I still remember quite clearly the horrible day when my brother, someone I thought of as family and a kindred spirit, was exposed as a cheater. I remember how he was expelled, and how I spoke to him for what I thought would be the last time.

I said that I wouldn't consider him my brother anymore, and that for as far as I was concerned, he was dead. His breaking the rules in order to succeed at the Academy was like betrayal.

It hurt me even more when he came back, only under two months ago, looking for revenge, holding a Seal of Orichalcos card. He challenged our chancellor to duel, and she humiliated him, making the duel end in a draw on purpose – even though she could have won – to prove that she could defeat the Orichalcos. The duel technically ended in a draw, but for all intents and purposes, Patrick was clearly the loser. And if his boss hadn't taken a hostage, the crisis would have ended before it started.

Maybe this is why Critias came to me in the first place…

I want nothing more than for this black mark on my family to leave and never come back.

Which leads me to my current situation.

If I win this duel, he'll trouble me no more… But if I lose, my role in this conflict will likely be over…

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CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

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Rivalry of Warlords

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Tuesday, November 10th, 2106, 7:05 PM

Trisha and Russell sorted through the huge pile of Monster Cards with yellow borders that indicated no effects.

"Kojikocy…" muttered Trisha, looking at a pile, "Gyakutenno Megami, Terra the Terrible, Dark Titan of Terror, Master and Expert, Destroyer Golem, Pale Beast…"

"Something's familiar about those cards…" muttered Russell.

Trisha paused.

"Hmmm…" she said.

She sighed.

"How many important rooms can he even have in this building?" she asked.

"I don't think some of them lead to places in this building," said Jason, who was looking at the Interdimensional Matter Transporters. "From what I can tell, these things can lead to places farther away…

"Maybe alternate worlds, alternate dimensions…

"So using a random card is just too dangerous. The place you end up might be a place where humans can't even survive. Maybe a world of fire…"

They shuddered…

Trisha sighed and took out her deck.

She leafed through it and found Nanobreaker. She looked at the card.

When a man's an empty kettle,

He should be on his mettle,

And yet I'm torn apart…

Just because I'm assumin'

That I might be kinda human

If I only had a heart…

For some reason, that old song from the old movie had been running through her head for awhile. The Tin Woodsman had sought a heart, desiring emotion and feeling, not realizing until the end of the movie that he had possessed those qualities all along.

Her family had always been good with machines, and the duelists in her family had always used them. But no member of her family had ever been crazy enough to think that machines were anything but devices. Non-sentient tools. She had been the same way…

…until this Monster had introduced her to Critias.

It seemed that even Machine Monsters had Duel Spirits attached to them…

She wondered, as she looked at her cards, with Nanobreaker in the forefront…

Did these creatures have souls?

Souls of silicon, perhaps…

…but souls nonetheless.

And then they were startled as one of the Transporters started to hum…

Trisha and Russell got up.

"Stand back everyone…" said Jason. "There's no telling what's coming out of that thing… It could be another of the Puppeteer's specters for all we know…"

"Or some sort of demon…" said Russell. "Or a hostile Duel Spirit…"

A form materialized.

"Or something much, much worse…" muttered Trisha, as they saw who it was.

Patrick stepped off the pedestal, ignoring Jason entirely.

"Hello, sis," he said. "I see you've made a lot of progress."

"Drop dead…" she said, through her teeth.

"What?" asked Patrick. "Nothing kind to say to your big brother?"

"Patrick, you have a lot of nerve," started Jason.

"Butt out, Jason," said Patrick. "You think you're so big. 'Oh, I'm the Dark Messiah! I'm all powerful!' Don't make me laugh. You're small potatoes compared to who I'm working for."

He smirked at him.

"Why are you called the Dark Messiah, anyway?" he asked. "Don't you work for the powers of Light?"

Jason stared at him for a minute.

Actually, that was a valid question, and he didn't know the answer.

He changed the subject.

"You want to see how powerful I am?" he asked. "What if I were to smite you with a bolt of lightning?"

Patrick stepped back nervously.

"He'll do it, bro…" said Trisha with a grin.

She knew Jason was bluffing, but a little fear never hurt. At least she was pretty sure he was bluffing…

"I don't want to mess with you, Jason," said Patrick. "I want an honorable duel… One with my sister."

Trisha shut her eyes tight, half in frustration, half in anger.

"Trisha!" said Jason. "You have nothing you have to prove. And as for honor, this guy has none of it. I see his soul, and it's rotten to the core. No love for you exists in him any more, if any ever did in the first place."

Trisha stepped up to Patrick.

"What do I have to do…" she asked, "to get you out of my life forever?"

Patrick held his chin for a second.

"Okay, how about we make a wager?" he said.

"A wager?" she asked.

"We duel, fairly," said Patrick. "I don't use any Seal, you don't use any Legendary Dragon. If you win, I'll go out of your life, and you'll never see me again…

"But if I win…

"You have to come with me to meet the Master, without your two friends…"

"Trisha…" said Jason.

