Allan didn't know where he was at the moment, There were display cases around him, a store? A museum? He didn't know how he got there or what he was doing there, all he knew was that he needed to keep moving. He saw the images of Vendread Chimera and Battlelord at two different points charging at him and he needed to bob and weave his way through the area to avoid them. There was no duel going on, but the attacks were just as real as the every display that was cut up by them. He didn't have his duel disk, he didn't have his deck he had no way to defend himself (but why didn't he have his deck? He always has it on him... and where were the Ghostricks if not with him?). Eventually he made his way to a spot where the Vendread monsters were out of sight. He breathed a sigh of relief, but as he turned he froze, as the next thing he knew, Artifact Durendel just flew right at him and imbedded itself into his Chest.
.
.
.
Without warning Allan jolted straight up gasping for air as he immediately tried to process his soundings.
"Whoa Allan, hang on calm down." That was Alucard... they were in his room. Allan was in Bed. "Saw you tossing and turning, but I didn't think you'd jolt like that. Are you Okay?"
'Must have been a Nightmare.' Allan thought. "I... I'm fine."
"That sounds like you aren't okay." Alucard stated, "want to talk about it any?"
'Might be good' Allan thought, but... "I already forgot what it was about."
"It was the Vendread monsters." came another voice, surprising Allan as he didn't realize Socuteboss was in the room, "The Rituals that showed up in that duel. Though it ended with a different monster I didn't recognize."
Alucard sighed, "Great" he then sarcastically muttered.
Allan raised an eyebrow at Socuteboss, "You could see what I was dreaming?"
"Of Course," she replied "you do know what I was based off of, right?"
"I did that research." Allan admitted, though a lot of it looked like things he would only really get when he was older "But as a duel spirit, shouldn't that stuff only happen for you after I win a duel with you in the deck?"
"There are other ways to get extra power." Socuteboss stated as she started to move... very close to Allan, "In this case, I'm a Ghostrick and Halloween is right around the corner. That can be enough for a couple things."
"Okay he get's the point." Alucard said as he literally pulled Socuteboss away from Allan. "Anyway, do try to remember this... might be helpful to bring it up during that appointment this afternoon."
'This afternoon?' Allan thought as he glanced at the clock and saw that it was 1:30 AM. "Noted." he then said as he then laid back down, hoping he could go back to sleep.
He wasn't very successful at that.
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Somewhere off in a cave, the eyes of what appeared to be a small girl with pink hair and a black dress shot open as she smiled. "Ah, Finally, must be getting close to Halloween." She said as she got up and did some stretches.
"Dose this mean you will finally get out of my cave?" Boomed a voice with no identifiable origin.
"Aww, don't go about it that way." The Girl stated, as wings with both white and black feathers sprouted from her back. "You like me visiting."
"No I don't." The voice replied. "I just can't do anything to kick you out."
"Ehh, You'll miss me soon enough." She stated, not caring at all about what the other voice said, "But yes, I am going... bout time to see where my dice landed and to see if my Gamble payed off." She held out her hand and closed her eyes, and before long a Purple portal, similar to an Overlay network appeared before her.
"Good riddance." The Voice said as the girl walked through the portal.
For the Girl, going through that portal was like going through a roller coaster, except she couldn't see anything as she traveled and she had no idea where she was going to end up. Before she landed, all she knew was that wherever she wound up, a certain mystic would be relatively close by. Not that she new anything about what the Mystic was like or what they looked like... and it was indeed relative as she could be off by up to a few miles in any direction... but hey, just because the situation wasn't ideal (and certainly wasn't her first pick on how to solve her issue) didn't mean she was going to complain, it was the best she got after all.
She landed by some road in a purple comment of energy, not that most people would have seen it. Her body was now transparent as she now looked up to see any landmarks. Didn't take her long to see a sign that helped her out... it was right by the road after all.
Welcome to Duellum City.
Please enjoy your time here.
"Well, that's a convenient sign... kinda bland and generic though." The Girl thought out loud before shrugging. "Aw well, probably the best place to start looking right now." She then concluded as she flew into the city.
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A couple more days came and went, and nothing particularly remarkable happened during that time, Allan considered booting up the search for more Ghostricks again, but he still felt hesitant for some reason. Maybe it is because he already has 18 of them? Maybe he needs some more time enjoying the calm peace that has vanished the last 2 times he found more Ghostricks to join the group. Or maybe he just wanted to have his focus elsewhere right now... like how it was now Saturday, October 31st... Halloween day and more importantly (to him and his family at the very least) his birthday.
Allan woke up, about 10 minutes latter then usual, and got himself dressed, and turned to see Ghostrick Nekomusume holding Sebastian and cuddling him while the cat has an expression that is screaming "GET THIS GIRL AWAY FROM ME!".
"So... dose Sebastian just look like he is floating in air to those that can't see you?" He asked.
"Probably." She answered.
"Mind letting him go so my parents don't catch on to you all if they come up?"
"We'll be fine."
Some chuckles were heard as Ghostrick Skeleton showed up beside him. "Ehh, don't worry about her. She knows how to not let the cat out of the bag that easily. Anyway, you've got a ton of things to look forward to today, birthday boy. A Skele-ton to be precise, so enjoy yourself today, it will help you not go as Batty as Alucard dose when he get's to much caffeine."
"That sounds like there is a story there. Alright." Allan relented as he walked downstairs.
Allan knew, for the most part, what to expect as he went down. The Ghostricks didn't tell him anything, but it is hard to pull a surprise party when it starts the same way every year. Not that Allan minded, the surprises always came in the details. What decorations would be up around the house, what presents would be prepared and how he gets them, to what in general they do that day. While the Ghostrick being present may mix it up a bit (it was never a big party with a lot of people... normally just Allan and his parents, but now there were 18 additional spirits unofficially invited), for the most part, it was probably not going to be anything to different from the others.
And for the most part, Allan wasn't wrong... the first switch up was that they started a lot sooner then normally. Instead of getting a to-do-list for the day worked out and then spending the rest of the day doing it. It seemed as though his parents already had something figured out for a while now and instead just started things off with some TV marathons first, starting with some Scooby-Doo, where they try to guess the perpetrator of the mystery before the reveal each episode.
"First thought is that red-headed Kid." His Dad guessed.
"I think that is to obvious, the tech he is showing off is most likely what is making the Mystery Machine go bonkers, but to have the Guy showing it off to the audience be the guy behind it all sounds more like a red-hearing." Allan reasoned. "Though it is probably someone connected to him."
"In that case, I'm guessing said Kid's mom." Allan's Mom guessed. "She seems way to enthusiastic for getting her kids back into music... especially since they don't seem to care all that much."
After Scooby Doo, came Mythbusters... With a little game about trying to reason out the end result before the testing started.
"No, way. this one has got to be busted twice over." Allan declared, "If he was able to get into that drain pipe then there must enough room for air to go past him in the explosion. That can't happen if you want to launch someone like a cannonball over 200 feet... furthermore, gasoline doesn't guarantee explosions in the real world... if anything happens with it the guy would just wind up setting himself on fire before anything else."
Allan's dad looked at him with a bit of concern, "I agree with the logic, but how do you know about those things?"
"It came up in other episodes... I like to watch one every morning before school. Those are kinda reoccurring things." Allan answered.
"Hence why I wanted to pick the episodes for this." His mom stepped in, "If only so I can make sure we don't pick one he has already seen."
After that, Allan got to learn the reason why they started up things early. "The Multi-school dueling festival?" He asked/repeated, not 100% sure he heard that right.
"Not every year something non-Halloween related winds up on taking place on your birthday." His dad reasoned, "Figured this would make a nice change up from how we normally do it."
Allan thought about that for a second before shrugging and saying, "Okay then." Who knows, maybe he can orchestrate a friendly prank on the club-mates that aren't expecting him to be there.
"Sweet. Looks like were going after all." Witch commented, even if only Allan can hear her.
