This took a little bit more than forever to upload, and I'm sorry. _

GearFried the Iron Angel: Warriors are my favorite type of monster, so of course my main character will use them. _ I'm glad you liked chapter eight. You know what the sad thing is? I based those off of two real people. "Ifrit" really made those moves in several duels, so I can't take credit. _

Whispering Hope: o_O Pretty? WTH? I am guessing that's a compliment, so thanks? _

*Chapter 22: Guarding the Dead*

They stared at the statues for a few minutes, shocked. Except for Max; he was looking bored.

"We can't stay here forever… shall we move on?" he suggested.

Hope nodded. "Good point, but where should we go?"

"Well, we were going to turn away from that gorge… but why not try to cross it?"

Rue just looked at him. "Are you mad?"

"Use your Time Capsules. It will get us across easily enough, right?"

After many threats, Rue finally used the Time Capsules. They made it over the gorge without a problem, although Hope had to be forced into her Capsule. They then walked away from the gorge as quickly as they could. The road was now downhill; luckily, the going was easy. They kept walking until Gaston said, "I think I see something ahead. A cave, I assume."

That was indeed what it was. "Should we go in?" Hope asked.

"There's nowhere else to go," Will pointed out. So without further thought, they went in.

The cave was dark and dry. Fortunately, Max had his Dark Piercing Light with him this time, so he lit it right away. It was still a creepy atmosphere though. Hope screamed, startling everyone but Ruecian, who calmly chopped the Giant Rat that had been in front of them apart.

"I don't like this place…" Hope whimpered.

"I can see that," Rue stated. "Want to go back?"

"As if!"

Eventually, they reached a fork in the road. "Which way do we go?" Hope asked.

Rue threw his axe in the air. It landed with the blade pointing left. "Let's trust luck." They began walking that way.

After some time, Max beckoned them to halt. "It looks like we found what we were looking for." He held out the card in his hand, sending light over the scene in the main cavern.

It was a cemetery. Tombstones were everywhere, coffins were thrown about, blood stains dyed the floor red. Hope saw a white item on the floor, and turned away with a groan when she saw it was a human arm, the flesh picked off. Some of the graves had body parts sticking out, adding to the awful stench in the room. Will noticed that there was another way out, but it was blocked with a boulder.

"It's horrible…" Hope murmured.

Rue gave the site a sick look. "Who killed all of these people? And why did they attempt to bury them?"

A man sprang from a ledge at the top of the cave to the ground in one swift movement. Even when he threw aside the long, black cloak, he had a brown one on, concealing all but the lower half of his face. He wore the same orb that all Generals of Hell did. What attracted the most notice was the spear that he carried. It might have once been silver, but it was now stained red.

A Soul Monster was with him. The brown-skinned man wore a blue shirt, green pants, and a brown belt, covered by a black and white robe. He had brown eyes, and a very short, black beard. He carried a golden staff, with a cobra's head at the top.

The man pointed his spear at them. "Now that you have seen this area of destroyed lives, you must become one of the countless corpses that lie in this graveyard for all time."

"Is that what you call a run on sentence?" Neo asked Will.

"Why are you more concerned with that then that we are about to be skewered?" he hissed back.

The man stabbed forward with his spear, meaning to impale Max. Max was quick though. He drew his katana and blocked the attack swiftly, and then applied enough force to push the man and spear back, toward the center of the room. The man attempted to strike through Max's defensive moves several times, only to be stopped by swift movements of the younger, fitter man. At one such block, Max swiftly grabbed the spear handle with his free hand. Holding onto it, his other hand with the katana moved too fast to see. The man's shoulder was pierced completely through with the steel. Hope felt horribly fascinated to see the katana emerge from the back of the man. He gave a shout of pain and fell to one knee, dropping the spear. Max calmly pulled the katana out of his shoulder and pointed it at the man's neck.

"Surrender?" Max touched the man's throat with the cold point of the katana. Olympion was easily holding off the man's Soul Monster with his sword. Seeing that there was no way around the loss, the man sighed.

"Yes."

