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DUEL TWENTY-EIGHT

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Life-or-Death Wager

The Lizard King

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The way the Shadowchasers operated, one might have thought that all Shadowkind lived in cities.

This was hardly the case. Many, if not most Shadowkind lived far from civilization.

In the swamplands of southern Florida, from Lake Okeechobee to the tip of the Everglades, Shadowkind thrived. Trolls lurked in their fens, bullywugs settled here on occasion (not as many nowadays, since Gripilus's disastrous attempt to lead them), and there were even rumors of a black dragon making its lair somewhere in this region.

The most civilized race in these marshlands was the lizard men, and it was them that the veteran Shadowchaser and his apprentice had come here to investigate, after getting a call from Dugan.

The older man's name was Edgar McDonald, and he was almost sixty years old, very robust for his age, muscular, sporting a well-trimmed beard and combed-over hair that was slowly greying. He wore the typical clothes for a hiker in this area: khaki jacket and pants and hiking boots, and he carried a knapsack with the essentials.

Edgar's accomplishments in the Shadowchasers could well take several chapters to get into. He was well-known among virtually every member of the organization in the States, having stood at the center of some of the most severe conflicts. He had also trained numerous other Shadowchasers, five at last count.

The eighteen-year-old girl with him was his sixth apprentice; her name was Maddie. She was wearing the same style clothes, with her brunette hair tied in long pigtails.

Edgar had dealt with this group of lizard men before, and as he looked through a pair of binoculars at the group of five of them, apparently a patrol of some sort, he was confused. They were big and hulking, with glossy black scales.

"Only blackscales in a patrol group…" he muttered to Maddie. "That worries me… The greenscales usually don't trust the blackscales alone without supervision."

Blackscales were one of the two main subspecies of lizard men. They were big, muscular brutes who weren't all-too bright. Tribes of only blackscales tended to be savage and barbaric, treating all other creatures as prey.

The other subspecies, the greenscales, weren't as strong, but were far more clever and civilized. Tribes that had at least thirty percent greenscales were usually willing to enter alliances with humans and other races for trade and mutual defense.

This tribe had done so… Although Edgar hadn't heard from them in a while…

"This doesn't make sense," said Edgar. "We made a deal with Samath, the chieftain, eight years ago. It was basically, they don't bother us, we don't bother them. They don't even worship the Dark God... They worship Semuanya."

"Who?" asked Maddie.

"A reptilian god who represents survival and fertility," he replied. "Not exactly on good terms with a god of destruction."

"Well, maybe they…" started Maddie.

Then she was cut short.

Someone reached out from the brush behind and grabbed her, pulling her out of sight before she could scream.

"Maddie!" gasped Edgar.

He quickly gave chase, running through the thick brush, ready to draw his weapon at a moment's notice. After about a minute, he burst into a clearing.

Five greenscales were standing there. One of them had Maddie in a hold, his hand clasped over her mouth.

Edgar was more than a little shocked when he saw who it was. He started to say something, but another of the greenscales motioned for him to be quiet.

The lizard man holding Maddie spoke to her quietly.

"I'm letting go now..." he said. "Don't scream... You scream, the other patrols will find us, and they'll kill all of us..."

He slowly let go. Maddie wrenched free, and ran to Edgar.

"Sslinth, what's going on?" demanded Edgar. "What..."

The lizard man made another shushing motion, and Edgar stopped talking. Then he motioned for the two of them to follow. Maddie turned to Edgar, and he nodded.

The five lizard men cautiously led them down a path, towards a cave in the side of a hill. They had to duck to enter it, and two of the lizard men stayed outside.

The apparent leader turned on a bulls-eye lantern, illuminating the small cave.

"Sorry about that," he said. "I had to get your attention before you got theirs. Scath knew you were coming. His benefactor said that the Shadowchasers knew what was happening here."

"Who is this guy?" asked Maddie.

"The tribe's shaman," replied Edgar. "Sslinth, where's Samath?"

"Dead..." replied Sslinth. "Murdered. Three years ago, an egg hatched into deformed infant... Samath made the mistake of not killing it... It grew fast, growing into a lizard king..."

Edgar knew what that meant. Lizard kings were vile corruptions of lizard men, created by a demon lord named Sess'innek. According to most myths about him, Sess'innek was a demon who had tired of the eternal Blood War, and had created this cursed strain in an attempt to gain worshippers. It hadn't worked the way he had intended – tribes ruled by lizard kings were incredibly rare – but when they appeared, they quickly took over the local tribe of lizard men, turning the normally indifferent humanoids into cold-blooded killers.

"Scath quickly turned all of the blackscales over to his side," continued Sslinth. "Then he ambushed and murdered Samath and took over completely. The greenscales were too afraid of the blackscales to disobey him. Then he defiled the altar in the temple of Semuanya and forbade us to pray to him. He's spent the past three years converting the altar into some ugly thing... Some shrine to a demon god."

