How would you like to learn, that the method you trusted for so long was designed as a cruel joke?

How would you like to learn, that a person who you trusted for so long was a sadistic liar who just wanted to hurt you?

What would you do if that person showed up, and now wanted to do away with you?

Put yourself in my shoes right now, and you'd find out what it's like…

That person has shown up, I know I don't stand a chance against him, but there might be hope, because I don't have to fight this battle alone… I have an ally…

Can he defeat the beast who I once thought was a loved one?

Only time will tell…

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CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

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The Eye of Truth

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Tuesday, November 10th, 2106, 6:15 PM

(Amanda: 8,000) -------------------- (Cermon: 6,000)

The situation was plainly set out…

On Amanda's side was Giant Soldier of Stone in Defense Mode (1,300/2,000), three facedown cards, and a Mask of Restrict.

On Cermon's side was Lava Golem (3,000/2,500), which she had put there, and nothing else, but after taking damage for two turns, he had taken no real action.

Amanda was starting to figure out that he was on to her strategy…

"I don't know what your game is…" she said, drawing a card.

She looked at the Spell Card. It wasn't of much use, seeing as another copy of it was already on the field.

"…but sooner or later, something is going to give. I'm going to pass for my turn."

"Very well…" said Cermon, drawing a card.

He cringed a little as the cage glowed red hot.

"Well, let's see…" he said, looking at his cards. "What to use? These are good… But then again… there's always these…"

"Will you just move?" muttered Amanda.

"Good moves take time," he answered. "I'm very cautious… and very patient…

"Especially since I know exactly what's waiting for me behind those facedown cards…"

He played a card, and the Pot of Greed appeared in front of him.

"Yes, a very deadly combo…" he said, as he drew two cards. "Astral Barrier, Inferno Tempest, and Return From the Different Dimension. Chaos End is likely in your hand, right?

"Or is it? I play Confiscation."

He played the card.

"Now I get to spend 1,000 Life Points to see your hand, and force you to discard one card."

The images of five cards appeared in front of him.

"Ah, yes, just as I thought… I choose to banish Chaos End."

The card in Amanda's hand vanished.

"Smart…" she said. "Spending Life Points like that when you're steadily losing them."

"Not for long…" he said. "I now play the Spell Card, Heavy Storm!"

Amanda braced herself, as a storm blew across the field. Her Mask of Restrict shattered, then her three facedown cards lifted up, and blew away.

"I thought so…" laughed Cermon. "And now that your Mask is history, I can sacrifice all the Monsters I want. So I sacrifice the Lava Golem…"

Lava Golem vanished in a swirl of red energy…

"To summon… Jinzo!"

In an aura of darkness, the wicked android arose, its optic sensors glowing red. (2,400/1,500)

"Seems like the shoe is on the other foot," said Cermon. "Jinzo, annihilate her overgrown boulder with cyber energy shock!"

Jinzo formed a ball of dark energy in its hands and hurled it forward, blasting Giant Soldier of Stone into pebbles.

"Heh, heh…" said Cermon. "Your move…"

(A: 8,000) -------------------- (C: 4,000)

Amanda looked at the four cards in her hand.

Another Inferno Tempest, another Mask of Restrict, Gear Golem the Moving Fortress, and (ironically) her own Jinzo.

She slowly drew a card.

"I play… Graceful Charity…" she said, playing the card.

As the angel appeared over her, she drew three cards.

She shuddered in fear when she saw what one of them was. She had never used this card against a real duelist before, but now, she guessed she really didn't have a choice.

She discarded the Gear Golem and Jinzo.

"I place two cards facedown, and end my turn," she said, as two cards appeared in front of her.

"What?" asked Cermon. "In case you didn't know, Jinzo nullifies Trap Cards. Besides, I happen to know that you have no Traps in your deck that can block an attack or destroy a Monster."

"Your move…" she said.

"Fine…" said Cermon, drawing.

"I summon Drillago in Attack Mode."

He played a card, and an infernal Machine that looked like it was made completely of drills and screws appeared next to Jinzo. (1,600/1,100)

"Drillago, attack her directly! Boring rush!"

Drillago's drills spun wildly, and it charged forward. Amanda screamed as it plunged its weapons into her torso.

"And now…" he continued, "Jinzo, you attack too!"

Jinzo powered up its cyber energy shock…

"I activate my facedown card!" shouted Amanda. "Rush Recklessly!"

One of her facedown cards lifted.

"What?" said Cermon, confused. "Your side is empty. That card is useless."

"Whoever said I was going to use it on one of my Monsters?" asked Amanda with a grin. "I'm using it on your Jinzo!"

Jinzo glowed, and its Attack rose to 3,100.

"Are you nuts?" asked Cermon. "He'll just… Wait… Jinzo! Stop!"

"To late…" said Amanda.

Jinzo fired an even more intense cyber energy shock, and Amanda screamed again…

She fell to her knees.

(A: 3,300) -------------------- (C: 4,000)

"That hurt… even worse… than Lava Golem's… attack…" she gasped, with sweat running down her face. "But it still… did the job…"

Her other facedown card lifted.

"Activate… Inferno Tempest…"

"Ergh…" muttered Cermon. "Big deal. In case you didn't realize, Return From the Different Dimension is a Trap Card. And now you'll never summon anything strong enough to defeat Jinzo. You have no Monsters in your deck, and none in your Graveyard!"

"True…" said Amanda, slowly, getting up. "But the one that's in my hand should be enough…"

She drew a card.

Then she placed a card on her Disk.

"I summon… G-G-G… Gren Maju Da Eiza!"

