Heirs of Fate

by 7th Librarian

The son of Maximillion Pegasus. The daughter of Seto Kaiba. Their fortunes have been intertwined since before they were born by corporate dealings and the whims of past destinies. They have worked to escape the shadows of the two men who changed the world. But now, as a crimson star begins to shine amongst the sea of stars, their inheritance has come due. And that cost is heavy.

17. Duel Madness! Destiny Unfurls!

Heirs of Fate
By 7th Librarian

A/N: Hooray for work ethic and updating in a reasonable length of time! Hooray for realizing that your pacing is going to be awkward and you have to break everything up into more chapters to keep all palatable and oh god why did I do six duels at once!?

Next story, promise, duels happen one a chapter and the finale is one big awesome duel. If only for the sake of my sanity and my chapter count.

For now, read, review and enjoy!

Chapter 17: Duel Madness! Destiny Unfurled

"Alright, I'm turning things up a notch!" Toppa crowed as he drew his opening hand, his smirk wavering a bit as his Duel Disk beeped. Then his life points began to drop. "Aw, hells - I forgot about the Intrusion Penalty!" (TLP: 8000-4000)

"You'll forgive me if I don't bloody care!" Ryou snapped as he flung out his arm. His set card lifted, spewing out ten flickering fireballs that landed in front of Toppa and Rosemary in neat rows. "The trap Volcanic Mine summons tokens to all of your monster zones!" (1000/1000x10)

His Playdread Rite looked up from where he was scribbling, yanked an orb out of the air next to him and splashed it on the page. Strings spilled out of the dark ceiling above and coiled around the fireballs, mummifying them almost completely. "Then the effect of Playdead Rite gives each one a String Counter! And thanks to the effect of Gimmick Theatre, you cannot tribute your tokens! There is nothing you can do!"

The surrounding dolls all clattered and stamped broken feet approvingly, but Toppa just grinned. "Aight, that's the way you wanna play, I'll keep up! I activate the continuous spell card Heatza Oven!"

Steam billowed around him dramatically as the flaming demonic oven rose up behind. "Then I got a bomb to drop of my own! Specifically - Remove Bomb! This spell banishes the top five cards of my deck and then for each monster, you take three hundred damage!"

Ryou looked alarmed and Rosemary felt hope surge a bit. He only has twelve hundred life points left - if Toppa gets four monsters, then we win!

The rapper pulled a fan of cards off his deck and then held them up, revealing most of them had green backings. "Looks like this verse is short - only got three, but you'll still taste the heat!"

Ryou grunted as an aura flared around him, but he remained standing. "That pain is nothing." (RLP: 1200-300)

"Psh, that's only the start - next up is Foolish Burial! I send a monster from my deck to the graveyard!" He shoved his choice into the graveyard and grinned. "Now here's where I make you regret giving me fire monsters! Circle of the Fire Kings!"

The center bomb token flared and then winked out, Ryou gaping at where it had been. Toppa laughed. "My spell nukes any fire monster I got and then revives any other I want from the graveyard, so your little combo ain't stopping my beats! Come on out, Salad Toppa!"

His new monster was like the previous ones - a lanky youth in a hoodie, sneakers and jeans. But the hoodie was decorated in peppers, tomatoes, onion slices and the head of lettuce it had for a head had crouton earrings. "Check it out, yo - even 'zas need a friend whose got a little green! Ha!" (1400/1500)

Salad Toppa lifted a clenched fist to its mouth like it was holding a mic and began to beat-box, Toppa doing the same and adding a rap. "But this monsta here's a tuner! And when I synchro summon, y'all be beaten sooner! Salad Toppa toppa them charts, bro!"

The four Bomb Tokens stacked atop each other as the salad monster broke apart into synchro rings that circled around them. "I ain't had time to think of a fancy chant, but this guy's twelve hidden spices and herbs are about to spew hot all over you! Come on out, Heatza Alternative - Buffalo Wings!"

The Heatza Oven behind him clanged to life, fresh steam billowing out as the heat inside climbed up so much the metal was sweating then. Then it belched out flames and out of those flames came his monster. It was almost comical, a mish-mash of hot wings stuck together in the vague shape of something alive. But it oozed sizzling hot sauce blood and a demonic face snarled out of the front. (2500/1500)

"I almost preferred the pizzas." Rosemary said, unable to really hide her concern over it's appearance. "That is not nearly as appetizing."

"But his effect is first rate! I shuffle my banished Toppas into my deck and get some sauces on the side! I shuffle my banished Chili Pepper Toppa and Anchovy Toppa back to get Heatza Sauces!" He shuffled his deck and added his new cards, flipping one around. "And then I'll use one - Pesto! Now I can add Marinara and Alfredo to my hand, but I can't use'em - even for dipping!"

Buffalo Wings roared as seasonings appeared over its crunchy fried skin. "Oh and did I mention that Anchovy gives my wings some extra kick? No? Then get a first-hand taste - on me! Attack!" Buffalo Wings charged for Playdead Rite, mouth opening impossibly wide. (2500-3100)

Ryou grimaced as the Synchro snared his puppet in its jaws, ripping Playdead Rite out of his desk. Tossing its head back, Buffalo Wings gulped it down and slurped up the bloody puppet strings like spaghetti. "I have a trap card - Defense Draw! Your damage to me is zero and I draw one card!"

"Figures - didn't think a magical man would just let me drop the mic and walk away! But I got a surprise! The quick-play spell Double Dipping!" Toppa held up the spell, its image showing his Toppas gathered around a pot and dunking breadsticks in it. "I discard a Heatza Sauce and my monster can go for round two! Buffalo Wings, bust up that musical puppet!"

The Synchro charged again, leaping up to crash into Gimmick Puppet of Strings. But the gigantic puppet simply staggered, a discordant melody echoing as the Heatza bounced off its strings. Ryou just smiled placidly at Toppa's confused expression. "I'm sorry, but your monster is not a Number, so it cannot destroy mine in battle." (RLP: 600-300)

Toppa rubbed his finger under his nose, grinning. " s'all good - I had a back-up plan! Looks like my Wings were too spicy for your Number!"

"What-?" Ryou twisted his head to look at his monster, eyes widening. Gimmick Puppet of Strings was superheating, wisps of steam floating off it as the metal glowed red and began to sweat. It sank to one knee, hissing from the temperature. "What did you do!?"

"See, I heard you explain yo move to little Miss Mary 'fore I dropped in! So thanks to the effect Buffalo Wings gained from Chili Pepper Toppa, any monster it can't kill in a fight has its effects negated! And a tall glass of milk ain't gonna cool your Number off!" Toppa crowed and swept one of his remaining cards into his disk. "I set this card and call it a turn!" He shot Rosemary a thumbs-up. "Kick his ass!"

Rosemary just sighed in relief as the Bomb Tokens on her field winked out of sight. Ryou was just staring, tight-faced, yet eerily calm and she could not shake the feeling that this was not the tipping point for them yet. "Yes."

She drew her card and hope shone a bit brighter. "I activate the spell card Polymerization! I fuse my Allure Queen LV7 and Chocolate Magician Girl in my hand together! I fusion summon Allure Empress!" The three cards in her hand vanished as a swirling portal opened on her field.

Out of it stepped a tall woman, towering over the duelists and clad in finery. Her bustier was studded with jewels, her crown gold and silver, silken elbow gloves and a staff woven together out of delicate and shiny metals. "And when I summon this monster, I can search out an Allure card from my deck!" (1000/2500)

Her deck whirred out a card and she grabbed it, sliding it into her disk. A soft, elegant waltz began to fill the air. "It is the continuous spell card Allure Dance! And then I will use Empress' effect to equip a monster on the field to her!"

"That will not do anything - Empress can only equip monsters whose levels are equal to or lower than hers and my Number is an Xyz monster. I -" Ryou broke off as Empress held out her staff and Buffalo Wings became an orb of light that sucked into her. "Your partner's monster!"

"Hey, I don't mind, you can always order more wings!"

"The effect of Allure Dance gives all Allure Queen monsters the attack of her equipped monsters! And my Empress counts!" Rosemary smiled as her monster glowed and her score shot up. "Attack Gimmick Puppet of Strings! Dark Flux!" (1000-3500)

Empress slashed her staff through the air, unleashing an arc of ever-expanding star-spangled shadow stuff that soared towards Ryou's monster. Ryou watched it approach, smiling ever-so-slightly...and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Miss Mary, but I cannot leave without you! Reverse card open! Rank-Up Magic - Nitemare Force!"