"Sess'innek?" asked Edgar.

"No..." replied Sslinth. "Much worse than Sess'innek...

"I still pray to Semuanya when Scath isn't looking... But Semuanya's words grow fainter with every moon... Soon, I don't think he'll hear me at all."

"Well, we can help, right?" said Maddie. "I mean, that's what Shadowchasers do…"

"You're vastly outnumbered…" sighed Sslinth. "The greenscales all hate Scath, but they won't turn against him… At this point, they're relatively certain he can't be beaten.

"The four patrol guards I have here and three others in the village are the only greenscales brave enough to move behind his back. It's not because of a lack of courage that we don't openly move against him… Scath is has the power to make good the threats he uses to keep us in line. We've seen what he does to the folks who actually challenge him… He makes gruesome examples of the poor souls…"

"We could call for back-up…" said Edgar, rubbing his beard. "But I suppose Scath is more than willing to use the females and young as shields if we bring a large force into here?"

Sslinth nodded.

"I might have an idea…" said Edgar. "I take it that you and your four friends were out on patrol, looking for trespassers?"

"Well, yes…" said Sslinth. "Scath put everyone on alert ever since he got word from his benefactor."

"Maybe you could make it look like you found a few," said Edgar. "It's an old trick, but it works more often than you may think."

"We pose as prisoners?" said Maddie, nervously. "Edgar, just how much do you trust this guy?"

"I doubt that he's abandoned Semuanya, Maddie," replied Edgar. "Look at his torso."

Maddie looked at the lizard man, and saw that his torso and legs (which were only dressed in scant clothing, the norm for his kind) were covered by red welts. He had been lashed by a whip.

"He's all scarred..." she said. "He's been flogged..."

"He did it himself, Maddie," replied Edgar. "Shamans of Semuanya engage in self-flagellation, punishing themselves as a way of atonement.

"I think we can trust him."

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Fifteen minutes later, the five members of the patrol escorted Edgar and Maddie into the village, surrounding them on all sides, with their hands tied behind their backs – the knots purposely tied shoddily so that undoing them would be easy. Most of the buildings were thatched huts made of wood or sod, the only stone structure being the huge communal temple in the center that had been built when lizard men first settled here hundreds of years ago.

The plan seemed to be working. The blackscales cast a lot of dirty looks at the two humans, but no suspicious ones.

Edgar noticed a change among the blackscales right away. A lot of them were wearing jungle camouflage and were carrying spears and axes made from steel rather than the usual stone. Some were even armed with machetes.

"Is the new gear from Scath's 'benefactor'?" whispered Edgar.

Sslinth nodded.

"I have no idea who this 'benefactor' is," he replied. "He keeps that completely to himself."

The group walked up to the front door of the temple, where a blackscale holding a sledgehammer was standing in front of a gong.

"Following orders of the high priest," said Sslinth. "All trespassers are to be brought here."

"Password?" asked the blackscale.

"Water drowns the unprepared," replied Sslinth.

The blackscale grinned.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, "that was yesterday's password!"

He punctuated the sentence by hitting the gong with the hammer. Then he dropped the hammer and lifted a machete as more blackscales started to rush towards them.

"They're onto us!" gasped Sslinth, as Edgar and Maddie freed their hands. "Do you two have a plan-B?"

"I always have a plan-B…" said Edgar.

He hit a switch on his belt, and three capsules fell into his hand. He threw them to the ground, and a cloud of obscuring smoke covered the front of the temple.

"Wha?" said one of the blackscales. "Where…"

He was cut off as an explosion tore the door to the temple off.

The next minute, Edgar, Maddie, and Sslinth were running down the temple hall.

"They're right behind us!" shouted Maddie.

"This way!" shouted Sslinth, as they turned a corner.

"STOP!"

The stopped short. The hallway in front of them had statues of snakes along each wall.

Sslinth reached into the mouth of the one closest to him.

"Get ready to run," he said. "When I turn off this booby trap, we'll have ten seconds to reach the end of this hallway before it turns back on…"

He pulled down the switch with a click. The three of them made a dash for the hall at the other end, making it just within the ten seconds.

The blackscales chasing them followed, and when they tried, gas shot from the mouths of the snakes. They choked for a few seconds, and then collapsed.

"I would be a sorry excuse for a shaman," said Sslinth, "if didn't know where the traps in my own temple were."

"How many bodyguards does Scath have?" asked Edgar.

"Usually, ten," replied Sslinth.

"Don't worry," said Maddie, "we can handle that many."

The door to the main temple came into view. Edgar gave it one swift kick, and they charged inside.

And then they stopped short…

There weren't ten lizard men facing them, there were about twenty. Even worse, they were armed with assault rifles, which they were aiming at them.