A roaring fire appeared in front of her, and a hideous demon stepped out. It had a bloated body, with a jagged bone structure along its frame. Two huge, batlike wings rose from its back, and a long tail whipped behind it. Its skull-like head bore six horns, and sinister green lights glowed throughout its whole form. It looked at Cermon with an evil glare.

"This demon is the ruler of the Different Dimension," said Amanda, nervously, "and it gains power from each and every card that has been banished to its domain. So much, that its Attack and Defense Score are 400 for every card that I've removed from play."

"How many cards is that?" gulped Cermon.

"Nineteen," answered Amanda, "which is more than enough to finish you off!"

(7,600/7,600)

"Gren Maju Da Eiza…" shouted Amanda, covering her eyes, "destroy Jinzo with chaos flames!"

The Red Lotus Beast's eyes glowed with pinpoints of light, and it roared! An inferno erupted around it! It shot a blast of white-hot fire at the android, and it groaned and melted like wax before shattering into triangles!

Cermon was thrown back by the flames, landing with a look of fright permanently branded on his face.

(A: 3,300) -------------------- (C: 0)

Amanda shivered in fear…

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A form in the bleachers watched as Amanda walked towards Cermon's prone form.

"Darn," he said. "She won… She always wins! I should have known better than to send that overstuffed egotist to duel her…"

He took a deck from a case and started to shuffle it.

"Well, as the ancient saying goes," he said, "if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself…"

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Amanda bent over Cermon's clothing…

She found something in his jacket pocket. It was a small, red square with the letter R on it.

"Better tell Jason about this…" she said. "It might be…"

"Amanda?" said a voice behind her.

She screamed and raised her hand, ready to hit the new enemy with her Disk.

She stopped.

"Nathan?" she gasped.

"Oh, that is it…" said Nathan, stepping back. "From now on, you are only getting decaffeinated coffee!"

"Sorry…" she muttered. "I guess a Shadow Game isn't exactly easy on the nerves."

"Yeah, well, you did good," said Nathan, holding her shoulders. "Clever move with Gren there."

"Are you kidding?" she replied, shivering. "I've only actually used that… thing in simulations, and even then it gave me chills. I never want to use it again…

"Come to think of it, I'm having second thoughts on this whole invasion thing. It hurts so much worse in a Shadow Game…"

"Why don't we stick together…" said Nathan. "You know what they say… There's strength in numbers…"

"Now that, is the mother of all understatements…" said a voice from the shadows.

They looked, and saw a tall figure looking at them.

"That voice…" said Amanda, in fear. "I know that voice…"

The figure walked out of the shadows…

He was a tall, young man, with a boyish face, and auburn hair. He was dressed in a casual sweatshirt and jeans.

Nathan was a bit taken aback when he realized something… He sort of resembled Amanda herself.

But Amanda was beside herself.

"RIC?" she shouted. "What the Hell…"

"Hello, sis," he said, "still using the deck I see. Well, I'm afraid your part in the Messiah's crusade is ending right now…"

Amanda saw that he had an Orichalcos Disk on his arm.

"Ric… wha… buh… why?" gulped Amanda. "You and Shawn… You designed my deck… It's helped me since I started school…"

"You're so naïve, Amanda…" said Ric. "The deck was a scam."

"A scam?" shouted Amanda. "What do you mean? The only people who have beaten it are Russell, and you…"

"Heh, heh…" laughed Ric, "yeah, I'd be a pretty sorry excuse for a duelist if I couldn't defeat a deck that I designed."

"Amanda, who is this guy?" asked Nathan.

"Nathan…" muttered Amanda. "This is my oldest brother… Ric Jikarn…"

"The pleasure is all mine…" said Ric with a grin. "Anyway, Amanda, please don't blame Shawn for this… He honestly wanted to help you, but he was just as naïve as you were. And frankly, he can't duel worth beans. I thought up the strategy for your deck because…"

He grinned.

"Well, because I thought seeing you willingly take a 3,000-point direct attack every time was… well, it was kind of funny."

Amanda clenched her fist.

"I never expected you to have the success you did with this deck, Amanda," he continued. "But to my chagrin, you did. You kept winning with it, time and again. The strategy got so successful, you eventually would start getting credit for it, and I just couldn't have that.

"So, I had to get rid of you without anyone fingering me. That's why I came to work for Fortunado. The Orichalcos leaves no trace.

"Sadly, I'm not allowed to use the Orichalcos right now. The boss is running low on them. But a normal Shadow Game will suffice.

"And we're going to duel right now…"

Amanda stepped back… A tear fell down her eye…

"Hold it right there, mister!" shouted Nathan. "Amanda is exhausted… what are you, some sort of vulture?

"This is your little sister, and you're saying that all this time you've set her up? What kind of an older sibling does that?"

"The one who will carry on the family name," said Ric. "I want the Jikarn family to be remembered for a competent duelist, like me, not some amateur like her."

"Amateur?" said Nathan with a sneer. "In case you didn't realize, she's managed to be successful with a deck that was intentionally designed to fail. You just said so yourself.

"And there's no way I'm letting you swoop down on her after she's just taken a beating in a Shadow Game. You'll have to go through me first."

"I have no quarrel with you," said Ric. "I don't have to banish you to the Shadows as well, so think long and hard before you make such a threat."

"Know what I think?" said Nathan, pointing a finger. "I think that you were afraid of her success. You were afraid that she'd defeat even you someday.

"When all is said and done, you're exactly the same as she is… Worried and insecure. Unsure of your abilities as a duelist."

Ric stared at him… There was dead silence for a second.

