Yet another duel. Enjoy. _

*Chapter 20: Beginning To Become A Little Harder*

After some time, the grass had slowly turned into solid rock. The walk had soon turned steep, but not even close to as steep as the mountain was. Like usual, Hope was last in line, panting, trying to keep up with the much fitter boys.

"What concerns me is that we don't know how many Generals there are. It could be a big problem if their numbers are too great." Apparently, Will was relating what he thought about the situation.

"Still, we can't just sit back and watch them take over," Rue protested. "If we manage to hit one of the leaders, then the Generals will be like a snake without a head. So I think we should do that, rather than trying to duel and destroy every one."

"That's a good point; I'm surprised at who thought it up though," Will said. "First time for everything, eh Rue?"

"Can we just keep going?" Max asked impatiently as Rue chased Will around, swinging the ax.

After some more walking, they finally reached their destination. Standing on the solid ground, they stared at the gorge. It was so deep that they couldn't even see the bottom. Hope picked up a rock and dropped it. Not a sound was heard as the stone fell, and fell, and fell, until it was out of sight.

"I'm glad I'm not afraid of heights," Neo commented. He looked a little bit pale though.

"I guess this is where we turn back," Hope decided. "We could cross that thing, but it isn't worth the risk."

Max spun around suddenly. "Somebody else is here."

A man was indeed there. He wore a gray long sleeved shirt, and silver pants. His casual shoes were black. His hair was silver, and down to his shoulders, but his eyes were what made his really weird. One was a normal blue, but the other was silver. You couldn't look at it for too long without wanting to turn away and avoid its stare. Around his neck was the fiery orb.

By his side was a huge Soul Monster. It looked like three pieces of machinery fit together. At the very bottom was a yellow tank-like device. It had tracks, and was obviously the most common way the machine got around. At its stomach area it was red, with a strange dragon-like head sticking out. A tail emerged from the other side of this part. The top part was mainly blue, with some gold. It had a cannon sticking out of each of its shoulders. All in all, it was pretty threatening.

"Looks like I found the next casualties in our slaughter," the man laughed. "I am called Kanon, and my killing machine over there is a XYZ Dragon Cannon-Avance if you can't remember his full title. As you can see, I am a General of Hell. I see that you are all duelists, so we will have the liberty of killing all of you. Who will be first?"

"I'll duel you," Rue announced. "I haven't gotten the chance in a while."

"Are you sure?" Will asked.

"What, you doubt me?"

"Yes."

"Gee, thanks for the support! Of course I can win!"

"Then go over there and get ready!"

Rue muttered under his breath some insults before walking toward Kanon. "Can we get a little bit farther away from that ravine?"

"Scared? I should have known. Fine, we can move. That won't be your biggest problem anyway." Kanon led them to the more stable, rocky ground.

"Hold on. I must do something very quickly." He spoke in a whisper to Avance; the machine responded just as quietly. "Well, some special adjustments have been made for this duel. You will see one of them soon enough; the other one will be of no concern to you for the time being. Shall we begin?"

"Let's dance!" was Rue's response.

Rue: 8000

Kanon: 8000

*****

Claire sighed. She was bored out of her mind.

"If only I could go to Teknisk Wereld... but I know I can't. I promised Rue… he trusts me…"

She sighed, and walked downstairs. Maybe there is something on TV besides stupid news reporters. You just can't trust those freaks. She grabbed the remote, and flicked on the TV. She expected to see another official trying to reassure the topic, but was very surprised to see two figures with Duel Disks facing each other. She didn't recognize one, but the other she knew all too well.

"Rue!"

*****

"I will begin this death match," Kanon announced. "Ah, what a good starting hand! I will lead the destruction by summoning X-Head Cannon in attack mode. (1800/1500) I will also lay one card face down. It is your turn."

Rue stared at the monster, and then his hand. "I can't risk your trap, so I will set one monster face down. Your move."

"How pathetic. Ah, look at what I have drawn. Already, I can unleash one of my best monster!" Kanon grinned evilly.

