My name is Leopold, the Shadow Spawn of Earth…

You may remember how Kurtis told Francesca that we "knew" how mom dealt with traitors, and didn't elaborate on it… Maybe I can do so by giving an example, and telling you about someone who she considered the worst traitor.

He was one of the few officers in her army not a member of the Company of Malice. He wasn't the Queen's most powerful servant, not by a long shot, but he had an ego that was almost as big as mom's back at the time before the Three Heroes struck (which is saying a lot). His original plan was to win her heart and convince her to marry him, but when it was obvious that this would fail, he saw an opportunity when the Heroes stormed the Palace: he could dispose of whichever side won, seeing as that side would clearly be exhausted, and rule the Empire of Shadow himself.

A big part of this plan involved gaining a magical sword that mom had given to her second-in-command, the first of a long line of people who have held Grodus' position. It was a powerful weapon that, in theory, could have killed even her. This powerful dark warrior was much cleverer and far more powerful than any of his successors; he managed to separate the Unicorn Maiden from her allies and her Companions, and engage her in a battle that she eventually started to lose. But just when it seemed that a third of the Queen's problems was about to be eliminated, the betrayer stabbed him in the back. He then tried to turn his weapon on the Unicorn Maiden, but it seemed that his first victim had enough strength left for one last strike, which he turned against the traitor, wounding him horribly.

But when the first victim actually died, a scream echoed through the Palace, shaking the whole structure… The Shadow Queen's scream of anguish… Clearly, there was a reason why the traitor's original plan to marry her failed… She loved someone else.

He took the hint, and made a run for it. He never even got the sword – the Unicorn Maiden picked it up. He still lives, and thinks that mom has forgotten about him, or maybe forgiven him, but she knows exactly where he is. He's only safe because he'shundreds of miles away, and there are limits to what mom's henchmen can do. When she's in a bad mood, she often tells us about the well-detailed punishment he'll receive if she ever gets her hands on him, which is enough to give us nightmares. More so than actually seeing what she does to traitors who she's actually caught…

And since she considers him the worst traitor… Well… You get the idea.

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DUEL FIFTY-FOUR

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Rare Value

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Andy woke up.

He hadn't known he had been asleep, but apparently he had. His two friends had nodded off too, and were snoring next to him.

"Wake up guys, wake up!" he shouted, shaking them.

They slowly sat up.

"Man, we have to be crazy…" he said, "falling asleep in this place…"

Stan looked at his watch.

"It's four o'clock in the morning…" he said. "Just how long have we been in this place?"

Before he could answer, a small sheet of paper fluttered down from the ceiling. Andy caught it, and they all looked at it.

What looked like a small, incomplete poem was written on it:

Taffy was a chemist.

Taffy is no more.

What Taffy thought was H2O

Was

The last line was followed by a blank, indicating that a word was supposed to go there.

"What on Earth does that mean?" asked Francesca.

"Well, H2O is water, of course…" replied Stan.

"Hold on…" said Andy. "I think I may have heard something like that before…"

He dug into his pocket and took a pen out of it. Then he put the paper on the floor and wrote "H2SO4" in the blank.

"Yeah, that rhymes," he said.

"H2SO4…" said Stan. "Ah… Sulfuric acid, right?"

"Yeah…" said Andy. "I think Leopold might be trying to get our attention…"

Then the hand glowed again, and a portal of bronze-colored energy appeared in front of them. It didn't pull them in, however.

"At least he's letting us walk in this time…" said Andy.

His voice lowered.

"We all clear on…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but nodded. They nodded back.

Let's just hope the Queen isn't truly omniscient in this place… he thought.

They slowly approached the portal.

0000000000

The morning sun started to peak over the horizon in Poshley Heights…

But the new day would not end the Shadow Queen's assault, it appeared.

A blast of flame hit a building, setting fire to the roof. A twisted laugh came the one who had caused it: a six-foot-eight muscular, bare-chested man with fire for hair and tattoos on his arms wearing a kilt, the Duel Spirit Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi.

"Hey, where's everyone goin'?" he laughed. "Just wanted to liven up this place… It was kinda dull, you know?"

He looked around.

"Meh…" he said. "Trashing this place would only improve it…"

He held up his hand, and another fireball appeared in it… Then he was startled, as a small stab hit him in the left shoulder.

It hadn't hurt him much, but he did turn around and saw what had hit him. Dumbfounded, he saw a pink parasol on the ground.

"Hey, flame-brain!" shouted a voice.

He looked up, and saw Cindy glaring at him with a cross look. He smirked a little.

"You think you can come here and start blowing up everything in sight?" she said.

"Who's gonna stop me?" he asked. "You?"

Cindy frowned, and held up her left arm, which held her Duel Disk. Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi chuckled a little.

"Strawberry Shortcake wants to duel me?" he laughed. "Well… How can I say no?"

A bronze Duel Disk with a tray shaped like a flame appeared on his arm. Cindy activated hers…

0000000000

The three teenagers entered another subterranean location. Unlike the place they met Tyson, there was no fire here. Just a dark, dank, limestone cavern. Exactly what was providing illumination was uncertain.