He removed his deck from his Disk, and then looked through it. He quickly took about ten or so cards out of it. Then he took ten other cards out of a pouch on his belt, and switched the two sets. He started to shuffle.

Switching his cards? thought Amanda. That's why he could beat my deck… He did just what Russell did… He prepared in advance, because he knew how it worked…

"Very well, Nathan was it?" said Ric with a frown. "I'll duel you with my deck at true strength before I handle her, and the Shadows will feast on both of you."

"Nathan, no, he's good!" shouted Amanda. "His cards…"

"Uh, uh, uh!" said Ric, shaking his finger. "Not a word about my strategy, Amanda! After all, I know nothing about his… If you have any pride as a duelist, you'll let this duel be fair. I have no intention of cheating, after all."

Amanda bowed his head. He had a point.

"Fine," said Nathan, as his Disk activated. "I'll duel you mano-a-mano."

(Nathan: 8,000) -------------------- (Ric: 8,000)

They both snatched five cards off their decks. Nathan looked them over.

Thinking about how to use your cards, Nathan? thought Ric. Better use them fast… I might not let you have a chance to…

"Okay, let's duel!" he said, drawing a sixth card.

He chose a card from his hand.

"I think I'll simply place a Monster in Defense Mode, and that will be all," he said, placing a card on his Disk.

A facedown Monster appeared.

"Not much of a move…" said Nathan, drawing a card.

He looked at it.

Well, Blood Sucker can probably take care of whatever he put there… he thought.

"I summon Blood Sucker in Attack Mode," he stated.

With a cackle and a spooky mist, a fiendish-looking creature with red skin, devilish horns, and flared outcroppings on its clawed arms appeared. (1,300/1,500)

"Impressive…" said Ric. "But I've been dueling too long to be afraid of any third-rate Fiend."

"It's a Zombie, for your information," growled Nathan. "Blood Sucker, attack his facedown Monster! Razor claw!"

Blood Sucker's eyes glowed feral, and it flew forward, slashing with its claw…

A small bird with green feathers and a red plume appeared on the card, and was torn to shards.

"Heh, heh…" chuckled Ric. "You just attacked my Ashinagray, Nathan."

"No…" moaned Amanda.

"And it has two powerful effects," continued Ric. "First, when it's flipped, you lose one card from your hand…"

The Dragged Down Into the Grave in Nathan's hand glowed, and vanished.

"Second," said Ric, taking his deck, "when it's destroyed, I get to search for another one from my deck, and set it in facedown Defense Mode."

He placed the card on his Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared again.

"Darn…" said Nathan, looking at the rest of his cards. "Guess I'll throw a card facedown, and end my turn."

He fit a card into his Disk, and a facedown card appeared.

Ric drew a card.

"Then it's time for a change of venue," he said, opening his Field Slot. "Take us to… Necrovalley!"

He placed the card in the slot, and a bright light enveloped the field…

Before Nathan could fathom what was going on, tall desert cliffs surrounded them. Strange cave openings were in the sides of the cliffs, and he was standing on a rocky outcropping, across from the one his opponent was on. Far in the distance rose the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx.

"What are you going to do, play Gravekeepers?" asked Nathan, nervously.

He hoped not… Gravekeepers were dangerous.

"No…" said Ric. "Something far more sinister. Anyway, next, I'll flip my Ashinagray into Attack Mode…"

The card flipped up, and the small bird revealed itself. (500/500)

"That means you lose another card from your hand," he continued.

Nathan gulped, as the Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower in his hand vanished.

"And now, I'll sacrifice Ashinagray…" continued Ric.

The small bird vanished.

"…for a fiendish soldier known and feared throughout the demon world as… Mefist the Infernal General!"

A galloping of hooves sounded, and a large form strode out of a void of darkness. It was a knight of some sort, in black armor on a demonic armored horse. He held a weapon that was a cross between a lance and an axe. (1,800/1,700)

"Terrific…" muttered Nathan. "Well, since my Blood Sucker is going to be destroyed anyway, I might as well destroy it before you do…"

"What do you mean?" asked Ric.

Nathan's facedown card lifted. It was a Trap with the picture of Marauding Captain ambushing Goblin Attack Force.

"It's called Assault on GHQ," explained Nathan. "I now have to destroy one of my Monsters…"

Blood Sucker shattered into shards.

"And in exchange, you have to discard the top two cards from your deck."

Ric gave him a dirty look, and took the top two cards off his deck. They were Royal Tribute and Spirit Reaper.

Darn… he thought, discarding them. Those would have been useful. But I'll have the last laugh…

"I do hope it was worth it…" he said with a smirk. "Mefist, attack directly with fiendish forward charge!"

Mefist galloped forward on his mount. Nathan screamed as he was struck by the huge axe.

He gasped for breath and looked at his hand again. The Black Pendant in his hand vanished.

(N: 6,200) -------------------- (R: 8,000)

"Are you starting to get the theme of my deck yet, Nathan?" asked Ric. "It's all about Hand Control. I simply don't let my opponent have anything to work with.

"Oh course, I take a Hand Control strategy to a whole new level with the addition of Necrovalley. With my kind of deck, there's always the possibility that making someone discard a powerful Monster will actually help him, letting him summon it with no sacrifices by using Monster Reborn or something similar.

"But with Necrovalley… Recovering cards from the Graveyard is impossible."

"Same goes for you!" snapped Nathan. "You can't do it either."

"Maybe so," said Ric, "but as of right now, I have a powerful Monster on the field, and a hand of four cards. You have one card in your hand, and nothing on the field. Who has the advantage?"

"We'll soon see…" said Nathan. "It's my move!"

He drew a card.

He smirked.

