Yu-Gi-Oh: Tilting the Balance

[Master of Paradox]

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

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

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

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

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Contamination

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

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

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

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

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

0000000

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

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

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

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

"Such as?" the Dark Conduit asked.

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

Involuntarily, Alexander shivered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

0000000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Changing to more appropriate battlefield."

0000000

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

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

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

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

0000000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"End turn," the Pillar of Death concluded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Reston took the top card off of his deck, turned it over, and gave it a long look before slipping it into the Duel Disk. "Vase of Unholy Blight. Remove Mystic Tomato from deck to draw thrice."

The even more evil cousin of the Pot of Greed flashed into being, and a horrible-looking tomato appeared atop it before turning red and "liquefying" down into it.

The vase shattered, and Reston took three cards off the top of his deck with one pull, fanning them out before playing two, announcing, "One card facedown. And..." He held up the other card before playing it. "Dark Snake Syndrome."

A sudden rush of weakness overcame Chad, and the tall man's knees buckled before he sank to one knee. He wiped off his forehead, which was suddenly dotted with sweat, before realizing his skin was warm to the touch. Glancing to his hand, he could see a snakelike mark on the back, and frowned.

Already colored with the same markings, Reston ignored them, placing a card on a Monster Zone. "One monster in Defense Mode. End turn."

Shutting his eyes, Chad forced himself to concentrate, trying to shake the worry that was running through him. And then he paused, as his mind stumbled on something far more frightening.

He could hear a quiet snarl inside of his head, still soft and easy to ignore under the constant turmoil and high volume of the average human mind. It was part of his consciousness, but it had no civility, no sentience, only the most primitive and basic drives. And as he listened to it, he could hear it drawing strength from the darkness surrounding him.

How long has that sat there? Chad wondered as he pushed back onto his feet. I know it could not have come into being too long ago, because I think I would notice if part of my mind went feral on me... Maybe this is what was left after the duel with Klaus?

"Make move," the Pillar of Death said, eyes narrowed.

Snapping back to attention, Chad drew his next card, hearing the snarling increase inside his head. "I play Pot of Greed!" he began, throwing the card down and drawing two more. He then added, "Now I'll summon my Pitch-Black Warwolf in Attack Mode!"

The dead forest began to shake as something large and powerful made its way through the trees. Over the heads of both duelists, a shadow blurred past, before coming down for a landing on Chad's field. It was a large, muscular wolf-headed man, a black pelt covering its body and a sharp blade in one hand. (1,600/600) Dead or not, this forest was its home, and so it howled in fury. (1,600/600 - 1,800/800)

Even as he felt one hand curling into a claw, Chad fought it off, ordering, "Pitch-Black Warwolf, attack his facedown monster with Lupine Blade..."

Growling its consent, the Beast-Warrior sprang across, raising its sword. It swept the blade across, cleaving the card in half. A tiny hamster briefly came into being, squeaking before its body slid into two halves. (900/400)

"Bubonic Vermin," Reston said as a card jutted out of his deck. "When flipped, as when destroyed, may set another facedown." He took the jutting card and set it on his Duel Disk.

"And it won't stick around for long - Mad Dog of Darkness, rend it," Chad replied.

The dog did as ordered, leaping across the forest with one bound of its powerful legs and biting into the facedown card. Its jaws closed on the little creature and pulled it apart.

Without further words, Reston took the third one and set it on his Duel Disk.

As the Mad Dog of Darkness returned to his field, Chad took a deep breath, shocked to hear a guttural hiss emerging as he exhaled. What is wrong with me? he wondered. "I set one card facedown," he said to distract himself, "and end my turn."

Reston drew his next card, noting, "Dark Snake Syndrome activates."

At first nothing seemed to happen, and then a shock of pain ran up Chad's spine and spread through the rest of his body, tearing through him. He doubled over, gasping as his cells seemed to fall in on themselves, and bit at his lip as he staggered. The pain faded eventually, and he looked up to see Reston merely look back at him with those dead eyes, their Duel Disks registering 5,500 Life Points for Chad and 7,700 for Reston. And then the Dark Room of Nightmare charged up and struck Chad with electricity, sending his Life Points to 5,200.

"Advantage in not feeling pain," Reston noted.

In response, Chad jabbed a button on his Duel Disk, feral noises emerging from his lips as he did. The Numinous Healer on his field lifted up, and the sky directly over his fiend changed from gray to blue. A single beam of sunlight fell on him, and the angelic nurse stood behind him, brushing the acid burn on his cheek.

The tall man's Life Points rose to 6,200, and the burn vanished before the angel disappeared.

The Pillar of Death merely blinked as he pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "Activate Dust Tornado to destroy Forest."

The corpses hanging from the tree behind him began to sway, a breeze picking up behind the Pillar of Death. It increased in ferocity, the hanging bodies rocking on their branches and then veering sharply to one side as the hanging tree withstood this storm. The dead trees of Chad's Forest, however, unrooted in due time and flew off into the distance, shattering over their heads.

"Set one monster in Defense Mode," Reston then said, "and end turn."

Once the Numinous Healer had activated, Chad could feel his mind repairing itself, but a shudder still clung to him. That... that savage part of my mind gains power every time I lose Life Points... Come to think of it, in the last two duels I was in, I snarled and growled after taking large hits. What will happen to me if I lose? He shook his head, drawing a card as he declared, "Pitch-Black Warwolf, attack his first facedown monster!"

With a low bark, the Warwolf ran forward and brought his sword down hard on Reston's monster, revealed as the last Bubonic Vermin. It let out a squeal before falling into two pieces, shattering a moment later.

"And now, Mad Dog of Darkness, attack his other monster!" Chad continued.

The eyeless canine leapt across the dead field, its claws and jaws tearing into the facedown card. It came into view a second later, a wall made of human muscle and tissue, rudely stitched into a bone frame and with a purple face at its center. The face was disturbingly feminine, staring back at Chad. (1,000/1,850) The dog paid it no mind, however, being blind, and merely locked its jaws on the face, tearing it cleanly off of the rest of the structure, which then shattered.

And then, a hideous scream broke the still air, and the Mad Dog of Darkness vanished, the card returning automatically to Chad's hand.

"Wall of Illusion," Reston noted. "Returns attacking monster to owner's hand."

Nodding his acknowledgement, Chad adjusted his hand, offhandedly replying, "I'll end my turn."

The Pillar of Death drew his next card, now holding two cards in his hand, and then said, "Dark Snake Syndrome activates."

The simplicity of those words belied their actual effect, as the world around Chad turned a deep red and his veins bulged, the pain twice what it was before. He fought to stay on his feet, his stomach churning as his body tortured him. Eventually, he bit hard into his own cheek, blood trickling out of his mouth as his Life Points droped to 5,800. And then the Dark Room of Nightmare charged up, but as its lightning bolts hit him and sent his Life Points to 5,500, it seemed only a minor concern.

Reston's own Life Points were now at 7,300, but he paid no attention to it, instead playing one of his cards. "No wish to be attacked. Activate Nightmare's Steelcage to prevent such assault for two turns."

Around the duelists, the soil of the dead field fell away as something new pushed itself to the surface. It was a large steel ring, small amounts of rust on its exterior, and it settled atop the land. Thin ribbons of spiked steel threw themselves over the heads of Chad and Reston, locking into place on all sides of the men, and a crisscrossed metal wall dropped into the center, cutting both sides off from each other.

"Hate repeating moves, but no choice," the Pillar of Death mused. "End turn."

After wiping the blood off of his mouth, Chad spat on the Nightmare's Steelcage, drawing his next card. He then glanced to the Dark Snake Syndrome card on Reston's field, looked back to his card, and nodded. Playing it, he announced, "I summon Chiron the Mage in Attack Mode!"

Even as the card left his hand, Chad could feel the growling presence in his mind fading to a lesser pitch. Such a civilized monster must weaken its hold, he thought.

A circle of red light drew itself on the ground, multiple strange symbols drawing themselves within its boundries. A beam of light came from the circle's center, and soon the staff-wielding centaur appeared within it. He dismissed the circle with a wave of the staff, and then set the weapon over his shoulder, glaring at the Pillar. (1,800/1,000)

"Chiron's speciality is altering magical energy for other uses," Chad explained, takng another card from his hand. "By giving up one Magic Card from my hand, I can take out one of your Magic or Trap Cards. So I give up my Snatch Steal..." Which would be worthless anyway, given that you can't play it on set monsters, he thought as he put the card in his Graveyard. "...to destroy the Dark Snake Syndrome!"

This statement caused Reston to blink. It was the second time that duel.

For a moment, the image of the Snatch Steal card reflected in the orb atop Chiron's staff, and then he slammed the point into the ground. A reverberation spread out from the point of impact, causing an answering reverberation under the Dark Snake Syndrome. It accordingly shattered.

The markings of the disease left Chad, and he exhaled, sighing deeply with the last twinges of pain. "That will be all," he concluded.

Black vapor left Reston's hands as the Dark Snake Syndrome faded, and he drew his next card, showing no reaction to the destruction of the Syndrome. He put his new draw in his hand, took the other card there, and played it as he said, "Card of Demise. Draw five cards, discard hand in five turns."

Five candles appeared at the Pillar of Death's feet, and each lit itself in turn. Over Reston's head, however, the Nightmare's Steelcage was beginning to rust, flecks of it floating down overhead.

Pulling exactly five cards from the top of his deck, Reston spread them out, looking at them before taking two. "Set card facedown, play Dark Snake Syndrome."

Another wave of dizziness passed over Chad, and the markings came back to life as he muttered, "Oh, not again..."

"Really thought only played one? Foolish." The sick man took one last card from his hand and put it on the Duel Disk. "Monster in Defense Mode. End turn." One candle went out.

He has a point, Chad thought as he drew his next card. Overhead, one of the beams of the Nightmare's Steelcage let out a loud crack as it rusted through. Any strategy relying on the Dark Snake Syndrome would play multiples, just in case someone blew one up like I did. But still... He glnaced at his hand and then declared, "I summon my Mad Dog of Darkness again."

Even though it couldn't see where it was, the eyeless dog still looked unhappy to be on the dead field. It whined and pulled back onto its haunches. (1,900/1,400)

"Now I set this facedown..." The tall man did so. "And end my turn."

A screw fell from the cage overhead, and then the entire Nightmare's Steelcage collapsed in on itself, sending up a massive cloud of dust as it fell apart.

Deep inside his chest, Chad could feel something twitch as Reston drew his next card. The Pillar of Death then paused, and a wave of pain shot through Chad's body, the Dark Snake Syndrome at work. His body had adjusted, however, and so he just let this lesser pain work through him.

The Dark Room of Nightmare then charged up and sent electricity through his body, but Chad merely gave Reston a look as his Life Points went to 5,000 and Reston's went to 7,000.

The Pillar of Death did not even notice the look, instead taking a card and saying, "Summon Tribe-Infecting Virus in Attack Mode."

A blue-skinned, vaguely reptilian humanoid staggered into view, breathing heavily as it did so. It then let out a sob and collapsed, rotting away on the spot. In its place hovered a brown cloud, whisps reaching around Reston's body. (1,600/1,000)

For a moment, the Pillar of Death seemed confused. His eyes moved from Chad's Pitch-Black Warwolf to his Chiron the Mage, and then over to the Mad Dog of Darkness. Finally, Reston sighed, saying, "Not as effective as against Laura. Multiple types in play. Can only destroy one type per turn."

"So that's how you beat Laura?" Chad asked, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that this deck takes a different tack from hers. You can't use the same tricks against me."

"Know that. Still, have other ways to deal with it. For now..." Reston took one of his other cards and slid it in his Graveyard. "Discard Sinister Serpent to destroy Beast-Warriors."

The brown cloud flared up and flew out, forcing itself into the mouths of the Warwolf and Chiron. As the Mad Dog of Darkness turned its head from one to the other, confused, both of the other monsters began to cough. And then fur fell from the Warwolf's sides, large sores beginning to appear, and Chiron dropped his staff in order to grab his chest...

Soon the sores grew in size, covering most of the Warwolf's body, and it stuck out its swollen tongue, whimpering in pain. The sores oozed a thick pus, and it fell to the ground, helpless. Chiron's legs gave out, and the centaur collapsed, his body withering away...

By the time Chad thought he couldn't take anymore, both monsters shattered, and he fought a sudden wave of nausea. Reston, meanwhile, merely shook his head and said, "Set card facedown. End turn." A second candle blew out on his field.

For a few moments, the only sounds in the artist's mind were animalistic whimpers and whines, until he shook his head and focused his will. The sounds silenced, and he frowned, drawing his next card. He then declared, "I activate my Call of the Haunted, raising my Enraged Battle Ox from the dead."

Fog gathered on the dead field, and then the ground in front of Chad split open, a muscled arm bearing an axe forcing its way out. Another powerful arm grabbed hold of the surface, and soon the minotaur pulled itself from beneath the soil, one of its horns cracked but otherwise in good shape. It shook the dirt off of its axe and snorted. (1,700/1,000)

All the Pillar of Death did in reply was tap a button on the pale Duel Disk he wore, revealing his facedown card. "Nightmare Wheel seals Mad Dog of Darkness in response."

The skies flashed red, and the terrible Catherine wheel appeared in a burst of fire. Gore-stained chains whipped from its surface and caught Chad's monster, pulling the canine onto its front. Those chains sealed it in place, and it began to whine in fear as the wheel slowly began to turn.

Fighting the urge to snarl, Chad gestured to the cloud on Reston's field, saying, "Enraged Battle Ox, rid this place of the Tribe-Infecting Virus."

The minotaur raised its axe high over its head, tensed its muscles, and then brought the weapon down hard. A gust of wind flew out from where it stood and struck the brown cloud of viruses, breaking it apart. Wisps of disease flew every which way, scattering on the breeze.

One such wisp hit Reston, slipping under his oxygen mask. He burst into a fit of coughing, sinking to one knee and spattering his mask with blood as his Life Points lowered to 6,900. After a moment's searching of his pockets, the sick man retrieved his syringe, filled it, and jabbed the needle into his neck.

"What is that stuff, anyway?" Chad asked, blinking.

"Steroid mixture designed by staff at Johns Hopkins. Stabilizes circulatory system and promotes clotting. When taken during coughing fit, ends it." The Pillar of Death shut off the oxygen tank and removed his mask, taking a napkin from his pocket.

"I see..." Chad shook his head. "Your move."

Once he was done cleaning out his oxygen mask, Reston put it back on and drew a card. "Dark Snake Syndrome..."

And the red haze filled their vision again as the disease went to work. Chad bit his lip, but he had felt this level of pain as well, so he was able to tolerate it. I wonder if Laura had trouble at this level, he wondered. They say women have better pain tolerance than men, and she's a martial artist... but until Reston falls and I can ask her personally, I have no way to know.

Reston, meanwhile, merely thought, Still looking for key combination. His Life Points had lowered to 6,500, and Chad had fallen to 4,600. The Dark Room of Nightmare then pitched in, shocking him and leaving Chad with 4,300 Life Points as he groaned.

After checking to make sure he still had blood flow, the Pillar of Death held up one hand. A card appeared in it as he said, "Sinister Serpent back in hand by own effect." He set it on one Monster Zone and slid a card into his Duel Disk, noting, "One monster in Defense Mode and one card facedown. Take turn." The third candle blew out.

The moment Chad drew his next card, there was a clicking noise, and the Nightmare Wheel holding onto his Mad Dog of Darkness began to turn. Its spikes tore into the dog's flesh, blood dripping from them as it let out a tortured baying.

And then Chad's vision turned red as a red light from the wheel hit him. Each spike cutting into the Mad Dog of Darkness caused him to feel the same pain, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, his Life Points dropping to 3,800. And the Dark Room of Nightmare only increased the agony as it shocked him, his Life Points now 3,500.

Deep within his mind, the snarls and growls escalated, their noise now at a fever pitch. He briefly wondered if summoning his Image for the first time had given it life, had allowed this most primitive part of himself to come to the fore. He wondered if it was feeding on his pain.

And then he ceased to ask questions. He could feel a strength within that bestial part of his mind. He let it loose.

Taking a deep breath, Chad roared, his body shaking as he let out that rumbling sound. Reston flinched away, and the hanging tree behind him quivered.

White smoke rose from Chad's body as he roared, slowly taking on the shape of a leonine creature with a thick mane and a horn on the center of its head. His Image, Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, now stood over him, unperturbed by the dead field around him.

The roar faded, and Chad looked into Reston's eyes. Whereas the sick man had inhuman eyes, void of any compassion or sympathy, the artist's eyes flickered from those of a cat to those of a wolf, and then to those of a hawk. They went from one animal to another with each blink.

"Ahhh, I see now," Chad said, his voice now a much deeper pitch than before. "I wonder why I resisted. I summon the Gyaku-Gire Panda in Attack Mode!"

He threw the card down, and the large, angry panda stepped forward, a stalk of bamboo in one hand. It swung its makeshift weapon around itself, barking in anger. (800/1,800)

"Each monster you have in play gives it 500 more Attack Points," he continued. As he said it, the panda growled and snapped its jaws, pounding its bamboo stalk against the ground as its rage grew. (800/1,800 - 1,800/1,800) "Gyaku-Gire Panda, kill the newest facedown monster!"

The order seemed rather unnecessary, given how enthusiastically the panda threw itself at Reston's monster. It raised the bamboo stalk overhead and swung it down, over and over again, hammering away at the targeted monster. As it was a Sinister Serpent, this was rather overkill. Green blood splashed at Reston's feet before the serpent shattered.

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

And then, as per its effect and that of the Enraged Battle Ox, the Gyaku-Gire Panda walked up and struck Reston across the chest with its bamboo. Bones cracked as the Pillar of Death spun to the ground, his Life Points knocked down to 5,100. He laid there for a moment, and then forced himself back onto his knees, breathing hard through the oxygen mask.

Chad's hands began to tense, and a vicious grin crossed his face as the snarling in his mind grew louder. "Enraged Battle Ox," he said, his volume increasing, "destroy his other monster with Minotaur's Ax!"

Much like with the panda, Chad almost did not need to give the order, as the minotaur charged across the field with its weapon in hand. It swung it down, smashing through the facedown monster. A blue slime appeared, splattering into a thousand pieces from the hit. (800/1,000)

Pieces of the slain monster, an Acid Slime, flew across the field. Some of its substance struck Reston, crossing him to shut his eyes as it burned into him, lowering his Life Points now to 4,400. Part of it struck Chad's stomach at the same time, burning through his shirt and causing him to howl as it sent his own Life Points to 2,700.

The pain, however, also cleared Chad's mind for a moment, and he shook his head, his eyes back to normal. "Ow..." he muttered, his head throbbing as he took another card from his hand. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." With Reston's field cleared, the Gyaku-Gire Panda returned to its original stats.

For a moment, the Pillar of Death hesitated, his fingers twitching over his deck slot. He then shut his eyes and drew the top card, causing the Dark Snake Syndrome to spring to life.

The pain this time dug deeper than ever before, causing Chad's mind to evaporate in a rush of blood and anger. His eyes squeezed shut as he sank to his knees, his body quaking as the black markings tightened against him, and then he rose to his feet again as his eyes opened. This time they were the hungry, contemplating eyes of a snake, black and slitted. His Life Points lowered to 1,900, and a trace of blood leaked out of his mouth. The Dark Room of Nightmare shocked him, but he never even noticed as his Life Points went to 1,600.

But the same pain ran over Reston, and for the first time in a long while, he could feel it through the pain of Feinglory's Systemic Circulatory Deterioration. Bruises covered his body as several of his veins tore, and he coughed up deep, red blood - arterial blood. The ill man sank into a crouch, fingers digging into his arms at the burning, unfamiliar agony. Blood dripped from within the mask as he straightened out, still shaking, and his Life Points locked at 3,600.

He looked into Chad's eyes, and the taller duelist gestured to his facedown card, saying in the deeper pitch, "I activate Numinous Healer."

The facedown card lifted, and this time there was no angelic nursemaid. Instead, Chad shut his eyes and clenched his fists, raising them over his head. He then thrust them down, and a burst of red energy flowed over him, causing him to trill in relief. His Life Points rose back up to 3,100.

All Reston did in response was shut off the oxygen tank, spit blood on the floor, and groan for a moment before saying, "Image awaken."

Black smoke rose from Reston's body, slowly gathering behind him and taking form. He held up his palms, smoke rolling off of them, and in time a creature stepped out of the smoke. It was a thin, hunched figure with orange skin, wearing a black leather tunic and pants, with a metal blindfold over its eyes. It had two shocks of green hair on either side of its head, and held its long-fingered hands out in front of it, giggling on occasion.

"Newdoria," Reston said as he pointed at it. "Make sense?"

What little rational thought Chad had in this state mused over it, and then he shook his head. "Not really."

Shrugging, Reston played a card from his hand, announcing, "Graceful Charity."

The angel that normally appeared for that card did not even dare enter the dead field. Instead, a hand reached out from the clouds and frantically gestured at the Pillar of Death's deck. He drew three cards and took two more, throwing them skyward. The hand caught them and retreated.

"Now play Ekibyo Drakmord on Gyaku-Gire Panda," he continued.

The panda in question suddenly stiffened up, dropping its bamboo stalk. Large parts of its fur fell out, revealing an ugly green rash, and its mouth locked in a pained grin. Foam began to roll over its lips as the panda fell onto all fours, clawing at the ground as unearthly growls left it.

Chad frowned, knowing that card. "It dies in two turns, correct?"

"Two of your turns, yes. Play Monster Reborn for Wall of Illusion in Attack Mode."

The symbol of resurrection glowed on the field, and the wall of flesh and muscles rose up from the ground, dirt covering its bone frame. Its face was back on, but very loose and badly stitched. (1,000/1,800)

"One card facedown," Reston concluded as he set his last card, "and end turn." The fourth candle from the Card of Demise went out, leaving one and only one burning.

With a glance to the Nightmare Wheel, on which the Mad Dog of Darkness was still strapped, Chad sank deeper into the bestial part of his mind and drew his next card. As before, the wheel turned, slicing through the beast's body, but this time Chad took the resulting pain with nothing more than a growl. His Life Points sank to 2,600, and then the Dark Room of Nightmare blasted him with electricity and made that total 2,300.

"Activate Crush Card," the Pillar of Death then said, gesturing to his facedown card, which lifted up. "Sacrifice Wall of Illusion to destroy monsters of 1,500 Attack or greater."

Hearing that drew Chad back to his senses, and he shook his head, gulping.

The Wall of Illusion turned a deep red, and its face began to panic, lips quivering as it shook and swelled. A leak sprang in one muscle, spewing red fog, and then the entire creature exploded in a mass of rotten, bloody meat and putrid bone. Clouds of red smoke passed over the dead field.

Soon the virus-laden smoke covered Chad's field, passing over the Gyaku-Gire Panda (which had its own problems) and engulfing the Enraged Battle Ox and Mad Dog of Darkness. The two began to choke, the Nightmare Wheel dropping the dog back onto Chad's field before shattering. Soon the Enraged Battle Ox rolled its eyes back into its head and bellowed before its body collapsed on itself, and the Mad Dog of Darkness howled before falling dead. They both shattered, leaving Chad without an offense.

At the moment, however, the artist's thoughts were elsewhere. What happened to me? he wondered, beginning to sweat. Every time I tap into that part of my mind, the pain goes away... but I can't think! It's like my body goes on autopilot! He bit his lip, and then turned his hand towards Reston. "None of the cards in my hand are affected," he said, knowing the Crush Card's altered effect.

And then Gazelle gave a short roar, and Chad recalled that part, smirking. "Now I use Gazelle's Image Effect," he continued. "During my Standby Phase, I gain 100 Life Points for each Beast, Beast-Warrior and Winged Beast in my Graveyard, and that's six." A circle of energy surrounded his body, and he bathed in it, his Life Points up to 2,900. He then took a card from his hand, put it on the Duel Disk, and concluded, "I set this monster in Defense Mode and end my turn."

For the first time since the duel had begun, Reston hesitated before taking hold of his next card, pulling it from the deck. Once again, the world turned a burning red as the Dark Snake Syndrome awoke. This time, however, it was through with the slow damage.

To Chad, it felt like an army's worth of knives were pushing themselves out from the pit of his stomach and exiting via his mouth. He convulsed, limbs thrashing about, and then dropped to his hands and knees, blood oozing out from his nose and eardrums. Brusing spread out from the markings on his arms, and he tore at his chest before the pain faded, leaving his Life Points at 1,300. As before, the Dark Room of Nightmare charged up and shocked him, sending his Life Points to 1,000, but he couldn't feel it.

But the Pillar of Death did not go unscathed. His pain just came across in a quieter manner: on drawing the card, he blinked and keeled over, body twitching as he hit the ground and shook. His limbs thrashed for a moment, and then he went still, eyes shut. His Life Points stopped at 2,000.

On rising to his feet, Chad wiped the blood from his face and ears. His eyes had turned into a jackal's, and he stared at Reston as he would wounded prey. "Are you still alive?" he asked.

It was a long pause before Reston moved again. He then pushed himself onto his hands, his eyes clouded with blood. Reaching out, he took his Image's hand and pulled himself back onto his feet, the inside of his oxygen mask coated with red film. In a slow, deliberate movement, he shut off the tank, removed the mask, and threw the rig to one side, leaving it among the dried grass. "Will not need it," he said.

Shaking his head, Chad let out a rumble before saying, "Just get your turn over with, old man."

"Insult? Not like you." The Pillar of Death held up his one card before sliding it into his Magic/Trap Zones. "Set this facedown. End turn. Card of Demise effect meaningless, as hand empty." The last candle blew out, and then all five candles just disappeared.

The tall man snorted, drawing his next card. He showed it to the purple clouds of the Crush Card; it was Blessings of the Hunted, and so they moved away. He then pointed to his Gyaku-Gire Panda, saying, "Your Ekibyo Drakmord will now kill my panda. Good riddance; it wasn't much help by now."

Fighting its convulsions, the rabid panda slowly turned its head, looking back at Chad in disbelief. It then seized up, its head jerked to one side, and it fell onto its side, its body bloating as the disease overwhelmed it. One last breath left its lungs, and it shattered.

One of Reston's arms came up, wiped the blood off of his lips, and stretched out to his side. A card appeared in his hand, and he explained, "Ekibyo Drakmord returned to hand by own effect. Now chain to it with facedown card." He swept the card out, pointing at his Trap, which flipped up to reveal a frightened woman on its artwork. "Activate Sixth Sense. Name two numbers and roll die. If named number rolled, draw cards equal to number. If not, lose cards equal to roll. Name four and six."

"I know how the card works, you old bastard," Chad said with a scowl. "I saw one of the Darkness Infected use it."

"Oh. Did not know."

The air between them turned purple, and a single die fell from within it. The die bounced one, twice, thrice... and landed with the four showing. Reston's hand moved in a smooth glide over his deck, and he pulled four cards, fanning his hand.

All Chad could do was groan, "Lucky son of a bitch." Behind him, Gazelle growled, and he smiled, raising his head as the red energy surrounded him. His Life Points moved back up to 1,600, and he wasted no time in flipping his facedown monster over. "I switch Magician of Faith into Attack Mode, and use her effect to retrieve Pot of Greed from my Graveyard."

A young woman in a purple tunic appeared on Chad's field, dusting off the knees of her red stockings as she stood up. She had light violet hair in a long ponytail, tied with a black ribbon, and was carrying a crescent-headed staff in one hand. (300/400) Raising the staff, she yelled a single word of power.

The field shook, and several small fissures opened up, spitting out pieces of a smashed green pot. These pieces flew together, fusing into a single large pot with an all-too-familiar grin. It winked out of existence, and then appeared in Chad's hand as its card self.

"I'll hold onto this for now," Chad said, his voice seeming to lighten in pitch as he took out another card. "Instead, I'll play Blessings of the Hunted - since I have more than five Beasts and Beast-Warriors in my Graveyard, I can gain 2,500 Life Points!"

A number of bandaged Scapegoats appeared around him, and they all nuzzled against his legs. Whether it was that feeling or the effect of his Life Points rising to 4,100 that did it, something caused his expression to crack, and he staggered for a moment. A few blinks later, his eyes were back to normal.

When injured, turns into savage, Reston noted. When healed or damaged as savage, turns normal. Same man or different mind?

Shaking his head, Chad muttered, "Ugh... Magician of Faith, direct attack with Holy Crescent..."

The mage spun her staff in her hand, took a fancy pose, and whipped it out before herself. A wave of energy burned across the field and slammed into the Pillar of Death, causing him to rock on his heels, although he did not show pain. His Life Points now sat at 1,700.

As Chad waved for Reston to take his turn, he noted, "It just hit me - this turn, Dark Snake Syndrome will deal 3,600 points of damage. I'll survive, but you won't. What do you say to that?"

"Emergency Provisions," Reston replied as he drew his card. The facedown card next to his Dark Snake Syndrome flipped up, revealing it was indeed Emergency Provisions. The bizarre mouth turned, bit through the Dark Snake Syndrome, and vanished as Reston's Life Points became 2,700.

Since the first time he had stepped into the bestial part of his mind, Chad had found himself unable to silence it. But now, as the Dark Snake Syndrome's marks left his body, he gave a sigh of relief; the growls and snarls had quieted.

One of Reston's eyes twitched as he played another card from his hand, announcing, "Ekibyo Drakmord highly contagious. Spreads to Magician of Faith."

This time, the young spellcaster dropped her staff and grabbed her shoulders, shivering as the green rash broke out over her face and hands.

"Set monster in Defense Mode and card facedown," the Pillar of Death concluded, "and end turn there."

As Chad drew, the clouds of the Crush Card gathered tightly around him. To his frustration, he declared, "I drew Berserk Gorilla." The Crush Card burned at his hand like acid, and he winced, sliding the card into his Graveyard. And then Gazelle growled behind him, and the energy washed over him, raising his Life Points to 4,800.

While this went on, Reston just switched his cards around, waiting.

"I know one of the Crush Card's weaknesses," Chad continued once the energy faded. "It has no power over cards that I draw outside of my Draw Phase. So now I'll play Pot of Greed!"

The hologram appeared and chuckled. Chad paid it no mind as he drew his two cards, and then shouted, "And now you won't have the chance to make me watch the Magician of Faith die - I use the effect of Behemoth, King of All Animals, and bring it out for one sacrifice!"

The Pillar of Death seethed. Ekibyo Drakmord only returns to hand by own effect, he thought. Lost if equipped monster leaves field other ways.

The rashes on the Magician of Faith's hands and face disappeared in a fog of green fumes, and she stood up, smiling. She then shattered into a thousand pieces, and a large pink foot slammed into the ground. This foot was connected to a massive, horned beast, its body rippling with muscles and a purple mane running down its back. It roared, shaking the corrupted Tree Swing. (2,700/1,500 - 2,000/1,500)

"By its effect," Chad went on, "I return one Beast from my Graveyard to my hand. I choose Berserk Gorilla..." He took the card and tucked it into his hand. "And now, Behemoth, attack his facedown monster with Wild Monarch's Crash!"

Stomping forward, each footstep shaking the dead ground, the King of All Animals raised its foot. It paused a second, and then brought it down hard, crushing a pair of purple-linened mummies underfoot. (1,000/1,800) A cloud of purple smoke floated across the field and down Chad's lungs, and he burst into a loud, hacking cough, his ribs shaking as his Life Points fell to 4,300. And then the Dark Room of Nightmare zapped him, and the total became 4,000.

"Poison Mummy again," Reston said. His Image, Newdoria, then raised its hands and covered him in black, crackling energy. "Newdoria Image effect," he continued, "called Gift of Death. When monster on this field destroyed without Battle Damage, gain 500 Life Points." His Life Points rose to 3,200.

Catching his breath, Chad felt the bestial noises grow louder in his mind, and thought, No... How much of myself will I lose if I give into them again? "I end my turn."

The Pillar of Death drew, and then paused. After a moment, he noted, "Right. Dark Snake Syndrome gone." He then took a card from his hand and played it, saying, "Poison of the Old Man."

A table rose from the floor next to him, two vials on it. One was short and wide, and held a purple liquid; the other was tall and thin, and held a green chemical. Both were smoking.

"Must choose," Reston explained as he studied the bottles. "May either gain 1,200 Life Points, or do 800 damage to yours. Choose latter." He took the smaller bottle off the table, which then vanished, and whipped the bottle at Chad.

It shattered against the tall man's chest, and then he began to choke, the purple fumes closing his throat for a moment. His Life Points sank to 3,200 as he retched, fighting to get his breath back. And then the Dark Room of Nightmare hit him once again, leaving burn marks on his arms, and he went to 2,900 Life Points.

"Set monster in Defense Mode," Reston concluded, "and turn ends."

For the third and last time, the clouds of the Crush Card gathered around Chad. He raised his head, and for a moment his eyes flickered to that of a snake before he shut them and shook it off. He then stood up, spitting, and drew a card, declaring, "I drew Monster Reborn!" The Crush Card's clouds vanished into wisps of smoke.

Waving his hand, Reston announced, "Activate Life Shaver. For each turn facedown, cuts one card from your hand. Set it six turns ago, so will destroy all cards."

Chad turned pale, watching as a small, sharp razor blade fell from the sky. It cut into his hand, causing him to shout in pain, but more importantly it cleaved all his cards in half. This was just an illusion, but he still had to fold and discard his hand. As always, though, Gazelle then growled, and energy covered him, healing the cut on his hand as he went up to 3,600 Life Points.

I only have one option, the artist thought. "Behemoth, attack his facedown monster!"

"Activate Widespread Ruin," Reston countered. "Destroys monster with highest Attack Points you control. Only one choice."

The King of All Animals stopped, its pink skin beginning to ripple. It then let out a tiny whimper... and exploded, throwing chunks of bone and muscle all over the field. A moment later, it began to rain blood, splattering both Chad and Reston with sticky, salty liquids.

Frowning, Chad muttered, "End turn, then."

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Drawing once more, Reston slid the card into his Duel Disk and announced, "Pot of Greed." He ignored the hologram, drawing twice, and then said, "Now may perform deck's key combo. Summon Giant Germ in Attack Mode."

The name was an apt description of the monster. It floated in front of its player, a large, purple spore surrounding several pockets of purple ooze. (1,000/100)

"Now play Lytic Cycle," Reston continued, sliding the card into a Magic/Trap zone. It appeared on his field, showing the picture of a Giant Germ exploding.

