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Shadowchasers: Muru

Round 02: Ancient Rules

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Reptiles are a diverse group of species that can be found almost anywhere on the planet (sans the Arctic and Antarctic). And Australia is home to the largest number of reptile species in the world, with well over eight-hundred separate species across the continent (for comparison, North America has approximately two-hundred sixty species). Goannas, lizards, skinks, snakes, tortoises, crocodiles and more...

And by some sick joke, there's an abundance of reptilian Shadowkind in Australia; lizardfolk, kobolds, ophidia, kamodeans, saurial... There's even rumoured to be few dragons hiding in the outback. Just think of how the heterophobes would react if they ever became aware... A lizard the size of a man (or even larger), snake people known for eating humans... It's like a nightmare come true...

Oh, and then there's this guy… Though I'm not sure if he truly counts as a reptile… at least not all of the time.

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As Rowan's duel with Tiddalik and Gulaangga drew to a close. The blonde woman continued to shadow the bald businessman through the streets of Sydney.

"Where the hell is this guy going?" the woman complained in her mind. "I've been following him for nearly a half hour now, what on earth is this guy up to?"

The woman was then distracted by her phone ringing, she quickly delved into he handbag and pulled out the device, answering it.

"Hello," she flatly greeted.

"Uhh…" replied a nervous male voice, "Hello Stephanie how are things going?"

"I'm busy Arthur," the blonde woman, Stephanie, replied.

"O… Okay," the male voice, Arthur, stammered, "I won't be long… I just… need some help tonight."

"Can't you get someone else to?" Stephanie asked, rather annoyed at the request.

"T… They… they won't," Arthur answered, "I already asked."

Stephanie sighed, she knew that Arthur wasn't very popular with their co-workers but was still a vital part of their organisation. "I'm busy right now," she said, "text me the info and I'll get there when I can."

"T… th…" Arthur stammered, only to be cut off by Stephanie hanging up on him, before dropping the phone back in her handbag.

Stephanie refocused on her target, having kept an eye on him during the phone call, and noticed that he'd stopped at outside a café and was no sitting at a table reading through a menu.

"Perfect," she smirked and began searching through her handbag.

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In the suburbs of Northern Sydney, a youth rolled over his bed, he let out a tired groan as his bright blue eyes flicked open and spied the alarm clock.

His eyes flicked fully open as he quickly sat up in shock. "It's ten-thirty already!"

He jumped out of bed, and scrambled to his mirror on his dresser. It had been a rough night's sleep in the Summer heat, which had obviously caused him to sleep in this morning.

His name was Ezekiel though he preferred Zeke (yet nobody referred to him by that name, ever), he was seventeen years old and waiting for the school year to begin next month. But this morning, something else was on his mind.

Ezekiel looked in the mirror, his short blonde hair was rather greasy and knotted and his youthful face was drenched in sweat. He was slightly below average height for someone his age, which was seventeen, for the record.

"Good thing I got everything prepared last night," said Ezekiel, as he grabbed a hair brush off his desk and began brushing his hair, flinching every time the he pulled a knot.

"Gotta hurry," he muttered, putting down the hairbrush and picking up a moist cloth "don't want to miss out on today."

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Stephanie approached her target, who was now sipping on a hot cup of coffee while a toasted ham and cheese sandwich sat on a plate in front of him.

She pulled a false smile as she approached the table, all while fumbling a small red capsule between her fingers.

"Hello," she greeted, placing her hand on the table.

"Whatever you're selling," the man replied, holding up his hand, "I'm not interested."

Stephanie gave a fake laugh. "Sorry," she falsely apologised, "but you look like you know your way around. I was just going to ask for directions."

"Alright," said the man. "Where do you need to go?"

"I'm looking for the Sydney Opera House," Stephanie asked, "do you know where it is."

The man stared blankly at the woman for a moment, then turned around and pointed down the street. "If you go to the end of this street, then turn right you'll see the Opera House. Then you can follow the shoreline until you get there," he explained, "you got that?"

But while the man's back was turned, Stephanie glanced around, then dumped the capsule in the man's coffee

Stephanie nodded, "Thankyou…" she smiled, looking for a name.

"Waylon," the man replied, "and don't mention it. It's easy to get lost in a big city like this."

Stephanie gave Waylon a small wave and headed on her way, with a sly smirk on her face as soon as she was sure Waylon would not see it.

Waylon watched as the woman disappeared into the crowd, he felt it was odd how the woman couldn't find something that practically every other sign in the area pointed to but quickly shrugged and blew it off.

He lifted the mug to his lips, closing his eyes as he took a sip from his coffee. He then paused, then guzzled the rest of the drink in a single gulp.

His eyes flicked back open, but they had lost their human look, they now had green sclera with the pupils being narrow slits.

He threw the mug to the ground letting it smash. His face grew wild and animalistic, his nose and jaws slowly extended into a toothy snout, and his skin began to darken, with small patches of scales erupting over his skin. His fingers slowly sharpened themselves into claws, a tail sprouted from his hindquarters.

Waylon violently leapt up, knocking over both the table and chair, gaining the attention of café customers and staff.

"Sir! Sir!" called a male employee as he approached Waylon, "please, calm down."

But Waylon wouldn't have any of that; with a single push he shoved the employee back, sending him toppling over another table.

"Get out of my way human," Waylon spat, his voice sounding feral and inhuman.

He sniffed the air, then gave a glance toward the café, he marched toward the front door, snarling at the people cowering around him.

Down the street, at a safe distance from the ensuing carnage, the blonde woman watched as Waylon forced his way into the café, by effortlessly smashing his way through the grandiose glass doors.

She could help but grin evilly as she took a old mobile phone from her pocket n d began dialling on it…

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Back at the base, Wendy had finished cleaning her saddle - which was sitting on the table. The saddle owner was now standing over a large freezer in the kitchen area, with a large butcher's knife in her hand.

She checked the clock on the wall, it was almost eleven o'clock. "Better start preparing Zephyr's lunch a bit early," she said to herself, "you never know when the peace and quiet will end."

Then, as if irony was in the room sniggering, the phone on top of the kitchen began to ring.

Wendy's eye twitched as she set the knife down on top of the freezer and reached for the phone. "Hello, Sydney Shadowchasers. How may we help you?" she asked, sounding as if she had rehearsed the line many times.

"H… H… Hello," a voice answered in a low whisper, "you've got to help. At the Café on Sydney Cove."

"Yes," Wendy nodded.

"There's a… a… were… were…" the voice choked.

"A were-wolf?" Wendy answered, "we'll send someone right away."

There was a pause, almost as if the caller was savouring the moment. "Thank you," she eventually replied, then hung up.

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Matari continued with his patrol, now riding southbound on the Cahill Expressway, having just crossed the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

A noise beeped from the D-Wheel's console, informing him that he had an incoming call.

He hit a button on his console, turning on his helmet's built in radio.

"Hello," he said.

"Matari?" Wendy asked with a hint of urgency in her voice, "how close are you to Sydney Cove."

"If I turn off the highway now," Matari replied, "about a minute or two. Why?"

"There's a werewolf on the prowl that was last sighted attacking in a café nearby," Wendy replied. "Get there as fast as you can."

"Finally," Matari chuckled, accelerating his D-Wheel, "something we agree on."

"Just be careful, okay? Funerals are expensive these days."

"Wendy," Matari boasted, "it's a werewolf, I can beat one of those any day of the week and last time I checked, it was a day of the week."

"Just don't come back here smelling like wet dog," Wendy flatly replied, "or your sleeping out in Zephyr's shed."

"Hey!" Matari shouted, "I don't smell half as bad as the smelly…" he stopped, realising that Wendy had hung up on him mid-sentence.

