CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
You all are likely wondering just what Jalal does in his twenty-one waking hours besides tell his men what to do. What exactly does his job entail? Well, you don’t know the half of it. I later learned that he hadn’t taken a vacation in fifty years (and he claimed that he was bored out of his skull the last time he did) and being as old as he is, he doesn’t care for holidays that weren’t around during his father’s time. He celebrates Christmas and Easter and takes both of them off, but he rarely takes off any other days personally. (And like most beings who have become immortal, he stopped celebrating his own birthdays a long time ago.)
Jalal is busier than most folks believe, and those who know wouldn’t want his job. The Shadowchasers are a law enforcement agency, but they have global authority, more so than any Mundane law enforcement division. They’ve been around longer than America, let alone the FBI. Jalal’s duties can compare with those of the head of state of some of the most powerful nations in the world.
He doesn’t propose all the laws that the Shadowchasers make, but he must approve each one (he has the power to veto any that he doesn’t approve of). He receives and visits diplomats of Shadowkind races (using his spell that projects his image), forming alliances and minor treaties. He considers and approves every major action that his organization must take. He is also the judge of the highest court that the Shadowchasers have, the last court that a case can appeal to, although, like the U.S. Supreme Court, he only agrees to hear the most important cases.
Jalal is still a warrior at heart, and he is a Shadowchaser. However, due to his position, he only leaves Shadowchaser Headquarters to handle the gravest threats to the relations between humans and Shadows…
An illithid running a crime syndicate in Neo Domino certainly qualified…
Somewhere in the vast countryside of Yorkshire, a place known as God’s Own Country by the locals, stood the nerve center of the Shadowchasers. It had no special name except Shadowchaser Headquarters. It stood in a remote valley, hidden from Mundanes by powerful magic. The valley could not be seen by simply viewing it or using any technological devices, and if anyone were to stumble upon it by accident, powerful enchantment spells would compel him to take a different route. Only the Shadowchasers knew how to activate the right portals that allowed access to the place, or that could send someone to it.
Construction of the complex had begun about a century after Jamor Stormbringer’s death. Jalal commissioned a clan of dwarves to build the place, and paid them well to do so. It took two-hundred years of building before the place could be used as the organization’s headquarters, but ask anyone who knows anything about dwarves, and they’ll tell you that anything built by them is built to last. Jalal never stopped expanding the original complex, and the same clan of dwarves still worked for him on many projects. The current chieftain of the clan was the great, great grandson of the chieftain who had overseen the groundbreaking. (Dwarves were made to last rather long themselves.)
The Headquarters was practically a city unto itself, larger than some small cities of Europe. It held buildings devoted to all aspects of governing the Shadowchasers: the meeting halls, courts, embassies, and research facilities. It also held a fair number of shops and restaurants that catered both to those who worked in these buildings, and the occasional visitors.
The town had its own police force, but very little of it was made up of living creatures. Powerful wizards had created clay, stone, and iron golems to provide defense in case of an attack. These walking monoliths were incredibly powerful, the iron ones able to flatten an armored car with one smash, and as hard to hurt as anything made of their materials. A small force of Shadowchasers was only needed to direct them. Much of this police force served as correctional guards at the prison complex, which was mostly underground, and accessed from several points.
The most beautiful building in the complex, and the one that most folks rarely saw the inside of, was Jalal’s manor house. But he actually spent very little time here. Most of the day, he was busy elsewhere in the complex.
He was there now, however. One thing the manor house had was portals that led to places where only he was allowed to go, no exceptions. And he needed to go to one of those places now.
He stood in front of a full-length mirror, adjusting his suit. It was a different suit than what he usually wore… It was his armor, a symbol of knighthood that was just as timeless as he was.
Plate armor had first seen widespread use during the Middle Ages. It was the best armor available for a knight… A skin of steel that could protect him from practically any weapon of the time period. Modern folks tended to think that it was very heavy, but in reality, it only averaged ninety pounds (which really wasn’t any more than the weight that a modern soldier in a flack jacket and full combat gear wore into battle).