As they expected, Leopold was at the other end of the grotto, sitting behind an altar that was rather plain; just a stone slab roughly in the shape of a trapezoid. Like his siblings, he was wearing armor of the same style, the color of tarnished brass.

He wasn't looking at them when they entered, instead focusing his attention on a book he was holding.

As he read, he said the following:

"I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing Hell, or fearing Heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of Hell, I think the boredom of Heaven would be even worse."

He closed the book.

"Isaac Asimov said that…" he said. "Strong words, wouldn't you say? Not that I believe him…

"I notice you solved my riddle…"

"Yeah, it was funny, Leopold," replied Andy. "In a morbid way…"

"Black comedy is as old as comedy itself, Mr. Markova," said Leopold. "Ever hear of Edward Gorey? Charles Addams?"

"Yes…" said Andy.

"Amateurs, both of them," replied Leopold. "You'd find humor much grimmer than theirs even if you read Lewis Carroll's work closely enough, and there were many even better ones before him."

Andy rubbed his chin as he looked at the Shadow Spawn of Earth.

"You claim to be so smart, Leopold," said Andy. "Well, Wile E. Coyote claimed to be a genius too."

Leopold actually started to laugh.

"Ah, yes," he said, "I fondly remember those cartoons when I was a youngster… You might call stuff like that black humor too, by the way. You know, I think that guy would have done better if he simply stopped ordering his equipment from that same company… I think it was named 'Acme', I believe?"

"He worked for them," said Francesca. "They mentioned that in movie, I think."

"I have a question for you…" said Andy. "Who controls Law?"

"Eh?" said Leopold, "what are you talking about?"

"It's simple," said Andy. "Is the being who controls Law a lawful being himself? It's not as easy a question as you may think.

"If the answer is yes, then it would mean that there's a higher authority than that being, and it doesn't truly control Law.

"But if the answer is no, then it would mean that the being who controls Law is itself lawless."

Leopold chuckled softly.

"Nice try, Mr. Markova," he said. "You're trying to get me to doubt my intelligence by posing a paradox. Unfortunately – for you – I know of that paradox. It was posed by Plato, who attributed it to Socrates.

"And believe me, I've studied philosophers who have posed far more confusing paradoxes in my time. Ever hear of the Pinocchio Paradox?"

"The Pinocchio Paradox?" asked Andy.

"It doesn't have the cosmic implications that your paradox does," said Leopold, "but it's still confusing. The question is, what would happen if Pinocchio said 'My nose is now going to grow'?

"See, he'd be lying, and lying causes Pinocchio's nose to grow, but when it did in response to such a statement, that would make the statement the truth, wouldn't it?"

He looked at them.

"Wow…" said Stan.

"Such questions have no answers, Mr. Markova," said Leopold, "and even wasting time trying to answer them is proof of stupidity."

Okay… thought Andy. I guess he is kinda smart… Getting into a battle of wits with him is likely futile.

"Leopold, listen…" he said, "your brother tried to tell us something a while ago. I don't suppose you'd tell us."

Leopold looked at him. Then he turned his head slightly, and looked at him again with an odd sideways glance.

"You want to elaborate on that?" he asked.

"Something about your mother, I think…" replied Andy. "Maybe something only you six would know?"

The Spawn gave him that odd sideways glance again.

"Doesn't narrow it down much…" he said. "We know a lot of things about her that no-one else does…"

He sighed. Then he lifted his left gauntlet, and like before, the Duel Disk unfolded.

"Enough with the small talk, Mr. Markova…" he sighed.

"I guess asking you to stop this madness is going to be just as pointless with you as it was with the others?" asked Andy.

"Let me be perfectly honest," replied Leopold.

He took a card from his deck.

"I would have stopped a long time ago if it were possible… But while Richard Feynman once claimed he wanted to memorize pi to the 762nd digit, even he never wasted time trying to find its finite value, because he knew it was impossible.

"Which is why I know it's too late…"

He held up the card, and a cute little guy with a body shaped like an inverted cone (no legs), rubbery arms, and glowing eyes under a large, wide-brimmed wizard's hat, appeared behind him, hovering in mid-air. (1,000 ATK)

"Huh?" said Andy. "Who's that?"

"Gem Merchant," said Leopold. "He'll be my Deckmaster for this duel."

Gem Merchant? thought Leopold. Could the Queen have… I mean, she's already copied the Destiny Heroes, maybe she…

No, no, not likely… More than half of them aren't Earth Monsters…

He held up the card, and Lord of Dragons appeared behind him again. (1,200 ATK)

Hopefully, I'll get more use out of this guy than last time…

He took his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on.

"It's time…" said Leopold. "No threats, no blackmail, no hostages… Just you and me…"

(Andy: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Leopold: 8,000)

"Your Monster beats mine by 200 points, so I draw first…" said Leopold, as he made his first draw.

He carefully set three cards in his Disk. The first card to appear was a Monster, in a sideways position, and then two cards behind it.

"That will do to start…" he said. "Just letting you know in advance… What you're up against this time is entirely different than what I had in Twilight Town."

Doesn't exactly tell me much… thought Andy. Earth is a rather common Attribute…

He drew a card, and looked at Mirage Dragon.