He shrugged and grinned, at least something interesting was happening today, that he could be sure of.

The Shadowchaser pulled off the highway and sped toward the city centre…

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A minute later, Matari pulled his D-Wheel to a stop at the end of a line of traffic. He looked ahead of the line, flashing lights bright yellow police tape immediately caught his eye.

"Damn it," he muttered, pulling his D-Wheel to the side of the road, hopped off and grabbed his sword and duelling equipment, strapping the former to his back and the latter to his belt. He dashed toward the police blockade ahead of him.

He reached the blockade and ducked under the police, only to be almost immediately confronted by one of the several officers at the scene.

"Hold it sir," he said, "this is a dangerous situation. You cannot cross this line."

"It's okay," Matari replied, taking a badge out of his pocket. "I work for the special forces, I handle cases like this all the time."

The officer inspected the badge. "Funny," he said, "Amelia never said anything about the special forces."

The officer then noticed the sword strapped to Matari's back. "Sir," he ordered, reaching for his pistol, "you are aware that the weapon you're carrying is…"

"Alright constable Johnson," ordered a cold, demanding voice, "I'll take this from here."

Matari and the officer looked at the source of the voice. A stone-faced woman who looked to be in her late thirties. She was wearing a blue uniform, with a black and white cap.

The officer wasn't phased by his superior's cold tone, keeping. "You see this guy's sword don't you?" he asked.

"I said I'll take this from here, Johnson," the woman repeated in the same cold, demanding tone. "You can handle things on the north side."

The male officer nodded, and slowly stepped away from Matari, but not taking his eyes off the armed Shadowchaser for a second.

"Hello, Amelia," greeted Matari, offering a friendly handshake.

The female officer in front of Matari was officer Amelia. She was the officer in charge of police operations in the Central Business District area of Sydney.

"You're here," scowled Amelia, rejecting the handshake and instead giving Matari a cold glare, "I thought this guy looked strange."

Amelia was a Sensitive. The kind of human who knew about Shadowkind, and got an odd feeling whenever a Shadow was nearby. And occasionally, out of the corner of her eye, she'd see the true face of a Shadow.

"So," Amelia begrudging asked, "what do I need to do?

"Right," Matari whispered to the officer, "this is a were-wolf, I might need some space, just in case. The last thing you need is more hair above your lip."

Amelia rolled her eyes ignoring Matari's childish insult, she knew what to do, but she as sure as hell didn't like it.

"Alright everybody!" she called, quickly gaining the attention of the entire squad, "I want this area secured, nobody so much as looks in that building, you here me?"

The officers around all coldly glared at Amelia, silently questioning her orders, but eventually complied and began ordering the crowd move back.

"You bastards are going to cost me my job one day," Amelia bitterly muttered.

"What was that?" Matari asked.

Without a word, Amelia flicked her wrist and turned her back to Matari, coldly signalling him that he could move on.

Matari shrugged and quickly jogged toward the café.

Once there, he walked through the mass of broken chairs and tables lying around the café entrance. He glanced down at a black bowler hat and the shreds of clothes lying around it as he passed by. "Definitely a were-wolf," he said.

Matari slipped in the shattered glass doors of café, a confident grin on his face.

The café was brightly lit, with large windows facing the bay; finely decorated white and gold walls as well as a very high ceiling that gave the café a welcoming feeling.

The first thing that Matari noticed that usual welcoming feeling had fled with the employees and customers. His eyes followed the trail of destruction of broken furniture and cracked floor tiles that led over across the room and over the front counter…

"Oh shit…" Matari hissed through his teeth, no louder than a whisper, as he laid his eyes on the lycanthrope. His aura of confidence shattered like glass. It was no were-wolf he was facing…

The lycanthrope snapped its head around, his cold reptilian eyes fixating on Matari in an unsettling glare. His maw opened, revealing plenty of sharp teeth.

The were-crocodile stood up tall, a full two and a half metres, the upper half of his scaly, muscular body on full display. His claws scratched at the counter, leaving visible marks, while his tail eagerly flicked behind him.

Matari flinched and gritted and his teeth, but stood his ground. "This is going to hurt," he muttered.

"What do you want human?" the lycanthrope scowled.

Matari gulped. "I'll be the one to ask questions here," he said with false confidence, "firstly, what do you think you're doing?"

The were-crocodile chuckled. "Eating," he arrogantly replied, "what else?"

"You got a name?" asked Matari, pointing his sword at the lycanthrope.

"Waylon, " the lycanthrope replied, "and you better remember it."

"Oh I'll remember it," Matari replied, "by the way, my name's Matari. You'll probably want to swear revenge on me or something like that after I arrest you."

"Bring it on!" Waylon snarled, clumsily hopping over the counter, he clearly lacked the speed and agility of were-wolves, but he looked as if he possessed strength that more than made up for that.

"Geez," said Matari, looking at Waylon's bottom half - a pair of tattered, stretched black trousers and a single torn sock that survived the transformation, "you have a strange fashion sense, don't you?"

"You sound like a girl," Waylon growled, "pray you don't hit like one."

"You'd be surprised how hard some girls hit buddy," Matari replied, "and your gonna be very surprised how hard I can hit you."

Waylon said nothing, instead making a low growl, urging Matari to attack.

The Shadowchaser shrugged and gripped his sword, then dashed at the lycanthrope. As he closed in, Waylon swiped at him with his claws. Matari quickly ducked under the swipe and clocked Waylon on the underside of his snout with his free hand, sending him reeling backward.

Matari shook his hand in pain. "Not gonna do that again," he muttered.

Waylon recovered from the blow, and snarled at Matari. "That hurt!" he growled, his voice filled with feral rage.

"Told you," Matari replied, still shaking his fist in pain.

Matari gripped his sword dashed at the lycanthrope one more time, swinging his sword in an arc front of him.

But Waylon quickly jumped back from the slash, but did so clumsily, tripping over his tail and falling to his behind.

Matari took the opportunity to make another attack, swinging his sword at the beast again.

But Waylon raised his arm, and caught the sword in his claws, stopping the swing in its tracks. Blood trickled from his wounded claw, his thick scales preventing any major injuries.

"Damn it," Matari swore as he tore his sword from Waylon's grip, then made another attack aimed at Waylon's side.

But the lycanthrope threw himself away from the attack, landing enough distance away to get to his feet before Matari could continue with a follow up swing.

Matari gritted his teeth and made another swing at the lycanthrope, however, mid swing he was then thrown to the ground by a sudden jerk, landing on his back.

He looked up as Waylon loomed above him rolled out of the way as the lycanthrope attempted to kick him, then leapt to his feet and pointed his sword at Waylon… Only to realise that half of it was missing.

Waylon grinned, showing the other half of the sword sticking out of his mouth, he then spat it out.

Matari's heart sank as half of his blade fell to the floor, bouncing off the linoleum. The sword was forged by dwarves that were allied to the Shadowchasers, and was of much finer quality than the average sword - but was still no match for the sheer amount of force exerted by a crocodile snapping its jaws.

"You're next," snarled Waylon.

Matari gulped, if his opponent could do that to a finely crafted sword, the thought of what would happen if any part of him was caught be those jaws made him shudder.

The were-crocodile took a step forward, but suddenly stopped. He began breathing deeply as his wild eyes stared into mid air.

Matari gritted his teeth and held his broken sword in front of him. "This is gonna get rough."

Waylon snapped out of his momentary trance. "Fine," he snapped, seemingly at himself, "well do it his way." The were-crocodile then stood up straight and produced a D-Gazer and duel disk, "Fair fight clause," he muttered bitterly.

