lose in such a horrible way that he won't be anyone again. I swear on my former champion title."

"He might defeat you," said Lillith. "He's pretty good."

Twilight looked at Machus, and then shook her head. "Something tells me that Norus won't win. Machus is far better."

"I happened to be the Duel Monsters Champion of Australia ten years ago, I know how to defeat any deck," said Machus.

"No matter what happens, Lillith," said Twilight. "Norus will not get away with his crimes."

Lillith shook her head. "Well, I'll have to put up a VERY good explanation to everyone as to why this jerk is still in the tournament. But if he manages to defeat Machus, I will personally revoke the victory and demand his deck."

"I don't think you need to go that far, he won't win, he won't," said Machus. "Please..."

"Very well, we'll drop the matter...for now," said Lillith. "But I'll be watching that brat. If he pulls any trick that can get him disqualified, I swear he will be kicked out!" She shook her head. "Anyways, let's watch the next duel. It should be a good one." She walked out of the room.

"Thank you, Twilight, I owe you," said Machus.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. Even without my Necklace, I can sense something terrible about to happen, and Machus will be the catalyst. Whoever wins the tournament and faces him must be wary.

~~+~~

Norus sat down at his seat, feeling a little full of himself. He had a grin that one would attribute to evil cartoon geniuses. Shanna moved her seat in the VIP booth far away from the boy, trying as hard as possible not to look at the disgusting piece of stinking refuse that was Norus. The others followed suit, even his fellow cabin-mate Jake.

"I am so sorry," Jake said to Shanna as he handed her a bottle of Pepsi. "What Norus did to your friend's card and what he said to Twilight was totally wrong. I knew he was a general jerk, but to do what he did..." He hung his head. "I promise, if I duel him in the semi-finals or final match, he's gonna burn."

"It's okay, I'll live," said Shanna sadly, taking the bottle as a token of thanks. She opened it and took a sip. "It's just that Sonja had her heart set on getting to see Duelatopia. I understand her desires. My cousin is there, and I wanted to see him duel for real, not as some image on a computer." She sighed. "And I wanted to go to the Duelatopia finals and sit by my cousin and cheer his friends on. But..."

"Diane ruined that dream for you, didn't she?" grinned Jake. "Don't worry, if I win, you can still get that dream. I'll invite you and your fellow cabin member as two of the three friends, along with Beth." He smirked. "It'd be sort of a date in a way, and you two could get to see Yugi and his friends duel."

"First off, I don't know if anyone in Team Supreme is going to be in the finals..." said Shanna.

"Don't be so pessimistic," grinned Jake. "I just checked the Duelatopia database. Every member of Team Supreme save Clive has Silver now." Shanna gasped. "Yugi Jr., Mary, and Peter all took down an Eliminator as well. I doubt that they will NOT make the finals. If anyone is not going to make it, it's Clive. He's just regained his Blue status."

"Well, knowing Clive, he might get to Silver quickly," said Shanna. "And you're right, I doubted Yugi's skill. Terone told me how he completely trashed him, even though he had some powerful monster cards."

"Well, you had those two powerful cards and Diane trashed you," laughed Jake. "Even though the both of you did well, your opponents were just too strong and skilled."

"Yes, and Terone MIGHT be in the finals now if he hadn't so foolish as to challenge an Eliminator!" sighed Shanna. "Idiot. I warned him about that. Diane told me that her sister was one of the best Eliminators of all, and considering the fact that the Eliminator my cousin faced uses Yugi's signature monsters..."

"Well, it's all past now," said Jake. "When I win the tournament, you and Sonja will get to join me."

Shanna frowned. "Thanks, but I think we'll pass."

"Huh?" asked Jake. "But..."

"I know you want to make us happy, but I think that Beth would rather want her two best friends to join her," said Shanna with a heaving sigh. She took another drink from the bottle and covered her mouth to stifle a belch. "She would be very sad if all three of them lost and only she got to go to Duelatopia. Her friends would hate her."

"Oh," said Jake. "I forgot about Diane and Gwen." He grinned. "Those three are inseperable, are they?"

"You bet," said Shanna, looking through the window. "Beth really loves her friends, but now she's gotta fight one of them now. I just hope that she doesn't take it personally if she loses. She's sort of a coward at times, but she has a heart."

"Unlike...some people," growled Jake, glaring at Norus as he was shuffling his deck.

~~+~~

Meanwhile, Gwen came up to Bethany, who was besides herself in nervousness. "Hey, you ready?"

"Uh...yeah," said Bethany in a soft voice. "Just psyching myself up for this."

"Bethany," said Gwen, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder and making her look up. "Don't take it too hard. I know you're a bit scared of the duel coming up. Let me let you in a secret." She lowered her voice. "I am too."

"Really?" gasped Bethany in shock.

"Yeah," said Gwen, sitting down besides her friend and smiling gently. "I wasn't really surprised. As much as I supported you and Di entering the finals, and as much as we tried to encourage you not to drop out of the tournament, I knew that eventually, it would come to this. D.G.B. may have reached the finals together, but now we're about to face each other in combat and defeat each other. Only one of us will survive."

"What if...none of us win?" asked Bethany.

"We'll cross THAT bridge if we come to it," grinned Gwen. She frowned. "Even if we hadn't dueled in the quarter-finals, we would have had to duel each other in the semi-finals! And then there's Di."

"Oh yeah," said Bethany, swallowing hard.

"You do realize that, eventually, one of us will have to duel her," said Gwen. She smiled. "But let's make a promise. When we face each other in battle, all three of our group will fight with honor and respect for each other, unlike Norus."

"Yeah, we're not Norus, the jerk!" hissed Bethany. "I hope one of us duels him, so we can kick his butt!"

"Don't worry, Norus will duel either us or your boyfriend, and Jake has NO love for his fellow cabin member," grinned Gwen. "Now, let's shake hands and wish each other the best."

"Okay," said Bethany, getting up and holding out her hand. "Good luck, Gwen."

"You too," said Gwen, getting up and shaking hands. "May the best woman win."

Bethany grinned. "We'll be friends no matter who wins, right?"

"Right, but don't expect me to go easy on you," laughed Gwen. Bethany giggled.

Diane was watching them and feeling a bit tense herself. "Hey, Diane, what's wrong?" asked Donald, giving her shoulders a passionate massage. "You seem a bit nervous."

