Yu Gi Oh! Dark Messiah

[jkBAKURA]

Wohoo, and now the chapter's title makes more sense then ever. Non, tribute monsters on opposite ends of the ATK scale. Though I must say, I was a bit dissapointed in James. Not the character, but just the fact that a lot of these moves are identical to Merlee's deck in your last story.

Reggie on the other hand, OK, I tried making a Goblin deck before, and fell flat. This is what that one GX episode should have looked like. The inclusion of Necrofear was brilliant, and I never saw it coming. She's slightly overused in fanfiction, but with the deck theme she managed to suprise me.

I know exactly who's up next, and it's nice to have the main three back dueling again.

[Dark Sage]

True, Dark Necrofear is slightly overused in fanfiction. I felt the need to include it here, but I hereby promise not to use it again in this fanfic. It seems to be too much of cliche.

That is not to say there won't be Fiend Decks, because there'll be a few. But Dark Necrofear is used a lot in fanfiction, considering it was card that was so rare (anime-wise) that neither Yugi nor Kaiba had even heard of it.

[Pokemasterkatie]

...That is, before we saw Bakura and his big bad Occult deck.:p Though I must say, it's different having Necrofear in a deck other than Occult.^^

And did I hear that right--The 3 Swordsmen?! They weren't referred to that name in the dub; but nevertheless, most of us know what that means...

[Blademaster]

Hmmmmmm...

Well, on the one hand, the duel was very clever: Goblins vs. Munchkins? Not too shabby at all...

Unfortunately, I was kinda distracted because almost every line of dialogue was just a repeated quote from one of your previous stories:

Nightmare’s Steelcage dissolved, fading like sugar in the rain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“As a wise man once said,” he chuckled, “master your anger, or anger will be your master.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Heh, heh…” he chuckled.

He closed his eyes.

“HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!”

“I… think he got a good card…” muttered Trisha.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, if wishes were fishes, they say…

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“Take a closer look,” said James. “I summoned him in Attack Mode.”

You see? I don't mind a few borrowed quotes, but there seemed to be a lot more than usual in this chapter, for some reason.

Oh, well, I'm just glad to see a new chapter - it reminds me to get my act together and get my next chapter up!

Well, see ya later!

-Blade

[goldenzigzagoon]

Yay, my user character! Great use of Dark Necrofear and Ruklamba. The one mistake I noticed was that James plays a card and then asks how to use it and then Russell answers him. I think the two names should have been switched around, unless James doesn't know much about his own deck. But that was all. Great use of a goblin deck, even though I was planning on using one in my next chapter, I guess I'll just have to change my character's deck. Sorry for not replying before.

[Perfect Chaos]

As mentioned before, classic "Bully vs. Weakling" type of confrontation.

Again, this chapter reminded me alot of the GX episode with Briar and Beauregard, with the exception that the "weakling" faced off against the Goblin deck rather than use it.

The chapter was OK at best (nothing new to surprise me with) so I only can say that I look forward to the next chapter.

-Sean

[Mystic_clown]

Hmm, interesting, I didn't know there were so many good goblin cards.

Aww, it seems my user characters not up next oh well, I can wait. Who here's a Shakespiere fan?

[starjake]

Hmm...how to best sum up this chapter...

Ah, I know. A conglomeration of things that have already been done.

1) The Nightmare's Steelcage / candy bar joke. I didn't really find it funny when it was first said back in Mandate of Heaven, it was growing old when it was used a second time (I don't remember exactly where that was), and now it's just...well, let's just say that third time isn't always the charm.

2) Maniacal laughter -> someone thinking "He/She got a good card." You use it all the time. Please come up with something else.

3) Jason's comment about the Kozaky. Direct cut from the anime; Chumley said it when making his Koala deck. And why is Jason using Giant Kozaky?

4) James' Deck. I realize that it was a user character, but it's too fresh in our minds from Merlee's duel. Why so soon?


I don't know...this was a bit of a letdown, IMO. Hopefully the next chapter will be better.

[Master of Paradox]

1) The Nightmare's Steelcage / candy bar joke. I didn't really find it funny when it was first said back in Mandate of Heaven, it was growing old when it was used a second time (I don't remember exactly where that was), and now it's just...well, let's just say that third time isn't always the charm.

And top it all off, it was originally a quote from an episode of Pokemon.

[Dark Sage]

Jason didn't say he was using Kozaky, James did.

Sorry if it didn't meet your expectations.

- DS

[Silencer]

I think you mixed up skull sevent and gigobyte here

“And since you’re defenseless…” chuckled James. “Kozaky, Goblin Calligrapher, Dancing Elf, Skull Servant, Mokey Mokey, ATTACK!”

The next few seconds were chaos! Kozaky and Gigobyte raked at Reggie with their claws, Dancing Elf landed a flying kick, Mokey Mokey fired a beam of light from his eyes, and Goblin Calligrapher’s pen grew to the size of a sword, and he slashed with it!

[starjake]

Jason didn't say he was using Kozaky, James did.

I stand corrected.

Regardless of the character of who said it, though, it's still a direct cut from the anime. Which isn't in and of itself a bad thing, but in a story that is already has a dangerously high amount of things cut from the anime...

And I must have missed the Pokemon episode Master of Pardox refered to. Thankfully.

Sorry if it didn't meet your expectations.

Actually, it's impossible to 'meet my expectations' because I try not to have any expectations hen I read someone's work ('letdown' wasn't exactly the right word, but I couldn't think of how else to describe it). I was just pointing out something(s) that I found annoying. Consistant steals from the anime and previous stories without any real purpose fall under that category.

[Blademaster]

1) The Nightmare's Steelcage / candy bar joke. I didn't really find it funny when it was first said back in Mandate of Heaven, it was growing old when it was used a second time (I don't remember exactly where that was), and now it's just...well, let's just say that third time isn't always the charm.

Ummmmmm... that would be from Vinny's duel with Wally Huffington from YGO 3.0.

Sorry - I didn't know what else to use - maybe Swords of Revealing Light and a play on those circus actors that swallow swords, but... :redface: :p

[Mega Horny]

Regrettably, as you may have noticed, I stopped reading this. Your writing is great, but I'm just not all that into Yugioh as most of you guyes and was reading it mainly for the sake of your writing. I fear I must step out of this one, and may read parts later, but in the wise words of Zcade, "Get pokemonese done!"

[Inferno_Dragon]

Interesting chapter!!!

It is true that Jason's deck does seem familiar to Merlee's Deck but what are you going to do? Although I have never heard of a Human-Wave Rush Deck before. Just like I have never heard of the Gain and Burn Deck before (I am not very cultured to different deck types.)

Dark Necrofear in a Goblin Deck was weird, I don't think she would considered a Goblin, she looks like some demon.

As for the Nightmare Steel Cage, I think that was from the episode when Brock stays with Professor Ivy while Ash and Misty head back towards Pallet Town with the GS ball. They board a mysterious repaired blimp and then the lines are used. I think it was Meowth who said it in that episode. (I know this making me sound nerdish but that's okay.)

Good chapter though and the title did make sense. Well keep up the good work!!!!!

[Blademaster]

Dark Necrofear in a Goblin Deck was weird, I don't think she would considered a Goblin, she looks like some demon.

Or an alien, if you ask me...

[Dark Sage]

My last chapter wasn't so good, so I thought I put up a new one as an Easter treat. Or maybe I'm still just a little high off the sugar rush - I gave my girlfriend lilies for Easter, and she gave me a chocolate rabbit that must have weighed a pound.

Anyway, the user character in this chapter belongs to Master of Paradox, who, as you may know, is my beta reader. Enjoy.

- DS

[B][I]My name is Malvolio.

You might think it’s a strange name; in case you don’t know, it was the name of the villain in Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night”, a play I’ve memorized. Everyone in my family has had a thing for the Bard…

…and for dueling.

A lot of weight has fallen on my shoulders, and I don’t like it. Being part of a legacy might seem good to some people, but it’s really a pain.

I’ve tried hard to keep my fellow students away…

But I knew my act wouldn’t fool everyone…

[B][size=3]CHAPTER EIGHT

Saturday, September 11th, 2106, 4:50 PM


That evening, the Ra students made their way to the dining hall. Trisha was followed by two of her close friends, June and Amy.

Amy sighed.

“Chicken cutlets…” she muttered. “I think this school has a cookbook entitled 1001 Ways to Prepare Chicken. Those cutlets are fattening…”

“It isn’t the chicken that’s fattening,” answered June, “it’s that thick sauce they put on it.”

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

As the three girls crossed the cafeteria with their trays (Jason and Russell were on the other side), Trisha noticed someone.

He was sitting by himself, as he always was, a half-eaten plate of chicken and yams and a dish of chocolate pudding to his right, and a Duel Disk to his left. A few cards were in front of him.

He was a very delicate young man… It looked like a strong wind could snap him into pieces and scatter the pieces. His limbs were long and lanky, and his torso was flexible. He had short, blonde hair, and pale grey eyes. His hair was combed up with the edges trimmed.

Both his blazer and pants were a size too large, making him look unkempt.

He noticed Trisha looking at him.

He held in his hands two Monster Cards: Command Knight, and Dream Clown. He held the two cards so they were facing each other.

He raised the Command Knight card.

“Save, thee, friend, and thy music!” he said in a high voice. “Dost thou live by your tabor?”

He lowered the card and lifted the Dream Clown card.

