Yu-Gi-Oh: Sister of Anansi

**mr_pikachu** · 30th January 2005, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by .hack//BELLOSSOM

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).

I just want to make sure you don't misinterpret what I said about the settings; your initial descriptions were fine, frankly. The thing that got to me was that it felt like you described them and then just forgot about them afterward. The descriptions themselves were good, but they're pointless if you don't continue to use them throughout the course of the duel. That's all I meant. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough.

**Shuppet Master** · 31st January 2005, 09:58 AM

It's okay, I'll try.

BTW, next chapter is up. It's sort of a filler. Enjoy(I had to put this up fast as I have class soon).

**opaltiger** · 31st January 2005, 11:03 AM

Visions of the Future. =D I likes. Athena is my favorite Greek goddess. XD You call that a filler? Nope, that was some very nice plot you have there.

**starjake** · 31st January 2005, 12:27 PM

Gee...I wonder who the next duel is with...

And I agree with opaltiger: that was certainly no filler. You managed to force some questions into our heads as well as further the plot a bit (wonder what Lina's gonna say when Norus uses those Archfiends?)

Anyways, can't wait for the next duel! I'll be sure to put on summer clothes; it's bound to be a hot one!

**Dark Sage** · 31st January 2005, 02:02 PM

Well, where to begin?

Norus has added stealing to his list of misdeeds... I wouldn't be surprised if his next duel is his last. I don't think he can get away with it this time.

Diane certainly has an interesting future. She seems destined to follow in her sister's footsteps, and her Eliminator guise is truly unique. The fact that Ares is working for her in the future hints that he might not be such a bad guy after all, and he might turn against the villians soon.

But one thing - if it's fifteen years in the future (Shelob and Echidna vanished ten years ago after five tournaments), how could Norus have a fifteen-year-old son?

Otherwise, this was certainly an interesting chapter, I await the next one.

- Venusaur

**Shuppet Master** · 31st January 2005, 04:06 PM

I apologize, I guess it would have been a bit longer. I can always fix that part. Make it twenty years or something.

Thanks for the comments,all of you. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak.

**Perfect Chaos** · 31st January 2005, 05:22 PM

This certainly was a very interesting chapter to say the least.

Norus is upto his normal devious ways as always, huh? Such a shame, and he uses Fiends too...

BTW .hack, I think Guardian Aitos's name is spelled EATOS not AITOS. Just a minor error, I think everything else looked fine.

-$∑@π

**Shuppet Master** · 31st January 2005, 07:03 PM

I know how its spelled,but I prefer to spell it Aitos,because Eatos sounds like some diner name.

**mr_pikachu** · 1st February 2005, 01:04 AM

Well, those were some interesting dreams/visions. Ares is indeed still trusted by Diane to some extent in the future. Will he turn against the evil, or will his role in their plans simply not be discovered? Diane's an Eliminator, Norus has two sons (only one of whom shares his father's nastiness... are you hinting that they're stepsons?), and in the present, Norus is up to his old tricks. I expect Lina to blow her top when she finds out what Norus has done. And I'm pretty sure we all know who will be in the next duel. This should be interesting; it's the battle of the boyfriends, only worse!

I liked your descriptions of the shrine; pretty good. I was able to visualize most of it fairly well. (Although I initially believed Diane to be back with the crystallized dragons when she instead was inside her lair... you know, the whole "crystal pillars" thing and all.) The duel was nice as well. She's ruthless in the future, huh? Intriguing.

There were some things, though, that I think could have been improved. For one thing, you got Norus into his... erm... "fantasies" again. I thought you said you'd be editing that out? It still seems odd for a boy his age. And the bit with the video game was very confusing as well. Perhaps you meant for the readers to not fully understand, but it ended up sounding somewhat jumbled. In addition, some of the dialogue felt a little out of place, too. Beth's loud laughter, for one thing, seemed very odd. Watch for that kind of thing.

All in all, though, you did a great job with this "filler". (This actually doesn't seem like a filler to me, despite the fact that the tournament did not continue. A lot happened to change things, so that has to be taken into consideration as to whether or not this is a filler.) The settings were done well, a lot of information was given, and Norus stacked his deck again. *sighs* What a foolish boy. Anyway, I'll see you next chapter!

**Shuppet Master** · 1st February 2005, 09:34 AM

I will fix those things in the future,I promise. However,I am guessing that Norus is 13,and entering puberty,and boys who enter puberty...well,I would get banned if I said any more.

If boys have have romantic relationships with girls,then surely they might get something else out of it.

Whatever. Anyways,I've already completed Chapter 30,the first semi-final duel. Surprised I did it so quickly? I plan out each duel on paper and then type it up. Enjoy!

**Shuppet Master** · 1st February 2005, 09:37 AM

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

Chapter 30: Molten Destruction

MANTRA: “Metal, Fire, Wind, Water, Earth,
Spawn my beasts and give them birth!
Use them as my means to rule,
Set the field, its time to duel!!”

* City of Souls, "Approaching Storm" *

Morning came on the next day, and Diane woke up early, the thoughts of the dream still in her head. What does it all mean? Why did I get that dream of the future? Is that a real future, or one I envision? And why did I feel funny? And what were those cards in that museum case?

She turned on her computer. "Maybe some e-mail will make me feel better." She checked her in-box and found two more messages. "Awesome, two more Eliminators e-mailed me! Maybe I should talk with them later. If that dream told me I'm going to be an Eliminator, I need to learn the trade." She read the first e-mail, from the address of "gorgonx@duelisle.org."

To my best friend's sister,

I am pleased to hear that you made it to the finals of your camp tournament! I see much potential in you, girl. My name is Merisa, but in Duelatopia, I am the hideous Medusa-like Gorgon known as Echidna. My deck is very interesting - many people make the mistake of assuming that my deck is composed of snake monsters. There are few snakes in Duel Monsters, save for the legendary Giant Spitting Cobra, Anaconda Crusher, and of course, Sinister Serpent.

My deck, though, is quite interesting. In fact, Yugi Mouto Jr. complimented me on it - because it focuses on his favorite monsters, the Dark Magician family! I heard rumors that you own a Dark Magician Girl, and that your friend, Gwendolyn, has another of my cards, the Sorceress of Conflict. If you duel her in the finals, I wish you luck - Sorceress of Conflict is not a spellcaster to take lightly!

Fat chance of that ever happening, thought Diane as she recalled Gwen's defeat. She continued reading.

Well, whatever happens in the finals, I wish you the best of luck. I wanted so dearly to duel Yugi Jr., but he got to your sister first. Yugi is quite a skilled duelist, and so is his friend Peter Ramset. His Archfiends are mighty indeed, and his tricky use of my Dark Magician Girl gave him a victory. I certainly hope he uses those cards I gave him well. And I hope the cards you gain in the future will make you stronger. If you ever wish to e-mail me, feel free. I love talking to a duelist who utilizes the Dark Magician Girl in her deck! Ta-ta!

Signed, Merisa Garaya, aka "Echidna"

"Well, that's interesting," said Diane, scribbling down the e-mail address and deleting the message, then checking the next message. It was from the address of "dracmaster@duelisle.org."

Hello Diane!

Dracula has nothing on me! I am Sir Vlad, the zombie master of Duelatopia, and my zombie deck is a frightening sight to behold! Anyone who duels me is in for the terror of their lives! And anyone who loses against me becomes fresh meat for me and my vampire slaves! Bwa ha ha!

Of course, I cannot fool you. Your sister is one of us, and thus we expect you not to believe in our lies. In truth, I used to be a simple paranormalist, who enjoyed scouring the plains of Romania and the mires of Ireland to ferret out ghosts and goblins. I started dueling as a hobby when I learned about the legendary Shadow Games, and I wanted to see if there was any paranormal connection to the cards. Legend states that gypsies used cards to predict the future.

Sieg found me out - I was the greatest Zombie duelist in Europe and gained infamy as the champion of the Netherlands - and offered me a job as one of his lackies. At first I thought of refusing, but he offered me a chance to study the history of the island and its environs, which are rich were supernatural energy. I couldn't say no.

I doubt you'll follow in your sister's footsteps as one of us, Diane, but if you do, a word of warning. Some duelists have wills of iron. Instead of trying to break those spirits, instead focus on their strategies and take them down. Many fools who think they could defeat my deck because of the notoriety of the Zombies fall quickly to my monsters, especially my two favorite monsters - Vampire Lord and Vampire Lady! I advise you not to focus on single monsters, make your whole deck work together. In the end, you will be victorious if you have faith in your deck. Farewell!

Signed, Harold Dockmeir, aka "Sir Vlad"

Diane sighed and smiled, deleting the message. "And to think...I might become one of these people someday. Or was that all a dream. It seemed too real to be a dream, though...more like..."

Lina poked her head inside. "Hey, Diane, are you getting ready for breakfast?"

"Oh yeah, sure!" said Diane, getting up and turning off her computer. "I'll be right there!"

~~+~~

"You sure seem to be bothered," said Gwen as Diane was eating her toast gingerly, her mind in deep thought.

"Uh, yeah," said Diane, looking up from her oatmeal. "I'm sorry. It's just...I had a hard time sleeping last night."

"I understand," said Gwen, grinning. "This is the semi-finals, and you've got two more duels to deal with before you get a chance to win the tournament! Not to mention that you have three tough opponents to deal with!"

Bethany slowly approached. "Hmmm..." She sat down and yawned, then took the orange juice from her tray and drunk it slowly.

"You okay, Beth?" asked Diane.

"Not really," mumbled Bethany with a sigh. "I...I had a bad dream last night. I dreamt I was trapped in Lava Golem's cage, and Guardian Elma and Coach Goblin were dancing around me and laughing. It was horrible!"

Gwen nodded. "I have an idea what that dream meant. You're scared of what's about to happen."

Bethany looked up.

"Those monsters relate to your fears," explained Gwen. "You're going to have to duel either your beau, Diane, or Norus. And all three are hard to deal with in a duel." She turned to Diane. "I saw how hard it was to duel Jake last time, if you have to duel him again, it'll be harder. And I know how hard it'll be to duel our friend."

Diane frowned. "It's okay. No matter what happens, we're friends forever."

Bethany nodded softly. "But what if I have to duel..." A loud chuckle drew her head to Norus, who was shuffling his deck.

"Hey, Gwen!" shouted Norus. "You're lucky you don't have to duel me, I've pumped up my deck to crush your Pokémon rejects!"

Gwen's ears burst with steam as her face turned bright red in rage. "Beth, crush him."

"But...what if I lose?" whispered Bethany in fear.

"It's okay, you did your best," said Diane.

"It is NOT okay," growled Gwen. "Who knows what he'll take...or what he'll do to that card!"

"I know that what he did to Sonja was uncalled for," said Diane softly. "But it was his right, he won the card fair and square, and was able to counter Sonja's deck. Stop this grudge, it won't help now."

"Still, I hate the jerk-off," hissed Gwen.

Jake, who was sitting at the table across from Norus, sighed. "Don't get too confident, Norus. You have NO idea who you are dueling, so just shut it and let us eat in peace."

"Hmph," said Norus. I can't wait to spring my new deck on Jake, or Diane, or the crybaby! No matter who I duel, that kid is toast! He put his deck away and started eating in his pig-like way, disgusting everyone around him.

"No matter who you duel, Beth, you'll do fine if you remember that we're here to support you," said Diane.

"And what if YOU are my opponent?" gulped Bethany.

"Then we'll conduct the duel with honor, like true duelists," said Diane with a smile. "And I promise that I'll never take a card from your deck if I win."

Bethany then lit up. "Well, actually...you can go ahead and take a card. In fact, I know what card you should take!"

"What?" asked Diane. "But..."

"I insist...but, if you lose, you have to give up your Celtic Swordgirl!" Bethany giggled.

"Huh?" asked Diane. "Uh...okay, but why? Other than the fact that it's a three-star monster?"

"You'll see, if we face each other in the dueling arena," grinned Bethany wickedly as she removed a card from her side deck and looked at it. I never really used this card before, because it's a four-star monster and would be affected by my lock cards, but maybe...maybe this time I should put it in, just to give myself an edge. I can't wait to surprise everyone with it! I couldn't even believe I found this in a booster pack! She slid it into her deck and shuffled it in good.

Norus had been busy making a mess of himself to even notice Bethany's action. Luckily, his gross display of pigging out ended as Lilith came up to the podium. "I hope you kids have enjoyed your morning meal!"

"Yes, miss Lilith," said the campers.

"Good, because we have the match-ups for the semi-finals," said the woman, removing a note and opening it. She cleared her throat. "At nine-thirty, Diane Arachne will face off against Jacob Forestor!"

Jake was stunned as Bethany gasped. "Oh no...poor Diane!" she whispered. Dueling Jake with the modded Battle City disks was hard enough! But now that the disks show actual damage on you if you suffer a direct attack...

"And then Norus Calnor will face off against Bethany Glitris at two-thirty," said Lilith.

Norus took notice. Sweet! I get the crybaby! Once I kick her crying butt all over the place, I'll take her Mokey Mokey and force her to do all sorts of unpleasant things to get it back! "Mwa ha ha ha ha!!!"

"Don't worry, you'll kick his butt," said Gwen with a sly smile.

"I hope so," said Bethany with a deep sigh.

"Well, Diane and Jake, I hope you two get prepared before nine, because this will be a duel like no other!" said Lilith, bowing. "I wish you both the best of luck, and I wish..." Lilith turned to Norus and grimaced, then turned to Bethany. "I wish you two luck as well, Bethany."

Norus snorted. "I don't need luck. Bring it on!"

"He's becoming more and more unpleasant every minute," growled Gwen.

~~+~~

Sonja was watching TV. It was showing a news report on Duelatopia. "As you know, this is Day Seven of Duelatopia's big grand opening tournament. However, recent reports have come in that Yugi Mouto Jr. and his friend had been attacked again last night by the same figure who attacked them two nights ago. Rumors are that the figure forced Yugi Jr. to duel someone who looked remarkably like the respectable Miss Rebecca Hawkins, who is now in South Ireland doing research on the ruins there. The Master of Games was called for a report, but he was unavailable for comment at the time. Recent theories are that the strange figure was responsible for causing the dome of shadow to appear over New York ten months ago...

Sonja turned the TV off and sighed heavily, a tear trickling down her cheek. "Hey," said a voice. She looked up to see Ares standing there. "I came to comfort you. I saw what happened in your duel with Norus." He pulled up a chair and sat by her bed. "It's okay, you can cry in my shoulder."

"I'm through crying, I cried myself dry all night after I woke up from that shock," mumbled Sonja sadly, wiping the tear from her cheek. "I lost a valuable card thanks to that...that...that fu--"

Ares put a finger on her lips. "I know how it is, suffering so badly," he said. "When I was younger, my parents abandoned me without a care. They didn't care about me, and I was left to die in the cold, cruel world. I still hate them and wish they would pay for what they did."

Sonja looked at his face. "Oh? I'm...so sorry."

"Heh, I've gotten over it now," said Ares with a grin. He held out his hand. "My name is Ares, you must be Sonja."

Sonja took the hand and shook it, but then found herself in a warm embrace. "Whoa..."

"Cry in my shoulder, Sonja, I'm here for you," Ares whispered in her ear. He grinned slyly as Sonja began to sob in his shoulder, her arms around his back. Hopecake...

~~+~~

As the clock struck nine, campers began to file in. Lina noticed Twilight barely standing.

"You okay, Twi?" asked Lina, cocking a brow. "You don't look so hot."

"I did not sleep well," mumbled Twilight, rubbing the back of her neck. "I had a most disturbing dream last night."

"You two? Beth had a nightmare herself," grinned Lina. "I guess it was because of the duels coming up. Poor thing, going up against that freak...I wouldn't wish that fate on even my worst enemy."

"She will do fine," mumbled Twilight, who covered her mouth as she yawned.

"Look, if it's a dream that's bugging you, go talk to your big bird friend," said Lina under her breath. "Isn't he pretty good at these dream things?"

Twilight nodded. I don't want to talk to Sibylla...but somehow, I know I must bare my soul to him soon. What I did with the Millennium Necklace was a foolish act, and I should never have done it, but my own weaknesses took me over. Maybe he can help me rid me of the punishing nightmares.

Lina looked at her watch. "Welp, it's almost time...let's wish Diane and Jake the best, no matter who wins."

"Yes, let us," sighed Twilight, stifling another yawn.

Music began to play, and the images being shown on the stage - that of an Outstanding Dog Marron chasing a Cat's Ear Tribe about - vanished as the two hosts entered their boxes. Cheers and applause erupted.

"That's our cue," said Jake, patting Diane's shoulder. "Good luck out there, Diane."

"You too, but don't expect any mercy from me," said Diane.

"My fire warriors are going to burn you up," laughed Jake. "Just you watch."

The two exited the VIP booth as Lilith cleared her throat. "Good morning, campers and staff! As you know, our new duel disks make the duelists actually FEEL and SEE the pain inflicted by the monsters. I know a few of you have pretty sensitive stomachs and we had to clean up a few...bio-spills." Laughter filled the stadium. "So, if any of you are squeamish, I strongly suggest you leave right now. The faint of heart need not apply, because soon you'll be subjected to some of the most violent and frightening duels yet to come!"