Max stepped back to let the man get up. The man stood still for a few seconds, his hand concealed by his cloak. Suddenly, he revealed his hand in a throw, hurling dirt into Max's eyes. Although blinded, he heard the spear coming, and managed to bring the katana up in time to stop his windpipe from being torn. He cleared his eyes quickly, only to see that it was a stalemate. Both of their weapons were inches away from the other's throat; one move would result in death.

"It looks like we tied," the man stated.

"That was a cheap trick!" Hope protested.

"Maybe, but there were no boundaries to this fight," the man point out. "I suppose we only have one way around this. We will duel, and the loser will be the one to die."

"Agreed," Max said. They drew away from each other. Max swiftly wiped the blood off of his blade, and sheathed it. The man's shoulder was bleeding freely, and the man turned his concern to it.

"I will duel with this handicap," he announced. "I have had worse injuries. To make sure I do not die of blood loss though…" He pulled a card out of his cloak, and muttered something. A red bottle materialized, and he drank it. Almost immediately, the wound sealed, leaving hardened blood as the only evidence that it had been there.

That's weird… Hope thought. Before he used the card, he felt the top, where the name of the card was. Why did he do that?

"Red Potion," Will realized. "It can close wounds, but it doesn't heal the pain it brings. That could cause this man to make some serious errors."

"I wouldn't count on that. My endurance is remarkable."

"So is your modesty," Neo noticed.

He ignored the comment. "Well, are you prepared?"

"Yes."

"Refer to me as Morte. No need to introduce yourself Max-we've met before."

Max frowned. "What?"

"I'll explain after we duel."

*****

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"NO."

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!!!"

"Are we there yet?"

Brandi was resisting the urge to beat the stuffing out of her grinning companion. "If you ask again, I can guarantee you will know what the definition of pain is in ten seconds."

Mana wisely decided to keep her questions to herself after that.

They had made their way there with all speed. When reaching the gorge, Brandi had been fortunate to have a Time Capsule with her as well. Mana had no problem crossing, as she had the ability to float. In fact, she did float most of the time, unless she was forced not to. They were now making their way downhill swiftly.

Satisfied that her friend would not annoy her again, Brandi looked ahead again, and saw something.

"A cave, eh? Max probably went in there," Brandi realized. "Let's go inside. Be cautious though."

"Yes sir!"

Brandi glared at Mana.

"I mean ma'am!"

They walked in quietly. Brandi made use of her own Dark Piercing Light. After some time, they came across the fork that the group had found.

"Left is always right," Mana suggested.

"Since you were the one to offer that, let's go right."

Mana shrugged, but did not argue.

They finally reached a dead end, with a rock blocking the area. Brandi gave it a disgusted look. "Don't say anything."

Mana covered her mouth with her hands, giggling softly.

Brandi noticed a crack in the boulder, and looked through it. While not big enough to get through, she could still see what was happening.

"There's Max. He's dueling. Let's watch-my brother wouldn't like it if we interfered right now."

*****

Max: 8000

Morte: 8000

"I will make the first move," Morte declared. "I lay one monster in defense mode, and one card down. That is all."

Again, he felt his cards. What is wrong with this guy? Hope's thoughts belonged only to her though.

"Hm…" Max muttered. "I drew Gil Gars. You take 500 damage due to Olympion's effect, and I draw again.

Max: 8000

Morte: 7500

"I summon Gil Gars. (1800/1200) It will attack your defense monster."

"You attacked my Gravekeeper Infiltrator. (1200/2000) You lose 200 Life Points. I also get to search my deck for a Gravekeeper monster with less than 1500 attack and special summon it to the field, thanks to its reverse effect. So I special summon Gravekeeper Chanter. (800/800) When this monster is summoned, reverse summoned, or special summoned, you lose 500 Life Points." He began to search his deck, running his hand over every card. "If you will excuse my delay, this might take some time… ah, here is one."

Max: 7300

Morte: 7500

Max was about to comment on the move, when he suddenly felt himself sinking into the ground. The ground had swallowed part of his legs, just below his knees.

"So this is the condition for losing Life Points?"

"That is correct. When we are done with this duel, I will have no need to dig you a grave."

Max seemed unconcerned with the threats. "I lay one card down, and end my turn."

Morte felt the card he drew, and seemed satisfied. "My next card will show you the true power of my deck. I play The Sleeping Valley of the Pharaoh-Necrovalley!"