“No, sir,” he said in another voice, “I live by the church.”

He lifted the other card.

“Art thou a churchman?” he said in the high voice.

He lifted the Clown again.

“No such matter, sir,” he said in the second voice. “I do live by the church for I do live at my house, and my house doth stand by the church.”

Trisha went up to him.

“Uh, Malvolio?” she asked. “Would you like to join us?”

“Mmm…” muttered the youth in his high voice. “The sky is very blue today, is it not?”

“Come on, Trisha, leave the lunatic alone…” said June.

At the table with Jason and Russell, Trisha continued to look at Malvolio.

“Why are you so interested in him?” asked Amy. “Don’t you know that he’s nuts?”

“Yeah,” replied June. “They say his parents sent him here to get rid of him.”

“I’m worried about that guy…” said Jason. “He hasn’t done anything bad yet, but insanity can often lead to violence. I’m afraid Malvolio is going to really snap one of these days, and hurt someone… or himself.”

Trisha took the last bite of her chicken.

“I don’t know,” she said, chewing. “There’s something strange about him being strange…”

They looked at her.

“Uhm, that didn’t come out right…”

She picked up her pudding.

“Anybody want this?” she asked. “I’m full.”

She hefted her backpack over her shoulder and went up to Malvolio’s table.

Malvolio was looking at another Monster Card – the Machine called Patroid. He placed it on the table and started making siren sounds.

“Malvolio,” said Trisha, “I want a few words with you…”

Malvolio’s eyes narrowed.

“I fear I must decline, dear lady…” he said, in a faux British accent.

“Well I fear I must insist!” said Trisha.

She grabbed his arm.

“Well, in that case…” he said.

He grabbed his Duel Disk from the table, but then made no more resistance.

“Russ,” said Jason. “I have a feeling that Trisha might make him snap sooner than he should.”

“All right,” sighed Russell. “Let’s follow from a safe distance.”

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

In the center of the Ra complex was a large promenade. You reached it via a stairway going down. In the center was a large pool in the shape of the image of the Spell Card, Spring of Rebirth. Students would often toss coins into this spring when they had an important duel in their schedule… a little luck never hurt.

Malvolio sat on the edge of the Spring, and looked up into the evening sky.

“Ah, what mysteries lie among the beauty of the infinite stars of the cosmos?” he said in his high voice.

“Can you cool it, Malvolio?” asked Trisha. “I’m starting to think you want people to think you’re crazy…”

“Well, maybe I am a tad… off…” he replied.

“Are you really?” asked Trisha.

Malvolio giggled, and took a card out of his pocket.

“They say I’m nuts…” he chuckled. “They say I’ve gone crackers… Well, maybe it is true that I am a little… batty…”

He tossed her the card, and Trisha caught it.

It was Dark Bat.

“…blame it on the bats in my belfry!”

“Well, I don’t buy it, Malvolio,” she answered.

Malvolio looked at her.

“You’ve been acting crazy since we were both Freshmen,” she said, “well, I don’t believe it. If you were nuts, you wouldn’t have lasted long here.

“I know what happened at the end of last year… Dr. Artemis personally congratulated you for acing all your exams, and you were third on the honor roll.

“You want to tell me what the deal is?”

Malvolio looked at her in silence for a long time.

“You can tell me,” assured Trisha. “I’ll keep it a secret.”

Another long silence.

“You want the short version or the long version?” he finally said.

His voice was different. One octave lower and far more lucid.

“I want the most complete version,” answered Trisha.

Malvolio paused. He took a piece of chewing gum out of his pocket and popped it in his mouth.

“It hasn’t been easy for me, Trisha,” he said, as he slowly chewed. “My family line goes back a long time. My great, great grandfather, Demetrius Lark…”

“Demetrius?” asked Trisha. “Is everyone in your family named after characters in Shakespeare?”

“It’s a family tradition, Trisha,” he answered. “All male children have been.

“Anyway, Demetrius was a duelist who took the Americas by storm one hundred years ago. He was undefeated, winning every possible title in North, South, and Central America…

“But to his regret, he never got to challenge a member of the Trinity.

“Anyway, the dueling tradition was passed down to sons and daughters, and they all carried on his legacy. My father Bassiano was the champion of Canada before his untimely death four years ago dumped it all on me…”

He let out a long sigh…

“You don’t know what a pain it was, Trisha,” he moaned. “It seemed that everyone wanted to duel me just to win and prove he was better than a Lark. That’s the reason for the façade. I just want to keep people away from me…”

“So you pretend to be nuts so that gloryhounds won’t bother you?” asked Trisha.

“I know it’s hard to understand…” he replied.

“It is…” said Trisha, “but I know what can help…”

She took her Duel Disk out of her pack.

“Great,” muttered Malvolio. “Now you’re challenging me too.”

“Yes, but I don’t have anything to prove,” said Trisha. “A lot about a person can come out in a duel. Consider it a… gentleman’s challenge, and we’ll see if we can figure anything out.”

Malvolio looked at her.

“A gentleman’s challenge?” he asked.

He picked up his own Disk.

“I can live with that…”

He reached under his oversized blazer and took a deck out of a holster.

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

Jason and Russell looked over the railing, down at the Spring of Rebirth.

“Huh,” said Jason. “It looks like Trisha is going to duel him.”

“Should we stop this?” asked Russell.

“Not yet…” said Jason. “This could get interesting…”

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

“All right, Mal,” said Trisha. “Uhm, you mind if I call you Mal?”

“Eh, fine,” answered Malvolio.

“Okay!” said Trisha, as her Disk activated. “Game start!”

[B](Trisha: 8,000) (Malvolio: 8,000)

Malvolio drew his first card.

“My first card will be…” he said.

He played a Spell Card.

“…Graceful Charity.”

The beautiful angel appeared, and her feathers fell on his deck. He drew three cards.

“And, since I’m such a nice guy,” he continued, “I’ll show you one of the cards I’m discarding…”

He turned a card towards Trisha.

“He’s a Warrior called Chain Thrasher.”

“And you’re telling me, because?” asked Trisha.

“Just remember that for later,” said Malvolio, discarding it and another card.

“Next, I’ll place a Monster in Defense Mode, and that will be my turn.”

A facedown Monster appeared.

Trisha drew a card.

She smirked.

On my first draw! she thought.

“I summon my favorite Monster!” she said, throwing a card down. “The incredible Nanobreaker!”

A shimmering light appeared on her side of the field, and the Monster formed. It was a woman dressed in futuristic, silvery armor, holding a large sword. She had glowing silver eyes, and long black hair. (1,600/1,800)

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

“That’s it!” exclaimed Jason. “Her special Monster!”

“How come?” asked Russell.

“Take a close look.”

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

“And why is she your favorite?” asked Malvolio.

“Well… just look at her,” answered Trisha. “See anything familiar?”

Malvolio gave the Machine a look…

And then it came to him. Nanobreaker was a dead ringer for Trisha herself. Trisha didn’t have the armor and was less metallic, but the resemblance was uncanny.

All right, thought Trisha. That facedown Monster might have a nasty flip-effect or a high Defense…

But it might be a bluff…

“Nanobreaker, attack with Nano-blade!”

Nanobreaker flew forward…

A weird creature appeared on the card. It looked like a face with a big nose, and a feathered headdress. Below it were two hands holding an axe.

Nanobreaker slashed with her sword, and it was sliced in half.

“Heh, heh,” said Malvolio. “That was a Hane-Hane. And when it’s flipped…”

Nanobreaker vanished.

“…one Monster on the field is returned to the owner’s hand.”

Trisha stared in disbelief.

“Oo-kay…” she said. “I guess I have to end my turn there…”

Malvolio drew a card.

“I summon another Chain Thrasher,” he said, placing a card down, “in Attack Mode.”

A young Warrior in a leather coat and trousers, holding a spiked chain appeared. (1,000/600)

“Well, uh… that’s not so bad…” muttered Trisha. “Unless he has a…”

“…special ability?” answered Malvolio. “Yes. In addition to his normal attack, Chain Thrasher has an additional attack for every other Chain Thrasher in my Graveyard.”

“And you put one there with Graceful Charity…” gasped Trisha.

“Exactly,” said Malvolio, “so he can attack twice. Chain Thrasher, attack directly with chain rend!”

Chain Thrasher swung his chain, and then lashed at Trisha with it!

“Again!” ordered Malvolio.

Chain Thrasher twirled his weapon. Trisha groaned as she was whipped a second time.

She held her torso...

[B](T: 6,000) (M: 8,000)

“I’ll end with a facedown card,” said Malvolio, placing a card into a slot.

A facedown card appeared behind Chain Thrasher.

“My move…” muttered Trisha.

I’m starting to understand why this guy’s family was so sought after… she thought as she drew.

She looked at the Spell Card.

Not bad…

“I play the Spell Card, Magnet Circle LV 2,” she said, playing it.

A metallic circle appeared in front of her, and a magnetic crane started to lower.

“Uh, cool name,” said Malvolio, “but what does it do?”

“This Spell lets me Special Summon a Machine from my hand,” she explained, “so long as its star level is no greater than two. So I’ll summon Bokoichi the Freightening Car, in Defense Mode.”

The large freight card with the fiendish face appeared. (500/500)

“Next I’ll play… Machine Duplication.”

She played the card, and two more Bokoichis appeared.

“And next, I’ll sacrifice two of them, to summon Perfect Machine King!”

