Nightmare Troubadour

by 7th Librarian

Sequel to 'Heirs of Fate'. Three months after the Bride Tournament and his marriage, Bellerophon Pegasus is dying. The curse of the Egyptian Gods steals away the shine of his future breath by painful breath. Worse, the sins of his father overshadow him, threatening to steal all he loves. And even as he battles against ancient darkness, it just seems to herald a greater terror...

6. Fires of Death and Rebirth

Nightmare Troubadour
By 7th Librarian

Chapter 6: The Fires of Death and Rebirth

"...this looks like the warehouse where I got attacked by zombies…"

"Zombies do not exist, Kaede."

"Yeah, not any more, because I burned the warehouse down with them all inside it."

Sumire heard Jessie snort, and she wondered if this was an in-joke or a meme of some kind - something that she simply wasn't getting. She was good at reading people, if not always understanding what she was gleaning from them, but Kaede was so subtle - especially when stood next to her loudmouth cousin - that it was hard to tell anything from her facial expressions or tone of voice.

The warehouse was one of three on an empty industrial estate on the very edge of Domino. In fact if Sumire were to jump over the high concrete walls and didn't get stuck in the open ditch on the other side, she would be in the next district over. Everything was in shades of grey and rust, with the odd tuft of grass sticking defiantly up through the dirt. You would never think for a second that it housed the most top secret R&D projects for I2.

Which was probably what Maximillian Pegasus was going for when he purchased this land. Sumire felt her respect for the man rise - in the last two months since assuming the head of his company, she had learned every day just how much of a shrewd businessman had lain beneath that foppish exterior.

By her side, Jessie shivered a little. "It is kinda creepy out here. I keep expecting to get jumped…"

"There isn't another human for miles," Sumire waved her hand dismissively, trying to ignore the slow discomfort seeping through her own veins. "That's what the high walls and security gate are for. Let's just get onto business."

She strode briskly towards the building, fishing for her access pass, and hearing the girls step into line behind her and trying to ignore how empty everything felt.

"All I'm saying is, if it turns out we're about to walk into an episode of The Walking Dead, I'm leaving you both to be zombie chow." Kaede put her hands up.

"Sorry girl," Jessie said. "I can run faster than you, and you two are the brains of this operation - tastier meal for them while I escape."

"Can we please stop talking about zombies?" Sumire didn't mean to snap, but a bite came out in her words anyway as she swiped her card through the reader. What on earth is putting me so on edge?

To her surprise and mild irritation, the reader simply flashed red and bleated a denial at her. She swiped it again and got the same response, prompting her to raise a finger to her eyepiece. The holographic screen projected over her eye. "Bellerophon."

"Whoa, didn't know you could call me and give me a visual feed with this, too…"

"Bellerophon."

"Right, sorry." Lero said, leaning his face on his palm. "Ah, right, keycard lock is a dummy. The real lock is what you're standing on."

Sumire looked down. They were standing on a slightly raised piece of pavement, but that was only so it was level with the building and not the ground. "And?"

"You need to tap out 'Shave and a Haircut'."

"...what." Sumire said blankly.

"It's a pressure lock. You need to tap your feet on it."

I take it back...this is exactly the sort of eccentricity that his father was known for…

"Jessiebelle, Kaede, do either of you know the rhythm to something called 'Shave and a Haircut'?" Sumire said. "If you do, please tap out that rhythm on the ground."

"Wait, you don't know that one?" Jessie asked, tilting her head in confusion. "Okay, I know your education has some serious gaps, sweetie, but you spent a four-month binge on all things musical!"

"Got it." Kaede tapped out the last of the notes with her heel and instantly the card reader flashed green, the door unlocking with a click. "Can't believe Mom was right, those tap classes were useful."

Sumire ignored her and entered the building. Despite the unique locking mechanism, it was a standard warehouse. A reception desk sat empty, along with a few chairs and there were signs posted on the walls to indicate directions to various locations. "Bellerophon, why is there no security room?"

"There is one, but if you don't know where it is, you can't get to it." Lero explained. "That way, no one can erase tapes, files, whatever, if they try to rob the joint. There'd be a twenty-four hour guard, too, but we pulled everything valuable out of the warehouse when we left."

"Except the prototype decks."

"Well, next time, I'll do it myself instead of trusting Tesla after a caffeine overdose." Lero muttered. "Anyway, go to the reception desk. There should be a speaker phone. Turn it off and then pick it up."

Sumire slid around to the reception desk, finding the phone and flipping the switch on it to 'off'. Then she picked it up and held it to her ear opposite her eyepiece. "And now? There's no dial tone."

"Which is just fine. Type in 555-55-5555."

"That is not a Japanese phone number." Sumire informed him as she punched in the number. "What is this in reference too?"

"Hollywood. American phone numbers shown in movies always start with 555 because that area code doesn't exist. This should unlock the security room door. That door is down the hallway towards the main office - go through the second door on the left and then push the bookcase in."

Sumire led the way through the darkened hallway, the girls' phone flashlights somehow magnifying the intensity of the darkness and the cloyingness of the walls. Her skin grew cold as they moved farther from the front door's safe pool of light and Sumire bit her lip as they pressed down the hallway.

Thankfully, the door they wanted was still within sight range of the main door and she opened it, finding it to be a nondescript office. The bookcase behind the desk rolled when she touched it, revealing another door that she was able to push open. Beyond was a dark room, but as their flashlight played over it, she caught sight of the familiar shapes of monitors, keyboards and more.

"Leave it to a Pegasus to be so thorough." Jessie said approvingly, then let out an 'eep!' as the door shut behind them and they heard the bookcase roll back into place. "Um, not to nitpick, but doors shutting themselves and then locking behind that is usually a bad sign."

"We will be fine. That bookcase is not real, so if we had to, we could force it away." Sumire flicked on the security room lights and let out a mental sigh of relief as they cast the shiny, metal contours of technology in full relief - and there wasn't any desk or crawl spaces for shadows to hide. Seating herself at the center console, she booted up the computer. "Bellerophon. What can we access from here that I could not access remotely?"

"Beyond cameras and things, I'm going to give you access to the logs tied to the production machines and card design tables. If anyone used those to finish printing those prototypes or those Wicked Canticle cards, the evidence will be there. Password to get in is 'KaibaLand'."

Sumire felt her lips twitch in a not-too concealed smile of appreciation. "And that is the password because it is the last thing anyone would expect a Pegasus to relate to."

"Now you're catching on." Lero beamed at her through the call and then watched as she started digging into the records. Cards and images becan to pop up on screen as she went through the time logs and she could feel Jessie and Kaede leaning over her shoulders curiously.

"Wait - you're still trying to make the Guardian archetype work?" Kaede asked, her tone suggesting this task was akin to trying to change the color of the sky just by willing it. "You don't think your time and efforts could be used on more achievable projects like...solving string theory, or inventing lightspeed travel…?"

"I know she can't hear me, but could you please tell Kaede that she can make smart remarks about my pet projects when she's the one who owns the game."

"Kaede, my husband would like me to inform you that making smart remarks about his creative endeavors is threatening his manhood." Sumire's smile became more noticeable as Lero spluttered nonsensically on the screen while the other two women erupted into giggles. "Bellerophon, none of the machines are showing activity and the camera feeds do not, either. And I have already gone back two days. We do not have time to trawl through a year's worth of content to find out if anyone broke in here. What method would be faster?"

Lero crossed his arms, staring down at his lap as he thought. "Hmm...well, any created playtesting prototypes are locked in a secure vault that tracks who got in or out, but only I have the password and I - wait, Sumire, go back!"

The Egyptian woman did so, swapping the endless lines of timestamps for one of the machines with another set up timestamps. "What did you see? These are just timestamps for…" She drug the screen around to see the top bar. "Something called 'PFR'"

"Pegasus Family Records." Lero explained, his voice serious. "That's the private server where Dad kept all of his digitized research notes and ideas."

"I do not follow - we already have access to all of that information already and have gone through it all several times in the last few months. While your father's travels around the world are astonishing, the material in that is mostly private, not-"

"No, not Dad's travelogues, his research notes. The ones he'd create for new Duel Monsters...and ideas he had for how magic and technology interact and change the world."

"Your father was an inventor?"

"No, more of an idea man. Dad likes thinking things up and tinkering with them." Lero said brusquely. "Open the most recent timestamps, Sumire and tell me what they accessed."

Sumire did so, eyes flicking over the notes. They were neat, but sparse. Most were scans of hand-drawn things and Pegasus' neat penmanship. "This looks like notes on some kind of new, clean renewable energy."

