YuGiOh! Nightrise

by ardee

After the tumultuous events of the Tournament of Shadows, Yugi and his friends must join forces with the Demon Lords to prevent an ancient evil from destroying all existence. Victory is almost impossible, failure is unacceptable. Apocalypse has come.

37. The First Cut is the Deepest

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: The First Cut is the Deepest

At last. My sincere apologies for the delay.

Candyman123: Thanks. Don't you have any other thoughts on the chapter?

Metal Overlord 2.0: Legion forever :D. They kick ass, that's for certain. As for how much, we'll wait and see.

Atemu's Sis: A good point. I've tried to make it clear earlier: the Council is not ALLOWED to interfere with anything. The fact that Apocalypse is actually messing with the natural order of things by acting independently makes him a deviant. If the Council were to step out and fight the Legion, they'd be no better than him in principle.

The original mist-filled valley was now clear. Where Mandarin's colossal palace had once been, now pieces of rock and rubble lay around. Standing in the center of the destruction was the source of it all: Quinn. Directly opposite him was Mandarin himself, backed by an army of Stronghold Shadows, which were bearing down on Quinn's lone Clevonce. Even if one neglected card advantage, Mandarin had a gigantic advantage in terms of life-points, twenty-four thousand eight hundred to Quinn's pedestrian two hundred.

Sarah, Rikuo, Bakura and Deondre looked on, the former terrified, and the latter three bewildered.

"What is going on here, girl?" hissed Rikuo.

Sarah was unable to answer. She had fallen to one knee, a lone tear rolling down her cheek.

Quinn ignored the spectators.

"Now, as for you, Mandarin….. I think it's time I clean up Jason's mess."

"Try it!" spat his opponent.

Quinn drew languidly, bringing his total hand size to three.

"Personally I find this deck a bit of a bore, but I don't need anything much to defeat you comprehensively. I activate the magic card Synchro Boost. It equips to one monster on my field, increasing its level by one, and attack by five hundred."

Clevonce (1700/400) glowed momentarily.

"Useless!" howled Mandarin.

Quinn's face lit up with that same, sadistic smile once again.

"Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000), come and serve me."

His field seemed to explode with flames. In the thick of it was a single dragon, about fifteen feet long. One could not tell the difference between the dragon itself and the fire that surrounded it. Its head was blackened and the skull seemed to be partially exposed, with horns on either side. Large, fiery wings opened from its back and it roared at the far more powerful Stronghold Shadows.

"Solar Flare Dragon, Clevonce… Disappear! Synchro Summon, Solarkinetic Dragon (2500/2300)."

Panik gasped as the Psychic monster vanished into two spheres of light, and was soon joined by a third after the dragon evaporated as well. They formed a triangle, and the entire field was enveloped with light. When the light began to dim, a tall, draconic form was towering over Jason's field as lightning flickered around it, and a low wave of fire washed over the ground.

It was a mechanical-looking dragon, but one could see it was still living and breathing. Parts of it were had a shade of metallic crimson, especially its wings, which flared out behind. Its claws looked like they had been made of metal, and each one was as long as a sword. As one went lower down, it began to look more and more machine-like, with the barrels of flamethrowers visible and spitting out small spheres of fire. The lower part of its body was completely mechanical, with its machine-like body open and a mess of wires and circuits hooking it to the ground. It roared out at Mandarin, and the aura of flames around it flared outwards. It had a large brain visible on the back of its head.

"So you choose to use that pathetic monster to match my Stronghold Shadows?" retorted Mandarin.

"Indeed I do," replied Quinn calmly. "When my life-points are lower than those of my opponents, Solarkinetic Dragon gains the difference in attack points."

Mandarin's lower jaw fell open like a cash register as the drake's attack points skyrocketed, making it easily the strongest monster in play (26100/2300).

"Thanks to your helpful Special Relativity Field, I will gain an equal amount of life-points."

(Quinn: 24800, Mandarin: 24800)

"It doesn't matter how many life-points you have!" panicked Mandarin. "My Stronghold Shadows will still defeat you!"

"That is going to be rather hard if they're dead, isn't it?" yawned Quinn.

He tapped a button on his Duel Disk, and the lone facedown card flipped up.

Mandarin recoiled in shock.

"Not Burst Breath!"

"I tribute Solarkinetic Dragon, which happens to be a dragon type monster, in order to destroy each and every monster on your field which has attack points lower than his own," concluded Quinn, eying the five Stronghold Shadows. The look within his emerald eyes was almost…. bloodthirsty.

The newly summoned Synchro monster let out a mournful growl, knowing that its fate was sealed. It unfolded its wings, revealing that a sphere of glowing flames had been growing within them. It let out one final, pained screech before the flames exploded outward. The Solarkinetic Dragon itself was seared to the bone right away, its howls of pain being out short by the complete and total incineration of its source. The waves moved forward and blazed over the five Stronghold Shadows, reducing them all to cinders within moments. They didn't stop there, however, moving on and consuming a horrified Mandarin.

Quinn's sadistic laughter echoed out as his opponent howled in pain, the flames searing his skin and burning up his clothing which did not consist of armor. Even as the flames cleared, Mandarin was forced to shrug off the metallic part which still remained, lest he risk being permanently burned by the white-hot steel.

"Such exquisite agony," whispered Quinn. "It's delicious, it really is."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" roared Rikuo.

Quinn turned to face the Wolf Demon General, a look of utter disdain on his face. "How many times must I repeat myself, mutt? My name is Quinn."

Rikuo was breathing fast, utter shock and anger in his eyes.

"Where…. Where is Becker?"

Quinn let out a mirthless chuckle. "Jason? That whiny loser isn't coming back anytime soon. Any time at all, most likely. A real man faces the music, and let me tell you, Jason's singing was extremely off key."

He flicked a strand of hair which had fallen in his face. "I have no argument with you, Amero. You and your demon friend, along with this wannabe burglar here should scram. Sarah and the others are going to get what's coming to them regardless, and I must warn you, if you stand in my way then I don't care how old you are, I will rip you to shreds with my bare hands and move on."

Rikuo glared at him, black lightning beginning to sparkle in his hands. Bakura, too, seemed infuriated at the strange individual's comments, and his Millennium Ring was beginning to glow.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "So it's a battle you motley bunch want, is it?"

He raised his free hand, and green energy began to form ."I'll be happy to give you one. Then I'll dance on your gravestone."

A heaving, panting voice echoed out.

"Damn you, Quinn, Jason, whoever the hell you are…. I'm still around, and you are not running away from this duel."

It was Mandarin. Quinn quirked an eyebrow.

"Ah yes. I'm going to have to teach you to finish what you started."

"Strong words, you disgusting child!" spat Mandarin. "In case you haven't noticed, the both of us have nearly twenty-five thousand life-points remaining, and plenty of cards left in our respective decks. This duel is far from over."

Quinn smirked. "You really do talk too much, my awkward little friend. I'm going to make sure the first thing I do is burn your tongue."

"You entered my hell, little man," hissed Mandarin. "Now, you are going to be punished by the devil…. Me."

"You're not the devil, you're practice."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Duel Academy?" ventured Kevin cautiously. "Are we after the Legendary Demons or something?"

Angel smiled a superior smile to him.

"Not the Academy, persay," he drawled. They were standing behind a large piece of undergrowth, and could make out the dim shapes of Chancellor Sheppard and Vellian Crowler herding a bunch of students into buses. It was evident that after the arrival of the extraterrestrial 'visitors', parents had insisted upon their children being sent home.

Of course, it was a tactical disaster. Kaiba took paranoia to a whole new level, so the Academy was built like a fortress. The bunker was well-stocked and could take many students during a siege, and besides, it was in the middle of nowhere… Certainly preferable to being in the line of fire in big cities.

Humans, thought Angel dispassionately. Emotional, foolish creatures. Letting their feelings come in the way of tactical sense. Ah well, their loss.

He jerked his head to one of the cliffs. "There's a cave there…."

"What about it?" pressed Kevin.

"Your path to defeating Mr. Kaiba," came the low chuckle in reply.

"Stop talking in riddles," snapped Kevin.

Angel looked at him, and a dark look crossed his face. "Watch your tone."

Kevin paled. "I'm sorry…. sir."

Within seconds, that same jovial glint was back in Angel's eyes.

"Hurry now. This is the first of two tombs we have to visit."

"Who's tombs are they?"

"Oh, don't worry yourself about the second one," quipped Angel. "You will have your hands full here."

"Then what about this one? Whose is it?"

Angel let out a dark chuckle.

"Nightshroud."

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(Shocktrooper Ten: 0, Yami: 6400)

Yami let out a heavy gasp as his body count now went into double digits, nodding appreciatively to the Mirage Knight (5000/2000), which had just finished off his last opponent. For the last three duels it had been in play thanks to his handy continuous trap Imperial Iron Wall, which prevented cards from being removed from play. Thanks to Big Bang Shot, it was dealing a lot of damage with each attack, and had allowed Yami to dispatch a few Shocktroopers with considerably greater ease. Best to stick with what worked….