Two Freightening Cars vanished, and the huge robot appeared! (2,700/1,500) –> (3,200/1,500)

“Not bad…” said Malvolio.

“Perfect Machine King,” ordered Francesca, “attack Chain Thrasher with mega-missile assault!”

Two hatches opened on the Machine’s shoulders, and a volley of missiles blasted forth. Chain Thrasher shielded himself before he was eradicated.

[B](T: 6,000) (M: 5,800)

“Well…” said Malvolio. “I’ll admit you are better than a lot of the egotistical fools who came looking for members of my family.”

“I aced the exams last year too,” answered Trisha.

Malvolio smirked.

He drew a card.

“I activate my facedown card…” he stated.

A Trap Card lifted…

Call of the Haunted.

“I’ll use it to bring back my old friend Chain Thrasher,” he added.

Chain Thrasher reappeared.

“But, I’m sending him right back to the Graveyard,” he continued, “because I’m sacrificing him…”

Chain Thrasher vanished.

Then Malvolio placed a card on his Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.

“Next, another facedown card,” he said, playing a card.

A facedown card appeared.

“And it’s your move…”

Trisha drew a card.

He sacrificed a Monster for one that he put facedown in Defense Mode, she thought. There aren’t many Monsters that you summon like that. But Perfect Machine King should handle it…

“I’ll summon Nanobreaker again,” she said.

Nanobreaker reappeared. (1,600/1,800)

“And now that I have two other Machines on the field,” she continued, “my King gets stronger.”

Perfect Machine King glowed. (3,700/1,500)

“Attack his facedown Monster!” she ordered.

Perfect Machine King fired his missiles…

“I activate… Negate Attack!” shouted Malvolio.

His Trap Card lifted, and the missiles were stopped by an invisible barrier.

“My Trap protects my Monster and ends this battle right now…” said Malvolio.

“Then it’s your turn…” answered Trisha.

“Well,” said Malvolio, drawing, “you might wonder why I used Negate Attack when there are so many better Traps that can protect a Monster. Well, see, to activate the effect of this Monster, I had to flip it myself…”

The card flipped into Attack Mode…

And a huge, stone statue appeared! It looked like the Great Sphinx of Gaza, as it was presumed to have looked when it was new. (1,700/2,400)

“That’s Guardian Sphinx!” gasped Trisha.

“Oh, you’ve heard of it,” answered Malvolio. “Then you know that now all three of your Monsters go back to your hand.”

Perfect Machine King, Nanobreaker, and Bokoichi vanished.

“Guardian Sphinx, attack directly!” he shouted. “Monolith smash!”

Guardian Sphinx rose up and clapped its stone paws together…

Unfortunately for Trisha, she was between them.

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

“Trisha is getting clobbered!” gasped Russell. “We have to stop this!”

“Why?” asked Jason. “I don’t see any rules being broken.”

“Well, yeah, but…” muttered Russell.

“We’re duelists, Russell, it comes with the job description,” said Jason. “I think Trisha would rather fight it out than have us end it forcefully for no legitimate reason.”

“I guess…” answered Russell.

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


[B](T: 4,300) (M: 5,800)

Trisha held her head and staggered to keep her footing.

“Any questions?” asked Malvolio.

“One…” said Trisha, panting. “I noticed you seem to like Monsters that send mine back to my hand… is this a trend?”

Malvolio smirked.

“It’s called a Bounce Strategy, Trisha,” he said. “The Bounce has been the Malvolio family’s trademark strategy since Demetrius. The current version of my family’s deck, which is mine, was perfected by my great uncle Iago. His greatest success was using it to defeat a duelist who used the Five God Dragon…”

He smirked.

“The guy was shocked when his 5,000 Attack Point abomination was thrown off the field by a Penguin Soldier!

“To end, I’ll activate Guardian Sphinx’s other effect, which returns it to facedown Defense Mode.”

Guardian Sphinx vanished, and was replaced by a facedown card.

Trisha looked at him for a few seconds.

Demetrius Lark may never have challenged any of the Trinity, but she realized he may have stood a fighting chance against them. Cards that used bounce effects were very potent…

She could just image the look on Kaiba’s face if someone had bounced his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon…

If I attack his Sphinx, he can’t use its effect, she thought, but with 2,400 Defense Points, I’d lose Life Points slowly… There’s got to be a way out of this…

She drew a card…

She grinned.

“I play Soul Release,” she exclaimed, playing a card. “I’ll use it on my own Graveyard, removing my two Bokoichis from play.”

The two cards fell out of her discard slot.

“And just why did you do that?” asked Malvolio.

“So I could play a powerful Spell Card,” she said, playing another card. “I play… Advanced Robotics!”

A card appeared, showing the image of a grim-faced, giant mecha standing amid buildings.

“Advanced Robotics is a powerful card, but only if you draw it early in a duel,” explained Trisha. “See, it can only be played when I have no Monsters in my Graveyard. That’s why I used Soul Release.

“Now, by discarding two Spell and/or Trap Cards…”

She discarded two cards.

“…I can summon a high-level Machine with no sacrifices required. So I’ll summon Perfect Machine King again.”

She threw a card down on her Disk, and Perfect Machine King arose. (2,700/1,500)

“All right!” she shouted. “Attack his Guardian Sphinx!”

Perfect Machine King blasted his missiles. Guardian Sphinx appeared, and was blasted into shards of rock!

Malvolio cringed.

“Not bad…” he said. “My move now…”

He drew a card.

“I play my Pot of Greed,” he stated, playing a card. “Now I’ll draw twice…”

He made two draws.



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“All right…” he stated, playing another card. “I’ll unearth Premature Burial, to bring a Monster back from the grave…”

His Life Points fell by 800, and Hane-Hane reappeared. (450/600)

“Next I’ll sacrifice my Hane-Hane for another Monster,” he said.

Hane-Hane vanished.

“But once again, I’ll keep you guessing.”

A facedown Monster appeared.

“That ends my turn.”

[B](T: 4,300) (M: 5,000)

That’s clearly another Guardian Sphinx, thought Trisha, but now he has no Traps to protect it…

She drew a card.

“Here comes Nanobreaker again,” she said, playing a card.

Her look-alike reappeared again. (1,600/1,800)

Perfect Machine King grew to 3,200 Attack.

“Perfect Machine King, take it out!” she shouted.

Perfect Machine King shot his missiles forward…

…and the Monster that appeared was NOT Guardian Sphinx. It looked sort of like Hane-Hane, only bigger, with a fancier headdress, holding two axes in its hands.

It was blown up.

“Heh, heh,” said Malvolio. “That was Hane-Hane’s older brother, Hade-Hane. His flip-effect is stronger, because he can bounce up to three Monsters back to the owners’ hands.”

Perfect Machine King and Nanobreaker vanished.

“Not again…” muttered Trisha.

“My turn?” asked Malvolio.

“Uh huh…” muttered Trisha.

“I must say, this is fun!” said Malvolio, as he drew a card. “I had forgotten how enjoyable casual dueling can be!”

He fit two cards into slots.

“I place two cards facedown now,” he said.

Two facedown cards appeared.

“Next, I’ll summon a Warrior that Joey Wheeler used at one time… Go, Hayabusa Knight!”

A Warrior in shining armor appeared, holding a rapier. His head was like that of a hawk. (1,000/700)

“I must say, this guy always confused me,” said Malvolio. “He has the head of a bird, and yet he’s an Earth Monster? Wouldn’t Wind be more appropriate?”

“Maybe…” said Trisha nervously. She wasn’t looking forward to what was coming next.

“He certainly moves like the wind,” added Malvolio. “Because he can attack twice. Hayabusa Knight, peregrine saber slash!”

The Knight flew forward…

Trisha cringed as he made two swipes across her torso.

She clutched her chest in pain.

[B](T: 2,300) (M: 5,000)

“All right, my move…” muttered Trisha.

She drew a card.

She looked at the Trap Card.

“I’ll set a card facedown,” she stated.

A facedown card appeared.

“And I’ll summon Nanobreaker yet again.”

She played the card, and Nanobreaker appeared again. She didn’t look very happy this time. (1,600/1,800)

“Attack Hayabusa Knight!” she shouted.

Nanobreaker raised her sword…

“I activate my facedown card,” declared Malvolio.

A Trap Card lifted.

“Ordeal of a Traveler.”

With a rumbling sound, another Sphinx rose behind him.

“Here’s how it works, Trisha,” he said. “Before your Nanobreaker can reach my Knight, you have to choose a card in my hand, and guess whether it’s a Monster, Spell, or Trap. If you guess right, your Monster can attack. If you guess wrong, she’ll be returned to your hand again.”

“Uh…” muttered Trisha. “Okay…”

“Shouldn’t be too hard, Trisha,” he said. “I only have two cards in my hand…”

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

“This is trouble,” muttered Russell.

“Tell me about it,” answered Jason. “Ordeal of a Traveler is a nasty Trap Card. You have only a one-in-three chance if your opponent uses it right, so the odds are against you…”

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

“Come on, Trisha…” said Malvolio. “The longer you take, the harder it’s going to be…”

“All right, all right!” said Trisha. “I believe that… the card on the left is… a Monster Card.”

Malvolio looked at the card.

He closed his eyes and flipped it around.

It was Armed Samurai Ben Kai.

“Well…” he sighed, “you got it…”

“And now your Hayabusa Knight is gonna get it!” exclaimed Trisha.

Nanobreaker swung her sword, and Hayabusa Knight fell backwards before shattering.

