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DUEL TWENTY-EIGHT
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Grave Lure
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Ten minutes later, Taramanda and her advisory panel were inspecting the ripped-open cocoon, while Gsmith sat in a pew, holding a piece of raw meat against his eye.
"What sort of guard are you?" shouted Msskim. "You were supposed to be watching her!"
"I was watching her!" growled Gsmith, who was just as angry. "I watched as she busted out of the cocoon and grabbed me in a choke hold! Then I watched as she clocked me in the eye, stole my sword and my symbol, and high-tailed it out that way!"
"I thought you said that there was no escape from the Venomous Tarns with the aid of a third party," said Hebi-Na.
"There's no escape from any demon lord's domain without help," replied Taramanda. "Not even the goddess Waukeen was able to escape from Graz'zt's realm on her own. Someone helped Ember, and it will take many hours of communing with our goddess for me to discover who it was.
"In the meantime, we have bigger problems..."
"Don't worry..." said Csimith. "Xssim is guarding the entrance hall. One hit from that crossbow, and it's game over for Ember."
"Uh, Csimith?" said Hssimim. "Didn't you tell him to watch for people coming in?"
"Yeah, so?" asked Csimith.
Taramanda knocked him on the head.
"It means he isn't watching the way out, stupid!" she shouted.
Csimith quickly turned on a communicator he kept on his belt.
"Xssim, come in!" he shouted.
"All clear, chief," said a voice. "No-one's getting in."
"Stop watching the way in!" shouted Csimith. "Start watching the way coming out!"
"Coming out?" said the voice on the end. "Well, I..."
Then his voice was cut short by a scream, and then sounds of a struggle.
"Xssim, come in!" shouted Csimith.
No answer.
"Come in!" he repeated.
"This is Xssim," said the guard's voice, sounding hurt. "I was jumped from behind.
"Uh... I'm afraid that whoever you don't want getting out... Just got out..."
Csimith crushed the device in his hand.
"If she gets to her pals," shouted Hssimim, "we'll have to evacuate this palace!"
"I'm on it..." said Hebi-Na. "Without her D-Wheel, I can move faster than she can."
"Hebi-Na!" snapped Taramanda.
Hebi-Na looked at the Empress.
"No fancy stuff this time..." said Taramanda. "Kill her... Devour her yourself...
"Finish that brat for good..."
Hebi-Na nodded.
She leapt and landed flat on the floor, and rushed along the hallway, moving via undulation, like a true snake. She could move at almost four times her usual speed this way, one of the benefits of having a snake's trunk in place of legs. It took her only two minutes to exit the palace.
Once there, her forked tongue flicked in and out a few times.
She knew the direction the prey had gone. It was all a matter of bringing her down.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
It was now nine-thirty. The full moon shone in the sky.
The D-Wheels were parked in front of a condemned theater. Shichiro could swear he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Still not a flicker," said Gears, looking at his D-Wheel's controls.
"Man, this could not get worse..." said Jinx.
"Kaede..." said a voice.
The three Shadowchasers looked up, and saw Shannalla appear, faintly at first, then coming into focus.
"You can talk too?" asked Jinx.
"Our power is growing stronger," replied Shannalla. "Our brother is in the area!"
"Another Titan?" asked Gears, standing up.
"Yes," said Shannalla. "He was drawn to us like a beacon. He has both good news and bad news.
"Jetta's initial plan worked. Michiko is free from the bonds that were holding her.
"But then there comes bad news. As she tries to flee the snake men, one is chasing her, one with murder on her mind.
"Jetta can no longer help. She had to reunite her mind with her body before her jailers realized she was gone."
"Where's Ember?" asked Shichiro. "We can help her! Just point us in the right direction!"
"She's..." started Shannalla.
Then the Titan nervously looked back and forth.
"No..." she said. "Evil draws near... He's become stronger than before..."
Then she vanished.
"Don't go!" shouted Jinx.
A sense of dread all came over them. A cloud covered the moon. Gabriel squawked nervously.
They saw a shadow in front of them on the empty street. The dark form of the man who called himself Trueman walked into the light.
"Trying to save your comrade, Shadowchasers?" he asked. "That isn't going to happen."
Gears angrily got off his bike, and stood up to the man in black.