"Come and get some!" he bellowed to the mass of extraterrestrials which had clogged the hallway around him.

They roared in reply, and his Millennium Puzzle exploded with golden energy.

A faint grin crossed his face. The thrill of battle. Nothing beat it. He was enjoying this… Somewhat.

Suddenly, the mass was parted by a towering figure. It seemed almost identical to the first one that had burst through the door and engaged Zerato in battle. Quite possibly the same one… The thought sent a shiver down Yami's spine. That would mean, of course, that the angel had been killed. He didn't quite want to contemplate that possibility at this point, choosing instead to size up his latest opponent.

He was an impressive fellow, standing nearly nine feet tall, and dwarfing his brethren in the process. His armor was a dark hue of orange, with the same speaking apparatus exiting his helm as the rest, and somehow making its way across his deformed face towards his jaws, which bared teeth the size of knives. A tail maybe four feet long, give or take, swept out behind him. A Duel Disk which had a very large clip on mechanism was attached to his bulging right arm. Somehow, in his clawed fingers, he held a deck.

Immediately, the ruckus ceased as the remaining Shocktroopers stood, silenced, almost respectful. This seemed to be their commander….

"You shall be destroyed ," he gargled.

"FOR THE LEGION!"

Yami ignored the chorus of hissing voices which had joined in to what seemed to be this species' trademark chant, choosing to look down at his five card hand. If they had sent in a bigger gun, that meant his plan was working. Just this one more duel, hopefully….

The beast attached the band to its wrist, and fired off its holo projectors.

(Commander: 8000, Yami: 8000)

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The figure sneered inwardly.

Ten Shocktroopers in an hour? The Pharaoh was good, definitely.

Maybe it was time to mix things up a little….

He tapped a few keys on the keyboard in front of him. Perfect. Let the old coot try this out….

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"A counteroffensive is to be launched," rasped the nightmare voice. "Normal summon, Legion Crawler (300/800)."

The Commander's monster seemed to fit its name rather aptly. It was a disgusting thing, resembling a mutated worm for all the world. It stretched maybe five feet in length, and its skin was a mixture of pink and a hue of light crimson. Spikes stuck out through most of its body, and two, cruel, slit-less eyes peered out at Yami and his Mirage Knight (3200/2000).

Yami shivered. The Legion's monsters kept getting freakier and freakier….

"Effect of Legion Crawler, activate. Both players tribute one monster in play. Then, one level four or lower monster is special summoned from the hand."

Yami swore as the worm wriggled its way across the field, and threw itself onto his knight. The brave warrior struggled, but with every movement, the serrated blades which made up the crawler's armor slashed it apart. In a final, last ditch attempt, he buried his scythe in his attacker's head. Too late, however. Staggering backwards, the Mirage Knight let out a pained moan before collapsing to his wounds. Next to him, the Crawler exploded as well.

Yami was furious, but decided not to show it. The speed with which his eleventh opponent had defeated the one card which had allowed him to race through his previous opponents was shocking. Well, what option did he have…

"I call upon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700)!"

A mage in black robes with large shoulder pads, a green staff held in two hands, black gloves, a black helmet, and only his face visible appeared.

"Come, level five monster: Legion Absorber (500/2000), defensive position."

A strange, sickly pale and almost skeletal figure materialized onto the Commander's field. Its skin was a very pale shade of blue, with most of it sinking over its framework, hanging lose. It had no legs, with just a pair of arms somehow being held up by an invisible force. The creature's fingers were disproportionate to the size of the rest of its body, strangely thick, and giving off a mild aura of green energy. A stone of a similar color was set on the creature's forehead, above two lidless, slit-like eyes.

Yami growled. With only five hundred attack points, it was sure to have a fairly strong effect.

"Card set. Turn end."

Yami drew, bringing his total hand size to five. A strategy began to form in his mind.

"You come to our planet… Killing its people and purging its resources…. And you expect us to lie down and take it?" he snarled.

He clicked a button on his Duel Disk, and the field spell card zone opened. Yami slipped a card into it.

"I will show you the power that we of this Earth command! I activate the field spell Magical Citadel of Endymion!"

The area around them began to shift and transform. The ground beneath them turned a lush green, and a towering castle rose up behind Yami. It consisted of one turret in the middle which dwarfed everything around it, and a quarter of others surrounding it, balanced on a giant ring. The entire structure was glowing with energy, white rings of it floating around the turrets.

"Every time I activate a spell card, Magical Citadel of Endymion gains one counter," continued Yami. "As to what purpose they serve, you will be let in on that soon. For now, I call upon Magical Exemplar (1700/1400)."

Materializing onto Yami's field was a lady dressed in a flowing blue gown, with a line of white symbols emblazoned across the front. She had straight black hair coming down to her shoulders. Benevolent features were framed by a solid gold necklace, paired with a similar crown on her forehead. Her hands glowed with white energy.

"Then I activate the spell card Gather Your Mind. This allows me to add one spell card called 'Gather Your Mind' from my deck to my hand, although I can only activate one copy per turn. In essence, it serves to provide me with more spell counters, specifically, one for my Magical Citadel of Endymion, and two for my Magical Exemplar, and another one for my Skilled Dark Magician."

As he spoke, the female spellcaster began to glow, with two of the symbols on her gown lighting up.

"Then I activate Pot of Duality, which allows me to look at the top three cards of my deck, add one to my hand, and return the other two back in any order."

He looked at the top three cards and smirked.

"I think I'll just add this one to my hand: Skilled White Magician (1700/1900). Since I just activated another spell card, my Magical City of Endymion another counter, and Magical Exemplar two. Now I use my Exemplar's effect: once per turn I may sacrifice any number of counters on him, and special summon a spellcaster in my hand or graveyard of an equal level! I choose my Skilled White Magician (1700/1900)!"

A mage in white robes and cloak with a white hood and staff appeared onto the field in a crouching position. On his cloak, there were three half spheres: one on each shoulder, with one on his chest.

"Now, since my Skilled Dark Magician has three spell counters, I can sacrifice him to special summon my Dark Magician (2500/2100) from the graveyard!"

The black robed magician vanished, all three orbs lit up, and was replaced by the iconic purple one, holding his long green staff at the ready.

"Then I activate yet another spell: Foolish Burial. I choose to send Dark Red Enchanter (1700/2200) from my deck to my graveyard, and in the process grant Magical City of Endymion and Skilled White Magician both a spell counter each, and Magical Exemplar, two."

Yami found the appropriate card in his deck and slid it into his graveyard.

" Now, I show you the might of my Citadel: I can remove spell counters from it, once per turn, in place of those belonging to any other card which may require removal of spell counters! So I remove two from my Citadel, and sacrifice Skilled White Magician, who already has one on it, in order to special summon from my deck Buster Blader (2600/2300)!"

The white mage smiled slightly as his three counters dimmed and he vanished, only to be seen placed into the large pot. In his place, a large warrior with purple, silver, and some gold trimmed armor, a purple hood over his head, with red eyes, two small prongs on his head, and a large lance on his back appeared onto the field.

"This ends now! Dark Magician, destroy his Legion Absorber! Dark Magic Attack!"

Raising his staff, the purple armored mage fired a blast of green energy straight at the strange beast. The sphere slammed into it, but was momentarily stopped by an invisible field. Yami looked on it surprise as the Absorber wriggled its body, and the field expanded. The sphere went right back, splitting into three separate ones as it went, and slamming into the trio of monsters on Yami's field (1700/2100) (1800/2300) (900/1400).

(Commander: 8000, Yami: 7700)

"What's this?"

The Commander droned a reply. "When a spell card is activated, Legion Absorber gains an Infection counter. Monsters on the field of the adversary will lose points multiplied by the number of counters present of their current battle position."

Yami frowned. This was not good…. Now even his Buster Blader, as strong as it was, could be defeated by an average level four beatstick.

"Very well," he snarled. "I set my final card facedown and end my turn."

The Commander drew.

"Legion Absorber is shifted to an offensive position."

The sickly thin, frail creature, which had been floating in the air with its legs crossed up until then, stood up right, and gazed across at Yami's Magical Exemplar, Dark Magician, and Buster Blader.

"Normal summon, Tribe-Infecting Virus (1600/1000)."

Appearing next to the skeletal Absorber were three beasts, all covered in disgusting purple warts, and looking as sick as any individual Yami had ever seen. One was a standing, reptilian beast, gagging as its hands clutched its throat. The second looked a bit like a crocodile, rolling around in misery and groaning as searing pain shot through its body. The third looked barely alive, a baby dragon which was basically skin thrown over a skeleton. From behind them, a cat peeked out warily. It seemed to be unaffected by the affliction which harmed the other three.