Matari smiled. "I see you've come to your senses," he said, taking out his own D-Gazer and duel disk.

But behind his smile was a mass of confusion, why had his opponent tried to invoke the fair fight clause after he had attacked? Normally in cases like this, Matari would refuse to accept and duel and continue the fight, but normally he'd be winning the fight at that point.

Which opened up another question, Waylon clearly had an advantage in the fight. Why would he give it up?

"You gonna sit there and contemplate life human?" growled Waylon, fixing his duel disk to his arm (which barely fit). "Or are you going to duel?"

"I'll duel," Matari answered, dropping his broken sword and taking out his own duel disk and D-Gazer, both of which had a fiery red theme to them.

The Shadowchaser then pulled his deck from the box on his belt, he fanned the cards out in front of him, taking out a dozen or so white bordered cards and placing the rest in the deck slot.

"I'm ready now," said Matari.

"So am I," Waylon chuckled, "on second thought, I might enjoy this after all!"

Matari put his Synchro Monsters away and looked up at the lycanthrope, who was now squeezing his D-Gazer over his head.

"But something still doesn't make much sense," Matari mumbled, placing his deck in his duel disk. "There's gotta be something more to this."

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Elsewhere, the kobold mother and daughter had stopped for and break in Tumbalong Park, and where now sitting on a bench, sipping on a coffee and hot chocolate respectively.

One of the most well known facts about reptiles, it would probably be that they were cold-blooded. However, this title was rather misleading, leading many to believe that reptilian blood was actually cold.

In actual fact, the term referred to the fact that reptiles lacked an internal way to control their body temperatures, requiring external sources of heat (such as basking in sunlight) to regulate their body temperature. And in cold enough conditions, most reptiles would become sluggish and tired, leaving them vulnerable to predators.

And speaking of predators…

The two kenku, were watching the pair from a distance. They had both discarded their robes for a more causal and less conspicuous appearance - light shirts and shorts. Which meant they had to discard most of their weapons (which were hidden inside said robes) a fact that neither seemed to happy about.

Without the robes obscuring their bodies, the differences between the two bird-men were as clear as day.

The first kenku's feathers were completely black, along with the talons he had for arms and legs, his large beak and his beady eyes. His name was Kimba, and he was fumbling through a deck of Duel Monster cards, notably, almost every Monster in the deck was a Normal Monster - and the same type as well.

The other had a much more interesting pattern, the feathers down his chest, stomach and legs were a creamy white, while the feathers on his back were various shades of brown with a few specks of blue in-between. His beak was long and narrow, and his beady eyes were a dark brown. This bird-man's name was Derrilin, and he was reading a rather scrappy newspaper (one that he'd salvaged from a rubbish bin), or rather pretending to read, as every minute or so he looked up and scanned the area.

Both kenku looked to be pretty young, about twenty years of age.

"Is it the right time yet?" asked Kimba, still fidgeting through his cards.

Derrilin looked up over the newspaper, "wait a minute, there's still a few more people around."

"Oh screw them," squawked Kimba, "their all humans. Humans are useless, no claws, fangs, instincts, magic, nothing! And their dependent on their parents for a quarter of their lifespans - and sometimes even beyond that!"

"I'm still pretty concerned about that Shadowchaser we saw earlier," Derrilin replied, "they're certainly not useless, Strombringer wouldn't have it."

"Oh please," snapped Kimba, "Those morons couldn't catch a cold in Tasmania."

"Don't underestimate estimate our enemies, that's when they catch you by surprise."

"Whatever," Kimba shrugged, putting away his deck. "You remember the plan?"

"Of course," Derrlin replied, "do you?"

"Yes… Of course I know," said Kimba, with a bit of hesitation. "But just run through it again to make sure we're on the same page."

Derrilin rolled his beady eyes. "You go and steal every piece of jewellery on that overgrown lizard, all the while I go get us a means of escape. Then we meet the boss outside the city limit and high-tail to a safe place."

"I knew that," spat Kimba, "just make sure you don't screw anything up.

Derrilin rolled his eyes again, his partner in crime really wasn't half a smart as he thought he was. "Just remember to grab everything precious, "some of her jewellery is probably fake, whether she knows it or not."

The black-feathered kenku nodded, and the two parted ways. He then looked at the reptilian mother and daughter a his beak opening into a sly smirk.

"Oh, I'll grab everything precious alright…"

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"Duel!" both Matari and Waylon yelled, as the augmented reality field expanded around them. (Matari:8000/Waylon:8000)

"I'll make the first move," said Matari, as the two duellists drew fives cards. The Shadowchaser looked over the five cards in his hand: Descending Lost Star, Jurrac Velo, Jurrac Protops, Super Ancient Dinobeast and Jurrac Gallim. "Not the best hand," he muttered, taking one of the five cards and playing it.

An aura of flames erupted in front of Matari and a dinosaur leaped out. It was clearly based of velociraptor, though like many portrayals of the species, it was much larger than a real velociraptor (which were just over half a metre in height) and lacked feathers. Velo hissed and snapped its jaws at Waylon. (1700/1000)

"I like this guy," Waylon laughed, flashing his own set of jaws.

"I thought you might like Jurrac Velo," Matari replied, grabbing the trap card in his hand, "and to keep you two company I'll set this card face down."

A reversed card flashed into existence behind Velo.

"And that's all."

"My move!" Waylon announced, violently yanking the top card from his deck. The reptilian lycanthrope looked through the cards in his hand, then took two of them. "I set one Monster and one card face down and end my turn," he grumbled.

The two cards appeared on the field, one behind the other.

"Is that all?" Matari asked, "usually strategies used by lycanthropes are as subtle as New Year's Eve celebrations."

"Shut up and take your turn," scowled Waylon.

"Fine, I will," said Matari, making a draw.

"Hmm," the Shadowchaser thought, "summon Protops and attack, or tribute Velo for Dinobeast. Better think about this, I don't want to be this guy's lunch…" He then looked at his opponent's set Monster.

"I summon Jurrac Protops!"

In another burst of fire, another dinosaur appeared. The creature was based on a protoceratops, with a curved beak-like mouth and a large frill around its neck. Just like Velo, Protops had been scaled up to appear more threatening, as protoceratops were about the same height as velociraptors - just over half a metre. (1700/1200)

"A herbivore," Waylon snorted in disgust, "eat some meat you wuss!"

Protops growled.

"Leave Protops alone," Matari shouted, pointing at Waylon's set Monster, "I'll have you know he gains an extra hundred attack for every Monster you control. And with one Monster, that's a whole hundred extra attack!"

Protops roared and gained a small fiery aura. (ATK:1700-1800)

"It's still a stupid herbivore," scoffed Waylon, "just with a hundred more attack points."

"Well let's see what you think of him in a minute," said Matari, "but in the meanwhile Velo will attack your face down Monster."

Velo roared and charged Waylon's set Monster, ramming it with a powerful headbutt. The Monster, a bear with blue fur, was flung backward by the attack, shattering moments later. (1400/1000)

"That was my Mother Grizzly," said Waylon, "and when it's destroyed in battle I can take a Water Monster with less than fifteen hundred attack from my deck and Special Summon it in attack position!"

A second copy of Mother Grizzly appeared in front of Waylon.

"Alright Protops," said Matari, "you're up. Show this guy what a herbivore can do!"

Protops snorted and stamped its feet. It then charged at the opposing bear, knocking it high into the air where it shattered into pieces.

"Still not very impressive," growled Waylon, as shards of Mother Grizzly rained down on him. (WLP:8000-7600)

"I use that Mother Grizzly's effect to summon Double Shark."