"What? How?" Rue looked worried.

"I will start by summoning Y-Dragon Head! (1500/1600)"

"That's supposed to scare me? It's way too weak to do much good."

"Ah, but that is before I play my Front Line Base! Now I can special summon one Union Monster each turn. So I special summon Z-Metal Caterpillar! (1500/1300) And now, I can remove all three from the game to summon XYZ-Dragon Cannon! (2800/2500)"

Rue stared in horror at the intimidating machine, and then calmed himself down. "Ok, so you got your prize monster out. So what? You can't hit me with my monster protecting me."

"Ah, but I can. XYZ's effect allows me to discard one card from my hand to destroy any card on the field. So I discard Killer Snake and destroy your monster!"

"That was my Black Forest Witch… I will search my deck now."

"Not like it will do you any good. My menacing machine will attack you directly!"

The XYZ unleashed two powerful cannon blasts. Rue barely managed to keep his balance.

Rue: 5200

Kanon: 8000

"First blood for me. Now you will see what the conditions are for this duel."

"What?" Rue asked, and suddenly felt something happen to his legs. He looked at them, and stared, in shock. "What the?!"

"Feeling a little stiff? It's to be expected though."

Rue's legs were now gray, solid, and impossible to move. Just below his hips was where the material ended.

"It's… rock?"

"Correct. Every time we lose Life Points, we begin to become petrified. The loser of the fight will remain a statue for life, while their soul is sent straight to Hell."

"Damn you!" Rue snarled.

"That's the worst you could come up with? I end my assault for the time being."

Rue drew, and smiled at the card he had drawn. "Your monster has one major weakness; it is easily destroyed by Magic cards!"

"Ah, but I prepared for that. I will activate my trap card. It is called Magic-Sealing Incense!"

"What does that do?"

"Now, neither of us can play magic cards from our hands. You must set them for one turn before activating them!"

Rue shrugged. "Big deal. I lay one monster in defense mode, and lay a card down. Your turn."

"Oh, but it is a big deal. For you see, I now get Killer Snake back, and can discard it to destroy your face down card!"

Realization dawned upon Rue. "So that means that as long as the Magic-Sealing Incense is in play, I can't use my magic cards before you destroy them."

"That's right. And I can also discard more than one card per turn. I will discard a Shine Angel (1400/1000) to destroy your face down monster."

"My Tenacious Old Magician and Thunderbolt are gone…"

"It looks like I get another direct attack."

Rue yelled out in pain as the monster hit him again.

Rue: 2400

Kanon: 8000

*****

Claire was in shock. If this was really happening, then the person she cared about the most would soon be torn away from her forever.

"Rue…" What should I do? I must go there to help him… but I promised I wouldn't… She looked back at the TV in time to see Rue's stomach and shoulders turned into stone. All he had left were his arms and head. That settled it. I don't care that I said I would stay here. I'm going into Teknisk Wereld. I'm going to find Rue and help him.

She ran into her room, and fastened the Envoyant Machine on quickly. "Here I go." She pressed the green button.

*****

Rue gritted his teeth. "I'm not done yet." He drew, and sighed in relief. "Just what I needed. I summon Magic Warrior-Breaker! (1900/1000) I remove his counter to destroy your Magic-Sealing Incense! (1600/1000) Now I play Power Of Magics, raising his attack and defense by 500 for every magic or trap I have. So I lay down two cards, to raise his attack to an appropriate amount. (3100/2500) Attack the XYZ Dragon Cannon! I end my turn."

Rue: 2400

Kanon: 7700

Kanon growled in fury as his legs were snared in the cold rock. "That was a cute trick. I'm not one for pretty little moves though. It's my turn now, and I get Killer Snake. I am actually glad that you got rid of my trap, because now I can play Jar Of Greed from my hand. And I've drawn just the card I needed. I play Raise Dead, to call my XYZ Dragon back to the field!"