"You didn't say this benefactor was giving them guns..." said Edgar to Sslinth.

"Honestly…" said Sslinth, "this is news to me too..."

"You know, Sslinth…" said a voice that spoke clearer English than even Sslinth did, "for someone who worships a god of survival, you don't know much about self-preservation."

The blackscales stood aside. Behind them was the altar. It was made of black stone, had candelabras on each end, and a hide drum to the side.

Behind the altar was a throne, on which an important-looking lizard man was seated. He had the same skin coloring as a greenscale, but was even bigger and more muscular than a blackscale, with longer claws and a face that looked more like that of an alligator than a lizard. He held a large trident in his hands with barbed points that seemed to be made entirely out of steel.

The weapon was what made Edgar the most nervous. No-one knew how lizard kings made or obtained the tridents that they carried, but they were terrible weapons when they used them. Stories were told of lizard kings literally skewering opponents with them.

The lizard king flicked his wrist, and a small flame appeared in his hand. Edgar was startled until he realized it was a cigarette lighter. Scath proceeded to light a cigar, and started puffing on it. The smell of incredibly vile tobacco permeated the room. Edgar had heard how swamp-dwelling races had cultivated such stuff and smoked it in pipes… Clearly, Scath had turned it into cigars.

Scath got up off his throne and looked at the very nervous shaman.

"I'll deal with you once I figure out a suitable punishment," he said. "For now, I have to deal with these two Shadowchasers."

He looked at Edgar. Then he looked at Maddie closely.

"What's a good kid like you doing in a mess like this?" he said with a grin.

"Stay away from her…" said Edgar.

Scath chuckled.

"You humans coming here has actually been a stroke of good luck," he said. "You like my altar?"

Edgar looked at the altar.

"It's not without its charm," he said, sarcastically. "I take it there's some magic involved in it?"

"I can't show you how it works now," said Scath, "seeing as I can only use it one night a week, and this isn't the right night. But I can explain the process. I'm quite proud of this; I've been working on it for three years. Had to do all the work myself… These blackscales have trouble pitching a tent.

"First, on the right night, a priest of the Elder Elemental Eye, like me, simply has to touch it. After a few minutes, it becomes translucent, and takes on an amethyst color, with a shifting amorphous center. If the candles are lit and someone beats the drum, a golden eye forms in that center.

"Then, one of two things can happen. If a Savage Claw is not present, the eye floats out, and turns into a golden egg. It grows to a diameter of ten feet, and after five minutes, hatches into four elemental salamanders. Who then serve the priest, if he can control them.

"So what is a Savage Claw?" asked Maddie.

"It's this," said Scath, taking something off his belt. "A gift from my benefactor…"

He held up a metal scepter with a wicked looking claw on the end. Obviously, the claw had once belonged to something living, but exactly what was hard to say.

"What, you scared of it?" he asked, as Maddie nervously edged away from it.

He nudged her chin with it…

"Don't touch her..." growled Edgar.

"Don't worry," said Scath, as he replaced it on his belt, "most of the time, this thing can't do anything but serve as a glorified backscratcher. But... If it is present when that eye appears, a tentacle reaches out of the altar, grabbing the nearest living creature and pulling it into the altar, destroying it utterly."

"And I suppose that the idea is to tie up a victim and place him on the altar as an intended sacrifice?" asked Edgar.

"Exactly," replied Scath. "Once that is done, the priest presiding, that would be me, makes a request for a magical item. If the life offered was valuable enough to warrant it, then the item appears on the altar.

"The egg still appears in this case, but it can be destroyed simply by touching it with the Claw.

"Of course, I can only assume this is all true, as I haven't used it yet, but I'm anxious to do so... In three nights, I'll have a chance..."

"Listen Scath, I can see where this is going..." said Edgar, with an angry tone. "You do realize that if you are caught and convicted of performing a blood sacrifice on a human, you may be given the death penalty.

"And it isn't like no-one knows that the two of us are here. The Shadowchasers in at least three cities know where we've gone, and why."

He was startled as one of the blackscales fired his weapon, hitting the ground at his feet.

"Don't talk back to the high priest, wise guy!" shouted the thug.

He started to say something else, but then Scath grabbed him by the neck.

"Did I give the order to fire that weapon?" shouted Scath. "Did I? Do you idiots think you can use guns like you use whips?"

"Can't… breathe…" choked the blackscale.

"That's because I'm choking you, you moron!" added Scath. "If I've told you idiots once, I've told you a hundred times, those guns are not to be used unless I tell you to use them! Understand?"

He dropped the blackscale, who fell to his knees and gasped for breath.

Scath went back to his throne, and sat down. He took one last drag on his cigar, and then flicked it away. He looked at Edgar.

