Yu-Gi-Oh! Soul of Silicon

[Dark Sage]

You raise a lot of good points, SJ. I'm sorry this chapter didn't meet up to your expectations.

However, I will say that Marie will show up again, probably sooner than you think. When she does, I'll take all of your concerns to heart. I won't reveal in what regard yet, but Marie is part of a bigger plan than this chapter.

You'll just have to wait and see for yourself. Then, maybe you'll see that in my world, there are indeed a few shades of grey. (In fact, Yumi makes a powerful ally eventually who sees everything in shades of grey. Who is he? It has something to do with that Testament that was mentioned.)

[starjake]

You'll just have to wait and see for yourself.

I hate to be harsh, but you've been saying that for...goodness, how many years have you been writing now? How many times have you said that very phrase? And how many times has anything actually changed because of it?

In all the many, many characters you used - both ones that you have created and ones that others have taken the time and effort to create for you - I have yet to see one that isn't either one thing or the other. You've had characters that change from GOOD to BAD and back again (Russell from Dark Messiah comes to mind), and characters that are too stoic to be either (like Heraklinos earlier in this fic), but I have yet to see a character with real internal conflict. You occasionally come kind of close - normally in the typical 'do-I-launch-the-attack-and-possibly-hurt-someone-I-care-about' scene - but you've had so many shallow characters that just hearing you say 'Wait and see' does little to nothing in the way of boosting my confidence.

I can almost relate it to The Boy Who Cried Wolf; there's only so many times one can yell 'But I mean it this time!' before it loses its credibility.

For your sake, I hope this Testament character is as...er...magically deep and thought-provoking as you say he is. But, judging from your past works...well, the mere fact that you're saying 'Wait and see' tells me that this character will probably be a letdown. Nothing would make me happier than if you proved me wrong.

And I appreciate your apology, to the complete extent to which you meant it.

[mr_pikachu]

There's a fine line between constructive and destructive criticism. starjake, you're getting pretty close to crossing it. You can critique another piece without viciously attacking a writer's past, present, and future work. That's hitting below the belt.

Please tone down any future comments. You may consider this a warning.

[Shuppet Master]

Geez on a pogo stick, I can't believe Dark Sage is being attacked. I know his characters are kinda... well, to put it nicely, paper-thin... but this isort of behavior, when it summons a mod, is very bad. I don't want one of the people here, starjake least of all, to be banned because of it. Can't we just get along?

[ssj4supernerd]

Now I must say that DS's earlier works are better(LoD, CoS and MoH) but these ones aren't that bad. I liked this chapter, not so much for the duel in it(it would be really nice to see more losses for the good guys, also taking down 13,500 life points to 1,700 in ONE turn?) I liked it more about the Vita and Daala part, and I have a theory about who Vita is but I'm keeping it to myself.

[The_Missing_Link]

Geez on a pogo stick, I can't believe Dark Sage is being attacked. I know his characters are kinda... well, to put it nicely, paper-thin... but this isort of behavior, when it summons a mod, is very bad. I don't want one of the people here, starjake least of all, to be banned because of it. Can't we just get along?

I've done it to him, to you...everyone does it but most likely they criticize the writer in the privacy of their homes, not via the computer. Anonymity is the name of the game

I think starjake has a valid point. A lot of the bad guys you create are rather cookie cutter. We haven't seen a lot of them with internal conflicts and I know you can do it. You just seem to get into a rut where you write in one certain style with the same types of characters, good and bad (it doesn't help that you use the same characters for different fics; honestly, it wears thin on you after a while unless you drastically change their personalities). That's why I prefer your Pokemon fics to YGO. The battles have a lot to be desired but the characters are richer in personality (go go backhanded compliment)

[jkBAKURA]

Friendly reminder to all, the purpouse of the thread is to bring out criticism on the fic in front of you, not dig back through and bring up an entire history.

True, it's natural to compare some things, but we've lost the original purpose here.

Plus, I think a few of you people should be ashamed of yourselves.

starjake may or may not have crossed a line, but that's no excuse for jumping on the bandwagon and adding your arrows only after the first shot is fired.

If you really cared to voice your opinions, you would have posted them under your own will. If this is how you feel, you've been keeping it to yourself so far.

I may be hypocritical, as I know I've had my vocal ins and outs.

And now, as is the purpose of the thread in question, I'll put in a review of the chapter itself.

RFG has almost become a second Graveyard, it's not as damaging as it once was, but as a duelist who myself has liked vampires the deck does indeed hit where it hurts. Nice use of Helios withot Macro Cosmos at the fore. Intresting blend with the Counter Fairies too. Only a hint, but not a cookie cutter deck theme.

I must admit, you're adding more of a personal touch to the decks and I like it. Not only does it make the characters deeper, as no two decks are alike, and what we lose in screen time, we gain that glimpse in style. Though, I don't see Marie as the type to use it

Chelsea's deck seems to have strayed a bit from the beginning of Kings, becoming more Zombie and less Vampire, though Resurection is the more constant theme. Almost Marik-ish. Though to be honest, it's lost a bit of its original charm and appeal. Then again, the decks evolved through the first Trilogy as well, and such is the work of a writer.

Reguardless of what's said, it's clear that you've put your whole heart into a story. Shuppet did the same for Anansi, and the best reward regardless of the outcome, the greatest feeling is to have a work complete. You've shown us that dedication many times over.

[The_Missing_Link]

There's no denying he's committed. If he wasn't, then he wouldn't be going on with the fic

I think it's fair to look at all of his fics collectively. After all, I look at them as a series, not as separate entities. Most, if not all, star the same people, their relatives, their friends and their offspring. Plus, even bad guys from his previous fics return for another go. The plots are different but everything else about his fics remains familiar

I've been a closet reader but Dark Sage knows very well of my concerns, criticisms, and past attacks (which should be rightfully forgotten). I've been reading his fics since the beginning and I have no intention of stopping but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and twiddle my thumbs. Sometimes I can't find the right words to phrase my criticisms so if someone comes along and voices them in a better way, I'm sure as hell going to agree with them. God knows I've done more harm than good with voicing my thoughts

And btw, I did not jump on starjake's bandwagon. I agreed with him of my own free will. He could have phrased his concerns differently but I understood his point, and so did DS

*sighs* Almost every fic we always have some kind of argument. At least this time it somewhat has to do with the actual fic


You're one popular person, DS

[Dark Sage]

What can I say? I'm glad that when all is said and done, there are still people who I can count on. Getting support from you, Becca, is always welcome.

I'll admit, maybe some of my villains are a tad... cookie cutter. If that's the case, I guess I'll just have to try harder. People have liked some villains who have shown up more than others (Chaos Sorcerer is a good example) but for one-shots, I don't put as much time and energy into their development as I would recurring characters.

As for the concern that there aren't enough losses on the heroes' side, well, you must realize that the penalties for losing in Xanadu are dire. Having said that, the heroes will not be invincible. Future chapters will prove that.

And I certainly am committed. I'll keep on writing. Just keep on reading.

[Master of Paradox]

I see the sheep don't want to look up. Let me say my piece, then. I'm not afraid.

Everything Starjake said was the truth.

Brian Corvello, you have not grown as a writer in all the years you've worked on this. If anything, you've gone backwards. You were the inspiration for the Decaying Superstar in my "Fanfiction Writers" article.

None of your characters ever evolve. They barely qualify as characters. You throw a scant handful of traits together, add a deck (or a Pokemon roster) and let fly. I worry about anyone who asks for reader submissions as often as you do - that means you don't even have to do half the work. (And then you go and botch it anyway.)

What's worse is that there is no such thing as conflict. Don't argue this point - your heroes are never in any sort of danger whatsoever. They just keep getting stronger and stronger and stronger while the villains are completely frozen in their power level. There's never a hint of fear that they may not win. Take a look at this story - as if they weren't overpowerful enough from last time, you handed them all Devil's Fruit.

And then there's the black-and-white view you have on things. It's as if you're afraid to have interesting villains. I'm so very glad you aren't back on your "evil atheist" kick (lord help me, it's like you WANTED to piss me off with Sorcerer Kings), but that just means it's back to heroes-are-pure villains-are-cackling bullshit again. No story should have ciphers for villains.

But the worst part, the part that would get you torn to pieces if you ever wrote actual fiction, the part that cost you all of my respect... Brian Corvello, you are a thief.

I used to go through your chapters with a little counter in my head. It went up by one whenever I saw a line you stole from me. The counter never came out zero at the end. You steal quotes you find clever and ideas you're envious of and just smile whenever you get called on it.

No honest critic would ever let you get away with it. You are a thief and a liar, and it makes me sick whenever other people let you get away with it.

Brian Corvello, I despise you.

Go ahead and delete this, Mr. Pikachu. I dare you. Go on and prove to the entire forum that you only defend the authors you like and everything else can go hang. I'd love to see it.

But I won't. I lost interest in this board a long time ago. I barely even post here anymore. This is my goodbye. TPM has seen enough of me, now it can see my back.

(Eric... what are you doing defending Brian Corvello? Starjake said a lot of the same things you used to.)

[starjake]

...I am appalled.

After all the things Dark Sage has done that have hurt others...after all the honest, constructive criticisms he has ignored - given by many of the people reading these very words...after all the ideas he has stolen (again, even from some of you)...you continue to support him? Even though his actions - actions towards some of you, even - have proven that all he cares about is boosting his ego at whatever expense necessary?

Obviously, that is the case. And, since that is the case, I take my leave of this place. I have no desire to be part of a forum that condones such behavior.

I have no desire to be part of a forum who looks the other way when one of its members tramples on another person's ideas and destroys their spirit, causing them bitterness and anger that lasts for years afterwards.

I have no desire to be part of a forum that does not care when one of its members continually brushes off the advice given to him and, as a result, shows complete disrespect and disregard for those who gave it - especially when that sort of advice is the entire reason for the forum's existence in the first place.

And I have no desire to be part of a forum that, when someone does finally have the guts to stand up and say, "Hey, you're really messing up here!", the other members say, "Oh...no, it's OK, you're still doing OK...you have faults, yes, but you don't really have to do anything about them...".

Not all that long ago, in real life, I made the mistake of letting things escalate to the point where I was forcibly ejected from my best friend's life, due to a person with a very similar personality to Dark Sage's. Well, this time, I am going to remove myself before that has a chance to happen again. Completely.

I am done with this story. I am done with Fanfiction. I am done with TPM.

For those of you who are thinking it but don't have the nerve to say it, I will say it for you: this is not an attack on Brian (that was already taken care of). This is an attack on everyone else. This is an attack on those of you who do not have the conviction to say when someone is doing a terrible job - when the whole point of this forum's existence is to inform people of when they do exactly that. This is an attack on those of you who have assuaged Dark Sage with words of praise that are just as empty as the stories you are praising him for. And - most of all - this is an attack on each and every person who has looked the other way when your own colleagues have had their ideas and spirits beaten upon by a bully.

Dark Sage...no, Brian...I take back my earlier restrictions to you. You are free to use any of my creations however you wish, mostly because I won't be around to stop you from doing so. This also applies to everyone else reading - again, mostly for the same reason.

So, congratulations, Brian Corvello. As usual, you have gotten exactly what you wanted.

And, as usual, all it cost you was someone else.

[The_Missing_Link]

Wow, I was not aware this has gone on. Well, it's a lot to absorb but if it's true, then my support is gone

[The_Missing_Link]

...you didn't know, TML?

That's funny...I was told that all the moderators knew what was going on...how intriguing...

Perhaps the fanfic mods knew, I dunno. I was never told though

btw Paradox, if you're still reading this thread, can you check out your thread about you canceling your fic? I posted a reply

[Lady Vulpix]

Master of Paradox and starjake, if you have something to say about the fic, try to say it without turning it into a personal attack towards the writer - nor anyone else for that matter.

And starjake, if you want to leave the forums, no one's holding you. You don't need to make such a long post to announce it.

[The_Missing_Link]

Master of Paradox and starjake, if you have something to say about the fic, try to say it without turning it into a personal attack towards the writer - nor anyone else for that matter.

I believe their point was to attack DS, his credibility, and the fic itself

[Lady Vulpix]

It did look like it, Becca, but if that was his point, then his post is completely out of place.

*Points to rule 3 of TPM's General Rules.*

[Blademaster]

I was raised to believe that the truth is something that's never out of place...

[Lady Vulpix]

Insults are not the truth. I can't understand what would drive someone to attack others for fun. If you don't like DS's writings, don't read them. If you have nothing better to do than insult someone, then find something better to do, because you're wasting your life.

If you have anything to say that can help DS improve his writing, go ahead and say it. But you're not trying to help at all, you're just attacking him and that will not be tolerated.

[The_Missing_Link]

Insults are not the truth. I can't understand what would drive someone to attack others for fun. If you don't like DS's writings, don't read them. If you have nothing better to do than insult someone, then find something better to do, because you're wasting your life.

If you have anything to say that can help DS improve his writing, go ahead and say it. But you're not trying to help at all, you're just attacking him and that will not be tolerated.

Perhaps this goes beyond what you understand of the situation. Quite frankly, I'm not too sure myself. It seems that people have been slighted due to DS while he claims innocence. True that it should probably not take place in this thread but it seems his fics have something to do with it

It's a muddled mess in which I hope the fanfic mods can clear up (at least partly)

[mistysakura]

Oh, the truth is never out of place. But uncivility always is.

As many of you have pointed out, this is an internet forum. A forum is a place for discussion, for opoinions to be voiced. We love different opinions. We do not love attacks on members that are disguised as opinions.

Because of this, we allow people to express their opinion on Dark Sage's (and everyone else's) works of fiction. We do not, however, allow people to attack other forum members for expressing contrary opinions. We also do not force authors to agree with opinions, negative or otherwise, and take them on board.

This is how the forum works. We want a forum where members have the most freedom. Freedom to express their opinions. Freedom to express their opinions without being attacked. This is why we do not condone attacks on members, whether they are 'the truth' or not. To keep this forum civil, please keep all attacks off-forum. If a forum rule is believed to be breached by a member, rather than attacking said member, please take your complaint to the moderators.

If you don't like how the forum works, you may leave. I will be sorry to see you go, but we will not change the rules for you.

starjake, Marie's case was going to have an outcome, but seeing as you've taken back the restrictions, it seems this is no longer necessary. Master of Paradox, if you would like to back up your accusations of plagiarism, please PM one of the moderators.

[Dark Sage]

Hello everyone.

You may have expected me to respond to the recent attacks on this fic, my credibility, and myself. Well, I’m not going to. I recognized these posts not as criticisms, but as insults. And I’ve faced far worse insults in my time. I’m not going to debate these accusations, because I know that doing so is just what these people want me to do, and doing so would be pointless anyway. So I will turn the other cheek.

I will, however, continue doing what I love to do: writing fanfiction. It’s a hobby that I do not want to give up any time soon. I will post in on TPM so long as people read it here. And if no-one does, I can continue posting it on fanfic.net.

So, on with the fanfic. To start, the answer to last chapter’s Name that Card was “Relinquished”.

For this chapter, it represents my first foray into the “third generation” of Yu-Gi-Oh. This is something new to me, and represents a new challenge. So for all involved, bear with me. Also, a lot of the cards used in this chapter will not be released for the TCG until August 9th when the Sneak Preview event for The Duelist Genesis occurs in the United States. I won’t waste space at the end of the chapter detailing ever single new card, except for one that I created myself. I’ll provide a link if anyone desires to look the cards up.

Anyway, enjoy.



You’d think as the granddaughter of two duelists whose names are, well, legendary, I’d study up on the game some more.

The duelist I’m facing has Monsters I’ve never heard of. She possesses special Monsters that I’ve only heard stories about, whispered among duelists at Kaibaland. Several duelists I know claim they know someone who knows someone who’s seen them, but they have a mythic status. And not like Kaiba’s three Dragons either. He was all too willing to show them off.

As a result, I’ve gone into this duel completely unprepared, facing forces I can’t comprehend. My opponent must be truly exceptional… She isn’t afraid of these creatures, and tames them as easily as someone would a loyal dog.

I’m the Queen of Games. I can’t refuse a challenge or back down. But now, I must defend my title like never before…

Time to duel, in a different way…

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT



Something Completely Different

Atticus continued to lead the way through the volcanic mountain range, the Cold Wave Spell radiating an aura from his Disk that held back the terrible heat.

His companions realized that it was likely the only thing that kept them from being deep fried by the flowing lava that bordered the paths, and the pools of it that they carefully circumnavigated.

“Uhm, Atticus?” asked Ren, nervously. “Question…”

“Shoot,” he replied.

“How long does that Spell last?” he asked.

“Don’t worry,” he assured. “Unlike the actual version, it lasts longer than one round.”

“What happens if someone comes along with a Mystical Space Typhoon?” asked Chelsea, nervously.

“No problem,” replied Atticus, lifting his Disk and pointing to it. “Judgment of Anubis and Curse of Royal already set. A lot of Hunters have tried taking me out that way. They learned the hard way that I’m not that dumb…”

“I’m kinda curious, Atticus,” asked Yumi. “If Joan programmed you, is there an AI version of his sister in Xanadu?”

Atticus stopped.

“There… used to be…” he said, sadly. “I’d rather not talk about it…”

“What do you mean?” asked Ren. “Where is…”

Chelsea hit him with her elbow.

“Don’t you get it, Ren?” she whispered. “Alexis was part of Joan’s army, but she was defeated in a duel. He doesn’t know where she is now.”

Atticus turned to them and nodded.

“But I know she’s alive,” he said. “We were programmed to be just as close as the real Rhodes siblings, so if she had been executed, I’d feel it in my gut.

“A lot of Joan’s army has lost a friend or sibling since they came into Xanadu… It gives us something to work towards. We look forward to the day when we fight our way into the Core and liberate all the prisoners Daala has taken.

“We’re gonna do it… I just know it…”

They walked over a crest, and found their path blocked by a wide lake of lava, with several stones within.

“Now what?” asked Sam.

Atticus studied the layout.

“Follow my lead,” he said.

He leapt to the nearest stone, landing on it.

“You gotta be kidding,” shouted Sam. “I never learned to swim in water let alone lava!”

“It’s easy,” said Atticus, “so long as you don’t think about what happens if you fall.”

He jumped to the next stone.

“Okay…” muttered Yumi. “I’m not thinking about it… I’m not thinking about it…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Yumi’s party was being watched, as always, but not by Daala at the moment. She had vital plans for them that would be coming to a headway soon, and she was debriefing the one in charge of them.

When Daala had cast her physical body aside, she had freed herself of the restraints of a human woman. She didn’t need to do many of the things that humans needed to do to survive, like eat or sleep. She didn’t even need to breathe.

She could sleep if she wanted to, however. Sometimes she felt the need to rest, and to dream, something that sentient beings needed to keep sane. She knew that demons didn’t sleep, and one theory was that some of the more maniacal ones owed their insanity to insomnia. Thus, she did sleep at times, often with someone to keep her warm.

And while she didn’t need to eat, she often did so, to experience taste, another sensation that humans needed.

Since other servants in her army needed to eat, the palace at the Core had a large commissary. And Daala had a private chef as well, whose job was to cook for her and the members of her inner circle. He was an AI program that Daala modeled after her father’s old cook that he had eventually fired. His name was Jean-Claude.

There was a reason that her father had fired him. Not that he was a bad cook. He was an excellent cook. The reason was, he was just plain rude, and it was a fault that Daala could not erase when she made the AI program, no matter how hard she tried.

Right now, he was peeling onions, and watching Yumi’s party on a screen.

“Tread careful, you fools,” he muttered. “One wrong step, and you’ll be boiled like Marseille bouillabaisse…”

He wiped tears away from his eyes.

“Cursed onions…” he muttered.

“Jean-Claude?” said a voice.

An Otohime walked into the room. Jean-Claude frowned. He didn’t like her at all. Then again, he didn’t like any of the members of Daala’s inner circle. All they ever did was order him around, and he was sick of it.

“Daala wanted me to give you a message,” said the Duel Spirit. “She wants lox and bagels for breakfast tomorrow.”

“VAT?” shouted Jean-Claude. “Lox has to be fresh! Do you know how early I’m going to have to get up tomorrow morning to download zat?”

“That’s what I told her,” said the Otohime. “She said to set your alarm.”

“Sacré bleu…” muttered Jean-Claude, clenching his fist.

“Oh, and Jean?” she said, turning away, “I’ll be in the library… Bring me a BLT…”

She closed the door.

“Bitch…” he growled.

The door swung open.

“WHAT was that?” she shouted. “Care to say that to my face?”

Jean-Claude shrank back in fright.

“I didn’t think so,” said the Otohime. “Do your job, Jean. I know it’s tradition for the French to be impolite, but doing so to your employers here is not a good idea… You’re hanging by a thread as it is.”

She turned and left again.

Jean-Claude slammed the peeler down on the ground and sat down with a sulk.

“All I’m good for to zem is ‘doing my job’,” he thought. “Seems in zis place, in order to be noticed, you need to duel…”

He looked at a Duel Disk on the counter.

“Vell, I can duel, and I vould too…”

He looked at the screen. He saw Sam make it over the lake, the last one across.

“Maybe all I need is a few powerful cards… Oui, zen I could duel as vell as ze rest of zem…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Yumi and company had crossed the lava pit, only to find trouble on the opposite side. A very big volcano ahead of them was rumbling, and smoke was pouring out of its crater.

“That thing is starting to stir, if you ask me,” said Ren.

“Hey, guys, look,” said Erik.

He pointed, and they all saw a building of some sort at the base of the volcano. It was dome-shaped, made of stone, with a single door in the front.

“That looks like Ben Kenobi’s hut from the first Star Wars movie,” said Erik.

“Yeah, well I doubt that whoever lives there is as friendly as old Ben was,” pondered Yumi. “If the owner built it right under a volcano, it’s likely adequate shelter for an eruption… But we’d best find out who the owner is…”

They walked up to the door, and saw that it had a name plate on it.

PSIONIC SURGERY

EMMA FROST PRESIDING

“What the heck?” asked Sam. “A surgeon? Not exactly the best place for a medical practice…”

“I’ve heard that name before…” muttered Ren. “I have a bad feeling about this…”

Yumi pushed open the door, and a blast of cold air greeted them as they walked in.

The interior certainly didn’t look like any doctor’s office. The whole place was set up with cushioned couches and silk pillows, along with shag rugs. The smell of incense filled the air. It looked sort of like some spoiled princess’s bedroom.

“Odd,” said Yumi.

They heard a click, and some relaxation music came one. They turned towards another side of the large room, and saw that someone had come in, and turned on a sound system.

It was a tall and very attractive woman, blonde, blue-eyed, and busty. She wore white pants that were incredibly form-fitting, and a white halter top with a high collar, low-cut to reveal her cleavage. Connected to the halter was a white, flowing cape.

“Uhm… Emma Frost, I presume?” asked Yumi.

The woman looked at them with a cold glance.

“Indeed,” she said. “So, which of you needs my services?”

“Services?” asked Yumi.

“You wouldn’t have come unless Daala sent you,” replied Emma. “Psionic surgery… Which of you is my patient?”

“People…”said Ren, nervously. “Out the door, now…”

“Huh?” said Chelsea.

Ren grabbed her, and retreated out the door. Everyone followed. Emma crossed her arms and shook her head in confusion.

“Why’d you do that?” asked Atticus, once they were outside. “We lucked out! She mistook us for members of Daala’s army!”

“Yes, but I just remembered who Emma Frost is,” replied Ren. “Her appearance kinda helped.”

“She looked like she belonged at the Playboy Mansion,” muttered Erik.

“She’s an old X-Men character,” continued Ren, “originally a villain, later a reluctant hero with questionable morals. She was known for having psychic powers, and being among the most powerful in that area.

“One thing that made her stand out in that area was her skill in psionic surgery, a skill that is unusual in even the most powerful telepaths. It basically lets the psychic control individual brain functions in such a way that the physical body can be altered… Mind over matter. A psionic surgeon can cure diseases, heal injuries, and even repair physical disabilities.

“This is clearly an AI program in Emma’s shape. Dealing with her may be dangerous.”

Everyone paused.

“Or…” said Yumi, looking at the door.

She paused. She gave it a long look.

“Or,” she continued, “if we take her down, we can rob Daala of a very powerful resource. If psionic surgeons are that rare, her defeat would be an incredible blow to Daala’s forces.”

Atticus looked at the door.

“People,” said Yumi. “Taking away enemy resources is an important part in any conflict. I’d say that doing away with a powerful healer qualifies.”

“Okay…” said Atticus. “But let’s be careful regardless…”

They turned and opened the door and walked in.

“Uh, Emma?” said Yumi. “Come to think of it, we…”

What happened next took them completely by surprise. A wave of energy hit them, and they were thrown against the wall.

And they didn’t fall down after hitting it. Something was holding them there.

Emma grinned at them, and slipped a Duel Disk on her arm.

“You folks made two mistakes, Yumi,” she said. “The first one was not taking advantage of an enemy when you took her by surprise.

“The second one was thinking you could hold that conversation without me hearing. In case you didn’t know, I possess clairaudience.”

“Heh, heh…” said Yumi, with a grin. “Well, you certainly can’t blame me for trying, huh? By the way, I’m guessing you set up shop in Flaming Peaks so you wouldn’t catch cold wearing that outfit?”

“Are you criticizing my fashion sense?” asked Emma.

“Course not,” replied Yumi. “In fact, you’re probably a lot luckier than most costumed folks. You didn’t have to make your costume yourself. You just had to put in an order to Fredrick’s of Hollywood.”

“Uh, Yumi, you mind not insulting her?” asked Ren, nervously. “In case you didn’t notice, she kinda has us pinned to the wall?”

“You want a duel, Yumi?” asked Emma, angrily. “Fine… We’ll duel…”

Her eyes started to glow like white orbs.

“But we’ll duel on my terms…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Yumi opened her eyes, unaware that she had closed them.

She screamed.

She was on a small island of stone in a huge lake of lava, in what seemed to be the very crater of a volcano.

She shivered. Memories of the terrible Shadow Game she had fought with Rasputin came rushing back.

“Yumi!” screamed Chelsea’s voice.

Yumi got up and turned around. Her allies were standing on a rocky outcropping on the crater’s edge.

“How’d we get here?” shouted Yumi.

Then Emma appeared in front of Yumi, thirty paces away, on another island of stone.

“We’re in the crater of the volcano above my office,” she said. “I used psychoportation to bring us here, a psychic’s version of teleportation.

“And that isn’t the only thing I did with my powers just now, Yumi. You see, for a little fun, I’m adding a time limit on this duel.

