Sorry for the lack of updates! Here's the end of the cliffhanger! _

*Chapter 32: The Ninja's Techniques*

Surprised by the scream, everyone jumped. Rue dropped his axe, and swore loudly when the handle slammed his foot.

Hope looked around wildly. "What the heck was that?!"

Brandi growled an oath. "I'd recognize that anywhere… it's Mana!"

"Come to think of it, she didn't ever return!" Claire realized. "What are we waiting for? Let's find her!"

"As if we would arrive in time," Max pointed out. "It will take some time to maneuver these trees, even at full speed."

Still grumbling under his breath about the axe, Rue grabbed something out of his pocket. "That's why I have these; my Candle of Fate! This card speeds up our movement rate, but only for a short amount of time." He proceeded to activate it. "Now let's go!"

"Speeding up, huh?" Neo suddenly shot forward at a huge speed, and crashed through three trees before managing to stop.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that little side effect. Your body isn't used to being able to move so fast…" Rue explained.

"I'd prefer to know these things AHEAD OF TIME!" Neo snarled, picking himself up.

"This isn't the time for arguments. Let's just get moving." Will shot forward into the forest, the others soon following. Although it was hard to stay on course, most of them managed. Brandi had the easiest time, while Neo kept crashing into trees by accident.

"Poor guy," Hope said sympathetically as she watched him slam into a particularly thick one, causing it to collapse.

*****

Mana didn't even have time to rise before she was struck again. Her opponent was too quick for the eye to see, and she couldn't defend herself against his swift attacks. She was thrown across the clearing, and landed with a painful thud.

She slowly lifted her head as the black streak leapt at her, and knew that she wouldn't be able to last the next vicious assault.

Suddenly, a figure shot out from the trees, one that was even quicker than the enemy. The opponent, in mid air, couldn't dodge, and was thrown back with a snarl, colliding with a tree. Mana's savior was thrown back into a tree as well. The trunk snapped in half almost instantly. It toppled backwards, thankfully not hitting anyone.

Brandi jumped into the clearing first, the others following. Luckily for them, the Candle of Fate wore off as they landed. Will shook his head at the one who had caused the chaos.

"Way to make an entrance Neo…"

Neo rose slowly, groaning. "You may think its funny, but you aren't the one whose back is broken!"

"You are wearing armor. In other words, that is an overreaction."

Brandi went over to Mana. "Are you alright?"

"I-I think so…" she replied. "He took me on surprise, that's all…"

The figure was already rising. He looked human enough to the casual eye. He wore black clothes, with a red belt, red knee guards, and a cross between a scarf and cape that was red as well. He also had golden bracelets on his arms and legs, with a gold mask. He carried two sharp, silver kunai. Without a word, he jumped backwards, landing on a tree branch neatly. That was when another person jumped into the clearing. His black cloak hid all of his features.

"Who the hell are you?" Max demanded.

The man sighed. "Impatient as always. Why explain who I am, when you will not remember anyway? You will die too quickly for it to be of any importance." He brought out a knife.

"You can't be thinking of fighting us all at once, can you? Or are you trying to commit suicide?" Rue inquired.

"True, I am outnumbered at the moment. Which is why I think I will even the odds a little." He made several gestures swiftly with his hands. Suddenly, out of nowhere, at least a hundred more black figures appeared.

"What the…!" Gaston gasped.

"…That has GOT to be Kage Bushin no Jutsu," Will stated.

"Been watching a little too much Naruto again?" Neo joked.

"You shut up."

"This isn't a time to be chatting!" Hope interrupted. "We are outnumbered horribly! In a fight, we will definitely lose!"

It was then that the copies lunged at the group. Everyone reached for their weapons, prepared to fight to the death.

Brandi had other ideas though. She jumped to the front of the group, and then sprang at the clones.

"Brandi! What are you doing?!" Claire yelled.

Max's face grew pale. "YOU IDIOT! YOU ARE NOT DOING WHAT I THINK YOU ARE DOING!"

"It's either this or die!" Brandi retorted. Then, she ran at the attacking mass. Suddenly, she wasn't there anymore. She was moving so quickly that she could hardly be seen. The black cloaked duplicates fell like wheat to a scythe. They didn't stand a chance as she zipped through them, completely tearing through all of their weaker bodies.

"Oh… gosh…" Hope whispered.

"What on earth?!" Rue exclaimed.

"Her speed… it's even faster then when Candle of Fate was active!" Will said.

As quickly as she had left, she was back, collapsing in front of them, as all of the black figures were torn apart. This whole process had taken place in under ten seconds. Everyone winced as they heard Brandi scream harshly, not stopping, unable to rise due to pain. Max was by her side immediately, searching his pile of spare cards.