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Rem Frigus walked out the the alleyway "Ugh, Where am I?" Looking around to search for an answer he saw one in the form of a Sign. He eventually saw one along the side of the Road that pointed out that the Duellum Community College was ahead on the left... with another sign taped on right below it that stated that the Multi-school dueling festival was being held there and to come by for some fun. "Wait, Duellum Community College? That's... well, wait! I'm in Duellum!? How did I get here?" A sharp pain then entered his head as he clutched it. "Aww, shoot! Not Now!" His body tensed up as he held his head... but then after a few seconds, his body relaxed.
A smirk formed on Rem's lips, as his eyes opened with a dull and distant look as a Dark Aura began to form around him. "Ahh, almost there."
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Flying through the sky, a ghostly girl looked onward as the sun was already starting to get low in the sky. "Still no sign of them huh?" She said. "Guess it would have been foolish to assume I could find them in just a couple days." She floated around and landed on a rooftop, "Still, I got to find something. Without the others, I can only stay until midnight unless I bind myself to a card." She then sat down and crossed her arms as she tilted her head to think. "Is it even worth trying that? Doing so will easily pin myself into a limited range with minimal control, but if I don't I'll have to wait till next year and do the search all over again." An image reared up in her head as she thought. "Errg, then there is that old creep. I'd rather not give him more time to get my power. What to do? What to do?" She started muttering... and then she sensed something. Getting up, turning around, and flying up to get a better view of her surroundings, she saw something. "Is that... some sort of dueling festival? On Halloween?" She tilted her head in thought. "Well, I guess that is a pretty solid spot to find out a lot of people and see if any of them have my pals. And maybe bind myself if I decide I have to do that." She then said as she flew in the direction of what she would latter learn was the Duellum Community College.
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"Okay, he hasn't noticed you yet." Witch commented as Allan tried to sneak his way through the crowd.
"Lantern still floating over his head?" Allan asked.
"Yep, though he ain't alone." Witch replied, looking up above the crowed to keep her eyes on The Duel club friends. "Looks Like Lucy is with him... as well as I suspect to be both of their parents."
"Any chance they might ruin the surprise?"
"If they notice, but so far they haven't."
Allan smirked, "Good." He then continued to sneak around without making a sound as he made his way toward the target. Before long, he noticed Lantern, and that helped him spot Tim no problem. He was in the middle of a duel at a duel field set up by some of the college students. Lucy was with 4 adults all watching the duel. Wasn't to hard to figure out who Tim's father and Lucy's mother was among the 4, Strong Family resemblance was in effect there. It didn't take much longer for Allan to get into a good position while everyone was to focused on the duel to notice.
"And this is game." Tim stated, as he declared a final direct attack and dropped his opponent's LP to zero.
"Nice work." The woman who was supposedly Tim's mom said.
"Now I really wish this section came with loaner decks." Lucy commented, "That looked so much more fun with duel disks then the Holo-mats."
"Your deck should be getting delivered by tonight." The man that was supposedly Lucy's father said... huh, his face looked kinda familiar. "So soon that Loaner deck issue won't be a worry."
Lucy's face lit up at that. "Awesome. Thanks Dad."
Her Mom then looked, "I have to say, it was pretty impressive how easily you were able to maintain control of that duel."
"Heh, Nothing can get past me." Tim replied with a grin.
Allan smirked, seeing his opportunity, he jumped from his spot, landing right beside Tim, and said, somewhat loudly, "Are you sure about that?"
The result was almost exactly what he was hoping for. No one knew he was there so for them it seemed like he just popped out of nowhere, so everyone jumped a bit. Though he didn't mean to startle Tim so much that he fell on the floor... "What the- Allan?" Tim then asked, "How? Where? You're here today?"
"My parents thought coming here would be a good mix up this year." Allan replied as he held out his hand, "You Okay there? Didn't mean you startle you that much."
Tim needed to take another breath before grabbing Allan hand to pull himself up, "Yeah, I'm good."
"Another Friend of yours?" Tim's Dad asked.
"Yeah, he's the Ghostrick guy." Tim replied.
Lucy's Mom then turned to Allan asking, "Are your parents anywhere nearby? I doubt being alone is the safest thing one could be right now."
"Oh Yeah, they're just a ways back." Allan answered, pointing down the semi-crowded street. "I just went ahead to better give that jump scare."
"And your willingness to do that is part of what makes me believe there might be something to those rumors of you being behind all those pranks at school." Tim stated.
"Oh please, It's Halloween." Allan said, "If you aren't prepared for a small jump scare on the night of fright, that's on you."
"Oh Allan," Lucy then said, "Speaking of which, maybe you should have a duel while were here. A Ghostrick duel on Halloween sounds way too perfect."
Allan shrugged, "Maybe... but first I should probably wait for my parents to catch up, and there are a few other things I want to do that will be a bit more special then just another duel."
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Ghostrick Mummy was touring the campus, trying to spot anyone that he could give an easy prank too... Most of the Ghostricks spread out to upon arrival to see if any pranks could be pulled, but Allan told them to make it quick and easy ones, as there was no telling when he might need to enter or leave one of the multiple buildings, which would suddenly force them away from their current work.
"Woo Hoo! I got it!" A little kid said after successfully hitting all the targets on a carnival style mini-game.
"Yep, help yourself to anything on the top shelf." The Attendant said as he looked at the mechanisms in confusion... the game was rigged with subtle mechanisms that should have made this result impossible when it looks like the player might succeed... keyword: was.
Mummy could only laugh at the attendant's confusion as he inspected the system after the kid left with a giant stuffed animal version of "Outstanding Dog Maroon" (Nekomusume would be a little mad that was chosen over the "Rescue Cat" option), but stopped when he sensed something. Something that felt, somewhat familiar to him. He decided to go check it out, if he recalls correctly, Ghoul was found in this area, so if there was another Ghostrick nearby it may be a good thing to check it out and tell Allan about it.
Well, he found something alright... but it wasn't a Ghostrick. What he saw happening was a duel between Kijirada with his Prank-Kids against a kid in a blue jacket using monsters Stein never saw before, but still felt familiar somehow... maybe it had roots in Egypt? Also, why was this happening here and not over at the duel field?
"With Battle Butler's effect, I tribute it to destroy all monsters on your side of the field!" Kijirada declared as his now full sized hologram of a giant Prank-kid controlled robot charged forward and exploded... but when the dust cleared there was still 1 monster left standing. "Say what?"
The Boy smirked, though his eyes looked distant. "Can't beat me that way." To Kijirada, that voice sounded normal, but to Mummy and the Prank-Kids cowering beside their duelist, there was a second voice speaking in unison with it, a far more demonic one. "Now for an effect, I can revive another monster from my GY." It then continued, as a decently sized Dragon rose up to join the larger monster.
"Well, then, good thing I still got 3 monsters here." Kijirada stated, referring to the Lampsies, Dropsies, and Fansies on his field in defense position "You only got 2 attacks, so I am fine for now."
The "Boy's" smirk didn't falter, "Are you sure about that? I still got another effect to unveil."
Kijirada now looked a lot less confident as 2 Dice appeared by the "Boy's" side and gave a result of a 5 and a 2. Then Mummy's eyes widened as the larger monster revealed a Drgon-like head coming out of it's stomach and launched Fire all over the three defending Prank-kids, vaporizing them as Kijirada took Damage.
"Don't feel to bad. Despite the appearance, you had no chance at victory." The "Boy" stated as the Dragon launched a direct attack, bringing Kijirada's LP down to zero.
"No no no nonononono!" Rockies stated panicking, while Kijirada just sulked in defeat.
"Man, Never saw cards like that before, where did you get them." he asked... but the "Boy" didn't answer and a Dark Aura surrounded him and engulfed Kijirada. In a moment, Kijirada was gone and the Prank-Kids got warped... to were? Mummy couldn't tell.
The Holograms faded and the "Boy's" head picked up a bit. Before looking straight at Mummy. Mummy tried to fly away immediately, but the Dark Aura was still there and coming out from it was the translucent image of the big boss monster that cleared the board of the Prank-Kids, which then swiftly preceded to grab Mummy by the neck. "Now what do we have here?" The demonic voice came out of the monster while the boy didn't move at all. "Another Duel Spirit, and with as much Physicality as those brats. Where is your duelist?"
