Joan says that Daala built Xanadu from her dreams. It’s clear that she was a duelist.

And as we explore this cursed forest, bits and pieces of her dreams, and possibly nightmares, come to life.

We’ve stumbled across a treasure that the Realm Lord is trying to protect. Not gold and jewels, but stuff that, according to an old Manga, could grant great power. Maybe Daala was a fan of this old Manga, and dreamed this up.

Can this stuff grant us powers? Make us stronger? I’m betting it can…

But to get it, I’m going to have to defeat the guy guarding it. And I’ve never faced a duelist like this before.

But I’m more than willing to try.

Ready… DUEL.



CHAPTER SIX



Guarding the Garden




”What has four wheels and flies?”

“What time is it when the clock strikes thirteen?”

“What sort of salute does an overachieving U.S. President get?”

Sheena sighed.

“This reminds me of how Batman always had to decipher the Riddler’s dumb clues,” she said.

Her two helpers looked at each other.

“You have a point there,” said Nicholas.

“Pardon?” said Sheena.

“The Riddler always left these riddles for Batman that were never simple,” said Nicholas. “He was crazy, but he was a genius at creating puzzles and conundrums. Quite often, there were riddles hidden within his riddles.”

He thought for a minute.

“Hold on…” said Olga. “All three of these riddles have numbers in them. Four… thirteen… and if that answer you gave is right, twenty-two.”

“Yeah…” said Sheena. “And maybe if we were to convert the numbers into letters in the English alphabet. Four is D, thirteen is M, and twenty-two is V…

“DMV…”

There was a pause.

It came to them all at the same time, seeing as English was the native language for all three of them.

“Department of Motor Vehicles!” they all said at once.

They paused again.

“I always knew that they were evil,” muttered Nicholas. “They make you wait in line, give you bad service, the pictures they take of you are terrible… You should see the learner’s permit they gave me in London…”

“Be serious!” said Olga. “What the heck could the DMV have to do with this?”

“Saki,” said Sheena, with a frown.

“Who’s that?” asked Nicholas.

“Saki Masato,” said Sheena. “He was a computer programmer for me who used to tell everyone who’d listen that he got his start as a pencil-pusher at the DMV in Tokyo before his big break…

“He worked on the Dueltasia project. But for some reason, he quit two months ago. Didn’t even give a reason – just gave me a two weeks notice. And he wasn’t even eligible for early retirement yet. It puzzled me. Working at KaibaCorp is too good a job for you to just quit.”

“Could he be working for Daala?” asked Olga.

Sheena thought for a long time.

“Maybe you two could find out,” she said.

“It’s against company policy to find people and shake them down for information, but without proof, that’s what I need to do. And that’s why I was willing to… employ you two.

“Saki’s family are all lifetime members of Diners Club International, and his rich relatives pay the dues, so he can go to places to eat that most folks on his salary can’t afford. He likes to spend evenings in pricy nightclubs. His favorite is the Jade Dragon. At eight, you two will likely find him there.

“Remember you two… If you’re captured, I don’t know you.”

“Don’t worry,” said Olga, “those are actually better terms than what the European mob gives its members.

“Oh, and Sheena? While we’re doing that, try to get a few hours of sleep. This has taken its toll on you. We can plainly see it.”

Sheena sighed.

“My daughter is probably fighting for her life…” she said. “I might sleep… How soundly is another question entirely…”


* * * * * * * * * *



On a pathway deep in Tzimisce Woods, a strange-looking rabbit hopped onto the pathway. It looked like any other rabbit, except that its two front teeth were sharp daggers, and it had an eyepatch over one eye.

A blast of energy shot from ahead, and it was blown to pieces.

Magician’s Valkyria and Getsu Fuhma floated down the path, followed by the five duelists, who were at this point taking no chances.

“A Blade Rabbit,” muttered Chelsea. “Is there anything in this forest that isn’t dangerous?”

“Not likely,” said Ren.

“So who do you guys think the Realm Lord is?” asked Erik.

“Most likely a powerful and evil Duel Spirit who’s also an Earth Monster,” said Sam. “Maybe… a Dark Lucius LV8.”

“I hope not!” said Ren. “I dueled someone once who used him… That guy is a tough customer.”

Chelsea let out a long sigh. She sat down on a stump by the side of the road.

“Want to take a break, Chels?” asked Yumi.

“I miss them, Yumi,” she said.

“Them?” asked Yumi. “Them who?”