"I'm getting awfully tired of you, Trueman," he said. "You always show up at the worst possible times.
"So what nightmare do you have in your deck this time? Demise? Ruin? Reign-Beaux?"
"You're just going to have to duel me to find out," said Trueman. "And might I add..."
He snapped his fingers. The street became covered by darkness.
"You don't have a choice in the matter..."
The darkness lifted, and the scenery had taken a turn for the worse. The three humans and the phoenix were now facing Trueman in a derelict cemetery, full of rotting headstones and dead trees, under a grey sky.
"Where are we?" asked Jinx.
"We're in a pocket dimension that serves as a bridge between the mortal world and the Abyssal realm of Thanatos," said Trueman.
"Thanatos..." said Shichiro. "Wait... Jalal mentioned that once..."
"It's the realm ruled by Orcus," said Gabriel, ominously. "One of the mightiest demon lords, and the Prince of Undead. Only Demogorgon is stronger, and Orcus would argue about that."
"The armies of Orcus are patrolling the nexuses of the Abyss," said Trueman, "waiting for any sign of the Ship of Chaos. The armies of Demogorgon and Graz'zt are doing the same thing. He's in a foul mood when a conflict this big happens, so no-one is likely to use this route and interrupt our duel.
"Should you win, you'll end up back in Satellite where we started.
"Of course, you could just take your chances and try to find your way back to the mortal world yourself... But if you take the wrong path, you might wind up in Thanatos proper...
"And like I said, Orcus is in a foul mood right now..."
"People, he has us there," said Gears. "Without my D-Wheel, finding the right way back is gonna be playing with fire."
"Just beat him quickly," said Jinx. "Ember is being chased, remember?"
"All right!" said Gears.
He activated his Duel Disk.
Trueman grinned as he activated his.
(Gears: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Trueman: 8,000)
"Let's do this," said Trueman. "I'll go first..."
He made a draw.
"Remember that card you helped me recover last time?" he said. "Allow me to introduce you all..."
A shadowy aura of dark energy appeared in front of him.
"...to Dark Archetype!"
None of the three humans had seen the thing that appeared in front of Trueman before, but they knew right away, they didn't like it. Crouching on all fours, it was a bizarre and ugly thing that looked like it had been made of several Fiends stitched together in a haphazard manner. (1,400 ATK)
"Ugh!" said Gears.
Trueman fit another card in his Disk, and a facedown card appeared.
"It's your move..." he said.
Gears quickly made a draw.
That reversed card is probably a Trap, he thought. But I've got to at least try to get rid of that... thing. I don't know what it can do... And I have a feeling I don't wanna know.
"I summon Ally of Justice Garadholg!" he shouted.
In a flash of dark fire, Garadholg appeared, holding its two energy blades. (1,600 ATK)
"Garadholg, destroy that abomination!" he shouted.
Garadholg rushed at Dark Archetype...
"I activate... Zero Gazer!" shouted Trueman as his facedown card shot up.
"Zero Gazer?" asked Jinx.
"I never heard of it either," said Shichiro.
"Zero Gazer reduces the Attack Score of my Monster to zero," said Trueman.
Dark Archetype fell to zero Attack Points. Trueman cringed a little as Garadholg slashed it to ribbons.
"But," continued Trueman, "Zero Gazer also lets me draw one card..."
He made a draw.
(G: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 6,400)
"I'm guessing there's more to this..." said Gears, ominously.
"Indeed..." said Trueman. "When Dark Archetype is destroyed by battle, its effect activates."
He lifted his Disk.
"I choose a Monster in my deck whose Attack Score is the same as the amount of damage I just took.
"Then I send Monsters from my hand to the Graveyard whose combined Levels equal the Level of the Monster I chose.
"So... I'll send Zanki in my hand to the Graveyard..."
He discarded the card.
"In order to Special Summon Crawling Dragon in Defense Mode."
In a flash of light, an elderly, wingless Dragon with earthen-brown scales appeared, curled up in Defense Mode. (1,400 DEF)
"Hold on..." said Gears. "Zanki? Crawling Dragon? Someone actually still uses those old cards?"
Trueman glared at him.
"And why did you summon it in Defense Mode? It's Attack Score is higher."
