Yu-Gi-Oh! The Thousand-Year Door (Act One)

[ssj4supernerd]

Nice chapter.What I liked was that you kept it original and made Toon Summoned Skull the strongest,not the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon.

I have no idea what the monster could be.I'll check it later.

[Dark Sage]

Supernerd,

Marv is a special duelist, but he isn't THAT special. In the anime world, I believe, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon is a unique card, and Pegasus has it. That's why Marv didn't have one in his deck.

[jkBAKURA]

OK, Now I'm curious. He did say normal summonable, but he didn't say level 4. I'd go with Ultimate Obediant Fiend, and knowing the talent of Dark Sage he just might find a way to do it. Blast Sphere also comes to mind. Oh well, guess I'll have to wait and find out. Nice duel, I love toon chapters. What's not to like about 'em?

[starjake]

Um...he said Normal Summonable with no Tribue. Ultimate Obedient Fiend is a 10-star monster, and therefore requires two Tributes.

So, that can't be it.

[jkBAKURA]

My bet is on Blast Sphere then.

[starjake]

Gonna have to disagree with you there as well.

Blast Sphere
Fire/Machine/4 stars/ATK 1400/DEF 1400
If your opponent attacks this face-down Defense Position card, equip this card to your opponent's monster (damage calculation is ignored). During your opponent's next Standby Phase, destroy the equipped monster and inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the ATK of the equipped monster.

As you can see, Blast Sphere would not be able to destroy Black Luster Soldier by attacking; BLS would have to attack it in order for the effect to activate.

So, it can't be that either. I wish Dark Sage would hurry up and post the next chapter; we're running out of ideas!

[Shuppet Master]

Be patient, Brian can't work on all his fics at once. Even if he had all his chapters at hand, he'd have to scan them for errors, and that's thirty or so chapters! :biggrin:

[opaltiger]

Hmm, I was thinking Ultimate Obedient too, but no sacrifices? Has to be something that has a base low attack, I think. But still big and scary. XD

[Mystic_clown]

Nice chapter Brian. Hmm, who could the mysterious duelist be? *starts praying its his user character*

[jkBAKURA]

I've GOT it!!! Unfortunately I'm sworn to play dumb until the chapter is up. Genius Dark Sage, pure genius. I'll let you know if I got it right.

[Perfect Chaos]

That was a great chapter you posted Dark Sage, Toons was the last deck-type that I would've expected, but when I really thought about it, it actually fit Marv's personality (I got the feeling that he was a bit similar to Pegasus, always plotting something sneaky)

I look forward to your next chapter

[ssj4supernerd]

Supernerd,

Marv is a special duelist, but he isn't THAT special. In the anime world, I believe, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon is a unique card, and Pegasus has it. That's why Marv didn't have one in his deck.

Yeah,but it's like you said,it's a sort of Elswhere universe,who knows what could have happenned to the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon ey

[Mystic_clown]

Wait a minute *thinks* isn't there only one Toon World card in existance. I remember when Pegasus was dueling Kaiba and Yugi said the card was never put into circulation. So, how could Marv get a hold of one if there is only one Toon World?

[Dark Sage]

Mystic Clown,

Did you see the movie? In it, Pegasus used a Toon World card that worked much more like the normal Toon World card (the one that premered in "Champion vs. Creator" turned normal Monsters into Toons and made them invincible, while the one in the movie required Toon Monsters and a Life Point payment, and they weren't invincible, like the real card). So I assume an actual Toon World card was made for circulation that was less powerful than the one that was used in the first season.

[Mystic_clown]

Yeah I did see the movie. Perhaps you're right. Sorry.

[Master of Paradox]

I note that in "Deja Duel", Alastor disguised as Pegasus is also using a "real" version of Toon World. Presumably enough exist for DOMA to have gotten hold of one.

[ssj4supernerd]

Yup,and Clover from the Mandate Of Heaven also had a Toon World card

[Dark Sage]

Well everyone, it's time to bring out the new chapter - and reveal the big secret...

And I'd like to that Silencer for the contribution of the user character in this chapter.

So without further ado...

[Dark Sage]

[B][I]I don’t exactly envy Monsters (mine and my opponents’) who are destroyed or otherwise discarded. But at least I can take comfort in knowing that the Graveyard where they spend the rest of the duel is a pretty peaceful place.

At least, that’s usually the case…

Something different happens to Monsters who are removed from play – Chaos, that’s what it’s called. According to Duel Monsters lore, they wind up in a place called the Different Dimension. Not much is known about this strange place – I suppose some creatures like D.D. Warrior Lady are happy there, but to most… Well, most duelists assume it’s a hideous realm of absolute chaos where prisoners are slowly consumed by their worst nightmares. Recovering Monsters from the place isn’t easy, and the ways of doing so are costly.

And the funny part is, not all cards that involve Chaos involve banishing your opponents’ Monsters to the Different Dimension. In fact, that’s the less likely scenario. To obtain a lot of powerful effects and summon some powerful Monsters, you have to send some of your own Monsters there…

You know, I always wondered who the ruler of the Different Dimension was…

From the look of things, I just might find out…

[B][size=3]CHAPTER FIFTEEN



Chaos Reigns!

“Sheesh, what time is it?” asked Andy.

“One PM…” pondered Francesca, looking at her watch.

“Then why is it already dark out?” exclaimed Andy.

The path they were on was a wide dirt road, and it was indeed dark – and by dark, they didn’t mean overcast. Shortly after they had left the Wonky Circus, it was as if the land had been plunged into an eternal twilight. Stars twinkled overhead, and wispy clouds passed by them. The sun was still in the sky, but it was dark, and gave off no more light than a dim moon. The three of them often looked at it, and it didn’t hurt their eyes at all.

Even worse, the landscape was spooky. They were traveling through a sparse forest full of dead trees that seemed to reach down on them with menacing branches.

“Next stop,” muttered Stan, “the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle…”

“That might not be too far off,” sighed Andy. “Maybe the Shadow Queen’s power is stronger here… this area might be some sort of focal point for her magic…”


[B]

* * * * * * * * * *

The Shadow Queen was watching them of course, and that remark made her smile.

“Foolish Andy,” she laughed. “This whole island is a focal point of my power! You want to see another demonstration?”

She picked up a deck, and withdrew a card.

“This one will do nicely…” she chuckled.

She walked over to the fireplace and hurled it into the flames.

As the flames turned violet, a cackling laughter was heard.

“Go!” she shouted. “Give them the scare of their lives!”

A dark form flew out of the mountain.


[B]

* * * * * * * * * *

As the three teens walked on, it suddenly got misty and darker…

Suddenly a cackling laugh was heard, and a huge, sinister shadow with glowing red eyes and wicked claws arose in front of them! (2,800/3,000)

“That’s Despair From The Dark!” screamed Francesca.

“Hey, no fair!” shouted Andy. “How are we going to take out that?”

Stan backed up… He flicked his Disk into position.

“Okay, Queen…” he growled, “if you’re gonna fight dirty, then so am I!”

He took a card from his deck, and placed a card down on it…

A facedown Monster appeared between them and the Zombie.

“Whatever you do guys…” he whispered, “stay behind my facedown Monster. If my hunch is right, it will have to destroy it before it can attack us…”

“But then what?” gasped Andy.

Despair From The Dark cackled. It raised his claws, and shot forth a beam of pure blackness…

An old, grizzled mage in colorful clothing appeared on the card. He thrust his staff forward and cast forth a dark spell.

Despair From The Dark screamed! Both it and the Spellcaster burst into pixels.

Stan chuckled.

“Old Vindictive Magician,” he said, shuffling the card back into his deck. “The Spellcaster version of Man-Eater Bug.”

“And you were upset because you lost one duel,” sighed Francesca. “Stan, if you can take down the baddest Zombie in the game, you can beat anyone.”

“Well,” sighed Stan. “These goons the Queen is throwing at us is one thing, but…”

“Excuse me folks,” said a voice from up ahead. “Did I hear screaming?”

They looked, and a boy who looked about a year older than they were walked up from ahead of them. He had long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore an AC/DC t-shirt, and a plain pair of jeans – as well as a Duel Disk.

“Screaming?” answered Francesca. “Well… uhm… You likely wouldn’t believe us if we told you.”

“Try me,” he chuckled. “I’ve seen a lot in my time.”

His accent was unmistakably Germanic.

“Well,” muttered Andy. “Would you believe a living Despair From The Dark ambushed us and attacked us?”

The duelist paused.

“Well,” he mused. “Given these surroundings, that might not be surprising. This Monster Island is a strange place from what I’ve seen…”

He reached into his pocket.

“But I’ve coped fast… I already have five Crystal Cards.”

“You must be good,” responded Stan.

“I don’t like to brag,” he answered. “The name is Drake, by the way…”

He paused.

“It’s a bit of a way to Twilight Town,” he muttered. “Care to talk?”

“Sure,” said Francesca, sitting down. “So what do your parents do for a living?”

“Uh…” said Drake, sadly. “They’re dead…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” gasped Francesca, realizing she’d put her foot in her mouth again.

“Quite all right,” sighed Drake. “I never knew them, and in a way, having to go without them made me a great duelist…

“See, up until I was ten, I was sort of a nerd, and bullies used to pick on me mercilessly… But then I turned eleven, and one day something snapped in me. I started to fight back, and I didn’t do half bad.

“They never bothered me again, and I got respect from then on…”

He reached into a pouch on his side.

“And one day, someone gave me this card…”

He showed them a Duel Monsters card – it was Axe Raider.

“He told me I was just as brave as Axe Raider for standing up to people like those bullies. I looked into Duel Monsters, and I put together a truly… unique deck. It made me the regional champion of Benelux.

“Benelux?” asked Francesca.

“It’s a term that means Belgium, Holland, and Luxemburg combined,” answered Stan.

“So,” said Drake with a smile, “anybody care to spar? I’m in the mood for another challenge, so long as it’s a worthy one.”

“We told you the next one was yours, Stan,” urged Andy.

“Yeah Stan, go for it!” exclaimed Francesca.

Stan bowed his head for a second.

The champion of Benelux… he thought. I dunno… This guy might be tougher than Raven was…

”Go for it Stan!” cried a voice in his head.

He looked up in surprise.

It sounded like a young, female voice, one which he had never heard before.

”Who are you?” he responded.

”You’ll meet me soon,” was the reply. ”Now don’t wimp out like I always did… you have to get your third card back! I believe in you!”

Stan got up and shuffled his deck.

“Okay Drake,” he said, “it’s go time!”


[B]

* * * * * * * * * *

As usual, Crump was watching their every move. This time he was lying down on top of a large rock.

Hee, hee, he thought. Wow, Stan is dueling again…

He spoke aloud.

“Betcha five bucks he falls flat on his face again!” he dared.

Then he noticed that he had made that challenge to an owl perched on a nearby tree.

“Whoo?” hooted the owl.

“Uh, never mind…” he mumbled.

Wish it was a raven, he thought. If it was, it might have something valuable that I could bet for… oh well…


[B]

* * * * * * * * * *

There were no ravens where Crump was perched, but the two duelists – and Fran and Andy – soon saw that the trees around them had become full of them, and owls, and crows, and bats.

“We seem to have drawn a bit of a crowd…” muttered Drake.

“Yeah…” mumbled Stan. “Well, let’s not let them distract us…”

The Disks flipped into position, and the scores set to 8,000 apiece.

“DUEL!” they both said.

Come on, Stan! thought Andy. You’ve got to win this one!

They each drew five cards.

“You make the first move, Stan,” said Drake with a smile.

“Certainly,” said Stan, making his first draw.

He looked at his card.

“I summon White Magician Pikeru, in Attack Mode!” he exclaimed.