"Besides, you have a valid point..." he continued. "Your half-dragon employer would likely send an army here to arrest us... Hmm...

"Seems I have two choices... One, I could offer one of you, and wish for something that would delay or hinder such an army until my benefactor's plans come to fruition. After that, anything that happened would be moot...

"But... Seeing as I had my heart set on a pair of Gauntlets of Defense, I could just keep you two as bargaining chips to keep your allies away, and find another sacrifice.

"On the other hand, I might not find another sacrifice in three days, and waiting ten days might give your boss too much time..."

He turned to a blackscale.

"Bring me my axe!" he shouted.

"You have an axe?" asked the blackscale.

Scath stood up, and punched the minion in the face.

"I meant my Duel Disk, stupid!" he said.

The blackscale ran into the side room, holding his eye where he had been hit. Scath turned back to Edgar and Maddie.

"You're starting to see why I haven't used the altar yet…" he muttered. "I doubt I could get a Horn of Fog from one of these lunkheads."

Edgar turned to Sslinth, and spoke softly.

"The way this guy treats them," he says, "it's a wonder even the blackscales follow him."

"The blackscales are fascinated by magic and technology…" replied Sslinth. "I remember when we first started trading with humans. One of the blackscales had heartburn, so I gave him Alka-Seltzer.

"He was far more thrilled by the plop-plop-fizz-fizz than by its ability to make him feel better. "

The blackscale rushed back with a Duel Disk, and Scath grabbed it. He slipped it over his left hand.

"You want to duel?" asked Edgar.

"Why not?" asked Scath. "I'm holding all the cards, after all. See, I'm leaning towards the first option I mentioned right now... But... I might change my mind and spare both of you if I lose this duel."

"Fine, I'll duel you..." said Edgar, as he lifted his Duel Disk.

"Not you..." replied Scath. "Your apprentice."

Edgar stopped short.

"What?" he said.

"After all," continued Scath, "she's the one whose life is at stake."

"WHAT?" shouted Edgar.

He looked at Maddie.

"Please..." said Scath. "A chaste maiden is worth far more as an offering than a middle-aged man."

"Over my dead body!" shouted Edgar.

Before he could make one step, Scath lifted his right hand, and every blackscale in the room aimed their weapons at him.

Edgar froze. He had a sinking feeling that lifting his right hand was the first part of giving the order to open fire…

"Uhm, I could arrange that, you know…" said Scath.

"Let me talk to her for a minute…" said Edgar.

"Fine…" said Scath. "One minute.

"Cigar!"

A blackscale handed him a fresh cigar. He lit it as Edgar took Maddie in his arms. She was clearly frightened.

"What do we do?" she said, nearly crying. "This is a lose-lose situation! Even if I win this duel, he'll probably use us for slave labor!"

"Calm down, Maddie!" urged Edgar. "Across the desert lies the Promised Land, as a wise man once said.

"As long as we can stay alive, there's hope. Just take it turn by turn. I might still have a few tricks left."

"Enough talk!" shouted Scath.

Two blackscales pulled Maddie away from Edgar, and shoved her into position, facing Scath.

"Across the desert lies the Promised Land?" asked Sslinth? "Is that a reference to the Book of Exodus?"

"Truthfully, it's a reference to an old Gene Wilder movie," replied Edgar. "But it still works."

Both duelists activated their Disks.

"Duel!" they shouted.

(Maddie: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Scath: 8,000)

"Experience rules here," said Scath.

He made his first draw.

"I'm going first."

He added the card to his hand, and then chose two.

"I set one card, and then summon Balloon Lizard."

A card appeared in his Spell Zone, and then a Monster appeared whose name seemed to describe it perfectly. It was a lizard with a large, spherical torso, and floated as if it were lighter than air. (500 ATK)

"THIEF!" shouted Sslinth. "That's Samath's deck you're using!"

"I don't see Samath objecting," replied Scath, "so shut up!

"It's your move, Shadowchaser."

Maddie looked at her deck. Her hand shook.

"What?" asked the lizard king. "Too nervous to even draw a card?"

Maddie finally drew. She picked a card from her hand, and threw it on her Disk.

"I… I summon Panther Warrior…" she said.

With a roar, one of the signature Beast-Warriors of Katsuya Jonouchi leapt onto the field, a panther man with violet fur wearing a cape and decorated breastplate, holding a scimitar. (2,000 ATK)

"Well…" said Scath. "Not what I expected… Kind of a poor choice, too… After all, with Gene-Warped Warwolf around, that guy is all washed up as a Beast-Warrior."

"I end my turn…" said Maddie.

"Suit yourself," said Scath, making a draw.

"I first move Balloon Lizard to Defense Mode…"

Balloon Lizard crossed its forearms and curled up its tail. (1,900 DEF)

"Then I set another card, and summon Lion Alligator."