"Discard, one card. Type declared: spellcaster."

Yami looked on in horror as the skin of the trio of creatures began to change color to a more healthy shade of a pale blue. A dark mist materialized over them, and floated over to Yami's Dark Magician and Magical Exemplar. The Buster Blader snapped his head around in shock as the mist descended upon his two comrades. They fell to the ground, choking in agony as the disease seared their skin. Soon, they were gone.

The ancient Pharaoh looked up fiercely. "You will pay for that!"

The Commander ignored him. "Spell card, activate. Monster Reborn. Special summon, Dark Magician (2500/2100)."

Yami didn't really know what to think anymore. He could only look on helplessly as his favorite monster, the one closest to his soul, the star of his deck, appeared next to the trance inducing monster and the extremely sick triplets. There was a momentary look of fleeting sorrow on its face, but it quickly changed to a derisive sneer.

Meanwhile, since another spell card had been activated, the Legion Absorber gained another Infection counter, meaning Buster Blader (1600/2300) was weakened even further.

"Dark Magician, put offensive tactics into action. Chosen medium of combat: Dark Magic Attack." Yami braced himself as his favorite monster unleashed a devastating sphere of green energy at its former ally and one of its most important partners. The Blader attempted to parry with its sword, but was unable to: the attack ripped right through it and went on, crashing into Yami.

He fell to one knee, gasping in pain.

(Commander: 8000, Yami: 6800)

"Tribe Infecting Virus and Legion Absorber will conclude the offensive sequence."

The dark mist floated over again, choking Yami. Meanwhile, the skeletal absorber slowly walked across the field, a sickly smile spreading across its features. It raised a single, spider like hand, and pressed one finger against Yami's forehead. Indescribable pain shot through him, and he roared in pain, falling down on one knee, unable to breathe.

(Commander: 8000, Yami: 4700)

"Card set. Turn end."

Yami drew heavily. A look at his next card brightened his demeanor, however.

"I play Pot of Avarice, returning Skilled Dark Magician, Skilled White Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Magical Exemplar, and Cybernetic Magician back to my deck so that I may draw two cards."

He did so, and looking over the bare two cards in his hand, a strategy formed in his mind.

"I activate my facedown magic card, Call of the Haunted! I revive Buster Blader (2600/2300)."

He waited with baited breath as the powerful swordsman once again appeared on his field. Without fail, the five Infection counters kicked in, lowering its attack points once again (1600/2300).

"There's still time for a turnaround! I activate the quick-play spell card, Code Change! Now, if there is one card in play with an effect which relates to a particular monster type, I may change that type to any that I desire until the end of the turn. Now, Buster Blader gains five hundred attack points for every dragon type monster on both fields or in both graveyards. Now, I choose to change that to Legion-type!"

The Commander still looked unperturbed as the swordsman's attack points increased once again (2600/2300).

"Now, attack and destroy his Legion Absorber!"

The warrior charged across the field. The sword flew up, and slowly, it fell, severing the head of the terrible monster from its body. It was left rolling to the ground, before both the headless corpse and the head itself vanished into thin air.

(Commander: 5900, Yami: 4700)

"Then I set one card facedown," he breathed. "That ends my turn." Despite the expiration of Code Change's effect, Buster Blader's effect did not change: since the Absorber was off the field, it now retained its original attack points.

"Draw."

The Commander now held five cards to Yami's zero.

"Discard, one card. Type declared: warrior. Tribe Infecting Virus, activate."

Yami smirked as the mist began to float towards his Buster Blader.

"This, time, I'm ready! I chain my facedown Forbidden Chalice! One monster in play gains four hundred attack points, but has its effect negated until the end of the turn. I know just which monster I want to choose…!"

He pointed triumphantly at the Commander's monster as its attack points increased slightly (2000/1000). The mist vanished, however.

The Commander did not seem to perturbed. "Two cards set. Dark Magician and Tribe Infecting Virus, switch to a defensive position. Turn end."

Yami drew calmly. "I play Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards at the cost of discarding two."

He slid two cards into his graveyard. "They were both Repayment of Losses, meaning I can draw an additional two cards. The total number of counters on Magical Citadel of Endymion now numbers five."

Now holding a total of four cards, a strategy began to form in Yami's mind. "Then comes Snatch Steal! I may take control of one monster on your side of the field, at the cost of affording you one thousand life-points per each of your standby-phases. Now, return to me, Dark Magician!"

The grateful mage walked over to Yami's field, taking his place next to Buster Blader.

"Now, Magical Citadel of Endymion has six counters. I can pay all of them in order to special summon to my field from my hand Endymion, the Master Magician (2700/1700)!"

Appearing next to the other two monsters was an even stronger one. He stood nearly seven feet tall, and looking at him, one was reminded of Dark Paladin (2900/2400), which, ironically, was the fusion of the other two monsters present on Yami's field. He was dressed in a purple garb, with lines of ivory blazing through it, interlaced with gold at some points. He had an elaborate magician's hat which was even longer than his head, with two giant ivory tusks attached to his shoulders. He held a long purple staff in his right hand, and gazed out at the Commander angrily.

"When Endymion is special summoned by this means, I may add one spell card from my deck to my hand!" declared Yami. "I choose the third Repayment of Losses."

Finding the card in his deck, he added it to his hand and then surveyed the field.

"Now I activate Endymion's effect: once per turn, I may discard a spell card to destroy one card in play. I send Repayment of Losses, giving me one further draw. My choice is none other than your facedown card on the right!"

The purple magician let out a blast, which slammed into the brown-backed card. It flipped over to reveal Mirror Force, which drew a faint smirk from Yami.

"Now, I switch Dark Magician to attack mode. The duel ends now! Endymion, Dark Magician and Buster Blader all attack you directly!"

The Commander reacted at lightning speed, for the crowd had gone silent around him. "Reverse card, Magic Cylinder, activate. Chosen attack to be redirected: Endymion, the Master Magician."

It was a last-ditch effort which just about saved the Commander. The Blader slammed his sword into his master's adversary's gut, dropping him onto one knee. This allowed a sphere of green energy from the Dark Magician's staff to hit him full on the face, throwing him to the ground. It seemed as if a wave of black flames from Endymion was poised to deal the finishing blow to the Commander, who was already writhing from the electric shocks he was sustaining due to the band attached to his wrist, when a pair of purple cylinders materialized on his field.

Endymion's blast entered one, and seemed to be absorbed. The other one let out a wave of similar colored energy. It slammed into Yami, dropping him to one knee. The mass of gathered Shocktroopers shrieked in bloodlust as pain wracked the nerves of both duelists.

(Commander: 800, Yami: 2000)

Slowly, they struggled upward.

Yami recited his final words, panting. "I end my turn."

The Commander drew easily, seemingly shrugging off the pain he had sustained from the previous attacks.

(Commander: 1800, Yami: 2000)

"Nightmare's Steel Cage, activate."

Yami swore as the familiar, dreaded bars of the shadowy cage materialized around him and his trio of powerful monsters. This would remain active until his second end phase post activation, resulting in both players being unable to attack until then.

"Normal summon, Legion Grey (300/200)."

A tall, thin mutant appeared on the Commander's field, filling it up. It was roughly humanoid, and extremely thin. It had long limbs, blood red eyes, and a large green stone settled in its chest. From its hands spread out numerous, tentacle-like fingers. It's body seemed to be made of pieces of some jet-black material as it bent over at an unnatural angle, leering at Yami.

"Turn end."

Yami drew, snarling in frustration. "I pass, there's nothing I can do!"

The Commander drew. "Monster set, defensive position. Turn end. The opponent may organize tactics."

(Commander: 2800, Yami: 2000)

Yami snapped the top card off his deck, and froze.

Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"Should I do it?" he wondered.

If he did decide to tribute Buster Blader, Dark Magician, and Endymion the Master Magician to summon the legendary Egyptian God, it would have two thousand attack points by virtue of his holding three cards. Was it worth it to give up a combined seventy-seven hundred attack points for a mere two thousand?

He stared long and hard at the red-rimmed card.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Flashback

"You seem to forget that as long as Obelisk is in play, even your most powerful monsters don't have a hope of defeating me."

"Arrogance is appalling," replied Jason softly. "No one monster can ever win a duel. Don't you know that?"

Yami was dumbfounded. He himself remembered saying these words to Marik back in Battle City, when he had first defeated Slifer the Sky Dragon. Had he become so accustomed to using the Gods that he believed victory was automatic when their power was used? No, he told himself. He had defeated Marik without using the God's power.

End Flashback

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Flashback

Jason's words had struck a chord in him. Since then, he had felt uneasy even when he looked at one of them.

"Do it, Yami," echoed Yugi's voice, bearing down on him. "Finish it."

