Here's the next chapter. For all you Norus-haters, I sure you don't come to my house and lynch me, because you're NOT gonna like the outcome of the duel. Don't worry, this is only a storm before the calm, to reverse a popular saying. Enjoy!

My name is Sonja Klein, and I have begun my dueling career at this camp, Duelist Camp. I reside in the Witch of the Black Forest cabin, with my best friend, Dione Rhombos.

Just recently, I saw Dione fall to her rival, Diane. Diane is a pretty skilled duelist, I must admit. Dione is skilled too, and I thought she had the duel in the bag when she summoned her trump card, Daughter of Red Eyes. Sadly, Diane was more skilled than either of us had thought and pulled out a fusion monster that nobody had ever seen before, destroying the Daughter and preventing Dione's Mirror Force from activating.

Now it's my turn, and I hope I can give Dione back some dignity by beating my opponent and getting to the finals to challenge Diane. Her deck may be impressive, but not even that Seiya Oujo sorceress can stand a chance when I get the pieces of Exodia into my hand! The Forbidden One has been my staunch ally ever since I received the cards from my dad on my last birthday, and I made a deck which was able to bring out the pieces before anyone could stop me.

Well, one person did stop me, Brigit Anderlee. And since she's in the finals too, I may have to deal with her again. But thanks to her advice, she's dug her own grave.

Of course, first I have to deal with this boy, Norus. And from the looks of it and his popularity, he'll be a pushover. After all, nothing can stop me now that my deck has been upgraded, and soon the Forbidden One will feast on Norus' flesh!

o

Yu-Gi-Oh Jr. - Sister of Anansi
Chapter 27: Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell

o

The girls were discussing the last duel that had occurred over lunch.

"I can't believe you had such a powerful monster in your deck, Di!" said Giselle. "I thought you were toast after she summoned that super dragon kid of the Red Eyes!"

"Well, I was about to give up, but I remember my sister telling me that no situation is utterly hopeless," grinned Diane. "How do you think she became one of Siegfried's most trusted duelists if..."

"Shhh," said Brigit. "We don't want anyone to hear that your sister is one of the Eliminators!"

"Why bother keeping it secret?" asked Diane. "Machus explained the Eliminators, everyone knows about their true natures by now, just ordinary duelists of top caliber. My sister wouldn't be one if she wasn't top caliber." She sighed. "I feel a bit sad that Dione had to hand over those cards. She really loved them."

"Yeah, but to be honest, they weren't officially authorized," said Brigit. "I bet she didn't put Jareth as her favorite monster so that nobody would know that she had them. I bet she knew they weren't supposed to be hers or supposed to be played in a duel."

"Nah, I think she just wanted to surprise everyone," remarked Giselle. "She could have put up that dragon, but she didn't, and I'm sure that was her favorite card, not Dark Elf. Speaking of which, Di...why did you take that card?"

"Yeah, it requires a hefty life payment to attack," said Brigit.

Diane grinned sinisterly. "As I told my opponent, guys, my deck has many secrets. But since you two are my best friends, I'll give you a hint." She removed the Polymerization card from her deck.

"You mean...Dark Elf can fuse with a monster?" asked Giselle in shock.

"Yep, and the fusion is more powerful than Dark Elf and needs no cost to attack!" said Diane.

"I bet the fusion is with your Dark Magician Girl, like Dark Flare Valkyrie and that other card," said Brigit.

"I will bluntly say that Dark Magician Girl isn't the Spellcaster she fuses with, but that's all I am saying," giggled Diane.

A voice coughed. "Diane, you really shouldn't be giving away secrets to those two. After all, you may have to defeat one of them in the next round!" The owner of the voice, Sonja, strode up and smirked. "And now I know you have a fusion with Dark Elf and another Spellcaster, it will be much easier to defeat you."

"Just because you know of my fusion doesn't mean it will help you," stated Diane. "Your deck doesn't have any means of defeating it."

"Wrong, Exodia will destroy it like it destroys all other monsters!" chuckled Sonja. "You may have wiped out my friend, Dione, with a lucky blow..."

"It was faith, not luck!" snapped Diane angrily.

Sonja ignored her. "But the Forbidden One can crush all opponents when all his pieces enter my hand!" She giggled. "So you'd better be ready, because once I squelch the fiend boy, you're next."

"Fat chance, Exodia girl!" barked a voice from the boy's table. Norus wiped his greasy face with a napkin. "You think you're unstoppable as Exodia, but I'll prove you wrong! Ha ha ha!"

"Ignore him," snorted Brigit, nose turned up.

"Brigit, it's nice to see the one who managed to win against my deck being supportive of me," said Sonja. She flashed a wicked smile. "But don't expect any mercy from me if we get a rematch. I've been powering up my deck so Exodia comes out much faster now! After taking the advice you gave me, I defeated your counselor and..."

"You beat Lina?" gasped Giselle. "No way!"

