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Flameink: I'm glad you like the story. But what are you thinking of taking from it? You'll have to get permission from me before borrowing any of it.
John: There are too many Ninja card to post here. Instead, I advise going to here: has translations for all of the cards I used in my fic.
Whispering Hope: Thanks. ^_^
*Chapter 39: Pain-Bringer*
Hope stared at the area where Sarius had vanished. Then she turned to the others.
"He's right. We have to go on… for Will, if anyone."
"I agree," Brandi said. "We can't let any more deaths occur. This has been three blows to us, and I don't think we can take much more… we need to destroy the General, and quickly."
"As much as I would like to stay and mourn, we can't… delaying will only make it harder for us to go on," Claire stated. "Neo, are you ready to go on?"
Neo stood up slowly. "No. But I will anyway. It's what Will wanted…"
"Alright then. Let's go on then… this time, I'll lead…" Rue announced, and they walked on.
Brandi halted as Max caught onto her arm. "I need to talk to you privately."
"Um… ok," Brandi nodded. They fell to the back of the group.
"I need to ask you a favor," Max whispered.
"Sure. Just tell me what it is."
"I have suspicions about who is behind this… I think that it might… have something to do with our step father. In fact, we might encounter him."
"Now that you mention it… reviving our dad would be something he would probably do…"
"Yes. That bastard knows all of our weak points, and plans to use them. If we do find him, we will be forced to duel. So I ask you to do one thing if we find him."
"What?"
"Knock out Hope."
Brandi struggled to keep her voice low. "WHAT?! Why on earth would you want to do that?"
"…It's my reaction. I can't ever forgive him… my anger will know no boundaries. I don't want Hope to witness me like that…"
"I see… fine then. But only if we see him. Hopefully, that won't happen."
"My instincts do not often fail me…" Max muttered as they began to catch up with the others.
*****
"It is almost done…" The man took out another orb. This one was different though. Instead of just flames, white and black lights danced around the flames, reflecting everywhere.
"We only need four more… four more souls, and the ritual will be complete." He laughed. "All this hard work, and careful planning, will finally be rewarded, when the ritual is done… the Ritual of 1000 Sacrifices."
*****
They were still walking, apparently not getting anywhere, when Olympion suddenly growled.
Another one comes.
"About time…" Gaston murmured. "Ok, where is he?"
"Wait…" Hope looked around. "Over there!"
A man was approaching them. He wore a red business suit, and black pants. His hair was black, but had gray sideburns. He also had hard, black eyes. Anyone looking into those eyes would certainly get a chill down the spine.
"So who's Mr. Business Man?" Rue wondered.
Two things happened at once. Max suddenly dashed forward, drawing his katana in one swift movement, and lunging at the man with a roar of fury. Hope stepped back, surprised at the furious move. Brandi took advantage of her shock and grabbed her around the stomach. Muttering, "Forgive me," she punched Hope in the gut. Her eyes flashed with pain, and then she collapsed.
Max's katana came crashing down at the man's head, when another sword swiftly blocked it. It was held by a robot-like creature that was dressed in a grand manner. It had a very royal gold and red outfit. Its hat had a white feather sticking out of it, which looked somewhat dashing, and a little ridiculous. It was about as tall as the man it accompanied.
The machine's sword sparked with electricity, which threw Max backwards. He landed with a snarl of anger.
"Now, is that a polite way to be greeting me after such a long time?" the man sneered.
"You bastard!" Max shouted. "You expect me to be pleasant to you after all that you have done?!"
A black aura was coming from Max's body and entering Olympion. What amazed the onlookers was how viciously dark it was. They could have sworn it was at least ten times stronger than the other time they had seen it occur.
"What's going on?" Claire asked. "Who is this guy?"
"He's our step father…" Brandi explained. "Our step father, called Jason Macina. So Max was right… he was the one behind our father's revival…"
"And it should have worked!" Jason growled. "Apparently Max has gained some backbone since the last time I met him. It makes no difference though. I will be the one to defeat you in a duel, bringing us even closer to finishing the ritual…"
"You ruined my life… you were the one who destroyed everything I once knew. When I was young, I thought I couldn't be happier, that nothing could put an end to my joy. I didn't know how wrong I was… it is too late to change it though. I will take out my anger on you, the bastard who ripped apart my soul!"
"Then let us begin!"
Gaston had taken the opportunity to examine Hope. "Brandi! Why did you do this?"
"Sorry, but I had to," she said quietly.
"What?"
"…I can't explain. She should come around sometime shortly."
"If you say so…" Gaston picked her up quickly.
Max: 8000
Jason: 8000
"I will be the one to start!" Max stated. "I did not draw a Demon Sub-Type, so Olympion's effect will not activate. It will also be negated for the rest of the duel. I lay one monster in defense mode, and three cards face down."
"Easily countered…" Jason replied. "I activate my Soul Monster's ability. Admiral, my Machine Corp, allows me to discard any amount of Machine Sub-Types from my hand as I want. For each one that is discarded, you lose 500 Life Points. So I discard Mecha Falcon, (1400/1200) Oni Tank 7-34, (1400/1700) Machine Soldier from the Demon Realm, (1400/1200) and Android Psycho Shocker (2400/1500) to do 2000 damage to you."
Max: 6000
Jason: 8000
"I will lay one card down, and one monster in defense mode."
"It's my turn now… I summon Demon Soldier! (1900/1500) He will attack your monster!"
