Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh GX:
"Two days ago, one of my agents was sent in to investigate a mysterious fishing operation off the coast of San Pedro. She didn't report back," Black Hawk explained.
"And you want me to find this agent? I fail to see why you need me when you have a ship full of mercenaries ready to assist you," Lynn pointed out.
"This job requires someone with the skills of a Sheikah… Our agent is a Sheikah, someone you know very well," Blue Robin said, tossing photograph at Lynn. Catching it, Lynn saw that the picture was of a brown-eyed girl with shoulder length black hair. Wearing a purple T-shirt whose left shoulder that had straps that buttoned from the back to the front, blue jeans, a tan-colored watch and brown shoes, she carried a white medium-sized handbag. Lynn's heart nearly stopped as the girl's image rendered in her mind immediately.
Lynn? Do you know this girl? Melody asked but her counterpart was frozen with shock.
"We know her as Silver Bird but you know her by the name of Atsuko," Black Hawk informed her.
"Atsuko's… here?" Lynn gasped.
---
"While I was imprisoned, I learned something horrible regarding your dueling manager," Atsuko frowned, finally turning to face her friend, "He gave the order to capture me. He works for the Society of Light and he has the Dark Lord you're seeking." Lynn gasped in shock.
"But why? Why join them?" Lynn wondered.
"He has worked for them for months. I know all this because I saw him there myself," Atsuko explained, "He led you around the world in the hopes that you would be too busy with your career to stand in his way."
"He didn't count on me taking Corel though," Lynn realized, looking at the Dark Lord card she had, "And I guess I'll have to take his then – When I face him in a duel!"
CHAPTER TWENTY: ON A LIAR'S BREATH PART TWO
"A duel?" Atsuko asked.
"That's right. It's the only way to get the card from him," Lynn replied, "The card is bound to a duelist until they are defeated in a duel."
"The laws of the honorable duelist… Let us just hope that Eugene will play by the same rules." Hearing this, Lynn began to worry as did Melody.
Atsuko has a point. The Society has made several attempts on my life already. Maybe I should play it safe and let them have this one… Lynn thought.
You'll do nothing of the sort! We have a prime opportunity to get our hands on another Dark Lord. Melody fumed.
You're right but first we have to find Eugene.
"Lynn, are you alright?" Atsuko asked.
"It's been a long night. I'm ready to turn in," Lynn yawned, "Let's get some rest and worry about Eugene in the morning."
"You're right. Black Hawk is already on the hunt for him."
---
Meanwhile, in a remote warehouse on the far side of town, Eugene walked in to see dozens of members of the Society of Light holed up, some still in damp clothing.
"Lord Eugene! You have returned!" One of the grunts smiled. Eugene however did not return his smile, causing the grunt to step back in fear.
"Our printing press here on Earth has been shut down. Over half of our forces were either arrested or drowned in the destruction of our base," Eugene told the group, "I want to know who was running security that day." The group murmured amongst themselves when a lanky brunette girl stepped forward.
"That would be me sir."
"Our facility was loaded with nearly two hundred members. How did one girl get past you?"
"She blew the base wide open. I surmise she used the panic to sneak in and…"
"Free our prisoner, got most of our cards confiscated and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of printing equipment," Eugene finished, drawing a blank card from within his blazer, "A mistake that is about to cost you in more ways than one." A white mist sprayed out from the card and swallowed the girl before being sucked back into the card. The blank image then changed to that of the girl.
"Let this be a warning to anybody who fails me," Eugene declared, ripping the card in two, a faint scream echoing throughout the room, "Now, I need a computer and an Internet connection." Two nerdy goons nodded as they opened up a white laptop computer. Taking a seat on a crate, Eugene began typing in a set of commands.
"What are you looking for my lord?"
"We're short on funds and seeing as how Lynn cost us a base, we're due for some compensation…" The ex-manager smiled as the computer displayed a bank homepage. A quick set of commands and Eugene found himself inside the computer.
