Yu-Gi-Oh: Tilting the Balance

[starjake]

OK. Time to explain rulings.

First off, the card everyone is currently discussing: Ancient Gear Castle. Master of Paradox mentioned one mistake he made, but he actually made a second. The exact text of the card states that you add a counter "each time a monster(s) is Normal Summoned or Set," meaning Chad's comment about Setting monsters was incorrect. However, it is very true that the Castle gains counters when your opponent Normal Summons or Sets as well, since it does not specify which side of the field the monster must be Normal Summoned or Set on.

Second, Ancient Gear Cannon. Its effect is considered an 'Ignition Effect'. This is important because that means it is not a 'Multi-Trigerr Effect', which is the only kind of effect that can be activated during your opponent's turn. So, you can Tribute Ancient Gear Cannon during your own turn.

Third, even if you were allowed to Tribute the Cannon during your opponent's turn, that would've invoked a generic game ruling: if the number of monsters on your opponent's side of the field changes during an attack, you may rewind the attack and select a new target if you choose. Tributing Cannon would have changed the number of monsters on Sol's field, thus allowing Chad to call back his attack (technically called a replay) and attack another target (such as Sol).

Fourth: I can't remember in which battle, and I'm too lazy to look it up, but I remember Chad activating his Wild Nature's Release sometime during a Battle Phase. Wild Nature's Release is a Normal Spell, with a Spell Speed of 1; only cards with a Spell Speed of 2 or higher (such as Quick-Play Spells) can be activated during the Battle Phase.

Now that those are out of the way...I certainly do appreciate seeing Kyle's Deck extending past TTYD (I was the one who created him, jkB). And, since it's obvious that Sol will appear at least one more time, we'll be able to see a few more strategies in that Ancient deck of his.

until next chapter, then, this is StarJake, signing off.

[jkBAKURA]

I'll field this one, starjake.

I recall quite vivedly Paradox's research on these cards (most of which were just internet info at the time, seeing as the cards weren't even out in Japan) so no official rulings were even available to work from.

I gave my best advice (even though I thought he was just asking about ruling questions, as I didn't know of this story's existance) and we managed to agree on the most logical rulings based on the way the effects were worded. And come to think of it, isn't an attack negated if the target uses an Interdemensional Matter Transporter?

We don't need to beat an author into the ground for doing his best. We've all made our share of dueling mistakes.

[starjake]

And come to think of it, isn't an attack negated if the target uses an Interdemensional Matter Transporter?

Only if you follow the rules of the anime. In real life, that situation would cause a replay.

And I'm not beating MoP into the ground. These are all easily written off as artistic lisence. I just brought them up so that people don't try and use artistic rules in the real game. Think of it as enlightenment, not as bashing.

[Blademaster]

We don't need to beat an author into the ground for doing his best.

Oh, you mean like Pardox himself does on a regular basis?

Anyway, I liked this chapter pretty much, rulings aside, but the finishing blow, which to me seemed a little cheap (A full hand that can do 5000+ points damage vs. a full hand that can't do anything? Come on.), bothered me, since I thought Poison Fangs only worked when a Beast destroyed a Monster, not inflicted Battle Damage...

...Or maybe not. I don't remember, and like Gerald, I'm too lazy to go look.

Incidentally, what's with Gerald and Alexander? Is Alexander his dad or something? What the Hell? It seems that Gerald is always either a lazy slug or he's just blunt - isn't he ever in a good mood?

Anyway, gotta go. Keep writing, and I'll keep reading.

Peace out!

-Blade

[Master of Paradox]

I assure you that I won't screw up that badly in the future...

Somewhere in the city of St. Paul, there is a girl who knows the meaning of the world “Kanlon”. This girl seems to be important to the Darkness, and presumably that’s why she was kidnapped and taken here. She’s somewhere in this city, and I have to save here.

Now if the Light could only give me a vision as to where I could find her…

But at the moment, she’s only a tertiary concern. The secondary concern is driving the Darkness out of this city and saving the 200,000-plus people living in it.

The primary concern is keeping from catching a nasty case of the Darkness Infection. And at the moment, the grease monkey I’m facing is very enthusiastic about giving me a dose of it.

You know, I don’t even have a driver’s license. Why did I have to face the gearhead?

Chapter Six: Streets of Fire

It was fairly late in the evening, but there was activity in the city of St. Paul. Hidden away in a spot concealed from the eyes of most passerbies, three men and a young woman were gathered in or around a massive cage of iron.

Two of the men were seated; on the left was an older man in a priest’s outfit, currently flipping through a Bible that had seen better times; on the right, cleaning a gigantic gun, was a grotesquely over-muscled man in black leather pants and iron mask. The third man was leaning against a wall, and his entire body but for his eyes was hidden by silver Lycra. They were, respectively, Father Young, Ogre, and Hanzaki.

Inside of the cage, holding the bars for lack of a better option, was Laura Vesnic, the captive. Her attempts at getting information out of her captors had failed miserably, and so she just held onto the bars, scowling on occasion.

“So… have the bosses explained why we’ve gotta watch over the girl?” Ogre asked, reassembling the gun.

“All they said was to keep an eye on her and not do anything stupid,” Hanzaki answered, lifting his fingers to his eyes as if looking over his nails. As his hands were fully encased in the same material as the rest of his body, this was fairly pointless. “Granted, if they didn’t want something stupid, they would have sent you on another assignment.”

“Watch it, shiny boy.”

Shutting his Bible, Father Young looked to Hanzaki and asked, “How long will we have to watch over her?”

“The bosses didn’t say. Degas hinted that she’s pivotal for the last step, but I couldn’t get any info out of him.” Hanzaki’s eyes narrowed. “That’s unusually secretive for Degas. Alexander, I can understand, but Degas usually says more than that.”

“Indeed,” Father Young replied. “Sometimes I question what part Alexander plays in all this. From what I’ve seen, Degas does most of the work – he’s the one who brought me into this.”

“Me, too,” Ogre said. “I was just a low-rent security guard when Degas picked me up. What about you, Hanzaki?”

After a moment’s silence, Hanzaki said, “Both of them were responsible for my recruitment, actually.”

“That’s the first time Alexander’s had a use that I know of,” Ogre grumbled.

Father Young sighed. “Let’s not spend all day criticizing our employers,” he said. “There must be a reason why Alexander is one of them. For the time being, all we can do is stand guard over the girl.”

“Exactly,” Hanzaki said. “Now if you excuse me, I have business elsewhere. Our… other guests just left town for the night, and keeping an eye on them is my job. Until then…”

He made a cryptic gesture and disappeared as the air blurred.

“So…” Laura said, leaning against the cage door. “Do I get time out of the cell for exercise?”

The answer was the sound of Ogre cocking the mammoth gun he was holding.

“‘No’ would have worked just as well,” she muttered.

0000000

Out on the streets, the Pillar known as Viper walked along the road, hands behind his back. As he walked, he looked into the sky, smiling slightly as the stars began to come out.

Wherever Viper stepped, the ground cracked under his feet, and a cloud of pavement dust followed his footsteps.

A gust of wind caught his cape, and the Pillar’s attention was caught with it as well. He turned, his eyes following his cape, and happened to look down an alleyway.

In the alleyway, a young man had the hood of his car (an ’86 Corolla GTS) up and was busily working on the engine block. The man had short, feathered brown hair, and wore a white t-shirt and jeans.

Viper smiled and snuck up behind said young man, flexing the fingers on one hand.

After a moment, the man set his wrench down, hearing the sound of the concrete shattering behind him. “Huh?” he muttered. He then turned around…

…and one of Viper’s hands caught him by the neck. The young man only struggled for a moment.

After that moment, the air flashed black around them and the marks of the Darkness Infection spread over the young man’s hands and neck. He fell limp, and Viper dropped him.

One foot kicked the unconscious body out of the way, and Viper glanced over the car’s engine. He touched it, and everything wrong with it repaired itself in a flash. “I’ve always had a… way with machines,” he muttered under his breath.

With a wave of his hand, the door unlocked itself, and he opened it wide, sliding into the front seat. As he’d seen through the windshield, there was a Duel Disk (Model 6, the current generation) and a deck on the passenger seat.

He took out the deck and fanned it, looking over the cards. “Impressive,” he muttered. “It could stand an improvement, though.”

A card came into being between his index and middle fingers, and he slid it into the deck. “There we go.”

By the time the newly-infected young man woke up, Viper was gone and the hood was down. None of that mattered now, however.

Climbing into the car, he concentrated on the image he now saw and drove off into the night.

0000000

It was about nine in the morning the next morning when a taxi pulled up in front of the St. Paul International Airport, discharging two passengers. One was Chad Montmelier, who’d switched decades and now dressed as Humphrey Bogart circa The Big Sleep. Behind him followed Gerald Laxina, who still looked like hell, still wore grey, and was still nursing a Styrofoam cup of coffee.

“Good lord, Gerald, still not sleeping at night?” Chad asked.

Gerald sighed. “It’s the one time I can’t sleep.”

“So why are we back at the airport?”

“If we’re going to do anything in this city,” Gerald answered, “we’ll need to start from somewhere. This seems like a decent enough hub.”

Chad shrugged and asked, “Where do we start?”

With a sigh, Gerald sank onto a park bench. “As far as I can tell, we have two goals. One is to find Laura Vesnic, and the other is to readjust the Balance. I’m still not sure how to do the second…” He sipped his coffee. “So let’s start with the first.”

“And where do we start with that?” Chad prodded.

“I have absolutely no ideas,” Gerald answered. “To be honest, I’m hoping for divine intervention.”

Not likely, a voice said in the back of his head. His brows furrowed, and he wrote it off as a strain of pessimism.

Stretching for a moment, Chad said, “We might as well start asking around. Come on.” He then walked off.

Gerald let out a long, soul-emptying sigh. “I hate footwork.” He finished his coffee, tossed the cup in a trash can, and followed his friend.

0000000

After an hour, the two men had found exactly one person – the clerk at a coffee shop near the airport. Nobody else was even on the streets.

“How can a city of over 200,000 people be so dead?” Gerald asked the clerk in question while sitting at a table, sipping his latest cup of coffee. “There’s nobody out here.”

The clerk shrugged. “Far as I can tell, if people don’t have a job to go to, they don’t leave their homes,” he said. “Frankly, if I didn’t have this job, I wouldn’t be here.”

“And why not?” Chad asked.

“You know that creepy Darkness Infection, as the paper calls it?” the clerk replied. “Being out on the street is a good way to catch it. Being a duelist on the street – like you two – is an even better way. This city is empty but for the workers because of that – nobody in town wants to risk being the next with those weird black splotches.”

Gerald thought for a moment, and then asked, “Tell me… what happens to people who are infected but aren’t duelists?”

The clerk raised an eyebrow. “Odd question. Duelists stay conscious, but they wander off for… some reason. Non-duelists just pass out and go comatose. The hospital’s full of them, and we can’t seem to find a cure, but the Darkness Infection doesn’t seem to do anything but knock them out.”

Gerald and Chad looked to each other and nodded. Both were thinking the same thing: We’re what the duelists are after. We need to stay on guard.

“By the way… have you seen a girl with long red hair, green eyes, and a ‘Don’t touch me’ attitude?” Gerald asked.

“Well…” the clerk said. “Actually, come to think of it… this guy who looked like a priest walked by here with a girl like that. She didn’t look too happy to be with him. Not sure where they went, though…”

“Thanks,” Chad said. He then turned to Gerald and said, “Hanzaki told the truth about her being here, at least.”

“The first good news all morning,” Gerald muttered, downing his coffee.

0000000

A few blocks away, the driver of an ’86 Corolla GTS started his engine.

0000000

Somewhere in the city, Degas and Alexander sat in front of the array of mirrors, both of them taking their time with two large bowls of cereal. (They were late risers.) Half the mirrors were tuned to Gerald and Chad; the other half was tuned to the car.

“Viper has chosen a playmate for our guests,” Alexander noted, setting his spoon back in his bowl for the time being. “One wonders what his taste in duelists is.”

Degas set his bowl on the table beside his chair, leaning forward. “This one may have some potential,” he muttered. “But we’ll see whether or not that is the case soon enough. We have more… pressing issues.”

Alexander sighed. “Hanzaki told me about that. Our servants are beginning to question me… The fools.”

“Indeed,” Degas said with a slight scowl. “Must they assume something is in the open to have a purpose? I am glad to see Father Young understands that to some extent, if nothing else.”

With a quiet curse, Alexander resumed eating his cereal. “Enough of this. We will have time to reprimand them later. For now, let us enjoy the show.”

Degas picked his cereal back up and said, “You are correct. If we are lucky, our problems will be moot; if not, we’ll have some fun anyway…”

0000000

As Gerald and Chad made their way along the empty street, Gerald suddenly came to a stop.

Chad looked at him, and then stopped himself, confused. “Do you hear that?”

“Yes…” Gerald answered. “What is it?”

“Sounds familiar…”

Then Gerald snapped his fingers. “Ah, yes. It’s the bass line to ‘Cultured Bastard’ by Acknowledgement.”

“Oh, I hear it now!” Chad said. “I didn’t recognize it at first. Doesn’t sound that good by itself, doesn’t it?”

“Well, John Cameron’s vocals carry that song…” Gerald began.

MOVE!

The voice had come out of nowhere, and Gerald obeyed it, hurling himself to one side…

…just in time to avoid the incoming car. The car wheeled around and came back the other way. “Cultured Bastard” played on the radio.

For someone as lazy as he was, however, Gerald was very light on his feet. He danced to one side just as the car came by for another pass.

Off to the side, Chad simply watched, puzzled as to why the car was only going after Gerald.

A moment’s thought (all the time he had) told Gerald how to escape the situation. He set himself at a very specific angle.

The car wheeled around, came at him… and then slammed on the brakes just as Gerald moved aside.

Soon, Chad realized why. Gerald had positioned himself so that the car would run directly into a wall if it had kept going.

The car’s door swung open, and its driver emerged, strapping on his Duel Disk. It was a man of about Gerald’s age, with brown hair and the traditional “grease monkey” outfit of white t-shirt and jeans.

A quick glance at his hands and neck confirmed the Darkness Infection was raging in his system.

“Okay, so I couldn’t run you over!” he said, activating the Duel Disk. “But I will deal with you!”

Yawning, Gerald moved to a nearby bench and sat down, turning his Duel Disk on. “So be it,” he said. “Chad, just find somewhere to sit for now.”

Chad nodded, settling against a lamp post across the street.

“Care to introduce yourself?” Gerald asked the other duelist.

The other duelist grinned. “Call me Takumi Fujiwara,” he answered. “I’m one of the best street racers in the Twin Cities, and I’m going to plow right through you before today is done.”

“So, if I lose, I’m infected…” Gerald smirked. “But what if I win?”

Takumi thought for a moment, and then said, “See my car? Beat me and it’s yours. But I’m not afraid, as you will not beat me.”

Gerald shrugged. “You can try. Let’s duel.”

“You’re going down!” Takumi yelled. Both Life Point counters went to 8,000 points.

As the two duelists drew, Gerald leaned back against the park bench and said, “I think I’ll take the first turn, if you don’t mind…”

“Go right ahead,” Takumi answered.

After a moment of looking at his opening hand, Gerald said, “I set one monster in Defense Mode and set two cards face-down. Your move.”

Takumi drew, snorted, and said, “I summon Patroid in Attack Mode!”

A cartoon-style police car drove up from behind him and stood on its rear wheels, its headlights becoming eyes. (1,200/1,200)

“You know,” he said as the monster appeared, “I usually don’t like the cops. But this one has more important things to do with his time than shut down any street race he sees, so I’m pretty fond of him!

“Thanks to Patroid’s special effect,” Takumi continued, “I can see one of your face-down cards. So, Patroid… what does he have on the left?”

One of the car’s front wheels sprouted a hand and stretched over to Gerald’s field, picking up the card in question and lifting it just high enough to look under.

“A Magic Cylinder, huh?” the young man muttered. “Well, odds are good we couldn’t hurt his monster anyway, so I’ll just set this face-down and call that my turn.”

Grimacing, Gerald drew his next card…

Takumi pressed a button on his Duel Disk, announcing, “Activate Penalty Game! I can only activate this card when you have four or more cards in your hand, and now I can choose to either take away your next Draw Phase or prevent you from playing Magic or Trap cards this turn. I choose the latter!”

Well, there goes the Messenger of Peace for a turn… Gerald thought. “In that case, a change of plans is in order. I summon Jinzo #7 in Attack Mode.”

The humanoid robot that looked like Jinzo’s prototype rose into view from the street. (500/400)

“As you probably know, unless your bosses failed to brief you,” Gerald added, “it can attack you directly. Jinzo #7, Cyber Glitch attack.”

The robot charged up a ball of energy in its hand, and then tossed it at Takumi, hitting him in the stomach. His Life Points went to 7,500.

“I set one more card facedown,” he finished, “and end my turn.”

Drawing his next card, Takumi looked to Patroid and said, “So what did he just set?”

The police car extended its arm and lifted Gerald’s latest face-down card, a Trap Hole.

“Oooh, tricky!” the duelist said. “But it won’t help against these guys. I summon the A-Team: Trap Disposal Unit in Attack Mode!”

Four little men in hard hats marched into place, carrying pickaxes and other tools. (300/400)

“Funny,” Gerald said, “I don’t see ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock anywhere…”

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Chad looked closely at the four men. I’ve seen monsters like those guys before. What were their names again? Aitsu and Koitsu or something like that?

Gerald, meanwhile, frowned. He’s right about Trap Hole not helping, but… they’re even weaker than Jinzo #7. He must have something else in mind.

Looking at his field, Takumi slid one card into his Duel Disk. “This goes facedown, and now, Patroid, attack Jinzo #7 with Police Whistle!”

Taking a whistle from nowhere, the Patroid blew it very hard, sending a wave of sound at the robot.

“I activate Magic Cylinder,” Gerald said, pressing the button. “Your attack is now heading back at you.”

“Nope,” Takumi replied. “By Tributing the A-Team, I can negate and destroy a Trap Card you activate! Go, team!”

The four little men rushed up to the Magic Cylinder as it rose from Gerald’s card. They threw ropes around it and dragged it down to their level, and then one of them took out a pickaxe. He hacked away at the side of the Cylinder until it began to glow white. The team members exchanged looks, and one of the others smacked his forehead…

…and then the Cylinder exploded, taking the team with it.

“I love it when a plan comes together!” Takumi yelled, rubbing his hands together. “Patroid, complete your attack!”

Nodding, the Patroid blew its whistle again, and the wave of sound tore the Jinzo #7 in half.

Gerald sighed as his Life Points moved to 7,300. He then pressed a button on his Duel Disk and said, “I activate Attack and Receive in response to that, dealing you 700 Life Points of damage because my Life Points took a hit.”

The armored man leapt off of the activated trap and charged Takumi, ramming his sword through the young man’s stomach. He grunted as his Life Points hit 6,800.

Once he was over the shock, Takumi shrugged and said, “That’s my turn.”

Taking a deep breath, Gerald drew his next card. He noted that he wouldn’t have to worry about Penalty Game!, as he only had three cards.

Messenger of Peace is worthless for now, he thought, because his only monster for the moment would slide under it… as would most of the Vehicroids. Damn it. I hate decks that I can’t slow down. Hmmm… this looks promising.

“I set this facedown,” he said aloud, “and summon Inaba White Rabbit in Attack Mode.”

A white rabbit appeared next to a large, pointed object. (700/500)

“As you may have guessed,” Gerald added, “it can attack your Life Points directly as well. Do it, my Inaba White Rabbit.”

The rabbit leapt on top of the object, which turned it into a ball of energy. Said ball spun behind Takumi and turned back into the rabbit, which kicked him in the spine. He gasped as his Life Points sank to 6,100.

“I end my turn,” Gerald concluded, “and that causes Inaba White Rabbit to return to my hand, as it is a Spirit.”

The Inaba White Rabbit turned to white sparks and flew back to Gerald’s hand.

Takumi drew his next card and smirked. “I set this facedown,” he stated, “and summon Cycloid in Attack Mode.”

A bicycle wheeled itself into place next to Patroid and gave it a thumb’s-up. The Patroid just shook its engine compartment. (800/1,000)

Chad snickered and said, “A bicycle? What’s a street racer doing playing a bicycle?”

“We all have to start somewhere,” Takumi said, glaring at Chad.

Another monster my Trap Hole means nothing to? Gerald thought, his expression turning sour. This is not my day… but then again, that means it’s nothing to worry about for now, either.

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

Gerald drew, studied his three cards, and thought, All right. “I start by playing Banner of Courage,” he said, “which gives all my monsters 200 extra Attack Points while it’s face-up on my field.”

A banner unfurled itself on Gerald’s field, its design a red flame framed by a blue crescent, with a purple arch underneath it, both on a field of red and white.

“Next,” he said, “I summon the Inaba White Rabbit again…”

The rabbit emerged, standing patriotically under the banner. (700/500 – 900/500)

Gerald smiled, and then ordered, “Attack him, Inaba White Rabbit.”

Takumi replied by hitting a button on his Duel Disk and shouting, “I activate Ballista Cannon! This negates a direct attack on my Life Points and deals you the damage I would have taken!”

As the rabbit teleported itself at Takumi, a cannon covered in Egyptian symbols rose into view and caught it. It then fired the energy back at Gerald, causing the rabbit to reform and kick him in the spine, nearly knocking him off the bench. His Life Points went to 6,400.

As he recovered, Gerald muttered, “I expected something like that, so I activate a second Attack and Receive, dealing you 700 points of damage plus another 300 for my first Attack and Receive in the Graveyard…”

“But thanks to this Barrel Behind the Door,” Takumi answered, “that damage goes to you instead!”

The armored man sprang from Gerald’s card and charged towards Takumi… only to skid to a halt when the Barrel Behind the Door sprouted in his face. He gulped, and then turned and charged Gerald, slashing him across the chest and sending his Life Points down to 5,400.

What makes this all the more humiliating, Gerald thought as he caught his breath, is that he’s defeating me with my own maneuvers. He glanced at his hands, which had developed the black marks of the Darkness Infection. If I keep making mistakes like that, I won’t be able to regret them. “End turn,” he said, picking up his Inaba White Rabbit.

Takumi smiled, drawing his next card. That Trap Hole isn’t a factor now! “I activate Remove Trap, disposing of your Trap Hole,” he said.

As his Trap Hole shattered, Gerald swallowed hard.

“Next,” Takumi said, “I summon Drilloid in Attack Mode!”

A wave of dirt filled the air as a smiling drill, with two drills for hands, climbed out of the hole and waved its arm threateningly. (1,600/1,600)

“Drilloid, attack his face-down monster!” Takumi ordered.

Both Gerald and Chad tilted their heads, not understanding what Takumi was up to…

…until the Island Turtle appeared on Gerald’s field and was torn to pieces by the drills.

“Oh, my,” Gerald mumbled.

Takumi grinned. “Drilloid automatically kills any Defense Mode monster it battles. It doesn’t even bother with the Damage Step. Now, I believe your Life Points were in for a shellacking, correct? Patroid, Cycroid, get him!”

Patroid took out its whistle and blew hard, causing Gerald to grab his ears as his Life Points dropped to 4,200. He then let out a whoosh of air as Cycroid punched him in the stomach, his Life Points rolling along to 3,400.

As the Cycroid rolled back to Takumi’s field, Gerald fell forward and off the bench, landing on his hands and knees. He took a few deep breaths, and then reached up and touched his neck. His spine went cold – he could feel the black marks of the Darkness Infection on them. I have to pray for a turn-around now.

In all the time he’d known Gerald, Chad had never seen him in quite as desperate a situation as he was in right now. It was nearly as bad as the one Sol had put him in the day before. “Come on…” he whispered.

“That’s my turn,” Takumi said.

Grabbing hold of the bench, Gerald pulled himself back onto it, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. He then drew, glanced at the card he’d drawn, and played it, declaring, “Pot of Greed.”

The lazy young man ignored the hologram entirely, instead drawing his two cards. He glanced between them and nodded. “Next,” he said, “I play Messenger of Peace. This prevents monsters with more than 1,500 Attack Points from attacking me, but I must pay 100 Life Points a turn to keep it functioning.”

The man in the white robe emerged, extending a hand to Takumi’s monsters. The Drilloid gazed at him adoringly, but the Cycroid and Patroid would have sneered had they possessed mouths.

“I follow this by summoning the Amazon Archer in Attack Mode,” Gerald went on.