"You moron!" He pulled out something hastily. "Blue Potion!"

Brandi ceased her cries, but still did not rise, as her legs were surrounded by a soft, blue light.

The original General of Hell was paralyzed in astonishment. "What the hell did you do?!"

"I'd like to know as well," Perseus stated. Everyone else seemed to agree with him.

Max got up, shaking his head. "Brandi has trained for quite a while in kick boxing, as you all know. She also trained herself to run at incredible speeds, ones that hardly anyone, if anyone, can match her in. The problem with this? Going too fast results in ripping all of her leg muscles." He glared at Brandi. "I told you not to do that anymore!"

She shrugged weakly. "We would have been slaughtered if we hadn't."

The General growled. "Damn it! I only have the power to do that once a day…" The man threw off his cloak. He wore black clothes similar to his companions. His hair and eyes were dark brown. The fiery orb shone around his neck. He also carried a few kunai. "I guess a duel is unavoidable. And, like usual, the loser dies."

"And why wouldn't I just skewer you?" Max asked, drawing his katana.

"Because I won't let you. I may not be able to make more doppelgangers, but I have other techniques. To save yourself the trouble of having to face them, I suggest we duel." His Soul Monster jumped down to join him.

Will stepped forward. "Fine then. I'll duel you."

Rue glanced at Will. "You, duel him?"

"I know quite a bit about ninjas, which is what this man obviously is."

He nodded. "That is correct. I am Xion, and my companion, the Swift Black Ninja, is known as Zever."

"I'm called Will, and he's Neo."

Will: 8000

Xion: 8000

"I will make the first move," Xion announced. "I lay one monster in defense mode, and two cards down."

"Hm… I lay one card down, and summon Magician's Valkyria! (1600/1800)"

"I activate my trap card, Chained Boomerang! Your monster goes to defense mode!"

Will frowned at his hand. "I guess I am done then…"

"Good, then it is my turn. I flip over my Red Ninja! (300/300) When reverse summoned, this monster can destroy one trap card on the field. So I use its effect on your trap!"

"You hit my Hidden Tomes… what a waste…"

"It matters not; your field is now practically clear. I will first summon Ninja Wonder Dog! (1800/1000) Then I activate my other face down card, Ninja Technique, Transformation! I must sacrifice one monster with Ninja in its name to activate this. In exchange, I can search my deck for a monster three levels higher, or lower, and special summon it to the field! So say hello to my Revolver Dragon! (2600/2200)"

"That's impossible!" Will protested. "For one, Ninja Wonder Dog doesn't actually count as a Ninja monster! And Ninja Technique, Transformation can only get an Animal, Bird, or Insect Sub-Type!"

"That is where Zever comes in," Xion responded. "His ability is very unique. He effects every Ninja card in a different way. For Ninja Wonder Dog… well, it is classified as a Ninja. As for my Ninja Technique, Transformation, I am allowed to fetch any Sub-Type I desire. So my Revolver Dragon is ready to obliterate you! Now I will activate his special effect! I flip three coins. If two or more are heads, I destroy one monster on the field."

A hologram of a coin about the size of a basketball appeared.

"Heads, tails, and… heads! Lady Luck must be on vacation for me…" Will muttered as he watched his monster be blasted away.

"Now, both of my monsters will attack you directly! You are lucky that there are no penalties to losing Life Points… I lay one card down."

Will: 5100

Xion: 8000

Will examined his turn's draw. "A sneaky tactic, but it has its flaws. First, I play Raise Dead on my Magician's Valkyria. Then, I sacrifice it for Magical Marionette! (2000/1000)"

"You do realize that is not strong enough to take on my Revolver Dragon, right?"

"That may be true, but I have my ways. I activate Clarity of Mind, giving it a magic counter. Then I play Cyclone on your face down card!"

"You attempted to destroy my Chained Boomerang. I will chain it, switching your Marionette to defense mode."

"Drat… at least I can still use its effect! By removing two magic counters, I can destroy your Revolver Dragon! Then I end."

Xion smirked. "At least you are somewhat better than some of my other opponents. Not much better, but a little. I switch my Red Ninja to defense mode, and summon another Ninja Wonder Dog. (1800/1000) Now it destroys your Marionette. Then I end."

Will seemed satisfied at what he drew. "I play Angel's Gift, and discard two Clarity of Minds. Now I summon Magic Warrior: Breaker! (1900/1000) He'll slaughter your Ninja Wonder Dog!"

Will: 5100

Xion: 7900

"A small loss… I summon Skilled Black Ninja! (1700/1200) Then I equip him with Air Shruiken! This equip would normally only raise his attack by 700, but with Zever, it raises his attack by 1000 instead! (2700/1200) Now, attack Breaker!"