Mummy tried to break free of the hold, but the monster was far larger then him, so the only way to get out was to loosen the grip, which was so tight it might as well have been welded shut. "Like I'd tell after seeing that!" He said in defiance, right before the monster pulled him down and smashed him to the ground.
"I suggest you avoid trying my patience." The monster said, "It has taken me a long time after my last vanquishing to get to this minimal level of power. But now with what I was able to gather, I should be more then capable of taking more power from you in a much more painful fashion then necessary."
Mummy didn't say anything, he still just struggled in the monster's grip, but hesitated for a second as he noticed something. The Boy's face, dull and lifeless... was recognizable, he saw that Boy before, just briefly before Allan was shot at almost 2 weeks ago.
"Still nothing? Very well." The Monster said as a dark aura formed around the hand gripping mummy and started to wrap around his body.
Mummy felt the pain, it was intense, he started to scream, but before it could become unbearable a purple aura rose up from inside him, pushed back and not only disappointed the dark aura sounding him but caused the larger monster to loose it's grip as it was flung back some number of feet.
"What? How did-?" The monster exclaimed confused before stopping and relaxing some, "Oh I see. Your duelist is a Mystic aren't they?", Mummy gave no response, but the monster chucked anyway as though it was confirmation. "Perfect, I've been searching for a Mystic to add to the collection." Mummy tried to flee once again, to get out of there and warn Allan. But before he got far, a translucent Gargoyle appeared out of nowhere and tackled Mummy, pinning him. "There is no point in running." The monster said as the Blue-jacketed boy silently walked toward Mummy, "Even if you were to escape, I'll just come after you, and I won't stop until my goal is completed." The monster stayed close to the Boy before going forward again and re-grabbing Mummy's neck, the Gargoyle moving just in time to stay out of the way. "Now I ask again, where is your duelist?"
At that moment a familiar tug had been felt by Mummy... normally that tug was a major pain, but this time, it was a blessing, "Oh thank, Holactie." he muttered and while the Monster's grip seemed to tighten at the sound of that name, what the monster did next, Mummy wouldn't know... Allan, and by extension, Mummy's card, just entered a building, and Mummy got warped out of that grip and away from there.
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A growl of annoyance came from the monster as a Dark aura formed again around the boy. Two more transparent figures came out of the boy, one resembling a goblin, the other a dragon. The Gargoyle also flew back around to join the two. "Get searching." The monster commanded. "They cannot be far." The three smaller monsters bowed and then went off.
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"Ooo! Maybe we could go check out the Costume contest the people over at Duellum High put up." Lucy's mom said as they said as everyone sat down at some tables at a Panda Express that was on the campus.
'Huh, I wonder why they wanted the cafeteria for that?' Allan thought, but said, "Darn, if only I brought my costume to enter."
"You have a costume?" Tim asked.
"A mask and a blue hoodie... low effort I know." Allan replied, "But I figure a lazy costume and a skele-ton of bad puns would be appropriate for the guy I would be going as."
"Hey, that was my pun." Skeleton declared... though Allan was the only human that could hear him.
Allan gave him a glance as if to say 'You are not the first one to use it, I assure you.' while Tim just face palmed and said "Of course you would want to go as him... figures."
Tim's dad raised an eyebrow and asked, "Go as who?"
After a solid explanation of how Tim figured out who Allan would have gone as, the kids and the adults broke into their own separate conversations as they waited for food to arrive. No one noticed the Ghostricks flying around trying to see if there was anyone in the building they could prank while still sticking to Allan's rules (very hard since they were in a restaurant and messing with food was risky) However, one Duel spirit in the bunch was different. Mummy wasn't looking to prank anyone, he needed to find Alucard and maybe Allan as well.
Thankfully Alucard elected to stay near Allan, so finding the two of them was pretty easy. "Oh, Alucard, thank goodness, we got trouble here."
Alucard let out a groan of annoyance "Ugh, did Specter get ahold of any utensils again?"
"Not that type of trouble." Mummy said. "I mean, like, we are all in danger, type of trouble."
"Pretty sure Specter's little event is that type of trouble," Alucard said, "but go ahead, what's going on?"
"There is another Duel spirit on campus, one that just went out and attacked Kijirada and the Prank-Kids, swallowed them up in some sort of darkness and is now coming for Allan." Mummy said.
That caused grabbed their attention real fast. "I'm going to go find the bathroom." Allan then stated to the people at the table as he got up.
"Let's get the other Ghostricks there while we are at it." Alucard stated.
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"Soo, let me get this straight..." Allan began, thankful that no one else was in the bathroom right now. "We got a big duel spirit going around making people vanish for no apparent reason, we don't know anything about who this duel spirit is, and it is after me for some reason related to me being a Mystic, not that we know why I am one of those either."
"Also, it seems to be controlling that boy you met the other day." Mummy added.
That confused Allan, "Who?"
"The Boy from the card store, when you were getting Doll, Warwolf, and Socuteboss from those packs, among other cards." Mummy elaborated.
"Oh Rem, Rem Frigus?" Warwolf asked.
"That his name? I never caught that." Mummy admitted.
Allan was never that good with names, so that was a dud for him, and he was way better at recognizing then he was recalling, so he just let that slip and figured it just meant he would know the boy if he sees him again. "Well regardless is there a way we can just avoid it somehow? If there is a division of government who wants to keep a profile on me because of some vague connection to the Supernatural side of duel monsters that not even you all understand, then there are bound to be people who would specialize in dealing with something like an evil duel spirit and taking care of them. So we don't have to."
"Would those people even have this guy on their radar?" Alucard asked. "After all, finding duel spirits isn't exactly easy given how so little people can see us, and... well, considering the fact that you haven't told anyone about being able to see us, I highly doubt those that can are often given good treatment." He directed that point toward Allan, "So it may be unlikely that they have anyone that can."
"It's not like it can be proven easily," Allan said, "Even if lot of you went Poltergeist to prove you are there, it could probably be chalked up to their being a Psychic in the room."
"Regardless it means the proper people to be let aware of this are likely not able to do anything about it soon." Dullahan stated, "And if that Spirit had a minion that pinned Mummy, it could have more to help with the search."
"And any of us could be an indication of where Allan is." Witch realized.
"So avoiding it may be close to impossible." Yuki-onna concluded.
Allan pinched the bridge of his nose, "Well, I don't exactly want to go looking for it." He then said.
"Can't blame ya." Nekomusume replied, "Exactly what type of state is Kijirada in again?"
"Don't know." Mummy said, "one second he was swallowed up by the monster's Dark Aura, then he was gone and the Prank-kids got warped away."
"Warped? Like what happens to us when Allan enters and leaves buildings?" Lantern asked.
"Yep."
Doll put a hand to her chin and said, "Then he was probably sent somewhere through magic where this spirit could try and consume his soul for more power."
Allan's head picked up a bit at that, "Sent somewhere? So could he come back?"
"If it is Banishing spell, not as long as the banisher has any say in it." Witch commented, "though if it is a banishing spell, it would be an active spell that could be broken and prompt an immediate return if the banisher is forced to do so."
Allan raised an eyebrow at that, "Really?"
Witch shrugged, "Well, provided he is still alive at that point. If the spirit is after souls it would be trying to put everyone in places where they are in constant danger and might die so it cold get the souls."
"Are we sure he is after souls?" Allan asked.
"It didn't specify that... but they are the most likely thing it is after." Mummy stated, "They are pretty useful."
"Oh yeah, in fact I think I can vaguely recall Angel using human Souls to make most of us here." Ghoul added, "Or at the very least her making a comment about her wanting to do that with the soul of some guy in Georgia she tricked with a Golden fiddle."
Allan filled that info into his brain for latter, before saying, "Back on topic, evil duel spirit after us. What do we do?"