“You know…” she muttered. “The ghosts that always hang around me… There aren’t any in Xanadu, apparently…”

“Oh yeah…” said Yumi. “The old ghost whisperer thing…”

“Ever since the Midnight Caller helped me see their problems,” said Chelsea, “they’ve been lining up for me to tell them the answers. They aren’t in Domino for two days before some ghost who doesn’t want to leave tells them, ‘Go see Chelsea, she’ll tell you what to do.’

“Never thought I’d miss them so much…”

Yumi sighed.

“Chels, my family deals with demons and cursed magic,” she said, “but this is out of my league… At least we’re helping… other Spirits. Even if they aren’t dead ones.”

Chelsea sighed. She got up.

“Problem is,” she said, as they started to walk forward, “these Spirits can hurt you, unlike the ones I’m used too…”

There was no talk for about five minutes. Then Yumi stopped short.

“Guys,” said Yumi, “I hear water up ahead. There’s something up there…”

They slowly approached the end of the path and entered a very large clearing.

The source of the water was a large fountain in the center. It was a pool, in the center of which was a tall stone, on top of which was a statue of a woman with feathered wings. They recognized this – the Spring of Rebirth.

But that wasn’t the most surprising thing in this clearing.

Around the edges were clusters of trees that looked like they belonged in a tropical region. They were small, each about eight feet tall, and each one bore odd fruits. They resembled all forms of tropical fruits, such as guavas, mangoes, kumquats, strawberries, and pomegranates.

However, they all had odd colors, and each had strange swirl designs on their skins.

“Fruit?” said Sam.

“Don’t even think of touching them,” warned Yumi. “I’d be wary of eating anything that grows in this cursed forest.”

“You’re damn right, you won’t touch them,” said a surly voice.

Everyone turned and saw a muscular figure who had stepped out from behind the Spring. It was an android in silvery armor, with a gear on his left shoulder, one on his back, and some sort of weapon mounted on his right shoulder.

“Gadget Soldier?” asked Ren.

“A Duel Spirit?” said Chelsea.

“You guys had better take a hike,” said the Spirit. “This here is the Realm Lord’s private orchard. No one is allowed to take the Devil’s Fruit unless they have his okay, and I know you don’t got it!”

“Devil’s Fruit?” said Erik, surprised.

Gadget Soldier frowned at him.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you that,” he said. “But yeah. So you guys have a choice. You can get lost or try to take me down…”

He gestured, and an extension opened on his left arm with an audible sprong. It quickly unfolded into a Duel Disk.

“Why are you of all people guarding it?” asked Sam.

“Because he’s a Machine,” said Yumi.

“What does that have to do with it?” asked Sam.

“Machines don’t eat organic food,” said Yumi. “They have no use for fruit. You use them to guard it, and there’s no danger of them stealing it for themselves.”

Gadget Soldier nodded.

“Maybe we should just leave…” said Ren. “A bunch of fruit isn’t worth a fight. It’s not like any of us are desperate for smoothies.”

“Uh, guys?” said Erik. “A word… Huddle…”

They all huddled.

“People,” he said. “If this is truly Devil’s Fruit, it may indeed be worth dueling him to get it. I read about this stuff in an online Manga collection.”

“What does it do?” asked Sam.

“Well, it gives the one who eats it a superhuman ability,” said Erik. “Not always a useful ability, but sometimes an incredibly useful one.

“Funny thing is… It was supposed to be incredibly rare and always found singly. There were never whole orchards of it.”

“Erik,” said Yumi. “You do realize that dueling this guy is taking a risk.”

“One that we’ll all have to take sometime,” said Erik. “I’m more than willing to try if winning will give us an advantage over Daala. And frankly, we may need all the help we can get.”

Yumi sighed.

She looked at the strange fruit trees. Since it was Devil’s Fruit and not Demon’s Fruit, she guessed it might help in the long run… And she figured it must be very potent if the Realm Lord was guarding it.

And it wasn’t like it was the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge either.

“Okay, Erik,” she said. “If you say so… Good luck…”

Erik stepped up to the Machine.

“Okay, Gadget Soldier,” he said. “I accept your challenge.”

“You just got on my bad side,” growled the Soldier. “Prepare to lose!

“And send out your Deck Lord while you’re at it. I might as well get something out of this…”

Erik’s deck glowed…

Then, a bulky form appeared behind him. It looked like a stout man, made out of Legos.