Will: 4300

Xion: 7900

"Just great…" Will looked at his draw. "It looks like I got lucky. I play Thunderbolt! This will wipe out all of your monsters!"

The electricity came crashing down. At the last second though, the Swift Black Ninja vanished, leaving the Red Ninja to be destroyed.

"You must not have known of my monster's ability. By removing two monsters from my Cemetery, I can remove my monster from the game until the end of your turn. Normally, you would have to remove Dark Main-Types, but Zever once again helps me there."

Will grimaced. "Not good… I'll lay one monster in defense mode."

"My Skilled Black Ninja comes back into play. I will have him attack your defense monster!"

Will grinned. "You attacked my Tenacious Old Magician. (450/600) His effect lets me destroy one monster on your field, so there goes Skilled Black Ninja."

The Magician blasted the Ninja with a wave of magic before dissolving. The Ninja managed to throw his shruiken at Will before being destroyed.

"A small side effect of my Air Shruiken is that when it is destroyed, you lose 700 Life Points. With Zever, 1000. I will then summon Blue Ninja, (300/300) and lay one card down."

Will: 3300

Xion: 7900

"That has got to be a trap," Neo said.

"I figured that much…" Will replied. "I don't have much choice though, do I? I summon Black Forest Witch! (1100/1200) She attacks!"

"I activate Ninja Technique, Transformation! By sacrificing my Blue Ninja, I special summon my Blowback Dragon! (2300/1200) Still attacking?"

"…Call off the attack. I lay one card down."

Xion snickered. "That's what I thought. Now I will activate my Blowback Dragon's special ability. I toss three coins, and if two or more are heads, I destroy one of your cards."

Dang it! If he destroys my trap, it's over! Will realized.

The coin seemed to hang in the air for hours before landing.

"Heads, tails… TAILS! You got lucky this time… Blowback Dragon, attack!"

"Not a smart idea," Will smirked. "You ran right into my Holy Barrier-Mirror Force!"

"Damn it! I lay a card down, and a monster in defense."

"I summon Turner of the Dead: Kaiku! (1800/700) Now, I will pay 500 Life Points to have my Witch attack your face down card, using Neo's ability!"

"No! My Magic Cylinder…"

"Now Kaiku attacks your defense monster!"

"Drat it all… my Female Ninja Yae! (1100/200)"

"Your turn."

Will: 2800

Xion: 7900

Xion drew, and shrugged. "This will do… I play Black Hole. Then I am done."

"I use my Witch's ability to search my deck and get my second Kaiku. Now I summon it! Then I equip it with Power of Magicians, raising its attack and defense by 500! (2300/1200) Now, he attacks you directly! Remove your Revolver and Blowback Dragons!"

Will: 2800

Xion: 5600

He drew, and muttered a soft curse. "I pass…"

"And my Kaiku attacks you again. Remove your Swift Black Ninja and Female Ninja Yae."

Will: 2800

Xion: 3300

"I must pass again…"

"I play one card face down. (2800/1200) Then Kaiku attacks! Remove whatever else you have…"

Will: 2800

Xion: 500

"Ah, good. I summon Female Ninja Yae! Then I equip her with Air Shruiken! (2100/200) Then I discard my Red Ninja from my hand. When I discard a monster from my hand, I can destroy all of your magic and trap cards!"

"…You also destroyed my Hidden Tomes… is this effect…?"

"Yes, this is Zever's doing. Normally, you have to discard an Air Main-Type, and it only sends the cards to your hand… now, attack Kaiku! (1800/700)"

Will: 2500

Xion: 500

"I play Sealing Swords of Light, and end…"

Xion drew, and then laughed. "I discard my Blue Ninja to destroy your Swords, then attack directly!"

Will: 400

Xion: 500

"You cannot win now! Even if you did have a strong enough monster, my Air Shruiken would still take out the rest of your Life Points!"

Neo looked worried. "Is there no way to win?"

Will looked at his deck. "Actually… there is a way to win…" He pulled the card free of the Duel Disk slowly, and looked it. "And I just drew it."

"There's no way you can win!"

"Oh really? Then you didn't count on this…" Will inserted the card in his Duel Disk. The picture revealed itself to Xion. He immediately grew pale.

"No! It can't be!"

"Oh, it can…" Will said. "Behold the key to your defeat… the Change of Heart!"

The Female Ninja Yae walked over to Will's side of the field.

Will pointed at Zion. "Go, Yae! Destroy the one you call Master!"

Will: 400

Xion: 0

"No… I lost… but… how could…"

He then trailed off, and collapsed. Zever did as well. The cause was apparent when Will looked closer. Sticking out of each of their backs were over ten kunai each.

To be continued…