Jackfrost spoke up next, "Well, what CAN we do? Outside of confront it and duel or hide and hope it goes away I'm not sure there are many other options."
Flashes of the duel at the Museum went through Allan's mind, if this duel spirit could trap people after a duel, then chances are it could create the same type of Shadow game that Artifact using... thing did in their duel, "I'd rather not confront it if we could help that."
Mary spoke up from the Mirror, "Well, assuming we do manage to avoid it today, what's next? Hope we can stay hidden from it forever?"
Allan thought for a moment and said, "Actually, we may not have to. If that Spirit isn't already on the radar of those that are suppose to handle it, we might be able to put it there. After all Kijirada vanished right? That means he would now be missing. If someone calls in and says that they saw a now missing person vanish right in front of them after dueling someone, and give them the name of the person they were dueling..."
"That could cause them to go to him for answers." Alucard concluded. "And probably uncover what was going on."
"Not the most well thought out plan..." Socuteboss yawned. "You would need a good story to tell them after all."
"The story can be worked out latter." Allan said, "Preferably once we are well and far away out of danger."
"And if it finds you before you leave?" Mary asked, "What then?"
"It needs to beat us in a duel before it can do anything to me, right?" Allan asked. After a confirmation from the others, "Then I guess we better stop that from happening."
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Well, Allan was genuinely surprised on how the rest of the day went about... on one hand, right after leaving the restaurant with everyone, he noticed a translucent Goblin of sorts watching him and eying the Ghostricks. Mummy pointed out how it has the same aura behind it as the Gargoyle that pinned him. So as it turns out he couldn't even leave the restaurant without being found by one of that evil spirit's minions. However despite that, and even spotting a gargoyle and a dragon that were also translucent (with Mummy even confirming that the Gargoyle is the one that pinned him and the Dragon was used in the duel he witnessed) none of them struck out at him, and Allan never saw their "boss" or any familiar face that Mummy could confirm was the boy said "boss" was using.
Perhaps it was sticking to the shadows, not wanting to draw attention to itself? If that were true, then it would mean it would strike when Allan was alone. And right now he was with several other people, 2 kids his age and 6 adults. Also there was never a crowd of people to far away from them at any given moment, a crowd that would notice something was up if the spirit struck out at Allan at any given point.
Even so, Allan had trouble relaxing... those minions have had a good chance to figure out what the keeper of the Ghostricks looked like, and the big boss could be staying away and picking off some other folks where people aren't likely to see it. Gaining more power over time all while Allan can't do much to capitalize on the time he has right now (outside of getting the basics for what story he can tell to tip someone off on Kijirada's disappearance and the evil spirit). And if he was right on why the Spirit wasn't acting just yet, then he knew he wouldn't have much time left before that spirit had an opening.
"Hey, Allan you doing all right?" Allan's Dad asked.
"Huh, uh yeah. I'm good." Allan responded, trying to seem perfectly okay.
"You sure? You've seemed pretty stressed ever since you got out of the bathroom before dinner." He continued, "Did something happen?"
'Guess it would be foolish to think that neither of them would notice.' Allan thought to himself, before saying, "It's fine, something just caught my eye earlier and my brain has just been stuck on trying to figure out what it was."
"Okay." His Dad said, not quite sounding convinced, as he then turned back to the other adults and continued their conversation... his Mom also looked pretty worried. Allan didn't mean to eavesdrop since their conversation was separate from what he was talking about with Tim and Lucy, but he did hear her bring up the time he slept in on the Monday they went to The Lucky Draw... which was the night after he dueled that mysterious figure at the museum. Suddenly Allan was silently hoping that he wouldn't have to lie to his parents over something like this ever again.
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It took a while, but eventually all the parents decided that it got late enough for everyone to head home and get some sleep (or in Allan's case, open up presents and then sleep), there was nothing inherently wrong with any of that... but there was one thing that left Allan on edge with that. Everyone parked in different lots, so the Burton family was all alone for the last leg of the walk to the car... in other words. There was a lot less people to act as witnesses if the evil spirit attacked.
"Okay Allan, what's got you wound up?" His dad suddenly asked.
Allan glanced up at his father with confusion before asking, "What do you mean?"
"I let it drop before because there were others nearby, but the way you've been acting is far off from what happens when your caught up on figuring something out." he began to elaborate.
Then his Mom chimed in, "For starters, you like to stay away from crowds... but now that we are away from them, you seem even more stressed and scared then you were before."
"Then there how you keep looking behind you or glancing off in random directions." His dad continued, "And it seems more likely that you know perfectly well what you saw, that it wasn't something pretty, and you are worried it saw you."
Allan blinked in surprise... he already noted how foolish it was to think that wouldn't notice something was up, but to get that close?
"I know we aren't often there for you a lot of the time, but we are your parents." His mom said, "Whatever it is, you can tell us... we are always more then happy to help."
Alucard appeared next to him, "Guess you might as well come out with the full truth to them."
Allan gave a deep breath as he thought... though he didn't need to think long. Most people would write off anyone who claims to be able to see duel spirits as crazy or a lying poser without a second thought... but if his parents were able to see right through him that easily, then even taking out the "parent" factor means they would not be the ones to do that... "Well, you didn't get it exactly right... but can we go home first?" It was safer at home... the car could move far faster then whatever means of transport that spirit had, so there was no way it could follow us them or keep track of them the whole way.
"How about you tell us what it in while we are in the car?" His dad gave an alternative offer.
"Deal." Allan said as the family returned to their trek to the car.
Unfortunately, they would not get much farther. The Goblin spirit appeared and cut through a nearby light post with it's Ax, causing it to fall down right to where the family was... thankfully no one in the family was blind and the sudden darkening caused by the light loosing power was a giveaway to look and see what was up. Only Allan could see the cause, but the parents could see the immediate danger and rushed forward to get out of the way with Allan in tow.
"What in the world?" His dad asked, but before anyone could answer, the gargoyle showed up and started clawing at a nearly car's roof, ripping it off. To both Burton parents, it must have looked like the car roof came off on it's own and was floating there... or was floating, until the gargoyle then tried to slam it on the their heads.
Alucard acted fast, and threw what seemed to be some sort of ghostly purple flame at the Gargoyle, causing it to screech and drop the metal. "Get going! We can hold them off!" he then said as more Ghostricks then appeared around him.
"We gotta move." Allan said so his parents could hear... and they didn't argue one bit. They picked up the pace big time as the Ghostricks fended off the other 2 spirits. Only avoiding full speed sprint so Allan could keep up and stay with them. Unfortunately, neither the Ghostricks nor Allan noticed a third spirit hiding behind a row of cars. Unfortunate, as that spirit was a dragon that was able to use it's wings to flip up a nearby car and launch it in the trajectory to land right on top of the three Burtons with no way for them to get out of the way in time and no one able to stop it before it landed.
Allan wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that that was the moment a purple light started shining from his body.
Mini line break
Still on college grounds, the black-clothed Duel spirit was flying around seeing everyone around, but mostly glossing over them all, having little interest in them. "Man, how many people are here?" She said to herself. "I know this city had 'Duel' literally as apart of it's name, but doesn't ANYONE in this city still want to do any trick or treating tonight? It's Halloween for crying out loud." She then floated over to a rooftop and sat down, gazing at the folks below. "I guess having the whole city here dose make it more likely to find my Mystic... but that only really means anything IF I actually find them!" She then fell back on her back, wings folded up, as she began to think a bit to herself... only to have zero thoughts completed before her eyes glowed purple briefly and she bolted right back up in alarm. "What the... this feeling." She said, voice taking on a different tone a she got up and help her hands out... no mistake, that is her power she is feeling, and it is coming out like a distress signal... which may not be far from the truth.
She unfolded her wings and took off.
Mini line break
"Allan!" Both Burton parents shouted as they tried to get through the purple barrier.
Allan got himself back up and saw them, help his hand up and said "I'm Okay... relatively speaking".
The Parents gave sighs of relief before turning there heads slightly to look past Allan some.
