Chapter 12

A/N: Yes, I wrote this one third-person. I have trouble describing certain things from first-person (took me long enough to figure that out!), so I changed my exact system here.


"By my supremacy, I'll make the first move!" the Wolfshadow declared, as he drew his first card.

Verity's lip curled. Typical male superiority; he's so used to being an alpha…

"I'll place one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

That immediately lifted Verity's ears and suspicions. Defense mode, and face down to boot? That thing must have some special ability that activates if it's attacked. "Be cautious, Abidos."

Abidos nodded slightly.

"So which of us will play next?"

After a pause that Verity had learned to identify as "drawing a blank," he shrugged and drew a card. "My draw!" He glanced at the card and then announced, "I'll play the Pharaonic Protector, in attack mode!"

The mummy appeared and he ordered, "Attack!"

It lunged forwards and stabbed its weapon into the glowing card.

The monster that appeared was hideous! It looked like a wolf…sort of…but it was bone and mangy fur!

And both monsters were destroyed.

The Wolfshadow growled in satisfaction, even as three hundred of his life points vanished. "That was my Carrion Feeder. Its special ability allows it to destroy any monster that attacks it."

"Very creepy," Verity retorted.

Abidos studied his hand and chose another card. "I'll place one card face down and end my turn. Your move, my sweet."

Verity tried to keep from reacting to the endearment; she could feel the Wolfshadow's mind pushing against the shields she was holding, and any distraction would spell doom for the world.

"I draw." She looked at the card in her hand.

The card in her hand made her pause. It was a pitch-black fox with red eyes and a gleaming pair of Xs on its face. Double-Cross Fox. I've never had reason to use you, because of your ability…

"True it's a risky move, allowing me on the field, Pack-Leader. But for now, I'd suggest your friend of your first duel."

Friend of my first duel? Verity studied her hand more carefully. There –

"I summon Fox of the Hunt in attack mode!"

A wild-looking man appeared on her side. He somehow looked like he could pass for her father, or at the least her older brother, thanks to the ears and tail.

"Since you only played one monster, and my partner destroyed it, your life points are wide open! Fox of the Hunt, attack!"

He leaped forward, drawing a knife with a wicked grin. The hit landed, and the Wolfshadow lost twelve hundred life points.

Let's see…I could play Vixen of the Hunt next turn…assuming I draw her, of course. The strategy I want to use would require that Foxy up there survives. Verity didn't dare officially think it out any further than that – her shielding wasn't that good.

"My draw!" He looked at the card, growled in satisfaction, and slapped the card down. "I play Blood Wolf in attack mode!"

The wolf that appeared this time had more meat on his bones than his last friend…but he also looked like he'd just been dragged from a kill.

Verity spoke up. "Fox of the Hunt's special ability pulls all attacks towards him."

"Very well; attack that fox, Blood Wolf!"

The wolf's teeth latched into the Fox's arm, and the Fox retaliated by stabbing the wolf's neck.

"My Blood Wolf also has a special ability: when it attacks a monster, it drains two hundred attack points from that monster."

The Blood Wolf disappeared, as the Fox of the Hunt studied his arm ruefully. And sure enough, his attack points dropped from twelve hundred to one thousand. "I likely won't survive another attack, Pack-Leader."

Great; more pressure. Verity glanced at Abidos's field. And that card didn't activate, so either it's not a trap, or it's a specific kind of trap.

"My move!" Abidos swiped another card up. Then… "I play Pot of Greed, permitting me to draw two new cards." Studying the two cards, he made another decision. "I play Pharaoh's Servant in defense mode and two cards face down, and end my turn."

Verity drew a card, wondering what Abidos's strategy was. She was choosing to stay out of his head, because she could either have perfect shields – for a value of "perfect" – or excellent mind-reading, but not both at once at this time. Glancing at the card, her eyes widened. In her hand was a card she rarely drew. He looked like Double-Cross Fox…almost. He was still pitch-black, but there were three Xs on his face instead of two: one over each eye and one between his eyes. Plus, his eyes were a bright green.