Another card appeared in his Spell Zone, and then a large alligator with a lion's mane appeared in front of him. (1,900 ATK)

"And that's all for now…"

"My move!" said Maddie, starting to gain confidence.

She looked over the six cards in her hand, then at Balloon Lizard.

The longer that thing stays on the field, the more dangerous it becomes, she thought.

She looked at Lion Alligator.

I have no idea what that guy's story is, but I'll have to wait on it…

"I activate the Stray Lambs Spell Card!" she said.

She played the card, and two small Lamb Tokens appeared next to Panther Warrior. (0 DEF x2)

"Like I didn't see that coming," chuckled Scath.

"Stuff it!" replied Maddie. "I sacrifice one of these little lambs so that Panther Warrior can attack…"

One of the Tokens vanished.

"…and he'll attack Balloon Lizard!"

Panther Warrior snarled, and lunged at the bloated lizard…

"I activate… Staunch Defender!" shouted Scath, as one of his facedown cards lifted up. "Now, instead of destroying Balloon Lizard, your Beast-Warrior will be attacking Lion Alligator!"

Panther Warrior made a sharp turn, and slashed with his blade, cutting the alligator in twain.

"Then," said Scath, as his other facedown card lifted up, "my Miracle's Wake Trap Card brings it right back to the field…"

Lion Alligator materialized again, and grinned a toothy grin at Maddie. (1,900 ATK)

Maddie sighed.

"That's all I can do…" she said.

(M: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 7,900)

Scath drew a card, and exhaled a large plume of smoke from his cigar.

I don't know what's worse, said Maddie, his Monsters, or the smell from those stinkers…

"I sacrifice Lion Alligator…" said Scath.

The Reptile turned into a blob of watery energy.

"…to summon forth Spawn Alligator!"

Another alligator appeared, this one standing on its rear legs, with beige scales, and wearing a metal helmet, breastplate, and gauntlets. (2,200 ATK)

"Attack that Panther Warrior!" he shouted. "Razor Claw!"

Spawn Alligator made a rush at Panther Warrior, and the Beast-Warrior screamed as its claw raked across him. He shattered.

"I end my turn," continued Scath. "Which means it's time for an old friend to come back…"

Once again, Lion Alligator reappeared. (1,900 ATK)

"How did he come back?" gasped Maddie.

"When Spawn Alligator is summoned using a Reptile for a sacrifice," replied Scath, "the sacrificed Reptile comes back during the End Phase.

"And it's your move…"

(M: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 7,900)

"Great, she's already losing…" moaned Sslinth.

"Sslinth, look…" said Edgar. "I have a lot of faith in Maddie… But like she said, even if she wins, we'll only be prisoners.

"If this story is going to have a happy ending, it's going to take action on your part…"

"But… How?" asked Sslinth, his voice sinking to a whisper. "I already told you, Scath is stronger than me…"

"Then the solution is obvious…" said Edgar. "You have to outsmart him. Tell me something, how old are you?"

"Uhm, uh…" said Sslinth. "About forty-two of your years. Why?"

"Why?" asked Edgar. "I'll tell you why, it means that you've got thirty-nine more years of experience that Scath. He may have grown incredibly fast, but he's still very young.

"You knew about that booby trap in the hall leading up to the main temple… Now think…

"You've spent most of your life worshipping Semuanya in this temple. Does this place have any secrets in it that Scath does not know about?"

Sslinth didn't respond, but he started to look over the walls of the room. It was covered with decorated masks, shields, and other religious paraphernalia that Scath had never gotten rid of.

His eyes fell on a bronze sword…

"My move!" shouted Maddie.

She drew a card.

She quickly set it on her Disk, and a set Monster appeared.

"I end my turn."

Scath made a draw.

He looked at the Level 8 Monster on the card.

This will be good for later… he thought.

"My Lion Alligator attacks your Lamb Token…" he said.

Lion Alligator rushed the Token, its jaws snapping.

"…and because I control another Reptile-Type Monster, it does trampling damage!"

The blow hit Maddie hard, knocking her on her behind.

"Next, my Spawn Alligator attacks your other Monster…"

Spawn Alligator slashed with its claw. Skelengel appeared briefly before shattering.

"I get to draw one card…" muttered Maddie, making a draw.

"Fine, fine," said Scath, "it's your move…"

(M: 5,900) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 7,900)

Maddie made a draw. Then her eyes lit up.

Hey… she thought. This just might work!

"I discard one card from my hand," she said, as she discarded a second Stray Lambs, "to Special Summon The Tricky!"

An ominous portal opened, and a weird figure floated out. It was a caped Spellcaster dressed in a green and black jester's outfit, with a red question mark over his chest and face. (2,000 ATK)

"Next," she continued, "a Spell Card… Tricky Spell 4!"