Plate armor had fallen out of use around the Seventeenth Century, primarily due to the increasing use of firearms. The armor was adequate protection against arrows, spears, and swords, but could offer little defense against guns.
Not so for Jalal’s suit of armor. This suit didn’t look much like the average suit; it was made of a crimson substance, and had a scaly surface. It was special armor that could protect him from the highest caliber machine guns. This armor was made from the flayed skin of the dragon who had desired his father’s death, the red wyrm Malys.
Dragons are magical creatures in every way. As a result, practically no part of their bodies couldn’t be used in the creation of powerful magical items. If a knight was brave enough and strong enough to slay a dragon, he could become rich beyond compare by selling the carcass to those who could use it.
This was, in fact, how Jalal had first hired the dwarves who would build Shadowchaser Headquarters. He presented Malys’s carcass to them, saying that if they made him a suit of armor from her hide, they were free to do anything they pleased with the rest. The dwarves were happy to oblige, and made him this armor, which had protected him in every battle for the past thousand years.
He was expecting another battle now. The research he said he had to do required a book from a special place. He placed his sword in its sheath, and turned to the wall. A glowing portal opened.
He took a deep breath, and walked through it.
* * * * * * * * * *
Jalal was standing in a dim cavern tunnel, the walls lit by torches. He was no longer on Earth, but elsewhere in the cosmos. He didn’t know the name of this world; in fact, he had not seen its surface, or any part of it besides this subterranean complex. But it was all he needed.
He knew that at the end of this tunnel was the entrance to the Black Library, a treasure trove of knowledge where someone could find practically any information if he knew where to look.
Unfortunately, no-one was allowed in the Black Library without its owner’s permission. The owner was a powerful king in another dimension, who was known for his incredible ego. To get that permission, you had to visit him (which often required waiting for days for an audience) and feed that ego with flattery and gifts.
Jalal was not going to do that. He never had, and he never would. He had his pride.
However, he had been here several times before, and each time, he had successfully fought his way past the creature put here to guard the place. The aforementioned king was very technophobic, so there wasn’t much else in the way of defense. He was hoping that the guardian would have more sense this time and simply let him in, but he wasn’t getting his hopes up.
He walked forward, and entered a large cavern. Standing by a doorway at the far end, leaning casually against the wall and filing his nails, was the guardian.
He was a tall, muscular, fiendish creature, about six feet tall, with blue skin, pointed ears, and long, pale hair. He was dressed in an expensive looking leather jacket and pants, black sneakers, and a pair of stylish sunglasses. A sword was strapped to his back, and a ring of keys was on his belt.
Jalal sighed.
Best get this over with, he thought, as he walked up to the creature.
“Xvartnar,” he said, “is Ilsensine’s Tome still in there?”
“Yup,” said the guardian, not looking up.
“And what the chances are that you’re not going to give me any trouble this time?” asked Jalal.
The creature chuckled, and put the file away.
“Well…” said Xvartnar. “I ‘spose I could be nice, and just let ya have it…
“I could… But I ain’t gonna.”
Jalal let out a sigh, accompanied by a look of annoyance.
“Look, Xvartnar,” he said. “We both know what’s going to happen. You’re going to tell me that entrance is forbidden without your boss’s okay. Then we’re going to fight. Then, I’m going to beat the crud out of you. Then, you’re going to crawl away to heal yourself, and most likely mutter obscenities at me under your breath, as I go in there and get what I need. It’s been the same routine every time I’ve come here for the past two-hundred years. So why do you even bother? Just once I’d like to come here without having to fight!”
“Are you calling my job pointless?” asked Xvartnar.
“No,” said Jalal. “The Battle of New Orleans was pointless, but it still made Andrew Jackson a hero. You’re just annoying. All I want is to get this done without any trouble.”
Xvartnar glared at him over his sunglasses.