“This volcano is the home of an ally of mine. A very powerful Fire Duel Spirit. I won’t tell you who, but he’s powerful enough to make the volcano erupt. I gave him a telepathic message, telling him to do so exactly half an hour after the duel starts. And I also told him not to let anyone tell him to stop. No-one, that’s right, no-one, not even me, can stop the eruption.”

“You’ll teleport to safety, leaving us to die fiery deaths…” muttered Yumi.

Emma grinned and nodded.

“And so long as I’m here, your own escape routes are cut off,” she said. “I can knock you out of the sky if you even try it. But, if you beat me, I’ll have to leave, and you should manage to fly to safety, I suppose.”

“My Red-Eyes might be able to do that,” whispered Atticus to the others. “I’ll have him ready…”

Emma’s Disk activated.

“So…”she said. “What are you waiting for?”

* * * * * * * * * *

In a deep part of Daala’s palace, slightly above the prison, there was a large chamber, and at the far end stood a door. On the door was a sign that read:

NO ENTRY!!


ENTRY FORBIDDEN!!

If the not-to-subtle sign wasn’t enough to keep anyone who wasn’t supposed to be in this restricted area away, the sentry guarding the chamber was. It was a very powerful and very fearsome Duel Spirit called a Draconic Knight. It was a Level Seven Monster that looked like a humanoid Dragon, wearing the traditional armor of a knight, holding a very large sword and a shield.

Actually, the sword was currently in its sheath, and the shield was slung to its back. It was rather bored with its job; no-one had ever been stupid enough to challenge it for what was behind the door, so its job got tedious at times. Still, Daala paid it well in gold and gems, things that all Dragons coveted, so it didn’t complain.

A serving cart rolled into the chamber. The Knight turned to face it, ready to draw its sword…

Then it lifted an eyebrow… It smelled pastrami…

It went over to the serving cart. Sure enough, a pastrami sandwich with Swiss cheese and horseradish was there.

It looked around. It looked down the corridor. It sniffed the air.

After about a minute, it decided that it was all right. It picked up the sandwich.

It didn’t see the card underneath it until it was too late. A surge of energy struck it, and a Spellbinding Circle grabbed it.

Jean-Claude crept out of hiding. He smirked.

“If you ever vant to go hunt for a Duel Spirit,” he said, “take a chef along. He’ll know vat bait to use…

“Vant to catch a Draconic Knight? Pastrami.”

He walked up to the door and held up another card. A Blast With Chain materialized on the lock.

“Now… Ze powerful cards inside zis vault vill surrender zemselves to me… And I’ll prove my worth at last…”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Aw, heck,” laughed Emma. “Why not bring your Deck Lord out too? The more the merrier, I always say.”

Yumi gestured, and Dark Magician Girl appeared in a shower of motes.

“Ready?” whispered Yumi.

“More than ever,” said Dark Magician Girl’s telepathic voice. “The power I absorbed from King Dragun has made me stronger than ever!”

“And here’s mine!” shouted Emma.

The creature that appeared behind her wasn’t even close to being as attractive as Emma. It was a demonic-looking creature with a huge, exposed brain, a full beard, and black, feathered wings. It wore a long, green robe, and held a long rod with a purple orb on the tip.

“My Deck Lord is Ancient Brain,” she said. “Not very powerful Attack-wise, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders.

“I’d love to explain to you what he’s capable of, but we’re wasting valuable time…”

(Yumi: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Emma: 8,000)

“Game on!” shouted the two duelists.

“I’ll start…” said Emma, making her first draw. “And I summon…”

She placed a card on her Disk.

“Mental Master in Attack Mode!”

A weird Monster materialized in front of her, hovering over the lava. It looked like a brain inside a toaster-sized robotic body, half of which was made of Plexiglas. Two cords were attached to it, with hands on the end. (100/200)

“What the sam-hill?” muttered Yumi.

“I’ll set one card facedown, and that will end my turn,” said Emma, as a facedown card appeared.

Yumi quickly drew a card.

“Sorry, Emma, but I’m not falling for that,” she said. “The facedown card is obviously a Trap, and the weak Monster is bait.

“I’ll defend with this, and that will be all.”

A facedown Monster appeared.

“My move again?” asked Emma, sweetly, drawing a card.

“I summon Mental Protector.”

She played another card, and another weird Monster appeared, this one actually rising up out of the lava. It looked like a blocky, bulky robot made of gold with purple gems in its armor. It had big hands and no legs. (0/2,200)

“Another weak Monster in Attack Mode?” shouted Chelsea. “What is she up to?”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Emma. “I’m only going to sacrifice it, using Mental Master’s effect.

“You see, by paying 800 Life Points and sacrificing a Psychic Monster, except for Mental Master itself, I get to Special Summon a Psychic Monster from my deck, up to Level Four.”

“Psychic Monsters?” said Erik.

“How do you define a Psychic Monster?” asked Sam. “What definition do you use to…”

“Psychic is a Type of Monster, moron!” shouted Emma. “Like Warriors!”

She calmed down a little.

“Sure, they aren’t nearly as numerous as other Types… Even Reptiles have them outnumbered. But they make up for quantity with a great deal of quality!

“So, I pay 800 Life Points and sacrifice Mental Protector…”

Mental Protector vanished into grains of light.

“To summon Psycho Commander!”

Another Monster appeared, just as weird as the last two. From the waist up, it was a humanoid creature wearing army fatigues with a metal grill for a face. From the waist down, it was a saucer-shaped machine, with a large, futuristic cannon. (1,400/800)

“Psycho Commander, attack her Monster!” ordered Emma. “Id Insinuation!”

Waves of wavy, blue energy shot from Psycho Commander’s cannon. Old Vindictive Magician appeared on the card, and was blown to shards.

“I use his effect!” shouted Yumi. “I’ll destroy…”

She looked at the two Monsters.

“…Mental Master!”

Mental Master burst into silvery shards.

Best get rid of her summoner, she thought.

“Id Insinuation?” asked Ren. “I’ve heard of some weird attack names, but…”

“I end my turn,” said Emma.

(Y: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 7,200)

Got to be careful… thought Yumi, drawing a card. I have no idea how these… Psychics work…

But here’s a solution to one problem…

“I play Mystical Space Typhoon!” she shouted. “There goes your Trap Card!”

The Cyclone tore across the field, and Emma’s Trap Card was blown to bits.

“Browning Power?” she asked. “What the heck does that do?”

“It was destroyed,” said Emma. “What difference does it make?”

“Fine,” said Yumi.

She played a card. Valkyria appeared, hovering over the dangerous pit. (1,600/1,800)

“I’ll show you quality,” she said. “Attack her Psycho Commander! Magic illusion!”

Valkyria aimed her staff at Psycho Commander.

“Sorry, Yumi,” said Emma, “but she should have known better. Psycho Commander has a useful effect.

“Whenever it battles another Monster, I can pay up to 500 Life Points. Then the Monster it’s battling loses the same amount of Attack and Defense Points. So I’ll pay 300 of my Life Points.”

Psycho Commander blasted its cannon, and Valkyria screamed as her Attack Points fell to 1,300. She dropped her staff and clutched her head in pain. Then she exploded into pixels.

“Nuts…” muttered Yumi.

“You think your magicians impress me, Yumi?” asked Emma. “Few would argue that a master of mental powers is any less formidable than an archmage. A psychic that hones his skills well can obtain the same level of power that great sorcerers do. In a different way, of course.”

“I set one card facedown and end my turn!” shouted Yumi.

A facedown card materialized.

(Y: 7,900) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 6,900)

“I draw…” said Emma. “And thanks to my Deck Lord, I now gain Life Points equal to half of what I spent in the previous two turns due to the effects of my Psychic Monsters.”

She and Ancient Brain glowed with energy.

“You see, Yumi, psychic powers tend to be exhausting if used repeatedly. This is reflected by the fact that the effects of most Psychic Monsters require a Life Point cost. My Deck Lord helps a bit, as do some other cards in my deck.

“Now I summon Psycho Walld.”

With a wet, slurping noise, a tall creature that looked more-or-less like a humanoid snail with a muscular torso and a spiral shell on its hindquarters appeared. (1,900/1,200)

“Attack Yumi directly!” ordered Emma. “Ego whip!”

A lash of red energy flew from Psycho Walld and struck Yumi, and she yelled in pain.

Emma pointed, and Psycho Commander blasted its mental energy from its cannon. Yumi fell to her knees.

Emma placed a card in her Disk, and a facedown card appeared.

“That should… do for now…” she said.

(Y: 4,600) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 7,450)

* * * * * * * * * *

Jean-Claude stopped to catch his breath. He was in big trouble.

It was his own fault, and he knew it. He should have guessed that the vault had other defenses besides the Draconic Knight.

He didn’t even see it coming. As soon as he picked up one card, a whole mob of Millennium Golems appeared. Fortunately, he could run faster than they could – barely.

He had just made it to a room where they couldn’t follow. No way creatures that big could fit through the door.

He stopped to look at the one card he had gotten out of this. He supposed that one card was better than nothing…

Curses! he thought. Zis is a Ritual Monster! How can I use a Ritual Monster without ze Ritual Spell?

He read the card text. It was very powerful.

Zere must be some vay to use zis… Think, Jean-Claude, think…

He looked at the card again.

Of course!

He looked at the door.

Eh, zey’re still zere. Zey’re enchanted guardians… Zey have ze patience of Job…

So I’ll use my alternate escape route…

He held up a card. It was Dimensionhole.

A portal appeared in mid-air, and he leapt through it.

“Au revoir!” he shouted. “I’m home free!”

* * * * * * * * * *

Yumi slowly got up off the ground.

She drew a card.

She gestured, as her facedown card activated.

“Go, Call of the Haunted!” she shouted.

A coffin rose out of the lava in front of her, and Magician’s Valkyria stepped out again. (1,600/1,800)

“Now, I’ll sacrifice Valkyria…”

Valkyria vanished into grains of light.

“To summon Chaos Command Magician!”

The powerful Chaos Mage appeared in a burst of light. (2,400/1,900)

“Huh?” gasped Emma. “My Commander’s effect can’t defeat a Monster that powerful!”

“Your Commander’s effect won’t work on him at all, actually,” said Yumi. “He’s immune to all Monster effects that target. And there’s nothing that says Psychics are exempt from that rule.”

Emma growled. Her own facedown card lifted.

“I activate Psycho Healing!” she shouted. “This Trap Card grants me 1,000 Life Points for each Psychic I have on the field.”

Psycho Commander, Psycho Walld, and Emma herself glowed with energy.

Yumi frowned.

“Chaos Command Magician, attack Psycho Commander with chaos magic!”

Chaos Command Magician fired his blast, and the Commander was blown into its component parts.

“Weird…” muttered Ren.

(Y: 4,600) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 8,450)

“My move,” muttered Emma.

She drew a card.

“I move Walld to Defense Mode…”

Psycho Walld curled up like a serpent and lay down.

“Then, I summon Clevonce in Attack Mode.”

A burst of ones and zeroes appeared in front of her, and a cackling laughter echoed over the lava pit. The Monster that appeared looked like a harlequin at first glance, but only at first glance. Its limbs and head were not truly connected to its body, and its purple and gold clothing was covered with the pattern of a circuit board. Its visor had the mathematical symbols for “greater than/less than or equal to” on it. (1,200/400)

“Okay, that’s disturbing…” muttered Yumi.

“I end my turn,” said Emma.

Yumi drew a card.

Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, she thought. One successful attack with this guy, and I won’t have to see two of her Psychics again…

She placed it on her Disk.

“I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer!” she shouted.

In a burst of energy, Kycoo appeared, holding his Rosaries. (1,800/700)

“Chaos Command Magician, destroy Psycho Walld!”

The Spellcaster fired his blast, and Psycho Walld exploded into shards.

“Kycoo attack Clevonce! Spell of banishment!”

Kycoo called lightning to his hands.

“Not so fast!” shouted Emma. “Clevonce has a special effect as well. Whenever it’s attacked, I can negate the attack if I pay 800 Life Points!”

Clevonce cackled, and a shield of mental energy formed around it. Kycoo’s spell bounced off of it.

“In that case,” muttered Yumi. “I end my turn…”

I’ll attack it with Chaos Command Magician next turn, she thought. He’s immune to that effect…

(Y: 4,600) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 7,650)

Emma drew.

“I gain 400 Life Points from my Deck Lord,” she said. “Then I play Pot of Greed.

The green jug appeared, and she drew two cards.

“Finally!” shouted Erik. “Finally she uses a card we recognize!”

“I throw two cards facedown, and set one Monster in Defense Mode,” she said.

A facedown Monster and two facedown cards appeared.

“Over to you…”

(Y: 4,600) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 8,050)

“Hurry up, Yumi…” said Ren, as Yumi drew. “We only have twenty minutes before this thing blows its top…”

Yumi looked at the card she had drawn.

“I play Premature Burial!” she shouted.

She played the card, and glowed with red energy as Magician’s Valkyria appeared again. (1,600/1,800)

“Now, she attacks your facedown Monster!”

Valkyria fired a bolt of energy. The Monster that appeared on the card looked like a nutty female professor with an oversized head, wearing a helmet covered with light bulbs. It was blown to pieces.

“That was my Cabalist,” said Emma. “When it’s destroyed, I can pay 800 Life Points to add any Psychic I want from my deck to my hand.”

A card slipped out of her deck, and she took it.

“You’ll need it!” yelled Yumi. “Chaos Command Magician, attack Clevonce!”

The blast of Chaos Magic flew towards Clevonce. The Psychic grinned evilly…

Emma’s facedown card flipped up.

“Activate, Draining Shield!” she shouted.

“No…” gasped Yumi.

The blast hit the invisible shield, and energy flowed into Emma.

“When you run a deck with Psychics, Yumi,” said Emma, “you can never have too much Life Point recovery!”

Yumi clenched her fist.

“Kycoo, you attack Clevonce!” she screamed.

Kycoo cast his spell of banishment. Emma gestured, and Clevonce erected its mental shield again.

“I end my turn…” muttered Yumi, sadly.

(Y: 3,800) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 8,850)

Eighty-eight-fifty Life Points? thought Yumi. How can I win now?

I don’t know if I can…

She closed her eyes for a second.

This was all her fault… She should have recommended running away when Ren told them what Emma could do. But trying to face her was her own idea.

How was she to know that Emma would be this powerful? She was a soldier in a rebellion trying to overthrow a tyrant… It was her responsibility to combat the enemy.

And her plan may well have doomed all of them now…

“My draw…” said Emma.

She drew a card.



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“I gain 800 more Life Points from my Deck Lord.

“Then I activate the Trap Card, Psycho Charge.”

Her facedown card lifted.

“This lets me take three Psychics from my Graveyard, and shuffle them into my deck.”

Mental Master, Psycho Commander, and Psycho Walld slipped out of her Graveyard, and she quickly shuffled her deck.

“Then I get to draw twice.”

She made two draws.

“Now I summon a second Mental Protector…”

Another Protector, much like the first, appeared. (0/2,200)

“Now, there’s something I didn’t tell you about Clevonce…”

“It has another effect?” groaned Yumi.

“Technically, no,” said Emma. “But it is a Tuner Monster.”

Yumi and her five allies gasped in surprise.

“A Tuner Monster?!” they all shouted at once.

“She’s actually going to summon a…” gasped Chelsea.

“I’ve heard about them…” gasped Sam. “I never thought I’d see them…”

“To invoke this great power,” chanted Emma, “I need one Tuner, and five total Levels worth of Monsters… No more, no less…”

Mental Protector and Clevonce started to glow with sparkling light. Then they leapt up into the sky, and the sky turned into a starry field.

“I summon a being from the stars! I tune Clevonce and Mental Protector. Clustering stars form a new force!

“Synchro Summon!

“Behold Magical Android!”

The two Psychics were consumed in the display of stars, and they congealed into a new shape. A tall figure flew out of the ether, this one clearly feminine. She was dressed in a costume that was a cross between robes and armor, all the colors of the rainbow, held an oddly-shaped metal staff in one hand, and a shield shaped like a swirl in the other. (2,400/1,700)

“No… way…” said Ren.

“People…” said Atticus. “Emma is no AI program… There’s no WAY artificial life could ever harness the power of Synchro Monsters! The Spirits of Synchro Monsters would never allow it! They’re powerful and complex beings, and they won’t obey just anyone…”

Emma sighed.

“Yeah, the truth is out…” she said.

Huh? thought Yumi. Her voice just changed… Deeper, and… older…

“I’m not an AI program,” muttered Emma. “I’m fully human.

“I was once a champion Pro League duelist. And I was just as beautiful then as what you see here. My opponents feared and respected me for my ability to use the rare Psychic Monsters, and the even rarer Synchro Monsters. I was a terror… If it had continued, I might have been Queen of Games myself…”

“So what happened?” asked Erik.

“I turned forty!” shouted Emma.

She sighed.

“Duel Monsters is a male-dominated game, you know that? Female duelists only get respect if they’re hot.

“What was I supposed to do? Do what Mai Valentine did and join an evil cult that used cursed magic in order to be noticed? Or perhaps I had to do what Alexis Rhodes did, and disappear without a trace after traveling on a plane that crashed?

“When my hair started to turn grey, and wrinkles started to form, I started to lose the respect. Cosmetic surgery can only do so much, and is so costly… How I envied Emma Frost… She and other female characters in comic books… They not only have beauty, their beauty is eternal. Comic book characters are ageless.

“I was about to stop dueling professionally and try teaching, when Daala contacted me with an offer that was too good to refuse. I only had to come to Xanadu, where my beauty would be just as eternal as the true Emma Frost, and I’d receive real psychic powers. All I had to do was serve in her army, and use psionic surgery on any other member of her army that needed it.”

“Oh, come on…”said Ren. “That’s…”

He stopped short.

“Actually, that’s a pretty sweet deal… It sure beats teaching…”

“Whose side are you on?” asked Sam, with a frown.

“But anyway,” said Emma, taking a card from her hand, “I have no regrets… None at all. I’d been a duelist all my life… It’s what I was, and there was no changing it. If I had to become evil to continue playing the game I loved, and get respect while doing it, then consider this my path to Hell. I made my choice, and I’m sticking with it.

“I play the Equip Spell, Synchro Hero! This gives my Monster 500 more Attack Points, and increases its Level by one.”

Magical Android rose to an Attack Score of 2,900.

“Attack Magician’s Valkyria! Psychic Storm!”

Magical Android’s eyes glowed, and a storm of energy surrounded her. A tornado of pulsating, crackling energy shot towards Magician’s Valkyria. She screamed right before she was atomized.

“So much for her…” muttered Emma, as a facedown card appeared. “I throw one card facedown. I end my turn, which means Magical Android’s effect activates. I gain 600 Life Points for each Psychic Monster I have. I only have Magical Android herself, but every little bit helps.”

(Y: 2,500) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 10,250)

“My move…” growled Yumi.

She drew a card.

“I sacrifice both my Monsters…”

Chaos Command Magician and Kycoo vanished into grains of light.

“Come on out, Dark Magician!”

In a flourish, Dark Magician appeared, and brandished his staff.

The Mouto family signature Monster! thought Emma, opening her eyes wide. Oh… When I was on the Pro League, I dreamed of facing him…

“Now, I play Rush Recklessly!” shouted Yumi, playing a card.

Dark Magician’s Attack Score rose to 3,200.

“Destroy Magical Android!” she commanded. “Dark Magic Attack!”

Dark Magician fired his mighty blast, and Magical Android screamed. The Psychic exploded into triangles.

“You made a big mistake, Yumi!” shouted Emma. “By destroying my Psychic Monster, you triggered my most powerful Trap!”

Her facedown card lifted.

“Telekinetic Force!”

Another wave of psychic energy shot towards Yumi’s side of the field, but this time it came from Emma herself. A wave of mental beams shot from her forehead, striking Dark Magician. He exploded into shards.

“Dark Magician!” screamed Yumi.

“My Trap not only destroys the Monster that destroyed mine,” said Emma, “but the base Attack Score of your Monster goes into my Life Points. It’s Sakuretsu Armor and Draining Shield all in one handy card!”

Yumi seethed with rage. She threw a card into her Disk, and a facedown card appeared.

(Y: 2,500) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 12,450)

* * * * * * * * * *

In Daala’s throne room, Daala and the Otohime were viewing a screen. A young teenager in a very familiar-looking outfit was standing by a stable part of the Flaming Peaks.

Vita was still pinned to the wall behind them, still held prisoner by the fiendish shackles. And she wasn’t very happy. Apparently, the Holding Arms and Holding Legs were actual Duel Spirits, but they could best be described as mindless. They couldn’t be reasoned with, so she was weighing her other options.

After all, Daala wasn’t paying much attention to her right now.

“Are you in position Hiroki?” asked Daala.

“Oh yes,” said the young man. “They got sidetracked by Emma, but they should be coming by here in an hour or so.”

“Just remember, stay with the plan,” replied Daala. “Don’t get carried away. Your deck was hard enough to program, and we can’t afford to screw up at this stage.”

“Don’t worry,” said the young man. “This duel will be a pleasure.”

Otohime frowned.

“I don’t like this…” she muttered. “If anyone should take down Erik, it should be me…”

Daala looked at her.

“Don’t forget the conditions we set,” she said. “You handle Erik if no-one else can handle him.”

“I kind of hoped I would take a more hands-on approach,” said the Spirit Monster.

Daala frowned.

“Watanabe…” she said. “Do you know why I recruited you, made you a member of my inner circle, and gave you the blessings of the Core? Like all members of my inner circle, I was looking for individuals who had information on Yumi’s allies, and motives to use that information against them.

“As far as Erik was concerned, you were not the only one I approached. There were a lot of folks in Domino who didn’t like him… Mostly tournament duelists who were humiliated by losing to someone using a Toy Deck…”

“And you’re saying I wasn’t humiliated by him?” shouted the Otohime. “I worked for years trying to get my tenure, only to lose my chance at it because of that brat!”

“True,” said Daala. “And that’s likely why you, and no-one else I approached regarding him was willing to abandon her life on Earth, as well as her humanity, in order to take the position. I didn’t force you Watanabe, but you agreed, and you now must follow all the conditions.

“You will continue to act as a member of my ruling council. Most members of my army would kill for that chance. And you will act as my advisor for any matter regarding him.

“Because… If you went back to Earth now, you’d soon realize that there are even fewer career opportunities for an Otohime, than there are for a teacher who doesn’t have tenure…”

Vita smirked.

So, the members of your inner circle have names, huh? she thought. And apparently, this Otohime used to be human…

Seems you and your partner have been more than willing to share the method in which such a situation can be arranged…

Very interesting… Very interesting indeed…

* * * * * * * * * *

The lava was starting to boil even fiercer. Yumi’s friends backed away from the edge until their backs were against the wall.

“I’ll never eat lobster again…” gasped Ren.

“We may not have a choice in the matter,” said Chelsea. “It doesn’t look good for Yumi right now…”

Emma drew a card.

“I summon Power Injector,” she said.

The Monster that appeared was both bizarre and ugly. It looked like Frankenstein’s monster, complete with bolts in its head, with a thick torso dressed in a blue jacket. On its forearms were two odd objects that looked like crosses between cannons and tanks full of bubbling red liquid. (1,300/1,400)

“I’ve seen stronger,” said Yumi.

“Don’t you realize by now that my Monsters all have special powers?” asked Emma. “Power Injector is no different. Every round, if I pay 500 Life Points, it can increase the Attack Points of all Psychics on my side of the field by 500 points.

“And since Power Injector itself is a Psychic…”

Power Injector glowed with energy, and its Attack Score rose to 1,800.

“Attack Yumi directly!”

Power Injector aimed one of its cannons at Yumi, and a blast of foul liquid shot at her…

“Not so fast!” shouted Yumi. “I have a Draining Shield of my own!”

Her facedown card lifted, and the invisible shield surrounded her for a change. She glowed as energy fed into her.

(Y: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 11,950)

“What’s the point, Yumi?” asked Emma. “I have almost three times as many Life Points as you. Why don’t you just give up?

“Tell you what… Just deactivate your Duel Disk, and surrender, and neither you nor your friends will die. I’ll just send you to Daala like any other losers. Surely, being prisoners is better than being dead, right?”

Yumi sighed.

Maybe I should… she thought.

She started to lift her left hand.

“Don’t you dare!” screamed Sam.

“Huh?” said Yumi.

“I’m with Sam, Yumi,” yelled Ren. “It isn’t better. I’d rather go down in the history books of Xanadu as having gone down fighting than having given up.”

“Excuse me, but can someone tell me where Yumi went?” asked Chelsea. “Cause she seems to have gone away and left behind someone who would consider giving up!”

“But…” muttered Yumi, closing her eyes. “But what if I fail?”

“Weren’t you even paying attention an hour ago?” asked Chelsea. “Marie had me in this exact same situation! I wouldn’t have been half the duelist I am today without you, Yumi. If I can reverse a situation like this, then you sure can.”

Yumi opened her eyes. Why hadn’t that occurred to her?

She glared at Emma.

“You were playing with my mind, weren’t you?” she asked. “You’ve been using your powers to inflict subtle manipulation this whole duel to psyche me out, haven’t you?”

“I most certainly have not!” snapped Emma.

Yumi glared at her.

“Are you clairvoyant too?” she asked. “Can you see through my eyes and spy on my hand of cards?”

Emma laughed.

“You credit me with powers I clearly don’t have,” she chuckled.

“Well, whether you do or don’t,” said Yumi, “I just got my second wind back… Time to turn this around!

“Draw!”

She drew a card.

“I play Monster Reborn! Dark Magician, return!”

The golden ankh appeared, and Dark Magician appeared in a burst of light. (2,500/2,100)

“Next, I’ll set this in Defense Mode.”

A facedown Monster appeared.

Yumi turned to Dark Magician Girl.

“It’s time,” she said.

Dark Magician Girl nodded. Then she flew above Yumi, glowing with eldritch energy.

“Soul Circle!” she chanted.

“After so many battles, and so much power gained,” said Yumi, “Dark Magician Girl now has a Deck Lord ability that equals the one she had when she was my grandmother’s Deckmaster in Noah’s world.

“I now get to draw cards equal to the number of Spellcaster Monsters in my Graveyard, so long as I stop drawing when I reach the legal hand size limit.”

The images of Old Vindictive Magician, Magician’s Valkyria, Chaos Command Magician, and Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer appeared behind her. They faded away, and she quickly drew four cards. She looked them over.

“I’ll set one of them facedown…”

A facedown card appeared.

“Then I’ll attack with Dark Magician!”