At the ground, a thick fog emerged. Max was not exactly impressed.

"You threaten me with fog?"

"Allow me to explain what Necrovalley does. All of my Gravekeeper monster get 500 more attack and defense points, for one thing. (1700/2500) (1300/1300) Also, our Cemeteries are now off limits to us."

Max frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Any magic, trap, or monster effect that refers to the Cemetery, including those that remove cards, is negated while Necrovalley is out. Do you understand now?"

Max looked at his hand. "So Raise Dead would be useless, for example?"

"That's right. I am also well aware that you could easily destroy my Necrovalley, so I will activate Magic Guarder. This puts a counter on my Necrovalley. When it is supposed to destroyed, this counter will be destroyed instead. You should also remember that I have two other Necrovalleys in my deck, along with more Magic Guarders. In other words, you will have to learn to accept that Necrovalley will be the field for almost the entire duel."

Max swore under his breath. He knew that Morte was probably speaking the truth, but it didn't make the situation any better.

"I summon Gravekeeper Gunner. (1900/1700) I will have him attack your Gil Gars."

"I activate Torture Wheel on Gravekeeper Gunner."

"In that case, I activate his ability. By sacrificing one monster on my side of the field, you lose 700 Life Points. I cannot sacrifice a Gravekeeper Gunner unfortunately, so I sacrifice my Chanter."

Max: 6600

Morte: 7500

Max waited until the sinking sensation had stopped before drawing his next card. "I drew Twilight Zone Trainer. That means Olympion's effect will now activate. You take 500 damage, and I draw a card. My next card is not a Demon unfortunately… You also take 500 from my Torture Wheel."

Max: 6600

Morte: 6500

"I place one monster in defense mode."

"I will pass," Morte stated, after running his fingers over the card.

Max: 6600

Morte: 6000

"Stop the match!" Hope yelled. "Hold on! Don't make your move yet!"

Max glared at her impatiently. "What is it?"

"Hasn't anyone else noticed what that man is doing?" Hope asked. "Every time he draws, he doesn't even look at his cards. He feels them. What is with that?"

Morte smirked. "It took you quite a long time to notice that."

"I realized it at the beginning, but I didn't mention it until now," Hope explained.

"And you still don't realize what the problem is?"

Will suddenly knew. "You're blind!"

Morte threw off the hood of his cloak, revealing short, brown hair, and his eyes. They stared out at them unseeingly. "That is correct. I was born in darkness, and remain that way to this day."

Rue gave Will a bewildered look. "How did you know?"

"Read some Redwall books sometime. Not to mention that it was obvious enough."

"Obvious to you maybe!"

"Obvious to anyone who has an IQ greater than a rock, you mean. Max was preoccupied by the duel, so he can be forgiven…" He then sidestepped an axe swing. "Must you keep swinging that thing around? You could hurt someone with it."

"That's what I'm trying to do, you idiot!"

Max interrupted them. "You said you knew me already-how?"

Morte shrugged. "I suppose now is a good enough time to explain. I killed the bank robber that killed your father."

"So that's where I have seen you…" Max snarled. "I thought you looked familiar…"

"That can't be true!" Gaston protested. "Echecs killed him!"

"It is understandable that you would not know what a sniper squad is," Morte said. "Five  shoot at the same time to kill a victim. However, four men have blanks; only one has rounds."

"What are blanks and rounds?" Hope asked.

"Blanks are fake bullets, while rounds are real. That means that none of the men will hold guilt over killing someone, because they don't know who did. That fool Echecs only thought he had killed the man. I was the actual murderer."

"How are you so sure?" Neo asked.

"I am blind, so my senses are enhanced. I was able to tell that my bullet had struck the man dead by hearing alone."

"Yet you feel no guilt?" Rue inquired.

"Why should I feel responsible? I haven't even lived a life. My mother was the one I inherited my weakness from. She was frail, and was blind from the point of her childhood. She died when giving birth to me. My father, struck with grief, killed himself to be with her. I lived a life of hardships, resenting all of those who have had something to be happy for. So I joined the Generals of Hell to have a purpose. A grisly one maybe, but it keeps me sane, even though the only thing I know is the black that surrounds me. I became a guard of the ones I killed, for we have something in common-the only thing we have to know now is darkness."