"Lynn has served her usefulness. We may not get her Dark Lord but we will be getting something just as useful."
"And that is sir?"
"Her Pro League profits and since she'll be unable to pay for her hotel costs, she'll be stranded here. By the time help arrives, we'll have several days head start," Eugene grinned as he watched Lynn's account drop to zero.
---
It didn't take long for Lynn to find out. While checking out of the hotel, she had been stopped by security and asked to pay the rest of the fee. Unable to pay with her credit card, Lynn had to hand over all the cash she had on hand. By the time the mess had been settled, Black Hawk's car had arrived and the two girls found themselves back on the Divine Edge, discussing the problems at hand with the three leaders of the Red Wings.
"I knew I was forgetting something important. Now Eugene has all my money," The pro duelist sighed, "How am I going to keep hunting for the Dark Lords if I can't afford airplane tickets? I can't teleport from country to country. It's too taxing on my magic."
"This is a most serious matter. If what you've told us about these Dark Lords is true, then we must act quickly if we wish to secure the others," Black Hawk declared, "And we shall lend you all the help we can. That is, if you will permit us Princess."
"I appreciate the offer but…
"You feel insecure about this?" Black Hawk smiled, "Your enemies are our enemies as well. If you joined us, we would gladly take you where you need to go. In return, we expect you to help us defeat the Society of Light."
"No problem but I need you to do a few things for me," Lynn replied.
"Name them."
"First, I need to call home and tell my mom what happened to me. Second, I want to locate the fink who took my money. And lastly, if I have to go off on any more missions for you, I want Atsuko to be at my side. You may be helping me, but I'm still not completely convinced that you're on the level."
"A wise call, seeing as how we're mercenaries. I can understand your mistrust of us but in time, you will come to trust us. Of that I'm sure," Black Hawk replied with confidence, "As for your requests, we will make the arrangements for you to call home after we've dealt with your money issue."
"It is fortunate that our intelligence network has been busy. Once Silver Bird here reported back to us about your manager, we thought he might try to take your money. Though we were unable to stop the transaction, we were able to locate where it came from," Yellow Feather explained, "It came from a warehouse on the far side of town."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get them!" Atsuko urged.
"Hold! I dispatched men to the site but the place was cleared out by the time they arrived. All they found was this," Blue Robin replied, handing Lynn a sheet of paper.
"What is it Lynn?" Atsuko asked, her friend's eyes skimming over the text on the paper.
"A challenge by Eugene."
"It's probably a trap."
"I have to accept. It may be the only chance we have to get the Dark Lord."
---
"Are you sure she will show up?"
"I have what she needs to stop us. She will come," Eugene replied confidently as he surveyed the vacant clearing outside of San Pedro. Surrounded by jungle, the ex-manager thought it perfect for his match. To his surprise, Lynn walked into the clearing alone.
"I thought you were smarter than that to come alone," Eugene addressed.
"Then you thought wrong. I want my money back," Lynn shot back icily.
"And if I were to decline?"
"Then you best watch your back or you'll find throwing stars in your spine."
"Really now?"
"I know you have Zephyrus too. I demand that you hand it over as well."
"If you beat me, I'll gladly return what I've taken from you but don't forget Lynn – Regardless of how this duel ends, we are finished." The blonde's duel disk activated as Lynn slotted in her deck.
"We were finished the moment you robbed me so the feeling's mutual."
"Duel!"
"I'll start things off," Eugene declared as a white-clad winged girl appearing in front of it, "And I'll do so with Harpie Girl (DEF: 500) in defense mode. Then I'll place a card facedown and end my turn."
Strange. Why play such a weak monster? He must know that any card in my deck could crush it. Lynn thought, "I'll place a facedown too, then I'll summon my Transcendthan Ruby Huntress (ATK: 1200) in attack mode!" A flash of red light shot through the area as the red-clad warrior appeared, pointing both its pistols at Eugene's monster.
