… I have never thought of myself as a hero…
Davidson was right… I'm only living in the past…
After all, the past is the one time that I have my happiness…
… For now… Forever… This is… My goodbye…
…
0-0-0
Draw 35
Pain to Power
0-0-0-0-0
Time: 8:01 p.m.
"Ace…" Faye growled as she pushed up her glasses.
"Yeah?" Ace questioned swirling around the bottle of tomato juice in her hands.
"You think you could get your friend out of our base now?" Faye sighed watching as Kyon ran walked out of the kitchen with a platter of food (how he managed to make it look so exotic looking was the were-ermine's secret). "He's been here the entire day and we've got work to do…"
"You're just annoyed since you had to spend a few hours alone with him," Barron replied as he looked over the food that Kyon just set on the table. "Sides, the guy's willing to cook us up a meal for free… And I don't know about you two, but I'm kind of getting tired of Chinese take-out."
"… Not who I want to compliment me," Kyon sighed with a shake of his head. "But I'll take it nonetheless. My, what weird weather we've been having in the last few days…"
"We're all worried about what's happening to Hyde," Ace muttered with a dulled look on her face. "And you're more concerned with the weather?"
"Any reason why I shouldn't be?" Kyon replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"You're certainly carefree," Faye grumbled rolling her eyes behind her glasses. "How nice must it be to be at that young age, you all haven't experienced the worst that this life has to offer…"
"Wow, hey Faye," Barron chuckled crossing his arms over his chest. "No need to be so dark… Besides, things will always be at their darkest before the light will strike! 'Sides, we're the good guys! And in everything, the good guys always win!"
Faye, Ace and Kyon all couldn't help but stare at the suave Shadowchaser as he struck an overly dramatic pose.
"… Barron…" Faye sighed gesturing at the younger Shadowchaser. "Come here for a second."
"Yeah?" Barron asked as he stood next to Faye…
WHAP!
"Ack!" Barron yelped as he held his head, a surprised look covering his face. "Was the slap really necessary?"
"You mind making a decent contribution to the conversation?" Faye sighed shaking her head at Barron.
"Anyway," Kyon coughed out to get everyone's attentions. "Now, you all need to just sit back, relax and gather your strength… I'm sure that your friend Hyde will be fine…"
The moment that Kyon said that, a pair of door slams echoed through the mansion, making everyone jump for a second until all three of the Shadowchasers ran from the room… Leaving Kyon to sigh loudly, "This is just bad timing…"
Meanwhile, in the main lobby, the three Shadowchasers saw Jack doubled over in the doorway, his overcoat and head completely soaked, his face covered with water and sweat.
"… Where'd you come from?" Ace asked watching as Jack stood up straight.
"Shut… Up…" Jack gasped as he adjusted his had. "That… Old guy… Hospital… Struck by lightning!"
"Use your words," Barron suggested…
… Only to get a punch to his gut courtesy of Jack, "URK! Thanks for not hitting the… Face…"
"Las Vegas… General Hospital…" Jack sputtered pulling his fist back. "That other Shadowchaser… Is there!"
0-0-0-0-0
Time: 8:19 p.m.
With a loud sigh, Davidson slowly stepped into the office, his arms thrown behind his head as he slowly came to a stop, smirking at the sight of the others in the room, "Ah… It feels good to be the only winner in a room full of losers…"
"… That was just rude," Jin growled with his arms crossed, tapping one of his fingers up against his massive bicep.
"I only speak the truth," Davidson replied, leaning up against Vergil's desk (Vergil wasn't sitting at it since his job was over for the day). "The Blood Ogre failed, the Emo Elf failed four times, both of those useless kids failed…"
"Damn it! I'm not emo!" Rowen snapped stomping his foot into the ground countless times.
"Meh, they weren't worth our plans," Volk chuckled with a shrug. "The two did what we needed them to do…"
Sieg didn't add to the conversation, instead, he only fanned Xue Yin with the same fan she used before as the Taoist lawyer sipped on some tea.
"… Man… No one's even paying attention to my outbursts anymore," Rowen moaned by kneeling downwards to the ground with a dark aura flowing over his head.
"Davidson…" A deep, strong voice sounded through the room, gathering the attention of everyone in the room to look at the desk in the very front, the figure sitting behind it completely covered with the shadows that were created by the stormy night behind him. "I applaud you for doing something that no one has in this office… Defeating a Shadowchaser. However, don't get a big head, confidence is a good thing, but as the old saying goes…
"Too much of a good thing is bad for your health…"
"You're one to talk," Davidson retorted holding his hand up. "You had the big lug known as Jin get that useless girl before she could spill her guts… But I'm confused why you would allow Jack to face against the Shadowchasers. I've seen the duels he was in and he's skilled, but to send him against four Shadowchasers…
"Well, that's just a suicide mission… And I would've retrieved him, only it was a given that a greenhorn like that punk would spill his guts, meaning it would've been pointless to drag the kid here."
"A good counter argument," the shadowed man admitted with a wag of his finger. "But our plans are only a handful of days until the curtain is drawn… The final act is drawing closer and closer, it will not matter if the audience is bigger.
"The show will go on, regardless if those fools try to stop us…"
"Uh… D-Do I have to stay here?" Rowen asked raising his hand up.
"Now, sir," Jin spoke up, pushing Rowen's question to the side. "I do understand where you're coming from… But there is still the matter of time. From the reports I've gotten, there is a window of time for those Shadowchasers to…"
"Jin… My loyal employee," the shadowed man chuckled. "You underestimate me and my plan… Thanks to Davidson here, one of the current Shadowchasers is out of commission. The act they'll play next is call for reinforcements…
"… That shall not come. Davidson, I must ask for you to do a little bit of adlibbing for this act…"
Davidson smirked devilishly as the storm outside began to grow worse, a large lightning bolt streaking across the sky, "What'd ya have in mind?"
"… Am I really that unimportant?" Rowen asked, crouched down in the corner, the dark aura appearing back over his head.
While the conversation continued, none of them noticed that a small red eyed creature watched them all… As it hung upside down on the ceiling…
0-0-0-0
Time: 8:47 p.m.
Jack sighed as he leaned against the white walls of the general hospital, his eyes turning from the closed door that the three other Shadowchasers had entered. Walking through that very hall were other patients, some of them human and others various Shadowkind.
It wasn't uncommon to see this… After all, it wasn't like Shadowkind were invulnerable to illness or injury.
But that didn't mean that Jack had to like it, as far as he was concerned, shadows were still the scum of the earth. And for why he was helping the Shadowchasers with information… It was a simple matter of fulfilling his own needs to get Mira back…
'Still…' Jack thought raising an eyebrow at the closed door in front of him. 'I have to admit that these guys look out for each other… But that's about the only admirable trait out of the lot of them…'
Inside the room, Faye, Barron and Ace looked at the bed that was in front of them, showing an unconscious Hyde laying in the very same bed, parts of his skin slightly singed. Standing at the end of the bed was the doctor who was treating Hyde's current condition. On the nightstand next to his bed was his ruined duel disk, his deck of cards that were slightly scattered about and a few packs of Lucky Seven Cigarettes.