"Don't worry, Jason," said Trisha. "His deck doesn't have anything I haven't seen before. And I'm not scared of that Mechanical Exodia either."

Poor, poor, deluded Trisha, thought Patrick. I never saw the cards in my new deck before today, and I guarantee, you haven't either. You have no idea what you're up against.

"All right, Patrick," said Trisha, shuffling her deck. "I'll duel you, and then you'll be on the next train out of Dodge."

Patrick placed his own in his deck in his Disk and it activated.

"Then prepare to face the Royal Army of the Machine King!" he exclaimed.

Royal Army of the Machine King? thought Trisha, as she activated her own. That's a… new one…

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Fortunado watched the unfolding scene with interest.

"So…" said the voice of his benefactor. "How much did those fourteen cards that you gave him cost?"

"All together, around fifteen-hundred euros," replied Fortunado. "And they were hard to get. I had to send people to over ten shops on the continent to find them all. I believe only two professional duelists, one from England and one from France has actually collected enough of the cards to put together a deck like this. But it will be all be worth it if our pawn can take Trisha down."

"Indeed," said the voice. "If he can, Trisha will learn that making that wager was her last mistake. She'll face her final duel alone, in the darkness, without her allies. She'll be easy to dispose of."

"Well, for now let's watch…" said Fortunado.

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"Ready?" asked Patrick.

"Oh yeah…" replied Trisha.

(Trisha: 8,000) -------------------- (Patrick: 8,000)

"Game start…" said Trisha.

"I'll win this duel…" said Patrick, drawing a sixth card, "because Chosen One or no Chosen One, you'll always be the baby of the family!"

He placed two cards on his Disk, and a facedown Monster and a facedown card appeared.

"Heh, heh…" he said. "Your move…"

"Fine," said Trisha, drawing a card.

She added it to her hand.

"And I'm starting out with my favorite Monster…" she said, playing a card. "Nanobreaker in Attack Mode!"

Her Machine look-alike appeared in front of her, brandishing her sword. (1,600/1,800)

"Attack his facedown Monster!" she shouted. "Nano-blade!"

Nanobreaker flew forward. Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive appeared on the card, and with one slash of the sword, it was reduced to scrap.

"I don't think I need to tell you what happens when Dekoichi is flipped," said Patrick, drawing a card.

"Now, before you end your turn, I'll activate my Trap Card…"

His facedown card lifted.

With a rumbling noise, a huge machine rose up behind him. It looked like a cross between a dish antenna and a laser gun, mounted on a pedestal on tank treads. It whirred, and pointed at Trisha.

"Wh… what's that?" she asked.

"It's a Continuous Trap called Cyber Summon Blaster," said Patrick, "and it's got you in its crosshairs. Here's the skinny. Each time either one of us Special Summons a Machine-Type Monster, you get zapped. And it costs you 300 Life Points with each shot."

I was wrong… thought Trisha. He DOES have something I've never seen before…

"Good lord…" muttered Russell. "They're both using Machines! It'll fire every time anything is Special Summoned!"

"I think that was the whole point…" replied Jason.

"Now I'll draw…" said Patrick.

He drew a card.

"And it's time for my army to start its offensive," he said.

He placed a card on his Disk.

"I summon Machiner's Soldier in Attack Mode," he said.

In a beam of light, a tall robot appeared. It was green and silver, shaped like a marine in a flackjacket and helmet, with one glaring eye. Its right arm ended in a nasty blade. (1,600/1,500)

"Huh?" asked Trisha. "A… Machiner?"

"It may not look very impressive," said Patrick, "but when it's summoned when I have no other Monsters on my side of the field, I get to Special Summon another low-level Machiner from my hand, except for another Soldier. And I think that Machiner's Sniper will do."

He placed another card on his Disk, and another robot appeared. This one was taller and thinner, and colored beige. It held a large rifle in its right arm. (1,800/800)

"And let's not forget about my Cyber Summon Blaster," he added. "Fire!"

The Cyber Summon Blaster glowed, and then shot a beam of energy, striking Trisha in the chest!

"And wait until you hear about Sniper's effect," continued Patrick. "When it's on the field, you aren't allowed to attack any Machiners, except for Snipers.

"Not that you could. Machiner's Sniper, attack the Nanobreaker with sniper-shot!"

The Machiner aimed its rifle and fired ten rounds of hot shells. Nanobreaker gave a cry as she was hit in the chest; she fell over, and shattered into pixels.

"Machiner's Soldier, attack directly! Bayonet blade!"

The Soldier flew forward and slashed at Trisha with its blade arm. She shrieked and fell on her behind.

(T: 5,900) -------------------- (P: 8,000)

Patrick grinned.

"Your move…" he said.

Jason was already worried at seeing Trisha lose so many Life Points in one round. But as she drew her next card, something caught his eye that made him worry even more…

…the shadows were rising…

"Patrick, you big jerk!" he shouted. "You would lure your own sister into a Shadow Game?"