She played the card, and The Tricky vanished.

"By sending The Tricky to the Graveyard, I get one Tricky Token for every Monster you have."

Three defending Monsters that looked exactly like The Tricky appeared in front of her. (1,200 DEF x2)

"Defending with those jokers isn't going to get you anywhere," said Scath.

"Who's defending?" asked Maddie, with a grin. "I'm going to sacrifice them…"

The three Tricky Tokens turned into three orbs of light, and the orb turned into a larger orb…

With an explosion of energy, Beast King Barbaros leapt onto the field. (3,000 ATK)

"Ho… boy…" said Scath.

He braced himself as all three of his Monsters exploded into shards.

"You may have wiped out my Monsters," he said, angrily, "but you still have to deal with Balloon Lizard's effect! You take 400 points of damage for each of my Standby Phases that it was on the field. That's 1,200 points total."

Maddie grunted as a slight burning sensation hit her.

"Oh yeah?" she said. "Barbaros, attack him directly!"

The Beast King roared, and stabbed the lizard king in the chest, knocking him backwards against his throne.

(M: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,900)

Scath got up, fuming with anger. The pain and humiliation were bad enough… The worst part was, the fall had ruined his cigar.

He threw it away, and glared at Maddie.

"Seems I underestimated you, girl…" he said. "I won't make that mistake again…"

At this point, Sslinth had made up his mind. Scath was likely going to kill him for bringing the two Shadowchasers here unless some miracle occurred, and the only way he could see a miracle happening was if he helped make one.

Now that Scath was distracted, he slowly inched towards the sword he had been looking at.

"I'll end my turn with two facedown cards," said Maddie, as two set cards appeared in her Spell Zone.

"My move…" growled Scath, making a draw.

He looked at the five cards in his hand. Then he paused.

"Excuse me a minute…" he said.

He picked up his trident, and then hurled it at Sslinth. It imbedded itself in the wall, mere inches from the shaman's face.

"Stay away from there, Sslinth," he said, "or I'll make sure your death is even more agonizing."

He turned to Maddie.

"It was some sword that the chieftain kept here…" he said with a chuckle. "He claimed it was some relic of Semuanya, although he never actually used it. He just kept it there for a wall decoration…

"A lot of good it did the fool…

"Now where was I… Oh yes…"

He set a card on his Disk, and a set Monster appeared.

"That will do for now…"

Maddie drew a card. Then, one of her facedown cards lifted up.

"I activate Ojama Trio," she said. "It summons three Ojama Tokens to your side of the field."

Scath stepped back as Ojama Green, Ojama Black, and Ojama Yellow materialized in front of him. He looked at them in disgust. (1,000 DEF x2)

"Next," she said, as she played a Spell Card, "I play Token Thanksgiving. It destroys all Token Monsters on the field…"

The three Ojamas shattered.

"…and grants me 800 Life Points for each one."

She closed her eyes, as a golden glow surrounded her.

"You aren't so lucky, however, because when Ojama Tokens are destroyed, the controller loses 300 Life Points for each."

Scath grunted as three small explosions burst on his chest.

"Next, Beast King Barbaros puts the hurt on your Monster!"

The huge Beast-Warrior leapt at the hidden Monster. A large turtle appeared on the card, and shattered as the spear hit it.

"That was Reptilianne Gardna," said Scath. "And because you destroyed it, I get to take another Reptilianne from my deck."

A card slipped out of his deck, and he took it.

"It's your move…" said Maddie.

(M: 7,100) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,000)

Scath made a draw.

"Just what I needed," he said. "I play Nightmare's Steelcage!"

He played the card, and flames erupted around Maddie and her Monster. A large dome-shaped cage studded with spikes formed around her and Beast King Barbaros.

"That will keep you at bay for two turns," continued Scath.

He placed a card on his Disk, and another set Monster appeared. Then he set another card, and a set card appeared in his Spell Zone.

"My turn is over," he said.

"In that case…" said Maddie, as she drew a card.

"I'm just going to pass for this turn."

Scath made another draw.

He set one more card, and another set Monster appeared.

"Your move again," he said.

Maddie drew a card. She looked at her three cards.

She set one in her Disk, and a set card appeared in her Spell Zone, next to the other one.

She waved her hand to signal the end of her turn, and the Steelcage shattered into shards.

Scath chuckled as he made a draw.

Time to show her some serious pain, he thought.

"You're going to regret not leaving those Ojama Tokens on the field, Shadowchaser," he said with a grin. "Since you seem so fond of Tokens, I'm going to summon a couple of my own…

"I play Reptilianne Spawn!"

He played a Spell Card.

"By removing the Reptilianne Gardna in my Graveyard from play, I get two Reptilianne Tokens."