"… I knew he had a few smoking habit," Ace muttered holding up one of the packs of smokes from the nightstand. "But damn…"
"Remind me when we get back to find his stash," Faye sighed tapping the side of her head. "But we've got bigger problems to deal with…"
"Yeah, like what's wrong with Hyde?" Barron asked throwing his arms behind his head.
"Ahem," The doctor who was looking over the chart in his hands. "Well, according to the burns on his body and the eye witness testimony, your friend was hit by lightning… In the head. The shock seems to have been too much for your friend, so right now his condition is rather delicate, but he will recover, but it's the after effects that we should be worried about.
"He may wake up, he may not, but if he does, I doubt that he'd be the same person."
And just like that the doctor walked past the three Shadowchasers and out the door, leaving them all a little bit stupefied by the doctor's behavior.
"Wow, that's our tax dollars at work," Barron muttered raising an eyebrow at the closing door.
"Hey, Hyde's going to get through this, right?" Ace asked looking at Faye. "You told me you've got some medical training, so, what's your take on this?"
"I'm not an expert when it comes to getting electrified," Faye replied with a dulled look as she looked over the unconscious form of Hyde. "But, its like the doctor said, we'll have to wait to see…"
"But seriously, getting struck by lighting?" Barron stated raising an eyebrow as he looked at the window, watching the rain crash against the glass. "I know we've had strange weather here… But come on, in a city filled with tall buildings like this, it seems unlikely that lightning would strike a person."
Ace spun around and looked out the opened door, seeing Jack just minding his own business, looking through a deck of cards that he had pulled out and shuffling through them. "Hey!"
Merely raising his head up, Jack raised an eyebrow at Ace. "… What?"
"I think you owe us an explanation," Ace growled looking at the western dressed young man.
"… I told you when we were driving over here," Jack answered back, putting the deck back into his duster's inside pockets. "It was due to this Davidson character! He had some weird ability to control the weather and…"
"Yeah right!" Ace snapped pointing her finger right into Jack's face. "I don't believe that for a second, you Western movie reject!"
"You get that finger out of my face if you know what's good for you," Jack snarled slapping Ace's hand from his face. "I told you what I know… And I know what I saw! If you can't handle that, then you can shove it up your as…"
"Ask nothing more!" Barron interrupted jumping in between the two, his hand lifting up into the air. "Now, I know things look bleak, but fighting in a hospital is just plain wrong… But I won't hesitate to whoop some sense into both of you!"
"… What the heck's gotten into you?" Ace questioned raising an eyebrow at Barron who merely rubbed the back of his head.
"Ya know, I'm older than both of you," Barron chuckled sheepishly with a slight blush on his face. "And with Hyde temporarily out of the picture… I figured that I should step in and take over as the responsible guy…"
"Not really your style," Ace sighed crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah," Barron moaned slumping over slightly. "Can't blame me for trying though…"
"Sure we can," Jack spat turning on his heel to walk down the hallway. "But, later losers… I'm going to get some chow…"
Ace kept her eyes narrowed down focused on Jack as he walked away, the look on her face getting more annoyed with each passing second. "… I don't trust that guy at all…"
"Ace, let it go," Barron muttered placing a hand on the tomboyish Shadowchaser's shoulder. "It's not going to do Hyde any good to…"
Barron stopped when he realized that Ace was walking away, following Jack from a safe distance, "… Well, I guess it's a good idea for someone to keep an eye on that guy…"
"Well said," Faye stated, making Barron jump slightly. "And it's a good thing you feel like that, cause I'm going to ask you stay here to keep an eye on Hyde."
"Huh?" Barron questioned with a surprised look on his face. "W-Why me?"
"It's simple really," Faye sighed rubbing the back of her head, messing with the tied back hair. "Ace is too inexperienced and too busy watching Jack to watch Hyde, I'm going back to the base to inform Jalal about this. I also want to know about our reinforcements and get confirmation about this so-called Apostle of Susanoo that Jack told us about… After all, there's a chance that Jack's telling the truth about that."
"Aw man, this just sucks," Barron sighed slumping over slightly. "Am I forced to stay here all night? What the hell am I supposed to do to keep myself preoccu…"
Barron would've continued his rant, if it wasn't for the fact that two young female nurses, dressed in rather colorful scrubs walked past him at that moment, giving him a clear view…
"Okay," Barron chuckled with a bright smile on his face. "I'll stay here… I'm pretty sure I can find something to occupy my time."
Faye sighed as she watched Barron spin on his heel to watch the two nurses walk away, "… If I had a choice, I would've given this mission to someone else…"
Meanwhile, inside of Hyde's room, no one was aware of a small yellow light that was floating over Hyde's unconscious form, almost as if it was observing Hyde's fallen body.
A few seconds passed before the golden orb crashed into Hyde's forehead, sending a large amount of sand falling from Hyde's body.
0-0-0-0-0
Time: 8:56 p.m.
Hospital food was never appealing to Jack, thankfully there was a nearby fast food restaurant next to the hospital, so there he sat in the booth just enjoying the soda he had ordered… Although, it was kind of hard to fully enjoy the cool liquid when there was a cold stare boring into the back of his head. "… If you Shadowchasers want to spy on someone, I suggest you learn how not to be seen."
Ace didn't really answer, all she did was leer even harder at the western styled duelist.
Shrugging his shoulders, Jack sipped more intently on his drink, trying to ignore the stare.
Another sip…
Yet another sip…
'Yep, it's not working…' Jack thought in his head as he turned his head around to look Ace directly in the eyes. "Alright… You don't like me, I get it. So how about you stop being so indirect and at least look me in the eyes?"
Ace growled as she slipped from her seat and stood up to glare down at Jack, "I don't particularly care for your attitude… To me, you're still an enemy, and with how Hyde ended up…"
"I'm telling you that I had nothing to do with that," Jack sighed before returning to his soda. "So, you're more than welcomed to hate me… You don't even have to trust me, you can just trust my hatred. I intend on finding out what happened to Mira, after that, we'll just disappear."
"Yeah right," Ace huffed pointing a finger at Jack. "After all the crap you've pulled…"
"And yet, you can't do a thing," Jack chuckled waving a finger. "Or don't you recall that your treaty doesn't cover the crimes that humans commit… And who knows if I even committed a crime? You never know…"
"You think you're real smart, don't ya?" Ace growled through her slightly fanged teeth. "You were caught by that Kamen character and thrown to the side!"
"Merely a drawback," Jack snarled back with his eyes narrowed down at Ace. "Sides… Last time I checked, I didn't need your approval… Or your trust. The rest of your team seems to be able to…"
"They never saw what you were able to do, Jackie," Ace retorted.
"… Jackie?" Jack muttered raising an eyebrow turning away from his soda. '… Does she have a problem remembering names?'
"I saw you blow up Dr. Nefrine with a single shot of one of those pop guns of yours," Ace continued slamming her hand into the table immediately, gathering the attention of a few of the nearby customers. "Don't think for a second that I'm going to let you walk around like you're so hot when you're not!"