"And what if I did?" he asked. "She should be able to take it by now."

"I've seen some sleazy characters since this whole deal started, Patrick," said Jason, "but you're in a class of your own."

"Thank you!" he replied. "I do like to be unique."

Trisha was surprised at the card she had drawn. She had put this Spell Card in her deck at the start of the school year, but up until now, it had always seemed to hit the bottom of her deck.

She shook her head as she added it to her hand. It was powerful, but she couldn't use it right now. Hopefully, its power would be unleashed later.

"Ahem," she said, choosing three other cards. "I'll place two cards facedown, and one Battle Footballer in Defense Mode."

She played three cards. Two facedown cards appeared, and the android athlete materialized, crouching in Defense. (1,000/2,100)

"Try getting past that!" she dared.

"I can try…" said Patrick, drawing.

He looked at the Trap Card.

Hmm… he thought. Rising Energy. This could be useful…

He fit it into his Disk.

"I place one card facedown…" he said.

The card appeared facedown.

"Then I'll play… Rush Recklessly."

He played another card, and Machiner's Soldier rose to an Attack of 2,300.

"Soldier, send her Footballer to the showers!" he ordered.

Machiner's Soldier flew forward, and with one downward swipe, Battle Footballer exploded.

"Sniper, show her how Nanobreaker felt!"

Sniper raised its rifle and pumped ten rounds into Trisha's chest. She screamed and fell over.

(T: 4,100) -------------------- (P: 8,000)

Trisha slowly got up.

Swords I can handle… she thought. Claws and teeth I can handle. Destructive magical spells, energy blasts, and being slugged by bludgeons I can handle. But being filled full of lead?

I'm going to be feeling that in the morning…

She looked out to the street, where the inky blackness of Jason's Yami Spell was still shrouding the city with darkness.

That is, if there is another morning…

As she got up, Patrick placed a card on his Disk.

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

A facedown Monster appeared.

"Huh?" asked Russell. "Why Defense Mode? If he had summoned something in Attack Mode, he could have attacked her twice."

"Clearly, that Monster he just set has a flip-effect," said Jason. "But exactly what… I have no idea.

"I don't think it's another Dekoichi…"

Trisha drew a card.

"Okay, bro…" she said. "I play Pot of Greed…"

She played the card, and the chuckling jar appeared. She drew twice.

She looked at one of the two cards.

It was the card that the Sage of Duelists had given to her!

"Patrick!" she shouted. "A question…"

"Yes?" he asked.

"What Attribute of Monster are these Machiners?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked with a laugh. "Planning to use your Elemental Blight card that you're so fond of?"

"Answer the question…" she demanded.

"They're Earth Monsters," he said. "Happy?"

No harm in her knowing, he thought. I put Rising Energy in my deck because I knew she had that Trap. And I have it facedown right now. If she uses it to decrease the Attack of my Sniper by 1,500, I only need to discard one card from my hand, and its Attack will increase by 1,500, back to its original level.

And with the Monster I'm ultimately preparing to summon, losing 1,500 Attack Points won't make much of a difference.

Trisha added the card to her hand, and took the other one.

"I summon Bokoichi the Freightening Car in Defense Mode," she said.

Bokoichi appeared, shielding itself. (500/500)

"And next…" she continued, "I play Machine Duplication, to bring two more to the field."

She played a Spell Card, and two more Bokoichis appeared.

"You make this too easy!" laughed Patrick, as the Cyber Summon Blaster started to glow. "That means my Blaster gets to fire twice!"

It fired two more times, and Trisha screamed again.

(T: 3,500) -------------------- (P: 8,000)

She stopped to catch her breath.

"Your move…" she growled.

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Fortunado watched, rubbing his chin.

"It goes against my better judgment," said the voice of his benefactor, "but I must admit, I'm impressed. Having him add that Trap to his deck was a stroke of genius."

"Oh, I can't take credit for that one," said Fortunado. "It was his own idea. All cheating aside, he's a pretty good duelist."

"Indeed," said the voice. "One can't win a duel by Normal Summoning alone. Special Summoning makes up half of every duelist's strategy. But every time that happens, Trisha will get hurt, and her life will ebb away slowly but surely.

"This will finally tip the odds in our favor…"

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Patrick drew a card.

"You see, Trisha?" he said. "I don't need to cheat to win! I don't need the Orichalcos or counterfeit cards or trick shuffling! My own skill as a duelist can still far outshine that of even the elite ones at your miserable school.

"And I can surely beat you. You'll always be my little sister…"

He looked at the card he had drawn.

He looked at Trisha with an evil expression.

"I'm guessing you got what you wanted…" she said.

"Indeed…" said Patrick. "But to summon it, I need to do a few things first….

"I flip my facedown Monster into Attack Mode. Meet… Machiner's Defender."

The card flipped up, and another robot appeared. This one was a bulky tank with a grim face and two rocket launchers on its "shoulders". (1,200/1,800)

Patrick took his deck out of the holder.