"Yeah, he called it 'Ener-d'. Duel Energy. Based around the idea duels, particularly magic ones, can generate energy. But that doesn't explain why someone would go to all this trouble - what else was accessed?"

Sumire opened a few of the older time stamps. "Files about someone named 'Cecelia'." She heard the two cousins draw in breath and Lero's expression darkened. "Is this someone important?"

"It's Pegasus' wife. Her death was the whole reason not only the Duelist Kingdom happened, but the whole of modern Duel Monsters. It was why he got the Millennium Eye. He wanted to bring her back from the dead." Kaede explained. "He basically created Duel Monsters as a way to draw out the other six Items."

"Dad wanted to use the Items in combination with KaibaCorp's new holographic technology in order to give her soul a new body."

"Yes, but that plan did not happen. He lost both Duelist Kingdom and the Millennium Eye." Sumire scanned the documents. "But these pages do not reference either of those things. They are referring to things outside of the Items that can cause the shadow games and magic in general."

"And they're all post-dated Duelist Kingdom…" Jessie was leaning over the back of the chair to get a better look. "I don't get it, why was he still looking at this stuff?"

"Dad explored the world, remember and just because he missed out on one set of mystical, ancient Items doesn't mean there weren't others. He'd been pursuing the dream of reviving Cecelia for years - losing to Yugi was a major setback, but that's all it was to him. A setback." Lero informed Sumire. "It wasn't until he met Plato a few years after Duelist Kingdom that he gave up on the idea. I don't know why."

"Regardless of why, someone was interested in continuing where your father left off. These records were accessed many times over the last year." Sumire felt her lips thin in annoyance as she caught sight of another window, this one labeled 'KCRD'. "They also have been accessing secure KaibaCorp files as well."

"What files?"

Sumire opened the slot and then her annoyance blossomed into a scowl. "These are very old files. So old that I thought they were deleted or destroyed. They are concerned with Project Noah's Ark."

"Which is…" Kaede let her words drawl pointedly.

"It was the project that Gozaburo Kaiba used to preserve the mind of his biological son, Noah Kaiba."

"Shit." Jessie hissed between clenched teeth. "That lab was blown to kingdom come and I thought Seto would have scoured his computers for any trace of this stuff afterwards. Where are they getting these files from?"

"I have a better question - who is getting these files?" Kaede interjected. "Think about it - someone is using an I2 lab they know is shut down and off the grid for a pet project that requires them to get into Pegasus' personal server and had to have been knowledgeable enough about KaibaCorp enough to know that this Noah's Ark project even existed. What are the odds that someone worked for both companies and got to be let in on the big, top-secret shit like that?"

"...Sumire, bring up the system's management and do a power check."

Sumire brought up the relevant page, a complex-looking layout of the buildings' electrical grid popping up and she hit the scan button. "I see. You want to know if any part of the building has been drawing power despite it supposed to be shut down." The computer pinged the completion of the scan. "That is odd - all of the responses are normal. There has been no increase in power usage."

"The person behind all this has been using my personal workspace for this. If there's any real evidence of who they are and what they want, it'll be there."

"I do not understand. How can you tell that from the current information?"

"My personal workspace has a separate power generation from the rest of the building because that is where the secure server and safe are. That way, if you cut the building's power, they aren't affected. But there's a catch - my room never draws power as a result. Meaning if the scan you just did reports it as a normal response, then the person had to bypass that generator because it's locked to my ID and hook my room to the building's mains."

"Very clever deduction, my husband."

"Whoa, Sumire, was that approval in your voice?" Jessie asked curiously. "Are you feeling alright, girl?" She reached over to press her hand against the CEO's forehead.

"I am feeling fine, thank you." Sumire huffed.

"I dunno, your cheeks feel warm…"

Ignoring Kaede's giggle, Sumire switched channels on her eyepiece, replacing Lero's image with that of a stern-faced man in a uniform. "Captain, my husband thinks the intruder to this building is in his personal workspace. Take your team in and secure that location, then move on to the rest of the warehouse."

"Yes, Mrs. Pegasus!" The man saluted, then began barking orders. "Bunny Slippers, we're moving out! Get in and secure that building!"

Sumire tried not to sigh at the idea of the Pegasus family naming their most loyal and elite security team after a ridiculous item of clothing and switched back to Lero's channel. "The team is moving to secure the warehouse."

"Good. Once they have, we can start poking around my terminal and see what's going on."

Nodding, Sumire leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "And now we wait."

"Wait - wait?" Jessie asked incredulously. "Why aren't we going anywhere?!"

"Someone dangerous has been breaking in and out of this warehouse for the last year and they could still be in this building. We are three people of important value and it behooves us to sit here and let the security team do their jobs rather than run the risk of becoming hostages or getting attacked."

Kaede grunted. "Way to make the cool investigation mission totally boring…guess we'll have to entertain ourselves." A smirk crossed her face. "So Sumire, have you slept with your husband yet?"

It would have been comical seeing Jessie choke on her own tongue in surprise had the question not been directed at her. Though Sumire only arched an eyebrow on the outside, inside she felt blindsided. "Excuse me?"

"We don't ask Sumire stuff like that!" Jessie sing-songed in an anxious fashion.

"No, you don't ask her stuff like that," Kaede corrected. "I just did. Go on - we've got plenty of time to wait, so don't skip the details!"

TTTTTT

The act of creating magical Duel Monsters cards was one that bordered on the inane, if Chrysaor was honest. Rituals and spells and sealings, things meant to bind powerful spirits from another world, entrap souls and hold the might of the very gods of themselves - required a single, thin piece of blank cardstock. It was an absurd thing, truly, in the same vein as trying to contain the solar fury of the sun in a matchstick.

But, it worked. Incongruously, in defiance of all logic, sense and reason, these things happened. It was this gap, this refusal of reality to obey linear trains of thought and instead exist in spiteful defiance that was made up of what was known as 'magic'.

And right now, Chrysaor was going to work some.

There was a pentacle, painted in black ink on the granite surface below and arrayed at the points were five candles. They were lit, the only source of light in the otherwise dark room. At the edges of the flickering ring of illumination, he could see the shifting outlines of his Ghouls. Their cloaks concealed their faces, wisps of incense from their burners shrouding their eyes and giving the magic branch of the Rare Hunters their iconic name.

Footsteps approached, a figure emerging from the dark into the ring of light. Imposingly tall, but the sallow gray body was devoured by the pristine labcoat he wore. Horns poked through a thick mat of untidy hair and he bore a tired, satisfied smile. All of this was at odds with the smooth timbre of his voice. "I'm glad to see you here, Chrysaor, so that we might continue our research. Unless you've felt the need to have our practice runs become dress rehearsals."

"Hardly, Kozaky. I am too impatient to wait much longer, not after finally collecting what we need for this." Chrysaor said gamely and pulled out five cards from his inner shirt pocket. He passed them Kozaky for approval.

The Duel Spirit accepted them and gave them a quick look. His smile grew less tired as he nodded. "Yes, yes these will work quite well." He began to place the cards in the hollow points of the pentacle one after another. "I had to use many, many of my kin to replace the human soul Bronn failed to capture. Now, with the correct material, we will succeed in creating something that rivals the original creators' craftsmanship."

"Original creators?" Chrysaor lifted an eyebrow. "That's the first I've heard of you admitting to copying someone else's work."

"Why would I not? That is the way of science, of progress. To always achieve the same result and then build upon it. And this ritual requires human souls, Chrysaor, so who do you think hid it in my world for me to find?" Kozaky said, adjusting his glasses as Chrysaor's expression morphed into quiet surprise. "Now - we begin!"

It was an alien process composed of familiar elements. Kozaky and Chrysaor raised their arms in unison, chanting the spell together. As their words began to echo back at them, the Ghouls raised their censers. Incense and bell tolls spilled out in equal measure as they swung and chanted the spell at the pair in their center until the table was lost in a swirl of darkness and sweet-smelling smoke.

At some hidden signal, all of the candles fell neatly in towards the center of the pentacle. They did not go out, but their green flames shifted to ghastly blue. The cards underneath them seemed to melt as hot wax oozed over them, the flames crisping their images and edges - but at a slow, perceptible rate as if the cards were made entirely of metal.

The glossy mixture trickled into the pentacle's center, the rivulets swirling together atop the blank card that sat at the center. The card did not soak any of it up nor burn from the intense heat, though smoke began to curl upwards in acrid spirals. Smoke, that if Chrysaor strained to hear under his own voice and the tolling censers, that seemed to be wailing in pain and desperation.

Then came the hammers.