He set a card down, and the cute child Spellcaster in her white dress carrying her scepter appeared. (1,200/0)

Pikeru looked around at her surroundings. She shuddered in fright…

“Look at that poor thing!” exclaimed Francesca. “She’s scared to death!”

“All right,” muttered Stan, “I’ll play one card facedown, and that will end my turn.”

He threw a card into a slot, and it materialized behind Pikeru.

Magic Cylinder will protect her for at least one round, he thought.

Drake drew one card.

“I’ll play this Magic Card,” he stated. “Gather Your Mind!”

He threw the card into a slot.

“Huh?” asked Stan. “What’s that?”

“Gather Your Mind let’s me add another Gather Your Mind card to my hand,” explained Drake. “And it let’s me shuffle my deck.”

He shuffled his deck, and replaced it.

“Uh, I don’t get it…” mused Stan.

“You’ll see soon,” said Drake. “Now I’ll place a Monster facedown in Defense Mode, and that will be all.”

He set a Monster Card down, and a hidden Monster appeared.

Stan drew.

Sweet! he thought.

“First,” he said, “due to Pikeru, I gain 400 Life Points for each Monster on the field.”

Pikeru raised her glowing staff, and Stan’s Life Points rose to 8,800.

“Now,” he continued. “I play Nobleman of Crossout!”

He threw a card into a slot, and a knight with a sword appeared over the facedown card! He stabbed into it!

A shadowy, cloaked assassin holding a dagger appeared… He gasped and shattered.

“Heh,” chuckled Stan. “A Night Assailant, huh?”

Two cards slipped out of Drake’s deck.

“And it looks like you had three of them!” he laughed.

“Uh huh…” muttered Drake, slipping them into the special slot in his Disk for the Removed From Play pile.

But inside, he was smiling…

“Pikeru,” shouted Stan, “attack directly with sparkle blast!”

Pikeru waved her scepter and fired a blast of shining stars! Drake grunted as they hit him, and his Life Points fell to 6,800.

“Okay,” he gasped, “you win round one… My move now…”

“Yes!” cheered Andy. “Stan is winning already!”

“Go Stan!” yelled Francesca.

Drake looked at his card.

“I summon Peten the Dark Clown in Defense Mode,” he said, placing a card on his Disk.

A goofy, foppish harlequin appeared, wearing a cavalier hat with a plume. His makeup was white with black streaks on each side, and his costume was green, blue, and yellow. He knelt in defense. (500/1,200)

“Ugh…” moaned Andy. “More clowns… I hate clowns…”

“And I’ll also play the second Gather Your Mind card,” he said, placing it into a slot.

He retrieved a third Gather Your Mind from his deck, and shuffled again.

“That’s my turn,” said Drake. “And your little pixie’s Attack is too weak to break through my clown’s Defense!”

Stan drew.

“She’ll be strong enough in a minute,” he said with a smile. “But first I’ll take a boost from Pikeru…”

Pikeru held her staff aloft and it glowed again. Stan’s Life Points went up to 9,600.

“Now, I’ll summon Neo the Magic Swordsman in Attack Mode!”

He put a card down, and a young, blonde-haired man wearing a fancy tunic and carrying a glowing sword. (1,700/1,000)

“Keanu Reeves this ain’t!” exclaimed Stan. “And now I’ll give Pikeru a boost…”

He fit a card into a slot.

“I play Magic Formula!”

An ancient tome appeared in front of White Magician Pikeru. She quizzically looked at it, and her Attack went up to 1,700.

“Pikeru!” shouted Stan, “attack the Dark Clown!”

Pikeru shot forth her sparkling stars, and Peten was blown away.

“Nice try, Stan…” said Drake with a grin.

A card flew out of his deck.

“But when Peten the Dark Clown is destroyed, I can remove it from play, and then summon another one!”

He placed the card down on his Disk, and a second Peten appeared.



Continued...

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


Stan grimaced.

“Neo!” he shouted. “Attack the second one with sword of light!”

Neo ran his hand over his blade, and mystic runes appeared over it. The sword shone with light, and he charged, striking the second Peten down.

Another card flew out of Drake’s deck.

“Again, nice try,” he said. “But I have a third one.”

He put another card down, and yet another Peten appeared. He made a raspberry at Stan.

“All right…” sighed Stan. “I end my turn…”

Drake drew.

“I’ll summon this in Defense Mode…” he stated.

He placed a card down.

A weird portal opened, and a weirder Machine flew out. It looked like a metal sphere with a strange, red eye on its front and two spindly mechanical arms on its sides. (800/1,200)

“Meet D.D. Scout Plane!” exclaimed Drake.

“That’s enough for my turn,” commented Drake.

D.D. Scout Plane? thought Stan. Ooh, Monsters with the letters D.D. in front of their names are never good news! If I attack that thing, it might remove one of my Monsters from play!

He drew.

Pikeru raised her staff again, and his Life Points went up to 11,200.

Still, he thought, I could damage his Life Points good if I took a risk…

He put a card down.

“I summon Blast Magician in Attack Mode!” he shouted.

The fiery mage with his sickle-bladed staff and red robes appeared. (1,400/1,700).

Here goes… he thought.

“Neo! Attack his D.D. Scout Plane!”

Neo’s sword glowed and he leapt up, bringing his blade down on the strange machine. It exploded into bits!

Stan waited for a few seconds.

Everyone’s still here? he thought. Odd… what kind of effect did it have?

He shrugged.

“Blast Magician, destroy the last Peten with blast attack!”

Flames erupted on Blast Magician’s staff, and he swung them forward, burning the third Peten up!

“Pikeru, attack directly!”

“Not again!” shouted Drake as Pikeru’s stars slammed into him.

He gasped, as his Life Points fell down to 5,100.

“Yes!” shouted Andy. “I knew Stan would get his groove back!”


[B]

* * * * * * * * * *

Crump frowned.

“This guy was the champion of Benelux?” he mumbled. “Do all the duelist there stink?”

“Whoo,” hooted the owl.

“Quiet,” said Crump. “This guy isn’t even putting up a fight – he hasn’t even summoned anything in Attack Mode yet…”

“Whoo?” said the owl.

“Quiet,” repeated Crump.

He thought for a minute.

“Unless…” he muttered.

“Maybe Drake’s strategy is something other than a simple frontal assault…”


[B]

* * * * * * * * * *

Drake drew.

“Stan, you are a worthy opponent…” he said with a smirk.

“But now I get deadly serious…”

He fit a card into a slot.

“I’m going to blow away your facedown card with Mystical Space Typhoon!”

The wind whipped across the field, and the Magic Cylinder card shattered!

“Eek…” muttered Stan.

Drake put a card down.

“Now meet one of my stronger Monsters,” said Drake with a smile. “I summon the powerful Chaosrider Gustaph!”

A sound like a noisy motorcycle erupted above the forest, and a portal opened. A biker dressed in green and brown punk-like attire and a horned helmet driving a shiny red and silver motorcycle sped out, and skidded to a halt. (1,400/1,500)

“Heh,” chuckled Stan. “That may look intimidating, but he’s weak!”

“Not for long!” said Drake with a smirk.

Two cards flew out of his discard slot.

“I can remove up to two Magic Cards from play, and increase Gustaph’s Attack Score by 300 for each! So I’ll remove my two Gather Your Mind cards…”

He slid the two cards into his removal slot, and Gustaph’s Attack went up to 2,000!

“Now, Gustaph, attack Pikeru with smoke exhaust attack!”

Gustaph revved up his cycle and blasted a cloud of exhaust at Pikeru! She screamed and was consumed by it!

Stan’s Life Points slipped to 10,900.

“Oh, and that bonus to his Attack won’t wear off until the End Phase of your next turn,” added Drake. “So I end my turn…”

Stan grumbled. He drew.

“Then I’ll pass this turn,” he said.

Gustaph’s Attack fell back to 1,400.

Drake drew.

“I’ll play Graceful Charity!” he announced.

He fit the card into a slot, and the beautiful angel flew out of his deck. She handed him three cards.

He quickly handed her two of them (one was his last Gather Your Mind).

He took a card from his hand.

“Now I’ll play this Magic Card,” he exclaimed, fitting it into a slot, “The Cheerful Coffin!”

A tall undertaker in a stovepipe hat appeared in front of him, and hefted a large coffin in his hands.

“This lets me discard three Monster Cards to my Graveyard,” explained Drake. “So…”

He took three more cards from his hand, and tossed them into the air. The undertaker opened the coffin and caught them in it. Then the coffin shrank down to miniscule size, and he tossed it into Drake’s discard slot.

“Now then,” continued Drake, “I’ll summon Bazoo the Soul Eater!”

He placed a card down, and a large form appeared. It looked like a hulking mandrill ape with purple fur and powerful arms. It clutched a large fruit in its hands. (1,600/900)

Aw no, thought Stan. I know what that thing can do…

“And now,” exclaimed Drake, “I can remove three Monsters from my Graveyard from play to bring his Attack Score up by 300 for each! So I’ll remove the third Peten, the D.D. Scout Plane, and a second D.D. Scout Plane that I just discarded!”

Three cards flew out of his discard slot, and he moved them to his removal slot. Bazoo’s Attack went up to 2,500!

“And I’m not done!” he laughed. “I’ll also remove The Cheerful Coffin and Graceful Charity from play to power up Gustaph again!”

Two more cards flew out of his discard slot, and he discarded them into his removal slot. Gustaph went back up to 2,000 Attack.

“Now, Bazoo, attack his Blast Magician with breath of souls!”

Bazoo opened his jaws and blasted forth a beam of energy, blowing Blast Magician into gibbets!

“Ugh…” groaned Stan, holding his nose. “Banana breath!”

“Gustaph!” yelled Drake. “Attack Neo!”

Gustaph shot forth his exhaust, and Neo was obliterated.

Stan’s Life Points fell to 9,500.

“But wait!” exclaimed Drake. “There’s more!”

“More?” moaned Stan.

Two cards flew out of Drake’s removal slot, and placed themselves down on his Disk.

“Whenever a D.D. Scout Plane is removed from play for any reason,” explained Drake, “it’s Special Summoned to the field during the End Phase in Attack Mode!”

Another portal opened, and two of the weird Machines flew out. (800/1,200)

“Well, I think that’s enough for my turn…” he concluded.

“Don’t worry, Stan!” shouted Francesca. “You’re still way ahead of him.”

She turned to Andy.

“Drake sure seems to have a weird deck…” she mentioned.

“Yeah…” muttered Andy. “Chaos…”

“Chaos?” asked Fran.

“Call me crazy,” said Andy, “but a lot of Drake’s strategy seems to revolve around removing his own cards from play…

“There might be a nasty surprise in store for Stan… but I can’t quite put my finger on it…”

“One of the Envoys, maybe?” asked Fran.

“He’d need a Light Monster for that, and he hasn’t summoned one yet…” muttered Andy. “At least, I don’t think any of his Monsters are Light…”

“My turn…” said Stan.

Well, he thought. Time to go for broke…

“I’ll place one card facedown…” he stated.

He placed a card into a slot, and it appeared.

“Then,” he said, “I’ll summon Skilled Dark Magician in Attack Mode!”

He threw the card down, and the dark-robed sorcerer appeared out of the shadows. (1,900/1,700)

“Now I’ll play… Pot of Greed!” he announced.

He fit the card into the slot, and the smiling jar handed him two cards.

Skilled Dark Magician raised his staff, and energy flowed into it… The steel of his staff changed color to copper.

“Now, Skilled Dark Magician, attack one of those Machines with black magic blast!”

Skilled Dark Magician cast a dark spell, and one of the two D.D. Scout Planes exploded!

Drake’s Life Points fell to 4,000.

“And that’s my move…” said Stan, with a grin.

Drake considered as he drew.

Hmph! he thought. I have enough Monsters to remove from play to power Bazoo enough up enough to take out that Magician… And then my other Scout Plane and Gustaph could put some hurt on his Life Points…

But Stan is no idiot… He wouldn’t have done that unless that facedown card was something nasty… And my Life Points are way behind his…

He looked at his card.