Machus nodded. She's got THAT right. He pulled a card from his pocket and sighed deeply before replacing it.

"And now, Machus will give the details for the semi-finals," said Lilith, nodding to her fellow host.

Machus coughed. "If you weren't here yesterday, then that is your own fault. You missed four of the most exciting duels ever played in this campsite! As you know by now, half of the eight finalists were eliminated, and soon half of the remaining finalists will be defeated and removed from the tournament, leaving only two duelists left to decide who will be the Duelist Camp Champion!" Cheers and applause filled the air again. "Now, let us meet our first two semi-finalists!"

Lilith smiled as Machus waved to her. "Thanks, Machus. As you no doubt know, many duelists tend to specialize in sub-types for their deck themes. There are fifteen various sub-types, and some of them are very popular amongst duelists." She flashed a smile. "But there are also six elemental attributes - Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark. It's a lot less common to build a deck around a certain attribute. But our first semi-finalist has done just that!" He waved as the doors opened and Jake came out and walked up to the stage, amongst a ton of screaming campers.

"Go Jake!" cried Bethany.

"What about Diane?" asked Gwen, curious.

"I like them both, but Jake's much more likely to win," said Bethany. "His fire monsters are tough!"

"And it's even harder to build a deck around a certain SET of monsters," said Lilith. "But Yugi Jr. has two friends who have done so very well, as has our second semi-finalist!" Diane entered and took to the stage, smiling. "As you know, Diane's deck is called 'Divine Protection', and Jake's is called 'Vesuvian Dreams.' We will see which one goes on to the final match." She nodded as the two approached for the card toss.

"This is tense," said Shanna. "I hope that whoever wins won't gloat over the loser, like Norus did to my friend."

"Don't worry, they are both honorable," said Gwen with a smile.

Diane won the card toss and took priority of going first. The two shuffled and cut each other's decks.

"Okay, you two, let's have a nice clean duel," said Lilith. She went to the roulette as the two plugged in their duel disks. "And let's see where we're dueling THIS time!" She spun the wheel.

"Cross your fingers," said Gwen.

"I've got them crossed," said Shanna.

"Cross your toes as well," said Gwen.

"Crossing," said Bethany, closing her eyes.

The wheel stopped on e blue slot. "Excellent! Seems this match-up will take place in the...JUNGLE OF JADE!" She slapped the button and the arena transformed into a beautiful rain forest. Mist filled the ground and loud cries of monkeys, birds, and even bugs were heard as snakes slithered up the trees. The thrones turned into bamboo thrones again, but this time they were greener in color than the first duel between Jake and Donald.

"And now, draw your hands," said Lilith.

Diane and Jake did so, and Diane was disgusted. Oh great, three Guardians and no weapons to summon any of them! Worse, I only have ONE non-Guardian monster! Talk about a cruddy hand!

"And now...ALLEZ JUENE!" cried Lilith, flinging her flags down.

"Good luck, Diane," whispered Donald, clasping his hands in prayer.

"Okay, let's get this party started!" shouted Diane, drawing a card. She sighed. Another worthless card! Oh well, better do what I can with it. "I summon Celtic Swordgirl to the field!" The card appeared and shattered, disgorging the cute elfling girl. (1000/800) "And I equip her with a nice jungle-chopping tool...GRAVITY AXE!"

The axe appeared and Celtic Swordgirl looked longingly on her duelist, then sighed and hefted up the giant hatchet as Diane discarded Guardian Baou to the graveyard. (1500/800)

"I set one card face-down and end my turn," said Diane, placing a card. The card appeared before her.

"Well, you're off to a shaky start," said Jake with a snide smile as he drew a card. "Hmmm...well then, here's my move!" He slapped down a card. "I play Fireyarou in attack mode!" The flaming elf emerged on his side of the field. The flames withered the nearby vegetation, turning it brown. (1300/1000)

"I'm sorry, but that monster is far weaker than my Celtic Swordgirl at this time," said Diane.

"Well then, let me strengthen him..." Jake played a card. "By equipping him with this weapon! Burning Spear!" The card appeared. "This increase the power of all fire monsters equipped with it by 400 at the cost of 200 in defense!" The spear appeared in the elf's hand. (1700/800)

"Oh my gosh," said Bethany in horror. "Now he's stronger than Celtic Swordgirl!"

"Fireyarou, impale that little girl with your flaming spear!" ordered Jake. THe elf laughed wickedly and hurled the spear into Celtic Swordgirl's heart! She screamed as she exploded, dropping Diane's life points to 7800.

"And it seems Jake's off to a great start," said Lilith. "Interesting."

The spear returned to Fireyarou's hand. "I hope you understand that I didn't mean for her to suffer that badly," said Jake. "But that's what you get for challenging a wildfire!" He chuckled. "I end by setting two cards face down." The cards appeared. [I]If she manages to destroy Fireyarou, she'll trigger my Backfire trap and suffer damage herself!"

Diane sighed and drew another card. Shoot, still no good! Oh well, at least this will protect my life points. "I set Mystical Elf in defense mode." The beautiful elf rose up with a glowing aura. (800/2000) "And I end my turn."

Jake smirked. "If you really think that that elf will protect your life points, you're sadly mistaken." He drew a card and then showed it. "I play Graceful Charity, which..."

"I'm not stupid, I KNOW what that card does!" snapped Diane. "Just do your draws and get it over with."

Jake shrugged and drew three cards, then discarded a Charcoal Inpachi and his Flame Dancer. "And now I'll send my Flame Dancer out of play..." He removed the card that popped out and slid it into the removal slot. "To summon Inferno!"

A blast of fire incinerated the nearby vegetation, setting the forest on fire! Luckily, a rainstorm began and a downpour drenched the area with rain, dousing the flames. But the firey monster that emerged from the blaze wasn't quenched at all. It looked humanoid,but its mouth was filled with dead men's skulls and its eyes glowed blue. (1000/1900)

"Yikes, that thing looks like a demon from Hell!" said Shanna.

"And now I'll equip my Fireyarou with Salamandra, increasing his power further!" Jake slid a card into the magic zone and Fireyarou grabbed a flaming blade. (2400/800)

"Oh my!" said Gwen. "Now he's even stronger!"

"Fireyarou, take down that elf!" ordered Jake. The fire elf crossed his weapons and flames erupted, forming a flaming serpent that wrapped around Mystical Elf and turned her into ashes. "And now Inferno, do a direct attack!"

"AAAAAAAAAH!!!" cried most of the campers as the fire demon grabbed Diane by the waist and immolated her.

"EYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" shrieked Diane as she felt the burns plaster her skin. She collapsed as the demon released her and leapt back to Jake's field. Her life points dropped to 6800.

"This is just horrible," moaned Donald. "Poor Diane!"

Jake got a concerned look. "You okay? I hope I didn't hurt you TOO much."

Diane slowly got up, covered with burns. "I'm just peachy," she hissed sarcastically. "It's you I'm worried about! Once I take you down, you'll be hurting a LOT worse!"

"You're pretty spunky for a girl," said Jake. He signaled his end of turn.

"Chauvinist," said Diane, whipping out a card from her deck. She saw it and grinned. "Great! I play Card of Sanctity!" She slapped the card down and a golden shower of light filled the arena, casting the jungle in a golden glow. "Now we each draw until we get six cards in our hands!"

The two duelists drew several cards. Jake was ecstatic. Yes, I got Lava Golem and Ring of Destruction! Now all I have to do is set the Ring, wait for Diane to summon two monsters, and then sac them both for the Golem! Then when, like her beau, she attacks, I'll spring the traps on her and win the duel! Of course, it will be a little violent, but that's what a fire duelist has to deal with when playing cards like this.

"Well, I see my cards are okay, but let's get a couple more," said Diane, showing her next card. "I play Pot of Greed!" She slapped the card down and the pot appeared with a cackle and vanished. "I draw two more cards from my deck, let's see what they are." She drew two cards. "Perfect..."

"Looks like she's got a plan," said Kate.

(check next post)

**Dark Sage** · 1st February 2005, 10:28 AM

Hmmm, not bad. I liked how it went. Diane sure is tough!

Dark Magician Princess sure is unique. (I'm surprised Beth didn't compare her to some video game character). But anyway, I can't wait to see what this new Guardian fusion is.

The two e-mails Diane got were entertaining.

So now Norus is dueling Beth. I hope Beth teaches him a lesson he'll never forget and tears up one of HIS cards! (Like Goblin King.)

- Venusaur

EDIT: One other thing: You have some serious editing to do. You forgot that Diane should have taken damage from Jake's Solar Flare Dragons on each of his turns. Diane would have lost the way you have it set up. I suggest you fix it, and have Diane use Royal Corination on the round she summons Flame Swordmistress.

**Shuppet Master** · 1st February 2005, 11:55 AM

Yikes! I totally forgot about SFD's OTHER effect! Sorry about that,I can't believe I made such a blatant error.

It will be fixed soon,I need to edit that part on my text file too so I don't forget.

**opaltiger** · 1st February 2005, 02:29 PM

Darn, I was half-hoping for a Beth vs Jake final. Ah well. And I noticed one turn Diane took 1000 damage from one SFD, instead of 500. You might wanna just check the LP turn by turn, just in case. ^^

**starjake** · 1st February 2005, 03:00 PM

*pouts*

My duelist lost...

Oh well, such is life. I have to agree with Venusaur though. Diane would've lost had you kept tabs on Solar Flare Dragon. Since I'm assuming you need Diane to win this duel, you may want to do something about that.

Anyways, can't wait for Bethany vs. Norus. Hmm...I wonder what Norus would feel like if Beth's weaklings beat his "unbeatable" fiends, especially his "unbeatable" new Archfiends. Talk about a humbling experience (yeah, right). See you then!

**mr_pikachu** · 2nd February 2005, 12:30 AM

You know what'd be hilarious? If Norus wasn't aware of the Archfiends' draining effects. I can picture it now... five Archfiends on his side of the field, wiping him out. Hehehe... I'm so cruel! ^_^

Well, Ares' character is developing, as is Diane's. Even Sonja is changing to some extent, with Ares as the catalyst. Some hearts will soon be broken, I think... The majority of the side commentary was interesting, though Norus' comments are beginning to get old. Hopefully this next duel will shut him up. I loved Twilight's reaction to Diane's comment, though. Will she tell Diane what that really was? And I wonder what Sibylla will do when he/she/it (can't remember) finds out? This next chapter should be enlightening...

But there were some things that seemed a little off to me. For one thing, on two occasions I noticed dueling strategies that didn't make much sense. Here's what I'm talking about:

Empress Elf jumped forward and slashed apart Inferno and Blazing Inpachi, shattering them to bits. However, Diane found herself covered with fire! She screamed as her life points dropped to 5800.

"Thanks for activating my Backfire trap card," laughed Jake. "As you know from my last duel, this little trap can do 500 points of damage every time you destroy my fire monsters, and since you destroyed two, you suffer a thousand points of damage! I'd be more careful about attacking my monsters next time."

Am I mistaken, or could Jake have instead used Ring of Destruction, then ripped apart Diane’s Life Points the next turn with direct attacks? It may not have won the duel immediately, but it would have given Jake a decisive edge, methinks. Just a tactical thought. *shrugs*

"Lava Golem, destroy that Solar Flare Dragon!" ordered Diane. "Lava Punch!" The fiend slammed its fist into the serpent creature and shattered it. "And now Elma, use Gravity Axe Bash on Jake!"

Pardon my ignorance, but why not switch the order of those attacks to win the duel? I’m confused.

Also, there were a few grammatical errors, such as "drunk" where "drank" should have been, and commas where semicolons were needed. A little more editing would clear those minor things up, though, I'll bet.

All in all, though, this was a good chapter. Nice emotions throughout, and great conflicts both internally for specific characters and against each other as well. I can't wait to see Beth face off against Norus. Let's hope she takes him down! Anyway, I'll see you next chapter!

**Shuppet Master** · 2nd February 2005, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by mr_pikachu

You know what'd be hilarious? If Norus wasn't aware of the Archfiends' draining effects. I can picture it now... five Archfiends on his side of the field, wiping him out. Hehehe... I'm so cruel! ^_^

As much as the idea strikes me as silly, I doubt that Norus is THAT imbecilic. He may not be as knowledgeable of Fiends as Maligno or Peter,but he's researched enough that he knows their drawback. After all,he researched Exodia to defeat Sonja.

Well, Ares' character is developing, as is Diane's. Even Sonja is changing to some extent, with Ares as the catalyst. Some hearts will soon be broken, I think... The majority of the side commentary was interesting, though Norus' comments are beginning to get old. Hopefully this next duel will shut him up. I loved Twilight's reaction to Diane's comment, though. Will she tell Diane what that really was? And I wonder what Sibylla will do when he/she/it (can't remember) finds out? This next chapter should be enlightening...

Don't worry,your question about Sibylla will be answered next chapter.

Empress Elf jumped forward and slashed apart Inferno and Blazing Inpachi, shattering them to bits. However, Diane found herself covered with fire! She screamed as her life points dropped to 5800.

"Thanks for activating my Backfire trap card," laughed Jake. "As you know from my last duel, this little trap can do 500 points of damage every time you destroy my fire monsters, and since you destroyed two, you suffer a thousand points of damage! I'd be more careful about attacking my monsters next time."

Am I mistaken, or could Jake have instead used Ring of Destruction, then ripped apart Diane’s Life Points the next turn with direct attacks? It may not have won the duel immediately, but it would have given Jake a decisive edge, methinks. Just a tactical thought. *shrugs*

It didn't pass Jake's mind. Duelists make mistakes all the time. While he could have won the duel with his Ring of Destruction combo right then,he was waiting for Diane to summon a monster so he could use Lava Golem. He's so used to using Lava Golem with those cards that he didn't realize he could have won by using it on Diane's monster instead.

"Lava Golem, destroy that Solar Flare Dragon!" ordered Diane. "Lava Punch!" The fiend slammed its fist into the serpent creature and shattered it. "And now Elma, use Gravity Axe Bash on Jake!"

Pardon my ignorance, but why not switch the order of those attacks to win the duel? I’m confused.

Diane did what most Duelists do,she destroyed the monster with her stronger monster,and then attacked with her weaker monster. *shrug* I admit I wasn't sure what I was thinking. I'll probably fix that part later.

EDIT: I'm editing my reply because nobody added a message. My next chapter is up. I don't take credit for the song used in this chapter. It is from a Pokémon CD or something, and there's no mention of who the composer is. Enjoy.

**Shuppet Master** · 4th February 2005, 02:34 PM

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

Chapter 31: Rainbow Blessing

PERSEPHONE: “I suggest you all follow the advice of Peter’s Monsters, and go to Hell!”

Mandate of Heaven, "Curse of Fiend"

Twilight entered the grove and waited patiently. After a while, a blast of blue flame signaled the arrival of the Augery, Sibylla. I sense you are disturbed, my child.

"I am, master," whispered Twilight in shame. She pulled down her collar.

Sibylla's reaction...was well-justified. THE NECKLACE! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO IT?!?

"I...gave it to one of the campers."

The scream from the phoenix was drowned out by a mental wail that tore Twilight to the bone.

YOU...FOOL!

After the noise died down, Sibylla took a deep breath and spoke again with restrained rage.

Do you not REALIZE the dangers one who knows NOTHING about the Necklace can suffer if they wear it? They will begin to see visions of their own future! HOW COULD YOU?!?!

Twilight began to weep in her hands. "FORGIVE ME, MY LORD! I WAS OVERWHELMED BY PAIN AND SUFFERING OVER ONE TINY OMEN!"

Sibylla paused and flew down, putting a wing around his charge. Forgive me, my child. I, too, was overwhelmed. I should not have lashed out at you, but if the person you gave it to wears that thing, he or she will see a vision of his or her future, and then he or she, being mortal, will try to change or influence it.

"I know, and that will disrupt their destined path in life," whispered Twilight. "I...I am eternally sorry."

Do not be upset, child. What you did was irresponsible, but you must learn the reason why I gave you that Necklace. I had no ill intentions for you. Your mother, Ishizu, was also burdened by the visions that came to her, and like you, she gave the Necklace away, and it showed the one who obtained it a vision of his future. But the problem is, futures are not set in stone. Humans, if they see their future, might change it when it was not destined to change.

Twilight sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You are right, as always. Forgive my weakness."

You are still young, you have not been as subjected to these visions as much as your mother has.

Twilight nodded. "I know what I must do. I must reclaim the Necklace from Diane and, if she asks about it, I will be honest in everything. I only hope she understands."

It is understandable, said Sibylla as he flew back up to his perch. And I know about your dream. I read your mind as I comforted you. Your dream is an omen. I feel the energy of Slifer the Sky Dragon nearby. If this is the case, then that part of my power is in this area. We must be on guard. He ruffled his feathers. Now go.

Twilight nodded and left the clearing.

~~+~~

Ares and Sonja left the medical facility. Shanna bumped into them. "Oy, you're all better!" said Shanna.

"Yeah, thanks to my new boyfriend," giggled Sonja, hugging him.

