A Quick Author's Note: The duel in this chapter includes cards from the newest release - "Magician's Force", just incase anyone thinks they can accuse us of using fake cards (which we've vowed never to do).

Chapter 7

"The First Duel: Trial by Gauntlet"

2:30…Tristan should be here by now, Tea thought irritably, glancing at her watch. She could hardly believe that she was sitting there, on a bench in the park in the middle of the freezing afternoon, waiting for him. She had been shocked when he'd called her, asking to meet, and she had considered hanging up on him before he could convince her. But, as always seemed to happen, he'd gotten to her, and so here she was. She sighed, crossing one leg over the other, staring up at the leafless trees, wondering if he was actually going to apologize for being late in addition to trying to patch things up from before.

The sound of footsteps behind her caught her attention and she turned. But it wasn't Tristan; it was a man in his mid-twenties, with disheveled black hair, dressed in a long black trench coat. He smiled slightly at her, "No need to be alarmed," he said, "I just wanted to ask you something."

"…What…?" she prompted, eyeing him warily.

"You are a friend of the boy Yugi Moto, are you not?" he asked.

Tea slowly got to her feet, feeling the slightest bit of panic begin to bubble up inside her. "Why…?"

The man raised his right hand towards her, "You are needed," he said, and before Tea could try to run, a wave of deep purple energy passed over her and her mind went blank. She swayed and Chalie moved forward to catch her as she fell in a swoon toward the bench. As he lifted her into his arms he shook his head, muttering, "Weak minds are so easy to manipulate…" Then with a turn that made his coat swirl around him, he left the area, taking the teenage girl with him.

* * *

Tristan knew he was running late. If I'm lucky, she'll still be there… 2:45, yeah right, "Tea, I'm really sorry about this-" The teen began to yell as he rounded a corner into the park. He cut off suddenly, seeing only a large, muscular man standing near the park bench. He approached the man slowly, "Hey, uh… excuse me sir, but have you seen a girl about my age come through here?"

The man glared down at him, "Yes…she was here."

"Uh…could ya tell me which way she went?" Tristan asked, wondering if he should be worried.

"I can do better than that," the man said, "I'll take you to her."

"Wait – what?" Tristan said. The man raised an arm and brought his straightened hand down on the teen's neck, knocking him unconscious instantly.

As Tristan fell, Basil reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. "Too easy…" he chuckled as he began to drag the younger man away.

* * *

Why is everything so dark? was the first thought that entered the woozy mind of Tristan Taylor. The second was not a thought, but a feeling: the tremendous explosion of pain that coursed through his neck. Whatever that bastard had done would have lasting effects. He sat up sorely, blinking several times in a feeble attempt to adjust his eyes to the blackness around him. He began crawling about, trying to feel his way around towards any sort of exit, but instead landed upon something soft. It was cloth on a body, but who was it?

Feeling a bit of suppressed guilty pleasure, he let himself explore the figure with his hands. He discovered it was female quickly, and had to keep himself from letting his hormones get the best of him. Even in the seemingly dire situation, his typical teenage male brain had to be kept in check. Moving hands up from the chest to the face and recognition clicked in quicker than he would have thought – Tea!

He knelt down close to her, putting his face inches away from hers. Thank god, she's still breathing. He shook her gently, "Tea…Tea, come on…wake up, please…"

He heard her moan and he wrapped his arms around her, overcome with relief. "Who is that…?" she asked groggily.

" 'Sme," he murmured, sitting up.

"Tristan…?" she guessed, "Where are we…?"

"Dunno… did that big guy get you too?"

"Big guy? No, he wasn't very big…tall, but skinny," she said, trying hard to remember, then changed the subject, "Why were you late, anyway?"

"Couldn't find my left shoe…you sure he wasn't this huge monster? Big muscles, little brain?" Tristan persisted, trying to put what little pieces of this confusing puzzle he had together.