A forgotten fact triggered in Chad's mind, and he muttered, "Lytic... Lyse... I know that from high-school biology. When viruses invade a cell, they sometimes reproduce until it can't hold them anymore. And then the cell 'lyses', or bursts, sending more viruses out to continue the process..."

"Lytic Cycle reflection of the process," the Pillar of Death replied. "Pay 500 Life Points to destroy monster on field. In exchange, draw card. May do this until turn ends. Most important part - monsters destroyed count as dying in battle." He let that sink in for a moment.

Chad's eyes widened, and he thought, That means he can hit me with Giant Germ's effect without any risk - his Image effect will make up the cost every time he uses it, and on top of that he draws a card each time he takes away 800 of my Life Points!

Reston paused a moment, feeling his Image set its hands on his shoulders, and then said, "Begin process. Lytic Cycle on Giant Germ." His Life Points lowered to 2,700, and then black energy spread from Newdoria's hands and brought it back up to 3,200.

The germ quivered, stress fractures appearing on its front and sides. Soon the spore cracked open, and then the germ itself exploded, sending out a cloud of purple disease-laden smoke. This drifted over Chad, and he gagged as it choked him, his skin tightening as his Life Points became 3,100. The Dark Room of Nightmare chipped in with its lightning, leaving him at 2,800 Life Points.

"Giant Germ first effect deals 500 Life Points," the Pillar of Death said - without much need, as both knew that. "Second effect Special Summons other two from deck in Attack Mode."

Two more spores floated next to the shattering remains of the first, bobbing in the air before Reston. (1,000/100 x2)

Drawing a card as per Lytic Cycle's effect, Reston continued, "Now sacrifice both Giant Germs to effect of Lytic Cycle."

Both of the spores began to shake, the cracks and fractures covering their surfaces. They then burst open, a double dose of the fog covering Chad. His hair stood on end as his entire body tightened, blood dripping from his nose as his lips pulled back in a rictus grin. For all intents and purposes, he looked like a living corpse for a moment as the germs ran through his system. Between their combined effects and two blasts from the Dark Room of Nightmare, his Life Points plunged to 1,200.

After adding another two cards to his hand, Reston played another, saying, "Play Symbol of Heritage. If three monsters of same name in Graveyard, may pay 800 Life Points to summon one to field. Bring back Giant Germ."

Reston's Life Points settled down to 2,400, and a strange variant on the "stylized ankh" of Monster Reborn appeared on the field, three gems in its centerpiece. It shone for a moment, and then another Giant Germ rose into being, hovering in front of the Pillar of Death. (1,000/100)

Chad frowned at seeing that last Giant Germ, thinking, If he has any more ways to damage me in his hand, this duel will end on this turn. He could hear the roaring and howling in his mind, beckoning him to abandon himself to it, and threw his willpower against it, trying to pen it back.

"Lytic Cycle effect once more," the Pillar of Death said, his Life Points falling to 1,900... until Newdoria covered his body with the black energy yet again, keeping his Life Points at 2,400.

Again the Giant Germ shook and convulsed, and then exploded into a cloud of plague and germs. It flew over Chad, and this time he was beyond the pain, even as his body adopted the corpse's shriveling yet again. Blood dripped from his mouth as his Life Points bottomed to 700, and then to 400 when the Dark Room of Nightmare gave him one final blast.

"Set card facedown," Reston said, "and end turn. Draw."

The artist swayed where he stood for a moment, his body replenishing itself and shaking off the enforced rigor mortis. He then raised his head, and his eyes briefly set Reston on edge - they were now the dead, empty black eyes of a shark. He wiped the blood from his mouth and drew a card, Gazelle roaring behind him...

Reston merely waved to his activating trap. "Bad Reaction to Simotchi," he explained. "Turns healing into Life Point loss. Even applies to Image effects. Duel over."

Chad's eyes turned human as it sunk in, and he dropped his card, watching it flutter to the ground. It landed face-up, a Wild Nature's Release.

And then Gazelle bit into his shoulder, the energy turned blood-red, and it was as though his soul were infected. The artist cried out in pure agony, Gazelle's effect causing his body to jerk and spasm as it ripped through his cells. His eyes themselves began to bleed, dripping like red tears on his clothing, and he arched backwards as his Life Points struck zero.

The Tree Swing and its hanging corpses vanished, and the field beneath the feet of both duelists faded away. Reston shook his arm, his Duel Disk turning to smoke, and strode up to Chad with his hands behind him. "Gave into the beast," he said. "First mistake."

Even as the Darkness Infection rose through him, Chad could hear the words. He swallowed, grunting, "You knew?"

"Could sense it in your actions. Its power great, but not enough. Foolish enough to succumb to it. Not enough to win."

The tall man felt his legs buckle, and dropped onto his hands and knees, breathing hard. I... I have no idea how much of myself I may have lost... and it still wasn't enough...

The Pillar of Death laid his hand on Chad's head. "You go bye-bye."

In a rush of pure torture, the Darkness Infection burst through Chad Montmelier, and the entire world became a single pinpoint... which blinked out.

0000000

"Laura fell," Degas noted as the duel ended. "Sol fell. Now Chad is down. That leaves just Gerald to finish out the set. Perhaps we were being overcautious when we chose to hold the Pillar of Death in reserve... had we sent him out first, we could have wiped out Gerald and his friends without any trouble."

Alexander narrowed his eyes, a look of utter concern on his face. "We had good reasons for worrying. And lest we forget, he still has to duel Gerald before we can declare victory. That will be the determining factor."

"You have a point, Alexander... Still, two out of three is two better than any of the other Pillars can claim."

The man in green sighed, leaning against his armrest as the mirrors changed their picture. He then asked, "When will we send Hanzaki to take care of our... errand?"

"Once he returns with your girlfriend," Degas replied. "By the way, why is she taking so long?"

"I haven't a clue... and I would not not to spoil her fun by spying on her," Alexander said.

The man in black rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "This is part of why I keep to myself."

0000000

Gerald watched as the orb of darkness swirled into nothing but a black fog. This soon cleared, revealing the Pillar of Death and Chad. As Gerald had both feared and expected, his friend was unconscious on the ground, his body marked with the Darkness Infection.

Reston bent over Chad, adjusting his body into the recovery position, and then straightened up. He blinked, and then knelt beside the defeated young man, retrieving a discarded oxygen tank and hooking it to his waist before standing again.

The Chosen of the Light and the Pillar of Death stared at each other for a long, silent moment. Both looked directly into each other's eyes, but neither looked away or flinched. In the end, Gerald raised his arm, reached up, and activated his Duel Disk. The tray swung out and locked into position.

With a hiss of breath, Reston shook his head. "Not here," he said. "Great Lakes Ballroom. Go there when ready." Three booming sounds and three rings of black energy spread out from his feet, and he vanished.

After uttering a curse under his breath, Gerald took a few deep breaths, shut off his Duel Disk, and headed into Camp Snoopy, briefly nodding to his comatose friend. His footsteps led him to the west.

0000000

Elsewhere in the Twin Cities, in front of a small antique shop, a man clad from head to toe in Lycra sat on the ground, drumming his fingers. Hanzaki had arrived here an hour ago, and somehow his passenger had yet to emerge. And this was after spending a half-hour at Midway Books, from which she had emerged empty-handed.

The clerks are all down and out, Hanzaki thought, what could take you so long? Oh, this was most definitely not in my job description...

As he thought that, the most beautiful sound in the world came to his ear: the sound of the bell over the shop's door ringing. Bethany stepped out next to him, wearing a modest blue dress, and he pushed himself back to his feet. "Find anything?" he said in a voice that mostly concealed his boredom.

The girl nodded, carefully holding up her find. It was a statue, carved from gray stone, that showed three frogs gathered in a half-circle around a larger frog. "Do you think he'll like it?" she asked.

"I just work for him," the messenger replied. "I'm not his art critic."

Opening the bag she was carrying, Bethany set the statue back into it and frowned. "I hope he does... after all, last year I didn't get him anything."

"You two had yet to meet last year..."

"That's not the point!" the former Pillar of Chaos snapped.

LIFE SHAVER
Type: Normal Trap Card
Image: An hourglass in midair, its bottom broken and the sand spilling into a waiting hand.
Effect: For each Standby Phase that this card was facedown on your field before activation, your opponent discards one card from their hand.
Note: This card was used by Kaiba in the original series episode "Clash in the Coliseum, Part Three". All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

LYTIC CYCLE
Type: Normal Magic Card
Image: A Giant Germ bursting apart from within.
Effect: You may only play this card during your Main Phase 1. For the rest of this turn, you may destrpy monsters on your side of the field by paying 500 Life Points. Monsters destroyed this way are considered destroyed in battle. Each time you destroy a monster, you may draw a card. During your End Phase, remove this card from play.

NEWDORIA
Image Effect: "Gift of Death" - If a monster you control is destroyed, and you do not receive Battle Damage from its destruction, you gain 500 Life Points.

Coming next chapter: The Pillar of Death has overcome every opponent he has faced thus far. Now the only one left to confront him is Gerald Laxina himself. Without any knowledge of his opponent's strategy, armed only with the deck he has wielded against all comers, the Chosen of the Light must face the Darkness's champion... a man who has defeated both of his allies. Can Gerald overcome Reston's viral might? Find out in Chapter Twenty-Nine, "Epidemic".

[Dark Sage]

Well, at least Chad gave him a better challenge than Laura did.

But will Chad ever truly recover. Reston seems to have awakened something primal inside him... It may have just been a side effect of dueling a Pillar, or it may have been something even darker...

I look forward to the next chapter, which may be the last chapter of this arc. We'll just have to see.

[Shuppet Master]

Oh man, I knew this was going to happen.

Looks like it's up to Gerald to save the day, and he will, or else this story ends in tragedy. Will Laura and Chad ever be the same, now that they were infected with the Darkness Infection?

[Blademaster]

Well, I've finally made it back, (Thank you God for antibiotics.) and once again, you've outdone yourself, Jason. The duel was impressive, as always, the conflict in Chad's mind was a cool touch, and as long as the chapter was, it never once got boring or lagged at all.

All in all, well done; I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Gerald and Reston face off next time.

Until then, laterz!

EDIT: I just saw SAW III the other day; John/Jigsaw was on his deathbed the whole movie, which REALLY made me think of Reston.

So, I have a suggestion - just a little Easter Egg for some of us horror fans reading this fic. How about before the duel with Gerald begins, when Gerald confronts Reston, Reston quotes Jigsaw.

"Hello, Gerald. I want to play a game."

That would be an AWESOME little addition to the story. You should consider it, huh? Huh??

[Master of Paradox]

Yesterday, the fourth Pillar of Darkness, the Pillar of Death, awoke. He gathered his power and set out to fight against the Light. And so far he has won.

He defeated Laura last night. He defeated Chad this morning. I'm almost certain he defeated Sol, although I have yet to see proof of that. Now I am the only one left to oppose him. I, Gerald Laxina, Chosen of the Light, am the last of the Light's servants to duel him.

If I win, the Mall of America and all the Darknes Infected within it will be freed, and the last of the Pillars will fall. If I lose, Laura, Chad, Sol, and I, along with the entire state of Minnesota and most likely the world, are finished, and the Balance will be tilted for good.

But Degas and Alexander did not take an important element into account when they made this plan. By targeting and infecting Laura, they have helped me come to one conclusion, one very simple goal for my battle with the Pillar of Death.

I am going to kill him.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Epidemic

Three booming noises and three circles of black energy spread from the ground in front of the Great Lakes Ballroom. Once the energy cleared, Reston dusted off his coat, adjusting the collar. He then reached into his pocket and fished out the vial of medication he kept on hand for when he started coughing blood.

He frowned, noting, "Running low. Will need more in near future." Dropping it back into his pocket, he put his oxygen mask back on, adjusted the valve, and strode into it.

The Great Lakes Ballroom was simply a large, enclosed area tucked into a southwestern corner of the Camp Snoopy area. It was one of those places you could reserve for major events, and as such had a certain blandness to its decor. In recent times, however, a group of believers had started renting it out on Sunday mornings for church sessions. Reston had struck before they could clear it out, and thus it still held the trappings of the River Church.

As he walked into the room, Reston scowled, dark energy crackling around his body. Shallow as it was, there was still traces of quiescient faith in some of the parishoners among the Darkness Infected, and it clashed badly with his nature as a Pillar. He kicked a young woman out of the way, heading to the back of the room, and then cracked his knuckles as he climbed onto the stage there.

"Could use change of decor," the Pillar of Death said to himself as he reached the back of the Ballroom. "Folding chairs out of place. Does not give correct appearance." He paused, picking up a discarded hymnal, and then tilted his head. "Idea."

He tossed the hymnal aside and interlaced his fingers, concentrating. A trace of wind started to whistle around him, and various pieces of paper spun across the floor. Soon black lightning danced around his body, sparking up his arms and over his fingers.

Reston held out his hands, fingers spread, and energy shot out to play over the room...

The door faded into shadow, and then vanished, replaced by a shimmering black portal.

0000000

After Lucifer had left the power room, he had run into Demetrius Lark, and the two began to walk together, under the agreement that Lucifer would stand back and let Demetrius do the work if they ran into the Pillar of Death. Walking in silence is not very captivating, however, and so the two began to converse. Demetrius soon described his duel with Mako, complete with a careful recap of what he had seen during his "trip".

"So... you have seen ze Lark family's future?" Lucifer asked.

Demetrius nodded. "I didn't get exact years out of what they showed me, but it looked like a hundred years or so, judging by how old everyone looked. I knew there was something special about me, but to establish a lasting legacy..." He grinned like a fool, tightening his grip on his cane.

Lucifer's expression went sour, and he shook a finger at his walking companion. "Do not let your enzusiasm get ze best of you, Monsieur Lark. Ze future is impossible to predict with perfect accuracy. Zis mainly comes down on your shoulders." He then looked almost sad as he continued, "In addition, what makes such zings as 'legacies' romantic is zat you do not see zeir ultimate fate. I do not have zat privilege."

It took a moment for Demetrius to catch on, and then he frowned. "Right. You're immortal."

"Which means zat I have seen my family members create zeir own 'legacies'. Zey rot zrough and fall apart after about two hundred years or so of living up to zem. Feel fortunate zat Duel Monsters will likely not last so long." The Beloved of Fire then adjusted one of his rings as he added, "And try to make your family famous for more zan just its dueling prowess."

The younger of the two (although he appeared older) tilted his hat. "Indeed. I'm already trying to do that - my family does our damnedest to cultivate true nobility in thought and deed. If nothing else, ours will the most dignified lineage that ever went under."

Lucifer could not resist a laugh, but Demetrius answered with one of his own, clearing any tension between them. This was fortunate, as moments later they encountered Chad Montmelier's unconscious form.

0000000

Somewhere in St. Paul, Degas and Alexander had briefly left their chairs, pacing around the mirror room in order to stretch their legs. The mirrors were all focused on the Great Lakes Ballroom but for one; the lone exception had locked onto Gerald Laxina and was showing his approach.

"I wonder if I'm being overly optimistic," Degas said as the two turned a corner. "When the Shadow Queen did battle with the Three Heroes, none of her minions ever scored a victory. She had to face one of them herself before finally defeating any of them. Of course, she was then dumb enough to duel the other two at once. I wonder how she likes demonic servitude..."

Alexander shook his head. "I cannot help but feel sorry for her, in a way. The Nameless Demons are, by and large, warped and disgusting."

"Indeed. But that's beside the point. The point is that Reston has already defeated three of Gerald's allies so far. That leaves Gerald as the strongest of the group... and if Reston defeats him, there are no duelists left in Minnesota who are strong enough in the Light to confront him." The Hand of Darkness pursed his hands before him, turning another corner. "We simply need to mop up Gerald's remaining allies and the state is ours. And then we can expand..."

"Let's not count the chickens just yet," the Dark Conduit replied, looking annoyed. "We did that when Jean-Vic dueled Gerald, remember? Your cuts may have healed, but don't lose the memory to go with them."

With a snort, Degas admitted, "You have a point. That overconfidence is part of what defeated the Shadow Queen..."

The door to the mirror room opened, and Hanzaki stepped out, hands behind his back. "Reporting in," he said, nodding his head.

Slowing to a stop, his employers nodded to him. "Rest for now," Alexander ordered. "We will have another assignment for you in a minute. And send Bethany in, will you?"

The messenger bowed before stepping out, and both men returned to their chairs. A moment later, Bethany walked in and stood by Alexander, watching the mirrors. She gave a little shudder.

"Gerald is almost there," Degas noted. "The show is about to start. Care to join us, Bethany?"

After a moment, the girl replied, a slight shudder in her voice, "All right..."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Alexander asked at that point, frowning.

His girlfriend gave him a nod, and then settled on his lap, curling against him. As his arm slid around her, she smiled and whispered into his ear, "I got you a present. Did you think I would forget?"

The man in green blinked, and then smiled despite himself, whispering back, "I almost forgot myself."

"Happy birthday," Bethany said, kissing his cheek before turning back to the mirrors.

0000000

Quiet footsteps echoed through the empty, silent space of Camp Snoopy as Gerald Laxina walked along the path, his shoes thudding down in constant rhythm as he walked along. His deck was in his hands, and he sorted through his cards, making sure he was ready.

I've used this deck since I arrived here, he thought to himself, and so far I have yet to suffer any major disasters. Of course, my duels up to this point were against opponents who hadn't proven they were truly dangerous... He straightened the cards and returned them to the deck slot of his Duel Disk. I will keep my trust in them. And may the Light give me strength.

With that, he passed the last of the stands in the park's food court, and the Great Lakes Ballroom appeared before him. Over the room's sign, a half-torn banner read "The River Church". And where the door should have stood there was instead a rectangular portal of pure darkness.

The now-familiar feeling of purest dread flowed over Gerald. His stomach roiled, and he could taste bile in his mouth as he began to sweat. Drawing on his reserves of calm, he slowly walked forward and stepped through the portal, wiping off his forehead.

On the other side, the lazy young man's foot set down on a cracked marble floor. On either side of him stood crumbling walls of stone, time and the elements having ground away their surfaces and cracked them to the center. Vines had overrun some of them, eroding further at them... all but for the wall at the very back. This wall stood proudly, untouched by the elements, even though the walls on either side of it were broken and pitted.

Overhead, a setting sun gave a sickly light to the entire affair, and cast colorful shadows through the stained glass windows on the back wall. There were three of them, in a low arc near its top. The one in the center depicted a massively tall man, entire body wrapped in a black cloak but for two thin, bony hands, which held the haft of a giant scythe, its edge rendered in almost transparently blue glass. On the left window stood a gaunt, bald figure, twisted and wracked by some sort of disease - it could be described as Helpoemer without the bindings. On the right window was a man made of blades, holding a severed head in his hand and carrying a bloodstained sword. Not to Gerald's surprise, the severed head was his own.

The Pillar of Death sat on the ground underneath the center window, leaning against the wall with his eyes shut. As he opened them, a bell rang from somewhere overhead. Gerald craned his neck up, and then turned around. Behind them, in a tower attached to the wall he'd passed through, there was a great iron bell. It rang eight times - four notes descending, and then the same four notes ascending. He had heard them before; they were the call to worship.

Turning back to the Pillar of Death, Gerald said, "Interesting choice of decor. When I dueled Jean-Vic, we stood atop the Cathedral of St. Paul. The Darkness likes desecrating churches..."

"Symbol of the Light," the sick man said as he pulled himself to his feet, using the wall as support. His legs shook for a moment, and then he adjusted the oxygen tank on his waist. "Gerald Laxina..."

Nodding, Gerald replied, "Reston. That was the town in West Virgina where a laboratory full of monkeys died from a strain of Ebola. But that strain can't affect humans... why didn't you call yourself Marburg or Lassa?"

One of Reston's eyebrows rose, and he muttered, "Know diseases... Matter of style. Other diseases too close to other names. Care to know real name?"

"I have no reason to." Raising his Duel Disk, Gerald activated it, narrowing his eyes. "You defeated my friends. They're all suffering because you decided to pick them off before you came after me. Was that necessary?"

Raising his arms, Reston crossed them over his head. Dark energy channeled through him as he said, "Saved time. Would duel you in turn. By defeating others first, no need to hunt them afterward. Knew you would demand duel after doing so." The pale Duel Disk came into being on his left arm, and he activated it.

As he readied himself, Gerald looked into the Pillar of Death's eyes. He saw the lack of humanity in them, and gritted his teeth, withstanding it. "I want to adjust the stakes before we begin. If I lose, I will become a Darkness Infected. But if I win, your life ends."

The Pillar of Death widened his eyes, even as he put on his oxygen mask and adjusted the valve. "Surprise. No value in human life?"

"You don't seem to value it yourself," the younger man replied. "So... do we have a deal?"

"Dying anyway. If defeated, would cease to be Pillar. Would suffer full ravages of Feinglory's Systemic Circulatory Deterioration... would die anyway. Stakes actually the same." He nodded. "Accepted."

Both men drew their opening hands, and the symbol of the Dark Duel drew itself around their feet. The church bell tolled once more, and both Life Point counters set themselves to 8,000.

0000000

On an island somewhere, the ages-old man known as Merlee looked up from a salad he was midway through eating, frowning. "Powerful Light and powerful Darkness are preparing to clash," he mused. "This is necessary, but... the amount of energy that will create will have its conseqences. I can only hope they aren't dire..."

0000000

Ulysses Cantrell had never saw the need for a car. He preferred his bicycle, thinking it better for both the environment and for his health. As he neared seventy years old, the latter became an ever-more pressing concern.

But midway to the Mall of America, he had to dig his feet into the ground, throwing up gravel as he came to a hard stop. Taking a few deep breaths, he shook his head. "Gerald is taking a mighty risk," he muttered. "Light be with him, he can't afford to lose..."

0000000

By the time Lucifer and Demetrius got to the Great Lakes Ballroom, the portal had vanished, and the doors were shut. Demetrius grabbed the handle and twisted it, but the door was locked, and all that he got were low clicking noises. "Blast," he muttered. "What now?"

Crossing his arms, Lucifer shook his head. "We wish Monsieur Laxina all ze fortune we can. Zat, I am afraid, is all eizer of us can do."

0000000

As he fanned his opening hand, Gerald frowned, murmuring, "You may begin."

"Planned on it." Pulling the top card from his deck, Reston glanced at it, and then thought, Move careful. Deck adjusted for success against Chosen, but overconfidence lethal. "Summon Acid Slime," he finally decided aloud.

A swirling blue puddle appeared on Reston's field, slowly beginning to congeal. It turned into a thick, blue gel, which rose up from its puddle state into a rounded-off X form. A red core appeared in the center, and it rose up on two of its ends, waving its top about. (800/1,000)

The Pillar of Death then noted, "Set two cards facedown and end turn."

As he drew, Gerald murmured, "Never seen that one before." He paused, turned an eye to the other cards in his hand, and then slowly took one and slid it into his Duel Disk. "I set this card facedown..." It appeared as he said so. "And then I'll summon... Cyber Tutu, in Attack Mode." Hesitation rang in his voice.

The air turned pink for a moment, hearts bubbling everywhere, and then a little girl in a red-and-white ballerina's outfit spun into being. She wore a visor over her eyes, and her hair was a light pink. She giggled for a moment... until the Pillar of Death looked at her, whereupon she cringed, curling up towards Gerald. (1,000/800)

With a snap of his fingers, Gerald pointed at Reston's monster, ordering, "Cyber Tutu, attack his Acid Slime with Fouette Strike. Do not let him scare you into submission."

It took the girl a few moments to get herself back together, and then she nodded. One of her legs rose up, and she flexed it a few times before gliding towards the slime with a muted grace. Springing off of her toe, she spun in midair, bringing her foot down hard and splattering the slime every which way. She then let out a cry of disgust, shaking bits of the gel off of her slipper.

Reston's Life Points went down to 7,800, but he explained, "Acid Slime effect deals 1,000 damage on destruction." And as he said so, a large chunk of the slime hit Gerald's neck, searing his skin and forcing his fists to clench as it ate away at him. He flicked it off of his shoulder, his Life Points down to 7,000.

Her job done, the Cyber Tutu glided back to Gerald's side and stamped her foot a few times to shake off any lingering slime, as her master declared, "My turn ends."

Those dead eyes shut, and the Pillar of Death took his next card, flicking two between his fingers and sliding them into his Duel Disk. "Monster in Defense Mode and card facedown. End turn." The concealed holograms flashed into being without any fanfare.

On his next draw, Gerald shut his eyes, turning his thoughts to the facedown cards. While setting a monster does prevent me from using Cyber Tutu's effect, he thought, Reston has to know that my strategy does not care about that. Something larger is in the works. "I set a card facedown," he then said as he did so, "and summon..." He paused again, hand moving between his cards, and then chose. "...Inaba White Rabbit in Attack Mode."

The air in front of Gerald blurred, much like it did when Hanzaki teleported, and a small white rabbit faded into view, standing next to a carved antique. Its ears twitched, as did its nose. Reston looked at it and it panicked, hiding behind its base. (700/500)

"Stay calm, my rabbit," Gerald said, raising an eyebrow. "Attack him directly and you may feel better."

The base came to life, energy traveling up its center, and then the Inaba White Rabbit vanished, becoming a small ball. It zoomed up to Reston, and the rabbit emerged, both hind feet striking squarely in his chest. The Pillar of Death did not even move as the attack landed, just standing stock-still. His Life Points still went down to 7,100.

They never seem to react anymore, Gerald thought as he took a card off of his Duel Disk. "I end my turn, returning Inaba White Rabbit to my hand by its effect." Once again the air blurred, and both rabbit and base vanished.

Before Reston could draw his next card, he spasmed, clutching his chest. Sweat poured down his face, and he adjusted the valve on his oxygen mask again. He then blinked, muttering aloud, "Odd. Heart skipped beat. Not a usual symptom." Drawing his card, he held it up for Gerald's view.

Leaning forward, Gerald read its name, and then put his hand to his forehead. "That card? In a Dark Duel? Oh, my."

"Indeed," Reston said as he played it. "Did not expect to draw it so early. Card overwhelmed last opponents. Activate Dark Snake Syndrome."

A low hissing filled the air, and Gerald broke out sweat, sinking to one knee as feelings of weakness ran roughshod through his body. Again, bile splashed on his tongue as his stomach turned over, and he set a hand on the ground, shaking for a moment. Once it was done, he stood up, seeing the black marks on both himself and his opponent.

"Familiar with effect?" the Pillar of Death asked as he took another card from his hand.

Gerald just nodded, eyes narrow. "That card does greater and greater amounts of damage, doubling every turn, until either one of us is beaten or the card itself is destroyed. I've had to deal with it before."

"Good. Previous opponents seemed not to know. Annoying." Placing his other chosen card on the Duel Disk, Reston said, "Set monster in Defense Mode and end turn."

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from last post:

Two fingers took the next card from Gerald's deck, and he muttered, "I thank you not to talk of my friends that way. Either way, I play Banner of Courage, which will grant my monsters 200 Attack Points."

The sky overhead split, and a large steel pole smashed into the ruined temple's floor, throwing chunks of marble everywhere. A large banner with a simple design unfurled from the pole, fluttering in the breeze of the artificial evening. The Cyber Tutu smiled and straightened up, adjusting her visor. (1,000/800 - 1,200/800)

"Next," Gerald continued, taking another card up - the one he had considered using previously - and playing it, "I will summon my Jinzo #7 in Attack Mode."

A hole opened in the floor, and the prototype machine sprang up, parts clanking noisily. One fist went up to polish the large numeral 7 on its shoulder. (700/500) The Banner of Courage fluttered, and its eyes lit up. (700/500 - 900/500)

The Pillar of Death looked at it, as he had both of Gerald's previous monsters, but as machines feel no fear, it just looked back. He then hissed and turned his attention back to his field.

"Jinzo #7," the lazy young man said as he stretched, "attack Reston directly with Cyber Glitch."

Parts of the machine whirred within it, and it raised one arm, gathering a ball of energy on its palm.

Reston saw this and waved to one of his facedown cards, saying, "Counter with Nightmare Wheel. Capture Jinzo #7 and hold it captive, preventing attack."

The hideous Catherine wheel lowered down from the sky, slowly spinning as it lowered. Two chains whipped out from its sides, and it caught hold of the machine, yanking it onto its surface. The chains locked into place and tightened, pressing it hard against the spikes.

With a shrug, Gerald said, "I will end my turn if that is the case."

Reston drew, and then crossed his arms, saying, "Dark Snake Syndrome activate."

But to his surprise, Gerald did not react as much as either of his friends had. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and his hands twitched, but he stood there without overt flinching, blinking a few times in apparent boredom. His Life Points fell to 6,800, and Reston's went to 6,900.

After a moment, the Pillar of Death asked, "No apparent pain. Why?"

"When I was ten years old, I suffered an ear infection," Gerald said. "The fluid build-up left me in so much pain that I spent hours alternating between screaming and uneasy, restless sleep. When I finally got to a doctor, the treatment involved puncturing my eardrum. Jacob Waterknot's Hell Meteor hurt worse than that, but I hesitate to say it was by much." He shrugged. "Compared to that, this level of pain is a stubbed toe."

As he finished his sentence, Gerald blinked and added, "Oh, I almost forgot." One of his facedown cards lifted up. "I activate Attack and Receive in response to taking damage, dealing you 700 Life Points worth of added damage."

An armored knight stepped into the ruined cathedral, greaves clanking on the floor. He briefly knelt, crossing himself with his sword, and then dashed forward with his weapon drawn back. The sword sliced into Reston's chest, tearing his shirt and making the sick man fall to his knees from the force, his Life Points down to 6,200.

There was a moment's pause for Reston to get back to his feet, adjusting his oxygen mask. He took a few breaths, adjusting his coat, and then reached down. "Flip Poison Mummy into Attack Mode," he muttered. "Effect deals 500 points of damage to opponent. Believe called 'tit for tat'."

The Pillar of Death's facedown monster turned over, revealing two human mummies - gaunt figures wrapped in rotting purple linen. Both let out quiet moans, raising their hands. (1,000/1,800) One then reached into its body, fingers grabbing hold of something concealed, and pulled itself open. A thick cloud of purple smoke rolled out from its interior, washing over Gerald and causing him to choke for a moment as his Life Points dropped to 6,300.

"Next play Pot of Greed..." Reston ignored the hologram, as did almost all players, and drew two more cards. "And then play Germ Infection on Cyber Tutu."

The little ballerina staggered for a moment, eyes going dull. She gave Gerald a confused look, and then coughed, holding a fist in front of her mouth.

"What are you doing to her?" Gerald asked, eyes narrowing.

The Pillar of Death shook his head. "No worry. Germ Infection: bacterial disease similiar to the common cold, caused by the organism Bacilius Shadorius. Symptoms include coughing, runny nose, irritated eyes, and feelings of fatigue. Not lethal, but gradually weakens the victim. In game terms, reduces target's Attack Points by 300 each turn on Standby Phase." He studied his hand and concluded, "End turn."

It was only after Gerald drew his next card that he remembered something important. He turned to face the Nightmare Wheel just as it began turning, its spikes grinding into the outer surface of the Jinzo #7. A red light shot down on him, and his Life Points lowered to 5,800... but again, he showed little sign of any damage.

Reston sighed through his oxygen mask. "Right. Machine. Feel no pain. No pain to transfer."

"Exactly," Gerald said. He then heard a low hacking and spun back to his other monster. The Cyber Tutu was doubled over, coughing hard and shallow as the Germ Infection flared up. She wiped off her face with a handkerchief, taken from nowhere, and then groaned as her Attack Points sank to 900.

If it wasn't for his other facedown monster, I could attack directly with Cyber Tutu, the younger man thought as he studied his hand. But... I see what got Chad and Laura in so much trouble. About a quarter of the average deck is devoted to protecting yourself from monsters. Such protection is useless against Reston, because he will never set it off. That makes much of my deck dead draws...

Tapping his foot, the Pillar of Death said quietly, "Knew man like you once. Spent life working at desk. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer... terminal stage. Made interesting experiment - disabled waste removal systems to see how long toxins took to kill him. About a week."

Looking up from his cards, Gerald glared at his opponent, taking a card from his hand. Thank you, Reston, he thought. I just remembered why I arranged to have your death be the stakes. "I set this facedown..." A facedown card appeared before him.

"Activate Dust Tornado," Reston replied. "Destroys facedown card."

A chill wind blew through the ruined cathedral, blowing leaves past the stained glass at its back. The leaves began to spin around both duelists, tightening their pattern into a low funnel. This funnel reached out and touched Gerald's newest facedown card, ripping it - a Spell Shield Type-8 - to small pieces, and then throwing the pieces into the distance.

"Hum," Gerald said under his breath. More audibly, he declared, "I now summon Inaba White Rabbit again."

The teleporter arrived on his field for a second time, a small white rabbit standing underneath it. (700/500) The Banner of Courage waved proudly, and the rabbit's ears twitched. (700/500 - 900/500)

"Direct attack," the rabbit's controller said, and it did so, turning into a ball of white light, flying up to Reston, and kicking him square in the chest. The Pillar of Death raised one hand dismissively as his Life Points lowered to 5,300.

With nothing else to do, Gerald waved to signal his turn's conclusion, and the Inaba White Rabbit vanished as it returned to his hand.

It was Reston's turn again, and he drew, watching Gerald closely. The Dark Snake Syndrome activated again, and the Pillar of Death's vision blurred red as the symptoms kicked in. Deep inside his mind, he reminded himself that the disease was tearing his cells open and flooding his bloodstream with further poisons; however, without the pain to back that up, he had trouble believing it.

The Chosen of the Light, meanwhile, crossed his arms and shut his eyes as Reston watched him. For a brief second, one of his knees buckled, but he shifted his weight to the other foot and stood again, exhaling with a shudder. His fingers twitched, and he began to sweat again. And that was all the sign there was that he felt any more pain than Reston did.

Impressive willpower, the Pillar of Death thought as his Life Points dropped to 4,900 and Gerald's lowered to 5,400. Takes great strength of mind to withstand Dark Snake Syndrome without yielding. Futile. He took his latest draw and played it. "Play Mystik Wok on Poison Mummy. Sacrifice for Life Point gain equal to either score. Choose Defense."

