Chapter 11
"I'll start things off," said Nicole, drawing her card. "I'll start by placing two cards face-down, and then I summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird in defense mode." Her face-down cards appeared, followed by a red, humanoid monster. It had beautiful white wings and majestic tail-feathers, and its arms ended in talons instead of hands. It raised its long beak as the defense meter flashed 600. "Next I'll activate its special ability. Once during each of my turns, I can gain 500 life-points for each card in your hand. That means I gain 2500 life-points." Her life-point meter rose to 6500. "That ends my turn."
"Not bad for an opening move," said Mokuba. "She must be new to the academy. With that kind of skill, she should be able to make Obelisk Blue in no time."
"You're pretty good," said Darius, drawing his card. "First I'll summon my Mystic Tomato in attack mode." The evil-looking tomato appeared on his side of the field, and the attack meter flashed 1400. "Then I'll have it attack your Hummingbird." The tomato jumped across the field and bit the hummingbird, destroying it. "Now you can't gain any more life-points. Next I'll place a card face-down, and activate the magic card Clock Tower Prison!" His face-down card appeared, followed by a giant clock tower rising up from behind Darius. When it reached its full height, it towered well over the academy. The hands of the clock read 12:00. "This card doesn't have an effect I can use right now, but in a few turns it will become my most powerful weapon. That ends my turn."
A look of total excitement crossed Nicole's face. "Not only do I get to duel you, but now I get to experience one of your most popular strategies." As she drew her card, the hands on the clock tower began to rotate. They finally came to rest on 3:00, and a beam of light extended from the area between the hands. The quarter-circle of light came to rest on Darius. "What's going on?"
"At the beginning of each of your turns, the clock moves ahead three hours," said Darius. "When it reaches twelve again, its powers will be unlocked."
"Good to know," said Nicole. "For now, I think I'll just summon my Birdface in attack mode." Another humanoid bird monster appeared on her side of the field. This one had golden feathers, and it wore blue armor over its torso. It had one long horn on its forehead, and its long golden hair extended from its head to below its talon-covered feet. It squawked loudly as the attack meter flashed 1600. "Next I'll have my bird attack your tomato." The bird monster dove across the field and plunged, beak first, through the tomato, destroying it. Shockwaves blew past Darius as his life-points fell to 3800.
"I may have lost some life-points," said Darius as the Birdface returned to its owner, "but now I can summon a new monster from my deck. So now I summon Destiny Hero-Defender in defense mode." The giant stone monster appeared on his side of the field, and the defense meter flashed 2700. "Now it's my move." He drew his card. "I sacrifice my Destiny Hero-Defender to summon Destiny Hero-Dasher in attack mode." The stone defender was replaced by the wheeled monster, and the attack meter flashed 2100. "Now my Destiny Hero-Dasher will destroy your bird." The monster raised the speed in its wheels, then took off across the field, slamming its wheels into the Birdface and cracking its armor. Though Nicole's life-points fell to 6000, the bird was still standing. "Why wasn't it destroyed?" asked Darius as Dasher returned to his side of the field. It then switched to defense mode, and the defense meter flashed 1000.
"Oh, it was," said Nicole, "but when it's destroyed, I can summon a Harpie Lady from my deck." The crack in the Birdface's armor began to grow. "Behold, Harpie Lady #1." The armor, along with the rest of the monster, shattered, and the Harpie Lady appeared from within the bird. It wore a purple body-suit, and its green, winged arms ended in sharp talons, as did its legs. Its long, pink hair waved in the wind as the attack meter flashed 1300. The attack meter then climbed to 1600. "As long as this monster remains on the field, all wind monsters gain 300 attack points."
"Something's wrong," said Kaiba, taking an interest in the duel. "Even if she is a new student, she should have qualified for at least Ra Yellow during the entrance exams."
"Maybe she scored low on the written exam," suggested Mokuba.
"I don't think so," said Kaiba. "She seems to have a great deal of tactical knowledge as well as dueling skill. She should not be in Osiris Red."
Serenity took this moment to chime in. "Maybe it was an enrollment error or something," she offered.
"It could be," said Kaiba, "but something's not right here."