"… First off, learn how to get peoples' names right," Jack muttered out loud with a roll of his eyes. "Secondly, like I said, I don't care what you think. Thirdly, I don't need to take lip from some one who's with a flea ridden, talking weasel. And four… How about you get your own life?"
That just made Ace's face turn red, not only was this guy pushing her buttons, but he made a mistake, and that was insulting her first friend in Las Vegas – Kyon…
Meanwhile…
"ACHOO!" The were-weasel rubbed his nose as he trotted around the currently emptied Shadowchaser base. "I hope I'm not catching a cold…"
Back at the fast food place…
"So if you don't mind," Jack sighed turning back to his soda. "I'd like to enjoy this drink before I'm dragged somewhere else tonight against my will…"
Ace sneered at Jack, taking note of the smug look on his face…
There had to be something she could do. Anything that could possibly allow her to get even with Jack, but at the same time, not get her in trouble with her peers…
A few minutes later…
"DAMN IT! GIVE ME BACK MY HAT!"
"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!"
Running out of the fast food restaurant with Jack's hat on her head, Ace snickered as she watched Jack chase after her into the night (by this time, the rain had finally let up). Ace swerved through the crowds, keeping Jack at bay for a few seconds until he dashed around them and followed Ace.
'Too be honest,' Ace thought with a bead of sweat trickling down the side of her head as she slipped into a nearby alleyway. 'I didn't think it would work… I thought he'd play it cool, but I guess this hat some sort of meaning to him…'
Jack huffed as he reached the same alleyway, his enraged eyes zoned in on Ace's fleeting form. "Get back here!"
"If Shadowkind don't follow that order when I shout it," Ace yelled back, turning her head around slightly. "What makes you think I would!"
However, just as Ace turned her head forward, Ace was faced with a tall chain linked fence that went up several feet higher than what she could jump…
"Ha! Trapped like a rat!"
Ace spun on her heel, seeing Jack standing right behind her, his greasy black hair falling down around his face, "Now… Give me the hat back before…"
"Before you what?" Ace finished for Jack. "I may not be armed with a sword, but the same applies to you… And if you know anything about Shadowchasers, we're trained to fight armed or unarmed."
"I was trained too!" Jack snarled throwing his right hand towards his chest with the thumb pointing towards him. "And don't have an issue hitting girls!"
Taking a moment to rub his chin, Jack smirked, "Then again… I'm still doubting that you are a girl…"
"… Please," Ace snickered adjusting the hat on her head (it was a little big for her). "I get called that enough that it doesn't even sting even more… It's annoying, but I'm not going to lose my cool!"
"Fine," Jack uttered with a roll of his eyes. "But that begs the question… Are you going to give that hat back, or am I going to have to rip it from your hands with a fight?"
"How about we settle this more humanly?" Ace offered lifting her left arm up, revealing the duel disk on her arm. "I've been wanting a rematch against you for a while anyway."
"… You want to duel me… Over a hat that you stole?" Jack asked with a dulled look on his face. "Man, you Shadowchasers sure know how to stoop low. I thought you Shadowchasers were the ones who fought against crime…"
"That's only against Shadowkind," Ace replied activating the duel disk on her arm. "So, you going to put'em up, or are you just going to keep talking?"
Jack chuckled as he snapped his arm to the side, activating the device, "You realize that you're not gonna win… If you couldn't beat me at my Climax before, what makes you think that you can beat my Climax now?"
"Gah, that sounds so wrong!" Ace gagged pulling off the top five cards from her deck. "Let's just duel!" (ALP: 8000)
"Fine," Jack chuckled with his own opening draw, striking an over dramatic pose with his left hand thrown towards Ace and his right hand snapping backwards. "I don't care who my opponent is… Let me warn you, I start on a Climax!" (JLP: 8000)
"Yeesh, can you tone down that attitude?" Ace asked pulling up a sixth card into her hand.
"If I'm one thing," Jack chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's consistent."
Ace rolled her eyes as she held up one card, "Yeesh… You've got a comment for anything don't you?"
"Heh, just play your cards so we can get this charade over with," Jack scoffed with a shake of his head.
"You're going to regret saying that," Ace announced slapping the card onto her duel disk. "I summon Mine Mole in attack mode!"
The ground in front of Ace opened up, allowing a small cute mole appear on the field, with a pink flower on its nose, a hard hat on its head and a small pickaxe in its front paws.
The beast leered at Jack and hissed loudly (1200/1000).
Jack blinked a few times at the monster before…
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Needless to say, Ace crossed her arms as Jack laughed even louder at the weird monster she just summoned, "T-That's what – hehehe – You're starting out with? That's a joke!"
"I wouldn't make fun of my strategy," Ace warned as she held up two cards and immediately fitted them into the duel disk, making them appear behind the cartoonish mole. "I'll set two cards face down… And end my turn!"
"Like I said, your start is weak!" Jack roared pulling off the top card from his deck, turning the card around slightly for him to look at the card. "… While mine is a Jackpot!"
"Huh?" Ace questioned raising an eyebrow.
"I summon Ancient Gear Statue!" Jack announced slapping the card onto his duel disk.
A ring of light appeared in front of Jack, forming into the small, rusted statue (500/500). "I shouldn't have to tell you what this card can do… After all, this card helped defeat you!"
Hand thrown into the air, Jack snickered as his Ancient Gear Statue began to grow brightly, "But just in case you forgot… I can use its effect to summon the very Climax of my deck!"
The Statue shattered, unleashing a large shadow that erupted behind Jack, forming into the menacing Ancient Gear Golem, lifting its arms up into the air and making its rusty gears screech loudly (3000/3000). "Heh, what ya think?"
"I think you're nothing more than a one hit wonder," Ace replied pushing a button on her duel disk. "I learned from my last duel with you! I activate my spell card – Enemy Controller!"
A large game controller appeared in front of Ace, its chord shooting directly into the Ancient Gear Golem's chest, making the machine stagger slightly. "Up! Up! Down! Down! Left! Right! Left! Right! B! A!"
The controller followed the commands to the very end, making the Ancient Gear Golem kneel down, crossing its arms over its chest.
"Your rust bucket may be strong and have a powerful effect," Ace snickered rubbing the bridge of her nose as the controller disappeared. "But they're just as susceptible to spells and traps… Just gotta hit them before they attack!"
"… Big deal," Jack sighed with a shake of his head as he fitted a single card into the duel disk, making it appear in front of him. "I set a single card face down… Now show me the weakness of the Shadowchasers!"
"Weakness?" Ace thought out loud before she drew. "Sorry, all we got strength, pure and simple! I summon Rescue Cat in attack mode!"
A loud meow echoed through the alleyway, allowing the small white furred cat to pop onto the field in front of Ace, its hard hat and whistle gleaming in the fleeting light (300/100). "But she's not staying long… I activate Rescue Cat's effect!"
The Rescue Cat fitted the whistle into its mouth, and with a swift blow, the whistle echoed through the air, sending the cat flying into the air… "Now I can special summon two new beasts! And I choose Gyaku-Gire Panda and Catnipped Kitty!"