He and Kozaky worked in tandem, interchanging strikes with the heavy forging instruments. Each strike made his arms ache, the metallic ring of their blows sounded as if they'd break the table. It did not and instead, superheated yellow sparks began to scatter with the blows. The card they were hitting didn't budge as they literally pounded the mixture into its surface. It lasted for what felt like an age as they forced more than a bathtub's worth of ink, wax, molten soul, fire and smoke into the card.

Finally it was done - the cards containing the trapped souls were just tufts of ash, the candles sad-looking wicks and even the incense nothing but a faint waft of sweetness. Chrysaor tossed his hammer aside, wiping his brow of sweat as he peered at their creation. The Duel Monsters card was green now with the correct text. And even the correct name, the letters shifting in the light with glossy holofoil.

Super Polymerization.

"It seems almost too easy." Chrysaor said into the silence that followed. "I almost feel like we should be able to make more copies."

"Having a ritual process would suggest that is the case, but it is not." Kozaky said, words laden with satisfaction as he examined their creation with care. "The Wicked Canticle seems to only respond to divine power, after all. And it needs to recharge each time the ritual is performed. Melding souls is hardly an easy process. It is why divine power is necessary. Bronn had Colorless and you possess..well, whatever your benefactor is."

"Yes, it is a power akin to the gods." Chrysaor reached out and picked up the card between thumb and forefinger. It left the table easily, but he could feel a hidden weight to it, a secret power. Akin to putting his hand on a transformer and feeling the electricity underneath. This simple piece of cardstock was a pathway to things immeasurable.

Had his father felt this way when he'd first possessed the Millenium Eye? Or when he'd beheld the three Egyptian God cards for the first time? Power in such a simple form, yet capable of shaking the world?

Pride welled up in him. Another step taken along his father's footsteps.

"Chrysaor?" Kozaky's voice pulled him out of the trance the card had put him in. He lifted his head, meeting the Duel Spirits' gaze. The scientist's eyes were hollow through his spectacles, like twin pits that lead down an infinite fissure. "Are you satisfied with our work?"

"Yes, yes, I am." Chrysaor nodded and lowered Super Polymerization. "As promised, my god and I will lend you the aid you need in defeating the monster attacking your home. Though...if you can recreate this card, why not just use it to defend yourselves?"

Kozaky's lips spread in that tired smile, the one of someone who kept plodding along because they knew no other way. "The Lswarm is a virus at heart. Anything I fuse with it runs the risk of corruption and making the problem worse. The very air, soil and water of my world can carry the taint. The help must come from the outside, from the Signers."

"And you shall have it. It will take time, for I have to collect my Signers. But things will go much smoother once I have reclaimed my birthright from that liar, Akl." Chrysaor said and turned to his gathered Rare Hunters. "The time is now, my followers - we strike at Kaiba Mansion! Go now and prepare!"

The response was silence, only obedient nods. Censers disappeared beneath robes as they exited, filing out in rehearsed groups. All of them knew the plan for this day and would carry their parts out without question or concern. After all, their leader had never failed them before.

A considerate 'hmmm' rolled free of Kozaky's throat. "I must admit, your Rare Hunters are efficient and well-motivated. I have not had the pleasure of working with such responsible colleagues before. My kin tend to be rather eccentric…"

"And there is something to be said for that, friend Kozaky. But for this operation, I do not need such risky variables, only results." Chrysaor said and stepped down from the platform. "And even if I were to lose this moment to Akl, that is a result I can live with."

"Ohhh?" Kozaky paced after him, hands behind his back once more as they pushed deeper into the shadows towards the north of the room. "You've been saying you must take back your destiny from him since I met you - how could losing be a benefit?"

"My plans do not hinge on a single pivot of 'success' or 'failure', Kozaky. If Akl defeats me here, then that is simply a measure of how strong he is and how far I need to go. Moreover, I can gather more information on how to better handle our future encounters. His collection of Signers, for example. I have already obtained his most likely candidate."

"That Darkborn woman?" Kozaky cocked his head. "How can you tell she is one of his?"

"Her participation in the Bride Tournament was a good indicator of how close they were, but it was what my Rare Hunters uncovered about her that is crucial. She is a descendant of an ancient bloodline and that bloodline has crossed paths with those of the Hallfox family, who are in turn descendants of previous generations of Signers. While the Crimson Dragon selects any worthy woman as a potential candidate, those who carry the bloodline have better odds of being selected." Chrysaor led him through a door, revealing an altar in front of them.

And behind that altar was a statue of a being, a broad humanoid torso atop a thick snake body. Wings flared from its back, two sets of three prongs rather than a sheet of leathery skin or feathers. Gold inlay riddled the dark, mottled stonework and gave a foreboding life to the fanged visage topping the monstrosity.

Chrysaor dropped to one knee in front of it, draping an arm over that thigh and lowering his head with his eyes closed. "Great Bishbaalkin, I offer you my thanks for the successes you have given me and beseech you for further glory. Through victory, I honor you. Through defeat, you teach me. And through time, we guide the world."

The gold on the statue warmed, going from solid to liquid as it flowed over the stone work in an cealease, infinite river. The eyes ignited from within with purple fire and a voice filled the chamber, deep, ageless and fatherly. "Your prayer is heard, Chrysaor, and so I accept thine offering in equal gratitude to which you offer it."

"Thank you, Great Bishbaalkin." Chrysaor said without raising his head. "I have completed the Super Polymerization, as you have asked. And now I will be going to reclaim my birthright and your power from that imposter Akl."

"That is good, Chrysaor. I am pleased by this. You are indeed proving thy worth." Bishbaalkin said and there was a pause, the statue's gaze shifting to Chrysaor and peering into his depths. "I sense discomfort and uncertainty in your heart. Speak it."

"I am...wary, Great Bishbaalkin. Akl has indeed been chosen by the Crimson Dragon and while I know he is a liar and a faker, he has still learned much under my father's tutelage and his Cyber Style masters. He is formidable. And as I have to be the one to face him, I am lacking so much in comparison to him." Chyrsaor swallowed a sudden lump in his throat, but did not raise his head. "In this, he is more my father's son than I could hope to be."

There was silence in the chamber for a long moment and then Bishbaalkin spoke. "You speak the truth, Chrysaor. Were the tribes not stripped from this world, I would have had them guide as was meant to be. But they are gone and so you stand alone. A king in a desert."

Chrysaor just stared at the floor, trusting himself only to nod lest the lump in his throat burst.

"But I have chosen you, Chrysaor and not through any means but my own will. So as you have faith in me, I have faith in you. You are stronger than you realize. Even if you were to lose your innate powers or your minions or your wealth, I would still choose you. The indomitable will that leads you to me will see you through the coming trials. Success or defeat, you will grow ever more." Bishbaalkin said, the statue's golden tattoos flaring and in response, so did a mark on Chrysaor's arm.

A dragon's head, colored black and blue.

"You are the Signer King, Chrysaor. And you will suffer no rivals."

Chrysaor clutched at the glowing mark. A warm, silken heat flowed through him at the touch, like wrapping himself in a blanket fresh from the dryer. Warm and all-encompassing. "Yes, Great Bishbaalkin. Thank you. I...apologize for wasting your majesty and time on such base worries."

"It is my duty to guide you, Signer King, as much as it is yours to serve. Through victory, you honor me. Through defeat, I teach you."

"Through time, we will guide the world." Chrysaor finished and the presence in the room faded, the statue going dark. But his mark only dimmed and he rose to his feet. He looked at the mark and closed his eyes. He imagined himself reaching through the flames, through the power and so across the land and the sea his presence traversed the world as easy as one could walk across the street.

Another presence answered - a delicate orchid of a woman with long dark hair in three braids braided together, clad in a simple robe, eyes as sharp as rubies and on her arm, a burning mark of a claw.

She sensed his fear and his worry and as always, such things only made her lips lift in a gentle, knowing smile. And without words or thought, she reached back to him and her touch smoothed away his jagged edges and sealed cracks of frustration until he was whole once more.

Courage, my love. Courage.

Chrysaor let go of her presence and turned to face Kozaky. "I am going now. Do you want to come?"

Kozaky's smile took on some new life. "A choice between Netflix and watching you carve a new path with my creation is hardly a choice at all."

TTTTTT

"-phon? Bellerophon!"

Lero jumped, Sumire's curt words a knife that cut through the flash of pain swallowing his mind. He glanced down at his arm, seeing his Signer Mark shine weakly through his sleeve. "Sorry - body's acting up. What'd I miss?"

"The Bunny Slippers are at your office. We need the door code or they will have to use charges on it."