"I'll place a Monster in Defense Mode, and that will end my turn," he said.

A facedown Monster appeared.

"Don't you ever study?" asked Ric, drawing a card. "You should know that Mefist doesn't really care whether a Monster is in Attack or Defense Mode."

He grinned at the card he had just drawn.

"And by the way, as for that crack about Necrovalley affecting me as well…"

"Oh no…" muttered Amanda. "Don't tell me he drew that…"

"Oh, but I did, sis," he said, playing a Spell Card. "I play a very rare card known as Temple of the Gravekeepers."

With a loud rumbling, an ancient Egyptian temple rose up behind him. The entrance was flanked by pillars and statues of the jackal-headed god Anubis.

"This card costs me 1,000 Life Points to activate," he explained, "and it would be destroyed if Necrovalley were removed from the field, but so long as it's on the field, the negative effects of Necrovalley don't apply to me. I can play all the cards I want that affect my own Graveyard. It's like Gravekeeper's Chief in Spell form.

"Now I'll summon someone new…"

He placed a card on his Disk.

"White Magical Hat, in Attack Mode."

In a puff of colored smoke, a tall gentleman in a blue tuxedo and a white cape, wearing a monocle and a white top hat appeared. (1,000/700)

Lovely… thought Nathan. Another guy with a discarding effect. But this guy's in for a surprise…

"Mefist, run down his facedown Monster!" shouted Ric.

Mefist charged…

Zombie Werewolf appeared on the card, before it was cleaved in half.

Nathan grunted, and the last card in his hand vanished.

But then he grinned.

"Oh, I studied, all right," he said. "And I happen to know that Necrovalley has limits. It doesn't affect cards whose effects activate by being sent to the Graveyard. So it won't stop Zombie Werewolf's effect at all."

In a burst of dark energy, a second Zombie Werewolf appeared in Attack Mode, snarling and drooling. He let out a loud howl. (1,700/1,200)

(N: 5,600) -------------------- (R: 7,000)

"And since this one has 1,700 Attack Points," he said with a smirk, "your White Magical Hat is going to have to pick a fight with someone else."

"That's what you think," said Ric. "Since I can't stop you from destroying him on your next turn, and I summoned him in Attack Mode, I'm not about to waste his attack…"

He chose a card from his hand.

"You see, since his Attack Score is only 1,000, he's just the right strength for me to use this card… Secret Pass To the Treasures."

He played the card.

"This lets a Monster attack directly, so long as its Attack Score is 1,000 or less. White Magical Hat, attack directly with moonlight magic."

The Spellcaster shot a blast of sparkling lights forward, and Nathan cringed as they hit him.

(N: 4,600) -------------------- (R: 7,000)

"Your Werewolf may defeat my Spellcaster," said Ric, "but now you'd need a miracle draw to defeat Mefist. I don't believe in miracles myself…"

Nathan slowly drew a card.

He looked at it.

"Prepare to believe…" he muttered. "I knew I'd find a use for this guy…"

He placed a card on his Disk.

"I summon Reborn Zombie in Attack Mode."

He played a card, and a rotting, skeletal corpse with stark, white hair clad in filthy rags appeared on the field. (1,000/1,600)

"You gotta be kidding…" said Ric with a smirk. "I'm surprised that thing even has an Attack Mode."

"Zombie Werewolf, attack the White Magical Hat!" ordered Nathan. "Savage claw!"

Zombie Werewolf lunged forward, and with one swipe of his claw, White Magical Hat was blown away.

"As Joey Wheeler once said…" laughed Nathan, "say goodbye to the Cat in the Hat!"

(N: 4,600) -------------------- (R: 6,300)

"Clever…" said Ric, drawing a card.

"I play my Pot of Greed…" he said.

The jar appeared, and he drew two cards.

"I'll bet you wish you had this card, Nathan," he said with a chuckle. "Frankly, from where I'm standing, you need it.

"Well, since attacking your Werewolf would let you summon one that was stronger, I'll get rid of it another way. I play Tribute to the Doomed."

He played one of the cards in his hand and discarded another. Zombie Werewolf moaned, as it was mummified by a swarm of linens and dragged under.

"And since you foolishly summoned that weak Monster in Attack Mode," he continued, "Mefist, destroy Reborn Zombie!"

Mefist charged, and swung his axe, splitting the Reborn Zombie down the middle…

…but the two halves came back together, and fused back together.

"Huh?" said Ric. "How?"

Nathan smirked. Then he showed his hands, showing that they were empty.

"I may have lost 800 Life Points," he said, "but if Reborn Zombie is in Attack Mode, and I have no cards in my hand, it can't be destroyed in battle."

Ric just stared at him.

(N: 3,800) -------------------- (R: 6,300)

"My move!" said Nathan.

He drew a card.

"I sacrifice Reborn Zombie, to summon Vampire Lord!"

A swarm of bats flew from behind him. Reborn Zombie vanished, and the powerful vampire appeared. (2,000/1,500)

"Hey, wait just a minute!" shouted Ric.

"Vampire Lord…" said Nathan, "attack Mefist the Infernal General with Children of the Night!"

A glimmer appeared in Vampire Lord's eyes. He lifted his cloak, and a blast of bats shot forth. Mefist was thrown from his horse, and then both he and the mount shattered into triangles.

"And now I activate his effect," continued Nathan, "and I'll have you discard a Spell Card from your deck."

Ric grumbled, and looked through his deck.

He found his copy of Confiscation, and discarded it.

"Your move…" said Nathan.

(N: 3,800) -------------------- (R: 6,100)

"Ooh, you'll play for that…" muttered Ric, drawing a card.