"No…he was definitely wimpy looking…" Tea said, "He waved his hand at me and…everything went cold… I think I passed out…"

"Kay…" Tristan said quietly, thinking. Suddenly, the walls around them collapsed, causing Tea to shriek in fright. However, when the bit of dust around them cleared they found they were sitting in the moonlit entrance of the Domino Museum, four wooden pieces lying around them. The brown-haired boy stood, rubbing his neck in bewilderment, "What the heck are we doin' here?"

"How long were we out?" Tea asked back, looking around at the dim lighting of the room.

Tristan didn't reply, his eyes now transfixed on the two Duel Disk 2's sitting just beyond northern wood wall, which had dual arrows pointing exactly at the dueling machines.

"You suppose those are for us…?" Tea guessed.

"I got a feeling we might need 'em," Tristan told her, picking one up and fishing around in his pocket for his dueling deck. He had never been very good, but it still might come in handy for whatever was being planned for them. As she picked up the other one and fitted it on her arm, he added, "Listen…I have a feeling this is gonna get dangerous. So before we go any further I wanted to say…I'm sorry for being a jerk. And I'm glad you're talking to me again."

Tea smiled, though her eyes betrayed her worry. "Thank you…" she nodded, "I never like it when we fight anyway." She reached out and took hold of his hand, "I'm glad I don't have to do this alone."

"Me too," he began to tread forward, but then came back with an after thought; "I suppose it would be pointless, but I'll try this first." Tristan pulled (and pushed) at the doors leading to the outside with all his might, but to no avail. He shrugged regretfully, "Never hurts…"

* * *

"The ignorant fools…" Seline said happily, "They have no idea what they're in for…" She was seated in Basil's lap, in a high-backed chair surrounded by security-cams screens. "Now…which on of you wants to go have fun with the children?"

"Let me, Mistress Seline," Basil said, looking eager for a fight.

She glanced over at Chalie, who was leaning against a wall a little ways off. "Any objections?"

"None…" Chalie said, "Let him have his fun – leave the bigger prey for me."

"Very well," she said, stroking Basil's short brown hair, "Go on."

He stood, lifting her up and setting her back down in the chair. Then with a small bow, he left the room.

"This should be interesting…" Seline said, settling back in her chair.

"How much faith do you place in his dueling skills?" Chalie questioned, not moving from his spot.

"They're rash, to be sure, but he's not dealing with pros here," she said, "He'll be fine. Don't you trust him, Chalie?"

"No," the bodyguard told her moodily, "His magical aura is clouded. Why you ever trusted him with it is still beyond me, Ms. Seline. I should hope you know by now that my condition does not take away from my ability to control magic."

"Not at all," Seline said, turning towards him, looking hurt, "I thought by now you would have accepted him into our little circle…but clearly you feel that you're all I need, hmm?" She shifted slightly, leaning closer to his direction, her chin resting in one hand, a small smile on her lips.

"Clearly you feel he's quite enough for you," Chalie told her, his one eyebrow arching upward.

"You both have your fortes," she said, catching his drift and not letting him get the better of her, "Sometimes I just need someone like him around... when you fail to satisfy all my needs…"

"Your needs apparently can't be satisfied. What's this I heard from Basil about you bringing in someone else?"

"It's nothing personal," she told him sincerely, "I've just found someone who will give us…and extra leg-up when it comes time to challenge the Pharaoh."

The physic snorted softly to himself. Seline's greed was getting out of control, in his opinion. Ever since Maeda was killed by the Pharaoh, she seemed to be jumping at ever opportunity to increase her collection or her staff. "You think I'm not a challenge for the Pharaoh?"

"I'm not saying that," she said, "You certainly have been jumping to a lot of conclusions lately, Chalie. Is it perhaps that you're feeling a bit jealous…?"

