Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX

Gah no need to worry about spoilers at the moment.
. . .

A knight in black armor appeared on Lyra's field. (1200/1700) It began kneeling and plunged its sword into the ground.

"The Shadow Templars. You've been working on them for a while. A series of dark warriors in very similar armor." Hazuki stepped toward the duel, snapping her cellphone shut. "Only the most trained eyes can tell them apart. I wonder, could they fool even you?"

Lyra smiled. "Nah, I've memories their exact details." Lyra reached for another card. "Reincarnation has the longest cape out of the series. And her cape is the only one with a black borderline."

"That's a girl?" Nathaniel commented. "She seems unlike your usual style. Most of your female cards are really cute. Not that there is anything wrong with a female who isn't obvious fanservice." Nathaniel gave a curious look. "Shadow Templar all gain Shadow Counters when special summoned, right? How many does Reincarnation get?"

"None. She gets a Shadow Counter for each monster you control, but I went first, so your field is empty." Lyra frowned. "I set a card and end my turn."

'She's skipping her normal summon so she can try to get as many Shadow Counters as possible. Of course, this means she misses out on a chance to get another monster out,' Nathaniel observed. 'Of course, this probably won't matter as much, since the cards are mostly meant to be played in defense mode. Of course, there are a few offensive tactics hidden in their arsenal.'

"During my end phase, Reincarnation activates her effect if in defense mode. She brings back another Shadow Templar."

'So, these things all have great defense and powerful effects, but even if I destroy them, I still have to deal with them again.'

"I'll bring back Shadow Templar- Assault!" (900/1200) A new Templar materialized. She looked much like the last, except the slits in her helmet were slightly narrower and her sword was slightly bloodier. "She gains a Shadow Counter for every card in my hand and I have four!" Assault's Shadow began to dance on the ground, wiggling like a worm. "Since she's in defense mode, her own effect activates. During my end phase, I get to Special Summon a Shadow Templar from my hand! I bring out Revenge!" (300/2100) "As you can see, his boots are larger than the others, and he's taller than the others."

"I don't care about the minor details," Nathaniel stated. "He's the one who gets a Counter for each Templar you control, right? So that's three. And now I can't attack your monsters without taking 500 damage."

"Wow, you're good." Lyra smiled.

Nathaniel drew. "Since you have a monster and I don't, I can normal summon Blackwing- Sirocco of the Dawn without a sacrifice." (2000/900) A large crow like monster descended upon the field. Black feathers spun through the air, falling around Nathaniel as he stared into Lyra's eyes. "Now I control a Blackwing, so I can Special Summon Bora the Spear from my hand!" (1700/800) A spear wielding raven joined his ally. "And the same can be said of Gale the Whirlwind!" (1300/400) Nathaniel grinned. "Now, Gale, cut Revenge's attack and defense in half!"

A fierce wind moaned as Revenge's stats shrunk. (150/1050) "Now, Sirocco, use your effect. I can pick one Blackwing and increase his attack by the attack of the other's. He'll be the only one allowed to attack, but it won't matter. So, I pick Bora the Spear so he can use his piercing ability to take you down to nearly nothing!" Bora's attack rose all the way to 5000. "Now, go, attack Revenge!"

Revenge's Shadow leapt forth and pierced Nathaniel's body, but Bora avenged his master, driving his drill like spear through the Shadow Templar's armor.

Nathaniel: 3500

Lyra: 50

"Wow, the Blackwings are amazing!" Hazuki noted. "He could have gone for an FTK is he wanted."

"I end my turn," Nathaniel conceded.

Lyra drew her next card. "Well, looks like this is kind of cool. I set one card face down and end my turn. I'll use Assault to bring out Wrath. (300/2000) He gives four counters to a Templar of my choice, so I'll add them to Assault! Next, Reincarnation brings back Revenge who now gains four counters!" (300/2100) "Thanks to Wrath, you must attack with every monster if you are able!"

Nathaniel drew another card. "It seems that thanks to your cards, you may eventually be able to start ending your turns without doing anything. How interesting." He looked over his hand. "I control a Blackwing so I can normal summon Elphin the Raven without a sacrifice!" (2200/1200) "I use his effect to put Revenge in attack position." He watched as Lyra's knight stood up and raised its sword. "Now I'll have Sirocco attack!"