The card shattered as it lifted, becoming jagged blades that pierced Gimmick Puppet of Strings and left it rattling in apparent pain. Something dark oozed out of the wounds, swelling and expanding to layer itself around the Xyz Monster like bandages. They pulsed as if they were cocooning the monster in a giant shadow heart. The Dark Flux attack slammed into it and then scattered into harmlessly motes of black light. "Life's melody is a funeral dirge and the strings that bind us our nooses! Sever them all and guide us to oblivion! Rank-Up Xyz Summon! Number C40: Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings!"

The heart beat a few times, then began to dissolve away. Ryou's monster had been reborn, crafted out of dark metals and its wing angular and jagged. A scythe had replaced the sword it wielded and its body looked even more detached as it expanded, revealing quivering harp strings inside. Each movement generated a haunting song, one that drowned even Allure Dance. (3300/2000)

"I…" Rosemary stared up at it, then clenched her fists. "Allure Empress is still stronger! I attack! Dark Flux!"

Ryou just smiled again as the attack crashed into his monster, the resulting melody loud, discordant and painful on the ears. When it had faded, he spoke. "I summoned my new monster in defense mode and Allure Empress is not a Number. I'm sorry, Rosie."

"I do not care what you feel! Just leave me alone and rot in your grave by yourself!" Rosemary snapped and grabbed a card from her hand. "I set this and end my turn!"

"You heard the lady, creep. I don't know what you're on or coming off, but there's no excuse for trying to kill her!" Toppa declared, folding his arms.

"You are an intruder on these family matters, but it is not your fault you will suffer here. Rosemary should have known better than to make friends." Ryou commented as he drew, not looking at Toppa. "They always wind up paying the price for our evils. Like Bellerophon."

"You did that, you! He saved my life!" Rosemary glared at him. "I am not evil simply because I exist!"

"But your existence is killing him. If you hadn't known him, if you hadn't been so afraid of the truth, then he would not have dueled. And now he will die because of the curse he got protecting you. If he dies because of that, then are you not evil for causing the death of an innocent man?" Ryou shook his head. "Our family is nothing but tragedies. And I am going to stop us from adding to the list."

He pointed at Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings and it lifted its scythe, using it like a bow to play music on its body. "I expend one Xyz Material from my monster to place a String Counter on Allure Empress!" Strings flew out of the ceiling and coiled around the regal monster, tangling her up and leaving her struggling. "Then I use the next effect - I destroy one monster with a String Counter and deal you damage equal to its original attack score!"

"Aw hell naw! I got a trap!" Toppa pointed at his set card and it flipped up. "It's Healing Flames! I banish a fire monster from my hand and then gain life points equal to its attack! Up to one grand! And Mushroom Toppa's got four hundred points!

Green flames sprang up around Rosemary as Allure Empress was slashed in half vertically by Dark String's scythe. Then the monster's weapon cut across her chest, scattering the flames and dropping her to her knees. BUt her life points didn't hit zero. (RMLP: 900-1300-1000)

"How fortunate. You see, Rosemary…" Ryou's words drew her out of her pain-filled haze to look up at him. "He helped you. And now, because he did, he'll die. Not accomplishing anything but prolonging your misery."

"Bring it on, scarecrow!" Toppa barked, jabbing a finger in Ryou's direction. "You think your bad music and cheap props can take on a homie like me? You're straight lyin'!"

The rapper held up his Duel Disk and flames licked out of the graveyard. "Since I banished Mushroom Toppa, I can summon another Toppa from the graveyard, so Salad Toppa returns in defense mode!" The flames erupted and transformed into his monster again. "And get this - Salad Toppa brings back another member of the crew that's banished! And I got another Chili Pepper out in the great beyond!"

A new monster showed up, hoodie and jeans and chains, but his head was a chili paper and he had rings on his hands that spelled out 'SPICY!' on one hand and 'AS FCK!' on the other. (900/1400)

"Merely obstacles. As Dark Strings destroyed a monster, I can draw one card." Ryou did so and slid it into his disk. A howling wind erupted around him and shattered the green swords caging his field. "Mystical Space Typhoon destroys the Swords of Revealing Light. Then I switch Dark Strings to attack mode."

His monster stood up taller, wing spreading out behind it. "Now I equip my monster with Dark Strings. When it attacks, I reveal the top card of my deck. And if it is a Gimmick Puppet, my monster can attack an equal number of times to that monster's level."

"Say what!" Toppa's eyes widened as Ryou held up the next card of his deck and saw a monster card. "Aww, shit…"

"Gimmick Puppet Terror Baby has four stars, so I have four attacks. Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings - attack! Heaven's Reaping!" The Number just had to take one step forwards and then it was in reach. The scythe flashed twice and Toppa's monsters were falling to bloody chunks on the floor. Then it flashed twice more and the rapper was crashing to the floor. Eyes wide and a neat, bloody 'X' across his hoodie. (TLP: 4000-700-0)

"Toppa!" Rosemary stared in horror as the rapper didn't move. Just lay there. She couldn't even tell if he was breathing. "No!"

"The helplessness must burn, Rosemary. Knowing all you can do is scream. You cannot stop it, you cannot change it. You can't be anything, except a blood-soaked pawn in fate's whims." Ryou slid a card from his hand into his disk. "I set this. And end my turn."

He closed his eyes and seemed to be looking inside himself. Or perhaps falling further into the pit of despair he was at the moment. When he opened them, those eyes were lifeless and cold, the wetness in them at odds with the smile underneath. "Please Rosemary...just surrender. Don't fight anymore. Be stronger than me. Just...end this all…"

Rosemary stared down at her deck, unable to stare into the face across the way. Or the monster that had just killed someone who had come to help her. I can't beat him. I know he's wrong, that I'm not a monster! But...that doesn't mean I'm strong enough to win…

The cold cloak of depression was something the supermodel never took off. It was weighty and damp and clung to her like it was alive. She ignored it, covered it up with swimsuits and dresses and make-up and her smiles lied about how heavy it was. But now, here in the dark, surrounded by the faceless dolls of hundreds who had come before her, who had suffered like she had, it was all she had to her name.

Her head hurt. Her limbs were like lead. And she was so tired. The darkness around them was drawing closer, though whether to wrap her up so it could hide her away or just to simply keep her from the rest of the world, she wasn't sure. A distant part of her told her this was just the magic, the Shadow Game, that it was amplifying all her negative feelings and if she could just hang to the good memories, to her friends, to the future she wanted, she could pull through.

What good memories? Of a woman who gave birth to me just so I can be her cash cow? Of people wanting my body, of accusing me of being fake? Of having nothing that is mine? And my friends? They all have lives of their own. I'm just the accessory, not a necessity. The future...I don't have one.

The spirit behind her was still and quiet. Perhaps it was dead from Ryou's earlier attack on. Maybe it knew it was useless at the moment. Maybe it was waiting for a command.

Or maybe it knows I'm not worthy…

An echo of something floated into her mind. A yell? No...it was a roar...but it was far away...perhaps not even real…

Except...why was Ryou looking up at the ceiling with sudden nervousness?

The roar echoed, louder this time and Rosemary felt the room shake. The doll audience clattered in a panic as bits of the ceiling tumbled down. We must still be in the castle. Holograms don't break like this.

The roar happened again and Ryou flinched and as he did, Rosemary suddenly realized where she had heard the sound before. It belonged to Galaxy-Eyes Cyber Dragon. Lero…

He was still fighting, then. Dueling to save his life and his father's company and his game and everything else. Knowing he would just make his curse worse, that it could kill him…

…So how could she do any less?

"I draw." Rosemary pulled the card free, staring at it and pieces fell into place. She knew what she had to do. "I activate Magicalized Fusion!" Cards fell out of her graveyard and she held them up, revealing Berry, Lemon, Apple, Chocolate and Kiwi Magician Girls. "I can fuse monsters from my graveyard! So I banish my five Magician Girls together to summon Quintet Magician!"

Light exploded out of the ground in front of her, resolving into a towering, blue-skinned magician covered in stylized, angular armor of purples and blues. "And this monster is worth the five I used to summon it - because all of its component monsters had differing names, it can destroy every card on your field! Great Spell Overlock!" (4500/4500)

Ryou watched as the magician raised his staff, energy collecting there dangerously fast. "I activate my trap card - Captive Audience!" The trap lifted up, its picture showing several Duel Monsters tied to their seats and watching the Gimmick Puppets perform. "When you summon a monster, this continuous trap lets me banish a Gimmick Puppet from the graveyard to place a String Counter on it! I banish Playdead Rite!"