"Attack!" Two gunshots later, Eugene's monster fell back and shattered into pixels.
"You're as powerful as even Lynn but you've fallen into my hand for I activate Silent Doom, resurrecting my Harpie Girl (DEF: 500)!" Eugene warned as the female monster returned. But to Lynn's surprise, its feathers were set on fire and Eugene's trap was revealed.
"Of course I need to sacrifice my girl to activate the trap card known as Icarus Attack!"
"So what does it do?" Lynn asked.
"It destroys the two cards you have on the field!" Lynn gasped as the girl took to the air. Quickly gaining altitude, it became a comet of white fire that blew up the two cards Lynn had on the field.
"Ruby Huntress!" Lynn cried.
"Is gone!" Eugene smiled, a gold-white humanoid bird monster appearing on his field, "Now Birdface (ATK: 1600) attack her life points directly!" With no cards to defend her, Lynn could only brace herself as the new winged-beast smashed into her, knocking her down (LP: 4000 – 1600).
"You'll be happy to know I'm ending my turn," Eugene smirked as a facedown appeared on his field. Groaning, Lynn got to her feet and drew a card.
"Now I activate Future Fusion! By sending monsters in my deck to the grave, I can summon a fusion monster so I'll toss out Diamond Sage and Four Sword Maiden to bring out the Grand Crystal Sage (ATK: 2000)!" Lynn declared. Her two female monsters clasped hands and became as one. Now garbed in shining cobalt robes, the blond-haired maiden carried a spell book and a diamond-topped staff.
"Now I'll place a facedown and end my turn!" Lynn declared, Next turn, I'll be able to use the powers of my sage and take control of this duel. Eugene snapped off a card and grinned.
"Alright! I activate my facedown card, Reckless Greed! With this, I can draw two new cards!" Eugene explained as two cards appeared, "Then I'll use the magic of Monster Reincarnation to ditch a card from my hand to the graveyard in order to get back my Harpie Girl!"
"Big deal. What can it do against me?" Lynn asked.
"You're smarter than that Lynn. You should know what my spell card can do. It adds a card from the grave back to my hand but I must discard one card to the grave," Eugene elaborated.
"Wait! Did you send the Dark Lord to the graveyard?" Lynn gasped.
"You are close but still off. Dark Lords shouldn't be resurrected from the grave – It gives them a weakness. But thanks to my Premature Burial, I won't have to worry about weaknesses for I can bring back a monster that will aid me in your destruction (LP: 4000 – 800). Behold my Whirlwind Prodigy (ATK: 1600)!" The wind around the arena picked up as a young boy in a white tunic appeared, surrounded in a tornado.
"My prodigy has a unique ability. If I should sacrifice monsters to summon a wind attribute monster, I can count my prodigy has two," Eugene explained. Lynn's eyes went wide as dark clouds billowed overhead.
"You can't mean you have the Dark Lord in your hand?" Lynn gasped.
"Oh I do and you're about to see it first hand! I sacrifice Whirlwind Prodigy and Birdface to summon Zephyrus, Lord of the Dark Skies (ATK: 2500)!" Eugene shouted. Two bolts of lightning struck his monsters, as a giant neon green bird appeared overhead. Its hawk-like cry shook Lynn in fear as it landed behind its controller, who had transformed. Eugene's shirt and jacket had been ripped to shreds a pair of green-feathered wings appeared on his back. His shoes disappeared as his feet became a pair of bird's talons. To complement the new look was a covering of feathers across every exposed part of his body.
"Ah… This breeze is so refreshing eh Lynn?" Eugene asked, his voice having become much deeper.
"Not really," Lynn frowned, "Now make your move!"
"Very well!" Zephyrus' feathers began to glow as it took to the sky again.
"Zephyrus attack! Sky storm blast!" Eugene commanded. Crying out, the bird gave a powerful flap of its wings, firing a barrage of neon energy shots towards Lynn.