"I SHOULD be," mumbled Diane. "My two best friends are going to be facing each other. I want to support both of them, but I know one will fall. And from the looks of it, that person will be Beth." She sighed as she recalled seeing Gwen's monsters. She knew that, even though Bethany had some powerful strategies, most of her monsters had less than 1000 attack. And Gwen had monsters that could eat them for snack foods, especially when the monsters gained their more powerful forms. And then there was the mighty Mythic Dragon in Gwen's deck. If she pulled that five-headed beast out, it would be all over. Unless Bethany kept up her Gravity Bind or Level Limit Area B cards to paralyze the monsters, Gwen would own her.

"Don't worry, Bethany isn't a slouch, she's going to do well," grinned Donald. "Just cheer both on and wish them luck."

Diane nodded. "Good luck, both of you," she whispered.

~~+~~

"So, Gwen and Bethany are up next, eh?" said John as he brushed his long hair with a feminine brush.

"Yeah," said Pete. "Both of them have shown skill. Gwen completely devastated my monsters with her special creatures."

"Well, Bethany is no slouch either, darling," said John, grinning. "She may have small monsters, but she completely took me by surprise with that Gilford the Lightning! I never knew someone like her had such a mighty warrior!"

"If you had pulled out that WV-Tiger Cannon and fused it with your XYZ-Dragon Cannon, she would have had a lot worse chance of winning," grinned Pete. "I mean, I never expected you to have such a beast!"

"Well, it didn't help me any against Sam and his science deck," grumbled John.

"All we can do is cheer the both of them on and hope for the best," said Kate. "I will be cheering for Gwen."

The others nodded.

~~+~~

The holo-imagers were showing some bird monsters - Punished Eagle, Crismon Sunbird, and Sacred Crane - in a nice garden. The birds flew off as the music started and Lillith and Machus took to their boxes.

"It's good to be back!" said Lillith, grinning. "Welcome to the final match of the day! Let's introduce the last two finalists and wish them well in what appears to be a battle to end all battles! Machus, if you please."

Machus nodded and cleared his throat. "Ahem! Our first competitor is from Iowa City, Iowa. Standing four-foot-ten and weighing a slender eighty-three pounds, the great GWENDOLYN LISERIA!"

The doors flew open and lights spotlighted Gwen as she raised her hands and smiled. Everyone in the seats cheered as she walked to the stage, hands up the entire time.

"Let's hope she has put on some feminine stick, I'd hate to be sniffing those armpits," joked Lillith. "Anyways, her deck is called 'Advanced Pokémon', and anyone who knows that fad or has seen her in action knows what to expect here."

As Gwen took to the stage, the doors to the other side opened. "Her opponent, from the small town of Mico, Texas, standing three-foot-ten and weighing seventy-nine pounds, the cute and wily BETHANY GLITRIS!"

Bethany came out, a spooked look on her face. She blushed as everyone cheered and quickly scuttled to the stage.

"She doesn't seem very confident today, does she?" grinned Lillith. "Her deck name is 'Lillputian Legends', and since I've read Gulliver's travels as a kid, I know what that name means." She flashed a smile as Bethany took the stage.

"Well, both of our finalists are beautiful ladies with the hearts of a princess," said Machus. "I hope the both of you will duel with honor and dignity and give us quite a show!"

"Yes, sir," said Bethany with a tiny voice. Gwen looked at her and frowned.

"Okay ladies, call the card!" said Lillith, shoving the Card of Bounty into the gyroscope.

"Tails," said Gwen.

~~+~~

"Well, this is most interesting," grinned Doppler.

"Yeah," said Ares. "It's like Sailor Mercury fighting Sailor Jupiter in hand-to-hand combat."

"Interesting analogy," said Doppler. "You...actually watch that show?"

"I may be a guy, but I happen to LIKE shoujo anime," sighed Ares. "Let's pay close attention."

"Yes," said Doppler. "From what I heard, Yugi Sr. faced the Mythic Dragon twice in his life. But his progeny has never seen this creature before. If Gwen wins the tournament, she would be more useful to us."

"True, but Bethany's quite clever, her lock-down strategy will certainly hinder Yugi's monsters, since none that we know of can slip under a Gravity Bind or Level Limit Area B," stated Ares. "Whoever wins this duel will be considered."

"But there are still the semi-finals and final duel to consider, and then there is Machus..." Doppler chortled. "If our plan falls through and Machus manages to wipe out the winner with his trump card, our plans will be set back greatly."

"I seriously doubt that," said Ares. "Every monster has a weakness, even the God Cards."

~~+~~

Norus chuckled. This is gonna be great! Watching those two girls getting sliced and diced will sure make Diane upset, and that is bound to make MY day.

Gwen had won the call, but had turned over the duel to Bethany. The two shuffled and cut each other's decks, shook hands, and plugged in their disks.

"Okay, you two, I want a duel as clean as a Pokémon center's emergency room," said Lillith. "Normally I'd post some ground rules, but I think you two are such good friends I don't need to do that. I'm sure you two know not to spite each other. Now, let's see where the duel is going to take place." She spun the roulette and soon, it stopped one a green wedge. "Well, it looks like this duel between friends will take place in an appropriate setting. THE CITY OF CHAOS!"

The button was pressed and the entire area was cloaked in a marvelous cityscape. The sky overhead was filled with storm clouds that cracked with thunder and lightning. Winds swept trash across the street and into alleys. The windows glowed an electric blue and strange wirey demons leapt across the rooftops and took a high-rise view of the events below.

"Wow, that's intense!" said Donald.

"I know," said Diane. Good luck, both of you!

Lillith raised her flags. "Get ready...set..." The two activated their disks and slid in their decks. The life meters rose to 8000. "ALLEZ JUENE!" She swung down her flags.

"Beth, you have to focus," said Gwen. "Don't be afraid. You know we will still be friends after this."

"O-Okay," said Bethany as she and Gwen drew their first hands. "Then let's do this and get it over with." She drew a card. "To begin, I place Gigobyte in defense mode." The cute little reptile appeared with a flash. (300/350)

"Oh, that's so cute," grinned Gwen. "Looks like a Treecko! I really hate to have to hurt it."

"You won't get a chance to attack it," said Bethany firmly. "Because I'm setting two cards face-down and ending my turn." The cards appeared between Gigobyte and Bethany.

