Disclaimer: I don't own any of the names of both the characters and the cards. I do have one original character.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Spirit Caller

Chapter 36: Sacred Beasts Cards

We follow the flying Spirit Gate Keys all the way to their destination. It's a big circle of a wasteland in the middle of a forest and seven large spires surrounding it. I look around and notice that we're not the only ones here as I saw Chancellor Sheppard, Jaden, Zane, Crowler, Bastion, Chumley, and Syrus. I notice that some of them are panicking.

The sky becomes dark. I believe that is now nighttime, but I see clouds covering the night sky. The clouds look ominous and I could imagine a huge monster coming out of the clouds.

"How could this have happened…?" Chancellor Sheppard exclaims with a sad face.

Crowler looks around and said, "I thought all of the Shadow Riders were defeated."

We all thought so too. But what's going on here? We defeated the Shadow Riders… Could it possibly be the Mastermind behind the Shadow Riders?

"Everyone, calm down," said Bastion in a calm manner. "Let's think about this rationally."

"I agree!" I spoke, which caught everyone's attention. "There's no time to be losing our heads!"

Jaden asks, "Your keys flew away too?"

Everyone nods his or her heads. "Yes," I answer, "and we followed them here."

Crowler tilts his head. "Huh… I didn't know keys could fly."

"Maybe you should teach a class on that," Chazz spoke as if he's trying to be funny with the Obelisk Blue teacher.

I ignore those two because I'm more concern about the area than being funny. I look at the seven spires and ask, "Are these the seven Spirit Gate?"

"The gates are open!" Chazz gasps for all of us.

Bastion points at a pedestal that is the centerpiece for the wasteland. He said, "And look over there. In the center are the three Sacred Beast Cards!" We all notice that the Sacred Beast Cards are on the pedestal.

We all become very puzzled as Chancellor Sheppard said, "I don't understand. All the Shadow Riders have been defeated. How could the gates open?"

I saw Crowler biting his handkerchief as if he's a scaredy-cat. "I had a bad feeling about this, but now I have a horrible feeling!"

For once, I actually agree with Crowler. Before coming here, I do sense a bad feeling; however, that feeling has intensified when I got here. It feels like I'm being crush under a weight of a giant.

I shook off that feeling and put on a serious face. "Our first priority is to get those Sacred Beast Cards to safety."

Everyone nods his or her heads in agreement at what I just said. We all ran down towards the pedestal, but then we stop when we heard a voice. The voice said, "Those cards do not belong to you."

"Who's that?" Chancellor Sheppard gasps.

Then suddenly my bad feeling intensified even more. I could feel the cold, murdering aura around me. I could feel the cold sweat dripping down my face.

The voice laughs at Chancellor Sheppard's surprise. "What's wrong, Sheppard? Have you forgotten my voice?"

"It can't be…" Chancellor Sheppard mutters. Then a presence appears behind the pedestal and he gasps, "Superintendent Kagemaru!"

"The superintendent!" we all gasp out of shock.

We see a large capsule full of liquid with mechanical crab legs behind the pedestal. Inside the capsule is an old man, who has a long white beard and looks very weak. The old man seems to be wearing a life-support machine because he has been strap with machine equipment that has several tubes coming out of them. I believe the old man inside the capsule is the Superintendent Kagemaru.

"The time has come for me to resurrect the three Sacred Beasts," said Kagemaru as mechanical arms come out of the capsule and reach out for the Sacred Beast Cards. His voice is being projected by the speakers attach to his capsule. Those speakers made me wonder if those are stereo speakers.

"Resurrect them?" Chazz asks out of concern. "How did the Spirit Gates open on their own?"

How come I feel like that's a stupid question to ask?

"Because I built them," Kagemaru answers. "I was the one who sealed the Sacred Beast Cards. I was the one who gave the keys to Chancellor Sheppard."

Then I spoke, "And I bet that you're also the one who gathered the Shadow Riders as well."

Kagemaru laughs. "That's right! It was all me!" Everyone, but me, gasps to hear this revelation. He explains, "In order to resurrect the Sacred Beasts, they need to feed on incredible dueling energies. That's why I had the Shadow Riders to duel you. To flood the island with duel energy! And after all those intense battles, the Sacred Beasts are ready to awaken, as will their hidden power!"

"Hidden power?" Jaden wonders what he means by that.

Even I'm wondering too. What does he mean by that?

Kagemaru answers, "The power of eternal life and world domination."

"I can't believe you used us!" Alexis shouted at him. Her tone sounds like she's been disgusted of Kagemaru's action of using us.

You make it sound like that Kagemaru has violated you? I try to keep my mouth shut for saying that.

"As if you could've stopped me." Kagemaru looks smug when he said that.

Zane steps up to the plate. "I'll stop you."

Then Bastion pushes Zane aside. "No, leave this to me!"

Kagemaru raises a mechanical arm and spoke, "I've already chosen my opponent. Many of you have strong dueling spirits, but there's one that stands out. Sora, I chose you!"