Ares shook his head. "It's just a crush. She came onto me while I was letting her cry on my shoulder. Don't tell Gwen."

"Oh, worried that she might get jealous?" giggled Sonja.

Shanna giggled as well. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. After what Norus did..."

"It's okay now, Ares gave me a replacement Witch of the Black Forest," grinned Sonja. "But I can't wait to see him sweat under Bethany Glitris. I hope she kicks his butt good!"

"The duel will be in an hour," said Shanna. "Ares, you mind sitting with us?"

"Uh...sorry," said Ares sheepishly. "I've got a friend who is angry I left her in the lurch last duel."

"A girlfriend?" grinned Sonja slyly.

"No, it's not like that!" said Ares, waving his hands. "Sheesh! Can't a boy and girl sit together as friends without getting a scandal around them?"

The girls giggled.

~~+~~

Twilight reached the Dark Magician Girl cabin and tapped the owl's beak. "Whoooo goes there?" it hooted.

"A woman of mystery, burdened by many futures," said Twilight. The door opened.

Twilight didn't expect Diane to be in her room. She thought Diane would be with her friends. However, when the Ishtar woman entered, she found Diane sitting at her computer, typing.

"Oh no..." whispered Twilight under her breath.

Diane perked up. "Who's there?" She turned around. "Twilight? Why are you here? How did you get in?"

"Each counselor has the password to the others' cabins, just in case of an emergency," sighed Twilight. "Diane...I need to talk to you about that necklace I gave you."

"Oh, you mean the one for the party dance two nights ago?" asked Diane, getting up and going over to the desk. She opened the drawer and pulled out the emerald-encrusted pendant. "I love it, it's so beautiful."

"Yes...well..." Twilight rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I need it back."

Diane gasped. "But why? I thought you gave it to me as a gift! I wanted my sister to see me wear..."

"It's not actually yours," interrupted Twilight. "And it's not actually what you think. I apologize for being so duplicitious before, but I gave that necklace to you to avoid having to wear it anymore." She waved her fingers and mumbled a spell and suddenly, the necklace transformed back to its true form. "It is mine."

"What the...what happened to it?" said Diane in awe, looking at the golden necklace with the Egyptian Eye in the center.

"That is not an ordinary necklace," sighed Twilight. "It is the Millennium Necklace, one of seven powerful items that connect with the Shadow Realm." She held out her hand. "I was wrong to give it to you, and I fear that its power may have affected you. Please...may I have it back?"

"First, tell me what is so special about it," said Diane firmly.

Twilight had feared Diane would ask that. She knew what would happen if she told Diane of its powers - humans were greedy and wanted to see what the future held for them. But she complied. "That item gives you visions of the past or future when you wear it. When you mentioned your dream, I feared that the Necklace gave you an unwanted vision of your future."

Diane looked down at the Necklace, then handed it over.

Twilight was stunned. "You...did not hold it back. I thought that when I told you about its power, you would use it again."

Diane shook her head. "As much as I would love to see more visions of my future, I don't think Lina would approve. It's too easy to become lax in thinking your future will be that way. I remember one famous movie quote from Back to the Future II, where the Doc says 'One should never know their own future.' And yet, Marty McFly managed to change his future."

Twilight smiled as she put the Necklace on the bed and sat down. "Yes, I remember seeing those movies as well. My mother travels a lot, and I own a lot of old DVDs which she buys for me. Even though time travel is not possible, in the movies, Marty McFly begins his future as a young boy who is always late to school, who has loser parents and an impoverished lifestyle. However, by traveling back in time, he accidently makes his mother fall in love with him and, in order to save his existence, has to force his father to date his mother. A slip-up with the school bully causes Marty's father to gain the strength and courage he needs to become a stronger person, which in turn changes his present lifestyle into that of a wealthy author. Marty, however, was destined to become a loser as well because he always takes offense at everything, but eventually he realized that he must control his rage, and that prevents him from hitting a limo, which in turn..."

Diane giggled. "...keeps him from driving his family back into financial ruin and make them disown him! I know!"

"The future is mutable, Diane," said Twilight, nodding. "I was overwhelmed by fear on one vision and decided to rid myself of the Necklace, I didn't want its responsibility. Sibylla showed me how foolish that was. Now, I must take it back."

"It's okay, Twilight, you can have it," grinned Diane. "To be honest, I'm glad you're taking it back, you can protect it better from thugs like Norus from using it than I could." She paused. "Tell me the scary vision you had."

Twilight frowned and told her the nightmarish vision she had of Lady Circe and Persephone setting big cats on Team Supreme.

Diane paled. "No wonder! If I had had such a nightmare, I would be crying for days! I can't believe anyone who hate Yugi and his friends so much as to try to KILL them!"

"Yugi has many enemies from his father's past, Diane," said Twilight, ruffling her hair. "You do know about Anastasia Pegasus and the Heir of Marik, correct?"

"Well, Siegfried told me something about Anastasia, and he told me about Remi," said Diane.

"Lady Circe was one of Remi's most elite duelists and henchmen, she had the power to turn humans into animals," said Twilight. "And Persephone...she is a duelist too, a contender in Duelatopia. She has a serious grudge against Yugi, but I am not sure why she hates him so. Regardless, both women hate Yugi and want him to suffer."

"Well, we'll stop those two witches before they lay a finger on Yugi and his pals!" cried Diane. "Won't we?"

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. "You are right, the future can be changed."

"Twilight...will I actually become an Eliminator in Duelatopia?" asked Diane.

Twilight shrugged. "It is your decision. If you enjoyed watching that vision, then you can go ahead with that future. If you did not, you can change that path and become something else. The Necklace only shows ONE possible future. My mother made the mistake of assuming that the futures she saw were unchangeable."

"Is there one where I become an Eliminator, but Norus doesn't have any kids?" asked Diane. "I don't want any girl to have to...live...with him, and the kids will probably be abused."

Twilight smirked. "True, sometimes the apple does not fall far from the tree. But you must remember that each person, on his emergence into life, is imprinted with both his father's and mother's personality. Whichever one takes dominance, or whether either dominates at all, depends on how they lived." She looked up. "I will glad to let you wear the Necklace again, to show you some more of the future you desire...if you want. I don't normally do this."

"Hmmm, maybe tonight," said Diane. "I have to get ready to cheer my friend."

"Then do so," said Twilight, getting up and donning her necklace. Suddenly, she fell into a trance.

"Twilight...TWILIGHT!" cried Diane, but her voice didn't reach her.

Twilight found herself back in the arena from her nightmare last night, only this time she could see the hazy figures a bit more clearly. Not clear enough to recognize them or their monsters, but just enough to know where she was.

This is the auditorium! she thought.

The figure with three monsters on his field chuckled. "You may have won the Camp of Duels, girl, but I fear that this is the end for you. I sacrifice my three monsters to summon SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!"

The three monsters melted into light again, and the place grew dark and clouds appeared and crashed with thunder and lightning. The red Egyptian God Dragon slid out of the clouds and roared. (5000/5000)

The other figure activated Scapegoat and ended her turn. The other figure drew. (6000/6000)

"I'm afraid that won't save you for long, due to Slifer's special ability," laughed the first figure. "Open up your second mouth, Slifer, destroy the Goat Token!" The beast opened up its lower jaw and yellow lightning shot from it, engulfing one of the goats and obliterating it. "And now...I play the Seal of Orichalcos!"

The green circle came down and encircled the arena. (5000/5000)

"And thanks to its power, my Slifer gains 500 attack points!" The symbol branded itself on its forehead. (5500/5000) "And now, obliterate another Goat Token, my Sky Dragon!"

The creature roared and belched white lightning that wiped out another goat.

"Are you okay, Twilight?" whispered Diane, shaking her.

Twilight recovered. This is most terrible. If what I saw was true...then whoever wins the tournament will face Slifer! She turned to Diane. And it was a girl who dueled the owner, which means either Diane or Beth will face his wrath. But...still, I don't want Diane to be worried. "I am fine, Diane."

"Good, I was worried for a second," said Diane.

Lina entered. "Hey, Twi! What are you doing here?"

"I...I have come to reclaim my Necklace," sighed Twilight.

Lina cocked a brow. "So, you did give it away. How could you?"

"I know, I was wrong, Sibylla has already yelled at me," said Twilight. "Now, if you don't mind..." She left.

"What's up with her?" asked Lina.

"The Necklace showed her something scary," said Diane. "I'm scared too."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you, no matter what," grinned Lina, hugging Diane. "Come on, let's get ready to go to the auditorium and watch Norus get his butt kicked!"

"Okay," said Diane, still a bit worried about Twilight.

"Chill, Twilight is capable of handling herself," giggled Lina. "You should worry about yourself. You still have one more duel, and maybe another if you accept Machus' offer."

Diane grinned. Yeah...and I know EXACTLY what I'm going to wish for!

~~+~~

Lina took Diane to the auditorium an hour later, as the campers were filing in to watch the next duel. Diane, Gwen, and Shanna were chatting it up in the VIP booth when Sonja entered. "Am I too late to see Norus get a royal thrashing?"

"Sonja!" cried Diane, hugging her. "You're early! The cues haven't started yet."

"Oh good," said Sonja, glaring at Norus. "I so can't wait to see Norus get his head kicked in by...who's dueling him?"

"Beth," said Gwen. "I'm glad you're here to support her."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," laughed Sonja. "That wretched scumbag will eat crow, I know it!"

Norus smirked as he eyed Sonja. Don't get cocky, Exodia girl. Bethany may have beaten your skirt off last time, but I'm ready for her! Had I had the cards I have now, I could have swept the ground with her little girlfriend a month ago! He turned to Bethany with a wicked grin. I'll have a lot of fun tormenting you, wimp, and then I'll take away your Mokey Mokey and make you sweat like a pig in order to get it back, IF you get it back! And once I take out your friend in the rematch, I'll get her Dark Magician Girl and make her my Duel Monster deck slave! He chuckled wickedly.

The music started. "Well, that's our cue," said Bethany. She glared at Norus. "Hmph."

"Good luck, Beth!" grinned Diane. "Kick his teeth in!"

"Make him go crying to his cabin!" cackled Gwen.

Beth and Norus left, but Norus glared at Diane. Just you wait, twerp! I'll be back for you! He then left.

The holographic illusions of a Legendary Fisherman and Kairyu-shin doing water tricks in the arena stage vanished as the two hosts appeared. "Everyone, are you ready for some DUUUUUELS?" cried Lilith. Everyone cheered.

"Welcome back to the other duel of our thrilling semi-finals," said Machus, coughing a bit. "As you saw, Jake's fire was extinguished by our illustrious Diane. But she'll have to take on the winner of our next duel, and both have promised to be excellent duelists. Let's reintroduce ourselves to the next duel semi-finalists, shall we?"

The spotlight shone on the left door as Norus strode out. "Hailing from the south side of Boston, the meanest boy in town, and with a girth of 156 pounds, it's the teenage mutant fiendish duelist...NORUS CALNOR!!!!"

A few people cheered, but that was it. Norus brushed his hair back. "Losers." Lina was disgusted.

Machus coughed. "And facing Norus is a girl with a small stature but a heart of silver, the cute weenie rusher...BETHANY GLITRIS!" The spotlight went to Bethany and everyone cheered and clapped, shouting things like "Kick his arse!"

Norus scowled. I can't wait to beat up this brat. She thinks she is so hot, but I'll freeze her solid!

"As you know, Norus' deck is called 'The Magic of Hades'," said Lilith. "And Bethany's is called 'Lilliputian Legends.' Which of these decks will go on to face Diane Arachne? It's time to find out!" She pulled out the Card of Plenty.

"Here they go," said Kate as she watched the coin-card toss with the others from the front seats.

"Take out this loser!" cried Peter.

"Show this punk who's boss!" shouted Jeff.

"Yeah, kick his buttocks to next week!" cried Ralph.

Sadly, Norus had won the right to choose, but strangely, he handed it over to Bethany. The two shuffled and cut each others' decks. "Don't you dare sabotage my deck, like you did with Sonja's!" scowled Bethany.

"What? Me?" grinned Norus as he handed the deck back to Bethany. "I didn't sabotage her deck. And besides, I'd never harm a lady like you." He cocked his brows wickedly.

"Say that to Di's face, you perv," hissed Bethany.

"Oh, that had to hurt!" said Lilith. "Seems the trash talking has already begun!"

The two took their positions and plugged in their duel disks. "Okay, you little brat," said Norus. "I can't wait to take your wimpy monsters down! My fiends will tear your babies apart!"

Bethany growled. "My monsters may be weak, but they have a strong will and with that, they can defeat any monster, no matter how strong! Haven't you ever heard the old saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall?'"

"Big talk from a shrimp," said Norus. "I'm going to take your little Mokey Mokey and make you EARN it back once I kick your crybaby crotch into the next century!"

"OOOOOOOH!!!" roared the crowd.

"Okay, enough of that!" snapped Lilith. "I want a duel as pure and pristine as Mystical Elf. Bethany, no kicking below the belt. Norus, no foul language. It's time to duel, and now let's see where we're dueling!" She spun the roulette.

"This is too intense," said Jake in worry. "My baby's out there and if anything happens to her..."

"Yeah, if that jerk wins, I'll take my Penguin Park plans and burn them!" shouted Donald in anger.

"Don't worry, we know Beth," said Diane, nodding to Gwen. "If she can take down one of us, she can wipe the floor with this creep." She punched the air. "You can do it, Beth! D.G.B. is in the house!"

"Yeah!" cried Gwen.

Bethany smiled as the roulette stopped. "Oh, this is just peachy! This duel takes place in...THE CAVE OF SHADOWS!"

The button clicked as the holographic imagery fired off again and cloaked the auditorium in a giant underground setting. Phosperous lichens and molds illuminated the place in a green glow.

"Well, nice place...NOT!" laughed Norus. He activated his duel disk as Bethany did for hers. The two slammed their decks into the deck slot and their life meters rose to 8000. Norus' meter was blood red, and Bethany's was white.

"I'm not about to get defeated by you, jerk!" shouted Bethany as the two drew their first hands. "I'll make you pay for all the crimes you committed against the camp, crimes that should have had locked you up for good!"

"Heh," said Norus.

"And now...ALLEZ JUENE!" cried Lilith, swinging her flags down.

~~+~~

"This will be most interesting," said Pisaro with a chuckle as he and his partner watched through the crystal Ares held.

"So far, Norus has shown much potential for evil," giggled Circe. "I mean, he had guts to rip apart a card like that and then weasel his way out of punishment yet again. I hope he wins the tournament."

"I wouldn't put that little girl out to pasture," smirked Pisaro. "After seeing her take down her best friend, she has proven to be a very clever girl. Whatever I gleaned from Magus after interrogating him is no longer accurate now. If she does the impossible and defeats Machus, we may have someone who might give Team Supreme a serious headache." He chuckled.

"I don't think that tart stands much of a chance against the Prince of Games," snorted Circe. "All her monsters are wimps."

"Sometimes a weak monster can become strong under the right circumstances," grinned Pisaro. "Maybe this duel will show us her potential. And she does own that Mokey Mokey you love so much."

"I don't LIKE that tofu fairy, I just like the woman who uses it," said Circe. "Persephone Amore has dueling potential. She's almost reached the finals of Duelatopia, and she's got a grudge against Yugi as well. She could be...useful."

"I'd be very careful about approaching her now," said Pisaro. "I don't want Yugi and his pals to spot us until we complete our final phase and set up the epic duel between him and our pawn."

"I know, but I'll be studying that girl some more later," grinned Circe. "And if she confronts Yugi in a duel, we can learn more. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend." She giggled in her sleeve.

~~+~~

Bethany drew her first card. "To start, I play a card face-down and a monster in defense mode." The cards appeared.

Norus drew his card. "Heh, what a wimp. You can't even put a monster in ATTACK mode!" He took two cards and played them. "Well then, I'll start this massacre by playing the field magic, Mystic Plasma Zone!" The card appeared, then the area grew very dark and clouds formed on the ceiling, dark clouds that crackled with eldritch energy. "As long as this card remains in play, all Dark monsters on the field gain 500 attack points at the cost of 400 defense!"

"Oh man, Beth's in serious trouble!" said Jake. "Almost all of Norus' monsters are dark-types, so he'll be benefiting the most from this card!"

"And only a few of Beth's monsters are dark, so she won't get much benefit," said Diane in disgust.

Norus grinned as he held the other card to his face. "Let me tell you the legend of the Silvermonts, who used to own this land. Legend stated that the head of the Silvermonts, Barthomolew, was a connoseiur for fine art."

"I'm surprised a blockhead like you can use such BIG words," taunted Beth.

Norus scowled, but kept his composure. "Anyways, one purchase he made was a very fine piece of work and he put it over his mantelpiece. But little did he know that the painting was HAUNTED."

The audience held their breaths and squealed in terror.

"And it's said that whenever you look at the painting on a full moon, the demon inside grabs you and sucks you into his twisted world...AND IT'S GONNA GET YOU, BETHANY! THE PORTRAIT'S SECRET!"

He slapped the card down and a painting appeared, floating in mid-air. A hideous demon burst out and wailed! (1200/1500)

"AAAAAAAH!!!!" cried most of the campers, cowering. Bethany toppled backwards as she screamed in terror.

