Yu Gi Oh! Dark Messiah

[Pokemasterkatie]

The strategy that Russell used with his Maruading Captains reminded of the Yu-Gi-Oh GX Episode with Dark Magician Girl and Jaden dueling.

This a commonly known strategy in Warrior decks. Magician's Valkryia is the Spellcaster version, but she can't summon a Spellcaster of her own. Besides, she hasn't been released here yet.

Though I was suprised to see Russell summon Crescent Moon Queen.

Ditto, but it's a nice addition. CMQ is a great fanmade card.

[starjake]

Well, apart from the fact that the Card from a Different Dimension tactic was glaringly obvious (especially after you mentioned the Mystical Space Typhoon), and from the fact that this was the most extreme case of D.I.D. I've ever seen, it wasn't that bad of a chapter.

I gotta admit, though: your characters need more work. I have a hard time distinguishing between the characters of Jason, Russell, and Trisha. Granted, no one does it perfectly (I myself have problems splitting Jake and Bryan apart, and their accounts are in first person!), but your characters border on bland.

Makes sense that Critias would show up in a chapter entitled Trap Master. Who this Trap Master is I don't know, but we're sure to find out.

[Shuppet Master]

Great duel, Brian, and great user character, Mystic_Clown! I had a feeling your character would be similar to Bakura's(are you a Bakura fan)?

Anyways, can't wait to see what the next victim is.

[Silencer]

Intresting character and chapter.

Nexh chapter, trapmaster. An Odion kind of character perhaps?

[Dark Sage]

I forgot to mention...

On Thursaday or Friday, when my next chapter appears, so will the next contest.

And this time, I have a more fair way to determine the winner. Of all those who get it right, I will put them in a random generator, and have it choose.

So be there.

- DS

[Perfect Chaos]

Really interesting character design Mystic. Do you duel online (over AIM, etc.). If you do, I believe I need to duel you for titles of "Top Bakura Fan" and "King of Fiends" .

I liked this chapter alot. As mentioned before, Janus was a very unique character of his own and the little bit of how Omaly might return adds a bit to the foreshadowing. Plus, the deck was a nice tech as well.

Look forward to the next chapter and contest (prays he'll be able to participate despite IB Exams).

-Sean

[Blademaster]

Not a bad chapter at all...

I mean, Omaly's deck seemed quite a bit more random than most others you've used, but there's nothing wrong with that... Though, to be honest, I don't think Lithmus Doom Swordsman makes the best choice to be with Ruin and Demise in a trinty - maybe Reshef the Dark Being or Black Luster Soldier would've worked better?

Anyway, Trap Master, huh? I'm thinking Jinzo + Amplifier, myself...

Well, later.

-Blade

[Dark Sage]

[color=blue][B]Once, when someone asked me why I wanted to be a duelist, I answered, “It looked like fun.”

And it was fun for a long time.

I didn’t know how serious my hobby could get. I decided to attend NYC Duel Academy to become a champion, and devote my life to it… But even so, it still didn’t make it less fun.

But now… Someone has tainted my hobby with something evil, and it has taken it to a new level.

The duelist I’m facing is a hardened criminal, and I’m not dueling for fun…

…in this duel, my very soul is on the line…

[size=3][B]CHAPTER TWELVE

Wednesday, September 15th, 2106, 1:02 AM


In her dorm room, Trisha lay in her bed, fast asleep.

She was in the middle of a recurring dream that she often had, a strange one…

She was dressed as Dark Magician Girl, and she was standing in a dark chamber – her card in a dueling deck.

She looked up anxiously, and the darkness above her vanished. Her duelist had just drawn, and she would be the one drawn on his next turn…

Once that happened, she’d be summoned to the field (her duelist never lacked a sacrifice, and never waited even one turn before doing so), and then the dream could take one of about ten different pathways…

The best one involved her being ordered to make a direct attack, which resulted in her duelist winning…

The worst involved the opponent triggering a Nightmare Wheel – the worst way this dream could turn into a nightmare.

As the dreamer waited in anticipation, Alister appeared beside her bed.

He looked at her.

Trisha, he thought. If you only knew the terror that was waiting for you soon…

He gestured, and an envelope appeared by her pillow.

I can’t stop it, but by giving up a small part of my very soul, I can make these real. They’ll help you with what is to come…

He vanished.

Trisha woke up with a start.

Sadly, the dream had ended badly, as her Spellcaster self was defeated by Dark Ruler Ha Des. The last part of her dream consisted of her falling into the Graveyard…

That was a new one. The memory of Omaly was still fresh in her mind.

Then she noticed the envelope.

Hello? she thought, turning the light on.

Written on the envelope were the words, A gift from a friend.

“Jason?” she said.

She opened it.

She looked strangely at the two odd Spell Cards and one Monster Card.

Never heard of these, she thought. Wow, this is pretty powerful…

She paused.

Very powerful!

Jason couldn’t have gotten cards like this…

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

The next day passed without much incident…

But at noon on Thursday, a prison transport car drove through upstate New York.

One of the two officers looked back at the prisoner in the compartment behind them.

“We’ll be there in about an hour, Duncan,” he said. “And then this annoying red tape will all be just an unpleasant memory. Aren’t court appearances a pain?”

The convict was a sullen figure. He had a bald head and a short, brown goatee. His eyes were slate grey. He wore prison-issue clothes, and his hands and feet were shackled.

At first he didn’t respond to the comment.

Finally, he answered:

“I don’t speak to cops,” he said. “Sorry.”

“Suit yourself,” said the guard. “Hey…”

He looked up ahead, and saw someone in the middle of the road…

And then a huge, metallic dragon appeared in front of the truck, and roared!

The truck slammed on the breaks, and the dragon lifted its claw, crushing the hood! The driver and the passenger were thrown forward and had the wind knocked out of them.

Cleo opened the door and felt for pulses.

“They’re alive,” she said, taking a remote off one of their belts. “We need to rectify that?”

“No,” said Cassius. “Let’s just get what we came for…”

He placed a card in a Duel Disk, and a Blast With Chain appeared on the back door of the truck. It burst, blowing the door open.

The convict held his head and stared at the three Swordsmen.

“Daniel Duncan,” said Sebastian, as Cleo hit a code on the remote and the shackles fell away. “So nice to make your acquaintance.”

“As much as I appreciate an early release,” said Duncan, rubbing his head. “I’d prefer to know who my liberators are…”

“We were sent by someone who needs your lesser talents,” said Cassius. “We were able to get this from the police impound…”

He handed him a deck of cards.

“My Duel Monsters deck?” said Duncan. “Heh… they took it from me after I used it to gamble too much… Personally, I think they were upset because I was winning all the time…”

“Our boss heard you were pretty good, Duncan,” said Cassius, “and he can make you better…

“He’s gonna make you an offer you’re going to like…”

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

The next day, at lunch, Trisha still couldn’t stop looking at the three strange cards that had been left on her pillow.

On the television in the cafeteria, the news was being broadcast.

“Police still have no leads to the whereabouts of Daniel M. Duncan,” said the broadcaster, “who escaped while being transported yesterday morning. Most believe he had outside help. Duncan is considered to be very dangerous, but are advising people not to worry.”

“Yeah, right,” said Jason. “If a guy who used to be on New York State’s Most Wanted List was at large again, I’d certainly be worried…”

“Never heard of him,” said Russell. “How’d he get on the Most Wanted List?”

“Oh, the usual,” said Jason. “Armed robbery, bank robbery, kidnapping, extortion, safecracking, grand larceny…”

“Yeah…” said Trisha, changing the subject. “Say, guys, it’s Friday… That curfew isn’t as restrictive today. Want to go to the mall after school?”

Jason and Russell shrugged.

“Sure,” said Jason. “I have nothing better to do…”

“Maybe we can see a movie…” said Trisha, looking at the newspaper. “Here’s a good one… It’s a courtroom drama…”

“I never really got into those…” answered Russell.

”Godzilla Versus the Board of Education,” said Trisha.

“You’re kidding!” exclaimed Russell.

“Yes!” said Trisha with a giggle.

“Okay…” he said. “Very funny… What’s really playing?”

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

In the year 2106, the Mall of Manhattan had grown to enormous size. With stores and amusements of every possible type, it was a great place to spend a Friday afternoon.

Having finished a plate of cheeseburgers and curly fries at the food court, Trisha and Russell were killing time waiting for when the next movie at the cinema was to start by playing a tabletop duel on the table while Jason watched.

Secretly, Trisha was going to try her luck with those three new cards.

Right now, Russell had Freed on the field, and Trisha’s Machine King was tied down by his Shadow Spell – however, Trisha had Swords of Revealing Light active, and it was her turn.

“Okay,” said Trisha, “I play Pot of Greed…”

She drew twice.

“Be careful, guys,” said Jason. “You don’t want to get ketchup on your cards…”

Trisha grinned.

“First I’ll play this…” she said.

“Never saw that Spell Card before,” said Russell, rubbing his chin. “What does it do?”

“Well, it…” said Trisha.

Then someone from behind grabbed her purse!

“HEY!” she shouted.

She and Russell gathered up all their cards, and ran after the purse snatcher. They only barely managed to slip the cards into their cases as they ran.

[B]* * * * * * * * * * *

Strangely, keeping up with the purse snatcher was rather easy. Just when it seemed like he might lose them, he stopped, and then after a few seconds, ran again.

Wait… thought Jason, as they chased him into the parking garage. Does he want us to catch him?

The snatcher ran up the ramps, and they chased him up the levels, until they were at the top floor of the parking garage.

“Okay, fellah,” said Trisha, panting for breath. “Nowhere left to…”

He turned to face them.

“…run…” she said, startled.

They recognized him from the news reports.

“Duncan…” muttered Trisha.

“That’s my name, my dear,” he replied. “Don’t wear it out, or I might have to steal another one.”

Trisha’s eyes narrowed.

“How the mighty have fallen,” she said with a scowl. “A criminal genius and master thief reduced to… purse snatching…”

“Trisha!” whispered Russell. “This guy is dangerous!”

“Oh, this?” said Duncan, holding up the purse. “True, it was a rather penny-ante attempt, compared to what I’m used to. But did you really think I wanted the pocket change in your purse? I’ll gladly return it…”

He tossed the purse to her.

“My true goal was to get your attention…”

He raised his left arm, revealing a Duel Disk on it.

“What?” said Trisha. “You want to duel me?”

“Yes,” said Duncan. “Make you a deal… I’ll turn myself in if you beat me. Might I add that the police are offering a very rich reward for information leading to my recapture?”

“Trisha, wait,” said Jason. “That Disk… You’d better let me duel him.”

“Ah, yes…” said Duncan. “You… The one I was warned about… Well, I won’t duel you, and if you don’t let me duel her… Watch…”

He took the top card off his deck and showed it to them: It was Raigeki.

He held it up, and it glowed…

A bolt of lightning struck a car behind them, and it burst into flames!

“This enchanted Raigeki card can do that to more than cars…” said Duncan. “It can do that to people, too…”

“You demented…” said Trisha.

She took out her deck and gave it a thorough shuffle.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll duel you, just put that thing away…”

Duncan placed the card in his pocket; Jason took his Disk out of his knapsack and tossed it to Trisha.

“Don’t forget,” warned Jason, “Raigeki is an illegal card!”

“I don’t intend to use it,” he answered.

He paused.

“I hear you like Machines, my dear,” he said, placing his deck into his Disk. “Well, I like them too – you aren’t a career criminal for as long as I’ve been without knowing a little about how they work. But I like ones of a more… long-lasting type…

“So prepare to face the fury of my Medieval Shadow Deck!”

Medieval Shadow Deck? thought Jason.

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Alister appeared behind Trisha. No one saw him, but he was there.

I’ve given you part of my soul, Trisha, he thought. Please beat this creep…

He watched as the two Disks activated, and they each drew five cards.

[B](Trisha: 8,000) (Duncan: 8,000)

“Game… start,” said Trisha.

“I agree…” said Duncan, drawing a sixth card. “And I’ll play this… Ancient Gear Castle!”

He played a Spell Card, and with a rumbling noise, a huge castle rose out of the floor behind him! It was a crazy structure, covered with gears, pistons, turrets, and cannons.

“This Spell Card gives all Monsters with the words ‘Ancient Gear’ in their names a little extra kick, raising their Attack Scores by 300. Next I’ll summon one Ancient Gear in Defense Mode…”

He placed a card on his Disk, and a small contraption resembling a set of gears and cogs on wheels appeared. (100/800) –> (400/800)

A torch inside Ancient Gear Castle lit.