No answer.
"I uh..." said Gears. "I set a card, and end my turn..."
A facedown card appeared behind Garadholg.
"My move..." said Trueman, making a draw.
"I set a Monster, and one facedown card, and end my turn."
Two set cards appeared, perpendicular to each other.
"All right, here goes," said Gears.
He made a draw.
This might be useful later, he thought, looking at the Monster.
"I summon Mechanicalchaser!" he exclaimed, playing a card.
In another burst of energy, the multi-limbed Machine appeared next to Garadholg. (1,850 ATK)
"Garadholg, destroy Crawling Dragon!" he shouted.
The Ally struck the Dragon with its blade, blasting it to pebbles.
"Now, my Mechanicalchaser attacks your other Monster!"
Mechanicalchaser flew at the reversed Monster, its blades spinning. A fat, ugly clown appeared on the card, crouching in Defense Mode. It was cut in half.
"Crass Clown?" asked Gears. "And you made no attempt to stop me? Don't you know that you have to move that one from Defense Mode to Attack Mode to use its effect?"
Still no answer from Trueman.
"Have it your way," said Gears. "I end my turn..."
"I draw..." said Trueman.
"And now my true strategy can come to light, now that I have Crawling Dragon, Zanki, and Crass Clown in my Graveyard..."
He played a Spell Card.
"What is that?" asked Jinx.
"It... It looks like Call of the Haunted," said Shichiro. "But... It's a Spell Card!"
"This rarer Spell version of Call of the Haunted was around before the more common Trap version," said Trueman. "It isn't used much any more... It only works in certain decks, and since it has the same name as a card that's Limited, you can't use it and the Trap version in the same deck.
"The only duelists who make a habit of collecting the rare copies are the
Sons of Kyuss. It was very hard to get this one away from its... previous owner...
"But anyway... Now that I've played it... I can remove those three Monsters from play to Special Summon three more."
The ground rumbled, and three hideous, rotting corpses crawled out of the ground. One was a rotting, undead dragon, its ribcage poking out through its decaying skin. (1,600 ATK) Another was a decayed corpse dressed in rusted Samurai armor, pierced with arrows, holding a rusted sword. (1,500 ATK) The third was a rotting, Zombie version of Crass Clown, balanced on a ball and holding a scythe. (1,350 ATK)
"You ditched three useless Monsters to summon three other useless ones?" asked Gears.
As he said that, the three Zombies glared at him, and their eyes glowed with evil light.
"I end my turn," said Trueman.
Gears drew a card, now getting a little nervous.
Shouldn't be too hard... he thought.
"First, I set a Monster," he said, as a reversed Monster appeared.
"Then, I attack with Mechanicalchaser!"
The Machine hunter lunged at Dragon Zombie, ripping it to pieces.
"Ha, that was easy," he said. "Garadholg, destroy Armored Zombie!"
Garadholg swung its energy blade, cutting the undead soldier in two. The remains shattered.
(G: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 6,150)
"Your move, pal," said Gears. "And all I'm getting from this new strategy of yours is a big laugh."
Trueman made a draw.
"Oh?" he said.
Then the ground burst open again. Dragon Zombie leapt out first. (1,760 ATK) Then Armored Zombie followed. (1,650 ATK)
"They came back!" gasped Jinx.
"And they're stronger than they were before!" exclaimed Shichiro.
"That's the true power of my special Call of the Haunted," said Trueman. "You Shadowchasers have fought enough undead beings and necromantic creations to know that killing something is difficult when it's already dead.
"When these three Zombies are destroyed, they rise from the dead again, with ten percent more Attack Points!"
"Hold on..." said Shichiro. "Didn't Katsuya Jonouchi mention something like this in his autobiography?"
I was thinking the same thing, thought Gears.
"Dragon Zombie," ordered Trueman, "attack Ally Garadholg!"
The Zombie took a deep breath...
"I activate... Half or Nothing!" shouted Gears, as his facedown card shot up.
Judge Man appeared, holding his two axes menacingly.
"Make a choice," he said.
"I choose to end my Battle Phase," said Trueman. "And now that the power of my Spell has been released, I play Dust Barrier."
A Continuous Spell Card appeared.