"Ha ha ha ha..." laughed Norus. "Oh, and since it's a dark monster, it benefits from my field card." (1700/1100)

"That...was a nasty trick!" snapped Lina.

"Heh, I'm just doing what spook girl LOVES to do!" laughed Norus.

Twilight scowled. If it wasn't for the fact that violence is forbidden here, he would regret that remark.

"I think she just wet herself," whispered Gwen.

"That fiend!" growled Diane.

"Actually, considering his deck, I'm not surprised," sighed Shanna.

Bethany slowly got up. "O-Okay, so you startled me! But that doesn't help you with this duel!"

"Heh, I can enjoy myself in a duel once in a while, twerp," said Norus. "Portrait's Secret, tear apart her wimpy monster! Use Artistic Agony!" The creature wailed a green energy wave and shattered a screaming Petit Dragon. "I knew it, a wimp!"

"Keep laughing, Norus," hissed Bethany. "Is that your turn?"

"Yep," said Norus, nodding.

Bethany drew a card. "Another monster in defense mode and that's it for me." The card appeared.

"If I had known you would just be defending, I would have made your defeat even MORE humiliating!" cackled Norus as he drew. "Perfect, this card will make defending useless! I sacrifice Portrait's Secret..." The painting monster melted into light. "To summon Mefist the Infernal General!" The demon horse-rider appeared in a flash of black flames. (1800/1700)

"Oh no! He used that monster on me!" cried Sonja in terror. "It can pierce through any defending monster and inflict damage to your life points!"

"And thanks to Mystic Plasma Zone, he gains a boost of 500 points as well!" cackled Norus. (2300/1300) "Now Mefist, take out that wimpy monster and do some DAMAGE!"

The rider lanced the card and shattered Gigobyte. "My Gigobyte!" cried Bethany in horror as her life points dropped to 6000. She then saw the general lance her hand and toss her Law of the Normal card into the discard slot.

"Also, whenever Mefist damages your life points, you have to discard a random card!" grinned Norus.

"This is not good," said Diane. "If she doesn't find a means to defend her life points, she won't be able to keep her cards in her hand, and she'll be unable to stop Norus from overwhelming her with monsters!"

Bethany sighed. I was stupid! I should have activated Waboku. She drew another card and grinned. "I play Pot of Greed!" She drew two cards from her deck after discarding her magic card. She shook her head. No, not good enough. I have two parts of the means to take Norus down good, but I need two more! I'll have to stall. "I set Kozaky in defense mode and end my turn." The demonic scientist appeared, in a crouching pose. (400/400)=>(900/0)

"Ha, I'm not scared of that loser Hojo-clone!" cackled Norus.

Gwen was stunned at the reference to a Final Fantasy VII villian. Guess he plays Final Fantasy a lot.

He drew a card. Perfect, one of my secret weapons! But first, I think I'll take more of her life points away. "I summon Pandemonium Watchbear in attack mode!" The red-furred mammal emerged with a snarl. (1800/700)

Lina gasped. Wait, I recall that card! It was in Balzack's deck! How did Norus get his hands on a card like that? And why is he using it in his deck? It's not a fiend or spellcaster and it is only good as a strong attacker without the card that goes with it, a powerful Field Magic card.

Twilight scowled. I should have known that fool was up to no good when I heard him passing my cabin last night. However, I cannot call him out until I have further proof.

"And now to do some more damage!" cackled Norus. "Mefist, take down her weirdo with Lance of Atrophy!"

The general charged again, but was stopped by three blue priestesses. "I activated Waboku, so that stops your monster cold," said Bethany with a giggle. "And now your battle phase ends."

"Phew, I was worried sick there," mumbled Jake, wiping his brow.

Norus snorted. "Fine, you get a free turn, but next turn I'll summon ANOTHER monster and take out your life points!"

Bethany drew. "We'll see about that, Gnasty Gnorus! This card I drew should turn the tables!" She played it and it appeared. "I activate the magic card, Creature Swap!"

"No!" cried Norus in horror. "I know what that does!"

"That's right, you select one of my monsters and I select one of yours and they 'swap' positions, but since all I have is my own fiend, you get stuck with it! And I choose Mefist the Infernal General!"

"No!" cried Norus as the two monsters switched sides. Now he was stuck with Kozaky and Mefist stood before Beth.

"Now let's see how much YOU like it!" laughed Bethany. "Mefist, use Lance of Atrophy on Kozaky!"

The mad scientist screeched as he was impaled by the dark lance, exploding into atoms. Norus' life points dropped to 5700.

"And you know the rules," said Bethany.

Norus cried out in shock as he saw his Vilepawn Archfiend get stabbed and thrown away. "Damn it!"

"Hey, watch it, buster!" said Lina. "There are children here!"

"Sorry, ma'am," mumbled Norus.

"That ends my turn," said Bethany, crossing her arms.

Norus pulled a card from his deck and grinned. Time to spring the trump cards! "Since you people all think I should go to Hell, I think I'll take all of YOU with me! I remove my Mystic Plasma Zone and displace it with this card!" He held it up and switched field magics. "Behold the demenses of Hades! Pandemonium!"

The card appeared and suddenly the cave cracked and crumbled, revealing an underground city with demonic buildings and sulfuric gases shooting up from cracks in the ground. Red and orange light bathed the cave. The campers were screaming as Mefist the Infernal General went back to 1800 attack and 1700 defense.

Lina's eyes went wide. No way! The only reason Norus would play THAT card is...

to be continued...

**Dark Sage** · 4th February 2005, 03:05 PM

Beautiful, just beautiful!

It was great to see Norus finally get what was coming to him! Horay for Beth.

But you have to do some editing:

1. You forgot to close a intalics near the end.

2. I told you before, Mokey Mokey Smackdown is a Magic Card, not a Trap Card. So Norus would have had to counter it with Magic Jammer.

But otherwise, a great chapter.

I'll bet the anime character is Shadi!

- Brian

**Dark Sage** · 4th February 2005, 04:27 PM

By the way, I forgot to mention...

I liked Twilight's interaction with Sybilla in the beginning - and I was a little scared! (For a minute, I thought Twilight was going to be spanked or something!)

Anyway, keep on writing!

**opaltiger** · 4th February 2005, 06:29 PM

Twilight began to weep in her hands. "FORGIVE ME, MY LORD! I WAS OVERWHELMED BY PAIN AND SUFFERING OVER ONE TINY OMEN!"

IMO, that so doesn't seem like Twi. It sounds like a parody in my ears, but whatever.

**Shadow Djinn** · 8th February 2005, 01:19 AM

First off, wonderful work on the Bethany vs. Norus duel--I like the cards you created named after Venusaur's Trilogy...but there were some errors..

Mokey Mokey Smackdown (Venusaur has mentioned this...)

And--I was reading back a while ago--and remembered the Bethany vs. Gwen Duel.

Mystical Swordsman LV4 must be set facedown if normal summoned--and it's stats are (1900/1600)

**Shuppet Master** · 8th February 2005, 12:50 PM

To Shadow Djinn: Okay,sorry about that.

To everyone else: Another double-chapter decker ice cream treat! I've finished two,yes,two chapters! As soon as I put the beginning quotes in,I'll have them up in a short while. BTW,the first chapter has some PG-13 material in one part,but it's just two girls disrobing,nothing more raunchy. So children should be careful reading it.

EDIT: Also, I must also state that there is an actual scene from an episode in the third season of the dubbed anime. I apologize for not exactly copying the scene as it was shown in the anime(I have the episode on tape), but I didn't want to seem like I was plagarizing the writers of that episode, who take full credit for the scene mentioned.

**Shuppet Master** · 8th February 2005, 01:43 PM

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

Chapter 32: Time Seal

PHILOSOPHER: “I must take you on a journey not only through space, but through time, to a spot when your father and Yugi’s father were even younger than you are now…”

- Mandate of Heaven, "Pyro Clock of Destiny"

In a dark dimension which consisted of nothing but an island with a stone tower rising from the dark ocean, Lady Circe was examining her favorite individual in Duelatopia. Of course, considering that it was four in the morning there, she was disgusted to find Persephone Amore sleeping fitfully, tossing and turning. "Bah, this is no fun!"

She pouted, then had a wicked idea. I know! I'll snoop on Team Twerp! I've always wanted to see what they were like when they slept. It would be a lot more fun than watching THIS. She shifted the crystal ball on the Cosmo Queen's Castle, where Team Supreme was staying, and focused on each of the rooms in question.

Sadly, she found nothing better in the rooms. Peter and Yugi were sleeping soundly. Mary was tossing and turning a bit in her sleep, and Clive...

"Hold the phone," she murmured. "He's sleeptalking."

Clive was moaning out someone's name. "Phoebe...oh Phoebe..."

Circe cocked a brow in curiousity. "Phoebe, huh? I wonder..." She turned off the crystal and walked over to her room, but ran into Doppler, still in human form. "What the...what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Ares?"

"I thought it would be more fun to be here, since I do not sleep," said Doppler, smirking.

"You're creepy," said Circe. "But...since you're here, perhaps you might give me some useful knowledge. I was spying on Team Supreme and one of them, Clive Marris, was moaning a girl's name. Phoebe, I think."

"Ah yes, Clive's soulmate," grinned Doppler. "It's not a secret, I happen to know that Clive duels for his girlfriend."

"Ah, I see," said Circe. "Say, is there anything about how they met?"

"I don't pry into people's private lives, but I heard that they met in the Turtle Game Shop, where the Mouto family lives, a few weeks after the New York crisis," said Doppler with a smirk. "After that, they fell madly in love."

"Interesting..." grinned Circe. "Well then, I must find out more. Farewell." She walked into her room, activated her laptop, and logged onto the Internet. I wasn't trying to impress Lord Pisaro. When you're one of Remi's minions, you learn a few things in basic criminology, like computer hacking. She hacked into the data files of Clive Marris and looked them over. Well, this is most interesting...

An idea formed in her head. Maybe, we don't have to set the trap for little Yugi in Duelatopia...we can set it here! I bet Lord Pisaro would be so pleased when his enemies charge into this place! It would save him much effort. She began working on a plan to coincide with the capture of the Chosen One on the day after the Camp of Duels finals.

~~+~~

As the hours passed, both Diane and Bethany found themselves accosted by various campers, asking if they were going to win. It had gotten so bad that Lina forced the two to remain indoors and locked the front door of the cabin, forbading any of her campers to leave until supper. Lina sighed as she sat down at her computer and checked her e-mail. Surprisingly, she got one. "Huh?

What's this?" Curious, she opened it.

[COLOR=GREEN]TO: Lina Pegasus <toonduel@duelcamp.org>
FROM: Master of Games <mastergame@duelisle.org>

Lina looked over the message, which was from Siegfried. She was confused at what she read and then shocked. "No way, Diane's sister...?"

After finishing the message, she deleted. "I can't believe he wants me to tell Lilith to not give away that prize! Don't come to Duelatopia?! I don't care about what crazy story he said, but I'm not about to tell Lilith! I know you mean well, Sieg, but to refuse these kids the dream of seeing their idols duel...that's just plain stupid! Don't worry, I'll protect them, I promise." She grinned a little wickedly. "If anyone comes after Diane, they'll have to get past ME!" She giggled.

Just then, an idea then began to form. "Hmmm, maybe we should get our minds off this whole tournament and relax for one more night. After all, once the tournament ends, it'll be only a couple of days before the campers all leave...and I end up going back to that dinky apartment, or go home. And I think I know just how to have one last fling! I'd better check with Machus."

~~+~~

The phone rang and Diane answered it. "Hello?"

"Greetings, Diane," said the voice on the other end.

"Twilight!" cried Diane. She lowered her voice. "What's the deal? You rarely call, especially personally."

Twilight chuckled. "I'm sorry I haven't been so...communicative amongst the campers. I usually keep to my own campers. Sonja and Shanna, as well as all of us here at the Witch of the Black Forest cabin wish you and Bethany the best of luck."

"Uh...thanks, I think," said Diane.

"Diane...do you remember what I offered to show you?" asked Twilight. "When I came over to reclaim the Necklace?"

"Oh yeah...I think you said you want me to to come over and try it out again, to see my future."

Diane frowned. But should I really tempt fate by examining my destiny again? That vision might have been okay, but something tells me that I shouldn't really try it again...

"I want you to come over to a certain place and meet me in the forest, for a special ritual," said Twilight. "This ritual will be useful for the both of us. If you do not wish to, just say so."

"Uh...will it hurt?" asked Diane.

Twilight chuckled. "I would never endanger the safety of a camper. And it won't hurt. It will just take a few hours."

Diane paused to think about it, then shrugged. "Why not? I mean, I don't think I can sleep anyways, with all the campers going on about our final duel."

"Then I assure you, this ritual will be very relaxing," said the counselor. "If you wish to participate, come to my cabin and we shall go to the place I've set."

"Okay," said Diane. "Goodbye." She hung up the phone. Something is bothering me about this whole thing, but if it's relaxing, I could use it. I just hope that Lina hasn't got anything planned for tonight.

~~+~~

"What?" asked Machus, looking up.

"Well, I know it's sudden," Lina said. "What with tomorrow being the final duel, or duels if the winner accepts your offer. But I think it will be very relaxing to the girls. They're going to tear each other apart tomorrow and I don't want either of them to be grouchy and make mistakes that could be avoided. Besides, the campers haven't had any outing since the tournament began. Don't you think it's fair to let them take one more trip into town?"

Machus rubbed his chin, then smiled. "I see no harm in that. You have permission."

"I mean...huh?" asked Lina, doing a double-take.

"You're certainly right, Miss Mystara," said Machus, leaning back with a smile. "I don't want these girls to have added tension to the duel they are going to fight. If this can help them unwind and sleep better at night, then I grant you permission. I can write up a voucher to let you past the gates. No problem at all." He leaned forward and quickly scribbled out a note and handed it to Lina.

"Well, you're generous, sir," said Lina.

"I remember my own days in camp," grinned Machus. "Town leaves were very rare, so we cherised each one. I won't dare deny your campers a chance to enjoy themselves before they must leave. Go ahead and invite them and anyone else who wishes to go with them, even campers from other cabins. It'll be one final night of enjoyment - because the people who didn't make it past the finals will probably not have much to do after the tournament ends tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir, I am very grateful," sighed Lina. She blew a kiss and left.

Machus chuckled. Those girls had better enjoy themselves, because once one of them wins, they'll have me to deal with... He held up a familiar magic card. And when that time comes, if they fail in the game, then this card will seal their fate and they'll never enjoy another moment like that ever again...

~~+~~

Lina knocked on Diane's door and she answered it. "Hey, you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little nervous about tomorrow," said Diane, biting her lip. "I have to duel Beth."

"I know," said Lina. "Just remember that you two are still friends, no matter who wins. Hey, I managed to weasel out an arrangement for my cabin and a few friends to go to town for supper at the local pizza place and a movie. Wanna come?"

Diane lit up, but then remembered something. "Uh...sorry, I can't. Twilight invited me to do something with her."

"Oh really?" asked Lina, cocking a brow. "What's more fun that what I'm doing?"

"It's not like that, it's...something else," mumbled Diane.

Lina narrowed her eyes. "Really? Would it have anything to do with that Necklace of hers?"

"Uhm..." said Diane sheepishly.

Lina shrugged. "Fine with me. But I'll save some pizza for you, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," said Diane. "Pepperoni, right?"

"You bet," said Lina, flashing a smiling. "Well, good luck with whatever you are doing. See ya."

She left.

Diane scratched her head.

~~+~~

An hour later, Diane stood at the door to the Witch of the Black Forest cabin. It was painted differently than the Dark Magician Girl cabin. While the Witch graced the front door, the walls were covered with fiends and zombies. "Creepy," she muttered as she knocked the skull-shaped knocker.

The door opened and Sonja came in. "Oh, Diane! Go to see you, Shanna's going with Lina."

"Twilight invited me here," said Diane.

"Come in," said Sonja. The girls went into the main lobby which looked just like the one in the Dark Magician Girl cabin. A few girls were sitting around, reading or playing DVDs. "I'll get Twilight for you." She walked off.

Diane sat by a girl with red-brown hair. "Oh, 'ello," she said. "You're one of Lina's campers, right?" She held out a hand. "Name's Tina. Nice to meet ya."

"Nice to meet you too," said Diane, shaking her hand. It felt clammy.

"I 'eard you're up against your fellow camper tomorrow," grinned Tina. "I hope you both duel well."

"Uh...yeah," said Diane, sweatdropping.

Twilight and Sonja entered. "Well, I see you have accepted my offer. She clapped her hands and the girls stood up. "Girls, I will be gone for a few hours. It will after bedtime when I return, so I hope you know the rules."

"Yes, Miss Ishtar," said the girls, nodding. "Turn in at nine, lights out at ten."

"Good," said Twilight, smiling gently. "Until then, you are free to do whatever is safe." She nodded to Sonja, then walked over to Diane. "I hope you are ready for this, Diane. I rarely do this ritual with another."

"Uh sure," said Diane, swallowing. What have I gotten myself into?