"And its flip-effect lets me search my deck for a specific Monster and add it to my hand."

He got what he needed, and then reshuffled.

"And I summon him now…" he continued. "Meet the supreme commander of the Royal Army of the Machine King!

"I summon… General Commander Covinton."

He placed a card on his Disk.

In a flash, a small form appeared next to the Machiners…

It was another robot, about five feet tall, built to look like he was wearing beige riding pants, a military jacket, and a necktie. He wore a pointed helmet that concealed most of his face – only beady, green, glowing eyes were visible under it. (1,000/600)

Russell stared for a minute.

"He's the general?" he asked in disbelief. "Marauding Captain hasn't made major yet, and he could beat that guy."

"Be wary," said Jason. "I sense that this Covinton has a powerful effect…"

"Indeed…" said Patrick. "Show them what you can do, General!"

General Commander Covinton produced a bugle, and started to play a rousing tune…

"Reveille…" muttered Russell. "A call to arms…"

Then Machiner's Soldier, Machiner's Sniper, and Machiner's Defender vanished.

"You see, Trisha…" said Patrick, "when Covinton is on the field, I can sacrifice the three lesser Machiners to summon my ultimate weapon!"

He placed a card on his Disk, and with a rumble, a huge Machine rose up behind him! It was a huge mecha, as big as Ancient Gear Golem, with armor, thick limbs, and a large rifle in its hands. On its back was a unit, out of which reached two mechanical limbs that held two giant missile launchers!

"Meet Machiner's Force!" shouted Patrick.

(4,600/4,100)

"Forty-six hundred Attack Points?" shouted Trisha. "You gotta be kidding!"

She was interrupted as the Cyber Summon Blaster zapped her again.

"And this gets even worse, Trisha," continued Patrick. "Did I mention that as well as being a towering, unstoppable juggernaut of death, Machiner's Force has a nifty effect as well? I simply have to send one card on my side of the field to the grave to activate it, and since Covinton has served his purpose, I'll use him…"

Covinton saluted, and then shattered into pixels.

"In return," said Patrick, "I get to Special Summon Machiner's Soldier, Machiner's Sniper, and Machiner's Defender right back from my Graveyard."

The three Machiners reappeared in front of the enormous juggernaut!

"And that counts as three more Special Summons…" he said with an evil grin.

Trisha shrieked as the Blaster blasted her three more times.

(T: 2,300) -------------------- (P: 8,000)

"Now to finish you!" shouted Patrick. "Soldier… Sniper… Defender… Destroy her toy train set!"

Soldier slashed with its blade, Sniper blasted its rifle, and Defender launched a barrage of missiles, and the three Freightening Cards were blown to bits.

"And now…" said Patrick.

"I activate Hyper Refresh!" screamed Trisha, as one of her facedown cards lifted. "It doubles my Life Points, to 4,600!"

"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!" laughed Patrick. "A futile attempt! 4,600 is exactly how many Attack Points my Machiner's Force has!

"Of course, this Monster does have one little downside. I have to pay 1,000 Life Points to order it to attack. But since this duel will be over once I do…

"Machiner's Force, attack her directly with scud missile death barrage!"

Machiner's Force started to glow.

"I activate Nutrient Z!" screamed Trisha.

Her other facedown card lifted, just as a volley of burning, flaming missiles flew forward, honing in on her.

She was thrown back ten feet, and her cards scattered all over the room.

Her Trap had activated successfully…

…but it hadn't stopped a direct attack with more power behind it than Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon…

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"Oh, for the love of…" groaned Fortunado. "He was so close! How lucky can these kids be?"

The reply was sinister laughter.

"Take heart, my friend," said the voice. "The Shadow Game makes such a mighty attack a tremendous shock to the duelist's system, and to the very soul. Trisha has been knocked out cold.

"She may have Life Points left, but whether or not she can rise after that blow to her system… That is a much different question.

"Let's find out, shall we?"

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(T: 4,000) -------------------- (P: 7,000)

"Trisha!" pleaded Jason. "Get up!"

"Oh, stand aside, Mr. Dork Messiah," said Patrick. "I've won, and I want my side of the bargain to be honored."

"Stay… away…" said Russell, angrily. "She activated Nutrient Z, so she gained 4,000 Life Points before that attack hit. This duel isn't over."

"Oh, please…" muttered Patrick.

"If you want to get a punch from something that isn't a hologram," said Russell, "then by all means, come closer."

"Fine, have it your way," said Patrick. "We'll use Pro League rules."

"Pro League rules?" asked Russell.

"Yes," said Patrick, looking at his watch. "I'm ending my turn right now. That means she has one minute to start her turn. If she doesn't, it counts as a forfeit."

"You sleazy, slimy, piece of…" snarled Russell.

"You're something else," said Patrick, tapping his foot. "I'm only giving you sixty seconds to wake her up, and you're spending them insulting me?"