Don't play dumb with me, Beth, I know what those cards are, thought Gwen as she drew her card. Obviously Gravity Bind and another trap to either compliment or protect it. She'll activate that card when I attack and paralyze all my four-star and higher monsters. Well, not happening this duel, my friend. She looked over her hand. "Well then, since I know your strategies, Beth, here's my opening move. Armed Dragon L3 in attack mode!" The orange dragon appeared. (1200/900)

"Interesting tactic," said Machus.

"Since my dragon is level 3, it's a three-star monster, so it can slip under your Gravity Bind and Level Limit Area B," said Gwen with a sly smile. "But...I won't attack."

"Why didn't she attack?" asked Shanna.

"Probably because Beth has a lot of traps," said Diane. Critias came to her, and from what I've seen, he only fuses with trap cards! Beth must have a lot more traps than she lets on.

"I'll set two cards of my own face-down and end my turn," said Gwen. The cards appeared before her.

Bethany drew a card. She obviously isn't taking chances. Even though that dragon could take down my monsters quickly, she's playing it safe. I'd better do something before she discovers the identity of my other face-down. "My turn, and I I play the magic card Mandate of Heaven!" She slid the card in her disk and it appeared, showing a beautiful female angel with several halos over her head pointing at some Mokey Mokey as they flew up to her.

"What the...?" said Gwen. "I've never seen THAT card before!"

"It's a rare and powerful magic card, one of three in my deck," said Bethany with a smirk. "Its effect is powerful, though. If I have a non-effect monster in my hand and one in my deck or graveyard, I can pay 300 life points per star level to bring all the copies of that card into my hand!" Her life points dropped to 7700 as she pulled out her cards, shuffled her deck, and put it back into her disk. "And now I'll use the cards I got from that card, my three Mokey Mokey!" She showed her cards. "And I'll fuse them together with Polymerization!" She played the card. "To bring forth Mokey Mokey King!"

The glowing Mokey Mokey with a golden question-halo appeared. (300/200)

"Is she nuts? That monster is as weak as her fairies are!" said Norus.

"I've seen this before," said Diane, worried.

Gwen was confused. "What she up to?"

"Mokey Mokey King, attack!" cried Beth. The fairy fired a golden beam from its halo at Armed Dragon L3, who launched a fireball and incinerated the fairy. Bethany's life points dropped to 6800. "I may have lost Mokey Mokey King, but due to its special effect, I can special summon all three Mokey Mokey I fused to the field when it gets destroyed in battle!" The three fairies appeared. "Now Mokey Mokey #1, you attack too!" The fairy fired its rainbow beam, but met the same fate as its royal lord, dropping Bethany's life meter to 5900.

"Uh...I THINK there is a strategy here," mumbled Lillith, scratching her head. Machus shook his head.

Norus chuckled. "What a loser! She's throwing her life points away!"

Diane frowned. I have a hunch I know what one of those face-down cards is...

"Are you crazy? You're killing yourself!" cried Gwen.

"I may have lost about 25% of my life points, Gwen, but it was worth it," grinned Bethany, flipping up her trap card. "I activate my trap card, Mokey Mokey Smackdown!"

"Oh no," said Gwen in horror.

"Whenever a fairy on my field dies in battle, ALL my Mokey Mokey get PO'd and multiply their attack by ten!" grinned Bethany. The two Mokey turned red with rage and her halos straightened into exclamation marks. "Careful, they are mad after losing their fellow Mokey Mokey!" (3000/200)

"Urp," said Gwen, realizing what was about to happen.

"Mokey Mokey #2, infinite anger burst!" cried Bethany, pointing at Gwen.

The Mokey Mokey squealed and fired a blast of light that vaporized Armed Dragon L3. Gwen's life points dropped to 6200.

"Mokey Mokey #3, do the same thing and hit Gwen directly!" shouted Bethany. Sorry, Gwen...

"AH!" cried Gwen, covering her head as the beam slammed into her and burned a hole in her armpit. She got up slowly and saw her torched shirt armpit in misery as her life points dropped to 3200. She winced in visible pain.

"And I'll switch my Gigobyte into attack mode too!" said Bethany as the reptilian warrior stood. "Hit Gwen with your fist of fury attack!" The beast leapt forward and punched Gwen in the nose, causing a nosebleed. Her life points dropped to 2900. "And that will end my turn."

"Wow, that was awesome!" cried Donald.

"Looks like my baby is going to win by a shut out," grinned Jake. "She lost a few life points for those cards, but it was worth it to do all that damage!" He grinned. "You go, girl! Show them who's the babe!"

Norus got disgusted. What a loser, how could she fall for that?

"Well, that was...clever," said Lillith. "Don't you agree, Machus?"

Machus sighed and nodded. I didn't think that she could use such a strategy, even though it cost her. Of course, it will dearly cost her if she manages to defeat everyone else...

"Okay, so you took a lot out of me," said Gwen, wiping the blood from her nose. She looked at her hand and wasn't surprised to find that blood on it. This illusion is pretty realistic. Good thing it's not real at all. "But I can bounce back. First, I'll activate the trap card I set, Solemn Wishes!" The card flipped up. "This card allows me to gain 500 life points for each card I draw." She drew a card and her life meter rose to 3400. "Next, I'll play Pot of Greed to gain two new cards and another 500 life points." She did so and her life meter rose to 3900.

"She's cleaning up the mess that Beth's monsters made," said Shanna. "Good idea."

"And next, I'll play this magic card, Hyper Refresh!" said Gwen, sliding a card into the disk. It appeared, the image showing a fountain shooting sparkles of light from the water. "This card only works if I don't have any monsters on the field. It allows me to increase my life points by the current amount, effectively doubling them!" Her life meter rose up to 7800 and almost all the damage she suffered vanished. "Too bad, but your little strategy failed."

Bethany gasped. "Oh no..."

"And now I summon Horus the Black Flare Dragon L4 in attack mode!" The metallic dragon rose up with a roar. (1600/1000) "And I destroy your Gigobyte! Flames of Demise"! The dragon belched flames that immolated the screaming reptile.

Bethany's life points dropped to 4600. "Oh Beth..." moaned Jake.

"It's okay, she'll recover," said Donald. "As long as she doesn't drop below three thousand life points."