Allan turned around to follow their gaze. Seeing the familiar barrier in it's full "Glory", the car that was launched at them tossed off to the side, still outside the Barrier... and one individual inside the Barrier with Allan looking at him with a distant look.
He did look familiar, same face, same outfit, this was Rem Frigus. But at the same time it wasn't. He didn't know Rem very well (they only met the one time) but the distant look in his eyes and the Dark Aura around his body looked like some dead giveaways that Rem wasn't the one in control. "Bout time you're alone... err, alone enough." 'Rem' stated, "I'm sure you can guess what will be happening now." it continued as it pulled out a duel disk. The Goblin, Gargoyle, and Dragon from before then appeared beside 'Rem' and turned into streams of energy that entered the deck. "You better hope this isn't the last game you will ever play." Their Dark Aura then fluctuated and before long, the entire barrier had a hint of that Aura in it.
Allan's Mom was already pulling out her phone, as both parents tried to figure out what to do. Though what they said, didn't matter much to Allan, after all there wasn't many choices they had available right now. Allan pulled out his own duel disk, adjusted his orange cap, and the Ghostricks appeared beside him. "I know duel spirits get stronger when there side wins a duel... is the reverse true?" He asked.
"Yes." Alucard confirmed.
"Then I guess you can figure out what I need you all to do after I win."
"Yep."
"You sound confident." Witch commented, "Sure you can pull it off?"
"I better be able to." Allan responded... this one, he can't afford to loose.
High in the sky, a winged duel spirit flew into the immediate area. But stopped before getting noticed. "Here they are." she said quietly to herself. She saw the area, "Yep, Mystic defense duel, and by a kid?" She then said as she looked over the people in the area and determining which one the barrier came out of. Her eyes then widened as she saw the Kids company... "Wait, he has 18 of them!?" A quick chuckle with a look of glee on her face latter and she said, "Man, that old geezer didn't stand a chance." Her look then turned Solemn as she added one last thing. "Well Kid, lets see what you got."
"DUEL!"
"I'll start things off." 'Rem' stated as he reached for a card in his hand. "And I'll summon my 'Minor Goblin of Monster World' to the field." he then said as the goblin Allan saw so many times now appeared on the field.
Minor Goblin of Monster World... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fiend, Level:3, ATK:1400 DEF:800
"What the -? What type of card is that?" Allan asked.
"You'll find out about how this deck works soon enough." 'Rem' replied, "But this Goblin isn't to be your main concern. As with it's effect, I can tribute it to add 'Terrible Realm – Monster World' to my hand!" He said as the goblin vanished. "But it won't stay there, because now I will activate it!" He continued placing the card in his duel disk's field spell zone as the surrounding area changed to look like everyone was on a giant game board. "And now that we are inside Monster World, I can now use it's abilities. Starting with the ability to summon the creatures that live here straight from my deck."
"Summon from the deck?" Allan repeated/asked not sure he heard that right, as that was a pretty strong effect for any card to have.
"Correct." 'Rem' confirmed, "Though there is a catch, in order to bring out one of my servants this way, I need to roll 2 Dice, and the monsters I can summon are limited by the total roll. Higher roll results in weaker monsters." He then followed up as 2 dice appeared beside him.
Mummy then appeared next to Alan and said, "From what I saw of his duel with Kijirada, a dice roll effect went off there as well. His whole deck may involve them."
"Well, I guess knowing the deck's gimmick is better then nothing." Allan commented as the dice landed on a 5 and a 3 respectively.
"Hmm, a total of 8..." 'Rem' noted, "not to spectacular, but it dose mean I can summon up to level 4 monsters. So I will summon my 'Swift Gargoyle of Monster World'!" He stated as the Gargoyle that had ripped that car roof off appeared beside him.
Swift Gargoyle of Monster World... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fiend, Level:4, ATK:1700 DEF:1000
"Next I will set one card face down and end my turn." 'Rem' concluded.
"Anyone have any idea about what this whole 'Monster World' deck has in store." Allan asked the Ghostricks. "Cause so far everything here is completely new to me."
"Nothing helpful I'm afraid." Alucard stated. "I could guess that the whole deck was made using that spirit's power. But if that were true, all it would mean is that no one knows what is in store for us here."
"No one except me that is." 'Rem' interjected.
Allan grit his teeth, "I draw!" He then declared as he looked at his hand. 'Ghostrick Stein', 'Dark Core', 'Book of Moon', 'Book of Life', 'Ghostrick Nekomusume', and now 'Ghostrick Night' were there. 'Sweet, we got a solid combo right here.' Allan thought to himself. "First up, I'll discard 1 card from my hand to activate 'Dark Core'!" He then said as a small black hole appeared on the field. "With this, I can banish any monster on your field. So that Gargoyle is being booted from the party." he then added as said fiend was disintegrated. "And While I am banishing your cards, I'll use 'Book of Life', which can let me banish that Goblin from your GY and summon a zombie from mine." A small light came out of Allan's GY slot on his duel disk. "Like the one I just put there. Come on out 'Ghostrick Stein'!" he said as the cartoonish version of the story book monster rose up to the field.
Ghostrick Stein... Attribute:Dark, Type:Zombie, Level:3, ATK:1600 DEF:0
"But why stop at one, when I can have 2 Ghostrick back me up." Allan continued, "I summon 'Ghostrick Nekomusume'!" He said as the cat girl and now new phobia of the house cat rose up to his field as well.
Ghostrick Nekomusume... Attribute:Dark, Type:Spellcaster, Level:2, ATK:400 DEF:900
'The only thing left on the field are that field spell and that set card. Let's hope none of them stop attacks.' Allan thought to himself. "Okay you two, go for a double direct attack!" Allan then declared.
"You got it!" Stein said as he threw out a lightning charged fist and Nekomusume make a black cat out of magic and hurled it at 'Rem'.
'Rem's LP: 8000 – 7600 – 6000
'Rem' Staggered a bit as the attacks went at him, but he just straightened himself afterward like nothing happened. "Is that the best you got."
Allan took a couple deep breaths before continuing. "When Stein deals damage, I can add any Ghostrick spell or trap to my hand. I chose, 'Ghostrick Mansion'. Then I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Hold on!" 'Rem' interjected, "At this point I'll use my Trap card!" He said as the card flipped up, "'The Evil in Monster World'!"
"Oh Boy."
"This card will grant me additional life points every turn as long as I roll 2 dice." 'Rem started to explain as 2 dice appeared yet again by him. "I initially gain 2400 without issue, but then I loose LP equal to 200 times the dice result."
It didn't take long for Allan to put the pieces together. "So the lower your roll, he more LP you get to keep. Maxing out at 2K each turn."
"Correct, now let's go Dice Roll!" 'Rem' declared as the dice landed o and 2 respectively.
'Rem's LP: 6000 – 8400 – 7000
'Okay, so that card is probably not a real threat then.' Allan thought to himself, 'Life point gain cards are only really viable if they can give you more LP each turn then the amount of damage your opponent can deal. And I already have enough damage on board to tie with his max. So I just got to hope there is no unpleasant surprises coming from it.'
"Now it's my Turn." 'Rem' stated drawing a card. Then 2 dice appeared beside him, "Once again, I will use the power of Monster World to call out another one of my servants."
"Guess that's a once per turn effect." Allan noted as the dice fell as a 4 and a 2.
'Rem' smirked, "With this I can summon up to a level 6 monster. So Come forth, my 'Sinister Dragon of Monster World'!" he said as the dragon that flipped the car appeared on the field.
Sinister Dragon of Monster World... Attribute:Dark, Type:Dragon, Level:6, ATK:2200 DEF:1000
'Not today.' Allan thought. "At this moment Nekomusume's effect activates! Sine she is out along with another Ghostrick, she can force any level 4 or higher monster you summon into face-down defense position." He then declared as the cat girl clapped her cat-paw hands together and sent a wave of darkness over the dragon, reducing it to the image of a set card.
"Ha! You ain't pulling that strong of a monster with me out." Nekomusume commented.