A pool of water formed on Waylon's field, and a pair of glowing, red eyes peered from it. Matari and his two dinosaurs jumped back in fright as a large blue shark leapt from the pool and onto the field. (1200/1600)

"I can't believe I was scared of a Monster with only that much attack," said Matari. "It's not that much of a threat to Velo or Protops anyway. I end my turn."

"My move, human," snorted Waylon, yanking another card from his deck, "I summon Unshaven Angler.

In a flash of light, another Monster appeared. A fish with sickly green scales, a distorted mouth filled to the brim with sharp, misshaped teeth. (1500/1600)

Protops roared again, its fiery aura becoming more intense. (ATK:1800-1900)

"Ugh, that thing is ugly," commented Matari. He then looked at the two Fish types, "Two level fours," he thought, "an Xyz user…"

"I activate the Spell Card Aqua Jet, giving my Double Shark a thousand extra attack points, permanently!"

A set of orange jets appeared around Double Shark, fixing themselves under the Shark's fins. (ATK:1200-2200)

"Uh-oh," gapsed Matari.

"Attack!"

Double Shark rushed forward and sank its teeth into Protops' neck. The dinosaur cried in pain and shattered.

Matari grimaced as pieces of what was Protops rained down on him. (MLP:8000-7700)

"Hehe," Waylon chuckled, "do you wanna know how Double Shark got its name?"

"How?"

"It can make a second attack during each Battle Phase! Go, Feeding Frenzy!"

Double Shark flipped over, revealing a second set of glowing eyes on its underside. It then turned toward Velo and shattered it into pixels with a single bite.

Matari shielded himself as pieces of Velo rained down on him. (MLP:7700-7200)

"Unshaven Angler, attack that Steve Irwin wannabe directly!"

The hideous fish opened its gaping mouth and lunged at Matari.

"Not gonna happen," Matari said in annoyed tone, his opponent's taunting had clearly struck a nerve, "because Velo has a similar effect to your Mother Grizzly, when it falls in battle I can summon a Jurrac Monster from my deck, like Jurrac Guaiba!"

A burst of fire erupted between Matari and Unshaven Angler, and a new Monster leapt out. Another dinosaur, based on a Guaibasaurus, with a long neck, legs and tail, all which seemed to be on fire. The beast let out a roar that sent Unshaven Angler reeling backward. (1700/400)

Waylon glared at Matari and Guaiba. "I end my turn," he growled.

"My turn," said Matari, making a draw and inspecting it. "I activate the spell card Fossil Dig."

The spell flashed into existence in front of Matari.

"And what does that do, you ask," said the Shadowchaser, "why it lets me dig though my deck and add a level six of lower Dinosaur from my deck to my hand. Kind of like real excavation if you ask me."

"I didn't ask," Waylon growled.

A card stuck out of Matari's deck, which he quickly collected and showed it to Waylon…

Who only burst out laughing. "You added that third-rate card to your hand. You do realise the drawback of its effect right?"

"Considering that you really have only one Monster to summon," Matari answered, as the greenish-brown raptor appeared in front of him, "I'd say yes."

Gilasaurus roared. (1400/400)

"Smartass," hissed Waylon, as a Mother Grizzly appeared in front of him, arms crossed over its body defensively.

"Now I summon Jurrac Gallim."

Another dinosaur appeared. It was based on a Gallimimus, standing two metres tall on its long legs, with a neck even longer than Guaiba's with a plume of orange feathers at the base. (1200/0)

"Is that a dinosaur or a big chicken?" asked Waylon.

"It's a dinosaur," Matari answered, "and a Tuner."

Waylon gulped.

Both Gallim and Gilasaurus roared. Then turned into shining stars and flew toward the ceiling.

"From ancient times comes a mighty beast." Matari chanted, "with a soul of fire and a roar of pure ferocity. Arise Jurrac Velphito!"

A mighty roar shook the café, as a new Monster appeared, a carnivorous beast that was much larger than the other Jurracs. It was shrouded in scorching flames and was covered in thick, armour-like, purple scales. (?/?)

"Stupid dinosaur," Waylon muttered, "doesn't even know its own attack points."

"Actually," replied Matari, "Velphito's attack and defence scores are both determined by the combined attack of the Monster's used to summon him."

Velphito roared, the fire around its body becoming much more intense. (?-2600/?-2600)

"Uh-oh," groaned Waylon, stepping back "it's stronger than Double Shark."

"Battle Phase," Matari ordered, motioning for Velphito to attack.

The large dinosaur roared and charged at Double Shark, biting the fish in half with its jaws. (WLP:7600-7200)

"Your turn Guaiba," said Matari.

Guaiba roared and raced forward, biting into Unshaven Angler and throwing it into the air where it shattered. (WLP:7200-7000)

"Seems I'm back in…" said Matari, but was cut off when a blast of water knocked him on his backside.

Matari looked up to see that Unshaven Angler had been carried back into play by a stream of water, coming from Waylon's now face-up trap card.

"Torrential Reborn," the were-crocodile explained, "it revives a destroyed Water Monster and hits you with five hundred points of damage."

Another blast of water sprayed Matari. (MLP:7200-6700)

The now soaked Matari stood up, he wiped the water off his face. "In this heat," he said, "that was nothing more than refreshing."

"Whatever," Waylon growled, "you're five hundred points closer to walking out that door."

"Ain't gonna happen pal," said Matari, as another ball of fire appeared on his field. "Not with Guaiba's effect kicking in. You see, whenever he destroys one of your Monsters by battle, I can summon a Jurrac Monster from my deck."

Another dinosaur emerged from the ball of fire. It was based on a Monolophosaurus, with a blue body and a red and yellow head. Flames erupted on the tip of its tail and the top of its head. (1500/1200)

"Normally, Monoloph would be able to attack every one of your Monsters," Matari explained, "but Guaiba's effect prevents it from attacking this turn."

"Fat lot of good it's effect is then," Waylon snorted, "all that thing is is my Monsters' snack!"

"But like Gallim, it's also a Tuner," Matari added.

Waylon gulped again.

Monoloph and Guaiba glowed and flew toward the ceiling, turning into seven glowing stars.

Then with a loud crash, a large dinosaur landed on the field. It stood taller than Velphito and was almost twice as long. The creature was mostly blue, with yellow scales on its head and claws. The beast roared and glared at Waylon, who only glared back. (2100/1800)

"No fancy summon chant this time," Waylon commented.

"I couldn't think of one," Matari admitted, "maybe next time."

"If there is a next time," Waylon growled, flashing his jaws.

"Good point," said Matari, I shouldn't have to Synchro Summon again. Velphito and Giganoto should be all the muscle I need."

Both dinosaurs grinned, flashing their own teeth to Waylon.

"And by the way," Matari said, "as long as Giganoto is on the field, it and all Jurracs I control gain two hundred extra attack for every Jurrac in my graveyard!"

The spiritual forms of Velo, Protops, Gallim, Guaiba and Monoloph appeared behind Giganoto, making the flames around it and Velphito much more intense. (ATK:2100-3100) (ATK:2600-3600)

Waylon took a step back, whether out of instinct or fright was anyone's guess.

"If you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen," Matari smirked, confident that he now had control of the duel. "I end my turn."

"The kitchen is over there moron," snorted Waylon, pointing behind him. "And I'm cold blooded, this beats basking in the sun any day, much more… exciting." He then got a wild look in his eyes and snapped his jaws.

"My turn," he roared, energetically pulling the top card from his deck. "You're a fan of the ancients huh?" he asked.

"Yes," Matari nodded.

"Then you're gonna love this!" the lycanthrope yelled, playing a card, "I tribute my Unshaven Angler, using its effect to treat itself as two tributes."

Unshaven Angler glowed bright blue, and split into two identical copies.