All right! he thought. It's a beginning…

"I'll throw this guy out," he said, as the shimmering, transparent Dragon appeared. (1,600 ATK)

"Then I'll use my Deckmaster effect, and pay 500 Life Points to summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok too…"

The Spellcaster glowed, and the wispy, wise-looking Dragon appeared. (1,500 ATK)

"Mirage Dragon's effect prevents you from using Trap Cards when I attack, so don't bother.

"Attack with Spectrum Blast!"

The bolt of multi-colored light shot towards the card, and it flipped up, causing a sleek, armored figure with plate armor that appeared to be made of white, crystalline stone to appear kneeling on it. (2,100 ATK)

Andy shouted as the bolt bounced off, and a sharp pain hit him in the chest.

"That was Gem-Knight Sapphire," said Leopold. "Know how hard sapphires are? They register 9 on the Mohs scale.

"To give a comparison… A diamond is 10 on that scale."

"In other words, pretty damn hard," muttered Andy. "I'm gonna set one more card, and then it's your move…"

He slapped a card into his Duel Disk, and the card appeared in a flash of energy.

(A: 7,000) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 8,000)

"Gem-Knights?" asked Francesca.

Ms. Mowz appeared next to her, and started to sniff the air.

"I've… heard of them…" said Stan. "But I don't think I've seen any before…"

"You like Fusions, Andy?" asked Leopold, as he made a draw.

"Gem-Knights love them too… So much that, like Dragons, they have a card of their own to summon Fusion Monsters. I play Gem-Knight Fusion!

"For the Fusion Monster I want to summon, I have to fuse together Gem-Knight Tourmaline and any other Gem-Knight. I have Tourmaline right here…"

A second Gem-Knight, one with orange armor and a full helmet, appeared next to Sapphire, and they both turned into sparking, shimmering energy.

"I Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Topaz!"

The shimmering aura burst, and another Gem-Knight appeared. It looked like Tourmaline, but with darker-colored armor and a green cape, holding twin kukri. (1,800 ATK)

"It may not look impressive for a Level 6 Monster," continued Leopold, "but believe me, it's stronger than it looks. This creature can attack twice per turn.

"And if it destroys a Monster when it attacks, it deals damage equal to the Attack Score of the Monster it destroys."

"Uh, in that case…" said Andy. "I think I believe you…"

The gemstone warrior made a rush at Mirage Dragon and cleaved it in half with its right kukri, and Andy let out a scream. Then it followed with a blow from the second, cutting Divine Dragon Ragnarok in half, causing Andy to scream again.

(A: 3,400) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 8,000)

"I like precious stones," said Ms. Mowz, "but ones that attack you? That's as bad as casu marzu!"

"Casu marzu?" asked Stan.

"A Sardinian sheep milk cheese that is aged by putting live insect maggots in the curds," said Leopold. "Traditionally, it is eaten with the maggots still in the cheese. This stuff was outlawed for a long time by the European Union, but the ban was eventually lifted due a law that stated that 'traditional' foods did not have to abide by their standards regarding hygiene in food production.

"Nonetheless, I agree with your little friend there… That stuff is disgusting…"

They looked at him oddly.

"What?" he said. "I can see her over there just fine.

"However… I'm far from done…"

One of his two Trap Cards lifted up.

"I activate Birthright, to summon Gem-Knight Tourmaline back to the field."

In another sparkle of lights, the first orange Gem-Knight appeared. (1,600 ATK)

"Attack Mr. Markova directly!" he shouted.

The Gem-Knight flew at Andy fist-first…

"I activate Call of the Haunted!" shouted Andy.

His Trap Card lifted up, and Mirage Dragon appeared again. (1,600 ATK)

"Well?" said Andy. "Still going to attack? Our Monsters will kill each other…"

"No, Tourmaline won't…" said Leopold, as the Gem-Knight came to a halt. "However, I'm still not done. You see, I wasn't being entirely honest when I said that the Gem-Knights had A card of their own for Fusions…"

His other Trap Card lifted up.

"I should have said cards, as in plural. I activate Pyroxene Fusion!

"This card… Well, it's pretty much the same as Gem-Knight Fusion, but it's a Trap. Meaning I can Fusion Summon a Gem-Knight in the middle of a battle.

"The one I want to summon is created by combining any Gem-Knight and any Thunder-Type Monster. Since both the Monsters I have right now fit both categories, that's easy to do…"

Tourmaline and Topaz vanished into another glimmering aura.

"I Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Prismaura!" he shouted.

In a flash, a far-more intimidating Gem-Knight appeared. It stood a head taller than any of the others, had bulkier armor, a horned helmet, and carried a sword and a shield. Its armor looked like translucent glass, and multicolored light shone inside it, flickering in rainbow hues. (2,450 ATK)

"Attack his Monster with Shining Light Saber!"

The gem warrior swung, and made three flashing cuts. Andy fell backwards as Mirage Dragon was blown to pieces.

(A: 2,550) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 8,000)

"Good lord…" said Fran. "If Andy didn't have that Call of the Haunted…"

"It would have been a One-Turn-Kill…" gasped Stan.