Well, this will help…

He turned the cards on his Disk.

“I’m shifting all three of my Monsters to Defense Mode,” he said.

D. D. Scout Plane backed up, Bazoo shielded itself, and Gustaph turned his motorcycle sideways…

“HA!” laughed Stan. “I was hoping you’d do that! I was bluffing!”

He hit his Disk, and his Trap Card lifted.

“I activate my Pitch Black Power Stone!”

A black sphere with three glowing lights in a triangular pattern rose above his head.

“What does THAT do?” asked Drake.

“It’s a storage container that holds three spell counters,” explained Stan. “During each of my turns, I can transfer one of its spell counters to any of my Monsters that uses spell counters! Monsters like… Skilled Dark Magician!”

Drake frowned.

“I play this Magic Card,” he stated, placing it into a slot. “Soul Absorption!”

A frightening card appeared on his side of the field. It looked like a body having blue energy sucked out of it by demonic skulls.

Skilled Dark Magician absorbed more energy, and his staff glowed silver.

“Soul Absorption?” asked Stan. “What’s that?”

“You’ll find out soon,” said Drake. “For now, I summon D.D. Trainer in Defense Mode.

He put the card down, and yet another portal opened. A hideous creature emerged, looking like a cross between a slug, centipede, and beaver, with slimy orange and yellow skin. A bald, sinister-looking goblin was riding the thing. (100/2,000)

“Man, is that thing ugly!” remarked Andy.

“Mmm,” agreed Francesca. “Clearly, all of Drake’s Monsters are out of the ordinary…”

Stan drew.

“I’ll transfer one charge from my Pitch Black Power Stone to my Skilled Dark Magician…” he stated.

One of the bright orbs from the Stone flowed into the Magician, and his staff glowed golden.

A card flew out of Stan’s deck.

“Now, I can sacrifice him to Special Summon… Dark Magician!”

Skilled Dark Magician vanished, and the genuine article appeared! (2,500/2,100)

“And that’s not all…” continued Stan. “I’ll also summon my Skilled WHITE Magician!”

He placed another card down, and the Light counterpart to Skilled Dark Magician appeared! (1,700/1,900)

“All right!” shouted Stan. “Skilled White Magician, attack Bazoo the Soul Eater!”

Skilled White Magician thrust his staff forward and cast a spell of burning light! Bazoo howled and burst into pixels!

“Dark Magician, attack Chaosrider Gustaph!”

Dark Magician made a dramatic swing with his staff and fired! Gustaph screamed, and then he and his motorcycle were blown apart.

“That’s all for my turn…” said Stan with a smile.

I’ve got this cold! he thought. I can’t lose!

He paused.

Wait… I can’t think like that… That got me in trouble last time…

“It’s your move Drake,” he said.

Drake drew a card.

“I’ll play my Pot of Greed…” he stated, fitting a card into a slot.

The pot handed him two more cards.

Skilled White Magician absorbed the energy… His staff glowed copper.

“Ah, perfect!” he exclaimed. “I summon Banisher of the Light in Defense Mode!”

He put a card down. A tall priest in a blue and mustard-yellow robe appeared, holding a hand out. (100/2,000)

“And that will end my move,” he stated.

Err, I don’t like that… thought Stan, drawing. But I don’t like his D.D. Trainer even more…

He looked at his card.

“I’ll transfer a charge from my Stone to my Skilled White Magician!” he stated.

Another orb from the Pitch Black Power Stone shot forward and flew into Skilled White Magician. His staff glowed silver.

“Dark Magician, attack his D.D. Trainer!”

Dark Magician aimed his staff, and fired, blowing the goblin and his hideous mount to pieces!

“Skilled White Magician, attack his Scout Plane!”

Skilled White Magician fired his bright magic from his staff, and the Machine exploded.

“Heh, heh,” chuckled Drake. “Thank you. You see Stan, thanks to my Banisher of the Light, all cards that are destroyed or discarded while he’s on the field are removed from play…

“And that means my Soul Absorption can now get to work! It heals me of 500 points of damage whenever one of our cards is removed from play!”

His Life Points went up to 5,000.

“What’s more,” he said, “since D.D. Scout Plane was removed from play…”

“You get to Special Summon it back during the End Phase…” growled Stan.

“Exactly!” stated Drake.

“Fine,” said Stan. “I end my turn.”

A portal opened, and the D.D. Scout Plane flew out.



Continued...

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


Drake drew.

“I’ll shift my Scout Plane into Defense Mode,” he stated, turning the card, “and also summon a Monster facedown in Defense Mode.”

He threw a card down, and a hidden Monster appeared.

“It’s your move…”

Stan drew.

“I’ll transfer the last charge of my Stone to my Skilled White Magician!” he exclaimed.”

The final charge flew out of the Stone, and the Stone crumbled. Skilled White Magician’s staff glowed golden.

“Heh, heh,” laughed Drake. “You just discarded your Trap Card, meaning my Banisher of the Light removed it from play, meaning I gain another 500 Life Points!”

His Life Points went up to 5,500.

A card flew out of Stan’s deck.

“Your Banisher won’t be staying for long,” he said. “I can now sacrifice Skilled White Magician to summon Buster Blader!”

He switched cards on his Disk, and Skilled White Magician vanished; a huge figure in blue armor holding a giant sword appeared! (2,600/2,300)

“Buster Blader?” said Francesca in surprise. “That’s not a Spellcaster…”

“Yeah, but…” pondered Andy.

He paused. He knew why Stan had that card in his deck – it made a nasty combo with Dark Magician. He respected Stan, but he had to admit, he hated Buster Blader, and the combo it made with Dark Magician – once one of his opponents got one or the other on the field, he’d be hard pressed to win…

Buster Blader and Dark Magician looked at each other and nodded.

“I also summon my Gemini Elf in Attack Mode!” shouted Stan.

He put another card down, and the two twin elves appeared.

“Buster Blader!” he shouted, “attack his Banisher of the Light with blade buster attack!”

Buster Blader leapt forward and struck, blasting Banisher of the Light into bright pixels!

“Now, Gemini Elf, attack his facedown Monster!”

The two elves raised their arms, and shot forth two bolts of lightning… A figure appeared on the card…

“WHAT?” shouted Stan, as the Warrior was blown apart.

“Your elves just destroyed my D.D. Assailant!” laughed Drake. “And when she’s destroyed, both her and the Monster who destroyed her are removed from play!”

A dark hole opened above the field… Gemini Elf screamed, and they were sucked into it!

“And that means I gain 1,000 more Life Points!” he chuckled.

His Life Points went up to 6,500.

Stan growled.

“Dark Magician, destroy his D.D. Scout Plane!” he shouted.

Dark Magician aimed his staff, and he blew the Machine away again!

“Make your move…” he growled.

Drake drew.

“I’ll summon D.D. Warrior Lady in Attack Mode!” he shouted.

He threw a card down, and a beautiful woman dressed in armor, a glowing sword appeared. (1,500/1,600)

Aw, crud! exclaimed Stan.

“D.D. Warrior Lady,” yelled Drake, “attack his Dark Magician!”

D.D. Warrior Lady lifted her sword and charged…

Dark Magician gasped and blasted with his staff, blowing her into pixels…

And then a portal opened up again… Dark Magician was sucked through it.

“Heh, heh,” said Drake with a smile. “When D. D. Warrior Lady battles a Monster, I can remove both from play, and while I lost 900 Life Points from that kamikaze strike…”

His Life Points fell to 5,600.

“…thanks to my Soul Absorption, I gain back 1,000 more!”

His Life Points went up to 6,600.

“Now I’ll place this card facedown, and end my turn,” he said, placing his last card into the slot.

The card appeared in front of him.

Stan drew.

That facedown card worries me, he thought, But I could get a big lead if I took a risk…

“I summon Mystical Elf in Defense Mode,” he said, placing a card down.

The holy elf appeared, kneeling and chanting her mantra. (800/2,000)

“Now, Buster Blader, attack!”

“I activate Magic Cylinder!” shouted Drake.

The two Cylinders appeared in mid air. Stan gasped as energy flowed from his Buster Blader into one of them and shot out the other, striking him and knocking him over.

His Life Points fell to 7,000.

“Okay,” he said, “I end my turn. But you have no cards in your hand, and nothing on your side of the field except your Soul Absorption card. I doubt you can summon anything that can defeat Buster Blader.”

“I draw one card…” said Drake, drawing.

“Heh, heh,” he chuckled. “HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!”

“What’s so funny?” asked Stan.

“Ever wonder who the ruler of the Different Dimension is Stan?” he asked. “I hold that creature in my hand… And it’s plenty strong enough to defeat your Blader!”

“Yeah?” asked Stan. “How are you going to summon it without a sacrifice?”

“It isn’t a Monster you need a sacrifice for!” chuckled Drake. “In fact, this Monster is only three stars! But I assure, when used the right way, it’s strong enough to defeat almost anything!”

He chuckled.

“I could even defeat the famed Egyptian God Cards if I was lucky…

“In fact, the creature I hold is the centerpiece of my deck, the reason I hold the title of Champion of Benelux…”

“Show me…” demanded Stan. “What the heck sort of mega-powerful three-star Monster are you going to summon?”

“I’ll show you…” said Drake.

He put a card down…

A portal of flames opened, and a hideous creature emerged. It was hard to describe. It’s demonic features suggested that it was a Fiend, but it wasn’t humanoid – more bestial in shape. It had a typical fiendish face, a red exoskeleton, two huge claws, and huge, dragon-like wings.

The abomination roared!

“Meet the star of my deck… GREN MAJU DA EIZA!

(?/?)

“What the heck is that?” muttered Francesca.

“It… can’t be good…” gasped Andy.

“Allow me to explain how this lovable beast works,” explained Drake. “It’s Attack and Defense Score is 400 for every one of my cards that has been removed from play. And in case you lost count, there have been thirteen!

“Do the math…”

Francesca did a quick calculation.

“Oh… my… God…” she gasped. “It has an Attack Score of 5,200!”

“Of course…” gulped Andy. “That’s why his whole deck revolved around sending cards out of play… It’s all done to power up a Monster who’s scores depend on cards being removed from play!”

“Exactly!” yelled Drake. “Gren Maju, attack his Buster Blader with chaos flames!”

Gren Maju Da Eiza blasted forth a stream of fire, incinerating Buster Blader!

Stan’s Life Points fell to 4,400.

“Your move…” chuckled Drake, crossing his arms.

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

“Gren Maju Dai Eiza?” muttered Crump. “What the sam hill is that?”

“Whoo?” hooted the owl.

“Who is right,” muttered Crump. “I’ve never seen it either. But whatever it is, it sure is powerful.

“Heh, heh, Stan is going to be fricasseed by that thing, and he’ll sink deeper into the hole! Won’t the Queen be pleased…”

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

Stan gulped, and drew a card.

His eyes popped out as he looked at it.

It’s one of the cards Merlee gave us! he thought. And this one might be even better than Goombella!

“Here’s my move, Drake,” he said. “I’ll summon this gal in Attack Mode…”

He set a card down…

“Say hello… to VIVIAN THE SHADOW SIREN!”

A man-sized form appeared out of the shadows. It was cute, ghost-like creature with purple skin and no legs, her lower body tapering off into a ghostly tendril. Her eyes were hidden by a swirl of pink hair, and more of her pink hair was worn long down her back. She wore a red and white striped witch’s hat and white gloves, and had a big smile. (1,800/1,000)

Again, the feeling came over Stan, Andy, and Francesca… The feeling of love from this creature, as if they had known her before and were seeing her for the first time in a long time…

“That’s really cute, Stan,” chuckled Drake. “But your ‘Shadow Siren’ can’t hold a candle to my Chaos Fiend!”