Diane was torn. I want to support Beth, but Gwen is also my friend. I don't know whether to cheer for them or stay silent. Maybe I'll just not cheer at all, but then it'll look like I'm a bad friend! OOOOH!

"And since my Black Flare Dragon destroyed one of your monsters, Bethany," said Gwen. "I get to sacrifice it to summon my L6 Black Flare Dragon!" The dragon evolved into its bigger, meaner form. (2300/2000) "I end my turn."

Bethany drew a card and lit up. This will work! "I set a card face-down." The card appeared before her. "I then shift both Mokey Mokey into defense mode," The fairies squatted. "And summon K-Kozaky in defense mode." The evil mad scientist appeared, crouching. (400/300) "And I end my turn."

"She's still a little nervous about that thing," said Diane.

"Why?" asked Jake. "Sure, it looks like some weird spectacled Dr. Hyde..."

"It looks more like Hotaru's father in his evil phase," mumbled Donald. The others looked at him. "I watch Sailor Moon."

Diane was a bit shocked, but smiled. Wow, we have something in common!

"You're really losing it, Beth," sighed Gwen, shaking her head. She drew a card and her life points rose to 8300. "I summon Silent Swordsman L3!" The fancy-coated blademaster appeared. (1000/1000) "And since he's a three-star, he can slip under your Gravity Bind! Silent Swordsman, use Silent Blade on that Kozaky!"

The warrior hefted his two-handed sword and shot forward, slicing the mad scientist to bits.

"And I end my turn," said Gwen. "In a matter of moments, my Swordsman will slice apart the rest of your team."

"Not if I keep setting monsters," said Bethany. "I play Petit Dragon in defense mode." The cute dragon appeared. (600/700)

Gwen drew. "This is ridiculous. Well, your loss. I play Mystic Swordsman L4 in defense mode." A beautiful robed swordsman appeared, crouching. (1500/1000)

"She actually summoned that monster without leveling it up?" asked Diane in shock.

"Yeah, I know what you are thinking," said Gwen. "Yes, I CAN summon the stronger versions of the monsters like normal monsters. However, if I summon Mystic Swordsman's stronger forms normally, I have to put them in defense mode. But since none of Beth's monsters can scratch him, I'm safe in doing so. Silent Swordsman, wipe out one of her Mokey Mokey!"

The two-handed sword master turned the fairy into tofu salad.

[Shuppet Master]

"Urgh," said Shanna. "It's a stalemate."

"I know these two," said Diane. "One of them will break the stalemate. Either Beth will wipe out all of Gwen's monsters, or Gwen will find a way to destroy Beth's Gravity Bind."

"Well, this is...interesting," said Lillith, yawning. "I hope this doesn't take us past supper. I have work to do."

Bethany drew a card. "I place a card face-down and set Queen's Double in defense mode." The beautiful maiden appeared, and she too was crouching. (300/350)

"This is BORING!" cried Norus. "BOOOOOOO! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

The others glared angrily at him, then turned away in disgust.

Gwen drew a card. Her life points went up to 8800 as he frowned at the card in her hand. Level Up! It's not going to help me here because leveling up my monsters won't help me. In fact, I'd better not use it on Silent Swordsman, or he'll be trapped by that Gravity Bind! "I set a monster in defense and destroy your Queen's Double! Silent Blade!" The swordsman slashed apart the maiden, destroying her. "I end my turn."

Bethany drew. "I play Pot of Greed to get two more cards." She drew two cards. She then grinned. "Gwen, remember the strategy I used on Magus in the Silvermont Mine?"

Gwen wracked her brain. "Uhm...what strategy?"

Diane gasped. She wouldn't!

"Let me show you again!" giggled Bethany. "I play the magic card Consfication! This costs me 1000 life points, but I get to discard one card from your hand of my choosing!" Bethany's life points dropped to 3600.

Gwen was speechless as she showed her hand.

"Uh oh, she's got a Dark Mimic L3," said Jake. "If she plays that, Beth will have a lot more to worry about!"

"I'll discard your Level Up card," said Bethany. Gwen shrugged and threw her card into the discard slot.

"And now I use the magic card, Copycat!" said Bethany, sliding the card into her disk. "This lets me copy a magic card from your graveyard, so I'll copy your Level Up!"

"Oh no!" said Gwen in horror.

"And I'll use it on your Silent Swordsman, making him Silent Swordsman L5!" said Bethany. The swordsman glowed and changed attire into a silvery regal outfit. (2300/1000) "Now he's a five-star monster and Gravity Bind will keep him in check!"

"Great," said Gwen in disgust.

"To end, I'll play Dancing Elf in defense mode." The beautiful toga-wearing elf appeared. (200/300) "And I end my turn."

"Yes, what a neat strategy!" said Donald. "Way to go!"

Gwen smirked. "I hate to break it to you, Beth, but I have one more L3 monster in my deck." She drew a card and her life points rose to 9300. "First, I'll flip my Dark Mimic L1 into attack mode to use its effect, drawing another card." The teal chest appeared. (100/1000) Gwen drew another card and her life points rose to 9800. "And then I'll level it up to Dark Mimic L3!" The teal chest disappeared and was replaced by the hope chest with tentacles in its "mouth." (1000/1000) "Now Dark Mimic, take out that Dancing Elf with Tentacles of Terror!" The chest shot its grey tentacles forward, wrapped them around the frightened elf, and squeezed. The elf exploded. "With that, I end my turn."

"Oh man," said Jake in disgust. "What now? Come on, Beth, don't let this Pokémon freak get the best of you!"

Bethany was besides herself. "Now what?" She drew a card, then looked at it. I forgot about this card. It will help me later. Right now, I have to keep up a defense. "One monster in defense and I end my turn." The card appeared.

"You want to spend all day dueling?" sighed Gwen as she drew another card, raising her life points to 10300. "Fine with me. I shift my Mystic Swordsman into attack mode." The swordsman stood up. "And I summon Lord of Dragons in attack mode!" The dragon-cowled sorcerer rose up. (1200/1000)

"What the...that's not a level monster!" said Diane.

"I use this guy to quickly summon my two dragons to the field," grinned Gwen. "And his special ability protects my dragons from being targeted by magic or traps! To end, I'll wipe out that face-down monster!" The Dark Mimic fired its tentacles which wrapped around a Magician of Faith and destroyed it. "Oops."