"My move," said Nicole, drawing her card. As she did, the clock hands rotated again, this time coming to rest on 6:00. The beam of light was now a semi-circle, extending from the right half of the clock face. "First I'll activate one of my face-down cards." She raised the card. "Monster Reborn! This card will allow me to revive my Hummingbird." The red bird appeared on her side of the field, and the attack meter flashed 800, then rose to 1100. "Next I'll use its special ability again, giving me 1500 more life-points." Her life-point meter rose to 7500. "Then I'll sacrifice my two monsters to summon this!" Her harpie and hummingbird became enveloped by swirling winds. The winds merged together, grew enormous, then dissipated, revealing a large, golden, almost mechanical bird. Its golden wings extended from its hips, with fire forming the membrane of its wings instead of feathers. Its legs ended in talons, and its long golden tail was enveloped in fire. Its upper body was much less mechanical than its lower body. Its slender arms emanated fire just above elbows. It wore a golden chest-plate, a dark blue gem at the collar. There were golden, v-shaped extensions on the sides of its head, with fire emanating from each tip, and a blue jewel adorned its forehead. It screeched loudly as the attack meter flashed 2400. "The Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!!!"
Kaiba's eyes shot wide open. "That's one of the Egyptian God cards!" He turned his gaze to Nicole. "That means she must be one of the Egyptian Gods!" He approached the duel. "Stop this duel right now!"
"Oh, I don't think you want to do that, Kaiba," said Nicole.
"I think I do."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I…" Kaiba stopped, realizing what he was being goaded into. "Why don't I want to stop this duel?"
"Because I am not going to stop this duel. That means that the only way to stop the duel is for Darius here to surrender, at which point I will be the victor, and the Egyptian God card becomes mine automatically, along with his soul." She smiled happily. "It's quite the nifty situation, don't you think?"
Kaiba could not believe that the childish girl standing before him was an Egyptian God. I never should have let Darius duel, he thought.
"Aw, cheer up, Kaiba," said Nicole. "There's still the tiniest chance that I'll lose and you'll claim my Egyptian God card." She turned to address everyone. "Allow me to formally introduce myself." She pulled her hair back, revealing the Lens of Revelation in her right eye. The lens flashed brightly, and the Osiris Red uniform vanished from her body. She now stood proudly in her golden armor, relieved to be out of the schoolgirl outfit. "I am Nephthys, one of the seven Egyptian Gods." She turned to Darius. "I'm so sorry, but at the end of this duel, your Egyptian God card and your soul will be mine!"
----
Yugi stared out the window of the plane, thinking about how he could do nothing to stop Zorc from taking the Egyptian God card. As he looked down at the ocean, he heard a knock on his door. "Come in."
As the door opened, Yugi could see that it was Tea who had knocked. "We'll be arriving in Japan in a couple of hours. Just thought you'd like to know."
"Thanks, Tea," said Yugi, "but we both know that's not all you want to say."
Tea decided to get straight to the point. "I'm concerned about you, Yugi. You've seemed depressed ever since Zorc got away with the Egyptian God card."
Yugi turned back to the window. "I couldn't stop him. All I could do was watch as he claimed another soul."
"You're right," said Tea. "That is all you could do. It's not your fault. When Joe accepted that duel, he willingly put his soul on the line. He may even have known exactly what he was getting into."
"He may have," said Yugi, turning to face Tea, "but that doesn't change the fact that we were helpless against Zorc once again. He's more powerful than ever, and now we have to deal with Gods as well. What if we can't stop him this time?"
"That is a very real possibility, but we've overcome every challenge we've faced so far."
"But it was with Atem's help that we managed to do that. He's gone now, Tea."
"And it was you who sent him away. You defeated him." She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. Atem wasn't the King of Games. You are." She leaned in and kissed him. At first he was surprised, but that faded as she embraced him.
After a few seconds, he broke the kiss. "Tea…," he began, but she put a finger over his mouth, silencing him.
"We'll get through this, Yugi." She pulled her hand back. "Together."
----
Nephthys smiled. "Now I think I'll have my Phoenix destroy your Destiny Hero." She turned to her monster. "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, destroy his monster with Eternal Flame!!" The flames covering the God card's body began to intensify. They grew larger and brighter, merging together. Eventually, the phoenix's entire body was covered in its own flame. It screeched loudly once, and then the fire shot forth from its body, moving towards the Destiny Hero in the shape of a phoenix. It collided with the enemy monster, engulfing it in flames. Though the monster was mostly machine and had no mouth, everyone there heard it let out a scream of agony as the flames consumed it. Nephthys smiled again. "Aren't the fires of the phoenix beautiful?"