“Blockman?” said Erik. “How come?”

“All of your more powerful Monsters decided they were better staying in the deck,” said a gravely voice coming from Blockman. “But don’t worry, I have a useful ability…”

He whispered it to Erik.

“No kidding?” he said.

“Okay pal, Blockman is my Deck Lord. What’s yours?”

“Open your eyes, pal!” said Gadget Soldier. “I’m a Gadget Soldier! I’m both the duelist AND the Deck Lord. Double the threat.”

“Works for me,” said Erik. “Game on!”


(Erik: 8,000) -------------------- (Gadget Soldier: 8,000)



Be careful Erik, thought Sam. No duelist in his right mind would use Gadget Soldier these days… It’s a plain vanilla Level Six Monster with less Attack Points than some Level Fours…

And if what Weevil said about useless Monsters having powerful Deck Lord abilities is true, this might be trouble…

“Here we go!” shouted Erik, making a draw.

He looked over his cards.

“I’m summoning this in Attack Mode,” he said. “My Toy Tank.”

He placed a card on his Disk, and the Monster that appeared was… a toy tank. It was a comical army tank, with a turnkey on top. (1,300/1,100)

“A new one, Erik?” asked Ren.

Erik nodded. Gadget Soldier looked at him funny.

“Heh, heh,” chuckled the Machine. “A Toy Tank. Oh look, it’s gonna attack me!”

That’s it, thought Erik. Assume it’s a weak Monster, pal… Go ahead and take the bait…

“That’s all for me. Your move, Spectre Gadget.”

“Very funny,” said Gadget Soldier, drawing a card.

He played it, and it glowed with golden light.

“I play Graceful Charity,” he said. “I’m sure everyone knows how this works. I get to draw three cards, so long as I toss two…”

He made three draws.

“And just ‘cause I’m such a nice guy, I’ll show you what I’m tossing.”

He held two cards forward. They were Acrobat Monkey and Giant Soldier of Stone.

“I’d remember them, if I were you…”

He slipped them into his discard slot.

“Next up, I play a facedown, and summon Hunter Dragon.”

A facedown card appeared in a burst of energy, and then a Dragon appeared in front of him. For a Dragon, it wasn’t very big, but it was covered all over with sharp blades. (1,700/100)

“Question,” said Gadget Soldier. “You’ve got a Hunter Dragon staring you in the face. What do you do?”

“I don’t do anything,” said Erik. “I’ve seen worse.”

“Yeah?” said the Soldier. “Well it’s about to go ballistic on your Toy Tank!”

Three slashing blades shot at the Toy Tank, and it exploded into shards. Erik cringed.


(E: 7,600) -------------------- (GS: 8,000)



“Thank you,” said Erik, with a grin. “I activate Toy Tank’s effect. When it gets trashed, I get to summon another Toy from my deck, so long as it’s Level Four or less.”

He went to reach for his deck, and was surprised when a card simply slipped out of it. He took it, and was surprised again to see that it was exactly what he had wanted.

How’d it know… he thought.

“Don’t worry, Erik,” said Blockman. “In Xanadu, a surprise lurks around every corner, but many of them make the duel easier.”

“Right,” said Erik. “I summon Toy Soldier!”

In a burst of energy, a small figure appeared. It was definitely a toy soldier, made of wood, dressed in the uniform of the soldiers of Revolution-era France. He held a musket that was apparently a pop gun. (800/300)

“How cute,” said Gadget Soldier. “I end my turn.”

Erik drew a card.

“I activate my Toy Soldier’s effect,” he said.

“I love this part,” said Chelsea, with a giggle.

“When one member of my mini-militia is on the field,” said Erik, “I can summon all other members that I have in my deck. So here come two more!”

In two flashes of light, two more Soldiers appeared.

“That’s hardly an improvement,” said Gadget Soldier.

“I’m also playing a Spell Card,” said Erik, holding up a card. “It’s called Fife and Drum Corp.”

As he played the card, music started to fill the air. A parade of Toy Soldiers marched into the clearing, playing drums and flutes.

“Don’t you just love a parade?” asked Erik. “My Soldiers do, because this music doubles the Attack Scores of all my Monsters with Attack Scores that are 1,000 or less.”

The three Soldiers glowed with energy. (1,600/300)

“Unless you can make one of them even stronger,” said Gadget Soldier, “that still ain’t gonna be enough.”