"Since you destroyed Magician of Faith, I get to reclaim a magic card," said Bethany, taking a card from her discard pile.

"Whatever," said Gwen. "I end my turn."

Bethany drew a card. "And I use the card I got back from my Magician of Faith, Pot of Greed!" She drew two more cards and smiled wickedly. "And now to get rid of all your monsters!" The crowd murmured.

"Huh? Is she cracked?" asked Shanna. "Gwen has four monsters on the field and Bethany only has one."

"I don't see how she could win, unless she had a way to put a whole bunch on monsters on the field at once," said Diane.

"Remember how I did a lot of damage to Jackie," said Bethany wickedly.

Gwen nodded. "You told me, but there's no way I'll let you fill your field to do that again! If you summon a monster, my Dark Mimic will destroy it. Not only that, but soon I'll find a way to destroy your Gravity Bind!"

"Not if I fill my field quickly," said Bethany.

"Nonsense, there is no way to do that," said Gwen, shaking her head.

"This magic card I have says otherwise!" said Bethany, sliding the card into her disk. "I activate the magic card, City of Souls!" A card showing a city under the cover of darkness, with the Castle of Dark Illusions hovering in the sky and ghosts flying down the streets, appeared.

"What the...?" said Gwen, shocked.

"This card can only be activated if I have a non-effect monster on the field and two or more non-effect monsters in my graveyard," said Bethany. "I must pay half of my life points." Her life points dropped to 1800. "But in exchange, I can bring back any number of the non-effect monsters I want!" Her Petit Dragon, two Mokey Mokeys, and Kozaky rose out of the ground like ghosts and took solid form.

"Oh my," said Shanna.

"Oh yeah..." said Jake, smirking wickedly.

"Not only that, but each monster summoned this way gains 500 attack points!" said Bethany. Kozaky rose to 900 attack, her other Mokey Mokey rose to 800 attack, and her Petit Dragon rose to 1100 attack. "Now I shift my final Mokey Mokey into attack mode." The fairy rose up to flank its brothers. "And I activate...LAW OF THE NORMAL!"

"NO!" cried Gwen in horror. "That'll destroy all my monsters!" She then realized something. "Wait, maybe not all of my monsters..." She watched Bethany play the card.

"Go my monsters, wipe out all her monsters!" ordered Bethany. The five monsters leapt into the air and formed a pentagram of light that fired a sweeping beam of energy. Horus the Black Flare Dragon, Dark Mimic, and Mystic Swordsman were blown to bits, but Silent Swordsman remained standing. Gwen's life points dropped to 9075. "What? Why didn't that Silent Swordsman get toasted too? I don't understand!"

"Silent Sworsdman L5's special ability protect him from all magic effects, including your Law of the Normal!" grinned Gwen.

"Rats," said Bethany. "Then I'll just have to use this Triangle Power card." The three Mokey Mokey glowed as they rose to 2800 and 2300 attack respectively.

"Oops, forgot about that card," mumbled Gwen.

"Mokey Mokey #1, infinite anger burst!" shouted Bethany. One of the 2800-attack Mokey Mokey fired its rainbow beam and shattered Silent Swordsman L5 and Gwen's life points dropped to 8575. "And now..." Sorry, Gwen... "Mokey Mokey #2 and #3, double infinite anger burst!"

The two beams converged and engulfed Gwen, who howled in pain. When the beams faded, she was a visible mess of burns. Her life points dropped to 3475. The Mokey Mokeys melted into light.

"Yes, Beth's gonna win!" cried Jake, hugging Diane. He then let go. "Oh...sorry." He blushed.

"That's okay," mumbled Diane. "I need a hug."

"Poor Diane, I understand how it feels to watch one of your friends lose," said Shanna. "When Norus..." A cackle made her turn her head and she scowled at Norus, who was laughing up a storm.

"YES! YES! BURN BURN BURN! HA HA HA HA HA!!!" laughed Norus.

Shanna stormed over and slapped him in the face. "Show some sensitivity, you monster!"

Norus growled. She's just earned my wrath.

Machus sweated bullets as Lillith grinned. "This is getting interesting. Most interesting."

"And to end, a card face-down and I end my turn." Bethany slid the card into her disk and it appeared.

Gwen drew a card and her life points rose to 3975. "I play the magic card Full House! This allows me to draw until I have six cards in my hand." She drew four cards. "And I'll use my Graceful Charity to discard two of the cards for three more." She drew and discarded, then grinned. "I'm sorry, Beth. It's been a real torment dueling you, but now I have to destroy you. I don't really want to do this, but I'm out of options."

"What do you mean?" gulped Bethany in fear.

"First, I play Monster Reborn to bring back my L4 Horus the Black Flare Dragon." The monster returned.

"Huh, why did she do that?" asked Jake.

"And now I play Scapegoat!" The four goat tokens appeared around Gwen's dragon, and I activate my trap card, DNA Surgery! This turns all our monsters into a type I call out, and I call out Dragon." The card flipped up and suddenly all the monsters which weren't Horus sprouted dragon wings.

"Uh oh," said Diane in horror, realizing what Gwen was up to."

"And now..." Gwen sighed. "I play Polymerization!"

Bethany paled. "No...oh god, no!"

Diane was pale too. Poor Bethany...

"I fuse all five of my dragons to summon...MYTHIC DRAGON!" Gwen pointed in the air as she slid the card onto her deck. The five monsters vanished into a black vortex and five colored lights shot from it and fused together. There was a flash of blinding light and a loud roar that shook the virtual city! When the light faded, there stood the five-headed behemoth, its heads snaking around the buildings next to it. (5000/5000)

"Holy..." said Machus in horror.

"Nothing holy about THAT!" said Lillith in tight-lipped terror.

"But...even that monster can't..." stammered Bethany.

"Break your Gravity Bind? Yeah, so I'm playing the magic card Heavy Storm!" Gwen watched as a violent rainstorm whipped up and winds battered the giant dragon. "This destroys all magic and trap cards on the field."

Solemn Wishes, DNA Surgery, and Bethany's Gravity Bind exploded.

"But, my Mythic Dragon is still a fusion monster, so I can't attack," said Gwen. "But next turn, you're toast."

"Dammit," said Jake, who was livid with rage. "Shift into defense mode, Beth!"

Diane wiped a tear from her eye. "It looks like...Gwen's going to the finals."