“We’ll see,” said Stan with a smile. “I end my turn.”

Drake drew, and thought carefully.

He summoned that creature in Attack Mode… he thought. But why? Could she have some special power that could block my Maju’s attack?

Well, I’ll best find out…

“Maju, attack that… What did he call it? Shadow Siren!”

Flames appeared in Maju’s jaws…

“I don’t think so, Drake,” said Stan.

He discarded a card from his hand.

Vivian vanished into the shadows, and the blast hit bare ground!

“Where’d she go?” stammered Drake.

Vivian reappeared out of the shadows.

“It’s called Vivian’s Veil, Drake,” said Stan, with a smile. “So long as Vivian is on the field and I’m willing and able to discard a card, my Monsters are attack-proof! By discarding a card, she can protect one Monster from an attack, including herself!”

“Fine,” scowled Drake. “But you can’t discard forever. Make your move.”

Stan drew.

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

He fit a card into a slot, and it appeared in front of him.

Drake drew.

Hmm… he thought. Maybe Stan won’t be so anxious to protect his Mystical Elf, seeing as she’s in Defense Mode…

“Gren Maju, attack his Mystical Elf!” he commanded.

Maju shot forth his flames.

“I activate Spellbinding Circle!” shouted Stan.

His Trap Card lifted, and Gren Maju Dai Eiza was trapped in the pentagram! Its Attack fell down to 4,500.

“Big deal,” growled Drake. “You’ll still never destroy it. Make your move.”

Stan drew.

“I’ll place another card facedown,” he stated, fitting it into a slot.

A new facedown card appeared behind his Monsters.

“Make your move.”

Drake drew.

Well, this will be useful… he thought.

“I activate Dust Tornado!” shouted Stan.

His Trap Card lifted, and the Soul Absorption card was blown apart!

Damn! thought Drake. Best make the most of it…

“I play this Magic Card…” he said.

He showed it to Stan…

“Soul Release?” gasped Stan, sweating.

“Yes,” said Drake, offhand, placing it into his Disk. “I’ll use it on my own Graveyard, removing my Mystical Space Typhoon, Pot of Greed, Chaosrider Gustaph, Bazoo the Soul Eater, and Banisher of the Light. This brings the total scores of Gren Maju Dai Eiza all the way up to 7,200!

Stan gulped, as Maju’s Attack and Defense went up.

“But since I can’t destroy your Spellbinding Circle now, I’ll end my turn,” he continued.

Stan shakily drew. He knew that he had to draw something good. Vivian could protect his Monsters, but not forever…

“I summon Ebon Magician Curran in Attack Mode!” he shouted.

He threw a card down, and the cute young sorceress in a dark dress appeared, holding her switch. (1,200/0)

“And that’s all for my move,” he said.

Drake drew.

“Heh, heh,” he said, looking at the card. “I play Heavy Storm!”

He threw the card into a slot, and a fierce wind whipped about the field, shattering the Spellbinding Circle! Gren Maju Dai Eiza reared up and roared…

“Maju!” shouted Drake, “attack Curran!”

The Fiend blew his blast of flame at Curran…

Stan discarded another card.

“Vivian, protect Curran with your Veil!” he shouted.

Vivian grabbed ahold of Curran and pulled her into the shadows. The blast harmlessly dissipated.

“Fine,” said Drake. “I end my turn. But soon you’ll have little left to discard…”

Stan drew.

Huh? he thought. Using this might be risky… but it might buy me some time…

He slid a card into a slot.

“Okay, Drake,” he said, “First, Curran’s effect kicks in…”

Curran chanted and swung her switch. She blasted a wave of dark energy at Drake, and he staggered back. His Life Points fell to 5,400.

“Now,” continued Stan, “I’m playing Clock Out!”

A sound like a chime rang out, and a large grandfather clock appeared on the field. It’s face had one hand, and the numbers one through six on it.

“Clock Out?” muttered Drake. “I’ve never heard of that…”

“Clock Out is a risky card,” responded Stan. “First I have to pay 1,000 Life Points…”

His Life Points fell to 3,400.

The hand on the clock started to spin.

“Then, whatever number the hand on this clock lands on, you can’t make an attack for that many of your turns!”

Drake gasped!

The hand slowed…

And landed on the three!



Continued...

[Dark Sage]

“Yes!” exclaimed Andy. “Now Drake’s Fiend can’t attack for three of his turns!”

Darn, thought Stan. I’d have been better off with Swords of Revealing Light!

“I end my turn,” concluded Stan. “Now let’s see what you’ve got.”

Drake drew.

“What have I got?” he asked. “I’ll show you. One Gren Maju Dai Eiza was good, but two are even better!”

He threw a card down, and a second Gren Maju Dai Eiza appeared in a burst of flame! (7,200/7,200)

“And just so you know,” he said, “I have a third one waiting in my deck…”

He chuckled.

“I end my turn. Two turns to go…”

The clock ticked down to the two.

Stan sweated as he drew.

Yes! he thought.

Curran cast her spell again and zapped Drake again! His Life Points fell to 3,900.

“I play… Snatch Steal!” he shouted.

He played the card, and the shifty bandit leapt out.

The bandit leapt onto the back of one the Gren Maju Dai Eiza, and the creature flew over to Stan’s side.

“Heh, heh, heh…” chuckled Drake. “I suppose you’re planning to send that Maju in a suicide strike against the first one to destroy them both…”

“You got it!” said Stan with a smile.

“Well take a closer look…” chuckled Drake.

Stan looked down…

The Attack and Defense Scores of the Monster he had stolen were only 1,200!

“You obviously didn’t know the ruling on Gren Maju Dai Eiza,” said Drake with a grin. “It’s Attack and Defense is 400 times the number of cards that the controller has had removed from play. Since you’ve only had three removed from play, it’s much weaker while on your side!”

Stan stood dumbfounded.

“So now,” chuckled Drake, “you’ll just have to keep it until your Clock Out wears off, and I’ll gain 1,000 Life Points per turn!”

Stan noticed a card in his hand.

“No I won’t,” he said, placing a card on his Disk. “I’ll sacrifice it to summon Dark Magician Girl!”

Gren Maju Dai Eiza vanished, and the gorgeous female sorceress spun out of the ground brandishing her staff. (2,000/1,700)

“All right!” exclaimed Francesca. “One down!”

“That ends my turn,” said Stan, “make your move.”

Drake drew.

“Sorry, Stan,” he said, “but Curran has to go…”

He threw a Magic Card into a slot and discarded another card.

“So I’m playing Dark Core!”

A black hole appeared above the field. Ebon Magician Curran shrieked as she was sucked into it!

“What?” asked Stan. “Why didn’t you use it to get rid of Vivian?”

“Because, you still have two turns to act,” responded Drake. “If I left Curran on the field that long, you could have summoned more Monsters, and she might have finished me.

“So make your move. I’ll draw my third Gren Maju Dai Eiza soon enough, I’m certain of it…”

The clock clicked down to the one.

Stan drew.

Negate Attack… he thought. This can help, but not forever… And I can’t use Vivian’s power forever either…

He shivered at the sight of the fiend in front of him…

He closed his eyes…

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

When he opened them, he found himself in a spooky place. It was dark – mysterious. A place where his nightmares seemed to come from.

“No…” he gasped. “Help…”

“Stan!” cried a voice. “Snap out of it!”

Stan knew that voice. It was the same voice in his head that had urged him to accept Drake’s challenge.

A form appeared from out of the shadows.

“Vivian?” he said, surprised. “What’s going on?”

“I had to talk to you Stan,” she said. “You looked like you were about to give up…”

“I might as well,” muttered Stan. “His Monster is too powerful…”

Vivian sighed.

“Stan, you want me to tell you a secret?” she asked. “Don’t tell anybody…”

She paused.

“Before I joined up with your ancestor, I worked with my two sisters, and we worked for the Shadow Queen. We even fought the Three Heroes early on…

“They walloped us good that time…”

She sighed.

“Thing was, my sisters were big bullies – I was the youngest. They always tortured me – and when they made a mistake, they blamed me for it. But I didn’t dare stand up for myself… because I thought they were too powerful!

“But eventually, that all changed. You ancestor… he took pity on me. He did something nice for me, and I decided to tag along. Working for him was much better than working for the Queen…

“And eventually, I helped him face my sisters again… and I helped him beat them! It was the most gratifying experience of my life!

“He helped me gain the courage to stand up to them, and I found out that they weren’t as powerful as I had feared…”

She paused again.

“That was long ago,” she continued, “but the Queen is a threat again. You must defeat her, and you must win this duel to get to the Thousand Year Door. Now do it like you mean it. Gren Maju Dai Eiza may be tough, but you know the old saying…

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall…

“We’re all counting on you…”

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

Stan came back to awareness.

“Okay, Drake,” he said, “I’m placing this card facedown, and ending my turn!”

He threw the card into the slot, and the card appeared before him.

Drake drew.

“I’ll pass and let your Clock Out expire,” he said.

The hand clicked to the twelve o’clock position and vanished.

Stan drew.

He looked at the card strangely.

“I’ll place a Monster facedown in Defense, and end my turn,” he stated.

He placed a card on his disk, and a hidden Monster appeared.

Drake drew a card.

“HA!” he shouted. “I summon my third Gren Maju Dai Eiza!”

He threw a card down, and another of the Chaos Fiends appeared. (7,200/7,200)

“You have only three cards in your hand now,” laughed Drake, “and you’ll need to discard two of them to save your Shadow Siren now! Maju #1, attack Vivian with chaos flames!”

The first Gren Maju Dai Eiza shot forth his fiery breath.

“I activate Negate Attack!” yelled Stan.

His Trap Card lifted, and the flames were swallowed by a vortex.

“Humph, fine,” grunted Drake. “I end my turn. But this is almost over.”

Stan drew.

All right! he thought.

“I’m afraid it is over!” he exclaimed. “First I’ll shift my Mystical Elf into Attack Mode…”

Mystical Elf got up and unfolded her hands.

“Huh?” asked Drake.

“Now I’ll shift my facedown Monster into Attack Mode!” he continued.

The card spun around, and a grizzled old witch doctor in colorful clothes carrying a large staff appeared. (450/600)

“Old Vindictive Magician?” gasped Drake.

“That’s right!” exclaimed Stan.

Old Vindictive Magician waved his staff, and vaporized one of the Chaos Fiends!

“It isn’t over!” cursed Drake.

“Afraid it is,” said Stan with a smile. “Because now I play the card I just drew… Double Spell!”

He fit it into a slot.

“What good will that do you?” asked Drake. “I removed all my Magic Cards in my Graveyard from play.”

“Not all of them!” remarked Stan, discarding his Sage’s Stone. “I’m using this card to duplicate your Dark Core!”

He placed the card into a slot, and discarded another card, and the black hole opened above the field again, sucking the last Gren Maju Dai Eiza into it with a roar!

“Aw… shoot my monkey…” gasped Drake.

“Mystical Elf!” shouted Stan. “Attack with mystical magic!”

Mystical Elf held her palms forward and shot forth a blast of light. Drake staggered back, and his Life Points fell to 3,100.

“Dark Magician Girl, dark magic blast!”

Dark Magician Girl cheered and leapt up into the air, blasting Drake with her dark magic. Drake shuddered as it tore through him. His Life Points fell to 1,100.

“Now, Vivian!” yelled Andy. “Finish him off with your Fiery Jinx!”

Vivian raised her hands, and shot waves of flame from them! Drake screamed as he was hit and his Life Points fell to zero.

“Yes!” shouted Andy, hi-fiving Fran. “He won!”

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

“Unfortunate,” muttered Crump. “It seems Stan got lucky…”

“Whoo…” hooted the owl.