[B](T: 2,300) (M: 4,400)

“Don’t celebrate just yet, Trisha,” warned Malvolio. “Nanobreaker avoided one Trap only to fall victim to the other…”

His other Trap lifted.

“I activate… Begone, Knave!”

An iron doorway appeared next to the Sphinx, and a knight with a halberd appeared in front of it.

He stretched out his hand, and Nanobreaker vanished.

“Huh?” said Trisha.

“Begone, Knave! is a very underrated and underused Trap,” explained Malvolio. “When I take battle damage, the Monster responsible is returned to your hand.”

“And by the way, Trisha,” he added, “both Ordeal of a Traveler and Begone, Knave! are Continuous Traps which will activate whenever you attack.

“And now, it’s my move…”

He drew a card.

“Since you saw this card, I’ll summon him… Armed Samurai Ben Kai in Attack Mode.”

A Warrior dressed in oriental clothing with a practical arsenal of weapons on his back appeared. (500/800)

“And now I’ll Equip him with Axe of Despair,” he continued.

An ugly-looking axe appeared in Ben Kai’s hand, and his Attack Score went up to 1,500.

“Oh, and in addition to his normal attack, Ben Kai can attack again for every Equip that he has…”

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

“This is it!” gasped Russell. “If this attack hits, Trisha loses!”

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

“Attack!” ordered Malvolio.

Ben Kai rushed at Trisha.

“I activate Sakuretsu Armor!” shouted Trisha.

Her Trap Card lifted, and a shimmering wall of force surrounded her. Ben Kai was blown to pieces.

“You aren’t the only one who can set Traps…” she said with a grin.

“Well…” said Malvolio. “That’s my turn…”

Trisha looked at the field.

He has one card in his hand, but I don’t know what it is, she thought. And even if a Monster gets past Ordeal of a Traveler, it won’t get past Begone, Knave! There has to be another way…

She drew a card.

Hey, it’s the card I got from Randy! Well, why not?

She placed a card on her Disk.

“I summon Dark Catapulter in Defense Mode,” she said.

A large, bulky robot made of black steel with a dragon-like head appeared. (1,000/1,500)

“Next I’ll Equip it with 7 Completed,” she said, playing a card, “which increases its Defense by 700.”

The number seven appeared on the Machine’s chest, and its Defense rose to 2,200.

“And that’s my turn,” she said.

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

“A new one?” said Russell.

“Yes,” replied Jason. “One with a powerful effect if used right. Trisha is using a clever strategy.”

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

Malvolio drew a card.

“I summon my third Chain Thrasher in Defense Mode,” he said.

He put a card down, and another Chain Thrasher appeared, kneeling in Defense. (1,000/600)

“And that’s my turn,” he said.

Oh boy… thought Trisha, nervously. If he manages to bounce my Monsters again, that guy will be able to attack me three times!

She nervously drew a card.

“I summon Battle Footballer in Defense Mode,” she said.

The android wearing a football jersey and helmet appeared, crouching in Defense. (1,000/2,100)

“And I’ll end my turn,” she said. “So it’s your move.”

Malvolio drew.

“Actually, I choose to end my turn without making any move,” he said.

“Good!” said Trisha, drawing. “Now you can see what Dark Catapulter can do.”

“Huh?” asked Malvolio.

“See,” explained Trisha, “For every one of my Standby Phases that it remains in Defense Mode, it stores one burst of energy. So it stored two. So now, I can remove two cards in my Graveyard from play to fire them, and destroy two Spell or Trap Cards.

“So, I’ll remove Soul Release and Advanced Robotics from play…”

The two Spell Cards fell out of her discard slot.

“And now…”

Dark Catapulter gripped the ground tight, and the two catapults on its back cranked backwards…

And then they shot two blasts of energy forward! The Sphinx was blown up, along with the Ordeal of a Traveler card, and then the doorway and the knight were blown into pixels, along with the Begone, Knave! card.

“Crud…” said Malvolio.

“And now I’ll sacrifice Dark Catapulter and Battle Footballer…” said Trisha.

The two Machines vanished.

“…to summon Perfect Machine King again!”

Perfect Machine King arose once more. (2,700/1,500)

“Attack Chain Thrasher!” shouted Trisha.

Perfect Machine King blasted forth his missiles, and Chain Thrasher was blown to pieces.

“Heh, heh, heh…” laughed Malvolio. “HA, HA, HA, HA!”

“What’s so funny?” asked Trisha.

“This is great!” laughed Malvolio. “Finally, a real challenge. This is what a duel should be about!”

He drew a card.

“I’ll place a Monster in Defense Mode for my turn, and that will be all,” he said.

A facedown Monster appeared.

Uh oh… thought Trisha. That’s definitely another flip-effect Monster… Well, sorry, Mal, but I’m not falling for it this time…

She drew a card.

“I’m going to pass for this turn,” she said.

“Suit yourself,” said Malvolio, drawing a card.

He added the card to his hand.

“I’ll also pass…”

Huh? thought Trisha. Why didn’t he flip it himself?

So, it is safe to attack it!

She drew a card.

“I summon Nanobreaker yet again,” she said, playing a card.

Nanobreaker appeared once more. (1,600/1,800)

“Perfect Machine King, take out his facedown Monster!” she shouted. “Mega missile assault!”

The barrage of missiles shot forward…

A rocky, wild-haired man wearing a martial arts gi appeared on the card, and was blown to pieces.

And then Perfect Machine King vanished!

Trisha’s eyes opened wide!

“That was my Legendary Jujitsu Master,” chuckled Malvolio. “He’s not really a bounce Monster, he’s a ‘spin’ Monster. When he’s attacked while in Defense Mode, the Monster who attacked him isn’t sent back to your hand, he’s sent to the top of your deck!”

“Ingenious…” said Trisha. “But maybe it was worth it… Because now your side is clear! Nanobreaker, attack Malvolio directly!”

Nanobreaker flew forward and slashed at Malvolio with her sword! He gasped and fell over.

[B](T: 2,300) (M: 2,800)

“Oof…” said Malvolio, getting up. “Not bad… Well, Trisha, I guess it all depends on what I draw next…”

He drew a card.

“Well,” he said, “time to bring this to a close…

“I summon Mataza the Zapper in Attack Mode.”

He placed the card, and the dark ronin holding a katana appeared. (1,300/800)

“Uh, yeah…” muttered Trisha. “He can attack twice too, right?”

“Yes,” said Malvolio, “and he will once I use another Axe of Despair.”

He played the card. Mataza sheathed his sword, and the Axe appeared in his hand. His Attack Score shot up to 2,300.

“And now, double attack!” commanded Malvolio.

Mataza the Zapper faded into a blur, and split into two Matazas…

They rushed forward! One of them struck Nanobreaker, and she gasped before exploding…

And then the other struck at Trisha with his axe, and she was thrown backwards!

“Ooh…” she moaned.

[B](T: 0) (M: 2,800)

“Trisha!” shouted Jason, running down the stairs.

Mataza vanished.

“You all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she said.

She sat up.

“And how are you, Mal?” she asked.

Malvolio smirked.

“You know,” he said, “I think I feel better. Maybe it’s time to stop the whole façade and take these challenges in stride. After all, I was born to be a duelist… I shouldn’t fight it.”

“I hope so,” said Trisha.

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

The moon slowly moved across the night sky…

In Fortunado’s penthouse, the owner was deep in thought.

He heard the door open.

He turned and saw Cassius walk in with another young man.

“Found him,” said Cassius.

“Ah, yes,” said Fortunado, walking up to them. “I heard you have a beef with the Academy?”

“Do I ever,” said the youth.

“Well, I take it, my men have filled you in on the details?” asked Fortunado. “I must warn you that using what I’m about to give you involves a great deal of risk, which many folks don’t consider…”

“Oh, I live for risk!” answered the youth.

“Very well…” said Fortunado with a grin.

He handed a card to him.

“Nice…” said the youth.

“Oh, and one other way you can improve your deck,” added Fortunado, taking two cards out of his suit. These should fit your deck nicely.”

He handed them to him.

“Well I’ve… Never heard of these…” said the youth. “Pretty powerful…”

“They were designed by a card designer for Industrial Illusions,” said Fortunado. “Let me tell you the story. One day he was dueling a colleague, and that colleague walloped him badly using Jinzo. The next time he slept, he claimed he had a nightmare about Jinzo, and in that nightmare, he saw visions of a powerful Monster that had never been made. The next day, he sketched out what he saw while it was still fresh in his mind, and designed the two cards. Only five copies of this set were made, but unfortunately for him they were never greenlighted for production.

“He didn’t mind… On the average, only one out of five of a designer’s ideas are made into cards for distribution, so he went onto his other ideas.

“Anyway, since it’s an illegal card, a normal Disk wouldn’t register them…

“But your new one will…”

“Well, uh… I don’t have Jinzo in my deck…” muttered the youth.

“Don’t worry, it’s not necessary,” said Fortunado.

“Anyway, on Monday there’ll be an unscheduled assembly at nine AM at the college. Go there, choose a target, and make a challenge. It doesn’t matter who.”

“Yes…” said the youth, “I have someone in mind already…”



Saturday, September 11th, 2106, 7:10 PM



ADVANCED ROBOTICS (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell
Attribute: –
Level: –
ATK: –
DEF: –

Image: A grim-faced, giant mecha standing amid buildings.