"Ugh," Matari moaned, "now it's twice as ugly."

The two ugly fish then disappeared.

"Let's go! The ultimate predator! Hyper-Ancient Shark Megalodon!"

A huge shark appeared on the field, dwarfing both Jurrac Monsters in size. It was fifteen metres long and six metres high. The massive predator was covered in plate in heavy natural armour. (2900/1300)

"M… M… Megalodon," Matari gulped. He'd heard of this creature, it was the largest and most powerful ocean fearing predator that lived from sixteen to two million years ago.

Waylon chuckled evilly, "look's like the tide of this duel is turning Shadowchaser."

0 - 0 KK 0 - 0

Ezekiel carefully rushed down the staircase in his home, now dressed in a white button-up shirt and grey three-quarter trousers, he hid his messy hair underneath hidden underneath a beige bucket hat. A satchel was slung over his shoulder.

He stepped onto the landing, the floorboard quietly creaking underneath him, but the creaking was loud enough to alert someone of his presence.

"Good morning sweety," a soft, female voice said from another room, "I was wondering when you'd get out of bed."

Ezekiel turned to the right and made a beeline for the nearest door. "Morning Mum," he replied, as he walked into a moderately furnished kitchen with a round dinner table in the centre.

Sitting at the table was a middle aged woman, Ezekiel's Mother. Despite showing a few signs of aging, her facial features were rather soft with a warm, caring smile, and the same blue eyes and blonde hair as her son.

"I thought you would've left a little earlier?" the woman asked, looking at her watch.

"I kind of slept in," Ezekiel sheepishly admitted, spying a bowl of fresh fruit and a newspaper on the table.

"I know," she said, "I was checking earlier to see if you were awake, and you weren't. But you just looked so peaceful in tour sleep, so I left you to sleep."

Ezekiel sighed, any other day and his mother would've woke him up. "It's okay, I had trouble sleeping last night, I guess I needed the extra sleep." He reached out and grabbed an apple and a banana from the bowl, slipping them both in his bag.

"Well, now you have more energy for your day," she said.

"And less time to use it in," Ezekiel muttered under his breath.

"By the way?" his Mother asked, "just what are you doing today?"

"Oh, well…" Ezekiel answered, nervously twiddling his fingers, "there's a pro duellist showing up in the Harbourside Shopping Mall today, and he's like… super famous…"

Ezekiel was cut off by a loud sigh from his Mother. "I really don't get this world's obsession with that game."

Ezekiel pouted. He knew that for some people, Duel Monsters was more than a game, it was a way of life. But he wasn't about to start an argument with his beloved Mother over it.

"I'd better get going," said Ezekiel, beginning to turn around, "don't want to miss out. He might sign some of my cards…"

"Oh wait," called his Mother, "can you get some bottles of water on your way home."

"Why?" he asked, turning to face his Mother again.

She held up the newspaper (one that catered to ordinary, mundane humans). Ezekiel read aloud the large, bold headline on the front page, "Where's the Water Gone?" the headline was accompanied by yet another picture of the empty Warragamba dam.

"How does a dam run out of water overnight?" Ezekiel asked.

"I don't know, but it happened," his Mother replied, "maybe someone likes watering the garden too much."

Ezekiel let out a small chuckle at his mother's bad joke. "Alright, I'll get some on my way home. Now I'd better get going, I don't want to miss out on seeing someone so famous."

"Just be back for dinner, okay," said his mother, with a hint of concern in her voice.

"I'll definitely be back for dinner," Ezekiel nodded, as he turned around and left the room.

"Have fun," his mother smiled, "but be careful and don't forget the water!"

"I will, I will," he replied, "and I won't," he added.

Back in the landing, Ezekiel almost broke into a sprint as made his way to the front door, he reached for the doorknob, but stopped when out of the corner his eye, he spied something on the bench beside the the door.

It was his duel disk, D-Gazer and the small silver tin that contained his deck.

He looked at the objects for a second, then gathered them up and dropped them inside his satchel. He didn't know whether or not he'd use them today, but it didn't hurt to take them just in case.

"Seeya later mum!" Ezekiel called as he opened the front door and slipped into the world outside.

0 - 0 KK 0 - 0

"Alright Megalodon," Waylon ordered, pointing his claws forward, "let's show these guys what really killed the dinosaurs!"

"Hold it," said Matari, holding up a hand with a confident smile on his face. "There's two things wrong with what you said: the first; dinosaurs went extinct sixty-five million years ago, almost a full fifty million years before Megalodons existed. So it's impossible that Megalodons had a hand in the extinct of dinosaurs."

"And the second thing?" Waylon sneered.

"Your Monster is weaker than both of my Monsters," the Shadowchaser added.

Waylon smirked, flashing his teeth again. "About that," he said, holding up a Spell Card, "I activate Forbidden Chalice, which exchanges a Monster's effects for four hundred attack until the end of the turn."

"Crap," Matari thought, "he could use it on his own Monster and then overpower Giganoto. Or worse, he could negate Giganoto's own effect and then attack it!"

Matari was brought out of his train of thought by a roar from Velphito.

"You said before that Velphito's attack was determined by his effect, so what happens when we take that effect away? I want to find out."

Velphito roared again then dropped to its knees, its strength draining away. (ATK:3600-1400)

"Next I switch Mother Grizzly to attack position."

Mother Grizzly stood up and uncrossed its arms.

"What?" Matari yelled, "what did you do that for?"

"Attack!" Waylon ordered.

Megalodon opened its mouth revealing row after row of a massive set of sharp teeth. It charged at Velphito, biting the dinosaur clean in half. (MLP:6700-5200)

"You may have taken out Velphito," Matari yelled, as Megalodon retreated to Waylon's field, "but Giganoto only gets stronger with each fallen Jurrac!"

Velphito's spirit appeared behind Giganoto. (ATK:3100-3300)

"Doesn't matter," Waylon grinned, "You want to know why the Megalodon was the ultimate predator?" Waylon answered. "It's because when it goes hunting, it catches more than enough prey!"

Megalodon bit into Giganoto, the dinosaur roared in pain before disintegrating.

"What?" Matari gasped, "how did it destroy my Monster? Giganoto's attack was higher."

"Megalodon has a pretty powerful ability," Waylon explained, "whenever it inflicts damage to your life points, it devours another one of your Monsters.

"Which you're now out of…"

Matari glanced at his face down Descending Lost Star, then at the two cards in his hand and gritted his teeth.

Mother Grizzly roared, and charged at Matari. It struck the Shadowchaser across the chest with its claws. (MLP:5200-3800)

Matari dropped to one knee and held his chest. "Damn it," he cursed.

"I'll end my turn with one card face down," said Waylon, as a reversed card appeared behind his Monsters.

Matari slowly stood up, he was in pain, but still in much better condition than his sword (that he'd receive an earful for breaking). "My move," he said, drawing a card but not daring to look at it. "This had better be something good," he thought. slowly turning around the card and looking at it.

"Good enough for now," he thought, setting it on his disk. "I play this card face down, then I activate my other card, Descending Lost Star."

A set card appeared on Matari's field, while his other card flipped up.

"This card lets me special summon one Synchro Monster from my graveyard in defence position," Matari explained, as the trap card glowed, "but its defence score becomes zero, it loses a level, I can't change its battle position and its effects are negated."

Jurrac Giganoto appeared in a flash of light, crouching down with a dazed look on its face. (LV:7-6/DEF:1800-0)

"Are you really that desperate to defend yourself?" said Waylon, grinding his teeth together. "We'll tear through those defences like paper!"

"Who said I was defending?" Matari asked with a smile.

Giganoto let out a quiet growl as it disappeared in a trail of golden sparkles.