"For as long as this card lasts, your Spell Cards don't work on my Normal Monsters.
"And I end my turn."
Gears made a draw. He looked at it.
"You may be able to bring your Zombies back turn after turn," he said, "but that just means I can chip away at your Life Points by attacking them turn after turn.
"Mechanicalchaser, attack Dragon Zombie again!"
The robot made a slash at the decayed corpse, ripping it to shards.
"Garadholg, attack Clown Zombie!"
The Ally made a slash with its energy blades, cutting the undead jester in two.
"I'll set a card facedown," he continued, "and end my turn."
A reversed card appeared.
(G: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 5,810)
"My move..." said Trueman, with a sinister smile.
He drew a card.
"And once again..."
The ground cracked open. Clown Zombie emerged first. (1,485 ATK)
Then, Dragon Zombie leapt out of the ground... But with its appearance came something Gears didn't expect... (1,936 ATK)
"Now wait just a minute!" shouted Gears. "You're telling me that this Attack Score boosting effect stacks??"
"Is this card even legal?" asked Jinx.
"Don't know, don't care," replied Trueman.
He played a Spell Card.
"And for my next move, I'm playing Tribute to the Doomed to destroy your Mechanicalchaser."
He discarded a second Zanki, and Mechanicalchaser sparked with bolts of energy before shattering into pixels.
"Clown Zombie, attack his hidden Monster with acrobatic daggers attack!"
Clown Zombie cackled, and three daggers formed in its hand. It did a handstand on its ball with its other hand, and hurled the daggers. Ally of Justice Unlimiter appeared on the card and exploded as the projectiles stabbed into it.
"Armored Zombie, destroy Garadholg with revenant's blade!"
The undead bushi made a slash with its rusty katana, slicing Garadholg in two.
"Dragon Zombie, attack directly with noxious zombie breath!"
Dragon Zombie growled.
"I activate Sakuretsu Armor!" shouted Gears, as his facedown card lifted up.
"Not so fast," said Trueman, as his own card lifted up. "I activate Seven Tools of the Bandit. It costs me 1,000 Life Points, but negating your Trap will cost you more."
Gears's Trap Card shattered, and he cringed as a cloud of foul, corrosive gas covered him.
For a minute, he felt sick. He almost threw up.
"I end my turn," said Trueman.
(G: 6,014) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 4,810)
Gears wiped his face.
Something's wrong here... he thought. He had that Counter Trap on the field when I activated Half or Nothing... So why didn't he use it then?
Of course! Dust Barrier... And a Counter Trap... That Spell of his can probably only revive those Zombies when they're destroyed by battle... Card effects are a different story.
He drew a card.
This might work... he thought.
"Okay, pal," he said, "I'm setting a Monster, and a facedown card."
Two set card appeared, one in his Monster Zone, one in his Spell Zone.
"Do your worst..."
"I draw..." said Trueman.
He drew a card.
"Unfortunately," he said, "since it is now my second Standby Phase since I used Dust Barrier, its power is exhausted..."
The Dust Barrier card shattered.
"Not like I need it... Dragon Zombie, destroy his Monster!"
Dragon Zombie breathed another cloud of its noxious breath...
"I activate... DNA Transplant!" shouted Gears. "Now, all Monsters on the field are Light..."
His Monster appeared on the card. It looked like a small, prototype version of Catastor, not nearly as fancy, with only two legs. (200 DEF)
"I can still crush your Monster," said Trueman.
"No you can't," said Gears, with a grin, "because any Light Monster that battles Ally of Justice Core-Destroy is automatically destroyed, without any damage calculation."
Core-Destroy fired a blast of pure energy from its one optic sensor, and Dragon Zombie was vaporized.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Gabriel. "Betcha didn't expect that, sucker!"
"And I'll bet that if your Zombies are destroyed by card effects," said Gears, "Call of the Haunted can't bring them back. Am I right?"
Trueman looked dumbfounded.
He took one of his three remaining cards.
"Yes, you are," he said. "But I have a backup plan...
"I play Nightmare's Steelcage."
A ring of flames erupted around Gears and Core-Destroy, and an iron, domed cage studded with spikes formed around them.
"Now you cannot attack for two full turns."
