Yugi Mouto is a great duelist, but there were times in his life when he faced challenges that he couldn't have handled alone.
In Duelist Kingdom, reports say that he had to team up with his good friend Joey Wheeler to defeat two Eliminators who called themselves the Paradox Brothers. Despite the fact that Para and Dox had the advantage the whole time with a lethal battlefield, Yugi and Joey defeated them.
In Battle City, Yugi had to team up with his arch-rival Seto Kaiba to take down two masked nutjobs named Lumis and Umbra. Again, their foes had the advantage, but Yugi and Kaiba's teamwork pulled through, and they won.
Me, I don't know the first thing about dueling this way. I never had to look out for anyone but myself in a duel…
I wish I had some more practice in it before I had to bet the lives of all three of us – especially Andy – on it…
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHAPTER TWENTY
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sum Of Its Parts
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
Sitting on her throne in the Palace of Shadow, the Shadow Queen carefully studied two Monster cards…
She frowned as she picked up her cellphone and dialed a number.
"Crump!" she shouted into it.
"Yes, milady?" answered a voice.
"Listen," she said, "when you made this suggestion this morning, I had… doubts…"
"Trust me, milady," answered Crump, "they can get the job done…"
The Queen sighed.
"Okay," she muttered. "I'm only doing this because you were successful in the most recent acquisition. Now get it fed and bring it to the Palace of Shadow quickly.
"Hopefully it won't be needed… if this plan of yours works."
She hung up and headed to her fireplace.
Meanwhile, in Rogueport, Crump took two hot dogs and a soda from a vendor.
"Here," he said, handing them to a figure by his side. "Wouldn't want to go on an empty stomach…"
The figure quietly took them…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The duel with Diana was two hours behind them, and the noon sun was in the sky… And the terrain had changed for the worse.
The land seemed barren and lifeless – the forest had given way to a rocky wasteland.
"Man," said Andy, "I do NOT like this place…"
Haze and smog started to appear from cracks in the ground.
"Be prepared guys," warned Francesca. "I think another Shadow Queen trap is afoot…"
When the smoke cleared, a strange sight resembling the entrance into a city subway was in front of them. A metal stairway led into the earth.
Above it was a sign that read:
GEARVILLE
"Gearville?" said Stan, in surprise, taking out the map.
He looked at it.
"Yep, this is right where the picture on the map of the gear is…" he said.
"Well, we found the next town," said Andy with a shrug. "Even if it is… underground."
He started down the stairs.
"Wait, Andy are you sure that's…" started Stan.
Andy continued down the stairs.
"…wise?"
Not knowing what else to do, Stan and Francesca followed him.
As they descended the stairs, they heard the sounds of machinery in the dim light below. Feelings of dread came upon them as they continued…
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they looked around in awe.
This was hardly a town. It looked like they were in the middle of a huge, clockwork machine.
Everywhere, there were gears, sprockets, gaskets, and pistons, some the size of houses, all turning in tune to one another. The floor was metal, and oil slicks were all over the place.
"This isn't a town!" exclaimed Andy. "This is a huge machine!"
"Guys, maybe we'd better go back the way we came…" muttered Francesca.
They turned, but the exit was gone!
"Okay…" stuttered Stan, "let's not panic."
A flickering light shone in front of them, and a huge form materialized in the center of the vast room…
"PERFECT MACHINE KING?" shouted Stan.
"NOW can we panic?" asked Francesca.
"No problem," grunted Andy, flicking his Disk into position. "I'll just…"
But before he could draw a card, two hatches on the giant Machine's shoulders opened, and it launched a volley of missiles at the three teenagers!
Everything went dark.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Ooh," moaned Francesca, rubbing her head. "Stan? Where's Stan?"
"You fell on him!" grunted Stan.
"Sorry," moaned Fran, getting up.
She looked around.
"Andy…" she said, in panic. "Where's Andy?"
"That sucker-punching junk heap ran off with him," groaned Stan. "I tried to stop him, but with my arm pinned by your shoulder, I couldn't reach my Disk!"
"We've got to find him!" shouted Francesca. "There's no telling what the Queen might have done by now!"
"Calm down," said Stan. "You heard what Merlee said. He has to be defeated in a duel first… And that didn't look like a duel to me…"
"It wasn't," said a male voice.
They looked up.
"If you want to save your friend, follow the red lights," said a female voice.
A group of red lights lit up along the floor.
"I guess we have no choice…" muttered Stan.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The two of them followed the intimidating labyrinth of gaskets and gears. Whoever had designed this place was obviously not in his right mind.
That was an irony lost on them at the moment. Machines like this demanded precision and care to build – most clockworks were orderly. But this one seemed to have no rhyme or reason, and serve no purpose.
Thus, it was both orderly and chaotic at the same time. Who'd have thought that the Shadow Queen would manage the impossible?
Eventually the lights stopped as they entered a huge room; the floor was still metal, and the moving gears and pistons were still present, both on all sides, and above…
But what really shocked them was what was standing in the corner.
It was Andy, but he wasn't well. He had a look of sheer terror on his face…
…frozen on his face…
…and he had apparently been turned into a statue of metal!
"ANDY!" screamed Francesca, running up to him.
She sobbed as she caressed him.
"How could they?" she cried. "When I find out who did this, I'm gonna…"
"Fear not, Francesca," said the male voice they had heard earlier, "Andy is still alive!"
"We just gave him a nice jacketing of titanium to keep him from going anywhere," said the female voice. "The ultimate in restraining devices!"
"Show yourselves, you rotten…" she started to shout.
A loud whir was heard, and two chains with large hooks on them descended from the ceiling. Two figures were hanging onto them. They leapt down the final ten feet.
It was two androids, one male and one female, covered in from-fitting armor.
"Roboyarou and Robolady," scowled Stan. "I figured more Machines were behind this…"
"Normally, we'd recite the Team Rocket motto," chuckled Robolady, "but that old thing's been done to death by now."
"Listen you two buckets of bolts," demanded Francesca. "Let Andy out of that thing, or so help me, I'll…"
"Calm down, Francesca," said Roboyarou. "We have every intention of letting him go!"
Francesca looked stumped.
"Something tells me that it's going to come with a string attached," she accused.
"Uh huh," said Robolady, nodding. "See, in all likelihood, you two won't be going with him…"
The two siblings raised their arms, and shiny Duel Disks appeared on them.