"Not so fast! I'm grounding your bird with my Spellbinding Circle!" Lynn countered as a hexagram appeared in front of her and her monster, "This mystical circle will stop your attack dead in its tracks!" But to Lynn's surprise, the blasts broke through the ring and wiped out her monster (LP: 2400 – 500).
"I believe I forgot to mention Zephyrus' special ability. It can't be the target of trap cards and are destroyed as soon as they are activated," Eugene warned, "Any trap cards you're going to use from here on out are useless to you."
Great, that's all I needed. Lynn thought as she drew a card, "I activate L-Lunar Call! This spell card lets me add a Transcendthan Hero to my hand from my deck and I choose my Amethyst Assassin!"
"That's not what I would have picked," Eugene smirked as a facedown card appeared on Lynn's field, "If I recall, your assassin has no attack points and its special ability requires you use spell cards to power it up."
"You're right but this time, my assassin will be defending me," Lynn explained as her purple-clad monster appeared on the field (DEF: 1000).
"Interesting move but you won't last! It's my move!" Eugene declared.
"It may be your move but Reckless Greed prevents you from drawing cards for this turn or the next!"
"I know how my trap card works and I also know how my Dark Lord works too! Zephyrus, attack the assassin!" Lynn smiled as a barrage of energy shots wiped her assassin from the field.
"What are you smiling about?" Eugene demanded. His answer came as Lynn's facedown card was revealed.
"It's you. By destroying my assassin, you activated my Amethyst Illusion spell card!" Lynn explained, "For the rest of the turn, I take no damage. Second, I can bring out an Amethyst Illusion token (DEF: 1000) when my turn begins." Eugene frowned as a copy of the princess' monster appeared on the field. Slotting in Pot of Greed, Lynn drew two cards.
"I activate Four Sword Calling and use its magic to summon the Four Sword Emerald Hero (ATK: 1900) in my deck to the field," Lynn said, her green-clad hero taking the field.
"I fail to see how he can help you. Its attack points are no match for my Dark Lord. Even if it did have the points, only monsters whose level is seven or higher can mount a successful attack against me," Eugene warned as his bird hovered above.
"I'm aware of that which is why I plan to sacrifice my hero and my token to summon the Twilight Princess (ATK: 2500) in attack mode!" Lynn replied and her royal swordswoman took the place of her two warriors.
"Interesting choice. Our two monsters are equal in strength so if they fight, they'll just be destroyed," Eugene pointed out.
"Their powers are not the same! Twilight Princess attack!"
"If you want to die then go right ahead!" A beam of light flew from the princess' sword as Zephyrus fired a barrage of energy blasts. Smoke covered the battlefield as the monsters and their owners vanished.
"Your princess is no more," Eugene cried, losing his bird qualities, "But I still retain my life points!" Suddenly, a ring of light shot forth from Lynn's field and blew the smoke away, revealing both Lynn (LP: 1900 – 800) and her Twilight Princess.
"You were saying?" Lynn taunted.
"But how? Our two monsters have the same attack points! This must be some sort of trick!" Eugene protested.
"It's not a trick. When Twilight Princess is sent to the graveyard in battle, I can pay 800 life points to bring her back. And because she's back, she gets one more attack!" Eugene gasped as the princess drew back its sword. With a powerful swing, a crescent of light cut into the Society duelist (LP: 3200 – 2500). Eugene cringed as he glanced at his hand.
"Starting to regret playing Reckless Greed?" Lynn taunted.
"Not at all. I place this in defense mode and end my turn," Eugene responded calmly as he placed one of the two cards he had left on the field.
"Sounds like a desperate move to me," Lynn smirked, "Twilight Princess attack!" Lynn's smile faded however as the princess' attack revealed a silver, mechanical jar (DEF: 900).
"That monster… It's Cyber Jar!"
"That's right and you must know what happens next. All monsters on the field are destroyed." The princess struggled as a fierce gust of wind absorbed her and then the jar was destroyed.
