This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author AaronCottrell97 for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown
WARNING: Once more, this story is rated entirely M for bloody violence, depictions of gore, sexual content (including a moment of language being used in context to sex), and some nudity. Chapter also contains two rare uses of the F-word, both are uncensored. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
Opening up in a new section of the Duel Monsters spirit world, Frankie and Lilith, Lady of Lament were riding chicken-like monsters called Niwatori, heading to a special location that the latter said would assist Frankie in remembering her past self.
"Chelyumn..." Frankie mumbled.
"Chelyumn is the one place where this girl will regain her lost memories as Driote." Lilith, Lady of Lament thought to herself. "No matter how much she denies it, she will not escape her memories of the past."
And so, the two Niwatori took their respective riders down the road some more.
(elsewhere...)
Eventually, the two Niwatoris stopped near the edge of a hill, seeing what was ahead made Lilith, Lady of Lament smile over the fond memories she had of her old home.
"There it is." she proclaimed, holding her right hand out. "Our old home - Chelyumn!"
Frankie took one look and gasped; the castle in the distance looked ruined.
"You see, after Queen Driote's death, the kingdom was abandoned by her loyal subjects." explained Lilith, Lady of Lament. She then eyed Frankie. "But if you can accept your destiny as the 'Artist of Insanity', it can be restored to its original greatness!"
Frankie remained very quiet, however. Nevertheless, Lilith, Lady of Lament remained very sure that her plan would work out in the end. Finally, she mushed on the rein of her Niwatori.
"Let's go!"
And the female Fiend-Type monster rode down the hill. Sighing, Frankie followed close behind on her Niwatori.
(elsewhere...)
Five minutes later, Frankie and Lilith, Lady of Lament finally arrived outside the gates leading into the city.
"Here we are." announced Lilith, Lady of Lament. "The gates of the city!"
Frankie took a good look at the walls and became queasy; the walls were decorated with blood stains, various organs of either Duel Spirit or humans, and bones and/or skulls of either.
"You like them?" grinned Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Queen Driote made all of these when she took over the kingdom—of course, it does take some time to get used to."
Before Frankie could respond, she, falling to her knees, was again overcome with pain. As expected, a vision was shown...
(VISION)
Alone inside her room, Young Driote was busy making something out of old materials and bones she collected while outside. Unfortunately, she was not satisfied with the materials she had. Just then, the young blue/green-haired girl heard a short bark.
"Hm?" she quizzed, looking at the doorway of her room.
Standing, panting and looking quite happy was the Silver Fang Driote's Father insisted on getting for the family.
"Flitta?" blinked Young Driote. She then realized something. "Of course!"
It was the one principle Young Driote didn't at first understand, but now, thanks to the female Silver Fang showing up, she came to fully realize it. Flitta then tilted her head to the side curiously, watching as her master stood up from her spot in the bedroom with an unreadable expression on her face.
"Flitta." That was all Young Driote could say as she slowly walked towards the family pet.
Flitta continued to curiously watch the young blue/green-haired girl coming towards her. Normally, something like this would cause a ton of worry for a person, but the SIlver Fang didn't seem to understand the situation she was about to put in. It was only when Young Driote got closer and closer and slowly drew a dagger did Flitta come to realize what was about to happen, but by then it was too late...
(elsewhere...)
Outside the room, there was a loud howl of agony, and on the door there was a shadowed form of Young Driote with her dagger stabbed into the Silver Fang's chest, killing the animal in an instant.
(elsewhere...)
Back inside the bedroom, with Flitta now dead, Young Driote was busy mutilating the poor Duel Spirit-like animal before she started using the creature's inner organs and blood to make the sculpture she had realized of. It was truly a gruesome sight for a young girl to go and do, and would play a key role in what she would grow up into in the future. As Young Driote worked on her latest, and her most most infamous, piece...
"Have you seen Flitta anywhere, Driote?" said a voice from behind the girl. "I swear if she ran away again..." The voice belonged to the girl's Mother, who was walking into her daughter's room looking for the family pet. "I don't know why I let your Father convince me to get a Silver Fang in the first place. Nothing but-"
The Mother stopped mid-sentence as she saw a most gruesome sight in front of her daughter.
"What... what have you done?"
Before her lay the mutilated corpse of their pet Silver Fang. Its flesh, bones and organs had been used by Young Driote to make a truly horrific and inhuman sculpture, painted in the creatures own blood. But as Young Driote turned to face her Mother, her face carried no signs of remorse for killing their pet...
(END VISION)
The vision ended...
"I... I think I'm going to be sick…" Frankie groaned, trying to cover her mouth briefly. "What kind of girl was Driote supposed to even be?!"
"She was guided by one simple principle." answered Lilith, Lady of Lament, realizing that Frankie saw another memory. "It was something she came to understand when she was very young." She closed her eyes and recited the same line Driote told Emily... "If people feel nothing when encountering something you have created...then you have created nothing." The female Fiend-Type monster opened her eyes. "Queen Driote told me about what she learned from that time."
Frankie shivered with fear from seeing the horrifying memory, wishing she could just leave and never return. Unfortunately, a part of her wanted to see this all out to the bitter end. And so, the blue/green-haired girl followed Lilith, Lady of Lament into the city.
Title: A Dark Homecoming
All across the city of Chelyumn, there were no people nor Duel Spirits roaming around, and no buildings bustling with life; it was completely deserted!
"Is this place deserted?" Frankie asked, clearly knowing the answer.