"Perhaps it's the fact that you've hired two new thugs in the last six months, when it was just the two of us for three years. Did Maeda's death push the time tables forward for our plan? You were planning to deal with him, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was planning to deal with him, but to be perfectly honest, I never had a clear picture of how. The events in Egypt were fortunate for us – even if the Shield is useless," she said then stood up and strode over to him, "And don't think that just because I've brought in some new muscle means that I don't still depend on you." She put a hand on his arm and added, "Maybe it's just because you've never really let me get close to you, Chalie…"

"With all due respect, ma'am, you're a bit too…aggressive, for my tastes." He walked slowly out of the room, smirking, "I've heard you with Basil." He waved a hand at her as he left, "Enjoy the show."

Seline slid back into her chair, pouting.

"You shouldn't get so worked up over him, Mistress," said a voice behind her and she swiveled the chair, spinning around to see a young man around Chalie's age, with black hair tied back in a ponytail approaching her.

"Todd…" she said, "I didn't here you come in…how long have you been here?"

"Just a few moments," he said, bowing slightly, "I hope I didn't startle you."

"No…I just didn't think you'd be back for a while yet. I trust everything has been going smoothly?"

"Yes, Mistress," Todd nodded, "I've gathered all the data that you've requested and downloaded it to your computer's main hard drive, available for your perusal."

"Very nice," she smiled, "Now…would you like to join me? Basil's just about to toy with the Pharaoh's friends – it should prove interesting, though Chalie seems to think that such things are above him…"

"Has he always been so…arrogant?" the young man asked earnestly.

Seline shrugged, "He's always been – what's the best word? – stiff…I can't remember the last time he's smiled…ahh, well. That works for him and he works for me, so I try to let him be."

"I see," suddenly he went stiff, his eyes widening. There was a flash of light, and the features on his face changed, becoming more mature, and frowning. When he spoke again, the voice was deeper, "I've done what you asked me to…now what about upholding your end of our bargain?"

"In good time, Shem," she said, "In good time. I've more work for you to do yet. Now please, your host was just about to keep me company during this viewing…could you please let him out again?"

He glared down at the woman, "I don't trust you around my host. I'll have to refuse."

"Don't trust me…?" she echoed, spinning the chair back around to face the screens, "I'm not sure I follow you…"

"You know perfectly well what I mean. He needs nothing of the sort from you, Seline. Think of this as punishment for not telling me what you say you 'know' about my past," Shem smirked, almost taunting her.

"If you doubt that I have any real information for you, you're free to leave, you know," she said sourly, "But I know you must be less than skeptic, otherwise you would never have sought me out."

"I trust you… for now. At least you told me my name," he took in a deep breath sharply and gritted his teeth, then released the air slowly, "Please accept my apologies, Ms. Seline," he mumbled quietly, as a sign of admitting defeat.

"Of course, Shem," she said, motioning for him to come stand beside her, "If I didn't like you, I never would have brought you this far…remember that."

* * *

"This could get really annoying real fast," Tristan told Tea angrily, as he ripped down another arrow from the wall, this one pointing further down the hallway into almost complete blackness.

"Well…it's not like we have much of a choice," Tea sighed.

Tristan said nothing, but continued to walk into the darkness. He hadn't gotten far, when suddenly a glow emitted not too far ahead of them; a glow that was in the curious shape…of a Duel Disk. Taylor put a hand up, to stop Tea from advancing any further, "Who's there?!"

There was the sound of metal clashing against the marble floor and a bolt of lighting illuminated the room. Frightened, Tea grabbed hold of Tristan, whose eyes were narrowed, focusing on the figure in the room. It was the brute who had attacked him in the park, dressed in a black muscle-shirt and pants, and clutching a long golden staff, which was emitting small white sparks.

The man smiled, "I believe you remember me, boy." He waved the long staff again, and the entire room lit up, "I am Basil, holder of the Millennium Staff, and you are the first to face The Gauntlet!"

Tristan clenched his fists tightly at his side, "So, what's the Gauntlet?"

Tea was looking nervously at the man's long pole in his right hand. It had the symbol of the Millennium Items on it! Was it one of the new Items Yugi had told her about?