“Hmm, that Vivian creature he has is pretty powerful,” he remarked, looking at his notes. “So is that Clock Out card. These three kids are packing pretty strange cards…”

He paused.

“Maybe I should get to Twilight Town and look up these cards in their internet café – I’m sure the Queen wouldn’t mind me doing a bit of research…”

He hopped off the rock and headed in the direction that the teens had been headed.

“Whoo?” said the owl.

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

“Well, you won,” sighed Drake. “So I owe you this…”

He handed over one of his Crystal Cards.

“You deserve it – I’ve never had a duel like that!”

“Thank you,” said Stan.

“So,” said Drake, “you headed towards Twilight Town? If you are, I’ll walk with you…”

“Sure,” said Stan with a shrug. “From the look of things, there’s strength in numbers around here…”

They walked off into the everlasting Twilight…

Half a mile ahead, the dark burg of Twilight Town awaited…




CLOCK OUT

Card Specs

Type: Magic
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Card Description: Image of a large clock tower being blasted apart by lightning. Pay 1,000 Life Points to activate this card. Roll one dice. For a number of your opponent’s turns equal to the number on the dice, your opponent cannot declare an attack.



VIVIAN THE SHADOW SIREN

Card Specs

Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 4
ATK: 1,800
DEF: 1,000

Card Description: It is said that this shy creature once opposed the Three Heroes as a servant of the Shadow Queen, but joined their cause after they showed an act of kindness. When this Monster is face-up on the field, you can discard one card from your hand to negate an attack on one of your face-up Monsters.



[B][I]Coming up next…

Another user character, belonging to someone we’re all quite familiar with, rears his head, and he packs a deck that mirrors a popular anime character! What horrors are in store for Andy in the creepy burg of Twilight Town? Find out in a chapter that I call “Dweller in Darkness”, coming soon.

[Master of Paradox]

Well, I was fooled. Remind me not to go assuming anymore.

Good chapter, although again there's not much to say on the plot, since that was left relatively empty. It's quite odd, seeing a full-blown D.D. deck without any made-ups in it - but I suppose given the overall number of cards supporting it nowadays, that's not impossible. And both Clock Out and Vivian did about what I thought they'd do.

Have you ever noticed how many of your characters are regional champions of wherever, by the way? Not a complaint, just a comment.

Overall, a decent chapter. Looking forward to the next.

[Pokemasterkatie]

Whoa...there's a new one(seriously; I've never heard of this monster)! BTW, I WAS thinking of Megarock Dragon, DS. I'm pleased Andy knows why Stan put Buster Blader in his deck, although getting Dark Paladin out is still no easy task! Andy must have been defeated by it once before...

And Vivian, arguably the cutest female in a Mario game(eat your heart out, Peach!)...and the most controversial, as she was a male in the Japanese version! Veil(and the Clock Out card as well) was nicely translated in Duel Monsters terms, as this did the exact same thing in the game.

[Perfect Chaos]

That was a great chapter Dark Sage. Another very creative deck theme that kept us on the edge of our seats (at least for me it did). Drake certainly showed why he was the Champion of Benelux, with his all original "Chaos" deck. I didn't expect that it was possible to make a full-out D.D. deck either, but I guess it's possible

Clock Out and Vivian would both make great cards in Stall deck. Keep up the good work Dark Sage

-sean

[Shuppet Master]

Once again, your characters teach the valuable life lesson - NEVER use a card which you think could be used against you, as cards exist to steal the cards(like the real life Double Spell or your fictional Dark Scorpion Pilfer). Both of those Gran Maju were powerful, but were no match for a Old Vindictive and Dark Core.

Interesting character name, Silencer. One of my characters was called Drake, but he was a dragon duelist like Andy. And as for every user-character being a champion, well, my user character isn't.

I was thinking of Megarock too, D.S. Great job.

[jkBAKURA]

Well, I feel humbled. I was thinking Tyrano-Infinity. I've seen my share of fiction with D.D decks, and even played several myself, but somehow you managed to get several combos all into one match. Unfortunately I don't know enough about Thousand-Year-Door to make a legitimate judgement on the custom cards, but everyone else sems to like them so I'll jump on that bandwagon. Looking foreward to an update as always, JKB

[Dark Sage]

So many questions to address.

Silencer wanted his user character to be the regional champion of Benelux. I admit that a lot of the characters in these fics are regional champions, but that is one of the reasons they are invited to major tournaments. There won't be many more of these big wheels in the future.

I'll admit that Vivian is indeed cuter than Peach, but I had no idea that she was a male character in the Japanese version. You learn something new every day, I guess.

Has Andy ever been defeated by a Buster Blader? Possibly. This fact may well be a foreshadowing.

For everyone who I took by surprise, sorry to disappoint. However, Tyranno Infinity will appear eventually (as will a lot more Cybernetic Revolution cards). You'll just have to wait and see.

- Dark Sage

[Zcade0]

Exellent chapter Dark Sage I really like the dark dragon deck but what about the D.D. Dragon? Anyway I fought a D.D. Deck and it was bloody hard even though they didn't use the the one monster (can't remember how 2 spell it).

[Shuppet Master]

Tyrano-Infinity? Must be another Cybernetic Revolution card!

BTW, on the subject of my story(don't pelt me with Mystic Tomatoes for doing this), I wanted to put up a special duel chapter to celebrate the release of the sixth Harry Potter book(which I've started to read), but it's not finished yet. I plan on having the next chapter out today.

[Silencer]

Cool, coming back from vacation and saying your character in the fic, just plain cool. And I would like to thank the people that found my deck intresting. When I play fun games I use this deck and it's really fun to use.

Also my character name is just the name I would have when I was American I guess, so nothing special. And making my character the champion of the Benelux I put some focus on my country and I'm proud of it

[starjake]

Wow! Quite an interesting deck theme, I must say. And Gren Maju is a Fire monster, which makes it extra cool!

I hope the next duel is just as interesting as this one. I await the next chapter!

[Dark Sage]

It's time for a new chapter!

And with it, the debut of a new user character!

So, I'd like to thank Perfect Chaos for his contribution of this very interesting character.

Let the battle of Twilight Town begin!

[Dark Sage]

[I][B]I watched the Battle City duels on tapes a while back. I watch everything that has to do with Yugi Mouto. It was an exciting contest, but…

Unfortunately, a dark force tried to ruin it. Villains led by a demon infiltrated the competition in an attempt at world domination.

Each of these scoundrels had a separate theme, like most duelists do. And some of them stood out more than others.

I doubt that the guy who’s dueling Andy right now has any sinister motives, but…

…well, I can’t quite put my finger on it…

…but his strategy seems awfully familiar.

Not to mention scary…

[B][size=3]CHAPTER SIXTEEN



Dweller in Darkness

As the three friends and their new companion approached the buildings of the dark town, the first thing they noticed surrounding it were orchards full of trees, which were loaded with scrumptious-looking peaches!

It was amazing that peach trees could flourish in an area with so little light.

They were hungry, and it was tempting to pick some of the luscious fruits – but they stopped, thinking the trees likely belonged to someone.

They entered the town, which was full of wooden buildings with a surreal theme. The townsfolk all turned to acknowledge their arrival. They all looked odd, wrapped in patchwork clothing and shawls, their skin somewhat pale. Obviously, this was due to the fact that they didn’t get any sun.

Stan looked at his watch – two PM.

At the same time, from somewhere in the distance, a loud spooky chime rang out… and then a second one. They seemed to echo over the town…

“What was THAT?” exclaimed Francesca.

A townsfolk walked up to them.

“That was the Creepy Steeple,” he muttered. “It lies deep in the woods beyond the town, and ever hour on the hour, it rings out the time in its haunting tone. People say it’s haunted, and an evil creature lives up there…”

He shrugged.

“No one is brave enough to go there, so we just learn to live with it.”

Drake shrugged.

“Is there anywhere we can get a bite to eat here?” he asked.

The man pointed.

“The Twilight Tavern,” he said. “Try the cold peach soup. Our town is famous for its twilight peaches.”

They walked into the inn, which wasn’t very crowded. At a table, they saw a teenager, about seventeen years old, slowly sipping a glass of soda. He looked somewhat lonely in his dark corner of the tavern. A Duel Disk was on the table in front of him.

The four teenagers went up to him.

“Mind if we join you?” asked Stan. “You looked pretty lonely…”

He sighed.

“Sure, you can join me,” he said, glumly. “But usually, I just prefer to be alone. I’m not exactly a ‘people person’…”

They got a good look at him. He was about six-foot-one, and had a slightly muscular build. His skin was deep tan, and he had black, spiky hair and hazel eyes. He had a light/medium mustache-goatee combination growing. He wore a silver hoop earring on his left and ear black fingerless gloves on both hands. His dress consisted of a black tank top with a gray button-up collared shirt, but left unbuttoned, with faded baggy black jeans and black sneakers.

“You can call me Sean,” he sighed. “Sean Kishore.”

“You know,” said Andy, “you kind of have to be a ‘people person’ if you want to get anywhere on the dueling circuit.”

“I can duel with the best of them…” said Sean.

He smiled a slight smile, as if it hurt his face to smile.

“I’ll even prove it…” he said.

“Sure!” exclaimed Andy. “I’ll take you on…”

He reached into his pocket.

“I have four Crystal Cards…”

Sean again made that painful smile. He took out a set of Crystal Cards from his own pocket.

“Five?” said Andy in surprise.

“I must warn you,” said Sean, putting them back, “most people who face my Occult Deck are often so frightened afterwards that they have nightmares for days!”

Andy paused.

“Occult Deck?” he asked.

A waitress came up.

“What can I get you all?” she asked.

“Let’s eat first,” muttered Andy, “we’ll duel after lunch…”

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

Two buildings over was an internet café, and sitting at one of the computers was Lord Crump.

If there was one thing he WAS good at, it was computers, and he could surf the net with relative ease.

Okay, he thought. The website is easy enough to get to…

He typed in www.industrialillusions.com

The website for the company that owned the copyright for Duel Monsters came up.

There, he thought. Now, all I need to do is search their database for these weird cards that I’ve seen those kids use, and I should get some answers…

He slowly sipped his cappuccino.

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

Andy and Sean stood twenty feet apart in the middle of town square. As usual, the townsfolk gathered to watch.

“Francesca,” whispered Stan, “what the heck is an Occult Deck?”

“I have no idea, Stan!” she answered. “I’d assume Zombies or Fiends, but it has to have some sort of extra kick to it if he calls it an… ‘Occult Deck’…”

“Ready Sean?” asked Andy.

“Ready,” answered the youth. “Prepare to be assaulted by my spiritual forces!”

The change came over Andy.

“You’ll have to get past my Dragons first!” he exclaimed. “Activate!”

The holo-imagers shot out of his Disk, and the Disk snapped into position.

Sean did the same with his. They drew their first hands, and the Life Point counters set to 8,000 apiece.

“LET’S DUEL!” they both shouted.

Andy looked at his hand.

Not too shabby… he thought.

Sean looked at his.

Hmm… he thought. Already what I need to bring out my strategy… but first I need to set it up…

“You may make the first move,” he told Andy.

“Thanks,” said Andy, drawing. “And I’ll summon Cave Dragon in Attack Mode!”

He put the card down, and the fat, sluggish dragon appeared on the field in front of him. (2,000/100)

“Eek!” squeaked Sean.

“That will end my turn,” said Andy.

Sean drew, and considered his options.

“All right,” he said. “I summon Archfiend Soldier in Defense Mode…”

He placed a card down, and the infernal soldier appeared, and knelt in Defense. (1,900/1,500)

“That’s all for my turn…” he said with a grimace.

Francesca frowned. “More Fiends,” she sighed. “Can’t Andy ever catch a break?”

Andy drew and smiled.

“I summon Luster Dragon #1 in Attack Mode!” he exclaimed.