Then with another crash, a new Monster landed on the field. It was bipedal and slightly larger than Giganoto, with armour-like, blueish-grey scales and small pair of wings on its back (which clearly weren't large enough to allow flight). (2700/1400)

"Still two hundred points weaker than my Megalodon," said Waylon, taking note of Dinobeast's stats. "Hold on! That thing is level eight!"

"Dinobeast can be summoned by tributing only one Dinosaur Monster," Matari answered, "and yes, it is weaker than your Megalodon, but it is stronger than Mother Grizzly."

Dinobeast fired a beam of energy from its mouth, which incinerated the blue bear.

Waylon growled as his life points dropped. (WLP:7000-5700)

"I use Mother Grizzly's effect to summon Frilled Rabca from my deck!" the lycanthrope yelled.

A mustard yellow shark appeared. With a long, serpent-like body with many sharp fins protruding from it. (700/1500)

"I end my turn," said Matari, setting his eyes on his opponent's newest Monster. "I've heard of that thing," he thought, "It has a pretty powerful effect, but it only works in the graveyard."

"My turn," Waylon growled, tearing the top card from his deck.

"Hold it," said Matari, as the card he set last turn flipped up. "I activate Threatening Roar, so attacking this turn is no longer an option for you."

Dinobeast roared, sending out sound waves that made both of Waylon's sharks shudder.

Waylon let out a low growl, and took a step forward, his wild eyes fixated on the Shadowchaser, saliva dripped from his mouth.

However, he then clutched his head in his claws and shook it from side to side. "Gotta stay focused," he muttered to himself, "can't… lose… control."

Matari raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay?" he asked, showing a deal of concern.

"I don't need your pity, human!" snapped Waylon, grabbing the Frilled Rabca card on his duel and turning it sideways. "I end my turn," he growled - in a much more malicious tone than before.

"He's getting mad," Matari thought, "on the plus side, it'll throw off his duelling. On the downside, he's much more likely to drop to duel and just attack me."

The Shadowchaser drew a card, silently praying that it could be something helpful.

0 - 0 KK 0 - 0

Derrilin sat atop a stolen D-Wheel in an alleyway. The D-wheel was the latest model and black in colour. The kenku was fiddling with the controls, he'd already learnt most of the controls, but there more he knew about the machine, the better.

"Oi, Derrilin", a familiar voice chirped, "you better have an escape plan ready."

"What took you so…" Derrilin began to ask, but lost the ability to speak as he set his eyes on his partner… and the young, unconscious kobold slung over his shoulder.

Derrilin's beak dropped, hanging open in shock. "W… What the hell are you doing?" he slowly asked.

"What do you think?" Kimba replied, "making money. I'm gonna set up a ransom, make that smelly lizard pay some serious green if she ever wants to see her daughter again."

"Okay," said Derrilin, shaking with a mix of shock and rage. "You do realise how much more difficult you've made this for use right?"

"Uhh… Tarni would approve," Kimba replied.

"Only because she's as dumb as you are!" snapped Derrilin, "you do realise that we noe have to lug this girl all the way to a safe house. All the while the Shadowchasers will be on our backs like a kookaburra on a snake! We'll all be behind bars at the end of the day because of you!"

Kimba shook his head, shaking Derrilin's word from his mind. "Ever heard of risk versus reward? If we pull this off, we'll never have to steal anything ever again."

"You know what, screw you, screw Tarni! I may be a thief, but I'm not a kidnapper!" Derrilin spat, starting up the stolen D-Wheel, "I hope you and Tarni rot in gaol!" he then sped away from his now former partner an the unconscious reptilian.

"More money for us asshole!" Kimba yelled, "enjoy your conscience you poor bastard!"

0 - 0 KK 0 - 0

"Alright!" Matari grinned, energetically slapping the card he drew on his duel disk, "It's time to turn this duel around! With Jurrac Aeolo."

A flame patterned dinosaur egg appeared on the field, crack slowly began to appear in the shell, until a small dinosaur broke out. It had blue and yellow scales, as well as some natural armour around its face. The infant dinosaur picked up a nearby piece of its shell and began to gnaw on it. (200/200)

"That's your magical turnaround card?" Waylon scoffed, "it may be adorable, but for my Monsters it's lunch."

Aeolo squawked and threw the egg shell it was gnawing on away in shock.

"Hey, don't scare him," Matari said defensively, "he only hatched ten seconds ago!"

"Oh please," Waylon once again scoffed, "do you know just how many would eat their own young? I bet his own mother would see him as nothing more than a slice of ham."

"Actually," said Matari, "reptilian parents usually protect their young. In fact, most crocodiles, even saltwater crocodiles, often take good care of their offspring. Not that you would know, considering how you act. "

Waylon gulped, then took a few breaths. What Matari had said seemed to have broken through to the lycanthrope, he seemed to be calming down, his body relaxed, he started to breath at a slower pace and his eyes lost their wild glare…

"His human and beast sides are fighting for control," Matari noted, "and it looks like the human side is gaining ground."

"Oi," Waylon growled, sounding more feral then ever, "you're not getting the better of me that way. We're finishing this the proper way," the lycanthrope then viciously chomped the air, "and if that doesn't work, we'll go back to doing it do it the fun way."

This time, Matari was the one gulp, he had to open his mouth. He took another look at his broken sword off to his side. He shuddered, the thought of what would happen if his opponent wrapped his jaws around one of his limbs popped back into his mind. Again, it was… terrifying to say the least.

The Shadowchaser then gritted his teeth. "What are he talking about?" he sarcastically asked, "I thought this was the fun way? Now I use Aeolo's effect, tributing itself to revive a level four or lower Jurrac from the graveyard."

Aeolo smiled and waved, slowly disappearing in a trail of golden sparkles. And in its place, Guaiba appeared, staring down the opposing Monsters and their master.

"Also," Matari added, "Dinobeast has another effect, every time I special summon a Dinosaur from my graveyard, I can draw one card from my deck." He drew another card and looked at it, "Call of the Haunted," he thought, "pretty decent draw if you ask me, but not what I need."

"Draw your entire deck if you like," said Waylon, "not a card in that deck can save you."

Matari rolled his eyes. "Let's see about that mate," he said, motioning for Guaiba to attack.

The long-necked dinosaur raced forward and sank its jaws into Frilled Rabca. The shark screeched for a few seconds then shattered.

"You're only making things more difficult for yourself," smirked Waylon, sliding the Frilled Rabca card into his graveyard.

"Good," said Matari, as a card poked out his deck, "I like a challenge. By the way, you do remember Guaiba's effect, don't you?"

Matari played the card, and another copy of Aeolo appeared in a burst of flames.

"Unfortunately," Matrai shrugged, "since this Aeolo was summoned from my deck, I can't draw a card. But I can in a second."

The second Aeolo disappeared, and was replaced by Jurrac Velo.

Matari drew another card, and looked at it. "Just the card I need," he thought, taking it and Call of the Haunted and setting them on his disk.

"I end my turn with these two face down cards," said the Shadowchaser, as two set cards appeared behind his Monsters. "Your move, boots."

"My move," Waylon grolwed, snatching the next card from his deck, he didn't bother to look at it.. "Hmm, which Monsters should Megalodon feast on…" the lycanthrope looked between Matari's three Monsters, the focused on Guaiba. "That one!"

Megalodon opened its mouth and charged at Guaiba.

"Just what I was waiting for," said Matari, hitting a switch on his duel disk, and causing his card to flip up. "Battle Tuned, by banishing one Tuner Monster from my graveyard, one Monster on my field gains the banished Monster's attack!" He held up Jurrac Monoloph, then pocketed it.

