Author's Note: Before I get started here, I'd like to recommend the new web-comic "Vexing Gears", which is written by someone who I think you are all familiar with. Just Google it and you'll find it.

And no, he did not ask me to make this shameless pitch for him.

Now that I've done that...

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Maria here. Mom gave me the title of "Shadow Spawn of Water", as if that really meant much…

I want to ask you a question. Ever hear the old saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity"? As in, bad publicity can help you? Is it true? Maybe. It helped Genghis Khan.

Genghis Khan didn't have an army of demons to help him, but he was, without a doubt, an even better conqueror than mom was, likely the best that ever lived. In case history isn't your strong point, he did the impossible – he united the Mongol clans (that was the Dark Ages equivalent of getting Iran and Israel to kiss and make up). What he did after that seemed easy by comparison. He conquered China, Russia, Afghanistan, and Korea. He would have done the same to Japan if bad weather hadn't kept him from sailing there. Then there was Khwarezm. Huh? You never heard of that place? That's the point.

Basically, Genghis Khan was a military genius (not the primitive, savage barbarian that he's often portrayed as), and one secret of his success was, he thought that if his enemies were afraid of him, it would give him a serious advantage. And it worked, too. There were benefits to being notorious, and he knew it.

But… This isn't always the case… It can backfire, like it did with Russian dictator Joseph Stalin. He was feared for his cruelty. To give one example, he not only killed people who he didn't like, he destroyed all government records of them. By destroying all evidence that they had lived, he purged them from existence, making it as if they had never been born. Not even mom would stoop to that.

And so, one night, after drinking with his cronies and watching movies, he went to sleep after giving stern orders that no-one was to disturb him. It was three days before anyone checked on him, they were so terrified of disobeying him. By then, he had suffered a stroke, and was long-dead.

So sometimes the idea works, but sometimes it doesn't. Why am I saying this, you ask?

When you work for someone who thinks this way… It's something that's useful to know.

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DUEL FIFTY-FIVE

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Rain Storm

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The three duelists had been sitting in the room for almost an hour, watching the huge, ominous hand.

Finally, Francesca stood up.

"Well?" she shouted, looking at it. "You gonna do anything? Any day now!"

Then, it did do something. With a rumble, it slowly closed into a clenched fist, like it was when it first appeared. Then, with a louder rumble, it slowly sank into the floor again.

Andy and Stan stood up. All three of them gave each other puzzled looks.

"Uh, okay…" said Stan. "I really wasn't expecting it to do that… I mean…"

Then he was interrupted as the floor literally crumbled into pieces, and the three of them screamed as they plummeted into a dark abyss below.

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At Fahr Outpost, the weather was even worse than usual. Driving snow and howling wind mercilessly assaulted the small town.

Boris was trying to open the door to the biggest longhouse as several others watched him.

"Damn, it's frozen shut!" he cursed. "Someone get an axe… I'll break it down if I have to…"

"Boris, watch out!" shouted someone else.

The warning came just in time. Boris quickly fell flat on the ground, a trick he had learned as a soldier in the Russian Army. As he did so, a bolt of icy energy covered the door with a thick layer of ice.

Boris sat up and the others turned around. A coldly beautiful woman in a long, white dress with hair that looked like it was sculpted out of ice (the bangs covering her eyes completely) holding a long staff made of ice, was standing there.

She smirked as the blizzard slowly started to subside, turning into a gentle snow.

"Nice swan dive," she said, with a grin. "Why don't you try a half-gainer next time?"

"Very funny," growled Boris, as he got up. "You're really lucky I never hit a lady."

"Chivalry, huh?" she said, clearly not impressed. "Don't let that stop you, big guy."

"All right fine!" he shouted. "You asked for it!"

The Ice Queen didn't move an inch as he rushed for her, and didn't even move when he socked her in the face…

But when he did, he fell to his knees, clutching his fist in pain.

"Boris?" asked someone else.

"That was…" he groaned. "Like hitting rock…"

"You'd be surprised how hard ice can be," she said.

Then she pointed her staff at them.

"Now, if every duelist here could step forward and give themselves up, I'd appreciate…"

"Everyone scatter!" shouted a voice.

"Huh?" she said.

Whoever the warning came from, everyone took it to heart, because they ran from the Duel Spirit as fast as they could. She slowly turned around…

Before she could finish the sentence she felt glass breaking against her shoulder and something warm splashing over it…

Then she let out a shriek as her dress caught on fire, the flames quickly covering her. As she fell over, Hyde appeared as the others nervously backed away even further.

"How did you make a Molotov cocktail?" asked Boris. "The closest place to get gasoline is in Poshley Heights…"

"I improvised…" said Hyde. "I found some turpentine in the shed over there, and it works. It doesn't work as well as gasoline, but it works.

"Heck, you could use any flammable liquid really, diesel fuel, methanol…"

He was interrupted as a loud shriek came from Ice Queen, and a literal explosion of cold blasted from her, knocking everyone over with a death-like chill.

The snow stopped. The Duel Spirit stood up. Her clothes weren't even singed.

She chuckled a little as she looked at Hyde. He was down on one knee, not hit as hard by the sudden surge as the others, apparently.

"Very clever, Mr. Vayne," she said. "If I had been Cold Enchanter or an Ice Knight, you may well have done me in just then…

"But… A Duel Spirit like myself wouldn't have survived as long as she had without knowing how to deal with fire…"

"It was worth a shot…" said Hyde.

He stood up and looked at her as she looked back coldly.

"So…" she said.

She pointed her staff at him menacingly. He didn't flinch, but took the pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket.

"Seeing as you knew how to cobble together a makeshift incendiary device…" she said, "I'm guessing you know more about what's been happening here than everyone else?"

Hyde calmly lit the cigarette.

"I believe the Geneva Convention only requires me to give my name, rank, and serial number," he remarked. "And that's only if I'm a prisoner, which doesn't appear to be the case right now…"

"How'd you like the blood in your veins frozen solid, wise guy?" asked the Ice Queen.

"You can't learn anything from me if I'm dead," replied Hyde.

He took a drag on the cigarette and then flicked it at her, causing it to bounce off her chest.

"The old Clint Eastwood approach, huh?" she asked.

"Clint didn't smoke," said Hyde. "He was an actor, and just played a lot of characters that did. It's called method acting."

Then he lifted his left arm, and his Duel Disk activated.

"And we both know that talking all day isn't going to accomplish much…"

The Ice Queen looked at him. Then her staff disappeared, and a Disk appeared on her arm.

"I hate it when folks like you make sense…" she said. "True, I'm no interrogator, Mr. Vayne, but the Shadow Queen has excellent ones…"

The Disk activated, and the Life Point counters set.

0000000000

Stan, Andy, and Francesca landed with a loud thump. Strangely, they didn't seem hurt at all, despite apparently fallen several hundred feet.

The first thing they noticed was the smell of seawater… And the surface they were on… It seemed a little unsteady.

Francesca got up. They were on a wooden surface, outdoors, under a cloudy sky…

"We're on a ship!" she shouted.

Well, that kind of depended on your definition of "ship". The craft they were on looked like a very old galleon… With a rotten hull and deck, and sails that were torn and ragged. It creaked and groaned as it swayed, the wind somehow still pushing it through whatever ocean they were sailing through.