~~+~~

The van holding everyone who Lina invited reached the gates. "I'm sorry Diane didn't get to come," said Donald. "I feel a little guilty going without her."

"It's okay," said Jake, hugging Bethany tightly. "You'll get your chance to mack her later."

Lina coughed. "I certainly hope you, Jake, don't 'mack' Bethany while I'm around, or you'll face a nasty five-fingered salute from my hand!"

Jake sweatdropped. "Yes ma'am."

Lina giggled. "Good." She stopped the van and lowered the window, handing the note to the guard. "Official leave."

The guard looked over the note and handed it back. "Okay, you're good to go. Have fun." He saluted and then went over to open the gates.

"Well, kids, ready for a last night on the town?" grinned Lina.

"You bet!" cried the campers as the gates opened.

"Here we go!" The van drove past the gates and down the road. I hope Twilight doesn't do anything to Diane. I trust her with all my heart, but still...

~~+~~

Diane and Twilight walked through the forest. Diane lugged a bag behind her. "Hey...why...all this...stuff?" she grunted.

"That is stuff we will need for the ritual," said Twilight. "It is a very ancient ritual I have learned, which allows one to siphon the power of the Millennium Necklace into a wider form, allowing up to three people to join in the vision. Trust me, the first time is always awkward."

"Awkward?" asked Diane as the two reached the cabin where the Gemini Sisters had used as a hideout.

"Yes," said Twilight. "Ever since my mother showed me the ritual, I have only used it twice in my life. I won't bore you with the details of who participated those two times." She opened the door to the cabin. "Here we are."

The two entered the cabin, which had been cleared of furniture, leaving only the fireplace and a bare floor. "Uh, why did you remove all the furniture?"

"We need a bare floor for this ritual, as well as a fire source," said Twilight. "Oh, and one more thing..." She looked out the windows to check for any trespassers, then walked over and removed her shirt.

"W-What are you doing?" gasped Diane, her eyes bulging out.

"You must also remove your clothes," said Twilight as she removed two white robes from the sack. "And put this on."

"Uh..." said Diane, blushing.

"I warned you it would be awkward," said Twilight. "Do you wish to stop?"

"N-No, not at all," said Diane. I gave up going to town for this. I'll have to humble myself. She undid her skirt. "I just hope no Peeping Tom is watching this."

Twilight smirked as she undid her belt. "It doesn't matter, whatever he sees will not interest him here."

Little did they known that someone was nearby, walking through the forest. He heard their voices and turned his head to the cabin. "Eh? What's that?"

~~+~~

"You don't look good," said Jake as the group was waiting for their pizza at the pizza place.

Bethany nodded. "I really wish Diane was here to join me. D.G.B. did lots of stuff together."

Gwen grinned. "I'm sure she had her reasons for not coming. Whatever Twilight wanted to do with her, it's okay with us. Anyways, I'm sure Diane would like to be alone with her to relax and get her mind off the duel tomorrow. Maybe she's not into pizza and a movie right now."

"Chill," said Lina. "I promised her I'd bring her some pizza when we got back, she won't starve."

"Uhm, okay," said Bethany as the waiter came up carrying two pizzas and placed them down.

"Let's see, that's one extra-large pepporoni and one extra-large sausage and mushroom," said the waiter.

"You got it," grinned Lina.

~~+~~

After disrobing and donning the robes, Twilight and Diant got ready for the ritual. Twilight marked a pentagram in red powder. "This is a special mixture of herbs and incense which will clear our heads for the ceremony," she stated.

Diane hugged herself. "Geez, Lina's right, it's freezing in here, especially when you're only wearing a robe." She looked at her clothes, nicely tucked away in the corner.

"Don't worry, you will be warm soon enough," grinned Twilight as she placed black candles on each point of the pentagram. She then put some special wood in the fireplace and lit it. The flames erupted in the fireplace and soon the place was filled with heat, overbearing heat.

Diane felt sweat coming down her entire body. "Geez, I didn't think it would get THIS hot!"

"Trust me, it's about to get hotter. Sit down at that spot in the position I will take." She sat down at the tip of the star in a cross-legged position.

Diane winced, but did as she was told.Suddenly, the candles lit with violet flames as Twilight concentrated. "Whoa," she said, suddenly feeling like she was melting as fast as those candles. Her robe became drenched with sweat coming from her body.

Twilight didn't seem to mind. She was in a trance and the Necklace she wore was glowing a faint gold. "Great spirits of the ancient Egyptians, I call upon you. Show us the power of the future and the past. Show everything to us!" She threw her arms up and hummed as the flames from both the candles and fireplace grew hotter. The pentagram erupted into green light.

Diane suddenly felt lightheaded as the light engulfed the room and merged with the glow from the Necklace, forming a bright white light. Then Diane blacked out.

~~+~~

The man walked up and saw the white light shooting from the windows of the cabin. He was stunned. "What is this?" He walked up to the window, and the light faded into a strange scene. "Huh? Am I seeing things?"

~~+~~

The two appeared in a familiar area, fully clothed. "Is this the place in your dream?" asked Twilight.

"Y...Yes! This is the museum!" said Diane softly. She looked around and found it vacant. "Strange, nobody here."

"In a vision of the Necklace, rarely are people shown which are not important," said Twilight. She walked over to the case and grinned. "Well, this is interesting. Come here, Diane. Look at this."

Diane lit up. Now she would get to see what the cards were in the case. She ran up and looked...

"Well?" asked Twilight. "Look familiar?"

"No way," whispered Diane in shock. "Those cards..." Just then, voices were heard. "We have to hide!"

"Do not worry, nobody can see or hear us here in this vision, we are like phantoms," said Twilight.

Diane fidgeted, but then saw that the three teenagers were entered the room were not looking at them at all. Instead, they walked right up to the mirror with the plaque.

One of the kids, a guy with short brown hair and wearing a tunic and jeans, looked at the mirror. "You sure this is the place, Yui? It looks pretty normal."

One of the girls, who had short blonde hair(think Yui from Fuushi Yuugi), looked up. Diane noticed that she wore the Millennium Puzzle as well as a sleeveless shirt and black trousers. "Yes, this is the place all right. The map I won from my last duel can't be a fake."

A long black-haired girl wearing a white tee-shirt and skirt giggled. "Come on, Ren, you shouldn't doubt Yui's instinct? She's always been right before!"

"Yeah, whatever, just can it Chelsea," said the boy.

Diane gasped. "I heard their voices in my last vision! They are the ones who gave that map to Norus' son! And that Puzzle...does that mean that this 'Yui' is Yugi Jr.'s daughter?"

"Yes, obviously," said Twilight. "But this is only a possible future, don't be fooled by illusions."

Yui read the plaque. "I see, so an elemnental monster is needed. Okay then, Flame Swordsmistress!" She activated her Duel Disk and slapped down a card. The familiar warrior appeared.

"It seems she inherited the cards of her father," grinned Twilight.

The warrior turned to her. "Welcome, Yui. I see you wish to enter this domain. I must warn you though, I cannot protect you from what dangers might lie within. Only a strong heart and strong will can defeat the Guardian inside. Should you lose, I cannot say what will happen to you."

"I will take that risk, Swordsmistress," said Yui, nodding her head with a firm expression. "My parents never backed down when they faced their Eliminators years ago, why should I wimp out myself?"

"Then so be it," said Flame Swordsmistress. She turned and slashed the mirror, revealing the doorway. "Enter and may we meet again." The monster vanished into her card, which Yui shuffled in her deck.

"Let's go," said Yui.

To be continued...

**Shuppet Master** · 8th February 2005, 02:05 PM

Here's the next chapter, enjoy.

**Shuppet Master** · 8th February 2005, 02:19 PM

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

Chapter 33: Painful Choice

MARY: “Well, we’re up in fifteen minutes. I guess that for the next hour or so, we’re rivals…”

Mandate of Heaven, "Respect Play"

When Lina and her friends came back from town, they noticed that Diane was back in her cabin. When asked about what happened, Diane evaded the question, but did mention that she had gotten a new set of cards to her deck. Lina was suspicious, but decided to brush it off. She gave Diane the pizza slices she had promised and went to bed.

Bethany, tired from her exciting town visit, went straight to bed and collapsed on the bed. But as she slept, her dreams took her to a strange realm...

[COLOR=GRAY]She found herself in a dark spooky forest. Mist covered the ground. "Where am I?" she said.

Help me...please help me...

Bethany found herself walking forward into a clearing and found a cute fairy princess trapped in a cage. "Who are you?"

"I am Sprite Princess, one of the great fairy monsters," sobbed the fairy. "My mistress has enslaved me to evil because of her greed. Her inner child has been imprisoned by greed too. Please, save us both! Only you can save us!"

"Why me? I don't know how to save you!" cried Bethany. "Why me?"

"You know about fairies, you have one," said Sprite Princess. "It's in your deck!"

"I have Mokey Mokey," said Bethany. "But why don't you talk to Diane? She has Guardian Elma, another fairy..."

"No, there's no time! You have to save us!" cried Sprite Princess. "If you do not, greed wil consume us and turn my mistress to crime and evil. She's going to kill Yugi Jr. for his fairy! Please!"

"What? Are you serious?!" cried Bethany. Suddenly, a dark shadow covered the ground. "Aaaah!"

"It's him again! Run!" cried the princess.

Bethany ran as dark laughter filled the air. She tripped and fell into a bottomless pit. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Bethany woke in a cold sweat. "That dream...it seemed so real...What did it mean?" She looked at her clock. "It's still so late." She yawned. "Maybe I should not worry, it might just be...a dream..." She put her head back down, but still the dream bothered her until she fell asleep.

~~+~~

The next morning came. Breakfast was uneventful, save for the girls talking about the final duel between Diane and Bethany in a couple of hours. The small group of D.G.B. supporters sat down at the corner table, eating their breakfasts.

"So," said Kate. "It's Diane and Beth against each other. Who do you think will win?"

"Well, Beth's shown a bit of strategy," grinned Johnathan, who was in a nice white jacket. "Her monsters are mostly weak, but she also has that Gilford the Lightning. If it wasn't for him, my XYZ-combo would have wiped her out."

"But Diane's Guardians are no joke," said Peter. "They, as a whole, are much stronger than Beth's monsters. It's clear Diane has the advantage in monster power."

"Power is not always key to victory," said Jeffery, biting into a slice of French Toast. "I thought I had Sonja on the ropes until she whipped out Exodia. None of her monsters were strong enough to defeat me. If she had pulled out Necross, though, I might have had a much more humiliating defeat."

"Yeah, too bad she lost to Norus," growled Kate. "The jerk!"

"Well, he's spending time in the clink, thinking about his crimes," said Ralph. "So there is no way he'll be heckling the duel today. Did you see how he acted during the duel between Gwen and Beth? Ruthless."

"Whoever wins will be the best, let's wish both of them the best," said Kate, taking in a spoonful of cereal.

~~+~~

As the campers filed into the auditorium, Ares and Doppler sat at their usual spot. "Well, this is it, Ares," said Doppler. "Whoever wins this duel is certain to be a tough opponent for Yugi Junior."

"I know, all the kids show potential, but only one of these two girls has the power to make Yugi Mouto Jr. sweat," said Ares. He sighed. "I got a very nasty chewing out from Gwen recently. She thought I was a pervert."

"You...you monster!" cried Gwen, slapping her hand harshly against Ares' cheek.

"She saw me talking with Sonja. Sonja hugged me and then Gwen got in and yelled at us, slapping me hard." He rubbed his cheek. "But I managed to talk some sense into her. She's a nice girl and very forgiving after you explain the situation. She realized that I was only comforting Sonja after what happened to her."

"Hmmm, I see," said Doppler. "You sure have a way with the ladies, Ares."

Ares scowled. "Look, I won't talk about my love life, thank you so much. Besides, you are a freak! You don't even have the capability to feel love or have sex!"

"I know, I change my body according to who I meet," grinned Doppler. "In the past, I was confined to taking a form when I dueled someone, but recently I have enhanced my transformation powers. Still, you are right, I am not capable of love or lust as you humans do. Not like it matters to me, I have never needed to engage in activities like that."

"Hmph," said Ares, crossing his arms. I just hope that Brandon doesn't tell her what I had to do, or she'll never forgive me. But I had no choice, that wretched Doppler wouldn't do it! "So, who do you think will win?"

"It's a toss-up, both have powerful cards," said Doppler. "On the one hand, Bethany has proven herself very clever in her use of weak monsters to cause major damage, and those rare cards would be very powerful against Yugi Jr. Not to mention that powerful Gilford the Lightning in the wings, which could destroy all your opponent's monsters if used right. But...on the other hand, Diane's Guardians are varied in strength and she also has a Dark Magician Girl and Flame Swordsmistress, both monsters that Yugi Jr. has. Watching those two go head-to-head would be intriguing."

"We'll just have to see who wins this duel, then," said Ares with a sigh.

~~+~~

Diane and Bethany were in seperated corners, talking with the girls from Twilight's cabin.

"I know you'll do well, Beth," said Sonja. "I mean, you managed to stop me from summoning Exodia, and you defeated the one who defeated me, that horrible Norus. If anyone could defeat Diane, it's you."

"Uh yeah, but..." said Bethany, worried.

"You'll be okay, you're still friends, right?" asked Sonja.

Bethany nodded. "Yeah, right."

Diane was with Shanna. "I hope you two have a ruddy good show," said Shanna, smiling. "And I know you'll do well."

"Yeah, I beat you twice!" giggled Diane.

Shanna grinned. "I would say it was the luck of the draw, but you really surprised me with that combo. Using a card to flip my Daughter of Red Eyee face-down and then killing it with Nobleman of Crossout...Hermione would applaud your strategy!"

"Thanks," said Diane, blushing. The music started. "Well, that's our cue. Wish me luck." She turned to Bethany. "Wish BOTH of us luck." She walked up to Bethany. "Ready to go, Beth?"

Bethany sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Listen, Bethany, this is going to be a tough duel," said Diane. "I'm not holding back on you, even though we are friends. I want you to take what you learned from your duel with Gwen and use it all on me!"

"Okay, I won't hold back either, I promise!" said Bethany. "But for every time I hit you with a direct attack, I want you to hit me just as hard with a direct attack!"

Diane shuddered, but then nodded. "You've got it!" The two punched each other in the shoulder and giggled.

Gwen watched them leave. Good luck...both of you. May the best woman win!

~~+~~

A beautiful shrine appeared in the center of the stage. "It's all come down to this," said a voice. "The final duel of the Camp of Duels tournament. Two of the finest campers in the Dark Magician Girl cabin, ready to face off!"

The Dark Magician Girl leapt onto the shrine and watched as two monsters emerged. One was Guardian Elma, in a crane pose. The other was Gigobyte, flexing his muscles. The two charged and clashed with a violent explosion, and soon the entire stage was bare as the two hosts appeared.

"Greetings!" said Lilith with a broad smile. "You have all seen some of the most fearsome duels in the entire history of the game, but now two friends face each other in a match to end all matches! Diane Arachne vs. Bethany Glitris!"

The two girls entered the arena with people cheering and whooping as they took to the stage.

"Go Diane! Go Beth!" cried Gwen. "D.G.B. is in the house!"

"Let's see who will be the winner of the Camp of Duels," said Lilith. "Machus, I turn it over to you."

Machus coughed and stood, pulling out an empty box. "Ladies, both of you have fought long and hard, defeating difficult foes to get to where you are now. I have in my hands a box which will be filled with the rarest and most valuable cards in all of Duel Monsters! Whoever wins will receive the box and the cards will be yours to keep and do with as you wish. Also, you and three of your friends will get the chance to visit the Duelatopian finals and watch the winners of that tournament face off in blood-thirsty duel action!"

Cheers came from the crowd.

"Now, shake hands, take your places, and let's begin," said Machus, sitting down.

Diane and Beth walked to each other and clasped hands. "No holding back," said Bethany.

"No fooling around," said Diane.

"Good luck!" they said to each other, shaking hands. The two shuffled and cut each others' decks.

"Now, we'll find out who has the right to go first!" said Lilith, taking her Card of Plenty. "Call it!"

"Heads!" said Diane. The card was shot out and showed tails. "Nuts."

"I'll go first," said Bethany.

"Then take your places and get ready for an interesting setting!" said Lilith as she approached the roulette. The girls went to their spots and plugged their duel disks into the consoles, then plug in their decks and got the full eight-thousand life points on their meters. "Get ready..."

Lilith spun the wheel.

"Let's hope that they both duel with honor," said Kate.

The wheel stopped on a white slot. "Ah, interesting...this duel will take place in...The Temple of Auras!"

She pressed the button and the transformation occurred. Everyone oohed and aahed as they found themselves in an airy Grecian temple with pillars instead of walls. Clouds floated by. The thrones were beautiful ivory thrones decked with golden cushions. Lilith approached her throne.

"And now...the final battle will begin!" She raised her flags. "Good luck, girls..." She flung the flags down.

"ALLEZ JUENE!"

~~+~~

CIrce and Pisaro watched in eagerness. "This is it, whoever wins this duel is certain to be the pawn we need," said Circe.