“And I’m not done,” he said. “When one Ancient Gear is on the field, I can Special Summon all copies of it in Attack Mode that I have in my hand, and I just happen to have another one right here.”

He placed another card on his Disk, and a second Ancient Gear appeared in Attack Mode.

“That’s my move for now…” he said.

“First move, first mistake,” said Trisha, drawing. “I’ll summon a much better Machine.”

She placed a card on her Disk.

“Machine King Prototype!”

The Prototype materialized.

Another torch in the Castle lit.

“And he gains 100 Attack Points for every additional Machine on the field, yours included. That’s 200 more.”

(1,600/1,500) –> (1,800/1,500)

“Attack the Ancient Gear in Attack Mode!” she shouted. “Laser phaser!”

Machine King Prototype shot a beam of energy, obliterating the Ancient Gear.

[B](T: 8,000) (D: 6,600)

“Howdya like them apples?” said Trisha, as her Monster’s Attack fell to 1,700.

“Heh, heh, heh, heh,” said Duncan. “I like them a lot.”

He drew a card.

“You did exactly what I wanted you to do, my dear,” he said. “For now I shift my other Ancient Gear into Attack Mode…”

Ancient Gear moved into Attack Mode.

“…and then I play… Creature Swap.”

He played a Spell Card.

“This Spell requires us each to choose a Monster on the field and trade it… And since we each have only one, the choice is clear.”

The two Monsters vanished and reappeared on opposite sides of the field.

“Now that I have the stronger Monster,” he said, “I’ll have it attack my former one!”

Machine King Prototype blasted his ray, and the Ancient Gear blew apart.

“Man, this guy is good…” muttered Russell.

[B](T: 6,700) (D: 6,600)

“All right, my move!” said Trisha.

She drew a card.

“Sorry, Prototype,” she said, “but you’re either with me, or you’re against me. I summon Nanobreaker in Attack Mode!”

She played the card, and her Machine look-alike appeared. (1,600/1,800)

A third torch in the Castle lit. Trisha noticed this, and was getting nervous…

Three… she thought. One more than he actually needs…

“Attack Machine King Prototype!” she shouted.

Nanobreaker lifted her sword.

“Trisha, are you nuts?” shouted Jason. “With her on the field, Prototype is stronger!”

“Thanks for the warning,” said Trisha, “but you’re forgetting Nanobreaker’s effect – she automatically wins whenever she attacks a Monster who has three stars or less!”

Nanobreaker slashed with her sword, and Machine King Prototype exploded.

“Very clever…” said Duncan.

He drew a card.

“Well, I can be clever too… I summon Ancient Gear Soldier in Attack Mode.”

An old-fashioned robot, crafted from spare parts and gears with a machine gun for a right arm appeared. He glared with one bright optic sensor. (1,300/1,300) –> (1,600/1,300)

“That will be my turn…” he said.

Four torches were now burning inside the Castle.

“A standoff…” said Jason.

Trisha drew.

“Not for long…” she said. “Time to say goodbye to Nanobreaker, because I’m sacrificing her to summon the regular Machine King!”

She switched cards on her Disk, and Nanobreaker vanished. A much larger robot with powerful arms and armor appeared.

A fifth torch lit inside the Castle, casting flickering lights on the whole arena.

“This guy also gains 100 Attack Points for every Machine on the field, but unlike the Prototype, that includes himself.”

(2,200/2,000) –> (2,400/2,000)

“Machine King, take down that Soldier with jet punch attack!” ordered Trisha.

Machine King raised his arms, and his fists fired like rockets, blowing Ancient Gear Soldier to shards.

[B](T: 6,700) (D: 5,800)

“So now what are you gonna do?” asked Trisha.

Duncan drew.

“I’ll show you,” he said. “I’ll play Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards…”

He played the card, and drew twice.

“Heh, heh, heh,” he laughed. “Now my dear… let’s take this duel to the next level…”

His Field Slot opened, and he played a card.

“I play The Seal of Orichalcos!”

Russell, Jason, and even Alister were thrown backwards, as the cursed pentagram formed around the two of them!

Duncan cackled with glee as the Seal appeared on his forehead...

“They were right,” he said in a sinister voice. “This is power!”

“Duncan you lunatic…” cursed Trisha. “Don’t you realize that if you lose this duel, you’ll lose your soul?”

Duncan looked at her for a few seconds.

“So what?” he finally said.

He let out a small laugh.

“Trisha,” he said, “eventually, I’d have been caught – I’m always caught. I won’t be eligible for parole until I’m seventy-five years old, and even then there’s no guarantee. Do you think I want to spend the rest of my life rotting in jail?

“By serving the Orichalcos, I’ll have more power than ever, and so what if I lose? At least I’ll go out with a bang, the way I always wanted to go!

“If you’re gonna go out… Go out big! That’s what I’ve always said…”

“You’re insane…” said Trisha.

“And you’re in major trouble…” said Duncan, placing a card on his Disk. “I summon the incredible… Ancient Gear Golem!”

In a cloud of dust, a huge robot appeared! It looked like it was made of gears, pistons, and other jury-rigged parts, but it still gave the impression of a well-running and deadly machine. It had one glowing red optic sensor that stared like one glaring eye.



Continued...

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


The symbol of the Orichalcos branded on its forehead.

(3,000/3,000) –> (3,500/3,000)

“How the Hell did he summon that thing with no sacrifice?” gasped Russell.

“It’s the Castle…” said Jason. “Every time either duelists Normal Summons or sets a Monster with that thing on the field, it gets a counter, and if you want to summon a high-level Ancient Gear Monster, you can sacrifice the Castle itself, and it counts as the same number of Monsters as it has counters…”

Ancient Gear Castle’s torches burned brightly, and the whole contraption shattered.

“Now my Golem,” shouted Duncan, “show that hunk of junk who the true Machine King is! Attack her Monster with mechanized melee!”

Ancient Gear Golem threw its fist forward, and Machine King exploded in flames!

[B](T: 5,500) (D: 5,800)

No… thought Alister. Not even the card I gave her can stand up to that… thing…

Trisha drew a card.

She looked at the cards in her hand.

“I’ll place one card facedown,” she said, playing a card. “And I’ll also summon a second Machine King Prototype in Defense Mode.”

A facedown card appeared, and Prototype appeared, shielding itself. (1,600/1,500) –> (1,700/1,500)

“Heh, heh,” said Duncan. “Defending and setting Traps is worthless against Ancient Gear Monsters…”

“I know,” said Trisha, “but this will slow you down. I play Swords of Revealing Light!”

She played a card, and a blizzard of swords blasted forward, surrounding Duncan and his Golem.

“I’ll end my turn there,” she said.

“Very well…” said Duncan, drawing.

He looked at the fancy Spell Card he had drawn.

“You can stall if you want, but I have all day,” he said. “I choose to pass for this turn…”

Trisha drew. It was a Spell Card.

This might come in handy, she thought. But not right now…

“I’ll pass as well,” she said.

Duncan drew.

“Well, my dear,” he said. “Let’s see if your Swords can protect you from my next move… Because frankly, they can’t.”

He played a card.

“I play a Spell Card called… Orichalcos Damper.”

A Spell Card appeared, resembling The Seal of Orichalcos, but blurry, as if the ink were running.

“What does that do?” asked Trisha.

Alister drew back in surprise…

Even he didn’t know what it did, and he thought he knew about all cards with the word “Orichalcos” in their names. He remembered well how Dartz had showed him the special cards in his personal deck… very frightening Monsters and other cards, including two additional layers to the Seal that only he was allowed to use…

Were there some of these Orichalcos cards that even Dartz hadn’t known about?

“It’s a Spell,” said Duncan, “a very special card called a Card of Sin.”

“I’m liking this less and less…” muttered Trisha.

Card of Sin? thought Alister, surprised. Okay, this is really new… Dartz would have never admitted that what he was doing was anything but holy… These guys are admitting that it’s a sin?

“Anyway…” said Duncan, “these cards can be used by whoever uses the Seal. Here’s how this one works. For the remainder of the round in which I use this card, the 500-Attack Point bonus that the Seal grants to my Monsters is temporarily negated.”

The Golem’s Attack returned to 3,000.

“Why on Earth would you do that?” asked Trisha.

“I’ll show you,” said Duncan. “I’ll summon my Ancient Gear Cannon…”

A large cannon made of gears and gewgaws appeared. (500/500)

The Seal bonded to it, but its Attack Score didn’t go up.

“Next I play… Machine Duplication.”

He played another Spell Card.

“This lets me summon two more Ancient Gear Cannons from my deck.”

Two more Cannons appeared.

“I get it!” exclaimed Russell. “Machine Duplication only works if the Machine has 500 Attack Points or less… So he had to nullify the bonus for it to work.”

Ingenious… thought Alister. The power behind the Orichalcos has learned new tricks, and has become deadlier…

“And now,” said Duncan, “by sacrificing my Cannons, each one of them can blast away 500 of your Life Points!”

The Cannons fired, and Trisha staggered back, falling against the wall of the Seal.

She groaned as she clutched her torso. That had really hurt…

So this is what an Orichalcos duel feels like… she thought.

The Cannons shattered.

[B](T: 4,000) (D: 5,800)

“Your move…” said Duncan.

The Orichalcos Damper card shattered, and Ancient Gear Golem regained 500 Attack Points.

Trisha drew a card.

It was Mechanicalchaser.

I’m getting there… she thought. One more good draw, and I’ll be closer to ending this…

“I’ll pass this turn,” she said.

Duncan clutched his forehead, as if he was dizzy.

“Ugh…” he muttered. “Now where was I…”

He drew a card.

“Oh, right…” he continued. “I summon a second Ancient Gear Soldier, in Attack Mode.”

He played a card, and another Soldier appeared. (1,300/1,300) –> (1,800/1,300)

“My turn is over,” he said, “and when it goes, so do your Swords…”

The Swords vanished.

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Cleo put a pair of binoculars down.

“Uh oh…” she said. “Looks like someone is getting a bad migraine…”

She, Sebastian, and Cassius were watching from the roof across the street.

“This may be bad, people…” muttered Cassius, rubbing his chin. “The boss warned us that these special cards might be physically draining.”

“Duh…” said Sebastian. “That’s why we wanted him to try it before we tried them ourselves.”

“You would think that cutting the power of the Seal would be less straining,” said Cleo.

“Actually,” said Sebastian, “I once heard that sometimes, it takes more energy to weaken something than it does to strengthen it. Besides, Orichalcos Damper is a Sloth Card, and Duncan really doesn’t seem like much of a slacker or a coward to me.”

“Well, keep close watch,” said Cassius. “If he has a heart attack and Trisha wins by default, we’ll know enough to stay away from these things…

“After all, Orichalcos Damper is nothing… compared to most of them.”

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Trisha closed her eyes and drew a card.

All right… she thought. Secret weapon time!

She took another card from her hand.

“All right, Duncan,” she said, “I’m about to go medieval… on your ass!”

She played the card.

“I play… Junk Dealer!” she exclaimed.

Russell took notice.

“That’s the new card she had!” he exclaimed. “What does it do?”

“Glad you asked, Russ,” she said, as she played it. “Junk Dealer lets me revive up to two Warriors or Machines from my Graveyard whose combined star level is seven or less, so long as I cut their Attack Scores in half.”

Nanobreaker and her first Machine King Prototype appeared. (800/1,800), (800/1,500)

“Humph,” said Duncan, holding his head again. “Your Junk Dealer card is well-named… The Monsters you brought back are no better than junk now.”

“Maybe they aren’t very formidable, but they’ll let me summon something that is,” she said, taking the card she had just drawn. “I play another Spell Card… Go, Sky Union!”

She played the card, and the three Monsters on her side of the field shattered into pixels.

“Sky Union lets me sacrifice three Monsters to summon an incredibly powerful Machine from my deck,” she said. “Let’s all welcome… Air Fortress Ziggurat!”

An enormous form arose above her. It was an enormous airship! It was circular, but the outline was broken up by hundreds and hundreds of turrets and laser cannons! Where the bridge would be was what looked like the head of some colossal action figure. It stared at Ancient Gear Golem with cold, emotionless eyes. (2,500/2,000)

“WHOAH!” shouted Jason. “When did you get that thing? It’s freakin’ awesome!”

“I’ll admit that that’s impressive Monster,” said Duncan, “but my Golem has 1,000 more Attack Points.”