"Sixty seconds?" yelled Jason.

"Well, actually, it's more like forty-five now…" replied Patrick, looking at his watch again.

"Trisha…" begged Jason again. "Please get up…"

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Trisha looked around.

She remembered this place.

She was in the factory where she had been taken during her first Orichalcos duel, where Nanobreaker had introduced her to Critias.

Nanobreaker and Critias weren't here now. Only the pounding of machinery in the strange factory of brass and silver remained.

Her eyes fell on a large golden chest.

She walked over to it. She knelt down, and slowly opened it…

A soft glow came from within…

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"Fifteen seconds…" said Patrick.

"No…" moaned Jason. "It can't end like…"

Trisha's eyes opened.

"…this?"

Trisha sat up.

She reached for her deck. Her hand fumbled…

And then she drew a card off her deck.

Slowly, she got up, stumbling once. She slowly picked up the cards she had dropped.

"I'm not… out of… this yet…" she muttered.

(T: 4,000) -------------------- (P: 7,000)

"That's what I get for being nice…" muttered Patrick. "You are tough. You got that from dad's side. But as tough as you are, you'll never withstand another blow. Nothing you could summon could stand up to my Machiners.

"Not unless you have the Winged Dragon of Ra in your deck."

Trisha looked over her cards.

"I place one card facedown," she said, fitting a card into her Disk, "and that will end my turn."

A facedown card appeared.

"HA, HA, HA!" laughed Patrick, drawing a card. "And I'm supposed to believe that you drew Mirror Force just when you needed it?

"Well… I hardly need to summon a fifth Monster… But I want to humiliate you."

He threw a card on his Disk.

"I summon Robotic Knight in Attack Mode."

In a flash of light, a golden droid in the shape of a cavalier, holding a sword appeared. (1,600/1,800)

"I activate my Trap Card!" shouted Trisha. "Courtesy of the Sage of Duelists! Go, Elemental Absorber!"

Her facedown card lifted.

"Here's how it works, bro," she said. "I remove from play one Monster in my hand. And for as long as this Continuous Trap is in effect, it negates the attacks of all of your Monsters who have the same Attribute as the one I'm removing.

"So it's a good thing that the card I just drew was this one… Red Gadget, an Earth Monster!"

She held up the Monster Card, and it vanished. A dome-shaped carousel with four spires on the top appeared in front of her, and one of the spires glowed with tan light.

"All right!" shouted Russell. "She's shielded herself from all those Machiners!"

Patrick frowned.

"The Machiners, yes," he said. "But Robotic Knight is a Fire Monster.

"Go! Attack her directly!"

Robotic Knight flew forward, and slashed across Trisha's torso with his blade.

"And it's only a matter of time before I smash that barrier down, dear sister…" he said. "I end my turn…"

(T: 2,400) -------------------- (P: 7,000)

Trisha drew a card.

"I play my Graceful Charity," she exclaimed.

She played the card, and the angel appeared. She drew three cards.

She smirked. She discarded Soul Release and Advanced Robotics.

"Next, I summon Machine King Prototype," she continued.

In a beam of light, Prototype appeared. (1,600/1,500) –) (2,100/1,500)

"And now I play this Spell Card," she continued. "It's called Imperial Upgrade."

She played the card. A Continuous Spell Card appeared, bearing the image of several Mighty Guards fixing Machine King with wielding torches.

"And what does that do?" asked Patrick.

"Nothing, yet," answered Trisha. "You'll just have to wait and see. Next, I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy…"

She paused.

"…your facedown card!"

She played the card, and the whirlwind tore forward. Rising Energy lifted…

"I chain-activate my Rising Energy!" he shouted, discarding his last card. "Now Machiner's Sniper gains 1,500 Attack Points for this round!"

Sniper rose to 3,300 Attack.

"Oh, but it wasn't my target…" said Trisha. "Your Robotic Knight was.

"Prototype, attack the Robotic Knight! Laser phaser!"

Prototype fired its eye beams, and Robotic Knight burst in a fiery explosion. Patrick shielded himself…

(T: 2,400) -------------------- (P: 6,500)

"It's your move, brother…" said Trisha.

Patrick angrily drew a card as Sniper returned to 1,800 Attack.

Hey… he thought.

"I'll place this card facedown," he said, "and that will be my turn."

Trisha nervously looked at the facedown card.

She drew. She paused.

"Well then," she said, "during my Standby Phase, the first effect of Imperial Upgrade activates. It lets me sacrifice Machine King Prototype to Special Summon the real Machine King from my deck."

Prototype faded away, and was replaced by the full-grown Machine King. (2,200/2,000) –) (2,700/2,000)

The Cyber Summon Blaster glowed. Trisha cringed as it zapped her once again.

"Oh, really?" said Patrick, as if nothing had happened. "Well, why don't I activate this Trap Card…"

His facedown card lifted, showing the image of a group of peasants in front of two knights, one of whom was reading an edict.