Bobbery appeared next to them.

"Uh…" he said. "People… I admit that my specialty is sailing ships, not building and fixing them… But… Seriously, this craft does not look very seaworthy."

"Don't worry…" said Maria's voice.

They looked up, and saw the Shadow Spawn of Water holding onto the mast, dressed in the same style armor as her sister's, but dark blue.

"After all, ask anyone who's tried, and they'll tell you it's very hard to sink a ghost ship…"

She leapt off the mast, and landed on her feet, shaking the whole craft.

"So…" she said. "Welcome to the good ship H.M.S. Asskicking, courtesy of its captain, me."

"Good ship?" said Bobbery. "Listen, young lady, I'd sooner call that old limerick about that lad from Nantucket a great work of literature than call this wreck a 'good ship'."

"Bobbery!" shouted Vivian, as she appeared.

"Huh?" said Stan, looking at her.

"There's something seriously wrong with Maria, people…" said Vivian. "Something different in her that wasn't there with the others…

"She has nothing but hate and rage inside her right now… It's almost as if…"

"Yeah, yeah," interrupted Melissa. "Shut it! You and Mr. Blow-Everything-Up can just go back to your decks!

"This is between me and Francesca. I owe her big!"

The two Companions vanished.

"All right…" said Francesca. "This is different…"

"Yeah…" said Stan. "Vivian was right… I know Maria was pretty mean last time but now she seems like she's out for blood!"

"Don't bother jumping overboard to try to escape…" said Maria.

"I can swim…" said Francesca.

"Remember what Kurtis said about pocket dimensions?" asked Maria. "This is another one, and it's one big ocean. Try to make a swim for it, and you'll never find a shore to swim to."

"Well, uh…" said Francesca, as she activated her Disk. "If you… put it that way…"

Maria lifted her left arm, and like before, a Duel Disk unfolded from the gauntlet.

"Listen, Maria," said Francesca. "If you think I'm scared of you, you're in for a surprise. I beat you before, and I can do it again…"

Then the ship suddenly lurched.

Didn't lie… she thought. I'm not scared of dueling her… I am a little scared of the place where we're dueling, however…

Unsinkable? Didn't they say The Titanic was like that?

As she looked up, she saw a large object behind Maria. A small pirate ship (well, small as far as ships went, but still bigger than she was) with a hull made of blood-red wood, and a large skull and ribcage on the bow. (1,600 ATK)

"Uh…" said Francesca. "Skull Mariner…

"Oh, right… The Deckmaster…"

She took her deck and looked at the cards.

I'm really gonna need the first move here, she thought. I need someone I can trust, but who's weaker than that thing…

Wait… Of course!

She held up a card, and Ms. Mowz appeared behind her. (1,200 ATK)

"Good work, Fran!" squeaked the Squeek.

She gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Heh, thanks…" said Fran. "Now let's get to work."

(Francesca: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Maria: 8,000)

Fran quickly drew her first five cards. They were Monoceros, Limit Reverse, Key Mouse, Chain Dog, and Uni-Horned Familiar.

"I'm going first, Maria…" said Fran, as she made her opening draw.

The drawn card was Lock Cat. She put that aside and took Uni-Horned Familiar.

"Here," she said, as it appeared set in front of her. "That will be all for now."

"Very well…" said Maria, as she made a draw.

Then she played a card, and a dark circle covered with runes appeared on the floor as the Monster appeared.

"I summon Cursed Cannoneer!" she shouted.

The Monster revealed itself, a ghostly pirate bound by chains, with a cannon strapped to its back. (1,000 ATK)

"Uh…" said Andy. "I'm getting a serious sense of déjà vu here…"

"No kidding…" said Stan, now sounding angrier than he was nervous. "That's one of Cortez's cards!

"So seriously, Maria, I guess when you were checking off ways to be a complete bitch you figured you might as well qualify for a hypocrite and a poser in one fell swoop?"

Maria chuckled a little.

"You think I'm copying Cortez?" she asked. "Well… I guess his deck and mine may have a few cards in common, yes… But that doesn't mean there isn't another way – or even several – to use them…

"I'll throw a card face-down and end my turn…"

She set a card, and it slowly appeared behind Cursed Cannoneer.

All right, let's see… thought Francesca, as she drew a card.

She looked at Cursed Cannoneer.

Think back… What did this guy do again?

Oh right… If I destroy it, she can summon another one… Well, maybe I can get rid of at least two of them…

"First, I flip Uni-Horned Familiar into Attack Mode…" she said, as the card flipped up, and the small imp appeared. (0 ATK)

Then she held up a Spell Card, Card From a Different Dimension.

"Then I'll get rid of this to Special Summon Monoceros…"

The hulking, long-horned unicorn started to appear…

"I activate a Counter Trap!" shouted Maria.

Her Trap Card lifted up.

"Walk the Plank," she said. "Since you just Special Summoned a Monster, I can destroy it, so long as I also destroy one of my Water Monsters…"

Both Monoceros and Cursed Cannoneer shattered.

"But I'm a lot better off, because Cursed Cannoneer's effect lets me Special Summon another one…"

A second of the phantoms appeared, kneeling in Defense Mode. (800 DEF)

"O-kay, I guess maybe that was a new one…" said Stan.

Seriously… thought Fran. Didn't expect that… Now Uni-Horned Familiar is a sitting duck!

"Walk the Plank has one more effect," said Maria, "we both draw once."

"Uh, well, if you insist…" said Fran, as she made a draw.

Maria drew one card, and then smirked at Fran. Fran looked at her card a little nervously.

"Cheer up, Fran!" squeaked Ms. Mowz. "Monoceros was a Special Summon, remember?"

"Oh, right…" said Francesca.

She took Lock Cat from her hand, and set it on her Disk, causing it to appear reversed next to Familiar.

If I attack that second Cannoneer, she'd just summon a third one, she thought. So I'd best see what she's up to…

She fit one more card into her Disk, and another set card appeared.

"Done," she said.

Maria made a brief chuckle as she drew another card.

"First, I'll summon Captain Phantasm," she said, as she played another card, causing the dark circle to appear again.

They all remembered this Monster from the duel with Cortez too. A dark, shadowy specter dressed in a ripped and torn pirate's outfit holding a rusted and pitted cutlass. (1,300 ATK)

"Now, I call upon my Deckmaster's effect," she said, as the "eyes" of Skull Mariner started to glow. "By sending one Spell or Trap Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can choose a Water-Attribute Monster from my deck and send it there as well."

She discarded a card from her hand, then took a card from her deck, and then discarded that one too.

"Oh, Stan?" she said. "I think you might remember the Monster I'm about to summon… He's a special Zombie that I can Special Summon from my Graveyard by sacrificing two of my Water-Attribute Zombies on the field."

"Oh… my… God…" said Stan.

Yes, he remembered it. It wasn't like that thing was hard to forget. And Francesca clearly remembered it too. Sweat started to form on her brow as the two Zombies vanished…

With a low, ghostly moan, the tall, hideous, waterlogged form of Davy Jones rose in front of Maria. Strangely, the horrible glare that came from the one eye that peered from under its dark hood was even worse than before… (2,750 ATK)

"Destroy Uni-Horned Familiar!" shouted Maria. "Wrath of the Sea Devil!"