"Yes WAY," said Sonja, grinning. "I must admit her Toons almost destroyed me because my usual defense monsters were useless, but Exodia came to me quickly and I won her Shadow Badge. Now, I am in the finals thanks to her, and soon I will win the tournament and my dream of visiting Duelatopia!" She sighed happily.

"Well, good luck," said Diane. "I'm sure you'll win against Norus, nobody will cheer for him."

"Thanks, and good luck to your friends when they battle each other," grinned Sonja, who left.

"Why did she have to bring THAT up?" moaned Brigit, holding her head.

"It's okay," said Diane. "You two will do great!"

"Yeah, right," mumbled Giselle, looking at Brigit with watery eyes.

"Hey, you still have to wait for this next duel, so don't get upset," said Diane. "And when you two face each other, then duel your hardest and don't gloat over the loser, okay? You'll do fine, I swear." Diane was feeling a bit nervous, though. I hate having to choose between friends to cheer for, but one of them WILL lose. That's the way it is unless they get a draw, and then I'm sure that Lilith has a means of determining who goes on even if its a draw...

"Hey, brats!" laughed Norus. "Watch me destroy Exodia girl!"

The three girls quickly turned back to their meal, ignoring him.

0

Ares and Doppler were watching carefully. "I certainly hope Sonja wins," said Doppler. "Norus is a fool."

"Maybe so, but both have potential," said Ares. "The winner of this duel will face Diane, Jacob, and the winner of the next duel. On the plus side, if Norus wins the tournament by a quirk of fate, he'll be much easier to deal with than the others. We can probably skip a lot of the messy stuff, and Pisaro won't have to waste his..."

"Let's just wait and see," interrupted Doppler with a scowl. If Norus wins, it will be a lot harder for my plans to take shape, because of Norus' ruthless nature. I just hope that he tastes the wrath of Exodia.

0

The music started up again and banished some holographic Ojama as they were doing an Irish jig in a pot of gold. Lillith and Machus entered their booths.

"Friends! Romans! Campers! Welcome back!" said Lilith. "I hope you're all finished with lunch, because we don't serve refreshments in this competition! Machus, the ball's in your court now!"

The headmaster nodded and smiled.

"Here goes, wish me luck," said Sonja as she left the VIP box.

"Good luck, Sonja," grinned Diane. "Be glad that NOBODY is rooting for your opponent."

The group laughed as Norus walked out, a scowl on his face. "I think these giggling girls need to get a big shot of reality in their arms!" He grinned. "And I know how to do it." He chuckled in his sleeve as he made his way to the doors.

The crowd cheered as the doors opened. "Let's introduce the battlers for Round Three of the quarter-finals today!" MMachus waved to the left door. "Coming from Providence, Rhode Island, standing three-foot-ten and weighing eighty-five pounds, the Exodia Empress SONJA KLEIN!"

Sonja came in and giggled, taking a cute pose that drove the boys in the crowd(save Jake, Ares, and Donald) wild. She took to the stage as the screen displayed her stats.

"She's looking cute," said Lilith. "But under that schoolgirl visage is a deadly deck she calls 'Might of Forbidden Passion.'" She turned and gestured. "And our next duelist?"

Machus grinned and adjusted his glasses. "Her opponent, from Boston, Massachussets, standing four-foot-three and weighing one-hundred and thirty pounds, a youth with a heart of coal and a deck to match, NORUS RAGNAR!"

Norus came in and held his arms up, whooping. The audience grew quiet and he scowled. "Heathens."

As his stats were displayed, Lilith spoke. "His deck has been named 'The Magic of Hades', and I can see why! His monsters are all fiends and spellcasters of sheer power."

Norus took to the stage and the coin toss was done. "I can't wait to see Norus get his face kicked in by the Forbidden One," grinned Diane.

"Me too," said Giselle.

"Me three," said Brigit.

"Although I'm part of his cabin, even I wish his opponent luck," grinned Jake. "Maybe he'll fall a few bars and eat humble pie. Of course, I doubt it. He's been prepping his deck pretty good. I recently heard last night that he plans to shut down Sonja's Exodia fast."

"I wonder how he can do it?" asked Dione. "Card Destruction or a Morphing Jar?"

"That would help him too," said Diane in worry, recalling Norus' Dark Necrofear.

"It's starting," said Donald.

Sonja had won the coin toss and chose to go first. The decks had been shuffled and cut and now the two plugged in their duel disks, ready for the next phase.

"Before we begin, you know the rules," grinned Lillith. "I want a duel as clean as the Divine Archlord Zerato, understood? Sonja, no dark glares. Norus, no perverted comments. And no cheating from EITHER of you!"

"I don't need to cheat against a loser like this girl," grinned Norus.

"Hmph, I'm no cheater, only some Rare Hunter would do that," said Sonja.

"Fine, then it's time to choose the location of our duel," said Lillith. "Start the roulette!" She spun the wheel and, after a while, it landed on a golden slot. "Well well, this is going to be quite amusing...it's time for a little trip back in time...to the DESERT OF DESTINY!"