Rue shook his head. "I can't let you get away with doing that, so I activate Ruecian's effect! By discarding one card from my hand to the Cemetery, I can negate and destroy any magic card you play!"

"Damn. I guess I have no choice to activate my own Deck Master's ability. By discarding one card, I can destroy any card on the field. So you can say goodbye to Breaker as I discard Killer Snake. I will then summon X-Head Cannon to the field, and attack your Life Points."

"I counter with Torture Wheel! Your monster is trapped."

"Until next turn."

"I draw, and my Torture Wheel makes you lose 500 Life Points."

Rue: 2400

Kanon: 7200

"I know you will just destroy my Torture Wheel next turn, so I might as well kill your X-Head Cannon now. I summon Gemini Elf, and attack your X-Head Cannon!"

Rue: 2400

Kanon: 7100

"A petty amount of damage was done. It certainly wasn't enough to waste two cards on."

"Just make your move."

"I will. I get back Killer Snake, and discard it to destroy your face down card."

"There goes my Black Power Stone."

"After that, I will lay one card down. I'm done."

"I attack with Gemini Elf!"

"I activate Cry of the Living Dead. It looks like my XYZ is back. I also activate another Magic-Sealing Incense!"

Rue swore under his breath. "I cancel the attack. I switch Gemini Elf to defense mode, and lay two cards down. It's your turn." Now it's up to luck.

"Hold on a minute!" Max interrupted. "XYZ can't be revived like that! You can only special summon him by his fusion effect."

"Normally, that would be true. Avance prevents that though. With him as my Deck Master, I can revive my XYZ Dragon Cannons with normal revival cards. It's time to continue. I get back Killer Snake. I discard Killer Snake to destroy Gemini Elf." He paused to think, and then continued. "I will also discard my Black Hole to destroy the card to my left."

Rue looked, and stared, horrified. "No! My Holy Barrier-Mirror Force!"

"It looks like I've won this battle. Go XYZ, attack directly!"

Rue smirked. "I activate Magic Cylinder!"

"What?!"

"You make assumptions too quickly."

"…End turn."

Rue: 2400

Kanon: 4600

"Before we continue, I have something I have to ask. Why did you want to become a General of Hell? What's your reason?" Rue demanded.

"Why do you care?"

"All of you have some past experience that makes you turn out this way. I just want to know yours."

"I think we all do," Hope agreed.

Will couldn't resist throwing in his two cents. "Echecs had a reason?"

"Oh be quiet," Rue snapped.

"And why would I tell you brats my personal secrets? Just make your move, so I can win this duel."

"Fine, I will." Rue looked at the card he drew, and nodded. "I guess this will do. I lay down one card, and set one monster. Your turn."

Kanon drew, and frowned. "I get back Killer Snake. I discard it to destroy your face down card."

"I chain it! Cyclone, on your Cry of the Living Dead!"

"Bastard… I summon Black Forest Witch and attack your face down monster."

"My Cyber Pod activates! (900/900) All of our monsters are destroyed, first of all. So go ahead and use your Black Forest Witch's effect. The next effect is that we each pick up five cards off the tops of our decks and reveal them. I got Skilled Black Magician, another Skilled Black Magician, Gemini Elf, Black Magician Girl, and Saint Magician."

"I picked up Z-Metal Caterpillar, Mysterious Findings, Shine Angel, Y-Dragon Head, and Destruction Ring."

"Finally, we lay down any monster that is level four or less. I play Skilled Black Magician and Gemini Elf in attack, and Saint Magician in defense."

"I lay Shine Angel in defense mode, while Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Caterpillar go in attack. Now, I remove both of my machines from the game to fuse YZ-Caterpillar Dragon! (2100/2100) This monster can destroy any face down monster when I discard one card from my hand, but there is obviously not much of a point to this." He smirked. "I lay one card face down and end my turn."

"I draw…" Rue's grinned. "Yes!"

"Hold on; I have a trap card to activate. My Destruction Ring on Skilled Black Magician!"