A single, tremendous iron vessel rose from beneath the floor of the ruins. Reston raised his hand, and the two mummies vanished, reappearing in its center. A steel fork and spoon, as large as the wok, appeared on either side, and the utensils went to work, breaking the undead into pieces and stir-frying them. After a moment, Reston shut off his oxygen tank, removed the mask, and opened his mouth. A stream of energy flowed into his mouth from out of the wok, and his Life Points rose to 6,700.

Even as he turned pale, the lazy young man opposing Reston asked, "How... does that taste?"

"Like overcooked tilapia," the sick man answered. He put his oxygen mask back on, took his hand, and placed two cards from it on the Duel Disk. "Set monster in Defense and card facedown. End turn."

Gerald drew, and over his head the Nightmare Wheel clanked again, turning as it drove its spikes through his Jinzo #7's circuitry. He merely closed his eyes as the red light fell directly on them, his Life Points lowering to 4,900. In front of him, the Cyber Tutu coughed further, sinking to her knees as the Germ Infection ravaged her body. Tears fell from the little ballerina's eyes as her Attack Points lowered to 600.

"Be strong, you two," Gerald told his monsters, taking a card from his hand. "I won't let you suffer further. I summon my Amazon Archer in Attack Mode."

There was a rustling noise, and then a young woman landed on the cathedral's floor, her landing softened by a pair of leather shoes. Her clothes were primitively stitched, and she wore a quiver of arrows over one shoulder, a bow held over the other arm. Taking her weapon off her shoulder, she stroked back her short hair, glaring at Reston. His return glare didn't shake her. (1,400/1,000) The Banner of Courage fluttered again, and she smiled. (1,400/1,000 - 1,600/1,000)

"Now," Gerald continued, taking two cards from his Duel Disk, "I will sacrifice my Cyber Tutu and Jinzo #7 in order to activate Amazon Archer's effect, taking off 1,200 of your Life Points. More importantly, it will end their pain." He turned to the archer. "Go for the heart - use your Wild Arrow."

The little ballerina and the robot looked at their controller, and then the former sighed in relief. Both melted away and turned into light, which flew into the Amazon Archer's outstretched hand and formed an arrow of pure energy. This she nocked to her bow and drew back, shutting one eye. She then let go, and the arrow shot out, striking Reston directly in the chest. The Pillar of Death merely reached down and yanked the arrow out, his Life Points down to 5,700.

The younger man nodded, noting, "Good marksmanship. Now, take out his facedown monster with Savage Arrow."

Picking a normal arrow out of her quiver, the Amazon Archer nocked this one as well and fired it at Reston's facedown monster. The arrow flew... and struck bare marble, shattering. With a blink, the archer looked around, not sure where her target had gone to.

That question was answered when a large brown creature, with a long body and a single red eye, flew down from the ceiling and wrapped around her body. She struggled for a moment, and then the end of the creature moved up to her. It split, revealing a four-pronged "hand", which dug into her chest. A small amount of blood leaked out, and the Amazon Archer gasped... and then her eyes turned glassy, and her arms fell to her side.

With a wave of his hand, Reston explained, "Kisetai. When attacked while facedown, attaches to attacking monster. Kisetai: scientific name Parasite Spiritisangui. Drains life energy from host and stores in eye, which then transfers to controller. In game terms, heals Life Points by half of equipping monster Attack Score during opponent Standby Phase."

Given no other choice, Gerald scowled and replied, "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

The Pillar of Death drew his next card, and then paused. Both men stood as still as possible, letting the Dark Snake Syndrome run rampant over their bodies. Both of their eyes went bloodshot as the tiny blood vessels under the surface leaked, and they both tightened their fists as the last burst of pain ran through them, sending Gerald's Life Points to 4,100 and Reston's to 4,900.

Shutting his eyes, Gerald rubbed them, groaning. His eyes opened again, and he held one hand out, announcing, "I activate my second Attack and Receive. This will deal you 1,000 points of damage, since there's another one in my Graveyard."

Two armored knights walked out of the card this time, as opposed to just one the first time. They crossed their blades, bowed their heads, and then charged Reston. In surprise, he threw his arms over his head to protect himself, which resulted in the swords slicing into his arms and throwing him down. His Life Points lowered further, to 3,900, and he groaned as the knights vanished.

As he swayed on his feet, the Pillar of Death took a longer drag from his oxygen tank, and then blinked. He reached down, pulled the tank off of his belt and raised it to his eyes, looking it over. He then shut off the valve and took off his facemask. "Tank empty," he muttered. "Need new one." Tossing it over his shoulder, whereupon it clanked noisily on hitting the floor, Reston declared, "Image awaken."

Thick black smoke rolled out of Reston's back, mixing behind him. He opened his mouth and exhaled, more smoke pouring from it, and held up his hands as they unleashed smoke. All of the different sources formed one massive cloud behind him, which took the form of a thin, wretched man, one with orange skin and green hair. It wore a leather tunic and black pants, and its eyes were hidden by a thin leather ring. The Image stood behind Reston, arms crossing.

"Newdoria," Gerald noted. "A sadistic being that kills for fun and ultimately even kills the one who killed it. I presume your prison sentence was for murder."

"Yes," Reston said. "Was the Wandering Hospital Reaper. Took such joy in ending lives... but no need to rehash history. Continue turn with Card of Demise, drawing five cards but discarding hand in five turns." Five candles sprang up around Reston, and he pulled the top five cards from his deck, fanning them. "Now set monster in Defense Mode and activate facedown Poison of the Old Man."

A table sprang up in front of Reston, and on it appeared two potion bottles. One was small and round, holding purple liquid, and one was tall and thin with a green liquid inside of it.

Gerald said, "I know this card. One bottle heals your Life Points by 1,200, while the other will reduce my Life Points by 800. Which will you pick?"

In response, Reston held up his arms, which were still bleeding from the cuts inflicted by the Attack and Receive. He took the thin bottle of green liquid, bit into the cork, and pulled it out before drinking down the contents. His wounds slowly closed, leaving only bruising in their wake, and his Life Points rose to 5,100. He then tossed the bottle away, the table disappeared, and he said, "End turn." One candle went out.

Gerald then drew, but as he did so the Kisetai began to shiver. As it did so, the Amazon Archer cried out, her body turning pale and her head lolling back. The leech's body grew thick, and it turned its red eye to the Pillar of Death. The eye bugged out, and a thin beam of red light fell on Reston's wounds. His bruises disappeared, and his Life Points rose to 5,900.

"You are only making it easier to kill you," the lazy young man warned as he took another card from his hand. "I play Pot of Greed." Drawing twice, he then said, "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, giving me 1,000 Life Points..."

An aura of light surrounded Gerald, and he held his arms out, letting it work through him. He found this use of the card more satisfying, in a way, than previous uses, as if the light were more intense. The marks of the Dark Snake Syndrome shrank slightly as his Life Points rose to 5,100.

Reston's eyes narrowed, and he briefly raised an arm in front of his eyes. Sensitivity to light not Feinglory syptom, he thought. Must be Pillar nature. Wish had chance to study other Pillars. Wasted opportunity.

The light faded, and Gerald smiled as he played his next card, saying, "I now summon the Servant of Catabolism in Attack Mode."

A single mote of light flew out from Gerald's hand, surprising both duelists. It floated through the air, spiraling down onto the ground before expanding out into the unusual snail-like cephalopod. This was the one Gerald was bonded to, and so the Amazon Archer gave him a slight salute, while the Kisetai digging into her shriveled in fear. (700/500) The Banner of Courage waved yet again, empowering it. (700/500 - 900/500)

"Such odd creature," Reston said, blinking once more. "Not biologist or would vivisect."

"Bring your scalpel anywhere near my Servant and I will break your hands," the younger man warned. "And hands are a surgeon's lifeblood, aren't they?"

The sick man paled.

"As I was going to say," Gerald continued, "I will now have Amazon Archer attack your older facedown with Savage Arrow."

Knocking the Kisetai out of her field of view, the Amazon Archer took another arrow from her quiver and took aim, bow waving about as twinges of pain ran through her arms. She finally got a lock and fired, the arrow piercing through a small brown hamster-like rodent. It squeaked and exploded in a cloud of dust. (900/400)

A card jutted out of Reston's deck, and as he pulled it free, his Image set those gnarled, long-fingered hands on his shoulders and ran black energy across them. "Image Effect, Gift of Death, gives 500 Life Points if monster destroyed without Battle Damage," he said, his Life Points now 6,400. "Plus, monster was Bubonic Vermin - Special Summon new one facedown when flipped." Another facedown monster appeared on his field.

One hand ran over Gerald's temple as he frowned. "Fine. Servant of Catabolism, direct attack with Electric Tendrils."

The bizarre creature oozed forward, raising its tentacles as it passed cleanly between Reston's facedown monsters. The Pillar of Death merely waved his hand, and one of his facedown cards lifted up... and then there was an unearthly howl, and high above the cathedral's bell tolled.

And a wall of white fog rose in front of Reston, cutting off the Servant's attack. On closer examination, the fog appeared to be human shapes, but with tormented looks on their faces. The howl came from their open, screaming mouths.

"Spirit Barrier," Reston explained. "Prevents battle damage as long as monsters in play on field. Perfect defense against Direct Attack monsters."

"Like my deck," Gerald said, his eyes widening. "As long as that card is active, I have nothing I can use against you."

"Point exactly."

Wait, Gerald thought as his monster returned to him. I have one weapon to use against him... but I have to draw it soon. I cannot let everyone down like this. "I end my turn."

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from last post:

"And begin next." Reston drew his next card, and then paused, clenching his fists and muttering, "Without oxygen tank, will not be pleasant."

And then the Dark Snake Syndrome flared to life, and both duelists simply collapsed, blood running from their mouths and noses. But as he fell, Gerald's mind flitted elsewhere...

0000000

It was like standing behind a wall of unbreakable glass. Gerald pressed his hand against it, working out where he was - he stood on a single lighted spot, standing behind a transparent field, and stared into a void And in the center of that void...

She was much younger than he knew her as being. He was looking at a little girl, no older than six, cowering in the center of a dark room. Her hair was long and red, and it hung over her body as she whimpered. She wore a t-shirt and shorts, and her arms and legs were covered in wounds; cuts and bruises ran over her limbs. But he could see her eyes when she looked up, and that was all he needed to see.

"Laura," he whispered.

The girl, Laura, was cowering from something off to the edge of the room. It circled her, footsteps shaking the ground, and its oversized hands grabbed at the room's edges as it walked in circles. Occasionally the... thing let out a low growl, flexing its hands as it walked. Whenever it passed in front of Laura, the girl let out a low cry.

Unable to stop himself, Gerald raised his voice and said, "Laura, it's Gerald. Wake up. Please... at least look my way..."

But she couldn't hear him. All she could do was whimper.

And then the pain faded, and he was back in his own head...

0000000

Pools of blood marked the ground in front of either man as the duelists stood up again. Both men wiped their mouths on their hands, Gerald's Life Points at 3,500 and Reston's at 4,800. And then Gerald spoke. "You bastard."

"Why in particular?" the sick man asked, spitting a red glob on the cracked marble.

"You put those images in her head. She's torturing herself in her mind, and you were the one who did it to her."

Reston then shook his head, looking confused. "Cannot put thoughts in head. Darkness Infected create own torments. All disease does is put them there."

Taken aback, Gerald thought, In that case, what hasn't she told me about herself? "In any case..." He took a deep breath, held his arms in front of him, and whispered, "I call my Image."

It did not work the way Images usually worked. A pool of white light formed around Gerald's feet, much to his surprise, and then moved outward, wrapping up and around him. The light weaved itself into a lattice shape, slowly billowing out into a low, hunched figure...

The light eventually faded, revealing its true form. It was a tall, burly man in a metal skullcap and armor, with a dog's legs and tail. He stood behind Gerald and hunched his shoulders, yawning slightly, before scratching his side.

Reston blinked, tilting his head. "Indominable Fighter Lei Lei?"

Turning to look at it, Gerald sighed, shoulders slumping. "Well, I did sense I had a kinship with that card," he said, "but somehow I have no better idea than you do. And it's part of me."

"Still this turn," the Pillar of Death said with a shake of his head. "Normally, this card not in deck... but prepared for you. Knew what to add to deck to counter Chosen of the Light..." He switched cards on his Duel Disk. "Sacrifice Bubonic Vermin for Patrician of Darkness."

Gerald quickly turned back around and braced himself.

The little hamster appeared for a moment, and then poofed away. In his place, as the clouds passed in front of the sun, a dark man rose from the marble. The man had deep blue, cyanotic skin, with pointed ears and white hair, and his eyes were hidden in shadow from his brow. He wore a black cloak with a red lining, and one hand held the edge of his cloak. A grin crossed his face, revealing sharp teeth. (2,000/1,400)

"Set card facedown," Reston continued. "Now, Patrician, attack Servant of Catabolism. Crimson Lightning."

The powerful zombie raised his free hand, red energy crackling on the tip of one outstretched finger. He then pointed with that hand at the Servant of Catabolism, and a bolt of blood-red lightning burst out at the creature...

Hitting a button on his Duel Disk, Gerald noted, "I set this at the beginning of the duel and didn't think I'd ever use it. Huh. Activate Negate Attack."

From nowhere, an invisible field sprang up in front of Gerald's monsters. The lightning struck it and dissipated, thrown out in all directions.

As his eyes narrowed, Reston said, "End turn."

Gerald drew his next card, and then turned away. It was not worth it to watch the Amazon Archer convulse a second time as the Kisetai sucked the energy from her and fed it to Reston, raising the Pillar's Life Points to 5,600. When it was over, he sighed and played his draw. "I play Double Spell. By discarding a Magic Card, I may mimic any one Magic Card in your Graveyard. Therefore, I discard Level Limit - Area B to mimic your Card of Demise."

The Pillar of Death put a hand to his chin, murmuring, "Interesting."

A large hologram of Double Spell appeared on Gerald's field. Beside it, a large picture of Level Limit - Area B came into being. Energy streamed out of the latter card and into the former, draining the color from the Level Limit until it finally crumbled to dust. The Double Spell rippled and became Card of Demise before dissipating. Gerald drew his five cards even as five candles appeared on his field.

Waving one finger, Reston noted, "Now on time limit."

"That isn't a worry at this point," Gerald replied. He held up his hand to reveal one of his cards was glowing.

For a brief, almost invisible instant, Reston's mouth tightened and his eyes widened. It vanished before it could be confirmed.

The younger man did not notice the expression, instead playing another card with a declaration of, "I now activate my Giant Trunade."

Wind began to stream through the ruined cathedral, causing the bell to peal over their heads. It soon increased, blowing dead leaves across the floor, and then rose into a proper storm. The building itself began to shake, and then every card on the field vanished in the wind, the Banner of Courage ripping out of the floor as the other cards faded away. The Kisetai pulled away from the Amazon Archer, who let out a sigh of relief, and the marks of the Dark Snake Syndrome disappeared, the accompanying pain gone with them.

"I play my Banner of Courage again," Gerald continued, the banner rising up behind him as he said so, "and then I offer my Amazon Archer as a Tribute for..." He paused, taking a more reverent tone. "My Heaven's Sphere."

Setting her bow and quiver aside, the young girl knelt before Gerald, crossing her arms over her chest. Her face turned towards the sky, and she smiled, eyes shutting. Slowly, her body turned pure white, light rising around her to form a perfect sphere. The light drew back from the sphere, and in time it became solid, forming a large orb with the color and texture of pure marble. It looked, in fact, like the floor of the cathedral. (2,000/1,000) The Banner of Courage fluttered, and the sphere shined brighter. (2,000/1,000 - 2,200/1,000)

The Pillar of Death shrugged, looked at the Heaven's Gift... and then looked away, hiding his eyes. How? he wondered.

In contrast, the Servant of Catabolism raised its tendrils, caressing the surface of the Heaven's Sphere.

Raising one hand, Gerald ordered, "Heaven's Sphere, attack the Patrician of Darkness with Light of Justice."

A single point of light formed on the front of the sphere, and it slowly grew larger, the entire structure of the Heaven's Sphere throbbing in time to the growth. In time, the point was ready. Turning to the zombie noble, the orb throbbed once more and discharged its power in a single beam of light, burning towards it...

The Patrician of Darkness gestured with one hand, and the Heaven's Sphere spun on its axis, unleashing the beam on Reston's facedown monster. It appeared as a large, purple ball of indetermine material, with purple ooze at its center. (1,000/100) The light burned it to a cinder and clipped Reston's shoulder, causing the sick man to wince as his Life Points plunged to 3,500.

As the monster fell apart, however, a cloud of purple smoke rolled towards Gerald. He unwittingly breathed it, and then it felt like his body was on fire. He tensed up, his muscles locking and skin pulling back, and looked for a brief moment like a standing corpse as his Life Points dropped to 3,000.

Once the effect wore off, Gerald took a few deep breaths and muttered, "So... how did that work? I haven't seen an attack redirected like that before..."

"Effect of Patrician of Darkness," Reston explained. "Chooses target of attack on monsters on field. Chose to change target to Giant Germ. Giant Germ effect when destroyed takes 500 Life Points and Special Summons others." Two more large germ spores hovered on the Pillar's field as he said it.

"I see... I never encountered a Patrician of Darkness before." The younger man then shrugged. "But attacking monsters is just a sideline for me. Servant of Catabolism, attack him directly. And if that monster works like I think it does, you can't redirect direct attacks."

Correct, the Pilar of Death thought as he blinked. His confusion kept him from seeing the Servant of Catabolism reach his ankle and dig its tendrils into him. The electricity ran through him, reawakening long-dead nerves and running its energy through that channel. All thoughts left Reston's mind as he convulsed, pain funneling through him despite his expectations and sending his Life Points to 2,600.

"I set a card facedown," Gerald concluded as the Servant left Reston behind, "and end my turn."

It took several moments for Reston's body to discharge the excess electricity, during which he flinched and convulsed, sparks dancing on his fingers. He then straightened out, coughing twice. The coughs built up, and finally he spat a long, thin stream of blood onto the floor, more blood trickling from his mouth. "Long time since felt pain like that," he said. "Will not feel it again. Will cut own nerve endings if needed."

"I really don't know if that would stop it," the younger man said, raising an eyebrow.

Drawing a card, the Pillar said, "Told of Heaven's Sphere before sent out. Know weakness - no natural defenses. Play Ekibyo Drakmord on Sphere."

As the card appeared, the Pillar of Death's Image, Newdoria, held out its hands, and black smoke billowed out from its palms. It crossed the floor, wrapping around Heaven's Sphere like an insubstantial serpent. The sphere's surface faded, its natural glow flickering away, and then the smoke faded, leaving only an oily black sheen over its target.

Worry sank into Gerald's face as he said, "I... I've heard of that card before..."

"Targeted card cannot attack. On second of opponent Standby Phases after card played, equipped monster destroyed. Then disease spreads, returning to hand."

Something inside the Chosen of the Light cracked, and he thought, When Heaven's Sphere was simply removed from the game, part of my soul was torn in the process. What will happen if it dies?

Ignoring his opponent's plight, Reston continued, "Now play second Poison of the Old Man. Choose healing effect again."

A second time, the table sprang from the cathedral's floor, and the Pillar of Death snatched up the thin bottle of green liquid, drinking it down. His Life Points became 3,800, and he sighed in relief, his Image smiling foully behind him. "Now," he continued, "set two cards facedown and play Shallow Grave. Both choose monster from Graveyard and set facedown on field."

Taking out his Graveyard from its slot, Gerald picked one monster, as did Reston. Both men placed them on their Duel Disks, and two facedown monsters flashed into being on their fields.

"Replay Dark Snake Syndrome," the Pillar announced, "and end turn." Once again, the all-too-familiar marks of the black disease appeared on the bodies of both duelists. As the turn ended, the third candle on his field went out.

Gerald drew, shutting his eyes as he did so - not to concentrate further on the act, but to avoid having to look at Heaven's Sphere. The creation of Light was beginning to crack along the surface, light leaking out of the cracks, and the darkness swirled over its surface as the Ekibyo Drakmord ate at it. Taking a card, Gerald slid it into his Duel Disk. "Spell Sanctuary," he stated as it began to appear. "Both of us search our decks for any one Magic Card and add it to our hands. In addition, as long as the Sanctuary stands, all Magic cards can be played as Quick-Plays."

To Gerald's far left, visible through the destroyed wall of the cathedral, a building shimmered into being. It looked like a glowing church, and beams of light radiated from the steeple, penetrating the dying light of the battleground. Individual beams of light fell on both men's decks, and they took them from the Duel Disks, fanning through them until they found what they were looking for. They then took the cards from their decks, shuffled, and put the decks back in place.

Once his deck was back in the deck slot, Gerald set down the card he had searched for. "Now," he continued, "I play Nobleman of Extermination on your leftmost facedown card. If it's what I think it is, this search was not in vain."

A rather burly knight with an oversized sword in hand flashed into being beside Reston. He gave the Pillar a glare, and then spun the gigantic blade over his head. After two revolutions, he brought it down pointfirst into the concealed card. It was revealed as Spirit Barrier right before it blinked out of existence. Two more cards jutted out of Reston's deck when that happened, and the knight yanked them out before disappearing.

"...Nobleman of Extermination hits Trap Card," the sick man muttered to himself, "removes all traps by that name from play. Primary defense lost..."

"And that done," Gerald replied, "I summon my Inaba White Rabbit once more."

Once again, the white rabbit and its teleporter came into being, both none the worse for wear from their frequent jaunts back and forth between Gerald's hand and his field. Both appeared directly under the Banner of Courage. (700/500 - 900/500)

Stretching one arm, which for some reason was beginning to cramp, Gerald ordered, "Inaba White Rabbit, attack him directly."

Even as the teleporter began to warm up, Reston shook his head, waving to his other facedown card. "Activate Continuous Trap Card name of Skull Lair. Remove monsters from Graveyard until removed amount equal to target monster level, destroy target monster." Those long, thin fingers reached into the Graveyard slot and pulled forth three cards. "Poison Mummy, Giant Germ, Bubonic Vermin."

The floor behind Reston disappeared, and in its place appeared a strange set of masonry. It appeared on first glance to be a simple cobblestone alley, its walls not quite obscuring the stained glass over their heads, but something appeared to be wrong. And then a strange, luminescent fog rolled past the Pillar's ankles, whirling about itself as it began to grow. Newdoria hugged itself and shuddered as the fog passed it.

And then the images appeared in it. For brief seconds, one could see a giant germ spore, a pair of men wrapped in rotting linen, or a small hamster, their forms showing up on the fog for just a brief period before vanishing again. The fog whirled about again and again, and then suddenly surged across the field, rolling over the Inaba White Rabbit...

Gerald did not see what happened next. All he knew was that when the fog lifted, the Inaba White Rabbit existed no more.

This just caused the lazy young man to shrug, noting, "You don't have enough monsters to do that again. Servant of Catabolism, direct attack with Electric Tendrils."

The Pillar of Death blinked, thinking, Correct. Not enough monsters to destroy Servant. He then could not think anything, as the Servant of Catabolism reached him and dug its tentacles into his ankle. The electricity arced over him, and this time the Pillar of Death let out a cry of pain, blood splashing over his lips as he did so. When the shock wore off, he collapsed onto one knee, ill body shaking as his Life Points stopped going down, his Life Points at 2,900.

With the attack complete, Gerald adjusted his cards, glanced to the ailing Heaven's Sphere, and murmured, "Turn's over." The second candle on his field went out.

The Pillar drew, and the Dark Snake Syndrome marks flared to life. Once again, both men merely stared into each other's eyes, daring the other to flinch as the lowest level of pain crossed their bodies. Gerald's Life Points lowered to 2,800, and Reston watched his own total lower to 2,700.

For a moment, the Chosen of the Light just stood there, and then his knees wavered...

0000000

Again, he was back behind the unbreakable glass, but this time he already knew who he was looking at. The tall, blonde figure of Chad Montmelier was running across an endless plain, one that appeared to be the African Savannah by moonlight. He was panting, as if he had run for a very long time, and his clothes were torn to pieces. Unable to keep moving, Chad sank to one knee, sweat dripping onto the ground in front of him.

And then a roar sounded off in the distance, and Chad gulped. He tried to stand up, but one leg gave out and he fell over, staring at the sky.

"Chad?" a voice said beside him, and the tall young man looked up, seeing what appeared to be a young girl with endless black hair - Vivienne - standing beside him. She held out one hand, and he reached for it... but it disappeared just as he touched her.

And then there was another roar, and a figure came out of the shadows, chuckling. "Found you," it said, walking up to him and jamming its foot against his stomach.

Gerald had to blink a few times as he made out what the figure was. It was another version of Chad, but this one was only nominally human. This Chad's hair had grown out into a long mane; he had long, sharp fingernails, and the only clothing he wore was pants torn off at the knee. His teeth were filed into points, and his eyes... he had the dead eyes of a shark.

"Die," the vicious-looking Chad said to his trapped alter ego, and he pounced onto him, claws flashing. Gerald could not look away, try as he did.

It was several minutes, or so it seemed, before the vicious Chad was done ripping his normal self apart. Blood splattered the landscape, with torn and rent flesh scattered around the body. Several key organs were missing, while others had bits missing from them. Chad's hands and face were torn to pieces, and his legs were stripped to the bone...

...or so it seemed. Gerald blinked and Chad was back to normal, groaning as he forced himself back to his feet. And then came the roar, and he was off running again, but this time Gerald knew why.

Before he could try to speak, he was back in his own head.

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from last post:

As he recovered, Gerald discovered he was leaning against his Image. Lei Lei's hands were holding onto his shoulders, keeping Gerald upright as the last vestiges of the Dark Snake Syndrome passed through him.

"Thank you," the young man said as he left his Image's grip. "Incidentally, what's your effect?" He paused, getting a sudden flash of pictures in his mind, and then groaned, shaking his head. "Fat lot of good that will do me in this duel."

Lei Lei's face fell, and he turned away from his host, sighing.

Turning to Reston, Gerald asked, "Maybe you know. In his hallucination, Chad's being chased by a rather unpleasant version of himself. What does that represent?"

"That I know," the sick man replied. "Within Chad mind, feral part awakened. No pity, no mercy, just kills. Bestial part of him. During duel, part awoke, and now Chad frightened of it destroying civilized part."

"Oh," Gerald muttered.

"But enough," the Pillar then said as he reached to his Duel Disk. "Turn still on. Switch Germs to Defense Mode..." The Giant Germs on either side of the Patrician of Darkness sank to the ground, surrounded by a haze of purple smoke. "And play Nightmare's Steelcage, preventing attack from either side for two turns. Your count."

Not having seen this before, Gerald could only say, "How novel" as the steel bars sprang over his head. They anchored themselves into the floor on either side, new bars springing up around him until he was surrounded by a veritable net of green, spiked steel. A wall sprang up between them, forcing both side's monsters back.

"End turn," Reston said, the fourth candle on his field going out.

Duelist's instincts sent Gerald's hand to his deck, but he stopped before he actually drew. Drawing leads to the Standby Phase, he thought, and this is the second Standby Phase after Ekibyo Drakmord was played. Which means that when I draw, the disease will destroy Heaven's Sphere. But... I'm not sure if I'll still be alive after that...

His hand trembled over his card, and Reston's eyes narrowed as the sick man glared across his field. "Gerald," he finally said, the first time he had ever called his opponent by name, "stop wasting time. Draw card. Nothing you can do. Nothing."

In resignation, Gerald finally drew his card.

The Heaven's Sphere shuddered for a brief second, and then went still. As Gerald watched, it went completely black, no longer the cloudy black the disease had shown before, and stopped hovering to settle on his field. And then part of it cracked, pieces falling away. Another portion of its being broke into pieces, fragments of the Heaven's Gift tumbling away. A larger part of it exploded outward, glittering fragments flying out from it.

In the end, the being finally shattered, shards of it raining down on the Chosen of the Light as it died. The shards caught in Gerald's clothing, one of them cutting his cheek. Blood trickled down from the cut as a cold wind passed through the Nightmare's Steelcage, blowing his sleeves about. Gerald just stared at the spot, unblinking, his eyes glassing over.

After a moment, Reston shook his head. "Effect of Ekibyo Drakmord returns it to hand," he said.

Behind Gerald, the Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei gripped his chest, his teeth gritting. The beast-warrior then sank to one knee, sweat rolling down his forehead as his eyes shut. With a groan, he collapsed and turned transparent, hardly moving.

0000000

Alexander raised an eyebrow, murmuring, "I didn't think Images could do that. Why has it gone all transparent?"

"Because Heaven's Sphere is dead," Degas replied. "When it was destroyed, it tore a hole in Gerald's soul on its way out. One's Image is part of one's soul, and so the Image was damaged as well. In time, the hole will heal, but for now Gerald has to fight while missing a key portion of himself."

Bethany cringed, and the man in green rubbed her back, pressing the knuckles of his other hand to his chin. I suppose that answers the question of "what price victory"...

0000000

The last traces of Heaven's Sphere faded away, and Gerald swayed uneasily on his feet, gaze on the ground. He slowly lifted his head and turned, looking without interest at his wounded Image before turning back to his opponent. Without blinking, he took a card from his hand and played it, his voice flat and monotone as he said, "I play Graceful Charity."

The clouds parted overhead, and a stream of the setting sun's light fell on Gerald, causing his expression to shift for a second. And then the angel descended, feathers falling around her as she touched the ground. She passed through the Nightmare's Steelcage without any trouble and landed in front of the Chosen of the Light. Her eyes locked with Gerald's, and her lip quivered... just before she grabbed the young man and pulled him tight against her.

For a moment, Gerald struggled, and then he blinked before leaning into the embrace, his eyes shutting as he did so. When they opened again and he pulled away, they had lost their glassy look, although there was still something empty about his expression. He drew three cards, and then handed her an Island Turtle and Gravity Bind.

After kissing his forehead, the angel ascended away, leaving Reston to twitch an eyebrow. Not in plan, he thought. Opponent soul still damaged, but full advantage lost. Part restored; mind fully functioning again.

"Where was I..." Gerald said, the bored drawl back in his voice, but his pitch still off. "Ah... I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, giving me 1,000 Life Points." The aura of light formed around his feet, and he glowed for a moment, his Life Points rising to 3,800. "And that ends my turn."

Reston drew, and then tapped his foot impatiently as the Dark Snake Syndrome flared to life, knowing neither of them were really affected. Both men shut their eyes, letting the pain run its course as Reston's Life Points lowered to 2,300 and Gerald's to 3,400. That done, he placed two cards into his Duel Disk, noting, "Two cards facedown. Next, switch Poison Mummy to Attack Mode..."

For a second time, two men wrapped in rotting purple linens stood up, their bodies staggering under the weight of the thousands of years they had spent as mummies. (1,000/1,800) One of them ripped its own stomach open, and a disease-filled purple cloud rolled over Gerald again, causing him to choke as he had no choice but to breathe it. His Life Points sank to 2,900.

As he caught his breath, Gerald noted, "How strange... that pain didn't even feel real. It felt... hollow."

"Soul not intact," Reston said. "All sensations off until repaired. Either way, end turn, and Card of Demise effect activate." The last candle went out, and a dark cloud flashed over the two cards in his hand. When it disappeared, the cards were gone.

"Then I will begin," Gerald said as he drew his next card, his eyes slightly unfocused. Over his head, the Nightmare's Steelcage was rusting apart, pieces of it falling past his head and breaking into fragments on the marble floor.

Before he could even put the card with the others he held, the Pillar of Death waved to one facedown card, and it began to rise as he proclaimed - still in his eternal monotone - "Facedown card open, Deck Devastation Virus. Sacrifice Patrician of Darkness to destroy all monsters of under 1,500 Attack Points."

Part of Gerald's mind, the part that was still recovering from the loss of Heaven's Sphere, thought, Which means I now have exactly one playable monster until it wears off...

On Reston's field, the Patrician of Darkness began to convulse, his eyes narrowing as something began to rumble inside that dead flesh. The zombie flinched, and then slowly began to rot, lips thinning and skin growing tighter on his frame. Light red smoke leaked out as the skin cracked and muscles tore apart, the Patrician's body twisting, and then he split in half, the decrepit body falling into a hundred pieces.

From the mangled remains, red smoke poured out onto Gerald's field, and the young man watched without much interest as it hovered over the Servant of Catabolism and his facedown monster, exposed as his Cyber Tutu. The snail/squid creature's tentacles retracted, and it began to shiver, its body beginning to dry out. Beside it, the Cyber Tutu coughed, blood dripping out of her mouth as she coughed again.

There was a bubbling noise, and then the Servant of Catabolism collapsed in on itself, leaving a blue puddle of liquid as it melted away. With each cough, the Cyber Tutu's body became more and more dessicated, leaving her a little skeleton with a thin layer of flesh. The final cough snapped her spine, and she fell to the ground, twitching for just a moment before she stopped and both shattered.

The smoke cleared, and Gerald blinked, feeling an empty space in his emotions. How badly did losing my Heaven's Gift hurt me? he thought. Taking one of his other cards, he said, "I play Swords of Revealing Light and end my turn."

Overhead, the sky parted, and multiple shining swords fired down onto the field, smashing holes into the half-decayed Nighmare's Steelcage as they embedded their tips into the ground. All three of Reston's monsters - both of his defending Giant Germs and the Poison Mummy - froze in place, unable to move to any extent. One sword in particular struck through the pants leg of his Image, Newdoria; the wretched man tried to pull away, gibbering.

Gerald's turn ended, and the fourth candle of his Card of Demise went out.

And then the Nightmare's Steelcage broke to pieces, rust filling the cathedral for a moment as it crashed to the floor with a ring of steel on stone.

The Pillar of Death drew, and then the marks of the Dark Snake Syndrome began to expand on both their bodies. By this point, both men were so numb that no amount of pain could make them react, and therefore both just glared at each other as sweat beaded on their foreheads and their limbs twitched. Reston's Life Points stopped at 1,500, and Gerald's went down to 2,100.