"As I've told you-" replied Lilith, Lady of Lament. "-when our Queen met her end, this whole kingdom was abandoned. Everyone went their separate ways; the slavery factories were all shutdown... Our empire had collapsed. Without Droite, there was no reason to move on."
"Good." Frankie sighed. "Had I been around to witness that sick freak in action, I would have turned my back on her when I had the chance."
"The only problem, is that you WERE there to see it all."
When the blue/green-haired girl didn't say a word back, Lilith, Lady of Lament started to ride down the streets towards the castle.
"Now, come." she suggested. "We must proceed to the castle for the next part of your journey."
Frankie, still riding her Niwatori, followed her sorta ally.
(elsewhere...)
Inside the entrance hall of the grand (but abandoned) castle, Frankie and Lilith, Lady of Lament both had abandoned their Niwatoris and were now exploring the place on foot.
"This was our Queen's castle." explained Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Originally, it was ruled by the previous Queen - Light Bringer Lucifer, but when she was defeated in a Shadow Duel, Driote assumed the throne. And it's funny; my Queen once told me she used to have a little crush on her before being arrested."
"Ick." Frankie shuddered, not at the fact that Driote (who was bisexual) was once in-love with another woman, but rather from a short, creepy memory she saw just now.
From there, Lilith, Lady of Lament and the blue/green-haired girl both walked down the corridor into the grand hallway. Despite it being abandoned, Frankie still couldn't help but admire the size of the place.
"This place is amazing." she whispered, but then saw more of those 'artworks' along the walls and felt ill. "On second thought..."
"Oh, you'll get used to it." chuckled Lilith, Lady of Lament, walking away. "Now, I want to show you something I think you'll want to see..."
Without realizing what was about to happen, Frankie followed the female Fiend-Type monster through the grand-looking hall.
(elsewhere...)
Traveling through one corridor, Frankie was seeing more and more 'sculptures' and 'artworks', feeling more and more sick and scared in the process.
"How many of these things did Driote ever make?" wondered Frankie.
"Seeing as she was also an artist-" answered Lilith, Lady of Lament. "-quite a lot. Now, up ahead is where you will finally discover who you truly are."
Frankie felt unsure. "I sure hope that isn't the case. " she thought to herself. "I'm nothing like that insane monster."
(elsewhere...)
Eventually, the two travelers arrived at a pair of big doors.
"Where do these doors lead?" Frankie asked curiously.
"Again, to your destiny." answered Lilith, Lady of Lament, looking at her somewhat ally. "Now, open them, young Frankie."
Reluctantly, Frankie obliged and opened the big doors. After opening them, she found herself staring at the ruins of a once fancy-looking throne room.
"W-What happened to this place?" she stammered.
Lilith, Lady of Lament stepped forth. "This was Queen Driote's throne room." she answered. "Unfortunately, after my Queen had sex with an outsider named Anakin on a previous night, the young man went absolutely berserk and destroyed the place, wounding her in the process."
As Frankie and Lilith, Lady of Lament both walked further into the room, the former felt more pain overwhelming her. But this pain was unlike any other pain she ever felt; it was easily the worst kind of pain anyone could feel. In addition, a vision also started up.
(VISION)
During Anakin and Driote's battle, Anakin raised his sword up and brought it down...
*SLASH!*
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" screamed Driote in such pain.
Anakin had slashed Driote once more with his sword, this time across her face. Lying down while writhing in extreme pain, the side of Driote's face was bleeding heavily due to a fresh scar being placed there. With Driote down, Anakin grabbed the Electro-Whip before using his free hand to grab Driote by the throat and slammed her against the wall.
"I'll only say this once; tell me where those mines are!" demanded Anakin.
Driote, still in seething pain, refused. "I'll never talk!"
Bad idea... Since he was refused an answer, Anakin started to furiously attack the 'Artist of Insanity' with her own whip, as it coiled itself around her neck, shocking her entire body at the maximum voltage.
"You liked dishing out pain?!" demanded Anakin, almost in what could seem to be pure insanity of his own. "Well, let's see how YOU like it!"
"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" wailed Driote helplessly, being tortured by her own Electro-Whip. "AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!"
As she continued to scream in agonizing pain, 'Driote: The Artist of Insanity', for the very first time in her entire life, felt absolutely afraid—feeling terrified at the monster she released inside Anakin. After being demanded countless times to reveal the location of the mines King Reginald and the elite Blade Knights were being held in while being electrocuted, Driote caved in...
"T-T-They are being held...in the western mines!" shrieked Driote, before letting out one final scream.
With that said (or screamed), her body finally stopped convulsing and went completely numb and her screaming finally stopped. With the information he needed, Anakin stopped electrocuting Driote and ripped off her crown, before running out onto the nearby balcony.
(new scene...)
Inside her bedroom, Driote, still unconscious, was being looked after by Lilith, Lady of Lament.
"My Queen..." she whispered.
Eventually, Driote slowly started stirring and opening her eyes. Upon her vision returning, she saw her remaining 'right-hand woman' gazing over her.
"Q-Queen Driote!" cried Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Y-You're awake."
"Ugh... Lilith?" whispered Driote. "Where am-?"
"You're in your room, my Queen. And Anakin? He's long gone along with those prisoners from Rondeval."
The blue/green-haired young woman sat up before touching the side of her face—before wishing she hadn't. Her face, still stinging quite badly, had a long scar from where Anakin slashed her with his sword, and it looked like the scar would remain with her forever.
"Anakin's gone..." whispered Driote.
"Yes." confirmed Lilith, Lady of Lament. "If you want, I'll send various search parties out to find him."