Lovely… he thought. NOW I draw one of my Sakuretsu Armor cards. I know enough about how my own cards work to know that Necrovalley can't stop Vampire Lord's effect either. But if he draws another Monster…

"I'll place this facedown…" he stated.

He fit the card into a slot, and it appeared.

"And set one Monster in Defense Mode."

A facedown Monster appeared.

"That will be all."

Nathan drew a card.

"I play…" he stated, "Nobleman of Extermination!"

Ric gasped, as a burly knight in armor appeared, and stabbed his broadsword into the facedown card. It smashed to pieces. Two wisps of smoke came from his deck as his other two copies of Sakuretsu Armor vanished.

"You like Hand Destruction?" asked Nathan. "I'm kind of keen on Deck Destruction. Vampire Lord, attack!"

Vampire Lord shot forth his flurry of bats.

A Nightmare Horse appeared on the card, and shattered.

Could Nathan actually win? thought Amanda.

She paused.

Oh, if Ric manages to use the effect of that hideous Monster he has in his deck, it might be impossible…

Ric glared at him.

He drew a card.

"I play Graceful Charity," he said, playing the card.

He made three draws.

He smirked again.

He discarded Terraforming and Don Zaloog.

"You like Zombies?" he asked. "I got Zombies for you. I summon Decayed Commander."

He played the card, and a rotting corpse clad in filthy Oriental armor holding a rusted katana appeared. (1,000/1,500)

"Summoning it activates its effect, letting me summon Zombie Tiger from my hand."

He played another card, and a rotting, decaying tiger appeared next to the first Zombie. (1,400/1,600)

"Now, Zombie Tiger is a Union Monster that I can Equip to Decayed Commander, like so…"

Decayed Commander climbed onto the Zombie Tiger's back, holding his sword up high. (1,500/2,000)

"Not gonna do it," said Nathan.

"It will soon," replied Ric. "I play the Spell Card… Shrink!"

He played the card, and Vampire Lord shrank to half his size!

"Decayed Commander… Take him down!"

The Zombie charged forward on the strange mount, and with one slash of the decrepit sword, cut the reduced Vampire in two.

(N: 3,300) -------------------- (R: 6,100)

"Aw, no!" groaned Nathan. "I love that guy!"

"Heh, heh…" laughed Ric. "Your move…"

Nathan nervously drew a card.

He sighed in relief.

"I summon my third Zombie Werewolf in Defense Mode," he said.

He played the card, and the Werewolf appeared, crouching in Defense. (1,200/1,200)

"Well, I guess that's all you can do…" said Ric.

He drew a card.

"Heh, heh…" he chuckled. "Ha, ha… HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"

"Get a good draw, bro?" asked Amanda, angrily. "You should… All your draws are good. You had all the money for the best cards."

"I paid an awful lot of money buying you that Jinzo, Amanda," he replied.

She glared at him.

"Shawn was the one who gave me Jinzo…" she said, through her teeth. "That part of the deck was his idea."

He looked at her for a minute.

"Ah yes…" he muttered. "Good old Shawn…

"Decayed Commander, separate from Zombie Tiger."

Decayed Commander leapt off of Zombie Tiger's back. (1,000/1,500), (1,400/1,600)

"Now…" he said. "I sacrifice Decayed Commander for a beast from a realm where nightmares come alive…"

Decayed Commander vanished.

"I summon the dreaded… Helpoemer!"

The creature that appeared was ghastly. Propped against a rocky slab, it was a fiendish creature with leathery skin, no eyes, and fanged mouths all over its body! Its clawed arms dangled by its sides, and its only article of clothing was a belt and a tattered purple kilt. The smell of death wafted over the canyon. (2,000/1,400)

"You know…" muttered Nathan. "I often wonder what Pegasus was smoking when he thought up that thing…"

"Have a heart…" said Ric. "Sure, it's a horrible, hideous abomination, but horrible hideous abominations have feelings too, you know!"

"Zombie Tiger, take out his Zombie Werewolf!"

Zombie Tiger pounced, and tore the Werewolf to shreds.

"And now, Helpoemer…" commanded Ric. "Attack Nathan directly with Chthonian chant!"

Helpoemer's mouths began to gibber…

To Ric's horror, he was lifted off the ground! He started to feel his muscles tense and strain, as if something were trying to pull them apart!

Finally, the Fiend stopped, and he fell on the ground.

Heh, heh… thought Ric. Even if he manages to put anything in Attack Mode and protect it for even a round, I'll eventually draw one of my other two copies of Shrink. Then I'll use it on my own Helpoemer and kamikaze it against his Monster, activating its deadly effect.

And if he summons a Vampire Lord again, all the better. That creature's Attack is equal to Helpoemer's. An attack will destroy both of them, and let me activate its effect regardless.

(N: 1,300) -------------------- (R: 6,100)

Helpoemer… thought Amanda. His most powerful weapon. Once he manages to activate its effect, he's unstoppable. It can decimate his opponent.

Nathan's only hope is if he can take advantage of its weakness…

"My move…" muttered Nathan.

He drew.

Huh, he thought. Hey, it's that card that that weird kid traded to me! Heh… I'll have to thank him if I ever see him again!

"All right, Ric…" shouted Nathan. "I play… Card of Reversal!"

"Card of Reversal?" asked Ric. "What the Hell is that?"

"The worst nightmare for someone playing a Hand Control Deck," replied Nathan. "This card can only be used when I have no cards on the field, and it's the only card in my hand. Now I get to draw once for every face-up card that's on your side of the field."