"You're going to have to duel us first," said Roboyarou. "You win, and you're all free to go… We win… you both take his place! But we'll let him go anyway…"
"How thoughtful," muttered Francesca. "But how am I supposed to duel two against one?"
"Don't make us laugh!" chortled Robolady. "We'd bury you in three rounds that way. It will be me and my brother… Against you and Stan. Tag team!"
Francesca looked at Stan.
"We don't seem to have a choice, Francesca…" he muttered.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
In the Palace of Shadow, three people were watching the proceedings – the Shadow Queen, Lord Crump, and Sir Grodus.
"So, Crump," said Grodus, offhand, "where did you come up with this idea?"
"It was simple, really," said Crump with a smile. "Neither Francesca nor Stan have EVER dueled as a team before, much less with each other. But with Roboyarou and Robolady, it's like second nature to them! They can't lose!"
"We'll see," said the Queen. "Or they won't be the only one who loses…"
Crump gulped.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"All right, hold on!" snapped Francesca. "I don't even know how to tag team! This is so… confusing…"
"Well…" chuckled Roboyarou, "let me give you a crash course, so you know we're not making it up as we go along…"
He paused.
"Rule #1. We alternate turns. "I'll go first, followed by you, then my sister, then Stan, and then back to me. No one may attack until everyone has drawn once.
"Rule #2. Everyone starts out with 8,000 Life Points, as usual. If one player's Life Points fall to zero, his or her partner is on his own. However, you must defeat both members of a team for any victory to be achieved.
"Rule #3. Under most conditions, any Monster you summon is only under your jurisdiction. However, you can make a sacrifice, Fusion, or Ritual using one of your partner's Monsters. In that case, said Monster is under the jurisdiction of both partners. You can also use your Monster to defend your partner.
"And finally, rule #4. Magic and Trap Cards that don't target Monsters affect both partners, for bane or benefit.
"I think that should do…"
"Fine," said Francesca.
They all flicked their Disks into position, and eight holo-imagers shot out.
"LET'S DUEL!" they all shouted.
The Life Point counters rose to 8,000 apiece, and they drew their first hands.
I'll get you out of that thing, thought Francesca, looking at Andy. I promise…
"As I said, I'll start…" said Roboyarou, drawing his first hand.
He flicked open his Field Slot, and placed a card into it.
"And I'll start by playing Fusion Gate!" he exclaimed.
"Fusion Gate?" gasped Francesca. "That… sounds familiar…"
Frankly, she had been expecting a Machine Monster.
"Fusion Gate is a powerful card…" answered Stan. "So long as it's on the field, anyone can fuse two Monsters together without the need of a Polymerization card – the only 'catch' is that the monsters that they fuse together are removed from play."
"Correct!" exclaimed Roboyarou. "And I'll also place this card facedown, and end my turn."
He played a card in his Disk, and it appeared in front of him.
No Monsters? thought Francesca. Odd…
She made her first draw.
"Okay, I'll summon Amazoness Fighter in Attack Mode," she said.
She put a card down, and the muscular Amazon appeared. (1,500/1,300)
"That will be my turn," she said.
Robolady drew, and made a smile.
"Time to make use of this Fusion Gate!" she smirked. "I'm using it to fuse together Gaia the Fierce Knight, and Curse of Dragon!"
She placed two cards into her Disk. First the powerful black knight bearing two lances appeared on his dark steed. Then a fierce yellow dragon with an exoskeleton and batlike wings appeared.
Then they both vanished into swirling colors of black and gold…
"Forming the first of our fused beasts… Gaia the Dragon Champion!"
An intimidating form appeared. It was Gaia, now mounted on Curse of Dragon.
(2,600/2,100)
"Oh, I get it…" muttered Stan.
"Get what?" asked Francesca, as she looked the powerful Monster in the face that, to her utter shock, her opponent had managed to summon in one turn.
"Roboyarou and Robolady are two Monsters that can make not one, but two fusions!" exclaimed Stan. "So their decks are probably designed to make some of the deadliest fusions in existence!"
"It's your turn, Stan," chuckled Robolady.
"Fine," he said drawing.
He put a card in a slot.
"I'll play Pot of Greed…" he started.
"Why thank you!" laughed Roboyarou. "Now I can activate my Trap!"
His Trap Card lifted, showing two wealthy looking sultans sitting behind a pile of money.
"From now on, my Appropriate Trap will enable both me and my sister to draw two cards whenever either of you draw outside your draw phases!"
Stan sneered. He set another card down.
"I summon Mystical Elf in Defense Mode."
The peaceful elf appeared, chanting her spell.
"Back to you, Robo," he said.
Roboyarou drew.
"In that case," he said, "I'll play this Continuous Magic Card…"
He put a card down, and it appeared, showing Gaia the Fierce Knight on his charging horse, aiming his lances.
"Spiral Spear Strike!"
"Why thank you, brother!" laughed Robolady. "It will make a perfect combo with my Monster!"
"What does it do?" gasped Francesca.
"You'll just have to wait and see," chuckled Robolady. "Now it's your turn, Fran."
Francesca drew one card.
I don't know what their game is, she thought, but with no Monsters to protect him, Roboyarou is wide open for a direct attack!
"Amazoness Fighter!" she shouted. "Attack Roboyarou directly!"
"FRANCESCA! WAIT!" shouted Stan.
But it was too late. Amazoness Fighter charged…
"Sister, if you would?" chuckled Roboyarou.
"Gaia, intercept the attack!" shouted Robolady.
The Dragon Champion flew to Roboyarou's side and speared Amazoness Fighter through the heart! She groaned and shattered into pixels.
Roboyarou chuckled.
"Did you forget the last part of Rule #3 already?" he asked. "In a two-on-two duel, you're never defenseless so long as your partner has something on her side. Be thankful you don't take any damage from your Fighter's death!"
Francesca growled.
"Fine," she said. "I end my turn."
Robolady drew.
"First I'll play a powerful Magic Card," she stated. "Dark Designator!"
She played it.
"You think we're scared of a card that forces us to add a Monster Card from our decks to our hand?" asked Stan.
"Who said I was using it on either of you?" asked Robolady. "In a tag team, I can use this to target my partner!"
She turned to Roboyarou.
"So tell me, brother, do you have Zombyra the Dark?" she asked.