There's a strategy that might work. Verity glanced at Abidos. The trouble is…it might wreck whatever strategy Abidos has.

She studied the rest of her hand. The worst part of this is…I can't think too hard about any strategy I could do, because then the Wolf would pick up on it!

She studied her hand carefully. She hadn't had Vixen of the Hunt to begin with, so that was out, but what did she have? …Pot of Greed…Polymerization…Baby Fox…Double-Cross Fox…and an odd card she hadn't had reason to use ever, called Gone to Ground.

...Gone to Ground… A glimmer of a strategy began to appear. But first, she needed a stall. She figured Abidos had a strategy already, and she didn't want to wreck it.

"I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two new cards!" That had been weird, the fact that we both had this card in our respective hands at the same time. When she looked at the two cards, she had another stall-out. One was a rather silly card, Fantastic Mister Fox; the other…

...Hello, Yokaivulpes.

"Hello indeed, Verity." That was the only card that didn't call her "Pack-Leader." Apparently she saw herself as an equal.

I have some ideas on what to do next. Could you shuffle through them and tell me if they're any good?

For a minute, there was silence. What was in Verity's head to be studied wasn't so much a strategy, which required more brain power than she could spare at that moment, as a couple options. Playing Double-Cross Fox would send it over to the opponent's side of the field, taking half her life points away with it – not a card to play when desperately short on life points. Playing Triple-Cross Fox the very next turn would cause every card on the field to get wiped out, without touching anybody's life points. That left her open to summon a brand-new monster. That was the ideal strategy…if she was playing alone.

But she had a partner; she couldn't just wipe out his hard-won monster…Gone to Ground protected one monster from being destroyed for one turn…but it only protected fox monsters.

"So make it a fox, Verity. There is a fusion between his type of card and yours. And for the record, that strategy is probably your best option. Polymerization's a rather difficult card for a specter like the Wolf to create, and any other fusion he might do can't touch anything except wolves. Double-Cross Fox will still be on the field on your next turn. And this is your last chance to play him – the Fox of the Hunt will go down the Wolf's next turn."

I trust you, Verity.

Verity shot a look at Abidos. The boy was looking at her, urging her to make her move.

"Well? Is that the end of your turn?"

Verity growled at him. "I play…" this is still hard, because I know what's coming… "Double-Cross Fox in defense mode…"

The black fox appeared on her field. Then he looked over his shoulder with an expression walking the line between apologetic and malicious, spun and latched his teeth into her duel disc.

And she felt the life points getting drained away. It took every bit of effort she had not to make any sound.

"Verity!" Abidos sounded worried.

"Double-Cross Fox…" she got out as the monster let go and leaped again, "drains half the life points of the user and…goes to the opponent's side of the field, acting as their monster."

Wolfshadow laughed, a howling laugh. "Thank you for the aid!"

Verity ignored him. "I place two cards face down and end my turn."

Abidos stared at her for another second, as if asking her what she was thinking. She wasn't going to answer, though; it was taking all her focus to keep her shields up.

This had better work. If it doesn't, I'm all out of ideas.

"You will need to use Baby Fox…or possibly Mister Fox…to accomplish the fusion. Fox of the Hunt…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence. The Wolf drew a card and snarled, "Since Double-Cross Fox has no attack points, I won't bother using him…for now. Instead, I'll play two more Blood Wolves in attack mode!" As soon as they appeared, he added, "And now I'll activate a magic card: Nightly Howl! This gives my wolves five hundred extra attack points, but only if there's more than one."

Each wolf howled, as their attack points raised.

"Blood Wolf Number One, attack Fox of the Hunt!"

The first one leaped for her monster's throat. Verity glanced sadly at her life points as they dropped again. Fifteen hundred life points. This is no time to take any more hits.

"Now, I could attack you again…" his gaze swiveled to meet Abidos's. "But I think it'll be more entertaining to attack your mate's life points directly!"

The second wolf sprang and latched his teeth into Abidos's duel disc. As she remembered what it felt like when Double-Cross Fox had done that, she sympathized.

His life points dropped equal to the wolf's attack points…plus an extra two hundred drain. Neither of us should take any extra hits…

"I end my turn."