'Rem' frowned for a bit, "Aww, what a shame then... in that case I'll just have to get rid of you first. I summon my 'Shadow Poki of monster World'." he then said as a new monster rose to his field.
Shadow Poki of Monster World... Attribute:Dark, Type:Beast, Level:3, ATK:1200 DEF:1200
"That isn't gonna fly either." Allan stated, "I activate 'Book of Moon'!" he declared, revealing one of his two set cards. "This card puts Poki face down as well." At that, A giant book appeared and opened up to put the new monster between it's pages before slamming itself shut. Turning it into shadows as well.
"You don't want anything to go past you, huh?" 'Rem' observed, "No matter, this is fine. I end my turn."
'Seriously, I stopped him from doing anything and he is just fine with it?' Allan thought to himself. "I draw." he then said, seeing his new card to be 'Ghostrick Jiangshi'... "Okay I summon, Ghostrick Jiangshi to the field." he said as the hopping vampire revealed itself.
Ghostrick Jiangshi ... Attribute:Dark, Type:Zombie, Level:3, ATK:400 DEF:1800
"And Now I play my own field spell. 'Ghostrick Mansion'!" Allan declared playing the card, prompting a cartoon-ish haunted house to appear behind him. "With the Mansion out, set monster's can't stop direct attacks! Everyone, Charge!"
"With pleasure." Jiangshi replied as they all attacked.
'Rem's LP: 7000 – 6600 – 6200 – 4600
"Steins effect now lets me add, 'Ghostrick-Go-Round' to my hand." Allan said grabbing the card.
"So, that it?" 'Rem' asked.
"How can this guy not be upset at any of this?" Allan heard Jiangshi ask.
"Maybe he is betting on his monster effects?" Nekomusume suggested. "We don't know what any of them are after all."
'She right. In fact I know practically nothing about his deck...' Allan thought, 'But it still has to play by the rules of the game, so if his gimmick is low results on dice rolls, then he shouldn't be able to use any monster effects while they are still face-down... So I got to keep them there!' "I'll now set one card and use Jiangshi's effect to flip him face-down!" Allan declared as Jiangshi hid in the mansion, "And Now I'll activate my other set card. 'Ghostrick Night'!" Chains then appeared around 'Rem's set monsters as Allan said, "As long as this card is face-up along with at least 1 Ghostrick monster, you cannot flip summon any of your set monsters."
From outside the barrier, Allan's dad smiled at the play, "That's brilliant. Set monsters can't attack or use there effects, and with the field spell, they can't defend either. So by using that card to keep them set, that guy will need to use card effects to flip them up or they are practically useless. And with that Cat Girl and the trap he just searched, he can force other monsters he tries to summon into the same position. He's got them on a lock-down."
"Hopefully he can keep them there." His Mom then said as she checked the time on her phone, "At least long enough for the police to arrive."
The winged spirit watching could only tilt her head as she saw what was happening. "Hmm, he's doing pretty good so far. Looks like the others like him quite a bit too."
"I end my turn." Allan finally concluded.
"Then my trap card goes off again, and I gain more life points." 'Rem' declared as 2 dice appeared and rolled into a 4 and a 5 respectively.
'Rem's LP: 4600 – 7000 – 5200
"I draw." 'Rem' then stated. "And I shall once again use the effect of Monster World to call forth a new monster." He said as or Dice appeared and rolled a 4 and a 1. "Hmm, not bad, with that I can summon up to a level 7 monster... however thanks to that cat girl of yours, anything higher then a 3 would be locked up. So instead I'll just choose my 'Forest Beega of Monster World'." At that a one-eyed monster arose to his side to assist him.
Forest Beega of Monster World... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fiend, Level:3, ATK:1200 DEF:1200
"And next I'll summon a second 'Minor Goblin of Monster World' to join them on the field." he said as another Goblin appeared.
Allan grit his teeth at that... he could only flip one of them down with Go-Round, and both were low enough in level to dodge Nekomusume's effect.
"Now, we battle. And my Goblin attacks your Nekomusume." 'Rem' declared as his Goblin attacked.
'That thing has more attack points, so that is the one to stop.' Allan concluded, "I activate my Trap! 'Ghostrick-Go-Round'! With this, I flip Jiangshi up to flip your Goblin down!" He then declared as the hopping vampire sprung out of the Mansion and zapped the Goblin with magic to force it face-down, where chains then formed around it. "Furthermore, With Jiangshi flipped up, I can add a Ghostrick monster to my hand, so I'll add 'Ghostrick Ghoul'."
"But now your little cat girl is defenseless against my Beega, so go an eliminate her!" 'Rem' then declared as a laser shot out from the monster's eye and caused Nekomusume to explode.
"Ghostrick Mansion halves battle damage that isn't caused by a Ghostrick." Allan stated.
"And I'll be back later!... Maybe. I think I still got some more lives left." Nekomusume added.
Allan's LP: 8000 – 7600
"That doesn't matter. Cause now you have no responses left to anything I do this turn." 'Rem' replied. "So I'll go into main phase 2 and activate the spell card, 'Monster World Takeover'. With this, I can tribute 1 Monster world monster I control, face-up OR face-down, to summon another level 4 or lower Monster World monster from my hand or deck."
"Uh, Oh." Allan replied.
"So I'll tribute my face-down Minor Goblin in order to summon a second Swift Gargoyle from my deck!" 'Rem' then said as one of the chained up shadows vanished and the Gargoyle reappeared. "Now I'll use the Gargoyle's effect!" he continued as now 4 dice appeared on the field, 2 by 'Rem' and 2 by Allan. "Now we both roll 2 dice, if you get a total of 4 or less, nothing will happen, otherwise I will get to destroy a spell or trap on your field and then another one if I got a 6 or less."
"We both roll now? Wonderful." Allan said out loud with obvious sarcasm at the last word. Both Dice were cast, Allan got a 3 and a 2, while Rem got a 4 and a 1.
"Bad roll for you." 'Rem' noted. "A 5 is too high for you to roll, but it is fine for me. So I destroy both your Ghostrick Night and your Go-round trap cards." He the declared as the Gargoyle vanished in a blur before ripping up the projections of the traps Allan had out... causing the chains around the set monsters to vanish as well "And now with those two traps out of the way, I can Flip summon my Shadow Poki and my Sinister Dragon once again." He said as the monsters rose up from their prisons. Then 2 more Dice appeared by his side again."Now with them face-up again I can use Shadow Poki's effect, Allowing me to roll 2 dice to add a servant from my deck or GY to my hand."
"Oh this must not be good for me." Allan stated a the dice landed on a 5 and a 4.
'Rem' frowned a bit at that, "Well, Shadow Poki's search effect goes by the same rules as the field spell's summon effect, so with this I can only get a level 3 monster... but at least I can recover the Minor Goblin for future use." he then stated, "Anyways, my Shadow Poki also has a second effect to allow an additional normal summon of one of my servants each turn. So I'll tribute both the Shadow Poki and the Forest Beega in order to Tribute summon my 'Dark Spirit of Monster World'!" At that, a new ghostly monster appeared, with no real identifiable form to it.
Dark Spirit of Monster World... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fiend, Level:8, ATK:2200 DEF:2800
"Is that him?" Allan asked quietly.
"No, just another monster he commands." Mummy stated, "Though this one dose seem stronger then the others."
"With that, I end my turn." 'Rem' finished.
"I draw." Allan declared, drawing 'Ghostrick Scare'. "I summon 'Ghostrick Ghoul' to my field." he then stated as the cartoonish zombie appeared by his side.
"Lets start busting some heads." Ghoul stated.
Ghostrick Ghoul ... Attribute:Dark, Type:Zombie, Level:3, ATK:1100 DEF:1200
"Now I'll use Ghoul's effect!" Allan continued, "I gather the strength of all of my Ghostricks into Stein." He then stated as the monster grew to a more terrifying appearance appropriate for Halloween.
Ghostrick Stein... ATK:1600 – 3100
"Okay Stein, take that Gargoyle out of the picture!" Allan declared, as the Giant monster rose it's electrically charged fist.