"Yes, the talent will be there, but the girl still must deal with our pawn," said Pisaro. "And even if she loses, we can still use her soul to empower the runner-up and try again."

"Yes, there is always that," chuckled Circe. "And if she wins?"

"Then it's on to phase two," grinned Pisaro wickedly.

~~+~~

The two drew their hands and Bethany drew a card. "I summon Gigobyte in attack mode!" The cute reptile appeared. (300/350) "And that will end my turn."

Diane laughed. "I told you not to hold back, Beth!" She drew a card. "Celtic Swordgirl in attack mode!" The elf girl emerged. (1000/800) "Silver blade stab!"

The elfling stabbed Gigobyte and made him explode. Bethany's life meter dropped to 7300.

"You think I was holding back, Di?" grinned Bethany, drawing a card. "Try this on for size! Dark Magician Kid, in attack mode!" The young son of the Dark Magician emerged with a flash. (1500/1300) "Dark Magic Flash!"

The apprentice flung his arm out and a ball of shadow shot from it, slamming into Celtic Swordgirl and vaporizing her. Diane's life meter dropped to 7500.

"Good, but not as good as my move," said Diane, drawing a card. "I summon Ancient Elf!" The purple-robed elf emerged from the card. (1450/1400)

"That is fifty points weaker than my Kid, Di," said Bethany.

"Not when I equip him with this! Butterfly Dagger!" The fluted dagger appeared in his hand. His attack rose to 1750.

"Oops," said Bethany.

"Ancient Elf, Butterfly Stab!" ordered Diane. The elf shot forward and jabbed the dagger in Dark Magician Kid's stomach, making him explode. Bethany's life meter dropped to 7050. "You'd better try harder!"

"I'll do more than TRY, Di!" said Bethany, drawing a card.

"That was an interesting quip," said Lilith.

Bethany smirked. "I play Mandate of Heaven!" The card appeared. "This allows me to search my deck for two copies of a monster card in my hand." She removed her Mokey Mokeys from her deck and shuffled, then put it back in her disk. "And now I play Polymerization, which allows me to fuse my three Mokey Mokey into Mokey Mokey King!" The golden Mokey Mokey appeared. (300/200) "And I set two cards face-down to end my turn." The cards appeared.

Diane drew a card and looked at her options. No doubt she plans to use Mokey Mokey Smackdown by destroy her King to summon her three Mokey Mokeys to the field. And that other card might be a trap to stop me from negating her magic card. Well, looks like I'll have to use this. "Sorry, Beth, but I'm not falling for that. I set two cards face-down and summon Guardian Elma to the field." The beautiful red-haired maiden appeared. (1300/800) "And I end my turn."

"Wow, this is going back and forth," said Peter. "Who could win?"

Bethany drew a card. This might work, if one of those face-down cards is what I think it is. I'd better make sure. "I set one card face-down." The card appeared before her. "And I summon Sonic Duck!" The funny-looking duck appeared. (1700/700) "And I attack Guardian Elma with Mokey Mokey King!" The golden Mokey Mokey powered up its beam and fired.

"Activate Waboku!" cried Diane, flipping up her card. The beam slammed into the blue-robed priestesses. "Too bad."

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

"And I start mine," said Diane, drawing a card. "First, I'll equip Guardian Elma with Wicked-Breaking Flamberge." The fairy woman's dagger changed into a two-handed blade of black steel as Diane discarded a card. (1800/800) "And then I'll summon Guardian Baou to the field." The demon prince emerged. (800/400) "And equip HIM with Gravity Axe!" The stone axe appeared in the demon's hands. (1300/400) "Now, Ancient Elf, attack Mokey Mokey King!" The elf shot forward.

Sorry Di... Bethany sighed as she flipped her trap switch. "Activate Magic Cylinders!"

"AH!" cried Diane in shock.

A pair of tubes appeared and sucked in Ancient Elf, then flung him out into Diane, slamming the two to the floor. Diane slowly got up, all bruised and battered. Her life meter dropped to 5750.

"Wow, that was sneaky," said Shanna.

Gwen nodded. "This is so intense! I don't care who wins, but they're both giving it their all!"

"And since I activated that trap, you battle phase ends," said Bethany.

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

Bethany drew a card and nodded. "Mokey Mokey King, let's try again! Infinite Anger Blast!" The golden fairy blasted its beam at Baou, who leapt over the attack and sliced the creature in half. Bethany's life points dropped to 6050. "And now that my Mokey Mokey King is destroyed, I use its special ability to bring back the Mokey Mokeys I used to summon it!" The three fairies appeared. "And now..."

The crowd held their breath."

"I activate Mokey Mokey Smackdown!" shouted Bethany.

"Not so fast, activate Magic Drain!" shouted Diane.

"I know all about Magic Drain," grinned Bethany. "Luckily, I have a magic card to discard. I discard Law of the Normal!" The card flew into her discard slot.

"No..." said Diane in horror.

"Now, Mokey Mokey #1! Attack Guardian Baou!" The fairy suffered the fate of his king as Bethany's life points dropped to 5050, and both his fellow Mokey Mokeys got red-faced and their attack shot up to 3000 each!

"Nice strategy," smirked Lina.

Twilight shook her head. Still, something is very wrong here.

"Mokey Mokey #2!" said Bethany. "Infinite Anger Burst!" The fairy zapped Guardian Elma, blasting her to bits and dropping Diane's life points to 4550. "Mokey Mokey #3, Infinite Anger Burst!" The second fairy blasted Ancient Elf to oblivion and Diane's life meter dropped to 3300. "Sonic Duck, use Sonic Dash!" The duck shot forward and pecked Baou, making him explode. Diane's life points dropped to 2900. "And to end, I'll sacrifice both my Mokey Mokey to summon Gilford the Lightning!" The golden-haired warrior took the place of the fairies. (2800/2600)

"Great," sighed Diane.

Arnold snorted. "So Diane's losing. Looks like it was mere luck that had her deck beat me."

Brandon glared at him. "Don't be so sure, she's pretty resourceful." She turned to Diane. But whoever wins will end up the same way. I wish I didn't have to do what I had to do...

"Ready to give up?" asked Bethany with a smirk.

Diane growled and drew a card. "Not yet! I play Pot of Greed!" She drew her two cards. "Then I summon the creator of the Guardians, Maha Vailo!" The blue-robed blonde sorcerer rose up. (1550/1300)

"Uh oh, Beth's in trouble," said Lina.

"And now I equip him with Malevolent Nuzzler and Butterfly Dagger, which came back to my hand this turn!" She played the cards and the fluted dagger appeared in Maha's hand as he glowed green. (3550/2000)

"What the...that attack is unfair!" cried Bethany.

"No, it isn't," grinned Diane. "Maha Vailo gained so much skill in weapons, he gain 500 attack points whenever I equip him with a card, and I equipped him with two! Now Maha Vailo, Sacred Lightning!"

The sorcerer stabbed the butterfly dagger at Gilford and a bolt of lightning lit up the temple as it tore apart Gilford! Bethany was flung back by the blast as her life meter dropped to 4300.

"I hate to admit it, but I doubt Beth can handle that monster," said Lina. "It's stronger than a Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!"

Twilight rubbed her chin. I wouldn't be too sure...

Bethany giggled. "You fell right for my trap!"

"What?" asked Diane.

"Activate...Reverse the Reverse!" shouted Bethany, flipping up her trap. "This card allows me to activate one of your trap cards as if it were mine, and I chose...the left card!"

"No!" cried Diane in horror as the card flipped up.

"And now, your Really Eternal Rest activates, destroying your Maha Vailo!" said Bethany. The sorcerer clutched his chest and exploded, dropping Diane's life points to 2013.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn," gulped Diane. The card appeared.

Bethany drew a card. "Sorry, Di. I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" The elf warrior appeared. (1400/1200) "And now, silver blade slash!" She shut her eyes as the warrior charged.

"AAAAAAAH!!!" cried Diane as she suffered a cut down the breast, dripping blood. She clutched her chest and coughed as her life meter dropped further, to 613.

"Oh man, Diane's gonna lose," said Donald in horror. "Diane! Don't lose!"

"Hey, if she wins, Beth loses!" snapped Jake angrily.

The two guys growled at each other like feral dogs. "Hey, guys, take a chill pill!" said Sonja. "Remember when YOU two were beating each other up?"

The guys looked at each other and sighed simulatenously. "Let's promise not to lord it over the other," said Donald, holding out a hand. Jake took it and shook hard. "Ouch, your grip..."

"Sorry, I guess I don't know my own strength," laughed Jake.

Diane slowly drew a card and looked at it. "I play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two." She discarded a monster and trap card. "And now...I activate...REVERSAL QUIZ!"

The card appeared, and then a box appeared, with a question mark on the front. "What the heck?" asked Brandon.

Twilight gasped. She's risking everything!

Two suction cups shot forward and impaled the two girls' chests. "Let me explain the process, Beth. I have to guess what the card on the top of my deck is, Monster, Magic or Trap. After I guess, then we see what it is. If I was right, then our life meters are switched. If I am wrong, my turn ends."

"You...you wouldn't dare! If you fail, I'll win the duel!" shouted Bethany. "Don't do this, it's not worth it!"

"Too late to back down, Beth," said Diane. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "The card on top of my deck is a magic card." She saw the box glow and the color of the question mark flashed green. "I was right, now watch!"

Bethany screamed as she felt her life force being sucked away. Her life meter dropped to 613 as Diane's life meter rose to 4300. She panted as the card effects vanished. "Urgh..."

"Yes, Diane's in the lead!" cried Donald. "Way to go!" Jake put his head in his hands. "Oh, I'm sorry about Beth."

"It's okay, I'll recover," said Jake. "I hope Beth can survive the next round."

"And now I play Monster Reborn to bring back the monster I discarded from Graceful Charity...DARK MAGICIAN GIRL!" Diane watched as the blonde sorceress related to Yugi Mouto appeared. (2000/1700)

"Now, attack Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" The sorceress fired her blast whcih slammed into the elf, who grimaced. Beth's life meter dropped to 13.

"Oh man, she's on the ropes now!" cried Shanna. Jake looked up and paled.

"Well, it looks like it's decided," said Machus. "Diane is..."

"Give Bethany another round, she might have something," said Lilith.

The skies outside grew stormy as the wind blew harshly through the temple. Bethany drew a card, gritting her teeth against the cold winds as she looked at her card. "I play...Legacy of the Duelist, playing half of my life points..." Her life meter dropped to 7. "And discarding my hand to make a hand of five cards I choose!" She discarded her hand and drew five cards, shuffled her deck, and slid it back into her disk. "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, regaining 1000 life points." The golden energy filled her and her life meter rose to 1007.

"Yes, she's in the game again!" said Jake in joy.

"And next I play Heavy Storm, destroying all our magic and traps!" said Bethany. All of Diane's cards exploded, including Really Eternal Rest and Diane's Guardian Sacrifice.

"Oh no," said Diane. "My Guardian's Sacrifice!"

"And then..." Bethany plugged in a card. "I sacrifice my 1000 life points to play City of Souls to bring back my three Mokey Mokey and Gigobyte!" Her life meter dropped back down to 7 as her four monsters appeared. "And finally, I play United We Stand to give Obnoxious Celtic Guardian a 4000-attack boost!" The elf warrior glowed as his attack rose to 4400.

"No!" said Gwen in horror.

"Destroy Dark Magician Girl! Use Silver Blade Slash!" shouted Bethany above the winds. The elf warrior slashed apart the sorceress and Diane's life points dropped to 1900. "And now my monsters..." She sighed. "Swarm her!"

Gigobyte clubbed Diane in the jaw and the Mokey Mokeys blasted her clothes to ashes with their beams. Luckily, the disks prevented her clothes from being completely destroyed, for decency. Her life points plummeted to 100.

"This is close, folks," said Lilith. "It could be anyone's game!"

The tension was so thick one could cut it with a steak knife. Diane slowly took the top card from her deck. I hope this magic card can do something, there's nothing I have to stand against that thing. She looked at it, then at the monsters. She closed her eyes. "Forgive me, Beth..."

"Huh?" asked Bethany.

"Don't hate me for what I am about to...it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life!" A tear trickled down her cheek. She slid the magic card into her slot and it appeared.

Time froze. No... thought Bethany in horror.

Twilight nodded as everyone gasped.

"I play Eternal Rest." Diane's words echoed in the air.

Lina gasped. That'll destroy Beth's monster because United We Stand is an equip magic! And since the rules state that a monster destroyed by a magic card's effect inflicts damage...Beth has almost nothing left, it doesn't matter how much damage she'll suffer from Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's destruction!

The Celtic Guardian lowered his blade and hung his head as the ghosts from the card engulfed him. He exploded and Beth lost all seven of her remaining life points.

"No...my Celtic Guardian..." whimpered Bethany, tears streaming down her face. Her other monsters were horrified as they vanished in flashes of light.

Lilith stood up. "Well, this has been most heart-jerking, but...Diane Arachne wins the tournament!" She raised both arms and cheers erupted.

"How could they cheer something so terrible?" hissed Gwen.

Diane walked up. "I...I'm so sorry, Beth. I didn't mean to do that. But..."

"You had no choice," said Bethany sadly. "It's okay. It was a good match." She held out her hand and smiled.

Jake was shocked. "She lost."

"I...er..." Donald said. He then felt a slap on his back.

"Your girlfriend is a hot one!" laughed Jake. "You sure picked them well!"

Donald gasped. "You're not mad at me?"

"Nah, I knew one of them would fall," sighed Jake. "But they both gave their best. I'm sure everything will be all right."

"Thanks," sighed Donald.

"Now be sure to give her a victory kiss," teased Jake, making Donald blush.

Lilith smiled. "Now, as due to the rules, Diane, you may take any card from your friend's deck. Which will it be?"

Diane gasped. Oh man, I don't know how to do this. I already hurt Bethany's feeling by murdering her monster, I couldn't just go and demand it! Unless... She turned to her friend. "Beth, remember what you said about knowing which card you were going to give me if you lost?"

Bethany looked up and suddenly remembered. "Oh yeah!" She removed the top card from her graveyard, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and handed it to her. "Take good care of it."

Cheers filled the stadium as Machus came down. "Well done, Diane. As promised, the box of rare cards and the trip to Duelatopia are now yours! You are now the Duelist Camp Champion!" More cheers and applause came from the crowd. "But that is not all you will win, should you choose to accept my challenge. If you defeat me in an exhibition match this afternnon, I will grant you one wish that Industrial Illusions is capable of granting with its vast resources. Do you accept?"

Diane grinned, recalling her wish. "YES!"

Cheers filled the stadium as Machus's jaw dropped. "You...you accept?"

"Why not? Something wrong?" asked Diane.

"N-No, not at all!" laughed Machus nervously. "Ha ha ha! Very well, everyone, be here at two-thirty for the epic duel to end all duels, myself versus the Duelist Camp Champion!" He turned and left, sighing. I wish she had refused...now I must force her to face a terrible thing.

Twilight noticed Machus leaving and then the Necklace shimmered. She went into a trance as the vision from before came to her, the summoning of Slifer the Sky Dragon. And now she knew who the two duelists were. She paled and sweated, then ran up to Diane. "You fool! How could you accept that challenge?"

Diane blinked. "Huh?"

"Chill, Twi, you should be happy for her," grinned Lina. "She's about to test her mettle against the headmaster."

Twilight felt a tear come down her cheek. "Yes..." Then she had an idea. "Diane, let me take care of your cards for the moment. I promise not to tamper with your deck."

Diane got confused, but shrugged and handed over her deck and side deck. "Here you go. Just be careful. The cards I got earlier are sort of worn with age."

Lina blinked. What's she up to? "Come on, Diane, let's go to the cafeteria and celebrate with ice cream!"

The others left, leaving Twilight on the stage. She opened the side deck case and removed a card.

The Claw of Hermos.

Forgive me, Diane, but something tells you will need this card. She slid the card into Diane's deck and then noticed her newest additions. She thought I didn't see her talk with Raphael, but she was wrong. I knew she would obtain this Guardian, but I fear not even Aitos can stand up to her next opponent.

To be continued...

NEW CARDS

Reverse the Reverse
Type: Counter Trap
Effect: When you activate this card, one of your opponent's set trap cards is activated as if it were yours.

This card was used in Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie.

NEXT CHAPTER: Diane's about to go face off against Machus, but she's got pre-duel jitters! Can Lina help her out? Find out when the next chapter comes out, with an unknown title!

**starjake** · 8th February 2005, 03:24 PM

And...Diane wins! YEE-HAH!

I saw a couple of incorrect effects. First of all - this happened in the previous duel as well - Mokey Mokey Smackdown cannot be activated during your Battle Phase. Also, I'm not sure if this would affect the outcome of one of your duels, but it's a Continuous card.

The other things was Waboku. It doesn't negate the Battle Phase; that's Negate Attack. Waboku negates any Battle Damage done to your monsters or your Life Points that turn. When Diane activated Waboku, Mokey Mokey King would still have been destroyed.

Other than that, great job! Hurry up with the Machus vs. Diane duel; I can't wait to see Slifer in action!

**Dark Sage** · 8th February 2005, 03:29 PM

Well, where to begin?