"Right, of course." Lero rolled up his sleeve, dabbing at the spots of blood leaking from the mark and wishing he'd gotten a magical do-dad that didn't hurt him at apparently random intervals. At his feet, Artemis lifted her head at the scent of blood, glancing around warily. "Code's '2054'."

He heard Sumire relay the code, imaging the team sweeping to the broad office. It should only take a few seconds - there was nothing sitting anywhere in the middle of the floor, no desks or tables to hide under. It was a workspace, tidy and clean. And that meant whoever was using it was going to be right there in the open.

It was about time they got some answers.

"Bellerophon. I am patching you into the Captain's view. You need to see this." Sumire said and he could hear keys clacking abruptly. Then her face on his monitor shrank to a small corner window and was replaced with the view of his office.

Except it wasn't an office anymore - it looked like a mad scientist's laboratory. One wall of work tables had been removed, cabinets and all to be replaced with what he recognized as a holographic projection tank used for model testing. The opposing set of tables were littered with ancient stonework, masks and odd trinkets that looked both cruel and impractical. Computer banks were stacked haphazardly against the remaining wall, all blinking and whirring as they fed into a large cracked monitor that had an endless rain of calculations on it.

And standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by three members of the Bunny Slippers with weapons trained on him, was a man Lero recognized instantly. "That's Scott Irvine - he's a researcher from KaibaCorp my dad hired after Scott stepped out of the company when Seto Kaiba disappeared!"

"And who is that with him?"

"With him?" Lero frowned, then realized what Sumire meant. Cowering behind him and using Scott's back as a shield was a girl. She couldn't have been older than ten or twelve, dressed in an almost stereotypical blue-patterned sundress, her brown hair braided with large hair bobbles and oddly, an ancient-looking mask covering her entire face.

Lero felt his mouth go dry. Mask or not, he knew that person. "That's not possible. That's his daughter, Kimberly. But she died two years ago."

"Get away!" the voice was harsh and manic through the earpieces. "Leave us! My baby is back with me now!"

"That can't...that can't really be her, can it?" Jessie demanded quietly of no one in particular.

"Both of you - get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head." The voice of Bunny Slippers 1 wasn't loud, but authoritative and calm. "I can promise you that no one is going to get hurt, but you've committed a lot of crimes here and we need to sort this all out."

"Dad, what's going on?" the girl's voice was full of terror.

"It's going to be okay," Scott was whirling between each of the soldiers as he spoke, like he was trying to decide which to strike first. "I'm going to make this all better!"

"Sir, get on the ground, now!" That was Bunny Slippers 2 - far louder than 1 had been.

"I'm scared!" Kimberly was starting to hyperventilate, clearly overwhelmed like the heavy mask was suffocating her along with her fear.

"You're frightening her!" Scott was screaming in the face of Bunny Slippers 2, spit flying through the air.

"I said get down!"

Kimberly whimpered, and hell broke loose. The lights flickered, then exploded and showered the whole room with glass. The firelight ripped out the sudden darkness as the computer banks ignited as once, tongues of heat lashing out like hungry monsters.

"Magical presence!" One of the Bunny Slippers shouted and Lero was extremely grateful that their professionalism meant the security team didn't immediately just open fire.

"Dropping sleepers!" The Captain barked and Lero heard the sound of a pin being pulled, then several objects bouncing over the cement floor. The view rocked as the Captain backed up out the door and he saw the silhouettes of the other Bunny Slippers doing the same even as a thick gas began to fill the small room.

The team back down the hall to either side of the door, taking up stances that didn't impede their partner's aim. "Switch to stun - we don't want to hurt the girl." The Captain said and all four men twisted a knob on their weapons, sharp clicks sounding followed by the low hum of electricity warming up.

Sleeping gas flowed out into the corridor, pastel gray against the thick black of melting plastic and wiring. There was a long minute and then the Captain gestured with his weapon. "Two - get in there and pull them out. That's a lot of smoke for a small room and we don't want them to suffocate."

"Roger. Going in." Two nodded and broke formation, pausing only to peer into the room before dropping into a crouch and shuffling his way into the space carefully.

The sound of a weapon discharging made Lero jolt, Jessie and Kaede's soft yelps filling his ears. First, it was the distinctive 'whump!' of a taser fire and then to his horror, the sharp cracks of bullet fire.

"Two, what the fuck are you doing in there here?" One yelled. "Someone get a visual-"

"Captain - disengage right now!" Sumire barked sharply. "Two's life-signs just went flat! Something in there is hostile!"

The team swore under their breaths, the remaining two members of the team rolling across the doorway and the group trained their weapons on the smoke cloud as they began to back down the hallway.

"Jessiebelle, Kaede - go, out the door! Now!"

Lero wasn't paying attention to the girls, though. He was staring at the billowing smoke cloud that was filling up the hallway.

A playful giggle echoed out of it, followed by a child's sing-song voice. "I like this toy! But it's no fun if I don't have anything to shoot with it! Where are you, scary men? Where are you?" Bullets began to launch from the cloud, pinging off the walls and floor.

"Hostile! Open fire!" The Captain's order was immediately followed by all three men unloading into the cloud.

"I found you!" Kimberly came skipping out of the cloud, Two's rifle nearly dwarfing her body as she approached. Bullets struck her dead center and went right through, prompting her to giggle. "Awww, that tickles! If you wanna play the tickle game, then, it's my turn!"

"Blinder!" That was Three, flashbang bouncing up off the floor right into the girl's masked face. The three remaining Bunny Slippers were already turned and running down the hallway when it went off. Kimberly just laughed and the sound of gunfire intensified.

"That was fun! Let's keep playing!"

Lero felt his breath catch and instantly tapped on Sumire's icon on his screen. "Are you three out of there yet!? That girl is dangerous!"

TTTTTT

"We are at the front door now - " Sumire punched the open button and got only a dull thunk in response. Another push gave the same noise. "The power is disabled - how?!"

"Must have been Little Bo Creep - magical things like that like to keep things private." Jessie hissed. She grabbed her cousin and then both seized the reception couch. Two swings got it going and they hurled it through the windows next to the door. Ripping off a cushion from a nearby chair, she shoved it over the broken glass littering the frame. "Let's go girls!"

Before she could get much more than hand on the sill, Sumire was yanking her backwards just as a metal shutter came slamming down so hard it cut the cushion in half. "You triggered the lockdown!"

"Oh, great, there's power for that, but not the damn door!" Jessie growled in frustration, looking at her half-a-cushion with frustration.

"Bellerophon - is there another way out of the warehouse? A service shaft or somewhere on the roof?" Sumire said and then sounds of gunfire echoed down one of the hallways from somewhere deeper inside. "With a route that takes us away from combat."

"There's a fire exit down the other hall - take a right and then a left. It'll dump you onto the parking lot."

"Good. This way, girls." Sumire didn't waste time as she took off in a dead run, heard the other two pelting after her. Her stride ate up the corridor and she whipped around the corner so fast she had to grab it to stop from losing her footing.

She skidded to a stop, felt Jessie catch herself and then heard Kaede crash into her, both women going with identical yelps of pain and surprise. Sumire felt her heart skip a bit. "We are trapped."

"Trapped? Trapped how -" Kaede rolled off Jessie and then her voice faded as she saw what Sumire was talking about. The corridor down at the other end looked like it led to a junction, but there was nothing but blackness. Not darkness, just blackness. Like all of the building - the walls, the floor, the lights, just stopped dead at that one particular point and ceased to be. "Ooh, shit."

"Maybe it's an illusion-" Jessie picked up a plastic plant and kicked it down the hall. The plant bounced, skidded and then toppled over onto its side before rolling pathetically into the darkness.

It promptly rolled back out.

"Okay, no way out. So…" Kaede chewed her lip for a moment. "Umm...my Dad's stories always end with the bad magic going away after we kill the source of it."

"And how are we going to do that?" Jessie demanded. "That kid is armed and guns aren't hurting it! She took a flashbang to the face - that should have resulted in blindness or burns or something! And that knockout gas didn't stop her, either!"

"It has something to do with that mask - it looks creepy enough to be important." Kaede suggested. "But why bring her back from the dead here? This is a science lab and you need something like a graveyard!"

Something clicked in the back of Sumire's head and she turned, pushing past the two women as she jogged down the corridor. "You don't need anything to bring back the dead, but a soul. But what does a soul need?"

"Umm…" Jessie said slowly. "A body?"

"No, a vessel capable of containing it like the mask or a Millenium Item. Otherwise, a soul moves on to the afterlife. Though you would want a body for the soul to have life again, as it were."

"Except Scott's daughter has been dead for two years. Her body is already decomposing and buried." Lero said, his tone suggesting he was on the same track of Sumire. "Dad had the same problem with Cecelia, it's why he wanted KaibaCorp's holographic technology. To create a new body for her."