"Neither can you," said Gears.
"I'm well aware of that," replied Trueman. "It's your move."
Gears quickly made a draw.
"In that case," he said, "I pass for this turn..."
Trueman drew. He fit a card in his Disk.
"I set this card facedown," said Trueman, as a reversed card appeared, "and end my turn."
"You're up to something..." said Gears, making a draw.
"Eh, this is no good..." he said. "I pass again."
"This could get tedious," said Jinx.
"Not for long," said Shichiro. "Because now that Gears has ended his turn..."
The Steelcage shattered into black shards.
"...there. Didn't get much out of your two free turns, did you, Trueman? Your Monsters still can't attack Core-Destroy without being obliterated."
Trueman quickly made a draw.
"Actually, I got just what I needed..." he said.
His facedown card lifted up.
"I activate Birthright," he said. "Now I can bring a Normal Monster back from the Graveyard..."
Dragon Zombie reappeared. (1,600 ATK)
"It's not under Call of the Haunted's influence any more," added Shichiro.
"True," replied Trueman. "So that's why I'm playing Polymerization to fuse it with The Snake Hair."
Another Zombie appeared, this one resembling Reptilianne Medusa, but perhaps a bit younger. A vortex of energy appeared, and both it and Dragon Zombie were drawn through it.
There was a loud trumpeting, and a colossal form stepped out of the vortex. It looked like a huge skeleton of an elephant, its bones bleached the color of gold.
"The Great Mammoth of Goldfine," said Trueman.
(2,200 ATK)
"It's still pointless," said Gears. "If you attack my Core-Destroy, it will destroy your Mammoth."
"Good point," said Trueman, playing his last card. "So I'd best put that DNA Transplant card of yours out of commission. I play an Equip Spell."
"Eternal Reverse??" exclaimed Gears. "DaPen had that card!"
"Then you remember how it works," said Trueman. "It has two effects. So long as I have it Equipped to a Monster, I can return a face-up Spell or Trap to set position once per turn."
DNA Transplant slammed down.
"And you aren't allowed to activate it for the rest of the turn," continued Trueman. "Which means it's all over for your Core-Destroy."
Clown Zombie cackled, and threw its daggers at Core-Destroy, blowing it to pieces.
Then Armored Zombie lunged at Gears, and slashed at him across the chest with its filthy blade. Gears gasped and staggered backwards.
He barely had time to regain his balance before the Great Mammoth's mighty foot crashed down on him, pinning him to the floor.
"GEARS!!" shouted Jinx.
"I'm all right..." said Gears, as he sat up.
"Uhm..."
He held his chest.
"I will be so long as I don't laugh or sneeze anytime soon..."
(G: 2,164) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 4,810)
"Oh, my tears can't heal him..." moaned Gabriel. "I can only do that once a day... I should have saved it in case of a Shadow Duel like this one..."
"You had no idea..." said Gears, getting up. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out."
I hope... he thought. Clown Zombie and Armored Zombie are still getting the benefits from his Call of the Haunted...
"I think you also know about the second effect of Eternal Reverse," said Trueman. "If my Mammoth is attacked, it can survive if I get rid of the Equip.
"With that, I end my turn..."
Gears drew a card.
He looked at his hand. It consisted of Magic Planter, Synchro Magnetor, Ally of Justice Researcher, Big Bang Shot, Dark Tinker, and the card he had just drawn, Enemy Controller.
Even if he reactivated DNA Transplant, it was of no use now. Neither of his two Monsters that he could summon benefited from it. Big Bang Shot could do some damage if he used Enemy Controller – those two Zombies had zero Defense Points, after all – but Call of the Haunted would bring the target back stronger.
He looked at Magic Planter. It had been a gift from Mistle... Despite its name, it really had nothing to do with Plants.
Might as well... he thought.
DNA Transplant activated again.
"Once again, I change all Monsters to Light," he said. "But that won't matter...
"Because I'm playing Magic Planter."
The Spell Card appeared.
"By sending a Continuous Trap to the Graveyard, I get to draw two cards."
DNA Transplant vanished, and he made two draws.
"All right!" he shouted. "I summon Dark Tinker!"