Dark Magician’s Dark Magic Attack struck Power Injector, blowing it to particles.

“Heh, heh, heh,” chuckled Emma. “My Life Points are so high, I barely felt a thing!”

“I end my turn,” said Yumi.

(Y: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 11,250)

Emma drew a card.

She smiled a wicked smile.

“I gain 250 Life Points from my first Deck Lord ability,” she said. “Then I activate my other Deck Lord ability. I can only use it once per duel. I get to Special Summon from my Deck or Graveyard a high-Level Psychic Monster. If I wanted to, I could bring Magical Android back. But, since this effect costs me Life Points equal to half its base Attack Score, I’m going to summon someone from my deck that isn’t as strong.

“So I’ll pay 1,150 Life Points to summon my Storm Summoner.”

As the creature appeared, it was clear that “Storm Summoner” was a good name for it, because its arrival started a windstorm. It was a bulky, muscular, partially mechanical creature that wore a helmet-harness combination that held a generator of some sort above its head. (2,300/2,000)

“Next, I play the Spell Card, Emergency Teleport. This lets me Special Summon a Psychic Monster from my hand. Of course, it will be removed from play at the end of my turn…

“So… I summon Psycho Jumper.”

In a blast of electricity, a new creature appeared. It was an incredibly gaunt humanoid, with pale, white skin, and claws on its hands and bare feet, wearing a brown trenchcoat, black leather pants covered with belts, no shirt, punk glasses, and two headbands covered with spikes. All of its clothing was covered with electrodes, which sparked with energy. (100/1,500)

“…but that isn’t going to happen. You see, Psycho Jumper is also a Tuner, and Magical Android isn’t the only Synchro Monster I have…”

“Another Synchro Summon?” gasped Ren.

“The Levels of those two Monsters add up to… Eight!” shouted Sam. “Whatever she’s summoning is probably the strongest Monster in her deck!”

“Oh, trust me, it is!” laughed Emma.

Psycho Jumper and Clevonce flew into the sky again, and the stars appeared around it again.

“Now I summon a dark star,” she chanted. “I Tune Psycho Jumper and Storm Summoner. Clustering stars form a force from the dark side! Synchro Summon!

“Come forth… Mental Sphere Demon!”

This time, the two Monsters were consumed in violet flames. The flames congealed into a much bigger, and much more frightening form.

It landed, and it certainly did look like a demon. It had a bony carapace, diabolical horns, claws, demonic wings, and a long, snaky tail.

It let out a bellowing roar… (2,700/2,300)

“Looks like someone gave my grandpa’s Summoned Skull a makeover,” muttered Yumi.

“He’s no Fiend,” chuckled Emma. “He’s all Psychic. And just like the leader of your precious rebellion, the Attack Points of any Monster he destroys are added to my Life Points.

“So… Time to start gaining them… Attack Dark Magician! Psionic Crush!”

The sky darkened, and Mental Sphere Demon’s eyes started to glow. The air started to warp.

“Not this time, sister!” shouted Yumi. “I activate… Magic Cylinder!”

Her facedown card lifted.

“Pointless,” chuckled Emma. “My Demon has another ability. When he’s targeted by a Spell or Trap Card, I can pay 1,000 Life Points to negate it.”

The Demon gestured, and Magic Cylinder exploded.

“I won’t let you destroy him…” said Yumi though her teeth.

She quickly discarded a card.

As the attack started again, Sorcerer of Dark Magic appeared in front of Dark Magician in a phantasmal form. He blocked with his arms, and he strained against the attack. Then, he shattered, but Dark Magician was safe.

“What?” said Emma.

“I used another of my Deck Lord abilities,” muttered Yumi. “Martyr Shield. If a Spellcaster Monster is attacked, I can discard a Spellcaster who’s a higher Level than the target to negate the attack. Sorcerer of Dark Magic is two Levels higher than Dark Magician. And since Deck Lord abilities count as Monster effects, your Demon couldn’t use his effect to negate it.”

Emma frowned, and took the last card in her hand.

“I summon Teleki-Attacker,” she said.

A new Psychic appeared in a burst of electrical energy. It looked like a man in a red suit with black pants, and a spherical glass helmet that covered its entire head. (1,700/700)

(Y: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 9,350)

“My draw!” shouted Yumi, drawing a card.

She looked at it.

“I throw one card facedown,” she said, as a facedown card appeared. “Then I set a Monster in Defense Mode.”

A facedown Monster appeared.

“Next, I play the Spell Card, Dedication Through Light and Darkness. This lets me trade in my Dark Magician for someone better.”

Dark Magician vanished in a dark shadow, and the mighty Dark Magician of Chaos appeared. (2,800/2,600)

Yumi’s discard slot glowed, and Monster Reborn slipped out.

I’ll save this, she thought.

“Attack her Mental Sphere Demon!” ordered Yumi. “Scepter strike!”

Dark Magician of Chaos twirled his staff, and a burning beam of magic shot towards the monstrous Psychic. He groaned as it hit him.

“I activate Teleki-Attacker’s effect!” screamed Emma. “If one of my Psychics would be destroyed, I can pay 500 Life Points, and Teleki-Attacker is destroyed instead!”

Teleki-Attacker exploded into shards.

“Fine,” said Yumi. “My turn is over. And my Monster is still stronger than yours.”

(Y: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 8,750)

“I draw!” shouted Emma. “Then I gain 750 Life Points from my Deck Lord…

“Then I play Pot of Avarice!”

The goofy jar appeared, and Psycho Commander, Cabalist, Psycho Walld, Clevonce, and Magical Android slipped out of her discard slot. She shuffled them into her deck, and drew twice.

“I’m taking down your Magician,” she said with a smirk. “One theory in the comic books says that the mutant race is an evolutionary offshoot of humanity. And to illustrate that, I play the Equip Spell, Evolution of Mankind!

“But I’m not Equipping it to my Monster… I’m Equipping it to yours.”

She played the card, and Dark Magician of Chaos groaned. His Attack Score fell to 1,000.

“What happened?” gasped Yumi.

“Evolution of Mankind has two effects,” explained Emma. “Which one depends on whether I’m winning or losing. If my Life Points were lower than yours, the Equipped Monster’s Attack Score would become 2,400. But since mine are higher, it becomes 1,000. And that cuts your Magician down to size.

“Attack! Psionic Crush!”

The air started to warp again…

“Go, Dust Tornado!” shouted Yumi.

“Huh?” said Emma.

Yumi’s Trap Card flipped up, and the tornado tore across the field, blowing Evolution of Mankind to pieces. Dark Magician of Chaos shot back up to 2,800 Attack Points…

He aimed his staff at Mental Sphere Demon, and Yumi’s allies cheered as the beast exploded in a blast that sent flames flying skyward.

“Ergh…” muttered Emma.

“Your Demon is destroyed,” muttered Yumi. “And due to my Monster’s effect, he won’t be coming back.”

“I beg to differ!” growled Emma.

She played the last card in her hand.

“Since I didn’t summon this turn, I can play Reality Revision. On my next turn, not only will my Demon be back, but he’ll be Level Nine and have 500 more Attack Points.

“And it’s your move. Attack me… I don’t care…”

(Y: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 9,400)

Yumi drew a card.

It’s now or never… she thought.

One of her two facedown Monsters flipped up.

“I Flip-Summon Crystal Seer,” she said, as the veiled gypsy appeared. (100/100)

She quickly took the top two cards off of her deck, and looked at them. She placed one on the bottom of her deck.

“Now, I sacrifice her and my facedown Monster to summon Cosmo Queen!”

Crystal Seer and the facedown Monster vanished, and the powerful Empress appeared. She gave Emma a stern look. (2,900/2,450)

“Now, I use Monster Reborn!”

The ankh appeared for the second time, and Dark Magician appeared once again. (2,500/2,100)

Emma laughed.

“Go ahead!” she dared. “Attack me with all three of them! I’ll still have Life Points left, and when my Demon comes back next turn, I’ll just start regaining them!”

“2,900 plus 2,500 plus 2,800…” muttered Yumi, counting. “Gee, I think you’re right…”

“Ain’t that a shame…” mocked Emma. “And you have no cards left in your hand… No-one else you can summon…”

Yumi gave her a dirty look.

“Wrong…” she said, quietly.

“I pay 1,000 of my Life Points! Dark Magician Girl, move to the field!”

“With pleasure…” said Dark Magician Girl, as she floated forward. (2,000/1,700)

Emma stepped back in surprise.

“Wait a minute…” she gasped.

“Cosmo Queen,” ordered Yumi, “Cosmic Nova!”

Cosmo Queen fired a blast of black, sparking energy, and hit Emma in the stomach. She groaned and keeled over.

“Dark Magician of Chaos, scepter strike!”

The chaos mage slammed his scepter to the ground, sending a shockwave that caught Emma in its path. She took a step backwards.

“Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!”

Dark Magician cast his lethal spell, and Emma screamed in pain.

“Dark Magician Girl… Finish her off…”

Dark Magician Girl flew up to Emma, and cast one final Dark Burning Attack. Emma groaned…

(Y: 3,400) - - - - - - - - - - (E: 0)

Yumi’s Monster’s vanished; all except for Dark Magician Girl. She pointed her scepter at Ancient Brain, and the Fiend screamed before bursting into black shards.

Smoke was pouring from Emma Frost’s body, but miraculously, she was still standing. She looked like she was going to fall at any second, however.

“She looks kind of dizzy,” said Ren.

“What do you expect?” asked Sam. “She just took 10,300 points of damage from direct attacks! I’m surprised she’s still alive!”

“Uh, she may not be in a minute…” added Atticus.

Everyone saw what he meant. She was teetering on the edge of the stone island she was standing on.

“NO!” screamed Yumi. “Someone catch her before she falls!”

Dark Magician Girl quickly flew towards Emma, in an attempt to do just that…

It seemed too late. Emma started to fall into the lava…

Then, to everyone’s shock, a pair of huge hands reached out of the lava itself and caught her. They gently placed her back up on the island. Dark Magician Girl let out a cry of surprise and backed off.

“What in the name of…” gasped Atticus.

Emma slowly came to as the whole creature emerged from the lava. It was a giant, standing over twenty feet tall, muscular and broad, wearing only a kilt, with strange tattoos on his arms. Instead of hair, his scalp was awash with flames.

Dark Magician Girl backed away towards Yumi in fear…

“Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi?” exclaimed Sam.

“Let me guess…” said Yumi. “Your ally…”

“Yeah…” growled Emma. “Also my bodyguard and heavy lifter. Not to mention the only guy in Xanadu who knows how to prepare Abyssal coffee so mortals are able to drink it. Good stuff.

“By the way, Yumi, I lied when I said that beating me would make me leave… Most members of Daala’s army who lose are locked up. But Daala gave me a very sweet deal, as you already know. Since a psionic surgeon is such a valuable commodity, she said she’d forgive me for one loss.

“Unfortunately, since you forced me to use it up, my friend here is gonna deal with you in a far less formal manner.

“Turn them to paste!”

Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi cracked his knuckles.

Yumi gestured, and Dark Magician Girl vanished.

“You want a fight, big guy?” she asked. “Well… We’ll see what we can do about that…”

Her eyes glowed with intense light…

Then the lava started to bubble again. A claw burst out of it on Yumi’s side…

The whole creature pulled itself up out of the lava. It was a huge, hulking, flaming, almost reptilian creature with a fiendish face, and it was just as big as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi.

It looked at the Spirit Monster and roared. Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi sneered at it.

“Volcanic Doomfire??” gasped Erik.

“Makes sense,” said Atticus. “You fight fire with fire, and you fight giant Fire Monsters with giant Fire Monsters.”

The two titans roared with rage and charged at each other. Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi tackled the creature, only to receive a punch to jaw. The Spirit Monster punched Doomfire back in the snout.

Geysers of lava started to erupt around them. Yumi started to panic as she looked around the island she was stranded on.

Atticus threw a card on his Disk, and the giant form of Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared.

“Move, move, move!” he shouted to everyone. “Move while she’s distracted! This volcano is about to blow its top!”

The Dragon bent down, allowing the five humans to climb on its back.

“Grab Yumi and let’s get out of here!” shouted Atticus.

Red-Eyes roared, and spread its wings. It turned towards the human in the middle of the lake…

A sign of recognition appeared in its eyes as it flew off the ledge… It clearly knew someone whom the human female was related to…

But before it was halfway, an explosion of flames erupted around the island, and Yumi vanished.

“NOOO!” screamed Chelsea.

Then a second explosion nearly knocked them off their mount. Red-Eyes turned away and flew to safety, leaving the erupting volcano and the two angry Monsters behind.

* * * * * * * * * * *

They were a good mile from the dangerous volcano now. They could clearly see the lava cascading down its sides.

They didn’t even know what happened to Emma at this point, and they really didn’t care. They were too busy sobbing. They hadn’t spoken a word since Red-Eyes had landed.

They were startled as a voice called them to awareness.

“So, how long are you going to be crying? Gimme a ballpark so I can plan my day.”

They looked up. They thought they were hallucinating at first. Yumi was standing there, her clothes burnt and her hair and skin singed, but alive.

“How…” muttered Sam.

Then they noticed that Yumi wasn’t alone. A very large Monster was behind her.

“I’m not sure…” said Yumi. “But, uhm… I think it had something to do with her.”

The Monster looked like a giant bird of some sort, with golden armor and wings. A plume of flame surrounded its head.

“Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!” gasped Atticus.

“Yeah…” muttered Yumi. “I kinda blacked out, and… Well, next thing I knew, she was carrying me here in her talons.”

She looked at the huge Winged Beast.

“We can’t thank you enough…” she started.

Then she was interrupted as a telepathic voice echoed in their heads. It was powerful, stern, and clearly feminine.

“You’re welcome,” it said. “But far worse matters are at hand, and I can not save you from them when they come to pass.

“Heed my words, and take every step through this fiery wasteland with care. The destructive side of fire has been given life in the most horrible way. She cannot be born unless she first dies, and before she dies, three have to die first, and two of those must surrender their souls to her terrible hunger. But when she is finally born, beware, for whatever barrier you erected to keep her back will not hold…”

The humans stared at the huge Duel Spirit. The Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys spread her wings, and flew into the sky, leaving a trail of flames in her wake.

“Anyone have any idea what exactly that meant?” asked Erik.

Everyone else shrugged.

Yumi watched Nephthys leave, and she held her chin with worry.

First Horus… she thought. Now Nephthys… And both had ominous warnings that we can’t make out…

This is getting serious…

* * * * * * * * * *

REALITY REVISION (Spell Card)

Continuous Spell

Image: Magical Android flying out of the Dimensional Fissure, glowing with energy.

Card Description: You cannot Normal Summon, set, or Special Summon a Monster on the turn you play this card. Upon activation, select one of your Psychic Monsters that has been removed from play. On your first Standby Phase after playing this card, if it remains on the field, Special Summon the selected Monster, and increase its ATK by 500 and its Level by one. Then, destroy this card.


All other new cards in this chapter were released in “The Duelist Genesis”, due out for the TCG in August (except “Power Injector”, “Psycho Jumper”, and “Storm Summoner” which are part of the next set, “Crossroads of Chaos”). English names are subject to change.

For anyone who wants to know, “Browning Power” does the same thing as “Solemn Judgment”, except it cannot negate a Flip-Summon, and instead of paying half your Life Points, you must sacrifice one Psychic Monster.


Yumi’s Deck Lord: “Dark Magician Girl”: “Soul Circle”: Once per duel, you can draw cards from your deck equal to the number of Spellcaster-Type Monsters in your Graveyard. You must stop drawing cards when your hand size reaches the current hand size limit. (Greater Power) “Martyr Shield”: If a face-up Spellcaster-Type Monster you control is targeted by an attack, you can discard a Spellcaster-Type Monster from your hand that is a greater Level than the attack target to negate the attack. This effect may be used once per turn. (Intermediate Power) “Spellcaster Shuffle”: Once per round, you can send one Spellcaster-Type Monster in your hand to your deck. Then, take a Spellcaster-Type Monster from your deck that is at least two Levels lower than the one you sent back to your deck, and add it to your hand. Then, shuffle your deck. (Minor Power)


Emma’s Deck Lord: “Ancient Brain”: “Psionic Surgery”: During your Standby Phase, increase your Life Points by half of what you paid since your previous Standby Phase for the effects of Psychic-Type Monsters. (Greater Power) “Probability Traveler”: Once per duel, you may Special Summon a Psychic-Type Monster from your deck or Graveyard that is Level Five or higher. You must pay Life Points equal to half the base ATK of the Special Summoned Monster. The Special Summoned Monster’s effect(s) cannot be used. (Intermediate Power)

* * * * * * * * * *

Coming up next:

Daala’s plans hit a snag, as Jean-Claude, the errant chef turned thief, takes a moment to ponder his plunder. Anxious to use the prize he pilfered, he confronts Yumi’s group, and Atticus steps forward to face the thieving card sneak. The legacy of the Rhodes siblings continues in Xanadu, and fortunately, Nightshroud isn’t around to interfere.

“Special of the Day” is coming up next.


Name that Card!

Zane’s Cyber Tails Deck combined Machines with Dragons for brutal and powerful combinations. His original deck, while using mostly Machines, had one Dragon in it, even thought he did not summon it in any duel we witnessed. Can you name it?

[mario72486]

It's nice to see you're sticking with it after everything that has been said. I suppose every writer faces this kind of criticism at some time or another. I'm not sure if I want to take sides in this conflict, since it'd be the perfect way to make an enemy or two around here. Just know that, while there are haters out there, there are also those who have your back.

Hopefully we can all get through this without another outburst...

On to the chapter itself. I can see what you mean about this chapter being a challenge - using the newest type of card and introducing the newest 'tribe' to the game. Methinks you handled the Psychics (and this duel, for that matter) nicely. If you choose to use more Synchro monsters in the future, I'll be looking forward to it.

As for the warnings from Horus and Sacred Phoenix Nephthys, I'm starting to have a hunch as to the monster(s) they're referring to. I'll keep my mouth shut on that subject, since I'd rather be surprised like most others reading along...

[Dark Sage]

What Dragon did Zane have in his original deck? If you said “Kaiser Glider”, you were successfully able to Name that Card!



In his heyday, Atticus Rhodes, the older of the two Rhodes siblings, had many admirable qualities. He was charming, knowledgeable, popular with the ladies, and above all, a pretty good duelist. In his class at the original Duel Academy, he was likely right behind his close friend Zane Truesdale in terms of skill.

Unfortunately, this was what drew the attention of the demonic being known as Nightshroud. Using trickery, this being abducted Atticus, and buried his consciousness in a remote part of his mind. Then Nightshroud used his body as a vessel to extend his will in the mortal world, as he wasn’t yet strong enough to manifest his true form.

Fortunately, when Nightshroud first decided to strike as one of the Shadow Riders, he made a mistake that many who faced Jaden Yuki did at that point – underestimating him. Jaden defeated him, and Atticus was freed from his control.

Nightshroud returned, twice possessing Atticus again, once in another, more willing vessel, and eventually in his true form. The last time, his defeat was apparently final, and he has not been seen since.

And what of Atticus? He went on to become a great duelist in the Pro League, until the tragic accident where he and many of Jaden’s other allies vanished and were presumed dead.

I know all this, because I’m a copy of the duelist who bore Nightshroud on his shoulders. His memories are programmed into my head, as are his skills and personality. Joan knew the potential he had, and gave Atticus a new life in Xanadu. My purpose is to oppose Daala and her minions…

One of them just showed up… So what am I waiting for?

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE



Special of the Day

“Is it much farther, Atticus?” asked Erik.

“Not much,” replied their guide. “We should be able to see it in about an hour.

“Although, the Realm Lord’s fortress is not unguarded. Several Fire Monsters patrol the outskirts. But getting past them isn’t usually a problem…”

“So, Atticus,” said Yumi, “you actually have three Red-Eyes in your deck?”

Atticus nodded.

“I know the story behind the card,” he said. “Pegasus originally designed Red-Eyes as a symbolic rival of the more powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Originally, both cards were going to be given a limited release.

“But for some reason, that was only the case with Red-Eyes. It was given a limited release, making it a very rare card, while only four copies total of its rival, the prototypes, were ever made.

“Heck, according to some stories, Red-Eyes didn’t get along very well with Dark Magician either, the more prominent rival of the Blue-Eyes, making it a three-way rivalry…”

“And making the situation between my two grandfathers and Seto Kaiba even stranger than it already was,” replied Yumi.

“Exactly,” continued Atticus. “Now, when you look at it, Red-Eyes isn’t all that special as far as cards go. It’s Level Seven, no effect, and many Level Six Monsters are stronger. Even Blue-Eyes is outclassed nowadays. Seems that Monsters with 3,000 Attack Points or more are turning up all over the place.

“But since Red-Eyes was more common than its rival, it got some help. Accessory cards began to be made, more special edition and limited release cards for anyone lucky enough to own one.”

“Like Lord of the Red,” said Yugi.

“That’s only one example,” replied Atticus. “There are many more. And pretty soon…”

“Ergh!” shouted Erik.

He clutched his head.

“What?” shouted Sam. “What is it baby?”

“He’s having one of his visions!” answered Yumi. “It’s been so long since he’s had one.”

Erik concentrated.

“No…” he whispered.

“What was it baby?” asked Sam.

Erik looked at Sam.

“It was too foggy, Sam…” he said. “I… I couldn’t see it clearly…”

He looked at Sam sadly.

He was lying. He had seen Sam dueling, and saw her taking a very powerful direct attack. But he couldn’t see just what the Monster or her opponent was.

“I think…” he said.

He paused. He sniffed the air.

“That’s funny… I could swear that the smell of brimstone that we’ve been taking in suddenly changed to grilled shrimp.”

Everyone sniffed the air.

“I smell it too, Erik,” said Yumi. “Someone is grilling jumbo shrimp around here…”

“There!” shouted Ren.

He pointed down a side pathway, towards a rocky depression. Jean-Claude was standing by a hibachi grill, casually grilling food.

Atticus carefully led them down the pathway.

“Bonjour, Monsieurs,” he said. “A nice day, is it not?”

“Hardly,” replied Sam. “And this really isn’t the place for a barbecue. Who the heck are you?”

“I am Jean-Claude Rousseau!” he exclaimed.

He placed his spatula on the grill table, and then picked up a Duel Disk.

“And I am a duelist of a different taste entirely. One vith abilities you could not imagine!”

“Give me a break,” sighed Erik. “What are you, Daala’s chef?”

Jean-Claude glared at him.

“Think you know everything, smarty pants?” asked Jean-Claude. “Vy don’t you duel me, and zen maybe you’ll believe?”

“Oh, I just think I will,” chuckled Erik.

“Stand aside, Erik,” said Atticus. “Save your energy for the big guy. I’ll handle this Emeril Lagasse wannabe.”

He placed his deck in his Disk, and it activated.

“Very well, Monsieur Rhodes,” said Jean-Claude, rolling the grill to the side. “Today, I serve up a multi-course banquet of pain on a silver platter!”

“Bring it on!” laughed Atticus. “I was feeling a little hungry for some action anyway!”

He tossed the Cold Wave card to Yumi.

“Use that before the heat starts getting to you again.”

“Not necessary, Atticus,” said Sam. “I have it covered…”

She concentrated, and an aura of cold energy started to radiate from her body. Everyone moved closer to her.

“Refreshing,” said Erik. “Keep it up, baby.”

(Atticus: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Jean-Claude: 8,000)

“Here goes,” said Atticus, drawing a card.

He looked at it. He smirked slightly, and then chose another one.

“I summon… This! The Red-Eyes Wyvern!”

In a burst of shadow, a black-scaled Dragon appeared in front of him. It looked much like a smaller version of the more famous Dragon, only with no front legs. (1,800/1,600)

Sam noticed that Yumi was writing something down in a notebook.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Taking notes,” said Yumi, “in case I ever want to make a deck using my grandpa Joey’s Red-Eyes. If I know how Atticus’s cards work, they’ll help.

“Of course, the hard part will be getting two more copies of Red-Eyes itself…”

“There’ll be harder parts than that,” said Atticus. “Some of the cards in this deck are even rarer than Red-Eyes.

“I’ll set two facedown cards, and that will be all.”

Two facedown cards appeared.

“Oui, oui,” said Jean-Claude, making a draw. “Time for an appetizer…

“I summon Mad Lobster.”

It a burst of watery bubbles, a very large lobster appeared. It had huge pincers, and a skull for a head. (1,700/1,000)

“You like lobster, monsieur?”

“I prefer steak,” replied Atticus.

“Zen perhaps I’ll make you one out of zat Dragon!” laughed Jean-Claude, playing a card. “I play Banner of Courage. Now, for my Battle Phase only, my Monsters gain 200 Attack Points.

“Mad Lobster, attack his Monster at once!”

Mad Lobster lifted its pincers, and clapped them together. Its Attack Score rose to 1,900. It scuttled towards Red-Eyes Wyvern.

“Did you actually think these facedown cards didn’t do anything?” asked Atticus, as one facedown card lifted. “I activate Dragon’s Heart!”

He took his deck from its holder.

“By choosing three Dragons from my deck, and sending them to the Graveyard, this Spell Card gives one of my Dragons on the field a power surge.”

He discarded a Cave Dragon, Attachment Dragon, and a Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Red-Eyes Wyvern glowed with energy, and rose to an Attack Score of 2,800.

It blasted a stream of scorching fire from its jaws, and Mad Lobster shrieked before exploding into pixels.

“That lobster just got boiled,” chuckled Ren.

“Curses…” growled Jean-Claude. “I’ll set a facedown card of my own, and end my turn.”

A facedown card appeared in front of him.

(A: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 7,100)

“My move…” said Atticus, drawing a card.

“And I summon Hunter Dragon!”

He played the card, and a smallish dragon with blades on its wings, tail, and chin appeared. (1,700/100)

“Now I’ve got something for you to sample,” he said. “Two direct attacks!

“Hunter Dragon, you first!”

Hunter Dragon leapt into the air and did a somersault, lashing its bladed tail at the chef. It slammed into him.

“Sacré bleu!” exclaimed Jean-Claude, clutching his chest.

“Wyvern, you’re up!” shouted Atticus.

Red-Eyes Wyvern exhaled a stream of flames, and Jean-Claude grunted as he shielded himself.

(A: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 3,600)

“Look, Frenchie,” chuckled Atticus, “I think I know what’s happening here… You’re some wannabe duelist who wants to get Daala’s favor by trying to win this duel. Well, in my opinion, you’re doing lousy. Why don’t you just give up now, and keep what little pride you have?”