"Go, Supernova Waltz!" A bright light blinded the Blackwing as it flew forward. Revenge's shadow danced through the air. It charged toward Sirocco, but spun around the bird's body and appeared at its backside. The shadow seemed to grin as long thin tentacles shot through the target. "Your monster is destroyed and my monster gains a Shadow Counter."

"Not enough, Bora will continue the assault on Revenge."

"Perhaps, but Perhaps not!" Lyra challenged. With a defiant stance and an outstretched arm, "I activate the trap card Shadow Phase! By removing eight counters from Assault and two more from Revenge, I can end this battle phase right now."

Shadows flooded the field, obscuring everything in darkness for a few moments before the light returned.

"I set a card," was all Nathaniel said.

And Lyra drew. "Time to end this all. I set one card and release all three monsters besides Reincarnation so that I can bring out Shadow Dragoon- Vlad!" (3000/3000) A large vampiric being appeared on the field. He had pale white skin and long blonde hair and wore a majestic red cloak. "In defense mode."

"Oh, is he related to the Templars?" Nathaniel asked, surprised.

"Yes, you see, while he is not a Templar himself, he is in fact their master and creator. He is the one who gave them all their powers, and all their curses. Once per turn, if he's in defense mode, I can reduce his attack by 1000 to release a Shadow Templar I control and inflict damage to you equal to its defense. Of course, at the moment, I actually want Reincarnation on the field. So I'll just end my turn and let Wrath return to the field and give Reincarnation those four counters."

Wrath emerged from a shadowy pool of energy on the ground. Reincarnation's shadow danced in place, sending chills through everyone's spine.

"So, I have to hurry up and rid myself of your monster before he kills me. I activate the spell card Shield Crush. I added it into my deck just for you."

"I remove from play four Shadow Counters to activate my Trap Card, Shadow of the Falling Abyss. When you activate a Spell that targets a defense mode monster and would destroy it, I can discard a Shadow Templar to negate that spell and destroy it. Next, you take damage equal to that monster's defense!"

Shadows energetically bounced along the ground, taking the form of feral panthers. They tore through Nathaniel's body, tearing his Life Points down.

Nathaniel 500

"That card might have been a little too powerful."

"No," Nathaniel shook his head. "It's like Judgment of Anubis but with more restrictions, it should be fine."

"Yeah, but Anubis relies more on your opponent's strength than this card does. A card that turns your opponent's power against them is one thing, but this card is easier to take advantage of by boosting your own monster's defense first."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm," he examined his field. "I'm using Gale's effect to cut Vlad's stats in half."

"Hold it, before you do, let e warn you. Vlad has another effect. When you attack a defense mode monster, I can reduce his defense by 1000 to switch the attack to another defense mode monster."

"I see." Nathaniel ran through the scenarios in his head. "It seems that I have to attack, but at this point, Vlad will run me into a wall. I forfeit." Nathaniel began gathering all his cards. "I enjoyed dueling your deck." He lied. "The strategies involved were quite interesting."

"Yeah, but I'm worried that they get too much out of a low risk strategy," Lyra sighed.

Lyra's song began playing her favorite song, interrupting the conversation.

"What would you say? If I said my heart wanted to break."

"I'm sorry,' she apologized to Nathaniel. "That's Pegasus' phone number, I have to take it." She put her boss on speakerphone.

"Hello, Lyra-chan. How is everything back at the office," he said happily.

"Pretty well. Marlow's being a perv, John and Tex are up to their usual antics, Hazuki is being awesome as always, Shana's PMSing, and Nathaniel and I are testing our new decks."

"Fabulous. Forgive me for interrupting." He apologized.

"No, not at all, you're the boss. We're always glad to hear from you. Unless you're firing us," she joked. "Besides, we just finished. So, how is everything?"

Lyra could tell her boss was smiling. "I found three tablets that I'm sending over for translating. Once I get them back, I'd like you to be one of the people in charge of turning them into cards."

"Wha-what kind of tablets?" Lyra gasped. This kind of task was really rare and greatly sought after by the card designers.

"They are known as the Sealed Angels."