"Royal Writ of Taxation," he said. "It's a mouthful. And it could be a handful. I'll explain…

"According to the terms of this writ, we choose one card in your hand at random. Of course, you only have the one you just drew. You then have until the end of my next turn to Normal Summon it, if it's a Monster, or activate it, if it's a Spell or a Trap.

"If you can't, you pay a tax of 1,000 Life Points. If you can, I pay the tax. Understand?"

"Yeah…" said Trisha, looking at it, "and that shouldn't be hard…"

She showed him the card…

Premature Burial.

She played the card. Nanobreaker burst out of the ground. (1,600/1,800)

Patrick grunted as he was shocked by a burst of energy from the Trap Card.

"That still counts as a Special Summon!" he shouted.

The Blaster zapped Trisha yet again!

"I end my turn…" she muttered, gripping her chest.

(T: 1,000) -------------------- (P: 5,500)

"Heh, heh…" chuckled Patrick. "I may have lost that gambit, Trisha, but I still came out ahead in the end. It cost you more Life Points than it did me…"

"He's right…" muttered Russell. "Patrick may have lost 1,000 Life Points, but Trisha lost 1,100… 800 from playing Premature Burial, and 300 from the Blaster."

"At least now she has another Monster on the field," said Jason. "Machiner's Force is still a threat, but slowly but surely, she's chipping away at his Life Points."

"Why did she end her turn without attacking?" asked Russell.

"I have a pretty good idea…" said Jason.

He looked at the field.

"I draw…" said Patrick.

He looked at the card…

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" he chuckled, looking at it.

"I'll place this card facedown, and that will do for now…" he said.

A facedown card appeared as he placed it in his Disk.

"A facedown card?" said Russell.

"Yeah…" muttered Jason. "And I'm afraid I can guess exactly what it is…

"Let's just hope my suspicions are correct…"

"All right," said Trisha, "here goes…"

She drew.

"And here goes my Trap Card!" shouted Patrick, as his facedown card flipped up. "Dust Tornado!"

The tornado blew across the field, and the Elemental Absorber was blown to pieces!

"So much for that," he said with an evil grin. "Your shield is gone, and next round, I'll attack with everything!"

"I don't think so," said Trisha, playing the card she had drawn. "I've got just enough Monsters in my Graveyard to play this… Pot of Avarice."

The ridiculous, pink version of the Pot of Greed appeared in front of her. All three Bokoichis, Battle Footballer, and Machine King Prototype slipped out of her discard slot. She combined them with her deck, reshuffled, and drew twice.

"And I don't need Elemental Absorber any more," she said, looking at them. "In case you didn't notice, my Imperial Upgrade hasn't left the field. You see, this Standby Phase, I can sacrifice Machine King to Special Summon Perfect Machine King from my deck."

Machine King vanished, and the even bigger robotic monarch appeared. (2,700/1,500)

The Cyber Summon Blaster shot its beam at her again.

"And that will be the final time…" she said, angrily. "Next, I'll Normal Summon Mechanicalchaser."

She played a card, and the blade-wielding machine hunter appeared. (1,850/800)

"I didn't forget about your Sniper's ability, Patrick," she said. "I have to get rid of it in order to attack any other Machiner. So Mechanicalchaser, attack Machiner's Sniper!"

Mechanicalchaser's blades spun like a demented lawn mower, and it flew at Machiner's Sniper. The robot dropped its rifle, sparked, and exploded in a burst of energy.

"Now Patrick…" she said. "A math problem. If Perfect Machine King gains 500 Attack Points for every Machine on the field other than himself, and there are now two other Machines on my side of the field and three on yours, what Monster is most likely going to be blown to Hell in a few seconds?"

Perfect Machine King glowed…

(5,200/1,500)

"Hey! Wait a minute!" shouted Patrick.

"Perfect Machine King…" ordered Trisha, "take down his Machiner's Force! Mega missile assault!"

Perfect Machine King fired a barrage of missiles from his shoulders, and the larger robot staggered back. Explosions erupted all over Machiner's Force's armor… Finally, it collapsed, and burst into a flaming explosion of hot metal and slag.

"I'm not done!" yelled Trisha. "Nanobreaker, destroy Machiner's Defender! Nano-blade!"

Nanobreaker leapt up, and cleaved her sword down the middle of the tank. A look of shock appeared on its face, and it exploded into flames.

CRUD! thought Patrick. Why the Hell didn't I move it into Defense Mode?

(T: 700) -------------------- (P: 4,450)

"I'll place my last card facedown, and that will end my turn…" she said. "And now you're in trouble. Only one Monster left, and no cards in your hand…"

She played her last card, and a facedown card appeared. Perfect Machine King fell to an Attack of 4,200.

Patrick slowly drew a card.

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

"You almost turned it around Trisha, but now it ends…"

He showed her the card.

"I just drew Limiter Removal!"

"No…" muttered Russell.