"Mmm…" said Leopold, "and dodging was indeed commendable…

"Anyway, I'm still not done… Gem-Knight Fusion has another effect… Because it is in my Graveyard right now, I can banish a Gem-Knight from there to recover it."

Sapphire appeared behind him, and vanished. He took the Spell Card from his discard slot.

"Having done that," he said, as Gem Merchant's eyes started to glow, "I'll use my Deckmaster ability. As his name implies, I can pay 1,000 Life Points to recover a banished Gem-Knight."

Sapphire's card appeared in his hand.

"And that will be all…"

(A: 2,550) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 7,000)

Andy nervously looked at his deck. He didn't know much about these Gem-Knights… But he did know they were kicking his ass good…

0000000000

In Poshley Heights, Cindy actually seemed to be winning.

(Cindy: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi: 3,000)

The Madolche Chateau Field Spell was in play, and she had both Madolche Chouxvalier and Madolche Puddingcess on the field, Chouxvalier's Attack Score increased to 2,200 by the Field Spell, and Puddingcess' had increased to 2,300 by the Field Spell and her own effect.

The Duel Spirit had an odd-looking warrior kneeling in Defense Mode. It (the gender was more-or-less ambiguous, but leaned towards female) had very fancy, very colorful armor that suggested an oriental feel, along with a helmet, and flames licking at the shoulders. It held a bow on its lap. (1,500 DEF)

He also had a set card behind the Monster.

Cindy fit a card into her Disk, and a concealed card appeared in her Spell Zone.

"Your move, big guy," said Cindy. "I'm still waiting for this big surprise of yours, whatever it is…"

The fiery Spirit made a draw.

"I play Card Destruction!" he shouted.

He grinned as he saw the expression on her face.

"That's it…" he said. "Dump 'em…"

Cindy slowly discarded the three cards in her hand as he discarded his. Puddingcess' Attack Score fell to 1,500.

"Seems you had a Monster with those cards…" he chuckled, as she made three more draws, "because she was just taken down a few pegs…

"But I'm about to go a few up… I summon the Tuner Monster, Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Spirit!"

He played a card, and a creature in a long robe covered with black streamers that fluttered and danced in the same way that fire did appeared, hovering over the ground. (500 ATK)

"Because I Normal Summoned him, I get to take a Fire Attribute Monster with 200 or less Defense Points in my Graveyard and Special Summon it. So I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Panther!"

As he said this, a flaming tiger appeared behind him. Then it shrunk, turning into a man in oriental leather armor, who knelt beside the first Monster. (200 DEF)

"Then," he said, as the Monster that he had at the start of the turn stood up, "I'll Tune Spirit together with Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Hawk…"

The two Monsters flew into the sky, and turned into a collage of stars.

(*3 + * 3 = *6)

"I Synchro Summon… Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Horse Prince!"

A shower of fiery stars rained down from the heavens, and a handsome, armored warrior (again wearing colorful armor) mounted on a horse made of blue flames appeared. (2,200 ATK)

"I'm just starting!" he laughed. "By Synchro Summoning him, I'm able to Special Summon a Level 3 Fire Attribute Monster from my deck. So I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Chicken!"

As he said this, a large, flaming rooster appeared. Then it shrank and turned into another colorful armored warrior, this one also slightly feminine, wearing feathers in its hair, with a long cloak and a sword shaped like a flame. (1,500 ATK)

"The catch to Horse Prince's effect is," he continued, "I'm not allowed to summon any other Level 5 or higher Monsters this turn. But… There are ways around that…"

He's talking about Xyz Summoning… thought Cindy, nervously.

"Anyway…" continued the Duel Spirit. "Because I summoned Chicken using the effect of a Fire Fist Monster, I now get to take another one from my deck…"

He quickly took the card he wanted and looked at it.

"But I'll save that one… For now…"

He played another card, and Monster Reborn appeared in front of him. Hawk appeared once again. (200 ATK)

"Using Hawk and Panther…" exclaimed Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, "I build the Overlay Network!"

The two Monsters were drawn into the vortex, and there was a blast of heat that turned the chilly morning air rather balmy. A fierce-looking man with a full beard, wearing the same armor as the others, holding a katana that burned with white fire appeared. A flaming lion appeared behind him, and roared. (2,200 ATK)

"Meet Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Lion Emperor," he said. "You might say he's the big brother."

"Anyway… I realize that attacking Pollyanna over there would be bad because of her effect…"

Puddingcess did not seem to like the remark. She gave him a cold glare.

"Oh, you'd be surprised at how nasty she can be sometimes…" replied Cindy.

"Ah, well…" said the Spirit.

He held up a card.

"I'm using Forbidden Chalice," he said, as Puddingcess rose to an Attack Score of 1,900. "So that problem is no longer an issue."

"You didn't nullify Chouxvalier's effect, wise guy," replied Cindy. "You can't attack Puddingcess until you get rid of him, and you can't do that with either of those two guys without losing your Monster."

The Pyro looked at Chouxvalier.

"Good point…" he said.

His Trap Card lifted up.

"I activate Fire Formation – Tensen!" he shouted. "This Trap Card raises the Attack Score of all of my Beast-Warriors by 300, and gives an additional 700 points to one of them for one turn."