The sky turned dark, and lightning flashed. In the next instant, a wave of foul, black water rushed towards Francesca's side of the field, swamping the Tuner and Francesca with it.

(F: 5,250) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 8,000)

Francesca sat there for a minute… The foul water was dripping off of her…

And then she screamed. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Francesca!" shouted Ms. Mowz.

The Tease Thief slapped her in the face.

"Snap out of it!"

Quickly, Francesca stopped, holding her chest.

"Francesca?" said Andy.

"Okay, okay…" said Fran. "I panicked for a minute… Could have happened to anyone, right?"

"Actually, yes…" replied Ms. Mowz, sounding far more serious than she usually did. "The same thing happened to the Unicorn Maiden at one point. You're becoming more like her by the minute!"

She held out a paw, and helped Francesca stand up.

"But just like you, she didn't let that sudden rush of fear get the better of her, or let it keep her down for long."

"I guess…" said Francesca.

She looked at Maria.

"That all?"

The Shadow Spawn of Water fit a card into her Disk, and a set card appeared. Then she nodded.

Fran made a draw, and put the card aside.

"All right," she said, "since as I banished Card from a Different Dimension last turn… Ah, really, do I have to explain this again?"

Maria chuckled a little. The card reappeared with Francesca's other ones, and they both drew twice.

Then Francesca's set card lifted up.

"I'll use Limit Reverse to summon Uni-Horned Familiar back from the Graveyard," she said, as the Beast Tuner appeared. (0 ATK)

"Then I'll move Lock Cat to Attack Mode…"

The set card turned 30 degrees and flipped up, and the small feline with the lock on the collar appeared. (1,200 ATK)

"So Uni-Horned Familiar can give Lock Cat a Tune-up!"

The two Beasts flew into the sky, and the dark clouds started to rumble again.

(*2 + *3 = *5)

Thunder Unicorn appeared, and looked around nervously. She really didn't seem to like this place. (2,200 ATK)

"That Synchro Monster is out of her element," said Maria. "You don't hear all too many stories about pirates using horses, and there's a good reason for that."

"Did you know Greek mythology claims that Poseidon held horses to be sacred?" asked Francesca. "You know, Poseidon, the god of the sea?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that…" said Andy. "That came from a story about his short affair with Demeter. She resisted him and tried to escape by turning into a mare, but he turned himself into a stallion, and caught her.

"So, this resulted in her giving birth to a foal named Arion, which grew into a horse that could talk."

"Okay, fine!" shouted Maria, as she rolled her eyes. "The God of the Sea really liked horses. If we're done with the mythology lesson…"

Francesca frowned at her. Then she nodded at Thunder Unicorn. The steed's horn glowed, and Davy Jones grunted as sparks of electricity flowed over his cloak. (2,250 ATK)

"Nice try," said Maria, "but that's not gonna do it…"

Francesca's frown turned into a smirk as she held up another card.

"Sick 'em…" she said to Thunder Unicorn.

The Synchro charged at the demon as she threw the card into her Disk, and her Attack Score rose to 3,200 as the Ego Boost Quickplay glowed with radiant energy. There was a bright display of sparks and an unholy howl from Davy Jones right before he burst.

(F: 5,250) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 7,050)

"I'm still waiting to see just why this deck is so different than the one Cortez had," said Francesca. "By the way, it's your move…"

Maria made a draw. The card was Salvage.

"I'm using my Deckmaster effect again…" she said, as she discarded it.

Then she took another card from her deck, and discarded that one. Koops appeared next to Andy, shivering slightly.

"Next, I play Book of Life," continued Maria, as she played another Spell Card. "A rather old card, but one that's never fallen out of use among Zombie duelists.

"So, the card I choose to summon from my Graveyard is Evil Shade Cutlass…"

As she played it, the phantom sword appeared in front of her. (500 ATK)

"And I also get to banish a Monster from your Graveyard…

"So I'll… uh…"

She stopped.

"Well?" said Francesca.

"Give me a minute here…" replied Maria.

"There are only three Monsters there, Maria," said Fran, "is it really that hard a choice?"

"All right, all right…" said Maria. "Monoceros is no good to you, since I countered the summon, meaning you can't summon it from your Graveyard. So… Uni-Horned Familiar is a Tuner, and you can use it to Synchro Summon…

"But on the other hand, there's that combo you have with Lock Cat, which could potentially summon three Monsters at once…

"All right, I choose to get rid of that one!"

Francesca sighed a little as she pocketed Lock Cat's card. Then Maria's Trap Card lifted up.

"Next, I use Deep Sea Summoning," she said, "and pay 1,000 summon two more Evil Shade Cutlasses."

Two more of the ghostly swords appeared in front of her with loud, spooky moans. (500 ATK x2)

"I still don't see any difference here…" said Stan, as he crossed his arms. "Cortez used that exact combo."

Koops, however, was shaking like a leaf.

"Ooh, she's going to summon that creepy guy again…" he stuttered.

"Eh, look who knows so much," said Maria.

She played another card, and a new Zombie started to appear.

"I summon the Tuner Monster, First Mate Nightblood!"

Thunder rumbled in the background, and a rather short Zombie appeared next to three swords. It looked like a child dressed as a pirate… Well, honestly, more like a pirate Halloween costume. He held a toy cutlass in one hand and a popgun in the other. He had red hair, blue skin, and vampiric features. (500 ATK)

"Tuner Monster?" exclaimed Francesca.

"That's right!" replied Maria.

First Mate Nightblood lifted the toy gun, and fired it with a loud pop. Then he and two of the Evil Shade Cutlasses flew into the dark, stormy sky. Thunder rumbled again…

(*3 + *2 + *2 = *7)

"I Synchro Summon… Captain Nightblood!"

A pair of glowing, blood-red eyes appeared, followed by the rest of the creature. Clearly, this was an adult vampire (there could be no doubting it) wearing a pirate's outfit that was a real version of the First Mate's, with, long, white hair. He held cutlasses in both hands. (2,400 ATK)

"Okay, Cortez certainly didn't have that one!" shouted Stan.

"I'd love to tell you what he can do…" she continued. "But that will have to wait…"

She took a Spell Card from her hand.

"Eh?" said Francesca. "Battle-Tuned?"

"I'm sure you know what this does," said Maria. "By banishing one of my Tuners, like First Mate Nightblood, my Monster gains Attack Points equal to the Tuner's Attack Points."

(2,900 ATK)

"Attack that Unicorn!" ordered Maria, as the creature literally flew towards the Beast. "Kill it!"

Francesca grunted as both swords struck, striking the steed down.

She looked around. Aside from her losing a Monster and 700 Life Points, nothing seemed to have happened… Whatever dark secret Captain Nightblood was hiding, he hadn't shown it… yet…

Koops scratched his chin as Yoshi appeared next to him.

"Kinda weird…" said the Koopa. "Why use Battle-Tuned then? That guy didn't need it to win the battle…"

"Not sure…" said Yoshi. "Unless…"

"Unless?" asked Koops.

"I dunno…" said Yoshi. "Maybe there's some benefit to banishing that Monster…"

Stan looked at him.

"Yeah, there probably is!" he exclaimed. "When I dueled Cortez, I remember a lot of these pirate Monsters had effects that were activated by banishing other ones…

"Maria is up to something…"

Maria pointed, and the third Evil Shade Cutlass darted forward, hitting Francesca in the stomach point-first.