“I’m not gonna make them stronger,” said Erik. “I’m gonna make your Dragon weaker. I play Shrink!”

He played another card, and Hunter Dragon shrunk to half its size. (850/100)

“Toy Soldier number one,” said Erik, “attack the Hunter Dragon!”

The first Toy Soldier aimed its musket and fired, blowing Hunter Dragon to pixels.

“You two… Attack directly!”

Gadget Soldier grunted as two more corks hit him in the chest.

“I suppose you think you’re so hot?” he said.

“I try to be,” said Erik. “My turn is over, so the scores of my Soldiers return to 800. It’s your move.”


(E: 7,600) -------------------- (GS: 4,050)



“Erik is winning!” cheered Sam.

“Don’t celebrate so soon,” said Gadget Soldier, drawing a card.

He played it.

“I play Desperado Manager. I can use this when I have at least one card in my hand. First, I get to draw two cards…”

He made two draws, and looked at them.

“Then I take three cards from my hand, and put them on top of my deck.”

He chose three of his cards, and placed them on his deck.

“Next,” he said, “I’ll drop 800 Life Points to play Enchanting Fitting Room. This lets me look at the top four cards on my deck. And if any of them are Normal Monsters that are Level Three or less, I get to Special Summon them.”

Yumi’s eyes opened wide.

This guy is no rookie, she thought. He’s guaranteed at least three Monsters, because he just put three on top of his deck!

A white curtain appeared in front of him, and four cards flew out. Three of them were Monster Cards, and one was Heavy Storm.

“Well, Heavy Storm doesn’t fit the bill,” said the Machine, as the Spell Card vanished, “but say hello to Mad Lobster, Jerry Beans Man, and Dragon Zombie!”

Three Monsters appeared in flashes of light. One was a huge lobster with a skull for a head. (1,700/1,000) Another was a green jelly bean with arms, legs, and a smiling face, holding a toy sword and shield. (1,750/0) The third was a rotting and decayed dragon, its yellowing rib bones sticking out of its flesh. (1,600/0)

“Ho boy…” said Erik.

“Before I attack, I’m gonna activate this,” said Gadget Soldier, as his facedown card lifted up. “Gift of the Mystical Elf.”

The gentle form of Mystical Elf appeared behind him, and cast a spell.

“Now I gain 300 Life Points for each Monster on the field. And I count six.

“Now… Dragon Zombie, noxious breath!”

Dragon Zombie shot a blast of toxic smoke from its jaws, and one Toy Soldier rotted and turned to dust.

“Jerry Beans Man, attack with Good ‘n Plenty pummel!”

Jerry spit a barrage of candy from his mouth with the force of a machine gun, and another Soldier shattered.

“Mad Lobster, attack with vice grip!”

Mad Lobster grabbed the third Soldier in its pincer and squeezed, until it shattered.

“I throw one card facedown, and that’s all!” he said with a chuckle.

A new facedown card materialized.


(E: 4,950) -------------------- (GS: 5,050)



Okay… thought Erik. Now when exactly did I lose the advantage here?

He had almost considered using his Deck Lord ability at that point. But he would have used up all of his limited uses if he saved all his Soldiers, and he would have given too much advantage to his opponent if he had.

And now he could get the most use out of something else.

Yumi looked at the three Monsters.

Odd, she thought. All of his Monsters seem to be Normal Level Threes. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s building up to something big…

Erik drew a card.

“I play Toy Memorial,” he said, playing a Spell Card. “I have to skip my Battle Phase to play this, but I get to draw one card for each card in my Graveyard with the word ‘Toy’ in its name.

“I have four, three Toy Soldiers and Toy Tank.”

He drew four cards. He looked them over.

“I’ll summon Card Blocker.”

He played the card, and a new toy Warrior appeared. He was dressed in blue armor with a rounded helmet, and carried a shield and a short sword. (400/400)

“And as soon as I summon him, he moves to Defense Mode.”

Card Blocker knelt, pointed his sword down, and held his shield up.

“And I’ll call it a turn.”

“Was that the best you can do?” asked Gadget Soldier, drawing a card. “This is too easy…

“I activate my facedown card.”

His facedown card lifted up, and a figure appeared on the field. It was the youth from the Heart of the Underdog card, holding a glowing light in his hands.

“It’s called Common Charity. This lets me draw two cards.”

He made two draws.

“Of course, if I don’t want to lose my whole hand after I do that, I have to remove a Normal Monster in my hand from play. So I think I get rid of this one.”