Two puffs of smoke popped in front of Ace, forming into the enraged panda (800/1600 + 500/0) and a small blue furred kitten with a large red bow around its neck (0/500).
"… That's the most pathetic move I've ever seen," Jack coughed with a roll of his eyes. "And I've seen some pathetic moves."
"Yeah? Well this isn't one of them!" Ace shouted back throwing her hand towards the mewing Kitty. "You see, while I have another beast out on the field, my Catnipped Kitty can lower the defense of any monster on your field to zero…"
The blue furred cat snickered before it leapt towards the Ancient Gear Golem, its claws extended, "And since you've only got one choice, I choose that walking scrapyard!"
The Catnipped Kitty growled as it sharpened its claws on the Ancient Gear Golem's front leg (3000/3000 – 0/3000), which made Jack stagger slightly, "Urk!"
"And my panda has one of the very same effect as your Golem," Ace snickered throwing her fist forward. "It inflicts damage to your life points through your defense! Gyaku-Gire Panda!"
Roaring loudly, the enraged panda jumped over the field, and spun around, slamming its foot directly into the Ancient Gear Golem's head, sending it flying through the air while the rest of the body of the Ancient Gear Golem began to crumble over Jack's body…
Only to be pushed away by a powerful force of energy, sending the gears and armor around Jack's body. (JLP: 8000)
Jack drew from his deck as a smirk appeared on his face, "Defense Draw… Quite the handy trap if you want to defend yourself and get an extra draw…"
"That still destroyed your golem," Ace pointed out throwing her hand forward. "So that means that I can attack you directly with my Mine Mole!"
A loud squeak echoed through the air, allowing the mole to throw the pickaxe at Jack, narrowly missing Jack's head as the Ancient Gear duelist ducked down. "WHOA! THAT COULD'VE TAKEN MY HEAD OFF!" (JLP: 7000)
"Heh, where's that attitude of yours?" Ace questioned fitting a card into her duel disk, making it appear behind her monsters. "I thought from start to finish you were in climax?"
"Heh, don't misunderstand," Jack chuckled holding a finger up towards Ace as if he was holding a gun. "I'm just giving you a special on cheap shots today… In the end, I'll show you my finisher."
"… Do you have to make so many suggestive lines?" Ace asked as both her Panda and Kitty disappeared. "A-Anyway, since my monsters were summoned by Rescue Cat, I lose both of them… But that's fine for now."
Jack drew quietly, but then pulled the card he drew with his Defense Draw's effect and slipped it into his duel disk, "Then let's change that. I play a cornerstone in any Ancient Gear deck – Ancient Gear Castle!"
The ground behind Jack began to rumble, unleashing the large, armed fortress behind him, all of the cannons pointing ominously at Ace.
"Next, I'll summon Ancient Gear Gorilla!" Jack continued slapping a card onto his duel disk.
From the ancient fortress leapt the ancient ape-shaped machine, its rusty armor clanking against itself as it slammed its large fists into the ground (1900/950 + 300/0).
A single torch lit up on the castle.
"Now…" Jack chuckled throwing his fist forward. "Attack! Ancient Rampage!"
The Ancient Gear monster ran across the field, lifting both of its fists up into the air and immediately slammed them down onto the Mine Mole's head…
WHAM!
The hard hat on the Mine Mole shattered, making the small mole stagger about the field, still not shattering like other monsters. (ALP: 6800)
"Sorry, but that's the charm of my Mine Mole," Ace pointed out with a wag of her finger. "You see, once per turn, my mole can prevent itself from being beaten in battle!"
"And yet the damage still hits," Jack chuckled fitting a card into his duel disk. "One card set… Turn end."
Ace slowly drew, her eyes slowly trailing towards it before she slapped it onto her duel disk, "I summon Key Mouse!"
A loud squeak echoed through the alleyway, allowing the small cute mouse to appear on the tomboyish Shadowchaser's shoulder (100/100).
And once more, another torch lit up on the Ancient Gear Castle…
"Next," Ace announced slipping another card into her duel disk. "I'll outfit my mole with Synchro Boost! Giving it another level and five hundred attack points!"
A powerful blue aura erupted over the cartoonish mole, making its body grow muscular (1000/1200 + 500/0). "So now that I have a level four monster and a level one tuner… That means I can synchro summon a level five monster…"
The Key Mouse leapt from Ace's shoulder, popping into a single ring of light that wrapped itself around the Mine Mole, transforming into four bright stars that transformed into a powerful tower of electrified energy. "So, let's gallop towards the future, Synchro summon – Thunder Unicorn!"
The electrical tower erupted into millions of sparks that landed on the ground next to Ace, and revealing a new monster, a blue skinned horse with several lightning bolts wrapping around its body, and with a mane of gold this unicorn's horn was an electrified bolt of lightning (2200/1600). The horse neighed before slamming its hooves into concrete.
"… That the best you can do?" Jack questioned raising an eyebrow. "Don't you Shadowchasers have that specially designed to ya? Why not summon that?"
Ace quickly drew a card from the top of her deck, "Three reasons… One, that card's a level eight monster. Two, because I used it for a beast Synchro monster, Mine Mole allows me to draw a new card…
"And three, this guy's more than enough to beat you! I activate Thunder Unicorn's effect! For each monster on my field, one of your monsters loses five hundred attack points… So for the moment, I only have one, but that's more than enough!"
The electrified beast neighed loudly, snapping its horn towards the Ancient Gear Gorilla, sending a powerful wave of electricity that crashed into the ancient machine, sending static flying through the machine's body (2200/950 – 500/0).
"Now… Strike him down!" Ace commanded snapping her fingers forward, making the Thunder Unicorn gallop forward, its horn lowered down…
And stabbed directly into the ancient gear monster's head, making the machine explode in a violent fashion. (JLP: 6500)
"Not bad… But you still fell into my trap," Jack snickered pulling a card from his deck and fitted it into his hand. "You see, thanks to you destroying my Gorilla, I can take any level four or lower Ancient Gear monster from my deck and put it into my hand.
"So thanks Shadowchasing scum."
"Yeesh, I heard your story," Ace sighed with a shake of her head. "But you can't seriously blame the Shadowchasers for what happened, can you?"
"I already did," Jack growled throwing his thumb towards his chest. "I lost the only family I ever cared about… Don't you think I'm entitled to some retribution? When I was robbed of my father, sure the Shadowchasers asked me about the details… But that was it! I never saw that group ever again! You're nothing more than lazy bastards with fat pockets!"
"… Don't misunderstand us Shadowchasers," Ace replied fitting another card into her duel disk, making it appear behind her snorting unicorn. "I may be a young Shadowchaser, but with what I've seen in this short year, I've seen and learned so many things from both my fellow Shadowchasers and the Shadowkind that I've evolved as a person…"
"Which doesn't really amount to anything to me," Jack snarled throwing his arm to the side. "Don't think that things are just as black and white as your boss's standards set it… The world doesn't work like that! Is your turn over?"