She pressed the button and the magic happened a third time. Those not in the VIP box were transported to a beautiful desert landscape with mirages on the horizon and shifting sands. A pair of pyramids and a sphinx were in the distance, watching the events unfold. For the thrones, they had turned into golden Egyptian affairs and two ancient Egyptian maidens waved paper fans.

Twilight sighed. This takes me back to my youth...

"And now...BEGIN!" cried Lillith, flinging down her flags before taking her seat.

The only one who didn't mind care Sonja's losing was Machus. If Norus wins, then his death should make many of these campers happy. After the wretched bullying and nonsense he pulled recently, many would love to seem him perish. Still, I wish I didn't have to test the winner of the tournament in...that way. He wiped his brow.

"Okay loser, time to begin your destruction," grinned Sonja sweetly as she drew a card. "I play...Graceful Charity!" She showed her card and plugged it into the disk. It appeared and the golden angel flew up and showered Sonja's deck with golden light. "This card allows me..."

"I know what it does!" shouted Norus. "EVERYONE uses that card!"

Sonja frowned. "How rude." The angel vanished and she drew three cards, then discarded two. "And because I discarded Electric Snake from my hand, I get to draw another two cards!" She drew two more cards. "Next, I'll put a monster face-down and a card face-down, ending my turn." The two cards appeared.

"Off to a slow start," said Machus.

"Well, most Exodia decks are defensive, so she's probably let her opponent take the offensive, knowing that once Exodia hits her hand, it's over." Lilith nodded.

Norus chuckled. Obviously a trap meant to draw Exodia pieces, and that face-down monster might be her Sangan or Witch of the Black Forest. But, who am I to disappoint? He drew.

"I activate my trap card!" said Sonja, flipping it up. "Good Goblin of Housekeeping!" The Goblin of Greed appeared and split into two and vanished. "This card allows me to draw one card plus another for every Good Goblin of Housekeeping trap in my graveyard, and thanks to Graceful Charity, the other card I discarded was another Good Goblin Housekeeping! That means I draw two cards from my deck!" She did so and chuckled. Two pieces of Exodia already! My luck is awesome!

"Fine," said Norus. "I summon Mystic Clown in attack mode!" The wirey-armed clown appeared. (1500/1000) "And I'll destroy your face-down monster! Mystic Clown, attack with Black Sorcery!"

The clown howled and fired a wave of dark magic into the card, shattering it. It was a Sangan.

"Well, you know the rules," said Sonja, as she withdrew her deck and removed the Left Arm from her deck, shuffled it, and put it back into her disk. Just the Head and Right Arm, and this duel is as good as over!

"Fine, I end my turn," said Norus. "But no matter how many pieces you got, you won't summon Exodia!"

"We'll see, the public supports me," said Sonja, drawing a card. Not a piece, but this will help me get another piece to the hand! "I set the card I drew in defense mode..." She placed the card and it appeared face-down. "And activate Chorus of Sanctuary!" She popped open the field slot and slid the card into it, then snapped it shut. The card appeared and angels flew around Sonja, crooning gently. "This increases..."

"I know what it does, it increases the defense on all monsters on the field by 500!" snapped Norus as his Mystic Clown's defense rose to 1500. "Is that all?"

"Yep," said Sonja.

"I hope this duel doesn't take all day," said Lilith.

I hope it does, thought Brigit sourly, knowing what was next.

"If you intend to drag the game out forever, guess again, Exodia girl!" said Norus, drawing a card. "I sacrifice my Mystic Clown..." The clown faded. "For Dark Ruler Ha-Des!" The hideous horned fiend lord appeared. (2450/1600) Dark Ruler's defense rose to 2100 due to Sonja's Chorus. "Now, Bloody Swath that face-down monster!"

The Dark Ruler cackled and fired a blood-red bolt of lightning into the card, shattering a black-robed witch with purple hair. "My Witch..."

"Won't work, because Dark Ruler negates the effect of all monsters it destroys!" cackled Norus. "So you won't get another piece!"

Sonja cursed under her breath. "Fine, but you can't do much else."

"That's right," said Norus, waving his hand. "I end my turn."

"That was awful," said Donald.

"Well, she will probably find other means of getting the Exodia pieces," said Jake. "Don't count her out yet. The duel's just beginning."

"Any more tricks?" asked Norus as his opponent drew her card.

"In fact, I do," said Sonja. "Mystical Elf in defense mode!" The blue-skinned elf maiden appeared. (800/2000) "And thanks to my Chorus field magic, you can't get to my life points!" Mystical Elf's defense rose to 2500. She waved her hand to end her turn.

"Big deal, I have stronger monsters I can summon," grinned Norus. He drew a card. "Excellent! This will be just the thing to destroy your life points!"

"You can't even scratch me," grinned Sonja. "Before you can, my Exodia will arise!"

"We'll see..." said Norus with a smirk. "Meet my deck's serving girl! Ebon Magician Curran in attack mode!"

A card disgorged a strange girl with long blonde hair and wearing a black outfit with a black floppy-eared hood. She giggled and brandished two hoops made of black metal. (1200/0) (1200/500)

"Hmmm..." said Brigit, shifting through her deck. She pulled out a card and looked at the girl on the field.