Driote did not say a word back; she was thinking about how Anakin managed to defeat her in a battle. Driote found herself growing more smittened with the black-haired young man than ever before.
"Queen Driote?" pressed Lilith, Lady of Lament.
From there...
"How dare he..." Driote whispered, suddenly growing angry. She raised her voice in a fury. "HOW DARE HE?!"
Lilith, Lady of Lament was a bit alarmed. "Y-Your Majesty?" she quivered. "Are you okay?"
"No! I'm not okay!" ranted Driote, turning to glare at her 'right-hand woman'. "Anakin beat me in battle! I can never be beaten by anyone; and yet, there was someone who did!" She then pointed to the scar on her face. "He also gave me this as a result!"
"Y-Yes?"
"Worst of all-" Driote went on. "-I showed absolute fear of Anakin during the fight! FUCKING FEAR! Do you know who I am, Lilith? I'm the 'Artist of Insanity'; I SPREAD fear where I go, not EXPERIENCE fear from somebody else! I can't believe I expressed fear of anyone! Anyone, anyone, anyone, anyone, any-fucking-one! I was just so weak and helpless in that battle... Do you hear me?! I WAS GODDAMN WEAK!"
From there, she seemed to start crying once her ranting ended. Something that Lilith, Lady of Lament never suspected that Driote would ever do.
"My Queen..." The female Fiend-Type monster whispered. "I swear we will make that fool and his whole kingdom pay for doing this to you. That's a promise!"
Just then, the seeming sobbing...was slowly becoming laughter. Driote's already quiet laughter/sobbing grew louder and louder before she threw her head back and revealed herself to be laughing madly; with any trace of sanity that was left was completely gone by this point. The sight frightened even Lilith, Lady of Lament.
(END VISION)
The vision came to an end, and Frankie, stumbling back a bit, collided with the door; her eyes were dull-looking and empty, and she had become terrified beyond belief.
"No more..." Frankie begged quietly, breathing hard.
"Hm?" frowned Lilith, Lady of Lament.
"Please, no more!" screamed Frankie, freaking out some more. "I'm not a murderous psychopath! I'm not like Driote! I'M NOT!"
Lilith, Lady of Lament lost patience. "I've been trying to be patient with you up until this point, but now, it seems you truly 'aren't' whom I was looking for." She then created a Duel Disk on her left arm. "Now, I'm going to have to destroy you, here and now!"
"No! P-Please!" Frankie panicked. "Just stay away from me!"
"If you want to leave this place alive, then fight me!" dared Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Use the Deck that you used against Mr. Volcano to kill me!"
Without any other choice, Frankie decided to stay and fight; she activated her Duel Disk and drew five cards for her opening hand.
"V-Very well." The blue/green-haired girl accepted, trying to not allow fear to cloud her judgement (LP: 4000).
"Now, let's duel!" declared Lilith, Lady of Lament, drawing her opening hand (LP: 4000).
And so, the duel commenced...
"It's my turn!" announced Frankie, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Turn One: Frankie Clarke (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Swamp Mirrorer", "Dummy Marker", "Call of the Haunted", "Beast King Barbaros", "Machine Lord Ür", and "Different Dimension Capsule"
Her drawn card was the 'Different Dimension Capsule' Spell Card.
"Okay, I can win." she thought, before holding the card out. "I activate 'Different Dimension Capsule'!"
A large mummy-like coffin emerged from the ground in-front of Frankie's feet. She then took a card from her Deck and allowed it to fade away into oblivion.
"It allows me to select one card from my Deck and remove it from play while facedown." explained Frankie. "During my second Standby Phase after activation, I will destroy this card and add the removed card into my hand."
"Oh? Relying on a certain card, are we?" taunted Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Well, I'm sorry to say it won't be of much help against someone like me."
"Shut up!" snapped Frankie, as scared as ever before. She then placed another card onto a Monster Field slot on her Duel Disk. "I Summon 'Machine Lord Ür'!"
Appearing onto the field was a red/yellow Machine-Type monster with two large arms (LeveL: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1500).
"Furthermore-" Frankie went on, slotting two cards into her Duel Disk. "-I'll set two card and end my turn."
Two facedown cards materialized on the field.
"It's my turn, now!" declared Lilith, Lady of Lament, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Turn Two: Lilith, Lady of Lament (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Trick Buster", "Metabo Globster", "Graceful Charity", "Selection of Fate", "Great Maju Garzett", and "Malith, Maiden of Malice"
Her drawn card was a Monster Card called 'Malith, Maiden of Malice'. Pleased, Lilith, Lady of Lament added the card into her hand, took another card, and held it out for her opponent to see.
"I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity'!" she went on, drawing three cards ('Dark Armed Dragon', 'Monster Reborn', and 'Battle Mania'), adding them to her hand, and then taking and discarding two cards ('Malith, Maiden of Malice' and 'Battle Mania'). "It lets me draw three cards, but I must then discard two cards from my hand."
Lilith, Lady of Lament's hand now contained 'Trick Buster', 'Metabo Globster', 'Selection of Fate', 'Dark Armed Dragon', 'Monster Reborn', and 'Great Maju Garzett'. With an evil-looking smile on her face, the female Fiend-Type monster looked up at her opponent.
"Now, Frankie, are you ready to meet with an old friend?" asked Lilith, Lady of Lament, taking and readying a card.
"Old friend?" repeated Frankie.
On cue, the 'Monster Reborn' Spell Card flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"'Monster Reborn', activate!" announced Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Be reborn - 'Malith, Maiden of Malice'!"