"Once I play it," continued Patrick, "Machiner's Soldier will double in strength from 1,600 Attack Points to 3,200, and once he attacks Nanobreaker, you'll lose 1,600 Life Points, which is 900 more than you have.

"Sorry it has to end like this, with me striking down your avatar… But you should have chosen a better one anyway. She's a pretty useless Monster when you come to think of it, anyway…"

"Now wait just a minute!" snapped Trisha.

Nanobreaker looked pretty angry too.

"What?" asked Patrick. "So she automatically wins any battle she starts with a Monster who has three stars or less. Big deal. Useful against Injection Fairy Lily or Giant Soldier of Stone, I guess, but a Monster with 1,600 Attack Points could defeat ninety percent of low-level Monsters anyway."

Tears started to form in Trisha's eyes.

"Patrick, you…" she muttered.

"What?" asked Patrick. "You wanna know something Trisha? When I first came to work for Fortunado, he didn't tell me to go after Dr. Artemis. He told me simply to choose a target.

"And she was not my first idea for a target! I wanted to take you down more. After what you said to me when I was expelled, I felt betrayed. I wanted revenge against you more.

"But I didn't want to seem like some ogre who'd steal the soul of his own sister, so I reconsidered. I made a mistake. If I had, Critias may never have come."

"Betrayal?" shouted Trisha. "What about how I felt?

"Patrick, when it was first suggested that you were cheating, I defended you. I stood behind you. I told anyone who would listen that no member of the Moise family would sink so low…

"And I repeatedly asked you to look me in the eye and tell me that all the accusations weren't true.

"You did. You looked me in the eye and lied. When proof was released, I was the one who was betrayed. I had defended someone who didn't deserve it.

"And now you've sunk to the ultimate low. Siding with the forces of darkness for an insane desire for revenge. Don't you have any decency?

"If you don't, you may as well play that card… I don't want to live with you in my shadow any more…"

"Touching…" said Patrick with a smirk. "Utterly pathetic. I didn't think you of all people would stoop to pleading with me, Trisha…"

He threw the card into his Disk.

"Guess you aren't so tough after all… You're soft!"

Machiner's Soldier glowed with fire, and rose to 3,200 Attack Points.

"Attack the Nanobreaker!"

The Soldier flew at Nanobreaker…

Trisha grinned a wicked smile.

"That's exactly what I wanted you to do… sucker…" she said.

Her facedown card lifted. It showed a group of colorful-dressed warriors floating in space.

"I activate my Zero Gravity Trap!" she said with a laugh. "This forces all Monsters on the field to switch Modes."

Perfect Machine King, Nanobreaker, and Mechanicalchaser all crouched in Defense Mode. Then, Machiner's Soldier backed away, and also crouched in Defense Mode.

Patrick gasped...

"You…" he muttered. "You were just playing with me… You were distracting me so that I'd forget about your facedown card!"

"Yeah, pretty much," said Trisha, crossing her arms. "Did you actually think I'd try to plead and reason with you? I figured you were beyond redemption the minute you used the Seal against Dr. Artemis.

"You're the one who's soft, Patrick. Soft in the head, that is.

"And since that was your only card, you have to end your turn now, and since you played Limiter Removal, that means Machiner's Soldier is destroyed."

The Soldier burst into pixels.

Trisha smirked. She drew a card.

"Time to end this…" she said. "I move Perfect Machine King and Nanobreaker back into Attack Mode."

The two Machines stood back up.

"Perfect Machine King, attack him directly!"

The Machine monarch fired its missiles, and Patrick screamed as they exploded around him.

"And finally," she continued, "Nanobreaker wants a piece of you for calling her worthless…"

Nanobreaker leapt up, and slammed her sword into Patrick.

He fell over, and was out cold.

(T: 700) -------------------- (P: 0)

"Game over… brother…" said Trisha with a grin.

Nanobreaker turned and looked at Trisha. She grinned before she and the two other Machines vanished.

Then the Interdimensional Matter Transporter behind Patrick hummed, and slowly, he vanished as well.

Jason came up to Trisha and hugged her.

"Easy…" she said. "I'm still a little tender…"

"We were worried…" said Jason. "You were knocked out for a while…"

"I know…" said Trisha. "I was in the place where I met Critias…"

She paused.

"There was a golden chest… I opened it… And it had the answer to his question inside."

"What question?" asked Russell.

"About the title," she replied. "Why Dark Messiah?"

She paused.

"We aren't fighting for Light. We aren't opposing Darkness. We're trying to preserve them both.

"The world can't survive if one is eradicated. It's an old saying that if there was no darkness, we wouldn't know light.

"The opposing forces in the Reckoning are the Divine and the Chaos. The outcome will decide what controls Light, Darkness, Dreams, and Shadow…

"We must ensure that Divine wins, or even the Light will be corrupted.

"So the title has two parts: 'Dark', meaning Darkness, and 'Messiah', a symbol of Light. No matter how opposed they are, we must save them both."

Jason paused.

He took the two cards off the top of his deck.

They were Ryu-Kishin Powered and Blade Knight.