Chapter 32 was an interesting chapter. The duel between Yui and Athena was a lot more evenly matched than Athena's last duel. (The part about Twilight wondering how Yami could merge with a female made me take notice...)

It seems Phoebe is in danger... what is Circe planning? And why doesn't Siegfried want Diane to come to Duelatopia?

The scene with Raphael was good too. I had a funny feeling Diane would meet with him (or a relative of some sort) sometime during the course of this fic.

So now Pisaro is holding Serenity hostage. The slime. How is Brandon going to fit into this?

Chapter 33 had to be the closest duel I've ever seen! (Incidentally, Revesal Quiz requires you to discard your hand, but that didn't make a difference in the long run.)

Diane is the winner, but now her troubles are just beginning...

- Venusaur

**Shuppet Master** · 8th February 2005, 03:58 PM

Oops,forgot about that part. I apologize. And to Starjake,if Mokey Mokey Smackdown doesn't work on your Battle Phase, how the heck can you use it if the attack boost only last until the next turn? I'm not trying to claim artistic license for everything, but please don't go citing an error if it might ruin the duel outcome.

**starjake** · 8th February 2005, 06:29 PM

You misunderstand me.

The effect of Mokey Mokey Smackdown most certainly works during the Battle Phase; like you said, that's kind of the point. However, you can't activate a Continuous Spell Card during your Battle Phase like you would a Trap Card. You have to activate it before the Battle Phase starts to use its effect.

**Shuppet Master** · 8th February 2005, 06:52 PM

Okay,understood.

EDIT: Great, I get to add a new part to this tiny spam-like thread!

Another chapter's up! So soon?

Well, it's a VERY short filler before the big duel with Diane and Machus. I got inspired by Venusaur's "Dark Energy" chapter. Also, this chapter introduces some of the cards which will be in my own story series(when that comes to light after this story) and shows off some more of Lina's deck. All the anime-related character cards are the property of their appropriate writers and I take no credit for them.

Hopefully, you might go to www:anipike.com and search for these anime series!

**Shuppet Master** · 9th February 2005, 09:10 AM

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

Chapter 34: Toon Defense

“I have GOT to get some good practice in…” said Clive.

He looked at Yugi.

“Hey…” he said. “I just had the craziest idea…”

“Yeah?” said Yugi.

“Yug’,” said Clive, “How about a little practice duel, you and me?”

Mandate of Heaven, "Dark Energy"

The winds blew rapidly across the campgrounds as storm clouds gathered, as if it was an omen. Twilight was watching from the roof of her cabin.

That vision I had was more than enough, she mused. I can't believe, of all the people on this campsite, that it would be HIM who would own the second of the Egyptian God Cards!

A loud cry was heard. The blue-feathered phoenix, Sibylla, fluttered down. Luckily, nobody was around to see him. You called me, knowing that I would have to risk exposing myself to...

"I have found the owner of Slifer," sighed Twilight softly.

The bird paused and landed besides her. Slifer has been found? Who owns it?

Twilight explained her visions, and Sibylla was as stunned as a bird could look.

If...what you say is true, Miremei, then this entire area is in danger! Slifer is one of the more terrifying of beasts. Just as Obelisk contained my fury, so too did Slifer contain my fire. We must confiscate it.

"I cannot risk stealing it from him before the duel, or else I will lose my job," whispered Twilight. "We must strike after the next duel, when he is vunerable. No doubt that one soul will be stolen during the duel. I saw the Seal as well."

NO! This cannot be!

"I'm afraid so, but if we stop them, it would only cause trouble. We must wait until the opportunity presents itself." She smirked. "But do not worry, I've given his opponent some help. He won't win easily."

Hopefully, he will NOT win, sighed Sibylla, ruffling his feathers. I shall wait just outside the camp under cover of shadow until you obtain the card. Once that happens...

"I know, I know," said Twilight. "Do not worry, I will obtain the card."

I also know that you had participated in the ancient ritual of vision sharing with Diane. You know I discouraged you from doing that. No man or woman should know their future.

"It was my decision, I cannot do what you want all the time, my lord," said Twilight softly. "Do not fret. I will make absolutely sure she does not inform the proper parties of what she has seen. Hopefully, she will be intelligent enough to keep her silence until the future occurs."

The bird nodded and flew off in a blaze of blue flame.

"Be strong, Diane..." whispered Twilight, hugging her knees as lightning flashed and a soft thunder rolled.

~~+~~

Circe and Pisaro were enjoying the noontime meal, served by Kitsune. "So, it's been decided," said Circe, sipping her wine. "Diane Arachne is the one we seek. She's pretty good."

"I doubt that, just because she beat a bunch of kids her age," grinned Pisaro. "Our pawn will test her one more time. If she can defeat Yugi Mouto Sr.'s ultimate monster, then she can defeat Yugi Jr. In the meantime, let's enjoy this meal."

"Yes, let's," said Circe. She smirked. I can't wait to spring the surprise I have on Pisaro! Once he sees how I've planned out our little trap, he'll love me to pieces! We'll become more than a team, we'll be...

"Are you okay?" asked Pisaro.

"Y-Yes, I am fine, just a little flustered from the excitement," said Circe, blushing. "Once this next duel concludes, we can see whether Diane is up to snuff. If she fails..."

"Then her fate is Sealed," laughed Pisaro, taking a drink. "A toast...to the future."

The two clinked glasses.

~~+~~

"You know, Twi hasn't come for lunch," mumbled Lina as the cabin members were eating their ham sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. "I'm concerned."

"You think that's weird?" asked Gwen. "Di's not here either."

"What?" asked Lina, getting up. "Where is she?"

Bethany looked at Gwen.

"Tell me," ordered Lina firmly.

"Well..." said Bethany.

A moment later, Lina was walking to the gaming building. "What's she up to?" mumbled Lina.

She entered the gaming center to find Lina standing before a dueling simulator, competing against it. She looked bored, and her monsters - Guardian Tryce and Elma - were looking just as bored.

"End turn," she sighed.

The computer whirred. "Summon Petit Angel in attack mode. Set one card face-down."

"Oh puh-lease," groaned Diane melodramatically, hand on her head. "You expect me to fall for your trap? Get real! I set one card face-down and end my turn." The card appeared before her.

"Sacrifice Petit Angel for Dark Ruler Ha-Des," said the computer. The angel vanished and turned into the scary demon ruler. "Attack Guardian Elma." The dark ruler powered up an unholy blast.

"Oh come on! How many times are you going to fall for this?" cried Diane, tapping the switch on her disk. "Activate trap card, Negate Attack!" The blast was absorbed. "Now I equip my Guardian Tryce with Malevolent Nuzzler!" Tryce glowed and his attack rose to 2600. "Attack!"

Tryce sliced apart Dark Ruler Ha-Des and Guardian Elma did a double attack with her twin swords, reducing the computer's life points to zero. "YOU WIN!"

"Geez, I'd rather have my gums scraped than continue this..." She turned and saw Lina clapping. "Huh?"

"Nice job!" said Lina.

"NICE?! NICE!?!?!" cried Diane with a demonic scowl. "Lina, do you know the level that was set on?"

"Uh...no," said Lina sheepishly.

Diane pointed to the computer's difficulty setting - MAX.

"Oh," said Lina, sweatdropping.

"I mean, in two and a half hours, I'm going to face the toughest duel of my LIFE," growled Diane. "I've been trying to hone my skills so when I do face Machus, who is supposedly the best duelist on this wretched camp, I won't make a fool out of myself! But these computers are complete CRAP!"

"Well, you can't expect a computer to have skills in dueling," said Lina. "I mean, when I started Duel Monsters and gathering cards, I went onto the Net and talked to other humans for ideas of strategy. When I came into Industrial Illusions, my foster father made me duel him. He was one of the best duelists ever, he knew every strategy in existence and his cards were no joke. A computer can be programmed with every strategy, but it can't cover every situation."

"Great...how am I ever gonna get good enough to defeat Machus?" sighed Diane. "I really wanted to win that wish..."

Lina paused. I know this is technically CHEATING, but if I can get her confidence up, maybe... She smirked. "I just had a wacky idea, an inspiration of the imagination!"

Diane looked at her. "Huh? What?"

Lina took out her deck. "I'll duel you in a practice duel."

"What? You really mean it?" asked Diane. "Are you sure? I mean...I really don't want to lose against you..."

"Don't worry, this isn't like when I was dressed as Dark Magician Girl and campers challenged me for the Shadow Badge," grinned Lina. "You won't lose anything if you lose against me. If you can do well against me, you might stand a chance against Machus." She leaned into her. "Let me clue you in on a secret I have...I wasn't just trained by my dad, I was trained by Maximillion Pegasus himself!"

"No way! REALLY?" cried Diane in wide-eyed shock.

"Yep, why do you think I made a Toon World deck as my deck?" grinned Lina. "I looked up to Pegasus, and if you can defeat the pupil of the creator of the game, you can defeat a lowly worker of the company he once owned!"

"Wow, you're serious aren't you?" said Diane. She got a firm expression. "Fine, let's duel!"

The two took their places and shuffled their decks. Diane noticed something. Huh? What's this doing in here? She put The Claw of Hermos back in her side-deck case.

~~+~~

Doppler was wandering about nearby. I am totally bored, thought the doppleganger. I hope the duel between Diane and our little pawn is interesting or...eh? She turned as she heard the activation of Duel Disks. She went into the gaming center and hid behind an arcade cabinet. Well well, this is interesting. Seems Diane couldn't watch for her duel. She's about to duel her own counselor. This should be interesting...

~~+~~

"I'll let you go first," grinned Lina as the two plugged in their decks. The life meters rose to 8000.

"Okay!" said Diane as the two pulled off five-card hands. She drew a card. "To start, I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" The elven warrior emerged from the card, blade ready. (1400/1200)

"Well then," said Lina as she drew. "I might not have a monster to destroy him, but I can match his attack! Toon Cannon Soldier in attack mode!" A goofy pastel-colored robot emerged. (1400/1300)

"What the...a Toon so soon?" asked Diane.

"What a poet!" giggled Lina. "But yes, this Toon is a bit different from his pals. He can come to the field without Toon World, but if Toon World appears, destroying it will destroy him like the others. Also, he has the same ability as his non-Toon counterpart! Activate Stray Lambs!" The two lamb tokens appeared.

"Uh oh..." said Diane in shock.

"And now I sacrifice both Lamb Tokens to inflict 1000 points of damage!" said Lina. The two lambs melted into energy and were loaded into the robot, who aimed both cannons and fired them into Diane's body. She cried out as her body was shoved back and her life points dropped to 7000. She looked at the searing damage on her body. "I hope that didn't hurt."

"Nah, but it's real realistic," said Diane, grinning.

"No love lost, then," smiled Lina. "Your turn."

Diane drew, then grinned. "I summon Celtic Swordgirl!" The cute elfling emerged. (1000/800) "And since she's on the field, my Celtic Guardian gains 400 attack points!" Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's attack rose to 1800. "And I'll equip him with Gravity Axe to increase his power higher, by 500, for the mere cost of a card." She discarded a card as the warrior sheathed his sword and removed the axe that had appeared in the ground, raising his attack to 2300.

"Oh no, my Cannon's toast!" cried Lina in mock horror as the toy robot clanked in fear, holding its 'head'.

"You got that right," grinned Diane wickedly. "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, gravity axe bash!" The warrior lunged and sliced the cannon robot in half, shattering it to bits. Lina's life points dropped to 7100. "And now Celtic Swordgirl, attack her life points directly with silver dagger stab!"

The elfling dashed forward and jabbed Lina's leg, cutting a bleeding gash in it. Lina howled in pain as her life meter dropped to 6100. "Well, that was pretty clever!"

"Thanks," said Diane, blushing.

Lina drew her card. "But I'm afraid that's about to change, because now I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two new cards." She drew two cards. "And I play Toon Index!" The card appeared and a sketchbook appeared, flipping wildly. "This allows me to take a Toon monster from my deck and put it in my hand." The book stopped and a card flew out of the pages. Lina snatched it up and put it in her hand. "Next, I play a little card my foster father dealt with when he dueled Yugi Sr." She played a magic card.

"Your dad dueled Yugi's father?" gasped Diane.

"It's a long story," giggled Lina. "I play Brain Control!" The fiendish brain appeared. "This is the same as Change of Heart, taking control of one of your monsters for one turn, and I choose Celtic Swordgirl!"

The elfling cried in horror as the hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to Lina's field.

"And now I play the magic card Toon World!" She slapped down the card and the goofy book appeared with a loud crash as crazy music began to play. Lina's life points dropped to 5100. "And I sacrifice your Swordgirl for Toon Summoned Skull!"

The elfling was sucked into the book, which disgorged the goofy bone-fiend. (2500/1200)

"Isn't he cute?" teased Lina as the demon giggled. "Of course, since he can't attack on my turn, I set one card and end." The card appeared before her.

"Hmph, you should have taken control of my Celtic Guardian, then you could have done more damage," grinned Diane. "Unfortunately, you screwed up." She drew a card. "I equip my Celtic Guardian with Butterfly Dagger, making him stronger than your cartoonic demon!" The dagger appeared at Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. (2600/1200)

"Oh no!" said Lina with a frown. Toon Summoned Skull gasped.

"And since I equipped him with that, I can summon one of my Guardians! Guardian Elma, in attack mode!" Diane watched as her red-haired beauty emerged, ready for battle. (1300/800) "When I destroy your toon monster, then I'll inflict more direct damage to you! Celtic Guardian, silver blade slash!"

The elven warrior lunged.

"Sorry, I knew you would do that," grinned Lina, flipping up a trap card. "Activate Plummeting Safe!"

A giant safe crashed down on Celtic Guardian and knocked him out. He vanished and Diane's life meter dropped to 6350.

"Oh shoot," said Diane, snapping her fingers. "I set a card and end my turn." The card appeared before her.

"Don't you know my Toons can attack directly?" grinned Lina. She drew a card and smirked. My card! Wait until she sees this baby! She looked at Diane and grinned. But not now. First, I'll give her some confidence. "I summon Toon Gemini Elf in attack mode." The two elves emerged with a giggle. (1900/900) "And now I attack! Toon Summoned Skull, lightning strike!" The blast shot towards Diane.

"Not so fast!" cried Diane, flipping up her trap card. "Activate Waboku!" The three priestesses appeared and took the attack. "This reduced your monster's attack to zero damage for your turn, and I know you can't attack with your elves."

"Oh, you're right," sighed Lina. "I end my turn."

Huh? No traps? She's slipping... Diane drew a card. "I play Pot of Greed." She drew two cards and grinned. "This card works like Brain Control, I play Change of Heart!" The spirit of the card appeared.

"Oh no, you'll take control of my monster!" cried Lina in mock horror. "Oh well, win some, lose some. It's only fair."

"Come to me, Toon Summoned Skull!" cried Diane. The spirit entered the toon and it flew to Diane's side. "And now...let's see how you like it, Lina! LIGHTNING STRIKE!" The toon demon flung his electric attack and blasted Lina, covering her with electric burns and dropping her life points to 2600. "And now I'll sacrifice it for Dark Magician Girl!" The fiend vanished and was replaced by the cute sorceress. (2000/1700)

"Oh dear, I forgot to set my Toon Mask!" bawled Lina. She drew. "Oh well, I'll just sacrifice my Toon Elves for Toon Dark Magician Girl instead." The elves vanished and out popped the cartoon variation of Diane's monster. (2000/1700)

Diane was flabbergasted. "You screwed up! You should have attacked ME directly. Not only would I have lost 1900 life points, but you would have made me discard a random card from my hand!"

"Oh dear, what was I thinking?" laughed Lina. "Oh well, it can't be reversed. I'll just set two cards and end my turn."

"Hmmm..." said Diane, rubbing her chin. Traps, probably. She drew a card and looked at her hand. But if I can pull this off, I could destroy her toon and win the duel! "I play Polymerization to fuse together the two elves in my hand, Dark Elf and Mystical Elf, to form Empress Elf!" The regal elf lady emerged with a shimmer. (3000/3000) "And I equip Dark Magician Girl with Twin Flashing Swords of Light and Malevolent Nuzzler!" The sorceress glowed green as her staff was replaced by two glimmering swords. (2200/2400) "Now Dark Magician Girl, attack with dark flashing blades!"

The sorceress glided forward, but bounced off a wall. "Negate Attack," grinned Lina.

"Oh, all right," sighed Diane. "I end my turn."

Lina drew a card. Perfect! Here goes... "I activate the field magic card...Animetropolis!" cried Lina, sliding the card into her field slot. The card appeared, showing a Toon World book with a Shinto shrine.

"Huh? I've never seen that card before," said Diane.

"Of course not, I'm the only one who owns this card," giggled Lina. "It only works if I have Toon World active. It transforms Toon World from an occidental cartoon realm to...a Japanimation paradise!"

The book closed and spun about wildly, changing color to a lavender hue, then it stopped, showing the cover to have a super-cute girl on the cover with Japanese kanji and katakana words around her.

"Get ready for the world of...ANIMETROPOLIS!" announced Lina. The book sprung open and a giant Shinto shrine popped out of it. Cherry petals and glimmering bubbles covered the field.