“Well, Jalal,” he said, “you can’t always get what you want. Besides, do you know what my boss would do if he found out I simply let someone into the Black Library? I’d be fired! Do you have any idea what life is like for a guardian oni who doesn’t have anything to guard?
“I would probably have to go do what my dumb brother is doing, guarding Sultan Yasuf Alrahad’s harem. There is no way I’m gonna accept a headache like that!”
“Guarding harem girls is a headache?” asked Jalal.
“The worst!” exclaimed Xvartnar. “I should know, I filled in for my brother for a week, and it was Hell! They complain about everything! They complain when the air conditioning is too low! They complain when there aren’t enough croutons in their salad! They complain when they get regular mineral water instead of the flavored kind! And guess who they complain to?
“I have no idea why my brother has never put one of those spoiled brats over his knee and spanked her…”
“Maybe because Sultan Alrahad is a tenth degree water elementalist who’s rumored to punish insubordinates by feeding them to his pet devil sharks?” asked Jalal.
“Yeah, probably…” muttered Xvartnar. “But I’ve got a much better job than my brother has, and I’m not gonna jeopardize it!”
“Fine!” shouted Jalal.
He drew his sword.
“If I have to fight you to get in there, I will!”
“Wait, wait, hold up Jalal,” said Xvartnar, with a grin. “I never said that we gotta fight with swords this time…
“How’s about we make it more fun for a change?”
Then he picked something up from behind him.
It was a Duel Disk.
“You want to duel me?” asked Jalal. “You’re kidding, right? Xvartnar, in case you didn’t know, I was the one who proposed that the ‘Fair Fight’ clause in the Treaty could best be handled if Duel Monsters was used. Do you actually think you can beat me at such a contest?”
“Well…” said Xvartnar, “you did say that you were gettin’ sick of fighting the old way…”
“I’m surprised that your boss even got you a Duel Disk…” said Jalal.
“He didn’t,” replied Xvartnar. “You know how he is… But he can’t tell me how to spend my paycheck.”
Jalal gestured, and his sword vanished.
Then, in a glow of golden light, a Duel Disk appeared on his own arm. It was gold plated, the tray shaped like a dragon’s wing, and the deck holder shaped like the head of a gold wyrm, holding the deck in its mouth.
“Show off,” muttered Xvartnar.
“Fine…” said Jalal. “You’re on…”
Xvartnar laughed.
“This’ll be fun…” he chuckled.
(Jalal: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Xvartnar: 8,000)
“I’ll make the first move, chump,” he said, drawing a card.
“You’ve been working for your boss too long,” said Jalal. “You’re starting to get his attitude.”
“Oh, funny,” growled Xvartnar.
“I play a facedown, and then summon Dark Valkyria!”
First a facedown appeared, then an aura of shadow crept over the field. The Monster that appeared looked like Dunames Dark Witch at first, but her skin was violet, her hair was white, and her armor had a sinister theme. It looked like a dark elf version of Dunames. (1,800 ATK)
“That… oughta do it…”
“Then it’s my draw,” said Jalal, drawing a card.
He looked at it.
“I summon Light Lindworm.”
In a shining burst of light, a four-legged, many-tailed creature appeared that resembled a cross between a dragon and a large lizard. Its scales were shimmering gold. (1,900 ATK)
“Attack!” shouted Jalal. “Destroy her!”
Light Lindworm blasted a beam of pure light from its jaws, and Dark Valkyria let out a scream before she was burned to ashes.
“I’m not done with you,” said Jalal, as a Quickplay Spell appeared on his side of the field. “I activate Both Sides. Now, I can sacrifice my Light Monster to Special Summon a Dark one of the same Level from my deck.
“So, I summon Axe Dragonute!”
In a burst of dark energy this time, a tall, muscular dragon-man with black armor and wings appeared, holding a heavy battle-axe. (2,000 ATK)
“You’re wide open! Direct attack!”
Axe Dragonute grunted, and lifted his axe, and then brought it down hard on the oni. He cursed something incomprehensible and took a step backwards.