He put the card down, and a huge sapphire appeared over the field. It burst, and the beautiful dragon with blue gemstone skin appeared. (1,900/1,600)

“Luster Dragon,” he commanded, “attack his Archfiend with sapphire flash blast!”

Luster Dragon shot forth a beam of bright blue energy and it vaporized Archfiend Soldier!

“Cave Dragon, attack him directly!”

Cave Dragon belched forth a cloud of gas! Sean screamed as he staggered back.

His Life Points fell to 6,000.

“Wow,” muttered Drake. “And only on his second turn!”

“My turn now…” muttered Sean, drawing.

He placed a card down.

“I’ll summon The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in Defense Mode.”

A bed with a sleeper on it appeared, and then a hideous, skeletal phantom carrying a sword and shield floated out of the sleeper’s body. It covered itself with the shield. (1,300/1,800)

“What the?” asked Andy. “THAT was the best you could come up with?”

“Pretty much…” sighed Sean.

Andy drew.

“Luster Dragon, attack his Ghost!” shouted Andy.

Luster Dragon shot forth his breath weapon and The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams was annihilated.

“Cave Dragon, attack directly again!” shouted Andy.

Cave Dragon belched forth his gaseous breath, and Sean screamed.

His Life Points fell to 4,000.

“Make your move,” said Andy with a grin.

“Shesh, this is too easy!” remarked Drake as Sean drew.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” muttered Fran. “When something seems too good to be true, it usually is…”

Sean placed a card down.

“I summon Earthbound Spirit in Defense Mode!” he exclaimed.

A rumbling was heard, and a figure made of dirt and mud pulled itself partially out of the ground. (500/2,000)

“As you can see,” stated Sean, “it’s Defense is too high for either of your Dragons. I end my turn.”

Andy drew.

“Not for long…” he said with a smile. “I sacrifice my Luster Dragon #1 to summon Luster Dragon #2!”

His first Luster Dragon faded away, and a huge emerald appeared. It shattered, and the huge dragon with green gem-colored skin emerged! (2,400/1,400)

“Crud…” muttered Sean.

“Luster Dragon, attack his Spirit with emerald flash blast!” shouted Andy.

The new Luster Dragon shot forth a beam of green energy, and Earthbound Spirit was blasted into an explosion of soil.

“Now, Cave Dragon, let’s do this again!”

Cave Dragon shot forth his lethal breath, blasting Sean’s Life Points down to 2,000.

Sean gasped to catch his breath… And then he chuckled…

“Are you done?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Andy. “So make your last move.”

“It will be far from my last!” exclaimed Sean.

He drew… And then he placed a card on his Disk.

“I’ll remove Archfiend Soldier, The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams, and Earthbound Spirit from play…” he said.

An eerie glow pervaded his disk, and a green light flowed out of it.

“Uh… oh…” muttered Francesca.

“…and I summon… DARK NECROFEAR!” he shouted.

Just like in Andy’s duel with Poison, the bald, female Fiend wearing a skirt, an iron brassier, and leather knee-high boots appeared, shrouded in an aura of black flames. Her eyes glowed with hellish energy. (2,200/2,800)

“Ugh…” moaned Andy. “Not again…”

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

This is nuts… thought Crump, finishing his third cappuccino.

There’s not even a reference to Monster Cards called “Madame Flurrie of the Fog”, “Koops the Bashful”, and “Vivian the Shadow Siren”! And this “Clock Out” card is totally unknown too!

Could they be fake cards? No, that’s impossible – the Queen’s magic prevents counterfeit cards from working in this tournament…

Unless…

He shuddered…

Unless these cards were created by someone with magic even greater than the Shadow Queen!

A chill came over him.

“Another cappuccino,” he asked the bartender.

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

Andy sighed.

“Dark Necrofear…” he muttered. “Don’t people these days know anything original?”

Sean scowled.

“DON’T insult my Monster!” he demanded. “She saved me from living a life of misery!”

“Huh?” asked Andy. “How did that Fiend save you?”

Sean clenched his fist.

“I never knew my mom,” he said, glumly. “She died giving birth to me. After her death, my dad was never the same, and he drank too much. He didn’t abuse me or my brother, but we were more or less ignored. My brother V.J. tried his best to raise me, but a brother is a poor substitute for true parents.

“The drinking eventually became too much for my dad… He died two years ago… V.J. started to support both of us after earning his Master’s Degree.

“But it still didn’t change the fact that if it weren’t for me, both of my parents would still be alive…”

“Oh, please, Sean!” protested Andy. “You can’t blame yourself for your mother dying in childbirth and your father’s depression.”

Sean paused and continued.

“Maybe…” he said. “Maybe not. But one day in school, I found a bag full of valuable things that a kid had deserted. I turned it into the office – there was no identification, and no one claimed it after thirty days, so they gave it to me. Among the stuff was a single Duel Monsters card – Dark Necrofear. Thus, she was the first card I ever owned. I decided to build a deck and duel in my parents’ memory, hoping to make them proud…”

He paused again.

“And it’s still my turn, by the way! Dark Necrofear…”

He pointed.

“Attack his Luster Dragon!”

Everyone gasped, as Dark Necrofear opened her evil eyes and shot forth a beam of blackness! Luster Dragon shot forth a counter-attack, and the Fiend was incinerated.

Sean’s Life Points fell to 1,800.

“Fine,” growled Andy. “Happy?”

Sean smiled, and crossed his arms…

A few tense seconds passed.

To Andy’s surprise, there was no sign that Dark Necrofear had possessed one of his Monsters! Both of his Dragons had not moved.

“What’s going on?” asked Andy. “Dark Necrofear’s effect isn’t optional, and even if it was…”

“You’re wrong,” said Sean, with a grin. “You see, I know a lot about Dark Necrofear, and I know that her normal effect isn’t the only secret that she holds inside her…”

He chose a card from his hand and flicked open his Field Slot.

“You see, by forfeiting Dark Necrofear’s normal effect, I can play this…”

He slid a card into a slot, and it closed.

Suddenly, a shadowy cloud of darkness covered the field! And it didn’t stop there… sinister eyes, fanged mouths, and even worse, fanged mouths with sinister eyes inside them, appeared in the sky! Finally, an evil-looking palace appeared behind Sean.

Some of the onlookers screamed…

“Behold the malevolent force of… [B]Dark Sanctuary!” exclaimed Sean.

“Uh, Stan…” muttered Francesca, sweating. “You ever hear of this?”

“Um…” said Stan with a shudder. “It looks kind of familiar… but I can’t remember from where…”

“Where are we Sean?” demanded Andy. “Is this… is this where Dark Necrofear is from?”

“Maybe…” said Sean with a shrug.

“Just what does this Dark Sanctuary of yours do?” he asked.

“That’s for me to know, and you to find out,” responded Sean. “But I’m afraid it’s still my turn…”

He placed a Magic Card into a slot.

“I play The Dark Door!” he exclaimed as the card appeared.

“The Dark Door?” said Drake in surprise. “What the heck is that?”

“So long as that Continuous Magic Card is in place,” answered Stan, “both of them are limited to only one attack per round.”

“Now, one card facedown, and that will end my turn,” said Sean.

He placed another card into a slot, and it materialized in front of him.

Andy drew.

“I may only be allowed one attack per round,” he said, “but you have no Monsters on the field! One will be more than enough!”

“Do say,” answered Sean.

“Well, just in case your facedown card is a Mirror Force,” replied Stan, “I’m moving Cave Dragon to Defense Mode…”

He turned the card, and Cave Dragon curled up into a ball.

“Now, Luster Dragon, attack!”

Luster Dragon prepared to fire its breath weapon…

Suddenly, it gasped! A ghostly phantom flew out of its back and into Andy’s chest!

Andy felt like the chill of the grave had pervaded him…


Continued...

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


“Wh-what happened?” he gasped.

“Your Luster Dragon was possessed by the Ghost of Dark Sanctuary, that’s what happened!” chuckled Sean.

“What?” gulped Andy.

“That’s one of the benefits of Dark Sanctuary,” said Sean with a smile. “During each of your Standby Phases, I can choose one of your Monsters to possess with an invisible specter. If you choose to attack with the possessed Monster, the attack is negated, and you lose Life Points equal to half of the Monster’s Attack Score…”

Andy’s Life Points dropped to 6,800.

“And what’s more,” continued Sean, “any Life Points you lose as a result of this get added to mine!”

Sean’s Life Points rose to 3,000.

Andy was shocked. This was a strategy unlike any he had ever seen before…

“Fine, he gulped. “I end my turn…”

Sean drew.

“Very well,” he said. “I play my Pot of Greed…”

He fit the card into a slot, and the wicked jar handed him two cards.

“Now I’ll summon… Headless Knight!”

A haunting laugh echoed over the field, and the knight in golden armor with a shield and sword – and no head – burst out of the ground. (1,450/1,700)

“But it won’t be staying long,” he continued. “Begone!”

Headless Knight shattered into pixels.

“What?” exclaimed Andy. “What did you do?”

“A necessity,” explained Sean. “Dark Sanctuary is so powerful, that I have to sacrifice a Monster during every one of my first Main Phases to keep it in play.”

“Hmm…” muttered Francesca. “I knew there had to be a catch…”

“Now, I’ll place two cards facedown, and end my turn…” continued Sean.

He fit the cards into slots, and they appeared next to his other facedown card.

Andy drew…

“I activate a Trap!” yelled Sean.

One of his cards lifted.

“I activate Sixth Sense!”

The Trap Card showed the frightening image of a scared woman with psychic energy flowing out of her forehead.

“Sixth Sense?” gasped Andy.

“Don’t panic,” chuckled Sean. “This Trap is meant to help me, not hurt you…”

A large black dice appeared, with strange runes indicating the numbers.

“Here’s how it works,” he explained. “I call two numbers, and then the Dice of Fate goes for a roll. If it lands on one of the numbers I called, then I get to draw that many cards. If it lands on any other number, I have to discard that many cards from my deck.

“I call five and six!”

“Well, that makes sense…” muttered Drake.

The Dice of Fate fell… it skipped and rolled…

And it stopped. The number glowed, indicating a five.

“Lucky me…” he chuckled. Five cards flew out of his deck and he caught them.

He looked at them for a moment.

“Well, go on…” he said.

Andy considered.

“I’ll move Cave Dragon back to Attack Mode…” he said, turning the card.

Cave Dragon resumed attack position.

“…but I’m not going to attack until I find a way to do so without risk. I end my turn.”

Sean chuckled again as he drew.

“I’m afraid stalling isn’t going to help,” he said. “First I’ll summon Witch of the Black Forest…”

He put a card down, and a cackling laughter echoed over the field – the wicked witch in her dark robe appeared in front of him. (1,100/1,200)

“…now I’ll sacrifice her to keep Dark Sanctuary!”

Witch of the Black Forest shattered.

A card slipped out of his deck and he took it.

“And as you know, when the Witch is sent to the Graveyard, I get to draw a Monster with low Defense…”

He hit his Disk.

“And now…” he said, “…the countdown begins! I activate Destiny Board!”

His Trap Card lifted…

A spooky shape began to take form in the sky above him. It was a large board, trapezoid in shape. At the top were the numbers 0 through 9, below that were the letters A through Z, and below that were the words “YES” and “NO”. A spectral hand held a triangle with a round glass in the middle.

“What?” said Andy, almost laughing. “You expect me to be scared of a Ouija board?”

“I assure you, Andy,” laughed Sean, “this is no toy board game that you buy at a Toys R Us! This is a real Ouija board that lets me communicate with a powerful demon!”

“Demon?” gulped Andy.

“Yes, and he has a message for you… And here’s the first letter…”

With a sound like nails on a chalkboard, the spectral hand moved the marker until it rested on the F.

A flaming letter F topped by a skull appeared under the Destiny Board. Sean smiled.