The creepy, spider-like Fiend appeared. (1,000 ATK)
"Next," he said, as he played another Spell Card, "I play my Double Summon. Now I get a second Normal Summon this turn.
"Meet Ally of Justice Researcher."
With a roar of an engine, the armored all-terrain vehicle with robotic arms drove onto the field. (1,400 ATK)
"Now, I Tune my Monsters together..."
Dark Tinker and Researcher faded into five glowing stars... Gears chanted.
"Power of the Healing Darkness, concentrated into a lethal energy beam, a weapon designed to deal death to minions of the Light of Ruin! Clustering stars form a path to bring this powerful tool to battle…
"Synchro Summon… Ally of Justice Catastor!"
There was a dark fog, and Catastor emerged, shining with an aura of energy. (2,200 ATK)
"A lot of good that will do," said Trueman. "Your DNA Transplant is gone, and all three of my Monsters are Dark."
"I'm just getting started," said Gears. "Since I just made a Synchro Summon, I get to Special Summon Synchro Magnetor from my hand."
Another Machine materialized, hovering in the air. It was a small drone shaped like a refrigerator magnet with arms and eyes. (1,000 ATK)
"And because Synchro Magnetor is also a Tuner," continued Gears, "I can make another Synchro Summon!"
Synchro Magnetor and Catastor flew into the sky, and faded into eight glowing stars. Gears started to chant again.
"Wanderer of the spaceways, traveler of the flow! Weapon of the Healing Darkness, seeking out the minions of the Light Ruin where their evil beacons shine in the universe!
"Synchro Summon, Ally of Justice Light Gazer!"
Another larger robot slowly descended. It was a large droid, shaped like an inverted pear, with cannons for arms, surrounded by a metal ring. It hovered on repulsion jets on its underside. (2,400 ATK)
"Next," said Gears, "I play Enemy Controller."
He played the Spell Card, and Armored Zombie crouched in Defense Mode. (0 DEF)
"You see, I figured out what I had to do," said Gears. "I had to exploit the same weakness in that Spell Card that Katsuya Jonouchi did. To wit, it might be able to increase the Attack Score of those Zombies, but their Defense Scores remains zero."
"But my Monster is now defending," replied Trueman. "So I'll take no damage when you attack. And Armored Zombie will just come back stronger next turn."
"Wrong on both counts," said Gears. "I Equip Light Gazer with Big Bang Shot."
He played the Equip Spell, and Light Gazer glowed with energy. (2,800 ATK)
Trueman looked shocked.
"I still have one card to play," said Gears. "One that will take this duel home..."
He threw his last card into his Disk.
"I play Limiter Removal!"
Light Gazer started to blaze with energy... (5,600 ATK)
"Attack Armored Zombie!" he shouted. "Cosmic cannons!"
Shichiro, Jinx, and Gabriel covered their eyes as a mighty blast from Light Gazer lit up the dark cemetery, blowing Armored Zombie to pieces...
(G: 2,164) - - - - - - - - - - (T: 0)
Then reality seemed to come undone. Trueman was gone, and the three Shadowchasers and the phoenix were falling through a void.
Then they fell in a heap...
They got up. They were now inside the theater they had been outside before.
Gears stood up. A glowing orb was hovering in the air. A warm feeling was coming from it.
He held out his hand, and it turned into a card. The card lowered into his hand.
It was the third Titan.
"Il Mathman the Artificer..." he said.
"All that's missing now is the one that Shannalla says is in prison," said Jinx. "But we have to save Ember before we can save her."
As they started to leave, Shichiro lagged behind a little.
He recognized this place now. Jack Atlas had used this theater as his throne room, back before he was the King of the Riding Duels... When he was a king with no kingdom. He had spent a lot of time here after Team Satisfaction broke up... Shichiro had come here when he had been trying to help the group (something that had been a complete failure in his eyes), and had found it depressing.
He sighed, and followed Gears and Jinx out.
As they walked out, they didn't know that Hssimim was watching from across the street, his features concealed by a trenchcoat.
He spoke into his cell phone.
"Your excellence," he said. "They just came out of Atlas's old place..."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Roger on that, Hssimim," said Taramanda.
She hung up, and dialed another number.
"It's me," she said. "They're at Atlas's old place. Go get them."