“Not for long…” said Trisha with a grin. “I activate my Trap Card… Elemental Blight!”

Her Trap Card lifted, showing the image of Dark Ruler Ha Des blasting Elemental Mistress Doriado with evil energy.

"And behold, I shall be a blight upon the land and everything I touch shall wither and die!" said Trisha, with a smirk.

“Here’s how it works… I merely remove one Monster in my hand from play, and every Monster on the field with the same Attribute as the one I’m removing loses 1,500 Attack Points for one turn.”

“Well…” said Duncan with a shrug. “I guess you’ve got me…”

“Save it…” said Trisha. “You think I’m going to use an Earth Monster, but I know better – the Seal turns all your Monsters Dark, right?

“So I’m removing my Mechanicalchaser, who’s also Dark!”

She placed the card in a special slot in her Disk, and Ancient Gear Golem fell to 2,000 Attack. Ancient Gear Soldier also fell to 300 Attack.

“Air Fortress Ziggurat,” shouted Trisha, “turn his Golem to spare parts!”

The airship opened fire with all its guns, and a barrage of laser beams and missiles honed in on Ancient Gear Golem! It staggered back, and then exploded into miniscule pieces!

[B](T: 4,000) (D: 5,300)

“All right!” shouted Jason. “Ancient Gear Golem is ancient history!”

“I’ll end my turn,” said Trisha, “and by doing that…”

The Ziggurat’s “mouth” opened, and a creature dropped out of it and fell to the ground. It looked like some sort of man-sized action figure in robotic armor. It crouched in Defense Mode. (0/0)

“Each time I end my turn,” she explained, “I can create one of these Toy Robot Tokens, and you can’t attack the Ziggurat when at least one of them is on the field.”

Yes! thought Alister. I knew that she knew enough about Machine Monsters to use my best card like a pro… She’s going to punish this hoodlum good, and I’ll be able to say I helped!

Duncan drew a card.

He finally shook the fog out of his head.

“I sacrifice my Ancient Gear Soldier to summon Ancient Gear Beast!” he exclaimed.

Ancient Gear Soldier shattered, and a large, wolf-like creature made of metal and gears appeared, with razor-sharp teeth and claws. (2,000/2,000) –> (2,500/2,000)

“Attack her Token!” he shouted. “Piston pounce!”

Ancient Gear Beast pounced, and the Toy Robot Token shattered.

“So what are you going to do now?” he asked.

Trisha drew a card.

Sakuretsu Armor? she thought. Well, Traps are no good against his Monsters, but… why not?

She fit it into a slot.

“I place one card facedown,” she stated.

The card appeared.

“Then I summon Battle Footballer in Attack Mode…”

She played the card, and the football jersey-clad android appeared in an offensive position. (1,000/2,100)

“As for what I’m going to do…” she continued. “Air Fortress Ziggurat, fire on Ancient Gear Beast!”

The Ziggurat’s guns blazed, and the Beast howled! It was blown to pieces!

“What?” exclaimed Duncan. “That battle should have been a draw!”

“My Ziggurat can battle a Monster with equal Attack without being destroyed,” said Trisha. “A point I forgot to mention.

“And I’m not done… Battle Footballer, attack directly! Blitz tackle attack!”

Battle Footballer charged, and tackled Duncan, slamming into his gut! The convict was thrown against the wall of the Seal.

[B](T: 4,000) (D: 4,300)

He picked himself up, rubbing his head.

“You’ll pay for that…” he muttered.

“Come on…” said Trisha. “A big, tough guy like you doesn’t like to play football? I’m shocked.

“I end my turn.”

Another Toy Robot Token appeared.

Duncan drew a card.

“Heh, heh, heh…” he snickered.

“Did you really think you could destroy my Golem and be done with it?” he said. “That it would be all over with that? I had two in my deck, and I just drew the other one!”

“Oh?” asked Trisha. “What about sacrifices? As in, Ancient Gear Golem needs them?”

“With this,” he answered, showing her the last card in his hand. “A little thing called Ancient Gear Factory…”

“Oh no…” muttered Jason.

“What does that do?” asked Russell.

“Well,” said Duncan. “I certainly know what it does… But… for everyone else, why don’t you fill them in, Jason?”

He played the card, and with a rumbling sound, a huge contraption appeared behind him. It was a giant chamber, with a conveyor belt leading into it on the front, and a carousel on the top decorated with stars.

Jason glared at him.

“Ancient Gear Factory lets you summon a high-level Ancient Gear Monster with no sacrifice,” he growled, “so long as you remove from play Ancient Gear Monsters in your Graveyard whose total level stars equal twice the star level of the one you want to summon!”

“Your friend is smart,” said Duncan. “So in this case, I need to remove a total of sixteen…”

The contraption hummed to life, and two small cranes started feeding scrap metal onto the conveyor belt, which transferred it into the chamber. Steam started to rise, and the stars on the carousel lit up.

“So, I’ll remove both Soldiers, my Beast, and one Cannon…”

Four cards slipped out of his discard slot.

“And come forth, Ancient Gear Golem!”

The doors on the chamber opened, and the huge Golem stepped out! (3,000/3,000) –> (3,500/3,000)

“I don’t think I need to remind you…” said Duncan, “when the Golem attacks a Monster in Defense Mode, the difference between that Monster’s Defense Score and the Golem’s Attack Score is taken out of your Life Points…”

“NO!” screamed Russell. “That Token’s Defense is zero!”

“And now…” said Duncan with an evil grin, “attack the Toy Robot Token!”

The Golem smashed the token, and Trisha was thrown backwards hard, thrown violently against the barrier of the Seal.

She groaned…

[B](T: 500) (D: 4,300)

“My… move…” she said, stumbling to her feet.

She slowly drew a card.

“I play… Mystik Wok,” she said, playing a Spell Card. “And I’ll sacrifice my Battle Footballer to do so…”

Battle Footballer vanished, and she glowed with energy.

[B](T: 2,600) (D: 4,300)

“I’ll end my turn…” she muttered. “And I’ll opt not to have my Fortress create a token.”

“Pity,” said Duncan. “I was kind of hoping that the effect wasn’t optional…”

He drew a card.

Ancient Gear Drill? he thought. Eh, I need to discard something to use this. Well, who cares…

“Ancient Gear Golem,” he said, “ground that Air Fortress Ziggurat! Mechanized melee!”

The Golem socked the huge Machine with its fist, and sparks flew! Explosions erupted all over the airship, and flames started to fly from it!

Trisha shielded herself, as the huge Ziggurat shattered.

I’m so sorry, Trisha, thought Alister, hanging his head. It was the best I could do…

[B](T: 1,600) (D: 4,300)

Trisha looked at her hand. Then she looked on the field.

The only cards in her hand were 7 Completed and Call of the Haunted, which were pretty much useless right now. Her only card on the field was Sakuretsu Armor, which was worthless against the Golem.

There wasn’t a non-Tribute Monster left in her deck that could stand up to it even with 700 more Attack Points, and defending wouldn’t do any good…

She reached for her deck…

…the world around her started to turn bright…



Continued...

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



She looked around.

She was in what looked like a strange factory. Gears and pistons powered weird machines. The steady sound of machinery running was all around.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“You’re in a vital place,” said a voice that sounded mechanical.

She turned, and saw… Nanobreaker!

“You…” she said. “You can talk?”

“Trisha,” said the Machine in a monotonous, digital voice. “The programmer wishes your presence.”

“Programmer?” asked Trisha. “I’m not sure…”

Nanobreaker paused.

“Trisha,” she said. “You put me in your deck to serve as your avatar… You must trust me.

“I will tell you this… In the duel you are in, the chances of you winning right now are almost zero. However, if you follow me, we can increase the odds substantially…”

Trisha looked at her.

“Lead on…” she answered.

“Come,” said Nanobreaker.

She led her into a larger room, which was also full of machinery, but seemed to be dominated by bronze, gold and silver. Nanobreaker knelt, and placed her sword by her side.

“Lord Critias,” she said, bowing her head, “she has come…”

From out of the shadows came a splendidly dressed knight, clothed in sapphire blue armor and a cape, with a sword by his side.

“Who…” said Trisha.

“Welcome, Trisha,” said the knight. “I am Critias. You’ve seen my brother already – Jason holds his power now.”

“Timaeus?” asked Trisha.

Critias nodded.

“But more needs to be done,” said Critias. “I and my other brother must emerge. Only together can we fight the Orichalcos…

“Only together can the Dark Messiah be found.

“Trisha, I can grant you the power to fight the Orichalcos if you choose to accept it. But once this decision is made, it cannot be unmade.”

Trisha paused.

“I’d be honored…” she said.

“Then, brave duelist,” he said, “kneel…”

Trisha knelt, and bowed her head, as the knight drew his sword.

“Trisha Moise…” he said, touching her with the blade, “I grant you the power of Critias!

“Arise!”

Trisha felt energy flowing through her…

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Trisha opened her eyes…

She drew a card.

Jason noticed that the pouch where he kept his side deck was glowing.

He opened it and took out the card.

Timaeus… he thought.

Trisha looked at the card.

“I play…” she said.

She threw the card on her Disk.

[I]”The Fang of Critias!”

Thunder rolled, and the sky darkened…

“What’s happening?” asked Duncan.

From out of the sky, a huge form descended. It was a magnificent dragon with dark blue scales and a face that exuded wisdom. It flew right through the Seal, and landed by Trisha’s side!

Trisha’s facedown card lifted.

“Critias…” she said. “Merge with Sakuretsu Armor!”

The Trap Card and the great dragon swirled into a ball of light.

“WHAT?” shouted Duncan. “Since when can you fuse a Monster with a Trap?”

“Since right now,” said Trisha with a grin. “And I’m fusing them into Doom Armor Dragon!”

A huge dragon appeared, with gunmetal grey armor, studded with razor-sharp blades all over!

(0/0)

“Zero Attack Points and zero Defense Points?” asked Duncan, snidely. “Defending with that thing is asking to lose…”

“Who said I was defending?” answered Trisha. “Take a closer look – I’ve summoned Doom Armor Dragon… In Attack Mode!”

The Dragon growled.

“Fine,” said Duncan. “Your funeral…”

“I’ll place a card facedown, and end my turn,” said Trisha, fitting Call of the Haunted into a slot.

The card appeared.

“What part of ‘Traps don’t work’ don’t you understand?” asked Duncan with a grin.

He drew a card.

Eh, my other Ancient Gear Beast, he thought. No matter…

“Ancient Gear Golem… Attack!” he shouted.

The Golem lumbered forward…

“I was waiting for that, Duncan,” said Trisha, narrowing her eyes. “See, to make up for his nonexistent Attack and Defense, Doom Armor Dragon has a potent ability that can be used if he’s attacked while in Attack Mode.

“If that happens, I can offer him as a sacrifice… and the Monster that’s attacking him… goes boom…”

Doom Armor Dragon glowed… He roared and flew forward… Duncan gasped…

With a massive explosion, Ancient Gear Golem was blasted to pieces, and Duncan was thrown backwards!

He groaned…

He looked at disbelief at the smoldering crater where his Monster had been.

Doom Armor Dragon vanished.

“I uh…” he said, getting up.

He took a card from his hand.

Better bluff… he thought.

“I end my turn by placing one card facedown…”

“Then it’s my move!” shouted Trisha.

She drew.

Perfect… she thought. That facedown card has got to be a bluff, or he’d have set it before…

“I activate Call of the Haunted, to bring back Nanobreaker!” she shouted.

The card lifted, and Nanobreaker reappeared. (1,600/1,800)

“Now I play… 7 Completed!”

She played the Equip Card, and Nanobreaker rose to an Attack of 2,300.

“And finally…” she added, playing the last card in her hand. “I play Limiter Remover. Since you like Machine Monsters so much, I’m certain you know what this card does to them…”

Nanobreaker glowed with blue fire, and her Attack rose to 4,600!

“Go!” she shouted. “Attack him directly and end this!”

Nanobreaker leapt up, and slashed violently at the criminal with her sword, and he staggered back.

He fell to his knees…

“Game… over…” said Trisha.

[B](T: 1,600) (D: 0)

Duncan started to laugh as the Seal started to glow.

“HA, HA, HA!” he laughed, as the Seal started to shrink. “Like I said, my dear… If you have to go, go out big!”

The Seal contracted around him, and he collapsed, his face frozen in an insane grin.

Trisha paused as her two friends ran up to her.

She took The Fang of Critias out of her discard slot and looked at it.