Verity blinked at Abidos's field. When had he activated a trap? But there it was: First Sarcophagus. It hadn't done anything…but with a name like "first," it was probably waiting for the other two face-downs.

Abidos drew a card and smiled at it. Then he straightened again. "I activate my two magic cards – Second Sarcophagus and Third Sarcophagus! Together, they summon Spirit of the Pharaoh!"

Verity breathed a sigh of relief as the tall form appeared. I held out and he got a monster on the field that I can actually work with! Now to make sure he doesn't attack the wrong monster…

"He won't," Yokaivulpes put into her head. "He's well aware that if you're going to put a monster on your opponent's field, you have a plan that involves it directly."

"Attack the first Blood Wolf!"

Well…at least it went down and he lost another few life points.

Then Abidos turned to Verity. "Your move, my love."

Verity drew a card, not even caring what it was. "I summon…" Baby Fox is a little too valuable to waste in this move, so… "Fantastic Mister Fox! But don't blink or you'll miss him, for I play Polymerization, fusing him with Abidos's Spirit of the Pharaoh to form the Ancient Fox!"

The creature that appeared was definitely vulpine…but also oddly mummified…like my Fox of the Desert card, only older.

"As a monster can't attack right after Polymerization, I'll need to play a different card to commit my attack, so…I play Triple-Cross Fox in attack mode!"

The fox appeared.

The two foxes glared at each other, starting to snarl.

"An interesting ability comes into play if Double-Cross Fox and Triple-Cross Fox are on the field at the same time…"

"That snarling is an act, by the way," Yokaivulpes sounded amused. "Those two are actually rather good friends in the Duel Monster World."

The two launched themselves at each other, and Verity barely had time to declare, "Activate spell!" before a flash of light covered the arena!

When the light cleared, the field appeared empty! No monster was in sight!

"When Double-Cross Fox and Triple-Cross Fox are on the field at the same time, they self-destruct, taking all cards on the field with them and leaving life points intact."

Abidos blinked. "But…what about Ancient Fox?"

Verity grinned at him. She knew she looked feral and she didn't care anymore. "I activated a spell card seconds before the explosion," and she pointed her thumb at a hole in the arena. "It's called Gone to Ground, and its sole purpose is to protect one fox monster from destruction. This was the reason I fused your monster with one of mine, even though it dropped the power a tad."

Ancient Fox poked its nose out of the hole, glanced around as if making sure everything was safe, and then climbed out again as the hole sealed behind it.

"Now, we still can't attack with this monster this turn, so I'll end my turn now. Your move, Wolfy."

He started growling. It took her a second to realize he was laughing. "That was it? Your entire strategy was to clear the field, leaving your monster as the only one standing?"

Verity gritted her teeth and growled, "Make. Your. Move."

"Very well…" He drew a card, glanced at it, and grinned fiercely. "I play Juvie Pack in attack mode!"

Three young wolves appeared before him.

"These three have a special ability as well. They can attack three times in one turn!"

Each one took turns leaping out at Ancient Fox. With each impact, Ancient Fox lost eight hundred attack points. Spirit of the Pharaoh would have survived that with his twenty-five hundred attack points. But Ancient Fox dropped from two thousand…to twelve hundred…to four hundred…to being destroyed.

The life points came out of Verity's hide, and she fell to her knees.

"Verity!" Abidos was outright frantic.

"I'm fine, my love. Make your move!"

"I'm not finished. I sacrifice Juvie Pack to summon a new monster: the Midnight Runner!"

Verity looked up sharply as a new monster appeared. It looked like a wolf constructed completely out of darkness with eyes that made Double-Cross Fox's eyes look friendly.

"He's got a special ability as well: for every wolf I have in my grave, he gains a thousand attack and defense points!"

"What?" Abidos sounded terrified, and Verity didn't blame him as the points started stacking up.

The Wolf had ended up with five wolf cards in his graveyard, so that gave him five thousand attack and defense points!

"How are we going to defeat that?" Abidos was sweating; Verity could smell it from where she stood, and judging by the hungry look on the Wolf's face, he too could smell the Egyptian's fear.