Yami closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked up, glaring at the Paradox brothers. "This is the end. I sacrifice my Tricky, and Yugi's Twilight Shadow Steel General and Shield Guardian to call upon the one monster that will send you and your Dark Guardian to the void."

End Flashback

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yami spoke slowly, enunciating each word carefully.

"I set a card and end my turn."

He folded the remaining cards in his hand tight against his wrist.

As he spoke, the Nightmare's Steel Cage exploded, freeing up the trinity of Yami's monsters.

The Commander drew.

"Flip summon, Legion Shocktrooper (1900/1400)."

The appearance of the centaur-like creature drew roars of approval from the spectating extraterrestrials.

"Legion Shocktrooper and Legion Grey are tuned. Synchro Summon, Legion Avatar – Spike Dragon King (2400/2000)."

The two monsters materialized into glowing white orbs. One of them split into two smaller ones, specifically the orb of which Legion Gray was a source. The trio formed a triangle, which began to expand and fill the entire field with green light. Appearing from within the light was a large dragon, covered in lime scales. It had two large horns over its eyes, each glowing a dark crimson. Four large wings cast shadows over the Commander's field. A large green stone remained embedded in the creature's chest.

"Spike Dragon King's effect, activate. Five spell cards are removed from the opponent's graveyard, and Spike Dragon King gains three hundred attack points per removed card."

Yami's eyes bulged as the dragon's attack points went through the roof (3900/2000).

"Once per turn, Spike Dragon allows me to activate the effect of a removed from play spell. Choice: Fissure. Dark Magician is destroyed."

A grizzly hand emerged from the ground and pulled the magician into a gaping cavern.

"Legion Avatar – Spike Dragon King targets Buster Blader in battle."

Yami continued to watch on as the horrific dragon slammed its horn into the Blader's chest. The swordsman attempted to fend him off with his weapon, but it was to no avail. He let out a pained cry before he shattered into millions of pixels.

(Commander: 2800, Yami: 700)

"Turn end. The enemy's chances of success are postulated to be two point seven four percent under present circumstances."

"Wouldn't you like that to be true?" snapped Yami. "I chain my facedown Mirage Ruler, which will allow me to special summon each monster that was destroyed last turn back to my field in face-up attack mode, and return my life-points to their previous level."

As he spoke, the Dark Magician (2500/2100) and Buster Blader (2600/2300) rematerialized next to Endymion.

As he drew, a thought passed his mind. "I have no choice….."

Heavily, he plucked the three cards off his deck. "Very well, playtime is over. I sacrifice Buster Blader, Dark Magician and Endymion, the Master Magician, to call upon my Egyptian God card! Arise, the Saint Dragon, the God of Osiris: SLFIER THE SKY DRAGON!"

As these words rung from his mouth, the entire area seemed to freeze momentarily, all sounds coming to a halt.

Then the peace was torn asunder.

Black clouds had begun to gather overhead, pulsing with the omnipotent power of the gods. Far off in the distance the cry of thunder resounded, and lightning streaked across the winds of one of the most powerful storms began to beat against both duelists, but they were about to find out that these winds were not from a mortal storm.

They were the winds of wings beating. And the sound's provider was emerging from the largest of the thunderheads.

The monster could easily have stretched out to be three miles in total length, with mighty claws reared out before it. The mighty pinions of the dragon came out to darken the playing field, while at the same time it's two golden eyes scanned the arena, wise yet brutal in combat. From both of its double maws there was a constant rumbling, like the onset of contained thunder, ready and willing to strike out at any moment. It's great coils throbbed and undulated with every spasm of its sinewy muscles, while it's long claws dug deep into the earth as it let fly it's mighty roar, as though to challenge all that stood against it.

"The heavens twist and thunder roars, signaling the coming of this ancient creature, and the dawn of true power."

The Commander looked on stonily at the mighty God, which absolutely dwarfed the dragon on his field.

"Slifer has attack points equivalent to one thousand multiplied by the number of cards in my hand," continued Yami. "I hold three, meaning Slifer has three thousand attack points!"

"The opponent's monster is registered as being weaker than Legion Avatar- Spike Dragon King," droned the Commander.

"Perhaps now," replied Yami. "It will be, however, when I activate the Card of Sanctity!"

Yami quickly drew till he held a full hand, while Slifer let out such a loud screech that it caused all the Shocktrooper's to cry out in pain (6000/6000).

"Still not enough…." Yami thought, looking at the two monsters. Slifer could easily crush the Legion Avatar, but the Commander would survive with seven hundred life-points remaining. Yami was tiring fast…. He had to end the duel now.

"I play this continuous spell card: Technique Desecration! This can only be activated if the both of us have only one monster in play, each. Now, during each player's turn, their monster gains the effect of the other until the end of the turn. Now, I can activate the effect to use one removed from play spell card: My choice is none other than Graceful Charity! I draw three cards and then discard two: both of which happen to be A Second Chance, which can be removed from play in my graveyard to allow me to draw two cards each, for a total of four!"

The Commander took a step back in shock, as Yami pointed triumphantly.

"Now, Slifer the Sky Dragon (9000/9000), obliterate his Spike Dragon King! THUNDER FORCE!"

Upon heeding the final command, the legendary God unsealed the first of its two mouths, and within this collected an orb of thunderous energy that could be felt even from the sidelines. As this ultimate weapon of damnation grew ever wider, the skies and the earth grew brighter with the immense luminosity that had become Slifer, for the dragon itself was glowing with the same strength as Ra itself. As for its accursed target, the Legion Avatar was so fixated on the approaching doom that it could not even try to avoid the assault. And for a moment, and only to the well-trained eye, only a giant crimson, sinuous form was visible. But this view was fleeting at best, and within a moment, all was engulfed in a flash of brilliant white, in which stood the two duelists.

(Commander: 0, Yami: 2000)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I set my final card facedown," chuckled Quinn, sliding it into his spell and trap card zone. "That will do it for me."

Mandarin drew, wincing from the burns that covered his body, and grunted once again as Fortification Fusion drained him of one thousand of his life-points.

(Quinn: 24800, Mandarin: 23800)

"I summon Stronghold Shadow – Golem (200/2000)."

Appearing on Mandarin's side of the field was a hulking, barely humanoid figure. It was covered mostly in darkness, and the details of its features were somewhat difficult to make out. Through observing its silhouette, however, it was possible to determine that the being was composed entirely of rock which seemed to have been put together in a roughly human shape, complete with limbs and a head, and animated with a kind of sorcery.

Quinn threw his head back and let out a shriek-like laugh. The green energy began to come off his body once again, slamming into the golem's body. The darkness began to fade, and the energy waves left deep scars on their victim.

"STOP THIS!" howled Mandarin.

Quinn continued to laugh derisively, eying his opponent with a disdainful look.

"GOLEM! SHOW HIM THE MEANING OF PAIN!"

Just the third non-fusion Stronghold Shadow used by Mandarin during the duel charged across, and threw as powerful a punch as it could in the direction of Quinn. He snorted and caught the gigantic rock fist in his right hand. The force of the bunch sent a small jolt of pain up his arm, but it was easily ignorable. It took a single flick of his wrist in order to snap the golem's arm. It let out a pained groan. Strangely, the Stronghold Shadow seemed far more damaged then Quinn himself.

(Quinn: 24600, Mandarin: 23800)

"Are you finished?" sang the demented young man.

"When Stronghold Shadow – Golem deals you damage, I may add one level four or lower Stronghold Shadow from my deck to my hand. I choose Stronghold Shadow – Sentinel (1000/1000). Now I move to Main Phase 2."

As he spoke, he quickly located the card and added it to his hand.

"During Main Phase 2, if I have another Stronghold Shadow in play, I may special summon Sentinel to the field. Arise!"

Mandarin gave a grand flourish as a tall, handsome man appeared next to the dark rock-like beast. He wore silver battle armor and held a European broadsword in one hand, nearly six feet long. It had diamonds of various colors embedded in its hilt. On his other arm was a gleaming shield with the symbol of a lion on it. He held a green banner in that hand, with gold hair falling to his shoulders.

"One thousand attack points will not go a far way to scare me," Quinn retorted with a mocking yawn.

Mandarin's eyes gleamed. "Keep talking, boy, keep talking. If Fortification Fusion is in play, the effect of my Sentinel will grant one Stronghold Shadow in play an additional battle phase after my Main Phase 2, at the cost of five hundred of his defense points. I choose the Sentinel (1000/500) himself, obviously. Now, cut him to pieces!"

The knight charged gallantly towards Quinn, dropping the banner. He brought the sword down in the direction of his master's adversary as he hard as he could. Quinn did not even dignify him with a look, and yet was able to catch the blade in between his thumb and forefinger. Looking up, a brief look of irritation crossed his face: the blade had nicked his thumb and drawn a bit of blood.

"That wasn't very nice."