Flames surrounded all three of the Fire Fist Monsters, and all three of them rose to 2,500 Attack Points.

"Not bad, wouldn't you say?"

The large, fiery rooster appeared again, and Chicken flew at Chouxvalier. A flashing of blades later, and the Madolche soldier dissolved into vapor.

Then Lion Emperor lifted his sword, and the fiery lion roared again. Puddingcess scowled at him…

Then he slashed downward, and a stream of fire shot across the ground towards her. She shattered.

"I got news for you big guy," said Cindy, "that Forbidden Chalice only applies on the field. Her effect in the Graveyard still works, and so does Chouxvalier's.

"And since my Field Spell is still in play, I get those two cards back right away…"

She took the two cards as they slipped out of her discard slot.

"Yeah, well…" said the creature. "You're about to know what a Crêpe Suzette feels like. Attack directly, Horse Prince!"

The mounted Fire Fist pointed, sending a huge ball of fire at Cindy. She cried out in pain as the inferno hit her, knocking her on her behind.

(Cindy: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (HKT: 3,000)

Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi looked around. Everyone watching the duel was looking at him strange…

"What?" he said. "Can't the bad guy make a witty one-liner now and then?"

"It wasn't a very good one…" muttered Cindy.

She stood up.

"Let me show you how it's done…" she said.

She drew a card.

"I'm gonna serve up my special ass-kicking ala mode and throw it in your face."

"HEY…" he shouted. "You take that back, you little…"

Then he chuckled.

"Actually, that was a good one…"

"Here's a better one," said Cindy. "The Trap Card, Madolchepalooza!"

Her set card lifted up.

"This powerful Trap lets me Special Summon all the Madolche I have in my hand, on the condition that I send them back to my deck at the end of my turn…"

She threw three cards on her Disk. Puddingcess appeared first. (1,000 ATK) –) (1,500 ATK) Then Chouxvalier. (1,700 ATK) –) (2,200 ATK) Then a young woman with short, red hair, dressed like a French maid. (800 ATK) –) (1,300 ATK)

"Next, I build the Overlay Network, and use my Level 4 Madolche Chouxvalier and Madolche Marmalmaide…"

The two servants turned into orbs of energy as the energy field opened.

"And Xyz Summon the Queen of Candy, the Matron of Muffins… Queen Madolche Tiaramisu!"

The clouds parted, and a sunbeam appeared with the chirping of songbirds. A new Madolche emerged, one that looked older than all the others… Older, but still a beauty, with a gentle face with rosy cheeks, long, silver hair, and a decorative dress that was clearly an adult version of the one worn by Puddingcess. She also wore a long, fur cape, and a gem-encrusted crown, and held a long, golden scepter. (2,200 ATK)

"She's a lot friendlier than the Queen running this place," said Cindy.

"Yeah, well, friendly is one thing," grumbled Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. "I don't see how ruling Candyland makes you a threat…"

"Want to see how much of a threat she can be?" asked Cindy. "First of all, like any other Madolche, she gains 500 Attack Points from my Field Spell, making her stronger than any of those guys…"

(2,700 ATK)

"Next, by getting rid of one Overlay Unit…"

She threw Madolche Chouxvalier's card into her Graveyard slot.

"I can choose any two cards in my Graveyard with the word 'Madolche' in their names, and send them back to my deck. In return, I can choose two of your cards, and send both of them back to your deck!"

The Duel Spirit gasped as Horse Prince and Fire Formation – Tensen both vanished, and the Attack Scores of his other two Monsters went down. (Lion Emperor: 2,200 ATK, Chicken: 1,500 ATK)

"And it's only going to get worse," said Cindy. "You see, the two cards I just sent back to my deck were the Monster you sent to my Graveyard by playing Card Destruction and the Overlay Unit itself. That means I have no Monsters in my Graveyard again…

"You know what that means…"

Puddingcess glared at him again as her Attack Score rose to 2,300.

"Ho boy…" he muttered, as the two royal Madolche looked at him angrily.

The princess rushed at Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Chicken, and gave the Beast-Warrior a vicious little kick to the gut. The creature doubled over in pain, and vanished in a cloud of soot.

"You're next, hothead!" shouted Cindy, as the Queen aimed her scepter. "Attack directly with Super Sugar Rush!"

A blast of colorful stars, hearts, and moons shot from Tiaramisu's staff, and the Pyro let out a scream as the candy monarch's spell hit him hard…

(Cindy: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (HKT: 0)

Then he vanished in an even bigger cloud of ash and soot. Cindy sighed, and collapsed in a sitting position.

Her Monsters and the Field Spell vanished. She slowly took a cellphone out of her purse. As she hit the speed dial, she took the Queen Madolche Tiaramisu card off of her Disk and looked at it.

"Merlow?" she said. "Yeah, I'm fine… Everything is okay here…

"And by the way… Thanks again for the card…"

0000000000

Okay, let's see here… thought Andy, as he made a draw.

The cards he had now were Goddess With the Third Eye, Rare Metal Dragon, Polymerization, and Fusion Recovery.

"Yeah, I like Fusions…" he said, as the Polymerization card appeared.

