THE ENCOUNTER OF LOST SOULS

Chapter Fifteen: When the Bonds of Friendship are Tested (Part Two)

Seeing the shock in Emrys' eyes as her Maha Vailo was just destroyed, Sugoroku mercilessly snickered. "I set a monster face down in defense mode." By the end of his turn, the older Mutou now had two facedown monsters and two magic or trap cards on his side of the field.

Emrys' heart raced as she stared at her deck. She pulled one card from her deck, and activated it. "Swords of Revealing Light!"

Multiple swords of blinding white light pierced through the dark void and buried themselves deep into the ground. Each sword emitted a low humming vibration. However, the Swords of Revealing Light only protected Emrys' side of the field from Jonouchi and Sugoroku's attacks.

"Yes!" Yugi mentally exclaimed. "The cards pulled through for her!"

The two brainwashed opponents glowered at her lucky draw. Sugoroku hollered, "You won't be fortunate immediately after those Swords disappear!"

Jonouchi then drew a card to mark his turn. He took two cards from his hand, and declared, "I summon Swordsman of Landstar, and then activate Angel's Die!"

Angel's Die

Quick-Play Magic Card

Roll one six-sided die. Increase the attack and defense strengths of all of your monsters by the die roll times 100 until the end of the turn.

"Not so fast, Jonouchi!" the other Yugi cried out, as he flung his arm towards one of his cover cards. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to negate your Angel's Die!"

Mystical Space Typhoon

Quick Play Magic Card

Destroy one Magic or Trap Card on the field.

Swordsman of Landstar (ATK 500 / DEF 1200) materialized on Jonouchi's side of the field. The fairy warrior, clad in its usual brown leather armor, was ready to use his shield and sword.

Shortly thereafter, a mystical die emerged from the void and rolled midair. However, before the die hit the ground, the cyclone summoned by the other Yugi appeared and swallowed Jonouchi's magical die back into the darkness.

Angry over the temporary setback, Jonouchi commanded, "Jinzo – attack Yugi's face down card!"

Jinzo gave a deadly blow on the other Yugi's face-down Alpha the Magnet Warrior – sending the latter to the Graveyard.

"I end my turn," said a smugly satisfied Jonouchi.

Staring at the card he just drew and adding it to his hand, the other Yugi declared, "I tribute my two face down monsters to summon the Dark Magician!"

His most trusted monster - the Dark Magician - swirled out from the mist. After his amethyst-eyed master gave the command, he attacked Sugoroku's face-down card.

The brainwashed Sugoroku mockingly laughed, as the Left Hand of the Forbidden One was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.

Emrys and the other Yugi stared at each other, with the latter ending his turn and musing, "Jii-chan's voluntarily sending Exodia parts to the Graveyard? Either he has three of each Exodia parts, or there's another strategy up his sleeve.

After drawing one card from his deck, the elder Mutou placed one monster face down on the field and ended his turn.

Emrys drew a card for her turn. Turning the card over and staring at it, she pondered, "Yes! Now it's time for you to come forth!" She then turned over one of the cards in her Magic and Trap slots, declaring, "I activate Fusion Gate!"

Fusion Gate

Continuous Magic Card

While this card remains on the field, players may be able to Special Summon their Fusion Monsters by tributing the necessary monsters on the field or from the player's hand.

Two mystical gates with a swirling pool of darkness materialized from the void: one behind the other Yugi and Emrys, and another behind Sugoroku and Jonouchi.

Continuing her turn, she pulled two cards from her hand and placed them on the field. "I use Fusion Gate to merge my Red Eyes Black Dragon with Meteor Dragon! Come forth, Meteor Black Dragon!"

The two sacrificed dragons' respective essence mingled into the black pool behind the other Yugi and Emrys' side of the field. The magical gate then emitted a blinding white light. From the Fusion Gate, a loud roar reverberated throughout the Shadow Realm. The ground violently shook and immediately cracked - forming a gaping hole in front of Emrys.

Out of the newly formed abyss emerged the ferocious Meteor Black Dragon – its orange, red, and yellow scales burned and generated intense heat.

Emrys firmly held on the metal railings of her platform, as beads of sweat trickled down her face from summoning the Meteor Black Dragon. Since the monster was just fused, she ended her turn.

During the entire time, the other Yugi was closely observing Jonouchi. He mentally commented to Yugi, "Aibou, did you see that?"