"Hold on! The Dark Spirit's effect now activates!" 'Rem' interrupted, as the Dark spirit dove toward Stein and right into him.
"Oh Shoot, now what's going on!" Allan asked as Stein seemed to be struggling to make a move.
"He's been possessed by the Dark Spirit of Monster world." 'Rem' began to explain, "Once per turn, when you declare an attack, my spirit can posses your attacking monster and we both roll 2 dice." As he said that, another pair of dice appeared beside both duelists yet again. "If your result is lower then mine, the attack goes through, otherwise it is put to a stop right here and now. Furthermore, we can both lower our dice totals by the levels of the battling monsters."
"Stein is level 3, but Gargoyle is level 4." Allan noted, "You have the advantage here."
'Rem' only smirked at that. "Let's go! Dice Roll!" he declared as both duelists threw their dice. Allan rolled a 6 and a 3... that's a 9, which cuts to a 6 from Stein's level. But Rem rolled a 5 and a 4... also a 9, but with Gargoyle's level it is cut to a 5. "Spirit Burn!" 'Rem' then declared as the Spirit shot out of Stein, and slammed into Allan, causing him to feel like his whole body was just lit of fire for a moment as he was blown back to the cartoonish mansion.
"Allan!" both parents shouted in Alarm.
'Rem' then chuckled a bit. "Oh, did I forget to mention? If the Spirit succeed in stopping your attack, you take damage equal to half your monster's attack points, and then I gain LP equal to the damage taken."
Allan started to pick himself up from the floor, grabbing a hold of the Mansion deck to do so... it was definitely very solid right now. "But due to the effect of 'Ghostrick Mansion', effect damage get's halved as well. So I take less damage and you gain less Life points"
'Rem' actually seemed to frown at hearing that. "Well, that can get troublesome if it cuts all damage I try to deal."
Allan's LP: 7600 – 6925
'Rem's LP: 5200 – 5975
"Sorry about that, Allan." Stein said.
"Ain't your fault." Allan responded.
"Well that spirit can sure get troublesome, it's alost the perfect counter for my ability." Ghoul commented.
'He's right. I need to re-think things.' Allan concluded, 'set up a higher defense.' "I use the level 3 Ghostricks Stein and Ghoul to fill the overlay network!" Allan then declared as the two turned into purple streams of energy and flew into an orange and black overlay network. "May the watcher of the playful pranksters appear hear and now, and with his royal blood make himself known as one to not be trifled with! XYZ Summon! Descend! Rank 3! Ghostrick Alucard!" Allan the chanted as the vampiric Xyz monster appeared from the overlay network.
Ghostrick Alucard... Attribute:Dark, Type:Zombie/Xyz, Rank:3, ATK:1800 DEF:1600
'Rem's distant eyes would probably narrow if the spirit was able to make that happen. "So, your Xyz based... still got to figure out how that works."
Allan braced himself for a little bit of light-headed-ness as he continued, "Now I'll use Alucard to fill another Overlay network!" He then declared as Alucard himself turned into a purple stream of energy.
The Burton parents blinked at that, "Wait." His mom then said, "So is he actually -?"
The winged spirit watching then rose her eyebrows, "Oooo, doing this so young? Well, time to see a lovely face then."
Allan then began his chant "Trickster above others, fallen from the heavens, come now grace us with your presence and throw chaos in your wake! Go! XYZ Change! Appear! Rank 4! Ghostrick Angel of Mischief!" Coming from this Overlay network, with 3 Xyz materials floating around her, and then kneeling in defense position was the very spitting image of the Duel spirit watching this duel from outside the dome.
Ghostrick Angel of Mischief... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fairy/Xyz, Rank:4, ATK:2000 DEF:2500
"2500 defense points!?" 'Rem' noted.
"Higher then anything you got." Allan stated as he held on to a railing by the steps of the Mansion... between the differences of an Xyz change to an Xyz summon, as well as the fact that he didn't have angel making the summoning easier for him, he might have fallen over if he didn't have anything to hang onto. "I now use Angel's effect, by detaching 1 Xyz material I can add any Ghostrick spell or trap from my deck to my hand." he then said as the hologram angel grabbed an Xyz material and turned it into purple sparkles that went to Allan's deck. "Also that material I am detaching is Alucard, btw. So his effect also goes of by going to the GY and lets me add back any other Ghostrick card from my GY to my hand. I search out 'Ghostrick Break' and recover 'Ghostrick-go-round'. After that I'll have Jiangshi go face-down with his effect again and set 3 cards. Turn end."
"Then now my trap card will give me more life points." 'Rem' stated, as he rolled 2 more dice, with them both landing on a 4.
'Rem's LP: 5975 – 8375 – 6775
"I draw." 'Rem' stated, then narrowed his eyes, "I'll start things off by using a quick-play spell, 'Brainwashed Dice!'...now, once this turn, I can make any of my die results into a 1."
"He can rig his Dice rolls?!" Allan muttered to himself.
"Now I'll use the effect of my Gargoyle, and force us each to roll 2 dice to determine how many of your spells or traps can stick around." 'Rem' continued. As 2 pairs of dice appeared next to both duelists. Allan got a 1 and a 3, while Rem got a 2 and a 4.
Allan then smirked, "Would you like to change one of those to a 1?"
"Seeing how the whole effect is canceled due to you getting a 4, I think not... doesn't matter anyway, it didn't cost me anything to activate it." 'Rem' replied, "Now I'll summon another Forest Beega to my field." he then continued as another copy of the 1 eyed monster appeared. "Next I'll play my field spell's effect again, to roll 2 more dice and summon a monster from my deck." The Dice appeared and came out to a 5 and a 6. 'Rem' looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "With that total none of my monsters can be summon, but I will pass on using 'Brainwashed Dice!' for this."
'Then what is he going to use it for!?' Allan thought angrily to himself.
"I now enter the battle phase," 'Rem' the declared, "and my Dark Spirit attacks Ghostrick Angel of Mischief."
"But I have more Defense then you do attack." Allan pointed out.
"But for how long?" 'Rem' asked, "Sinister Dragon's effect activates during the damage step, both monsters gain 1200 ATK and DEF, and we both roll 2 dice."
"Oh Great, let me guess. Our monsters then loose some of their newly acquired attack and defense points by the die result." Allan asked/stated.
"Die total times 100 to be more exact." 'Rem' replied, "So you felling lucky about a mere 300 point advantage?" he then added as the dice got cast.
'Not when he still has the spell card allowing him to guarantee that his result is a 7 or lower,' Allan thought. 'But I can't use my Traps since we are already in the Damage step.'
Allan rolled a 5 and a 4. 'Rem' rolled a 6 and a 3. "I use the effect of Brainwashed Dice to change that 6 of mine into a 1. making my total a 4 while you are stuck with a 9." 'Rem' then said as his Dark Spirit went through the hologram angel and leaving a giant hole behind.
Ghostrick Angel of Mischief... DEF:2500 – 3700 – 2800
Dark Spirit of Monster World... ATK:2200 – 3400 – 3000
"Well, someone doesn't now how to treat a lady." The winged duel spirit... the one of Ghostrick Angel of Mischief, said as she saw her hologram get destroyed.
"Sadly these changes only last until the end of the damage step." 'Rem' stated.
Dark Spirit of Monster World... ATK:3000 – 2200
"When a Ghostrick I control is destroyed, I can activate 'Ghostrick Break'!" Allan declared, revealing one of his face-downs. "With this, I can now summon 2 Ghostricks other then the destroyed one in face-down defense position." As he said that, the images of Ghostrick Ghoul and Alucard briefly appeared before becoming shadows to his side.
"But thanks to your own field spell, they can't defend you. Beega, attack!" 'Rem' replied.
"I'd say they can defend me quite well actually, because I have another trap card! Ghostrick Scare!" Allan countered, "I flip up all of my Ghostricks into face-up defense to flip an equal number of your monsters face-down." Jiangshi, Ghoul, and Alucard all showed up, and launched magic at the Beega, the Gargoyle, and the Dragon, forcing them all down. "Oh, and at this point, Jiangshi's effect goes off again, so 'Ghostrick Lantern' can come to my hand."