Basil sneered at them, "You need not concern yourself with the details for now, but I'll give you the basics. Mistress Seline is on the highest level of this building. The Pharaoh will be challenged to get through the duelists on each level in order to face her."

"Why in the world do you think Yugi would ever accept this challenge? And that still doesn't explain why you need us here," Tristan told him, folding his arms crossly.

"Boy, you just answered both of your questions. Does that give you any hints?"

"Tristan…" Tea said softly, tugging on his jacket sleeve, "I think we're here as bait…"

"Correct," Basil told her smugly, "However, I offer you this chance: as the Pharaoh will do, you may duel to get to the top of the museum. I will be your first opponent."

Tristan stepped forward, "Fine, bastard! I'll duel you!"

The man waved a finger playfully at them, "Now, do you really believe yourself a challenge for me? Both of you may duel me at once, unless either of you has an objection…"

The teenage boy turned to look at Tea, "I don't want you getting hurt; I can handle this."

"No, let me help," she insisted, "Yami always said we're stronger when we work together. And I'm not gonna stand aside and be a cheer-leader anymore."

"Enough bickering! Time to make a choice, now!" Basil shouted, his Duel Disk 2 beginning to count to 4000 life points.

"You sure about this…?" Tristan asked, even though he knew it was too late to reconsider anything, as both their DD2s were also counting up their life points.

"I'm positive," Tea nodded, and Tristan couldn't help but admire her bravery.

"It's settled," Tristan told his opponent, masking the fear that was creeping up within him with determination. He had never been a really good duelist, but this guy should be easy enough… hopefully.

"Good," Basil replied, "Let's see now, ladies first so… you'll have to decide among yourselves who gets first turn honors." He man finished grinning at Tristan as he pulled his five cards out (Troop Dragon, Jar of Greed, Mystical Space Typhoon, UFO Turtle, and Mirage of Nightmare).

The teenage boy growled low in his throat, a vein on his temple throbbing.

"Um…do you wanna go first…?" Tea asked him timidly, regretting her words almost instantly, as he nearly blew steam out of his ears.

After a short moment, he managed to calm down, catch Tea's apologetic look and then draw his six cards (Decayed Commander, Gaia Power, Thunder of Ruler, Zombie Tiger, and Reinforcements). He concentrated on his opening hand for a moment, thinking hard, "I'll set two cards face-down (Thunder of Ruler/Reinforcements) and summon Decayed Commander (1000/1500) in attack mode!" He nodded at Tea as his scary, zombie warrior pulled itself out of the ground, clutching a short, rusted blade.

Tea pulled six cards out of her deck as well (Elf's Light, Soul of the Pure, Goddess of Whim, Happy Lover, Tenderness, Numinous Healer), hoping to continue the good start that Tristan had given them, "I'll summon Goddess of Whim (950/700) in attack mode!" A woman dressed in a green dress similar to that of the ancient Greeks appeared on the field, her green-leaf hair falling down gracefully over her shoulders. She glanced warily at Tristan's zombie monster and then turned to face Basil. "Now I'll place one card face-down (Numinous Healer) and play Soul of the Pure! This magic card will increase my life points by 800!" Her Duel Disk beeped and clicked, then began to count upwards. Tristan/Tea: 4000/4800 – Basil: 4000.

Basil smiled broadly as Tea ended her turn, "Why don't we make this a bit more interesting, hmm?" He raised his staff up again, and directed it at his opponents. Instantly, each duelist was surrounded by a ring of blazing hot fire.

Tea clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming in surprise, as Tristan shouted "What the hell?! How did you do that??"

"A simple task for the powers of the Millennium Staff!" Basil told him, his Item glowing brightly, "Now let me explain how this is going to work. Do you see how the flames around the girl are slightly larger than those surrounding you and me, boy? As our life points increase, the flames will begin to die out, moving further away. However, when life points decrease, the ring of fire will move in closer. He who loses his life points shall lose much more than that!"