He pocketed the card and strings flew out of the darkness, entangling Quintet Magician and snuffing out his staff's light. "And because Gimmick Theater is still in play, his effect is useless!"

"I am not done! A second spell card! Allure Return!" Rosemary pointed and a portal opened on the ground next to her fusion, letting Allure Empress rise up out of it. "This card revives an Allure Queen and equips to it!"

"The effect of Captive Audience! I banish Gimmick Puppet Magnet Doll!" Ryou caught the card out of his graveyard and watched as stings entangled the Empress. "That move did not help you, either."

"We'll see! The effect of Allure Dance!" Rosemary smiled as the continuous spell card began to glow, the music picking up again. "Since Allure Return counts as a monster equipped to Allure Queen, I can use Allure Dance to send it to the graveyard and review the other Queens in my graveyard! Allure Queen LV5! Allure Queen LV7!"

In two flashes of light, the younger versions of Empress appeared. Ryou just pointed at his trap card and two monsters slid out of his graveyard. "My trap will work as long as I have monsters in my graveyard! I banish Dreary Doll and Terror Baby!" Strings snared up the Queens tightly, suspending them above the floor despite their protestant squawks.

Rosemary nodded in acceptance, but then glanced at one of the remaining cards in her hand. "Uncle...do you know why I persist in believing that I am not cursed by birth to be evil?"

"You can believe that all you wish, but proof is in your blood, your very soul." Ryou pointed at the invisible shape behind. "How else would the monster of your very being be anything but Diabound?"

"That is just it. My spirit is not Diabound. And I know this because I was not born with it." Rosemary watched his eyes widen as she slid her next card into her disk and a large stone tablet rose up behind her. It was broad, bigger than she was by several times and taller, too. "I acquired this monster."

"That's...that tablet…" Ryou stared numbly at it, at the images of a monster carved into its surface. So big it nearly took up all the stone and so twisted around itself he could not tell where one end was and the other began. "What is…"

"I activate the spell card Tablet of Forbidden Memories! I select all monsters of one type on my field and then declare a level - they all become that level!" Level stars appeared above all four of her monsters and all of them switched to eight. "I pick level eight! And then with my four level eight monsters, I open the Overlay Network!"

Her monsters did not fold together or vanish into a portal - they were simply broken down into energy and pulled into the stone slab as she began to speak. Ryou stared, trembling at the words coming out of her mouth. She's speaking Hieratic..that's the language Ra's effects were written in...how...how...did she…?

On the stone slab, the image was gaining things. Definition. Depth. Dimension. Colors in the forms of silken silvers, velvet purples, royal blues and seductive golds. Cracks spread across the stone itself and then the monster flexed, shattering it and pulling itself free of the remains. It was a woman, beautiful and terrifying atop a snake body with wings. Her scales were smooth and satiny, almost like skin. Or perhaps her skin was smooth and strong like scales. The colors swept over her body in tantalizing ways and every moment was luxuriously seductive and hypnotic as it coiled around Rosemary in an embrace that was both protective and erotic. The British woman herself looked relaxed at the monster's presence. "I Xyz summon the rank eight Diabound Allure." (0/0)

For the first time since the duel had started, Ryou looked thrown. His degraded appearance made his confusion and fear all the more apparent as the placid waters of his emotions began to ripple. "I...I activate the effect of Captive Audience!"

A card fell out of his graveyard and strings looped around Diabound Allure. But the monster merely rippled her body, flexing a clawed hand and the strings fell away, severed and useless. Rosemary shook her head. "Diabound Allure has at least two materials, so you cannot negate her effects."

She lifted a hand and Diabound Allure reared up behind her, wings flaring out to lift her up. "I expend one Xyz Material and use Diabound Allure's effect! I equip her with a monster from either of our graveyards! Spirit Seduction!"

Ryou gawked as a Duel Monsters card appeared in the air above the Xyz monster. "That's Gimmick Puppet of Strings!" The card was shredded as Diabound slashed though it with her claws, the pieces being pulled into her body. Said body gained a metallic sheen over it, while the Gimmick Puppet's sword appeared in her hands.

"When equipped with a monster, Diabound Allure can use its effects as her own! Strings of Heaven!" Rosemary watched as thick strings snared up Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings tightly, forcing its pieces to lock back together with sharp grinding noises. "Now that your monster has a String Counter, it cannot attack or activate its effect. I end my turn."

"I...I draw…" Ryou drew, staring at the card blankly. My Nitemare Force card equipped to Dark Strings, meaning I can use its effect without a material...but I can't activate that effect...I can't attack...I have no more monsters in my hand…

His hand dropped to the floor as he clutched at his shaking head. "No no no no no no no no…! This can't be - I can't let it end like this! I have to save you, Rosemary! I have to stop the evil from spreading!"

He dropped to his knees, shaking, sobbing, slamming clenched fists into the floor. "Please, Rosemary! Don't let it be this way! Don't let us be monsters anymore! It has to end with you!"

Rosemary just watched, his sobs becoming incoherent noises of a sad, broken man. Eventually, he stopped, sitting back and hugging his knees. Then, at least, she spoke. "Uncle."

He looked up at her, eyes still cold and lifeless under that unabashed, frozen sleet hair. Maybe he thought she was going to agree with him. Or offer him mercy. But Rosemary's eyes held neither, having become nothing but twin black pits that lead only into further darkness. "Rosie…"

"You haven't made a move in one and a half minutes. Your turn is over. And now...Diabound Allure destroys Dark Strings. Melody of Mayhem!" Rosemary watched as her monster slashed through the machine puppet in one stroke. The snapping of its harp strings were loud and echoing in the silence that followed as it toppled, falling apart into pieces as it did. "You lose."

"You...you're a monster…" Ryou barked it with the kind of sad grief one only got from betrayal. "Look at you! Look at what you are! Evil uses, abuses us and makes us suffer! But you're worse than that! You want the power! You're terrible! You're worse than he ever was, than anything he made me do! How could you!?"

"I will tell you the same thing you told me ten years ago when you tried to strangle your eleven-year-old niece." Rosemary didn't blink, didn't break his gaze even as Diabound Allure coiled around him, blade raised high. "Look in the mirror - the monster lives there."

Then the blade came down.

(RLP: 0)

She watched as Allure faded away, as did the remains of Dark Strings. To her not unexpected surprise, Ryou's body was also dissolving away. Ryou Bakura was dead. Had been dead for a decade. Whatever this thing had been, it wasn't her uncle. Just a bad memory, a nightmare, nothing like the real Ryou had been.

Her body ached at memories of how the real Ryou had been so much more painful.

The thought of injuries prompted her to sprint over to Toppa. There was no blood and she let out a sigh of relief as she rolled him over. The wounds were gone - more than likely, they were just the Darkness Game's way of indicating his defeat rather than taking his actual life. She hoped.

The theatre they had been in was gone as well, leaving them in what she realized was one of Pegasus' castle's sitting rooms. And there was a wall intercom next to the door. After checking Toppa's pulse to make sure he was alive, she sprinted for it and pushed the button, hoping there'd be someone to answer.

TTTTTTT

"Please - didn't you hear what I just said? This is the kind of challenge any real professional would want any day of the week!" Crypt drew his opening hand, his blue-tinted smile garish and wide, stretching his cheeks so much it looked like his lanky body was topped with an actual skull. "So let's see if being dead did anything but improve your mouth, Panik!"

He glanced down at his Duel Disk as it beeped and flashed 'Intrusion Penalty' at him. Then his life points began to plummet. "Tch...this thing for real?" (CLP: 8000-4000)

"What's the matter? Your courage vanish with your life points?" Panik boomed a laugh.

"Please - all this does is just give you a handicap!" Crypt sneered.

"If you think I need one, then let me demonstrate the power of my Number! Shadows of Death!" Panik spread his hands as Fullshadow Lich rippled, its shadow splitting off into identical copies of the original that filled his field. "My Nitemare Force card is equipped to my Lich, meaning I can use its effect to summon tokens on your turn without wasting any materials!" (500x4)

"So it's a shooting gallery - how thoughtful!" Crypt grabbed a spell card from his hand. "I activate Quick Summon, which means I summon a monster from my hand! Witch of the Black Forest!" A woman in dark robes and with three eyes appeared, sitting in a meditative position. "But she's not staying around for long - I sacrifice her for a Summoned Skull!"