"How annoying." 'Rem' replied, "I set a card end my turn."
"I draw!" Allan declared, as he drew 'Mage Power'. 'Okay, time to set up a big gun.' "First things first, I use Jiangshi's effect to flip him face-down and then I flip summon him. With this I can use his effect again to add 'Ghostrick Jackfrost' to my hand!" Allan stated. "Now I'll use Alucard once again as Xyz material to summon another Angel of Mischief." He then added as he held on to the railing again, and a repeat of last turn's summoning happened.
Outside the barrier, Mr. Burton turned to his wife, "How long has Allan got those Angel cards?"
A frown formed on her face, "Going on two week now." She said as he looked at her phone once again... why couldn't the authorities get here any faster!? "And I don't know how often he has tried to summon them or get practice in Xyz change."
"I use Angel's effect again." Allan states, I detach Alucard to search out 'Ghostrick Vanish' and recover 'Ghostrick Break'. Now I'll set 2 cards and equip Angel with the equip spell 'Mage Power'! This boosts her ATK and DEF by 500 for every spell or trap on my field. And right now I have 5!" He then declared as the Angel's power grew dramatically.
Ghostrick Angel of Mischief... ATK:2000 – 4500
Ghostrick Angel of Mischief... DEF:2500 – 5000
"And With Ghoul's effect, I can power her up even further." Allan stated as Ghoul did just that... though he did note that, unlike with the other Ghostricks, Angel didn't seem to change any when powered up by Ghoul.
Ghostrick Angel of Mischief... ATK:4500 – 6000
"Hold on! I activate a Trap card!" 'Rem' stated, as his face down went up, "'Monster World Necromancy'! I tribute 1 monster I control to special summon servants of mine sleeping in the GY, as long as their total levels are equal to or less then the level of the tributed monster." One of the set cards vanished as the Shadow Poki and first Forest Beega appeared once more in defense position. "Sorry, you're not getting a direct attack on me with that much power behind it."
"Then I'll go for the next best thing." Allan stated, "I activate my set 'Ghostrick-Go-Round' and flip Jiangshi face down to force your Gargoyle face up!"
"He could do that?" 'Rem' muttered to himself as he saw his Gargoyle rise up. Before gritting his teeth and saying, "Hold on, at the start of the Battle Phase, Forest Beega's effect activates, I target 1 of my active servants and if you attack any other monster I can roll dice to negate that attack and deal 200 points of Damage. I'll target Beega itself, so if you want to attack without tripping up, you have to attack a defense position one and deal no damage."
Allan thought for a moment, he didn't like having to rely on luck, but he needed to win, clenching his fist, he made his choice. "That Damage risk is nothing compared to what this attack will do. Angel attacks the Gargoyle!"
"Very well then. Forest Beega's effect will let me roll 2 dice, and if I get a 9 or lower, this attack misses..." 'Rem' stated "furthermore I will also chain the effect of the 'Dark Spirit of Monster World' in the GY."
"What!?" Allan asked, not expecting that deal with the Dark Spirit to show up.
"It's a Spirit, did you not think it's effect could work just as well from the GY as it dose on the field." He said as the spirit appeared and flew into the attacking Angel. "Or did you miss that it was the monster I tributed for my Trap card earlier. Either way it doesn't matter cause now there are two chances for this attack to fail."
"Oh Yeah, definitely doesn't know how to treat a lady." Angel said while watching the duel. As a total of 6 die were rolled and the dark spirit entered the body of the angel's hologram doppleganger.
First came the Dark Spirit's dice effect. Allan rolled a 4 and a 5... 9 total, functionally 5 due to Angel's Rank was seen as an acceptable value to cut the total with it. And 'Rem' rolled two 5's... even with reduction of 4 from the Gargoyle's level it wasn't enough. "Darn it." 'Rem' muttered after seeing that result. Then the Beega's roll went through... and landed on a 6 and a 4. "No!" he exclaimed as both cards failed.
"Whew... I think I needed a lucky break there." Allan commented as the hologram Angel completely pushed the spirit out of her body and blasted the Gargoyle with an enormous beam of Purple light.
'Rem's LP: 6775 – 2475
'Rem' Growled a bit at that damage before starting to make a move with the last card in his hand, before hesitating and deciding against it.
"Lastly." Allan said, "I switch Ghoul face-down with his effect and end my turn." he concluded as Angel's attack dropped a tad.
"Yes! Progress!" Ghoul stated as he ducked into the Mansion.
Ghostrick Angel of Mischief... ATK:6000 – 4500
"During the End Phase, My Trap activates again!" 'Rem' declared, "And since we are in Monster World I can Banish the 'Brainwashed Dice!' in my GY to chain it's other effect." He said as the image of the quick-play spell appeared briefly before vanishing and a new pair of Dice appeared. "Now every die roll during this activation of 'The Evil in Monster world' will be treated as a 1." he then stated as the dice gained a Dark Aura around them and rolled themselves into the infamous snake eyes.
"Probably should have used that during my attack if you really didn't want to get zapped right there." Allan stated "All that using it here dose is Maximize your LP gain. Which doesn't really matter if I can still do more damage then that every turn."
"Hmm, are you sure that is ALL it dose?" 'Rem' said with a smirk as he gained life points.
'Rem's LP: 2475 – 4675 – 4475
"What are you-?" Allan began to ask but cut himself short as a large sphere of black and purple fire appeared near his opponent. "What the-?"
"While in Monster World, if I roll snake eyes with the effect of my Trap card, it get's a 'Super Critical Counter' on it." 'Rem' explained, addressing the ball of black and purple flames "And if 5 are placed on this Trap, I win the Duel."
Allan's eyes widened at that. "You have your own win condition card?"
The Evil in Monster World... Super Critical Counters: 0 – 1
Watching high above Angel blinked in surprise, "This Spirit has it's own built in win condition... but to have that among the power they hold... Okay, just who is this spirit?" She asked herself, as she racked her brain for an answer.
"Hey hey hey, this ain't a big deal right?" Lantern said from beside Allan, "After all he had to rig his dice roll to get that result... without it he only has a 1 in 36 chance to pull it off again."
"And not just once, he needs to pull it off 4 more times over 4 more turns as well." Jackfrost agreed, "It shouldn't be THAT big of a deal just yet."
"I draw!" 'Rem' declared, "And Now I will activate the effect of Monster World to summon something from my deck." he then said as another pair of dice appeared... and as if to directly answer what Jackfrost and Lantern were saying, it rolled snake eyes completely legit.
"Oh come on!" Lantern exclaimed.
"Perfect, Now I can finally come out and crush you personally." 'Rem' stated.
"Come out." Allan's mom asked quietly before both her and her husband's eyes widened as the Dark Aura around Rem became visible for everyone to see and not just Allan.
"Get Ready to meet the beginning of your end, keep my name in your memory for as long as you can, as it is the name of what will end this duel and your remaining existence in this realm." 'Rem' declared as the shadows erupted out of him and took a truly monstrous form.
Angel's eyes widened as she saw that the monster so large a normal adult human could only reach it's kneecap. She barely registered the sound of authorities coming from Ms. Burton's call, to focused on getting all the detail she could on this spirit, with the dragon head coming from it's stomach being the final clue needed for her to put it together, "Oh, so that is who it is."
"I summon myself, the 'Dark Master of Monster World – Zorc'!"
AN:
Cliffhanger!... :) Believe me, this duel needing to be broke into two chapters. In fact part 2 is longer then this part... and it is 98% dueling. Guess that is fitting for the finale of the story huh?
Kinda a shame no one here wanted to guess what the name for the final enemy here was (excapt for one person, who needed an extra bit of prompting). Though maybe you all figured it out while reading this chapter... after all, there are a lot more hints here then there were anywhere else. Right down to the chapter title being a big clue.