“You know nothing about me, Monsieur Rhodes,” growled Jean-Claude. “If you did, you’d know zat I lost all ze pride I had a long time ago. Zis duel is my only way to get it back.

“I’m an AI program like you, modeled after ze chef that Daala’s father used to have. I didn’t exist in Xanadu for an hour before she told me to make her a roast beef sandwich. And zen she complained zat I had used regular mustard instead of ze spicy kind.

“I work and slave all day over a hot stove for her and ze members of her inner circle. Zey make demands over and over again, running me to exhaustion. For creatures who don’t need to eat, zey eat too much!

“I’ve burned all my bridges by coming here, and zis is my only chance. I’m not about to give up.

“It’s my move!”

He drew a card.

“I summon Ze Bistro Butcher!”

In an aura of darkness, the fiendish chef that Sam commonly used appeared, holding his well-used cleaver. (1,800/1,000)

“Zat’s not all,” he said, as his facedown card activated. “I also activate Pineapple Blast. Zis Trap Card destroys your Monsters until you have ze same number zat I have. But on ze bright side, you get to choose which one stays and which one goes.”

Atticus looked at him.

“I choose to keep Hunter Dragon!” he shouted.

A large bomb that looked like a pineapple made of metal rolled onto the field, towards Red-Eyes Wyvern. Atticus braced himself as the Wyvern was blown to pieces.

“Huh?” said Ren. “Why did Atticus choose to spare his weaker Monster?”

“You got me,” said Yumi.

“You know,” chuckled Jean-Claude, “in ze army, ‘pineapple’ is a slang term for a grenade. Guess you found zat out.

“Butcher, frappe his Hunter Dragon!”

The Bistro Butcher raised his cleaver, and his Attack Score rose to 2,000. He made a slash, and Hunter Dragon burst into metal shards.

“You apparently forgot about your Monster’s effect,” said Atticus. “I get to draw two cards now.”

He made two draws.

“Vatever,” replied Jean-Claude. “I set two facedown cards, and zen play Mirage of Nightmare.”

Two more facedown cards appeared, and then the familiar Mirage card appeared.

(A: 7,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 5,600)

“My draw,” said Atticus, drawing a card.

“Mine as well, thanks to my Mirage card,” said Jean-Claude.

He made four draws.

“And now, I play Emergency Provisions. Ask any soldier, K-Rations aren’t too pleasant, but zey are good for energy.”

His facedown card lifted up, and both Mirage of Nightmare and Banner of Courage dissolved into light.

Atticus closed his eyes and grinned.

“Not gonna do much this turn,” he said. “I’m going to skip all the way to my End Phase…

“You see, on a turn where I don’t summon a Monster, and Red-Eyes Wyvern is in my Graveyard, I can remove it from play to summon something better from my Graveyard…”

An explosion of fire erupted on the field, and a dark form loomed over him…

Red-Eyes Black Dragon had arrived. (2,400/2,000)

“I’m finished…” he said.

Jean-Claude cursed in French, and drew a card.

Then he chuckled.

“First, I play a second Banner of Courage,” he said, as the Spell Card appeared again.

“I seem to recall you saying you preferred steak. Vell, give ze customer vat he wants, I always say. I summon Great Angus!”

In a burst of fire, a new Monster appeared. It looked like a savage, humanoid, tusked bull, with no horns and red skin. It roared with rage. (1,800/600)

“I kind of like it a little more well done than that,” muttered Atticus.

“Afraid you won’t be eating this,” said Jean-Claude. “It vill more likely be eating you. I play ze Spell Card Riyoku.

“Now, I can take half of ze Attack Score of your Monster, and give it to my Butcher.”

Everyone gasped as Red-Eyes fell to an Attack Score of 1,200, while The Bistro Butcher rose to 3,000.

“And before I attack, I’ll activate my facedown card,” he said, as his Trap Card lifted. “It’s called Greed. Sure, my Monster lets you draw extra cards, but vith zis card on ze field, doing so vill hurt you, costing you 500 Life Points for each extra card drawn.

“Butcher, attack his Red-Eyes!”

The Bistro Butcher faced Red-Eyes, and his Attack Score rose even further, to 3,200. He leapt at the huge Dragon, and slashed with his cleaver. Yumi looked away as the Dragon shattered.

Atticus cringed.

He slowly drew two cards.

“I’m not done vith you,” continued Jean-Claude. “Great Angus, attack him directly!”

Great Angus roared again, and its Attack Score rose to 2,000. It lunged at Atticus.

“I don’t think so,” said Atticus, as his facedown card lifted. “I activate Red-Eyes Spirits! I can activate this card when a Monster with the words ‘Red-Eyes’ in its name is destroyed, and bring it right back to the field.”

In an explosion of energy, Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared again.

“So your Angus is gonna have to back off…”

Great Angus whimpered in fear, and backed away from the huge Dragon.

“Very well, Monsieur,” replied Jean-Claude. “I end my turn, vich means ze effect of my Trap Card activates.”

Atticus groaned as a fiery aura surrounded him.

(A: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 5,600)

“Am I imagining things?” asked Erik. “Or did this clown just take the lead?”

“You aren’t imagining things,” replied Sam. “But don’t worry… This guy is using Red-Eyes. You know, Joey Wheeler’s best Monster? The same guy who stood up to Marik in Battle City and survived Ra’s Phoenix Mode?

“I often wonder how he managed that…”

“I asked him once,” replied Yumi. “He said he had no idea. Heck, no-one had any idea! That attack was powerful enough to destroy the other two God Cards!”

“Yeah, well,” said Sam, “if Atticus has his Monster, he must have enough of his dumb luck to beat this idiot.”

Atticus sighed.

“You’re confidence in me is so reassuring…” he muttered.

He drew a card.

* * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, Joan was looking through a large tome in her library.

“Whoever this Testament is,” she muttered, “there’s no record of it in the history of the Higher Plane… But it might be native to another of the Dimensions… If I look long enough, I’m pretty sure I can find a reference here somewhere…”

As she perused the pages, a Mokey Mokey floated over her shoulder and curiously looked at what she was reading. Joan didn’t take notice for about a minute.

She grimaced.

“Look little guy,” she said, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t read over my shoulder. It’s distracting.”

The Mokey Mokey didn’t say anything. It just floated away.

Joan went back to the book.

Then she looked up in surprise.

“READ over my shoulder?” she said. “Mokey Mokeys can read?”

She looked behind her, but it was gone.

Then Sheena walked in.

“No luck, Ms. Arachne?” asked Joan.

“None,” replied Sheena. “Gaining control of my own computer was one thing… Gaining control of Daala’s communication network is quite another. She’s pretty adamant about making sure no messages go out of Xanadu that she doesn’t approve of.”

“Tell me about it,” replied Joan. “I’ve only communicated with Dr. Ting via e-mail three times since I got to Xanadu. Each time, I had to find an opening in Daala’s system that was caused by some glitch. And each time I had finished, the opening was fixed, and subsequently closed, forcing me to wait for another opening.

“Perhaps the only way to get a proper message out would be to sabotage Daala’s system somehow, creating a big opening… A window that would create a large blind spot in her defenses.

“Unfortunately, I have no idea how we’re gonna do that.”

“Hey, Joan!” shouted Jesse’s voice.

He came running into the room.

“The book you asked Doriado to send you came.”

He handed her a tome.

“Finally!” muttered Joan, taking it. “Hopefully, this may shed some light on our Testament…”

She opened the old book and skimmed a few pages.

“Oh… Thank you so much, Doriado!” she said with a hint of frustration. “I just know she does this because I always beat her at chess…”

“What?” asked Sheena.

“It’s written in Ancient Draconic,” muttered Joan.

“Do you know it?” asked Sheena.

“This language is incredibly ancient, Ms. Arachne,” muttered Joan. “It’s older than Hebrew. The only creatures today that actually speak this language are Dragons who are at least five-thousand years old who were born on the Isle of the Elders, and they’re in short supply. This book likely came from the libraries of the Isle itself…”

“Where’s that?” asked Sheena.

“It’s the ancestral home of dragonkind,” replied Joan. “No living beings other than Dragons have ever seen it. They don’t allow visitors. But who can blame them? The place supposedly contains the source of the race’s power, records of their entire history, and hordes of wealth that would put Fort Knox to shame. They can’t risk interlopers going there to try to steal their heritage. I have no idea how this book ever left their archives.

“But anyway, Modern Draconic evolved from this language, so maybe I can translate it to the more modern version first, and from there translate it to the common language.

“Maybe, that is. But it may take some time…”

She looked at one page.

“Say… I already recognize something here…”

She pointed to a symbol, one that resembled an eye on a pedestal, inside a pentagon.

“Hmm… That’s pretty universal… The symbol of Boccob…”

“Boccob?” asked Sheena.

“An incredibly powerful entity worshipped as the god of magic,” replied Joan. “He’s known as The Uncaring, The Lord of All Magic, and The Archmage of the Deities…”

“The Uncaring?” asked Sheena.

“Boccob is incredibly powerful,” replied Sheena. “But he is known for taking a completely neutral stance in almost every struggle. Good and Evil, Law and Chaos… Things like that don’t concern him. He’s a very aloof deity. He only cares about the accumulation and distribution of knowledge and magical power.”

“A god of magic…” muttered Sheena. “And Yumi uses Spellcaster Monsters…”

“We’ll keep that in mind…” replied Joan. “I’ll get to work translating this, and we’ll see what we can find out…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Atticus looked at the card he had drawn.

Polymerization.

That’s the ticket, he thought, as a grin appeared on his face.

He chose another card.

“I play this!” he said. “The Spell Card, Inferno Fire Blast! Now, if my Red-Eyes doesn’t actually attack this round, he can really do some damage, burning you for an amount equal to his Attack Score!”

“Say what?” said Jean-Claude.

“Red-Eyes,” ordered Atticus, “give him a taste of his own cooking!”

Red-Eyes’s eyes glowed like pools of molten lava, and his jaws opened. A blast of burning flame shot out of his jaws, honing in on Jean-Claude. The chef screamed as the flames covered him and started to burn.

“Whoa…” said Ren.

“And double-whoa…” added Chelsea.

(A: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 3,200)

“I’m not done with you,” said Atticus. “Since my Red-Eyes can’t attack this round, I’m trading him in for someone better…

“I play Polymerization, fusing Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Meteor Dragon…”

Another Dragon appeared on the field, this one with a spherical body that suggested a large boulder, with small wings and a beaklike snout.

The two Dragons turned to orbs of fire, and then combined into a flaming pinwheel of energy…

“I summon Meteor Black Dragon!”

The pinwheel exploded, and a much bigger Dragon was hovering in the air. It was not lithe, like most Dragons, but hulking, with violet skin covered with red veins that glowed like fire. (3,500/2,000)

“Sacré nom d’un chien!” exclaimed Jean-Claude.

“Yeah, that’s what they all say,” said Atticus with a frown. “Attack The Bistro Butcher! Burning Dark Meteor!”

It was hard to describe what happened next, at least in the way a Monster’s attack is described. It was more like a natural disaster than any attack that a living creature could manage. Meteor Black Dragon inhaled, and formed a great ball of flame in its massive jowls. Without warning, the ball of flame shot at the Fiend like an actual meteorite crashing to earth, obliterating him and throwing Jean-Claude off his feet.

(A: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 1,500)

“Care to throw in the towel, Frenchie?” asked Atticus. “I really doubt right now that you can manage to summon a Monster that’s more powerful than this one.”

“NO!” screamed Jean-Claude. “I’m not finished yet!”

He drew a card.

“I play ze Spell Card Blasting Vein! Now, I merely have to destroy one of my Spell or Trap Cards, and I get to draw twice.”

Flaming cracks appeared on the Greed card, and it burst in a shower of embers. Jean-Claude made two draws.

He chuckled.

“I first summon Sangan,” he said.

He played the card, and the cute, three-eyed Fiend appeared. (1,000/600)

“And just what are you going to do him?” asked Atticus.

“I’m a chef,” said Jean-Claude. “What do you think?”

He reached over and pulled the hibachi grill in front of him.

“I’m going to cook it. Using ze Ritual Spell, Hamburger Recipe.”

The Spell Card appeared, and both Sangan and Great Angus vanished. The grill fired up, and Jean-Claude started to prepare something, as the sound of sizzling meat started to come from it.

“What do you think he’s making?” asked Ren.

“Dunno…” replied Chelsea. “But it smells pretty good.”

Jean-Claude reached for a set of spice shakers on the grill stand.

“Black pepper, onions, coriander, paprika, and just one touch of salt,” he said, sprinkling the ingredients. “And as ve French are so fond of saying…

“Voila!”

He flipped his spatula forward, and a very unlikely Monster appeared. It was a giant hamburger, with its two buns forming a fanged mouth. (2,000/1,850)

“Say bonjour to my Hungry Burger!”

“And say au revoir to my appetite…” groaned Sam.

“And just how is that Monster gonna beat mine?” laughed Atticus. “It may be a Big Mac, by my Monster is bigger still.”

“I’ll show you how in a minute,” replied Jean-Claude. “But first, since I sent Sangan to ze Graveyard, its effect activates.”

A card slipped out of his deck, and he took it. He looked at it.

“Next, I’m giving my Burger some special sauce vith kick. Since zis Monster is a Ritual Monster and Level Six, I can Equip it with Ritual Weapon. Zis card raises both of its scores by 1,500 points.”

He played the card, and Hungry Burger glowed with energy. It rose to (3,500/3,350).

“Their Attack Points are exactly the same!” shouted Erik. “They’ll kill each other!”

“Not quite,” said Jean-Claude with an evil grin. “You forget, I still have Banner of Courage on ze field.

“Hungry Burger, attack his Dragon!”

Hungry Burger rose to an Attack Score of 3,700. It grew to three times its normal size, and then swallowed Meteor Black Dragon in one gulp.

(A: 4,500) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 1,500)

“So, Monsieur Rhodes…” laughed Jean-Claude. “What do you say now?”

Atticus didn’t answer.

“Speechless, eh?” laughed Jean-Claude. “Maybe you finally realize zat I am not ze fool you thought I was.”

“Actually, no,” replied Atticus, quietly. “I think you’re a bigger fool now than I previously thought…”

He looked at Jean-Claude with rage in his eyes.

“You humiliated one of my best Monsters by feeding it to an oversized hamburger… That, my friend, was a mistake…

“I offered you a chance to surrender… That offer no longer stands. You made me angry, pal…

“You want to duel like a member of Joan’s army? Fine! From this point on, I’ll duel you as if you were any other member of Joan’s army…

“…without mercy!

“It’s my move!”

He drew a card.

“I set a Monster in Defense Mode, then play a facedown, and that will be all.”

A facedown Monster and a facedown card appeared.

“I draw…” chuckled Jean-Claude.

“And I play Pot of Greed.”

He played the card, and drew twice.

“Now I summon Battle Ox!”

With a roar, the familiar bull-like Beast-Warrior in armor, a helmet, carrying an axe appeared. (1,700/1,000)

“Hungry Burger, destroy his last Monster!”

The huge Burger lunged. The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave appeared on the card, and was swallowed whole.

“Battle Ox, attack him directly!”

Battle Ox lifted his weapon, and his Attack Score rose to 1,900. He charged at Atticus.

“Look out!” shouted Yumi.

“I’m fine!” replied Atticus. “Thanks to this…”

His facedown card lifted.

“Offensive Guard! This cuts the attack power of your Battle Ox in half!”

Battle Ox’s Attack Score fell to 850. It still made a slash at Atticus, and he grunted a little.

“Offensive Guard also allows me to draw one card.”

He made a draw.

“But of course…” replied Jean-Claude. “I wouldn’t want this duel to end before dessert was served.

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

A facedown card appeared.

(A: 3,650) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 1,500)

“Dessert?” said Erik. “I really don’t like the sound of that…”

“Me neither,” replied Sam. “French desserts are known for being the type that people eat when they really don’t give a damn how many calories they’re taking in. I mean, this is the country that invented the chocolate éclair.”

“That’s on the list of foods my mom has forbidden in our house,” muttered Chelsea. “And she’s French herself.”

“I don’t like it either,” said Yumi. “He’s clearly up to something…”



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



Atticus drew a card.

Finally, he thought.

“The Spell Card I’m about to play is something that was sort of a family heirloom to the real Rhodes siblings,” he said. “And it works just fine with my deck…

“I play Swing of Memories!”

The Spell Card appeared.

“This card lets me Special Summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard, but it only stays around for one turn.

“So Red-Eyes… Welcome back…”

Red-Eyes Black Dragon loomed over the field again. (2,400/2,000)

“Fool,” chuckled Jean-Claude. “It can’t defeat my Burger, so he’ll be here long after it has to leave, and you’ll be wide open.”

“Actually,” said Atticus. “My Dragon is leaving right now… I’m going to sacrifice it…”

Red-Eyes vanished. Then the pools of lava around them started to boil and bubble.

“What is he summoning?” shouted Ren.

“Wait…” said Yumi, opening her eyes wide. “Grandpa told me about this… He was never able to find the card, but someone told him about it… An evolved version of Red-Eyes…”

“That’s right!” shouted Atticus, as a dark shape started to form above him. “The ultimate form of the Red-Eyes! The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!”

Slowly, the dark form took shape. It was twice as big as Red-Eyes, with a wingspan that reached a hundred feet. Its hide was pure black, with red highlights, and had a metallic texture. (2,400/2,000)

“Wait a minute…” muttered Chelsea. “It’s no stronger than the normal Red-Eyes…”

“Only to start,” said Atticus. “It has a special ability… The ability to draw power from the angry souls of every defeated Dragon! So for every Dragon I have in my Graveyard, it gains 300 more Attack Points!”

The phantoms of Red-Eyes, Hunter Dragon, Attachment Dragon, Cave Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Meteor Black Dragon, and The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave appeared around the huge Dragon. They turned to energy, and it absorbed them with a mighty roar. (4,500/2,000)

“It’s over, Frenchie!” shouted Atticus. “Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack his Battle Ox with Infernal Darkfire!”

Red-Eyes opened its jaws, and a ball of flaming energy appeared in them.

“You haven’t beaten me yet, Monsieur!” shouted Jean-Claude. “I’ll activate Mystik Wok!”

His facedown card lifted. A huge wok with a fire underneath it appeared behind him, and Battle Ox disappeared.

“Now my weaker Monster has left the field, so your Dragon is forced to change targets. Plus, I gain 1,700 Life Points to buffer your attack!”

“So you managed to survive,” said Atticus. “Red-Eyes, avenge Meteor Black Dragon! Destroy his Hungry Burger!”

The huge Dragon roared, and let out a blast of searing, burning energy. An explosion ripped through Jean-Claude’s side of the field, and Hungry Burger was no more.

(A: 3,650) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 2,200)

Atticus looked hard at Jean-Claude.

“I’ll set a facedown, and end my turn,” he said.

A facedown card appeared.

He may have lasted that round, thought Atticus, but I’m ending this on my next round. With my Dragon’s Rage set, he’ll have nowhere to hide…

Jean-Claude drew a card.

And then he laughed. He laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny?” asked Atticus.

“I just drew my most powerful card!” laughed Jean-Claude. “My mightiest Monster! Once I unleash its power, no more will Jean-Claude Rousseau be taken for granted!

“It’s another Ritual Monster, but it’s far more powerful than that feeble Burger could ever hope to be…”

He played a card.

“I summon Manju of the Ten-Thousand Hands,” he said.

He played the card, and an ugly, silvery-skinned creature that was completely covered with hands appeared. (1,400/1,000)

“And you’re gonna use that to get the right Ritual Spell, right?” asked Atticus. “Well how will you summon it once you do? You won’t have any Monsters to sacrifice except Manju itself. Clearly, it must be higher than Level Four.”

“Au contraire, Monsieur,” said Jean-Claude, as he took a card from his Disk. “I don’t even have the correct Ritual Spell. I had to improvise…

“I play Advanced Ritual Art! Now, I simply have to send Normal Monsters from my deck to ze Graveyard whose combined Levels equal ze Level of zis Ritual Monster, and zey can be ze sacrifices.”

He slipped a second Great Angus and a second Battle Ox into his discard slot.

The two Monsters appeared behind him, and erupted in black flames. The sky began to darken.

“Uh oh…” muttered Ren.

“I think this is the dessert he promised…” said Erik.

“Indeed it is,” laughed Jean-Claude. “And you can choke on it! I summon Eurynomus the Gluttonous!”

The creature appeared in a dark shadow. It was clearly a Fiend – all the stereotypical features of Fiends were there, wings, horns, cloven feet… However, the eight-foot-tall Monster was incredibly fat, almost as wide as it was tall, and it had an incredibly hideous feature – it had a second mouth, a huge one, placed on its giant stomach. (2,600/2,000)

“GA-ROSS!” shouted Sam.

“I’m starting to miss the Burger!” yelled Chelsea.

Even Jean-Claude was a little nervous. He really didn’t expect it to be this hideous.

“Okay, Jean-Claude, fine,” said Atticus. “You proved your point… You summoned some hideous thing, and a Monster that I must admit, I’ve never heard of. But it still can’t beat my Dragon.”

“Oh no?” said Jean-Claude, with an evil grin. “Guess again. Eurynomus has a potent ability. Whenever it battles a Monster, the Monster it battles is assumed to have its base Attack Score.”

Atticus gave a look of shock.

“Base Attack Score?” he shouted.

“Yes,” said Jean-Claude. “As in, the Attack Score written on its card, before any modifications and bonuses.

“And your Dragon’s base Attack Score is 2,400…”

“No…” gasped Atticus.

“Eurynomus…” ordered Jean-Claude, “attack his Dragon with gastro acid!”

The beast’s second mouth opened, and its Attack Score rose to 2,800. A cloud of putrid, stinking, corrosive gas blasted from its maw, and Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon screamed, right before it melted into sludge.

Atticus looked at his opponent in disbelief… He practically forgot about Jean-Claude’s other Monster.

“Manju, attack him directly!” ordered Jean Claude.

Manju blasted a beam of pure light at Atticus, and he cringed from the impact.

“Zat will be all…” said Jean-Claude.

(A: 1,850) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 2,200)

* * * * * * * * * *

In Daala’s throne room, the Otohime was looking at the bound Vita with a sinister smirk. Vita avoided looking her in the face.

“You don’t look so tough…” chuckled Otohime. “Why do you wear that mask, anyway? Are you all gross and disgusting under there?

“Maybe I should take a look…”

Vita didn’t move as she reached for the mask…

Then a blast of dark energy shot at the Otohime, throwing her on the floor and well away from Vita.

She looked up, and saw Daala standing at the door.

“I can’t even step out to powder my nose without trouble happening,” she growled.

“What? What?” asked Otohime.

“Want to know why Vita wears the mask, Watanabe?” asked Daala.

She grabbed the Duel Spirit by the neck.

“Why don’t I do to you what I did to her, and then maybe you’ll find out!”

“You’re choking me…” gasped the Otohime.

“And if you go near Vita again, I’ll snap your neck!” threatened Daala. “Do not talk to her, do not touch her, do not even take notice of her. And don’t ask questions that might get you in trouble. No-one deals with her in any way but me! Is that clear?”

She dropped her.

“Clear…” she squeaked. “Crystal clear…”

“My queen!” shouted a voice.

Daala turned to the screen, and saw Hiroki on it.

“What is it Hiroki?” asked Daala.

“Uhm, milady…” muttered Hiroki. “I was waiting for them… I was kind of wondering why they hadn’t gotten here yet… So I left my post and did a looksee…

“And… Well, uhm…

“Maybe you’d better see for yourself…”

Daala and the Otohime went to the screen, as it switched to show a wide view of Atticus dueling Jean-Claude.

The flames around Daala’s head started to burn fiercer.

“I never did get my BLT…” growled the Otohime.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Atticus is in trouble!” shouted Chelsea.

“Tell me about it,” said Sam. “A direct attack from that thing will finish him off… And probably give him indigestion on top of it…”

Atticus paused before he drew.

You can do this Atticus… he thought. There are two ways to beat this thing…

One, summon a Monster with a higher base Attack Score than 2,600. Unfortunately, the only two Monsters I have that fit the bill are Meteor Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.

The other way is to destroy that thing in some way that doesn’t involve attacking.

He drew a card.

He slowly took it and another card in his hand, and set them in his Disk. Two facedown cards appeared.

“That’s all for me…” he said.

Jean-Claude laughed as he drew a card.

“Pathetic,” he chuckled. “I regret to inform our customers zat ze kitchen is now closed. Eurynomus, attack him directly!”

The Fiend’s terrible second mouth opened again.

“Trap activate!” shouted Atticus. “Birthright!”

One of his two facedown cards lifted.

“Now I get to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard. Guess who it is…”

Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared. (2,400/2,000)

“Fine!” shouted Jean-Claude, angrily. “I’ll kill him again! Eurynomus, attack…”

“Not a chance!” yelled Atticus. “Go, Burst Breath!”

His second facedown card shot up.

“Now, by sacrificing my Red-Eyes, all Monsters on the field with Defense Scores lower than his Attack Score are wiped out!”

Red-Eyes roared, and a ferocious wave of flame covered Jean-Claude’s side of the field. The two-mouthed Fiend howled as it was burned alive.

“Eurynomus the Gluttonous is no more!” shouted Atticus.

Jean-Claude fell on his behind and his two Monsters turned to ashes.

“My strongest Monster…” he sobbed. “Baked like a Crêpe Suzette…”

“And you’re next, pal,” said Atticus.

Jean-Claude started to sweat. He placed his card on his Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.

“It’s my move!” shouted Atticus.

He drew a card. He looked at it, and nodded.

“I play Dark Factory of Mass Production,” he said, as the Spell Card appeared on the field. “Now, two Normal Monsters go from my Graveyard to my hand.”

His Red-Eyes and his Hunter Dragon slipped out of his discard slot. Then he played another Spell Card.

“And now I’m summoning one of them. I play the Spell Card, Ancient Rules. Like the outdated rules of Duelist Kingdom, this lets me Special Summon a high-Level Monster with no sacrifice, so long as it’s a Normal Monster.

“So, I’ll summon my Red-Eyes once again.”

With a roar, Red-Eyes appeared once again. (2,400/2,000)

“I’ll Normal Summon Hunter Dragon as well.”

He played the card, and Hunter Dragon appeared again. (1,700/100)

“This meal is over,” he said. “But since your service was so lousy, you’re definitely not getting a tip.”

Hunter Dragon leapt up, and lashed with its tail. Jerry Beans Man appeared crouching on the card, and shattered into shards.