Lightning split down from the sky, striking Witch of the Black Forest and incinterating her. Out of the crackling remains rose a bone-and-muscle demon. Lightning was already arcing over its talons. (2500/1200)

"Witch's effect lets me search for a monster with less than fifteen hundred defense points, but that's for later!" Crypt caught the card his deck spat out and held up another one. "I activate Archfiend's Curse! Since I have an Archfiend in play, your little lich no longer has an effect!"

"No - my monster!" Panik stared in fear as his lich grayed out, sagging towards the ground and looking weaker.

"Don't worry, I'm about to put him out of his misery! Along with the rest of his pals!" Crypt slammed acard into his disk. "It's the spell card Forbidden Mists Makiu! All monsters you have with less defense than my Skull's current attack are destroyed!"

The mists surrounding them thickened and flooded Panik's field, shrouding his monsters from view. Summoned Skull growled and thrust out both hands, lightning sparking from them. It danced through the mist erratically, lighting up the spasming, pain-stricken forms of Panik's liches. Then it stopped and with a singular shattering noise, a could of pixels burst out of the mist. "My monsters!"

"That's not all! Since I just destroyed three or more monsters, the attack points of all my Summoned Skulls doubles!" Crypt smirked as Summoned Skull surged with new power, the lighting around it violent and nasty. (2500-5000) "Direct attack! Demon Thunder!"

The lighting seared through the air towards Panik, filling the forest with the stench of ozone. Then it slammed into something directly in front of him, a loud clanging noises just briefly audible above the roar of the attack. "When I'm attacked directly, I can summon Battle Fader from my hand and negate the attack along with ending the Battle Phase!"

"Tch, fine…" Crypt looked at the new monster, an odd mix of bat and bell floating in front of the other duelist. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

"Draw!" Panik snapped up the card, a broad grin spreading on his broad face. "Card of Sanctity! Now we both draw until we hold six cards!" Ripping the new ones free, he slammed one into his disk. "Nitemare Revive! I summon a Number from my graveyard, then give one monster on my field to it as an Overlay Unit! Return, Fullshadow!"

Darkness rippled out of the ground, snaring the Battle Fader and using it as an anchor to pull itself up. The lich ate the other monster in its shroud, consuming everything about it as it returned to solidity. "And now I use its effect! Shadows of Death!" Four copies of it appeared once again. (2300) (500x4)

"Guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Crypt grunted, his Summoned Skull rumbling an agreement as lightning sparked around it.

"You'll regret those words! I equip my Lich with Sacred Sword Thanatos!" A spectral sword, its edges blurry and indistinct, appeared in the lich's hands. "This not only raises its attack points by three hundred, but destroys all tokens instantly! And gives their attack to him as well! And Fullshadow's own effect means not only does he gain five hundred attack for each destroyed token, five hundred damage is dealt to little Mouto as well!" Panik laughed as the four tokens all blew apart, the pieces sinking into the spectral sword. "This is the end!" (2300-2600-4600-6000)

"Kaede!" Crypt clenched his fist and looked down at his two set cards. My traps can't stop effect damage!

"Reverse card open-" Kaede was on her knees, glaring from under her bangs as the card lifted. "Regeneration Cure! I negate one instance of damage to my life points and summon one Helixx Token instead!" A demonic looking creature vaguely resembling a DNA Helix appeared in front of, the attack from Fullshadow fading out before it could reach her.

She rose to her feet fully, giving Crypt a look. "Don't go yelling my name like that - you really think I'd be put down so easily?"

"I'll take that as 'thank you'." Crypt fired back, but they were both smirking.

"Don't take me lightly! My Fullshadow Lich has over six thousand attack points and they're coming right for you, little Mouto! I'll take you down if it's the last thing I do! Sword of Death Endless!" Fullshadow cackled again and surged forwards in a whirl of its phantasmal cloak, blade drawn back to skewer Kaede's heart.

It instead caught a little puffball with big eyes, the blade piercing through it's body and halting an inch before Kaede's nose. Then the puffball exploded, Kaede no worse for the wear even as the lich went flying back to Panik's field. "Where did that weak monster come from?!"

"My hand." Crypt snickered when Panik glared at him. "I discarded Kuriboh to negate the battle damage."

Panik growled low in his throat and grabbed another card from his hand. "Offerings to the Doomed! Your Skull is destroyed!" Light lanced out of the card and punched through Summoned Skull, shattering him easily.

"I'll activate Soul Rope. I pay one thousand life points and summon Versago the Destroyer from my deck." Crypt grunted as the trap flipped up and sapped him of his strength. But the odd, leggless demon appeared curled up in front of him. (CLP: 3000) (1100/600)

"A weak defense in the face of my Number!" Panik growled. " I set two cards face-down and end my turn. And it'll be you last, little Mouto."

"We'll see about that - during the End Phase, I use the Marmot's effect in my graveyard and destroy my token to summon it! That gives my field spell another counter!" Her token blew apart, her snarling, hissing winged marmot taking its place as another brazier lit up behind her. "Then I draw-"

"I activate Fullshadow's effect by expending its Xyz Material! Shadows of Death!" Panik sneered as four copies of his lich appeared and then promptly exploded. "And thanks to Sacred Sword Thanatos, they are destroyed and you take damage! Now die!" (6600-8600)

The lich slashed the sword through the air, unleashing a shockwave of power right for the redhead. Kaede slammed a card into her graveyard and dozens of Kuribohs appeared in front of her. They exploded on contact with the blast, but kept it from reaching her. "Would you look at that - Kuribohs work on monster effect damage as well as attacks!"

"You little…" Panik snarled and slammed a fist into a nearby tree, sending the hanging corpses swaying.

"You're talking again, but I don't hear anything useful coming out of you, so I'll just continue my turn!" Kaede slapped down a card and a bone-and-flesh demon appeared, its armor fused into the exposed muscle tissue. "I summon another Archfiend Horrorpawn and then use its effect to roll a die to change its level! And my Imperial Pandemonium field spell lets me expend a counter to make that roll a four!"

Flames leapt from the brazier into the Horrorpawn's hand, becoming a die that had four on all sides. The fiend rolled it and the level stars above him double from two to four. "The dead become a storm of fury, their howls of vengeance thunder and lightning! That endless torment becomes your endless strength! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Archfiend Skull Fulminaster!"

Her two monsters exploded, lightning lancing out of the sky to scorch the stone of Imperial Pandemonium. The strikes lingered there, stacking atop one another until they were so massive they began to take living shape. It looked like Crypt's Summoned SKull, but bigger with muscles bulging with electricity, the bones scorched black and electrodes bolted in place of wings as it bled sparks. (3000/1700)

"Damn….didn't think Skull Archfiend of Lightning got an upgrade." Crypt said approvingly. "Got a spare?"

"No." Kaede said with a huff and snapped a hand out to point at her monster. "I activate Fulminaster's effect! I roll a die and the result gives me an effect! But Imperial Pandemonium will give me the result I want, so I pick two! Your monster dies! And this effect isn't targeted!"

Lightning arced over her Synchro, briefly becoming a two above the monster's head before he swung his heavy arms to launch twin arcs. They skipped along the ground towards Fullshadow, but Panik was already slamming a finger on his disk. "I activate Shade of Strings! Now my monster cannot die to card effects!"

The lighting pierced through Fullshadow's immaterial body harmlessly, the lich laughing in mockery at the attempt. Kaede grit her teeth. "One card face-down. End turn!"

"My move again." Crypt drew. "I activate Polymerization, fusing the Versago on my field with the Summoned Skull in my hand to summon my favorite monster! The mighty Black Skull Dragon!" Versago erupted with power, becoming larger and draconic with hardened magma-skin, bone armor and broad wings. (3200)

"Your monster may be mighty, but mighty is nothing compared to my lich!" Panik barked in amusement. "He has nearly three times his attack points!"

"That doesn't intimidate me in the least." Crypt grabbed a pair of cards from his hand. "I activate two copies of the equip spell card Identity Theft! By banishing two Summoned Skulls from my graveyard, I can make two monsters on the field become Summoned Skull!"

"What good will that do?" Panik mocked, but his gaze widened when his Lich began to glow, a phantasmal image of Summoned Skull overlain with his monster. "You equipped it to my monster!"

"Yep, so now it and my Black Skull Dragon are both Summoned Skull! Which means my last equip card Delta Strike is going to do wonders!" Crypt smiled as Black Skull Dragon roared with fresh energy. "Here's how it works - when my Dragon attacks, it gains the attack points of any and all monsters on the field that share its name!"

"And you changed my monster's name-! No!"