Waylon could only watch in horror as the spirit of Monoloph appeared next to the Guaiba, powering up the latter Jurrac. (ATK:1700-3200)

Then in a feat that defied physics, Guaiba and Megalodon collided, but the small dinosaur overpowered the massive predator and sent it flying

Megalodon shattered into millions of pixels. (WLP:5700-5400)

The look on Waylon's face was priceless, his snout pointing to the ground jaw hung low, his reptilian eyes fixated on his opponent…

But then he let out a chuckle.

"Oh well," he said, his trap card flipped up, it depicted a strange, shark-like Monster rising out of the sea, "I was saving this for a last minute finishing blow when you finally beat my Megalodon, but now's just fine."

"What are you talking about?" asked Matari, he gave the trap card a good glance, he'd never heard of that card before

"That trap is called Shark Splash," Waylon explained, "it's kind of like Torrential Reborn, but it reduces that Monster's that it summons attack power by one thousand points…" (ATK:2900-1900)

"And then comes the splash part, and it's a big splash."

Megalodon swung its tail at Matari, who could only mutter something unmentionable as he was punted a few metres across the room and into a table, which smashed to pieces upon its collision with the Shadowchaser.

"You get hit with damage equal to my Monster's new attack!" Waylon laughed.

Matari groaned. (MLP:3800-1900)

"I'm going to feel that tomorrow," said Matari, as he slowly tried to stand up, only to double over in pain. He clutched his shoulder, "never mind, I'm feeling it now."

"You can just lie down there," Waylon cackled.

He slowly got back up to his feet and limped back toward his opponent. "Listen pal," he said, "it's gonna take a lot more than a few bruises to make me give up. Since Guaiba destroyed that oversized tuna in battle, I use his effect to summon Jurrac Brachis."

In another burst of fire, a new Monster appeared. It was based on a Brachiosaurus, with a long neck, short tail and bright purple scales, the creature was covered in fire, it sat down and took a defensive stance. (1000/1000)

"And what does this one do?" Waylon asked with mock interest.

"Brachis can't be destroyed in battle," Matari answered, "but only while I control at least one other Jurrac."

"Then let's fix that problem," said Waylon, "Megalodon attack Jurrac Velo!"

The weakened predator lurched forward again, snapping up a panicking Velo in its jaws, shattering it.

Matari grimaced, as pixels rained down on him. (MLP:1900-1700)

"And don't forget," Waylon sniggered, "Megalodon gets to destroy another Monster.

The lycanthrope and Megalodon paused, thinking about which card to destroy…

"Hard decision isn't it?" Matari smirked, "you can destroy Dinobeast and reduce my draw power, but Guaiba is the stronger Monster…"

"Good point," Waylon cut it, as Megalodon chomped down on Guaiba, shattering the shrieking dinosaur.

"At least let me finish…" Matari sighed, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. "On the other hand, Velo's effect allows me to summon Jurrac Ptera from my deck."

Another burst of fire erupted on the field, and two large, green wings stuck out of the blaze, followed by a long, toothless beak. Most of the fire then faded, revealing the rest of the creature, a pteranodon with wings cloaked in flames. (800/1500)

"Technically, " said Matari, in a matter-of-fact tone, "pteranodons were not classified as dinosaurs. But try telling that to the people who make this game…"

Waylon ignored Matari's complaint and looked at the card he drew earlier, he snarled at the sight of it and set it on his disk along with another card. "I set these two cards on my field and end my turn."

A face down Monster and card appeared in front of Waylon.

"My move," said Matari as he placed his hand over his deck, and felt a rush of energy flow through him as he drew he turned around the card…

And could swear he heard a record needle scratch to a halt as he saw what it was; Mystical Space Typhoon - a good card, but not what he was hoping for.

Waylon couldn't help but snigger at the look on Matari's face, which was a mix of frustration and embarrassment.

"Let's try that again," said Matari, as his Call of the Haunted flipped up, "I revive Giganoto."

The trap flashed and Giganoto reappeared on the field with a mighty roar.

"And now two things happen," said the Shadowchaser, "first, since Giganoto is back and I have seven Jurrac's in my graveyard, all my Jurrac's gain one thousand four hundred attack!"

Giganto and Brachis roared, while Ptera extended its wings. (ATK:2100-3500) (ATK:1000-2400) (ATK:700-2100)

"I can survive your onslaught, Shadowchaser," snarled Waylon, his claws edging toward his graveyard.

"You would," said Matari, but I'm not ready to attack yet. I activate Dinobeast's effect, since Giganoto was summoned from my graveyard I can draw another card."

Once more Matari placed his hand over his deck. "Come on guys, we've never let each other down before, let's not start now."

He felt another surge of energy rushing through him, he drew the card and looked at it…

"Alright," he cheered, immediately slapping it on his disk, "I sacrifice Brachis and Ptera to summon my ultimate Monster!"

Brachis and Ptera disappeared, and no sooner than they did the temperature started to rise. Then, with a thunderous crash, landed a new Monster, a huge dinosaur (based on a Tyrannotitan - a huge species of dinosaur believed to have lived over a hundred million years ago). The Monster was almost twice a tall as Giganoto - reaching almost to the high ceiling of the café. (3000-4400/2000)

"Jurrac Titano!"

Waylon gulped again and his whole body shook. He then made a hissing noise.

Matari smirked, he knew most crocodiles made a hissing sound when they felt threatened, and pretty much anyone would feel threatened if the were facing down a Jurrac Titano.

"And, may I add," said Matari, "theres two more Jurracs in my graveyard."

The fire around Giganoto and Titano burned hotter than ever. (ATK:3500-3900) (ATK:4400-4800)

Waylon was speechless, he stepped back in fear.

"Just about time to finish you off," said Matari, slipping a card into his disk, "but before I do, I'll use Mystical Space Typhoon to tear your face down apart."

A cyclone kicked up, shredding Waylon's set card, Poseidon Wave, to pieces.

"Now it's time to attack," said Matari.

Titano gathered a fireball in its mouth…

"I activate the effect of my Frilled Rabca!" Waylon announced, reaching for his graveyard.

"Don't even bother," shouted Matari, "Titano is immune to Monster and trap effects that target it, and Frilled Rabca's effect targets."

Waylon tore his claws away from the graveyard and hissed at the Shadowchaser.

Titano launched the inferno gathering in its mouth at Megalodon, incinerating the weakened predator in an instant. (WLP:5400-2500)

"One Monster down," said Matari, glaring at Waylon, "two to go. Dinobeast, attack his facedown Monster."

Dinobeast fired a beam at the reptilian's set Monster, a dolphin with a puzzled look on its face. The creature squealed as it took the brunt of the blast, it slowly turned to look at its master, the puzzled looked turning into a pained, ashamed frown.

Waylon's eyes locked with his Monsters, he gripped his claws as his body began to shake.

"I am not just a beast," he said, in a voice that sounded much more human than before. "I'm human, and I can't forget that!"

The dolphin's frown turned into a smile moments before it shattered, it couldn't stand the attack any longer, but it didn't have to.

A cloud of dust was kicked up by the attack, obscuring Waylon from Matari's sight.

"Get ready," he thought, mentally preparing for his opponent to charge from the cloud at any moment.

But the lycanthrope never charged from the cloud. Instead, Matari watched as the dust cloud dispersed revealing a middle aged bald man, with one hand up in the air, the other holding up his stretched and tattered pants.

"I forfeit," said the man. (WLP:2500-0)

Buzzers sounded as the AR-field receded, the Monsters on the field disappearing with it.

Matari quickly fished a blue gemstone from his pocket, and raised it as he approached the man. "Don't try anything funny," he said, "a forfeit still counts as a loss."