He nodded…

Then a pain ripped through his head.

"Ergh!" he groaned, holding his head.

"What!" exclaimed Russell.

"An Orichalcos duel…" he replied.

"One of our friends?" asked Trisha, in near panic.

Jason concentrated.

"Dr. Artemis…" he said. "She was forced into one… She's in trouble right now…

"It's her draw right now, but if something isn't done…

"I fear it might be her last…"

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In the Master's throne room, Cleo and Sebastian were on their knees. The Master stood in front of them.

"I didn't expect to give anyone a chance like this," she said. "After all, you two have seen me in full light, and I normally do not share my looks with those who I don't intend to devour…"

They shuddered.

"But you two know the deal," she continued. "One last chance, due to Cassius's… generosity. And he's counting on you most of all."

They didn't respond. They knew by now when to speak, and when to be silent.

The Master handed a deck to Cleo.

"I got your deck back," she said, as she looked through them. "Good as new, with a couple of improvements I thought of myself."

She handed another deck to Sebastian.

"I was able to retrieve yours too, and I made some adjustments to it, so that the two decks will work together. The Spirits may have left, but that is hardly needed.

"Now go… Your quarry awaits. And any time you think you can't handle it, remember that Cassius is still trussed up and held prisoner inside me. He's counting on you…"

They nodded.

They turned to leave…

The Master slumped in her chair.

I want this done with as soon as possible, she thought. This all went wrong…

By making Cassius choose, I had hoped to spawn several things in the one who had been left behind. Envy… wrath… hatred… I would have come out ahead whether they'd have won or lost.

Win, and I'd have a much better servant. Lose, and he or she would be better… seasoned when the time came for me to consume.

But instead…

She frowned.

Instead, Cassius chose compassion and mercy. Normally it would bring me pleasure to feed on one who showed such traits, but I simply can't until I have greater powers. And so long as his soul is trussed up inside me, the spark of generosity he had…

It pains me… Like an ulcer.

Even worse, while Cleo and Sebastian will still try to win, they have a motivation I can do without. Now they are feeling true feelings of loyalty and compassion towards Cassius. That's all I need…

I need this over with, fast. I need them to win…

Russell and Trisha will be excellent for the first course…

Tuesday, November 10th, 2106, 7:50 PM

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MACHINER'S SOLDIER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 4
ATK: 1,600
DEF: 1,500

Card Description: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned when you have no other Monsters on your side of the field, you may Special Summon one Monster of four stars or less from your hand that has the word "Machiner's" in its name, except for a "Machiner's Soldier".

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MACHINER'S SNIPER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 4
ATK: 1,800
DEF: 800

Card Description: When this card is face-up on your side of the field, your opponent cannot target Monsters with the word "Machiner's" in their names, except for "Machiner's Sniper"(s), for an attack.

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MACHINER'S DEFENDER (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 4
ATK: 1,200
DEF: 1,800

Card Description: Flip: Search your deck for one "General Commander Covinton" and add it to your hand. Then reshuffle your deck.

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GENERAL COMMANDER COVINTON (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 4
ATK: 1,000
DEF: 600

Card Description: When this card is face-up on your side of the field, you may offer one "Machiner's Soldier", one "Machiner's Sniper", and one "Machiner's Defender" as a Tribute to Special Summon one "Machiner's Force" from your hand.

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MACHINER'S FORCE (Monster Card)

Card Specs

Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 10
ATK: 4,600
DEF: 4,100

Card Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "General Commander Covinton". You must pay 1,000 Life Points to attack with this card. If you send one card from your side of the field to the Graveyard while this card is on the field, you may Special Summon one "Machiner's Soldier", one "Machiner's Sniper", and one "Machiner's Defender" from your Graveyard.

Note: "Machiner's Soldier", "Machiner's Sniper", "Machiner's Defender", "General Commander Covinton", and "Machiner's Force" are Japanese promotional cards that have not yet been released in the United States.

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IMPERIAL UPGRADE (Spell Card)

Card Specs

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

Image: Several Mighty Guards working on Machine King with wielding torches.

Card Description: You can only activate this card immediately after Normal Summoning, Flip-Summoning, or Special Summoning "Machine King Prototype". On your first Standby Phase after playing this card, offer that "Machine King Prototype" as a Tribute to Special Summon one "Machine King" from your hand or deck. On your second Standby Phase after playing this card, offer that "Machine King" as a Tribute to Special Summon one "Perfect Machine King" from your hand or deck. If this card is destroyed, destroy the Monster that was Special Summoned by this card. If the Monster Special Summoned by this card is destroyed, destroy this card.

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Coming up next:

You're going to have to wait for Cassius and Sebastian to make their move. Next chapter, we're switching locales. In case you didn't notice, Dr. Artemis has run into trouble as she holds down the fort. A dark secret from her past has come back to haunt her.

What skeletons does this woman hold in her closet? Find out, in a chapter called "Scapegoat", coming up next.