"Yeah, nothing can handle that monster, not even the legendary Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" gasped Donald.

Bethany collapsed to her knees. I'm done for. Nothing I have is strong enough to defeat this thing. I might as well just give up... She reached for her deck to signal surrender, then heard a voice.

"If you intend to surrender, throw away your deck right now and swear off of Duel Monsters."

Bethany looked up. She realized that Gwen had turned off her mike and was talking to her in her normal voice. "Gwen?"

"Listen to me, Beth. We're friends, right? Then listen to me. If you wimp out now, you've completely proven to everyone here that you ARE a wimp! Remember when you defeated Obelisk and stopped Sonja's Exodia? Remember when you kept calm under the heat wave created by Jake's fire monsters and took the brunt of John's XYZ Dragon Cannon?"

"But...I'm a wimp. I don't deserve to duel," said Beth softly.

"Don't ever say that. Critias would never have come to you if you were a coward." Gwen smiled. "Think of this as a test for the tougher ordeals to come. If that big chicken that appeared to us was any indication, things are going to get nasty soon and all cowards need not apply. Remember Koops!"

Bethany gasped. She's right! Koops was scared stiff of Hooktail, but after traveling with Mario, he became brave! Even when the Shadow Queen controlled Peach's body, Mario wasn't scared! I have to be brave as Koops wanted to be, no matter waht the danger. She slowly got up on her feet. "Thank you, Gwen. You're the best friend ever. I promise if I win, I will invite you to Duelatopia!" She wiped tears from her eyes.

"Great, now show this girl what you've got!" grinned Gwen as she turned on her mike. "Your move."

Diane looked at the two friends. I heard everything, and I couldn't agree more. You two are like sisters. I'm so glad I got to meet you two on the plane here, even if things got sour quickly.

"Whatever Gwen said," said Jake. "It sure made Beth confident. You go, Beth! Your beloved boyfriend is cheering for you!"
He let out a holler that startled the others and made Norus scowl even more deeply.

Bethany closed her eyes and pulled the top card from her deck. It's do or die time! This has to count, or else that dragon's gonna toast me! She looked at her card. "I play the magic card, Legacy of the Duelist!" She put down the card, which showed a duelist holding a hand of cards as a Magician of Faith and Trap Master looked over his shoulder.

"Huh?" asked Gwen.

"I have to pay half of my life points and discard my entire hand, but in exchange," said Bethany, sliding her cards into the discard slot as her life points dropped to 900. "I get to pick five cards from my deck and make a new hand!" She grinned as she took her deck and searched for five cards, shuffled, and put the deck back in her deck slot.

"She can choose five cards from her deck?" asked Jake in shock. "That means she might be able to win this by getting the cards she needs for her strategy! Clever!"

"Choose five cards, it doesn't matter," said Gwen. "Mythic Dragon can handle anything."

"Let's see it handle this!" said Bethany, checking her hand. This could win it for me, as long as that dragon has no special effects to stop it. "I play Monster Reborn on Mokey Mokey...in attack mode!"

The tofu fairy rose up from the ground with a flash of light.

"Are you nuts?" asked Gwen in shock. "Why didn't you just shift to defense mode?"

"She's gotta have a plan," said Donald. "Not even under Mokey Mokey Smackdown can that thing handle Mythic Dragon!"

"I don't intend to keep him," said Bethany with a sly grin. "I sacrifice him, Kozaky, and Petit Dragon!"

Gwen suddenly realized what was going on. Uh oh...

As the monsters vanished into balls of light, John gasped. "Darling, that's the same move she used to wipe me out!"

"I summon my strongest monster..." said Bethany. "GILFORD THE LIGHTNING!"

The golden-armored warrior appeared in a flash of lightning! (2800/2600)

"Oh no..." said Gwen in horror.

Diane realized what had happened and gaped. I can't believe it!

"And now, let's see Mythic Dragon handle Gilford special effect!" shouted Bethany. "Raigeki Strike!"

The warrior raised his sword and the storm clouds overhead grew violent. A bolt of lightning streaked down from the clouds and slammed into Mythic Dragon. The dragon roared as it exploded, dropping Gwen's life points to 2975.

"I guess it couldn't," smirked Bethany.

Gwen shivered. My Mythic Dragon...gone!

"And now, I hate to do this..." sobbed Bethany. Tears streamed from her eyes. "But...I play Premature Burial, giving up 800 life points to bring back Mokey Mokey once more!" The fairy rose up as Bethany's life points dropped to a measly 100. "Mokey Mokey, infinite anger burst!"

The beam streaked across the field and scorched Gwen's chest. Her life points dropped to 2675.

Bethany forced the words out of her mouth. "And now Gilford...finish this! RAIGEKI SLASH!"

Gwen screamed and covered her face as she was tackled by Gilford, who raised his sword...

"I can't watch!" said Diane, covering her eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" howled Gwen as the sword slammed into her heart, zapping her with electricity. Everyone was horrified as the lightning made her body spasm violently. Gwen's life meter dropped to zero.

Bethany screamed. "Oh my god! Are you okay?!" She unplugged her disk, making the monsters vanish, and ran over to her, cradling her in her arms. "I'm...I'm so sorry! I didn't think he would..."

"It's okay," croaked Gwen as she unplugged her duel disk. "I'll live." The wounds vanished.

Most amazing, thought Machus. That girl has dueling potential.

"Urrrr..." said Lillith, covering her mouth to avoid vomiting. She did a dry heave and then coughed. "I guess..." She shook her head. "Oh well, Bethany Glitris is the winner!"

Everyone cheered as the wirey demons leapt about and cackled, and the storm clouds flashed with lightning. Rain fell in vritual sheets. Bethany picked up her friend.

Kate held her head and shook it sadly. "I'm sorry Gwen lost, Kate," said Jeff sadly, holding her shoulder.

"Yay!" said Jake. "She won! My baby WON!"

"Is it over?" mumbled Diane, peeking.

"Yeah," said Donald.

"Thank GOD," sighed Diane heavily. I don't think I could have handled another minute of this!

"I'm sorry about Gwen," said Shanna sadly.

"It's...okay," Said Diane. "At least one of us will be able to invite her to Duelatopia." She smiled gently.

"That was the closest duel I have EVER seen," said Machus with a sigh of relief as the holo-imagers faded and the arena returned back to its normal form. "Did we get that recorded?"