"What's up, Brig?" asked Giselle.

Brigit frowned. "If that card is similar to mine, I think Sonja's in for a lot of trouble!"

"What card?" asked Diane.

"I can't tell you," said Brigit, quickly shuffling the card back into her deck. "Remember, we have to duel each other, and I've already told you too much."

Sonja was surprised when Norus waved his hand. "Your turn is just summoning that stupid bunny girl?"

"That bunny girl is a powerful spellcaster, in case you don't realize it!" snapped Norus. "Just wait until my next turn."

"Fine," said Sonja, drawing a card. She looked at it and showed it. "I play Pot of Greed!" Sliding the card into her deck, she made the pot appear and it spat out two cards. "This lets me..."

"I know what it does!" snarled Norus. "Just draw your cards!"

The pot vanished. "Fine." She drew two cards and lit up. All right, the fourth piece of Exodia! All I need now is the Right Arm, and he's finished! "But just in case, I'll play Mid Shield Gardna in defense mode!"

A tall, young man wearing a medium-sized bluel shield on his wrist appeared. He crouched on one knee. (100/1800); (100/2300)

"Think that's gonna stop me?" grinned Norus.

"No, but this will keep you from attacking him," said Sonja, sliding a card into the disk. It appeared behind Middle Shield Gardna. "Your turn."

"Very well, I draw!" said Norus. "And now Curran gets to work!"

The young sorceress leapt into the air and aimed her hoops at Sonja.

"What's going on?" asked Diane in shock.

Suddenly, dark energy flew from every other monster on the field and entered the hoops, then were blasted into Sonja as black beams of energy! Sonja screamed!

"Ha ha ha!" laughed Norus. "Scream, you little wench!"

"What's he doing!" cried Giselle.

Brigit sighed. "I knew it."

Sonja clutched her chest as her life meter dropped to 7400. "What did...you just do!"

"It's Ebon Magician Curran's effect, wench," grinned Norus. "For every monster on your side of the field, she can inflict 300 life points of damage on you during my Standby phase!"

"Oh gosh!" said Lina. "So that's how he's gonna beat her! He's using that spellcaster's effect to burn away all her life points!"

Twilight scowled as the kids in the glass box were freaking out.

"This is bad!" said Jake. "Sonja will need to get Exodia out before that girl destroys her!"

"Oh no," said Donald.

Sonja laughed. "You are completely stupid if you think your little baby girl is going to sap away my life meter before I get Exodia in my hand!"

"Oh, it will," grinned Norus. "Because for every monster you summon, her effect grows stronger!" He slid a card into the disk. "Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer in attack mode!" A thin bald monk wearing a half-mask and carrying a set of prayer beads appearead. (1800/700) (1800/1200)

"Uh oh, I've heard about that guy!" said Lina. "If he does damage with him, he can remove two of Sonja's cards from the graveyard! And if any pieces of Exodia hit the graveyard..."

"I know," said Twilight. "It would destroy her deck."

"If you think I'm going to let you get away with doing damage with Kycoo, you're nuts," said Sonja.

"Well then, let's see you try," said Norus. "My turn is over."

Sonja sighed. Nothing I have is strong enough to shift to attack mode and destroy that Curran! And if I did, he would destroy it with his Kycoo and I'd lose two of my graveyard cards! She drew and smirked. Oh yeah! This will work! "Time to get rid of that Curran! I sacrifice my Mid Shield Gardna..." The handsome man vanished. "For Total Defense Shogun!" The stocky samurai appeared. (1550/2500); (1550/3000) "And it automatically goes to defense mode!" The samurai knelt. "Not only that, but it can attack even in defense, and its attack score is just enough to wipe out your Ebon Magician! Total Defense Shogun, Daimyo Slash!"

The shogun drew his katanas and lunged.

"NEGATE ATTACK!" cried Norus. The shogun was halted and returned to his side of the field.

"Blast!" said Giselle.

"Don't worry," said Dione. "That only worked once. Next turn, she'll wipe it out."

"Fine, your turn," said Sonja.

"Then I draw!" said Norus, drawing a card. "And you know what happens next!" Curran fried Sonja with another dark blast, dropping her to 6800 life points.

"Man," said Donald. "If she doesn't get rid of that kid soon…"

"I have faith in Sonja," smirked Dione. "She's beaten me a couple of times."

"Next, I'll fill the last spot on my field by using Monster Reborn on Mystic Clown," said Norus. The wicked wirey-arm demon appeared. "Next, I'll use Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to lower all monsters in my hand by two stars. That means I can summon my next monster by sacrificing Mystic Clown alone. Say farewell to Mystic Clown..." The clown vanished. "And hello to Invader of Darkness!" The clown vanished and was replaced by a horseback rider. (2900/2500); (2900/3000)

"Oh no, he's strong enough to wipe out everyone but the Shogun!" said Diane.

"And I end my turn," said Norus with a grin.

"What? He didn't attack?" asked Dione.