"What? You can't-"

"Oh, but I can! Did you think this would be friendly competition? Or a simple game of fun? This…" Basil waved his Staff furiously and the world around them dissolved, being replaced by dark purple storm clouded that surrounded them on all sides, "Is a Shadow Game!"

Trying to hide his panic, Tristan glanced quickly over at Tea, who caught his eye and said, "I had a feeling it was going to end up like this…"

"My move!" Basil pulled the next card from his deck (Mother Grizzly), "I will set two cards face-down (MST/ Jar of Greed) and play the magic card Mirage of Nightmare!" The green-rimmed card appeared on the field and several zombie-like people came walking out of it. They began to look around, as if seeing things only they could view.

The muscular man grinned, "This magic card will allow me to draw cards until I have four in my hand, but only when it is my opponent's turn. Then I have to discard as man cards as I drew." He moved another card from his and laid it down on the field, "Now, I summon UFO Turtle (1400/1200) in attack mode!" Lumbering out of the mist came a huge, wrinkled, green turtle. On its back, instead of a shell, was a metal dome with flashing lights. It blinked slowly, settling down beside Basil.

Basil directed his staff, "UFO Turtle, attack the boy's pathetic monster and make him feel the flames of the shadows!" The monster roared and blasted flames from its mouth, the wave of heat blasting through the ring around Tristan.

"Nice try buddy, but I'm activating Reinforcements!" Tristan shouted, slamming a button on the back of his Duel Disk. Instantly the Decayed Commander was surrounded by dozens of foot soldiers, each offering the zombie a different weapon to use. It selected a new sword, which raised its stats to 1500/1500. With a single stroke from his new blade, the fire beam was dispelled and the Turtle roared in pain as it smashed into thousands of tiny dust particles.

Tristan/Tea: 4000/4800 – Basil: 3900.

"All right!! That was awesome!" Tea cheered. Then the ground shook and she gasped as a second UFO Turtle took the place of the first one. "Wait – I thought it just got destroyed!" she said, "What's going one??"

Basil erupted in laughter, even as the flames encircling him inched closer, "You fools! My UFO turtle's special effect allows me to summon another fire monster from my deck with 1500 or less attack power! I chose the second of my Turtles, which will now take a bite out of your life points, little girl!" The second reptile launched the same attack as its predecessor, this one engulfing Tea's monster in the red hot heat of fire, which continued on to hit the teenage girl.

Tea let out a cry of pain and surprise as she recoiled from the flames. Luckily, she was able to regain her composure quickly enough to strip off her flaming jacket and toss it out of her ring of fire.

"Tea, are you alright?!" Tristan asked worriedly.

"I'll…be fine…" she panted, "Just as soon as I activate…this: Numinous Healer!" She pressed a button on her DD2 and a tall blonde woman in a nurses scrubs and small feathered wings jutting out from her back appeared on the field. She turned towards the teenage girl and waved her hands over her. A golden glow surrounded Tea and the singed skin on her arms and face healed, as her life points climbed up to 5350.

"The Numinous Healer… it's just another pathetic trap card. They won't save you from me forever. Now get on with your turns before I lose my patience."

"Fine," Tristan pulled out his next card (Rush Recklessly), "Now, I'll set one card face-down (Rush Recklessly) and play the field card Gaia Power, which increases all earth monsters by 500 attack points!" A large, healthy tree appeared in the middle of the field, apparently unaffected by the roaring flames around it, "Next I summon Zombie Tiger (1900/1600)!"

A half-mummified zombie rushed out of the card, standing next to the commander, "Attack!" Tristan commanded, as Basil drew his two cards (Rock Spirit and Royal Decree) from his deck for Mirage of Nightmare.

The two monsters lunged forward, Decayed Commander holding its sword high, the Tiger's claws bared. The sword slashed through the first Turtle and Basil had barely summoned the next one when the Tiger latched onto it and tore it to bits. Tristan/Tea: 4000/5350 – Basil: 3300

"Take that!" Tristan told him. If Tea could draw a good monster, then they'd have a big lead on this guy, "Where's your next fire monster, huh?"