"Yeah, I'm done," Ace huffed. "But you should take a minute to actually listen to people rather than just flinging insults at people…"
"But it's so much more fun to do so," Jack chuckled drawing once more, giving him four cards in his hand. "Now, watch as I activate the spell card, Ancient Gear Workshop!"
Several metallic claws erupted from the walls of the two buildings around the two duelists, each of them reaching into the ground in front of Jack, "Now, for no cost, I get to pull any Ancient Gear monster from my graveyard and put it into my hand…"
From his duel disk, Jack pulled out a familiar holographic card, "I'll go for the classic… Ancient Gear Golem…"
"And with your castle…" Ace muttered as the steel claws disappeared.
"You're thinking too small," Jack chuckled holding up another card from his hand. "I had this move planned since the beginning girl… I summon the very monster I got from my gorilla…
"Ancient Gear Statue!"
From the ring of light, a second statue appeared onto the concrete (500/500 + 300/0), its body slightly glowing from the power boost that it received from the castle (which gained another torch on it). "Now… Begone! And make room for the Climax!"
Once more, the Ancient Gear Statue shattered like glass, allowing the larger, and much more powerful Ancient Gear Golem to remerge onto the field, its gears screeching as the golem slammed a fist into the nearby wall (3000/3000 + 300/0).
"I hope you're ready little girl," Jack chuckled throwing his fist forward. "I'm getting ready to use my Hissatsu attack!"
"… Hissatsu?" Ace questioned blinking a few times.
"… It means final attack…" Jack sighed with a shake of his head. "Yeesh, aren't you Shadowchasers supposed to know other languages?"
"I happen to know Spanish!" Ace snapped back.
0-0-0- Meanwhile -0-0-0
Back in the hospital room, a familiar soul adjusted the clothes on his muscular body, "Hmm… Not really the style I'm accustomed too. A little too snug on my muscles too… But at the moment, I don't really have much of a choice…"
Pushing some of the brown and blonde hair from the side of his face, the soul looked towards the nightstand and lifted up the deck of cards that was on it, his rugged face frowning at the sight of it, "Humph… An archtype? Although this is a powerful deck, it's not in my tastes…"
With the deck secured in the inside pocket of his jacket, the soul fitted the duel disk under his arm and popped his neck into place with a loud cracking sound, "This will require some time and money to find something that can fully represent my strength…"
Slowly opening the door, the soul looked out into the hallway, and even though there were a number of people in the room, a good number of them were nurses… Who were gathered around Barron, taking phone numbers in his little black notebook.
The soul couldn't help but sweat a little bit as he slowly walked from the room slowly, a long tail of golden hair flapping between his board and borrowed shoulders, 'I must say… My luck is turning for the better…'
0-0-0-Back to the Duel -0-0-0
"Now, I think its time we send that little unicorn of yours to…" Jack started…
… Only to be interrupted as a loud roar bellowed through the alley, making Jack stagger back slightly.
"Not going to happen!" Ace roared along as the loud roar disappeared from the air. "I play my Threatening Roar will cancel your attacks this turn! So you don't get a choice!"
"Heh, fine," Jack snickered with a shake of his head. "No skin off my nose. Even if you do summon another monster, my Golem will still be strong enough to hold off your beasts."
"We'll see about that," Ace announced pushing a button on her duel disk. "While it's still your turn, I activate my other face down card, Scapegoat!"
Four puffs of colored smoke popped next to the Thunder Unicorn, forming into the four sheep tokens (0/0 x4). "I don't think I need to tell you what this means…"
"Indeed," Jack snickered. "Turn end."
Ace quickly drew, raising an eyebrow at Jack's attitude. 'He's up to something… I can feel it… But, thanks to what I just drew, I can make sure he doesn't pull anything…'
"Thunder Unicorn! Zap that Golem!"
With a wild neigh, the electrified, mythical creature fired a powerful jolt of electricity that shot through the air and crashed directly into the Golem's chest, making the machine stagger back (3300/3000 – 2500/0).
"Now… Skewer him!" Ace commanded as the Thunder Unicorn galloped forward, its horn lowered…
Only to be blocked by a powerful vortex that swept over the Ancient Gear Golem, "Don't tell me you forgot all about my face down card, Shadowchaser. Negate Attack is a common card that almost every duelist runs…"
"… Damn it…" Ace muttered looking at the card she drew. "I set one card face down, and end my turn…"
The moment that Ace said those words, the electricity around the Ancient Gear Golem snapped away, allowing the large mechanical menace to throw a fist through the air (800/3000 + 2500/0). "Ah, so that effect only lasts till the end of your turn… Good to know, good to know…
"Too bad I won't need to know that information, I summon Ancient Gear Soldier in attack mode!"
Launching itself from the ancient castle, the gun armed machine landed in front of the Ancient Gear Golem, taking aim with its gun (1300/1300 + 300/0). And yet another flame popped on the Castle's main gate.
"Now, I could inflict more damage by attacking those tokens," Jack muttered rubbing his chin. "But that Unicorn of yours could be a real pain in the ass… Ancient Gear Golem! Climax Melee!"
Pulling its fist back, the ancient machine threw its fist forward and slammed it directly into the Thunder Unicorn's body, crushing it into the ground, shattering it into millions of sparks that flew up into Ace's body. (ALP: 5700)
"W-With its destruction!" Ace announced as her face down card lifted up. "I play Animal Trail! Allowing me to add any beast from my deck and place it into my hand…"
With a nod, Ace immediately reached for her deck and pulled out a single card, "And this is the one I choose…"
"You can choose whatever card you'd like," Jack snickered reaching for his hat… Only to remind himself that Ace still had his hat. "But it won't matter… I'll slowly pick off those tokens of yours! Ancient Gear Soldier! Attack one of those useless tokens!"
With a loud shrill of the barrel, several bullets shot from the gun barrel and into the yellow furred sheep, making the token explode into a flurry of fur.
"Now, one card face down," Jack announced as the card appeared. "Turn end…"
Ace drew quickly, not bothering to look at the card when she lifted up the card she got from Animal Trail, "You know… Your Ancient Gears have that raw power and mighty effects, but let me tell you about my beasts… Their strength lies in their flexibility! I summon Lockat!"
A loud meow echoed through alleyway, unleashing another cat in front of Ace, only this one was a white and red furred cat with a golden collar around its neck with a lock attached to it (1200/1000).
The cat mewed loudly, scratching its ear as another torch appeared on the side of the Ancient Gear Castle.
Jack looked at the weird cat, his right eye twitching, "Do you have some sort of thing with cats? This is like the third one you've used so far in this duel…"
"Each of them has their personal good effects," Ace replied as a ring of light appeared over her shoulder. "Take my Lockat's effect for example, when normal summoned, I can special summon one level one beast from my graveyard…
"Like the tuner monster, Key Mouse!"
A loud squeak peeped through alleyway as the white and blue furred mouse landed atop of Ace's shoulder (100/100). "And while its effect is sealed… Its tuner ability isn't! So, I'll tune Key Mouse to all four of my other monsters!"