"Oh yes! Black Skull Dragon attack! Meteor Flare!" The fusion monster reared up, spewing a barrage of magma fireballs at the opposing monster. "Your own strength works against you!" (3200-13800)

"It doesn't matter!" Panik's set card lifted as the attacks slammed into his monster. The heat and force of the resulting explosions sent both duelist and lich staggering, but they remained standing. "The trap Impenetrable Attack prevents me or my lich from taking damage this turn! And since your dragon is not a Number monster, you cannot destroy it!"

"Dammit." Crypt glared at the lich, but folded his arms. "Don't look so cocky - thanks to Delta Strike, my Dragon is the only 'Summoned Skull' that can attack, so all of those attack points are useless to you!"

"Bastard-" Panik snapped and glanced at his remaining cards. No monsters...and I cannot draw a new one because of Offerings to the Doomed! He had Monster Reborn in his hand, but none of the cards in his graveyard were anywhere near strong enough to do anything. And nothing in the other's duelists graveyards could beat Skull Archfiend Fulminaster or Black Skull Dragon in a fight. Wait - there is one that can defeat them!

He laughed and held up the spell card. "I activate Monster Reborn! Rise up from the fires of hell and become my servant! Hot Red Dragon Archfiend!"

"Oh no!" Crypt's eyes widened as fire erupted behind the burly man, resolving into the roaring form of Kaede's dragon.

"Your monsters will die to the power of your dragon and then you'll die to its claws! I could not have asked for a greater way to inflict a painful death to you, little Mouto!" Panik bared his teeth in a nightmarish smile. "Nothing you do can save you now! Nothing!"

Kaede just stared at him, smirking calmly. "Now you've done it."

"Done what?!" Panik snapped. That look on her face! It's just like her father's when...when…! An image of his Castle of Dark Illusions crashing down on his helpless monsters flashed through his mind and a sick feeling of dread rose up in him. No, it can't be!"

"Hot Red Dragon Archfiend isn't an ordinary monster, just like your Number. You could say it's even alive." Kaede chuckled as a shadow fell over Panik. "And you just summoned it to your field with the monster that killed it."

"Are you saying that dragon is going to want revenge!?" Panik demanded and then twisted to look up...and up...and up. Hot Red Dragon Archfiend was looming over him, its bulk filling up his entire line of sight. And flames were leaking from its jaws. "But...no...how!?"

"Same reason as last time, Panik. You messed with someone beyond your control and who isn't afraid of you." Kaede said as her dragon sucked in a breath. "Now go back to hell and stay there this time!"

Panik's scream was drowned out by Hot Red's roar and the bellow of its flames. They swallowed him up, surrounding trees ignited, then the bodies in them and the flames spread even more quickly as if they were eager to eat up all the bodies. Fullshadow Lich charged for Kaede, sword raised to slash at her, but wasn't nearly fast enough to escape the flames. The blaze evaporated it into wisps.

"Damn…" Crypt took a few safe steps back, watching as Panik's body broke apart in the flames and melted. "What was he? Some kind of homunculus? Or zombie?"

Kaede gave him a raised eyebrow. "You've encountered those things before?"

"You see a lot of crazy things in the Underground." Crypt said by way of explanation. The duel faded away, as did the flames and then the charred remnants of the forest. All that was left in front of them was a large double bed and some end tables. "He fit that entire forest inside a bedroom? Where even are we?"

"At least we're still inside the castle." Kaede stepped forwards, picking up the Number 43: Shadow Lich card off the bedspread. "And I got a new trick…"

"Save it for later - we need to get back in touch with Sumire so she can get us all out of here." Crypt jerked a thumb out the door. The castle's hallway was still inverted and twisted around itself. "Hope you don't get dizzy easily."

TTTTTTT

Jessie watched the blast fire, a wave of energy that shrank to a pencil-thin beam that would hit like a tank. And hoped she had enough luck to make this move work. "Reverse card open!"

The trap card flipped up, its picture showing Neo-Spacian Glow Moss playing a Slot Machine Duel Monster that had lined up three Blue-Eyes. "Signal Slots! This card equips your monster! Whenever that monster attacks me, I draw one card and depending on the card I draw, an effect activates!"

She snapped up the card and flipped it around, revealing a monster card. "I drew a monster! Now your attack is negated…" The beam froze in mid-air, hanging in the dark ceiling above like a star. "But then you attack again!"

"What the frig!?" Keith balked as the attack launched forwards again. "What good does that do you? Your blonde in a bottle must have soaked into your brain!"

"I'm all-natural, thank you! And what it does is that it triggers Signal Slots again!" Jessie drew a second time. "Another monster!"

The attack froze for a few seconds, then started forwards again. Keith just ground his teeth in frustration. "Quit wasting time and just take it like a duelist!"

"Hush up! Signal Slots triggers again! I draw!" Jessie drew a third card and held it up. "A spell card! Now your attack is negated again and this time it stays that way!"

Her trap exploded. "There's a catch, though. If I draw three or more cards with Signal Slots, it's destroyed. "

"Lucky you." Keith grunted and shoved cards into his disk. "I set two cards and end my turn! Next turn, Dyson Sphere's gonna wreck you!" He growled as Jessie began to snicker at him. "What's so funny?"

"You, dumbass! You forgot to make a bet this round! And you didn't inflict any damage besides, which means -" Jessie watched as Keith howled as fresh wounds up opened over him and his stack of washers and nuts was suddenly cut in half. "Christ - the house does not play favorites here!"

"Just...just...shaddup!" Keith said as he glowered. Despite his bravado from the massive damage she'd given him last turn, he looked pale and haggard all of a sudden. His clothes were becoming baggy on him, like his was literally losing everything inside him every time he lost a bet. "Take your damn turn!"

"Fine by me!" Jessie drew and shoved a pile of chips forwards. "I bet you'll take four hundred damage this round!"

That done, she began chewing on her lip in thought. Dyson Sphere's nasty. I can't kill it in a straight fight, but it's still not immune to other card effects. And I need to deal damage or I'm going to risk passing out from blood loss or worse!

Coins clinked at her feet as she adjusted her stance and she grinned as she realized where she was standing. "My Scorpion's Nest gained counters each time my Scorpions activated their effects! So now I remove four of the five I have to summon two Dark Scorpions from the graveyard! Meanae! Chick! Front and center!"

The two thieves flipped dramatically out from behind piles of treasure, striking a back-to-back pose with weapons at the ready. "And now I-"

"You do nothing, brat! Reverse card open! Rank-Up Magic - Nitemare Force! This turns my Dyson Sphere into a Chaos Number!" Keith laughed as on the window, Dyson Sphere began to unfold and transform, the dull gray metals of its body expanding and shifting to reveal high-tech lights and designs underneath. "Star the covers whole of creation, rain infinite power on the heavens and scorch hell from existence! Eradicate it all and then destroy even the dust! Rank 10! Number C9: Chaos Dyson Sphere!" (3600/3200)

"You know, Keith, when a man takes his giant, planet-busting space station and makes it even bigger with even more guns on it, a girl could start to wonder what he's compensating for!" Jessie gawked at the size of the monster now, her two Dark Scorpions giving it flat out jaw-drops.

"It's called 'strategy'! I ain't relying on raw power like before and I know my Dyson Sphere's weakness! So that's why I have this - Staunch Defender! Now your little scorpions have to try and sting my Dyson Sphere and not me!" He snickered cruelly. "Go on, Wheeler, throw the last of your life points away like a brave duelist!"

"How about I kick your ass like an awesome one? I have the quick-play spell Dark Scorpion - Double Bluff! Now when my Scorpions hit your monster, they don't die, I take no damage and your monster is poisoned! Even if it is a machine!" Jessie watched as her two monsters looked up at the infinite blackness above them...and then glanced down at their whip and mallet respectively. "Oh, just attack the screen! I know you can't reach it from down here!"

Meanae nodded and cracked her whip at the screen, but Keith's third set card was already lifting. "Gotcha, brat! The continuous trap Safe Zone! It equips to Chaos Dyson Sphere and keeps card effects form so much as scratching the paint job!"

Jessie growled in frustration as Meanae's whip passed through the screen harmlessly, then Chick's mallet did the same. "You can't protect that thing forever, Keith! And my Scorpions are going to send it right back to the -" She was cut off as two beams of light show down and surrounded her monsters. The Dark Scorpions flailed in sudden panic as they were lifted skywards. "What the hell!? This isn't Close Encounters of the Third Kind! You can't abduct my monsters!"