"Ow…" she said.

(F: 4,050) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 6,050)

'That will do for now, Francesca…" said Maria. "Feeling your sea legs yet?"

As she said that, the ship lurched again, and Francesca clutched her stomach.

"Thank you so much for reminding me about that…" she grumbled.

She quickly made a draw.

Hmm… she thought.

"I'll set these," said, as she fit two cards in her Disk, setting one card in her Monster Zone, and one in her Spell Zone, "and my turn is over…"

Maria drew and smirked a bit.

"I sacrifice my third Cutlass…" she said, as the phantom weapon dissolved into eerie mist, "to summon Captain Dem Bonez!"

Another Zombie that they clearly remembered rose out of the floor, the gaunt, skeletal one covered with a thin, transparent skin, dressed in rotted and tattered pirate clothes, with a strangely handsome face. (2,000 ATK)

Stan flinched a little.

"Oh… crap…" he said. "That's the Monster Cortez needed to summon that crazy Fusion Monster of his… If Maria manages that…"

"Calm down…" said Andy. "Take it from someone who knows about Fusions, Maria wouldn't have summoned that guy to the field if she had a Spell Card she needed to make a Fusion Summon…"

"Dead Sea Ship – The Flying Dutchman, right?" asked Maria.

She chuckled a little.

"I wish… I have no idea how Cortez got that one and I certainly don't have it…

"Still… I do have one other… unique way to use Captain Dem Bonez…

"Maybe we'll get to that later. For now, I use his regular effect, and banish one Zombie from my Graveyard…"

One of the Evil Shade Cutlasses floated out of the ground, and then turned to dust.

"…to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Water-Attribute Zombie from there…"

The dark circle appeared again, and Captain Phantasm rose out of the ground. (1,300 ATK)

"Which means I can sacrifice the two good Captains…"

The two ghost pirates turned into dark orbs of liquid. Francesca flinched a little as Davy Jones appeared again. (2,750 ATK)

"Destroy her last defense, Jones!" shouted Maria.

Francesca frowned as the wave of foul water crashed towards her set Monster… But quickly smiled when Elephun appeared on the card briefly before it shattered.

"Thank you…" she said. "Because you just deep-sixed Elephun, I get to recover one of my banished Level 3 or lower Beast-Type Monsters…"

Lock Cat's card appeared in her hand.

"So thank you so much for using Book of Life on this… Not sure how I would have gotten it back otherwise."

Maria looked at Francesca with surprise…

Then she groaned a little. She held her chest…

"Is she seasick too?" asked Yoshi.

"Looks more like heartburn…" replied Koops.

Then Vivian appeared out of the shadows again.

"I don't think so Koops…" she said. "Contrary to it name, when you have heartburn, it's your stomach that's hurting. I think this has something to do with her actual heart."

"WHAT?" gasped Stan. "You mean a heart attack? She can't be more than seventeen!"

"I don't think this has anything to do with health," replied Vivian. "This is that thing I mentioned before, that thing I felt that was wrong with her…

"It's a dark spell of some sort… The shock she felt from making that mistake just caused something inside her to nudge, and now she's fighting it…"

"A spell cast on her heart?" asked Andy.

Vivian looked at Maria.

"No…" she said, ominously. "This rage that Maria is feeling is clearly the result of some dark spell, but it wasn't cast on her heart…

"Her heart… Is what's causing it…"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Maria.

"Attack Francesca directly, Nightblood!"

The vampire pirate lifted his swords and flew at Fran…

"I activate Miracle's Wake!" she shouted, as her Trap Card lifted up, and Elephun appeared in Defense Mode. (300 DEF) The swords slashed, cutting the small Tuner in half.

That was close… she thought.

"I end my turn…" snarled Maria.

Francesca looked at Ms. Mowz as she made a draw.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

"Well, I can offer some suggestions about how to beat those two Monsters…" replied Ms. Mowz. "But… If you're asking me how to solve this problem with your opponent… I have no idea."

"You can't think of anything?" asked Francesca.

"Seriously, Fran, we're in hot fondue here!" replied the Squeek. "She's under a curse that her heart is causing? I mean, even if she succeeded in fighting it, do you know what might happen?"

"She could have a real cardiac arrest…" muttered Fran. "Perfect… Even if I knew CPR, it would be awfully hard to do on a victim wearing plate armor…"

"I hate to give the Shadow Queen credit," said Ms. Mowz, "but this has to be the most brilliant way I've ever seen of keeping a minion from disobeying. A lot of people like her use stuff like mind-control devices or slave collars that shock you if you don't do as you're told… You've seen all that in movies right?

"And you know that the heroes in those movies always manage to find some way to deactivate, destroy, or remove such things…

"But in this case, the device in question is her most vital organ… How in the world can you shut that off without killing her?"

"So… What do I do?" asked Fran.

Ms. Mowz peered at the cards she was holding.

"Keep dueling…" she sighed. "That's all you can do for now… My dad always said that sometimes you have to wait for the solution to come to you. Hopefully it will."

Francesca nodded, and then played a Spell Card.

"I use Magical Stone Excavation!" she shouted. "So I'll ditch these two cards…"

She took Key Mouse and Chain Dog from her hand, and slipped them into her Disk's discard slot. Then a card slipped out of the same slot.

"…then get a Spell Card back…" she said, as she held it up. "Like my Ego Boost.

"Then, I'll summon Lock Cat again…"

The sassy feline appeared again. It meowed as it looked at Maria. (1,200 ATK)

"As you already know, I can use its effect to summon Key Mouse from my Graveyard…"

The small rodent hopped onto the field. (100 DEF)

"Which means, with two Beasts on the field, Chain Dog's effect can summon itself from my Graveyard."

The chain-wrapped Bull Terrier appeared, completing the trio. (1,600 ATK)

"So I'll Tune together my three Beasts…" she said, as the Mouse, Cat, and Dog turned into eight glowing stars."

The stars flew into the cloudy, stormy sky.

"In the depths of the forest primeval, a gate to the Fairy World opens, and a divine messenger emerges. Gallop forth, bringing your holy light!"

(*1 + *3 + *4 = *8)

"I Synchro Summon… Eachthighern the Fairy Stallion!"

The clouds parted, and a sunbeam shone through. The magnificent unicorn stallion appeared, glowing with holy light, and the two undead pirates clearly did not like it. (2,000 ATK)

"Attack Davy Jones with Shining Sunbeam!" she shouted, as the sapphire in his crown started to glow.

She threw Ego Boost into her Disk, and Eachthighern's Attack Score shot up to 3,000 right before the blast of pure light shot from his horn, vaporizing the sea demon.

Francesca closed her eyes as a soft, golden glow formed around her.

"Oh right…" said Andy. "That guy's effect grants her Life Points equal to the Attack Score of the Monster it destroys."

(F: 6,800) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 5,800)

"I'll throw out this," said Francesca, as a set card appeared with a flash behind Eachthighern, "and it's your move…"

0000000000

In another part of the Palace of Shadow, Count Bleck brooded on a makeshift chair.

This cavernous room had no magical protection from the Queen's site, but he was reasonably certain she wouldn't check here.