"Well, let's see…" he muttered, taking out his deck.
He leafed through it.
"What do you know?" he said, taking a card. "Here he is!"
He added it to his hand.
A team strategy… thought Stan. These guys are pretty good…
"Now…" stated Robolady, "I'll summon Maryokutai in Attack Mode."
She placed a card down, and what appeared to be a skull-like being in a ball of liquid flame appeared next to Gaia. (900/900)
"Now Gaia," she yelled, "attack Stan's Mystical Elf!"
Gaia flew forward on his mount, skewering Mystical Elf! She was blown to bits.
Stan's Life Points fell to 7,400.
"What?" shouted Stan. "Since when does Gaia have a trampling effect?"
"He does thanks to my brother's Spiral Spear Strike card," explained Robolady. "Also, whenever my Dragon Champion destroys a Monster in Defense Mode with that card on the field, I get to draw two cards…"
She made two draws.
"…and discard one."
She looked over her hand, and then discarded a card.
"Now, Maryokutai, attack Francesca directly!" she ordered.
Flames appeared in Maryokutai's eyes, and it fired twin beams into Fran's chest! She groaned, as her Life Points fell to 7,100.
"Now I'll play a card facedown, and I'll turn it over to you, Stan," she said.
She fit a card into a slot, and it appeared in front of her.
Stan made a draw.
"I play Swords of Revealing Light!" he shouted, slamming a card into a slot.
Roboyarou and Robolady gasped and the swords rained down upon them.
"This should give us an ample amount to work with," gloated Stan. "You can't attack until both of you have made three turns, and by that time, we'll have found a way to get rid of your Dragon Champion."
"Don't count your chickens yet," sneered Robolady.
Stan took another card from his hand.
"I'm not done yet," he said. "I'll summon White Magician Pikeru in Attack Mode."
He put the card down, and the adorable child Spellcaster appeared. (1,200/0)
"Pikeru," he shouted, "attack Maryokutai with sparkle blast!"
Pikeru shot forth a stream of stars…
"Activate Waboku!" shouted Robolady.
Her Trap Card lifted, and the three robed emissaries arose to deflect the blast.
"All right," muttered Stan. "I'll end my turn."
Roboyarou looked annoyed as he drew.
"I'll summon Zombyra the Dark in Attack Mode," he said, putting a card down on his Disk.
He put the card down, and the superhero on the dark side leapt into view. (2,100/500)
"Make your move, Fran," he said.
Francesca drew.
Hmm, she thought. A plan is forming…
"I summon Amazoness Chain Master in Attack Mode!" she shouted, placing a card down.
The chain-wielding Amazon in the fur bikini appeared, holding her weapon.
"Chain Master, wipe out Maryokutai with chain rend!" she ordered.
Chain Master swung her weapon, and charged forth, bringing it down on the flaming skull. It burst.
Robolady's Life Points fell to 7,400. The female android growled.
"Your move, gear-girl," growled Fran.
Robolady drew.
"Ergh, I'll pass for this turn…" she growled.
"In that case," said Stan, drawing, "Pikeru would normally grant me 400 Life Points since she's the only Monster I have, but my partner also has one Monster, so let's see how that works out!"
Pikeru waved her staff. Francesca's Life Points went up to 7,900, and Stan's went up to 8,200.
"Looks the total was 800, and we both got the whole bonus!" chuckled Stan.
"You guys learn fast…" said Roboyarou, sarcastically.
"Thanks, Stan," said Francesca, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Now I'll summon Blast Magician in Attack Mode," continued Stan, placing a card down, "and that will be all for my turn."
The flaming sorcerer holding his bladed staff appeared. (1,400/1,700)
Roboyarou made a draw.
"Heh, heh," he chuckled, placing a card into a slot. "Say goodbye to your Swords…"
His card revealed itself – Mystical Space Typhoon! The Swords of Revealing Light shattered!
"Now, Zombyra, attack his Blast Magician!" shouted Roboyarou. "Super-powered punch attack!"
Zombyra flew forward, and clobbered Blast Magician! The Spellcaster vanished in a burst of flame.
Stan's Life Points fell down to 7,500.
"I know Zombyra's weakness, Robo," sneered Stan. "With every attack he makes, he gets weaker! And he also can't attack us directly."
Zombyra's Attack fell down to 1,900.
"Those are both valid concerns," said Roboyarou, "but I don't intend to keep him around for long."
Stan and Francesca didn't like the way he said that.
"My move," said Francesca drawing.
"I play my own Pot of Greed," she said, placing a card into the slot.
"You realize you just activated our Appropriate Trap!" gloated Roboyarou.
As the jar handed Francesca two cards, two cards flew off of the tops of the two siblings' decks.
"I'll take my chances," growled Francesca.
She looked at her new cards and grinned.
"First I'll play… Art Attack!" she announced.
She slid the card into a slot, and her Enchanted Card revealed itself.
"Sister!" exclaimed Roboyarou. "That's one of the cards we were warned about!"
"Don't worry," smiled Fran. "I can't use its effect for three full turns. Now then, I'll summon Amazoness Paladin to the field."
The Amazon general appeared, holding her sword. (1,700/300) –) (1,900/300)
"And now I'll equip her with Burning Soul Sword," she continued, "sacrificing my Chain Master to do so!"
The sword of red metal appeared in the Paladin's hand, and Chain Master vanished. Paladin's Attack briefly fell down to 1,800, but then her skin and clothing turned golden, and her Attack Score skyrocketed! (3,300/300)
"Amazoness Paladin," shouted Francesca, "attack Gaia with burning soul!"
The Paladin screamed a war cry, and leapt into the air, slashing her blade at Gaia the Dragon Champion! He moaned, and then he shattered, followed by his mount.
Robolady's Life Points fell to 6,700.
"That's my turn," chuckled Fran. "But my Paladin is stronger than Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon now, so unless you've got something stronger, you're both in hot water…"
Robolady's eyes narrowed. She drew a card.
"I play… Monster Reborn…" she said.
"Oh, fine," muttered Francesca. "Bring back your Dragon Champion. I'll just destroy him again…"
"Whoever said I was doing that?" chuckled Robolady. "I'm using this card to bring back my little friend Maryokutai!"
The skull in the orb of fire reappeared. (900/900)
"Now I'll wipe out your Monsters!" she continued. "I play Lightning Vortex!"