The Key Mouse leapt into the air once more, popping into a single ring that drew in the Lockat and all three of the remaining Sheep Tokens, transforming them into six stars that flew into the air, "Let the beastial souls roar! Synchro Summon…"
The stars transformed into a large tower of light that shattered like water, forming into the large barbarian dressed in chainmail and bearskin with a large battle axe resting on his shoulder (2000/2000), roaring loudly into the air, "Great Kuma Axe! Now by returning my Lockat back to my deck, I can increase my Axe's attack by half of one of your monsters' attack strength…
"And I'm choosing the big rust bucket himself… Ancient Gear Golem!"
The Great Kuma Axe roared loudly, allowing his muscles to bulge greatly as his wild hair began to stand on end (2000/2000 + 1650/0). "And now… Attack his golem!"
With a battle cry, the Great Kuma charged across the field and brought his axe down, cleaving the machine down into two pieces. (JLP: 6150)
"Bravo… Bravo," Jack chuckled as he clapped his hands. "You managed to beat the same Ancient Gear Golem… After using two of your ace monsters."
'Damn it… He's not even fazed,' Ace thought looking at the cards in her hand. "… I set two cards face down, and end my turn!"
Shaking his head, Jack quickly drew from his deck, "I play my trap card, Jar of Greed, allowing me to draw another card from my deck."
Jack quickly drew once more, and immediately held up a card from his hand, "Now… I'll just get rid of my Ancient Gear Castle…"
The Ancient Gear Castle began to shake wildly, until its armor and gears fell to the ground, beginning to sweep up into the air along with the remains of the Ancient Gear Golem that the Great Kuma Axe had sliced up. The parts began to mix and match until they formed into a large ancient tank-like machine, although the monster didn't have a cannon mounted on it, it instead had a large humanoid head and two skinny (to the point of being comical) arms on the sides of its bulky armored body (0/2400). "Meet the Ancient Gear Roaming Fortress. Not really a part of my usual beat down strategy, but it's quite handy to have."
"… And you played it in attack mode?" Ace questioned raising an eyebrow at the weird monster. "And you got rid of your castle for that?"
"Well, nobody's perfect," Jack sighed reaching into his graveyard, holding up a single card as the Ancient Gear Soldier returned to its normal attack (1300/1300). "But anyway, I activate my Fortress's effect, by removing my Ancient Gear Gorilla, I can special summon one level two or lower machine type monster from my deck…
"And I choose Ancient Gear Cannon!"
The front of the Fortress opened up, allowing a large mess of gears, cogs and cannons to land on the field (500/500). "Now, for the reason why I got rid of my castle… I play Machine Duplication! Now, one machine type monster with five hundred or less attack points gets its other two parts appear!"
Two other cannons appeared next to the original cannon (500/500 x2).
'Oh crap!' Ace thought looking at the three cannons. 'He had that move perfectly thought out!'
"Now… Fire!" Jack shouted as all three of the cannons exploded, sending three powerful rays of red light that flew through the air…
… And crashed directly into Ace's body, making her stagger backwards. (ALP: 4200)
"Next, I'll activate my spell card," Jack announced holding up the last card in his hand, fitting it into his duel disk. "Pot of Avarice, so, I'll shuffle all three of the cannons I just ditched and my two Ancient Gear Statues…"
Jack fitted the cards into his deck, allowing the five cards to shuffle themselves and then he snapped the top two cards from his deck, "I'll set both of them face down… And end my turn."
'Damn it…' Ace thought holding her stomach from the powerful blast. 'He managed to pull off an almost perfect move… I thought that I'd be able to match up to him easier if this was a ground duel since I had more support with my spell cards… But most of the support for ancient gears lies in spell cards as well…
'But I can still fight! Cause I managed to find a flaw in his strategy!'
"My draw!"
"And I activate my trap card!" Jack announced pushing a button on his duel disk, allowing a large orb of energy to appear over the field. "Zero Gravity will change the battle position of all monsters on the field and…"
"It won't help!" Ace announced as one of her own face down cards lifted up. "I play my own trap card – Trap Stun! So for this turn, all other trap cards lose their effects!"
Jack's eyes widened as the orb of gravity shattered like glass, leaving both of his monsters to remain in attack position, "Grk! You cocky little…"
"Now, I summon Enraged Battle Ox!" Ace interrupted slapping another card onto her duel disk, allowing the large, red/yellow armored minotaur to stomp onto the field, snorting loudly as it spun its battle axe in its hands (1700/1000). "Now, by returning my Catnipped Kitty back to my deck, I'll empower my Great Kuma Axe by half of your Ancient Gear Soldier's attack!"
Once more, the muscles on the bearskinned warrior bulged, allowing him to smirk devilishly (2000/2000 + 650/0).
"Now… Send that Fortress to the scrapyard!"
Spinning around, the Great Kuma Axe threw the battle axe through the air and made it crash directly Fortress's body, slicing it into two… Both sides exploding violently. (JLP: 3500)
"Next, I'll have the Battle Ox show why he's enraged!" Ace roared as the large armored minotaur stomped across the field. "Attack that soldier!"
Leaping up, the Enraged Battle Ox brought down the battle axe and chopped the Ancient Gear Soldier's head clean off and almost hit Jack in the head, "HEY!" (JLP: 3100)
"Alright! Now I'm in the lead!" Ace cheered to herself with a bright smile.
"… Enjoy it while you can," Jack warned his eyes narrowed down at Ace. "I'm done giving you those free shots now…
"Next turn, I'll show you a real freakin' big Climax!"
Ace raised an eyebrow as she looked at the hatless cowboy duelist, "Seriously… Get a dictionary or a thesaurus…"
"Just shut up!" Jack snarled slamming his foot into the ground. "I don't need to be given a speech concerning what I say. Especially from a tomboyish Shadowchaser, although, you seem pretty damned strong… But you're not worth this time!"
"Putting up a strong front isn't going to beat me," Ace replied narrowing her eyes as she fitted a card into her duel disk, making it appear in front of her. "I fought against worse characters and managed to come out on top, each and every time! You wouldn't even last against one guy, his strength would… Make you cry!"
"… Yeah… That's a nice phrase," Jack muttered with a roll of his eyes. "But that's all it is."
Meanwhile on the street…
"ACHOOOO!"
The familiar blonde and brown haired soul rubbed his nose as he continued to walk down the streets.
Back with the duel…
"And I'll just show you by drawing my next card!" Jack announced pulling the card around and immediately fitting it into his duel disk. "Behold the power of my draw! I play Card of Demise!"
Five flames erupted around Jack's body, allowing the duelist to pull off the top five cards from his deck, "And I know what you're thinking… These five cards won't last me long, but they don't need to… I play the spell card, Polymerization!"
A powerful vortex erupted behind Jack's body, allowing three lights to erupt around Jack's body, "Now… I fuse the Ancient Gear Golem I just drew…"
From the largest ring of light, the largest Ancient Gear monster appeared behind Jack, slamming its fists together.