"That was the last one, I'm afraid," Basil replied, shaking his head. At least for now… "Now I shall activate Jar of Greed, letting me draw another card!" Basil declared, his purple backed trap adding a fifth card (Giant Rat) to his hand.

Tea selected her next card (Pineapple Blast), "Now I set one card (Pineapple Blast) and one monster (Tenderness (700/1400)) in defense mode!"

"My move," The bodyguard picked up his next card out of his rapidly thinning deck (Pot of Greed), "I discard two from my hand for Mirage of Nightmare (Troop Dragon and Giant Rat), but that activates the special effect of my Dragon monster I threw away!" Instantly, a small, heavily-armed green dragon appeared on the field, hiding behind the its shield.

Basil smiled at the surprised looks on his opponents faces, "When Troop Dragon (700/800) is sent to the graveyard in any way, I can summon another in face-up attack or defense mode! Next I play the magic card Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards (Garuda the Wind Spirit and Aqua Spirit)!"

"All he ever does is keep drawing cards…" Tristan groaned, "What's he stalling for, anyway?"

"Relax," Tea told him, "If he keeps going like this, he just might deck himself out."

Basil seemed not to hear them. "Finally, I set one monster (Mother Grizzly (1400/1200)) in defense mode and one card face-down (Royal Decree)!"

"Geez! All that and you're still playing defense?" Tristan cried out, completely disgusted with what he considered to be such poor dueling, "Let me show you how Duel Monsters is supposed to be played! It mostly involves me pummeling you to the ground because of your lack of strategy!" He hurriedly pulled his next card from the dueling machine (Cyber Commander), "I summon Cyber Commander (1400/1400) in attack mode! He also gains the power boost from my field card, making him even stronger! Next I activate the special effect of my Zombie Tiger, which allows him to form a union with the Decayed Commander, raising his stats by 500/500 to 2000/2500!" The zombie leader hopped up on top of the Tiger, and instantly the monster grew in power.

"Activate face-down card: Rush Recklessly!" The brown-haired boy shouted, his magic card flipping face-up, "This will increase my Commander's attack points by another 700, to a total of 2100/1400! Now let's see how your Troop Dragon stands up to that!" The living military commando let loose a barrage of machine gun fire, felling the little Dragon. Instantly, yet another took its place.

"What??" Tristan cried, "Not again!"

"It seems that despite all of your work, my monsters have a knack for protecting me!" Basil said, grinning cruelly.

"Fine, Decayed Commander attack his last Troop Dragon!" The Tiger rushed forward and the Commander beheaded the last dragon easily. Tristan took in a deep breath, then sighed. At least that was over with. A thought suddenly struck him as he watched Basil pull another card from his deck (Spirit of the Flames), "Hey… what are you waiting for anyway? You were the one who challenged us, remember?"

"That is none of you concern boy! You'll know what I have planned for you when the time is right! Now let the girl make her move so I can end this duel!"

Tea drew her next card (Ancient Elf), "I summon the Ancient Elf (1450/1200) in Attack mode!" Out of the mist, stepped a tall, feminine figure clad in purple armor, clutching long purple and blue staff. "Attack his face-down monster!" The sooner we get at this guy's life points the better! I hope it's not another one of his monsters that lets him search for more...

The Elf struck, smashing into a Grizzly Bear. The creature roared in anger and disappeared. When nothing new came to the field, Tea let out a small cheer.

"Celebrate if you want," Basil told her, "You destroyed my Mother Grizzly. I could summon another water-type monster to the field if I wanted to, but I've got much bigger plans! Before you end your turn, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy my own Mirage of Nightmare!" Several lightning bolts hit the field, each one destroying one of the zombies.

"What'd you go and do something stupid like that for?" Tristan asked, barely able to contain his laughter.