After a moment of clearing his throat, Reston said, "Activate facedown card, Emergency Provisions. Destroy Dark Snake Syndrome and Skull Lair to gain 2,000 Life Points." The bizarre mouth shot out of his Quickplay Magic Card, biting through the elaborate Skull Lair and his Dark Snake Syndrome, and Reston's Life Points went back up to 3,500. He then paused, eyes narrowing at the light of the Swords, before saying, "Set one card facedown. End turn."

Even as Gerald drew, the Swords of Revealing Light began to dim. Red clouds surrounded his hand, and then he frowned, asking, "What is this?"

"Deck Devastation Virus continued effect," the Pillar replied. "Next three draws, must show card and discard monster of less than 1,500 Attack Points."

"I drew Ameba..." The clouds gathered around his hand, and he winced as they burned at it, making him drop the card. It fell into his Graveyard. Shaking off his hand, he continued, "Now I set the last card in my hand and end my turn... and since my hand is empty, Card of Demise means nothing." The last candle went out, and then the candles simply vanished.

"Chain to Card of Demise effect," Reston interrupted, "with Hidden Book of Spell. Shuffle three Magic Cards from Graveyard back into deck." His facedown card flipped up, and he withdrew Ekibyo Drakmord, Dark Snake Syndrome, and Poison of the Old Man from his Graveyard before pushing them into his deck. The Duel Disk whirred as it shuffled the cards.

Dark Snake Syndrome again? Gerald thought, his consciousness beginning to uncloud. He has to be playing several of them, which means all that really does for him is improve his odds.

"Turn proper begins," the Pillar of Death declared as he drew his next card. He then slid it into place, announcing, "Vase of Unholy Blight. Remove Wall of Illusions from deck to draw three cards."

An even more sinister version of Pot of Greed flashed into being on Reston's field, settling amid the cracked flooring. For an instant, the wall of human flesh and muscle appeared at its spout, and then it sucked inward, the pot shattering when this was done. With one pull, Reston took the top three cards of his deck into his hand.

Fanning them out, the Pillar of Death announced, "Dark Snake Syndrome." Once more the markings of the disease came into being on their bodies. "Set card facedown, end turn." Around him, the Swords of Revealing Light faded almost into transparency.

Gerald then drew, holding up his draw. "I drew Mirror Force." The clouds of the Deck Devastation Virus, already thinning, pulled away. "And now I activate my facedown Exchange, forcing you to trade the one card in your hand for the one card in mine."

With a glare, Reston held out his own Sixth Sense. A pair of disembodied hands reached down, snatching up Gerald's trap and Reston's trap and spinning around, placing either player's card into the other player's hand before disappearing.

"I will set that card facedown," Gerald concluded, "and then end my turn with that."

The Pillar of Death said nothing, instead drawing his next card in silence. By this point, neither of them paid any attention to the Dark Snake Syndrome, try as it might to make them scream in pain; compared to what had come before, the first level of the card was like a series of pinpricks. Reston's Life Points lowered to 3,300 and Gerald's to 2,400.

"In response to the Dark Snake Syndrome," Gerald announced, "I activate your stolen Sixth Sense. According to what I read on the card, I name two numbers and roll a die, drawing cards equal to the rolled number if it's a number I named and losing cards from my deck equal to the rolled number on a failure..."

"Chain," Reston replied. "Poison of the Old Man. Choose healing effect."

The first card to lift itself was the Poison of the Old Man. For a last time, the table appeared in front of Reston, and as each time before it he picked up the tall, thin vial, opened it, and drank the green liquid. His Life Points rose to 4,500.

After that, Gerald's trap card lifted upright, and he said, "Five and six." A purple haze appeared around him, and then a die shot out, bouncing three times as it settled. It landed with a six showing, and so he drew six cards, tucking them into his hand.

One of the cards, however, made Gerald stop for a moment. His eyes shut, and he thought, I... I have to fight on. Heaven's Sphere is powerful and all, but I can't let its loss rattle me this badly. Since I lost it my dueling skills have gone into the gutter. There is simply too much riding on this duel. Too much at stake for me to be an amateur when it counts. I have to pull myself together and fight. He took a deep breath...

...and behind him, his Image, the long-forgotten and unconscious Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei, woke up. He turned solid again, pushed himself back onto his feet, and patted Gerald on the shoulder.

Blast. Soul restored fully. Need final trump soon or defeated. Taking his drawn card, the Pillar of Death declared, "Graceful Charity."

Even though he had played the card, and they were standing in a decrepit cathedral, no angel came for Reston. He simply pulled the top three cards off of his deck, examined them, and then slid Gerald's Mirror Force and his own Nubian Guard into the Graveyard.

How foul do you have to be for the angels to ignore you like that? Gerald wondered.

"Set two cards facedown," Reston announced, "and end turn." The Swords of Revealing Light shattered around him, and his monsters rose up; his Image dusted off its pantsleg and groaned.

For the last time, the clouds of the Deck Devastation Virus gathered around Gerald. He held his breath, drew, and showed them the card in his hand, frowning. "Raging Flame Sprite..." The clouds gathered around his hand, and he slid the card into his Graveyard before waving his hand around, blowing the clouds away.

Seemed less disappointed, Reston thought, crossing his arms. His hands were empty, and one fist set to his chin.

"And now..." Gerald paused, blinking a few times, and then covered his mouth as he let out a quiet yawn. "Sorry. I now summon Loyal Knightess in Attack Mode."

She appeared without warning, standing on top of the bell tower, rapier in hand. With a couple of steps, Laura's doppelganger flipped off of the bell and landed in front of Gerald, the studs on her armor gleaming in the low light. She knelt and then stood, weapon at the ready. (1,500/1,200) The long-forgotten Banner of Courage waved overhead, and she smiled. (1,500/1,200 - 1,700/1,200)

After a moment, Gerald played the next card in his hand, smiling. "I next play Monster Reborn to bring back..."

The Pillar of Death cut him off. "Heaven's Sphere. Only monster needed."

"Exactly."

The stylized ankh shone over Gerald's field, and then continued to shine. It turned into pure light white, which swelled out and became the all-too-familiar orb both of them had seen before. Eventually, the light died down, leaving behind the marble-bodied Heaven's Sphere. (2,000/1,000 - 2,200/1,000)

A cold wind blew through the ruined cathedral, and finally Gerald asked, "I need to know. Is this place real? Or have you brought us to an illusion?"

"Created location through Pillar abilities," the Pillar of Death replied. "Have more power than standard Pillars. Was always strongest."

"Thank you." Gerald then nodded to the Loyal Knightess. "Attack one of the Giant Germs with Loyalist's Thrust."

Reston blinked.

Raising her blade, the Loyal Knightess swung it twice in front of her face before lifting it to the horizontal position in front of her. She then took a deep breath and sprang across the field, slamming the rapier straight through one of the germ spores on Reston's field. It exploded into a cloud of purple dust, making her cough and stumble back.

Two events occured simultaneously at that point. The first was that, as one of his monsters had died without his taking Battle Damage, Reston's Image set its long-fingered hands on his shoulders and channeled black energy through his body, raising his LP to 5,000. The second was that another cloud of purple smoke rolled across Gerald, causing his body to go rigid and his lips and scalp to pull back. He took on a corpse's appearance for a moment before stumbling back to normal, his LP falling to 1,900.

"Pointless move," Reston noted, sliding the destroyed Giant Germ into his Graveyard.

Shaking his head, Gerald replied, "Not really. Firstly, you only have one monster left. Secondly, my Heaven's Sphere deals damage through Defense Mode, and I just determined you have no way to stop me. Light of Justice on the second Giant Germ. Now."

There was no charging period this time. The Heaven's Sphere pulsed once, and then fired a beam of pure light through the Giant Germ and straight into Reston. The Germ was incinerated, leaving nothing behind - not even ashes. As for the Pillar of Death, his eyes went wide and he clenched his fists, sweat rolling down his forehead as blood began to drip from his nose. His Life Points plunged to 2,900. Gerald's went down as well, to 1,400, but without the previous added effects.

"I then play Dian Keto..." As Gerald said it, the circle of light surrounded him, humming softly and raising his Life Points to 2,400. "...set this facedown, and end my turn." A facedown card appeared in front of him, and he yawned again.

Continued in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Those yawns... Reston thought as he slumped over, hands on his knees and body shaking. Told of them. Mean victory imminent. Life in danger for first time since Feinglory's delayed. Must win. Must do so fast.

He paused, shivering. Must use it. Pain too much. Body may die even if duel not over.

"I draw," Reston said, doing so. As always, the Dark Snake Syndrome activated, but neither of them reacted. It was questionable whether they could actually feel it at this point. Reston's Life Points went to 2,500, and Gerald's went to 2,000.

"In response to the damage," Gerald noted, "I activate my final Attack and Receive. This time, the damage totals 1,300 points."

Three men in armor stepped out from the card, swords raised high. They crossed their weapons, and then the three waririors charged Reston, weapons at the ready. They all impaled him simultaneously, causing him to grunt and spit out a glob of blood as the weapons dug into his body. His Life Points shot down to 1,200 before the men vanished.

Collapsing to the ground, the Pillar of Death broke into a furious coughing fit, blood splattering all over the marble floor as he hacked and wheezed. His arms shook, barely able to keep his head off the ground as he coughed, blood flowing freely from his nose and mouth.

Only then did it hit Gerald what the stakes were. He had sentenced Reston to die if he lost... and now, watching the pitiful spectacle of the Pillar of Death's coughing fit, all he could think was, Do I really have it in me to execute him?

Shutting his eyes, Gerald then remembered the sight of Laura as a child, haunted by a brutal specter. He recalled Chad, stalked and killed over and over by his bestial self. And he nodded.

The coughing finally stopped, and Reston pushed himself onto his knees, breathing hard. He pulled his coat's sleeve over his mouth, sucking hard on it, pulling the cloth into his mouth with each inhalation and staining the material a bright red. His eyes were a pure red now, the blood veins having leaked out into them, and it was questionable if he could even see. After several blinks, the irises and pupils cleared.

It was a long minute before he threw the card he was holding into his Duel Disk, announcing, "Activate Lethal Harvest. Destroy cards on field in exchange for two cards per card destroyed. Will destroy facedown Ekibyo Drakmord and Dark Snake Syndrome for four cards."

The card itself appeared on Reston's field, bearing on it the picture of the Reaper of the Cards bringing its scythe down on a wounded Dark Magician. Without any fanfare, both of the cards Reston had named exploded, and he pulled the top four cards of his deck off of it, fanning them out. And then two glowing orbs hovered over his shoulders.

Gerald raised his eyebrow, noting, "It's a Continuous Magic Card. Whatever the catch is, I assume it has something to do with those orbs."

"Correct," Reston noted. "Orbs are counters. During End Phase, lose one. When no counters remain, lose hand and field clears. Now play final, reshuffled Poison of the Old Man... for healing..."

The table rose up in front of him, and for the fourth and final time he yanked out the green bottle's cork, drinking the liquid. His eyes cleared of blood, and he rose to his feet, body quivering with every breath. His Life Points rose to 2,400. "Set card facedown," the Pillar of Death said, "and end turn." Even as the card appeared before him, one of the orbs shattered.

0000000

In his room within Degas and Alexander's lair, Klaus Engel studied the deck of tarot cards before him with his one good eye, darkness flickering over it. In front of the deck sat two cards, the Ace of Wands and the Hanged Man.

"The final outcome," he said, drawing a single card. He then turned it over.

It was the Tower.

0000000

Gerald drew, and Reston waved his hand, revealing his facedown card as Threatening Roar. The bell suddenly rang overhead, causing the Loyal Knightess to jump and Heaven's Sphere to freeze in place. "As I can't attack," Gerald said, setting a card on his Duel Disk, "I'll set this monster in Defense Mode and end my turn."

Exactly thirty seconds passed, and then Reston said, "Chosen. Gerald. Name card not used so far."

The meaning of that question initially escaped Gerald, and he had to give it a long moment's thought... until he realized it. A gasp left him, and he murmured, "Your True Face card... you haven't used it yet..."

"Did not use it against others. Not even in deck. Too risky. No need to. Saved for this battle." Reston drew, and then pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "Activate Call of the Haunted. Bring back Giant Germ in Attack Mode."

Three gravestones rose from the cathedral's floor, fog rising from them. Inside the fog appeared the shape of the large germ spore, bobbing in midair. (1,000/100)

"Now play Necromancy," the Pillar of Death continued. "May summon up to four monsters from opponent Graveyard to opponent field. Choose Servant of Catabolism and Cyber Tutu."

In front of Gerald, the floor tiles cracked, and the soil disrupted itself. First came the snail/squid cephalopod, tendrils tangled slightly. (700/500 - 900/500) Next came the tiny ballerina, her dress stained with dirt and torn and her expression a very scared one. (1,000/1,000 - 1,200/1,000)

Normally you would attack the revived monsters in order to reduce another monster's Attack Points by 600 for each one destroyed, Gerald thought, but I doubt he'll try that.

"Finally..." And Reston carefully set one last card on his Duel Disk.

A wave of pure black energy shot out from Reston and slammed into Gerald, who staggered to stay on his feet...

0000000

Eight planes border on the Prime Material, the world of humanity. From those worlds border a thousand more, and so on. Of those eight, two are unknown even to the Balance, two belong to the Divine and Chaos themselves, and four are the realms of the Balance's facets.

Deep within one of them, the clash of Light's Chosen and Darkness's Pillar fired off a massive, dimension-cracking wave of power, breaking through an ages-old barricade. Who had built it and why it was built were both forgotten knowledge, and it had begun to crumble from sheer neglect. The force wave was merely the final straw, obliterating it.

The barricade destroyed, the wave carried on to an obelisk, jutting from a mound of rubble. Within it had slept an entity as old as the plane it slept upon, and the force wave awoke it, causing two eyes to open near its top. Those eyes were the only part of the entity not pitch-black. It unfurled from where it had dozed, and looked to the Prime Material, scrutinzing it.

OH, the entity said. IT IS THAT TIME AGAIN. WELL, FAR BE IT FROM ME TO REFUSE AN INVITATION!

0000000

Back on the Prime Material, within the Mall of America, Reston's card appeared in front of him. Its picture showed a woman with blue hair, wearing a white robe, cradling a corpse in her arms. All around her were strewn the dead.

"True Face of Death," Gerald said, eyes narrowing. "I was waiting for this." He then saw something out of place, and leaned in, blinking. "Wait a minute... I was right the first time. That's a Normal Magic Card. The other True Face cards were all Continuous..."

The Pillar of Death nodded. "So powerful that making Continuous was impossible. Card has powerful effect for powerful cost."

A shudder swept through the Chosen of the Light. "And it does?" he asked.

"Pay 2,000 Life Points." Reston's Life Points drained to 400. "Sacrifice one monster." The Giant Germ melted into dust. "And give up ten years of own life." Somehow Reston's body now seemed even more haggard and decayed, his face tightening. "And in exchange..." The Pillar of Death paused. "Destroy all monsters on opponent's field and take away Life Points equal to Attack and Defense scores of each. Combined."

Gerald froze in place, his mind not taking in what that meant. "So... how much is that... total?"

Reston shook his head, taking off his Duel Disk and setting it on the ground next to him. "No matter. Exceeds Life Point total. Duel over."

And then it sank in, and Gerald shut his eyes, letting out a long exhalation. His arms fell limp to his sides, cards fluttering out of his hand and scattering at his ankles.

Overhead, the cathedral's bell rang once, a long, resounding note.

Reston began to walk, his footsteps silent and his pace slow. Under his feet, the marble tiles of the cathedral's floor shook and cracked, crumbling into fragments. The fragments then became dust, blowing away as the wind hit them. Behind him, the walls pitted through and away, pouring down as so much dust. The stained-glass windows on the back wall yellowed, cracked and splintered, and then finally shattered, falling away and exploding into sand as they hit the ground.

With each of Reston's steps, he moved closer to Gerald's monsters. The first he approached was the Cyber Tutu, who was kneeling in Defense Mode. She did not move, but as she knelt there, her skin tightened and withered, forming a mummified mask on her face. This split and peeled, exposing the muscular structure, which itself tightened and snapped, exposing skull. Soon enough even the skull rotted away, and her body fell in on itself with a puff of rotten-smelling air.

The Servant of Catabolism was next. It shriveled up, body leaking a blue fluid as the Pillar's foot landed next to it, reducing to about the size of a man's fist. This eventually popped open, leaving a shredded and leaking husk, which crumbled away with Reston's next footstep.

Next he neared the facedown monster, revealing it as a Morphing Jar. The one-eyed pot's eye dried out and fell back into its socket, and its grinning teeth rotted away, falling into its maw one after another. The jar itself slowly turned gray and brittle, little snapping noises bouncing through it as it decayed and turned brittle. With his next step, the jar fell over and shattered.

After that came the Loyal Knightess. With Reston's passage, she began to age, her body maturing into that of a beautiful woman a moment later. But the aging didn't stop. She soon turned into a middle-aged woman, beautiful still, and then her hair turned white and her body wrinkled, shrinking away into an old hag a moment later. Still aging, her flesh pulled in so much that it flaked away, her armor rotting off and her bones cracking within her body. Soon she was a mangled pile of lifeless flesh.

Finally Reston approached the Heaven's Sphere, not even looking at it. It stood there, at first unharmed. But then it turned from its marble gray into a light black, which darkened, leaving it much as it did when it had suffered Ekibyo Drakmord. And then this, too, rotted away, falling in on itself.

With all of Gerald's monsters dead, the Pillar of Death stood before the Chosen of the Light, who had not moved or spoken the entire time his monsters had died. All that was left in this place were Reston, Gerald, and the bell overhead. The two men looked at each other for a minute, eyes locked.

And then Reston reached out, pressed two fingers to Gerald's forehead, and said, "Fall." The bell tolled overhead and Gerald fell to his knees, his Life Points shooting down to zero.

0000000

With a shout, Lucifer stumbled away from the Great Lakes Ballroom, his face agonized and his hands on his head. Demetrius turned to him, yelling, "What has happened, man? What's going on?"

"He lost!" Lucifer cried in French, unable to speak any other language as he dropped to one knee. "Monsieur Laxina has lost!"

0000000

To the shock of passerby, Merlee leapt to his feet, head in his hands. "It cannot be!" he said to himself, shivering. "How could the Darkness overcome the Light? It... it cannot be.." He sank back onto his bench, murmuring, "It cannot be..."

0000000

Ulysses Cantrell's bicycle swerved and struck a wall on the road outside the Mall of America, throwing him to the ground. Although he was unharmed physically, his spirit was torn apart. He laid on the ground, crying softly as he interpreted the feelings he had sensed.

"We've lost," he said between tears. "It's... it's over..."

0000000

Somewhere in St. Paul, Degas sprang to his feet, a vicious grin on his face as he crowed in outright ecstasy. "EXCELLENT!" he shouted, thrusting a fist into the air in celebration. "Finally! Finally! We've won it, Alexander! The battle ends in our victory! Damn it all, he did it! That creepy bastard did it!"

Bethany shrank away in confusion, and Alexander merely said, "Yes... yes, he did... we win..." His eyes shut, and he rubbed one of his temples.

0000000

The illusion faded, and Gerald sat on his knees in shock, his arms at his side and Reston's fingers pulling back from his forehead. His eyes stared straight ahead, his mind a blur. And then he heard something on his arm.

Deep within his Duel Disk, something began to whine and creak, sounding like a broken CD player. The casing shook, and then the entire contraptation snapped.

Gerald turned his head, and watched his Duel Disk smoke for a second before there was a crash and the casing broke in half. Pieces fell out of the sides, and then his disk fell apart, bolts and screws raining down alongside his cards as the machine fell to pieces. His deck fluttered around him as all that was left on his arm was the straps.

The Pillar of Death snapped his hand out, catching one card out of midair. This he held in front of himself, showing it to Gerald. It was the Servant of Catabolism, the one Gerald felt a connection to. "Vital card?" he asked.

Without thinking, Gerald nodded.

Nodding back, the Pillar of Death wrapped his hand around the card and crushed it in his hand, the cardstock crumpling in his grip before he dropped it in front of Gerald. He then fished another card out of his pocket, one that was glowing. It was a Pyro Clock of Destiny, which he tore in half.

Dark energy covered Reston, and his body seemed to recover slightly. "Specially prepared," he explained to an unmoving Gerald. "Negates drawback effect of True Face of Death. Only had the one. But that matters not."

The marks of the Darkness Infection began to cover Gerald Laxina's body, and a single tear ran down his cheek. I... I... Please... I... More tears flowed from his eyes, and he lowered his head as the veins in his eyes turned black. Why? Mother... Father... Chad... Laura... Why?

One of Reston's hands wiped away the tears, and he set his hand on Gerald's head. "No more pain. Sleep."

And Gerald Laxina shut his eyes and collapsed at the Pillar of Death's feet.

NECROMANCY
Type: Normal Magic Card
Image: A shadowy figure behind a dark graveyard, rotting corpses pulling themselves up from the ground as it watches.
Effect: Special Summon up to four Monsters from your opponent's Graveyard to his or her side of the field in face-up Defense Mode. If a Monster summoned by this card is destroyed, reduce the ATK of one of your opponent's Monsters on the field by 600 for one turn.
Note: “Necromancy” was first used by Yugi in the original series episode “Clash in the Coliseum (Part 3)”. All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

LETHAL HARVEST
Type: Continuous Magic Card
Image: The Reaper of the Cards swooping down on a severely injured Dark Magician.
Effect: Destroy up to five cards on your field. For each card destroyed, draw two cards. Then place a number of counters on this card equal to the number of cards destroyed. During your End Phase, remove one counter from this card. When this card is destroyed or there are no counters on it, send this card to the Graveyard, destroy all cards you control, and discard all cards in your hand.

TRUE FACE OF DEATH
Type: Normal Magic Card/Card of Night
Image: A blue-haired woman in white robes, standing on top of a pile of corpses and holding a body in her arms.
Effect: Offer one monster you control, pay 2,000 Life Points, and give up ten years of your life. (This last cost may be reversed by other dark powers.) Destroy all monsters your opponent controls, and they lose Life Points equal to the total Attack and Defense Points of the destroyed monsters.

INDOMITABLE FIGHTER LEI LEI
Image Effect: ???

The story has not ended yet.

Coming next chapter: The Darkness's victory is not yet complete. In order to seal their hold on Minnesota, they must win one more battle. The Light has one last champion, and if this one falls, the battle is over. How will the Light make its final attack? And can it overcome the Darkness now that the Darkness has run down all its resistance? Find out in Chapter Thirty, "Quarantine"!

[Dark Sage]

In the name of...

I didn't expect this...

So what will happen next? Who is this mysterious last hope?

The duel itself was rather... well, drawn out. Gerald's reaction to the death of the Sphere was well-done. It seems we're gonna go a long time before we learn just what his Image can do.

But honestly, I'm getting sick of Reston. Sick in that I've seen him enough. Let me tell you, when a hero duels in every chapter for a long string, it gets boring. It's the same case with a villain. His deck was interesting at first, but now nothing is surprising me. Even the True Face of Death did pretty much what I expected. I just want this part of the story over with.

Sorry, but three chapters of Dark Snake Syndrome and Embriko Drakmord is just getting tedious.

[Hinoryu]

Okay, uh. Newbie to the forums here, though I've read Tilting for a good while. It's easily the best Yugioh fic I've read.

That said... Wow. I was expecting True Face of Death this battle, and I was expecting it to be a hell of a kill-card. But I was definately not expecting a loss from Gerald.

That said, there's something about the chapter titles Reston dueled in so far. "Infection", "Contamination", and "Epidemic"... Perhaps I'm just reading into things that aren't there/being a total nerd, but I'm reminded of another series. "Infection", "Mutation", "Outbreak", and that'd make the last one "Quarantine". Was that intentional, or am I just a hopeless nerd? (Or both. That's definately a possibility.)

[Mookie]

This chapter was enough for me to end my lurking days for a while and reply.

I did not expect that.

The loss...wow. I really started reading this chapter expecting for Gerald to win, but damn. Has it done before? I mean...the main character losing a battle to an enemy, that is NOT the main villian?

It'll be exciting to see, what will happen next.

The duel was LONG. But you managed to keep it interesting and flowing. No problems there.

The insides of Lauras and Chad's minds were interesting too and I am even more interested in Chad's feral side.

My hat goes off for you, MoP. Great work.

[Shuppet Master]

Okay, I had to rewrite this review, because what I said before was sort of a spat of fury over stuff I have no control over. (Deep breath.) Also, I needed to fix up my signature, it looked ugly.

Anyways...

Interesting twist, having the Chosen of Light be defeated. At least he didn't go down like the others, screaming and in pain. That explanation of the ear infection unnerved me. I don't recall ever having one of my own when I was a kid, but it sounds awful! I do know a lot of pain because I have undergone multiple dental surgeries over the past few years(and will probably have to get another filling, ugh) and I know the horror of getting many shots in the lip.

Still, his loss really caused me to lose sleep. I mean, if Gerald managed to get defeated, then who could possibly defeat the Pillar of Death? Yes, I know it ended up with Reston having to use his True Face card, which he didn't use before, and I know you want to build a lot of suspense, but I sure hope this last guy isn't going to be defeated and then you write a terrible epilogue telling how the Darkness Infection spreads over the world!

(Muse Monica: Of course he won't, otherwise he'll end up be labeled "dark fic author" and he'll lose a lot of readers. )

Quiet, you. (Clears throat.) The whole atmosphere was pretty creepy, and when True Face of Death activated, I couldn't sleep for a long time, replaying the sight of all of Gerald's monsters crumbling in bloody flesh over and over again. The part where his duel disk fell to pieces was really tragic.

Let me just say this, Jason. You have really caused me to think long and hard about your style, and something tells me I won't forget this chapter for a heck of a long time. (It'll be placed on the same shelf as "Pikachu Re-Volts" and "Forest Grumps" as the one thing I don't want to revisit.)

Keep it up, and let's pray that this doesn't have an unhappy ending.

(Muse Monica: There you go again, being pessimistic.)

[jkBAKURA]

OK, I wanted to be sure I had read this chapter a couple times before reviewing.

First of all, everyone is talking about it, so I might as well mention it too. Gerald's loss. I'll be honest, the Laura chapter we weren't expecting Reston's appearance, and the Chad Chapter, we all could see what was coming. This time, the rug was pulled out from under us completely. We may even have a "Best Plot Twist" nomination on our hands.

Reston's deck was obviously familiar, and let me tell you, keeping a character's deck the same, while still making it interesting is tough to do sometimes, especially with someone not a main character.

You obviously put a lot of time and streatched out the detail in the events of the ending. Good call. I don't think I blinked till I hit the bottom of the page after True Face hit.

Only 3 nitpicks that refude to go away, 2 minor one kind of troubling.

One, you need to ckeck the numbers on both the first Acid Slime, and Jinzo #7 (I think you counted the Banner twice)

The last thing is that Heaven's Sphere is losing a bit of it's impact and rapidly falling into "normal card" territory. True the Darkness has been prepared for it, but if it's not going to do much than be flattened (although I liked the touch with a slow realisation it was going down rather then a sudden card) then what's the point of Gerald carrying it around?

Well, I guess that's about it for now. looking forward always, JKB

[Shuppet Master]

I was wondering when the next chapter was coming out. Don't keep us waiting forever, Jason! I'm trying to be patient, but I speak for everyone hoping that you won't leave us hanging.

[The_Missing_Link]

Patience, SM. It looks like Paradox produces a chapter every 2-3 weeks and I'm sure he takes his time in making every chapter look good so as long as the fic remains awesome, I don't care how long it takes for him to post again

You'd probably be dead by now if you were around when Lisa the Legend started

[Blademaster]

OK, it's been awhile since I've reviewed, but with the delay on the next chapter (which I'm actually thankful for, since I'm pretty bogged down with fics, RPGs, and whatnot ATM), I just wanted to say something.

Jason...

This chapter, as many of the others have been, was not only amazingly detailed and well-written, but it was also the most unexpected fic moment I think I've ever seen. This story has gone so far and done so well... It rightly deserves its awards as 'Best Yu-Gi-Oh! Fic on the Boards,' and it rightly deserves to be called far more than just a spin-off of another story - this fic is an epic work of fandom in and of itself. You should be proud of it, because the rest of us sure as Hell are.

Until the next chapter, we'll all be eagerly awaiting, myself included; until then, this is CuleX, signing off.

[Master of Paradox]

I thank you all for your comments. Now... it's a long time coming, I know, but time for the Light's counter-assault. And please stick around afterwards - unless, that is, you don't like contests...

Before everything else came into being, there was the Divine and Chaos. But reality could not be built on the Divine itself without leaving it to be instantly destroyed by Chaos. Thus came the First Sundering, when the Divine split its power among four separate entities and created the Balance, holding their power in check. From the work of the four forces - Light, Darkness, Dreams, and Shadows - came all that is, with the Divine watching over all.

But Chaos, enraged at having this obstacle between itself and the Divine, saw an opportunity to strike at its opposite through its opposite's own creations. Over eons, even as the forces created all facets of reality, it insinuated itself into their ranks, tainting the Balance with Chaos. Eventually the Chaos in the Balance came into full flower, and a war began, a war of politics and force that still goes on. It was the Second Sundering, and as long as it carries on the Balance will never truly be at rest.

We, the Light, have suffered a massive blow in this latest battle of the perpetual imbalance. Our Chosen has fallen, and Darkness rejoices in its victory as we reel. Our champions are exhausted, and we cannot rise again.

But...

The battle still wages. We are not conquered yet. Strike all it wants, the Darkness will not overcome us. Even if all our champions have fallen, we still have the wild card in our hand: the forces of Dreams sent one of their champions to observe the battle, and Dreams have proven unpredictable since before the Second Sundering ever happened...

Chapter Thirty: Quarantine

Somewhere in St. Paul, within his room in the lair of Degas and Alexander, Klaus Engel gathered up his cards and shuffled the Tarot deck, sighing as he did so. "The Hanged Man was tested," he said to himself. "He was at the moment of decision and failed to choose correctly. Such a pity, but fate is that way..."

Klaus's hands stopped, and his good eye's brow raised. "Hmmm?" he muttered to himself, setting the deck down and leaning over it. "That's odd... I can feel a resonation in it. One that I'm not used to... that he was never used to beforehand." He set his hand on the deck, muttered, "Gerald Laxina", and drew the next card, setting it in front of himself.

What he drew made him recoil, blinking a few times. "This card... it has many meanings. Some see it as a card of folly, of mania, of delirium... but the usual interpretation is that of a seeker of knowledge, of one who travels on a quest of self-fulfillment and growth. Some even see the rest of the Major Arcana as that quest illustrated... Both of those meanings apply to one such as him, given his goals."

One hand settled on the floor, and Klaus pushed himself to his feet. "I must tell Degas and Alexander about this," he said to himself. "They have to know about this. It cannot be a good thing that Gerald Laxina's signifier is now the Fool."

0000000

The doors of the Great Lakes Ballroom slammed against the walls with a flash of fire as Lucifer Allumette slammed his palm against them, and he rushed into the room, Demetrius in tow with cane at hand. Both stopped for a moment, letting the sight before them sink in, and then they walked into the room, heads down.

Soon, both of them stood over the unconscious, Darkness Infected frame of Gerald Laxina, and both were silent, as there was nothing to be said. Of the Pillar of Death, there was no sign other than a scorch mark a short distance from where Gerald lay. All this did was confirm what the two had feared. Reaching up, Demetrius took his hat and removed it, setting it over his heart.

Something caught Lucifer's eye, and he bent down, picking up a crumpled piece of cardstock. He stood again and looked at it, sighing before showing it to Demetrius. "Ze Servant of Catabolism," he murmured. "Ze Pillar must have destroyed ze card after ze duel."

"What will we do?" the elder duelist said, putting his hat back on.

After a moment, Lucifer reached up, undoing the buttons of his suit's jacket. Two fingers parted the lapel, revealing a roaring fire within the suit's confines. Taking the ruined card, Lucifer slid it into the flames and closed the lapel, pausing for a moment. He then snapped his fingers, and the newly-restored Servant of Catabolism appeared between them.

Demetrius blinked. "Impressive."

"A little Dream trick," Lucifer replied. "Ze spell known as Restore Soul's Anchor, run through ze purifying flames in my own soul." He knelt and straightened Gerald's scattered deck into a more organized pile, setting the Servant atop them. A sigh left his throat as he muttered, "A pity zat is ze best I can do for him. Zis fight is over... and ze Darkness wins."

"Are you serious?" Demetrius asked, his cane fumbling in his grip.

"I am afraid zat is ze case, Monsieur Lark. Laura Vesnic, Sol Kilkarn, Chad Montmelier... and now Gerald Laxina. Zey were ze Light's four major champions in zis battle, and now zey have fallen. Without someone to fight for zem, ze Light is defeated. Ze Balance will never be corrected."

The duelist's knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the cane, other fist clenching. "You can't allow that to happen!"

"I have no choice!" the Beloved of Fire replied, own fist tightening. "I am Dreams, Monsieur Lark. We have an... understanding with ze Light, but we are not ze Light. Zis is not my affair. I was sent here to observe and advise, not to duel! If ze Light has fallen, all Dreams can do is react!"

"I'm not asking you to duel! I'm asking you to help Gerald get free from this!" A tear appeared in Demetrius's eye. "We can't just leave him like this!"

Fire flickered on Lucifer's sleeves as he said, voice straining to stay calm, "I... we... have no other options. Freeing him from ze Darkness Infection would breach ze agreements founded long ago, ze ones zat keep Light against Darkness and Dreams against Shadows and prevent ze Balance from collapsing into total war. More to ze point, even if zere were no politics..." He paused.

A light flicked on in Demetrius's mind, and he shook his head. "You're not powerful enough, are you?"

"Beloved of Fire zat I am and powerful as I may be, undoing somezing as powerful as ze Darkness Infection is still beyond me." Lucifer then gave a sarcastic laugh. "Painful as it is to admit, oui."

One finger tapped the head of the elder duelist's cane. He then asked, "And transferring it?"

"What are you getting at?"

Moving around Gerald's body, Demetrius briefly paused and knelt, checking his pulse. He then stood again and said, "I'm asking if you could remove the Darkness Infection from one person and transfer it to another."

The question left Lucifer visibly confused, and he tucked his chin into one hand, eyes half-closing as he thought. "Zat... is possible, I believe... but why-" He then went silent and groaned.