She played a card, and then discarded one. Lightning crashed from the ceiling obliterating Amazoness Paladin and White Magician Pikeru!
"Good grief!" gasped Stan and Francesca at once.
"Now then," said Robolady. "I'm going to fuse Maryokutai and Zombyra the Dark using the Fusion Gate!"
The two Monsters swirled into pools of multicolored energy, and swirled together…
A huge, intimidating figure arose. It was a large, alien-looking creature, hunched over, with guns, cannons, and other space-age machinery on his shoulders.
"Meet our newest fusion…" said Robolady. "The Last Warrior From Another Planet!"
(2,350/2,300)
"Allow us to explain how this complex Monster works," chuckled Roboyarou. "This alien creature is so evil, he murdered his entire race so he'd be unique! Thus the title of 'Last Warrior'.
"While he's on the field, no one is allowed to summon, Flip-Summon, or Special Summon a Monster! The only way you can put a Monster on the field is to set one facedown in Defense!"
"And lest we forget," added Roboyarou, "since this is a fusion of both mine and my sister's Monsters, we're both in control of it."
Francesca's eyes narrowed.
"If your Monster requires us to put Monsters in Defense Mode, you'll have a hard time getting at our Life Points," she pointed out.
"We'll see, won't we?" chuckled Robolady. "I believe it's Stan's turn."
Stan made a draw.
He looked at his card.
Well, he thought, this is the best I can do…
"A Monster in Defense Mode, and that will be all," he said, placing the card down.
A hidden Monster appeared.
"Lovely," smiled Roboyarou, drawing.
He fit a card into a slot.
"Now I'm Equipping The Last Warrior with Fairy's Meteor Crush!"
A meteor fell from the darkness of the ceiling above, and struck The Last Warrior! He became enshrouded in flames.
"I should have known," sneered Stan. "You had this whole thing planned, didn't you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Roboyarou. "Warrior, attack Stan's facedown Monster!"
The Last Warrior blasted his guns. Neo the Magic Swordsman appeared, and was blown to bits.
"Heh, heh," chuckled Roboyarou. "Too bad you couldn't have set a Monster with a Defense better than that! Only 1,000, I believe…"
Stan's Life Points sank to 6,150.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"I must admit, Crump," said the Queen with a smile, "this may be the first good idea you've had in years!"
"So, that's what you look like when you're pleased!" exclaimed Crump. "I've always wondered…
"You know, if you like this idea, I've got a lot of other ideas that I've been writing down…"
He took out a notebook.
"For instance, you know that mechanism in area 5F that we've been working on? I was thinking we could get a…"
The Queen stared at him with a cold glare.
She lifted his chin with her index finger.
"A smart person knows well enough to quit when he's ahead…" she whispered.
"Uh, right," muttered Crump. "I'll do that…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"My turn!" shouted Francesca.
She looked strangely at the card she had drawn.
"Defense Mode!" she shouted, placing a card on her Disk.
Another hidden Monster appeared.
Robolady drew.
"Fine!" she laughed. "You keep setting them up, and we'll keep knocking them down! Warrior, attack her Monster!"
The Last Warrior fired his weapons… A female Warrior with a huge blade appeared on Francesca's card…
"Amazoness Swords Woman?" shrieked Robolady.
"Yep!" exclaimed Francesca with a grin.
Swords Woman was blown to bits.
"There's a downside to that Warrior's effect, isn't there?" said Francesca, with a smile. "You can't see what Monsters you're blowing up. Damage done from a battle involving Swords Woman is done to my opponent, not to me. And since that fused Monster belongs to both of you, you both lose 750 Life Points!"
Roboyarou's Life Points fell to 7,250, and Robolady's fell to 5,950.
"Grrr," growled Robolady. "They're getting awfully clever…"
"Don't worry sister, miracles don't happen twice in a row," assured Roboyarou.
"My turn…" said Stan.
He looked at his card. He looked at his two opponents.
He put a card on his Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.
"Your turn, rust-bucket," he said to Roboyarou.
"For your information," scowled Roboyarou, drawing, "my sister and I are made of an alloy that's guaranteed not to rust, chip, pit, or corrode for the next five thousand years!"
"You should patent it," chuckled Francesca. "You'd make a fortune."
Roboyarou just stared at them.
"Last Warrior, destroy his facedown Monster!" he shouted.
The Last Warrior From Another Planet fired his guns…
And Old Vindictive Magician appeared on the card! He cast his powerful curse, and both Monsters were blown into pixels.
Roboyarou and Robolady stared at the spot where their Monster had been…
"Gotcha!" said Stan with a smile.
He chuckled.
"Oh course, due to the Fairy Meteor Crush you Equipped it with, I do lose 1,750 Life Points…"
His Life Points fell down to 4,400.
"…but now, whatever race that creature belonged to is now extinct!"
"Okay, fine!" shouted Roboyarou. "I end my turn. But we're far ahead of you!"
Francesca drew.
"Not for long," she said. "I summon Amazoness Priestess, in Attack Mode!"
She put the card down, and the holy Spellcaster in her long skirt and leather bikini top, clutching her crystal-topped staff appeared. (1,500/1,500)
"Since there are four Amazons in my Graveyard, her Attack Score is now 1,900. And all 1,900 points…"
She thought for a minute.
"Are aimed at you!" she laughed, pointing to Roboyarou. "Amazoness Priestess, attack Roboyarou directly with spiritual magic attack!"
Amazoness Priestess fired a beam of green energy, striking Roboyarou directly in the chest! He grunted and staggered back.
His Life Points fell to 5,350.
"Not bad," he said. "But if you think that hurt, you're fooling yourself. Machines can't feel pain – one of the advantages they have over organic life forms."
"Maybe so," muttered Francesca, "but Stan and I have something that machines don't have… We have souls!"
Roboyarou and Robolady looked at them for a few minutes after they made that remark. Apparently, that had hurt them in another way…
Robolady's eyes narrowed.
"Well, you don't have to be so mean about it!" she cried. "Is that your turn?"
"Oh, did I hurt what passes for your feelings?" mocked Francesca. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before taking someone's friend and covering him in metal!
"And yeah, it's your turn…"
Robolady drew.
She took a long look at the Art Attack card on Francesca's side.
"I'll place two cards facedown," she said, throwing them into slots, "and that will end my turn."
Two cards appeared in front of her.