Not that this room wasn't important. It was a crypt of sorts. The stone coffins contained the remains of many soldiers that, while loyal to the Queen, weren't as high-ranking as Grodus. The Queen didn't make a habit of guarding or checking on this place often… There really wasn't anything valuable in the coffins.

"Ironic…" he said. "By banishing that Monster, Maria let Francesca accomplish the action she hoped to prevent…

"That girl is a chip off the old block…"

He took a golden pocket watch out of his vest and opened it, the face making a soft light that made slight illumination.

"Seven o'clock in the morning…" he muttered. "Pelor's radiant light is just starting to shine over Arcadia, but as the morning progresses, it will climb further in the sky, and grow stronger..."

He shut the lid of the watch.

"…until five hours from now, the light will be shine brightest over Arcadia, and then… Then will be the time to strike…

"Looks like it's going to be a nice, sunny day…"

0000000000

At the Fahr Outpost…

Hyde seemed to have field advantage for now. He had an odd creature on his side of the field: A large fox with nine long tails that looked both beautiful and menacing at the same time. (2,200 ATK) Ice Queen had a strange Monster, a humanoid dressed in armor that seemed to be made out of ice and a long, scarlet cape. (1,700 ATK)

"Nine-Tailed Fox, turn that thing into cocktail ice with Nine Tailed Spear!"

The strange creature's eyes glowed fiery red, and its tails darted forward, impaling the armored creature and smashing it into little pieces.

"Ugh…" said Ice Queen.

(Hyde: 2,500) - - - - - - - - - - (Ice Queen: 3,500)

"Your move, Jadis," he said.

The Ice Queen drew a card, clearly not getting the reference. Her eyes, narrowed.

"You know, Mr. Vayne…" she said. "I was awfully fond of Ice Knight…

"A shame he had to be a sacrificial lamb! I summon Cold Enchanter!"

She played a card, and a coldly attractive young woman (possibly what Ice Queen was like when younger) with her hair held in place by a tiara, a white strapless dress and a cloak, holding a staff tipped with a snowflake-shaped head, appeared. (1,600 ATK)

"Then, for each card I choose to discard…" she continued, as she took two of her three cards, "I can put one Ice Counter on any Monster I choose. Cold Enchanter then gains 300 Attack Points for each one.

"So, I'll discard these cards, and put them on Cold Enchanter herself…"

She made the two discards, and the Aqua's eyes glowed with icy energy. (2,200 ATK)

"Now, you're probably wondering why I didn't discard the last card to make it three Counters so she would be stronger than your Monster…"

"I think you're gonna tell me…" said Hyde.

"I have exactly five Water Monsters in my Graveyard right now!" exclaimed Ice Queen. "So now I can Special Summon…"

She threw her last card on her Disk, and the icy ground behind her burst open.

"Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord!"

With a bellow, a thing rose out of the ground that was truly a titan. It was as big as Grandsoil, but this time made of pure, frigid, solid ice. (2,800 ATK)

"Holy Mary Mother of God…" gasped Boris.

"Calm down, big guy…" said Hyde. "Ever hear the old saying, the bigger they are, the harder they fall?"

"Very strong words…" said Ice Queen, "considering that my two Monsters combined are enough to wipe you out before you can try. But just in case…

"I'll use Moulinglacia's effect, which destroys two cards in your hand when it's summoned."

"HEY!" shouted Hyde, as two of his three cards shattered.

"Smash that Fox!" shouted the Spellcaster. "Flatten it!"

Moulinglacia's mighty hand crashed down, crushing Nine-Tailed Fox with one mighty squash.

"Gah…" said Hyde.

(H: 1,800) - - - - - - - - - - (IQ: 3,500)

"You're through!" shouted Ice Queen. "Cold Enchanter…"

"I use Nine-Tailed Fox's effect!" shouted Hyde. "You destroyed it, so I get to conjure up these little guys."

Two small, fiery foxes appeared in front of him, defending. (300 DEF x2)

"Eh…" said the Ice Queen.

Cold Enchanter shot a blast of frost from her staff, and one of the two small foxes turned to vapor.

"Okay, so you're on the field with one little Token," she said, "while I have a Monster with 2,200 Attack Points, and another with 2,800. So just what do you plan on doing?"

Simple… thought Hyde. I'm going to use what I have…

"My draw!" he shouted.

He drew a card.

"You see, you actually helped my just then… Some Monsters are more dangerous when they're dead than they are when they're alive.

"Because that big lug's effect just sent Mezuki to my Graveyard, I can banish it, and then Special Summon my own ice maiden… Yuki-Onna!"

He pocketed the card, and the frigid, blue-haired woman in a kimono appeared. (1,000 ATK)

"By doing so, I'm able to Special Summon a second Zombie from my Graveyard, like Onmoraki."

There was a burst of ghostly fire, and a large, black crane with a flaming crest appeared too. (1,200 ATK)

"By summoning him from the Graveyard, I get to draw once," he said, as he made a draw. "And now I sacrifice Yuki-Onna and my Fox Token…"

The two Yokai burst into little shards.

"…to summon the mighty Red Ogre!"

With a snarl, a seven-foot-tall, muscular, red-skinned, horned demon stood up, brandishing a nasty-looking kanabō. (2,800 ATK)

"By Normal Summoning this big guy," he said, as he held up his last two cards, "I can send one Monster on the field back to the owner's hand for each card I discard."

"HEY, wait a minute…" said the Ice Queen as he discarded both cards.

Then Red Ogre made a mighty swing with his weapon, and both Cold Enchanter and the huge, icy giant simply disappeared.

"Uh…" she said.

"Let's see you handle this fire!" shouted Hyde. "Red Ogre, attack directly with Ogre Burn!"

The huge oni leapt at the wicked Queen, and blew flames from its jaws. She screamed as hot steam rose from her dress.

Onmoraki quickly followed, flying at her and shooting flames of its own. She screamed again…

(H: 1,800) - - - - - - - - - - (IQ: 0)

Hyde watched as the large cloud of steam cleared… There was no sign of her. She was gone.

"What happened?" asked Boris. "Did she… Melt?"

"Dunno…" replied Hyde. "Important thing is, she's gone…"

He took the pack of cigarettes again, and pulled one of them from it with his teeth. As he lit it, he hit his mobile.

"Is that you, Mr. Vayne?" asked Merlow's voice.

"Yeah," he replied. "I took care of her. Was she the last one?"

"Maybe," replied Merlow. "We'll do one more sweep. For now, just stay alert."

So all we can do now, thought Hyde, as he hung up, is wait see what happens next…

0000000000

As Maria made a draw, there was a much louder clap of thunder…

Then it started. Rain started to fall from the sky above.

Oh, great… thought Francesca. Just when I thought this couldn't get worse…

"I'm not letting a little inclement weather ruin this duel," said Maria, as she made a draw. "After all, I'm the Shadow Spawn of Water, and I'd be a sorry excuse for one if a little rain bothered me.

"Destroy her Stallion, Nightblood!"

The vampiric pirate flew at Eachthighern…

"Gotcha…" said Francesca.

"What? A Trap?" said Maria, as Fran's face-down card lifted up. "Wha…"

"Synchro Strike," said Francesca. "It gives my Synchro Monster 500 more Attack Points this turn for each Monster I used to summon it."