Card Description: You can only activate this card when you have no Monster Cards in your Graveyard. Discard two non-Monster Cards from your hand. During the turn that you play this card, you can Normal Summon a MACHINE-Type Monster with five or more stars with no Tribute(s) required.



Malvolio’s Bounce Deck

Since Demetrius Lark first put together a deck, the Lark family has specialized in bounce strategy. The blueprint of the deck they have used went through several versions, before being perfected (for now) by Malvolio’s great uncle Iago.

Roughly half of Malvolio’s Monsters and several of his Traps are designed to rid the field of his opponents’ Monsters by sending them back to their hands. Since the Monsters he defeats are not sent to the Graveyard, an opponent must repeat the process of summoning them again, a chore if they are five-stars or more (or worse, Special Summoned only). This means a great deal of flip-effect Monsters, such as Hane-Hane, Penguin Soldier, and Guardian Sphinx, and Traps like Ordeal of a Traveler and Begone, Knave! His other Monsters are designed to strike his opponent hard and fast once they are unprotected. Usually, this means Monsters that can attack multiple times, such as Hayabusa Knight, Mataza the Zapper, Chain Thrasher, and Armed Samurai Ben Kai. These Monsters can become deadlier due to the multiple copies of Sword of Deep-Seated and Axe of Despair he has.

Malvolio’s strategy is not without weakness. Nobleman of Crossout can cause him a lot of trouble, and his deck has little defense against opposing Spells or Traps. However, so long as he has a few of his bouncers left, he can take out almost anything.



[B][I]Coming up next:

The threat of the Orichalcos comes back, as the story turns serious again. We’ll see who that mysterious guy is, and who he targets.

Don’t miss a chapter that I’m keeping such a surprise, I’m not even revealing the title! Coming soon.

[jkBAKURA]

Well, well, with such a bizzare character, I wonder who came up with this? Nice invention Paradox. I liked the use of multi-attackers. That was one stratagy that came out of left field. In general, this chapter was a lot of fun, if a bit short. I'm in the dark about next chapter, but it may be so obvious I'll be kicking myself when the time comes.

[The_Missing_Link]

I think this was the best chapter so far. Interesting chapter, deck theme I've never seen before, and Trisha loses. Gotta love it when the main characters prove to be mortal

[Dark Sage]

Becca -

Indeed, I wanted the main characters to be "mortal". So I resolved that their records would not be perfect. They will not win every single duel that they take part in.

Whether they will lose when the stakes are higher than it was here, that's for me to know, and you to find out.

- DS

[starjake]

That was certainly an interesting decktype, and one that not many people see. However, Begone Knave affects both sides of the field, meaning that your monsters are returned to your hand if they inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points. I'm not entirely sure if the Trap was on the field when Mal attacked and I'm too lazy to go back and check, but that may be something you want to re-examine. Aside from that, nice duel; MoP created a deck with a fun theme that is rarely used in the real world and yet is entirely feasible.

The next chapter...I have a feeling that you didn't tell us the title because that would make the chapter too easy to guess. I'm sincerely hoping that the person that immediately jumps to mind isn't the antagonist, because that would be too predictable. Of course, if we haven't met this character yet, my theory is (quite happily) shot out of the water.

[Mystic_clown]

Hmm, a bounce deck, that's a new one. Interestign character Paradox. How many Yu-Gi-Oh characters have you seen that pretend to be nuts?

[jkBAKURA]

How many Yu-Gi-Oh characters have you seen that pretend to be nuts?

Quite a few less then the number of those who actually are.

[Perfect Chaos]

New type of character Paradox and interesting deck too (we noticed alot of those in Tilting the Balance too)

I played against a Bounce deck once (and it was really irritating at first, but not after I got Ha Des out ). Again a very interesting and original decktype.

Nothing much to say about this chapter, can't wait for the next one.

-Sean

[Blademaster]

A Bounce Deck AND a Multi-Strike Deck mixed together? Nice strategy, indeed, Paradox... Very clever...

Not a bad character, too, though in my mind I didn't see Malvolio as crazy as he sounded. :p

Anyway, once again, DS, you've kept us all in the dark, like a good writer usually does (Grrrrrrr... ).

Anyway, keep up the good work, and happy Easter to you and everyone reading!

Peace out!

-Blade

[Pokemasterkatie]

I'm still just a little high off the sugar rush - I gave my girlfriend lilies for Easter, and she gave me a chocolate rabbit that must have weighed a pound.

I got no chocolate(;_; ), but got an extra can of soda!(I usually get one a day) I too, get major sugar rush off it...helps me write my own fic(it's not on here...it's on Serebii's forums)!

What a coincidence in the bounce theme, seeing as how it's spring(yes, PUNish me now).(unfortunately, I also started thinking about a certain 80 year old fictional bouncing tiger^^) Paradox must take one of those Shakespeare Literature English classes in high school. That, or he has a lot of free time on his hands.^_^;

Malvolio kind of reminds me of myself: people see him as weird, so he has basically no real friends.;_; I also quote stuff too, though not as much as he does.^_^

I've been the victim of Ordeal of A Traveler(thanks to Yugi's grandpa in NT). Annoying card, but I love the artwork.

[Inferno_Dragon]

Once again, another Deck I haven't heard of but I am learning a lot.

It is nice to see the heroes lose once in a while because it makes them seem more human. In the Anime, the main Characters lost once in a while. (Yugi lost to Seto Kaiba and one of Dartz's Henchmen, Seto Kaiba lost to Yugi (twice if I might add), Joey lost to Yugi and Marik.)

But I am curious on what the next chapter is about. And I too have been the victim of Ordeal of a Traveler when Playing Yu-Gi-Oh: NT. It is a very crafty card but I do get lucky sometimes (Usually when he has one or two cards in his hand, I can guess the Right Type.)

Keep up the good work, Ven ... Cyber ... I mean Dark Sage.

[Pokemasterkatie]

(Yugi lost to Seto Kaiba and one of Dartz's Henchmen, Seto Kaiba lost to Yugi (twice if I might add), Joey lost to Yugi and Marik.)

The henchman in question was Raphael. And Yugi might have won those duels if Raphael had not played Exchange(his only card was the Seal, so Yami had to take it) and if Kaiba not threatened to jump off the castle(in the Japanese he did anyway...).

Despite that little interruption inthe Battle City finals, Yugi won that match with Kaiba fairly(no HotC, unless it was to get Slifer...:p). Yugi's win the first time was the pilot episode...and they GOTTA show off Exodia too.^^

Joey lost more times than anyone in the Trinity: Marik, Yugi, Kaiba(twice), and Zigfried(his final duel in the animé). He surely would have lost to Mai if he had not, to quote Tristan, "used his nose".

Once again, another Deck I haven't heard of but I am learning a lot.

Ditto. It actually took me a few hours to actually learn the game in Dark Duel Stories. And even then it's a bit different since they have the subtype advantage going on.

[Master of Paradox]

Joey lost more times than anyone in the Trinity: Marik, Yugi, Kaiba(twice), and Zigfried(his final duel in the animé). He surely would have lost to Mai if he had not, to quote Tristan, "used his nose".

Technically, he also lost to Mai during their second encounter in the Orichalcos arc, as well (okay, he passed out, but if we're counting Marik...).

[Blademaster]

Yeah, Joey passes out too much for his own good. Lazy bum... You think he's related to Gerald at all?

[Mystic_clown]

Don't forget, he got stomped into the ground by Tea at the beginning of the series (although I don't think that actually counts).

[Pokemasterkatie]

I don't think it was official since we didn't see the whole duel...and the fact Téa used one of the cheap monster killer Spells that didn't make it to the Ban List(Breath of Light, I believe).:p

Yeah, Joey passes out too much for his own good. Lazy bum... You think he's related to Gerald at all?

More Jaden than Gerald--Joey fights to the bitter end, plus he's more aggressive(he passed out in the Battle City finals cause of the stress of being in the Shadow Realm too long). And besides, when the fate of the world's not on the line, Joey also has fun with his duels.

...Totally forgot about his rematches with Mai...-_-;

[Dark Sage]

Breath of Light isn't a real card, except in video games. However, Last Day of the Witch and Warrior Elimination are, and they're very legal, and unlimited. However, you'd have to be very lucky or very rich to get even one.

Now can we stop discussing their records? This is getting old.

[Pokemasterkatie]

-_-; Sorry DS, nya...

[Dark Sage]

Incidentally, I have actually seen "Ordeal of a Traveler" used by a real player in my game store - and I had to tell the guy that he wasn't using it right. You see, after your opponent guesses, you are required to show him the card, and this guy wasn't doing that. (As you saw, Malvolio knew the rules better.)

That's the weakness of this otherwise powerful Trap Card - your opponent gets to see the cards in your hand, even if it's one at a time.

[Inferno_Dragon]

I apologize for getting the whole anime characters win and loss record started. I am very very very very very very very very times infinity sorry, Dark Sage.

[Pokemasterkatie]

That's the weakness of this otherwise powerful Trap Card - your opponent gets to see the cards in your hand, even if it's one at a time.

Right--that's what led Joey to beat Solomon! BTW, I didn't know you worked at a game store(like the type the Mouto family runs, right?)! I guess that's how you got so good at this!:p

[Dark Sage]

To answer Katie's question, no, I don't work at a game store. By "my" game store, I meant the one that I frequent and play card games at.

Anyway... Time for a new chapter, and the fanfiction debut of a Monster that is sure to be all the rage when he is released next month! Read on...