“I won’t fail you…” she whispered.

“Trisha…” said Jason. “That dragon… is he…”

“I think he’s related to yours,” she answered.

There was a long pause.

“He said he had one other brother…” she added. “Once he appears, they’ll be stronger…”

She and Jason looked at Russell…

Russell gulped.

Alister smiled.

You did good Trisha, he thought. Take care of those cards… They’ll help you a great deal…

He turned and disappeared.

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Fortunado walked down a hallway with his three henchmen behind him.

“So,” said Cassius. “Now Timaeus and Critias have appeared. How does this affect your film?”

“It might actually make it more interesting,” said Fortunado. “I’ll have to give the Legendary Dragons billing, but at least I won’t have to pay them…”

“Sir,” said Cassius, “there is something else we should be concerned with… That Fortress that Trisha used… I know for a fact that it was the headliner of Alister’s deck. Don’t you think it’s kind of a coincidence that…”

“It isn’t a coincidence at all, Cassius,” interrupted Fortunado. “Alister gave it to her.”

The Swordsmen paused.

“The original Swordsmen are still around?” asked Cleo. “Suddenly I feel nervous…”

“Those three failures have been haunting this city for a long time,” said Fortunado. “They think nobody knows, but I sure do.

“And now, apparently, they want to poke their noses in where they don’t belong… Well, fine by me… If they continue to be a problem, I’ll have them taken care of.

“After all, they have no bodies anymore… The Orichalcos can hold them even tighter than it did the last time.

“At any rate, we’d best put the Seal away for now, and continue on the subplot…”

He opened a door.

Beyond it was a sinister-looking temple, with torches flickering. The smell of incense was in the air.

A dark figure turned to meet them. He looked rather annoyed.

“I’m working as fast as I can, Mr. Fortunado,” he said. “Your new operative will be ready by tomorrow morning.”

“He’d better be,” said Fortunado. “I don’t like to wait.”

“You rush the Master Specter, you wind up with rotten specters,” said the figure. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.”

“It would have been if I was paying by the hour!” answered Fortunado. “Besides, it isn’t like you have anything better to do…”

He and the three Swordsmen turned to leave.

“That spook worries me, boss,” said Sebastian. “How do we know he won’t turn on us with these creatures?”

“He worries me too,” said Cleo. “That card he has in his deck… What if he actually uses it? It seems to me like the Duel Monsters equivalent of pouring gasoline on a grease fire!”

“Trust me,” said Fortunado, “if he does anything uncouth, he’ll regret it…

“Greatly…”


Friday, September 17th, 2106, 7:36 PM




JUNK DEALER (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: A ragged and muscular junk man.

Card Description: Special Summon up to two WARRIOR- or MACHINE-Type Monsters from your Graveyard whose combined star levels do not exceed seven in Attack Position. The ATK of these Monsters is cut in half. These Monsters cannot attack during the round you use this card. You cannot use these Monsters as a Tribute for a Tribute Summon.



SKY UNION (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: Silhouette of a hulking, shadowy machine amid the clouds.

Card Description: Offer three Monsters as a Tribute to Special Summon one “Air Fortress Ziggurat” from your hand or deck.



AIR FORTRESS ZIGGURAT (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 8
ATK: 2,500
DEF: 2,000

Card Description: This powerful flying war machine was created using Dark World technology. This Monster cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This Monster can only be Special Summoned through the effect of “Sky Union”. This Monster is not destroyed when it battles a Monster with equal ATK. This Monster is not affected by your opponent’s Spell or Trap Cards. At the End Phase of your turn, you may Special Summon one “Toy Robot Token” (Machine/Earth/1 star/0 ATK, 0 DEF) in Defense Position. This Monster cannot be attacked so long as at least one “Toy Robot Token” is on your side of the field.


Note: “Junk Dealer”, “Sky Union”, and “Air Fortress Ziggurat” were used by Alister in the anime episode “Flight of Fear (Part Two)”. All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



ELEMENTAL BLIGHT (Trap Card)

Card Specs

Type: Trap
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: Dark Ruler Ha Des striking down Elemental Mistress Doriado with an evil spell.

Card Description: Remove from play one Monster Card in your hand. All Monsters on the field with the same Attribute as the Monster you remove from play lose 1,500 Attack Points until the End Phase of the current turn.



ORICHALCOS DAMPER (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell/Card of Sin
Attribute:
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Sin: Sloth

Image: Similar to “The Seal of Orichalcos”, but blurry, as if the ink were running.

Card Description: During the turn in which you use this card, the 500-point bonus that “The Seal of Orichalcos” grants to your Monsters does not apply.



THE FANG OF CRITIAS (Special Card)

Card Specs

Type: Special
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: A powerful dragon with deep blue scales.

Card Description: This card can fuse with any Trap Card to form a Monster of incredible power.

Note: “The Fang of Critias” first appeared in “Deja Duel! (Part Two)”. It was one of the main focuses of “Waking the Dragons”.



DOOM ARMOR DRAGON (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dragon/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 6
ATK: 0
DEF: 0

Card Description: This Dragon’s mere appearance gives the impression of danger. This Monster is descended by activating “The Fang of Critias” and offering one “Sakuretsu Armor” as a Tribute. If this Monster is attacked while in Attack Position, offer this Monster as a Tribute to destroy the attacking Monster.



Duncan’s Medieval Shadow Deck

There’s a big difference between a normal bank robber and a safecracker. If you barge into a bank and rob the place with a weapon, you’ll wind up a few thousand dollars richer at most. However, if you’re skilled enough to sneak into a closed bank, bypass the security system, and break open the vault, not to mention knowing exactly what to take, you could wind up with millions of dollars. Thus, a safecracker makes a much more respected criminal in the underworld than a crude armed robber.

Duncan has been a career criminal all his life, and knows the “proper” ways to commit crimes for maximum profit. Thus, he knows a great deal about machinery and computers. Thus, as a duelist, he favors not only Machines, but ones that are durable. And none are more durable in his opinion than the Ancient Gear Machines.

Having two Golems and two Beasts in his deck seems like a hard task, but one of the key points in Duncan’s strategy is summoning high-level Monsters quickly. He has many ways to do so, and this chapter only showed two methods: using Ancient Gear Castle and Ancient Gear Factory. Another clever way is to use Magnet Circle LV 2 to Special Summon one Ancient Gear, use its effect to Special Summon another, and then sacrifice them both. Yet another is through use of another creature in his deck, The Trojan Horse, which can summon the Golem with one sacrifice.

Duncan doesn’t use many Traps, but most of the ones he has are Counters. If a Golem or Beast is sent to the Graveyard, it’s usually a one-way trip, so he has many ways to negate Spell Cards that can destroy Monsters. He doesn’t worry much about Traps – after all, his most important Monsters are immune to most of them.

Of course, Duncan is a bit of a hypocrite. His criminal career relied on subtlety, and his dueling style… is anything but.



New Card Type: Card of Sin

Cards of Sin are cards created by the mysterious force currently behind the Orichalcos. Whether or not this is Leviathan or someone channeling its power is not known, but it is clearly someone or something of great evil and great magical prowess.

In effect, Cards of Sin are nothing new. Practically every card in Dartz’s personal deck except the actual Seal of Orichalcos was one, although he did not know it. After all, he refused to believe that his deeds were sins, even though they were. It is important to note that the Seal itself is not a Card of Sin – in effect, that card is the power source of all Cards of Sin, and is in a class by itself.

All Cards of Sin have different effects, but share a few things in common. First, not everyone can use one. To use The Seal of Orichalcos, one simply has to have darkness in his heart, and not necessarily be evil, the reason why Mai (who was simply scared and confused) and Atem (who was dark by nature) were able to use it. However, to use a Card of Sin, a duelist must truly have an evil soul, and have committed serious actual sins in his life. Note that the definition of “sin” is not the same as the definition of “crime”, although sins often lead to crimes.

Use of one of these cards is physically and mentally draining on an individual, and most minions don’t dare use more than one in a single duel. (Dartz had godlike willpower, and was able to use a whole deck of them with few ill effects – he was one of the exceptions that makes it a rule). There are seven different types of Cards of Sin, each type corresponding to one of the Seven Deadly Sins that define human nature: Pride, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, and Lust. The effect of the card is usually dependent on what sin the card represents. A duelist can use one of them more easily if the card’s sin is one he possesses in abundance. (This is why Orichalcos Damper was draining on Duncan – it was Sloth, and he didn’t have much of that.)

A Card of Sin cannot be played unless the duelist is currently using The Seal of Orichalcos, which is the power source for all of them. These cards are worthless otherwise. Most of these cards work with the Orichalcos in some way, strengthening Monsters under its influence and helping the minion. If the Card is a Monster, it gains the regular 500-point bonus that the Seal confers.

Rumors persist that the Cards of Sin have polar opposites called Cards of Virtue. If these cards exist, they may be the perfect thing to combat both them and the Orichalcos itself. How these cards may be obtained, however, is unknown.

Cards of Sin are restricted to this fanfic, and cannot be used elsewhere.



[B][I]Coming up next…

Another blast… From the anime past!

A student’s deck has been stolen, and Jason goes to get it back… But he must face a duelist so infamous, that almost all information on him has been classified! Who is he?

Find out, in “The Illusory Gentleman”, coming up next!

[Dark Sage]

[size=3][B]The “Who Said It?” Contest

"And behold, I shall be a blight upon the land and everything I touch shall wither and die!"



In the chapter you just read, Trisha said this to intimidate Duncan. However, she was not the first person to say this quote…

The question is…

Who said it?

Here are the rules of this contest:

The two winners of the first contest are ineligible.

PM me your answers.

If you get it right, I will put your name in a pool, and at the deadline, I will use a random number generator to determine a winner from those who got it right from the pool.

You only get one chance, so use it wisely.

Deadline is one week.


Now, here’s what you need to know. That quote above was spoken by a character in a work of fiction that was at least relatively recent. That’s the only clue you get. The work of fiction is not necessarily an anime, or even a television show, but it isn’t one so obscure that you have no chance to find it.

Your job is to both identify the character, and the work of fiction he appeared in. (If the work was a television program, the name of the episode is not necessary.)

Simple? Good. Now get on it.



The Prize: You’ve seen quite a few minions of the Orichalcos thus far, but let me tell you… a lot more exist. In fact, so many exist, there’s at least one that even I don’t know about!

That’s because the winner of this contest will get to put his villainous mind to work and design a minion who will appear in the final arc of this story. The villain’s appearance, mannerisms, deck strategy… Everything.

So…

Who said it?

Good luck.

[jkBAKURA]

Hey, I actually know the answer to this one!

[Shuppet Master]

Well, I don't. I suck at quotes which aren't related to Square-Enix's work or Pokemon, so I can't participate. (In fact, I never heard this quote before!) However, since I got a nice user character, I won't be upset.

[Silencer]

Might I suggest giving the oncoming deckthemes to the winner? You don't want to have 2 times the same kind off deck do you?

[Pokemasterkatie]

It looks Shakespearish...but I've never read his books, unfortunately.:p

Looks like someone's been reading Tilting the Balance!XD But the Cards of Sin are still pretty cool.

A villian from the animé? And that clue gives me a few guesses...that are from the Duel Monsters animé. But one villain's still not out...if we can take Chumley's graduation into account!

[Dark Sage]

I intend to, Silencer. I intend to. The winner will have a lot of info to work with.

And the next chapter will be up soon. Sooner than you think.

- Brian

[Master of Paradox]

Looks like someone's been reading Tilting the Balance!XD But the Cards of Sin are still pretty cool.

Just to cut off any speculation down that avenue, it's sheer coincidence. The two stories and the concepts therein were thought up independently a long time before either of them started being posted.

[Dark Sage]

Yes... I spoke to MoP before this chapter went to print to assure him that I did not plagarize his work. I thought this up long before his Cards of Night ever appeared.

And mine are different. In his fic, evil is in the eye of the beholder. In my fic, evil is a true power that is very prevailant. The Cards of Sin are most certainly evil.

Most would assume that the Cards of Night are too, but in TtB, that's only the opinion of whoever is observing, and no judgment can be made.

[Blademaster]

Well, I'm officially confused...

But this was a good chapter, overall. The Ancient Gear theme is getting old quickly, but Alister's cards made up for it, I suppose. Nice use of them.

Later.