A young, white-haired girl in a green sarong and top with a fur jacket stepped out of the card. She glared at the Messenger of Peace dismissively, and then took a bow and arrow off of her back. (1,400/1,000)

Suddenly, the archer looked to the Banner of Courage, and it made her stand up reverently… and then she bowed to the Messenger. (1,400/1,000 – 1,600/1,000)

Takumi laughed, leaning against the hood of his car. “You dip!” he exclaimed once he was done laughing. “Your Banner makes her too strong to attack with your Messenger of Peace out!”

“That’s why I have Emergency Provisions,” Gerald replied as he set the card down. “By giving up the Banner, I gain 1,000 Life Points.”

A freakish maw emerged from the Emergency Provisions and bit the Banner of Courage in two. The Amazon Archer gulped, and then sneered at the Messenger of Peace as her power returned to its original level. The Messenger just sighed.

Meanwhile, Gerald was surrounded by an aura of light, raising his Life Points to 4,400. The black marks vanished from his neck in the process.

Now that’s strategy, Chad thought. His Messenger of Peace will stop any monster strong enough to kill the Archer, but she’s strong enough to deal with anything that could slip under it. And his direct-damage monsters are all weak enough to slip under the Messenger as well!

Taking a deep breath, Gerald let out a long, slow sigh. “I hate having to attack monsters,” he said in discontent, “but I don’t have a choice this time. Amazon Archer, attack Cycroid with Savage Arrow.”

The girl grinned, took aim, and fired an arrow that struck the bicycle creature solidly in the eye. It fell over and shattered, and Takumi spat as his Life Points went to 5,500.

“With that,” Gerald said, “I end my turn.”

Takumi drew his next card and then grimaced. “What a wasted draw. I shift Patroid into Defense Mode and set one monster in Defense Mode as well.” The Patroid turned back into an ordinary police car, and was joined by a hidden monster. “I can’t do anything else.”

As he drew, Gerald smiled. “A pity. This duel will be a remarkably short one, then. First, I pay 100 Life Points to maintain the Messenger of Peace…” His Life Points lowered to 4,300. “Next, I summon forth the Inaba White Rabbit again…”

Once more, the spire and its rabbit appeared.

“Amazon Archer, attack the Patroid with another Savage Arrow,” Gerald ordered.

As he said it, the bow-wielding girl took aim at the police car. She fired one arrow into its hood... causing it to go up in a tremendous fireball.

Gerald and Chad just stared, until finally, Chad asked, “Sweet lord, what did she hit?”

“Either the gas or the nitrous, I guess!” Takumi said, just as surprised.

After blinking a few times, Gerald said, “Impressive… Inaba White Rabbit, attack his Life Points directly.”

The rabbit teleported behind Takumi and kicked him in the back again, causing him to curse as his Life Points moved to 4,800.

“I end my turn,” Gerald said, picking up the Inaba White Rabbit from his Disk as the turn ended and it came back to his hand.

Takumi drew again, and then smiled. “My luck might have just changed,” he said. “I’ll sacrifice my face-down Gyroid to bring out the UFOroid in Attack Mode!”

For a moment, an odd helicopter was visible, but it vanished and was replaced by a small, squat UFO with googly eyes. (1,200/1,200) It didn’t even spare the Messenger of Peace a look.

Chad just stared, and finally asked, “Why the hell do you play a UFO?”

“It’s my dream, when you get down to it,” Takumi said, looking into the distance. “A Lancer Evolution can break 120 MPH if you trick it out right… but a UFO can snap the speed of light itself.” He then shook his head and said, “Sorry, got lost in my thoughts for a moment. I’ll end my turn.”

It’s weak, it can’t hurt the Archer, and it’s in Attack Mode, Gerald thought. I’ll be walking straight into a trap, but I don’t have much choice. He drew, declaring, “I pay 100 Life Points for the Messenger…” His Life Points sank to 4,200.

Looking at the card he’d just drawn, Gerald raised an eyebrow. Took you a while. “I summon Servant of Catabolism in Attack Mode,” he said.

The odd, snail-like creature emerged next to the Amazon Archer. (700/500)

To Chad’s surprise, the Amazon Archer didn’t react to the Servant with disgust. In fact, she actually smiled, as if greeting an old friend.

Gerald was just as surprised. Amazons don’t get along with other monsters in general… and you’d think she’d object to that one on aesthetic grounds. So why does she act so kind towards it? “Well,” he finally said aloud, “Servant of Catabolism, attack Takumi’s Life Points directly.”

The Servant leapt over the UFOroid (not an easy feat, as the machine was hovering) and latched onto Takumi’s face, its tendrils electrocuting him. Once it let go, the street racer collapsed, breathing hard. His Life Points moved to 4,100.

“Amazon Archer,” Gerald said, and then paused. He considered the field, and then shrugged. “Take out the UFOroid.”

Taking aim, the archer launched her arrow. It came down hard, smashing through the UFOroid and sending it to the ground, where it exploded in a ball of fire.

“Wow, it’s Roswell all over again!” Chad murmured as Takumi’s Life Points clicked to 3,900.

Even as the UFOroid died, Takumi searched through his deck, taking out a specific monster. “When UFOroid is destroyed, I can Special Summon one Machine-type monster with 1,500 Attack Points or less from my deck, so I’ll exchange light speed for supersonic speed – I call on the Jetroid in Attack Mode!”

He set the card on his Disk, and a humanoid jet hovered onto his side of his field. (1,200/1,800)

“That’s my turn,” Gerald stated.

0000000

Degas and Alexander, watching from their mirror array, both scowled slightly.

“It seems Viper has poor taste in duelists, my friend,” Alexander noted, hand on his chin. “This one is on the verge of defeat, and if what I know of his deck is any indication, that is not about to change.”

Degas pondered for a moment, and then a ball of dark energy gathered on his hand. “You may have a point. Of course, we have a way to make things somewhat… better, if you get my meaning.”

Spinning in his seat, Alexander raised one hand, hissing, “Not just yet. We might need that energy later – let’s not go wasting our big tricks on street duelists…”

The energy dissipated, and Degas leaned back in his chair. “Good point. The Dancing Mad is only for emergencies, after all. And this, while unfortunate for our side, isn’t quite an emergency…

“I’ll trust Viper’s judgment for now… but I hope for our sake he doesn’t fail again.”

There was a pause, and then Alexander said, “Remind me to get more Honey Nut Cheerios.”

“Noted.”

0000000

Takumi took a few deep breaths, and then drew his next card. He looked at it, smiled, and played it. “I play my own Pot of Greed!” he announced. He snapped the two cards off of the top of his Duel Disk, looked at them, and then grinned.

“Oh, I hate it when they grin,” Gerald muttered.

“I set one monster in Defense Mode, one card facedown, and that’ll be it for me,” Takumi stated.

As Gerald drew his next card, he thought, I know what Jetroid can do – someone used it at the Regional Championship back in Maine. If I attack it, Takumi can set off any Trap Card in his hand – and since he only has one card, it has to be a Trap. As for his face-down card, I can’t risk hitting a Flip Effect. “I pay 100 Life Points for Messenger of Peace…” His Life Points moved to 4,100. “And then Servant of Catabolism will attack you directly once more.”

Oozing under the Jetroid, the Servant of Catabolism leapt up and grabbed hold of Takumi’s stomach, electrocuting him. He grunted, and his Life Points moved to 3,200.

“That ends my turn,” Gerald said.

As Takumi drew, he didn’t even bother looking at his card. Instead, he just slapped it onto his Duel Disk. “I summon Bokoichi, the Freightening Car in Attack Mode!” he called.

As he had declared, a small train car rose into play, unhitched to anything. (500/500)

“Next,” he declared, “I activate my Trap Card, The League of Uniform Nomenclature!” The card’s image was, frankly, scary – but then again, most normal people found the thought of three Ojama Yellows scary. “This lets me Special Summon as many copies of a Level 2 or less Normal Monster on my field as I can – and I choose Bokoichi!”

Two more train cars appeared next to it and his field became full.

Takumi’s hand hovered over his face-down monster for a moment, and then he said, “Tell me, Gerald. Did you ever want to be a train conductor when you were a kid?”

“Didn’t every boy?” Gerald answered. “But after my family started moving around, I decided to go after a job with less movement required.”

“Well, I never quite gave up on that fantasy – which is part of the reason I play this guy. I Flip Summon Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive!”

There was a low chugging noise, and then a very disturbing-looking train pulled into view from Takumi’s card. The Bokoichis hooked to it. (1,400/1,000)

Concluded in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

“When I flip Dekoichi,” Takumi added, “I draw a card. But for each Bokoichi, I draw another card!”

The train and its three cars flipped up, and four cards sprang into Takumi’s hand. The street racer studied his hand, and then smirked. “Next, I play Mystical Space Typhoon. The Messenger of Peace is done for.”

A gust of wind threw the Messenger of Peace skyward, and he never came back down.

“And finally…” Takumi grinned, holding up one specific card. “Meet a card that the Vehicroids worship in secret, the strongest of the family.”

“If it’s Steam Gyroid, I’m not afraid,” Gerald said, leaning back against the bench.

“That outdated piece of scrap? I don’t think so,” Takumi answered. “You see, when you race the streets, you hear stories… One I’ve heard is that if you go fast enough far enough, a black car shows up out of nowhere. You can’t see the driver… but they say it’s driven by Death himself. That car, it’s said, will challenge you to a drag race. If you lose, that’ll be the last race you ever run…”

Gerald yawned. “So?”

Setting a card on his Duel Disk, the racer glared. “I have to pave the way for it first. So I’ll activate Thunder Crash, giving up all five monsters in exchange for 300 points of damage each to your Life Points.”

A bolt of lightning swept through Takumi’s monsters, destroying all of them, and then charged straight into Gerald, causing him to seize up as the electricity tensed every muscle in his body at once. He collapsed, his Life Points sinking to 2,600.

“And now, by removing two Machine-type monsters in my Graveyard from the game…” Takumi held up two Bokoichis. “I can bring out the most feared of all vehicles… behold, Gerald, as I Special Summon the Black Car of the Reaper!”

The air around the two duelists suddenly went black, as everything between them briefly disappeared. It became too dark to see, and Gerald began to wonder if his Duel Disk had malfunctioned.

And then he saw something… a pair of headlights. They came closer and closer… and then the most elegant car he’d ever seen came into being. It was pure black – even the windshield was blacked out, except for one square. A black-gloved hand held the steering wheel.

That wasn’t the truly disturbing fact about the car, though. What really made it disturbing was the sheer aura of wrongness issuing from it. (2,400/1,300)

“So, Gerald,” Takumi said, “what do you think of the Black Car of the Reaper?”

“I’ve seen scarier.”

Cursing, Takumi ordered, “Black Car of the Reaper, attack Servant of Catabolism with Hell Drive!”

The car roared to life, and then seemed to disappear into the shadows. Suddenly, it appeared next to the Servant of Catabolism, and an arm reached out of the window as it drove by. The arm passed through the Servant, taking an insubstantial version of the monster – which Gerald soon realized was its soul.

The Black Car of the Reaper vanished again, leaving the body of the Servant of Catabolism behind. Soon, the body shattered, and the car returned to Takumi’s field.

Gerald blinked twice, and then checked his Duel Disk to make sure that what had just happened had just happened. It had, indeed – his Life Point counter now read 900.

Out of curiosity, the lazy duelist turned his Duel Disk over and found a reflective spot. To his dismay, the veins in his eyes had turned black.

Oh, man, Chad thought as he watched the duel. Come on, Gerald… This poser can’t defeat you, can he?

“Man, I haven’t felt this good since the last time I broke 100 MPH on the freeway!” Takumi said, laughing. “I set a card facedown and end my turn.”

As Gerald drew his next card, he glanced to the Amazon Archer. What he saw was confusing.

The Archer looked to where the Servant of Catabolism had once stood, and then to the Black Car of the Reaper. She looked back and then forth… and then shed a tear, holding onto her face with one hand. After a moment, she wiped the tear away and hefted her bow, aiming it straight at Takumi.

“Dude… is your Duel Disk supposed to do that?” Takumi asked.

“I don’t think so,” Gerald answered, thinking, What was it about that Servant of Catabolism that set off my holograms like that? “I set a card facedown, switch my Amazon Archer to Defense Mode, and summon the Inaba White Rabbit once again.” The rabbit appeared once more, looking fairly angry. “Attack him, Rabbit.”

“I’ve held onto this card since I got the Jetroid!” Takumi said, grinning. “Go, Mirror Force!”

The rabbit attempted to teleport, but hit the mirror… which proceeded to disperse it across the field.

Narrowing his eyes, Gerald set one last card on his Duel Disk, saying, “I end my turn with Dian Keto the Cure Master, giving me back 1,000 Life Points.”

A golden aura surrounded Gerald, raising his Life Points to 1,900, and he sighed in relief as the veins in his eyes turned red again.

Even as Takumi drew, he said, “That face-down card is Gravity Bind, isn’t it?”

Gerald looked nonplussed.

“Well, here’s a warning for you – the Black Car of the Reaper is so fast that an opponent’s card effects can’t prevent its attack!” Takumi laughed. “That means your Gravity Bind will do nothing! But first, I summon Steamroid in Attack Mode!”

A cartoony version of Dekoichi huffed into play, lifting itself onto its hind wheels. (1,800/1,800)

“Black Car of the Reaper,” the street racer ordered, “attack Amazon Archer with Hell Drive!”

As the Black Car drove to claim the Archer’s soul, Gerald pressed a button on his Duel Disk. “Activate Widespread Ruin.”

Before the car could touch the Amazon Archer, it exploded into a massive fireball. Takumi simply stared as a hubcap rolled past him.

“How unexpected,” Gerald said. “Who would have thought the Grim Reaper drove a Ford Pinto?”

After a moment to recollect his thoughts, the street racer declared, “You don’t have any traps now, though, so Steamroid, attack with Wheel of Steel!”

As it charged forward, the Steamroid’s attack rose to 2,300. This was overkill, as the punch from its wheel was more than powerful enough to obliterate the Amazon Archer.

“That’s my turn,” Takumi declared.

Snapping the next card off of his Duel Disk, Gerald set it into place. “One card facedown, and then I activate Scapegoats,” he said.

The four doomed goats trotted out, smiling blissfully. (0/0 x4)

“That’s all I can do,” Gerald added.

As Takumi drew, he muttered, “That has to be Gravity Bind… But it won’t help against this! I summon another Gyroid, in Attack Mode!”

A goofy-looking helicopter buzzed into view. (1,000/1,000)

“Get those Scapegoats, Gyroid and Steamroid!” Takumi yelled.

Sighing, Gerald hit the button for his face-down card. “Did you really think all I could set was Gravity Bind? Obviously, going faster than 70 MPH on a regular basis is not good for your mental health. Activate Mirror Force.”

The mirror popped out of nowhere, and both of Takumi’s monsters ran straight into it. The force of impact was enough to reduce them to ashes.

“Ummm…” Takumi lowered his head. “I end my turn.”

With one more draw, Gerald smiled and said, “This duel is over. I play Premature Burial, which for 800 Life Points…” His counter lowered to 1,100. “…allows me to bring back one of my monsters from the Graveyard. I choose Amazon Archer.”

A circle of red light burned on Gerald’s field, and then the Amazon Archer appeared in it, scowling.

“Now, Amazon Archer, attack him directly with Savage Arrow,” Gerald ordered, letting out a long, drawn-out yawn at the end.

The Amazon Archer took aim, and fired directly into Takumi’s chest, causing him to gasp as his Life Points went to 1,800.

As he ended his Battle Phase, Gerald said, “I’ll now finish you off. First, I sacrifice two of my Scapegoats…” Two of the goats vanished. “And in exchange, Amazon Archer can fire a special arrow, costing you 1,200 Life Points.”

Pulling a silver arrow from her quiver, the archer fired it into Takumi’s heart, dropping his Life Points to 600.

“I… still live…” Takumi muttered.

“No,” Gerald answered. “Because I can use that ability more than once a turn. Goodbye.”

The other two Scapegoats vanished, and the archer fired a second silver arrow into Takumi’s heart. His Life Points struck zero.

Even as the arrow hit home, Gerald was asleep on the bench.

0000000

“Scratch that one,” Degas muttered, setting his finished bowl of cereal on the table. Both the bowl and the table vanished.

Alexander shrugged. “He got closer to victory than any of our other puppets to date. Viper’s choice wasn’t the worst he could make.”

“Point taken. But he still failed… I hope Viper succeeds with his other project, for his own sake.”

“He should,” Alexander said. He then smiled. “Interesting to see what effect the Darkness Infection had on Mr. Fujiwara. No street racer would give away their car unless they were truly out of their mind…”

Degas nodded. “Indeed. Viper’s variant of the infection has qualities we were not expecting.”

Before Degas could say anything more, Alexander lifted a hand, eyes shut. He then said, “Viper has infected someone else… someone who feels very interesting. I can’t get any details, though.”

“Hanzaki!” Degas yelled.

When the teleporting servant arrived, he looked very… odd. He’d traded in the silver Lycra for a red body suit, with leather bands crossing his chest, and his eyes appeared sewn shut. His left index finger hovered over his mouth as if perpetually shushing someone, and his right hand waved constantly.

“Master,” Hanzaki said. “We’re in a tight spot!”

“I don’t appreciate the joke, Hanzaki,” Degas growled. “Now knock it off and tell us what Viper’s latest choice is.”

There was a flash, and the bondage outfit was replaced with the usual silver. “Fine,” Hanzaki muttered.

Several minutes passed, during which Degas and Alexander grew more and more enthusiastic.

Finally, Alexander looked to Degas, nodded, and said, “Go to our new friend and tell him to wait here…” He handed Hanzaki a slip of paper.

“Should I tell Gerald and Chad?” Hanzaki asked.

“No,” Degas answered. “They should have a little time to rest before their next duel. We’ll tell you when. Now get to it.”

Hanzaki nodded, and then suddenly flashed back into the bondage outfit before declaring, “In the name of Harmon…” The air blurred, and he was gone.

“I hate it when he does that impression…” Degas growled.

0000000

Back on the streets of St. Paul, Gerald woke up a moment after his duel with Takumi, yawning. A glance confirmed that the street racer was out of commission, and that the Darkness Infection had cleared up on his body.

With a push off the bench, Gerald got up and dragged Takumi onto said bench. He then turned to Chad, who moved off of the lamp post.

“Do you think we can really take the poor guy’s car?” Chad asked.

Gerald shrugged. “A bet’s a bet. Besides, if he wants it back later, we’ll give it to him.” He then slid into the passenger seat.

“Why do I have to drive again?” Chad asked as he slid into the driver’s seat.

“I don’t have a license. It’s too much hassle to go back to the DMV every year.”

“Sometimes your laziness is so overwhelming that it’s scary.” Chad started the car. “Where to next?”

Gerald thought for a second, and then answered, “It’s probably best to start with the major landmarks – the Darkness seems to have an ego. Perhaps the capitol building?”

Chad nodded and hit the gas. The Corolla GTS drove off towards the center of town.

0000000

Elsewhere in town, the man known as Viper unfolded a map and set it against a wall, running his finger along it.

“So if I’m here,” he muttered under his breath, “and Summit Hill is over here, then I have to go… cripes, I’m horrible with directions.” He then looked closer. “I’m holding this thing wrong.”

He turned the map in a different direction and then exclaimed, “Ah-hah! I’m in the Summit Hill neighborhood! The target is just down the street!”

It took more time to refold the map than it did to go where he was planning to go.

BALLISTA CANNON
Type: Normal Trap Card
Image: An ancient, golden cannon covered with hieroglyphics.
Effect: You can activate this Trap when an opponent attempts a direct attack. Negate the attack, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the attacking Monster’s ATK.
Note: This card was originally used by Imhotep in Brian Corvello’s “Yu-Gi-Oh Jr.: Mandate of Heaven”. All creative credit goes to him.

BLACK CAR OF THE REAPER
Type: Effect Monster
Statistics: Dark/Machine/6/2400/1300/Effect
Image: A long black car, the driver of which cannot be seen, making its way through the night.
Effect: This monster cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This monster can only be Special Summoned from your hand by removing two Machine-type monsters in your Graveyard from the game. This monster’s attacks cannot be prevented by any of your opponent’s card effects.

Brownie points if you guess whom Hanzaki is impersonating.

Coming next chapter: The Darkness makes a major leap forward with their plan, but Gerald and Chad have no time to worry about that. After all, Chad is locked in a life-or-death struggle with a duelist whose strategy is a puzzle of many pieces. And this duelist has one of the most powerful weapons the Darkness can muster! Behold the first Card of Night in Chapter Seven, “Splintered Minds”! Fans of jkBAKURA’s “Lady of Dragons”, you won’t want to miss this one!

[Dark Sage]

First I must point out a mistake: "Remove Trap" cannot be used to destroy a facedown Trap, even if you know what it is.

But I liked this chapter. The Vehicroid deck was great (call me a fan of Syrus Truesdale) and the Black Car of the Reaper was an interesting addition (I'm guessing that was the card that Viper put in the guy's deck). I love when another author uses my cards.

Why did Amazon Archer feel so close to Servant of Catabolism? Because both of them had direct attack capability, I guess.

I loved that A-Team reference! I watched that show all the time when I was a kid!

Unfortunately, I have no idea who Hanzaki was inpersonating.

I await a new chapter soon.

- DS

[Blademaster]

This chapter confused me, honestly. I have NO IDEA what Hanzaki was doing, I've never seen the A-Team (thought Mr. T is awesome), and what's the big deal with Servant of Catabolism? I don't even know what it is!

Also, the duel itself seemed a little lacking, soory - deck themes with only a few variables don't appeal to me, sorry. And that Reaper Vehicroid didn't make things any better. That Super-Vehicroid that's gonna be released soon (Submarineroid Fusion, whatever it was called.) would've worked, but oh well...

Anyway, negativity aside, I did enjoy the bit with Viper struggling to read the map and Degas/Alexander having to get more Honey Nut Cheerios... Mmmmmmm... Honey Nut Cheerios...

Also, good addition of the 'Koichi trains - those things are pretty cool, and very useful.

One more thing I wanna mention is that I love how real you're making the Monsters. Holograms or not, they are very cool. Keep it up!

Well, I should get going - I'll be back when the next chapter is up (I'm glad you're updating this more often than you did SR: 15, by the way. ).

Peace out!

-Blade

[Shuppet Master]

I'm a big fan of Syrus and his Vechroids too, and I liked how Gerald was in deep doo-doo. Was that Black Car of the Reaper one of your Twisted Vechroids you mentioned to me earlier, Paradox?

Can't wait to see who else Viper is gonna infect.

[jkBAKURA]

Call it a hunch, but after going back and reading Thousand Year Door, it might just be that the Servant of Catabolism is Gerald's Soul Card. Although knowing the story so far, there may be a separate meaning entirely.

Shame this chapter was written before more Vehicroids were available, but it made it much less confusing to write I suppose. As a side note, may I suggest Bait Doll instead of Remove Trap.

I couldn't help but notice a similarity between the Black Car of the Reaper's attack, and the one used by Seskera's Gren Maju De Eiza, but then again how else would the Grim Reaper defeat a monster, beat it to death with cotton balls?

It's such a shame that so many of the jokes went over my head in this one, including Hanzaki's impression. Maybe it'll be a contest later or something. Anyhow, at least our heros will be able to get around easier now.

As for next chapter, I won't miss it indeed. In fact, I'll probably be grinning the whole time. And judging from the preview, what exactly is a Card of Night? I guess we'll all find out together soon.

Don't keep us waiting too long.

[Master of Paradox]

Few things are truly scarier than madness. When you’re insane, you have no control over what you do – you’re at the mercy of the chaos in your mind.

But some say that to go mad is the truest freedom – that once you’re freed from the order and rules of the sane mind, you can finally think with absolute clarity, and perceive things as they truly are.

Personally, I don’t feel that abandoning rational thought is the best way to achieve enlightenment, but that’s just me. However, as an artist, I will admit that inspiration does require me to step outside of my sanity now and then… but only temporarily.

Now, however, I’m facing someone who claims he’s doing this in order to keep his sanity in one piece. And from the way he’s acting, I’ll admit he needs all the self-control he can get.

But couldn’t he have just gone into therapy rather than risk our necks on this?