Odd, thought Stan, drawing. No Monsters at all? This has to be a Trap… But if I took a risk, I could do some serious damage…
He looked at the card he had drawn.
The Illusory Gentleman… Not exactly the king of Spellcasters, but he's the best I can summon right now…
"I summon the Illusory Gentleman in Attack Mode!" he shouted, throwing the card down.
The one-eyed, colorfully dressed, Dark Spellcaster appeared, holding aloft his rod. (1,500/1,600)
"Gentleman, attack Robolady with dark illusion!" he shouted.
The Gentleman cast forth a beam of chaotic colors, that blasted forth and plowed into Robolady! She cringed as it hit her.
Her Life Points fell to 4,450.
No Traps? thought Stan. Odd again…
"Make your move, Robo," he said.
Roboyarou drew a card.
"Now I'm going to make a move that old Andy was so fond of making!" he exclaimed.
He discarded a card.
"By discarding my Thunder Dragon, I can draw my other two Thunder Dragons from my deck!"
Two more cards flew out of his deck.
"And now, I'll send them through the Fusion Gate!" he laughed.
The two dragon-like lizards, sparking with electricity, appeared and merged together...
And then a horribly familiar, two headed lizard appeared, roaring from its two mouths! (2,800/2,100)
"Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon…" muttered Francesca. "How dare you use one of Andy's favorite fusions?"
"We play to win," gloated Roboyarou. "Now make your move."
"Gladly," said Francesca with a smile. "Because now that three turns have passed, my Art Attack card can come into effect, allowing me to summon four Monsters with an Attack Score of 2,000 or less from my hand or deck!"
Four cards flew out of her deck, and she placed one down.
"First, my second Amazoness Paladin!"
The Amazon general, dressed in white and holding her blade, appeared. (1,700/300)
"Next, another Amazoness Fighter!"
She put a card down, and another muscular Amazon appeared, clenching her massive fists. (1,500/1,300)
"Next, my second Amazoness Swords Woman!"
She put a third card down, and the scantily clad Amazon holding a huge sword appeared, ready to attack. (1,500/1,600)
"And finally, Amazoness Tiger!" she shouted.
She put the fourth card down, and the fierce tigress wearing her spiked leash appeared and roared! (1,100/1,500)
"With five Amazons on the field," threatened Francesca, "my Paladin's Attack Score is a powerful 2,200, and my Tiger's Attack Score is 3,100, more than enough to take down that dragon and finish you off!
"Tiger, attack…"
"Not so fast, Francesca!" shouted Robolady.
One of her Trap Cards lifted.
"I'll blow your Tiger away and blast away a chunk of your Life Points," she gloated, "with Ring of Destruction!"
A ring of grenades appeared around Amazoness Tiger's neck…
"You're a fool!" shouted Francesca. "When that bomb goes off, I may lose 3,100 Life Points, but so will you!"
"No I won't," chuckled Robolady, "thanks to my other Trap Card…"
Her other facedown card lifted.
"Activate Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment!" she shouted.
White Magician Pikeru appeared next to Robolady, and her scepter glowed.
"Do you feel sad, Stan?" commented Robolady. "Sad knowing that one of your Monsters is helping me? This Trap Card protects me from all the damage caused by card effects for one round!"
The Ring of Destruction went off, and Amazoness Tiger exploded! Francesca fell on her rump, and her Life Points fell to 4,800.
Amazoness Paladin's Attack went down to 2,100, but Amazoness Priestess's went up to 2,000.
"All right," growled Francesca. "I end my turn."
Robolady drew. She chuckled.
"Well, my brother's dragon can make short work of your Monsters until I can make another fusion," she giggled. "Until then, I'll work on weakening your Life Points. I play Tremendous Fire!"
She fit a card into a slot.
"This may cost me 500 Life Points…"
Her Life Points fell to 3,950.
"…but it will cost you each 1,000!"
Bonfires erupted around Stan and Francesca, and they screamed!
Stan's Life Points fell to 3,400, and Francesca's fell to 3,800.
"Your move, Stan," she gloated.
Stan growled as he drew.
Nuts, he thought.
"I'll shift The Illusory Gentleman into Defense Mode, and that will be all," he said.
He turned the card, and the Gentleman knelt.
Roboyarou drew.
"Wow, I haven't had this much fun in ages!" he laughed.
He fit a card into a slot.
"Time to fry again, kiddies!" he laughed. "I play Meteor of Destruction!"
Flames appeared in the ceiling, and two balls of fire crashed down, striking Stan and Francesca.
They collapsed, as their Life Points fell to 2,400 and 2,800, respectively.
"Francesca, are you okay?" asked Stan, struggling to his feet.
"Define 'okay'…" muttered Fran, pulling herself up.
"Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, attack her Amazoness Priestess!" shouted Roboyarou.
Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon blasted lightning from his twin mouths, and the Priestess was blown away.
Fran's Life Points fell to 2,000.
"Aw, NUTS!" cursed Fran. "In all the commotion, I forgot to move her into Defense Mode! How could I have been so stupid?"
"Fran, get ahold of yourself!" shouted Stan. "Concentrate! Remember, we're trying to save Andy!"
That seemed to move Fran back to her senses a little.
"Ahem!" said Roboyarou, "we're still in a duel here, remember? I'll keep you guessing by placing one card facedown, and ending my turn."
He threw the card into a slot, and they materialized.
"Okay," said Francesca, under her breath. "It's my move…"
She drew a card.
She was surprised by what she had drawn.
"I sacrifice my Fighter to summon Penumbral Soldier Lady!" she shouted.
Amazoness Fighter vanished, and was replaced by the beautiful Warrior of Darkness. (2,100/1,400)
Amazoness Paladin's Attack fell down to 1,900, but Fran didn't seem to care.
"And since your dragon is a creature of Light," commented Francesca, "she can destroy it easily! Penumbral Soldier Lady, slay his dragon with Sword of Shadows!"
Penumbral Soldier Lady leapt up and cleaved the huge dragon in half! It shattered into shards. Roboyarou's Life Points fell to 5,050.
"I guess those facedown cards were just bluffs," said Francesca with a determined look. "Paladin, attack Roboyarou directly!"
Amazoness Paladin leapt up, and brought her sword down on the wicked android. He gasped and fell over. His Life Points fell 3,150.
"Swords Woman!" continued Francesca, "attack his sister's Life Points directly!"