-Blade

[Shuppet Master]

Well, this IS fiction, Blademaster, and it's sort of connected to Yu-Gi-Oh, which ignores political and economic stuff. (I mean, if the Doma arc was real, the armies wouldn't be asking Yugi and Kaiba to help beat Dartz, they'd be firing nukes at the tower non-stop!)

[Dark Sage]

It takes a LOT to get me angry, but you just did, Blademaster.

I live in New York. The people here are friendlier and more helpful than you think. I ride the subway all the time, and people never hesitate to give their seats to someone who needs it more. People are courteous, and when a crisis grips the city (most recently I'll use the subway strike as an example) people support each other and help each other more.

At one point, a city crisis would have caused an explosion of crime and looting. There was none of that during the strike. Total strangers banded together to help others commute and avoid disaster.

I went to a major NYC University, and it was full of "kind, law abiding students". Pace University had no major issues with students violating laws (unlike some more upper class schools in the country that I won't mention right now) and ninety percent of my class graduated.

New York isn't perfect, but it isn't a rat's nest. It's a nice place to live if you give it a chance. Maybe you have to be a native to appreciate it like I am. And my hope is that in the future, it will be the greatest city in the world, just like it is right now.

At least in the minds of everyone who lives here.

If you don't like it, stay out of it.

[Dark Sage]

Think you're off the hook just because you edited your post, Blademaster?

Well, you aren't.

I still know it was there, and I won't forget.

[Blademaster]

It takes a LOT to get me angry, but you just did, Blademaster.

Oh, great... Why do I always seem to say the worst possible thing in any situation...?

DS, I'm sorry. Seriously, I did NOT mean to offend you. I've been to New York City a few times, but maybe I've just gone to the wrong places. My most recent jaunt to New York City was on a class field trip to Queens. I think it was a place called Jackson Heights... Port Jackson, something like that, anyway. And it was scary. I was hit on by a 35-year old Latina prostitute, asked for money by a homeless Hindu, and approached by a black pimp who didn't talk to me - he 'meeped' at me like the Road Runner did in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Honest to God -you CAN'T make up stuff like that. I was scared, even with a class of 2 dozen college students.

Before that, I went to a few other places in New York, and a lot of the memories weren't much better. As a kid, I went to the Natural History Museum and got lost the first few times and another time I got in trouble for touching the dinosaur bones. I took the bus and subway to the Beacon Theatre last fall, and not a minute passed that some stranger was hatefully glaring at me on the subway. And a 5 summers ago, I went to the World Trade Center, only to see it collapse a few weeks later...

I know my view of New York may not be a great one, but I've been there several times; I'm just speaking MY mind from MY experience. New York probably is a lot nicer than I think, but I'm still leary of the place, and the fact that I wasn't allowed to go there for almost 4 years after 9/11 because my paranoid family was afraid I'd be the victim of a terrorist attack didn't make things any better.

And please understand that I wasn't attacking New York City, DS - I'm just saying is that I took World Geography classes all year this year, and I learned that most major cities advance in 'steps.' Step 1 is when the city is first settled and is growing. Step 2 is when the city grows larger and larger, both in area and population. Step 3 is when the city is in 'full bloom,' with millions of people and an advanced economy - as well as overpopulation and housing and social services beginning to run out. Finally, Step 4 is when the city is pretty much split into a healthy, successful power and a 'downtown' area. Now, I'm assuming that New York City is pretty much at Step 3 today, so... you do the math. I was just saying what I think is going to happen, hopefully as a worst-case scenario and not a reality.

I live just outside of New York, DS - I don't wanna agitate anyone or cause any problems, and I'm sorry that I got you angry - I was just saying, is all...

-Blademaster

[jkBAKURA]

Just as warriors seem to be growing more popular, so iit shall be with the Aincent Gears.

Jokes aside, this duel kept it's individuality from the one in Tilting the Balance, and even managed to remain seperate from Crowler, their original player, and take on a life of its own (even if some of the combos were indeed used before)

Tricia is so far unlike any other Machine duelist I've seen in fanfiction, then again many of the cards are more recent. Tell me, is Ziguraat going to be a one time thing, or will it become a reacurring (though probably seldom used) monster? Not that it's tottally out of character by any means.

I don't know, I just don't feel like we've seen enough of her deck yet, but then again this is only her third duel, and she probably has many more then her starting fourty cards, so if I can be patient long enough, I'm sure her deck and character will continue to develop.

The stratagies were good, but the descriptions were nothing new. While the classics need to remain the same, sometimes a more unorthadox visual representation is refreshing. But at least you didn't try to fix something that wasn't broken.

I kind of hope my User character will show up soon, but until then I really can't complain.

My review of this chapter is now complete. If you need me, I'll be refreshing the fanfiction page over and over looking for more updates.

Enjoy your lives people. I wish I had one.

[Inferno_Dragon]

So Alistar helps out Tricia by adding some of his powerful cards to her deck .... that sort of reminds me of another Swordsman who gives some of his cards to Diane. But the Cards of Sin are interesting. When I heard of that, I suddenly thought of the Shadow Spawn's Soul Cards and how it related to their sins.

But a good chapter indeed.

I might try the contest, I might not be good when it comes to quotes but I shall try.

Keep up the good work, DS.

[Mystic_clown]

*pants* sorry I've been gone for so long.

First of all, I loved the way you characterised Janus and Omaly. Depending on how things go with them, I might even write a spin-off.

Shuppet: Yeah, I am a Bakura fan, but I was more thinking of Jekyll and Hyde when I came up with them.

[envoy of time]

So Trisha uses Critias nice.I thought Critias was my favorite of the dragons because his potential was limetless, the others seemed a bit goofy. Who is this mysterious spook?Will Russell ever meet hermos?Only time will tell.

"May time be on your side."

[Dark Sage]

[B][I]When Ansel dueled Panik – or someone claiming to be him – I didn’t know what to make out of it. Was Panik an imposter, or was he some phantom come back to some form of pseudo-life?

Whichever the case, I know now that this Panik was only the tip of the iceberg.

Another of these strange phantasms has appeared, and he’s done something that is unforgivable. I must find him and defeat him…

I hope I can, because according to legend, this guy was no slouch…

This guy has a Monster in his deck that’s so rare, the only other person known to have one was the one who defeated him, the King of Games himself…

[size=3][B]CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Saturday, September 18th, 2106, 12:10 PM



News reports often raised more questions than they answered, and that was certainly the case.

“Escaped convict Daniel Duncan was found by police on the top level of the Mall of Manhattan’s parking garage,” said the newscaster, “in a strange catatonic state. The notorious convict remains in a strange coma, and no one is certain just how he wound up in this condition.”

Only a few knew the truth…

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Jason and Russell were waiting outside the conference room.

Just like Jason had, Trisha had been called there for a talking to.

Eventually, she came out.

“Well?” asked Russell.

“Basically,” moaned Trisha, “she had my butt for lunch!”

She looked at The Fang of Critias.

“This is the most powerful card I have ever seen,” she said. “Able to fuse with any Trap Card in the game to form something lethal…”

They all looked at each other.

“Guys, we have to do some research…” said Jason.

“How?” asked Trisha. “We don’t even know how to spell the word ‘Orichalcos’!”

“Easy,” said Russell, sarcastically. “We’ll just look in the database for cursed magical artifacts…

“…under ‘O’…”

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Three hours later, the three of them were at the computers at the library.

And they were getting nowhere fast…

“No good…” muttered Jason. “Not even a reference to ‘Orichalcos’, ‘Timaeus’, ‘Critias’, or ‘Dark Messiah’…”

“Hang on a sec,” said Russell, who was searching through the microfiche.

“Here we go…” he said. “I found something dated about ninety years ago…

“An author named Lester Grimes intended to publish a book called White Lightning: A Biography of Seto Kaiba. He wrote the manuscript without Kaiba’s knowledge, but before he published it, he announced that it would portray all of Kaiba’s ‘heroic’ life, including his encounter with something called the Orichalcos…”

Trisha looked at the screen.

“So that’s how you spell it,” she said.

“Kaiba immediately demanded to see Grimes,” continued Russell, “and wanted to see the manuscript, and Grimes happily complied…

“…and once he had, Kaiba filed a lawsuit to stop its publication, claiming it was full of slander.

“Halfway though the lawsuit, Kaiba made an offer to Grimes that he would let the book be published, but only if he was allowed to personally edit it. Grimes felt he would lose the case anyway, and accepted.

“The book was published, and became reasonably successful, but no mention of anything called Orichalcos was in it.”

There was a long pause.

“Seems there was stuff in the original draft that Kaiba didn’t want the public to know,” said Trisha.

“Obviously,” said Jason. “So the mystery deepens…”

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

When they got back to the dorm, and entered the common room, they were met by a surprise.

Old Ben and Dr. Artemis were in the common room, trying to calm a student who seemed incredibly scared. Trisha was shocked to see who it was.

“Malvolio?” she said.

“What happened to him?” asked Jason.

“Something serious,” said Artemis. “Someone dueled him, and then stole his deck.”

Jason’s eyes opened wide.

“The beast…” he muttered.

“So fast, didn’t see it coming…” gasped Malvolio. “So fast, didn’t see it coming…”

“Try to calm yourself, Mal,” said Ben. “Get a grip!”

“Ben,” scolded Artemis. “Don’t you realize the gravity of this situation? Someone has stolen a student’s deck. You of all people should realize how serious that is!”

“I know…” muttered Ben, slouching.

She put her arm around Malvolio.

“Malvolio,” she said, in a comforting voice, “try to calm down, and tell us who did this…”

“Ar… Ar…” he stuttered. “Arkana…”

“Arkana?” said Jason in surprise.

Ben scratched his chin.

“Lovely,” he said. “His deck was stolen by Arkana… Or someone claiming to be him. And this will be hard, because information about him was classified by the Council.”

“I know a little about him,” replied Artemis. “He was a Rare Hunter who was one of Yugi’s opponents in the first Battle City. The reason talking about him is taboo is because he used Yugi’s signature card, Dark Magician, and perverted its use, disrespecting his cards. He cut up and trimmed his cards to manipulate where they’d end up when he shuffled – no respectable duelist would intentionally damage his cards…”

“Malvolio,” asked Ben, “did this guy use Dark Magician?”

Malvolio shivered.

“I’ve seen pictures of Dark Magician…” muttered Malvolio. “This was not the same Monster! He was different… He was… evil…”

“Mmm,” muttered Artemis. “Arkana used a different variant than Yugi used… A rare version of a card that was already incredibly rare…”

Jason looked at Malvolio’s feet.

A stuffed toy had been dropped there. It was some sort of funny-looking gnome or troll dressed in colorful clothes and a pointed cap.

He picked it up.

“Where did this come from?” he asked.

“He was clutching that when he came in here,” said Ben. “I have no idea what it is…”

Jason looked at it.

“Mr. Puck…” he said.

“Huh?” said Russell. “Mr. Puck? What’s with the toy gnome?”

“It isn’t a gnome…” muttered Jason, “it’s an elf…”

They all looked at him.

“Guys,” said Jason, “I’ve got to go somewhere… Keep trying to calm Malvolio down…”

He rushed out the door.

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

A short subway ride to Brooklyn later, he was standing outside an old factory.

The sign on the front said, MONARCH TOY COMPANY, along with many signs that said “condemned” and “keep out”. On the roof was the same company name, along with pictures of the traditional King of Spades and Queen of Hearts, faded with age.

He went up to the front door, and found that the boards that had nailed it shut had been removed. He walked in. A light came from a room up ahead…

After moving inward for a few minutes, he found himself in a large room full of what appeared to be macabre stage magician tools…

A guillotine… A fortunetelling machine with a wax statue of an ugly hag-like gypsy inside… An iron maiden with its door ajar… Grotesque puppets… Several demonic masks…

It looked like a bad dream.

The center of the floor had been cleared away, and a five-pointed star in a circle – a magical pentagram – was painted on it.

“You might as well come out,” he said. “I know you’re in here…”

A cackling laughter echoed through the room, and blue smoke started to rise at the other end…

From out of the smoke stepped a tall figure. He was dressed in a formal tuxedo colored purple, with an oversized bow tie with stripes, and a top hat. Most remarkably, he wore a large, striped domino mask.

“So,” he said, snidely, “you found me…”

“It wasn’t hard…” said Jason, tossing the toy gnome on the floor. “You left a clue I could recognize…

“My sister got one of these toys when she was two. But I know that the Mr. Puck line of dolls was discontinued when the company that made them – this one – went out of business three years ago.