Chapter Seven: Splintered Minds

It was about a quarter after noon when Gerald Laxina sat on the steps of the St. Paul capitol building. He took a breath, slid his hands out of his pockets, and said, “Something tells me that the Darkness doesn’t actually care about human politics.”

“What was your first clue?” Chad asked, currently searching the building’s exterior.

“I believe that would have to be when we pulled up to it at 11:30 in the morning on a weekday and absolutely no one was here.”

And indeed, the building was utterly deserted. The only car in the parking lot was Gerald and Chad’s Corolla.

Sighing, Gerald leaned back on the steps, eyes shutting. A snore came from him after a moment.

Chad could do nothing but stare. Even with the back of his head on the edge of a step and his body stretched over several more, Gerald had somehow managed to fall asleep. That was dedication to the craft.

0000000

On the streets of St. Paul, a fireball was tracing a line of footprints, apparently smashed into the very surface of the roadway. All around the footprints were shattered buildings, each of which looked as though a wrecking ball had smashed into their exteriors.

After a few minutes, the fireball came to a stop and flared up, turning at last into Lucifer Allumette. He looked to where the path of footprints stopped, and then shut his eyes, trying to feel something.

When he found it, the shock caused him to stumble backwards. “Oh, no,” he muttered, in the odd talking-across-dimension manner he used to contact the forces of Dreams. “Ze Darkness is not following what we had believed to be zeir plan before zis point. Ze are playing for keeps… My next move will be to find Monsieurs Laxina and Montmelier and contact them concerning ze Darkness’s plan.”

He paused.

“Hopefully, ze Light will be able to fill in the blanks with a vision beforehand, but as I’m not sure what ze Reciprocal is at zis point, I should not rely on it.” Lucifer sighed. “Ze rules are frustrating on days like zis. Allumette out.”

Turning on one heel, Lucifer got a running start and then leapt, becoming a ball of fire again and launching himself into the sky.

A moment later, a man who was covered from head to toe in Lycra stepped out, cell phone to where his ear presumably was.

“Yeah, the Dreams agent just left,” Hanzaki muttered into the phone. “My best guess is he’s off to go tell Gerald about what Viper’s up to. Bad luck that the rules keep us from just blackjacking him and dumping him in a pond… What’s that? All right, I’ll give Caiside the word and then send Gerald his way. I’m out.”

After hanging up, Hanzaki disappeared amid a blur in the air.

0000000

Several seconds later, Chad was just about to kick Gerald awake when the air blurred and Hanzaki stepped out, hands in the air. “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” the silver-clad man said.

Gerald awoke with a start, which caused him to slip and bounce down several steps. There was a pause, and then he groaned and moved onto his feet. “Up until then, it was a good afternoon,” he said, shooting Hanzaki a look.

“Well, I’m not the one who advised you to sleep on a flight of stairs,” Hanzaki pointed out. “Either way, I’m here on business. Degas and Alexander request that you pay a visit to a certain location. They assure you it will be worth your while.”

Chad crossed his arms. “Give me one good reason why we should do anything those two ask us,” he said, trying his best to impersonate Humphrey Bogart. Sadly, his clothes remained the only real connection between the two.

Hanzaki replied, “If you do so, you’ll know how to find Laura.”

“We’re in, then,” Gerald said before Chad could say anything.

“Gerald, are you sure?” Chad asked him at that point.

“Let’s face it, Chad – we have no idea where to even start looking. At least this will give us a starting point. Yes, it’s walking into a trap, but the bait should be worth it.”

The artist let out a sigh, adjusting his fedora. “You’re right, I suppose.”

“Excellent,” Hanzaki said. “I’m not allowed to just tell you the location, but this should be of assistance.” He dropped a photograph on the ground, bowed, and then disappeared with the usual air blur.

Gerald rose to his feet, and the two men walked up to the photograph.

Chad picked it up, and one eyebrow rose. “A spoon with a cherry on it?” he said. “Not much of a hint.”

“I’ve seen that before…” Gerald said in disagreement. “It’s a fountain called Spoonbridge and Cherry… and it’s the heart of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. That’s the destination.”

The two men headed back to their car, but before they got there, something caught the artist’s eye. Is that a Duel Monsters card on the ground there? He walked over and picked it up. Huh. Someone must have dropped it. Say… I think Joey Wheeler’s used this one before…

He tucked it into his deck, and then slid behind the driver’s seat.

0000000

Two forces watched the events in the Twin Cities from far beyond the known world, both unable to act directly on them.

One force thought, The path continues on, but soon it shall grow rocky.

The other thought, Soon, we shall bring an end to the path.

0000000

As with everything else that wasn’t a service job, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden was utterly deserted. The Corolla pulled to a halt in an otherwise empty parking lot, and the two duelists stepped out of it.

“Be on your guard,” Chad warned. “Degas and Alexander invited us here, so you just know something’s up.”

“I’m not oblivious to the obvious, Chad,” Gerald said. “For example, I can see the unconscious people draped over the sculptures even from here.”

Indeed, several unfortunates were slung over various pieces of art in the garden. Every one of them showed signs of the Darkness Infection, raising the question of what had infected them.

“Come on,” Gerald said. “Whatever did this is probably waiting for us at Spoonbridge and Cherry.”

The two men proceeded up to the centerpiece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which appeared at first to be left alone. And then…

…and then a very unusual man ran in from their left, sprang through the air, and landed in a three-point position on the “arm” of the spoon.

The man had two different colors in his hair – the left side was green, the right side blue. His left eye was blue and the right eye was green, and he had an odd scar circling one eye and ending at his chin. All he wore was a pair of blue jeans; his skin was swarthy, and he was disturbingly thin, with his ribs visible. One arm bore a Duel Disk. As usual, he showed the signs of the Darkness Infection; however, his lack of a shirt revealed a new one – a series of black marks across the torso.

Looking down at the two, the man sniggered. “Do you like my additions to the garden?” he asked.

“Mind telling us your name?” Gerald asked.

“They call me Caiside Bahn,” he said. “Half Irish and half Arabic, but with a touch of oddity of my own design. I’d love to chat, but I’m afraid you have to be crushed for my own sake.”

Chad’s eyebrow raised. “Your… own sake?”

Both of Caiside’s eyes – green and blue – narrowed. “My father went mad when he was thirty. So did my grandfather on his side, and his father before him… the list is a long one. I’m twenty-seven now, and in three years my number is up. But if I defeat you, the curse of madness will be lifted from my bloodline.”

“You do realize that the Darkness is lying through its teeth, right?” Gerald asked.

Caiside nodded. “I intend to attack them until they make good on their promise once I’m done here. By the way… if you try to leave without dueling me, everyone you saw lying on the statues will die.”

The lazier of the two men put his head in his hand. “You’re up, Chad,” he said.

Chad sighed, activating his Duel Disk. “Fine, then. I’ll challenge you.”

“It’s go time!” Caiside said as his own Duel Disk flared to life. Both Life Point counters shot to 8,000.

Gerald slumped to the ground and just watched.

0000000

As always, Degas and Alexander took their places in front of the mirror array, watching the duel as it began.

“Montmelier is up again,” Alexander noted. “Do the opponents he defeats count for the purposes of the Reciprocal?”

“All those on the side of the Light count,” Degas answered. “If he wins, that’s another one for their side.”

The man in green smiled. “Ah, well. Win or lose, we’re satisfied…”

0000000

Reaching into his pocket, Caiside withdrew a coin. “Heads or tails, Mr. Montmelier?” he asked.

“Heads,” Chad answered.

Caiside snapped his arm upwards, and the coin spiraled overhead. It landed on his outstretched palm, and he bent his wrist towards Chad.

Gerald and Chad sighed simultaneously. It was a tails.

“I’ll make the first move,” Caiside declared, drawing his opening hand. He looked over his cards, and then said, “I’ll begin with Dark Blade in Attack Mode.”

A warrior in black armor stepped forward, raising twin swords. His face was concealed in shadows. (1,800/1,500)

Caiside continued, “I’ll set two cards facedown and end my turn for now.”

As Chad drew his first card, he pondered what his opponent’s strategy might be. A Warrior… wait, I’ve heard about Dark Blade before. What was its secret again? “I set a monster in Defense Mode and a card face-down. Your move, Caiside.”

Fanning his cards out, Caiside studied his hand, and then said, “I play the Continuous Magic Card known as Frontline Base!”

As he did, Spoonbridge and Cherry vanished, covered by a hologram of a small fort. Various figures could be seen prowling around within it.

“Next,” he continued, “I invoke its effect. Once during my Main Phase, I may make a Special Summon of a Level Four or less Union Monster. Come forth, Pitch-Black Dragon!”

The doors of the base opened, and a small black dragon walked out, snorting smoke. (900/600)

Union? Chad thought. Oh, damn, now I remember Dark Blade’s secret!

Caiside grinned, his different-colored eyes shining. “Now do you get it? Union monsters can function like Equip Magic Cards for other monsters. In Pitch-Black Dragon’s case, it can hook to Dark Blade. So do it! Pitch-Black Dragon and Dark Blade, become the Pitch-Black Dragon Rider!”

With one mighty leap, the Dark Blade landed on the dragon’s back, grabbing a pair of reins that flashed into view and reining it in. (1,800/1,500 - 2,200/1,900)

“Pitch-Black Dragon Rider, the union of Dark Blade and Pitch-Black Dragon, gains 400 Attack and Defense Points,” Caiside explained. “In addition, it deals damage through Defense. Pitch-Black Dragon Rider, attack with Pitch-Black Breath!”

The Dark Blade stood up and gestured with his sword. In response, the dragon inhaled and breathed a cloud of noxious gas at Chad’s face-down monster.

“Activate Ring of Destruction!” Chad declared, activating the face-down card on his field. “This destroys your Pitch-Black Dragon Rider and hits us both for its Attack Points in damage!”

“I respond with my Trap Jammer,” Caiside replied. “This negates that little trap of yours.”

A ring covered in grenades flew around the dragon’s neck, but then a mysterious seal struck the bottom of the ring. The ring shattered, and the cloud of gas previously exhaled struck Chad’s Soul Tiger. (0/2,100) The tiger coughed and collapsed.

Chad turned pale as his Life Points went to 7,900.

“That settles my turn,” his opponent finished.

After a few deep breaths, Chad drew his next card. Okay, he thought. Union monsters can be very powerful, but Caiside almost emptied his hand just playing one. Unless he has a way to refresh it every turn or so, I can deal with what he can pull together. Especially because of the other weakness of Union monsters…

Aloud, he said, “I summon Chiron the Mage in Attack Mode!”

The card appeared for a moment, and then the armored centaur galloped out, staff at the ready. He glared at Caiside with a palpable hatred. (1,800/1,000)

“Next,” Chad continued, “I activate Chiron’s effect – I simply pitch a Magic Card, and in return he destroys one Magic or Trap card on your field.” He slid Dark Hole into his Graveyard. “Unless I’m mistaken, Union Monsters turn into Equip Magic when their effects go off, so say goodbye to Pitch-Black Dragon!”

Caiside narrowed his eyes and ran one hand through the green half of his hair.

The image of Dark Hole appeared in Chiron’s staff, and then he swung it at the Pitch-Black Dragon Rider. Gulping, the Dark Blade leapt off of his mount, which exploded in a rain of triangles. (2,200/1,900 - 1,800/1,500)

After another glance to his hand, Chad said, “I set this face-down and end my turn.”

With a hiss, Caiside drew his next card… and then he smiled. “Did you know that Dark Blade has two Union options?” he said. “You’ve seen one, now meet the other. First, I use Frontline Base to call out a monster named Des Dendle in Attack Mode!”

A small bunch of weeds sprouted at Caiside’s feet. (300/2,000)

Chad just stared. “Are you trying to tell me Dark Blade can Union with that patch of crabgrass?” he asked.

“Not even close,” Caiside answered. “But to summon his other Union option, I have to make an offering. So I’ll sacrifice Des Dendle and bring out Kiryu in Attack Mode!”

The weeds shattered, replaced by a massive dragon. It was over ten feet long, with needle-like teeth filling its mouth, and it had giant wings. (2,000/1,500)

Caiside grinned, saying, “You can see where this is going, I take it. Dark Blade! Kiryu! Union into Hyperspeed Dragon Rider!”

Once more, Dark Blade leapt into the air, this time landing on his feet on the Kiryu’s back. (1,800/1,500 – 2,700/2,400)

There was a moment’s pause, as Caiside glanced to the one card in his hand. Where’s Combination Attack when it would be perfect? “I could do in your Chiron and deal 900 points of damage to you,” he said aloud, “but I can do even more simply by doing in my Kiryu.”

“How so?” Chad asked.

Gerald answered the question for Caiside: “By tributing it while it’s equipped to Dark Blade, he can have Dark Blade attack you directly.”

“Thank you,” Caiside said. “You heard the man, Kiryu. Kamikaze Hyper Strike him now!”

The Kiryu rose into the sky, and then suddenly moved so fast that no man’s eyes could follow it. After a moment, it vanished with a sonic boom…

…and then Dark Blade fell out of the sky, sword-first. It landed on Chad, impaling him through the chest and knocking the artist to the ground, sending his Life Points down to 6,100.

The attack complete, Dark Blade returned to Caiside’s field, and he said, “My turn ends here.”

Taking a deep breath, Chad looked to his hands and sighed. The marks of the Darkness Infection were already present. He drew, and then smiled. “Shouldn’t have done that, Caiside; in order to get your hit on me, you took away Dark Blade’s power boost. Now I’ll capitalize on that by summoning Mad Dog of Darkness in Attack Mode!”

The eyeless, deranged beast padded up to Chiron’s side, snarling. (1,900/1,400)

“Mad Dog of Darkness,” Chad ordered, “attack Dark Blade!”

The dog barked twice and charged at the swordsman, fangs bared.

In response, Caiside tapped a button on his Duel Disk. “Activate Roll Out! This trap lets me bring a Union Monster back from the Graveyard and equip it to an appropriate monster. I’ll bring back Kiryu and form the Hyperspeed Dragon Rider once more!”

The red-scaled, whip-like dragon emerged underneath Dark Blade, who laughed evilly at the Mad Dog of Darkness. (1,800/1,500 – 2,700/2,400) The Mad Dog tried to flee, but the air blurred, and it shattered to pieces.

Chad’s jaw dropped as his Life Points descended to 5,300. He shook his head, took a card from his hand, and slid it into his Duel Disk. “I set this facedown and end my turn.”

Continued in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Caiside drew and snorted, playing the card. “I activate Graceful Charity.” He drew three cards, pitching a Vampire Orchis and Shadow of Eyes. “Now I summon Decayed Commander, in Attack Mode.”

A long-dead swordsman rose up from the ground, dressed in samurai armor and bearing a wakazashi at his side. He glared from under his helmet. (1,000/1,500)

“When the Decayed Commander is summoned,” Caiside continued, “I can call out his pet, the Zombie Tiger, as a Special Summon. Here, kitty, kitty!”

A mummified tiger padded up to the Commander’s side, causing the zombie to smile. (1,400/1,600)

“And now…” Caiside snapped his fingers. “Union, Decayed Commander and Zombie Tiger! Become the Zombie Patrol Unit!”

The Zombie Tiger rubbed its head against the Decayed Commander’s legs, and the Decayed Commander reached down, finding and holding a chain hidden amidst the bandages. (1,000/1,500 – 1,500/2,000)

Chad braced himself, one finger on his Duel Disk.

Caiside nodded to the Hyperspeed Dragon Rider. “Kamikaze Hyper Strike him again!”

Once again, the dragon took to the skies and moved faster than the eye could follow. It disappeared, the Dark Blade plummeted down sword-first… and smacked hard into an invisible barrier.

Chad held up his trap card. “Negate Attack slowed him down in a hurry,” he said.

With a sigh, Caiside held up his empty hand. “I can’t do anything else, so this turn is over.”

Nodding, Chad drew and held up his next card. “I summon Berserk Gorilla in Attack Mode!”

A rampaging, fire-snorting gorilla moved up alongside Chiron the Mage, who prudently stepped out of its way. (2,000/1,000)

“Berserk Gorilla,” Chad ordered, “crush the Dark Blade!”

With a roar, the gorilla charged forth and punched the Dark Blade in the head. Its neck snapped with a gruesome crack.

Gerald winced.

Caiside merely smiled as his Life Points slid to 7,800.

One of Chad’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued, “Chiron the Mage, destroy the Zombie Patrol Unit!”

Chiron took aim with his staff and let off a blast of lightning. It struck the Zombie Patrol Unit… but the Zombie Tiger threw itself in front of the Decayed Commander and took the entirety of the blast.

As his Life Points lowered to 7,500, Caiside grinned wide. “When a Union Monster is about to go down in battle,” he explained, “the equipped monster takes the hit instead.” He then giggled for a straight minute.

Okay, he’s lost it, Chad thought. “I set this face-down…” The artist slid his last card into the disk, leaving his hand empty. “…and that’s it for my turn.”

Caiside snapped the top card off of his deck, glanced at it, and tossed it on the Duel Disk. “Pot of Avarice,” he said simply. “I shuffle five monsters into my deck and draw two cards.”

Kiryu, a Pitch-Black Dragon, Vampire Orchis, Des Dendle, and Zombie Tiger flew into the strange man’s deck, and he drew two cards.

“Now…” He glanced at his hand, and then reached down to his disk. “I switch Decayed Commander to Defense Mode.” The armored zombie knelt. “Now I summon Doitsu by the effect of Frontline Base!”

A small yellow man floated down to the field on a paper airplane, sipping a cup of tea. (100/200)

Chad’s eyes went wide. Now this is a Union Monster I’ve heard of before. When he’s summoned one…

“Now I play Swords of Revealing Light!” Caiside continued.

I guess he didn’t draw the other one. The artist took his head in his hand and sighed.

A rain of glowing swords came down between the duelists, sealing off any attacks.

“I can’t do a damned thing, so it’s your turn now,” the infected duelist concluded.

Chad drew and groaned. In any other situation, I’d be praying for the Gyaku-Gire Panda. Right now… “I pass,” he said.

The Darkness Infected drew, uttered a curse in a language Gerald thought sounded vaguely Arabic, and slid it into his Duel Disk. “I’ll set that facedown and end my turn.”

“This may get tedious,” Gerald muttered quietly from his spot at the side.

Staring at his two pinned monsters, Chad drew again, looking to his card. “I play Poison Fangs,” he said, “which adds 500 Life Points to any damage you take from a Beast-type monster. And then I end my turn.”

“Boring, isn’t this?” Caiside said as he drew a card. He then looked at it and grinned. “Of course, this should make it more fun. I play Pot of Greed!” He drew two cards and laughed.

He drew it! Chad thought.

“I summon the mighty Soitsu!” Caiside declared, slamming the card onto his Duel Disk.

A little green man floated down on a paper airplane, flexing his nonexistent muscles. (0/0)

Gerald chuckled slightly, saying, “You call it mighty? There are mightier hamsters.” He then saw that Chad had gone pale. “Ummm… Chad? What’s the problem?”

“Soitsu and Doitsu Union, Gerald,” was all that Chad said.

Gerald himself went pale.

“That they do,” Caiside agreed. “And so they will. Soitsu? Doitsu? Union for me.”

The two men took each other’s hands and merged together, their pliable bodies becoming one mass of plasma. This mass expanded, forming into a gigantic yellow and green figure, shaped roughly as a man. (0/0 – 2,500/0)

“Behold my friend Soitsu-Doitsu,” Caiside finished. “Union monsters are so much fun, aren’t they?”

Gerald answered, “I’ll just say that if your monsters were toys, they’d be recalled before a week was out.”

“Ah, well…” Caiside then pointed to Chiron the Mage. “Kill that thing, Soitsu-Doitsu – use Gokujyo Power.”

Soitsu-Doitsu raised its arm high above its head, and then brought it down like a whip. The arm stretched and crushed Chiron underneath its mass.

His Life Points at 4,600, Chad took a few deep breaths, looking at his field. Curse my luck – in the excitement, I forgot about my face-down card. Fat lot of good it’ll do now…

“I end my turn with one card facedown,” Caiside said.

Chad drew, noting, “This is the last turn for the Swords of Revealing Light.” And so it was; the swords were fading away. “In the interim, I summon Gyaku-Gire Panda in Attack Mode.”

Pandas were normally adorable, delicate creatures, but something about snarling like it had a grudge against all living things and carrying a giant bamboo stick made this one decidedly less so. (800/1,400)

“For every monster you have in play,” Chad added, “my panda gains 500 Attack Points. That means for your two, it gains 1,000 Attack Points altogether.”

Looking at Caiside’s monsters, the panda growled, slamming its bamboo on the ground. (800/1,400 – 1,800/1,400)

“I end my turn with that,” Chad said. The final Swords of Revealing Light disappeared.

As the Darkness Infected drew, he shut his eyes and took a breath. “Had to clear the mind,” he explained afterward. He then ordered, “Soitsu-Doitsu, attack the Berserk Gorilla with Gokujyo Power!”

Again, the bizarre man raised its arm to attack…

“Activate Sakuretsu Armor!” Chad declared, triggering his trap. “This destroys your attacking monster!”

In a panic, Caiside activated his own trap. “Activate Formation Union, splitting Soitsu and Doitsu back to their component selves! Now Doitsu will survive in Attack Mode!”

The Soitsu-Doitsu creature split in two, back into the Soitsu and Doitsu. The Soitsu glowed brightly and exploded into a thousand pieces, confusing the Doitsu to no end.

Muttering under his breath, Caiside glanced at the card in his hand, set it into his Duel Disk, and said, “With this face-down, I end my turn.”

Chad drew and activated his face-down card, saying, “I’ll destroy your face-down card with Mystical Space Typhoon.”

Caiside swallowed hard as his Trap Hole shattered.

“Next,” Chad continued, “I summon Enraged Battle Ox in Attack Mode.”

The furious minotaur strode out, waving its axe about and glaring at the Darkness Infected. (1,700/1,000)

Whimpering, the Darkness Infected crouched on the Spoonbridge and Cherry, trying to hide amid the hologram of the Frontline Base.

“Let’s see,” Chad began. “All three of my monsters now have the ability to strike your Life Points through Defense Mode monsters; in addition, Poison Fangs amplifies the damage from my two Beast-types. You have one monster with 1,500 Defense Points and one monster with one hundred Attack Points. To do you the most damage, I’ll have to be precise about this.” He paused, giving it some thought.

No matter how he does this, Gerald thought, Caiside is in for a rough stretch.

Chad finally ordered, “I think I’ll start with Gyaku-Gire Panda. Panda, attack Doitsu with Bamboo Smash!”

With a growl, the furious panda stormed up and slammed Doitsu over the head with its bamboo stick, flattening the little man and shattering it. Caiside’s Life Points plummeted to 5,800, and then to 5,300 as the Poison Fangs glowed.

“Next,” Chad ordered now, “Enraged Battle Ox, destroy the Decayed Commander!”

The minotaur sprang skyward and brought its axe down hard on the Decayed Commander. It shattered the zombie’s sword and cleaved in its head.

Caiside dared to look at his Life Point meter, which now read 4,800.

Taking a long, drawn-out breath, Chad began, “Berserk Gorilla…”

“In the name of all that’s holy, spare me!” Caiside yelled.

“Can’t afford to,” Chad said, a hint of apology in his tone. “Either way, Berserk Gorilla, attack him directly!”

The Gorilla roared and charged the Frontline Base, punching in the doors. It grabbed Caiside by the throat, lifted the duelist into the air, and hurled him into the water, hooting wildly.

Both Gerald and Chad watched unblinkingly. Finally, Gerald said, “Holograms are so violent these days, aren’t they?”

“I know parents who won’t let their children watch duels,” Chad answered.

Caiside pulled himself slowly back onto the statue, badly bruised and dripping. His Life Points dove first to 2,800, and then to 2,300 as the Poison Fangs glowed again.

“I set this face-down,” Chad said, “and end my turn. And unless I’m mistaken, you won’t last a great deal longer at this rate.”

0000000

“Can’t Viper pick anyone with a hope at victory?” Degas growled, his fingernails digging into the arms of his chair. “First Takumi comes close and trips on the last hurdle, and now Caiside is about to fail us as well! I can’t help but think Viper has a taste for the mediocre…”

Alexander sighed, rubbing his temple. “I would argue with you,” he said, “but the more of this I watch, the more I question the quality of our servants. For now, it seems that Gerald and Chad will be moving on to whatever else they have due them today…”

Suddenly, a ball of dark energy floated up from the floor. Both men looked at it curiously, and then Degas said, “The Dancing Mad?”