[B][I]Gazing out on the city, I am reminded of a quote from “Macbeth”…

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

Three of my best students had an encounter with a duelist holding the forbidden power of the Orichalcos… I’d be a fool to think that it was an isolated incident.

More duels in that unholy arena will occur, and I have no idea who is behind it or where it will strike next.

But I have a pretty good idea that it’s coming soon.

A war is about to start, and I fear New York might be the battleground…

[size=3][B]CHAPTER NINE

Sunday, September 12th, 2106, 11:40 PM


They say that New York never sleeps.

Bull.

On a Sunday night, the city practically snores!

On the night before a work day, most folks were asleep or trying to, except some graveyard shift night owls who didn’t have to.

Or some who simply couldn’t.

In the eves of Central Park, three figures sat on benches, not doing much except feeling depressed and wallowing in self-pity. It wasn’t possible for them to sleep. Or eat, or do anything that required a living body, for that matter.

Fact was, they weren’t even alive anymore.

One hundred years ago, they were men. But as boys, they had suffered horrible tragedies. At the ends of their ropes, they were willing to believe anything to make the pain go away…

So they chose to believe lies told to them by a madman. And using the evil magic of the Orichalcos, they had committed several crimes against humanity.

Eventually, they were defeated by three heroes, and the madman was defeated. They recovered, thinking they could start their lives over…

…but it wasn’t that simple. No matter how much they had suffered, it had not given them the right to torment others and use evil powers. Using such unholy forces would come with a price. And unlike some who used the Orichalcos, they had few people who were willing to forgive, few loved ones to turn to, and few who could lift the stain on their souls.

Several years after they thought it was over, all three of them fell ill. Despite the best attempts by doctors, they died… All three of them at the same instant.

And the next thing they knew, they were facing each other… As bodiless phantoms.

They were unable to enter any sort of afterlife; they were stranded on the moral plane. They could only go wherever some unseen force told them to go, even though they never saw whoever was giving them these orders. Twenty years ago, the command told them to go to New York City, and they had no choice but to obey. They had been here since then.

No humans could see or hear them except under certain conditions, and if there were others like them, they couldn’t see them either. The only company they had was each other. They could produce a few of the belongings they had in life, such as their Duel Monsters cards, but they couldn’t do much with them. The only people they could duel were each other, and it got boring after a while. They got sick of each other after awhile, but none of them was able to leave the other two for long before the unseen master pulled him back to the others.

It didn’t take them long to realize that they were under some sort of a curse. Whether it was an evil spell cast by Leviathan for failing it, or a punishment cast by a holy force as penance for their crimes, they didn’t know…

But they were able to enter hallowed ground, so they likely weren’t evil spirits.

They did realize that curses could be lifted…

…how, they didn’t know. And after almost ninety years, they were still clueless as to how they could find a way to rest.

“So,” said the one, who looked physically oldest. “You do realize what this means…”

They looked at him.

“What do you expect us to do about it Raphael?” asked another one. “We thought that the Orichalcos was gone… finished… kaput… history…”

“Congratulations, Valon, you can use a thesaurus,” said the third.

“Alister, I never found your jokes funny,” said Raphael. “And we’ve got to try to do something! Need I remind you that we helped start all this? Russell was incredibly lucky to win that duel… If he hadn’t drawn Gilford when he did…”

Alister gave a sad look, and reached into his pocket. He took out a battered old action figure…

He must have been the only one on Earth who remembered the Dyna Dude line of toys that had been cancelled decades ago.

Whoever had put this curse on him had been nice enough to let him keep it. When he knew he was dying, he had hoped he would see his brother again… But that was denied him. His brother was likely in Heaven, separated from him just as much as he always was. This toy was the last thing he had to remember his smiling face… His laugh that had never wavered, even in the destruction of a war-zone…

Valon leaned his head in his hands.

“I miss Mai…” he moaned.

“Here we go…” groaned Alister.

“Still obsessing over Mai,” grumbled Raphael. “Valon, you ever stop to think that maybe she’s the reason we’re in this mess?”

“What makes you say that?” asked Valon.

“Well, something about the way she screamed at you and said she hoped that even Hell wouldn’t take you in,” he answered. “That kind of set off a few bells.”

Valon’s face fell into a sulk.

“What did Wheeler have that I didn’t?” he asked.

“Well, let’s see,” said Alister. “He was honest, honorable, trustworthy, kind, caring, dedicated…”

“Wasn’t a thief…” grumbled Raphael.

“…wasn’t a thief,” continued Alister, “and might I add, he was a better duelist than you, because he kicked your armor-plated ass!”

“He got lucky!” snapped Valon. “I was smarter and handsomer…”

“Handsomer, questionable,” said Raphael. “As for smarter, do you know what I think? I think Joey just played dumb to fool his opponents. He was very intelligent.”

“And about that crack about me being a thief…” added Valon.

“You stole my Guardian Treasure card to give to Mai!” snapped Raphael. “Heck, why didn’t you just ask for it? It wasn’t as if I was ever going to duel again.”

“Well I wasn’t that bad a duelist…” muttered Valon.

“Please, your Armor Monsters were a joke…” muttered Alister.

“And I suppose your Action Figure Monsters were any better?” shouted Valon. “Name one other duelist who uses a deck based on toys!”

“They’re no sillier than Pegasus’s dumb Toon Monsters!” protested Valon. “Dear God, I can’t believe I actually used his stupid cards…”

“Both your decks were stupid,” grumbled Raphael.

They stared at him.

“And I suppose you think you’re the world’s best duelist just because you beat the Pharaoh?” asked Alister. “Maybe you did the first time, but he kicked your Guardians good the second time.”

“People, let’s focus!” shouted Raphael.

He paused.

“When we were the Three Swordsmen of Dartz, I was designated as the leader… We may have left that title behind, but I’m still the best one to lead this group.”

“Lead us to what, oh great leader?” asked Valon. “We’re ghosts… We aren’t even very powerful ghosts like the ones in Poltergeist. We’re weak! If we were Duel Monsters, Joey’s Swordsman of Landstar would take us out.

“We can’t even duel anymore… We can’t pick up a Disk…”

“We know a few tricks…” said Raphael. “And we have to try with all our might to help anyone who these new users of the Orichalcos target.

“Consider this…

“Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos may well show their faces soon. Maybe if we aid the new Chosen Ones when they do, this curse will be lifted…

“…and then we’ll finally be able to rest…”

Alister looked at the action figure in his hand.

“So where do we start?” he asked.

Raphael turned towards NYC Duel Academy…

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

The next morning at the Ra dining hall, everyone was scrambling to get the blueberry pancakes before they were gone. Rosa tried to assure everyone that there was plenty.

As Jason, Trisha, and Russell took their trays to a table, Dr. Artemis’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

“Attention all students,” she said. “Everyone come to the main auditorium at nine AM for a mandatory assembly. I will explain why there.”

“What do you suppose she wants?” asked Trisha.

Jason grimaced. When Dr. Artemis called an assembly, it was rarely good news.

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

The auditorium was used for the same reason most auditoriums were used for – plays, concerts, speeches, and in this case, assemblies. The students weren’t looking forward to what Dr. Artemis was going to say, but when she told you to do something, you did it, no questions asked. Dr. Artemis was a person who deserved respect and got it from others willingly – she never had to run the school through intimidation (though she would if she had to).

The students started piling in, as she watched from the podium. The dorm supervisors took attendance.

“All right…” said Artemis. “Marcus?”

“All Slifer students present,” said one of the Slifer supervisors.

“Ben?” she asked.

“All Ra students present,” answered Old Ben.

“Dr. Franct?”

“All Obelisk students present,” answered the Obelisk supervisor.

“Very well,” said Artemis, speaking into a microphone. “Anyway, people, I’ll be brief. Something has come up that has required a change in the curfew rules until further notice…”

There was a dead silence.

“From now on,” she said, “no students are to be away from campus after nine PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and not after seven PM on other nights.”

Groans came from the crowd.

“I know you likely want an explanation,” she said. “But I can only say that I’m doing it for your own…”

“I dare you to tell them the whole reason!” shouted a voice.

Everyone gasped.

No one ever dared interrupt Dr. Artemis…

Then someone stood up in the aisle…

“No…” whispered Trisha.

Artemis’s eyes narrowed.

“Patrick…” she said. “I thought I told you that you weren’t welcome here anymore…”

The young man with a boyish face, the same hair color as Trisha, and dressed in a duster and jeans started to walk up to the stage.

“Yeah, but I got homesick,” he said. “Decided to pay a visit…”

“Patrick, please…” urged Trisha.

“Quiet, Trisha!” he snapped. “You told me that as far as you were concerned, I was dead, remember?”

“You want me to call security?” asked one of Artemis’s aides.

Artemis looked at the strange Duel Disk on Patrick’s left arm.

“No, I’d rather hear this…” she said.

Patrick walked up to her.

“So what do you want?” she asked.

“This…” said Patrick, taking off his leather glove.

And then the crowd gasped as he slapped her across the face with it!

“I believe that was the way a duel challenge was issued in medieval times…” he said.

Murmurs broke out among the crowd.

“Why on earth do you want to duel me?” asked Artemis.

“Why else?” asked Patrick. “To humiliate you! Just as I was humiliated when I was expelled.”