Swords Woman brandished her blade, and charged forward, striking Robolady! She fell over, her Life Points falling to 2,450.
"Your turn, Robo-bitch," she said.
Robolady gave her a glare. She drew.
"I'll play two cards facedown, and that will be all," she said.
She threw two cards into slots, and they appeared before her.
Stan drew.
Double Spell… he thought, looking at it. Hmm…
"Hey," he chuckled, "I just got the craziest idea…"
He put the card into a slot, and discarded his Magic Formula.
"I'm playing Double Spell, and using it to duplicate your Tremendous Fire!"
His Life Points fell to 1,900, and bonfires erupted around Roboyarou and Robolady! They screamed!
Roboyarou's Life Points fell to 2,150, and Robolady's fell to 1,450.
Now, this will be a risk, thought Stan, but I might be able to finish Robolady off!
"I'm switching The Illusory Gentleman to Attack Mode," he shouted, turning the card.
The Gentleman rose up to attack position.
"Gentleman, attack Robolady now!"
The Gentleman prepared to fire his dark illusion…
"I activate Waboku!" shouted Robolady.
The Trap Card lifted, and the three cowled emissaries rose up to protect her.
"And that's not all," she said, "I also activate… Scapegoat!"
Her Quickplay Magic Card lifted, and four fluffy, multicolored sheep appeared.
"All right," muttered Stan. "Guess we'll have to hack through them the hard way. "I end my turn."
"That's what you think," chuckled Roboyarou, drawing.
He slid a card into a slot.
"I'll refresh all our hands with Card of Sanctity!"
A blue flash lit up the ceiling, and they all drew until their hands were full.
"Now I'll summon… Baby Dragon!"
He put the card down, and the cute-looking infant dragon appeared with a squeak. (1,200/700)
"What are you going to do with that?" asked Stan.
"I'll show you in a minute," chuckled Roboyarou. "For now I reveal my Trap Card… DNA Surgery!"
His Trap lifted, and a huge double helix appeared over the field.
"This Trap transforms all Monsters on the field into any Type I choose, and I choose Dragon!"
Stan's Gentleman, Francesca's Warriors, and even the Scapegoats all became scaly and lizard-like from the transformation.
"What's the point?" asked Francesca.
"I needed to do it for my next fusion!" laughed Roboyarou.
"Bull!" shouted Francesca. "What are you going to fuse?"
"ALL of the Monsters on our side!" laughed Roboyarou. "The Monster I'm about to create can only be unleashed by fusing five Dragons!"
Baby Dragon, and then the four Scapegoats all were sucked into a dark portal…
And then darkness enshrouded the field. A wave of what seemed to be pure evil descended on the four duelists.
Five horrible heads emerged from the portal. The center one was pitch black. To its sides were a scaly green head, and a yellow head in an aura of electricity. To the sides of those were a head made of metal, and a head made entirely of flame!
The five-headed dragon stood aloft, its muscular, pale, hulking body supporting its fierce heads, which roared in bloodlust…
"Meet the incredible Five God Dragon!" shouted Roboyarou and Robolady together.
(5,000/5,000)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The Shadow Queen sat up and took notice.
"Five God Dragon?" she exclaimed. "Crump, did you know they could do that?"
"Heh, heh…" chuckled Crump, "well, I don't like to brag…"
The Queen reclined in her chair.
"I am impressed, Crump," she said. "Grodus, take note… once this is over, he's getting a raise."
Crump smiled in delight.
"Um, I'm afraid I don't have any paper, sire," said Grodus, searching his robes.
"Ah, that's okay," said the Queen, offhand. "I'm sure I'll remember it. In the meantime, let's just watch the fun…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Francesca and Andy stared in fear at the sight of the colossal Dragon…
"We aren't scared of your big, bad, Dragon!" lied Stan. "We'll find someway to defeat it!"
"That may be difficult," laughed Roboyarou, "don't forget, since it was created via fusion of both mine and my sister's Monsters, she can control it on her next turn, leaving you no time to shift your Illusory Gentleman into Defense Mode, Stan!"
"And also," added Robolady, "wait until you hear about this creature's effect! It can't be attacked by most Monsters! Creatures of Wind, Fire, Earth, Water, and Darkness can't come near it! Only Monsters of Light are allowed to attack it!"
"And just to make your defeat absolute…" said Roboyarou.
He slid a Magic Card into a slot.
"I'm playing Destroy Defense!" he laughed. "This will keep the both of you from defending for three full turns. Not that we need that long to finish you!
"Time to make your last move, Francesca!"
Francesca thought.
There's only two Monsters in my whole deck that could possibly help now… she thought. And if I don't get one of them on this draw, we're finished!
Her hand reached for her deck… She closed her eyes…
For Andy… she thought.
She drew…
She looked at the card.
Unbelievable… she thought. This gal can take out that Dragon… only problem is, she'll take ME out with it. But maybe it will give Stan one last chance…
She threw the card down on her Disk.
"I summon… D.D. Warrior Lady!" she shouted. "In Attack Mode!"
A beautiful woman in armor with a glowing sword materialized. (1,500/1,600)
"So, that was the best you could do, huh?" chuckled Robolady.
"I'll have you know," growled Francesca, "that D.D. Warrior Lady is a Monster of Light! That means she's permitted to attack your Dragon!"
"Big deal!" laughed Roboyarou. "Her Attack Points are over three times too weak!"
"Yeah?" responded Francesca, with a sinister grin, "well, she's gonna attack… anyway!"
She pointed.
"D.D. Warrior Lady…" she commanded.
The Warrior lifted her sword…
"Fran!" shouted Stan. "NOOOOO!"
"She's nuts!" gasped Roboyarou.
"…attack Five God Dragon!" yelled Francesca.
D.D. Warrior Lady leapt into the air!
Five God Dragon's five mouths belched forth a blast of fire, a gust of wind, a bolt of electricity, a cone of frost, and a beam of pure darkness…
D.D. Warrior Lady was eradicated…
Francesca's Life Points fell to zero…
"HA!" laughed Robolady. "That was the stupidest move I've ever seen!"
Francesca smiled.
"Oh yeah?" she said. "Take a closer look…"
Lightning flashed on the ceiling, and a huge black hole opened! Mythic Dragon howled, as it sucked through and into oblivion!