"Who you calling now?" asked Msskim.
"A new ally of mine," said Taramanda, hanging up.
"Ember is expecting her three friends to rescue her, and they're going to try...
"But now... Who's going to rescue the rescuers?"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ember was running for her life. She knew that Hebi-Na was chasing her. She had lost her a few times, but the ophidia had always picked up the chase.
She was now in one of the most decrepit parts of Satellite, not far from the B.A.D. She saw a warehouse in front of her.
It was the only place to hide right now, so she opened the door, which wasn't locked, and ran in.
Hebi-Na saw her enter...
And she paused... Paused in fear.
There were odd runes painted above the entrance. They were written in an archaic version of the ophidian tongue. If Ember had been able to read them, she'd have known that the strange runes said the following:
There is no glory to be gained here. There is no treasure here. The only thing that awaits those who enter is death.
This was a universal warning among the ophidia, placed on areas they knew to be cursed, and cursed so badly that even they could not survive what lay within. If an ophidia saw the warning, he would know to go the other way, fast, and would not worry about the details of the curse. He would know that it was too dangerous to risk investigating or exploring.
Hebi-Na, however… She did know the details of the curse. She had almost been a victim of it, long ago. And she did not want to go in there after Ember.
For a minute, she considered just going away, and let the danger inside take care of Ember for her…
But then, she saw it clearly in her mind… The look of absolute terror that would be on Ember's face before she met the most horrible doom imaginable…
Something woke up inside Hebi-Na. It wasn't exactly a conscience, nor was it any sense of morals or scruples, but it was as close to any of those that an ophidia was capable of having. She wanted Ember to die, but even she had a limit as to how that was to happen.
But there was an even worse possibility if she left. What if, by some miracle, Ember escaped? It wasn't impossible. Someone had clearly helped her escape the Venomous Tarns, after all. What if she brought a strike force of Shadowchasers to this place to deal with the threat, and they found out what created it? Could Jalal put the ophidia on an even worse status than outlaw race?
Well, if he could, he would if he found out what was in that warehouse.
So even though only the most insane ophidia would ever go near this horrible place, she followed Ember inside.
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DARK ARCHETYPE (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 4
ATK: 1,400
DEF: 400
Card Description: When this card is destroyed by battle and you take damage, you may select 1 Monster in your deck with an ATK equal to the amount of damage you took. Send Monsters from your hand to the Graveyard whose combined Levels equal the selected Monster to Special Summon the selected Monster from your deck.
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ZERO GAZER (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Panther Warrior standing in front of a raging fire with two glaring eyes peering out of it.
Card Description: Activate when your opponent declares an attack against one of your Monsters. Reduce the ATK of the attack target to zero. After damage calculation, draw one card.
Note: "Dark Archetype" and "Zero Gazer" were first used by Trueman in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" Episode 157. Creative credit goes to the writers of those episodes.
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ETERNAL REVERSE (Spell Card)
Equip Spell
Image: Two rubbery, green hands hovering over a facedown Duel Monsters card, with strings connecting the fingers to the card.
Card Description: Once per turn, the controller of the Equipped Monster can place a face-up Spell or Trap Card in set position. The controller of the set Spell or Trap Card cannot activate it in the same turn. If the Equipped Monster would be destroyed as a result of battle, you can negate the destruction by destroying this card.
Note: "Eternal Reverse" was first used by Johan (possessed by Yubel) in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "The Ultimate Face-Off (Part 1)". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
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CALL OF THE HAUNTED (Spell Card)
Continuous Spell
Image: The same as the Trap version.
Card Description: Activate when you have 1 "Crass Clown", 1 "Crawling Dragon", and 1 "Zanki" in your Graveyard. Remove those three Monsters in your Graveyard from play to Special Summon 1 "Clown Zombie", 1 "Dragon Zombie", and 1 "Armored Zombie" from your hand or deck in Attack Position. If a Monster Special Summoned by this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon it from your Graveyard in Attack Position during your next Standby Phase and increase its ATK by the amount gained by previous uses of this effect and then by 10%. If this card leaves the field, destroy the Monsters Special Summoned by its effect.