"Stunning," said Darius, drawing his card. "Now I'll activate Dasher's special ability. Once, if I draw a monster at the beginning of my turn, I can special summon it immediately. And it just so happens that I drew Destiny Hero-Double Dude. So now I'll summon it in defense mode." The well dressed monster appeared on his side of the field, and the defense meter flashed 1000. "That ends my turn." As Nephthys drew her card, the clock hands rotated again, stopping on 9:00. The beam of light was now three quarters of a circle, and almost completely surrounded Darius. "One more turn, and the abilities of the Clock Tower Prison will be unlocked."
"Ooh, that should be fun," said Nephthys without a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She really wanted to see what the clock tower could do. "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, destroy his Double Dude with Eternal Flame!" The phoenix-shaped fire shot forth once again, vaporizing the hero. When the flames cleared, the two Double Dude tokens were standing where their single body once stood. The defense meters flashed 1000. Nephthys looked confused. "So, you're monster splits in two when it's destroyed?"
"That's right," said Darius. "When Double Dude is destroyed, its two personalities gain separate bodies." He drew his card, and frowned. "I end my turn."
Nephthys looked displeased as well. "Did you run out of monsters for me to play with?"
"Don't worry. I still have my tokens."
"Not for long." She drew her card, and the clock hands rotated again, coming to rest on 12:00. The beam of light now emanated from the entire clock face, perfectly round. It surrounded Darius completely. When Darius smiled at this, Nephthys asked, "So what does it do?"
"You'll see soon enough."
"Fine. Then let me show you the true power of the Lens of Revelation."
"What do you mean?" asked Mokuba. "I thought the lens let people see the truth."
"That's a little inaccurate," she said as the lens started to glow. "It doesn't so much see the truth as dispel the false. Lies, illusions, it all fades before the Lens of Revelation." She turned to Darius. "And unfortunately for you, that includes the two personalities of your hero. He was real. The tokens are merely illusions." The Lens glowed brighter, and the tokens faded from the field.
"How did we not know that the lens could do that?" asked Kaiba.
"Don't feel too bad, Kaiba. You're daughter didn't know it either. If she had, she wouldn't have lost to Apophis."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's simple, really. That snake's ability, or should I say the Manacle of Obedience's ability, to control monsters is a mental trick. It can easily be severed by the power of the lens." She turned to face Darius. "Now I'll attack you directly with Eternal Flame!" The flames covered the God card once more, assuming the shape of the phoenix, then flew at Darius. As they came down on him, however, they were blocked by the beam of light. The flames dispersed as they collided with the light. "So that's it. You can't be attacked directly once that beam is complete."
"That's right. After four turns, I suffer no damage from direct attacks." He drew his card. "Now I'll summon Destiny Hero-Diamond Dude in defense mode." A human monster appeared on his side of the field. It wore a black suit with a green cape, and had diamonds protruding from all over its body. The defense meter flashed 1600. "Next I'll place a card face-down, and then I'll activate Diamond Dude's special ability. Once per turn, I can look at the top card of my deck. If it's a normal magic card, I can send it to the graveyard and have Diamond Dude activate it during my next turn. Any other card is placed on the bottom of my deck." He looked at the top card of his deck. "Unfortunately for me, it's Destiny Hero-Fear Monger." He placed the card on the bottom of his deck. "That ends my turn."
Nephthys drew her card. "You may be protected from attacks, but I doubt your monsters can say the same. First I'll summon Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds in defense mode." A green, bird-shaped statue appeared on her side of the field, and the defense meter flashed 1000. It began glowing with energy, and a green circle, inscribed with ancient runes, extended from it, growing to surround the field. "As long as this card is on the field, you can't special summon any monsters except for wind monsters. Now I'll have the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys attack your Destiny Hero." The fire shot from the God card, descending on the Diamond Dude.
"I activate the trap card D-Counter," said Darius, raising one of his face-down cards. "When one of my Destiny Heroes is attacked, this card allows me to destroy the attacking monster. Now say goodbye to your Egyptian God card!" A glowing light emanated from the Destiny Hero. It blasted across the field, destroying the fire, and vaporized the Sacred Phoenix. When the light cleared, Darius could see that Nephthys wasn't happy.
"You meanie," she said, turning her head slightly. "Why'd you have to destroy my phoenix?"
"That's just how the game is played."