On cue, a familiar-looking Fiend-Type monster (one of Driote's two 'right-hand women') appeared on the field. Upon seeing the monster, Frankie again was overcome with memories coming back to her; and this one...
(VISION)
Inside the throne room, while he was still being electrocuted by Driote's Electro-Whip, Anakin lunged forth and grabbed Driote by the neck, causing her to be electrocuted as well. The intense increased voltage eventually caused her to drop the whip, cutting off the voltage. While she was recoiling, Anakin picked up his sword and managed to slice Driote's left upper thigh, leaving a large scar while causing her to a knee fall in great pain as she started bleeding heavily. Shortly after, there was some knocks on the big doors.
"Queen Driote! Is everything alright in there?!" The voice of Malith, Maiden of Malice called out from other side of the doors. "I've been hearing yells coming from the throne room!"
There were several hard knocks on the wooden door, but it soon broke apart, causing Malith, Maiden of Malice to enter the throne room and see what the commotion was all about. She saw that Anakin was armed with his sword, but once her eyes were on her injured Queen...
"Queen Driote!" gasped Malith, Maiden of Malice, before turning to gaze at Anakin in anger. "What the hell have you done?!"
Before the female Fiend-Type monster could attack, Anakin, in the blink of an eye, stabbed Malith, Maiden of Malice through her chest with his sword, killing her instantly. With a dying gurgle, Malith, Maiden of Malice collapsed onto the floor. Nearby, Driote saw the death of one of her most diehard supporters, growing absolutely furious as a result.
"Y-You &%$#&%$!" she snarled, reaching for her Electro-Whip.
(END VISION)
The vision came to an end...
"M-Malith-!" Frankie seemed to say...in two voices. She then eased as the pain went away. "What?"
"Ah, so you know of this monster of mine?" teased Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Or maybe... There was a second voice coming from you that said the name, too?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" retorted Frankie, denying that ever happened. "Just get on with the duel!"
"Hmph!" Lilith, Lady of Lament huffed, taking and holding another card out. "I activate the Spell Card 'Selection of Fate'! My opponent selects one random card in my hand. If it is a Monster Card, I can Special Summon it."
All of a sudden, four cards materialized in mid-air before Frankie, much to her surprise.
"I select a random card from your hand?" she pondered.
"Well, duh." deadpanned Lilith, Lady of Lament. "And if the card you pick happens to be a monster, I can Special Summon it."
After some thought, Frankie made a selection...
"I pick...the one on the far left."
The floating card on the far left turned itself over and revealed...a Monster Card called 'Metabo Globster'.
"Well done!" congratulated Lilith, Lady of Lament sarcastically. "You've picked a monster called 'Metabo Globster'!"
Appearing onto the field was a fiendish-looking monster that looked like a large flea (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 300). Very quickly, however, it faded away in a blue streak.
"Next, I'll sacrifice my monster to bring a stronger one out." continued Lilith, Lady of Lament, before holding her right hand out. "Come forth - 'Great Maju Garzett'!"
Appearing onto the field in the last monster's place, was blue-skinned, hairy-looking Fiend-Type monster (Level: 6/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"A monster with zero Attack Points." whispered Frankie.
"Wrong!" cut in Lilith, Lady of Lament. "'Great Maju Garzett's' effect; the Attack Power of this monster becomes twice the original Attack Power of one monster that I tributed for the Tribute Summon of this monster."
'Great Maju Garzett' stood ready (ATK: 0).
"I offered 'Metabo Globster' as a tribute to Summon 'Great Maju Garzett', that gives my new monster twice the Attack Power of 'Metabo Globster'!"
'Great Maju Garzett' grew stronger (ATK: 0 - 1600).
"And that isn't all for Monster Effects." continued Lilith, Lady of Lament. "The effect of 'Metabo Globster' activates! When I sacrifice this monster for the Tribute Summon of a DARK monster, I can Special Summon three 'Metabo Tokens' in defense mode."
Three 'Metabo Tokens' appeared instantly on the field.
"These monsters can't be sacrificed for stronger monsters." Lilith, Lady of Lament explained, before grinning darkly. "However, they still have their use for other effects!"
'Malith, Maiden of Malice' started to do something.
"What?!" gasped Frankie.
"The effect of 'Malith, Maiden of Malice'!" began Lilith, Lady of Lament. "I can tribute two monsters, and then target one of my Normal Traps that is banished or in my Graveyard, and set it on my field. As a side effect, I have to place it on the bottom of the Deck when it leaves the field."
From there, two copies of 'Metabo Tokens' faded away in blue streaks, causing a facedown card to materialize on the field. This was followed by a second facedown card materializing on the field.
"With that, I'll set one more card and end my turn." finished Lilith, Lady of Lament. In her mind... "The card I chose is 'Battle Mania'. As soon as Frankie draws a card, I'll activate it!"
Over with Frankie...
"Here I come!" she announced, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Turn Three: Frankie Clarke (LP: 4000)
Deck: 52
Current Hand (3): "Dummy Marker", "Beast King Barbaros", and "Monster Reborn"
Different Dimension Capsule: One Standby Phase
Before Frankie could see what she drew...
"Facedown card, activate!" announced Lilith, Lady of Lament, as her first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "'Battle Mania'!"
"Oh no!" gasped Frankie.
"It can only be activated during my opponent's Standby Phase." began Lilith, Lady of Lament. "All face-up monsters my opponent controls are changed into attack position, and can't change their battle positions this turn. In addition, all monsters my opponent currently controls must attack this turn, if able."