"And Scott worked on the Noah's Ark project, meaning he knew how to use a computer to have it function as a human brain. With the Bleeding Edge technology and that information, he could give his daughter life again."

"That's not as good as it sounds, though. Noah had been dead for like, eight years before our parents met him and he was still ten years-old. Trapped forever in that virtual world until he could get a body to get out." Kaede put in as the trio went past the reception desk and down another corridor.

"That's where that mask comes in. He created a holographic body and computer brain for his daughter and uses the mask to keep her soul in that body. Which explains how she is able to move around outside the range of holographic projectors." Sumire explained. "However, that means she has a weakness - hologram projection takes hundreds of calculations a second to remain fluid and active, the Bleeding Edge version even more so. It is clear that her mask is not making the body flesh-and-blood given how nothing seems to hurt her. Meaning if we destroy the chamber running the hologram projection, it will leave only the mask."

"Smash the glowy thing to stop the bad thing." Jessie sounded like she was grinning. "Wheeler family motto."

"I thought it was 'Brooklyn Rage' …"

"One time my dad did that accent for a convention and the world never lets us forget it!"

Sumire ignored them and threw her sleeve over her face as they rounded the turn to find the corridor still filled with smoke. It clung to the ceiling tightly, but her eyes burned at the acrid smell and tang in the air. "Wait here!"

Her friends offered cries of protest, but Sumire was already moving. She dove forwards down the hall, army-crawling towards the limp body of Bunny Slipper Two. She did a check for a pulse, grimacing when she found none and offered the man a silent apology as she pulled one of his combat knives out of his belt.

It was a bit awkward to crawl over a dead man, but she managed it and peered inside the room. The computers were still burning, making her wonder briefly what Kimberly was using as a brain if not for that server farm. But there were more pressing concerns. Sumire crawled over to the tank, ignoring the tears streaming down her face from the smoke and looked over the base. Looked like Scott had gone the extra mile and put a generator in the base of this one - she wasn't going to just unplug it and be done with it.

That was fine, she only needed to break it. Sumire carefully sat up, bracing one hand against the tank's glass and using the other to stab the knife into it. The thick glass resisted, knife point skipping off the smooth surface a few times before she managed to get a solid hit. Thin cracks spider-webbed over the tank.

An angry shriek interrupted the gunfire down the hallways and then the sound of running footsteps. "GET AWAY FROM THAT! GET AWAY!"

Sumire kept stabbing, the cracks spreading. The knife finally punched through, sinking up to the hilt and she couldn't tug it free. Swearing under her breath about how these tanks just had to be built with shatter-proof glass, she dropped to her back and began to kick at the knife with both feet.

Another angry shriek, wild gunfire as Kimberly vented her anger on the ceiling. "LEAVE IT ALONE! THAT'S MINE!"

A few more kicks and the glass bowed slightly as cracks began to spread sharply, loudly. But not so loud they didn't cover the gunfire of Kimberly's approach. "Jessiebelle! Kaede! Get clear!"

Yelling was a bad idea, her lungs suddenly burning but Sumire ignored it, ignored the coughing that followed. Only a few more blows. Impatience won out and she sat up, slamming a fist into the largest set of cracks and causing them to spread.

"YOU BROWN BITCH!" Kimberly's voice was right there and she could see the masked figure tripping over the dead body, gun aiming widely for her. "I'll KILL YOU!"

Sumire just punched harder, pain erupting from her knuckles as they left smears of red on the glass. A bullet whizzed through her hair, hot and scalding. Another punch.

And the tank shattered.

Sumire rolled away from the falling glass, hands over her head as Kimberly let out a shriek of childish denial and anger. "DADDY! SHE'S KILLING ME AGAIN! DADDY!"

The tank whined louder than her yells, its internal computers trying their hardest to keep the program running. But the tanks were not Duel Disks, connected to a satellite network that could handle the increased processing power and augment reality to let the game play. It needed the negative space inside the tank to work, to remove interference and variables the processor had to handle. Without it, there was just too much to calculate all at once.

And with an anti-climatic fizzle, the tank shorted out and died. An instant later, Sumire heard the gun clatter to the floor as the hands holding it vanished.

She lifted her head, seeing the gun - and no mask.

Pain erupted in her side as something kicked her hard enough to roll her over and she saw Scott looming over, face twisted in desperate sorrow as his hands forced the mask down onto her skull.

TTTTTTT

"Sumire? Sumire!" It was instinctive - Lero went to stand, determination mixing with panic, urging him to get there and help his friends, only to be left with the emptiness of his lower body refusing to obey, trapping him helplessly in his chair. A hand fell on his shoulder - Plato - ensuring he did not injure himself. "Jessie? Kaede? Someone talk to me!"

Artemis whined in worry to him, but he ignored her, tapping away at the computer. Sumire's vitals were visible through her headset and they were all spiking wildly. For a moment, he had a heart-freezing panic that Scott was killing her. And then the sudden silence that had fallen was broken by Sumire.

Sumire's panicked voice.

"No! No! Please! It's too dark! It's too dark! Let me see, please! It's too dark! Let me out!" The loudness of her screams send feedback drilling a hole into his eardrum, the dread in her words making his hairs stand up end. "Anaha muzlimat jidaa! 'Ana khayifi! Daeni akhruju! Daeni akhruj!"

He had never heard Sumire like this before. Not during their marriage, not during the Bride Tournament, not even when she was arguing with her mother. In fact, he couldn't recall ever hearing her raise her voice above a speaking tone at all. The fact he understood Arabic just made it worse.

It's too dark.

"Lero?" Plato was still touching his shoulder, his tone quietly urgent.

Before Lero could respond, Sumire went quiet. For several heartbeats, there was nothing but something breathing heavily. Almost too heavily. Like there were two voices layered atop one another with the barest touch of lag.

"She's still screaming." A girl's giggle, the one heard when they see a unicorn or Elsa or kittens, the noise so awkward when heard in Sumire's rich contralto underneath those cheerful sounds. "She's sooooo loud! It's so fun! I don't even have to do anything!"

Lero stared at the computer screen, horrified. The mask on her face had blocked out the cameras Sumire's vitals were displayed, but they had calmed down. And the computer was flashing a warning, that Sumire's vitals were wrong for her baseline. That these new vitals matched a little girl's.

"Let her go." The words were hot whispers, a cresting wave of heat to herald a storm front.

"Now why would I do that? This is my body now-"

"Let her go." Now the words were ice, Lero feeling a frightening and dark calm fall over him. "Let her go now, Kimberly. Or there's going to be consequences."

"I know that voice - it's Lero! Hiiii, Lero! I remember you! You played lots with me when our daddy's had to work!" Another round of giggles. "You wanna play more games? You were always good at games!"

Lero shut off the comm. He heard Plato start, but spoke before the manservant could do anything. "Talking to her won't help. The warehouse is in lockdown, so she's still trapped there. With Jessie and Kaede and the rest of the Bunny Slippers. You are going to go there and deal with this. You know magic."

"Young Master-"

Lero twisted to look at Plato, the man's quiet surprise a mirrored reflection of the cold anger emanating from every fiber Lero had at the moment. "Plato. Go."

The teal-haired man found his composure, nodding quickly. "Yes, sir." Then he went out the door.

Lero grabbed his phone and hit speed dial. Jessie's phone rang once and then she was answering. "Oh thank god - Lero - shit's gotten real-!"

"I know. I have sent Plato to help you. Get back to the security room and seal it shut. Do not open for anyone until I call you. No matter what you hear. Not even if Kimberely threatens to shoot Sumire's body or tortures-"

"Wait- torture? She's in Sumire's body?" Jessie's panic rose. "Lero-"

"Do as I say, Jessie. There's nothing you can do right now except keep yourselves safe. Do you understand?" A pause and Lero let some of the cold escape his tight control. "Do you understand?"

"...I understand. C'mon, cuz -"

Lero hung up. He watched the blank screen for a long time, listening to a clock tick away seconds.

And plotted how he was going to kill a dead girl.

TTTTTT

"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, Mary had a little lamb and it's fleece was white as snow."

The only thing creepier than hearing a little girl sing that song purposefully in minor key was hearing Sumire's voice follow up on it a scant second later.

"Shit, where is she?" Jessie demanded. She was pressed up against Kaede's back, the pair glancing this way and that in the middle of a T-intersection. They had tried to get back to the security room, but the warehouse seemed to have twisted in on itself, their path to the workroom no longer the path back.