“And I want answers, Arkana, if that’s truly who you are. Arkana has been dead for a hundred years, and I think you’re something more than just an imposter…”

“Oh, ho, ho, ho,” snickered Arkana. “That’s a good question, Jason. Am I an imposter? Or am I the real Arkana, brought back to life by some powerful spell?

“I’m afraid that’s one question that I can’t answer right now…”

“Fine,” said Jason. “But I’m not leaving without Malvolio’s deck! You don’t steal a duelist’s deck, Arkana! That’s hitting below the belt!”

“You want his deck back?” laughed Arkana. “Well, it’s somewhere in this room, but you’ll never find it on your own…

“Make you a deal… Duel me, and if you win, I’ll gladly give it back…”

One of the Orichalcos Duel Disks appeared on his arm, and then a deck of cards appeared in his hand, which he started to shuffle.

“Fine…” said Jason. “If that’s what it will take…”

He shuffled his own deck, secretly placing The Eye of Timaeus in as he did.

“Well,” said Arkana as the Disks activated, “it’s showtime! Let the curtain rise, and the show begin!”

“Disk away!” shouted Jason.

[B](Jason: 8,000) (Arkana: 8,000)

“Let’s begin!” laughed Arkana, drawing a first card.

He chose a card from his hand.

“I summon the Malice Doll of Demise…” he stated.

He played a card, and a sinister-looking, wooden puppet holding a nasty axe appeared in front of him. (1,600/1,700)

“Next, I’ll play… Ectoplasmer!”

He played a Spell Card, and it appeared behind the Doll. Jason raised an eyebrow.

“This diabolic Spell Card requires each duelist to sacrifice one Monster at the end of their turns,” he explained. “The very soul of the sacrificed Monster is then transformed into a destructive form of energy called ectoplasm. This is fired at the opposing player for damage equal to half of the sacrificed Monster’s Attack Score.

“And so…”

He snapped his fingers, and Malice Doll of Demise slumped over…

A ghostly spirit flew out of it, and shot towards Jason! He cringed as it hit him.

The remains of the Doll vanished.

[B](J: 7,200) (A: 8,000)

“All right, Arkana,” said Jason, drawing a card. “If you want to play dirty, I’m as game as you are…”

He placed a card on his Disk.

“I summon the D.D. Warrior Lady in Attack Mode.”

A beautiful woman dressed in a silvery leotard with long sleeves, holding a gleaming sword appeared. (1,500/1,600)

“Attack directly!” he shouted. “Dimensional slice!”

D.D. Warrior Lady flew forward, and slashed at the conjurer with her sword! Arkana grunted.

“And I’m not done,” continued Jason. “I happen to know that both duelists can use Ectoplasmer’s effect. So I’ll use it on my Warrior!”

D.D. Warrior Lady fell to her knees…

And then her spirit arose from her body, and slashed at Arkana with her sword again! The magician’s hat fell from his head.

D.D. Warrior Lady vanished.

[B](J: 7,200) (A: 5,750)

Arkana growled, and retrieved his hat.

“Ha, ha!” laughed Jason. “Got you good!”

“Clever,” said Arkana, placing the hat back on his head, “but you’ll soon learn the penalties for trying to heckle the headliner!”

He drew…

And then he snapped his fingers. In a burst of dark energy, Malice Doll of Demise reappeared! (1,600/1,700)

“What?” said Jason. “How? You didn’t even do anything!”

“When this Monster is sent to the Graveyard by means of a Continuous Spell Card, he comes right back on my next turn,” said Arkana. “Admittedly, there are very few cards that can do that, so this Monster was made to combo with Ectoplasmer!

“Next, I’ll summon a Spellcaster named Mythical Beast Cerberus in Attack Mode…”

He placed a card down, and a glowing hound with two heads appeared. (1,400/1,400)

“Next,” he said, “I’ll play Pot of Greed from my hand…”

He played the card, and drew two cards.

“And whenever a Spell Card is played, by either of us, Cerberus gains 500 Attack Points!”

Cerberus glowed, and grew to 1,900 Attack. Jason gulped.

“However,” added Arkana, “when I actually decide to attack with him, he goes back to his original level, so I won’t attack you with him just yet…

“But my Doll is another story! Malice Doll of Demise, attack him directly! Heaver cleaver!”

The Doll hurled its axe at Jason, and he staggered back, wincing in pain.

“And now I’ll activate Ectoplasmer again!” laughed Arkana.

The Doll slumped down again, and its spirit shot towards Jason again! He screamed and fell over.

“I end my turn,” laughed Arkana, as the Doll vanished.

[B](J: 4,800) (A: 5,750)

All right, thought Jason, making a draw, I’m gonna do what I should have done on my first turn…

He played a card.

“Say goodbye to that Ectoplasmer card!” he exclaimed. “I play Mystical Space Typhoon!”

The whirlwind ripped across the arena, blowing the Spell Card to bits.

Mythical Beast Cerberus rose to 2,400 Attack.

“Next, I’ll summon Vorse Raider in Attack Mode,” he said.

Vorse Raider appeared, holding his axe high. (1,900/1,200)

“And I’ll end with a facedown card,” he said.

He played a card, and a facedown card appeared.

“Oh, a facedown card!” said Arkana. “Whatever will I do?”

He drew a card, and then snapped his fingers again. Malice Doll of Demise returned again. (1,600/1,700)

“I think I will place one facedown as well,” he said. “And that will be all…”

A facedown card appeared.

Jason drew. He considered for a minute.

“Vorse Raider, attack that Doll!” he shouted.

Vorse Raider leapt up, and brought his axe down on the Fiend, splitting it like a piece of wood.

[B](J: 4,800) (A: 5,450)

“Your Doll split!” said Jason. “And it looks like your facedown card was a big bluff…”

“Yes…” muttered Arkana. “Parting is such sweet sorrow…”

He drew a card.

Perfect… he thought. Jason will soon learn how lethal it is to match wits with a conjurer as trained as I am…

After all, when you have Monsters that are high-level, you learn tricks on how to summon them fast, getting around sacrifice conditions…

And I don’t need to cheat to outduel some college preppy!

“I play Monster Reincarnation,” he said, playing a Spell Card.

“Now, by discarding one card…”

He discarded a card.

“I can bring Malice Doll of Demise back to my hand…”

The card slipped out of his discard slot.

“Him again…” muttered Jason.

“And since I just played a Spell Card, Cerberus gets even stronger!” added Arkana.

Mythical Beast Cerberus grew to 2,900 Attack.

“Cerberus, attack his Vorse Raider!” shouted Arkana. “Mythic blast!”

The Mythical Beast’s two heads breathed out blue flames…

“I activate… Mirror Force!” shouted Jason.

His Trap lifted, and the flames turned back on Cerberus, blowing it to shards!

“You little brat!” shouted Arkana.

“Gotcha…” said Jason, with a grin.

Then he frowned. He never liked using that Trap…

Kaiba could have easily put Mirror Force in his deck, but he was reluctant to use anything that his rival was so fond of.

But Jason couldn’t afford to be as flexible as someone who could afford to put almost any card he desired in his deck. If a duelist of his level got ahold of a Mirror Force, he used it. He’d be a fool not to.

“I’ll summon my Doll back in Defense Mode…” growled Arkana.

He played the card, and the Doll appeared again, shielding itself with its axe. (1,600/1,700)

I’ll teach him to upstage me, he thought.



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



Jason drew a card.

Ryu-Kishin Powered.

Not bad, he thought.

He placed it on his Disk.

“I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered in Attack Mode,” he exclaimed.

The fiendish gargoyle appeared. (1,600/1,200)

“You took the bait!” laughed Arkana. “I activate my Trap!”

His facedown card lifted, and an ominous coffin appeared in front of him, with a pentagram on the front…

It opened, and sucked both Malice Doll of Demise and Ryu-Kishin Powered inside! Then it slammed shut!

“What happened?” shouted Jason.

“It’s a rare Trap called Dark Renewal,” said Arkana. “A very special sort of version of Soul Exchange, in a way… When you summon a Monster, I can sacrifice it along with one of mine to Special Summon a Spellcaster from my Graveyard.”

“Fine,” said Jason. “Bring back Cerberus… Vorse Raider will crush him…”

“Who said anything about Cerberus?” asked Arkana, as the coffin started to glow.

Jason paused.

“That card that you discarded when you used Monster Reincarnation…” he muttered. “Don’t tell me it was…”

“It was!” laughed Arkana, as the coffin opened. “The opening act is over… Now the real show can begin! Dark Magician, you’re on!”

A sinister figure stepped out of the coffin.

“Super…” muttered Jason.

Jason had seen DVDs of Yugi’s duels many times, and had seen his Dark Magician in action in a lot of them. But Yugi’s famed Spellcaster was dressed in royal purple, and had a kind, gentle face.

This guy, however, was a wicked parody. His robes were blood red, his hair was shock white, and his expression suggested insanity. (2,500/2,100)

“That’s a blasphemy…” he muttered.

“Says who?” asked Arkana. “I’m the ultimate master of magicians, a sorcerer supreme! Yugi may have bested me with that harlot Spellcaster of his, but I’m back, he’s not, and I’ll soon reclaim the title of the true Master of the Dark Magician!”

“Harlot?” said Jason, angrily, taking a card from his hand. “Dark Magician Girl is no harlot!”

He looked at his cards.

That guy may be Dark Magician’s evil twin, he thought, but unfortunately, for all practical purposes, he’s the same Monster. And as anyone who dueled Yugi could attest, defeating him is incredibly hard…

“I’ll place a card facedown,” he said, “and move Vorse Raider to Defense Mode…”

A facedown card appeared. Vorse Raider knelt, and held his axe in his lap.

“…and I end my turn.”

Arkana drew a card.

“Stop me if you’ve heard this one…” he said with a grin. “A lunatic walks into a card store, and he tells the guy behind the counter, ‘I’d like a bag of carrots’.”

Jason raised an eyebrow.

“And the guy says,” he continued, “’We don’t sell carrots, now get lost!’ And the lunatic leaves. The next day, the same lunatic comes in, and tells the same guy, ‘I’d like a bag of carrots’.”

Jason looked at him, annoyed.

“And the clerk gets angry, and says, ‘We don’t have carrots! You come in here again, I’m going to nail you to the wall!’ And the lunatic leaves again.”

Now Arkana’s Dark Magician started to look annoyed…

“The day after that, the lunatic comes in again, and he tells the clerk, ‘I’d like a bag of nails.’ And the clerk gets really mad, and says, ‘We don’t have any nails!’

“And the lunatic says, ‘In that case, I’d like a bag of carrots!’”

Jason stared at him.

“Boy…” he said. “I haven’t heard something that funny since I had a root canal…”

“Okay…” answered Arkana. “I’ll stick to stage magic then.”

“Case in point, for my next trick…” he said, choosing another card, “the great Arkana will make Vorse Raider… disappear!”

He played a card.

“By playing the Spell Card… Thousand Knives! This Spell lets my Dark Magician wipe out any opposing Monster!”

Like I said… thought Jason.

The Dark Magician gripped two glowing daggers, and then hurled a swarm of them forward!

“Not so fast!” shouted Jason. “I activate Spell Shield Type-8!”

His Trap Card lifted, and a weird machine appeared in front of Vorse Raider.

“This negates your Spell Card! And because Thousand Knives targets a Monster, I don’t have to pay a dime.”

The daggers fizzled.

“Fine…” growled Arkana. “I still have his normal attack! Dark Magician, attack Vorse Raider!”

The wicked sorcerer aimed his staff, and with a burst of eldritch energy, blew Vorse Raider into shards.

Got to do something… thought Jason, drawing a card.

He set a card down.

“I summon Peten the Dark Clown in Defense Mode,” he said.

Peten appeared, crouching in Defense. (500/1,200)

“That’s all you could do?” asked Arkana. “A clown?”

“Look who’s talking…” answered Jason.

Arkana drew a card.

“I’ll place a Monster in Defense Mode…” he said.

A facedown Monster appeared.

“Dark Magician, attack his Clown!”

Dark Magician blew Peten away.

“Fine,” said Jason. “But destroy one Peten, and I get to summon a second one…”

Another Peten appeared.

“He just hates to say goodbye…” he added.

“But you will shortly,” said Arkana, “make your move…”

Jason drew a card.

It was Polymerization.

That’s what I’m talkin’ about! he thought.

“I summon Saggi the Dark Clown,” he said.

He played a card, and another goofy jester appeared. (600/1,500)

“You actually put that worthless Monster in your deck?” asked Arkana.