"Heh, heh," chuckled Francesca. "D.D. Warrior Lady may have lost, but any Monster that she manages to attack is banished to the Different Dimension, gone and removed from play!"
She took off her Duel Disk and set it on the ground.
"I may have had to deplete all my Life Points," she continued, "but your strongest Monster is gone, and now maybe Stan will have a chance!"
Roboyarou and Robolady stared in disbelief where their Dragon had been.
Finally, Robolady spoke up.
"Very clever," sneered Robolady. "But you'll soon find that you didn't help either of your friends at all. And just to make sure you don't try to get away, you can keep Andy company!"
She lifted her arm, and fired a beam of gold that struck Francesca! She struggled as she was lifted off the ground!
Roboyarou and Robolady chuckled, as she was moved to where Andy was. And then, metal started to form around her!
"ACK!" shouted Francesca. "NO!"
She looked at Stan.
"Don't let them win, Stan!" she screamed.
And then, metal covered her face, and she was silent.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"What did I tell you?" laughed Crump. "They've already beaten Fran!"
"What are you talking about?" sighed the Queen. "She lost on purpose!"
"Well, technically, but…"
"Still," said the Queen with a smile, "this has made your two duelists' job much easier. I estimate Stan will be in over his head in just a few minutes.
"It's too bad I'm going to have to let Andy go after this is over. But his spirit should be broken enough to take care of him easily.
"And within the hour, I'll have two nice statues to find a place for…
"What do you think Grodus? Would Francesca look better in the dining room or lounge?"
"Mmm, dining room, definitely," he answered.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stan looked over at his two titanium-jacketed friends. Rage filled him.
For a moment, his worst fear had been realized…
Francesca had been defeated… And the Shadow Queen had claimed her…
"Francesca…" he muttered in anger. "I will avenge you!"
"I know what you're thinking," said Roboyarou. "You're worried about what's going to happen to Francesca. Well, let me put at least some fears to rest."
He paused.
"I'm not going to lie to you – in all likelihood, she'll remain a titanium-coated statue until the end of time – as will you!
"But you still have a chance to save her Stan, however slim it might be…
"Remember the last part of Rule #2 of a tag team? Both partners must be defeated for a victory to be achieved. So if by some miracle you happen to win this duel, you'll get her back safe and sound.
"Of course, your chances of winning now are a little less than infinitesimally small and a little better than nonexistent."
Stan looked to his side. Francesca's Disk was lying on the floor where she had been standing, and it must still have been working, because Amazoness Paladin, Amazoness Swords Woman, and Penumbral Soldier Lady were still there.
He looked at his hand, and an idea started to come to him – but his next draw had best be something good…
"In fact, the chances of you actually winning are zero," said Robolady. "Because it's my turn…"
She drew.
"…and you'll soon see that Francesca's noble sacrifice was for naught. Know why?"
She put two cards on her disk.
"Because I'm using the Fusion Gate to fuse my Des Kangaroo with Big Koala!"
Two Monsters appeared on her side of the field. The first was a tough looking kangaroo with green fur, boxing gloves, a purple jacket and red sneakers. The second was an enormous koala with blue fur and huge claws.
They swirled into a multicolored blur of green and blue…
A huge form arose out of the appeared…
It was easily thirty feet tall. It looked like a huge, green teddy bear, with a face like a pug or a bulldog and a long tail, wearing the same jacket, sneakers, and boxing gloves as Des Kangaroo! It had a pouch on its stomach with strange objects inside it.
"Meet Master of Oz!" laughed Robolady.
(4,200/3,700)
"Okay, that's impressive…" stuttered Stan.
"Make your move…" said Robolady, evilly.
Stan drew.
"I play Graceful Charity!" he shouted.
He plugged the card into a slot, and the beautiful angel flew out and handed him three cards.
"What a dope," laughed Roboyarou. "Don't you know that our Appropriate card is still in effect?"
Both of them drew two more cards.
Stand handed the angel his Sibling Rivalry and Ebon Magician Curran.
"You two are finished," he said. "I have in my hands the right cards to do you in! You might have noticed that, while Francesca took herself out, three of her Monsters remain!"
"So?" gloated Roboyarou. "You can't control them, even if they were strong enough."
"No, but I can sacrifice them!" exclaimed Stan. "Thus, I sacrifice her Swords Woman and her Paladin to summon Dark Magician of Chaos!"
The two Warriors vanished, and the mighty Chaos mage appeared out of the shadows! (2,800/2,600)
"And I'm not done!" continued Stan. "You may have forgotten that Fusion Gate is a Field Card, meaning I can use it too! Thus, I'm using it to fuse together my Dark Magician and my Buster Blader!"
He put two cards on his Disk. The mighty Dark Magician appeared, followed by the powerful Buster Blader…
And the two of them vanished into their own vortex!
A tall, imposing form appeared…
It looked like Dark Magician in fancy armor, carrying an elaborate sword!
"Bonded together, they form a Spellcaster of unparalleled might!" exclaimed Stan. "DARK PALADIN!"
(2,900/2,400)
"Oh, we're so scared," laughed Robolady. "Neither of your Spellcasters comes close to being able to beat Master of Oz!"
"Then you obviously don't know about Dark Paladin's special ability!" replied Stan. "He gains 500 Attack Points for every Dragon on the field, and in every players' Graveyards.
"First there's the Gaia the Dragon Champion in Robolady's Graveyard…
And also, your DNA Surgery card is still in effect! That makes Master of Oz, Dark Magician of Chaos, Penumbral Soldier Lady, The Illusory Gentleman, and even Dark Paladin himself all Dragons, for a grand total of six Dragons!"
Dark Paladin glowed with a blazing dark aura! (5,900/2,400)
"Now I'll just place one card facedown," said Stan, placing a card into a slot, "and I'll turn it over to you, Roboyarou."
Roboyarou chuckled.
"Heh, heh," he chuckled. "Ha, ha… HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"
He paused.
"You made a fatal mistake Stan!" he laughed. "Namely, your Illusory Gentleman! You couldn't shift him into Defense Mode due to my Destroy Defense card, and now we don't even have to worry about your Paladin! All my sister has to do is attack your Gentleman, and you lose!"
"So I'll just draw, and pass," he said, drawing. "Sister, finish him off!"
"Gladly," said Robolady making a draw. "Master of Oz, destroy his Illusory Gentleman! Thunder from down under!"