"Many people in this world are blind, and they have lived lives as good as any!" Hope shouted. "Why should yours be different?"

"You are too innocent… you will never understand. This has been a waste of time… make your move Max."

Max took a few minutes to decide what he wanted to do. "I flip summon my Newt. (1900/400) By doing this, it gets another 500 attack and defense points. (2400/900) Now Newt attacks your Gravekeeper Gunner."

Max: 6600

Morte: 5500

"I lay one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."

Morte grinned in a satisfied manner. "I activate Black Hole. Now all of our monsters are sent to the Cemetery. Next, I activate my face down card, Cry of the Living Dead! Now my Gravekeeper Gunner revives."

"What? But you can't access your Cemetery with traps!" Max protested.

"My Soul Monster, the Gravekeeper Leader, or Jefe, takes care of all of my problems. I have free access to both Cemeteries, even when Necrovalley is out. So my Cry of the Living Dead is unaffected."

"Yet I'm bound by the rules," Max realized.

"Exactly. I now summon Gravekeeper Assassin. (2000/2000) Both of my monsters attack you directly."

Max: 2700

Morte: 5500

Max growled as he dove further into the ground. "Just my luck…"

"I lay one card down. Your move."

"I drew Dark Necrophia."

Max: 2700

Morte: 5000

"I can't use her, but I still have plans with her. I activate Angel's Gift. I draw three, and then discard Dark Necrophia and my useless Raise Dead. Now I lay one monster face down, and two cards. I'm done."

"I lay one monster in defense. Now my Assassin attacks."

Max wasn't concerned until his Twilight Zone Trainer suddenly revealed itself. (100/2000)

"What's going on? I put that in defense mode!"

"As long as Necrovalley is out, my Assassin can switch the position of your monsters. Now that your monster is in a weaker position, you should be more concerned about your Life Points than small matters."

"That's why I have my Attack Nullification."

"Then I am done."

"I sacrifice my Twilight Zone Trainer to summon Demon King of the Underworld: Ha-Des! (2450/1600) He attacks your Assassin. I lay one card down."

Max: 2700

Morte: 4550

Morte seemed completely ignorant of the fact that he was sinking into earth that contained rotten flesh and bleached bones. "I will flip summon my Gravekeeper Guard. (1500/2400) This monster's reverse effect states that I choose one monster on your side of the field, and it is sent to your hand, and I choose Ha-Des of course. Now I summon Gravekeeper Spearman. (2000/1500)"

"I activate Ambush, allowing me to special summon Giant Orc from my hand. (2200/0)"

"I lay one card face down, and end my turn."

"What does Gravekeeper Spearman do?" Hope asked.

"It has a Trample effect," Rue explained. "A Trample effect basically does damage even if the monster being attacked is in defense mode."
"So this General of Hell is running a Gravekeeper deck… how appropriate," Will mused. "Seeing as he guards this Cemetery, I suppose it's only natural. He also unleashed its full potential… the main goal of a Gravekeeper deck is to get out a Necrovalley, and then swarm the opponent, I assume."

Max concentrated on what he drew. "I lay one card down. I then sacrifice Giant Orc to bring out Ha-Des again. He attacks the Spearman."

Max: 2700

Morte: 4100

"This is where you fall. I first activate Imperial Sacrifice. This magic card can only be activated when I have Necrovalley out. It forces us to place any monsters we have in the Cemetery."

Max discarded the last three cards in his hand to the Cemetery, while Morte had none to get rid of.

"I now play Thunderbolt, destroying your Ha-Des. Then I activate Raise Dead on Gravekeeper Spearman. I also activate Ritual of Spirits. This trap allows me to revive one monster with Gravekeeper in its name from my Cemetery to my field. Necrovalley doesn't negate this card, by the way. It isn't like it matters though. I choose to revive my Assassin."

"I activate Bottomless Pit Trap, removing it from the game."

"You still lose. Gravekeeper Guard and Spearman attack."

I activate Magic Cylinder on Spearman's attack!"

"You are still hit by my Gravekeeper Guard."

Max: 1200

Morte: 2100

Max winced as his foot encountered something that seemed soft, yet broken. A body probably… what a field day I'm having.