“What is it doing here?” Alexander asked.

The ball fluxed, and then a piece separated itself from the whole, flying off and vanishing through the ceiling.

Both men looked to each other. Finally, Alexander said, “How odd. It has decided on its own to aid Caiside.”

Degas leaned back into his chair, a foul smile on his lips. “If that is the case… Caiside may not be quite as weak as we were led to believe. So, which form has it sent out?”

Alexander took the orb into his hands and examined it. “Its namesake.” He then chuckled. “The Darkness loves irony…”

0000000

Knowing the next draw could be his last, Caiside drew his card, breathing heavily. He then looked at it… and laughed.

The laugh rang about him as he stood up and took a few jigging steps along the Spoonbridge and Cherry. It carried on as he threw his arms back, taking in the sunlight.

Finally, Chad demanded, “What’s so amusing about your latest card?”

“Simply that I daresay I’ve won the game,” Caiside answered. “First, I play Card of Demise, which lets me draw five cards, assuming I discard any I have left in my hand after five turns.”

He drew five cards, and then laughed once more. This laugh was shorter, but none the less threatening for it.

“Now,” Caiside said, his composure returned, “I set three cards facedown, and play Emergency Provisions, sending all three to the Graveyard and gaining 3,000 Life Points for it.”

An odd mouth flashed from Emergency Provisions, snapping up a second Frontline Base, a Shadow of Eyes, and a Combination Attack. A glow of light surrounded Caiside, raising his Life Points to 5,300.

Well… that was a lot of overture and little show… Gerald thought. Unless his last card is a game-winner, this duel may as well end now.

“So…” Chad asked. “How will that win you the game?”

“That won’t,” Caiside answered. “This next card will. You see, it’s a special brand of card known as a Card of Night.”

Chad arched an eyebrow. “That’s not a real card type.”

“It is now,” Caiside answered. “It’s a manifestation of Darkness, usable only by Darkness Infected, Pillars of Darkness, Degas, and Alexander. If anyone else tried to use one, their hearts would explode from sheer power overload.”

“Eew,” Chad muttered.

“Eew indeed. But since I fit the bill, I can play them. And this one is mine! I play Dancing Mad!”

He set the card into his Duel Disk, and the world turned into a kaleidoscope around them.

0000000

The resulting waves of dark energy pulsed through the city, striking a fireball as it passed overhead. The fireball spiraled into the ground and landed in a small park, sending up a blaze that took out several trees.

When the flames died down, Lucifer Allumette held his head in one hand, groaning. “What in ze name of ze Dreaming was zat?” he muttered.

After a moment, he sensed the Darkness and gasped. “No! Zey have unleashed a Card of Night! I never zought zey would grant one to anyzing less zan a Pillar!”

Lucifer tried to get back on his feet, but collapsed as a pulse of illness rushed through him; the Darkness had done more than he’d thought to his body. “May the Light save you, Montmelier,” he whispered.

0000000

“What the hell does Dancing Mad do?” Chad asked as his pulse rate spiked.

Caiside explained: “First, I count the number of cards in my Graveyard.” He did so. “I have fifteen. So by removing fifteen cards from my deck and sending them out of play, I can shuffle my Graveyard back into my deck.”

All around the two duelists, the air turned purple. Fifteen cards vanished from the Darkness Infected’s deck, and he took the remainder and his Graveyard and shuffled them together.

“That barely leaves you with a deck, though,” Chad noted.

“Oh, did you think that was all Dancing Mad did?” Caiside asked. “You’re a fool, then. After that effect resolves I can pay 1,000 Life Points. If I do so – and I will – then I get to shuffle all my cards removed from play back into my deck.”

Chad and Gerald simultaneously gasped.

Caiside’s Life Points went down to 4,300, and there was a flash of light from his Duel Disk as his deck was fully restored.

Chad stammered for a moment, and then said, “You… you must be joking! Nothing is that cheap! There has to be another price!”

Caiside shrugged. “Oh, there is. You see, Dancing Mad removes itself from play after the card-restoration effect resolves, so it doesn’t return itself. And now, if I happen to lose this duel, my mind will be destroyed. Dancing Mad is more than just a name – I’m dancing on the edge of madness just playing the card.” He then grinned. “But for a deck reboot like this, it’s all worth it.”

“Damn it…” the artist said, inching back. “Your hand is empty, though…”

“One more thing,” the Darkness Infected said. “Dancing Mad’s last effect lets me draw five cards.”

“Damn it!” Chad fell to his knees and punched the ground.

Fanning out his new hand, Caiside took a card. The Dancing Mad’s chaotic world shifted colors to green. “I summon Protective Soul Ailin in Attack Mode, using the effect of my Frontline Base…”

A little pink angel descended over their heads. (0/0)

Concluded in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

“And for my regular summon,” he continued, “I summon the Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei.”

A burly warrior with the feet of a dog stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. He looked bored. (2,300/0)

Gerald felt an odd kinship with the fighter, but couldn’t understand why.

“Now I Union Lei Lei and Ailin,” Caiside went on. “Come together, you two.”

Ailin settled on the Indomitable Fighter’s shoulders, smiling.

Having gotten himself under control, Chad noted, “She doesn’t seem to do much for him.”

“But she will,” Caiside elaborated. “Normally, Lei Lei switches to Defense Mode after he attacks – but with Ailin inspiring him, he can fight off that laziness and switch back to Attack Mode. Now, Lei Lei, attack the Berserk Gorilla with Unstoppable Force!”

The fighter, Ailin on his shoulder, charged forward and slugged the gorilla in the gut. It grunted, and then shattered around his fist. That done, he tried to sleep… but Ailin shook him, and the fighter stayed awake.

Chad blinked twice, watching his own Life Points change to 4,300. In the space of one turn, he’d gone from the lead to a tie.

“I set this facedown,” Caiside finished, “and my turn is over.”

Swallowing hard, Chad drew his next card. “I set one monster in Defense Mode…”

“Activate Shadow of Eyes,” Caiside interrupted as he triggered his trap, “which will force your monster into Attack Mode and cancel any Flip Effects!”

The Dancing Mad turned pink, and Chad’s Des Kangaroo rose to its feet, making a few practice jabs. (1,500/1,700)

Growling, Chad continued, “I switch Enraged Battle Ox and Gyaku-Gire Panda into Defense Mode and end my turn.”

Caiside drew, held up his card, and said, “It’s time for Graceful Charity to make a comeback!” He drew his cards and discarded, and then said, “I’ll unequip Protective Soul Ailin from Lei Lei…”

The angel floated off the fighter’s shoulder, and he slouched in response.

“Next,” Caiside continued, “I play Monster Reborn, bringing back a monster I discarded. Behold Aitsu!”

The familiar symbol of resurrection shone overhead. A small paper airplane flew from it and landed in front of Caiside, and a tiny red man poked his head out. (100/100)

Chad began to sweat.

“And now, I sacrifice both Lei Lei and Ailin…” Caiside drew it out, grinning widely. “…to summon Koitsu.”

Both monsters shattered, and another paper airplane landed, this one with a small blue man in it. (200/100)

Gerald leaned forward, catching onto what the monsters could do.

Caiside smiled. “Now watch closely, Mr. Montmelier. This duel is about to come to a close. I Union Aitsu and Koitsu, and in doing so create Aitsu-Koitsu!”

Much like Soitsu and Doitsu before them, Aitsu and Koitsu clasped hands and merged together into one mass, this one slightly purple in color. The mass soon expanded, revealing a towering figure, at least twenty feet in height and striped in red and blue. (100/100 – 3,100/100)

“Oh, my,” Gerald muttered.

“And the best part?” Caiside said. “It doesn’t treat Defense Mode any differently than Attack Mode. Aitsu-Koitsu, attack the Enraged Battle Ox!”

The giant cracked its knuckles and picked up the Enraged Battle Ox, crushing it in its grip.

Chad muttered a profanity under his breath, his Life Points sinking to 2,200. He could feel the Darkness Infection develop on his neck.

“That will be it,” Caiside finished. “But remember, you can’t hold off Aitsu-Koitsu’s attacks. All I need is to attack once or twice more and your Life Points will be zero.”

“We’ll… see…” Taking a deep breath, the artist thought, He’s right. I have to stop that monstrosity on this turn or the duel’s finished. He drew…

0000000

Degas and Alexander had set up a mirror array in the room where Father Young and Ogre were guarding Laura, and they were watching the duel between Chad and Caiside.

Seeing the expression on Chad’s face as he drew, Father Young said, “Ten dollars says that Caiside’s finished.”

“You’re on,” Ogre replied.

Laura ceased her pacing and glanced at the mirrors, a bit of hope in her eyes.

0000000

Chad let out a sigh of relief and slid the card into his Duel Disk. “I play my own Pot of Greed,” he said.

As he drew the two cards, Caiside giggled slightly, the Dancing Mad’s effects turning the world around them gray.

“Now I summon the king of my deck, a monster I haven’t even drawn before…” Chad held up the card. “I sacrifice Des Kangaroo and Gyaku-Gire Panda to summon Behemoth the King of All Animals in Attack Mode!”

The two lesser beasts bowed deeply before they shattered and disappeared. In their place came a massive creature, with the body shape of a bear and the horns of a bull. It had a light-pink hide and purple hair forming a pelt on its back. Saliva dripped from its many-fanged maw.

The creature roared, and suddenly Caiside wasn’t so sure of himself. (2,700/1,500)

Looking at its stats, Caiside exhaled, not quite as worried now. “Worthless,” he said. “It’s simply 400 Attack Points too weak to threaten my Aitsu-Koitsu.”

Chad shrugged. “I still get its effect, which lets me return a number of Beast-type monsters equal to the number of monsters I gave up for it to my hand.” He took two of them. “I now set one card facedown and end my turn.”

“And so it’s over,” Caiside said, drawing a card. “I set this monster in Defense Mode… and now, my Aitsu-Koitsu, destroy the Behemoth!”

But even as the figure approached to slay Chad’s monster, the artist shouted, “Ever see one of Joey Wheeler’s duels? Then you’ll be familiar with this! Activate Graceful Dice!”

A tiny, teddy-bear-like figure in suit and top hat flew into the air, holding a blue six-sided die.

“Why are you playing that card?” Caiside asked, his stomach lurching.

Chad replied, “I just figured I might need it. You know how it works – the die rolls, and the Attack and Defense Points of my monster increase by the result times 100 until the end of my next turn. Less than four and I’ll submit; four and both of our monsters bite it; better than four and I’m in the money. Let’s roll!”

The figure threw its die into the air, and it landed on the ground, a three showing…

…and then bounced, showing a four…

…and finally came to earth with the six up. Behemoth roared at the top of its lungs, a blue light shining over its body. (2,700/1,500 – 3,300/2,100)

Caiside slumped to his knees, pounding his head on Spoonbridge and Cherry.

Aitsu-Koitsu tried to grab Behemoth’s head, in order to break its neck, but was promptly gutted with one swipe of the beast’s claw. It grabbed its stomach, collapsed, and shattered into a hundred pieces, leaving only Aitsu behind.

Caiside’s Life Points shifted first to 4,100, and then to 3,600 due to the forgotten Poison Fangs. “End turn,” the Darkness Infected said between hits of his head on the statue.

Chad drew and smirked. “I summon the Enraged Battle Ox again.”

The minotaur returned, bowing to Behemoth as he emerged. (1,700/1,000)

“Enraged Battle Ox, destroy Aitsu!” Chad ordered.

Eager to comply, the bull-headed creature charged forward and swung its axe, cleaving the little man in half. Caiside’s Life Points dove to 2,000, but he didn’t move from his crouched position.

“Behemoth,” Chad now commanded, “destroy his face-down monster! Thanks to my Enraged Battle Ox, your Life Points aren’t safe…”

The King of All Animals trotted over and stamped on the face-down Des Dendle, crushing it. Now Caiside’s Life Points sank first to 700, and then to 200.

Gerald yawned and began to doze on the sidelines.

“That’s my turn,” Chad concluded. “Any last words?”

It was a moment before Caiside even raised his head. Slowly, he got to his feet, an unearthly light in his already-disturbing eyes.

“This duel… not over…” he said, the Dancing Mad already claiming its price. “Never… over. Draw…” He did so. “Set... one card… facedown. End… turn.”

Chad sighed. “Not only are you going mad, you’re talking like William Shatner,” he said. He drew and tossed his card on his Duel Disk: “Heavy Storm.”

Grabbing his head, Caiside screamed in what sounded like two voices at once.

The storm tore through Caiside’s Mirror Force and Chad’s Poison Fangs, leaving nothing but Chad’s monsters after the wind stopped.

After a moment, Chad sighed. “I’m sorry, but you left little choice. Finish him, Enraged Battle Ox.”

The minotaur strode up and swung the axe once into Caiside’s gut. The maddened man looked at it, grinned, and then fell off of the statue, making a splash as he hit the water. His Life Points struck zero.

The Dancing Mad disappeared as the holograms shut down, and a chaotic laugh echoed on the wind. A small ball of darkness flew away…

0000000

“Pay up,” said Father Young.

Grumbling, Ogre took out his wallet and fished out a ten-dollar bill, growling, “I thought gambling was a sin.”

“Only on occasion, my child.”

0000000

The ball of darkness merged once again with the Dancing Mad, and Degas sank it back into the floor. “If he couldn’t win with that card on his side, he deserves the madness,” the man in black muttered.

“Still, he made a good effort,” Alexander noted. “And it isn’t like it matters. His purpose, after all, is to lure Gerald to our real death-blow.”

“Exactly.” Degas waved one hand, and the mirror array changed its focus from the unconscious Caiside to another location, elsewhere in St. Paul. “I see Viper is almost ready to act.”

“About time,” Alexander muttered. “It took him two days to get into position.”

The man in green then sent a psychic message: Now.

0000000

Gerald awoke a moment later, stretching as he rose to his feet. Chad had dragged Caiside out of the fountain and was checking on him.

“So where’d you get Graceful Dice?” the lazy young man asked as he drifted over to his friend.

Chad shrugged. “Someone dropped it near the capitol building. Their loss is my gain.”

Gerald nodded, and then winced as a sudden pain spiked through his head.

“Vision incoming?” Chad asked.

His friend was barely able to nod before it was upon him.

0000000

A key fell through the air…

…and landed in the outstretched hand of a giant man in a metal mask – Ogre, Gerald thought. The man looked at the key and tossed it through the air.

The key landed in the hand of a man clad all in silver – Hanzaki. He spun the key on his finger and threw it away.

This time, a man in a silver jumpsuit and cape caught it. He snickered and dropped the key into his pocket, all the while humming a fairly primitive tune.

The vision jumped backward, from the man to Hanzaki to Ogre, and then jumped back once more to a barred cell, within which was a red-haired girl. Gerald had only seen her once, but he knew it was Laura.

The key slid into the lock of her cell door.

The vision panned upwards, and he could see the building where she was kept. It looked just like all the others… but a symbol was painted on the wall. It matched a symbol he had once seen on Hanzaki’s chest.

And then the vision went dead.

0000000

It was several minutes before Gerald recovered. Chad was still standing by him. “Welcome back,” the tall artist said.

“Thanks,” Gerald said before relating what he’d seen in the vision.

Chad listened, and then said, “So that last guy’s got the key, and all we need to do is defeat him to get our hands on it and free Laura. Remind me why we’re so interested in her, by the way…”

“Because otherwise the word ‘Kanlon’ will irk me until the day I die,” Gerald replied. “In addition, it will strike the Darkness a hard blow, and that can never be bad.”

“Good point.”

Over their heads, a ball of fire began to descend. Since both were expecting something like that, they simply moved back and let it land between them. The fire flared up, and Lucifer bowed politely. “I congratulate you once again, Monsieur Montmelier,” he said. “You have managed to defeat a Card of Night. Few duelists, even zose blessed by ze Light, could stand against one.”

“So was he telling the truth about what it does to non-Darkness users?” Chad asked.

“Sadly, yes. If you happen to steal one from ze hand or deck of a Darkness Infected, do not play it. Ze consequences would be tragic.”

Both Gerald and Chad briefly looked disgusted. Gerald then recovered and said, “It couldn’t hurt any worse than the visions I keep having. Why do I get those, anyway?”

“Hmmm?” Lucifer looked confused. “Ah, you do not know about ze Reciprocal. Ze Light may only send you visions if a certain amount of Darkness is defeated first. Each time you or an ally or yours defeats a Darkness Infected or another servant of Darkness, ze Light moves a step closer to fulfilling zat contract. Ze exact number depends on what zey wish to tell you.”

Chad gave it some thought. “So if we need advice, our best bet is to hunt out and defeat Darkness Infected,” he finally said.

Lucifer nodded, and then looked up. “Did anyone else hear a loud cracking noise?”

Gerald and Chad looked to him, and then shook their heads.

The next sound, however, all three heard – as well as everyone else in the Twin Cities area. It was a massive, echoing explosion.

Once the noise died, Lucifer looked around in confusion… and then his expression turned to utter horror. “Oh, by the Divine, no…”

“What’s wrong?” Gerald asked.

Lucifer grabbed him and shouted, “We have to go to ze Cathedral of St. Paul, and quickly! Otherwise, ze city may be finished!”

“But why?”

“Ze Pillar has just invaded it!”

0000000

Several minutes before, the Pillar of Darkness known as Viper made his way down the street in the Summit Hill district of St. Paul. He had finally reached his destination, the Cathedral of St. Paul. Already, he could hear the voices of hundreds of people – those who had dared to leave their homes with the Darkness Infection on the rise – praying to their god for salvation.

He tried to take another step forward, but a large white barrier suddenly stood in his way. The Cathedral of St. Paul was a major bastion of the Light, and a person as steeped in Darkness as he was couldn’t even get close.

Viper merely smirked, and then drew in his power. The street around him began to crack and crumble.

He then raised his arms, and the street all around him shattered. And then Viper gave the barrier one hard punch.

Energy rippled out over the barrier of Light, a series of black lines extending from the point of impact and arcing out over the barrier.

Viper threw another punch, and the black lines became cracks in the barrier.

His third punch shattered the barrier of Light, sending a noise akin to a massive explosion rolling over the Twin Cities. The pieces faded away, and the Cathedral of St. Paul was left helpless.

Without another word, Viper strolled up to the door of the cathedral and waved his hand. A black wave poured over the building, and over all those within it.

One by one, those gathered in prayer collapsed to the ground, their prayers cutting off in mid-word.

Viper walked calmly to the center of the building, his footsteps no longer punching holes in the ground, and relaxed slightly. “Such a beautiful place,” he said softly. “The Light didn’t deserve to hog something like this. It’s ours now.”

He chuckled to himself.

CARD OF DEMISE
Type: Normal Magic Card
Image: An executioner about to chop several cards in two with a guillotine.
Effect: Draw five cards from your deck. On the fifth turn after this card is played, discard your hand to the Graveyard.
Note: This card was first used by Kaiba in the original series episode, “Clash in the Coliseum”. All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

DANCING MAD
Type: Normal Magic Card/Card of Night
Image: A bizarre man with a white-painted face and a colorful outfit dancing on a floating piece of earth as lightning tears the world apart beneath him.
Effect: Count the number of cards in your Graveyard, remove that many cards off the top of your deck from play, and shuffle your Graveyard back into your deck. After that effect has resolved, you may pay 1,000 Life Points. If you do, shuffle all cards you own that are removed from play back into your deck, and then draw five cards from your deck. Regardless of which effects are activated, this card is removed from play after all other effects resolve. If you lose the current duel after this card is activated, you will be driven insane.

Card of Night: New Card Type

A Card of Night is a special form of card, made from dark energy. Only Darkness Infected, Pillars of Darkness, Fangs of Night, and those specially empowered by Darkness may safely play one - anyone else who tries will die as their heart explodes from an overload of dark energy.

All Cards of Night, while powerful, have significant prices to pay. In addition, if one plays two Cards of Night in the same duel and then loses that duel, the prices will cease to matter - the Darkness will kill them outright. (The exception is the Card of Night named "Image Sealer", which does not trigger this effect.)

While all other cards used in this story may be used with permission, Cards of Night cannot.

Coming next chapter: Gerald is drawn into battle with one of the most dangerous duelists he could ever hope to face. His Direct Damage deck is forced to square off against an entire armada of powerful monsters, and the Darkness itself is on the side of his opponent. Can even the intervention of a higher power save the laziest duelist alive? The answers are coming in Chapter Eight, “Nemesis”…

[starjake]

Now that was a duel.

Union Decks are difficult to play by those of us who are sane (well, more sane than Caiside), but Caiside pulled it off with aplomb. And I like the Card of Night idea; kind of like a Dark version of Dark Sage's Enchanted cards. It makes me wonder, though...are there Cards of Light, Dream, and Shadow as well? Perhaps only time will tell.

Very nice chapter; I can't wait for more!

[Shuppet Master]

Hell no! I would never use your Cards of Night, considering how deadly they are! They make the Orichalcos seem like legal cards!

Great chapter, I liked it a lot. Sorry I don't have much to say, some woman is cleaning my house today and I won't be able to be on my computer for a bit.

[jkBAKURA]

How could I not love this chapter?

Minnesota landmarks, Chad's first "big" monster appearance, a lot of plot info, and top it all off with an awesome opponent. Worth the wait definately. The next chapter however, is not. UPDATE SOON! I COMMAND YOU!

Sorry, lost it for a moment, matbe I'm going slightly Mad myself. *giggles for a straight minute*

[Dark Sage]

This chapter was interesting - Union Decks are unique. You don't see many of them around in fanfiction. Gerald has some sort of rapport with Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei? I wonder why? He isn't a direct damage monster.

It was about time Chad brought out Behemoth.

The Cards of Night are a great find! I just hope that Gerald and Chad will get some equivalents from the Light eventually. It's only fair. I agree that Light, Shadow, and Dreams should likely have their own versions.

It seems that Gerald will be taking on Viper next. That guy has a lot of nerve storming into a church. We'll soon see who has the last laugh.

Anyway, I like what I see so far. Update soon.

[Blademaster]

Union Monsters? I thought Paradox didn't like them...

Well, in any case, it wasn't a bad duel at all - it seemed a bit similar to that crazy guy from 'Lady of Dragons,' but, meh...

So, this 'Viper' guy is up next, huh? Big deal - La-Z-Boy and his buddy can handle it, no problem.

Oh, and thanks for making Chad forget about one of his face-down cards - I can't tell you how many times I've done that and then my opponent found out and said something like 'What a n00b move!' or something like that. Idiots... :p

Anyway, put up a new chapter soon, OK?

Peace out.

-Blade

[Master of Paradox]

Tomorrow will be my birthday, and I seriously considered hanging onto this chapter until then... but due to circumstances (read: the computer lab closes early on Fridays), I've decided to give you all an early present. So strap in and be ready, my friends!

I… I’m really not sure what to say…

This entire time, I’ve faced down the Darkness and never thought twice about it. But that was just a façade of Darkness over ordinary people. I hadn’t fought the real thing yet.

Now I’m battling a true servant of the dark power that’s invading this city, and I’m not sure if I stand a chance. He’s crushing every plan I have to fight back, and he’s got weapons I can’t hope to match. I never thought a deck based on a famous video game could be so brutally effective.

There’s nothing in my deck that can even match what he has out. All my defenses are gone.

Please… someone, anyone… help me…

Chapter Eight: Nemesis

Three people sat in the ’86 Corolla GTS as it roared down the road, headed back to the city of St. Paul. Chad was driving, Lucifer was pensively staring out the front passenger window, and Gerald was sitting in the back, looking through his deck.

“Can’t zis thing go any faster?” Lucifer asked, looking to the rings on his right hand. “Ze Ring of Alarms is burning my finger – zat means ze situation is dire!”

“How can a ring burn your finger when there’s no heat source?” Gerald asked.

Despite himself, Lucifer chuckled. “Zese chiots are not just for looks, Monsieur Laxina – zey are artifacts of Dreams. Each one has its own power. Ze Ring of Alarms grows hotter depending on ze danger of the current scenario – I can sense very subtle fluctuations in temperature, so it works well. If it burns my finger, zings are very bad indeed.”

“So why is the Darkness invading the Cathedral particularly bad?” Chad asked.