(3,500 ATK)

Eachthighern blasted the ray of light from his horn, turning the Zombie into a cloud of water vapor.

"And that means I gain 2,400 more Life Points!"

(F: 9,200) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,700)

"SCORE!" cheered Yoshi. "She can't lose now!"

"Will you be quiet?" whispered Koops. "Let's not jinx this, okay?"

Maria, grimaced, and then fit a card into her Disk, causing it to appear reversed in her Spell Zone.

"I'm done…" she said.

Fran made one draw. The card was Hyena.

Should I go with this? she thought.

She looked at Ms. Mowz.

"Be careful here, Fran…" cautioned the Deckmaster.

Fran nodded.

"Eachthighern, attack Maria directly!" she commanded, as the unicorn's crown glowed again.

"I activate… Shadow Spell!" shouted Maria, as her Trap Card lifted up.

Chains ripped out of the wooden floor with a burst of splinters, grabbing Eachthighern and looping around his torso. He tried to struggle, but they quickly bound him fast. (1,300 ATK)

"That will hold him…" said Maria.

Fran sighed a little, and set the Hyena card on her Disk, and it appeared reversed.

"So now what?" she said.

"I'll show you," said Maria, as she made a draw. "I'm going to bring Captain Nightblood back…"

"Huh," said Fran. "But…"

"In case you didn't notice, Fran, he's a vampire," replied Maria. "And just like Vampire Lord and Vampire's Curse, you can't keep him down for long.

"In fact, under the right conditions, it's even harder. You see, if he's in my Graveyard, and you have more cards on the field than I do – which you do – I can banish one of my other Water-Attribute Zombies from there…"

One of the Cursed Cannoneers' cards fell out of her discard slot.

"…and see for yourself…"

The glowing eyes appeared again, and the evil vampire rose onto the field once more. (2,400 ATK)

"Now for that unicorn… Attack with Curse of Leviathan!"

The vampire held up his blades, and lightning flashed. Two slashes lit up the darkness of the storm, and the Fairy Stallion shattered.

(F: 8,100) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 4,700)

"So what do you say now?"

Fran looked at her opponent. Then she sneezed.

"Got the sniffles, huh?" said Maria, with a chuckle. "I'll throw a card face-down, and then you go…"

A set card appeared behind Nightblood.

Francesca coughed a little as she made a draw.

De-Synchro? she thought. Damn, if only I'd had this last turn, I could have…

Hey… Wait a minute…

"Hey, Maria!" she said. "I just drew my De-Synchro!

"See, if I use this card on one of my Synchro Monsters, it goes back to my Extra Deck, and I get to Special Summon the Monsters I Tuned to summon it.

"But if I use it on your Synchro Monster…"

She played the card, and Captain Nightblood vanished.

"…it just goes back to your Extra Deck. Neat, huh?"

Her set card flipped up, and Hyena appeared. (1,000 ATK)

"So chew on this!"

The Beast leapt at Maria, and sank its teeth into her leg.

"Ah…" grunted the Shadow Spawn.

(F: 8,100) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 3,700)

"And I'll end my turn there…" she said.

"You may have gotten rid of Captain Nightblood," said Maria, as she made a draw. "But… Now's my chance to use First Mate Nightblood's effect."

"Huh?" said Fran. "But… You banished him…"

"Exactly…" replied Maria. "You see, because he's banished right now, I can take another of my banished Water Zombies, and then send it back to my Graveyard. So I'll use that effect on the Evil Shade Cutlass I banished when I used Captain Dem Bonez's effect."

She discarded the card, and flinched a little as a dark aura appeared around her.

"I take 200 points of damage for each Level of the returned Monster," she said, "but dealing with dead things is never easy."

(F: 6,500) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 3,300)

"Next, you may remember how my Deckmaster effect requires me to discard a Spell or Trap Card. I'm not going to use that effect right now, but… The first time I used it, the Spell Card I discarded was a special one called Buried Treasure.

"When ten or more cards are piled on top of this card in my discard pile, which is the case right not, I can banish it, and then both players draw twice. I think I'll use that effect right now…"

Francesca shrugged, and drew twice. Maria did too, and then played one.

"I summon Evil Shade Buccaneer!" she shouted.

Another ghostly pirate appeared, one wearing waterlogged and torn clothing with long, tangled hair, holding two flintlock pistols. (1,400 ATK)

"Oh, I remember that guy too…" said Stan. "He gains 300 points for each additional Buccaneer in her Graveyard… And those three sword-things count, because their effect gives them the same name."

The ghost aimed his pistols at Hyena. (2,300 ATK) Then he fired, blowing the Beast to little pieces.

"That may have cost me a little…" said Fran, "but now I get to summon two Hyenas!"

Two more of the small predators appeared, in a sitting position. (300 DEF x2)

Maria set another card, and it appeared reversed in front of her.

Keep going, Francesca… she thought. One more turn, and I'll be able to bring out the true master of the Dead Sea…

"That's all for my turn…" she said, in an ominous tone.

The rain started to come down harder. A chill came over Francesca, and she wasn't sure if it was from cold, or simply dread. She drew.

"Come out, Al-Mi'Raj!" she shouted, as she played the card, causing the small, rabbit-like Beast with a unicorn horn to appear. (600 ATK)

"Then I'll Tune my Level 2 Al-Mi'Raj with my two Level 3 Hyenas…" she said, as the three Beasts flew into the sky.

"Thunder rolls! Lightning strikes! Combine to form a Beast that truly embodies the storm!"

(*2 + *3 + *3 = *8)

"I Synchro Summon… Lightning Tricorn!"

As the sacred unicorn appeared, she leapt up on her rear hooves triumphantly as lightning flashed again. (2,800 ATK)

"Because I Synchro Summoned using Al-Mi'Raj as a Tuner, I get to draw once," said Fran, as she made a draw.

"Now destroy it! Giga Volt Charge!"

Lightning flashed from the stormy sky, striking Tricorn and surrounding her with an aura of incredible energy as she leapt at the undead pirate. Maria let out a cry of pain as Evil Shade Buccaneer was blown to pieces and she fell on her back.

(F: 6,500) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 2,800)

"Seriously," said Yoshi, "maybe she should have thought twice about using Water Monsters against ones that use electricity."

"I'll deal with you later, wise guy," said Maria. "For now… I believe it's my move…"

She stood up, and made a draw.

Ghostly Lantern… she thought. This should do the trick…

"I summon Anchor Cut Throat to the field," she said, as she played a card.

The dark magical circle appeared again, along with another phantom, a rotting, decayed corpse in a seaman's uniform with more chains strapped to its body and a large anchor on its back. (1,500 ATK)

"Now, by discarding a card from my hand, I can Special Summon another Water-Attribute Zombie from my Graveyard, like Captain Dem Bonez…"

She discarded the Ghostly Lantern, and the dark Captain appeared again. (2,000 ATK)

"Now for my big surprise…" she said. "I play Deep Sea Fusion!"

As she played the card, the thunder and lightning overhead reached a crescendo. As Captain Dem Bonez and Anchor Cut Throat vanished, ghostly, demonic creatures started to fly around the ship, letting out a hideous keening.

"This is really creepy…" said Andy.

"I may not have that Fusion Monster that Cortez used," said Maria, "but I have someone even better…"

The floor in front of her ripped open, and a sickly, unholy light poured out of it.