Note: This is a fanfic version of the Spell version of "Call of the Haunted" used by "Ghost" Kotsuzuka in the multi-part original anime episode "Arena of Lost Souls". Its effect has been altered a bit from what the episode suggested to make it more believable.
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Next:
Ember: Here's how it stands with Hebi-Na and me.
I won the first time we dueled. Of course, I had known in advance that she was using a Venom Deck, and prepared my deck accordingly.
Hebi-Na won the second duel. This time, she prepared in advance, and chose a theme designed with intimidation in mind.
A third duel is needed for a tie breaker. My deck is not specifically prepared against hers, and her Spellcasters can't intimidate me any more.
Now, I have no idea why she even agreed to duel me here instead of just pouncing like the predatory beast she is. She seems just as nervous as I am for some reason...
But whatever the case, we now have a chance for that tie-breaker... May the best duelist win...
"Skull Lair" is coming soon.
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Shadowchaser Files
Hepzibah, Tribal Scout
Shadows exist in all cultures, in all regions. Native American cultures have had totemistic beliefs since ancient times, worshipping the spirits of animals. In actuality, these beliefs stem from a unique race of Shadowkind that appears unique to the North American continent.
This species of spirits (which has no real name, as they do not use personal names in their culture) are shapeshifters. An individual can appear either human or as a normal animal, which is unique for each member. Some mistake them for lycanthropes, and since wolf spirits do exist among them, it is easy to do so. Changing forms cannot be done on a whim (they cannot cause clothes to magically appear when they assume human form or disappear when they assume animal form) so they tend to stay in the wild most of the time, and stay in animal form constantly when humans are nearby.
The species is made up of five tribes: mammalian carnivores, mammalian herbivores, mammalian omnivores, birds, and reptiles. Each tribe stays away from civilization most of the time, except for one member of each tribe, appointed every five years, whose job is to live among humans and find out whatever he or she can.
Hepzibah is the most recent member of the mammalian omnivore tribe to have this duty. She had the bad luck of being a skunk spirit, the reflection of an animal that has gotten a bad reputation by almost everyone. To make matters worse, her tribe (which consists mostly of weasels, ferrets, badgers and the like) is not on good terms with any of the other tribes. Carnivorous mammals, some reptiles, and some birds prey on her kind, while they prey on some members of the herbivores. She especially hates wolf spirits, as her sister was killed by one of them. Overall, she considered it quite a relief to be chosen for this task.
She chose the name "Hepzibah" after reading about the female skunk with the same name in Walt Kelly's comic strip Pogo and quickly got a job as a secretary in Chicago. She has been doing her job as her tribe's representative admirably for almost two years, staying in human form the whole time (her long, black hair with a bleached white streak the only reflection of her true nature), but has also come to like the human world. She has made many friends in this time, and even has a boyfriend. (She really doesn't know how, if ever, she'd tell him that she's a skunk spirit in disguise, thinking she's going to cross that bridge when she comes to it.)
For now, Hepzibah is doing what she is supposed to, gathering information for her tribe to present when she eventually returns. She isn't looking forward to the end of her five-year stint, but she isn't thinking of betraying her tribe – for now.
Story Ideas: The fact that Hepizbah's tribe has few friends and many enemies could serve as a plot device. A spat could develop if the representative from one of the other tribes shows up, especially if he's after the same thing she's after.
Any disputes between these groups of spirits might well attract Red Feather, possibly the best Shadowchaser to act as a mediator. She isn't truly Native American, but she is just as in touch with the natural world as the next one, and can help prevent any imbalance from happening.
Deck Ideas: Hepzibah naturally plays a "Power Beast Deck", a deck that uses several high-Level Beast-Type Monsters, and ways to summon them quickly. She uses Nimble Momonga and Playing Opossum to provide sacrifices and opportunities to Special Summon powerhouses like the Green and Yellow Baboons, Big Koala, and Behemoth the King of All Animals. She also uses Berserk Gorilla and Gyaku-Gire Panda as non-Tribute beatsticks. She uses the three Synchro Monsters Naturia Beast, Naturia Balkion, and Naturia Gaodrake for tough situations. (But not Naturia Landoise, as it's a Rock.) She has a copy of Naturia Extrio, but she has not yet managed to summon this incredibly difficult-to-summon Fusion Monster yet.