"She's stalking us, having fun." Kaede said in a low tone as she glanced down the long hallway. The singing seemed to be coming from it, but the moment she looked, it switched to come from Jessie's direction. "Crazy little kid…"

"How in the hell is she doing this at all? She's a kid and Scott wanted to bring her back - that's it!" Jessie swore as the singing began to echo, coming from all three directions at once.

"Oh, is that what you're worried about?" Kimberly's playful giggles sounded like a schoolyard's worth of children. "That's easy - Daddy wasn't a very good daddy when I was alive, so I was a baaaad girl! And when I died, I went to the place all baaaaad girls go! They taught me so many things about how to be so good at being bad!"

"And you couldn't just stay there?" Jessie hissed under her breath. "Dammit, where's the other Bunny Slippers? She's still got that gun!"

Kaede felt her fingers curl into a fist in frustration, only for her hand to tingle with vibration. She looked down at her cell phone, saw a text alert.

From Faith -

' 3'

She tapped the link twice and cranked up the volume. Latin chanting began to fill the hallway, followed by the chiming of a single solitary bell. Kimberly's laughter was cut off as she began to shriek again, the kind of shriek that came from deep inside.

Jessie had both hands over her ears, giving her cousin a questioning look even as Kaede extended her phone with an outstretched hand. Down one hallway, then the next and on the third, Kimberly's shrieking got louder and louder-

Kimberly burst out of the darkness, her snarling howls vicious even as they were muffled by her mask. She crashed into both women, striking and failing wildly. Kaee grapled with her, phone skidding away. Sumire was already strong, but Kimberly's ownership of her body seemed to take that to the next level as hands seized her throat and began to squeeze while slamming her head into the cement.

"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!"

A high-heeled boot smashed into Kimberly's face, sending her stumbling off Kaede. Jessie didn't even hesitate, taser driving square into the chest of the spirit's stolen body and she held it there, finger tight on the trigger.

Kimberly convulsed, shrieking again but a headbutt sent Jessie toppling back, blood pouring from her nose and her eyes blank. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

"Not before you die first." Kaede managed as she slowly got to her feet. She spared Jessie a glance, breathed a mental sigh of relief as she heard her cousin breathing - just out cold.

The mask's eye holes were completely dark, but Kaede could feel the venom coming from them. "What are you talking about, you meanie?"

Kaede pointed at her - and the thin line of cracks running down the mask's side. "That's an old mask you're living in. It can't take much more abuse and once it breaks, that's it, you're dead. Back down to hell."

"I'll kill you first!" Kimberly snapped and took a deliberate stomp forwards, halting when with a cracking noise, bits of her mask crumbled to the ground. "Ah-!"

Kaede flicked her eyes to her phone - it was still playing the file, but Kimberly only seemed to barely notice. So much for my secret weapon. But you can't exactly do an exorcism long-distance, can you?

Still, it was least keeping the angry spirit off kilter and unable to use some of her powers, so the redhead carefully slid the phone behind a fake potted plant with her foot. Her eyes darted to the gun slung over Kimberly's shoulder - so far, the spirit had forgotten in her childish rage, but how long would that last?

"How about this, kid?" Kaede drew herself up. "We play a game, just like you want. I win and you go back to hell. You win…" She jerked a thumb at her chest. "You can have my body, free of charge. I'll even take your place in hell."

Kimberly's head tilted at her, as if she was trying to figure out if Kaede was lying. Then those childish giggles escaped again and she clapped her hands, bouncing on her heels. Such a kiddie action on Sumire's body made Kaede shudder. "Okay! We'll play! Let's play, right now!"

A Duel Disk appeared on her, loaded with a deck while Kaede pulled out her Pocket Disk and slid it on. Both devices glowed as they activated, the artificial light weak against the real magical shadows filling the hallway and coiling around their feet. (KBLP:8000) (KLP:8000)

"I'm first, I'm first!" Kimberly pumped her fist in the air and then drew her cards. "Alright, I got some good ones! I set one card face-down and activate the continuous spell card Goblin Tactics!"

The continuous spell card materialized in front of her and then she slapped down another card. "Then I summon my Goblin Attack Force in attack mode!" A sextet of goblins tromped onto the field, armed with clubs and doing their best to look menacing. "Just try and beat'em up! They're really strong!" (2300/0)

"Draw!" Kaede snapped up her card and then slapped it down. "Come out, Shadowknight Archfiend!" Like her other archfiends, this one held a exposed-muscle, bone-armor template to it though his was angular and sharp, with a massive wrist-mounted sword and wicked-looking ribcage shield. (2000/1600)

"Aww, he looks like one of the people I met in the bad place! His name was Flesh That Weeps, but I just called him Weepy!" Kimberly said, giggling. "But - oops! Your guy is pretty weak!"

"I'm getting to that. First up, I activate a continuous spell card just like you - Archfiend Blood Rites." The card shimmered into existence in front of her and then Shadowknight held out his hand, a nasty-looking staff with a laughing skull as the head appeared in his clawed grasp. "Then I'll equip my Shadowknight with Archfiend Staff of Despair."

Shadowknight rumbled something unintelligible and held up the new weapon, the staff's skull suddenly opening its eyes and letting out a demonic cackle. "Then I use the Staff's effect - all your monsters lose attack points equal to half of his! Shadowknight! Carve up those goblins!"

"What? No! That's bad!" Kimberly gasped as her goblins began to sicken and panic, staring helplessly as the demon charged for them. "Um-um-um-!" (2300-1300)

Her masked face fell to her set card. "Oh, I got it! I activate my trap card! Zero Gravity!" A green glow swept over the playing field, forcing all the monster on the field to drop to their knees. "This switches the modes of all our monsters, so your stupid demon is stuck on your side of the field."

Kaede didn't look all that bothered by the fact her attack had been halted. "Alright. I set one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Yes! My turn again!" Kimberly sounded like she was grinning broadly, her casual posture making Sumire's body look more unrefined than ever. "Cool! I got a fun card! Go, Goblin Fortress!"

She swept the card into her field slot, a war horn sounding as a smattering array of banners depicting the goblins appeared behind her. Her Goblin Attack Force snapped to attention and saluted it. "Then I'll make my army even bigger with my Goblin Decoy Squad!" Her new goblins were shorter than their cousins, wearing camo gear and armed with horns and yo-yos. (1000/0)

"And thanks to Goblin Tactics, my monsters don't have to deal with your stupid knight! They can hit you directly! Go on and make her hurt!" Kimberly pointed at Kaede in a dramatic fashion, her goblins surging for her. They all skidded to a halt when Shadowknight growled at them and so they settled for hurling their noise-makers and clubs at the redhead. "And when my Decoy goblins hit you, I draw a card!" (KLP:8000-7000)

The goblins swiftly retreated, all of them dropping to their knees and as they did, two of the banners behind Kimberly lit up softly. "Now my field spell gains counters as they go to defense and now it'll be even harder for you to get to me!"

"Not really - just watch." Kaede snapped up her card, pausing as a glow of bloody-red energy appeared around her before being siphoned away into Shadowknight. "During my standby phase, I have to pay nine hundred life points because Shadowknight is in play." (KLP:7000-6100)

"That's a dumb effect. Your monster's not even that good!"

"No, but my Archfiend Blood Rites is!" Kaede pointed at her spell card. It, too, was glowing red and this energy also flowed into Shadowknight. "Each time I pay life points for the effect of an Archfiend monster, my spell gains a counter and then I can give any Archfiend one thousand extra attack points!" (2000-3000)

Kimerly stuck out her tongue. "Nyeh - that's still dumb! My monsters are in defense mode, so you can't hurt me!"

"My Lancer Archfiend has something to say about that!" Kaede tossed the monster down, a glow of light resolving into a lanky-armored demon skeleton with lances instead of forearms. "Now battle - Shadowknight Archfiend attacks Goblin Attack Force!" (1600/1400)

The knight charged, his blade flashing across the front row of goblins and spraying green blood across the hallway. Kimberly just laughed. "That won't work! I can remove a counter to keep you from killing my goblins in a fight!" One of the flags behind her winked out.

That was when Shadowknight's sword came hurling between the goblins and slashed past her face. She gasped in horror as a few more cracks spread across her mask. "Ow - that hurt!" (KBKLP:8000-6500)

"My Lancer Archfiend has a special power - once per turn, he can make another Archfiend deal damage through defense! Though Shadowknight's own effect says you can only take half damage. It still stings, doesn't it?" Kaede smirked as Kimberly gave off a nasty growl in response. "Lancer Archfiend attacks Goblin Decoy Force!"

"You just said you can only do that once! But I can keep my goblins safe again" Kimberly flung out her hand and the remaining flag lost it's glow. As it did, the cowardly goblins all managed to scatter to avoid Lancer Archfiend's thrusting blades.