"Sure I can! Chaos Dyson Sphere's a straight upgrade on the original! Instead of negating attacks, any monsters that attacks it become one of its Xyz Materials!" Keith watched as Jessie's monsters were pulled up into space and into the depths of his Dyson Sphere, never to be seen again. "No way I'm letting you pull a cheap trick on me again!"

He chuckled as there was a rumble from behind Jessie. "Oop - looks like Jizukiru wants to give it a shot! How about it?"

"Wait -no!" Jessie grimaced as the kaiju unleashed energy up into the sky that splashed harmlessly off Dyson Sphere' shields. The backlash came arcing back down and slammed into her hard enough to shove her to a knee. Smoke wisped off the hit and she squinted against the pain to see Jizukiru sucked up inside Dyson Sphere. (JLP: 3200-2900)

"Aww, too bad, so sad!" Keith mocked. "Looks like you aren't gonna get that four hundred damage you wanted! Unless you want to try your luck again?"

"Would if I could, just to knock some smug off that face…" Jessie muttered under her breath. "I set one card face-down and one monster in defense mode!" The brown-backed cards appeared in front of her. "End turn!"

The last syllable of the word became a scream of pain as a wound opened on her leg and she slapped it, wincing as she felt stickiness here. Don't fall over - don't fall over - !

"My move and I think...I'll bet I'll deal twenty-nine hundred damage!" Keith shoveled nearly all of his remaining chips forwards, watching with unhidden smugness as Jessiebelle's eyes widened. "I know what you're thinking - has he gone nuts?"

"I don't think it, Keith - I know it!"

"Well, you know wrong, brat." Keith sniggered. "See, I bet you think you're safe because Safe Zone is still on my Chaos Dyson Sphere and that means Dyson Sphere can't attack you directly. Thing is, when I ranked it up, everything got an upgrade! Including its ability to hurt you!"

He lifted a finger into the sky. "Once per turn, Chaos Dyson Sphere can deal you three hundred damage for each Xyz Material it has! And I count six! So suck it, Wheeler! Brilliant Barrage!"

Chaos Dyson Sphere's turrets angled towards the Earth, firing six sharp blasts that slammed into Jessie's vitals at the same time. She screamed as they threw her off her feet, skidding across the shop's metal floor to crash against a robot playing the slots. (JLP: 2900 -1100)

"Just stay down and brace for impact, blondie! My monster's second ability! I can remove Xyz Material to deal you eight hundred damage for each one! Brilliant Salvo!" Keith grinned, the new round of attacks - broad, heavy lasers blasts - reflected in his sunglasses as they screamed towards his prone opponent.

Then something leapt up into the air on an intercept course. It was a pale purple Kuriboh and it popped open like a Russian nesting doll, allowing seven more versions of itself to jump free. They all caught one of the shots and exploded, briefly filling the casino's dark roof with miniature suns. "Son of a bitch! No!"

"Clear Kuriboh. I can ditch it...and I take no damage from an effect…" Jessie croaked out as she climbed back to her feet. "So ha-ha, Keith - just like every date you had, you blew your load early!"

"You Wheelers only think you're funny, when you're just funny-looking!" Keith was furious, nearly ripping the next card he wanted to play in half as he crammed it into his disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn!"

Wounds burst open on his body as his failed bet, but all it succeeded in doing was staining his clothing red and leaving him heaving for breath, snorting angrily. "Come and draw already! Hurry up! I need to waste your ass and be done with this bullcrap!"

"Don't rush me…!" Jessie drew slowly, trying to ignore how much she was in. This is bad...this is so bad. I can't hurt him with my monsters, his Dyson Sphere will take them if I try to fight and I bet anything he's got a way to give his monster more Xyz Material so he can blast me!

She was also conscious of the fact she needed to make a bet this round or she was going to hurt again. But nothing I have can inflict damage! I can bet zero, but it takes a chunk out of me! How can I beat him when I can't hurt him?

Something occurred to her and she glanced down at her set monster. Beat him...without hurting him… "I flip summon my set monster - Dark Scorpion Burglars!" Unlike her previous monsters, this one was all five of them grouped together. But they looked younger, more teengerish and cocky. (1000/1000)

"What? You gonna attack me directly?" Keith rolled his eyes. Go ahead and try it! My set card is Direct Material Converter! If you hit me directly, this card negates the attack and makes your monster an Xyz Material for my Dyson Sphere!

"No, I'm going to give you them! I activate Shien's Spy!" Jessie watched as her monster vanished, reappearing on Keith's side of the field. "Now you have my monster for the turn!"

"And why do that? You trying to kill me by attacking it instead of Dyson Sphere? You don't have nearly a big enough monster to wipe me out in one hit!"

"I don't need to! I activate the Garden of the Darkest Rose! For every field spell I have in play or in the graveyard, I summon one Rose Token! I have three in the graveyard and one in play, so I get four!" Jessie watched as four flowers erupted on her playing field, reaching in height up to her waist before blooming into dark red roses. "The only catch is I can't use these tokens for tributes and they can't hurt you!" (800/800x4)

"So what? You gonna pluck'em and give me an apology bouquet?" Keith sneered.

"They're going to attack my Dark Scorpion Burglars!" Three of the rose tokens sprouted thorns and fired them. They bounced off the collective Dark Scorpions, who promptly responded with a mallet smash, whiplash and knife attack that beheaded all three roses and shattered them. Jessie cried out as the backlash hit and dropped her to her knees. (JLP: 1100-500)

Keith stared at her in confusion, then anger as she began to smile. "What's so funny, Wheeler? You finally lost your marbles along with your blood?"

"'Snot that...just...see, my Dark Scorpion Burglars have an effect. Each time they deal damage, the opposing player has to get rid of a spell card from their deck." Jessie said with a shaky smirk. "And since I'm the opposing player...I have to get rid of three spell cards."

She held them up, revealing they were all identical. "They're called Jackpot 7. And when they go to the graveyard thanks to my opponent, I have to banish them."

Keith growled. "Make sense and tell me why you think that's worth laughing about! You're dead once you end your turn!" He broke off as the casino around them became louder, alarms, flashing lights, cheers and lots of metal raining down on metal. The slot machines behind him all began to read three sevens and washers were spewing out of them at an insane rate. They already had swallowed up a chunk of the floor and the pile was growing. "What's...what's going on!?"

"I hit the Jackpot, Keith. When three Jackpot 7 are banished….I win the duel." Jessie smirked as her Duel Disk flashed 'INSTANT WIN! INSTANT WIN!' over and over.

Keith's eyes widened in horror. "No! You can't! There's no way you got that lucky! What kind of cheap-ass trick is that!?"

"Honestly, I put them in because I wanted the best chance of winning a duel for Lero during the Bride Tournament. Didn't have time to take them out. But I guess...that was just my luck." Jessie stepped backwards as Keith lunged for her, but he fell on his face. His boots were already covered by the ever-increasing pile of washers and nuts from the simultaneous jackpots.

Part of Jessie wanted to turn away as she comprehended what being smothered by a tidal wave of hot heavy metal would feel like. But the rest of her was resilient, and she just watched as every machine in the room went berserk and began spitting its innards at the former intercontinental champion. He lost to Dad. He lost to Uncle Yugi. This time I'm going to make sure he stays down!

He struggled, and yelled, but the rush of metal was coming from all sides now, pouring over him like sand and bringing him to his knees. It swirled around his legs, dragging his torso down under the heavy deluge. He gave one last scream, his hand reaching claw-like and desperate from the surging mass, before it was swallowed up and dragged him back down to whatever fate awaited him. Jessie sighed, and fancied that she felt over thirty years of tension melt away, not just from her, but from her whole family.

Feeling her wounds begin to magically close, she gathered her cards back into her deck, pausing to smile at her Jackpot 7's before shuffling them all together.

She paused, as a worrying thought occurred to her.

"...note to self - do not tell Blackwood about this win. That'll just convince him I'm an alien…"

TTTTTTT

Verthy snapped back to awareness in the worst way - in pain. And that was followed up by the memories of how she had gotten to be staring at the ceiling. Plasma exploded...how can it have done that? It devours souls…

"If you are not going to move, then kindly surrender." The Puppeteer's rasp pulled her into the rest of the way into awareness. "Your doll is eager to find a place among my shelves…"

The doll Verthy waved and jumped up and down, clapping in eagerness that was made all the more disturbing by how it had no face.