The agent of Dreams sighed. “Ze Cathedral of St. Paul is one of ze most important bastions of Light in ze entire city. All those within it are protected from ze Darkness Infection, and any Darkness Infected who passes through ze zreshold is instantly cured. If ze Darkness claims it, zen zey have robbed us of a major foothold in holding zem back, and zey know zis. We must prevent zat by all means at our disposal!”

“Understood,” Gerald said.

They entered the Summit Hill district shortly afterward.

0000000

Neither Degas nor Alexander felt like sitting down this time. Both stood in front of the mirror array, watching the Corolla move ever closer to the church.

“Here we go,” Degas said. “For the first time, our plans near fruition. This is the time for Gerald to prove he’s more than just a random pick of the Light.”

Alexander nodded, adding, “But even if the Light was serious about him, the Pillar will reduce him to nothing. We have absolutely nothing to fear with this duel, nothing at all…”

“The Light may try to aid him.”

“Given the Card of Night in our Pillar’s deck, the Light’s aid means nothing.”

0000000

Before the Corolla could even get near the church, Chad slammed on the brakes. Gerald slammed into the seat in front of him, and Lucifer grabbed the windshield to keep from hitting it. “What was that for?” Gerald asked.

Chad was sweating badly. “Something’s wrong,” he said. “I can’t bring myself to drive any closer to the Cathedral. It just doesn’t feel right…”

Opening his door, Lucifer slid out, shivering slightly. “Zere is a powerful aura of Darkness here,” he said. “I do not blame you for not wanting to get close. Fear not, however – I have a way to take care of it.” He held up his right hand, and one of his rings began to glow. “Ring of Purity, guard us from zis dark and evil presence.”

A bubble of red light emerged from the crystal on Lucifer’s finger, and Gerald and Chad left the car, moving up to him. “How odd,” Gerald noted. “I feel quite comfortable now…”

“No wonder,” Lucifer said. “Ze Ring of Purity isolates us from dark and shadow energy. However, I cannot make it large enough to surround ze entire car, so we must walk.”

Gerald sighed, and they began to walk towards the Cathedral.

0000000

The path leading up to the Cathedral of St. Paul was shattered and broken, something that screamed “bad sign”. Gerald tried not to pay too much attention to it.

When they actually reached the building, all three men gasped – the entire building was shining with a black light. “We are too late,” Lucifer whispered. “Ze Darkness has claimed ze Cathedral…” He lowered his head. “All we can hope to do now is to save an innocent or two from whoever invaded it. Onward.”

The three stepped into the building, and the bubble of light around them began to warp inward. “What’s going on?” Chad asked.

“My best guess: there’s so much Darkness in here that even Lucifer’s ring can’t hold it back.” Gerald looked around. “Definitely not a place I’d want to visit.”

The inside of the Cathedral looked like a tornado had hit it. The pews were broken, and various unpleasant graffiti was scattered about. The floor was strewn with unconscious people, all of whom exhibited the signs of Darkness Infection.

As they moved deeper into the wreckage, the sound of someone humming filled the air. Gerald lifted his head. “I’ve heard that before…”

“Hmmm?” Chad asked.

“I heard that voice in my vision… and that tune. Hold it…” His eyes widened. “That’s ‘Introductory Flight’ from the video game Gradius…”

A figure then descended from the ceiling, arms crossed over his chest. The man was a colossus – shorter, slightly, than Gerald, but with a much more powerful figure. He had long, blonde hair that danced around his shoulders, and wore futuristic silver armor, complete with a red-lined cape. He grinned as he touched the ground.

“Welcome to the new base of the Darkness,” the man said. “Did you enjoy seeing my alterations?”

Lucifer grimaced, holding onto his right hand. From the smoke, it appeared the Ring of Alarms was searing into him.

“Who are you?” Chad asked as Gerald readied his deck.

The man swept an arm out in front of him and bowed. “I am one of the four most powerful servants of Degas and Alexander, one of the Pillars. I am the Pillar of Destruction, Viper – Jean-Vic Viper, to be precise.”

“A Pillar!” Lucifer whispered, taking a step back. “I should have guessed!”

Gerald couldn’t repress a laugh. “Jean-Vic Viper? As in Vic Viper, the ship from Gradius? Are you a nerd or what?”

Jean-Vic’s eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand. The ground shook underneath them, throwing the three men to the ground. “Do not insult me. I could smite you without even trying. And to answer your question…” He regained his composure, smiling. “I do admire that game, yes. It may be the greatest game ever invented, and so I took it as my name. Given that my original name was Jean l’Idiot-Ne, it was an upgrade.”

“Does that mean…” Chad began.

Lucifer snickered and confirmed, “It means ‘Jean the Born Idiot’.”

Another earthquake struck, knocking them down again. “Silence!” Jean-Vic yelled. “Either way, this church is now in the hands of the Darkness. The only way to save it and free those trapped by its dark energy is to defeat me in a Dark Duel!”

Gerald got to his feet, dusted off, and said, “All right, then. Let’s begin.”

“Gerald, no!” Lucifer yelled, only to be struck down by a small tremor right under his feet.

Jean-Vic nodded to Gerald and said, “Let us go outside.”

0000000

In the room where the Darkness held Laura captive, Father Young and Ogre watched the duel on their own mirror array, Laura staring at the mirrors from within her cell.

“All right!” Ogre said. “I’ve looked forward to this for over a year! The Pillars are unstoppable when it comes to duels!”

Father Young replied, “As much as I mistrust the power of the Light, I feel I have to agree. No matter how powerful Gerald may be, he is walking to his demise.”

Laura said nothing, only thinking, Come on, Gerald. Who else is going to get me out of here if you go down?

0000000

Once all four men were outside, Jean-Vic lifted his hands and said, “I think we should move to a more appropriate battleground.” He and Gerald began to slowly rise off the ground, moving towards the top of the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Down below, Chad and Lucifer could do nothing but watch.

The two men settled a fair distance from each other, obsidian platforms coming into being beneath their feet.

“So… you’re the Pillar of Destruction,” Gerald said. “What does that mean, precisely?”

Jean-Vic said calmly, “There are four facets to evil – Destruction, Terror, Chaos, and Death. I embody the first of the four. As such, the Darkness in my body is purer than any Darkness Infected could ever possibly be. I am not merely a tool for the Darkness; I am its vessel, its weapon. My mere touch can infect a human, and when you lose this duel, nothing will be able to break the hold the Darkness will have on you.”

Gerald merely shrugged. “And if I win, the Darkness is out one of its strongest weapons, the Cathedral returns to the hands of the Light, hundreds of innocent people are saved, and I turn you into a massive joke.”

“That requires that you win first,” Jean-Vic replied.

“Indeed.” Gerald activated his Duel Disk.

In response, Jean-Vic waved his right hand over his left arm. The armor on that arm came to life, extending a metallic fin-like platform. Another notch opened in the armor on top of the arm, into which the Pillar slid his deck. A digital readout came into being next to it.

Gerald whistled. “Impressive…”

Jean-Vic nodded, and then snapped his fingers. “Let the Dark Duel begin!” he shouted.

A circle flared to life around them, within which glowed a series of lines. The circle and the lines all turned black, and they continued to hover around them.

“Dark Duel?” Gerald asked.

“Essentially identical to a normal duel,” Jean-Vic explained, “except for the stakes and the power of Images. And before you ask…”

He paused, took a deep breath, and began: “In the times of the early Shadow Games, sorcerers were able to draw forth their ka, their inner selves, as weapons to utilize against their opponents. In Dark Duels, Shadow Duels, Dream Duels, and Duels of Light, this power is given a new form – the Image.

“You may have heard of the Deck Master system, a duel variant used in last year’s Monster Island Tournament Finals. An Image bears some resemblance to that, but with several key changes. First and foremost, you cannot choose your Image.”

“Why not?” Gerald asked.

Jean-Vic answered, “Because your Image is a representation of your innermost self. Your Image always takes the form of a Duel Monster that represents your true being – it is, in essence, a manifestation of your soul. As such, there are some limitations.

“The first is that the Image can’t be called upon unless your Life Points are 4,000 or less. Your soul will not let you call forth your Image unless you are in danger – it’s a matter of self-preservation.

“For that matter, you cannot summon your Image to the field, use it in a fusion, or use it to make a Tribute Summon. Your Image cannot be destroyed by any card effect, nor can it be attacked – but it also won’t protect you from a direct attack, unless that is its effect. Your soul will not put itself in the line of fire.

“All Images have an effect, even if the Image’s form does not usually have one; otherwise they would be worthless. The effect differs depending on the Image, but they are almost always beneficial. The effect may have a cost; there are no ways to avoid paying the cost for an Image’s effect.

“And one more thing… to call your Image out when the time is right, you need merely call it forth. Your soul will know what you want.”

Jean-Vic took a deep breath. “But enough of that,” he said. “We have a battle to fight.”

“Can you give me a chair of some sort?” Gerald asked.

“No,” Jean-Vic answered. “You will duel me standing like a man or you will forfeit!”

Crap, Gerald thought. “Then let’s duel.” Both Life Point counters rose to 8,000.

0000000

Every spectator – Degas, Alexander, Laura, Ogre, Father Young, and several otherworldly forces – simultaneously thought, Here we go.

0000000

“I always grant my foes the honor of the first turn,” Jean-Vic said. “So make your opening move, Mr. Laxina.”

Sure, don’t do me any favors… Gerald thought cynically. This deck needs the first attack, not the first move. He studied his opening hand. “I begin with Level Limit – Area B.”

A bizarre laboratory blurred into existence around Gerald, hovering in mid-air along with him.

“Next,” he said, “I summon one monster in face-down Defense Mode and set a card facedown. And then I end my turn.”

Drawing his opening hand, Jean-Vic laughed triumphantly. “How perfect!” he exclaimed. “On the first turn, I’ve already drawn the pride and joy of my deck. Behold the mighty Vic Viper itself, Gradius, in Attack Mode!”

A space fighter descended into the sky, its jets trailing flame, guns at the ready. It hovered over Jean-Vic. (1,200/800)

And then a wave of energy burst from the Level Limit – Area B, and the ship landed. “My Level Limit forces your monster into Defense Mode and keeps it there,” Gerald said. “Big overture, little show.”

“Bah!” Jean-Vic replied. “In that case, I’ll simply have to power him up. I call forth the Gradius Option in Attack Mode!”

A ball of red energy emerged from Gradius and hovered behind it. Looking closely, Gerald could see a tiny fighter ship inside it. (?/?)

The Pillar smiled. “Gradius Option copies the Attack and Defense Points of any one Gradius on my field. In exchange, if that Gradius is destroyed, the Option goes with it.”

A beam of green energy passed between Gradius and the Option. (1,200/800)

“And now,” Jean-Vic continued, “I play Gradius Missile! This Magic Card lets me destroy any one card on the field if I control a Gradius!”

A missile slid from under the Gradius and fired across the field, obliterating Gerald’s face-down Humanoid Slime.

“That’s not quite enough,” Gerald said, pointing to the Level Limit – Area B behind him.

An evil smile crossed Jean-Vic’s face. “Firstly, I could attack you with the Option if I wished so, because that is a Level One monster.”

Gerald swallowed hard.

“But secondly,” the Pillar of Destruction continued, “Gradius Missile has another effect. If I control a Gradius Option, I may pay 500 Life Points in order to destroy another card on your field. So I will, and Gradius Missile will take out your Level Limit – Area B!”

Jean-Vic’s Life Points lowered to 7,500, and another missile emerged from the Option. It fired across the field, shattering Gerald’s Level Limit – Area B with a small explosion.

“Now I switch Gradius back to Attack Mode…” The Gradius rose back into the sky, and Jean-Vic struck a dramatic pose, the wind blowing his cape about. “Gradius and Gradius Option, Duplicate P-Shot Attack directly!”

It was all Gerald could do to activate his face-down card. “I activate Negate Attack,” he said, the wind blowing his jacket around as he did so. Unlike Jean-Vic’s cape, it made him look pathetic.

An invisible wall appeared in front of Gradius and its Option, holding them off.

“Ah, well,” Jean-Vic muttered. “The game is merely paused. I will set this card facedown and end my turn.”

Gerald drew his own next card and spent a moment studying his field. I can’t protect myself that way again. And I’m willing to bet he has three of those Missiles… and if he draws another one, my life ends here. “I set a card facedown,” he said, “and summon Jinzo #7 in Attack Mode.”

The humanoid robot with a plate marked 7 on its shoulder rose into view. (500/400)

“Jinzo #7 can attack you directly,” Gerald added, “so I will have him do so with Cyber Glitch.”

The robot charged up a ball of energy in its palm and threw it at Jean-Vic, causing the Pillar to grunt slightly as the energy hit him in the stomach. His Life Points went to 7,000.

“That will end my turn,” Gerald added.

Even as he drew, Jean-Vic smiled. “You have nothing that can save you and you know it. I will now equip Gradius with the Cyclon Laser!”

A pair of laser cannons appeared on the underbelly of the Gradius, crackling with power. (1,200/800 – 1,500/800) Again, a beam of energy passed between the Gradius and its Option. (1,200/800 – 1,500/800)

“Not only is Gradius strengthened by this card,” Jean-Vic explained, “but it gains the power to damage your Life Points through Defense Mode monsters. Unfortunately, the Option doesn’t gain that effect, but it does continue to copy the power of my Gradius. Gradius Option, attack his Jinzo #7 with Duplicate Laser!”

Gerald cursed under his breath – he knew his face-down card meant nothing to the Option.

The ball of red energy flew overhead, stopping over Jinzo #7. A massive beam of energy flashed down, vaporizing the robot. Gerald’s Life Points went to 7,000.

“And now, my Gradius…” the Pillar of Destruction began.

Gerald interrupted him with, “I activate Gravity Bind.” The quicksilver orb appeared on his field, bobbing gently. “Monsters of Level Four or better cannot attack.”

“Not if I negate it,” Jean-Vic said. “And that is why I have my face-down Royal Decree. This negates every other trap on the field, including your Gravity Bind!”

The Royal Decree flipped up and fired a burst of static at the Gravity Bind, causing the orb to splatter across Gerald’s field.

The Pillar of Destruction laughed. “As I was saying, Gradius, attack Gerald directly with Cyclon Laser Blast!”

The star fighter flew overhead, hovering directly over Gerald. A crosshair developed over the lazy duelist’s chest, and then a laser slammed directly into him. Gerald flew back, striking into the mystic platform hard as his Life Points sank to 5,500.

As Gerald began to struggle to his feet, he noticed a massive burn mark on his shirt. He felt it… and it really was burnt. “What the…”

“This is a Dark Duel, Gerald,” Jean-Vic pointed out. “Your body will not be injured for most of this battle, but you will feel most of the damage you suffer. My turn has ended, but your pain will just get worse.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Gerald thought, At this rate, I hardly doubt that. He drew his card and played it, announcing, “Pot of Greed.”

Jean-Vic merely snorted.

“Next,” Gerald said, “I activate Emergency Provisions. By destroying my useless Gravity Bind, I gain 1,000 Life Points.”

The unusual mouth ate the shattered pieces of the Gravity Bind orb, and an aura of light surrounded Gerald, raising his Life Points to 6,500.

Gerald took another card from his hand. “Now,” he continued, “I play the Magic Card known as Messenger of Peace. Monsters with 1,500 Attack Points or better cannot attack while this card is in play…”

The Messenger stepped forward, and both of Jean-Vic’s ships floated down slightly, distracted by his presence.

I wonder how long this card will last, Gerald thought to himself. Jean-Vic destroyed my first two protections within a turn of their activation. “Finally,” he concluded, “I set one monster in Defense Mode. End turn.”

Continued in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Jean-Vic, meanwhile, growled. Perfect, he thought. The one defense that my Option can’t dodge – as long as it’s copying my Gradius’s Attack Points, it’s too strong to bypass the Messenger. I’m in for a turn or two of pain. He drew. “I set one monster in Defense Mode and end my turn.”

Gerald drew his next card and let out a sigh. “First, I’ll play 100 Life Points for the Messenger of Peace.” His Life Points moved to 6,400. “I summon Inaba White Rabbit,” he declared after that.

The white rabbit appeared next to its teleporter, glaring at the Pillar of Destruction. (700/500)

“Inaba, attack him directly,” Gerald ordered.

The teleporter transformed the Inaba White Rabbit into a white ball of energy, propelling it at Jean-Vic. The rabbit then reformed and kicked Jean-Vic in the chest, causing him to grunt as his Life Points lowered to 6,300.

“I end my turn, which means the Inaba White Rabbit comes back to my hand,” Gerald concluded. There was a ripple of energy, and then the Inaba White Rabbit vanished.

As the Pillar of Destruction straightened up, he drew his next card, staring daggers at the Messenger of Peace. Damn that thing! “I set one card facedown and end my turn…”

“Have you forgotten your Royal Decree?” Gerald asked. “If that face-down card is a trap, it’s worthless.” He drew. “I pay 100 Life Points to maintain my Messenger of Peace.” Now his Life Points were at 6,300. “And next I’ll summon Servant of Catabolism.”

The unusual snail-like being dropped onto Gerald’s field from overhead. (700/500) Unlike before, however, there didn’t seem to be anything special about this one.

“Servant of Catabolism, attack directly with your Electric Tendrils,” Gerald ordered, his legs beginning to cramp. He wasn’t used to standing during a duel.

The Servant inched forward, leapt across the gap, and dug its tendrils into Jean-Vic’s gut, causing the Pillar of Destruction to grunt as his Life Points moved to 5,600.

“That will be my turn,” Gerald finished.

Not even looking at the card he had drawn, Jean-Vic declared, “I play Spell Economics!”

A mysterious book rose in front of him, its page shimmering.

“The reason for that will be seen shortly,” he noted. “Now I switch my Moai Interceptor Cannons into Attack Mode!”

What for all the world appeared to be a set of Easter Island heads rose into view, guns concealed in their mouths and sliding into position. (1,100/2,000)

Gerald whispered, “Oh, damn…”

Jean-Vic smirked as he explained, “Throughout the Gradius series, the stone statues of Easter Island are always there to stand against you. Moai Interceptor Cannons, attack the Servant of Catabolism with Rapa Nui Waves!”

The cannons fired a series of ring-like energy blasts, obliterating the Servant of Catabolism. Gerald’s Life Points moved to 5,900.

“Now, as per their effect,” the Pillar continued, “I can switch them face-down again.” The Moai Interceptor Cannons vanished, replaced by a face-down card. “That will be my turn.” And once I destroy that cursed Messenger, he thought, you’ll feel the might of my Gradius.

Gerald drew his next card, announcing, “I pay the Life Points for my Messenger of Peace…” His Life Points lowered to 5,800. “And now I play Dian Keto the Cure Master.” An aura of light surrounded him, raising his Life Points back to 6,800.

This could get tedious, Jean-Vic thought.

“Next,” Gerald continued, “I resummon the Inaba White Rabbit.” The rabbit appeared before him again. “Attack him directly, Inaba.”

Once more, the rabbit teleported in front of Jean-Vic and kicked him in the chest, reducing his Life Points to 4,900.

“My turn ends,” the lazy duelist finished, returning his monster to his hand.

Jean-Vic drew his own card, and then smiled as he looked at it. “I play Pot of Greed!” he began. Even as the evil pot flashed in front of him, he drew his two cards. He then announced, “Remember that song I was humming a moment ago? I just drew it…”

“They based a card on a piece of music?” Gerald asked.

“An iconic piece of music,” Jean-Vic replied. “I play the Magic Card known as Introductory Flight!”

The card, showing a bottom-up view of a Gradius flying through space, shimmered into view.

As he slid his deck out of his Duel Disk and began searching through it, Jean-Vic explained: “For this card to work, I have to pay 1,000 Life Points – or I would, but my Spell Economics takes up the cost for me.” The Spell Economics flipped several pages. “Next, I may search my deck for any monster named Gradius, Big Core, or B.E.S. anything. The only condition is that I can’t have played it previously – if it’s on my field or in my Graveyard, I can’t use Introductory Flight on it. At this point, that only invalidates Gradius!” He found the monster he was looking for, shuffled his deck briefly, and slid it back into his Duel Disk.

I’ve heard the term “B.E.S.” before, Gerald thought. But I’ve never seen anyone play the monsters, so I don’t know what to look out for.

“Once I’ve found an appropriate monster,” Jean-Vic concluded, “I Special Summon it to the field in Attack Mode. Meet the first boss of the Gradius series – the mighty Big Core!”

A very large spaceship descended into view, looking in some ways like an upgraded version of the Gradius itself. The space between its “wings”, however, was filled with blue bars. (2,300/1,100)

“Next,” he continued, “I sacrifice my Gradius Option to summon a monster in face-down Defense Mode.”

The Option disappeared, replaced by a face-down monster.

“Finally,” Jean-Vic concluded, “I play Mystical Space Typhoon, obliterating your Messenger of Peace!”

The wind picked up, and the Messenger went flying off into the sky.

The Pillar of Destruction laughed, flipping his Moai Interceptor Cannons back into Attack Mode. “Thanks to my Royal Decree,” he declared, “you couldn’t stop me if you wanted to, and I’m certain you do! Big Core, attack his defending monster with Bacterion Shock Barrage!”

The Big Core hovered over Gerald’s face-down monster and unleashed four energy bolts, blowing the newly-revealed Island Turtle to pieces. As it returned to Jean-Vic’s field, Gerald noticed that half the blue bars between its “wings” were gone.

“Two questions,” Gerald asked. “One, what’s a Bacterion, and two, what happened to your monster?”

“Two answers,” Jean-Vic replied. “One, Big Core is a Bacterion ship – B.E.S. means Bacterion Elimination Squadron. Two, my Big Core has three shield counters and is destroyed when they’re all gone; each time it battles a monster, it loses some of its shielding.” He then smirked. “Where were we? Ah, yes, your demise. Gradius, attack directly with Cyclon Laser!”

The Gradius strafed past Gerald, blasting him in the stomach with the Cyclon Laser. He gasped and sank to one knee, his Life Points dropping to 4,700.

“Moai Interceptor Cannon,” Jean-Vic continued, “attack him with Rapa Nui Waves!”

The Easter Island heads fired off their energy rings, causing Gerald to groan as they overwhelmed him and lowered his Life Points to 3,600.

Jean-Vic shook his head. “Pitiful,” he muttered. “Your only card in your hand is the Inaba White Rabbit. What a waste of our time. I switch the Moai Interceptor Cannon back into Defense Mode and end my turn.”

I’d complain, Gerald thought, but the sad truth is that he’s right. He drew, shifting his other leg into a formal kneeling position rather than standing up, and then let out a sigh. I can only play one monster this turn, and even with whatever ability my Image could conjure up, I’d still be in the soup. Only then did he look at the card he’d just drawn. Hold on just a moment…

“I play Exchange,” he said. “Let’s see your hand…”

Jean-Vic turned his card around, and it was exactly what Gerald thought it was. Gerald then turned his card around. “My card orders a trade – my Inaba White Rabbit for your Card of Sanctity.”

“How did you know I had something you could use?” Jean-Vic asked, awed. “I could have held a Gradius-exclusive Equip Magic Card for all you knew!”

“Call it a hunch. Nobody empties their hand in this game without insurance or desperation, and you’re not desperate. Now Exchange switches our cards…”

Two hologrammatic hands reached out. One took Gerald’s Inaba White Rabbit, while the other took Jean-Vic’s Card of Sanctity. The hands switched sides, giving each duelist the other’s card.

“And now I’ll play your Card of Sanctity,” Gerald continued. “Hand refreshment time.”

Gerald drew a full set of six cards, while Jean-Vic drew five.

Looking at his hand, Gerald said, “Next, I’ll play Swords of Revealing Light.”

The swords descended, pinning Jean-Vic’s monsters in place. The Pillar of Destruction seethed as his face-down monster, a large spaceship with metal tentacles (a B.E.S. Tetran), was revealed. (1,800/2,300)

“After that, I play Banner of Courage…” Even as Gerald said this, the banner went up behind him. “…and summon Mucus Yolk in Attack Mode. It gains 200 Attack Points from my Banner.”

A blob of protoplasm splashed onto Gerald’s field, its pink core shining as the Banner of Courage billowed overhead. (0/0 – 200/0)

“Mucus Yolk, attack directly with Damaging Form: Lance,” Gerald ordered, his voice back to its usual bored self.

The blob turned into a credible attempt at a lance, launched skyward, and fell point-first onto Jean-Vic, lowering his Life Points to 4,700.