Nodding, Demetrius stood up straight and set his cane on the floor, hands clasping over its head. "Transfer it into me. We cannot let Gerald Laxina stay down, and I have no other use at this point."

"Monsieur Lark, did you go deaf when I explained ze situation?" Lucifer shouted, throwing his arms out at his sides. "I cannot free Monsieur Laxina from ze Infection! It would break ze rules!"

"You and your rules!" Demetrius shouted back. "Dash it all, Gerald's your friend as well as the Chosen of the Light! Can you really let your friend rot like this?"

Wincing at the accusion, Lucifer took a deep breath and fought to stay calm, fire dancing on his jacket. "Zis is painful to me as well, Monsieur Lark, but it is not somezing I have a say in. I am not a free agent. Zere are forces I must account to. Dreams keeps an eye on me at all times..."

"But, Lucifer," the human replied, waving a finger, "can you really say this is interference? All you're doing is saving your friend from the horrors of the Darkness Infection by passing it on to someone who volunteered for the job. Is that all so bad?"

"Yes," Lucifer said as his eyes narrowed. "Dreams will never let me get away with such a loophole. And zey invented loopholes, so zey know a poor rationalization when zey see it."

Crestfallen, Demetrius muttered, "Blast."

But even as he turned away, head down, Lucifer shut his eyes. Deep within himself, his loyalty to Dreams and his loyalty to his friends waged war, his mind a blur. Vivienne would never have had this problem, he thought. Stefan, either - he would have made the transfer in a heartbeat. Niccolai, perhaps, would have trouble... but even he would have chosen Gerald in the end. And all three of them inherited that quality from me.

Stepping around Gerald, Lucifer set his hand on Demetrius's shoulder, wincing as he said, "I will regret zis later, but for now... you are right. I cannot let a friend suffer like zis. Let us do the transfer."

With a nod, Demetrius clapped Lucifer on the back, saying, "Good man!"

"Do not call me zat," the Beloved of Fire replied. "I would prefer not to zink of myself in human terms for a while." He then moved onto one knee beside Gerald's prone form, setting his hand on the young man's chest. "Give me your hand."

One of Demetrius's hands slid into Lucifer's, and he noted, "Smooth..."

"Fire tends to burn off ze calluses. Now be silent." Shutting his eyes and concentrating, Lucifer began to mutter under his breath. His utterences made no sense to Demetrius, as they were all in Mythos, but they sounded like a string of prayers and chants, all aimed at a greater - if slightly indifferent - power than him.

The marks of the Darkness Infection on Gerald's neck began to bubble, leaking away through his skin as if melting. They flowed away from their source, and the ones on his hands followed suit, leaking down from his hands and up his arms. Both sets of markings vanished under Gerald's clothes, and then a string of black fire wrapped around Lucifer's arms and struck Demetrius's hand.

Pulling away from Lucifer, Demetrius staggered, dropping his cane. The marks of the Darkness Infections sprang to life on his hands and neck, and he had just enough time to mutter "Oh, blimey" before he collapsed.

Standing up again, the Beloved of Fire lowered his head, whispering, "Now to wait for my punishment..."

Lucifer Allumette!

Lucifer's eyes went wide. "Zat was quick."

And there was a tremendous flash of fire as Lucifer disappeared.

0000000

Somewhere in St. Paul, Degas and Alexander had retreated from the mirror room. Now they, Hanzaki, and Bethany sat around a round table in an otherwise empty room, a single light shining on the ceiling. At the center of the table sat a number of graphs and calculations; a thin notebook sat in front of Degas, and he occasionally looked to it. Bethany rested her chin on her clasped hands, looking to Alexander, who had his arms crossed in front of him and was still frowning.

"Now that we have Minnesota secure," Degas said as he rechecked a sheet of paper on the table, "we have to consider our expansion plans. Our first priority is getting more dark energy into our hands... powering our next stage will require more than we can safely harness from the Dark Conduit."

Alexander, the Dark Conduit in question, gave a derisive chuckle. "At least without killing me..." Seeing a frightened expression flash across Bethany's face, he turned to her and added, "That was a joke."

Behind his sunglasses, Degas rolled his eyes before saying, "Harvesting that energy will not be a problem. The spell I cast has come to a satisfactory conclusion earlier. Hanzaki?"

The messenger looked up from the book he was reading (a pocket-sized edition of On Walden Pond) and said, "Yes?"

"Go to Haiti and carry out Plan V. Regardless of the outcome, you should be able to return with the dark energy we need."

Nodding, Hanzaki slipped the book into the pouch behind the symbol on his chest, rising from his seat and bowing. "As you command. But for Plan V I'll need..."

The man in black raised one hand, slipped a hand into his shirt pocket, and took out a Duel Monsters card with no picture or name. This he tossed to the man in green, who caught it and sighed, rolling back his shirt cuffs.

Blinking, Bethany asked, "Where did you get a card like that?"

"It involved a considerable amount of forgery," Alexander explained as black energy began to dance around his fingertips, "but we convinced Industrial Illusions to send us a number of card templates that hadn't gone through the final printing. They make it easy to 'burn' a Card of Night." He set his index finger to the cardstock and winced as the energy shot out from his finger, coursing through the blank card.

A few seconds later, the border of the card turned black, and a very disturbing picture appeared on it, the name and text writing themselves in red ink. He handed the card to Hanzaki, who bowed and disappeared as the air blurred.

Once the messenger had left, Degas returned to the notebook and muttered to himself for a minute before nodding. "With that dark energy, we can finish preparing the second wave and expand the shield to encompass most of the United States. After that, however, we'll have to deal with the would-be heroes."

With a gulp, Bethany asked, "You mean Yugi Motoh?"

"Eventually," the Hand of Darkness replied. "But there is no way that the Three Heroes will let this pass without coming to interfere. Even with Reston, we can't guarantee our success against them, especially if the Light tries to use them as its next move. For that reason, we'll need the second wave ready as soon as possible."

The Dark Conduit added, "Once we have the Three Heroes out of the way, then we will have to turn our attention to Yugi Motoh and his friends. Judging by what happened during the Orichalcos incident, our best chance will be to find a way to separate him and the Pharaoh."

"That's something I've wanted to ask for a while," the young woman then said, eyebrow raised. "Which faction was the Orichalcos part of?"

Both men, to her complete surprise, shuddered, and Degas crossed himself involuntarily before staring at his hand. Shaking it out, he answered, "None. The Orichalcos was beyond the Balance - it was pure, undiluted Chaos. Had it won, and I seriously doubt it could have, the Balance would have shattered to a thousand pieces." He then shook again, adding, "Some things, Bethany, are purely evil. Even if I had the chance I wouldn't use the Orichalcos. That power is not worth the price."

Alexander was about to say something, but he paused just as he opened his mouth. His eyes shut, and he put one hand to his forehead, as if something had gone off in his mind. He then opened his eyes wide, whispering, "How?"

"Something wrong, Alexander?" Bethany asked, turning and resting one hand on her lover's shoulder.

"That isn't possible, but I'm sensing..." He shook his head. "Something's gone wrong outside."

As he said it, Klaus appeared in the doorway, adjusting his eyepatch. Degas turned and walked over to him. They exchanged a few words, and then the man in black turned to the others and said, "The mirror room. Now."

The room soon emptied.

0000000

When a person wakes up, their brain takes several seconds to reload who they are, where they are, and other such vital information. Acquiring further details - such as what happened the previous night - takes several more minutes, as the brain reactivates key areas of the memory. This post-awakening amnesia is believed by some to be the body's way of ensuring you do not wake up screaming.

So it was that as Gerald Laxina opened his eyes, several seconds passed before he remembered his name and that he was lying on the floor in the Great Lakes Ballroom. He rolled onto his side and pushed his upper body off of the floor, one hand touching in his head as he felt a mild throbbing in his skull. "What..." he muttered.

The parts of his brain that held the knowledge of his last duel flicked on, and he went pale as he remembered his last experience - Reston, touching his head and muttering, "No more pain. Sleep."

I must have become infected, Gerald thought. That is why I was on the floor... but why am I awake now? Did someone defeat Reston? He struggled onto his knees, and then paused as he saw his deck, neatly stacked amind what little remained of his Duel Disk.

A memory flared to life in his synapses - a memory of his cards raining down around him as his Duel Disk fell to pieces. He frowned, and turned over the top card of the stack. It was the Servant of Catabolism; another memory came to him now, one of Reston snatching that card out of the air and crushing it in his hand.

Something strange happened while I was a Darkness Infected, Gerald thought, sliding the deck into his pocket and standing up again. His knees briefly gave out, and he stumbled backwards, stepping onto a large human shape on the floor...

An outside observer could be forgiven for thinking Gerald teleported at that point, for he did not appear to have physically moved from one point to another. He turned around, caught his breath, and looked at what he had stepped on. And then he had a very bad suspicion as to what had transpired.

He had stepped on the prone, unmoving form of Demetrius Lark. The older duelist was stretched out on the floor, cane and hat alongside him, and his hands and neck showed the signs of the Darkness Infection. Near him sat a giant scorchmark, twice the size of the mark left by Reston's teleportation.

Gerald frowned, setting his hand to his chin. That scorch mark must be from Lucifer, he thought. That leaves two possibilities. First, that Reston defeated both Demetrius and Lucifer, and whatever happened to Lucifer left that massive scorchmark. This is possible, but I doubt it - Lucifer's loyalties are to Dreams, and thus Reston would never have touched him. And it doesn't explain what happened to me.

He paused, and then thought on, That leaves the other possibility, which I think more likely... that Lucifer transferred my Darkness Infection into Demetrius, and the forces of Dreams are punishing him for it now. I don't know what to say to that... But either way...

Kneeling next to Demetrius, Gerald moved him into the recovery position and stood up, frown deepening. He then walked out of the Great Lakes Ballroom, making his way through Camp Snoopy. The young man stepped out of the south exit, and then sank to his knees, shutting his eyes. A series of long sighs passed through him.

"This..." He paused, and then laughed "I wonder how you go about this. I haven't prayed in a while." He then crossed his wrists in front of him and began to speak: "Light... All those I hold dear now suffer at the hands of the Darkness. The enemy is too powerful for me to face alone, but I dare not risk the safety of anyone else in this battle. I know your power is stretched tight, but I ask you... In the name of Light, grant me a share of your strength, that I might wield it against the Darkness and free the people dear to me from its torments."

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Something clicked inside Gerald, and he raised an eyebrow, eyes still closed. He could sense something hovering over him, and unconsciously raised his hands, palms up. And then something stepped inside of him, and his eyes snapped open, pupils turned white. Rising to his feet, he turned his thoughts inward, and then sensed another presence. It did not seem a hostile one.

What are you? Gerald asked silently.

The other presence did not respond at first. It seemed uncomfortable in Gerald's mind, and pulsed a few times in confusion. But with each pulse, a jolt of raw energy passed along Gerald's nerves, and he felt more and more power welling up in his being.

As long as you do not try to take over my actions, we will get along fairly well, the young man eventually said. We will battle Reston soon enough, but first I need to prepare. Now that I know what he uses, I should be able to counteract it.

Although the other presence still did not speak, it gave him a sense of approval.

0000000

The instant contact was made, Degas and Alexander turned to each other, panic running on a current between them. Bethany, out of the loop, could only press herself tighter to Alexander and wait for them to explain.

She had no need to wait long. "The Light must be desperate," Degas said, looking back to the mirrors. "They've sent one of their servants to channel itself through Gerald's body. It's an effective method of granting strength to the Chosen without expending personal power, but if he loses they could lose that servant altogether..."

"I doubt they had a choice," Alexander replied. "The Reciprocal still stands, and the Light has exhausted all of its power from the last fulfillment. Demetrius defeating Mako barely gave it enough power to form the channeling link."

"Understandable... Identify who he is channeling."

Shutting his eyes, the man in green placed one hand to his forehead... and then let out a groan and fell back against his chair. As Bethany moved closer to him in fright, he slid his arm around her and stroked her back, saying, "They've shielded Gerald's mind. I couldn't even get close enough to sense a possible identity."

The man in black turned back to the mirrors, eyes narrowing through his sunglasses. "We had best be prepared to switch to the back-up plan, then."

0000000

On the second floor of the Mall of America, Gerald pushed open the door of Air Traffic, one of the two major hobby and game shops in the building, the other being Games by James. Making his way to the back and stepping over the prone Darkness Infected, he moved behind the counter and took down a box of Duel Monsters boosters. This he poured out onto the counter and looked over, turning the different booster packs over in his hands.

I can't afford to leave the Mall, he thought, but I also need to build a more effective deck. However, there's no guarantee I'll find a single card worth using against the Pillar of Death in these packs... why did they have to close Wizards of the Coast?

Suddenly, his eyes glowed, and Gerald found himself looking at... and then through... one pack. He looked closer, and then saw every individual card within it.

Turning his thoughts inward, Gerald asked the other presence in his mind, Did you do this?

The presence was silent at first, but then finally spoke, its voice deep and rich. Yes, it said. You seek to destroy a force of such darkness that the heavens themselves grow sick at his passing. I will aid you in forging the weapon you need to slay him.

I thank you. He chose one pack in particular and opened it, taking out the cards. But... who are you?

Would you truly know who I was?

No, but I would know who to thank.

You make a good point. The voice was silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke. I am known as Raziel, the Crusader. I am one of the servants of Sandalphon, the Observer of Elysian and the greatest force of Light that exists. When you asked for our aid, I chose to channel my power through you. Your quest to destroy Reston appealed to me.

Then I thank you, Raziel. Gerald took the cards from another booster pack and looked through them. A plan began to form in his head...

0000000

A stillness hung over the mirror room somewhere in St. Paul, and then Degas said, "Alexander?"

"Yes?" Alexander replied.

"Prepare the back-up plan."

0000000

A few minutes after entering Air Traffic, Gerald left it, shuffling his new deck in his hands. He had left money for the boosters he had used on the counter, and several cards from his other deck were used to supplement them. "This," he said to himself, "cannot be said to be perfect, since perfection is impossible... but it's as close as I can come. I cannot lose."

Watch your words, Raziel said within him. Self-indulgent praise and overconfidence are the marks of Asmodeus and his kind. While you may take pride in your skill - if you were weak I would not grant you my power - do not let hubris overtake you. You have lost once, remember.

The young man lowered his head, chastened. You speak truth. He then took a moment to look over his clothes. As always, he wore a gray long-sleeved shirt, long gray pants (these with blue stripes on their legs) and a thin gray jacket, along with the arm straps from his now-destroyed Duel Disk. A look of disgust ran over him, and he thought to Raziel, Do you mind a detour? I feel a change in appearance is in order.

Indeed, Raziel replied. No man who follows the Light should wear that much gray. Gray is the color of the unsure.

The next half-hour was spent in relative silence, as Gerald traveled from one floor to another, moving from shop to shop. His footsteps echoed around the otherwise quiet building, until finally he was finished.

Setting down the bag containing his old clothes, Gerald let out a deep breath, adjusting the straps on his arm. He now wore a short-sleeved, shining blue shirt, a deeper blue vest over the top of that. Fingerless white motorcycle gloves sat on his hands, and he had donned a pair of white jeans, held in place with a black leather belt; he had gone so far as to trade his loafers for white atheletic shoes. For the final touch, he flicked open a pair of smoked-lens sunglasses and slid them into place, adjusting one arm.

Fashion was never my field, Raziel said in Gerald's mind with a hint of approval in his words. That is the playground of Dreams. But I must say... you cut a striking image of a modern-day knight in that outfit.

I thank you, Gerald replied, stroking his fingers through his perpetually-disheveled brown hair. The last piece is missing, though... He held up the deck he had constructed and sighed. "I need a Duel Disk," he said aloud. "I suppose I could always borrow Chad's or Sol's... It's not like they're using them."

Raziel then interrupted him: No, Chosen of the Light. Now I shall grant you a gift from the Light, a reward for your continued service... reluctant as it may be at times. Hold out your arm.

With a blink, Gerald held out his left arm. The straps on that arm began to glow, and then energy flowed from nowhere, pouring onto his extended limb...

For a moment, pain wracked his arm, and he fell to his knees, arm still outstretched. And then a flash filled the air, barely cut down by his sunglasses...

...and a new Duel Disk sat on his arm, firmly connected to the straps he had worn in its spot. It was a clear, crystalline blue, white veins running through its surface and forming what he knew as the seal for a Duel of Light just in front of the deck slot. Its body was shaped more like a shield than the usual circle; the arm was a curved affair, and the whole of the device had the appearance of a weapon as well as a tool.

"It's..." Gerald gulped. "It's beautiful..."

And as long as you serve the Light, it shall be yours, Raziel said in reply. It was partially forged from the light in your soul. Now... name it.

Going silent, Gerald gave the matter careful thought. "I must give such a beautiful weapon a proper name," he said to himself. "A foolish or silly name would demean it. Wait... There's a word in German, one that has no English counterpart, that means a deep longing or nostalgia. C.S. Lewis used it to describe a specific need and yearning... And it has a nice sound to it..."

Placing his deck into the deck slot, Gerald set his other hand on the Duel Disk and announced, "I dub this Duel Disk Sehnsucht, the Longing for Heaven."

A fine name, Raziel said in his mind. Now let us go and strike down the Pillar of Death.

Yes, Gerald said simply. He then paused for a moment before muttering aloud, "I wonder if this will work..." Shutting his eyes, he concentrated.

To his pleasant surprise, he could feel an oily, cold sensation in his mind, which he soon realized was the Darkness. This he traced throughout the building, hunting the largest single source... and he found it on the first floor's West Market. "Reston."

And so he headed for the escalator.

0000000

With Gerald's defeat, the Pillar of Death had taken a moment for himself. Calling on other powers of his, the ill man teleported to the first floor's East Broadway rotunda. This large, circular area was where the various special events were held, and where they erected various sets and other such things. When he had struck the mall, however, the rotunda was empty.

This ceased to be the case when Reston arrived. Once he had his bearings, the Pillar of Death held out his hands and made a series of specific gestures, pulling inward with his mind.

There was a powerful yank, and then the Darkness Infected staggered to their feet, never actually awakening. All throughout the first floor they rose, making their way towards where the urge called to them. Each one made its way to Reston in due time, and then collapsed to the ground as the Pillar cut off his input.

In due time, the Pillar of Death had assembled a ring of Darkness Infected around the rotunda, which for all appearances looked like a pile of corpses. He rather liked the image. Making his way to the center, he placed his hand on the floor and concentrated.

The floor cracked open, and from the ground rose a large, ornate chair. This being Reston, the chair was made entirely of human bones. The Pillar of Death settled into his ghastly throne and relaxed, his breathing more normal now than at any point since before he became a Pillar.

This situation still held as Gerald Laxina arrived at East Broadway, stepping over one particular Darkness Infected. Reston had pulled another onto his lap and was probing at the young woman's flesh with the flat side of his scalpel. "Would be wrong to kill for specimen," he whispered. "But... so curious..."

"Set her down," Gerald said, snapping his fingers.

For the first time since Gerald had seen the Pillar of Death, Reston was startled, and the young woman fell from his arms. Spinning about, the sick man regained his seat, empty eyes glaring into Gerald's. "Awake. How?"

"A very long story, involving a number of sacrifices I will have to pay back."

Reston's eyes fell on Sehnsucht, and one of his eyebrows rose. "Impressive. Destroy one Duel Disk and another in place. Wonder if same goes for arms?"

"If you want to find that out, duel me," Gerald replied, adjusting his shades. "I challenge you again, Reston. But this time, the stakes are different. If you lose, you die, in a method decided by the card that kills you..."

"And?" Reston replied.

The Chosen of the Light paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "If I lose, then I will die instead. But... You will choose the manner and time of my death. To put it another way, I will be your test subject."

As Gerald had thought, the Pillar of Death's eyes went wide, and his fingers twitched. It was only a few seconds before Reston held out one arm, the Darkness already gathering around it. "Indeed. Stakes accepted. Duel begin..."

Holding out his hand, Gerald nodded. "Indeed." And he snapped his fingers.

The seal on Sehnsucht glowed brightly, and a circle of light drew itself around the two duelists, its edges behind Gerald's feet and the base of Reston's throne. Within this circle, several more lines drew themselves, forming a seal that was similar to but subtly different from the seal of a Dark Duel. The lines glowed quietly as Reston's Duel Disk finished forming.

The Pillar of Death looked down, shuddered slightly, and then looked at Gerald as he said, "Duel of Light?"

"Precisely," Gerald replied, activating his Duel Disk.

Reston activated his, and both Life Point counters rose to 8,000.

As the duelists drew their opening hands, Gerald began by announcing, "I will open this duel. And I do so by playing the Continuous Magic Card Prohibition." He slid the card into his Duel Disk, explaining, "Any one card is off-limits while this card is active, preventing either of us from using it. I choose Ekibyo Drakmord."

The floor in front of Gerald rippled, and then a sign sprang out of the ground. A crude drawing of Ekibyo Drakmord's art in a circle with a line through it was drawn on the sign, and it radiated a faint energy.

"Next," Gerald continued, "I set two cards facedown and end my turn. Your move, Reston." His eyes seemed to flash white as he said it.

Before Reston drew his first card of the duel, he paused, feeling an unusual surge of trepidation. Odd, he thought. New sensation. Called... foreboding? He drew, and then slid a card into his Duel Disk, announcing, "Set card facedown..." Pausing, he then added, "Play Dark Snake Syndrome."

As it had so many times before, the familiar black, vaguely serpentine marks of the disease burned themselves into the two duelists. Gerald sweated for a moment, but seemed otherwise unshaken. Reston was more disturbed by that than the feelings the disease instilled in him.

"Set monster in Defense Mode," Reston said after that, "and end turn."

Drawing his next card, Gerald held it up and studied it for a moment before nodding and playing it. "I play Dark Designator," he said. "I now name any one card, and if it exists in your deck you must add it to your hand. I will name Giant Germ."

"You know in deck," the Pillar of Death grumbled, even as he took his deck from the slot and searched through it, adding the card to his hand. Inwardly, however, he thought, Timing best possible. Already have Lytic Cycle in hand. Can inflict chain of damage on him next turn.

"Next," Gerald continued, pressing a button on Sehnsucht, "I activate my facedown card, Lightforce Sword. One card in your hand will be pinned out of it for the next three turns..." A glowing sword rose in front of Gerald, and he took it by the hilt, hefting it back. "Let's see if luck is on my side."

He then snapped his arm forward, hurling the sword at Reston. Its blade pierced through one of his cards, carrying it away from both of them. As the blade hit the Duel of Light's perimeter, it and its impaled target dissipated into white sparks.

Lytic Cycle hit, the Pillar thought, eyes narrowing. Curse luck.

Taking one more card from his hand, Gerald placed it on his Duel Disk, a smile briefly crossing his face before his eyes flashed again. "Now... You may be familiar with this monster. I summon my Des Wombat in Attack Mode."

A ball of light formed on Gerald's field, and then shattered into white shards, revealing the small, snuffling beast he had summoned. It had the typical wombat expression on its face, one that could only be described as the visual equivalent of "Huh?" Curling slightly, it scratched at its chin with one foot. (1,600/300)

Even though the wombat is as innocuous-looking a lifeform as has ever walked the earth, the Pillar of Death could only stare at it, entire body tensing and eyes wide, unblinking.

"I wonder why you look like that," Gerald said, holding his chin in one hand. "Oh, right... because as long as my Des Wombat is in play, I take no damage from card effects. Which means that nothing your deck could possibly do could even scratch me." His eyes glowed, and his voice seemed to grow deeper. "That feeling in your heart is what men call fear." His voice returned to normal as the Chosen of the Light concluded, "My turn ends."

Within his chest, Reston could feel his heart rate suddenly spike. He tried to get it under control, hand resting on his chest, but his efforts were fruitless. And with good reason. No... cannot be... He took a deep breath, causing his lungs to protest. Only two cards in deck that can destroy monster already in play: Ekibyo Drakmord and True Face of Death. Cannot play former, and latter out of reach. Exhaling, the Pillar drew.

"Dark Snake Syndrome activates now," Gerald pointed out. "You take 200 points of damage. I take nothing."

Reston's hands fumbled, cards scattering in his grip, as the Dark Snake Syndrome activated. But it wasn't the pain caused as the disease flared to life, attacking his body's cells, that caused him to shake where he sat, eyes reddening slightly. That effect was caused by seeing a bubble of clear energy surround Gerald, originating from the Des Wombat, and seeing the black marks of the syndrome fade.

The Pillar's Life Points lowered to 7,800, and he blinked, looking at his hand. This still deck built to counter Chosen, he thought. But... Chosen using new deck. Should have switched after duel. Damn. "Sacrifice facedown Bubonic Vermin to summon Patrician of Darkness," he declared.

For a moment, the small, skittering rodent appeared on Reston's field, and then swelled up as the light of the seal beneath it shone on it. It grew larger, cancers developing on its skin, and then exploded into a cloud of black pus and blood. This swirled upwards and formed into the undead nobleman, hand holding his cloak closed and a smile on his lips, exposing pointed fangs. (2,000/1,400) Only then did the Patrician see the seal at his feet, and he recoiled slightly, pulling the cloak over his face.

"You think you're going to attack, don't you?" Gerald said, pressing a button on Sehnsucht. "No. I activate Spellbinding Circle, sealing it in place."

The light flashed, and the seal of the Duel of Light pulled in slightly, pulsing inward. A second circle of light flashed in, rising up from the zombie's feet. It formed the lines of the Spellbinding Circle within itself, and the Patrician of Darkness froze in place.

A growl escaped Reston's lips as he took a card from his hand - Michizure - and set it into his Duel Disk, murmuring, "Set facedown and end turn."

To be concluded next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Drawing his own next card, Gerald paused and stroked the Des Wombat's head, causing the rather lazy animal to look up at him. He then played the card, declaring, "Pot of Greed." Drawing two more cards, he played another. "Now I play Footsteps of the Goddess..."

Overhead, the upper floors and ceiling of the Mall of America disappeared, replaced by a glowing sky. From within this sky came a small ball of light, which began to float down. Between the duelists, the ground became a ring of flowers, daffodils, tulips, and lilies mixed among them.

As the ball of light reached the ground, it glowed brighter, and soon a beautiful woman stood there. She dressed in flowing blue clothing, hands clasped in front of her, and gave both duelists a beatific smile. Deep within his heart, Reston felt the first pang of regret he had felt in over a decade.

"The card's effect is as follows," Gerald explained. "First, I look at your hand and choose any one monster within it that has 1,500 or fewer Attack Points. That monster is then Special Summoned. As you only have one card in your hand that qualifies, and I already know about it, just Special Summon your Giant Germ."

Taking the card thus named, Reston slid it onto his Duel Disk. The goddess clapped twice, and a shimmering rainbow-colored light flashed in front of Reston, forming into the purple spore protecting an inner core of pathogens. (1,000/100) With a giggle, the goddess stroked its outer core, causing it to bob in midair.

Holding up his hand, Gerald nodded and took a card, continuing, "As per the effect, I may Special Summon such a monster myself. I choose Newdoria."

Again the goddess clapped, and a wave of rainbow-colored light flashed in front of Gerald. It formed into a pathetically thin, shriveled, orange-skinned man with green hair, dressed in leather and with a studded band around its eyes. This was a familiar monster to both of them, as it was Reston's Image. (1,200/1,200) The goddess giggled again, patting Newdoria's cheek before she vanished, the mall returning to normal in her wake.

"That monster... why play that?" Reston asked.

For a long moment, Gerald paused, shutting his eyes. He reached for a card in hand, fingers twitching as he did so, and then stopped, frowning.

Why the hesitation, Chosen? Raziel asked in his mind. You built this deck to slay the Pillar of Death. Your weapon is at hand, and I assure you it cannot fail as long as I guide your strike. Now use it! Strike him down!

Gerald gulped, and then thought back, But... I just realized the stakes. If I play this card, Reston will die. Can I really kill a man like this? Especially when I never gave him a fighting chance?

Did he ever give you one?

No... at least, he did not intend to. But our duel was close, and had he not drawn his True Face card I would have overcome him. This... I've pinned him into a corner, and now I'm going to kill him... That isn't even the same situation.

Raziel's tone changed, the anger in it fading, and he thought to Gerald, Chosen... Think. Reston was a killer before you ever met him. He would have killed that woman had you not stopped him. He would die even if the stakes weren't his death - he said as such to you when you first made the challenge. No power would condemn you for ending his life here, and if you do it now, you end his life with a single blow instead of the million cuts of his disease.

You speak the truth, Gerald admitted, taking up his card. "Reston. I will now kill you."

"With one card?" the Pillar of Death said, leaning forward in his throne of bones.

"Yes..." Feeling Raziel's strength guiding him, Gerald slid the card into his Duel Disk. "I play One-Slash Kill - Sword Draw." The card appeared, showing a hand drawing a sword.

A sheathed katana appeared on Gerald's left hip, hilt pointed outward, and he reached down with his left hand, wrapping it around the scabbard and tilting it down. His Duel Disk glowed, and he reached for his deck, moving one card after another into his Graveyard slot.

Blinking, Reston asked, "What that for?"

Gerald replied as the last card moved, "There are nine cards on the field. The first effect of One-Slash Kill makes me discard that many cards from the top of my deck; in this case, I discard nine. I must then draw one more card when all this is down..." He took hold of it and drew it out.

A long silence later, the Pillar asked again, "What for?"

"If it is anything but another copy of One-Slash Kill - Sword Draw, I have wasted eleven cards. If it is the One-Slash Kill, I discard that card as well... and then destroy every card in play and take off 1,000 Life Points from you for each one. That's enough to kill you."

Reston shivered, retreating back into his throne and turning pale. His arms raised in front of him.

Only now did Gerald look at his drawn card, sighing and turning it towards Reston. It showed a hand drawing a sword. He threw the card in the air...

...and before it ever reached the ground, his right hand shot to his sword's hilt, and he drew it, flicked it across the field, and returned it to the scabbard in one smooth motion. As he resheathed it, he stopped just before the sword clicked into place.

Having shut his eyes, Reston waited... and waited... and then uncurled from where he had cowered, sitting up again. He could see thin lines on all of the monsters, the signs of Prohibition, the facedown cards, and his shirt, but they didn't seem to have any ill effects. He began to scratch his head...

Exhaling, Gerald whispered, "Ichigeki Hissatsu... Iai." He clicked the sword into the scabbard.

For one second, nothing moved. And then the Prohibition signs slipped on their posts, toppling over and falling to the ground. The Des Wombat slid apart on a diagonal, its eyes going wide as it fell in two, and a thin stream of green ichor dribbled from the Newdoria's stomach as it let out a cry of shock, its upper half falling off of the lower half.

The Spellbinding Circle around the Patrician of Darkness cracked in half and shattered, but that was not a comfort for the zombie - one of his arms dropped from its elbow, and ectoplasm burst from his mouth before he folded inward, bisected. Soon the Patrician was little more than a crumpled pile of ashes wrapped in black and red cloth. All of Reston's facedown cards and the Dark Snake Syndrome then slid apart along the lines.

And then the Pillar of Death realized what was coming next. He opened his mouth to speak, but never finished the first word.

The cut on his shirt opened wider, and then blood sprayed outwards from his chest in one prolonged burst. Reston choked on his words, and then another burst of blood flew from his back, staining the back of his chair. He tried to stand, but then his legs gave out, and he fell to the ground, Life Point counter plunging straight to zero before the entire Duel Disk evaporated.

All around them, the seal of the Duel of Light flared, and every sign of the Darkness Infected vanished in a second's time from the people surrounding both duelists.

Silence carried for a second, and then Gerald walked up to his prone opponent, the sound of his shoes on tile the only sound as he approached the dying Pillar of Death. "Victory," he said, eyes flashing white. "All four Pillars have fallen. The Light is victorious."

"Hah..." Reston replied, lifting his head. Tears of blood rolled down his cheeks, and crimson stains covered the left half of his face. "So foolish... thought Pillars were all of Darkness.." Even as more blood covered the floor, the dying man managed a chuckle. "Was servant, not master. Pillars just beginning."

"I know this," Gerald said, raising an eyebrow. He inched back to avoid getting blood on his shoes. "Why do you repeat it?"

"You forget. Pillars just servants. Masters far worse... but you know. You know names of masters." Reston's next attempt to laugh was cut off as he spat up blood. "All effort... misguided..."

Taking a deep breath, Gerald crouched, touching Reston's forehead. He then sighed. "I didn't want to kill you, but..."

"Shut up." The Pillar of Death glared, even as his head settled back on the floor, and gave Gerald's arm a feeble slap. "Wanted to. Needed to. Did. Do not lie. Sought nothing more than death of Pillar. Do not give pl-pl-platitudes now..." One last shudder ran through Reston's body, and then his eyes began closing, even as he murmured, "Pain gone... so long with pain forgot what absence feels like..."

His eyes never finished closing. Reston laid there, eyes glazing over, and his body ceased moving. It was over.

As Gerald rose to his feet, he could hear Raziel's voice in his mind, tone approving. You have done it. The Pillar of Death is slain, and the Light claims victory once more. Our task is complete, and thus shall I return to Elysian... And then the presence was gone from his consciousness.

Now fully himself again, Gerald looked at Reston's body... and then fell to his knees on the floor. His stomach recoiled, and he pitched onto his hands, throwing up.

0000000

Almost the second that Reston died, Degas rose from his chair and glanced to Alexander. The younger man trembled for a moment, and then rose as well, adjusting his jacket and sighing. Bethany rose with him, clinging to her beloved's arm as the three left the mirror room.

They arrived in a completely blank room, the only light coming from the open door. Everything was perfectly black, unformed and - much to Alexander's disgust - slightly sticky.

The group approached the center of this room, and then Degas stopped them. Without warning, he grabbed Alexander's arm and concentrated, sucking dark energy from him. Bethany gasped, holding Alexander up as the man in green groaned, muttering, "You could have asked..."

"Silence," the man in black replied, pushing his sunglasses up. "The Pillar of Death is gone. The Light has proven it is perfectly willing to have his servants channel their powers through Gerald... and they started with Raziel. They started with the Crusader, Alexander. That's how much power they're focusing into this Chosen."