“Typical…” said Artemis. “When a student breaks the rules and is expelled, he blames the chancellor, he blames the teachers, he blames the other students, he blames everyone except the one person who’s truly at fault…

“…himself…”

“This is stupid,” said Jason. “Dr. Artemis has nothing to prove. She’ll never accept this…”

“You’re on!” said Artemis.

Everyone gasped.

“I’ll meet you at the Arena in one hour,” she continued. “Everyone who wants to watch is welcome.”

“Not gonna miss this,” said one student.

“For sure,” said another.

Oh, Patrick… thought Trisha. What are you planning?

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

Fortunado was sipping a Bloody Mary in his penthouse.

Suddenly, Cassius, Cleo, and Sebastian rushed in.

“Uh, sir?” said Cassius, nervously. “We got word from our spy… Patrick has just issued his challenge…”

“Oh? To who?” he asked.

“Uh… well… Dr. Artemis…” answered Cassius.

Fortunado spit out the mouthful he had just drank in shock.

“WHAT?” he shouted.

He closed his fist, and the glass shattered.

“Oh, that will require a Band-Aid…” he muttered.

As Cleo went to get the first aid kit, Fortunado slumped in his chair.

“Well,” he muttered. “This calls for a slight change in this scene’s script…

“Change the title from ‘Villain’s Fiery Quest For Vengeance’…

“…to ‘Downfall of a Fool’…”

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

The Arena started to fill up.

“Jason, have you ever seen Dr. Artemis duel?” asked Russell.

“No, never,” he answered. “I have no idea what her deck is like.”

“I might have an idea,” said Old Ben, who was sitting behind them.

“See, since she was a little girl, she’s been a practitioner of the Japanese art of Jujitsu. She’s a tenth degree black belt in it now. Jujitsu is a defensive martial art, where the fighter uses her opponent’s attacks against him. She told me that she built a Jujitsu Deck, to symbolize her talent.

“But what that means exactly, I have no idea…”

Trisha watched with a concerned look as Patrick walked onto the Arena. Artemis was waiting, wearing a Duel Bandoleer.

“Nice Disk,” said Patrick, sarcastically.

“If you had reached the top, you would have gotten one,” said Artemis. “But sadly, your dishonorable ways prevented it…”

Four security guards stepped up on the corners.

“They will make sure there is no cheating on your part,” she continued, “and if you think I’ll let you touch my deck, you are sadly mistaken.”

“Fine,” said Patrick. “Then let’s get on with it.”

He lifted his arm, and the sinister Duel Disk activated…

“No…” gasped Trisha. “Patrick, you didn’t…”

Artemis gestured, and five cards slipped out of the deck holder on her chest. She looked them over.

“Ladies first,” said Patrick, with a grin.

“Then it’s time to duel,” said Artemis.

[B](Artemis: 8,000) (Patrick: 8,000)

Artemis gestured again, and another card flew into her hand.

“Very well,” she said, placing a card on her Disk. “I’ll place a Monster in Defense, and one card facedown.”

A facedown Monster appeared, followed by a facedown card.

“And that will end my turn,” she said.

“And here I come!” said Patrick, drawing a card.

He threw a card on his Disk.

“I summon Mechanicalchaser in Attack Mode,” he exclaimed.

The spindly, spherical Machine appeared, raising its arms. (1,850/800)

“Attack!” he shouted.

Mechanicalchaser flew forward…

And a huge, blocky statue shaped like a face appeared. Mechanicalchaser slammed into it and fell back. (300/2,000)

“Your Machine ran smack into Stone Statue of the Aztecs,” said Artemis. “And due to its effect, you lose twice the usual Life Points you normally would have.”

[B](A: 8,000) (P: 7,700)

“All right, you win round one,” muttered Patrick. “I’ll place a card facedown, and that will end my turn.”

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

“I take it his deck is just like yours?” asked Russell.

“In a few ways,” said Trisha, sadly. “But he uses a few different strategies…”

Artemis drew another card.

“I play a Spell Card,” she said, “and you can tell it’s a Continuous one, because it has the word ‘Continuous’ in the name. It’s called Continuous Destruction Punch.”

She placed it in her Disk, and a card appeared, bearing the image of a boxer being knocked senseless by Des Kangaroo.

“And what does that do?” asked Patrick.

“Didn’t you ever study?” asked Artemis. “When this card is in effect, if you attack a Monster in Defense Mode whose Defense is too high, you won’t only lose Life Points, you’ll lose the Monster that attacks.

“My turn is over.”

“All right…” said Patrick, drawing a card. “I’m playing a Spell Card of my own. It’s called Reasoning.”

He played the card.

“That means…”

“I know how it works,” interrupted Artemis. “Who has the Doctorate in Dueling here? I have to state one number, and then you pick up cards until you reach a Monster. If it’s the star level of the number I named, you discard it. Otherwise, you Special Summon it.

“And the number I choose to state is four, seeing as the majority of Monsters in a deck are of that star level.”

“Well, let’s see,” said Patrick, going to his deck.

He took the cards.

“Spell Card, Trap Card, Spell Card…”

He laughed!

“Joke’s on you! I just drew a seven-star Monster!”

He threw it on his Disk.



Continued…

[Dark Sage]

Continued from last post:



“So meet the Land Ironclad TM-1… Launcher Spider!”

With a burst of flame, a mechanical spider with rocket launchers on its back appeared! (2,200/2,500)

“That has to be the most pathetic seven-star I’ve ever seen,” said Artemis. “Don’t forget, you now have to discard those three other cards…”

“Oh, really?” said Patrick, discarding them. “True, but I was prepared…”

His facedown card lifted.

“I activate Disgraceful Charity.”

A winged form flew out of the card…

“That’s Marie the Fallen One!” exclaimed Nadia.

Marie shot a bolt of energy at Patrick’s Disk, and the three cards fell back out.

“When this Trap is activated, both players get back all the cards they discarded during the round from card effects,” said Patrick, adding them to his hand.

“And now, just as soon as my Spider takes care of your Statue,” he said, “Mechanicalchaser is going to take care of you! Launcher Spider, attack Stone Statue of the Aztecs with shock rocket attack!”

The Machine’s missile launcher opened, and a barrage of missiles blasted forward…

“I activate Castle Walls!” shouted Artemis, as her Trap Card lifted. “This increases the Defense of my Monster by 500.”

“Ulp…” muttered Patrick.

The missiles fell back on themselves…

“And thanks to my Continuous Destruction Punch…” she continued.

Launcher Spider exploded!

[B](A: 8,000) (P: 7,100)

“This is fun!” laughed Artemis. “I should really get out of that stuffy office more!”

“I’ll place a card facedown, and end my turn,” said Patrick, setting a card.

A facedown card appeared.

“Artemis is dancing circles around him, and she hasn’t even declared an attack yet!” exclaimed Ansel.

“She’s just getting started,” said Sersei. “I’ve heard she has an incredibly rare card… One of those Special Summon-only Monsters.”

Artemis drew a card.

“I activate Dust Tornado!” shouted Patrick. “And I’ll take out your Continuous Destruction Punch!”

His Trap Card lifted, and the tornado blew across the field, shattering the Spell Card.

Artemis didn’t seem to care.

“I sacrifice my Stone Statue to summon the mighty Hieracosphinx in Attack Mode,” she said, switching cards.

The Stone Statue vanished, and a larger statue appeared. It had the body of a lion with wings, and the head of a hawk. (2,400/1,200)

“Hieracosphinx, crush Mechanicalchaser,” she ordered. “Pummeling pounce.”

Hieracosphinx leapt up, and crushed the Machine.

[B](A: 8,000) (P: 6,550)

“And my turn is hardly over,” she said, taking a card from her hand. “I now summon a creature so powerful, that the only way to summon it is to sacrifice a sphinx Monster. So I sacrifice Hieracosphinx…”

Hieracosphinx vanished.

“And I summon Exxod, Master of the Guard, in Defense Mode.”

An enormous creature arose in front of Artemis. It was a huge golden statue, with a face resembling a tutan mask, and a radiant disk on its back. It shielded itself in Defense Mode. (0/4,000)

“Four-thousand Defense Points?” gasped James.

“It looks like… Exodia!” gasped Malvolio.

“True,” said Artemis. “This statue was indeed modeled after the great bound deity Exodia the Forbidden One. But there is a big difference… Exodia is unstoppable… Exxod, on the other hand, prides himself on being immovable. The perfect guardian.

“It’s… your move…”

Patrick drew a card.

“Perfect…” he snickered. “With this little card, you won’t only lose the duel…”

His Field Slot opened.

“…you’ll lose your very soul! I play the Seal of Orichalcos!”

He played the card, and the lights dimmed. The cursed Seal surrounded them, and the four security guards screamed as they were thrown backwards!

Patrick cackled as the Seal appeared on his forehead.

“What’s happening?” shouted Old Ben.

“It’s nothing to be concerned about, people!” said Artemis. “He’s playing an illegal card, but I’ll finish the duel nonetheless…”

“Why don’t you just tell them, doctor?” laughed Patrick. “You don’t have a choice!”

“Seal or no Seal, I’ll still defeat you,” said Artemis. “Have you forgotten that even with that card, Exxod has a Defense more powerful than the Attack of anything you likely have in your deck?”

“If it’s an illegal card,” asked Nadia, “why did his Disk even register it?”

Patrick placed a card on his Disk.

“I’ll defend myself with Battle Footballer,” he said.

The android football player appeared, and the Seal appeared in its forehead. (1,000/2,100) –> (1,500/2,100)

“Next, I’ll place a card facedown and end my turn…” he said.