“Figures,” said Atticus. “Red-Eyes… Attack him directly! Inferno fire blast!”

Red-Eyes blasted his deadly flame in a focused stream. And Jean-Claude Rousseau, the errant chef turned thief, screamed one last time.

(A: 1,850) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 0)

He fell to his knees.

Then he noticed that the Eurynomus card had fallen in front of him.

“My card!” he shouted.

He reached for it.

Then he cried out in pain as a foot came down, stepping on his hand.

Everyone was shocked, Jean-Claude most of all, when they saw who it was.

Daala looked down at the chef, incredibly angry. Then she bent down and picked up the card herself.

“Correction…” she hissed. “MY card.”

“Daala!” yelled Yumi.

Everyone activated their Disks, but Daala paid them no heed. She seized Jean-Claude by the throat, and then both of them vanished in a dark shadow.

“Uh…” muttered Sam. “Can someone tell us what just happened?”

* * * * * * * * * *

Both Skull Knight and Otohime had not seen Daala this angry in a long time. Jean-Claude was kneeling on the floor in front of her, with both his arms and legs chained by heavy shackles.

“Jean-Claude Rousseau…” said Daala. “Such a grandiose name for such a blooming idiot.

“I know that there wasn’t enough room on that door to write the message in French, but you surely knew what the word ‘forbidden’ meant, right?

“And why did you steal from me? Because you felt you were being taken for granted, and hated your job. Jean-Claude, do you have any idea how many of my slaves would love to be promoted to favored status and get your job?”

“Several?” asked Jean-Claude, in fear.

“All of the ones who know how to cook who aren’t already at favored status,” replied Daala. “And after the heartburn I got from that poor excuse for Mandarin chicken you served last night, I was almost ready to promote one of them!

“I might have forgiven you if you had simply pilfered a normal card… But this…”

She held up the Eurynomus card.

“Do you have any idea what it was that you stole? Why I had a Monster as powerful as a Draconic Knight guarding that vault when he could have been taking a more active role in my army?”

“It’s a card…” muttered Jean-Claude.

Daala got up.

“No, Jean, it’s more than a card,” she said with a scowl. “You see, in my experiments combining magic and technology, the fusion that created Xanadu, I have constructed many magical items. Among them, several magical cards. Whenever such projects are done, mistakes and failures often happen. It’s part of the way magic works, unfortunately. Like any form of experimentation, a lot of wrong things happen before you find the right ones.

“The vault you broke into was a storage place for a very special type of magical cards…

“Cursed magical cards! This card you used in that duel is cursed!

“You see, Jean-Claude, most Monster Cards are reflections of Duel Spirits. But Eurynomus the Gluttonous is no Duel Spirit. He’s a true demon, and a resident of the Abyss. One of its most infamous residents I might add. In a place where souls are the most sought-after commodity, Eurynomus craves something else… Flesh.

“He has a voracious appetite. Nothing gives him more pleasure than chewing the meat off the bones of a freshly killed victim, a sentiment that is shared by the packs of ghouls that tend to follow him as his minions. Not even other demons are safe from his hunger. When he was first spawned, he didn’t have that second mouth on his gut. Legend states that it grew there so he could eat faster.

“He does whatever he can to feed this addiction. He sometimes hires himself out to Blood War generals, but he makes a poor mercenary. He’s been known to travel to mortal worlds to feed, especially ones ravaged by war. Battlefields filled with the wounded and dying are like invitations to dinner for him. And as soon as the mortal inhabitants learn of his coming, funerary customs change quickly, with the dead being cremated instead of buried to spare them from being desecrated.

“By playing this card, you actually summoned him to Xanadu. Most of the time when a master of the dark arts summons a demon, he erects pentagrams and magical circles, wards to protect himself and keep the demon at bay. You had nothing except the duel itself.

“The only thing that prevented a disaster was Atticus’s Burst Breath card, which sent him fleeing back to the Abyss. If you had won that duel, he’d have turned on you and everything he perceived as edible, which to him would have been practically everything that moved!”

Jean-Claude was listening to this whole conversation, and he was now trembling in fear. Daala waved her hand, and a screen came up in front of her.

“What are you doing?” gasped Jean-Claude.

“I was tired of you even before this happened, Jean-Claude,” muttered Daala. “Tired of your complaining, and tired of your rudeness. I realize now why my father fired your counterpart.

“Well, guess what, Jean-Claude? I have an easier way to deal with certain employees. You’re an AI program. I made you… And I can unmake you…”

“Milady, no!” screamed Jean-Claude. “You can’t!”

“Want a bet?” growled Daala, hitting a button.

Jean-Claude burst into an explosion of digital ones and zeroes, and the chains restraining him fell to the floor.

Daala sat back on her couch. She let out a long sigh.

“Skull Knight…” she said. “Since Atticus kinda did us a favor, we’ll do him a little favor, and make his sister happier… Go tell Alexis she’s being promoted. She can have Jean-Claude’s job.”

“As you wish,” said Skull Knight.

* * * * * * * * * *

Joan was writing something down on a scroll carefully, as she looked at a page in the large tome…

Then she gripped her head in frustration, and tore the scroll in half.

“Joan?” asked Sheena. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you perchance ever heard an angel scream?” asked Joan.

“Having trouble with the translation?” asked Sheena.

“That’s an understatement,” muttered Joan. “Even working with Modern Draconic is hard. Their alphabet is over twice as long as the English one, with nine vowels. And their whole syntax is confusing. Do you realize that they have ten different words for water?”

“Ten different words for water?” asked Sheena. “I heard that the Inuit had four different words for snow, but…”

“That’s a myth,” said Joan. “They don’t. But apparently, Dragons have ten different words for ten different ways water can be presented…

“Translating this thing could take years…”

She leaned her head on her hands.

“There has to be some linguist you know who could help,” suggested Sheena. “Someone who might…”

“Wait…” said Joan, raising her hand.

“That’s it! Linguist! Why didn’t I think of it!”

She picked up a blank scroll and a pen. She started to write.

“The greatest linguist in the Higher Plane is Meltiel, Sage of the Sky. He’s a researcher and a record keeper among the Fairies. He can read, speak, and understand over three-thousand forms of communication. And he can learn a new one by listening to it for only five minutes.

“If somewhere in his immortal life he heard a conversation spoken in Ancient Draconic, he can translate this book in an hour.”

“Can he come here?” asked Sheena.

“My superiors forbade any other resident of the Higher Plane from coming to Xanadu,” replied Joan, “but I’ll send him a message, he’ll get back to me in a few hours, and if he says he can translate this, I’ll go to him.”

She finished writing.

“There! Once I send this through the portal, it will be like a wireless telegram. How soon we get a response will depend on where he is and how busy he is right now…”

* * * * * * * * * *

The Realm Lord’s castle loomed over the group.

It was situated on a large plateau, and the building itself resembled an old Shinto temple, shaped like a shiro.

The group was in front of a cave opening in the plateau itself.

Atticus looked nervously around.

“This passageway leads to the fortress proper,” he said. “But this place is usually crawling with guards… Not a single one this time?”

“I sent them home,” said a voice from inside the cave.

Sam opened her eyes in surprise.

“That voice…” she whispered. “It can’t be…”

A young man walked out of the cave entrance. He looked somewhat younger than anyone he was facing, with raven hair cut neatly into bangs. His outfit was a style that everyone recognized… They all had seen someone who was known for wearing it.

“HIROKI?” shouted Sam.

The youth looked at Sam.

“Well, what’s the matter Sam?” he asked. “No hug? I thought you’d be glad to see me!”

Everyone looked at Sam, as she nervously looked at him…

* * * * * * * * * *

DRAGON’S HEART (Spell Card)

Quickplay Spell

Image: A classic-looking dragon with a glowing ruby where its heart would be.

Card Description: You cannot Normal Summon a Monster during the turn you use this card. Select three Dragon-Type Monsters from your deck, and send them to the Graveyard. Then, shuffle your deck. Increase the ATK of one Dragon-Type Monster on the field by 1,000 points until the End Phase of the turn.

Note: “Dragon’s Heart” was first used by Atticus (as Nightshroud) in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “The Darkness Within”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



RED-EYES WYVERN (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Dragon/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
ATK: 1,800
DEF: 1,600

Card Description: Remove this card in your Graveyard from play during the End Phase of a turn you did not Normal Summon a Monster to Special Summon one “Red Eyes B. Dragon” from your Graveyard.



OFFENSIVE GUARD (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A warrior with a shield and sword deflecting a spell cast from a wizard.

Card Description: You may activate this card when you are attacked directly. Reduce the battle damage by half, and then draw one card.



RED-EYES SPIRITS (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: Red-Eyes B. Dragon in flight, in a majestic pose.

Card Description: Activate only when a “Red-Eyes” Monster that you control is destroyed. Special summon that Monster from your Graveyard, disregarding its summoning requirements.

Note: “Red-Eyes Wyvern”, “Offensive Guard”, and “Red-Eyes Spirits” were all first used by Atticus in a multi-part fourth season episode of “Yu-Gi-Oh GX”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode. (“Red-Eyes Wyvern” has since been made into a real card that will be released as a promo in “Tag Force 3”.)



EURYNOMUS THE GLUTTONOUS (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Fiend/Ritual/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 8
ATK: 2,600
DEF: 2,000

Card Description: This card may only be Ritual Summoned by means of the Ritual Spell Card “Unleashing of the Ravenous One”. When this card battles a Monster, the opposing Monster is assumed to have its base ATK.



BLASTING VEIN (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A Duel Monsters card in the middle of a fire.

Card Description: Destroy one Spell or Trap Card you control. Draw two cards from your deck.

Note: “Blasting Vein” was first used by Axel in the “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” episode “Hanging With Axel (Part Two)”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



Coming up next:

Who is Hiroki? How does Sam know him? And wait a minute… Wasn’t the plan involving him supposed to be aimed at Erik?

It’s all confusing, but Daala’s plan starts to take shape next chapter. A duel of desperation begins, and what happens may surprise you. The heroes are getting closer to their goal, and Daala knows that the time for subtlety is past.

“Legacy” is next.



Name that Card!

Yusei Fudo’s ace card is the powerful Synchro Monster “Stardust Dragon”, and as far as we know, he doesn’t have any other Dragons in his regular deck. However, in his Deck Zero Deck that he used in the detention center, he had one Dragon that, while not used much nowadays, can truly be called a classic. Can you name it?

[Mystic_clown]

Interesting duel. Another food based deck, though it's good to see you didn't go with the obvious chef deck the Ra Dorm head used (what was his name again?), since you already did that.

Hmm, that demon seems familier. Didn't he appear in Dark Messiah, or was that something else?

The monster you're referring to is Tri-horn Dragon.

[Dark Sage]

In the English dub, he used the alias "Don Simon", although his true name was not given in the dub. In English video games, he is called Prof. Sartyr. His true name, as he is called in the original version, is Prof. Kabayama.

And no, that demon did not appear in Dark Messiah.

[jkBAKURA]

Mystic_Clown, you may be thinking of Malasta the Ravenous, which was appeared in Mandate of Heaven.

Food Deck, I haven't seen one of those in awhile, and what's more, a Beatdown food deck.

The name Jean-Claude confused me slightly. I had to do a slight double take throughout most of the chapter, as I'm so used to the name being paired with Ninjas.

[Shuppet Master]

I liked the Emeril LaGasse remark.

Great duel here with some cards I had never seen before. And now we know what happened to Alexis's AI self!

These AI Programs remind me of the SimSelves from The Sims 2 - fabrications of real people modeled after the creators. Only these are more real than those.

Anyways, I missed reviewing the chapter before that, but nice intro to the Synchro monsters. Maybe I should watch Yu-Gi-Oh 5D when it comes out in the States.

[Dark Sage]

What Dragon was part of Yusei’s Deck Zero Deck? If you said “Tri-Horned Dragon”, you were successfully able to Name that Card!



This chapter is kinda short, so I’m posting it early, and once it finishes, I’ve included a bonus.

In this story and the previous one, I’ve made references to a group of elemental beings known as the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. Who are they? Stay around, and you’ll learn their whole story. Because when fighting the forces of Chaos, Yumi needs to know who her allies are.



Seto Kaiba was a great duelist. Not even his rival Yugi Mouto would deny otherwise.

Having the only three copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon in the world wasn’t the only thing that made him great. He was cunning, resourceful, crafty, and could think of a strategy for any situation. When one looked him in the eye while facing him, you could almost see the wheels turning.

One selfless act was all it took for a representative of Heaven to recognize his potential, and choose him as one who would protect the Mandate of Heaven, a responsibility he willingly took. He ultimately gave his life fulfilling this responsibility. His legacy fell upon his chosen heir, his nephew Siegfried.

Sadly, Siegfried made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Mandate too… But not before siring an heir of his own.

I am that heir. I may not be able to formerly claim the name Kaiba, but the blood of this duelist runs in my veins. I’ve tried all my life to make him proud.

I never thought I’d face a challenge for the title…

CHAPTER FORTY



Legacy

“What is going on, Daala?” asked Vita. “Just who is that?”

Daala chuckled.

“So many questions…” she said, with a pleasant sigh. “Keep watching, Vita, you’ll see soon enough.”

Vita started to struggle against the bonds holding her.

“Give it up…” chuckled Daala. “I’ve used those things to hold creatures far more powerful than you.”

Vita sighed, and hung her head.

Then she lifted it. A shimmering light was starting to appear in front of her.

“Just watch what’s about to happen,” said Daala. “You may find it amusing.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Hiroki, what the Hell is this?” shouted Sam. “Why are you here? And what are you doing wearing my uncle’s clothes?”

“Huh?” said Ren.

Then he realized what Sam meant. Hiroki’s outfit was the exact same sleeveless white coat and black shirt and trousers that Seto Kaiba had worn during Battle City.

“This guy has some nerve…” added Chelsea.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” asked Hiroki. “Introduce your friends to your brother?”

“BROTHER?” shouted Yumi, Erik, Ren, and Chelsea at once.

Sam bowed her head.

“Sam, that’s impossible…” said Yumi. “Siegfried Kaiba was killed just after you were conceived… He didn’t have any other children…”

Sam let out a long sigh…

“Hiroki is my half-brother…” she muttered. “His dad has custody, and they live in Hiroshima most of the time. His dad and my mom… They were old business partners…”

“It wasn’t a planned pregnancy, huh?” asked Ren.

“It wasn’t even a planned relationship!” yelled Sam.

She turned to Hiroki.

“Hiroki, what going on?” she asked. “We may not see each other much, but we’ve always shown each other a modicum of respect…”

“Yeah, well,” said Hiroki. “Frankly, I was getting sick of living in your shadow.”

A very fancy Disk appeared on his arm, one where each space on the Monster Zone was a curved blade.

“You were a big name in the dueling world, while I was content to stay hidden in the background… You were dueling in the finals of Duelatopia, and where was I? Watching it at home on satellite TV!”

“What did you expect, Hiroki?” shouted Sam. “You can’t duel worth squat! Lord knows, I tried to teach you…”

“Well, I got a better teacher,” chuckled Hiroki. “So what say we settle this right now, between brother and sister?”

“Are you mad?” asked Sam. “This is Xanadu! Do you know what happens here if you lose a duel?”

Hiroki glared at her.

“Sam, baby, no!” shouted Erik. “Don’t duel him! I’m getting a very bad feeling…”

The spirit of Blockman appeared behind him.

There’s something powerful in his deck, he thought, I just know it… This is what the vision I had meant…

Hiroki gestured, and a metal portcullis shut behind him, sealing the cave entrance.

“Huh?” said Sam.

“You want to get into Leichter’s castle?” he asked. “I’m the only one who has the key to that gate. If Sam doesn’t duel me, your trip here is going to be a big waste.”

Sam sighed again. Her Disk activated.

“Fine,” she said. “If that’s the only way I can drive some sense into you…”

“Game on!” they both shouted.

(Sam: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Hiroki: 8,000)

“I have a bad feeling about this…” muttered Atticus.

“Ladies first, I always say,” said Hiroki.

“Then I draw,” said Sam.

She drew a card. She looked over the cards in her hand.

“And I end my turn.”

“WHAT?” shouted Chelsea.

“Sam, are you crazy?” yelled Erik.

Hiroki laughed.

“Bad opening hand, sis?” he asked, drawing a card. “Well, I guess that can’t be helped…

“I summon Kaiser Sea Horse!”

In an aura of shining light, the armored fish-man holding his spear appeared. (1,700/1,650)

“Attack her directly!”

Kaiser Sea Horse charged at Sam, and stabbed her in the torso with its spear. Sam staggered backwards.

Then she grinned evilly as she held the wound.

“Thank you…” she chuckled. “You fell right into my trap, sucker!”

She threw a card on her Disk.

“Since you attacked me when I had no cards on my side of the field, I get to Special Summon Messenger of Hades – Gors!”

A bonfire of black flame appeared on the field, and Gors stepped out, holding his nasty zanbatô aloft. (2,700/2,500)

“Erk!” gasped Hiroki.

“And his effect activates too,” continued Sam. “I get to conjure up his partner, Messenger of Hades – Kaien.”

In another burst of dark flames, the fallen angel appeared, garbed in her battle dress and Spartan helmet, holding two swords.

“And Kaien’s Attack and Defense Scores are equal to the amount of damage I took to summon Gors.”

(1,700/1,700)

“Okay, sis, I’ll admit that was clever,” replied Hiroki. “I have to end my turn.”

(S: 6,300) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 8,000)

“Seems Sam played him like a piano,” laughed Ren.

“Yeah,” said Atticus. “But… I wonder why Hiroki summoned Kaiser Sea Horse?”

“I’m trying hard not to think about it,” replied Yumi.

“First, I draw one card,” said Sam, drawing. “Then I sacrifice Kaien to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des!”

Kaien vanished into grains of light, and with an explosion of black smoke and flames, the ruler of the Underworld appeared. (2,450/1,600)

“Hmm…” he growled, looking at Hiroki.

“You said it,” said Sam. “Gors, attack his Kaiser Sea Horse!”

Gors leapt at the Sea Serpent, and made a slash with his blade, smashing it to pieces.

“Ha Des, attack him directly! Stygian blast!”

Ha Des formed a ball of flames in his hands, and then hurled a steady stream of the dark fire at Hiroki. Hiroki didn’t move in the least, even when it hit him.

(S: 6,300) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 4,550)

“He didn’t even flinch!” shouted Ren. “He just stood there like a statue!”

“Something is seriously wrong here…” added Chelsea.

“I take it it’s my move?” asked Hiroki.

He drew a card. Then he took one from his hand and placed it in his Disk.

“I’ll drop 800 more Life Points to play Premature Burial,” he said, as he glowed with a red aura. “And since I only have one Monster in my Graveyard, you probably know what I’m summoning with it.”

In another blast of light, Kaiser Sea Horse reappeared. (1,700/1,650)

“There’s a legend behind this card, sis,” he said. “In Japanese myth, after living for a hundred years, a seahorse turns into a dragon…”

“Wait just a minute…” started Sam.

“But in any case,” continued Hiroki, “you likely know that when Kaiser Sea Horse is sacrificed to summon a Light Attribute Monster, it can count as two Monsters.

“So I’ll sacrifice it…”

Kaiser Sea Horse vanished, and the sky darkened. Thunder started to rumble…

“To summon… This!”

In an explosion of energy, a Monster appeared that everyone present knew shouldn’t have been there. They knew that no one, least of all Hiroki was allowed to have it…

But before their eyes, the impossible was happening.

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out a mighty roar. (3,000/2,500)

“No…” gasped Sam.

“Hiroki!” shouted Yumi. “What the Hell do you think you’re doing! My father’s edict specifically forbade those cards from ever being used again by anybody!”

Hiroki glared at Yumi.

“And what right did your father have to even make that edict?” asked Hiroki. “Those cards did not belong to him! He didn’t have the right!”

“Uh, Hiroki, I hate to tell you this, but yes they did, and yes he did,” replied Yumi. “Siegfried’s will bequeathed the cards in his deck, the three Dragons included, to Yugi Mouto Jr. That means they were my father’s legal property, and he was free to do with them as he pleased.”

Hiroki glared at her angrily.

“Fine…” he snarled. “Legalities aside, he didn’t have a moral right. The Blue-Eyes are too powerful for their talents to be wasted. They don’t deserve to be locked up in some museum.

“And besides, this is Xanadu. Daala really doesn’t care about any rules that your father sets forth.

“As for how she was able to duplicate them, usually, it’s hard for her to duplicate unique cards. Her attempts to duplicate Jesse’s Crystal Beasts and Aster’s Destiny Heroes have thus far ended in failure.

“Fortunately, Seto Kaiba was a gloryhog who never stayed out of the public limelight for a second. Information on his cards was well-known and readily available, so downloading the information was easier. Not easy, mind you, just easier It took months for Daala to program this deck.”

He chuckled.

“Joan can duplicate the Destiny Heroes in a day… She likely could have duplicated Kaiba’s Dragons in an hour. She was a fool not to.”

“She had more respect, Hiroki!” shouted Yumi. “Seto and Siegfried were martyrs who died to protect the Mandate of Heaven! Using the cards that represent their souls… It’s a blasphemy!”

“And I want to know why,” said Sam. “WHY are you stealing my uncle’s cards?”

“Because you’re doing a poor job fulfilling his legacy,” said Hiroki. “It’s up to me now.”

“YOU?” shouted Sam. “How much Kaiba blood do you have? NONE! You’re my half-brother, and you aren’t related to the Kaiba line at all!”

“A technicality that won’t matter soon,” said Hiroki. “Blue-Eyes, annihilate Gors with White Lightning!”

Blue-Eyes roared, and blasted a bolt of pure, white energy from its jaws. Gors screamed and shattered onto black shards. Sam cringed and shielded herself.

(S: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 3,750)

“This duel might be like my annual physical,” muttered Ren. “Painful, and short.”

“It’s your move…” said Hiroki.

Sam’s hand trembled as she drew a card.

“All right!” she shouted. “I play… Graceful Charity!”

She played the card, and quickly drew three cards.

She looked at her hand, and then discarded Opticlops and Archfiend Soldier.

“Now, I play Silent Doom, AND Monster Reborn!”

She played both Spell Cards, and the two Fiends appeared on the field, kneeling and crouching in Defense Mode. (1,800/1,700) (1,900/1,500)

“Now, I’ll Special Summon Dark Queen Per Sephone.”

In a burst of darkness, the fiendish beauty appeared, kneeling and shielding herself in Defense Mode. (2,200/1,200)

“And Ha Des moves into Defense Mode too.”

Ha Des knelt and shielded himself.

“That’s all. You may have a big, bad Monster, but you’ll have to crash through my defenses before you can get to me.”

Hiroki laughed as he drew a card.

“So this is how the Kaiba legacy ended up…” he muttered. “Cowering behind Monsters in Defense Mode and unable to fight back…

“And as for having to crash through your defenses, I think not…

“I play the Spell Card, Burst Stream of Destruction!”

“Oh no!” shouted Atticus. “I know about that card!”

“With at least one Blue-Eyes on the field,” said Hiroki, “this card works just like Raigeki.”

Blue-Eyes exhaled a mighty blast of White Lightning, and all four of Sam’s Monsters were atomized.

“No…” gasped Erik. “She’s completely defenseless…”

“Don’t worry…” added Atticus. “Blue-Eyes can’t actually attack on the round he plays that card.”

“Look who knows so much,” said Hiroki, playing another Spell Card. “I play the White Dragon Ritual. Now, by offering a Level Four Monster as a sacrifice, like my Vorse Raider, I can summon my Paladin of White Dragon.”

Another of Seto Kaiba’s trademark cards, the Dark, axe-wielding Beast-Warrior, appeared on the field. Then it vanished into grains of light.

Another Monster appeared in its place, a knight in armor, holding a lance and riding a white dragon the size of a horse. (1,900/1,200)

“Sure, my Blue-Eyes can’t attack, but who cares? I have someone else who can do it.

“Attack her directly! Sonic lance!”

Paladin of White Dragon flew at Sam, and blasted a beam of pure sound from his lance, striking her in the chest. She cringed and fell over.

(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 3,750)

“Now I activate my Paladin’s effect,” said Hiroki. “I sacrifice him to summon someone else. Give you three guesses who it is…

“And the first two don’t count.”

Paladin vanished, and in a flash of light, a second Blue-Eyes appeared next to the first. (3,000/2,500)

“Two of them?!” shouted Ren.

“This is bad,” muttered Chelsea. “I have a feeling that his deck may be an exact copy of Kaiba’s deck… And as we all know, only one duelist has ever been able to beat that deck without cheating…”

Everyone looked at Yumi. She shook her head.

“My turn is over…” said Hiroki.

Sam started to sweat. She slowly drew a card.

She played it, and the Pot of Avarice appeared on her side of the field. Gors, Ha Des, Opticlops, Per Sephone, and Archfiend Soldier slipped out of her discard slot, and she reshuffled them back into her deck. She drew two cards.

“All right, Hiroki,” she shouted, “I’m done playing!

“I play my own Ritual! Curse of the Masked Beast!”

The card appeared on her side of the field, and the sinister altar rose up around her.

“Now, I offer Belial, Marquis of Darkness as a sacrifice. Begone!”

The Fiend lord appeared, and was consumed by the flames. Then, the altar exploded, and the immense form of The Masked Beast appeared. (3,200/1,800)

“Go!” she shouted. “Attack the Blue-Eyes on the left!”

The Masked Beast lifted its cudgel and charged. It slammed its weapon into the massive Dragon. Blue-Eyes roared, and shattered.

“Yeah…” said Ren.

(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 3,550)

“So…” said Sam. “What do you say to that, dear brother?”

“I say,” said Hiroki, “it’s my move…”

He drew a card.

“Hmm…” he said. “I’ll admit that your attempt wasn’t bad… Blue-Eyes can’t defeat The Masked Beast in a head-to-head battle…

“So I’m just going to have to get rid of it another way. I pay Soul Exchange!”

A Spell Card appeared.

“This Spell lets me use one of your Monsters as a sacrifice to summon one of mine. So I’ll use The Masked Beast…”

Sam gasped as The Masked Beast vanished.

“Then I’ll summon Different Dimension Dragon.”

A new Dragon appeared on Hiroki’s side of the field next to Blue-Eyes. It was a small, wispy Dragon that seemed to be sculpted out of pure light, with two sets of wings and no legs. (1,200/1,500)

Different Dimension Dragon? thought Sam. Uhm… It sounds familiar, but…

“No…” gulped Erik. “She’s defenseless again…”

“Don’t worry,” said Atticus. “He played Soul Exchange. He can’t attack at all this turn. And he has no more cards in his hand.”