Two ugly little lizards appeared next to his two set Monsters. (0 ATK x2)

"Next, my facedown card activates," he continued. "The dreaded Trap Monster, Embodiment of Apophis!"

The facedown card shot up, and the wicked two-headed Reptile, holding a scimitar, leapt onto the field. (1,600 ATK)

"Now, I sacrifice Embodiment of Apophis, both Reptilianne Tokens, and one of my set Monsters…"

The four Monsters turned into four glowing orbs…

"A Monster that needs four sacrifices?" exclaimed Edgar. "I never heard of such of thing!"

Then a very large alligator, twice the size of Maddie, formed on Scath's side of the field. (2,500 ATK)

"Technically, Dark Alligator only needed two sacrifices," explained Scath. "However, by using four, I now get to use its effect, and conjure up two Alligator Tokens."

Two normal-sized alligators appeared next to the much larger Dark Alligator. (2,000 ATK x2)

"And I'm not done," continued Scath. "I flip my Reptilianne Viper into Attack Mode."

His other set Monster flipped up, revealing a nasty-looking little snake with stubby arms. (0 ATK)

"That's…" said Maddie.

"Yes…" said Scath. "A Tuner!"

"Wait…" said Sslinth. "Samath had no Synchro Monsters in his deck!"

"My benefactor gave me one," replied Scath. "They thought the deck could use some improvements…"

Reptilianne Viper and one of the Alligator Tokens flew towards the ceiling, and slowly dissolved into a cluster of stars.

"From the depths of the swamp, combine to form a mighty warrior who can swing a sword faster than the speed of sound!"

(*2 + *5 = *7)

"Synchro Summon… Alligator's Dragonsword!"

The Monster that leapt onto the field looked familiar… It looked like another of Jonouchi's signature cards. However, it was wearing finer quality armor and held a different sword.

"Alligator's Sword?" asked Maddie.

"Alligator's Dragonsword," replied Scath. "This is a vast improvement over the old version.

"Let me explain its effect… Its Attack and Defense Scores are each 400 times the Level of the highest Level Monster on the field, aside from itself.

"The highest Level Monster on the field is Level 8…"

(3,200 ATK)

Wasting no time, Alligator's Dragonsword made a rush at Beast King Barbaros, making a deep cut with its blade. The Beast King roared, and then shattered.

"Of course, because my Dark Alligator is also Level 8, Alligator Dragonsword loses nothing.

"Now for you…"

The Alligator Token rushed at Maddie, and chomped on her shin. She let out a scream.

"Wait, wait!" laughed Scath. "My Dark Alligator is feeling left out…"

The huge Reptile bull-rushed Maddie and rammed into her, knocking her back eight feet. She landed on her rump.

"It's the hardest part of dueling," chuckled Scath. "Fortunately for you, you landed on your softest part."

The blackscales broke into laughter.

(M: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,000)

"A million laughs…" said Maddie. "I activate my Spell Card…"

One of her facedown cards lifted up.

"Scapegoat!"

In a flash, four Sheep Tokens appeared in front of her. (0 DEF x2)

"WHA?" said Scath. "Why… You could have avoided my direct attacks with that card!"

Maddie got up and glared at him.

"Are you through with your turn?" she asked.

"You're up to something…" growled Scath. "But yeah… I end my turn…"

Maddie drew a card. She looked at Scath, and smirked a little.

"I set one card," she said, as another card appeared in her Spell Zone, "and then summon Parasitic Ticky."

She played the card, and a rather ugly Insect appeared in front of her. It looked like a humanoid tick or louse, carrying a quiver full of metal javelins.

"You think I'm scared of a tick?" asked Scath. "I'm a reptile! Only mammals have problems with ticks!"

"That's not entirely true, actually," said Edgar.

"And this tick might give you a problem," said Maddie, "because its score is 500 times the number of Token Monsters on the field.

"There are five, my four Sheep Tokens and your one Alligator Token…"

(2,500 ATK)

"And now it's going to attack that Alligator Token! Javelin Stinger!"

Parasitic Ticky hurled one of its weapons, impaling the smaller alligator. It groaned, and burst into shards.

"Urgh…" said Scath.

(M: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 3,500)

"I end my turn…" said Maddie, as Parasitic Ticky's Attack Score fell to 2,000.

Scath snarled as he made a draw.

If I have to crash through all five of those Monsters to het to her, he thought, it seems I'm just gonna have to do it…

"Trap Card, activate!" shouted Maddie, interrupting his train of thought.

"Huh?" said Scath, looking at the Trap she had triggered.

"Nightmare Archfiends!" she exclaimed. "I sacrifice one Monster…"

Parasitic Ticky vanished.

"And three Nightmare Archfiend Tokens are summoned to your side of the field!"

Scath stepped back in shock as three hideous, gaunt, demonic shadows appeared on his field. (2,000 ATK x3)

"Why…" he started.