Lillith nodded. "It's in the archives."

Norus made a disgusted face. That iittle WIMP actually won by sheer luck! He then got a wicked grin and laughed under her breath. On the other hand, if I'm lucky, she's gonna be in serious turmoil come the semi-finals! Either she has to duel her OTHER pal, me, or her boyfriend! If she duels Diane or Jake, I get to see them rip each other apart! If she duels ME however...I'll turn her little babies into chowder!

Gwen slowly got up as Bethany approached.

"Are...are you okay?" asked Bethany, worried.

"Y-Yeah," said Gwen softly as she stood and dusted herself off.

Machus cleared his throat. "Ahem, according to the rules, Gwendolyn must surrender one card of your choice."

"Uh..." said Bethany.

Suddenly, someone shouted "Take her dragon!"

"Yeah, take her Mythic Dragon!" cried another.

The crowd began to form a wave of agreement. Soon the entire stadium was screaming "Take her dragon!"

Gwen was wide-eyed in horror and turned to Beth in fear.

"She wouldn't...she couldn't!" gasped Diane in horror.

"That would be mean if she did," said Jake in horror. "If she does, I'll never forgive her!"

Bethany clutched her head and howled in rage. "NO! SHUT UP!!!" The crowd quieted as she stomped her foot, her face a mask of anger. "I don't have to take ANYTHING, you demanding monsters! Gwen's Mythic Dragon is her most valuable card, given to her by her grandmother! If I demanded it, it would be just plain EVIL!"

Norus scoffed. "Wimp!"

"She has a point," said Lillith to the crowd. "Bethany has the right to choose whatever she wants from Gwen's deck. She doesn't need to have people like you demand something! Let me make her own decisions."

The crowd murmured and quieted down as Bethany led Gwen away.

"Wow, that was great," said Gwen. "You...you really chewed them OUT!"

"I could never take your Mythic Dragon, Gwen, it was given to you by your grandmother as a token of love," said Bethany. "It would be dirty to demand it from you. I'd be no better than Norus."

Gwen recalled how Norus had snatched away Sonja's card and tore it in half. "I know. You're a great friend." She went over to her backpack. "But still, rules are rules."

"I don't want any card from you!" cried Bethany in shock.

"Not even one I never intend to use?" chuckled Gwen, removing a box and opening it. She handed her a card. "This may not be a level monster, but it is strong enough to protect your monsters, even though it is a four-star monster and would be affected by your Gravity Bind."

Bethany took the card and grinned. "Okay, if you insist. I'll take good care of it." She slid it into her deck.

After the crowd had been calmed down by the counselors, Lillith coughed. "Well, that's a wrap! The quarter-finals are officially over! Tomorrow at nine-thirty, the semi-finals will begin! The match-ups for the semi-finals will be decide tonight and announced tomorrow morning at breakfast. We hope you're there!"

She snapped her fingers. "And now, to close out the day, I give you another guest from Japan, and another singer for a popular video game series, Utada Hikaru!"

The lights converged on the stage where a singer stood, dressed as the Magician of Faith. Three backup musicians were dressed as Sonic Maid, Musician King, and Burglar at the piano. The music began to play:

You're giving me too many things
Lately you're all I need
You smiled at me and said

Don't get me wrong I love you
But does that mean I have to meet your father
When we are older you'll understand
What I meant when I said "No,
I don't think life is quite that simple"

When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go

The daily things that keep us all busy
Are confusing me
That's when you came to me and said,

Wish I could prove I love you
But does that mean I have to walk on water
When we are older you'll understand
It's enough when I say so
And maybe some things are that simple

Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings that future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before

As the last stanza played, holographic shooting stars streaked across the ceiling and left shimmering stardust.

~~+~~

Late that night, Diane crawled into bed with a sigh. Her mind was full of tension about what was about to happen. She closed her eyes and recalled the song that had played.

When we are older you'll understand
What I meant when I said "No,
I don't think life is quite that simple"

She sat up.

"Hmmm," she mumbled. "Interesting that that song was played. I never thought about the meaning of the lyrics until now."

She thought about the lyrics. It was a love song, clearly, but something in the lyrics pointed to the singer's wanting things to be simple and easy to comprehend, and Diane knew that life was not always that way...sometimes, what seemed harmless could become VERY dangerous. And what seemed to be a deadly threat turned out to be a boon.

Diane had similar worries. She had three opponents waiting for her in the semi-finals. There was Bethany, of course, and if she faced her, it would be just like the last duel between Gwen and Bethany, only more poigant. But she knew that this was to be expected - when D.G.B. promised to enter the finals, they knew that they would have to fight each other then.

Then there was Jake. He was a nice guy, but his fire monsters were nasty. She was sure Bethany would be nastier if Diane beat him. But then she knew the feeling about being madly in love with a boy. If Donald had won that first duel and Bethany defeated him in the semi-finals, Diane would also be reasonably upset.

And then there was Norus. Of course, Diane couldn't WAIT to kick his butt again. She recalled their last duel, a month ago when the Duel Disks arrived. It was hardly even a contest. Norus was all hot air and his monsters, while they were very formidable, lacked order or strategy. Diane had no illusions about defeating her rival - she knew that Norus would no doubt have pumped up his deck with some stronger cards to counter Diane's Guardians, but she smirked as she thought about the brutal defeat she was planning on handing him, should they face each other in the semi-finals.

She then sensed something and turned to the desk. The drawer was glowing purple. She got out of bed, went over, and opened the drawer to see the pendant Twilight had given her for the dance last night. Her eyes glazed over as she absently slipped it over her head. "I might as well wear this to bed," she mumbled.

Then she walked over to her bed and collapsed onto it. The pendant transformed into a familiar necklace.

And Diane's dreams became weird.

To be continued...

NEW CARDS

Mandate of Heaven
Type: Normal Magic
Image: Shows an Archlord angel greeting several Mokey Mokey as they fly up to Heaven.
Effect: If you have a Normal monster in your hand, you may pay 300 life points per level of that monster to bring all copies of that monster into your hand from your deck or graveyard.

City of Souls
Type: Normal Magic
Image: Shows ghosts flying through the streets of a city. The Castle of Dark Illusions is hovering in the sky.
Effect: Activate this card if you have one Normal monster on the field and two or more Normal Monsters in your graveyard. Pay half of your life points to special summon up to four Normal Monsters from the graveyard.