Images of the Necrovalley, Temple of the Gravekeepers, Zombie Tiger, and Helpoemer flashed before him.

"No way!" shouted Ric.

"Yes way…" said Nathan, drawing four cards.

He grinned as he looked at them.

"And now let's play some of them," he said, looking at the cards. "I summon Vampire Bat in Attack Mode."

He played the card, and a swarm of bats flew from behind him, forming into one huge bat. (800/800) –) (1,000/800)

"Please, that Monster is useless," said Ric. "And in case you didn't notice, it makes my Zombie Tiger even stronger."

Zombie Tiger grew to an attack of 1,600.

"Useless?" asked Nathan.

His Field Slot opened.

"I'm getting awfully sick of Necrovalley," he said, "so let's go somewhere else."

He placed a card in the slot.

"I play… Infernalvania!"

A spooky mist arose, and eerie music started to play. Necrovalley melted away, and now they were on a broken wasteland full of twisted trees. A creepy vampire's castle loomed in the background behind Nathan.

The Temple of the Gravekeepers crumbled into a pile of rubble.

"Where are we?" demanded Ric.

"Infernalvania," answered Nathan. "And here, a player can discard one Zombie from his hand to destroy all Monsters on the field.

"So, I'll discard my Ryu Kokki…"

He discarded a card. The Bone Dragon Ogre appeared on the field, and disintegrated.

And then lightning flashed, vaporizing Helpoemer and Zombie Tiger!

"Of course," said Nathan, discarding another card, "due to Vampire Bat's other effect, I can discard another Bat from my deck to keep it from being destroyed. And since that ugly Fiend of yours was destroyed outside of battle, its effect doesn't apply."

"Clever…" said Ric.

"Vampire Bat, attack directly!" shouted Nathan. "Nightmare scourge!"

The huge bat split into a swarm of bats again, and flew towards Ric. He shielded himself as they bit and clawed at him.

He got up. He glared at Nathan.

(N: 1,300) -------------------- (R: 5,100)

"All right, Nathan…" he said. "It's MY move!"

He drew.

He frowned. It was another White Magical Hat.

"I summon White Magical Hat in Defense Mode," he said.

The Spellcaster appeared again, kneeling in Defense. (1,000/700)

"That's all I can do for now," he muttered.

"What's wrong?" asked Nathan. "Can it be that you actually got a bad draw? Oh, that is plain ironic, you know what I mean?"

Ric responded with a cold stare.

Nathan drew a card.

"Well, lookee here!" he exclaimed.

He played the card, and the Pot of Greed appeared.

Ric grit his teeth… It was far from the first time that he had seen the hologram of the Pot of Greed with its wicked smile appear on his opponent's side of the field…

…but this time, the Duel Monsters embodiment of greed seemed to be laughing at him.

Nathan drew two cards.

"Well…" said Nathan. "Now that I can use cards that recover Monsters from the Graveyard, I'll play Book of Life."

He played the Spell Card.

"I know you can't Special Summon Helpoemer from the Graveyard, so I'll remove your Infernal General from play so I won't have to worry about him again…"

Mefist slipped out of Ric's discard slot.

"And I'll use the second effect of Book of Life to bring back Ryu Kokki."

The ground rumbled, and the huge ogre made of bones and skulls rose out of the ground. (2,400/2,000)

"Next…" said Nathan, "I'll sacrifice my Bat to summon my second Vampire Lord."

Vampire Bat exploded in a cloud of bats, and Vampire Lord appeared again. (2,000/1,500)

"And finally…" he continued, taking the last card in his hand, "I'll remove my Vampire Lord from play, to summon Vampire Genesis."

Vampire Lord faded into mist, and the hulking, hideous-looking vampire deity appeared with a roar. (3,000/2,100)

"Ryu Kokki…" ordered Nathan, "turn his White Magical Hat to paste."

The Bone Dragon Ogre lunged forward with its claw, and with one mighty smash, flattened the Spellcaster.

Nathan paused.

"So…" he said, looking at Ric. "You thought that seeing your sister take a 3,000-point direct attack was funny, huh?"

"Okay… Let's be reasonable…" said Ric, drawing back.

"Vampire Genesis, attack directly with crimson shroud!" screamed Nathan.

Vampire Genesis burst into a blood-red cloud, and flew forward with a chilling moan. Ric screamed and was propelled backwards as it plowed into him.

"You know…" said Nathan, as the huge vampire reformed on his side. "You were right… That was kind of funny."

(N: 1,300) -------------------- (R: 2,100)

Amanda giggled a little bit.

"What are you laughing at?" shouted Ric, angrily.

"You, bro," she said. "Know something, Ric? I just realized how stupid I've been…"

"I won't argue…" he growled.

"I was stupid to ever think I should have been afraid of you," she continued. "I'll tell you right now… Once this whole mess is over, I'm throwing this deck away and making my own. I don't even like seeing Lava Golem, let alone being attacked by it. It has to be the ugliest Duel Monster ever created!"

Ric grinned.

"Well, you certainly can't throw it away now…" he said. "You'd be unarmed… A duelist simply can't be without her deck in this place, Amanda. If you were forced into a Shadow Game then, you'd have to forfeit.

"And you will be once I take care of your friend…"

"And just how, pray tell, are you going to beat him?" asked Amanda. "Take a look at yourself… The tables have been turned on you!

"Now you have no cards in your hand, and you're facing a Monster that has 3,000 Attack Points, and another that has 2,400! This time, you are the one who's going to need a miracle draw to save yourself, because if you don't draw something on this turn that can defeat them, you lose!"

Ric gulped.

He drew a card.