"And in response," she continued, as her last Trap Card lifted up, "I activate Token Feastevil! It destroys all Tokens on the field, and deals 300 points of damage to you for each one!"

All four Sheep Tokens and the three Nightmare Archfiend Tokens shattered, and Scath hollered in pain.

(M: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 1,400)

"You'll pay for that…" he snarled.

"I'm not done," said Maddie. "When a Nightmare Archfiend Token is destroyed, the controller loses 800 Life Points."

"But that means…" said Scath, his eyes opening wide.

He screamed as a wave of energy hit him, knocking him backwards.

(M: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 0)

Everyone in the room looked dumbfounded at Scath. The blackscales couldn't believe it.

"Well, Scath?" asked Edgar.

Scath got up, fuming with rage.

"Fine…" he said through his teeth. "I'll spare the two of you… I'm a man of my word…"

He looked at Sslinth.

"However… Someone is going to pay for this… humiliation… And he's going to pay with his life…"

He walked over to Sslinth, and yanked the trident out of the wall.

"Time to pay the piper, Sslinth," he said.

Sslinth backed up a little as Scath lifted the trident…

Then Scath paused.

"Wait…" he said, putting it down. "I have a much better idea…"

He grabbed Samath's sword off the wall.

"Fitting I should use this, isn't it?" he said with a laugh.

He lifted it above his head with both hands. Sslinth closed his eyes.

Then he opened them again.

"Edgar! Maddie!" he shouted. "My apologies in advance!"

And then what could best be described as lightning striking, several times, blasted through the room, followed by multiple screams…

Sslinth held his chest and panted for breath. Everyone in the room except him (including Edgar and Maddie, unfortunately) had been knocked completely out. Sslinth wasn't feeling all too good himself. He was sick to his stomach, was dizzy, and couldn't see straight.

Of course, when a deity channels his wrath through one of his followers, it tends to be a strain on the follower.

I won't throw up, thought the shaman. I won't throw up, I won't…

Aw, heck with it…

He keeled over and threw up.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Half an hour later…

Edgar had called for backup, and a squad of heavily armed Shadowchasers was leading Scath and his followers into a prisoner transport. The assembled greenscales watched eagerly as the lizard king was led away.

Sslinth, Edgar, and Maddie were sitting on a log in the temple's shadow, drinking coffee.

"So…" said Edgar. "You figured that if Scath lifted that Holy Defender with the intent to murder you, Semuanya would respond to your plea for aid?"

"Yes…" replied Sslinth. "Scath never read the ancient texts that came with the weapon. It is only to be used for defense of the homes of the scaly folk. Doing otherwise is to invoke the wrath of the Lizard God."

"Boy, Sslinth," said Maddie, "if Mundane religious leaders could perform acts of faith like that, their congregations would be scared to death!"

"That's one of the reasons why they can't, Maddie," replied Edgar. "Not anymore, at least. Still, Sslinth, you could have warned us. Boy, have I got a headache!"

"Trust me, it is nothing compared to mine," replied the shaman. "I really hope that I never have to do that again."

"Listen…" said Edgar. "Once we get our strength back, we need to get into Scath's personal quarters. Find out what the whole deal with this place is so we can do what we came here to do. Can you help us with that?"

Sslinth finished his coffee with one more gulp.

"Scath repeatedly said that anyone caught near his quarters would be punished with ninety days of suffering before being allowed to die," he replied, "so I assume any traps he rigged near it are non-lethal.

"I think I can get you in there…"

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

DARK ALLIGATOR (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Reptile/Effect
Attribute: Water
Level: 8
ATK: 2,500
DEF: 2,300

Card Description: You can Tribute Summon this card by Tributing 4 Monsters. If you do, Special Summon 2 "Alligator Tokens" (Reptile-Type/Water/Level 5/2,000 ATK/2,000 DEF) to your side of the field.

Note: "Dark Alligator" was first used by Jim in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" manga. Creative credit goes to the writers.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ALLIGATOR'S DRAGONSWORD (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Reptile/Synchro/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 7
ATK: ?
DEF: ?

Card Description: Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters

The ATK and DEF of this card is both equal to 400x the Level of the face-up Monster on the field with the highest Level, other than "Alligator's Dragonsword".

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Next:

Tiberius: Twenty years have passed since Lareth vanished, along with the town he built. He's been living alone in this dimensional limbo all that time as his buildings have fallen apart, his mind degenerating just as they have. But while he may be even madder than the typical member of our organization, it seems his power is greater than it has ever been.

Restraining him and dragging him back to Earth may well be impossible. Reasoning with him might even be harder. Accepting his challenge is dangerous, but it may be the best option. Duel Monsters has changed a good deal in two decades, and I think I might have the advantage.

"Dark Development; Duel of the Doomdreamers" is next.