Then Goddess and Rare Metal Dragon appeared in front of him, and the two flew through the vortex. Metal Dragoon appeared from out of it, and then knelt, crouching behind his shield. (2,400 DEF)

Metal Dragoon is only fifty points shy of being able to defeat Prismaura, he thought, hopefully, he'll hold for now.

"I end my turn…" he said.

Leopold looked at Andy's Fusion Monster strangely before drawing a card.

"I use Gem-Knight Prismaura's effect…" he said. "Once per turn, by sending another Gem-Knight from my hand to the Graveyard, I can destroy any face-up card on the field."

He took a card from his hand and threw it into his discard pile, and a scintillating beam of colored light shot at Metal Dragoon.

"I use my Monster's effect!" shouted Andy. "By getting rid of one of his two Metal Counters, I can prevent him from being destroyed!"

The Warrior blocked the blow with his shield, and it cracked a little, but held.

"Then Prismaura will just have to handle him the old fashioned way…" said Leopold.

The Gem-Knight lifted its sword, and charged at the defending Warrior. Again, Metal Dragoon blocked with his shield, and while the weapon cracked it even more, it still held.

"Didn't I say that this guy had two Metal Counters?" asked Andy.

"So you did…" replied Leopold. "It's your move…"

Andy quickly made a draw.

Good… he thought.

"Metal Dragoon…" he said. "Move to Attack Mode!"

The Warrior stood up, and lifted his sword.

"Go! Attack Gem-Knight Prismaura!"

The Gem-Knight lifted its weapon to meet the attack… At which point a Spell Card appeared behind its enemy. Andy had used Battle Fusion. Quickly, Dragoon's Attack Score shot up to 4,850, and a powerful stroke smashed the gem warrior like glass. Leopold was knocked over from the impact, slamming against the stone altar.

(A: 2,550) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 4,600)

"Ouch…" said the Shadow Spawn of Earth.

Ouch? thought Andy. Man, he must be made of the same stuff those Gem-Knights are…

"I, uh…" he said. "I end my turn…"

Leopold grunted, and then stood up.

"I draw one card…" said Leopold, as he made a draw.

"Then I summon Gem-Knight Sapphire again…"

He played the card, and the shimmering, white Gem-Knight appeared again. (0 ATK)

"Then, I use the Spell Card, Silent Doom," he said. "I'll summon Gem-Knight Garnet from my Graveyard…"

He played the card, and Gem-Knight with fiery red armor appeared next to Sapphire, kneeling in Defense Mode. (0 DEF)

"Okay…" said Stan. "He summoned a Monster with no Attack Points in Attack Mode, and one with no Defense Points in Defense Mode…"

"Really Stan…" said Leopold.

He held up another Spell Card.

"I'd think you'd realize how this works by now. I play Particle Fusion!"

As the card appeared, Vivian and Yoshi appeared next to Stan. He turned to them slightly, but didn't say anything.

"Good lord…" shouted Andy. "Exactly how many cards do these guys have that can be used to make Fusion Summons?"

"You'd be surprised," replied Leopold, as the two Gem-Knights turned into red and white orbs of energy. "Still, Particle Fusion has a condition… The Material Monsters must actually be on the field.

"But anyway… By fusing together Sapphire and one other Gem-Knight, I can summon Gem-Knight Aquamarine."

There was another flash of energy, and a warrior clad in midnight blue armor with a bullet-shaped helmet, holding an odd weapon on his right arm that seemed to be both a shield and a sword at the same time, rose out of the ground. (1,400 ATK)

"Particle Fusion has an additional effect that I can enact now. By banishing that Spell Card, I can increase the Attack Score of this Fusion Monster by the Attack Score of one of its Fusion Material Monsters.

"And since Gem-Knight Garnet had 1,900 Attack Points…"

(3,300 ATK)

This is not my day… thought Andy.

Aquamarine slashed downward with its weapon, sending a blade of energy flashing towards Metal Dragoon, blowing him into shards of metal. Andy felt a sharp pain across his chest, as if the blade had hit him there…

(A: 1,650) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 4,600)

"After attacking, Aquamarine has to move to Defense Mode…" said Leopold.

The Gem-Knight knelt, and covered itself with its shield. (2,600 ATK)

"…but as you can see, defending is something it's rather good at."

He fit a card into his Disk, and a set card materialized in a flash of light.

"That should be enough…" he said. "It's your move…"

"Man…" said Yoshi. "These Gem-Knights… It's almost as if…"

"It's almost as if someone took Yukai Judai's Elemental Heroes and Johan Andersen's Crystal Beasts," said Vivian, "and fused them ALL together."

"Vivian…" said Stan. "The scary part is, that kind of makes sense…"

"Before you do anything, Mr. Markova…" said Leopold, as Andy made a draw, "just a warning… Aquamarine has a more powerful effect…

"If it goes to the Graveyard, I get to send one of your cards back to your hand."

And with only 1,650 Life Points left, that would put in a bad position… thought Andy. However…

"I set one card," he said, as a card appeared in his Spell Zone, "and then play Sweet Feast!"

He played the Spell Card, and then nervously made five draws.

This is gonna be cutting it close… he thought, as he looked at them.