“He’s right…” muttered Hiroki, with a shrug. “But it was the preferable option. So I guess I’ll just end my turn.”

Sam looked at the last card in her hand. It was The Bistro Butcher.

This guy can easily take down his Different Dimension Dragon, she thought, and I have to do so before he uses whatever nasty effect it’s hiding. Clearly, a Level Five Monster with Attack Points that low has a powerful effect. But he’ll get to draw two cards.

This next draw had better be my best ever…

She made a draw.

Her eyes lit up.

“I play a facedown,” she said, as a facedown card appeared. “Then I summon The Bistro Butcher!”

In a burst of dark energy, the diabolic chef appeared, holding his cleaver. (1,800/1,000)

“Slay his Different Dimension Dragon!” she shouted.

The Bistro Butcher flew at the smaller Dragon, lifting his cleaver…

But when he swung, the blade passed through it as if it wasn’t there.

(S: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 2,950)

“What?” said Sam. “It wasn’t destroyed?”

“Different Dimension Dragon is able to exist simultaneously in our dimension and the Different Dimension,” said Hiroki. “As a result, it’s hard to hurt. Monsters can’t destroy it unless they have more than 1,900 Attack Points, and it can’t be destroyed by card effects that don’t specifically target a Monster.

“However… Since I still took damage, I get to draw two cards due to your Butcher’s effect…”

He made two draws.

“And since you’re the one with no cards left to play now, it’s my move…”

He drew a third card.

“I summon Kaibaman,” he said.

“NO!” shouted Sam.

Before Sam’s unbelieving eyes, it happened. The Monster that her uncle had designed himself appeared… The one modeled to look just like him, wearing a helmet shaped like the head of the Blue-Eyes. (200/700)

“You have some nerve, Hiroki…” growled Yumi.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Hiroki. “Anyway, he won’t be staying long… Because by using his effect, I can sacrifice him to summon his servant…”

Kaibaman vanished.

“You see, Sam, as Chels already guessed, I copied your uncle’s deck perfectly, so I have three copies of Blue-Eyes!”

The third Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared. (3,000/2,500)

“Seems all you have protecting you is that facedown card,” he continued.

He took the last card in his hand.

“I don’t like it, so I’m getting rid of it…

“I play Stamping Destruction!”

He played the card, and one of the two huge Dragons slammed its foot down. A shockwave tore across the field, and Sam’s Bark of Dark Ruler was blown to pieces.

No… thought Erik, as he watched with terror. The Monster I couldn’t see in the vision that she took the attack from… It was that thing…

“Blue-Eyes number one,” ordered Hiroki, “annihilate The Bistro Butcher!”

The Blue-Eyes blasted its mighty breath, and the Fiend was blown to particles.

“Second Blue-Eyes, attack directly! White Lightning!”

The second Blue-Eyes blasted its breath directly at Sam, and she screamed…

She fell to her knees.

(S: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 2,950)

“SAM!” screamed Erik. “Sam baby, no!”

Sam looked up, and started to sweat. Smoke rose from her body.

“Sorry, baby…” she gasped. “I guess this is as far as I go…”

She started to fade.

“Give Daala a good one for me, huh?”

Erik ran up to her, but she vanished into globules of light before he made it to her.

“She… she lost…” gasped Yumi.

* * * * * * * * * *

Daala chuckled.

“Part one is complete,” she said, getting up. “Well, Vita, what do you think of…”

Then she was surprised to see that Vita was gone. The Holding Arms and Holding Legs were lying on the floor, along with a card.

She picked it up.

“Mesmeric Control?” she muttered, looking at. “It must have put those two restraints to sleep…

“But Vita couldn’t have played it herself, her hands were bound… Some ally of hers must have gotten past my defenses and done it…”

She thought for a minute.

“I’ll worry about it later… We have to continue the current plan. Hiroki’s job isn’t quite done, and I have to see if Leichter got the process right…

“We can’t screw up this time…”

* * * * * * * * * *

“I’m gonna kill you, Hiroki!” screamed Erik.

“And I’m gonna kill you again when he’s done!” shouted Yumi.

Hiroki sighed, and crossed his arms.

“That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard,” he muttered. “You folks had best stop threatening me and start listening to me. Your girlfriend is a prisoner, Erik… If you ever want her back, you’ll do what I say.”

Erik stopped short.

“Want her back?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” asked Atticus. “Daala has never been willing to release a prisoner for any terms…”

“We’ve never had one that we could use as a bargaining chip,” replied Hiroki.

He pointed to the fortress above him.

“Sam is up there, and let me tell you, she isn’t very happy. However… You ever hear of a little thing done in times of war called prisoner exchange?”

“Huh?” said Atticus. “You want to trade Sam?”

Hiroki nodded.

“For who?” said Atticus with a scowl. “Joan doesn’t have any prisoners! Any members of Daala’s army who are taken prisoner turn into defectors once Joan shows them a mere glimpse of her side. That should tell you people something, you know?”

“It’s not who Daala wants to trade for,” said Hiroki. “It’s what.”

The gate behind him opened.

“If the four of you will just follow me, Leichter will conduct the negotiation with you in a more proper setting.”

Atticus sighed.

“We’d better do it guys,” he said.

“I said, the four of you,” repeated Hiroki. “The Big Kahuna is certainly not welcome.”

Atticus glared at him.

“Hiroki…” he said, in a cheery voice, “tell me something… Have you ever seen me angry?”

“Frankly, no,” said Hiroki. “I don’t think it’s possible for you to get angry.”

“Oh, it’s possible for me to get angry,” chuckled Atticus. “It simply takes a LOT to get me angry.

“And when I am angry, it’s not a pretty sight…

“You, my friend, are getting very close to reaching the precipice where that might happen…”

“Nonetheless,” sighed Hiroki, “you stay outside.”

“You’d better wait out here,” whispered Yumi to Atticus. “If there’s any chance to save Sam, it depends on doing what he says for now.”

“Don’t tell me you actually trust Daala,” replied Atticus.

“No, frankly I don’t,” said Yumi. “But we can’t abandon Sam if we can help it.”

“All right…” he replied. “But I don’t like it…”

He watched as the four of them followed Hiroki into the cavern.

“I don’t like it at all…”

Then he dodged out of the way, just as a ball of flame shot at him from behind. The fireball burst on a rocky ledge next to him.

“Like this is a surprise…” he growled.

He got up, and looked at the assailant. It was a woman dressed in a blue toga, golden jewelry, a headband, bracelets, and tattoos on her arms, with an exotic hairstyle dyed white.

“Hello, Atticus,” purred the Lady Assailant of Flames with a sweet smile. “Remember me?”

“Yeah,” said Atticus, “just like I remember having my wisdom teeth taken out.”

His Duel Disk activated.

“You want a fight, bitch? I’m just in the mood for it…”

The Assailant smiled sweetly and activated her own Disk.

* * * * * * * * * *

“JOAN!” screamed Sheena. “You gotta do something! My baby is in the hands of that madman, and she might…”

“Calm down, Sheena, calm down…” said Joan.

She was working the controls of the special mainframe inside the temple.

“Ms. Arachne…” she said. “As hard as you may find this to believe, there may yet be a silver lining in this dark cloud.”

“What do you mean?” shouted Sheena. “One of my children has been captured, and another one has turned traitor! Why would Hiroki do this to us?”

“I can’t speak for Hiroki,” muttered Joan. “But listen carefully…

“We know for a fact that the Realm Lord of the Flaming Peaks is Leichter now, as Hiroki freely admitted it.

“Now, for some unknown reason, Samantha has neither been moved to Daala’s regular prison, or to wherever Leichter keeps his own prisoners. She’s being kept in some restraining device right in the middle of Leichter’s control room, where his own mainframe is kept. Since Sam is not being kept under the same security as most prisoners, I can still keep tabs on her. For now.”

“So?” shouted Sheena.

“I think I can use her as a beacon of sorts,” said Joan. “Use her as a focus… To sabotage Leichter’s computer, and from there, Daala’s whole network.

“Remember when I said that in order to get a message to Domino, we needed to create an opening in Daala’s system? A blind spot? Well, this may be our means to create a huge one.”

Sheena paused.

“How will that help Sam?” she muttered.

“Yumi and the others will have to do their best to help Sam, Sheena,” said Joan. “We’ll just have to pray that they are able to do so before Sam is moved somewhere where she cannot be reached. Hiroki claims he wants to conduct a prisoner trade, but Daala has never complied with the Rules of Engagement before, and I doubt she intends to now.

“For now… Sam’s loss will not be in vain. You must try hard to work through your tears. I’ll attempt to use Sam to sabotage Daala’s system…

“And when I give the word that I’ve succeeded, you must be ready to make an attempt to breach Daala’s barrier and get a message to your allies. If Daala’s invasion takes Domino by surprise, many others may suffer the same fate Sam is facing now…”

* * * * * * * * * *

I know, this was a short chapter. So next chapter, I’ll just have to make up for it with a long one.

Coming up next, as Yumi and company confront Leichter, the deadliest member of the Big Five, they finally learn the reason why Daala forced them to come to Xanadu. Leichter forces Erik to make a choice, dropping all curtains of deceit and secrecy. Now it’s time to tell the truth. What is the mysterious Key?

Oh, and Nicholas and Olga might show up again too.

It’s all coming up in a chapter called “The Key”, coming soon.



The Legend of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa


The following story is told in The Book of Origins: A History of Planar Races. One copy is known to be in the library of Meltiel, Sage of the Sky.

Long ago, before Shogarr was powerful enough to be the threat that he is now, the Abyss was ruled by his race, a type of demon called the Obyriths. Unlike modern demons, obyriths were chaotic first and evil second, and had forms so seeped in Chaos that no mortal could look upon them without being driven mad.

The most powerful obyrith of the time was the Elder Evil known as the Queen of Chaos. Like Shogarr would one day plan, she yearned to flood the universe in endless Chaos. So she set about building an army. She recruited most of the other obyrith lords to this cause. Some of them refused, and when they did, the Queen forcibly recruited them or killed them. Obox-ob, who then held the title of Prince of Demons, was one who refused. The Queen killed him personally, and bestowed his title on her consort, Miska the Wolf Spider.

Shogarr, not yet known as the Dread Emperor, was another who refused. But his power was great, even in that ancient time, so the Queen decided to leave him alone and not waste her energy in a battle that would weaken her.

The Queen decided to take a different approach than Shogarr eventually would. She would wage war against the mightiest representations of Law in the universe, hoping to prove the superiority of Chaos. And her first target was the then-numerous race of elemental beings called the Vaati, the Wind Dukes of Aaqa.

At this time, the Vaati ruled a vast empire that spanned many dimensions, which was governed by the power of Law, and their population numbered in the millions. They lived in cities that formed perfectly symmetrical streets, with buildings constructed in perfect shapes. Nowhere in the universe was Law closer to perfect than it was in the lands of the Vaati… It is with little wonder that the Queen of Chaos chose them as her first target.

The armies of the Abyss took the Wind Dukes by surprise, and swept like a dark tide over their lands. The Vaati were mostly pacifistic by nature, and had few warriors. Those that they had tried to fight back, but they were no match for the near-infinite hordes. One by one, their cities fell in ruins, and they were slaughtered by the hundreds… Then by the thousands… The air was full of their screams and the Queen’s wicked laugh.

After a year of this onslaught, the unfortunate Vaati were close to extinction. The survivors fled to their ancestral birthplace, the sacred Vale of the Aaqa. They knew it was pointless. The armies of Chaos would quickly overrun it as well.

They wept… And then they prayed. They called to the sky, begging the gods above for aid…

And apparently, some divine force took pity, because their prayers were answered… At the exact same time, knowledge was implanted in the heads of seven of them, seven Vaati craftsmen.

Hardly knowing what they were building, they hammered metal into shape in seven forges. Seven short rods were the result. As the metal was tempered, the energy of the spirits of the survivors infused the seven artifacts, enchanting them with the defining moral concept that the race was so dedicated to. And when all seven of them were brought together in one place, all seven fused together, forming one long rod…

The ultimate weapon of Law… The Rod of Seven Parts.

Handing the weapon to the greatest Vaati warrior who had survived, they waited as the Queen’s army came to invade the Vale, ready to stand for the last time. But as she did, the battle went differently then before. The warrior held aloft the Rod of Seven Parts, and its incredible light burned the flesh of chaotic spawn.

With the surviving Vaati strengthened by its light, they found strength they never knew they had, and cut through the hordes without mercy. Miska the Wolf Spider tried to rally the demonic troops, and the warrior faced the Prince of Demons, and struck his head clean off with one blow from the Rod.

Finally, he faced the enraged Queen of Chaos herself, even as her army was fleeing in fear. The fight was long and brutal, but finally, the Elder Evil was impaled by the weapon, and was no more.

The Rod of Seven Parts was broken into its component pieces in this last act, the pieces scattering to the far corners of the universe. Since then, many have claimed to have found one or even two of the pieces of this great weapon of Law, but it has not been whole since.

When Shogarr learned that his people had been decimated, he knew that his decision to reject the Queen had been the right one. And he vowed never to make the same mistakes she had made…

The Vaati were victorious, but at terrible cost. While they had once numbered in the millions, their race could now be counted in the hundreds. But they now had a new purpose: They would end their pacifistic ways, and become stronger… They would become hardier. And they would fight the forces of the Abyss wherever they showed their vile heads.

The Vaati are immortal as a race. The typical Vaati is over 5,000 years old, and most are much older than that. But their birth rate is incredibly low, with a child being born perhaps once or twice every century. Sadly, their race will likely never recover from the Queen’s attempted genocide.

The Vale of the Aaqa is hard to find, and even harder to enter. Once inside, a visitor will find a virtual paradise, with manicured fields and gardens, and stately pavilions surrounded by exquisite rock gardens. In the entire valley, there is not a single blade of grass or leaf out of place. The valley could easily support ten times more Vaati than currently reside there, and most of the pavilions stand empty.

To most observers, the Vaati seem stiff and over-concerned with formalities. They are excruciatingly regular in their routines and they have rules governing every aspect of life. They are quick to criticize any lapse in etiquette. Other beings of Law often admire them, but others find them annoying.

Still, even one who finds them the most annoying would rather have them on his side when facing the demons of the Abyss. Since the great battle where the Queen of Chaos was slain, the Wind Dukes of Aaqa have become one of the most powerful forces of Law ever to take arms. Until the war between Law and Chaos has a definite victor, they likely will continue, never forgetting how the forces of Chaos once desired their extinction. As immortal creatures, their memories are long.

And in their free time, they endlessly search for news and information on the whereabouts of the seven pieces of the weapon that they used to defeat their enemy. They know that if the Rod of Seven Parts were ever made whole again, whoever used it might be able to turn the tables completely, and tip the balance of the universe towards Law. Possibly, because a universe dominated by Law would likely be as unpleasant as one dominated by Chaos, the weapon was made fragile on purpose, and cannot be reassembled. Still, the Rod of Seven Parts serves as a symbol of the race’s power, even if it must remain a symbolic one.



Name that Card!

Level Four Monsters with 2,000 Attack Points (or more) and some sort of liability have been around for a long time. This Monster was the first. Can you name it?

[Shuppet Master]

I guess Dark Elf.

Oh, and poor Sam! I was really connected to her because my character gave birth to her. Oh, to be taken down by the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon!

And this Hiroki bastard... he was a love child of Siegfried? Geez, the guy got around! Man, what a jerk! I hope his little deck gets its ass kicked later! Nobody should use the Blue Eyes like that, even if they are virtual copies.

Great short chapter.

[Mystic_clown]

Hiroki's Sheena's child, not Siegfried's. It did kind of bothers me that after the initial meeting, Samantha didn't even TRY to persuade her brother not to do this. Likewise, we have no idea why the heck Hiroki's turned evil in the first place.

On a side note, chances are Hiroki's father either raped or took advantage of Sheena, since you decided to make her little miss perfect (a thing I never really forgave you for).

As the duel, well, as you said at the beginning, it was short. It was good to see the Blue Eyes again, though I tried not to roll my eyes at the talk of blasphemy and honour and such.

[Dark Sage]

Hiroki is likely proof that Sheena is NOT perfect, MC. She likely regrets whatever happened with his father, and his father likely regrets it too, which is why he has custody and his parents no longer associate with each other. I'd say that likely their whole relationship was a big mistake, and they were careless. Although, it would likely be wrong to blame Hiroki for it - yet.

As for why Hiroki turned evil, that will be revealed in a future chapter. Chapter 46, to be specific, which isn't far off. In the meantime, there's much more to do until then.

[Shuppet Master]

Wait wait, I don't mind you adding backstory to the character I gave you back in Sister of Anansi, but I was never informed about Hiroki's conception! Also, is this the thing that Sheena was trying to hide from Rasputin's lawyer? If he had found this out, he might have had the "smoking gun" to blackmail Sheena with.

Brian, I am not angry at you for adding stuff to Sheena's backstory - if it was necessary to get Sam's arse kicked in a duel and get her kidnapped, that's fine. As you said, nobody is perfect, not even Sheena. Just... try to inform me next time, okay? (I guess it's my fault for making the character in the first place, I should have known that when she left my hands, she was fair game. No offense, Brian, she's your character now.)

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I knew Hiroki wasn't Sieg's child, since Sam said he had no Kaiba blood in him and Sieg is Seto's nephew. I was just a bit stunned to see this guy show up and kick Sam's butt! I felt a little cheated that Sam didn't even try to fight back, probably bad hands though. I hope those Blue Eyes copycats get their tailed beaten, even the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon if it shows up! Nobod disrespects my favorite card and gets away with it!

[Blademaster]

Wait wait, I don't mind you adding backstory to the character I gave you back in Sister of Anansi, but I was never informed about Hiroki's conception!

Dark Sage taking someone else's creation and twisting it to his own whim...? No way!

What is that, twice in... four chapters? Five? I think that's a new record for you, DS. Kudos.

[Dark Sage]

Ahem.

I wanted Hiroki's identity to be a surprise to everyone. That's why I didn't tell anyone.

Furthermore, Shuppet Master and I are under a spoken agreement. We can use each other's works as we please. We have had that agreement since he wrote "Sister of Anasi", where he expanded on one of MY characters to create Sheena.

I'm not going to comment on this further.

[Shuppet Master]

I would like to agree with Brian here, everyone. Blademaster, please do not assume that I am angry with this added content on a character that has since fallen out of my domain. In fact, I would like to thank Brian for adding this guy in as a half-brother to Sam. I was a bit surprised, but not angry.

And yes, Sheena is actually Brian's character, Shelob. I merely added in backstory on how Shelob was recruited. Sheena's name comes from a ninja woman called Sheena from "Tales of Symphonia", a video game RPG. I didn't know any better back then and based Sheena and Diane off of people I had seen.

Therefore, since Sheena is Shelob, technically Sheena is Brian's character. I just added in the backstory. I didn't expect Brian to agree to Sam's conception or any of the ideas I threw at him, but I was surprised he did. Therefore, by rights, I have no say over him taking a character he had created and I had expanded upon and adding in a half-brother.

[Dark Sage]

What was the first Level Four Monster to have an incredibly high Attack Score? If you said “Jirai Gumo”, you were successfully able to Name that Card! (Give yourself half credit if you said “Dark Elf”. Both cards were released in the same set, but Jirai Gumo came first in the order of Set Numbers.)



All five members of the Big Five were unique, but Leichter… Well, he was uniquely unique. And he had more reasons to hate Seto Kaiba then the others.

He was Gozaburo’s right-hand man, and he was given the task by his boss to aid young Seto in an apparently difficult test to prove his competency in business, in order to prove that he was worthy of the Kaiba name. Seto had to take the 2% of Kaibacorp’s stock that he was given, and increase its value by a hundredfold within a year. Leichter would be the only employee of Kaibacorp allowed to help him. Seto passed the test easily. This test would prove to be Gozaburo’s biggest mistake, because that 2% turned out to be exactly the amount Seto needed to wrest control of Kaibacorp.

However, Leichter bore resentment long afterwards. He had believed that he would take over the company when Gozaburo eventually retired, and believed that Seto could not have passed the test without his aid. Seto’s version of the facts, however, was vastly different. He believed that Leichter was nothing more than a lickspittle who was good for nothing but following orders, and even Gozaburo knew it.

Whichever version you believe, you cannot deny that Leichter became very dangerous when the Big Five put their plans into action. Using Jinzo as his Deckmaster, he was clearly the best duelist of the Big Five, using cards chosen for usefulness rather than any personal preference. He goaded Kaiba during the whole duel with accusations, including one that he manipulated and betrayed his own brother Mokuba in order to deceive Gozaburo. Was it the truth? Kaiba flatly denied it, and we may never know. Still, he learned his lesson the hard way… Very few strategies, in Duel Monsters or otherwise, are any good when they were used against Kaiba.

And so it’s come to this… Him against me, with Sam on the line. Daala isn’t taking chances any more… Everything from this point on is for keeps.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE



The Key

Hiroki led the group into a large chamber. Everyone was surprised. The wooden floors and banners with kanji script reminded them of a dojo.

“What the heck is this place Hiroki?” asked Erik. “Is Leichter teaching martial arts in his spare time?”

“If he’s still Jinzo,” added Ren, “that would be hard to do. I would think Jinzo would lack the motor skills for martial arts.”

“Not martial arts in the traditional sense,” said Hiroki. “As you said, he has taken the form of Jinzo. As such, he has adopted the lifestyle of the old Psycho Style of dueling.”

“Never heard of it,” said Yumi.

“I’m not surprised,” replied Hiroki. “Not many have heard of it these days, since it’s pretty much defunct.

“A long time ago, the Psycho Style was a respected and powerful style of dueling. It was a style that focused on Jinzo and other Dark Machines. But like most styles, it had rivals. Its biggest rival was the Cyber Style.”

“The one that Zane Truesdale belonged to,” said Ren.

“Exactly,” replied Hiroki. “During Jaden’s third year, the Psycho Style produced an incredibly ambitious champion. Maybe he was too ambitious for his own good. Frankly, he was rather arrogant. He decided to end the rivalry by challenging Zane to a battle for dominance.”

“Let me guess,” muttered Chelsea. “Zane kicked his butt good, and the Psycho Style had to shut its doors.”

“No,” growled Hiroki. “That was the ironic part. Zane was too weak and sick to duel him, so his brother Syrus agreed to duel in his place. And Syrus kicked his butt good!

“After that, people started taking Syrus seriously for a change, and the Psycho Style faded into oblivion.

“But that’s all water under the bridge…

“Leichter will be here shortly. I don’t believe you folks will be seeing me again.”

He walked to the other side of the room where a door opened.

“Come back here!” shouted Erik.

Hiroki walked through the door, and it slammed shut.

* * * * * * * * * *

Atticus sweat heavily.

He had Red-Eyes on his side of the field, and 2,000 Life Points remaining. His opponent had three Solar Flare Dragons, a facedown card, and 3,000 Life Points remaining.

“I’m not done yet,” said Atticus, drawing a card. “In case you forgot, I’ve already beaten this strategy once.”

“Go ahead!” mocked the Lady Assailant of Flames. “Use Burst Breath… I dare you…”

Atticus looked at the facedown card.

It’s clearly Destruction Jammer, he thought. Or maybe My Body as a Shield… Well, you aren’t the only one who can burn your opponent, sister…

“I play Dragon’s Gunfire!” he shouted. “This lets me inflict 800 points of damage on you, so long as I have a Dragon on the field.”

“Huh?” said the Assailant.

Red-Eyes spit a ball of flame, and the Assailant screamed. Her Life Points fell to 2,200.

“That the best you can do?” she asked.

“No,” said Atticus. “I can do better…

“I play Inferno Fire Blast!”

The Assailant’s eyes opened wide…

Red-Eyes blasted an even more intense blast of flame from its jaws, and she screamed as her Life Points fell to nothing.

She fell to her knees, smoke pouring from her body. Atticus didn’t say anything as she started to vanish into motes of light.

He took out his cell phone.

Better call for backup, he thought. I have a feeling they’re gonna need it up there…

* * * * * * * * * *

Erik switched the last card from his side deck to his deck.

If Leichter’s Deck Lord ability is anything like his old one, he thought, Traps are no good against him. That makes dealing with him chancy at best… I guess…

And then they were all shocked as the whole back wall lifted up.

Behind it was a room full of computers and monitors. And standing in front of them was one of the most dreaded Monsters in the game. It was easily recognizable, by its alien-looking cranium with a metal faceplate, atop a stiff, spiked collar, over a black, metallic robe.

“You’re something else, Leichter,” said Yumi. “Jinzo was once one of my grandfather Joey’s most powerful cards. And now, with you as one of the rulers of Xanadu, it’s become a symbol of evil…”

“You’re grandfather couldn’t comprehend half of the secrets that Jinzo possessed,” replied Leichter. “Heck, even I couldn’t when I took it for my Deckmaster in Noah’s world. Back then, I simply admired it for its ability to nullify Trap Cards.

“But Daala has shown me secrets about the card that I never knew existed… I’m more powerful now than I ever was before. Jinzo possesses a special power… The power of…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” interrupted Erik. “Tell it to someone who cares! Where’s Sam, Leichter?”

“Direct and to the point, I see,” said Leichter. “Well, to answer your question, Mr. Matell… She’s over there.”

He lifted a small remote control and hit a button on it, while pointing to the side. Something started to rise out of the floor…

Everyone gasped…

The “something” appeared to be a huge diamond, about eight feet tall and five feet wide. If it were an actual diamond, it would clearly be worth a king’s ransom. However, what startled them was the fact that Sam was imprisoned inside it, like a fly in a block of amber. Her eyes were closed – whether she was conscious or not, it was impossible to tell.

“Is that a…” gasped Yumi.

“Yes,” replied Leichter. “A soulgem. One of Shogarr’s special prisons.”

“No…” moaned Erik.

“I’m sure Unus mentioned these to you,” replied Leichter. “How each one is designed to hold one specific mortal being. In truth, Shogarr is far more merciful than most demon lords, who would consume a victim or work him to death in slavery. Shogarr merely keeps them as keepsakes.”

“That’s more merciful to enemies than killing them?” shouted Erik. “Forcing them to serve as… trophies?! It’s sick!”

“Don’t cry yet,” said Leichter. “I lack the skills to complete the magic that completely binds a mortal to one of these things. Only Shogarr and certain other powerful demon lords can truly finish what I’ve started here…”

He lifted the remote.

“But… I can send her to him with one little flick of my thumb. And it would be the first thing he’d do.”