Ooh… he thought, looking at it. He has no cards in his hand either… This will help him as much as it will me… But it's not like I really have much of a choice…

"I play Card of Sanctity!" he shouted.

He played the card, and a bright glow lit up the spooky wasteland, and coins fell from the sky.

Both of them drew six cards from their decks.

"Heh, heh…" chuckled Ric. "You forgot one thing, Nathan! This Infernalvania is a Field Spell! That means I can use its effect as well!"

"Uh, before you do that, I should warn you," said Nathan. "If you use the effect of Infernalvania, you are not allowed to summon a Monster after you do so. That's why I used it with Vampire Bat."

Ric looked at him.

He looked at his cards.

He saw Magic Cylinder and Mirror Force there.

"Then so be it…" he said. "I discard a second Decayed Commander to activate the effect of Infernalvania!"

He discarded the card, and bolts of lightning struck Ryu Kokki and Vampire Genesis, blasting them to pieces.

"Now I'll place two cards facedown, and end my turn…"

Two facedown cards appeared.

"Your move…" he said.

Crud… thought Nathan, looking at his hand. I've got a few Monsters I could use, but those facedown cards are clearly deadly. And my Life Points are too low to take a risk. My only chance is if I draw Heavy Storm right now…

His deck seemed to glow as he reached for it…

He drew, and looked at the card.

It was the card Jason had given him…

But at this point, it was telling him something…

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Visions assaulted Nathan Emmanuel Evans's mind.

First, he saw a scene with a pious young woman praying in a sacred shrine. A golden cross was around her neck, and the light shone on her.

The scene turned ugly. She was being chased at night. A horrible creature tackled her from behind. She screamed and tried to struggle, but the beast bit its fangs into her neck. She sobbed pitifully as it drained the life from her…

The scene returned to the shrine, but now it was night. The young woman approached again, but she had changed. Her skin was pale as death, and her eyes were glowing silvery. Tears flowed from them. She prayed again, as if desperate for someone to hear…

Then, a figure that could best be described as an angel appeared out of the darkness. He took her in his arms, and they both glowed…

The scene shifted to another scene, outdoors at night. The young woman was angrily standing over the vampire that had attacked her, a wooden mallet in her hand… It was dead, a stake through its heart. She slowly walked away.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

"I understand…" whispered Nathan.

He took a card from his hand.

Justice…

"I play… Call of the Mummy," he said, playing a card. "Now, so long as I have no Monsters on my side of the field, I can Special Summon a Zombie from my hand, no matter how powerful it is.

"And the one I choose to summon… Is Penelope the Lady of the Night!"

A beam of light fell from the heavens over Infernalvania. A young woman… the woman in his vision… materialized. She was dressed in clothing that was simple, yet elegant, with the same golden cross around her neck. She had raven black hair, pale white skin, and in her hands was a long staff, topped with a golden crescent. (1,000/200)

"You used Call of the Mummy to summon a weakling?" asked Ric.

"She's a seven-star Monster, Ric," said Nathan.

Ric looked dumbfounded.

"Let me explain her first effect," he stated. "You see, she can't be Normal Summoned, but when she is summoned, all Spell and Trap Cards on the field are wiped out."

In a fierce burst of radiant energy, Infernalvania, Call of the Mummy, and Ric's two facedown cards were blown to shards!

"Is that all?" asked Ric.

"No…" said Nathan. "There's much more… Penelope was once a mortal priestess, until she was fed on by a savage vampire and her life was cut short. She rose as a vampire herself… But she was so pious, and so devoted to her faith, that she didn't lose her soul as most vampires do. She begged the higher powers to give her a salvation, and they replied. They said that a cure for vampirism was only possible if one used her vampiric abilities to oppose and destroy them.

"And as an enemy of the creatures of the night, Penelope gains power from ones that die. So for each and every Zombie that's rotting in my Graveyard right now, she gains 400 Attack Points!"

"Each one?" screamed Ric.

"That's right…" said Nathan. "And since your Hand Control strategy sent so many of them there, I now have ten of them in my Graveyard."

Penelope glowed with holy light, and her score changed… (5,000/200)

"Hold on!" shouted Ric.

"You made a big mistake using Infernalvania's effect…" said Nathan. "Penelope… Attack directly with light of vengeance!"

The Lady of the Night's eyes glowed, and she cast a mighty spell from her staff. Ric's final scream echoed throughout the whole floor…

(N: 1,300) -------------------- (R: 0)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The figure on the dark throne clutched her head.

"Ergh…" she thought. "First Erathaol decides to help them… Now Penelope does as well?

"Who's next? What other meddling divine being is going to appear in one of their decks?

"Humph… It matters little…"

A deck of cards appeared in her hand.

"Sartorious never used these cards… Even in his insanity, he was too scared. The one who killed him and stole them hid them away… He was too scared. Everyone who has owned the Reckoning Deck… the Ultimate Orichalcos Deck… couldn't look at these special cards without trembling in fear.

"I doubt even Dartz would have had the courage to use them."

She smirked.

"When Fortunado was given these cards, he was also too scared, but he knew what to do with them… Find the one who wouldn't be scared…"

She took eight Monster Cards out of the deck.

"They certainly don't scare me. And no matter how many divine allies the Messiah has, I know I'll have more…"

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Amanda sadly looked at her brother's comatose form.

"What will I tell mom and dad?" she muttered. "What will I tell Shawn? This is going to ruin Thanksgiving…"

She looked at Nathan.

"Do I come right out and tell them that he was a Shadow Duelist who sided with the Orichalcos? They'll be heartbroken…"

Nathan held her.