The face-up 'Battle Mania' Trap Card then faded away in a blue streak. Raising her right arm up, a card ('Battle Mania') appeared in Lilith, Lady of Lament's right hand.
"And thanks to 'Malith, Maiden of Malice's' effect-" she went on, adding the card to the bottom of her Deck. "-'Battle Mania' returns to the bottom of my Deck."
"In that case, I'll fight your monsters!" declared Frankie, taking and holding a new card out. "From the effect of the 'Beast King Barbaros' in my hand, I can Normal Summon it without sacrificing any monsters at the cost of its Attack Power being set to 1900!"
The huge beast-like warrior appeared on the field (Level: 8/ATK: 3000 - 1900/DEF: 1200).
"Not only that, I'll also activate my own facedown card!" Frankie went on, as her first facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Continuous Trap - 'Swamp Mirrorer'! I activate this card by declaring one Monster Type and one Attribute.
"By doing that-" put in Lilith, Lady of Lament, scowling. "-you can Special Summon that card as a Normal Monster with that Type and Attribute."
"Exactly! I choose Beast-Warrior for Type, and EARTH for Attribute! Come forth - 'Swamp Mirrorer'!"
Appearing from the face-up 'Swamp Mirrorer' Trap Card and onto the field, was what looked like a Swamp Monster (Leve: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000). From there, Frankie was forced to attack...
"I have to attack!" she declared. "I'll use 'Machine Lord Ür' first! Its effect lets it attack all monsters my opponent controls, but no Battle Damage will be inflicted."
'Machine Lord Ür' charged up its robotic eyes.
"ATTACK!" shouted Frankie.
'Machine Lord Ür' open fired, striking and destroying 'Metabo Token' first. Then 'Machine Lord Ür' attacked and destroyed 'Malith, Maiden of Malice', dealing no Battle Damage to Lilith, Lady of Lament. From there, as 'Machine Lord Ür' began to attack a third time, 'Great Maju Garzett' started to attack as well.
"'Great Maju Garzett' shares the same Attack Power as 'Machine Lord Ür'!" reminded Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Both monsters will be destroyed!"
Both monsters attacked at once, destroying them in a Double KO.
"That isn't the end of 'Machine Lord Ür'!" insisted Frankie, just as her remaining set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate a Trap - 'Call of the Haunted'!"
On cue, 'Machine Lord Ür' reappeared on the field. From there, 'Beast King Barbaros' leaded its javelin-like weapon.
"You're wide open!" Frankie went on. "'Beast King Barbaros', attack Lilith directly! TORNADO SHAPER!"
'Beast King Barbaros' obeyed, launching his javelin, which turned up a cyclone as it flew.
"Nice try! But I'm not one to take a direct attack that easily!" exclaimed Lilith, Lady of Lament, just as her other set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "'Trick Buster', activate!"
All of a sudden, all of Frankie's monsters seemed to explode, destroying them and clouding her side of the field.
"Impossible!" cried Frankie, bracing herself.
"'Trick Buster's' effect... When an opponent's monster declares an attack while I control no monsters, all attack position monsters my opponent controls are destroyed." smirked Lilith, Lady of Lament. "From there, the opponent suffers 300 points of damage for each monster that was destroyed. Three monsters were destroyed, so you sustain 900 points of damage!"
The face-up 'Trick Buster' Trap Card shot a beam of dark energy, striking through the smoke and slamming into Frankie and causing her to scream (LP: 4000 - 3100). Since 'Machine Lord Ür' was destroyed, the face-up "Call of the Haunted' Trap Card also shattered into shards of glass. Frankie was huffing and puffing hard; she couldn't lose this duel! On cue, the 'Monster Reborn' Spell Card flipped face-up on the field.
"I activate 'Monster Reborn'!" she exclaimed, trying to not show any sign of fear. "Reappear - 'Beast King Barbaros'!"
On cue, 'Beast King Barbaros', back at full strength, reappeared on the field (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 1200). Finally, a facedown card materialized on the field.
"Finally, I'll set one card and end my turn." Frankie, retracted her fingers from the Spell/Trap slot on her Duel Disk, finished. She looked down. "'Beast King Barbaros' is at full strength, but I don't know if it will be enough against an enemy like Lilith..."
"It will be over soon, my dear." taunted Lilith, Lady of Lament, folding her arms. "Tell me something; are you afraid at the moment?"
Frankie looked up at her opponent; there was a sense of terror in her eyes.
"Hmph! I'll take that as a yes." With that said, Lilith, Lady of Lament drew a card. "It's my turn, draw!"
Turn Four: Lilith, Lady of Lament (LP: 4000)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (2): "Dark Armed Dragon" and "Night Beam"
On cue, a Spell Card called 'Night Beam' materialized face-up on the field.
"I activate a Spell Card - 'Night Beam'! It allows me to target one Set Spell/Trap my opponent controls and destroy that target. The opponent can't activate the targeted card in response to this card's activation. Meaning, your set card is a sitting duck!"
A dark beam shot from the face-up 'Night Beam' Spell Card, striking and destroying Frankie's set card. Although it shattered into shards of glass, Lilith, Lady of Lament still caught a glimpse on what the set card was.
"Hmm... 'Dummy Marker', eh?" she mused. "When this Set card is destroyed, you draw one card. If this Set card was destroyed by the effect of an opponent's Spell Card, then you can draw one more card." The female Fiend-Type monster chuckled. "Since I destroyed it while it was facedown and by the effect of a Spell Card, you draw two cards!"