"The Ancient Gear Beast…"
With a loud rusty roar, the beastly mechanical abomination appeared to Jack's left…
"… And the Ancient Gear Falcon…"
A loud screeching call bellowed through the alleyway, allowing the bird-like Ancient Gear monster to appear, only to have all three of the Ancient Gear monster get sucked up into vortex. "With this, I can have a freakin' big, bad CLIMAX! Arise, my strongest monster!"
The vortex fizzled out of sight, unleashing the large, centaur shaped, Ancient Gear monster, its body resembling that of a more elaborate version of the Ancient Gear Golem with a more armored right arm and a sharper clawed left arm (4400/3400). "Ultimate… Ancient… GEAR GOLEM!"
Ace stepped back, the Ancient Gear Golems were trouble in and of themselves… But this… This monster was just too much for her! Even Great Kuma Axe's effect wouldn't be able to help…
"Are you scared, brat?" Jack asked with a devious look on his face – A menacing grin, one eye widened and the other narrowed. "If not, then how about I show you what this monster can really do? Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem! Final Mechanized Melee… CLIMAX VERSION!"
The gigantic mechanical monstrosity threw its fists forward, latching onto the large barbarian's arms, making the monster drop the axe to the ground, and snapping its arms up into the air, the machine threw the Great Kuma Axe into the air.
The Great Kuma growled in confusion as it flew through the air… And slowly began to fall back to the ground… Only to receive a powerful fist to its chest, shattering the barbarian. (ALP: 1800)
"N-Not good…" Ace muttered taking a step back.
"And just to let ya know," Jack snickered fitting another card into his duel disk, making it appear next to the other set card. "Attack and defense doesn't matter to this monster… He'll crush through anything!"
'Not that it really matters what she plays next turn… Even if she destroys my golem here, I can special summon one of the Ancient Gear Golems in my graveyard. And I'll smash whatever she has either way…'
Ace slowly reached for her deck, taking a moment to take a deep breath, 'I… I can't lose this! I simply can't! I can't call myself a Shadowchaser if I can't beat this guy!
'I'll prove to him that Shadowchasers are strong! That there is a trust in us…'
That's when it hit her, making her pull down Jack's hat, 'Then again… If I can't have trust in him… Then why would he even bother trusting the Shadowchasers?'
"Hey… Jack…"
"Well, well, well," Jack chuckled crossing his arms. "Looks like you finally got someone's name right…"
"My friends knock on me on that all the time," Ace chuckled back rubbing the back of her head. "But they never realize that I never mess up their names… That's because I do it on purpose… Uh, some of the time. But I never forget the names of people I trust.
"And if I have to trust someone like you, then I will… Not because I'm forced to, not because I pity you. But because you deserve at least one person who genuinely trusts you."
Jack raised an eyebrow, "… Nice words. But that's all they are. If you think that pretty words will get me to trust you, you're stupider than I thought. Words won't sway anyone! Only action!"
"Fine!" Ace snapped drawing off her top card from her deck. "If that's what it takes, then I'll be more than willing destroy that Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem and that darkness!"
Looking at the card she just drew, Ace smirked as she fitted the card into her duel disk, "And what better way to destroy the darkness… Than with the sunrise! I play Ayers Rock Sunrise!"
A powerful light erupted from behind Ace, making Jack lift his arms up to cover his eyes, "Augh! W-What the?"
A loud neigh echoed through the air, and when the light died down, the Thunder Unicorn appeared in front of Ace, shaking its head a few times (2200/1800). "This spell allows me to summon any beast monster in my graveyard… But that's not all it does. For each beast, beast-warrior and winged beast in my graveyard, that walking scrapyard loses two hundred attack points!"
That's when several ghostly beasts (and even the Great Kuma Axe) appeared around the large machine, pulling it to the ground (4400/3400 – 1000/0).
"Next," Ace announced holding up another card from her hand. "I activate my Unicorn's effect… Blasting away another thousand attack points!"
Lowering its horn, the Thunder Unicorn unleashed a powerful wave of electricity that slammed into the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem's body, making it fall to its knees (3400/3400 – 1000/0).
"Still not enough!" Jack snarled, only to realize that there were a pair of flames erupting from the Thunder Unicorn's back, creating a pair of intricate moose antlers that seemed to make the mythical beast snarl. "Huh?"
"I've got my face down," Ace replied throwing her arm to the side as her Unicorn neighed loudly (2200/1800 + 800/0). "And it's Phantom Beast Horn! Which empowers my beast by eight hundred points, and gives another effect…
"But at the moment, I only care about destroying that darkness! Thunder Unicorn! Destroy that walking scrapyard!"
Galloping a few feet, the Thunder Unicorn jumped into the air, and created a powerful stream of electricity that it snapped from it horn directly into the Ancient Gear monster, making it snap its arms up and down before it exploded into large cloud of smoke that enveloped Jack's entire body. (JLP: 2500)
"… Not bad…" Jack's voice sounded out from the smoke. "But you didn't bother to take into account that you should know that a monster that is closely linked to my soul…"
The smoke began to dissipate, revealing Jack with a large smirk on his face as the original Ancient Gear Golem, cracking its mechanical knuckles (3000/3000), "Wouldn't be easy to defeat! When you destroy that powered up form, I can special summon the original Ancient Gear Golem, ignoring the conditions.
"Sorry, but it'll take more than simple tricks to beat me."
"Yeah, well, I forgot to mention the Phantom Beast Horn's other effect!" Ace announced drawing another card from the top of her deck. "When the equipped monster destroys a monster, I get to draw another card!"
Looking at the card, Ace blinked a few times at the card, "… I set one card face down… And end my turn!"
Jack slowly drew, allowing one of the flames to disappear, "Don't you learn? Thanks to my Ancient Gears' effects spells and traps are useless… Not unless you manage to pull a few more moves like you did before and…"
"I play my trap card!" Ace interrupted as a loud roar bellowed through the alleyway once again. "I always keep a spare copy of Threatening Roar hidden in my deck! So, you won't be able to attack this turn!"
"… You think that's enough to stop me?" Jack asked leering at Ace. "Stall as much as you like, it won't change anything…"
Looking at the card, Jack raised an eyebrow, "However, that Unicorn of yours is going to be a pain in the ass… So, I'll set one card face down."
A third face down card appeared in front of the Gear Golem, "Now… Let's test to see if you can really beat this part of my soul."
Ace looked at the three face down cards, her eyebrow raised at each of them, 'He must be betting on that face down card he just set… And in a Machine deck, it must be Limiter Removal. Otherwise, he should've played it when I attacked his Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem…
'Those other two could be bluffs that he set just to make sure he wouldn't lose them thanks to Card of Demise… Or maybe there's another reason…'
Ace slowly drew and turned the card around, "I play my spell card, Spellbook in the Pot!"
Jack nodded as both duelists drew three cards from the top of their decks…
A smirk appearing on Ace's face, "… I hope you're ready! I'm about to take this duel by storm!"
"Oh?" Jack muttered raising an eyebrow. "Then by all means! Bring it on!"
"Just remember, you asked for it!" Ace announced fitting a card into her duel disk. "I play… Heavy Storm!"
A powerful twister began to sweep about the alleyway, making all four of the spells and traps on the field to shake.