“DON’T!” screamed Erik. “What do you want, Leichter?”

“Simple,” said Leichter. “In exchange for Sam’s safe return, I want the Key.”

A screen behind him flickered, and Daala’s face appeared on it.

“The Key?” said Erik. “What is that?”

“Well, I guess I have time to explain…” muttered Leichter. “I have nowhere to go, after all…

“Joan used a lot of enchantments while building her temple that were hard to come by. Do you recall the legend of the philosopher Diogenes? He was said to have wandered the world at night with a lantern in hand, looking for an honest man.”

“True,” said Yumi. “And he had a reason for doing so. He was a cynic, and believed that such a thing did not truly exist. The legend never specified whether or not he ever found one.”

“Well,” said Leichter, “when Joan built the temple, she needed the blessings of an honest Duel Spirit, one who wasn’t a Fairy. She found that one did exist. The Unhappy Girl. She was all too willing to help out. But unfortunately for her, when she did so, she learned important secrets of its construction. When Daala found out she knew these things, it didn’t take much persuasion to coerce them out of her.”

“You…” gasped Ren. “The Unhappy Girl… Daala tortured her?”

“We learned of the existence of the Key,” said Leichter, not answering the question. “A spiritual linchpin that held the enchantments of the temple together. At first, it was stored in a gemstone inside the temple, and was what held the protective barriers in place.

“But the Key was fragile. It was slowly decaying, as it lacked a proper container. Joan knew that after a while, it would break apart, and the temple’s defenses would fail.

“At first, Daala thought she could wait Joan out, and attack when the Key finally died. But her patience started to wear thin. She knew how Joan could preserve the Key and keep it from dying…

“She had to implant it in the subconscious mind of a sentient being. But Duel Spirits and AI programs could not hold it. Their minds tend to be too one-sided. Only a mind as complex as a human’s could store the spiritual linchpin.”

Yumi’s eyes opened wide.

“That’s why she forced us to come to Xanadu…” she gasped.

“Daala knew Joan would recruit you,” said Leichter. “And she knew she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to put the Key in one of you for safekeeping. She didn’t know that we knew about it. Once we found out which of you had it through our scans, we would take it and destroy it.”

He pointed to Erik.

“The other members of the Big Five have scanned everyone but you, Mr. Matell,” he said. “The process of elimination puts it in your head. I don’t need to waste time dueling you to make sure. Now you will kindly sit still and let me take it…

“Or…”

He held up the remote.

“Erik, wait…” said Chelsea.

“I’m not giving you time to make up your mind, Erik,” said Leichter. “You have thirty seconds to agree. Then Sam is doomed.”

“No…” gasped Erik, starting to sweat.

“Twenty seconds…” said Leichter.

Erik looked at Sam in horror…

“ALL RIGHT!” he screamed.

He bowed his head.

“You win…

“I’m sorry, Joan…”

“I knew you’d see it my way,” said Leichter.

Behind him, Daala grinned.

Leichter reached to the console by his side, and tapped a few buttons.

“Just stand still and breathe normally…”

There was a low hum, and some data appeared in front of him. A few tense seconds passed.

More seconds passed. Leichter’s brow became more wrinkled than normal.

“Where is it…” he whispered. “It’s gotta be here…”

“Problems, Leichter?” asked Daala, speaking for the first time.

“N-no…” said Leichter. “No, milady… Just let me double-check… It has to be…”

Then he paused.

“This… This is impossible!” he shouted.

“What?” demanded Daala.

“The… The scan’s results are negative…” said Leichter.

“What do you mean?” shouted Daala. “That IS impossible!”

“Oh?” asked Yumi. “Maybe the Key is indeed in one of us… But it’s so well-hidden, that Daala’s technology can’t detect it. Just like her technology can’t duplicate Aster’s and Jesse’s cards the way Joan’s can.”

The four of them activated their Disks.

“Release Sam now, Leichter,” demanded Yumi.

“Stay back!” shouted Leichter, lifting the remote again. “Or Sam’s history!”

“Oh?” said Yumi. “You sure that would be wise? What if the Key is in Sam’s head? You banish Sam, the Key goes with her.”

“LEICHTER!” yelled Daala. “Drop that remote right now!”

“But… Milady…” gulped Leichter.

“I mean it, Leichter,” growled Daala. “If Sam is banished, the next one to be banished will be you.”

Leichter dropped the remote like a hot potato.

“What do I do?” he shouted, starting to panic.

“Duel the boyfriend,” said Daala. “I’ll send help.”

Her face vanished from the screen.

Erik stepped forward.

“Oh, by all means,” he said. “I might even enjoy this…”

Leichter gestured, and a Duel Disk appeared on his arm. Erik stepped back nervously…

It was an Anarchist Disk.

“O-kay…” he gulped. “Didn’t expect that…”

Leichter looked at the deck, and smiled inwardly.

“So, Leichter…” said Erik. “As leader of the Big Five, Daala has taught you some pretty intense secrets… She’s shown you the secrets of Chaos, and you’ve become her eager pupil. You know how to use that Disk… You can begin to craft soulgems… How much of your own soul does Shogarr have ownership of by now? Is it a controlling percentage?”

“You say that as if it were a bad thing,” replied Leichter. “Do you realize how many times mankind has benefited from the power of Chaos?”

“Name one,” replied Erik.

“Penicillin,” replied Leichter. “Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the miraculous antibiotic completely by accident, when some foreign material got into another experiment he was working on.”

Erik was dumbfounded. That was true.

“The thing is,” said Leichter, “most people confuse chaos with insanity. Well, they said Socrates was crazy… They said Aristotle was crazy… They said Koji Horanai was crazy…”

“Who was that?” asked Erik.

“He was my uncle,” replied Leichter. “He was crazy. But I’m not crazy. You see, there’s a line between genius and insanity that’s hard to determine sometimes. I mean, if a scientist accidentally mixes two chemicals together and discovers a cure for a crippling disease, they call him a genius. But if he accidentally mixes two chemicals together and blows up his laboratory, they call him an idiot.

“A lot in this life depends on luck, Mr. Matell… The unexpected can often change the world, and Chaos can often make a difference.”

His Disk activated.

“And I will defeat you.”

Blockman appeared behind Erik.

“You think you scare me just because you’re Jinzo?” asked Erik. “I knew you were Jinzo! I reworked my deck before you showed your ugly face! I don’t have a single Trap Card in it.”

“That’s all well and good,” replied Leichter, “but that still takes away a lot of your defenses. I, on the other hand, can still use them, and I intend to.”

“Game on!” they both shouted.

(Erik: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Leichter: 8,000)

Erik looked at Sam again.

I’ll get you out of there, baby, he thought. I swear… Just hang on…

“I’ll go first…” said Leichter, making the first draw.

He looked over his hand.

“I’ll set one Monster on the field, and then one facedown card…”

A concealed card and a concealed Monster appeared.

“…and then you go…”

Got to be careful, thought Erik, making his first draw. This is one guy I’m not taking chances with…

He looked at his opening hand.

“Having trouble deciding?” asked Leichter. “Well, if you’re lucky, you may get a couple more options…”

His facedown card lifted.

“I activate DNA Physical Examination.”

“Say what?” asked Erik.

He looked at the odd Trap Card. Its picture depicted Magical Scientist being given a physical by three comical demons dressed like the doctors on DNA Surgery.

“Here’s the deal,” said Leichter. “You have to try to guess what Attribute my facedown Monster is. In fact, you get two guesses. That’s fair, isn’t it?

“If you guess right, you get to draw two cards. If you guess wrong, I get to draw two cards.”

“Be careful, Erik!” cautioned Yumi. “Think before you answer!”

Erik thought.

He played it on his first move… he thought. I have no idea whether he’s using his old deck or a new deck…

What Monsters did he use in his old deck? Cyber Jar… No, that’s illegal… Satellite Cannon… He couldn’t have set that without a sacrifice… Injection Fairy Lily… Who’d set her in Defense Mode? Dreamsprite… No, he wouldn’t set that on his first turn…

Oh, who am I kidding? He’s using that Anarchist Disk. He likely doesn’t have any of his old cards…

“Well?” asked Leichter.

“Uh… Light and Dark!” shouted Erik.

“Heh, heh, heh…” chuckled Leichter.

The card slowly lifted up, and was revealed to be D.D. Crazy Beast.

“As you can see, my Monster is neither Light nor Dark,” said Leichter, “so you lose.”

The card set back down, and he drew two cards.

Erik looked at the six cards in his hand.

At least I know what his Monster is, he thought. D.D. Crazy Beast has 1,400 Defense Points, and I have nothing here that can beat that…

But…

“I set a facedown card, and then summon Toy Wind-Up.”

A facedown card appeared, and then the tall, tin soldier appeared, pointing its blunderbuss. (1,000/700)

Eh? thought Leichter. If he has no Traps, what’s the facedown card? Some sort of Quickplay?

“My draw,” said Leichter.

He drew a card.

“And I play Card Destruction!”

He played a Spell Card.

“Huh?” said Erik.

“Now we both have to fold all the cards in our hands, and draw an equal number,” said Leichter.

“I know how Card Destruction works,” said Erik, discarding the cards in his hand.

He drew five cards, and Leichter drew six.

“Perfect,” said Leichter. “Now I flip my Monster into Attack Mode… You guessed it…”

His facedown Monster flipped.

“D.D. Crazy Beast!”

The Monster that appeared was huge and weird. It looked like a big, wormlike thing, with six clawed legs, and a huge set of jaws, with beady eyes to either side. (1,400/1,400)

“That guy’s bark is worse than his bite,” muttered Ren.

“Perhaps,” said Leichter. “But his breath is worse than his bark, as Toy Wind-Up is about to find out. And any Monster he destroys is removed from play.

“Attack his Toy Wind-Up!”

D.D. Crazy Beast opened its jaws, and bright blue flames started to appear in them…

“Go, Spell Card!” shouted Erik. “Toy Robot Box!”

His facedown card lifted, and he quickly discarded one of his cards (it was Double Snare). Three Monsters that looked like armored robot superheroes appeared. They knelt and crouched in Defense Mode. (0/0 x3)

“Dolls?” asked Leichter.

“They aren’t dolls,” said Leichter. “They’re action figures! And so long as these tokens are on the field, you can’t attack any Monsters except them.”

“Fine!” shouted Leichter. “I think I’ll do just that.”

D.D. Crazy Beast shot a blast of bright blue flame from its jaws, and one of the three Toy Robots exploded.

And since Tokens aren’t considered cards in this respect, he thought, I can’t use the effect I need to yet. But I will soon…

“I set one card facedown on the field,” said Leichter, as a facedown card appeared, “and then it’s your move.”

Erik quickly drew a card.

All right, he thought, looking at it.

“Thanks to Bandit Keith,” he said, “my Deck Lord now has a Greater Power of his own.”

Blockman started to glow with golden light.

“It’s called Toy Tinker, and lets me take a low Level Toy Monster from my deck every other round.”

Toy Soldier slipped out of his deck, and he looked at it.

“But I won’t be using him yet. I sacrifice my two Tokens…”

The two Toy Robot Tokens vanished into grains of light.

“To summon Puppet King!”

In an explosion of energy, the mighty Puppet King appeared, looming over the field. (2,800/2,600)

“Impressive,” said Leichter.

“Attack his D.D. Crazy Beast!” shouted Erik. “Majestic Checker!”

Puppet King lunged at the Beast.

“It isn’t so easy, Mr. Matell,” said Leichter. “I activate No Entry!!”

His facedown card flipped up.

“Now, all Monsters on the field move to Defense Mode.”

Puppet King, Toy Wind-Up, and D.D. Crazy Beast squatted in defensive positions.

Erik sighed.

“I’ll throw two cards facedown,” he said, “and that will be all.”

Two facedown cards appeared.

Leichter drew a card.

“Just what I needed,” he said, as he placed it in his Disk. “Gaze upon… The Different Dimension Gate!”

With a rumbling noise, a huge apparatus appeared behind him. The giant contraption had a portal of rainbow-colored lights in its center, which were moving in a haphazard pattern.

“This Continuous Spell Card lets me remove two Monsters on the field from play. But there is a catch. One of those Monsters has to be one of mine.

“So I’ll remove your Puppet King and my D.D. Crazy Beast.”

There was a fierce suction, and both Monsters were swept up, and sucked through the portal.

“HEY!” shouted Erik.

“And that’s not all,” said Leichter. “One of the cards I tossed when I played Card Destruction was a creature called Zeta Reticulant. When it’s in my Graveyard when one of your cards is removed from play, I get to summon an EBE Token.”

A small creature appeared on Leichter’s side of the field. It looked like your standard little alien, with a big head on a small body with large eyes. (500/500)

“EBE stands for Extraterrestrial Biological Entity, by the way.”

“And just what are you going to do with it?” asked Erik.

“I’m going to sacrifice it,” said Leichter, holding up a card. “To Special Summon this! Zeta Reticulant!”

The EBE Token vanished, and a much bigger, much nastier alien appeared. It was a monstrous creature with sharp spurs all over its body, spherical orbs on its chest, razor-sharp teeth, and claws, standing seven feet tall. (2,400/2,100)

“Wait a minute!” shouted Erik. “You said it was in your Graveyard, not in your hand!”

“True,” said Leichter. “Is there any rule that says my deck can’t have more than one copy?”

“I’ve heard of this creature,” muttered Chelsea. “It may not look like any relative of Joan’s, but it’s a Fairy of some sort. And a powerful one…”

“Attack his Toy Wind-Up!” ordered Leichter. “Plasma blaster!”

Zeta Reticulant fired a beam of destructive energy from its hands, and Toy Wind-Up was atomized.

“Consider yourself lucky your Monster was in Defense Mode,” said Leichter. “It’s your move…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Joan was still working her main console, while Sheena nervously sat at another console.

“It’s working, Sheena!” said Joan. “Leichter is too occupied by the duel to notice my sabotage, and Daala has drawn her attention elsewhere. She’s likely upset at her failure to get the Key. We’ll likely have our window in a matter of minutes.

“Be ready to start communications, and be prepared for what you have to tell your allies.”

“Right,” said Sheena, starting to type. “Uh…

“Out of curiosity Joan… Who does have the Key?”

Joan looked a bit uncomfortable.

“I can’t tell you, Sheena,” she said. “Especially now that we know that Daala knows of its existence. If I told you and you were captured, Daala would force the information out of you, and then send wave after wave after the one I gave it to until he or she was also captured, and the rebellion would fall.

“Suffice to say, it’s safe.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Okay… thought Erik. He’s got a butt-ugly alien, and I got…

He drew a card.

Spell Striker?! Not exactly the king of Warriors…

Then he noticed something behind Leichter, at the podium where the big gem was that was holding Sam prisoner.

Vita? thought Erik.

It was indeed Vita. She had apparently snuck in, and had crept up to the big gem.

She turned to Erik, and put her finger to the mouth on her mask, as if to say “Shhhh.”

Erik got the idea. He paused for a minute as Vita placed her hand on the gem, and a dark blotch started to form on it, like a bruise.

He placed a card on his Disk.

“I summon Spell Striker,” he said.

In a flash of light, the toy wizard with his horned helmet and cape appeared. (600/200)

“Attack him directly!” shouted Erik.

Spell Striker flew at Leichter and shot sparks from his wand. Leichter barely flinched.

“That the best you can do?” asked Leichter.

“I do the best I can,” replied Erik.

(E: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 7,400)

“My move!” shouted Leichter.

He drew a card.

It was Destruction Jammer.

I’ll save this for when I need it, he thought.

“I summon a second D.D. Crazy Beast,” he said.

He played a card from his hand, and another of the weird dimensional Monsters appeared. (1,400/1,400)

“Attack his Spell Striker!” he ordered.

The Crazy Beast breathed its blast of blue flames, and Spell Striker was disintegrated.

“Due to his effect,” said Erik, “I take no damage…”

“I know that,” said Leichter, “that’s why I attacked with him first.

“Zeta Reticulant, attack him directly!”

Zeta blasted its plasma blaster, and Erik screamed as he was struck and propelled backwards.

Erik groaned and sat up.

“Facedown card activate,” he said. “Emergency Provisions. I’ll send my other facedown card to the Graveyard to gain 1,000 Life Points back.”

His Quickplay lifted up, and then his Symbol of Heritage lifted up and vanished.

(E: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 7,400)

“It’s your move, Mr. Matell,” said Leichter. “You may have prepared your deck against Jinzo, but you hardly had any idea what else you’d be facing.”

Erik quickly drew a card.

I hate villainous rant, he thought. Especially when it makes a valid point.

He looked at it.

“I use my Toy Tinker ability again,” he said.

He took a card out of his deck. He looked at it.

“I set a card facedown, and end my turn.”

A facedown card appeared.

“Let me get this straight,” said Leichter. “You used your Deck Lord’s effect to search for a low Level Monster, and you didn’t even defend with it?”

Erik just glared at him.

“Oh, fine,” said Leichter, drawing a card.

“D.D. Crazy Beast, attack him directly!”

“Go, Spell Card!” shouted Erik. “Mystical Space Typhoon!”

His Quickplay lifted up, and the cyclone shot towards the Different Dimension Gate, causing the portal to crack. It smashed into pieces, and two orbs of light flew onto the field…

Two Monsters materialized, Puppet King on Erik’s side of the field in Defense Mode. (2,800/2,600) and Leichter’s original D.D. Crazy Beast on his side of the field, also in Defense Mode. (1,400/1,400)

“I’m not dumb, Leichter,” he said. “I knew that destroying the Gate would bring those two back.”

“Okay, you’re very smart,” growled Leichter. “I’ll move Zeta to Defense Mode, and end my turn.”

Zeta Reticulant knelt down and shielded itself with its claws.

“My move!” shouted Erik, drawing a card.

He paused as he drew, and looked at what Vita was doing. The black spot she was creating on the gem had spread, creating an ugly imperfection on the huge gemstone.

God, I hope you know what you’re doing… he thought.

“I play Pot of Greed,” he said.

He played the card, and drew two.

“I move Puppet King to Attack Mode.”

Puppet King stood up.

“Then, I summon Toy Soldier.”

Toy Soldier appeared in a flash. (800/300)

“Now,” he said, opening his Field slot, “I play Toy Town!”

The computer room faded away, and the fairy tale village with its gingerbread houses and the rainbow in the sky appeared. Toy Soldier grew to an ATK of 1,100.

“Bah!” said Leichter.

“Puppet King, attack Zeta Reticulant!” shouted Erik.

Puppet King lunged, and clobbered the alien. It shattered into shards.

“Now I play… Shrink,” continued Erik, “to cut your Crazy Beast to a more manageable size.”

The Crazy Beast in Attack Mode shrunk to half its size, and an Attack Score or 700.

Toy Soldier aimed his musket and fired, and the Crazy Beast roared before it shattered.

(E: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 7,000)

“That’s all for me.”

Leichter drew a card.

He played two cards, and a facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared.

“That all?” asked Erik. “You must be slipping…”

He drew a card.

“I get to use my Toy Tinker ability again…”

A card slipped out of his deck, and he took it.

“Then, I get to summon two more Toy Soldiers from my deck.”

Two more Toy Soldiers appeared in Attack Mode. (800/300) –> (1,100/300)

“Next, I summon Toy Magician!”

In a flash of light, the colorful, plastic mage appeared. (1,600/1,500) –> (1,900/1,500)

“Finally, I play Crowning of the Emperor! I’ll trade in one Toy Magician, to summon Toy Emperor!”

One Toy Magician vanished, and Toy Emperor appeared astride his wooden steed. (2,300/800) –> (2,600/800)

“You,” he said to one of the Soldiers, “attack his facedown Monster!”

The Soldier fired his musket, and Dark Mimic LV1 appeared on the card. It was blown to pieces.

“I get to draw one card,” said Leichter, making a draw.

“Toy Magician, destroy the last D.D. Crazy Beast!” ordered Erik.

Toy Magician fired his blasts of light, and the Crazy Beast exploded into colored lights.

“Puppet King, attack him directly!”

Puppet King charged at Leichter.

“I don’t think so!” shouted Leichter.

His facedown card lifted, and Negate Attack appeared. Puppet King was thrown backwards.

“Huh?” said Ren. “He could have used that to protect his Crazy Beast… But for some reason… He waited… Why?”

Leichter chuckled.

“I’ll show you all why,” he said. “It’s time for my true strategy to be unveiled…”

He drew a card. Then his own Field slot opened.

“I play… Cosmic Space!”

Toy Town crumbled into dust, and the whole room went dark. As everyone looked around, they saw that they had been transported off the Earth, and into the astral. Around them were the bodies of the cosmos… Stars, planets, suns…

They were in outer space.

“What is going on?” asked Erik.

* * * * * * * * * *

At this moment, in Kaibaland…

Olga was facing Nicholas at a table in the main computer room in the virtual reality lab, and she was thinking very hard.

“Okay, Nicholas,” she said. “I think I’ve found the killer…

“I believe…

“That it was Ms. Scarlet, with the Revolver, in the Billiard Room!”

Nicholas looked at her.

He took the envelope in the center of the game board, and opened it. He looked at the three cards inside.

Then he groaned, and held his head in frustration.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” laughed Olga. “HA!

“You gotta admit, Nicholas, I’m either the greatest Clue player who ever lived, or you just plain stink.”

“Let’s play something else…” growled Nicholas.

“Wanna duel?” asked Olga.

Before Nicholas could answer, the screen behind them came to life.

“Hello?” said Sheena’s voice. “Hello? Nicholas… Olga… Are you still there?”

The two of them jumped up, and went to the screen. Sheena’s face appeared, blurry, but still there.

“We’re here, Ms. Arachne,” said Nicholas. “Are you safe?”

“More or less,” said Sheena. “But Domino is in trouble…

“Listen… I need your help again… We know Daala’s plans…

“Pretty soon, they’re going to go far beyond Xanadu…”



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“What’s going on, Leichter?” asked Erik. “What is this? Macro Cosmos?”

“Macro Cosmos is a Continuous Trap,” replied Leichter. “This is a Field Spell.”

“I can see that,” said Erik. “What does this Field do?”

“It’s one of the deadliest Fields in existence,” said Leichter. “Most Field Spells have some sort of benefit for one Type, Attribute, or archetype of Monster.

“Not this one. The void of Cosmic Space is hostile to all forms of life. So it technically doesn’t benefit any Monster at all. It has a debilitating effect on all Monsters on the field.

“During each End Phase, yours and mine, all Monsters have their Levels reduced by one. If a Monster is Level One at the time, it is destroyed.”

“The same goes for your Monsters, Leichter!” shouted Yumi.

“True,” said Leichter. “However, I have a Monster that has a unique way of surviving.

“It’s still my turn, I believe…”

He placed a card in his Disk.

“I activate Premature Burial. Once I give up 800 Life Points, I can bring back someone else I discarded when I played Card Destruction. My EBE Abductor.”

Another weird alien appeared on the field. Its body looked like it combined both its torso and head into one, with arms on the sides and legs at the bottom. Its eyes were cold and inhuman. (1,000/500)

“This is one of those aliens that is notorious for kidnapping humans in order to study them,” said Leichter. “And it can do so once per turn if I simply discard one card.”

He discarded a D.D. Trainer from his hand.

“Take one of his Toy Soldiers!”

EBE Abductor’s eyes glowed with hypnotic light, and one of the two Toy Soldiers looked dizzy. He was pulled over to Leichter’s side.

“Huh?” said Chelsea. “I don’t get it… If Leichter could have brainwashed any of Erik’s Monsters, why did he choose Toy Soldier instead of Puppet King?”

“Because, I would benefit more if Mr. Matell kept his stronger Monsters,” said Leichter. “The reason why will become apparent in a minute.

“I sacrifice Toy Soldier and EBE Abductor…”

The Toy Soldier and the strange alien vanished.

“…in order to summon Greed Quasar!”

A new, much more frightening creature appeared. This one looked more like a space-age demon than a true alien. Its torso was a fiendish skull with a fanged jaw, with small, clawed arms and no legs, and a head with a pointed top.

“Let me explain how Greed Quasar works,” said Leichter. “Its Attack and Defense Score are each 300 times its Level. When I summon it, it’s Level Seven, so…”

(2,100/2,100)

“HA!” laughed Chelsea. “If that’s true, your Field Spell will weaken it every turn!”

“Yes and no,” replied Leichter. “You see, every time Greed Quasar defeats an enemy, its Level increases by an amount equal to the defeated Monster’s Level.

“So, if it were to destroy Toy Emperor, it would gain six Levels, and gain 1,800 points.”

“That would make it Level Thirteen!” exclaimed Ren. “The maximum Level a Monster can be is Twelve!”

“Uh, Ren, technically, that isn’t true,” replied Yumi. “There’s no rule that puts a maximum limit on the Level a Monster can be. Granted, no Monster has ever been designed that was greater than Twelve, but…”

“Regardless,” said Erik, “I see another thing wrong with your plan. It isn’t strong enough to defeat Toy Emperor.”

“It could if Toy Emperor were in Defense Mode,” said Leichter.

He took a card from his hand.

“I play Book of Moon!”

Erik gasped as Toy Emperor vanished, and was replaced by a facedown Monster.

“Attack!” shouted Leichter. “Quantum blast!”

Greed Quasar exhaled a blast of violet flames from the jaw on its torso. The facedown Toy Emperor exploded.

Greed Quasar glowed with energy, and rose to (3,900/3,900).

“See how it copes now?” asked Leichter. “It may lose a Level every round, but it gains Levels by battling enemies. So it can easily survive the debilitating effect of Cosmic Space.”

Even worse, thought Erik, the higher in Level it is, the stronger it is… And with no Trap Cards in my deck, destroying it is going to be very hard…

Leichter looked at the last card in his hand, which was Destruction Jammer.

It needs a discard to use, so setting it this round would be pointless, he thought. I’ll take my chances for now…

“I end my turn, which means that all Monsters on the field lose one Level.”

Greed Quasar fell to (3,600/3,600)

(E: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 6,200)

“All right, my draw…” said Erik, drawing a card.

His eyes opened when he saw what it was.

One of the cards that Sam won from Nezbitt… he thought. Oh, but it would be no good now…

He turned the cards on his Disk, and Toy Magician, Puppet King, and the last Toy Soldier moved to Defense Mode. Then he took the other Toy Magician in his hand, and placed it on his Disk, and it appeared facedown.

If I manage to flip it into Attack Mode, he thought, its effect can destroy this Field Spell. Let’s just hope it lasts that long.

“That’s all,” he said.