"He doesn't need to," said Brigit. "Curran needs monsters to be on Sonja's field, destroying one would weaken her effect."

Sonja drew. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to get rid of that little witch of yours. You didn't put a trap down, so your Ebon Magician is a sitting duck! But first, I'll activate my face down card, Reckless Greed." The card flipped up. "Drawing two cards in exchange for two draw phases." She drew the cards and frowned. Where's the right arm? Did it hit the bottom of the deck? "Next, I'll play Offerings of the Doomed to destroy your Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer! Of course, it requires skipping my draw phase, but since I played Reckless Greed, that's not an issue."

Black mists engulfed Kycoo, who screamed as he was destroyed. Norus' life meter dropped to 7550.

"Thank goodness," said Lina. "Now Norus can't remove cards from the graveyard...not like he could, with all those monsters in the way."

"Next, I'll wipe out your Curran!" shouted Sonja. "Let's try this again, Total Defense Shogun! Daimyo Slash!"

The little girl screamed as she was sliced down the middle by the wicked warrior's katana. Norus' life points dropped to 7250 as he grinned.

"What's with him?" asked Brandon. "He's not even CONCERNED that he lost his keystone monster!"

"Something's up," said Twilight. "I have a feeling that he WANTED Curran to be destroyed."

"Or that Curran was only one of his many devious plans to defeat Sonja," said Lina.

"To end, I'll set a card face-down and end my turn," said Sonja. Scapegoat should keep me safe, just in case he does find a way to destroy my monsters.

Norus drew a card. "Well, Sonja, you've been holding up a wall against me for a long time, but it's time I brought it down. Since most of my monsters are creatures of Darkness, this little field magic will nicely even the odds!"

"Oh no, a field card!" said Brigit. "It'll displace Chorus of Sanctuary!"

"Activate Mystic Plasma Zone!" The card slid into Norus' field slot and it appeared. Dark clouds covered the desert sky and lightning cracked and thunder rolled. Winds whipped away the screaming cherubs and flowers, leaving Sonja standing in sand. All the monsters lost their defense boost.

"No..." gasped Sonja in horror.

"Not only did I crumble your defense scores, but all dark monsters get a boost of 500 to their attack in exchange for a 400 drop in their defense!" laughed Norus. Dark Ruler Ha-Des changed to (2950/1200) and Invader of Darkness changed to (3400/2100). "Now it's time to take out the trash! Invader of Darkness, eradicate that Mystical Elf!"

The Invader lunged and shattered the elf.

"Dark Ruler, blast away that Shogun!" commanded Norus. Ha-Des chuckled and vaporized the Total Defense Shogun with his dark magic.

"It looks like Norus has gotten an advantage now!" said Lilith.

"Not so fast!" said Sonja, flipping her card switch. "I activate Scapegoat!" Nothing happened. "Huh?"

"Oh, forgot about Invader of Darkness' special ability," grinned Norus. "As long as he's on the field, you can't activate Quickplay magic cards!"

Sonja paled. "No..."

"You're completely defenseless," grinned Norus. "So, unless you have some other plan, my monsters will win me this duel! And since you can't draw next turn or the turn after thanks to your stupid trap card, you're finished!"

"It looks like she's gonna lose," said Diane.

"She can't, if she loses, then..." said Giselle.

"No-Good Norus will be in the semi-finals!" said Brigit in horror.

"I end my turn," said Norus. "Draw your last pathetic card."

Sonja drew a card and grinned. "This will fix everything! I play Change of Heart on your Invader of Darkness!"

"Wha?" cried Norus in shock as the angelic creature flew into the Invader and it came to Sonja's side of the field.

"Fiends are just plain treacherous, aren't they?" grinned Sonja. "Invader of Darkness, attack Dark Ruler now!"

The entranced fiend stabbed Dark Ruler, dropping Norus' life meter to 6800.

"Big deal, I'll get it back," said Norus.

"Not when I use THIS!" said Sonja, activating a magic card. "Mystik Wok! I'll use it on your Invader, and choose his attack. Since your field card powered it up to no end, I get all of the boosted attack in life points!" Dark Ruler melted into light and Sonja's life meter rose to 10200. "To end my turn, I'll set a monster in defense mode." She smirked as the card appeared. Go ahead and blow up my Cyber Jar, loser, it'll give me a big advantage! And even if it does summon my final piece, I can still get out ahead!

"Well, looks like Sonja's making a comeback," grinned Lilith.

"I hope so," said Machus under his breath.

"Well," said Norus as he drew a card. "I have no idea what you've got under that card, but just in case, I'll set a card face-down." The card appeared before him. "Then I'll strike down your pathetic monster with my Feral Imp, which I summon now!" The wicked green furry imp appeared with a scream. (1300/1400) "Now Feral Imp, wipe out that face-down monster!"

The imp screeched and clawed the face-down monster, shattering it. A metal pod with a scary face appeared.

"How nice of you to destroy my Cyber Jar!" laughed Sonja. "Now your monsters are done for!"

The pod sucked up Feral Imp and exploded.