I'm not a Pokémon! I instantly glare at him for making that reference.

As I am about to walk up to him, Jaden stops me and said, "You can't do this alone! I duel with you!"

"Thanks, Jaden…"

I'm starting to feel hesitant about having Jaden to duel beside me. However, I know Jaden well enough that he's not going to take no for an answer. I remember back when we received that the tag-duel punishment, I try to convince the teachers that I should take the punishment by myself. Jaden becomes stubborn and tells me that he doesn't want me to take the punishment on my own. Thinking about it does make me feel happy because I know that I have a true friend who can stand beside me no matter what I say.

I smile at him and said, "Let's get our game on!" Jaden nods his head as we stand in front of Kagemaru with our duel disks on our arms.

He's surprise by this turn of events. "A tag-duel, huh. That doesn't matter. I'll defeat both of you!" His mechanical arm summons a duel disk with a deck of Duel Monster cards, and in them must be the three Sacred Beast Cards.

Then Chancellor Sheppard called our names to get our attention. "This is not like the battles with the other Shadow Riders. The three Sacred Beasts are too powerful to seal away in a regular duel. You must first make Kagemaru to summon a Sacred Beast. You must deplete all his life points after he summons a Sacred Beast during the duel."

"And how are supposed to do that?" I ask out of irritation. "You could've told us earlier!"

"I guess we'll find out!" Jaden exclaims as we start the duel.

Sora and Jaden's Life Points: 8000

Kagemaru's Life Points: 8000

I start off the duel as I draw a card from my deck. "I discard one card from my hand to summon The Tricky in attack mode!" The Tricky appears in front of me as he points his knife at Kagemaru.

The Tricky: Level 5, Wind

ATK: 2000 DEF: 1200

"I end my turn with two cards facedown," I said as two cards appear behind The Tricky.

Kagemaru draws a card from his deck. "I set down three cards and I end my turn!" Three cards appear in front of him.

I wonder why he makes that move. He didn't summon a monster to defend himself.

Then it's Jaden's turn as he draws a card from his deck. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" Sparkman appears with lightning bolts coming out of his back.

Elemental Hero Sparkman: Level 4, Light

ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400

"I end my turn with two cards facedown," he said as two cards appear behind his Sparkman.

Kagemaru draws a card from his deck. "I reveal my facedown cards! First is the permanent trap card, Pyramid of Light!"

A beam of blue light shoots up at the sky. Then the lights transforms into a pyramid where all of us are in.

"Next is the permanent trap card, Mirror Wall! And lastly is the permanent trap card, Robbin' Goblin!"

I look at those trap cards and I know that they're permanent trap cards. I wonder why he activates them now. I find it extremely pointless to activate them.

He then said, "I sacrifice my three trap cards to summon Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!" The blue pyramid disappears along with the trap cards.

A mighty roar echoes around us. Jaden and I look up at the sky because we know that's where the source of that roar is coming from. Coming out of the sky is a red serpent-like monster. I gasped in shock to see that monster because that's the same monster from my nightmare a long time ago.

Uria, Lord of Searing Flame: Level 10, Fire

ATK: 0 DEF: 0

Kagemaru then said, "Uria's special ability gives him 1000 attack points for every permanent trap cards in my graveyard!"

Kagemaru's Permanent Traps: 3

Uria: ATK: 0 + 3000 = 3000

Then Kagemaru activates Uria's other special ability. Once per turn, Uria can destroy one facedown card on the field. He chose to destroy one of my facedown cards as Uria's second mouth on its forehead fires a fireball at the target facedown card, which reveals to be Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

He orders Uria to attack my monster. Uria opens his main mouth and fires a fireball at The Tricky. However, that triggers my other facedown card.

I flip the facedown card face-up and said, "I activate the trap card, Half Unbreak! This trap makes my monster indestructible for the remainder of your turn and the battle damage that we received reduce in half." A bubble shield appears as The Tricky's barrier; it protects The Tricky from being destroyed, but I still receive the damage.

Sora and Jaden's Life Points: 8000 – 500 = 7500

I can hear Kagemaru cringing through the speakers. "I end my turn."

"Sora!" I heard Jaden calling me. "Look up at the sky!" Jaden points up at the dark clouds at the sky.

I wonder what caught his attention as I look up. I gasped when I saw small balls of light flying into Uria's body. "What's going on?" I ask out loud.

"Those are other Duel Spirits," said Silent Magician's voice coming from my deck. Silent Magician appears in her spirit form next to me. "Uria is absorbing the Duel Spirits to gain power."

"How is it possible?" Jaden asks. "And why is Uria is absorbing the Duel Spirits?"

The crackling sounds of thunder roar above us. I look up and saw a lightning bolt coming down towards me. Time seems to be slowing down for me as I quickly step aside to dodge the lightning bolt. It misses me and hit the ground, which I'm glad it did. I could feel my heart pounding like crazy.