Greed Quasar fell to (3,300/3,300)

Leichter drew quickly.

“Perfect,” he said. “I set one card, and then play Coins from Heaven.”

A facedown card appeared, and then golden motes shown through the whole void.

“How lucky can you get?” muttered Chelsea.

Erik frowned. Leichter was getting twice as many cards out of this as he was.

“Now let’s use them,” said Leichter. “I play Shield Crush.”

The Spell Card appeared, and a beam of energy shot towards the facedown Toy Magician, blowing it to pieces.

“Crud…” muttered Erik.

“Next,” continued Leichter, “I summon Lyra the Giver.”

“Huh?” said Erik.

A new alien appeared on the field. It was tall, thin, and skeletal, with a skull-like, inhuman face. (1,800/1,500)

“Don’t worry, it isn’t staying,” said Leichter. “As its name suggests, it likes to give things. Case in point, by sacrificing it, its Level is added to the Level of any other Monster on the field. So I’ll sacrifice it, and give that value to Greed Quasar.”

Lyra the Giver vanished into grains of light, and Greed Quasar glowed with energy again. (4,500/4,500)

“Next,” said Leichter, “I play Fairy Meteor Crush, and I’ll Equip it to Greed Quasar.”

He played the card, and Greed Quasar burned with fiery energy.

“Attack his Puppet King! Quantum blast!”

Greed Quasar blasted its flames at Puppet King, and the wooden monarch exploded.

“ERGH!” shouted Erik.

(E: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 6,200)

“Your Puppet King was Level Five just then,” said Leichter, “so my Greed Quasar gains five more Levels, and 1,500 more points.”

Greed Quasar glowed again. (6,000/6,000)

“Six thousand?” shouted Chelsea. “That’s insane!”

“Like the guy using it,” added Ren.

“I end my turn,” said Leichter. “Unfortunately for your Toy Soldier, that means his time is up.”

Toy Soldier vanished in a plume of smoke and flames. Greed Quasar fell to (5,700/5,700).

“By the way, the same thing’s gonna happen to your Toy Magician as soon as you end your next turn. So make the most of it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“This is serious, Nicholas!” said Olga. “Invasion… A dark army… We gotta tell the authorities…”

“And tell them what, Olga?” asked Nicholas. “Oh, officer, an army of Duel Spirits from another dimension is planning to invade the city, and we won’t be able to see them until they’re right on top of us. We have to call in the National Guard.

“In case you forgot, Olga, something similar to this has happened before. When…”

He shuddered in fear.

“When that thing with the Orichalcos started, Duel Spirits appeared worldwide, and they were very visible. Everyone then accused Kaiba of using satellite technology to create them as a publicity stunt.

“It’ll be just like that old 1950’s monster movie… What was it called? The Glob?”

“The Blob,” sighed Olga.

“That’s the one,” said Nicholas. “When things like this happen, the authorities never believe it until it’s too late.”

“So what do we do?” asked Olga.

“We have to prepare ourselves,” said Nicholas. “We have to make sure our decks are ready… We have to…”

He stopped short.

“We have to make a phone call…”

He turned to the computer screen, and typed in some commands. The Domino telephone directory appeared on it.

“Who you gonna call?” asked Olga.

“This is kinda a long shot,” said Nicholas. “But ever since I started using the Six Samurai, I heard rumors from other duelists.

“One of Yumi’s father’s old allies might, just might have something I can use that would make my deck far more powerful…”

“Will he give it to you?” asked Olga.

“She,” said Nicholas. “And frankly, I doubt it. But if it exists, she likely knows how one can get it…

“It wouldn’t hurt to ask…”

* * * * * * * * * *

“My draw…” muttered Erik, drawing a card.

He looked at Vita. The black stain had now covered fully half of the diamond, and it was covered with cracks now.

He played the card, and the Pot of Avarice appeared. All three Toy Soldiers, Puppet King, and Toy Wind-Up slipped out of his discard slot, and he shuffled them into his deck. He made two draws.

“Now, I use my Deck Lord ability to get back Toy Soldier…”

One Toy Soldier slipped out of his deck and he took it.

“As if that pathetic thing scared me,” replied Leichter.

“We’ll soon see,” said Erik, playing a card. “I play Toy Box.”

He played the card, and the smiling Toy Box appeared on the field. (0/0)

“This Token can’t be attacked,” said Erik, “and it’s immune to Spells, so it’s safe from your Field Spell. Plus I get to hide two Toy Monsters in it.”

The box opened, and the Toy Magician that was cowering in Defense Mode jumped into it. Then one of the cards in Erik’s hand turned into to an orb of energy, and flew into it.

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

A facedown card appeared. Greed Quasar fell to (5,400/5,400).

Leichter drew a card.

“You seem to have made a fatal error,” he said. “I happen to know that if a Monster can’t be targeted by attacks, it also can’t defend against direct attacks.”

Erik just stared at him.

“I could wipe you out with one blast from Greed Quasar,” continued Leichter, “but something tells me that you aren’t that dumb… Your facedown card may well be a Quickplay that will protect you… Maybe another copy of Shrink, perhaps… You’d take a lot of damage, but you’d still be in the duel…

“So to better my chances, I’ll summon EBE Epsilon.”

He played a card, and another Monster appeared. It was little more than a pair of sharp claws on a bony, crustacean frame. (1,500/1,600)

“Epsilon, attack him directly!”

The EBE Epsilon flew at Erik, and slashed at him with its claws. Erik screamed and fell on his behind.

“Goodbye, Mr. Matell,” said Leichter. “Greed Quasar, attack him directly!”

Greed Quasar glowed with energy.

“Activate… Enemy Controller!” shouted Erik.

His facedown card flipped up.

“Typical…” muttered Leichter.

The video game control pad appeared, and Greed Quasar backed up, shielding itself in Defense Mode.

“You’ve only bought yourself a turn,” said Leichter. “My Quasar has just as many Defense Points as it has Attack Points.

“And the effect of my Toy Box activates,” said Erik.

The Toy Box opened, and Toy Soldier hopped out. (800/300)

“Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time?” asked Leichter. “He won’t last long here.

“I end my turn.”

Greed Quasar fell to (5,100/5,100).

(E: 3,200) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 6,200)

“Draw…” said Erik.

He quickly drew a card.

“I use Toy Soldier’s effect once again, to summon two more of his comrades.”

Two more Toy Soldiers appeared. (800/300 x2)

“Next, I’ll use the effect of Toy Box again, to bring Toy Magician out, this time in Attack Mode.”

Toy Magician hopped out of the Toy Box. (1,600/1,500) The Toy Box vanished.

“By the way, Leichter, since he left the field and was summoned to it again, his Level is reset to four.”

“As if it mattered,” said Leichter.

“But it does matter!” shouted Erik, thrusting a Spell Card forward. “Thanks to your overconfident friend Nezbitt, I’m about to bring out the strongest Monster in my deck!

“I play Sky Union!”

“Sky Union?” gasped Leichter. “Wait… Doesn’t that summon…”

“You gotta be kidding me…” said Chelsea.

“I sacrifice three Monsters…” continued Erik.

All three Toy Soldiers vanished…

A shadow slowly started to fall across the field as it appeared out of the astral. It was a giant, armored airship, like a flying navy battleship with far more emphasis on armaments. Dominating it was a huge, robotic head in the center with glowing eyes, and it was armed to the teeth with dozens upon dozens of cannons, gun turrets, and missile launchers.

“This is a toy that isn’t recommended for children ages ten and under,” said Erik. “The Air Fortress Ziggurat!”

(2,500/2,000)

“And guess what, Leichter? It’s completely impervious to all Spell and Trap Cards, so your Field Spell can’t hurt it in the slightest.”

“Big deal!” shouted Leichter. “It may be… big, but my Greed Quasar is still over twice as strong!”

“I’ll get to him in a minute,” said Erik. “First, I Normal Summon Toy Tank.”

He placed a card on his Disk, and the small, plastic tank appeared on the field. (1,300/1,100)

“Now, for your Greed Quasar. As I’ve already said, I was ready for you, Leichter. I switched all of the Trap Cards in my deck with useful Quickplays.”

He held a card forward.

“Does this look familiar? It should… You used it on my Toy Emperor.”

“Book of Moon?!” shouted Leichter.

“And I think I’ll use it on your Greed Quasar,” said Erik.

Leichter gasped as Greed Quasar vanished, and was replaced by a facedown Monster.

“What have you done?” he screamed. “If Greed Quasar is flipped facedown…”

“Its effect is reset,” said Erik. “Just like any Monster is if it’s flipped facedown. That means its Level is now seven, so its Defense Score is now 2,100.

“So good luck dodging THIS!”

All at once, every artillery on Air Fortress Ziggurat ignited. Yumi, Ren, and Chelsea covered their ears as missiles, shells, and rockets flew towards the facedown Monster, blowing Greed Quasar to oblivion.

“I’m not done with you!” shouted Erik. “Toy Magician, attack EBE Epsilon with sparkle blast!”

Toy Magician cast his spell, and the bony alien shattered into splinters.

“Toy Tank, attack him directly!”

With a loud BOOM, a blast of energy shot out of Toy Tank’s turret, and Leichter staggered backwards, clutching his chest.

“It’s your move, Leichter…” chuckled Erik.

(E: 3,200) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 4,800)

Leichter slowly drew a card.

Okay, now I’m in trouble… he thought. Darn, it Daala, where’s the help you promised to send? I don’t have another Monster in my whole deck that can defeat that thing…

He looked at a card in his hand.

Except this one… It will be risky, but it’s my only option right now…

He chose a card from his hand.

“I play Giant Trunade,” he said. “Now, all Spell and Trap Cards on the field return to the owners’ hands.”

The void of Cosmic Space vanished, as did Leichter’s facedown card, and both appeared in his hand.

“Next, I set two cards facedown on the field…”

Two facedown cards appeared (one of them obviously the one he had just sent back to his hand).

“…then, I pay 1,000 Life Points to summon my favorite Monster… Myself.”

He stepped forward five paces, onto the field. (2,400/1,500)

“Now you’ve done it,” said Erik. “You realize, Leichter, that those facedown cards can’t stop my Fortress, and it’s stronger than you are.”

“That won’t be the case,” said Leichter, “once I make a small upgrade…”

He placed a card on his Disk, and he slowly began to glow with an eerie, dark aura…

Slowly, his stiff robe became covered with bulky battle armor. His faceplate became more streamlined, and a third optic sensor appeared. Then, six long cords with sharp buckles on the ends sprouted from his back. (2,600/1,600)

“What in the name of…” gasped Yumi.

“I’ve upgraded myself to Jinzo-Lord,” replied Leichter.

“What the Hell is that?” shouted Ren.

“I don’t expect you kids to have ever heard of it,” replied Leichter. “It isn’t a card that just any duelist can obtain. Jinzo is rare enough. This evolved version is a card that was only given to licensed practitioners of the Psycho Style.

“But… The power of this Anarchist Disk can work wonders. As you’re about to find out…”

He played another card.

“And I’ll also summon something that Nezbitt would be fond of. The Battle Android Trooper, also known as the B.A.T.”

A faceless android made of black metal, with a rifle in place of its left hand and a large pincer in place of its right appeared next to him. (1,400/1,900)

“This Monster’s effect is similar to Command Knight. With it on the field, all Machines gain 400 Attack Points. And you can’t attack it if there’s another Machine on my side of the field.”

Leichter’s Attack Score went up to 3,000, while the B.A.T. itself went up to 1,800.

Then Erik noticed that Air Fortress Ziggurat’s Attack Score went up to 2,900, and Toy Tank’s Attack Score went up to 1,700.

Huh? thought Erik. Oh, I see… Unlike Command Knight, the B.A.T.’s effect applies to Machines on both sides of the field…

Hmm… There might be a way I can use that to my advantage.

“Now to ground your Fortress…” said Leichter.

He held his hands together, and a crackling ball of blackness formed in them.

“Cyber Energy Impact!”

He hurled it at the huge structure, and it exploded on the center of the hull. Erik shielded himself as explosions rocked all over the hull of Air Fortress Ziggurat, and debris rained down on him. The airship started to go down in flames, and finally burst into pixilated remains.

“No…” moaned Erik. “It was my best card…”

“Then you’re in trouble,” said Leichter. “Because now my B.A.T. attacks your Toy Tank!”

The B.A.T. pointed its rifle and fired a burst of rounds. Toy Tank exploded into scrap.

“I use its effect!” shouted Erik. “I get to summon a Toy Wind-Up!”

Toy Wind-Up appeared once again, pointing its blunderbuss. (1,000/700)

Then its Attack Score rose to 1,400.

Leichter looked at his two facedown cards.

I still have Destruction Jammer, he thought. The only way he can defeat me is to summon something with more than 3,000 Attack Points. Only his Toy Dragon fits the bill, and he’d need at least two other Toys on the field.

So, I’ll simply wipe them out before he can do it. With no way for him to protect them, it shouldn’t be hard.

“Your move, Mr. Matell.”

(E: 3,000) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 3,800)

Erik drew a card.

Oh, Armor Breaker?! he thought. Just the card I DIDN’T need!

“I set one Monster in Defense Mode, and then move Toy Magician and Toy Wind-Up to Defense Mode,” he said.

The facedown Monster appeared, and Toy Magician and Toy Wind-Up knelt and held their weapons in their laps.

“My draw,” said Leichter, drawing.

“B.A.T., destroy his facedown Monster,” he commanded.

The B.A.T. fired its rifle, and Armor Breaker was blown apart.

“Since I destroyed one of your Monsters in Defense Mode,” he continued, “I’m able to activate this…”

One of his facedown cards lifted.

“Lineage of the Destructor Lord. Now I can attack twice with a Level Eight Monster. Such as myself.”

He threw his Cyber Energy Impact, and Toy Wind-Up was blown to metal shards.

Then he blasted his lethal bolt at Toy Magician, and he exploded.

“Seems you have nothing left, Mr. Matell. It’s your move…”

All right, now I’m in trouble, thought Erik. I’m running low on cards, and he’s powering up to finish me!

He closed his eyes and drew a card.

He looked at it.

“All right, Leichter…” he said. “I’d like to say it’s been fun, but it hasn’t.

“I play Autonomous Action Unit! It costs me 1,500 Life Points, but I get to raise a Monster from your Graveyard!”

“Huh?” said Leichter.

Erik played the card, and a creature appeared in a burst of steam. It was Zeta Reticulant, and it had apparently been resurrected using cybernetics. Its left arm was bionic, and it had a breathing apparatus connected to odd tanks on its back. It made a heavy breathing noise that reminded everyone present of that made by the villainous Darth Vader. (2,400/2,100)

(E: 1,500) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 3,800)

“And just how is that going to hurt me?” asked Leichter.

“It’s gonna get some help,” said Erik. “From your Battle Android Trooper.”

“That’s ridiculous!” shouted Leichter. “Zeta isn’t a Machine. Regardless of what your Spell Card appeared to do to it, it’s still a Fairy!”

“Then I’ll just have to change your B.A.T.’s effect to accommodate it,” said Erik.

He played the Spell Card he had just drawn.

“I play Code Change!”

“Code Change?” replied Leichter. “What does THAT do?”

“It lets me choose a card on the field whose effect specifies a Monster Type,” explained Erik, “and change that Type to any I desire.”

Leichter’s optic sensors widened in horror.

“That means you’re going to…” he gasped.

“That’s right,” said Erik. “I’m going to change the Type of Monster that B.A.T. bestows its bonus on from Machines to Fairies!”

The Code Change card glowed with energy. Leichter fell to an Attack Score of 2,600, the B.A.T. fell to 1,400, and Zeta Reticulant grew to 2,800.

“This can’t be!” screamed Leichter.

“Oh, but it is,” said Erik. “This is for kidnapping my girlfriend, you jerk. Zeta Reticulant, attack Jinzo-Lord with plasma blaster!”

Zeta pointed at Leichter, and fired its bolt of energy, striking the evil Machine in the chest. He fell to his knees, with smoke and sparks pouring from the wound.

“This duel is over!” gasped Yumi. “Leichter may have Life Points left, but his Deck Lord was just defeated… That means he loses!”

Sparks started to fly from Leichter’s armor.

“Yeah…” sighed Chelsea. “And so the fifth one falls… Let’s hope this is the last we see of the last of the Big Five…”

Leichter let out a bloodcurdling scream, before he exploded into dark shards.

(E: 1,500) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 0)

The remaining Monsters vanished, and Erik took a deep breath.

“Sam!” he shouted.

He looked to where Vita was working on the crystal.

“Stay back, Erik,” warned Vita. “Just a few seconds more…

“Almost there…”

Then the diamond crumbled into powder, and Sam started to collapse. Vita stood up and caught her.

“Baby!” screamed Erik, running up.

Vita handed her to Erik, and Erik hugged her. Sam moaned a little as he felt her pulse. Fortunately, it was strong.

“Vita,” said Yumi. “What…”

“Guys!” shouted Atticus’s voice.

He ran in. Then Aster ran in behind him, followed by Mako and Jesse.

“We intercepted a few of Daala’s duelists that she sent Leichter for backup,” said Aster.

“But apparently, the situation is under control,” said Mako.

“Mostly,” said Erik, holding Sam close.

Sam tried to say something, opening her eyes a little.

“Don’t try to talk, Sam,” he said.

“There’s something missing here,” said Yumi. “Wait… Leichter didn’t display his prisoners like the other members of the Big Five did…”

“You don’t suppose…” gasped Chelsea. “You don’t suppose he did to them what he threatened to do to Sam?”

“No,” said Vita. “AI programs are perhaps the only sentient creatures that are truly safe from demons. Artificial life doesn’t interest them. Only true life with true souls does.

“That’s why Daala never told Ruin to ‘execute’ a member of the resistance who was an AI. Shogarr doesn’t want them.

“Leichter likely keeps his prisoners in a more secure area of this compound.”

“You know…” said Ren, “it’s kinda odd that he doesn’t have any servants aside from Hiroki…”

Yumi looked at the door that Hiroki had gone through.

“We’d best start looking for them,” she said. “Until we find them, our job isn’t done…”

She paused for a minute.

And the mystery deepens… Who has the Key anyway?

* * * * * * * * * *

It was late in the afternoon in Domino.

Dr. Ting sipped dry cognac as he sat alone in his study. A lot was on his mind.

He didn’t know why, but he was suddenly reminded of something. The odd e-mail he had gotten from Joan shortly after she agreed to come to Xanadu.

He remembered it word-for-word. He had a photographic memory.


Dear Dr. Ting,

Attached to this e-mail is a link. Read this entire e-mail before you click on it, because if you choose to do so, this e-mail will delete itself. This e-mail will also delete itself when you close it or try to save it, so read it carefully now.

I am asking for a favor. I need you to keep something safe, something that the forces I am fighting must never have.

I cannot tell you what it is. If you knew, others might trace it to you. Suffice to say, it is important.

You are not required to do anything. It will not harm you in any way. And I will not ask for anything else. All you must do is promise to be wary of anyone who might be working for your daughter.

If you accept this responsibility, simply click on the link, and it will do the rest, right before this e-mail is deleted. If you choose not to, just close the e-mail and forget about it.

I trust you will do the right thing.

Thank you,

Guardian Angel Joan


It was a strange e-mail, but Ting wanted to help any way he could. He clicked on the link, and the e-mail simply disappeared. That was all.

But in his gut, he knew that there was more to it than that…

Just what, he didn’t know. And he wondered if he ever would…

* * * * * * * * * *

ZETA RETICULANT (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Fairy/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 7
ATK: 2,400
DEF: 2,100

Card Description: If this card is in your Graveyard, when a Monster on your opponent's side of the field is removed from play, Special Summon an ''EBE Token'' (Dark/Fiend/Level 2/ATK 500/DEF 500) to your side of the field in Attack Position. Offer an ''EBE Token'' on your side of the field as a Tribute to Special Summon a “Zeta Reticulant” from your hand.

This card was inspired by the story of Barney and Betty Clark, two alleged alien abductees who claimed that their abductors told them that they were from Zeta Reticuli.



GREED QUASAR (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 7
ATK: ?
DEF: ?

Card Description: This card's base ATK and DEF are equal to this card's Level x 300. Whenever this card destroys a Monster as a result of battle, its Level is increased by the Level of the destroyed Monster. This increase lasts as long as this card remains face-up on the field.

Note: “Zeta Reticulant” and “Greed Quasar” are Japanese promotional cards that have not yet been released in the United States.



EBE ABDUCTOR (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 4
ATK: 1,000
DEF: 500

Card Description: Once per round, you may discard one card from your hand to take control of one opposing Monster. If this card changes battle position, the controlled Monster(s) change to the same battle position. If this card attacks, the controlled Monster(s) must also attack. If this card leaves the field, return control of the controlled Monster(s) to your opponent.



COSMIC SPACE (Spell Card)

Field Spell

Image: A cosmic scene, full of stars and planets.

Card Description: During the End Phase of each turn, downgrade the Level of all face-up Level Two or higher Monsters on the field by one, and destroy all face-up Level One Monsters. The decreases in Level last until the respective Monsters are no longer face-up on the field or this card leaves the field.

“EBE Abductor” and “Cosmic Space” were first used by Depre Scott in the “Yu-Gi-Oh R” episode “Battle in the Space Void!!”. Creative credit goes to the writers.



LYRA THE GIVER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Fairy/Effect
Attribute: Light
Level: 4
ATK: 1,800
DEF: 1,500

Card Description: During your Main Phase, by Tributing this card, you can increase the Level of another Monster on the field by an amount equal to the Level of this card. This increase lasts until the Monster whose Level was increased by this effect is no longer face-up on the field.

“Lyra the Giver” was first used by Depre Scott in the “Yu-Gi-Oh R” episode “Toy Magic!!”. Creative credit goes to the writers.



EBE EPSILON (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 4
ATK: 1,500
DEF: 1,600

Card Description: When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, increase the Level of one Monster on the field by an amount equal to the Level of this card. This increase lasts until the Monster whose Level was increased by this effect is no longer face-up on the field.

“EBE Epsilon” was first used by Depre Scott in the “Yu-Gi-Oh R” episode “Another Partner!!”. Creative credit goes to the writers.



AIR FORTRESS ZIGGURAT (Monster Card)

Card Specs

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

Card Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card can only be Special Summoned via the effect of “Sky Union”. This card is not affected by Spell or Trap Cards. This card is not destroyed as a result of battle with a Monster that has equal ATK. During your End Phase, you may Special Summon one “Toy Robot Token” (Machine/Earth/Level One/0 ATK/0 DEF) to your side of the field in Defense Position. “Toy Robot Tokens” cannot attack. So long as you have at least one “Toy Robot Token” on the field, your opponent cannot attack any Monster except a “Toy Robot Token”.



SKY UNION (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: The silhouette of Air Fortress Ziggurat flying above the clouds.

Card Description: Offer three Monsters on your side of the field as a Tribute. Special Summon one “Air Fortress Ziggurat” from your hand, deck, or Graveyard.



TOY ROBOT BOX (Spell Card)

Quickplay Spell

Image: Three robot action figures.

Card Description: Discard one card from your hand. Special Summon three “Toy Robot Tokens” (Machine/Earth/Level One/0 ATK/0 DEF) to your side of the field in Defense Position. “Toy Robot Tokens” cannot attack. So long as you have at least one “Toy Robot Token” on the field, your opponent cannot attack any Monster except a “Toy Robot Token”.

Note: “Toy Robot Box”, “Air Fortress Ziggurat”, and “Sky Union” were first used by Alister in the original anime episode “Flight of Fear (Part Two)”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



CODE CHANGE (Spell Card)

Quickplay Spell

Image: A papyrus scroll being written in kanji with a brush.

Card Description: Declare one Monster Type, and choose one face-up card on the field that includes a Type in its effect text. The Type written on that card’s effect is assumed to be the one you declared until the End Phase of the current turn.

Note: “Code Change” was first used by Jaden in a fourth season episode of “Yu-Gi-Oh GX”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



DNA PHYSICAL EXAMINATION (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: Magical Scientist being examined by three comical demons dressed like the doctors on “DNA Surgery”.

Card Description: Select one set Monster on your side of the field. Your opponent declares two Attributes. Then, reveal the selected Monster. If the selected Monster is an Attribute that your opponent declared, your opponent draws two cards. If not, you draw two cards.



LINEAGE OF THE DESTRUCTOR LORD (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: Giant Soldier of Stone and Mystical Elf caught in an explosion as Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes looms in the background.

Card Description: Activate by selecting a Level Eight Monster you control during a turn when a Monster in Defense Position that your opponent controls is destroyed. The selected Monster may attack twice in that turn’s Battle Phase.

Note: “DNA Physical Examination” and “Lineage of the Destructor Lord” were released in “Crossroads of Chaos”, recently released for the OCG (American release date unknown).



B.A.T. (Battle Android Trooper) (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 4
ATK: 1,400
DEF: 1,900

Card Description: As long as at least one other Machine-Type Monster exists on your side of the field, your opponent cannot select this card as an attack target. Also, increase the ATK of all Machine-Type Monsters on the field by 400 points.



Erik’s Deck Lord: “Blockman”: “Toy Tinker”: Once every two turns, starting on your second turn, you may search your deck for a Monster with the word “Toy” in its name that is Level Four or less and add it to your hand. (Greater Power)



Leichter’s Deck Lord: “Jinzo”: “Trap Malfunction”: Your opponent cannot activate Trap Cards. If the Deck Lord has been summoned to the field, it keeps its Deck Lord Power but its actual effect is not applied. (Greater Power) “Psycho Upgrade”: If the Deck Lord is summoned to the field, you may Tribute the Deck Lord to Special Summon “Jinzo-Lord” as you would Tribute an ordinary “Jinzo”. If you use this ability, “Jinzo-Lord” becomes your new Deck Lord, remaining on the field, and the original Deck Lord is removed from play. The new Deck Lord acquires all Deck Lord Powers of the original Deck Lord, except this one. (Minor Power)



Coming up next:

It isn’t hard to find Leichter’s prisoners, but standing in the party’s way is a familiar face isn’t about to let them go. And this duelist has a potent weapon – the fourth Apocalyptic Monster, and the most powerful of the four. But there’s even more at stake… This time, a higher power is intervening, and both sides of this conflict have an ally, whether they want it or not.

“Vision” is coming up next.


Name that Card!

This rarely-used Quickplay Spell, that might be used to foil your opponent’s plan to use “Scapegoat”, has the four Scapegoats in its artwork. Can you name it?

[Shuppet Master]

Hmmm... I see where the Key is, but I ain't telling you peeps!

Regardless, that was one intense duel.