"Whoa," said Diane in awe. She then saw Toon Dark Magician Girl implode and turned into a super-cute version of itself. "Hey, your Toon just turned into..."

"A super-deformed character," giggled Lina. "Of course, and all my Toons which aren't anime characters themselves gain that special makeover and are protected by Animetropolis."

"Huh?" asked Diane.

"You'll find out," grinned Lina wickedly. "I'll just shift my Toon Dark Magician Girl into defense mode and end my turn." The little sorceress pouted and crouched.

Now what? thought Diane. She's really screwing up. She could have attacked me directly again! Maybe she's concerned that my monsters will trample hers. Well, her loss! "Prepare to lose, Lina! Empress Elf, Sylvan Sorcery!"

The elf flung her arms out and glowing leaves shot from them. Lina smirked.

Toon Dark Magician Girl screamed and stretched her legs up like rubber, the leaves flying under her skirt.

"What the...?" gasped Diane.

"Hee hee, you just saw the protection Animetropolis gives to my Toons!" giggled Lina. "You see, Maximillion Pegasus, when he played Toons, made them so that attacking them was futile. Every attempt to attack them failed. That's because of Toon Physics - you can beat up and squash and zap a Toon, but it never dies. This is moreso for anime characters, especially those in goofy comedy anime like Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. So, attacking my Toons is futile, and likewise targeting them with special effects is also futile."

"Shoot," sighed Diane. "Well then, I set one card face-down..." The card appeared. "And end my turn."

"Good, then I get to move," said Lina, drawing a card. "First, I'll play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards for two." She drew three cards and discarded two. "And then I'll sacrifice my Toon Dark Magician Girl for one of my anime-toon monsters!" The Toon Dark Magician Girl vanished. "To summon Botan the Spirit Witch!"

A blue-robed sorceress with red hair pulled back in a ponytail emerged, riding an oar. (2000/800)

"Uh?" asked Diane. "You sacrificed a sorceress to summon a sorceress with the same attack?"

"Don't be fooled, dear," said Lina. "You see, this girl is a messenger of the spirit world. She gains 300 attack points for every Toon that I have in my Graveyard. And from what I have so far, I have..." She counted on her fingers. "Four."

Botan waved her hand and the ghosts of the dead Toons flew into her oar, raising her attack to 3200.

"Oh man!" cried Diane. "I'm toast."

"But a Toon is a Toon, even an anime character," grinned Lina. "So you have some breathing room."

Diane drew. Nuts, Bow of Shooting Stars is NOT what I need right now! "I shift both my monsters into defense mode and end my turn.[/I] The two spellcasters crouched.

"Then I'll summon another anime-Toon," grinned Lina. "I summon Arami." A young girl wearing a white dress appeared. She had two long brown braids and brown eyes. (200/2400) "When she is summoned, she goes into defense mode automatically." The girl knelt on one knee. "And due to her special ability, I can special summon her partner, Sashi, from my deck or hand without tribute when she's summoned." Lina removed her deck and pulled out a card, shuffled the deck, and plugged it back in, then placed the card on the field. A boy with shorts, sandals, and a brimmed hat appeared. (2400/200) He looked at Dark Magician Girl and got all heart-eyed and started to drool, much to Arami's disgust.

"Oh man," said Diane. "I'm just glad they can't attack now, or my life points will be toast."

"Actually, no," said Lina. "My anime-toons cannot attack the player directly like regular toons can. I made that stipulation to keep the anime-toons from becoming cheap and abusive, since they can't be summoned without Animetropolis. But...Botan, Spell of the Spirits! Destroy Empress Elf!"

The witch cast her hand out and a blast of violet energy ripped apart Diane's elf.

"And with that, I'll end my turn." Lina smirked.

Doppler watched with glee. Well, this woman is quite impressive. Perhaps she could be the tool I need to deal with my little problem. Yes...she'll do nicely. Her skills are good enough to fool Pisaro.

Diane drew a card, then lit up. This might work! "I fuse my Dark Magician Girl with the Flame Swordsmistress in my hand to summon Darkflare Valkyrie!" The two females merged into one, forming the female version of Darkflare Knight. (1800/1200) "And I attack your Sashi!" The warrior lunged at the boy...

...who suddenly clamped onto her chest and snuggled in it, making the Valkyrie get very ticked off! "Oops, forgot to mention something," grinned Lina. "If you try to attack with a female monster, Sashi prevents her from attacking. Of course, he can't attack himself."

"Oh great," moaned Diane. "I end my turn."

Lina drew, then grinned. "It's over. I sacrifice both Arami and Sashi to summon...SORA THE KEYBLADE MASTER."

"NO!" cried Diane in horror, realizing what was going to happen.

The two pre-teens vanished and the boy with the keyblade appeared. (3300/3000) He leapt up and stabbed his key into the ground, obliterating both Darkflare Valkyrie and Botan the Spirit Witch. Lina's life points dropped to 1800 while Diane's dropped to 6550.

Drat! Because Darkflare Valkyrie was destroyed by a monster effect and not in battle, I can't summon Mirage Paladin! thought Diane. This really sucks!

"And now I equip Megamorph to Sora, increasing his attack to 6600." Sora glowed as his attack doubled. "Diane, you know what is going to happen next, don't you?"

Diane sighed. "Go ahead. Do it." She braced herself for the blow.

"Sora...STRIKE RAID!" commanded Lina. The young boy shot forward, keyblade out, and dashed past Diane, who toppled over. Her life meter dropped to zero and the disks deactivated. "You okay, Diane?" She ran over and picked her up.

"Ugh...that hurt." Diane rubbed her chest. "I was so close! If only that kid hadn't glomped my Valkyrie..."

"It's okay, you didn't know," said Lina. "Be careful, as you don't know WHAT Machus is up to. You came close, closer than you would ever know, to defeating me."

"What do you mean?" asked Diane, confused.

"Think about it," said Lina. "Had you not been so eager to attack with Darkflare Valkyrie, and instead set Flame Swordmistress in defense, I would have not summoned Sora. As you can see, Botan was destroyed too - Sora destroys ALL dark and fiend monsters on the field, so it would have hurt me too. For novelty's sake, draw the next card from your deck."

Diane did so. "Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Lina nodded. "Had you set your Flame Swordsmistress, I couldn't have attacked with Sashi - due to his effect, attacking with him would have paralyzed him. I would have had to wipe out one of your monsters with Botan, and then you could have wiped out my Animetropolis card and wiped out all of my Toons at once. When Animetropolis is removed from the field, even sent back to my hand or deck, Toon World is annihilated."

"Oh!" said Diane. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're a friend, Diane," said Lina. "You probably would have wasted that card on Toon World, but it would have failed - Animetropolis not only protects my Toons, but also Toon World from destruction. When all my Toons died, you could have shifted your remaining monster into attack and taken out my life points. I would have had no way to stop either your Flame Swordsmistress or your Dark Magician Girl from a direct attack." She showed the other card she had set. It was a Kirby's Sketchbook trap. "This card would have been dead weight with no Toons to protect."

"I was so close and yet so stupid..." sighed Diane.

"It's okay, you got cocky," grinned Lina. "You'll do fine against Machus, I promise. Now, let's get some food in you for the duel in two hours. Okay?"

Diane felt her stomach growl. "Okay. Thanks, Lina. You made my day."

"Always glad to help," grinned Lina, walking out with Diane.

Doppler smirked and left the building herself, scheming.

~~+~~

Lina entered Twilight's room. "Yes?" asked the woman.

"Twi, we have to talk," said Lina with a tight-lipped face. "I heard from Diane that Hermos ended up in her deck. Care to explain what you were doing putting it back there?"

Twilight gasped. "She...didn't take it out, I hope!"

"She did, it's back where it belongs," said Lina with a scowl.

Twilight grew pale and sweated bullets. "Lina, you must put it back in her deck! Her life depends on it!"

"First, explain why!" demanded Lina. "You know the rules! If Machus finds out she has that card in her hand in their duel, he'll call the duel off and have Diane locked up with Norus for cheating!"

Twilight sighed softly. "How did you know that it was in her deck?"

"She found it while we were dueling each other," said Lina. "Now, explain."

"I had hoped this wouldn't come to this," whispered Twilight sadly. "But...I guess I must tell you the truth. If Hermos is not with Diane in her duel, Diane will lose her soul."

Lina gasped. She lowered her voice. "What do you mean?"

Twilight looked up sadly.

~~+~~

Lina found Diane taking a nap in her cabin. She smiled gently. "She is so cute when she is sleeping," she whispered. She crept up to her deck and side-deck and opened them. I hope Twi isn't making this up. If she is and Diane gets in trouble, I'll put the blame on Twi. But...I don't think that I should ignore this warning. If what she said was true, then Diane is in for the fight of her life!

She pulled out the Claw of Hermos and slipped it into Diane's deck.

And she's gonna need all the help she can get!

Carefully replacing the boxes so they looked like nothing had happened to them, Lina left the room and quietly shut the door. Good luck, Diane...good luck in your duel.

To be continued...

NEW CARDS

Animetropolis
Type: Field Magic
Effect: This card can only be activated when "Toon World" is on the field. Any Toon Monster which is attacked while this card is in play doesn't get destroyed, and no battle damage is taken. Also, all Toons become immune to effects(monster, magic, or trap) which target them. As long as this card is in play, "Toon World" cannot be removed from the field by any means. If this card leaves the field, destroy "Toon World."

Botan the Spirit Witch
Type: Dark/Spellcaster/Toon/Effect
Level: 5
ATK: 2000
DEF: 800
Effect: This card can only be summoned while Animetropolis is on the field. This card gains 300 attack points for each Toon in your graveyard. This card cannot attack life points directly.

Credit goes to the writers of "Yu Yu Hasako" for this character.

Arami
Type: Light/Spellcaster/Toon/Effect
Level: 3
ATK: 200
DEF: 2400
Effect: This card can only be summoned while Animetropolis is on the field. When this card is summoned, it goes into face-up defense. If successfully summoned, you may special summon "Sashi" from your deck or hand without tribute. If your opponent summons a monster with "Goblin" in the name, this card's attack rises to 4000, shifts to attack and, every battle phase, it must attack the said card. This effect continues until the said card leaves the field, then this card returns to defense and its attack reverts to normal. This card cannot attack the opponent directly.

Sashi
Type: Earth/Warrior/Toon/Effect
Level: 6
ATK: 2400
DEF: 200
Effect: This card can only be summoned while Animetropolis is on the field. When this card is summoned, if Arami is not on the field, this card shifts into defense mode when it attacks a monster. If your opponent has a female monster on the field, neither this card nor the said card can attack. If Arami is on the field when this card is destroyed in battle, this card is special summoned back to the field at the end of the turn it was destroyed. This card cannot attack the opponent directly.

Credit goes to the writers of "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" for these characters.

NEXT CHAPTER: The duel between Diane and Machus! Who will win, and what is all this terrible stuff going about that Twilight is concerned about? Why does Diane need Hermos? And what are Doppler and Circe up to? Find out these and more answers in the exciting chapter...DRAGON'S RAGE!

**Shuppet Master** · 9th February 2005, 09:14 AM

Minor Announcement: As you know, I am working on revising the story. This means examining all the cards I have given each character and completely overhauling duels so that all unnecessary cards are eliminated and the decks remain at a decent size (40-60 cards total). I found out that Diane's deck has WAY too many cards, and most of these don't see more than one

I saw this after I was working out the details of the mock duel between Diane and the computer and found that Diane has virtually no trap cards of use.

All my featured cards, as well as cards which are contributed by other readers, will be here in the revision, but there won't be a lot of useless one-duel cards. This will make the story much more managable and avoid problems like the Donald/Diane duel(which was 141 KB - it could have been a two-parter!

)

**starjake** · 9th February 2005, 09:22 AM

Very nice...a little too much of a spinoff from Venusaur's chapter for my liking, but very nice nonetheless. I'll see you for the big duel!

**Shuppet Master** · 9th February 2005, 09:41 AM

I know, I warned readers that this was partly-ripped off from "Dark Energy" and have plans to fix that - I just put in the whole gaming center thing to put a weak foundation to the chapter, when it gets revised I'll remove that part.

**Dark Sage** · 9th February 2005, 12:20 PM

Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery... And it was well done.

That was a close call - Diane might have lost Hermos, and I really think she needs it for what's coming up.

Keep doing the revisions - I look forward to reading them.

And don't worry about long chapters - I have my share of long chapters.

- Venusaur

**mr_pikachu** · 13th February 2005, 12:39 AM

Sorry for not replying lately; I've been extremely busy with schoolwork. Ugh.

So Diane will face Machus! Personally, I've known his secret since the first vision, but the visions were still good. Nice job with the duels, especially the one between Diane and Beth. I loved how the latter duelist just kept coming back from near-destruction. I mean, 7 life points? That's just insane! Your characters are coming along well. I like that Diane literally does not know her own deck - she has no idea what her most powerful card is! I can't wait to see the final clash. And I'm glad that you brought the setting up a couple of times in the Diane/Beth match; I thought a little more would have been nice, but it still worked pretty well. (By the way, what does Allez Jeune mean again? I keep forgetting.)

A few things I wanted to comment on, though. The first is sort of a playful jest, actually, and I only mention it because of my vast knowledge of Pokemon music:

Let yourself go
This is my show
Watch me when I play

Can you be the best?
[...]

You left out a part! The three-line section is actually six lines long! The second half goes like this:

Change your mindset
And you’ll get
Better every day!

I should know… I’ve memorized the song.

Also in that song, “Cos” should be “‘Cause” (as in a slang abbreviation for “Because”), and I’m pretty sure that the repeated line “Will you stand up to the fight?” is actually “Will you step up to the fight?”

Also, I thought some of the dialogue seemed forced, especially during the part before the final duel of the tournament. You know, when the finalists were trying to psyche up both Diane and Beth? I know it was an uncomfortable situation for the characters involved, but the dialogue seemed a bit too... well planned for casual teenage conversation. "...and you defeated the one who defeated me, that horrible Norus," seemed odd, as did the later line, "Let's promise not to lord it over the other." It might help to practice writing some casual dialogue, or to watch some sitcoms on TV. Even reading the comics can help! (Hey, it taught me everything I know about writing casual speech...) And make sure you get the tags right; I noticed some unclosed tags and a few closing tags that had no openings.

Overall, however, this is getting better and better. I'm eagerly looking forward to the upcoming duel between Diane and Machus. This should be a match for the ages! Well, until then!

EDIT: Sorry about revealing that, but I thought it was pretty obvious at this point... didn't Twilight even say that outright to Sibylla? That's what I got out of their conversation. Either way, though, I've removed the "spoiler" from this post.

**Shuppet Master** · 13th February 2005, 12:38 PM

Mr. Pikachu, I humbly thank you for helping with those lyrics. I wrote the lyrics down by listening to the MP3(which I have on my hard drive) and putting down what I hear. Your input is much appreciated.

One thing though,mark any spoilers you have or PM me. It's annoying when you spoil a plot thing - yes, Machus has Slifer, but maybe I didn't want the readers to KNOW that until the duel!

And "ALLEZ JUENE!" was something I came up with. If you watch Iron Chef, the Chairman guy who hosts the show always cries "Allez Cuisine!" which means "go cook!" I wanted to have something like that, so I used "Allez Juene!" which means(if I recall correctly) "go play!"

**The_Missing_Link** · 13th February 2005, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by .hack//BELLOSSOM

Mr. Pikachu, I humbly thank you for helping with those lyrics. I wrote the lyrics down by listening to the MP3(which I have on my hard drive) and putting down what I hear. Your input is much appreciated.

One thing though,mark any spoilers you have or PM me. It's annoying when you spoil a plot thing - yes, Machus has Slifer, but maybe I didn't want the readers to KNOW that until the duel!

And "ALLEZ JUENE!" was something I came up with. If you watch Iron Chef, the Chairman guy who hosts the show always cries "Allez Cuisine!" which means "go cook!" I wanted to have something like that, so I used "Allez Juene!" which means(if I recall correctly) "go play!"

Actually, I thought it was easy to figure out Machus had Slifer. In some chapter, there was a mention that he had a card that Yugi had used before, and since Obelisk came up in the story and Sibylla mentioned he needed the 3 God cards to regain his power, Slifer was the only other choice

**mr_pikachu** · 13th February 2005, 05:34 PM

To take TML's thoughts a step further, I'd like to quote a section from this last chapter:

"I have found the owner of Slifer," sighed Twilight softly.

The bird paused and landed besides her. Slifer has been found? Who owns it?

Twilight explained her visions, and Sibylla was as stunned as a bird could look.

If...what you say is true, Miremei, then this entire area is in danger! Slifer is one of the more terrifying of beasts. Just as Obelisk contained my fury, so too did Slifer contain my fire. We must confiscate it.

"I cannot risk stealing it from him before the duel, or else I will lose my job," whispered Twilight.

Maybe it's just me, but I thought the fact that the visions with Slifer were connected with the upcoming duel kind of gave it away. But perhaps others saw it differently. I dunno. *shrugs*

Thread: Yu-Gi-Oh: Sister of Anansi

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