"Why did she do that?" asked Diane. "She might summon Exodia pieces!"

"She must have a card in her hand to send them back to her deck," said Brigit.

The two duelists drew five cards. "Here are my monsters," said Sonja. "The Right Arm of Exodia, The Forgiving Maiden, and Aqua Madoor, all in attack mode!" The three monsters appeared. The first was a golden arm, the right arm of Exodia. (300/200) The second was a nun with a mantlepiece. (800/2000) The last was a masked sorcerer with wild blue hair. (1300/2000)

"Is she NUTS?" cried Giselle.

"You must be bonkers, Sonja," cackled Norus. "Because all my monsters are tougher than yours! Horn Imp and Witch's Apprentice, in attack mode!" The two monsters appeared, a gargoyle-like imp(1200/1400) and a red-haired angel-like woman(550/500).

"Your monsters are weaker than mine, you fool," said Sonja.

"Not for long," grinned Norus. "Because my Witch's Apprentice empowers all dark monsters on the field, and weakens all light monsters!" A wave of darkness emnated from the Witch's Apprentice and she rose to 1050 attack. Horn Imp rose to 1700 attack and the Right Arm of Exodia rose to 800 attack. However, Forgiving Maiden dropped to 300 attack. "And don't forget, my Mystic Plasma Zone is still in play, so all dark monsters get a boost as well!" Horn Imp changed to (2200/1000), Witch's Apprentice changed to (1550/100), and the Right Arm of Exodia became (1300/0).

"Uh oh," said Dione.

"Now to make sure you never get that piece in your hand!" said Norus. "But first, I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to wipe out your set Scapegoat!" The magic card on Sonja's field exploded. "Witch's Apprentice, annihilate The Forgiving Maiden!" The witch cackled and fired a blast of dark energy which shattered the nun. Sonja's life meter dropped to 8950. Sonja was horrified.

"Why is she upset? She has life points to spare," said Giselle.

"It's because she lost The Forgiving Maiden," said Brigit. "You see, if Norus had attacked the Right Arm of Exodia and destroyed it first, then she could have used the Maiden's effect to bring it back. Of course, since he has two monsters..."

"Now Horn Imp, take out the Right Arm!" ordered Norus. The imp charged and rammed its head horn into the arm, shattering it. Sonja's life meter dropped to 8050. "So much for blasting me with the Forbidden One! Har har har!"

"Excellent play by Norus," grinned Machus. "He might win his duel after all."

Twilight scowled. I doubt that. I made her deck so that, even if Exodia is unable to come to her hand, she can still win.

"Your turn," said Norus with a smirk.

Sonja drew a card and formed a plan. This trap card is just what I need to get Exodia back on track. But I'd better make his monsters disappear first! "I'm setting one card face-down and sacrificing my Aqua Madoor for Jinzo!" The wizard vanished and was replaced by the familiar cyborg. (2400/1200) "And since he's dark, he gains 1000 attack from your Witch's Apprentice AND your Mystic Plasma Zone!" The droid rose to 3400 attack.

"All right!" said Giselle.

"Go Sonja," grinned Brigit.

"Jinzo, blow away Horn Imp!" commanded Sonja. "Cyber Shock!" The robot formed a ball of energy and blasted it into the gargoyle, obliterating it. Norus' life meter dropped to 5600. "Your turn."

Norus drew a card. I know EXACTLY what that set card is! And thanks to the card I drew, I won't have to worry about it. "I sacrifice my Witch's Apprentice to summon End of Anubis!" The witch vanished, dropping Jinzo back to 2400 attack, and a hideous furry blue hunchbacked demon with long claws appeared. (2500/0) "Since it's a dark monster, it gets a boost from Mystic Plasma Zone!" End of Anubis roared as his attack rose to 3000. "And now that I got rid of the Witch's Apprentice, your monster is weak enough to slay."

Sonja smirked. "Go right ahead!"

"She'll lose her Jinzo!" said Diane.

"That's exactly what I think she wants," said Brigit, recalling the end of her own match.

Twilight gasped. "Oh no..."

"What is it, Twi?" asked Lina.

"End of Anubis, use Claws of Horror on that robot!" commanded Norus. The creature tore through the cyborg and shattered it. Sonja's life meter dropped to 6550.

"Just what I wanted," laughed Sonja. "Activate Backup Soldiers!" The card didn't activate. "What?"

Norus smirked. "End of Anubis prevents the activation of cards that affect monsters in the graveyard! That means your Backup Soldiers won't be bringing your Right Arm back anytime soon!" He grinned. "And from your fading excitement, you have the other four pieces in your hand, don't you?"

Sonja feebly nodded.

"Oh great, now what can she do?" asked Brandon.

"If Norus wins, I'll never forgive him," growled Arnold.

"What? I thought you supported him, he's in your cabin," said Twilight.

"After the stunt he tried to pull on Diane, wagering me as his champion, he's lost my respect," scowled Arnold, crossing his arms.