Shaking hard, Frankie drew two cards. She saw that both were Fiendish Portrait (Trap Card) and 'Megamorph' (Spell Card). Unfortunately, Lilith, Lady of Lament was far from finishing her turn...
"I have a new monster I wish to show you, Frankie." said Lilith, Lady of Lament sadistically, holding up a card. "But for me to Special Summon it, I must have three DARK monsters in my Graveyard."
Three cards ejected from her Graveyard and floated around. After taking a moment to look at the cards, Lilith, Lady of Lament let out an evil laugh as they went back into the Graveyard.
"And it seems I have three DARK monsters there!" she proclaimed, before placing her card onto her Duel Disk. "Appear - 'Dark Armed Dragon'!"
Appearing onto the field in a blast of fire was a large black scaled dragon with spikes coming out of its tail (Level: 7/ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000).
"I activate the effect of 'Dark Armed Dragon'!" Lilith, Lady of Lament announced. "DARK FIRE BLAST!"
"Effect?!" gasped Frankie, watching as 'Dark Armed Dragon' started to charge an attack.
"I can remove one DARK monster from my Graveyard-" explained Lilith, Lady of Lament. "-and then I can target one card on the field and destroy that target!"
'Dark Armed Dragon' unleashed the blast of flame, striking 'Beast King Barbaros' and destroying it in a massive explosion. The force of the attack caused Frankie to fly back a bit and slam into the wooden doors.
"And now, it's time to attack!" cackled Lilith, Lady of Lament, entering the Battle Phase. "'Dark Armed Dragon', attack the opposing player directly!"
'Dark Armed Dragon' obeyed, firing a blast of dark fire at Frankie. The blue/green-haired girl was so terrified that she couldn't even move out of the way, and so got hit by the brunt of the attack.
*BOOM!*
The attack was so powerful that Frankie was thrown violently against the bigs doors again, this time destroying them as she flew a good distance into the hallway. Over with Lilith, Lady of Lament, the female Fiend-Type monster seemed to chuckle in dark amusement.
"Oops." she said sarcastically. "Maybe that was a bit too rough."
In the hallway, Frankie, laying on the ground, started to suffer yet another memory...
(VISION)
Anakin was attacking Driote with her own Electro-Whip, as it coiled itself around her neck, shocking her entire body at the maximum voltage.
"You liked dishing out pain?!" demanded Anakin, almost in what could seem to be pure insanity of his own. "Well, let's see how YOU like it!"
"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" wailed Driote helplessly, being tortured by her own Electro-Whip. "AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!"
As she continued to scream in agonizing pain, 'Driote: The Artist of Insanity', for the very first time in her entire life, felt absolutely afraid—feeling terrified at the monster she released inside Anakin.
(END VISION)
The vision came to an end, and Frankie finally started to open her eyes as her Life Points dropped to critical levels (LP: 3100 - 300). At this point, she was injured, beyond frightened, and wanted to make a run for it. As Frankie sat up, she heard a new voice...
"What the hell are you sitting around here for?!" The voice (female) demanded. "Get up and return to finish the duel!"
"Huh?" quizzed Frankie. "Was that...my voice?"
The female voice sounded much like Frankie's voice, but it was higher-pitched and had more of a snarl-like tone to it.
"You aren't going to let a monster like 'Dark Armed Dragon' take you down, are you?" The voice (Driote) went on.
"I just want to get out of here and go home!" wailed Frankie. "I want nothing to do with all of this insanity!"
The voice of Driote seemed to laugh. "Insanity? That's a good one, even though it wasn't a joke!" she chortled, before becoming serious once more. "Besides, do you even know who you're talking to?"
"Wait... Are you...Driote?" whispered Frankie, coming to realize it. "But... but I thought you were..."
"Boy, you're not as dumb as I thought." The voice of Driote deadpanned. "I was hoping my future incarnation would take advantage of my power so that she would never lose to anybody. You get it, right? You can't fall here, not without avenging Uncle John's death."
Frankie perked back up at the mention of her Uncle.
"You want to win, don't you? If you want to win, you must allow me to come out."
"I'm... I'm too scared." whimpered Frankie, terrified and on the verge of tears. "I just want this nightmare to end..."
"Well, if you want to win and see Uncle John, then submit to the darkness." dared the voice of Driote. "Submit to its despires..."
Frankie remained quiet on the matter. When she didn't respond, the voice of Driote went on...
"In order to defeat evil, one must become evil. In a world with the law of the jungle at work, one must rule with power if they wish to accomplish their goals. In simpler language - if you want to win and gain your most desirable wantings, you must allow me to come out."
"Yes..." Frankie whispered, as her dark thoughts started to take over her mind. What she wanted most was to win; keep winning; and avenge her Uncle's death. "Yes! More than anything, I want to win and avenge my Uncle's death! I repeat; I want to always win, and I want to avenge Uncle John! I want those more than anything in this world!"
As the blue/green-haired girl continued to speak (or rant about wanting to win and avenge her Uncle) a dark aura began to form around her body painlessly, noticeable veins were shown forming on her face, and her eyes began to glow a golden yellow. This was a whole new Frankie Clarke, and it wasn't a pretty one either...
"I want to kill and make new art." Frankie (possessed) hissed; her first spoken words in this new state.
Inside the throne room, Lilith, Lady of Lament waited patiently for her opponent to return and finish the match. Soon, she saw what looked like Frankie, with her head tilted down, returning to the chamber.