Even as he nodded, arm bearing a black mark in the shape of Degas's hand, Alexander muttered, "Be that as it may, don't you think we're overreacting a little?"

The Hand of Darkness shook his head. "No. Our primary plans are at risk as long as the Chosen continues to act. We have to stop him now. For that reason..." He paused, as much to catch his breath as for dramatic purposes. "Alexander, you must now duel Gerald."

Although Bethany gave a slight gasp, all the Dark Conduit did was nod, arms crossing. "I see... Until Hanzaki finishes his assignment, we have no other way to directly confront them, and sending more Darkness Infected would be like sending infantry against something that just blew up your tanks. And..." He sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, I have wanted to do this."

Nodding in return, Degas then snapped his fingers. A deck of Duel Monsters cards appeared on his hand, and he held it out. "Use this."

"Oh?" Alexander replied, taking the deck and shuffling through it. "This trick, I see..."

"Yes... we can't afford to have you use your real deck against him."

"Why not?" Bethany asked. Neither of the men answered her, and she turned pale, thinking, I don't think I would want to know the answer, then...

After a pause of a few seconds, Degas held up his hand, the dark energy crackling around it. "I will go prepare the second wave. Alexander... regardless of the outcome, you know what to do. Do not hesitate." Although his eyes were invisible through his sunglasses, there was the sense he was glaring.

Turning on his heel, Degas left the room.

Once they were alone, Alexander slid his arms around Bethany and drew her close, kissing her rather deeply. She showed no surprise, instead returning his affections and embrace. This lasted for only a moment before he released her, adjusted his shirt sleeves, and said, "Go back to our room, Bethany. You don't want to see what is about to happen."

Although her face held no end of misgivings, Bethany did not disobey. She nodded and left, leaving Alexander alone in the unfinished room.

With a long sigh, Alexander turned his thoughts inward and began to shape the room around himself, dark energy crackling around his form.

0000000

In a restroom on the first floor of the Mall of America, Gerald Laxina bent over a sink, hot water running over his hands. He was probably scalding himself, but he had trouble caring about that. Even though he had managed to avoid getting any blood on his clothing, he could still feel a cold, greasy stain on his body, and going deeper yet. He had, after all, killed another human being.

It didn't feel this way when I defeated Jacob Waterknot, Gerald thought, finally pulling his hands from the hot water and changing the taps around. Now the water was frigid, and he shoved his hands back under the flow, chilling away the pain. But when I dueled Jacob, he arranged circumstances himself such that they would kill him on a defeat. This time... I set the stakes. I chose to kill Reston. And in such a grotesque manner...

He splashed cold water on his face, shaking his head. Nobody said being a Chosen of the Light would be a pacifist's road. I have to get over this. Besides, Reston had blood on his own hands as well... and he told me he would die either way. But his statement about his masters...

Gerald sighed, turning off the water and pulling a paper towel out of the dispenser, drying his hands. "Enough of this," he said. "Laura, Chad, and Sol are all free... and the Mall of America is no longer controlled by the Darkness. That's all that matters at this point." He then paused, blushing slightly. "I just listed Laura first."

Before he could follow that train of thought any further, there was a crackling noise in the restroom. A black line drew itself beside him, and it irised open, revealing a portal of black energy. Through it, Gerald could see a place he had never expected to see again.

"The hell?" he muttered. He then rubbed his eyes and thought, Reston did mention his masters. I suppose they want to see me personally. His hands retrieved his deck from Sehnsucht, and he began to swap cards back out, rebuilding it into its old self.

A moment later, Gerald walked through the portal, which closed behind him.

FOOTSTEPS OF THE GODDESS
Type: Normal Magic Card
Image: A beautiful winged woman, surrounded by sparkles of light, stepping down into a ring of flowers.
Effect: Look at your opponet's hand. Select 1 monster in your opponent's hand with an ATK of 1500 point sor less that can be Special Summoned and Special Summon it to the opponent's side of the field in face-up Attack Position. Afterwards, you can Special Summon 1 monster in your hand with an ATK of 1500 or less to your side of the field in Attack Position. The monsters Special Summoned by this card's effect cannot attack during this turn.

ONE SLASH KILL! SWORD DRAW
Type: Normal Magic Card
Image: A hand drawing a sword from its sheath.
Effect: Send cards from your Deck to the Graveyard equal to the total number of cards on the field. Afterwards, draw one card from your deck. If that card is One-Slash Kill! Sword Draw, send that card to the Graveyard, and destroy all cards on the field. For each card destroyed and sent to the Graveyard in this way, inflict 1,000 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points. When this card is activated, it cannot be destroyed by the effects of Magic, Trap, or Monster effects, nor can this card be negated.
Note: Both of the above cards were used by Lucian in the GX episode "Don't Fear the Reaper". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode. The name used for the latter card is the original Japanese name; in the dubbed version, it is called "Slash Draw".

Coming next chapter: Gerald confronts Alexander.

No, I can't tell you anything else. Even the title would be a spoiler.

[Master of Paradox]

CONTEST: TO DRAW DOWN THE DARKNESS

The Darkness protects itself well. In order to enter its lair, one must fight their way past the initial security.

At the entrance to Degas and Alexander's lair, a wall of living darkness provides that security.

The form this security takes is an... odd one, to say the least. It wears a thousand faces, depending on who tries to enter. And it draws those faces from the victim's mind. Since the most likely intruders now are duelists, they call on memories of duelists seen before.

Anyone the duelist has personally seen can be called upon. Anyone, even opponents the duelist has not personally fought.

There are some limits, of course. First, only the living may be copied this way; the dead cannot be mimicked. The living darkness cannot copy its creators, either; it is a security mechanism installed by them. And beings of pure darkness or shadow cannot be copied. But with those caveats, it could become just about anyone.

What form will the living darkness take when the time comes? Well... I'm not sure yet.

Care to tell me?

RULES:

The following contest consists of ten regular questions and a bonus question.

Each of the regular questions is worth one point - failing a question forfeits the point. You must answer all the regular questions; you may not leave one blank. ("I don't know" is always a wrong answer, but may fill in a space.)

The bonus question is optional, but a correct answer is worth two points. Failing the bonus question will subtract a point from your score, however, so be careful.

The winner will be the person with the highest score when the deadline has passed. If there are ties, a tiebreaker will be conducted. Details will be given then.

PM your answers to me - don't clutter this topic with them. Entries must be submitted before 10:00 P.M., March 26, 2007. You may only enter once.

REWARD:

See that speech up top, about living darkness? If you win, you get to pick what form the darkness takes.

The winner will be sent a list of possible choices for that form. I will not give away when, exactly, that form will appear, but it will show up and duel before the story's conclusion.

As an added bonus, the winner will be allowed to design a Card of Night for the chosen form to wield. (Deck themes will be listed along with the options.)

QUESTIONS:

There are two separate sections of questions. One involves the game, and one involves this story. How good are you at both?


SECTION A: DUEL MONSTERS BIOGRAPHY

Five Duel Monsters cards were asked to describe themselves. The following paragraphs are the answers they gave. For one point per question, name the Duel Monsters cards. (Note: when the description implies multiple cards, you need only name the "viewpoint" card. Not all of these may be monsters.)

1. When I am alone, I am nothing. No power flows through me, and anything - even the lowliest of Kuribohs - could bring me to my knees with a single strike. But... I was not designed to battle alone. When my brothers arrive, our power increases, as long as we're all on the same page. When we block together, the XYZ Dragon Cannon could not pierce our defense. When we fight together, we could match the Blue Eyes White Dragon itself. Fear our gathered power!

2. Hear my cry! When I speak, all is exposed! No secrets can be hidden when I let out my cry! True, I cannot fight. How would one such as me battle? I can take a hit, but should I try something as foolish as attacking I would fall instantly. But when I speak, all truth is revealed! Hear my cry, and show me what you hide!

3. I and my counterpart are not for summoning. We have no power in battle. In truth, we were designed to be thrown away. When the one who carries me is forced to throw me aside, my true power emerges. For in being lost, I heal the most grievous of injuries and grant strength to the one who lost me. My counterpart works much the same, but his power is dark - he turns on the one who forced him aside and burns into their flesh. My counterpart scares me, but we are as one.

4. When I was a child, I met my beloved. Both of us knew on first sight it would be love. As we grew, this never faded, and then we began to train. She grew stronger over time, while I grew strongers with each victory over the enemy. Now that we are grown, we still love fiercely, even though we may never say a word about it. Our powers differ, as per our training - I cannot wield magic, but my might shuts it down before it can activate; she cannot do so, as it would leave her helpless, but magic cannot touch her.

5. Once... long ago... I was powerful. When I was called upon, I laid waste to the enemy, leaving ashes and scarred land in my wake. Few could withstand my might, and the wise called upon me whenever they could. But then those in power decided I was too strong, and sealed me away. I was sealed behind impenetrable walls, along with one who could raise the dead and one that destroyed all. Now I watch, as more are placed here with me, and mourn what once was. Another was created to take my place - it is costly and not as strong as I was, but it is allowed. Some have escaped this place of confinement, but I - the first put within it - will never be free again...

SECTION B: POP CULTURE

I've made quite a few pop culture references in this story. Some of them are just one-off jokes, but some of them... Let's see how good you are at picking them up. One point per question.

1. When Chad was asked what he planned to do with his life, he replied, "I've got a dream about buying some land, give up the booze and the one-night stands." Gerald told him, "We all know that song." What song are they referring to?

2. Geese Howard, Chapter 16's opponent, is from SNK's game line-up, as noted at that time. Which of these lines from the chapter is NOT something he said in one of those games? (Note: Option A ends in an ellipsis, but what followed in the original sentence is not important.)
A. "Scum like you should know their place..."
B. "Silence, bacteria!"
C. "I'll stain my hands... with your blood."
D. "How does it feel to be ruled by overwhelming power?"

3. Hanzaki. Chapter 6. The impersonation. Nobody got it back then, so here are some clues: the character he impersonated comes from a game, originating on the Gamecube, that had seven playable characters (although they were technically all one character). Andrei Ulmeyda, who appeared on the TV for a moment in Chapter 23, also comes from that game. Name the game. (Naming the character he impersonated is optional.)

4. One of Lucifer's cards in Chapter 21 is named City of Brass. Now, this is a reference to Arabian myth, the fabled city of the efreeti. But... there's a card in another collectable card game that has this name. Which CCG am I referring to? (There may be more than one game with a card by that name, and I may not know it; if you name one of them, I'll give you the point.)

5. Now a fictional culture reference: The band Acknowledgement has come up several times in this story. I made them up to give the world some extra flavor (not all their culture revolves around Duel Monsters). Over the course of this story, I've named three songs by Acknowledgement. Name two.

BONUS QUESTION:

B. Since his first appearance, how many exclamation points has Gerald Laxina used? The answer is NOT "one". I'm counting all of his appearances.

Good luck... you'll need it.

[Dark Sage]

YAY!

I was right. I knew it. I just knew it. I knew Gerald was going to use Slash Draw. Jason had asked me about those cards. Des Wombat was a nice touch too.

I should probably explain something - I know who Raziel the Crusader is. It's another D&D reference. Fans of Dark Messiah will likely remember Nadia's Card of Virtue, Erathaol the Angel of Mercy. Both Raziel and Erathaol are members of the Hebdomad, the most powerful of Celestial beings. It seems like they are willing to help the servants of the Light whenever evil and darkness threatens the world.

Anyway, I look forward to Gerald's duel with Alexander. I'm not saying anything to anyone else, but I know Alexander's secret. I don't know if Jason intends to reveal this secret next chapter, but I'll let him do it on his time. I also think I know what deck Alexander is packing. We will see (I know his real deck too - I guessed what it was from clues that Jason dropped.)

I wish I could participate in the contest, but Jason made it pretty hard. We will see...

[Hinoryu]

Iai Draw. Damn, I can't say I was expecting that. Very nice touch. Raziel put that card there for Gerald, I assume, like the Shinigami did for Tachibana? Interesting.

Alexander duels next. I've had a theory on Alexander for the longest time, I hope to be proven correct, or wrong as the case may be, next chapter.

And the contest... I can get four points of the top of my head, but I'll have to think hard about the rest. You made 'em pretty hard, good job.

[Shuppet Master]

(Phone rings. I answer it.)

"Hello, this is Arkane Studios. Is Brian Corvello there? We're suing for copyright infrigement of a title he used in---"

(Hangs up fast and whistles innocently.)

Slash Draw, huh? I wasn't expecting that. Brian told me that the next duel Reston had, his last one, was a shutout, but I didn't expect THIS. Nice touch having Gerald bring out a Newdoria as if to mock Reston by killing it. The way it was executed was a lot more interesting than the way they did it in the anime.

Well, Laura, Chad, and Sol are safe now, but nobody will be the same now that they were infected. Wonder if this will be an issue later?"

Poor old Lucifer. He's in jail now(or worse) for defying the contract just to cure Gerald. I wonder if we will see him, or Vivenne(sp?) again?

Reston's dead and in Hell. Serves him right. (EDIT) The only good in him is that he gave Gerald a life lesson: "Stop being a f****** bleeding heart, especially to a person who has damned himself infinite times and is irredeemable." Brian taught me that lesson when he wrote Mandate - I was going to make a "good" Saurius, but he stopped me and said "If villians like him didn't deserve to die, then heroes would be worse off than the villians - sometimes death and violence are the only solution."

Anyways, I like the whole channeling thing, and it looks like Alexander is going to throw down with Gerald, if only to stall. Something tells me he escapes his fate after the duel and we see him duel with his true deck later on. That tactic worked with the Shadow Queen.

[jkBAKURA]

So, the Pillar of Death goes down by being cut in half. Does that give us Reston Pieces?

*hides from the Marauding Captain Bat-Squad*

Anyhow, I like the tension added to Gerald's character. He'll be thinking about this for a while. I kind of wish the duel had added just a turn or two, but after what Reston has done it was really satisfying to see him go down.

I hope Lucifer isn't in too much trouble.

[Perfect Chaos]

Hmmm...never really reviewed here that much. I suppose I felt no point in doing so since everyone else pretty much echoed what I felt about most of your chapters: Very detailed, and very well-written in terms of weaving the story together. The same goes for this chapter.

Albeit, a few nitpicks. I felt that this chapter was rather short compared to your others. Also, I was wondering how Gerald managed to figure out so specifically that Lucifer must've transferred his Darkness Infection to Demetrius as his "rational" explanation on why he was suddenly awake. I believe up until this point, NO ONE had any idea that Lucifer had this ability, except for Demetrius, who found out about it just before he had the Infection transferred to him, so it just felt unnatural and/or unreal for Gerald to have managed to figure that out so quickly.

Also, despite the fact that we had already seen Gerald and Reston duel already, I was still hoping for a longer duel sequence. I liked the touch you put with "One-Slash Kill - Sword Draw" but again, was hoping for a longer duel, but whatever, no point in crying over spilled milk.

I feel very much for Lucifer, being punished for what he felt was the right thing to do. Hopefully his punishment is not too severe, and we can see him make an appearance again the story (and hopefully, another duel as well)

Until then

-Sean

[Shuppet Master]

I doubt he'll be allowed to duel again, since the Shadows probably won't try again after that miserable failure with the Samus duel; besides they're already stretched too far with her Royal Shadow's defeat. The only way I see him duel again is if Dreams and Light decide to team up and kick Degas' and Alexander's butt together, which ain't happenin'.

Anyways, about Gerald's uncanny ability to sense what happened to him and the others, if you were in that situation and saw those things, you would guess that

(A) Something happened to infect Lark.
(B) He couldn't have lost a duel, since he has a rep to uphold, so that means he was infected by other means
(C) Since I was out a long time after losing to the Pillar, he must have gone away long before Demetrius and Lucifer showed up. They saw me in this state.
(D) Lucifer has a ****load of magical power, so he must have cured me.
(E) But then why is Lark infected? Bing-bing-bing! He took the Infection for me!

Simple deductive reasoning, good man. Every human has it. Even if Gerald had come to the wrong conclusion, he would have hit close to the mark.

[Hinoryu]

I doubt he'll be allowed to duel again, since the Shadows probably won't try again after that miserable failure with the Samus duel

You forget: We haven't seen Lucifer's real deck yet. It's more or less a law of Yugioh fics: When a character is using a watered down deck, they will duel so we can see their real decks. It's pretty much a given he will. Though by going rogue and disobeying Dreams outright to help out, or by Dreams and Light teaming up, it's up in the air.

[Master of Paradox]

This is just a quick reminder that there are still 23 hours and counting before the contest ends. We have five competitors so far. You may still have a chance.

Allow me to clarify, however: the contest will end at 10:00 P.M. Central Time Zone tomorrow. Adjust the time for your zone accordingly.

EDIT: And the contest has come to a close. The winner is...

...well, I plan to keep that to myself for now. They'll know soon enough. I will say, however, they were the only one to score a perfect twelve out of twelve possible.

Now let us discuss the answers...

PART A: DUEL MONSTERS BIOGRAPHIES

1. Correct answer: Batteryman AA.

When I am alone, I am nothing. No power flows through me, and anything - even the lowliest of Kuribohs - could bring me to my knees with a single strike.

I exagerrated here - the Batteryman AA by itself has a minimum of 1000 ATK/DEF, so a Kuriboh couldn't win. However, it's rather pathetic alone.

But... I was not designed to battle alone. When my brothers arrive, our power increases, as long as we're all on the same page.

The trick to the Batterymen is that they always function best in groups. As long as three Batterymen AA are in the same position, they have incredible power.

When we block together, the XYZ Dragon Cannon could not pierce our defense.

XYZ Cannon ATK: 2800
Batteryman AA DEF when three are out: 3000
Of course, the XYZ could use its effect to kill one and then attack, but that's not part of the question.

When we fight together, we could match the Blue Eyes White Dragon itself. Fear our gathered power!

When three Batteryman AA are in ATK, they have 3000 points, a tie with the mighty BEWD.

2. Correct answer: Ceremonial Bell

Hear my cry!

As one person put it, "Don't think cry. Think ring."

When I speak, all is exposed! No secrets can be hidden when I let out my cry!

As long as the Ceremonial Bell is face-up, both players must expose their hands.

True, I cannot fight. How would one such as me battle?

Seriously. How can a bell attack? Okay, I can see a very loud ring, but it's still not a conventional fighter.

I can take a hit, but should I try something as foolish as attacking I would fall instantly.

1850 DEF is good for a Level Four, but if you had it in Attack Mode your opponent would get a free direct attack, in a way.

But when I speak, all truth is revealed! Hear my cry, and show me what you hide!

Another reference to its effect.

3. Correct answer: Elephant Statue of Blessings

I and my counterpart are not for summoning. We have no power in battle.

Here I made a mistake. The Elephant Statue of Blessings has 1500 ATK (I thought it had 0), which is a decent score. But if you're summoning it you're missing the point.

In truth, we were designed to be thrown away. When the one who carries me is forced to throw me aside, my true power emerges.

Both of the Elephant Statues have effects which only activate when an opponent's effect makes you discard.

For in being lost, I heal the most grievous of injuries and grant strength to the one who lost me.

When you discard it, you gain 2,000 Life Points, a very generous sum indeed.

My counterpart works much the same, but his power is dark - he turns on the one who forced him aside and burns into their flesh.

The Elephant Statue of Disasters, on the other hand, deals 2,000 Life Points of damage to the opponent, a nasty amount if you can make it work.

My counterpart scares me, but we are as one.

This line confused some people. I was referring to a Yin/Yang-like symbiosis.

4. Correct answer: Silent Swordsman LV 7 (his lover, although this wasn't necessary for the contest, is the Silent Magician LV 8)

When I was a child, I met my beloved. Both of us knew on first sight it would be love.

I like the idea of the Silent Swordsman and the Silent Magician being lovers. It just seems to fit. Their being children is a reference to the Silent Swordsman LV 3 and Magician LV 4.

As we grew, this never faded, and then we began to train. She grew stronger over time, while I grew strongers with each victory over the enemy.

Drawing cards is what triggers the evolution of the Silent Magician LV 4, while the Swordsman goes from LV 3 to LV 5 and then LV 7 by destroying opposing monsters.

Now that we are grown, we still love fiercely, even though we may never say a word about it.

I took that "Silent" part quite literally.

Our powers differ, as per our training - I cannot wield magic, but my might shuts it down before it can activate; she cannot do so, as it would leave her helpless, but magic cannot touch her.

The Silent Swordsman cancels out any and all Magic Cards. The Silent Magician, meanwhile, is immune to them.

5. This is the one most often missed (if 3/5 is "often"). The correct answer was Raigeki.

Once... long ago... I was powerful.

In the very beginning of the game, Raigeki was almost unstoppable.

When I was called upon, I laid waste to the enemy, leaving ashes and scarred land in my wake.

It destroys all monsters. Regardless of mode and regardless of face-up or face-down.

Few could withstand my might, and the wise called upon me whenever they could.

Anybody who played this game pre-Ban List knows that Raigeki was the most abused card on the circuit.

But then those in power decided I was too strong, and sealed me away. I was sealed behind impenetrable walls,

The Forbidden List ("impenetrable walls") was created due to cards like Raigeki, the broken ones. When the list was first created in Japan, it originally consisted of three cards: Dark Hole, Monster Reborn, and Raigeki. Which brings me to my next point...

along with one who could raise the dead and one that destroyed all.

This is the part that threw people off. The "one who could raise the dead" is Monster Reborn. Some people thought Raigeki was "one that destroyed all" - but that was Dark Hole.

Now I watch, as more are placed here with me, and mourn what once was.

The Forbidden List just keeps growing.

Another was created to take my place - it is costly and not as strong as I was, but it is allowed.

This is the part that should have tipped people off. Lightning Vortex requires that you discard a card and only destroys face-up monsters; it's the obvious "nerf" Raigeki.

Some have escaped this place of confinement, but I - the first put within it - will never be free again...

How many times have Graceful Charity and Cyber Jar been on and off the list? But Raigeki is not getting off any time soon.

PART B: POP CULTURE

1. When Chad was asked what he planned to do with his life, he replied, "I've got a dream about buying some land, give up the booze and the one-night stands." Gerald told him, "We all know that song." What song are they referring to?

"Baker Street", originally by Gerry Rafferty, covered by the Foo Fighters and UNDERCOVER. I prefer the original, incidentally; it's the only one with the excellent sax solo.

2. Geese Howard, Chapter 16's opponent, is from SNK's game line-up, as noted at that time. Which of these lines from the chapter is NOT something he said in one of those games? (Note: Option A ends in an ellipsis, but what followed in the original sentence is not important.)
A. "Scum like you should know their place..."
B. "Silence, bacteria!"
C. "I'll stain my hands... with your blood."
D. "How does it feel to be ruled by overwhelming power?"

B is the one never said in the games - although someone pointed out that the other quotes aren't exactly direct. I blame Wikiquote.

3. Hanzaki. Chapter 6. The impersonation. Nobody got it back then, so here are some clues: the character he impersonated comes from a game, originating on the Gamecube, that had seven playable characters (although they were technically all one character). Andrei Ulmeyda, who appeared on the TV for a moment in Chapter 23, also comes from that game. Name the game. (Naming the character he impersonated is optional.)

I made this one too easy - everyone got it. The game was the brilliant (if quirky) Killer7. For the record, Hanzaki was impersonating Iwazaru. His greeting ("Master. We're in a tight spot!") and departure ("In the name of Harmon...") are quotes from the character.

4. One of Lucifer's cards in Chapter 21 is named City of Brass. Now, this is a reference to Arabian myth, the fabled city of the efreeti. But... there's a card in another collectable card game that has this name. Which CCG am I referring to? (There may be more than one game with a card by that name, and I may not know it; if you name one of them, I'll give you the point.)

I had Magic: The Gathering in mind.

5. Now a fictional culture reference: The band Acknowledgement has come up several times in this story. I made them up to give the world some extra flavor (not all their culture revolves around Duel Monsters). Over the course of this story, I've named three songs by Acknowledgement. Name two.

"Cultured Bastard", "Never Trust Me", and "My Pain". Some people said "My Suffering For Your Benefit", but that was wrong - it was the name of their album.

BONUS QUESTION:

B. Since his first appearance, how many exclamation points has Gerald Laxina used? The answer is NOT "one". I'm counting all of his appearances.

I was counting the chapter "Tick Tock" of Brian Corvello's "Yu-Gi-Oh: The Thousand-Year Door", Gerald's first appearance in fanfiction, where he used them profusely. The count I got was 28, but I was willing to give those who answered a 2-point margin of error.

I congratulate all those who entered for their effort. And to the winner, you'll receive a PM shortly.

[Blademaster]

So... I got a grand total of... one wrong. And said one was misleading at best.

(starts to say something, but then thinks the better of it and leaves)

[Shuppet Master]

I knew I wouldn't win the contest, especially since the Pop Culture part had bands which I never heard before.

This is the part that threw people off. The "one who could raise the dead" is Monster Reborn. Some people thought Raigeki was "one that destroyed all" - but that was Dark Hole.

Okay, so I didn't read the riddle good enough - forgot that the Chaos Emperor Dragon's effect destroyed all cards on the field, and you meant destroying only your enemy's cards.

[starjake]

Actually, Dark Hole does destroy your own cards as well...however, the infamous Dragon of Chaos was not placed on the very first banlist; Dark Hole was. It actually came off again a few lists later, then went back on (make up your minds, Konami!)

[Master of Paradox]

Today is my birthday, but I figured I would give everyone else a gift. After this there will be no new chapters for a while (by which I mean a longer while than usual...), as I work on restoring the buffer.

One other note: the German in this chapter comes from a Google language tool, so it won't translate directly into what I meant it to.

The story goes as such: two brothers, Romulus and Remus, were abandoned as infants. They were found and raised by a she-wolf (or a prostitute - they're the same word in Latin) and grew into manhood. Gathering supporters, they raised a great city. But when it came time to name it, they had a dispute, and Romulus slew Remus. This is why it's Rome and not Rem.

Brothers historically do not get along. Romulus and Remus; before them, Cain and Abel. Throughout human mythology, the countless good/bad brother dualisms in human belief. Dante and Vergil from the Devil May Cry video games. And somehow, it always seems to be the older brother that turns out to be the villain of the pair.

I would try to tie that back into Cain and Abel, but that raises the question of where the original inspiration came from. Perhaps it comes from some deep pang in the human mind. We are taught as we grow that the older must protect the younger; the past guards the future. When an older sibling turns on its younger fellows, it is practically a subversion of the natural order. But perhaps I'm just being philosophical...

Hmmm? No, I'm not Gerald. I'm the other Laxina...

Chapter Thirty-One: Blood Feud

As Alexander waited for Gerald to arrive, he shifted in the cushions of his chair. His eyes shut, and he sighed softly, thinking, Gerald... what's taking you so long?

Deep within him, he could feel the Dark Conduit, its boundless energy coursing through the tissues and cells in his body. He mentally gauged it, and realized it was entering the ebb part of its cycle, when it produced less energy than usual.

There was a slight spark from his fingers, and he found himself thinking back...

He was five years old, and he was sitting on a chair in the waiting room of the local hospital; his mother was in the delivery room. Handing him a magazine, his father had run off to join her. All the boy could do was sit down and flip through it, not understanding half of what was written there. The average five-year-old doesn't have the life experience needed to interpret an issue of Reader's Digest, especially one older than he is.

Even as he put the magazine down and sat back, kicking his heels, Alexander could feel that something was wrong. Someone in the room was out of place, and it touched him like someone misplaying a note on an instrument. He looked around, blinking.

And then he saw a man standing near the door of the waiting room, looking from one person to another. The man was quite thin, his black suit and tie loose on him despite how tight he had his belt cinched. His skin was pale, like fine china, and he was completely bald. A pair of sunglasses sat on his nose, and as he looked around, he pushed them back up now and again.

A five-year-old has a strong current of curiosity in him, and so Alexander hopped off of his chair and approached the man, smiling. "Hello, mister," he said.

The thin man started at that sound, long fingers twitching. He then looked down at Alexander and smiled, reaching down to muss up the boy's hair. "Well, hello, there." He knelt down and set his hands on either side of Alexander's head. "Try not to panic..."

"Huh?" the boy asked, and then the other man looked into his eyes through those sunglasses - even though the shaded lens should have prevented it, he could still feel their eyes meet. A low buzzing noise sounded in his mind, rising upwards in volume and intensity. He soon began to whimper...

Then the sound faded away and the man stood up, cracking his fingers as he smiled wider. "You're the one," the man said. "You don't have it just yet, but I can feel the opening."

"What are you talking about, mister?" Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's 'it'? What did you just do?"

Shaking his head, the thin man adjusted his collar and pushed his sunglasses back up as he said, "In due time you will figure it out.
Take care of your little brother until that day. We will meet again, Alexander."

Before the boy could ask how the man knew his name, he was back on his chair and the man was gone. Soon his father walked into the room, panting heavily before giving his son a wide grin. "Alexander," the older man said, "come and see your new brother..."

In the present day, Alexander sat up, adjusting himself on his chair. That was the first time I met Degas, he thought to himself, frowning. That opening he was talking about was what the Dark Conduit attached itself to when it entered my soul. But why... Another spark leapt from his fingers, and he then chuckled. No need to be silly. I know why I thought of that just now.

The portal crackled, and he looked up, seeing it widen.

0000000

It was perhaps thirty seconds before Gerald passed all the way through the portal, feeling his body move from one side to the other in steps. The best comparison he could come up with was being taken apart atom by atom and rebuilt on the far side of the portal; once it was over, it took a good minute for his senses to recover.

The portal closed, and he looked around, taking in the room around him. He was standing on wooden planks, varnish faded, and a faint evening light came from the windows behind him and on his left. A TV sat on a table in the corner behind him and to the left, and there was a long couch on the right. Next to the couch was a small table with a lamp on it.

Gerald frowned. Even though five years had passed since the last time he had stood in this room, he knew two elements were missing. Originally there was a door into the dining room on his right, next to the couch, and a door to the outside on the left corner. Both were gone from this version.

Directly in front of Gerald there was an armchair, and someone he knew all too well sat in it. He had brown hair with natural blonde streaks highlighting it, and his eyes were the same color as Gerald's. While the man wasn't as tall as Gerald, standing around 5'10", he had a strong frame with muscles indicating a history of sports. He wore a green T-shirt and jacket, as well as dark green dress pants, held tight on his waist with a thin black belt. Currently he had his chin on the knuckles of one hand, elbow on the armrest, and looked at the other man with a faint expression of interest.

This was the man whose name Gerald could not say without wincing.

"Gerald," Alexander said, tapping one foot on the other.

Gerald nodded, wincing as he said, "Alexander."

"Come now, Gerald. That's not what you used to call me."

"I am not calling you what you want to be called, Alexander," Gerald replied, his eyes narrowing. A bead of sweat ran down his brow.

"Gerald..." Alexander said, his voice turning into a teasing lilt on the second syllable..

The Chosen of the Light could feel his fists clenching as he whispered, "No, Alexander..."

"Come on, Gerald. Time to drop the charade." The man in green grinned wide. "You know what I want you to call me."

"Alexander..."

Alexander's fingers drummed on the armchair. "Admit it..."

"Alexander..." Gerald said, his body tensing and his face turning pale.

"Say it, Gerald. You must."

A rush of sadness ran through Gerald, and he sank to one knee and one hand, head dropping and his shades sliding down on his nose. One word left him in an explosive breath, tinged with despair: "Brother."

"Was it that hard, Gerald?" Alexander asked his younger brother.

The response was quick and harsh, the younger Laxina glaring at the Dark Conduit as he moved back upright: "Yes."

"Such a pity... Sit down, Gerald." The man in green leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other knee. "We have a lot to catch up on... How long has passed?"

One of Gerald's hands reached up and shoved the lenses back up on his nose. He thought for a moment, and then said, "Five years. But you can't think I have forgotten the last time we spoke."

"Oddly enough," Alexander replied, "I have forgotten it. Care to refresh my memory?"

"Are you just playing dumb, brother?" The younger Laxina stretched his arms a little, gesturing around them. "This place... you copied the house we lived in back then. This was the living room of the house in Phoenix where we last spoke. If you can remember this, then you have to remember what happened."

"I can remember the location, but somehow I can't remember what happened in it." The elder Laxina raised his eyebrow, admitting, "It does bug me that such an important event is missing from my memory. Now... what happened?"

0000000

Ulysses Cartnell slid off his bicycle as he approached the Mall of America, walking it up to the rack and setting it in place. He did not bother putting on a lock. Anyone who tried to steal his bicycle would regret it once the poison ivy started growing around their legs.

On entering the building, he was confronted with the sight of a vertiable army of unconscious people. None of them bore the marks of the Darkness Infection, and so he surmised that Reston had recently fallen. "But where could the latest Chosen have gone from there?" he said aloud. "I can't sense him..." He shut his eyes, activating a long-dormant ability. All Chosen of the Light could sense darkness, and the power did not go away just because one's purpose was complete.

The senses came in as hoped, and Ulysses opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow. "A men's room?" he said aloud. "Quite the interesting place to open a portal..."

He then sensed something else, and frowned, saying to himself, "That will have to wait. Someone needs help." He then headed for Camp Snoopy.

0000000

Taking a deep breath, Gerald began to talk, holding up one hand. "Five years ago... I was sitting on that couch, just reading..." He blinked, tears forming on his eyes. "I can't even remember what it was I was reading anymore... I just remember hearing you come in, and then... you started speaking..."

Alexander blinked, and his lips formed the words almost unbidden. "'I cannot stand it here anymore, Gerald. Just being around you hurts now, and I don't know why.'"

"'What do you mean, brother?'" Gerald said in response, their conversation falling into the same words as five years before.

"'Looking at you hurts me. You just sit there, wasting every minute of your life, and there's so much you could be doing. It makes me sick. Do something with your life for once... Don't just sit there and rot.'"

"'Alexander... what brought this about?'" Knowing what Alexander would say next, Gerald shut his eyes, trying not to let the flood of tears behind his eyelids break free.

Something shifted behind his brother's eyes, and Alexander paused before finally speaking. "'You are so worthless.' That was what I said then... And then I hit you." Those brown eyes softened, and the older Laxina blinked.