"But you can't do it a third time - reverse card open! Cross Shift! I swap a monster on my field for one in my hand!" Kaede snapped her fingers as Lancer Archfiend rippled once, then settled back to normal. "Now he can attack and use his effect again! So take this!"

"No! You big meanie! I'll cut you! I'll make you hurt!" Kimberly growled as this time, Lancer Archfiend managed to skewer three goblins on each of his arms. The demon laughed in skeletal delight before the corpses blew into dust. "You'll see!" (KBLP:6500-4900)

Her Duel Disk beeped and she drew, bouncing on heel to heel when she saw the card. "Yes, yes, yes! I sacrifice Goblin Attack Force for Goblin Champion!" The motley crew of goblins vanished, replaced by a burly-looking goblin in full plate and armed with shield and sword. A shining example of goblin half-heartedness - one looked showed the armor was tin-plated as gold, the decorative gems were loose and falling out and the detailing was smearing paint. (3000/0)

Kaede's eyes widened slightly at the score. "Three thousand? On a level six?"

"That's right - he's the best goblin that ever goblined! And he's so good at his job, they always follow him around! Champion's first effect - I summon one Goblin monster from my hand in defense mode!" Kimberly tossed down another card. These new goblins were the same squat greeness as the others, but they were dressed in modern right gear and carried a bunch of spheres with long fuses and explosive 'x's placed on them. "Goblin Bomb Squad!" (1400/0)

Champion, inspired by the other goblins - or more accurately, panicking as he realized they were now paying attention to him, hastily drew his foam sword. "Go get that nasty Lancer Archfiend and make it pay for hurting me! Off with his head!"

Kaede braced herself as the Champion charged and somehow managed to lop the head off her demon with his fake sword. The skull flew past her before shattering and the backlash washed over her. Then an explosion rocked her field, Shadnowknight's death cry being cut short. "What happened!" (KLP:6100-4600)

"Goblin Champion happened! He can gain the effect of any of my defense mode goblins and so when he dealt you damage, he got to use Bomb Squad's effect to blow up a card on your field easy-peasy!" Kimberly stuck her tongue out. "Ha ha!"

"I keep forgetting you're a kid." Kaede folded her arms derisively. "Only a kid would get excited over a simple move like that."

"You just say that 'cause I'm winning!"

"Are you, though? Since my Staff of Despair went to the graveyard, I pay one thousand life points to add it back to my hand." Kaede held up the card in question and then slid it amongst her hand cards. "This, of course, puts another counter on my Blood Rites. So it has two." (KLP:4600-3600)

"Fine, whatever!" Kimberly grumped at her, a card flashing into existence behind her Champion. "I set this card face-down and end my turn!"

"Draw!" Kaede drew and then grabbed a different card from her hand. "I summon Tour Guide from the Underworld." (1000/600)

A tour guide appeared, dressed in a tidy uniform and sporting little fangs. She bowed and immediately pulled open a bus door that had been there a second ago. "When I summon this monster, I can summon another low level fiend from the deck, so I choose Fiendish Warrior Rhino!" Burly and armed with a sword, a rhino man stomped free of the doorway and snorted, tossing his head. (1600/400)

"Ooh, scary, scary." Kimberly mocked. "My Goblin Champion is going to mince them both into bloody chunks of meat and then I'm going to stew them!"

Kaede shook her head. "You weren't kidding about the bad girl part...but you're not the first one I've encountered and you won't be last. My job's the same each time - sending you back to the afterlife, so let me summon up a new monster to do that for me! With these two level three monsters, I open up the Overlay Network!"

Her two monsters swirled together into a vortex which in turn swam with darkness and then spat out a solidified mass of it. This mass twisted into a rough, floating humanoid shape and morphed itself into a fluttering mass of heavy cloak, glowing eyes and a scythe. "The last thing in all creation to die will be yourself! Reap all the world and cast us all into silent graves! Xyz Summon! Rank 3! Number 48: Shadow Lich!" (1800/0)

"Eh?" Kimberly took an uncertain step back, her mockery replaced by childish worry. "No, I don't like it! I don't like it! Make it go away!"

"Nope. I activate my monster's effect! I expend one Overlay Unit and then I summon four copies of it to my field!" Shadow Lich reached up and grabbed one of the orbs circling it. The monster squeezed, exploding it and then darkness around them peeled off the ways. Each thick dollop settled onto Kaede's field and twisted, becoming identical shadows to the reaper. (500/x4)

"No! I didn't say summon more! I said to take it away!" Kimberly shrieked, stamping her feet and then gasping as the cracks spread across her mask.

"In case you can't hear me, I detached my Rhino from Shadow Lich. And since Rhino hit the graveyard, I can send Archfiend Heiress to the grave as well. And her effect gives me any Archfiend card I want." Kaede added the card to her hand and then held out another one. It glowed and the Lich's free hand gained a skull-topped rod. "I equip my monster with Staff of Despair and use its effect! All of your monsters lose nine hundred points!"

The goblins all groaned and clutched at their heads as a miasma swelled around their feet, energy spilling from them as they began to moan and wail comically. (1400-500) (3000-2100)

Kaede chuckled at the stamping, indignant foot Kimberly gave in response. "Aw, don't worry if you don't like it. I'll get rid of it for you, along with everything else! I activate Flames of the Archfiend!" The shadows at her feet suddenly ignited and like a wild fire, they swept across the ground and began to crawl up Kimberly and her monsters. "I have a fiend in place, so all field cards are destroyed, then we both one thousand damage!" (KLP:4600-3600)

"Agh! No! Stupid, stupid, stupid! You're stupid!" Kimberly swatted at the flames covering her body. "You'll burn yourself up - huh?" she let out a gasp as her Goblin Bomb Squad all began to collapse, dying one after the other. "Oh no no no!" (KBLP:5400-4400)

"Flames of the Archfiend also burns up one thousand points off of all monsters that aren't fiends and if they hit zero, they die!" Kaede laughed as Goblin Champion dropped his weapon and shield, shrieking pathetically as his armor began to melt off him and then he, too, was eaten up by the flames. "Looks like your Champion can't exist without his groupies around." (500-0) (2100-1100)

"You don't scare me! You just got lucky! You just -!" Kimberly shrieked in horror as one of the Shadow Lichs swooped towards, scythe raised high to slash her neck. "Stay away! Stay away! I've still got my trap card!"

The card lifted, glowing and it spat out another Goblin Attack Force. Seeing their master cower, they turned towards the Lich and growled. They dogpiled him, clubs beating on the vaporous monster until it wasn't even bits of dus. "Ha! Now you lose your monster and take damage!"

"That was one of my tokens and when they die, I don't take damage." Kaede lifted her finger to point at the goblins. "And when the real reaper comes for your goblins, he can absorb the power of all of his clones in play! Attack! Death Reaping!" (1800-3300)

The goblins' celebratory macarena was short-lived as the lich appeared in their mists and whirled, his scything through them all at once. Their headless bodies dropped in unison and then Kimberly was screaming in fear as the three remaining tokens flashed past her to land scythe blows. (KBLP:4400-3400-1900)

"That - gah, I hate you! You made me hurt! I hate that! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!" Kimberly howled up at the ceiling and then slammed her foot down, chips of her mask raining on the floor. "I'mma gonna get you!"

She drew and held up the card. "Lookit this! Monster Reborn revives Goblin Champion from my graveyard!" In a flash of light, the armored goblin reappeared.

In a second flash, a more portly, bejeweled goblin appeared alongside him. He looked at Champion, patting him on the back and giving him a thumbs-up before he settled down into an armchair. "And I use his effect to summon Goblin Commander! And that means I can put Commander in defense mode and summon out Goblin Black Ops from my deck!"

The Commander made a vague summoning gesture and a group of goblin ninjas all appeared around him in puffs of smoke. They bowed once and then dropped into defense posture. (1300/0)

"Then I summon Scrounging Goblin in defense mode, too!" Kimberly giggled as the poor-looking goblin appeared, clutching his Pot of Generosity and looking inside with a forlorn sigh. "And guess what? Guess what?" (1000/2000)

She clapped her hands again as she bounced on her feet. "Goblin Black Ops can attack you directly! Which means Goblin Commander can now! Attack that Jap bitch!"

Kaede hollered as the Goblin Champion leapt over her monsters, landing a sword slash across her chest that sent her stumbling. (KLP:3400-400)

"You deserved that, you bitch! That's what you get!" Kimberly laughed and then reached for her deck. "And now since my Champion hurt you, I get a new goblin card from my deck thanks to Scrounging Goblin!"