"About time." The female Fiend-Type monster grinned. "Now, let's end this duel."
As Frankie (possessed) stepped into the throne room, some low snickering could be heard coming from her, catching Lilith, Lady of Lament off-guard. The snickering from the possessed blue/green-haired girl gradually grew louder and louder, before she raised her head, and the chuckling became loud, insane, cackling laughter. In addition, there were veins on her face, a golden yellow glow in her eyes, and a powerful aura of darkness around her body.
"W-What?!" gasped Lilith, Lady of Lament.
"That was wonderful, Lilith! Wonderfully painful!" exclaimed Frankie (possessed) excitedly. "But, because of that, I must insist on returning it ten-fold! Please accept it!"
"What was that?!" recoiled Lilith, Lady of Lament.
"And now..." began Frankie (possessed), drawing a card with a dark version of the Destiny Draw. "It's my turn!"
Turn Five: Frankie Clarke (LP: 300)
Deck: 50
Current Hand (3): "Fiendish Portrait", "Megamorph", and "Forbidden Chalice"
Different Dimension Capsule: Now
Her drawn card was the 'Forbidden Chalice' Spell Card, and the rest of her hand consisted of 'Fiendish Portrait' and 'Megamorph'. Not only that, the 'Different Dimension Capsule' started to crack apart.
"It's been two turns since I first activated Different Dimension Capsule." Frankie (possessed) reminded. "So, now, I get to add the banished card to my hand."
The capsule shattered into shards of glass, just as a new card appeared in her hand.
"And now-" The possessed blue/green-haired girl went on, as her Graveyard started emitting a dark glow. "I remove the two following monsters from my Graveyard..."
Appearing briefly on the field were both 'Machine Lord Ür' and 'Beast King Barbaros'.
"...the Machine monster 'Machine Lord Ür', and the Beast-Warrior monster 'Beast King Barbaros'! Fade away into the darkness!"
The two monsters melted away into a puddle of purple slime, but it quickly started to form the body of a new monster.
"W-What is-?" stuttered Lilith, Lady of Lament.
"By banishing those two monsters-" Frankie (possessed) explained. "-I'm allowed to Special Summon a brand new monster from my hand." After placing the card onto her Duel Disk, she held her right hand out at the forming oozy body. "Arise - 'Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür'!"
'Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür', once it finished assembling, mostly resembled 'Beast King Barbaros', but had several bits and pieces of 'Machine Lord Ür' around the body (Level: 8/ATK: 3800/DEF: 1200).
"'Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür'...!" cringed Lilith, Lady of Lament, just before seeing the 'Megamorph' Spell Card materialize face-up on her opponent's field. "Huh?! Is that-?"
"The Equip Spell 'Megamorph'." Frankie (possessed) confirmed. "This card doubles my monster's Attack Power so long as my Life Points are lower than yours. If they were higher than yours, my monster's Attack Power would be halved instead."
The mechanical beast doubled in size as it grew even stronger (ATK: 3800 - 7600).
"Now, normally, my monster would not be able to inflict Battle Damage when it attacks." continued Frankie (possessed), before holding out her last card. "But I'm sure I can do something about that with this!"
The 'Forbidden Chalice' Spell Card flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"From my hand, I'll activate a Quick-Play Spell - 'Forbidden Chalice'! It lets me target one face-up monster on the field, and, until the end of this turn, that target gains 400 Attack Points, but its effects are negated."
'Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür' let loose a booming roar as its Attack Power increased even further (ATK: 7600 - 8000). Although Lilith, Lady of Lament looked rather terrified that she was about to be defeated, deep down she was pleased; VERY pleased.
"I've done it." The female Fiend-Type monster whispered to herself. "Frankie has finally accepted her destiny..."
And so, the Battle Phase commenced...
"I hope you like agony, because you'll certainly love this!" laughed Frankie (possessed). "'Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür', the time has come for us to win! Make your attack on my opponent as agonizing as possible! FLASHING DESTRUCTIVE BULLETS!"
'Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür' obeyed, firing supercharged beams of energy at 'Dark Armed Dragon', causing it to roar in agony as it exploded. The devastating force of the attack struck Lilith, Lady of Lament and sent her flying across the room until she slammed into the spot where the throne used to be. Once she laid still, the wounded Lilith, Lady of Lament's Life Points were depleted from the one attack (LP: 4000 - 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Frankie Clarke wins!
As the holograms faded away, Frankie (possessed) clenched her fist with triumph.
"Very good, Frankie." she was saying. "I knew you had the darkness within you... Now, I'll let you spend the last few moments with my old friend before she's gone."
Suddenly, she closed her eyes and allowed the dark aura to fade away and the veins on her face to go away. When Frankie (possessed) opened her eyes, they were normal again.
"What? What happened?" Frankie wondered groggily. "Where-?"
She then heard weak, yet still very evil, laughter, causing her to direct her attention towards the throne room. There, laying in the wreckage, was a fatally wounded Lilith, Lady of Lament. Gasping, Frankie ran over to see if she could help the creature she was dueling, despite her (Lilith, Lady of Lament) having just tried to kill her (Frankie).
"Hey!" called Frankie. "Hang in there! Who did this to you?!"
Lilith, Lady of Lament weakly opened her eyes. "Well done..." she whispered. "You have won the duel, Queen Driote."
"For the umpteenth time, don't call me that!" demanded Frankie, shaking her head in denial. "My name's-"
"No, it 'is' Driote." interrupted Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Back when I attacked you with 'Dark Armed Dragon', you were sent flying out of the throne room. When you returned, you had the look of my Queen, or rather the look of the 'Artist of Insanity'."