"I am not done." Verthy picked herself up, dusted herself off and readied herself again. "I do not know what happened, but Plasma was clearly destroyed and that means I can activate the effect of the Castle Terminus around us! When Plasma dies with an equipped card, I can revive him!" A demonic shadow appeared outside the clockface behind her briefly before vanishing upwards. And then out of the gears and sprockets and chains of the clock's mechanism, the winged emancipated hero descended with a cold sneer. (1900/600)

"What good will he do?" The Puppeteer was unimpressed. "Galaxy Queen was the only monster I had that had attack points. Absorbing them won't achieve anything."

"And that is where you are wrong! Gravity Blood!" Verthy smiled as Plasma spread his wings and Doll Part Blue was broken apart, sucked into them in a spray of red. "Next, I will equip Plasma further with Claret Wings!"

The hero's wings began to drip a rich, red blood steadily as he flared them, an oily sheen over them now. "This equip lets me do two things - first, I can destroy a monster equipped to him to halve the attack of your monsters!"

Doll Part Blue remerged, the doll's head straining for freedom and then it blew apart. As the blood spattered over the Puppeteer's remaining monsters, it began to hiss angrily as it ate holes in them like acid. (4000x3)

"Then Claret Wings allows me to use his equip effect again! Gravity Blood!" This time, it was Doll Part Pink that was drawn into Plasma, the torso struggling weakly before vanishing into the bloody wings. "And now Castle Terminus empowers him by eight hundred points for each card equipped to him!" (1900- 3500)

The Puppeteer's eyes widened above his mask as Plasma lifted himself higher with a bloody flap of his wings. "So this is the power of the Ultimate D-Card…!"

"Plasma attacks Doll Part Gold! Bloody Fears!" Plasma's wings beat again and spears of blood rained down, pulverizing the doll part into fragments that became pieces that became dust. The Puppeteer caught the edge of it, several of them lodging in his chest and sending him crashing into one of the counters for support. "I hope that teaches you some manners." (PLP: 2200-700)

"Hggnk…" The spears in his body faded away, leaving no wounds, but it was clear the Puppeteer was feeling the pain anyway. "You can hurt me all you like, Verthandi...but in the end, you'll only hurt yourself worse. You cannot escape your destiny…"

"Destiny is just a word, it has no more meaning than any other!" Verthy said curtly. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

"It is a word, yes...a word that makes you weep at night…" The Puppeteer drew for his turn. "It was the word that killed your mother…"

He was cut off as Plasma roared, the act kicking up a torrent of power that scattered the dolls around him and nearly blew off his hat. His gray eyes locked on the monster and suddenly, despite being dead, the Puppeteer knew the fear of death that is beyond death.

"Speak of my mother again." Verthy didn't raise her voice or even glare, just looked calm and polite. "See what happens."

"...I would rather not." The Puppeteer held up the card he had drawn. "I activate Monster Reborn, reviving my Galaxy Queen from the graveyard." A portal opened up in front of them and the snobbish queen rose out of it. She glared at Plasma, who just sneered and her colors drained away as his effect negation kicked in. "And before you state she is helpless without an effect or Xyz Material, I have another card to play."

He plugged it into his disk and the instant the card formed, it shattered into jagged pieces that lodged themselves into Galaxy Queen like she was a pincushion. Her scepter clattered to the ground as she hugged herself in pain. "Rank-Up Magic - Nitemare Force evolves her into a greater power!"

Black ichore oozed from her wounds, swelling up into broad bandages that coiled around her, wrapping the queen into a pulsating, black heart. "Even if the universe dies, you endure. Bestowed upon you is reign eternal, your birthright is rule over all creation and beyond! Rank-Up Xyz Summon! Rank 2! Number C63: Galaxy Queen - Nebula Prominence!"

The heart faded away, revealing the transformation his monster had undergone. Taller, her hair and hairs now ever-flowing masses of nebulae with stars winking inside. Her outfit was the twilight of the cosmos, pattered in shifting purple black as galaxies wheeled around. Her staff was crystal and topped with its own swirling galaxy. (1000/1000)

"Her rule is at an end! Plasma!" Verthy watched as her monster's power flowed out to drain the queen of her majesty...only for her own light to flare and erode away Plasma's aura. "How?!"

"Nebula Promience's effects cannot be negated." The Puppeteer reached for his graveyard. "I banish the spell Chimera Spectre from my graveyard. And because I have at least one complete set of Doll Parts in my graveyard, I can summon a Doll Chimera monster that my spell banished earlier! Come, Doll Chimera!"

Out of the darkness scuttled his monster. A human-sized doll that was cracked, chipped and broken with arms and legs reversed so it was crawling on all fours and the head forwards like an animal. It glared at Verthy with dead, lifeless eyes as though she were the fault for all the abuse it had suffered. (0/0)

"Then I activate Nebula Promience's effect! And because Nitemare Force is equipped to it, I do not have to expend an Xyz Material! Doll Chimera not only becomes immune to your card effects, but it may attack you directly!" Nebula Prominence touched the Chimera with her staff and it rattled as its power began to increase, chaotic blackness seeping out of the damages it had like something wanted out of the broken toy. "Doll Chimera gains four hundred attack points for each Doll Part in my graveyard! And there are ten! Attack directly!" (0 - 4400)

The chimera jumped over Plasma, limbs spread wide in an attempt to bearhug Verthy to death. The German woman didn't so much as flinch and snapped her fingers. "I activate Plasma Discharge! I destroy one equip card I have and the battle phase is ended! I choose the Doll Part Plasma has!" Plasma flew in between the two, a swipe from his dragon head sending Doll Chimera crashing into the ground. (3500-2700)

"All you did was make Doll Chimera stronger." The Puppeteer said as his Chimera flipped up right and scuttled back to his field. "I move my last Doll Part to defense mode and end my turn." (4400-4800)

"Draw!" Verthy picked up the next card and pointed at his Doll Part. "Gravity Blood!"

Plasma sucked the doll arms into his wings, chuckling coldly as his power rose again. (2700-3500)

"It is no use. My two monsters cannot be affected by your cards and Nebula Prominence cannot be attacked if I have another monster. So you cannot hurt me or use Claret Wings' effect to halve their scores." The Puppeteer said idly as he made his Verthy doll dance up and down. "You cannot fight against destiny, Verthandi.."

"I beg to differ and my next hero will help me do so! I summon Destiny Hero - Prediction Conversion!" Her new monster was odd, to say the least. Whereas her previous monsters had a unifying theme of dark, anti-heroic aesthetics and were influenced by British folklore and pop culture, this one was comparably drab. He had a dark mask shrouding his face, save for his mouth so he could smoke. But he wore a green dealer's jacket, simple pants and shirt and was constantly shuffling a deck of cards. (1200/400)

"This one…" The Puppeteer took a step back, eyes narrowed in focus and tone wary. "This one is not in your memories…"

"It wouldn't be - my mentor only had it made recently and I have never played it until now. But the effect he has is simple. First thing is that I draw a card." Verthy picked up the next card on her deck and flipped it around. "It is a monster card. Now I select one monster card in your graveyard and place it atop your deck. I pick Doll Part Blue."

The card slid out of the Puppeteer's graveyard and he wordlessly placed it atop his deck.

"But in doing that, my monster also goes back to the deck." Verthy returned her card to the top of her deck. "Not that matters - I'm about to win this duel."

"Are you?" The Puppeteer asked. "You have no cards in your hand, so you cannot use Drawber to shuffle my field back into my deck."

"But I have my trap card - Future Battle!" Verthy snapped her fingers and the card lifted. "During my Battle Phase, I can force you to draw! And if you draw a monster, you must summon it in attack mode! Of course, I have to attack it...but there's no risk when your monster is simply a doll, is there?"

The Puppeteer's eyes widened as his Doll Part Blue appeared on the field, the floating doll's head innocent and safe-looking...but still in attack mode. "No! I can't stop it!"

"Plasma! Attack that Doll Part! Bloody Fears!" Plasma flared his wings and the bloody spears rained down endlessly, smashing through the doll part and then the surrounding dolls and then the Puppeteer himself.

(PLP: 0)

Verthy had shielded her face from the debris the attack had kicked up, real or not, wood splinters in the eye would have been very painful. When she lowered them, Castle Terminus had vanished. And so had the Puppeteer, their monsters and all the dolls surrounding them. She was standing in the castle's greenhouse, a small square thing tacked on to one of the outer walls. Judging by the rows of potted plants and trays, Plato must have used it to grow food for the castle's residents.

Except lying in the center of the aisle on the opposite end was the Verthy doll.

The real Verthy walked over to it. It was limp and lifeless now, just a wooden figure badly dressed as her. She picked it up, tweaking one of the shapeless hands. Even the strings were gone. She turned it a bit, studying it….pausing only when she saw, etched into the doll's face, was her Rune Eye.