"You have run into my Battle Footballer. (1000/2100)"
Max: 5800
Jason: 8000
"I take it you are done? I will lay one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
"I'm not falling for another high defender… I pass."
"I knew you would do that. First, I play Jar of Greed. Then I flip over my Sonic Jammer! (350/650) Now until your next end phase, you cannot use magic cards. Then I play Raise Dead on Android Psycho Shocker! (2400/1500)
"Damn it!" Max swore. "He negates all of my traps!"
"Exactly! Now I sacrifice my Sonic Jammer to summon Machine King! (2200/2000) For every machine monster on the field, he gains 100 more attack! (2500/2000) Machine King attacks Demon Soldier, and Android Psycho Shocker attacks your set!"
"My Twilight Zone Trainer… (100/2000)"
Max: 5200
Jason: 8000
"That will be all for now."
"Argh…" Max shook his head. "Damn you… I lay another monster in defense mode…"
"I will switch Battle Footballer to attack mode. Android Psycho Shocker will attack your defense monster."
"You attacked my Newt. (1900/400) You lose 500 attack points for destroying him. (1900/1500)"
"A small loss. I will have Machine King and Battle Footballer attack directly."
Max: 1700
Jason: 8000
Max glared at Jason. "Don't think you have won so easy, bastard!" He drew, and nodded. "This will do… I summon Giant Orc! (2200/0) He will attack your Android Psycho Shocker! He switches to defense mode after attacking though…"
Max: 1700
Jason: 7700
"How irritating… I switch Battle Footballer to defense mode. Then I discard Mecha Hunter (1850/800) from my hand to activate Admiral's effect."
Max: 1200
Jason: 7700
"Then I attack your Giant Orc with Machine King. (2400/2000) I will lay a monster in defense mode, and end my turn after that."
"Fine by me… I draw…" Max looked at the card he acquired. "Perfect. I lay one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
"I will activate my trap, Reserves. As long as I have five monsters in my Cemetery, I can activate this card. I then add three non-effect monsters, with attacks lower than 1500, to my hand."
"I can't let you get away with that! I activate Bandit's Swiss Army Knife! For a cost of 1000 Life Points, your trap is negated!"
Max: 200
Jason: 7700
"You are so annoying at times… like always…"
"I still don't understand…" Rue said. "Jason drove Max and Brandi out of their own house! Isn't that enough? Why did he want to track them down?"
"I'll tell you why… because my step children never accepted me! That caused my wife much grief… so I will have my revenge upon my step children."
"Of course they didn't accept you!" Claire exclaimed. "After all that you did to them, I don't blame them either!"
"Think as you wish. Now it's my turn. I will attack your monster with Machine King!"
"I activate Attack Nullification!"
"I end…"
"Now I flip over XENO! (200/100) This allows me to take control of one monster on your side of the field, so I take Machine King! The controlled monster also has the ability to attack directly, so I will have Machine King do so!"
Max: 200
Jason: 5300
"After that, I sacrifice Machine King and XENO to summon Composite Beast Gaazetto! His attack is the two monsters I sacrificed to bring him out added together! (2600/0) I lay one card down, and end my turn."
"Very well… I flip over my Air Guard Gear Golem! (800/2200) By paying 800 Life Points, he can attack directly for one turn!"
Max: 200
Jason: 4500
"Air Guard Gear Golem, attack directly!"
"I counter with Standing Against a Formidable Enemy! All of your monsters in attack mode are forced to attack my Composite Beast Gaazetto!"
Max: 200
Jason: 3700
"You brat! I end…"
"I summon Gil Gars! (1800/1200) Gaazetto will attack your Battle Footballer, and Gil Gars will attack directly!"
Max: 200
Jason: 1900
"No! All I can do is end…"
Max looked at the clear field in front of him. "It looks like you are finished."
"Then kill me! What are you waiting for? You want me dead, do you not?"
Gaston was relieved to see Hope begin to come around. He put her down again. "Are you alright?"
"I… think so." Hope winced as she touched the spot where she had been hit. "Ow… that's going to leave a mark. What's going on here?"
Max's eyes narrowed as he pondered. "It is my greatest desire to see you die… but… I can't do it."
"What?" Brandi gasped.
"I will not lower myself to your level!" Max yelled. "You want me to be the cause of another death, right? Well, I won't let myself face that guilt! Not only that, but my mother would be heartbroken; this I know! However, I can't let myself be defeated by the likes of you."
"Then what will you do?" Jason asked.
"I have to thank Rue for this idea… I activate Destruction Ring on my Gaazetto! That causes this duel to be a tie!"
Max: 0
Jason: 0
"I can't believe that Max is sparing him…" Rue said softly. "I thought his hatred would blind him…"
Everyone was startled when Jason suddenly began to laugh.
"You are as foolish as ever!"
"What?" Max snarled. "I spare you, and this is how you respond?"
"Ah, but you didn't spare me! You thought that the penalties were negated if we tied?" Darkness began to cloak itself around the two duelists and their Soul Monsters. "You were wrong! If it is a tie, then we both die!"
"What?!"
"I thank you for helping the ritual become even closer to being finished!" Jason smirked, even as he was completely covered with darkness.
Max closed his eyes as he was covered as well, thinking one last thought.
Will death really be better than being consumed by guilt?
"MAX! NO!" Brandi ran over to her brother, but didn't arrive quickly enough. By the time she was there, he was gone, dragged into the darkness.
To be continued…