The blade suddenly began to glow with emerald energy. The knight looked on in amazement, trying to pull it away from Quinn's grip. For some reason, he simply could not. In fear, as the blade began to heat up, he even attempted to drop it and make off, but it seemed glued to his hand. Quinn's wrist tensed, and several bolts of green power shot up the length of the sword and electrocuted the knight where he stood. For a minute, it was so blinding that one could not even see what was going on: finally, when they were able to do so, the result was horrifying.

Trekking back to Mandarin's field was something that could no longer be classified as a human being. Its skin was seared to the bone, which could be heard rattling in its armor. It barely had a face any longer, and no weapons to speak of.

"That's a preview for what you have coming to you, Mandarin," chuckled Quinn, obviously amused by his opponent's discomfort.

(Quinn: 23600, Mandarin: 23800)

"You talk an awful lot for somebody on the back foot," snapped Mandarin. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Quinn let out an exaggerated yawn as he drew.

"What was Jason thinking about…." he mumbled. "Ah, yes…."

He held up the card to a stunned Mandarin without even looking at it first. He also called out its name before he did so.

"The Card of Demise."

"How…. What on Earth…?" blustered the older man.

Quinn grinned at him, a sick, bloodthirsty grin. "See that guillotine there? You're going to be praying for that soon."

Quickly he picked up the top five cards from his deck.

"Now…. Ah yes this should do it. I activate the facedown Call of the Haunted in order to special summon one monster from my graveyard. Come and burn this cretin to the ground, Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)."

The writhing, serpentine wyvern covered in flames once again materialized onto Quinn's field.

"Next I chain Inferno Reckless Summon," he sang.

Rikuo, Bakura and Deondre were all staring at him oddly. Sarah, meanwhile, had all but buried her head between her knees. It seemed all she could do to hold back her tears.

"Since Solar Flare Dragon was special summoned, and his attack points are less than fifteen hundred, I can call upon two more copies from my deck. You also have the advantage of special summoning as many copies possible of a monster you have in play, although the restriction of fifteen hundred attack points does not apply in your case. I'm sure you don't have the intelligence to make any use of it so it's hardly a concern."

Mandarin glowered at him. "I'll show you…. Come, two more Stronghold Shadow – Golems (200/2000) (x2), this time in defense mode."

Another pair of dark, rocky figures appeared on Mandarin's field, covered in black, misty fog.

"How pitiful," spat Quinn, as two more fiery dragons appeared on his field (1500/1000) (x2).

"You're one to talk," shot back Mandarin. "Your dragons cannot match my Golem's defense points!"

"Perhaps, but your Sentinel and attack mode Golem can be picked apart," replied Quinn lazily. "Solar Flare Dragons one, destroy his Sentinel.

The flaming dragons howled and flapped its wings, making its way across the field. Opening its maw, waves of flames issued forth. They washed over the knight that Quinn had disfigured not five minutes ago, reducing the already seared man to a pile of ashes.

Mandarin fell to one knee as his chest tightened, pain searing his body.

(Quinn: 23600, Mandarin: 23300)

"Ah, don't worry," chuckled Quinn. "Your Sentinel was already dead, all my Solar Flare Dragon did was put the corpse out of commission. Now that's been done, my other lizard can burn your pathetic Golem away to nothingness."

Mandarin's eyes bulged as the flames issued forth again, this time from the middle wyvern. They slammed into the remnants of the darkness, setting the rock alight. The Golem let out a small groan of pain before the flames completely consumed him, leaving nothing behind.

(Quinn: 23600, Mandarin: 21000)

"Then I set one card facedown and end my turn," finished Jason's second personality.

As he spoke, all three dragons suddenly opened their maws and let lose identical spheres of flames simultaneously. They slammed into Mandarin, who had just gotten to his feet, and knocked him back down again. His skin was glowing a bright red. Only the magic of the Shadow Game was preventing him from feeling the agony.

"What…." he choked.

"Solar Flare Dragon deals you five hundred points of damage during my end phase," said Quinn, almost bored.

(Quinn: 23600, Mandarin: 19500)

The master of the Valley of Spirits staggered upward.

"I draw…" he groaned, eyeing Quinn with the utmost hatred.

"Then I pay one thousand life-points to keep Fortification Fusion in play," he breathed.

(Quinn: 23600, Mandarin: 18500)

Mandarin observed the two cards in his hand.

"I fuse my two Golems," he growled heavily.

Quinn raised an eyebrow as the pair of shadowy rock figures were pulled into a vortex. Slowly appearing from within it was a towering form. It stood nearly ten feet tall, and from one end to another was nearly as broad as the both of its fusion components combined. The new creature was not covered in shadows like its predecessors, and instead seemed to be glowing with blazing flames which were located deep within its own being. The creature was made of a deep black obsidian rock, and had two heads sprouting out of its broader than usual neck in grotesque fashion.

"You now face my Stronghold Shadow – Giga Rock Golem (1000/3000)," growled Mandarin.

"If three thousand defense points are supposed to scare me, you'll have to do better than that," sneered Quinn. "I'm not used to being afraid of walls: instead, I prefer to tear them down."

"You're rather mistaken," spat Mandarin with a derisive sneer. "Stronghold Shadow – Giga Rock Golem cannot be placed in defense mode. However, it has a rather helpful effect to make up for it: once per turn, I can reduce its defense points by the attack points of one monster you have in play. In doing so, I can destroy that particular monster. So I drain fifteen hundred of his defense points in order to obliterate one of your Solar Flare Dragons!"

The now weakened Golem (1000/1500) raised its arm, and curled its fingers into a fist, which began to glow with flames. Drawing it back, it unleashed a wave of red fire in the direction of one of the three dragons on Jason's field. In response, the wyvern let lose a stream of flames of its own. The two attacks clashed, and struggled momentarily before that of the Golem won out and incinerated the dragon.

"Don't forget that since my Golem's defense points were reduced, by the effect of Special Relativity Field you lose an equal number of life-points!"

(Quinn: 22100, Mandarin: 18500)

"I then set one card facedown and end my turn," concluded Mandarin nastily.

Quinn drew.

"Time to speed this up, don't you think? I activate my facedown Polymerization."

The spectators, with the exception of Sarah, who had a very agitated look on her face, all perked up with interest as the two dragons slammed into each other. They began to swirl in a vortex similar to the one that Mandarin's two Golems had disappeared into, and from within it emerged a similar result to Mandarin's fusion one turn earlier: a monster with a body nearly the same as the two of its components, but with two identical heads. It also had a pair of large wings which flared out behind it, unlike its snake-like components.

"You now face Solar Eruption Dragon (2500/1500)," commented Quinn.

Mandarin narrowed his eyes as the twin-headed creature threw back both its heads.

"Now it will attack your pathetic Golem," chuckled Quinn.

The dragon let lose streams of flames from both its maws. Just as it seemed as if the Giga Rock Golem was going to meet its end, Mandarin tapped a button on his Duel Disk. The golem collapsed onto one knee, and crossed its giant arms over its chest. The flames crashed against the humanoid's guard, but for some reason were unable to burn through.

"I activated my facedown Shadow Guard," explained Mandarin. "At the cost of the level of a Stronghold Shadow multiplied by one hundred, I can switch it to defense mode until the end of the turn, and return its defense points back to their original value (1000/3000)!"

(Quinn: 23100, Mandarin: 17500)

Quinn scoffed. "You're beginning to bore me, Mandarin. I set one card facedown and end my turn."

As he spoke, the dragon unleashed two spheres of flames from its jaws. They slammed into Mandarin, bringing him down to one knee.

"I forgot to mention that annoying little detail that on any turn that Solar Eruption Dragon does not deal you battle damage, his effect deals you a further one thousand damage during my end phase."

(Quinn: 23100, Mandarin: 16500)

Mandarin drew, with a queasy look on his face as his continuous trap drained him of a further one thousand life-points.

(Quinn: 23100, Mandarin: 15500)

"I sacrifice twenty-five hundred of my Giga Rock Golem's defense points to send your pathetic dragon into the Abyss!" spat Mandarin.

The Golem (1000/500) groaned softly, and stood up, metal body parts creaking as it did. It trudged across the field and grasped the writhing dragon's heads in its hands, before slamming them into each other hard. The wyvern wailed before it was shattered into millions of tiny pixels, with not a trace remaining.

"And since I reduced the defense points of Giga Rock Golem by twenty-five hundred, you lose that many life-points," crowed Mandarin.

(Quinn: 20600, Mandarin: 15500)

Quinn paused, pretending to examine his fingernails. He was aware of the fact that Mandarin had fixed him with a furious glare for the lack of attention he was paying his opponent, and looked up with a grin.

"You will pay for not taking me seriously," choked Mandarin.

"I'm enjoying the open air for the first time in eight years," retorted Quinn. "Excuse me for not being a stick in the mud like Jason."

Rikuo broke in, his voice teetering on the brink of confusion and anger.