"Sora!" I hear Bastion calling my name. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine!" I replied. Then I turn to Jaden and said, "Now I know the reason why those Sacred Beast Cards are so dangerous."

I remember what Silent Magician told me before. We humans have found a way to bring her kind into our world, which means our worlds are parallel to each other. The real world and the Duel Monsters Spirit World are balanced, and if anything disrupts the balance, there's no telling what would happened. Or in this case, if the Sacred Beast Cards are summoned, it's the end of the world. This is going to be tough for us.

I draw a card from my deck. "I summon Junk Synchron in attack mode!" Junk Synchron appears next to The Tricky.

Junk Synchron: Level 3, Dark

ATK: 1300 DEF: 500

"I tuned The Tricky with my Junk Synchron to perform a synchro-summon a monster from the stars!" Junk Synchron transforms into three rings and The Tricky transforms into five stars inside the rings. "Clusters of stars come together in order to open the pathway. The pathway for an even stronger monster to appear." A beam of light shoots out of the rings. "Let's rev it up! I synchro-summon my ace monster, Stardust Dragon!" When the light dies down, Stardust Dragon descends from the sky.

Stardust Dragon: Level 8, Wind

ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000

I order Stardust Dragon to attack Uria, which also when I activate the spell, Ego Boost from my hand. I explain to Kagemaru that Ego Boost gives my Stardust Dragon a 1000 attack point boost for the remainder of the turn.

Stardust Dragon: ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500

Stardust Dragon fires a white beam from his mouth and hits Uria right at its face. Uria screams in pain as the beam destroys Uria. Kagemaru is shock to see what I just did as he loses 500 of his life points.

Kagemaru's Life Points: 8000 – 500 = 7500

"Jaden! Can I borrow your Sparkman?" I ask.

Jaden nods his head. "Sure, Sora! My monster is your monster!"

I order Jaden's Sparkman to attack Kagemaru's life points directly. Sparkman punches Kagemaru with his electric fists of fury, which causes Kagemaru to lose even more of his life points.

Kagemaru's Life Points: 7500 – 1600 = 5900

"I end my turn," I said as I took a deep breath. Then I notice something different about his body inside the capsule. I'm starting to see him slowly regaining muscles, but I'm not so sure. Also since Uria is gone, the Duel Spirits stop being drawn to this duel.

Stardust Dragon: ATK: 3500 – 1000 = 2500

I can hear Kagemaru chuckling. "What so funny?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

He spoke, "Not yet. The strength of other spirits still flow into my body! Even though you defeated Uria, I still have two more Sacred Beasts left!" Suddenly, he broke open his capsule and reveals himself in a much younger state.

Kagemaru is now muscular, who has long black hair, and wearing only black cargo pants. He detaches his duel disk out of the mechanical arm from his broken capsule and puts it on his arm. Looking at him now, I'm starting to wonder how he becomes so young.

It shocks everyone as Jaden shouted, "He's transforming!"

Kagemaru smiles and said, "How do you like me now? I am unstoppable!"

"Dude, you just reverse your age!" I replied. "I don't think that's what makes you unstoppable."

Kagemaru draws a card from his deck. "I activate the spell, Card of Sanctity! Now all of us keep drawing until we all have six cards in our hands." We all draw cards from our deck until we reach the limit of six cards in our hands. "Next I activate the continuous spell, Spell Absorption! This continuous spell allows me to gain 500 of my life points for each Spell Card that I activate. Then I activate two more continuous spell cards, Ectoplasmer and Kishido Spirit!" He activates those spell cards and he regains 1000 of his life points, thanks to his Spell Absorption.

Kagemaru's Life Points: 5900 + 1000 = 6900

"Now I sacrifice my three continuous spell cards to summon Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" Kagemaru's get rid of his spell cards to summon a gigantic yellow that looks like a skeleton with wings.

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder: Level 10, Light

ATK: 4000 DEF: 4000

I look up and notice even more Duel Spirits flying into Hamon's body. I guess that is his source of rejuvenating his youth.

Kagemaru orders Hamon to attack Jaden's Sparkman. Hamon summons a lightning bolt from its horns and uses that lightning bolt to strike at Jaden's Elemental Hero. Sparkman took the lightning bolt and that damages our life points.

Sora and Jaden's Life Points: 7500 – 2400 = 5100

"I activate Hamon's special ability!" he declares. "After Hamon destroys the target monster, you both take 1000 points of damage!" We gasped as Hamon fires a lightning bolt at us.

Sora and Jaden's Life Points: 5100 – 1000 = 4100

"Jaden! Are you okay?" I asked when I shake off the attack.

"I'm okay!" Jaden replies as he shakes off the attack as well. "Sora, do you think we can beat him?"

I gritted my teeth as I glare at Kagemaru. I answer, "No matter what, we must beat him until the last card played!" Jaden smiles when he hears me say that.

Kagemaru chuckles. "How admirable! I end my turn for now! You two better get ready… This is going to be the last duel for the both of you!"