"Oh, you mean when Diane dueled you?" asked Lina. "She told me. Well, if he tries to wager dates on any more of the female campers, I'll call his folks personally and have them pick him up. That's just plain wrong." Twilight nodded.

"Okay," said Norus. "It's your turn, but nothing you have can save you now."

Sonja scowled as she whipped off the next card from her deck. She looked at her thinning deck. All those drawing cards I played really thinned my deck out! I've got to find a way out of this mess before I deck out! She then saw the card in her hand and grinned. "Perfect." She slapped the card down. "I activate Final Destiny!"

"What?" cried Norus as the card showing a mushroom cloud appeared.

"An underestimated card with deadly effects," said Sonja. She removed her Exodia pieces and a Sinister Serpent from her hand. "By discarding five cards from my hand, I can clear the field of all cards!" She slid the cards into her discard slot and the magic card flared with light.

The effect was climatic. The sky of the virtual arena, which had basically been ignored, turned blood red. Purple lightning shot down and struck the field, creating mighty explosions that blew both duelists off their feet and made the place shake with a violent earthquake! Everyone held onto something, and Diane and Brigit grabbed their boyfriends tightly. When the shaking and light faded, the desert was a blackened crater and all the field was empty.

"Crap," said Norus.

"I heard that," scowled Arnold, making Norus grow white in fear.

"But...it clears all cards off the field, including her own!" said Giselle. "What's she up to?"

"And now that your End of Anubis is gone, I can use this magic card!" said Sonja, playing another card. Five headstones rose up. "Contract With Exodia!"

Twilight smirked. "It is over for him."

The stones shook and glowed. "To use this, all five pieces of Exodia must be in the graveyard, but when the conditions are right, I can summon a mighty beast! Behold the fearsome Exodia Necross!"

The stones shattered and a giant hideous form clawed its way out of the blackened sands. It looked like the Forbidden One, but had pitch-black skin that glowed with a dark blue aura. (1800/0)

"That's your mighty monster?" chortled Norus. "He's got Kycoo's attack power!"

"True, but I can hit you with a direct hit!" said Sonja. "Necross, attack his life points directly!"

The giant creature reared back and slammed Norus in the gut with a glowing fist, making him double over in pain. His life meter dropped to 3500.

Norus drew and placed two cards. "A monster in defense, a card face-down, and I end my turn."

"And now my Necross gains 500 attack points, as one of his effects," said Sonja. Exodia Necross rose to 2300. "And it will continue rising in power each turn, until it is unbeatable! Oh, and don't bother trying to destroy it in battle or with your magic and trap cards, because he's immune to destruction in those ways!"

"She might win this," said Lina with a sly grin.

Sonja drew and laughed. "Time to meet an old friend! I play my own Monster Reborn to bring back Jinzo!" The cyborg reappeared. "And now, Necross, wipe out the face-down card!" Necross pummeled the card, which turned into a cackling jar.

"I put the Morphing Jar in my deck for this occassion, Exodia Girl," laughed Norus.

"I can't believe he has such a rare card!" cried Brigit.

"You know the rules," said Norus as he discarded his hand.

Sonja did the same and shuddered. Only eight cards left in my deck! I'd better end this fast! "Jinzo, attack him directly!"

The cyborg assaulted Norus with energy waves and his life meter dropped to 1100.

"That's it! One more hit and he's outta here!" cried Giselle.

"Come on, Sonja, kick his butt!" said Diane.

Brigit frowned. "Something's wrong here..."

"Your move, but nothing can save you now," said Sonja. "On my next turn, Necross will rise to 2800 attack!"

Norus drew a card and chuckled as he replaced it with one in his hand. "It's all over. Thanks to my Morphing Jar, I have just the card combo I need to win. From the look on your face, it'll work." He grinned evilly.

Sonja gasped. "What could it be?"

"Card Destruction!" said Norus, sliding his magic card into the disk. It appeared and exploded into light. "Just like Morphing Jar, we discard and draw new hands!"

The girls gasped as the two duelists discarded their hands and drew new ones. Sonja was visibly shaken with fear.

"She's got less than five cards in her deck?" gasped Lina. "If she isn't careful..."

Norus cackled. "What's so funny?" asked Sonja, looking at her hand. "When your turn is over, I'll make sure that Exodia Necross pummels you silly for the win!"

"Nope, because from what I saw on your face, you've got less than five cards in your deck, and the card I set last turn will wipe you out," grinned Norus. "Activate the magic card, Serial Spell!" The card flipped up, showing a sorcerer casting a spell.

Lina gasped. "That card..."

"I know," said Twilight in horror. "I know exactly what it does, and it is Sonja's doom!"

"What does that do?" asked Sonja.

"Simple," said Norus as his magic card appeared. "By discarding my entire hand..." He sent his hand of cards into the discard slot. "This card becomes the last magic card I played, and guess what card THAT was?"

Sonja paled. "No...n-n-n-not Card Destruction!" She checked her hand. "I was so close..."

"Close, but not good enough," said Norus. "You know the rules, but since I have no hand, I don't have to discard!"