"Mom knew this guy well… He was a pirate almost as successful as Cortez was, about six-hundred years later, but with far more blood on his hands… Dying didn't stop his murderous ways… Some say that Hell itself couldn't hold him…

"I Fusion Summon Captain Skull!"

Lightning flashed one more time, and another specter leapt out of the pit…

This one looked much like the other Zombie pirates in most ways. Maybe his clothes were a bit newer and in better condition. His face was a bare skull (with a beard).

What made him stand out was his right arm. Now, the whole idea of a villainous amputee that had his missing hand replaced by a weapon had started with a pirate (Captain Hook, to be specific). Since he had appeared, the theme had been used frequently, many times with pirate villains.

This guy took the stereotype to an extreme. His whole right arm was missing, and it had been replaced by a cannon. (2,500 ATK)

"You have got to be kidding me…" said Stan.

"I'll show you how much I'm kidding," said Maria. "Deep Sea Fusion's effect, in case you forgot, gives each Water-Attribute Fusion Monster on the field 200 extra Attack Points for each Water Monster in my Graveyard, so long as the Spell Card itself is there. As of right now, the count is ten."

(4,500 ATK)

"Forty-five hundred Attack Points?" shouted Andy, as Captain Skull aimed his cannon at Lightning Tricorn.

"I am willing to lower it a little," replied Maria, as the evil Captain started to absorb energy through the barrel of the weapon. "You see, in order to use his effect, I have to banish two Water-Attribute Zombies from my Graveyard…"

Captain Nightblood and a Cursed Cannoneer appeared behind Skull, and then crumbled into dust. Skull's Attack Score fell to 4,100.

"But so long as he's strong enough to win the battle, that's all that matters. You see, if he destroys a Monster when I use this effect, the Battle Damage is reduced to zero, and you take 2,000 points of effect damage instead!

"Attack with Soul-Crusher Blast!"

What came next was about as subtle as a ton of dynamite, but it worked. The blast from the cannon blew Lightning Tricorn to bits, knocked Francesca on her side…

…and shook the whole ship in the process.

(F: 4,500) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 2,800)

Then Francesca and her allies realized that it was even worse. The shockwave from the brutal attack had actually damaged the ship. The whole thing was straining and groaning more than ever, and cracks were starting to appear in both the mast and the hull.

Francesca quickly took Thunder Unicorn's card from her discard slot and played it, and she appeared, sitting in Defense Mode. (1,800 DEF) But it still got worse… The rusted iron rivets holding parts of the wooden hull around them were starting to fall apart…

"Guess there is a way to sink a ghost ship…" said Vivian. "A ghost packing a ghost-cannon can do the job…"

"Hold on!" shouted Yoshi.

"To what?" shouted Koops. "Each other?"

"Maria, listen to me!" shouted Francesca, as she stood up. "This creature is going to sink this ship to the bottom of the ocean and kill all of us!"

Maria didn't answer her. The Shadow Spawn of Water was looking at her with a cold, icy stare.

"Or don't you care?" asked Fran.

"I end my turn…" said Maria, in a stoic monotone. "Fortunately for you, two of my Standby Phases must pass before Captain Skull can use that effect again, so you're safe from it next turn."

"So we have one turn to do something…" muttered Fran, turning to Ms. Mowz. "Any ideas?"

"Well, uhm…" said Ms. Mowz. "In order for Thunder Unicorn's effect to defeat that guy, you'd need to summon four other Monsters…"

Francesca drew a card, and looked at it, along with her other three.

"Which I literally can't do right now…" she said.

"Then the other option is to simply hold it off for a round," replied the Squeek, "and I have an idea…"

She quickly whispered into Fran's ear. Fran quickly nodded.

This was a risk, but she'd have to take it.

"I'm using my Deckmaster effect, Maria," she said, "and I'm gonna make this count.

"See, each time either of us activated a Spell Card, Ms. Mowz gained a Silver Counter. She has the maximum of five Silver Counters right now, meaning she can turn them to Gold.

"That means I can take any Normal Trap Card from my deck that I want…"

A card appeared in her hand.

"…like my Crest of Valarian here, and then set it.

"I'll set another one along with it…"

Two face-down cards appeared behind Thunder Unicorn.

"…so do your worst…"

If I trigger that Trap Card when Captain Skull attacks, Thunder Unicorn will survive. Hopefully, it will give me time to think of something…

Maria made a draw, and then played the card, not skipping a beat.

"I activate Different Dimension Deepsea Trench," she said, as a Continuous Spell Card appeared in front of her. "When this card is activated, I select one Water Monster in my hand, my side of the field, or my Graveyard, and then banish it…"

"I have a feeling it's not going to be Captain Skull…" moaned Andy.

"I choose to banish my Ghostly Lantern," said Maria. "If this Spell Card is destroyed, Ghostly Lantern is summoned to the field… However…

"The Lantern's own effect activates because I just banished it, causing every Water-Attribute Zombie except itself to return to my Graveyard…"

Four ghostly shapes appeared, and flew into her discard slot with ominous howls. Captain Skull's empty eye-sockets glowed with hellish light. (4,900 ATK)

Then Maria's set Trap Card lifted up.

"Meteorain?" screamed Andy. "Good lord…"

The evil pirate aimed his weapon at Thunder Unicorn…

"I activate Crest of Valarian!" screamed Francesca.

Her Trap lifted up as the cannon fired a thunderous blast. Both Fran and the Unicorn screamed as the whole ship shook again…

(F: 1,400) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 2,800)

Fran was on her knees, holding her stomach. Thunder Unicorn had survived, but she didn't seem in very good shape either. The storm was even worse, and it was obvious at this point, Maria's early claim that this ship was safe had not been true at all.

Bobbery appeared next to Andy again, and for the first time, even he looked close to losing his nerve.

"Francesca?" he said. "Not to give undue pressure, milady, but one more blast like that is likely going to scuttle this whole ship."

And I'll be leading the way… thought Francesca.

A sinister smile appeared on Maria's face. She took one of the two remaining cards in her hand and flipped it around. It was Call of the Haunted.

Then she fit it into her Disk, and it appeared reversed in her Spell Zone.

"Your move…" she said.

"She's mocking me…" muttered Fran, as she stood up. "She's going to use that card to summon Anchor Cutthroat next turn, then use its effect to summon Captain Dem Bonez, and then use his effect to summon another Monster. She'll have four Monsters before she even needs to Normal Summon.

"As if she even needs them! If Captain Skull manages to use his effect again, I've had it…"

She looked at Ms. Mowz.

"What can I say?" replied the Companion. "You're right… We're dealing with one rotten piece of rochebaron here, and I'm not sure what to do…"

Francesca looked at her cards.

"All right…" she thought.

She made a draw.

As she did so, the biggest shudder yet shook the ship. She looked at the card.

"Not a moment too soon…" she said. "I summon Beast Striker!"

She played the card, and the ape-like Beast holding a huge sledge appeared, roaring and baring its fangs at the undead pirate. (1,850 ATK)

"Now, I'll discard this card," she said, as she discarded Card From a Different Dimension (which she had been holding onto for most of the duel), "and use Beast Striker's effect to summon Moja!"

Beast Striker slammed its hammer down, and the small, blob-like Beast popped out of the floor. (100 ATK)

"Then, I play Monster Reborn!" she shouted.