He played a card, and a facedown card appeared.

Just try to attack, he thought. My Widespread Ruin will make you sorry…

“The Seal doesn’t make you a better duelist, Patrick,” said Artemis, drawing a card. “It makes you even more pathetic… Relying on broken cards in a vain attempt to bully others… You’ll only be more of a loser.”

“We’ll see who the loser is…” he warned.

“I place one card facedown,” she said, “and I summon Grave Ohja in Defense Mode.”

First, a facedown card appeared. Then a statue made of onyx with thick limbs, claws, and a head resembling a tutan mask appeared, and knelt in Defense Mode. (1,600/1,500)

What’s she doing? thought Patrick. Nothing but defending?

He drew a card.

“I summon Acrobat Monkey in Defense Mode,” he stated.

He placed a card on his Disk, and a robotic monkey made of shiny metal appeared. (1,000/1,800) –> (1,500/1,800)

“Very well,” said Artemis, drawing a card.

“I place a Monster facedown in Defense Mode,” she stated.

A facedown Monster appeared.

“Now allow me to explain this setup,” she said. “The facedown Monster I just set is one that I can return to facedown Defense Mode after flipping it face up. Also, Grave Ohja cannot be attacked so long as I have a facedown Monster on the field. Also, whenever I flip it face-up, Grave Ohja will drain you of 300 Life Points.

“And to make sure you don’t destroy my facedown Monster, I play Messenger of Peace.”

She played a Spell Card, and a pious holy man appeared.

“For the low price of only 100 Life Points per round, no Monsters with 1,500 Attack Points or more are allowed to attack. So the powerful asset you thought you had with the Seal of Orichalcos is now a liability.

“I end my turn.”

Patrick drew a card.

“I sacrifice Acrobat Monkey to summon Machine King!” he shouted.

Acrobat Monkey shattered, and the huge robot appeared. Its eyes glowed with evil light as the Seal branded on its forehead. (2,200/2,000) –> (2,900/2,000)

“I’ll find a way to break up your combo soon!” he threatened. “And due to your own Messenger of Peace, you can’t destroy him either!”

“Can I?” said Artemis, drawing a card. “I draw. And I pay 100 Life Points to keep Messenger of Peace…

“And I flip my facedown Monster into Attack Mode. Reveal… Medusa Worm.”

The card flipped up, and an ugly, serpentine worm made of rock appeared. (500/600)

“Now I can destroy one of your Monsters,” she continued.

Medusa Worm shot a ray of energy at Machine King. It turned to stone and shattered.

“And now, Grave Ohja’s effect…”

Grave Ohja’s eyes glowed, and he blasted a ray of energy at Patrick. He cringed.

“And I forgot to mention,” she said. “Every time I Flip-Summon an Earth Attribute Monster, Exxod will blast away 1,000 more of your Life Points.”

Exxod’s eyes glowed…

Then it blasted a ray of burning energy at Patrick, and he screamed!

[B](A: 7,900) (P: 5,250)

“Now I’ll activate Medusa Worm’s other effect, flipping it back into facedown Defense Mode.”

Medusa Worm was replaced by a facedown card.

“And I’ll place another Monster in Defense Mode, ending my turn.”

Another facedown Monster appeared.

“My brother’s an idiot,” said Trisha, shaking his head. “Well, good riddance Patrick. I never liked you much anyway…”

Patrick drew a card.

“I play Graceful Charity,” he stated.

He played the card, and the beautiful angel appeared in front of him. He drew three cards.

He looked them over and discarded two.

“Now, I play Heavy Storm!” he shouted, playing the card.

A storm whipped over the field. His Widespread Ruin and her Messenger of Peace shattered.

“Why didn’t that card destroy his Seal card?” asked Malvolio.

“It isn’t that simple…” muttered Russell.

“Now I play Brain Control,” he said, playing the card. “Since I don’t even know if that will work on your Guard, I’ll pay 800 Life Points to use it on Grave Ohja.”

The fiendish brain appeared, and its two ghostly hands grabbed Grave Ohja.

“And now I’ll sacrifice it and Battle Footballer to summon Perfect Machine King!”

The two Monsters vanished, and the evolved form of Machine King appeared, glowing with evil light as the Seal branded to it. (2,700/1,700) –> (3,200/1,700)

“Perfect Machine King, take out her Medusa Worm!” he ordered. “Mega missile assault!”

Perfect Machine King blasted a barrage of missiles, and Medusa Worm was blown to pebbles!

[B](A: 7,900) (P: 4,450)

“What do you say to that?” he asked.

“I say you’re an idiot,” said Artemis, drawing a card. “Brain Control would have affected Exxod just fine.

“I play Pot of Greed, which, as I’m sure even you know, allows me to draw twice.”

She played the card, and then gestured over her vest. Two cards slipped out of her deck.

She looked over them.

“Next I’ll move Exxod into Attack Mode…”

Exxod, Master of the Guard rose up.

“But it has zero Attack Points!” shouted Patrick.

“Not for long,” said Artemis. “I play one of Joey Wheeler’s favorite Spell Cards. The reverse polarity power of Shield and Sword.”

She played the card.

“Now, the Attack and Defense of all Monsters on the field… switch…”

Exxod’s stats became (4,000/0), while Perfect Machine King’s became (1,700/3,200)

“Exxod, destroy Perfect Machine King!” she shouted. “Monolith blast!”

Exxod’s eyes glowed, and it shot a burning beam of energy, vaporizing the Machine!

“I’ll end by placing one card facedown,” she said.

A facedown card appeared. Exxod’s stats returned to normal.

[B](A: 7,900) (P: 2,150)

“Wow, Dr. Artemis can sure duel!” exclaimed Trisha.

“Yes, but that facedown card had better be something good,” said Jason. “Exxod is now in Attack Mode, and its Attack is zero.”

Patrick growled as he drew a card.

“I play Card of Sanctity,” he said, playing a card.

“Fine,” answered Artemis. “I get more cards too.”

They each drew until they held six cards.

“Perfect!” stated Patrick. “First I’ll place two cards facedown…”

He threw two cards into slots.

“Then I’ll use… Emergency Provisions to send them to the Graveyard and gain 2,000 Life Points.”

He played the card, and a huge mouth appeared and sucked in the cards.

“Next, I’ll play Monster Reborn, to bring back Perfect Machine King.”

He played the card, and the mighty Machine appeared on the ankh. (2,700/1,700) –> (3,200/1,700)

“And now…” he said, “well, it may be a little early for Christmas, but I’m going to play one of my favorite Spell Cards… Nutcracker Suite.”

“Nutcracker Suite?” said Russell. “What does that do?”

“I’ve seen him play it,” said Trisha. “He gets to pay Life Points, and for every 200 he pays, he gets to summon a Nutcracker Token in Defense Mode.”

“And I’ll spend 1,800 Life Points!” he laughed, playing the card.

First, two wooden soldiers with huge jaws, armed with wooden swords appeared to either side of Perfect Machine King. Then five more appeared behind them! They were every color of the rainbow, and they knelt on one knee. All nine of them were branded with the Seal! (0/0 x9) –> (500/0 x9)

[B](A: 7,900) (P: 2,350)

“Ten Monsters?” gasped Ansel. “This is the most broken Field Card I have ever seen!”

“And now that I have nine other Machines on the field,” laughed Patrick, “primitive Machines, but Machines nonetheless, well, just look at my King…”

Perfect Machine King’s Attack Score grew to 7,700!

“Go! Attack Exxod, Master of the Guard!”

Perfect Machine King’s missile hatches opened…

“I activate my Trap Card!” shouted Artemis.

Her Trap lifted.

“It’s called Shift,” she stated. “Now I can reroute your attack towards my facedown Monster.”

The missiles blasted forward, and Magician of Faith appeared on the card. She screamed and was incinerated.

“Now I can recover a Spell Card from my Graveyard,” she continued.

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

“Fine, it’s your move…” said Patrick.

Artemis drew a card.

“I’ll place one card facedown, and move Exxod back into Defense Mode,” she said.

Exxod crouched in Defense, and a facedown card appeared.

“Your move…”

“Strange…” muttered Jason. “Wasn’t that card she got back from Magician of Faith her Shield and Sword? She could have destroyed Perfect Machine King and reduced him to 50 Life Points if it was.”

“I guess it wasn’t…” said Russell.

Patrick drew.

“Well, I can still break your statue and do you some serious damage,” he said. “I move all my Nutcrackers to Attack Mode…”

The Nutcrackers stood up and raised their swords.

“Perfect Machine King, attack!”

The Machine blasted its missiles again…

“You’re a fool…” said Artemis.

Her facedown card lifted.

Mirror Force appeared, and all ten of the Machines were blown to pieces!

Patrick shuddered.

“You won’t get a free shot at me!” he shouted, playing a Spell Card. “Nightmare’s Steelcage!”

In an eruption of fire, an iron cage formed around Artemis and Exxod.

“I’ll end my turn there…”

Artemis paused.

“I draw one card…” she muttered.

She looked at the card.

There, the card I need to end this… she thought. But I can’t use it just yet…

She added it to her hand.

“I pass for this turn…”

Patrick drew.

“I play my Pot of Greed,” he said.

He played the card, and drew two cards, bringing his hand size up to three.

I have the cards I need to bring out my ultimate weapon, he thought. Now all I need is a good Monster…



Continued…