"I activate Dragon's Mirror!" he shouted, as he played a card.

Divine Dragon Ragnarok and Goddess with the Third Eye appeared, and then turned into a spiraling vortex.

"I fuse them together… Into King Dragun!"

Yoshi let out a cry of excitement as the majestic Dragon King appeared. (2,400 ATK)

"Yes!" he shouted. "With that guy on the field, that Gem-Knight's effect can't touch his Dragons!"

"Uh, yeah…" said Vivian. "But… Aquamarine still has 2,600 Defense Points…"

"Don't give up the ship yet," said Andy. "King Dragun lets me Special Summon another Dragon, remember?"

He played a card, and Tyrant Dragon appeared in a burning inferno. (2,900 ATK)

"And this one will do nicely…

'Destroy Gem-Knight Aquamarine with Imperial Inferno!"

The huge Dragon belched fire at the crouching Knight, and it exploded into blue triangles.

Leopold looked King Dragun in the eye, and the Dragon looked back at him…

"Attack him directly!" ordered Andy. "Twilight Burn!"

The Fusion Dragon pointed his wand, and Leopold shielded himself with his forearm as the bolt of black fire scorched him. He kept standing, but still grunted and strained a little.

(A: 1,650) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 2,200)

The fire died down. Sweat was running down the Shadow Spawn's forehead, but he was otherwise unfazed.

Andy threw his two remaining cards into his Duel Disk, and two more set cards appeared in his Spell Card.

"Sure you don't want to change your mind, Leopold?" he said. "You say you can't… A guy as smart as you must know that humans do have free will…"

"I'm not human…" said Leopold, with a sigh.

He drew a card.

"Honestly, some people have called the six of us half-human, like how Spock is from Star Trek… But frankly, I don't even know how accurate that is. Mom may have once been human, but I'm really not sure if the designation truly describes her anymore…

"She's become something else… As much a demon as she is a woman…

"And as a result, I don't know just how much of my blood has traces of her human self in it… A few drops if I'm lucky…

"My dad wasn't a nice guy either, you know… The dao are notorious throughout the universe for being slave traders. In their society, everyone except other dao are viewed as potential property. The only creatures a dao sees as off-limits are ones owned by other dao… Most of the time. There are even some rumors that they may have invented the concept of slavery eons ago…"

"You weren't born evil, Leopold!" shouted Francesca.

He looked at her. He hadn't said that yet, but she really had a feeling that it was the point he was getting to.

He didn't answer. His Trap Card lifted up.

"I use Soul Resurrection to Special Summon Gem-Knight Sapphire again…" he said, as the Gem-Knight appeared, kneeling in Defense Mode. (2,100 DEF)

"Then, I use the Spell Card Dark Factory of Mass Production," he said, as he played one of his two cards. "To take two more Normal Monsters from my Graveyard…"

Two cards, Gem-Knight Garnet and Gem-Knight Tourmaline appeared in his hand.

"You may remember…" he said. "How when I first used Gem-Knight Fusion, I used its effect to recover it. And now I'm using it again…"

As he played the Spell Card, Garnet and Tourmaline appeared to either side of Sapphire.

"To summon a Monster with hardness second only to the black heart of Ogremoch himself, I have to fuse together three Gem-Knights!"

The three creatures turned into orbs of blue, orange, and red energy… Then the ground started to shake…

"Arise… Gem-Knight Master Diamond!" he shouted, as the ground split open.

The creature that emerged was fully seven feet tall. It was indeed made of diamond, and carved in the shape of a knight in shining armor, wearing a scarlet cape. It held a very large sword, the size of one you would need two hands to use, which had sparkling gems of all colors of the rainbow along the steel blade. (2,900 ATK)

"This is only going to get worse, Mr. Markova…" said Leopold. "Diamond's first effect grants it 100 extra Attack Points for each Gem-Knight in my Graveyard…"

(3,500 ATK)

"But that's rather trivial compared to its other effect. If I banish a Gem-Knight Fusion Monster from my Graveyard that's Level 7 or lower, Diamond's effect changes to that of the banished Monster for the remainder of the turn.

"So I'll banish Gem-Knight Topaz."

Diamond lifted its sword (with one hand, no less), and a flash of light turned its armor orange, the same hue as Topaz's armor, as its Attack Score fell back to 2,900.

"Good lord…" said Yoshi, as Stan and Francesca watched with horror. "If it has Topaz's effect, that means it can inflict burn damage when it kills a Monster!"

"But the difference is," added Vivian, "it's 1,100 points stronger than Topaz! Leopold can finish Andy with one blow…"

"Attack King Dragun with Cursed Flame Slash!" commanded Leopold.

The huge sword glowed and shimmered in the dim light as the Gem-Knight king lifted it… Then it burned with blazing green fire.

"I activate… Battle Simulation!" shouted Andy, as one of his cards lifted up.

"This Trap Card affects the whole Battle Phase," he said. "Case in point… Whenever two Monsters battle, both of their Attack Scores are halved and neither is destroyed."

King Dragun was reduced to 1,200 Attack Points, and Diamond to 1,450.

"And because that guy has to destroy a Monster to use that burn effect, it seems I'm safe for now."