“Axe Dragonute now moves to Defense Mode…”
Dragonute knelt down, and held its axe in its lap. (1,200 DEF)
“I’ll end with two facedown cards of my own,” he said, as two reversed cards appeared, “and then you can make your move.”
(J: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (X: 5,900)
“Stuck-up, stuffy sonuva…” muttered Xvartnar, as he made a draw.
“Do NOT finish that comment!” shouted Jalal.
Jalal would not tolerate any unkind words said about his mother, even unintentional ones. That was one of the few things that would make him angry.
“Well, sor-ry!” exclaimed Xvartnar.
His facedown card lifted up.
“I activate the Soul Resurrection Trap Card! Since Dark Valkyria is a Gemini Monster, she’s considered a Normal Monster while in my Graveyard, so this Trap can bring her back in Defense Mode.”
Dark Valkyria appeared again, kneeling and crossing her arms over her chest. (1,050 DEF)
“Next, a Spell Card,” said Xvartnar. “It’s called Star Blast.
“The Monster I want to summon is Level 8. But for each 500 Life Points I pay, I can downgrade that Level by one.
“So I’ll pay 1,000 Life Points to reduce it to 6. Then, I’ll sacrifice Valkyria…”
Dark Valkyria vanished, and a far darker shadow started to rise. The shadow turned into dark flames with obscuring smoke.
What is he summoning? thought Jalal.
“Behold…” said Xvartnar. “Behold the incredible power of… Fallen Angel Asmodeus!”
A creature slowly walked out of the shadows, and even Jalal flinched. Asmodeus was a well-known name to any student of religion. He was a figure mentioned in the Book of Tobit, part of some old versions of the Old Testament. Protestants believe the Book to be apocryphal, and it is not regarded as cannon by most students of Judaism. In the scriptures of the Book (which, like most books of scriptures, did not include illustrations), Asmodeus was a powerful demon of lust who was bound to the deserts of Egypt by the archangel Raphael.
The Monster that Xvartnar had summoned had a fitting name. He looked like an angel in general shape, but his black wings and dark armor signified that he was indeed fallen… (3,000 ATK)
“Interesting…” said Jalal, ominously.
“First I’ll activate this big guy’s effect,” chuckled Xvartnar, looking through his deck. “Once per turn, I can send a Fairy-Type Monster from my deck to the Graveyard.”
He discarded a card.
“Now, attack his Dragonute! Dark smite!”
Asmodeus’s eyes glowed with evil light. He lifted his hand, and called burning lightning to it, then hurled it at Axe Dragonute, blowing the Dragon to gibbets.
“Heh, heh, heh,” chuckled Xvartnar. “You were lucky it was in Defense Mode…
“Think I’ll throw down these, and that’ll be all.”
Two reversed cards appeared.
(J: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (X: 4,900)
Jalal looked at Asmodeus. Then he made a draw.
One of his facedown cards lifted up.
“I activate Immortal Dragon,” he said. “Now, one of my Dragons comes back from the Graveyard.”
“Uh-uh,” chuckled Xvartnar, as one of his own facedown cards shot up.
“I activate Dark Bribe. Now, you draw once, but you don’t get your Monster back.”
Jalal’s Trap Card shattered. He made one draw.
“In that case,” he said, “I’ll set a Monster, and that will be all.”
A reversed Monster appeared.
“First I draw,” said Xvartnar, drawing a card, “then I attack! Dark smite!”
Asmodeus called the burning lightning to his hand again, and hurled it forward. A large Dragon that seemed to be made entirely out of stone appeared on the card, and was blown to shards.
“So much for your Golem Dragon,” said Xvartnar. “Next, I use Asmodeus’s effect, to send another Fairy to my Graveyard…”
He discarded a card.
“Then, because I have at least two Dark Fairies there, I can Special Summon this guy. Fallen Angel Baal, in Defense Mode.”