Gerald then added, “Mucus Yolk gains 1,000 Attack Points when it damages your Life Points.” Indeed, the blob grew in size slightly. (200/0 – 1,200/0)

“I play my other Dian Keto and end my turn,” Gerald finished. An aura of light coated him again, raising his Life Points to 4,600.

Even with the seven cards in his hand, Jean-Vic was still furious. “I’ll begin with Emergency Provisions,” he said, “letting me destroy my own Magic or Trap cards in order to gain Life Points. I’ll take out Cyclon Laser and Royal Decree.”

Both cards shattered, and his Life Points rose to 6,700.

“Next,” he said, “I’ll equip Gradius with Double Shot Cannon. This card can’t coexist with the Cyclon Laser, but it raises Gradius’s attack by 300 and lets it attack twice a turn. In other words, once those swords are down, you’re in trouble.”

The lasers on the underbelly of Jean-Vic’s monster vanished, replaced instead by two cannons.

“Finally,” Jean-Vic said, “I play Pot of Generosity, letting me shuffle two cards from my hand back into my deck.”

“Why would you do that?” Gerald asked. He received no answer; instead, the Pillar of Destruction merely did as he’d said the card let him – he took a B.E.S. Crystal Core and Cyclon Laser from his hand and shuffled them into his deck.

“Now I must end my turn,” Jean-Vic finished.

Gerald drew, eyebrow arching. “I set one card facedown,” he began, “and summon another Servant of Catabolism.”

This one looked identical to his first, but it was the special one. (700/500 – 900/500) As it came onto the field, the Mucus Yolk bubbled in what Gerald thought was respect.

“Mucus Yolk,” Gerald ordered, “attack Jean-Vic with Damaging Form: Spear again.”

Once again, the blob became a spear and launched into Jean-Vic’s chest, knocking his Life Points to 5,500 and raising Mucus Yolk’s Attack Points to 2,200. In the process, however, Gerald couldn’t help but notice that all his direct attacks didn’t seem to faze Jean-Vic nearly as much as Jean-Vic’s attacks were shaking him.

Finally, he just said it. “Why are my direct attacks not affecting you as much as yours do me?”

The Pillar laughed. “Because pain is in my portfolio!” Jean-Vic explained. “I live to injure and destroy the weak! No matter how many times I am struck, I will only grow stronger!

“You, however, are soft and innocent. You see nothing but evil in my powers – which makes you quiver in fear. I am the Pillar of Destruction, and I live to destroy, so pain means nothing to me; but you seek to defend, and so you feel every blow.”

With a mighty laugh, Jean-Vic concluded, “That is what will bring your defeat, you weak-hearted fool! I am destruction in its purest form – you are what I seek to destroy!”

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Gerald said. “Either way… Servant of Catabolism, attack with Electric Tendrils.”

The snail-like being leapt across the void and dug its tentacles into Jean-Vic’s gut – putting the lie to his previous words, as he let out a scream of pain. His Life Points went down to 4,600.

“What the hell was that?” the Pillar asked, breathing hard. “It was like taking a wrecking ball to the stomach! I shouldn’t have felt any pain, but that’s the most I’ve ever suffered!”

“To be honest, I have no idea myself.” Gerald shrugged. “I set this facedown and end my turn.”

Jean-Vic drew his next card, grinning evilly…

“I activate Thunder of Ruler,” Gerald said, “which cancels your Battle Phase for this turn before you even destroy my Swords.”

The Pillar snarled. “I’ll do it anyway, then. I activate a second Gradius Missile!”

The Gradius lowered a missile from its bay and fired across the field, shattering the Swords of Revealing Light.

“Next,” Jean-Vic continued, “I play the Continuous Magic Card Boss Rush!”

The air around them seemed to reverberate, before becoming a starry field.

“Its first effect prevents me from making any Normal Summons or Sets,” the Pillar said, “so I’ll end my turn with one card facedown.”

Why would anyone play a card that limits their options like that? Gerald wondered. He drew. “I attack with the Mucus Yolk again. Go for a direct attack with Damaging Form: Spear.”

As the Mucus Yolk rose into the air, Jean-Vic activated his face-down card. “Go, Widespread Ruin! This destroys your strongest monster!”

The Mucus Yolk exploded in a rain of ooze.

Gerald shrugged. “In that case, I’ll attack with my Servant of Catabolism instead.”

The Servant sprang forward and hit Jean-Vic again, making him scream and sending his Life Points to 3,700.

But even as the Servant slid away, the Pillar smiled, taking a few deep breaths. “You fool,” he muttered. “I was waiting for this. I call upon my Image!”

A cloud of black energy emerged from Jean-Vic’s back, rising above both duelists. It slowly took shape, becoming a silver golem with a gear in one shoulder, bearing a large gun.

“Behold my Image,” Jean-Vic said, arms extended. “The very embodiment of my soul, the mighty Gadget Soldier!”

Gerald swallowed hard. “What does it do?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Jean-Vic said. “For now, it’s still your turn.”

With a shrug, Gerald said, “I set this facedown and end my turn.”

As soon as Jean-Vic drew his next card, he played it. “I activate Graceful Charity!” He drew three cards, and then tossed two of them. A hologrammatic hand grabbed one of the discards – Gerald’s Inaba White Rabbit – and slid it into his Graveyard.

Even as he looked at his new cards, Jean-Vic began to laugh. It was not a pleasant sound in the slightest.

“What’d you just get?” Gerald asked.

Jean-Vic paused and said, “I’ll give you one free turn. I’ll end my turn here, but on your next turn you will be obliterated…”

Gerald drew, studied the card he’d drawn, and said, “I summon Jinzo #7 in Attack Mode.”

Another of the humanoid robots strode out, admiring the Banner of Courage. (500/400 – 700/400) It turned and saluted the Servant of Catabolism.

“Jinzo #7, attack directly with Cyber Glitch,” Gerald ordered, “and then Servant of Catabolism, you attack with Electric Tendrils.”

The ball of energy and the digging tentacles caused Jean-Vic his share of pain, but he just kept smiling. His Life Points sank to 2,100.

“That’s my turn,” Gerald declared.

As he stood up, dusted off, and drew his next card, the Pillar of Darkness said, “Gerald… you needed to win on that turn to survive. Now you are going to fall.” He held up a black-bordered card, the art on which showed a red-haired man in blue armor standing over a shattered landscape.

Gerald’s heart skipped a beat, causing him fall forward onto his hands. “That’s a…”

“A Card of Night.” Jean-Vic Viper raised the card over his head, the wind fluttering his cape behind him. “This duel is about to end messily. I play the Card of Night known as True Face of Destruction!”

He set it on his Duel Disk, and the world began to shake around them. All around the Cathedral of St. Paul, shafts of black light burst from the ground, destroying the land. Chad and Lucifer fled the area, retreating to where the Corolla was parked.

The air turned a pitch black, and the light of the sun became blood red. The only thing unchanged was the Cathedral itself.

“What does that card do?” Gerald asked.

“It has two drawbacks,” Jean-Vic began. “The first is that I cannot attack you directly. The second is that any Battle Damage I take is doubled. But…” He smiled, and there was a thousand years of torment in that smile. “If I ever damage your Life Points, the damage is tripled – and nothing can prevent that damage.”

The world froze around Gerald. “Tripled?”

“Three times the starting value,” Jean-Vic confirmed. “And every time I destroy a monster you control, I draw a card. Now I’ll remove a shield counter from my B.E.S. Tetran, and in doing so destroy one face-down card on your field.”

The Tetran altered in appearance as its shields weakened, but it then fired a beam of light across the field, destroying Gerald’s face-down Gravity Bind.

The Pillar continued, “I set one card face-down, and activate my Image’s effect – Reboot Program! By shuffling my hand back into my deck, I may place a number of counters equal to the number of cards shuffled on my monsters. I shuffle one card back…” He took his deck and shuffled the last card in his hand back into it. “And that lets me place one shield counter on my Tetran.”

The Gadget Soldier focused its gun on the B.E.S. Tetran and shone a beam of energy on it, fixing its shields.

“Now…” Jean-Vic raised his hand. “Gradius, thanks to its Double Shot Cannon, can attack both of your monsters. You have no way to stop the attack. And so… Gradius…” He brought his hand down. “Fire!”

The Gradius rose high into the air above them and fired twice, the first shot blowing away the Servant of Catabolism and the second wiping out the Jinzo #7.

Gerald let out a cry of agony as the amplified damage struck him, plunging his Life Points from 4,600 to 400 in one fell swoop. He collapsed onto his hands again, barely managing to mutter, “I…call forth… my Image…”

“Not today!” Jean-Vic called out. “I activate my face-down Quick-Play Magic Card, the Card of Night named Image Sealer!”

A black-bordered card with a picture of a branding iron emerged from the card, and the branding iron flew across the field, pressing into Gerald’s chest. The young man screamed at the top of his lungs as it seared into his very soul.

The Pillar of Destruction explained, “I can only activate Image Sealer when you attempt to call your Image into play. It seals your Image away for the rest of the duel. Normally, I’d have to pay all but one Life Point and suffer severe physical pain to activate this card, but Spell Economics pays both prices for me.” He laughed behind his hand.

As the branding iron vanished, Gerald collapsed to a prone position, his breathing shallow and ragged as he tried to recover.

Concluded in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

“Gerald… you’re finished…” Jean-Vic looked almost sympathetic. “If you summon a monster to attack me and can’t kill me with one hit, you will lose the duel. If you try to defend, my B.E.S. monsters will destroy it, and I can regenerate their shields with my Image. Even if I can’t use my Image, my Boss Rush card lets me summon any B.E.S. or Big Core monster I want from my deck when one dies – and thanks to my Image and my Pot of Generosity, there are plenty in there.” Jean-Vic shrugged. “It’s over, Gerald. This duel is mine.”

0000000

Down on the ground below, surrounded by the shafts of darkness, Chad could not hear what Jean-Vic was saying, but he could see what had happened to his friend. He turned to Lucifer and asked, his eyes welling with tears, “He can’t be finished, can he?”

There was a pause, and then Lucifer shook his head, an aura of fire rising around his body as he shook with sorrow. “I am so sorry… but Monsieur Laxina is done for. He has no hope…”

0000000

In front of the mirror array, Degas and Alexander clinked together a pair of champagne glasses. “To a new world of darkness,” Degas said.

“To the endless night,” replied Alexander.

0000000

"I'll give you time to think," the Pillar concluded. "As per True Face of Destruction, I'll draw two cards, as I destroyed two of your monsters. Now, give it some thought..."

As Jean-Vic ended his turn, Gerald fought to regain his sanity. What… what’s happening? How could this happen to me? This… this can’t be right.

He lifted himself onto one hand, his mind still scattered. I… I don’t want to die like this… But he’s right. There’s nothing I can do. I have nothing to save me. He’s even locked away my soul…

The young man looked into the black sky, shedding a tear. He knew it was his turn, but he also knew that the instant he drew a card it would be all over. Please… anyone… He then sent a pleading thought out to the sky. Light… The Light, please help me…

Chosen of the Light!

What?

0000000

All around Gerald, the world went white. He looked up, and found himself looking at a golden sphere, orbited by small white globes.

Chosen of the Light, you have called upon us for aid, the sphere said. We shall assist you in this battle. You fight against a Card of Night, the concentrated power of darkness. For that reason, we may grant you our own power.

You… can?

We can. But a warning, Chosen of the Light: one card in your deck is a medium for our power. That card must be used to trigger the power we will grant you. If you fail to do so properly, the power will not work and all is lost!

Medium? What do you mean by that?

The rules do not permit us to say. Go, Chosen of the Light! The sphere shone so brightly that Gerald couldn’t look. Our protection is with you!

The world went black for a moment…

0000000

Even as his consciousness returned to the Cathedral, Gerald knew something had changed. His deck felt odd.

Gerald rose to his feet, staggering slightly as the pain from Jean-Vic’s last attack arced through him. He set his fingers to his deck and drew a card, looking at it. “I play Pot of Avarice,” he said, “shuffling Inaba White Rabbit, two Jinzo #7s, Humanoid Slime, and Mucus Yolk back into my deck to draw two cards.”

He drew the cards, and his eyes went wide at one of them. It was a pure white-bordered card with the notation “Heaven’s Gift” on its type line. That has to be the Light’s power, he thought. I see what they meant by triggering it. But what’s the medium?

“I play Monster Reborn,” he began, “bringing back…” I must have to tribute a specific monster to make the power in this card work. But which one?

Suddenly, Gerald remembered a series of odd occurrences that had happened throughout his last three duels, including the one he was currently in. One monster had acted strangely, and made the others act strange…

“…Servant of Catabolism,” he said, making sure to bring back the one that felt so odd.

0000000

In another world, a force beyond angel or devil or man, one manifestation of which was as a golden sphere, thought, PERFECT!

0000000

The Servant of Catabolism rose, and even as it did so, Jean-Vic began to laugh. “Oh, what a defiant fool you are, Gerald!” the Pillar of Destruction said. “You bring back an ant to threaten a titan!”

“This is just a tribute, you know,” Gerald said. “I’m sacrificing it for my Heaven’s Gift…”

The Pillar cut off in mid-laugh. “A Heaven’s Gift?”

Gerald nodded. “Behold the monster known simply as Heaven’s Sphere.”

The Servant of Catabolism rose skyward, and it began to fall in on itself, causing the Gradius, Big Core, and B.E.S. Tetran to fly backwards a few paces in shock. Slowly, the gathered power locked in the Servant worked its way to the surface, surrounding its former host in a shell of light. And then there was a flash…

When the light cleared and everyone could see again, the monster in front of Gerald was a perfect globe, apparently with a texture similar to marble, an aura of pure light surrounding it. He estimated it as having a six-foot diameter, which made it about the same height as he was. Its mere presence made him feel confident, and this feeling was boosted as the Banner of Courage strengthened it. (2,000/1,000 – 2,200/1,000)

The Pillar of Destruction laughed one last time. “Such a waste of effort. It’s weaker than my Big Core by 100 Attack Points. The Light should have given you a better gift.”

Gerald gave the card a closer look, but then sank slightly as the world chose that minute to spin like a top around him. He tried to read what was written in the text box on Heaven’s Sphere, but his vision swam, and he couldn’t make out a word of it. “Ah, well,” he finally said. “Heaven’s Sphere, attack Gradius with Light of Justice.”

A point of light began to grow on the front of the Sphere, and then it fired a beam of perfect light, blowing a hole through the Gradius. It crashed to the ground and exploded, its demise sending a shockwave through Jean-Vic; his Life Points sank to 700.

“I set this facedown,” Gerald concluded, “and end my turn.”

Snarling, Jean-Vic drew his next card. “I’ll use the effect of B.E.S. Tetran, removing a Shield Counter to do away with your damned Banner of Courage!”

A beam of light fired from the Tetran, snapping the banner’s pole in half. Heaven’s Sphere’s Attack Points returned to normal.

“Next,” he continued, “I’ll use Reboot Program to restore that Shield Counter.” Even as he shuffled the card into his deck, the Gadget Soldier focused its cannon on the Tetran, repairing its shields.

Gerald just yawned.

His eyes snapping wide, Jean-Vic roared, “Big Core, attack the Heaven’s Sphere and finish this duel!”

“Activate Waboku,” Gerald replied.

The three priestesses flashed into being, their shining lights intercepting the Big Core’s missiles. Now all of the shields between its wings were gone.

“That’s my turn,” the Pillar said, sneering somewhat. “But that will be your final turn – you will be crushed underfoot before my next turn ends!”

Gerald drew, smiled, and said, “You have no next turn. I equip Heaven’s Sphere with the Axe of Despair.”

Jean-Vic’s arms dropped to his sides, and he just stared blankly at his impending defeat.

The Axe of Despair appeared behind the Heaven’s Sphere, and it drew energy from the weapon, its aura intensifying. (2,000/1,000 – 3,000/1,000)

“Don’t bother attacking the Big Core, my Heaven’s Sphere,” Gerald said, waving his hand towards Jean-Vic. “Cast your light upon its master and finish the battle.”

Several pinpoints of light moved across the surface of the sphere, gathering on its front and beginning to expand. They soon reached critical mass, and then the Heaven’s Sphere fired a beam of pure energy straight into the Pillar of Destruction, blasting through his body. His Life Points plunged straight to zero.

The black lights vanished, and the sky cleared above them as the Duel Disks shut down and the True Face of Destruction evaporated. The Heaven’s Sphere lingered a moment, bathing Gerald in its light, before it too disappeared.

As Gerald watched, Jean-Vic began to convulse, uttering gibberish as he did so. Suddenly, his body froze, and darkness began to cover him, starting at his feet and rising towards his head. A moment later, he was fully covered in the darkness, looking like an obsidian statue.

There was a loud cracking sound, and then the darkness on Jean-Vic Viper’s body shattered, and he collapsed face-first onto the mystic platform beneath him. Gerald collapsed immediately after he did.

All throughout the city, beams of darkness briefly came into being, and then vanished.

0000000

Degas crushed his champagne glass in his hand, not even noticing the glass shards digging into his palm. “A Heaven’s Sphere?” he asked. “The Light sent him a damned Heaven’s Sphere? Those sons of bitches!”

“Calm down,” Alexander urged him, finishing his own drink. “There’s no reason for us to go mad simply because the Light gave him a powerful gift…”

“No reason?” Degas glared at his partner. “We’ve just lost both a Pillar and the Cathedral of St. Paul simultaneously – if that doesn’t make us the laughingstocks of the Darkness, we’re the luckiest bastards alive – Gerald’s got both the Beloved of Fire and a frigging Heaven’s Sphere on his side, thanks to Jean-Vic’s defeat the overall Darkness in this city’s taken a hit, we’re all but guaranteed to lose the girl now, and on top of everything else, I’ve got glass in my hand!” He began to pick it out of his palm. “Isn’t that reason enough?”

The man in green returned to his chair. “To answer your concerns one at a time: the Pillar of Destruction is the weakest of the four, the Cathedral was mostly bait, the Beloved of Fire can’t aid Gerald in any direct way, there are ways to counter any card – which is all that the Heaven’s Sphere is at this point – we have ways to restore the Darkness level, and we can retrieve the girl at any time.” He then smiled. “As for your hand, you need a tighter rein on your temper.”

After taking a few deep breaths, the man in black sat down, his hand still bleeding. “All right… You have your points.” He sighed again, snapping his fingers and shutting off the mirror array. “But still, this is not a good day to be in our position.”

“I doubt there are ever good days.” Alexander took a roll of bandages from his pocket and tossed them to Degas. “Shall we awaken the second Pillar?”

As he bandaged his hand, Degas answered, “I need a moment to collect myself first.”

0000000

When Gerald regained consciousness, he found himself at the foot of the Cathedral’s steps, Lucifer’s coat under his head. He slid a finger down his front, finding the burned spot that the direct attack from Gradius had left in his shirt. “So it was real,” he muttered.

He sat up, causing the world to spin around him, and straightened his hair with one hand. As he looked at the Cathedral, he decided the fight had messed with his head – it seemed to be glowing softly.

Two sets of footsteps caught his attention, and then Lucifer and Chad were beside him. Lucifer bowed and sank to his knees, saying, “You have my utmost respect, Monsieur Laxina. Your victory over ze Pillar of Destruction is a true blow to ze Darkness; ze Light chose well when it chose you.”

“Somehow I don’t feel very special.” Gerald laughed softly, still feeling like he’d run head-on into a brick wall. “How do I know there aren’t a million Chosen of the Light?”

“More like forty at any given time.”

Part of Gerald’s world fell out. “How many?”

Lucifer shrugged. “Everyone who fights on ze side of ze Light is a Chosen of ze Light. Even ze Three Heroes, zough zey knew it not. Sorry if you no longer feel special.”

Chad, meanwhile, asked, “What was that last card you played? I’ve never heard of it…”

Getting over his disillusionment, Gerald took the white-bordered card off of his Duel Disk and held it up. “I never heard of it either, until I drew it.”

Moving behind Gerald, Lucifer leaned in close. “Zere is no doubt. Zat is a Heaven’s Sphere. I’m surprised ze Light would risk sending one here,” he said.

“A Heaven’s Sphere?” Chad asked.

“One of ze guardian creatures of ze Light,” Lucifer explained. “Zeir purpose is to guard ze most important servants of ze Light. But don’t get a swelled head – even zey are sent on other jobs from time to time.”

Gerald sighed. “Do you exist to shred my ego?” he asked.

“It is one of my duties as a servant of Dreams. On that note, I need to report zis occurrence.” The man in the white suit retrieved his jacket, dusting it off, and then bowed again. “I must congratulate you once more. You have done something none of ze Light’s other Chosen could do. Forget that not. Until we meet again…” And donning his jacket, Lucifer vanished in a flash of fire.

Chad sighed. “That might be the most untrustworthy man I’ve ever met.”

“His information seems solid enough,” Gerald noted.

“I’m not referring to his information.”

“Oh.” And then Gerald grabbed his head as a splitting headache rushed through him. Before he could even speak, the vision struck him.

0000000

It was the city of St. Paul, with Minneapolis visible in the distance. As before, a dark shroud covered it.

But suddenly, a beam of light burst through the covering darkness, revealing the Cathedral of St. Paul in all its glory. The shroud retracted from the Summit Hill district.

The vision pulled back, and the city became a mere black marble in the hands of a man in black. He and the man in green smiled to each other, and they moved to a large device.

The device looked something like a four-leaved tree; three of the “leaves” currently held similar marbles – one white, one grey, and one blue. All three occupied “leaves” currently sat at the same level.

The man in black lowered the one empty “leaf” and set the black marble on it before stepping back.

That “leaf” bent to the ground, causing the device to snap off halfway down the trunk. It bounced as it hit the floor.

The man in black and the man in green laughed, and they didn’t stop for some time…

And with that, the vision went dead.

0000000

Once Gerald had his head back under control, he placed a hand on it and stood up, wobbling slightly – the duel with Jean-Vic had left him drained.

Chad was walking out of the Cathedral as Gerald stood up. “Everyone inside is cured of the Darkness Infection,” he reported. “I guess if you take out a Pillar, you cure all his victims with him. Speaking of Jean-Vic Viper, he’s gone – I saw him fall, but we were so worried about you that we lost track of him, and now I can’t find him.”

“I doubt that’s important,” Gerald replied, and then he described his vision.

After hearing it, Chad said, “Any clue what it means?”

Gerald shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. My guess, though, is that it’s a clue to what Degas and Alexander are up to.” He then sighed. “But my last vision said that Jean-Vic had Laura’s key, and now that he’s gone, we can’t…”

He took a step back, and his foot landed on something. He lifted his foot, and there was a shiny key under it.

“Scratch that, we can,” he corrected himself. “Shall we?”

Chad nodded. “Onward.”

The two headed for their car, Gerald still holding his head.

0000000

Two others had seen the Pillar’s defeat in its entirety.

Sol Kilkarn arrived just too late to speak to Gerald, but he’d seen the duel from a distance. So that’s what he has to go up against… he thought. I can only hope I do half as well if I encounter one. Even if I lose, though, I won’t back down. I can’t if I honestly want to repent.

And in the room with Laura’s cell, Father Young held out his hand. “Fifty bucks, Ogre.”

“Damn it!” The muscleman began to search his pockets.

GRADIUS MISSILE
Type: Normal Magic Card
Image: Gradius firing a missile.
Effect: You may only activate this card if you control a face-up “Gradius” on the field. Destroy one card on your opponent’s field. If you control a face-up “Gradius Option”, you may pay 500 Life Points for each one you control. If you do so, you may destroy one additional card on your opponent’s field for each “Gradius Option” you control.

INTRODUCTORY FLIGHT
Type: Normal Magic Card
Image: A bottom-up view of a Gradius flying through space.
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points. Search your deck for a monster with “B.E.S.”, or named “Gradius” or “Big Core”, which does not currently exist on your field or in your Graveyard, and Special Summon it to your field in face-up Attack Position. Then shuffle your deck.

DOUBLE SHOT CANNON
Type: Equip Magic Card
Image: A Gradius with two guns on its underbody.
Effect: This card may only be equipped to “Gradius”. The equipped monster gains 300 ATK Points and may attack twice during its owner’s Battle Phase. This card and “Cyclon Laser” cannot be equipped to the same monster at the same time.

TRUE FACE OF DESTRUCTION
Type: Continuous Magic Card/Card of Night
Image: A red-haired man in blue armor, holding a sword skyward, standing on a burned-out and war-torn field.
Effect: You may not attack your opponent’s Life Points directly as long as this card is face-up. All Battle Damage you receive is doubled in quantity and intensity. All Battle Damage dealt to your opponent is tripled and cannot be prevented by a card effect. Each time you destroy a monster your opponent controls, draw one card from your deck.