The burning sword slammed into King Dragun, and both Andy and his Monster flinched a little.

"But you still take damage," said Leopold. "And Diamond has Topaz's other effect too, as in the ability to attack twice."

Diamond made another swing, and Andy grunted again.

(A: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 2,200)

Andy looked at Gem-Knight Master Diamond.

"Cursed Flame Slash?" he said with a chuckle. "Never pegged you for much of an anime fan, Leopold…"

Leopold sighed.

"Your ability to stay in such good spirits despite the terrible stakes involved here…" he said. "I don't know whether I should admire you or simply stare in disbelief…

"My turn is over, which means that my Monster loses Topaz's effect and regains its regular effect…"

The orange luster vanished from Diamond's armor, and its Attack Score rose to 3,400.

Andy made a draw.

He turned to Stan and Francesca. He slowly nodded. They slowly nodded back, and Ms. Mowz, Vivian, and Yoshi slowly faded away.

They all knew that the chances of their plan working – the plan they had agreed to try right after what happened to Tyson, which they made in the quietest of whispers in hopes that their "host" wouldn't hear – were slim at best, but they still had to try.

And now was the time…

"I activate Panic Wave!" he shouted, as one of his two set cards lifted up. "I'll destroy my other set card…"

His face-down card (it was Pot of Avarice) shattered.

"…and in exchange, the effects of all face-up cards on the field are negated this turn, meaning that Gem-Knight Master Diamond's Attack Score returns to its base value."

(2,900 ATK)

"Tyrant Dragon… You know what to do…"

The huge Dragon nodded. It turned to the Gem-Knight, and exhaled a stream of flames… Leopold watched, the fire reflecting in his glasses as Diamond held up his sword, blocking the fire as Tyrant Dragon's assault intensified…

Then, the two evenly-matched Monsters broke under the pressure, both of them shattering into bits.

"Do it, quick!" shouted Andy to King Dragun.

The Fusion Monster didn't waste time. It thrust its wand forward, hitting Leopold directly with its Twilight Burn…

(A: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - - (L: 0)

As Leopold fell over, Andy and his two allies ran towards him, just as the two portals – the one behind them and the one behind him – opened. And it seemed that the first part of their plan worked. The one behind them failed to grab them like the three previous ones had done.

Then all three of them grabbed hold of Leopold, Stan and Francesca grabbing his right arm and Andy grabbing his left as the demonic hands grabbed for his legs.

"ANDY?" shouted the Shadow Spawn of Earth. "What the Hell are you guys doing?"

"What does it look like, genius?" shouted Andy. "We're saving you!"

"Don't be insane!" shouted Leopold. "They'll just drag you in with me! Run!"

"Fine!" grunted Francesca. "If that's what it takes to get your mom to come to her senses…"

"Maybe we are insane…" replied Stan. "After all, your mom has been doing a Hell of a job trying to drive us crazy!"

Unfortunately, it seemed that Leopold was right. They were clearly losing this struggle. Whatever was pulling him was stronger than they were, and slowly dragging all four of them towards the portal, not as fast maybe, but it was inevitable.

Leopold looked at them sadly.

"I'm… I'm flattered, I really am…" he said.

"Still, as noble as your intentions are… I have to prevent it…"

As he said this, Gem-Knight Aquamarine, Gem-Knight Topaz, and Gem-Knight Prismaura appeared next to him. The three Fusion Monsters leapt at the three teenagers, each of them grappling one of them with a tackle, forcing them to let go of Leopold.

Then they each gave the one they grappled a powerful shove, throwing them towards the other portal, and they fell through it.

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They sat in the dark chamber a long time without saying anything.

They had known it likely wouldn't have worked… But of all the ways they could think of how it could fail, that one had really never occurred to them…

Andy looked at Francesca, who looked ready to cry. Andy put her arm around her.

"No, no, I'm alright…" she said.

"You sure?" asked Andy.

Francesca looked at the huge, ominous hand.

"You think you can hide forever, Iris?" she said, with bile in her voice. "We're going to meet face to face eventually…

"And then we'll see how you like it…"

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BATTLE SIMULATION (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A soldier wearing Spartan-style armor fighting a werewolf-like creature, while two statues of the fighters stand in the background in poses that suggest a fight between them.

Card Description: Activate during either players' Battle Phase. During this Battle Phase, when two Monsters battle each other, reduce the ATK of each Monster by half and neither Monster is destroyed by battle.

Note: "Battle Simulation" was first used by Kaito in the "Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal" episode "The Dragon Awakens". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

0000000000

"Gem Merchant": Spellcaster/Earth/Lvl3/1,000/1,000: Once per turn, you may pay 1,000 Life Points to add 1 of your banished "Gem-Knight" Monsters to your hand.

0000000000

Well, that definitely wasn't in the script… At least not how the Queen intended it. This could be trouble for her…

Francesca: Yeah, right. Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?

She's going to sic Maria on us next, and I really doubt that she's going to let us try that again. This place is the Shadow Queen's jail, but it's still her home… She MAKES the rules here.

And I'm more than willing to bet that it's not going to be quite the same this time…

"Rain Storm" is coming soon, and I have a feeling it's not gonna be a drizzle…