Suddenly, after being reminded of that detail, a few memories from when Frankie was lying in the hallway flooded her mind. In her fear, anger, and determination to win, she allowed the unknown presence, Driote, inside of her to take control.
"You... you mean 'I'...was the one who did this?" stammered Frankie, finally realizing as clear as day that she was the present day-incarnation of Driote. "I... I 'am' Driote?"
"Yes." confirmed Lilith, Lady of Lament. "Regardless of your constant denials throughout your little journey in this world, you truly are like the 'Artist of Insanity'."
Frankie was beyond stunned. Eventually, she realized something about her opponent's last turn...
"Hold on, about your 'Dark Armed Dragon'... You could have stopped my game-winning strategy during your final turn!" The blue/green-haired girl accused. "'Dark Armed Dragon's' effect isn't a 'once per turn'-based one. You could have also used your monster's effect to also destroy 'Different Dimension Capsule', preventing me from adding 'Beast Machine King Barbaros Ür' into my hand!"
"Heh! You're right, I could have." Lilith, Lady of Lament scoffed. "But I ultimately decided to lose the duel on purpose. My true intentions were to push you to the edge of death, so that your fear and desperation to survive would cause Driote's spirit to react. Not to mention your all consuming lust for vengeance for your Uncle's death made your inner darkness all the more stronger."
"Inner darkness?!" cringed Frankie. "Consuming lust?!"
"And now, you are free to finish what you first started... and bring the world into an eternity of darkness!" insisted Lilith, Lady of Lament, as her body started fading away. There was no look of fear on her face; just a creepy, sadistic smile. "Go forth, Queen Driote! Go forth, and show this world your artistic power!"
The female Fiend-Type monster then laughed evilly as she finally faded away. Meanwhile, now that she was all alone in this unknown, evil-looking world, Frankie's eyes welled with tears. She couldn't believe it; she didn't want to believe it!
"No... it can't be..." The blue/green-haired girl whimpered, before the cold, hard truth completely smashed into her - she truly was the reincarnation of 'Driote: The Artist of Insanity'. "No, it can't be!"
And she fell to her hands and knees and started to cry very hard, begging for someone like Hurricane or her Uncle John to come and help her. Eventually, a familiar voice echoed...
"It will be okay." The voice of Driote echoed, causing Frankie to briefly stop sobbing and look up. "I know it's shocking, and will take some time to get used to, but remember that you now have the power of darkness at your disposal."
"Power of darkness?" wept Frankie. "But... but I-"
"Get over it, crybaby! You have my power now, and there isn't anything you can do about it! Besides, what if you were to use it to get revenge on the one who killed your beloved Uncle? I bet you would love to do something like that, wouldn't you? And if you do, just allow me to come on out..."
The blue/green-haired girl's ears perked up when she heard the word 'revenge'. Yes, she wanted revenge on somebody. And that somebody was Thomas Billinton; the boy who murdered her Uncle John. Even then, Frankie didn't want to be seen or remembered as the 'Artist of Insanity'.
(elsewhere...)
For a long time after that, Frankie weakly wandered the Duel Monsters spirit world for who knows how long, wondering how she would ever be able to return home.
"After learning all about myself as the present day incarnation of 'Driote: The Artist of Insanity' from one of her former servants, I wandered around that world for what seemed like forever." narrated Frankie. "Eventually, during my travels, I suddenly found myself back home in the real world."
(elsewhere...)
After Thomas defeated Diablon for the final time, Frankie, covering her eyes, found herself back in the real world; back in her home city of 'Santa Maria - California'.
END FLASHBACK
The long flashback finally came to an end.
"And that's my whole story." finished Frankie. "When I came back home, I didn't want anyone to know about what I experienced. I just wanted to move on with my life. But that was easier said than done; I've suffered recurring nightmares of who I was in the past."
Hurricane was stunned. "F-Frankie..." he spluttered, coming to realize just how much Frankie had truly gone through in only a short period of time. "I... I..."
"But I've ultimately learned to embrace my past life." continued Frankie, standing up and going to look out the window. "And using my hidden power, as well as the 'Wicked God' Cards, I will get revenge on Thomas for killing Uncle John." She then cast a quick gaze at her best friend. "You understand that, right?"
"Y-Yes, I do." sighed Hurricane. "But if your plan continues on this way, there's a high risk that innocent people will end up being endangered in the process. And then we'll end up behind bars for who knows how long."
"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Frankie insisted. "Now, if there's nothing more to say, you may leave the room."
Standing up, Hurricane made his way out. But before he could go out the door, he turned back to look at Frankie.
"Look, you're my best friend, Frankie, and that will never change." he said calmly. "But let me ask you this; do you know what your biggest flaw is?"
Frankie said nothing, allowing the red/brown-haired boy to continue speaking...
"It's your pride and inner darkness. Sometimes, you're too proud and stubborn to admit when you are in the wrong, even when the truth is looking at you in the face... However, seeing as I've failed to help you when you needed it, I will continue to help you with your plans. Just...don't go completely overboard regarding it, at least for me?"
With that said, Hurricane opened the door, and closed it as he left. Frankie still said nothing and merely continued to look out the window at the city below.
"Uncle John..." she thought to herself. "I promise that when you're revived, all will be well again."
Yeah, let's hope for that...
(elsewhere...)
Meanwhile, the school bus carrying Thomas and the others had finally arrived back in Knapford City. The final showdown between Thomas and his first enemies would soon begin...