“Don’t call him worthless,” said Jason, angrily. “I put him in my deck for the same reason that Kaiba did…

“I believed in him.

“And now I’m going to use him to summon a Spellcaster that’s even stronger than yours, Arkana. I fuse Saggi and Peten together with Polymerization!”

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

“So, where do you think Jason went?” asked Russell.

“He sure seemed to know where he was going,” answered Trisha.

Her face fell.

“Poor Malvolio…” she said sadly. “His deck was the product of a century of planning and strategy, and it had a lot of rare cards… And for all we know, that guy who took it is selling his cards to some dealer in Chinatown…”

“It’s not right…” said Russell. “A duelist’s whole… essence is in his cards, it’s what defines him. They shouldn’t be taken by another! If I ever find this Arkana, I’m gonna rip him a new one…”

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

From out of the vortex came a tall figure. He was dressed in a jester’s outfit, completely black and white, with a foolscap and a dark mask, not unlike Arkana’s.

“Meet Dark Harlequin!” said Jason, triumphantly.

(2,000/1,500)

“Impressive,” said Arkana, “but you were wrong on one aspect… Your Harlequin is 500 Attack Points weaker than Dark Magician.”

Dark Harlequin grinned at this remark…

“Oh really?” said Jason. “Well, why don’t I just explain his special ability! He gains an extra 700 Attack Points if there’s a Dark Attribute Monster face-up on the field, other than himself.”

Arkana paused.

“But the only other face-up Monster on the field…” he started.

“…is your Dark Magician,” interrupted Jason, “emphasis on the word ‘Dark’.

“Dark Harlequin, attack with acrobatic flip!”

Arkana’s Dark Magician gulped…

Dark Harlequin leapt up, and did a somersault, and drop-kicked Dark Magician, smashing him to bits!

“So much for that!” laughed Jason. “I end my turn…”

[B](J: 4,800) (A: 5,250)

“Ooh, this is getting annoying…” muttered Arkana, drawing a card. “No matter… A good conjurer is always prepared…

“I flip my facedown Monster into Attack Mode…”

The facedown Monster flipped, and revealed a scaly green creature with spines all over its body. (1,600/1,800)

“A Des Feral Imp!” exclaimed Jason.

“Yes,” said Arkana, “and by Flip-Summoning it, I get to take one card from my Graveyard, and shuffle it back into my deck.”

A card fell out of his discard slot.

“I’ll give you one guess what one it is!” he said with a grin, showing him the Dark Magician card.

He placed the card in his deck, and reshuffled.

“Incidentally, Jason,” he said, “my chances of drawing him again are better than you might think, since I have two copies in my deck.

“But right now, I’ll summon a Spellcaster of a different color. I sacrifice my Imp, to summon the Chaos Command Magician!”

Des Feral Imp vanished, and a tall Spellcaster in glossy black robes and a pointed hat carrying a staff appeared. (2,400/1,900)

Dark Harlequin frowned.

“And since this guy isn’t a Dark Monster,” he continued, “he can easily defeat your Harlequin. Chaos Command Magician, attack the Dark Harlequin with chaos magic!”

Chaos Command Magician shot forth a blast of rainbow-colored light, and Dark Harlequin cringed before he was blown away.

[B](J: 4,400) (A: 5,250)

“Nuts…” muttered Jason.

“It’s your move…” said Arkana, with a sinister smile.

“Fine,” said Jason, as he drew.

“And I play Pot of Greed.”

He played the card, and drew two cards.

“Your mage is going down,” said Jason. “I summon Battle Ox!”

He played the card, and the minotaur appeared. (1,700/1,000)

“He can’t defeat Chaos Command Magician,” laughed Arkana.

“He’ll be able to in a minute,” said Jason. “I play… Shrink!”

He played the card, and Chaos Command Magician gasped, and shrank to half his size, falling to an Attack Score of 1,200.

“Battle Ox, get him!”

The Beast Warrior made a swipe with his axe, and Chaos Command Magician shattered.

Arkana gritted his teeth.

[B](J: 4,400) (A: 4,750)

“That narrows the gap,” said Jason. “It’s your move…”

Arkana drew a card.

He grinned evilly.

“I summon Double Coston in Attack Mode,” he said.

He played the card, and two black globs with faces connected by an energy cord appeared. (1,700/1,650)

“And I’ll also set a card facedown…” he said.

A facedown card appeared.

I know that Monster… thought Jason. If he sacrifices it for a Dark Attribute Monster, it counts as two Monsters!

He drew a card.

Eh, this will cost me Battle Ox, but I have to stop him from summoning his Dark Magician again!

“Battle Ox, attack Double Coston!” he shouted.

Battle Ox lifted his axe…

“I activate… Zero Gravity!” shouted Arkana.

His Trap Card lifted, and both Battle Ox and Double Coston shifted into Defense Mode.

“This Trap Card changes the battle positions of all Monsters on the field,” he said with a grin. “Moving both our beasts from offense to defense.”

Jason put a card on his Disk.

“Then I’ll place one Monster in Defense Mode…” he stated.

A facedown Monster appeared.

“…and I’ll end my turn.”

Arkana drew a card.

“And now,” he said, “I’ll sacrifice my Double Coston, and behold, ladies and gentlemen, as Dark Magician makes his triumphant return!”

Double Coston vanished, and the evil Dark Magician appeared again. (2,500/2,100)

“Attack his Battle Ox!” ordered Arkana.

Dark Magician fired a blast, and Battle Ox was blown away.

“You’re lucky he was in Defense Mode,” laughed Arkana. “So make your move…”

Jason drew a card.

Hmmm… he thought.

“I place one card facedown, and that will be all…” he said.

A facedown card appeared.

“Very well,” said Arkana, drawing a card.

This might come in handy later, he thought.

“Attack his facedown Monster!” he shouted.

Dark Magician fired a blast…

A small lizard-man carrying a sword appeared on the card, and was blown to bits.

“Sorry, Arkana,” said Jason, “but that was a Troop Dragon. And he has an ability similar to Peten’s – destroy one, and another takes its place.”

Another Troop Dragon appeared, crouching in Defense Mode. (700/800)

“Then it’s your move…” said Arkana.

Jason drew.

“I’m passing then,” he said.

Come on, he thought. Summon another Monster… You know you want to…

Arkana drew a card.

“I summon Mystic Tomato in Attack Mode,” he exclaimed.

He played a card, and a huge tomato with a silly-looking face appeared next to Dark Magician. (1,400/1,100)

“You fell right into my Trap, Arkana!” shouted Jason. “I activate… Safecracker!”

His Trap Card lifted, revealing the image of Cliff the Trap Remover attempting to break open a bank vault.

“Now, by discarding one other Trap Card from my hand…” he continued.

He discarded his Negate Attack.

“…this Trap can duplicate the effects of one Trap Card in your Graveyard. And I think I’ll duplicate… Dark Renewal!”

Arkana drew back in fear as the dark coffin appeared on Jason’s side! It opened, and Troop Dragon and Mystic Tomato were sucked into it!

“See?” said Jason, as it slammed shut. “What helped you so much before is going to hurt you now. Because now I can summon a Spellcaster from MY Graveyard.”

“But that means…” said Arkana, with a shudder.

The coffin opened, and Dark Harlequin stepped out. (2,000/1,500)

“He’s baaaack!” said Jason.

Arkana frowned.

“How do you expect me to put on a proper show…” he said angrily, “when that guy keeps stealing it?”

“Hey…” said Jason. “That’s show biz!”

“I’ll move Dark Magician to Defense Mode, and end my turn…” growled Arkana.

Dark Magician glared angrily at the Harlequin, and then knelt in Defense.

“My move!” said Jason, drawing.

He drew.

“And I summon Spear Dragon.”

A small Dragon that looked like a pterodactyl appeared. (1,900/0)

“Dark Harlequin, attack his Dark Magician!”

Dark Harlequin flipped, and kicked the Spellcaster, blasting him to pieces.

“Spear Dragon, attack directly!” shouted Jason. “Cyclone blast!”

Spear Dragon exhaled a blast of fierce wind, striking the mad magician! He grunted and staggered backwards.

[B](J: 4,400) (A: 2,850)

“And now my Spear Dragon moves to Defense Mode…” said Jason.

Spear Dragon lowered its beak and folded its wings. It closed its eyes and fell asleep, softly snoring.



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“Clever,” said Arkana, “but this is my show, and the grand finale will be coming soon…”

He drew a card.

“I’ll simply place this Monster in Defense Mode,” he said.

A facedown Monster appeared.

“All right…” said Jason, drawing a card.

Spear Dragon woke up. Its eyes opened and it moved back into Attack Mode.

“Spear Dragon, take care of his facedown Monster!” he shouted.

Spear Dragon fired his cyclone blast…

A grizzled old sorcerer in colorful clothes with a fancy staff appeared on the card. (450/600)

“Heh, heh,” said Arkana. “That’s Old Vindictive Magician. And since you flipped him, your Dark Harlequin is destroyed!”

Old Vindictive Magician aimed his staff and fired a beam of darkness, eradicating Dark Harlequin.

Then he shattered himself.

“Big deal…” said Jason. “You still lose Life Points because of Spear Dragon’s piercing effect.”

Spear Dragon fell asleep and backed up into Defense Mode again.

“I’ll end by playing a card facedown.”

A facedown card appeared.

[B](J: 4,400) (A: 1,550)

“I believe… it’s my move…” said Arkana, not seeming to care.

He drew a card.

“And I play Graceful Charity,” he said, playing a card.

He played the card, and the angel appeared.

He drew three cards.

“HA, HA, HA, HA!” he laughed. “With the cards I just drew, the fat lady will be singing shortly!”

He discarded two cards.

“Now,” he said, “I’ll bring my Dark Magician back, by playing Silent Doom.”

He played the card, and Dark Magician reappeared, kneeling in Defense Mode.

“Despite his fame,” continued Arkana, “Dark Magician is not an Effect Monster, so this card can easily revive him.”

“You think that scares me?” asked Jason. “Since you summoned him with Silent Doom, he can’t attack.”

“Actually,” said Arkana, “I only summoned him so I could sacrifice him for someone who IS an Effect Monster… A powerful sorcerer who can only be summoned by sacrificing a Dark Magician!”

Jason drew back.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing!” he exclaimed.

“Once this duel is over,” laughed Arkana, “I assure you you’ll never forget it either!

“I sacrifice my Dark Magician…”

A cloud of darkness consumed Dark Magician…

“And come forth, [I]Dark Eradicator Warlock!”

A powerful-looking form stepped forward. He resembled Dark Magician at first glance, but wore a fancier robe and a cape, and carried a more elaborate staff. His eyes glowed with dark energy. (2,500/2,100)

“Well, that’s… impressive…” said Jason. “But he’s no stronger than Dark Magician… Unless…”

“Didn’t I tell you?” asked Arkana. “This guy IS an Effect Monster, one with a deadly effect. Now, whenever either of us uses a Normal Spell Card, you lose 1,000 Life Points!”

“No… way…” muttered Jason.

“I’ll show you,” replied Arkana. “I play… Monster Reborn, and bring back the normal Dark Magician!”

He played the card, and Dark Magician arose next to his more elaborate counterpart. (2,500/2,100)

Dark Eradicator Warlock’s staff glowed with dark energy, and pain ripped through Jason!

[B](J: 3,400) (A: 1,550)

“If only I could face Yugi now!” laughed Arkana. “Even he would admit that I am the true master of magicians! The ultimate archmage!”

“A demented madman…” growled Jason.

“We’ll soon see!” shouted Arkana. “Because now I’m going to finish you! I play the Spell Card, Double Attack!”

He played the card.

“And in case you didn’t know, it’s also a Normal Spell Card…”

He played the card. Dark Eradicator Warlock’s staff glowed again, and Jason screamed…

“And now,” continued Arkana, “I’ll discard my eight-star Dark Magician of Chaos so that my seven-star Dark Magician can attack twice!”

He discarded a card.

“Dark Magician, destroy his Spear Dragon!”

Dark Magician fired, and Spear Dragon burst!

“Now, attack directly!”

Dark Magician grinned an evil grin and aimed at Jason.

“Go! Draining Shield!” shouted Jason.

His Trap Card lifted, and a dome of force surrounded him. The blast of dark magic flowed into him, and he felt a surge of energy…

[B](J: 4,900) (A: 1,550)

Arkana growled.

“My Warlock still has an attack, Jason…” he said, “and he intends to use it! Attack! Dark curse!”