IMAGE SEALER
Type: Quick-Play Magic Card/Card of Night
Image: A red-hot branding iron.
Effect: You may only activate this card when your opponent calls on their Image. Pay all but one Life Point and suffer severe physical damage. Your opponent cannot call forth their Image for the rest of the duel. (This card does not trigger death if used with another Card of Night in a losing duel.)

HEAVEN’S SPHERE
Type: Effect Monster/Heaven’s Gift
Statistics: Light/Fairy/6/2000/1000/Effect/Heaven’s Gift
Image: A large white orb, pulsing with power.
Effect: (Gerald’s vision was too groggy to make this out.)

GADGET SOLDIER
Image Effect: “Reboot Program” - Shuffle your hand back into your deck. You may place a number of counters equal to the number of cards shuffled this way on face-up monsters you control. The counters must be ones named in the card's text. (If the card does not specify a type of counter, it is a Spell Counter.)

Heaven's Gift: New Card Type

As Cards of Night are to the Darkness, Heaven's Gifts are to the Light. They are the purest concentration of holy energy into card form.

Unlike Cards of Night, which demand massive costs from their players, Heaven's Gifts do not damage their users. However, there is a catch (there always is) - Heaven's Gifts are attuned to one specific person, and work only for that person. Nobody else may play a Heaven's Gift other than its chosen user - it will either simply refuse to work or make itself unusable in some way.

In times of extreme crisis, Heaven's Gifts may "loan" themselves to allies of their chosen player. If this happens, they will typically take on another form.

Unlike other created cards, but just like Cards of Night, Heaven's Gifts may not be used in other stories.

Coming next chapter: Laura is sick of waiting to be rescued, so she’s decided to perform a jailbreak. Her guard, Ogre, isn’t about to let this happen. If Laura wants to get out, she’ll have to duel her way out of the cell. That’s just what she’s looking for, though! What sort of strategy do the distressed damsel and the muscle-bound freak use? Read Chapter Nine, “Breakout”, and you may just find out!

[Master of Paradox]

I have two things to add:

The chapter title may not have made sense, but it does have an appropriate meaning. In Japan, the game we call Gradius was called... Nemesis.

And before anyone asks, I know about two cards in Enemy of Justice that would have worked in this deck, but you can't stuff every appropriate card into a non-Archfiends duel...

[Dark Sage]

What can I say... That duel was epic. Of course, if Viper was the weakest of the four Pillars, I'd hate to see what the other three are capable of. I'd hate even worse to see what Degas and Alexander themselves can do (what are their formal titles, anyway?).

Viper was foolish, though... He should have known that if he used Cards of Night so freely, the Light would have helped Gerald. But if there's one thing I know about villains, they tend to be egotistical. (Just once I'd like to see one like Darth Vader, who is more aware of his limitations. If you want me to explain that, it would take too long.)

Let me guess; the two EoJ cards you mentioned were "Victory Viper XX03" and "Power Capsule".

So, Laura is going to try to duel her way out next chapter? Well, taking a break from the main characters might be a welcome change of pace. I look forward to it.

[Shuppet Master]

Brian, why don't you tell me about Darth Vader? I'm not a Star Wars fan, but I'm curious as to what your explanations are for what you said.

Second, most villians get an ego as part of the job description. Period.

Third, to Paradox, why was I not surprised to see a Gradius deck? After all, the Gradius games were translated from Japan by...(drumroll) Konami, the guys who make the real life cards! (Konami also has a video game department and made many other games as well, like the Castlevania and Suikoden series.)

Great duel. You made everything seem so dramatic, and just when Gerald was about to lose, the Light helps him out by giving him a monster. I can't wait to see what Heaven's Sphere's effect is. I also can't wait to see Laura duel.

[starjake]

Now I understand why you enjoyed Grievous' duel against Bryan so much.

To say that was impressive would be an understatement. I was especially impressed with the new Gradius cards; if they had support like that in the real game; they just might be a viable decktype to run.

One ruling error: if you look at the text of the Bacterion ships, you'll notice that they only gain counters when Normal Summoned. Boss Rush Special Summons the monsters, thereby not granting them any counters. However, you could easily write a detail like that off as artistic lisence (I'm not sure I'll ever spell 'lisence' corrently).

Seeing as I know nothing about Laura, I haven't the foggiest idea what her DOC is (for all you nasty-thinking people out there, that stands for Deck of Choice, not what you think it means!) As for Ogre...Goblins come to mind, but I have a feeling taht's too obvious for your style. I suppose I'll have to wait.

Until next time, this is StarJake, signing off.

[Blademaster]

Dude, that sucked!

...

Nah, I'm kidding - it was actually a really interesting concept. Kinda like Duel Monsters meets Space Invaders (which I love; I don't care how old it is!). Good use of those Core Monsters, too - I never knew they could be so dangerous (Well, I did when I read chapter 14 of starjake's fic, but then I forgot again. :p)

One thing that confused me, though, was how Gerald used Waboku when Viper's Card of Night stopped his attacks from being blocked by card effects. Did I miss something? Or am I just stupid?

Anyway, I'm betting that Ogre guy will have a Rock Deck and Laura will use... I dunno... maybe a Fire Princess Deck? Hmmmmmmm...

Well, I should get going.

Later!

-Blade

[jkBAKURA]

I think the attack could still be canceled, it's just the damage that can't be lowered or redirected.

[Blademaster]

............................................

Huh?

[Master of Paradox]

My name’s Laura Vesnic, and my life is really starting to suck at this point.

Two days ago, I was snatched out of a bookstore in Augusta, Maine, and hauled off to St. Paul, Minnesota. Why? I wish I knew. My “hosts” don’t want to tell me anything, either.

So here I am, sitting in a cold, dismal cage (yeah, a real cage), and the only way I can even get out to stretch my legs is to duel my guard. If I lose, not only do I get tossed in a pit full of rats, but there’s no hope that I’ll escape – and at this point, I get the feeling not escaping will be hazardous to my health.

It’s not all bad. I know there are two guys out in the city who are coming my way to get me out of here, so it’s not like the entire city’s against me…

But I’ve never counted on other people before, and I’m not doing it now!

Chapter Nine: Breakout

Normally, two men guarded the Darkness’s prisoner – Father Young and Ogre, two of the “normal” servants of Degas and Alexander. At the moment, however, only one of them was on duty.

Father Young was out of the prison at the moment, and was currently standing on a street corner, holding his Bible under one arm. Even though few people were daring to leave their homes given the current state of St. Paul, he had still attracted a fairly good crowd.

The crowd hung onto his every word.

“My children,” the preacher said, “the phrase may be overused, but the Lord does work in mysterious ways. He tests us in so many different ways, some so strange and confusing that they don’t seem real. So it is with this city! This Darkness Infection is but one of His many tests of His children; only those with evil and hate in their hearts will be infected, while those who walk these streets like a true child of the Lord will be spared. This is no time to cower in fear, to hide from the outside world; this is a time to prove your faith in the Lord! Walk these streets without fear, my children, for God watches over us all!”

The crowd let out a joyful cry.

“Now let us pray…” Father Young said.

As the people around him bowed their heads, however, the preacher’s mind was filled with unease.

God Almighty, what am I doing? he thought. Listen to me! I’m turning the word of God into a weapon for the Darkness! These people around me… they seek salvation, and what do I give them? I give them a handful of thorns and call it wheat; I give them a cup of vinegar and call it wine.

I have to do these foul deeds, I know – it must be done. The world is too cursed and twisted to be allowed to carry on like this. Darkness must scour it before Heaven can redeem it. After the Flood, the Lord vowed never to do such a thing again… but what the Lord cannot do, the Darkness will.

But… but that doesn’t excuse my actions. I may try to justify it, but I’m condemning these people to the Darkness’s mercy. I can’t convince myself that the ends justify the means anymore.

Aloud, Father Young said, “Amen.” The crowd collapsed, the Darkness Infection claiming them in their prayers.

Lord, forgive these children, for they know not what they do, Father Young thought to himself, bowing his head. But there shall be no forgiveness for me, for I know exactly what I do…

0000000

Laura Vesnic paced back and forth within her cell, hands behind her back and eyes shut. Her captors had at least had the decency to procure a few changes of clothes for her, and so she was now wearing a white turtleneck and light blue pants. Her long red hair had gone frizzy from lack of washing, and she was not in a good mood at all.

Outside of the cell, Ogre leaned back against his chair, watching her pace through the holes in his metal mask. The massive gun (likely to break the arms of any other man who tried to fire it) was up against one wall. His eyes followed the captive girl as she wandered the cell, until finally he yelled, “Stop with the pacing! I’m getting dizzy just watching you!”

“If I had something to do in here, I wouldn’t have to pace!” Laura fired back. “Cripes, there are federal prisoners that have more to do than I do!”

Ogre paused. “Well, you’re right about that, I guess,” he admitted. “Still, why don’t you work out again or something? Your pacing is gonna wear a hole in the friggin’ cell floor.”

Laura gestured to her living conditions. “Not a whole lot of room to work out in here, is there?” she said. “Maybe if you let me out for a moment…”

“Boss’s orders,” Ogre replied. “Couldn’t if I wanted to, and I don’t really want to anyway.”

The girl seethed. “Can you at least tell me what your organization wants with me?”

“The bosses didn’t tell me that,” the muscleman said. “I can kinda understand that part, but they didn’t tell Father Young, either, and they actually trust him. Must be something really big if they left both of us out of it.” He then paused. “Then again, maybe it was a whim. I can never be sure with Alexander…”

“Something wrong with your employer?” Laura asked, prying for any information that could be useful.

Ogre grunted. “As far as I can tell, he hasn’t done a damn thing for us the entire time,” he said. “I can’t help but think Degas is keeping him around just to have someone to talk to. Degas does all the work, as far as I can tell…” He shrugged. “I guess Alexander has to have some purpose – he’s one of the bosses, after all – but I’m stumped as far as working out what that purpose is…”

Interesting, Laura thought. Just keep talking, musclehead – everything you tell me will make life easier once I’m out of this hellhole.

0000000

Outside of the building, Chad and Gerald were driving through the city at a crawl, looking for the mysterious symbol that would designate the proper building – the one Laura was currently occupying.

They’d traveled four miles worth of buildings and had yet to find it.

“Suddenly I understand why you sleep so much,” Chad said as they passed yet another row of incorrect buildings. “If I wasn’t driving I’d be asleep myself.”

“It does pass the time, yes,” Gerald replied. He was currently going through his deck one card at a time, stopping for a moment on Heaven’s Sphere. After a second, he picked it up and gave it a closer look. “Chad, mind taking a look at this?”

Slowing the car, Chad replied, “All right…”

He reached for Heaven’s Sphere, and then his hand passed right through it.

Chad nearly crashed the car out of pure shock.

As usual, however, Gerald had maintained his composure. He touched the artwork on the card, simply to make sure he could, and then reread the text. “‘This card ceases to exist if it leaves your control or you are unconscious’… Oh, I understand now,” he said.

“Mind explaining it to me?” Chad replied, taking a few deep breaths and regaining control of the vehicle.

“Simply put, nobody else can even touch this card,” Gerald explained. “If it ever leaves my control – which apparently means my grip, as well – it ceases to be until I regain control. If my suspicion is correct, that means it will remove itself from the game if someone tries to steal it with Change of Heart, Snatch Steal, or the like. If that bit about unconsciousness means what I think it does, it won’t exist when I’m asleep, either.”

Chad thought about it for a moment. “Well… that’s convenient. Not only is it powerful, but you’re the only one who can use it.”

Gerald nodded, and then saw something out his window. He rolled the window down, jabbed his hand out…

….and caught a small scrap of paper. He drew it in and, seeing that it was folded, opened it.

“Find something?” Chad asked.

“There’s an address… and that’s the same symbol that we’re looking for. I think someone just gave us a heads-up.” Gerald held up the paper. “Go there. And don’t bother with the speed limits.” He prudently closed his window.

The resulting acceleration broke at least three state laws.

Unseen by Gerald or Chad, a young man stepped out of a back alley, watching their car zoom by. He adjusted a chain around his neck.

“That’s the first part of my atonement,” Sol Kilkarn whispered to himself. “Now to find the next part…”

0000000

As the two men drove through the streets, Laura’s patience, long since stretched to the breaking point, finally snapped. She studied her cage door, working out a few figures in her head.

If I kick it right there, she thought, I can open it. Of course, I still have to get past the meatbag over there…

“Hey!” she said aloud.

Ogre, who was busy loading his gun, looked in her direction. “What?”

Laura smirked and said, “I was wondering if I could make a little wager. You duel, right?”

“Of course,” he said.

“Let’s have a duel – you against me. If I win, you let me out of this cage for a few minutes, and I get some time to stretch out.”

The muscleman gave it some thought, and then said, “On one condition. If you lose, I throw you into the rat pit.”

Suddenly, Laura wasn’t so sure of herself. “Rat pit?”

“We set it up when we established this place,” Ogre replied. “In case you tried to break out and failed, we’d throw you into a massive pit filled with the biggest, filthiest rats we could find. Lose this duel, and I toss you into it. Refuse that condition, and we won’t duel.”

Swallowing hard, the girl said, “All right…”

Ogre went to a cabinet on one side, opened it, and took out Laura’s deck. He took a Duel Disk from the other side, loaded the deck into it, and slid it through the cage bars. The girl picked it up and strapped it on.

Taking another Duel Disk out of the cabinet, he strapped it on his own arm and turned it on. “I hope you like rodents,” he said.

“I don’t, but since I’m not going in the pit, it doesn’t matter,” Laura answered as her own Duel Disk activated.

“We’ll see!”

Both Life Point counters rose to 8,000.

“I’ll start us out,” said Ogre. “I summon one monster in Defense Mode and set a card facedown. That’s my turn.”

Laura drew her opening hand and smiled at what she had gotten. “I’ll start with Sasuke Samurai in Attack Mode!” she declared.

A miniature samurai with an oversized head and large eyes rose into view, drawing a katana off of his hip. (500/800)

Ogre’s eyes narrowed behind the holes in his mask. He knew what the monster could do.

“When this monster attacks a facedown monster, the monster thus attacked dies instantly,” Laura noted. “Sasuke Samurai, attack with High-Velocity Wakazashi!”

The little samurai set one hand on his sword, and then blurred for a moment. A large pig-man with a boulder tied to a stick appeared for the briefest of moments, and then shattered into pieces. (2,000/500)

Laura’s jaw dropped. “You actually played a Boar Soldier?”

“I have my reasons,” Ogre grunted.

Shaking her head, the girl concluded, “I set two cards facedown and end my turn.”

Ogre drew his next card, studied the field for a moment, and then said, “I summon Flash Assailant in Attack Mode!”

A one-eyed bandit with a knife dropped from the ceiling, flipping his weapon over in his hand. (2,000/2,000) Suddenly, he turned and glared at Ogre before sinking to his knees, breathing heavily. (2,000/2,000 – 400/400)

Once again, Laura shook her head. “Remember Flash Assailant’s effect?” she said. “For each card in your hand, it loses 400 Attack and Defense Points. You have four cards in your hand, so your monster’s helpless.”

In response to this, Ogre merely chuckled. “Easily solved,” he said. “I just have to set two cards facedown, and your little swordsman is in deep trouble…”

Two face-down cards shimmered into view, and the Flash Assailant grinned wickedly, lifting himself off the floor. (400/400 – 1,200/1,200)

“Flash Assailant, attack the Sasuke Samurai!” Ogre yelled. “Flash Blade!”

The Assailant leapt to one wall, stuck to it for a second, and then sprang at the Sasuke Samurai.

“I activate my trap,” Laura countered, “Ready for Intercepting! This switches him to Defense Mode!”

The Sasuke Samurai switched into Defense Mode just as the Flash Assailant stabbed it in the throat.

“Bah,” Ogre muttered. “I end my turn, then.”

Laura drew and thought, I could steamroll his Flash Assailant, but that would be just begging for him to trip a facedown card. It’s more likely he just wanted to shrink his hand and power the Assailant, but why risk it? “I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in Attack Mode!” she announced.

The elven swordsman stepped out, checking his blade’s edge under the dim light of the prison. (1,400/1,200)

“I’ll set this facedown,” she said, doing so, “and that’ll be it for my turn.”

Ogre drew, grunting as the Flash Assailant weakened by 400 points. (800/800) “I summon Susa Soldier in Attack Mode,” he said.

A white-haired young man with a glowing sword materialized, bouncing it on his palm. (2,000/1,600)

“Now…” Ogre continued. “Since I know I can’t kill that elf with either of my monsters, I’ll use a Magic Card we call Brain Control. For 800 of my Life Points, I can brainwash your Obnoxious Celtic Guardian – and so I’ll do so!”

Ogre’s Life Points fell to 7,200, and a mysterious brain hovered over the field. It blasted the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian with electricity, and his eyes fogged over before he staggered to Ogre’s field.

“And before we forget, my Flash Assailant gains a few more Attack Points from that move, too,” he noted. Indeed, the fiendish bandit was licking his knife in anticipation. (1,600/1,600)

Finally, the muscleman yelled, “Get her!”

“Negate Attack!” Laura yelled back, frantically hitting a button on her Duel Disk.

An invisible shield flashed between the two duelists, and Ogre’s monsters couldn’t get past it.

Grunting once again, Ogre muttered, “All right, I end my turn, which sends the Susa Soldier back to my hand – it’s a Spirit.” As he said it, the soldier vanished in a jolt of lightning, weakening the Flash Assailant, and the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian returned to Laura’s field, shaking his head. (FA: 1,200/1,200)

“Welcome back among the sane, OCG,” Laura said, casting a snide glance in Ogre’s direction as she drew. “Now I summon Marauding Captain, in Attack Mode!”

An old, scarred soldier marched onto Laura’s field, crossing his swords in front of him and concentrating. (1,200/400)

Suddenly, to Ogre’s surprise, the captain whistled. Next to him appeared a very strange man – he wore silvery armor and green fabric, and his whole head was hidden but for his eyes and blue topknot. He carried twin kunai. (1,800/1,000)

“When I summon the Marauding Captain,” Laura explained, “he can summon out any other Warrior of Level 4 or less I have in my hand. Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke fit that bill perfectly.” She paused for a moment, biting into her lip, and then ordered, “Sasuke, attack the Flash Assailant with Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

The ninja weaved his fingers together and shut his eyes. Suddenly, there was ten of him on the field at once. The ten ninjas leapt into the air and came down on the Flash Assailant at once, slicing him to pieces. Once the job was done, all but the original Sasuke disappeared, and the original leapt back to Laura’s field.

Ogre hissed as his Life Points sank to 6,600.

“Attack directly, Marauding Captain!” Laura then ordered.

In response, Ogre tripped one of his facedown cards. “Did you really think these were just bluffs? Activate Draining Shield, negating the attack and healing me for an amount of Life Points equal to that monster’s Attack Points!”

A bizarre shell of light with a metal circle on the front surrounded the muscled duelist. The Marauding Captain’s swords clashed on the circle, which then sucked in his blades and hands. As the warrior struggled, the machine sucked power out of him, washing Ogre in a brilliant light and raising his Life Points to 7,800.

Eventually, the shell released the Marauding Captain, who limped to Laura’s side of the field, wincing somewhat.

I could nail him with my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Laura thought, but he’s still got two facedown cards. Odds are good I wouldn’t get away with just healing him… The girl just glared at Ogre as she huffed, “I end my turn.”

Behind his metal mask, Ogre snickered as he drew his next card – a sound that was just plain wrong coming from a man of his size and physique. “I’ve almost got what I need to smash you into the ground,” he said, “but first I need to play this Magic Card, Pot of Greed.”

The evil-looking pot floated in front of Ogre as he drew two cards.

It was impossible for Laura to gauge whether her opponent was satisfied with his draws, given how his facial expression was concealed, but he didn’t seem disappointed.

“Now I set a card facedown…” Ogre did so. “…and invoke the special ability of my Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast. By cutting its Attack and Defense points in half, I can summon it without a tribute, and so I will!”

A creation that appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a giant tank in the form of a dragon rolled onto Ogre’s field. It had two massive guns where a normal creature would have eyes, and two more stuck out on either side of its body in place of arms. It exhaled smoke. (2,800/2,000)

Suddenly, however, it retracted its guns and lowered its head. (2,800/2,000 – 1,400/1,000)

Laura just stared at it. “That thing won’t stand a chance against any of my monsters now,” she said.

“Oh?” Ogre replied. “Did you forget about the Marauding Captain? I’d have to attack it, so I will anyway! Fusilier Dragon, attack it with Shock Scream!”

The Dragon snapped its head out and let loose a loud cry, unleashing a sonic burst that tore the Marauding Captain to pieces. Laura’s Life Points slipped to 7,800.

“That’s my turn,” Ogre concluded.

As soon as Laura drew her next card, she had a plan in mind. “I start with my Magic Card, the Warrior Returning Alive, to add Marauding Captain to my hand…”

For a moment, the Captain appeared, confused and disoriented. On recovering, he walked into Laura’s hand.

“Next,” she continued, “I’ll summon him again in Attack Mode!”

The old soldier strode onto Laura’s field again, swords over his shoulders, and let out a sigh. (1,200/400)

As before, he whistled, and another monster appeared. This one was a young woman in bright red clothing, wearing a red beret and black cape, with a golden sword on her hip. She knelt in Defense Mode. (1,200/1,900)

“Meet the Command Knight,” Laura went on. “She gives all my Warrior-type monsters 400 extra Attack Points!” (1,200/400 – 1,600/400; 1,800/1,000 – 2,200/1,000; 1,400/1,200 – 1,800/1,200; 1,200/1,900 – 1,600/1,900)

Taking a deep breath, Laura ordered, “Marauding Captain, destroy the Dual-Mode Beast with Rampant Charge!”

The captain clashed his swords and charged across the field towards the weakened machine…

And then Ogre let out a loud, victorious laugh and said, “You stupid little bitch! I activate Skill Drain!”

The trap lifted, revealing a picture of the Dark Ruler Ha Des suffering from some form of disease. A massive shockwave rolled over the field, hitting every monster in play. The Marauding Captain stumbled over his own feet, but kept charging at the Fusilier Dragon…

…but behind him, the Command Knight had passed out. All of Laura’s monsters were back to their original Attack Points.

Meanwhile, the Fusilier Dragon glowed with power, and its cannons emerged once again, locking onto the Marauding Captain. (1,400/1,000 – 2,800/2,000)

“Skill Drain?!?” Laura yelled. “Oh, no!”

Ogre laughed once again, saying, “You know exactly what to expect now, don’t you? My Skill Drain saps all monsters in play of their effects, leaving your warriors as helpless as can be… but my Fusilier Dragon benefits from this arrangement, because its ‘effect’ actually weakens it! Skill Drain removes that and restores its power, all for a miniscule cost of 1,000 Life Points.”

Ogre’s Life Points sank to 6,800 as he said this.

“And in case you haven’t noticed,” the muscleman finished, “your monster’s still attacking mine…”

The Marauding Captain finally reached Ogre’s machine, and brought both of his swords down on it. They bounced off, not even leaving a scratch. The warrior grinned sheepishly.

The Fusilier Dragon apparently didn’t find it funny, which would explain why it proceeded to let loose with its cannons and reduce the Marauding Captain to his component atoms.

Laura’s jaw dropped as her Life Points hit 6,200. “I switch my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian and Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke to Defense Mode and end my turn,” she said after a moment. Both monsters knelt.

“Huh,” Ogre muttered “Allow me to explain the difference between ‘effect’ and ‘drawback’. An effect is a power that makes a monster stronger – for example, all of your warriors would be useless without effects. A drawback, on the other hand, makes a monster less powerful – the Boar Soldier’s a prime example of that; he has to be Special Summoned or Flip Summoned, and he’s helpless with monsters on the opponent’s field.

“Skill Drain is a godsend to monsters with drawbacks, and that’s why I’ve got a deck full of them – when I’ve got Skill Drain out, they’re so powerful it’s almost broken!”

Laura then sighed and noted, “But without it, you’re a sitting duck.”

Continued in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

“Nothing’s perfect unless you’re cheating!” Ogre protested. “Besides, my Flash Assailant held you off for a while there, didn’t he? I draw!” He did so. “I summon Susa Soldier in Attack Mode again!”