She held it up, revealing a trap card. "And look! It's another Goblin Ambush! And I've got another strong goblin in my hand! This means if you try to attack me, I'll force your monster to fight and you'll die and I'll get that body of yours while you burn in the fires of hell!"

"Tch...fires of hell? Don't make me laugh, kid." Kaede sneered, her expression cold. "I'm the Devil Dragon. I was born there."

"I don't know what that is, so I'm gonna say it's something you think scares me, but it doesn't! And you don't, either!" Kimberly shoved a card into her disk. "I set this! End turn!"

"Oh, you're gonna be scared, Kimberly - and I'm going to like it! I draw!" Kaede did so and then pointed at her Archfiend Blood Rites card. "I activate Magic Planter, sending my card to the graveyard to draw twice more!"

She drew two more cards, her deck glowing. "That means Blood Rites lets me summon an Archfiend from the deck whose level matches the counters it had. So come out, Archfiend Horrorpawn!" Her new monster was smaller than even she was, all bone and exposed tissue with a face of silent anger. (1200/200)

"The roar of flames and the biting heat of the inferno gather together to boil the devil's blood! Ignite the world in a hellstorm of battle Synchro Summon! Level 8!" Horrorpawn erupted into circling stars that flowed into two of the tokens. They both ignited, becoming a roaring blaze that consumed their incorporeal forms and left the roaring crimson form of Kaede's namesake monster. "Hot Red Dragon Archfiend!" (3000/2000)

"That's..that's…" Kimberly stared at the monster, her hand trembling. "No no no…" Hot Red Dragon Archfiend roared at her, and she shrieked in panic, covering her face.

"Whaddya know? My monster doesn't like people who hijack my friends and are murderous brats. Kinda like me." Kaede pointed at her Shadow Lich, who seized the last orb of light circling him. "I use my monster's effect to summon three more tokens into play!"

Once more, the shadows peeled off the wall and reformed into duplicates of their creator. Then Kaede was holding up another spell card. Her Synchro Monster began to bleed from little cuts all over, the blood instantly igniting and wreathing it in ever-growing flames. "I equip Hot Red with Blood of the Archfiends! Now when he destroys a monster, he powers up by six hundred points! Crimson Tide!"

Hot Red gathered flames around its claw and then punched the ground. The resulting shockwave shook the hallway as the waves of flames ate up all four of Kaede's lich and Goblin Champion. "All attack mode monsters are destroyed! And since that was five in total, he gains three thousand attack points!" (3000-6000)

"But- but my monsters are in defense position..!"

"That didn't stop me the first time." Kaede held up her own copy of Monster Reborn and Lancer Archfiend reappeared on her field. "You're done, Kimberly! Hot Red Dragon Archfiend! Hell Eruption!"

Kimberly screamed as the dragon spewed forth a torrent that ate up Goblin Commander and then rest of her monsters. She went sailing backwards, landing hard on her back as pieces of her mask trailed in her wake.

Groaning, she fumbled her way to upright, clutching desperately at her mostly-exposed face. "No! No!" Her hand found the gun and she twisted to aim it at herself. "If I'm going back to Hell, I'm taking your friend with me! That's what you get for being a meanie to me, you bitch!"

A shadow loomed over her.

Kimberly stared up at the growling face of Hot Red, just feet from her own. The dragon stared her down for a long moment and then roared, the act cracking and then shattering the rest of her mask. The pieces went flying away, evaporating into flames and then nothingness.

"Well, this day has gone to hell…" Kaede muttered to herself as she darted over to check on Sumire. The Egyptian woman was still, but had a steady pulse and was breathing. Another dart and check revealed the same of her cousin. "Christ, this was just supposed to be a one-and-done trip. At least it can't get any worse…"

TTTTTT

In the expansive grounds of Kaiba Mansion, more than a dozen figures wrapped in heavy cloaks approached it from all angles, their movements silent and swift. None breached the perimeter wall, but they did not need to. Some cut power to the alarm boxes, others dug up power lines to do the same and others still set transmission jammers in key points around the grounds to block off cell reception, WiFi and a few were even able to project a hologram of an empty space for the cameras while the rest did their work.

And amidst it all, Chrysaor walked up to the front door, humming to himself and admiring the decorative hedges shaped like all animals that weren't dragons and a large fountain that had a few fish in it.

The mansion front doors were massive, easily twice wide and nearly half again as tall as he was. They were imposing and intimidating for their sheer stature even if one didn't know about the myriad of hi-tech defenses, sensors and the fact underneath the solid oak was reinforced, bulletproof steel from the days when Gozaburo Kaiba had a lot more enemies with even more guns to use on him.

"I don't suppose the key is under the mat?" Kozaky quipped as he came up behind Chrysaor. "Or there's a password?"

"No, but there is a magic spell that lets me open doors." Chrysaor smiled as the Duel Spirit cocked his head. "It's called the Bardic Knock spell."

"And how does this spell work?"

"Like so." Chrysaor took a deep breath, let it out, and raised his hand. He rapped twice on the door. "Anyone home?

TTTTTTTT

A/N: I'm back, baby! Expect the new chapter soon as I am very eager to write it.

It's come to this - all of Chrysaor's planning and need of souls to forge the dangerous Super Polymerization card. But to what end? And why does he share the same Signer Mark as the man Chrysaor claims stole his life?

See it all next chapter! Two Kings - And A Dog!

Created Cards

Kimberly

Goblin Commander
EARTH
5 stars
Warrior/Effect
0/0
Effect: Once per turn, if this card is in face-up attack position, you can switch it to defense position; then Special Summon one Level four or lower 'Goblin' EARTH monster from your deck. You can only use this effect of 'Goblin Commander' once per turn. During the Battle Phase, if there are no other face-up 'Goblin' EARTH monsters, switch this card to attack position.

Goblin Champion
EARTH
Level 6
Warrior/Effect
3000/0
Effect: Once per turn, you can special summon one 'Goblin' EARTH 'monster from your Hand in face-up defense position. Other 'Goblin' monsters you control cannot be put into attack position (even by a card effect) while this card is face-up on the field. If this card deals battle damage, you can activate the effects of level 4 or lower 'Goblin' EARTH monsters as if they were this card's effect.

Goblin Bomb Squad
EARTH
4 stars
Warrior/Effect
1400/0
Effect: You can only control one face-up 'Goblin Bomb Squad'. If this card inflicts damage to your opponent, you can destroy one face-up card on the field. If this card attacks, it is switched to defense position at the end of the Battle Phase, and its battle position cannot be changed until the End Phase of your next turn.

Goblin Lancer Squad
EARTH
4 stars
Fiend/Effect
2100/0
Effect: This card deals piercing damage. If this card attacks, it is switched to defense position at the end of the Battle Phase, and its battle position cannot be changed until the End Phase of your next turn.

Goblin Heraldry Force
EARTH
4 stars
Warrior/Effect
1700/0
Effect: If this card is destroyed as a result of battle or card effect, you can special summon 'Goblin' EARTH monster from your deck in attack position if it is 'Goblin Heraldry Force' or defense position, if it is not.

Goblin Fortress
Field Spell Card
Effect: Each time a 'Goblin' monster is changed from attack position to defense position, place one 1 counter on this card. If a face-up 'Goblin' monster with 0 DEF would be destroyed as a result of battle or card effect, you can remove a number counters from this card equal to the number of monsters that would be destroyed instead. You can remove one counter from this card, target one defense position 'Goblin' monster and switch it to attack position.

Goblin Tactics
Continuous Spell Card

Effect: Face up 'Goblin' you control can attack your opponent's life points directly, but all damage they take becomes 500. If this face-up card is destroyed, you can target any number of face-up 'Goblin' monsters you control and change their battle positions.

Goblin Ambush Tactics

Trap Card
Effect: Activate when your opponent's monster declares an attack. Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Goblin' monster from your hand and switch attack target to that monster. The monster summoned by this effect returns to the hand at the end of the Battle Phase.

Kaede:

Archfiend Blood Rites
Continuous Spell Card
Effect: Each time you play life points for the effect of an 'Archfiend' card, place one 'Archfiend Counter' on this card; then increase the ATK of one 'Archfiend' monster you control by 1000 OR reduce the ATK/DEF of one monster your opponent controls until the End Phase. If this face-up card is sent to the graveyard, you can special summon one 'Archfiend' monster from your deck whose level is equal to or less than the number of 'Archfiend Counters' on this card.

Image: Infernalqueen lording over a hapless looking fiend whose soul is being drained into a blood-stained bowl, the liquid inside shimmering with the image of Archfiend Emperor's face.