A diabolical-looking knight, again with black, feathered wings, and horns on his helmet appeared. He knelt in defense. (1,400 DEF)
Then Jalal felt a sharp pain strike him.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Baal’s effect,” replied Xvartnar. “You just lost 1,000 Life Points, 500 for each Dark Monster on the field.
“Think I’ll end my turn there…”
(J: 7,000) - - - - - - - - - - (X: 4,900)
Jalal hesitated before drawing. Then he made a draw.
“I summon the Tuner Monster, Chaos-End Master!” he shouted.
In a flourish of light, the same angelic Warrior that Ember had used to summon her Shadow Ghoul appeared, striking a pose. (1,500 ATK)
“A Tuner ain’t no good without any non-Tuners,” chuckled Xvartnar.
“Then I’ll just have to get one,” said Jalal. “Attack Fallen Angel Baal!”
Chaos-End Master blasted a beam of pure light from his hands, and Baal was blown to bits.
“Now that I’ve done that, I get to Special Summon a high-Level Monster from my deck, so long as its Attack Score isn’t more than 1,600.
“So, I summon Sphere of Chaos.”
With a beeping, humming sound, a large, spherical Machine made of dark steel, with gold lights and a big, golden optic sensor appeared. (1,600 ATK)
Jalal’s other facedown card lifted up.
“Next, the Trap Card, Urgent Tuning.”
Chaos-End Master and Sphere of Chaos glowed, and then turned into eight shimmering stars.
“Now, I can Tune my two Monsters together in the middle of my Battle Phase.
“I summon… Light End Dragon!”
There was a tremendous flash of light, and Xvartnar covered his eyes. Appearing on Jalal’s side of the field was a huge, beautiful Dragon, serpentine with white scales, four feathered wings, and a golden collar and crown. (2,600 ATK)
“Light End Dragon…” ordered Jalal, “destroy Fallen Angel Asmodeus!”
Light End Dragon roared…
“You gotta be kidding!” laughed Xvartnar. “Asmodeus is stronger than that guy!”
“Oh, really?” said Jalal. “Maybe so, but when Light End Dragon battles a Monster, I can cut 500 points off of its Attack Score to cut 1,500 off of its opponent’s.
“Attack! Shining sublimation!”
Light End Dragon’s Attack Score fell to 2,100, but Asmodeus’s fell all the way to 1,500. Xvartnar shielded himself as a tremendous blast of light struck the fallen angel, blowing him to gibbets.
“Your fallen angel is gone,” said Jalal.
“Gone, but not forgotten,” said Xvartnar’s voice through the smoke. “He left somethin’ behind…”
The smoke cleared, and Jalal saw that there were now two more dark Fairies on Xvartnar’s side of the field, crouching in Defense Mode. One was tall and thin (1,300 DEF), the other was short and squat (1,200 DEF), but both looked like miniature versions of Asmodeus.
“You see,” said Xvartnar, “when the big guy bites the dust, he leaves behind an Asmo Token and a Deus Token. And they both got a defensive property… The Asmo Token can’t be destroyed by card effects, while the Deus Token can’t be destroyed by battle.”
Jalal paused.
“Interesting…” he said.
“You say that so often…” chuckled Xvartnar.
“I end my turn…” muttered Jalal.
(J: 7,000) - - - - - - - - - - (X: 4,300)
Xvartnar drew a card, and looked at it.
Then his other facedown card lifted up.
“Time to get serious…” he said. “I activate my Blasphemous Benediction Trap Card. Now, by sacrificing a Dark Fairy that’s Level 5 or greater, I can summon another one from my Graveyard.”
The Asmo Token vanished.
“But, don’t worry… Asmodeus ain’t comin’ back… He can’t be summoned from there. I’m gonna bring back someone I tossed with his effect.
“I summon Fallen Angel Superbia!”
Another dark shadow fell across the field, and another Dark Fairy appeared. This one didn’t even appear vaguely humanoid. It looked kind of like a black chalice, with a flared bottom, with a fiendish face on the front, small claws on the sides, and large, brown, feathered wings on the back. (2,900 ATK)
“I’m not done,” chuckled Xvartnar. “When Superbia is summoned from the Graveyard, I get to summon another Fairy from there!