He held up a card – it was D.D. Trainer – and it vanished.

He looked over the two new cards.

“Now, I summon Clown Zombie.”

A cackling laugh sounded over the field as he played the card. The Monster that appeared was a rotting, undead version of Crass Clown, balancing on a colored ball and holding a staff. (1,350/0)

“You’re finished,” said Gadget Soldier. “Clown Zombie, destroy his Card Blocker!”

Clown Zombie laughed, and bounced forward on its ball.

“Not so fast, rust-bucket!” said Erik, taking three cards off the top of his deck.

He quickly discarded them.

“Card Blocker has a special effect. For each of these discards, he gains 500 Defense Points.”

Card Blocker glowed with energy. (500/1,900) As Clown Zombie tried to strike him, he struck back, and the Zombie tumbled backwards.

“You little punk!” shouted Gadget Soldier. “Now you really made me mad!”


(E: 4,950) -------------------- (GS: 4,500)



“You really need to find a way to relax, pal,” said Chelsea. “Maybe you should try yoga or something.”

“Hardy, har, har,” said the Soldier. “I end my turn!”

Erik drew a card.

“Just what I needed…” he said.

He opened his Field Slot.

“I play Toy Town!”

There was a flash of light…

When they could see again, the orchard was gone. They were standing in the streets of a fairy tale town, with gingerbread houses and sugarplum trees. A castle was on a hill in the background, and a rainbow was in the sky.

“I don’t even know what this Field Spell does,” said Gadget Soldier, “and I already hate it.”

“Well, it does three things,” said Erik, “as far as Monsters with the word ‘Toy’ in their names are concerned. First, it increases their Attack Scores by 300. Second, it lets them dodge any targeting Trap Cards. Third, if one is destroyed outside of battle, I get to pull another one from my deck that has less Attack Points.

“So… I summon Toy Magician!”

In a burst of light, the plastic sorcerer that he had used against the Arlownay appeared, holding his glowing staff. (1,600/1,500) –> (1,900/1,500)

“Destroy his Clown Zombie!” shouted Erik. “Sparkle blast!”

Toy Magician shot a blast of glowing motes at the undead clown, and it burst into a cloud of dust.

“Punk…” said Gadget Soldier.


(E: 4,950) -------------------- (GS: 3,950)



“Your move,” said Erik.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” said Gadget Soldier, drawing a card.

“I set a new Monster in Defense Mode, and move everyone else to Defense Mode.”

A facedown Monster appeared. Mad Lobster shielded itself with its claws, and Jerry Beans Man just sat down. Dragon Zombie just collapsed in a heap.

“I may not be able to attack, but I’m still gonna get rid of that Card Blocker,” he said. “I play Shield Crush!”

He played the card, and a blast of energy shot out of it, blowing Card Blocker to bits.

“Well, so much for that,” muttered Erik.

“Your move,” said the Machine.

Erik drew a card.

This might be useful, he thought, adding it to his hand.

“I summon a second Toy Magician,” he said. “Double the pleasure!”

A second of the toy Spellcasters appeared. (1,600/1,500) –> (1,900/1,500)

“All right, attack his Mad Lobster and Jerry Beans Man!”

The two Magicians cast their spells, and the two Monsters burst into pixels.

This punk may not know it, thought Gadget Soldier, but the more of my Monsters he trashes, the deeper he’s falling into my trap…

He looked at his deck.

Once I draw both the right cards, it’s gonna be all over for him…

“My move,” he said.

He drew a card, and looked at it.

“I set a facedown, and that’ll be all.”

A facedown card appeared.

Erik drew a card.

No problem, he thought. I have Mystical Space Typhoon right…

“Go, Trap Card!” shouted Gadget Soldier. “Threatening Roar!”

His facedown card lifted, and the intimidating form of Behemoth, the King of All Animals appeared behind him. It roared, and Erik staggered back.

“Afraid your attacks this round are called off,” he said.

“Then I’ll just end my turn…” muttered Erik.

Gadget Soldier drew a card.

“Okay, pal, I play Pot of Greed,” he said.

The evil jar appeared, and he drew two cards.

“Heh, heh, perfect…” he said. “First, I flip my Sonic Duck into Attack Mode.”

His facedown Monster flipped up, revealing a comical-looking green duck the size of a horse with a scarf around its neck and a pail on its head. (1,700/700)


Continued…