"You're….. You're referring to Becker in third person?"

Quinn turned to face him. "You catch on quickly, don't you?" he said disdainfully.

The Wolf Demon General's features became marred with anger. "Where the hell is he?"

Quinn gave him a withering look.

"C'mon, didn't anybody miss me? I make an entrance after nearly a decade and people are just asking me questions about a scared little boy who didn't understand the power he possessed, and was unable to control it either. Isn't my sparkling personality a breath of fresh air after the dreariness of that fool?"

Rikuo just glared at him.

Bakura took a step forward. "We want answers. Now."

Quinn looked amused. "You lot are hardly in a position to make demands. But if you are so achingly desperate to understand my origins, why don't you ask Sarah over there about them? Or better yet, Eizan. I'd suggest you hurry because once I'm finished with this bald guy I'm going to make him wish he was never born."

He raised his free hand. It crackled with green energy as a devilish look entered his eyes.

"I have a duel to finish, so figure things out yourself. The planet is going to hell anyway, I want to enjoy myself after spending so long cooped up in a tiny sector of Jason's subconscious. I'm not going to bother answering your pitiful questions."

The Wolf Demon General, Thief King, and Deondre all turned to look at Sarah pointedly.

She was clutching her hand to her chest, a pensive look in her eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Flashback

Seated on one of the sofas, with a mop of thick, long hair coming down over his eyes while his head was bent forward, was a twelve-year old boy. He wore a simply, black T-Shirt with spotless blue jeans. Nothing seemed out of place about him, not his raven-like hair, his lean build, or his brown eyes. No, it was his blank expression that seemed very strange.

Sarah looked cautiously at Eizan, who forced a smile and nodded. She tip-toed towards him, being watched by the others all the time.

"Hi," she said, rather breathlessly. "I'm Sarah."

The boy did not break his staring match with the floor. "Sarah," she repeated. "Sarah Taylor. What's your name?"

A barely audible, emotionless voice left the boy's mouth. "Jason."

The level of blankness in the syllables he had just enunciated caused the adults to flinch. But the innocence of childhood had not left Sarah, and she didn't seem to notice. She sat herself on the couch next to him.

End Flashback

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Now Sarah knew why Eizan had been so uncomfortable on that day.

He had seen Quinn before.

Sarah had never encountered him, thankfully, with only five further appearances occurring post the first time she met Jason.

Brian had. The stories…..

On the face of it, Quinn hadn't done anything crazy yet. Well, she supposed, blowing up the palace while they were all standing in it probably did count. It was more how he blew it up that had shocked the hell out of her rather than the fact that he had blown it up. That perfectly fit what Eizan had told her about Quinn's personality.

But where the hell had he gotten that kind of power. Jason had never exhibited any kind of paranormal abilities.

Bakura seemed to be losing his patience. "Now listen here, girl-…"

"Can you cut her some slack?" admonished Ryou through their mental link.

"What are you talking about?" grumbled his darker half.

Ryou replied in an exasperated fashion. "For Pete's sake Bakura just because I'm used to having a crazed separate personality in my life doesn't even everyone else is! Let me handle this."

Bakura was in the process of formulating an affronted remark which began with the words, "You're calling me a crazed separate -…" before Ryou forcibly took control of his body and put Bakura's grumbling consciousness back into the Millennium Ring.

He went up to Sarah and spoke to her softly.

"Sarah…. Can you please tell us what's going on here?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sinuous form of Slifer the Sky Dragon remained in front of Yami, roaring out at any potential challengers. Its controller had fallen down onto one knee, gasping with the exertion of calling out the second most powerful monster he had at his disposal.

The Shocktroopers had formed a ring around him, evidently stunned by the ease with which he had put down their Commander whose deck was specifically designed to counter his spellcaster theme. He allowed himself a pained grin which almost seemed more like a sort of ugly grimace.

He knew none of the surrounding Shocktroopers would have the courage to take him on at this point, either physically or in a duel, what with Slifer the Sky Dragon currently in play. Maybe it was time to put the next phase of his plan into action.

"Slifer…." he called out weakly.

"Return."

Painfully, he plucked the card off his Duel Disk and slid it back into his deck. With a terrifying roar, the legendary Egyptian God of the sky disappeared into nothingness.

The blow came just as Yami had expected it. A powerful punch to the side of his head which he could quite frankly have easily blocked. But that would be rather counterproductive, wouldn't it? There was a short jolt of pain before he finally let the darkness take him and slipped into temporary unconsciousness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Delightful…." mused the figure.

The Pharaoh was definitely all that he was cracked up to be, indeed.

Now the old man was his. He hadn't expected it to be this easy, but with the power of the Legion at his command, anything was possible.

It was time to set up the rematch of the millennium. With some strings attached, of course.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Quinn was succeeding in infuriating Mandarin even further.

"Just you wait, impudent brat," snarled Mandarin. "I am going to rip you to pieces. Rather, my Stronghold Shadows will do it for me. Giga Rock Golem, attack his life-points directly!"

A stream of black energy exited the palm of the towering, twin-headed beast, and slammed into Quinn. He raised a hand with a bored look on his face, and a translucent green energy shield appeared in front of him. The black energy struggled against it momentarily, but was soon deflected away, striking the ground and leaving a small, dark patch.

(Quinn: 19600, Mandarin: 15500)

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn," finished Mandarin, eying Quinn with a fixed stare.

"Quit looking at me like that," snapped Quinn as he drew. "It's really starting to piss me off. And pissing somebody off the first time they have some real freedom after eight years isn't a very nice thing to do, is it?"

Mandarin shirked away, an angry snarl disfiguring his face.

"Since you don't seem in the mood to be nice, neither will I….. Here comes Magic Shard Excavation. By discarding two cards from my hand, both of which happens to be Repayment of Losses, granting me two further draws, I can add one spell card in my graveyard to my hand. How about Level Modulation, which Jason was so kind as to dump in the graveyard during the first turn? I'll play it immediately, allowing you two further draws, which I'm sure you're incapable of taking advantage of, in order to special summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 (3000/1800) to the field in attack mode."

A pair of metal feet suddenly appeared on the field, and metal claws shot out of them. From there, small, beefy, metal legs emerged, and soon a metal, rough body attached to it. After, a pair of metal arms showed up, with metal, pointy wings on the back. The shape started resembling a towering dragon materialized onto Jason's field. Attached to its back were thick, dark-metal wings. It had quite a defined physique

"So your favorite monster rises once more," spat Mandarin. "I'd like to see the good it can do. Especially since it cannot attack on its first turn when being special summoned by the effect of Level Modulation."

"Oh you will," drawled Quinn. "Are you familiar with the phrase "rules are meant to be broken"? Here comes Quick Attack."

Mandarin's eyes bulged as the silver leviathan opened its jaws, and black flames began to build within them.

"Black Flare Inferno Cannon."

Its crimson eyes glinted as the dragon let lose a stream of flames in the direction of the Golem.

"Hold on!" spat Mandarin. "I am not as foolish as you would like me to be. Level Modulation allows the monster special summoned by said effect to neither attack nor activate its effect the turn it is summoned. You got around the attack restriction with Quick Attack, but I may still activate spell cards if I so wish. I use my facedown card, which happens to be a second copy of a quick-play spell I'm sure you're familiar with: De-Fusion!"

The two headed golem dematerialized into two small spheres just as the wave of flames was about to slam into it. The spheres began to grow larger until they took the shape of the two original Stronghold Shadow – Golems (200/2000) (x2) that were the Giga Rock Golem's components. They took their place on Mandarin's field, flanking the empty space where the Giga Rock Golem had resided just seconds earlier.

"Now a replay occurs," continued Mandarin nastily.

Quinn shrugged. "Very well. Obviously your monsters have been special summoned in defense mode, but Horus shall target the one on the left in any case."

The dragon spat out another stream of flames, but Mandarin was ready, again.

"I chain the effect of a certain monster in my graveyard I'm sure you will remember: Stronghold Shadow – Defender (0/2000)! Once per duel, I may remove it from play in order to negate the attack of one of your monsters which targets a Stronghold Shadow on my field. You gain one draw, however."

As he finished speaking, an invisible barrier materialized between the two Golems and the attack of Horus, preventing the latter from reaching the former.

"If you want to keep delaying the inevitable, why don't you do it in a constructive manner?" suggested Quinn. "Get something to eat, pray to whichever God you believe in: it makes more sense to spend the penultimate minutes of your life like that then scrabbling to save your monsters, wouldn't you agree?"

"Your arrogance will be your undoing, boy," snapped Mandarin. "I will make you pay during my own move. "

"I both these cards facedown and end my turn," finished Quinn, ignoring the furious words of his opponent.

Mandarin drew.

"Perfect…." This time, he could not help but groan in pain as Fortification Fusion drained him of even more life-points.