"Unfortunately, it can't attack the same turn it's been summoned, so I'll end my turn."

Keep it together, Abidos…it's your move!


Abidos studied his hand frantically, looking for a way to win. This is ridiculous! A monster with five thousand attack points, how can anyone win against that?

Then he drew his next card and could have smacked himself for not seeing the obvious. Of course! If you can't defeat it in a straight attack…

"I play Tribute to the Doomed! By discarding one card from my hand," he chose Soul Guide, as he didn't have any monsters on the field at that moment, "I can send one monster to the graveyard!"

The wolf of darkness was wrapped up in bandages and dragged down into the field.

To say that the Wolfshadow was displeased would be an understatement.

It's a shame I don't have a monster with his exact life points total in attack points, I'd love to put him out of his misery. Oh well; Verity shall finish it. "Next I play Pharaoh's Servant in attack mode!" Abidos called an attack as soon as it appeared, and the Wolfshadow took nine hundred points of direct damage. "I end my turn." Now let's hope she has a monster with at least three hundred attack points.

Verity grinned at him, giving him a flurry of excitement. "Thank you, my prince!" Then she drew a card – again, without even looking at it – and chose a different card to play. "I summon Scarlet Fox in attack mode!"

Somehow that red-furred fox pulled off a look that was feminine and completely sexy all at once.

And it had eight hundred attack points.

"Attack his life points directly!"

She leaped and sank her teeth into his duel disc, causing him to howl again – but this time, it was a howl of despair.

Light, wind and shadow started waging all-out war before the two duelists, spiraling upwards from around the Wolf in a strange tornado, and he was still howling inside the spiral.

Then the howl started changing…reverting back into a human sound.

When the light cleared, the shadow dispersed and the wind died down, Professor Maximar fell to the ground, minus his shirt, human again and minus the red mark on his arm.

Verity fell to her knees again, breathing rapidly.

Abidos was torn between helping the professor and helping her.

Fortunately, someone must have summoned medical help to wait outside until the duel was over – it could have even been Professor Maximar – because they came in to look him over. One of them looked at Abidos. "He's still alive, just completely worn out. According to Lady Kisara, shapeshifting magic takes a great deal out of even experienced casters, and it's even worse when there's a possession involved."

Verity had explained some time back that apparently Kisara went by Mrs. Kaiba fairly seldom, and was usually addressed in the manner the nurse just used.

One of the other nurses told Abidos, rather cheekily, "You see to your girlfriend. We've got this."

Then they left, leaving him wondering what he was supposed to do now.

Verity looked up at him, her breathing slowing down again.

Now what?

"Now nothing," a voice suddenly entered Abidos's head: her voice. "We won. The Wolfshadow has been destroyed, and will never again appear within the Maygo bloodline. They're free." And a smile spread over her face.

Abidos fell to his knees. That had been a Shadow Duel, after all, and those take a great deal out of a person.

Verity sidestepped over to him, still on all fours. Then she started up over his knees, rubbing her head against his chest, seconds before tilting to the side and falling across his lap, smiling up at him. "Do you still want that kiss?"

Is she trying to seduce me? Abidos wondered, amused. He chose not to think about it too hard, as he slid his hands underneath her shoulders and lifted her up. "Would you be terribly offended if I called you my vixen?"

Her arms circled his neck. "Normally I'd take exception to being called a vixen…but if I'm your vixen…" her smile became a grin. "I suppose I can make an exception."

Their lips met, and Verity activated a teleportation purely on instinct, removing them from the arena. After all, some things were best done in private.


A/N 2: …They went to her cave-room. They, um…possibly made love on Verity's makeshift bed? Maximar had seen this coming, had told his sister, and she as Abidos's mother had given them permission to marry (actually, she told Abidos that he was forbidden to sleep with her unless he was officially planning on marrying her, which he was definitely considering). She knew that Abidos still had a fairly ancient view of that topic, and Verity's part fox-demon, so she's odd anyway. Their ages are borderline for sex/marriage by Chaotia standards, but it wasn't anything that would outright scandalize either Maygo.