She smiled. "You have no idea." She extended her arms outward, as if gesturing to something. "Now behold the fires of resurrection!" As she said this, flames sprung up from the field, forming a circular pattern and burning every magic and trap card on the field, including the Clock Tower Prison, to ashes. The flames and ashes began swirling together where the phoenix once stood. They began taking shape, forming the body of the phoenix in the fire. The phoenix-shaped fire screeched, then dissipated, the golden God card standing in its place. The attack meter once again flashed 2400. She smiled and said, "So sorry to tell you, but the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys is immortal. Whenever it's destroyed, it is reborn from the fire, consuming all magic and trap cards in the process. That means you are no longer protected by your clock tower."
"That may be," said Darius, "but my clock tower has another effect. If the four turns have passed before it's destroyed, then I can summon my Destiny Hero Dreadmaster." The fire from the clock tower had died, but the smoke was still thick. From within the smoke, a shadowy figure appeared. As it approached the field, however, it was bombarded by an extraordinarily strong wind. As it tried to push through the wind to reach the field, the razor speed of the gale ripped it to shreds.
"Too bad for you my Barrier Statue prevents you from special summoning non-wind monsters." She smiled. "I place a card face-down, and end my turn."
Darius drew his card. "First I'll activate Diamond Dude's special ability." He looked at the top card of his deck, and smiled. "The card on top of my deck is Lightning Vortex. Now by sending it to the graveyard, I can activate it during my next turn." He placed the card in his graveyard. "Now I'll place a card face-down, and end my turn."
"Time to end this little game," said Nephthys, drawing her card. "First, I'll activate my face-down card." She raised the card. "Icarus Attack. By sacrificing one winged beast monster, I can destroy two cards on the field. Now I'll sacrifice my Barrier Statue to destroy your Diamond Dude and your face-down card." A ray of light shot down from the sky and struck the Barrier Statue. The statue then discharged two rays of light which struck the face-down and the Destiny Hero. All three cards were destroyed at once, leaving the field bare except for the phoenix. "Next I'll summon another Birdface in attack mode." The armored bird appeared on her side of the field, and the attack meter flashed 1600. "Now I'll have the Birdface attack you directly." The bird dove into Darius, knocking him down, then returned to Nephthys' side of the field. As Darius got to his feet, his life-point meter fell to 2200. "Now, Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys! Wipe out the rest of his life-points with Eternal Flame!!" The fire surrounded the phoenix, taking its shape, then shot towards Darius. The phoenix of fire engulfed Darius in flames, and he screamed as his life-points fell to zero. "Now to claim your soul," she said as the lens began to glow. In a flash of light, Darius' soul was pulled from his body and trapped within the lens. "And now for the Egyptian God card." She began walking towards Darius.
Kaiba stepped between them. "You can't have that card. I won't let you take it."
Nephthys giggled a little, then placed a hand on Kaiba's cheek. "Aw, sweetie, do you really think you can stop me? I won that card. Even you can't deny the truth. The card is mine. Now please, step aside." She walked around Kaiba to reach Darius and knelt down to pick up the card. She stood and turned to face the group. "Well, it's been fun, but I really must be going. See you later." With that, she vanished.
Amara ran over to Darius' body and knelt beside it. "Darius…," she said sadly. She turned to her father. "We have to put a stop to this."
"Don't worry," said Kaiba. "We will."
----
"Look what I got," said Nephthys happily as she entered Zorc's chamber. She held up the God card so that everyone could see.
"It seems that your plan worked, Apophis," said Zorc, dividing his attention between the two Gods. He stepped down to accept the card from Nephthys. "Now to revive him." He turned his full attention to Nephthys. "The sacrifice?" Nephthys bowed to Zorc, then raised her head to reveal that the lens had begun to glow. Zorc reached into his coat and retrieved the Dagger of Fate. He held it up, blade pointed at Nephthys, ready to receive the soul. In a flash of shadow energy, the soul moved from the lens into the dagger. He lowered his arm before speaking. "From now on, you two are to watch Yugi and his friends. I don't want you dueling them until we are ready."
"Yes, sir," said Nephthys.
"Understood," said Apophis.
"What about me?" asked a voice from the shadows.
"I have a special mission for you," said Zorc. "There's someone who might actually be able to help them defeat us. I want you to get rid of him."
"And what of the Pharaoh? I want a chance to settle my score with him."
"Take care of this problem, and you'll get that chance…" Zorc smiled wickedly. "…Anubis."