Legacy of the Duelist
Type: Normal Magic
Image; Shows a duelist holding a hand of cards, while Magician of Faith and Trap Master look over his shoulder.
Effect: Discard your entire hand and pay half of your life points. You may choose up to five cards from your deck to form a new hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards.

Full House
Type: Normal Magic
Image: A hand of cards which glows with green light.
Effect: Draw cards until you have six cards in your hand.
Note: This card is the property of Brian "Venusaur" Corvello.
Note 2: This card is like Card of Sanctity, but without the drawback of helping your opponent fill up his hand.

NEXT CHAPTER: The quarter-finals are over, but Diane is having creepy dreams! And what the heck is Norus up to? Villians also do some planning as the night goes on. Check out the action in...Dreamsprite!

[starjake]

wow...beth's wimpy weaklings beat Gwen's strong monsters...NEVER underestimate the power of weaker monsters

Well, I couldn't find any ruling problems here...and, though I'm no English teacher, I couldn't see any grammar problems...great job on a very well-written chapter!

[Dark Sage]

*Sob*

I'm glad it's over... that pretty much broke my heart...

But seriously...

Very good. I like the cards that were named after my fanfics, as well as the juxtaposition to the duel between Mary and Jade.

But a few errors...

You had Beth attack with Mokey Mokey King on the round she summoned it. (Sigh...)

Mokey Mokey Smackdown is a Magic Card, not a Trap (Beth should have had it face-up before using it.

Lord of Dragons can't summon two Dragons on his own, as Gwen implied. He needs the Flute of Dragon Summoning card. (Since she didn't use the effect, it makes little difference).

But anyway, good work, and I anticipate the next chapter...

- Venusaur

[opaltiger]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't have Gwen got 1000LP when she used Pot of Greed with Solemn Wishes?

[starjake]

Opaltiger: Nope. Here's the card info for Solemn Wishes.

Solemn Wishes
DB1 - EN174: Common
PSV - 055: Common
Continuous Trap
You gain 500 Life Points when you draw a card (or cards).

As the text says, you gain 500 LP whenever you draw cards, not 500 LP for every card you draw.

[Shuppet Master]

Yeah,I sort of assumed what opaltiger did,before I played the GBA Yu-Gi-Oh games like "Stairway to the Destined Duel." It opened my eyes to certain cards like Solemn Wishes and other stuff.

[mr_pikachu]

Interesting duel between Diane and Shanna. The latter duelist had a lot of rare monsters, but Diane’s Guardians just pulled her through. I noticed some calculation errors, though, and I thought that you could have done more with description, too. The setting was done well initially, but I thought it might have been better had you continued to mention it throughout the duel. Good characterization, though, and nice tactics. The plot is moving right along, as well. Pretty good.

And Norus trounced Sonja. I’m also surprised he didn’t take an Exodia piece instead. It seems like he went to great lengths just to anger Twilight. Odd. Good duel overall, even though it was clear that Norus prepared his deck specifically to counter Sonja’s. Vile, huh? Again, I thought that a more continuous use of the setting would have helped; the only time it came into play was with the martini bit and one of Norus’ monsters kicking up sand. (At the time, I didn’t even think of the second one having to do with the setting, since it was so understated.) The characters, on the other hand, were done pretty well, and you did a nice job of moving the plot and adding a bit of mystery with Twilight’s Millennium Necklace. Exactly what did she do with that, anyway? Hmm…

!!! So that’s what happened to the Necklace! Very nice, and highly unexpected. I commend you on connecting the pieces of the fic together in that manner. That took some careful pre-planning, but you executed it well. Nice. Great duel in this chapter, too; it was good to see the friends in conflict against each other. However, it appears my prediction will not come true; I was thinking it would be very interesting if Gwen swept the finals. Good work in surprising me, there. And you used cards that were all names of Venusaur’s fics! As long as he doesn’t mind, that’s an interesting use of the titles. I never would have expected that. (You should’ve seen my face when I saw the card “Mandate of Heaven” being used! Do those cards actually have some connection to the events in Venusaur’s fics? After all, Seigfried could probably get cards like those created if he exerted his full influence into doing so…) All in all, a very interesting chapter.

I liked the job you did on these last three chapters. You may want to use the settings more, but otherwise, you seem to be doing alright. I like the direction this fic is taking, and I look forward to seeing more of it in the future. Well, I’ll see you next chapter!


NOTE: Each of the first three paragraphs corresponds to my immediate responses to the last three chapters. Sorry if there was any confusion in reading those.

[Dark Sage]

Mr. Pikachu -

.hack did ask permission to create cards named after my fanfics, and I gave him such, but I didn't know at the time what the cards actually did. We tell each other a lot, but not everything...

As for the Necklace - I'm sworn to secrecy, but the next chapter is going to be a dozy...

- Venusaur

[opaltiger]

Wierd, I could've sworn I got 1000 with a Pot of Greed in one of teh GBA games... Ah well.

[Shuppet Master]

I happened to own the GBA games,and I never got more than 500 each time I drew cards with Solemn Wishes. Maybe you were playing something like "The Sacred Cards", which really mucks up the card game rules. Bleh.

And I apologize for not using the setting more. I really stink at description of settings. When I revise them I will work harder to add in a bit more detail - I loved how,in "Legacy",Anastasia had made the finals of her tournament spectacular by having the duels take place in a virtual setting(like the trees bursting into flame when Mary's dragon attacked,or aging and crumbling when she used Time Wizard's effect).

The idea for the title cards came to me from wanting to find a way for Bethany to summon her Mokey Mokey King in the first round,since all three Mokey Mokey would be buried in her deck. I remembered the duel between Yugi and Kaiba in the movie,where Kaiba plays a card that forced Yugi to summon all the God Cards to the field,and came up with the card. I then was inspired to name it "Mandate of Heaven" because it sounded like a good card name - in truth,I thought the idea of the three title cards earlier as a tribute to Venusaur's fanfic series. I had different effects for the cards at first,but then as the duel progress,the new effects came clear to me.

Oh,and no,Siegfried has no control over making new cards. His company deals with virtual technology - Industrial Illusions is the bigwig who designs new Duel Monsters cards,because the game is THEIR property.