“So, I’ll summon Fallen Angel Ede Arai!”
The Dark Fairy that appeared this time looked sort of like Asmodeus, but more bestial. He had the same dark wings, but was dressed in furs and hide armor. He had two devilish horns on his forehead, and long claws. (2,300 ATK)
Xvartnar took one of his two remaining cards.
“I set a card facedown, and end my turn…”
A reversed card appeared.
Jalal looked at the three Fairies as he made a draw.
Smart… he thought. He realized that I would have activated Light End Dragon’s effect again if he had attacked…
Better be careful…
“I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth!” he exclaimed.
He played the card, and the winged Dragon with two heads appeared. (1,500 ATK)
“Light End Dragon…” he ordered. “Attack Fallen Angel Superbia!”
The Dragon roared again.
“I activate… Negate Attack!” shouted Xvartnar.
His facedown card flipped up, and the Dragon’s beam hit an invisible shield.
“No big deal,” said Jalal.
“Oh, but it is a big deal,” said Xvartnar with a grin. “You see, since Negate Attack is a Counter Trap, I can now sacrifice a Dark Monster…”
The Deus Token vanished.
“To Special Summon Dark Voltanis!”
The Monster that appeared was, to say the least, bizarre. The regular Voltanis had been undefined enough as it was, but this Dark version was even more so. Like the original Voltanis the Adjudicator, it seemed to be a faceless, vaguely humanoid creature that seemed to be dressed in a combination of robes and armor, with wings that were not truly attached to its body; but in this case, it was all black. (2,800 ATK)
“And guess what, Jalal?” continued Xvartnar. “Since I summoned it this way, I get to destroy one of your cards!”
Light End Dragon shattered into shards of light.
Jalal looked at Xvartnar’s small army of Dark Fairies, which consisted of two Level 8 Monsters and one Level 5 one, all of them with very high Attack Scores…
Seems I underestimated this guy… he thought. But at least he used up all the cards in his hand…
He took one of his own cards.
“I’ll set a card facedown, and that will be all,” he said.
Xvartnar drew a card and looked at it.
It was Dimensional Prison.
That could come in handy, he thought.
He placed it in his Disk, and it appeared, reversed.
“Dark Voltanis, destroy Twin-Headed Behemoth!” he shouted.
Dark Voltanis waved his hand, and the air started to warp and bend. The Dragon burst.
“I’ve been waitin’ a long time for this, Jalal!” he laughed. “Superbia… Attack him directly!”
The weird Fairy spewed a blast of black flames from its mouth, engulfing Jalal in a practical furnace.
The smoke cleared, with Jalal simply staring at the oni.
(J: 2,800) - - - - - - - - - - (X: 4,300)
“That was… unpleasant…” he said.
Xvartnar laughed out loud.
“You said that about the Crimean War!” he laughed. “And I’m not done with you…”
“Oh yes, you are!” shouted Jalal. “Trap Card, activate! Damage Condenser!”
His facedown card flipped up.
“I just lost 2,900 Life Points from your attack,” he said. “Now, by discarding one card from my hand…”
He quickly discarded a card.
“I can summon any Monster from my deck with equal or less Attack Points. And I choose to summon Rare Metal Dragon in Attack Mode.”
Another Dragon materialized in front of him. It was a hulking, wingless Dragon, seemingly made entirely out of metal. (2,400 ATK)
Jalal quickly shuffled his deck.
“Aw, crap!” shouted Xvartnar. “Ede Aria can’t beat that! I end my turn!”
“And that means Twin-Headed Behemoth’s effect activates,” said Jalal, “and it makes a quick recovery.”
Twin-Headed Behemoth appeared again. (1,000 ATK)
“Now, it’s my move…”
He drew a card.
Continued…
Re: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: Shadowchasers
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