"I did! He remembers the Red Eyes, just as he did at Battle City!" However, Yugi mused as the blonde teen's eyes returned to its brainwashed state, "Come on, Jonouchi! You've fought it before, and you can fight it now!"

Sarcastically, the blond young man said to Emrys, "You saved me a great deal of pain, crest-wielder! I use Fusion Gate to fuse Flame Manipulator and Masaki the Legendary Swordsman into the Flame Swordsman!"

As Fusion Gate swallowed the tribute monsters and emitted such blinding light, a valiant-looking swordsman clad in red, blue, gold, and silver armor emerged from the void. The warrior wielded a huge flaming sword.

"I also arm my Flame Swordsman with Salamandra!"

Salamandra

Equipment Magic Card

Increase the equipped Fire Main-Type Monster's attack strength by 700 points.

Once Salamandra was activated, the Flame Swordsman's attack points boosted from 1800 to 2500.

Since Emrys' Swords of Revealing Light was still active, and his monster had the same attack points as the other Yugi's, the brainwashed young man ended his turn.

After drawing, the other Yugi placed another card on the field. "I use Fusion Gate to fuse Buster Blader with the Dark Magician!" As the dark vortex merged the two monsters, he declared, "Come forth, Super Magical Swordsman – Black Paladin!"

Super Magical Swordsman – Black Paladin

Eight Stars (Secret Rare / Ultimate Rare)

Fusion = Dark Magician Buster Blader

ATK 2900 / DEF 2400

Dark / Magic User / Effect

This Monster can only be Special Summoned by a Fusion. While this card is face-up on the Field, you may discard one card from your hand to negate and destroy a Magic activation. Increase this Monster's attack strength by 500 for each Dragon Sub-Type Monster on the Field and in each player's Cemetery.

As soon as the Black Paladin was summoned, its attack points shot up from the original 2900 to an astounding 4400.

The other Yugi ended his turn.

Jonouchi's jaw dropped. "What? How did that happen?"

Smirking, the champion duelist explained, "Black Paladin gains an additional 1500 points since Meteor Black Dragon is on the field, plus the Red Eyes Black Dragon and the Meteor Dragon in Emrys' Graveyard."

It was now Sugoroku's turn. Looking at the card he just drew, he mused, "This is good." Malevolently glaring at his young opponents, the elderly man immediately placed the card he just drew on the field and declared, "I set one monster card face down, and I end my turn."

Emrys scanned and analyzed the field, pondering, "One more turn until my Swords of Revealing Light wears off." She drew one card for her turn, placed a face-down monster on the field, and said, "Meteor Black Dragon, attack Jii-san's covered card from the far right. Meteor Flame Stream!"

The towering and petrifying dragon attacked the face-down Stern Mystic, activated its special effect, and sent it to Sugoroku's Graveyard.

The Stern Mystic

Four Stars

Light / Spellcaster / Effect

FLIP: All face-down cards on the field are turned face-up, and then returned to their original positions. No card effects are activated when the cards are turned face-up.

As each face-down card temporarily turned face-up, the other Yugi and Emrys gasped. They saw mostly Exodia parts on Sugoroku's side of the field.

Fear struck Emrys' heart, as she looked at her teammate and pondered, "Jii-san's sending Exodia parts to the Graveyard! This means..."

"He wants to summon Exodia Necros!" the other Yugi mused, as his mind weighed the possible dreadful consequences if their hunch was right.

End Chapter Fifteen

Author's Note

Rhea, Cronus, The Birth of Poseidon, and Poseidon Lord of the Seas are not real cards from the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game.

Just a bit of trivia: do you know that the magic card Brain Control – a staple in Yami Yugi / the other Yugi's deck – does not exist in either the Japanese or the English trading card game version? There is no Brain Control, only Change of Heart. However, for the story's purposes, Brain Control appears in this duel. I give my many thanks to Edo for clarifying this piece of information.

If you want to find out more about Emrys' parents, how they die, and how she takes it, read my short story There Will Come Soft Rain – a prequel set two years before the events narrated in The Encounter of Lost Souls.

Normal Disclaimer

Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi. Alexa, Yoshiko, Koji, Rhea, Cronus, The Birth of Poseidon, and Poseidon Lord of the Seas, and this fan fiction are the properties of the author. This fan fiction is written for entertainment purposes only – thereby releasing the author from any liabilities.