Dark Eradicator Warlock’s staff glowed with dark flames, and Jason howled in pain…

[B](J: 2,400) (A: 1,550)

“I’m not through yet, Arkana…” he said, panting for breath.

He looked at his deck.

He drew a card.

“I play… Card of Demise,” he said, playing the Spell Card. “See, I now get to draw five cards. However, after five turns are over, I have to discard my entire hand.

“But that really doesn’t matter, because if I don’t get some good ones, this duel is going to be over long before then.”

He played the card.

"Don't forget..." said Arkana with a grin. "Card of Demise is also a Normal Spell Card..."

Dark Eradicator Warlock's staff blazed, and Jason cringed in pain again...

He stopped to catch his breath.

Please let these have something that can beat him… he thought as he started to draw.

He drew five cards.

He looked at them.

He placed one of them on his Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.

“Is that all?” laughed Arkana. “Well… I guess the curtain will soon be going down…”

He drew.

“And just in case that Monster is something with a nasty flip-effect, I’ll place this card facedown…”

He played a card, and a facedown card appeared.

“Now…” he ordered, “Dark Magician, attack!”

Dark Magician aimed his staff.

“That’s just what I wanted you to do, Arkana,” said Jason with a grin. “Reveal… Ancient Lamp!”

As Dark Magician flew to attack, an old oil lamp on spidery metal legs appeared on the card. (900/1,400)

“Ancient Lamp?” said Arkana, confused. “What does that do?”

“I thought you were a master of magicians,” said Jason. “This is another Spellcaster…

“And since you attacked it while it was in facedown Defense Mode, I can force your Dark Magician to attack one of your other Monsters!”

Dark Magician turned towards Dark Eradicator Warlock.

“ARRGH!” shouted Arkana. “If he attacks him…”

“They’ll both be destroyed…” said Jason.

The two Spellcasters fired blasts of black magic at each other, and they shattered into pixels!

Arkana looked in disbelief.

“Not much to say, huh?” asked Jason. “I’d be speechless too, if my whole strategy had just been blown to Hell…”

“You haven’t won yet!” cursed Arkana.

“We’ll see…” said Jason.

Just try to attack me, thought Arkana. My Magic Cylinder will make it the last thing you ever do!

Jason drew a card.

“Perfect,” he said. “I’ll use Ancient Lamp’s other ability, to Special Summon this guy from my hand…”

La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp appeared, and gave a throaty chuckle. (1,800/1,000)

“And now…” said Jason, “I’ll sacrifice La Jinn and Ancient Lamp to summon one of my most powerful Monsters…”

The two Monsters vanished…

“The mighty Tyrant Dragon!”

A huge, mean-looking Dragon with rust-red scales and a huge wingspan arose! It roared! (2,900/2,500)

Arkana drew back…

“Tyrant Dragon, attack with imperial inferno!” shouted Jason.

Flames appeared in the Dragon’s jaws…

“I’m real sorry…” laughed Arkana, as his Trap lifted, “but my Magic Cylinder will blast your attack right back at you!”

“I’m afraid your puny Trap won’t work against this guy!” shouted Jason.

Tyrant Dragon blasted its flame, and the Cylinders shattered into pieces. Arkana screamed…

[B](J: 1,400) (A: 0)

“Boo-yah!” said Jason.

When the smoke cleared and Tyrant Dragon vanished, only one thing was left of Arkana…

…his hat.

Jason went and picked it up, and saw that, just as he suspected, a deck case was inside it.

He took the cards out and looked through them.

Yep, these are Malvolio’s cards, all right, he thought. Not bad for an evening’s work…

He took some deep breaths and looked around.

“And that is why,” he said, to no-one in particular, “I will not do two shows a night, people, I simply won’t. Thank you, you’ve been great.”

He turned and left.

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

When Jason got back, Malvolio was still sulking, and Trisha was trying hard to console him.

“Mal!” he said holding up the deck. “That creep couldn’t duel as well as he could steal!”

Malvolio immediately looked up.

“You…” he said. “You got it back?”

“Of course,” said Jason. “Here…”

Malvolio took the cards. He quickly looked through the deck.

“They’re all here…” he muttered.

He paused.

“I owe you one…” he said.

“It was nothing,” said Jason.

“No…” said Malvolio. “A Lark always repays a debt. I’ll remember this… And I swear I will…”

Trisha snuggled up to Jason.

“Jason, that was one of the best things I’ve ever seen you do…” she said.

“Yeah,” said Jason, “but things got a whole lot more complicated, and I’m worried…”

“Aw…” said Trisha. “I can make you feel better… I think I can sneak past Old Ben…”

Jason grinned.

[B]* * * * * * * * * *

Several hours later, Trisha was fast asleep, with Jason holding her close.

But Jason found it hard to sleep.

Judging from the pain that Spellcaster had doled out, that duel had clearly been a Shadow Game… Even if Arkana was an imposter, he wasn’t a normal one…

Tomorrow, the sun would rise, but what would happen next? What new creature would appear?

Eventually, he fell asleep, and his dreams were strange…



Saturday, September 18th, 2106, 11:38 PM



DARK RENEWAL (Trap Card)

Card Specs

Type: Trap
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: A dark coffin with a pentagram on the cover.

Card Description: Activate this card when your opponent Normal Summons a Monster. Offer the summoned Monster and a Monster on your side of the field as a Tribute. Special Summon one SPELLCASTER-Type Monster from your Graveyard.

Note: “Dark Renewal” was first used by Arkana in the anime episode “The Master of Magicians (Part 2)” and was later used by Yugi (or Yami working alone) infrequently. All creative credit goes to the writers of the anime.



SAFECRAKER (Trap Card)

Card Specs

Type: Trap
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: A Cliff the Trap Remover working on a bank vault with tools.

Card Description: When this card is activated, discard one Trap Card from your hand. Duplicate the effect of one Trap Card in your opponent’s Graveyard.



DARK HARLEQUIN (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 6
ATK: 2,000
DEF: 1,500

Card Description: Saggi the Dark Clown + Peten the Dark Clown

This shadowy jester’s sense of humor could best be described as dark humor. When there is at least one Dark-Attribute Monster on the field (aside from this one), increase this Monster’s ATK by 700.



CARD OF DEMISE (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: An executioner about to chop a deck of cards in half with a guillotine.

Card Description: Draw five cards from your deck. After your fifth End Phase after using this card, discard all the cards in your hand.

Note: “Card of Demise” was first used by Kaiba in the multi-part anime episode “Clash in the Colosseum”. He used it frequently after that.



[B][I]Coming up next:

A new user character appears, and her unique OTK strategy makes the Swordsmen very interested in her! Russell duels again, to prove a major point and stop a disaster before it happens. Don’t miss “Light of Intervention”, coming soon.

[jkBAKURA]

Well, you already created a fusion of those 2 clowns, so I suppose it's a Wingman/Phoenixguy situation. Probably a good choice though, since a repetition of Clown-A-Round may have brought down the hammer.

As for the chapter, it gave a lot to like. None of the evil cheater or evil speeches that usually plague an Arkana reappearance, or even a reference, were present, and the deck wasn't a 'hard' DM deck, which I remember you shying away against early on.

Shame there wasn't another Timaeus combo, but the Clown fusion filled the void.

For those interested, the character in the next chapter is mine, and I want to appoligise if she doesn't sit well with you. I tried breaking a few molds with this one, and I know how dangerous it is to try something new. Hopefully, if the duels aren't to your liking, it will at least be an interesting character.

P.S. Still using Imperial Inferno I see. heh heh... I helped! :smilie:

[Pokemasterkatie]

A stuffed toy had been dropped there. It was some sort of funny-looking gnome or troll dressed in colorful clothes and a pointed cap.

He picked it up.

“Where did this come from?” he asked.

“He was clutching that when he came in here,” said Ben. “I have no idea what it is…”

Jason looked at it.

“Mr. Puck…” he said.

“Huh?” said Russell. “Mr. Puck? What’s with the toy gnome?”

“It isn’t a gnome…” muttered Jason, “it’s an elf…”

Puck? Isn't that another Shakespeare reference(Midsummer Night's Dream)?

As soon as I read the lead-in to the chapter, I immediately realized the Arkana appearance. It makes total sense now...my guess was Pegasus or Bakura.^^;

[Shuppet Master]

I had a feeling that you'd sneak in Arkana there, Brian, since we both know you like him.

I was expeting a repeat of Andy's match with that demon in your last fic when you played that combo, but was pleasantly surprised to see you changed the fusion. Of course, if that Peten in your story had turned into Dark Harlequin, he would have lost against Andy post-haste, so I understand the uber Clown. (On the offset, my spin-off with Cyrus will have a few unorthodox fusions of unlikely creatures, including an Injection Fairy Lily fusion! Oops, I spoiled it. )

Poor Trisha, I think she's overreacting, but then Artemis is quite an intimidating character to "have someone's butt for lunch."

Nice cameo of Malvolio again. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing Bugsy and Malvolio helping out against the bad guys in the future.

JBakura, if you recall, Artemis strictly forbade Jason from using Timaeus except agains the Seal of Orichalcos. In the original story, Yugi only used Timaeus three times, Kaiba only used Critias three times, and Joey used Hermos only...three times(Yugi used him once). If you recall, in my last version of Sister of Anansi, I had Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos attack fellow campers, but when I revised it, I nixed the idea. Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos are broken cards who could make any card they fuse with into an uber-weapon, and I didn't want to "inflict their wrath" on innocents beause the consequences of loss were harmless.

Of course, if Brian has some creativity, he might send them against Shadow Duelists. After all, Shadow Games were just as terrifying and fatal as the Seal...but that's his call.

Great chapter Brian, and loved how you introduced the Spellcaster's Judgment signature monster in it. Keep up the good work.

[Blademaster]

(peeks around the corner)

Hey... Can I still review here? :redface:

...

I never was a big fan of Arkana, to be honest, but at least in this chapter he wasn't as... annoying as usual. And I was kinda wondering when the Warlock would show up - good choice for a first appearance.

And Mr. Puck... Awwwwww, that sounds cute! Where can I get one? h:

I was kinda surprised that Jason had a Tyrant Dragon in his deck, but Kaiba had a Chaos Emperor Dragon... I guess Tyrant Dragon is about as close to CED as you can get as far as ultra-effect Dragons go...

So, JKBakura's character is next, huh?

FIEND ALERT! FIEND ALERT! FIEND ALERT!

...

Or maybe not. 'Light of Intervention,' huh? Hmmmmmm...

-Blade

[jkBAKURA]

Hey, just because I'm a Bakura fan doesn't mean I'm bringing in Fiends! But it is interesting that you brought that up.

I put quite a bit of time into thinking of a character that went in a few directions we hadn't seen before, and i can pretty much garuntee that in Dark Sage's fiction at least, she's the first duelist of her kind in more ways then one.

Can't say more for fear of spoiling the suprise. Dark Sage will hopefully update again soon and we can all find out the answers at once.

[envoy of time]

Another cool chapter DM.It was nice to see more of Jasons deck.I was wondering dose jason own a Clown-A-Round?Anyway time to see if Russle can staop this new OC in time.

"May time be on your side."

[Shuppet Master]

I think that Tyrant Dragon is basically Jason's version of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Not in fusion or numbers, Cyber Dragon has that in spades, but in terms of pure power. After all, it's only 100 points weaker than the big guy, but it also has two sweet effects which Blue Eyes doesn't have.

Also, I wanted to point out an error. If Card of Demise is a normal spell, then Jason should have lost a thousand life points due to Warlock's effect.

[Dark Sage]

Chris -

I know. The chapter is now edited. Why don't you reread it.

- DS

[Perfect Chaos]

Cool chapter DS,

I like Dark Magician decks, and I'm glad that this one was used from a villain's point-of-view. I was actually hoping for Dark Magician Girl's appearance, but we have the rest of the story to look forward for that I suppose.

So jkBakura's character is the next to appear huh? Hopefully his character will be interesting.

-Sean

[Pokemasterkatie]

I was actually hoping for Dark Magician Girl's appearance, but we have the rest of the story to look forward for that I suppose.

He has a bit of a grudge against DMG, I suppose--remember that he didn't know of her when Yugi summoned her for the first time?

As for the next deck, the latest banlists have rendered the last of the OTK decks pretty much obsolete. And they probably won't give up Cyber End Dragon(too popular~)... It seemed to suggest a Light or Fairy themed deck. We'll see...