Master of Oz raised his fist, and shot forth a shockwave towards the Illusory Gentleman…
"Activate Spellbinding Circle!" shouted Stan.
His Trap Card lifted, and the attack was halted! Master of Oz roared as it was trapped in the shimmering pentagram!
It's Attack fell down to 3,500.
"A Trap…" gasped Robolady. "He set a Trap…"
"Yes!" said Stan with a grin. "And the Gentleman was my bait!
"And you fell for it…"
The two androids stared in disbelief…
"And now it's my move!" shouted Stan, making a draw.
"Dark Paladin, attack Master of Oz with enchanted dark blade attack!"
Dark Paladin held a finger in front of his face. He traced the finger along his sword, and magical runes danced around the blade.
Then he leapt up into the air, bringing the sword down on Master of Oz! The great Beast exploded, and Robolady's Life Points tumbled to zero!
"Dark Magician of Chaos," shouted Stan, "attack Roboyarou directly with chaos scepter blast!"
Dark Magician of Chaos spun his scepter, and smashed it to the ground, forming a shockwave that threw Roboyarou off of his feet! His Life Points fell to nothing!
The smoke cleared, and the holo-imagers shut down. the two androids were on their knees, sobbing.
"How…" wept Robolady. "How could we lose?"
"Well, you lost!" shouted Stan. "Now release Andy and Francesca NOW!"
Robolady moaned. She raised her hand, and the metal encasing Andy and Francesca shattered.
The two of them fell to the floor. They gasped for breath.
"Stan…" gasped Francesca. "You won…"
Andy slowly got to his feet.
"Yeah, he won," he snarled angrily. "And now I'm going to send these two jerks to the recycling plant! Somebody find a screwdriver!"
"I dunno, Andy," said Stan with a smile. "I think that whatever the Shadow Queen has planned for them would be worse…"
Roboyarou and Robolady moaned.
"Okay, fine," muttered Andy to the two of them. "LEAVE."
The two Duel Monsters got up and started to walk away, hanging their heads.
"Faster!" demanded Andy.
The two of them vanished.
A chuckle was heard from the shadows.
"Well done, Stan and Francesca!" it said.
"Who's that?" exclaimed Andy, rubbing his joins.
Merlee walked out of the shadows…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fifteen minutes later, Roboyarou and Robolady were on their knees in front of a slightly annoyed Shadow Queen. Grodus was behind her, and Crump was way behind her.
"There was nothing we could do!" begged Roboyarou. "We tried our best!"
"Please don't send us to the Graveyard!" pleaded Robolady. "We can be useful… We can do other things…"
The Queen rubbed her chin.
"Oh, fine," she said.
She turned to Grodus.
"Grodus!" she ordered. "Find something simple for these glorified dishwashers to do. Why not… Say, not a bad idea – put them to work washing dishes or something."
The two Monsters groaned.
"You heard the lady!" ordered Grodus, grabbing them by the shoulders.
The Queen waited for them to be escorted out before she spoke again.
"Crump…" she said.
"Yes?" squeaked Crump.
"It appears your plan didn't work," sighed the Queen.
Crump was more scared than he'd been in years.
"Uh…" he said sweating. "So, what are you going to do to me?"
"Nothing," answered the Queen.
Crump shook like a leaf.
"Well then at least let me…" he started. "Excuse me, did you just say 'nothing'?"
"Yes," replied the Queen, getting up. "Your suggestions may have failed, but you can't ignore the fact that they came closer than anyone else has thus far. It wasn't a bad plan Crump, so I'm willing to let this slide.
"So you can go back to spying on those brats for now."
There was a long pause.
"Well, get going!"
Crump ran out of the room.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
As Andy sat rubbing his joints, Merlee handed him a bottle of ointment.
"Use this," he said. "It will take care of even the worst stiffness within minutes."
"Um, thanks…" muttered Andy.
"As for you two," he sighed, turning to Stan and Francesca, "I guess it's true what they say – history canrepeat itself. Francesca, what you did was a noble act that has not been seen in this land since the time your ancestors set foot in Gearville."
"What?" asked Francesca. "Something like this happened here before?"
"Indeed," replied Merlee. "And it mirrored the duel that you just took part in, in a way. Gearville was originally built to house a powerful holy artifact called the Master Cog. This item was created by ancient wizards called the Lords of Order, and it had the power to grant any wish – but only once.
"The Queen feared this item immensely. She could not use it, because only a being of order could use it, and she was a being of chaos.
"So to keep it from being used against her, she set two of her most powerful henchmen in Gearville to guard it. They knew much about Shadow magic, having been taught by her personally.
"In their quest, the three heroes found out about the Master Cog, and sought to obtain it – one wish was all they needed to banish the Shadow Queen to oblivion. But the two henchmen were not going down without a fight. Two of the Three would have to defeat them in a Shadow Game before they could obtain the Cog.
"Anyway, the Dragon Master knew he was outclassed, so the Warrior Queen and the Dark Sorcerer accepted their challenge. During the Shadow Game, both teams were equally matched – until the two henchmen called upon a terrible unholy power to call forth a horribledemon lordthat seemed unstoppable – much like the Five God Dragon.
"And just like you did Francesca, your forbearer used a special power to destroy the demon in order to save her partner's life – but in order to do it, she had to sacrifice all of her life energy, dying in the attempt.
"Fueled by grief and anger, the Dark Sorcerer defeated the two henchmen, eradicating them. He had won.
"The two remaining heroes had the Master Cog – they now had the power to defeat their enemy… But their friend was dead. They knew that the Cog had the power to grant any wish, even return a mortal soul from death…
"But it could only grant one wish…
"So they had a choice to make; either defeat the Shadow Queen here and now, or restore their friend.
"They decided they couldn't continue without her. They made the second choice, hoping that they could defeat the Shadow Queen some other way."
Francesca took a minute to take this in.
"I guess you're right," she said. "History can repeat itself…"
"Indeed," said Merlee. "Now come, I know the way out of this accursed place."
The gears of Gearville continued to turn, as the visitors made their way out, leaving the huge machine behind.
0
0
0
Coming up next:
It's full speed ahead to Keelhaul Key, but Andy gets sidetracked by a duel on the way. Find out what "Sweet Feast" does, as he goes up against a duelist with a difficult-to-combat deck! It's all in a chapter called "Grave Situation" coming soon.