"Next we each pick up five cards and summon any low level monsters we have to the field. The rest of the cards go to our hands," Eugene explained as he placed five monsters facedown on the field. Lynn however summoned Four Sword Ruby Hero (ATK: 1800) and Transcendthan Emerald Swordswoman (ATK: 1600) in attack mode and placed a third monster facedown.
"Remember though that it's still my move so my two heroes will attack your wall of defensive creatures!" Lynn warned, her two monsters cleaving through two weak monsters, "Now I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn!"
"Now it's my turn and I'll start off with Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards. Then I'll activate Heavy Storm to destroy your facedown cards!" Lynn said nothing as a fierce wind blew her cards into the graveyard. It was then Eugene's three monsters revealed themselves, one a large insect (ATK: 600 + 500), a white clad female ninja (ATK: 1100 + 500), and a cute white dragon (ATK: 1200 + 500).
"Do you like my monsters?" Eugene asked.
"Not really. Too weak for my taste."
"Now you've gone and hurt my feelings. I activate the spell card, The White Wind! Now all of my monsters receive 200 attack points and a special ability too. If they happen to inflict damage to your life points in battle, I get those points," Eugene explained as all three of his monsters began to glow with power.
"I'm still confused about one thing – How come your monsters got those 500 point boosts?" Lynn asked.
"It's thanks to my good friend Bladefly. He gives all my wind monsters a power boost and drains the power of earth monsters, like your swordswoman!" Eugene replied. Lynn glanced at her swordswoman to find that is was feeling weak (ATK: 1600 – 400). Lynn's focus was quickly halted as the ninja monster (ATK: 1800) leapt in and sliced her swordswoman to pieces. To make things worse, the dragon (ATK: 1900) fired a white typhoon that destroyed Lynn's Ruby Hero (LP: 1100 – 700). A faint breeze surrounded Eugene as his spell boosted his life points (LP: 700 + 700).
"You'll be happy to know I'm done." A faint smile crossed Lynn's lips as her graveyard began to glow. Lynn stood to her full height as her life points jumped up (LP: 400 + 2000).
"What in the name of the Light is going on?" Eugene demanded.
"It's simple. Last round, you activated Heavy Storm and destroyed two of my cards. One of them was a powerful trap called Eclipse Illusion," Lynn explained, pulling out the card to show, "When this card is destroyed, I receive 1000 life points for every Four Sword Hero on the field when it was destroyed."
"But the only card that fit the requirement was Four Sword Ruby Hero unless…"
"My hidden monster is also a Four Sword Hero and it is – The Four Sword Sapphire Hero (DEF: 2000)!" Lynn declared, revealing her blue-clad warrior, "So I gained the 2000 points necessary to take the lead in this duel. Next I think I'll summon Transcendthan Lunar Channeler (ATK: 1700) in attack mode." Eugene cringed as the spiritually empowered hero appeared, a charge of dark energy in hand. With a powerful thrust of its hands, Lynn's monster blasted aside Bladefly (LP: 1400 – 400).
"Looks like things are looking up seeing as how I not only have more life points than you but with Bladefly gone, your monsters lost their power boost," Lynn pointed out.
"That's what you think!" Eugene countered, drawing a card, "I sacrifice my ninja and my dragon to summon the creature of your destruction Simorgh, Bird of Divinity (ATK: 2700 + 200)!" The wind picked up as a bird that rivaled the size of Zephyrus appeared on the field. Possessing two sets of wings, its cry nearly blew Lynn off her feet.
"Strike down her Channeler!" Lynn frowned as the bird picked up her hero in its beak and crushed it to pieces (LP: 2400 – 1200). A white wind surrounded Eugene as his life points rose and one facedown was set on his field (LP: 1000 + 1200).
"Just like that, I'm back in it."
"I'll be happy to change that!"