"Not happening!" Jack snarled back as one of his face down cards lifted up. "I play Magic Drain!"
A ghostly vampire appeared behind the Heavy Storm spell, making the twister stop in its tracks, "Sorry, but I'm not allowing you to…"
The ghostly vampire disappeared as Ace fitted a card into her duel disk, "Sorry, but I know what Magic Drain can do! Now, by discarding my Wild Nature's Release, my spell continues its destruction!"
Both of Jack's face down cards shattered like glass, and like Ace guessed, the most recent one was Limiter Removal while the other was a weird trap card.
"Fine by me!" Jack roared throwing his arm to the side. 'Especially since thanks to you, I drew my third Ancient Gear Golem and my Ancient Gear Factory… So even if she does destroy this Ancient Gear Golem and weaken it with her unicorn's effect, I can remove the other two to bring out this one and attack!'
"I still have one card left to play," Ace stated turning the card around before she slapped it onto her duel disk. "I summon Sea Koala!"
Leaping from the ground was the weird koala/sea otter combination, holding a shell in its front paws as it looked at the Ancient Gear Golem (100/1600).
"… Cats, unicorns, and now koalas?" Jack questioned blinking a few times. "Can't you use some serious monsters?"
"Didn't I tell you that some of the cutest monsters," Ace snickered snapping her fingers to prompt the Sea Koala to throw the clam shell into the air and then smacked it with its tail, sending it flying through the air towards the Ancient Gear Golem. "Have the deadliest effects! And my Sea Koala's no exception!
"While there's a beast on the field other than him, I can lower the attack of one monster on the field to zero!"
The clam shell flew through the air and then pierced through the Ancient Gear Golem's forehead, making it stagger back (3000/3000 – 3000/0).
Jack's eyes widened, 'No! No! NO!'
"Thunder Unicorn… Attack his Ancient Gear Golem!" Ace shouted as the Thunder Unicorn neighed loudly, galloping forward until it stabbed its horn into the chest of the large machine.
Electricity surged through out the ancient machine's entire body, shattering the monster into its gears and parts. (JLP: 300)
Jack slowly fell to his knees, his eyes widened due to the disbelief, "No… M-My Ancient Gear Golem…"
"And now to end this!" Ace shouted out, throwing her hand forward. "Enraged Battle Ox! The honors are yours!"
Stomping up to the slightly broken Jack, the Enraged Battle Ox only slammed the broadside of its axe into Jack's body, sending him to the side of the alleyway. "URK!" (JLP: 0)
"And that's… That," Ace sighed dusting off her hands a few times as the holograms began to disappear.
Jack however he stayed on the ground, slamming his fist into the ground a few times, "Damn it all! I lost… Not once, but twice in the same day! First to that masked freak, and then to this tomboy of a Shadowchaser!
"What the hell happened? I know I'm stronger than this!"
That's when something landed on top of Jack's head, surprising the western duelist to realize that his hat was back on his head. Looking up, Jack saw that Ace was standing in front of him, her head turned away from him with her eyes closed, "Its simple… It's the reason why you duel. I don't know what your reason was before, but having the right reason to duel can make the difference…"
Holding out her hand, Ace's face tinted slightly as she held it out to Jack, "So… Maybe I can help give you a new reason… After all, you need to help your friend, Mira, right?"
Jack nodded, slowly lifting his hand up, "Yeah…"
"Then let us help you get that reason fulfilled," Ace added pulling Jack up to his feet.
"… Fine by me," Jack replied clenching Ace's hand. "But don't think that…"
"Oh just cut the tough guy act," Ace muttered with a roll of her eyes.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Meanwhile…
"Hmm… Twenty-one numbers," Barron mused as he snapped his little, black book shut. "In one hour… That's got to be a new record…"
With his book pocketed, Barron slowly opened the door to Hyde's room, a large smile on his face, "When this whole things blown over, I'm certainly going to be busy…"
Barron sighed as he looked at the bed, the smile on his face slowly starting to fade away, "…"
… Since Hyde's bed was now empty, and his stuff was gone too.
"… Crap… Faye's going to kill me," Barron muttered pulling out his little black book. "Looks like I might just have to step up my dates…"
0-0-0-0-0
Card Stats
Mine Mole / Earth / LV. 3 / ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1200 / Beast/Effect: Once per turn, if this card would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed (Damage calculation is applied normally). If this card is sent to the graveyard for the Synchro Summon of a Beast-Type Synchro Monster, draw 1 card. If this card is removed from the field by an opponent's card effect, remove it from play instead.
Description: a small cute mole appear on the field, with a pink flower on its nose, a hard hat on its head and a small pickaxe in its front paws.
Thunder Unicorn / Light / LV. 5 / ATK: 2200 / DEF: 1800 / Beast/Effect: [1 Beast-Type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters] Once per turn, you can select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. That monster loses 500 ATK for each monster you control, until the end phase. Other monster you control cannot attack the turn you activate this effect.
Description: , a blue skinned horse with several lightning bolts wrapping around its body, and with a mane of gold this unicorn's horn was an electrified bolt of lightning
Lockat / Earth / LV. 3 / ATK: 1200 / DEF: 1000 / Beast/Effect: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned, you can select 1 Level 1 Beast-Type monster in your graveyard and special summon it in face-up Defense position. The effect(s) of the monster special summoned by this effect is negated.
Description: a white and red furred cat with a golden collar around its neck with a lock attached to it
Phantom Beast Horn / Trap / Effect: After activation, this card becomes an Equip Card that increases the ATK of the monster equipped with this card by 800 points and is equipped to a Beast-Warrior or Beast-Type monster you control. When the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, draw one card from your deck.
Image: A large mount with a pair of fiery moose horns with blue flames erupting around it.
These cards are Japanese cards that have not reached the shores of the U.S.
Ayers Rock Sunrise / Normal Spell / Effect: Special summon 1 Beast-type monster from your Graveyard in face-up Attack position and select 1 of your opponent's monsters. It loses 200 ATK for each Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged Beast-Type monster in your graveyard.
Image: The sun rising over Ayers Rock
This card was used by Hayato in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime.
Ancient Gear Roaming Fortress / Earth / LV. 6 / ATK: 0 / DEF: 2400 / Machine/Effect: If two or more 'Ancient' or 'Gear' monsters are destroyed during your turn, you may Normal Summon this card from your hand without releasing a monster. Once per turn, during your first main phase, by removing one 'Ancient' monster from your graveyard, you may special summon one level two or lower Machine-type monster from your deck. A monster summoned with this effect cannot be used for an Advance summon and is destroyed at the end of the turn. You can only have one 'Antique Gear Roaming Fortress' on your side of the field.
Description: A large ancient tank-like machine, although the monster didn't have a cannon mounted on it, it instead had a large humanoid head and two skinny (to the point of being comical) arms on the sides of its bulky armored body
0-0-0-0-0
The plot thickens and the storm grows more intense with each passing minute…
Quite literally next chapter.
The time has finally come…
And a few familiar faces will appear…
Next time!
Draw 36
Cry Havoc