“At the end of each of your turns, a new letter will be added to the message, and when all five letters are in place the demon will be summoned… At which time it will attack, destroying you and granting me an automatic win.”

“So I end my turn…”

Andy was trying his hardest not to panic.

Okay, he thought. Attacking is dangerous, but I have to defeat him before that message gets finished…

Either that or destroy the Destiny Board, and I don’t have anything to do that with right now…

He drew.

The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave.

He couldn’t have possessed this guy, because I haven’t summoned him yet… but his Attack Score isn’t really strong enough to make much of a difference…

“I summon The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in Defense Mode!” he exclaimed.

He put the card down, and the sleepy, rocky Dragon appeared. (1,300/2,000)

Okay, he thought. Cave Dragon, or Luster Dragon? Since Cave Dragon is weaker, he likely didn’t possess it… so…

“Cave Dragon, attack!” he shouted.

Cave Dragon prepared to attack…

“Congratulations, Andy, you didn’t chose the possessed Monster!” laughed Sean. “Not that it will do you any good…”

He tapped his Disk, and his last Trap Card lifted.

“I activate Dark Spirit of the Silent!”

A howling ghost flew out of the Trap Card, flew into Cave Dragon, and then flew into Luster Dragon!

“What’s happening!” shouted Andy.

“Dark Spirit of the Silent not only stops your Monster from attacking, but forces another of your Monsters of my choice to attack! And I choose your Luster Dragon!”

“ARGH!” shouted Andy. “If it’s possessed…”

“Yes, and I’m afraid it is,” said Sean with a grin.

Luster Dragon tried to attack, but once again it gasped, and the Ghost of Dark Sanctuary darted out and flew into Andy. He screamed!

His Life points fell to 5,600, while Sean’s rose to 4,200.

“Man, this guy’s good!” exclaimed Drake.

“Drake…” muttered Francesca. “Just who’s side are you on?”

Drake sighed.

“All I know is, this guy would pound me flat! If I tried to attack with Gren Maju Dai Eiza while it was possessed…”

“You’re telling me!” exclaimed Stan. “Andy is only hurting himself.”

Andy gasped.

“I end my turn,” he said.

A card flew out of Sean’s deck, and he placed it in his Disk.

“Then that means the Destiny Board gets its second letter!” he laughed.

The hand moved the pointer, and it covered the I.

A flaming I topped with a skull appeared to the right of the F.

“F-I…” muttered Andy. “Hey, wait a minute…”

He smiled.

“There’s a flaw in your strategy!”

“A flaw?” asked Sean as he drew.

“Yes,” said Andy with a grin. “Each letter of your Destiny Board is one card!”

“So?” asked Sean, with a shrug.

“SO?” laughed Andy. “You’ve played The Dark Door, silly! A Duel Disk only has room for five Magic and Trap Cards! If you want to keep The Dark Door, you can’t finish the message!”

Stan and Francesca gasped.

Could Sean have actually been that stupid?

But then, Sean laughed out loud.

“Smart, Andy, real smart,” he commented. “Most of my opponents don’t pick up on that. And that usually is a problem when using Destiny Board. However, it isn’t a problem due to the second effect of Dark Sanctuary…”

“SECOND effect?” gasped Andy.

“Yes!” laughed Andy. “It let’s me use the slots on my Monster Zone to play Magic and Trap Cards. Therefore, I can indeed finish the message with The Dark Door in place!”

Andy was dumbfounded.

Where on earth did he get this card? he thought.

“Now that it’s my turn,” he stated, “I’ll summon Sangan…”

The large, spherical Fiend with a toothy mouth and three eyes appeared. (1,000/600)

“And now, I’ll sacrifice it to keep my Field Card!”

Sangan shattered.

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

“And now I get to draw a Monster with low Attack!” he stated.

“Talk about strategy…” muttered Stan.

“What do you mean?” asked Francesca.

“He obviously used the Witch to search for Sangan,” answered Stan, “thus ensuring that he’d have a Monster to sacrifice for at least two more turns… This guy IS good…”

“It’s your move,” said Sean. “But remember, one of your Monsters is possessed… choose your attack wisely…”

Andy drew…

Masked Dragon.

Still not worth attacking with… he thought.

“I summon Masked Dragon in Defense Mode!” he exclaimed.

He put the card down, and the metallic Dragon wearing a mask appeared, folding its wings. (1,400/1,100)

Now, let’s see, he thought. He doesn’t have another Dark Spirit of the Silent on the field…

If I had to guess, Sean probably possessed the Luster Dragon again… Here goes nothing…

“Cave Dragon, attack!”

Cave Dragon bellowed…

And then it screamed! The ghost shot out of it and flew into Andy again!

“HA, HA, HA!” laughed Sean. “I tricked you, Andy! I knew you’d think I possessed the stronger Monster!”

Andy’s Life Points fell to 4,600, and Sean’s went up to 5,200.

“Come ON Andy!” begged Francesca. “Do something!”

“I can’t,” gasped Andy. “I have to end my turn…”

“In that case…” said Sean with a smile.

A card slipped out of his deck. He took it and placed it in a slot.

The hand on the Destiny Board moved to the N.

The flaming letters spelled F-I-N.

A growling was heard in the sky of Dark Sanctuary. A lot of the onlookers were now more terrified than ever…

“My turn now,” said Sean, drawing. “I’ll summon The Portrait’s Secret!”

He put a card down, and a painting appeared in mid-air. A hideous face and claws emerged from it. (1,200/1,500)

“And now,” said Sean, “goodbye!”

The Portrait’s Secret shattered.

“Make your move…” he said.

Andy closed his eyes… He drew.

He looked at his card.

He looked at the field.

“Uh, Sean, a question?” he asked.

“What?” answered Sean.

“Where did you get your Dark Sanctuary card?”

“Why do you ask?” asked Sean.

“I’m just curious,” said Andy with a shrug.

“It wasn’t easy,” answered Sean. “Only ten of these cards exist – I had to win it. I entered a tournament in San Francisco called the Paradise Lost Duel Monsters Expo. To enter you needed a deck based on Fiends, and the prize was one of the only ten Dark Sanctuary cards in existence. It wasn’t easy, but I won.”

“You don’t say…” chuckled Stan.

He put a card down on his Disk.

“I summon Troop Dragon in Defense Mode…”

The three Dragon-men armed with swords appeared, kneeling in defense. (700/800)

“And now,” he said, “I’ll play the card I just drew… Stamping Destruction!”

“Huh?” asked Sean. “What does that do?”

“It inflicts 500 Life Points of damage on my opponent, AND destroys one Trap or Magic Card!” answered Andy.

“NO!” shouted Sean. “You’re going to destroy the Destiny Board!”

“Uh uh…” said Andy, shaking his finger.

He threw the card into the slot.

“I’m using it to destroy your whole Dark Sanctuary!”

Luster Dragon stamped his foot down, and a shock wave issued forth! Sean was thrown back, the evil palace behind him was smashed into shards, the eyes and fangs in the sky shattered, and finally, the evil fog dissipated.

The crowd surrounding them cheered.

Sean’s Life Points fell to 4,700.

“And now that I don’t have to worry about your ghost,” chuckled Andy, “Luster Dragon, attack his Life Points directly with emerald flash blast!”

The now angry Luster Dragon roared, and shot forth his energy blast, striking Sean in the chest! He screamed and fell over.

His Life Points fell to 2,300.

Andy waited for Sean to get up.

“And I end my turn…” he said with a grin.

A card slipped out of Sean’s deck. He frowned and took it.

He didn’t have a choice… playing this card was mandatory…

“I’ll play the fourth letter of the Destiny Board…” he scowled.

The hand on the Destiny Board moved to the A, and the fourth letter appeared.

“F-I-N-A…” chuckled Andy. “The word is ‘FINAL’, isn’t it? Unfortunately, with Dark Sanctuary gone, you can’t play more than five Magic and Trap Cards, and since you told me that Dark Sanctuary is an incredibly rare card that most duelists only dream of owning, I don’t think you have more than one in your deck.

“In fact, with all five of the slots in your Magic/Trap Zone full, you now can’t play any Magic or Trap Cards at all – so I’ve practically crippled you!”

“All right, Andy!” shouted Francesca.

“Phew!” said Stan.

Sean snarled as he drew.

He gave a slight smile.

“Maybe you ruined that plan…” he muttered. “But every good duelist knows… Always have a Plan B!”

“Plan B?” asked Andy.

“The next Monster I’m going to summon I have to Special Summon,” explained Sean. “And to do that, I have to remove one Earth Monster in my Graveyard from play…”

He hit a button on his Disk and a card flipped out.

“So I’ll remove my Portrait’s Secret…”

He slid the card into the removal pile.

“And in return for that, I get to summon Gigantes in Attack Mode!”

He placed a card down, and a huge, rocky ogre with red skin and a horn on his head, wearing an iron apron and kilt appeared, armed with a huge tree trunk. (1,900/1,300)

“Huh?” questioned Drake. “What good will that him? It’s not even as strong as Cave Dragon…”

“Gigantes, attack his Cave Dragon!” shouted Sean.

Gigantes raised it tree trunk and charged…

“Fight it off, Cave Dragon!” shouted Andy.

Cave Dragon belched forth its breath, eroding Gigantes into dust!

Sean’s Life Points fell to 2,200…

And then a storm erupted over the field!

“When Gigantes is destroyed in battle,” he explained, “it creates an effect similar to Heavy Storm, which blows away every Magic and Trap Card on the field!”

His Destiny Board and Dark Door cards blew away.

“So now I can play my Magic and Trap cards again,” he said. “I’ll place this card facedown, and end my turn.”

He placed a card into a slot, and it materialized in front of him.


Continued...

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:


“Okay…” muttered Francesca, “Plan B starts…”

Andy drew.

So now what? he thought. That Trap card could be almost anything… but if I take a risk I could win!

“Luster Dragon, ATTACK!” he shouted.

Luster Dragon shot forth his energy beam again…

“Activate Waboku!” shouted Sean.

The Trap Card lifted, and the three priestesses sprang up to block the attack.

“Oo-kay,” muttered Andy. “I’ll end my turn…”

“I draw one card…” said Sean.

“Heh, heh, heh…” he chuckled.

“You want to let me in on the joke?” muttered Andy.

Sean put a card down.

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

A weird creature appeared on his side of the field. It had bright silver skin, and aside from its head, it was apparently made of hands. (1,400/1,000)

“Oh no…” muttered Andy. “That let’s you search your deck for any Ritual Magic or Monster Card!”

A card flew out of Sean’s deck.

“Exactly,” he affirmed. “And the card I just drew was the Monster!”

He held the card up.

“The card I’m using is a powerful Ritual called Contract With The Dark Master!”

He slid the card into the slot.

“Now, to complete this ceremony, I offer Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer and Manju himself…”

He placed a card down. A tall man in priestly garb with a bald head and a mask covering half his face appeared, clutching a string of prayer beads.

Then he and Manju stood back to back, and a mass of wiry ribbons sprouted from the ground. They started to entwine the two Monsters…

“This is really creepy…” muttered Francesca.

The two Monsters were covered in a large cocoon… it started to swell…

And then it burst! A huge, shadowy form arose…

It was a huge cross between a Fiend and a Zombie with slimy hair and thick muscles. He had huge wings and claws the size of daggers!

“Meet [B]Dark Master Zorc!” exclaimed Sean.

(2,700/1,500)

“Guys!” whispered Drake. “I remember this creature! A duelist defeated me with him – after I had summoned two Gren Maju Dai Eiza!”

“How on earth did he do THAT?” gasped Francesca.

“You’ll see…” moaned Drake.

“Let me explain how Zorc works,” chuckled Sean.

A black dice appeared in the air.

“Every turn, I can roll this dice… If it lands on a 3, 4, or 5, he can destroy one of your Monsters – a 1 or 2, and he can destroy ALL of your Monsters!”