"Simple," Basil said, drawing his next card (Spirit of the Flames), "Now I don't have to discard anything from my hand for Mirage of Nightmare's effect! This is the end of the line, fools!" Basil's graveyard began to drop cards off at his feet slowly, each one landing softly by their master, "By removing five monsters from play I'm able to summon my five Spirit monsters from my hand!"

Five towers burst forth out of the field: two pillars of fire on either side of Basil and three others of wind, water and stone in front of him. Out of each tower came a monster: two tall, muscular, satanic-looking creatures; one Roman soldier made of stone and metal; one half-man half-bird with an impressive wingspan; and one petite, green-skinned girl, who (in anyone else's control would've appeared friendly) was staring at the teens with eyes glowing red.

"Two Spirit of the Flames (1700/1000), one Garuda the Wind Spirit (1600/1200), one Rock Spirit (2200/1000), and one Aqua Spirit (1600/1200) all in attack mode!" Basil shouted out happily, admiring each of his creations. He grinned sinisterly, "And each with their own unique effect. You'll see as I decimate…" Basil looked from duelist to duelist, then pointed at Tea, "Your life points!"

Tea froze, eyes wide. Her arms were still stinging from the last attack…there was no way she could survive a direct attack!

"I'm not gonna let that happen!" Tristan yelled, alarmed, "I activate Thunder of Ruler! It's a trap card that causes you to skip your Battle Phase for one turn!"

"Nice try, kid, but I told you your pathetic trap cards wouldn't save you from me! I activate Royal Decree!" A floating palace appeared over the entire field, casting shadows over everything. The flickers of light from the flames made everything seem even scarier. The armored man who had appeared out of Tristan's trap card looked up from blocking off Basil's monsters, fear in his eyes. He bowed down to the palace, then shattered into thousands of little pieces.

"No! Attack me instead! Please!" Tristan shouted, trying to distract Tea from Basil. I should never have let Tea be in this duel! If I had only said no, she would still have a chance!

Basil pointed his Staff at Tea, who was paralyzed with fear. All five of Basil's monsters rushed forwards, intent on destroying Tea.

There was a swift, fierce blast of fire from the first Spirit of the Flames. At the last possible second, it was intercepted, frying the Cyber Commander to a crisp. Tea fell over backwards, nearly backing into the ring of fire around her. Tristan/Tea: 2900/5350- Basil: 3300.

The fires around Tristan closed in, making him sweat even more profusely, "What the hell… I should only have lost 800 life points…"

"This is what you get for trying to save your girlfriend. My Spirit of the Flames has the ability to increase its own attack power by 300 points every time it strikes. You want me to destroy you first, then fine!" He pointed his staff at Tristan, who's Decayed Commander was pounded by the Rock Spirit. Tea watched in horror as the Spirit of the Flames brought Tristan's life points down to 700 with a direct attack that burned his jacket and shirt clean off, leaving bleeding burn marks on his face and chest.

The fires around the boy had closed to within mere feet of his body, threatening to engulf him. He turned his head weakly towards Tea, giving her the thumbs-up sign just as Garuda the Wind Spirit attacked him. The flames circle turned into a column of fire, and when it disappeared, Tristan was gone.

"Noooo!!" Tea cried, still on the floor, stretching out in vain to where he had been, "Don't leave me…please…" she drew her hand back in and, head hung, placed it over her deck. There was no way she could hope to win with Tristan gone…she couldn't do it alone.

"Pathetic," Basil spat, staring out at her as the ring of fire began to creep towards the girl, "You should be thankful that Ms. Seline wants Chalie and I to save your bodies for the Gauntlet. You will be Level 1 challenges for the Pharaoh you hold so dear. Goodbye!"

Tea looked up just in time to see Basil's figure disappear behind the wall of fire. She closed her eyes, waiting for the horrible pain that she was sure would come, but before the actual flames reached her, she passed out from the heat and her body and soul were separated. As her body fell through a hole in the floor into the awaiting net that Chalie had constructed, her soul was high-flying, heading straight to the Shadow Realm…