It could not be helped, and Gerald began to cry, the tears rolling unbidden down his face. "You struck me across the face, even as our mother yelled for you to stop... And then you got in your car and left. I left you a note when we moved out, but I never saw you after that." His words cut off with a sob, and he took off his sunglasses, hand covering his face as tears dripped past his fingers.

For a moment, Alexander reached out from his chair, a concerned frown on his face. And then his eyes hardened as a spark fell from his fingers, and he sat back, arm returning to the armrest. "So much has happened since I left our home," he said, resting his head on his hand. "The Dark Conduit joined with me... It filled the empty part of my soul. And now I walk with the Darkness, and I look to a day when it stands over all. That is why I called you here."

"I see," Gerald replied, wiping the last tears from his eyes. "Five years since the last time we spoke, and now you only want to talk about my death."

"Not death, necessarily." Alexander reached into his pocket, drawing out a Duel Monsters deck. "Degas has asked me to settle this affair. We will duel, and if you are victorious, you may walk away from this. If you are defeated, however... Well, let us just say you will wish the Beloved of Fire and the American Number One had let you sleep."

With a shuddering breath, Gerald nodded, putting the smoked-lens glasses into his pocket. He adjusted Sehnsucht, asking, "Do you still use the old theme?"

"Most of the time... but not today. Today I am using something special." Alexander frowned, continuing, "But my Image is worthless with it. Therefore, this will be something of a handicap duel. I will not call upon my Image, but you may freely use yours. I assure you that you will need it."

Setting the deck on his armrest, Alexander stood up and looked around the illusionary room, snapping his fingers. "No need to stay here, however. It has served its purpose."

All around them, the illusion of the Phoenix living room rippled and blurred away, becoming the blank black walls that had previously stood there. A few moments later, something new blurred into being: a vast, brilliant starfield, the celestial bodies swirling around both young men as they stood on a pathway made of crystal panes. A cushioned red chair stood behind Gerald, and a jade throne sat behind Alexander.

Raising his arm, Alexander Laxina smiled and concentrated, shutting his eyes. Black energy shot up his arm, a bolt of reversed lightning covering the entire limb. Soon it crackled away, leaving a black-and-green Duel Disk in its wake, a small frog as the deck holder. What sort of frog it was could not be guessed, as it had tiny horns on either side of its eyes and batlike wings on its back.

Taking a seat on his throne, Alexander slid his deck into the deck slot and sighed again, stroking his hair. "Get comfortable, Gerald. It may be the last time you can."

Without a word, Gerald sat down and put the last cards into his rebuilt deck, sliding it into Sensucht. In the back of his mind, however, his brother's voice suddenly popped up, speaking in German: Kannst du mich hören? Er kann nicht Deutsches verstehen.

The Chosen of the Light froze, even as he raised Sehnsucht. A trembling thought echoed back through his mind: Bruder?

There was a mental nod, and then Alexander's voice continued. Hören: Ich bin nicht, was ich scheine, zu sein. Das dunkle Rohr ist die Infektion, aber in einer anderen form. Ich wünsche, daß wir in einer anderen Weise getroffen haben könnten…

Wie I. Aber… Gerald paused, looking to Alexander's form as he did so. His Duel Disk arm shook slightly, even as his brother activated his own disk.

Alexander's mental voice turned grim. Ich kann nicht lang sprechen. Gerald, zeigen mir keine Gnade. Mir die Entlastung eines Momentes geben und ich zerreiße deine Kehle heraus heftig. The voice paused, sighing. Du mußt kämpfen. Stark.

A tear formed in Gerald's eye as he thought, Ich erhalte dich aus dort heraus, Alexander. He then activated Sehnsucht, and the Duel Disk whirred to life.

Ich weiß, daß du wirst. Ich vertraue dir. Jetzt Kampf… meine bruder.

Both Laxinas drew their opening hands, and their Life Point counters rose to 8,000. The black circle drew itself around the chairs, and the seal of a Dark Duel drew itself within the circle. Alexander smiled, and said softly, "I will begin."

0000000

At first there was nothing but pain, the entire world a red haze before him. A low growl issued from the predator's lips, and he rolled onto his stomach, pressing down on the floor as he rose, slitted eyes staring out on the world as though seeking prey. Muscles tightened, and claws scratched at the floor as the pain began to fade. Hunger had come upon it...

And then a hand grabbed one arm, and something pulsed through the predator. He blinked, the roaring in his mind ebbing away.

Once it was done, Chad Montmelier stood up, shaking as he did so, Ulysses helping him stay steady on his feet. He looked into the old man's eyes and asked, "What happened?"

"As far as I can work out," Ulysses replied, "you were defeated by the Pillar of Death. Gerald Laxina, however, has defeated the Pillar and freed you from the Darkness Infection." It was clear, however, that he wasn't saying something.

Chad blinked a few times, setting his hand to his head and swaying again. As Ulysses held onto his shoulders, the artist muttered, "I'm not saying it didn't happen, but... I can't remember any of it. I remember getting knocked to about 3,800 Life Points, I called my Image, and then it goes black..."

The elder Chosen of the Light frowned, as if deep in thought. The tall young man looked over his face, but couldn't read anything from it.

"Where's Gerald?" Chad then asked.

Snapping out of his train of thought, Ulysses said, "I'm trying to answer that question myself."

0000000

Plucking the top card off of his deck, Alexander tucked it into his hand and then took another card, sliding it into his Duel Disk. "I begin with this card facedown," he said, sliding another card into the slot next to it. "However, I will then play this Magic Card, Secret Installation. This lets me choose a facedown card on my field and move it onto your side."

Beside the facedown card, another card appeared, showing a picture of three men in black suits wiring a bomb to the handle of a door. The facedown card broke into a hundred pieces, which whirled around Gerald and then gathered on his field, reforming into their original shape. He reached for the card, trying to see what it was, but then the Duel Disk beeped and he withdrew his hand.

"Ah, ah, brother," Alexander said, head shaking. "You are forbidden to look at or activate the card thus given until your next turn. But if you're in such a hurry..." He paused, smirking. "Which you never are... I will show you the card myself, by playing this." He peeled another card out of his hand and played it. "Bait Doll forces it to activate."

The card flashed and lifted, revealing a card Gerald knew. "Robbin' Goblin?" he asked, looking between it and Alexander. "You're familiar with my deck theme... you have to be... so why this?"

The man in green shrugged and placed one last card on his Duel Disk, saying, "I set this monster in Defense Mode. Take your turn."

To be continued in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

That card... I can think of a deck theme that would punish me for using it, Gerald thought, drawing his sixth card. I will have to see if that's the one he's using. "I set two cards facedown," he began, both cards flashing into being, "and then summon Jinzo #7 in Attack Mode."

Part of the Dark Duel's seal swelled outward, darkness flowing upwards and into a rough humanoid shape. The darkness abated, revealing a crude, human-shaped robot with a large number 7 on the plates worn over its shoulder. Its fingers twitched, energy sparking from them. (500/400)

"Jinzo #7," Gerald ordered, "attack Alexander directly with Cyber Glitch." He then shut his eyes.

The prototype robot raised its hand and concentrated, sparks of energy flowing onto its palm. This energy crackled and pulsed, forming a small sphere of purple electricity on its hand.

This it threw at the man in green, and it made contact even as Alexander smirked and began to say, "Hesitant, br-"

The Cyber Glitch exploded as it struck him, letting off a burst of static that cut off the rest of the sentence. Despite its appearance, he barely winced as his Life Points lowered to 7,500.

The Robbin' Goblin on Gerald's field began to glow, and Gerald glanced at it. "Since you were dealt damage in battle, a random card from your hand is discarded. The card you lose is..." Purple light outlined one of the cards in Alexander's hand, and Gerald nodded. "Second from the left."

With a light sigh, Alexander took the selected card and slid it into his Graveyard. As soon as the card was in, however, black fire erupted from the slot, two fireballs spitting out from the Graveyard and looping back onto his deck. The Duel Disk beeped, and he drew twice, a smile on his face. "Do you know what you made me discard, Gerald?"

"I can think of one," the younger man said, settling back into his chair. "However, I can't remember its name."

One of Alexander's fingers slid into the Graveyard, and he pulled out the discarded card, showing it to his brother. "Broww, the Huntsman of Dark World," he said as he did so. "Discarding it myself lets me draw a card. Having you knock it out of my hand lets me draw twice."

Ah, Dark World... Gerald thought as he looked to his hand. Now that I have Robbin' Goblin on my field, any attack could potentially benefit Alexander. Brother, you always did know how to give me a hard time. He then said, "I end my turn."

As he drew his next card, Alexander merely smiled, taking another from his hand. "I set this card facedown," he said, "and switch Scarr, Scout of Dark World, into Attack Mode."

From the facedown monster rose a strange, apelike creature, its skin leathery and red and muscles covering its surface. It had a demonic green glow in its eyes, and silver bands crossed its arms and back. The creature let out a grunt and clenched its fist. (500/500)

Pausing, the older Laxina noted, "Attacking with it will not do me much good, so I will merely set this monster facedown..." Another facedown monster appeared beside Scarr. "...and that will be my turn."

Gerald now drew, frowning as he looked at Alexander. Was that really him talking in my head, he thought, or was he trying to fool me? Either way, he told me not to spare him. "I set a monster in Defense Mode as well and then play Banner of Courage."

First the facedown monster appeared, and then the glass panels behind Gerald's chair began to shake, chipping slightly as they quivered. The banner forced its way up between two of them, panels buckling as the pole dislodged them. From its top fluttered the brilliant banner, its presence causing the Jinzo #7 to rev up a motor within itself. (700/500 - 900/500)

One of Gerald's hands gestured towards his brother, and he ordered, "Jinzo #7, Cyber Glitch again." This time, he fought off the disquiet and watched the attack.

Again, the Cyber Glitch charged up in one of the robot's hands, and it hurled it at Alexander. Before it reached him, however, the Dark Conduit snapped his fingers, sending a bolt of black lightning into it and causing it to detonate in midair, purple static crackling at the point of impact. His Life Points still lowered to 6,600, as the attack itself was not interrupted.

Gerald's Robbin' Goblin glowed again, and purple light outlined another card in Alexander's hand. He took it, showing it to Gerald - it was Swords of Concealing Light - and slid it into his Graveyard before pressing a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate Forced Requisition," he said. "Every time I discard after this, you must also discard an equal number of cards from your hand."

The Continuous Trap Card lifted up, and suddenly there was a very stern-looking man in armor standing beside Gerald's chair. His presence made Gerald shift away... although whether it was just his presence or the very large stick he was holding was up for debate.

Trying not to look at the man, Gerald said, "I end my turn..."

Nodding, Alexander announced, "I begin mine." He drew, and then placed a card into his Duel Disk. "To begin with, I activate Cold Wave, which..."

"...freezes all Magic and Trap cards in our hands and on our fields until the end of my next turn," Gerald finished for his brother. "Chad has that card."

"Oh. Right, I forgot."

The stars in the field around them slowed to a halt, their lights seeming to dim, and for a moment - just for a moment - Gerald could feel the cold of the vacuum of space. He shivered where he sat, seeing his breath as he exhaled, and then the facedown cards on his field iced over with a low crackle. However, the stern man beside him, Alexander's Forced Requisition, also froze, becoming a human ice cube.

"Next," Alexander said as the cold receded, "I will flip my facedown Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World, into Attack Mode." He paused. "Incidentally, a vanguard is the part of an army which leads the way. The forward guard, if you will."

"I always wondered about that," Gerald admitted.

A lanky, rather ugly demon stood up on Alexander's field, holding a long spear in his hands. His eyes were hidden by a steel band, but his teeth were locked in a rictus grin, and curling horns sat on either side of his head. The demon wore light plate armor, and energy crackled around him. (1,600/1,300)

With a sigh, Alexander ordered, "Beiige, attack Jinzo #7 with Dark Assault."

The vanguard walked across the glass panels, spun his spear in one hand, and then grabbed it and thrust forward. It smashed through the Jinzo #7's chest, throwing the robot's internal electronics every which way. Grunting, Beiige yanked his spear up, the point tearing the robot in half from the chest up. It collapsed with a metal clang, and Gerald's Life Points sank to 7,300.

"I end my turn," Alexander said as the demon returned to his side.

The ice on Gerald's facedown cards and covering the Forced Requisition cracked, but this was hardly a relief to Gerald, even as he drew his next card. A groan passed his lips before he said, "I have to pass."

As Alexander drew, the ice on the facedown cards melted away, and the stern man from Forced Requisition flexed his arms, shattering his icy coating. The man in green, meanwhile, tucked his draw into his Duel Disk, announcing, "Pot of Greed..." He paid the hologram no mind, instead drawing twice before playing another card. "And next, Dark World Dealings."

As the card appeared, dust began to gather out in the cosmos beyond the duelist platform, roughly shaping itself into a pair of human figures. The dust approached, its shape refining itself as it did, until suddenly two men were standing beside either duelist. They weren't "men", persay, as men don't typically have red eyes and sharp fangs when they grin, but the resemblance was uncanny. Both of the newcomers were holding cards in their outstretched left hands.

"Gerald," Alexander asked, "have you heard of a card called Dragged Down into the Grave?"

After a moment of searching his memories, Gerald recalled Nina using it against Laura and nodded.

"This card is similar, but the steps are reversed," the Dark Conduit explained as he took the card from the demon standing beside him. "First, we both draw one card. However..." He took another card, one with a very ugly monster on it, and handed it to the demon. "No demon has ever given a gift without price, and this will not be an exception. You must then discard a card from your hand."

Nodding again, Gerald took the card from his own demon before taking another card from his hand (one from the deck he had built against Reston) and handing it over. The demons both chuckled and disappeared, leaving the scent of brimstone in their wakes.

However, the stern man standing beside Gerald swung his stick down, striking him on the knuckles. Wincing, Gerald thought, Forgot about Forced Requisition. Alexander discarded, so I have to as well. He took his Scapegoats and slid it into the Graveyard slot on Sehnsucht.

Before either duelist could move, there was a burst of green smoke on Gerald's side of the field, and yet another demon appeared from within it. It was a tall, skeletal demon, with light gray skin and a bulging cranium, its brain almost visible. Walking up to one of Gerald's facedown cards, it knelt and set a hand to it.

The man in green smiled, saying, "That monster is Green, Tactitian of Dark World. Unlike many Dark World monsters, I get its effect regardless of how it is discarded, or whose effect caused it. By discarding it for Dark World Dealings, I may destroy one of your Magic or Trap Cards."

Green set its other hand on the facedown card, and its eyes shut. Soon a black shockwave of energy ran out along the facedown card, and it cracked through the center, crumbling inwards. Eventually, the card (revealed as Gravity Bind) fell into tiny pieces and evaporated, whereupon Green disappeared in another puff of smoke.

"That," Alexander then said, "will end my turn."

I have to wonder, Alexander, Gerald thought as he drew, what inspired you to use a Dark World Deck against me. Once this is over I'll have to ask. "My turn starts with Level Limit - Area B..."

Beneath their feet, the glass faded into an indistinct gray, and the edges of the platform warped upwards, forming walls. A roof then pulled itself into a solid mass, and a giant electrified pyramid formed over their heads. It shot energy down and into Beiige, forcing the spear-carrying demon to kneel.

"Ah, yes," Alexander noted, looking at his kneeling monster. "This card forces monsters of Level Four or better into Defense Mode. Do remember, brother, that I've seen every duel you've fought since... Monster Island, actually."

"Wait..." One of Gerald's eyebrows went up. "Just how long ago did you start planning this?"

"That is unimportant. Continue your move."

Even as he took another card from his hand, Gerald thought, It is important and he knows it. The answer to that question would let me gauge how long ago he became the Dark Conduit. "I summon Raging Flame Sprite in Attack Mode," he then said.

Over their heads, one of the stars let out a solar flare, a column of flame bursting free of its surface and stretching off into the void. Part of the flare broke free, and turned into a tiny spark as inertia carried it rapidly away from its point of origin. This spark floated through space before finally settling on the field in front of Gerald and cooling; at its core was a tiny, floppy-eared girl in red, carrying a torch, who stood up and giggled. (100/200) The Banner of Courage waved, and she smiled up at it. (100/200 - 300/200)

Alexander shook his head, murmuring, "Such an elaborate entrance for something so small."

"It is a little overdone, isn't it?" Gerald replied, tapping his last remaining card against his lip. "Still, she's here and it's my Battle Phase. Raging Flame Sprite, attack him directly with Fire Kiss."

As the fire-aligned sprite raised her torch, its flame burned brighter, becoming a solid palm of fire. She took a deep breath and blew into that fire, spending a tiny fireball across the field. It struck Alexander's chest, but he merely smirked as the flame evaporated, leaving him with 6,300 Life Points.

The Robbin' Goblin glowed, and one of Alexander's cards glowed in turn. He held up his Heavy Storm and slid it into his Graveyard, which caused the stern guard from Forced Requisition to whack Gerald across the knuckles with his stick. Even as he discarded his Attack and Receive, he glared at the guard and asked Alexander, "Is he really necessary?"

"You would be amazed at how people will try to weasel out of a proper discard," the man in green replied.

"Be that as it may, I end my turn." Gerald then rubbed his sore hand, muttering to himself. In front of him, the Raging Flame Sprite began to sweat, her torch glowing brighter amid the blackness of the void. (300/200 - 1,300/200)

Alexander drew now, his eyes flicking to his draw. This he tucked into his hand before calmly pushing up another card, which he played. "I play Golden Road," he said.

Off in the distance, out of the Level Limit Area's window a number of small objects flittered across the starscape. They began to slam together, and then it became clear what they were - gold bricks. Each brick joined into the others, some breaking in half as they moved above and below the duelists, and then they began to form a long, spiraling road. This road smashed through the walls of the Level Limit Area, throwing scraps of metal in all directions as it passed over and under the crystal platform.

Clearing his throat, Alexander softly sang, "Goodbye, yellow brick road, let the dogs of society howl..."

Gerald then joined in, and together they harmonized, "...you can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plow... Back to the cabin out in the woods, back to hunting the horny-backed toad, I've finally decided my future lies beyond the yellow brick road..." They then both fell silent.

"You always did love that song, brother," Alexander said, smirking. "Even if it was years before we realized what the words were."

There was no amusement on the Chosen's face as he said, "Tell me the card's effect. This is not a time to reminisce."

"Then what time is? Five years, brother..." Shaking his head, Alexander explained, "Golden Road lets us draw four cards, but as the song goes, our future lies beyond it. As the price for moving on, we must discard two cards."

Both men took hold of their decks and drew off four cards, and then the road over their heads began to crumble. Golden dust floated down, a brick fell loose, and then the golden road fell apart, falling to pieces all around both of the duelists as they sat there. None of the bricks ever touched either of them. While the road decayed, the walls of the Level Limit Area patched themselves, pulling in the discarded scraps of metal.

Alexander made his discards as the last bricks tumbled into nothingness, and Gerald did as well, discarding his Inaba White Rabbit and Nobleman of Extermination. And then the guard grunted and struck his hand with the stick, and Gerald went pale, thinking, Forced Requisition... Damn it. I get nothing from this card at all. He sullenly discarded Cyber Tutu and Mirror Force as well, his hand as empty as when he had started.

During this time, the seal of the Dark Duel had begun to expand in front of Alexander, and a smile crossed his face as it did so. "One of the cards I discarded with Golden Road," he explained, "was another of the venerable Dark World forces. This one is an official of higher rank than Beiige, and when he is discarded I may call him forward. So I call on the name and title of Sillva, Warlord of Dark World."

The swollen portion of the Dark Duel's seal split open, and a figure rose from it, made of pure darkness. Slowly this ebbed away, revealing another demon. This one was taller and far more muscled than Beiige, and his face was correspondingly uglier. He wore shining silver armor, and carried a sword of gleaming white metal, held across his chest. Crossing his arms before him, he knelt in Defense Mode, even as the Level Limit Area's electricity crackled at his feet. (2,300/1,400)

"Sadly, I cannot call on his effect," the Dark Conduit said, frowning. "That can only be done if it was your card effect that made me discard him. Therefore, I will set one card facedown..." He did so. "And that ends my turn."

Drawing a card, Gerald immediately played it, only taking a moment to identify it. "I play Pot of Greed," he announced, and the chortling pot appeared as he said it. He drew twice and then played another card, declaring, "Next, I use Mystical Space Typhoon to dispose of Forced Requisition. No longer will I lose cards when you do."

"Very well," Alexander said in a quiet voice.

There was a click, and then one of the Level Limit Area's walls lowered beside them. Whatever magic kept the vacuum of space from affecting the duelists briefly failed, and a rush of wind swept past them, causing their clothing to flutter and monsters to struggle as the onrushing suction pulled them towards the wall.

The guard of Forced Requisiton, however, failed at this attempt, and his feet slipped out from under him. He toppled backwards, his armor raising a mighty clang as he hit the crystal panels, and then he rolled backwards and towards the void. There was only the slighest gasp as he was drawn away, and then he floated out into space, Alexander's card shattering in the process.

With a low hiss, the wall slid back into place, and all of the monsters in play returned to their positions, the Raging Flame Sprite adjusting her hat. Whatever magic protected the duelists from the vacuum, it seemed, was back in full force.

Gerald, acting as though that hadn't just happened, slid a card into his Duel Disk. "I set this facedown," he said, "and now... Attack, Raging Flame Sprite."

After a moment's catching her breath, the little sprite inhaled, lifted her torch, and exhaled, breathing a larger ball of fire at Alexander. It flew at him... and then a green shield of energy surrounded him, the fire striking it and turning into a soft glow of green energy, the color the same as his clothing.

"You know Draining Shield," the man in green said as his Life Points rose to 7,600. "Therefore I won't bore you with another explanation."

"Thank you," Gerald said, frowning and waving for Alexander to start his turn.

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

For his first move, Alexander drew a card and then calmly slid one into his Duel Disk, saying, "As one with the Darkness, I have certain powers. For example, I can call down a bolt of Dark World Lightning whenever I choose, destroying one card in play. I choose to destroy your Level Limit - Area B."

The Dark Conduit raised one hand and snapped his fingers. There was nothing at first, and then a tremendous bolt of lightning as dark as the void around them shot out of the sky and hit the crystal panels between them, shattering its point of impact. The force of the lightning was enough to tear the surrounding Level Limit Area to shreds, throwing pieces aside as so much space junk.

Taking another card from his hand, Alexander slid it - a second copy of Scarr - into his Graveyard, noting, "The Darkness demands one card from my hand in exchange for the lightning, but really, what good would Scarr avail me against your deck?" He then reached down and quietly turned the position of all of his monsters.

One by one, the Dark World forces on Alexander's field rose to their feet. Scarr unfurled wicked claws, Beiige raised his spear, and Sillva drew the twin swords from in front of him, running one blade over the other. They all stared at Gerald's field, just waiting.

"And now," Alexander continued, playing another card from his hand, "to summon one of the more noble personages from the Dark World army. I call forth Zure, Knight of Dark World..."

Again, one of the lines of the Dark Duel's seal swelled out, and a bubble of pure darkness rose from it. A sword pierced this bubble from the inside, and it sliced open a thin line, from within which emerged a blue-skinned demon, dressed in full battle array. He raised his blade in front of him and chortled. (1,800/1,500)

And then the crystal panels below his feet fell away, leaving only a hole and the void. The vacuum caught him, and before Zure could react he was sucked out into space, dropping his sword as he flew out into the distance. As Zure floated away, struggling, the crystal panels reappeared on the platform.

Alexander looked up at Gerald, who merely slid his Trap Hole into the Graveyard without a word.

"Fair enough," the Dark Conduit finally said. "Although you can make a clever quip any time now... I now play Rush Recklessly on Beiige."

A burst of energy filled the Vanguard of Dark World, and he spun his spear around his body before jabbing out three times with it, giving a cruel laugh on each rotation. (1,600/1,300 - 2,300/1,300)

With a wave of his hand, Alexander ordered, "Beiige, attack his facedown monster."

As ordered, the lanky demon sprang forward, swinging his blade up and around, driving it point-first into the facedown monster... until a pair of large gunbarrels blocked the attack. His spear instead drove into one of them, and a powerful suction yanked it from his grip. The guns spun around, and the other barrel aimed directly at Alexander. And then it fired the spear at him, and it struck through Alexander's lower body, tip striking his throne. His Life Points dropped to 5,300, and he tugged the spear free, throwing it off the platform.

Gerald said nothing, merely discarding his Magic Cylinder trap to the Graveyard.

With a sigh, the man in green said, "Say something, Gerald. Your silence is less stoic than it is merely annoying."

"I have nothing to say, Alexander," the younger Laxina replied, crossing his arms.

"If that's the case, brother... Sillva, destroy his facedown monster with Demonic Crosscut."

Raising the white sword, Sillva stepped forward. There was a stutter, and then he disappeared from where he was standing and appeared before the facedown monster. His sword flashed twice, in an X pattern, and the monster appeared as a Humanoid Slime. (800/2,000) This creature wiggled for a second, and then fell apart into four pieces, which evaporated.

"I set a card facedown and end my turn," Alexander concluded.

Reaching for his next card, Gerald frowned at what he saw - his hand was trembling. That's not your brother, he reminded himself. That is your brother under a layer of darkness. You're in this to get him out. He drew his card, and then declared, "I set one monster in Defense Mode," as he did so.

"And in response," Alexander said, "I activate my Trap Card, The Forces of Darkness. I may now return two monsters with Dark World in their names to my hand." Two cards, Broww and Green, jutted out of his Graveyard slot, and he tucked them into his hand.

Which means my Magic and Trap Cards are at risk again, but I can't afford not to attack. Not with the army standing across from me. "Raging Flame Sprite, attack with Fire Kiss," Gerald said aloud.

Taking a deep breath, the little Pyro exhaled a massive breath, blowing a large fireball across the field into Alexander's chest. It struck home, and he let out a series of hacking coughs, his Life Points falling to 4,000. The Robbin' Goblin now glowed, and one of the cards he had just regained glowed in response, whereupon he discarded it.

There was a low glow, and then the impossibly thin demon known as Green appeared on the field. It shut its eyes and concentrated, and a shockwave of black energy fired out from its hand. The Banner of Courage began to quiver, the metal that made up its body splintering from the force of the attack, and then it shattered and fell into the void of space.

Without its inspiration, an expression of dismay took over on the Raging Flame Sprite's face. (1,300/200 - 1,100/200) However, this was soon hidden by a mask of sweat as she panted again, the torch she held burning ever brighter. (1,100/200 - 2,100/200)

"I see which card I made you discard," Gerald noted, "and so I end my turn."

"Please... show some enthusiasm, my brother." Alexander drew his next card, continuing, "This duel stops being fun when you stonewall like that."

Both of Gerald's hands began to dig into his chair's armrests, and his eyebrow began to twitch. Finally, he gave in and said, "This isn't supposed to be about fun, Alexander. You and your servants have torn this city apart... torn my friends apart... in the name of the Darkness. Pardon me if I have trouble seeing the pleasure in it."

The Dark Conduit shrugged. "To each his own. I set one card facedown and summon a monster who is one of the Dark World's higher rulers... even though his own vassals consider him utterly insane. Behold Brron, Mad King of Dark World."

In front of the new facedown card, another of the lines of the Dark Duel's seal began to expand. It rippled from within, and then a demon rose up from within, hands holding their opposite shoulders. He wore a crown, which was at a cock-eyed angle on his wild hair, and royal finery was draped around his body, most notably a velvet cape. The demon let out a low crackle, very thin arms twisting around each other. (1,800/400)

Looking to Sehnsucht, Gerald realized he had used up his defenses on the previous turn. Well, then, brother... He winced at that thought. I will have to just take it this turn.

Alexander, meanwhile, adjusted his position on the jade throne, turning to Sillva. "Demonic Crosscut on the Raging Flame Sprite, Sillva."

The Warlord of Dark World drew forth his sword again and stuttered towards the little Pyro, causing her to drop her torch in fright and cower. His sword rammed directly through her chest, and he lifted her overhead, giving a terrible laugh as he did so. The demon moved its sword up and down, bouncing the impaled sprite on the blade, and then he pulled upward and spun the blade around, slicing her into countless pieces which plummeted into space, blood trailing behind them.

Some of the blood landed on Gerald's chair, and he frowned, even though his Life Points only lowered to 7,100.

"Beiige, attack his facedown monster with Dark Assault," Alexander ordered without any apparent care for the Raging Flame Sprite's demise.

Hefting his spear, the vanguard leapt across the field and rammed his weapon point-first into the facedown monster. As he withdrew the spear, the monster was revealed as a piece of pottery with a wide grin and a single eye - a Morphing Jar. (750/700) Cracks ran throughout its surface, and then the jar shattered into a hundred pieces.

Both men nodded, familiar with the card. As Gerald had no cards in his hand, he simply drew five cards from his deck. Alexander, however, folded his hand and slid it into his Graveyard, drawing five more.

And then black fire burst from his Graveyard, and he smiled. "Broww," he pointed out, "was once again discarded by your card effect." Two black fireballs hit his deck, and he drew two more cards, nodding to Scarr. "Attack him directly while I work out what I drew."

The ape-like demon roared and ran up to Gerald, jumping onto the armrests of his chair. Before the Chosen of the Light could do anything in his own defense, the demon threw one hand down, punching him hard in the stomach. A puff of breath left him, and Gerald groaned as his Life Points fell to 6,600.

"You may as well have saved that groan, brother," Alexander said at that point. "There is one more attack yet this turn. Brron, attack him directly with Madman's Punishment."

For a moment, the Mad King just stood there, a chaotic laugh pushing its way out of his throat. And then he stalked forward, fingers twitching as he approached Gerald with an unholy clarity in his eyes. It was obvious what he was going to do, but Gerald was too winded to move.

Displaying an agility belying his condition, Brron plunged his sharp-nailed hand forward, passing through Gerald's clothes as though they didn't exist and burying the fingers up to the first knuckles in Gerald's chest. The young man gasped in shock as Brron then made a fist, lifting him by the part of his flesh he had taken hold of, and swung Gerald up and over his head. The younger Laxina hit the crystal panels with a loud slam, cracks forming at the point of impact, and let out a low groan of pain. His Life Points lowered to 4,800.

As if ignoring his brother's injury, Alexander took a card from his hand and said, "As per Brron's effect, now that you have taken Battle Damage, I may choose to discard a card if I wish. I choose... this one." He slid the card he had chosen into his Graveyard...

...and then a series of black sparkles rose over his body, and he smiled, his Life Points rising to 5,000.

Gerald, pushing himself back to his feet, saw this and murmured, "Now what could be causing that?"

"A card called Black Nostrum," the Dark Conduit replied. "When I discard it from my hand, I gain 1,000 Life Points." He slid a card into his Duel Disk, noting, "With this facedown, I'll end my turn."

By that point, Gerald had settled back into his chair, pushing Sehnsucht back into place on his arm. He drew a card before fanning his hand, taking out another one. "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master," he said.

"And I chain with Cloak and Dagger," Alexander said in return, pressing a button on his Duel Disk.

For a moment, the light of the stars surrounding the duelists dimmed, and an aura of light formed around Gerald. It glowed softly, and the lingering pain in his back from Brron's slam faded, his Life Points rising to 5,800. But at the same time, he heard a click off in the far distance, and the sensation of being watched rose in the pit of his stomach.

The elder Laxina smirked, explaining, "Somewhere out in the distance, beyond any of our eyes, a sniper is now watching this field. I now have to name a target, and when that target appears, the sniper will kill it with one shot, removing it from the game. Of course, that ends the contract, and the sniper leaves the game as well." Lifting his head, Alexander called into the void, "Your target is Heaven's Sphere."

Another click came in response.

Of course, Gerald thought, frowning. They always target my Heaven's Sphere. Then again, I do have the unfortunate tendency to rely on it... Taking another card, he declared, "I now activate Messenger of Peace, which - as you're familiar - prevents monsters with better than 1,500 Attack Points from attacking."

A circle of light briefly breached the Dark Duel's seal, and from it rose the ever-calm old man in white robes. He glared at Alexander's Fiends, and thrust one palm forward, uttering a word in a language Gerald didn't recognize, but somehow knew was the language of Light, Elysian. Beiige, Brron, and Sillva stepped back, reeling, but Scarr seemed unmoved.

"Now," the Chosen of the Light continued, "I summon my Servant of Catabolism in Attack Mode."

The Messanger of Peace stepped aside, allowing the small snail/squid creature to inch its way forward. This was not the one that resonated with Gerald's soul, and so nothing special happened on its arrival. It was only coincidence that a star shot past off in the distance. (700/500)

"For my last move, I play Premature Burial to restore my Raging Flame Sprite," Gerald concluded. He then took a breath.

Gerald's Life Points lowered to 5,000, and red energy streamed out from the farthest reaches of space. This energy swirled together on the cracked panels in front of Gerald, and slowly reformed into the floppy-eared girl that was the Raging Flame Sprite. She coughed a few times, and then took up her torch again. (100/200)

After taking another long breath, Gerald turned to the sprite and ordered, "Raging Flame Sprite, attack him directly with Fire Kiss."

Nodding, the little Pyro blew on her torch. A tiny fireball floated across the field and struck Alexander, causing him to shrug as his Life Points fell to 4,900; once again, the Raging Flame Sprite's fire burned brighter and her Attack Points rose to 1,100. Robbin' Goblin glowed, and the man in green slid Call of the Haunted from his hand into the Graveyard...

There was a bright flash of light, so bright that Gerald was briefly blinded, and when he could see again, Alexander was drawing a card. "Wait, I didn't end my turn..." he protested.

"Doesn't matter," Alexander replied. "My facedown card was the Trap Card called Flashbang. When I'm attacked directly, I can activate it to instantly end your turn. So it's my turn now."

Damn, Gerald thought, and he leaned back in his chair.

"That being the case, I open with a card called Mystik Wok," Alexander continued. "We will now pause for a snack break."

A gigantic, blue-skinned demon in a chef's outfit appeared, and his hand flashed down, grabbing up Beiige and hefting him into the sky. The chef tossed Beiige into a wok, and then slammed a fork out, tossing the Vanguard of Dark World around as he flipped the wok again and again. After a few minutes, the chef tossed a bowl and chopsticks to Alexander before vanishing. With only a moment's trepidation, the Dark Conduit began eating, his Life Points rising to 6,500 as he did so.