Waylon said nothing as he shook his head, signalling that this wasn't a trick. "I'm so sorry," he said, his voice full of sincere regret, "I don't know what came over me. This is the first time I've lost control since my teenage years… It feels horrible."

Lycanthropes were unique among Shadowkind; they were born human (more or less) and remained that way through childhood. At puberty, they would gain their ability to transform into a beast, but whether or not they control the beast was based on willpower and self-control (and often took a lot of both).

"It…" Matari stammered, half unsure what to what to say, and half unsure whether or not Waylon's act was still a trick. "It's not as bad as it looks."

Waylon ignored Matari and took the Imiaruka card off his duel disk. He gave the card a good, long look, it was rather old and tattered, but clearly still useable. "My parents gave me this card when I first started to develop my powers…"

"Parents?" Matari blurted out, lowering the gemstone.

"Yes," Waylon nodded, getting down to a sitting position, "my parents are some of the lucky lycanthropes who share the abilities with their loved one, they were never forced to hide it. I was lucky to have both their support when I stared sprouting fangs and breaking out in scales…"

Matari gulped, feeling bad from his previous comment about Waylon's family.

The lycanthrope let out a depressed sigh. "They both had immense amounts of self control, it was if the beast side of them never existed." He pulled his knees up to his chest, "if they saw what I did today, I could never look them in the eyes again."

"Hey listen," said Matari, crouching down to see eye to eye to Waylon. "Your parents would be proud of you. When I walked in that door, all I saw was a beast. But you beat that beast, you proved who's stronger and in control. That would definitely make them proud."

Waylon looked the Shadowchaser in the eyes.

"Trust me," Matari continued, "I've been here before mate. Let's just say, sometimes parents know their kids better than their kids know themselves. They'll forgive you for this. I know they will. They've more than likely been through the same thing before."

Waylon smiled, showing his - no longer sharp, fang-like - teeth. "I guess you're right," he said, but turned his head and looked at his trail of destruction, "I just wish it didn't take so property damage to do so."

"Eh, it can repaired and replaced," Matari shrugged, standing back up, "the important thing is that nobody was hurt."

Matari then clutched his shoulder with a pained look on his face. "Okay, nobody else was hurt."

Waylon took a look at the wound on his hand, it had already closed up and began to heal, due to his accelerated healing. "Sorry about that," he apologised.

"Eh," Matari shrugged, accidentally causing himself more pain, "it's okay, I get hurt all the time."

The Shadowchaser then spied the other half of his sword on the floor, and picked it up. It was covered in saliva.

"Sorry about that," Waylon sheepishly apologised.

"It's okay," Matari replied, "I'll just get another one."

"But I'm not going to hear the end of it," he thought.

An air of silence gathered in the café, until Waylon finally broke it. "There's police out there, isn't there? I heard the sirens in my bestial form."

"Don't worry about those, just wait here," said Matari, "I handle what's going on outside."

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"You're letting him go?" yelled Amelia, "after everything he did?"

Matari had pulled Amelia aside to talk privately in an alleyway, and it was pretty clear that she was not liking what she heard.

"It was just property damage," protested Matari. "And he said he was sorry."

"Oh he said he was sorry," Amelia sarcastically retorted, "that definitely make everything he did okay, doesn't it? Hold on, I'll just go release all the thieves, murderers and kidnappers I've arrested over the years because their sorry for what they did!"

"This is nothing like that!" shouted Matari, "he was a lycanthrope, these kind of things just happen. And besides..."

"You know what!" yelled Amelia, punctuating herself by jabbing Matari's chest with her finger. "You don't have a law-abiding bone in your body, do you? You think that you can just hide behind your boss and his stupid Treaty and laugh at those who struggle to deal with its ridiculous rules?"

Matari was about to reply, but Amelia continued her rant. "That Treaty makes a mockery of every other legal system on this planet! Complete immunity from every justice system except for yours! Strombringer must have his head jammed so far up his own ass…"

"That treaty has been around for a thousand years," Matari replied, pointing his finger in Amelia's face, "far longer than any laws you follow. Hell, it probably invented a few laws. And last time I checked, Jalal's head was on his shoulders, not jammed where the sun doesn't shine."

Amelia grumbled something unmentionable under her breath, before taking in a deep breath of air. "Just do what you want, that seems to be how both Shadows and Shadowchasers operate. No wonder the world is always in danger."

"Look," said Matari, "It's nothing like that…"

"I don't care," said Amelia, not even bothering to turn around. She returned to her squad and informed that the situation was over. Confused, annoyed and bitter, the officers began to collect up the equipment and disperse the crowd.

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On the outskirts of Sydney, a young woman walked out of a roadside shop. She was of average height with unbrushed black hair, her skin was a tanned brown. Her clothes consisted of silver and black-striped riding uniform, with a matching helmet sitting on her D-Wheel nearby.

The D-Wheel itself was silver in colour and the latest model. A set of black stripes ran horizontally down either side of the ride, with another pair on the front panel. Despite its near daily use, the D-Wheel was finely polished and in pristine condition, being on of its owner's prized possessions.

Her name was Arika Pearson, the fourth member of the Sydney Shadowchasers. She was the youngest member of the team at just twenty years old. She was carrying a bottle of water under her arm, and quickly trying to unscrew the lid on another.

She succeeded an threw the lid into a nearby rubbish bin and downed the other bottle in a few seconds, throwing that in as well.

"Why'd it have to be so damn hot today," Arika complained, opening the next bottle and downing it as well.

Arika threw that bottle into the bin as well. "Better get back to work," she sighed, heading back to her ride. She had hated the monotony of long eventless patrols, investigations and stakeouts, but that was the payoff for the exciting fights and duels that came with being a Shadowchaser.

She pulled her helmet over her head and hopped on her D-Wheel then started the engine. She quickly pulled away from the curb and raced down the street.

Unaware to Arika, she was being watched, by a fellow rider from across the street.

The man was human in shape and proportion, but his skin was comprised of small, green scales and his eyes were bright yellow with narrow pupils. He wore a helmet and riding suit the same colour as his scaly skin.

He was a snakeblood, the offspring of a human and an Ophidian (a snake-like species of Shadowkind that most Shadowchaser were all too familiar with). Ophidia often considered humans to be nothing more than prey (hence constant conflicts with the Shadowchasers), but sometimes, they saw humans as more than just that…

"So that's were you've been hiding," the snakeblood hissed, his forked tongue poking out his mouth. "Oh my dear Arika, you're sure in for a big surprise."

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Shark Splash
Normal Trap
Image: Number 32: Shark Drake rising from the ocean.
Effect: When a "Shark" monster you control is destroyed: Target that Monster; Special Summon that target, but it loses 1000 ATK, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to its current ATK.

Note: Shark Splash was used by Reginald Kastle in episode 97 of "Yu-Gi-Oh ZeXal". Creative Credit goes to the writers of that episode.

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Aboriginal/Indigenous Australian Dictionary

Kimba: A name meaning bushfire or wildfire. (Note - Kimba has absolutely no relation with a certain white lion created by the late Osama Tezuka.)

Derrilin: A name meaning falling stars.

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Kitten Knight: And so Matari avoids becoming a delicious lunch for a hungry were-crocodile. Oh well, there's always next time.

Speaking of next time, who is this mysterious snakeblood? And what does he want with Arika?

And what about Ezekiel, Kimba, Derrilin and the kobold girl, how do they tie into this mess? And what about Stephanie? What is she, Arthur and their "organisation" up to?

You'll just have to wait until the next chapter.

Let's go! Round Three: Snake Whistle!


Mar 3 2015 - Minor edits.