The ankh appeared, and Lightning Tricorn appeared on the fourth space in her Monster Zone. (2,800 ATK)

"Then, I move Thunder Unicorn to Attack Mode," she said, as the Unicorn stood up (2,200 ATK), "and use her effect to lower Captain Skull's Attack Score by 2,000 points!"

As she said this, the demon clutched his chest and groaned. (2,900 ATK)

"Then I play The Big March of Animals!" shouted Francesca, as she used her last card. "It gives each of my Beast-Type Monsters 200 Attack Points for each Beast I have!"

(Thunder Unicorn: 3,000 ATK, Beast Striker: 2,650 ATK, Moja: 900 ATK, Lightning Tricorn: 3,600 ATK)

Then her set card lifted up.

"Finally, I activate Beast Rising! I'll banish Lightning Tricorn…"

The larger unicorn vanished into a ripple of light.

"…and another of my Beasts gains Attack Points equal to her Attack Points!"

Thunder Unicorn started to glow more radiantly than ever before. Her eyes shone like the sun itself. (5,800 ATK)

A look of absolute terror appeared on Captain Skull's bony face…

Then Thunder Unicorn charged, and the explosion as the wicked pirate was vanquished caused an explosion that turned the dark, stormy sky a hellish red…

(F: 1,400) - - - - - - - - - - (M: 0)

The force of the explosion threw Maria backwards, smashing through the guardrail on the bow of the ship… And then overboard.

Francesca likely would have suffered the same fate if she hadn't had allies. Both of her human partners and all seven of the Companions had rushed behind her to brace her. Even so, they were all knocked over like a set of ninepins.

"MARIA!" screamed Francesca, sitting up.

"Fran, get ahold of yourself!" shouted Stan. "She's the Shadow Spawn of Water, I'm sure she won't drown…

"We, on the other hand… We're in much bigger trouble…"

It was only too true. That explosion had sealed the ship's fate. Its mast had broken in half, and it was taking on water, very quickly. To make things worse, there wasn't any portal dragging them back this time.

"You're the one with experience here!" said Yoshi, pointing to Bobbery. "What would you do in a situation like this?"

"Uh, probably give the order to abandon ship…" replied the Admiral.

"HEY!" shouted a voice from above them.

As they looked up, they saw that a portal had opened after all.

"Vladimir?" gasped Andy, seeing who it was.

The Shadow Spawn of Darkness tossed a rope down from the portal.

"Grab it!" he shouted.

They looked up at him. They paused.

"Oh come on, people!" he shouted. "What choice do you have?"

Clearly, they had none. The Companions all vanished, retreating back to the three decks, as their owners grabbed hold of the rope. Slowly, something pulled the rope upwards, towards the portal.

They sincerely hoped that they wouldn't regret not staying behind to go down with that ship…

0000000000

NINE-TAILED FOX (Monster Card)

Zombie/Fire/Lvl6/2,200ATK/2,000DEF

Effect: If this card is in your Graveyard, you may Special Summon it (from your Graveyard) by Tributing 2 Zombie-Type Monsters you control. If this card is Special Summoned in this manner, it gains the following effects:

* This card inflicts piercing damage.

* If this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you may Special Summon 2 "Fox Tokens" (Zombie/Fire/Lvl1/300ATK/300DEF)

Note: "Nine-Tailed Fox" was first used by Misawa in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" manga.

0000000000

ICE KNIGHT (Monster Card)

Aqua/Water/Lvl4/1,300ATK/1,200DEF

Effect: Increase the ATK of this card by 400 for each face-up Aqua-Type Monster on the field.

Note: "Ice Knight" was first used by Kourimaru in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Taken by Storm (Part 2)". Creative credit goes to the writers of the episode.

0000000000

BURIED TREASURE (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A gang of pirates on a beach, digging up a treasure chest.

Card Description: You can activate this card's effect if it is in your Graveyard with 10 or more cards on top of it. Banish this card; both players draw two cards.

Note: "Buried Treasure" first appeared in "Legend of the Sorcerer Kings".

0000000000

FIRST MATE NIGHTBLOOD (Monster Card)

Zombie/Water/Tuner/Effect/Level 3/500ATK/800DEF

Effect: During each of your Standby Phases if you are the owner of this card and it was banished, you may select 1 of your banished WATER Zombie-Type Monsters and return it to your Graveyard. Then, you take damage equal to 200x the Level of the returned Monster. This effect can no longer be applied if this card is no longer banished.

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CAPTAIN NIGHTBLOOD (Monster Card)

Zombie/Water/Synchro/Effect/Level 7/2,400ATK/2,000DEF

WATER Tuner + 1 or more Zombie-Type Monsters

Effect: If this card is in your Graveyard and your opponent controls more cards than you do, you may banish 1 WATER Zombie-Type Monster in your Graveyard (except this one) to Special Summon this card from your Graveyard.

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WALK THE PLANK (Trap Card)

Counter Trap

Image: Evil Shade Buccaneer holding a cutlass to the back of Elemental Hero Burstinatrix as she stands on a plank over the ocean.

Card Description: Activate by selecting 1 WATER Zombie-Type Monster you control a when your opponent Normal Summons or Special Summons a Monster. Destroy the selected Monster to destroy the summoned Monster. Then, both players draw 1 card.

Again, the preceeding three cards were created by Lux-Nero. Credit goes to him.

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CAPTAIN SKULL (Monster Card)

Zombie/Water/Fusion/Effect/Level 8/2,500ATK/2,000DEF

"Captain Dem Bonez" + 1 other WATER Zombie-Type Monster

Effect: When this card declares an attack on an opposing Monster, you may banish 2 WATER Zombie-Type Monsters in your Graveyard. If you do, and the opposing Monster is destroyed by battle, reduce Battle Damage to zero and inflict 2,000 points of damage to your opponent. If you use this effect, you may not use the effect of "Captain Skull" again until 2 of your Standby Phases have passed.

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"Skull Mariner": Warrior/Water/Lvl4/1,600/900: "Dead Man's Chest": Once per turn, you may discard 1 Spell or Trap Card from your hand to select 1 WATER Monster in your deck and send it to the Graveyard.

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"Ms. Mowz the Tease Thief": Beast/Earth/Lvl3/1,200/1,000: "Silver and Gold": Each time you or your opponent activates a Spell Card, put one "Silver Counter" on this card (Max: 5). You may remove 5 "Silver Counters" from this card to reveal 1 Normal Trap from your deck and set it.

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Vladimir has rescued our heroes from certain doom… But is this a good thing? Even with Tyson no longer around, the old saying about "out of the frying pan, into the fire" may well apply here…

Stan: Tell me about it. After what happened last time, I figured that Vlad may have been the one member of this group who we may have had a chance of reasoning with. But I'm not sure right now.

I used to watch old sitcoms, like All in the Family. I remember one episode where Mike was paranoid that he had flunked an important test. He had a nightmare that he was drowning in quicksand. In the nightmare, his college professor appeared, and saved his life by pulling him out… And then told him that he had flunked. (If you saw it, it was kinda funny… I guess.)

So, did Vladimir save us simply to try to kill us? Probably… But maybe he'll at least listen more than the others did…

"Curse of the Circle" is coming soon.