"I end my turn. You have no cards on the field, and none in your hand. Do you really think you can win?"

Olympion simply stared at Max, waiting for him to draw. Max was hesitant to though. What if I don't draw what I need? Then I'll lose… but I can't. Not yet…

From her watching place, Brandi could not stand it any more. "That's it! Mana, blast this stupid rock apart!"

Mana stared at her. "But I'm not strong enough to…"

"Then I activate Power of Magician's on you! Now blow up this dratted thing!"

Mana slowly nodded, and raised her staff. It began to glow. She pointed it at the rock as it sparked.

Rue had been leaning against the rock, his face etched with worry, when he suddenly heard the girl yell. "What? Who's that? What's going on?"

The explosion rocked the cave. Rue was blasted all the way across the room, away from the boulder, slamming into a wall. Will was forced to the ground when Neo lost his balance, falling on him. Gaston might have had a concussion, had his helmet not saved him from a flying rock. Hope grabbed a cave wall for support, barley managing to keep her balance. Ruecian ducked just in time to avoid yet another flying rock, and Olympion just stood there.

That's one advantage to being buried… Hope thought ruefully. Max is having no problem keeping his balance.

Mana walked through, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Whoops… I guess I overdid it, huh? Sorry!"

 "Don't make understatements… Neo, get off me!" Will threw the Soul Monster off him and looked over at Brandi and Mana. "A Black Magician Girl and someone else? Who are you?"

Max looked over at her. "Brandi?"

Rue got up slowly, wincing. "You know her?"

Hope let go cautiously as Ruecian went over to make sure Rue was not dying, and Gaston made sure he was not injured by the rock.

"Brandi? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Looking for all of you. We saw the whole duel through that boulder. Max, listen: you can't give up. I know that look on your face; you're hesitant to continue. But you had better draw your next card and keep trying! Why do you think I LIVE, Max? For you! You're the only reason I even feel like living, so you had better not die on me!"

Max looked into his sister's eyes, and nodded. "…Alright." He drew, and shrugged. "You heard my sister; I can't afford to lose. I drew Twilight Zone Trainer, so I draw again, getting Giant Orc. That is the end of my chain. I lay one card facedown, and summon Twilight Zone Trainer. (100/2000) Your turn."

Max: 1200

Morte: 1100

Morte gave Max a disgusted look. "That's the best you have to offer? You are asking for death. I attack with my Gravekeeper Spearman."

"I activate Monster Relief! I return one of my monsters on the field to my hand, and special summon one level four or lower monster in its place. So I special summon Giant Orc. (2200/0)"

"How irritating. I switch both of my monsters to defense, ending my turn."

Max nodded at the card he drew. "I drew Great Demon Gaazetto."

Max: 1200

Morte: 600

"I sacrifice my Giant Orc to summon it! (0/0) Its attack is double the amount of the monster I sacrificed for it. (4400/0) Now it attacks Gravekeeper Spearman. I lay one card down, and end my turn."

Morte struggled a bit, and then pulled his arms out of the cumbersome dirt. "You may think you have won, but I have different plans. Now, you might argue that this card should not be in my deck, but I put it in there for an element of surprise. First, I summon Gravekeeper Gunner. (1900/1700) I sacrifice my Gravekeeper Guard."

Max: 500

Morte: 600

Max managed to barely keep his arms and Duel Disk free of the ground.

"Next, I play Bow of Falling Stars-Shiiru! This equip decreases my monster's attack by 1000… (900/1700) but it also allows me to attack directly. So this is where it ends! Gravekeeper Gunner, attack Max directly!"

Max smirked. "I thought you were smarter than that. I activate my trap card, Standing Against a Formidable Enemy! When you attack, I can activate this card. I choose one of my face up monsters, and you are forced to attack it with all of your face up attack monsters! So your Gravekeeper Gunner is forced to attack my Great Demon Gaazetto, costing you all of your Life Points!"

Max: 500

Morte: 0

Morte began to sink slowly into the ground. "I lost, but does it matter? I have always been in darkness-will Hell be any different?"

The dirt around Max's body ejected him back to the surface in time to see Morte's face. His useless eyes were closed, his face expressionless.

Then he was gone, Jefe and him trapped underground to add to the number of bodies that would lay there forever.

To be continued…