“And a 6?” asked Andy, nervously.

“Then all of my Monsters are destroyed,” shrugged Sean. “But you must admit the odds are in my favor…”

The dice rolled…

It landed on a three!

“Dark Master Zorc, wipe out his Luster Dragon!” commanded Sean.

The Fiend shot forth a blast of dark energy, and Luster Dragon was blown into shards!

“And now,” laughed Sean, “attack his Cave Dragon with unholy blight!”

The Dark Master shot forth a blast of unholy energy, blowing Cave Dragon away!

Andy’s Life Points fell to 3,900.

“Your move…” chuckled Sean.

What am I going to do? thought Andy as he drew. Nothing in my hand can beat that abomination – only one Monster in my whole deck is able to defeat him…

Unless I draw my special card…

“I summon Koumori Dragon in Defense Mode,” he said, placing a card down.

Koumori Dragon appeared, and folded its wings.

“That’s all I can do…” he muttered.

Sean drew.

Hmm, he thought.

“I’ll place one card facedown,” he said.

He fit a card into a slot, and it appeared.

“Now I play Monster Reborn,” he stated, placing a card into a slot, “bringing back my Headless Knight!”

The holy ankh appeared, and Headless Knight appeared with a laugh.

“And now,” laughed Sean, “I’ll sacrifice my Knight…”

Headless Knight shattered, and he put a card down.

“…to summon a beast known as The End of Anubis!”

A dark creature arose next to Dark Master Zorc. It was a ghostly Fiend that looked like a scarecrow made of rotted straw. (2,500/0)

A lot of the onlookers were now even more scared than they were when Dark Sanctuary was on the field. Sean’s Monsters weren’t just Fiends – they were Fiends from the darkest depths of the Underworld.

“Before you embarrass yourself by trying,” noted Sean, “you should know that when The End of Anubis is on the field, all card effects that involve the Graveyards simply don’t work!

“Now, dance, my dice!”

Dark Master Zorc waved his hand, and the dice rolled again…

It came up a five!

“Zorc, wipe out his Dragon Dwelling in the Cave!”

Zorc blasted his unholy beam, and The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave was eradicated.

“Now, attack his Troop Dragon!”

Zorc fired his black beam, and Troop Dragon was blown to bits!

Andy pulled a card from his Disk and placed it down.

Another Troop Dragon arose.

“Nice try,” he said. “But when Troop Dragon is destroyed in battle, I can summon another one!”

“Well then,” chuckled Sean, “we’ll just have to take them down one at a time. End of Anubis, destroy the second one!”

The End of Anubis formed a ball of blackness in its hands, and held it over its head. It hurled it, blowing the second Troop Dragon away.

Andy pulled the third Troop Dragon from his deck and summoned it to the field.

“That ends my turn,” said Sean.

Andy drew.

He looked at his card.

“I’ll place a card facedown, and that will be all,” he said.

Sean drew.

He looked at his hand.

Well, nothing I can summon without a Tribute, he thought. But Zorc and The End of Anubis should be enough…But just in case…

He looked at his facedown card.

Just in case I land on a six, my Dice Re-Roll card will make sure Zorc gets a second chance…

“Go, my dice!” he shouted.

The dice skipped and bounced.

And it landed… on the one!

“NOOOO!” screamed Francesca.

Zorc cast a mighty spell, and Koumori Dragon, Masked Dragon, and Troop Dragon were all blown to pieces!

“HA, HA, HA!” laughed Sean. “Now, once I attack, you lose!”

“I’m not finished yet, Sean!” shouted Andy.

His Trap Card lifted.

“Activate Threatening Roar!”

A huge beast appeared behind him, and let out a gigantic bellow! Dark Master Zorc and The End of Anubis cringed in fright!

“No Monster can bear the terror of Threatening Roar,” warned Andy, “not even your Dark Master. They won’t be able to attack me this round!”

“Then I end my turn,” said Sean. “But what are you going to do? You’ll never keep a Monster long enough on the field to summon anything strong enough to defeat either of my Monsters!”

“We’ll see…” muttered Andy.

He drew.

“And I play… Reload!” he shouted, throwing it into a slot.

Hi deck flew out of its tray, and he tossed his four cards into the air. The cards flew into the deck, and the deck shuffled…

It inserted back into the tray, and four more cards flew out.

Andy looked at them. Then he looked at Sean.

“Sean,” he mused. “In all of the time I’ve been dueling, you’ve given me the best duel yet… But I’m afraid it’s time to end this…”

“Huh?” said Sean.

“I summon Lord of Dragons!” shouted Andy.

He placed the card down, and the caped Spellcaster with his helmet made from a dragon’s skull appeared. (1,200/1,100)

“With him on the field, I can play this card,” said Andy, placing a card into a slot. “The Flute of Dragon Summoning!”

A golden flute shaped like a dragon appeared, and Lord of Dragons grabbed it. He put it to his lips, and played a haunting melody…

“What’s the point?” asked Sean.

“By using The Flute of Dragon Summoning, I can Special Summon any two dragons from my hand!” answered Andy.

“So first, meet Des Volstgalph!”

He put a card down, and the huge, earthen dragon with sandy skin and sharp ridges appeared. (2,200/1,700)

“And also… Tyrant Dragon!”

He placed his last card on the Disk, and a HUGE Dragon appeared! It was easily twice the size of Luster Dragon #2, and it had teeth like spears, claws like swords, and armor plating that looked like bronze! Steam poured from its jaws! (2,900/2,500)

“YAAAH!” yelled Sean.

His two Fiends looked pretty frightened as well…

“And there’s something you should know about Tyrant Dragon,” said Andy with a smile. “If it destroys one Monster, it can attack a second!

“Tyrant Dragon, attack both his Fiends with imperial inferno!”

Tyrant Dragon blasted forth an inferno of fire, and Dark Master Zorc was reduced to cinders! Then it blasted forth another burst of flame, wiping out The End of Anubis!

Sean stared in disbelief as his Life Points fell to 1,600.

“Des Volstgalph, finish him!” yelled Andy.

Des Volstgalph shot forth a stream of wind and sand, knocking Sean over.

His Life Points hit zero…

It was over.

The crowd cheered.

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

”YES ANDY!” yelled Fran. “That was your best duel ever!”

She ran up and hugged him, much to his surprise.

“Oh, Andy…” she sighed.

“Uh, yeah, Fran… great…” he muttered.

He put his arms around her.

Hey, this isn’t so bad, he thought. Maybe I’m starting to mellow…

“Ah-HEM!” muttered Sean, who was just getting up.

“Oh, sorry,” said Andy. “Are you all right?”

“I’ll be fine,” groaned Sean. “You’re a clever duelist! And a lucky one!”

“As my friend here would say, luck has very little to do with it,” answered Andy.

“Well,” muttered Sean, taking out one of his Crystal Cards.

He handed it to Andy.

“I guess I have to give you this. But I’m going to get it back… And Dark Necrofear and I are going to get to the Thousand Year Door eventually – just you wait!”

“We’ll hope to see you there,” said Andy shaking his hand. “Come on, we’ll get you a peach cobbler…

The bell from the Creepy Steeple chimed again, this time ringing three.

“Humph, someone should do something about that,” muttered Stan.

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

Lord Crump exited the internet café, sipping his fifth cappuccino, when he almost bumped into somebody.

“You should cut down on the coffee, Crump,” said the visitor. “Coffee habits tend to lower your life expectancy by ten percent…”

“Go to Hell,” muttered Crump.

And then he looked up, and dropped the coffee cup.

“Leopold?” he gasped. “Don’t hurt me, please!”

“I’m not going to hurt you Crump,” chuckled Leopold. “I need to protect you so you can watch me finish off Stan. I’d like to have someone besides his bratty friends witness my triumph…”

He placed a small ring in Crump’s hand.

“Wear that, and whatever you do, don’t take it off until I tell you to. Otherwise, you’re going to regret it."

“Y-Yes sir,” stammered Crump.

“I’m dueling Stan in one hour,” replied Leopold, “whether he wants to or not…”



DARK SANCTUARY (Magic Card)

Card Specs

Type: Magic/Field
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Card Description: Image of an evil palace surrounded by hideous eyes and fanged mouths. You can only play this card if one “Dark Necrofear” on your side of the field is destroyed. If you chose to use this card, the effect of “Dark Necrofear” is negated and it is sent to the Graveyard. If you do not sacrifice a Monster during the first Main Phase of each of your turns, this card is destroyed. This card is destroyed if there is no “Dark Necrofear” in your Graveyard. So long as this card is in effect, you can play Magic and Trap cards in Monster Zone spaces as well as your Magic/Trap Zone spaces. Also, one per turn, before your opponent's Battle Phase, you may secretly choose one Monster on your opponent's side of the field. If the chosen Monster attacks, negate the attack and subtract half of the chosen Monster's current ATK from your opponent's Life Points and add them to your own Life Points. This effect is nullified if this card is destroyed.

Note: “Dark Sanctuary” was used by Bakura in “The Dark Spirit Revealed”. All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



SIXTH SENSE (Trap Card)

Card Specs

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

Card Description: Image of a frightened woman with psychic energy emitting from her forehead. Announce two numbers between 1 and 6. Your opponent then rolls a dice once. If the result is either of the two numbers that you announced, draw cards from your deck equal to the number rolled. If the result is different from either of the two numbers you announced, discard cards from your deck equal to the number rolled.

Note: “Sixth Sense” is a Japanese card that has not yet been released in the United States. (And probably won’t be, seeing as it is on the Japanese banned list.)



[I][B]Leopold, the Shadow Spawn of Earth, challenges Stan with an odd deck theme that few real-world duelists have ever mastered! Carnage is about to fly in the creepy burg of Twilight Town, as the fourth member of this demented family takes to the arena. And see the debut of the last of Stan’s Companions! It’s all coming up in a chapter that I call… um, well, I won’t reveal the name of the chapter – that would ruin the surprise. Don’t miss it!

[Master of Paradox]

With a chapter title like "Dweller in the Darkness", it had to be the Bonz deck or the Bakura deck. The latter is seen so rarely that any attempt to use it is appreciated. What makes it all the better is that this was a good attempt.

I note, however, that an old problem of yours has come up - namely, why did Andy not know a thing about most of the cards Sean played? I know this is the show universe, where many cards are less well-known than in ours, but you think he'd have a clue how, say, the Destiny Board worked - or at least what word it spelled.

Other than that quibble, this was a very fun chapter. It's almost like having Bakura duel again (something that happened far too rarely in the show, for my opinion).

I note that during the last couple of paragraphs, you slip into an odd typo - while Sean and Andy are talking, you call both of them "Andy".

Looking forward to the next chapter, and hoping it's what I think it will be.

[The_Missing_Link]

Good chapter as always, but I noticed something in all the battle chapters you write

“Eek!” squeaked Sean.

I see that everywhere and it makes most of the characters who say it sound uncharacterisitic. Just another quibble of mine


btw, when are we going to see the new Pokemonese chapter up? You started that a while ago and finished two Yu-Gi-Oh fics in the meantime

[Zcade0]

Good chapter but you called Sean andy once.. and I agree when are you getting another chapter of pokemonese up? That is my favorite fic in this entire website.

[starjake]

Great chapter! I agree with Master of Paradox: Barkura's Deck is not seen nearly enough. If only more fics would use his infamous Occult Deck...(hint, hint)

I like the developing relationship between Andy and Fran as well. It adds a lot to the fic.

The errors I saw have already been pointed out, so I won't bother repeating the other posters.

An Earth Deck that few real-world duelists have mastered...this is a toughie, even harder then the Gren Maju deck. I have no idea what it is. Unless...no, it couldn't be! Could it? I guess I'll have to wait until Chapter 17!

I await the next chapter!