(Quinn: 19600, Mandarin: 14500)

"I activate my facedown Call of the Haunted, to special summon the Stronghold Shadow – Golem (200/2000) that your pathetic Solar Flare Dragon destroyed a few turns ago."

Joining the two monsters on Mandarin's field was another one that looked exactly the same.

"Your end has arrived!" cried out Mandarin. "I use my continuous trap to fuse all three Golems to bring out one of the most powerful monsters my deck is capable of producing. Arise, Stronghold Shadow – Titan Czar Golem (1000/5000)!"

The trio of monsters were sucked into a vortex once again, and from within it began to emerge a colossal form, easily a match with Horus for size. Unlike its predecessors, the regular Stronghold Shadow – Golem, and Giga Rock Golem, the new arrival was made of a dark toned metal. In a strange way it looked quite mechanical, with its hulking arms connected to its overly huge chest by barely visible wires. In fact, every single part of its body seemed to be out of proportion. Its arms were a lot thicker from the elbow up until its hand, which was actually just a curved slab of steel, while the section from elbow to shoulder was rather spindly in comparison. Its head was barely a tenth the size of its torso, with two sky blue, slit-like eyes peering out at Horus. A small blue diamond was embedded in its chest.

"Just like my other Stronghold Shadow fusions, he cannot be special summoned in defense mode. However, as I'm sure you would have guessed, it has all kinds of abilities at its fingertips. For instance, I may reduce its defense points by one thousand in order to destroy one card on your field."

The fusion monster spread out its arms and let out a thunderous roar. The glowing diamond began to crackle with blue energy, spitting out a long beam at Mandarin's command, in the direction of Horus.

"You're mistaking me for an amateur and that is going to be your undoing," yawned Quinn. "I chain my facedown Interdimensional Matter Transporter, which removes Horus from play until the end of the turn. Really now…. Did you expect me not to be prepared for a stunt like that?"

Just as the blue energy was going to hit the dragon, it disappeared into empty space. The beam struck a patch of the ground where Horus had been, leaving a dark burn mark.

"And now you get to deal me one thousand battle damage. I'm terrified," drawled Quinn sarcastically.

Meanwhile, a jolt of electricity shot up his body. After all, since the Titan Czar Golem (1000/4000) had lost defense points, Special Relativity Field dealt Quinn an equal amount of damage.

(Quinn: 18600, Mandarin: 14500)

"Not exactly," chuckled Mandarin. He gave a grand flourish.

"By removing one of Titan Czar Golem's fusion materials from play, I may switch his attack and defense points until the end phase!"

He slid one of the Stronghold Shadow – Golem cards from his graveyard, and the metallic beast on his field began to glow (4000/1000).

"Since it lost three thousand defense points and gained an equal number of attack points, Special Relativity Field benefits me and burns you!"

(Quinn: 15600, Mandarin: 17500)

"Now my almighty Stronghold Shadow – Titan Czar Golem will attack your life-points directly!"

The metallic colossus on Mandarin's field unleashed a searing beam of energy in Quinn's direction from the diamond in its chest. It hit him full-on, and as it did, his green aura flared. Blue and green energies clashed momentarily, before the latter finally won out, throwing the energy away from Quinn. The damage, however, was done.

(Quinn: 11600, Mandarin: 17500)

"Main Phase two. I play this continuous spell card, Temple of the Kings. Now I may activate trap cards on the same turn that I set them."

A sick grin spread across his face.

"Now, you see the ultimate combination that my Stronghold Shadows form with Special Relativity Field. I set and activate on the same turn, this: Bad Reaction to Simochi!"

The infamous continuous trap materialized next to Fortification Fusion and Temple of the Kings.

Quinn chuckled. "So your plan as of now is to drain me of my life-points by increasing your monsters' defense points, and instead deal me that much damage through your continuous trap? This is going to be a hell of a lot easier than I thought."

Mandarin seemed to get even more riled up by that comment. "You're all talk and no action! Watch, now, as I end my turn. Although I lose the life-points I gained when my Titan Czar Golem's attack points changed, mine are merely returned to their original value. However, thanks to Bad Reaction to Simochi, you lose three thousand points, which my fusion gains back as his defense points. In fact, every time you make an attempt to increase your monster's attack points, the combination of effects of Special Relativity Field and Bad Reaction to Simochi will drain you of that many life-points!"

Quinn still seemed unworried. Mandarin was too busy basking in his glory to notice, otherwise he would've begun boiling with rage.

"I set my final card. Enter End Phase. Now my Titan Czar Golem's attack and defense scores get reset to one thousand and four thousand respectively, meaning the both of us lose three thousand life-points!"

Just as he finished speaking, Mandarin gagged as his life-points were drained. Quinn seemed unaffected, however. Then, Horus rematerialized.

(Quinn: 8600, Mandarin: 14500)

"It is my draw," intoned Quinn, snapping the top card off his deck and looking at it.

"I set this one card facedown. Now Horus will target your Titan Czar Golem. Black Flare Inferno Cannon."

A stream of jet black flames exited the mouth of the silver wyrm. Just as they were about to impact, Mandarin tapped a button on his Duel Disk.

"I activate my continuous trap card, Astral Barrier! Now I may allow any attack you declare to become a direct one to my life-points if I have a monster in play."

The titanic, mechanical golem took a brief step aside, narrowly avoiding the flames, which went on to hit Mandarin in the chest. He let out a howl of pain as he was knocked off his feet. The black fire continued to lick at his skin, and a malicious grin graced Quinn's face.

(Quinn: 8600, Mandarin: 11500)

"You like the pain, don't you? I can tell. Any fool who would use a card as pathetic as Astral Barrier must be a masochist. Why did the first person I get to kill after all this time have to be someone who enjoys it?"

He chuckled, and added following an afterthought, "Oh, my mistake…. You're technically the second, although the first was barely alive to begin with. You could say I just put his corpse out of commission. Not a very nice gift to someone who allowed me to take temporary control of the body in the first place, but then again, who said I was nice?"

These words drew a startled glance from the people on the sidelines.

Sarah broke her silence for the first time in a trembling voice. "You… You've come out before?"

Quinn turned to look at her. "Oh yes, Sarah. I'd almost forgotten you exist. Jason was a scared little bitch underneath it all. I've had my moments, yes, and he was a little too foolish to realize it. Even if he did, he was likely to terrified at the thought of the consequences that would ensue if he revealed it to anyone, he kept it under wraps. In a way his weakness proved to be a benefit, didn't it? Jason and I complement each other perfectly. He screwed up enough, now I suppose I can clean his mess up and take some time to enjoy myself."

Sarah's eyes widened with shock, but Quinn had already turned away from her, and was looking back at Mandarin.

"I end my turn."

Mandarin drew and swore as his life-points took a further dip.

(Quinn: 8600, Mandarin: 10500)

"Your end is drawing near," he growled. "I sacrifice one thousand more of my Titan Czar Golem's defense points in order to obliterate your pathetic dragon!"

The metallic monster's (1000/3000) chest piece began to glow again, unleashing a stream of blue energy.

"Predictable," scoffed Quinn. "I chain my facedown trap card Black Soul Flare. If I have a monster with the word Horus in its name, I can special summon from my deck another monster with the same. However, its level must be lower than the one I already have."

"How pitiful," spat Mandarin. "All you will be able to get is your pathetic Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 to protect your life-points."

Quinn's emerald eyes flared momentarily.

"Wrong."

An Egyptian man dressed in a white battle skirt, white armor over his chest, a black cape on his back, and a golden helmet on his head appeared onto the field in a crouching stance.

"What is that creature?" exploded Mandarin.

"A useless, servile monster called Horus' Servant (100/100). As long as it remains in play, any card with Horus in its name is unaffected by your card effects. Since your useless fusion's effect may only be used once per turn, Horus is safe."

"But your life-points are not!" roared Mandarin.

Quinn barely acknowledged the jolt of energy which went up his body.

(Quinn: 7600, Mandarin: 10500)

"Now I remove a second Stronghold Shadow – Golem, in order to swap my Titan Czar Golem's attack and defense points!"

The metallic monstrosity glowed once again as its stats were altered (3000/1000).

"You lose life-points once again!" crowed Mandarin.

(Quinn: 5600, Mandarin: 12500)

"Next turn your lizard will not be so lucky! Titan Czar Golem, destroy his Horus' Servant!"

The fusion charged up another sphere of energy, which headed in the direction of the small man. Just as it was about to impact, a total pole materialized between the attacker and its target. It let lose a wave of sonic energy, causing the attack to vanish.

"Command Silencer?" roared an infuriated Mandarin.

Quinn didn't even deign him a response in the affirmative as he drew a card.

"Fine," he spat. "I enter my end phase. Now, both of us lose two thousand life-points. I can afford it, unlike you!"

The Titan Czar Golem (1000/3000) glowed once, and both duelists felt sharp pangs of pain.