Sonja discarded her five card hand and drew her last three cards, then her disk buzzed and displayed LOSE. She sobbed and dropped the cards from her hand onto the floor. "I've been decked out..."

Everyone gasped. Lilith coughed. "The winner of this duel, by decking out, is Norus Ragnar!"

"Oh yeah," said Norus, flipping his hair back as the disks deactivated.

Giselle was completely furious. "Dirty cheater!"

"No, it was perfectly legal," sighed Brigit sadly.

"This is a nightmare, he couldn't have won," said Diane.

"He did, fair and square," sighed Dione. "Poor Sonja..."

Sonja fell to her knees and wept. "I was so...close..."

Norus came up. "Okay, enough weepy-eyes, Exodia girl! You know the rules, hand over your Exodia the Forbidden One!"

Everyone gasped as Sonja sobbed and slowly removed the card from her discard slot. "Choke on it!" She tossed it to Norus angrily.

Norus caught it and grinned. "I bet this card would be a great deal on E-bay. Ha ha ha!" He stuffed it in his pocket.

Sonja looked up and screamed bloody murder before she collapsed in a dead faint. Everyone was horrified except Norus, who had an evil smirk.

Lina ran to her and checked her pulse. "Weak, but she's in shock."

Twilight scowled and walked up to him. "You...you sick man...you are a monster! What you're planning on doing is unforgivable!"

"Heh, what'cha gonna do to me, spook girl?" grinned Norus. "I won the card fair and square, I can do whatever I like with it!"

Brigit was furious. "That card was her father's gift! How could he sell it away?" Giselle murmured a cuss word under her breath, clenching a fist in rage. Diane growled.

Dione was besides herself. "I'm so sorry, Sonja..."

"I can't believe him," said Jake angrily. "He's without honor."

"Jerk," said Donald with a sneer.

Suddenly, Norus clutched his head and screamed. "AAAAAAAAH! MAKE IT STOP! MERCY!"

Lina saw Twilight's glasses glowing a violent red and she got up and grabbed her shoulder. "No, Twi! It's not worth it!"

Twilight's eyes stopped glowing and she held her head, then walked over and picked up Sonja's limp body. Shooting a dark glare at Norus, she walked out of the building.

Arnold shook his head. "Bugger. I can't believe Norus would make a girl scream." He sighed in disgust and grabbed Norus' arm. "Come on mate, we're going to have a little talk with you about your manners." Dragging the boy off, he vanished from the building.

"Well...that was...interesting," mumbled Lilith under her breath. "Ahem! Anyways, despite that incident...we'll continue as planned. In two hours, Brigit Anderlee and Giselle Wagnis will duel each other in the duel of the decade! Don't miss it!"

Each member of D.M.G. was furious. Brigit's rage came out the hottest, as hot as Jake's monsters. That little slimeball! Maybe he should be taught a lesson or two in humility! That card is her father's love and to take it and sell it for cash is...is...profane! Worse, she can't duel anymore because Exodia is incomplete! Don't worry, Sonja, I'll get your Exodia head back! Once I crush Giselle, I'll vaporize Norus with my Mokey Mokey's Infinite Anger Burst!

Giselle turned to Brigit and sighed. I want to crush Norus myself, but I'll have to break up the group to do it! I'm sorry, Brig, but your participation in the tournament is officially over!

0

"Well well well, most interesting," grinned Circe, licking her lips as the crystal image faded. "I like Norus. He's really evil. I wish he had torn apart Exodia, that would have sent the girl into a coma!" She giggled wickedly. "So, what's the last duel?"

"Two friends," said Pisaro. "I am most surprised by that boy Norus. He shows potential for evil, and not everyone can defeat an Exodia duelist. We may have a change of plans if he passes the second round. Still, it is a shame Exodia didn't win this time."

"I don't trust that shaky monster," snorted Circe. "Mephisto tried using it on Yugi and failed. Sonja would most likely have had no better luck. Still, she and her fellow Witch of the Black Forest camper might be threats, considering that their counselor oozes magic."

"Yes, Twilight is a threat," said Pisaro. "Her magic almost matches mine. I know she was holding back her aura, but she could have vaporized that boy without a thought. Surely, she is a force to be reckoned with."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Circe.

"Maybe we should use those two girls as hostages, should that accursed woman interfere," said Pisaro. "I'll send Ares to comfort Sonja, so that when the time comes to strike, we can use him to lure those two into a trap and lock them up in our little dungeon." He chuckled. "And who knows? Maybe once Yugi loses his soul, I can send those girls against Peter and Clive and take their souls as well. It will take some dark mana, but I think I can make it work, should something go wrong."

"Or I could turn them into cats!" giggled Circe.

"Nice, but not very useful when dueling," said Pisaro with a chuckle. "Still, if things go wrong, we can always have that option, to eliminate them as threats. I won't allow my plans to get ruined at this point in time, when we are so close to our goal." His eyes gleamed evilly.

NEXT CHAPTER: Giselle and Brigit face each other in a duel to the end! Can they remain friends after this battle? Find out in "Share the Pain!"