"Oh really? I guess you aren't aware of my bird's ability. If you have no spells or traps on your field, you lose 1000 life points!" Lynn said nothing as her score was reduced (LP: 1200 – 1000).
"But since I have just one, I take 500 points of damage, not that I can't afford it," Eugene snickered (LP: 2200 – 500).
"So what? It's my move now," Lynn declared as she activated Graceful Charity, drew three cards and ditched two, "And I'll happy to turn things around with my newest combination!"
"What new combination?"
"I'll show you by activating my Ties of the Brethren spell card!" Lynn began as she slotted in two cards, "This spell card lets me summon two level four monsters from my deck to my side of the field."
"Yes but you must first pay 1000 life points and you can't afford it."
"That's where my Emergency Provisions comes in! I can sacrifice my Ties of the Brethren card to gain the 1000 life point boost I need to use my spell card."
"But you destroyed your spell!"
"Destroyed and negated are two different things. People tend to forget that so if you don't mind, I'll activate Ties of the Brethren to summon Four Sword Amethyst Hero (ATK: 1500) and Four Sword Solar Hero (ATK: 1000)!" In a burst of light, the two heroes appeared alongside their blue comrade.
"Clever but I have a little something for you too! I activate my facedown Call of the Haunted! Now I can bring Zephyrus (ATK: 2500 + 200) back from the graveyard!" Eugene declared as the wind picked up and his Dark Lord reemerged, "You'll never stand up to both of my legendary birds!"
"Wrong for I sacrifice all three of my heroes to summon the Princess of Destiny GX!" Lynn shouted, trying to be heard over the wind. A beam of shining light burst out from under her three creatures as Lynn's best card emerged, carrying a shining staff (ATK: 4500 + 500). Thrusting it forward, a beam of neon light struck the Call of the Haunted card, destroying it and the Dark Lord in the process.
"What have you done?" Eugene roared.
"I used my princess' special ability. It lets me extract a spell from my deck and I chose the equip magic Spell Scepter! It gives my spellcaster a 500 point boost and the ability to destroy a spell or trap card on the field," Lynn explained, "And naturally, I chose your trap card – The only thing keeping your Dark Lord in this world! Now I'll wipe your last monster out and end this duel!"
"No!"
"Princess of Destiny! Divine scepter blast!" Raising its staff, rings of light flew across the field, striking both Eugene and his bird of divinity. The Society duelist groaned as his life points ran out and the holograms faded. Exhausted, Lynn fell to one knee and addressed her opponent.
"It's over Eugene. Hand over that Dark Lord!"
"Never!" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a mirror. Pointing it away from him, a vortex of light appeared.
"We had a deal!" Eugene merely smiled as he slipped through the vortex and vanished. Cursing, Lynn scanned the spot where the ex-manager had stood and found a blue card with her name on it.
"It's the access card for my bank account," Lynn mumbled as Atsuko burst out of the bushes, "Guess he dropped it when I blasted him."
"Lynn, are you OK?" She asked.
"I'm alright. I may have got my money back but I think I'll take up Black Hawk's offer anyway," Lynn told her friend, "With the way things are, I'm going to need all the help I can get." Atsuko nodded and the turned to leave, Melody appearing at Lynn's side.
Wise move Lynn. With a mercenary army watching us, we'll be that much safer from the Society. Melody thought.
And with Atsuko with us, we've got one more duel deck to help with the legwork. Lynn thought back as she threw an arm over her friend's shoulder.
CHAPTER PREVIEW:
Atticus: The Society of Light has plenty of duelists at their disposal.
Lucia: One of their members happens to be one of Lynn's fans.
Kai: And seeing as how Jaden has lost to Lynn before, it's no surprise what their next move is.
Hassleberry: Let's just hope the Sarge is up to the challenge!
Syrus: Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh GX Legacy of Lynn: The Four Sword Fanatic!
Atticus: Jaden couldn't beat Lynn before so does this mean he has no chance?