"There may yet be hope, Amanda," he said. "Maybe when Jason defeats whoever is behind this, he can force whoever it is to give back everyone he's taken.

"And then he can just be a no-good brother who you can yell at or swear you'll never speak to again."

Amanda looked at her deck.

"I meant what I said, you know…" she said. "Once this is over, I'm just going to throw this away, and start afresh. I dunno, I've been thinking of a V-through-Z Machine Deck. Think that would be good?"

"Definitely," said Nathan. "But for the love of mercy, don't throw those cards away!"

"Why not?" she asked.

"You've got a lot of rare ones in there," he replied. "This is a Trading Card Game, after all. Some guys would kill for a Chaos Command Magician. Hey, there are a lot of cards in that deck that I'd even trade you for!"

"Really?" she asked, looking at it.

"So…" she asked, as he picked something up that Ric had dropped, "where did you get that awesome card?"

"She's a Card of Virtue," muttered Nathan, looking at the small, metal square. "A Justice Card, ironically. And when I drew her, she told me her whole story."

"Really?" asked Amanda, looking at the second red square. "Did Penelope ever find the cure?"

"In a way," answered Nathan. "For one hundred years, she walked the Earth, fighting the forces of evil and destroying the creatures like the ones who had made her undead. She took the riches they had stolen, and distributed it all to the impoverished and the poor… The common folk called her the Lady of the Night, seeing as that's the only time they ever saw her. Due to the curse of vampirism, she could only be out at night. More than one child reported that when they awakened from horrible nightmares, Penelope appeared to calm and comfort them.

"Eventually, she fell into the same slumber that she did at every daybreak… And the arms of an angel lifted her up, and carried her into Heaven for her final reward."

Amanda got chills.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

"Red letter R and red letter A?" asked Jason over the phone. "Okay… I got it I guess…"

He looked at the letters on the notebook.

He turned to his two friends, who were still looking through all the Normal Monsters.

"There has to be some sort of meaning to this…" he muttered.

"I dunno…" said Trisha. "A lot of these Monsters are truly worthless. He actually has a Bolt Escargot in this pile."

"I found a Tatsunootoshigo," said Russell, holding up another one. "It's even more worthless than that. In fact, most of these Monsters are stuff that no sane duelist would be caught dead with. The Statue of Easter Island? Wow Warrior? The Judgment Hand? Here's a weirdo I can't even pronounce…"

"Mikazukinoyaiba?" asked Trisha.

"How'd you know?" asked Russell.

"Lucky guess…" muttered Trisha, with a sigh.

"Don't disregard any of them," said Jason. "All of them are keys to the important places in this compound…

"And one of them, as worthless as it may appear, is the one that will lead us to Fortunado.

"We just have to figure out which, and soon…

"Because according to my watch…

"Time is running short…"

Tuesday, November 10th, 2106, 7:00 PM

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BLOOD SUCKER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Zombie/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 4
ATK: 1,300
DEF: 1,500

Card Description: When this card does battle damage to your opponent's Life Points, your opponent discards the top card from his deck to the Graveyard.

Note: "Blood Sucker" is a Japanese card that has not yet been released in the United States.

0

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ASHINAGRAY (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Winged Beast/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 3
ATK: 500
DEF: 500

Card Description: Flip: Your opponent discards one card at random from his hand. When this card is destroyed as a result of battle, search your deck for one card of the same name and set it in facedown Defense Position.

Note: "Ashinagray" was first used by Gansley in the anime episode "Isolated in Cyberspace (Part One)". All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

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CARD OF REVERSAL (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell
Attribute: -
Level: -
ATK: -
DEF: -

Image: The image on this card was not clear.

Card Description: You can only activate this card when you have no cards on the field and this is the only card in your hand. For each face-up card on your opponent's side of the field, draw one card from your deck.

Note: "Card of Reversal" was first used by Hasselberry in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Taken by Storm (Part 2)". All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

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INFERNALVANIA (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell/Field
Attribute: -
Level: -
ATK: -
DEF: -

Image: A barren wasteland with a spooky vampire's castle in the center.

Card Description: A player may discard one ZOMBIE-Type Monster from his hand to destroy all Monsters on the field. A player who uses this effect may not Normal Summon, set, or Special Summon a Monster on the turn he does so.

Note: "Infernalvania" was used by Camula in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Field of Screams (Part One)". All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

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TEMPLE OF THE GRAVEKEEPERS (Spell Card)

Card Specs

Type: Spell/Continuous
Attribute: -
Level: -
ATK: -
DEF: -

Image: An Egyptian temple seen from the outside. Statues of the jackal-headed Anubis flank the entrance.

Card Description: Pay 1,000 Life Points to activate this card. This card is destroyed if there is no "Necrovalley" active on your side of the field. When this card remains on the field, your Graveyard is unaffected by the effect of "Necrovalley".

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PENELOPE THE LADY OF THE NIGHT (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Zombie/Effect/Card of Virtue
Attribute: Light
Level: 7
ATK: 1,000
DEF: 200

Virtue: Justice

Card Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned. When this card is Special Summoned successfully, destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field. This card gains 400 ATK for every ZOMBIE-Type Monster in your Graveyard.

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Coming up next...

You can be sure that Fortunado is not just going to let Jason, Trisha, and Russell make their plans in peace. Next chapter, he makes a move to take out Trisha, sending someone you might remember. And he has a strategy that's obscure, but incredibly deadly.

It's a chapter called "Rivalry of Warlords", coming soon.

And by the way, if you liked Penelope, don't worry, you'll see her again… But not until "Dark Messiah" is over and done with. You likely have no idea what I'm talking about, but you'll see eventually.