Rue: 500

Kanon: 2700

"It doesn't matter," Rue stated. "I win."

Kanon laughed. "Actually, I would say you lose. Just look!"

"Rue stared at his arm in shock. "That's right… I lose more Life Points, so my arms are now trapped…" Realization hit Rue like a lightning bolt. "And if I can't play any cards, I lose!"

"Yes. Do you see now that you can't win?"

Rue groaned. "He's right… there's no point in continuing now…"

"It can't end like that!" Neo protested. "It's way too cheap!"

"I play cheap, in case you haven't noticed," Kanon snickered. "So, do you surrender?"

Rue sighed in regret. If only I could play this one card… just this one card…but I can't… I should just surrender…  "Huh? Ruecian?"

Ruecian had walked up to Rue and looked at the card he was holding. The Soul Monster appeared to be in deep thought, and then simply took the card and then summoned it onto the monster zone, removing the Saint Magician for it. The monster appeared on the battle field.

"The Black Magician Girl?!" Kanon yelled, outraged. "But… but…!"

"Great idea!" Rue complimented.

"A Soul Monster taking the duelist's place? But… that shouldn't have happened!"

"It's certainly not seen every day, but there is no rule against it," Will pointed out. "I would say you just got owned, and badly."

Kanon took a deep breath, as though to comfort himself. "It doesn't matter though. My YZ-Caterpillar Dragon is still stronger than your Black Magician Girl. (2000/1700)"

"Do you remember when I used Ruecian's effect?" Rue asked.

"What of it?"

"The card that I discarded was a Black Magician. So my Black Magician Girl gets 300 more attack points! (2300/1700)"

"Ok, so you can destroy my monster. Big deal! You still can't win like that."

"Oh, but I can. Ruecian, would you please play the card I just drew face down?" He obliged. "Thanks. Now, Black Magician Girl attacks your YZ-Caterpillar Dragon, Skilled Black Magician attacks your Shine Angel, and Gemini Elf will attack the monster you get with Shine Angel."

"I got another Shine Angel. And with it, I get Y-Dragon Head."

"I'm done."

"I discard Killer Snake to destroy Black Magician Girl, Mysterious Findings to destroy your other Skilled Black Magician." He then paused. "I can't risk your trap. I switch Y-Dragon to defense mode, and set one monster down."

Rue smiled. "Trap? What trap? Ruecian, I need you to draw." He looked at the card. "Better than I hoped. First, I activate my face down card, Harpy's Feather Sweep! That will destroy all of your magic and trap cards! Then I activate Jar Of Greed. If I get what I want, I win." Ruecian drew the two cards and showed them to Rue. "Yep, that's game. Ruecian, activate the first one you drew. Yeah, that one. First off is my Black Magic Curtain!" Rue winced as his neck turned into stone. "I have to give up half of my Life Points, but in return, I special summon a Black Magician from my deck! Then my Thousand Knives card is activated! It destroys your face down monster!"

"My Critter… I get Z-Metal Caterpillar…"

"It won't help you though. I summon my own Killer Snake! My Gemini Elf destroys your Y-Dragon Head, Killer Snake attacks you, and my Black Magician attacks you directly!"

Rue: 250

Kanon: 0

Avance began to become engulfed by rock, and soon appeared to have transformed into a statue. The rock began working its way up Kanon, as the stone on Rue started to fade away.

"Alright… you won. I guess you can't win every battle you fight. Before I die though, I want to tell… you something…"

"Go on," Rue encouraged.

"I became a General of Hell so… I could have revenge. I was… ignored… cast out… all because I looked different." His silver eye stared right at Rue. "This eye of mine… cast me out of my own home. It made everyone… fear me… resent me… I wanted to repay the favor by… slaughtering them all… but I failed…" He gave a sickening smile. "Now that you… know… do you truly feel sorry… for me?"

Kanon never spoke again. Completely petrified, his sightless eyes would never bother anyone again.

To be continued…

Author's Note: Kanon is cannon in Norwegian. Avance is advanced in French.