(Quinn: 3600, Mandarin: 10500)

"Next turn it will be all over!" roared Mandarin. "My Astral Barrier prevents Horus from destroying Titan Czar Golem, and all I need to do is switch his attack and defense scores once more, and Special Relativity Field will do the rest."

It was almost shocking to witness. Staring in the face of certain defeat with a two card hand, Quinn still didn't seem to be in the least bit worried. In fact, he looked almost bored.

"I set both cards facedown. Now, Horus will attack your Titan Czar Golem."

"Astral Barrier protects it," came the hoarse reply, as the flames bypassed the titanic golem and slammed into him.

(Quinn: 3600, Mandarin: 7500)

"That will do it."

Mandarin drew shakily, and groaned again.

(Quinn: 3600, Mandarin: 6500)

"I remove the final Stronghold Shadow – Golem," he breathed. His lone monster's attack and defense points fluctuated once again (3000/1000), as did the two players' life-points.

(Quinn: 1600, Mandarin: 8500)

"This is the end," he gasped. "I move into my end phase."

As he fell to one knee, expecting his Duel Disk to power down, he caught a look at the life-point counters.

(Quinn: 3600, Mandarin: 10500)

He then looked at Quinn's field. Flanking Horus along with Horus' Servant was what seemed to be a six-winged, yellow dragon. It had a slender, glittering body and two-pronged claws. A sharp, orange-eyed glare originated from the beak-like face of the dragon, which had spike-shaped ears.

And oddly enough, Quinn was holding two cards: his hand had been empty at the end of the previous turn.

"Prime-…. Prime Material Dragon (2400/2000)?" spluttered Mandarin.

Quinn lazily indicated the two spell and trap cards on his field.

"The first card I activated was a quick-play spell called Gift of the Wyvern. By sending a level six or lower dragon my deck to my graveyard, I may draw one card for every one thousand attack points that the sent monster possesses. Following that, I activate my facedown trap Rebirth of Soul. I may only do so if a monster with the word "Horus" in its name is on my field. I can choose one dragon-type monster in my graveyard with a level lower than Horus and special summon it to my field. Since Prime Material Dragon is level six, it fits the criteria rather snugly. Finally, Prime Material Dragon's effect ensures that any damage to my life-points as a result of a card effect is converted to life-point gain instead."

Mandarin was silently fuming. He hadn't even bothered to try and get rid of either Horus or Horus' Servant as he had anticipated an instant victory. Now, since all three Stronghold Shadow – Golems had been removed from play, he couldn't even switch the attack and defense points of his Titan Czar Golem.

"And now my turn commences," continued Quinn lazily.

"Fool!" crowed Mandarin. "This is the fifth standby phase after you activated Card of Demise. Your cards are all discarded!"

Quinn smirked. "Come now, old man. I assumed you were a bit of a foolish old coot, but use your brains once in a while. I was prepared for an eventuality like this. One of the cards I discarded was the third and final Repayment of Losses in this deck, allowing me to draw one more card after the effect of Card of Demise resolves."

Mandarin waited with baited breath.

Slowly, his opponent drew one card, and turned it around, showing it to him.

"Underworld Gem?" roared Mandarin in sheer disbelief.

Quinn nodded. "By removing from play five cards in my graveyard, I may add one spell card from my graveyard to my hand. I choose the Card of Demise."

Mandarin continued to watch his opponent warily as he refilled his hand.

An amused Quinn pointed at the Titan Czar Golem. "Prime Material Dragon and Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 shall attack."

The two dragons let lose bursts of golden and black flames respectively. Once again, due to Astral Barrier, they bypassed the metal beast and slammed into Mandarin.

(Quinn: 3600, Mandarin: 5100)

"I set three cards facedown. My turn ends."

Mandarin drew, and groaned once again as Fortification Fusion dealt him damage.

(Quinn: 3600, Mandarin: 4100)

He looked over at the trio of monsters on Jason's field.

"This duel ends now!" he hollered.

Quinn met his gaze.

"Due to the effect of Temple of the Kings, I may set this trap and activate it instantly: Curse of the Fallen! Now I may remove one Stronghold Shadow in my graveyard from play in order to return one removed from play Stronghold Shadow back to my graveyard. I remove Stronghold Shadow – Sentry (1800/1300) in order to return one of my removed from play Golems back to the graveyard. I instantly remove it again, switching my Titan Czar Golem's attack and defense scores, and boosting both our life-points by three thousand!"

The metallic fusion (3000/1000) glowed once again.

(Quinn: 5600, Mandarin: 6100)

Mandarin continued aggressively. "Then comes this continuous trap: Escape from the Dark Dimension! I may now special summon one removed from play dark attribute monster to my field. I choose the Stronghold Shadow – Defender (0/2000) that I removed from play earlier on, in defense mode."

Materializing on Mandarin's field was an Oriental man dressed in red armor. He carried a giant shield on his right arm, and a banner in his left which depicted a black vortex. His head was covered with a horned helmet, and a flowing midnight blue cape floated in his wake. He was armed with two small daggers which were kept in his belt.

"I don't know if you were sleeping when I summoned this monster against your pitiful weaker half, but its effect is rather deadly," ranted Mandarin. "Any boost in attack points received by a Stronghold Shadow is doubled!"

The Titan Czar Golem (5000/1000) let out a screech. The tension was unbearable.

(Quinn: 5600, Mandarin: 8100)

"I have four of my spell and trap card zones full, and I know the perfect way to fill in the fifth," growled Mandarin.

"I call upon my final monster: Stronghold Shadow – Tactician (500/800)."

A small bespectacled man dressed in black robes materialized onto his field. He held a rolled up map in one hand, along with a small knife in the other.

"Stronghold Shadow – Tactician is unique from my other Stronghold Shadows in that while they attain power through fusion, Tactician happens to be a Union monster. Now I choose to use that ability, equipping him to my Titan Czar Golem to grant it five additional attack points, as well as the ability of dealing you damage equal to the attack points of any monster it destroys in battle!"

The small man leapt onto the much larger golem's shoulders, and grasped two handles which popped out of the metal (6000/1000).

(Quinn: 5600, Mandarin: 9100)

"I told you it would end now, impudent child!" screeched Mandarin. "Stronghold Shadow – Titan Czar Golem, obliterate his pathetic Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 and END THIS DUEL!"

For seemingly the final time, the steel titan unleashed a stream of blue energy, directed at the silver leviathan.

Quinn's eyes had been closed all the while, and when he opened them, a faint smirk was on his face.

"Yes, you were quite right. The duel is indeed going to end this turn. I'm about to show you why: facedown card, activate. Reverse Mage Power!"

Mandarin gasped as Horus' attack points went through the roof (6000/1800).

(Quinn: 8600, Mandarin: 9100)

"I don't care if your pathetic continuous trap grants your dragon five hundred attack points for every spell or trap on my field!" exploded Mandarin. "Both monsters will be destroyed and you will still lose six thousand life-points!"

"That's not all." Horus unleashed its own wave of flames to match the stream of blue energy. The two attacks seemed evenly matched…. For now.

"I then activate Covering Fire. By sacrificing one monster on my field, I may add its attack points to another. I target Prime Material Dragon, boosting the attack points of Horus further!"

The golden dragon let out a mournful cry before it evaporated into nothingness. Horus roared out loud, and the wave of flames that it was releasing increased even further in size (8400/1800), pushing the Titan Czar Golem's attack back.

(Quinn: 5200, Mandarin: 9100)

"It's not enough to defeat me," panicked Mandarin.

"But this is!" thundered Quinn, his green aura flaring out around him. "My final trap: Matador Defense! Until the end phase, all monsters that battle lose attack points equal to their original defense points! Due to your especially useful field spell, that is enough damage to SEND YOU TO HELL!"

Mandarin screamed out in shock as the attack points of Horus (6600/1800), and Titan Czar Golem (1000/1000), all plummeted. Along with their masters' life-points.

(Quinn: 3400, Mandarin: 4100)

"NOT LIKE THIS!" he screeched as Horus' black flames finally overpowered the attack of his Titan Czar Golem. It rushed forth, burning both the metallic creature as well as the small, bookish man astride it. Their cries of pain were nothing, however, compared to that which Mandarin let out as the flames overtook him completely.

"Die."

Even as his life-points plummeted, the flames remained. Mandarin watched in shock as his very flesh began to evaporate around him, letting out one final screech before his entire world was consumed with blackness.

(Quinn: 3400, Mandarin: 0)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A dark smile graced the face of Dartz.

The pieces were in play. Havoc would ensue. Of that, he was certain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sorry for the late update again . That final segment with Quinn and Mandarin was a pain to write. I think I dug myself too big a hole with all those continuous traps and spells, along with Special Relativity Field. Anyway, one of my favorite duels of the story is done. Hope to update soon :).