Gerald paused, swallowed for a moment, and then asked, "How does it taste?"

The question caused Alexander to pause, and he thought for a moment. Finally, he replied, "Have you ever had particularly rubbery bruschetta cheese?" He then tossed the bowl away, picking up his hand again. "Alton Brown couldn't have made better. Either way, I now set a card facedown and enter my Battle Phase." As the card appeared, he turned to Scarr. "You've served your purpose. Attack the Servant of Catabolism."

Both Gerald and the Scout of Dark World gave Alexander a look of confusion, but then the demon clenched his fists and ambled towards the snail/squid being, the Messenger of Peace not even giving him a second glance. Before Scarr could even pull his hand back to strike it, the Servant stuck the ends of its tendrils into his foot and let loose its electricity, sending it through the demon's body and vaporizing him.

Alexander's Life Points lowered to 6,300, but he merely shrugged and took his deck in hand, sorting through it. "By Scarr's effect," he said, "I may search my deck for any Dark World monster of Level Four or less when he dies; it then goes into my hand. This one will do." He set his deck back in his Duel Disk, and as it shuffled, he showed the card to Gerald. It did have "Dark World" in its name, and it had fewer than four Level Stars, but Gerald couldn't recognize it otherwise. "That's my turn."

No response came from Gerald as he drew his next card. He paused, and his Life Points lowered to 4,900 as he noted, "I pay 100 Life Points for the Messenger of Peace. Next..." One card fell onto Sehnsucht as he declared, "I summon another Jinzo #7 in Attack Mode."

Another of the prototype robots rose to its feet, cracking its steel knuckles as it stood. (700/500)

A smile crossed Alexander's face as he fanned his cards out in front of him, thinking, Fifty-fifty, brother.

The smile shook Gerald deep inside, but he shook his head, ordering, "Raging Flame Sprite, attack him directly again with Fire Kiss."

For the fourth time thus far in the duel, the Raging Flame Sprite inhaled, and then blew on her torch's flame, sending a ball of fire into Alexander. He gave only the slightest wince, his Life Points down to 5,200. The Robbin' Goblin glowed, and he took a card from his hand as it glowed, sliding it into his Graveyard.

Over the duelist's heads, the stars and planets began to dance, their movements guided by celestial law, and Alexander looked up, extending a hand to them. "Do you see that, brother?" he asked. "Everything in the universe is guided by rules and laws we'll never understand. You and I were bound to be brothers by the rules of reality, we were bound to be enemies by the same rule... even the card I just discarded was decided on in ages past."

"I never chalked you up for a believer in fate," Gerald replied, watching the stars move about over his head.

One of Alexander's hands rose and fell, and he said, "Ever since I first learned of the Balance, I couldn't help but think that. Either way, the card you just made me discard was the second-highest-ranking monster in Dark World. And when I discard him, he comes to the field. So please... show respect to Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World."

To be continued in the next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

Once more, the seal of the Dark Duel beneath Alexander's feet rippled, and one of the lines swelled. A gold line drew itself down the center of the swollen spot, and the aforementioned Wu-Lord rose from within. He loomed over his subordinates, gold scales covering his body, and he held a massive golden axe in his hands. Fire danced on his eye sockets as Goldd spread his wings. (2,300/1,400)

"And the best part?" the Dark Conduit continued. "Because, technically, Robbin' Goblin is your card, Goldd was discarded by your card effect... and thus his special ability activates. I may destroy any two cards on your field. Goldd..." He pointed twice. "Destroy the Messenger of Peace and Servant of Catabolism."

The fire in Goldd's eyes grew all the greater, and he opened his mouth, revealing how the fire rolled within his maw. The massive demon threw his head back, and then shoved his head outward, roaring. Out poured the fire, and the crystal panels between the sides cracked as that immense heat flew over the top. Gerald's Jinzo #7 dropped to the ground and covered its head, and the Raging Flame Sprite jumped to one side, but the flames covered the Messenger of Peace and Servant of Catabolism.

Although the fire couldn't reach Gerald, he could still see into it, and see how his monsters burned and writhed as Goldd's flames reduced them to ashes. When the fire burned out, nothing was left but small piles of dust. He shuddered, and then remembered it was still his turn. "This calls for vengence," he said, taking a breath. "Jinzo #7, attack directly with Cyber Glitch."

Rising to its feet, the prototype robot clicked and whirred for a second before raising one of its hands. Purple electricity danced around its hand, soon forming into a small ball of energy, and it hurled this at Alexander, who allowed it to hit him. Sparks flew off of the Dark Conduit as his Life Points fell to 4,700, and a card in his hand glowed from Robbin' Goblin. He discarded it...

A grotesque, egg-shaped demon fell from above and landed behind the Raging Flame Sprite. It flicked out a tiny knife and jabbed it into her throat before she could even turn around, causing her to gasp. The knife flicked down, and she fell to her knees, hands over her throat as the incandescent-white blood poured from her wound. She shattered into triangular shards, as did her killer.

"Another of your Dark World cards?" Gerald asked, glaring.

In response, his brother held up his most recent discard. "Kahkki, the Guerilla of Dark World... but let's not mince words, he's an assassin," he replied. "When I discard it, I may destroy a monster on your field. It's the complement to Gren."

Nodding, the younger Laxina slid a card into his Duel Disk. "This will be my last move for the turn..." And good riddance, he thought. He did more on this turn than I did.

Drawing a card, Alexander admired his forces. He had the Mad King, Brron, who was convulsing and flexing his claws; the Warlord, Sillva, who was admiring his reflection in his blades, and the Wu-Lord, Goldd, who spat a bit of fire as he readjusted his grip on his axe. I do miss my other deck, he thought, but this one has its charms.

"I set a card facedown," Alexander now declared, "and I will have Brron attack your robot..."

The Mad King let out a crazed laugh and threw himself forward, those long-fingered hands reaching out to crush Jinzo #7's head... only to press against an invisible wall. With a squeal of anger, he hammered on the wall, fists beginning to bleed after a few moments, before pulling away with a low growl.

Neither duelist was surprised as Gerald slid his Negate Attack into the Graveyard. All Alexander did was shrug and say, "End turn."

Gerald drew his next card, and then paused. "Oh, right," he said after a moment. "You destroyed my Messenger of Peace... That being the case, I'll play Blasting Vein on Robbin' Goblin, destroying it for two cards. Enough of your advantage."

It did what it had to, Alexander thought, looking to one of his facedown cards. Whenever I'm ready for it...

Several red seams began to show in the Robbin' Goblin, smoke rising from them, and then the top cracked open, magma leaking down from it. Beams of light showed as the card swelled, and then it exploded, throwing pieces of itself everywhere. Two cards jutted off of the top of Gerald's deck, and he added them to his hand.

"That's a new one," Alexander noted.

Gerald nodded, adjusting the cards in his hand. He then said, "I acquired it while preparing for my second battle with Reston. It was in my One-Slash Kill deck, but I never drew it." Taking two of his cards, he lifted Sehnsucht and placed them on it. "I set a card facedown and summon my other Servant of Catabolism."

The facedown card came into being, and then another of the squid/snail creatures rose from the crystal panels, tentacles emerging from its maw. (700/500) This was the one that Gerald's soul resonated with, and the Jinzo #7 saluted it, eyes flashing.

As much as that facedown card worries me, Gerald thought, this is my shot. "Servant of Catabolism," he said, "attack him directly with Electric Tendrils."

Once the order was given, the cephalopod dragged itself forward, leaving a trail of white slime behind it as it approached the target. It hadn't gotten within five feet, however, before Alexander pressed a button on his Duel Disk. The crystal panels directly in front of his monsters fell from their moorings, and a wall of white fog filled the space vacated by their absence. Hideous faces pressed their way out of this wall, and the Servant of Catabolism ran back in retreat, tendrils waving.

The Dark Conduit smiled and held up his Duel Disk, saying simply, "Spirit Barrier. Try to hurt me now."

"You know I can't," Gerald replied. "I end my turn."

0000000

The last remnants of Reston's Darkness Infection faded from his victims, and one by one they awoke, each rising from where they had fallen in turn.

Sol Kilkarn opened his eyes to see what seemed like nine different food courts floating around him. After a brief moment of panic, he shut his eyes and whimpered. On reopening them, he saw one in front of his face. This done, he rose to his knees, hand on his head. Memories ran through his mind right up to where Reston had defeated him.

"Agh..." he groaned, moving over to the nearest table. One hand caught hold of it, and he pulled himself to his feet, shaking a bit. "I'm not infected now..." He checked his hands to make sure of it. "...which means that Gerald defeated him. But where did he go, anyway?"

With another groan, he staggered for the escalator... but then stopped, took out his wallet, and moved back to the Taco Bell counter. Looking at the menu, he mentally added up how much his breakfast had cost.

0000000

On awakening, Demetrius Lark reached out with either hand, searching blinding for his hat and cane. His fingers caught hold of both, and he pulled them in, placing the former on his head and using the latter to get back to his feet. His legs wavered for a second, and he leaned heavily on his cane.

"Hmmm... given that I am awake and in control of my faculties, I will assume my gamble succeeded and Gerald did as he had to do," Demetrius said, tapping his cane to his lip. His free hand went down to brush off his pants as he readjusted his hat. "Now to find him... Lucifer?"

No response was forthcoming, and so Demetrius looked around. All he found was one large scorchmark. The Beloved of Fire was absent.

A bead of sweat rolled down Demetrius's forehead. "I have a very bad feeling about this," he murmured to himself.

0000000

For a moment, the nightmare lingered, and then Laura Vesnic sat upright, a gasp shaking her body. She shivered for a few minutes, and then caught hold of her breath, looking around. Her last memories were from when Reston defeated her, mockingly told her who he really was, and then told her to sleep... and then the nightmare had started.

Her hands went to her neck, looking for the clammy black marks of the Darkness Infection. Finding none, she let out a sigh of relief and pulled her knees close, her breathing back under control.

"The Pillar must be gone," she told herself. "You're not going back there anytime soon. But who beat him?" She looked around, and then asked herself, "Where did the guys go off to, anyway? You'd think someone would stand guard..."

Laying back, Laura sighed again, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes shut, and she thought, I wonder what Jessica is up to. Probably browbeating the cops into upping the search for me. My big sister was never one to just sit on her laurels.

0000000

As Alexander drew his next card, he shook his head and exhaled, sliding the card into his hand. "I have nothing I care to do at the moment," he said, "so I will pass this turn."

Gerald drew as well, and then frowned. I have nothing I can do. "I'll pass as well."

Now with four cards in his hand, the older Laxina gave his younger brother a smile, holding up one of his cards. "This turn, I have something I can do. I will play my Pot of Avarice, shuffling five monsters back into my deck for two more cards. Zure, Broww, Khaki, Green, and Black Nostrum will do me more good in the deck than in the Graveyard, wouldn't you say?"

The incredibly silly pot rose up through the empty space left by Spirit Barrier, and the fog of the latter card rose up. The spirits of the Knight of Dark World, Huntsman of Dark World, Assassin of Dark World, Tactitian of Dark World, and the human-shaped root all flooded into the pot, which quivered for a moment and then shattered before Alexander drew twice.

"Next," the Dark Conduit continued, sliding another card into his Duel Disk, "I'll use Pot of Generosity to put two cards back into my deck..."

Gerald interrupted him, asking, "When Jean-Vic used that, he used it to make sure he had B.E.S. monsters to summon through Boss Rush. Why are you using it?"

"Because my deck is getting very, very thin. No need to risk decking out when I can't even use these two cards yet..." Alexander slid two cards from his hand back into his (truthfully thin) deck, watched them shuffle themselves, and then said, "Take your move, Gerald."

What cards could they be? Gerald asked himself as he drew. Admiring his drawn card, he played it, declaring, "I activate Giant Trunade..."

"No, you don't," Alexander rebutted.

"Yes, I do..." the younger Laxina said, raising an eyebrow. "Or is that facedown card a Magic Jammer?"

As he pressed a button on his Duel Disk, Alexander chuckled. "Worse than that," he replied. "It's a Trap Card called Dark Deal. I must give up 1,000 Life Points to make it work..."

Once more, the magic that protected the duelists from the vacuum of space began to fade... but this time it was only for a moment. Holding up his wrists, Alexander slid them against each other, wincing as he did so, and his Life Points sank to 3,700. Blood leaked out from his cut wrists, and it splattered down onto the crystal panels in front of his throne. The barriers of the platform turned red, and the magic was restored.

With that, the Trap Card flipped, and the blood swirled around Alexander before gathering beside him. A demon appeared, closely resembling the Dark King of the Abyss, and it moved a finger back and forth over Alexander's twin cards.

"What the deal has done," Alexander explained, his cut wrists healing rapidly, "is change the effect of Giant Trunade. It now requires that you discard one card from my hand at random. So tell the demon when to stop..."

Oh, damn, Gerald thought, turning pale as he shifted in his chair. By transforming my card's effect, he's made it so that any card he discards is by my effect, not his. And that means his Dark World monsters get the stronger of their effects... I'm almost certain either card is going to be a bad pick. "Stop," he finally said.

The demon's finger stopped over the card on Alexander's left, and it poked through it, bony tip passing clean through the card. That card turned black, and energy danced over it. The Dark Conduit slid it into his Graveyard... and then the platform began to shake.

"Let me guess," the Chosen of the Light said, a frown on his face. "I've just made you discard a Dark World monster."

"The strongest," Alexander said in return. "A monster so powerful that discarding it from my hand myself does nothing. He can only be Special Summoned if your card effect was the one doing the discarding. I saved my Dark Deal just for this occasion... This is the dawning of the highest-ranking monster in Dark World. Come forth, Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World."

This time, the entire seal of the Dark Duel pulled away from the center, where a bright red spot had appeared. This spot expanded outwards, bubbling slightly, until it was as large around as Gerald was tall. It began to boil, and then a black-scaled hand thrust itself out into the space above.

Goldd, Sillva, and Brron all gathered around the spot and kneeled, stretching out to kowtow around the emerging monster. It rose from the boiling red pool, a dark and tainted majesty gathering around it as it came into being. The monster stood over nine feet tall, black scales shining like onyx as it stood. Shining silver armor arched over its shoulders and covered its lower body, four luminous gems at the center of its chest. It had curling horns, tips sharp, and a face like a skull. One gauntleted hand gripped a gold-bladed sasumata, both blades shining. Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World, had arrived. (2,500/1,8000)

"Kneel, Gerald," Alexander said. "You stand before royalty."

"I only kneel before those who prove they deserve it," Gerald told him.

Both Alexander and Reign-Beux shrugged. "Then he will just have to prove it. When he's discarded by your card effect, I may choose to either destroy all of your monsters or to purge the field of your Magic and Trap cards." The Dark Conduit smirked before continuing, "I can tear your monsters apart without even thinking about it, so I will take the latter course."

All Reign-Beaux did was extend its empty hand. Gerald's Gravity Bind shattered to pieces.

"Still your move," the man in green then said.

Gerald reached down and switched all of his monsters into Defense Mode. Jinzo #7 knelt, and the Servant of Catabolism withdrew its tendrils into itself. "I set one card facedown," Gerald then said, "and end my turn." The card appeared in front of him.

There was a sense of exaggerated care around Alexander now, and he drew his next card, tucking it into his hand. He then paused before turning to Brron and saying, "Attack his Jinzo #7 with Madman's Punishment."

The Mad King adjusted his crown, flexed his overly-long fingers, and then lunged across the field, hands flexing as he prepared to tear the machine apart...

"Activate Silver Dollar," Gerald declared, pressing the appropriate button on his Duel Disk, "which negates an attack on a monster with less than 1,000 Attack Points I control." The silver dollar flipped into view, and he grabbed hold of it, brandishing it at Brron. A massive flash of light covered the room, and the demon stumbled back, falling to his knees before he could reach the robot. He then staggered away.

As Gerald discarded the coin, Alexander crossed his arms, giving a slight groan. He then turned to Goldd and said, "That only works once. Reduce his machine to scrap."

A curt nod passed between the Wu-Lord and his player, and then Goldd raised his axe over his head. He brought it down hard on the space in front of him, sending a shockwave across the field. This shockwave hit the Jinzo #7, and the machine began to vibrate, eyes flashing. Screws fell out of their moorings, nuts and bolts rattled as they worked themselves loose, and over the next few seconds, the robot dismantled itself from within.

In the end, there was a massive clatter as the Jinzo #7 fell into its component parts in front of Gerald.

"Now, Sillva," Alexander ordered, "attack his Servant of Catabolism with Demonic Crosscut."

There was a blur as the Warlord of Dark World stepped forward, and he disappeared, only to appear in front of the bizarre creature on Gerald's field. He raised his sword, and then slashed twice around the victim. The Servant of Catabolism leaked ooze for a moment, and then fell apart, divided into four parts.

Throughout the attacks, Gerald had showed no sign of emotion. Even now, as his last defense and soul card died, he merely took hold of the armrests of his chair, looking straight ahead.

For a moment, Alexander looked back at Gerald, and as a black spark fell from his finger, he was about to say something... but then he frowned, pursing his hands. "So be it," he said, exhaling. "Reigh-Beaux, attack Gerald directly with Soul Pierce."

Spreading its wings, the Overlord of Dark World lifted its sasumata and fluttered across the field, landing in front of Gerald's chair. It raised the spear, glaring down into Gerald's eyes. Gerald, in response, took out his sunglasses, opened them, and slid them on. Rain-Beaux chuckled for a moment.

The twin-bladed weapon shot down, ramming through the Chosen of the Light's body and into his chair. He let out a slight gasp as one blade ran through his chest and one through his stomach, and then Reign-Beaux jerked up, freeing the weapon from the chair while leaving Gerald impaled. The demon raised its weapon, lifting Gerald over his head as the young man choked, and stared up at its prey.

Gerald's Life Points lowered to 2,400, and then Alexander murmured, "That's quite enough, Overlord. You can put him down now."

About a minute after the attack had begun, Reign-Beaux lowered its sasumata and thrust it forward, tearing Gerald off of it. He fell into the chair, his blood on the sasumata's blades although his body was undamaged, and laid there, groaning. There were twin rips in his shirt, and he struggled to catch his breath.

Rain-Beaux returned to its side of the field, and Alexander sighed, saying, "It's your move, brother."

To be continued next post...

[Master of Paradox]

Continued from the last post:

It was some time before Gerald spoke again. With a grunt, he pushed himself up in his chair, leaning forward over Sehnsucht, and pushed the shades back up on his nose. "Alexander..." he began. He did not have the strength to finish it.

"Gerald," Alexander said in return.

The younger Laxina shut his eyes behind his sunglasses, fighting the urge to shed tears. The longer this duel goes on, the more I think he was lying to me in my mind, he thought. This thing... how can it qualify as my brother? Even at his worst he was never so nonchalant about hurting me. Did I just make up those thoughts? His fingers twitched, and he looked at the one card he held.

As he drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne, the Dark Conduit exhaled, saying, "Brother mine, I must ask you to hurry up."

"Fine," Gerald replied. He then thought, Whether or not Alexander is in there, I still cannot lose. One hand flicked the next card off of his deck, and he then remembered something. "I call on my Image."

White light spread out around Gerald's chair, and he watched as it flowed behind him, weaving itself up and into a human shape. This shape clarified, becoming the muscular man with a bored expression that had stood behind Gerald in his first battle against Reston - the Indominable Fighter Lei Lei. One hand fell on Gerald's shoulder, rubbing it.

"How particularly fitting," Alexander noted, smiling. "Powerful, but lazy. So very lazy. It's you in so many ways."

One of Gerald's eyebrows twitched, and he said, "Lazy, yes, but only because he puts his all into every attack. He fights with all his energy, and only falls asleep once the battle is done. So yes... fitting." He then took his drawn card and threw it down, declaring, "Swords of Revealing Light."

All around the duelists, the stars began to flicker. Their orbits began to come closer to the dueling platform, their light causing odd shadows to fall on the field and around the Dark World monsters. Soon some of the stars began to change shape, stretching out and forming into the familiar shapes of swords; they then began to shrink. One by one, the sword-shaped stars launched themselves into the field around Alexander, and his monsters froze where they stood.

Even as he leaned back into his chair, Gerald said, "I have to end my turn there."

With a grunt, the Dark Conduit drew his next card and noted, "I pass." The swords began to fade, and his monsters stirred where they stood.

Drawing again, Gerald held up his draw, announcing, "I play my own Pot of Avarice now..." As Lei Lei looked around in confusion, spectral images of the Raging Flame Sprite, Morphing Jar, Jinzo #7, Servant of Catabolism, and Inaba White Rabbit swirled around the seated duelists, drawn into the same large, silly-looking jar as when Alexander had played the card. It shattered, and Gerald drew twice...

...and then one of his draws started to glow. Off in the far distance, a gun cocked.

"So you have Heaven's Sphere..." Alexander set a hand to his face, a soft laugh passing between his lips. "Not that you can use it..."

"Yet." The younger Laxina folded his hand up and concluded, "I end my turn."

In turn, Alexander drew another card and shrugged. "I pass again," he said, fanning himself with the cards in his hand. The swords faded further, and his monsters stretched their limbs, weapons at the ready.

One more card slid into Gerald's hand, and he nodded, thinking, This is the last piece I need. He slid a card into his Duel Disk, stating, "I begin by playing Double Spell. By discarding a Magic Card..." He slid Exchange into his Graveyard. "I may play any Magic Card in your Graveyard. As I recall, you discarded Heavy Storm earlier."

Rather than say anything, Alexander merely slammed one fist on the armrest of his throne.

Both the Double Spell card and the Exchange card appeared before Gerald, and then magic began to flow from the latter into the former. Color slowly drained from Exchange, until it was left black-and-white, and it shattered into ten thousand pieces, scattered along the crystal panels. The Double Spell card then rippled, becoming a copy of Heavy Storm.

As it had previously, the magic protecting the arena from the vacuum of space faded, and a monstrous gust of wind tore across the crystal panels, pulling at the duelists. Gerald and Alexander took tight grips on their armrests, and Alexander's monsters rammed their weapons (or in Brron's case, his fingers) into the edges of the panels beneath them.

However, Alexander's Cloak and Dagger and Spirit Barrier, along with the Swords of Revealing Light, were sucked off of the platform and flew out into space; the Trap Cards shattered, while the swords turned back into the stars that had formed them and flew off to their separate orbits.

The magic regained its strength, and the wind died down, leaving both duelists in a brief frenzy of activity as they straightened their hair. Once it was done, the Chosen of the Light set another card into his Duel Disk, noting, "Now I play the Magic Card known as Snatch Steal, taking control of Reign-Beaux. Let us see how the Overlord of Dark World likes being controlled."

Reign-Beaux's eyes glassed over, and its weapon fell to its side. Without any noise or signs of complaint, the demon stepped over the gap left by Spirit Barrier and walked across the platform, standing mindlessly in front of Gerald.

"But, to use the most popular turn of phrase, it won't be here for long," Gerald explained further, taking the glowing card from his hand. "I now offer Reign-Beaux as a Tribute for my Heaven's Gift... Of course, you know what I'm talking about."

A grimace crossed Alexander's face as he thought, Oh, sure, my brother. You only start making quips when you've turned the duel around entirely...

Light shone down on the field as the stars suddenly flared up, glowing so bright that it seemed there would be a million novas at once. Reign-Beaux's eyes widened further, and it raised its arms in a panic... only to stop and convulse, wings fluttering as it began to sweat. The sweat left lines on those black scales as Reign-Beaux opened its mouth, a soft white light glowing from within.

Beams of light found their way up and around the platform, some refracting as they passed through the cracked crystal panels around Gerald's chair, and one by one they made contact with Reign-Beaux. The light in its mouth grew brighter, and the horns on its head cracked as it shivered, sweating more. Soon its form began to swell, more and more light pouring into its body, stretching it to its limits.

Then the light grew so bright that even with his shades on, Gerald couldn't look directly at it. It burned away the Overlord's body entirely, leaving nothing in its wake but dust and ashes, and the perfect orb of Heaven's Sphere arose, its marble surface unflawed once again. (2,000/1,000)

"Heaven's Gifts have such a tendency for overblown entrances," Alexander muttered.

"As do Cards of Night," Gerald countered.

"Touche, brother."

After a moment to adjust his sunglasses, Gerald raised his hand and pointed to Goldd, nodding to Heaven's Sphere. His Life Points suddenly dropped to 1,200 as he said, "I use the effect of Heaven's Sphere, paying half of my Life Points to double its Attack Points for the turn. Now... destroy Goldd with your Light of Justice."

The starlight surrounding them seemed to intensify, and Heaven's Sphere glowed all the brighter, light shining off of it. (2,000/1,000 - 4,000/1,000) All of the power flowed into a single point on the sphere's front, and it began to spin on its axis, the point radiating up and off of it, hovering in the space before it. The Dark World monsters stepped back, frowning.

A massive surge of energy hit the point, and suddenly Heaven's Sphere jerked back, the point turning into a singular ray of light that blew a tremendous hole through Goldd. All the Wu-Lord of Dark World could do was cry out as the light burned through it, consuming its entire frame and reducing it to ashes in an instant.

The light passed by Alexander's throne, shooting off into space, and he recoiled, hissing. His Life Points sank to 2,000 in the interim.

Once the light faded, Gerald crossed his arms, Lei Lei grinning behind him. "Your turn, Alexander," he said.

The Dark Conduit scowled, drawing another card as the other fiends on his field edged away from what was left of Goldd. Turning his card over, he then blinked and smiled, holding it up. "No facedowns," he said, "no protection from this. I play a second Dark World Lightning. And you only have one target to hit."

Gerald and his Image looked to each other helplessly.

Alexander snapped his fingers, and as it had before, a bolt of black lightning shot down from the void. It struck Heaven's Sphere, and for a moment nothing seemed to happen. The duelists could see the white aura surrounding the Heaven's Gift, and it was holding the lightning at bay...

But then the black electricity ate through the aura, and it made contact with the sphere itself. With that, Heaven's Sphere shattered, pieces flying every which way.

One of Gerald's hands went to his chest, and he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling what felt like a knife sawing through him.. but then he exhaled and straightened up, wiping the sweat from his brow. Lei Lei patted him on the shoulder, shaking his head in sadness.

"Right," Alexander thought as he took a card from his hand and slid it into his Graveyard, paying off Dark World Lightning. "You've already had it die on you once, so the pain of subsequent destructions are substanially curbed. Either way, I discarded another Beiige... and like so many Dark World monsters, he springs back from that."

Beneath their feet, the seal of the Dark Duel roiled, and one of the lines in it expanded. A spear cut up through it, and another of the skeletal spear-wielders pulled himself out of the gap, groaning as he rose to his feet. (1,600/1,300)

I'm completely open, Gerald thought, blinking. What am I supposed to do about this? He then jokingly thought, Any suggestions, Lei Lei?

The Indomitable Fighter's response was to point at Gerald's Graveyard slot, and the lazy young man blinked, thinking, Wait... I haven't used that yet...

Raising his hand, Alexander made a flourishing twirl motion before he jabbed a finger towards Gerald. "Sillva," he ordered, "end the duel with Demonic Crosscut."

As he gave the order, Gerald slid a card out of his Graveyard and tucked it in his pocket.

The Warlord of Dark World raised his sword and stepped forward, stuttering out of existence as he moved forward and stuttering back into view as he arrived in range... and then a gigantic dome of crackling electricity surrounded Gerald. The Chosen of the Light smirked at Sillva through his protective field, and the demon glared before shaking his head and moving back.

That... I have no idea what could cause an effect like that, Alexander thought. "Brron, care to take a shot?" he asked aloud.

A chuckle left the Mad King of Dark World as he pounced forward, those long-fingered hands extended... and then the dome of energy burst into view again, causing him to stumble back. He touched it, and then let out a yell as a shock ran through him. Parts of Brron were still smoking as he walked away, one eyebrow twitching.

One of Alexander's eyebrows twitched as well as he finally said, "Brother... what in the name of Gehenna just happened?"

Gerald reached into his pocket and produced the card he had taken from his Graveyard. "This is Shock Turtle," he explained. "By removing it from my Graveyard, I can reduce all battle damage dealt to me to zero for that turn. It ended up in the Graveyard when you played Dark World Dealings..."

"That cheap trick?" Alexander clenched a fist, exhaling through his teeth as he growled. "You son of... I can't finish that, as we have the same mother, but that's just wrong..."

"Given the stakes in this duel," Gerald replied as he put the card back in his pocket, "I can't see things that way."

With a long sigh, Alexander waved for Gerald to take his turn.

Before Gerald could draw a card, however, the Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei stepped out from behind the chair and pointed at Sillva and Brron. The Beast-Warrior then pulled an arm back and curled his other arm forward, flexing his biceps with a low grunt. Sillva and Brron suddenly groaned and sank to their knees, panting as they sat there. Lei Lei chuckled and stepped back.

"What..." The Dark Conduit swallowed. "What just took place?"

"Lei Lei's Image Effect, All-Consuming Strike," Gerald replied, finally drawing his card. "Whenever your monsters attack me or a monster I control, they suffer his drawback - they switch into Defense Mode after the Battle Phase and can't switch out of it until after the End Phase of your next turn."

Alexander winced at that, thinking, Even the Loyal Knightness in his deck can kill them now. And if he gets Heaven's Sphere back...

That train of thought stopped as Gerald played his draw, saying, "I play another Messenger of Peace. Now Beiige isn't a threat, either."

Another of the white-robed missionaries stepped onto the crystal panels beside Gerald's chair, holding out his hand and glaring at the fiends. Sillva and Brron sank even lower on their knees, and Beiige stepped back, cowering behind his spear.

"And that's all I can do," the younger Laxina said.

Alexander drew his card so quickly that he risked tearing it. His face fell, and he thought, Lightning Vortex? He doesn't have any monsters to use it on... I used Dark World Lightning too quickly. He only had enough Life Points to use Heaven's Sphere's effect once more. Foolishness... "I pass," he said aloud.

Gerald noded, reached for his next card.. .and then paused, yawning. He stretched in his seat, and Lei Lei then nodded, cracking his knuckles.

Across the platform, Alexander raised his arms in front of himself for reasons of self-defense.

"I choose not to pay for the Messenger of Peace," Gerald began; the white-robed man bowed and faded away as he said so. Glancing at his card, the young man slid it into his Duel Disk, announcing, "I activate Spell Sanctuary. I daresay you know what this does by now, so let's just search our decks..."

Off the edge of the platform, a number of small sparks began to come into being, crackling with barely-suppressed power. After a moment, they flew together, gathering into a single small star, its light shining over the platform.

Both men drew their decks out of their disks, fanned them out (both decks being thin by this point), and drew out a single Magic Card. Unbeknownest to either duelist, both had chosen Monster Reborn.

Sliding his deck back into the deck slot, Gerald played his chosen card, smiling. "And now I use Monster Reborn, and I think you know what I'm bringing back..." He paused, and then added with a certain amount of pain, "Brother."

"And you admit it only when you're about to win," Alexander said, sighing as he rested his head on his palm.

The familiar stylized ankh flashed over the platform, and a tiny ball of light rose up from the crystal panels. This ball expanded outward, and the light faded, revealing the mighty orb that was Heaven's Sphere. (2,000/1,000)

"I use its effect," Gerald said, his Life Points down to 600. "Heaven's Sphere, attack Sillva..." He sighed. "And happy birthday, Alexander."

Even as he braced for impact, the man in green said, "Thank you, Gerald."

Once more, the Heaven's Gift shone, its aura surging. (2,000/1,000 - 4,000/1,000) A single point of light rose from its surface, and it channeled power into that point, which began to swell. And then it unleashed the gathered light...

The beam burst across the field, shattering the crystal panels over which it passed, and burned a hole through the Warlord of Dark World on impact. Not even slowing down, it blasted through Alexander, causing the elder Laxina to cry out, and seared a hole through the jade throne as it flew into space. Alexander's Life Points dropped to zero.

0000000

Far behind the Prime Material, the battle between Gerald and Alexander sent vibrations through reality, some of which touched the obelisk beyond the ruined barricade. The cue caused the awakened entity within it to emerge, looking out across the planes as it took the released energy in.

AH, CONFLICT, it thought. BEING TRAPPED IN THERE DEPRIVED ME OF SUCH POWER... I'M NOT ABOUT TO LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN. Its thoughts reached out, and it began to study the Prime Material.

Its sights fell on the Twin Cities, and had it a mouth it would have smiled. APPEALING, it said to itself. THE RULES PREVENT ME FROM JUST INTRUDING... BUT I HAVE OTHER THINGS I CAN DO TO STEP IN. ONCE I HAVE DETERMINED WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE MY IMPRISONMENT, I WILL HAVE TO GET STARTED...

0000000

In the mirror room, Degas watched the final blow land in the duel, and then shut the mirrors off. He had far more pressing concerns. Part of him was attuned to Gehenna, the world of Darkness, and he could sense the entity awakening.

"So, you're awake now..." he said to himself, pushing his sunglasses back up. "I wonder which battle did that?" He grinned, interlacing his fingers. "Our contingency plan may just work at this rate..."

0000000

The situation in the Mall of America was currently at a stage halfway between "panic" and "full-blown chaos", as people awakened and had no idea what had happened to them while they were unconscious. Still, it remained controlled enough so that someone who moved through the crowd with a fixed destination and a sense of "Stay out of my way" could make it to his intended point of arrival without too much hassle.

And so Ulysses Cantrell, Chad Montmelier, Sol Kilkarn, and Demetrius Lark all stood in a men's room on the first floor, Chad holding a Old Navy bag with Gerald's old clothing in it. The questions came quickly enough:

"Why am I holding Gerald's clothes?" Chad asked.

"What are we doing in a restroom?" Sol asked.

"Where did Lucifer go?" Demetrius asked.

"Be quiet for a moment," Ulysses said to all three of them. "I can only answer one question at a time, and I have no answer for the first and last of those questions. What I can say, however, is that I sense a great amount of dark energy in here. If Gerald left, he likely left from here."

Sol blinked and then snapped his fingers, saying, "Which means that if he comes back, this is the most likely point where he'll come back."

"Exactly," the older man said. "We will just have to wait until he does."

There was silence, and then Chad said, "I still want to know why Gerald left his clothes behind."

Demetrius shuddered and said, "Now I do, too..."

To be concluded next post...