And the doll sang to her.

"What I see, always comes to be. What I see, always comes to me. What I see, is always destiny~"

Verthy felt pain rip through the left side of her skull, that eye forced open wide as the rune flared to a shine. The greenhouse parted into a fog that unrolled before her and she saw -

-Bellerophon dueling, surrounded by crimson light and dragons she didn't recognize. But then the sun and the moon rose and devoured them and he crumpled, body cracking and crumbling as if he were just made of clay before a wind howled and scattered him -

-Sumire dying, chalk markings under her naked body surrounded by candles and blood pouring over her face with dark, heavy scars in her cheek and forehead and even her neck. Someone screaming out of sight-

-Pain. So much pain. Overwhelming pain, pain that made the world white and drowned out the world with a constant hum in her ears. She was holding something so tight and desperate and whatever it was, it was breaking in her grip and someone - someone was yelling her name and she wanted to yell back to let them know she was alive but the pain was just everything, every inch of her and then there was a cry, loud and high and panicked. And then she felt empty and hollow in a terrible way and then there was nothing...at...all…-

Verthy snapped back and hurled the doll away with a cry of disgust and fear. But she never heard the doll hit the greenhouse. It simply seemed to not exist. She felt so cold, hugging shaking hands to shaking arms and squeezing until both stopped. The visions...they were never like that. They were actual moments in time, not...not these vague, symbolic things!

And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that these visions were as true as any other she'd seen. And they had all been true, so far.

No. No, I cannot think like that. I must not think like that. Destiny is just a word. The future is always uncertain. Verthy squeezed her deck in her hand for strength. I have the deck that can defy destiny or fate. Whatever I see with this eye is just one moment in time and there is an infinite number of moments. What this was some kind of bad interaction between my power and this darkness surrounding us. The Puppeteer trying to get into my head one last time.

She headed for the door, forcing her thoughts to focus on her friends and how she might be able to help them.

If she had looked back the way she had come, she might have seen the two ravens tucking themselves away in the greenhouse's foliage. Ravens that were staring at her with far more intensity than birds should have been capable of. One looked as though it were deep in thought, the other tracking everything as if it were trying to record every second of everything.

As one, they took flight and vanished out an open window, fading away before they hit the dome.

TTTTTTT

If anyone had a telescope pointed up at the sky above the Duelist Kingdom, they would have noticed something unusual in it. Well, unusual beyond the dome of shadowy energy entrapping the whole place.

A single, rather faint point of red light in the blue sky. So faint it was barely noticeable and might have been confused for a passing satellite or low-flying plane.

But this red light did not move, did not blink and was growing brighter.

It was a single, red star. One that had been drawing closer to Earth over the last twenty years. And if you were looking at this star through a telescope and had been plotting this star's course over the last two decades, you might notice it suddenly did something unusual. Instead of a slow, lazy arc around the solar system, it had...veered off course. A sharp, angled turn that a star should have never been capable of because they do not have brakes and are subject to the whims of gravity and momentum.

This crimson star was no longer traversing around the solar system as it was supposed to.

It was burning a path straight for the planet. And it was starting to shine.

And deep in the castle, in the twisted parody of his father's art studio, still sprawled atop the rubble he'd been blasted into, Bellerophon's fingers twitched.

TTTTTTT

A/N: As half our duels draw to a close, three still remain and the threat is not yet ended. But for once, it seems like a star of fortune has begun to shine on our heroes. What secrets will its crimson light reveal?

Next Chapter - Duel Madness! Marks of Destiny!

CREATED CARDS:

Note: Again, I am not going to list Toppa's cards because reasons and some cards will not be listed yet due to avoid spoilers as to their full effects. Also, Kaede is using the 'original version' of Kuriboh, who's discard ability negates battle or effect damage from a single source.

ROSEMARY

Allure Empress
DARK
Level 9
Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect
1000/2500
Effect: One 'Allure Empress' monster + 1 Spellcaster-type monster
This card is always treated as an 'Allure Queen' monster. When this card is Fusion Summoned, add one card that mentions 'Allure Queen' in your deck to your hand. Once per turn, you can target one face-up monster on the field whose level is equal to or lower than this card's level; equip that monster to this card. If this card would be destroyed as a result of battle, you can destroy one card-equipped to this card instead.

Allure Return
Equip Spell Card
Effect: Special Summon one 'Allure Queen' monster from your Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning Conditions and equip it with this card. This card is considered to be 'equipped by its own effect' while equipped to an 'Allure Queen' monster. If this face-up card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster. If the equipped monster is destroyed, destroy this card.

CRYPT

Forbidden Mists Makiu
Normal Spell Card
Effect: Select a 'Summoned Skull' you control; destroy all face-up monsters on the field whose have equal to or less DEF than the selected monster's ATK. If you destroy three or more monsters with this effect, double the ATK of all 'Summoned Skull' you control. You may only activate one 'Forbidden Mists Makiu' per turn. During the turn you activate this card, only 'Summoned Skull' you control may attack.

Image: A Summoned Skull crackling with lightning, shrouded in heavy mists with unknown corpses sprawled around it.

Delta Strike
Equip Spell Card
Effect: When the equipped monster battles, during the Damage Step, it gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of all other face-up monsters of the same name. While this card is face-up on the field, only the equipped monster may declare an attack and other monsters that have the same name as the equipped monster cannot attack.

Image: Cyber Harpie Lady, glowing with energy, attacking Blue-Eyes while Harpie Lady 1, 2 and 3 back her up.

JESSIE

Signal Slots
Continuous Trap Card
Effect: Equip this card to a face-up monster your opponent controls after activation. When the equipped monster declares an attack, draw 1 card and reveal it. Then apply the following effects depending on the card drawn.

Monster: Negate the attack. Then the equipped monster attacks again immediately.

Spell: Negate the attack.

Trap: The equipped monster's ATK becomes direct. Then, discard all cards drawn by the effect of 'Signal Slots'.
If you draw 3 or more cards in the same turn by the effect of 'Signal Slots', destroy this card. You may only control one face-up 'Signal Slots'.

Image: Neo-Spacian Glow Moss seated at a Slot Machine monster that's just lined up three Blue-Eyes White Dragons

Garden of the Darkest Rose
Normal Spell Card
Effect: For each Field Spell Card in the graveyard or on the field, Special Summon one 'Rose Token. (DARK/2 stars/Plant/800/800). Monsters summoned by this effect cannot be Tributed and cannot attack your opponent directly.

Image Rose Tokens blooming in some dark soil, a draconic shadow looming over them.

PUPPETEER

Number C63: Galaxy Queen - Nebula Prominence
LIGHT
Rank 2
Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
1000/1000
Effect: This card's effects cannot be negated. This card cannot be selected as a target for an opponent's attack or card effect if you control another monster. If this card has 'Number 63: Galaxy Queen' as a material, it gains the following effects: Once per turn, you can remove one Xyz Material from this card; select a face-up monster you control. Until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn, that monster becomes unaffected by your opponent's card effects and can attack directly.

Chimera Spectre
Normal Spell Card
Effect: Banish one 'Doll Chimera' monster in your Graveyard. All face-up 'Doll Parts' you control gain 2000 ATK. Destroy them during the End Phase. While this card is in the Graveyard (except the turn it was sent there) and you have at least four Doll Parts in your graveyard with different names, you can banish this card; Special Summon one banished 'Doll Chimera' monster, ignoring its Summoning Conditions. You can only activate this effect of 'Chimera Spectre' once per turn.

Image: The four original Doll Parts sprouting eldritch tentacles and eyes visible in their damaged portions as the shadow of a larger-than-life Doll Chimera skulks in the background.

VERTHY

Castle Terminus
Field Spell Card
Effect: If 'Destiny Hero - Plasma' equipped with a monster is destroyed, you can Special Summon it from your Graveyard, ignoring its Summoning Conditions. If 'Destiny Hero - Plasma' can be equipped with more than 1 monster at a time. For each card equipped to it, 'Destiny Hero - Plasma' gains 800 ATK.

Claret Wings
Equip Spell Card
Effect: Equip only to 'Destiny Hero - Plasma'. The equipped monster can activate its effect a second time each turn. Once per turn, you can destroy a card equipped to the equipped monster; halve the ATK and DEF of all face-up monsters your opponent controls.

Image: The silhouette of 'Destiny Hero - Plasma' with his wings spread, a sheen of blood on them and countless faces visible on them, straining to escape.