Once more, the white-haired soldier stood on the field, brandishing his glowing sword. The wave of energy from Skill Drain hit him, and he smiled evilly. (2,000/1,600)

“Thanks to my Skill Drain,” Ogre continued, “not only does he stop coming back to my hand, but he deals his full Battle Damage instead of cutting it in half as usual. Susa Soldier, attack the Ninja Grandmaster!”

Lifting his sword, the soldier paused for a moment, and then zapped across the field, slicing the ninja’s head off with one strike.

The muscleman then ordered, “Fusilier Dragon, destroy the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian! Dragon Barrage!”

Taking aim, the dragon tank fired all four cannons and blew the elf to pieces.

“I end my turn,” Ogre concluded.

Laura drew and sighed. “I set one monster in Defense Mode and end my turn.”

“Not so tough now, are you?” Ogre mocked, drawing a card. “You’re gonna have so much fun in the rat pit…” He looked at his hand, and then held up what he’d just drawn. “You know, this is gonna cost me in the long run, but I can’t help it. Come on out, Shadowknight Archfiend!”

A demon stepped down from above, clad in heavy metal armor and with a long blade extending from one gauntlet; the other exposed several jutting claws. A pulse of energy struck him from the Skill Drain, and he snarled. (2,000/1,600)

There was a stutter in Laura’s voice as she asked, “D-do you still have to pay for its cost?”

“Unfortunately… yes.” Ogre sighed through his mask. “There’s a difference between a ‘drawback’ and a ‘maintenance cost’. Shadowknight Archfiend loses his damage-cutting drawback, but I still have to pay for his upkeep – and he lost that nifty anti-targeting effect, too, which is why he’s pissed at me.” He shrugged. “Still, you’re in deep trouble, because I activate Meteorain!”

One of Ogre’s facedown cards flipped up, revealing the Enraged Battle Ox surrounded by falling meteorites.

“No!” Laura cried.

Ogre grunted, “Just accept the pain, girl. All my monsters will get at your Life Points this turn, because Meteorain lets them damage you through defense! Shadowknight Archfiend, attack her facedown monster with Diabolic Honor!”

The demon blurred out of existence, and then blurred back in on the other side of the facedown monster. A Blade Knight rose out of the card, let out a cry of pain, and fell to the ground, sliced in two. Laura’s Life Points fell to 5,800.

“Susa Soldier,” Ogre now ordered, “destroy the Command Knight!”

Again, the lightning spirit zapped past the Command Knight, beheading her. This time, however, he stopped to bounce her decapitated head on his blade before Ogre shot him a stern look. Humphing, he set the head down and skulked back to Ogre’s field. Laura’s Life Points were now at 5,700.

After a moment’s pause, Ogre nodded. “Fusilier Dragon, blast her Life Points directly with Dragon’s Barrage!”

All four of the cannons trained themselves on Laura. The girl looked for a place to hide, but she was still in the cage.

The four cannons let loose, and she went hurling into the back of the cage, her Life Points diving to 2,900. Laura didn’t notice, however, as she was briefly knocked senseless when her head hit the wall.

“Game’s almost over, you little bitch,” Ogre growled, suddenly developing a sinister edge more suited to his frame. “Bet you’re regretting your little wager now, huh?”

His target couldn’t hear a word of it.

0000000

As the ’87 Corolla GTS hurled its way through the streets of St. Paul, Chad glanced to Gerald. “I think we’re almost there… Gerald?”

His companion had fallen asleep once more, which didn’t surprise Chad in the least.

Glancing back to the road, the tall man muttered, “Sometimes I think you do more when you’re sleeping than when you’re awake…”

On the top of Gerald's deck, Heaven's Sphere began to glow.

0000000

“Back on your feet.”

Laura looked up, but her vision was still a little blurry due to whacking her head on the cage. “Why should I?”

Her conversational partner answered, “Because the duel’s not over yet. I’ve only met you once, but you don’t seem the type to give up so easily. I don’t think I’m that bad a judge of character.”

After a moment, the girl said, “You’re not. I’ve never surrendered. I can’t.”

“See?” The other person offered a hand.

“I can get up on my own,” Laura said, slapping the hand away.

The other person sighed. “Not anymore. You’re in a situation where relying on just yourself isn’t an option. Try to get up…”

Laura tried, and the floor crumbled around her hands, causing her to drop back down. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“It’s called illustrating my point.” The other person offered a hand again. “Accepting assistance is not weakness – fighting it when there’s no reason is. Now, shall we go out and deal with the masked fool?”

After a moment, Laura took the hand and rose to her feet. Her eyes cleared, and she could see her new companion. “Hey, aren’t you…”

“We’ll meet again outside of your mind soon enough.” The person smiled, and then yawned.

The world returned to its usual state…

0000000

“Are you back among the living, or do I have to break out the damn smelling salts?” Ogre growled.

Laura shook her head, and the world snapped back into place around her. “Hey, I’m not used to ramming my head into hard, immobile objects,” she shot back. “Give me a break.”

Ogre lifted his mask only slightly, spat, and grunted, “My turn ends.”

Taking a deep breath, Laura held it, drew her next card, and exhaled. She then looked at it and said, “I play Pot of Avarice! Now by shuffling these five monsters from the Graveyard back into my deck…” She slid the five monsters in her Graveyard out of it and back into her deck. “I draw two cards!” She did so.

“So?” Ogre asked. “It’s just wasting our time.”

”Not so!” Laura countered. “I summon Zombyra the Dark!”

A spotlight shined onto the field, and the inhuman superhero leapt down from nowhere, posing with a flourish in front of Laura. The Skill Drain pulsed, but he merely laughed. (2,100/500)

“You know, I’ve seen a lot of superheroes in my day,” Ogre commented, “but that’s gotta be the weirdest one I’ve ever heard of. I mean… well, come on! Look at him! I’ve got one in my deck and I still think he’s weird!”

Laura grinned as she replied, “He has a nobler history than that. You see, Zombyra’s one of my favorite monsters. He used to serve the Dark Master Zorc, drawing on his master’s dark energy to fuel his power. But one day, he killed an innocent man at Zorc’s orders and was suddenly overcome with remorse. Zombyra couldn’t accept what he’d done, and turned his back on Zorc and his darkness.”

”Is there a point to this story?” Ogre asked.

“The point is,” Laura continued, “is that without that dark energy, Zombyra’s ultimately screwed. Every time he destroys an enemy, he loses 200 Attack Points. On top of that, the day he left Zorc’s service, the Dark Master cursed him to never strike his true foe – he can’t attack you directly. Or those would be the cases…”

Ogre suddenly yelled, “Argh! My damn Skill Drain works on him, too!”

Laura nodded. “Exactly. Zombyra, attack the Susa Soldier with Noble Fist!”

The hero charged forward and slugged the Susa Soldier hard in the stomach. A ripple of energy burst out from him, tearing the soldier in half and blowing him away. Ogre’s Life Points fell to 6,700.

“I set a card facedown and end my turn,” Laura finished.

Ogre let out a growl low in his throat, drawing a card and staring at it. Where the hell are my big guns?

The Shadowknight Archfiend suddenly growled and clenched his claws. Ogre choked as the demon turned and slammed his claws into his body, drawing out a red energy. “That would be the 900 Life Points I have to pay for my Archfiend…” he managed to mutter after a moment, his Life Points now at 5,800.

The muscleman then slid a card into his Duel Disk, saying, “I set a card facedown… and now, Fusilier Dragon, tear that hero a new one with Dragon’s Barrage!”

The dragon tank trained its cannons on Zombyra…

“I activate my own Draining Shield!” Laura shouted, triggering her facedown card. “This turns your attack into extra Life Points, in case you forgot!”

A shell of light surrounded her and her monster, just like it had Ogre earlier in the duel. All four of the cannon’s shots hit the metal circle, and Laura was bathed in an unearthly green light. Her Life Points rose to 5,700.

“You little slut!” Ogre roared, his composure long since gone. “I end my turn!”

“Calm down before you pop a blood vessel.” Laura drew her next card. “I play my Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards…” She did so. “And now I’m going to break a certain rule about superheroes and weapons. I equip my Zombyra with the Axe of Despair!”

The superhero held out his hand, and the wicked axe fell into it. He tested its heft for a moment, and then grinned. (2,100/500 – 3,100/500)

“Before you can do anything,” Ogre said, “I activate Threatening Roar, which prevents you from attacking!”

The Fusilier Dragon let out a high-pitched squeal that caused Zombyra to stumble to one knee, clutching where a normal human would have had ears.

“Fine, then. I end my turn,” Laura said.

Ogre drew his next card and uttered a series of vile curses under his breath. Was I actually winning this duel a few turns ago?

As on the previous turn, the Shadowknight Archfiend spun around and gouged into his chest with his claws, sending Ogre’s Life Points to 4,900.

“I switch both of my monsters into Defense Mode, and set another monster in Defense Mode” he grumbled. The Fusilier Dragon settled its head on the ground, and the Shadowknight Archfiend glared at him as he knelt; they were joined by a third, concealed monster. “That’ll be my turn.”

Laura drew, and then said, “I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in Attack Mode!”

The armored knight stepped up to Zombyra’s side and nodded. The dark hero nodded back, and then a pulse of energy from Ogre’s Skill Drain struck Gearfried. He merely shrugged. (1,800/1,600)

“Now,” Laura continued, “I equip him with every warrior’s favorite weapon – the Fusion Sword Murasame Blade! And I don’t think I need to tell you how Skill Drain benefits my Iron Knight…”

Instead of picking up a sword, both of the blades on Gearfried’s arms grew to excessive lengths. (1,800/1,600 – 2,600/1,600)

“Now, Zombyra, attack Fusilier Dragon!” Laura ordered. “While I’m at it, Gearfried, Iron Edge the facedown monster!”

Pulling back his arm, Zombyra threw his axe across the field, causing it to slice the dragon tank in two. Even as it exploded, the Iron Knight dashed up to the facedown monster and chopped it (a Nuvia the Wicked) apart. Zombyra caught his axe again, and the two monsters grinned to each other.

“That’ll be it for me,” Laura said.

Ogre drew, and then let out a groan as Shadowknight Archfiend struck him with his claws once more, drawing out his energy and dropping his Life Points to 4,100. “Oh, man…” He then paused, looking at his cards, and chuckled slightly. “This’ll do. I play Emergency Provisions, giving up my Skill Drain and my face-down Fairy Meteor Crush to gain 2,000 Life Points!”

The bizarre mouth appeared, destroying both of Ogre’s cards and raising his Life Points to 6,100. A pulse of energy flew from his destroyed Skill Drain, causing all three monsters on the field to stagger and groan…

However, Gearfried’s blades did not return to normal.

“What?” Ogre shouted. “Why didn’t that tin can’s Fusion Sword break? It destroys all equipping cards!”

”The Fusion Sword Murasame can’t be destroyed,” Laura calmly explained. “It’s the one Equip Magic Card that Gearfried can use even with his drawback.”

Oh, come on… Ogre groaned mentally. “Fine, then. I set one monster in Defense Mode and end my turn.”

Laura drew, smirking slightly, and declared, “I summon another Sasuke Samurai in Attack Mode!”

Another miniature samurai strode out, drawing his blade. (500/800)

“Remember this guy’s effect?” the girl said, gloating only slightly. “If you don’t, you’re about to. Attack his facedown monster, Sasuke Samurai!”

The samurai drew his blade, took a step forward, and vanished. A moment later, the facedown Big Shield Gardna on Ogre’s field appeared and shattered. (100/2,600)

“Zombyra,” Laura continued, “dispatch the Shadowknight Archfiend!”

The superhero tossed his weapon, cleaving the fiend in half lengthwise. Ogre began to sweat, even as Zombyra let out a groan and his Attack Points lowered to 2,900.

“Gearfried,” Laura finally ordered, “attack his Life Points directly with Iron Edge!”

The iron-clad warrior charged forward and slammed both blades into Ogre’s body, causing him to roar in pain as his Life Points dropped to 3,500.

“That’s my turn,” Laura concluded.

Ogre drew, taking a few deep breaths, and said, “I’m not dead just yet, bitch. I set a card facedown and a monster in Defense Mode. Try to get past that…” His cards appeared before him.

Even as Laura drew, she knew it was over. “I drew Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke again,” she said, “so I summon him once more!”

Again, the heavily-concealed ninja stepped out, wielding his kunai. (1,800/1,000)

“Now, Zombyra,” Laura ordered, “forgive me… destroy his facedown monster!”

Ogre gasped and thought, My plan is ruined! I’m so screwed! “Activate Widespread Ruin!”

Even as Zombyra wound up for the throw, he suddenly exploded.

With a sigh, Laura ordered, “Sasuke Samurai, you do it.”

The miniature samurai swung his blade, cutting Ogre’s Dark Elf in two. (2,000/800)

Finally, the girl commanded, “Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke, Gearfried, finish the duel!”

The two needed no prompting. First, Sasuke launched his ten selves into Ogre, dropping his Life Points to 1,700. Gearfried finished the job with one swing of his blades, plunging the muscleman’s Life Points to zero.

After a moment, Ogre shut off his Duel Disk and took it off, taking a small key out of his pocket. “I suppose letting you out for a few minutes isn’t too bad…” he said.

But as he neared the cell door, Laura counted off seconds in her head – and then kicked the door, hard. It swung out and slammed Ogre between the door and the cage wall.

As the door swung back, Ogre staggered forward, growling, “You backstabbing little bitch! I think I’ll beat you unconscious and then throw you in the rat pit for that one!”

Before he could move much further, however, Laura was on him, and her attacks came faster than his eye could follow. It was as if she kicked him in the head, chest, and stomach simultaneously.

The muscleman staggered, whereupon Laura thrust a palm into his stomach. He gasped and recoiled, and Laura moved under him, lifting him over her head and slamming the masked man to the floor.

After that move, he made the smartest choice he’d ever made – he passed out.

“Never call me a bitch,” Laura said, dusting off her hands. She stretched out and began to look for an exit.

After a few minutes, she found the one door out… but it was locked from the outside. Probably Father Young’s doing, she thought. I searched Ogre’s pockets, and all he had was my cell key. Damn it.

She pulled her leg back and was about to kick the door down when the sound of someone unlocking it from the outside caught her ear.

A second later, the door opened, and two men were standing in the doorway. One was tall, had brown hair, and was wearing an all-gray ensemble; he leaned against a wall. Laura knew she’d seen him before. The other was slightly taller, blonde, and was dressed like Humphrey Bogart.

“Please do not hit us,” the one against the wall said. “We had thought you needed rescuing, but from the looks of things… not so much.”

The taller one glanced to his companion and muttered, “Watch it, Gerald.”

“Actually,” Laura said, “thanks for opening the door. I kind of doubt I could kick it open. So… what’s going on in this city?”

The one leaning against the wall, Gerald, yawned and said, “It’s a very long story. Come back to the hotel with us and we’ll explain it there.”

Laura stopped to consider it. Sharing a hotel room with two guys sounded a little too much like the sort of movie that played after midnight on cable channels, but she didn’t have anywhere to stay otherwise… and they had come to bust her out of her imprisonment…

…and then she recognized Gerald. It was the person she’d seen after hitting her head on the wall.

“All right, it’s a deal,” she answered.

Gerald smiled, said, “It’s settled, then,” and then shut his eyes. A moment later, to Laura’s amazement, he fell asleep.

“Does he do that often?” she asked.

“All the time…” the taller man answered, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.

0000000

That evening, Ogre found himself in the heart of the Darkness’s lair. However, he could not appreciate the sight; he was currently kneeling on the floor with his hands tied behind his back, and a very disappointed Degas stood in front of him.

“Thomas ‘Ogre’ Grunn,” Degas began. “Ex-bodybuilder, ex-bouncer, currently employed as a servant to the Darkness. Your transgressions are many – ignoring orders, accepting an unauthorized challenge, using an unauthorized deck strategy – an interesting one, but unauthorized nonetheless…” He then swung his foot around, kicking Ogre in the stomach. “What in the name of the Darkness were you thinking, including an Archfiend in that deck?”

“I thought I could win before the damage got too much,” the muscled man protested once he got his breath back.

“I doubt you thought at all,” Degas muttered. He grabbed Ogre’s mask and wrenched his servant’s head up. “Most recently, you allowed our captive to escape. She was vital for one of our plans, and you let her get the drop on you. Now our plan is severely delayed, at best.”

“How was I supposed to know she was trained in the martial arts?” Ogre complained.

Degas answered, “You could have asked – we know these things for a reason!” He then took a breath and continued, “Your most unforgivable offense, however, is the repeated questioning of and lack of faith in your masters. You keep voicing the opinion that Alexander has no role in our plans. That’s just not allowed, Ogre.”

Struggling against his bonds, Ogre asked, “Why didn’t you just tell us what Alexander’s purpose is? It’s not like it can be that big a secret!”

“If the information fell into the hands of the Light, it may prove disastrous,” Degas replied. “However, I will tell you just to silence your complaints…” He paused. “I can manipulate dark energies, but I cannot create them myself. Alexander is a Dark Conduit, a portal through which dark energy flows. When he is present, I have energy to work with. Without him, I would not have had the chance to create the Dancing Mad, the Darkness Infection, or any of our other weapons. He has… other powers, as well, but you need not know them.”

Ogre fell silent.

“Not that it would matter, anyway,” Degas concluded. He snapped his fingers. “Hanzaki!”

The air blurred, and the man with the concealed body emerged, bowing to Degas. “Yes, sir?”

As he stepped out of the room, Degas said, “Deal with him.”

The room fell silent for a moment, and then Hanzaki reached into a concealed pocket, hidden behind the symbol on his chest. When he withdrew his hand, he was holding a handgun and was already undoing the safeties.

Ogre looked to it and muttered, “A Beretta 9000S Type F9… So, this is it. Can you really shoot a helpless man?”

Hanzaki pulled the Beretta’s slide back, set it to Ogre’s temple, and said simply, “Yes.” He then pulled the trigger.

Coming next chapter: Gerald finally gets the answer to a question that’s nagged at him since the beginning of his journey. At the same time, however, a new Pillar’s hit the streets. Chad ends up dueling the first of this Pillar’s creations, an utterly depressing figure whose deck doesn’t care if its monsters die. Things get unpleasant in Chapter Ten, “Walking in Gloom”…

[starjake]

So Laura uses a Sasuke Deck? Interesting theme...and quite different from that of Naga or Jean-Claude Magnum. I can only assume there are more of the Sasuke Samurai lurking around in her deck; hopefully she'll duel again so we can see them in battle.

I also did not expect Skill Drain from Ogre...as ironic as it is, running a deck based on Skill Drain requires plenty of Skill on the user's part (ask Dark Sage about the Skill Drain deck I've used against him on occasion). This is probably why he lost in the end; there are much better cards he could have put in the deck to make it stronger.

I had been wondering about how Father Young could be a priest and still do what he was doing. Though that hasn't been explained fully (or even much at all), it helps to know that he at least realizes that what he is doing is wrong...why he continues to do so regardless of that fact remains a mystery that I hope will be cleared up in a future chapter.

Until next chapter, then.

[jkBAKURA]

Well, that was certainly different. Paradox's fics usually have a dark tone, but this is getting pitch-black and fast. Then again it's no worse then a few moments in my own story.

Nice diverse monsters populated Ogre's Skill Drain deck, and even managed to include a trump monster rather then the super 4-stars simply running the show. The only reason I can think of for Shadowknight's appearance is that it is (or was) Ogre's Soul Card. In any case, that deck was extremely well done, to the point where Skill Drain wasn't even nessicery throughout most of the duel.

As for Laura, after Dark Sage's Russel character, it was nice to save herWarrior debut for a later chapter, although I couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of finishers that Warrior decks are so numerous in. Nice mini-theme with a couple Sasukes, and as starjake brought up, a possible thing to expand on.

As for next chapter, one Piller was bad enough. Why do these evil groups of four never just work together all at the same time instead of walking into the fire one at a time? Well, it'll be interesting to see who's above Jean-Vic. I seriously have no clue as to what the next deck theme is, but perhaps something will lead me to figure it out eventually.

One final question, if Laura's Soul Monster is apparently Zombyra, and it looks like Gerald's is Servant of Catabolism, what on Earth is Chad's?

With that question lingering in everyone's mind, I'd better get back to wasting time, and avoiding homework for the rest of the morning.

[Dark Sage]

First, I’ll point out mistakes.

Ready For Intercepting (one of Russell’s favorite Traps) does not just switch a Warrior or Spellcaster to Defense, but face-down defense.

When Marauding Captain is summoned, the Monster you Special Summon does not have to be a Warrior. It can be any Monster of four stars or less.

Also, I liked the origin of Zombyra you gave - however, it was wrong. Let me give you the true origin of Zombyra the Dark that was given in the Manga, in a story called "American Hero".

Zombyra (called "Zombire" in this story), was at first the God of Death. But one day, he met a very special woman, and fell in love. He courted her, and she loved him back...

This made his evil start to wane, and turned him to the side of good. Sadly, the God death is not supposed to be good. He bacame cursed, and his face started to rot and decay. He hid his deformity with a mask, but he refused to turn evil again, even though ever noble act shortened his life and deformed him a little more.

He decided that if he was going to die from the goodness inside him, he'd make the most of it. So he got a costume to go with the mask, and fought crime from that point on, as the superhero known as Zombyra the Dark.

This story was likely inspired by the Image hero, Spawn.

Getting back to the chapter, I liked it - the Warrior Deck seems out of place for a girl, but it seems to have a unique feel. (I like Sasuke Samurai!) Ogre was indeed an idiot - using a deck that hindered him, disobeying his employers, insulting Alexander (when you're a villain's minion, insulting one of the bosses is never a good idea). Still, he was an interesting character, and it was too bad he's dead.

Now that the heroes have turned from two to three (a good number - good things come in threes), I look forward to what comes next. I want to see more of all three of their decks, Gerald included. There are a lot more cards that can be used in a direct damage deck... Say, Cannon Soldier, Cyber Tutu, and a lot of cards from the anime.

I await the next chapter!

- DS

[Master of Paradox]

Dark Sage: Who's to say the card in the card game has the same origin as the character in the comic book? Witness the thousand different backstories for any character. Personally, I prefer my version.

Besides, I hated that part of the manga.

[Pokemasterkatie]

She paused for a moment, biting into her lip, and then ordered, “Sasuke, attack the Flash Assailant with Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Naruto reference for the WIN! I noticed it immediately...but Sasuke doesn't use the Shadow Clones--Naruto does.T_T

[Master of Paradox]

Naruto reference for the WIN! I noticed it immediately...but Sasuke doesn't use the Shadow Clones--Naruto does.T_T

Glad you noticed it, but remember, this isn't even the same fandom - I'm not restricted by character rules. (I would've used one of Sasuke's fire jutsus, but the Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke is a Wind-type.)

[Shuppet Master]

Let me give you the true origin of Zombyra the Dark that was given in the Manga, in a story called "American Hero".

I have the Shonen Jump issue where that story was published! What a coincidence! (Now Paradox is going to hate me even more...)

Anyways, that was a great duel, Paradox. Although I doubt that Laura's deck is a Sasuke deck, it's a Warrior deck. I like the characters in that chapter, and how Ogre got the bullet. Nasty gory end to him, better than whatever 4-Kids dubs.

[Pokemasterkatie]

I like the characters in that chapter, and how Ogre got the bullet. Nasty gory end to him, better than whatever 4-Kids dubs.

You know it! Damn Khan...:p

[Blademaster]

(claps hands)

Finally, a duelist fic where cursing and violence are commonplace. Seems more realistic to me... Good work.

And not to seem arrogant, but ever since Chris McKinley first appeared in 3.0 with his Warrior Deck, more protagonistic Warrior decks have been appearing here, it seems - Russell from Dark Messiah, Laura from here... Well, that's all, actually. Still, if I've contributed to this new Warrior outbreak in any way...

(smiles)

I'm happy...

Anyway, interesting use of a Skill Drain deck by Ogre - I was honestly starting to think Ultimate Obedient Fiend would be his ultimate Monster, but I can see why it was omitted - get rid of Skill Drain, and he's useless. Anyway...

And damn that Father What's-his-name, the hypocrite! This is why I stopped going to church! The hypocrasy of the whole thing!

But religious debates aside, I look forward to the next chapter, which I won't try to guess on this time... :p

Peace out!

-Blade